Hong Kong: New testing requirements for arrivals The Government today announced that COVID-19 nucleic acid testing arrangements for people arriving in Hong Kong from the Mainland, Macau, Taiwan and Singapore will be adjusted from June 3. People aged over five who arrive in Hong Kong from June 3, and have only stayed in the Mainland or Macau on the day of arrival or during the 14 days before that day, should follow new testing arrangements. For people who arrive at Hong Kong under the Return2HK Scheme and are exempted from compulsory quarantine, as well as those who are fully vaccinated and subject to a seven-day compulsory quarantine, the number of tests will be increased from two to three. Testing will be done on the third, fifth, and 12th day of arrival. For example, a visitor arriving on June 3 shall undergo the third-day test on June 5, the Government explained. Those who are not yet vaccinated and are subject to 14-day compulsory quarantine will have to undergo five tests on the third, seventh, 12th, 16th and 19th day of arrival. Relevant exemption conditions will be amended by including the post-arrival test requirement as one of the exemption conditions, the Government added. People subject to compulsory testing requirements will receive specimen collection bottles distributed by Port Health staff on arrival. They should collect deep throat saliva samples using the bottles according to the guidelines on the specified testing dates, and return the bottles by the same day. Those who are not subject to compulsory quarantine or have completed quarantine may take virus tests at community testing centres on the specified testing dates. They must keep the SMS containing the test results for checking. Meanwhile, the Government had earlier announced tightened boarding, quarantine and testing requirements for arriving passengers who have stayed in Taiwan and Singapore with effect from May 17 and May 21. The compulsory quarantine periods are now adjusted from seven days for fully vaccinated people or 14 days for non-vaccinated people, to 14 or 21 days. Additionally, to further minimise infection risk involving imported cases, the Government requires people who have already arrived at Hong Kong before the implementation of the above tightened quarantine measures to undergo compulsory testing on the 12th day or the 16th and 19th day of arrival after completing the original quarantine period of seven or 14 days, and stay at their place of residence, private premises or the place of quarantine until they obtain confirmed negative test results. As people who arrived at Hong Kong before the implementation of the above quarantine measure complete their compulsory quarantine and tests, those arriving at Hong Kong since May 17 and have stayed in Taiwan, and since May 21 and have stayed in Singapore, are no longer required to remain at their place of stay to wait for their compulsory testing results. They are subject to the same compulsory quarantine and testing arrangements as people arriving in Hong Kong who have stayed in other high-risk places. Fully vaccinated people are subject to a 14-day compulsory quarantine at designated quarantine hotels, with three tests on the third, fifth and 12th day to be conducted during the period, followed by a seven-day self-monitoring period as well as compulsory testing on the 16th and 19th day of arrival at Hong Kong. Non-vaccinated people are subject to a 21-day compulsory quarantine at designated quarantine hotels, with four tests to be conducted on the third, seventh, 12th and 19th day during the period. For enquiries, call 6275 6901. This story has been published on: 2021-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. RTHK: Queen Elizabeth to meet Biden in person after G7 Queen Elizabeth II will hold her first in-person meeting with a foreign leader in over a year when she hosts US President Joe Biden on June 13 after he attends a G7 summit, Buckingham Palace announced Thursday. It said the 95-year-old monarch will meet the president and First Lady Jill Biden at Windsor Castle west of London, where she has largely lived since the coronavirus pandemic first swept Britain in March 2020. The Queen, who has received her two doses of Covid-19 vaccination, has been holding the vast majority of meetings virtually, including audiences with foreign ambassadors. It will be her first meeting in person with a foreign head of state since the pandemic hit, and her most high-profile official engagement since presiding over the state opening of parliament on May 11. That was the Queen's first public appearance since the funeral of her husband Prince Philip. He died on April 9, aged 99. The meeting with the president and first lady will come the day after the Queen's official birthday, and will follow the three-day summit of Group of Seven leaders in Cornwall, southwest England. The G7 gathering starts Biden's first foreign tour since he took office in January. He will also make stops at a NATO summit in Brussels and in Geneva, for a June 16 summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. With the exception of Lyndon B. Johnson, the Queen has met every US president during her 69-year reign. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2021-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Trade Unionist Francis Atwoli has apparently taken drastic measures to protect his rights as a Kenyan worker. The COTU Secretary-General has reportedly hired three goons to protect the contentious road sign that Nairobi City Hall recently erected in Kileleshwa in his honour. Yes, you read that rightthree grown-ass men hired to watch over a road sign. Kenya ina mambo kweli. This is according to social-political activist Boniface Mwangi, who went to Francis Atwoli road, formerly Dik Dik road. Its as if the Unbounded author had to see with his thine own eyes the travesty that happened when he was away in Luxembourg to collect his 2020 outstanding Youth Peace Maker award. Taking to Twitter Wednesday, Boniface Mwangi shared pictures of the supposed goons Atwoli allegedly hired to watch over the Francis Atwoli road signpost. Im back! I went to see the illegal sign on Dik Dik Road. I find it laughable @AtwoliDza has employed three goons to guard it. Atwoli thrives on violence and intimidation to get his way. His CCTV is goons. We shall avoid confrontations but the sign will come down, he tweeted. On Sunday, a few days after Nairobi Deputy Governor Anne Kananu had presided over the renaming of Dik Dik road, unknown people pulled it down. READ: Kenyans in Agreement After Francis Atwoli Road Signpost is Pulled Down No sooner had Kenyans celebrated the act of dissent than City Hall re-erected the signpost. This prompted Francis Atwoli to flex his well-known braggadocio in a tweet warning would-be protesters of the illegal road naming. The Nairobi County Government has reinstalled the sign. If you think you came from the moon go try remove it again. Also, a CCTV has been installed for the security of the area, he tweeted. Take a look at the trio of human CCTVS below. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines stressed on Thursday that it does have any authority over power companies that contributed to the rotational brownouts in parts of Luzon this week. Speaking to CNN Philippines' The Source, NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza explained that some power plants failed to give notice prior to their shutdown, prompting rotational power interruptions in the region. "Beginning Monday, NGCP monitored several power plants that went on emergency shutdown. Ordinarily these power plants should give seven-day notices if they are going to go on emergency shutdown, but the plants were not able to comply," Alabanza said. "Beginning the second half of the year prior, these maintenance shutdowns are planned to ensure that there will be no point in time where there will be too many plants on simultaneous shutdown. This is really to ensure that we have sufficient supply throughout the year," she said. "What happened was a lot of them were unscheduled, aggravated by the fact that they did not give sufficient lead time or a seven-day notice that I was talking about." She stressed, however, that as a transmission service provider, the NGCP neither has the supervisory nor regulatory power over other industry players regarding the issue. "We will leave that to the ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) to determine whether they should be investigated or penalized," Alabanza said. The ERC is an independent regulatory body that performs "quasi-judicial, quasi-legislative and administrative functions in the electric industry. Many Filipinos working from home have been affected by the power interruptions this week. Local governments and health officials were also ordered to ensure contingency plans are in place in COVID-19 vaccination sites, so there will be a backup power source for doses whose storage requirements might be affected. The Energy Department previously said the power supply for Luzon has already reached a deficit of 200 megawatts. This means the capacity of generators is not enough to meet the demand for electricity, prompting rotational power interruptions, which the NGCP said may last until June 7. Over the past days, parts of Luzon were placed under red and yellow alert due to thin power supply and growing demand from consumers. Alabanza said there are no "foreseeable" indications of power interruptions on Thursday due to lower demand and cooler temperature. The NGCP continues to monitor possible "fluctuations" of available power supply, especially if power plants go on emergency shutdown. (CNN) A coalition of Israeli political parties announced Wednesday night they had agreed to a deal to form a new government, paving the way for the exit of Israel's longest serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, notified Israeli President Reuven Rivlin that he had managed to cobble together a coalition less than an hour before the midnight deadline. Though Lapid holds the mandate to form the government under the agreement, it is Naftali Bennett -- leader of the small right-wing party Yamina and the kingmaker in coalition talks -- who is set to become prime minister for the first two years of a four-year term. Lapid will serve as foreign minister until the two men swap roles halfway through the term. In a statement, Lapid said the "government will work to serve all the citizens of Israel including those who aren't members of it, will respect those who oppose it, and do everything in its power to unite all parts of Israeli society." The deal is a seismic event in recent Israeli political history as it could spell the final days of Netanyahu's 12 years in office. The coalition agreement must now pass a vote of confidence in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, before a new government and prime minister is sworn in. This is a developing story. Return for updates This story was first published on CNN.com, "Israeli opposition parties strike coalition deal, paving the way for Netanyahu's exit." Editors note: Interviews with patients were not allowed by the facility due to privacy issues. One of the most vulnerable sectors are the drug, alcohol, gambling, and behavioral addiction patients undergoing rehab at various facilities in the Philippines. But at Bridges of Hope (BoH), the in-house clients are doing quite well today despite the challenges of the pandemic. Guillermo Gimo Gomez, an internationally certified addiction professional and a senior program director at BoH, is not that surprised. He thinks that the controlled and sanitized environment BoH imposes as a matter of routine in their therapies has helped greatly to shield the addiction patients from the health vicissitudes of quarantine lockdown. It may be something the rest of us can pick up on as a way out of our suffering in these unprecedented times. Guillermo Gimo Gomez, an internationally certified addiction professional and a senior program director at Bridges of Hope also teaches Jeet Kune Do at a gym outside the facility. Photo by KARL R. DE MESA Hell is around the corner Before he came to work for Bridges of Hope, Gomez was himself a patient at the facility. He has years of substance addiction behind him, all the way back when he took his first hit of meth as a young man in 1988. He could still clearly remember that first hit of shabu and how, in hindsight, it led to a moment of legitimate addiction. My head exploded that first time with a rush I couldnt understand. I just keep on drinking alcohol to down this new overwhelming feeling, said Gomez. The consequent hits through the 1990s eventually got him hooked, landing him in jail in the year 2000. A series of rehab stays and relapses followed, each one lasting 18 to 22 months, each slightly better than the last, but no true management system had stuck. There was no real rock bottom, rather for Gomez it was a series of hells that waited just around the corner. Hell for me was stealing my childrens allowance (which I just gave to my wife to give to them), Gomez said. Selling my childrens T.V. and selling my own clean laundry which my wife had washed. And waking up somewhere near a railway, in a shack with no electricity, no furniture, and no running water. Though he smiles thinking about it now, one of those hells was also Gomez hiding from his own family in 2012, who was searching for him with a rehab team from Bridges of Hope in tow. After a revolving door of stays to kick his substance addictions, Gomez exited his program at BoH and started as a volunteer for them in 2013. Hes been working there ever since. This time, the management program had stuck. Sleeping quarters at the Paranaque facility. Photo courtesy of BRIDGES OF HOPE/GIMO GOMEZ First, ask for help Since Gomez knows too well how relapses can both be easy to slide into and the hardest to climb out of, it informs his interactions with patients on a deeply compassionate level an I know because Ive been there quality absent in old school therapy paradigms. There are certain triggers that can bring me back to my addiction, said Gomez. And my program from Bridges of Hope helps me with my awareness. There are hundreds of DOH-accredited substance and alcohol rehab facilities in the country and seven within Metro Manila alone. Bridges of Hope is one of the few that offers a holistic variant of the 12-step program, a system which they call the Eclectic Therapeutic Community. The pandemic is a force of its own and should not be taken lightly. It will continue to hit anybody recovering, much harder than it would a person free of the maladies of a mental and emotional diagnosis. This is an alternative to what is usually a punitive approach to therapy made famous by Alcoholics Anonymous that focuses on abstinence, known in therapy circles as the Minnesota Model of drug and alcohol management. BoH adheres to the Therapeutic Community (TC) model. A methodology that moves away from just self-denial, acknowledging that recovery must focus on the whole person and consequently the society that he moves in in fact, the first step listed on the BoH websites 12 steps is asking for help: We admitted we were powerless over our addiction that our lives had become unmanageable. Recovery looks different for everyone The eclectic part of the therapeutic community system is in acknowledging the uniqueness of each abuser and their history. Therefore, recovery looks different for everyone. Each abuser will move towards management at different speeds, through different obstacles, hence being open to what works for one person might not work for another because each brains infrastructure and development is unique a set of stimuli may be a big dopamine hit for somebody, yet that same amount may be nothing to the next person. Some brains are just stronger and have better synaptic systems, said Gomez. It's like the circuit breaker in your house. With a high amperage ceiling, no matter what the current fluctuation is, if it's a good breaker, it's not going to flip. Others pop much more easily. The TC orientation also recognizes that relapses do occur, viewing them as learning opportunities rather than chances to intensify punishment. In the eclectic model we try to understand the person's feelings and thought processes, said Gomez. The old therapy model, like the one I experienced as a patient in the 1990s, would just simply address everyones addiction the same way. They tell you you know you took the substances, you're addicted to it, whether you accept it or not, here's the punishment. I'm going to hit you, give you such a horrible experience that by the time you come out your brain will go one plus one equals pain! BoHs biggest center is the one in Los Banos, Laguna that houses up to 50 clients. It has a land size of 900 sqm, and an activity space spanning 700 sqm that includes a swimming pool. At the seven BoH rehab facilities in the country, patients are encouraged to accept that going through the program will take time. That everyone advances at their own pace. Each center has a staff of around 20 people composed of nurses, counsellors, psychometricians, and administration managers like Gomez. Aside from taking responsibility for ones behavior, the emphasis on shared, communal liability means that recovery at BoH is viewed as a gradual and always ongoing process of cognitive change overseen by clinical interventions. Full recovery is the high ideal, but the truth is that its an ongoing, daily process. Healing and relaxing geothermal (hot spring) pool at the Los Banos facility. Photo courtesy of BRIDGES OF HOPE/GIMO GOMEZ Virus safety inside the rehab facility Robert Ty, Executive Director at BoH BF Paranaque, says that their hundreds of in-house rehab patients have been fairly cushioned from the ravages of COVID-19. This is due to the controlled and highly sanitized environment of their facilities and in no small part because the residents are already in a quite benign quarantine of their own. Ty said, With the family culture fostered between our staff members and directorate levels weve been prepared to sacrifice to respect and follow the protocols which demand time away from families and friends in exchange for the safety of our clients. They are actually not experiencing stress as we are outside, in the natural environment, said Gomez. Our program is quite effective in shielding patients from the normal mental or emotional tensions of a lockdown. Its a state of multi-layered safety only reached however through the sacrifice of medical and administrative staff. Converting buffer zone structures for quarantine before patients and staff go into the main facility has been the order of the day, as well as a buying bender on disinfection equipment like ion guns, fog machines, and hypochloric acid disseminators. Relapses are the hardest According to Gomez, its not the in-house patients theyre worried about but rather those who are at the end of their treatment and about to go back to real life. Among this group are those who have pulled out of the 12-step program early, leaving their treatment unfinished these have proven the most vulnerable and suffered the most relapses. Those who decide not to be monitored in their last and final stages of reintegration with the consent of their families have definitely faltered. A common denominator in this group, for both substance or non-substance cases, is a failure to adjust to the new, unseen factors of the pandemic. Gambling and drug addicts discover how intense being lonely in quarantine is. Casinos and bars are closed, and the usual ways of scoring meth or other illegal substances have been restricted by the curfew hours, lack of public transport options, and simply a shortage in product because the transport supply chain is broken. Each abuser will move towards management at different speeds, through different obstacles, hence being open to what works for one person might not work for another because each brains infrastructure and development is unique a set of stimuli may be a big dopamine hit for somebody, yet that same amount may be nothing to the next person. Coupled with the fear of catching the virus, the pandemic can bring down an already damaged willpower and self-esteem. The pandemic is a force of its own and should not be taken lightly, said Gomez. It will continue to hit anybody recovering, much harder than it would a person free of the maladies of a mental and emotional diagnosis. At BoH, one of the special perks a patient earns when he completes the 12-step program is a Lifetime Halfway Privilege. This means you can return for a limited stay and a bed to sleep in at any of the facilities for free, no questions asked, as long as you are drug-free and theres an available bed. Had a fight with the wife? Go back for a stay. Want to avoid your old druggie friends? Be welcome at BoH. Gomez and Ty confess that many relapses have been avoided because a former patient opted to lie low and stay out of trouble by availing of their halfway house privilege. But since the pandemic, and for the protection of the current in-house patients, this privilege has been rescinded (with a few special exceptions), as the halfway facilities have been turned into quarantine housing for the BoH staff. The snake in the grass Relapses have been a reality for the early program pull-outs and a few re-integrationists whove finished their treatment. For the latter, its usually when they notice that they are simply jumping from one type of confinement to another, and they find that theres a scarcity of work and nothing to do. Gomez knows full well the pain a relapse brings, especially since hes had six of them the latest one back in 2012. Relapses really dont happen immediately or obviously but are slow, gradual, and unseen just like a snake in the grass gradually slithers through a field of daisies. But a relapse is the most painful thing. Stories of common reasons why the early BoH pullouts relapsed range from how they fell in love with the wrong person or their family refused to listen to how they needed support in fostering the best environment to prevent a backslide. But the most common one is when a patient mistakenly believes they are in control again chasing that elusive, ultimately false grail of the functional addict. Gomez referred to this myth as the Manageability Theory. Its akin to a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow being chased by hardcore addicts, like a magic balance struck between using substances while also being able to keep up with professional and social responsibilities. The effect of this fabulous, illusory state is that the drug use is effectively concealed, to a point that the user is perceived aus Functional or Normal, thereby rendering the addiction as no problem at all, said Gomez. This was the part that I couldnt believe and was hardest for me to grasp during my long years of using: that I alone would not be able to stop this addiction! Studies have proven that relapses are harder to stop because the disease has already implanted in the brain a thick neural pathway of habit. Combine that with inherited genetic predispositions (were your parents drug abusers or alcoholics?) that make some patients more vulnerable, and the recovery-and-relapse becomes a cycle that makes it almost impossible to resist alone, sans clinical help. Bridges of Hope patients are fairly shielded from the pandemic due to the controlled and highly sanitized environment of their facilities and in no small part because the residents are already in a quite benign quarantine of their own. Photo courtesy of BRIDGES OF HOPE/GIMO GOMEZ A process, not a cure all To combat this, Gomez and Ty strongly urge their in-house patients to finish their treatment programs but also, for those whove already transitioned out to the world and into the realities of the pandemic, to continue relying on their newfound support community. Their program staff have had to work doubly hard to train the participant-families to anticipate the triggers this pandemic has brought about and that of the new normal outside. As a result, plenty of their newly released rehab patients are doing quite well, through constant case check-ups leaning on what they call power of the group meaning counsellor supervised Viber, FB Messenger, and bi-monthly Zoom groups calls. Those with a developed plan, like the proverbial 13th step homework beyond their therapy, are the best armed. They also tend to have the correct and strong support system enabling their adjustment away from BoH. Those who feel their familys support, whove been educated on how the program works, are doing well because they see the beginning of a new life, said Gomez. They are our role models. With our open-arms approach many people look back on their time with us as something where they were able to stitch together a pattern of sustainable recovery. A place where they were given hope. To Gomez, the fact that there are newly released patients who have successfully hurdled the challenges of the pandemic and are currently managing quite well, or even better than non-rehabbed addicts, is a great sign that the community-based and compassionate system of BoH works well. He still cautions though, that addiction recovery isnt a one and done kind of deal even for him, who has since found that the practice of martial arts and collaborative activity with his children are great supplements to therapy. Nobody really plans to become an addict. We are forever in recovery, said Gomez. *** For inquiries, contact 0917 509 8826 for a consultation or write to a counsellor through their website. Correction: Each of Bridges of Hope facilities has around 20 personnel instead of 9 to 12 as first stated in the article. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 2) Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso on Wednesday urged national authorities to lift the policy requiring the use of face shields in public places. "Ang face shield ay dapat ipatigil nang i-require sa general population at gamitin na lamang sa ospital upang makabawas sa gastusin at intindihin ng taumbayan," he said. [Translation: The requirement for the general population to use face shields should be stopped, and these should just be used in hospitals to lessen the expenses and problems of the public.] "Tayo na lang yata sa buong mundo ang nag-rerequire ng face shield sa kalsada. Dapat pag-isipan uli ito... We should adjust," Moreno added. [Translation: We might be the only country in the world that requires the use of face shields in the streets. We need to rethink this.] The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases - the policy-making body in the government's pandemic response - made it mandatory for people to wear full face shields together with face masks in public places to "effectively lessen the transmission of COVID-19." Prior to this, face shields were only required when riding public transportation and in entering malls. The Department of Health is still recommending the use of face shields and face masks - even for Filipinos who have completed their COVID-19 shots - to further reduce risk of transmission. In a Facebook post, Infectious Diseases specialist Dr. Edsel Salvana reiterated that the decision to require the use of face shields is grounded on solid science. There is evidence from India that wearing a face shield on top of a face mask reduced transmission in community healthcare workers who were going house to house to check on COVID-19 suspects, explained Salvana, who is also a member of the Health Department's technical advisory group. He added that eye protection decreases risk of getting infected by 78%, and if coupled with physical distancing and masks can further reduce risk by more than 90%. Masks + Shield + Physical Distance + Good Ventilation is part of the "Swiss Cheese" model which states that multiple layers of protection serve to further decrease the risk when imperfect interventions are used together, Salvana said. The expert then emphasized that it is not yet time for the Philippines to relax minimum health standards despite plateauing cases, since this can easily increase again. This can only be considered once more people are vaccinated, he added. We just have to keep at it and we will soon regain our freedom. Further missteps will just prolong the pandemic, he said. Latest data showed the country's coronavirus tally has reached 1,240,716, of which 52,132 or 4.2% are active cases or people currently sick. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 2) The Philippines is "doing well" in terms of vaccinating its healthcare workers against COVID-19, but the same cannot be said when it comes to senior citizens and persons with comorbidities, a member of the Inter-Agency Task Force's sub-technical working group on data analytics said Wednesday. Dr. John Wong, who is also an epidemiologist, based his analysis on the current vaccination rates of priority sectors. He said 90% of the country's healthcare workers have been inoculated since the country's vaccination drive started on March 1. However, only 14% percent of senior citizens have gotten their COVID-19 shots, while only 8% of those with comorbidities have been vaccinated. "We are doing well with healthcare workers, not so good with seniors and persons with comorbidities," Wong told a town hall hosted by the Department of Health. He said the low vaccination coverage of A2 and A3 may be attributed to vaccine hesitancy, low vaccine supply, and access issues. Maximizing the impact of vaccines To boost the COVID-19 vaccination rates, Wong recommended an "easier" pre-registration. "Just do it by age," he said, adding those 50 years old must be inoculated first as they have the "highest risk" of dying due to the infectious disease. "Those 50 years and above make up only about 17% of the population, a very small percentage, but they make up 80% of the deaths," he added. Why use age to qualify vaccinees Wong explained that age is easier to verify than comorbidity or employment. He noted some people's comorbidities are undiagnosed. The Philippines will soon vaccinate frontline essential workers alongside the A1 to A3 groups. The Health Department earlier proposed that the older workers get their COVID-19 shot first over the younger ones. "We have recommended that if there will be some form of prioritization and maybe we can do it by stratifying by age group, [we can consider] prioritizing those who are more aged, like we start from 50 to 60, then 40 to 50 and down the line," Health Undersecretary and Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire told CNN Philippines' The Source on Monday. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 2) The Senate on Wednesday approved a bill establishing a tax regime that covers Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators, or POGOs. Senate bill 2232 was passed with a 17-3 vote on third and final reading. It immediately followed second reading approval since President Rodrigo Duterte has certified the measure as urgent. The bill states that all offshore gaming licensees, whether Philippine or foreign-based, must pay a 5% gaming tax on their gross gaming revenue or receipts from gaming operations. Data from the Bureau of Internal Revenue showed collection from POGOs last year amounted to 7.18 billion, which is around 11% higher than the 6.42 billion collected in 2019. Senator Kiko Pangilinan - one of the lawmakers who opposed the measure - said while there may be billions worth of revenue that can be collected under the proposed tax structure, the social costs of POGOs remain to be a problem. "Instead of allowing POGOs to thrive perhaps we ought to reallocate funds to other sources to support our pandemic relief," he said, explaining his vote. Senator Risa Hontiveros shared a similar sentiment, calling on the Senate to instead take a stronger stance against POGOs. "Gambling is not like any other business and it should not be treated like any other business," she argued. "This is because gambling does not create value, it only moves value around and erodes it." Senators Koko Pimentel and Joel Villanueva, who both voted in favor of the bill, said the existence of POGOs can be addressed in a separate measure. Villanueva emphasized he is also against "all forms of gambling" but noted that at least the measure will allow the government to get a hold of "unscrupulous" operators. "It's another step towards that direction where we have to make that decision as an institution as to whether or not we will continue to allow [Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation]...to continue operating as well," Villanueva said. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 2) The Senate Committee on Energy will conduct a probe into the rotational power outages that have affected thousands of homes in Luzon in the past few days. "I will heed to the recommendation of Sen. Koko Pimentel to conduct another in-depth, comprehensive investigation on this matter (power outages) as well as looking for long-term solutions," committee chairman Sherwin Gatchalian said during a Senate plenary session on Wednesday. However, he did not say when the inquiry will take place. Senator Pimentel earlier took the floor to recall a hearing of the Energy Committee in April where Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi was in attendance. During that hearing, Pimentel said the secretary gave assurances there was "no high risk" of power shortage in the summer. "From the hearing, I got the guarantee that there will be no power outages, and yet ito na naranasan na natin [we are experiencing it now] and then the statement is that by June 8, 2021 we can expect everything will be back to normal so how believable will this statement be now?" Pimentel said. Gatchalian reported that on Tuesday, 339,000 households, 90 barangays, and 16 towns and cities were affected by the blackouts. In Valenzuela City, where the senator resides, Gatchalian said there were two vaccination sites affected, forcing potential vaccinees to manually register for their appointment instead of the usual digital approach. This caused more delays, eventually prompting people to forego their vaccination due to the longer wait in the summer heat, Gatchalian added. Energy officials have said the power interruptions were due to thin supply and growing demand. They said the outages would continue only until Monday next week to allow maintenance work, but they added that backup is available for storage of COVID-19 vaccines. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) The agency providing manpower service in the country's main air hub is in talks with the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) over the state auditors' order to recover 54.36 million worth of hazard duty pay from contractual workers. This was according to a statement issued by LSERV Corporation to CNN Philippines on Thursday. The service contract provider for Ninoy Aquino International Airport, however, did not indicate if it would pursue to overturn the decision of the Commission on Audit. "We understand the sentiments of the affected personnel and we will do our best to come to an agreement that will be beneficial to all parties concerned," it said. About 2,000 employees are affected by the COA order, a copy of which was obtained by CNN Philippines. Based on the audit observation memorandum dated Jan. 28 and addressed to MIAA general manager Eddie Monreal, COA said the airport authority granted pandemic hazard pay amounting to 54.36 million to institutional contract service workers during the implementation of hard lockdown. This move, COA stressed, was "contrary" to the provisions released by the national government. COA said only "qualified government personnel" are covered by the hazard pay. "Institutional COS (contract of service) workers, like LSERV personnel, are not considered as government personnel as they are regarded as employees of LSERV Corporation," COA said in its memorandum. The disbursement of the 54.36 million in hazard pay "... resulted in increased operating expenses of the Authority and loss of government funds by the same amount." LSERV Corporation, in response, released an internal memorandum on May 24 informing its employees of the decision. The company said the COVID-19 hazard pay given during pay periods covering March 17 to Aug.18 last year would be recovered through "salary deduction". "Instead of demanding the outright return of the amount in full, a deduction of 1,500 shall be made from your salary every month," according to the letter received by the contractual workers. LSERV Corporation explained that it has asked for reconsideration from the COA, and even approached the Department of Budget and Management to also cover outsourced personnel for the hazard pay, but to no avail. CNN Philippines Correspondent Paolo Barcelon contributed to this report. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) President Rodrigo Duterte has nudged the global vaccine-sharing alliance to take action against the "glaring" imbalance in COVID-19 vaccine distribution. He made this call Wednesday before the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment One World Protected Summit, reiterating that more than 80% of global supply is going to developed countries. "This imbalance must be corrected or there will be no real and inclusive global recovery to speak of," he told the summit, according to a statement released by his office. The President also formalized the Philippines' plan to contribute $1 million (roughly P47 million) to COVAX, the global initiative co-led by the World Health Organization, the vaccine alliance Gavi, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to distribute coronavirus vaccines to lower-income economies. "It is our moral responsibility to help each other and face this crisis with greater solidarity and urgency," Duterte added. The Philippines has so far received over two million doses of AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines through COVAX. The virtual summit hosted by Japan and Gavi has raised nearly $2.4 billion from pledges of countries and private donors. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) The Energy chief apologized on Thursday for power outages in Luzon as supply fell short of demand. "I apologize for the last two days na nagkaroon ng [when] brownouts [happened]," Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said during a Palace briefing, adding that the grid was short by 2,017 megawatts even as the situation was compounded by the heat that raised consumer demand. The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) initially placed the Luzon grid on red alert Monday afternoon and announced longer red alert hours on Tuesday. A red alert means power supply is short of projected demand. Meanwhile, there were no power outages on Thursday. According to the NGCP power situation outlook, the Luzon grid's system capacity was 11,647 megawatts, a system peak of 10,516MW and operating margin of 1,1431MW. Cusi earlier faced criticism for supposedly prioritizing politics over addressing power issues in Luzon. He denied these, saying he is not neglecting his duty as Energy secretary and that he trusted his team to address the situation. Lack in new plants For Congressman Sergio Dagooc of the Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives Party-list, power supply problems are encountered on a yearly basis. "Hindi po bago sa Luzon ang taon-taon, tuwing summer ay may kakulangan kayo sa suplay," Dagooc told CNN Philippines' News.PH. "Simple lang po ang dahilan - supply and demand lumalaki ang demand kasi summer." [Translation: It's not new for Luzon to face supply shortage every summer. The reason is simple - supply and demand. Demand increases because it's summer.] Dagooc also pointed out the lack in new power plants in the country. "'Yung mga bago naman, mga bagong capacity, kinakain lang dahil sa increase in demand 'yung ilan, so in effect pag ganitong panahon gumagamit ng pampalamig either kulang o manipis yung reserve," he explained. [Translation: For those new plants with new capacity, the increase in demand affects them, so in effect, when the weather is like this and we use cooling equipment, it's either lacking or the reserve is thin.] The Kenyan shoe brand Backyard Shoez has responded following an uproar from customers over the poor quality of some of their shoes which are said to tear after a few days of use. In a statement, the Nairobi-based retailer of ladies footwear apologized to its clients and regretted the earlier handling of customer complaints. In an earlier statement following numerous complaints on social, Backyard Shoez seemingly blamed its clients for failing to take good care of the shoes after purchase. They had claimed some clients misuse, abuse, neglect, or expose the shoes to substances or environments that may be harmful hence resulting in the shoes becoming faulty. In a follow-up statement, Backyard Shoez also asked aggrieved customers to return them to their Westland branch between June 2 and June 5, 2021. Backyard Shoez has for the last ten years been devoted to giving every woman confidence by styling them for different occasions with our unique, classy, comfortable, and fashion-forward shoes. Over the last two days, this commitment has however been tested, questioned, and doubted through merited customer complaints that were otherwise mishandled. We highly regret this, the retailer said. As such we invite our customers with shoes that have a manufacturers defect purchased from any of our branches within the last six months to please bring them back to our Westlands branch between today June 2 and Saturday, June 5, 2021. Additionally, Backyard Shoez will offer a discount for clients that will return a shoe. For every shoe with manufacturers defect and a valid receipt we will unconditionally extend a 50 percent discount on your next purchase of any shoe of your choice from the Westlands branch, the shoe store said. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) Both the Health and the Interior departments are bucking Manila Mayor Isko Moreno's suggestion to do away with using face shields, saying it adds a layer of protection needed by the public given the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic. "Hindi pa pwedeng tanggalin ang [We can't remove the] face shield policy for now when our two-dose vaccination coverage is a little over 2% due to still inadequate vaccine supply," Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Thursday. He added there have also been studies that showed face shields together with masks and physical distancing have provided "greater than 95% protection." READ: DOH recommends keeping protocol on wearing of masks, face shields Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano also supported the continued use of face shields. "For me, it's not yet time na i-drop natin 'yung paggamit ng (to drop the use of) face shields, because we are still in a pandemic," Ano told CNN Philippines' News Night. "We still have a lot of active cases, at hindi pa talaga 'yan bumababa nang husto dito sa (and they have yet to go down here in) NCR Plus, and even other areas, tumataas (they are still rising)," he added. DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya echoed the sentiment. "Kung tatanungin kami sa DILG, hindi pa po siguro panahon para tanggalin ang face shield dahil hindi pa po tayo nakakalabas dito sa pandemya... Kung tatanggalin natin 'yan, dapat may kapalit," he said during the Laging Handa briefing. [Translation: If you were to ask the DILG, we would say it is not the time to remove face shields because we are not clear of the pandemic... If we take that out, there should be something to replace it.] Malaya also said he spoke with Moreno, who assured him it was just a suggestion. He added the Inter-Agency Task Force in charge of managing COVID-19 would be studying the mayor's suggestion. "We will be guided by science in all our decisions," Malaya said. On Wednesday, Moreno posted a message on his Facebook page saying, "Ang face shield ay dapat ipatigil nang i-require sa general population at gamitin na lamang sa ospital upang makabawas sa gastusin at intindihin ng taumbayan." [Translation: The general public should no longer be required to wear face shields and these should just be worn in hospitals so people will not have any additional expenses.] He added "we should adjust" as it seemed the Philippines was the only country in the world requiring face shields. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) The Senate on Thursday voted to reject the bicameral conference version of the bill that seeks to modernize or strengthen the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) over disagreements on a provision allowing firefighters to carry weapons. With a 11-8-3 vote, the measure will be sent back to the bicameral conference committee, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said during the plenary session. The chamber needed 12 affirmative votes to ratify the committee report. Sotto said the Senate will request the House of Representatives to form a new panel to review the measure. During the session, senators raised that a provision which seeks to arm firefighters during operations was added to the bicam version even though it was voted down during the Senate deliberations. Senate Minority Floor Leader Franklin Drilon recalled that 13 senators were against the provision when it was tackled in the upper chamber in March. "The mandate of the Senate contingent to the bicameral conference committee is to convince the other panel that our version should be adopted," said Drilon. "It is very dangerous if we allow our Senate contingent to go against the policy adopted by the Senate," he also said. Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, sponsor of the measure, insisted that the rejected provision of the Senate was different from the provision introduced by the bicam. The rejected provision in the Senate pushed for all BFP personnel to bear firearms as well as to perform "quasi-police functions," Dela Rosa pointed out, while the bicam proposal would allow arming only some 2,282 firefighters. Dela Rosa said the House panel proposed the provision and he accepted it "in the spirit of give and take." He also argued that certain circumstances warrant the need for firefighters to be armed. "Maraming instances na po...na during fire incidents inaagaw 'yung kanilang hose," explained Dela Rosa. "Minsan meron pang mga fireman sinasaksak dahil gusto ng mga tao unahin 'yung kanilang bahay na bombahan ng tubig." [Translation: There are many instances during fire incidents when people would grab their fire hose. Sometimes they get stabbed because people would want firefighters to prioritize hosing their homes with water]. [Translation: There are many instances during fire incidents when people would grab their fire hose. Sometimes they get stabbed because people would want firefighters to prioritize saving their houses]. Drilon said these reasons were already discussed during the Senate hearing. Senator Richard Gordon added that Dela Rosa could have consulted the Senate if he had faced a quandary in the discussion of the provision during the bicameral conference. Gordon also contended that the need to arm firefighters is a slap in the face of the police who should be available to respond to the fire bureau's need for protection. "It will show...that we are not in control of the peace and order situation of the country," said Gordon. Senator Pia Cayetano also said there was another provision in the bill that states the bureau can request assistance from the police or any government agency. The bill, also known as the proposed BFP modernization act, expands the powers and functions of the fire bureau. Under the measure, regional fire laboratories and research and testing facilities shall be established, among others. CNN Philippines Correspondent Eimor Santos and Digital Producer Janine Peralta contributed to this report. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) The World Bank has greenlit a $300 million (about 14.34 billion) loan for a new project enhancing the countrys preparedness against natural hazards. In a statement, the Washington-based lender said the fresh credit line shall fund the Philippines Seismic Risk Reduction and Resilience Project. Among the projects goals is to improve the Department of Public Works and Highways ability to systematically prepare for and respond to potential overlapping hazards such as typhoons, floods, volcanic eruptions and pandemics. It shall boost the agencys core capacities and capabilities to set up operations and coordinate resources in responding to other emergencies. The loan shall finance DPWHs essential equipment to upgrade its capability for communications and restoration of mobility and transport in Metro Manila after a major earthquake, added the World Bank. The project also intends to improve about 425 public structures in the capital region such as school buildings and health centers against earthquakes and other climate-related events. Enhancing the safety of its buildings and structures while boosting institutional response to disasters will help protect the lives and safety of more than 12 million residents, including the poor and most vulnerable, said Ndiame Diop, World Bank Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, adding that this will provide Manila much-needed economic resilience. The multilateral lender also noted that retrofitting vulnerable buildings can create close to four million labor-days throughout the metro, which will contribute to the construction sectors recovery as it faces immense wage losses amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 60% of the total land area of the Philippines, which is among the countries that lie in the Pacific Ring of Fire, is exposed to multiple hazards. (CNN) -- The Trump administration's Justice Department secretly seized months of phone records from four New York Times reporters as part of a leak investigation, the newspaper reported Wednesday. The Biden administration disclosed to the newspaper that the Trump administration's Justice Department had seized nearly four months of phone records in 2017 from reporters Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eric Lichtblau and Michael Schmidt. Officials had a court order to seize the group's email logs sans contents as well, but no records were obtained, according to the Times. The newspaper said the timing of the seized records and the reporters involved in the investigation suggest that the leak probe involved an April 22, 2017, Times report about former FBI Director James Comey's handling of different investigations during the 2016 election. "Seizing the phone records of journalists profoundly undermines press freedom," Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The Times, told the newspaper in a statement. "It threatens to silence the sources we depend on to provide the public with essential information about what the government is doing." News of the seized phone records marks just the latest disclosure about the Trump administration's heavy-handed tactics toward leak investigations involving journalists. The Justice Department informed CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr, in a May 13 letter, that prosecutors had obtained her phone and email records covering two months, from June 1, 2017, to July 31, 2017. The letter listed phone numbers for Starr's Pentagon extension, the CNN Pentagon booth and Starr's home and cell phones, as well as her work and personal email accounts. And three Washington Post reporters who covered the FBI's Russia investigation were told last month that last year the Justice Department had obtained their phone records from 2017. In 2018, the Justice Department disclosed it had also obtained 2017 phone and email communications from a reporter for BuzzFeed, Politico and The New York Times who had written stories about Russia. Justice Department spokesperson Anthony Coley told CNN in a statement that "today, the Department of Justice notified four journalists that it obtained their phone toll records and sought to obtain non-content email records from 2017 as part of a criminal investigation into the unauthorized disclosure of classified information. The records at issue were sought in 2020 under Department regulations that apply to records of members of the news media, and the journalists were neither subjects nor targets of the investigation. " He added that "members of the news media have now been notified in every instance" of leak investigations that took place in 2019 and 2020 involving reporters' records. President Joe Biden told CNN last month that he would not let his Department of Justice seize phone records or emails from reporters. Following a joint news conference with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in the White House East Room, Biden told CNN: "We should absolutely, positively -- it's wrong, it's simply, simply wrong," adding, "I will not let that happen." Under Justice Department regulations, the department can secretly obtain journalists' records through a court order, without the journalists knowing. The department laid out revised, slightly more stringent guidelines for issuing media subpoenas during the Obama administration in 2015, mandating that the attorney general had to authorize subpoenas when they related to the newsgathering activities of journalists. But the policy still provides the attorney general and other top department officials with wide latitude to seek communications from journalists -- and to keep the matter secret initially. "The level of secrecy is something we've been very focused on for years. From our perspective it impacts reporter source privilege and the protections for the reporter," Katie Townsend, legal director at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, previously told CNN. "These things are routinely filed under seal and kept under seal and maintained under seal indefinitely." In some cases, members of the media are notified before subpoenas are issued, giving the news organizations the ability to fight the subpoenas in court. But Justice Department policy also allows prosecutors to obtain journalists' communications without their knowledge through the courts -- if the attorney general signs off and the department determines the case falls under "extraordinary measures," such as harm to national security, and after all other reasonable attempts have been made to obtain the information elsewhere. This story was first published on CNN.com, "New York Times reports Trump administration secretly obtained its reporters' phone records" White applied for the program in February and heard that she was accepted in March. It's quite an extensive curriculum, she said. It's about 18 months, and it involves some online conferences, Zoom meetings, some in-person intensives and, of course, participating in the national ARSL convention. Whites first virtual meeting is in June with an in-person event being held in Utah in August. I'm really looking forward to meeting all of the other small librarians because I know when you get library and book people together that there's always kind of a common language, and being able to pick their brains and hear their ideas and find out what has worked there to see if I can try it here, she said. Specifically, White is hoping the experience allows her to gain insight into how to increase usage at the library and how to better engage the different cultures and populations in the Schuyler area. There are items in the facilitys Spanish language collection, she noted, but she said theres room for improvement. Kasik said that White being selected for the Leadership Institute is a nice honor and that the director works hard on outreach programs for youth and both adult and kids programming. Each weekday at 8 a.m., production lead, Taylor Finn, and team member, Lucas Tangney, start work in the Quince & Apple production kitchen to the sounds of an upbeat playlist and the aromas of apples, cherries and tea. On one recent morning, Tangney steeped bundles of jasmine pearl and moonlight white tea in four big stockpots while 27-pound batches of tart Montmorency cherries slowly thawed in large buckets. On a second quartet of burners, Finn wielded a metal paddle to break up cranberries covered in clumps of snowy sugar. Its sticky and sugary, but theres always great smells, Tangney says. Smuckers is mass-produced in a factory. This is definitely not. You can trace every jar of preserves to one guy or girl making it in a kitchen, right here. Compared to the restaurant kitchens where Finn and Tangney used to work, Quince & Apple is a pretty chill place (the days playlist included the 80s Enya jam Orinoco Flow). Finns movements were efficient as he assembled cheesecloth for aromatic bay leaves, but neither cook looked rushed. We actually see the whole process, Finn says. You come in, you make it, it cools down. We label it and ship it. Its very rewarding. The husband and wife team of Matt and Clare Stoner Fehsenfeld founded Quince & Apple in Madison, Wisconsin, in 2009. Their delicate, not-too-sweet preserves often include tea peach chamomile, tart cherry and white tea, figs and black tea and aromatic elements, like rose oil in raspberry preserves or fresh ginger in honey-scented pear preserves. Theyre designed to pair with cheese, crackers and cured meats. Since that spreadable start, the company has expanded into cocktail syrups (Fix), candies (Modern Candy Co.) and nuts (Treat). Pickled vegetables (Forward Provisions) are coming this summer. Quince & Apple now makes 800 to 1,000 jars of preserves and syrups a day, five days a week. Clare and I have very complementary skills, Matt says. I come from the restaurant background. I have to create Im always the one whos like, Lets come up with a new product. Clare is much more of a process person, an engineer. How are we going to get this so its repeatable? How are we going to make this safe and consistent? I think its so lucky we have that creative tension. The sweet life Quince & Apple began like many food start-ups do, as a side project during the Stoner Fehsenfelds off-hours. By 2008, Matt had graduated from the culinary program at Madison College and was working at Potters Crackers in the Madison Enterprise Center, a business incubator on the citys Near East Side. Clare, a musician, taught lessons and played in a band. The couple would make preserves late at night after work, sometimes leaving a pot of jam to set up while they ran home to grab dinner. Their first idea was to sell at farmers markets, but they quickly acknowledged the schedule didnt appeal to them. I was like, Wait, I dont want to get up at 5 oclock on Saturdays, Matt says. Instead, the Stoner Fehsenfelds started wholesale with fig and black tea preserves, shallot confit with red wine and painstaking orange marmalade with lemons. That marmalade is now Tagneys favorite thing to make its so fresh, he says, even though its very possible to burn it. It likes to stick to the bottom of the pot. Quince & Apples first account was with Fromagination, a cheese shop on Capitol Square in downtown Madison. Owner Ken Monteleone soon contracted with the young owners to make an exclusive cranberry relish for the shops turkey and Brie sandwich. For a year or two before he had this business, he had this dream of a preserves company, Monteleone says of Matt. We were the first customers to get delivery. Quince & Apple began as two people with two burners. The Stoner Fehsenfelds hosted demos, experimented with flavors and labeled every jar by hand. Matt recalls one early tasting at a local grocery store. A person came up to me and was like, Jam to pair with cheese, and its $9! This is a terrible idea, Matt says. I almost lost it. I had been in the kitchen for, like, 12 hours. I had orange under my fingernails. But I was polite, Matt says. He lowered his voice to a mock-tense whisper. I said, The reason its $9, is because I peeled and cut every single one of these oranges. Slowly, the couple built their product line. They made pear preserves with honey and ginger and a limited-edition red currant jam with Wisconsin currants. Erin Schneider and Rob McClure of Hilltop Community Farm in La Valle, Wisconsin, sold fruit to the Stoner Fehsenfelds for a decade. There were a few years we had beautiful pear runs, and they were totally willing to buy directly from us, says Schneider. Sometimes when you grow fruit organically, its beautiful in a non-uniform way. They were receptive to that. Schneider loves how the Quince & Apple team would experiment with Hilltops fruit, like aronia berries for cocktail syrups. Quince & Apple launched those in 2012 a tart cherry grenadine, rhubarb hops, lime and cucumber and a citrus syrup (now lime cordial). Thats the year the company won its first Good Food Award. A more recent simple syrup, tiki pineapple, won in 2020. A Growing Family As the company grew, the Stoner Fehsenfelds streamlined their production process. After five years, they realized there was no artisan way to put on a label. Theres so much trying to figure out, what are the things that need that human touch, finesse and artistry? Matt says. And what things are just going to give you carpal tunnel? The Stoner Fehsenfelds family matured along with the company. Their son Max was born in 2013, followed by Leo in 2016. In between, Quince & Apple moved to a larger space in a former Greyhound bus station, still on Madisons east side. In 2018, Quince & Apple purchased a Milwaukee-based artisan spiced nut company called Treat, adding spiced almonds, walnuts and pecans to their production line. A year later, they debuted a line of CBD candies, called Modern Candy Co. Quince & Apple now has 10 full-time employees. Preserves make up about half of the companys sales, with 25% from nuts, 15% from syrups and 10% from candy. Locally sourced pickles, introduced during the pandemic summer of 2020, could soon be a permanent addition to the lineup. We wanted to create a healthy and mindful place for us to work, and for our employees to work when we got big enough, Clare says. Thats our purpose, to create a good place for our employees and great food that people like. We are a small business and we have limited funds, but we try to do everything that we can to make it like really a good place to work. Scaling up In the early days of Quince & Apple, buying fruit could look almost illicit. Ive met farmers on the side of the road, Matt says. Like, Oh, Ill meet you at the intersection of County N and County JJ at 7:30 at night. Ive driven out to random produce auctions and bought strawberries from Amish farmers. Id have them transfer flats from their truck into the trunk of my car. Using local fruit for a year-round business is no simple task in the Upper Midwest. By necessity, the company has since scaled up from the very small orchards it started with. Yet the Stoner Fehsenfelds continue to prioritize Wisconsin fruit, like tart Montmorency cherries from Door County that end up in both tart cherry and white tea preserves and their excellent cherry grenadine. We probably buy 18,000 to 20,000 pounds of cherries, Matt says. It feels really good to support those farmers. Preservation has deep roots in the Midwest. Schneider at Hilltop Community Farms praises the Stoner Fehsenfelds commitment to experimenting and working with whats available. It takes a lot of coordination to work with small-scale farmers, she says. They were willing to roll with what the trees have to offer and what we could manage to pack for them. Working with natures bounty That dedication is set to scale up this summer. Quince & Apple are expanding operations again, this time within their current building. Theyve signed a lease on 1,200 square feet of kitchen space, which will allow them to ramp up a line of pickled vegetables they started as an experiment in 2020. In April, when all the restaurants were closed, we were talking to farmers, Matt says. A lot of people already had plants in the ground. In a quirk of FDA rules, Quince & Apple was already certified to make pickles. Legally thats what their artisan preserves are they dont have a high enough ratio of sugar to fruit to qualify as a jam. We thought, we have all the licensing, we have all the equipment, Matt says. Lets try and buy up as much local produce as we can and help people out. Similar to those early days, Matt and Quince & Apple director of operations Sarah Woolworth picked up the pickling project as a late-night endeavor. They would work until midnight to jar spicy carrot sticks, pickled turnips and pickled kohlrabi. They pickled cherry tomatoes, cauliflower, garlic scapes, ramps and onions. They made classic bread-and-butter pickles from local cucumbers. People liked them so much and they did so well that we are going to bring him back this season, Matt says. We grow, as a state, way more vegetables than fruit. So well be able to source a ton of that locally, which Im really excited about. Beyond pickles, Matt said there will be a renewed push behind Quince & Apples cocktail-ready simple syrups, rebranded Fix in 2019. Sales of those could climb as Wisconsins restaurants and bars steadily reopen. What Matt and Clare really want for the future is to be a better employer. This summer, they have plans to join a job-training program for formerly incarcerated workers. A lot of times in the food industry we focus on How does it taste? Matt says. And I think thats important, but having worked on the back end of things, we need a more holistic view. At Quince & Apple, We want to be intentional about how we do things, he adds. We can grow slow and steady, try to buy as much local produce as we can. We can create good jobs and enjoy our jobs. We have this business how can we use it to create not just good food, but social good? Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The bill, introduced in April by Sen. Bob Mensch, R-Montgomery, would commission the states independently elected auditor general Republican Timothy DeFoor to audit statistically significant samples from each county. A subsequent report would have to cover a couple dozen subjects, tailored to Republican gripes over the 2020 election, including reviewing how counties determined the eligibility of voters and ballots, used drop boxes to collect ballots, handled mail-in ballots received after polls closed and granted access to poll watchers. Theres an enormous amount of election-related bills pending for the month of June, and this is one of them, Argall said. Mastriano, perhaps referencing Groves dismissal, said in a Facebook video streamed Thursday that he might be satisfied with something less than a statewide audit. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Im a bit disconcerted that someone has come out on our side, not even leaving open the idea of an audit, Mastriano said. I dont know how we can get around it, but the people overwhelmingly want an audit. I think just a county or two would do. My preference would be a Democrat and a Republican county and let the chips fall where they may. The fact that the mainstream media has attempted to frame it as a conflict between Palestinians and Israel is simply one sign of the bigotry that is perhaps so internalized that not even journalists who think they are acting in good faith recognize it. Israel was not fighting against the Palestinians. Israel was defending itself against a terror group that has been funded as if it were a sovereign nation by other sovereign nations, including Iran and Russia. But that false moral equivalency is only part of the anti-Semitism. Many on the left argue that they cant be anti-Semitic because there are Jews in America, not to mention Israeli human rights organizations, that condemn Israels policies in the West Bank and Gaza. That is hopelessly naive. The people who are throwing rocks at Jews in New York, and tweeting out as a CNN contributor did that we need another Hitler, and driving through the streets with Palestinian flags waving while screaming about apartheid Israel are not interested in politics. They are interested in what Irans Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wanted: Removal of the cancerous tumor called Israel. "What place in the world can compare with China on construction? How long did it take our temporary hospitals to be built? asked Li Mengyuan, who leads pharmaceutical research at Western Securities, a financial firm. China built field hospitals at the beginning of the pandemic in just days. Sinovac has said it has doubled its production capacity to 2 billion doses a year, while Sinopharm has said it can make up to 3 billion doses a year. But Sinopharm has not disclosed recent numbers of how many doses it actually has made, and a spokesman for the company did not respond to a request for comment. Sinovac has produced 540 million doses this year as of late May, the company said on Friday. Government support has been crucial for vaccine developers every step of the way as it has in other countries but, as with everything, the scope and scale in China is different. Yang Xiaoming, chairman of Sinopharms China National Biotec Group, recounted to state media recently how the company initially needed to borrow lab space from a government research center while it was working on a vaccine. "We sent our samples over, there was no need to discuss money, we just did it, he said. Nobody wants to believe what they are seeing: the conversion of one of America's two major political parties into a cult of personality actively conspiring to overturn democratic rule in the United States. And doing so in broad daylight. Irish poet William Butler Yeats put it best in "The Second Coming," a poem written during the turmoil leading up to his country's civil war: "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." I don't guess I need to stipulate which is which. Given the magnitude of his 2020 defeat, there's little chance that Citizen Trump could come anywhere near an electoral majority in 2024 -- always assuming that he's still alive, minimally functional, and not in prison, that is. Purging the GOP of noncultists like Rep. Liz Cheney and Sen. Mitt Romney would appear likely to weaken, not strengthen, its appeal to the independent voters who decide American elections. With Citizen Trump's approval ratings stuck in the low 30s, nominating him can only lead to certain defeat. That's assuming that citizens do get to vote, and that their votes actually count, which is where the mischief starts. The newly wedded wife of the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth Nalem, says she is determined to spread the gospel in spite of alleged threats to her life. Following her wedding to the Holy Spirit last week, the 41-year-old mother of six was arrested on Monday and held for six hours before she was released with no charge. At the police station, officers and neighbors pleaded with her to return home but she refused, citing harassment by her husband, Joshua Nalem. I will not go with this man. I am married to the Holy Spirit. I dont want him. I was told to come back home. I was about to be killed by people but I ran away. I dont want any hindrance on my way. I want my rights as I continue with my new job, she told the Nation on Tuesday. Nalem nonetheless returned to her matrimonial home on Tuesday accompanied by her bridesmaid. She said the Holy Spirit instructed her to go back home because some people were blocking her path to Uganda. Read Elizabeth Nalem: Woman who Married Holy Spirit says, I have Left my Children in Gods Hands I was set to start preaching the word of God at Amudat District (Uganda) but I was asked to come back home and make peace before heading to the neighbouring country, she said. I had reached the Amudat area but I am back home. People wanted to kill me, but I will move on. No one will stop my new move, she added. West Pokot County Police Commandant Jackson Tumwet said church leaders intervened after the womans husband reported the matter to the police. The husband said he heard that his wife was heading to Uganda but she saw her loitering in Makutano town. She has a young child she must take care of, said Mr Tumwet. The police chief noted that the church has taken up the issue and is counseling the woman. Vanuatu turns the Corner LETS USE THIS AS A SPRINGBOARD FOR THE FUTURE New Zealand High Commissioner joins Govt officials and other partners to take first vaccine shot CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice confirmed on Tuesday that he is personally liable for $700 million in loans taken by his coal companies from a lender in the United Kingdom that went bankrupt. The Republican governor took shots at the bankrupt Greensill Capital U.K. and said it is a burden on our family beyond belief. The Wall Street Journal first reported Justices debt on Monday. Justices businesses face several other woes, including penalties totaling $3.2 million from the federal government and lawsuits over claims his companies failed to deliver coal. Greensill sold the loans to investment funds managed by Credit Suisse Group AG, which froze the funds in March and is in talks with Justices Bluestone Resources Inc. and other borrowers to get paid, the Journal reported. Today is a day to fly an American Flag, either in memory of or in honor of our nations military service members, said Post 128 Chaplain Doug Fargo. We give you thanks for all our buddies that we remember and honor here today. Some have laid down their lives, but all have sacrificed in the service of our country. You know, we go to war as a nation. You all elect officials and they make the decision to send young people overseas, Bell said. The generals, the colonels are usually behind the lines, but somewhere up front is somebody, in this case 20, 22 and 23 (years old), who we put in harms way for the benefit of us all. But, the harms are not visited evenly; by no means do we all suffer the same. So, its appropriate on Memorial Day to remember there are three families whose lives will never be the same and then all of these more from previous wars. Today, on Memorial Day, before the cookouts and the ballgames, I appreciate everyone here taking the time to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for us. Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi has said he will not join any political coalition unless he is the presidential flagbearer for 2022. Mudavadi said he has always supported other candidates for the top seat and that it was time for him to take over from President Uhuru Kenyatta in the next General Election. After my candidature in 2013 where I was position three, so many people accused me that I am not a team player and I am not supportive and I gave them a chance in 2017 but we are still in the opposition, Mudavadi said on Monday in Emuhaya sub county. He added: This time we are going to face off against each other squarely. I wont leave anything to chance. Mudavadi noted that for him to battle at the national level he needs regional support. I cant be telling people out there to vote for me. I want to be the president of this country and I dont have the command of the Western region, he said. Mudavadi urged those who are not in ANC within the region to join the party and strengthen it. This weeks Buzz Bits will begin with a limited-edition milkshake beer available at Sheetz thats only hanging around while supplies last. Project I Scream, Brew Scream is brewed in partnership with Goose Island Beer Company. It offers a balance of sweetness from Sheetz Bros. strawberry and banana puree and bite from hops. A four-pack of 16-ounce cans is $7.99. Learn more at sheetz.com/beerproject. At DunkinDunkin is getting ready for National Donut Day, which falls on Friday this year, by offering its new Lemonade Refreshers and Berry Powdered Donuts. The Lemonade Refreshers, which come in strawberry, peach and blueberry flavors, blend lemonade with flavored fruit concentrate and B vitamins. The new Dunkin lemonade also is available on its own. On Friday, in recognition of the national celebration of all things doughnut, guests can request a free classic doughnut with the purchase of any beverages while supplies last. At Duck DonutsDuck Donuts is observing National Donut Day by offering a free bare, cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar doughnut to everyone who comes by the shop on Friday. A man convicted of a brutal assault and attempted rape of a Charlottesville woman will serve 26 years behind bars. Mario Jarman Hodges, 48, who has no official address listed in court records, was arrested in August 2018 and charged with abduction with the intent to defile, attempted rape, malicious wounding and providing false identification to law enforcement following a vicious assault on the woman. According to evidence presented in earlier hearings, the woman was attacked by Hodges while walking home from work on Rose Hill Drive on Aug. 20, 2018. Hodges tackled the woman to the ground, choked her and told her he was going to rape her, according to evidence previously introduced by the commonwealth. The woman tried to fight back but was punched several times in the face before feigning unconsciousness, at which point Hodges picked her up by the throat and carried her to an alleyway. After Hodges slammed her head into an air conditioning unit, the woman again screamed for help, prompting a man who lived nearby to come outside and call the police. Hodges then ran away toward the Downtown Mall. He was soon located and arrested by city police and has remained behind bars since. During a question about institutional racism, McAuliffe said it was a topic impossible to address in the 30 allotted seconds, though he gave several examples from his policy platform specifically titled Lifting up Black Virginians, including improving access to capital and reducing education disparities. Fairfax, who spoke next, disagreed that the question required a lengthy answer. He then went on to address the fact that McAuliffe faces three Black opponents in the race - Carroll Foy and McClellan in addition to him - saying: When African Americans are shut out of opportunities repeatedly it sends a signal to people about what our system truly values and who truly has the opportunity to succeed in our society." McClellan used her answers to make the case that she has both the policy experience and fresh perspective to excite voters in November, and she told the audience she wants to restore Virginians' belief in the ability of government to solve problems. RICHMOND Sentara, one of Virginias largest hospital systems, announced Wednesday that it was ending its pursuit of a merger with North Carolina-based Cone Health. The two companies first announced their intention to consolidate in August, saying the merger could serve as a model for the rest of the nations health care systems. The move would have significantly expanded operations for Sentara, which currently operates 12 hospitals, including Martha Jefferson in Albemarle County, and dozens of affiliate medical centers in Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. Cone, which is based in Greensboro, has more than 150 locations, including five hospitals, three medical centers and six urgent care sites, according to its website. A Wednesday news release offered few details on the decision to call off the merger, which had been expected to close in mid 2021, according to a release issued last year. In a joint statement, both systems said they realized that each of our communities and key stakeholders require support and commitments from our respective organizations that are better served by remaining independent. India: Seafood exports slump by 10.88 percent amid sluggish global trade over COVID fears June 03,2021 | Source: The New Indian Express The sluggish international trade caused by rising COVID concerns has taken its toll on the Indian seafood export sector. The countrys seafood exports contracted by 10.88 percent in 2020-21 as the volume declined from 12,89,651 tonnes in 2019-20 to 11,49,341 tonnes this financial year. In 2019-20, India had exported 12,89,651 tonnes of seafood worth Rs 46,662.85 crore. The decline in terms of rupee value is 6.31 percent, while it is 10.81 percent in dollar value. The leading importers were the USA, China, and the European Union, while frozen shrimp retained its position as the major export item followed by frozen fish. The pandemic has drastically affected seafood exports during the first half of the year, but they revived well during the last quarter. The aquaculture sector performed better during this fiscal by contributing 67.99 percent of exported items in dollar terms and 46.45 percent in quantity, said Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) Chairman K S Srinivas. Frozen shrimp contributed 51.36 percent of the exports in quantity and 74.31 percent of the total dollar earnings. The USA remained the largest importer, accounting for 2,72,041 tonnes followed by China (1,01,846 tonne), European Union (70,133 tonnes), Japan (40,502 tonnes), South East Asia (38,389 tonnes), and the Middle East (29,108 tonnes). However, shrimp exports declined by 9.47 percent in dollar value and 9.50 percent in quantity. The overall shrimp export was 5,90,275 tonnes worth USD 4,426.19 million. The export of Vannamei (white leg) shrimp decreased from 5,12,204 tonne in 2019-20 to 4,92,271 tonne in 2020-21. Of the total Vannamei shrimp exports, 56.37 percent was exported to the USA, followed by China (15.13 percent), European Union (7.83 percent), South East Asia (5.76 percent), Japan (4.96 percent), and the Middle East (3.59 percent). Japan, the major market for Black Tiger shrimp, had a share of 39.68 percent in dollar terms, followed by the USA (26.03 percent), South East Asia (9.32 percent), EU (8.95%), the Middle East (6.04 percent) and China (3.76 percent). Frozen fish, with a share of 16.37 percent in quantity and 6.75 percent in dollar earnings, retained the second position in the exports basket though its shipments plummeted by 15.76 percent in quantity and 21.67 percent in dollar terms. Frozen squid and frozen cuttlefish exports declined in volume by 30.19 percent and 16.38 percent, respectively. However, the export of dried fish showed an increase of 1.47 percent and 17 percent in quantity and rupee value, respectively. Shipments of chilled and live fish, which were negatively affected due to the reduced air cargo connectivity, fell by 16.89 percent and 39.91 percent in volume, respectively. The share of capture fisheries reduced from 56.03 percent to 53.55 percent in quantity. However, tilapia and ornamental fish performed well with 55.83 percent and 66.55 percent increase in quantity and an uptick of 38.07 percent and 14.63 percent in dollar earnings, respectively. Tuna showed a 14.6 percent increase in quantity, but its dollar earnings fell 7.39 percent. Crab and scampi exports reduced both in quantity and value. Several factors, including the pandemic impact, have negatively impacted seafood exports, said Srinivas. On the production side, there were reduced fish landings due to fewer fishing days. Slow logistics movements and market uncertainties added to the crisis. Scarcity of workers in fishing and processing plants, paucity of containers at seaports, increased air freight charges and limited flight availability affected exports, especially of high-value chilled and live products, he said. newindianexpress.com 2021 Kerala: Govt imposes 52-day trawling ban June 03,2021 | Source: ANI News The Kerala Cabinet on Wednesday decided to impose a 52-day trawling ban on Kerala's coasts from June 9 to July 31. The period of the ban was extended at the request of fisherfolk to conserve the marine fish resources."As a measure to conserve marine fish resources, the Cabinet has decided to impose a trawling ban on Kerala's coasts for 52 days, from midnight of June 9 to July 31. The ban has been raised from the usual 45 days considering the demand raised by traditional fisherfolk," said the Kerala Chief Minister's Office.The ban on bottom trawling is intended to enhance marine fish stocks and improve their habitat. The growing U.S. stockpile of COVID-19 vaccines is seen not only as a testament to American ingenuity, but also its global privilege. The long-awaited vaccine sharing plan comes as demand for shots in the U.S. has dropped significantly as more than 63% of adults have received at least one dose, and as global inequities in supply have become more glaring. Scores of countries have requested doses from the United States, but to date only Mexico and Canada have received a combined 4.5 million doses. The U.S. also has announced plans to share enough shots with South Korea to vaccinate its 550,000 troops who serve alongside American service members on the peninsula. Biden has committed to providing other nations with all 60 million domestically produced doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. That vaccine has yet to be authorized for use in the U.S. but is widely approved around the world. The U.S.-produced doses will be available to ship as soon as they clear a safety review by the Food and Drug Administration. The president also has promised to share 20 million doses from existing production of Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccine stocks. Even more doses are expected to be made available to share in the months ahead. Engineers have already installed steel plates on each side of the fractured beam. The second step of the project, which includes removing and replacing the damaged piece of the beam, is ongoing. Truck drivers have endured delays on the I-55 bridge, or they have been forced to use two other bridges that cross the river north and south of Memphis. The next nearest crossings are about 60 miles (96 kilometers) to the south near Lula, Mississippi, and 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the north near Dyersburg, Tennessee. Attending the meeting with Buttigieg at FedEx were U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Democrat. They heard from members of the trucking industry about problems caused by the shutdown. The bridge closure has made trips longer and more expensive for truckers seeking to get across the river on the three open regional bridges. Trucking companies have changed work times for drivers, while truckers are adjusting their travel routes, sometimes on the fly. In addition, food warehouses are having trouble servicing restaurants in eastern Arkansas as supplies get delayed, said Jason Higginbotham, chief financial officer of Ozark Motor Lines. Higginbotham said his company was having trouble receiving timely diesel fuel deliveries. The recent Gazette-Times article Oregons air quality worsens (May 21) failed to mention one factor contributing to a worsening of air quality in Corvallis: backyard burning. Although its effects are nothing compared to the horrible wildfires of last summer, the growing popularity of backyard fire pits has had a noticeable impact on air quality in the Willamette Valley over the last decade or so. Walk around in your neighborhood on almost any beautiful spring or summer evening and what youll smell wont be clean, fresh air; it will be the wood smoke of backyard campfires. These home campfires have nowhere near the widespread impact of wildfires, but they can have strongly localized effects on air quality, as their smoke is blown into neighbors houses. Just as with the air pollution caused by wildfires, this smoke is unhealthful for everyone, especially those with asthma or other conditions exacerbated by pollution. People downwind from a fire have little choice but to close their windows and, if theyre privileged enough to have it, turn on their A/C. They are denied the fresh air of summer, just as we all were during last years wildfires. AMBER GAUDET can be reached at 940-566-6889 and via Twitter at @amb_balam. JUAN BETANCOURT can be reached via Twitter at @jbetancourt_15. Acting Ministry of Health Director-General Dr Patrick Amoth is the new Chairperson of the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board. Dr Amoths predecessor, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, made the announcement on Wednesday during the 149th session of the WHO Executive board. Dr Harsh Vardhan said the decision was reached after no objection was made during his nomination to the post. Amoth was appointed Chairperson of the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board for a period of one year. Accepting his new role, Dr Amoth thanked the entire WHO Membership for the faith and trust they have demonstrated in electing Kenya to serve as Chairperson of the Executive Board. I wish to convey our deep appreciation and gratitude to the entire WHO Membership for the faith and trust they have demonstrated in electing Kenya to serve as Chairperson of the Executive Board Amoth said. This is not an honour that the Republic of Kenya takes lightly and I commit, on behalf of the Government of Kenya, to undertake the duties and responsibilities entrusted to this office with utmost commitment and humility, he added. The Chair-elect said he hopes that the Member States can purpose to spare no effort in striving to end the ongoing pandemic and secure a healthier and sustainable future. We must endeavour to utilize all the available tools at our disposal and remain steadfast in our fidelity to the basic founding principles of our great organization towards the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health, he concluded. The Executive Board consists of 34 members who are entitled to elect the chairperson. In May last year, Dr. Amoth was elected Vice President of the Executive Board of the WHO for a 2-year term. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Connectivity, rather than established customer relationships, is the key to the future growth of financial services and inclusivity in emerging markets. Speaking at the Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit in Shanghai this week, Jason Cao, President of Global Financial Services Business Unit, Huawei Enterprise Business Group, outlined the companys future strategy for the financial services sector. He believes financial institutions such as banks and insurance providers need to evolve into digital ecosystem based enterprises in order to meet the future needs of small and medium size enterprises and unlock the next wave of new customers in emerging markets. Cao unveiled three strategic initiatives for financial services digital transformation: embrace cloud native technology and build optimal cloud-based infrastructure with agile platforms to enable future technology innovation and drive integration of data and intelligence; increase digitalisation through technology upgrades and accelerate trusted data transfer to drive digital inclusion and increase sector interconnection; aggregate ecosystem partners to build a cross-industry ecosystem and enable a greater range of scenario specific financial services. Fifteen new joint solutions with financial services companies, the majority in China, were announced during the two day summit, demonstrating the progress being made. Cao believes that demand for inclusive financial services in emerging markets is huge and that financial inclusion is a much broader concept than people realise. When we talk about financial inclusion we think about reaching the unbanked population, but the fact is that, in any given region at a certain stage some peoples financial needs are met but not all of the needs are met. So the broad trend is that we must provide more and better financial services to people. Financial services development is uneven across different regions and peoples needs also differ depending on the stage of development of the market. According to Cao, many small and micro businesses still have significant unmet needs which cannot be met simply by giving them access to mobile phones. We need to look into the business scenarios, gather data related to their scenarios and leverage a range of different technologies in order to satisfy their demands, so that banks and financial institutions can better serve them. Asset financing is vital for the development of improved financial services in emerging markets. Small enterprises can use goods as mortgage collateral to get loans from banks. At present this is very difficult as the banks cant be sure that the goods will still be there the next day and have no cost effective ways to verify the quality and value of the assets being offered over time. A good example is the Chinese market where there are about 70 Trillion Yuan of goods assets, but only 5 Trillion Yuan is currently used as mortgage collateral. This means huge numbers of businesses have inventory and need capital from banks, but are not able to get it because the banks have no way to make the asset valuations and monitor how this changes over time. Huawei is working on projects to solve this problem. Huawei was one of the pioneers in the use of mobile technology for financial inclusion, having worked on M-Pesa since 2012. The initial goal of M-Pesa was simply to serve consumers with basic banking and cash services, in the belief that the business would gradually increase into the SME sector as it accumulated experience in serving businesses with financial solutions. As the market for financial services has grown in Africa it has become clear that a single mobile banking app is no longer able to meet the multiple needs of all consumers. Huawei is therefore developing more advanced "super-banking" apps to enable businesses and consumers to take advantage of the most advanced financial services business models. It is wrong to think of banks and mobile operators as rivals in the delivery of financial inclusion. Telecom operators have an advantage in connectivity because they have their networks and can reach customers. Banks, however, are also actively participating in financial inclusion. Banks can easily connect with customers. As Cao says: Right now we are seeing that connectivity matters more than ownership. Whoever reaches the most customers wins. Banks do not have telecom networks, but they still also reach out to customers. To illustrate this Cao uses the example of diners at a restaurant. Telecom operators cannot deploy sites in every restaurant but banks can take advantage of the merchant networks they have. Every customer in a restaurant needs to pay their bill so that can be a touch point for customers. Right now financial institutions are coming up with different business models to better connect with customers. Following yesterdays news that CG NET will deploy a new fibre-to-the-home network across the Kathmandu Valley, Nokia has confirmed that it is the sole supplier for the system. The Finnish vendor will deploy its Gigabit Passive Optical Networking (GPON) solution across an area of 5000 square kilometres, allowing CG NET to cost-effectively scale its operations in line with the growing demand for a high-speed broadband network due to increased consumption of video, OTT content, and online education. Nokia's solution will enable CG NET to offer the fastest broadband speeds in the market, making it a competitive player for IPTV, gaming, remote work and remote education. In addition, it will allow for efficient future upgrades to next-generation technologies and Software-Defined Access networks, leveraging the same access platform. Nirvana Chaudhary, Managing Director,CG NET, said: There is a growing demand for high-speed, quality broadband as people are using the internet for every aspect of their lives. Nepal's broadband market is increasingly competitive. CG NET has all the potential and ambition to become a digitally innovative, responsible telecom group. Vinish Bawa, Head of Emerging Business at Nokia India, said: Fibre broadband is being deployed in almost every country. With more than 1,000 broadband projects worldwide, Nokia has the experience and expertise to support operators in diverse markets in addressing their unique challenges. Perus Programa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Pronatel), has awarded Gilat Satellite Networks, a leader in satellite networking technology, solutions and services, a $13 million contract for the delivery of internet services to hundreds of sites in Peru. Gilat is to supply public free Wi-Fi services over a two-year period to the regions of Ayacucho, Apurimac, Huancavelica and Cusco, with a potential for significant extension and expansion to thousands of additional sites. Theis initiative is linked with issues relating to Covid-19. Gilat says it is engaged in support of the Peruvian government to enable education over the internet, which it says is a particularly important mission during the ongoing pandemic. The government is supplying thousands of tablets to students for the purpose of accessing educational material. Gilat is installing hotspots, which will include a local server with digital education material, in hundreds of city squares for the benefit of students. Gilat is providing connectivity services, the wireless access solution and infrastructure for the Wi-Fi internet coverage. This service in the first four regions is also, according to Pronatel, part of its larger initiative to provide Regional Broadband Projects. Pronatels aim is to promote access and use of essential public telecommunications services in ways that will contribute to the reduction of the digital divide. The agreement signed with Gilat Peru will enable more Peruvians to connect for free to high-speed internet through their own devices within the coverage areas of the main squares, said Carlos Lezameta, Pronatels chief executive. Indian telecom operator Reliance Jio and US-based chipmaker Qualcomm Technologies have collaborated for local manufacturing of critical equipment to catalyze the 5G ecosystem in India. "Qualcomm and Jio successfully tested 5G solutions in India, achieving the 1 Gbps milestone on Jio 5G solution," said Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani in its annual report. The annual report noted that Jio and Qualcomm, along with JPL's wholly-owned subsidiary Radisys Corporation, have developed an open and interoperable interface-compliant architecture-based 5G solution with a virtualised RAN (vRAN), which will accelerate the development and rollout of indigenous 5G network infrastructure and services in India. Both companies had previously partnered with each other in order to develop an open and interoperable interface compliant architecture-based 5G solutions complete with a virtualized RAN. "The 5G RAN Platform has crossed the 1 Gbps milestone on the Jio 5G core network and 5G smartphones," the report said, adding that the feat not only underlines Jio's 5G credentials but also signifies the entry of Jio and India into the gigabit 5G NR product portfolio. Jio Platforms has mentioned that it is collaborating with Qualcomm to enable localisation of 5G equipment manufacturing in the country, according to local media reports. According to a report by PTI, India is on the forefront of the worldwide digital revolution, stated the annual report, including that Jio is accelerating the rollout of digital platforms and indigenously developed next generation 5G stack, making it affordable and available everywhere. RILs annual report also revealed that Jio is currently planning radio frequency capacity and coverage for 5G networks based on 4G data traffic profile. The telco is also collaborating with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) on standardising 5G device configurations by collaborating ahead of its commercial launch in the country. According to various news agencies, to date, Jio has been granted 371 patents across multiple jurisdictions. In FY 2020-21 alone, the company filed for 38 patents and was granted 40. Among the key technology areas covered by the patents are Quantum Blockchain Network Technology, Deep Learning Applications in Health and Agriculture, and AI Industrial IoT Automation. Am I the only one who has fix-it projects fail but only if I button everything up prior to testing? As an example, when I was a computer technician I would frequently open up computers to replace parts for newer parts or sometimes to replace a broken part. Saumu Mbuvi says her ex-fiance, Lamu Senator Anwar Loitiptip, was a major trigger for her bipolar disorder. Opening up in an interview with vlogger Sharon Mwangi, the daughter of former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko said the lawmaker would ridicule her when she had manic episodes. In my past relationship, any time I would break down, the person would call me crazy and that Im mad, and those things would really hurt me. This is something I never wished for. I have learned to manage and live with it. It has not stopped me from being my best, she said. Saumu further acknowledged that her choice in partners made her condition worse. For me, relationships have not been working out because of the type of partners I have been choosing. I have been going for narcissists who have been dragging me down. They are the worst people to deal with if you have bipolar, she explained. I would wind up in hospital every two months. I was having hypomania episodes. I was not okay and this person would drag me down. When she had hypomania, Saumu said she could not sleep for four days. For me when I break down, I start reading the Bible like the whole day. I get super spiritual. The mother of two also revealed she was diagnosed with bipolar eight years ago. I had a breakdown and I had to be taken to hospital, and that is when I was diagnosed. That was eight years ago, she disclosed. I was completely sick, I guess I had a trigger. I did not know I had bipolar for a long time. The minute I had a trigger, that completely broke me down. I would be rushed to the hospital. That is when I was diagnosed. On how she is managing the diagnosis, Saumu said: I did a self-discovery journey and I went to therapy. I cannot use certain drugs like weed. Also, I had to set boundaries against people who stress me. I cut off people and relationships. Now Im at a good place. Under the watch of members of the Alabama National Guard, marchers first stopped about 7 miles east of Selma at land owned by David Hall, a Black farmer who risked harassment from white neighbors upset about the march. A photo of marchers showed them gathered around a fire built in an old metal drum for warmth, and Hall's granddaughter Davine Hall said visitors still stop by. Sometimes we come outside and there's a whole yard of bike riders, people who stopped by and want a tour," said Hall, who splits time between the family land and California. Sometimes they actually ask if they can spend the night." The next rainy night they stayed on the property of Rosie Steele, followed by a stay on land owned by Robert Gardner, where Tuskegee University students supplied dinner and marchers slept on donated swimming pool air mattresses, many of which deflated overnight. Gardner's daughter, Cheryl Gardner Davis, was 4 at the time and still remembers the crowds and noise. A white neighbor threatened her father for welcoming the marchers, she said, and for years the family kept quiet about the experience. Businessman seeks to raise 7 pct of Vietnams GDP as capital Bitexco Financial Tower in Ho Chi Minh City where Auto Investment Group is set to be located. Photo by Shutterstock/Nguyen Quang Ngoc Tonkin. A businessman has registered to form a tech company with a VND500-trillion ($21.6 billion) charter capital, nearly 7 percent of Vietnams GDP. The Auto Investment Groups registered capital exceeds the market cap of Vietnams biggest companies like Vingroup, Vietcombank and Hoa Phat Group. The figure is 2.6 times higher than the net worth of the richest man in Vietnam, Vingroup chairman Pham Nhat Vuong, which is estimated currently at $8.1 billion. Nguyen Vu Quoc Anh, 35, has registered himself as the biggest shareholder with a 99.996 percent stake in the company. He is also its CEO. Quoc Anh told VnExpress that he has been prudent in registering to raise such an unprecedented sum. He said he planned to work with Vietcombank, Techcombank, OceanBank and real estate companies like Novaland and FLC to mobilize funds. "I used to work for big companies like Central Group, Vingroup, SCI Group and K-Group and so I know many people. I dont have funding issues," he asserted. He also mentioned the possibility of raising money from foreign investors. The Auto Investment Group will focus on providing digital transformation services for businesses and investing in startups. The company is located at the Bitexco Financial Tower in HCMCs District 1 and has 20 employees working from home due to social distancing orders. Its website says it has nearly 1.5 million customers. It is legally required to complete mobilizing capital within 90 days starting May 20. Last year, three people in Hanoi registered a company, USC Interco, with an unusually high charter capital of VND144 trillion ($6.26 billion). But one of the shareholders later said that the other two had made a mistake when registering because they were drunk. Medics collect samples of workers at Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone in HCMC's District 7 on June 3, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/An Phuong. Large-scale coronavirus testing is being conducted among more than 320,000 workers across all export processing zones, industrial parks and high-tech zones in Ho Chi Minh City. Health authorities on Wednesday collected samples of more than 30,000 workers at 22 companies in Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone of District 7, one day after 45,000 workers at Saigon Hi-tech Park had their samples taken for testing, the HCMC Export Processing Zone and Industrial Park Authority (HEPZA) said Thursday. Mass testing has been rolled out after the city in the past five days detected three Covid-19 cases at three industrial parks of Tan Binh in Tan Binh District, Tay Bac in Cu Chi District and Vinh Loc in Hoc Mon District aside from four other cases at a company in Quang Trung Software Park of District 12. As industrial complexes usually gather a large number of workers in one place, the city deemed them Covid-19 threats. The city is home to 17 export processing zones and industrial parks with 280,000 workers in total, and one hi-tech park with 45,000 workers. All will be tested, starting with factories having more than 500 employees. More than 3,000 foreign experts working for 1,500 companies at these parks and zones will also be screened. "HCMC has 1.6 million workers and without proper measures to control the pandemic, there could be a crisis," Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long warned city officials at a meeting Tuesday. HCMC has recorded 277 Covid-19 cases so far in the fourth wave that broke out in Vietnam in late April. Its recent cluster, which emerged last Wednesday at a Christian congregation based in Go Vap District, has been responsible for at least 248 cases in the city as of Thursday morning. Starting well before dawn and returning home well after dark is a daily experience for tens of thousands of factory workers in HCMC and Dong Nai. These are Mekong Delta residents who have to travel more than 100 km to and fro every day to get to work and return home, and are more afraid of losing their jobs than the pandemic. When her alarm bell rings at 4 a.m., Huynh Truc My Kha, a 41-year-old woman in Long An Province's Tan Tru District, gets up and prepares to go to work. Her place of work the Pouyen Vietnam Co. Ltd., is 70 km away. After packing a bowl of leftover rice and some fried snakehead fish to have as breakfast at the company, she puts on a face mask and walks for some time to get to where she will be picked up by the company bus. This has been a daily routine for 13 of the 20 years that she has worked for the Taiwanese shoemaker. Huynh Truc My Kha at the canteen of Pouyuen Vietnam Co., Ltd., Tan Tao Industrial Park in Binh Tan District, HCMC. Photo by VnExpress/Le Tuyet. "When I first submitted my application, I thought I will only work here for a few years to earn some money to help my parents raise my two younger siblings. Who knew I would be around until now," Kha said, adding that she used to live in a boarding house near the factory earlier. After six years of working for the company, Kha married a fellow worker and moved to Tan Tru District in Long An. In 2007, this route did not have a shuttle bus so every day, the couple took turns driving each other to work. About a year later, when the company started a shuttle bus service to pick up and drop workers, the couple decided to park their motorbike by the pick-up spot on Highway 1. But four years ago, her husband passed away after a stroke. Since the daily commute is long, she considered quitting her job many times. But she has two young children and her parents-in-law in their 70s who depend on her. The five-members of her family have no other source of income than her monthly salary of VND12 million ($521.43). "If this outbreak forces our company to stop offering the shuttle bus service, a few other female workers and I will travel in groups and take turns driving. I am afraid of losing my job even more than the ongoing outbreak or the long commute." Kha also said that there are days she has to drive to the company by herself since "I want to sleep so badly that I dont hear the alarm some mornings and miss the bus." Despite everything, Kha considers herself lucky, because her parents-in-law cook dinner and take care of her children, taking them to the school and back. Many women on the same bus, living in Dong Thap and Ben Tre provinces, have to commute more than 100 km every day to get to work. They get up at 3 a.m. and return home at 9-10 p.m., getting less than four hours of sleep at night. Employees of Pouyuen Vietnam Co. Ltd get into the company's shuttle bus, April 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa. The long haul Living more than 150 km away from Kha's house, Ngo Thi Hoai My, a 31-year-old employee of Pou Sung Vietnam Co., Ltd, another footwear firm in Dong Nai Province bordering HCMC, has been using the shuttle bus service for 10 years. Every day, the mother of three leaves the house at 4 a.m., gets home at 8 p.m. and rushes to cook and clean. On the days she has to work overtime and gets home very late, she does not even get the time to ask her children about their day and their studies. My's house in Dong Nai's La Nga Commune, Dinh Quan District, is just a little more than 50 km from the company, but every day it takes nearly six hours to go to and from work because of traffic jams. More than a decade ago, with nothing to do in the countryside, the young mother sent her one-year-old daughter to her grandparents and followed other women in the village to Dong Nai's Trang Bom District to apply for a job. The starting salary for female workers was VND1 million ($43.45) per month. After 11 years, her salary has increased ten-fold. My and Kha are among tens of thousands of workers who travel hundreds of kilometers daily to get to work. Le Nhat Truong, chairman of the labor union at Pou Sung Vietnam, said that 15 years ago, the company had set up a factory in the Bau Xeo industrial zone in Trang Bom, hiring several dozen thousands of people. The company had to hire people living far away from the company to get enough workers. So the human resources department of Pou Sung went out to recruit and took the bus along. They invited the workers to sit and test drove a few laps. Because many people in remote areas, especially ethnic minorities, have never left the village, they would only be willing to go to work if there was a shuttle bus they can take to return to their families in the evening. Initially, there were a dozen shuttle buses or so running on short routes in the province. Now the company has 300 vehicles that transport around 10,000 workers to the factory. Female workers riding the shuttle bus of Pou Sung Vietnam Co., Ltd. Photo by VnExpress/An Phuong. Truong said many women opt for shuttle buses operated by companies regardless of the long distance, instead of staying closer to the factory, because they can see their family members and take care of them every day. Commuting is tough, but in return, they do not have to pay for rent, relocate and their children don't have to change their schools. Taiwanese shoemaker Pouyuen Vietnam Co. Ltd. has been running its shuttle bus services for the last 25 years. Saigon's largest employer, which sometimes has up to 90,000 employees, has always preferred to recruit workers living far from the company since it was founded. In 1997, it had just one bus coming from Long An Province's Duc Hoa District. Today, it has more than 400 buses serving 12,000 workers from several provinces including Long An, Ben Tre, Dong Thap, Tien Giang and Tay Ninh. Pham Van Hien, vice chairman of the Union of Export Processing and Industrial Zones in HCMC, said beside Pouyuen, several other companies pick up workers from provinces of Long An, Binh Duong and Dong Nai to work in HCMC. Previously, getting jobs in their hometowns was difficult because there were not a lot of industrial zones. So many people were willing to travel long distances. Industrial zones have mushroomed since and it is easier to get jobs closer home. However, many experienced workers are still willing to travel a long way to their factories since their seniority helps them earn more. Colonel General Nguyen Tan Cuong takes over as Vietnam's Chief of the General Staff of the army on June 3, 2021. Photo by Vietnam News Agency. Colonel General Nguyen Tan Cuong was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnamese People's Army by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Thursday. Cuong, 55, has been a commander for two army corps from 2011 to 2018. In November 2018, he was appointed Deputy Chief of General Staff of the army, and from December 2019, he has worked as the Deputy Minister of National Defense. Phuc requested Cuong to make efforts so that the Ministry of National Defense and the army contribute to the Party and the state, as well as ensuring that the army is always ready for battle and accomplishes its missions successfully. Earlier, on April 8, Cuongs predecessor, Colonel General Phan Van Giang, was appointed by the National Assembly as the new Minister of National Defense. Vietnam's defense spending was 2.36 percent of GDP or approximately $5.8 billion in 2018, an increase from 2.23 percent of GDP in 2010, according to the defense ministry's White Paper issued in 2019. Authorities in northern Hai Phong City and Quang Ninh Province have proposed halting flights to and from Ho Chi Minh City as Covid-19 threats soar. In a proposal sent to the Ministry of Transport, Nguyen Thi Hanh, vice chairwoman of Quang Ninh, home to world famous Ha Long Bay, asked to suspend all flights from HCMC to Van Don International Airport and vice versa until the Covid situation in the southerm metropolis is put under control. The northern port city of Hai Phong, home to industrial parks and foreign tech giants, also proposed the suspension of all flights from Cat Bi Airport to Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCMC and vice versa. The proposals came as Vietnam's largest city has been grappling with a surge in community transmissions over the past week, mainly linked to the cluster at Revival Ekklesia Mission, a self-described Christian congregation. Quang Ninh and Hai Phong currently require all those arriving from HCMC to be sent to centralized quarantine facilities for 21 days and tested for Covid-19. Aviation authorities limited domestic flights to and from Tan Son Nhat, the country's largest airport, for two weeks starting Tuesday as Covid-19 infections rise alarmingly in the southern metropolis. Currently, there are four daily return flights allowed to operate on the Hai Phong-HCMC route while only two flights are permitted a week on the HCMC-Van Don route. The city of 13 million people entered two weeks of social distancing starting Monday. So far, it has recorded 277 infections during the fourth wave, with around 260 of them linked to the religious mission. ELKOGirls Scouts can earn a mining badge at an upcoming event co-hosted by the Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada and the Nevada Mining Association on June 12 in Elko and online. Mining is a very important industry in the state of Nevada on many other levels, and we want to make our girls aware of how the mining industry impacts their lives and the state of Nevada, as well as the career opportunities available in the mining industry, specifically those careers that are STEM related, said Courtney Mann, marketing and communications manager for the Girls Scouts of Sierra Nevada. The first-of-its-kind event will consist of virtual and in-person events and activities. The virtual portion of the day features a Meet the Miners panel during which attendees will hear from women working in mining and ask them questions. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} In-person activities will be held at the Elko Scout House. Girls K-12 will explore through a variety of fun, hands-on, interactive activities the importance of mining in everyday life, the wide variety of STEM careers available in mining, and social and environmental topics surrounding the industry. Florida Sen. Rick Scott, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he had not discussed the August conspiracy with Trump in their recent conversations. Joe Biden is the duly elected president of the United States. We follow the Constitution in this country, he said. Joe Biden is the president of the United States. We went through the electoral votes, we went through that whole process, and Joe Biden is the president. As Trump advances such baseless conspiracy theories, Republican state legislators are pushing what experts say is an unprecedented number of bills aimed at restricting access to the ballot box that could affect future elections. While Republicans say the goal is to prevent voter fraud, Democrats contend the measures are aimed at undermining minority voting rights. Trump remains a commanding force in the Republican Party, despite his loss. A recent Quinnipiac University national poll found that 66% of Republicans would like to see him run for reelection, though the same number of Americans overall said they would prefer he didnt and there is no evidence that he has grown any more popular since losing by more than 7 million votes last November. Lees appearance Tuesday came just over 14 days after his diagnosis. The 65-year-old cancer survivor said that he was fine two days after his diagnosis and his health is now great. Lee said he had waited to get the COVID-19 vaccine, which has been available to those 65 and older since late February, because he didnt think it had been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA issued emergency use authorizations for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines in December, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in February. The FDA can give emergency authorization for medical products to address a public health crisis, in this case the pandemic, as long as the benefits outweigh the risks. The vaccines that received emergency use authorization are also expected to receive full licensure by the FDA after submitting six months of safety follow-ups. Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have started the process of seeking full approval FDA approval for their vaccines. Lee said he considered himself a pretty strong guy and in lieu of getting the vaccine, he planned to instead take precautions like wearing a face mask, but he caught COVID-19 anyway. He said he plans to get the vaccine in the coming months. We dont often think that how the US conducts itself at home has much impact on how we face the world, but it does. Youd be amazed at how closely people in countries all over the globe follow events here and count on the United States to lead the way. When its messy at home, its hard to sustain the strength and readiness to turn our attention outward. Doing so is especially important right now because what weve come to term the international order is under stress. Its not collapsing by any means, but US leadership faces challenges and if were divided and unsettled at home, it will be much more difficult to respond appropriately. What is the international order? Its essentially the set of structures and values that evolved during the 20th century to resolve disputes, promote commerce and free trade, undergird economic development and investment, further contacts and exchanges between nations and their citizens, and protect human rights. Its based on mutually negotiated rules and initiatives that, in a well-functioning world, are promoted by institutions such as the UN, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization, and others. Maybe Castro didnt notice, but the irony was overwhelming. The Democrats in Washington who want to kill the filibuster say theyre doing it because the filibuster allows the minority Republicans to thwart the will of majority Democrats. Leave aside that the Senate is evenly divided, 50-50, and it is only the tiebreaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris that gives them the most tenuous of majorities. Democrats say they are sick of a minority being able to frustrate the majority. And yet what are Democrats doing in Texas? As the minority unable to outvote majority Republicans, they have walked out of the House to frustrate the will of the majority. They have exercised what is sometimes called a walking filibuster. And some of them are doing it even as they encourage Washington Democrats to get rid of the filibuster. By the way, the Texas Democrats tactics are nothing new. Back in 2003, when Republicans had just won a majority in the Texas House and set about work on redistricting, Democrats actually fled the state to deny the GOP a quorum to continue the work. They didnt just leave the building, they left the state. Then-Gov. Rick Perry called a special session, and Democrats left the state again, gathering in New Mexico. A standoff ensued. But the majority finally won. President Biden has said that he hopes to see seventy percent of the country, at least partially vaccinated by the Fourth of July. New York is fifteen points short of this goal. If the state is able to maintain the same vaccination rates as of May, they could still meet the Presidents target. New York State has administered just over four million vaccine doses in May, leaving fifty-five percent of the population partially protected and forty-six percent of New Yorkers fully vaccinated. In total the state has administered 19.7 million doses of covid-19 vaccines. To assist the private sector to easily track the vaccination status of their customers, the state launched the Excelsior Pass. As with many application launches, technical glitches often follow. Some New York's Excelsior Pass users have encountered issues, but the state is arguing that theses issues do not represent the vast majority of experiences. One of the issues that has received attention is the delay some users face in getting their vaccination status uploaded to platform. The state warns users that this could take up to fourteen days, but some users have complained that it took closer to twenty. A user voiced her frustrations in an interview NBC affiliate 2 On Your Side, saying that the state had set expectations too high, focusing much of the promotion on the historic partnership with technology and finance giant IBM. A New York state representative spoke to the concerns faced by the user and said that that situation is unique and that many of those using the application have not reported those challenges. What should I do if I am having problems with the application? The State has put together an extensive Q&A section to help users troubleshoot. Questions range from, What do I do if my Pass has expired? to more specific inquiries on the privacy protections of users. To report an issue or concern, the state has created a digital form that can be submitted describing the problem. There is also a help desk that operates from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. The Help Desk can be reached at 844-699-7277. Some states are offering residents a bonus of up to $2,000 for returning to work, coming as a number of Republican-led states announce they are ending federally-funded unemployment programmes. An estimated 3.7 million people will be affected by the removal of the enhanced benefits which some business owners have blamed for a perceived labour shortage. To further encourage unemployed Americans back to the workplace, a number of states are also introducing so-called return to work bonuses, which offer a cash incentive for those who find employment. Which states have introduced a return to work bonus? To date six states have already introduced the cash incentive for out-of-work Americans, with more believed to be considering implementing the measure. The amount on offer and the structure of the payments varies between states: Montana The Republican-held state was the first to introduce the return to work bonus when state lawmakers passed the legislation in early May. Out-of-work residents will get a $1,200 cash incentive for completing four full weeks of paid work, but the state is removing the $300-per-week supplementary unemployment benefit. New Hampshire and Oklahoma The next two states to introduce the incentive were also Republican-controlled, and both also announced that they would be withdrawing from the enhanced unemployment benefits. Residents of New Hampshire and Oklahoma who return to work will receive bonuses worth $1,000 and $1,200 respectively. Arizona The most generous of the back to work bonuses can be found in Arizona, where a maximum of $2,000 is on offer for jobless residents who complete 320 hours of full-time work. The state also offers $1,000 for those who complete 160 hours of part-time work. Connecticut The first Democratic state to provide a back to work incentive was Connecticut, who will send a $1,000 payment to the first 10,000 residents classed as long-term unemployed who complete eight consecutive weeks of work before the end of 2021. Colorado The most recent state to authorise the incentive was Colorado, who gave $1,600 for unemployed people who returned to full-time work in May. The programme continues into June but the amount on offer has been lowered to $1,200, provided they complete eight full weeks of employment. Which states will be next to introduce a return to work bonus? Although only six states have so far chosen to implement the incentive, other states are in the process of doing the same. The North Carolina Senate has approved legislation which would provide up to $1,500 to unemployed residents who accept a full time job. The bill is still waiting to be passed by the states House of Representatives, after which point residents will have 30 days to collect the full $1,500. After that, they have an additional 30 days to find employment and pick up an $800 bonus. On 1 June lawmakers in New York formally proposed legislation which would give unemployed residents $1,200 for completing four weeks of work, if passed. In Massachusetts Republican state senators introduced a bill that would provide $1,200 sign-on bonuses, which would be paid in three instalments over 12 months. President has talks with Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Dominican Republic leaders China and Kazakhstan should foster new growth engines in bilateral cooperation in fields such as green energy, artificial intelligence, e-commerce and digital finance to jointly promote the high-quality building of the Belt and Road, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday. Xi made the remark in a phone conversation with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. He also spoke on the phone on Wednesday with Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, and Luis Abinader, the president of the Dominican Republic. The friendship between China and Kazakhstan, as permanent comprehensive strategic partners, is built on a deep foundation and powered with strong impetus, Xi said. In promoting the high-quality building of the Belt and Road, Xi said the two sides should scale up cooperation in production capacity, trade, agriculture and infrastructure and keep improving their level of connectivity. The two nations should jointly build a green Silk Road, a health Silk Road and a digital Silk Road, adding that Beijing is willing to deepen cooperation in areas such as telemedicine and traditional medicine, he said. China will continue to offer help and support to Kazakhstan in its fight against COVID-19, and the two sides should work more closely in law enforcement, security and defense affairs to jointly safeguard regional peace and security, he said. Tokayev hailed China's historic achievements under Xi's leadership, saying that the COVID-19 pandemic has further exemplified the importance and necessity of China's proposal to build a community with a shared future for mankind. The two nations are genuine permanent comprehensive strategic partners, and Kazakhstan would never do anything that harms China's interests under any circumstances, he said. In his talks with Aliyev, Xi said China and Azerbaijan have supported each other in the face of the raging pandemic, which truly embodies their friendship. The two sides should amplify their traditional friendship, deepen win-win cooperation, enhance mutual support and use the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties next year to work toward greater progress in bilateral relations and more benefits for the two peoples, he said. China sees Azerbaijan as an important partner in the joint building of the Belt and Road, and the two sides should share opportunities, jointly plan development and ensure the sound planning and progress of Belt and Road cooperation, he said. China will import more high-quality produce from Azerbaijan and support more of its businesses to invest and start new businesses in the nation, Xi said. He highlighted the need for the two nations to step up cooperation in international transportation and logistics, promote the building of a Eurasian transportation corridor and improve regional connectivity, adding that China will continue to offer aid to help the nation fight COVID-19. Aliyev said Azerbaijan welcomes investment by more Chinese businesses, and the nation stands ready to step up communication and cooperation with China on regional affairs. China is a true partner of Azerbaijan, and the nation has supported China's position, and will continue to do so, on issues regarding Taiwan, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. While speaking with Abinader, Xi said China highly appreciates the Dominican Republic's firm adherence to the one-China policy and its regarding ties with China as a priority in its foreign relations. China will continue to do its best to help the Dominican Republic fight the pandemic and is willing to make joint efforts to bring bilateral relations to a higher level, he said. Abinader expressed sincere appreciation for China sending medical supplies and vaccines to the Dominican Republic to assist its fight against COVID-19, saying that the nation firmly adheres to the one-China policy and would like to expand bilateral cooperation in trade and economics. Back Index Forward Weekly News Digest June 3, 2021 In addition to this week's NewsBreaks article and the monthly NewsLink Spotlight, Information Today, Inc. (ITI) offers Weekly News Digests that feature recent product news and company announcements. Watch for additional coverage to appear in the next print issue of Information Today. For other up-to-the-minute news, check out ITIs Twitter account: @ITINewsBreaks. CLICK HERE to view more Weekly News Digest items. The SAE Institute Brings International Students to Its German Campuses The SAE Institute is welcoming international students to its nine German locations starting with the winter semester of 2021. All degree programs will be in English. The press release states, Germany is the most attractive non-English-speaking host country for international students and the fourth most important place to study worldwide, behind the USA, the UK and Australia. As a leading education provider for professions in the media industry, SAE Institute is now making it even easier for international talent to study in Germany. SAE has offered English-language degree programs at the Berlin campus and is now expanding to its locations in Bochum, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Cologne, Leipzig, Munich, and Stuttgart. Courses will be offered via live stream or on demand as well as in person with group work and on-campus events. Chris Muller, managing director of SAE Institute, says, [A] globally networked media industry needs internationally experienced minds. We therefore want to make our degree programs even more accessible to talented people from all over the world, while at the same time preparing the next generation from Germany for careers on all continents in the best possible way. For more information, read the press release. Send correspondence concerning the Weekly News Digest to NewsBreaks Editor Brandi Scardilli China will take all-around measures to enhance cross-border cooperation in the culture and tourism industries during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, an official of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said at a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday. Zhang Yongxin, the ministry's director of policies and regulations, said that "a system of cultural exchange and promotion of tourism that fits the needs of the new era" will be established within the next five years. "A key part of the 14th Five-Year Plan relating to the development of culture and tourism calls for strengthening international cooperation in innovative ways," Zhang said. "By enhancing communication with different countries and international organizations, China will also participate in drafting international rules concerning culture and tourism," he added. Furthermore, cooperation with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative will be improved, as will the global distribution of China Cultural Centers. In line with the five-year plan, alliances of theaters, museums, art festivals, libraries and art galleries of Belt and Road countries will play more important roles in strengthening bonds. In addition, an international conference on the promotion of tourism in Asia will be hosted by China, and 20 "demonstration districts" that excel in global tourism cooperation will be established in China. Zhang said other key aspects of work in the next five years will include exchanges among young people on the protection of intangible cultural heritage as well as the creative industry and volunteer services, and promotion via global platforms of China's achievements in archaeological studies and stronger support for cultural programs through foreign aid. Some projects are already underway, including measures to strengthen cultural heritage cooperation within Asia. In May, China released joint statements with Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran on launching cooperation in the field. These echoed the Asian Initiative for Cultural Heritage Conservation, which was proposed by President Xi Jinping in his keynote speech at the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations in Beijing in 2019. Cooperation will include joint projects in such areas as archaeology, conservation of cultural heritage, management of UNESCO World Heritage sites, the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property, and specialized training. The countries have also proposed establishing an Asian alliance for cultural heritage conservation. Tal Ben Shahar Founder, American Institute for the Study of Happiness Peng Kaiping Dean of the Academy of Social Sciences, DeanProfessor of the Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University Xiao LianBing Secretary General of International Exchange, Cooperation and Communication Center, Guangming Daily "The methods of happiness can and do change lives." Xiao Lianbing:Dr. Shahar, your book The Methods of Happiness has become a best-seller in the United States. What do you think the reason is? And Professor Peng Kaiping, you have a great reputation in the field of psychology. Happiness theory falls under the field of positive psychology. Any comments on Dr. Shahars theory? Dr. Tal Shahar:There has always been an interest in the study of happiness. The reason why classes on happiness are popular is because we now have a scientific way of studying this topic. Up until recently, the topic of happiness--of enhancing the quality of our lives--has been dominated by pop-psychology. In many of the self-help seminars and books that are currently being offered, there's a lot of flash and flair, but relatively little substance. They promise Five Quick Steps to Happiness, the Three Secrets of Success, and Four Ways to Find your Soulmate. These are usually empty promises, and over the years people have become cynical about the self-help genre. In contrast, an academic class on happiness is evidence-based and draws on research. Students are attracted to this kind of class because they feel that it can and does make a real difference in their lives. My work today revolves around the Happiness Studies Academy, which was founded with two questions in mind.: First, how can we become happier? Second, how can we help others become happier? Based on the same theory, I founded the Institute for the Study of Happiness. I like China very much, and I have been there many times to give lectures at universities and to the public. I look forward to coming back to China in 2021 and bringing my Happiness course to Chinese friends. Peng Kaiping:Dr. Shahar is a well-known young positive psychologist who has gained worldwide popularity for his Positive Psychology course at Harvard University. His book The Methods of Happiness became a global bestseller as soon as it hit the market. Dr. Shahar is not the first person to teach a course on happiness in the field of positive psychology, but if you ask who has done the most to turn a academic positive psychology course into a global phenomenon of positivity and happiness, the answer must be him. As Dr.Shahar himself puts it, "when positive psychology teaches students the true value of life, it doesn't mean money or any kind of success or fame, but the 'ultimate wealth', where all goals end: happiness. Humanity has entered a new era of enlightenment about happiness in the past 20 years. The traditional view of happiness, one based on individual feelings, is being transformed by science, progress, humanity and rationality in the new era. Positive psychology emerged from the field of psychology over the past two decades. This shift regarding happiness is happening quietly, and its effects will be profound. It changed the world's perspective on psychology from focusing on uncertainty, confusion, trauma, and helplessness to achievement, meaning, commitment, communication, and positivity. Since helplessness and negativity can be learned, then happiness and abundance can also be learned. Moreover, there must be a longer lasting, richer, and more scientific happiness; one that catalyzes happiness. These are the great contributions positive psychology has made to the perpetuation of a "surging flow of happiness." As a positive psychologist living in the modern world, I believe that Dr. Shahar shares my desire to not only express his scientific observations and views on happiness, but also pursue a more profound purpose. This purpose is promoting a more comprehensive and deep understanding of happiness in this new era, and making people more willing and able to achieve happiness. We have the opportunity to use dialogue to reflect on the similarities and differences between history of human beings and Eastern and Western cultural psychology. Meanwhile, we can reflect on the common spirit of happiness within the whole river of human thought. The success of Dr. Shahar's Positive Psychology class and books may not only be due to a need in this age for the science of happiness, but satisfying the desires of people's innumerable pursuit of happiness. "We bounce back from trauma and grow stronger" Xiao Lianbing:Please talk about the impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic on human society from the perspective of the happiness theory. What is the significance of happiness theory to social psychology in the post-epidemic era? Dr Tal Shahar:A pandemic is a traumatic experience on a global scale. The trauma that billions are experiencing from COVID-19 may come from many sources, including their health situation, that of loved ones, present or anticipated economic struggle, uncertainty and anxiety, or sustained loneliness and depression. Whether as mental health professionals or concerned individuals, the question that many of us are asking is: What will happen after the health crisis is over and the protests subside? How will all this trauma affect us in the long term? The short answer is that even in the best scenarioone in which a vaccine is discovered and systemic discrimination is abolishedthe collective trauma can put us down or raise us up, leave us weaker or make us stronger. The field of Happiness Studies is about helping us, and individuals and as a society, to create the conditions that will help us grow from this crisis. When I ask students in my Happiness class whether theyve heard of PTSD, most if not all hands shoot right up. When I then ask them whether theyve heard of PTG, rarely is a hand raised. PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disordera detrimental and enduring response to a harsh experience. PTG stands for Post Traumatic Growtha beneficial and enduring response to a harsh experience. A myriad of situations can generate the traumafrom exposure to war and terrorism, to being a victim of a crime or a natural disasterand every traumatic experience can lead towards a disorder or towards growth. The fact that so few people know about PTGabout the science of emerging stronger from a traumais troubling. If we know that PTG is a real option, and understand some of the science behind it, we can produce a ray of hope in an otherwise dark reality. And hope matters, because the difference between sadness and depression is that depression is sadness without hope. Furthermore, rather than being passive victims at the mercy of trauma, we can play an active role in how the experience plays out. Research by psychologists Richard Tedeschi, Lawrence Calhoun, and others provides insight into the conditions that enhance the likelihood of PTG over PTSD. And while nothing that we know of can guarantee that people fall on the upside of trauma, we can do a lot better, as individuals and as a society, in our response to distressing situations like the COVID-19 crisis. Here are a few brief insights from the research on PTG: First, we ought to embrace the pain rather than reject it, giving ourselves the permission to be human rather than demanding machine-like indifference. Second, it is important to reach out to and engage with those who can support us; a mental health professional is great, but turning to friends, family and colleagues whom we trust and who care about us can be equally helpful. Third, creating a narrative that makes some sense of the situation and gives meaning to it can go a long way in helping us emerge stronger. Peng KaipingCOVID-19 has been raging for more than a year. Although China has brought the epidemic under control, today's world has been so closely woven together by globalization. All events, whether political, economic or cultural, will eventually be reflected in the minds of people around the world. I am confident that this outbreak will make everyone at every corners of the world have a more profound and direct understanding of globalization, and a belief in a shared future for mankind. COVID-19 is a common enemy of mankind, emerging at a time when the world needs more understanding and tolerance, more trust and cooperation, more healing and mutual concern and assistance. Although catastrophes cause immeasurable damage to human beings, they are also the best touchstone to test and highlight the nobility of human nature. Only positive resonance can lead to shared success and happiness, which is what we positive psychologists urge and call for at this time. Facing the COVID-19 epidemic is a great challenge for humanity and an opportunity for the nirvana and rebirth of modern human civilization. In addition to the epidemic, we must face more challenges in all aspects, which will prove to be a major test of the human psyche. Positive psychologists have made the most solid scientific case that we will emerge from our difficulties and lead a better life. I have full confidence in this. "One of the best sources of happiness is to help others" Xiao Lianbing:After the outbreak of the epidemic, many Chinese medical workers took the initiative to join the rescue of Wuhan, despite knowing that the virus was threatening their own lives. They took it as their mission to rescue the patients and prevent and control the epidemic. Can an explanation for this be found in the happiness theory? Dr Tal Shahar:One of the best generators of happiness is giving and helping others. Following an act of generosity on my part, when I see the other person feeling better, I feel better. And as I feel better because of my generosity, Im naturally driven to be more generous. What we end up with is a self-reinforcing loop between helping others and helping ourselvesthe more generous we are (the more we help others) the better we feel (the more we help ourselves), the better we feel the more likely we are to be generous, and so on. This upward spiral of generosity clearly demonstrates that the divide between helping oneself and helping others is unfounded. When I help myself, my capacity for generosity is significantly amplified and hence the benefit to others is real. At the same time, when I help others my wellbeing is significantly amplified, and hence the benefit to myself is real. Peng KaipingPsychology places great emphasis on the concept of empathy. Some of the most remarkable abilities that distinguish humans from animals include "aesthetics", "creativeness" and "empathy". Happiness is not only a feeling of individual psychology, but also people's desire for and embrace of the beauty and goodwill of the world. During the critical times of the epidemic, the fact that many medical workers and other individuals have stepped forward is very touching. It's not just a matter of professional ethics, it's a brilliant expression of humanity, and it's a reflection of the empathic nature of being human. Xiao Lianbing:What does fate have to do with happiness? How do you see the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind? Dr Tal Shahar:We all want to be happier, and we want to help others become happier. If more and more of us learn how to help ourselves and how to help others become happier, then we can create a massive force for generating wellbeing in the world. It is fair to say that the common destiny of mankind is towards common happiness and building a community with a shared future. The starting point is the common wellbeing of mankind. Peng KaipingThere is no doubt that mankind is a community with a shared future. Life has three planes and three steps: the first is survival, the second is living, and the third is life itself. And survival, life, and the integration of life is what I think of as "fate". Destiny is the real life, the real human nature, the real experience. If a person's life is based on happiness, then he must be an "incurable optimist," whose whole life, if represented by a curve, will also be a smile curve. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly called on the international community to build a global community of health for all, demonstrating the Chinese people's belief is that "the world is one family and we should help each other". Safeguarding global public health is undoubtedly one of the most important fundamental tasks for global prosperity, and every country has a responsibility to do so and should be a part of it. Psychological research has proven that when people are healthy, they are happier, which brings many benefits, such as longer life, better relationships, more meaningful life, more sense of gain and security, and more harmonious individual and group development. More healthy people also means more happiness and harmony. Therefore, General Secretary Xis propositions may go beyond a call for a benevolent global political ecology, but also a call for a benevolent global cultural progress, as well as a call for a global prosperity and harmony. Xiao Lianbing:Dr. Shahar's experience with the theory of happiness shows that the concept of happiness is developed through learning and practice. How can people rebuild the concept of happiness in the post-epidemic era? Dr Tal Shahar:The first thing we can and ought to do is give ourselves the permission to be human, embrace whatever emotion comes up no matter how unpleasant or unwanted. Rather than denying or rejecting the painful feelings associated with the situationwhether fear or frustration, anxiety or angerit is better to allow these to take their natural course. Giving ourselves the permission to be human means that rather than suppressing our emotions, we express thembe it by journaling about how we feel, talking to people we trust, or by simply opening our floodgates rather than holding back the tears. The paradox is that, to fulfill our potential for happiness, we must allow in unhappiness. Expressing gratitude can help us through difficult times. So spend two minutes, as you wake up or just before you go to bed, writing down things youre grateful for. And the important thing to keep in mind is that we can always find something to be grateful for, even in the midst of hardship. A large number of psychological studies have told us that cultivating our appreciative muscles makes us happier as well as healthier. It is an unfortunate fact that one of the first things to fall by the wayside in stressful times is our inclination to move. Students in school are likely to forgo exercise during exam period, and employees will do the same when facing the pressure of a looming deadline. And who wants to add the discomfort of vigorous movement to the discomfort associated with the Coronavirus panic? The fact, though, is that there is no more important time to exercise than now. And even if you cannot or do not want to go to the gym, try to take a 30-minute walk outside, or (in case youre quarantined at home) engage in one of many High Intensity Interval Training practices available online. Exercise does not just make us physically tougher, it significantly contributes to our psychological toughness. Relationships are potentially the number one predictor of both physical and mental health. Francis Bacon, the British philosopher, pointed out 400 years ago that Friendship doubles joys and cuts griefs in half. Spending quality time with people you care about and who care about you is always important, but it is especially important now. While the allure of computer screens with their real-time updates and other virtual sirens may be stronger than that of real people, they cannot provide the psychological and physiological benefits of face-to-face interactions. Whenever possible, disconnect (from technology) in order to connect (to people). And if for some reason actual get-togethers are not possibledue to quarantine or distancethen virtual get-togethers will do. One of the best ways to deal with the depressing and demoralizing impact of a constant barrage of bad news is distraction. Distraction is not synonymous with denial; we are not burying our head in the sand by occasionally thinking about something other than the threats of COVID-19. In fact, constantly thinking about the virus is unhealthy and unhelpful, even if thats what the media reports on and thats what everyone is talking about. Watching your favorite TV series, listening to music, meditating, or engaging in one of the many activities that get your mind off of the virus can constitute a healthy form of distraction. There is much truth to the claim that we have a great deal of control over how we interpretand therefore experiencea situation. What are the potential upsides of the existence of the Coronavirus? Spending more time with loved ones? Appreciating our life more, rather than taking our health, or status quo in general, for granted? Focusing more on exercise and healthy eating as a way to boost our immune system? Reframing does not imply that you should or even can rejoice that the virus is upon us, but reframing provides us some choice over what we thinkand consequently what we feel and do. Things do not necessarily happen for the best, but you can choose to make the best of things that happen. Peng KaipingIn my view, the post-epidemic era will be characterized by two features. First, our society will move more rapidly from a materialistic society to an enlightened one. Second, how people define and perceive personality will move more rapidly from the physical to the social, then from the social to the spiritual. This isnt just a wishit's reality. My view on how to rebuild happiness in the post-epidemic era is to reconcile with oneself through action and aspiration, reconcile with others through goodwill and cooperation, and reconcile with the world through participation and trust. We should try to pursue the "surging flow of happiness". Happiness is a psychological feeling that transcends mere emotion of feeling good, while flow is a spiritual feeling happier than happiness. If happiness is meaningful pleasure, then flow is a kind of sublime bliss that resonates with where we are headed as a species. People in the flow of happiness will experience the peak of their aesthetics, creativity, and empathy. Not only will they be happy in all senses of the world, but they will also experience a cosmic awakening, and a sense of connection with mankinds shared destiny. In the post-epidemic era, if you see the "surging flow of happiness" as an important pursuit, then you will have more opportunities to immerse yourself in them and experience the understanding, tolerance, achievement, and meaning that come from devotion, empathy, integration, sharing, and cooperation. "Cooperation is in humankinds DNA" Xiao Lianbing:What role does the happiness theory have in solving social problems and promoting social progress? Dr Tal Shahar:I am all for ambition, success, and hard work. However, a misconception that most people have is that being successful will lead to being happy. Their mental model is: Success (cause) Happiness (effect). It turns out that most people have it wrong. We know from a great deal of research (as well as from personal anecdotes) that success, at best, leads to a spike in one's happiness levels; however, this spike is temporary, short-lived. While success does not lead to wellbeing, the reverse is in fact true:Success (effect) Happiness (cause). This is a very important finding, turning the cause-and-effect relationship around and correcting the mistake that so many people make. Happiness contributes to success because the experience of pleasurable emotions leads to higher levels of creativity, increased motivation, better relationships, and a stronger immune system. Happiness contributes in significant, meaningful, and positive ways to our personal and professional lives. Happiness is a good investment for governments, schools, families and organizations. Peng KaipingThe Department of Psychology at Tsinghua University conducted a three-year study on the DNA of human cultural evolutions in 2015. By analyzing the data of nine major languages from the year 1 AD to 2000, stored in Google mGram, we find that the DNA of human progress is not plunder, power, war, conflict, or bullying: it is cooperation. Only cooperation can achieve real progress for humankind. Any behavior that violates cooperation culture to culture, race to race, country to country, etc. will eventually lead to failure. This is a source of great inspiration and positivity, and also conveys a very simple truth: the historical progress and overall progress of people comes from cooperation. Achieving one's own goals yields gratification. Lending a hand to achieve others' goals doubles satisfaction. The goals of oneself and of others can be unified, and the world can be harmonized, This is the true DNA of human culture. Therefore, whether it is innovation or entrepreneurship, whether it is within a country or on a global scale, all follow this rule and need to follow this rule. Some countries and some people in the world are making a fundamental mistake. They do not exist to seek cooperation, but to seek hegemony and dominance. There is no future for that can be found in this mindset. Over the years, psychological research has long examined the components of the "happiness DNA" from different angles and searched for evidence of it. The studies had different goals, different methods, and different subjects, but the bottom line was that there was a unifying quality: an "abundance of positive desire," the "happiness DNA." Traditionally, cultures around the world have interpreted "positivity" in ways that fit their cultural traits and values. There are some subtle differences, but on the whole, there are common characteristics of "positivity". When we overlay the scientific data with the scientific results, we see a striking graph. This graph shows that all actions in human history are ultimately directed towards achieving happiness. This study is what we call the "permanent upper-right happiness transfer model." This model has several important implications. First, in a philosophical sense, the progress of human thought is linked to cognitive iteration. Second, from a sociological perspective, the changes in a country's social structure and social classes are closely related to the country's political and economic policies. Third, in an economic sense, people's absolute income, rather than their relative income, is the key determinant of happiness. Fourth, in a psychological sense, societys social development is closely related to both the individual and the groups. Therefore, we have good reason to believe that the overall progress and development of human society in a larger sense is not to increase disputes and struggles, but to foster goodwill, increase interaction, and work towards a common destiny. What is our common destiny? One where all humans cooperate, associate, and communicate with others towards the common good. Large-scale cultural exchange, technological exchange, goods exchange, and wealth exchange are all important elements in the development of human society. At the heart of these elements is the sublime human experience of happiness. Our study found that the happiness motivations helped humanity to eliminate ignorance, reduce the influence of negative emotions, provide protection for positive human progress, and make a desire for happiness become a reality. Through these means, the happiness of all of society can be realized through the happiness of the individual, culture and the individual can be seamlessly connected through the "cultural DNA" and "happiness DNA". Today, human society has entered a new era. Clearly, one of the strongest signals is the rise of public consciousness of human happiness and the meaning of existence. Happiness is no longer just a feeling in peoples minds, but a rich and realistic sensation closely related to the times of ones country and livelihood. People living condition in general is really becoming better and better, and human society has increasingly realized the positive role of happiness in social development and the progress of people's livelihoods. This is perhaps the best time for mankind to seek happiness. [ Editor: WPY ] A volunteer in charge of delivering necessities for residents under home quarantine helps another volunteer write her name on the protective suit at a residential area at Liwan District of Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, June 2, 2021. Guangzhou has tightened anti-epidemic measures in parts of the city to curb the recent COVID-19 resurgence, local authorities said Tuesday. The city has implemented closed-off management on the Zhongnan subdistrict as well as 37 other locations and their surroundings. People in these areas must follow strict quarantine measures and stay indoors. Residents join the volunteer team, delivering food, necessities and epidemic prevention materials for people under home quarantine. (Xinhua/Deng Hua) 14 1 [ Editor: WXL ] Makit County of Kashgar Prefecture, northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is known as the county of red dates. Abundant sunshine in the region is ideal for growing great qualities of Chinese dates. Yantak Township has 16,900 mu (1 mu = 0.067 hectares) of cultivated land, of which 12,200 mu is used for growing Chinese dates. In 2020, the average output of Chinese dates reached 500 kilograms per mu. Some experienced farmers can even produce 1 ton of red dates per mu. The field for growing Chinese dates (Junye Zhang/Guangming Picture) A local farmer who has been growing Chinese dates for decades has witnessed the changes in the technologies of growing and processing Chinese dates since he started out. A farmer from Yankat Township (Junye Zhang/Guangming Picture) In 1986, this local farmer started growing Chinese dates with his parents. Then, in 2007, he began cultivating his own plot. When he worked with his parents, they had to do all the work by hand, such as picking the dates, trimming the branches, and flattening the ground. He even had to carry a bucket on his back to spray insecticides. By 2007, most of the work had become mechanized. Now, there are unmanned aerial vehicles spraying insecticides. The first year when he planted dates by himself, the harvest was disappointing. By the third year, he earned 15,000 yuan. Now, he makes an annual income of 128,000 yuan. Since 2014, he has maintained an annual income exceeding 100,000 yuan. Reflecting on the differences in harvest outcomes, he attributes the change to the guidance he received from the village and county committees. At first, I was a little careless with my work. But the village and county committees would tell us to apply more scientific methods to growing red dates. Every day, they would inform us on how to pick red dates, how and when to apply fertilizers, he said. Gradually, other villagers and him gained a better understanding of how to grow Chinese dates, and became more skilled at their work. With more scientific cultivation methods and total mechanization, output continued to boom. For this farmer personally, in recent years, output increased from 500 kilograms to 1 ton per mu. After farmers collect their individual harvest, the local government would gather all the harvest together to find and expand channels for sales. Now, the average farmer in Yantak Township makes 44,000 yuan annually by growing Chinese dates, which accounts for over 70% of their total annual incomes. [ Editor: JYZ ] Photo taken on June 1, 2021 shows middle school students staging the drama show "The Lights of Ten Thousand Homes". The 19th Chinese Drama Festival themed with "Red May Classics" was held on that day by Beijing No. 5 Middle School at Tiandi Theatre of Children's Palace in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China's capital city. With the support of People's Art Theatre, students from Beijing No.5 Middle School and Beijing No.1 Middle School jointly performed five sections of its classics "Rickshaw Boy", "Longxu Ditch", "The Lights of Ten Thousand Homes", "The South Courtyard on North Street" and "The Community Director" in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the CPC. (Zhou Liang/Guangming Picture) The Verkhovna Rada has passed at the final reading bill No. 4184 on the so-called "tax on Google," which proposes to equalize the tax rules for international technology companies with Ukrainian ones. Some 283 MPs backed the bill. The document, in particular, provides that international companies operating in the media space of Ukraine and making money on online advertising will pay taxes in Ukraine, in particular VAT. The bill proposes a mechanism for collecting VAT from nonresidents: the document allows remotely registering in the taxpayer's electronic account, as well as paying tax in foreign currency without being present on the territory of Ukraine. As Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Danylo Hetmantsev, who is one of the authors of bill No. 4184, said, speaking from the parliament rostrum, this document exempts all educational services from taxation. "We are introducing an additional norm, where we exempt all educational services from taxation. At the same time, both those that are provided in electronic form in Ukraine and those that are provided abroad. These educational services are determined in the list of specialties and qualifications that is approved by the Cabinet of Ministers," he said. Earlier, lawyer at Avellum Oles Bidnoshyia told Interfax-Ukraine that the majority of e-service providers would raise prices for users by more than 20% if bill No. 4184 on "tax on Google" is passed at the second reading. According to him, the supplier will be obliged to establish the place of delivery of services (in particular, by the country code on the user's SIM card or by the IP address of the device), keep records of the income, submit simplified reports every quarter and pay the accrued VAT. As the lawyer explained, this means that users will receive bills for services received, including 20% VAT. For example, for a subscription to a streaming music service, the cost of which is UAH 150, the user will have to pay UAH 180. About 1,000 objects within Big Construction must be completed by 2022 end Zelensky President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced the need to complete the construction of about 1,000 facilities under the Big Construction national program during 2021-2022. "About 1,000 objects of the Big Construction project for 2021 and projects planned for the next years must be completed, reconstructed and put into operation. Preferably on time," Zelensky said at a meeting of the Chamber of Local Authorities of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Ukraine in Khmelnytsky on Thursday. According to the head of state, close interaction of the central and regional authorities is crucial for this. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky proposed the decision on recognizing a person as an oligarch should be made by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) on the basis of a proposal from the Cabinet of Ministers, a member of the NSDC, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), the State Security Service (SBU) or the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU). This is defined by the presidential bill on the prevention of threats to national security associated with the excessive influence of persons with significant economic or political heft in public life (oligarchs), the text of which was released on the Verkhovna Rada website on Thursday morning. The NSDC decision to recognize a person as an oligarch shall come into effect from the day of the official publication of the presidential decree on its entry into force. Zelensky also proposes to create a register of persons with significant economic and political heft in public life (oligarchs). Such a proposal is contained in the president's bill on the prevention of threats to national security associated with the excessive influence of persons with significant economic or political heft in public life (oligarchs), the text of which was released on the Verkhovna Rada website on Thursday morning. The basis for the inclusion of oligarchs in the register, according to the bill, will be the NSDC. Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal says that Ukraine and Georgia intend to agree in the near future on the mutual recognition of documents on vaccination against coronavirus (COVID-19) disease. "The important thing was the agreement on the signing in the near future of an agreement on the mutual recognition of documents on vaccination against COVID-19," Shmyhal said at a joint briefing with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in Tbilisi on Thursday. The prime minister said this should make it as easy as possible for citizens of the countries to cross the border. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a statement regarding the incident with the forced landing of a Ryanair aircraft in Minsk, recognizing such actions of the Belarusian authorities as a threat to international security. The adoption of relevant draft resolution No. 5597 was supported by 280 MPs at a plenary session on Thursday. "By committing this compulsory act of landing a passenger plane, the Belarusian authorities endangered the safety of passengers and crew. These actions are a violation of international civil aviation rules and pose a threat to international security, including the safety of air transport," the parliamentarians said in the statement. The Ukrainian parliamentarians called on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to urgently investigate this unacceptable act with the corresponding consequences for those who committed it. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine strongly condemns the actions of the Belarusian authorities due to the forced landing of the Ryanair passenger company and the detention of founder of the largest opposition Belarusian telegram channel NEXTA Raman Protasevich. Ukrainian parliamentarians believe this is another manifestation of the attack of the Belarusian authorities on the political opposition, freedom of speech and journalistic activities in Belarus. The Verkhovna Rada called on the Belarusian authorities to immediately release Protasevich and all political prisoners, to stop the lawlessness and torture used by the Belarusian security services in relation to the Belarusian citizens in custody, and also to guarantee respect for human rights in accordance with international obligations. The Verkhovna Rada confirms its full solidarity with international partners, primarily from the member states of the European Union and the United States, including the termination of air traffic with Belarus. The parliament also fully supports the actions of the government of Ukraine, which, in order to ensure the safety of civil aviation and society, was one of the first European states to impose a ban on air traffic between Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus from May 26, 2021 and strengthened "air sanctions" against Belarusian airlines from May 28, 2021. Britannia Industries on Thursday said its board has approved a proposal to raise Rs 698.51 crore by issuing bonus debentures to eligible equity shareholders. "The bonus debenture committee of the board of directors of the company ... approved the allotment of unsecured, non-convertible, redeemable, fully paid up debentures having a face value of Rs 29 each.. to the members holding equity shares as on May 27, 2021," Britannia Industries said in a regulatory filing. The company said the size of the issue is Rs 698.51 crore and the bonus debentures are proposed to be listed on BSE Ltd and National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE). As per Britannia Industries, the bonus debentures will be redeemed after three years from the date of allotment. Shares of Britannia Industries were trading 0.58 per cent higher at Rs 3,494.95 apiece on BSE. Also Read: Parle Products narrows market share gap with rival Britannia Industries Fifth President of Ukraine (2014-2019), leader of the European Solidarity party Petro Poroshenko during a meeting with a delegation of the U.S. Senators who are paying a visit to Ukraine, asked to organize a meeting of the United States and Ukrainian Presidents prior to negotiations between Joseph Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the the political force's website on Wednesday. "My first request was that it was important that the meeting between President Zelensky and President Biden took place before Biden-Putin meeting in Geneva on the 15th. Since 'nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine' was an absolutely tough, concrete requirement during my cadence. The fate of Ukraine cannot be discussed without its participation," Poroshenko told journalists. According to the official, his second position seemed to be the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. "You know that the German delegation has now left for Washington. We are firmly convinced that, despite the utterly disastrous position of the Ukrainian president on Nord Stream, the sanctions that were imposed during the work with the United States by our team can be returned. Unfortunately, this clearly shows the absence of an effective dialogue between the President of Ukraine and the United States," the leader of European Solidarity said. "The third position was about NATO. Ukraine was constantly present at all NATO summits, neither in 2019 nor in 2021 Ukraine is invited," the politician said. According to Poroshenko, the issue of the defense deal, which must be signed, and the supply of lethal weapons should be intensified. "I asked very influential members of the American Senate to influence this so that we return to this extremely important topic for Ukraine. And for the NATO Membership Action Plan, so that the reforms of the defense sector of our state are definitely continued," he said. The politician said the United States is very closely following Ukraine and treats the events around our country as a very important topic for the United States and this should be used. "And I very much hope that the visit of the American delegation will contribute to this," the leader of European Solidarity said. "We emphasize once again that we can fight inside the country. Inside the country, we have many well-grounded claims against Zelensky [...] But we must unite and show internal unity in strategic matters, conduct of foreign policy. I really hope that we will still be able to correct those failures of the foreign politicians who allowed Zelensky, [Andriy] Yermak and their entire team," Poroshenko said. Creation of pan-European Russian-language TV channel with base in Ukraine can become tool to protect Europe from propaganda Reznikov Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov believes that the creation of a pan-European Russian-language TV channel with a base in Ukraine can become an instrument of protecting Europe from propaganda and disinformation. "A pan-European Russian-language TV channel could become an instrument of protecting Europe from propaganda and disinformation. And its base could have been created in Ukraine. We have specialists, experience, understanding who we are dealing with, and there is no language barrier," he said during an online event entitled "Ukraine's reintegration strategy for its eastern regions" on Thursday. Reznikov added that Ukraine is changing the format of support for broadcasting in the territories occupied by Russia and adjacent areas. "After all, at first, a hostile ideology was smuggled into these territories through propaganda media, and only then did soldiers and tanks come. This is the experience that we can share," the Deputy Prime Minister noted. During a working trip to the border with the Republic of Belarus, head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Serhiy Deineko identified further tasks for building up the border protection system. "We need to continue building up the system of protecting the state border with Belarus. This applies to the entire section, including the borders of the exclusion zone. And although as of today the situation on the border with the Republic of Belarus is stable, and border protection is being carried out intensively, we are further strengthening our technical and engineering capabilities. We must ensure the national security of Ukraine from all possible threats," the press service of the State Border Guard Service quoted Deineko as saying. He added that the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine takes into account all the information that may affect the protection of the border, and makes the most of all the necessary resources. Deineko also checked the use of unmanned aerial complexes and patrol boats on the river section by border guards in border protection. In addition, he inspected the state of border security within the exclusion zone at the site of the Ivankiv department. It is noted that the border guards paid special attention to strengthening sections of the border with Belarus by rapid response units, including the 10th Separate Rapid Response Detachment Dozor. "During his trip to the Vilcha checkpoint, the head of the State Border Guard Service also checked how the checkpoint operations are taking place in today's conditions, despite the decrease in passenger traffic due to quarantine restrictions. Note that this is one of the seven checkpoints that are now operating at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border," the message reads. Over the past three years, Nova Poshta Group has invested UAH 6 million in the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), the company's press service has reported on Thursday. The Group, in particular, notes that it supports the study program of the Economic Journalism Centre "Economics, Markets and Data Analysis" and, since 2021, has established a personal scholarship for students of the master's program in economic analysis. The scholarships will cover 90% of the tuition fees of ten applicants. In addition, in 2021, Nova Poshta decided to increase its support and add to the annual institutional contribution a grant to equip a favorable educational space in a new school building. "I am convinced that this educational institution will be a springboard for many talented people who will become a powerful driver for the revival of the country's economy. And Nova Poshta will continue to support those who, like us, strive to change the world for the better," the company's press service said, citing co-owner of Nova Poshta Viacheslav Klymov. Nova Poshta notes that the floor will become the center of both student and administrative life. In addition to three classrooms, it houses an open space, where the members of the school team will strategize on new programs and improve the existing ones. Thanks to the concept of mobile workplaces, 140 students and employees will be able to comfortably study and work on the floor. "Thanks to equipment of the Kyiv School of Economics, visitors will be able to once again see the power of creativity and inspiration that Nova Poshta carries. We are looking forward to the final chord in the arrangement of this floor together with partners," the press service said, citing KSE Director for Partnership Relations Svitlana Denysenko. As reported, the opening of the new building of the Kyiv School of Economics took place in mid-May 2021 in Kyiv with the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. KYIV. June 3 (Interfax-Ukraine) The state-owned Ukreximbank (Kyiv) began selling non-core assets received as repayment of non-performing loans (NPL), in particular, it put up for sale 16 lots of real estate in Kyiv and regional centers with a total value of UAH 1 billion, Head of Restructuring and Recovery Department of Ukreximbank Oleh Lazovsky has said. "For the first time in the history of Ukreximbank, it begins the sale of non-core assets. These are mainly real estate, which the bank received as repayment of debt on NPL over ten years [...] Some 16 lots have already been put up for sale through the SETAM trading system in the amount of over UAH 1 billion," he said at a press conference hosted by Interfax-Ukraine. According to Lazovsky, these objects were acquired by the bank in ownership back in 2009-2013, but the bank did not take measures to sell them. Managing Partner of the National Electronic Stock Exchange Yevhenia Bozhko said that six out of 16 objects are located in Kyiv, and the rest are located in the regional centers of Ukraine, including Mykolaiv, Dnipro, Uzhgorod, Poltava, Khmelnytsky and Chernihiv. "There are three architectural monuments in our pool of assets in Kyiv [...] One of the architectural monuments is an object with an area of 5,400 square meters in the very center of Podil [...] At present, it is an office center," Bozhko said. According to her, two more architectural monuments are located in the center of Kyiv, not far from the Independence Square (Maidan), and have a three-century history. The windows of one of the buildings overlook Mala Zhytomyrska Street, and the second Sofiyivska Square, Bozhko said. She said that the auction for the sale of 16 lots will be held on June 29 through the electronic platform OpenMarket of the state-owned enterprise SETAM and the acceptance of applications has already started. Lazovsky added that Ukreximbank will hold such auctions in the future. Ukreximbank was established in 1992, its sole owner is the state. According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2021, Ukreximbank ranked third in terms of total assets (UAH 246.877 billion) among 73 banks operating in the country. Police release tear gas into a crowd of pro-Trump protesters during clashes at a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results (Photo : REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo) A Florida man on Wednesday became the second person so far to plead guilty for his role in storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, after he entered the Senate chamber clad in a Trump T-shirt and waving a red flag that said "Trump 2020." In a virtual hearing in U.S. District Court in Washington, Paul Allard Hodgkins pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing an official proceeding. Advertisement "I have decided that I will accept this plea offer, and I will plead guilty," Hodgkins told the judge. The charge can carry a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, though U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss said federal sentencing guidelines call for a sentence in the range of 15 to 21 months. More than 440 people have been charged in connection with the Capitol riots, in which throngs of Republican former President Donald Trump's supporters entered the Capitol in a failed bid to stop Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden's presidential election victory. Few guilty pleas have been entered so far https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-capitol-arrests-pleas-idCAKCN2D211H since the Justice Department launched its sweeping investigation into the deadly attack on the Capitol, in a sign that prosecutors are driving a tough bargain. The only other person to plead guilty so far was Jon Schaffer, founder of the band Iced Earth and a founding member of the far-right Oath Keepers militia. Schaffer pleaded guilty in April https://reut.rs/3pcrVxQ to obstructing an official proceeding and breaching a restricted building. Wednesday's hearing came at the same time that Christopher M. Kelly, another defendant in the Capitol riots cases, had all charges against him dropped after evidence came to light that he had never set foot inside the building. The decision by Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui marks the first time a defendant in the Capitol riots cases has been cleared of all charges, and comes after a paid confidential source helped the FBI build the case using information from Kelly's Facebook account. "He never entered the Capitol on January 6th and that is precisely what he told the government before he was arrested," his attorney, Edward MacMahon Jr., said in a statement. A Justice Department representative previously declined to comment on the case. U.S. President Joe Biden tours the Greenwood Cultural Center during a visit to mark the centennial anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. (Photo : REUTERS/Carlos Barria) Joe Biden on Tuesday became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the site in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where hundreds of Black Americans were massacred by a white mob in 1921, and he said the legacy of racist violence and white supremacy still resonates. Biden came to Tulsa to put a spotlight on an event that epitomizes the country's history of brutal racial violence, despite the massacre being largely under the radar in U.S. classrooms and history books for years. Advertisement "We should know the good, the bad, everything," Biden said in a speech to the few survivors of the attack on Tulsa's Greenwood district and their descendants. "That's what great nations do. They come to terms with their dark sides. And we're a great nation." Biden said the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and efforts by a number of states to restrict voting were echoes of the same problem. "What happened in Greenwood was an act of hate and domestic terrorism, with a through-line that exists today," Biden said. White residents in Tulsa shot and killed up to 300 Black people on May 31 and June 1, 1921, and burned and looted homes and businesses, devastating a prosperous African-American community after a white woman accused a Black man of assault, an allegation that was never proven. Insurance companies did not cover the damages and no one was charged for the violence. Biden said one of the survivors of the attack was reminded of it on Jan. 6 when far-right supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol while Congress was certifying Biden's 2020 election win. The White House has announced a set of policy initiatives to counter racial inequality, including plans to invest tens of billions of dollars in communities like Greenwood that suffer from persistent poverty and efforts to combat housing discrimination. Families of the affected Oklahoma residents have pushed for financial reparations, a measure Biden has only committed to studying further. Biden said his administration would soon also unveil measures to counter hate crimes and white supremacist violence that he said the intelligence community has concluded is "the most lethal threat to the homeland." VOTING RIGHTS He also entrusted Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black American and first Asian American to hold that office, to lead his administration's efforts to counter Republican efforts to restrict voting rights. Multiple Republican-led states, arguing for a need to bolster election security, have passed or proposed voting restrictions, which Biden and other Democrats say are aimed at making it harder for Black voters to cast ballots. But Biden nodded to a political reality he believes has stymied his efforts, including "a tie in the Senate, with two members of the Senate who vote more with my Republican friends," an apparent reference to Democratic Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin. Biden oversaw a moment of silence for the Tulsa victims after meeting with three people who lived in Greenwood during the massacre, Viola Fletcher, Hughes Van Ellis and Lessie Benningfield Randle. Van Ellis, a military veteran, gave the president a salute. Now between the ages of 101 and 107, the survivors asked Congress for "justice" this year and are parties to a lawsuit against state and local officials seeking remedies for the massacre, including a victims' compensation fund. Biden did not answer a reporter's question about whether there should be an official U.S. presidential apology for the killings. The president "supports a study of reparations, but believes first and foremost the task in front of us is to root out systemic racism," spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said. RACIAL RECKONING The visit came during a racial reckoning in the United States as the country's white majority shrinks, threats increase from white supremacist groups and the country re-examines its treatment of African Americans after last year's murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer, sparked nationwide protests. Biden, who won the presidency with critical support from Black voters, made fighting racial inequality a key platform of his 2020 campaign and has done the same since taking office. He met last week with members of Floyd's family on the anniversary of his death and is pushing for passage of a police reform bill that bears Floyd's name. Yet Biden's history on issues of race is complex. He came under fire during the 2020 campaign for opposition to school busing programs in the 1970s that helped integrate American schools. Biden sponsored a 1994 crime bill that civil rights experts say contributed to a rise in mass incarceration and defended his work with two Southern segregationist senators during his days in the U.S. Senate. His trip on Tuesday offered a sharp contrast to a year ago, when Trump, a Republican who criticized Black Lives Matter and other racial justice movements, planned a political rally in Tulsa on June 19, the "Juneteenth" anniversary that celebrates the end of U.S. slavery in 1865. The rally was postponed after criticism. Egypt and Saudi Arabia tackled the means to resume flights between the two countries at their pre-pandemic levels after Cairo and Riyadh had halted civil aviation activities for several months owing to the coronavirus outbreak. In a meeting on Wednesday, Ahmed Farouk, Egypt's ambassador in Riyadh, and Abdel-Aziz Al-Duailej, head of the kingdom's General Authority of Civil Aviation, discussed ways to boost bilateral cooperation in civil aviation, read a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry. Egypt is well prepared to receive the large number of Saudis who are expected to visit the country this summer, Farouk said. He also hailed the "growing" cooperation between the aviation authorities of both countries, the statement continued. Saudi Arabia reopened its airports, seaports, and land border crossings early on 17 May, allowing its citizens to travel outside the kingdom as it lifted the 14-month-long travel ban imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Egypt began resuming regular international flights at all its airports in July, after a four-month hiatus due to the pandemic. Saudi Arabia hosts the biggest community of Egyptian expatriates in the world, estimated at more than two million in 2020. The pandemic has infected a total of 264,557 in Egypt, and claimed 15,178 lives, while 453,000 people were infected and 7,393 died in Saudi Arabia. Egypt has fully vaccinated all staff working in key industries across both the Red Sea and South Sinai governorates, two of the countrys tourism hotspots, as hotels and resorts gear up for the safe return of holidaymakers this summer. Staff working in establishments including hotels, resorts, cafes, restaurants, bazaars and tourism transportation in the Red Sea and South Sinai governorates have received the COVID-19 vaccine. The announcement was made by government officials including Egypts Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled El-Enany, Health and Population Minister Hala Zayed, Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Manar and Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi in a press conference held today during their visit to the Red Sea city of Hurghada to inspect the implementation of hygiene safety measures in airport, hotels and its temporary medical units installed specially to improve the vaccination process for the tourism sector employees. Vaccinating our staff is just one measure we are taking to ensure tourists can return to Egypts crowning jewels safely, quickly, and confidently, said Egypts Minister of Tourism, Dr Khaled El-Enany. COVID-19 cases in the Red Sea and Sinai areas are negligible. Everyone involved in Egypts tourism sector has worked incredibly hard to get to this point to be able to offer a safe travel experience. Nearly a year since the resumption of tourism in Egypt, we are happy to note that the tourist numbers are steadily rising and have almost doubled since January and February 2021. The number of tourists who arrived in Egypt in January was 300,000 and increased to reach 525,000 tourists in April. Now, we are opening our doors and extending a warm invitation to people from around the world who are fed up with staying at home and are desperate to travel for their summer vacation. The vaccination drive will continue in the Red Sea and South Sinai governorates with the aim to complete vaccination for the entire inhabitants in the two governorates by the end of June 2021, he said. Egypt has begun the vaccination for tourism staff in other key destinations including Cairo, Giza, Luxor and Aswan. The vaccination drive is also open to foreign residents and tourists, upon their request. The next phase will be another important step in the recovery of the tourism sector, Dr El-Enany added. As part of the measures taken by the Egyptian government to eliminate cases of COVID-19 in both the Red Sea and South Sinai governorates, shares of the vaccine were allocated to medical centers, in addition to the installation of temporary medical units in select hotels and the use of mobile medical clinics, including medical teams, to vaccinate tourism sector employees as well as providing medical awareness services to citizens and tourists. South Sinai and the Red Sea are Egypts largest tourism pulls. South Sinai includes the famous Sharm al Sheikh resort, Nuweibaa, Dahab, and Taba. The Red Sea meanwhile is known for oases like Hurghada, Sahl Hashish, Gouna, Makadi and Marsa Alam. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, Egypt has adopted a wide range of hygiene and safety measures to curb the spread of the virus in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO). These include social distancing, mandatory masks in select public locations, compulsory testing for visitors, rigorous disinfection and sanitisation drives, as well as the introduction of the Hygiene Safety Certificate as a pre-requisite for tourist establishments and operators. As a result, the countrys popular Red Sea destinations, such as Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, and Marsa Alam, have consistently reported one of the lowest infection rates in the world. In recognition of Egypts endeavors, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) granted the country its Safe Travel Stamp. Travelers to Egypt must carry a negative COVID-19 PCR test certificate from their country issued up to 72 hours prior to the time of departure (96 hours for travelers arriving from Japan, China, Thailand, the US, Canada, South America, as well as London Heathrow, Paris and Frankfurt airports). Travelers arriving at Sharm El-Sheikh, Taba, Hurghada, Marsa Alam and Luxor airports can do a PCR test upon arrival at a cost of US$30. Short link: GYPTO Pharma, an Egyptian state-owned medical city, signed a joint production agreement on Thursday with Japanese health solutions company Otsuka, whereby a new company, named Otsuka GYPTO, was launched to produce pharmaceuticals. The new entity, which is a joint-stock company, aims to cover Egyptian market needs and export the excess. The agreement is part of Egypt's strategy to become a regional hub for medical industrialisation and cooperation with international companies. The newly-established city was inaugurated by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in April and aims to produce safe and effective drugs. It boasts a 180,000 square metre factory and 15 production areas. Omar Mamdouh, the CEO of GYPTO Pharma said the agreement achieves the four goals previously set by the Egyptian political leadership of providing safe and effective medicine to Egyptians, achieving drug security, making Egypt a regional centre for dealing with international medical companies and exporting the surplus production. Mamdouh added that the two companies have a shared interest in the production agreement, in which the city will produce high-quality medical solutions with Egyptian labour while Otsuka will provide technical support. GYPTO Pharma, Mamdouh added, is currently negotiating with other international companies to establish new partnerships in the coming period. Ahmed Zaghloul, the CEO of Otsuka GYPTO company, said the new partnership ensures the availability of intravenous solutions for both local and African markets. He added that it also guarantees continued cooperation between the Egyptian and Japanese sides in the pharmaceutical industry. President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said, during the opening of GYPTO Pharma, that the government aims to provide safe medicine at an affordable price to all citizens and will continue to develop its capacities to produce all necessary drugs locally as per the highest international standards. He added that the preparations for the city took seven years to ensure the highest international standards for the produced medicines. Short link: In an attempt to help families of employees that have lost members to COVID-19, Mukesh Ambani-helmed Reliance Industries has announced that it will continue to pay the last-drawn salary of the deceased employee to his or her nominee for the next five years. The company said that it will also support the education of their children till they graduate from college. In a letter to employees, RIL Chairman and wife Nita Ambani said that the company will honour the promise of 'one Reliance family' and will support them. "Even though these times may seem very bleak, always remember that you are not alone and the entire institution of Reliance stands with each one of you and your family," stated the letter. The company said that it will fund the tuition, hostel accommodation expenses and books for all children of deceased employees till they graduate. The conglomerate will additionally bear 100 per cent insurance premium tariffs for hospitalisation coverage of the deceased employee's spouse, parents and children till graduation. Reliance has also announced family support and welfare programmes for its off-roll employees. The nominee of the deceased off-roll employee will get a lump sum payment of Rs 10 lakh. All employees affected by COVID-19 personally or whose family or family members have been affected can avail special COVID-19 leave for the full duration of their recovery -- both physically and emotionally. The Ambanis urged everyone to not give up the fighting spirit and hoped for better days ahead. In its annual report released on Wednesday, RIL stated that Mukesh Ambani did not draw any salary for the year 2020-21 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, managing directors and whole-time directors Nikhil R Meswani and Hital R Meswani received total remuneration worth Rs 24 crore. Also read: Mukesh Ambani took home no salary in FY21 amid Covid-19 pandemic Also read: RIL created over 75,000 jobs, hired 50,000 freshers in FY21 Egypt, France and Jordan on Thursday emphasised the importance of stopping any unilateral actions that hinder the two state-solution and the revival of the peace process in the Middle East. Egypt, France and Jordan reiterated their commitment to the two-states solution based on the international laws and the agreed past resolutions, it is the only solution that can fulfill the aspirations of the Palestinians and Israelis permanently, the foreign ministries of the three countries said in a joint statement following their video conference meeting. Egypt, Jordan and France also agreed on the necessity of safeguarding the status of holy sites. The three countries held a video conference on Thursday to coordinate and discuss the needs and resources related to the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territories especially in Gaza. In May, Egypt helped facilitate a ceasefire following 11 days of fighting between Israel and Palestinian factions, chief among them Hamas. The recent escalation was sparked on 10 May when Israel cracked down on Palestinian demonstrators protesting Israels plan to forcibly expel Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah district in East Jerusalem. The Israeli bombing of Gaza has claimed over 250 Palestinian lives, including many women and children, while over 8,000 have been wounded. Egypt has allocated of $500 million as part of an Egyptian initiative for the reconstruction of the strip, whose infrastructure has been devastated by the Israeli airstrikes. Short link: Egypt will send engineering equipment to the Gaza Strip via Rafah border crossing on Friday, as part of efforts to rebuild the Gaza Strip. The equipment will take part in removing the debris of destroyed buildings in the coastal enclave to allow for the start of the reconstruction process. The move comes under directives by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. Sisi had pledged 500 million dollars as a contribution to rebuilding Gaza, with the participation of Egyptian companies. The recent escalation was sparked on 10 May when Israel cracked down on Palestinian demonstrators protesting Israels plan to forcibly expel Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah district in East Jerusalem. The Israeli bombing of Gaza has claimed over 250 Palestinian lives, including many women and children, while over 8,000 have been wounded. Short link: At least 11 people were killed by an armed group in eastern DR Congo, sources said Thursday, bringing the troubled region's death toll to at least 70 since the start of the week, according to an AFP tally. Eleven miners in the gold-rich territory of Djugu, in the northeastern province of Ituri, were killed early Wednesday by a local group called the FPIC, Mungwalu district mayor Jean-Pierre Pikilisende told AFP. The Kivu Security Tracker (KST), a respected NGO that monitors violence in eastern DR Congo, said 12 people had been executed. Pikilisende said the militia had come to take control over the area, whose gold is mined by poor artisanal diggers. Ituri and neighbouring North Kivu province have been placed under a "state of siege" a government attempt to stem escalating violence by replacing civilian officials with senior army or police officers. Fifty-three people were killed overnight Sunday in two Ituri villages, in the region's worst one-day massacre in recent history, sources there told an AFP correspondent. The journalist said 21 died in Tshabi and another 32 in Boga, where a camp for displaced people was targeted. Eighty-four shacks in the camp were torched, as were eight stores in nearby Boga, the reporter saw. Fifteen homes were burned in Tshabi. A number of villagers, including at least four women, were kidnapped. Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which operates in the area, denounced the "extreme violence", saying it was taking care of 12 people who were seriously injured in the fighting. The identity of the attackers remains unclear, as the massacres took place in an area notorious for ethnic tension and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group that has been linked to the so-called Islamic State. The ADF has the bloodiest reputation of the estimated 122 armed groups that roam eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), many of them a legacy of wars more than a quarter-century ago. Five other people were killed early Tuesday, and several others, including children, are missing. On Wednesday, an old man was beheaded in the village of Bulire, near Boga, and two people went missing, a local administrative official said. As of Friday, the KST estimated that at least 1,228 civilians have been killed in Beni territory of North Kivu alone since November 2019, when DRC's armed forces launched a crackdown, splintering the ADF into smaller groups. Abductions In South Kivu province, representatives of the Banyamulenge community ,Congolese of Tutsi background said they had negotiated the release of 19 people, including women and children, who were kidnapped last week. The fate of two other missing children both aged under 10 was unknown. They were abducted in clashes between Banyamulenge fighters and an opposing force from rival ethnic groups, backed by Burundian rebels. The so-called Mai-Mai coalition seized around a dozen villages in an offensive in the mountainous Hauts Plateaux area , an act lashed by local MP Moise Nyarugabo as "ethnic cleansing." Five people died in the violence and many homes were looted. Short link: Following the end of Israels offensive on the Gaza Strip and crackdown on Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem, Palestinian factions should finalise the reconciliation process and vote for a new president and parliament, said ex-Arab ministers on Thursday. In a webinar organised by the Boutros Ghali Foundation for Peace and Knowledge (KEMET), the ministers discussed the future of the Palestinian cause amid such developments and the likelihood of reaching a settlement to the seven-decade conflict. Amr Moussa, Egypts ex-foreign minister and Arab League chief, said the recent events has put the Palestinian cause back on top of the regional agenda. He believes that the Palestinians should make initiatives and address the international public opinion to keep this gain. There is no doubt that the Palestinians have politically won, and Israel and Israeli politics have lost, Moussa argued. He added that very few states around the world are convinced by the ridiculous Israeli positions. Moussa pointed out that Israel made a lot of gains during the Trump administration, although warning that the Palestinians still have to take on their responsibilities. This mainly includes their political divisions, which Egypt has continuously mediated in a bid to resolve them. Donald Trump, the predecessor of current US President Joe Biden, recognised Jerusalem as Israels undivided capital, moved the US embassy there from Tel Aviv, closed the Palestine Liberation Organisations (PLO) office in Washington DC as well as the US consulate that serves the Palestinians in Jerusalem and cut funding for the UN Palestinian refugees agency (UNRWA). Intra-Palestinian tensions are clearly there, and all parties should be told that they are losing the conflict because of their divisions, Moussa stressed. He wants the Palestinians to actively work on the issue of holding legislative and presidential elections. Postponing the [Palestinian] election was a huge mistake. How can they speak to the world about their cause more strongly than by having legislative and presidential elections?, Moussa stated. On 30 April, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas postponed parliamentary and presidential elections that were scheduled by 22 May. Abbas said he is not sure whether Israel would allow the elections to take place in East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Ismail Haniya chief of Islamist Hamas group that rules Gaza called Abbas to challenge Israel and proceed with the voting process. In Hamas, we dont want to turn the situation into an internal Palestinian struggle. We want the language of dialogue, communication and dialogue to prevail among all Palestinians, Haniyeh noted. Egypts former top diplomat wants the Palestinians to take advantage of the timing amid Israels turbulent political environment and concerns over whether the new coalition will collapse amid ideological dissimilarities between its parties. Parties to the coalition might disagree in the long run. They agreed to work together because they wanted to kick Netanyahu out. But this objective will be met during their first minute in office, Moussa explained. The Palestinians need to take advantage of this. An Israeli election should be faced with Palestinian one, and Israeli divisions should be met with Palestinian unity. He believes that this is the moment that the Palestinians can benefit from, especially if Israel arranges polls within the next few months. Nabil Fahmy, also Egypts ex-foreign minister, argued that the Palestinians will not succeed in meeting their objectives if they continue to have divisions. He stressed that Israels recent crackdown on Jerusalem and the West Bank and offensive on Gaza have shown to the world that it is treating the Palestinians unfairly. The international public opinion rejects how the Israelis are dealing with the Palestinians, and the international community as a whole says the situation is unacceptable. I have seen protests in the US that Jews participated in, Fahmy explained. As it includes political parties that are both rightist and leftist, he thinks that the new Israeli coalition is weird. Fahmy stated that Israels new coalition will reduce tensions in the US-Israeli relations, believing they may make a strategic decision about Palestinian statehood. The reason, according to Fahmy, is that Naftali Bennett the new extreme, rightist premier and other politicians are concerned about their careers. The Arabs and Palestinians should highlight Israels humanitarian crimes. It will attract the attention of the international community, and humanitarian agencies can help in this. The peace process can hardly succeed in the short run, but in the long run we should protect its foundations for the future, Fahmy said. Fahmy wants the Palestinian Authority to be more active in joining international institutions and getting new resolutions by the UN Security Council and General Assembly that recognises their rights in a state on the pre-1967 borders, with east Jerusalem as its capital. Lebanons former foreign minister Nassif Hitti said Israels latest offensive on Gaza the fourth in recent years led to the rise of new rules of engagement and unity among the Palestinian people in all occupied territories and Gaza. Noting that the right-wing continues to dominate Israels politics, Hitti said the Palestinians need to form a unity government and hold elections. He also urged the need for reviving the Arab peace initiative, pointing out that the Arab foreign ministers will meet in the Qatari capital Doha by mid-June. What Israel is doing against the Palestinians should be described as apartheid. Its not enough to say that we are sympathising with the Palestinians, thinking about reconstructing Gaza or fulfilling their humanitarian needs. We should not only try to handle the occupation, but also work on settling the conflict, Hitti said. Nabil Amr, former Palestinian information and culture minister, argued that Israels political elites are not leading the crisis, but the crisis is leading them. But unfortunately, we cannot take advantage of the situation unless we end the Palestinian divisions, the ex-advisor of Abbas and former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat noted. Egypt which the Palestinians love and know doesnt have an agenda can play a role in encouraging the Palestinians to create a new political system and a new elected parliament on the basis of proportional representation that will eventually lead to a ruling coalition, Amr said. Emphasising that each of the factions now speak on behalf of the Palestinians, Amr pointed out that this matter prevents the Palestinians from benefiting from the gains of Israels offensive on Gaza. Amr stated that Egypt is almost authorised by the international community including the United States to manage the situation in Gaza and its surroundings. Egypt did great work in terms of the Gaza ceasefire, being almost the only state that the Palestinians do not question the reasons behind its involvement because it has an interest in reaching it, said Amr. The 11-day [Gaza] war changed a lot. Imagine if it would have happened while the Palestinians are politically united. Its time for new political Palestinian cadres to rise. We dont only need new faces, but people with new qualifications. This is why we need elections, concluded the veteran Palestinian politician. Short link: Flights have resumed between Libya's capital Tripoli and the eastern city of Tobruk after a break of several years, as the division-plagued country takes a further step towards normalcy. A flight from Tripoli of Libya's Buraq Air landed late Wednesday in Tobruk, a centre of power of a parallel administration that until recently controlled the east. Tobruk is also the seat of Libya's elected national parliament. Airport authorities in Tobruk welcomed the resumption of flights after what they said was a "long interruption", adding that two flights have been scheduled weekly. Oil-rich Libya has been torn by conflict since the toppling and killing of dictator Moamer Kadhafi a decade ago. In October, rival camps in the east and west signed a truce, setting in motion a UN-led peace process that saw a new interim unity government installed earlier this year. The new executive is charged with organising legislative and presidential elections set for December. The ceasefire agreement included the restoring of domestic air and land links, and discussions are underway on reopening east-west roads. Flights between the eastern city of Benghazi and the western cities of Tripoli and Misrata have also resumed. Most air links were suspended in 2014 as violent conflict engulfed the country. Short link: A Moroccan court rejected Thursday an appeal to release a journalist awaiting trial who has been on hunger strike for 57 days against his detention, his lawyer said. Soulaimane Raissouni, 48, chief editor of Moroccan independent daily Akhbar al-Youm, is accused of "indecent assault", charges he denies. He began a hunger strike in April demanding to be provisionally released, having been held in detention for months. "He is in a serious health condition, and cannot stand up straight for five minutes," his lawyer Mohamed Messaoudi said in court. "He is incapable of concentrating or answering any question." Messaoudi said his client, who appeared Thursday for a hearing before the Casablanca appeals court, had lost around 30 kilos (66 pounds) since his arrest in May 2020. But a judge dismissed concern over Raissouni's health, saying that a doctor had declared the journalist to be in a "general good state", and postponed the start of his trial to June 10. On Tuesday, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urged Morocco's King Mohammed VI to "use his influence" to secure the release of Raissouni, as well as fellow jailed journalist Omar Radi. Radi also began a hunger strike in April, but he suspended it three weeks later, due to what his father said at the time was a "significant deterioration" of his health. Known for his human rights work, Radi was placed in pre-trial detention last July, charged with receiving foreign funds for the purpose of harming "state security", the justice ministry had said. He is also accused separately of rape, and denies all the charges against him. Supporters say both cases are part of a defamation campaign targeting journalists and rights activists critical of Moroccan authorities. Short link: Iran on Thursday slammed the United Nations' decision to suspend its voting rights for failing to pay its dues as "fundamentally flawed, entirely unacceptable and completely unjustified". Tehran argues that the $16.2 million it owes to the UN is the result of Washington's crippling sanctions, imposed after former president Donald Trump in 2018 unilaterally withdrew the US from a nuclear deal with Iran. Iran's voting rights at the UN General Assembly were suspended in January under rules for countries whose arrears are equal to or exceed their contributions due for the past two years. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed his "strong dismay" at the loss of voting rights, in a letter sent Thursday to UN chief Antonio Guterres. "Iran's inability to fulfil its financial obligation toward the United Nations is directly caused by 'unlawful unilateral sanctions' imposed by the United States," Zarif wrote, according to the letter posted on his Twitter account. Zarif said Iran rejected the suspension of its voting privileges because Tehran's "incapacity to transfer its financial contribution has been entirely beyond its control". Guterres, in a May 28 letter to the UN General Assembly, said five nations were barred from voting due to their failure to pay arrears, but added the UN could permit them to vote if it were deemed to be "due to conditions beyond the control" of the member state. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres, said there had been "very intense discussion" with Iran to find a solution. "It is not from lack of trying, either on our side or their side but the country falls under a number of bilateral sanctions which makes it a bit challenging," Dujarric told reporters. "These discussions are continuing in good faith." Zarif urged the UN leadership to "remain true to the purposes and principles" of the UN charter, and to "refrain from any decision that betrays the spirit of sovereign equality of member states, and weakens multilateralism." The US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal and re-imposition of sanctions led to Iran stepping up its nuclear activities. US President Joe Biden has signalled his readiness to revive the accord, and global powers have been meeting in Vienna since early April in a bid to do so, with a fresh round of talks slated to begin next week. Short link: The security services of Russia and Belarus said Thursday that they will cooperate more closely to counter what they said were the West's "aggressive policies". Russia's foreign intelligence service, the SVR, and the Belarusian Committee for State Security, known as the KGB, made the announcement in identical statements after their heads met in Belarus. "In the spirit of traditional brotherly ties, Russia's SVR and Belarus's KGB agreed to conduct joint work to counter the destructive activity of the West aimed at destabilising the political and socio-economic situation across the Union State," the statements said. SVR chief Sergei Naryshkin and KGB head Ivan Tertel stressed the "importance of consolidating efforts" to respond to global challenges and new threats, the security services said. Russia and Belarus are part of a "union state" that links their economies and militaries. The countries have been discussing a closer integration as both of their ties with the West go from bad to worse. Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko has for years had a volatile relationship with Moscow, playing it off against the West and ruling out outright unification with Russia. But he has pivoted closer to the Kremlin since the breakout of historic protests against his nearly three-decade rule following a disputed election last August. Lukashenko accused European countries of attempting to interfere in the ballot to sway its outcome and repeatedly said NATO was working to destabilise his ex-Soviet country. But Belarus's strained ties with the EU hit rock bottom after Minsk last month diverted a Ryanair flight to arrest a Belarusian dissident onboard. EU leaders have agreed to ban Belarusian airlines from flying to the bloc and recommended that EU-based carriers avoid Belarusian airspace. Diplomats from the 27 EU nations are now working on expanding sanctions on Belarus and are eyeing hitting key sectors of the economy to try to undercut Lukashenko's financial backing. Short link: A shadow government in Myanmar on Thursday called on the Rohingya minority to help it overthrow the junta, promising citizenship and repatriation for the persecuted Muslim community in a future democratic Myanmar. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military overthrew democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) government in a February 1 coup. A brutal crackdown on dissent by the junta has since killed more than 800 people, according to a local monitoring group. A group of ousted lawmakers -- mostly from the NLD -- later set up a shadow "National Unity Government" which has sought to bring anti-coup dissidents together. The junta has classified the NUG as "terrorists", meaning anyone speaking to them -- including journalists -- can be subjected to charges under counter-terrorism laws. "We invite Rohingyas to join hands with us and with others to participate in this Spring Revolution against the military dictatorship," the group said in a statement. Suu Kyi's NLD government had avoided the term "Rohingya" because of sensitivity among ethnic groups in the majority-Buddhist country, referring to the minority as "Muslims living in Rakhine." In Myanmar, the Rohingya are widely seen as interlopers from Bangladesh and have been denied citizenship, rights and access to services for decades under what Amnesty International calls apartheid-like conditions. The NUG also promised to end a 1982 citizenship law which discriminates against the Rohingya, promising all those born in Myanmar or to a Myanmar citizen would be granted citizenship. The group also said it was committed to repatriating all Rohingya languishing in camps in Bangladesh "as soon as repatriation can be accomplished voluntarily, safely and with dignity." More than 740,000 Rohingya fled over the border into Bangladesh after a bloody military campaign in 2017 that the UN condemned as ethnic cleansing. The military claimed its operations were justified to root out Rohingya insurgents following a series of deadly attacks on police posts and has denied all allegations of wrongdoing. Suu Kyi defended the army's conduct and even travelled to The Hague to rebut charges of genocide at the UN's top court. More than 600,000 Rohingya remain mostly in northern Rakhine state without citizenship, restricted to either camps or their villages, many unable to access medical care. Short link: Norway said Thursday it had summoned the US embassy's top official in Oslo to lodge an official protest following a report that Washington had spied on Norwegian and other European leaders. "The defence ministry held a meeting with the US embassy in Oslo today where we made it clear that spying on allies is unacceptable and unnecessary," Norway's Defence Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen said on Twitter. The ministry said the US charge d'affaires -- Richard Riley, according to the embassy's website -- was the person who attended the meeting with a senior Norwegian official. The US embassy is currently without an ambassador. In an investigative report on Sunday, Danish public broadcaster Danmarks Radio (DR) said the US National Security Agency (NSA) had eavesdropped on Danish underwater internet cables from 2012 to 2014. They spied on top politicians in France, Germany, Norway and Sweden, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Paris, Berlin and other European capitals have demanded answers from Washington and Copenhagen, though reports of allies spying on each other have surfaced ever since the Snowden affair in 2013. The NSA got access to text messages, telephone calls and internet traffic including searches, chats and messaging services -- including those of Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, then-foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and then-opposition leader Peer Steinbruck, DR said. "I'm pleased that the Americans clearly said that they changed their practices in 2014 when it comes to the monitoring of allies, and that they want to cooperate with us and others to chart what happened," Norwegian news agency NTB quoted Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg as saying. "We summoned the US embassy in Oslo today to follow up on this," she added. According to NTB, Solberg also held talks on Thursday with her Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen. "I reiterated that we consider espionage against close friends and allies unacceptable and unnecessary," she said. Short link: Hong Kong: DC members should abide by rules The Home Affairs Department today said it had issued letters reminding individual district councillors to comply with the code of conduct and the remuneration guidelines, after receiving complaints that some members are promoting unauthorised public assemblies. In a statement, the department said it received complaints that some District Council members conducted activities which are unrelated to council duties, damaging to community harmony, and possibly in breach of the laws of Hong Kong. These activities include, but are not limited to, distributing materials and conducting publicity to encourage and facilitate members of the public to participate in unauthorised public assemblies. Citing the relevant code of conduct, the department said a district councillor shall conduct himself or herself in such a way as not to place himself or herself in a position which may be contrary to the generally assumed standard of conduct expected of a District Council member. When deciding whether to engage in any activities, a district councillor shall accord due consideration as to whether the nature and contents of such activities might be regarded as not in keeping with the position or prestige of a District Council member and thereby bringing the council into disrepute. Additionally, a district councillor shall not use the various allowances for a member, or his or her ward offices for purposes other than those connected with the district council business. The daily operation of a district councillors ward office should also comply with all relevant statutory provisions and guidelines issued by relevant government departments, professional groups or social service organisations. All expenses not complying with the remuneration guidelines or for discharging duties unrelated to the District Council will not be reimbursed. The department said if there is proof that a district councillors ward office was used for duties not related to the council, the related remuneration and ward office operating expenses will not be reimbursed. The district councillor may also bear criminal liability when other legislations are breached, it added. This story has been published on: 2021-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. A Dominica magistrate has denied bail to absconding diamond tycoon Mehul Choksi, who was arrested on May 23 for alleged illegal entry to the Caribbean island country, the local media reported. Choksi, wanted here in connection with a Rs 13,500-crore fraud in the Punjab National Bank (PNB), pleaded before the magistrate that he was abducted and forcibly brought to Dominica from neighbouring Antigua and Barbuda, about 100 nautical miles away, Dominica News Online reported. The 62-year-old wheelchair-bound diamantaire, who has a pending Interpol Red Corner Notice (RCN) against him, arrived before the presiding Roseau Magistrate Court in a black pair of shorts and a blue T-shirt from the Dominica China Friendship Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment. The Dominica High Court, which was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Choksi, had ordered him to be presented before the magistrate to face charges of illegal entry. A habeas corpus petition is filed for producing before a court a person who is under arrest or in unlawful detention. "Our stand that Mehul Choksi is in illegal detention as he was required to be produced within 72 hours before the magistrate and was not so produced has been vindicated. In order to remedy this, he has been asked to be produced before the magistrate. This establishes the illegal detention of Choksi as pleaded by the defence. Contrary to numerous media reports, there was no discussion regarding the Government of India," Choksi's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal said here. During the hearing before Magistrate Candia Carrette-George, the Dominica prosecution cited two main arguments to keep Choksi under detention -- theN against him and the ongoing extradition proceedings in the courts of Antigua and Barbuda, where he is staying since 2018 after leaving India. Prosecutor Sherma Dalrymple told the court that Choksi is a "flight risk" and does not have any ties in Dominica that prevent him from fleeing the country if bail is granted. Defence counsel Wayne Norde said Choksi was not a flight risk considering his health and the pending extradition proceedings in Antigua and Barbuda were also a reason for him not to leave Dominica. Offering to pay a bail amount of ECD 10,000, double the fine amount for illegal entry to Dominica, Norde said Choksi did not have any criminal case in Antigua and Barbuda and the proceedings against him were civil in nature, which shows that he is a a man of good character. The lawyer said the new bail act says a defendant is entitled to the relief as a right unless the offence is of a serious nature. In her order, the magistrate said considering the "severity" of the matter, she is not convinced that Choksi will stay in the country to face legal proceedings and adjourned the matter till June 14. Also read: Mehul Choksi has to be deported to India, his petition should not be heard: Dominican govt tells court Belarus on Thursday announced that the United States would have to cut its diplomatic and administrative staff in the ex-Soviet country as part of retaliatory sanctions following punitive measures from Washington. The Belarusian foreign ministry also said that permission for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to work in the country had been revoked. In a statement, the Belarusian foreign ministry spokesman, Anatoly Glaz, said the United States would have to cut its diplomatic and administrative staff in Belarus and visa procedures would also be tightened. He did not provide specifics. In April, the United States said it was reimposing sanctions on nine state-owned companies in Belarus after strongman Alexander Lukashenko ignored warnings to release political prisoners following a crackdown on the opposition after a disputed election last year. The sanctions came into effect earlier Thursday. Glaz said the US measures would only hurt "ordinary Belarus citizens". "These actions are illegal, contradict international law and are aimed at putting pressure on a sovereign state," he said in the statement. Last week the White House announced it would impose more sanctions on Belarus after it diverted a European flight and arrested a dissident on board. Lukashenko in 2008 threw out the US ambassador after the George W. Bush administration imposed sanctions on the president, his allies and a state oil company following elections seen as unfair and a crackdown on protesters. Short link: Cyprus said Thursday a US-funded border security training centre will be operational in January 2022, with the US ambassador Judith Garber saying it would "bring greater security to the region." The United States embassy says the Cyprus Centre for Land, Open-seas, and Port Security dubbed CYCLOPS nwill "provide technical assistance in areas related to security and safety, including customs and exports control, port and maritime security, and cybersecurity". Construction of centre began in January in the southern port town of Larnaca, following a deal signed in September 2020 by then-US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides, on a site visit Thursday, said it would be operational on January 16, 2022. "The establishment of a Cypriot-owned regional training centre is a token of the strengthening of our relations in issues of security," Christodoulides said. He said several European Union states and some countries in the Middle East have shown "strong interest" in training their officials in customs checks and cybersecurity threats. The US is providing equipment and staff for the training facility, which will include a mock land border crossing, passenger screening area, and a mobile cybersecurity training lab. The US embassy says CYCLOPS will support its "efforts to curb the proliferation risks posed by malign regional actors and violent extremist organisations". Cyprus said it was selected because the Mediterranean island is located at the EU's southeastern tip, and enjoys good relations with Middle East countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel. Last month Cyprus said it was in a "state of emergency" because of an inflow of Syrian migrants that has flooded its reception centres, appealing for help from the EU. In the past four years, the number of asylum seekers in Cyprus has reached four percent of its population, compared to one percent in other EU states, the government says. Short link: US President Joe Biden blacklisted an additional 28 Chinese firms linked to Beijing's "military-industrial complex" and barred them from American investment, the White House announced Thursday. The move increased the Trump era blacklist of 31 firms to 59 and expanded the national emergency over Chinese surveillance technology used to "facilitate repression or serious human rights abuses," which "undermine the security or democratic values of the United States and our allies," the Biden administration said. Short link: World leaders announced their commitment to support the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) through securing $ 2.4 billion, reaching a total of $9.6 billion for COVID-19 vaccine procurement. The announcement came during the One World Protected Summit, held on Thursday, which was hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and Gavi Board Chair Jose Manuel Barroso. Donors have also pledged $775 million for vaccine delivery. The announced funding will allow the COVAX AMC to secure 1.8 billion fully subsidised doses for delivery to lower-income economies in 2021 and early 2022. This is enough to protect nearly 30 percent of the adult population in AMC-eligible economies. The funds raised will also support COVAX to diversify its vaccine portfolio in times of supply uncertainty and new variant emergence and to plan the scenarios and strategy for public health needs for 2022 and beyond. Bringing an end to the COVID-19 pandemic is the most pressing challenge of our time and nobody wins the race until everyone wins. Today, as we looked back on one year of COVAX, we saw that global leaders clearly recognise the need for equitable access and support the principle that ability to pay should not determine whether someone is protected from this virus, said CEO of Gavi Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi On its side, the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced it is stepping up to support African Union (AU) countries with an additional 300 million financing to access vaccines through the COVAX cost-sharing scheme. During the event, EIPs president Werner Hoyer said that 2020 global cooperation, including advanced funding from the EIB, has enabled COVAX to deliver 70 million doses in 126 countries, but access remains a privilege. Todays One World Protected summit is mobilising urgent action essential to tackle the significant shortfall and increase overall financing. This will ensure that the global COVAX roll-out delivers billions of vaccines in 2021 and early 2022 to tackle COVID-19, save lives and help communities and business to return to normality. As part of Team Europe the EIB is currently working to increase its financing to COVAX, alongside backing new investment to strengthen health and economic resilience to the pandemic around the world, Hoyer explained. President of European Commission von der Leyen elaborated that stepping up efforts is required to accelerate safe and effective vaccination everywhere. This is the only way to get out of the current crisis and to prevent a new pandemic. Team Europe is investing in COVAX, both financially and by sharing vaccines. Because we believe this is the best way to ensure universal, fair and affordable access to COVID19 vaccines. Our common goal is to leave no one behind, she illustrated. She announced that the EU, together with the EIB, will reorient 300 million to COVAX, clarifying that it is Team Europe's contribution to AVATT-COVAX's cost-sharing rapid finance scheme. This scheme will help vaccine purchases in Africa. And it will foster links between COVAX and the African Union, according to von der Leyen. World Health Organisation (WHO)s director-general Tedros Adhanom said that vaccinating the world relies on full support for COVAX. This June, we must build on the momentum from this summit to secure COVAX the doses and funds needed to overcome its immediate supply gap and continue to build a sustainable pipeline into the future, The first international delivery of doses of COVID-19 vaccines supported by COVAX arrived in Ghana on 24 February. As of 3 June, more than 77 million doses have been shipped to 127 countries across six continents. Doses shared by countries will be used to make up for COVAXs short-term supply disruption, which is expected to last into the third quarter of 2021 Short link: We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. Martin Luther king Pan-Africanism is a global movement meant to encourage and strengthen unity between Africans, including those in the diaspora that are of African descent. The movement promotes peace and prosperity while boldly stressing that Africans dont only share a common history, but a common destiny, and that unity of those of African descent is needed for economic, social, and political progress. Pan-Africanism, which can be traced back to the 19th century, was initiated to constructively fight against the enslavement and colonisation of African peoples. The movement recorded a massive success, one of which was giving birth to the Organisation of African Unity, which later became known as the African Union (AU). The primary goal of Pan-Africanism to eradicate enslavement and colonisation was achieved. Emphasis has now shifted to promote unity and solidarity among African states, enhance economic development, and stimulate international cooperation. The AU's Agenda 2063 gave us all we need when it comes to Pan-Africanism, such as the drive for unity, self-determination, freedom, progress, and collective prosperity of African peoples. In its precise term, the agenda envisions an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens, representing a dynamic force in the international arena. The vision of Agenda 2063 can be fully realised through the collective efforts of African states. African states made practical contributions, that are commendable and encouraged, to their counterparts. Egypt for example, has a long history of strong advocacy of Pan-Africanism that can be traced back to the rule of late president Gamal Abdel-Nasser. Until today, under the leadership of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, the spirit of Pan-Africanism has been geared up where the country has continued to play key roles in the areas of peace, security, education, humanitarian affairs, and cultural affairs across Africa. South Sudan is a very good example. It is the most recent sovereign state and has gained widespread recognition both in the continental and global arenas. It is also one of the youngest nations in the world, with half of its 12 million population under 18 years old. Egypt supports South Sudan and many other African countries in the spirit of Pan-Africanism. It has left a mark in the recovery and development of South Sudan. Recently, under the ambassadorship of Mohamed Kadah, who has been regarded by many as the ambassador of Egypt to the whole of Africa, a lot has been remarkably achieved. During his tenure, Egypt has been supporting the implementation of the Revitalised Peace Agreement in Southern Sudan, as it sent military aid to South Sudan on board a number of Egyptian military aircraft, including 32,000 full military uniforms (14,000 full military uniforms in May 2020, and 18,000 in September and October 2019), in addition to 1,000 tents and 10 tons of medicines and medical equipment as part of the Egyptian contribution to the establishment of troop assembly centres (cantons). Egypt organised an air bridge to transport humanitarian aid to alleviate the catastrophic repercussions of the floods in southern Sudan in September 2020, based on the directives of President El-Sisi, and in response to President Salva Kiir's declaration of the "state of emergency." The total volume of aid provided reached about 80 tons of food, tents and supplies. Food and medicine were dispatched in three shipments. The aid was received by Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Manawa Peter, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Peter Mayan, Governor of Jonglei State Dinai Shagur, President of Pibor District Administration Joshua Kony, and Deputy Minister of Finance AgokMcCur. Egypt also sent humanitarian aid on 1 March 2020 on board two military aircraft, according to the directives of President El-Sisi, to alleviate the suffering of the southern citizens who were affected by the floods that struck the country. The aid included 14 tons of medicine. Cairo dispatched a shipment of medical aid to curb the spread of the coronavirus on 5 September 2020, amounting to about 1.5 tons of gloves, sterile masks, goggles, medical shoes, and protective suits (estimated at about $100, 000). The aid was sent within the framework of a presidential pledge, granting $4 million in aid to the African Fund to Combat the Coronavirus, by providing in-kind assistance to 20 African countries. The shipment was received by Elizabeth Ashoy, the southern minister of health, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Health and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A shipment of medical aid arrived on 6 June 2020, and included 12 tons of disinfectants and medical supplies, as part of the Egyptian Ministry of Defence efforts to provide medical assistance to combat the pandemic in 10 African countries, including South Sudan. Egypt sent two shipments of medical aid to southern Sudan on board two war planes on 18 and 21 May 2020, based on the directives of President El-Sisi, to combat the pandemic. They included 11 tons of medicines in addition to 15,000 protective suits and eight tons of baby milk. In addition, the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development provided a shipment of relief aid on 8 March 2021, which included half a ton of medicine to alleviate the human suffering as a result of the floods for IDP centres in South Sudan. The shipment was delivered to Rebecca Garang, vice president of South Sudan, who expressed her appreciation for the immediate response to the request for assistance. She also noted that Egypt was one of the first countries to respond to her country's needs. In March 2021, Egypt delivered another patch of Humanitarian aid to the IDPs in South Sudan. The aid was issued by Kadah and received by Garang. Targeting the displaced persons as a result of communal violence and floods, another massive assistance of 26 tons of food from the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development is on the way. It will similarly be handed over to Garang. These are but a few examples of the humanitarian assistance Egypt has provided over the last couple of years. And even more importantly, Egypt is a long-standing development partner of South Sudan, providing assistance in vital areas, such as education, healthcare, training, and capacity building. What is very unique about this is that Egypt has always been the first country to offer support to South Sudan whenever the need arises. It is widely accepted that behind every success is a great team and the core of every great team is a strong leader. These were only possible under the passionate and sincere leadership of Ambassador Kadah who pledged to tirelessly promote the Agenda of Egypt and President El-Sisi by being a great support in the development of every country hes assigned to, especially African countries. I personally think it is high time all strong African countries emulate Egypt in supporting their African counterparts. That is surely a promising way of attaining Vision 2063. United we stand, divided we fall. * The writer is a fellow of the Pan-Africa Summer School Egypt. Short link: The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Egypt, in collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, signed on 1 June a Memorandum of Understanding with Cairo University to establish a Migration Research Unit (MRU) to provide a platform for communication among migration experts. The MRU aims at increasing different stakeholders knowledge on migration, mobility and human development, migration governance and national migration polices in a multidisciplinary manner. This will be achieved through organising a group of seminars and educational workshops to exchange views on migration matters and their impact on the economic and social level within Egyptian society. Mahmoud El-Said, dean of the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, has affirmed that the establishment of this unit is considered a significant addition to the faculty centres and programmes. According to professor of economics and director of the centre Adela Rajab, the unit will play an important role in building national capacities and this will contribute in the long term to developing more comprehensive migration policies based on evidence-based data and a deep understanding of all related matters of migration and how to manage it. IOM Egypt Chief of Mission Laurent De Boeck congratulated the Faculty of Economics and Political Science for their academic and practical support to the government of Egypt in making migration governance a success. The MRU establishment supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely Goal 10, Reduced Inequalities, specifically target 10.7, which is to facilitate orderly, safe, and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies, as well as Goal 17, Partnerships for the Goals. By engaging scholars and researchers in an interdisciplinary learning process, the MRU will be supported with a virtual library on migration data sources provided through the IOM online library. Short link: In a special one-day session held on 27 May, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted an unprecedented resolution to investigate war crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) and Israel. This happened six days after a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamic resistance movement Hamas went into effect. It ended 11 days of fighting during which Hamass military wing fired rockets into Israel and the latter responded with heavy bombardment of the blockaded and occupied Gaza Strip. Together with the forced eviction by Israeli settlers of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem that preceded it, the war triggered a worldwide wave solidarity with the Palestinians revealing a shift in the Israel-Palestine discourse, observers say. A taboo on criticising Israeli policy or presenting balanced coverage of the conflict in the US and much of the West has noticeably eroded, something that resonated even in the infamously bureaucratic United Nations. For the first time in the history of the organisation, a resolution to investigate alleged violations and abuse of international human rights law and international humanitarian law includes Israel in its mandate. While the special session was scheduled during and because of the 11-day conflict, the wording of the resolution does not limit the investigation to recent events. Indeed the HRC decided to establish an ongoing independent, international committee of inquiry (ICO), to be appointed by the councils president. This will investigate violations leading up to and since 13 April 2021, and all underlying root causes of recurrent tensions, instability and protraction of conflict, including systematic discrimination and repression based on national, ethnic, racial or religious identity. The committees mandate includes collecting and preserving evidence of violations and crimes with the possibility of admissibility in legal proceedings and identifying, where possible, those responsible, with a view to ensuring that perpetrators of violations are held accountable. The resolution was adopted by a vote of 24 in favour, nine against and 14 abstentions. All seven European member states in the HRC abstained or voted against the resolution, which was introduced by Pakistan on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Conference. Human rights defenders say the UN has never attempted to investigate violations inside the 1948 borders, known as the Green Line, which marks the Palestinian territories captured by Zionist gangs to establish the state of Israel 73 years ago. Although Israel is a Jewish state, it has a population of 1.9 million Palestinians with Israeli documents. They are descendants of the Palestinians who remained within those borders after the creation of Israel in 1948. Akshaya Kumar, director of Crisis Advocacy and Special Projects in the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) described the HRCs commission of inquiry as a transformative moment. It is the first time ever that the HRC is looking beyond the immediate, beyond for example war crimes in the context of a conflict in Gaza, to the systematic discrimination across the OPT and in Israel itself everywhere from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea, she said in reference to the entire map of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In April HRW issued a groundbreaking report documenting crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution by the Israeli authorities. BTsleem, the Israeli rights group, had already released a report earlier this year in the same vein, stating that Israel enacts an apartheid regime in all the territory it controls, but did not have the same impact as the international rights watchdogs findings. The 213-page report, A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution is based on an overarching Israeli government policy to maintain the domination by Jewish Israelis over Palestinians and grave abuses committed against Palestinians living in the OT, including East Jerusalem. The HRC did not mention any assessment of the crime of apartheid and persecution, but the COI has the mandate to make such an assessment. According to Kuma, Theyve been told to look into systematic discrimination and its root causes. And HRW will be sure to get our analysis to them so they know what we think of the situation, which is that indeed the crime of apartheid and the crime of prosecution are being committed by Israeli authorities. Because the resolution tasks the COIs members with preparing case files for the future, identifying perpetrators and collecting evidence, Kumar hopes they can build up the kind of information needed for prosecution. On 13 May the International Criminal Court (ICC) Public Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said an investigation is underway into alleged war crimes in earlier conflicts by both Israeli and Palestinian individuals, despite the formers rejection of the courts jurisdiction. Bensouda told Reuters she would press ahead with her inquiry even without the cooperation of Israel, which accuses her office of anti-Semitic bias. As with HRC commission of inquiry reports on violations in previous Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, the findings of the COI could be a main source of information examined by the office of the ICCs prosecutor general. This could open up avenues for universal jurisdiction and it takes us one step closer to really giving the situation in Palestine the kind of attention that it deserves at the international level, Kumar said. By including all territories where Palestinians exist, the resolution is aligned with realities on the ground that have been distorted and misrepresented. What were seeing here is that the UN has adopted a resolution that takes a holistic view on violations against Palestinians in Gaza, East Jerusalem, the West Bank and inside Israel, said Sawsan Zaher, deputy general director of Adalah, the Palestinian-run legal centre in Haifa, Israel. This is important, she says, because it highlights how Israel exercises the same policies against all Palestinians regardless of their location and the different laws under which they live. We cant ignore the fact that this is also in compliance with the findings of the HRWs report concluding that Israel has committed abuses required for the crime of apartheid, she told Al-Ahram Weekly in a telephone interview. Originally coined in relation to South Africa, apartheid has become a universal legal term. The prohibition against particularly severe institutional discrimination and oppression or apartheid constitutes a core principle of international law. The 1973 International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid and the 1998 Rome Statute to the ICC define apartheid as a crime against humanity. In 2017 the UN pulled out a report by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) which accused Israel of imposing an apartheid regime on the Palestinians. It was the first time a UN report clearly accused Israel of the crime of apartheid. The report was taken off ESCWAs website after the UN body and its then secretary general Antonio Guterres came under pressure from powerful member states who undertook vicious attacks and threats in the words of ESCWAs Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf, who resigned in protest. Guterres was among the 50 senior European and international officials who signed an open letter on Monday condemning political interference in the efforts by the ICC to investigate war crimes in Palestine. In 2019 a UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination described Israel as a fragmented society, in which law, policies and institutions reflect the dominance of the Jewish population. It was the first time that Israeli policies inside the green line were examined, Zaher said. What were seeing here with the recent HRC COI is an expansion of the description of Israels regime two years ago. The root causes leading to changes in how the conflict is being perceived today, even if it is reflected in a different narrative, is a natural reaction to the prolonged Israeli occupation, says Zaher, which is illegal by the definition of international law. The blockade of Gaza is now 16 years old and Israels occupation of the Palestinian territories is 54 years old. This should be reflected in a new discourse, a new debate and a new way of analysing things that moves on from the rhetoric exonerating Israel. Of course, we shouldnt be naive; theres a huge question now whether the UN will fund such a commission and indeed establish it, she said. *A version of this article appears in print in the 3 June, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Short link: Illustration is a unique and versatile form. It occupies a space between drawing and painting and connects the publishing industry with the plastic arts. In Egypt, illustrators seem to be on the rise thanks to a growing publishing industry. Bassent Dawoud is one such young artist. A 2020 graduate of the New Cairo Academy, she has just the childlike spirit needed for a career making childrens book covers. Cats and miniature houses are her favourite motifs, and her images radiate a peaceful but fiesty joy. Her birds and animals are especially animated, and she creates them using scraps of paper. Bassent studied Islamic architecture at the Faculty of Arts for one year before switching to applied arts at the academy. But, having studied such works of art as the Ahmed Ibn Touloun Mosque, her understanding of Islamic ornament comes in handy. A dedicated researcher, her curiosity and passion have enabled her to find a niche in just a few years. I have always liked Red Riding Hood, and I have a passion for the unique relation between humans and other subjects, mainly animals. I loved the shape of Anubis, so it became the first character to develop during my experiments at the Academy. Her first childrens book illustrations were made in 2019 following a request from the Iraqi author Qassem Saudi, to be followed by a number of significant collaborations with Nahed ElShawaas Noun Publishing House in 2020. Dawouds interest in collage gives her images a unique energy. It took me a lot of hard work to develop and study character design. I use ink and different kinds of pen and paper. I never do sketches, prefering to draw spontaneously, but Im not easily satisfied with my works. I enjoy creating new styles using bits of paper. Experimentation is one key to my modest success, she smiles confidently. That is why I think of Picasso as the greatest master.In 2020, she contributed illustrations to childrens magazines like Samir and Qatr Elnada. She contributed a group of collages on womens issues to Agenda, the yearly group exhibition at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.Born in 1996, she was also nominated to participate in the second round of the Annual Art Fair, held in January 2021, representing the younger generation. She made five 50 cm by 50 cm collages using paper to create circular forms inspired by Iranian and Sufi art the artist as opposed to the illustrator came through with blinding clarity.At the Diwan bookshop, where I met Bassent, even as she was showing me her books she indicated that she prefers to be known as collagist. I belong to the realm of collage, though I dont care much about the classification of the art I produce. A painting, a book cover, whatever what counts is my true enjoyment doing collage, she says. The weird thing is that I never used to like children, Bassent goes on. Actually, it was the online collage drawing workshop with children, sponsored by a cultural organisation in Kuwait, where I spent my childhood with my family, that improved my relationship with kids. It was during the first wave of the Corona pandemic and it allowed for more interaction with them, which turned out to be one of the most exciting experiences in my short career. It helped me to have a better understanding of child psychology and the way children think.Last month, one of her playful cats was displayed at the Bologna Childrens Book Fairs illustrators wall, along with work by artists from 63 countries. Now, after I completed the drawings for six childrens books, I can say with confidence that I do not deal with childrens book drawings as a separate genre. I do art in general, which happens to be liked by children and publishers alike. I believe that the artists mission is to explore and express the tempo, or rather the culture of his community, and display a vision of its complicated social issues in a brand new style.Bassent will be taking part in Cairo Prints, a group exhibition of posters, which hosts 150 artists, due to open on 30 May at a number of cultural organizations in downtown.Nanas Tales, a series of three stories by celebrated writer Fatma El Madoul and published by Al Sherouk will appear during the Cairo International Book Fair to be held on 30 June marking another major step in her career. The Corona years have not increased book sales it seems, but I believe more publishers have started to apply some professional marketing techniques, encouraging more children to read and buy books than ever before. And this might improve the whole process. Bassent is currently eager to enter the creative writing realm, so that she can produce her own childrens books by herself. This requires a lot of reading and learning, she says cheerfully. But I like a challenge. *A version of this article appears in print in the 3 June, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Short link: The Queens of Egypt are ready to rule the Canadian Museum of History. Opening tomorrow, this magnificent and highly anticipated exhibition is an enthralling journey into the world of Nefertari, Nefertiti, Hatshepsut, and other women of power and influence in ancient Egypt. Step 3,500 years back in time, into an immersive, multi-sensory experience that reveals the stories of seven fascinating female figures who played important military, political, diplomatic, and religious roles in the New Kingdom (1539-1076 BC). They ruled as the wives, mothers, sisters and daughters of Pharaohs and, in one case, as the Pharaoh herself. We are thrilled to welcome this exceptional exhibition at last, said Caroline Dromaguet, acting president and CEO of the Canadian Museum of History. Queens of Egypt is a rare opportunity to see treasures from one of the most important collections of ancient Egyptian objects, but above all to focus on an aspect less known and just as important: the place of women and their role within Egyptian royalty. Visitors to the museum will be spellbound by more than 300 monumental statues, sarcophagi, funerary objects, jewellery and other iconic artefacts. One of the highlights is the Harem Conspiracy Papyrus, a remarkable document describing the accusations, convictions, and punishments meted out to conspirators who plotted to assassinate Pharaoh Ramses III. The majority of the objects on view come from Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy, which houses the largest collection of Egyptian antiquities outside of Egypt. We are very glad to have the Canadian Museum of History hosting Queens of Egypt, especially in such a complex time globally, said Christian Greco, director of Museo Egizio. The artefacts displayed in the exhibition are much more than silent objects, but indeed a living world heritage, capable of transmitting universal stories from the past to today. We are sure that they will enthrall and captivate the Canadian public. Queens of Egypt is a unique and unforgettable journey into one of historys most important ancient civilisations. Presented against a backdrop of giant screens depicting landscapes and ways of life in the New Kingdom, the exhibition culminates with an evocation of Queen Nefertaris lavishly decorated burial chamber, and her journey into the afterlife. The tomb is considered one of the most beautiful ever uncovered in Egypt. We are very proud of how our institutions have collaborated to present Queens of Egypt at the Canadian Museum of History, said Anne Elisabeth Thibault, executive director of Pointe-a-Calliere, Montreal Archaeology and History Complex. In showcasing these remarkably diverse and beautiful objects in an eloquent museum setting, this exhibition gives the items on display an opportunity to tell a touching story through their acknowledged links to legendary Egyptian queens. The exhibition was originally due to be presented at the Canadian Museum of History in the summer of 2020, but was postponed due to the pandemic. Queens of Egypt also features Mission Nefertari, an area dedicated to family activities for visitors of all ages. In addition to on-site events and activities related to the exhibition, the museum is offering special programmes online, including a guided tour with the curator and a virtual adventure. The show is on until 22 August 2021. To ensure a safe and memorable experience for all, we are limiting the number of visitors inside the museum through timed admission tickets that can be purchased at historymuseum.ca. The exhibition was developed by Pointe-a-Calliere, Montreal Archaeology and History Complex, in collaboration with Museo Egizio (Turin, Italy), and adapted by the Canadian Museum of History. Located on the shores of the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Quebec, the Canadian Museum of History welcomes over 1.2 million visitors each year. The museums principal role is to enhance Canadians knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the events, experiences, people and objects that have shaped Canadas history and identity, as well as to enhance Canadians awareness of world history and culture. Work of the Canadian Museum of History is made possible in part through financial support of the Government of Canada. Short link: The US has sold some 2 million barrels of Iranian crude oil after seizing an oil tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, court documents and government statistics show. The Iranian crude oil showed up in new figures released over the weekend by the US Energy Information Agency, raising the eyebrows of commodities traders as Tehran remains targeted by a series of American sanctions. The EIA figures included just over 1 million barrels of Iranian ``crude oil imports`` in March. The oil came from the MT Achilleas, a ship seized in February by the US off the coast of the Emirati port city of Fujairah. U.S court documents allege the Achilleas was subject to forfeiture under American anti-terrorism statues as Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard tried to use it to sell crude oil to China. The U.S. has identified the Guard as a terrorist organization since the administration of former President Donald Trump. Prosecutors say shippers tried to disguise the shipment by labeling it as ``Basra light crude'' from neighboring Iraq. The U.S. government brought the Achilleas to Houston, Texas, where it sold the just over 2 million barrels of crude oil within it for $110 million, or at around $55 a barrel, court documents show. The money will be held in escrow amid a court case over it. When asked Monday about the case, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said he had ``no details'' about it. ``Since the time of the former U.S. president, Mr. Bill Clinton, no oil has been purchased from Iran because of their laws,'' Khatibzadeh said. At the height of trade with Iran, in July 1977, the US imported some 26.5 million barrels of crude oil from Iran, then under the rule of the American-allied Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran saw those sales plummet to zero in the months that followed. Sales slightly resumed, but again went to zero after the US banned the import of Iranian oil in October 1987 to punish Iran for attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War. Then-President George H.W. Bush allowed a partial lift of the ban in 1991 to fund a special account in The Hague, Netherlands, to settle US and Iranian claims stemming from Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. In the years since, imports again dropped to zero amid heightened tensions between the West and Iran over its nuclear program. Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers allowed it to sell crude oil again on the international market, but Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord in 2018, forcing Iran into clandestinely taking its oil abroad and selling it, likely at a major price markdown. Negotiations continue in Vienna among diplomats over trying to get both Iran and the US to return to the accord, which saw Tehran limit its atomic program in exchange for sanctions relief. Last October, EIA figures show the U.S. imported 1.1 million barrels of Iranian crude, likely through a similar seizure. Short link: Former chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian, who had resigned from Ashoka University in March, is now slated to join the Watson Institute at Brown University as a senior fellow. Subramanian will formally join the institute on July 1, 2021. Ashutosh Varshney, director, Center for Contemporary South Asia, Brown University announced this information on Twitter. He wrote, "Delighted to announce that on July 1, Arvind Subramanian will join @BrownUniversity as a senior fellow @WatsonInstitute, in partnership with @SouthAsiaBrown. We greatly greatly look forward to his teaching and intellectual affiliation with us. Welcome @arvindsubraman!". Delighted to announce that on July 1, Arvind Subramanian will join @BrownUniversity as a senior fellow @WatsonInstitute, in partnership with @SouthAsiaBrown. We greatly greatly look forward to his teaching and intellectual affiliation with us. Welcome @arvindsubraman! - Ashutosh Varshney (@ProfVarshney) June 3, 2021 Subramanian had made headlines in March 2021 when he announced his registration from Ashoka University, Haryana. Subramanian's exit from Ashoka University was preceded by political scientist Pratap Bhanu Mehta leaving the institute. Subramanian had stated that Mehta's exit from the university had "devastated him". In a letter addressed to Ashoka University's Vice-Chancellor Malabika Sarkar, the former CEA had explained that Mehta's exit from the institute was the reason he was rendering his resignation. Subramanian wrote, "Ashoka can no longer provide a space for academic expression and freedom". The former CEA has joined Ashoka University's faculty in July 2020 as a professor of economics. He also served as the founding director of the Ashoka Center for Economic Policy. After Subramanian's exit, students of Ashoka University protested against the institutes' administration. They demanded that both Subramanian and Mehta should be reinstated to the university's faculty. In April, Subramanian had announced that he was going to join Watson Institute faculty though he did not reveal when. He wrote, "With sadness & sense of opportunity unrealised, I leave Ashoka University. Look forward to new roles at Watson Institute, Brown University as Faculty as Senior Fellow & Center for Global Development as Distinguished Non-Resident Fellow. Hope to continue teaching, researching & engaging on economic development & India". Also Read: India's exports rise to $32.21 billion in May, trade deficit reaches $6.32 billion The PMI is a composite gauge that tracks the operating conditions in non-oil private sector economies. The latest index figures show that sales moved slightly closer to stabilisation and the overall drop in business output was the softest recorded since February, said IHS. The index revealed that firms became more confident about future output in May as expectations rose to levels unprecedented in the past three years. Despite the positive indicators, the PMI saw further deterioration in business conditions across Egypts non-oil sector in May, marking the third consecutive drop in five months, according to IHS Markit. The drop extends the downturn witnessed in the sector since the end of 2020, IHS Markit added. Furthermore, the index signalled a sixth consecutive monthly decline in the health of the non-oil sector, led by further decreases in output and new businesses. However, the decrease in May was the softest recorded in three months, as reports of weak demand were partially offset by improvements in market conditions in some areas of the Egyptian economy. Meanwhile, new order inflows fell for the sixth month in a row, but to the least level since February. Customer demand was weakened by the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, there was some positivity from export orders which rose solidly. Despite output remaining weak, there was notable optimism among Egyptian companies for the year ahead, as the outlook for business activity improved to the strongest since February 2018. A recovery in market conditions from the pandemic was commonly seen as a key driver of growth over coming months, IHS explained. The index demonstrated that new input purchases in Egypts non-oil sector dropped, driven by weak demand in May, although the latest decline was the softest seen in the past six months. IHS noted that there is a sign that some companies had started to rebuild their stocks, with overall inventories pushed closer to stabilisation after a four-month contraction. It said that input shortages and higher freight costs increased purchase prices, which rose at the fastest pace since September 2019, following April's recent peak. Several firms passed these costs onto their customers during the month, although others opted to absorb input prices in order to keep their charges low. As a result, output prices rose only modestly, stated IHS Markit. For over a decade, the use of new technological applications in the education sector has been expanding in scale, innovation, and impact. Propelled by ever-growing gaps in access, affordability, and quality of education globally, those in the education sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, from teachers, governments, and now also EdTech entrepreneurs, are turning to digital solutions to address these challenges. Egypt is no exception. Home to 1.31 per cent of the worlds population and with the largest education system in the MENA region, Egypts education supply and demand curve is far from achieving market equilibrium. Some 90 per cent of young Egyptians rely on the government for schooling. Yet the countrys growing population and ever-increasing enrolment rates far outweigh the systems capacity to accommodate them. Egypt has double the world average in terms of students per class, and it is estimated that 2.4 million K-12 seats will be necessary by 2023 to satisfy the growing demand. For those enrolling in state schools, the quality of instruction is often subpar because of limited resources and inadequate government funding. For the 10 per cent of the population able to afford a private education, sometimes exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses can fail to buy the higher-quality teaching people might expect. Quality is a challenge across primary, secondary, and tertiary education in Egypt, and the countrys higher-education institutions are graduating an unemployable workforce. By one estimate, it takes a university graduate seven years on average to find relevant employment. What all this means is that Egypts supplemental learning market is huge. Egyptians rely heavily on private tutoring to compensate for an under-delivering school system. In fact, an estimated 69 per cent of state school students make use of some form of supplemental learning to complement their formal schooling. Yet, even Egypts private-tutoring market has its challenges, as it is unaffordable for a sizable portion of the population. For those who can afford it, it constitutes an ever-larger portion of the household budget. Egypts private-tutoring market is also riddled with abusive pricing and competitive dynamics. The star tutors who have achieved celebrity status in the country have a monopoly on often-overcrowded classes and charge the highest prices. The rest of the tutors, considered less desirable, become uncompetitive. In addition, the private-tutoring sector is also unregulated, and it often operates in Egypts informal, mostly untaxed, economy where the government is already shutting down tutoring centres across the board. Enter EdTech, or the use of new technological applications in education. While this still falls short in terms of guaranteeing universal education for all Egyptians, it has the potential to meaningfully address issues of quality, affordability, and access in the country. Not only does it democratise access to education for tutors by giving more of them access to a larger student base, EdTech can also break the star tutors cycle by making more tutors competitive. Parents benefit from better prices and lower opportunity costs, and students learn from a larger and more diverse pool of tutors. Known to improve performance, supplemental learning enhances learning outcomes. By filling in the gaps in the education offered in both state and private schools, students score better on tests and improve their chances of entering college or finding jobs by making use of supplemental learning. Online learning also has the potential to reduce the skills gap and make university graduates more competitive and relevant in todays digital workforce. Nexford, a fully virtual university, now allows students to earn world-recognised and accredited degrees at an affordable monthly fee. Without further government support, Egypts state-education sector will continue to suffer from quality and access inefficiencies. Supplemental learning will continue to be a necessary investment in a learners journey. As we look at the future of education and the role of schools, it becomes possible to imagine a future where supplemental learning is no longer simply complementary, but is an essential source of learning. *The writer is managing director for North Africa and the Levant at Global Ventures, an international venture-capital firm investing across all technology sectors. *A version of this article appears in print in the 3 June, 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Short link: KYODO NEWS - Jun 4, 2021 - 00:31 | All, Coronavirus, World The European Union said Thursday that it has added Japan to a small list of countries for which restrictions on nonessential travelers should be lifted. As immigration controls fall under the authority of individual member states, countries within the bloc independently decide on entry conditions for travelers, including self-quarantine periods and negative COVID-19 test results. But with Japan's Foreign Ministry continuing to advise against travel to Europe, it remains unlikely that the region will see a sudden increase of Japanese tourists. Japan was removed from the list in January. Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said during a press conference in Tokyo on Thursday before the announcement that Japan would closely monitor developments in Europe. Spain had previously announced that it would accept tourists from Japan without any restrictions from May 24, while France and Italy said travelers from Japan would be allowed entry on condition that they voluntarily quarantine and present negative COVID-19 test results. Nonessential travelers from a total of eight countries are allowed to travel to EU states, including South Korea, Thailand, and Australia. KYODO NEWS - Jun 3, 2021 - 21:53 | Others, All The Japanese government will prioritize students hoping to attend university abroad in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout ahead of the new academic year from September, sources with knowledge of the matter said Thursday. The move comes as some schools in countries such as the United States have adopted requirements for students to be inoculated before they are allowed to participate in in-person classes. Students heading to such universities will become eligible after June 21, when Japan expands its vaccine rollout to workplaces and campuses, the sources said. Health care workers and people aged 65 and older are currently the only groups receiving the shots, with those with underlying conditions such as diabetes set to join later this month. Related coverage: Universities across Japan gearing up to offer vaccination venues Japan pledges additional $800 mil. for int'l COVID-19 vaccine effort COVID-19 vaccine shots given to over 10 million, or 8%, in Japan Only students enrolling in courses for a degree will be eligible, with those in short-term programs excluded. After being inoculated, they will receive certificates that they can submit to overseas universities. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology will set up a dedicated website, possibly this month, to process bookings, and aims to finish administering the shots by September. According to the ministry, 58,720 Japanese students were enrolled in degree courses at universities abroad in 2018, with 18,105 in the United States, 14,230 in China and 9,196 in Taiwan. Japan is rushing to ramp up its vaccine rollout, which was initially held up by a slow approval process and shortage of doses, and has more recently suffered from a dearth of medical professionals to administer shots. Only around 9 percent of the country's population has received at least one vaccine dose, compared with roughly 50 percent in the United States. Around 2,800 new coronavirus cases were reported across Japan on Thursday, as Tokyo and some other prefectures remain under a state of emergency that was recently extended to June 20. The capital confirmed 508 cases, bringing its seven-day rolling average to 475.3, the first time it has fallen below 500 since April 14. Osaka Prefecture reported 226 new cases the same day. The government hopes starting inoculations at firms such as Panasonic Corp. and Japan Airlines Co. will accelerate the effort, with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Thursday meeting with leaders from major business groups including the Japan Business Federation, known as Keidanren, to ask for their cooperation. Meanwhile, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said Japan will improve its support for foreign residents who may face problems receiving treatment for COVID-19 or being vaccinated due to language barriers. "Having (foreign residents) feel they are being supported is extremely important, both from the viewpoint of relations with their home countries and realizing an inclusive society," Kato told a press conference. Japan is considering making vaccines available for foreigners illegally residing in the country, according to government sources. KYODO NEWS - Jun 4, 2021 - 02:23 | All, World, Coronavirus The United States said Thursday that India, South Korea and Taiwan will be among the destinations to receive the first batch of the roughly 80 million doses of coronavirus vaccines the administration of President Joe Biden has pledged to share with countries around the world by the end of June. "We are sharing these doses not to secure favors or extract concessions. We are sharing these vaccines to save lives and to lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic," Biden said in a statement, noting that the first batch will be 25 million doses. The president's remarks came as countries such as China are seeking to boost their influence through "vaccine diplomacy." According to the White House, 75 percent of the 80 million doses are expected to be allocated through the U.N.-backed COVAX global vaccine sharing program, with priority placed on supplying regions including Latin America, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa. The remaining 25 percent of the doses will be used to support immediate needs and to help battle infection surges around the world, it said. Based on the strategy, the first 25 million doses to be supplied through COVAX will include 7 million for Asia, destined for places such as Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and Thailand. Approximately 6 million doses will be targeted toward regional priorities and partners including Canada, Mexico and South Korea as well as Gaza, where Palestinians have recently suffered heavy Israeli bombing, according to the White House. The vaccine allocation to Taiwan can be seen as the latest sign of U.S. support for the self-ruled democratic island facing pressure from mainland China. Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunited with the mainland by force if necessary. In a video conference hosted by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Thursday, Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said China's vaccine diplomacy is creating divisions in the international community, adding that the country provides its domestically manufactured vaccines and other pandemic relief aid "to those who are willing to accept political partnership with Beijing." The 25 million doses will comprise three vaccines approved by U.S. regulators -- one developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and its German partner BioNTech SE, another by U.S. company Moderna Inc. and a third by Johnson & Johnson, according to a White House official. KYODO NEWS - Jun 3, 2021 - 14:00 | All, Japan Former trade minister Isshu Sugawara resigned as a lawmaker on Thursday after coming under investigation again over a money and gift scandal that prosecutors had once dropped. The House of Representatives approved the resignation of Sugawara, who left the ruling Liberal Democratic Party the previous day. Prosecutors are arranging to issue a summary indictment on him for violation of the election law, according to a source close to the investigation. There will be no by-election for the seat vacated by Sugawara as a general election will be held later this year with lower house members' terms running out on Oct. 21. Sugawara's resignation deals a blow to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who had pushed for Sugawara to become trade minister in September 2019 before he quickly stepped down over the scandal the following month. Concerned about the impact of the scandal on a July election for the Tokyo metropolitan assembly and the lower house election, LDP executives had been making arrangements behind the scenes for Sugawara's resignation. Sugawara was questioned by prosecutors after a civil inquest body decided in February that he merits indictment. His office is alleged to have offered money and gifts to supporters between 2017 and 2019 in violation of the election law. The Public Offices Election Law prohibits politicians from making donations to voters in their constituencies, except for money given in person by lawmakers at ceremonies such as weddings and funerals, and violators are fined up to 500,000 yen ($4,500). Sugawara has likely decided to resign since a lawmaker loses his or her seat once a fine or more severe penalty is finalized, according to sources familiar with the matter. The summary indictment he may face is a simplified procedure that skips court proceedings and applies to less serious offenses. In June last year, the special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office decided not to indict Sugawara for giving condolence money and flowers totaling 300,000 yen through his secretary and others to 27 voters from 2017 to 2019. But the Committee for the Inquest of Prosecution overturned the decision. Such panels, composed of voters chosen by lottery, are set up to review decisions by prosecutors not to put a suspect on trial if that decision is challenged. KYODO NEWS - Jun 3, 2021 - 14:28 | All, Japan, World Japan said Thursday it has lodged a protest with Moscow for its decision to impound a Japanese trawler and detain its crew last week after determining the boat was sailing in Russia's exclusive economic zone. Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said at a press conference Tokyo told Moscow through diplomatic channels the pursuit, inspection and seizure of the Eiho Maru No. 172 and its 14 crew members is "unacceptable" and is demanding their immediate release. Russian border authorities said they took control of the boat last Friday off Japan's northern island of Hokkaido after it was discovered illegally fishing in Russia's EEZ. A fishery cooperative based in Wakkanai, to which the Eiho Maru belongs, refuted the claim, saying navigational data showed the trawler was operating in Japan's EEZ. Kato said Japan's Foreign Ministry has determined this to be the case after speaking with officials from the fishery cooperative. The crew members and vessel, being kept in the port town of Korsakov on the island of Sakhalin, are in good condition and have access to food, water and fuel, according to the top government spokesman. The 160-ton Eiho Maru reported to the Japan Coast Guard that a substance that could have been tear gas was fired by the Russians prior to their detention. Russian border authorities said warning shots were fired to stop the boat as it was attempting to escape from one of its patrol vessels. The incident took place days after another Japanese fishing boat collided with a Russian vessel and capsized off Hokkaido, leaving three crew dead. Washington: Scientists have developed a new type of neural network chip that can dramatically improve the efficiency of teaching machines to think like humans. The network, called a reservoir computing system, could predict words before they are said during the conversation, and help predict future outcomes based on the present. Reservoir computing systems, which improve on a typical neural network's capacity and reduce the required training time, have been created in the past with larger optical components. Researchers from the University of Michigan in the US created their system using memristors, which require less space and can be integrated more easily into existing silicon-based electronics. Memristors are a special type of resistive device that can both perform logic and store data. This contrasts with typical computer systems, where processors perform logic separate from memory modules. For the study published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers used a special memristor that memorises events only in the near history. Inspired by brains, neural networks are composed of neurons or nodes, and synapses, the connections between nodes. To train a neural network for a task, a neural network takes in a large set of questions and the answers to those questions. In this process of what's called supervised learning, the connections between nodes are weighted more heavily or lightly to minimise the amount of error in achieving the correct answer. Once trained, a neural network can then be tested without knowing the answer. For example, a system can process a new photo and correctly identify a human face, because it has learned the features of human faces from other photos in its training set. "A lot of times, it takes days or months to train a network. It is very expensive," said Wei Lu, a professor at the University of Michigan. Image recognition is also a relatively simple problem, as it does not require any information apart from a static image. More complex tasks, such as speech recognition, can depend highly on context and require neural networks to have knowledge of what has just occurred or what has just been said. "When transcribing speech to text or translating languages, a word's meaning and even pronunciation will differ depending on the previous syllables," Lu said. This requires a recurrent neural network, which incorporates loops within the network that give the network a memory effect. However, training these recurrent neural networks is especially expensive, Lu said. Reservoir computing systems built with memristors, however, can skip most of the expensive training process and still provide the network with the capability to remember. This is because the most critical component of the system - the reservoir - does not require training. When a set of data is inputted into the reservoir, the reservoir identifies important time-related features of the data and hands it off in a simpler format to a second network. This second network then only needs training like simpler neural networks, changing weights of the features and outputs that the first network passed on until it achieves an acceptable level of error. "The beauty of reservoir computing is that while we design it, we don't have to train it," Lu said. The team proved the reservoir computing concept using a test of handwriting recognition, a common benchmark among neural networks. Using only 88 memristors, compared to a conventional network that would require thousands for the task, the reservoir achieved 91 percent accuracy. New Delhi: The BJP on Saturday accused Congress chief Rahul Gandhi of indulging in cheap barbs and lowering political discourse in his bid to gain power. The attack from party spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao came after Gandhi fired a fresh salvo at the saffron party, saying if the BJP had a film franchise it would be called "Lie Hard". "Rahul Gandhi, is this the low level of political discourse that you are capable of? To gain power by all means, would you indulge in such cheap barbs?" Rao asked in a tweet. He claimed that whatever Gandhi might say, his party would not return to power as people know its "corrupt face". Also Read: LIVE | Congress President Rahul Gandhi offers prayers at Gujarat's Somnath temple, to hold review meeting For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Washington : The US has decided to provide enhanced defence capabilities to Ukraine to help it build long-term defence capacity to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, an official said today. The United States has decided to provide Ukraine enhanced defensive capabilities as part of our effort to help Ukraine build its long-term defence capacity to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to deter further aggression, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said. The US assistance is entirely defensive in nature, she added. We have always said, Ukraine is a sovereign country and has a right to defend itself. The United States remains committed to the Minsk agreements as the way forward in eastern Ukraine, Nauert said. She did not provide any further details. Early this week, The Washington Post had said the Trump administration has approved the largest US commercial sale of lethal defensive weapons. These include export of Model M107A1 Sniper Systems, ammunition, and associated parts and accessories to Ukraine, a sale valued at USD 41.5 million, the daily said. Top Republican Senator John McCain welcomed the decision. This decision is years overdue, but nonetheless, it comes at a pivotal moment, he said. Ukrainians are enduring a worst fighting in several months as Russia has withdrawn its officers from a key ceasefire implementation mechanism and Russian-led forces have escalated their attacks in eastern Ukraine. At every turn, Vladimir Putin has chosen war instead of peace in Ukraine. So long as he makes this choice, the United States and the Free World should give Ukraine what it needs to fight back, McCain said, adding that is why the reported decision to authorise the sale of sniper rifles and ammunition must only be a first step. I urge the President to authorise additional sales of defensive lethal weapons, including anti-tank munitions, and to fully utilise security assistance funds provided by the Congress to enable Ukraine to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, he said. I also urge the President and congressional leadership to ensure that any budget deal fully supports the USD 350 million in security assistance for Ukraine authorised by the National Defence Authorisation Act signed into law this month, the Republican Senator said. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Government think tank Niti Aayog has submitted to the Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment the finalised names of PSU banks to be privatised in the current fiscal as part of the disinvestment process, a senior government official said. Niti Aayog has been entrusted with the task of selection of names of two public sector banks and one general insurance company for the privatisation as announced in the Budget 2021-22. "We have submitted the names (of PSU banks) to the Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment," the official said. The other members of the high-level panel are economic affairs secretary, revenue secretary, expenditure secretary, corporate affairs secretary, legal affairs secretary, Department of Public Enterprises secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) secretary and administrative department secretary. Following the clearance from the Core Group of Secretaries, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, the finalised names will go to Alternative Mechanism (AM) for its approval and eventually to the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister for the final nod. Changes on the regulatory side to facilitate privatisation would start after the Cabinet approval. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had recently said "interests of workers of banks which are likely to be privatised will absolutely be protected whether their salaries or scale or pension all will be taken care of". Explaining the rationale behind the privatisation, Sitharaman had said that banks in the country needed to be bigger, just like the State Bank of India (SBI). "We need banks which are going to be able to scale up... We want banks that are going to be able to meet the aspirational needs of this country," Sitharaman had said, adding that a lot of thought had gone behind the intention to privatise some public sector banks. The government has budgeted Rs 1.75 lakh crore from stake sale in public sector companies and financial institutions, including 2 PSU banks and one insurance company, during the current financial year. The amount is lower than the record budgeted Rs 2.10 lakh crore to be raised from CPSE disinvestment in the last fiscal. Also Read: NITI Aayog releases SDG India Index for 2020-21: Kerala on top; Bihar, Jharkhand worst performers Shillong: The state-run NEEPCO has recently signed an agreement to secure a Euro 20 million loan from German Bank KWF under the Indo-German Bilateral Development Cooperation for the completion of the Pare Hydro Electric Plant in Arunachal Pradesh, officials said today. North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO) CMD A G West Kharkongor and KFW director Christoph Kessler signed the loan agreement which was required to ensure the completion of the 110 Mega Watt power plant in which all North East states will benefit, they said. The new loan from KFW is a top-up of the 2008 agreement with Germany in which NEEPCO secured Euro 80 million loan. The CMD said the Euro 80 million loan had been fully drawn and utilised for the power plant and the additional amount was required to ensure its completion. Kharkongor said the construction is at an advanced stage and the project is likely to be commissioned in March next year. NEEPCO has also bagged two more power projects in Meghalaya after the cabinet had given its nod yesterday. On this, Kharkongor said the company is waiting for a formal communication from the state government. We will have to sign the memorandum of understanding and do all the other formalities before proceeding to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR). Once we get the DPR cleared, construction will follow, he said. The Meghalaya cabinet had cleared two projects - the 57 MW Umduna and 69 MW Umjaut - to be handed over to NEEPCO. Both the projects were given to Mumbai-based ETA Star Infrastructure Ltd but the agreements were terminated in November this year. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Study suggests that individuals affected by depression might have genes associated with anxiety, worry and low mood. The researchers from University of Edinburg in UK have studied the DNA of over 3,000 people and found many related to neuroticism and characterised by feelings of nervousness, anxiety, worry and guilt. The genes are also linked with depression. Depression, which affects one in every five people, is caused by a number of things going on in a persons life. The studies analysed genetic information from a group of people aged from 39 to 73 years whose levels of neuroticism had been measured by a personality questionnaire. DNA analysis, including the personality questionnaire, revealed 116 gene variations connected to neuroticism. The researchers found that the genes associated with neuroticism had some links with genes associated with susceptibility to depression and other psychiatric conditions. More than half of the genetic variations associated with neuroticism are expressed in the brain. Michelle Luciano of Edinburgh University said, These discoveries promise paths to understand the mechanisms whereby some people become depressed, and of broader human differences in happiness. They are a resource for those seeking treatment for depression. Also Read: Are you feeling suicidal? Anaesthesia drug ketamine may reduce those thoughts in no time Ian Deary from University of Edinburgh said, For millennia, it has been recognised that people have a greater or lesser tendency to feel low, worry, and experience other negative emotions. We knew that a part of the explanation is genetic differences between people, but its been a mystery which genes are involved. These new results make a substantial contribution to solving that mystery by pointing to many specific places in the genome that are linked with neuroticism, Deary added. New Delhi: In a major setback to the RJD, a special CBI court on Saturday convicted former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad and 15 others in a fodder scam case 21 years after it had surfaced, while acquitting six others including another ex-CM Jagannath Mishra. Special judge Shivpal Singh pronounced the verdict in a packed courtroom in the case pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 89.27 lakh from the Deoghar Treasury between 1991 and 1994. The court will pronounce the quantum of sentence on January 3. Sixty-nine-year-old Lalu Prasad, who heads the RJD, and other convicts were taken into custody immediately after the pronouncement of the verdict. Lalu Prasads son Tejaswi Yadav, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, was present in the court. Lalu Prasad and other convicted in the fodder scam case were then whisked off to Birsa Munda jail, where security has been tightened, CBI sources said. The special court acquitted 80-year-old Jagannath Mishra and five othersformer Public Accounts Committee chairman Druv Bhagat, former Indian Revenue Service officer A C Choudhary, fodder suppliers Saraswati Chandra and Sadhana Singh and former minister Vidya Sagar Nishad. Besides Lalu Prasad, the court convicted political leaders Jagdish Sharma and R K Rana, IAS officers Beck Julius, Phoolchand Singh and Mahesh Prasad, and government officials Krishna Kumar and Subir Bhattacharya. Read here what Lalu Yadav's son Tejashwi said about his conviction in fodder scam The others are suppliers/transporters Tripurari Mohan Prasad, Sushil Kumar Sinha, Sunil Kumar Sinha, Raja Ram Joshi, Gopinath Das, Sanjay Agarwal, Jyoti Kumar Jha and Sunil Gandhi. In 1996, the Patna High Court ordered an inquiry into the fodder scam cases and a charge sheet in the Deogarh treasury case was filed against 38 people on October 27, 1997. Eleven of them died and three turned approvers while two other accused confessed and were convicted in 2006-07, a CBI official said. The accused faced charges under various sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act. The court had on December 13 reserved its on the matter. Senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said that the party would move the high court against the special CBI court order. Soon after the verdict, a post on Lalu Prasads Twitter handle read, Powerful people and powerful classes always managed to divide society into ruling and the ruled classes. And whenever anyone from the lower hierarchy challenged this unjust order, they would be deliberately punished. "Truth can be made to appear as a lie, as ambiguous or a half lie by concerted onslaught of bias driven propaganda. But blurred layer of bias and hatred will still be removed, come what may! In end Truth will win." Read full story here: How Lalu Yadav reacted after being convicted in fodder scam On September 30, 2013, Lalu Prasad, Jagannath Mishra and several others had been convicted in another case pertaining to illegal withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore from Chaibasa Treasury in the early 1990s. Todays conviction is the second in the scam. The Supreme Court had granted bail on December 13 that year to Lalu Prasad, who had been behind the bars for two months. He had moved the apex court challenging the order of the Jharkhand High Court which had dismissed his bail plea. Lalu Prasad faces another three fodder scam cases for illegal withdrawal of Rs 3.97 crore from the Dumka Treasury, Rs 36 crore from the Chaibasa Treasury and Rs 184 crore from the Doranda treasury. The legal fight will continue, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh told reporters outside the special CBI court here reacting to the conviction of the RJD chief. He said that besides fighting it legally, the party would go to the people fight it politically also. Another senior RJD leader, Abdul Bari Siddiqui, a confidant of Prasad, said it was not right to comment on a judgement but the people were discussing how it is freedom for some people and jail for others in the same case. The layman is asking why it is jail for some and freedom for others? It is baffling how the BJP and JD(U) had predicted the verdict. This has created confusion among the people also, he said. The case was on excess withdrawal from Deogarh treasury. Laluji has been charged with connivance as he was the finance minister then - the charge is not direct. The withdrawal had been taking place since 1977. There were several chief ministers who were in charge of the finance department when Laluji was not the finance minister or the chief minister so why is he being singled out? Siddiqui asked. Lalujis going to jail is not new for RJD. He had been sent to jail on earlier occasions and every time RJD bounced back with double the strength. That is why we are still number one in Bihar, he said. The party was waiting to know the quantum of punishment to Lalu Prasad to be pronounced on January 3 and would then decide its course of action, Sidiqqui added. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: After being convicted in fodder scam, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday said the case was a propaganda against him and he will come clean in the end. Soon after a special CBI court in Ranchi pronounced its verdict and held Lalu guilty, the RJD chief took to twitter to express his anguish. Lalu in his tweet said, Truth can be made to appear as a lie, as ambiguous or a half lie by concerted onslaught of bias driven propaganda. But blurred layer of bias and hatred will still be removed, come what may! In end Truth will win. Lalu said he is a son of soil and feudalist forces can bother him but cant defeat. Truth can be made to appear as a lie, as ambiguous or a half lie by concerted onslaught of bias driven propaganda. But blurred layer of bias and hatred will still be removed, come what may! In end Truth will win Lalu Prasad Yadav (@laluprasadrjd) December 23, 2017 Earlier, a special CBI court in Ranchi convicted Lalu Prasad Yadav and 15 others in a fodder scam case. However, the special court acquitted former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra and 6 others in the case. CBI judge Shivpal Singh pronounced the verdict in a packed courtroom in the case pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 89.27 lakh from Deoghar Treasury between 1991 and 1994. Lalu Prasad, the chief of RJD, and other convicts were taken into custody immediately after the pronouncement of the verdict. Reacting to the verdict, RJDs Manoj Jha said since the CBI was arranging prosecution and defences legally admissible evidence were set aside, they will get redressal at a higher court. On October 27, 1997, CBI had filled a charge sheet against 38 persons in the fodder scam case. Eleven of them died and three turned approvers while two other accused confessed and were convicted in 2006-07, a CBI official said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Chennai : This is one record the BJP candidate who contested the RK Nagar bypoll will not be proud of, as NOTA got more votes than he did. While the main battle was confined to the giantsTTV Dhinakaran and AIADMK veteran E Madhusudhanan, in an interesting aside, NOTA pipped the saffron partys, Karu Nagarajan. As many as 2,373 voters from the constituency did not want to vote for anyone and pressed the EVM button for None of the Above (NOTA), leaving Nagarajan with a meager 1,417 votes. This was his second electoral failure in as many years. Nagarajan, a regular face in Tamil TV channels who puts forth his partys views on various issues, had unsuccessfully contested the 2016 Assembly polls from Mylapore constituency in this city. AIADMK had then won the seat. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Ranchi: Former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday said his father and RJD chief Lalu Prasad's conviction in a second fodder scam case was a "conspiracy" against their family and they would move the Jharkhand High Court against the special CBI court's verdict. The RJD was not worried and it would fight against any such conspiracy, he said. "It is a conspiracy against Laluji and his family. We will move the High Court and we are confident that we will get justice there," he told reporters here. "The RJD is not a weak party. It will not be weakened by Lalu Prasad's conviction. All RJD workers are our leaders and we can carry on the party affairs even when Laluji will be in judicial custody," Yadav said. Meanwhile, the BJP in Jharkhand said Prasad's conviction proved that those involved in corruption would not go scot-free. BJP state unit general secretary Dipak Prakash rubbished allegations that there was a political conspiracy behind Prasad's conviction. Prasad must understand it was a conspiracy of the Congress as the entire fodder scam came out during its rule and the inquiry and trial were also conducted by the Congress governments, he said. "The CBI court order in the Deoghar fodder scam case proved that anybody involved in corruption will not be spared and so the people in politics must maintain probity," he said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: In a blow to the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, rival faction candidate T T V Dhinakaran on Sunday won the prestigious RK Nagar Assembly bypoll, bettering J Jayalalithaa's margin, while the BJP wrested two seats from the Congress in Arunachal Pradesh and retained one in UP. The Trinamool Congress (TMC), in power in West Bengal, unseated the Congress in Sabang Assembly constituency defeating its nearest rival, the CPI(M), by over 64,000 votes. In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP retained the Sikandra Assembly seat in a bypoll in Kanpur Dehat district, a place which gained notoriety after the 1981 Behmai massacre of 21 upper caste Rajputs allegedly by a gang led by bandit Phoolan Devi. Dhinakaran, the 54-year-old nephew of jailed leader V K Sasikala, defeated his nearest rival E Madhusudhanan of the AIADMK by 40,707 votes, election officials said. Polling for the five seats was held on December 21. The bypoll in the RK Nagar Assembly constituency was necessitated following the death of J Jayalalithaa in December last. The late Tamil Nadu chief minister was elected twice from the north Chennai seat. Dhinakaran surpassed the record of Jayalalithaa, who had won by a margin of 39,545 votes in the 2016 Assembly polls. While he polled 89,013 votes, Madhusudhanan secured 48,306. DMKs N Maruthu Ganesh came a distant third with 24,651 and lost his deposit, as also 57 others, including the BJP nominee. He contested as an independent on the pressure cooker symbol after the Election Commission allotted the two leaves symbol to the factions led by K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam. The two factions had merged in August this year after deposing Dhinakaran and Sasikala, who is serving a four-year jail term in a Bengaluru prison in a corruption case. In Arunachal Pradesh, where the BJP is in power, the party wrested the Pakke-Kessang and Likabali Assembly seats from the Congress. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed BJP victories in UP and Arunachal Pradesh and said his party is committed to serving the countrys villages. He also expressed happiness over the partys improved performance in the West Bengal by-election. BJP chief Amit Shah cited his party's win in the assembly bypolls to claim that its good governance agenda has prevailed over the oppositions "anti-development" politics. With the Congress not winning any of the five seats in the bypolls, Shah took a dig at it, saying that he hoped the party will not claim a moral victory. The 60-member Arunachal Assembly now has 49 MLAs from the saffron party, nine from the Peoples Party of Arunachal (PPA), one from Congress and one Independent. B R Waghe of the BJP won the Pakke-Kessang seat by 475 votes, defeating his lone rival and former deputy chief minister, Kameng Dolo of the Congress, Chief Electoral Officer D J Bhattacharjee said. In the Likabali, BJPs Kardo Nyigyor won by just 305 votes, defeating his nearest rival, Gumke Riba of the PPA in a multi-cornered contest. The Likabali seat had fallen vacant after state minister Jomde Kena passed away on September 4. The bypoll in Pakke- Kessang was held after the Gauhati High Court declared the election of Dolo from the constituency polls null and void. In West Bengals Sabang seat, while TMC candidate Gita Rani Bhunia secured 1,06,179 votes, her closest rival, Rita Mandal of the CPI(M), bagged 41,987 votes. Antara Bhattacharya of the BJP polled 37,476 votes and the Congress Chiranjib Bhowmick got 18,060 votes, West Midnapore District Magistrate (DM) Jagdish Prasad Meena said. The bypoll came in the wake of former Congress MLA Manas Bhunia defecting to the TMC earlier this year. He is a Rajya Sabha member. The biggest jolt was to the Congress, which not only lost one of its citadels to the TMC, but also finished a distant fourth in the bypoll. Sabang had been a Congress stronghold since 1957. The results came as a booster for the TMC and the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government, ahead of the panchayat polls and two by-elections in Noapara Assembly constituency and Uluberia Lok Sabha seat due early next year. According to the Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officers office, BJPs Ajit Singh Pal secured 73,284 votes while his nearest rival, Seema Sachan of the Samajwadi Party, bagged 61,423 votes. Prabhakar Pandey of the Congress secured 19,084 votes. The Sikandra bypoll was held following the death of sitting BJP MLA, Mathura Prasad Pal, on July 22. While the SP and the Congress had allied for the state Assembly polls, held earlier this year, they had parted ways in the bypoll. Phoolan Devi, who had surrendered before the police in 1983, had successfully contested the 1996 Lok Sabha election on an SP ticket and became an MP from Mirzapur. The bandit- turned-politician was shot dead by masked gunmen outside her Delhi residence on July 25, 2001. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Manila: The death toll from a tropical storm in the southern Philippines climbed swiftly to 133 on Saturday, as rescuers pulled dozens of bodies from a swollen river, police said. Tropical Storm Tembin has lashed the nation's second-largest island of Mindanao since Friday, triggering flashfloods and mudslides. The Philippines is pummelled by 20 major storms each year on average, many of them deadly. But Mindanao, home to 20 million people, is rarely hit by these cyclones. Rescuers retrieved 36 bodies from the Salog River in Mindanao on Saturday, as officials reported more fatalities in the impoverished Zamboanga peninsula. The bodies were swept down river from a flooded town upstream called Salvador, Rando Salvacion, the Sapad townpolice chief, told AFP. Authorities in Salvador said they had retrieved 17 other bodies upstream. Read: US to provide enhanced defence capabilities to Ukraine Salvador and Sapad are in Lanao del Norte, which is one of the provinces hardest hit by Tembin. The death toll for the Zamboanga peninsula also rose to 28, and police said 81 people were missing after mud and rocks swept down coastal communities in Sibuco and other fishing towns. Tembin struck less than a week after Tropical Storm Kai-Tak left 54 dead and 24 missing in the central Philippines. The deadliest typhoon to hit the country was Haiyan,which killed thousands and destroyed entire towns in heavily populated areas of the central Philippines in November 2013. Tembin is expected to hit the tip of the western island of Palawan on Saturday, the state weather service said. Also Read: Pakistan govt asks court to deny clearance to Saeed's political party For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan today slammed RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav for talking to media about his innocence in the Fodder scam even as a CBI court was due to deliver its judgement in the case. The special CBI court in Ranchi will pronounce its verdict later today in the fodder scam case in which Yadav, a former Bihar chief minister and Union minister, is an accused. Whether he is acquitted or convicted, is for the court to decide. We do comment on it, but he is lecturing on the TV since morning even though the judgement is yet to be delivered, Paswan told reporters here. Paswan, the chief of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), an NDA ally, also hit out at Yadav alleging his involvement in corruption as Union Railway minister. He used to be a big-shot in the Railways but what did he do there? He just made (money), the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution alleged. Paswan, 71, congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah for the partys crucial victory in the just-held Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections and predicted the NDAs win in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. There will be no Opposition in 2019 because they have no issues. What will (Congress president) Rahul Gandhi tell about his partys achievements in 2019, he asked. Paswan also claimed that unity among all Opposition parties for the 2019 elections was an impossibility, saying they cannot come together even in seven lives. The Congress protests alone in Parliament and no other party from the Opposition joins them. Those who cannot unite in Parliament, cannot do so outside it, he added. Talking about his party, Paswan said the national executive of the LJP will be held in Delhi on March 11 next year. He said the LJP has been able to increase its membership to 50 lakh, and aims to have one crore members. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Nepals trade deficit at the end of the first nine months of the fiscal year 2020/21 stood at Rs 1.01 trillion, rising by 12.49 per cent from the previous year. The deficit has been rising every year despite the government trying its best. But, on Saturday, Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel announced yet another ambitious yet controversial plan to reduce the trade deficit. While announcing the budget for the fiscal year 2021/22, he announced that the government, in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, would export rock, gravel, sand and other aggregates to neighbouring countries. Whereas the government has been denying, stakeholders argue the excavation of these items would be done primarily in the Chure range as the government also said it would be constructing a ropeway along with the range to a depot. The decision has been criticised widely by both opposition parties and environmentalists who say that doing so would cause unimaginable environmental degradation, leading to water shortages and habitat loss. Although the government says it has not deviated from its responsibility of environmental conservation, why is not everyone happy with the decision? Here, we explain. What was announced in the budget? Finance Minister Paudel stated that to reduce trade deficits, Nepal would export mineral-based construction materials such as stones, pebbles and sand from the country as per environmental impact assessments. He further stated that the government would also grant customs duty waiver on construction materials for the ropeway connecting the mines to a depot. Why is the controversy? The government, after excessive exploitation of the Chures rivers and hills, had decided to halt the export of construction materials like sand and gravel. The Chure range, shaped like a hedge, consists of hills up to 1,220 metres running east-west across the country. It occupies about 12 per cent of the countrys total area. These hills are sporadically forested. The region had been bearing the brunt of relentless mining of sand, pebbles and boulders from its rivers and hills and their export to India which, according to experts, has caused natural disasters like floods and landslides. Even though there has been a ban on mining in the region, activists say that the collection of construction material is still happening in the area. There has been a lot of deforestation in the area as people have used the hill to earn money by selling land, timber and mining boulders and gravels. Hence, many people fear the government reopening the export would lead the regions ecological balance from bad to worse. Why the protest? Despite the ban, activists say that various businessmen have continued to extract materials out of the region. The main concern of people is damage to the environment which they believe will be detrimental to villages in the Terai as there will definitely be lasting impacts on the region. Environmentalists claim that if people are allowed to mine in the Chure lawfully, it would cause unimaginable degradation to the environment. Environmentalist Bijaya Kumar Singh tells The Record that it will lead to water shortages in the region as well as habitat loss. Others say that the government should be careful as these are non-renewable resources that take thousands of years to form again. People are also arguing if the decision to export materials is correct when Nepal itself will be needed these materials in various project like railways, highways, and bridges. Another reason people are criticising the government is that the decision has been made without doing a proper environmental assessment. Even though Paudel said the government would be doing it after an EIA was performed, various activists and environmentalists say that the EIAs are merely a formality as this project will be done regardless. What does the government say? Activists say that the government aims to turn Terai into a desert. The Environment Ministry has told The Kathmandu Post that it is not aware of such a decision being made. Officials of the ministry were shocked to learn that the ban on mining was being lifted by the government. They released a statement on Wednesday stating it was a policy-level decision made by the government and that as the protector of the environment, the ministry would do everything in its power to ensure that all rules and laws were followed while doing the EIA. The Finance Ministry says exports will only open once the EIA is done adding that a mechanism will be put in place to ensure environmental protection. In a statement released on Wednesday, the ministry said that the government was committed to protecting and promoting the Chure region. It further stated that it would only be mining in areas deemed safe by the Department of Mines and would excavate areas other than Chure and Bhawar regions. The statement said that river systems would also be left safe. But, activists say the statement is meaningless as the ordinance consisting of the entire budget statement needs to be changed. Meanwhile, Paudel has remained silent on the issue. Is the issue being politicised? Along with environmentalists and activists, politicians have also been using this opportunity to criticise the government. Apart from Prime Minister KP Sharma Olis CPN-UML party and his aides along with Mahantha Thakur and his aides, everyone from the opposition has criticised the government. They seem to have found a common ground to attack. Influential Nepali Congress leader Gagan Thapa said that such controversial things would never have been passed had the House of Representative not been dissolved. Thapa, who was a part of the parliamentary Natural Resources Committee that recommended the ban on the export of these materials, said that the government could not lift the ban without conducting proper studies or discussion. He called the move obscene and regressive. Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba also took the chance to criticise the government stating that government was trying to kill its own people by playing a major role in destruction of the Chure region. Upendra Yadav of the divided Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal also spoke up in the issue on Wednesday stating that this decision would have a lasting impact on the Terai region. In a statement, he said that apart from having a negative impact on the environment, lots of people especially from the Terai would suffer gravely due to such a decision. CPN-Maoist Centre Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal went on to say that this was a government ploy to gain more powerful friends and save the government even at the cost of the environment and asked the government to withdraw such a controversial ordinance. What do experts say? Apart from the government, everyone is against it. The Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ) in a statement said that such a policy would ruin the Chure region which had already suffered a lot in the past few decades. Former finance secretary Rameshore Khanal says that Nepals politicians only look at immediate gains which could be detrimental to Nepals ecology. Nagdev Yadav of the Community Development and Advocacy Forum in Province 2 says that the government with such a policy was aiming to turn Terai into a desert. He says industrialists who have been doing this anyway will be more powerful and will do everything they can to demolish the Chure region altogether as no one will able to regulate it. He says that even if the government plans to lift the ban, it needs to monitor what is being done in these regions strictly. If not, he calls this a recipe for disaster. Environmentalist Binod Gupta says that water sources in various areas along the Chure range have dried up due to deforestation and the excavation of river systems. He says that people are finding it difficult to find water even when they dig as deep as 200 feet. Gupta further says that the decision to export these raw materials while the people in the country suffered was disgraceful. Surendra Labh, a professor of economics at the Tribhuvan University, says that contractors cannot be trusted when it comes to excavation in the region. He says that local governments have been giving permission to contractors to extract whatever they need in areas like Chure and they have been doing as they please without taking into consideration if it is right or wrong. Supreme Court has asked the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council for Indian School Certificate Examination to come up place objective assessment criteria on record within two weeks, while adding it was happy about the Centre's decision to cancel Class 12 board exams. "We are happy to note that government has taken a decision to cancel class 12 board exams but we want that the objective criteria fixed for assessment of marks placed before us," the SC bench mentioned. The Supreme Court bench comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari asked Attorney General KK Venugopal and advocate JK Das, both of whom appeared for the CISCE to place the evaluation parameters on record in a fortnight. The bench noted that they cannot give more time for deciding the criteria as students will take admissions in colleges in India and abroad, adding they will go through all the parameters so that any objections can be dealt with. "This is equally important as the relief sought by the petitioners seeking cancellation of board exams," the bench stated. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the decision to cancel Class 12 board exams as a 'student-friendly move'. Prime Minister Modi tweeted, "It has been a chaotic year for students. The joys of growing up partly snatched away, confined to their homes, less time with friends. As you said, in the current times, this was the best and most student-friendly decision." It has been a chaotic year for students. The joys of growing up partly snatched away, confined to their homes, less time with friends. As you said, in the current times, this was the best and most student friendly decision. https://t.co/inteKVIV0m a Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 2, 2021 Following the Centre's decision to cancel Class 12 board exams 2021, states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh have cancelled their respective state board exams. Edited by Mehak Agarwal; with PTI inputs Also read: Serum Institute seeks nod for licence to manufacture Sputnik V in India (Updates with detail on vaccine campaigns in Philippines, Thailand, background on Siam Bioscience.) By Karen Lema and Kay Johnson MANILA, June 1 (Reuters) - Delivery to the Philippines of the first batches of a promised 17 million doses of Thai-made AstraZeneca vaccines has been delayed by several weeks and reduced in size, a Philippine presidential adviser said on Tuesday. The delay raises questions about AstraZeneca's vaccine distribution plan in Southeast Asia, which depends on 200 million doses made in Thailand by Siam Bioscience, a company owned by the country's king that is making vaccines for the first time. It was not immediately clear if other countries slated to received Thai vaccine exports would be affected by similar delays. AstraZeneca and Siam Bioscience did not immediately reply to questions about production at the Thai plant. Inside Thailand, questions about Siam Bioscience meeting production targets are extremely sensitive because King Maha Vajiralongkorn is sole owner of the company. Insulting Thailand's monarchy is a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Philippines presidential adviser Joey Concepcion, who has been coordinating vaccine procurement with the Philippine government and private sector, told Reuters that AstraZeneca had informed him that delivery of the first batch of 1.3 million doses would have to be pushed back from the third week of June to mid-July and also reduced to 1.17 million doses. Concepcion said he was in touch daily with AstraZeneca and was told there were delays in Thai production. "It is a new plant they are running ... that is how it is when you start a new plant," he said. He added that delivery of the Philippines second batch of 1.3 million doses would also be reduced to 1.17 million and has been moved from July to August. Nearly 4 million people in the Philippines have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The Philippines is one of the worst-hit countries in Asia, with more than 1.2 million coronavirus cases and 21,000 deaths. It aims to inoculate at least 50 million of its 110 million population this year. Story continues Thailand's Siam Bioscience last year signed a technology transfer agreement with AstraZeneca to produce 200 million doses per year, with 61 million doses going to Thailand this year and the rest to other Southeast Asian countries. Thailand's mass vaccination campaign will kick off next week with no clear indication about Siam Bioscience's production volume. Public concern about vaccine access has grown in recent weeks as Thailand suffers its most severe COVID-19 outbreak yet. Thai Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Tuesday said the 6 million AstraZeneca doses due for June would be delivered on time, but did not specify how many would be from Siam Bioscience as originally planned. Thai police earlier this year laid criminal royal insult charges against opposition figure Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, saying he had defamed the monarchy in a Facebook Live stream when he accused the government of mishandling the vaccine campaign and of giving an unfair advantage to Siam Bioscience. Thanathorn's case is pending trial. (Additional reporting by Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok; Reporting by Karen Lema in Manila and Kay Johnson in Bangkok; Editing by Martin Petty) Africa Two-Wheeler Tire Market, By Vehicle Type (Motorcycle & Scooter / Moped), By Demand Category (OEM Vs Replacement), By Tire Type (Radial Vs Bias), By Country, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2026 New York, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Africa Two-Wheeler Tire Market, By Vehicle Type, By Demand Category, By Tire Type, By Country, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2026" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05909098/?utm_source=GNW Africa two-wheeler tire market stood at around 7.49 million units in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.16% by volume in the forecast period. There is a robust growth in two-wheeler sales and due to this the fleet size of the region is increasing remarkably. According to United Nations, climate change, increasing temperatures and sea levels, changing precipitation patterns and extreme weather conditions are changing socio-economic conditions in African countries. This trend is impacting road infrastructure and hence tire replacement frequency is increasing in the African countries. These factors are aiding the sales of two-wheeler tires in the region and are anticipated to govern the growth in the forecast period also. Continuous business expansion of the worlds leading tire companies in the region, by increasing their product portfolio and customer outreach through more dealer addition is anticipated to increase the competition in the Africa two-wheeler tire market over the course of the next five years. Africa two-wheeler tire market can be segmented based on vehicle type, by demand category, by radial vs bias, by country and by company.In terms of vehicle type, motorcycle tires dominated the overall Africa two-wheeler tire market owing to an increase in the demand for motorcycles for personal transportation and increasing sporting activities across the region. These drivers are anticipated to govern the growth of motorcycle tires across the region in the forecast period also.In terms of demand category, the replacement market is dominating the Africa two-wheeler tire market by a huge share. This is due to the shortage of two-wheeler manufacturing plants in African countries.Moreover, tire replacement frequency of the consumers is increasing, therefore with growing fleet size of the countries, replacement category is poised to dominate the market in the next five years as well. In terms of radial vs bias, the market share of bias tires is dominating the Africa two-wheeler tire market due to the reason that in African countries most consumers prefer two-wheelers for commuting and in these two wheelers, bias tires are used in abundance. Radial tires, on the other hand are mostly used in motorcycles for adventure and sports activities which are comparatively are in less use in Africa. On the basis of country, the market is segmented across Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Angola, South Africa, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Libya, Djibouti and rest of the Africa. Owing to the greater fleet size of Nigeria and Egypt, these countries accounted for significant share in the Africa two-wheeler market. Michelin Group, Bridgestone Corporation, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Continental AG, Dunlop Ltd., etc. are some of the leading players operating in the Africa two-wheeler tire market. Apart from these flagship companies, many Chinese players are also increasing their footprint in the Africa two-wheeler tire market by launching their low-cost products. Years considered for this report: Historical Period: 2016-2019 Base Year: 2020 Estimated Year: 2021 Forecast Period: 2022-2026 Objective of the Study: To analyze the historical growth in the market size of the Africa two-wheeler tire market, in terms of value as well as volume, from 2016 to 2020. To estimate and forecast the Africa two-wheeler tire market from 2021 to 2026 and growth rate until 2026. To classify and forecast Africa two-wheeler tire market based on Vehicle Type, Radial vs Bias and OEM vs Replacement. To identify drivers and challenges for the Africa two-wheeler tire market. To examine competitive developments such as business growth opportunities, new product development, mergers and acquisitions, etc., in the Africa two-wheeler tire market. To conduct the pricing analysis for the Africa two-wheeler tire market. To identify and analyze the profile of leading players involved in the manufacturing of Africa two-wheeler tire market. The analyst performed primary as well as exhaustive secondary research for this study.Initially, the analyst sourced a list of tire dealers and distributors in Africa two-wheeler tire market. Subsequently, the analyst conducted primary research surveys with the identified companies.While interviewing, the respondents were also enquired about their competitors. Through this technique, the analyst was able to include vendors and service providers that could not be identified due to the limitations of secondary research. The analyst examined product offerings, application, distribution channel and regional presence of all the tire distributors and dealers across the country. The analyst calculated the market size for Africa two-wheeler tire using a bottom-up technique, wherein manufacturers volume sales data for different applications, were recorded as well as forecast for the future years. The analyst sourced these values from industry experts and company representatives, and externally validated through analyzing historical sales data of respective manufacturers to arrive at the overall market size. Multiple secondary sources such as directories, databases such as OICA, Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU), Company Websites, company annual reports, white papers, investor presentations and financial reports were also studied for the Africa two-wheeler tire market research by TechSci Research. Key Target Audience: Two-wheeler manufacturing companies Raw material suppliers Dealers/distributors of tires Governments and financial institutions Research organizations and consulting companies Research institutes Associations, organizations, forums and alliances related to tires Industry associations Market research and consulting firm The study is useful in providing answers to several critical questions that are important for the industry stakeholders such as manufacturers, suppliers and partners, end users, etc., besides allowing them in strategizing investments and capitalizing on market opportunities. Report Scope: In this report, the Africa two-wheeler tire market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below: Africa Two-Wheeler Tire Market, By Vehicle Type: o Motorcycle o Scooter / Moped Africa Two-Wheeler Tire Market, By Radial vs Bias: o Radial o Bias Africa Two-Wheeler Tire Market, By OEM vs Replacement: o OEM o Replacement Africa Two-Wheeler Tire Market, By Country: o Nigeria o Egypt o Kenya o Angola o South Africa o Tanzania o Ethiopia o Zimbabwe o Sudan o Libya o Djibouti Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Africa two-wheeler tire market. Available Customizations: With the given market data, we offers customizations according to a companys specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report: Company Information Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five). Profit Margin Analysis Profit margin analysis in case of direct and indirect sales channel. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05909098/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Story continues CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 By Dominique Patton BEIJING (Reuters) - China has come to crave milk. Demand that had been steadily growing has spiked further after doctors touted its health benefits amid the coronavirus pandemic and dairy firms across the country have embarked on a farm-building frenzy. But quenching that thirst will be problematic, not least because finding the millions more cows needed for planned new and expanded farms will be challenging. China is the world's third-largest milk producer, but last year's 34 million tonnes of output only met about 70% of domestic needs. Complicating matters are feed costs at multi-year highs, while land and water are also in short supply, making the country a costly place to produce milk. Graphic: Cow milk output by country: https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/azgpoobkqpd/CowMilkProductionbyCOuntry.png Spurred on by near record highs for raw milk prices and government subsidies, just over 200 new Chinese dairy farm projects were announced last year, according to consultancy Beijing Orient Dairy. Its analysis shows that 60% of the new projects have set their sights on 10,000-plus cows and in total the plans call for some 2.5 million cows - roughly half of China's current milking herd - to be added in the coming years. On the face of it, China's dairy market, worth some $62 billion in annual sales, is ripe for development. The government has heavily promoted milk and its benefits - in part to support the rural dairy industry - boosting consumption. Even so annual per capita intake is only 6.8 litres compared to 50 litres for the United States, according to Euromonitor International. "Average per capita consumption is still very low," Gao Lina, the CEO of China Modern Dairy Holdings Ltd told Reuters. "The potential is huge." Graphic: Cow milk consumption by country: https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/gjnvwmyxmvw/CowMilkConsumptionbyCountry.png She said Chinese people, especially children, have begun eating more cheese which will further inflate demand. A kilogram of cheese generally requires 10 kilograms of milk to make. Story continues Milk in China is, however, still considered special enough to be a popular gift. Fresh milk costs about $2 a litre, roughly double UK and U.S. prices, while the more common 240 ml packs of room temperature UHT milk cost about 40 cents. Demand for fresh chilled milk especially, which constitutes just a fifth of milk sales in China, has shown rapid growth, climbing 21% in the first 11 months of 2020 versus 10.9% for room-temperature milk, according to Nielsen data. To satisfy that demand, big players will need to develop more raw milk sources closer to wealthier population centres, analysts say. SEND IN THE COWS Firms outlining grand plans include Modern Dairy, which wants to double its herd over the next five years to 500,000 by buying up smaller farming companies and building new farms. Shanghai-based processor Bright Dairy and Food Co Ltd aims to build four more farms to add 31,000 cows to its 66,000-strong herd. China Youran Dairy is planning an IPO, seeking up to $800 million to expand its breeding herd and increase milk output. According to Beijing Orient Dairy, new Chinese farms needing a total of 1.35 million cows are already under construction, but some of those will have to sit empty. It estimates that over the next two years, China's domestic herd will generate about 500,000 new heifers while imports could come in at around 400,000 if the pace of imports stays the same as last year when China imported almost 200,000 heifers, mostly from Australia and New Zealand. Importing heifers is the fastest way to stock a new farm, shaving about a year off the time it would take to breed the stock at home. Imports are also preferred as the cattle are free from the many diseases circulating in China's herd. But clouding that outlook has been New Zealand's decision in April to halt live cattle exports within two years due to concerns about the welfare of livestock on ships for long periods. "We have been inundated with inquiries, especially as New Zealand stops the trade," said an Australian cattle exporter who declined to be identified, adding that the surging demand from China is encouraging graziers to spend more on breeding. Chile and Uruguay also export small volumes, but shipping times are twice as long and the breeds used produce less milk, making them less attractive options. Brazil, the United States and European countries could become good sources of breeder cattle, said Dou Ming, chief economist at Beijing Orient Dairy. "If we just added two more import countries, we'd be fine," he said. Graphic: Milk-producing cows by country: https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-DAIRY/xegpbrmmrpq/chart_eikon.jpg China and the United States pledged to start talks on imports of breeder cattle within a month of the Phase 1 trade deal signed in Jan. 2020 but it remains unclear if the discussions have begun. The office of the U.S. Trade Representative, China's Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs did not respond to requests for comment. Feed costs, however, present another impediment, analysts and industry sources say, as imported heifers take time before they become milkable cows. Corn prices are at record levels, while hay/grass is also set to become more expensive as it competes for acres with corn, said Grant Beadles, China manager at Land O Lakes, which supplies feed and forage seed to the market. (Reporting by Dominique Patton; Additional reporting by Beijing Newsroom, Colin Packham in Canberra, Tom Polansek in Chicago and Gavin Maguire in Singapore; Editing by Tony Munroe and Edwina Gibbs) FILE PHOTO: Uber and Lyft driver Adama Fofana sits in his car in New York City By Nandita Bose WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden intends to nominate David Weil, who has supported government crackdowns on the workforce models of gig-economy companies like Uber Technologies Inc, to run a U.S. Labor Department division overseeing gig worker rights. Weil previously served as top wage regulator in former President Barack Obama's administration from 2014 to 2017. A hallmark of his tenure was spearheading investigations into companies' use of independent contractors. If nominated and confirmed, he will return to his position at the department's Wage & Hour unit, which investigates whether gig workers are misclassified as independent contractors and thus missing out on benefits that employees are entitled to such as overtime and the minimum wage. Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last month, Biden announced his intention to boost the budget of the Wage & Hour division. Biden's Labor Department also rescinded a Trump-era rule that would have made it easier for businesses to classify workers as independent contractors instead of employees under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In late April, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh told Reuters a lot of gig workers in the United States should be classified as employees who deserve work benefits. The shift in policy is likely to benefit many workers now classified as contractors while raising costs for companies that depend on them such as Uber and Lyft. Republicans and businesses have criticized the department's Wage & Hour Division under previous Democratic presidents, saying its investigations were overly aggressive, while labor unions and activists have welcomed the probes. (Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by David Gregorio) ZUG, Switzerland, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bitcoin Association, the Switzerland-based global industry organisation that works to advance business with the Bitcoin SV (BSV) blockchain, today announces that it has for the first time appointed Bitcoin Association Ambassadors for Switzerland and the United Kingdom as part of its global ambassador programme. Bernhard Muller has been appointed as a Bitcoin Association Ambassador for Switzerland and Michael Hudson appointed as an Ambassador for the United Kingdom. Bitcoin Association Logo Bitcoin Association Ambassadors are experienced professionals from the BSV ecosystem who work to raise awareness and improve understanding of the BSV blockchain and digital currency, as well as the power of the original Bitcoin protocol to support a massively scaled distributed data network for both peer-to-peer electronic cash payments and enterprise blockchain applications. With today's additions, there are now 24 Bitcoin Association Ambassadors representing 25 different countries and territories. Bernhard Muller is the founder and chairman of Centi AG, a BSV payments processor offering solutions that enable merchants to accept digital currency payments through existing Point of Sale (POS) infrastructure. Prior to founding Centi, Muller held senior engineering and development roles for a major multinational pharmaceuticals conglomerate, as well as a management position with a leading fintech firm. Michael Hudson is the founder and CEO of Bitstocks, the City of London's first Bitcoin market advisory and digital asset investment firm. Founded in 2014, Bitstocks now boasts a team of 30 market-leading professionals operating from its central London headquarters. As part of its journey to demystify Bitcoin for everyday people, Bitstocks has created Gravity, a digital ecosystem of everyday financial products and services built using the BSV blockchain. Gravity allows users to easily buy, sell and store BSV (and other digital assets), with more services coming as part of a mission to give users more financial sovereignty and support the evolution of human sustainability. Story continues Speaking on today's announcement, Bitcoin Association Founding President Jimmy Nguyen, commented: "The BSV growth story continues to develop all around the globe, necessitating the addition of two new Bitcoin Association Ambassadors to our international team. Both Bernhard and Michael have demonstrated a deep understanding of the power of Bitcoin when it is allowed to scale as Satoshi Nakamoto envisioned - to be world's most efficient digital payment system and data protocol. They are both highly professional voices who speak from personal experience building innovative businesses using the BSV blockchain. But beyond the success they have enjoyed in their business lives, they have been excellent advocates for BSV in both the blockchain and broader business communities, experience that will make them excellent Bitcoin Association Ambassadors." Speaking on his appointment as a Bitcoin Association Ambassador for Switzerland, Bernhard Muller, said: "In my own way, I have been an ambassador for Bitcoin's true vision since the day I first learned about it; becoming a Bitcoin Association Ambassador for Switzerland is a natural continuation of the many, many hours I have already spent consulting, discussing and evangelising Bitcoin now best realized by BSV. It is with pleasure that I accept this opportunity to join a leading global organisation in Bitcoin Association and the ranks of the fantastic ambassadors that represent it." Speaking on his appointment as a Bitcoin Association Ambassador for the United Kingdom, Michael Hudson, said: "It is truly an honour to be selected as the first Bitcoin Association Ambassador for the United Kingdom. At Bitstocks, we've been forging ahead with our mission for seven years and will continue to educate, empower & evolve the fintech industry, as the world continues to understand the power and benefits of Satoshi's Vision. I look forward to working together with Bitcoin Association to further this aim." About Bitcoin Association Bitcoin Association is the Switzerland-based global industry organization that works to advance business on the Bitcoin SV blockchain. It brings together essential components of the Bitcoin SV ecosystem enterprises, start-up ventures, developers, merchants, exchanges, service providers, blockchain transaction processors (miners), and others working alongside them, as well as in a representative capacity, to drive further use of the Bitcoin SV blockchain and uptake of the BSV digital currency. The Association works to build a regulation-friendly ecosystem that fosters lawful conduct while facilitating innovation using all aspects of Bitcoin technology. More than a digital currency and blockchain, Bitcoin is also a network protocol; just like Internet protocol, it is the foundational rule set for an entire data network. The Association supports use of the original Bitcoin protocol to operate the world's single blockchain on Bitcoin SV. Cision View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bitcoin-association-appoints-new-global-ambassadors-to-switzerland-and-the-united-kingdom-to-advance-bsv-301305015.html SOURCE Bitcoin Association May 17 (Reuters) - Canada on Monday said it was "very concerned" by Kyrgyzstan's move to impose external management on Centerra Gold's Kumtor Gold Company and warned it could have far-reaching consequences on foreign investment in the country. On Sunday, Centerra said it had initiated binding arbitration against the Kyrgyzstan government, after the parliament passed a law allowing the state to temporarily take over the company's Kumtor gold mine, the country's biggest industrial enterprise. (Reporting by Jeff Lewis Editing by Chris Reese) US$200 million project to fully integrate Cargill's palm supply chain and ensure sustainable product volumes for future growth SINGAPORE, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cargill is building a new US$200 million palm oil refinery in Lampung, Indonesia, which will accelerate Cargill's efforts to develop a sustainable palm supply chain and provide verified deforestation free products to customers. The new refinery will play a key role in connecting sustainable crude palm oil production in Indonesia to demands in North America and Europe through a fully integrated supply chain from plantation to customer. With the new refinery, Cargill will be able to meet customers' evolving expectations around sustainability and transparency by guaranteeing traceability to plantation and improved product quality standards. Cargill, Inc. Palm oil, an important ingredient in nourishing the world's population, has experienced strong demand in recent years, with Indonesia as the largest producer and exporter. Palm oil is a high yielding and highly versatile oil that is not only used as cooking oil, but also used to create flavour and texture in many foods, and works as a stabilizing, binding and foaming agent in many everyday household products. Construction for the new state-of-the-art facility has commenced and operations are expected to be completed in late 2022. Palm oil from the Lampung refinery will be produced according to the principles set out in Cargill's Policy on Sustainable Palm Oil and will help provide greater transparency through increased traceability-to-plantation. "This project is a key step for Cargill to increase the availability of sustainably sourced and produced edible oil ingredients for our customers, helping Cargill to fulfil its purpose to nourish the world safely, responsibility and sustainably," said Robert Aspell, President of Cargill Asia Pacific. "In addition, this fully integrated supply chain offers our customers assurance that stringent production requirements and the highest product quality are achieved." Story continues The refinery project in Lampung builds on Cargill's mission to provide greater insight into the local and global palm supply chain and will further strengthen Cargill's position as a supplier of choice for sustainable palm oil. About Cargill Cargill's 155,000 employees across 70 countries work relentlessly to achieve our purpose of nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. Every day, we connect farmers with markets, customers with ingredients, and people and animals with the food they need to thrive. We combine 155 years of experience with new technologies and insights to serve as a trusted partner for food, agriculture, financial and industrial customers in more than 125 countries. Side-by-side, we are building a stronger, sustainable future for agriculture. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Centre. About Cargill in Indonesia Cargill began doing business in Indonesia in 1974 by establishing a feed mill in Bogor, West Java. Today, Cargill is headquartered in Jakarta and has more than 20,000 employees. We have 60 locations with offices, manufacturing plants and facilities throughout the country and business activities comprise animal nutrition, cocoa, copra, seaweed, processed food exporting, grain and oilseeds, palm oil, as well as starches and sweeteners. For further information please visit http://www.cargill.co.id. SOURCE Cargill, Inc. MISSISSAUGA, ON, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ - Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Catalyst") (Nasdaq: CPRX), a commercial-stage, patient-centric biopharmaceutical company focused on in-licensing, developing and commercializing novel high-quality medicines for patients living with rare diseases, and KYE Pharmaceuticals Inc. ("KYE"), a private company headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario and focused on bringing medicines that fulfill clinically significant unmet needs to the Canadian market, today announced a positive decision in their lawsuit in Canadian Federal Court challenging Health Canada's approval of Medunik's New Drug Submission (NDS) for Ruzurgi. Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.s and KYE Pharmaceuticals Lawsuit in Canadian Federal Court Quashes the Notice of Compliance (NOC) for Ruzurgi (CNW Group/KYE Pharmaceuticals Inc.) The lawsuit sought judicial review of Health Canada's decision to approve the NDS for Ruzurgi (Jacobus Pharmaceutical's amifampridine product distributed in Canada by Medunik) and issue a Notice of Compliance ("NOC") on August 10, 2020, as unreasonable due to Ruzurgi's product monograph and NDS explicitly referencing data included in Firdapse's NDS, approved by Health Canada on July 31, 2020 and given data protection as an Innovative Drug as of that date. The Judge's decision quashes the NOC previously issued for Ruzurgi and remands the matter to the Minister of Health to redetermine its decision to grant marketing authorization to Ruzurgi in spite of Firdapse's data protection rights. This leaves Ruzurgi without marketing authorization in Canada. "We are very pleased that the Judge has taken seriously the need to protect Firdapse's data exclusivity," said Patrick J. McEnany, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Catalyst. "New chemical entities like Firdapse, are required to go through a thorough drug approval process in Canada, requiring an exacting demonstration of safety and efficacy, and, in exchange for that effort, Health Canada regulations are supposed to prevent other pharmaceutical companies from being able to use the innovative drug's data in their NDS for 8 years from the date of the Notice of Compliance. In Firdapse's case, Health Canada allowed Medunik to use Catalyst's protected data in its application for Ruzurgi during the data exclusivity period." Story continues "As the company marketing Firdapse in Canada," added Douglas Reynolds, President of KYE, "we are pleased to see that the judge is providing oversight on the Minister's decision to ignore the eight years of data protection for Firdapse that was granted by Health Canada." About Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Catalyst Pharmaceuticals is a commercial-stage, patient-centric biopharmaceutical company focused on in-licensing, developing and commercializing novel high-quality medicines for patients living with rare diseases. With exceptional patient focus, Catalyst is committed to developing a robust pipeline of cutting-edge, first- or best-in-class medicines for other rare diseases. Catalyst's New Drug Application for Firdapse (amifampridine) 10 mg tablets for the treatment of adults with LEMS was approved in 2018 by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration ("FDA"), and Firdapse is commercially available in the United States as a treatment for adults with LEMS. Further, Canada's national healthcare regulatory agency, Health Canada, recently approved the use of Firdapse (amifampridine) for the treatment of patients in Canada with LEMS. Firdapse is currently being evaluated in clinical trials for the treatment of MuSK-MG and has received Orphan Drug Designation from the FDA for myasthenia gravis. About KYE Pharmaceuticals KYE Pharmaceuticals is a private company headquartered in Canada focused on bringing medications to the Canadian market which fulfill clinically significant and unmet needs. KYE has licensed many innovative products and was founded on an entrepreneurial spirit that optimizes our team's strengths and brings unique value to our partners, Canadian healthcare professionals, and most importantly, our patients. For more information please visit www.kyepharma.com . Catalyst's Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause Catalyst's actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. A number of factors, including (i) whether KYE can successfully commercialize Firdapse in Canada, (ii) whether any such commercialization of Firdapse in Canada will be on a profitable basis, (iii) whether the decision of the court will be appealed and overturned, (iv) whether Health Canada will approve Ruzurgi in the future without reference to Firdapse's protected data, (v) the impact in the United States if an amifampridine product is purchased in Canada for use in the United States, and (vi) those factors described in Catalyst's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year 2020 and Catalyst's other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), could adversely affect Catalyst. Copies of Catalyst's filings with the SEC are available from the SEC, may be found on Catalyst's website, or may be obtained upon request from Catalyst. Catalyst does not undertake any obligation to update the information contained herein, which speaks only as of this date. SOURCE KYE Pharmaceuticals Inc. Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2021/03/c3882.html - Current Chief Executive Officer Mark Vergnano to become Chairman of the Board of Directors - Current Chairman of the Board Richard H. Brown announces planned retirement - Director Dawn Farrell to become Lead Independent Director - All appointments to be effective July 1, 2021 WILMINGTON, Del., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Chemours Company (Chemours) (NYSE: CC), a global chemistry company with leading market positions in Titanium Technologies, Thermal & Specialized Solutions, Advanced Performance Materials, and Chemical Solutions, today announces a series of leadership transitions effective July 1, 2021. Mark Newman Chief Operating Officer, President & CEO Designate The Chemours Company Mark Newman, the company's current Chief Operating Officer, will become President and Chief Executive Officer of Chemours, succeeding Mark Vergnano, who has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since the company's founding in 2015. Mr. Vergnano will be retiring from the company and assume the position of non-executive Chairman of the company's Board of Directors for the balance of 2021, assuring an effective transition of leadership to Mr. Newman. In this role he succeeds Richard H. Brown, current Chairman of the Board, who has announced his intention to retire after leading the Board of Directors for the last six years. With these changes, Dawn Farrell, who has served on the Board of Directors since the company's founding and is a member of the Audit Committee and Compensation Committee, will become the company's Lead Independent Director. "I am honored and excited by the opportunity to lead Chemours," commented Mr. Newman. "This is a tremendously strong company that is poised for continued growth. We have an unparalleled workforce of 6,500 people who are committed to responsibly meeting the demands of our changing world with our chemistry and products that enable modern life. This exciting moment would not have been possible without the hard work of our people, the collaborative relationships that we have with our customers, and the leadership of Mark Vergnano. I have worked beside Mark for the last six years, and I personally understand how significant his contributions have been. His dedicated leadership of the business and the passion with which he lives our Chemours values provide an example for all of us. I am delighted that Mark will remain part of Chemours and look forward to working with him as Board Chairman." Story continues "Leading Chemours and its people since the company's founding has been an absolute honor and privilege," said Mr. Vergnano. "I am immensely proud of what we have achieved in establishing and then transforming ourselves into the solid company we are today. As an innovator and an industry leader in a continuously changing world, there is so much more ahead for us to achieve. Building on our firm foundation, Chemours has a bright future with strong growth opportunities, and no one is better suited to lead us into this future than Mark Newman. Mark has been a true partner in everything we've accomplished since day one, first as Chief Financial Officer and then as Chief Operating Officer. He is an unwavering champion for our people, dedicated to meeting and exceeding the needs of our customers, and committed to upholding the values that anchor our company. I could not be more confident in Mark and look forward to continuing to work with him in my new role. I am taking the reins from Dick Brown, who has been an exemplary leader, a mentor, teacher, and a true friend. I am grateful for all he has done for me and for Chemours." Mr. Brown added, "It has been an honor to be part of a new company the caliber of Chemours and serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors for six years. I am very thankful for the relationships that I have formed throughout my time at the company and look forward to remaining connected to the Chemours family. As I reflect on this well thought out transition, I am confident that Mark Newman will lead the company effectively into its next phase of growth given his track record as a leader. Mark Vergnano will be a distinguished Chairman of the Board of Directors and Dawn Farrell will be an unwavering champion for investor interests as Lead Independent Director. Both Mark and Dawn will provide relentless dedication to all the company's stakeholders." A video message from Mark Vergnano and Mark Newman is available on the Chemours Investor Relations website. Mark Newman joined Chemours in 2014 as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He was instrumental in the launch of Chemours as a stand-alone, publicly traded company and helped transform a portfolio of businesses into a focused and profitable company. In 2019, Mr. Newman was appointed Chief Operating Officer with responsibility over the company's global commercial businesses. He oversaw the recent evolution of the former Fluoroproducts business into two reportable segments: Thermal & Specialized Solutions and Advanced Performance Materials. Throughout 2020, he also chaired the company's Crisis Leadership Team which oversaw the company's global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Newman is the executive sponsor of the Chemours Diversity and Inclusion Council, the group charged with improving the company's overall inclusion and diversity approach to talent acquisition and development, company culture, and community engagement. Prior to joining Chemours, Mr. Newman was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of SunCoke Energy, where he oversaw strategy, business development, and information technology. He also served in a number of senior operating and finance leadership roles in the United States and China, primarily with General Motors Corporation, where he began his career in 1986. Mr. Newman received his Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and earned his Master of Business Administration from the Richard Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario. Mark Vergnano is an accessible and collaborative leader with over 40 years of experience in the chemicals sector. He began his career at DuPont in 1980 as a process engineer and held various leadership positions before being named the first President and Chief Executive Officer of Chemours prior to its establishment as an independent company in 2015. He is the past Chairman of the Board of the American Chemistry Council and Co-Chair of its Sustainability Committee. He is the past Chairman of the Board and member of the National Safety Council. Mr. Vergnano serves as Chairman of the Future of STEM Scholars Initiative which he helped to create in 2020 and is the primary benefactor of the newly formed Vergnano Institute for Inclusion at his alma mater, the University of Connecticut. He continues to serve on the Board of Directors for Johnson Controls International. Dawn Farrell is a retired energy industry executive and the past President and CEO of TransAlta Corporation. She spent much of her 35-year career in various leadership positions with TransAlta and BC Hydro. She is a past member of the board of directors of the Business Council of Canada, Conference Board of Canada and Alberta Business Council. About The Chemours Company The Chemours Company (Chemours or the Company) (NYSE: CC) is a global leader in Titanium Technologies, Thermal & Specialized Solutions, Advanced Performance Materials, and Chemical Solutions providing its customers with solutions in a wide range of industries with market-defining products, application expertise and chemistry-based innovations. We deliver customized solutions with a wide range of industrial and specialty chemicals products for markets, including coatings, plastics, refrigeration, and air conditioning, transportation, semiconductor and consumer electronics, general industrial, mining and oil and gas. Our flagship products include prominent brands such as Ti-Pure, Opteon, Freon, Nafion, Krytox, Teflon, and Viton. In 2019, Chemours was named to Newsweek's list of America's Most Responsible Companies. The company has approximately 6,500 employees and 30 manufacturing sites serving approximately 3,300 customers in approximately 120 countries. Chemours is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware and is listed on the NYSE under the symbol CC. For more information, we invite you to visit chemours.com or follow us on Twitter @Chemours or LinkedIn. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to a historical or current fact. The words "believe," "expect," "will," "anticipate," "plan," "estimate," "target," "project" and similar expressions, among others, generally identify "forward-looking statements," which speak only as of the date such statements were made. These forward-looking statements may address, among other things, the outcome or resolution of any pending or future environmental liabilities, the commencement, outcome or resolution of any regulatory inquiry, investigation or proceeding, the initiation, outcome or settlement of any litigation, changes in environmental regulations in the U.S. or other jurisdictions that affect demand for or adoption of our products, anticipated future operating and financial performance for our segments individually and our company as a whole, business plans, prospects, targets, goals and commitments, capital investments and projects and target capital expenditures, plans for dividends or share repurchases, sufficiency or longevity of intellectual property protection, cost reductions or savings targets, plans to increase profitability and growth, our ability to make acquisitions, integrate acquired businesses or assets into our operations, and achieve anticipated synergies or cost savings, all of which are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and expectations of future events that may not be accurate or realized. These statements are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements also involve risks and uncertainties that are beyond Chemours' control. In addition, the current COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the national and global economy and commodity and financial markets, which has had and we expect will continue to have a negative impact on our financial results. The full extent and impact of the pandemic is unknown and to date has included extreme volatility in financial and commodity markets, a significant slowdown in economic activity, and increased predictions of a global recession. The public and private sector response has led to significant restrictions on travel, temporary business closures, quarantines, stock market volatility, and a general reduction in consumer and commercial activity globally. Matters outside our control have affected our business and operations and may or may continue to limit travel of employees to our business units domestically and internationally, adversely affect the health and welfare of our personnel, significantly reduce the demand for our products, hinder our ability to provide goods and services to customers, cause disruptions in our supply chains, adversely affect our business partners or cause other unpredictable events. Additionally, there may be other risks and uncertainties that Chemours is unable to identify at this time or that Chemours does not currently expect to have a material impact on its business. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. Chemours assumes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement for any reason, except as required by law. CONTACT: INVESTORS Jonathan Lock VP, Investor Relations & Corporate Development +1.302.773.2263 investor@chemours.com NEWS MEDIA Thomas Sueta Director, Corporate Communications +1.302.773.3903 media@chemours.com Cision View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chemours-announces-appointment-of-mark-newman-as-president-and-chief-executive-officer-of-the-company-301304943.html SOURCE The Chemours Company Italian fashion giant Gucci is selling a kurta worth Rs 2,55,629 ($3,500). This kurta is described as a 'floral embroidery organic linen kaftan' on the Gucci website. This is an off-white kurta featuring floral embroidered yolk, a neck opening with a self-tie tassel, and patchwork on the sleeves. As this experiment by Gucci went viral, Indians were far from pleased and one user said that kurtas like these were available at $5 in India. Another user commented that they won't shell out more than Rs 200 for a kurta like this. From "Gucci selling 'Indian kurta' in the price of gold" to "our Ashokbhai can make this for Rs 500", here's how netizens reacted Gucci selling an Indian kurta for 2.5 lakhs ? I'll get the same thing for 500 bucks pic.twitter.com/Opw2mO5xnV nalayak (@samisjobless) June 1, 2021 Gucci is Selling 'Indian Kurta' for Rs 2.5 Lakh."selling clothes in the price of gold"#Indinkurta#guccipic.twitter.com/JShyUCLmPZ Mohammed Nayaz Arzoo (@ArzooNayaz) June 3, 2021 Sarojini Nagar se 250rs Mai milega dost. Shivleen (@shivleenk11) June 2, 2021 A GUCCI kurta of 2.5 lac And this is the best they could do....... pic.twitter.com/LjYDbUfPEX OT (@BorahaeeS) June 3, 2021 Gucci sweetie I will buy you this exact same kurta from Sarojini market in less than $5. https://t.co/jN7jbmFadi Akanksha Bhatt (@akankshabhatt3) June 2, 2021 Gucci kurta for $3500?! I can have Ashokbhai make this back home for 500 rupees pic.twitter.com/eq3fHIZMjn (@GujuMemes) June 2, 2021 I'm not giving more than 200 for this shit I have like 10 of these wtf https://t.co/v5UZwJL8Xr ana happy pride (@lilacniallrry) June 2, 2021 I'd get a much much better Kurta than this for 500 at Causeway.@gucci atleast own up and say its Indian. You guys will do anything for money. Yuck. https://t.co/gvfzPWudnk Khush (@eatwatchact) June 2, 2021 Gucci be selling this kurta for C$ 4,550 and I am like . Who is shelling out that kind of $$$ for a kurta that ammi bought me from Murrees Mall Road for 300 rupees. pic.twitter.com/gxlBHxwpxC T a z e e n (@tazeen) June 2, 2021 This, however, is not the first time that the Italian fashion behemoth has come under fire for cultural appropriation. Back in 2019, Sikhs decried Gucci for its 'Indy Turban', which cost almost $800 each due to the importance of the turban in Sikh traditions. Sikh Coalition, an advocacy group called Gucci out for cultural appropriation and tweeted, "@gucci @Nordstrom The Sikh turban is not just a fashion accessory, but it's also a sacred religious article of faith. We hope more can be done to recognize this critical context. #appropriation" American reality TV star Kim Kardashian had also faced the wrath of the netizens for wearing long hoop earrings featuring the 'Om' symbol in a photoshoot. The 'Keeping up with the Kardashians' star was accused of cultural appropriation as 'Om' is extremely sacred, as per Hinduism. Edited by Mehak Agarwal Also read: 'Radhe' becomes Salman Khan's lowest-rated movie on IMDb after Race 3, Dabangg 3 Also read: Adidas launches metre-long 'baguette sneakers'; netizens have a field day LOS ANGELES, June 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Preparing young people for workforce and career opportunities today is challenging. Schools across the country are under the microscope to ensure students are ready for work as a result of their commitment and investment in education. Now, thanks to generous state and federal funding, career readiness may begin in middle school. "Once in high school, these kids will have dual enrollment in community college, earning and learning their way through high school," says Dr. James Smith, PhD. President of Youth Employment Solutions (YES). "Let's get these kids excited, pump up their energy, and enable them to graduate faster from college with advanced degrees and guide them along self-sustaining career pathways." Illuminating a path for middle grade students to pursue their passions and talents through education and setting up a trajectory for lifelong success is the goal of The City School partnership, funded by the K12 Strong Workforce program. The City School, operated by City Charter Schools, and Exploring Your Potential (EYP) announce their collaboration in launching a program to bridge education to workforce in middle schools. "We want to help students know themselves, understand the possibilities in their lives, feel excited and engaged by the school program, form a strong sense of community, and do what they love," says Valerie Braimah, Executive Director for City Charter Schools. "Between outside speakers, career pathway courses, internships, and the Exploring Your Potential curriculum, we know our kids will emerge from 8th grade with big dreams, a clear sense of focus, and the ability to reach their most ambitious goals." Students have already getting a taste of what's possible for their futures in a webinar series called Love What You Do! Guest speakers cover topics from entrepreneurship, fashion, sports, art, and music. "Exploring the broadest range of possibilities is so important for students to maintain their motivation, especially as they form their sense of personal identity," says Jennifer Kushell, global thought leader on youth employment and entrepreneurship and founder and CEO of EYP Ventures, creators of Exploring Your Potential. "Connecting the dots between their interests and abilities and real workplace opportunities, opens up so many options and builds self-efficacy so students become more excited about their futures, confident in their directions, and thus are more likely to stay in school, focused on goals that reach far beyond education." Story continues For more information, please visit: https://citycharterschools.org or EYP. Cision View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/city-charter-school-middle-grade-students-benefit-from-partnership-with-exploring-your-potential-301304662.html SOURCE Exploring Your Potential STOCKHOLM, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Coor has signed a new IFM agreement with Danish train operator DSB with an estimated annual contract value of SEK 150 M. The contract is for a period of five years and includes an option to extend it for a further three years. Delivery starts on 1 October 2021 and includes cleaning, restaurant services, janitorial services and internal services (reception, mail), space management (relocation and furnishings), surveillance, waste management and exterior maintenance for all DSB's properties with a total area of some 650,000 m2. "We're delighted that DSB has shown us this confidence. DSB's strong customer focus and clear sustainability focus is a close fit with Coor and we look forward to supporting DSB in the work of winning back train passengers after the pandemic," AnnaCarin Grandin, President and CEO at Coor commented. As the leading provider of facility management services, Coor aims to create the happiest, healthiest and most prosperous workplace environments in the Nordic region. Coor offers specialist expertise in workplace services, property services and strategic advisory services. Coor creates value by executing, developing and streamlining our customers' service activities. This enables our customers to do what they do best. Coor's customer base includes many large and small companies and public-sector organisations across the Nordic region, including ABB, AB Volvo, Aibel, DNV-GL, E.ON, Ericsson, Equinor, ICA, NCC, "Danish Police, Public Prosecution Authority and Prison and Probation Service", Saab, Sandvik, SAS, Telia Company, Swedish Transport Administration, Vasakronan and Volvo Cars. Coor was founded in 1998 and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm since 2015. Coor takes responsibility for the operations it conducts, in relation to its customers, employees and shareholders, as well as for its wider impact on society and the environment. For more information, images etc. please visit www.coor.com Story continues AnnaCarin Grandin, President and CEO, Coor +46 10 559 57 70 annacarin.grandin@coor.com Magdalena Ohrn, Communications Director, Coor +46 10 559 55 19 magdalena.ohrn@coor.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/coor/r/coor-signs-new-ifm-agreement-with-dsb-in-denmark,c3360072 The following files are available for download: NOIDA, India, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A comprehensive overview of the Home Shopping market is recently added by UnivDatos Market Insights to its humongous database. The Global Home Shopping market report has been aggregated by collecting informative data of various dynamics such as market drivers, restraints, and opportunities. This innovative report makes use of several analyses to get a closer outlook on the Home Shopping market. The Global Home Shopping market report offers a detailed analysis of the latest industry developments and trending factors in the market that are influencing the market growth. Furthermore, this statistical market research repository examines and estimates the Home Shopping market at the global and regional levels. The Global Home Shopping Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.9% from 2021-2027 to reach US$ 9,432 billion by 2027. UnivDatos_Logo Market Overview The Global Home Shopping Market is experiencing significant growth on account of increasing smartphone penetration and higher internet availability worldwide. Further, amid the Covid-19 outbreak, countries around the world have imposed lockdown, this has further boosted the demand for the home shopping market. According to Oberlo, the online shopper's population has increased from 1.32 billion in 2014 to 2.05 billion users in 2020. In 2021, global E-commerce sales stood at US$ 4.5 trillion. China was the largest e-commerce market, generated the highest revenue of US$ 672 billion from e-commerce business. Furthermore, secured payment methods, enhanced internet quality, convenient free home deliveries with fascinating offers is driving the home shopping market. Request Sample Copy of this Report @ https://univdatos.com/report/home-shopping-market-current-analysis-and-forecast-2021-2027 COVID-19 Impact Due to COVID-19, the home shopping market has enhanced globally. Owing to the global pandemic Covid-19 many countries were observing lockdown, which compelled the businesses to shift towards online platforms, to cater to the increasing demand for e-commerce sales. For instance, online sales in Denmark increased in 2020 due to COVID-19. Also, online shops observed a 10% increase in sales. Global retail e-commerce traffic recorded 22 billion visits in June 2020 with increased demand for household goods such as clothing, retail tech items, and groceries. COVID-19 is expected to have a long-term impact on the e-commerce and retail industry across the globe. Story continues Ask for Price & Discounts @ https://univdatos.com/report/home-shopping-market-current-analysis-and-forecast-2021-2027 Global Home Shopping Market report is studied thoroughly with several aspects that would help stakeholders in making their decisions more curated. By Product Type, the market is primarily bifurcated into Groceries Apparels & accessories Footwear Personal & Beauty care Furniture & Home decor Electronic Goods Others Owing to the lockdown in various countries across the world due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the grocery segment has observed an increase in overall sales on online platforms. Amid the pandemic, more than 10 million US consumers purchased grocery online for the first time. Online grocery sales grew 54.0% in 2020, compared to 2019 in the US. The Groceries segment of the global Home Shopping market and is expected to grow at XX% CAGR to reach US$ XX billion by the year 2027. By Market Type, the market is primarily bifurcated into Teleshopping E-commerce and mobile Others E-commerce and mobile segment dominated by the type of the global Home Shopping market due to the continuous increase in the number of smartphone and internet users, and the segment will grow at XX% CAGR to reach US$ XX billion by the year 2027. Home Shopping Market Geographical Segmentation Includes: North America (United States, Canada, and the Rest of North America) Europe (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, and Rest of Europe) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, Australia, and Rest of APAC) Rest of the World Based on the estimation, the North America region dominated the Home Shopping market with almost US$ XX billion revenue in 2020. At the same time, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow remarkably with a CAGR of XX% over the forecast period on account of the increasing internet penetration and smartphone users in the region. Ask for Report Customization @ https://univdatos.com/report/home-shopping-market-current-analysis-and-forecast-2021-2027 The major players targeting the market includes Amazon.com, Inc. Flipkart private limited eBay Inc. Alibaba Group Walmart VGL group of companies JD.com, Inc. Best Buy The Home Depot Apple, Inc. Competitive Landscape The degree of competition among prominent global companies has been elaborated by analyzing several leading key players operating worldwide. The specialist team of research analysts sheds light on various traits such as global market competition, market share, most recent industry advancements, innovative product launches, partnerships, mergers, or acquisitions by leading companies in the Home Shopping market. The major players have been analyzed by using research methodologies for getting insight views on global competition. Key questions resolved through this analytical market research report include: What are the latest trends, new patterns, and technological advancements in the Home Shopping Market? Which factors are influencing the Home Shopping Market over the forecast period? What are the global challenges, threats, and risks in the Home Shopping Market? Which factors are propelling and restraining the Home Shopping Market? What are the demanding global regions of the Home Shopping Market? What will be the global market size in the upcoming years? What are the crucial market acquisition strategies and policies applied by global companies? We understand the requirement of different businesses, regions, and countries, we offer customized reports as per your requirements of business nature and geography. Please let us know If you have any custom needs. For more informative information, please visit us @ https://univdatos.com/report/home-shopping-market-current-analysis-and-forecast-2021-2027 About UnivDatos Market Insights UnivDatos Market Insights (UMI) is a passionate market research firm and a subsidiary of Universal Data Solutions. We believe in delivering insights through Market Intelligence Reports, Customized Business Research, and Primary Research. Our research studies are spread across topics across the world, we cover markets in over 100 countries using smart research techniques and agile methodologies. We offer in-depth studies, detailed analysis, and customized reports that help shape winning business strategies for our clients. Contact UnivDatos Market Insights Pawnendra Pawan Client Development Lead Ph: +91-7838604911 Email: pawnendra@univdatos.com Website: https://univdatos.com/ Cision View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/home-shopping-market-to-reach-us-9-432-billion-by-2027-globally-cagr-17-9-univdatos-market-insights-301305282.html SOURCE UnivDatos Market Insights After a school year like no other, Insight Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School (Insight PA), an online public school serving K-12 students throughout the state since 2017, will celebrate its graduates with a virtual & in-person commencement ceremony at Clippers Magazine Stadium on June 5th. In the age of COVID, the in-person portion will have safe, distant, and individual time slots for students to be recognized by staff in-person. There is no requirement or obligation to attend. "While other schools may have struggled with online learning throughout the year, Insight PA never missed a day of instruction, which kept our students motivated, excited, and moving forward," said Insight PA CEO Eileen Cannistraci. "And not only did our students stay the course, but they also earned valuable career training that will put them far ahead of their peers at the next level, in whatever path they choose." This year, Insight PA will graduate nearly 240 students. Approximately 21 students will graduate with a cumulative GPA above 3.5 and nearly $200,000 worth of college scholarships have reportedly been awarded to the Class of 2021. Collectively, the graduating class reports it has been accepted to colleges and universities across Pennsylvania and beyond including Arcadia University, Hartwick College, and West Chester University. Alana DePetris is Insight PAs 2021 valedictorian and is currently exploring post-secondary options. Kaitlyn Piller is the class salutatorian and will attend Arcadia University in the fall. The keynote speaker will be top motivational speaker, Jeremy Anderson. "I could not be prouder of our graduating seniors," said Principal Beryl Cohen. "This class has demonstrated focus and perseverance amidst the challenges of the pandemic. We are thankful to be able to bring them an in-person graduation ceremony and are thrilled that Insight PAs virtual program has provided them a safe and supportive learning environment in which to succeed academically." Story continues Prior to the pandemic, students enrolled in virtual school for a number of reasonssome were looking to escape bullying, some may have fallen academically off track, and others were looking for an alternative to the traditional classroom setting. Insight PA students access a robust online curriculum in the core subjects and a host of electives and attend live virtual classes taught by state-certified teachers. Insight PA is inviting all families and friends worldwide to join the celebration. Details of the graduation ceremonies are as follows: WHAT: Insight Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School 2021 Graduation Ceremony WHEN: Saturday, June 5th, 2021, 11AM at Clippers Magazine Stadium in Lancaster. CONTACT: For any questions about the celebrations, please contact Megan Miller at memiller@insightpa.org. For media inquiries, please contact Ken Schwartz at kschwartz@k12.com. About Insight Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School Insight Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School is an online public charter school authorized by the Pennsylvania Department of Education that serves students in grades K through 12. As part of the Pennsylvania public school system, Insight PA is available to all Pennsylvania residents and empowers students to engage, learn and succeed. Insight PA is tuition-free and provides families the choice to access the curriculum and tools provided by K12, a Stride Company (NYSE: LRN). Stride offers learners of all ages a more effective way to learn and build skills for their future. For more information about Insight PA, visit https://insightpa.k12.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005009/en/ Contacts Ken Schwartz Senior Manager, Corporate Communications kschwartz@k12.com TORONTO, June 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- iSIGN Media Solutions Inc. (iSIGN or Company) (TSX-V: ISD) (OTC: ISDSF), a leading provider of interactive mobile proximity marketing and public security alert solutions announced that it has received the final tranche of $200,000 towards the completion of its previously announced non-brokered offering (Offering) for aggregate gross proceeds of $400,000. Under the terms of the Offering the Company will issue 8 million Units at a price of $0.05 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one Common Share of the Company (each a Common Share and collectively, the Common Shares) and one common share purchase warrant (each warrant referred to herein as a Warrant and collectively, the Warrants). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one Common Share at a price of $0.075 for a period of 24 months from the date of closing. All securities issued would be subject to a four month hold period. The Company advises that it has now received the full amount of the $400,000 placement and is awaiting approval from the TSX Venture Exchange in order to close the placement. The Company will issue these shares, which are subject to a four month hold period once approval has been received from the Exchange. The proceeds of the Placement will be for operational purposes. About iSIGN Media iSIGN, a Canadian company based in Toronto (Richmond Hill), Ontario is a data-focused, software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that is a pioneering leader in the areas of location-based security alert messaging and proximity marketing utilizing Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity in complete privacy. Creators of the Smart suite of products, a patented interactive proximity marketing technology, iSIGN enables the delivery of messages to mobile devices in proximity, with real-time reporting and analytics on a variety of metrics. 2019 winner of Richmond Hills Innovator of the Year award. Partners include IBM, Keyser Retail Solutions, Baylor University, Verizon Wireless, TELUS and Mtrex Network Solutions. www.isignmedia.com Story continues Forward-Looking Statements This news release may include certain forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations, which involve risks and uncertainties associated with iSIGN Medias business and the environment in which the business operates. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking, including those identified by the expressions anticipate, believe, plan, estimate, expect, intend and similar expressions to the extent they relate to the Company or its management. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect iSIGN Medias current expectations regarding future results or events. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. iSIGN Media assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. 2021 iSIGN Media Solutions Inc. All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. Company contacts: Bruce Reilly iSIGN Media Solutions Inc. bruce@isignmedia.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 accuracy of this release. FILE PHOTO: Containers are seen at the Yantian International Container Terminal in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen BEIJING (Reuters) -Major shipping companies have warned clients of worsening congestion at Shenzen's Yantian port in southern China following the discovery of several asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 in the city. Yantian International Container Terminal (YICT), one of China's busiest container ports with an annual handling volume of more than 13 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), has imposed stringent disinfection and quarantine measures since May 21 when the virus was discovered among port staff. More than 40 container ships were anchored in open water outside the terminal, Refinitiv ship tracking data showed on Thursday. Top international container lines said they would be skipping some port calls to Yantian to ease the pressure, while shipping sources added that some vessels may be re-routed to other destinations. The overall operation productivity at YICT has been adversely impacted, and we expect the current vessel berthing delays and port congestion situation will likely continue for at least a week, the worlds no. 2 line MSC said in a customer advisory on Wednesday. Yantian port did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Global container shipping rates have climbed to record highs in recent months due to bottlenecks caused by a surge in demand for consumer goods. Even before the disruption at Yantian, global supply chains were struggling to clear container backlogs, a knock-on effect from the week-long blockage of a major trade route through the Suez Canal in March. Container freight rates from China to Europe [FREIGHTOS-CN-EU] touched a record high of $10,627 (per 40-foot container unit) this week. Yantian port in late May temporarily suspended the acceptance of export laden container ships, leading to a heavy backlog in the container yard and congestion outside the port. By the time Yantian partly resumed processing on Monday, more than 23,000 containers were waiting to be exported. Story continues The world's leading container line Maersk warned in a letter on Thursday that it expects congestion and delays to last at least 14 days, longer than its expectation of 12 days communicated earlier on Thursday. Maersk estimated operations in the eastern area of the Yantian terminal, where larger vessels mainly berth, would remain at around 30% of their normal level. Other major shipping firms including COSCO Shipping, Hapag-Lloyd and ONE also alerted their customers to the growing delays and congestion and the possibility of not calling at Yantian. "The local government is paying great attention to the disinfection measures at Yantian, as right now is the busiest season for exports and Yantian is one of the biggest transportation hubs for European and American lines," said a person close to Yantian port, who is not authorised to talk to media. Shipping companies and Chinese authorities have advised vessels to divert to nearby ports, including Shenzen's west port and Guangzhou's Nansha port, which are operating normally despite sporadic cases of the coronavirus in the region. "There are not as many (virus) cases in Yantian as the nearby cities. But more rounds of nucleic acid testing will need to be done. Thus it will take some time until the port resumes full operations," said the person close to the port. Recently expanded YICT has become a critical gateway into China with around 100 vessels calling weekly, 60% of which operate on European and U.S. routes, according to a recent note from the regional Shenzen government. (Reporting by Muyu Xu in Beijing, Jonathan Saul in London and Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen, Additional reporting by Roxxanne Liu in Beijing; Editing by Andrew Heavens) OTTAWA, ON, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ - Members of the media are invited to attend a virtual announcement with the Honourable Mona Fortier, Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance, on behalf of the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. To mark World Environment Day, Minister Fortier will be joined by Marci Ien, Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre, and will announce new community-based climate action initiatives across Canada. Event: Virtual announcement (Zoom) Date: Friday, June 4, 2021 Time: 9:15 a.m. (EDT) Media representatives are asked to register by contacting Media Relations at Environment and Climate Change Canada. Dial-in information will be provided upon registration. A media QA will follow the virtual announcement. The announcement will be live-streamed on social media. Environment and Climate Change Canada's Twitter page Environment and Climate Change Canada's Facebook page SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada Cision View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2021/03/c1197.html CHARLOTTETOWN, PE, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ - Gudie Hutchings, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, and Sean Casey, Member of Parliament for Charlottetown, will make an important announcement to support women's organizations in Prince Edward Island. Date: Friday, June 4, 2021 Time: Parliamentary Secretary Gudie Hutchings' opening remarks: 10:03 a.m. ADT Member of Parliament Sean Casey's opening remarks: 10:07 a.m. ADT Media Availability: 10:10 a.m. ADT Members of the media who wish to participate must confirm their attendance in writing to CFC.Media.SWC@cfc-swc.gc.ca by 6:00 p.m. (ADT) on Thursday, June 3, 2021 to receive the link to the virtual event. SOURCE Women and Gender Equality Canada Cision View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2021/03/c1641.html In April, Medium CEO Ev Williams wrote a memo to his staff about the companys shifting culture in the wake of a challenging year. A healthy culture brings out the best in people, he wrote. They feel psychologically safe voicing their ideas and engaging in debate to find the best answer to any question knowing that their coworkers are assuming good intent and giving them the benefit of the doubt because they give that in return." A few paragraphs later, Williams wrote that while counterperspectives and unpopular opinions are always encouraged to help make decisions, repeated interactions that are nonconstructive, cast doubt, assume bad intent, make unsubstantiated accusations, or otherwise do not contribute to a positive environment have a massive negative impact on the team and working environment. He added: These behaviors are not tolerated. The internal memo, obtained and verified by TechCrunch, was published nearly one month after Medium staffs unionization attempt failed to pass, and roughly one week after Williams announced a pivot of the company's editorial ambitions to focus less on in-house content and more on user-generated work. Mediums editorial team got voluntary payouts as part of the shift, with VP of Editorial Siobhan OConnor and the entire staff of GEN Magazine stepping away. However, several current and former employees told TechCrunch that they believe Mediums mass exodus is tied more to Williams manifesto, dubbed "the culture memo," than a pivot in editorial focus. Since the memo was published, many non-editorial staffers who would presumably not be impacted by a shift in content priorities have left the company, including product managers, several designers and dozens of engineers. Those departing allege that Williams is trying to perform yet another reset of company strategy, at the cost of its most diverse talent. One pull of internal data that includes engineers, editorial staff, the product team, and a portion of its HR and finance team, suggests that, of the 241 people who started the year at Medium, some 50% of that pool are now gone. Medium, which has hired employees to fill some vacancies, denied these metrics, stating that it currently has 179 employees. Story continues Medium said that 52% of departures were white, and that one third of the company is non-white and non-Asian. The first engineer that TechCrunch spoke to said that minorities are overrepresented in the departures at the company. They also added that, when they joined Medium, there were three transgender engineers. All have since left. "A beloved dictator vibe" In February, a number of Medium employees led by the editorial staff announced plans to organize into a union. The unionization effort was eventually defeated after falling short by one vote, a shortfall that some employees think was due to Medium executives pressuring staff to vote against the union. The month after the unionization effort failed, Medium announced an editorial pivot. The company offered new positions or voluntary payouts for editorial staff. A number of employees left, which is not uncommon in the aftermath of a tense time period such as a failed unionization and the offer of a clear, financially safe route out. In April, Williams posted the culture memo outlining his view on the companys purpose and operating principles. In the memo, he writes that there is no growth without risk-taking and no risk-taking without occasional failure and that feedback is a gift, and even tough feedback can and should be delivered with empathy and grace. The CEO also noted the company's commitment to diversity, and how adapting to opportunities or threats is a prerequisite for winning. Notably, Medium has gone through a number of editorial strategy changes, dipping in and out of subscriptions, in-house content, and now, leaning on user-generated content and paid commissions. Team changes, strategy changes and reorganizations are inevitable. Each persons adaptivity is a core strength of the company, the memo reads. The memo doesnt explicitly address the unionization attempt, but does talk about how Medium will not tolerate repeated interactions that are nonconstructive, cast doubt, assume bad intent, make unsubstantiated accusations, or otherwise do not contribute to a positive environment [but] have a massive negative impact on the team and working environment. Employees that we spoke to think that Williams memo, while internal rather than publicly posted, is reminiscent of statements put out by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Basecamp CEO Jason Fried, which both banned political discussion at work due to its incendiary or "distracting" nature. While the Medium memo doesnt wholly ban politics, the first engineer said that the undertone of the statement creates a not safe work environment. Frustrated employees created a side-Slack to talk about issues at Medium. In a statement to TechCrunch, Medium said that "many employees said they appreciated the clarity and there were directors and managers involved in shaping it." The month of the memo, churn tripled at the company compared to the month prior and was 30 times higher than the January metric, using an internal data set obtained by TechCrunch. The second engineer that spoke to TechCrunch left the company last month and said that the memo didnt have anything egregious at first glance. It was more of a beloved dictator vibe, of like, your words are vague enough that theyre not enforceable on anything else, and it looks good on paper, they said. If you just saw that memo and nothing else, its not a Coinbase memo, its not a Basecamp memo. But, given the timing of the memo, the engineer said their interpretation of Williams message was clear. "[Medium wants] to enforce good vibes and shut down anything that is questioning 'the mission,' they said. Medium's extreme The same engineer thinks that very few people left because of the editorial pivot. Instead, the engineer explained a history of problematic issues at Medium, with a wave of departures that seem to be clearly triggered by the memo. In July 2019, for example, Medium chose to publish a series that included a profile of Trump supporter Joy Villa with the headline I have never been as prosecuted for being Black or Latina as I have been for supporting Trump. When the Latinx community at Medium spoke to leadership about discomfort in the headline, they claimed that executives from editorial didnt do anything about the headline until it was mentioned in a public Slack channel. One editor asked anyone who had gone through the immigration process or was a part of the Latinx community to get in a room and explain their side, a moment that felt diminishing to this employee. The headline only changed when employees posted in a public Slack channel about their qualms. They think caring is enough, the employee said. And that listening is merciful and really caring, and therefore theyre really shocked when that is not enough. The third engineer who spoke to TechCrunch joined the company in 2019 because they were looking for a mission-driven company impacting more than just tech. They realized Medium had deeper issues during the Black Lives Matter movement last summer. There were deeper issues that I just hadn't heard about because I wasn't part of them. That just kind of got slid under the rug, they said, such as the Trump supporter profile. The former employee explained how they learned that HR had ignored a report of an employee saying the N-word during that time, too. Medium said this is false. I don't feel like I needed the memo to really understand their true colors, they said. After The Verge and Platformer published a report on Mediums messy culture and chaotic editorial strategy, the second engineer said that multiple employees who were assumed to be tied to the story were pressured to resign. The way I see it, they fought dirty to defeat the union, the first engineer said. But it wasn't a total success because all of these people have decided to leave in the wake of the decision, and that's the cost. The people who are left basically feel like they have to nod and smile because Medium has made it clear that they dont want you to bring your full self to work. The engineer said that Mediums culture of reckoning is different from Coinbase because of the mission-oriented promise of the former. Some companies, like Coinbase, have said that we want people who are not going to bring politics and social issues to work, so if you join Coinbase, thats what you are expecting, and thats fine, they said. But Medium specifically recruited people who care about the world, and justice, and believe in the freedom of speech and transparency. The engineer plans to officially resign soon and already has interviews lined up. Its a good job market out there for software engineers, so why would I work for a company that is treating their own people unfairly? If you are a current or former Medium employee and want to talk, reach out at natasha.mascarenhas@techcrunch.com or on Signal at 1 925 609 4188. The company is now their #1 corporate partner, with more than $25 million raised over the past 25 years LAVAL, QC, June 3, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - At the 34th annual Operation Enfant Soleil Telethon, Operation Enfant Soleil announced Walmart Canada raised and donated a record $3 million to the organization that helps sick children in Quebec. "Achieving Operation Enfant Soleil's mission would not be possible without the support of exceptional partners such as Walmart Canada," said Julie Lemieux, President and CEO, Operation Enfant Soleil. For example, with a $3 million donation like the one given to us by Walmart this year, we were able to reorganize the cardiac surgery room at the Centre Mere-enfant of the CHU de Quebec so that it would be more efficient, thus allowing for a better survival rate for children born with cardiac anomalies. Walmart is definitely making a difference for the children of Quebec! " Walmart Canada is now the charity's biggest corporate contributor, as this new donation brings Walmart's total contribution to Operation Enfant Soleil to more than $25 million since the beginning of their partnership. "A big thank you for what you do for us sick children in your campaigns for Operation Enfant Soleil," said Alexe Gagnon, Champion Child, Quebec. "You are real heroes in our eyes." "Reaching these two milestones is a great source of pride for us at Walmart, because it means that we are helping Quebec children when they need it most even more," said Cyrille Ballereau, Vice President of Operations, Quebec, Walmart Canada. "We would like to thank our associates for their support and involvement year after year, as well as our customers for their tremendous generosity." Throughout the year, Walmart Canada organizes fundraising events to benefit Children's Miracle Network, an organization that raise funds to support local children's hospitals all across the country which includes Operation Enfant Soleil in Quebec. Walmart Canada was recently named "2020 Corporate Partner of the Year" by Children's Miracle Network. Story continues Walmart Canada was also recognized for the $25 million milestone at the 34th telethon broadcast on May 30th across Quebec. About Walmart Canada Walmart Canada operates a chain of more than 400 stores nationwide serving 1.5 million customers each day. Walmart Canada's flagship online store, Walmart.ca is visited by more than 900,000 customers daily. With more than 100,000 associates, Walmart Canada is one of Canada's largest employers and is ranked one of the country's top 10 most influential brands. Walmart Canada was recently recognized as a LinkedIn Top Company of 2021 and was also named one of Canada's most popular brands (based on Google searches). Walmart Canada's extensive philanthropy program is focused on supporting Canadian families in need, and since 1994 Walmart Canada has raised and donated more than $500 million to Canadian charities. Additional information can be found at walmartcanada.ca and on Walmart Canada's social media pages Facebook, Twitter and Instagram About Operation Enfant Soleil Operation Enfant Soleil raises funds to support the development of quality pediatric care for all children in Quebec. Thanks to the funds raised, more than a hundred projects are carried out each year in regional hospitals and organizations as well as in major pediatric centers. To date, more than $255 million has been donated across the province thanks to the generosity of thousands of Quebecers, the support of volunteers and the dedication of partners. For more information, visit www.operationenfantsoleil.ca. Walmart Canada Logo (CNW Group/Walmart Canada) Operation Enfant Soleil Logo (CNW Group/Walmart Canada) SOURCE Walmart Canada Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2021/03/c7442.html Titan Company share hit record high today as non-essential shops have been allowed to operate in some states in line with easing of coronavirus restrictions across India. Sentiments were also positive around the stock after reports said the company was meeting investors and analysts at conferences. Share of Titan Company ended 6.69% or Rs 106 higher at Rs 1,691, a record closing for the large cap stock. Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala held 5.06% or 4.48 crore shares at the end of quarter ended March 2021 against a 5.32 percent holding at the end of Q3FY21. Titan Company, which was once a key component in Jhunjhunwala's portfolio, has lost its weightage over the years. According to data, Jhunjhunwala has trimmed his stake from 7 percent in March 2019 to a little over 5 percent in March 2021. A surge in gold prices is also seen as a positive factor for Titan stock as consumers are buying jewellery in anticipation that gold prices may continue to rise in the future. Jhunjhunwala couple earned Rs 18.4 crore per day with this stock for 11 sessions Earlier, Titan stock hit its all-time high of Rs 1,702, rising 7.38% against previous close of Rs 1,585 on BSE. The stock has gained after 2 days of consecutive fall. Titan Company share is trading higher than 5 day, 20 day, 50 day, 100 day and 200 day moving averages. The stock has gained 71.85% in one year and risen 7.88% since the beginning of this year. Market cap of the firm rose to a record of Rs 1.50 lakh crore on BSE. Total 3.77 lakh shares changed hands on BSE amounting to turnover of Rs 62.91 crore in trade today. In Q4 of previous fiscal, the gems to jewellery maker reported a 48% rise in net profit. Jhunjhunwala's favourite stock hits all-time high after jewellery business re-enters growth phase in Q3 Net profit climbed to Rs 529 crore in last quarter as compared to Rs 357 crore on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. The board recommended a dividend of Rs 4 per equity share of Re 1 each of the company. Revenue rose to Rs 7,135 crore, up 61% from Rs 4,429 crore in the same quarter last year. Rs 22 to Rs 118: This stock held by Rakesh Jhunjhunwala turned into a multibagger in one year The jewellery division recorded an income of Rs 6,397 crore in Q4 (excluding gold bullion sales) as compared to Rs 3,754 crore last year. The watches and wearables business recovered well in the quarter to record an income of Rs 555 crore against Rs 557 crore in the previous year. The eyewear business also improved with revenues growing by 18% in the quarter, recording an income of Rs 127 crore as against Rs 108 crore last year. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala buys stake in this Tata Group firm, stock zooms 10% This Jhunjhunwala stock rose 232% in one year, hit all-time high today By Conor Humphries and Laurence Frost DUBLIN (Reuters) -Ryanair may decline to accept delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX jet until after the summer following a delay in the certification of a version of the jet designed for the airline, a senior executive said on Thursday. The Irish airline, the largest European customer for the MAX, is still waiting for Boeing to provide a date for the delivery of its first jet, a 197-seat MAX200, and will decide then if it can take it during its busy summer season, the executive said. "We need a definitive date as to when we're going to get the airplane and then we've got to decide ... whether that suits us to take them or not because in the normal course of events we don't take aircraft in the summer months," said Eddie Wilson, chief executive of Ryanair DAC, the main airline in the Ryanair Group. Wilson, speaking to Reuters in an interview, said the delay was related to the certification of the MAX200 model, which has an extra door to allow more passengers than the standard model, and appeared to hinge on the relationship between Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration. "The release of that aircraft ... has to do with a fairly straightforward issue. And it's how the interface between Boeing and the FAA is going to work in matters like that and they have to iron that out once and for all," Wilson said. "It's really up to Boeing at Seattle to bed in that relationship with the FAA in dealing with issues of certification and how they have to do things differently. That's what it looks like," he said. Asked about the comments, a Boeing spokeswoman said: "We continue to work closely with Ryanair to deliver their first 737-8-200s. Ryanair was initially due to take delivery of its first MAX two years ago before the jet was grounded for 20 months after two fatal crashes. Since then the airline has announced repeated delays, cutting its planned deliveries in time for use in summer 2021 from 40 to 16 to possibly zero. Group Chief Executive Michael O'Leary last month said he was upset with Boeing and did "not necessarily believe" a promise from the U.S. firm to deliver the first plane before the end of May. (Reporting by Conor Humphries in Dublin and Laurence Frost in ParisEditing by Kirsten Donovan and Matthew Lewis) NEW YORK, June 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Washington Prime Group, Inc. (WPG or the Company) (NYSE: WPG). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether WPG and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On February 16, 2021, WPG disclosed that its operating partnership, WPG L.P., had elected to withhold an interest payment of $23.2 million due on February 15, 2021 with respect to WPG L.P.s outstanding Senior Notes due 2024, and that WPG L.P. has a 30-day grace period to make the interest payment before such non-payment constitutes an event of default. The Company further advised that, in an event of default, certain counterparties to the senior notes could accelerate the outstanding indebtedness due . . . making such indebtedness due and payable, which would result in a cross-default with respect to some of WPG L.P.s or the Companys other indebtedness. On this news, WPGs stock price fell $4.59 per share, or 38%, to close at $7.49 per share on February 16, 2021. Then, on March 4, 2021, Bloomberg reported that WPG is preparing a potential bankruptcy filing as time runs out to avert default after it skipped an interest payment on its debt, according to people with knowledge of the plans. On this news, WPGs stock price fell $3.77 per share, or 60%, to close at $2.51 per share on March 4, 2021. Then, on March 16, 2021, WPG disclosed that it had entered into a forbearance agreement with respect to the Senior Notes due in 2024 and stated there was substantial doubt as the Companys ability to continue as a going concern. The Company confirmed that it had engaged in discussions for a financial restructuring. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com . Story continues CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP rswilloughby@pomlaw.com 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 NEW YORK, June 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (Emergent or the Company) (NYSE: EBS). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether Emergent and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On March 31, 2021, the New York Times published an article reporting on the accidental contamination at an Emergent manufacturing plant in Baltimore of coronavirus vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca PLC. According to reporting by the Associated Press, the Emergent factory where the contamination occurred had a series of lapses observed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April 2020. On this news, Emergents stock price fell $12.45 per share, or 13.4%, to close at $80.46 per share on April 1, 2021. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP rswilloughby@pomlaw.com 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 NEW YORK, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc. ("Protalix" or the "Company") (NYSE: PLX). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980. Fighting for victims of securities fraud for more than 85 years (PRNewsfoto/Pomerantz LLP) The investigation concerns whether Protalix and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On June 2, 2021, pre-market, Protalix provided an update regarding the Company's clinical development of pegunigalsidase alfa (PRX102) for the proposed treatment of Fabry disease. Specifically, the Company stated in a press release that "the initial top-line results show that the lower boundary of the confidence interval for the mean difference between the two treatments was below the non-inferiority margin pre-specified for this interim analysis in the ITT analysis set and above such limit in the PP analysis set. At the time of this analysis, two patients discontinued participation due to treatment emergent adverse events (TEAEs). Of these two patients, one discontinued participation due to a related adverse event." On this news, Protalix's stock price fell $0.51 per share, or 17.44%, to close at $2.46 per share on June 2, 2021. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com. Story continues CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP rswilloughby@pomlaw.com 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 Cision View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shareholder-alert-pomerantz-law-firm-investigates-claims-on-behalf-of-investors-of-protalix-biotherapeutics-inc---plx-301304753.html SOURCE Pomerantz LLP In-person G7 summit of global leaders due to take place in June at Carbis Bay, Cornwall WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The G7 wealthy democracies are expected to endorse Washington's proposal for an ambitious global corporate minimum tax when their leaders meet later this week in Britain, a U.S. Treasury official said on Wednesday. The official said in an emailed statement that the Treasury expects the meetings of the Group of Seven finance ministers on Friday and Saturday in London to provide momentum for advancing global corporate tax negotiations toward a broader G20 finance meeting in July in Italy. A full endorsement is expected at the culmination of the G7 meetings with the leaders summit, the official added. The U.S. Treasury in May proposed a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15% to try to end a downward spiral of corporate tax rates and deter multinational firms from shifting profits to tax-haven countries. The proposed minimum is lower than the Biden administration's own proposals to raise the domestic corporate tax rate to 28% and impose a 21% minimum levy on overseas profits earned by U.S. companies. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo told Reuters in late May that he expected strong support from G7 countries for the U.S. minimum tax proposal, and said it would help solidify support for Biden's tax plans among U.S. lawmakers. A number of other G7 officials have raised expectations for the finance ministers' meetings in London, the first face-to-face meetings for the group since the COVID-19 pandemic turned meetings virtual last year. German Finance Minster Olaf Scholz told Reuters in an interview that he expects the group to make "significant progress" on corporate tax issues, which include the thornier problem of agreeing how to tax large global digital services companies such as Facebook, Amazon.com, Alphabet Inc's Google, Apple Inc and Microsoft. A number of countries have imposed unilateral digital services taxes targeting these firms, drawing threats of retaliatory tariffs from the United States. Story continues The United States has insisted that any tax regime for these firms not discriminate against U.S. companies and that all individual digital services taxes be prohibited. It has instead proposed targeting the 100 largest and most profitable firms for paying more taxes in the countries where they do business, regardless of their industry classification and business model. British finance minister Rishi Sunak told Reuters on Wednesday that the U.S. plan for targeting the top 100 firms could work, but said the big technology firms must be part of this group and pay more tax where they operate. (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Sam Holmes and Leslie Adler) Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} The states efforts to shut Gourmeltz down hit a roadblock in March, when Spotsylvania judge Ricardo Riqual denied a temporary injunction that would have forced the immediate closure of the business in Cosner Corner. The judge didnt rule on the merits of the case, but said the state had failed to show that it would suffer without the injunction and urged the two sides to move on to a full hearing. Now that the governor has lifted the restrictions, the state apparently felt that moving ahead with the lawsuit was no longer prudent. Losing was not an option, Strickland said Wednesday. The message I tried to send was to not be scared and to stand up for yourselves and your customers. Stricklands stance was a source of controversy. A large group of mostly unmasked supporters accompanied him to hearings at the county courthouse, while others criticized Strickland for not following rules that others were abiding by. Strickland said he closed his business for three months and used federal Paycheck Protection Program loans to pay his employees during the pandemic while deciding that some of the mandates simply didnt make good sense. After consulting with attorneys and others, Strickland decided to take his controversial stand. A lot of people knew these mandates werent constitutional, but Matt had the backbone to stand up to the state, Barr said. He showed you can fight unreasonable mandates and win. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The ranked-choice voting method used by the Republican Party of Virginia was encouraged by former Gov. George Allen. Other states like Maine and Georgia use it to receive a 40 or 50 percent voter threshold to attain their partys nominationor win an election. During the RPVs May 8 unassembled convention, candidates receiving the fewest votes were eliminated in each round, with their existing second and remaining votes distributed amongst remaining candidates until one attained 50 percent. This happened because RPV Chairman Rich Anderson and the State Central Committee failed miserably to attain consensus for a primary, which Republicans who are seeking diverse voters badly needed. There has not been a Republican occupying the governors mansion since Bob McDonnells administration in 2014. About 53,000 voters pre-registered, which prognosticators thought favored businessman Pete Snyder. But the 30,000 who actually showed up elected Youngkin over Snyder in the sixth round. Allen, while campaigning for Miyares for attorney general and others, admitted frequently that former Virginia House Speaker Kirk Cox was his first choice, but Youngkin was his No. 2. Those words affected thousands of number two votes for Youngkin, putting him over the top. County Clerk Fred Mytty said Supervisor Dan Weddle supported the resolution and asked it to be placed on the agenda. Weddle was not present at Wednesdays meeting. Prior to the meeting, Von Behren said he sent a copy of the resolution to Dodge County Sheriff Steve Hespen, as it states his office and the county attorneys office would be supported in defend(ing) the Constitution of the United States. However, since Hespen had not since responded, both Chairman Bob Missel and Von Behren agreed that it would be best to table the resolution and wait to receive his input. I guess Id like our legal team to just verify that this is in fact within the acceptable range of what we would want to sign off as a resolution, as well as I would like to hear from the sheriff and get his support on it as well, Missel said. Supervisor Pat Tawney said he had received many phone calls on adopting a resolution after Ricketts declaration, but wanted to wait for it to be presented to the board. Boom is working to develop an 88-seat plane it calls Overture, which it says will be the first supersonic airliner to fly on so-called sustainable fuel. Scholl said that a one-third sized prototype will make its first test flight later this year or early in 2022. The Denver company said the plane will be capable of speeds up to 1.7 times the speed of sound, or about 1,300 mph. That is slower than the Concorde but more than twice as fast as many current airliners. The endorsement from United is a huge lift for Boom. Another supersonic contender, Aerion, said last month that it was running short of money to get its plane, the AS2, into production. Supersonic jets are often banned over populated areas because of the sonic booms they create. That eliminates many potential overland routes because the planes would have to fly at less efficient subsonic speeds. Chicago-based United believes that its coastal hubs in San Francisco and Newark, New Jersey, and its corporate-traveler clientele make it better suited than its rivals to offer supersonic service. Mike Leskinen, Uniteds vice president of corporate development and a former aerospace analyst, said United hopes to offer both premium and economy seating but that no final decisions have been made on cabin layout. Share of CG Power & Industrial solutions has delivered more than 1200 per cent returns to its shareholders in the last 12 months. The share stood at Rs 6.3 on June 03, 2020. It has zoomed to Rs 87.30 today, translating into gains of 1285 per cent during the period. In comparison, Sensex rose 53 per cent in one year. Rs 5 lakh invested in CG Power & Industrial solutions share a year ago would have turned into Rs 69.28 lakh today. The stock has gained 90 per cent since the beginning of this year. It ended 0.18 per cent lower at Rs 85.20 against the previous close of Rs 85.35 on BSE. The share stands higher than 20 day, 50 day, 100 day, and 200-day moving averages and lower than 5 day and 10 day moving averages. In the March quarter, the domestic institutional investors, foreign portfolio investors, and promoters have raised their shareholding in CG Power & Industrial Solutions. Jitesh Ranawat, Head Institutional Sales at Marwadi Shares and Finance Limited, told Business Today, "CG power has witnessed an ownership change. Post the fraud, the company was taken over by Murugappa group through its entity Tube Investment. The market has given a thumbs-up to the new management. "Although on valuations front, it is richly valued but considering the management guidance of Rs 5000 crore revenue number and Rs 500 crore EBITDA, it looks promising play in capital goods and power sector," he noted. He further added that the company has reduced the debt drastically as major banks have taken haircuts on their exposures. One can look at the stock on declines, as at current levels, it looks richly valued. The company reported a net loss of Rs 534.59 crore for the quarter ended December 2020, down 154.48 per cent from Rs. 210.07 crore in December 2019. Net Sales stood at Rs 819.52 crore in December 2020 down 30.45 per cent from Rs. 1,178.32 crore in December 2019. On May 11, 2021, the board of CG Power & Industrial Solutions approved the preferential allotment of 1.38 crore equity shares. The board has approved the issue and allotment of 1,38,45,000 equity shares of the company of face value of Rs 2 each on a preferential basis at Rs 73.10 including a premium of Rs 71.10 per Equity Share aggregating to Rs 101.20 crore. The Company had entered into a guarantee agreement under which it had guaranteed the payment/repayment obligations of CG International Holding Singapore Pte. Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, under the credit facilities aggregating to 44 million euros availed by CG Singapore from SCB. In August 2020, CG Power and Murugappa Group firm Tube Investments of India Ltd (TIIL) said lenders have accepted one-time settlement and restructuring of debt. In November 2020, Tube Investment of India acquired 50.62 per cent stake in CG Power & Industrial Solutions. CG Power and Industrial Solutions Limited is primarily a B2B company that operates across two major lines of business. These are the Power Systems Business Unit and the Industrial Systems Business Unit. Several human rights watchdogs have expressed grave concerns over the growing number of attacks on Pakistani journalists who criticize the government and called on authorities to probe such incidents promptly and impartially. The joint appeal by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the International Commission of Jurists comes amid a spate of blows directed at Pakistan's independent media. Several veteran Pakistani reporters have left journalism after being threatened. The private Geo TV was forced off the air, and authorities have disrupted the distribution of Dawn, Pakistan's oldest English-language newspaper. Leading columnists have complained that stories deemed to be critical of the army are being rejected by outlets under pressure from the military. "Recent attacks and growing pressure on journalists who criticize the Pakistan government is a cause for serious concern," the three watchdogs said in a joint statement on June 3, adding that "those suspected of criminal responsibility should be promptly and fairly prosecuted." Pakistani media workers have long faced grave hardships in their work, including harassment, intimidation, assault, arbitrary arrest and detention, abduction, and death. The statement highlighted the case of journalist Asad Ali Toor, who was attacked and beaten in his own home in May by three unidentified intruders. Toor had been charged in September with sedition for comments made on social media maligning state institutions. A court later dismissed the charges. It also mentioned the attacks on television journalist and prominent government critic Absar Alam, who was shot and wounded in April by an unidentified assailant, and Matiullah Jan, who was abducted in July 2020 and released after several hours. Alam had also been charged with sedition and high treason for using derogatory language about the government on social media, while Jan was summoned before the Supreme Court for allegedly using derogatory/contemptuous language and maligning the institution of judiciary. Investigations into the cases have made no headway, the statement said. On May 31, Hamid Mir, Pakistan's most-prominent TV presenter, was banned from his prime-time nightly talk show after he made an emotional speech critical of the military. It is disturbing to see the space for dissent and providing information of public importance rapidly shrink in Pakistan, with journalists as well as human rights defenders particularly at risk of censorship, physical violence, and arbitrary detention, said Sam Zarifi, secretary general of the International Commission of Jurists. Pakistan last year ranked ninth on the Committee to Protect Journalists' annual Global Impunity Index, with at least 15 unsolved killings of journalist since 2010. The statement urged Pakistani authorities to "conduct prompt, impartial, and effective investigations" into the growing number of attacks on media workers. The frequency and audacity with which journalists are being attacked in Pakistan is appalling, said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. The Pakistani authorities should bring those responsible for these attacks to justice and ensure that all journalists can do their jobs without fear of intimidation or reprisals. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. No 'provoking': Israeli official vows quieter tone with US Israels visiting defense minister says Israel will stay engaged on the terms as the U.S. tries to return to a nuclear deal with Iran The proponents of a ballot initiative that would end universal vote-by-mail in Colorado and require a fingerprinted, government-issued elector card to cast a ballot will ask the Title Board for a second time on Wednesday to issue a ballot title for the measure. Its been a tough year for many industries, but none were hit harder than our local restaurants. Indian automaker Tata Motors has raised $425 million through unsecured offshore bonds at a rate of 4.35% to refinance existing debt and meet expenses, according to a term sheet of the deal seen by Reuters. Of the proceeds raised, Tata will use 225 million pounds ($318 million) to refinance existing loans and the rest to meet corporate expenses, according to the paper. The bond, which has been issued for a period of two and a half years, was over-subscribed by about five times, according to a source with direct knowledge of the deal. Tata Motors didn't immediately respond for a request for comment. The company owns British luxury brand Jaguar Land Rover Tata Motors had net automotive debt of 409 billion rupees ($5.6 billion) at the end of last fiscal year through March 31. The company said in 2020 it plans to be net debt free at the end of three years. Bank of America, BNP Paribas and ANZ were the lead managers on the deal, the term sheet showed. Also Read: Britannia Industries board approves proposal for raising Rs 698.51 cr via bonus debentures Barry Fagin is Senior Fellow in Technology Policy at the Independence Institute in Denver. His views are his alone. Readers can contact Dr. Fagin at barry@faginfamily.net. Its a back-alley shell game. Its also playing dirty a late hit. The ballot proposals formal title, indicating its aim and scope, already has been set by the state. It cannot be changed to apply to the new tax-assessment categories in time to make this years ballot. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close The Centre has placed an order with Hyderabad-based drugmaker Biological-E for 30 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. The Union Health Ministry will make an advance payment of Rs 1,500 crore to the manufacturer for what will be the second made-in-India vaccine following Bharat Biotech's Covaxin. The doses will be manufactured and stockpiled by Biological-E from August-December 2021. The development comes after the Centre faced heavy criticism for its vaccination policy, which fell short when the country was hit by a severe second wave of COVID-19 in March-April. Also Read: Biological E -- India's next Serum, Bharat Biotech of COVID-19 vaccine The government had to halt exports of COVID-19 vaccine shots under its "Vaccine Maitri" programme and scrambled to procure more jabs to address shortage in the country. Biological-E's COVID-19 vaccine is currently undergoing phase-3 clinical trial after manifesting promising results in phase 1 and 2 tests. Also Read: COVID-19: India's Biological E to manufacture Providence Therapeutics' mRNA vaccine The vaccine being developed by the company is an RBD protein sub-unit vaccine and is expected to be available in the next few months. The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) examined Biological-E's proposal and recommended its COVID-19 vaccine for approval after due diligence. INDUSTRY INSIGHT How to use strategic asset management to optimize an infrastructure windfall President Joe Biden recently announced his $2.3 trillion stimulus proposal centered on the nations most pressing infrastructure challenges. While the funding seems like a welcome infusion, many smaller governments may be unprepared to manage the windfall coming their way. As government agencies prepare to attract funding, they must consider how to spend funds for the long-term balancing of budgets, not just a two-year fix. How can they ensure fewer assets enter the failing F zones of their lifecycles in five, 10 or even 30 years? Strategic asset management is a modeling methodology that can help governments optimize how they spend their infrastructure stimulus money, while ensuring future financial sustainability. By applying SAM, officials can create an agile view of assets, develop strategies to guide investments and analyze data to model scenarios for applying infrastructure funds in the most strategic way possible. Create a future-focused, agile view of assets Deciding where the stimulus money will have the biggest impact, not just now but in the future, requires an agile, future-focused approach. Previously, government officials determined the condition and lifecycle of assets manually even though tracking and managing budgets, service requirements and risks for billions of dollars in infrastructure is a complex task for even the most advanced jurisdictions. In fact, many still do this analysis on paper, which can only provide data on an assets current state. Computerized maintenance management software (CMMS) systems provide a digital view into assets, including data on age, location and current condition. SAM takes this to next level, analyzing tens of thousands of competing assets through multiple lenses to predict what funds will be needed 30 years in the future. This future focus is critical, not only for an officials own understanding but so municipalities can better communicate with taxpayers and constituents. Visualization and modeling tools promote agile understanding, which will help officials better pose infrastructure questions and understand different scenarios. They can answer questions like: What will happen to our bridges if we increase or reduce the spend, or divert the funds in a different distribution of treatments? Could we spend our money differently between our high-priority and low-priority sidewalks to get a different level of service in 10 years time? A technology-driven approach to understand assets can help answer these scenarios. Build a strategy to guide investments Once assets are viewed through a future-forward lens, government officials next step is to devise a strategy for tackling systematic infrastructure challenges. This involves mapping the available resources and predicted infrastructure windfall across assets with varying degrees of deterioration. A plan built using a SAM methodology can serve as the true north to determine the right answers by modelling and comparing choices. To develop this plan, officials should tap internal and external experts to evaluate systems through modelling and determine when in an assets lifecycle to intervene. This plan should also identify the different points where investments are appropriate as well as the cost of treatment and its impact on asset condition and portfolio maintenance. This process, known as capital planning, places a strategic emphasis on balancing short- and long-term needs. Capital planning can predict the future health of all systems, model a variety of scenarios and visualize all available options. Perhaps the most important tool capital planning offers is cost-benefit analysis to support the overarching strategy and help all stakeholders understand the impact of investment scenarios on every asset they oversee. Analyze the data for better decisions In preparation for the federal stimulus, state and local agencies must make the best possible case to attract funding. Most likely already have the necessary data to secure funding and plan investments, but they may not be able to model that data into the future. This is essential to long-term planning. Jurisdictions that see the future spend their money differently. Small governments at the state and local levels can draw on data from CMMS systems with SAM capabilities. More mature and larger governments can conduct more advanced modeling through enterprise SAM to forecast renewals, replacements and expenditures. Financial optimization models can determine the best combination of investments across the portfolio, while tactical modeling can determine the type, timing and level of investment. No matter the maturity level, SAM will help organizations clearly model and clarify available options for investments and cost-effective results over the next 10 to 30 years. This helps communities move infrastructure into the 21st century -- not only solving short-term needs but planning for the future. As this past year has shown, governments must prepare for the unexpected, whether thats a natural disaster or unplanned budget expenditure. The incoming stimulus funding presents an opportunity to think differently about infrastructure. SAM helps governments unite behind a common purpose, allowing teams to focus on the outcomes that matter and prepare for community needs for years to come. DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) The former CEO of Make-A-Wish Iowa has pleaded guilty to charges of embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from the charity that supports sick children and their families. Jennifer Woodley admitted in a written guilty plea last week that she made unauthorized charges on a foundation credit card, gave herself an unapproved bonus and salary increases and made false entries into foundation records related to those expenses. Woodley, 40, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree theft and one count of fraudulent practices, all felonies. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend a sentence of five years of probation, along with fines and restitution. A charging document alleges that Woodley's embezzlement totaled nearly $41,000, but restitution has not yet been set. Judge Scott Beattie accepted the guilty pleas Tuesday and scheduled a sentencing hearing for July 20. A global installation company is moving its U.S. headquarters to the Dan River Region, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday afternoon. Walraven will invest $7.15 million and create 46 new jobs as it relocates from Michigan to the Danville area. It will move into a shell building in Cane Creek Centre, a joint industrial park for the City of Danville and Pittsylvania County, Northam said. In Northam's trip to Europe last month, he met with the company CEO in Frankfurt, Germany, a release said. Virginia competed with Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee for the project. Walraven is a global giant in the installation systems industry and the companys decision to relocate to Danville-Pittsylvania County is a testament to our world-class business environment, Northam said. This announcement further demonstrates the strength of Southern Virginias economic assets and its commitment to infrastructure, education, and building the workforce of the future." The company makes installation systems for mechanical, plumbing, fire, seismic and electrical industries and applications. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Walraven manufactures its products in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Spain, Turkey, China, India, Dubai, Canada and the United States. A state law doing away with photo ID requirements for voting went into effect July 1, 2020. Local race deadline Tuesday is also the deadline to file for local races coming up in November. In Danville, four constitutional officers are up for election sheriff, commissioner of revenue, treasurer and commonwealths attorney. No challengers have filed to run against the incumbents, who include Sheriff Mike Mondul, Commissioner of Revenue James Gillie, Treasurer Sheila Williamson-Branch, and Commonwealths Attorney Michael Newman. All four are running for reelection and would serve four-year terms. As for local races in November in Pittsylvania County, seats on the board of supervisors and the school board are up for grabs in the Callands-Gretna, Dan River and Banister districts. Supervisor candidates include incumbent Joe Davis in the Dan River District and incumbent Charles Miller and former supervisor Jessie Barksdale in the Banister District. In Callands-Gretna, Supervisor Ben Farmer is not running for reelection. Ryland Brumfield has filed to run for the seat, and another possible candidate, Gregory Robinson has filed some forms to run but is not yet qualified, Keesee said. Consolidations drive up already inordinate health care costs, Stein said. Today, I am asking every hospital system administrator about the transparency of their prices and their compliance with federal pricing transparency regulations. As the letter says, patients have been forced to navigate the health care system with little, if any, information about the actual price of services they are told are necessary, Stein said. Thats not only unacceptable, its against the law. Background The headquarters of the combined not-for-profit health care system would have been in Norfolk. Cone and its Greensboro facilities would have served as a regional hub for Sentara. The combined systems would have had 17 hospitals and projected annual revenues of $11.5 billion. The systems projected it could have taken until mid-2023 to fully combine and integrate the operations. They would have functioned separately until the acquisition is completed. Howard Kern, Sentaras president and chief executive, said he is confident that this mutual decision will not alter either organizations ongoing commitment to meet the needs for our respective communities. Authorities said the children fired at the deputies four separate times over the next 35 minutes. At one point, Chitwood said, an officer went close enough to the home to toss a cellphone inside to try to talk to them. "They were traversing the length of that house and opening fire on deputies from different angles," Chitwood said. "They were out on the pool deck, they shot from the bedroom window, they shot from the garage door. This is like Bonnie and Clyde at 12 years old and 14 years of age." The girl eventually came out of the garage with the shotgun and pointed it at deputies. They repeatedly asked her to drop the weapon, Chitwood said. She walked back into the garage. "She comes back a second time and that's when deputies open fire and she takes multiple rounds," Chitwood said. As the deputies provided medical aid to the girl, the boy, who was armed with the AK-47, surrendered, the release said. "Deputies did everything they could tonight to de-escalate, and they almost lost their lives to a 12-year-old and a 14-year-old," the sheriff said. "If it wasn't for their training and their supervision Somebody would have ended up dead." Carroll Foy ties her biography graduating from Virginia Military Institute and working in low-wage jobs and as a public defender to her political strategy. Theres intersectionality ... coming from one of the poorest communities in Virginia and selling policy ideas to all working- and middle-class voters, she said in an interview. In addition to no Black woman serving as governor, only two have been elected to the U.S. Senate, and the chamber has none now. The next goal, Carr said, is for Black women to match their voting power to their representation. Congress began this year with a record 25 Black women out of 435 House members. Black women are mayors in seven of the 100 most populous U.S. cities, up from one less than a decade ago. The number of Black women in state legislatures has nearly doubled in two decades, to more than 4%. We can celebrate, Carr said, but still recognize the work that needs to be done. At the least, strong campaigns from Black women so early in the midterm cycle stand out compared to previous years. In 2017, as Georgias Abrams was preparing for her first bid for governor, white power brokers in the state party recruited one of her fellow state lawmakers, a white woman, to run against her. North Carolinians deserve a secretary of DEQ who lies awake at night thinking about ways to mitigate the single-source supply risk we face today ... (and) to develop a plan for how to find a right balance between environmental protection and new sources of natural gas supply," said state Sen. Paul Newton, a Cabarrus County Republican and retired utility executive. This nominee did not know her boss' strategy for the expansion of natural gas in North Carolina. Senate Democrats angered by the GOP's refusal to let Delli-Gatti explain in a committee on Wednesday led them to walk out before a vote. They continued to blast Republican leaders during Thursday's floor debate, saying that Delli-Gatti, a former Environmental Defense Fund leader and first woman secretary in the environmental department, was eminently qualified to lead the agency. She also had stints with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and governments in Ohio and Dallas. So what you are seeing that the rest of North Carolina does not? asked first-term Sen. DeAndrea Salvador, a Mecklenburg County Democrat. This isnt about what Secretary Delli-Gatti knows or doesnt. We were blindsided. This came out of nowhere. This fragile entity, (a) world heritage site, cannot survive without our help, the letter added. The signatories laid out 10 priorities for the city, including a stop to the passage of huge ships through Venice and a better management of mass tourism, which saw 25 million tourists visit the city in 2019, before the pandemic shut down global tourism. The Italian government in March passed a decree aimed at definitively blocking cruise ship traffic through Venice, leaving many with the mistaken impression that the ban was already in effect. JC Viens was arriving at St. Marks Square around 6 a.m. for an on-location radio broadcast when he looked up to see an unusual flurry of smaller boats with flashing lights passing through St. Marks Basin. The square was nearly empty, except a few tourists snapping photos of the Doge's Palace as the sun rose behind it. Then I saw this vessel moving very slowly. It was very surprising. I thought cruise ships were not allowed any more in the canal, said Viens, a Canadian communications director who became aware of the controversy over the ships while living in Venice for the second half of 2020 when the drop in tourism reduced even everyday canal traffic. We must obey all laws or suffer civil or criminal penalties, yet we see on news channels (but not all, which is another issue) countless people breaking the law to illegally cross our southern border. The IRS estimates that only 50% to 75% of those here without authority pay federal, state or local taxes. Who foots the remainder of the bill? If we crossed illegally into other countries, especially Mexico, we would surely wind up in a jail cell. We watch as public schools teach critical race theory as part of what some consider historical revisionism and invite drag queens to middle school Career Day. The Pentagon demolished the Trump-era ban on transgender people in the military. They can now freely serve. I have yet to hear how this will promote unit cohesion, help us win wars and compete with the military of Russia and China, whose priorities are much different. We spend record amounts of money on public education and yet American children are behind Russia and China and many other countries in important subjects, such as math and science. Notice there are no proposals for a commission to investigate Black Lives Matter, or the large amounts of dark money used by both parties flooding in to influence our elections. No, it is only people viewed as the extreme right who should be subject to investigations. Highlights Reliance 44th AGM is slated for June 24. Reliance is likely to announce its low-cost 5G smartphone backed by Google at the AGM. It is also likely to launch an affordable laptop called the JioBook along with indigenous 5G network. Reliance has scheduled its 44th annual general meeting (AGM) for June 24. The company is likely to launch the low-cost 5G Jio phone backed by Google as well as the affordable JioBook at the event. It is speculated that Reliance may announce its plans for 5G rollout at the AGM. The AGM is slated for June 24 at 2PM. It is likely to be livestreamed on YouTube for the general public. Reliance is likely to announce its low-cost 5G smartphone backed by Google at the AGM. Last month, Google CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed that the tech giant is working closely with Reliance Jio for an affordable smartphone. Google announced an investment of Rs 33,737 crore in Jio Platforms for a 7.7 per cent stake at the last AGM. Earlier reports have noted that the affordable 5G-ready smartphone could be complete by the second quarter of 2021 and would coincide with the AGM. The smartphone was further speculated to have an Android Go operating system (OS) with entry-level specifications. Reliance was also said to be working on its JioOS, which is a custom version of Google's Android operating system. The use of JioOS is reportedly helpful in giving an optimised performance of Jio applications. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) approved 5G trials in India earlier this year. Reliance has noted that it will use its indigenious 5G equipment and technology. In December 2020, Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani had confirmed that 5G services will be available in India in the second half of 2021 emphasising on the Atma Nirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) approach. Jio is also expected to launch an affordable laptop, which is speculated to be called JioBook, that would provide 4G LTE support and is based on JioOS. The telecom giant had started working on a "larger screen device" in September last year and will reach its Product Validation Test stage by April this year. For the Jio Book, Jio is reportedly partnering with China-based engineering firm Bluebank Communication Technology, as per documents reviewed by XDA. Reliance launched Jio Phone in 2017 in India which has more than 100 million users, many of whom are internet first-timers. The potential low-cost 5G Android phones will also attract more subscribers to Reliance plans from other telecom companies who still offer 2G/3G networks on low-cost smartphones. Indeed. But what does this mean? That his ambition is fickle and transitory? That hes not the sort of fellow who needs whatever it is that political victories satisfy in others? That hes just realized that hes The One and feels duty-bound but also can take it or leave it? My guess: All of the above. Which means either that hes simply delightful or full of it. Possibly both. We tend to like entertaining politicians, or we used to before Donald Trump. In some ways, Yang and Trump are similar politicians, except in opposite ways. One light and hopeful, the other dark and brooding. Both Trump and Yang love the spotlight and know how to please a crowd. In March, Yang, 46, donned a hairnet to hand-pull noodles at a Chinatown restaurant. Yang, the boyish 46-year-old, thought nothing of it. They gave it to me, he explained, and I put it on. While Trump glories in stadiums filled with raucous fans cheering his mean jokes, Yang makes targeted forays into neighborhoods with a BFF vibe. His campaign scrapbook is a collection of everyman vignettes starring Yang riding the Cyclone on Coney Island, shooting hoops, hanging with artists and the nightlife people he insists are vital to the citys revitalization. Kim Carlyle Greensboro Barbecue fraud In divided times we need to remember the things that unite us. For instance, since moving away from Greensboro and the Old North State, I have come to realize the level of disrespect that is bestowed upon our people. I searched for barbecue in my area, in and around Washington, D.C., thinking that there should be a chance of having real barbecue here; Im not that far from the Tarheel State, after all. But the search results revealed an ugly truth that I must share with you. In places outside of the Twelfth State, people serve whats called Carolinas Style barbecue. Nothings more saddening and enraging than ordering barbecue, and being served mustard slop. (This is completely glossing over those who try to use barbecue as a verb i.e., We are barbecuing this weekend which we all know is wrong and thus need not be addressed here.) It is important to advocate for what is right. As for me, I will not stop spreading the gospel of North Carolinas delicacy. Without our voices, someone in another state could be served Carolinas Style barbecue without the requisite disclaimer defining the term. Now, years later, Aaron is a savvy investigator who is piecing together clues, and deflecting red herrings. Finally, there is Aaron the lonely soul, still nursing wounds. During his investigation, he reunites with Gretchen, another childhood friend. Hes hungry for connections. Banas performance is subtle, nuanced and affecting. The story keeps flashing back to the shy teen, reminding us we carry our young selves forward, under our grown-up facade. Thats the part of the story that lingers. We all have childhood memories floating through our adult minds. The danger in going back to our home towns is that those who knew us yesterday can see through what we are today. We cant bluff childhood friends. One scene is particularly revealing. Gretchen is out in the flats shooting rabbits. She offers Aaron her rifle to take a shot. He trains the rabbit in the crosshairs, but cant pull the trigger. He hands the gun back to her. Even though hes in police work, Aarons heart has not hardened. Gretchen sees that reluctance to kill in his eyes, a sensitivity he possessed even as a child. You know Im going to have to shoot him anyway, she says, firing and killing the rabbit. The remaining asphalt will be milled off, then all 9,000 feet will receive a new coat of asphalt at once to avoid cold joints on the surface, places along the surface where two separate applications of asphalt meet when doing the work piecemeal. "You get a better product in the end without those cold joints and it will last longer," Wadekamper said. Helena Sand & Gravel will continue to be the contractor, but the need for more than 7,000 tons of asphalt per day has forced the company to reach out to others for assistance. Columbia Falls-based Schellinger Construction is sending its mobile asphalt plant to help manufacture the massive amount needed. Boulder-based Bullock Contracting is also providing trucks to help move everything. In total, Wadekamper said about 50 trucks will be needed to complete the project in the eight-day span. To provide a better idea of how large the project is, Wadekamper said 6.8 acres of paint will be used on the finished runway. Before that can happen, the connecting taxi lanes also need to be resurfaced. "It's one of the most aggressive jobs I've ever seen," Wadekamper said, referring to both its scope and timeline. There are a lot of small, scrappy theater companies in New Orleans and theyre very do-it-yourself. I took on that sense of, well, if you want something done, do it yourself. Some companies there even performed in garages, and Nelson realized he didnt need to own a theater building to launch productions. While Helena currently has Grandstreet Theatre and the newly formed Helena Avenue Theatre with its Top HAT Players, plus the Helena Theatre Company, Carroll College, the New Play Fest and Heartscope Ensemble at The Heath, there are still plenty of gaps on ones calendar if youre looking for live theater in Helena. With the demise of the Montana Shakespeare Company and Iron Front Theatre and possible changes with Helena Theatre Company after the death of Ed Noonan, Nelson saw a need for more Helena theater. It seemed like a good time to explore something new in town, said Nelson. He and the other founders dont see Ravens Feather competing with existing theater companies. Instead, they see themselves as one more creative outlet for playwrights, actors and directors who have ideas for contemporary plays they want to produce, but need help making that happen. NORMAL Illinois Republicans on Wednesday urged Gov. J.B. Pritzker to "uphold his promise" and veto a Democrat-proposed state legislative redistricting map. "What we saw in Springfield these last two weeks was an absolute mockery of fair and transparent redistricting processes," U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, said Wednesday afternoon during a press conference in uptown Normal. The proposed legislative redistricting map on Friday passed through both houses and now heads to Pritzker's desk for approval. The Senate passed the map 41-18 and the House approved it 71-45, with only Democrats voting in favor and all Republicans voting against. Pritzker, a Democrat, has not said whether he plans to approve the map, but has said he would veto "an unfair map." He has not given details on what an unfair map would entail. As a Democratic candidate for governor in 2018, Pritzker said he wanted an independent, nonpartisan commission to create the districts. Davis was joined on Wednesday by Republican state Sen. Jason Barickman and Rep. Dan Brady, both of Bloomington. The lawmakers pointed to an interview Pritzker had during his campaign for governor. In this interview, when asked about redistricting, Pritzker committed to "vetoing any legislative map drawn by politicians," said Davis. Pritzker also spoke in support of creating an independent commission to redraw legislative maps. Please log in to keep reading. {{featured_button_text}} Enjoy unlimited articles at one of our lowest prices ever. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Barickman criticized the process, which he said was done behind closed doors, and for using the U.S. Census Bureau's 2015-2019 American Community Survey Data. He said the data was inaccurate and flawed. The sole purpose of these gerrymandered maps is to maintain one party control in the iron-type grip the Democrats have on our state, he said. "Gov. Pritzker has the sole power alone to change this. These are politician-drawn maps that do not allow Illinoisans to be represented." Barickman said the majority of Illinoisans want an independent redistricting process. He said the redistricting affects not only state elections, but elections on a national level by limiting voter choice in candidates. That is why, Barickman said, it is important for Illinois lawmakers to keep the focus on the people and ensure fair representation. Democrats have defended the use of the ACS data, which they said was off by a fraction of a percentage. It was used in lieu of the delayed release of the 2020 census redistricting data that would typically be used. The result, Republican lawmakers said Wednesday, is a gerrymandered legislative map. "Politicians shouldn't be picking their constituents," said Brady. "Constituents should be picking their politicians, their representatives, their senators, under a fair map process. "This isn't good government, ladies and gentlemen." Contact Sierra Henry at 309-820-3234. Follow her on Twitter: @pg_sierrahenry. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 When someone dies while pregnant or within a year of childbirth in Illinois, thats considered a maternal death. Karen Tabb Dina is a maternal health researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who serves on a state-level committee thats trying to figure out whats killing these mothers. The groups most recent analysis found that about 75 women in Illinois die from pregnancy-related causes each year. Consistent with national trends, Black women are at greater risk than white women, and most of the deaths were preventable. Its cause for alarm, Tabb Dina said. Our country is in a crisis in terms of unnecessary maternal deaths. In recent years, Illinois Maternal Mortality Review Committee has urged policy changes that would remove barriers to health care for pregnant and postpartum women. At the top of the list: Make sure low-income moms dont lose Medicaid coverage after a baby is born. Some women lose coverage as soon as two months after giving birth. In April, Illinois became the first state to be approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to extend Medicaid up to a full year after a pregnancy. This is tremendous, Tabb Dina said. One of the greatest risk factors for maternal deaths is lack of access to care: not being able to access the right providers and to be seen in a timely manner. Medicaid, the state and federal program mainly for low-income Americans, covers people with higher incomes during pregnancy but most states kick these women off the rolls 60 days after they give birth. As a result, hundreds of thousands of women whove recently had a baby end up uninsured each year. Disruptions in Medicaid coverage results in higher costs and worse health outcomes, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a press briefing in April, citing a federal report on the consequences of Medicaid churning. More than half of pregnant women in Medicaid experienced a coverage gap in the first six months of postpartum care. With the extension of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, mothers in Illinois with incomes up to about double the federal poverty level can keep their coverage for a year postpartum. Several other states including New Jersey, Georgia and Virginia are taking similar steps. Although the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan was passed to stimulate the economy amid the covid-19 pandemic, it also contains a less-noticed provision addressing the postpartum coverage. For the 12 states that never expanded Medicaid under the ACA, the law provides new financial incentives for them to make Medicaid available to adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level ($12,880 for an individual, $21,960 for a family of three). In addition, the stimulus package offers all states an easier option for extending postpartum Medicaid coverage beyond the 138% income limit. Starting in April 2022, states can file a state plan amendment to their Medicaid program a process that has fewer roadblocks to federal approval than the traditional route of applying for a federal waiver. Maternal health experts say extending Medicaid coverage to a full year postpartum makes sense because pregnancy-related complications physical and mental arent limited to the first few months. Many [postpartum] health issues and health problems extend beyond the 60-day period that Medicaid is currently covering, said Dr. Rachel Bervell, an obstetrician in Seattle and co-founder of the Black OBGYN Project, which aims to raise awareness about racial injustices in maternal health care. A report based on data from nine states found nearly 20% of pregnancy-associated deaths happen between 43 days and one year postpartum. Bervell clearly recalls learning about that statistic. It was just so jarring, she said. It makes you worried about the 1 in 5 individuals we may be missing. Medicaid is the largest payer for maternity care in the United States. Black women are overrepresented in the Medicaid population and are also overrepresented among those who get kicked off their plan after 60 days. Chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension are more prevalent and less well-controlled among Black women, putting them at higher risk of pregnancy-related complications. There are also structural barriers to health care, such as inadequate housing, transportation and child care. Many of these barriers stem from racist and discriminatory policies, like redlining, linked to worse health outcomes. Black mothers are also more likely to be denied medication for postpartum pain. Racial disparities in maternal health outcomes are caused by racism, not race. So the problem cant be solved, Bervell said, without addressing systemic racism in medicine and the broader society. Please log in to keep reading. {{featured_button_text}} Enjoy unlimited articles at one of our lowest prices ever. U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) said the racial disparities are unacceptable. She championed the states Medicaid change and is working on other policies to improve maternal health data collection and establish national obstetric emergency protocols. When you look at educated Black women with money, they still die more than less-educated, less-wealthy white women, she said. Kelly said she first became aware of the issue several years ago, when she met the family of Kira Johnson, a Black mother who died after the birth of her second child from obstetrical bleeding one of the most common causes of maternal death in the U.S. Ill never forget, her [older] son walked in and saw a picture of his mother on the screen. And he said, Theres Mommy. And that just got to me, Kelly said. What a heartbreak. As the rate of maternal deaths in the U.S. has ticked upward, so has the incidence of severe maternal morbidity, according to the CDC. Each year, an estimated 50,000 women experience dangerous, even life-threatening health complications. Jessica Davenport-Williams, a mother in Chicago, said that, after giving birth the first time, she hemorrhaged severely and had to receive blood transfusions. She was pregnant with her second daughter around the time Serena Williams and Beyonce were in the news because of their own serious childbirth complications. So she advocated for herself before her next delivery. I wanted to make sure that every physician was well aware of my history, that they documented information in my file that would be transferred to the hospital. And I was met with resistance, she said. They didnt feel that it was necessary. I had to push for several appointments for that to happen. After her second daughter was born via cesarean section, Davenport-Williams hemorrhaged again. It became an emergency situation, she said. It just reminded me that I could have been one of those cases that I [almost] didnt make it. Davenport-Williams said her experience compelled her to become an advocate for maternal health. I dont know if I will see the change for myself, in my lifetime, she said. But I definitely dont want my daughters to have the same story or experiences that many before them have had. While extending Medicaid coverage is an important first step, efforts to prevent maternal death cant stop there, Tabb Dina said. Health care providers need to be educated about racial inequities in medicine, she said. Screening all pregnant and postpartum women for mental illness and making sure they get treatment will also help save lives. And more patients with experience need a seat at the table in policy discussions, she said. We need to understand the real lived stories of our near misses,' Tabb Dina said. What were their barriers? What were their complications? And then ask: What more needs to change so no child has to grow up without a mother whose death could have been prevented? This story comes from a reporting partnership with Illinois Public Media, NPR and Kaiser Health News. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 PEORIA It's almost official: Penicillin plays not only in Peoria, but throughout Illinois. On Monday, with just hours to spare, the General Assembly approved Penicillium rubens as the official state microbe. The legislation, which had languished for two years, now needs only the governor's signature to become law. The designation would serve as a salute to Peoria and the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, more commonly known as the ag lab. There, in the 1940s, scientists with the help of local residents found a way to mass-produce penicillin, a key to the effort in World War II, especially D-Day. To this day, penicillin remains the most widely used antibiotic in the world. Sen. Dave Koehler, the Peoria Democrat who sponsored the bill, said of the designation, "It is a real tribute to historical importance of the (ag lab) for all innovation that comes from the women and men scientists who have made contributions to our nation. Penicillin was a literal life saver for our soldiers in WWII. It is good that now all of Illinois recognizes that history." Among Illinois' official symbols, Penicillium rubens would join the likes of popcorn (state snack food), square dance (state dance) and Tully monster (state fossil). It's unclear as to the number of such Illinois designations: The state's website mentions 13, but the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' website lists 21. The idea to honor Penicillium rubens germinated at the ag lab in 2019 after physical science technician Gary Kuzniar heard a radio story about New Jersey adopting a state microbe. He soon ran into research chemist Neil Price, toting Petri dishes of the lab's original penicillin strain, and they got to talking about state microorganisms. That led to a Journal Star story that prompted Koehler to introduce the state-microbe legislation. The hope was to get the designation approved by June 6 of that year, the 75th anniversary of D-Day. But a snafu was found in the details of the legislation, which misidentified the microbe as Penicillium chrysogenum rather than Penicillium rubens. So, the process got untracked until this spring, when everything fell into place toward the end of the legislative session. The bill passed at 8:10 p.m. Monday, not long before the lawmaking deadline. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's office did not immediately return a Journal Star request for comment about the legislation. Kuzniar would like Peoria, perhaps even the ag lab, to be part of the process. "Woo-hoo!" said an excited Kuzniar. "... We are going to contact the governor's office soon to see if he would sign the bill here in Peoria." Price is hoping to throw some sort of celebration in Peoria. Please log in to keep reading. {{featured_button_text}} Enjoy unlimited articles at one of our lowest prices ever. "I'm super happy," Price said Tuesday. "It's taken awhile." Price said the state-microbe designation shines a spotlight on Peoria, which he feels should do more to promote its penicillin role. "It's a big deal," he said. Agreeing is Cathie Neumiller, vice president for marketing at the Peoria Riverfront Museum, which features a permanent penicillin exhibit. Though the museum has at times sold penicillin-related items, including Penicillium-shaped plush toys, she said further microbe marketing could include mugs, stickers and other merch. "Now we can, with our friends at the ag lab, be the cheerleader for P. rubens as our Illinois microbe," she said. "... We need the street sign: P. Rubens Way." In 1928, British scientist Alexander Fleming made the initial discovery, essentially by accident. He was studying an infectious bacterium, which he left unattended in a Petri dish. He later found a blue-green mold (a spore of which had wafted through an open window) growing on the dish, with bacteria dead all around it. He identified the mold as Penicillium. But he was a lackluster communicator, so almost nobody heard about his discovery for a long time. In the late 1930s, an Oxford University team led by the Australian Howard Florey devised a method of mass-producing the drug, but yields were low. The Nazi bombings of England threatened to blow the lab to smithereens. Florey and his colleagues ingeniously hid penicillin spores in their clothing; thus, should they be captured by the Axis, the scientists later could re-culture the mold elsewhere. Florey could not find enough funding and materials in war-depleted Britain to mass-produce the drug, the success of which could help the Allies stem battlefield infections and win World War II. Florey and a key lab colleague, Norman Heatley, took a risky flight to America and managed to secure financial backing. But where to go to mass-produce the would-be wonder drug? They found the Penicillium promised land in Peoria, at what was then known as the Northern Regional Research Laboratory, which had been set up to find uses for agricultural byproducts. For Florey's team, Andrew Moyer, a lab microbiologist and expert in fermenting molds, found that a corn-milling byproduct corn steep liquor could be used to grow penicillin quickly. But where to find a strain of the mold that could hold up to the rigors of mass production? Thanks to public knowledge about the search for the right mold, an anonymous Peoria housewife (or perhaps more than one, thus together creating a legendary persona known as Moldy Mary) brought in an overripe cantaloupe from a local grocery store. It yielded the proper strain of Penicillium. The breakthrough came literally just in time. In June 1942, there wasn't enough penicillin in America to treat 10 patients. Thanks to Peoria, this nation was able to manufacture 2.3 million doses of the drug just in advance of the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Later, Florey and Ernst Chain, his lab co-director, were awarded the Nobel Prize, along with Fleming. Furthermore, emboldened by the penicillin success story, companies vied with each other to find other wonder drugs. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Front-row view reveals exceptional cosmic explosion Scientists have gained the best view yet of the brightest explosions in the universe: A specialised observatory in Namibia has recorded the most energetic radiation and longest gamma-ray afterglow of a so-called gamma-ray burst (GRB) to date. The observations with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) challenge the established idea of how gamma-rays are produced in these colossal stellar explosions which are the birth cries of black holes, as the international team reports in the journal Science. "Gamma-ray bursts are bright X-ray and gamma-ray flashes observed in the sky, emitted by distant extragalactic sources," explains DESY scientist Sylvia Zhu, one of the authors of the paper. "They are the biggest explosions in the universe and associated with the collapse of a rapidly rotating massive star to a black hole. A fraction of the liberated gravitational energy feeds the production of an ultrarelativistic blast wave. Their emission is divided into two distinct phases: an initial chaotic prompt phase lasting tens of seconds, followed by a long-lasting, smoothly fading afterglow phase." On 29 August 2019 the satellites Fermi and Swift detected a gamma-ray burst in the constellation of Eridanus. The event, catalogued as GRB 190829A according to its date of occurrence, turned out to be one of the nearest gamma-ray bursts observed so far, with a distance of about one billion lightyears. For comparison: The typical gamma-ray burst is about 20 billion lightyears away. "We were really sitting in the front row when this gamma-ray burst happened," explains co-author Andrew Taylor from DESY. The team caught the explosion's afterglow immediately when it became visible to the H.E.S.S. telescopes. "We could observe the afterglow for several days and to unprecedented gamma-ray energies," reports Taylor. The comparatively short distance to this gamma-ray burst allowed detailed measurements of the afterglow's spectrum, which is the distribution of "colours" or photon energies of the radiation, in the very-high energy range. "We could determine GRB 190829A's spectrum up to an energy of 3.3 tera-electronvolts, that's about a trillion times as energetic as the photons of visible light," explains co-author Edna Ruiz-Velasco from the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg. "This is what's so exceptional about this gamma-ray burst - it happened in our cosmic backyard where the very-high-energy photons were not absorbed in collisions with background light on their way to Earth, as it happens over larger distances in the cosmos." The team could follow the afterglow up to three days after the initial explosion. The result came as a surprise: "Our observations revealed curious similarities between the X-ray and very-high energy gamma-ray emission of the burst's afterglow," reports Zhu. Established theories assume that the two emission components must be produced by separate mechanisms: the X-ray component originates from ultra-fast electrons that are deflected in the strong magnetic fields of the burst's surroundings. This "synchrotron" process is quite similar to how particle accelerators on Earth produce bright X-rays for scientific investigations. However, according to existing theories it seemed very unlikely that even the most powerful explosions in the universe could accelerate electrons enough to directly produce the observed very-high-energy gamma rays. This is due to a "burn-off limit", which is determined by the balance of acceleration and cooling of particles within an accelerator. Producing very-high energy gamma-rays requires electrons with energies well beyond the burn-off limit. Instead, current theories assume that in a gamma-ray burst, fast electrons collide with synchrotron photons and thereby boost them to gamma-ray energies in a process dubbed synchrotron self-Compton. But the observations of GRB 190829A's afterglow now show that both components, X-ray and gamma ray, faded in sync. Also, the gamma-ray spectrum clearly matched an extrapolation of the X-ray spectrum. Together, these results are a strong indication that X-rays and very-high-energy gamma rays in this afterglow were produced by the same mechanism. "It is rather unexpected to observe such remarkably similar spectral and temporal characteristics in the X-ray and very-high energy gamma-ray energy bands, if the emission in these two energy ranges had different origins," says co-author Dmitry Khangulyan from Rikkyo University in Tokyo. This poses a challenge for the synchrotron self-Compton origin of the very-high energy gamma-ray emission. The far-reaching implication of this possibility highlights the need for further studies of very-high energy GRB afterglow emission. GRB 190829A is only the fourth gamma-ray burst detected from the ground. However, the earlier detected explosions occurred much farther away in the cosmos and their afterglow could only be observed for a few hours each and not to energies above 1 tera-electronvolts (TeV). "Looking to the future, the prospects for the detection of gamma-ray bursts by next-generation instruments like the Cherenkov Telescope Array that is currently being built in the Chilean Andes and on the Canary Island of La Palma look promising," says H.E.S.S. spokesperson Stefan Wagner from Landessternwarte Heidelberg. "The general abundance of gamma-ray bursts leads us to expect that regular detections in the very-high energy band will become rather common, helping us to fully understand their physics." ### More than 230 scientists from 41 institutes in 15 countries (Namibia, South Africa, Germany, France, the UK, Ireland, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Armenia, Japan, China and Australia), comprising the international H.E.S.S. collaboration, contributed to this research. H.E.S.S. is a system of five Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes that investigates cosmic gamma rays. The name H.E.S.S. stands for High Energy Stereoscopic System, and is also intended to pay homage to Victor Franz Hess, who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1936 for his discovery of cosmic radiation. H.E.S.S. is located in Namibia, near the Gamsberg mountain, an area well known for its excellent optical quality. Four H.E.S.S. telescopes went into operation in 2002/2003, the much larger fifth telescope - H.E.S.S. II - is operational since July 2012, extending the energy coverage towards lower energies and further improving sensitivity. In 2015-2016, the cameras of the first four H.E.S.S. telescopes were fully refurbished using state of the art electronics and in particular the NECTAr readout chip designed for the next big experiment in the field, the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), for which the data science management centre will be hosted by DESY on its Zeuthen site. DESY is one of the world's leading particle accelerator centres and investigates the structure and function of matter - from the interaction of tiny elementary particles and the behaviour of novel nanomaterials and vital biomolecules to the great mysteries of the universe. The particle accelerators and detectors that DESY develops and builds at its locations in Hamburg and Zeuthen are unique research tools. They generate the most intense X-ray radiation in the world, accelerate particles to record energies and open up new windows onto the universe. DESY is a member of the Helmholtz Association, Germany's largest scientific association, and receives its funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (90 per cent) and the German federal states of Hamburg and Brandenburg (10 per cent). Reference: Revealing x-ray and gamma ray temporal and spectral similarities in the GRB 190829A afterglow; H.E.S.S. collaboration; Science, 2021; DOI: 10.1126/science.abe8560 This story has been published on: 2021-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Highlights Apple CEO Tim Cook wants some of its employees to resume office in September. In an email to his employees, Cook has asked the employees to return to office three days a week Cook in his mail mentioned that most employees will be asked to come to office on Mondays, Tuesday and Thursdays. Apple CEO Tim Cook wants some of its employees to resume office in September. In an email to his employees, Cook has asked the employees to return to the office three days a week starting early September. Apple employees have been working remotely for the past year to curb the spread of COVID-19. However, COVID-19 cases have declined in the United States and this is one of the reasons why Cook might want his employees to work from the office. "For all that we've been able to achieve while many of us have been separated, the truth is that there has been something essential missing from this past year: each other. Video conference calling has narrowed the distance between us, to be sure, but there are things it simply cannot replicate," Cook wrote in an email to his employees obtained by The Verge. Cook in his mail mentioned that most employees will be asked to come to office on Mondays, Tuesday and Thursdays. On the remaining days, the employees have the option of working from home. However, only some employees will have the option of working from home because the teams that need to work from the office will have to return to the office five days a week. Apple employees can work remotely for up to two weeks a year. Cook says in his letter that this would help employees "to be closer to family and loved ones, find a change of scenery, manage unexpected travel, or a different reason all your own." Cook in his letter to his employees also encouraged his employees to get vaccinated. "For now, let me simply say that I look forward to seeing your faces," he said in closing. "I know I'm not alone in missing the hum of activity, the energy, creativity and collaboration of our in-person meetings and the sense of community we've all built." Earlier a Bloomberg report also claimed that Apple will give employees in many regions a paid holiday. The big tech companies including Facebook, Google and Amazon among others have asked their employees to work from home at least till June 2021. The date can be extended if need be. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had said that the company wants some of its employees to be permanent remote worker at some point. "On a long-term basis, we're going to let people request to work permanently remotely. We're going to focus on experienced employees rather than new college grads, who I think need to be in the office more, for training," he had said. JACKSONVILLE An often-praised, sometimes-maligned vigilante group that targeted online sexual predators said it is ending its work in the wake of the indictment of its founder. KTS Predator Hunters has been credited with helping expose hundreds of potential pedophiles since launching in 2019. Group members said they would never make first contact but would converse online with men who thought they were chatting with underage girls. Face-to-face meetings eventually would be arranged, during which predators would be met by law enforcement officials instead of teenagers many times while KTS taped or live-streamed the meeting for its 40,000-plus followers. KTS short for Keep Them Safe said it would work closely with, and enjoyed a strong professional relationship with, many law enforcement agencies. That was until a dispute last summer with Madison County authorities, who said they were not alerted to a KTS "sting" meet up in Alton in July. The event initiated friction between the groups, and last month a grand jury indicted KTS leader Kyle P. Swanson, 30, of Wood River on felony counts of unlawful restraint and obstructing justice and a misdemeanor assault charge. The indictment, which is a formal charge by a grand jury and is not proof of guilt, accuses Swanson of detaining and threatening a man Jan. 12 in a Madison County parking lot as part of KTS Predator Hunters activities. Swanson is free on $40,000 bail and scheduled to appear in court June 11 for a preliminary hearing. Supporters are organizing a peaceful protest outside the courthouse starting at 9 a.m. that day. A change.org petition calling for charges to be dropped had drawn 5,397 signatures as of Monday afternoon. Please log in to keep reading. {{featured_button_text}} Enjoy unlimited articles at one of our lowest prices ever. Swanson, an Army combat veteran with a criminal justice background, said the group was created to "inform the public of child predators" in communities. He has called the charges "ridiculous." Madison County State's Attorney Tom Haine said in a statement, however, that "the grand jury's decision ... reflects the fundamental idea that when members of a community decide to take justice into their own hands, even for laudable purposes, they can place themselves and others in danger and damage potential cases." Swanson said KTS will keep its popular Facebook page operational but will no longer conduct any operations. "It's with a heavy heart that I am announcing the closing of KTS Predator Hunters LLC," he posted. "During this time, we have brought a huge amount of awareness to our community of sexual predators and how bold they are to meet children in broad daylight in any population." He said he has enjoyed the time and is proud of the work the group has done, but that "I just need to move on and figure out our next step," he told followers. "The mental exhaustion that comes with a business like this is just way too hard to let it keep going as it is." Just months ago, a civil lawsuit against the group was dismissed. The group had been sued by a man who claimed he was defamed by false statements and that KTS followers had caused his family to be harassed. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The world is looking to the U.S. for global leadership, and more ambition is needed," he said. Biden has committed to providing other nations with all 60 million U.S.-produced doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has yet to be authorized for use in America but is widely approved around the world. The AstraZeneca doses have been held up for export by a weeks-long safety review by the Food and Drug Administration, and without them Biden will be hard pressed to meet his sharing goal. The White House says the initial 25 million doses announced Thursday will be shipped from existing federal stockpiles of Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. More doses are expected to be made available to share in the months ahead. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said via Twitter that Harris had informed him before the White House announcement of the decision to send 1 million doses of the single jab Johnson & Johnson vaccine. I expressed to her our appreciation in the name of the people of Mexico, he wrote. Guatemalas Giammattei said Harris told him the U.S. government would send his country 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Reaching a high percentage of community immunization is important to protect those who cannot yet be vaccinated due to age, or immunocompromised status. We also know that many variants are circulating within the United States, and as people begin to travel for the summer, there is a likelihood of those becoming more prevalent in our region if people are not yet vaccinated, she wrote. There is also the danger of additional surges in cases if large percentages of our population are not vaccinated. We do not want anyone to be ill from COVID-19 and we certainly do not want to approach the rates of hospitalizations and deaths we experienced during the winter. The news from Washington last week, as usual, was grim. Senate Republicans blocked legislation to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Bipartisan talks over President Joe Bidens infrastructure proposals are dragging out. Senators negotiating a police reform bill missed their deadline. Its disappointing to progressives who want to see the government get things done, and to moderates who were hoping a Biden White House would successfully lower the temperature of American politics after the zany Trump years. Even conservatives, who are largely responsible for the gridlock, profess to be disappointed. I have good news for everyone. This image of a hopelessly broken American political system is basically false. What I call the Secret Congress is working away on legislation that flourishes in the shadows like a fern, avoiding the polarization and zero-sum thinking that engulfs any high-profile political fight. Consider the Endless Frontier Act, which is expected to pass the Senate with a large bipartisan majority. This bill never led the front page of The New York Times, was never the lead item in Politicos Playbook, never topped the hour on cable news. It attracted interest in only the most obscure corners of my Twitter feed. The European Union's executive commission expressed concern about the vote and its implications, saying that any move to outsource asylum claims is not compatible with the laws of the 27-nation bloc. Denmark is an EU member. External processing of asylum claims raises fundamental questions about both the access to asylum procedures and effective access to protection. It is not possible under existing EU rules, European Commission spokesperson Adalbert Jahnz said. He said such an approach was not part of the commissions proposals for reforming the EU's asylum system, which was overwhelmed by the arrival into Europe of more than 1 million people in 2015, many of them from Syria. The Social Democrats have for a few years floated the idea of basing a refugee refugee center abroad. In January, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen reiterated an election campaign vision of having zero asylum-seekers. The Social Democrats argue their approach would prevent people from attempting the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe and undermine migrant traffickers who exploit desperate asylum-seekers. Since 2014, more than 20,000 migrants and refugees have died while trying to cross the sea. NASA launched White and McDevitt on June 3. Shortly after a successful first orbit of the Earth, White began preparing for his walk outside the capsule. The original plan simply had White standing in the open capsule door and sticking his body outside, but White wanted to go further. As the capsule continued to orbit traveling at 17,000 miles per hour, White began the first EVA (extra vehicular activity) in American history. Tethered to a 23-foot cord, harnessed to an umbilical carrying an oxygen hose and wearing a spacesuit with an American flag patch on it for the very first time, White took historic steps. This is the greatest experience. Its just tremendous, White said while outside the spacecraft. The kid who always wanted to be in the air was now orbiting Earth at rapid speeds. He was doing what he loved and experiencing the thrill of doing something no other American had ever done. After several minutes, NASA controllers pressed White to return to the capsule. Like a kid in a candy shop, he did not want the experience to end, but he followed their instruction and tethered himself back toward McDevitt and the safety of the capsule. It had been an important 23 minutes. It was the first of many spacewalks to come. When Pennsylvania dairy producer Jason Frye returned to the farm after working 20 years in the technology field, he was looking for the best way to make their 40-cow herd work in todays economy. Fueled by his parents dairy experience and discussions with others in the dairy industry, Frye and his brother created a plan for the future of their farm that included a creamery and a tourism business. Frye and his brother are the eighth generation on the family farm, and they thought hard about what it would take to transform this farm into a business that could support another seven generations. That is what influenced us to put together a business plan, Frye shared during a Center for Dairy Excellence Cow-side conversations podcast. He emphasized the value they found in having a plan in writing. Its been huge for a couple of reasons, he said. One of the biggest reasons, he shared, is that they were able to rapidly take advantage of programs, including the proposal for a grant they received. It also proved to be beneficial when they were ready to pull the trigger on stage two of their expansion and make a big financial investment. When they sat down with their lender, they showed their plan and benchmarks. That made their decision to partner with us as a lender very easy, he said. Its the only way to hold yourself accountable, Frye added. Business plans help you buffer when and how you spend money. Some farmers may be intimidated by the idea of a written plan, but Frye said it doesnt have to be complex. A plan can just be a few pages long, focusing on goals, what you are going to do, and what you are going to measure. I dont think it takes a lot to write your business plan, he shared. Their plan started out as discussions during morning milkings and notes written down on a paper towel. It doesnt have to be something huge, he said. For the first part of the plan, think about where you are now, where you want to be next year, and where you want to be five years down the road. Then, determine how you are going to get there, and what revenue you need to generate to reach your goals. A written plan allows you to benchmark yourself in a very honest fashion, but its not easy to do, Frye said. I think dairy farmers in particular sometimes have a very hard time treating their business like a business because we have a habit of thinking of it as a lifestyle. And I dont mean that in a bad way. I mean that in a really good way. But sometimes we need to look at it through some set of metrics. To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com. (c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2021 May 31, 2021 The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoards Dairyman. Phase one of Organic Valleys dairy life cycle assessment (LCA) evaluated on-farm greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farms in a diverse range of climates using different management practices. The results are in: Farming practices of Organic Valley farmers have a measurable benefit for the planet, reinforcing the cooperatives commitment to bringing ethically made organic food to families everywhere. The most significant difference in calculations of the carbon footprint of Organic Valley milk is in the inclusion of carbon sequestration from pasture as well as from forage and crop production. Including carbon sequestration in the LCA reduced the net farm emissions of the cooperatives dairy farms by an average of 15%. On average, Organic Valley farmers report engaging in 50% more pasture grazing than that required by the National Organic Program, and the LCA results are impacted by this significant difference. In 2022, the full LCA will be completed, and Organic Valley will publish the overall impact of the cooperatives organic milk. This LCA represents the most comprehensive organic dairy environmental impact assessment in the United States completed to date. The LCA covers a wide range of regions and management practices and includes the development of an innovative accounting method for carbon sequestration by Dr. Aguirre-Villegas, said Dr. Rebecca Larson, UW - Madison professor. In light of the study, the cooperative is debuting its commitment to a carbon-neutral supply chain by 2050 at New Hopes Expo West. The cooperative is setting milestones to reach the goal, aiming for 15% of the way to being carbon neutral by 2030 and 30% by 2035. Our LCA provides evidence of our lower-than-average farm carbon footprint. Our company-owned facilities are powered with 100% renewable electricity, and were continually exploring ways to reduce the businesss impact further, said Nicole Rakobitsch, director of sustainability at Organic Valley. Together, our farms, our business, and our supply chain will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon. Organic Valley is taking a direct, hands-on approach to carbon neutrality, as it plans to achieve its climate goal without purchasing external carbon credits. Instead of offsetting emissions with credits like many U.S. companies, the cooperatives efforts will reduce or eliminate emissions in the first place and maximize carbon sequestration on Organic Valley family farms across the country. About Organic Valley Organic Valley is America's largest cooperative of organic farmers and one of the nation's leading organic brands. Founded in 1988, the cooperative represents more than 1,700 farmers in 34 U.S. states, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom and achieved $1.2 billion in 2020 sales. Focused on its founding mission of saving family farms through organic farming, Organic Valley produces a wide range of organic dairy, egg and produce products. As a leader in pasture-based, regenerative organic farming, Organic Valley works with nature, not against it. For more information visit www.organicvalley.coop. Organic Valley is also @OrganicValley on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES Sherritt International Corporation ("Sherritt") (TSX:S), a leader in the mining and refining of nickel and cobalt, today announced that Leon Binedell has been appointed to the Corporations Board of Directors. Mr. Binedell, a 25-year mining industry veteran with a history of building shareholder value, was named Sherritt President and CEO effective June 1, 2021. Originally from South Africa, Mr. Binedell brings 25 years of industry experience in leading global mining companies and adjacent joint ventures. Previously, he worked as Chief Financial Officer of Guyana Goldfields Inc. ("Guyana Goldfields"), a Canadian-based gold producer focused on gold deposits in Guyana. During his tenure with Guyana Goldfields, Mr. Binedell was instrumental in maximizing shareholder value and ensured stability through the effective recruitment of team members, the renegotiation of all major operating and supply contracts and the development of finance and governance practices that guided Guyana Goldfields through its successful sale. Mr. Binedell has also served in a variety of senior leadership roles at other leading mining companies, including nickel and other base metals businesses. Prior to joining Guyana Goldfields, he served as Finance Operating Executive with Resource Capital Funds, a leading private equity fund focused on the mining sector and the commercialization of mining innovation. In his role, he advised a portfolio of 25 companies representing $2 billion in assets under management that spanned seven commodities and mining related innovations across eight countries on improving their overall strategies, financial performance and finance practices. Additional sector experience includes his time as National Leader of Finance Consulting in Mining & Energy at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, General Manager of Business Services at Xstrata Nickel (now Glencore) and Chief Financial Officer at Koniambo Nickel SAS. Story continues With Mr. Binedells appointment, David Pathe, Sherritts former President and CEO, has stepped down from Sherritts Board. About Sherritt Sherritt is a world leader in the mining and refining of nickel and cobalt metals essential for the growing adoption of electric vehicles. Its Technologies Group creates innovative, proprietary solutions for oil and mining companies around the world to improve environmental performance and increase economic value. Sherritt is also the largest independent energy producer in Cuba. Sherritts common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "S". View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005941/en/ Contacts Joe Racanelli, Director of Investor Relations Telephone: 416-935-2457 Email: joe.racanelli@sherritt.com www.sherritt.com Representative Image Kabul [Afghanistan], June 3 (ANI): Over 100 Taliban terrorists were killed in fighting with government forces across the country, as per Afghan Defence Ministry. According to Khaama Press, the Ministry stated that clashes between Afghan government forces and the Taliban have left more than 100 terrorists dead. During the operations, 50 terrorists were wounded, a number of weapons were seized and some amount of ammunition was destroyed. These operations were conducted in the past 24 hours in Laghman, Kunar, Nangarhar, Ghazni, Paktia, Maidan Wardak, Khost, Zabul, Badghis, Herat, Faryab, Helmand, and Baghlan provinces. 35 types of mines were planted in different parts of the country were also defused, MOD said, reported Khaama Press further. The violence and insurgency have dramatically increased recently, however, the Taliban have not yet officially declared claim, but practically they have started attacking security checkpoints and convoys in several locations throughout the country. (ANI) Highlights Apple's new marketing campaign around the WWDC 2021 event has started, and Twitter is again at the centre of all the promotions. Users can now get an automated reply from the company on Twitter. Apple WWDC 2021 starts June 7 at 10:30 pm IST. Apple is making it easier for users to get a handy reminder to watch the upcoming WWDC 2021 keynote. Interested people can now schedule an automated alert on Twitter before the Monday keynote by simply liking the tweet Apple promoted on the platform. The company has also made the #WWDC21 hashtag live on Twitter with an all-new hashflag. "Major developments ahead. Join our worldwide developer community for #WWDC21 on June 7 at 10 a.m. PDT," wrote Apple in a tweet. The company added that interested people could like the tweet, and the official handle would send a reminder on the event day. This is not the first time that Apple has come up with a reminder alert tweet setup, the company had a similar campaign during WWDC 2018 and WWDC 2019 where users received a reminder alert for retweeting or liking an Apple tweet around the event at that time. Apart from the alert on Twitter, the company has also come up with its new marketing campaign on the micro-blogging platform where users can tweet using the hashtag WWDC, which will appear with an icon that may remind them of thumbs-up from iMessage. The new hashflag is likely to last until June 6, a day before the event actually starts, as per Hashflag Browser by Jane Manchun Wong. However, there are chances that Apple may extend it for another couple of days. For its April Spring event, Apple earlier this year had an animated hashflag that appeared next to the hashtag Apple Event. Historically, Apple has been using hashflags to promote its events on Twitter for several years, where an icon appears next to the corresponding hashtag of the event. WWDC 2021 keynote kicks off at 10:30 pm IST on June 7, and it will be live-streamed on YouTube, Apple TV, and the company's dedicated event page. Users can also set a reminder on YouTube for the keynote next week. Apple says that the live stream on the dedicated events page can be best experienced on an iPhone 7 or later, iPad (5th generation or later), or iPod touch (7th generation) using Safari on iOS 12 or later, or a Mac using Safari on macOS Mojave 10.14 or later. As always, the WWDC event is likely to see some major announcements related to iOS, macOS and other software announcements. However, some reports have claimed that the new MacBook Pro could be the big announcement during the keynote. Some rumours point to iMessage refresh as well with the iOS 15 update. We have our fingers crossed and will wait for June 7 to see what Apple has in store for its annual developers' conference. You can stay tuned to India Today Tech for all the news around the WWDC 2021 event. A protest in Turkey against alleged forced birth control measures in Xinjiang, China (AFP via Getty Images) Three Uighur Muslims who fled from China to Turkey have described forced abortions and torture by Chinese authorities in the Xinjiang region. The trio are due to give evidence to a tribunal in London that will investigate whether Beijings actions against ethnic Uighurs amount to genocide. One woman said she was forced to have an abortion when she was six-and-a-half months pregnant, and a man alleged he was tortured day and night by Chinese soldiers in prison. The independent tribunal, which does not have UK government backing, is expected to draw dozens of witnesses when it starts four days of hearings on Friday. Organisers hope the evidence given in public will compel international action over alleged abuses in Xinjiang. One witness, mother-of-four Bumeryem Rozi, 55, said authorities rounded her up along with other pregnant women to abort her fifth child in 2007. She said she complied because she feared that otherwise authorities would confiscate her home and endanger her family. The police came, one Uighur and two Chinese. They put me and eight other pregnant women in cars and took us to hospital, Ms Rozi said. They first gave me a pill and said to take it. So I did. I didnt know what it was. Half an hour later, they put a needle in my belly. And some time after that I lost my child. Semsinur Gafur, a former obstetrician-gynaecologist who worked in a hospital in Xinjiang in the 1990s, said she and other female clinicians used to go house-to-house with a mobile ultrasound machine to check whether anyone was pregnant. If a household had more births than allowed, they would raze the home. They would flatten the house, destroy it, Ms Gafur said. A third exile, Mahmut Tevekkul, said he was imprisoned and tortured in 2010 by Chinese authorities who interrogated him for information about one of his brothers. He said the brother was wanted partly because he published a religious book in Arabic. Mr Tevekkul described being beaten and punched in the face during questioning. Story continues They put us on a tiled floor, shackled our hands and feet and tied us to a pipe, like a gas pipe. There were six soldiers guarding us. They interrogated us until the morning, he said. An estimated one million people or more have been confined in re-education camps in Xinjiang in recent years, according to researchers. Beijing denies the allegations. Officials say the camps taught the Chinese language, job skills and the law, but have now been closed. Human-rights lawyer Geoffrey Nice, who led the prosecution of ex-Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic, will chair the tribunal. Additional reporting by the Associated Press Read More Human rights concerns over Sri Lankas controversial plans for rehabilitation centres for extremists Japan birth rate hits record low Coronavirus: Shifts in land use could be creating hotspots for Covid-carrying bats, study finds Fudan University is a Shanghai-based institution, which ranks among the world's top 200 universities. It is expected to be launched in Hungary by 2024. (Source: Krisztina Barany/ Facebook ) Budapest [Hungary], June 3 (ANI): The Budapest authorities have decided to rename the streets in the Hungarian capital near a planned campus of a Chinese university to commemorate human rights abuses by China. One street will be named after the Dalai Lama and two others will be called "Uyghur Martyrs' Road" and "Free Hong Kong Road" respectively, Euractiv reported. This comes at a time the Hungarian government and the local administration of Budapest are engaged in a row over the former's plan to build a new campus of Shanghai-based Fudan University in the city. "We have given the public spaces around the planned Chinese university a nice new name," Krisztina Baranyi, head of the capital's Ferencvaros district, wrote on her Facebook page, adding that the capital's citizens will be able to express their opinion about the plans in a poll starting from 4 June. The development is expected to draw Chinese ire. Beijing usually reacts sharply to the criticism of its policies in Tibet, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang. Hungary's political opposition has pledged to block the construction of the first Chinese university in the European Union (EU) due to the project's financial and security risks. Fudan University is a Shanghai-based institution, which ranks among the world's top 200 universities. It is expected to be launched in Hungary by 2024. Under the plan, up to 8,000 students will live and learn in a sprawling facility on the banks of the Danube. Hungary will foot the full 1.5 billion euros ($1.8bn) bill to build the campus, powered by a huge loan from Beijing. The project, the government, says will raise the standard of education and provide students with globally competitive knowledge, Al Jazeera reported. However, the country's opposition is not convinced. Mayor of Budapest Gergely Karacsony, who hopes to run as the opposition candidate for prime minister in elections next year, promised to use "all possible legal and political means" to halt the plan of the right-wing government to build a campus for Fudan University in the capital. China has sought to use its huge fiscal firepower to try to win influence in Central and Eastern Europe as part of a bid to boost its interests inside the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). (ANI) A man was arrested in Cabarrus Country on Wednesday morning after a police chase spanning three counties and multiple law enforcement departments. Mitchell Ryan Herrington, 40, of Kannapolis, was apprehended at his home off Old Salisbury-Concord Road after law enforcement officers entered his home following the chase, according to law enforcement. Herrington had locked himself in his bathroom. Officers broke through the door but had to use a stun gun to subdue Herrington after he refused to respond to multiple verbal commands to exit his residence. He was charged with resisting arrest, felony fleeing to elude, aggressive driving, fleeing or eluding arrest with a motor vehicle, driving while license revoked, speeding, misuse of 911 emergency system, failing to heed lights or sirens and safety zone or sidewalk violation and reckless driving to endanger. The chase started after a Salisbury police officer attempted to stop Herrington on Interstate 85 South around 11 p.m. Tuesday for driving a 2006 black BMW X3 at high speeds reaching 100 miles per hour while weaving through traffic. A Rowan sheriffs officer and the North Carolina Highway Patrol joined the chase. It was reported that Herrington called 911 during the pursuit, saying he would not stop and threatening to kill himself. Republicans derided the legislation as window dressing, saying that it accomplishes nothing that couldn't have been done by the governor on his own since the power to end the public health emergency rests with him. The bill is completely useless, Republican Assembly member Brian Bergen said during a debate on the Assembly floor. They were buoyed by a boisterous crowd outside the statehouse building that at times chanted kill the bill, and hoisted signs criticizing Murphy over keeping a mandate for masks in schools in place for now. Some banners read: Free the smiles unmask our kids, and, It's not about the virus. It's about control. There were also banners and T-shirts reflecting the slogans of Republicans running in Tuesday's gubernatorial primary. Amy Rozen, 51, of Rockaway, was among the crowd at the rally. She said she was a progressive Democrat, but wouldn't support Murphy this year because of what she cast as his mishandling of the outbreak. She also echoed GOP concerns that the measure moved too fast without giving people enough time to review it. They didnt leave any time for public comments or even for the legislators even to understand. Its been rammed through. The people of New Jersey are not going to stand for that, she said. The Bible is clear that death is final; there are no recycled souls, nor multiple souls involved. Many verses allude to this fact, but none is clearer than Job 7:9 which states: As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so one who goes down to the grave does not return. (NIV) The Apostle Paul, who was tasked by God to write thirteen books in the Bible, echoes this truth in the New Testament as well: It is in the plan that all men die once. After that, they will stand before God and be judged (Hebrews 9:27, NLV.) Many evangelical giants have used this verse to assure and challenge their audiences, Everyone dies, then our souls are judged. Do you have Jesus, your Court-Appointed Advocate, in your corner? Resurrection is the Bibles answer to eternal life, which is what the reincarnation folks are reaching toward. While the term born again has been overused or even misused by religious zealots, Jesus himself used the term while assuring one of those people, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3, NASB.) Most people are curious about God, right? Even the atheist must have considered God in order to reject the idea. And certainly, if God has a kingdom, folks will want to know about that, too. Thus, being born again opens our spiritual eyes to see God and his kingdom. MATTOON Consolidated Communications is expanding a fiber network throughout its 23-state service area while getting the corporate headquarters settled in at a new Mattoon location. The dual projects are examples of how Consolidated has grown it business over the decades while maintaining its roots in its hometown, where the Lumpkin family started the company in 1894 as the Mattoon Telephone Co. "We are a small-town flavor of business but we are a leading edge broadband company," said Tom White, chief technology officer. Michael Smith, president of the commercial and carrier business sector, noted that Consolidated has become a top 10 fiber provider in the U.S. White said Consolidated continues to follow the lead of its founding chairman, Dick Lumpkin, who died in 2019 at age 84. He said Lumpkin was a "visionary," including leading Consolidated to become the first company in Illinois to put telecommunications fiber in the ground. "There has always ben a push for us to go faster and be on the front end of technology," White said. That effort was given a boost in September when Consolidated announced an agreement with an affiliate of Searchlight Capital Partners, a global private investment firm, that would bring an investment of up to $425 million in the company with one of the goals being to accelerate fiber deployment. White said Consolidated intends to connect more than 70 percent of customers, 1.6 million, across its entire business with fiber in coming years and has work ongoing in northwest Mattoon and many other locations. The next generation of fiber equipment that Consolidated is installing is very capable and can provide multiple gigabyte service to a customer's home, White said. He said this will give individual customers, particularly those working from home, symmetrical services so they will have faster speed for downloading and for sharing files or uploading them to a core network. "The pandemic has really put the exclamation point behind the need for more broadband in consumers' homes and small businesses, and that is our drive here to build as much as we possibly can while making it affordable for customers," White said. Please log in to keep reading. {{featured_button_text}} Enjoy unlimited articles at one of our lowest prices ever. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} While building up its fiber network, White said Consolidated has increased its capital budget by a little more than $7 million this year and is going to connect nearly 7,000 copper line-based customers with fiber. He said they intend to have 65,000 customers connected within a five year period in Illinois, which will cover more than 70 percent of its customers there. "Even though we have grown as a business from south central Illinois through acquisitions, we have always invested heavily in this market. We spent over $87 million in capital investments over the last five years alone," White said. "With the addition of the fiber in the home expansion, we are going to be adding to our annual spending pretty significantly to get us to that 65,000 number" Smith said Consolidated has invested in new products over the years in its consumer, commercial and wholesale carrier businesses, including data management, security and remote working services. "One of the things we were very proud of this year was our technology enabling people to work from home and have the same type of setup they would have at the office at home," Smith said. Smith said Consolidated is also proud that individual employees and the company as a whole continue to be active in the Mattoon community, a practice that is part of "Dick Lumpkin's heritage." He said that involvement includes Consolidated continuing to be a co-sponsor for the annual Special Olympics Family Festival. White said Consolidated continues to employ more than 330 staff members in Illinois. He said those that worked at the former headquarters at 121 S. 17th St. in downtown Mattoon were sad to leave behind this longtime location recently but have been adjusting to the headquarters location in an existing Consolidated-owned building at 2116 S. 17th St. "We have moved buildings, but we are still here. Nothing has changed except we have just moved physical locations," White said. The Mattoon school district recently purchased the six-story building at 121 S. 17th, which Consolidated had been leasing, with plans to develop a career training center there for area high school students. White said Consolidated has donated almost $500,000 worth of equipment, including generators, to the center and continues to work closely with the school district on this project. "They are going to offer these vocational opportunities for a lot of high school students who are trying to figure out what they want to do in life," White said. "As sad as it is to leave the building, I can't imagine a better use for the building." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need With a weekly newsletter looking back at local history. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Cannes Film Festival on Thursday unveiled a lineup of films from big-name auteurs including Wes Anderson, Asghar Farhadi, Mia Hansen-Lve and Sean Penn for its 74th edition, an in-person, summertime event that aims to make a stirring return in July after being canceled last year because of the pandemic. Among the films that will be competing for Cannes' Palme d'Or are the festival opener, Annette, by Leox Carax and starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard; Anderson's The French Dispatch, a film originally set to premiere in Cannes last year with an ensemble cast including Timothee Chalamet; Red Rocket, Sean Baker's follow-up to his acclaimed The Florida Project; Paul Verhoeven's Benedetta; and Sean Penn's Flag Day," in which he stars alongside his daughter, Dylan Penn, as a conman. Pierre Lescure, president of the festival, and Thierry Fremaux, artistic director, announced the Cannes lineup at the UGC Normandie theater in Paris in a live-streamed event that was part press conference and part pep rally for world cinema. Cinema is not dead. The extraordinary and triumphant return of the audience to movie theaters in France and around the world was the first good news," said Fremaux. "I hope the film festival will be the second very good news. As cinemas preeminent global stage, the annual French Riviera extravaganza is hoping to make a triumphant comeback when it runs July 6-17 two months later than its usual May perch. But many things will be different at this year's festival. Attendees will be masked inside theaters and required to show proof of full vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test. Cannes' famed red carpet leading up to the stairs of the Palais des Festivals will resume in full, but with tweaks to the traditional pageantry. Were used to kissing one another at the top of the stairs. We will not kiss one another," said Fremaux. Still, there are many questions leading up to a Cannes that will unfold just as France is reopening and loosening restrictions. Audience capacity limitations will be removed just five days before the festival opens. Concern over a new virus strain led France last week to institute a seven-day quarantine for travelers arriving from the United Kingdom a potential blow to the British film industry that regularly decamps to Cannes. For such an international festival as Cannes, many other travel regulations could pose complications. Fremaux acknowledged some filmmakers may not be able to attend. The movie market that typical runs in tandem with the festival and draws much of the film industry for a week of frenzied deal-making, will be held virtually in late June. Please log in to keep reading. {{featured_button_text}} Enjoy unlimited articles at one of our lowest prices ever. But the Cannes program, while perhaps lacking a Hollywood title as anticipated as Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (an entry in 2019, when Bong Joon Ho's Parasite won the Palme), was praised as top-class. It includes former Palme d'Or winners Jacques Audiard ("Paris 13th District") and Apichatpong Weerasethakul ("Memoria," starring Tilda Swinton). Four of the 24 films in competition are directed by women, a low percentage but one that ties the festival's previous top mark. That includes new films from Mia Hansen-Lve (Bergman Island," with Mia Wasikowska, Tim Roth and Vicky Krieps) and Hungarian filmmaker Ildiko Enyedi. Cannes has previously refused to play in competition any film that doesn't have a theatrical release in France, leading to an impasse with Netflix. Though other movie institutions like the Academy Awards have bended theatrical rules during the pandemic, Cannes has not. Among the standouts playing out of competition, or in Cannes' new Cannes Premiere" are: Andrea Arnold's Cow; Todd Haynes' documentary The Velvet Underground; Tom McCarthy's Stillwater; and the Oliver Stone documentary JFK: Through the Looking Glass. Spike Lee, who debuted Do the Right Thing at Cannes in 1989, will preside over the jury selecting the Palme d'Or winner. He's the first Black person to ever head the Cannes jury. At the opening ceremony, an honorary Palme will be given to Jodie Foster, who first came to Cannes as a 13-year-old for the premiere of Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver. Speaking to The Associated Press after the press conference, Fremaux said it will be the ultimate Cannes. It will be something special. In five years people will be asking Were you in Cannes in 2021? and people would say No I wasnt.' 'Oh you werent? Thats a pity. It was really great, said Fremaux. "Its going to be a special Cannes. AP's Jeffery Schaeffer contributed to this report from Paris. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. A Florida man accused of killing an iguana last year wanted a charge of animal cruelty dismissed on the basis of the state's "stand your ground" law. A judge has denied his motion. PJ Nilaja Patterson was arrested after allegedly beating, dragging and kicking a 3-foot iguana in Lake Worth, Florida, on September 2, 2020, according to a probable cause affidavit. The animal died as Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control was transporting it to be euthanized, according to the affidavit. Patterson's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the charge, but Judge Jeffrey Gillen denied the motion on Friday. In their motion, Patterson's attorneys Frank Vasconcelos and Carey Haughwout said their client was trying to save an iguana from getting run over by cars. When he brought it to safety, a crowd agitated the animal and it bit his right arm when he tried to move it, according to the motion. It says he then "kicked the iguana as far as he could." Patterson had to get 22 staples in his arm because of the bite, according to the motion. "In this case, Patterson acted in a reasonable manner under all the circumstances because the wild iguana was first to engage with physical violence, during the encounter," his attorneys wrote. Florida's stand your ground law states deadly force can be used if a person "reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm." In this case, Patterson's attorneys said the animal was the first to engage in aggression, so Patterson had a right to defend himself. They also wrote that Patterson believed the iguana "could have injected poison" into him. Please log in to keep reading. {{featured_button_text}} Enjoy unlimited articles at one of our lowest prices ever. "Thus he rushed to incapacitate the iguana the best way he could in order to preserve its antidote," they wrote. CNN has reached out to his attorneys for comment on the case. Video evidence cited by the state Assistant State Attorney Alexandra Dorman wrote in response to the motion to dismiss that the entire episode was captured in a 32-minute surveillance video. She wrote that the video shows how Patterson tormented the iguana, which "was not bothering anyone and did not pose a threat to anyone." She said there was no provocation or no justification for the actions. According to the affidavit, Dr. Virginia Sayre of Animal Control performed a necropsy, which found the iguana had a lacerated liver, fractured pelvis, blood in its mouth, blood in its abdomen and a lacerated tongue. Sayre also wrote the iguana's fatal injuries were "painful and terrifying." "The Defendant unnecessarily put himself in a position to be bit by this animal," Dorman wrote. "The State's position is that Stand Your Ground does not even apply to this case because the iguana is not a human being." Patterson is due back in court on July 30. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted of animal cruelty. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A Southern Illinoisan man who once claimed he planted two bombs at area schools and sent threatening letters to government officials has pleaded guilty in federal court to the crimes. Jonathan Wade Bohn, who is serving a time in prison for a 2010 bank robbery charge, pleaded guilty on May 26 to charges of mailing threatening communications and interstate threat to use destructive devices, according to federal court documents. The charges stem from 2014 when Bohn mailed letters to the Franklin County State's Attorney's Office threatening violence against specific law enforcement officers and county officials, court documents state. Bohn was incarcerated at a federal prison in Allenwood, Pennsylvania when he sent a letter, according to authorities. Please log in to keep reading. {{featured_button_text}} Enjoy unlimited articles at one of our lowest prices ever. Two weeks later, Bohn sent a letter to the Franklin County Circuit Clerk, which claimed there was a bomb inside a Franklin County school that would detonate the next day. The threat closed nine schools in Franklin County. He mailed the letters from prison but used the "legal mail" system that is not reviewed by prison staff, court documents say. Bohn was indicted for the crimes June 18, 2019 by a federal grand jury. He was sentenced to 12 months and one day for both counts, which are to be served concurrently. Bohn's sentence for bank robbery will end July 26 and his new sentence will begin after, according to court documents. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Winston-Salem police arrested a man Wednesday in connection with a shooting that happened in November 2020, authorities said. Saveyon Raymond Taylor, 19, is charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and other offenses, police said. Officers arrested Taylor in the 3300 block of Silas Creek Parkway, police said. Taylors arrest is connected to a shooting that happened Nov. 1, 2020, in front of a convenience store on Shattalon Drive, police said. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} When officers got there, they found Jose Jovel, 34, of Rural Hall in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to his torso. Jovel was taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center for treatment. Jovels injuries were non-life threatening, police said. Before Taylor was arrested Wednesday, investigators recovered 1.5 ounces of cocaine and a handgun from a vehicle that Taylor was driving, police said. Taylor is also charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine, police said. Gerett Jones Jr., a passenger in the vehicle, was charged with carrying a concealed gun, possession of drug paraphernalia and an outstanding order for arrest, police said. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on June 2, 2021 2021/06/02 At the invitation of State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Foreign Minister Soroi Eoe of Papua New Guinea will begin his visit to China on June 2. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will preside over the fourth China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Dialogue on June 3. Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will attend the dialogue via video link. The three foreign ministers will have in-depth exchange of views on the key issues of peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan, the trilateral practical cooperation and anti-terrorism security cooperation. CCTV: You just announced that State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will preside over the fourth China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Dialogue. Any special background for this meeting? What do you expect out of it? Wang Wenbin: The China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Dialogue is an important platform for the three parties to enhance mutual trust and promote cooperation. Up till now, three sessions have been held with a host of positive results since the mechanism was set up under China's initiative in 2017. As agreed upon consensus of the three parties, it is China's turn to host the fourth dialogue. At present, the unilateral withdrawal of US and NATO troops at the critical stage of the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan has brought uncertainties to Afghanistan's domestic situation and regional security landscape. As neighbors, friends and partners sharing not just common mountains and rivers, but also weal and woe, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan all aspire to maintain regional peace and stability. Against this background, the foreign ministers of the three countries decided to hold the fourth dialogue, whereby they will have in-depth exchange of views on the key issues of peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan, the trilateral practical cooperation and anti-terrorism security cooperation. The dialogue is expected to reach positive consensus and inject impetus into regional peace, stability and development. Bloomberg: Malaysia complained about Chinese military aircraft flying in the South China Sea yesterday. How did the Chinese government respond? Do you have any comment? Wang Wenbin: To my knowledge, it was a routine training conducted by China's air force over waters to the south of Nansha Islands. It doesn't target any country. During the training, China's air force strictly complied with international law and didn't enter the air space of any other country. The Chinese side has communicated with the Malaysian side over this. China News Service: State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the BRICS foreign ministers' video conference held on June 1. Could you share more information on that? Wang Wenbin: On the night of June 1, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the Video Conference of the BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs/International Relations. The five foreign ministers held an in-depth exchange of views on the COVID-19 pandemic, multilateralism, global and regional hotspot issues and practical BRICS cooperation, reaching broad consensus. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi pointed out at the meeting that BRICS represents a prototype of cooperation between emerging markets and developing nations. In the face of major changes and a global pandemic unseen in a century, BRICS should work to protect people's health, uphold international order, contribute to global development and world peace. BRICS should assume its responsibility in promoting global solidarity, providing wisdom to tackling the governance deficit, and contributing strength to global response to common challenges. China's views and propositions are spoken highly of by other parties at the meeting. There are two outcome documents from the meeting, namely, a press statement and a joint statement on strengthening and reforming the multilateral system, which send out a strong message of BRICS solidarity and cooperation. This meeting demonstrates the resilience and vitality of BRICS against the background of the major changes and global pandemic unseen in a century. We stand ready to work in closer cooperation with BRICS partners, uphold the common values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom for all mankind, practice true multilateralism, and make new BRICS contributions to regional and global peace and development. Phoenix TV: It is reported that on June 1, WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) validated the Sinovac-CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. The vaccine is produced by the Beijing-based pharmaceutical company Sinovac. What is China's comment on this? Wang Wenbin: The Sinovac vaccine is the second Chinese vaccine to win the WHO listing, after Sinopharm vaccine was granted approval on May 7. This fully attests to the safety and efficacy of relevant vaccines and technical lines that provide more powerful tools for the world to overcome the epidemic at an early date. China has been acting on General Secretary Xi Jinping's pledge to make COVID-19 vaccines a global public good, and has been encouraging and supporting Chinese vaccine manufacturers to apply for the WHO's Emergency Use Listing. Despite its own huge population and tight vaccine supply, China has provided more than 350 million doses of vaccines to the international community, including vaccine assistance to over 80 countries and vaccine exports to 40 plus countries. In addition, China has also carried out production cooperation with a number of developing countries to promote large-scale production of vaccines at a fast pace. The first batch of Sinopharm vaccines to be provided to COVAX rolled off production line on May 31, representing a real contribution to enhancing the equitable distribution and accessibility of vaccines in developing countries. China will continue to support its vaccine manufacturers in strengthening communication and coordination with the WHO and the COVAX program, and conducting more joint vaccine R&D and production with foreign partners, as part of our effort to help developing countries obtain vaccines, and strive for an early victory in the global fight against the epidemic. Global Times: Recently, Chinese media published an open letter in both Chinese and English calling on the WHO to organize an investigation of the US Army's Fort Detrick bio-lab. Do you have any comment? Wang Wenbin: I noted relevant reports. This open letter reflects Chinese people's aspirations. On this podium, we have also repeatedly called on the US to take an open and transparent attitude in telling the international community about the truth of Fort Detrick and its 200 plus bio-labs around the world. According to US media, Fort Detrick stores large amount of viruses that severely threaten people's safety, such as Ebola, and it has poor safety records. In 2004, 2008, 2011 and 2015, US media gave multiple coverage on the safety risks at Fort Detrick. According to USA Today, an employee at Fort Detrick used safety loopholes of the lab to steal anthrax stored there and launched bio-chemical attacks which resulted in five deaths and 17 illnesses. The report also shows that other safety issues and risks exist in many US virus labs. In the fall of 2019, just months before the onset of COVID-19, Fort Detrick was suspended due to serious risks, according to US media including the New York Times. While clamoring for an investigation in other countries, the US has been refusing to open up its own bio-labs by citing national security as an excuse. How can the US convince the international community? Besides Fort Detrick, the US has set up over 200 bio-labs in 25 countries and regions. There are many reports saying that the distribution of those labs is similar to the location where some dangerous diseases and viruses were first identified, such as SARS, EBHF and Zika virus. A USA Today Network investigation reveals that since 2003, hundreds of lab incidents have occurred in the US biological laboratories where humans had accidental contact with deadly pathogens. We would like to know when the US will give a reasonable explanation to the international community with regard to the above-mentioned doubts. But regrettably, the US side has never given any direct response. Is there any inconvenient secrets? We once again call on the US to respond to the concerns of the international community in an open, transparent and cooperative manner. Bloomberg: On Monday, President Xi Jinping told senior communist party leaders that China needed a grip on its tone in its communication with the world, and should be more open and confident, and also modest and humble. Does this speech mean that China would be taking a different approach in its diplomatic efforts? Wang Wenbin: On May 31, the CPC Politburo convened its 30th group study session. General Secretary Xi Jinping chaired the session and delivered an address. You may refer to the readout that has been released. China is committed to an independent foreign policy of peace, firmly upholds national sovereignty, security and development interests, actively promotes the building of a new type of international relations, and joins hands with other countries to build a community with a shared future for mankind. I would like to point out that to strengthen and improve international communication and enhance capacity-building in this regard so as to have a greater voice on the world stage in keeping with China's comprehensive national strength and international standing will foster a favorable external environment in terms of public opinion for China's reform, development and stability, and contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. This is consistent with the need for China's peaceful development, the requirements to advance reform and opening-up in China, and the global trend of peace and development. It benefits both China and the world. CNR: We've noted that on May 28, WHO presented the Sasakawa Health Prize at the 74th session of the WHA to Chinese expert Wu Hao who assisted Hubei Province in its fight against COVID-19. Dr. Wu is the third Chinese expert to be awarded this prize. Do you have any comment? Wang Wenbin: I also noticed relevant reports. Dr. Wu pioneered an intelligent family physician-optimized collaborative model to ensure easier access to more effective community-level health service. After the epidemic broke out, Dr. Wu Hao went to Wuhan as head of a team of experts on community-level prevention and control under China's central guiding team. There he worked with community-based medical staff to fight the epidemic. He also traveled to 10 localities including Kashgar, Beijing and Shijiazhuang to guide the handling of clusters of cases, making outstanding contributions. As we speak, he is working on guiding community-level prevention and control in Guangzhou. We congratulate Dr. Wu on being awarded the Sasakawa Health Prize. Dr. Wu is a fine example of the countless community health workers fighting on the frontline in China's battle against COVID-19. Community-level prevention and control played an irreplaceable role in China's rapid containment of the outbreak and later prevention and control on a daily basis. It ensured the early detection and report of infection, reduced the risks of community spread, and tightened the screws on the occurrence of early infection. The work of Dr. Wu and numerous health workers at the community-level is a vivid demonstration of China's effective anti-virus efforts. China stands ready to share its experience in community prevention and control with other countries in a timely manner to contribute to an early global victory over the virus and better global health governance. CRI: Could you tell us a bit more about the visit by Papua New Guinea's Foreign Minister Soroi Eoe in early June? Wang Wenbin: Papua New Guinea is a good friend and partner of China in the Pacific island region. At present, our bilateral relations enjoy sound development. President Xi Jinping's successful state visit to Papua New Guinea in 2018 opened a new chapter in the development of bilateral relations. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the two countries have been standing in solidarity with mutual assistance, and our comprehensive strategic partnership has further deepened. This year marks the 45th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Papua New Guinea. We hope Foreign Minister Soroi Eoe's visit will spur efforts to follow through on the important consensus between the leaders of the two countries, and strengthen strategic cooperation in promoting bilateral relations, conducting anti-virus cooperation and moving forward practical cooperation within the BRI framework, so as to elevate bilateral relations to a new level. Bloomberg: Can you please tell us how many vaccine shots China has supplied to COVAX so far and how many it intends to supply in the future? Wang Wenbin: Like I just said, China has provided more than 350 million doses of vaccines to the international community, including vaccine assistance to over 80 countries and vaccine exports to 40 plus countries. China has also carried out production cooperation with a number of developing countries. China has announced to provide the first batch of 10 million doses of vaccines to the COVAX. The first batch of vaccines to be provided to COVAX rolled off production line on May 31. China will continue to work with all parties to enhance the equitable distribution and accessibility of vaccines and make positive contributions to the global anti-epidemic endeavor. Meanwhile, we also hope that the international community will uphold the spirit of solidarity, and take more concrete actions to increase vaccine accessibility in developing countries so as to secure an early victory in the fight against the epidemic. Beijing Youth Daily: We've noticed that despite continued US efforts to hype up lies like "genocide" and "forced labor" in China's Xinjiang, more and more media outlets and individuals have spoken out to expose and criticize the political manipulation behind this US move and to call on the international community to see through these lies. How do you see this phenomenon? Wang Wenbin: We've noticed that Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Business Insider Japan, Danish magazine Reason, Die Weltwoche and Neue Zurcher Zeitung from Switzerland, Brazil's valorglobal and South Africa's Pretoria News have all run objective reports or rational articles on Xinjiang. They point out that the so-called allegation of "genocide" in Xinjiang is based entirely on bias and hostility against China. Relevant people turned a blind eye to the outcomes produced by the Chinese government's Xinjiang policy and wantonly criticized China's human rights conditions. It is driven by political agenda and aimed to conduct propaganda and psychological warfare to their advantage by creating a negative image of China with the political designation of "genocide". The articles also pointed out that large-scale mechanical harvest has been realized across the cotton industry in Xinjiang, so "forced labor" is neither existent nor necessary. Dreams can only be realized through honest work. All hardworking people deserve the respect of the world. As facts have proven, "forced labor", "forced sterilization", "genocide" and "massive sexual abuse" are all lies fabricated by anti-China forces. There is no factual basis for these preposterous allegations other than the clumsy show of a handful of fake academics and lame actors. There is no serious discussion, only an emotional outpour of bias. There is no respect for the human rights of people in Xinjiang, only political manipulation to undermine Xinjiang's stability and hamstring China's development. Lies may gain brief traction, but eventually they cannot escape the doomed fate of bankruptcy. China, including Xinjiang, is enjoying greater development and there are more and more objective and rational voices in the world debunking the lies and rumors on Xinjiang. Some experts and academics have pointed out very accurately that the hype-up over "genocide" in Xinjiang will only further expose to the world the ignorance and hypocrisy of certain countries' "human rights diplomacy". They also call on the international community to see through the fabrication and hype-up of those driven by ulterior motives. I would like to stress once again that the door to Xinjiang is always open. We welcome people from all walks of life in other countries to visit the region and get to know the true Xinjiang through first-hand experience. The Paper: The BRICS foreign ministers' meeting issued a joint statement on strengthening and reforming the multilateral system. Can you comment on that? Wang Wenbin: Multilateralism is an important cornerstone of the existing international system. This cornerstone is now being encroached upon, as a few countries follow unilateralism and even seek hegemony in the name of multilateralism. All parties are increasingly calling for true multilateralism. On the other hand, the emerging global threats necessitate global response and international solidarity and collaboration. The desire for strengthening multilateral system by all parties is becoming more urgent. BRICS countries are representatives of emerging markets and developing countries, and models of practicing multilateralism and enhancing multilateral system. It is with this idea that China worked with other BRICS partners to form a joint statement on strengthening and reforming the multilateral system through in-depth discussion. There are some points in the joint statement that merit attention. First, it reiterated BRICS countries' commitment to multilateralism, and called for upholding international law with the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations as its indispensable cornerstone and the central role of the United Nations in the international system, with the aim to build a brighter shared future for the international community. Second, it reaffirmed the principles of non-intervention in the internal affairs of States and the resolution of international disputes by peaceful means and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law as well as the inadmissibility of the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State. It rejected double standards and unilateral coercive measures not based on international law and the UN Charter. Third, it stressed that we need to carry out people-centered international cooperation, strengthen and reform the multilateral system, facilitate greater and more meaningful participation of developing and least developed countries, especially Africa, in global decision-making processes. We should make multilateral organizations more action-oriented and solution-oriented so as to promote cooperation in the spirit of mutual respect, justice, equality, and mutual benefit. Fourth, it stressed that we need to continue improving global economic governance with extensive consultations and joint contributions for the shared benefits, support the United Nations in making development central to the global macro policy framework and the WTO-centered multilateral trading system. This statement is timely and necessary. The statement is the result of the efforts of the five BRICS countries and reflects the common aspiration of the vast majority of countries. It should become the consensus of the international community. The essence of multilateralism is that the future of the world should be in the hands of all countries and international affairs should be handled through consultation by all. In particular, it should reflect the views of developing countries and emerging markets, which account for the vast majority of the world's population. So-called "rules" formulated by certain Western countries or groups should not be regarded as "international rules", still less should they be imposed on others. Parties shall jointly uphold and practice the real multilateralism, abide by the purposes and principles of the UN charter, discard exceptionalism and double standards and reject hegemonic bullying and zero-sum game, and refrain from bloc politics and ideological confrontation and work to safeguard the international system with the UN at its core and the international order based on the UN charter and international law. After quickly reversing itself last month on a new name for a campus building, Wake Forest University has named six people to an advisory committee that will recommend a new name for Wingate Hall. The six committee members, announced Wednesday by university President Nathan Hatch, are two alumni, two university employees and two students. Theyll join the committees two co-chairs, whom Hatch appointed last week. The eight-member group has two charges, according to the message Hatch sent Wednesday to the Wake Forest community: to clarify the objectives in selecting a name for the former Wingate Hall, Hatch wrote, and ... to collect and understand our communitys concerns, reactions and suggestions regarding a new name. Hatch wants the group to wrap up its work by June 30, the date he is to retire after 16 years at Wake Forest. The university hasnt said when it might announce a new name for the building. New York City Transit employee, Brian Walter, continued working at the height of the pandemic because he was deemed an essential worker. The daily COVID-19 case count remains at pandemic lows in Forsyth County, while an additional related death has been reported. On Thursday, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported five new cases in Forsyth. That followed four cases for Tuesday and six cases for Monday. As of Friday, the average number of new cases over the past 14 days had been 40, according to Forsyth health director Joshua Swift. Forsyth has had 36,622 cases overall since the onset of the pandemic. The county has had 389 COVID-19 related deaths, including nine since May 26. The state lists COVID-19 cases and deaths on the day they are confirmed by medical providers and public health officials, so people may have been infected or may have died days before their cases were counted. Dr. Christopher Ohl, an infectious diseases expert with Wake Forest Baptist Health, said Thursday that he now considers Forsyth between the moderate and minimal risk levels for community spread. By comparison, DHHS latest county alert system report on May 27 had Forsyth in the significant risk category, which is ranked third among the five risk categories. The nonprofit work centers would be required to maintain the price of goods or services substantially in accord with that paid by government agencies for similar goods or services of equivalent quality. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} The nonprofits also would be required to submit bids and make offers to qualify under the proposed law. For nonprofits to qualify, 75% of their staff must be blind. The companies must also pay at least minimum wage. Those agencies sources of supply would have to be approved, certified and contracted by the N.C. Secretary of Administration. David Horton, IFB Solutions president and chief executive, said Thursday that the decision to pass HB654 in the House of Representatives moves the state in the right direction by requiring the use of its purchasing power to provide job opportunities for its citizens who are blind and severely disabled. Legislators support Hardister said HB654 would help the nonprofits generate additional revenue so they can provide additional assistance to their employees and communities. The Cooper administration launched Thursday North Carolina's version of a vaccination lottery featuring four $1 million cash prizes and those newly vaccinated getting two entries. Meanwhile, Gov. Roy Cooper said he will provide Friday a status update on his COVID-19 statewide pandemic emergency order. Monolith said it plans to work with both companies to explore growth opportunities, with SK Inc. leading efforts to expand globally and NextEra helping to find opportunities in North America. "SK and NextEra Energy Resources are global clean energy leaders that share our enthusiasm about the promise of green hydrogen, and we are honored to have them by our side in our pursuit of a clean energy future," Monolith CEO Rob Hanson said. Monolith's manufacturing process converts natural gas into clean hydrogen and a solid carbon material called carbon black, a powdery substance that's used in tires, inks, plastics and other products. Its current plant near Hallam, which started commercial operation last year and has the capacity to produce 14,000 metric tons of carbon black annually, vents the hydrogen into the atmosphere. However, Monolith has plans to build a second plant that will produce 275,000 metric tons of carbon black as well as a plant that will produce anhydrous ammonia using the hydrogen generated by the carbon black process. Hanson told the Journal Star in October that the second phase of Monolith's Hallam plant will cost about $1 billion and the company hopes to have it up and running by sometime in 2024. Local editor's pick top story Cindy Lange-Kubick: Josh is the man in charge of PooPatrol and his own destiny GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star Josh Whitfield (left) scoops up dog poop with help from Kathy Rohwedder in a customer's backyard on Tuesday. Josh owns the business PooPatrol and has daily routes Monday through Thursday in Lincoln and Waverly. GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star Kathy Rohwedder smiles as she and housemate Josh Whitfield talk about how Josh started PooPatrol, a service to pick up dog waste. GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star Josh Whitfield (left) scoops up dog poop with help from Kathy Rohwedder as the pair's dogs take advantage of the neighbor's adjoining backyard on Tuesday. Josh owns the business PooPatrol and has daily routes Monday through Thursday in Lincoln and Waverly. COURTESY PHOTO Josh Whitfield (left) and Kathy Rohwedder met more than 20 years ago when Whitfield was 15 and moved into a residential home for young men with developmental disabilities that Rohwedder managed. GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star Josh Whitfield scoops up dog poop in a neighbor and customer's backyard on Tuesday. The 40-year-old runs a business called PooPatrol. He receives assistance from the Department of Developmental Disabilities. JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star Bill Ganzel (left) and his father Dwight Ganzel pose for a photo with a red heart pillow, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Bill and Dwight had open heart surgery 23 years apart, and the father gave the son his red heart pillow after Bill didn't receive it from the hospital. JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star Josh Whitfield is wearing his blue PooPatrol T-shirt and his blue PooPatrol ball cap. Hes welcoming me to the kitchen table of the house he shares with Kathy and Janice Rohwedder. Hes known Kathy since he was 15 and he went to live in a group home for young men with developmental disabilities that she managed. He lived with her again after she moved away to manage other residential homes with Janice who would one day become her wife and he unpacked his bags a third time 12 years ago, when the trio became roommates. They have a bond that wont bend. Whats the first thing you ask people when you meet them? Kathy asks him Tuesday. GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star Josh Whitfield cleans dog poop from a yard in north Lincoln on Tuesday as part of his business PooPatrol. Josh turns to look at me. Do you have a dog? I do, I tell him. A one-eyed rescue dog named Jimmy Carter, just like the president. Thats a good name, Josh says. Then he hands me a plastic goodie bag. He tells me hes available if I need someone to clean up after Jimmy Carter. Inside the bag are PooPatrol pens. PooPatrol poop bags. A PooPatrol first aid kit. A PooPatrol tennis ball. Everything is emblazoned with the PooPatrol logo and his phone number. (Which, by the way, is 402-817-8889, in case youre interested in his service.) Josh has been in business seven years. It all started with Lefty and Bubbles. A pair of farm puppies that came to live with them in this ranch house in far north Lincoln. Lefty would be Joshs dog, on one condition. My deal was if he got dogs he had to scoop every day, Kathy says. That was 11 years ago, Josh says. Josh is 40 now. Hes an artist. He loves the St. Louis Cardinals and Disney World and traveling. Hes been to Paris. Hes heading to Iceland this summer. Hes going to the Professional Animal Waste Specialists convention in Florida in October, where he will learn more about the business to better serve his clients. Cindy Lange-Kubick: Lincoln sewing group leaves lasting legacy with masks hanging on a museum wall A Lincoln woman organized a group of quilters and sewers who made and donated nearly 35,000 masks during the pandemic. Next week, two quilts created from their handiwork will become part of the permanent collections of two museums. Learn how to start new routes, Josh says. How to spot a mean dog or a nice dog and how to approach them, Kathy says. Josh is a dog lover. He loves his boy Lefty, a wiry white and brown spotted terrier mix who barks for attention and covers his face with kisses. Lefty isnt a formally trained service dog, Kathy says. But he served that purpose from the start. When Josh comes home, there was always someone there to love him. Kathy and Josh are friends. She got him hooked on the Cardinals. She is also his shared living provider, supporting Josh with daily needs in a position funded by the Nebraska Health and Human Services Division of Developmental Disabilities. Youre not my trainer, Josh says. Youre my housemate. You are my friend, too. In 2014, Joshs friend and housemate got a call from a fellow service provider and friend who knew about Joshs backyard dog duties. Could Josh scoop her backyard? Josh thought he could. GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star Josh Whitfield sports a T-shirt for PooPatrol. So Josh and Kathy went to Ace Hardware and bought narrow, long-handled rakes and 5-gallon buckets, plastic liners and special disinfectants. One day after scooping, they arrived home in Kathys white pickup and unloaded their gear. The next-door neighbors noticed. BD and Laura Softley had three dogs. They could use a pooper scooper. Josh was hired. The business grew. The Softleys told another neighbor and that neighbor told another. Before he started PooPatrol, Josh worked in a sheltered workshop. Now hes in the independent contractor program. He hires his own staff, Kathy says. He sets wages. Josh hired Kathy to drive the pickup to and from his daily routes. She wears a PooPatrol T-shirt, too. (Shes paid through another state program as an independent contractor.) Why dont you drive, she asks Josh. Seizures, he answers. Kathy helps him in other ways, too, he says. She makes sure I walk a straight line. Josh has another employee. He runs his own route and keeps 85% of the income. On Tuesday, his phone pings. Its the other Josh. Josh Swanson. Hes letting the boss know hes finished his route. Josh Swanson also has a developmental disability, Kathy says. Mr. Whitfield likes to help people out and Mr. Swanson likes to make money. Josh, the business owner, gets residential and employment financial assistance from the Department of Developmental Disabilities, which serves nearly 5,000 people across the state. The department connects him to other agencies that provide direct services and a service coordinator to make sure his needs are being met to his satisfaction. Our goal is to meet folks where theyre at and get them to ultimately where they want to be, said Tony Green, director of the Department of Developmental Disabilities. They help them find jobs in the community, connecting them to businesses looking to hire good employees. They help them start their own businesses, like Josh has. In March, Kathy filmed a video about Josh and PooPatrol. Joshs service coordinators at the state wanted to showcase his work at their conference. It was also Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. They requested a 1-minute video. But that wasnt long enough to tell the story of Josh. It was too hard to do that, Josh says. So we took a week and decided what we wanted to say, Kathy says. They found old photos of Josh fishing and kayaking and snorkeling. Josh on vacation and snoozing in a hammock. Josh has a lot of natural support, Kathy says. Relationships he has built through the years at church and in the community. My brothers and sisters are like brothers and sisters to him. Hes an uncle to nieces and nephews. But she and Janice arent Joshs moms. Hes an adult. He doesnt need a parent. Josh doesnt have limitations, she says. Its all about the abilities, not the disabilities. Its about the possibilities. Kathy stood behind the camera a support like always filming the owner of PooPatrol. Josh with Gretchen, his banker at US Bank. Lincoln shoppers skittish as they venture forth without mask mandate Lincoln's mask mandate expired on Friday and citizens found themselves face-to-face for the first time in months. There was still that wary vibe between the Masked and the Unmasked, Cindy Lange-Kubick writes. Josh with Lefty and Dr. Klone, the familys veterinarian. Josh with Laura from next door, sipping a Bud Light and talking about their love of baseball. (He loves her, even though shes a Cubs fan.) On Tuesday, Josh scoops BD and Lauras backyard. He charges $12 a week to take care of the waste left behind by Rizzo, Addison and Maddie. (For the record, its $8 for one or two dogs.) The dogs converge in the yard Lefty and Bubbles through the doggy gate in the fence. It was easy to promote PooPatrol in the neighborhood, BD says. Everyone who knows Josh just loves him. Josh walks slowly through the grass with his rake and scooper. Kathy helps him if he veers off course. After they finish, they will dispose of the waste safely and sanitize their equipment and shoes. They counted the other day: 99 dogs. Thats how many dogs Josh cleans up after. Back in the house, we sit at the table. Josh shows me his business Facebook page. He explains his bookkeeping system. How he budgets his money, setting aside funds for the business and travel and gifts. I like Cardinals stuff a lot, he says. You bought Laura a Cubs flag for her house, Kathy says. Lefty is barking. Settle down, honey, Josh tells him. He bends down low and the dog laps his face. Cindy Lange-Kubick: Ripping off the masks and what comes after Will Americans emerge from the pandemic as a kinder more unified people? Not a trick question. Josh is a professional. Hes good at what he does. And his customers know that. Even the dogs know that. You know what? Kathy tells him. A lot of dogs kiss you. They go straight past me and go for you. 97 years after his mother's birth, son says her world 'seemed more like fiction than fact' Burt Smith sat down and wrote his list and he and his brother composed a life story in chapters. Birth. Pre-Teen Years. Marriage and War Years. The Farmers Wife. Move to Town. Retirement Years. Video, photos: Pets gone wild of Nebraska, including a dog playing football Related The 17-year-old boy who was hit by a car Tuesday while he was allegedly running from the Lincoln Police Department's Gang Unit was released from the hospital and arrested on Wednesday. The teen, who police say was carrying a loaded Glock handgun and 112 grams of suspected methamphetamine as he tried to run from investigators, was transported from a local hospital to the Lancaster County Youth Services Center before noon on Wednesday. LPD Officer Erin Spilker said the teen was arrested on suspicion of felony theft by receiving, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, carrying a concealed weapon and obstructing an officer. The felony theft accusation relates to a 2005 BMW that was stolen in Grand Island. The teen also had an outstanding juvenile warrant. The arrest stems from the teen's encounter with officers on Tuesday, when police saw the BMW near 27th and N streets. Spilker said officers saw the teen, who was driving, exit the car and enter a nearby house. When the 17-year-old exited the house, Spilker said he walked toward the car before he spotted officers and ran the other way. Nebraska's death row is at Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, a facility for male inmates only. Inmates there are separated from the general public and go to activities outside of their cells in groups. Todd Lancaster, an attorney with the Commission on Public Advocacy, said that if the prison had the same policy and rules for a woman at York, she would be in permanent restrictive housing, which he argued would amount to cruel and unusual punishment. On Wednesday, he renewed a motion to declare the death penalty unconstitutional, calling the way in which the state decides whom to seek the death penalty for arbitrary and capricious and more to do with whether the prosecutor is experienced or the county where the crime happened. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} "It's all subjective," he said. Lancaster said in a similar Nebraska case involving a dismemberment after a killing, Corey O'Brien, the chief of the criminal bureau at the Attorney General's Office, said Andres Surber's case wasn't a death penalty case "because the really horrific part of this crime occurred after Mr. (Kraig) Kubik was dead, and under Nebraska law, aggravating circumstances cease to be applicable once death has occurred." Welcome Guest! You Are Here: For the first time since their daughter's disappearance, Shari and David Schaaf the parents of Carly Schaaf, a 23-year-old Lincoln woman who disappeared from the family's home May 17 addressed the public in a tearful news conference Thursday morning. Reading a prepared statement, Shari Schaaf noted the uncharacteristic nature of her daughter's disappearance and implored anyone with information about Carly Schaaf's whereabouts to contact authorities. "We just need your help to find our daughter," Shari Schaaf said in front of reporters gathered at the Lincoln Police Department headquarters. The missing woman's mother again called for the public's help before addressing her daughter through tears. "If Carly is out there listening to this, I just want her to know how much her family loves her," Shari Schaaf said. "And how we just want her to come home no matter what." The emotional moment preceded an update from LPD Investigator Jessica Drager, who said a team is "devoted to finding" Carly Schaaf and called the circumstances surrounding her disappearance "suspicious." Got your popcorn? The wild ride for the summer's blockbuster stock, AMC, got even crazier on Thursday. The movie-theater company's stock plunged nearly 40% in the morning after it announced plans to sell 11.6 million shares to raise cash, while warning buyers they could lose all their money. But it erased the loss in just a few hours. After the stock sale was complete, it climbed above the record closing price it had set a day earlier, only to sink back to an 8% loss later in the afternoon. It's the latest stupefying, nearly unexplainable move for one of the meme stocks that have rocked Wall Street this year, Many professional investors say AMC, GameStop and other meme stocks have hit heights untethered to reality and are primed for a steep fall, but that's not stopping an army of smaller-pocketed and novice investors from holding their ground and promising to take their prices to the moon. For AMC, that so far has meant vaulting its stock price from below $2 early this year to the $50.85 average price that it sold shares for on Thursday. The surge means its total market value has climbed above $30 billion, putting it on par with bigger companies like AutoZone and Old Dominion Freight Line, which unlike AMC are making profits and didn't have speculation of bankruptcy swirling around them last year after the pandemic shuttered theaters. Deans story begins differently. He is the product of a broken marriage. His mother and siblings left when he was young. He was raised by a single father who worked two jobs to put food on the table. As a result, Dean was on his own most of the time, and that led down a path to drug use starting at age 14 and later to stints in jail. He was arrested in Saunders County on Dec. 16, 2019, for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and obstruction of justice. This time, rather than face another jail sentence, Dean opted for Problem Solving Court. One of the benefits is that the felony can be taken off his record if he has not had previous convictions for violent felonies. Problem Solving Court gives me the opportunity to complete the program to wipe my slate clean of those charges, Dean said. Its good for people who have never had a felony conviction because it keeps them away from being labeled as a felon, said Johnson. Johnson has past felony convictions but opted to join the program to get sober. The goal is not only to get sober but to live a happy, successful, productive life and be a positive member of society and the community, he said. BRUSSELS The European Union unveiled plans Thursday for a digital ID wallet that residents could use to access services across the 27-nation bloc, part of a post-pandemic recovery strategy that involves accelerating the shift to an online world. The European Digital Identity Wallet proposed by the EUs executive commission is a smartphone app that would let users store electronic forms of identification and other official documents, such as drivers licenses, prescriptions and school diplomas. The blocs 450 million residents would be able to use the wallet to access public or private services both online and offline while maintaining control of their personal data. Officials envision the wallet allowing a customer renting a car at an airport, for example, to complete the necessary ID checks and documents digitally and thereby skip the usual wait at an agency counter. Nightclub-goers could show the app to security guards at the door to prove their ages. Other potential uses include opening bank accounts, signing apartment leases and enrolling in universities outside an individuals home country. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. RACINE The jury has been seated in the case of a Texas man arrested on allegations he inappropriately touched an 11-year-old girl he was traveling with in Mount Pleasant. Samuel A. Burnette, 45, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 13 years old. The defendant is representing himself at trial, which began on Wednesday. Attorney Laura Ann Walker is on standby to assist the defendant. Judge Wynne Laufenberg is presiding over the trial. Case history Officers from the Mount Pleasant Police Department were dispatched to the Country Inn Suites, 13339 Hospitality Court, for a report of a sexual assault at 4:21 a.m. on March 12. Once there, the caller alleged to them that Burnette had touched her 11-year-old granddaughter inappropriately. The woman said that she, Burnette, and two of her grandchildren were in town from Dallas for spring break. She said she woke up between 3:30 and 4 a.m. to use the bathroom and noticed her granddaughter crying and asked what was wrong. Union Grove and Yorkville officials beefed up staffing somewhat in 2020 by offering 8-hour shifts for firefighters who will stay at the fire station during the day. But the study found that such improvement does not always mean the department is ready to handle an emergency. The ability of a volunteer-based department to effectuate an appropriate response is related not only to the number of people on the volunteer roster, but also to how willing and available those volunteers are to respond to a call, the report states. With a combined population of about 8,300 people in Union Grove and Yorkville, the fire department is recording about 600 to 700 ambulance calls and about 150 fire calls annually. The department is based at 700 Main St., Union Grove. A question of keeping pace Union Grove Village President Steve Wicklund said that as new development continues to increase the regions population, the fire departments ability to keep pace is looming large. I know were definitely going to have to address it, said Wicklund, who also serves on the fire commission. County Board Supervisor Jerry Gulley questioned how Country Thunder is communicating the negative test and vaccine information to patrons, as it is not on the event website. Blevins said it is communicated on every confirmation email sent to patrons to buy tickets. Spacing, signage According to the plan, the layout of the event will not change, but, socially distanced entrances and vendor lines will be considered dependent upon the current requirements. It also states non-vaccinated people will be encouraged to wear a mask, which will be made available for those who do not have one. Theyll have signage to (social) distance, but we know that will be impossible, Freiheit said. Theyll have signage for masks. Theyll have extra masks. We know people wont be wearing masks. Under the plan, all full-time Country Thunder staff will be vaccinated. It will be recommended that part-time and seasonal staff be vaccinated or have a negative COVID test before arriving at the event. Recommend approval Committee members voted unanimously to recommend approval of the license for the event by the County Board. The Town of Randall has approved the Class B liquor license, and a conditional-use permit for the event. Jung says the time is now Alderman Trevor Jung proposed the resolution at the PW&S Committee meeting on May 25, noting the exciting work that is going into the discussions on the countrys infrastructure. He pointed out the Biden administration has made a commitment to infrastructure. Infrastructure is a key component of the American Jobs Plan, he noted. Additionally, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is a particular supporter of commuter trains and many in the federal government have gotten serious about commuter rails, Jung added. This is a unique opportunity for us as a community to be out ahead, to make sure that we voice our support for this fundamental infrastructure that could change the way the City of Racine engages in the region, he commented. Challenges and opportunities Jung pointed out that Racine is in a region that is the third largest economic region in the United States and the tenth largest in the world. Yet, it is the largest municipality in the region that is at least 4 miles from an interstate in the Midwest. That is the challenge. Jung argued a commuter rail would allow the city to better connect to the region. HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) Former mixed martial arts fighter Tito Ortiz has quit his post on the City Council of Huntington Beach, California after spending about six months in politics for the first time and attracting harsh criticism for his anti-mask views and for filing for unemployment benefits while serving on the council. Ortiz, who was the city's mayor pro tem, announced his resignation Tuesday night during the first in-person council meeting held this year. This job isnt working for me, Ortiz said. In a 6-0 vote Wednesday, the City Council chose Councilwoman Barbara Delgleize as the new mayor pro tem. She will hold the post until December. Meanwhile, the council will begin discussing the appointment of someone to fill Ortiz's vacated seat, according to a city statement. Ortiz said he made the decision to resign on behalf of his family after being subjected to what he labeled as attacks by the media, the Orange County Register reported. 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 View Results Killeen, TX (76540) Today Mostly sunny skies. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible. High near 95F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. Low 74F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. GRAND ISLAND - Friday morning the remains of Army Private Lyle W. Reab will be transported from Omaha to Higby-McQuiston Mortuary in Aurora. On Tuesday, Reab will be buried at Lerton Cemetery, south of Giltner. The homecoming of Lyle Reab has been a long time coming. The World War II soldier was only 22 when he died in Germany in 1944. Reab was born in Phillips on Nov. 9, 1921, and spent most of his short life in Giltner. After being missing in action for 77 years, his remains were identified in February of this year. Were trying to organize an escort for him coming out of Omaha, said Karen Thomas of Battle Creek, whose father is Reabs first cousin. An honor guard from Fort Riley, Kan., will present military honors. The American Legion Riders also will be present. Reab was the only child of Daisy (Croxen) and Harry Reab. Harry died in 1973 and Daisy passed away in 1988. Thomas father, Dale Croxen, is the son of David Croxen, who was Daisys brother. Dale, who is 94, lives in Tilden. He and his two sisters, Arlene Koenig of Lincoln and Opal Bartos of ONeill, will attend Tuesdays funeral. The company said its experts were coordinating with Sri Lanka's navy to deal with an oil spill or other pollution. Sri Lankan navy spokesman Indika de Silva said the navy and coast guard were preparing for a spill with assistance from neighboring India. India has sent three ships to help, including one specifically equipped to deal with marine pollution. Colombo port's harbor master, Nirmal Silva, said there had been about 300 tons of oil on board and that experts believe it could have burned off in the fire. But we have to look at the worst-case scenario and we are not saying 100% there is no oil. There is a possibility that there may be some, Silva said. So far we have not seen any oil spill. We consider we are lucky. A ship manifest seen by The Associated Press described the X-Press Pearl as carrying just under 1,500 containers, with 81 of those containers described as carrying dangerous goods. Environmentalist Ajantha Perera said there was the potential for a terrible environmental disaster as hazardous goods, chemicals and oil could be released into the water and destroy marine ecological systems. Statewide, COVID-19 hospitalizations have reached a low 14 months into the pandemic, with eight fewer patients since the previous low in April 2020. The Wisconsin Hospital Association COVID-19 dashboard June 2 reported 184 current coronavirus hospitalizations, 10 fewer than the previous day and far less than the four-digit rates six months ago. Of Wednesdays hospitalizations, 67 were ICU patients, down eight from Tuesday. Last fall, in conjunction with a spike in overall cases, hospitalizations in Wisconsin peaked at 2,277 on Nov. 17 and have been decreasing since, with the current number of inpatients 92% lower than the high point. Dr. Zane Forbes, DO at Mayo Clinic Health System, says the local trend mirrors the statewide drop in COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization. Recently, coronavirus hospitalizations at Mayos La Crosse hospital have been minimal, he says, with very few patients needing intensive care. With vaccination of select individuals, including frontline medical workers, starting last December and all individuals 12 and over now eligible for shots, the drop is proof of the protective benefits of inoculation, he says. Gruenke's office was notified by the city clerk's office in late December of the possible cases and investigated in January when they decided not to prosecute. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} The DA's office attempted to contact the 16 individuals to verify what had happened. Gruenke said it was clear early on that there was no wrongdoing, as most had used the same address to register to vote and had used bank statements or a valid Wisconsin driver's license to register, and that they had real addresses that could be verified, too, in La Crosse. "It wasn't very difficult, even if you looked at the spreadsheet it did not look like fraud," he said. "It didn't take long to figure out what was happening." "Given the fact that all these people registered properly, didn't have doctored documents," Gruenke said, no fraud seemed evident. He also noted that because it was a general election, matching voters to a specific municipal voting ward wasn't as important, either. After an election with widespread, unsubstantiated accusations of voter fraud, Gruenke said this process should demonstrate that officials are looking thoroughly. Sanner made contact with the hotel general manager who arrived to access the security cameras. Juneau County Sheriffs Deputies and a New Lisbon Police Officer searched the area for the suspect. The surveillance footage showed a male about 6 feet tall enter the building where he stood at the front desk for a time then displays a handgun. The male appeared to weigh approximately 275 pounds. The employee handed him the money from the cash drawers behind the desk, and the suspect points the handgun at the employee the entire time she is handing over the money. The suspect begins to leave, but then turns around and again points the handgun at the employee. The employee stated that he told her to enter the office. The suspect then leaves the hotel and drives away in a SUV or minivan type vehicle. Detective Richard Lueneburg later reviewed surveillance video from local businesses and semi-tractors in the area. The license plate of the vehicle was not identifiable due to the quality of the video. A Wisconsin Crime Alert was sent statewide in the case on Oct. 1, 2019 and a post was placed on the Mauston Police Department Facebook page on Oct. 24, 2019, asking for assistance identifying the suspect. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) A move by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to shutter more than 50 shelters housing about 4,000 migrant children could seriously disrupt a national program that already faces strained capacity to properly care for minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border alone. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which cares for migrant children, said Wednesday that it did not intend to close any facilities but that it was assessing the Republican governor's late Tuesday disaster declaration. The proclamation directs a state agency to deny or discontinue within 90 days licenses for child care facilities sheltering migrant children. Groups that represent migrant children and reunite them with their families said the order could be harmful because it may mean more minors are sent to mass-scale, unlicensed facilities that attorneys and advocates say endanger their health and safety. Abbott argues that the federal government cant force Texas to keep issuing state licenses in response to a federal problem. The U.S. government funds 56 shelters in Texas, out of about 200 licensed shelters in the country. The last census taken on May 19 showed 4,223 children in 52 of those state-licensed shelters, according to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. The agency was directed to remove the licenses. However, private businesses can require masks for employees and customers, and a mandate remains in place in schools. It's never wrong to wear a mask, Ehresmann said. So if people have been advised by their health care provider or feel more comfortable wearing a mask, even as the mandates are gone, it's never wrong to wear a mask. Malcolm noted during their briefing that Minnesota's COVID-19 metrics continue to show encouraging improvements. The state reported just 128 new cases and no new deaths between Sunday afternoon and early Tuesday. She said the state's seven-day average test positivity rate has fallen to 3.4%, which is now below the state's caution level." The state is down to only 12% of its hospital beds being used for COVID care. And over 70% of residents over the age of 16 in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area have now had at least one vaccine dose, she said. The percentages are lower in the rest of Minnesota but the state as a whole is still much less vaccine-hesitant than the rest of the country, said Dr. Nathan Chomilo, the department's vaccine equity director. First-dose vaccination rates have been highest among Minnesotans identifying as Asian or Pacific islanders, he said, but the Black and Hispanic communities have made some of the state's highest gains in recent weeks. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Lancaster County entrepreneurs and small manufacturers with ideas for innovative new products, processes or software can now sign up to win $50,000 for their business start-up through the Big Idea Contest. Ben Franklin Technology Partners, a tech-based economic development program, is accepting applications for its annual pitch contest from residents 32 counties in central and northern Pennsylvania. Applications, available at emarketinglearningcenter.org/ben-franklin-32-county-big-idea-contest, are due by Aug. 23 and finalists will be selected Aug. 30. Finalists will receive pitch training and assistance in putting their pitch together in early September. A team of judges, to be announced mid-summer, will hear pitches from the finalists Oct. 14 to select the winner. A pitch worthy of the $50,000 top prize will meet the judges expectations in terms innovation, the entrepreneurs experience and ability to convey the concept as well as other details related to generating revenue, market size and protecting intellectual property. In addition to $50,000 in funding for the winners new start-up, prizes include a spot in Harrisburg LaunchBoxs Idea Test Lab, free consultation about accessing federal research and development money from the Innovation Partnership, free passes to seminars through Ben Franklins eMarketing Learning Center and a seat in Ben Franklins Startup Boot Camp. Friends and family of the finalists are allowed to attend the event and vote for their favorite team. The team with the most votes will win a $2,500 Peoples Choice Award. Previous winners of Ben Franklin funding, those with more than $500,000 in sales revenue and individuals who plan to commercialize their idea with a for-profit company are not eligible to enter the contest. Applicants do not need to own a business to pitch an idea. Submitting multiple ideas is allowed but must be done with separate applications. Since the initiative was established in 2008, $2 million in cash prizes have been awarded. In 2018, several Lancaster area residents split the $50,000 prize. Ryan Harris developed Noodigs, a start-up focused on the real estate market; James Consentino started Craft Biotech, offering diagnostic and sensing technologies for breweries; and Carolyn Martin created the Rival 5 Game, a number-based strategy game. Apply for the contest here. The Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition is hosting two COVID-19 vaccination clinics in June with a Pride flair. Both clinics are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at locations in Lancaster city. The first is June 12 at Bright Side Baptist Church, 515 Hershey Ave., and the second clinic is June 27 at McCaskey High School, 445 N. Reservoir St. Patients must be at least 18 to be vaccinated because the clinics will be using the Moderna vaccine, which is not yet approved for minors. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender community typically celebrate Pride in June to recognize the uprising in 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, widely considered a tipping point for gay liberation. The event on June 12 will feature food trucks, vendors, DJ and local Ballroom performer, Niambi Stanley. Also called Voguing, ballroom dance is practiced among Black and Latino gays in clubs throughout the United States and is a mix of dance, lip-syncing and modeling. On June 27, the clinic is salsa and merengue themed with dance lessons at 3 p.m. Well use intake to reach the hard-to-reach, said Karen Foley, executive director of the Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition. In the LGBTQ+ community, the difficult-to-reach include the homeless and those who live in un-affirming environments. Data on the impact of novel coronavirus on the LGBTQ+ community has been hard to come by, but one thing has become fairly clear: vulnerable communities before the pandemic struck are at a greater risk. Both of the clinics are being held in conjunction with Patients R Waiting and the Union Community Care. The events are free and open to the public. Appointments can be scheduled the week prior to each clinic at healthequitylancaster.org/. There is no phone number. Two people are dead following a home explosion in Mount Joy Township that happened Tuesday, Lancaster County coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni confirmed. Diamantoni said his office will use dental records to identify two bodies found at the scene. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday morning. A van belonging to the coroner's office was seen leaving the scene Wednesday morning. Emergency crews were dispatched just before 6 p.m. Tuesday to the 100 block of Waldheim Road, just off of Mt. Gretna Road (Route 241) northeast of Elizabethtown, following reports of a large explosion that set a home there on fire, Northwest Regional police said in a news release Wednesday. The home collapsed just as firefighters arrived at the scene, said Elizabethtown Fire Department deputy fire chief Jeremy Shaffner. Shaffner referred other questions to the Northwest Regional police, stating the matter was now a police investigation. Attempts to contact the property's residents during the blaze were unsuccessful, police said. A Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshall assisted by an Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms Agent and police detective attempted to locate the residents, but an extensive investigation and search of the interior and basement of the home was determined to be unsafe and was halted overnight to request excavation equipment, police said. The search began at around 7:30 a.m. the following day. Two bodies were discovered under the debris and recovered by the Lancaster County Coroner's Office at around 10:12 a.m., according to the news release. Neither person has been identified "due to the significant fire and explosion," police said. An investigation into the incident is ongoing, police said. Anyone who has information regarding the incident is urged to contact Detective Frank Ember Jr. at 717-689-5657, extension 111. Police did not provide any additional information. Neighbors reported hearing one large explosion, followed by several other smaller explosions. They also reported hearing what appeared to be ammunition exploding after the initial explosions rang out. Ken Epdegraff, who lives next door, said he was home at the time of the explosion. "I was out in my building here working on a fiberglass (car) body and I heard the explosion, it was right before 6 (p.m.)," he said. "It sounded like a bomb, worse than a cannon." A few minutes later his son alerted him that there was black smoke coming from the neighbors, and the family went outside to find flames pouring out of the house. Epdegraff said the couple who own the house, David and Victoria Preston, mostly keep to themselves. Douglas Armstrong, who lives further down the street, described the Prestons as "super nice." "They were the nicest, nicest people," he said. "When I moved in they brought me cookies." Armstrong said when he left his house around 5 p.m. to go skydive he though he smelled smoke, although he and Epdegraff thought that may have been another neighbor. "From the Donegal Spring Airport, you could see smoke going up," Armstrong said, adding that he realized it was coming from his neighborhood. Firefighters did not leave the scene until 11:22 p.m., Shaffner said. This is a breaking news story and will be updated. A new owner of the former Conestoga View nursing home in Lancaster Township pleaded no contest to three counts of reckless endangerment of residents at a Delaware County nursing home, the Pennsylvania attorney generals office has announced. Chaim Charlie Steg of Lakewood, New Jersey, will be sentenced to six to 23 months of house arrest followed by three years of probation. Under his probation conditions, Steg cannot staff, manage, own, or operate the nursing, clinical, or medical services of any skilled nursing facility for five years, according to the attorney generals office. That includes serving as a majority owner of any nursing home, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said at a Wednesday press conference. Stegs plea stems from a 2017 investigation conducted by the state attorney generals office and the Darby Borough Police. It found that three residents at the St. Francis Center for Rehabilitation & Healthcare in Darby died from preventable pressure wounds, sepsis, dehydration and bowel obstructions as a result of Stegs failure to address inadequate staffing levels, according to a March criminal complaint from investigators. A no-contest plea means a defendant accepts punishment without admitting guilt, according to the Pennsylvania court systems website. The business entities of St. Francis, including a limited liability company that paid Stegs salary, also agreed to a more-than $1 million settlement with the attorney generals office. Steg will also have to pay $15,000 in restitution to victims families. Thomas Fladung, managing partner at an Ohio-based crisis management firm, Hennes Communications, emailed a statement to LNP|LancasterOnline late Thursday morning on behalf of Imperial Healthcare Group - a New Jersey company registered under Stegs name that purchased the 446-bed Conestoga View from Complete Healthcare Resources-Eastern for $29.8 million and renamed it Lancaster Nursing and Rehabilitation Center last month. The statement says the companys vice president of operations, Leon Tarlow, will become Imperials interim president and CEO. The change comes as Steg steps aside from those leadership positions to focus on an ongoing legal matter, the statement reads. The investigation doesnt involve Imperial, the statement says, and Mr. Steg was working as an employee in a regional support role with a different company at St. Francis, and he joined Imperial later. Mr. Stegs choice to forego a trial will prevent distractions that typically accompany protracted litigation and will allow our staff to remain laser-focused on the good work they do for those under their care, Tarlow said in the written statement provided by Fladung at Hennes Communications. We are fortunate to have a skilled, experienced leadership team in place at Imperial Healthcare, Tarlow said in Imperials statement. We remain committed to providing the high level of quality care and services for which we have become known in the region. We will continue to put residents and caregivers at the center of everything we do. The statement also indicated the company doesn't plan to make any more public comments on Stegs plea agreement. A request for comment to a phone number for Steg did not get a response. Web of ownership Steg has been known in Philadelphias nursing home sector for several years, according to Diane Menio, executive director at CARIE, an advocacy group for the elderly based in Philadelphia. St. Francis, the nursing home where Steg was an administrator from 2014 to 2017, according to Shapiro, was one of seven nursing homes and senior living facilities the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia sold for $145 million in 2014 to a for-profit company called Center Management Group, based in Flushing, New York, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. The quality of those former church-run facilities went downhill in the years following the sale, according to Menio. Since 2018, Steg has taken an ownership stake in 12 nursing homes, according to data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The federal data does not yet include ownership changes at Lancaster Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, the new name for Conestoga View. The federal agencys star-rating system aggregates nursing home inspection reports and other measures to give consumers a sense of a facilitys quality. A review of the CMS data by LNP|LancasterOnline found that under Stegs ownership, five of those 12 nursing homes fell from a three- or two-star ratings to the lowest possible one-star rating. Six of Stegs facilities saw no ultimate change in their star rating and one, Rose View Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Williamsport, improved from one star to two stars after he took an ownership stake. Steg also has had an ownership interest in Newport Meadows Health and Rehabilitation Center in Christiana since January 2020, according to CMS data. As of April, CMS rates Newport Meadows, a two-star facility. LNRC has one star. Ownerships of for-profit nursing homes can be difficult to track, Menio said. Investors can set up real estate trusts and separate the property from the nursing home operation, and use the real estate company to charge the nursing home business rent, she said. Its really a tangled web, and weve been fighting for reviving the nursing home regulations in Pennsylvania and this is one of the big issues we want to deal with, Menio said. We are the Titanic Investigators accounts of Stegs understaffing at St. Francis echo in comments from current and recently departed staff members at LNRC, who claimed to LNP|LancasterOnline that they are worried for the safety of residents due to staff cuts and departures. All were granted anonymity due to their fear of professional retaliation for speaking. Four current and former employees whose departures coincided with Imperials takeover said administrators have laid off dozens of non-nursing personnel. Others have left LNRC to take better paying jobs elsewhere, they said. We are the Titanic, one said. We're going down and I dont think anything can stop it." When LNP|LancasterOnline asked Fladung at Hennes Communications for comment on the allegations from the former and current employees at LNRC, he emailed a statement Thursday evening that read, in part, ... its important to understand that there have been no mass layoffs among caregivers prompted at this facility by budget cuts or other financial steps taken by Imperial. No direct caregivers were terminated or furloughed by Imperial upon transition. We did not reduce or change the ratios of caregivers to patients and on most days in the short time that Imperial has owned this facility, to our knowledge, we have met the Pennsylvania standard of providing at least 2.7 hours of hands-on care per patient. We also are following up on each report or allegation involving care issues. While we cant address each one at this point, we are working and will continue to work with our Lancaster staff and the Pennsylvania Department of Health to investigate all reports and allegations, and we are committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure that all of our residents receive the level of care they need and deserve. Any resident or residents loved one with concerns about care at one of our facilities is encouraged to call 215-847-1905, so that we can follow up as promptly as possible. Steg did not respond to a request for comment about the allegations by former and current workers. The plea by Steg is latest in a difficult chapter for the Lancaster nursing home. As one of the largest nursing homes in the state, LNRC saw the sixth-most COVID deaths of any long-term care facility in the state. Since the initial outbreak of COVID-19 last year, 233 LNRC residents have contracted the virus, and 81 residents have died from it, according to the latest self-reported data to DOH. (Click on the PDF below to read the full criminal complaint). Three Pennsylvania legislators who traveled to Arizona this week to witness the high profile effort by Donald Trumps supporters to prove the 2020 election was stolen are refusing to say who paid for their travel, lodging and meals. The three Republicans -- Sens. Cris Dush and Doug Mastriano, and Rep. Rob Kauffman -- were in Phoenix Wednesday to observe the ongoing audit of election results in Arizonas most populated county. President Joe Biden won the state by 10,457 votes in November, a slim margin of victory that made Arizona central to former President Trumps lie that Biden was not the rightful winner of the election. Transparency is a must (in) our republic, according to a statement about the trip that Mastriano, R-Franklin County, released Wednesday. But when asked to be transparent about who he talked to about the trip, who paid for it and whether that person or group would benefit financially from a similar audit in Pennsylvania, neither Mastriano nor Dush, R-Jefferson County, responded. Kauffman, R-Franklin County, didnt directly answer questions from The Caucus, but an aide, Elana Maynard, wrote in an email, I have been asked to provide the following response to your inquiry: It is not being funded by taxpayer or campaign dollars. Spokesmen for Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman and House Speaker Bryan Cutler -- the General Assemblys top Republicans -- said their bosses dont know who paid for the legislators travel to Arizona. If an outside person or group paid for the lawmakers trip, they likely would have to say so on their annual financial disclosure forms. But those arent due until May 1, 2022, eleven months from now. Arizonas Republican Senate leaders hired the firm Cyber Ninjas to conduct their audit, which other elected Arizona Republicans have called unhinged and embarrassing. A former Department of Homeland Security official told National Public Radio the review was spreading disinformation that undermines confidence in the American democratic system in pursuit of continuing a narrative that we know to be a lie. Mastriano on Wednesday told a right-wing media outlet, The Gateway Pundit, that Pennsylvania should use Arizona as a model for its own audit. He has been a central figure in amplifying baseless conspiracy theories about the security of the 2020 election as he courts Trumps support for a possible run for governor next year. He also chartered several buses to the Jan. 6 protest against Trumps loss that led to a deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. A group called Audit the Vote PA is collecting signatures calling for an audit of the states 2020 results. No evidence of widespread fraud has ever been revealed to suggest vote fraud cheated Trump of victory in the commonwealth. Of the handful of voting fraud cases reported in the state, two involved Republican voters casting ballots for deceased loved ones for the former president. The House State Government Committee hosted a series of hearings about the election this year. Its chairman, Rep. Seth Grove, R-York County, threw cold water on Mastrianos call for an Arizona-style review on Thursday. The PA House of Representatives will not be authorizing any further audits on any previous election, Grove tweeted. We are focused on fixing our broken election law to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat. Follow Mike Wereschagin on Twitter @Wrschgn. SRINAGAR, India (AP) Assailants fatally shot a politician belonging to Indias ruling party in disputed Kashmir, and separately, police on Thursday killed a detainee who they said snatched an officers rifle and fired at officials inside a police camp. The unidentified assailants shot Rakesh Pandita late Wednesday in the southern town of Tral, where he was visiting a friend, police said, blaming anti-India rebels for the attack. He was declared dead in a hospital. Rebels in Indian-controlled Kashmir have been fighting the central government for decades. Suspected militants carried out a string of deadly attacks last year on members of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party in Kashmir. Among those killed was a top BJP politician and his father and brother, who were also party members. Pandita was also an elected official in a municipal office in Tral. His body was taken to southern Jammu city for a funeral. My father was serving the nation, said Paras Pandita, the politicians 17-year-old student son at his home in Jammu. I request the nation that this incident should be probed. He had a secured accommodation in the regions main city of Srinagar and was protected by two police guards, but he went to Tral without them, a police statement said. Manoj Sinha, New Delhis top administrator in Kashmir, and BJP leaders condemned the killing. Terrorists will never succeed in their nefarious designs, and those responsible for such heinous acts shall be brought to justice, Sinha said in a tweet. No rebel group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Meanwhile, a man was killed in an exchange of gunfire inside a counterinsurgency police camp in Tral town early Thursday, police said, calling him a terror operative. In a statement, police said Mohammed Amin Malik snatched an automatic rifle from an officer during his interrogation and fired at him, leaving the officer critically wounded late Wednesday. He later took position inside the interrogation room, the statement said. Police said they brought Maliks mother to the camp and tried to persuade Malik to surrender but he refused and intermittently fired at police throughout the night. The statement said police later engaged him in a gunfight and killed him. Police arrested the 38-year-old laborer last Sunday and seized a hunting rifle without a license and explosives from him. According to police, Malik was a former militant. He was arrested in 2003 and was released a few years later. His younger brother was killed in a gunfight with Indian troops in 2019. Mughli, Maliks mother who uses only one name, told reporters that police tortured her son during his detention. They beat my son so much that he preferred to die like this, she told reporters, as she wailed in mourning at her home in Tral. Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and both claim it in its entirety. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebel goal that the territory be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. India says militants are sponsored by Pakistan, but Islamabad denies the charge. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict since 1989. In 2019, Modis Hindu nationalist party pushed through with constitutional changes that stripped Kashmir of its semi-autonomy and statehood that gave its residents special rights in land ownership and jobs. The region was also divided into two federally governed territories. Many Kashmiris and critics have likened Indias changes as the beginning of settler colonialism. THE ISSUE Pennsylvania ended most of its COVID-19 mitigation measures Monday, allowing restaurants, gyms, theaters and other businesses and venues to return to operating at 100% capacity. Fully vaccinated people no longer are required to wear masks or stay 6 feet apart, though a mask requirement remains in place for people who have not been fully vaccinated. Additionally, masks still are required on planes, buses, trains and other forms of public transportation and in transportation hubs such as airports and stations. (Workplaces, businesses, long-term care facilities, hospitals and other public spaces may have their own mask requirements.) The states masking requirement for unvaccinated and partially vaccinated individuals will remain in place until June 28, or until 70% of Pennsylvania adults are fully vaccinated, whichever comes first. Maryland resident Ben Wong, who was interviewed by LNP | LancasterOnlines Erik Yabor while shopping Monday at the Shoppes at Kissel Hill in Warwick Township, articulated some of the concerns we have about our return to mostly mask-free living. Wong received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and said he feels safe being out and about. But he also said he cant tell if most people arent wearing masks because theyre vaccinated, or because now they can say just say they are. We cant either. And given the inexplicable culture war over mask-wearing, were finding it hard to trust the honor system. Wong also said the pandemic has changed how he interacts with the world. He told Yabor that he always carries a mask with him, frequently sanitizes his hands and is more mindful of others views on science. Same goes for us. The same goes, were guessing, for many people. Were elated by the return of some semblance of normalcy. The prospect of attending free concerts this summer in Longs Park fills us with joy. Were moved by this newspapers photos of local high school graduates getting to enjoy actual commencement ceremonies. Seeing people shopping and gathering in Lancaster County businesses is a relief after more than a year of worrying about the local economy. But were also mindful that for thousands of American families hundreds here in Lancaster County there will no return to normal life. More than 595,000 Americans, including 1,040 county residents, have died from COVID-19. Their deaths have reshaped the lives of their families forever. Were concerned, too, about the hospital employees and other health care workers who have been physically and emotionally exhausted by the grueling work of caring for COVID-19 patients. As Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health CEO John Herman told LNP | LancasterOnlines Nicole C. Brambila, Weve had over 350 patients that have succumbed to this illness and were not used to that. Were not used to that as health care workers. So, everyone is just drained by this. Expanding access If you havent yet been vaccinated against COVID-19, please consider the hospital employees who will need to take care of you should you get seriously ill. Some people are choosing not to get vaccinated because of politics, which is tragic in its own way. Wed strongly urge these individuals to rethink their resistance. But as the nonpartisan newsroom Spotlight PA reported last week, some Pennsylvanians havent gotten vaccinated because of barriers such as language and lack of transportation, health care access and vaccine safety information. The same communities in Pennsylvania disproportionately harmed by the coronavirus are still more at risk, Spotlight PA reported. About 73% of people who have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in the state outside of Philadelphia are white, while 4% are Black and 4% are Hispanic. An analysis by that news organization found that a significant equity gap in vaccinations persists six months into the rollout. Spotlight PA, whose partners include LNP Media Group, noted that the Wolf administration has faced criticism for not prioritizing specialized approaches to reach communities of color and non-English speakers, and instead being reactionary after programs and efforts were already launched. Finally, in April, the administration acknowledged the disparity in vaccinations and hired Latino Connection, a Harrisburg-based marketing agency, with a $1.8 million grant to work on closing the gap, Spotlight PA noted. State lawmakers are working to allocate more federal coronavirus relief funding to community groups working on vaccine access, Spotlight PA reported. Wed like to see those efforts advance perhaps theres an opportunity for the states COVID-19 Vaccine Joint Task Force to get involved because the work of such community groups in Lancaster County has been invaluable. Groups such as Patients R Waiting, the Lancaster NAACP and the South Asian Association of Lancaster, and organizations such as Union Community Care, Bright Side Baptist Church and Bright Side Opportunities Center have worked to expand access to COVID-19 vaccination here. As Dr. Cherise Hamblin, founder of Patients R Waiting, which seeks to address health disparities by increasing diversity in health care, said last month, if a large subset of our community is left behind, no one wins because the pandemic rages on. That organization, with Union Community Care, is hosting summer vaccination clinics for communities of color. We are grateful for such efforts. Were certain they could use more funding. Get factual information Its essential that Lancaster County residents ages 12 and older get vaccinated. Remember: Vaccination is safe, effective and unlike those fake vaccination cards sold online free. And please dont be fooled by the disinformation about COVID-19 vaccination that proliferates on social media. For instance, as Dr. Michael Ripchinski, chief clinical officer at LG Health, wrote in the May 23 Sunday LNP | LancasterOnline, There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines negatively impact fertility or pregnancy. ... If youre pregnant or trying to conceive, the benefits of getting vaccinated against COVID-19 far outweigh the risks. Pregnant women are at greater risk for developing severe COVID-19 illness, which could endanger the lives of both the mother and the baby. We have seen miscarriages at Women & Babies Hospital that we believe were a result of the mothers infection with COVID-19. Ask your medical provider for vaccine information; do not rely on social media. If you lack access to medical care, contact Union Community Care, a federally qualified health center that offers a sliding-scale fee discount program. Nearly 220,000 Lancaster County residents are fully vaccinated, which is great. But thats only about 40% of the countys total population. Until more of us are vaccinated, there will be county residents who need to be careful as they reenter public spaces. The unvaccinated cannot rely on herd immunity to protect them; its a long way from being achieved. And people with compromised immune systems whose level of protection from vaccination may not be as high may need to continue to mask up in public. Unlike those who refused to wear masks when they should have, these individuals arent going to cause anyone harm by continuing to wear masks. Theyre doing their best to stay healthy and deserve our respect and understanding. The pandemic isnt over yet, though we look forward to the day when we can say with confidence that its behind us. That day will come sooner if more Americans get protected against COVID-19, so please get vaccinated if not for yourself, then for your parents, children, other family members and friends so that schools, homes and workplaces can return to normal or, at least, to the new normal. vaccinatelancaster.org EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2021 June Summitry Remains Focused on Confrontation with Russia and China June 2, 2021 (EIRNS)On June 11-13, the G7 heads of state will meet in Cornwall under British chairmanship. On June 14, there will be a NATO summit in Brussels. On June 16, Presidents Biden and Putin will hold their first summit in Geneva, Switzerland. The first two summits are being geared up to push green Malthusianism and confrontation with Russia and China, to make sure that the third, Presidential summit is stillborn. As Helga Zepp-LaRouche commented in her weekly webcast today, the G7 and the NATO summits can be expected to have a lot of rhetoric against Russia and China dictatorship. I cant see how anything can come from these two bodies to address the many real problems in the world, such as the pandemic and the breakdown crisis of the trans-Atlantic financial system. Nor are the Russians mincing their words in response. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov yesterday stated that the situation between the EU and Russia is nothing short of alarming. He declared that it could in fact be reversed, but it would have to be on the basis of completely different principles than the current regime of aggressive sanctions, justified under the rubric of the rules-based order. Today Sergey Chemezov, the CEO of Rostec, a Russian state-owned technology conglomerate, told an interviewer that the sanctions can certainly not be called soft.... Very tough sanctions are, in fact, war. And we must, of course, be prepared for war. The policy of the G7 on the economic front is, if anything, worse. According to Bloomberg, the upcoming G7 summit plans to launch a green alternative to Chinas Belt and Road initiative. The strategy, expected to be called the Clean Green Initiative, would provide a framework to support sustainable development and the green transition in developing countries, the people [familiar with the planning] said. The initiative will also be on the summit agenda for the leaders. However, it is not clear whether the G7 will decide to put some money behind the initiative, as the initial purpose was a pledge toward creating a strategic framework. G7 member countries are also quarreling over where to focus their efforts: The U.S. wants to focus on Central and South America, whereas France, Germany and Italy want to focus on Africa, and Japan on Asia. They apparently believe that developing nations are so stupid as to accept CO2 tradeoffs instead of development. In a related development, UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance Mark Carney is struggling to get his Global CO2 Trading scheme ready by the end of this year. The group set up by Carney, the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets, is divided on major issues that have to do with the price of CO2, whereas some members push for a global regulating agency, Carney wants prices to be determined by the markets, which means they can be manipulated at will. Carney insists with the target of a $100 billion market by the end of the decadea difficult target to achieve from the supply side. Biden-Harris Administration Steps up Efforts to Narrow Racial Wealth Gap President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are stepping up their efforts to narrow the racial wealth gap. Following the Presidents visit to Oklahoma, where he observed the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre, the Administration announced it would reinvest in communities that failed policies have left behind. Specifically, the Administration is expanding access to two key wealth-creators homeownership and small business ownership in communities of color and disadvantaged communities. ADVERTISEMENT The President has been and continues to be intentional in his actions to narrow the racial wealth gap, administration officials noted in a media call. Biden is the first president to visit the Greenwood District in Tulsa devastated by White supremacists who murdered more than 300 African Americans and decimated a thriving Black business corridor in 1921. The Administration said Greenwood and areas around the country that have a high concentration of minorities would benefit from plans that include: Addressing racial discrimination in the housing market, including launching a first-of-its-kind interagency effort to address inequity in-home appraisals and conducting rulemaking to combat housing discrimination aggressively. Use the federal governments purchasing power to grow federal contracting with small, disadvantaged businesses by 50 percent, translating to an additional $100 billion over five years and helping more Americans realize their entrepreneurial dreams. The Administration also released new information regarding President Bidens American Jobs Planproposals to create jobs and build wealth in communities of color: A new $10 billion Community Revitalization Fund to support community-led civic infrastructure projects that create innovative shared amenities, spark new local economic activity, provide services, build community wealth, and strengthen social cohesion. $15 billion for new grants and technical assistance to support the planning, removal, or retrofitting of existing transportation infrastructure that creates a barrier to community connectivity, including barriers to mobility, access, or economic development. A new Neighborhood Homes Tax Creditto attract private investment in the development and rehabilitation of affordable homes for low- and moderate-income homebuyers and homeowners. $5 billion for the Unlocking Possibilities Program, an innovative new grant program that awards flexible and attractive funding to jurisdictions that take steps to reduce needless barriers to producing affordable housing and expand housing choices for people with low or moderate incomes. $31 billion in small business programs that will increase access to capital for small businesses and provide mentoring, networking, and other forms of technical assistance to socially and economically disadvantaged businesses seeking to access federal contracts and participate in federal research and development investments. The Biden-Harris Administration is announcing additional steps to end discrimination and bias in the housing market. More than 50 years since the Fair Housing Acts passage, access to wealth through homeownership remains persistently unequal, administration officials stated. In his first week in office, President Biden issued a memorandum directing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to address discrimination in our housing market. They continued: ADVERTISEMENT Today, the Administration is announcing that it is taking critical steps towards realizing the Presidents directive. HUD has now sent both its proposed rule on countering housing practices with discriminatory effects and its proposed interim final rule on the legal duty to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing to HUDs Congressional authorizing committee in the Senate and the House of Representatives for review and will publish them in the Federal Register next week. These proposed rules will align federal enforcement practice with the congressional promise in the Fair Housing Act to end discrimination in housing and will collectively provide the legal framework for HUD to require private and public entities alike to rethink established practices that contribute to or perpetuate inequities. Additionally, the Biden-Harris Administration is taking on discrimination in home appraisals. The White House pointed to a 2018 Brookings study that found that homes in majority-Black neighborhoods are often valued at tens of thousands of dollars less than comparable homes in similar but majority-White communities. And the crisis is worsening, they said. A recent study found that the gap between the appraised value of homes in predominantly White neighborhoods compared to comparable homes in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods nearly doubled between 1980 and 2015, the Administration said. The impact of these disparities in-home appraisals can be sweeping, limiting homeowners ability to properly benefit from refinancing or re-selling their homes at higher valuations and thereby contributing to the already-sprawling racial wealth gap. The President is also charging Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge to lead a first-of-its-kind interagency initiative to address inequity in home appraisals. The effort will seek to utilize, quickly, the many levers at the federal governments disposal. These include potential enforcement under fair housing laws, regulatory action, and development of standards and guidance in close partnership with industry and state and local governments to root out discrimination in the appraisal and homebuying process. These are the kinds of policies and practices that keep Black families in Greenwood and across the nation from building generational wealth through homeownership, administration officials stated. Click here to view a White House Fact Sheet on all of the actions the Administration plans to take. Black Press of America Making Impact and Progress Two years ago, the National Newspaper Publishers Association enthusiastically elected a new National Chair and an Executive Committee with the promise of moving the organization to new heights and re-invigorating the Black Press of America as the trusted voice of Black communities across the nation. Less than a year into their two-year term, the world was confronted with the first global pandemic in 100 years COVID-19. Businesses shuttered, tens of millions of individuals fell ill, and nearly 4 million died. Black businesses, in particular, were decimated. ADVERTISEMENT Throughout the 81-year history of the NNPA and 194 years of the Black Press of America, African Americans have remained strong, executing steadfast resilience in the face of adversity and racism. Thanks to an experienced and dedicated all-women Executive Committee who ascended to lead the national trade association, the NNPA has enjoyed perhaps two of the most successful and productive years in its history. Despite the pandemic, the Black Press of America is moving forward, and Im so thankful that we have these Black women leaders who each stand for the elegance, integrity, vision, and success that Black America is known for, NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. exclaimed. This is the best executive team the NNPA has had in years. The organization is probably in a better financial situation in 2021 than we have been in the last three decades, Dr. Chavis added. The NNPAs executive includes: National Chair Karen Carter Richards of the Houston Forward Times, First Vice-Chair Janis Ware of the Atlanta Voice, Second Vice Chair Fran Farrer of the County News in Charlotte, National Secretary Jackie Hampton of the Mississippi Link in Jackson, MS and National Treasurer Brenda Andrews of the New Journal & Guide in Norfolk, VA. The NNPA is a big part of my life, Richards explained. I didnt join the NNPA. I was born into the NNPA. ADVERTISEMENT Ive been serving the NNPA for 40 years, right after I finished college and my father sent me to the first conference, Ware recalled. It was so impressive to see so many African American business owners in one place. I couldnt be happier that I made that decision and commitment to the NNPA. Hampton remarked that it had been her greatest honor to serve as NNPA secretary, a comment echoed by Fran Farrer, the second vice-chair. I was so happy to be a part of this organization, and I have learned so much, Hampton stated. Its been my greatest honor to set aside the time necessary to give back to an organization that has done so much for me, she said. Added Farrer: The strength of the Black women in leadership and in other areas can never be underestimated and Im so proud of what weve been able to accomplish as the Executive Committee. While 2020 proved challenging for Brenda Andrews and the New Journal & Guide, she noted how she and her team managed to overcome some of the most challenging times the world has seen. We were able to re-establish ourselves, and we were also able to recruit and solicit new advertising based around the pandemic and the health crisis, Andrews stated. While about 37,000 workers were laid off or furloughed at media companies like the Los Angeles Times, Conde Nast, The Dallas Morning News, Gannett, McClatchy, National Public Radio, and VOX, the NNPA added staff and expanded services to NNPA member publishers across the nation. Buoyed by Dr. Chavis special on-camera interview in Charleston, South Carolina, with then Presidential candidate Joe Biden, the NNPA embarked on nationally televised livestreams. Each week, the NNPA reached tens of thousands of viewers as it introduced the world to its publishers and business owners during the broadcasts. The NNPA livestream broadcasts reached another level when its senior national correspondent recruited A-list superstars to appear on the social media channels of the Black Press. An interview with Reggae superstar Ziggy Marley garnered a live audience of more than 168,000 and reached several million overall at Facebook.com/BlackPressUSA/Videos, and YouTube.com/c/BlackPressUSATV. Temptations founder Otis Williams, songstress Stephanie Mills, hip-hop icons Ice Cube, Chuck D, LL Cool J, and Russell Simmons also made appearances. Members of Congress and the Senate made appearances, including then-Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass (D-Calif.), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), then-Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), and Sen. Chuck Schumer. Basketball legends Earvin Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Attorney Joey Jackson, Rapper DMC, comedian Sinbad, and boxing icon Sugar Ray Leonard also joined the livestreams for interviews and shout outs to the NNPA during its annual conference. Some of the appearances the NNPAs senior national correspondent recruited, like that of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, led to direct business and advertising sales for some members of the NNPA. The following is a list that highlights the outstanding NNPA progress and accomplishments during the past two years: The NNPA has made unprecedented progress under the leadership of Chair Karen Carter Richards and the NNPA Executive Committee, as well as with the dedication of all 17 members of the NNPA Board of Directors, Dr. Chavis stated. As our nation and world continue to struggle to end the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the truth is there are more opportunities today for the advancement of the Black Press of America via the NNPA than ever before. Dr. Chavis continued: It continues to be my honor to work directly with the dynamic group of African American women publisher-leaders who currently serve in the important executive board leadership positions. My prayer is that God will continue to bless the Black Press with success, sustainability, and experienced leadership. Click here to register for the NNPA annual summer convention, which runs from June 23 to June 26. Californians Can Claim COVID-Related Sick Leave for Four More Months More Californians now qualify for COVID-related paid sick leave. Thanks to the states 2021 COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave law, SB 95, which went into effect in March and was introduced by Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) in December last year. But eligiblilty for that compensation will continue for only four more months. Qualifying employees now have access to up to 80 hours of paid time off for reasons related to COVID-19. ADVERTISEMENT The maximum amount of 2021 COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave an employee can receive is $511 per day, or $5,110 in total. This is separate from any paid sick leave taken in 2020. The law is retroactive, extending eligibility back to Jan. 1, 2021, through Sept. 30. Before the 2021 law passed, Californians were only eligible for three days of paid sick leave based on provisions in the previous 2020 expanded paid sick leave legislation. That law expired Jan. 1. On April 26, the California Department of Industrial Relations announced the launch of an online eligibility tool that workers can use to determine whether they qualify for the expanded paid sick leave. In the announcement, Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower said, The 2021 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave law provides workers up to 80 hours of paid sick leave if they or a family member are unable to work or telework due to COVID-19, including for vaccine-related reasons. We designed this tool so workers and their employers can get information on workers paid sick leave options. According to the website, in order to be eligible, workers must be unable to work or telework because they were caring for themselves due to COVID-19, caring for a child or another family member, or attending a vaccine appointment. Other qualifying circumstances include caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed or unavailable due to COVID-19 on the premises. The 2021 supplemental paid sick leave is only available for those working for employers that have 26 or more employees. The 2021 law also only applies to W-2 employees, unlike the 2020 law which applied to independent contractors in the food sector. If a person believes they are an employee misclassified as an independent contractor, they may be entitled to receive the expanded paid sick leave. The amount of paid leave each worker receives is based on an employees work schedule. Employees are entitled to 80 hours of paid leave if they are considered full time, or if they worked or were scheduled to work an average of at least 40 hours per week in the two weeks before they take the leave. Part-time employees with fixed schedules are entitled to the number of hours the employee is scheduled to work over two weeks. ADVERTISEMENT Part-time employees without fixed schedules are entitled to take 14 times the average number of hours they worked each day in the six months prior to their leave. Newly hired part-time workers without fixed schedules are entitled to the number of hours that they worked in the previous two weeks. The expanded paid sick leave is paid out by employers with more than 25 employees. If an employer refuses to pay for the leave, the employee can file a claim with the California Labor Commissioners Office. For more information on the paid sick leave program or to check eligibility, visit the California Department of Industrial Relations website. Centennial of Tulsa Massacre Draws Reflections on Current Racial Relations 1921 murder of 300+ Blacks noted by Pres. Biden and reissue of a written account by Mary Parrish ADVERTISEMENT May 31 marked the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre, the horrific slaughtering of 300+ Blacks in Oklahoma along with the total destruction of the Greenwood district, also known as the Black Wall Street. While the tragic event was suppressed and concealed for decades, it catapulted into the limelight in 2020 as a result of the protests for the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. As marches and rallies elevated to the highest level, many referred to the demonstrations as the countrys racial reckoning. Within that context, the story of the rise and fall of Greenwood was revived. Black Wall Street Oklahoma attracted many African Americans starting in the late 1870s and continuing into the early 1900s. After World War I, many Blacks whether veterans, educated or unschooled sought places to call their own minus the discrimination and bigotry rampant in the South. Tulsa was one of the cities that Black people set down roots, specifically in the Greenwood district. ADVERTISEMENT Although Tulsa was segregated, Greenwood was a prosperous section of the city filled with African American-owned businesses, schools and residences. Wikipedia cited the industries as including several grocers, two newspapers, two movie theaters, nightclubs, and numerous churches. Black professionals, including doctors, dentists, lawyers, and clergy, served their peers. Triggering the Massacre Historians agree that the riot stemmed from a Memorial Day incident in an elevator where Dick Rowland, a 19-year-old Black man, either brushed against or stepped on the foot of Sarah Page, a 17-year-old White female. The encounter caused her to shriek, sending an anxious Rowland running to his mothers house in Greenwood. A clerk came into the elevator, believed Page was attacked and called the police. On May 31, officers arrested Rowland and secured him in a cell on the top floor of the Tulsa County Courthouse after receiving a telephone threat on Rowlands life. In the meantime, rumors spread that Rowland assaulted Page and a crowd of White men gathered to lynch Rowland, but Sheriff Willard McCullough backed them down. Several Black men from Greenwood assembled with guns to assist in protecting Rowland, but the sheriff declined their services. However, more than 1,000 White men, reviled by the sight of Blacks with guns, dashed home for their weapons to put down what they described as a Negro uprising. The effect of men with guns both Black and White resulted in shots being fired with 10 Whites and two Blacks fatally wounded. From that point, the battle was on and enraged, armed Whites commenced to demolish Greenwood and kill as many African Americans as possible. Burning and Killing The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture unveiled a 10-page typewritten eyewitness account of the massacre written by Buck C. Franklin, an Oklahoma lawyer and father of John Hope Franklin, the noted historian and native of Tulsa. He wrote, Lurid flames roared and belched and licked their forked tongues into the air. Smoke ascended the sky in thick, black volumes and amid it all, the planes now a dozen or more in number still hummed and darted here and there with the agility of natural birds of the air. Planes circling in midair: They grew in number and hummed, darted and dipped low. I could hear something like hail falling upon the top of my office building. Down East Archer, I saw the old Mid-Way hotel on fire, burning from its top, and then another and another and another building began to burn from their top. Also describing the incident, the History.com website states, During the Tulsa Race Massacre, which occurred over 18 hours from May 31 to June 1, 1921, a White mob attacked residents, homes and businesses in the predominantly Black Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event remains one of the worst incidents of racial violence in U.S. history, and, for a period, remained one of the least-known: News reports were largely squelched, despite the fact that hundreds of people were killed and thousands left homeless. First-Person Witness Mary E. Jones Parrish, an African American teacher and journalist, wrote The Nation Must Awake: My Witness to the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. Parrish operated a typing school in Greenwood and taught typing and shorthand at the all-Black YMCA Hunton Branch. Trinity University Press republished her story in commemoration of the massacres 100th anniversary. The book also contains an afterword by Anneliese Bruner, Parrishs great-granddaughter, and introduction by the late John Hope Franklin and author Scott Ellsworth. In her book, Parrish recounts how she was reading in her home on May 31, when her daughter called out, Mother, I see men with guns. The two fled into the night, dodging fires and bullets and fearing for their lives. Parrish witnessed bodies buried in mass graves, valuable Black-owned property burned down and thousands of people becoming homeless due to the lawlessness of White vigilantes. Later, she amassed interviews and photos from survivors and self-published copies of Race Riot of 1921: The Events of the Tulsa Disaster in 1922. Parrish hoped that her book would open the eyes of the thinking people to the impending danger of letting such conditions exist in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, and pay tribute to the martyrs of the Tulsa Disaster and massacre. Reflecting on her great-grandmothers reason behind the comments, Bruner said, [She] warns that unchecked mob rule threatens to destroy the peace of a civilized society through violence and disregard for what should be intrinsic social norms. Beyond that, the complicity of corrupt elected officials and uneven enforcement of the law are corrosive to the social order because they undermine the social contract that requires people to behave according to their best instincts. She names Russia and Europe as places where the social order collapsed, with Bolshevism and fascism ascending. We should absolutely heed this warning today, added Bruner. Current Viewpoints Now that the country is learning about the massacre, the 100th anniversary triggered reflections and actions by some, including U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Biden visited Tulsa on June 1 to tour the Greenwood Cultural Center, meet with survivors, Lessie Benningfield Randle, Viola Fletcher, and Hughes Van Ellis, and deliver remarks to commemorate the event. I met Mother Randle, who is only 106-years-oldand Mother Fletcher, whos 107-years-old and her brother, Hughes Van Ellis [is] 100-years-oldand he looks like hes 60, said Biden. Thank you for spending so much time with me. It was a great honor. The events we speak of took place 100 years ago the history of what took place here was told in silence, cloaked in darkness. But just because history is silent, it doesnt mean that it did not take place, the president said. And while darkness can hide much, it erases nothing. It erases nothing. Some injustices are so heinous, so horrific, so grievous, they cant be buried no matter how hard people try. And so, it is here; only with truth can come healing injustice and repair only with truth facing it, he noted. The Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa Black Wall Street was a thriving business district. 100 years ago, a White supremacist mob killed hundreds of Black residents. Black homes, businesses, and churches were burned down, Harris said in the tweet. I was honored to meet two survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Mother Viola Fletcher and Mr. Hughes Van Ellis. They are resilient and resolute, and today, we recommit to rooting out systemic racism. The Biden-Harris administration also announced an initiative to expand homeownership and small business ownership in communities of color and disadvantaged communities. The interagency effort will focus on addressing inequity and racial bias in home appraisals, combatting housing discrimination and increasing federal contracting with small businesses by 50 percent, which translates to an additional $100 billion over five years. Charity Israel Shares Love and Freedom in Jesus Christ Lovelivesfree is a social media ministry that helps believers find a deeper relationship in their faith. Working hard on the thing God created you to do accompanied with faith will bring favor and abundance beyond our wildest dreams, said Charity Israel, creator of the social media ministry, lovelivesfree. The Christian social media influencer is on a mission to help believers reach their true potential in Jesus. Israel doesnt shy away from any subject matter and uses scripture to encourage and inspire. One thing she always makes a point for everyone to know, believer or not, is that the Lord is always magnified. Gods love is greater than your sin will ever be, said Israel. ADVERTISEMENT Israel is originally from Little Rock, AR, but currently resides in Clarkston, GA. She attended Oral Robets University and received a degree in Pastoral Care Ministries. Israel shared growing up, she wanted to be a brain or heart surgeon, but explained what became of that particular dream. I watched my first surgery on TLC, said Israel, blood squirted from the knee of the patient, and I decided, I needed to find something else to do with my life. That something else was ministry and she shared how many Christians were active on social media. She also shared how the conversations ranged and showed that there was room for Bible-based teachings. Israel decided this was her time to share the gospel. Eight years ago, social media seemed to be full of a lot of seeker-friendly faith talk or fire and brimstone platforms, said Israel. I longed for a space online that promoted the unfiltered truth of Gods word in love, and I wanted people to be aware of the freedom His love provides us. When asked what is one of the challenges of preaching the gospel on social media, Israel stated people getting caught up in their feelings vs scripture. The greatest challenge has been the Christians issue with the truth, said Israel. People love to express how they feel about things that are crystal clear in the Bible. ADVERTISEMENT She continued, Due to their allegiance to their feelings rather than their faith, I tend to have to remind them their issue is with the Bible not me. Also, with society being as it is, telling people that their truth is not the truth often gets me in trouble. Challenges, issues and hurt feelings aside, Israel is about the gospel, so much so, that she wrote a book. Published in August 2018, 40 Days to Freedom was birthed from personal experiences and a need for devotional material in her life. Israel wanted people to reached an authentic relationship with Christ. I wrote the book because I desperately needed one like it when I was in a very dark place in life, said Israel. I was fed up with religion, I was trying to wrap my mind around a failed engagement, and I was just tired of my past robbing me of enjoying my present [and] future. I wanted people to have a real guide with practical tips to help them heal. Israel shared that the feedback from her book has been very positive and many believers have shared that its helped with their faith. The feedback has been proof that God heard my prayer of it getting into the hands of every beautiful soul that was like me when I wrote it, said Israel. Getting emails and inboxes of people being able to move forward in life after choosing to confess, forgive, and live will never get old. Israel goes live on social media often, talking about topics the Lord has placed on her heart or breaking down chapters from her book. She often addresses the misconceptions about living a Christian lifestyle believers and non-believers ascribe to. Israel addresses two common issues that many struggle within the body of Christ. The two I encounter the most are: theres no room for error, and faith is all you need. Many Christians live with guilt from the sins they committed before and after salvation, said Israel. This guilt keeps them distant from God, and they tend to live a Christian life outside of an authentic, honest relationship with God. They carry the weight of their imperfections instead of taking them to their Creator by way of confession (I John 1:9). The second one really robs the believer of a beautiful life and thats the idea that all you need is faith. However, one must still work to acquire things in this life. Even as a Christian, they arent just handed to you and false doctrine tries to imply faith alone will bring it to us. I personally feel, its irresponsible of any created thing not to use the ability their Creator has given them to prosper. Loveslivesfree is a ministry that really helps believers to peel back the layers of their faith and do deeper introspection. Israel is serious about the Lord and in believers operating in their true potential. I want to encourage [the] community to develop an authentic relationship with God through Jesus Christ, said Israel. I want them to know that God will forgive any sin we are willing to confess, and that theres no such thing as too bad, too perverted, or too terrible. Gods love is greater than your sin will ever be. Accept his love by confessing Jesus as your Lord and live in the freedom that love provides. You can follow Charity Israel @lovelivesfree on social media, Charity Israel on YouTube, and join her email list or find out more at www.charityisrael.net. Commentary: Together, We Should Seek Justice for the Tulsa Massacre 100 Years Later May 31-June 1, 2021, marks the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the deadliest acts of racial violence in American history. The Black community in Tulsa, known as the Greenwood District, which has been referred to as the Black Wall Street, was decimated by a heavily armed White mob, with as many as 300 unconfirmed deaths of Black residents and property losses totaling about $27 million in todays dollars. The murder, the unlawfulness, the catastrophe, the immorality, the untold suffering borne by innocent people experienced during the race massacre is emblematic of the devastation and destruction that happened in countless majority-Black towns in American history. In 1921, Greenwood was a thriving neighborhood of about 10,000 residents, which included Black-owned homes, grocery stores, hotels, nightclubs, billiard halls, theaters, doctors offices and churches. The area also had a Black-owned-and-operated newspaper called the Tulsa Star. The decimation of Black Wall Street was set in motion after Dick Rowland, a 19-year-old Black man was accused of sexually assaulting Sarah Page, a 17-year-old White woman, on May 30, 1921. The next day, a scuffle between a White mob aiming to Lynch Rowland and a group of armed Black men protecting him set off the massacre. The standoff led to the White mob attacking Greenwood near dawn on June 1. ADVERTISEMENT When they attacked, members of the White mob, some of whom had been deputized by city officials, shot Black people in the streets, ransacked homes, and set fires block by block. White pilots flew airplanes and dropped turpentine or nitroglycerin bombs on the neighborhood. As many as 300 Black people were killed and hundreds of others were injured. At least 8,000 Black Tulsans were left homeless and 6,000 were detained in internment camps. A 2001 Oklahoma state commission report found that the massacre led to $1.8 million in property loss claims from the residents of Greenwood. A grand jury later blamed the Black men for the riots, though no one was ever charged with a crime. Rowland was later exonerated when Page failed to appear as a witness, and authorities concluded that Rowland most likely tripped and stepped on Pages foot. The Tulsa Race Massacre has become more well-known in mainstream America due to depictions on the popular HBO shows Watchmen and Lovecraft Country. Lovecraft Country recounted the events in depth, including portraying scenes with a family as they tried to protect their home. Watchmen offered a revisionist history of the Tulsa massacre. In that retelling, the descendants of the victims of the massacre received reparations and established new businesses in Greenwood. Most grade schools in the United States, including those in Tulsa, do not teach children about the massacre. The residents of Greenwood were resilient after the massacre, despite most of their insurance claims being denied due to the massacre being designated a race riot. After 1921, Greenwood was rebuilt, and thrived as a business district from the 1930s to the 1950s, though not at the same scale. In the 1960s, many of the houses and businesses were claimed by the city through eminent domain for the purpose of blight removal, and a highway was built through the heart of Greenwood. Three known survivors of the massacre testified before a congressional committee considering reparations for survivors and descendants of the massacre on May 19. Viola Ford Fletcher, Hughes Van Ellis and Lessie Benningfield Randle were children in 1921 and are now 107, 100 and 106, respectively. In their testimonies, they recalled their lives before the attack, which felt safe and prosperous, as well as the events of that night. I will never forget the violence of the White mob when we left our home. I still see Black men being shot, Black bodies lying in the street. I still see Black businesses being burned. I still hear airplanes flying overhead. I hear the screams. I have lived through the massacre every day. My country may forget this history, but I cannot, said Fletcher. Fletcher, Ellis and Randle are plaintiffs in a reparation lawsuit levied against Tulsa city and county officials by survivors of the massacre and their descendants. They accuse Tulsa officials of enriching themselves by decrying the massacre while trying to turn the remains of Greenwood into a tourist attraction. The lawsuit also accuses city and county officials of implementing zoning ordinances that kept Black business owners and residents from rebuilding and diverting public funds to predominantly White neighborhoods instead of predominately Black Greenwood and North Tulsa. There is a straight line that runs from the horrors and injustices of the 1921 race massacre to the plight of the struggling Black community in Tulsa today as is the case in many American cities. Black communities across America are still reeling from the effects of blatant acts of racial hatred and violence, including Jim Crow laws, redlining and the construction of highways through Black neighborhoods. Americans of all races and backgrounds all over the United States must stand with Greenwood in its current fight for reparations. The outcome will serve as blueprint to address the incredible losses of life and property Black communities all over the country have suffered throughout our countrys history. Experts Say Its Rare that a Jury of your Peers Applies to African Americans If accused of a crime, American Justice supposedly guarantees the right to a trial in front of a jury of your peers. However noble the idea might be in theory, many legal experts acknowledge that, due to systemic racism, having a jury of your peers is often just an illusion. For African Americans, systemic racism in the criminal justice system has greatly contributed to mass incarceration in part because Blacks are more likely to be profiled, pulled over by police, searched, and arrested. ADVERTISEMENT Once arrested, African Americans also are more likely to be detained prior to their hearing which could take months. Jury selection creates another concern, said Charlotte, N.C.-based Attorney Darlene Harris. When a juror is unable to relate to a person accused of a crime, the defendant is more likely to face stiffer penalties, up to and including life in prison, said Harris, who after trying a recent murder trial, spoke to a White male juror who shared that a lot of the jurors could not understand the African American defendant. The two people who could relate to the defendant happened to be Black women. They were able to shed information that led the group to finding the defendant guilty of second-degree murder as opposed first degree murder, which would have resulted in a life sentence, Harris said. That and other experiences led Harris to question how much different the outcome would have been if there were Black men from the same socio-economic background as the defendant on the jury. The scourge of racism manifests in discriminatory policies and practices such as the War on Drugs, Stop and Frisk, and Three Strikes Youre Out, Harris said. ADVERTISEMENT Consequently, Black men are profiled more often, punished more frequently and more harshly than any other group in the United States, she said. The Sentencing Project estimates that there are presently 2.2 million people incarcerated in America. Black men born in 2001 have a 1 in 3 chance of being incarcerated. Given these distressing numbers, Black men appear to have a higher risk of being knocked out of juror pools, Harris said. When you couple racist policies and practices with socio-economics, the share of Black men available for jury selection is further diminished and since people must take time off work to serve on juries, only people who can afford to miss a paycheck, people with paid time off or flexible work arrangements can afford to serve on a jury, Harris said. Keep in mind that trials for serious crimes are lengthy; a recent murder trial that I was a part of lasted one month. How many of us can afford to skip a months pay? she said. While a judge is not required to exempt someone from jury duty because the person cant afford to go without a paycheck, defense attorneys are ill-served by forcing a person to miss pay to be their juror, Harris added. The right to a jury trial is a hallmark of the American criminal justice system and defendants generally have the right to be tried by a jury of their peers, said Waukeshia Jackson, founder of the Atlanta-based Jackson & Lowe Law Group. In explaining the meaning of having a jury of your peers, Jackson said defendants arent entitled to a jury containing members of their own race, gender, age, or sexual orientation. Most accurately, jury of your peers means jury of fellow citizens, she said. Nonetheless, widespread discrimination remains in the jury selection process, Jackson said. While courts dont have to ensure that defendants race, gender, age, or sexual orientation is represented in a jury pool, the Supreme Court has long held courts may not remove a potential juror solely based on these factors, she said. For more than a century, racial minorities have been protected from jury discrimination in theory but in practice, these laws have little actual protection and one critical factor that impacts African American eligibility to participate in jury pool is the felon jury exclusion rule, Jackson said. Throughout the country, African Americans are overrepresented in felony convictions and therefore more likely to be excluded from jury pools because individuals cannot serve as a juror if theyve been convicted of a felony. The felony jury exclusion rule dramatically reduces the number of African Americans eligible for jury selection because roughly, one-third of the adult African-American male population has been convicted of a felony and, in many jurisdictions, these citizens are forever barred from serving on a jury, Jackson said. Race has a tremendous impact in criminal trials, at least one African American juror can help even the playing field when it comes to verdicts. Race matters in the courtroom and race relates to perception and judgment especially when a case is about race, she said. The landmark 1986 case of Batson v. Kentucky established that lawyers arent permitted to engage in systematic exercise of peremptory challenges of prospective jurors based solely upon such suspect criteria. However, if the attorney whether it be prosecutor of defense attorney can establish an age, race, ethnicity, or gender neutral reason for the use of the peremptory challenge, the court will permit it, said Western Michigan University Cooley Law School Professor and former Miami-Dade Judge Jeff Swartz. The jury pool should be made of such a representative cross section in the same proportion as found in the community, Swartz said. Does this mean that on many occasions that a Black defendant may end up with an all-White jury? Yes it does, Swartz said. Jackson added that those who are not African American havent experienced the racial discrimination and verbal abuse that are far too common for members of the Black community. Jurors from all-White jury pools convict African American defendants significantly more often than White defendants and this gap in conviction rate is entirely eliminated when the jury pool includes at least one African American member, she said. The makeup of a jury can mean the difference between a conviction and an acquittal, Jackson said. George Floyd Family Meets with President Biden at the White House, Lawmakers on Capitol Hill The family of George Floyd visited Capitol Hill and the White House on Tuesday, May 25, the anniversary of their loved ones death at the hands of Minneapolis Police. And Congresswoman Karen Bass vowed that the long-delayed George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would eventually become law. I stand here to renew the commitment that we will get this bill on President Bidens desk, Congresswoman Bass remarked. We will get this bill on the desk, and what is important is that when it reaches the President, it is a substantive piece of legislation. ADVERTISEMENT The U.S. House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in March, but the bill has stalled in the evenly divided Senate. The measure would prohibit federal, state, and local law enforcement from racial, religious, and discriminatory profiling. It also requires that all law enforcement officers receive training on racial, religious, and discriminatory profiling. If passed, the bill would ban chokeholds, carotid holds, and no-knock warrants at the federal level. It also mandates the use of dashboard cameras and body cameras for federal officers and establishes a National Police Misconduct Registry to prevent officers who commit violations from serving elsewhere. The bill also would strip officers of qualified immunity, allowing for victims to sue police individually. After the meeting with Bass and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Floyds family planned to visit President Biden in the White House. Their schedule takes them back to Capitol Hill for a meeting with Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. ADVERTISEMENT George Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd down and held his knee in the prone African American mans neck for more than nine minutes. Floyd was seen on video pleading with Chauvin, telling the officer that he could not breathe. The violent murder sparked global outrage and led to demonstrations against racism particularly police brutality against African Americans. President Biden had expressed hope that the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would pass by the anniversary of Floyds death, but the Senate so far has failed to pass the measure. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the President would meet alone with the Floyd family so that they could engage in a real conversation. He has a genuine relationship with them, Psaki stated. And the courage and grace of this family and especially George Floyds daughter, Gianna has really stuck with the president. Historic Bill Raises Minimum Wage to $17 and Eliminates Tipped Wage for Contracted Workers at BWI Airport and Baltimore Penn Station Doran Brown, a contracted wheelchair agent at BWI Marshall Airport in Baltimore, woke up Tuesday morning with a new outlook and the promise of a much bigger paycheck. Following a three-year campaign, Brown and over 2,000 union and non-union contracted workers at BWI Marshall Airport and Baltimore Penn Station who earn as little as $8.50 per hour plus tips will see their hourly compensation rise to $17 five years. The higher salary is a result of the Secure Maryland Wage Act, a new law sponsored by Maryland Senator Antonio Hayes and Delegate Kriselda Valderrama.According to a news release, the bill will also eliminate tipped wages for wheelchair agents who say they often dont receive any tips. ADVERTISEMENT This law is a blessing to my family and me, Doran Brown, a contracted wheelchair agent at BWI, stated in the news release. I will finally get the raise I need and deserve to support myself and my ailing mother who depends on me, Brown remarked. Maryland officials call the bill a first-of-its-kind measure. It ensures that the predominantly Black and immigrant workers at BWI and Penn Station will start earning $13.50 per hour on January 1, 2022. The workers will see yearly increases up to $16 per hour, plus $1 per hour supplement for benefits, or an additional $1 per hour in wages for a combined $17 per hour total compensation in 2026. ADVERTISEMENT The workers covered include janitors, non-TSA security officers, cabin cleaners, wheelchair attendants, passenger service agents, ramp workers, baggage handlers, and ticket and line agents. The Secure Maryland Wage Act aims to attract and retain experienced, and better-trained workers at heightened-security transportation facilities, officials wrote in the release. Higher wages at heightened security locations are not new, they argued, citing examples of other locations where they have been applied like Los Angeles International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and the Port of Oakland. Nearby Dulles and National airports adopted a wage policy because they concluded it would improve safety and security, officials stated. The bills sponsors noted in the release that living wages had been correlated with reduced low-wage worker turnover and absenteeism at airports. They said that allows workers time to develop their skills and become more experienced, productive, and proficient. Higher wages have correlated with reduced turnover because as workers stay on the job longer, they are less likely to search for higher-paying jobs, the lawmakers stated. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, and Montgomery county executive Marc Elrich authored a Maryland Matter op-ed urging passage of the bill. The Poor Peoples Campaign also included the bill as part of their Moral Monday State Capitol Demands Delivery. According to the release, for three years, workers phone banked Maryland officials, lobbied, shared their stories during town hall meetings virtually and in-person, and testified at hearings.I thank the leaders who stood with us and congratulate all of my coworkers who now are on a path to a living wage, Brown concluded. @StacyBrownMedia @NNPA_BlackPress @BWI_Airport @MayorBMScott @Marc_Elrich @JohnnyOJr Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East Jason Foster on Bringing Communitys Vision for an Economic Catalyst to Life in Destination Crenshaw Foster says $100 Black art and culture infrastructure project to be our very own economic catalyst, despite obstacles from COVID-19 pandemic Heres this opportunity to engage the community around a Black-led project that is squarely focused on uplifting our community, says Jason Foster, president & COO of Destination Crenshaw, a community-driven cultural infrastructure project that recently broke ground along its namesake, legendary South L.A. boulevard. Its about thriving not just surviving. ADVERTISEMENT Foster, 37, who earned his degree in finance at Howard University, took the helm six months ago. He says he was drawn to the role because of the projects potential to not only be a catalyst for Black economic development along the boulevard, but a model for urban place keeping across the country. Foster said, I had to be a part of this. Destination Crenshaw was originally conceived as a way to respond to the devastating impacts of the Metro LAX line construction project along Crenshaw and gentrification concerns around transit development. Its visual impact will mean permanently stamping one of the citys most historic neighborhoods as the cradle of Black American culture with spaces devoted to Black creativity, ingenuity, artistry and architectural excellence. While still under construction, Foster says Destination Crenshaws economic impact has already begun for some businesses. As the COVID-19 pandemic began to rip through the foundation of Black-owned businesses, Foster and his team recognized that getting through the economic storm of the pandemic would be the bridge to supporting thriving firms again. Destination Crenshaw launched a targeted small business engagement strategy, now called DC THRIVE, to build on City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawsons Senior Meals Program. Our senior meals program was about taking care of our neighbors and elders first and foremost, says Councilmember Harris-Dawson. But also, about ensuring that our businesses can survive the economic fallout of this pandemic and eventually thrive again. We learned that we have what we need to support each other and build economic security in our communities, Marqueece Harris-Dawson said. The program linked area businesses with seniors-in-need as the pandemic made it unsafe for them to make regular grocery or restaurant visits. ADVERTISEMENT Read More about City Councilmember Marqueece Harris Dawsons Senior Meals Program We know our businesses are already resilient, says Foster about launching DC Thrive. We knew that with the right support, our businesses could come out of the other side of this pandemic prepared to thrive. DC Thrive facilitates business support by connecting Crenshaw businesses to funding opportunities such as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), private grants, and technical assistance to help businesses market themselves and pivot toward being competitive in a digital and in-person marketplace. Jordans Hot Dogs is one of more than 80 Black-owned businesses along the corridor that has benefitted from the DC Thrives technical support program as the pandemic forced businesses to pivot to digital sales platforms to stay competitive. We funded placement of an intern from TEC Leimert, another one of our outstanding businesses with Jordans Hot Dogs, providing them with social media marketing support at a time when business was moving almost entirely to the digital space because of COVID-19, Foster said. The result was a success for Jordans, for TEC Leimert, and for DC Thrive its a model we plan to scale. For critics who once worried that the project would push out Black owned businesses and homeowners in the area, the success of Jordans Hot Dogs is confidence that Foster and his team are listening to the communitys first concerns. For his part, Foster says a focus on helping Black people thrive is rooted in his family experiences, I started my career by studying finance at Howard University. I wanted to understand how we as Black people can have a better relationship with money. How we can have our community pride and intrinsic value match our community aesthetic, he said. Foster has had stints working at non-profits across the country, studied affordability in American studies and led River LA as CEO the riverfront beautification project that brought him back to Los Angeles with his wife Janell, in 2011. Destination Crenshaw is the summation of all that work for me. Its our community being engaged at the infrastructure level on how the city can serve our economic needs, while improving our quality of life. Its not just benefiting businesses who are taking notice of Destination Crenshaws potential to boost businesses. Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, executive director of Local Initiatives Support Corporation Los Angeles (LISC LA), who has praised Fosters short tenure. Jason Foster has done something remarkable Councilmember Harris-Dawson created a platform for unprecedented business support, and Jason has built upon it with intention and purpose. He understands that Destination Crenshaw, above all, must be an economic asset to the community, she said. The DC Thrive vision and its related services are critical to economic stability and growth in our community, Thrash-Ntuk said, a South L.A. native and formerly executive director of the West Angeles Community Development Corporation. DC Thrives focus on economic stabilization now and revitalization in the long-term, has been shepherded by Destination Crenshaws new President and Chief Operating Officer, Jason Foster. It is, he says, proof-positive of the kind of economic engine Destination Crenshaw could become in South Los Angeles. Even before responding to COVID-19, Destination Crenshaw was designed to foster economic opportunity in every aspect of its development. To that end, it established a 70% local hire goal for the construction phase, concentrating employment opportunities in a community that has long needed access to good paying jobs. It makes us an industry leader, says Foster. Its unheard of and it is exactly what the community wants to see this project can be the economic engine for business owners and workers that was promised. This is for us, and by us and unapologetically so, says Karen Mack, a Destination Crenshaw Advisory Council member and executive director of LA Commons in Leimert Park. You can see in the assembly of community members at the table and the team that is doing the work this project is culturally competent, which we rarely, if ever, see these types of public infrastructure and community development projects. Mack is one of more than two dozen community members advising Destination Crenshaw, a group brought together by Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson. Thanks to [Harris Dawsons] leadership, significant community engagement had already begun when I came onto the project. Foster sees his role as, driving it forward to completion. My north star is creating the best project possible for the Crenshaw community. Achieving equity at the neighborhood level is huge. Destination Crenshaws leadership team includes Black urban planners, construction firms, advisors for planned digital integrations, fundraisers, communicators and of course, artists more on that in a bit. Perhaps, most notably so far, is its history making architectural team, led by Zena Howard the Black woman who led the architectural design and development of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Howard is principal and managing director of the North Carolina practice of Perkins + Will, which is a firm known for its work alongside the late Phil Freelon. Freelons legendary accomplishments are well noted among Black and non-Black architects alike. She gets this community and she understands this project and that shows up throughout its design elements with guidance and input from the Advisory Council, Foster said. Howards architectural elements for Destination Crenshaw are breathtaking. For example, she conceived of a design element inspired by the African Star Grass vegetation used for bedding on slave ships that crossed the Atlantic, survived relocation and eventually took root in the Americas that acts as connective tissue along the corridor. The elegant, visually stunning design captures the unifying experience of the African Diaspora. It is resilient from an environmental standpoint and is really, truly symbolic of our resilience as a people. We grow where we are planted despite the obstacles, Howard said. Eventually, artists and architects with intimate knowledge of the design plans say that along Crenshaw Boulevard there will be markers representing this sense of Black resilience. Its a powerful representation of the Black experience in America and in Los Angeles, notes Foster. The crux of this design is specific to the Black experience of our community. Given its focus on economic development long before any art is installed, its easy to forget that once complete, Destination Crenshaw will include more than 100 commissioned works of art, architecturally stunning community spaces and pocket parks, and hundreds of newly planted trees boosted by what could become a thriving commercial corridor. This is a welcome development for many business owners who have suffered months of construction, on top of the impact of the pandemic. Development for the Crenshaw/LAX Line took away hundreds of parking spaces and trees that provided shaded areas. Its been extremely challenging for businesses, but Destination Crenshaw is proving that it is creating something that will have a lasting economic impact for this community and for our young people, says Cary Jordan, co-owner of Jordans Hot Dogs. Changes are already visible along the corridor; last month fencing began going up around what will become the largest pocket park along the boulevard at Vernon and Crenshaw Sankofa Park. Local artists have already begun submitting proposals to design art work that will beautify the construction fencing over the next several months. My first priority is to complete the construction of the Destination Crenshaw project that the community envisioned. Thats my first job, Foster said. But more than that, I want kids in South L.A. to grow up in a healthy and prosperous environment, seeing beauty in their own neighborhoods and know that this equitable investment provided hope for their futures. Once complete, the project will have added 10 beautifully designed community spaces and architectural features to a 1.3-mile stretch of Crenshaw Boulevard, becoming a local and international standard for public works projects in Black communities. It could also prove to be an economic model for communities just like it. Joe Collins Loses Again, Ordered to Pay $53,000 to Maxine Waters Attorneys This week, Congresswoman Maxine Waters issued the following statement after Judge Yolanda Orozco issued a final court order stating that Joe Collins, loser of the 2020 election for Californias 43rdCongressional District, must pay Congresswoman Maxine Waters attorneys fees. In the simplest of terms, Joe Collins has, once again, done what he does best lose. After filing a baseless and frivolous lawsuit against me that went nowhere, it became even more clear that Joe Collins is not in this for the people of the 43rd Congressional District, but is instead in it for one person, and that person is himself. Joe Collins is nothing more than a serial filer of lawsuits looking to attract media attention at any cost in this case, that cost is $53,589. He even filed a lawsuit against the United States Navy, which he claimed to love, and lost that too. His case against me which falsely claimed that I had slandered and libeled him was summarily dismissed by the court after I and my attorneys filed an anti-SLAPP motion on the basis that his case was meritless. Of course, it was and the court agreed. Joe Collins is not able to prove that he was not dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Navy. Now, I have the receipts and the receipts show that not only did I defeat Joe Collins in November by over 100,000 votes despite the fact that he raised over $10 million from right-wing conservatives all over this country, but that I also defeated his case in court. Now the court has ordered him to pay over $53,000 to my attorneys. It has come to my attention that Joe Collins, the loser and serial lawsuit filer, has filed yet another lawsuit this time naming myself, Los Angeles County, and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan as defendants and challenging the election results. Doesnt that sound like something we have heard before? This is a tactic taken right from Donald Trumps playbook because Joe Collins is, indeed, a Trump puppet whose allegiance lies far from the best interest of our community. Just like I have in every other instance, I will defeat him in this case, too. ADVERTISEMENT The fact is that the community is on my side because they know me and they understand that I am fighting for their best interest every single day. The court is also on my side because the law is the law and I am on the right side of it. Joe Collins has filed once again to run against me in the next election, but we will continue to fight Joe Collins and the huge sums of money he is receiving from right-wingers all over this country. NAACP President Discusses Biden Administration Appointees and the Impact of COVID Black Americans Derrick Johnson, the president and CEO of the NAACP, the nations largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization, said the group has continued to seek to ensure that communities of color remain informed. The NAACPs mission is that everyone receives the facts they need to make the best decisions for their families and communities while the fight against the pandemic goes forward, the president added. Johnson appeared for a live interview with the National Newspaper Publishers Associations morning news program, Let It Be Known. ADVERTISEMENT He discussed the launch of COVID.KNOW.MORE, a campaign conceived with the intent of providing to Black Americans the most comprehensive suite of relevant information and resources on COVID-19 available, curated specifically for them. With the country showing increasing signs of reopening each day, the tendency exists among some to forget the most devastating impacts of COVID-19, said Johnson. In many of our most vulnerable communities, the battle against the disease continues to rage on as Americans contend with not just high infection rates, but also the pandemics long term health implications and unprecedented economic setbacks. The mainstay of the NAACPs COVID. KNOW MORE effort is a now live, multifaceted online information hub housing a broad array of features designed to empower African Americans decision-making as they navigate the pandemic at their convenience. The hub, found at naacp.org/covidknowmore, exists as a user-friendly, central place for individuals, community groups, partners, and NAACP branches alike to see the latest news and information, research, resources, science-based guidance, and updates from medical experts. The platform further reinforces the NAACP as the most visible and trusted resource for African Americans on the health crisis. ADVERTISEMENT The NAACP is continuing its work to help our most vulnerable citizens and communities safely navigate back to normalcy while countering the ongoing devastation of COVID-19, notes Johnson. Through our pioneering COVID Unmasked virtual town hall series, local mask distributions, and other COVID education efforts, the NAACP has been dedicated to fighting this pandemic from the outset. COVID. KNOW MORE is the natural evolution to continue to expand not only the information provided to our communities but also to address the long-term implications and impacts of the pandemic and systemic disparities. Johnson also discussed the importance of the Biden-Harris administrations appointments of Black women like Kristen Clarke and Marcia Fudge to key posts. Highly-qualified individuals, Johnson concluded. Click here to view the entire discussion with President Johnson. @StacyBrownMedia @NNPA_BlackPress @NAACP @DerrickNAACP @DrBenChavis @WhiteHouse New Incentive Program Aims to Increase Vaccinations Recently Governor Gavin Newsom revealed the Vax for the Win incentive program to motivate Californians to get vaccinated before the states reopening June 15. The program was created to help people get vaccinated against COVID-19, especially those in hard-to-reach communities. California has already made incredible progress in the fight against COVID-19, with the lowest case rates in the country, while administering millions more vaccines than any other state, said Governor Newsom. Getting every eligible Californian vaccinated is how we bring our state roaring back from this pandemic. Were doing everything it takes to get Californians vaccinated as we approach June 15 to help us fully reopen safely. ADVERTISEMENT All Californians aged 12+ who have been partially vaccinated are eligible for the cash prize drawings taking place in June. Thirty winners in total will be selected for the $50,000 Fridays cash prize drawings on June 4 and June 11, totaling $1.5 million. On June 15, $1.5 million will be awarded to 10 Californians with a grand total of $15 million in cash prizes. Winners must complete their vaccination in order to claim their prize. If someone under 18 wins, the cash will be put in a savings account for them until they turn 18. On Monday, Barbara Ferrer, director of Public Health shared words of thanks to men and women who have served and continued to encourage everyone to stay safe. Each day, we join families and friends mourning loved ones lost to COVID-19 and we keep all who are grieving in our thoughts and prayers, said Ferrer. We also keep in our hearts the memory and sacrifice of the men and women in the armed forces that gave their lives for our country. We hope that you continue to gather safely and protect each other. As of Monday, May 31, the L.A. County Dept. of Public Health confirmed 5 new deaths and 174 new cases of COVID-19. There were 261 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 with 17% of nearly 6,760,000 individuals testing positive with symptoms. Public Health identified 1,244,054 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 24,339 deaths. Cases across the Southland: Los Angeles County shows 1,179,386 cases, Long Beach with 53,378 cases and Pasadena with 11,290. According to race and ethnicity, COVID-19 statistics show: American Indian/Alaska Native with 2,004; Asian with 56,649; Black with 46,808; Hispanic/Latino with 632,791; Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander with 4,222; White with 130,372; those of other race and ethnicity with 98,518 and 208,022 under investigation. ADVERTISEMENT For more information, visit COVID19.ca.gov/vax-for-the-win. To schedule an appointment to be vaccinated, visit MyTurn.ca.gov or call the CA COVID-19 Hotline at 1-833-422-4255. For more information and statistics on COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, please visit http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/ For more detailed information on COVID-19 vaccination plans in L.A. County and to sign up for a vaccination newsletter, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com One Year After George Floyd: America and the Police It appears that two important things have happened since the death of Geoge Floyd at the hand of the police in Minneapolis, Minnesota: (1) police continue to kill black men and women either by shooting them or physically killing them by hand. One would think that with the repeated airing of the video of Mr. Floyd being murdered by police officers kneeling on his neck and body, that everyone in uniform would know that such actions can lead to death. Well, here in San Diego and other places around the country, the police are still not only kneeling in multiple numbers on singularly pinned to the ground black individuals, but also still punching them with their fist while the person being arrested is still laying face down with officers on their back. When questioned repeatedly about this practice, a black Assistant Chief could only say the practice was consistent with the department policy of using distraction blows while affecting an arrest. Clearly this individual, who obviously rose to the rank of his position on the backs of other blacks who came before him, could not see the problem. Perhaps he is one of those surplus Assistant Chiefs we really dont need and those dollars could be better spent helping others. We will continue to raise this issue until we hear there is a policy change. ADVERTISEMENT (2) One year after the murder of George Floyd, America has seen an agitated change in those who have been police victims, along with their friends and neighbors who have taken to the streets in protest. This is in spite of the pandemic. The result has been a fear on the part of those who have agreed with police practices and behavior against people of color. That fear was fed by the tremendous voter turnout in the November election where people, Black, White and others, stood in long lines for hours in order to vote. One Black woman in the South said, I am waiting to vote like my life depends on it, and it does. Conservative White Americas response can be seen in the actions of the Republican side of the U.S. Senate that refuses to take up the George Floyd Policing Act which has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives, but needs passage in the Senate to become law for the President to sign. Conservative White America has also responded with 47 states proposing, and in a growing number of states, passing Voter Suppression Acts. That will make it more difficult for people to vote, especially people of color. Such actions are aimed at nullifying those sections of the U.S. Constitution such as the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments guaranteeing equal protection under law. The idea is that if it becomes difficult for people of color to produce voter identification, or provide them with fewer voting precincts and hours to vote that interfere with employment or too few voting machines at those places left to vote, then only conservative white people of shared views on race and police violence against people of color, will vote. This means that democracy as we know it will be dead and this country will have moved backwards over 100 years. The good news is that if we the masses were not being successful in challenging the police and those who support them, the massive voter suppression effort would not be under way. So when we fight the San Diego Police punching a man that they already have on the ground; when we rise up against the police murdering of Mr. Brown in ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth City, N.C. as he attempted to drive away from them in his car; when we see the Police hide for two years their body camera film of them murdering Mr. Ronald Greene after a police stop and hearing him apologize and crying as they murdered him, then we know that we can not let up for a moment. Each police action of brutality must be exposed and resisted. We must let White America and the Police know that we will not yield to either their fear or their hate. The struggle does indeed continue. Racism vs Respect vs Love Racism is obviously a controlling subject today. What is it and why is it and when is it and what do we do about it? This is difficult. Racism starts in the heart. We cannot lie and say God created it, because the Almighty did not. Its like the more it is spoken of the more famous it becomes and has become a popular word that radiates everywhere and anywhere. It is a term that speaks of hatred. But, not everyone is racist. You remember that scripture, Know no person hereafter-longer after the flesh. And He talks to the disciples about the hatred of the world. Its unfortunate He found it necessary to talk to them about hatred; but one can understand that He knew a lot about the hatred of the world; for He was hated for bringing in the Gospel. When He was going away, He spoke about they had not asked Him for anything, but now He says, ask and you shall receive.(John 16:24) How about we ask Him to break the barriers down of hatred, racism and prejudice. We can see this up close, but perhaps not anticipate what all that entails. Hatred takes many different faces. Its not only color of skin, but includes jealousy and all kinds of prejudices. Acts 17:17 We are of (one) blood. Galatians 5:17, the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit. The thoughts of the mind want to overwhelm and deny these things. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks Matt 12:34.(Galatians 3:28) There is neither Jew or Gentile. All who claim the name of Christ (Christians) are from one source. There is no distinction, no difference. The flesh (the mind) craves what is contrary to the Holy Spirit which dwells within us when in Christ. They are in conflict and in war with each other. So, what will you do about this? Now knowing that we are all of one. from now on we regard no one according to the flesh..know no one from a worldly point of view (2 Corinthians 5:16) We have to change our minds about how we see people. Whether they are of whatever that state is, regardless of physical appearances or whatever. This will take a mind change and mental adjustment to think when you see someone, This person was created by The Almighty. Somewhere within this person there dwells some goodness and bears the signature of The creator. So, we no longer evaluate others from a human point of view. At one time Christ was viewed from a human viewpoint; but now we know better than to see him as a human; He is divine. It might be difficult to understand; but after accepting Jesus Christ of Lord and Savior, the result of this is a mind change where you seek to know people more lovingly, more respectfully. When Paul spoke to the people of Athens, He is the God who made the world and everything in it. From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; Acts 17:26 Paul spoke to many different nations during this message:He talked to them about the resurrection and told them that in time past, you got away with a lot of this foolishness; overlooked their ignorance, but now it is now known and He commands all people everywhere to repent; because He will return to judge the world with justice. Its one thing to be judged; but when He returns the judgement will be just and beyond question. There will be no tentative. Thanks for reading! Jeanette Grattan Parker, Founder-Superintendent Todays Fresh Start Charter School 323-293-9826 www.todaysfreshstart.org; Askdrjeanette www.askdrjeanetteparker.com Ask Dr. Jeanette [email protected] Inquiring minds want to know.All rights reserved ADVERTISEMENT Recognizing the Centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre As a former history teacher, I often quote George Santayanas admonition that, those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. But one cannot remember that which one does not know. And that is the case for too many people regarding the Tulsa Race Massacre. And for good reason. The more interactions I have with folks in Washington and around the country, the more appreciative I am of Ernestine Walker, Marybelle Howe, William Howell, Rosa Harris and many other teachers, and some of the other students they taught, and with whom I studied and debated on the campus of that little HBCU (historically black college and university) South Carolina State in Orangeburg, South Carolina. I was blessed with integral knowledge of Tulsa, Rosewood (Florida), Hamburg (South Carolina) any many other historic and horrific events that were whitewashed by newspapers and left out of history books. I still remember the one-on-one session I had with Ernestine Walker discussing Tulsa native John Hope Franklins outstanding book From Slavery to Freedom as a blessed experience. And it was a blessing to have had a one-on-one with John Hope himself when he chaired the race committee for President Bill Clinton. I still wonder whatever happened to the product that committee produced. I was also blessed by Tulsa native Alfre Woodard, who wrote the foreword to my memoir, Blessed Experiences. ADVERTISEMENT The Tulsa Race Massacre is a prime example of inflaming issues and ignoring history. They both significantly lead to the inability and failure to learn the real lessons that true history can teach us. It was the inflammatory reporting of the chance encounter of a young Black man, Dick Rowland; and a young white elevator operator, Sarah Page, that ignited one of the deadliest episodes of racial violence in our nations history. On May 31st, 1921, the Tulsa Tribune newspaper printed the headline; Nab Negro for Attacking Girl in Elevator, and the same edition included a report of a white mobs plan to lynch Rowland. The newspaper account was based on false claims that Mr. Rowland sexually assaulted Ms. Page, a white woman; and is cited as the spark that incited a mob to burn and loot 35 blocks in the Black Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa and kill an estimated 300 people. It was later determined that the event was fabricated, in other words, a big lie. Mr. Rowland was later vindicated, but the damage to the Tulsa community and the loss of life could not be undone. Today, we are experiencing a modern day big lie that seems to be tearing at the fabric of this country. Hopefully we have learned lessons from the Tulsa Race Massacre that will help maintain the greatness of our fragile democracy. Greenwood was known at the time as Black Wall Street due to its status as one of the most prosperous African American communities in the country. The devastation wrought by the mob, many of whom had been deputized and armed by local officials, took the lives and livelihoods of many in the Greenwood community. It caused irreparable damage to hundreds of Black families, who never received justice for their losses. I, like many of you, am old enough to remember those little bank books that were issued when you opened a bank account. Those little books were not fireproof and many survivors of the massacre whose only proof of their bank accounts were burned up with their other possessions, never got their money and were never compensated for their losses. This horrific incident was erased from collective memory when the Tulsa Tribune destroyed all original copies of the May 31, 1921 edition of the newspaper and removed it from any archival copies. Scholars later discovered that police and state militia archives about the riot were missing as well. We cannot overcome the issues of race that have troubled our nation since its inception by ignoring the failings of our past. I often quote Alexis De Tocquevilles notion that Americas greatness lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather because it has always been able to repair its faults. To repair our faults, our country must acknowledge past mistakes and work to ensure we dont repeat them. ADVERTISEMENT I believe this anniversary gives us the opportunity to remember this dark past and recommit ourselves to finding ways to address racial inequities by taking steps that are necessary to repair the faults of our past. Working together, with informed acknowledgments and our eyes wide open, we can make significant strides in our pursuit of a more perfect union. Senate Confirms Chiquita Brooks-LaSure First Black Woman to Lead Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services The United States Senate has confirmed Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to head the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The 55 to 44 vote makes Brooks-LaSure the first Black woman to lead CMS in its nearly six-decade history. The agency oversees Medicare, Medicaid, and the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP). ADVERTISEMENT During my career, Ive seen how communities of color too often experience worse health outcomes, which weve seen so acutely during this pandemic, Brooks-LaSure told the Senate. Last year in April, my own hometown, a predominately Black community where my parents still live, experienced higher rates of COVID-19 infections and deaths compared to much of the surrounding communities. I look forward to working with each of you to expand access to quality care for all communities. The confirmation continues a campaign pledge of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to put together a cabinet that reflects Americas diversity. President Biden also has repeatedly stated a desire to appoint and hire qualified African Americans for various positions. Earlier this week, Attorney Kristen Clarke won confirmation to lead the Justice Departments Civil Rights division, making her the first Black woman to hold the post. Also, Karine Jean-Pierre, the principal deputy press secretary for the White House, became just the second Black woman in history and the first openly gay individual to lead an official White House briefing. The previous administrations cabinet was dominated by White males, while White women held the press secretary positions. ADVERTISEMENT Republican lawmakers loyal to the previous administration have continued to oppose President Bidens nominations particularly nominees who are Black women. Theyve often used coded, race-baiting, language like too radical, express their opposition to the Black women nominees. A Georgetown and Princeton University graduate, Brooks-LaSure had served as managing director at Manatt Health, where she focused on helping clients understand the implications of regulatory and legislative policies across private insurance, Medicaid, and Medicare. She also served for four years in the Obama administration at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she worked as director of coverage policy in the Office of Health Reform. Later, Brooks-LaSure served as deputy center and policy director for the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. While at the Health Department, Brooks-Lasure led efforts to implement the Affordable Care Act. We congratulate Ms. Brooks-LaSure on her historic confirmation, Chip Kahn, president, and CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals, said in a statement. While the fight against COVID is not over, as the pandemic winds down, we need to move forward on the broader health care agenda, and I am confident our new Administrator is exceptionally equipped to provide the leadership that is crucial for CMS at this time and beyond. Israels Health Ministry said Wednesday there is a possible link between the second shot of Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine and mild heart problems among young men. The ministry said about 275 men aged 16 to 30 who received the vaccine reported a heart problem known as myocarditis over the last six months. It said the link was found to be stronger among the younger age group, 16 to 19. The cases of mild inflammation of the heart represent a very small percentage of more than 5 million vaccinated people. However, the ministry said it will extend the research to investigate the possible link between these cases and the vaccine. Drug-maker Pfizer said in a statement that it meets regularly with the Israeli Ministry of Health to review the data and no causal link to the vaccine had been established. Last month, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States recommended more research on a possible link between mRNA vaccines and myocarditis. Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are made with the technology. The CDC said one set of data showed a higher than expected number of observed myocarditis among 16 to 24-year-olds. But the agency said another data set showed the number among vaccinated people is no greater than what would be expected in the general population. Last week, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) added that heart inflammation, or myocarditis, after receiving the Pfizer vaccine had been no cause for concern. The health agency said it found such cases were similar to those in the general population. Dr. Paul Offit is director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He said parents should still vaccinate their children because of the known risks of COVID-19. Offit said: "I think that in the world of trying to weigh relative risks, the disease is a greater risk." Im Dan Friedell. Jeffrey Heller wrote this story for Reuters. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story mild adj. not strong or harsh; gentle inflammation n. a condition in which a part of your body becomes red, swollen, and painful causal adj. making something happen : causing something recommend v. to suggest that someone do (something) Researchers are worried about the fishing equipment they call ghost nets, floating around the Pacific Ocean. The nets threaten sea animals and pollute coastal areas. Often lost many years ago, the fishing gear continues to kill ocean life and damage coral reefs in Hawaii. A ghost net study is being led by biologist Jennifer Lynch, from Hawaii Pacific University. She said it will be difficult in many cases to identify the source of the ghost equipment. If they fail to find a source, she said, thats going to be increased evidence for policymakers to see the importance of gear marking, Lynch said. Lynch said she is not interested in blaming anyone. Instead, she hopes the study will find new ways to prevent damage to the environment. Drew McWhirter is a graduate student at Hawaii Pacific University and one of the studys lead researchers. His biggest concern is that the equipment keeps killing fish and other wildlife long after it is lost. Some of the animals that are being killed are endangered like Hawaiian monk seals, seabirds and turtles. The nets leave a path of destruction, pulling coral heads out, and can cause a lot of ecological damage, McWhirter said. The ghost nets pollute oceans around the world. But the Hawaiian Islands are in the middle of two very large areas of ocean pollution. To the Islands east lies the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a 1.6 million square kilometer floating mass of waste. To the west there is another large area of floating waste in the ocean. It is difficult to know where the ghost nets came from. They are believed to have come from many different countries. Few have any identifying marks or features. Experts believe many nets are lost accidentally. But some illegal fishing boats leave nets in the water to avoid being caught. Other fishermen cut away pieces of damaged nets instead of recovering them. The research team gets ghost nets from three places: The main Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiis longline fishery, and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are part of the Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Monument. It is the largest protected environment in the United States. It also is recognized as a United Nations World Heritage Site. A cleanup effort there in April gathered nearly 45 metric tons of nets and other lost gear. Researchers look at about 70 different features of each piece of net, including the kinds of material used. Raquel Corniuk is a researcher at the university. She said the team looks at things like whether the net is twisted or braided, and how many pieces of rope the net has. The information is entered into a database, which will help scientists identify manufacturers and possibly individual fisheries or nations. The researchers have found nets from all parts of the Pacific, including Asian countries and the U.S. West Coast. Many ghost nets come from less developed nations. Those countries have few fishing rules and sometimes buy or manufacture low-quality nets. Brian Fujimoto is a fisherman who now works for a net manufacturer in the state of Washington. He said nets from poor countries are usually weaker. Fujimoto said his company uses technology, colors and markings to identify their products. But making that a rule for the industry is only going to happen with the more industrialized nations, say for example, the U.S., Canada, Japan, Fujimoto said. Jonathan Moore is with the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs at the U.S. State Department. Last year, Moore said: Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which is sometimes associated with ghost gear, is among the greatest threats to oceans. Gear markings and rules, he added, should be a central pillar of all responsible fisheries management operations. Im Jill Robbins. Caleb Jones reported this story for the Associated Press. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. _________________________________________________ Words in This Story gear n. supplies, tools, or clothes needed for a special purpose coral reef n. a long line of coral that develops on warm ocean waters endangered adj. used to describe a type of animal or plant that has become rare and that could die out completely ecology n. a science that deals with the relationships between groups of living things and their environments origin n. the point or place where something begins or is created : the source or cause of something feature n. an interesting or important part, quality, ability, etc. braid n. a piece of cord or ribbon made of three or more strands woven together pillar n. a basic fact, idea, or principle of something Former federal property management official gets 7.5 years in custody for embezzlement The press service of Moscow's Meshchansky District Court 12:57 03/06/2021 MOSCOW, June 3 (RAPSI) Moscows Meshchansky District Court on Thursday sentenced ex-deputy head of the Federal Property Management Agency (Rosimushchestvo) Elena Patkina to 7.5 years in penal colony for embezzling 150 million rubles ($2 million), the courts press service told RAPSI. Additionally, she was fined 700,000 rubles (about $10,000) and barred from holding managerial, business and administrative posts for 3 years. She was taken in custody in the courtroom. The court also convicted and sentenced four other defendants in the case. They received jail terms ranging from 3.5 to nearly 5 years. One of them got suspended sentence, two other defendants were released from sentence as they actually served it out under house arrest. Moreover, the court granted a prosecutors claim and recovered about 155 million jointly from the defendants. Three Uyghurs who fled from China to Turkey said they were tortured and forced to have abortions by officials in Chinas Xinjiang area. One woman said she was forced into an abortion at 6 1/2 months pregnant. A former doctor spoke of oppressive birth control policies. And a former prisoner said Chinese soldiers in Xinjiang tortured him day and night. They spoke to The Associated Press about their experiences before speaking at a hearing in London on Friday. The hearing is to investigate whether Chinas official actions amount to genocide. It is led by famous human rights lawyer Geoffrey Nice who had prosecuted former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic The hearing has no legal power or support by the British government. But the organizers are hoping that it will help bring international action in Xinjiang. There have been growing concerns about abuses in Xinjiang against the Uyghurs, a largely Muslim ethnic group. One witness is Bumeryem Rozi, a mother of four. She said officials in Xinjiang arrested her and other pregnant women to abort her fifth child in 2007. She was afraid that if she did not agree, the officials would take her home and belongings and put her family in danger. The police came, one Uyghur and two Chinese, Rozi said. They put me and eight other pregnant women in cars and took us to the hospital. They first gave me a pill and said to take it. So I did. I didnt know what it was, she continued. Half an hour later, they put a needle in my belly. And sometime after that I lost my child. Semsinur Gafur is a former womens health doctor who worked in a village hospital in Xinjiang in the 1990s. She and other female doctors used to go from house to house with a mobile ultrasound machine to check if anyone was pregnant. If a household had more births than allowed, they would raze the home ... They would flatten the house, destroy it, Gafur said. And because I worked in a state hospital, people didnt trust me. The Uyghur people saw me as a Chinese traitor. A third Uyghur exile, Mahmut Tevekkul, said he was imprisoned and tortured in 2010 by Chinese officials. He said they asked him for information about one of his brothers. Tevekkul said the brother was wanted partly because he published a religious book in Arabic. He described being beaten and punched in the face during questioning. They put us on a tiled floor, shackled our hands and feet and tied us to a pipe... There were six soldiers guarding us, he said. Researchers say more than 1 million people most of them Uyghurs have been placed in concentration camps in Xinjiang in recent years. Chinese officials have been accused of forcing hard labor, forced birth control and torture. They have also been accused of separating children from their jailed parents. China has denied all the charges and says the camps are now closed. Officials say they were job-training centers to teach Chinese language, law and job skills to support economic development and fight extremism. The organizers said Chinese officials have ignored their requests to be a part of the hearing. Chinese officials have said it is set up by anti-China forces to spread lies. Nice was one of nine British citizens sanctioned by China in March for spreading lies about the country. Nice said Chinese efforts have kept some witnesses from appearing at the hearing. But Rozi, the woman who reported the forced abortion, said she is speaking out for her son who has been detained since 2015 at the age of 13. I want my son to be freed as soon as possible, she said. I want to see him be set free. Im Jonathan Evans. Ayse Weiting reported this story for The Associated Press. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story abortion n. a medical procedure used to end a pregnancy and cause the death of the fetus ultrasound n. a method of producing images of the inside of the body by using a machine that produces sound waves which are too high to be heard allow v. to permit (something) : to regard or treat (something) as acceptable raze v. to destroy (something, such as a building) completely traitor n. a person who is not loyal to his or her own country, friends, etc. : a person who betrays a country or group of people by helping or supporting an enemy shackle n. one of two rings or bands that are placed around a person's wrists or ankles and that are connected by a chain sanction 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. Competing in his first basketball game of the season, sophomore Jaedyn Brown was summoned off the bench and provided Pullman with the shot in the arm the Greyhounds needed to sew up a 70-65 road victory against Clarkston in the second game of a Greater Spokane League doubleheader Friday at C Habitat for Humanity of Angelina County invited family, friends and community members to come out and write on the studs of the new Habitat homes. We believe in blessing the home, Susan Robertson, executive director of the Habitat for Humanity of Angelina County, said. When the studs are exposed its a great time." Sen. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, said the bills would help eliminate the soft bigotry of low expectations. What were confronting in all of these bills, were continuing the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and what he expressed that we are trying to judge our children and our childrens children not based on the color of their skin but on the content of their character, Jacque said. Critical Race Theory is the antithesis of that. The bill would allow parents to file complaints over whats being taught in a classroom in circuit court. If a district was found in violation of the law, the state superintendent could withhold 10% of the districts state aid until the issue was remedied. Districts and charter schools would also be required to post all curricula used in schools on its website and on individual school websites. At the press conference announcing the legislation, which came before the bill text was shared, the representatives maintained that local school boards would still have control over curriculum and that controversial issues could still be taught, but also repeatedly said CRT would be banned. As Wisconsin lawmakers continue to debate how the state should address a worker shortage, Republicans on the Legislature's budget committee voted on Wednesday to fund a study on possible changes to the state's unemployment insurance system, and to increase funding for programs to help veterans and people with disabilities find jobs. The motion, approved on a party-line vote, would allocate $25,000 to study the feasibility of changing Wisconsin's unemployment system to one that operates on a "sliding scale," automatically adjusting the number of weeks a person is eligible for government aid based on the state's unemployment rate. "Our vision gives people a hand up, helping individuals that need assistance" Joint Finance Committee co-chair Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, told reporters before the committee met. "We want to provide incentives that take work, because the path to success in life is not permanent dependence on government." But Nunez was adamant that testifying was the right thing to do to help Shaners family find closure. He didnt sway me either way, he just basically told me it was a decision I had to make on my own, Nunez said of his conversations with Hancock. If I felt in my heart it was the right thing that I should do it. I did the right thing and I would do it a hundred times over. Hancock believes Nunez wanted to take a shot at helping someone elses victim because he could do nothing to heal the victim of his own crime. We talked a lot about what that risk would be to him, Hancock said. Eventually he decided that if he was going to live a life of integrity he had to testify. To me that really reflected a major change in Eli Nunez in the sense that he recognized that he has a very specific victim of his crime that he can never make it right with that victim but by helping other victims he could put some good back into the world. So Nunez was transferred to a prison in Arizona where he didnt know anyone but they knew him or at least why he was there. At the heart of this exemption from the retention rules for state lawmakers are arrogance and cowardice. Arrogance that legislators dont think they should be subject to the same scrutiny as other public officials. Cowardice that theyre afraid of the scrutiny. Each day the exemption stands, our legislators are declaring themselves above the law. Each day it stands, were left to wonder what theyre hiding from us. Your Right to Know is a monthly column distributed by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council (wisfoic.org), a group dedicated to open government. Larry Gallup is a council member and the digital news director for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on June 3, 2021 2021/06/03 CCTV: Jalina Porter, Principal Deputy Spokesperson of the US State Department, said on June 2 that "some progress has been made" in JCPOA talks in Vienna, but it "isn't going to be a quick or easy process". Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the main issues between the two sides have been resolved and that there will be further negotiation on minor issues. How would you comment on the result of this round of talks? Wang Wenbin: At present, important progress has been made in talks on resuming compliance with the JCPOA and all relevant parties have demonstrated the political will to reach an agreement. Meanwhile there are still some differences that will need to be bridged through arduous negotiation. China hopes that all parties concerned will rise above distractions, act with greater urgency, make bold political decisions at an early date and work to resolve remaining issues in a flexible and practical manner. China always believes that the key to secure breakthroughs in the negotiations is to have a right perspective on what's right and what's wrong. The root cause of the Iranian nuclear crisis is the US' unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA and "maximum pressure" on Iran. The US side should revoke all unilateral sanctions on Iran and third parties and Iran should resume full compliance on this basis. China has always participated in the negotiations in a constructive manner and played an important role in pushing all parties to pool consensus and resolve differences. We will continue to make efforts to reach an agreement at an early date, uphold the international non-proliferation system, and safeguard peace and stability in the Middle East. In the meantime, we will firmly uphold our own legitimate rights and interests. BBC: I'd like to ask about the Uighur Tribunal taking place in London tomorrow. Witnesses giving evidence there have told BBC that they've experienced torture and abuse while being detained in Xinjiang. What's your comment? Wang Wenbin: The so-called "Uyghur Tribunal" is neither legal nor credible. It is just another anti-China farce concocted by a few individuals. The government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region has made response in detail. In fact, this so-called "tribunal" has nothing to do with the law. It attempts to run in the name of "tribunal" to engage in anti-China political and public opinion manipulation. This is nothing but an insult on the law. The fake tribunal rallies a group of individuals who make a living by working against China. It is funded by the World Uyghur Congress, an organization dedicated to separating Xinjiang from China. Its "Chair" Geoffrey Nice reportedly used to be a senior British agent. In 2019, he served as the so-called "Chair of the China Tribunal" which staged anti-China farce. He is known for filing frivolous lawsuits, and has close ties with different anti-China forces. The so-called "experts" and "witnesses" include some frequently cited names such as the Australian Strategic Policy Institute(ASPI) and Adrian Zenz, who have long been spreading Xinjiang-related lies, as well as several "actors" who have been found to be habitually fabricating all sorts of "persecution" stories that never happened. The "trial" in question staged by this group of people will carry no more weight than a show. Such behaviour of trifling with the law will only make it easier for the world to see through the despicable lies and rumors relating to Xinjiang. China Review News: According to media reports, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both said on May 31 that wiretapping between allies was unacceptable in response to allegations that the US National Security Agency (NSA) used Denmark's Defence Intelligence Service (FE) to spy on top European politicians. Officials from Sweden and Norway also voiced criticism. What is China's comment on this? Wang Wenbin: If the US allies find its spying behavior unacceptable, the world would only feel more strongly about it. When it comes to stealing secrets, the US always ranks the first in the world. The amount of means it applies in doing so is mind-boggling. It simulates signals of base stations to tap into and steal data from cell phones. It turns mobile apps into surveillance units. It breaks into cloud servers. It taps into the undersea cables. It installs secretive signals intelligence collection facilities in nearly 100 U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide for spying purpose. The recent media disclosure of how the US spies on its European allies is just the tip of the iceberg of its huge global network for secret stealing. The US owes the international community an explanation. For years and years, the US, while using its technological advantages for massive and indiscriminate eavesdropping on the world, wantonly suppresses law-abiding foreign enterprises under the pretext of national security. Such a two-faced behavior fully exposes its hypocrisy and hegemonic nature. Who on earth is stealing information? And who is the real threat? People have every reason to suspect that the purpose of the US-initiated "clean network" program is to retain its monopoly in the high-tech field and serve as an excuse to justify its espionage activities. Will this "clean network" become another "spying network" in the hands of the US? The US must immediately stop its illegal act of massive and indiscriminate eavesdropping, and stop the dirty business of suppressing other countries' enterprises under the guise of national security. The US must pay off the long-overdue debt it owes the world. RIA Novosti: The New York Times reported that the computer system of New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority was infiltrated by a suspected Chinese-linked hacking group. I wonder if China has any comment? Wang Wenbin: I'm not aware of what you mentioned. I reiterate that China firmly opposes and combats cyber attacks and cyber theft in all forms. This position is consistent and clear. We've stated on multiple occasions that given the virtual nature of cyberspace and the fact that there are all kinds of online actors who are difficult to trace, identifying the source of cyber attacks is a complex technical issue. We hope that relevant sides will adopt a professional and responsible attitude and underscore the importance to have enough evidence when identifying cyber-related incidents, rather than make groundless speculations and allegations. Bloomberg: President Joe Biden plans to amend a U.S. ban on investments in companies linked to China's military. The new order that Biden is expected to sign this week will change the criteria for blacklisting entities to capture those that operate in the defense or surveillance technology sectors. How concerned are you that the new blacklist will be broader than the previous ones? And how will China respond? Second question, Budapest will rename the streets surrounding the planned campus of a Chinese university to protest against the project, which Hungary's opposition says is emblematic of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's drift from western democratic values. Does the ministry have a comment on this? Wang Wenbin: On your first question, the previous US administration put in place an investment ban on so-called companies with links to the PLA in total disregard of facts the real situation in certain companies. The move severely disrupted normal market rules and order. It not only undermined the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies but also hurt the interests of global investors including those in the US. The US should respect rule of law and the market, correct its mistakes, and stop actions that undermine the global financial market order and investors' lawful rights and interests. China will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard Chinese enterprises' legitimate and lawful rights and interests and support them in defending their rights and interests according to law. With regard to your second question, joint education programs undertaken by domestic and foreign institutions have become a common model of international educational cooperation nowadays. It helps promote cultural exchange and mutual-learning between countries. China-Hungary relations are growing with a robust momentum with fruitful results in practical cooperation delivering benefits to both countries and peoples. The attempt of certain Hungarian politicians to attract attention and impede China-Hungary cooperation by hyping up China-related issues is utterly despicable. China Daily: It is reported that on June 1 local time, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) again found leakage of wastewater containing radioactive caesium that exceeds the limit for 76 times in a waste container in Fukushima nuclear power plant. On June 2, environment groups in Gyeongsangnam-do mobilized over 100 fishing ships to hold the launching ceremony of the initiative themed "stop the ocean release of Japanese nuclear wastewater from Fukushima - Gyeongnam in action" and urged the Japanese government to cancel the plan to discharge the nuclear contaminated water into the sea. Do you have any comment? Wang Wenbin: I noticed that recently there are many media reports on the leakage of nuclear contaminated water from Fukushima and excessive radioactive substances are detected in sea food in Fukushima. This exposes the incompetency and loopholes of the handling of nuclear contaminated water by TEPCO and the Japanese government. It also fully shows that the disposal is a very complicated issue with far-reaching impact which requires an extremely prudent and responsible attitude. It is an extremely irresponsible, selfish and hasty move of Japan to unilaterally decide to release the Fukushima nuclear contaminated water into the sea before exhausting all safe ways of disposal, without fully disclosing relevant information or fully consulting with neighboring countries and the international community. To make things worse, Japan took another wrong step forward by obstinately sticking to the ocean release plan despite doubts and opposition from home and abroad. We once again ask Japan to revoke the wrong decision, shoulder due responsibilities and come back to the right track of reaching a consensus with all stakeholders and relevant international institutions through full consultation, in stead of continuing to be a trouble-maker. BBC: Are you saying that the witnesses that are giving evidence and who say that they have been tortured and abused are liars and actors even before you've heard their testimony? Wang Wenbin: As I just said, this so-called "tribunal" has nothing to do with law. It is just a political show and anti-China manipulation under the guise of law. You will find many of the so-called "experts" and "witnesses" cited by this institution quite familiar, like the ASPI and Adrian Zenz. These institutions and individuals are engaged in fabricating Xinjiang-related lies to smear and attack China. This has been fully exposed by the Chinese side as well as international media and experts. Information from such an institution and such a bunch of individuals with no academic worth or integrity will only lay bare the real intention of anti-China forces to smear and attack China. CCTV: The China-CEEC High-level Conference on Forestry Cooperation was held on June 2. Do you have more details on that? Wang Wenbin: The third China-CEEC High-level Conference on Forestry Cooperation was held through video link yesterday. Senior representatives in the forestry sector of 16 countries including China, Slovenia and others attended the conference. Austria and the EU attended the event as observers. Surrounding the theme of the important role of forests and the forestry sector in bioeconomy, the meeting points out that China and Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) have respective characteristics and advantages in forestry resources management, timber processing and wood-structure architecture, which means there's enormous potential for cooperation in various fields of forest bioeconomy. China and the CEECs will further strengthen cooperation and coordination to promote the development of forest bioeconomy and contribute to mitigating climate change and realizing the Global Forests Goals set out by the United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 20172030 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The China-CEEC cooperation mechanism has yielded fruitful results and delivered tangible benefits to people of all relevant countries since its establishment nine years ago. Under the China-CEEC forestry cooperation mechanism launched in May 2016, sound cooperation has been conducted in such areas as policy dialogue, scientific research and education, trade in forestry products and forestry investment. As we mark the China-CEEC Cooperation's Year of Green Development and Environmental Protection this year, China stands ready to strengthen exchange and cooperation with CEECs, boost the growth of forest bioeconomy, continue to share opportunities and cooperation outcomes, and strive for steady and sustained progress in China-CEEC cooperation. A Portage inmate facing murder charges from Columbia County is also facing felony charges in Juneau County after allegedly confessing in February to robbing a Mauston hotel at gunpoint in 2019. Jason Kijewski, 43, of Portage is charged with felony armed robbery. If convicted he faces up to 40 years in prison or a fine of up to $100,000, or both. According to the criminal complaint: At about 1:52 a.m. Sept. 28, 2019, Sergeant Eric Sanner was riding with Officer Charles Immel when he was dispatched to a Mauston hotel for a female caller advising she had been robbed. While in route the officers were advised the caller was employed at a Mauston hotel, and the hotel was robbed using a firearm. Upon arrival Sanner observed empty cash drawers on the counter. In the office area a distraught employee was identified as the victim. The victim stated she was told by the suspect, who she initially described as a husky white or Hispanic 510 male, to go into the office. She stated the male entered the main entrance and asked for a room, and when told the hotel was full he produced a handgun from his pocket and demanded money. The employee complied and then contacted law enforcement after being told to wait in the office. Andrew said more displays are planned for show at the museum, along with the ingredients of how root beer is made and bottled to the history of root beer drive-ins. Andrew, a Wisconsin Dells resident, said his love of root beer began as a child, after seeing Snoopy drinking it in the Peanuts comic strips. I grew up thinking root beer was cool, he said. Andrew said what makes root beer cool is not only the flavor, but the many varieties of the soft drink and the different ways it can be made with the carbonation, sweetener and flavor. You can just dive in and you keep discovering, Andrew said. Museum admission is $4. Attendees can purchase root beer for an additional fee. Donations of old root beer bottles and memorabilia is also welcome, Andrew said. Andrew said he loves the Dells atmosphere and enjoys the various activities and attractions with his family. Hes excited to offer something extra and unique to Dells visitors. I think its going to reach an audience far beyond the Dells too, Andrew said. The museum is very unique because there is no other museum thats celebrating all of these root beers. Follow Erica Dynes on Twitter @EDynes_CapNews or contact her at 608-393-5346. NEW YORK (AP) Ally Financial said Wednesday that it is ending overdraft fees entirely on all of its bank products, becoming the first large U.S. bank to end overdraft fees across its entire business. It's a major move by Ally, one of the nation's largest banks, and for the industry, which has been reliant on overdraft fees for decades to boost profits, often at the expense of poorer Americans who can't afford to pay such fees in the first place. Critics of the practice often cite what they call the $38 cup of coffee, where a bank customer uses a debit card to buy a coffee, overdrafts, and ends up paying a $35 fee on top of the $3 drink. In its announcement, Detroit-based Ally cited specifically the impact that overdraft fees have on Black and Latino households, which are historically poorer than their white counterparts and are hit with overdraft fees more often. It's also a common reason why Black and Latino households choose to be unbanked, that is being without a bank account, in order to avoid the fees that often come with these accounts. Overdraft fees can be a major cause of anxiety," said Diane Morais, president of consumer and commercial banking at Ally Bank, in a statement. "It became clear to us that the best way to relieve that anxiety was to eliminate those fees. Trump endorsed Johnson in April and encouraged him to run. Last week, former House Speaker Paul Ryan, of Wisconsin, urged fellow conservatives to reject Trump's divisive politics and those Republican leaders who emulate him. Johnson disagreed with his former colleague. I like Paul, but I think he, as many others, are just misdiagnosing the situation here," Johnson said. Trump's election was a continuation of the tea party movement that Johnson grew out of, the senator said. Johnson dodged the question of whether he thought Trump, who urged his supporters on Jan. 6 to fight like hell to overturn his defeat and to march to the Capitol, bore any responsibility for the riot that ensued. Johnson said he had an opinion, didn't say what it was, but said he didn't think it rose to an impeachable offense. Even though Chauvin was found guilty of three counts, he'll only be sentenced on the most serious one second-degree murder. Under Minnesota sentencing guidelines, with no criminal record he faces a presumptive sentence of 12 1/2 years on that count. Cahill can sentence him to as little as 10 years and eight months or as much as 15 years and stay within the guideline range. But prosecutors asked for what is known as an upward departure, saying there were several aggravating factors that warranted a higher sentence. Cahill agreed, finding Chauvin treated Floyd with particular cruelty, abused his position of authority as a police officer, committed his crime as part of a group of three or more people, and that he pinned Floyd down in the presence of children. Prosecutors said that even one of those factors would warrant the higher sentence. Nelson wrote that while this incident painted Chauvin as a dangerous man, he has served his community as an officer and has a loving family and close friends. He also disputed the court's finding that aggravating factors existed, saying there is no evidence that Chauvin's assault on Floyd included gratuitous infliction of pain or cruelty. Credit union spokesperson Anne Norman said members can also opt out by sending a message through the portal. UW Credit Union CEO Paul Kundert was not made available for an interview Wednesday. A company statement cited the shifting legal landscape and frequency of unnecessary, avoidable and expensive class action lawsuits as reasons for the change and noted the credit union will cover the cost of arbitration. Brett Thompson, president and CEO of Wisconsin Credit Union League, which represents 120 credit unions in the state, said frivolous legal threats are a growing trend afflicting credit unions in recent years. That has led many of them to move to arbitration, though he said he didnt have an estimate available. These suits are extremely costly to the credit union, he said. The membership base is paying for that, so credit unions feel theyre wasting their members money. Schlachter and about two dozen others attempted to voice their concern at the credit unions annual meeting, which was held online last week. But they say they were muted from speaking and all but one of their questions submitted through the platforms chatbox went unanswered. Members left the meeting with the impression that Kundert would follow up with them about their concerns, which they said hasnt happened. If all goes as planned, Simon Gilroy will be growing cotton in space this weekend. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket scheduled to blast off Thursday from Floridas Kennedy Space Center will carry 48 seeds from the UW-Madison botanists lab to the International Space Station, where astronauts will attempt to grow them in a system developed in Madison. The idea is to see how gravity affects the root systems, information that Gilroy said could help breeders develop new strains that could be grown more efficiently back on Earth. Cotton is a really environmentally impactful plant, Gilroy said. It uses a lot of water. It uses a lot of fertilizer. It uses a lot of pesticides. But it has a big economic impact. On Earth, gravity guides plant roots down into the soil in search of water. By removing gravity, Gilroy hopes to reveal the other influences that determine which direction the roots grow and how they branch out. Theres really only one place to do that, Gilroy said. The space station. As the Texas legislative session drew near its end Sunday, lawmakers appeared set to pass a bill overhauling the states elections, until Democrats did one final maneuver: They snuck out of the building. Members, take your key and leave the chamber discreetly, a Democratic leader in the state House told his caucus in a 10:35 p.m. text message. The extraordinary move deprived the House of a quorum, killing the bill for now, at the cost of undermining the legislative process. But what do you expect after months of Democratic alarms about voter suppression? President Biden on Saturday called the Texas plan un-American and part of an assault on democracy. At least this time he didnt say its worse than Jim Crow, which was the political bomb he lobbed at Georgias bill. The reality is more prosaic. To start with the controversial, the 67-page bill would roll back COVID-19 innovations like Harris Countys drive-through voting and 24-hour voting. Those options were used disproportionately last year by black and Hispanic residents. But when did emergency procedures amid a 100-year pandemic suddenly become the new baseline? Its hardly crazy to think polling-place shenanigans might be more likely at 3 a.m. U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Black Earth, recently endorsed a version of the plan, which was hopeful. Yet the bill he supports doesnt ease federal rules, which makes it harder to get through Congress. Nonetheless, the Citizens Climate Lobby, a national group with one of its largest chapters in Madison, remains optimistic. One big sign that cooperation is possible in Washington is the Climate Solutions Caucus in both houses. To their credit, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, and U.S. Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Green Bay, and Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, are members. More of Wisconsins congressional delegation should get involved. At the state and local levels, Gov. Tony Evers and Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway have highlighted the issue, which is encouraging. The goal for all the politicians should be progress, not scoring political points. Do Wisconsin Republican legislators care about all citizens? Rather than heeding common sense and their constituents, they again refused to expand BadgerCare. Many individuals work multiple jobs for low wages and need mental health services that often are not covered by private insurance. As folks are emerging from the pandemic, these services are even more critical. Republicans should stop claiming that BadgerCare is welfare. It raises false images of lazy people living off of others. It is ironic that these same legislators are the very people who receive full benefits and get paid monthly regardless of how little they work. Some 91,000 people would benefit from the federal expansion. Some are uninsured and many need help to face the burden of getting mental health treatment. Wisconsin remains one of only a few states that has not yet accepted Medicaid expansion. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On May 31, Evergrande Auto set up a Shanghai-based subsidiary that focuses on the development of intelligence, automobile, network, and computer technologies, as part of efforts to consolidate its technology strengths for car-building aspiration. Photo credit: Hengchi According to the business data provider Tianyancha, the newly-registered company is dubbed Evergrande Hengchi Intelligence Technology (Shanghai) Co.,Ltd. Involving a registered capital of 100 million yuan ($15.689 million), it is indirectly wholly controlled by Evergrande New Energy Automobile Investment Holdings Group Co., Ltd. Evergrande Auto revealed in March the company had already plowed 47.4 billion yuan ($7.437 billion) into new energy vehicle (NEV) business, around 24.9 billion yuan ($3.907 billion) of which were poured into technology R&D, design and acquisition. The company said it plans to put its in-house developed power batteries into mass production in the second half of 2021. In addition, Evergrande Auto signed on March 15 an agreement with TINNOVE, a Tencent-backed IoV (Internet of Vehicles) technology developer, to build a joint venture dedicated to the development of in-car smart OS (operating system) with independent intellectual property rights. The H-SMART OS, an intelligent-connected system Evergrande Auto co-developed with Tencent and Baidu, was also unveiled in March. As of May 12, 2021, Evergrande Auto had applied for a total of 3,012 patents, 1,355 of which had been granted patents, according to the company's announcement. These patents cover core areas including pure electric chassis architecture, suspension system, steering control, brake control, vehicle control, thermal management system, batteries, battery modules, battery packs, battery management system, motors and electronic control, electronic and electrical architecture, body of vehicles and interior and exterior trim, Internet of Vehicles, autonomous driving, manufacturing and smart charging. Kathryn Lindsay Morrison-Hoover, 29, of Alexandria, Virginia passed away on Thursday, May 27, 2021 in Arlington, VA. She was born on September 19, 1991 in Fairfax, VA. Her parents are Raymond Alfred Hoover, Jr. and Johanna (Lucier) Hoover of Mechanicsville, MD. Free-spirited and kind, Katie loved to meet new people and was always quick to make friends. She was loving and funny and strong. She was sensitive and honest and knew what she wanted for herself. She was fiercely dedicated to her family and loved any time spent with them. She and her Mom were truly best friends, in the most honest and raw sense of those words, sometimes so alike it caused a rift, but forever knowing there was nothing but love for each other. Many knew Katie only through the lens of the addiction she battled for years. That wasn't the real Katie though, she was a beautiful, caring, intelligent child who fell into its grip. She was funny, feisty and outspoken but would do anything for anyone and always lit up the room with her smile and sense of humor even while struggling with her demons. Those fortunate enough to truly know her immediately recognized her as one who would give the clothes she was wearing to help a friend in need (and did so more than once); one who ended nearly every conversation with those she cared for with 'love you'; and one who considered her close friends to be like brothers and sisters. She was fiercely loyal to her friends, her brother Raymond and extended family, relating to many, loved by all. She treasured nothing more than being an "Auntie" to her three nieces and looked forward to spending many years with them, sharing her wisdom and silliness and love. Katie had incredible insight and awareness about herself, both her strengths and her weaknesses, which helped her understand the kind of person that she wanted to be and worked so incredibly hard to get there. She had a darkness that she just couldn't get out from under, though she never stopped trying. She longed to be free from the heaviness that the addiction brought and back to her carefree self, but the chains that bound her were stronger than anything she could do on her own. She expressed herself beautifully, both in her spoken word and in her writing in her journals and letters. It always reflected what she was thinking and feeling at that moment. Her priority was to get back to the place where she knew she would make her parents proud. Katie will be deeply missed by her family and friends, an angel taken from us way too soon. Know that her spirit is flying free, and that she has left all her heaviness and earthly worries behind. As you cherish your memories of Katie, know she is watching from above and sending down rays of sunshine to brighten your day. Kathryn is survived by her parents, Raymond A. Hoover, Jr. and Johanna Hoover of Mechanicsville, MD; brothers, Brian Morrison and Raymond A. Hoover, III (Ciara); nieces, Peyton, Chloe and Charlotte. She is also survived by her aunts and uncle, Kerri Swecker (Jaime) and Wanda Wagner; cousins, Traye, Joline, Shauna, Christy and Dana; grandparents Judith Shaw, Ken Lucier (Charli) and many other extended family and friends. Katie is preceded in death by her grandparents Joan and Raymond Alfred Hoover Sr. as well as her high school best friend, Shana "BabyGirl" Ridgell. The family will receive friends for Katie's Memorial Service on Friday, June 4, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, 27108 Mt. Zion Church Road, Mechanicsville, MD 20659. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers memorials are preferred. Katie's family asks that if you are in need of recovery support or know someone who is, please take the time to reach out. Condolences to the family may be made at www.brinsfieldfuneral.com All Arrangements have been made by Brinsfield Funeral Home & Crematory, P.A. YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) Seven apple varieties previously believed to be lost or extinct have been found in eastern Washington state, including several on land near the communities of Pullman, Colfax and Moscow. The Lost Apple Project and the Temperate Orchard Conservancy announced the latest discoveries this month. Founded by Dave Benscoter, the Lost Apple Project has partnered with the Whitman County Historical Society to identify and preserve heritage apple trees and orchards in Washington and Idaho. The groups have found 29 apples once thought to have disappeared, the Yakima Herald reported. The latest seven apples were discovered in old orchards in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The Almota apple, which has pale yellow skin striped with red, was located southeast of Pullman on land farmed by Roy Druffels family. The Almota was a seedling first discovered in the late 19th century by Charles Moys near Pullman. The Ivanhoe, described as having green or slightly yellow skin with reddish blush, was found west of Pullman at the site of what was once the Pullman Country Club. BOISE Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder, a Boise Republican, spoke out against the Idaho Freedom Foundation on Wednesday, calling the think tanks influence one of the biggest threats Idaho has to its democracy. During a virtual forum for legislative leaders held by the City Club of Boise, four lawmakers addressed the recent session, which was tumultuous and included a break brought on by a COVID-19 outbreak. When asked about the biggest disappointment of the session, Winder took aim at a number of lawmakers in his own party. I think my greatest disappointment is how many legislators are willing to follow the direction of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, Winder said. To me thats one of the biggest threats we have to our democracy in our state is weve got a small group of people that are very vocal, that are very aggressive towards anyone that doesnt agree with them. Winder said more groups in Idaho need to form to counter the constant messaging that legislators receive and to stop the trend toward the extreme right. Soon, Buhl Marshal J.F. Baymiller telephoned Ormsby to tell him the two missing boys had been seen 4 miles west of Buhl by a former Rogerson resident who knew the Pennywell family. Ormsby asked the marshal to lock the boys in jail until he could get there, the Aug. 24 edition of the Twin Falls Weekly Times wrote. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} When Ormsby arrived in Buhl, he found in the boys possession Hamills pocketbook and a half-dozen guns stolen from ranchers along the way. In a surprise confession, the boys told Ormsby how Lynn shot Hamill in the head when he caught them at his cabin. The brothers were held in the county jail for several months before their trial. Their mother and stepfather, unaware of the boys situation, heard about their plight on their train ride home from Montana. Their mother later told a reporter that her boys were not bad boys, only mischievous. During the boys trial, defense attorney W.P. Guthrie played heavily on the sympathy of the jurors. The boys have no comprehension of what they had done, Guthrie said. Even the newspapers seemed sympathetic. MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) A Montana judge has sided with state environmental regulators who are using a law that provides protection from repeat polluters against an Idaho-based mining company and its chief executive. State District Court Judge Mike Menahan in Helena said in a recent ruling that Hecla Mining Company and Chief Executive Officer Phillips Baker, Jr. are subject to the state's bad actor law that blocks individuals and companies who dont clean up their old mines from starting new ones. The ruling means the court has jurisdiction over the company and Baker, but it did not address the merits of the case. Baker was former chief financial officer at Pegasus Mining, which went bankrupt in 1998 and saddled the state and federal government with more than $50 million in pollution cleanup costs from three bankrupt mines, including the Zortman-Landusky mine near the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. Montana is one of many sates with bad actor statues that let state environmental agencies consider a company or individuals environmental record in deciding whether to grant permits. Please log in to keep reading. Enjoy unlimited articles at one of our lowest prices ever. In the previous drought, it took (the reservoirs) three years to get this low as they are in the second year of this drought, Lund said. The lakes record low is 646 feet (197 meters), but the Department of Water Resources projects it will dip below that sometime in August or September. If that happens, the state will have to close the boat ramps for the first time ever because of low water levels, according to Aaron Wright, public safety chief for the Northern Buttes District of California State Parks. The only boat access to the lake would be an old dirt road that was built during the dams construction in the late 1960s. We have a reservoir up there thats going to be not usable. And so now what? said Eric Smith, an Oroville City Council member and president of its chamber of commerce. The water level is so low at Lake Mendocino, along the Russian River in Northern California, that state officials last week reduced the amount of water heading to 930 farmers, businesses and other junior water-rights holders. Unless we immediately reduce diversions, there is a real risk of Lake Mendocino emptying by the end of this year, said Erik Ekdahl, deputy director for the State Water Boards Division of Water Rights. WASHINGTON (AP) For nearly an hour, President Joe Biden and the top Senate Republican negotiating infrastructure met behind closed doors two seasoned legislators engaged in another round of conversations, but emerging with few outward signs of tangible progress ahead of a deadline next week. The White House billed the private meeting Wednesday as more of a conversation with West Virginia GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, rather than a formal negotiation. No new offers were expected to be presented. More than anything, the session in the Oval Office was seen through the political lens of the president and Republicans trying to show the public what Americans say they want a willingness to work together, even if no deal is within reach. Biden and Capito had a constructive and frank conversation," according to a White House official granted anonymity to discuss the private talks. The senator's office said she is encouraged by the ongoing conversations. The two agreed to reconnect Friday. Still, talks over Bidens top legislative priority have been moving slowly, a daunting undertaking given the massive infrastructure investment, and time for a deal is running out. The administration has set a June 7 deadline to see clear direction and signs of progress. BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and energy industry officials announced Wednesday a plan to establish a hub for so-called clean hydrogen that someday could be used in everything from powering vehicles to energy generation. Burgum hailed the project as big part of the states plan of becoming carbon-neutral by 2030, through innovation not regulation. No specific timeline or a cost for the project was disclosed. Houston-based Bakken Energy and Mitsubishi Power Americas also announced non-specific details of negotiations with Basin Electric Power Cooperative to acquire and redevelop the Bismarck-based companys financially troubled synthetic natural gas plant in western North Dakota. Officials said the hub consist of facilities that produce, store, transport and consume the carbon-free fuel. The hub will focus on the production of blue hydrogen, which is derived from natural gas with the carbon dioxide emissions captured, and sequestered underground or used for enhanced oil recovery. Officials said the idea it to connect the hub by a pipeline to other hubs proposed throughout North America. DETROIT (AP) The world's largest meat processing company has resumed most production after a weekend cyberattack, but experts say the vulnerabilities exposed by this attack and others are far from resolved. In a statement late Wednesday, the FBI attributed the attack on Brazil-based meat processor JBS SA to REvil, a Russian-speaking gang that has made some of the largest ransomware demands on record in recent months. The FBI said it will work to bring the group to justice and it urged anyone who is the victim of a cyberattack to contact the bureau immediately. REvil has not posted anything related to the hack on its dark web site. But thats not unusual. Ransomware syndicates as a rule dont post about attacks when they are in initial negotiations with victims or if the victims have paid a ransom. In October, a REvil representative who goes by the handle UNKN said in an interview published online that the agriculture sector would now be a main target for the syndicate. REvil also threatened to auction off sensitive stolen data from victims who refused to pay it. The attack targeted servers supporting JBSs operations in North America and Australia. Backup servers werent affected and the company said it was not aware of any customer, supplier or employee data being compromised. BERLIN (AP) German airline Lufthansa said late Wednesday that it has received the green light from Russia to resume flights there, after being briefly denied permission, which resulted in a reciprocal blocking of flights by Germany. In a statement, Lufthansa said Russian authorities had issued approval for its flights from Frankfurt to Moscow and St. Petersburg for the month of June. Lufthansa had been forced to cancel two flights Tuesday and Wednesday after failing to get approval from Russias aviation authority FATA. Due to the underlying reciprocal practice, the German Federal Aviation Authority also did not issue any further permits for flights of the Russian carriers as long as the permits were pending on the Russian side, Germanys Transport Ministry said in a statement. The move affected connections operated from Russia by Aeroflot and budget carrier S7. It wasnt immediately clear whether the green light for Lufthansa would prompt German authorities in turn to issue approval for Russian airlines to resume flights to Germany. But the ministry had stated that as soon as the FATA approvals for Lufthansa flights are granted by the Russian side, the flights of Russian companies will also be approved. DAVINCI+ will send a meter-diameter probe to brave the high temperatures and pressures near Venus surface to explore the atmosphere from above the clouds to near the surface of a terrain that may have been a past a continent. During its final kilometers of free-fall descent (shown here), the probe will capture spectacular images and chemistry measurements of the deepest atmosphere on Venus for the first time. Credits: NASA GSFC visualization by CI Labs Michael Lentz and others Although Earth and Venus are similar in size and location, they are very different worlds today. While Earth has oceans of water and abundant life, Venus is dry and fiercely inhospitable. Although it's somewhat closer to the Sun -- about 70 percent of Earth's distance -- Venus is much hotter, with temperatures at the surface high enough to melt lead. The scorched landscape is obscured by clouds of sulfuric acid, and it is smothered by a thick atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide at over 90 times the pressure of Earth's, which causes the air to behave more like a fluid than a gas near its surface. However, scientists think that in an earlier time, Venus may have been more like Earth, a world with water oceans that was potentially habitable for life, perhaps for billions of years. They hypothesize something caused a "runaway greenhouse" effect in Venus' atmosphere, cranking up the temperature and vaporizing its oceans. NASA's DAVINCI+ mission is set to explore Venus to determine if it was habitable and understand how these similar worlds ended up with such different fates. "Venus is a 'Rosetta stone' for reading the record books of climate change, the evolution of habitability, and what happens when a planet loses a long period of surface oceans," said James Garvin, principal investigator for DAVINCI+ at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "But Venus is 'hard' since every clue is hidden behind the curtain of a massive opaque atmosphere with inhospitable conditions for surface exploration, so we have to be clever and bring our best 'tools of science' to Venus in innovative ways with missions like DAVINCI+. That is why we named our mission 'DAVINCI+' after Leonardo da Vinci's inspired and visionary Renaissance thinking that went beyond science to connect to engineering, technology, and even art." The science impact of DAVINCI+ will reach even beyond the solar system to Venus-like planets orbiting other stars (exoplanets), which are expected to be common and will represent important targets for NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope. But these planets may be difficult to interpret, especially if they are enveloped in thick Venus-like clouds. "Venus is the 'exoplanet in our backyard' that can help us understand these distant analog worlds by providing ground truth to improve the computer models we will use to interpret exo-Venus planets," said Giada Arney, deputy principal investigator for DAVINCI+ at NASA Goddard. "But there is so much about Venus that we still don't understand, and this is where DAVINCI+ comes in. Excitingly, if Venus was habitable in the past, some exo-Venus planets may be habitable too! So DAVINCI+'s investigation of the evolution of Venus may help us better understand how habitable worlds are distributed elsewhere in the universe, and how habitable planets evolve over time in a general sense." The mission, Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging Plus, will consist of a spacecraft and a probe. The spacecraft will track motions of the clouds and map surface composition by measuring heat emission from Venus' surface that escapes to space through the massive atmosphere. The probe will descend through the atmosphere, sampling its chemistry as well as the temperature, pressure, and winds. The probe will also take the first high-resolution images of Alpha Regio, an ancient highland twice the size of Texas with rugged mountains, looking for evidence that past crustal water influenced surface materials. Launch is targeted for FY2030 with two flybys of Venus prior to the probe's descent. The flybys are the initial phase of the remote-sensing mission to study the atmospheric circulation and map the surface composition. Approximately two years later, the probe will be released to conduct its investigation of the atmosphere during a descent that will last about an hour before landing at Alpha Regio. "The next step in Venus exploration requires a capable instrument payload that can employ modern capabilities to produce definitive datasets that transform our understanding of our planetary neighborhood," said Stephanie Getty, deputy principal investigator for DAVINCI+ at NASA Goddard. "DAVINCI+ takes proven instrumentation to the most innovative science problems of Venus today, and we are excited to bring along an energized science community on our journey as we deliver the chemical, geologic, and atmospheric dynamics datasets that will generate the next great discoveries - and next great questions - about Venus and Venus-like worlds." The probe will contain four instruments. Two of them - the Venus Mass Spectrometer (VMS) and the Venus Tunable Laser Spectrometer (VTLS) - will undertake the first complete compositional study of the entire cross-section of Venus' atmospheric gases, searching for clues as to how, when, and why Venus' climate may have changed so dramatically. The third instrument, the Venus Atmospheric Structure Investigation (VASI), will measure the pressure, temperature, and winds from about 43.5 miles (70 kilometers) in altitude to the surface at 10 times higher resolution (or more) than any previous Venus probe. After the probe drops under the thick cloud layer, the Venus Descent Imager (VenDI) instrument will take hundreds of near-infrared images of the Alpha Regio highlands, which the team will use to make maps of topography and composition. These images will show landscapes unique to Venus at the high resolutions typical of landers (near the surface). The spacecraft will have one instrument, a suite of four cameras called VISOR (Venus Imaging System from Orbit for Reconnaissance). One camera will be sensitive to ultraviolet light to track cloud motions in the atmosphere. Additionally, a suite of three cameras sensitive to near-infrared light will be able to identify surface composition at regional scales by analyzing near-infrared heat emission from the surface when the spacecraft is over the night side of Venus. Since rock composition can be influenced by water, these images will give clues to how ancient oceans may have shaped the crust of Venus. The camera suite will provide the first compositional maps of Ishtar Terra, the high latitude "continent" on Venus with a range in height of up to 6.8 miles (11 kilometers). Ishtar may be the last manifestation of a kind of plate tectonics on Venus that shut off when the oceans dissipated about one billion years ago. NASA Goddard is the principal investigator institution and will perform project management for the mission, as well as project systems engineering to develop the probe flight system. Goddard will build the VMS instrument in collaboration with the University of Michigan, and the sensor systems of the VASI instrument. Goddard also leads the project science support team. Major partners are Lockheed Martin, Denver, Colorado, who will build the aeroshell and backshell (the entry and descent system) to carry the probe into the atmosphere and provide the parachutes to position it into the proper descent trajectory, as well as the probe carrier spacecraft, the flyby telecom system for the probe, the flyby science platform for the VISOR camera suite, and the carrier/orbital spacecraft. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland will provide the two-way Frontier radio that the mission will use for communication between the probe and spacecraft, as well as science leadership of the VASI element. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, will provide the VTLS instrument. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, California, will provide the cameras including the VenDI descent camera and the orbital/flyby VISOR suite. NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, will provide entry-descent-systems support and NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley will collaborate on the thermal protection system and entry-systems measurement systems. KinetX, Inc., Tempe, Arizona, will support flight dynamics and trajectory development with Goddard and Lockheed Martin. Discovery-Program-class missions like DAVINCI+ complement NASA's larger "flagship" planetary science explorations, with the goal of achieving outstanding results by launching more smaller missions using fewer resources and shorter development times. They are managed for NASA's Planetary Science Division by the Planetary Missions Program Office at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The missions are designed and led by a principal investigator, who assembles a team of scientists and engineers to address key science questions about the solar system. Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. Memorial Day means different things to different people and rightfully so. For veterans, its a time of thoughtful reflection about the men and women they served with. For others, its a time for family and community. And, for some, its a time of well-earned rest and a medium-rare steak on the grill. Regardless of where you fall on this spectrum, the common thread is a celebration of freedom. Memorial Days placement on the calendar is apropos of this the unofficial start of summer. Sunshine, burgeoning crops, green grass, rocking chairs on porches. Summer is a time of optimism, possibilities and potential none of which would be possible without the freedoms we all enjoy. Woven within the overarching definition of freedom is something every American strives for, namely economic freedom. Theres nothing wrong with this. Economic freedom is what gives us the backyards, the crops, the green grass and the rocking chairs. When we talk about the American Way of Life, were essentially talking about achieving economic freedom. Aside from what it allows you to buy or consume, economic freedom is about independence and self-determination. Without that, the American Way of Life can be a hollow proposition. While our fighting men and women protect us from tyranny, its incumbent upon our elected officials to create a system under which everyone has the opportunity to grasp the American Way of Life. Too often, however, politicians drop the ball on the very field our veterans fought so bravely to defend. Even from afar, Lewinskis mother noticed the change. Theres a definite brightness, a joy of living thats in her again, Lynn Lewinski said. A lot of it is in her eyes. As she was able to rest and walk and go through the hike, you could just see this difference starting a strength and a gladness that hadnt really been there, hadnt been connected. Lewinski said the hike re-instilled in her the idea that she could enjoy her life. She recalled one particular point when the pair were standing among the Southern Alps, isolated and listening to the wind blow between the mountains. She was taken aback by the solitude and by their accomplishment. At that point it was like: This is it. Everything I have come through has been for this moment, she said. Like, no matter how hard my life has been, I still got here. I can still move forward and live. Teaching others to take a walk The trail took Lewinski and Ludack through forests and bogs, across roads and rocky scrambles until they reached the end of their route on March 21. Just days later, the country went into lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Today is Wednesday, June 2, 2021. Let's get caught up. These headlines are in the news this morning: President Biden urges Congress to pass voting protections during speech on anniversary of Tulsa Race Massacre; Amazon won't test jobseekers for marijuana; and the San Francisco Giants will be the first MLB team to wear Pride colors in support of LGBTQ rights. Read on for these stories, other top headlines, celebrity birthdays and more. TOP STORIES Biden prioritizes US voting rights law as restrictions mount WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden used the 100th anniversary of Tulsa's race massacre to make a plea for sweeping legislation in Congress to protect the right to vote as Republican-led governments in Texas and other states pass new restrictions making it tougher to cast ballots. FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) A woman and three young children found dead in a home in northeastern Indiana each died of multiple stab wounds, a coroner said Thursday. The Allen County coroner also identified strangulation as a cause of Sarah Nicole Zents death in Fort Wayne. The body of the 26-year-old Zent was found Wednesday morning along with two young boys and a girl: Carter Matthew Zent, 5; Ashton Duwayne Zent, 3; and Aubree Christine Zent, 2. The Allen County coroner did not say how they were related, but local media say the woman was the mother of the children. She was found kneeling beside her bed, with the three children face down on the same bed, according to a probable cause affidavit filed Thursday in Allen Superior Court. About 11 a.m. Wednesday, a man and woman worried about the family went to check on them. As officers approached the home, the couple yelled, He killed them. Theyre dead, court records said. The man accused of killing the four, Cohen Hancz-Barron, 21, was being held without bond following his arrest Wednesday afternoon at an apartment complex in Lafayette more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the scene of the killings. He was moved late Wednesday to the Allen County Jail in Fort Wayne. The sheriffs office said eight people participated in the May 25 attack, including Sutton, Beatty, three Southern Guilford High School students and three students from other schools. Sutton is the mother of one of the students involved in the attack, according to the sheriffs office. Campbell said that, according to her daughter, a boy at her school wanted to fight her, but was told by his brother that he should not fight a girl. Campbell said he then recruited a girl at the school to do it. That girl, Campbell said, attempted to fight her daughter at her bus stop on Monday last week, but was on the losing end of the fight. Campbell said she didnt learn about any of this until after the classroom attack on her daughter. According to Capt. Brian Hall, who supervises the countys school resource officers, some of the group arrived outside of the school on May 25. The student from the bus stop fight went to let them in, but didnt need to because they grabbed the door as some students were leaving and let themselves in, he said. After that, Hall said, the student and her supporters went to the 14-year-olds classroom and started hitting and kicking her. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Hit by a fresh surge of infections and with vaccine deliveries at a near standstill, Africa is not ready to face a third wave of the pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Thursday. "Many African hospitals and clinics are still far from ready to cope with a huge rise in critically-ill patients," warned WHO regional director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti. "The threat of a third wave in Africa is real and rising," she added in a virtual briefing. Africa has officially registered over 4.8 million cases and 130,000 deaths, according to the WHO, representing 2.9 percent of global cases and 3.7 percent of deaths. According to a survey conducted by the organisation in May, the essential health facilities and personnel required to manage critically ill COVID-19 patients are grossly inadequate in many African countries. Of 23 countries surveyed, most had less than one intensive care unit bed per 100,000 population and only one-third had mechanical ventilators. In comparison, countries like Germany and the United States have more than 25 beds per 100,000 people. "Treatment is the last line of defence against this virus and we cannot let it be breached," Moeti stressed, calling for better equipment for hospital and medical staff. In recent weeks, the continent has seen a rise in infections. South Africa, officially the most affected country on the continent, has tightened health restrictions and now has more than 1.6 million cases and 56,439 deaths. In Uganda, the number of cases has jumped 131 percent in one week with outbreaks in schools and an increase in cases among health workers. The UN's health agency on Thursday said it had detected a surge late last month in coronavirus cases in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Angola and Namibia are also seeing a resurgence. Simultaneously, the continent is facing a shortage of vaccines and deliveries are almost at a standstill in Africa, according to WHO, which hopes for new deliveries in the coming months through the international Covax scheme, including a pledge of 80 million doses from the United States. Only 2 percent of Africans to date have received at least one vaccine jab, while 24 percent of the world's population is now vaccinated. Six countries have not kicked off innoculation, four of which are in Africa: Tanzania, Burundi, Chad and Eritrea. Explore further WHO warns of new COVID wave in Africa 2021 AFP Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Affecting more than one in a hundred children, autism spectrum disorder is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders. It has a particular impact on social interaction, including difficulties in understanding other people's perspectives, beliefs, desires and emotions, known as theory of mind. Bilingual families with an autistic child often tendand are sometimes encouragedto forego the use of one of the home languages, so as not to further complicate the development of their child's communicative skills. A researcher from the University of Geneva (UNIGE, Switzerland), in collaboration with the Universities of Thessaly (Greece) and Cambridge (Great-Britain), has shown that bilingualism allows autistic children to partially compensate for deficits in theory of mind and executive functions, which are at the root of many of their challenges. These results can be read in the journal Autism Research. Diagnosed in early childhood, autism spectrum disorder has a particular impact on a child's social and communicative abilities. "It is a spectrum, which is why the intensity of the symptoms varies greatly," explains Stephanie Durrleman, a researcher in the Department of Linguistics at the UNIGE Faculty of Arts and co-author of the study. "But what children with autism have in common is that they have difficulties putting themselves in the place of their interlocutor, focusing on the latter's point of view and thus disengaging their attention from their own perspective." Autism therefore affects not only everything that has to do with the theory of mindunderstanding the beliefs, emotions, intentions and desires of othersbut also often executive functions, including attentional abilities. Could benefits of bilingualism be applied to children with autism? Studies on bilingualism have shown that children without autism who use several languages have increased theory of mind and executive function skills compared to monolingual children. "Bilingualism therefore seems to bring benefits precisely where the autistic child has difficulties," says Durrleman. "We therefore wondered whether bilingual autistic children manage to mitigate the difficulties of their neurodevelopmental disorder by using two languages every day." To test this hypothesis, the researchers from the universities of Geneva, Thessaly and Cambridge followed 103 autistic children aged 6 to 15, 43 of whom were bilingual. "In order to observe the real effects of bilingualism on their socio-communicative skills, we grouped them according to their age, gender and the intensity of their autistic disorder," explains Eleni Peristeri, researcher at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Thessaly and co-author of the study. The participants then performed various tasks to assess their theory of mind and executive function skills. The bilinguals quickly distinguished themselves by scoring higher than their monolingual peers. "On tasks relating to theory of mind, i.e. their ability to understand another person's behavior by putting themselves in their place, the bilingual children gave 76% correct answers, compared with 57% for the monolingual children," notes the Greek researcher. The same is true for executive functions: the score for correct responses in bilinguals is twice that of monolinguals. But why are the differences so clear? "Bilingualism requires the child to work first on skills directly related to theory of mind, i.e. he or she must constantly be concerned with the knowledge of others: Does the person I am speaking to speak Greek or Albanian? In what language should I talk to him or her? Then, in a second phase, the child uses his executive functions by focusing his attention on one language, while inhibiting the second," explains Peristeri. This is a real gymnastics for the brain, which acts precisely on the deficits linked to the autistic disorder. Encouraging bilingualism instead of giving it up "From our evaluations, we can clearly see that bilingualism is very beneficial for children with autism spectrum disorders," enthuses Durrleman. In order to certify that the socio-economic level in which the participants grew up did not play a role in the results, this was also recorded and it turned out that the bilingual children were mostly in a lower socio-economic environment than the monolinguals. "We can therefore affirm that benefits in theory of mind and executive functions emerge in bilinguals, even when there is a socio-economic disadvantage," says the Geneva researcher. These findings are important for the care of children diagnosed with autism. "Indeed, as this neurodevelopmental disorder often affects language acquisition, bilingual families tend to give up the use of one of the two languages, so as not to exacerbate the learning process. However, it is now clear that far from putting autistic children in difficulty bilingualism can, on the contrary, help these children to overcome several aspects of their disorder, serving as a kind of natural therapy," concludes Durrleman. Explore further Pediatricians should encourage parents to use their home language with their children, says researcher More information: Eleni Peristeri et al, The cognitive benefits of bilingualism in autism spectrum disorder: Is theory of mind boosted and by which underlying factors? Autism Research (2021). Journal information: Autism Research Eleni Peristeri et al, The cognitive benefits of bilingualism in autism spectrum disorder: Is theory of mind boosted and by which underlying factors?(2021). DOI: 10.1002/aur.2542 Crypts and buds in the small intestine and colon. Credit: Dr. Maree Faux, WEHI. A biomarker in the blood of patients with bowel cancer may provide valuable insight into the risk of cancer relapse after surgery and the effectiveness of chemotherapy. Research published in PLOS Medicine found circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) measured before and after surgery provided a reliable marker for predicting whether the cancer would recur following chemotherapy treatment. The ctDNA also provided a real-time measure of the effectiveness of chemotherapy, highlighting the potential for this test to provide an early indication of the success of chemotherapy in eradicating microscopic cancer. Prognostic impact of ctDNA Led by Associate Professor Jeanne Tie, who is also a medical oncologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Western Health, the research followed a group of patients with metastatic bowel cancer who had secondary cancer in the liver that had been removed by surgery. The study builds on earlier research reported in 2018. The ctDNA test looks for fragments of tumor DNA in a patient's blood before and after the removal of a cancerous tumor. The presence of ctDNA in the blood of patients after surgery provides evidence of remaining microscopic tumors, enabling researchers to predict the likelihood of the cancer reoccurring. Associate Professor Tie said the study once again confirmed the prognostic impact of ctDNA. "What we found is that if ctDNA is present after surgery, it predicts an almost 100 per cent recurrence rate for these patients," she said. "In contrast, for patients who were ctDNA-negative after surgery, the likelihood of the cancer reoccurring was far lower, about 25 per cent." Measuring chemotherapy in real time Associate Professor Tie said ctDNA also provided an indication of the effectiveness of chemotherapy. "This biomarker could also identify whether patients would respond to chemotherapy treatment," she said. "Until now, we had no way of measuring the effectiveness of chemotherapy in real time. The usual process is to do the surgery to remove the cancer metastases, give the patient chemotherapy, and then follow up with CT scans every six to 12 months, to see if the cancer recurs. And if the cancer does recur, you know the treatment hasn't worked. By measuring the ctDNA in the blood, we could immediately see whether the chemotherapy had cleared the cancer and were therefore able to predict the likelihood of the cancer recurring." Associate Professor Tie said ctDNA biomarkers might allow clinicians to intervene earlier. "Cancer that can be detected on a CT scan is unlikely to be curable by chemotherapy. But if we are able to detect microscopic disease, that we can't pick up on a scan, we can intervene earlier and potentially still offer the patient a chance of cure." Promising sign for the future of cancer treatment Associate Professor Tie said while ctDNA technology was already being used in the US, further research was needed before it could be rolled out in Australia. "The test needs to be very sensitive to be able to pick up microscopic cancer cells. I am hopeful the new technology coming through will have enough sensitivity that we will be able to use this technique in the years ahead to improve patient care and treatment," she said. "With further development of this technology, this could also mean patients with a low recurrence risk could avoid unnecessary chemotherapy." Explore further New test detects residual cancer DNA in the blood without relying on tumor data More information: Jeanne Tie et al, Circulating tumor DNA dynamics and recurrence risk in patients undergoing curative intent resection of colorectal cancer liver metastases: A prospective cohort study, PLOS Medicine (2021). Journal information: PLoS Medicine Jeanne Tie et al, Circulating tumor DNA dynamics and recurrence risk in patients undergoing curative intent resection of colorectal cancer liver metastases: A prospective cohort study,(2021). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003620 Residents line up outside a vaccination center in Beijing on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. After a slow start, China is now doing what virtually no other country in the world can: harnessing the power and all-encompassing reach of its one-party system and a maturing domestic vaccine industry to administer shots at a staggering pace. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan In the span of just five days last month, China gave out 100 million shots of its COVID-19 vaccines. After a slow start, China is now doing what virtually no other country in the world can: harnessing the power and all-encompassing reach of its one-party system and a maturing domestic vaccine industry to administer shots at a staggering pace. The rollout is far from perfect, including uneven distribution, but Chinese public health leaders now say they're hoping to inoculate 80% of the population of 1.4 billion by the end of the year. As of Tuesday, China had given out more than 680 million doseswith nearly half of those in May alone. China's total is roughly a third of the 1.9 billion shots distributed globally, according to Our World in Data, an online research site. The call to get vaccinated comes from every corner of society. Companies offer shots to their employees, schools urge their students and staffers, and local government workers check on their residents. That pressure underscores both the system's strength, which makes it possible to even consider vaccinating more than a billion people this year, but also the risks to civil libertiesa concern the world over but one that is particularly acute in China, where there are few protections. Residents walk by a vaccination center in Beijing on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. After a slow start, China is now doing what virtually no other country in the world can: harnessing the power and all-encompassing reach of its one-party system and a maturing domestic vaccine industry to administer shots at a staggering pace. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan "The Communist Party has people all the way down to every village, every neighborhood," said Ray Yip, former country director for the Gates Foundation in China and a public health expert. "That's the draconian part of the system, but it also gives very powerful mobilization." China is now averaging about 19 million shots per day, according to Our World in Data's rolling seven-day average. That would mean a dose for everyone in Italy about every three days. The United States, with about one-quarter of China's population, reached around 3.4 million shots per day in April when its drive was at full tilt. It's still unclear how many people in China are fully vaccinatedwhich can mean anywhere from one to three doses of the vaccines in useas the government does not publicly release that data. Zhong Nanshan, the head of a group of experts attached to the National Health Commission and a prominent government doctor, said on Sunday that 40% of the population has received at least one dose, and the aim was to get that percentage fully vaccinated by the end of the month. In Beijing, the capital, 87% of the population has received at least one dose. Getting a shot is as easy as walking into one of hundreds of vaccination points found all across the city. Vaccination buses are parked in high foot-traffic areas, including in the city center and at malls. Residents wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus look at their smartphones showing health code as they line up to receive the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Central Business District in Beijing on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. After a slow start, China is now doing what virtually no other country in the world can: harnessing the power and all-encompassing reach of its one-party system and a maturing domestic vaccine industry to administer shots at a staggering pace. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong But Beijing's abundance is not shared with the rest of the country, and local media reports and complaints on social media show the difficulty of getting an appointment elsewhere. "I started lining up that day at 9 in the morning, until 6 p.m., only then did I get the shot. It was exhausting," Zhou Hongxia, a resident of Lanzhou, in northwestern Gansu province, explained recently. "When I left, there were still people waiting." Zhou's husband hasn't been so lucky and has yet to get a shot. When they call the local hotlines, they are told simply to wait. Central government officials on Monday said they're working to ensure supply is more evenly distributed. Before the campaign ramped up in recent weeks, many people were not in a rush to get vaccinated as China has kept the virus, which first flared in the country, at bay in the past year with strict border controls and mandatory quarantines. It has faced small clusters of infections from time to time, and is currently managing one in the southern city of Guangzhou. Security guards help masked residents to scan their health code as they line up to receive the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in the Central Business District in Beijing, Wednesday, June 2, 2021. After a slow start, China is now doing what virtually no other country in the world can: harnessing the power and all-encompassing reach of its one-party system and a maturing domestic vaccine industry to administer shots at a staggering pace. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong Although there are distribution issues, it is unlikely that Chinese manufacturers will have problems with scale, according to analysts and those who have worked in the industry. Sinovac and Sinopharm, which make the majority of the vaccines being distributed in China, have both aggressively ramped up production, building brand new factories and repurposing existing ones for COVID-19. Sinovac's vaccine and one of the two Sinpharm makes have received an emergency authorization for use from the World Health Organization, but the companies, particularly Sinopharm, have faced criticism for their lack of transparency in sharing their data. "What place in the world can compare with China on construction? How long did it take our temporary hospitals to be built?" asked Li Mengyuan, who leads pharmaceutical research at Western Securities, a financial firm. China built field hospitals at the beginning of the pandemic in just days. Sinovac has said it has doubled its production capacity to 2 billion doses a year, while Sinopharm has said it can make up to 3 billion doses a year. But Sinopharm has not disclosed recent numbers of how many doses it actually has made, and a spokesman for the company did not respond to a request for comment. Sinovac has produced 540 million doses this year as of late May, the company said on Friday. Government support has been crucial for vaccine developers every step of the wayas it has in other countriesbut, as with everything, the scope and scale in China is different. A security guard watches residents wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus line up to receive the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in the Central Business District in Beijing, Wednesday, June 2, 2021. After a slow start, China is now doing what virtually no other country in the world can: harnessing the power and all-encompassing reach of its one-party system and a maturing domestic vaccine industry to administer shots at a staggering pace. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong Yang Xiaoming, chairman of Sinopharm's China National Biotec Group, recounted to state media recently how the company initially needed to borrow lab space from a government research center while it was working on a vaccine. "We sent our samples over, there was no need to discuss money, we just did it," he said. Chinese vaccine companies also largely do not rely on imported products in the manufacturing process. That's an enormous benefit at a time when many countries are scrambling for the same materials and means China can likely avoid what happened to the Serum Institute of India, whose production was hobbled because of dependence on imports from the U.S. for certain ingredients. But as the availability of the vaccine increases so, too, can the pressure to take it. In Beijing, one researcher at a university said the school's Communist Party cell calls him once a month to ask him if he has gotten vaccinated yet, and offers to help him make an appointment. Residents line up outside a tent with the words " Vaccination Point" in Beijing on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. After a slow start, China is now doing what virtually no other country in the world can: harnessing the power and all-encompassing reach of its one-party system and a maturing domestic vaccine industry to administer shots at a staggering pace. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan He has so far declined to get a shot because he would prefer the Pfizer vaccine, saying he trusts its data. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns he could face repercussions at his job at a government university for publicly questioning the Chinese vaccines. China has not yet approved Pfizer for use, and the researcher is not sure how long he can hold outalthough the government has, for now, cautioned against making vaccines mandatory outright. "They don't have to say it is mandatory," Yip, the public health expert, said. "They're not going to announce that it's required to have the vaccine, but they can put pressure on you." Explore further Cambodia begins vaccination campaign against COVID-19 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Credit: CC0 Public Domain A different type of surge may be on the way more than a year into the pandemica baby surge. The COVID-19 shutdown initially seemed to hit pause on pregnancy and birth rates, new research from one major hospital system suggests, but that trend is quickly reversing. "Birth rates declined early on in the pandemic, but we expect a dramatic rebound soon," says lead author Molly Stout, M.D., MSci, maternal fetal medicine director at Michigan Medicine Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital. "We're already seeing signs of a summer baby surge." While infectious disease experts have been modeling COVID cases to project surge trends, Stout and her team have been doing the same for pregnancy trends. Using electronic health records for a cohort of pregnancies at Michigan Medicine, researchers were able to model pregnancy episodes and accurately project anticipated changes in pregnancy volumes over the last year during pandemic societal changes. Pregnancies at U-M gradually increased between 2017 and 2020, up from 4,100 pregnancies to 4,620 annually, according to the study in JAMA Network Open. But pregnancy volumes diverged from that pattern, decreasing by about 14% between November 2020 and the spring of 2021, which the researchers associate with a conception window starting during the U.S. COVID shutdown in March 2020. Experts point to multiple potential factors for the decline, including economic uncertainty, lack of child care or usual support systems, the impact on women in the workforce and postponement of reproductive and fertility care. Based on the same modeling system, authors now anticipate a birth surge. The hospital is planning for a 10-15% increase in births over what would normally be expected in the summer and fall of 2021. While speculations of a COVID baby boom have previously been reported in the media, they were mostly speculative and not based on data, Stout says. "What we have shown here is that through modeling of pregnancies within a healthcare system we can project birth rate increases and decreases associated with major societal shifts," she says. "Major societal changes certainly seem to influence reproductive choices, population growth and fertility rates. Usually, we see the effects by modeling birth and death rates, only as the changes are occurring. With this methodology we can accurately project anticipated birth rates ahead of the actual changes." This has also been noted during other times in history, such as the 1918 H1N1 influenza pandemic, the Great Depression in 1929 and recession of 2008. Stout says the ability to predict upcoming birth trends through the Michigan team's modeling system can hopefully help health systems better plan for labor and delivery needs to provide the safest care for patients and their babies. "These projection techniques can inform planning for capacity, staffing needs and other downstream effects on the hospital system," she says. "But it can also be used in partnerships between hospitals and governmental groups to better understand population dynamics and help minimize the negative effects of a pandemic or any other major event on society." Explore further COVID-19 could cause historically low levels of childbearing in the UK More information: Molly J. Stout et al, Use of Electronic Medical Records to Estimate Changes in Pregnancy and Birth Rates During the COVID-19 Pandemic, JAMA Network Open (2021). Journal information: JAMA Network Open Molly J. Stout et al, Use of Electronic Medical Records to Estimate Changes in Pregnancy and Birth Rates During the COVID-19 Pandemic,(2021). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.11621 Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The UN's health agency on Thursday said it had detected a surge late last month in coronavirus cases in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. "An exponential rise in the spread of SARS-Cov-2 virus has been recorded in Kinshasa," the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a weekly report. The rise mirrored a "clear deterioration" in the wider province of Kinshasa, it said. A DRC health ministry official confirmed "the third wave of COVID-19 is already thereit's the Indian (Delta) and South African (Beta) variants." "This wave could be deadlier than the previous ones," the official said, blaming lax adherence to social distancing and face masks. The WHO said that the mortality rate across the country was currently unchanged at 2.5 percent, but noted concern about the presence of the Delta variant in Kinshasa. Professor Jean-Marie Kayembe, a member of the DRC's anti-coronavirus task force, told the UN's Radio Okapi, "we are in the third (wave) at the moment"a conclusion, he said, that stemmed from rising numbers of cases and "saturation" of healthcare centres. Kinshasa has a population of around 15 million people, many of whom live in poor, crowded conditions. So far, the cityand the DRC itselfhave been relatively spared from the impact of coronavirus compared to South Africa, the worst-hit country in Africa, and states in other continents. However, the daily national figures have risen from several dozen in past weeks to 243 on Thursday. As of Wednesday, the DRC had recorded 32,176 confirmed cases of the disease, of which 789 were fatal. The capital accounted for 22,348 of these cases, many of them concentrated in the wealthy district of Gombe, home to prosperous Congolese and travelling expatriates. Thirty-two legislators and several aides to President Felix Tshisekedi are among those who have died. Explore further DR Congo virus watchdog warns of 'worst' in capital 2021 AFP A new study led by WVU School of Nursing researchers Angel Smothers and Stephanie Young suggests that faith-community nurses may be effective at promoting adherence to an exercise program. The study centered on 14 members of a church who participated in a 12-week walking and exercise program, with guidance from a faith-community nurse. The participants reported having more energy and more time for exercise after completing the program. Credit: WVU Photo If someone joins a church, mosque or synagogue, they may be seeking better emotional or spiritual health. But according to research out of West Virginia University, faith communities have the potential to promote physical wellbeing, as well. A new study led by Angel Smothers, Stephanie Young and Elizabeth Morrisseyresearchers with the WVU School of Nursingand James Thomas from the School of Medicine's Division of Exercise Physiology suggests that healthcare providers who work directly with a faith community can help congregants stick with an exercise program. Their results appear in the Journal of Interprofessional Education and Practice. "Even in Biblical texts, there were always caregivers who cared for people within early congregations, so it's not a new idea," said Smothers, a clinical associate professor in the Department of Family/Community Health. "But a health ministry program can be from any faith background. It's not just a Christian concept." Regardless of the range of beliefs that different faith communities may subscribe to, the goal of any faith-community healthcare provider is the same: to uncover and address congregation-specific health needs. The study involved 14 participants who were members of a Christian congregation. When the study began in 2018, the participants completed surveys to identify their current exercise habits, describe their general outlook on personal health and pinpoint whatif anythingmade adherence to an exercise program difficult. After being guided through a 12-week program of exercise, health education and devotional discussions, they took the surveys again. The participants tended to report more favorable responses regarding whether they had time to exercise and whether they needed more time to sleep or catch up on rest. They also reported improved comfort with exercise on a regular basis. These results suggest that the program encouraged better time management, provided the participants with more energy or did both. That's especially important because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists lack of time and energy as a common barrier to physical activity. Health ministry programs may offer one way to improve the longevity of exercise programs. "We know that when people have social support, they're more likely to engage in activities like these," said Young, a clinical assistant professor and Ph.D. student in the Department of Family/Community Health. "The little research into faith-community nursing that's out there is showing that a spiritual component can be a motivator. If people believe they can serve God better by being healthierif they believe that God wants them to take care of themselvesthen that can be even more internal motivation." For the 12-week study period, the participants attended two hour-long meetings in their church gym twice per week. The first hour consisted of an exercise routine that researchers with the School of Medicine's Division of Exercise Physiology developed. The exercises took participants' safety and physical abilities into account. For example, participants with mobility issues might be assigned activities they could perform while seated, rather than being asked to walk laps around the gym. During the second hour, participants discussed health-related matters with the faith-community nurse, who kept tabs on their health, checked their vitals and answered questions about their medications, their symptoms and ways to preserve their health. "You know, we had young people whose blood pressures were high, and they had no idea until we checked," Smothers said. "It was multidimensional in that some people would come and walk a little, but what they really enjoyed was the devotional and educational piece," Smothers said. "Some people wouldn't feel like walking at all, but they would still come get their blood pressure checked and stay for the education and devotional." Once someone has formed a new walking habitor made another physical activity part of their routinethe benefits can be numerous. As the CDC reports, they tend to lose weight; lower their blood pressure; reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke, diabetes and some forms of cancer; and alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety. In this case, the program proved so popular that it continued beyond the 12 weeks that the study encompassed. It lasted for more than a year and a half, until COVID brought it to an end. "This project was just one example of how a partnership between faith-community nurses and professionals from another disciplinewhich, for us, was exercise physiologycan really turn into meaningful pockets of access to care," Smothers said. "Because that's really what this was. It's definitely something that can be done grassroots, by meeting people right where they are." More information: Angel Smothers et al, Limiting barriers to exercise through the development of a faith-based community walking program, Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice (2021). Angel Smothers et al, Limiting barriers to exercise through the development of a faith-based community walking program,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.xjep.2021.100428 Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain A newly published paper has provided guidance for clinicians and policymakers on approaches to helping people make informed decisions about COVID-19 vaccination. Led by researchers at St George's, University of London, Imperial College London and the University of Edinburgh, and published in the BMJ, the paper breaks down the causes of vaccine hesitancy and provides potential strategies for interventions. The authors write that vaccine hesitancy is a global issue, with 50-60% of respondents to surveys in 2021 stating they would be willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, with wide variations across countries. In the UK, there has been high levels of hesitancy in people of ethnic minority background, with 72% of people of Black ethnicity, 42% of South Asians of Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage and 32% of people of mixed ethnicity demonstrating hesitancy, compared to 18% in the overall population. This hesitancy has corresponded with lower vaccination rates among these groups. These findings have been of particular concern in healthcare workers, where there have been lower rates of vaccination in certain ethnic minority groups. The authors explain that there are multiple causes and drivers of low confidence in COVID-19 vaccines, which may lead to low uptake. These include: Socioeconomic and healthcare inequalities and inequities Structural racism and previously unethical research involving some ethnic minority groups Social disadvantages including lower levels of education and poor access to accurate information Misinformation, disinformation, rumours, and conspiracy theories, in particular through social media Lack of effective public health messages or targeted campaigns Barriers to access, including vaccine delivery time, location, and cost related to socioeconomic inequalities and marginalisation As such, they propose several interventions to tackle hesitancy, including: tailored communications for different communities, using different languages; flexible delivery models for vaccination clinics, making them more accessible; engaging local communities through local champions and community groups; and training and education at a local level in communications and engagement activities. The authors also share resources from trusted institutions on the evidence behind vaccines, as well as top tips for healthcare workers when communicating with vaccine-hesitant patients. They suggest that healthcare workers should adjust their styles for differing education and language levels, as well as repeatedly checking understanding of the information given. They recommend that tailoring the approach based on each person's experiences and backgrounds will help to contextualise importance of vaccination, giving people the information they need to consider getting vaccinated. Dr. Mohammad Razai, first author on the paper, from St George's, University of London, said: "The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected certain communities, exacerbating health inequalities in many countries, including the UK. This is particularly apparent when considering the vaccine rollout, with higher vaccine hesitancy and lower uptake in these groups. "We need to do more to engage with these groups to enable informed decision-making, provide clear and accessible information from trusted professionals on vaccination as well as address access barriers, so everyone can benefit from vaccines which prevent severe disease and death from COVID-19." Recent study showed that regular strength and sprint training was associated with maintained or even improved tibial bone properties in older men. Credit: University of Jyvaskyla. Regular strength and impact-type training may decrease or even prevent age-related bone deterioration in men, new research at the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland, shows. The tibial bone properties of middle-aged and older male sprint athletes were followed over 10 years. The study presents novel findings on maintaining the adaptability of the aging skeleton and on the importance of regular intensive training for maintaining bone health. "Part of the age-related bone loss is probably explained by reduced levels of physical activity. Especially intensive, bone-loading exercise typically decreases with age," says Tuuli Suominen, a doctoral researcher at the Gerontology Research Center, Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyvaskyla. High-intensity strength, sprint and jumping training have beneficial effects on bone even in old age. However, the ability of such training to prevent or decrease age-related bone deterioration remains unclear, as no longitudinal studies have been conducted on the topic thus far. Associations of regular strength and sprint training with bone aging were examined in a larger research program by the Gerontology Research Center and Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. A total of 69 men aged 40 to 85 years participated in the follow-up part of the study. At the beginning of the follow-up, all the men were training and competing actively. Tibial bone properties of the participants were examined by computed tomography at baseline and after 10 years. The associations of the training status with the longitudinal changes in bone were examined in two groups: in athletes who had continued regular strength and sprint training and in athletes who had reduced their training load. The study showed that regular strength and sprint training was associated with maintained or even improved tibial bone properties while in those athletes who had reduced their training load the bone properties declined over the 10-year follow-up period. The positive effects of the training were most evident in trabecular bone density and in cross-sectional geometry of the tibial shaft, which supports the benefits of both impact-type training and strength training. "Although the intensive training of the athletes as such is not possible for all aging people, strength and power training is highly recommended at all ages, regardless of the functional status," Suominen says. "In the present study, the benefits of high-impact training were most evident among middle-aged while strength training may be effective in preserving bone in older populations. Muscle strength and power are highly important also in preventing falls and related fractures." Explore further Low physical function and low muscle mass increase the risk for accelerated bone loss in older hip fracture patients More information: Tuuli H Suominen et al, Regular Strength and Sprint Training Counteracts Bone Aging: A 10Year FollowUp in Male Masters Athletes, JBMR Plus (2021). Tuuli H Suominen et al, Regular Strength and Sprint Training Counteracts Bone Aging: A 10Year FollowUp in Male Masters Athletes,(2021). DOI: 10.1002/jbm4.10513 Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain During the initial surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers at Mount Holyoke College and Virginia Commonwealth University examined a sample of 236 people in the U.S. to assess the impact of the pandemic on mental health, well-being and substance use. The researchers also specifically looked at whether a history of adverse childhood experiences might interact with exposure to pandemic-related events to predict mental health, well-being and substance use outcomes. The study, "A Prospective Study of Mental Health, Well-being, and Substance Use during the Initial COVID-19 Pandemic Surge," was conducted by Katherine C. Haydon, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology and education at Mount Holyoke, and Jessica Salvatore, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the VCU Department of Psychology in the College of Humanities and Sciences. It will be published in a forthcoming issue of the journal Clinical Psychological Science. The research is unique in that Haydon and Salvatore had collected data on participants prior to the pandemic, and so were able to prospectively examine change over time, rather than relying on retrospective reports from participants. Salvatore discussed the study's findings with VCU News. The study's primary goal was to investigate changes in depressive symptoms, indicators of well-being (such as stress, sleep and relationship satisfaction), and substance use. What did you find? We found that people who experienced more negative pandemic-related changes (e.g., more disruptions in employment/education, finances, social life, etc.) had greater increases in depressive symptoms and stress; greater declines in relationship satisfaction; and were more likely to report feelings of peritraumatic distress and anxiety. Secondly, we found that people who experienced a greater number of adverse childhood experiences were also more likely to experience negative pandemic-related changes. Taken together, our findings suggest that those who were already most vulnerable (owing to a history of adverse childhood experiences) were more likely to bear a heavier burden during COVID-19. Why explore the pandemic's impact on people with a history of adverse childhood experiences? We were especially interested in understanding whether and how the experience of COVID-related stressors was connected to the accumulation of stressors across the life course. Early experiences often can be thought of as "setting the stage" for how individuals are going to weather future storms. Our study underscores that those who experienced a number of adversities as children could especially benefit from additional support. Were you surprised by any of your findings? We were a bit surprised to not find massive changes in substance use. There was some evidence for an increase in cannabis use over time; however, we did not see an increase in alcohol use. What inspired you to undertake this research? When COVID-19 was declared a worldwide pandemic in March 2020, my collaborator Dr. Katherine C. Haydon and I realized that we had a unique opportunity to look, prospectively, at changes over time in mental health, well-being and substance use. How do you hope this study contributes to understanding the pandemic's effects, and to understanding the lasting impact of adverse childhood experiences? There is a lot of research aimed at understanding the impact of COVID-19 on mental health, substance use and well-being. Unfortunately, very few of these studies have measures of how participants were doing prior to the pandemic. Our study is unique in that we had collected data on participants prior to the pandemic. Our findings also contribute to discussions of how our government and social service agencies can best allocate resources to buoy those who need it most as we turn the corner on this pandemic. Individuals with a history of adverse childhood experiences would especially benefit from more support. Do you plan to continue studying the impact of the pandemic? The data in this paper was collected from April 2020, so very early in the pandemic. We also followed up with the sample in January, and are looking forward to analyzing that data soon. Explore further Researchers find association between financial strain due to COVID-19 and depression More information: Katherine C. Haydon et al, A Prospective Study of Mental Health, Well-Being, and Substance Use During the Initial COVID-19 Pandemic Surge, Clinical Psychological Science (2021). Journal information: Clinical Psychological Science Katherine C. Haydon et al, A Prospective Study of Mental Health, Well-Being, and Substance Use During the Initial COVID-19 Pandemic Surge,(2021). DOI: 10.1177/21677026211013499 Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain China revealed the first human case of H10N3 bird flu on Tuesday, an announcement that has so far raised no alarm among world health authorities. Here is what we know. What was found? The case of H10N3 bird flu announced by China on Tuesday is the first of its strain observed in humans. "The patient is a 41-year-old male from Jiangsu Province, China," the World Health Organization told AFP in an email. "He developed illness on 22 April 2021 and was hospitalised on 28 April in an intensive care unit. He is currently recovering," it said. China's National Health Commission (NHC) said the man was diagnosed with H10N3 a month after being hospitalised. "The source of the patient's exposure to the H10N3 virus is not known at this time," the WHO said. What is bird flu? "Bird flu, or avian flu, is caused by influenza viruses that spread between birds," said Nicole Robb of the University of Warwick, cited by the Science Media Centre (SMC). "It can often spread easily between birds, but very rarely causes disease in humans," she said. John W. McCauley of the Francis Crick Institute added: "There is a very wide range of influenza viruses in circulation in birds, much wider than in the main mammalian hosts of influenza: man, pigs and horses." Two strains of bird flu, H5N1 and H7N9, (first seen in 2013) led to human contamination in Asia through infected birds. Two strains of bird flu, H5N1 and H7N9, led to human contamination in Asia through infected birds. H5N1 first broke out in 1997, then spread between 2003 and 2011, while H7N9 was first seen in 2013. Cases of transmission between humans remain extremely rare. H7N9 has infected 1,668 people and killed 616 since 2013, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. The H5N8 virus, derived from H5N1, was detected in February among workers at a Russian poultry factory after circulating for a few months in several European farms. McCauley also cites sporadic infection incidents involving the H9N2 and H10N8 viruses across the world over the last 20 years. How can humans get it? "Transmission to humans is usually by direct contact," McCauley says, citing "very close contact with infected birds, poultry or ducks with direct exposure whilst handling them or in preparation of meat from the infected animal". McCauley points to the H5N1 outbreak in 1997 in Hong Kong that was halted by the closure of bird markets. "Once cooked, infected meat poses a very low threat," he adds. "As long as avian influenza viruses circulate in poultry, sporadic infection of avian influenza in humans is not surprising," noted the WHO, "which is a vivid reminder that the threat of an influenza pandemic is persistent." As for transmission among humans, Vincent Enouf of the Pasteur Institute says: "Mutations would be necessary as the virus crosses the species barrier." What are the risks? "At this time, there is no indication of human-to-human transmission" of H10N3, the WHO said. "We don't have any information about mutations of this H10N3 virus that could be useful in determining whether it might have the potential to be transmitted among humans," Enouf added. "Today Chinese authorities say the virus hasn't been detected in other people, which is reassuring," he says. Even among the bird population, where H10N3 has been detected in live bird markets periodically since 2002, the WHO says it is a "low pathogenicity" virus, meaning it causes few signs of illness in its host. Robb said viruses belonging to the H5 or H7 subtypes were "more worrying" as they have proven to evolve into highly dangerous strains. These, she said, "cause fatal disease in birds and can cause serious illness in humans in the rare cases that humans have been infected". Explore further China confirms first human case of H10N3 bird flu strain 2021 AFP Before (Aug 2018) and after (Jan 2021) PET scans of a patient on the LAG-3 trial. Patient of Prof Georgina Long. Credit: Melanoma Institute Australia A new immune checkpoint inhibitor has proven effective in helping save the lives of advanced melanoma patients, a breakthrough that could extend to the treatment of other cancers. Relatlimab is the first immunotherapy treatment to target LAG-3, a protein in immune cells which reinvigorates and enhances the tumor fighting response. Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting the CTLA-4 and PD-1 proteins have revolutionized treatment of advanced melanoma over the past seven years. These treatments are most effective when used in combination, but this tends to increase their toxicity. Some 50 percent of patients either do not respond, or develop resistance to these treatments and therefore, it is vital that new treatments are developed. Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA) Co-Medical Director, Professor Georgina Long AO of The University of Sydney, said the successful trial of relatlimab, targeting the LAG-3 protein, makes it a critical new weapon in the fight to save all lives from melanoma. "This drug gives us a third immune checkpoint inhibitor to add to the treatment toolkit which may be the difference between survival or not for melanoma patients around the world," Professor Long said. "Immunotherapy harnesses the body's own immune system to fight the cancer cells and having a third immune checkpoint inhibitor means we can potentially make inroads in saving the 50 percent of advanced melanoma patients who don't respond to current treatments. "Australian researchers and patients were critical to trialing this new treatment which has very real potential to also extend to other cancers." The findings from the RELATIVITY-047 trial will be presented this weekend at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting. Professor Georgina Long is senior lead author for the international trial and MIA was a leading contributor of patients for the study. Results showed that in previously untreated advanced melanoma patients, combining relatlimab with nivolumab (an immune checkpoint inhibitor targeting the PD-1 protein) doubled the progression free survival time compared to the use of nivolumab alone (10.1 vs 4.6 months respectively). At one year, almost 50 percent of patients on the combination therapy had no disease progression, whereas nearly two-thirds of patients on the single therapy had progressed. Importantly, the combined therapy was also far less toxic to patients. "Immunotherapy has already transformed the treatment of melanoma and other cancers, with anti-PD-1 therapies leading the way," Professor Long said. "This new immune checkpoint inhibitor that targets LAG-3, and its proven effectiveness when used in combination, improves outcomes for melanoma patients even further and will likely impact cancer treatment globally." Explore further Immunotherapy combination shows benefit for patients with advanced melanoma Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain More knowledge is needed about risk factors for recurrent cardiovascular disease and myocardial infarction. In his thesis, doctor Joel Ohm at the Department of Medicine, Solna, Karolinska Institutet, describes how socio-economic factors have a major impact on secondary prevention efforts and prognosis. The results may have an impact on people who have survived myocardial infarction. What is your thesis about? "The knowledge of different risk factors for suffering a first heart attack is good, but we need more knowledge about risk factors with importance within the group that survived myocardial infarction. With the exception of drug treatment, the various secondary preventive measures, i.e. care measures to prevent further cardiovascular events, have low compliance and the treatment target achievement rates are generally poor. My first study suggested a link between socio-economic status and the risk of new cardiovascular events, and it raised a number of follow-up questions from myself and others," says Joel Ohm, doctoral studen at the Department of Medicine, Solna, Karolinska Institutet. Tell me a little about how you conducted your studies. "The results of the dissertation are based on a selection of individuals from the Swedish National Quality Register of Cardiac Care and include around 30,000 men and women who suffered acute myocardial infarction between 2005-2013, and participated in routine hospital re-visits in the first year after the event. The clinical data on the participants were linked to other national registers on indicators of socio-economic status, claimed drug prescriptions and data on new myocardial infarction, stroke or death over a follow-up period of up to 12 years." Describe some of the results. "In the first study, the main findings were strong associations between socio-economic factors and the risk of a new cardiovascular event. We also asked ourselves whether education, marital status or disposable income is the best marker of socio-economic status following myocardial infarction. It is a complex issue in several ways, but the association was strongest for income level." "Primary and secondary prevention have similar challenges in preventing the hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). In the second study, we investigated blood fat levels and the risk of a new cardiovascular event. LDL, which is sometimes referred to as bad cholesterol and is a strongly established risk factor, turned out to have the weakest association, which was interesting and unexpected. Our explanation for the weak association was that in principle, all patients receive statin treatment after a heart attack in Sweden and this may explain the low prognostic value of achieved blood fat levels for new cardiovascular events." "In the third study, we conducted an in-depth study of possible explanations for the main finding in the first study. We had access to a lot of data on what happens to the group undergoing secondary prevention efforts during the first year following a myocardial infarction. We could see differences in how well different socio-economic groups are monitored, for example in terms of statin dosage increases and most clearly with regard to the proportion who participated in cardiac rehabilitation programs aimed at lifestyle change." "Overall, things looked good for all those who participated in the study as regards drug treatment, but the group with the lowest income received less statins and RAS blockers than those with higher incomes. The treatment objectives for secondary prevention set by international guidelines also had an inferior outcome in the lowest income group." "In order to improve secondary prevention, experimental research is also needed. We therefore conducted a study that elucidated the characteristics and prognosis of the 10% of our cohort's research subjects who participated in a clinical trials versus those who did not. We included socio-economic status as an analytical variable and concluded that income level, as well as educational level and marital status are factors that should be taken into account to a greater extent than today in the selection of patients in clinical trials, especially when evaluating the impact of efforts to improve socio-economic equity." "Study five is closely linked to study three. We expand our knowledge by studying the prognostic significance of socio-economic differences in secondary prevention in the first year after myocardial infarction with, among other things, rehab and statin treatment, but also in relation to differences in emergency treatment and previous risk factors such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes. We wanted to see which areas within health care contributed the most to higher risk among lower-income individuals and found that participation in physical training programs, and patient educational sessions within cardiac rehabilitation, as well as the metabolic syndrome were explanatory mechanisms." How can your research be used? "Much more knowledge is needed in secondary prevention, where we need, among other things, to be better at identifying people most at risk of new cardiovascular events so that they can be offered more intensive treatment. More knowledge is needed about different risk markers, where LDL may not be as important as we previously thought, whereas socio-economics is. In study five, we identified concrete explanation mechanisms for the increase in risk in the low-income group. Overall, participation in cardiac rehabilitation, which demonstrably improves prognosis after myocardial infarction, needs to be improved, especially among low socio-economic groups. It could improve socio-economic equity and the overall prognosis following myocardial infarction." "As a doctoral student, I have learned that every question you ask usually generates new questions. The scientific literature in the cardiovascular field is extensive, but there is also much to be done." What next? "I had to postpone the dissertation in favor of clinical work with COVID-19 patients at Karolinska University Hospital in Solna. Now the hospital is getting back to normal. The past year has been intense and I'm now looking forward to spending time with my children, my family and friends." Explore further Low socioeconomic status associated with higher risk of second heart attack or stroke More information: Socioeconomic status and myocardial infarction : influence on secondary prevention and prognosis. Socioeconomic status and myocardial infarction : influence on secondary prevention and prognosis. openarchive.ki.se/xmlui/handle 729224468.1622462603 Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Forty years on since the first AIDS cases were reported, the United Nations said Thursday it was cautiously optimistic that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)the virus that causes the diseasecould be beaten by 2030. The UNAIDS agency said at least 40 countries were on track to achieve a 90-percent drop in AIDS-related mortality by 2030, including nine countries in eastern and southern Africa. In a report, the Joint UN Programme on HIV and AIDS said that 37.6 million people worldwide were living with HIV in 2020. Of those, 27.4 million were receiving treatmentmore than three times the 7.8 million in 2010. The roll-out of affordable, quality treatment is estimated to have averted 16.2 million deaths since 2001, UNAIDS said. Over the decade, the number of AIDS-related deaths fell by 43 percent to 690,000 in 2020, in large part due to the roll-out of antiretroviral therapy, said UNAIDS. But progress in reducing new HIV infections was slowerdown 30 percent since 2010, with 1.5 million people newly infected with the virus last year compared to 2.1 million in 2010. UNAIDS said that AIDS-related illnesses remain the leading cause of death among women aged 15 to 49 in sub-Saharan Africa. Six out of seven new HIV infections among adolescents aged 15 to 19 years in the region are among girls. $29 billion call UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima said she was "cautiously optimistic" that the 2030 target could be met. "High-performing countries have provided paths for others to follow," she told reporters. "We are asking governments to focus on the inequalities that stop people from accessing services. If they can close those gaps for the particular groups that are most at risk, we can end AIDS by 2030." UNAIDS set new targets to reach by 2025: bringing HIV services to 95 percent of those who need them; reducing annual HIV infections to fewer than 370,000; and reducing AIDS-related deaths to fewer than 250,000 by 2025. The agency said an investment of $29 billion a year was needed. Byanyima called for the same political will that has gone into tackling the COVID-19 pandemic to be applied towards the fight against AIDS. She said the coronavirus crisis had had several worrying impacts, notably stretching the health systems of countries suffering from the highest HIV burden, while accessing services had become more difficult due to lockdowns. "AIDS remains unfinished business," she said. "I call on all activists the world over to renew our energy and our drive to push towards ending AIDS by 2030." The fifth UN General Assembly high-level meeting on AIDS takes place from June 8 to 10. Explore further Men at higher risk of dying of AIDS than women: UNAIDS 2021 AFP (L-R) Douglas Ruderfer, Ph.D., and Theodore (Ted) Morley pose for a photo at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Credit: Donn Jones/Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Patients who, perhaps unbeknownst to their health care providers, are in need of genetic testing for rare undiagnosed diseases can be identified en masse based on routine information in electronic health records (EHRs), a research team reported today in the journal Nature Medicine. Findings from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center study suggest that, among the patients of any sizeable health care system, there are hundreds or thousands with undiagnosed rare diseases of the sort where a genetic test could lead to a diagnosis. "Patients with rare genetic diseases often face years of diagnostic odyssey before getting a genetic test, if they get one at all. Our work could contribute to a more systematic and timely approach, alerting providers of patients that might benefit from a genetic test," said the leader of the study, geneticist Douglas Ruderfer, Ph.D., associate professor of Medicine at VUMC. It's estimated that more than 70% of rare diseases are genetic in origin. According to authors of the study, rare genetic diseases may look quite different from one patient to the next and may go undiagnosed even when well characterized in the medical literature. Using routine EHR data to directly identify patients with specific genetic diseases is, for now, quite challenging: according to the study authors, the current state of knowledge about disease-causing genetic variation is too wanting, and the genetic resolution of current clinical tests is too low. Given this state of affairs, the team developed their predictive model to instead detect patients who fit historical criteria for testing in the eyes of clinicians. To begin, the team developed a range of competing predictive algorithms. For training data, they used EHRs of patients for whom clinicians had ordered a type of genetic test called chromosomal microarray (1,818 cases), and similar patients whose records showed no history of genetic testing (7,326 matched controls). Across the training and test sets, the average age of the patients represented was 8. "We were really aiming to build a model that captured and automated clinical suspicion of a genetic disease," said Theodore Morley, a staff data scientist who worked closely with Ruderfer on the study. With all traces of genetic testing removed from a test set of 2,286 records, a machine learning algorithm emerged as the best performer, correctly classifying 87% of cases and 96% of controls. Also showing high accuracy were independent validation efforts at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital and again at VUMC, with far greater numbers of longstanding patients, cases now defined by evidence in the EHR of interaction with a genetics provider. Importantly, the algorithm also performed well in identifying patients who received genetic tests other than chromosomal microarray. The study supports the hypothesis that, within any EHR population, patients who are to be suspected of having rare genetic diseases are distinguishable via computation thanks to the presence of multiple rare signs and symptomsphenotypes, in the language of the studythat are subject to documentation in the EHR. The team's predictive algorithms used EHR diagnosis codes exclusively (the same codes that drive health care billing), amalgamated for prediction purposes into so-called phenotype codes. "After extensive validation demonstrated high predictive performance, we were really interested in assessing how an implementation of our model might compare to the current status quo for who receives a test, and what the results of those tests are," Ruderfer said. From a set of 6,445 deidentified EHRs corresponding to genotyped patient specimens from BioVU, Vanderbilt's DNA biobank, the algorithm proved accurate in picking out individuals with pathogenic copy number variations, a type of genetic abnormality. In collating this and other findings from the study, the authors estimate there are more than 2,000 patients at VUMC who have an unrecognized, potentially diagnostic copy number variation that could be identified with a genetic test. Among close observers of the study is Josh Peterson, MD, MPH, director of VUMC's Center for Precision Medicine (where Ruderfer is an affiliated faculty member). "The team's predictive model was shown to handily outperform current clinical performance, identifying patients who need testing more quickly and in greater numbers. Crucially, the model also proved portable to another health system. This paper's findings align very well with the push at VUMC to use data science to improve diagnosis of genomic syndromes," Peterson said. Explore further Hypothetical case suggests genetic testing has significant limitations for predicting disease in a healthy patient More information: Phenotypic signatures in clinical data enable systematic identification of patients for genetic testing, Nature Medicine (2021). www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01356-z Journal information: Nature Medicine Phenotypic signatures in clinical data enable systematic identification of patients for genetic testing,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41591-021-01356-z Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Scientific papers suggesting that smokers are less likely to fall ill with COVID-19 are being discredited as links to the tobacco industry, reveals an investigation by The BMJ today. Journalists Stephane Horel and Ties Keyzer report on undisclosed financial links between certain scientific authors and the tobacco and e-cigarette industry in a number of COVID research papers. In April 2020, two French studies (shared as preprints before formal peer review) suggested that nicotine might have a protective effect against COVID-19dubbed the "nicotine hypothesis." The stories made headlines worldwide and led to concern that decades of tobacco control could be undermined. It has since been roundly disproved that smoking protects against COVID-19, and several studies show that smoking, when adjusted for age and sex, is associated with an increased chance of COVID-19 related death. Horel and Keyzer point out that one of the study authors, Professor Jean-Pierre Changeux, has a history of receiving funding from the Council for Tobacco Research, whose purpose was to fund research that would cast doubt on the dangers of smoking and focus on the positive effects of nicotine. From 1995 to 1998, tobacco industry documents show that Changeux's laboratory received $220,000 (155,000; 180,000) from the Council for Tobacco Research. Changeux assured The BMJ that he has not received any funding linked "directly or indirectly with the tobacco industry" since the 1990s. In late April 2020, Greek researcher, Konstantinos Farsalinos, was the first to publish the "nicotine hypothesis" formally in a journal, in an editorial in Toxicology Reports. The journal's editor in chief, Aristidis Tsatsakis featured as a co-author, as did A Wallace Hayes, a member of Philip Morris International's scientific advisory board in 2013, who has served as a paid consultant to the tobacco company. Another co-author is Konstantinos Poulas, head of the Molecular Biology and Immunology Laboratory at the University of Patras, where Farsalinos is affiliated. The laboratory has received funding from Nobacco, the market leader in Greek e-cigarettes and the exclusive distributor of British American Tobacco's nicotine delivery systems since 2018. Neither Farsalinos nor Poulas has ever declared this Nobacco funding in their published scientific articles. Yet Horel and Keyzer show that two grants were attributed in 2018 by the Foundation for a Smoke Free Worlda non-profit established by Philip Morris International in 2017to "Patras Science Park." The grants, whose amounts are not disclosed on the foundation's website, but tax documents show came close to 83,000, went to NOSMOKE, a university start-up incubator headed by Poulas, which markets an "organic" vaping product. Last month, the European Respiratory Journal retracted a paper co-written by Poulas and Farsalinos, among others, after two authors failed to disclose conflicts of interest. The retracted article had found that "current smoking was not associated with adverse outcome" in patients admitted to hospital with COVID, and it claimed that smokers had a significantly lower risk of acquiring the virus. The foundation has invested heavily in the COVID-19/nicotine hypothesis, say Horel and Keyzer. In June 2020 it set aside 900,000 for research "to better understand the associations between smoking and/or nicotine use, and COVID-19 infection and outcome." Its request stated that the pandemic offered "both an opportunity and a challenge for individuals to quit smoking or transition to reduced risk nicotine products." They conclude: "In 2021, amid a global lung disease pandemic, tobacco industry figures are increasingly pushing the narrative of nicotine as the solution to an addiction that they themselves created, with the aim of persuading policy makers to give them ample room to market their "smoke-free" products. This makes studies on the hypothetical virtues of nicotine most welcome indeed." Explore further Use of e-cigarettes plus tobacco cigarettes linked to higher risk of respiratory symptoms More information: Covid 19: How harm reduction advocates and the tobacco industry capitalised on the pandemic to promote nicotine, The BMJ, DOI: 10.1136/bmj.n1303 , www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1303 Journal information: European Respiratory Journal Covid 19: How harm reduction advocates and the tobacco industry capitalised on the pandemic to promote nicotine, Credit: CC0 Public Domain Even in the midst of a pandemic, most U.S. consumers would not look favorably upon the use of their digital data for public health purposes, according to a new JAMA Network Open study by LDI Fellows David Grande, Nandita Mitra, Raina Merchant, David Asch, and Carolyn Cannuscio. These findings reveal some of the challenges in using social media and smartphone strategies, such as the contact tracing apps launched by Google and Apple, to curb the spread of COVID-19. The authors presented nine different scenarios for data sharing in a national survey of 3,547 adults conducted in July 2020. The scenarios differed on the source of the digital data (social media, "smart" thermometer, or smartphone), whether the data would be shared with public health officials, and how the data would be used. None of the tested scenarios received majority support, though some scenarios showed promise. Scenarios that had the most support were use of smartphones for digital contract tracing and for enforcement of quarantines. The study shows that personal or familial COVID experience and local COVID rates were not associated with support, but political ideology was. Conservatives were less likely than liberals to support digital data usage for COVID-19 response. Across nearly all scenarios, racial and ethnic minorities expressed stronger support than white and non-Hispanic populations. Although earlier research showed that in certain circumstances Black and Hispanic adults have more concerns around online privacy than white individuals, this increased support could reflect the inequitable impact of COVID-19 on racial/ethnic minority groups. This study underscores the immense challenge public health departments face to convince the U.S. public to participate in digital efforts to trace and slow the spread of COVID-19 and future public health threats. Other countries have used digital contact tracing to combat the pandemic with some success; for example, South Korea used digital surveillance and testing to curb the spread of COVID-19, though such tactics come with costs to privacy and security concerns. Public health entities that seek to use such techniques in the U.S. should use advertising, trusted messengers, and other behavioral nudges to foster buy-in from the public. Legislation might be needed to provide updated and enhanced protections for digital consumers and reassure a wary public. Explore further Contact-tracing apps prove that they save lives More information: David Grande et al, Consumer Views on Using Digital Data for COVID-19 Control in the United States, JAMA Network Open (2021). David Grande et al, Consumer Views on Using Digital Data for COVID-19 Control in the United States,(2021). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.10918 Kathleen B. Cartmell et al, HPV Vaccination Communication Messages, Messengers, and Messaging Strategies, Journal of Cancer Education (2018). DOI: 10.1007/s13187-018-1405-x Journal information: JAMA Network Open Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Women may have a stronger immune response to a common form of skin cancer than men, according to early research on mice and human cells, according to a study led by University of Manchester scientists at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute. The team published their findings in Clinical Cancer Research. Men have more skin squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) than females and their tumors are more aggressive. It is not clear if this is linked to more exposure to sunlight. This study used animals to explore this question. The study found male mice developed more aggressive tumors than females, despite receiving identical treatments. Immune cell infiltration and gene expression related to the anti-cancer immune system were increased in female mouse skin and tumors, suggesting a protective effect of the immune system. In keeping with the animal study, 931 patient records collected from four hospitals in Manchester, London and France, the researchers identified that while women commonly have a more mild form of cSCC compared to men, immunocompromised women develop cSCC in a way more similar to men That suggests the protective effect of their immune system may have been compromised. The results in human patients were confirmed in a further cohort of sun-damaged skin from the U.S.. In this cohort, human epidermal cells confirmed women's skin activated immune-cancer fighting pathways and immune cells at sites damaged by sunlight. Furthermore, the U.S. cohort showed two types of human T CellsCD4 and CD8- which are important in our immune response to skin cancer- were twice as abundant in women as in men. The differences in male and female immunosuppressed mice and human skin cells were studied by a technique called RNA sequencing. "It has long been assumed that men are at higher risk of getting non-melanoma skin cancer than women" said Dr. Amaya Viros, from The University of Manchester. "Other life-style and behavioral differences between men, such as the type of work or exposure to the sun are likely to be significant. "However, we also identify for the first time the possible biological reasons, rooted in the immune system, which explains why men may have more severe disease. "Although this is early research, we believe the immune response is sex-biased in the most common form of skin cancer, and highlights that female immunity may offer greater protection than male immunity." Dr. Viros added: "We can't yet explain why women have a more nuanced immune system than men. "But perhaps it's reasonable to speculate that women's evolutionary ability to carry an unborn child of foreign genetic material may require their immunological system to be very finely tuned and have unique skills. "Very little is known about how sex differences affect incidence and outcome in infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders and cancer. More work needs to be done. "But we feel this study has opened a window into this area, and could one day have important implications on other types of immunologically based diseases. "And it suggests if doctors are to offer personalized treatment of cancer, then biological sex should be one of the factors they take into account." Dr. Samuel Godfrey, Research Information Manager at Cancer Research UK said: "Research like this chips away at the huge question of why people respond to cancer differently. Knowing more about what drives immune responses to cancer could give rise to new treatment options and show us a different perspective on preventing skin cancer." Explore further Stem cell-based vaccine offers a new approach that may protect against pancreatic cancer More information: Timothy Budden et al, Female Immunity Protects from Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Clinical Cancer Research (2021). Journal information: Clinical Cancer Research Timothy Budden et al, Female Immunity Protects from Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma,(2021). DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-20-4261 Political consultations between Foreign Ministries of Belarus and Mozambique On June 3, 2021, the third round of political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Mozambique took palace. The Belarusian delegation was headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikalai Barysevich, the Mozambican Side by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Manuel Jose Goncalves. During the consultations the Sides discussed topical issues of the bilateral agenda, the current state and prospects for the development of the Belarusian-Mozambican political dialogue, agreed upon the approaches to develop the legal framework of relations between the two countries, and discussed specific ways to intensify trade and economic cooperation. The heads of the Belarusian and Mozambican delegations also exchanged views on the issues of interaction between the two countries within the framework of international organizations. print version The Missoula police officer who issued Hatch the citation alleged she was within 36 feet of the gate of the clinic, Heffron said in the letter. Heffron argued Hatch did not approach anyone outside the facility, and was cited for merely being within 36 feet of the clinic entrance, which does not meet the criteria of the statute for a citation to be issued. The citation also infringed on Hatchs First Amendment rights, Heffron added. This was a bad idea by the City of Missoula from the start, Heffron said in a Tuesday news release. It was a wise decision on their part to dismiss this case. If they had persisted in the charges against Mrs. Hatch, they would have lost. The charges were dismissed on May 26, according to court documents. Missoula City Attorney Patrick Lowney said "the real issue for us is the facts of this case." The city ultimately decided the charge was not defensible after looking at the details of what happened on March 10, he explained. Hatch was standing farther than the required distance away from the door of Blue Mountain Clinic. That was actually the time in the evolution of computer science that it actually had more women in it than any time since, she said. Unfortunately, its gone down since then. More than a decade later, Parker was one of a group of women who were encouraged to pursue their own ideas at an MIT robotics lab in the 1980s and 1990s and went on to become prominent leaders in the male-dominated field, according to fellow lab alumnus Helen Greiner, co-founder of iRobot, the company that makes Roomba vacuum cleaners. Lynne was one of the pioneers in the field of multi-robot systems, or swarms of robots that could cooperate with one another, Greiner said. For her 1994 dissertation, Parker borrowed a trio of iRobot's early machines small wheeled rovers to test a new software system she called Alliance, designed to help robots learn from each other and environmental conditions to cooperate on a mission. It was a precursor to the robotic teams now seen maneuvering around each other to transport goods in Amazon warehouses, or the flocks of drones being tested by the military. Greiner said she's thankful to have a robotics expert with decades of experience in such a top White House role. Its important to make sure theres funding for people doing the cutting edge research, that we stay ahead of other countries, Greiner said. She could be spending her time doing research but instead she has chosen to try to herd a lot of cats together. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A key part of EmbraceRaces approach is using storytelling to connect with children, particularly those who have been made to feel different because of their race. The nonprofit has used some of the new money to pay storytelling trainers to help more than a dozen people share personal reflections, such as what it means to to be biracial, a descendant of people who enslaved others, or the parent of an adopted child of a different race. The use of stories, Grant-Thomas says, is a potent way to move away from a colorblind approach to race, which pretends that all people are treated the same, to one that encourages rigorous conversations about racial identity. We use those stories as sort of a seedbed for community building, he says. However, as the United States moves beyond the first anniversary of Floyds murder, Grant-Thomas worries that much of the attention donors have paid to anti-racism efforts will not last. About a dozen prospective donors are ready to give EmbraceRace a serious hearing, but they might not be a year from now, according to Grant-Thomas. Some people will probably be in it for the long haul, he says, but the attention is likely to ebb. Wildland firefighter Tim Hart, who was injured on May 24 while fighting a fire in New Mexico, has died from his injuries, the U.S. Forest Service said Thursday. Hart was flown by air ambulance to a hospital in El Paso, Texas, following a hard landing after parachuting into rocky terrain, while responding to the Eicks fire in New Mexicos Hidalgo County, according to the Custer Gallatin National Forest on May 27. I am deeply saddened to share that Tim Hart, a Forest Service Smokejumper, has died from injuries sustained on May 24 while responding to the Eicks Fire in Hildago County, New Mexico," U.S. Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen said in a press release. "Our hearts go out to Tims family, loved ones, friends, fellow Forest Service employees, and the entire wildland fire community and I ask that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers during this time of sorrow while respecting the familys privacy. The majority of self-identified Republican voters as do most Americans of all political persuasions support legalizing marijuana. But you wouldnt know that by observing the actions of their elected officials. In recent months, Republican lawmakers have led numerous efforts to either roll back or repeal voter-initiated laws legalizing and regulating marijuana consumption. In some instances, theyve even taken steps to prevent their constituents from voting on the issue at all. Most recently, the Republican-led legislature in Montana where 57% of voters in November decided in favor of a statewide initiative legalizing the production and sale of marijuana to those ages 21 and older rewrote the law prior to its implementation. The weakened law is far from what the majority of voters demanded. Among other changes, it reduces the number of marijuana plants that an adult may legally grow in their own private residence. And it exempts nearly half of the counties in the state from fully abiding by the law if they dont want to. To help address urgent healthcare needs in India brought about by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, Ericsson announced its support to UNICEFs COVID-19 humanitarian response in the country. As part of their support, Ericsson made an upfront donation to UNICEF and launched a month-long company matching employee donation drive globally in May, which resulted in a total donation amount of USD 971,567 to UNICEF. Ericsson employees from more than 95 countries donated towards this UNICEF initiative for India. Ericssons donation will go towards providing critical medical supplies and equipment in India. This includes, increasing the number of RT-PCR testing machines to boost identification of new COVID-19 cases and providing oxygen generation plants as well as procuring other critical supplies for health facilities in areas with the greatest needs in the country. These supplies and equipment will ensure continuity and sustained access to immediate health services for children and their families and contribute to strengthening the health system in the future. Heather Johnson, Vice President for Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility for Ericsson, said, India is a very important market for Ericsson and a large number of our global employee base is located there. Many Ericsson colleagues around the globe asked how they could support India during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. UNICEF is our long- standing partner and we decided to join forces to launch this donation campaign. The funds will go towards supplying medical equipment through UNICEF and will help in the early detection and COVID-19 treatment and provide much needed relief to the severely affected people in India. UNICEF India is well placed to support preparedness and response to COVID-19, through its well -established presence across 13 field offices in India, where it works to provide assistance and technical expertise in the areas of Health, Nutrition, Water and Sanitation, Disaster Risk Reduction, Education and Child Protection. Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director for Partnerships, said, The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted countless lives in India and around the world. UNICEF, together with partners, are tirelessly working to help save lives through the swift delivery and provision of urgent medical supplies and equipment in India, said . We are grateful to Ericsson and their employees for their timely and generous support in this crisis. Ericsson, through its local Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility partners, began supporting initiatives in 2020 such as collecting COVID-19 test samples for testing at designated government labs in Chennai and Pune, India and donating Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to hospitals and sanitation workers. These efforts continue to be supported by the company. NASA launched White and McDevitt on June 3. Shortly after a successful first orbit of the earth, White began preparing for his walk outside the capsule. The original plan simply had White standing in the open capsule door and sticking his body outside, but White wanted to go further. As the capsule continued to orbit traveling at 17,000 mph, White began the first extravehicular activity in American history. Tethered to a 23-foot cord, harnessed to an umbilical carrying an oxygen hose, and wearing a spacesuit with an American flag patch on it for the very first time, White took historic steps. This is the greatest experience. Its just tremendous, White said while outside the spacecraft. The kid who always wanted to be in the air was now orbiting the Earth at rapid speed. He was doing what he loved and experiencing the thrill of doing something no other American had ever done. After several minutes, NASA controllers pressed White to return to the capsule. Like a kid in a candy shop, he did not want the experience to end, but he followed their instruction and pulled himself back toward McDevitt and the safety of the capsule. It had been an important 23 minutes the first of many spacewalks to come. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} After returning to Earth, White and the astronauts continued to work and train for a moon mission. Then, tragedy struck. Share this: June 3, 2021 by Flannary Collins Category: Operating Policies , COVID-19 The pandemic has changed the way we work. Remote work has been a success in many ways, and many local governments are planning for a different office configuration in the near future by shrinking their in-person presence and allowing more remote work opportunities. Despite this increased remote presence, the reality is that many Washington local government employees will soon be expected to return to the workplace in-person, and that return raises questions about employee vaccination policies. Prior to returning to the in-person office, local governments need to be clear on their policy for employee vaccinations. Earlier this year, I wrote a blog post exploring the legalities of mandatory vaccination policies in the local government workplace. (Short answer: yes, they do appear to be legal, although we are aware of one lawsuit challenging their legality). Despite the legality of these programs, many local governments are declining to adopt a mandatory vaccination policy and focusing their attention on providing incentives to encourage employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. This blog advises on how to properly approach vaccine incentive policies. So Many Questions MRSC is getting many questions about vaccine incentives, so I will review a few broad issues. Are employee vaccine incentive policies allowed? Yes, they are. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its technical guidance in May 2021 to make it clear that vaccine incentive policies are permissible. Similar to a mandatory vaccine policy, the incentive policy should accommodate those who cannot take the vaccine because of disability or religious objection and should provide alternative ways for the employee to obtain the incentive. For example, the employee could be subject to regular COVID-19 testing or be required to watch a COVID-19 safety video if they are unable to take the vaccine. What type of incentives can be offered? While other incentives are available (including a one-time cash payment), the most popular one for Washington local government appears to be additional paid time off. Local policy examples include the following: The City of East Wenatchees policy, which offers four hours of vacation time for receiving the vaccine. Spokane Transits policy, which provides two hours of paid time for each of the two doses of the vaccine, up to four hours total. The City of Issaquahs policy, which provides eight hours of leave, to be taken on July 2, 2021 (called a city closure day, but only for those who are fully vaccinated). Another obvious incentive for fully vaccinated individuals is the ability to go maskless, either indoors or outdoors, unless local rules require otherwise. (Some counties still have indoor mask directives in place for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. For example, King County still strongly encourages all county residents, whether vaccinated or not, to continue wearing masks in indoor public areas.) Individuals who are not fully vaccinated must continue to wear masks indoors pursuant to the Washington Department of Labor and Industries revised workplace safety and health guidance, which states that [i]f an employee is not fully vaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown, employers must continue to require masks and social distancing. Note that the EEOC cautions employers against offering very large incentives if the employer administers the employee vaccine themselves (as opposed to a pharmacy or other third party) because employees may be coerced into participating and disclosing medical or disability information in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This issue can be avoided by the employer not directly offering the vaccine. Some cities namely Seattle are taking their vaccine incentive programs one major step further by offering vaccine incentives to members of the public. The city is locating pop-up vaccination clinics on the premises of private businesses and then is partnering with those local businesses to offer a freebie (e.g., free beverage or treat from partner businesses). One note of caution: Local governments really should not offer vaccine incentives retroactively. In other words, incentive policies should be in place prior to employees receiving the vaccine in order to avoid potentially running afoul of the prohibitions against gift of public funds in Article VIII, Section 7 and retroactive pay increases under Article II, Section 25 of the state constitution. Given that more than 50% of Washingtonians 16 years or older are fully vaccinated, local governments who do not yet have an incentive policy in place yet may want to think about expanding the policy to cover any booster shots that will be needed for COVID-19 and potentially other vaccines as well. That way, individuals who have already received the vaccine have an opportunity to receive the incentive for future boosters or other similar vaccines like the flu. Can I require proof of vaccination status to confirm incentive eligibility? In order to properly provide the incentive, a local government employer will need to confirm vaccination status. The EEOCs guidance makes it clear that the employer may ask for proof of vaccine status without violating the ADA because asking an employee to voluntarily show proof of vaccination is not a disability-related inquiry covered by the ADA. How should I manage records showing proof of vaccination status? An employer is not required to actually receive a copy of the employees vaccination card; Instead, they can request the employee simply show them their vaccination card (and the employer makes a separate notation about vaccination status) or submit an affirmation that the employee has been vaccinated. Spokane County has developed a helpful vaccination attestation policy. The record showing proof of vaccination must be kept in a separate location from the employees personnel file See 29 CFR 1630.14(d)(4)(i). Proof of vaccination status is confidential and not subject to public disclosure. In section K of the EEOC guidance, confidentiality is explained as follows: The ADA requires an employer to maintain the confidentiality of employee medical information, such as documentation or other confirmation of COVID-19 vaccination. Although the EEO laws themselves do not prevent employers from requiring employees to bring in documentation or other confirmation of vaccination, this information, like all medical information, must be kept confidential and stored separately from the employees personnel files under the ADA. If the local government receives a public records request for employee vaccination records, the local government should cite to the ADA at 42 U.S.C. 12112(d) to withhold those records. [See also 29 CFR 1630.14(c)(1)]. For a belt and suspenders approach, the agency can also cite RCW 42.56.230(3), which exempts personal information in files maintained for employees, to the extent disclosure would violate the employees right to privacy. Conclusion In lieu of a mandatory vaccination policy, adopting a vaccine incentive policy is the next best option for offering a safe workplace for employees. As we have seen from the modified federal and state guidance on masks and vaccines, things to continue to evolve. We will continue to follow recent developments in this area and keep our readers informed of any updates. MRSC is a private nonprofit organization serving local governments in Washington State. Eligible government agencies in Washington State may use our free, one-on-one Ask MRSC service to get answers to legal, policy, or financial questions. It said Lyons had faced numerous challenges, including the closing of the Second Street homeless shelter and the opening of the Center of Hope shelter. Rocky has served as a faithful servant to Christ in caring for the hurting in Butte and the surrounding communities and the board wishes her well in her future endeavors, the statement said. Prior to filing her lawsuit, Henke says, Lyons disputed her vacation pay and final paycheck and through counsel requested reasons for being fired. Walker, in a response letter, listed 18 reasons, including failing to comply with overtime laws, properly train employees and numerous other duties. It also said she made disparaging comments about board members and donors and made statements that resulted in negative publicity. But nothing was said then about things alleged in the criminal charge, Henke said, and he only learned about that when contacted by the Standard. Lyons filed the lawsuit in the spring of 2020, saying she had served with distinction for five years. She was never subjected to disciplinary proceedings and her performance was never deemed unsatisfactory, the suit says. After 63 years of fighting to protect wildlands, the Montana Wilderness Association is changing its name to Wild Montana. The home-grown organization, fostered by Bozeman couple Florence and Ken Baldwin in 1958 to protect the Madison Range, officially announced the name change to its membership on Thursday. The name represents the breadth of the work we do as an organization, said Ben Gabriel, executive director of Wild Montana. I look forward to building a more inclusive organization, he added. The group has 4,415 members, 80% of which live in the state. Wild Montana also counts 13,000 people as active supporters, some of which were recruited through the group's "Wilderness Walks" programs in the summer and winter and annual photography contests. New vision According to a flyer printed for its members, the decision was made to better represent the breadth of our current work, from reforming our nations broken oil and gas leasing system to driving policy at the state capitol. ARCHIVED - Covid milestones reached in Spain: 20 per cent fully vaccinated but the death toll hits 80,000 The incidence rate continues to fall gradually in the Spain as a whole Despite the general optimism regarding the developments of the coronavirus pandemic in Spain the latest Ministry of Health update published on Wednesday evening included a sobering reminder of the scale of the crisis over the last 15 months, as the official government Covid death toll passed 80,000. A further 66 fatalities were reported, taking the total since the first death last February to 80,049, underlining the fact that in spite of the positive news of late regarding the key pandemic indicators the pandemic is still far from over. On the other hand, the indicators continued to improve across the country in general terms, with the 14-day accumulated incidence rate falling another couple of points to 118.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The lowest figures are still in the Comunidad Valenciana (35.8) and the Balearics (38.75) while at the other end of the scale are the Basque Country (199) and La Rioja (186): these last two are among six regions still in high risk territory, the others being Madrid, Aragon, the north African enclave of Melilla and Andalucia. At the same time, the number of Covid patients receiving hospital treatment continues to fall, now accounting for only 3.6 per cent of occupied hospital beds, while the equivalent figure in intensive care units stands at 12.85 per cent although it is still above 25 per cent in the regions of Madrid (26.8%) and La Rioja: in the Comunidad Valenciana, Galicia and Extremadura this indicator is below 3 per cent. But it is the death toll which grabs the headlines as a result of the latest update, with a fatality rate in Spain due to Covid of 170 people per 100,000 inhabitants since the pandemic began, according to John Hopkins University. This is lower than the figures reported for Hungary (305), Italy (209), the UK (192) and the USA (181) but considerably higher than those in countries such as Germany (107) and the Netherlands (103), and the rates in the regions of Castilla y Leon and Castilla-La Mancha are among the highest in Europe. VACCINATION UPDATE Nonetheless, the vaccination campaign provides undeniable grounds for optimism, with more than one in five people in Spain now fully immunized against Covid-19. A further 487,514 doses of Covid vaccine were administered to the population of Spain on Monday, taking the total up to over 27.6 million since the first jabs in late December. People to have received at least one dose: 18,426,204 (38.8 per cent of the population) People fully vaccinated: 9,679,187 (20.4 per cent) Among the population aged over 60, the proportion of people to have received at least one dose has risen to 95.3 per cent, while well over half (61.2 per cent) have completed the immunization process. There are still noticeable variations among the speeds of vaccination in Spains 17 regions: for example, in Asturias the proportion of over-16s to have received at least one dose has risen to 55.5 per cent, while in the Balearics the equivalent figure stands at 39.4 per cent. In terms of those who have received the full immunization treatment, the percentages range from 16.6 per cent in the Balearics to 31.9 per cent in Castilla y Leon. He was noncommittal before the vote but noted that Cal/OSHA must apply its rules to a wide variety of businesses, including places like meatpacking facilities that were hit especially hard by the virus. The Cal/OSHA regulations apply in almost every workplace in the state, including workers in officers, factories and retail. Its pandemic rules apply to all employees except those working from home or where there is a single employee who does not have contact with other people. Cal/OSHA is out of step with the rest of the country, Andrew Sommer said on behalf of the California Employers COVID-19 Prevention Coalition before the vote. The workplace rules set up an inconsistent standard between members of the public and employees of private and government workplaces, the California Chamber of Commerce and more than five dozen other business organizations said in a letter to the board. For instance, restaurant servers will have to remain masked while working but could go unmasked if they dine at the same location during their off hours, said Katie Hansen, senior legislative director for the California Restaurant Association. They are kind of an everything-type store, which is great for our town, Klaren said. Along with believing in the stores concept, Klaren had spoken previously with other mall managers from places like Burlington and Galesburg, who have also signed bargain warehouse stores as tenants a move that has proven successful. They bring in a ton of traffic, theyre good for the town and were expecting those same results at the Muscatine Mall, Klaren said. Were really just hoping to provide an additional service to the town to get people to stay and shop local, and I think this store will be a big benefit for us and for the owners, and will be a good partnership moving forward. The other business moving into the mall is Chicharo's Mexican Grill, which will be next to Bargain World and also will open sometime in mid-June. Many may already know the restaurant from its downtown location. However the owners are looking to provide a fast-food concept with the new site. Although Klaren didn't reveal the names of any other businesses that are looking into partnering with the Muscatine Mall, she said the mall is working with additional ones and is hoping to bring in more new stores. A new website for the mall also is in the works. The jobs are open for those ages 16 or older, at all skill levels. The MuscaBus will stop at Calvary Church on this day upon request as part of its Green Route. We have jobs from entry-level positions all the way up to higher-level positions, Paulsen said. This would be great for anyone looking for a job or looking to make a move, as well as new college graduates or high school students who may be looking for a summer job. Participating businesses include Bayer, CBI Bank, Crossroads Inc., Heinz, HNI Corporation, Iowa 80 Truckstop, Hoffman Inc., Lutheran Living, Muscatine Community College, Muscatine Power and Water, Sinclair Tractor, SSBA, Temp Associates, The Merrill Hotel, Walmart and more. Weve had anywhere from 20 to over 400 people show up to these events, and they leave with hundreds of job listings, McLaughlin said. I just think its a good way for us to reach out and connect companies with job seekers. In line with OPPOs efforts to support Indias fight against Covid-19, OPPO India announced the delivery of 300 Oxygen Concentrators to Indian Red Cross Society. These Oxygen Concentrators will be distributed to various hospitals in the North-east region of India. Commenting on the initiative, Damyant Khanoria, Chief Marketing Officer, OPPO India, said, OPPO is committed to support the nation in fighting the pandemic together and this is another small step from OPPO India to help our community. We will continue to assist and support our country in overcoming this adversity. As an organisation that is having core belief in Technology for Mankind, Kindness for the World, OPPO has been working together with different partners to help provide aid across cities in India in these times. Recently the brand distributed 1000 oxygen concentrators across various hospitals in different cities of Uttar Pradesh to support the Covid relief measures. 5300 OPPO Band Style were donated to frontline warriors of the Delhi Police, Greater Noida Authority, and Cyberabad Police In addition to the community support, OPPO has also extending end-to-end COVID care for all their employees as part of the employee well-being program. From providing teleconsultation with doctors, COVID care kit for all the employees, paid time off for recovery to Free RT- PCR tests and wellness for employees to take every now and then to look after their well-being etc. the brand has left no stone unturned to support its employees. Apart from employees, OPPO also dispatched COVID care kits to the retail chain store owners from National organized trade and Regional organised trade. And have also shared guidelines to agents to distribute same kits to the OPPO Premier Partners clubs. As a step to ensure smooth contactless purchase experience for all its users, OPPO India has also introduced home delivery of OPPO products with a simple text on the WhatsApp application. Customers can order any OPPO product with just one WhatsApp text stating the name of the state along with Pincode on +91-9871502777 and receive a call back from the nearest retail stores. For all the products whose warranty expires during the lockdown period, the brand has extended the repair warranty until 30th June 2021. The scheme is applicable across product categories including smartphones and accessories such as chargers, data cable, and earphones. The OPPO aftersales customer service support is providing all its users the best remote support in this difficult time through a dedicated AI-powered Chatbot called Ollie that is available 24X7 for consumers to resolve 94.5% of their queries. The brands human chat support on WhatsApp is also available to support customers 24X7 in resolving their queries. In 2020 OPPO India donated Rs 1 crore to Prime Ministers National Relief Fund and Uttar Pradesh Chief Ministers Distress Fund to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic. MUSCATINE -- As we celebrate the end of the year and graduation at Muscatine Community College, there are always exceptional students that we have been delighted to serve. Anthony, Tony Nietzel is one of those exceptional students. Tony received the Ron Hansen Memorial Economics Award which is given to an outstanding economics student at MCC, as determined by the economics faculty. When I was visiting with Tony, he inquired about the qualifications needed to teach at a community college. I can only hope that it means Tony aspires to return to Muscatine Community College when he completes his education at Iowa State University. Tony comes from a long line of family members who have attended MCC, including siblings, Daniel, Katie, and Mary. I remember Tony coming into my office one day, telling me that he just wanted to share how much he enjoyed and valued his professors at MCC. While many students likely share Tonys sentiments, not many express them to me as he had. Its not something that happens every day and I will remember this interaction for a long time. The next time I saw Tony he was attending our Legends event at the Merrill Hotel. Just recently Tony was a server for my table at Geneva Country Club where I attending a GMCCI Board meeting. Tony is an active community member! DALLAS (AP) A Dallas high school valedictorian scrapped a speech approved by her school administrators and delivered an abortion rights call in its place. Paxton Smith, the 2021 valedictorian at Lake Highlands High School, submitted to school officials an address on the effect of the media on young minds. But when she spoke at Sunday's graduation ceremony, she talked of what she called "a war on the rights" of her body and those of other girls and women by the "heartbeat bill" signed into law by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott a week and a half before. "I cannot give up this platform to promote complacency and peace when there is a war on my body and a war on my rights. A war on the rights of your mothers, a war on the rights of your sisters, a war on the rights of your daughters. We cannot stay silent," she told her class. The new law outlaws, without exception, any abortion after a first heartbeat can be detected. That could come as early as six weeks after conception when many women could be unaware that they are pregnant. The law also would allow anyone to sue a Texas abortion provider or anyone who helped someone get an abortion for as much as $10,000. The law would take effect in September, but federal courts have mostly blocked states from enforcing similar measures. Editor Zaldy Dandan is the recipient of the Best Editorial Writer Award of the Society of Professional Journalists, and the CNMI Humanities Award for Outstanding Contributions to Journalism. His three books are available on amazon.com Telkom is not holding back improved broadband access through its legal challenge of the spectrum auction but is, in fact, trying to make broadband more pervasive in South Africa. This is feedback from Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko who commented on their decision to get an interdict against the planned spectrum auction. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) was planning to hold its long-awaited auction of high-demand spectrum by 31 March 2021. Telkom delayed these plans by obtaining an interdict against ICASA which stops the auction from taking place until Telkoms case is heard by the High Court in Pretoria. We are not holding back the South African economy from having more broadband. We just want it to be available as pervasively as possible and to ensure that the competitive landscape is evened out, Maseko said. He said once the competitive landscape is evened out, broadband access will be democratised. It will not just be for the people in the big cities, but it will also for people in the rural areas, he said. Youll be able to get [higher] download speeds and you will have choice both in terms of quality and price. Maseko said at the moment there isnt much choice. He added that one of the biggest things holding back South Africas economy is the lack of competition. We have a few companies that dominate the economy, and once you have fewer companies that dominate the economy you will not have innovation, you will not have competition, prices wont come down, and the economy will not grow. The Telkom CEOs comments regarding competition are surprising as the company enjoyed a legally protected monopoly for decades. Telkom also has more spectrum than its competitors, it has the countrys largest fibre network, and has an extensive network of telecoms infrastructure across South Africa. To complain about choice, when Telkom was the only game in town until fairly recently, seems disingenuous. The talk of competition should, however, be seen in relation to the planned spectrum auction and what Telkom wants to achieve. Maseko explained that it basically comes down to low frequency spectrum. He said this spectrum makes it possible to roll out a mobile broadband network more efficiently. He said Telkom is fighting against the spectrum auction in its current format because they will bid and pay for sub-1GHz spectrum which they cannot use. Vodacom and MTN, in comparison, will be able to use the additional spectrum they get through the auction. This, Maseko said, will create an uneven and unequal playing field. As for their dominance in the fixed-line market, he said Telkom has an open access fibre infrastructure company Openserve. Openserve is not just for the exclusive use of Telkom. It is available to the totality of the market, he said. Openserve has all the other operators as its customers. The pricing is very transparent. Telkom does not get a preferential price relative to anybody else and thats how the market has to be. Sipho Maseko interview Adapt ITs independent board should promote competition between suitors to get the highest offer possible for Adapt IT shareholders, but instead it is playing favourites. This is the view of Huge Group CEO James Herbst, one of the parties looking to acquire Adapt IT. Two companies, Huge Group and Volaris, have made offers to acquire Adapt IT. In January, Huge Group announced that it made an offer to Adapt IT shareholders to acquire all of the issued Adapt IT shares at R5.52 per share. Huge said it will fulfil the purchase by issuing 0.9 Huge shares for each Adapt IT share tendered to each shareholder that accepts the offer. Two months later, Canadian software group Volaris made a cash offer of R6.50 per share to acquire Adapt IT. Adapt ITs management preferred the Volaris offer and the company obtained irrevocable undertakings supporting it from shareholders holding 44.4% of Adapt IT shares. These shareholders include Black Sheep Master Fund (22.8%), Sbu Shabalala (10.4%), Nedgroup Investment Advisors (5.1%), Tiffany Dunsdon (3.3%), and Rubistar (2.8%). Adapt ITs independent board also recommended that shareholders reject the Huge Group offer, calling it unfair and unreasonable. This followed an analysis by independent expert Nodus Capital which concluded that a fair price range for Adapt IT was R7.00 to R9.09 per Adapt IT share. It looked like Volaris had the deal in the bag, but Huge Group responded by increasing its offer from R5.52 per share to R9.09 per share. This was done by increasing the originally announced swap ratio from 0.9 Huge shares for each Adapt IT share to 1.37 Huge shares for each Adapt IT share. With the Huge Group offer now at the upper end of Nodus Capitals valuation, it should be seen as a fair and reasonable offer. It also means that the Volaris offer is unfair. Volaris and Adapt IT have subsequently issued a press statement, revealing that Adapt ITs independent board views Volaris offer as unfair but reasonable. With irrevocable undertakings to support the Volaris offer from large shareholders, who include Adapt IT management, it created a challenge. They could not back out of the Volaris offer, but it is also not easy to justify it following the Nodus Capital valuation and higher Huge Group bid. Instead, Adapt IT shareholders holding 47.7% of the company gave irrevocable undertakings to Volaris to support the deal if it increases its offer such that the independent board and independent expert revise their opinions and state that the offer is fair. To date there has been no clear indication that Volaris will increase its R6.50 per share cash offer to Adapt IT shareholders. Adapt ITs independent board has now engaged Nodus Capital to provide a revised opinion on the Huge offer in the light of the increased consideration. Feedback on the revised opinion from Nodus Capital and views on the increased Huge offer are expected on Friday. Commenting on the latest developments, Huge Groups James Herbst said it appears that Volaris was not prepared to increase their offer to within the fair value range. They might have been of the view that this was unnecessary given the support they have received from some large shareholders to vote in favour of the scheme, he said. This, Herbst said, places them in a position to squeeze out dissenting and non-attending minorities at R6.50 rather than at a price which is in the fair value range. This is done in concert with the independent board. If they had upped their offer by R0.50, this would have brought their offer into the fair value range and allowed them to make the delisting proposal, he said. It is odd why they would have spent considerable hours to put together a 106 page document proposing the scheme and the delisting only to see it binned because the offer is deemed unfair. What exacerbates the situation for them is Huges increased offer of R9.09. Herbst said he would have expected the independent board to solicit the highest offer possible for Adapt IT shareholders by promoting competition between the suitors. Instead, the independent board is trying to devalue the Huge offer. What they should be doing is soliciting a higher offer from Volaris rather than trying to discredit ours, he said. Facebook is working on adding multi-device support and expanding the functionality of disappearing messages in WhatsApp, WABetaInfo reported. The new features were confirmed by Facebook during a group chat with WABetaInfo featuring WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Were about to turn on disappearing mode, which turns on disappearing messages in all of your threads so your WhatsApp experience basically becomes ephemeral, Zuckerberg said. This is in addition to rolling out more disappearing messages features around the world. Currently WhatsApp only has one mode for disappearing messages, which deletes new messages sent or received in a chat thread after seven days. Zuckerberg also stated that WhatsApp is about to start rolling out a feature called View Once, which lets you send a message that will disappear after the recipient sees it. Screenshots of Disappearing Mode and View Once that were shared with WABetaInfo are shown below. Zuckerberg also confirmed details about multi-device support that were previously data-mined from beta versions of WhatsApp. The Facebook boss said that it will be possible to use the same WhatsApp account on multiple devices without an active Internet connection on your main device. Its been a big technical challenge to get all your messages and content to sync properly across devices even when your phone battery dies, but weve solved this and were looking forward to getting it out soon, Zuckerberg stated. Messages will still be end-to-end encrypted when using WhatsApps multi-device support. I think weve solved this in an elegant way and itll be the best solution out there, said Zuckerberg. Multi-device support for WhatsApp will be available in public beta within the next two months, Cathcart announced. Cathcart also confirmed that the launch of multi-device support clears the way for WhatsApp on iPad, and that it will be possible to link up to four devices. In addition to multi-device support and new functionality for disappearing messages, WABetaInfo previously reported that Facebook is working on a number of additional features for WhatsApp. These include: End-to-end encrypted backups Migration of chat history between iOS and Android Expansion of WhatsApp Payments to Mexico, UK, and Spain Review voice messages before sending them Adjustable timers for disappearing messages No launch dates for any of these features in development at WhatsApp have been confirmed. Now read: Facebook snubs South African Parliament over WhatsApp privacy and fake news President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Cybercrimes Act into law on Tuesday, introducing new laws that criminalise the sending of certain types of harmful messages on social media in South Africa. Penalties for sending such messages include imprisonment for up to three years and/or a fine. The Cybercrimes Act defines three types of harmful messages that have been criminalised in South Africa. They are messages which: Incite damage to property or violence. Threaten people with damage to property or violence. Unlawfully contain an intimate image. Ahmore Burger-Smidt, the director and head of data privacy practice at Werksmans Attorneys said that the Cybercrimes Act is mainly aimed at bringing South Africas cybercrime laws in line with the rest of the world. In addition to criminalising certain harmful messages, Burger-Smidt said that the Act also includes definitions for cyber fraud, forgery, extortion, and theft of incorporeal property. The unlawful and intentional access of a computer system or computer data storage medium is also considered an offence, along with the unlawful interception of, or interference with data. In addition to defining specific cybercrimes, the Act also places several obligations on companies such as network operators, Internet service providers, and financial institutions. The Act stipulates that electronic communications service providers and financial institutions must report, without undue delay and where feasible, cyber offences within 72 hours of becoming aware of them. If the fail to do so it may lead to a fine of us much as R50,000. These companies are also obligated to help in the investigation of cybercrimes, said Burger-Smidt. They must preserve any information that may help the South African Police Service in its investigation, and may also be required to hand over hardware when an application is made to the court. The malicious communications criminalised by the Cybercrimes Act are defined follows: Message which incites damage to property or violence A message which incites damage to property or violence applies to any person who discloses, by means of an electronic communications service, a data message to a person, group of persons or the general public with the intention to incite (a) the causing of any damage to property belonging to; or (b) violence against, a person or a group of persons The Cybercrimes Act defines violence as bodily harm, and damage to property as damage to any corporeal or incorporeal property. Message which threatens persons with damage to property or violence As an extension of the above, the Act also makes it an offence to distribute messages which threatens a group of people with violence, or with damage to their property. The Act clarifies that group of persons means characteristics that identify an individual as a member of a group. These characteristics include, without limitation: Race Gender Sex Pregnancy Marital status Ethnic or social origin Colour Sexual orientation Age Disability Religion Conscience Belief Culture Language Birth and nationality Disclosure of intimate image A message constitutes disclosure of an intimate image if any person sends a message containing an intimate image of someone without their consent. The Act describes an intimate image as both real or simulated, which show the person as nude, or display his or her genital organs or anal region. It also notes that the message is an offence if the person is female, transgender, or intersex and their covered genitals or breasts are displayed in a manner that violates or offends their sexual integrity or dignity. Even if the person is not identifiable in the image, this offence applies if the message identifies the person in the text, or in other information contained in the message. Cybercrimes Act Now read: You can now be arrested for forwarding fake coronavirus messages on WhatsApp Humboldt State already has a reputation as a strong STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) school, Capps said, including offering the most science majors of any school in the California State University system. "We're already sort of a polytechnic without the designation," Capps said. As part of the transition, Capps said Humboldt State plans to offer more engineering and technology programs as well. With more programs comes more students, and more faculty to teach them. Humboldt State may be remote, but Capps said the school doesn't struggle in attracting people to come work there. "Once people come here, they really want to be here," she said. Investment in rural California Donna Wright, president, and CEO of the Greater Eureka Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that local businesses will benefit from the labor force infusion from new students moving to the area, as well as from a higher volume of sales. "The polytechnic designation will have a ripple effect in the community," Sen. McGuire said. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) NASA is returning to sizzling Venus, our closest yet perhaps most overlooked neighbor, after decades of exploring other worlds. The space agency's new administrator, Bill Nelson, announced two new robotic missions to the solar system's hottest planet, during his first major address to employees Wednesday. These two sister missions both aim to understand how Venus became an inferno-like world capable of melting lead at the surface," Nelson said. One mission named DaVinci Plus will analyze the thick, cloudy Venusian atmosphere in an attempt to determine whether the inferno planet ever had an ocean and was possibly habitable. A small craft will plunge through the atmosphere to measure the gases. It will be the first U.S.-led mission to the Venusian atmosphere since 1978. The other mission, called Veritas, will seek a geologic history by mapping the rocky planets surface. It is astounding how little we know about Venus," but the new missions will give fresh views of the planet's atmosphere, made up mostly of carbon dioxide, down to the core, NASA scientist Tom Wagner said in a statement. It will be as if we have rediscovered the planet. Samsung India has got the ball rolling on vaccinating over 50,000 employees, adding a shot in the arm for Indias united fight against Covid. This week, on-site vaccination camps were organised for employees at the Companys Southwest Asia headquarters at Two Horizon Centre in Gurugram, at SRI-Noida, one of Samsungs three R&D centers in the country, at Samsung Opera House in Bengaluru, the worlds largest mobile experience center and several branch offices around the country. A vaccination camp was also organised at the Sriperumbudur factory, near Chennai. Employees came to the vaccination sites with great enthusiasm, with the Company ensuring strict Covid protocols and appropriate Covid behaviour. In some locations such as the Gurugram RHQ, family members of the employees also joined the vaccination programme. More vaccination drives have been planned over the next few weeks across cities. As part its people welfare initiatives, Samsung will cover the vaccination costs for over 50,000 eligible employees and beneficiaries in India. This will also include all Samsung Experience Consultants (store promoters), who work at electronics retail stores across the country. This is in addition to Samsung Indias CSR initiatives, announced last month, which included Covid care support through oxygen concentrators, oxygen cylinders and innovative Low Dead Space syringes, and donations to the Centre and state governments to support their own Covid care programmes. I am very happy to see the enthusiasm of our employees in the vaccination program and contributing to this fight against Covid. At Samsung, we are driven by the idea that a company is its people. Post Covid-19, Samsung India has taken several initiatives for employees and their families, which includes medical care, home assistance as well as mental wellness support. The vaccination drive will cover employees and some other beneficiaries and ensure their safety and wellbeing as nobody is safe till everyone is safe, said Sameer Wadhawan, Senior Vice President & Head of Human Resources, Samsung India. It is a great feeling when you know that your employer will not only take care of you, but your family as well, says Indu Kapoor from the Consumer Electronics division at Samsung India. It is a feeling of security when your employers care for you. I salute our HR colleagues who have throughout this pandemic, especially during the recent crisis, worked day and night to ensure that the employees could get the care they so much required in terms of oxygen, hospital beds, medicines, and even emotional support, says Hasit Mankodi from the Customer Service team at Samsung India. At Samsung, employee health, safety and well-being are absolute priority. To help employees and their families with information and access to medical supplies as well as hospital facilities and home-care, we have set up in-house facilities and teams across the country. Samsung has also offered medical care, home assistance and mental wellness support by experts on personal loss, grief, vaccination myths, stress as well as pandemic fatigue. To provide extensive medical care support, Samsung has partnered with Dhani Healthcare to provide employees with free online consultations at any time of the day with a year-long validity. Samsung is also running a home assistance program to support employees by sharing verified contacts for emergency services like hospitals, oxygen suppliers, chemists, blood banks, testing centers and ambulances. In addition, employees have been assisted with health insurance top-up for Covid care and homecare treatment cost has been included in the group health insurance policy for employees and their dependents. Samsung is also providing a corporate health insurance buffer equal to the base policy amount for any employee in need. Burgundy versus Bordeaux Much has been written about the huge differences between the two great French wine districts of Bordeaux and Burgundy. Elegies include how different they are from one another, about their major contributions to the world of fine wine, down to even the completely different marketing strategies each employs. The French may deny it, but the residents of one district really do dislike the residents of the other, even to the point where youd be hard-pressed to find a bottle of Burgundy in Bordeaux and vice versa. Its dangerous to generalize, but in my experience, Bordeaux is marked by an aloof professionalism, a locally universal desire to remain the top dog in the wine world. Its an area where estates are huge and often gaudy, mammon rules, and image is crucial. In Burgundy, by contrast, passion rules and money isnt mentioned. Properties are tiny (often counted in numbers of vines, not acreage); family names mean more there than outside the district, and the best wines are snapped up by wealthy insiders so fast that even the worlds top wine critics often have to say that the best wines are unavailable at any price. You can see the regional dissimilarities in the people of each region. The series with black Anne Boleyn gets zero negative ratings EU President: I applaud Azerbaijans & Armenias parallel humanitarian gestures Georgia is ready to participate in settlement of humanitarian issues between Baku and Yerevan Aliyev: If Armenia wants peace, they should start negotiations with us on delimitation Kocharyan intends to turn government dachas into rehab center Baku says it handed over 15 POWs to Armenia in exchange for map of minefields Nikol Pashinyan shares photo of Armenian POWs returning home Eight more remains found in Artsakh search operations Saturday Armenia MOD refutes reports on deployment of Turkey army units in Sev Lake region Armenia MP candidate charged with bribery is remanded in custody Armenia acting PM on border situation: Our Russian partners have come, looked at areas where they can be deployed Armenia acting premier: This election battle has already turned into class struggle 20 Afghanistan security force members killed in clashes with Taliban Armenia acting PM supporters give kids instructions in Gegharkunik Province village Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: We reject vendettas Julianna Margulies speaks on hotel room encounter with Steven Seagal Armenia ex-President Serzh Sargsyan pays tribute to late PM Andranik Margaryan Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Maybe 2018 evens would not have happened if they had kept level of education Failed cult classic: Fight Club Bright Armenia Party MP: Our prime ministerial candidate is Edmon Marukyan Armenia former President Kocharyan: I want to be proud of my homeland One person on Armenia ruling party electoral list also has Iran citizenship, his registration is declared invalid Armenias Pashinyan congratulates Boris Johnson on Queens Birthday Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Spitak town, pays tribute to victims of 1988 earthquake Acting premier: Corrupt clergymen discredit Armenian Apostolic Church, traditional values Armenia, Georgia customs officials meet at Bagratashen border checkpoint One new case of coronavirus reported in Artsakh Kanye West unfollows Kardashian sisters on Twitter Armenia acting deputy PM signs new decision Sarkissian to Putin: Armenian-Russian cooperation is developing confidently in all directions 8 dead in China factory chemical leak Putin notes differences between "outsider" Trump, "career man" Biden What will happen to Harry in new season of The Crown? (PHOTOS) 88 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia President: Karabakh has always underscored Russia's invaluable place, role in our region Security Council chief: We have had Russias support in Artsakh for centuries Pashinyan to Putin: I am convinced that Armenian-Russian interstate relations will continue to develop Armenias Pashinyan congratulates Mishustin on Russia Day Newspaper: Armenia criminal authorities take neutral position in current electoral process Newspaper: Real "war" behind scenes of Armenia authorities after every provincial visit of acting PM Armenia acting PM Pashinyan tells details from his talk with army General Staff former chief Gasparyan Man found dead in Armenia canal Euro 2020: Matches of the day French Open: Djokovic beats Nadal in semifinals Euro 2020: Italy beat Turkey in opening match Euro 2020: Azerbaijan rejects Russian sports commentators accreditation Superbet Chess Classic: Levon Aronian defeated by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov UEFA Euro 2020: Baku deports Russian commentator back to Moscow NATO Secretary-General affirms willingness for cooperation with Russia Armenia Special Investigation Service charges political party member for giving electoral bribe Armenia Central Electoral Commission grants motion to launch criminal prosecution against MP candidate "I Have the Honor" bloc member: Coronavirus and 'nikolavirus' (Nikol Pashinyan) are both lethal Greek PM: Greece willing to back positive EU agenda for Turkey Russia Deputy FM, France Ambassador discuss settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict CoE: We are engaged in a dialogue to develop a set of confidence-building measures between Armenia, Azerbaijan Armenia 3rd President states when country's security system began to collapse Armenia Armed Forces' General Staff ex-deputy chief on acting PM's statement on his "National Hero" title Armenia Arevik National Park director dismissed for being a friend of Meghri mayor Reuters: Erdogan's summit with Biden clouded by bitter disputes Armenia acting MOD receives Head of ICRC Delegation Gagik Tsarukyan: Armenia needs to develop the economy by using resources of country and people Gagik Tsarukyan: Russia is Armenia's main ally, and this can't be altered Sargis Hovhannisyan quits FC Lokomotiv Moscow Armenia MOD: Azerbaijanis try to carry out engineering works in Kut border section, Armenian side counters Armenia 1st President's nephew and his son involved in brawl in Yerevan Snap elections online voting starts, Azerbaijan continues 'trial' of Armenian POWs, Jun 11 digest Armenian former high-tech industry minister, member of ruling party on June 9 brawl in Yerevan Zlatan Ibrahimovic might miss a few months Kim Kardashian reacts positively to Kanye romance with Irina Shayk Robert Kocharyan: If Armenia wants a peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict, it needs to give Azerbaijan hope Armenia acting PM: During campaign meetings hundreds of mothers thanked me for signing Nov. 9 document Citizens are demanded to applaud Armenia acting PM Armenia ruling party lawmaker, MP candidate: Civil Contracts election promises are continuation of 2018 promises Armenia villager to Nikol Pashinyan: Yard of Turk's house is in front of our military post Shooter Elmira Karapetyan scores pass to Tokyo 2020 Opposition Prosperous Armenia Party assures that it's not expecting ministerial positions Robert Kocharyan: "Armenia" bloc will restore and deepen country's ties with allies Czech Rep. parliament committee calls on Azerbaijan to release all Armenian captives immediately "Armenia" bloc member Armen Gevorgyan holds meetings with diplomatic corps and international organizations Dollar still dropping in Armenia Azerbaijan announces names of 26 Armenian servicemen it intends to "put on trial" Meghan Markle's relative speaks on different strata of society Armenian publishing house to print 66,925,000 ballots for upcoming snap parliamentary elections "Armenia" bloc member: There are reports that over 10 police buses escorted acting PM yesterday Gallup: "Armenia" bloc records slightly higher indicator than ruling party Armenia acting PM has been obligated to publicly apologize to Khachatryan family "Armenia" bloc: Robert Kocharyan and ARF-D resolved crisis that Levon Ter-Petrosyan created in 1998 Intellectual Armenia Party to support "Armenia" bloc in snap parliamentary elections What does Bradley Cooper think about Irina Shayk and Kanye West dating? Armenia ruling party MP's powers terminated Brawl takes place during Armenia ruling Civil Contract Party's campaign meeting, case launched Vaccinated people are less likely to infect others with COVID-19, study claims Armenia acting premier: We also have enclave under Azerbaijan rule FC Sevilla offer Sergio Ramos a five-year contract Holy Etchmiadzin: We express regret for unwise, inappropriate statements of acting PM "I have the honor" bloc member: Armenia acting PM has instructed his voters to go to polls by afternoon Prosperous Armenia Party MP: Enemy does not divide Armenians into "blacks" and "whites" Bright Armenia Party leader: Acting premier will not be able to get 60% of votes Nike confuses letters in Greek lettering Armenia acting PM: There are people in media who are more like "killers" than journalists Vicken Euljekjian, an Armenian from Lebanon, who was captured by Azerbaijani forces on November 10, 2020 near Shushi, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and is being held illegally by Azerbaijan was transferred to a hospital, Asbarez reported. This was reported by Eulkekjians 18-year-old daughter, Christine, and mother, Beatrice, who have spoken from Beirut about their latest telephone conversation with Vicken, as he was transferred from prison to hospital. Christine Euljekjian has had to grow fast in the last six months. She speaks with composure and maturity and has become the voice of an Armenian family longing for the return of a son, a brother and a father whose only crime was to dream of a better future in Armenia. These dreams were shattered when the war against Artsakh was launched unexpectedly by Azerbaijan. Unaware that the city had already been taken over, Vicken was captured the day after the ceasefire agreement near Shushi. On 10 November 2020, with Maral Najarian, Vicken drove to Shushi in Nagorno-Karabakh, to collect his belongings from his Shushi hotel before the handover of the town to Azerbaijan. They were stopped by Azeri forces and transferred to Baku in a bus with many other Armenian captives, civilians and soldiers. Maral Najarian was released in March 2021, whereas Vicken remains in captivity, where he is facing criminal charges by Azerbaijan. Representatives of the International Red Cross were permitted to visit Vicken in prison only in February 2021. ICRC has facilitated sporadic communication between him and his family in Beirut, exchange of letters and notes. In April, Vicken was allowed to telephone his family for the first time in five months. He told them he was treated well, and that his paperwork was being dealt with for his release in three months. These hopes were once again crushed, when on May 5, weeks after these much anticipated phone calls, Azerbaijans State Security Service announced that Vicken Euljekjians investigation was completed and that his case was sent to court. He is being charged under Article 114.3 (participation of a mercenary in a military conflict or military operation), Article 214.2.1 (terrorism committed by a group of persons, an organized group or a criminal organization) and Article 318.2 (illegal crossing of the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan). However, the European Court of Human Rights has not been notified of his case so far. YEREVAN. As of Thursday morning, 108 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Armenia, and the total number of these cases has reached 222,978 in the country, the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. Also, three more deaths from COVID-19 were registered, making the respective total 4,448 cases. One more case of coronavirus patients dying from some other illnesses was recorded in Armenia in the past one day, and the corresponding overall death toll in the country is 1,086 now. The number of people who have recovered over the past one day is 235, the total respective number so far is 213,813, and the number of people currently being treated is 3,631a drop by 132 from the previous day. And 2,856 COVID-19 tests were conducted in Armenia over the past one day, while 1,093,012 such tests have been performed to date. Nokia announced that CG NET will deploy its Gigabit Passive Optical Networking (GPON) solution as part of an extensive Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) roll-out across the Kathmandu Valley. Nokias solution will allow CG NET to cost-effectively scale its network in line with the growing demand for a high-speed broadband network due to increased consumption of video, OTT content, and online education. Nokias solution will enable CG NET to offer fastest broadband speeds in the market and competitive service offering for IPTV, gaming, remote work and remote education. In addition, it will allow for efficient future upgrade to next-generation technologies and Software-Defined Access networks, leveraging the same access platform. The project includes Nokia consumer fiber modems to ensure premium digital experiences within the user premises. Nokia is a global market leader in fiber broadband with more than 300 GPON deployments worldwide. Nirvana Chaudhary, Managing Director, CG NET, said: There is a growing demand for high-speed, quality broadband as people are using the internet for every aspect of their lives. Nepals broadband market is increasingly competitive. CG NET has all the potential and ambition to become a digitally innovative responsible telecom group. We are confident that Nokias solution will enable us to be fast to market with reliable, high speed services, and position us for future growth. Vinish Bawa, Head of Emerging Business at Nokia India, said, Fiber broadband is being deployed in almost every country. With more than 1,000 broadband projects worldwide, Nokia has experience and expertise to support operators in diverse markets in addressing their unique challenges. We are excited to work with CG NET to build a high capacity network that will enable them to address new opportunities and deliver exciting experiences to the subscribers. YEREVAN. At Thursday's Cabinet session, the interim government of Armenia approved the Supreme Judicial Council's proposal to increase the number of judges of the Administrative Court of Appeal by three, the number of judges of the Civil Court of Appealby three, and the number of judges of the Bankruptcy Courtby four. The matter was presented by the acting Minister of Justice, Rustam Badasyan. He noted that this decision is conditioned by the fact that the citizens' right to a fair and public hearing of their cases within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial court must be ensured, whereas the overload of Armenias courts is one of the main obstacles to exercise the right of court examination within a reasonable time. Badasyan informed that in 2010-2018 there were only eight judges per 100 thousand residents in Armenia, whereas the respective acceptable criterion is 17.7 judges. "In fact, the number of judges [in Armenia] is increasing by 25.4 percent," the acting minister added, in particular. YEREVAN. All the deputy foreign ministers are carrying out their duties. Serob Bejanyan, head of the Media and Public Diplomacy Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Armenia, on Thursday told this to Armenian News-NEWS.am, referring to the reports that the countrys deputy FMs have written letters of resignation. To our question as to whether the deputy FMs have written letters of resignation, Bejanyan said: "Ask the deputy ministers on the matter of the letters [of resignation]." To note, there was no MFA representative at Thursdays Cabinet meeting of the interim government of Armenia. On May 27, it became known that Acting Foreign Minister Ara Aivazian had submitted a letter of resignation. And during the farewell meeting with the MFA staff, Aivazian had stated that his decision to resign was due to the fact that there would never be any doubt that the MFA could take any step, or agree to, any ideas or initiatives that were against Armenian statehood and national and state interests. The computer systems of the New York City transportation authority were cyber-attacked in April by hackers who may be associated with the Chinese authorities, The New York Times reported. According to her, the attackers failed to gain access to the systems responsible for the movement of metro cars, so nothing threatened the safety of passengers. The hackers also did not gain access to the personal information of passengers. According to the estimates of the management, the hackers were able to break into three of 18 computer control systems, TASS reported. According to the newspaper, the damage from the cyber incident was negligible. The US Department of Homeland Security, which is investigating the incident, declined to comment on this information for publication. This is not the first case of cyber attacks on large infrastructure facilities in the United States attributed to foreign hackers. In early May, attackers broke into the systems of the American pipeline company Colonial Pipeline. The cyberattack was carried out using a virus that gets into a computer system temporarily blocks its operation and encrypts data until the victim pays the amount demanded by the ransomware. The hack paralyzed the company's system for several days, which transports about 45% of the fuel consumed on the US East Coast. Colonial Pipeline paid hackers $ 4.4 million to regain access to their data. We cannot give a corridor to anyone. Third President and former ruling Republican Party of Armenia leader Serzh Sargsyan stated this at a meeting in Masis town with the supporters of the "I have the honor" bloc, which will be running in the snap parliamentary elections on June 20, with respect to a corridor allegedly to be provided to Azerbaijan via Armenia. "I am not aware of that corridor. We [Armenia] cannot give a corridor to anyone. How can we give a corridor? Why should we give a corridor?" asked the third President. And to the clarifying question as to whether he is against giving a corridor, Sargsyan responded: "One hundred percent. That those communications shall be opened in the region, there is no problem here. But what corridor is it about? That is, are we obligated to give them [the Azerbaijanis] a corridor? With which paper? By which arrangement? For what? Serzh Sargsyan said that he is not aware of any respective arrangement. "If we say goodbye to them [the incumbent Armenian authorities], I assure that no authorities will think about any corridor. There can be no talk of a corridor. " And reflecting on the risks of giving a corridor to Azerbaijan, the third President of Armenia noted: "You already say 'corridor;' a question arises: What corridor? Under whose control will [it] be? How can we separate a part of our territory, say, 'We give this part under the control of this one'? It is ruled out!" EU President: I applaud Azerbaijans & Armenias parallel humanitarian gestures Georgia is ready to participate in settlement of humanitarian issues between Baku and Yerevan Aliyev: If Armenia wants peace, they should start negotiations with us on delimitation Kocharyan intends to turn government dachas into rehab center Baku says it handed over 15 POWs to Armenia in exchange for map of minefields Nikol Pashinyan shares photo of Armenian POWs returning home Eight more remains found in Artsakh search operations Saturday Armenia MOD refutes reports on deployment of Turkey army units in Sev Lake region Armenia MP candidate charged with bribery is remanded in custody Armenia acting PM on border situation: Our Russian partners have come, looked at areas where they can be deployed Armenia acting premier: This election battle has already turned into class struggle 20 Afghanistan security force members killed in clashes with Taliban Armenia acting PM supporters give kids instructions in Gegharkunik Province village Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: We reject vendettas Armenia ex-President Serzh Sargsyan pays tribute to late PM Andranik Margaryan Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Maybe 2018 evens would not have happened if they had kept level of education Bright Armenia Party MP: Our prime ministerial candidate is Edmon Marukyan Armenia former President Kocharyan: I want to be proud of my homeland One person on Armenia ruling party electoral list also has Iran citizenship, his registration is declared invalid Armenias Pashinyan congratulates Boris Johnson on Queens Birthday Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Spitak town, pays tribute to victims of 1988 earthquake Acting premier: Corrupt clergymen discredit Armenian Apostolic Church, traditional values Armenia, Georgia customs officials meet at Bagratashen border checkpoint One new case of coronavirus reported in Artsakh Armenia acting deputy PM signs new decision Sarkissian to Putin: Armenian-Russian cooperation is developing confidently in all directions 8 dead in China factory chemical leak Putin notes differences between "outsider" Trump, "career man" Biden 88 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia President: Karabakh has always underscored Russia's invaluable place, role in our region Security Council chief: We have had Russias support in Artsakh for centuries Pashinyan to Putin: I am convinced that Armenian-Russian interstate relations will continue to develop Armenias Pashinyan congratulates Mishustin on Russia Day Newspaper: Armenia criminal authorities take neutral position in current electoral process Newspaper: Real "war" behind scenes of Armenia authorities after every provincial visit of acting PM Armenia acting PM Pashinyan tells details from his talk with army General Staff former chief Gasparyan Man found dead in Armenia canal NATO Secretary-General affirms willingness for cooperation with Russia Armenia Special Investigation Service charges political party member for giving electoral bribe Armenia Central Electoral Commission grants motion to launch criminal prosecution against MP candidate "I Have the Honor" bloc member: Coronavirus and 'nikolavirus' (Nikol Pashinyan) are both lethal Greek PM: Greece willing to back positive EU agenda for Turkey Russia Deputy FM, France Ambassador discuss settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict CoE: We are engaged in a dialogue to develop a set of confidence-building measures between Armenia, Azerbaijan Armenia 3rd President states when country's security system began to collapse Armenia Armed Forces' General Staff ex-deputy chief on acting PM's statement on his "National Hero" title Armenia Arevik National Park director dismissed for being a friend of Meghri mayor Reuters: Erdogan's summit with Biden clouded by bitter disputes Armenia acting MOD receives Head of ICRC Delegation Gagik Tsarukyan: Armenia needs to develop the economy by using resources of country and people Gagik Tsarukyan: Russia is Armenia's main ally, and this can't be altered Armenia MOD: Azerbaijanis try to carry out engineering works in Kut border section, Armenian side counters Armenia 1st President's nephew and his son involved in brawl in Yerevan Snap elections online voting starts, Azerbaijan continues 'trial' of Armenian POWs, Jun 11 digest Armenian former high-tech industry minister, member of ruling party on June 9 brawl in Yerevan Robert Kocharyan: If Armenia wants a peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict, it needs to give Azerbaijan hope Armenia acting PM: During campaign meetings hundreds of mothers thanked me for signing Nov. 9 document Citizens are demanded to applaud Armenia acting PM Armenia ruling party lawmaker, MP candidate: Civil Contracts election promises are continuation of 2018 promises Armenia villager to Nikol Pashinyan: Yard of Turk's house is in front of our military post Opposition Prosperous Armenia Party assures that it's not expecting ministerial positions Robert Kocharyan: "Armenia" bloc will restore and deepen country's ties with allies Czech Rep. parliament committee calls on Azerbaijan to release all Armenian captives immediately "Armenia" bloc member Armen Gevorgyan holds meetings with diplomatic corps and international organizations Dollar still dropping in Armenia Azerbaijan announces names of 26 Armenian servicemen it intends to "put on trial" Armenian publishing house to print 66,925,000 ballots for upcoming snap parliamentary elections "Armenia" bloc member: There are reports that over 10 police buses escorted acting PM yesterday Gallup: "Armenia" bloc records slightly higher indicator than ruling party Armenia acting PM has been obligated to publicly apologize to Khachatryan family "Armenia" bloc: Robert Kocharyan and ARF-D resolved crisis that Levon Ter-Petrosyan created in 1998 Intellectual Armenia Party to support "Armenia" bloc in snap parliamentary elections Armenia ruling party MP's powers terminated Brawl takes place during Armenia ruling Civil Contract Party's campaign meeting, case launched Armenia acting premier: We also have enclave under Azerbaijan rule Holy Etchmiadzin: We express regret for unwise, inappropriate statements of acting PM "I have the honor" bloc member: Armenia acting PM has instructed his voters to go to polls by afternoon Prosperous Armenia Party MP: Enemy does not divide Armenians into "blacks" and "whites" Bright Armenia Party leader: Acting premier will not be able to get 60% of votes Armenia acting PM: There are people in media who are more like "killers" than journalists Ex-President Kocharyan: 2009-2018 I did not agree with Armenia authorities on many issues Armenia has new millionaires Armenia President visits Russia embassy, meets with ambassador Artsakh search continues Friday for remains of Armenian soldiers killed in war Armenia ruling party election offices heads being paid by provincial halls? Armenia emergency ministry preparing for a new cooperation with USAID US, Turkey top defense officials discuss regional issues 95 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia G7 leaders pledge to share 1bn doses of coronavirus vaccine with world Armenia snap parliamentary elections online voting starts Trump tells Biden to give Putin his warmest regards Newspaper: Pashinyan is both Armenia acting PM and not Newspaper: Why is Armenia arms dealer released from custody? National Geographic officially announces 5th ocean Armenia MP candidate is detained Armenia Prosecutor General receives OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission's delegation France's Macron intends to discuss situation in Nagorno-Karabakh with Turkish counterpart Armenia 3rd President on Nikol Pashinyan: People look at him and say 'greetings, son of a b**ch' US Department of Commerce intends to impose sanctions against Armenia's Armenal aluminum foil producer/exporter Armenia 1st President recalls his "remedial secession" formula for Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement YEREVAN. Armenian President Armen Sarkissian, who is in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan on a working visit, met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, the Armenian President's Office informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. Tokayev said that although Sarkissian's visit is a working one, it is still of great importance, as it will be an additional impetus for cooperation between the two countries. "Armenia is a friendly country for us. Relations and cooperation between our countries are based on traditions," he said. "Naturally, we are interested in this cooperation not remaining in its place; that is why the governments and relevant agencies of our countries are working to achieve this goal. We [Kazakhstan and Armenia] work and cooperate in an important integration organization: the Eurasian Economic Union. We are a CSTO member, we closely cooperate within the CIS, the UN, the OSCE, and other organizations. I believe all this should have a positive continuation." President Sarkissian, in turn, particularly said: "Although our countries are physically at a certain distance from each other, in the 21st century our countries are becoming much closer thanks to trade, new technologies, artificial intelligence, information technologies. Of course, the scope of cooperation opportunities is very large (). I would like the cooperation to be much deeper and more comprehensive." Subsequently, the Presidents of Armenia and Kazakhstan spoke about cooperation within the Eurasian Economic Union and the CSTO. Also, the Armenian President touched upon the problems and challenges that arose in Armenia and the region in the period following the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war last fall. The Presidents of Armenia and Kazakhstan then continued their discussions privately. These discussions also focused on bilateral relations and the regional situation. Uzbekistan's Ministry of Energy has awarded a major tender to Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) for the construction of a 457 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the country's Sherabad district within the Surkhandarya region. This project is part of a wider programme to construct solar PV plants with a 1 GW capacity. The programme is being implemented by Uzbekistans Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade, with support from the Asian Development Bank. Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev formally launched the implementation phase of the project on a visit to the site on June 1. This followed his recent announcement on May 31 at the International Summit Partnership for Green Growth and Global Goals 2030. Energy Minister Alisher Sultanov said: "Solar power is a priority for Uzbekistan, and we look forward to reaching our target of 1GW set by the programme. Our solar energy strategy will create highly skilled, local clean energy jobs in line with the governments program for energy diversification." "The global solar energy market has doubled since 2019, with a record number of new installations targeted. In Uzbekistan, we are very happy to join the international community of solar power generators and have an industrial solar strategy in place," he stated. According to him, the programme will lower energy costs for the Uzbek population, decrease the countrys dependence on fossil fuels, and reduce overall CO2 emissions. The project is a key component of Uzbekistans ambitious, wider strategy to generate up to 5 GW of environmentally friendly solar generation by 2030, to meet growing electricity demand, he added. Once complete, the Sherabad plant's annual output will be 1.04 billion kWh which will save 340 million cu m of natural gas per year and provide 300,000 households with electricity.-TradeArabia News Service President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, who is on a working visit to Kazakhstan, met with first President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev at Nazarbayev Center in Nur-Sultan today. Greeting the President of Armenia, Nazarbayev particularly stated that, historically, Kazakhstan has very cordial ties with Armenia. Sarkissian mentioned the existence of the Armenian community in Kazakhstan, and they hey both attached special importance to its role. Nazarbayev stated that he has worked closely with all the leaders of Armenia after the two countries declared their independence and added that there are no unresolved issues. Sarkissian and Nazarbayev also exchanged views on the directions and opportunities for development of the cooperation, cooperation within the Eurasian Economic Union and the Collective Security Treaty Organization, as well as the urgent issues in the region. President Sarkissian particularly touched upon the challenges and humanitarian issues that have emerged in Armenia in the post-war period and in the region. Writer, publicist, public figure and doctor Toros Toranian has died at the age of 93. This is what President of the Union of Writers of Armenia Eduard Militonyan told Armenpress, recalling that Toranian was a member of the Union and was living in Armenia during the past few years. Toros Toranian was born in 1928 in Aleppo. His parents, Khacher and Varduhi, were born in the Jipin village of the city of Aintab (Cilician Armenia). Toranians father studied for six years at the Cilician school in his hometown and had command of the Armenian language, while the mother grew up in a Kurdish family and didnt know Armenian. His father died when Toranian was two years old, and this is why the familys household language was Turkish. Toranian spoke in Turkish until the age of five, and he learned Armenian in kindergarten. Toranian went on to attend the Gulbenkian Armenian School in Aleppo and received a medical education. He wrote in many genres and is known for his works The Road to the Stars, Green Letters, etc. Katerra - a construction startup that had the financial backing of a number of top investors including SoftBank Group - is shutting down, reported Bloomberg citing sources. The company had a key presence in Saudi Arabia in addition to the US and India. Katerra, founded in 2015, had promised to shake up the construction industry with its efficient factories, prefab parts and modular construction units. In February of last year, Katerras marketing materials touted 8,000 employees across the globe. With major cash infusions from SoftBank and others, Katerra grew quickly, in part by acquiring smaller construction companies, said the source familiar with the matter. But integrating those businesses proved difficult, and the company was forced to deal with construction delays and issues in trying to perfect its modules, he noted. In 2019, Katerra said it would cut 200 jobs, even after raising $865 million from investors the previous year. The company also shut down a factory in Phoenix, with the intention of focusing on a more highly automated facility in California, said the source. This is a dramatic collapse for a company that had raised about $2 billion from investors including SoftBank Group, he added. China slams Hungarian politicians over 'Free HK Road' Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin accuses Hungarian politicians of 'hyping up China-related issues and hindering China-Hungary cooperation'. File photo: AFP China on Thursday blasted Hungarian politicians as being "beneath contempt" after Budapest renamed streets over human rights flashpoints from Hong Kong to Tibet in protest against a planned branch of a top Chinese university. The sprawling project for Fudan University's first European campus has fed growing unease about Hungary's diplomatic tilt from West to East and its soaring indebtedness to China. The four street signs around the planned site now bear names referencing sore topics that draw Beijing criticism abroad for alleged human rights violations. Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Thursday accused Hungarian politicians of "hyping up China-related issues and hindering China-Hungary cooperation." "Such behaviour is beneath contempt," Wang told a regular press briefing. The street names are "Free Hong Kong Road", "Uyghur Martyrs' Road", "Dalai Lama Road", and "Bishop Xie Shiguang Road" -- named after a persecuted Chinese Catholic priest. Wang's rebuke followed a call by President Xi Jinping for the mainland to show a softer face abroad and cultivate a "reliable, admirable and respectable image." The Foreign Ministry routinely decries foreign politicians for not toeing Beijing's line over issues from Taiwan, to investigating the cause of the Covid-19 pandemic. A currently derelict plot in Budapest is set to house the Fudan campus in a half-million-square-metre (five-million-square-foot) complex by 2024, according to a deal signed between Hungary and the Shanghai-based university's president. But Budapest's mayor Gergely Karacsony said on Wednesday that "we don't want the elite and private Fudan university here at the expense of Hungarian taxpayers." The liberal mayor has previously blasted "Chinese influence-buying" in Hungary and urged Prime Minister Viktor Orban to honour a previous pledge not to force projects on the capital against its will. Opinion polls show a majority of Budapest residents oppose the plan. (AFP) UK axes Portugal from quarantine-free travel list Beaches like this one on the Algarve had been the only option for Britons looking for quarantine-free travel in the sun. File image: Shutterstock Britain has removed Portugal from its quarantine-free travel list, the country's transport minister said on Thursday, essentially shutting down the UK's leisure travel market and deepening the pandemic crisis for airlines. Airline easyJet also said no new countries would be added to the so-called green list. Britain relaunched travel on May 17 following more than four months of lockdown, with Portugal the only big destination open to UK travellers. Transport Minister Grant Shapps told reporters that Portugal would be moved to the amber list due to rising Covid-19 case numbers and the risk of a mutation of the virus variant first discovered in India. Over the last three weeks, Portugal has proved a lifeline for airlines and travel companies. The industry had been expecting a wider reopening this month, but instead will face weeks of cancellations and more uncertainty. "This decision essentially cuts the UK off from the rest of the world," easyJet said in an emailed statement. The airline also said that the UK would be left behind as governments across Europe start to open up travel. The industry is already weakened by 15 months of lockdowns and it will be severely financially challenged if there is no reopening this summer. Many companies had hoped for bumper trading given that Britain has one of Europe's highest vaccination rates and is gradually reopening its domestic economy. Under the UK system, travel to countries rated amber or red is not illegal but it is discouraged. Spain, France, Italy and the United States are on the amber list which means quarantining on return, restricting demand from Britons for what are usually the most popular destinations. (Reuters) Virtual conference will look at COVID-19s impact on health policy CARBONDALE, Ill. A virtual conference next week will examine medical, legal and policy efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and their impact on health policy. The COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on Health Policy: A Renewed Focus on Healthy and Equitable Communities is the theme of the 21st SIH/SIU Health Policy Institute. The virtual event is from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 8. Eric D. Hargan, former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will deliver the keynote address COVID-19s Impact on Health Policy Federal Considerations. A panel presentation, COVIDs Impact on Illinois, will feature four state agency officials: Theresa Eagleson, director, Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services; Paula Basta, director, Illinois Department on Aging; Colleen Callahan, director, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and Grace Hou, secretary, Illinois Department of Human Services. The conference includes breakout sessions on various topics such as childrens growth and development, mental health, and caring for an aging population and a moderated panel presentation on COVID-19 Health Disparities: A Path to Revitalizing Communities. A symposium brochure provides additional details regarding speakers and topics. The conference is intended for a variety of professionals, including physicians, nurses, psychologists, counselors, social workers, health care administrators, attorneys, law enforcement personnel, patient advocates, educators and students interested in health and health policy. Continuing education credits are available where applicable. Registration information, including fees, is available at http://bit.ly/SIHSIUHPI. The registration deadline is 8 a.m. Monday, June 7. Event sponsors include the SIU School of Law; Southern Illinois Healthcare; SIU School of Medicine Department of Population Science and Policy; the Illinois State Bar Association; Illinois Association of Healthcare Attorneys and the Illinois State Medical Society. (Adds context) OSLO, June 3 (Reuters) - Norway and Britain have reached an agreement on their post-Brexit trade relations, Norwegian state broadcaster NRK and news agency NTB said on Thursday, citing anonymous sources. The details of the deal, which must be approved by Norway's parliament, remain unknown but will be presented on Friday, both NRK and NTB reported. A spokesman for Norway's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries said he was not able to confirm the information. A British trade department spokeswoman said: Talks are ongoing and remain positive. Both sides are committed to agreeing a new deal as soon as possible. Since Britain's departure from the European Union last year and a transition period that ended on Dec. 31, Britain and EU outsider Norway have relied on temporary trade arrangements. Britain hopes to go beyond the deal it previously had as a member of the European Union, and agree more favourable terms in areas like digital trade and fish processing. Any deal could pave the way for similar agreements with countries like Iceland. (Reporting by Victoria Klesty and Nerijus Adomaitis and William James in London; editing by Gwladys Fouche, Mark Heinrich and Christina Fincher) An Iranian naval ship near Larak Island, Iran, on May 10. Maxar via Reuters The US is tracking two Iranian navy ships believed to be headed for Venezuela. Politico said the ships, thought to be carrying "missile-attack craft," were nearing the Atlantic. Biden is trying to lure Iran back to the 2015 nuclear deal and appears reluctant to anger Tehran. Sign up for the 10 Things in Politics daily newsletter. Two Iranian navy ships heading to the Americas are expected to soon enter the Atlantic Ocean, posing a new problem for the Biden administration, Politico reported on Wednesday. On Saturday, the outlet reported that the US was surveilling the Makran, an oil tanker turned staging base, and an Iranian navy frigate believed to be headed for Venezuela. Iran has long threatened to deploy its navy to the Atlantic Ocean. Iran's intentions are not clear, but a National Security Council spokesperson told Politico that Venezuela had purchased weapons from Iran over a year ago. 'This has all the markings of delivery on an arms sale' Citing satellite images, USNI News reported on Tuesday that the Makran was carrying "seven high-speed missile-attack craft." On Wednesday, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida tweeted that the incursion was an attempt to "project a message of strength to the Biden administration." "This has all the markings of delivery on an arms sale (such as fast attack boats) to #Venezuela," he said. A US defense official told Politico that the Pentagon had no plans to deploy US Navy ships to meet the Iranian boats. 'I warn that nobody should make a miscalculation' John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesperson, said during a press briefing on Tuesday that he wouldn't "speculate about what the Iranian navy might or might not do," Politico reported. The Department of Defense did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. On Monday, Saeed Khatibzadeh, a spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry, said nations should not jump to conclusions about Iran's intentions. "Iran has constant presence in international waters, is entitled to this right on the basis of international law," he said, according to Iran's Tasnim News Agency. Story continues "I warn that nobody should make a miscalculation," Khatibzadeh said. "Those who live in glass houses must be cautious." The approaching Iranian vessels pose a new test for the Biden administration The US is trying to lure Iran back to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. It might also end sanctions introduced under the Trump administration after the US left the agreement in May 2018. Confronting the Iranian vessels in international waters could anger Tehran and jeopardize the US's efforts. Read the original article on Business Insider Beijing (Gasgoo)- Jidu Auto, an intelligent electric vehicle joint venture between Chinas searching engine giant Baidu and Chinese automaker Geely, will showcase the concept version of its first model at the 2022 Beijing Auto Show, and deliveries may start in 2023, Xia Yiping, CEO of the new venture, said at a media conference. Xia Yiping, CEO of Jidu; photo credit: Jidu On March 2, 2021, the new company was formally registered with business scope covering the entire industrial chain, from vehicle design to research and development, as well as manufacturing, sales and service. In the past three months, Jidu was busy with various tasks. The first one was team building. The team has been expanded from several people at the beginning of March to over 200 staff, covering product development, engineering, software and operation. Meanwhile, the company also decided its product design, the interior and exterior style with the help of Geely and Baidu. All of the preparation work will lay a solid foundation for future rapid progress, Mr. Xia said. After so many cross-border players stepped up efforts in automotive field, it seems late for Jidu to tap into the industry. But Mr. Xia doesnt think so. In his opinion, in the past 3-5 years, companies are striving to overcome difficulties in such hardware fields as batteries and electric motors, which, after several years development, have been standardized and even homogenized now. In the future, he added, competitiveness of players and products lies in products ecosystem, including intelligent driving, cockpit, operating system, high-definition map, and computing platform. In this case, by leveraging Baidus technologies, Jidu can be well positioned to compete in the market. Robin Li, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Baidu, discussing with Jidu team; photo creditJidu Then what kind of vehicles will the company offer? The executive described its products as robotic, emotional and futuristic. First of all, Jidus vehicles can provide more intelligent and innovative features for better user interaction and improved customized experience. Secondly, the vehicle should have the ability to communicate with users with emotions. Emotional vehicles will make users feel being cared for. And the Jidu vehicles should be as futuristic as possible to be distinct from vehicles of other companies. In October, the companys chief design will reveal much more product details at a brand conference. Given the fact that its numerous intelligent features will increase the cost, the price of Jidus first vehicle will be no less than RMB200,000 ($31,320). Its target customers will be young generations, mainly post-1990 ones, namely those born after 1990, who are supposedly more interested in new technologies. Besides, its product design has taken women users demands into consideration as women users account for a big portion of electric vehicle buyers. Baidu will provide intelligent driving capabilities to power Jidus vehicles, while Geely will contribute its expertise in automobile manufacturing. According to Mr. Xia, Jidu will not build its own factories and supply chain for its first model because Geelys experience and advantages in manufacturing and supply chain will help Jidu overcome typical obstacles which new startups will encounter. But the company will probably build its own sales network. Xia Yiping introducing JET at the conference; photo credit: Jidu Besides, Jidu will co-develop a L4 intelligent architecture with Geely, dubbed JET, which can integrate the advanced capabilities of Baidus Apollo with Geelys platforms seamlessly to enable vehicles update rapidly in software and operation. Currently, Jidu will spare no effort to accelerate the launching of its first vehicle. To fund its development, the company will start a new funding round in the third quarter of this year, the executive revealed. Danube Building Materials unveiled its key products at Index, the region's leading interior design expo held in Dubai, including the group's six new lines in addition to excellent surface design products for the interiors sector. Wisitors of Danubes stand were introduced to the Dupont Corian Solid surface, the pioneer in tabletops; as well as MR Walls, excellently designed walls with the brilliant touches of Designer Mario Romano and made with the same Dupont Corian solid surface product. As the sole distributor of US manufacturer Wilsonart, Danube showcased its laminates. The Dubai group also introduced the new melamine-faced chipboard Innovus Portuguese brand, garnering attention from many visitors, stated the developer. Other premier showcased products included a new partnership for wood coats and paints with Italian brand Citver; Legnostone, a very innovative product; and stone and plastic composite flooring from Attico Floors- Italy, it added. "Following the successful measures taken by the UAEs wise leadership, to contain and fight the Covid-19 pandemic, we gather here after over a year. This is a testament to the brilliant strategy followed in the UAE to handle this challenging situation and ensure that we can gradually go back to our normal life without any health or safety concerns," remarked Chairman and Founder Rizwan Sajan "With this line-up of new products, Danube Building Materials ensures its position as a one-stop shop providing its clients with everything they need under one roof," he added.-TradeArabia News Service TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan urged China on Thursday to return power to the people and embark on real political reform rather than avoid facing up to the bloody 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing. Friday marks 32 years since Chinese troops opened fire to end the student-led unrest in and around the square. Chinese authorities ban any public commemoration of the event on the mainland. The government has never released a full death toll, but estimates from human rights groups and witnesses range from several hundred to several thousand. The government of democratically ruled and Chinese-claimed Taiwan, in a statement on the anniversary's eve, said Beijing was avoiding an apology over what had happened or reflection on its mistakes. "We express regret, and call on the other side to implement people-centred political reforms, stop suppressing people's democratic demands, and return power to the people as soon as possible," the Taiwanese government said. Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin dismissed comments about the anniversary. "The great achievements made since the founding of new China more than 70 years ago fully demonstrate that China's choice of development path is completely correct," he said, referring to the founding of Communist China in 1949. Calling China's ruling Communist Party a "one-party dictatorship," the Taiwanese council said Beijing's repression at home and in Hong Kong had deviated from universal values and international rules. "They not only deepen the deep-seated social contradictions in their own society, increasing the difficulty of systemic reform, but also create a risk of conflict, affecting regional security and stability." Taiwan tends to use the Tiananmen Square anniversary to criticise China and urge it to face up to what it did, to Beijing's repeated annoyance. China claims Taiwan as its own territory, to be taken by force if necessary. Story continues On Friday, activists will mark the Tiananmen anniversary with at least one public event in Taipei, although considerably scaled down from previous years due to a spike in COVID-19 cases on the island. ` (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Gabriel Crossley in Beijing; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) Woodard is set to star as a psychiatrist specializing in deep trauma According to a recent announcement, acting heavyweight Alfre Woodard is set to star in the thriller Viral, alongside Blair Underwood. After previously working together in multiple projects including Juanita on Netflix, The Wishing Tree on Showtime and more, Woodard and Underwood are adding yet another project to their joint resume. NEW YORK, NEW YORK MARCH 07: Blair Underwood (L) and Alfre Woodard attend the Juanita New York screening at Metrograph on March 07, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images) Directed and produced by Underwood (who is also starring), Viral is currently shooting in New York City after some unexpected delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film centers on Underwoods Andrew, who falls into paranoia after his wife goes missing. The only way out of the self-destructive cycle seems to be through his new girlfriend Emilia (Silverman), a victims advocate and self-help blogger he meets in group therapy, who is dealing with her own demons from her past. The drama will explore whether they are strong enough to get past their own nightmares and mental illnesses to find true happiness together, reads the official synopsis, according to Deadline. Comedian Sarah Silverman also stars as Emilia, Underwoods girlfriend in the film. Woodard has been cast as Dr. Johnetta, who is described as a psychiatrist specializing in deep trauma. The film also stars Clint James, Brendan Burke, Erik Jensen, Samuel Garnett, Jo Twiss and Connor Paolo. Woodards other upcoming projects include Fatherhood with Kevin Hart, and Netflixs upcoming blockbuster, The Gray Man. LOS ANGELES, CA FEBRUARY 12: Actor Blair Underwood (left), Alfre Woodard (2nd from right) and guests attend the 40th NAACP Image Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on February 12, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for NAACP) Underwood released a statement regarding his directing, starring and producing roles in the upcoming film back in May. Every once in a while, a script comes along that is a rare gem. The characters are undeniably rich, flawed and fascinating. This page-turner kept me engaged from its first few lines. Im excited and humbled to bring this murder mystery mixed with a psychological thriller wrapped in a love story, to the screen, he said at the time. Joe McClean, who wrote the film, also released a statement regarding Underwoods involvement. McClean explained, Its an amazing day to be a writer when Blair Underwood says hes been studying your script and he wants to sit down and delve into all the nuances that you only ever hoped someone would notice. The characters in Viral are all of us. Ive never met a person that doesnt understand the feeling of being stuck in one of lifes vicious cycles. Were all desperately searching for a way to break through. Story continues Have you subscribed to theGrios podcast Dear Culture? Download our newest episodes now! TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today! The post Alfre Woodard to star in thriller Viral with Blair Underwood appeared first on TheGrio. The US is experiencing trillions of Brood X cicadas surfacing from their 17 years underground (Reuters)" /> The Food and Drug Association has warned those with a shellfish allergy to refrain from eating cicadas. Trillions of Brood X cicadas are currently surfacing from their 17 years underground. They are all sorts of types of cicadas, but this particular one is believed to the rarest. Due to the vast amount, some have taken the opportunity to share recipes enjoying the rare insect. However, the FDA have now put out the unusual warning. In the tweet on their official page, they wrote, Yep! We have to say it! Dont eat cicadas if youre allergic to seafood as these insects share a family relation to shrimp and lobsters. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. David Stukus, from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America said there was no proven connection, but the advice was given to be cautionary. Theres no good clinical research evaluating the risk of ingesting cicadas for people with shellfish allergies, he told The Washington Post, so we are extrapolating. He went to to explain that shellfish allergy sufferers are triggered by a protein called tropomyosin, which is present in both shellfish and certain insects, including dust mites, another common allergen. The Washington Post also cited a U.N Food & Agriculture report that stated; Individuals already allergic to crustaceans are particularly vulnerable to developing allergic reactions to edible insects, due to allergen cross-reactivity, According to the Food Allergy Research Association, roughly two per cent of the U.S population have an allergy to shellfish. The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology list common reactions as vomiting, shortness of breath, tightness in throat, hives and blue skin coloring and among other conditions. Cicadas arrived in May and are currently out in areas such as New York, Washington, DC. Virginia, among other east coast locations in the U.S. Some perceive the swarms to be nothing but pests as they are loud and often travel in packs. One outdoor dining venue in the nations capital closed its doors because they thought they would be such a nuisance to customers. Story continues However, some top chefs have begun a trend of creating dishes out cicadas, due to their abundance. Chef Xavier DeShayes even said to NPR host Michael Martin that they were protein of of the future on the All Things Considered podcast. Insect is going to be the protein of the future. You know, insect farming is very sustainable when you compare to cows or any other animal farming, you know - less fossil energy, less water, less space, less food, you know what I mean? So when you look at it on the end, insect farming has every way of being profitable, he said on the broadcast. Cicadas are believed to begin to disappear when the weather starts to get dry in the summer, so experts estimate that they will start to vanish by July. Read More Cicadas: Where are they in the US and when will they leave? Im screaming: Cicada filmed crawling onto CNN journalist Manu Raju, shocking viewers Stop phoning 911 to report ear-splitting cicada noise, authorities plead A class project in which a student dressed as Adolf Hitler and glorified the dictators many accomplishments shocked a New Jersey school community. But the superintendent of Tenafly Public Schools said the assignment was taken out of context by those in the community, which is about 20 miles northeast of Newark. The districts investigation involved a teacher who gave the OK to a fifth-grader to write a first-person narrative on the accomplishments of Hitler, whose virulent anti-Semitism and obsessive pursuit of Aryan supremacy led to the murders of nearly 6 million Jewish people during the Holocaust in the 1940s. The assignment, which listed the killings among Hitlers accomplishments as the leader of Nazi Germany, was displayed in a school hallway for weeks before it was taken down, according to News 12. Superintendent Shauna DeMarco acknowledged the project has led to understandable anger and concern, but said frustrations may be misplaced. The assignment (which was given by a teacher who happens to be Jewish) asked students to speak from the perspective of one of these individuals and how they might have perceived and rationalized their actions, DeMarco wrote in a statement Tuesday. When people saw the students projects, which were displayed in the school, they didnt understand the assignment, resulting in justifiable concerns. Given that the lesson was specifically issued within the context of social justice, she continued, it is unfair to judge any student or teacher in this matter. Concerned members of Tenafly called on the citys board of education to investigate after news of the project surfaced over Memorial Day weekend. DeMarco said she would review all details of the assignment before deciding on a course of action. Some parents were dismayed that a student was allowed to write about Hitler. Its appalling, resident Shimon Avrahami told WABC. It shouldve been stopped the minute this girl came to school. Story continues Jason Shames, who heads the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, called Hitler a red line for Jews, but said the student in question deserves the benefit of the doubt. I think rushing to judgment here is actually harming the situation and not being helpful, he told News 12. Its riling up the masses, social media hasnt played a positive role ... and so I think we need to be pretty careful about the fact that were talking about a 10-year-old child. The federation issued a statement Wednesday, saying, after further review, it didnt feel the student intended to be anti-Semitic and therefore shouldnt be blamed for the series of poor and inexcusable judgment decisions by the school and district administration. The young person involved, an 11-year-old child, and her family have unfortunately been subject to much ridicule and harm, which they do not deserve, the federation said. McClatchy News reached out to Tenafly Public Schools for comment Wednesday and is a awaiting response. Slave letter writing activity had Mississippi students pen a letter home to Africa Indiana museum director resigns after job post seeks to maintain white art audience Professors wore Confederate gear and took noose to college party in Alabama, photos show Professor accused of mocking Trayvon Martin at historically Black university in Georgia (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said Wednesday employees should begin returning to offices in early September for at least three days a week. The iPhone maker is pushing staff to return on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at a minimum, with remote work still an option for Wednesdays and Fridays, Cook said in a memo obtained by Bloomberg News. We are setting consistent days in the office to help us optimize our time for in-person collaboration, he wrote. Some teams will have to be in four or five days week. In pushing for staff to return, Cook cited the availability of vaccinations and declining coronavirus infection rates. Some employees of the Cupertino, California-based technology giant have worked from Apple offices on certain days throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Thousands of others have been away for more than a year. Cook said many Apple teams in the Asia and Pacific regions have already returned to offices and factories, and that the remaining closed retail stores will reopen this month. He previously told staff they might return as early as June, but the company pushed that back to September a few weeks ago. Employees, with manager approval, will be offered an additional two weeks of remote work per year. In his letter, Cook called the return to offices a pilot effort that will be reevaluated in 2022. The Verge reported on Apples plans earlier Wednesday. As the worlds most innovative company, I believe we have a special obligation to get this right, Cook said. I am very excited about the opportunity that we have to come together in new ways and chart a new path in the era ahead. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2021 Bloomberg L.P. Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed the plans in a company-wide memo Apple wants its employees to return to offices by September, a company-wide memo sent to staff on Wednesday said. Workers must return to their desks for at least three days a week, chief executive Tim Cook wrote. Some staff members will be given the option to work the remaining two days remotely. Teams that require "in-person" work will return for four or five days. Apple also told staff they will be able to apply for the chance to work remotely for two weeks a year. However, managers will need to approve remote work requests. Mr Cook said that despite a smooth transition to remote working, it was not an adequate replacement for in-person collaboration. "For all that we've been able to achieve while many of us have been separated, the truth is that there has been something essential missing from this past year: each other," he said in the document, seen by The Verge. "Video conference calling has narrowed the distance between us, to be sure, but there are things it simply cannot replicate." He added: "I know I'm not alone in missing the hum of activity, the energy, creativity and collaboration of our in-person meetings and the sense of community we've all built." Apple has gone from strength-to-strength during the pandemic with its overall revenues jumping 50% year-on-year largely because of a surge in iPhone sales. The company has also been more conservative regarding its working from home policy than other tech giants. Facebook announced last year that its employees could work from home full-time as long, as they get approval from their manager. Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey also made headlines when he announced a similar policy in May 2020. But Google recently announced a similar bid to get more people back into offices for three days a week. Argentine cattle farmers on Thursday ended a two-week halt on domestic beef sales called to protest a government-imposed pause in exports designed to moderate skyrocketing meat prices. The country is the fourth-largest beef exporter in the world, and one of its biggest consumers per capita, and revenues from the sector are vital to the country's economy. Mid-May, President Alberto Fernandez's government announced a one-month suspension on foreign meat sales to "get the sector in order, restrict speculative practices and avoid tax evasion in foreign trade." Poverty affects 42 percent of Argentines, and Fernandez is trying to reduce the cost of living by implementing price controls. Fernandez insisted Argentina could not accept the recent rise in meat prices in a country already reeling from three years of recession and the adverse economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The price rises contributed to Argentine inflation, already among the highest in the world, reaching 17.6 percent in the first quarter of 2021, according to the INDEC statistics institute. In response to the government's move, cattle farmers declared a "cessation of all categories of cattle trade." On Thursday, the Agrarian Federation of Argentina announced a resumption of deliveries, while seeking an urgent meeting with Fernandez. "We must find alternatives that do not destroy Argentine livestock farming, that do not affect the wallet of the Argentine people, that do not make us lose our international credibility and that do not affect the national economy," farmers groups said in a statement. According to the Argentine chamber of industry and commerce, the industry employs some 100,000 people. The protest did not harm domestic availability, with butcheries and markets having stocked up and consumption dropping due to a sharp price increase -- some 65.3 percent year-on-year in April. Meat consumption in Argentina has been declining year after year, from 69.3 kilograms per person in 2009 to 49.2 kilograms today, according to the CICCRA industry chamber. In 2020, the country exported 819 billion tons of beef and cow leather worth $3.37 billion -- a 16.5-percent drop from 2019 -- primarily to China, Germany and Israel, according to INDEC. sa/mr/mlr/to Oakland A's president Dave Kaval has apologized for the quality of food served to the organization's minor league players. Kaval issued the apology Tuesday night after photos players posted went viral on social media, drawing comparisons to the infamous "Fyre Festival" meals that were panned in a pair of 2019 documentaries. The Twitter account for Advocates for Minor Leaguers called out the A's for meals featuring a sandwich with a single slice of processed cheese and a sparsely filled tortilla. Kaval: 'We will redouble our efforts' Kaval responded directly to the critical tweet, calling the food "totally unacceptable" while writing that the A's fired the vendor that provided the food. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The A's also issued a team statement echoing Kaval's tweet. "Several weeks ago, we were made aware of the postgame meals being served to players in our Minor League system," the statement reads. "Those options were completely unacceptable and by no means meet our quality standards. We immediately ended our relationship with that third party vendor." Advocates for Minor Leaguers executive director Harry Marino applauded Kaval's response in a statement while promoting better overall treatment of minor league players. "I appreciate Mr. Kaval's prompt acknowledgment that these meals are unacceptable and his promise to do better going forward," Marino said, per ESPN. "Unfortunately, this is far from an isolated incident in minor league baseball. Each and every day, I hear directly from players about the myriad ways in which they are being mistreated." A's president Dave Kaval apologized for low-quality minor league food. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) More from Yahoo Sports: Legendary US trainer Bob Baffert was banned from the Kentucky Derby for two years on Wednesday, hours after confirmation of a positive drugs test against his winning horse Medina Spirit in this year's race. A statement from Churchill Downs Inc, which operates the Kentucky Derby, said Baffert would be barred from entering horses at the track until the end of the 2023 Spring Meet. It means Baffert -- one of the most successful trainers in US racing history -- will not be allowed to enter the Kentucky Derby until the 2024 season. Baffert, 68, has been at the centre of a doping scandal after Medina Spirit tested positive for a banned steroid after powering to victory in last month's Derby. It marked the fifth time in the past year that a horse trained by Baffert has failed a doping test. In its statement announcing Baffert's suspension, Churchill Downs said the ban was necessary to preserve confidence in the integrity of the sport. "Reckless practices and substance violations that jeopardize the safety of our equine and human athletes or compromise the integrity of our sport are not acceptable and as a company we must take measures to demonstrate that they will not be tolerated," said Churchill Downs chief executive Bill Carstanjen. "Mr Baffert's record of testing failures threatens public confidence in thoroughbred racing and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby. "Given these repeated failures over the last year, including the increasingly extraordinary explanations, we firmly believe that asserting our rights to impose these measures is our duty and responsibility." Churchill Downs added that it could extend Baffert's suspension if he was found to have committed any additional violations in any other racing jurisdiction. - Further testing - Baffert, a seven-time Kentucky Derby winner who guided horses to Triple Crown victories in both 2015 and 2018, initially denied any wrongdoing concerning Medina Spirit after the horse tested positive for the steroid betamethasone last month. Story continues However the trainer later admitted the steroid was contained in an ointment used to treat a skin complaint the horse had been suffering from up until the eve of the Derby. Earlier Wednesday, Clark Brewster, a lawyer for Medina Spirit's owner Amr Zedan, confirmed that analysis of a split sample taken from the horse had confirmed the findings of the first test. Brewster said in a statement that further analysis of Medina Spirit's sample was ongoing, and would bolster Baffert's claim that the betamethasone entered the horse's system through the topical ointment Otomax, and not an injection. "In response to the inquiries, this will acknowledge that the Medina Spirit split sample confirmed the finding of betamethasone at 25 picograms," Brewster's statement said. "There is other testing that is being conducted, including DNA testing. We expect this additional testing to confirm that the presence of the betamethasone was from the topical ointment, Otomax, and not an injection. "At the end of the day, we anticipate this case to be about the treatment of Medina Spirit's skin rash with Otomax. We will have nothing further to say until the additional testing is complete." If Medina Spirit's Derby victory is invalidated, runner-up Mandaloun stands to be named the winner of the May 1 US flat racing classic. Churchill Downs said Wednesday that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) was responsible for any decision regarding the disqualification of Medina Spirit. "It is the understanding of (Churchill Donws) that the KHRC is pursuing the completion of its investigation of this matter in accordance with its rules and regulations," Churchill Downs said. rcw/sst Companies that hire transgender people will be given tax breaks, Bangladesh announced Thursday, the latest in a series of measures to boost support for the minority group in the conservative Muslim-majority nation. Bangladesh is home to an estimated 1.5 million transgender people, who face rampant discrimination and violence and are often forced to live by begging, the sex trade or crime. Bullying and abuse have prompted many to flee their homes for communes, making it harder for them to secure jobs. "I propose to enact special tax incentives with a view to providing employment and ensuring a rise in living standards and social and economic integration of the members of the third gender," finance minister A.H.M. Mustafa Kamal announced in the annual national budget. He said firms would be given a five percent tax cut, or be reimbursed with 75 percent of the salaries of transgender people, if they hire 100 workers or 10 percent of their workforce from the community. The minimum tax threshold for transgender people was also increased. "Absolutely, it is very good news for us," said Anonnya Banik, president of transgender rights group Sadakalo Hijra Unnayan Sangha. "But we don't want it to be political propaganda." Banik called for further measures including tax breaks for businesses run by transgender people. "We are massively hit by the coronavirus crisis. We should be given tax breaks and interest-free loans," Banik said. The chief executive of leading Bangladeshi denim maker Smart Group, which employs 26,000 people, welcomed the move. "It is going to prompt a lot of business groups to employ Hijra (transgender) people. It will keep Hijras off the streets," Mostafizur Rahman told AFP. The LGBTQ community faces widespread discrimination in Bangladesh, with a colonial-era law still in place that punishes gay sex with prison, though enforcement is rare. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government has since 2013 allowed transgender people to be identified as a separate gender, and in 2018 they were allowed to register to vote as a third gender. sa/grk/axn The third Construction Technology Festival (CTF) ended on a successful note with over 300 industry experts taking part. The highly-anticipated event was the industrys first in-person conference and exhibition in 2021, welcoming over 300 attendees, said the organisers. The two-day event, hosted on June 1 and 2 at the Address Hotel Dubai Marina, saw guests from the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sector share new digital methods that help design, build and operate assets better, and deliver projects more efficiently, quickly, sustainably and safely. Attendees were delighted to meet face-to-face for the first time in months and enjoyed the opportunity to network in person again, reconnecting with current peers while expanding their network with new connections, they stated. Maged El Hawary, CIO at ASGC Construction, said: "Construction Technology Festival is back as the must-attend event for our industry. I was so pleased to reconnect with all the relevant AEC leaders face-to-face. For the first in-person event for our industry this year, it was a distinguished start to what feels like normal in Dubai. And it was good to see that confidence in the run up to Expo." Katie Briggs, Content Director from the co-organiser b2b Connect, added "After events being digital-only for so long, it was important that CTF 2021 was held in person, providing the opportunity for much-needed networking. Speakers and attendees really appreciated bumping into industry colleagues and meeting new people again. Belarus police detain journalist Roman Protasevich in Minsk, Belarus, Sunday, March 26, 2017. Dozens protestors were detained during attempt to rally in downtown Minsk. AP Photo/Sergei Grits Dissident blogger Roman Protasevich praised Belarus' authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko on state TV. He said he regretted calling on the public to protest Lukashenko and distanced himself from Lukashenko's political opponent. The interview came days after Protasevich was pulled off a Ryanair flight and potentially faces the death penalty. See more stories on Insider's business page. Roman Protasevich, a 26-year-old blogger and Belarusian dissident, appeared on state TV Thursday to praise the country's strongman leader, President Alexander Lukashenko. Protasevich's interview, in which he endorsed the Lukashenko regime's platform, came ten days after Belarusian authorities pulled him off a Ryanair flight that was forced to land in Minsk. It also comes as Lukashenko suggested that the blogger was responsible for "grave crimes" in Ukraine's Donbass region and could face the death penalty. He is currently being held on charges of terrorism and inciting anti-government riots. In the interview, Protasevich said he organized "mass unrest" in Belarus to protest Lukashenko's government, which is supported by the Russian government. "I realised that many things Aleksandr Grigoryevich is criticised for are just attempts to pressure him, and that in many moments he acted like a man with balls of steel," Protasevich said, according to Matthew Luxmoore, who is RFERL's Moscow correspondent. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. He added: "Poland and Lithuania have an interest in supporting the protests in Belarus because it lets them make loud statements with the approval of the collective West." Protasevich went on to say he regretted calling on Belarus' public to organize and distanced himself from Lukashenko's political opponent, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. She ran against Lukashenko in the country's election last year in place of her husband, Sergei, who was arrested after he announced his campaign. Story continues This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Protasevich rose to fame when he co-founded the NEXTA Telegram channel, which is the most popular opposition platform in Belarus. A pro-democracy activist since he was a teenager, Protasevich was on a Ryanair flight headed from Athens to Lithuania on May 23 when Lukashenko ordered the plane to land in Minsk, where Protasevich was subsequently seized by authorities. After the flight was diverted, The New York Times reported, Protasevich told one of the other passengers that he was facing the death penalty for speaking out against Lukashenko. "Don't do this, they will kill me, I am a refugee," he said, according to a fellow passenger. He also begged a flight attendant to stop the plane from landing, but the attendant replied that "we have no choice," The Guardian reported. "He was not screaming, but it was clear that he was very much afraid," another passenger told the AFP. "It looked like if the window had been open, he would have jumped out of it." Read the original article on Business Insider Queen Elizabeth II will meet President Biden and first lady Jill Biden at Windsor Castle on June 13, Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday. Why it matters: Biden will become the 13th sitting U.S. president that the 95-year-old queen has met with, and the first since the death of her husband, Prince Philip, in April. Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free Queen Elizabeth met her first president, Harry Truman, in 1951, two years before ascending to the throne upon her father's death. The only sitting president she did not meet with since that time was Lyndon B. Johnson. The state of play: The meeting comes as Biden is set to attend the G7 summit in Cornwall, England later this month, as part of his first trip overseas. Biden is also scheduled to visit Brussels for a NATO summit and meetings with EU leaders, before his highly anticipated summit in Geneva with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 16. More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free President Biden and first lady Jill Biden are set to meet with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle during his trip to Europe next month for the G-7 summit, the palace said Thursday. "The Queen will meet the President of the United States of America and First Lady Jill Biden at Windsor Castle on Sunday, 13th June 2021," the official Twitter account for the Royal Family posted Thursday. The visit comes as part of Bidens first overseas trip to the United Kingdom for the G-7 Summit and Belgium for the NATO Summit in June. BIDEN TO MAKE FIRST OVERSEAS TRIP IN JUNE FOR G-7, NATO SUMMITS Biden will attend the annual G7 Summit with other world leaders in Cornwall, U.K., between June 11 and June 13, the White House said in April. When asked whether the president would be visiting Queen Elizabeth, White House press secretary Jen Psaki responded, "Who wouldn't want to meet the Queen?" CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment on Thursday to confirm Bidens visit to Windsor Castle. Biden is also expected to meet with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a friend to former President Donald Trump, before traveling to Brussels for the NATO Summit on June 14. BIDEN MOURNS DEATH OF PRINCE PHILIP: HE SAW OUR WORLD CHANGE DRAMATICALLY AND REPEATEDLY He will also participate in a U.S.-EU summit, where leaders "will discuss a common agenda to ensure global health security, stimulate global economic recovery, tackle climate change, enhance digital and trade cooperation, strengthen democracy, and address mutual foreign policy concerns." After meeting with allies, Biden is set to travel to Geneva for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden's first overseas trip will include meetings with the leaders of Turkey, the United Kingdom and Russia, as well as audiences with a queen and a king, the White House said on Thursday. Biden planned to meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on June 10 before attending the Group of Seven Summit from June 11-13 in Cornwall in the United Kingdom, where he will hold bilateral meetings with other G7 leaders, the White House said. The U.S. president will meet with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle on June 13, accompanied by first lady Jill Biden. He will then travel to Brussels for the NATO summit on June 14, meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, and attend the U.S.-EU summit there the following day. In Belgium, Biden will meet with King Philippe and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. The summit between Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled for June 16 in Geneva. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Franklin Paul and Jonathan Oatis) The Independent Airline passengers were scolded for verbally abusing American Airlines cabin crew during a flight delay, according to video of the incident. In footage from 7 June on TikTok, a flight attendant told passengers that abusing cabin crew was disgusting, and that it had been living hell. The American Airlines flight, which took off from Los Angeles for Charlotte, was diverted because of bad weather forcing both passengers and cabin crew to wait it out at Raleigh-Durham airport. BRASILIA (Reuters) - Eduardo Pazuello, a Brazilian army general who rankled feathers among many officials and fellow military officials for appearing at a campaign rally with President Jair Bolsonaro, will not be disciplined, the army said in a Thursday statement. Pazuello appeared at a political rally for Bolsonaro in May, where he spoke with the right-wing leader's arm draped over his shoulder. The incident alarmed many given Bolsonaro's open nostalgia for the nation's 1964 to 1985 military dictatorship and his cozy relationship with some elements of the armed forces, many members of which hold key positions in his government. Army Chief Paulo Sergio Nogueira de Oliveira, himself appointed by Bolsonaro in March, made the decision to absolve Pazuello of wrongdoing in an internal military proceeding. "Regarding the participation of General Eduardo Pazuello in an event carried out in the city of Rio de Janeiro, on May 23, 2021, the Army Communications Center informs that the commander of the army analyzed and took in the arguments presented in written form and orally by the official in question," the army said in the statement. "During this process, the existence of a disciplinary transgression by General Pazuello was not established." Pazuello was also Brazil's health minister from September until late March. On Tuesday, he was nominated by Bolsonaro to a cabinet position within Brazil's Secretariat of Strategic Affairs. (Reporting by Maria Carolina Marello; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by Alistair Bell) Bridget Riley never ceases to amaze. Throughout her career, the visionary artist has continually challenged the ways we see and understand the world around us. Now, aged 90, she has no intention of stopping - and says she's still learning from the mistakes of her past. In an exclusive interview with BBC Newsnight, Riley, who is one of the UK's most renowned artists, described herself as a sort of creative sociologist. "I held a mirror up to human nature and reported faithfully," she tells Kirsty Wark. Art has contributed to her own understanding of the world, too. Artists have "borne witness" to society's "changing circumstances and events, to horrors and as well as to wonder," she says. And as one of the most significant artists of the 20th and 21st century, Riley says she hopes her work has made a contribution to "order, stability and the joy of living." 'Op Art' Born in London in 1931, Bridget Riley emerged onto the art scene in the 1960s with a series of abstract black and white geometric paintings. Focusing on simple forms, such as lines, circles, curves and squares, Riley developed her own signature style - known as Op Art, or optical art - using optical illusions with the aim of actively engaging the viewer and disorientating them by triggering sensations of movement. Riley, surrounded by her works, in 1963 By the end of the 1960s, Riley introduced colour into her work and, in 1968, she became the first British contemporary artist and the first woman to win the Venice Biennale's International Prize for Painting. Although Riley is often described as an abstract artist, she isn't comfortable with the term. "I don't know what that is I go along with it. "I'm a painter first and foremost. I explore and I try and understand and try to find out what I can look at, what can be seen." Bridget RIley A fiercely private individual, Riley rarely gives interviews. But, discussing a career that has spanned six decades, Riley describes looking back at her previous work and making new discoveries. Story continues "Sometimes they're entirely old friends. Other times, I see things in them which I didn't intend, didn't see, didn't hope for, or weren't apparent to me." While retrospection is "tempting", Riley says, "with the time I have still, I want to make the most use of it and explore further some of the possibilities I see." Swimming in a pool of diamonds Riley's artistic journey began in Cornwall, where, during World War Two, her family sought refuge as her father was drafted into the Army. She credits this period, and the time she spent with her aunt, Bertha Joyce, who had studied art, with laying the foundations of her artistic personality and exposing her to a new way of seeing. "It was beautiful There was in fact nothing to do but look and enjoy and appreciate and move around in this extraordinarily beautiful landscape." Formative experiences in the countryside influenced and shaped her visual perceptions, which she describes as being like "swimming through a diamond." Bathing in a shallow pool in Cornwall, Riley recalls a specific moment seeing the "colours of the seaweed and anemones and other little things in it and, at the same time, there was a reflection from the cliff above. "The mixture of all colours that you could perceive laying one upon another in this way generated an extraordinary after-image." The artist was introduced to The Queen at the opening of the Tate Modern Gallery in May 2000 After the war, Riley enrolled in Goldsmiths College and at the Royal College of Art, where she developed her style and was influenced predominately by French post-impressionist painter Georges Seurat, who she attempted to copy in 1959. Her copy of Seurat's Bridge at Courbevoie, which hangs in the Courtauld, was pivotal in Riley's understanding of colour, tone and repetition. 'No such thing as a mistake' Beyond Seurat, Riley also sought inspiration from Cezanne, Mondrian, Matisse and Monet. Building on Monet's Water Lily series, Riley attempted in the early 1960s to create an expansive, three-dimensional piece of work. But although Riley's aim was to draw the viewer in and create and immersive involvement, Continuum (1963), proved too "literal". "I thought I would make a big painting, which enveloped you physically and that was a great mistake... So I went back to flat painting and engaging you on a paintings' proper condition, which is flat and open." Although Riley describes that work as a mistake, it provided an invaluable lesson. "As Matisse said, 'Don't get rid of your mistakes'. They are the things that will help you to get to move, and to think, and to understand a little bit more about what you're doing." Education and exposure to the arts paved the way for Riley's successful career, and she is worried by the government's recent cuts to the arts. There is a need for "government support and private enterprise to take a hand" in providing "vital" spaces for young artists to start their career, she says. "The art... can be everything from a safety valve to a very highly-developed expression of complex responses. "It's not a question of money, it's a question of wanting to do something, or wanting to make an effort." Now, the renowned nonagenarian artist is gearing up for her latest exhibition. Past into Present, which will be shown at David Zwirner's London gallery, principally features work from the last two years, but also includes references to the work of the past, both in her own practice and in the art of painting itself. Measure for Measure, Dark 2, 2021 Bridget Riley The exhibition will feature works from Riley's current series Measure for Measure and Intervals. Viewed together, these bodies of work underscore the consistency of Riley's decades-long investigation of colour and form and her relentless experimentation with perception. The exhibition is, in turn, the leading show in the inaugural London Gallery weekend - when private galleries all over the capital can finally throw their doors open to the public. Kirsty Wark on meeting Bridget Riley Kirsty Wark and Bridget Riley The possibility of an interview with one of the UK's foremost and most important artists was tantalising. Bridget Riley's work has, so far, spanned 70 years, which is, I think, longer than any other contemporary artist in these islands. Her work ethic is astonishing - she never seems to flag - and her interrogation and forward march of her own art, constant. The occasion for the interview was to be the opening of her latest exhibition Past into Present at the David Zwirner Gallery in London on 3 June, and I was beyond keen to speak to her. For me she is a real Titan as an artist. Her paintings are both rigorous and sensuous and her hold on colour unsurpassed and exciting. First stop was the gallery, on Monday, to look at the latest hang. Bridget had worked and reworked the hang and, over the weekend, she had made a change to the sequencing of her Measure for Measure series. She takes the viewer through from one room to another, where new darker arrangements of discs in the paintings are both exhilarating and dynamic. In her new version of her Interval series, which she painted during the pandemic, Bridget has injected a terrific infusion of turquoise as intense and alive as the sea. Then it was off to morning coffee with the artist, and an hour long conversation ahead of our interview. I felt I had to be on my mettle, conscious that she had indicated she wanted to know why I like her paintings, but she greeted me with a huge smile, twinkling eyes, and a firm handshake; her grey hair framed around her face gamin-style, wearing a black t-shirt and black and grey trousers - looking every bit as cool as she has looked in photographs all the way from the 60s until now. There followed a lively discussion about art, during which she proved to be a great educator and voracious reader about art and artists. Then, later in the morning, we met at a small, light-filled studio. When she arrived, she duly sat down in her bright white surroundings and our interview ranged over her influences, her move from black and white to other colours, her short unsuccessful foray into 3D, her childhood in Cornwall and the origins of her artistic sensibility, for which she gave her mother and aunt great credit, and the great joy she has watching children respond to her paintings. Bridget Riley may be 90 but she is still an artist in her prime. You can watch Newsnight on BBC Two at 22:30 on weekdays. Catch up on iPlayer, subscribe to the programme on YouTube and follow it on Twitter. I'm Winston Gieseke, philanthropy and special sections editor for The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, wondering how we made it to June this quickly. It's amazing how time flies when you're 13 days away from the seeming end of a quarantined life as we know it. Let's look at some of today's headlines. Have a friend who wants California news delivered to their inbox for free? Let them know they can sign up via this link. Death penalty in California faces critical test The death penalty in California could be on the precipice of a dramatic change. On Wednesday, the state's Supreme Court began hearings on whether to raise the bar for when a jury can sentence a defendant to capital punishment, a decision that could affect pending cases and potentially reverse death sentences for the 704 inmates already on Californias Death Row. The landmark hearing follows Gov. Gavin Newsoms executive order on Friday mandating an independent investigation into the case of Death Row inmate Kevin Cooper, who was convicted in 1985 of a quadruple murder but continues to maintain his innocence. Californias reexamination of the death penalty comes amid a fraught debate over public safety in the wake of a string of mass shootings and a surge in gun violence. A lot of political futures including Newsoms could be on the line. The governor angered some Californians including Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward by ordering a halt to the death penalty in 2019, just three years after voters rejected an attempt to end capital punishment. Recall organizers cite the order as a key reason to vote him out of office. A recent poll from UC Berkeleys Institute of Governmental Studies found that while 44% of California voters support repealing the death penalty, a sizable 21% remain undecided. In other Newsom news, some California labor unions representing workers in manufacturing, retail, grocery stores, hospitality, health care and other businesses announced their support this week for the governor as he faces a likely recall election. Story continues The California Labor Federation delivered the endorsement Tuesday on behalf of 2.1 million workers and 1,200 affiliated unions on the steps of the Capitol, blasting the recall and Newsom's competitors as anti-worker." The news conference aimed to show unity among organized labor after Richard Louis Brown, the incoming president of SEIU Local 1000, said his huge state-workers union would not support the governor under his leadership. The union's board of directors scheduled an emergency meeting for Wednesday to discuss a $1 million donation to Newsom, ahead of Brown taking office as president later this month. Art Pulaski, head of the labor federation, said Newsom kept workers safe during the pandemic by distributing personal protective equipment and helping essential workers access vaccinations. They praised him for signing legislation that required workplaces to report outbreaks and expanding paid sick leave for people who contracted coronavirus. It makes no sense to attack the one person who gets up every day with the intent of keeping the state safe and keep it moving forward, said Jacques Loveall, president of UFCW Local 8, which represents supermarket and drug store workers. New legislation could protect trans dependents of military members Veterans Tony Viruetta and Jimmy Panetta attend a Memorial Day ceremony in Soledad on May 27, 2019. A new piece of legislation, introduced by U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Central Coast), could ensure that members of the military with transgender or gender non-conforming spouses or children are stationed only in areas where they can receive gender-affirming healthcare. Supporters of the Armed Forces Transgender Dependent Protection Act said it was a question of equality and safety for trans dependents. Passage of the legislation could also protect military parents from facing criminal charges or losing their children for supporting their transition and/or gender expression. A Texas representative recently introduced a bill that would charge parents of trans or gender non-conforming children with child abuse for providing their children with gender-affirming medical treatment. The bill died in the House. "No family should be forced to choose between a sense of belonging and continued service to the nation," said Kathy Roth-Douquet, CEO and co-founder of the nonprofit military spouses group Blue Star Families. Update: California firefighters had 'workplace beef' before fatal shooting Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva speaks Tuesday during a news conference after a shooting at a fire station near Santa Clarita, Calif. A Los Angeles County firefighter appeared to have a longstanding job-related dispute with the colleague he shot and killed at their small, rural fire station, authorities said Wednesday. The killing is California's second deadly workplace shooting in less than a week. Preliminary interviews with other employees at Fire Station 81 indicate the shooter and the firefighter who was killed had "some workplace beef," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Brandon Dean, who is overseeing the homicide investigation. He said investigators will comb through the fire department's personnel files to see if any official complaints had been made or disciplinary actions had been taken before the bloodshed. Storytellers Project tackles race and ethnicity To more fully tell the stories of all Americans, the Storytellers Project, part of the USA TODAY Network, on June 9 is launching a new series of storytelling nights called "I Am" five nights of true storytelling celebrating the ways race and ethnicity weave through American identities. The series is an effort for empathy, encouraging viewers to look around and connect more with the members in their community who may seem different but are, in fact, their fellow Americans. The "I Am" series gives a magnified look into the lives of Black, Middle Eastern, Asian, Latinx and Indigenous Americans on a virtual stage all their own, sharing stories only they can tell. The "I am Hispanic" show will feature Austin American-Statesman Executive Editor Manny Garcia, L.A.-based Black/Brown Collective Managing Director Charlie Echeverry and Latina magazine founder Christy Haubegger, executive vice president of communications at WarnerMedia in Los Angeles. The event will be held virtually at 4 p.m. Pacific time on June 9. Register to watch for free here. For more information, head on over to USA TODAY. Teenage bear-pusher: 'Dont do what I did' When 17-year-old Hailey Morinico saw a bear in her backyard going after her dogs, she didn't even flinch. A video of a California 17-year-old pushing a bear off a fence to protect her dogs went viral Tuesday and has been viewed more than 68 million times. The clip showed a bear climbing over a concrete fence in Bradbury, Calif., and lunging at several dogs in the backyard. Hailey Morinico runs to the bear and, without hesitation, pushes it off the fence. Many viewers praised the young woman's quick reaction, saying she "handled the bear like a warrior." However, Morinico, who said she pushed the animal only hard enough to make it lose its balance, told KTLA 5 pushing bears is not a good idea. Dont do what I did," she said. "You might not have the same outcome. The National Park Service also doesn't recommend pushing bears. The first thing to do is speak calmly so the bear realizes you are human. It also advises making yourself look as big as possible by moving to higher ground. If the animal stays still, you can slowly walk away, sideways, keeping an eye on it as you move. NBC News reports that Rebecca Barboza, a wildlife biologist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said it appears the dogs provoked the encounter and as a result, no action will be taken against the bear. In California is a roundup of news from across USA Today network newsrooms. Also contributing: KTLA 5, NBC News. We'll be back in your inbox tomorrow with the latest headlines. As the philanthropy and special sections editor at The Desert Sun, Winston Gieseke writes about nonprofits, fundraising and people who give back in the Coachella Valley. Reach him at winston.gieseke@desertsun.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Death penalty faces critical test, and major labor unions back Newsom A group of countries led by Canada said Thursday they've made a claim for reparations against Iran over its downing of a Ukraine jetliner, on behalf of victims' families. The Islamic republic shot down Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 shortly after take-off from its capital Tehran on January 8, 2020, killing all 176 people aboard, including 85 Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Three days later, it admitted that its forces had mistakenly targeted the Kiev-bound Boeing 737-800 plane. Britain, Canada, Sweden and Ukraine said in a joint statement that the two missile strikes on the plane, as well as Iran's "omissions" in an investigation report on the crash, "amount to breaches of international law." "Our claim states that our respective countries, nationals and residents on board flight PS752 were seriously and irreversibly harmed by the tragedy and Iran must fulfill its legal responsibility to make full reparations to the group of states," they said, calling on Iran to formally begin negotiations on reparations. In a separate statement, the group also announced that Afghanistan would not take part in the upcoming talks as it focuses on domestic strife. In a final report in March, the Iranian Civil Aviation Organisation (CAO) pointed to the "alertness" of its troops on the ground who shot the missiles amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States at the time. Ukraine, which lost 11 citizens in the disaster, has said the report was "a cynical attempt to hide (the) true causes" of the tragedy, while Canada said it contained "no hard facts or evidence." Canada and the other nations said they're seeking "equitable compensation for material and moral damages suffered by the victims and their families regardless of nationality and in an amount consistent with its obligations under international law." They're also demanding from Iran "an acknowledgement of wrongdoing and a full accounting of events that led to the downing," as well as a public apology, the return of victims' missing and stolen belongings, and transparency in its criminal prosecutions of anyone involved. amc/to Ottawa unveiled a blueprint Thursday to address violence, racism and disproportionately higher deaths of indigenous women in Canada, vowing "transformative change" two years after a public inquiry labeled their killings a genocide. The Can$2.2 billion (US$1.8 billion) action plan is a response to the 2019 National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls that found they were 12 times more likely to experience violence and seven times more likely to be killed than other women in Canada. It comes also one week after the grim discovery of unmarked graves of 215 children at an indigenous residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia. The measures -- including increased spending on indigenous culture and health, giving communities more control over social services and the creation of a task force to investigate unsolved murders -- will drive "transformative change necessary to end this national tragedy," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference. Critics, however, said the plan falls short. The inquiry report identified at least 1,200 indigenous women who were killed or went missing between 1980 and 2012, but estimated the toll was likely much higher. The perpetrators of the violence included indigenous and non-indigenous family members and partners, casual acquaintances and serial killers. But the commissioners went further in linking the deaths to endemic poverty, racism, sexism and other social ills traced back to failed attempts by early colonizers and beyond to force indigenous people to integrate. The Kamloops Indian Residential School, where the unmarked graves were discovered using ground-penetrating radar, was the largest of 139 schools established across Canada in the late 19th century to forcibly assimilate the country's indigenous peoples. "We cannot ignore the devastating link between the large numbers of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls, and the legacy of residential schools," Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett commented. Story continues "Many of the root causes of violence we see today can be traced back to the loss of culture, identity, family connections and the child abuse perpetrated by the residential school system," she said. The inquiry report called for sweeping changes, detailed in 231 recommendations for improving the security, justice, health and culture of Canada's indigenous people. Trudeau at the time accepted its findings, including that the disappearances and deaths of indigenous women -- victims of endemic violence in Canada -- amounted to genocide. Critics of the government plan, which was designed in partnership with several indigenous groups, say it's too broad, lacks detail and offers no clear timelines. One group, the Native Women's Association, went so far as to release its own plan, telling Canadian media the government's proposal was "fundamentally flawed." amc/to Amidst the growing trend toward eco-conscious spending and consumption among people who want to pursue more sustainable choices and practices, Mastercard has released its Mastercard Carbon Calculator for the UAE and the wider region. Developed in collaboration with the Swedish fintech Doconomy, the Mastercard Carbon Calculator is a feature that provides access to insights and data about environmental impact. It enables consumers to receive a snapshot of the carbon emissions generated by their purchases across spending categories. Banks and financial institutions can easily adopt and customize the feature for eco-conscious consumers, by seamlessly integrating the Carbon Calculator into their mobile apps through new APIs that are now available on Mastercard Developers. "Connecting people to helpful information and tools that enable them to prosper, pursue their passions, and help protect the planet, is an important part of how we are doing well by doing good. The New Mastercard feature enables banks to equip people with carbon footprint data and insights to help inform consumer spending and offer ways to contribute to reforestation. With growing consumer passion for the environment and sustainable lifestyle choices, we hope that this feature will inspire more people to support brands that are contributing to environmental welfare, said Gaurang Shah, Senior Vice President, Product Management, Digital Payments & Labs for Middle East and Africa, Mastercard. The calculations are powered by the independently verified Doconomy Aland Index and can be further enhanced with relatable and easy-to-understand equivalents (such as the number of trees required to absorb the same amount of CO2), and tips about living more sustainably. By engaging a whole industry in enabling individual insights as well as collective action, Mastercard has redefined the role the financial industry can play every day in tackling the climate crisis. When others are talking of the importance of Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG), Mastercard is putting it to work at the fingertips of the consumer, said Mathias Wikstrom, Chief Executive Officer, Doconomy. Results from Mastercards most recent research released on Earth Day last month, highlighted strong consumer demand for payment solutions that address sustainability. Among adults in the UAE, 96% stated theyre willing to take personal action to combat environmental and sustainability issue. Being more aware of purchases is one of the top changes UAE respondents will make as a result from Covid-19. Over a quarter said they are going to stop using or buying from brands that do not have a plan to help the environment or behave sustainably. Last year, Mastercard formed the Priceless Planet Coalition, which unites businesses and consumers to restore 100 million trees by 2025. The Coalition continues to expand and now includes more than 50 members including Expo 2020 Dubai, Network International and Emirates NBD. Mastercard has committed to using its technology, network, expertise and resources in support of the companys goal of building a more sustainable and inclusive digital economy.-- TradeArabia News Service A cat owned by a Filipino migrant worker in Myanmar became the first pet to be repatriated to the Philippines when it joined the fifth government-funded repatriation flight amid the COVID-19 pandemic on May 29. Plea for help: Karen Vinalay, an art director returning home due to the ongoing crisis in Myanmar, initially failed to get permission from the Philippine Embassy in Yangon, to bring along her short-haired cat, Jon Snow White, the Manila Bulletin reported. Vinalay shared a tweet on May 10, containing a letter she wrote to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., requesting she and her pet be rescued. The worker, whose other cat Yoda passed away in December 2020, shared how Jon was her only family in a foreign country, noting how pets add life when homesickness sets in. She lamented the embassy probably turned her down because they have less appreciation on the importance of pets for people who have been away from home. DFA Chief responds: Touched by Vinalays impassioned letter, Locsin immediately directed his department to coordinate the needed accommodation to have the cat onboard the repatriation flight. Locsin then told Vinalay to call the Philippine Embassy in Myanmar to assist her. Vinalay and her cat joined 54 other Filipinos from Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand in a chartered Philippine Airlines sweeper flight, which arrived in Manila on May 29. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The Philippines DFA has been repatriating Filipinos in Myanmar due to COVID-19 and the political situation since last year, according to the Philippine Star. Featured Image via @kvinalay (left, right) Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! Filipino Man Claims Bus Passengers Racially Harassed Him for Speaking His Native Language in Vancouver Chinese-American Virologist Who Helped Identify the Cause of AIDS Dies at Age 73 29% of Chinese Canadians Report Being Physically Attacked During COVID-19 Crisis, Survey Says Anonymous Letter Tells Asians to 'Go Home,' Threatens Business in Utah Reuters Videos Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen was conscious in a hospital Saturday, according to officials, after the 29-year-old collapsed during his sides Euro 2020 opening match with Finland.It happened suddenly in the 42nd minute of the match. A hush fell over the crowd. His teammates gathered around him, and one of them appeared to stick his fingers in Eriksen's mouth to clear his airway.Then, he was given CPR on the pitch by medics.People gathered outside bars in central Copenhagen, many in tears, during the period when Eriksen's condition remained unclear.Finland fans, too, were shocked by the news:"Sorry, but I have no words, it's so terrible.""The game doesn't matter anymore. The only thing is that he gets better and we just want him to get better."The scoreless game was stopped for one hour and 45 minutes while Eriksens condition was unknown.In the end, Finland claimed a shock 1-0 victory over Denmark. Two people walk in front of the Nike logo of the Nike flagship store at Wangfujing Pedestrian Street in Beijing, China. China has accused several Western clothing brands of selling goods that could be harmful to children. A warning notice on the country's customs administration website listed 81 items imported by companies including Nike, H&M and Zara. In March, China targeted foreign clothes retailers as an international backlash grows over claims of abuses in the cotton-growing Xinjiang region. Earlier this year, several Western nations imposed sanctions on China. The announcement from China's General Administration of Customs included items like children's clothing, shoes, toys, toothbrushes and baby bottles that were spotted during examinations from June 2020 to May 2021. Nine batches of H&M girls' cotton dresses were said to contain "dyes or harmful substances [that] may be absorbed by the body through the skin, mouth, etc. and endanger health." The same issue was raised for children's clothes imported by Zara, Nike boys' t-shirts and batches of Gap boys' cotton pyjamas. H&M, Zara, Nike and Gap have not yet responded to requests for comment from the BBC. The notice is the latest blow to Western clothing brands operating in China, which have been targeted amid an international backlash over claims of abuses in the cotton-growing Xinjiang region, home to the mostly Muslim Uighur minority group Several big companies have expressed concern over allegations that Uighurs are being used as forced labour. Some firms' online shops have been blocked and their stores have vanished from some digital maps. China initially targeted H&M and Nike but that has widened to include Burberry, Adidas and Converse, among others. While H&M's physical stores in China remain, it is no longer possible to hail a taxi to the shops using an app and consumers can't shop online. Instead China is championing local brands. Story continues In March, several Western countries imposed sanctions on officials in China over rights abuses against the mostly Muslim Uighur minority group. China has detained Uighurs at camps in the north-west region of Xinjiang, where allegations of torture, forced labour and sexual abuse have emerged. The sanctions were introduced as a coordinated effort by the European Union, UK, US and Canada. Beijing has denied the allegations of abuse, saying the camps are "re-education" facilities used to combat terrorism. China has also hit back with retaliatory sanctions on Western lawmakers, scholars and institutions. You might also be interested in: BEIJING (AP) China said Thursday its relationship with Cambodia has made positive contributions to regional peace and stability, after the U.S. expressed concerns about the presence of the Chinese military in the Southeast Asian nation. In a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman focused on China's construction of new facilities at Ream Naval Base. She sought clarification about the demolition of two U.S.-funded buildings at Ream without notification or explanation, and observed that a (Chinese) military base in Cambodia would undermine its sovereignty, threaten regional security, and negatively impact U.S.-Cambodia relations, according to the State Department. In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said China and Cambodia enjoyed a traditional friendship and were comprehensive strategic and cooperative partners. The two sides have carried out fruitful cooperation in various fields, which has brought tangible benefits to the two peoples and made positive contributions to regional peace and stability," Wang told reporters at a daily briefing. The State Department said Sherman urged Cambodias leadership to maintain an independent and balanced foreign policy, in the best interests of the Cambodian people. Sherman raised the issue again during a visit to Thailand on Wednesday, saying that she had candid conversations with Hun Sen about the direction the country is headed, including China's presence at Ream and Cambodias human rights and anti-democratic record." Ream faces the Gulf of Thailand that lies adjacent to the South China Sea, where China has aggressively asserted its claim to virtually the entire strategic waterway. The U.S. has refused to recognize China's sweeping claims, and the Navy's 7th Fleet routinely sails past Chinese-held islands in what it terms freedom of navigation operations. China was the chief backer of the murderous regime of Pol Pot in Cambodia and has long maintained strong relations with Hun Sen, who has ruled for more than 30 years and grown increasingly repressive. Cambodia has also reliably blocked criticism of China within the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Financial regulators in China's southern Hainan province have cautioned investors against illegal fundraising schemes involving cryptocurrency and blockchain, local media reported on Thursday, as China steps up a cryptocurrency crackdown. A group of regulators in the island province, including the local financial supervision bureau and a local branch of the People's Bank of China, said investors should guard against "illegal fund-raising activities under names including 'virtual currency' and 'blockchain'," the state-backed Nanguo Metropolis Daily reported. "No organisation or individual in Hainan Province shall illegally engage in token issuance and financing activities; any so-called token financing platform shall not engage in the business of exchange between legal tender and tokens or 'virtual currencies', and shall not buy, sell or act as a central counterparty to buy or sell tokens," the report cited the regulators as saying. The regulators said financial and payment institutions should not directly or indirectly provide services related to virtual currencies, and virtual currency trading platforms should not provide pricing, trading or other intermediary services. The regulators' statement was in line with existing restrictions on cryptocurrencies in China. Last month, a State Council committee led by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He vowed to crack down on bitcoin mining and trading, a few days after industry bodies banned financial and payment services from virtual currency trading, triggering a market sell-off. (Editing by Peter Graff) HONG KONG (AP) For years, China has quashed any discussion on the mainland of its bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, nearly erasing what happened from the collective consciousness. Now it may be Hong Kong's turn, as China's ruling Communist Party pulls the city more directly into its orbit. The semi-autonomous territories of Hong Kong and nearby Macao were for years the last places on Chinese soil allowed to publicly mark the events of June 4, 1989, when the People's Liberation Army opened fire on student-led protesters in a crackdown that left hundreds, if not thousands, dead. Before last year, tens of thousands gathered annually in Hong Kongs Victoria Park, lighting candles and singing songs to remember the victims. But authorities, citing the coronavirus pandemic, banned the vigil for the second straight year and, on the morning of Friday's anniversary, arrested an organizer of it. A temporary museum dedicated to the event also suddenly closed this week, after authorities investigated it for lacking the necessary licenses to hold a public exhibition. Hong Kongs security minister warned residents last week against taking part in unauthorized assemblies. In mainland China, younger generations have grown up with little knowledge of or debate about the crackdown, but the efforts to suppress commemorations in Hong Kong reflect another turn of the screw in Beijing's ever-tightening control over Hong Kong following massive anti-government protests in 2019. Those demonstrations evolved into months of sometimes violent clashes between smaller groups of protesters and police. And they have led to a broader crackdown on dissent in the former British colony, which was long an oasis of capitalism and democracy and was promised that it would largely maintain its freedoms for 50 years when it was returned to China in 1997. Since the protests, China has imposed a sweeping national security law aimed in part at stiffening the penalties for the actions that protesters engaged in, and authorities have sought to arrest nearly all of the citys outspoken and prominent pro-democracy figures. Most are either behind bars or have fled the city. Story continues Despite the restrictions this year, there are calls for Hong Kongers to remember the 1989 crackdown in private, with vigil organizers calling on residents to light a candle at 8 p.m. Friday no matter where they are. Online calls circulating on social media also urged residents to dress in black on Friday. Local newspaper Ming Pao last week published an article suggesting that residents write the numbers six and four on their light switches a nod to the June 4 date so each flip of the switch is also an act of remembrance. For decades, Chan Kin Wing has regularly attended the vigil in Hong Kong. I was lucky to have been born in Hong Kong. If I had been born on the mainland, I could have been one of the students in Tiananmen Square that day, said Chan, whose parents had fled to Hong Kong from the mainland in the 1960s. When June 4, 1989, happened, all of Hong Kong witnessed the indelible historical event of students massacred by a corrupt regime, Chan said. This year, Chan plans to remember the event privately, dressing in black and changing his profile picture on social media to an image of a lit candle in the dark. Ive resolved to never forget about June 4, and strive to pass on memories of it to ensure its never forgotten, he said. In mainland China, the group Tiananmen Mothers that represents victims relatives published an appeal on the Human Rights in China website urging the party to heed their long-held demands for a complete release of official records about the crackdown, compensation for those killed and injured, and for those responsible to be held to account. We look forward to the day when the CPC and the Chinese government can sincerely and courageously set the record straight and take up their due responsibility for the anti-human 1989 massacre in accordance with the law and the facts, the statement said. The government, however, seems intent on running out the clock on such appeals. While Tiananmen Mothers said 62 of its members have died since the group was founded in the late 1990s, many young Chinese, it said, have grown up in a false sense of prosperous jubilance and enforced glorification of the government (and) have no idea of or refuse to believe what happened on June 4, 1989, in the nations capital. Hong Kong police on Friday detained a leader of the alliance that organizes the vigil and runs the museum that commemorated the event. Chow Hang Tung had told The Associated Press in an interview last week that earlier arrests and convictions of prominent activists have had a chilling effect on those who participated in the vigil in the past. There will obviously be fear and people cannot just assume that they can come and express their remembrance for the Tiananmen massacre victims and be unscathed, said Chow, vice chair of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. She said that what keeps her going is the dream that China and Hong Kong can both have democracy one day. The tide, though, appears to be going in the other direction. This is something worth fighting for, she said. If one day we cannot talk about Tiananmen that would signify that Hong Kong is totally assimilated into Chinese society. ___ Associated Press journalist Alice Fung contributed to this report. BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese social media platform WeChat on Thursday published a list of activities and "violations" it is banning in a bid to clean up its livestreaming service, including "indecent" nose-picking and spanking games. WeChat, owned by Tencent Holdings, is ubiquitous in China, where it is used by around 1 billion people for everything from sending instant messages to ordering pizzas. Its popular "Channels" feature, launched in 2020, allows users to make and follow live broadcasts. China closely regulates its internet and has been increasingly clamping down on content that is politically or socially sensitive. In a post on the platform, WeChat's security centre described in detail more than 70 "common violations" that had been discovered during daily monitoring of the livestream service, and urged hosts to pay attention to the rules to avoid being punished. Besides nose-picking and spanking, other "vulgar" activities that are banned include putting underwear over one's head and focusing the camera lens on sensitive parts of the body, such as the chest or buttocks, it said. Deliberately showing tattoos, using bed sheets and quilts as props and women broadcasting while wearing only underwear or a bikini, or being wrapped in a bath towel, were also listed as violations. Other offences include discussing politically sensitive topics, promoting gambling activities, and broadcasting from venues unsuitable for minors such as bars, nightclubs and foot massage parlours. Any livestream violations will result in penalties being imposed on the channel and its host, the WeChat security team said. (Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Additional reporting by Meg Shen and Twinnie Siu; Writing by Tom Daly; Editing by Mike Harrison) Jun. 3Conrad Weiser grad Lauren Preston, a junior at Stockton University, earned All-American honors by placing fifth in the pole vault last week at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Greensboro, N.C. Preston, who went into the event tied for 13th out of the 19 competitors, cleared a personal-best of 3.75 meters (12-3.5) on her first attempt. She was competing in nationals for the first time. Meghan Matheny of Ithaca won the pole vault at 3.85 meters (12-7.5). Coronavirus outbreaks in educational settings including primary schools have increased by 78% in a week. (PA) Coronavirus outbreaks in UK schools have risen 78% in a week, new data show. Public Health Englands (PHE) latest flu and COVID-19 surveillance report, released on Thursday, showed there were 91 outbreaks from educational settings in the week up to 30 May: up from 51 outbreaks the week before. It comes amid the continued spread of the now-dominant Indian variant across the UK, which has been renamed the "Delta" variant by the World Health Organization (WHO). The most recent data suggests that the variant could be up to 100% more transmissible than the previous dominant mutation, which was first identified in Kent. New figures also suggest that people are around 2.5 times more likely to be hospitalised with the Indian variant, although it appears to be mainly non-vaccinated people being admitted to hospitals. PHE has insisted COVID outbreaks and clusters in primary and secondary schools are occurring at "low levels" of about one in 250 schools. However, Prof Christina Pagel, a member of unofficial Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), which scrutinises government policy, said Downing Streets testing strategy to contain school outbreaks is not working. The PHE surveillance report showed a sharp decline in COVID tests being performed in all educational settings since 8 March, when schools reopened in England. The rising number of outbreaks, and declining number of tests, are demonstrated in the following two charts. Coronavirus outbreaks linked to educational settings. The dates at the bottom represent the week beginning. Coronavirus testing rates in educational settings. (Public Health England) Ninety-one outbreaks is the highest number since the week ending 7 February, when there were 88 school-linked COVID outbreaks. This was following the peak of the second wave, and while schools were shut to most pupils at this time, they were still open to vulnerable children or children of key workers. Furthermore, government figures released in January showed five times as many pupils were attending primary schools than during the first lockdown. Watch: Portugal's removal from green list a 'heavy blow' for travel sector Story continues Children face an extremely small risk of becoming seriously ill through COVID infection. However, the need to self-isolate after testing positive disrupts pupils education, while long COVID also affects about one in 10 people. In terms of wider community transmission, meanwhile, PHE has said there is "early evidence" the Indian variant infections may have an "increased risk of hospitalisation" compared to the Kent variant. Read more: Indian COVID variant cases surge 79% in a week as plans for lockdown easing remain in doubt Portugal axed from green travel list amid warnings of new 'Nepal mutation' in Europe It said 278 people with the Indian variant had attended A&E in the past week, resulting in 94 people being admitted to hospital overnight. Last week, 201 people attended A&E, with 43 admissions. The majority of those people admitted had not been vaccinated. Watch: Do coronavirus vaccines affect fertility? PRAGUE (AP) The Czech coalition government led by populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis survived on Thursday a no-confidence vote in Parliament over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Five opposition parties also requested the vote as prosecutors are looking into whether to indict Babis over alleged fraud involving EU funds in a separate case and a recently published European Union report concluded that Babis has a conflict of interest over EU subsidies involving his former business empire. Babis denies any wrongdoing. Only 89 of the opposition lawmakers voted late Thursday at the end of an almost 14-hour session to oust the Cabinet, well short of the 101 needed in the 200-seat lower house. Babis centrist ANO (YES) movement is in a minority government with the leftist Social Democrats. It has recently lost its support from the Communist Party. But the Communists refused to vote against the government, left the lower house and didn't participate in the debate and the vote.. The Czech Republic has been one of the hardest-hit European countries by the pandemic. The nation of 10.7 million people had almost 1.7 million confirmed cases with over 30,000 deaths. The falling numbers of new cases recently has made it possible for the government to relax its coronavirus restrictions. ___ Follow all of APs pandemic coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine Gulf Development International (GDI), a UK-based full-scale developer, is set to build one of the largest volumetric modular assembly plants in the world within Saudi Arabia's $500-billion city Neom. The $1-billion project is expected to come up on a 1.4-million-sq-m site within the futuristic city, said its top official. When fully operational, the factory will be capable of producing up to 12,500 modular units per year, remarked CEO George Creel. Additionally, GDI has established Gulf Modular Industry Company, a licensed Saudi entity that will operate the factory. The factory will be the first in Neom to break ground and will employ nearly 2,200 people with a mix of skilled and high-tech jobs, focusing on developing opportunities and training for Saudi citizens, he noted. Lauding the move, Neom CEO Nadhmi Al Nasr said: "I am proud to welcome GDI to our global project, where we are building our communities with the most advanced technologies and modern methods of construction." "This partnership touches on all of Neoms pillars: allowing us to build a community of exceptional livability, where innovative businesses like GDI can thrive while reinventing industry," he added. Creel described the new Giga-factory as "an efficient ecological marvel". The company will use the site to build its new volumetric modular system to support building housing for tens of thousands of people and dozens of hotels for Neom, a cornerstone of Vision 2030, stated the top official. The objective is to produce modules to support other giga projects and initiatives in Saudi Arabia and export throughout the region. Production will begin in late 2022, he added. According to him, GDI has arranged the private sector financing for this transaction, which speaks of the strength of the sound economic fundamentals of Neom, and this venture specifically. "Over the next three years, GDI expects Neoms demand for the factory output to quadruple, which will position GDI to attract further foreign direct investment to meet intense demand," he added. DLA Piper provided GDI with legal assistance on the factory project. A father accused of physically assaulting his daughter during a fight claims he hit the girl for being disrespectful, Louisiana authorities said. Donnie Paul Neil, 40, faces several charges after allegedly striking the child and choking her until she nearly passed out, all while ramming her head into the floor of his home in Chauvin, the Terrebonne Parish Sheriffs Office said. Deputies arrived at the home Wednesday morning for a report of a child being physically abused. Neil wasnt inside, but deputies located his daughter, who had obvious injuries around [her] neck and face, according to a news release. Police didnt reveal the childs age. A search of the home turned up drug paraphernalia and shotgun shells. Authorities learned the girl hadnt seen her father in five years and was visiting from out of town when they had a fight about his drug use. Neil was allegedly using illegal drugs inside the residence every day, police said, and his daughter was unhappy about it. The girl ran into a bedroom and locked the door behind her. Thats when Neil repeatedly tried to break it down before grabbing a saw and sawing his way through the door. He proceeded to attack his daughter after forcing his way inside. The child escaped to a neighbors home, police said, and 911 was called. Deputies searched the area and found Neil hiding at a nearby house. He was taken and questioned at the sheriffs office, where he acknowledged hitting his daughter. He also admitted to partaking in illicit drugs in front of her, authorities said. Neil was booked on charges of domestic abuse by strangulation on a minor child, domestic abuse battery, aggravated assault and false imprisonment. Hes also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and illegal use of a controlled drug. He remained in custody at the Terrebonne Parish Criminal Justice Complex as of Thursday on a $51,000.00 bond. 1-year-old among three killed in shooting at neighborhood pool, Louisiana cops say Story continues Neighbor shoots up couples home after not being invited to game night, Georgia cops say Appalling or misunderstood? NJ childs school project on Hitler stirs backlash Car kills 4-year-old who wandered into street steps away from dad, Georgia police say Long-time track announcer Trevor Denman poses with television host Conan O'Brien after helping him call a horse race. Denman will return to Del Mar after taking last year off. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press) Trevor Denman will return to the announcing booth at Del Mar when its summer season kicks off July 16 after missing last season for the first time since 1984. Denman chose to stay on his 500-acre farm in Minnesota last year out of concern for the coronavirus. Larry Collmus, who currently calls the Triple Crown races and Breeders Cup for NBC, filled in and quickly established a presence in the Del Mar booth. He recently took down from his Twitter account that he was the Del Mar announcer, signaling the return of Denman. The 68-year-old Denman informed track officials he was coming back by email saying: We are very keen to get back to Del Mar. Denman was the main race caller in Southern California for decades, calling Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and even the Los Angeles County Fair at Pomona. Hollywood Park and Pomona went away and Denman continued to call at Santa Anita until 2015. He will always be remembered for his call in 2009 when the mare Zenyatta came from last to win the Breeders Cup Classic at Santa Anita. Zenyatta has a lot of ground to make up. Zenyatta, if she wins this, shell be a super horse. Shes starting to pick them off, though. Zenyatta going to hook to the outside. Meanwhile, Colonel John, Summer Bird in the red cap. Zenyatta comes to the outside. Zenyatta coming flying on the grandstand side. Gio Ponti on the inside. Summer Bird is right there. This is un-be-lievable! Zenyatta, what a performance! One well never forget. Looked impossible. Denman also will return for the short fall meeting at Del Mar, which will include the Breeders Cup. NBC will use Collmus and the track will use Denman. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Defense attorney Eric Nelson and former police officer Derek Chauvin address Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill on April 15, 2021. (AP) The lawyer for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has filed a motion urging the judge to sentence his client to probation and time served, arguing that a police officers life expectancy is shorter than a civilians. The motion was filed on Wednesday, about three weeks before Chauvins sentencing hearing. He could be sentenced to up to 40 years in prison for murdering George Floyd. The state of Minnesota is pushing for a sentence of 30 years. Chauvins age weighs in his favour when determining a sentence, his attorney, Eric Nelson, wrote in the legal filing. The life expectancy of police officers is generally shorter, and police officers have a significantly higher average probability of death from specific diseases than did males in the general population. He has been preliminarily diagnosed with heart damage and may likely die at a younger age like many ex-law enforcement officers. The average sentence for second-degree murder is 12.5 years. But prosecutors have argued that the circumstances of Chauvins crime require consideration of a longer sentence. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill has found that a longer sentence is warranted because Chauvin abused his authority as a police officer, Mr Floyd was killed as children as young as nine were nearby, Mr Floyd was particularly vulnerable as he was handcuffed, Chauvin handled the situation with particular cruelty, and because the other officers present acted as a group. Mr Nelson is urging Judge Cahill to backtrack on that finding and give Chauvin a lower sentence than would usually be the case in a situation like this. The lawyer wrote that Chavin didnt know he was committing a crime. Mr Nelson argued that Chauvin had been painted as a dangerous man but that the former officer wasnt an average offender. He had lived a "hard-working, law-abiding life", Mr Nelson noted, adding that Chauvin had no previous criminal record. Chauvins offence is best described as an error made in good faith reliance his own experience as a police officer and the training he had receivednot intentional commission of an illegal act, he wrote. Story continues Mr Nelson also wrote that Chauvin received commendations, awards, and got high scores on his annual reviews during his 19 years as a police officer. Chauvin has also received thousands of letters of support since his arrest in 2020 from local and international communities, the lawyer wrote. Prosecutors also filed a motion on Wednesday, arguing for a 30-year sentence. In the legal filing from the state of Minnesota, prosecutors argued that the sentence, which would be twice as long as the higher end of the recommended sentencing range properly account for the profound impact of Chauvins actions. The defendant cruelly murdered Mr Floyd in public view. His actions traumatized Mr Floyd's family Mr Floyds daughter, his siblings, his cousins, his aunts and uncles, his nephews and nieces. None of them will ever be able to see their beloved Perry again, prosecutors wrote. Chauvin was convicted in April for second-and third-degree murder, in addition to second-degree manslaughter. He will only be sentenced for the most serious charge, second-degree murder. The recommended sentence is 12.5 years and ranges from 10.67 to 15 years. Chavins sentencing is set for 25 June. Read More State seeks 30 years for Chauvin; defense wants time served Derek Chauvin cant afford defence in civil rights case Chauvin faces hearing on federal charges in Floyd's death Canada has been dealt a somber reminder of one of the darkest chapters of its history over the past week. The remains of 215 children were found last month buried in unmarked graves at a former residential school, one of more than 150 institutions in a defunct system that for well over a century forcibly separated Indigenous children from their families to assimilate them into Canadian society. The discovery sent shock waves through the nation, prompting communities from coast to coast to lower their flags to half-staff and hold moments of silence in honor of the children. From Vancouver to Ottawa, children's shoes, toys and candles have been left at makeshift memorials. Now, lawmakers and First Nations groups are calling for all former residential schools across Canada to be examined for signs of unmarked graves. For decades, residential school survivors have been telling "horror" stories about children who disappeared without a trace, Terry Teegee, regional chief of the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations, said by phone from Prince George, British Columbia. "Finding these 215 children just confirms those stories," Teegee said. "It's really important, as part of a healing journey, to acknowledge and understand how many of our children perished in the schools." The school where the remains were found is in Kamloops, about 160 miles northeast of Vancouver. The institution, the biggest residential school in Canada, operated under the auspices of the Catholic Church from 1890 to 1969. The Canadian government then took over and oversaw the school until it closed in 1978. Enrollment peaked in the early 1950s at 500. There are official records of at least 51 children who died at the school from 1900 to 1971. The graves, which were discovered with ground-penetrating radar last month, are believed to be undocumented, said Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc First Nation, who announced the discovery May 27. Searchers acted on a "knowing in our community" to look for the unmarked graves, she said. Story continues Some of the children are believed to have been as young as 3, Casimir said. In the wake of the discovery, Teegee is among a growing number of First Nations leaders calling for more former residential schools to be searched. "It's part of the truth-telling in terms of true reconciliation," he said. "We need to know and understand where these children are." Image: Memorial for children's remains at former school in British Columbia (Jason Franson / AP) While the sheer number of children's remains found in Kamloops is shocking, it is just the tip of the iceberg, and the discovery is by no means an isolated incident, said Linc Kesler, former director of the University of British Columbia's First Nations House of Learning. He supported the calls to examine other former residential school grounds, saying full acknowledgment of this part of Canada's history is "absolutely requisite." Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, told the TV station Global BC: "If this has taken place at the Kamloops Indian residential school, there is no reason not to believe that it happened right across the country. I think we have not heard the worst of this." An estimated 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children were required to attend the state-funded residential schools from 1831 to 1996. Many never went home. In 2015, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission declared that the residential schools played a central role in Canada's "cultural genocide" of Indigenous people. The schools were designed to force First Nations children to assimilate into Canadian society. Children were taken from their homes and communities, and students were harshly punished for speaking their own languages, according to the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation. The schools were often crowded and underfunded, and staff members were not held accountable for how they treated the children. Thousands of students suffered physical and sexual abuse, the center said. The commission identified more than 4,100 children who died while in residential schools. The true number of victims may never be known because of incomplete or missing records. A week after the announcement of the discovery in Kamloops, the story continues to dominate Canadian headlines. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the news broke his heart; Carolyn Bennett, the minister of crown-Indigenous relations, said Canadians are now "confronted with the truth." "Sadly, this is not an exception or an isolated incident," Trudeau said Monday. Image: Memorial for children whose remains were found at a former school in Kamloops, British Columbia (Jason Franson / AP) Asked whether he would commit federal funding to future research and excavations at residential schools across Canada, Trudeau said that some money has already been allocated for initiatives around residential school cemeteries in previous budgets and that "there will be more that we will do." He did not elaborate. Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada said in an email Tuesday that nearly $34 million was earmarked in 2019 over three years to support efforts to continue building a register of residential school student deaths and support the work of communities in finding, memorializing and commemorating the children who died at the schools. Bennett and Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said Wednesday that the Catholic Church and the pope should apologize to the victims. Miller said it is "shameful" that an apology has not been offered before. Examining more former residential schools could come with a string of challenges. Access could be difficult, as many have been sold off, repurposed or redeveloped. Of the over 150 schools that were open in Canada, fewer than 20 have buildings that are still standing or partly standing, said Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, director of the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Access to the sites varies greatly, which can create barriers to research, Turpel-Lafond said in an email. Then there is the issue of missing or incomplete records, which would be essential to identify the remains and understand how the children died. Turpel-Lafond said some names were recorded with no first or last names, such as simply "Indian Girl No. 237" evidence of the inadequacy of the records. Misspelling of cultural names, new names that were assigned in English and French or anglicized versions of names mean records are difficult to navigate, she said. Image: Lorelei Williams places children's shoes on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery (Darryl Dyck / AP) Finally, there is an issue of how to deal with the unmarked graves. Turpel-Lafond called on the government to appoint a special rapporteur to bring international standards to Canada when it comes to mass burial sites. "Mass graves are a legacy of conflict and human rights violations in other parts of the world such as Srebrenica, Bosnia and Iraq," she said. "We need to show survivors that we take this discovery seriously, and treat it with respect." Kesler said the United Nations could play a significant role through its Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to bring attention to the deaths and "really add to the demand for accountability." The U.N. Human Rights Office said in an email Thursday that Canadian authorities should ensure "prompt and exhaustive investigations" into the deaths of Indigenous children and "redouble efforts" to find their bodies, including by searching unmarked graves. The Tk'emlups te Secwepemc First Nation in Kamloops is working with a radar specialist to complete the survey of the school grounds. It expects a full report by mid-June. Casimir of the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc First Nation told the Canadian public broadcaster CBC on Sunday that there will be a debriefing with the nation's membership this week, adding that other chiefs across Canada are having similar conversations with their communities. "We're all grieving," Casimir said. "There's so many unanswered questions that our membership wants. The world wants to know." CORRECTION (June 3, 2021, 7:55 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated when the graves were discovered. They were discovered the weekend of May 22-23, not earlier this month. 10,000 new dogecoins are mined every minute and there is no maximum supply. Photo: Getty Images Cryptocurrencies were broadly higher on Thursday morning as joke token dogecoin continued to rally, getting a boost earlier this week after being listed by Coinbase Pro and getting support from Tesla (TSLA) chief Elon Musk. Dogecoin (DOGE-USD) was up almost 9%, trading at $0.42 (0.30). It now has a market capitalisation of roughly $54b, making it the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market value, according to Coinbase. Coinbase is the largest US cryptocurrency exchange and Pro is its professional-level trading platform. Some reports have suggested it will soon begin supporting dogecoin on its retail trading platform as well. "The addition to the Coinbase exchange, arguably the most credible crypto exchange, provides a firm stamp of approval for dogecoin, and provides a boost to investor sentiment," James Campion, founder of fintech Ourea, told Yahoo Finance UK. Dogecoin continued its rally on Thursday morning. Chart: Yahoo Finance UK "Individual investors have been clamouring online this year for Coinbase to start supporting the cryptocurrency as a manic rally spurred the prices of an array of digital assets including bitcoin, ether, SafeMoon and dogecoin to new heights," The Wall Street Journal reported. Meanwhile, Musk has continued to tweet about the crypto, creating quite a frenzy. Watch: Ethereum Co-Founder: Dogecoin has no user utility right now Responding to the news about Coinbase, he had retweeted a picture that shows dogecoin taking over the global financial system, and said: "It's inevitable." Mainstream crypto bitcoin (BTC-USD) ticked up roughly 3.4%, trading at $38,704. It is inching back towards the $40,000 mark, but is still far from its all-time high of $63,000. Ethereum (ETH-USD), the world's second largest crypto by market cap, was up about 4.9% to trade at $2,826. Read more: Data analytics firm warns online threats have changed substantially due to pandemic Both continue to recover from an earlier sell-off that came partly due to crackdowns in countries like China and Iran, and criticism in Japan. Story continues The UK's Financial Conduct Authority has recently warned that many crypto firms are withdrawing applications to register with the regulator because they are unable to to meet its anti-money laundering standards. But cryptos also have supporters: this week the finance minister of Norway suggested cryptos will at some point move past their volatility, Bloomberg reported. It is clear that there may be a development over time, whereby you will be able to get more stabilisation mechanisms in the currencies that can lead to greater breakthroughs and upheavals in the slightly longer term, Jan Tore Sanner said, but added for now its not a market I would recommend consumers to enter. Watch: What are the risks of investing in cryptocurrency? A flowerpot on a ledge. (PHOTO: Getty Images) SINGAPORE Upon being locked out of his flat by his father, a drunk man threw the latter's flowerpots over the parapet in a fit of rage. Goh Tiong Keng's father called the police on him. Goh, 53, was jailed for four weeks on Thursday (3 June) after he pleaded guilty to one count of committing a rash act, endangering the personal safety of others, last November. Another charge of being drunk in a public place and causing annoyance to his father was taken into consideration for his sentencing. His lawyer, Periowsamy Otharam, told the court that his client had been living with his 73-year-old father, whom he described as "bad tempered". The elderly man's temper had caused other family members to move out as they were unable to live with him, the lawyer said, leaving son and father alone. Goh continued to live with his father in order to take care of the older man. He learnt to live with his father despite the latter's temper, the lawyer said. He had resided at the same Telok Blangah Heights 15th-floor unit since birth. Police called during incident On 5 November last year, before 10pm, Goh returned home drunk and found the gate padlocked by his father. When Goh could not enter the flat, he knocked on the door and rang the bell. Instead of opening the door, Goh's father called the police. The police came and advised Goh to leave the flat before leaving. Goh remained at the corridor outside the flat. Frustrated with his father, Goh threw two flowerpots over the ledge onto the ground floor. The flowerpots landed on a bed of plants accessible to the public. No one was injured by the flower pots. Goh's father called the police again, stating that after the police left, his son returned and "caused nuisance again". Another witness called the police to report a case of suspected killer litter. He stated, "Upstairs block keep throwing things down. I cant see what is it. There is dust pan and all these, heavy items. When the thing dropped, it created a big sound. The last throw was five minutes ago. Story continues After Goh was arrested, a blood sample was taken from him. The sample was found to contain 176 mg of ethanol per 100 ml of blood. Deputy Public Prosecutor Krystle Chiang sought at least four weeks' jail, saying Goh's conduct was aggravated as there was a "high degree of danger" given the height the flowerpots were thrown from. Goh was also self-intoxicated, she added. Goh could have been jailed up to six months, and/or fined up to $2,500 for the charge of endangering personal safety through a rash act. More Singapore news: Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore Other Singapore stories Singaporean actor Shane Pow to plead guilty to drink driving charge SG Nasi Lemak group admin given 1-year mandatory treatment order Sinovac COVID vaccine approved for use in Singapore: MOH Jun. 3New Mexico green chile seeds at long last will launch into space late Thursday morning. The NuMex Espanola Improved seeds are part of the 22nd mission to bring supplies to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:29 a.m. Mountain time. The specific seed variety was selected out of 40 other pepper possibilities, The New Mexican reported last year. The peppers were chosen for their high vitamin C content and faster-than-average growth rate. They're part of a NASA study on how to grow crops without gravity as NASA works toward landing on Mars in the 2030s and eventually having people inhabit the planet. Espanola resident Jacob Torres, a scientist and horticulturalist, is part of the team that has been preparing the study for more than two years. He was integral in helping select the perfect pepper for the study. The supplies will be launched by the SpaceX Falcon9 rocket and carried by the Dragon cargo spacecraft, which is the first private cargo craft to berth the International Space Station. SpaceX, the private space company started by Elon Musk, carries cargo to the station under a commercial agreement with NASA. The chile seeds, along with materials for other scientific studies surrounding space like tardigrade adaptations to space, cotton root systems and kidney disease treatments are anticipated to land at the space station Saturday. The most anticipated summer in Scottish soccer in a generation started with a public outbreak of perhaps its deepest-rooted problem. Before Glasgow hosts two national team games at the European Championship, the city witnessed the kind of religious sectarianism that has poisoned relations between fans of Rangers and Celtic for decades. Rangers runaway league success under manager Steven Gerrard stopped Celtic from winning its 10th straight title the holy grail in Scotland and saw fans march together in big numbers for the first time in the pandemic-hit season. The celebrations on May 15 after Rangers completed an unbeaten season led to George Square the area which now hosts a Euro 2020 fan zone and were marred by anti-Catholic chants by fans who are typically drawn from the Protestant community. Utterly disgusted, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said. In normal times, the violence & vandalism, & the vile anti Catholic prejudice that was on display, would have been utterly unacceptable, Sturgeon posted on her Twitter account. But mid-pandemic, in a city with cases on the rise, it was also selfish beyond belief. Scottish Football Association president Rod Petrie said those responsible cannot be considered football fans. Scotland will get a chance to repair some reputational damage when it plays in its first tournament game in 23 years on June 14, hosting the Czech Republic. The Scots will then play against England in London on June 18 before hosting Croatia on June 22. The flags carried in the expected 12,000-strong crowd at Hampden Park for those Scotland games will help show how the teams Tartan Army of fans is separate, and a haven, from bitter club rivalries. They have built one of the best reputations in world soccer even though their team has been absent from the tournament stage since the 1998 World Cup. Expect to see flags in the blue St. Andrews cross and red and yellow Lion Rampant, and not the Union Jack of Britain favored at Rangers or the Irish tricolor typically displayed at Celtic. Story continues Theres a surprising lot of Rangers and Celtic fans in the support, Tartan Army member Clark Gillies told The Associated Press in an interview. But the club hats are left at home. That view is shared at Nil By Mouth, a non-profit organization that works to tackle religious bigotry in Scottish soccer. In 10 years, Nil By Mouth has never had a complaint about sectarianism within the Tartan Army, director David Scott told the AP. Scott said it works with the Scottish government but not the soccer federation, whose diversity strategy Football Unites fails to reference religious bigotry, he said. They (SFA) wont even name the problem even though it is the most obvious problem, Scott said, adding that clubs never had a point or a pound deducted for sectarian abuse at their stadiums. Although the federation has steered away from the issue, national team coach Steve Clarke went at it directly in 2019 when he was the manager of Scottish club Kilmarnock. Clarke, who left Scotland early in his playing career, said he faced abuse from the dark ages about his Catholic background at a game against Rangers. I wake up every morning and thank Chelsea for taking me away from the west of Scotland, because my children dont understand this, Clarke said after the 2019 incident, weeks before getting the national team job. Scott described Clarke as a principled and dignified man, but very much a reluctant standard bearer. Clarke now leads his team into Euro 2020 with wide national support after an unexpected success in qualifying against Serbia in November. There were no fans in an empty stadium in Belgrade to share the moment. A 21-year veteran of travel with the Tartan Army, Gillies said Euro 2020 will find Scottish fandom in a good place despite tensions now rekindled in the Glasgow rivalry. A lull followed Rangers demotion in 2012 to the fourth division for financial reasons. He cited fan ownership of clubs like Motherwell and Hearts and vibrant media coverage of soccer culture typified by the BBC show A View From The Terrace. I think Scottish football got its act together, said Gillies, an Aberdeen fan. Its in a much healthier place. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports United States Postal Service Postmaster General Louis DeJoy speaks during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021, in Washington Graeme Jennings/Pool via AP The FBI is investigating Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, the Washington Post reports. The probe concerns possible campaign finance violations at his previous company. DeJoy was previously an executive at New Breed Logistics before joining the USPS. See more stories on Insider's business page. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing Postmaster General Louis DeJoy as part of an investigation into potential campaign finance violations committed by leaders of his former company, The Washington Post reported on Thursday. DeJoy, a prominent GOP donor and logistics executive, was the chief executive of North Carolina-based New Breed Logistics before being selected as postmaster general in mid-2020, joining the beleaguered agency at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The House Oversight Committee had already been investigating allegations that DeJoy and other executives encouraged and gave bonuses to employees who donated money to Republican political candidates during DeJoy's tenure at New Breed. Read more: Pelosi and Trump used a fraudulent trick to raise money - and a guy faces 20 years in prison partly for doing the same thing At congressional hearings in 2020, DeJoy repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in connection with campaign contributions made by him or other New Breed employers. A representative for DeJoy confirmed the FBI probe, which has included interviews with multiple current and former New Breed employees and a subpoena to DeJoy, according to the Post. "Mr. DeJoy has learned that the Department of Justice is investigating campaign contributions made by employees who worked for him when he was in the private sector," DeJoy spokesman Mark Corallo told the Post about the FBI investigation. "He has always been scrupulous in his adherence to the campaign contribution laws and has never knowingly violated them." A Post investigation published in September 2020 detailed claims from former New Breed employees that DeJoy and other top executives pushed employees to donate money to Republican candidates, then covered the cost of those donations in the employees' bonuses. Story continues Such activity could run afoul of federal laws banning so-called pass-through or straw donations, in which one person makes donations on behalf of another. Straw donations enable donors to sidestep legal limits on individual campaign contributions. "Louis was a national fundraiser for the Republican Party. He asked employees for money. We gave him the money, and then he reciprocated by giving us big bonuses," David Young, a director of human resources for DeJoy for 20 years, told the Post. "When we got our bonuses, let's just say they were bigger, they exceeded expectations - and that covered the tax and everything else." An analysis of federal and state campaign finance records by the Post for their investigation found a pattern of multiple New Breed employees donating the same amounts to the same political candidates on the same days. Over the course of a 14-year period, the Post found, employees of the company collectively gave $1 million to Republican candidates but just $700 to Democrats. "Louis DeJoy's reimbursement scheme disguised the true source of potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions, which denied voters the right to know who is giving money to influence their vote and our government," Brendan Fischer, director of the federal reform program at the Campaign Legal Center, said in a statement. "These are serious violations, and we are pleased that CLC's research and complaint triggered the Department of Justice to investigate." Since his appointment, congressional Democrats have heavily scrutinized DeJoy and repeatedly called for the US Postal Service Board of Governors to fire him, both over his ties to Trump and the GOP and cost-cutting measures DeJoy imposed, which Democrats cast as an effort to hobble the agency ahead of the November 2020 presidential election. Read the original article on Business Insider The public will be allowed back inside the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center next week, a city spokesman announced Thursday afternoon. Its another key return to post-pandemic normalcy for the Charlotte area, with 46% of Mecklenburg County now at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19, according to state public health data. Charlotte City Council members will gather in their usual conference room for Monday afternoons strategy session not in the larger council chamber. That means seating will be limited for the public and reporters, though the chamber will be used for overflow space and rely on a video feed from Room 267, city spokesman Cory Burkarth said. County commissioners also will welcome back the public and media to their next board meeting, County Manager Dena Diorio announced earlier this week. There are safe ways to hold public meetings and not unnecessarily restrict people, Mecklenburg Public Health Director Gibbie Harris told a City Council committee on Thursday. Coronavirus metrics have shown significant improvement recently due to rising vaccination rates, she said. We still have virus in our community theres no way around that, Harris said. Its just not as prevalent as it was. COVID, building protocols Burkarth said the Government Center is not fully open throughout the week just yet, even as social distancing and masking requirements ease across North Carolina and coronavirus trends dramatically improve. But all City Council meetings including strategy sessions, zoning hearings and business meetings will be open to the public, Burkarth said. Committee meetings, for now, are not open to in-person attendance. The Government Center will open 30 minutes prior to the start of Council meetings and close 15 minutes after they adjourn. All council meetings will continue to be live-streamed on the citys Facebook and YouTube pages, plus the Gov Channel. Fully vaccinated people are not required to wear a mask inside the Government Center, though they can choose to do so, Burkarth said. Unvaccinated people should still wear a mask and social distance. Story continues Parking is free at the Government Centers garage at 232 S. Davidson St. Visitors and news reporters have not been allowed inside the Government Center since last spring, when the first coronavirus cases were detected in the state. Until recently, most meetings including for the Charlotte City Council and Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners have taken place virtually or in hybrid settings, with only some officials attending in person. Throughout the pandemic, technical glitches have persistently accompanied heated, consequential discussions for the region, including about police reform, racial equity and coronavirus restrictions. Rules for remote meetings City-owned buildings have been upgraded with bipolar ionization technology, Burkarth told the Observer last month. Its a new type of air cleaner designed to filter out viruses, including SARS-2-CoV, though it could generate ozone and other harmful byproducts indoors, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. City employees are not required to get vaccinated and theres no incentive, for now, for them to get their shots. Vaccine shots for county employees arent mandated either, Diorio said, though a recent survey suggested as many 70% are or plan to be immunized. The reopening of the Government Center comes as elected officials grapple with the future of remote meeting rules as Gov. Roy Coopers state-of-emergency order lifts. Prior to the pandemic and the increased use of virtual meeting technology, in-person attendance was expected of officials, city and county attorneys have said. County commissioners this week once again tabled their discussion on the topic, as Democrat Ella Scarborough comes under mounting scrutiny for not joining her colleagues in person. Throughout May, commissioners denied her request to participate remotely, though Scarborough did receive permission Tuesday as the board adopted a $2 billion budget for the incoming fiscal year. Earlier Thursday, during a Budget and Effectiveness Committee meeting, City Council member Malcolm Graham said its time to resume conducting city business directly before the public. I am adamant that we are to move in that direction as quickly as possible with safeguards along the way, Graham said. But council member Renee Johnson asked her colleagues to consider broadening remote participation rules to bolster access for both officials and residents. The technology is there, and I say we cant close the door on that option, Johnson said. Mumtalakat Holding Company (Mumtalakat), the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Bahrain, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russias sovereign wealth fund and Binnopharm Group ( subsidiary of Sistema PJSFC, a publicly traded Russian investment company) to explore the establishment of a new vaccine production facility in the Kingdom of Bahrain to manufacture and distribute the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine across the GCC and Mena region. The MoU was signed in the presence of HE Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Bahrain during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) held this week in Russia. In 2014, Mumtalakat signed an agreement with RDIF to strengthen economic and investment cooperation between both the Kingdom of Bahrain and Russia. The Memorandum of Understanding promotes the exchange of information and expertise in the sectors and areas of common interest for both entities. It also sets the overall framework for the identification of and cooperation on mutually beneficial investment prospects investment and co-investment opportunities in Russia and Bahrain. Mumtalakat automatically co-invests with RDIF in all projects with returns on these co-investments exceeding the returns on global indices. Commenting on the signing, HE Khalid Al Rumaihi, CEO of Mumtalakat, said: Our partnership with both RDIF and Binnopharm Group will enable the Kingdom of Bahrain to continue to be at the forefront of fighting this pandemic whilst working to further enhance the regions healthcare sector through the establishment of this facility. As the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain we continue to look into partnerships and ventures that will add value to our portfolio as well as bring long-term sustainable solutions to the Kingdom and wider region. Kirill Dimitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Find (RDIF), added: Our collaboration with Mumtalakat goes back a long way and has resulted in a successful co-investment program as well as a fruitful partnership between our organisations. We are delighted to extend our cooperation to establish a production facility in Bahrain to produce Sputnik V - the worlds first registered coronavirus vaccine. Sputnik V has been included in Bahrains national portfolio in February and is successfully used to protect the population against COVID. Local production will increase our international production capabilities and help other countries of the region to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Dmitry Zubov, Chairman of the Board of Binnopharm Group, further added, Last summer, Binnopharm Groups pharmaceutical plant in Zelenograd was the first in Russia to launch production of the COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik-V. Over the last year we perfected the technology down to the details and now have a good understanding of how to scale up production of the vaccine. We are happy to share our know-how with other countries to assist them in developing their own production of Sputnik-V at scale. The Sputnik V vaccine is the worlds first registered vaccine against COVID-19 and was developed by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, and registered by the Ministry of Health of Russia. The vaccine is produced with RDIFs backing and the active support of its international manufacturing partners in India, China and South Korea among other countries. In February 2021, Bahrain authorised the emergency use of Sputnik V vaccine to become the fourth authorised vaccine in the Kingdom.-TradeArabia News Service Reuters CARBIS BAY, England (Reuters) -French President Emmanuel Macron offered on Saturday to reset relations with Britain as long as Prime Minister Boris Johnson stands by the Brexit divorce deal he signed with the European Union. Since Britain completed its exit from the EU late last year, relations with the bloc and particularly France have soured, with Macron becoming the most vocal critic of London's refusal to honour the terms of part of its Brexit deal. At a meeting at the Group of Seven rich nations in southwestern England, Macron told Johnson the two countries had common interests, but that ties could improve only if Johnson kept his word on Brexit, a source said. George P. Bush is currently running for Texas attorney general. He's the only member of the Bush clan to publicly support Donald Trump. Matthew Dowd, a former strategist for George W. Bush, called George P.'s support a "sad tale." Sign up for the 10 Things in Politics daily newsletter. A former political advisor to President George W. Bush called George P. Bush's support of former President Donald Trump a "really sad tale" that "says a lot about the Republican Party" today. Last week, a Trump advisor told Politico that the 45th president calls Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush "my Bush," as the only member of the Bush political dynasty to publicly support him. Bush is the son of Trump's one-time rival Jeb Bush, and is currently running for the position of Texas attorney general. Matthew Dowd, chief strategist of the 2004 Bush-Cheney presidential campaign, told CNN on Wednesday that he knew George P. Bush from their days on the campaign. "The Republican Party has become the party of Donald Trump ... It just tells you a complete story of the Republican Party today that he would abandon his family in this regard and basically suck up to Donald Trump," Dowd said of Bush, according to video of the interview reposted by Mediaite. Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush seen in November 2014. Erich Schlegel/Getty Images "For George P., you would think some sort of family values or some family loyalty would be more important than political ambition. But that's what he wants." "It really does tell a tale of the Republican Party - instead of candidates with principle leaving the party and saying I'm not part of that anymore, they stick it out and in order to stick it out they cozy up to Donald Trump no matter what they have to sacrifice, including family bonds and values," Dowd said. George P. Bush's support of Trump is perhaps surprising considering how the latter denigrated Bush's father during the 2016 Republican presidential primary. Trump called Jeb Bush "low energy" and an "embarrassment to his family." Story continues Former President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower in Manhattan on May 18, 2021. James Devaney/GC Images Multiple members of the Bush family have also spoken out against Trump, including former President George W. Bush and his mother, the former first lady Barbara Bush, who died in 2018. Insider has contacted George P. Bush's campaign office for comment on Dowd's interview. Read the original article on Business Insider France said Thursday it would suspend joint military operations with Malian forces after the West African country's second coup in nine months, adding to international pressure for the military junta to return civilians to positions of power. The decision comes after Mali's military strongman Assimi Goita, who led last year's coup, ousted the country's civilian transitional president and prime minister last week. The move sparked diplomatic uproar, prompting the United States to suspend security assistance for Malian security forces and for the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to suspend Mali. France's armed forces said Thursday that "requirements and red lines have been set by ECOWAS and the African Union to clarify the framework for the political transition in Mali". "While awaiting these guarantees, France has decided to suspend, as a temporary measure, joint military operations with Malian forces and national advisory missions for their benefit," the ministry said in a statement seen by AFP. "These decisions will be re-evaluated in the coming days in the light of answers provided by the Malian authorities." Earlier Thursday, the International Organisation of La Francophonie, a cooperative body that represents mainly French-speaking states around the world, became the latest organisation to suspend Mali. - 5,100 French troops - Both Mali and France play key roles in the fight against a bloody jihadist insurgency plaguing the Sahel region. France has around 5,100 troops in the Sahel under its Barkhane operation which spans five countries -- Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. The Barkhane force, which was launched after France intervened to fend off a jihadist advance in Mali in 2013, will continue to operate but on its own for the moment, the ministry said. However the French-led Takuba force, launched in March 2020 to enable European special forces to train Mali's army to fight jihadists, will be suspended. Story continues A diplomatic source said last week there was a risk that the new coup could dissuade European countries from joining the force. A military official in Mali said on condition of anonymity that Malian authorities had been informed of France's suspension. French President Emmanuel Macron at the weekend warned that France would pull its troops out of Mali if it lurches towards radical Islamism following the coup. "Radical Islamism in Mali with our soldiers there? Never," he told the weekly newspaper The Journal du Dimanche. - Drawdown already planned - Even before the latest coup, France had been considering disengaging its troops from the costly and dangerous Sahel mission in the run-up to next year's presidential election. Macron said in February there would be no troop reduction in the immediate future, but left the door open for reducing the size of France's force, with plans to be approved this month. "Beyond taking a principled position, one wonders whether this decision is not a way for France to let disengaging with Barkhane enter the narrative," said Elie Tenenbaum, a researcher at the French Institute of International Relations. "In other words, is (Mali's) not respecting the democratic process not a pretext to reduce an arrangement whose days were counted anyways?" Goita had served as vice president since leading a coup last August that removed democratically elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, following mass protests over perceived corruption and the jihadist insurgency. After pressure from the 15-nation ECOWAS, the roles of transitional president and prime minister were given to civilians ahead of elections scheduled for February. However on May 24, Goita orchestrated the ouster of president Bah Ndaw and prime minister Moctar Ouane, raising doubts about his commitment to holding the elections. Goita will be officially inaugurated as Mali's transitional president on Monday, when a new prime minister is also expected to be nominated. dab-dla/fz/dl/har The French government on Thursday summoned the head of the Orange telecom operator after a network outage that left people unable to reach emergency services, possibly causing three deaths. A person in the western Morbihan region suffering from a heart condition was reported dead after failing to put through an emergency call during the outage which lasted for several hours on Wednesday, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. While it was not certain that the death was caused directly by long delays in getting through, "what is beyond doubt is that people have told us that they tried calling several times and that they couldn't get an operator immediately," he told reporters. Two people with heart conditions in the overseas territory of La Reunion were also reported dead. Calling the outage a "serious and unacceptable malfunction", Darmanin said that Stephane Richard, the CEO of Orange which is France's biggest telecom company, had been summoned early Thursday to his ministry "to tell us the current state of play". The government said many emergency call centres for medical services, police and firefighters across the country could not be contacted Wednesday evening due to a telecom maintenance problem. Health Minister Olivier Veran said the incident caused "fairly random breakdowns, with up to a 30-percent drop in some regions". He recommended that people call local numbers. Orange told AFP that a "technical incident on a router had greatly disrupted VoIP (voice over internet protocol), internet calls in some regions". A source close to the matter ruled out any kind of "hacking". Apologising for the incident, Orange said Wednesday its teams had identified the problem and were "fully mobilised to restore services as soon as possible". On Thursday, the operator said the network had been up and running again since midnight but was still being monitored while alternative emergency numbers remained available. Story continues Problems were reported across the country from 6 pm, causing havoc for emergency services. The head of the Samu-Urgences emergency medical services union Francois Braun said "people were unable to access the service, calls were not coming through, others were cut off in the middle of a conversation". He said that almost all of France's departments were affected, adding that calls usually peak around 7pm. burs-jh/lth By Mathieu Rosemain, Sudip Kar-Gupta and Matthieu Protard PARIS (Reuters) -Orange boss Stephane Richard came under political pressure on Thursday after a network outage at France's biggest telecoms firm prevented emergency calls for several hours. French President Emmanuel Macron said he was "very concerned" by the incident, while health minister Olivier Veran said it was too soon to say whether there was any link between the outage and three to four deaths recorded during the period. The disruption to emergency phone services, which began on Wednesday afternoon, eased overnight and was entirely fixed in the course of the day. "The situation is now totally back to normal again. All traffic on the emergency numbers is normal on the whole national territory," Richard told RTL radio, reiterating his apologies to those affected. He had earlier been summoned by Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who called the glitch "serious and unacceptable." The outage comes a day after a French prosecutor told judges of the Paris appeals court that Richard should face three years in jail for his alleged involvement in a disputed compensation payment made by the state in 2008. Orange's shares ended down by 0.1% at 10.55 euros, faring better than France's CAC 40, which lost 0.21%. Richard said the outage was caused nor by an attack neither by a malicious act, also adding it couldn't be linked to a human error nor to a maintenance issue. "It's a software failure (...) a genuine, extremely rare technical glitch," Richard said, stressing the whole system had a very high level of security. That software failure occurred in critical network equipment responsible for routing all incoming calls from landline or cell phones to emergency numbers. Orange's boss said that for a yet unknown reason, all six redundant sites on which the infrastructure relies broke down at the same time. The minister for digital affairs, Cedric O, said the state, which is Orange's biggest shareholder, will launch an investigation into the causes of the outage, which Orange said sporadically hit calls to emergency services in several regions. Story continues Orange France chief Fabienne Dulac said that 20% of calls to emergency services failed on average, prompting French authorities to hastily put in place alternative emergency numbers that they publicized on social media. Some calls to fixed lines, beyond the ones made to emergency calls, had also been affected by the outage, French rivals SFR and Bouygues Telecom said on Twitter. Francois Braun, the president of Samu-Urgences, the central organization for emergency medical services, told news channel BFM TV that a third of the calls made to his services failed. (Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain, Sudip Kar-Gupta and Matthieu Protard;Additional reporting by Geert de Clercq Editing by Jason Neely, Christina Fincher and Alexander Smith) Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush at a campaign rally. (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Critics unloaded on the youngest member of the Bush family dynasty to enter politics on Thursday following his announcement of a run to be the next attorney general for the state of Texas. George P. Bush, Texas land commissioner and son of former Florida governor Jeb Bush, announced a run for attorney general of Texas late Wednesday. Ive spent the last six years putting my background as a businessman, attorney, teacher, and Veteran to work for Texans. Ive gotten results, and Im ready to do more. Im excited to announce that Im running for Attorney General. Lets build a better future for Texas, together, Mr. Bush said in a statement released on Twitter. Mr Bush struck a softer tone towards Mr Trump than have other members of the Bush clan at his rally Wednesday evening, telling supporters and journalists that he cant let a mean tweet get in the way of doing the right thing, according to CNN. Attendees of Mr Bushs campaign rally also posted images of campaign memorabilia on Twitter including drink koozies bearing the likenesses of Mr Bush and Mr Trump, as well as a quote from the latter: This is the only Bush that likes me. This is the Bush that got it right. I like him. The announcement, as well as the indications that Mr Bush would seek an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, drew fire from all sides of the political spectrum. George P Bush is totally cool dissing his family in hopes of making Trump happy, wrote CNNs Chris Cillizza, referring to the former presidents frequent criticism of the George W Bush administration. A former senior campaign staffer for George W Bush hit out at the younger Bush on CNN on Wednesday. Matthew Dowd called George P Bushs shift towards Mr Trump a sad tale. For George P, you would think some sort of family values or some family loyalty would be more important than political ambition, Mr Dowd said. The executive editor of The Bulwark, a conservative publication seen as typically aligned with the Bush wing of the Republican Party, also panned the younger Bushs about-face regarding the former president. Story continues [H]eres George P anyway, with his gimp mask on, doing what hes got to do because hes a member of the reality-based community. And if you want a future in Republican politics, you have to be pro-Trump. Even if it means being anti-your-family, wrote Jonathan Last, adding: Yes, yesin a perfect world theyd both lose. But this isnt a perfect world. Its Texas. With every sip of your beer, @georgepbush wants to remind TX voters that hes willing to sell out his own family for personal gain, added Tommy Vietor, a former spokesman for Former President Barack Obama, on Twitter. At his campaign announcement rally Wednesday evening, Mr Bush took aim at the states current attorney general, Ken Paxton, a fellow Republican who faces accusations of bribery as well as a felony indictment on charges of fraud. Mr Bush will face Mr Paxton in a primary election currently set for 1 March 2022, the winner of which will likely go on to win the November general election in the heavily Republican state of Texas. Here in Texas, we have a scandal that is plaguing one of our highest offices. And I believe conservatives should have a choice, Mr Bush said at the event, according to the Associated Press. In a statement to the AP, a spokesman for Mr Paxton dismissed Mr Bushs announcement, claiming that residents of the state know Attorney General Paxtons rock-solid conservative record. Mr Bush is the fourth member of the clan to serve in Texas politics. As the son of the former Florida governor, he is the nephew of one former president, George W Bush, and the grandson of former president George H W Bush. He is also the great-grandson of former Connecticut senator Prescott Bush. Read More George P. Bush running for attorney general in Texas North Carolina county bans Coke vending machines because the company is too left wing White House defends Fauci as Trump unloads on top doctor over private emails A Georgia sheriff has been suspended from office after a panel judged him unable to serve while facing federal civil rights charges, Gov. Brian Kemp announced in an executive order. A "Review Commission," made up of the state attorney general and two other sheriffs, reviewed the charges against Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill and determined the indictment "does relate to and adversely affect the administration of the office of Sheriff," according to Kemp's executive order. The panel recommended the suspension of Hill, according to the order. Kemp on Wednesday signed the order suspending Hill. The suspension will continue until charges against Hill are resolved or until his term is over, according to the order. Following his suspension, Hill issued a statement on Facebook, saying he planned to use his suspension to "train and meditate." He added he was "honored" by the support he's received. Hill was indicted by a federal grand jury in April after prosecutors alleged he used unreasonable force when ordering pretrial detainees to be restrained for hours even as they complied with police. In one instance, two detainees were strapped side-by-side in restraint chairs for hours, according to the indictment. When the two were not allowed to use the bathroom, one urinated on himself, prosecutors said. Drew Findling, a lawyer for Hill, told The Associated Press his client is disappointed by the governor's order. However, we remain confident that, ultimately, Sheriff Hill will be completely exonerated," Findling said. "Thereafter, the executive order will be moot, and the citizens of Clayton County will have Sheriff Hill, their duly elected sheriff, back in office. Hill remains free on bond while his case is pending. Georgia sheriff indicted on federal civil rights violations for 'unreasonable' use of restraint chair In the April indictment, prosecutors alleged Hill used unreasonable force despite receiving training that force may not be used as punishment. He also approved a policy that emphasized the restraint chair will never be authorized as a form of punishment," but only used with a violent or uncontrollable person to prevent injury or property damage if other techniques are ineffective, according to the indictment. Story continues Christopher Macrae, a special agent with the FBI in Atlanta, said in an April statement Hill "abused his privileges and abandoned his responsibilities." Badges and guns don't come with the authority to ignore the Constitution," he said. Hill's actions have garnered controversy since his first day of office in 2005 when he fired 27 deputies. The New York Times reported he ordered snipers to stand guard as the deputies were escorted out. As part of a tough-on-crime stance, Hill used tanks and military equipment during drug raids. Hill was acquitted of more than two dozen corruption charges in 2013 and pleaded no contest to a reckless conduct charge in 2016 after shooting and injuring a woman in May 2015. Hill and the woman said it was an accident that happened while they were practicing police tactics. Contributing: Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia Sheriff Victor Hill suspended by governor after indictment Almost exactly a year ago, Google announced a couple of leadership changes that saw Prabhakar Raghavan, who joined the company back in 2012, take over the lead of Search, Assistant and Maps. Now, sources familiar with the hiring tell us, the company has hired Christopher Phillips, who was previously the chief product and technology officer at SiriusXM, to lead its geo team, which is responsible for products like Google Maps, Google Earth and Google Maps Platform, the company's enterprise business around these products. Google has confirmed his hire but declined to share any additional information. Phillips will officially join the company later this month. Christopher Phillips Image Credits: Christopher Phillips/LinkedIn Phillips came to SiriusXM after the company acquired music service Pandora last year. Before the acquisition, he spent six years as Pandora's CPO and head of Technology, a role he took after leading product and design for Amazon Music from 2012 to 2014 and executive roles at Workspeed and Intuit before that. In his new role at Google, Phillips will lead both product and engineering for the Geo team and report directly to Raghavan, who will continue to oversee Search, Assistant, Geo, Commerce and Ads. Before last year's leadership shuffle, Jen Fitzpatrick essentially played a similar role for the Geo team. According to Search Engine Land, Dane Glasgow and Liz Reid became the leads for the Geo team after her departure. Glasgow has since departed Google and is now at Facebook, while Reid recently took on a new role to lead Google's search experiences. That obviously left a bit of a vacuum, which Phillips will now fill. While Phillips doesn't have any direct experience in building geo products, he does bring with him extensive experience in managing product-oriented engineering teams. His hiring also comes at an interesting time for Google Maps, which only recently announced a number of major updates and which is becoming an increasingly important part of Google's product portfolio. Gov. Greg Abbott has endorsed Mattie Parker in the race for Fort Worth mayor ahead of Saturdays runoff to replace Mayor Betsy Price. Abbott, in an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, said he supports Parker over her opponent Deborah Peoples, a retired AT&T executive, in the election. He expressed concerns with Peoples position on law enforcement. Parker and Peoples have different views on how the city should improve police and community relations. Abbott said the choice for Parker is clear to him. I know that she will support our law enforcement and support law and order in Fort Worth, which I view as incredibly important, Abbott said. And, I know from so many members of the business community that I talk to all the time, that shell be great for business. Parker and Peoples emerged as the top two vote-getters in a May 1 general election that included a slate of 10 candidates. While mayoral races are nonpartisan, Parker is a Republican and Peoples a Democrat, having served as chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party. I have been really intentional about running a campaign focused on positive policies, not partisan politics, Parker said, noting shes been endorsed by both Democrats and Republicans. With that being said, very proud of the endorsement from Governor Abbott. I think he understands the criticality of really having really smart, strong mayors in cities across Texas to further the opportunity for all of Texas and recognizes that in me as well. Abbott said its his understanding Peoples has made comments along the lines of taking a position of defunding the police. She did not use those words, but talked about policing in a way that would potentially lead to a reduction in funding and support for law enforcement, Abbott said. On her website, Peoples calls it critical that Fort Worth has a properly funded police department with top-notch training. But she said its concerning that city leaders have in the past ignored the will of the voters who specifically voted for a half-cent tax increase to fund police training as well as intervention and prevention programs. Story continues Unfortunately, city leaders have not respected residents desire to fund intervention and prevention programs, which is why we must have greater accountability and oversight into taxpayer-funded programs such as the CCPD half-cent tax, Peoples website states. Peoples, in a prepared statement responding to Abbotts remarks, said, Defund the police is nothing but a dog whistle. From the beginning Ive said we need more transparency and accountability to verify more of our public safety funding actually goes to public safety, not the pet projects of city hall insiders, Peoples said. Compared to last year, our city is spending less on patrol support for officers and more on protection for special events. People feel unsafe in their homes, and its unacceptable that city hall insiders are making public safety spending less transparent. Bahrains Kalaam Telecom, a leading technology solutions provider, has announced the acquisition of Zajil International Telecom Co. (KSCC), one of Kuwaits longest-established ISP and ICT services companies. The acquisition will create a combined entity with revenue of $100 million, with data centers in five countries, network Point of Presence (PoPs) in 25 countries, and a subsea and land cable network that connects three continents. Kalaam will be among the top three ISPs in the GCC and will be the only operator with an ISP licence for Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Kalaam has grown rapidly, from a privately-owned local operator to become a regional telecom leader serving a broad base of enterprise, wholesale and channel customers. The acquisition of Zajil empowers Kalaam Group to become a full stack one-stop, end-to-end solutions provider of choice for the local & regional enterprise market and the international wholesale business, said Veer Passi, CEO of Kalaam Telecom. Kalaam has impressively evolved from being a pure ISP to become a 360 degree digital solutions provider, building a full stack Industry customized ecosystem of ICT solutions, including Cloud, Security, Data Center, IOT, AI and Unified communications for its customers. With its terrestrial fiber cable system, KNOT (which spans 1,400 km across GCC), and Zajils consortium ownership in EIG (Europe India Gateway, a 15,000-km international fiber optic submarine cable system that links 12 countries across three continents, the combined group will be able to offer redundant, secure and fast access to its Enterprise & Wholesale customers, for reaching their applications, data , workloads and other services on the Cloud or for connecting their regional & international branches. The combined network will provide footprint in 25 countries in Mena, Europe, US and Asia with 53 fully owned Point of Presence (PoPs) to deliver all the product lines, and industry-specific solutions for the banking, oil & gas, retail, telecoms and transportation sectors, he added. Zajil Telecom was the first ISP in Kuwait and has built on 30 years of experience to be recognized today as a leading information technology and communication service provider in the Mena region. The company is a regional leader in MPLS solutions, with a global customer base and network, said Mohammad Al-Tuwaijri, Chairman, Zajil Telecom. With the acquisition of Zajil, Kalaam Telecom will be uniquely positioned as the clear market leader, expanding its enterprise solutions across the Mena region, Europe, US and Asia. The combination of services and infrastructure brought together by the Zajil and Kalaam Telecom merger will result in the delivery of more advanced and industry-specific solutions. The company will continue to serve Zajils corporate customer base with specialized consulting and industry specific solutions in banking, oil & gas, retail, telecommunications, and transportation verticals, and will also incorporate Zajils data centres in Bahrain, Jordan, KSA, UAE and the UK into its portfolio of offerings. TradeArabia News Service A felon who fatally shot a 29-year-old woman outside a north Minneapolis home has pleaded guilty and agreed to a 20-year term. Tyrone E. Maddox, 40, of Minneapolis, admitted in Hennepin County District Court to second-degree unintentional murder in connection with the death on March 3 of Shamso Gedi-Abdi, of St. Paul. As part of the plea deal reached Tuesday, charges of second-degree intentional murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm will be dismissed. With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Maddox would serve the first 13 years in prison and the balance on supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for Monday. Maddox's criminal history in Minnesota includes convictions for second-degree assault in 2003 and for illegal weapons possession in 2013. Officers responding to the 3200 block of N. Logan Avenue about 6:20 a.m. saw Gedi-Abdi facedown in the street. She was taken by emergency responders to a hospital and declared dead from a gunshot to the abdomen. Video surveillance showed Gedi-Abdi had walked up to a car. Maddox got out and approached the woman, who soon crumpled to the ground. Maddox left the scene in the car. The driver told investigators that Maddox shot Gedi-Abdi and said to him, "I am a killer in the streets!" according to the criminal complaint. Officers found Maddox later Sunday downtown at S. 9th Street and Nicollet Mall. He ran but was soon captured. Upon his arrest, Maddox said to police, "Just shoot me bro. It's over for me. Kill me now," the complaint said. He told law enforcement that he sold crack cocaine to Gedi-Abdi. He admitted to shooting her and said there was friction between them because she had stolen $400 from him. Paul Walsh 612-673-4482 (Reuters) -Diplomacy intensified with Myanmar's junta on Thursday as the head of the International Red Cross met with army ruler Min Aung Hlaing and two Southeast Asian envoys arrived for talks on ending the turmoil since the Feb. 1 coup. The European Union's foreign policy chief, meanwhile, told Reuters the bloc planned to impose a new round of sanctions on the ruling generals and their economic interests in the coming days. Myanmar has sunk into chaos since the coup overthrew elected leader Aung Suu Kyi. At least 845 people have been killed by security forces and more than 4,500 jailed, according to an activist group. Anti-junta protests flare daily, ethnic conflicts have resurged and the economy is paralysed by strikes. ICRC President Peter Maurer was the most senior representative of an international organisation to travel to the capital Naypyidaw to meet Min Aung Hlaing, whose critics say he should be denied international recognition. "People in Myanmar are in need of urgent assistance and protection," Maurer said, according to an ICRC statement. He had brought up "the use of force during security operations" and had made the case for better humanitarian access to conflict areas and for the resumption of Red Cross prison visits. Suu Kyi, 75, is herself being tried on various charges. Reuters was unable to reach the junta's spokesman for comment. The junta chief was "noncommittal" but he had not refused Maurer's request, the Nikkei news service said, citing people familiar with the meeting. The junta has said its measures are restrained against those it brands a threat to state security. It says the death toll is lower than those given by rights groups and the United Nations. REGIONAL ENVOYS The main international diplomatic effort has been led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). But there has been little sign of progress since the 10 member countries, Myanmar among them, said at the end of April they had reached a 'consensus' to try to end the crisis - which included political talks and putting a stop to bloodshed. Story continues Killings have continued and instead of talking to a rival underground government, the junta has branded it a terrorist group. Two ASEAN envoys had arrived and were expected to meet Min Aung Hlaing on Friday, the local Delta News Agency reported. The envoys are Erywan Yusof, the second minister for foreign affairs for Brunei, ASEAN's chair this year, and the bloc's secretary-general Lim Jock Hoi, also from Brunei. The United Nations, Western countries and China have all backed ASEAN's mediating role, but some Western powers have also imposed increasing sanctions to target the junta members and their economic interests. "There is a third row of sanctions in preparation that will be approved (in) the coming days," European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell told Reuters on Thursday during a visit to Jakarta. Neither sanctions nor diplomacy nor the increasing violence have had an obvious impact on the junta, which argues that the coup which ended 10 years of tentative democratic reforms will bring a "disciplined democracy". The army took power after the former electoral commission rejected its accusations of fraud in a November election swept by Suu Kyi's party. Around 400 pro-democracy supporters took to the streets of downtown Yangon on Thursday to stage one of the biggest recent demonstrations against military rule in Myanmar's commercial hub and largest city. "We gathered at the protest today in order to show that we won't allow them to rule us," Zayar Lwin, an activist and former political prisoner who attended the rally, told Reuters. (Reporting by Reuters Staff, Writing by Matthew Tostevin, Editing by Andrew Heavens) BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary is in talks with Russia to produce Sputnik V and other Russian COVID-19 vaccines at a future Hungarian vaccine plant, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday. "Both Hungary and Russia are open to the possibility of Hungary producing vaccines based on a Russian licence," he said on his Facebook page. Hungary has been the only European Union country to inoculate people with China's Sinopharm vaccine and Russia's Sputnik V, although neither shot has been granted approval for emergency use by the bloc. (Reporting by Krisztina Than; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne) Illinois and Chicago officials are hoping to boost the Illinois COVID vaccination rate with these new incentives. Video Transcript - The new incentives line up with the national push to get 70% of all American adults vaccinated by July the fourth. We've already had everything from free Six Flags tickets to free baseball tickets, but now there's more. The city is looking to incentivize folks by offering them a vaccine along with a free haircut. It is being called a vacs and relax. The idea, being that those conversations are ones that are often had at the beauty salon or barbershop. And the first two events are already scheduled. Starting this Saturday, June the 5 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, at the It's Official Barbershop in Inglewood. Then next Saturday, June the 12th at Josephine's Jet Set Hair Salon in South shore. And how about a free drink after that haircut? Governor Pritzker yesterday signed a law that allows bars to dole out a free drink as an incentive. - We've also offered a beer and a shot, or a shot in the shot, whatever your choice is. We also are providing some incentives as you've heard about. We're looking forward to potentially doing a vaccine lottery as you've heard about it in other states. - The question, of course, is will these incentives work? One medical ethicist we spoke to saying likely not for people who are dead set against it. But for those who are still on the fence, well, maybe you'll get the morphet. A COVID-19 awareness campaign featuring Gov. Kim Reynolds violated an Iowa law that prohibits using public money on self-promotion, according to a special investigative audit released today by state auditor Rob Sand. At least $152,585 of federal coronavirus relief funding was misspent, the audit shows. Just minutes after the audit's release, Reynolds' office responded in a statement saying "any competent reading" of the law shows Sand is wrong. Why it matters: Beyond raising concerns about how state leaders are spending federal pandemic aid, the audit's release further escalates tensions between the Republican governor and Democratic auditor, who's scouting a run in the 2022 gubernatorial race. Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free Details: November's $500,000 "Step Up, Stop the Spread" campaign included money for paid TV, radio and online advertisements featuring Reynolds, which Sand said violates the state's campaign finance law. Reynolds signed that Iowa bill into law back in 2018. Violators are subject to a fine up to the amount of money found to be in violation. Yes, but: Public heath disaster emergencies are exempt from the self-promotion statute under Iowa's emergency management law. "Auditor Sand didn't once ask to meet with our team regarding his concern or his investigation," Sara Craig, Reynolds' chief of staff said in today's press release. Polk County attorney John Sarcone and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation were provided copies of the report. Neither office immediately responded to our inquiry. Flashback: Iowa returned $21 million of federal pandemic money in December following another audit by Sand that accused the governor of misspending on a new human resources and accounting software system. Between the lines: It's Sand's job to be a watchdog, but his criticisms of the governor have sharpened in recent months. Earlier this week, he said a security fence around Terrace Hill shows "out-of-whack" priorities. It appears that Sand, who defeated Republican auditor Mary Mosiman in 2018, is gaming to take on another Iowa GOP incumbent next year. Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free. TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's government plans to donate 1.2 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan to help the island following a rise in cases, Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported. Japan's government will begin preparations for vaccine shipments from Friday, NHK said. (Reporting by Tim Kelly) SIOUX FALLS, S.D. A federal judge won't force the National Forest Service to allow fireworks at Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills for an Independence Day celebration. U.S. District Court Judge Roberto Lange dismissed a lawsuit brought against President Joe Biden's administration by South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem after the forest service blocked a fireworks display scheduled there for next month. In a 36-page opinion Wednesday, Lange said that the forest service and the U.S. Department of Interior were justified in pulling the plug on a 2021 fireworks display because of environmental, tribal and health concerns and that the authorization South Dakota had received ahead of the 2020 display, which President Donald Trump attended, did not extend to 2021. Mount Rushmore fireworks dispute: South Dakota tribe, Gov. Kristi Noem's office cast accusations Active and dangerous scene': Mount Rushmore closed, 400 homes evacuated as multiple wildfires spread in South Dakota "If the NFS had granted a special use permit to the State for fireworks at the Memorial for Independence Day weekend for 2021, this Court almost certainly would have denied a preliminary injunction to any group seeking to prohibit such a display from occurring," Lange wrote. Noem responded to the decision by blaming President Joe Biden and called the forest service's decision "unlawful." "The Biden Administration canceled South Dakota's Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration on completely arbitrary grounds," the governor said on Twitter. . Noem vowed to appeal the decision to the 8th Circuit Court. This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Mount Rushmore July 4th fireworks still off after lawsuit is dismissed Saudi Arabias Sabic, a global chemical manufacturing company has signed an agreement with the National Research & Development Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (Estidamh) to manage and develop the centres business in Riyadh. Abdulrahman Al-Fadley, Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture and Chairman of Estidamah board of members, and Sabic Vice Chairman & CEO Yousef Al-Benyan signed the agreement. The new five-year agreement is effective from July 25, 2021, following the expiry of an arrangement agreed upon by Sabic and the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) in 2016 under which the former was mandated to run Estidamah for five years, which ends on July 24, 2021. The new agreement will promote Sabics contribution in developing Sustainable Agriculture programmes to achieve the goals of the National Strategy for Agriculture in the kingdom in line with Vision 2030, said Al-Benyan. As per the agreement, Sabic will assign eight staff to work & manage the Estidamah centre. In return, Sabic will benefit from the centre to conduct its research work. Located in Riyadh Techno Valley on the campus of King Saud University in Riyadh, the Estidamah centre was established in 2013 as an agricultural research centre to conduct applied research on innovative technologies for sustainable agriculture. The centres research focuses on increasing production per unit area, improving quality, minimizing the use of pesticides, and improving water use efficiency. Sabic collaborated with MEWA to fund, build, and operate the Estidamah centre. The primary goal of the centre is to promote sustainable agriculture in Saudi Arabia and adopted advance agricultural tools to promote sustainable agriculture practices in Saudi Arabia, enable the optimal use of natural resources and water, to contribute to achieving food security, and preserving these resources for future generations. The centre seeks to establish its position as a leading institution in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East region as an applied research institute that provides a range of agriculture-related solutions to public and private agencies at the national and international levels. Through research, it identifies practical, applicable solutions for the development, improvement, and implementation of agriculture technologies in the Kingdom. TradeArabia News Service WASHINGTON Fifteen House lawmakers are calling on appropriators to fully fund a $4.7 billion request for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative amid criticism President Joe Bidens new defense budget submission has missed the mark. Led by Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., the bipartisan group wants to meet a list of requirements the previous chief of Indo-Pacific Command, then-Adm. Philip Davidson, submitted to Congress in March. Bidens 2022 budget, released Friday, contains $5.1 billion for PDI, but its a departure from the needs in Davidsons Sec. 1251 report. USINDOPACOM has an urgent requirement for a more lethal, hardened, and dispersed American military posture in the Indo-Pacific region, the lawmakers wrote in a letter to House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Betty McCollum, D-Minn., and ranking member Ken Calvert, R-Calif. In this unique budget cycle, while we are still awaiting full details on where these new starts and existing programs will be located at the program, project, and activity level, we express our strong support for the full funding of $4.68 billion of collective initiatives outlined by [INDOPACOM]. Notable signatories include House Seapower Subcommittee chairman, Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., and ranking member, Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., as well as House Armed Services Committee Democratic Reps. Elaine Luria and Elissa Slotkin, and Republican Reps. Mike Turner and Matt Gaetz. The lawmakers highlight INDOPACOMs top priority, a missile defense system to protect Guam, for which the Biden budget offers half the $350 million INDOPACOM proposed. They also emphasize funding for the Homeland Defense Radar Hawaii, a $1.9 billion project omitted from the Missile Agencys latest budget request. The agency is reportedly seeking public feedback on potential sites for the array, meant to quickly identify missile threats to Hawaii. Davidson defends $27B price tag for Pacific fund When the budget was released, lead Pentagon budget official Anne McAndrew said the request contains a range of spending for the Indo-Pacific and that the PDI subsection reflects investments especially important to developing the robust capability required to maintain deterrence. Story continues The lions share, or $4.9 billion, funds joint force lethality, with $150 million for exercises, experimentation and innovation, and $23 million for force design and posture. The account covers increased investments in the Tomahawk and Standard Missile 6; land-based conventional fires exceeding the 500 km-limit of the defunct Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and hypersonic weapons like the Navys Conventional Prompt Strike capability. Just ahead of Bidens budget announcement, Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and his House counterpart, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said in a statement that the Biden PDI submission had entirely missed the point. In a Defense News op-ed Wednesday, a former lead adviser to SASC Republicans on the development of the PDI, Dustin Walker, argued that Congress established it specifically to invest in and track joint and enabling capabilities for the Pacific, but most of Bidens PDI goes toward big-ticket procurement items, like the F-35 program and Navy vessels. Congress should remove platform-centric investments from PDI, Walker says. Shipbuilding and F-35 upgrades are important investments that should be funded elsewhere in the budget, not in PDI. The budget request includes more than $1 billion in infrastructure investments in Guam, Japan and Australia, but theyre not identified as PDI investments even though one of the largest categories in Davidsons report involves new infrastructure, like training facilities, power projection airfields and prepositioned stores around the region. Congress established PDI to improve budget transparency and oversight, Walker says. The Pentagons PDI request does the opposite by omitting investments that would fit well within PDI, while including those with tenuous connection to the purposes set out by Congress in legislation. ROME (AP) The release from prison of one of Italys most notorious mobsters-turned-informants generated more indignation Thursday, even after he was shown in an old jailhouse interview apologizing to his many victims for his role in this factory of death. Giovanni Brusca, 64, got out of prison this week after serving 25 years of a life term for some of Cosa Nostras most heinous crimes. They include the 1992 car bomb slaying of Italys leading anti-Mafia prosecutor, his wife and three bodyguards and the 1996 kidnapping and murder of the 11-year-old son of a Mafia turncoat. The boy's strangled body was dissolved in a vat of acid. Brusca reportedly admitted to participating in some 150 homicides as the right-hand man to Cosa Nostras boss of bosses, Salvatore Toto Riina, who died in prison in 2017. Given the gravity of Bruscas crimes, his early release repulsed many Italians and prompted calls to reform laws that allow for reduced sentences for mafiosi who break the omerta, or wall of silence, and cooperate with investigators. But others, including the slain prosecutors sister, defended it as a necessary way to entice mafiosi to collaborate with the justice system. Italys Corriere della Sera newspaper aired what it said were never-before-seen excerpts of a Jan. 10, 2016 jailhouse interview that Brusca gave to a French documentary filmmaker, Mosco Levi Boucault, in which he apologized for his crimes. With his head covered, wearing dark glasses and gloves to disguise himself, Brusca said he agreed to the interview because he wanted to ask forgiveness from all the relatives of the victims to whom I caused so much pain and sadness. I tried to give my contribution as much as possible and a minimum of explanation to all those who are looking for truth and justice, he said. Brusca said his family had paid a price for his decision to become an informant, but said it was the right moral, legal and human thing to do. Story continues Because it allows me to put an end to this. I call Cosa Nostra a chain of death, a factory of death. Nothing more, nothing less, he said. The interview and Bruscas release reopened old wounds for families of mob victims, who said he still hasnt come completely clean about the details of the killings. Claudio Fava, a Sicilian politician whose father was killed by Cosa Nostra in 1984, said Bruscas release isnt what galls him, since the law allows for it. What isnt normal is that after 30 years, the truth about the massacres is still held hostage by reticence, cowardice and lies, Fava wrote on Facebook. It wasnt immediately clear why Bruscas apology wasnt aired before. Levi Boucaults film Corleone came out in 2019. Brusca is now in a witness protection program and is due to serve four years of supervised release, Italian news reports said. He claimed in the interview that he wanted to show his face" to make his apology, but couldn't for his own safety. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has reportedly constructed a 17-foot wall of fan mail outside her office (AFP via Getty Images) Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene has plastered the wall outside her office with fan mail, just two years after mocking her colleague, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , for her own wall of supportive Post-it notes. Photos published by Insider show a 17-foot-wide collage of laudatory letters, cards, and drawings outside Ms Greenes congressional office. America is counting on you! one postcard reads. We are so thankful for your bold stand for your faith in Jesus Christ and Gods Word, a letter tells her. We need you! Wish I could vote for you! another note says mysteriously. Insider reporter Eliza Relman pointed out the irony in a tweet . Marjorie Taylor Greene mocked AOCs wall of post-it notes from fans in 2019, the reporter wrote. Now Greene has pasted her own fan mail all over the wall outside her office. A deleted Facebook video recently unearthed by CNN showed that in 2019, Ms Greene at that point still a private citizen walked to the office of Ms Ocasio-Cortez and verbally harassed her through a mail slot in the door. If you want to be a big girl, you need to get rid of your diaper and come out and be able to talk to the American citizens, instead of us having to use a flap, Ms Greene said through the opening. As she left, she mockingly rearranged the Post-its of supportive messages on the wall outside, calling the office a daycare. Ms Ocasio-Cortez was ultimately forced to remove those Post-its, after maintenance officials told her they violated Capitol hallway policies. It is not yet clear whether Ms Greene will have to take down her fan mail as well. Since arriving in Congress this year, Ms Greene has obsessed over her mostly one-sided feud with Ms Ocasio-Cortez. She regularly accuses her of socialism and anti-Americanism in her public remarks, and has badgered her in person to debate her. Ms Ocasio-Cortez has mostly demurred from commenting on Ms Greenes antics. But after CNN unearthed the Facebook video, AOC said something. Story continues I used to work as a bartender, she told reporters . These are the kind of people I threw out of bars all the time. Read More Marjorie Taylor Greene among GOP members marking Pride month with bill to ban rainbow flag at embassies Marjorie Taylor Greene blasts Democrats for comparing Republicans to Nazis, then compares Democrats to Nazis Marjorie Taylor Greene deletes tweet calling Kevin McCarthy a feckless c*** in Holocaust mask row Marjorie Taylor Greene called a symptom of moral and intellectual decline by Auschwitz Memorial More than 100k people sign petition to get Marjorie Taylor Greene removed from Congress Naomi Osaka and Michael Phelps. Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images; Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images The former Olympian Michael Phelps is supporting the tennis star Naomi Osaka. Osaka dropped out of the French Open, citing concerns for her mental well-being. Phelps said Osaka's decision could be a "breakthrough" for mental-health awareness. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. The Olympian Michael Phelps spoke out in support of the tennis champion Naomi Osaka after she withdrew from the French Open, saying it could be a "breakthrough for the mental-health world." "This is something that really could help a lot of people," Phelps said in a CNN interview on Thursday morning. "I was so happy for her to be able to share exactly what she wanted. It said in the message that she loves playing tennis, and she wanted to play tennis. Maybe that makes her feel like her authentic self." Osaka dropped out of the French Open on Monday after announcing she wouldn't attend postmatch press conferences because of her anxiety. The 23-year-old, who had been fined $15,000 for skipping a press conference at the tournament, said in her resignation that she experienced bouts of depression and got "huge waves of anxiety" before speaking with the media. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Read the original article on Insider Once, Abraham Barberi was known as the "pastor of rappers," host of Christian hip hop concerts targeting young drug dealers in Mexico in hopes of putting them on a different path. Now, he is making headlines by caring for a new flock: more than 200 people from Central and South America who dream of crossing the Rio Grande and migrating to the United States. The Baptist pastor of Matamoros -- a Mexican city separated from the United States only by the river -- still leads his "hip-hop church," but has transformed his Bautista Sola Scriptura Bible Institute into a temporary bare-bones safe haven for those on the long hard road to a better life. The change at the building with its yellow facade came in February, after authorities closed a refugee camp in the city when its occupants were allowed to cross the border as their asylum applications were processed. With the formalities taking time to complete, authorities asked Barberi to house the last 56 occupants of the camp. The pastor was himself once an illegal migrant, involved in drug trafficking and crime, and had spent time in prison. Now, with his Bible study center empty due to Covid-19, he found he could not say no. "We were supposed to be open for two weeks only. And in those two weeks, all of them, most of them went across the border," he told AFP. "But meantime new arrivals came to Matamoros, they heard about our shelter. "You know, people come to our doors, moms with little kids, and what do we do? We can't say 'no, we don't take you.' We have to take them, right? So now, we have over 200 people." - Opening - At the institute, the migrants wait in the burning heat of late May for the United States to review or reconsider their asylum requests, and try to forget their plight -- and their boredom. Some look at their phones. Others admire the energy of their children as they play, savoring the moment. It's been months since Barberi accepted the first refugees, and the Bible Institute still receives new requests for shelter every day. Story continues This flood has been encouraged by one of the measures taken by the new Biden administration as it sought to break with the draconian immigration policies of the Trump era: allowing migrants to wait on American soil for an answer to their asylum requests under the MPP (Migrant Protection Protocols). Many interpreted the move as "opening the borders to everyone," explains Barberi. "That's why people flooded the border towns of Mexico and we got so many people right now." But many roadblocks still await the migrants once they reach the border -- among them, the fact that the MPPs have not been accepting new registrants since January 21. Another obstacle is the use of a law, Title 42, under the pretext of Covid-19, to prevent asylum seekers from entering the United States. So, in the heat of Matamoros under Barberi's care, they wait -- sometimes for months at a time. - 'I could not stay' - This morning, however, a Bible school employee is scouring two floors for the 20 or so people whose names he just received on his email. Gathered in a few minutes outside, they will be able to legally enter the United States in the coming days to be heard by the authorities. They benefit from the legal assistance of some American associations. Yet even with that secret weapon, their wait in Matamoros will have lasted more than a year. Their joy is not ostentatious, perhaps muted by respect for others who still have a long wait ahead of them -- perhaps by fear of what comes next. Felipe Atanasio Sanchez, 21 years old, has trouble finding his words. "They killed my father and I could not stay in Mexico... Because of the crime, I felt vulnerable," he explains. "Now I feel happy, motivated. I don't know what to say, I'm moved," he says before getting into the van that will allow him to take a Covid-19 PCR test, the last hurdle he must cross before reaching American soil. As for Barberi, shepherding people like Sanchez to the other side is of course an achievement. But in this moment, his pride is also in the driver of the vehicle taking them away from the shelter: a one-time cartel hitman who has repented, and is now dedicated to serving others. str/seb/st/bgs His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has directed a comprehensive assessment of more than 1,300 digital and smart services provided by ministries and government departments. "Today we directed a thorough evaluation of digital and smart services provided by federal government ministries and departments. The UAEs five best and worst government entities will be announced on 4th September, 2021," said His Highness Sheikh Mohammed in a tweet, according to a WAM report. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed stressed that delivery of the best services in the world is a top priority and the focus of government work in the UAE, and that providing an ideal experience for customers in obtaining government services through digital channels is the first and primary goal that the government is working to achieve. "Within three months, we will assess the extent to which government agencies have succeeded in providing integrated digital services that reach customers wherever they are and at any time, enabling them to complete their transactions easily and quickly and at the highest levels of efficiency, in a manner that improves their experiences and enhances their quality of life. Continuous evaluation of our government services is not an administrative or routine procedure. Evaluation in the UAE government is a constructive approach aimed at celebrating excellence and touching aspects of improvement and development. And rewarding the diligent is a message to our government work team that every diligent in the UAE government has all appreciation, encouragement and support," he said. The evaluation focuses on the customers experience through digital channels in terms of ease of obtaining service and information, the optimal experience of government service, reducing the steps for applying for the service, paying fees smoothly and easily, the accuracy of procedures, following up on the status of requests, and speed of completion. In March 2021, the UAE Government launched the Digital Customer and Digital Government Service Policy as a part of the UAEs Strategy for Government Services. The policy aims at: enhancing the UAE governments approach of providing proactive digital services on a priority; improving user experience in getting digital government services; raising government efficiency in providing services; enabling integration and connection of digital systems of federal government entities and raising trust in digital government services, through six main pillars: Proactive digital government services; One-time request for information and personal details; Digital government enablers; Unified digital platform; Continuity of digital services and Marketing and awareness of digital service. The UAE Strategy for Government Services aims to boost UAEs competitiveness in the services sector and position it as the best in the world in rendering government services. The strategy will carry out more than 28 initiatives by 2023 to enable providing advanced and efficient digital services, accessible to customers from anywhere 24/7. It will allow the provision of accurate records of customer data, ensure that data are requested only once, and create a common data-sharing platform for government entities and provide 90% of the public services through a single digital platform to enhance government services experience. The platform will be established by 2022 and expected to bring customers satisfaction to more than 90%. -- TradeArabia News Service A few things have changed in the seven decades since Jerry and Marge Born were married. For one, the church that hosted their wedding no longer exists. Video Transcript JERRY BORN: I've been in love with her for 70 years, and I'm still in love with her. MARGE BORN: My husband is a very, very nice man. - The wedding day photos of Marge and Jerry Born bring back memories and questions, like how did they make their marriage last? MARGE BORN: We both care about the other one, and if I think I'm hurting him I'm hurting myself. JERRY BORN: If we had a little problem, we got worked it out right away. - He's 91. She's 90. To celebrate their wedding anniversary Jerry took Marge out to Red Lobster. He loves fish. MARGE BORN: I'll eat fish, yeah, but I really like catching it. - They are among 1/10 of all married couples who make it to their 70th anniversary, and they join an impressive group, the Queen of England and Prince Philip, President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn, and President George Bush and Barbara, all married more than 70 years. JERRY BORN: That's pretty damn good company to be in. MARGE BORN: We wish we had their money. - They have something more valuable, a loving family. They raised three sons, welcomed their sons wives into the brood that grew to seven grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren. Jerry and Marge's love continues. JERRY BORN: She's just a lovable person. She's been my whole life and still is. - And humor makes their long lives together a success. MARGE BORN: I told him one day, if you died before I did I'd kill him. A shadow government in Myanmar on Thursday called on the Rohingya minority to help it overthrow the junta, promising citizenship and repatriation for the persecuted Muslim community in a future democratic Myanmar. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military overthrew democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) government in a February 1 coup. A brutal crackdown on dissent by the junta has since killed more than 800 people, according to a local monitoring group. A group of ousted lawmakers -- mostly from the NLD -- later set up a shadow "National Unity Government" which has sought to bring anti-coup dissidents together. The junta has classified the NUG as "terrorists", meaning anyone speaking to them -- including journalists -- can be subjected to charges under counter-terrorism laws. "We invite Rohingyas to join hands with us and with others to participate in this Spring Revolution against the military dictatorship," the group said in a statement. Suu Kyi's NLD government had avoided the term "Rohingya" because of sensitivity among ethnic groups in the majority-Buddhist country, referring to the minority as "Muslims living in Rakhine." In Myanmar, the Rohingya are widely seen as interlopers from Bangladesh and have been denied citizenship, rights and access to services for decades under what Amnesty International calls apartheid-like conditions. The NUG also promised to end a 1982 citizenship law which discriminates against the Rohingya, promising all those born in Myanmar or to a Myanmar citizen would be granted citizenship. The group also said it was committed to repatriating all Rohingya languishing in camps in Bangladesh "as soon as repatriation can be accomplished voluntarily, safely and with dignity." More than 740,000 Rohingya fled over the border into Bangladesh after a bloody military campaign in 2017 that the UN condemned as ethnic cleansing. Story continues The military claimed its operations were justified to root out Rohingya insurgents following a series of deadly attacks on police posts and has denied all allegations of wrongdoing. Suu Kyi defended the army's conduct and even travelled to The Hague to rebut charges of genocide at the UN's top court. More than 600,000 Rohingya remain mostly in northern Rakhine state without citizenship, restricted to either camps or their villages, many unable to access medical care. hla-rma/jfx Donald Trump, Mike Lindell Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images Former President Donald Trump really is focused on the absurd theory that he will somehow be returned to power in August, two people close to Trump tell The Daily Beast, confirming reporting by Maggie Haberman of The New York Times. In the past few weeks, Trump "had begun increasingly quizzing confidants about a potential August return to power," The Daily Beast reports, citing the two Trump confidantes. "What's more, he claimed that a lot of 'highly respected' people who Trump did not name have been saying it's possible. Both of these sources said they decided not to tell the former president what they were thinking, which was that it's not going to happen." There are people saying Trump will be returned to office fringy lawyer Sidney Powell said so at a QAnon conference Sunday, for example but "if Trump is saying August, that is probably because he heard me say it publicly," MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell told The Daily Beast on Wednesday. Lindell first made his prediction on former Trump strategist Steve Bannon's podcast in March, but he conceded Wednesday that "the month of August, for this, is subjective." "It is my hope that Donald Trump is reinstated, after all the proof comes out, by the end of August, but I don't know if it'll be that month, specifically," Lindell told The Daily Beast. "That was my estimation. I spoke about it with my lawyers who said that they should have something ready for us to bring before the U.S. Supreme Court by July. So, in my mind, I hope that means that we could have Donald Trump back in the White House by August. That's how I landed on August, and I'm hopeful that that is correct." It is not, obviously. Lindell's original theory was that he and his lawyers would present incontrovertible evidence of election fraud to the Supreme Court in April or May, leading to a 9-0 ruling to return Trump to the presidency and bipartisan buy-in over the summer that putting Trump back in the White House is the only right thing to do. Read more about Trump's interest in this fantasy, and its embrace by his grassroots fan base, at The Daily Beast. Benjamin Netanyahu. Yonatan Sindel/AFP via Getty Images Opponents of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday night that just before a midnight deadline, they have reached a deal to form a new government. This paves the way to remove Netanyahu and replace him with Naftali Bennett, the leader of the right-wing party Yamina, CNN reports. He will serve as prime minister for two years, with Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, stepping into the role of foreign minister; once the two years are up, they will swap places. The government "will work to serve all the citizens of Israel including those who aren't members of it, will respect those who oppose it, and do everything in its power to unite all parts of Israeli society," Lapid said in a statement. The next step is for Israel's parliament, the Knesset, to hold a vote of confidence on the coalition agreement. If it passes, the new government and prime minister will be sworn in. Several parties from the left-wing to the right-wing, as well as an Arab-Israeli party, joined the coalition. Their platforms are very different, but all are looking to get rid of Netanyahu, CNN notes. Israeli voters have gone to the polls four times over the past two years, and after the March election, Netanyahu had 28 days to form a government. He wasn't able to get enough support, so Lapid was given the same task. On Sunday, Bennett said he was open to forming a coalition in order to keep Israelis from having to vote in a fifth election. "The people formerly known as Nigerians now wish to be called Uranium" What is someone from the United African Republic called? Uranium or Urea? The answer is keeping many Nigerians awake as they chew over a proposal to change the name of the country. For two weeks, federal lawmakers have been traversing the country collating citizens' views to amend the constitution. The idea was to gather suggestions for amendments such as electoral reforms and the system of government. But citizen Adeleye Jokotoye, a tax consultant, dropped something of a bombshell at the hearing in Lagos. He wants the name of the country changed as it was an imposition by Nigeria's past colonial masters. The name Nigeria was suggested in the late 19th Century by British journalist Flora Shaw, who would later marry the British colonial administrator Lord Frederick Lugard. It is derived from the River Niger which enters the country from the north-west and flows down to the Niger Delta where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean through its many tributaries. But Mr Jokotoye wants the name changed and his choice of United African Republic - to reflect the hundreds of ethnic groups that comprise the country - has blown a storm. These Twitter users have a theory where the idea for United African Republic, or UAR, came from: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. There is already a new anthem, which isn't entirely new but a remix of the "old" Nigeria's: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. A new country needs a new currency, so: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Which made musician Timi Dakolo, famous for his patriotic Great Nation song which is a staple at some official events, wonder what becomes of his music. Maybe a remix, Mr Dakolo?: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. And there was a reminder of the small matter of the loans Nigeria owes the World Bank, IMF and China. Some figured that a new name means a clean slate: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. But not everyone saw the joke in Mr Jokotoye's proposal and some were quick to set the country's priorities right: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. But what is someone from the UAR called? The idea of Uranium - which Nigeria does not have - seems to have come from this comedian: Story continues This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. And others piled in: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. And the small matter of radiation connected to Uranium: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. As if he knew that some of his compatriots would not be impressed by his choice, Mr Jokotoye came armed with an alternative - the United Alkebulan Republic (meaning: United Mother of Mankind Republic), which quite frankly doesn't sound as pan-African as the first, but does have the same initials. He also made other suggestions for the constitution, such as proposing amendments to the structure of governance, and taxation control - but for some reason these have not excited the popular imagination in the same way. In the coming weeks as lawmakers sift through the bags of suggestions from Nigerians, no-one is sure what other ideas will bubble out. But it is unlikely that we will see a United African Republic on these shores. Which is a shame, as I quite like the idea of being addressed as a Uranium - it has a powerful ring to it. A Grand Jury has decided not to indict a Davidson County deputy in the 2020 shooting death of Frederick Cox Jr. Video Transcript DANIEL PIERCE: You could feel that heartbreak and also feel how that has just turned into anger. Today, Fred Cox's mother, Tenicka Shannon, their attorneys met with the Guilford County District Attorney and SBI investigators for about an hour to discuss why charges were not going to be brought against the Davidson County Deputy who shot and killed her son, Fred Cox, on November 8. And she tells me, she left that meeting not knowing any new information about her son's death and still does not know why charges are not going to be brought. TENICKA SHANNON: Today was a punch in my gut. Today was a slap in my face. The word had been my son was in a gang. I told them over and over, my son was not a gang member. The word was my son was shooting, he waved a gun in the Detective Michael Shane Hill's face. My son didn't have a gun. Why is my baby dead? DANIEL PIERCE: She said it was shameful to her son's memory after what was released today. And what we know is that the SBI presented their report on May 10 to the Guilford County District Attorney. And in a statement, the DA said that there was no evidence that Cox Jr. was a gang member or that he discharged a weapon in this drive-by shooting that happened on November 8, here at Living Water Baptist Church in High Point. A medical examiner also said that Cox died from being shot by a Davidson County Deputy multiple times. However, yesterday, June 1, a grand jury, which is made up of 18 citizens, was given two bills of indictment against the deputy, one for voluntary manslaughter and another for felony assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. They heard from witnesses and saw evidence and decided that there was not enough evidence to support bringing criminal charges against that deputy. A few months ago, Fred Cox's mother actually told me that she was living in limbo because she didn't have the deputy's name and didn't know more about her son's death. And today, even though she now has a name, it's still not enough. TENICKA SHANNON: I still feel like I'm in limbo. I mean, although I have a name, I don't have a face. I don't know where this man is. I don't know if I ran into him. He knows me. He sees my face. So, of course, my anxiety is still high. DANIEL PIERCE: Now, the family says that with that civil lawsuit, no financial compensation is ever going to erase their pain or bring Fred Cox Jr. back, but they say it is a step toward that fight for justice. Now, there is also going to be a massive March planned for June 25 here in High Point in hopes of putting more pressure on not just law enforcement, but also the district attorney. Live in High Point, Daniel Pierce, Fox 8 News. The Biden administration is urging businesses to take "immediate steps" to increase their ransomware defenses in the wake of several high-profile cyberattacks, according to a White House memo obtained by Axios. Why it matters: The U.S. government's former top cybersecurity official Chris Krebs has described ransomware as a "global pandemic" a crime that is increasingly common, but highly disruptive. Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free. Context: Cyber criminal groups have launched at least two significant ransomware attacks against major businesses in roughly a month. In May, a criminal group breached the Colonial Pipeline, the largest refined products pipeline network in the country. The attack forced the pipeline to shutdown, halting fuel deliveries along the East Coast for days. The company paid the hacker group $4.4 million to regain access to its computers. A Russia-linked ransomware group forced all of JBS SA's beef plants in the U.S. to temporarily shut down this week, exposing the vulnerability of the world's largest meat processor. They went after our gas and they went after our hot dogs. No one is out of bounds here," Krebs warned on NBC's "Today" show on Wednesday. What they're saying: "All organizations must recognize that no company is safe from being targeted by ransomware, regardless of size or location," White House deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger wrote in the memo to businesses. "Much as our homes have locks and alarm systems and our office buildings have guards and security to meet the threat of theft, we urge you to take ransomware crime seriously and ensure your corporate cyber defenses match the threat," it continues. Neuberger recommended that businesses enable multi-factor authentication for sensitive accounts, use endpoint detection and response tools, and encrypt and regularly back up their data. She also called on businesses to separate corporate business functions and manufacturing/production operations to ensure certain networks can be isolated and continue to operate in the event of an attack. The big picture: On top of ransomware attacks, numerous U.S. businesses and organizations have also been victims of other types of cyberattacks recently. Story continues The major SolarWinds breach by Russian-backed hackers became public in December 2020, though the full extent of that attack is still unknown. In March, Microsoft discovered that at least 30,000 U.S. victims including small businesses and local governments had been hacked by a cyber espionage unit backed by the Chinese government. Microsoft also discovered last week that the same Russian hackers behind the SolarWinds breach launched another wave of cyberattacks against government agencies, think tanks, consultants and NGOs. Read the full memo. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Go deeper: Ransomware business achieves critical mass Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free. Nasma Luxury Stays, a division of Al Tamimi Investments, and a specialist in the executive and vacation rentals sector, has opened its portfolio to support investors and property owners seeking to maximise return on their secondary property assets. With the vacation and short-term property rental market growing substantially, Nasma Luxury Stays has redefined their business model to ensure that property owners get the maximum return on their investment, while having the flexibility to use their second home for their own purposes, and at their convenience. Nasma Luxury Stays property portfolio features homes in Dubais premier locations including Dubai International Financial Centre, Business Bay, Downtown Dubai, City Walk, Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Beach Residence and Palm Jumeirah. The company also manages properties in vibrant lifestyle destinations such as Bluewaters Island. According to AirDNA, a short-term rental data and analytics provider, the industry, both in Dubai and across the wider region is still growing, with Dubai rentals securing as much as $220 on an average daily rate, and accounting for around 54% occupancy. Real estate expert Knight Frank states that Dubais holiday home market accounts for 2% of Dubais total households, the highest proportion of all other key global hub cities. Initially founded in 2015 to manage the property assets of Al Tamimi Investments, the Nasma Luxury Stays division has established a range of partnerships with luxury suppliers and service providers that ensures guests experience the service levels of a five-star hotel, combined with the discretion of a private home. General Manager Cristina Butcaru said: "The market provides a wealth of competition for licensed holiday homes, but our focus is on experience and quality." "When it comes to selecting the homes in our portfolio, we are always looking for luxe accommodations that match with the five-star offering available, while being able to provide a personalised experience supported by quality partners and suppliers," he noted. With a carefully curated portfolio of 26 properties and having established a wealth of relationships to best support the business model, Nasma Luxury Stays is looking to expand that to more than 80 residences by the end of the year, ranging from studio, one and two-bedroom apartments to five-bedroom villas and houses. Each of the fully equipped homes is managed end-to-end, with guaranteed property protection, to yield higher revenue for owners, all with complete transparency, she noted. The team at Nasma Luxury Stays provides a full suite of services to owners, ensuring that properties are professionally maintained and serviced. The companys experts also provide the best advice on seasonal rates and ancillary support such as legal and licensing. Our team consists of hospitality and property specialists, so that we can draw on their strengths to ensure that the owners and guests who use Nasma Luxury Stays are assured of quality and peace of mind," remarked Butcaru. "We have made it so that owners can continue to use the property as a holiday home for themselves, while being able to add it to our portfolio when they do not require it, meaning that the asset is making an additional revenue stream; this flexibility, and our on-ground services ensure that the home is always ready to use, whether by a guest or the owner," she added.-TradeArabia News Service Area advocates for police reform organized a demonstration and vigil on Wednesday evening for the man fatally shot two months ago by an on-duty Kansas City police officer, pointing to his death as an example of failure in the criminal justice system. A few dozen people gathered in the parking lot of the gas station where Johnson, 31, was fatally shot, bringing candles and balloons in remembrance. Organizers also raised questions of police accountability and practices while comparing Johnsons death to other Black men killed while being detained or arrested. George Floyd was that catalyst that said: No more for this country. Malcolm Johnson needs to be that catalyst saying: No more for this city, said Sheryl Ferguson, founder of area activism group Its Time 4 Justice. We are done accepting this behavior from our officers. Johnson, 31, was killed on March 25 inside of a gas station convenience store near the intersection of 63rd Street and Prospect Avenue as police were trying to arrest him in connection with a previous shooting. A police officer was shot in the leg during the encounter. The Missouri Highway Patrol, the lead investigative agency into the shooting, offered an early narrative saying Johnson drew a firearm and shot the officer, who returned fire. But that chain of events has since been challenged by a group of Kansas City ministers who released surveillance footage they say shows the final moments before Johnson was shot. In the video, which does not show the shooting, a man identified by faith leaders as Johnson is seen standing at the counter when two officers in uniform appear to grab his arms, their guns drawn. The man breaks free briefly before the video shows what appears to be the officers pulling him away from the gas station door. The man and officers remain mostly out of the cameras view, their feet still visible, for about 80 seconds before the video shows what appears to be an officer who is wounded being rushed out of the store by the other officers. Story continues Johnson was later taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Ferguson, the organizer of the Wednesday demonstration, questioned why police would approach Johnson inside an often-busy business during the daytime if they considered him to be a dangerous criminal. She also said the details surrounding why police were seeking his arrest should not matter, saying he should not have been killed over a warrant. He was never read his rights, Ferguson said. All we know is that he had a gun in his face. The Stars Glenn E. Rice contributed to this report. Jun. 3The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is offering more than $1 million in emergency financial assistance to Native Hawaiians during the COVID-19 pandemic. OHA is encouraging Native Hawaiians who are at least 18 years old and in financial hardship to and apply for assistance with housing or utility payments. OHA's Ka Wailele Emergency Financial Assistance Program will provide grants up to $1, 500 for past due rent, mortgage, utilities and rent deposits to an estimated 520 households that can prove Native Hawaiian ancestry, Hawaii residency, financial hardship, and need for housing or utility assistance. The program is being administered by Hawai i Community Lending, a Native Hawaiian community development financial institution. HCL will process applications and make payments directly to landlords, mortgage lenders, or utility providers. Financial counseling, additional grants, affordable loans, and career coaching will also be available to approved applicants through Financial Opportunity Centers run by HCL's parent corporation, Hawaiian Community Assets. "Supporting Native Hawaiian ohana in successfully navigating the challenges they face is integral to the work we do at OHA, " said OHA CEO Sylvia Hussey in a news release. "We hope that the emergency financial assistance from OHA will help alleviate some of the stress created by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as connect ohana with other valuable resources that are available to them." Native Hawaiians are limited in receiving one OHA emergency financial assistance grant every two years. OHA began accepting applications on Tuesday. To apply, visit or or call HCL at 587-7656. In-person assistance is also available at Financial Opportunity Centers and remote offices statewide. (Bloomberg) -- Oil was virtually unchanged as a stronger dollar weighed broadly across commodities, while traders assessed rising fuel stockpiles in the U.S. Futures in New York lost two cents on Thursday, but still remain on track for a second straight weekly gain. U.S. government data showed domestic gasoline supplies rising by the most since early April, while distillate inventories climbed by nearly 4 million barrels. Thats offsetting back-to-back weekly declines in crude inventories. The pause follows a fierce run-up at the start of the week, which has seen both crude benchmarks set fresh multi-year highs. The dollar surged by the most in three weeks on Thursday, making commodities priced in the currency less attractive. A spate of strong U.S. economic data has ratcheted up wagers the Federal Reserve may need to move faster on tapering its stimulus operations. To have a draw that big on the crude oil side is really constructive for overall crude markets, said Brian Kessens, a portfolio manager at Tortoise, a firm that manages roughly $8 billion in energy-related assets. However, the refined products build was disappointing and may be due to an increase in refinery utilization ahead of the summer driving season, he said. Still, optimism is growing around the demand rebound from the U.S. to the U.K. and parts of Asia. As forecasts of a tighter market abound, Saudi Arabia hiked its official selling prices to Asia by more than expected. Even so, the nations energy minister reiterated that evidence of higher demand will have to come before supply increases. For demand, theres been a quick response to people getting vaccinated and lockdown restrictions coming off, said Peter McNally, global head for industrials, materials and energy at Third Bridge. Theres plenty of upside in gasoline consumption, and jet fuel demand is coming back. Even if international travel is slower to return, thats not going to derail the recovery. Story continues Early signs that the U.S. is experiencing an uptick in demand heading into the summer are starting to be confirmed by U.S. government data. The four-week rolling average of gasoline supplied -- which is used as a proxy of demand for the fuel -- gained for a third week in a row at its highest since March 2020, Energy Information Administration data showed. The same gauge for jet fuel demand is also on its third consecutive week of gaining. Even ahead of the Memorial Day holiday weekend, U.S. gasoline demand was posting strong numbers, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analysts including Natasha Kaneva said in a report. Meanwhile, global mobility continues to recover with Europe surging ahead and India finally turning a corner. Despite crudes rally, holdings of ICE Brent futures contracts have fallen sharply in recent weeks. Total open interest on the global benchmark is near its lowest since December, and was overtaken by Nymex WTI for the first time since 2018 in recent days. See also: Investors Sit on the Sidelines in Oil Prices Drift Through $70 Meanwhile, even with signs a resolution to Iran nuclear talks may still be months away, the market continues to watch for developments that could lift sanctions on the Persian Gulf countrys crude exports. Returning Iranian output has big potential to turn a supply deficit in the market into a surplus, Leonid Fedun, vice president for strategic development at Russias Lukoil PJSC, said at a forum. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2021 Bloomberg L.P. David Ostrowe, the secretary for digital transformation and administration, was indicted by Attorney General Mike Hunter for bribery. The charge was dropped when Hunter resigned last week. Video Transcript DAVID OSTROWE: We are all victims when unscrupulous people in power abuse that power. - State Secretary of Digital Transformation David Ostrowe announcing on Wednesday possible legal action against now former Attorney General Mike Hunter. DAVID OSTROWE: The time is now to stand up against those who use their political and legal influence to benefit themselves and damage others for their own personal gain. - Last year, Ostrowe was indicted by Hunter following bribery allegations, and that charge dropped last week after Hunter announced his resignation, citing personal reasons, which sources later confirmed to News 4 involve his divorce and an extramarital affair with a state employee. MATT FELTY: Yesterday, we sent evidence preservation letters to the former attorney general, Miss Kim Bailey, as well as several state agencies in anticipation of litigation. - Ostrowe's attorney not elaborating, but Bailey currently serves as general counsel for the Oklahoma Insurance Department. MATT FELTY: The letters require the preservation of cellphones-- including burner phones-- containing encrypted communication apps, computer hard drives, computer tablets, and computer servers. - In a statement sent to News 4, the attorney general's office said in part, "the grand jurors heard testimony and made the decision to issue an indictment." Hunter's attorney did not reply to our request for comment. And in an email, Bailey told us, "I have no comment on today's press conference by David Ostrowe, as I am not familiar with the lawsuit he referenced." OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A jury in Oklahoma has recommended a death sentence for an alleged serial killer who was convicted of kidnapping a woman from a car wash and killing her more than 20 years ago. The jury on Wednesday recommended the death penalty for William Lewis Reece, who was convicted last week of first-degree murder for the 1997 kidnapping and killing of 19-year-old Tiffany Johnston. Formal sentencing is set for Aug. 19. Reece did not testify at his trial, but the jury heard recordings of his confessions to police in which he admitted killing Johnston and three other people in Texas, The Oklahoman reported. Johnston, 20-year-old Kelli Cox, 17-year-old Jessica Cain and 12-year-old Laura Smither all disappeared over a four-month period in 1997, after Reece had been released from an Oklahoma prison for previous rape and kidnapping convictions. Smither's body was found shortly after her disappearance, but the remains of Cain and Cox weren't found until 2016, when Reece began cooperating with prosecutors. Were all so happy that he got the death penalty, said Johnstons mother, Kathy Dobry. Even though it helped families in Texas it was for Tiffany, she said of the verdict. After 24 years, and 10 months, this is Tiffanys time. Reece's defense attorney, Jacob Benedict, did not dispute that Reece killed Johnston, but said his client only confessed because a Texas Ranger had promised that prosecutors wouldn't seek the death penalty. A promise he couldnt keep, but still a promise, Benedict said. Gay Smither, the mother of 12-year-old Laura Smither, traveled to Oklahoma for the trial, Houston TV station KPRC reported. Reece still faces charges for her daughter's death in Texas. If we dont have our day in court in Galveston, we can live with it because hes at least held accountable here, she said. The most important thing is we know now for sure there is absolutely no way this man will ever get out." Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, shown in October shortly before being sworn in, wrote the majority opinion Thursday in a case involving federal computer law. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the dissent. (Patrick Semansky / Associated Press) When a cop takes a bribe to look up someone's license plate number on a restricted-access law enforcement database, that's corruption. But it's not hacking. Nor is it hacking when employees use their corporate accounts to download company data and share it with a competitor. Or when a woman cruelly cyberbullies a teen on a social network. All of those misdeeds have one or more legal remedies, but the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act isn't among them. And on Thursday the U.S. Supreme Court finally made that clear, after prosecutors spent years stretching the act far beyond its proper boundaries. Technically, the court's ruling applied only to the case of Nathan Van Buren, a former police sergeant in Georgia who got caught in an FBI sting operation. An informant offered Van Buren $5,000 to look up a license plate to help determine whether its owner was an undercover cop; after Van Buren used the computer in his patrol car to run the plate, federal prosecutors charged him with violating the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which targets anyone who "intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or exceeds authorized access" and uses that access to obtain information that's not freely available. Van Buren clearly was authorized to log into and use the plate database; the Justice Department contended that he exceeded his authorized access because he wasn't permitted to grab plate information for sale. But as the high court noted Thursday, that's not what the act means by "access." Writing for the 6-3 majority, Justice Amy Coney Barrett explained that in the context of computing, "access" refers to entering a computer or the content it stores. "It is thus consistent with that meaning to equate 'exceed[ing] authorized access' with the act of entering a part of the system to which a computer user lacks access privileges," she wrote, later adding, "In sum, an individual 'exceeds authorized access' when he accesses a computer with authorization but then obtains information located in particular areas of the computer such as files, folders, or databases that are off limits to him." Story continues The Justice Department argued that Congress passed the CFAA to criminalize not just malicious computer hacking, but also behavior like Van Buren's that violated a site's terms of service. No question, the sergeant wasn't authorized to collect license plate data for the purpose of selling the information and fattening his wallet. But if the CFAA extends beyond unauthorized access to unauthorized use, then suddenly a raft of actions that may or may not violate state laws become federal crimes. Imagine this: You log in to the L.A. Times' website and find a picture of the Clippers' Paul George that was available exclusively to subscribers. So you copy it and print it on dozens of t-shirts to sell outside Staples Center during the playoffs. That's a copyright violation, which exposes you to a lawsuit with some hefty damages. But it also violates this site's terms of service, which could be considered a federal crime under the Justice Department's expansive view because you exceeded the uses we authorized. That's just too broad a reading of the law. Happily, courts in many parts of the country have stopped prosecutors when they've overstepped that way witness U.S. District Judge George Wu's decision in 2009 to toss out the conviction of Lori Drew, a Missouri woman who cyberbullied a teenage girl who later committed suicide. Drew is nobody's hero, but the CFAA wasn't designed for egregious behavior like hers. But some courts had embraced the Justice Department's aggressive use of the CFAA. And besides, simply being charged with a federal crime can be powerfully traumatic, even if the courts may ultimately vindicate you. It's worth recalling the case of Aaron Swartz, an online activist who was charged with violating the CFAA because he downloaded thousands of copyrighted articles from an academic database far more than he was authorized to use with the intent of making them available for free. Swartz may or may not have been convicted, but we'll never know; he committed suicide shortly before his trial. At any rate, Barrett's opinion should help contain the CFAA within its intended boundaries. She was joined in the ruling by two other textualists on the court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh and the court's three liberals, but not by three of their fellow conservatives: Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. The two sides disagreed on what the law meant by "exceeds authorized access." Writing for the dissenters, Thomas argued that "Van Buren never had a 'right' to use the computer to obtain the specific license plate information." But that's just another way of saying that the law governs what computer users do with the information they are authorized to access on a site, which eradicates the act's boundaries. The majority rightly held that the law prohibits people from getting into computers or files that the computer owner hasn't opened to them, not those who violate the terms the computer owner has imposed. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. With COVID-19 infections falling and vaccinations rising, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said he was optimistic Wednesday about the coronavirus pandemic ending soon in Central Florida while meeting with reporters for the first time in two weeks. For the 11th consecutive day, the countys rolling, 14-day rate of positive tests for COVID-19 infections was under 5% on Wednesday, a figure suggesting the community had the virus under control. The rate was 4.5%, the mayor said, citing state data. We are beginning to see light at the end of this dark tunnel that we have been in for the past year, he said. But Raul Pino, state health officer in Orange County, said he still was worried about the vulnerability of children, especially since there is no vaccine approved yet for children under age 12. Pino announced the health department in Orange will receive $32 million in federal funds to continue fighting the virus. He said the agency is drafting a strategy for the money and it could include programs to protect kids from COVID-19. He urged youths ages 12 to 18 to get inoculated. They should get vaccinated because its going to help their peers and their community, Pino said. He said people ages 16 to 34 are the segment of the county population with the highest number of new infections now. About 78% of residents age 65 and and older are fully vaccinated. That group was prioritized for vaccines in December. County officials tweeted Thursday that Barnett Park had reached capacity for its COVID-19 testing operation before 5 p.m.. Pino said large test sites at the Orange County Convention Center and Orange County recreation centers have closed, leaving Barnett Park in the Pine Hills area as the best remaining option. He said residents can also get vaccinated at the park. The park allows people who seek a test suspecting they were exposed to also get a shot if they havent been vaccinated. About 55% of county residents age 16 and older have received at least one shot of vaccine, besting the national rate of 52 percent. Story continues The #IGotMyShot mobile vaccination trailer will visit two Orlando sites later this week. It will set up Friday at Se7enBites restaurant, 617 Primrose Dr., Orlando, from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Then on Saturday, it will visit Leu Gardens, 1920 N. Forest Ave., Orlando, from 9 a.m to 2 p.m. Appointments arent necessary but vaccine supply is limited. Demings said he still hoped the county gets 70% of its population 16 and older vaccinated by Independence Day. He said theme parks are drawing larger crowds and the Convention Center is ramping back up. With all these people coming in from other places, it is still highly recommended our residents get inoculated, he said. shudak@orlandosentinel.com Two women on a beach at Ghadira Bay, Malta The travel and tourism industry has hit back after the announcement of tighter rules on foreign holidays. No more countries will be added to the green list and Portugal will be relegated to amber from next Tuesday. The government said Portugal had seen a doubling of infection rates since the previous travel review. Critics warned of a loss of jobs and confidence, while Easyjet said the government had torn up its own rules. Moving Portugal from the green to the amber list was a "safety first approach" to "give us the best chance of unlocking domestically", said Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. Labour said moving Portugal from green to amber on the UK's foreign travel system was "not the answer" and called for the amber list to be scrapped altogether. Labour's shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds accused the government of causing "chaos with the mishandling of travel restrictions at the border". In addition to not adding countries to the green list and relegating Portugal to amber, seven more countries have been added to the red list. All the changes will take effect on Tuesday at 04:00. In England's traffic light scheme, countries are classed as green, amber or red - with different rules for quarantine and Covid tests. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have similar rules. The government says you should not holiday in red or amber destinations - which means most countries. Holidays to countries on the green list can go ahead without quarantining when you return. Passengers are escorted through the arrivals area of Heathrow Terminal Five, towards coaches destined for quarantine hotels There had been some speculation that Greek and Spanish islands could be added to the green list as well as Malta, Finland and parts of the Caribbean - but the government insisted it had to remain cautious. What has changed in Portugal? Analysis by Reality Check Portugal new cases since April. . . The UK government announced that Portugal would be on the travel green list on 7 May. Its low point for new cases (on a seven-day average) was 10 May and the number has been rising gradually since then. Story continues On 2 June, there were 5.4 new cases per 100,000 people per day, which was only a touch higher than the UK at 5.1, although differences in the amount of testing being done make that comparison difficult. It is considerably higher than Israel, for example, which is still on the green list and had 0.2 new cases per 100,000 that day. The decision about which countries go on the green list is not just about the number of new cases, but a number of other criteria, such as the amount of testing capacity. That has not changed dramatically in the past month. Presence of variants of concern (VOCs) is also important. The latest report from the World Health Organization says all four VOCs have now been found in Portugal. A month ago, the variant first identified in India was not yet a VOC. The transport secretary says a new mutation of that variant has now been found in Portugal. 'Torn up rule book' British Airways said this was "incredibly disappointing and confusing news, not just for aviation but also for our customers". "The UK has reached a critical point and urgently needs travel with low-risk countries, like the US, to re-start the economy, support devastated industries and reunite loved ones," a spokesperson said. Johan Lundgren, Easyjet's chief executive, said that with "Portuguese rates similar to those in the UK", relegating the country "simply isn't justified by the science". "When this framework was put together, consumers were promised a waiting list to allow them to plan. "Yet the government has torn up its own rule book and ignored the science, throwing people's plans into chaos, with virtually no notice or alternative options for travel from the UK. "This decision essentially cuts the UK off from the rest of the world," he said. Jet2 said it would delay restarting flights from 23 June to 1 July. "We know how disappointed our customers and independent travel agency partners will be following today's announcement, and we share their concerns and frustrations," said Steve Heapy, Jet2 chief executive. Charlie Cornish, Manchester Airports Group chief executive, said: "We were told the traffic light system would allow people to travel safely, with the right measures in place to manage risk for different countries. "But it is now clear the government doesn't trust its own system and that international travel is being unfairly scapegoated, with tens of thousands of jobs placed at risk in the process. Mr Lundgren says people want to go on holiday as soon as they can John Holland-Kaye, chief executive of Heathrow Airport, said: "Ministers spent last month hailing the restart of international travel, only to close it down three weeks later, all but guaranteeing another lost summer for the travel sector. "Everyone wants to protect public health, but the entire point of the Global Travel Taskforce was to establish a system to unlock low-risk travel safely. "Britain is the worst performing economy in the G7, and in the week that the prime minister hosts G7 leaders to launch his government's vision of Global Britain, he's sending a message that the UK will remain isolated from the rest of the world and closed to most of its G7 partners." Virginia Messina, vice-president of the World Travel & Tourism Council, called the moves a "huge disappointment for businesses and holidaymakers", a point underlined by falls in the share prices of several airlines. She said: "The government has once again cold-shouldered travel and tourism by refusing to add any new destinations to the already slim green list. "The UK could and should leverage its hard-won competitive advantage from one of the world's best vaccine rollout programmes, to restore mobility and reopen the doors to safe international travel." 'Safe and ready' Paul Charles, chief executive of the PC Agency and spokesman for parts of the travel sector, said tighter restrictions "will further threaten tens of thousands of jobs in aviation and travel, not to mention further damage consumer confidence". He said that data showed several countries should be green-listed, so the government's decision "defies logic" and was being driven by "a policy of fear". John Foster, the CBI's director of policy, said businesses across the country were "losing out on key links with trading partners just as the rest of the world is opening up". "The international travel sector is on its knees and unable to trade its way to recovery. Without a successful summer season, the government will need to consider further sector specific support to save jobs and skills essential for future growth," he added. The Caribbean island of Grenada was hoping to be put on green, and tourism minister Clarice Modeste Curwen said she was "extremely disappointed" not to be added. She said: "Grenada has had just 161 cases of Covid-19 since the onset of the pandemic and we have reported zero new cases locally since February. "We strongly believe that Grenada should be added to the UK's green list as we have taken all the necessary measures to ensure the islands are safe and ready for visitors." Shares in airlines and travel companies fell after the BBC reported that Portugal is set to move from green to amber. IAG, the parent company of British Airways, fell 5%, with Easyjet sinking about the same. Ryanair closed 1.3% lower and Tui fell about 4.5%. Banner saying 'Get in touch' Are you in Portugal? Are you planning to travel there soon? Please share how this latest announcement will affect you. Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. 7-Eleven Electric vehicle drivers will soon have a few hundred new places to top up their batteries. 7-Eleven plans to install 500 fast-charge ports at select convenience stores before 2023. The company says the ports will give it "the largest and most compatible" system of any US retailer. See more stories on Insider's business page. Driving an electric vehicle is about to get a bit more like the traditional gasoline experience. This week, convenience store chain 7-Eleven announced plans to install at least 500 direct current fast charging ports at 250 select stores in North America by 2023. When combined with its existing 22 charging stations, the addition will give 7-Eleven "one of the largest and most compatible fast-charging systems of any retailer in the US," the company said. "Adding 500 charging ports at 250 7Eleven stores will make EV charging more convenient and help accelerate broader adoption of EVs and alternative fuels," said 7Eleven President and CEO Joe DePinto in a statement. "We are committed to the communities we serve and to working toward a more sustainable future." Currently, Walgreens is the largest EV-charging host in the US, with 400 locations in a partnership with EVgo. By comparison, Tesla has nearly 1,200 supercharger sites in North America, albeit with a lot more connection ports per location than 7-Eleven is proposing. Tesla is even apparently planning to get into the restaurant business with one of its LA supercharger centers. President Biden's American Jobs Plan, announced in April, aims to invest $15 billion to build a national network of 500,000 stations. Convenience stores sell about 80% of motor fuels purchased in the US, and the pit-stops serve as a powerful draw for retail spending on in-store items like food, drinks, and other items. Industry research shows about half of gasoline customers go inside during their fuel stop, usually for about 15 minutes. That's definitely not long enough to get much range off of a typical household plug, or even a "Level Two" charger, but it is plenty of time to get a nice boost using the new direct current fast charging (DCFC) connections, as long as your car supports it. Read the original article on Business Insider Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosis PAC to the Future fundraising outfit is emailing supporters about Texas senator Ted Cruzs alleged endorsement of voter suppression. BREAKING: Ted Cruz caught on tape admitting voter suppression begins the communique, which goes on to assert that Republicans are rushing hundreds of voter suppression measures to keep Democrats from EVER winning a historic upset like Georgia again. Neither the tape nor a transcript of Cruzs comments are linked to or provided, so its unclear what the basis of the email is. However, it seems likely that it is referencing comments made about the Democrats For the People Act on a conference call back in March so not exactly BREAKING. Moreover, Cruzs actual wording doesnt constitute a defense of voter suppression, but rather calls into question whether the bills Democratic champions Pelosi, President Joe Biden, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are in fact motivated by a desire to secure a partisan advantage, rather than by a civic-minded desire to expand the franchise. H.R. 1s only objective is to ensure that Democrats can never again lose another election, that they will win and maintain control of the House of Representatives and the Senate and of the state legislatures for the next century Cruz told his audience at the time, while also complaining about myriad provisions found within the bill. Should it pass, H.R. 1 would initiate a federal elections takeover, eliminate popular voter-ID laws passed by state legislatures across the country, and rollback state-level restrictions on felon voting. To believe that Cruzs comments constitute an argument for voter suppression, one would have to maintain that any opposition whatsoever to those reforms is born of a cynical desire to prevent ones political opponents from voting. Steve Guest, a spokesman for Senator Cruz, accused Pelosi of twist[ing] Sen. Cruzs words in a hyperbolic fundraising email. Story continues The truth is, Democrats across the country are scheming to undermine election integrity with the Corrupt Politicians Act. Meanwhile, Sen. Cruz is laser-focused leading the fight against the Democrats push to cement their power in DC for the next 100 years with their federal takeover of our election system, he added. Republicans have increasingly speculated that Democrats are less interested in passing a federal elections bill than they are in using its blockage as a political tool ahead of the the 2022 midterms. Clearly, Pelosi and her team see H.R. 1 and more broadly, the attempt to cast any GOP-passed bills in states such as Georgia, Florida, and Texas under the umbrella of voter suppression as a powerful fundraising subject likely to entice Democratic voters to reach into their wallets. Its less clear whether the Democrats proposed reforms and opposition to Republicans ones are an electoral winner. Despite a sustained public relations attack blitz that included the president of the United States labeling it Jim Crow on steroids, 42 percent of Americans support the Georgia elections reform bill while only 36 percent oppose it. More from National Review Emirates will provide more choice and comfort for its customers in Bahrain, with the introduction of the first scheduled Airbus A380 service during June. This is the first time an airline operates the double-decker on a regularly scheduled basis to the Kingdom, and demonstrates the operational readiness of the new airport to provide the necessary infrastructure to accommodate for an A380 service, said an Emirates statement. Flight EK 839/840, previously operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, has been upgraded to the flagship and customer favourite, the Emirates A380. The change of aircraft will help meet growing demand to and from Bahrain during the summer, and underscores the airline's commitment to make connections for travellers to and through Dubai even easier, it said. In line with the start of A380 services, the airline is also offering special fares to popular destinations from Bahrain including Dubai, Istanbul and Maldives. Economy passengers can enjoy fares to Dubai starting from BD108, Istanbul from BD226 and Maldives from BD400. Fares in Business Class start from BD683 to Dubai, BD770 to Istanbul and BD1,063 to the Maldives, it said. The offer is valid for booking from today (June 3) until June 30 for outbound travel until December 31, 2021. Emirates flight EK 837 will depart Dubai daily at 1530hrs, arriving in Bahrain at 1550hrs. The return flight EK 840 leaves Bahrain at 1750hrs, arriving in Dubai at 2000hrs. The Emirates A380 aircraft will operate daily, in addition to an earlier morning service, EK837/838, served by a Boeing 777-300ER. The Emirates Airbus A380 aircraft serving the Dubai-Bahrain route offers a total of 507 seats in a three-class configuration, with 417 spacious seats in Economy Class, 76 fully flat-bed seats in Business Class and 14 First Class Private Suites. The Emirates A380 experience is sought after amongst travellers for its spacious and comfortable cabins and the airline will continue to expand its deployment in line with the gradual return in demand. Emirates currently operates the A380 to New York JFK, Paris, Jeddah, Amman, Cairo, Frankfurt, Bangkok, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Moscow and will soon be deploying the aircraft to Los Angeles in July. -TradeArabia News Service WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday and emphasized U.S. commitment to helping Saudi Arabia defend its territory and people, the Pentagon said. Austin and Prince Mohammed discussed regional security, particularly efforts to end the war in Yemen, and "ongoing bilateral efforts to improve Saudi Arabias defenses," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, who have controlled most of northern Yemen since 2014, have kept up cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia and are pressing an offensive to seize Yemen's gas-rich Marib region. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 after the Houthis ousted a Saudi-backed government from the capital Sanaa. The Houthis say they are fighting a corrupt system and foreign aggression. Austin "noted Saudi Arabias recent successes in defeating Houthi attacks on the Kingdom" and thanked the crown prince for working with U.S. special envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking to end the Yemen war, Kirby said. Last month, Lenderking criticized the Houthis for not engaging seriously in stalled efforts to secure a ceasefire. He also urged the coalition to remove restrictions on all Yemeni ports and airports. More than 100,000 people have been killed in the war, most of them civilians, and millions of Yemenis rely on humanitarian assistance to survive. (Reporting by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Leslie Adler and Sam Holmes) Jun. 3EAST HARTFORD Police detectives arrested a Hartford man Wednesday morning in connection with the homicide of a 35-year-old local man. The man, Angel Martinez, 35, was arrested on a warrant without an incident in Rocky Hill. He is charged with murder and criminal possession of a pistol or revolver and is being held in lieu of a $1.2 million bond in the death of William Gonzalez. Police also arrested Martinez's sister, Ashley Quintana, 32, of Manchester. Detectives found her in Manchester Wednesday morning and she was also arrested ona warrant without incident, police said. She is charged with second-degree hindering prosecution and is being held in lieu of a $50,000 bond. Shortly before 7:30 a.m. on April 24, East Hartford police responded to a report of shots fired outside in the area of a parking lot near Elm and Olmstead streets. When police arrived they found an adult male identified as Gonzalez suffering from two apparent gunshot wounds, police said. Officers administered CPR to Gonzalez until Fire Department paramedics arrived and continued medical treatment. Gonzalez was then rushed to a local hospital where he died, police said. For more coverage of East Hartford and South Windsor, follow Olivia Regen on Twitter: @OliviaRegen, Facebook: Olivia Regen JI, and Instagram: @ORegenJI. The victims were found inside a vehicle that had crashed into a telephone pole and then a fire hydrant. Video Transcript - One northwest resident neighborhood in the midst of a long, hot night without electricity after a shooting and a car crash. - Action News reporter Elisa Navarro is live with more on what happened as well as what the conditions are like at the scene right now. Elisa. ELISA NAVARRO: It's been a long night for residents and those involved in a car crash and shooting here in Northwest Fresno. Now, take a look behind me. You see that light pole that's been-- or that electricity pole that's been knocked over. There's still water surrounding that area. Now, this happened before 11:00 PM on Fruit and Santa Ana. Police say, it was an SUV that hit the telephone pole and then ran over a fire hydrant sending gallons of water shooting into the air. That's why we see some water still around that area. They also say, two of the three men in the SUV were victims of a shooting suffering from gunshot wounds. All three men were taken to Community Regional, where they're expected to be OK. Now, Fresno firefighters and PG&E were on the scene, because a large portion of that telephone pole was being held up by power lines, which causes danger. The electricity was turned off in the area, so crews are replacing the pole safely. And many homes and many residents in this area don't have power right now. Also, police are currently searching for the vehicle that might have been involved with that shooting late last night. PAUL CERVANTES: The crime scene here is pretty far. It starts here on Fruit and goes a very significant distance here. There's shell casings strewn about the entire work way though. ELISA NAVARRO: The third victim in the vehicle did not suffer from gunshot wounds but was injured in the crash. Police say, several shell casings were found near this area. No one is in custody at this time, but this is an ongoing investigation. Meanwhile, several homes are still without power. Crews are still out here, and we will continue to bring you the latest as we learn it. Live in Northwest Fresno, Elisa Navarro, Action News AM live. Jun. 2LIMA A sophomoric stunt executed by a 25-year-old Lima man when he set off a fire alarm at the University of Northwestern Ohio likely seemed much less humorous Wednesday as he stared at the possibility of a stint behind bars. Judge Terri Kohlrieser ruled out a prison sentence "at this time" for Damian Polen, but did dole out a hefty $5,000 fine, 100 hours of community service and strict reporting conditions to go with a three-year term of probation. Polen was indicted by a grand jury in November of 2020 on a misdemeanor count of acting as a firefighter and a second-degree felony charge of inducing panic. During Wednesday's sentencing hearing Kohlrieser called Polen's behavior "deplorable." The judge said Polen purchased a key on eBay that allowed him to open an emergency signal box at UNOH. "And this wasn't your first time, Mr. Polen. You were already on probation for an offense of this same type," Kohlrieser said. "This is ridiculous. I don't know what is going on in your head." The judge found the victim in the case the American Township Fire Department suffered "serious financial harm" by being forced to respond to a false alarm. Kohlrieser said among the items found in Polen's vehicle following the incident were flashing emergency lights, a badge and a pellet gun that resembled a lethal handgun. The judge also noted that American Township Fire Chief Thomas Hadding "knows you well because of your behavior at other (fire) scenes." The indictment alleged that on or about Sept. 3, 2019, Polen "did cause the evacuation of a public place or otherwise cause serious public inconvenience or alarm by initiating or circulating a report or warning of an alleged or impending fire, explosion, crime of other catastrophe ... knowing that such report was false." Polen in April entered into an agreement with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to a third-degree felony count of attempted inducing panic. Kohlrieser seemed to seriously consider a prison term before settling on the three years of probation. As part of his probation Polen is prohibited from having any flashing lights, badges or look-alike weapons in his vehicle. He was ordered to complete any and all counseling recommended by his probation officer and to perform 100 hours of community service within a year. Polen was also fined $5,000. Watch: Queen to meet President Biden at Windsor Castle The Queen is to meet president Joe Biden when he is in the UK for the G7 meeting, Buckingham Palace confirmed on Thursday. Biden, who has previously met her son Prince Charles and grandson Prince Harry, will be the 14th president of the US during the Queen's reign. Once she ticks the meeting on 13 June off her to do list, she will have met all but one of them. The Queen's first president was Harry S Truman, who she met when Princess Elizabeth in 1951, the year before she acceded. He was president until 1953, the year of her coronation. She has met all the presidents since then except Lyndon B Johnson, though it's not clear why she did not meet him. He never extended an invitation to Washington DC, nor did she issue one for the UK. President Harry Truman welcoming his guest Princess Elizabeth to Washington DC on her arrival in 1951. She was Queen the following year and he was president until 1953. (PA Images) Read more: When is the Queen's Platinum Jubilee bank holiday and what's happening? The Queen met Dwight D Eisenhower in 1957 during her state visit to the US. And two years later she met him again in Canada, which is a Commonwealth Realm, meaning she is head of state and Queen there too. She is said to have had an affectionate relationship with Eisenhower, who was invited to stay at her Scottish home of Balmoral Castle. The Queen and Dwight D Eisenhower in St Hubert, Quebec, where her Majesty greeted the US president and his wife on their arrival in Canada. (PA Images) The Queen next met John F Kennedy and his wife Jackie Onassis in London in June 1961. The couple were welcomed for a dinner with the Queen and her husband at Buckingham Palace. Kennedy was assassinated two years later, but the Queen did not attend his funeral, which is one of the opportunities she would have had to meet his successor, Johnson. John F Kennedy (right) and his wife Jacqueline (second left) with the Queen (second right) and the Duke of Edinburgh (left) at Buckingham Palace, in London in 1961. (PA images) President Lyndon B Johnson at an American base in Cam Rahn Bay in South Vietnam in1966. He did not meet the Queen. (Corbis via Getty Images) Although she missed meeting Johnson, she met Richard Nixon twice during his time as US president. He was in London in 1969, for dinner with the Queen at Buckingham Palace. And the following year she met him at Chequers, the prime minister's country residence, along with his wife, Pat. The Queen with Edward Heath and Richard Nixon and his wife Pat at Chequers, the official country residence of the prime minister in Buckinghamshire in 1970. (PA Images) Read more: Duchess of Cambridge is a 'peacemaker' says her uncle The next two presidents were Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. Story continues She met Ford in the US in 1976, as the nation celebrated its bicentennial. She carried out a state visit that year. And in 1977 she welcomed Carter to London, in her silver jubilee year. The Queen Mother and Prince Philip were also present at the dinner for the president. The Queen toasts president Gerald Ford during a state visit to the USA in July, 1976. (EMPICS Entertainment Photo.) The Queen with her mother and husband and Jimmy Carter at Buckingham Palace in 1977. (PA images) The Queen invited Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy to stay at Windsor Castle in 1982 and the two were pictured riding alongside each other in the grounds of Windsor Great Park. Images from the state dinners also show they shared a few jokes over the course of their evenings together. They met again in the US in 1983, when she toured the west coast of the country. The Queen sharing a joke with Reagan at Windsor Castle in 1982. (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images) After Reagan came the first of the George Bush dynasty, as Bush snr came into office. He visited her in 1989 in London, having lunch with her at Buckingham Palace. She visited him in the US in 1991, though the meeting became known as 'podiumgate' because all that could be seen of her as she gave a speech on the White House lawn was her hat. The Queen's face was obscured by the microphone during the speech. (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images) The Queen with George Bush Snr. on the White House lawn in Washington DC in 1991. (Anwar Hussein) In between Bush Snr and George W Bush came Bill Clinton. She met Clinton on several occasions, including in 2000 when he was accompanied by his wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea at Buckingham Palace. Bush then became president, and was another US leader to meet the Queen several times. He travelled to the UK in July 2001, meeting her at Buckingham Palace, and then two years later he made a state visit, the first official one by a US president. In 2007 she went to the US and found herself the victim of one of his gaffes as he aged her by 200 years in a speech. He followed his mistake with a wink to Her Majesty. Bill Clinton, his wife Hillary (left) and his daughter Chelsea (right) with the Queen at Buckingham Palace in London in 2000. (PA Images) The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh with George Bush and wife Barbara at the White House, Washington DC, on the sixth day of her state visit to the US in 2007. (PA Images) The Queen also met Barack Obama a few times during his eight years in office. She forged a warm relationship with his wife Michelle Obama and they were even pictured putting their arms around each other on one occasion, despite touching the Queen usually being a breach of protocol. They met before the G20 summit in 2009, and for a state visit to the UK in 2011. The Obamas also got on well with the wider family, meeting the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry as well as a toddler Prince George in 2016. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh with Barack Obama and Michelle Obama in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace ahead of a State Banquet, in 2011. (PA Images) Donald Trump met the Queen twice during his one term presidency, and was hosted along with his wife Melania at Windsor Castle in 2018. He returned for a state visit in 2019, and brought along many other members of his family. He had a great affection for the Queen who he called a "tremendous woman". But he was caught making a mess of protocol during the viewing of a guard of honour because he stepped in front of the Queen. The Queen and Donald Trump during the commemorations for the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day landings at Southsea Common in Portsmouth in 2019. (PA Images) The Queen's meeting with Biden will come the day after Trooping the Colour, the annual official celebrations of her birthday, and be in Windsor, where she has spent most of the pandemic. As he will be the 14th president she has worked with and 13th she has met, it means she will have met more than a quarter of all the US presidents who have ever been in office. Biden is the 46th president of the US. He will be in the UK from 10 June for the G7 summit which commences on 11 June. He will be joined by his wife Dr Jill Biden, who will return to the US after meeting the Queen on 13 June, the White House confirmed. Watch: Buckingham Palace responds to claims of prejudiced hiring practices Best Life Diabetes is a condition that can quietly sneak up on you well before you notice that something is off, but getting an early diagnosis is important to your treatment. Knowing some of the early signs of diabetesincluding the more unusual oneswill give you a good idea of when it's time to see a doctor. And there's one symptom that you can spot easily, if you know what to look for: Experts say that early on, diabetes can manifest in a specific way on your skin. Read on to find out what kind of mar Shanghai (Gasgoo)- DiDi Autonomous Driving, the self-driving technology arm of Didi Chuxing (DiDi), is about to raise over $300 million, of which $200 million will be invested by GAC Group, according to a local media outlet. Photo credit: DiDi The new funding will value DiDi Autonomous Driving higher than Chinese autonomous driving startup Pony.ai, said a person briefed on the matter. The latter completed its Series C financing in February, bagging $367 million in total. DiDi Autonomous Driving last month entered into a strategic partnership with GAC Aion, a wholly-owned subsidiary of GAC Group, for the development of fully self-driving new energy vehicles (NEVs) available for volume production. Under the agreement, the duo will explore a joint venture partnership and project cooperation for smart vehicle development, combining DiDi Autonomous Driving's hardware and software R&D capabilities with GAC Aion's NEV engineering and manufacturing expertise. The two parties will co-develop a self-driving NEV model for large-scale commercial application and move at full force for the vehicle's volume production, through the innovation across such basic areas as drive-by-wire chassis, autonomous driving sensors, and system integration. Apart from GAC Group, DiDi Autonomous Driving also works with BAIC Group. In June 2020, the two companies signed a framework agreement to have an in-depth cooperation on fields of automobile, AI and car sharing. At the 2020 World Intelligent Connected Vehicle Conference (WICV), a BEIJING EU7 that carries DiDi's autonomous driving solution made its world's debut and offered trial rides to the public. DiDi launched its autonomous driving project in 2016 and upgraded it to a wholly-owned subsidiary in 2019. For the time being, DiDi Autonomous Driving has been permitted to test autonomous cars on open roads in Beijing, Shanghai, Hefei, Suzhou, and California. Help India! The Al Ameen Movement founded by Dr Mumtaz Khan has produced thousands of doctors, engineers, lawyers, pharmaceutical scientists, journalists, professors, judges, IAS and IPS officers. Al Ameen educational society runs 35 nursery and primary schools, 25 high schools, 3 Degree Colleges, 2 teacher training colleges, one law college and college of education each, a management college, one pharmacy college, arts and science college plus an orphanage. Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat | TwoCircles.net Support TwoCircles The founder of the Al Ameen movement Dr Mumtaz Ahmad Khan is no more with us. Also known as Baba e Taleem or Sir Syed of the 21st century, Dr Mumtaz left for heavenly abode on May 27 at Bangalore. When I see his contribution to society, especially in empowering Muslims through education, I feel successive governments havent recognized his stature and contribution? Every year the Government of India gives away Padma awards to eminent people for their work in various fields which includes social service and education as well. After doing some research I found that Dr Mumtaz was not even recommended for Padma Shri which is the category III award among Padma awards. If we compare many Padma awardees of the recent past, the work done by Dr Mumtaz is immense. The Padma Awards are one of the highest civilian honours of India announced annually on the eve of Republic Day. The Awards are given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher-order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service). The award seeks to recognize achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved. The Padma Awards are conferred on the recommendations made by the Padma Awards Committee, which is constituted by the Prime Minister every year. The nomination process is open to the public. Even self-nomination can be made. I wont criticize the present BJP Government at the centre for having failed to recognize the services of Dr Mumtaz Ahmad Khan. However, I would like to question the Congress that remained in power for so many years but could not even confer the Padma Shri award on Dr Mumtaz Ahmad Khan? Background As I pay my tribute to Dr Mumtaz Ahmad Khan through this article, had Dr Khan gone through this piece in his lifetime he would have been shocked. The reason is I had a heated argument with him long back at the Al Ameen Medical / Dental College campus in Bijapur. This was way around February 14 2000 when I was a student of the institution having just finished my Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degree. I can never forget that fateful day. I am sure until his death Dr Mumtaz Khan would also have remembered that day and the incident. I was young at that time and my argument was not wrong, but the way I argued with him, I should not have done that. Paying him tribute through this article will be like seeking an apology from him because I never got a chance to meet him again until he left us. For a few years, after I came back to Kashmir I had a strong grudge against Dr Mumtaz Khan but when I got myself involved in social service and started working for the empowerment of people I realized how great his contribution was for the society at large and Muslims in particular. Dr Mumtaz Ahmad Khan was born on September 6 1935. He belonged to a well off and educated family in Tiruchirappalli city in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. His father Y. Ismail Khan was a well-educated man and had done his law degree from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). His mother Sadathun Nissa Begum was also an alumnus of AMU who had done her graduation around the early 1930s. Dr Mumtaz Khans grandfather was a rich man who owned huge land in Tiruchirapalli and other places. He was also a visionary man who gave good education to his children. Jamal Mohammed College Trichy Dr Mumtaz Khans early education took place at Bishop Heber High school, a reputed Christain Missionary school in Tiruchirappalli city also called Trichy which was his hometown. He completed his medical degree (MBBS) from Stanley Medical College under Madras University in 1963. Dr Mumtaz was appointed as a lecturer in the same medical college and later on got admission in the Master of Surgery (MS). He had to discontinue his masters degree because of his marriage and subsequent migration to Bangalore. In Trichy local Muslim businessmen Haji Mohammed Jamal sahib and Janab N M Khaja Mian Rowther had set up a beautiful institution in the year 1951, The institution was named Jamal Mohammed College. The college operates under the Society of Jamal Mohammed College is spread over 87 acres of land. This college had a great influence on Dr Mumtaz Khans life. The Jamal Mohammed Khan College was not only a place of learning but it acted as a centre for intellectual development among educated Muslims. The educated Muslims of Trichy and surrounding places would come to the college campus and then discuss and deliberate upon various socio-economic and educational issues of people especially the Muslim community which was living in abject poverty and was educationally backward as well those days. The Jamal Mohammed College has played a pivotal role in the educational upliftment of people in Trichy and other areas of Tamil Nadu. Not only have the Muslims been benefited from this college but even thousands of Non-Muslims have also been educated from this college. From the year 1963 post-graduation courses were also started at Jamal Mohammed College. Dr Mumtaz Khan would often attend meetings at Jamal Mohammed College during his student days and even later. Those meetings strengthened his intellectual capacity which later on gave birth to Al Ameen Educational Society. Shifting to Bangalore After completing his MBBS, Dr Mumtaz Ahmad Khan shifted to Bangalore in 1965. The reason to shift to Bangalore was to start practising medicine in the city. Pertinently Dr Mumtazs in-laws also belonged to the same city plus his mother also hailed from Bangalore. But after spending a year or so in Bangalore Dr Mumtaz found that there was not even a single college managed by Muslims. He could not find an institution like Jamal Mohammed College in Bangalore. In the entire Bangalore district (urban and rural) there was only one school managed by Muslims those days. Initially, Dr Mumtaz Khan and few like-minded people set up the Bangalore Education Society which later on became Al Ameen Educational Society on the advice of Janab Qadir Hussain who was Dr Mumtaz Khans close associate. Al Ameen Arts & Science College In 1967 Al Ameen educational society set up its first college namely Al Ameen Arts & Science College in Bangalore city on a half-acre land that belonged to Dr Mumtazs in-laws. There were some houses on the land which were converted into classrooms. In an interview with a TV channel some years back Dr Mumtaz said that 23 students (19 boys and 4 girls) were enrolled in Al Ameen Arts and Science college in the first batch. In the next few years, the college roll rose to 300 which included Muslim and non -Muslim students both. In 1967 Karnataka state Wakf board allotted its land near Lalbagh to Al Ameen educational society. The land had earlier been encroached by some people, but despite the land being allotted to Al Ameen society, the matter went to court as some people filed fake cases against Dr Mumtaz. After almost 12 years a decision came in favour of the Al Ameen movement. Dr Mumtaz had to sell his and her wifes property to run the college affairs. Even the affiliation of the college with Bangalore University was also initially rejected due to a paucity of funds. Things became better after 1970. Many affluent businessmen and elite Muslims of Bangalore came to support the Al Ameen Movement. After the college got affiliation with Bangalore University, Government grants started coming which helped the management to pay salaries to the teaching staff and non-teaching staff. Dr Mumtaz was a great thinker and visionary Muslim. He paved a way for an educated woman of Bangalore namely Begum Abbasiya Mecci to be the first President of Al Ameen Educational Society in 1966. Begum Abbasiya was also a member of the Karnataka legislative council those days. She died in 1970 at an age of 48 years only. Medical, Dental & Engineering Colleges In 1984 Al Ameen Educational society under the aegis of Al Ameen Charitable Fund Trust established Al Ameen Medical College at Bijapur in north Karnataka. Bijapur is a historic city that remained the capital city of Adil Shahi kings for almost 200 years between 1489 to 1686. Bijapur now known as Vijayapura is more than 500 km from Bangalore. The idea behind setting up the medical college in Bijapur was to spread the wings of Al Ameen to other areas. Bijapur had a 60 % Muslim population but they were very backward both educationally and economically. When I joined the Al Ameen Dental college in 1995-96, Bijapur was still a backward area but it continued to develop day by day. In 2016 when I visited this place after many years, I could not believe I was in Bijapur. Al Ameen campus has brought an economic boom in the area surrounding the campus. After establishing a Medical College in 1984, Al Ameen management established a Dental College on the same campus around 1991. In 1999 a Nursing college was also set up there. The college provided not only education to students from Kashmir to Kanyakumari but it was a major source of employment as well for the local population. There are locals in the teaching faculty of Medical, Dental and Nursing colleges, plus dozens of people are employed as non-teaching faculty as well. Indirectly hundreds of people get employment through the Al Ameen campus as I mentioned already. Dr Mumtaz Khan some years back revealed that Al Ameen Medical College happens to be the first privately managed Medical Colleges in the world. As many colleges and schools affiliated with Al Ameen Movement were going through a financial crunch Dr Mumtaz Khan handed over affairs of Al Ameen Medical, Dental and Nursing Colleges in Bijapur to one of his friends namely Ziaullah Sheriff some 15 years back. Some old trustees continue to be there on Al Ameen Medical & Dental College trust. Mr Ziaullah Sheriff is a noted businessman from Bangalore who wanted to dedicate his rest of the life to the welfare of people especially for the educational empowerment of the Muslim community. Ziaullah Sheriff is efficiently running affairs of the Al Ameen campus in Bijapur. Al Ameen educational society runs an Engineering college namely Ghousia College of Engineering and Technology at Ramanagaram in the outskirts of Bangalore. The college was established in 1980 by Haji Nabi Sheriff under the aegis of Ghousia Industrial & Engineering Trust (GIET). This trust was established in 1962 under which an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) was established by Haji Nabi Sheriff to promote quality technical education. In 1985 Ghousia Womens Polytechnic College was established in Bangalore. Dr Mumtaz Khan was the founding Honorary Secretary of Ghousia trust. Presently Janab Ahmed Sheriff Siraj is the Chairman of Ghousia Industrial & Engineering Trust. Umar Ismail Khan son of Dr Mumtaz Khan is the Honorary Secretary. There are 8 trustees which included Dr Mumtaz Khan who acted as its treasurer as well until his death on May 27. There are many other professional and technical institutions affiliated with the Al Ameen movement. I am planning to write a book on the Al Ameen movement in the future and I will mention all the institutions affiliated with the Al Ameen educational society. Conclusion The Al Ameen Movement has produced thousands of doctors, engineers, lawyers, pharmaceutical scientists, journalists, professors, judges, IAS and IPS officers. Al Ameen educational society runs 35 nursery and primary schools, 25 high schools, 3 Degree Colleges, 2 teacher training colleges, one law college and college of education each, a management college, one pharmacy college, arts and science college plus an orphanage. Several other institutions operate directly or indirectly under the Al Ameen movement this includes Medical College, Dental College, Engineering College, Nursing College etc. These institutions are located in Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Telangana, Bengal, Assam, UP and many other states. Dr Mumtaz Khan in past served as pro-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). He has been a member of the central panel (India) of the Jeddah based Islamic Development Bank. Dr Mumtaz Khan has been the recipient Karnataka Rajyotsava award (1990), Kempegowda award. He well deserved the Padma award but the way it was denied to him in his lifetime will continue to pinch many of his admirers. Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat is an Acumen Fellow. He is Kashmir based social activist, columnist and independent researcher. He can be reached at [email protected] Like thousands of Afghan translators who served with NATO forces, Nazir Ahmad fears for his life as the US-led alliance scrambles to pull out of the country in the coming weeks. "The situation is deteriorating now as foreign forces leave," he told AFP in Kabul. "We are scared of the insurgents. They know our faces." Afghans who worked for international armed forces face a threatened wave of Taliban reprisals and fear that resettlement plans by alliance members will leave many of them and their relatives still vulnerable. Ahmad, 35, who is now in the Afghan capital, worked with British forces for two years in the restive southern province of Helmand, and has applied for relocation to the UK to escape the increased threats to former local staff. "The insurgents, especially the Taliban, will take revenge and cut off our heads," he said, explaining the Islamist militia considers former local staff "spies" and "foreign allies". - Accelerated relocation - Over the past two decades, dozens of Afghan translators have been killed and tortured in targeted assaults by the Taliban. Many more have been injured in attacks on foreign troops during patrols in armoured vehicles. Britain announced on Monday that it would accelerate relocation for its Afghan staff who worked with the military, offering priority to any current or former locally employed staff deemed at risk. The UK has relocated 1,360 locally employed Afghan staff throughout the whole of the 20-year conflict, and says more than 3,000 Afghans are expected to be resettled under the accelerated plans. But Ahmad's contract with the British Army was terminated in 2012, for an alleged security breach, making his right to relocation in the UK uncertain. The government says that every dismissal during the conflict was valid and cases can only be reviewed in exceptional circumstances. Those who were dismissed for minor offences can be considered for relocation with the presumption of approval, but others who are deemed a security threat will continue to be excluded, it says. Story continues "They fired me while on a patrol with British forces for carrying an old Nokia phone that had no camera," Ahmad said, adding that friends had been sacked for low-level infractions like arriving late for work. British government figures show that 1,010 interpreters -- roughly a third of all those employed in the period -- were dismissed between 2001 and 2014. Translators like Ahmad, who said he had routinely risked his life with British forces, say the Taliban do not consider why staff were dismissed. "We put our life in danger," he said. "Now we are seen as infidels looking for British citizenship." - Clock ticking - Retired Colonel Simon Diggins, the former British attache in Kabul and now a campaigner for the Sulha Alliance for Afghan interpreters, said the "clock was ticking" and questioned if Afghan translators could be relocated in the remaining time. He said mistakes made in the handling of rejected applications -- including a fire which destroyed records at Britain's sprawling Camp Bastion base in Helmand in 2011 -- showed that the management of locally employed staff was "unacceptably poor". There is still a lack of detail on whether sacked staff will be relocated, he said, adding that it was "not unreasonable to demand a fair, transparent, urgent and independent review of the cases of all those dismissed". Visas for repatriation to the United States for former local staff have dried up in recent years. Some US officials have argued that extremists posing as interpreters use the scheme to enter the country. A US embassy spokesperson in Kabul said there were approximately 18,000 Afghan applicants still in the country who had applied for a US Special Immigrant Visa (SIV). The backlog is roughly equivalent to the total number of Afghan workers who received visas in nearly two decades of conflict, according to a report by Brown University in April. - At risk - Omar, who asked that only his first name be used to protect his identity, worked for the US Treasury Department in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2009, and then in the visa section at the US embassy from 2010 to 2012. So far, his application to go to the United States has not been approved. "I'm left behind and my life is now at risk," he said, wearing a scarf and a mask over his head so that he could not be recognised. He said that most of his local colleagues at the time have already gone and have settled in the US, but his contract had been terminated after he'd failed a polygraph test. "I'm worried for my life and for the fate of my children. If anything happens to me, there is no breadwinner for my family," he said. US charge d'affaires in Kabul Ross Wilson said Washington "recognise(s) the debt that we owe to those who put their lives at risk on behalf of the United States", and described dealing with the backlog of applications as a "moral obligation". Officials are speeding up the evaluation process of SIV applications "as quickly as we possibly can", he added. For local staff like Omar, however, the final push by US officials may already be too late. He considered going to Europe on his own to escape the Taliban but the coronavirus pandemic made travel impossible. "I regret working for the US in Afghanistan," he said. "It was the biggest mistake of my life." burs-csp/phz/jit/kjm Cybercriminals struck a ferry service in the US state of Massachusetts on Wednesday, disrupting service between several upscale northeastern coastal communities. The Steamship Authority of Massachusetts reported the ransomware attack, which delayed its ferry service between Cape Cod and the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. "There is no impact to the safety of vessel operations, as the issue does not affect radar or GPS functionality," the company tweeted as it announced the hack. The cyberattack did partially disrupt the payment system, which moved to cash as the company said its ability to process credit cards was "limited." The Steamship Authority said on Facebook it "continues to work with our team internally, as well as with local, state, and federal officials externally, to address todays ransomware incident. "At this point, we are unable to release or confirm specific details of what occurred," the statement read. The FBI office in Boston had no immediate comment when contacted by AFP. Also on Wednesday New York City's train and bus system, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), said it was hacked on April 20. However it added that little damage was done and that riders were never at risk. An audit after the attack uncovered no signs that the operating systems had been affected, or that the hackers accessed information of clients or employees, MTA technical chief Rafail Portnoy said. These latest cyberattack revelations were announced just days after a ransomware attack on the US subsidiary of Brazilian-owned meatpacking giant JBS. The JBS cyberattack paralyzed some of its operations in the United States and impacted thousands of workers in Australia. US President Joe Biden said Wednesday he is "looking" at possible retaliation after the White House linked Russia to the JBS attack. The FBI attributed the cyberattack to "REvil and Sodinokibi," which experts have said are two names for the same hacking group with ties to Russia. Story continues Last month ransomware hackers forced the temporary shutdown of the huge Colonial fuel pipeline in the eastern United States. The pipeline's multi-day shutdown sparked panic buying in some eastern states, and ended when the company paid $4.4 million in ransom to the hackers. US authorities blamed the attack on a cybercriminal group called DarkSide believed to be based in Russia -- something Moscow denies. lbc/ch/bfm Jun. 2The Red Cross is assisting 14 people from eight families displaced by a Tuesday morning fire at a Marietta apartment complex. Firefighters were called to the fire at Westbury Park Apartments, at 1295 Franklin Drive, around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to Grant Pearson, fire marshal for the Marietta Fire Department. Pearson said the fire was under control about an hour later. Up to eight units were damaged in the blaze, he said. Red Cross volunteers provided the 14 people with temporary lodging, food, clothing, personal care items and health services, according to Sherry Nicholson, the organization's regional communications director. Investigators were able to get into the damaged buildings several hours after bringing the fire under control, and "the preliminary investigation is underway," Pearson said Tuesday, adding that residents of the building were also being interviewed. How old is too old to be a United States senator? Consider, for a moment, the octogenarians in office. Dianne Feinstein, the oldest sitting senator, turns 88 this month. She's served since 1992. Charles Grassley, three months younger, celebrates his 88th birthday in September. He's held the job for 40 years. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. Richard Shelby is 87. James Inhofe is 86. Pat Leahy is 81. The three men have served in the senate for a total of 106 years. And there are plenty more right behind them: Twenty-three members of the Senate are in their 70s; only one is under 40. According to the Congressional Research Service, the average age of senators at the beginning of this year was 64.3 years - the oldest in history. So begins the debate: Experience vs. new ideas? Career politicians vs. short timers? Old vs. young? Boomers vs ... everybody else? Senior senators often stay for decades because voters are reluctant to give up the perks of incumbency: seniority, committee chairmanships and all the money poured into their states. West Virginia's Robert Byrd, who was in his ninth term when he died at age 92, funneled an estimated $10 billion to his constituents during his 51 years in the Senate, according to the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History. Which brings us to Feinstein. The senior senator from California, who has served for 28 years, has spent the last year defending her fitness for the job. During the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, liberals believed Feinstein was far too conciliatory and called for her to give up her seat on the Judiciary Committee. But there is also a whispering campaign about Feinstein's alleged cognitive decline: After what Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called a "serious talk" with Feinstein, she gave up her seat as the ranking Democrat on Judiciary in November. (Schumer's office did not respond to questions about the substance of the talk.) A December New Yorker article, citing anonymous sources, chronicled Feinstein's memory lapses and other signs of age-related impairment. Story continues In March, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom made headlines when he said he would replace Feinstein with a Black woman if she stepped down before her term ends. The remarks created a firestorm; Newsom walked them back the following day, saying he was simply answering a hypothetical question. "I have no expectation that she'll be stepping aside - quite the contrary," he said on "The View." "I talk to her quite often. She is as lucid and focused and as committed to the cause of fighting not only for our state as a representative, the senior senator of California, but this nation in her senior status as someone who's been in the Senate, with great respect across the aisle, for as long or longer than most." For her part, Feinstein told reporters they were making a "mountain out of a molehill" and insisted she was physically fine: "I think that's pretty obvious." Feinstein won a sixth term in 2018 when she was 85, easily defeating a more progressive candidate. Is all this chatter about her fitness a way for critics to replace her with a younger, more liberal senator? Or are there real issues about her health and acuity? "Age may bring challenges, but it's also a benefit when it comes to being in Congress," she said in a statement for this article. "I've seen changes and trends not only in California but across the country - not to mention an evolving Senate. Living through that has made me much more effective at my job." Seniority and depth of experience aren't inconsequential, she wrote, allowing her a "long-term focus" to issues wildfires, immigration, climate change and other issues. "I'll put my record up against anyone's, and I remain as active as ever when it comes to solving problems," said Feinstein. "That's why I was re-elected in 2018, and that's what I'll continue to do." The question is: For how long? - - - In 2003, South Carolina's Strom Thurmond retired at the ripe old age of 100 after 48 years in the Senate. The not-so-hidden secret was that his staff did everything but actually push the vote button during his last term, which ended six months before his death. The Founding Fathers created minimum age requirements for serving in the House, Senate or as president but they did not address a maximum. Today the question is: How long should someone be allowed to work? In 1986, Congress ended mandatory retirement for most professions; in only a few is it legal for employees to be forced to leave by a specific age (usually by 65): the military, law enforcement, commercial pilots, air traffic controllers and, in a few states, judges. Is creating laws for 330 million Americans any less important than flying a plane? Especially given the travel, the hours, the stress that senators endure? In Canada, where senators are appointed instead of elected, a mandatory retirement age of 75 was implemented in 1965. In 1996, Bill Cohen, R-Maine, was one of 13 senators who voluntarily retired - an unusual exodus. Just 56, he had served three terms and could have won again. "In the Senate, you either were defeated or you died - that was the rule coming up," says Cohen, now 80. "You could hold on to your seat as long as you were physically able to do so. You rarely were defeated and you rarely retired." But Cohen was tired - of the constant traveling, the fundraising, the partisan nastiness - and began thinking of the future. "It was basically, 'I've got one more professional chapter in my life,'" he says. "'And I want to take it when I'm still physically and mentally capable of doing my best.''" Cohen went on to serve as secretary of defense for President Bill Clinton, followed by a successful consulting and writing career - inspired by Majority Leader George Mitchell, who stunned his colleagues when he left the Senate in 1995 at age 61 and became an acclaimed international diplomat. But some senators stick around longer than they should, convinced that they still have important work to do and knowing they'll likely never find another job with the same power and prestige. Traditionally, it was considered rude to bring up a politician's age. Republican Sen. Margaret Chase Smith, famous for her vocal opposition of McCarthyism, was shocked when a young challenger brought up her failing health during the 1972 primary battle. He didn't win, but he intimated that the then-75-year-old was not the vibrant woman Maine voters had elected 24 years earlier. Smith lost the general election. "Is it ageism to say someone is too old to carry out a job? And who decides that?" says Cohen. "Some people are old at the age of 40, mentally or philosophically, and some are young at the age of 90." Mike Kim, the owner of Grub's Pharmacy, raised eyebrows in 2017 when he told STAT News that he routinely sent Alzheimer's medication to Capitol Hill. "It makes you kind of sit back and say, 'Wow, they're making the highest laws of the land and they might not even remember what happened yesterday.'" There are ways to nudge a politician toward the door, says political scientist Larry Sabato, founder of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. In 1960, Ted Green of Rhode Island was 92, the oldest sitting senator at that time. "They almost had to use sleight of hand to get him out of the Senate. He'd been forced to give up his committee chairmanship, but he still wanted to run for re-election and they 'missed' the deadline for filing. Isn't that something? His staff missed the deadline." Green lived to age 98; had he ran and won, he would have served a full fifth term. But that's the exception. Most of the time, it is voters who decide who represents them and how long. "Most Americans hate Congress, but love their congressman," says Sabato. "They're responsible for having elected that person, so surely they've done a good job. It's those other people in other districts that are the problem. So if they re-elect Dianne Feinstein or Sen. Grassley at an advanced age, that's because their judgment is that the incumbent can deliver more - or is better than the alternatives." Of course, voters don't always know everything happening behind the scenes. But in a democracy, he says, "We all have to live with the choices we make." - - - What if there were another way? The easiest way to address an aging Congress is term limits, an idea that's wildly popular with voters but somehow never gets passed. In January, Ted Cruz, along with Marco Rubio and other GOP colleagues, introduced yet another bill calling for a constitutional amendment to limit senators to two six-year terms and House members to three two-year terms. The bill does not directly address the issue of age. "For too long, entrenched, career politicians have sought to curry favor with special interests rather than serve the interests of the American people," Cruz, 50, said in a email. "That's why an overwhelming bipartisan majority of Americans support term limits - because the corrupt swamp they see in Washington is a direct result of political careerism." Joe Biden is the oldest president to take office - but the position is term-limited, and his health gets more scrutiny than a senator's. When that limit was being proposed, President Harry Truman wrote a handwritten note saying they should be extended to Congress. "Twelve years of Washington is enough for any man ... We'd help to cure senility, and seniority - both terrible legislative diseases." Republicans ran on the issue in 1994 as part of their Contract With America, but the Supreme Court shut down the debate the following year when it ruled in U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton that states cannot set limits for U.S. representatives or senators that are not specifically enumerated in the Constitution. "Term limits cut against the self-interest of every politician in Washington," says Nick Tomboulides, executive director of U.S. Term Limits. "And as the old saying goes, the chickens are not going to vote for Colonel Sanders." So Tomboulides, 31, is going from state to state, trying to drum up enough support to bypass Washington. A 2019 Fox News poll reported that 80 percent of respondents favored establishing congressional term limits, including 86 percent of Republicans and 77 percent of Democrats. Over time, they just become cogs in the machine," he says of Congress. "They become assimilated to the leadership system, to the seniority system. They grow out of touch and they become beholden to special interests and lobbyists." Barack Obama echoed that sentiment in 2017 when he spoke at the Global Citizen Forum in Brazil. "I see in the U.S. Congress people who've been there 20, 30, 40 years," he said. "And because they're still there, they're blocking the 25- or 30- or 35-year-old who is more of their time and could be more innovative and creative solving the problems we face today rather than the problems we faced 35 years ago." Senior senators' age can become painfully obvious when they're talking about the internet and social media during hearings with tech moguls. Tomboulides says, "We actually have a joke around here: We don't call them congressional hearings, we call them commercials for term limits." Norm Ornstein, a political scientist at the American Enterprise Institute, says term limits might bring in younger senators - but also politicians less interested in legislating and more interested in advancing themselves. That means the real power effectively ends up in the hands of staffers and lobbyists. He points to California, which enacted state legislature term limits in 1990 and in 2012 modified them to create a lifetime maximum of 12 years. "The whole idea was to channel ambition in a different way: If you're only there for a limited period of time, you're going to be more focused on doing the right thing," he says. "The reality is exactly the opposite: What ends up happening is you channel ambition in exactly the wrong way. There is less interest in institutional preservation or maintenance. Why would you do something that benefits an institution that you're going to be leaving? You want to do something that has a big splash now so that you can use it to move to your next job." Ornstein is concerned about the loss of institutional memory and relationships (especially in the Senate) if members would be limited to two terms. Critics of term limits point to Ted Kennedy, who served 46 years and did most of his important legislation during his last terms. Or they cite Bob Dole and Joe Biden, who did significant work throughout very long careers. "Many of the best contributions that I have seen in the Senate have come from people who've been there four or five terms. If Ted Kennedy had been forced out of the Senate by a term limit, it would have been a tragic thing for the institution," he says. But he adds, "At the same time, there are many examples of those who have lost a step or more and who begin to lose something cognitively. It's a problem, and I don't have a good answer for it." Meanwhile, Feinstein has filed papers with the Federal Election Commission for a 2024 re-election bid. It was a formality, according to her office, not an indication of her plans. If she runs, that's up to the voters. Related Content Bird lovers are grappling with honorary names linked to racists. Audubon tops the list. In Peru's pandemic election, a rural schoolteacher challenges a political dynasty Wolfgang Van Halen shares a famous name, but his music is his own SINGAPORE Actor Shane Pow Xun Ping indicated on Thursday (3 June) that he will plead guilty to the drink driving charge he is currently facing. Pow, 30, was earlier charged under the Road Traffic Act for having a proportion of alcohol in his body that exceeded the prescribed limit. His plead guilty mention was fixed for 14 July. The actor was also convicted of drink driving in July 2014. He was fined $1,500 and disqualified from driving for a year for that offence. Repeat drink driving offenders face a mandatory jail term of up to two years and a fine of between $5,000 and $20,000. According to his charge sheet, he committed his most recent offence on the night of 17 September last year while driving a van along Java Road towards the direction of Nicoll Highway. At the time, Pow had no less than 49 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath, according to court documents. This exceeded the prescribed limit of 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The Mediacorp actor was talent-spotted in the 2011 Singapore Manhunt finals. He has since starred in popular dramas such as When Duty Calls in 2018 and Mister Flower, which aired last year. Mediacorp parted ways with the actor after his drink driving charge was reported in the media on 22 April. The company said in a statement that Pow had not informed the artiste management team about the incident. Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore Related stories: Mediacorp officially parts ways with actor Shane Pow Singaporean actor Shane Pow charged for drink driving By Ju-min Park and Mari Saito TOKYO (Reuters) -Taiwan is in talks with COVID-19 vaccine makers like Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson for more supplies, its foreign minister said on Thursday while expressing appreciation to Japan for considering donating much needed shots. Taiwan has been a model for how to control the pandemic, but a recent spike in domestic infections has increased the need to inoculate people faster. During a video call with international media in Japan, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu repeated complaints that China, which claims the island as its own territory, has hampered efforts to secure more vaccines, and kept Taiwan excluded from the World Health Organisation. So far, Taiwan has received only the Moderna Inc and AstraZeneca Plc vaccines. But Wu said his government was "negotiating with individual companies like Pfizer" and J&J, while expressing confidence in its domestic vaccine rollout. "When and if our own vaccines are rolled out toward the end of July, I think this will become the most important supply for the vaccine demand here in Taiwan," Wu said. Johnson & Johnson was not immediately available for comment. Responding to Reuters request for comment, Pfizer said: "As Taiwan is outside the scope of Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine collaboration agreement with BioNTech, we will have to refer you to BioNTech for any questions on this matter." BioNTech did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Wu did confirm, however, that the German government has helped with talks underway between Taiwan and BioNTech SE, after a deal fell through earlier this year. Taiwan had blamed China for blocking that deal. Beijing, which has offered to supply Chinese-made vaccines as well as BioNTech shots via the German firm's Chinese partner Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd, has denied that accusation. Wu also cited Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi as saying that Japan is "seriously and positively" considering donating vaccines to Taiwan. "Taiwan and Japan are always very good partners. And in times of difficulties, we always try to reach out to each other," Wu said. Story continues Japan plans to donate about 1.2 million AstraZeneca vaccines to Taiwan, public broadcaster NHK reported. About 3% of Taiwan's 23.5 million people have been inoculated, and the government has been scrambling to ensure the millions of vaccines it has ordered arrive on time amid global shortages. (Reporting by Ju-min Park and Mari Saito; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Simon Cameron-Moore and Mark Heinrich) A high school senior in Louisiana was turned away from his graduation ceremony after showing up in sneakers, which didn't meet the dress code. A teacher then gave him the shoes off of his own feet so he could attend. Nikki Battiste has the details. Video Transcript - All right. Graduation day was nearly a disaster for a Louisiana teenager until a teacher solved his problem when he jumped in with both feet. Here's CBS' Nikki Battiste. NIKKI BATTISTE: Teacher John Butler has a pretty good reason for standing in his socks at his high school graduation. He had given student Daverius Peters the shoes off his feet. JOHN BUTLER: Daverius came up to me in a panic and he said, Mr. John, they're not going to let me graduate. And I said, why? And he said, because of the shoes that I'm wearing. NIKKI BATTISTE: A school representative barred Daverius from his Louisiana high school's graduation ceremony, saying his shoes didn't meet the dress code. The 18-year old says he was pacing outside when he saw Butler's familiar face and told the teacher what happened. JOHN BUTLER: It was just a no brainer to me to just take my shoes off and give them to him. NIKKI BATTISTE: They were big shoes to fill, two sizes too big. DAVERIUS PETERS: It just looked more like they were slippers. NIKKI BATTISTE: What did you feel in that moment? DAVERIUS PETERS: I felt like, the joy. That whole day, I couldn't wait to 6 o'clock. I was ready to graduate. NIKKI BATTISTE: What does Mr Butler mean to you? DAVERIUS PETERS: He's a motivator. He's a hero. NIKKI BATTISTE: The extraordinary man in this picture exemplifying a teachable moment no textbook ever could. JOHN BUTLER: Be kind to one another. Be thoughtful. Be empathetic. Try to understand where other people are coming from. And I try to lead by example everyday. - Daverius James Peters. NIKKI BATTISTE: Nikki Battiste, CBS News, New York. - And the school tells us it's going to plan to change the dress code. And what's next for Daverius? He wants to join the Air Force. We'll be right back. Help India! The Gujjar-Bakarwal live in the hilly areas of the Indian subcontinent, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Pakistan, Tibet. The nomadic community is one of the regions most backward tribes and remain educationally, economically, politically, and socially backwards and do not have access to adequate medical facilities. As recent deaths in the community have raised concerns for Covid-19, a TCN Ground Report looks at how the community is responding to Covid-19 and the impact the virus has had on their annual migratory plans and selling of dairy products. Support TwoCircles Shadab Farooq | TwoCircles.net JAMMU After some deaths due to respiratory illnesses in the nomadic Gujjar-Bakerwal community in Jammu and Kashmir, activists and stakeholders have called for conducting Covid-19 tests in the community as the cause of death remains unknown. While some have attributed the deaths to Gujjar Lung (a type of domestic pneumoconiosis commonly seen in an ethnic group residing in the hilly regions of the Indian subcontinent), others have raised concerns about Covid-19. Pertinently, patients with a history of significant exposure to wood smoke often present with chronic respiratory complaints including symptoms as dry cough and shortness of breath. This type of illness is common among the Gujjar-Bakerwal community. The Gujjar-Bakarwal live in the hilly areas of the Indian subcontinent, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Pakistan, Tibet. The community is one of the regions most backward tribes and remain educationally, economically, politically, and socially backwards and do not have access to adequate medical facilities. The community typically lives in ill-ventilated mud houses with a Chullah (oven) for burning biomass. Wood, cow dung, dried grasses, and other biomass materials are widely used to cook food, heat homes, and provide lighting, and are usually burned for 12-16 hours a day. While the deadly coronavirus has not wreaked havoc in these remote areas, preventive steps such as movement restrictions have had a significant impact on this nomadic community. The tribal population are aware of the disease but are less aware of social distancing norms and the symptoms of Covid-19. Lack of medical facilities Mureed Ahmed, 23, who lives in Upper Dandi Village, about 240 kilometres from Jammu, travelled fifteen kilometres to Bhaderwah by foot, the nearest town, to get medicine for his ailing father, Fareed Ahmed, 50, but was severely beaten by police who were enforcing the Corona curfew. My father has been on medications for the past two years due to severe kidney and respiratory problems. We live in a remote hilly area where we have to travel long distances to get medicines. My mother died three years ago as a result of a dry cough and shortness of breath for which we were unable to obtain proper medical attention. Now that my father is on his deathbed as well, I am doing whatever I can to save him, said Mureed Ahmed. Dakku Begum, 48, of Udhampurs Thanua village, has been cooking on a Chullah for the past thirty years and suffers from a serious dry cough that she ignores. When asked about her symptoms and whether she wants to go for a Covid-19 test, Dakku Begum said, Corona does not exist in our village. These diseases affect only urban dwellers. I have had a dry cough for the past five years and there was no Coronavirus back then. My late mother had a dry cough as well. This is an issue that most women in our village have, but it is not related to Corona. We inhale wood smoke all day, and we often suffer from dry coughs and respiratory difficulties. Suspicion mars migratory plans, selling dairy products As the cases of Covid-19 are on the rise in Jammu and Kashmir, the Gujjar-Bakarwal population in the far-flung hilly areas of the Union Territory are finding it difficult to sell their dairy products and continuing their migratory plans. Noor Hussain, 50, a Panchayat member of Laksuru Village in Doda district had to sell his two buffaloes in last years lockdown to make ends meet. As our community moves downhill to the towns with cattle and sheep, people look at us with suspicion due to this disease. It is as if we are the ones carrying the disease with us, Noor Hussain said. But we are the one barely scraping by, he added. Reasoning why the community has not gone for Covid-19 tests, Noor Hussain said, People from our group no longer travel to the city or towns to escape the suspicion directed. Another explanation why the population undergoes minimum Covid tests or none at all is because the medical personnel do not come up to the hills. Vaccination is far-off idea for Gujjar-Bakerwals On April 24, Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said, We must ensure that the guidelines provided from time to time in villages are followed. This time, we have the security protection of vaccines. As a result, we must ensure that everybody in the villages receives both vaccine doses. In response to the statement, Talib Hussain, 32, a Gujjar activist from Anantnag, Kashmir, told TwoCircles.net, Getting vaccinated is a far off idea for our community. On the ground, the government has not attempted to contact the Gujjar-Bakarwal community to conduct Covid-19 tests, he said. According to Talib Hussain, following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in the last year, there have been approximately six to seven deaths in the community. All of them were earlier diagnosed with respiratory problems and Tuberculosis and none of them was taken to the hospital because it was pointless to go to the hospital after the death, he said. Hussain said that many people in the community avoid going to the hospital as they are afraid of contracting the virus and bringing it back to the community in the hills. Most of us live in the high hills and we dont have access to medical care. Getting medical personnel up into the hills requires transportation, but there are few roads. They have to come by foot to get to us, Hussain explains. Hussain further said that many people in the community suffer from Asthma, a chronic cough, and tuberculosis. My uncle, who suffered from Asthma, died during the lockdown last year at home. It was an unexpected death, and we have no way of knowing if he died of Corona or Asthma since no Covid-19 tests were performed in our area or community and we didnt take him to the hospital either, he said. Hussain added that providing medical attention to the Gujjar-Bakarwal community is much needed now as we are witnessing many deaths whose real cause remains unknown. Dr Mohammed Ashraf Khatana, a doctor from the community who works in the medicine department of GMC Srinagar, told TwoCircles.net, Gujjar Lung is a complex disease, containing a combination of different diseases, primarily Asthma, Tuberculosis, shortness of breath, and dry cough. This is common in the Gujjar-Bakarwal community due to extensive exposure to wood smoke. However, Covid-19 causes pneumonia, while Gujjar Lung causes pulmonary fibrosis. Khatana points out that since the symptoms of both diseases are almost identical, it can be difficult to distinguish between them if adequate Covid-19 testing is not performed. Toyotas bZ4X BEV concept SUV started turning heads when it debuted at Auto Shanghai earlier this year, and its journey to the United States has already begun. The automaker confirmed yesterday that the concept vehicle has officially landed in its Plano, Texas headquarters, and that it plans to begin selling the angular crossover in the US sometime next year. (Heres hoping it gets less tongue twister-y name when it arrives.) Roughly the size of a RAV4, with the versatility to stand apart from other BEVs, it will be well-positioned in the sweet spot of the market, said Lisa Materazzo, VP of Toyota Marketing in a press release. When you consider the fact that Toyota routinely sells north of 400,000 RAV4s in the United States alone each year, its perhaps no surprise that the automaker expect the bZ4X BEV to do well around here. That said, there are some key differences in design here that give the bZ4X a more spacious, free-flowing feel the instrument cluster, for example, is set further back from the steering wheel than in most vehicles, and that sits a bigger-than-normal infotainment display and control cluster. The look isnt quite as minimal as what youd find in, say, a Tesla, but its all quite a bit sleeker than the interior of a 2021 RAV4. That clean, open cabin sits atop the companys new e-TNGA platform, which was developed in partnership with Subaru Toyota reportedly contributed its expertise in EVs while Subaru applied its considerable 4WD know-how. (To no ones surprise, Subaru plans to ship an electric SUV of its own called the Solterra based on the same framework.) As Toyota noted in 2019, the e-TNGA platform was designed to be modular: the placement of the front and rear motors are fixed, as are the width of the battery and the drivers position in relation to the front wheels, but wheelbase, number of batteries installed, overhangs, and other elements can be changed. Unfortunately, Toyota hasnt said much publicly about how fast its first e-TNGA EV can move, so well have to wait until the carmaker gets a little chattier. Trainer Bob Baffert calls Bowl of Soul "a really sweet filly. It's been pretty tough around the house." (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) Trainer Bob Bafferts two-year suspension from Churchill Downs rocketed through the horse racing world Wednesday and overshadowed Saturdays third leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes. This story is going to be with us for a while as it makes its way through the courts. What does it mean for California tracks? There are confusing aspects to the suspension, which well try to clear up. Does this mean Baffert wont have a Kentucky Derby runner for two years? Thats the intent of Churchill Downs, but a judge likely will provide the short-term answer when Bafferts legal team undoubtedly asks for a temporary restraining order. The key word there is temporary. A TRO is granted to mitigate any harm to an individual before a suit is filed, a jury is picked, a trial is held and a decision is made. Then it can be appealed. Will other tracks honor the suspension? Right now, this only applies to tracks owned by Churchill Downs Inc., which, in addition to its signature name racetrack, includes Arlington Park near Chicago, which will close later this year, the Fair Grounds in New Orleans, Turfway Park in Kentucky and Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania. Any other tracks that would join would do so on a voluntary basis. Can his horses run under another trainers name from the same barn? The ruling specifically excludes horses from running for any employee of Bob Baffert Racing Stables. Normally, when a trainer gets suspended for a short period, the horses just run under the name of the chief assistant. Its kind of a wink-wink arrangement. Its unlikely Baffert would want to test this practice, given the severity of the penalty and scrutiny on him. How can a track suspend a trainer without due process? The tracks would claim its their right to do what they want. Its their version of No shoes, no shirt, no service. It was somewhat tested two years ago when Stronach Group (which owns Santa Anita) barred Jerry Hollendorfer from running horses at any of its tracks after a series of fatalities. Other tracks, including those in New York, chose to honor the ban. Others, such as Churchill Downs, did not. Hollendorfer went to court and got a TRO to allow him to run at Del Mar. He tried the same thing in Los Angeles and Alameda counties and was denied a TRO. Looking for consistency? You wont find it. Story continues Can the California Horse Racing Board ban him? Not without due process. Youll notice that Baffert has been banned by Churchill Downs, not the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission or the New York State Gaming Commission. The violation did not occur in California, so you can expect the CHRB to allow the Kentucky regulators to make a decision and issue a penalty that most assuredly will be less than what Churchill Downs has imposed. States are bound to reciprocate any penalty issued by another jurisdiction. In other words, the CHRB wants no part of this decision. Will he be allowed to run at Del Mar in a month? Thats a good question and one Del Mar officials would surely prefer not to have to answer. But they will have to make a decision. Santa Anita, which only has three weeks left in its current meeting, has decided to wait for the KHRC to conclude its investigation, a smart move with so little racing time left. Did the medication Medina Spirit tested positive for help him win the Kentucky Derby? There is no scientific evidence that betamethasone is a performance enhancer. Its an anti-inflammatory that is legal except that a horse cant test positive for it on race day. That is because it could hinder veterinarians in their pre-race exams. If a horse has an injury, heat radiates from the affected area. If the problem is treated with an anti-inflammatory such as betamethasone, it would suppress heat and a veterinarian might not discover that a horse is unsound. One possible defense that Bafferts attorneys will argue before the regulatory agencies is that the rule against betamethasone only applies to it in an injectable form, not an ointment, as Baffert says it was applied to Medina Spirit. Does this mean that Baffert is done as a trainer? There is no doubt that his specialty is getting horses ready to join the Kentucky Derby trail. Medina Spirit was his record-setting seventh win. If he were to lose two years of that business, it's unclear how many of his regular owners would come back at the conclusion of the suspension. In the end, Baffert's role in this business will be decided by the owners, not the tracks or courts. Can Baffert win this case? That is the ultimate question and it will remain unanswered for likely a couple years. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A former state trooper in South Carolina is accused of inviting a woman over instead of booking her at the county jail after he arrested on her on suspicion of a DUI. Donovan Jordan Hadley, 25, was arrested Wednesday and charged with misconduct in office, the South Carolina Department of Law Enforcement said in a news release. SLED agents booked Hadley at the Newberry County Detention Center the same jail where the alleged misconduct occurred. Surveillance footage from the detention center and Hadleys car camera reportedly captured the events from last summer. According to an arrest warrant, Hadley arrested a woman on a DUI charge and took her to the Newberry County Detention Center on July 26. Newberry is about an hour northwest of Columbia. But instead of booking her, SLED agents said he asked if she would like to go back to his house. She reportedly declined the offer, and Hadley drove the woman to her cousins house where he hugged her and complimented her appearance, officials said. According to the warrant, the trooper later texted the woman and offered to dismiss the DUI charge and give her license back if she came to his house. The S.C. Highway Patrol subsequently asked SLED to investigate the incident. Two charged in concert shooting that killed teen and injured 14 others, SC cops say Former SC officer charged after allegedly shooting a child in the head with a TASER SLED charges ex-Airbnb operator after hidden camera found in Aiken rental units Former President Donald Trump. Oliver Contreras/Getty Images Trump is increasingly fixated on overturning the election result, advisors told The Washington Post. Telling Trump he lost is like "p---ing into the wind," one advisor told The Post. Trump is avidly following the audit in Arizona and has held talks about others, the paper reported. Sign up for the 10 Things in Politics daily newsletter. Former President Donald Trump has become increasingly fixated on overturning the 2020 election result, with one advisor saying that trying to tell him that he lost was like "p---ing into the wind," The Washington Post reported on Wednesday. Despite a failure to prove in US courts that election fraud occurred, Trump has become more and more obsessed with efforts to disprove President Joe Biden's victory and won't listen to dissenting advice, The Post reported. The Post reported that nearly all the 2020 campaign advisors who'd spoken with the paper said they regarded his fixation on litigating the election as a waste of time. But he keeps returning to the topic, they said. When advisors leave challenging the 2020 election out of their drafts for his speeches, he goes off script, ad-libbing about the count in various states, The Post reported. The New York Times' Maggie Haberman suggested earlier this week that Trump believes he could be "reinstated" by August. The idea that Trump can be reinstated is a conspiracy theory based on the false premise that Biden did not legitimately win the 2020 election, Insider's Grace Panetta and Jake Lahut reported. But Trump has been energized by the election audit in Maricopa County, Arizona, and is trying to work out how to secure similar efforts in states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Georgia, advisors told The Post. Trump recently met with Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano at Trump Tower to talk about an audit in the state, The Post reported. Prominent Trump supporters and conspiracy theorists such as MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and Sidney Powell have also spread the unfounded claim that Trump could be reinstated. The Office of Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) Former President Donald Trump has reportedly met with a Pennsylvania lawmaker who has joined calls for his state to undertake an audit of the states 2020 election results similar to the widely-criticized effort in Arizona. The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Mr Trump met with Pennsylvania state senator Doug Mastriano, a top supporter of the former presidents baseless election fraud conspiracies, at his Trump Tower office in New York. The Independent has reached out for comment from the former presidents office. Mr Mastriano was engulfed in controversy earlier this year and faced calls for his resignation after he attended Mr Trumps Stop the Steal rally in Washington DC on the day of the 6 January attack on the US Capitol. His campaign was revealed to have spent thousands on charter buses, which he used to ferry supporters to the nations capital ahead of the attack that left members of Congress fearing for their lives and hiding in secure areas. Mr Mastriano recently joined a group of Pennsylvania state Republican lawmakers who traveled to Arizona to meet with GOP officials involved in that states audit of Maricopa Countys results, a widely criticized effort that has led to turmoil between the state Senate and the countys Board of Supervisors. Im not about overturning anything, he said Wednesday during his visit to Phoenix, according to The Wall Street Journal . Im just trying to find out what went right, what went wrong, and how do we have better elections in the future? The former president has reportedly continued to take an active interest in efforts to overturn his election defeat in recent months, and was reported by The New York Times Maggie Haberman this week to be telling supporters that he could be reinstated as president by August. Read More Republican who backed Arizona audit based on Trumps election lies now says it makes us look like idiots WASHINGTON The July Fourth fireworks show hosted by the Republican National Committee in Washington last summer caused $42,150 worth of damage, according to records obtained by the Democratic organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. CREW published four pages of documents Wednesday, including a letter the Department of Interior sent the RNC in February detailing the damage caused to the National Mall. The letter said damage was done to turf near the sidewalks by a forklift operator who drove at a high rate of speed" and to turf from the setup of fireworks and scorch marks from the fireworks. It said that a dumpster also struck a water fountain, and that "extensive compaction damage" was caused by "improper setup and security/setup/takedown vehicles driving throughout the turf." Photos included in the documents showed the damage done to the grass and water fountain. The RNC has since reimbursed the federal government, according to documents filed with the Interior Department and published by CREW. The records were obtained by CREW as part of a lawsuit to reveal the full cost to taxpayers of Trumps rampant use of Interior resources for self-aggrandizement, the organization said on its website. CREW said it previously reported that employees for the National Park Service worked nearly 4,000 hours on the fireworks show, costing $177,000, which CREW said the RNC reimbursed as well. The fireworks show was pushed by then-President Donald Trump even though D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser canceled related events, such as the annual Fourth of July parade, because of the pandemic. In 2019, Trumps military-style July Fourth parade in D.C. drained a special city fund designed to help finance extra security and anti-terrorism measures during large events. As CBS News' Mola Lenghi reports, life is slowly returning to normal as the U.S. emerges from the coronavirus pandemic. Companies are now beginning to ask their employees to return to the office. Then infectious disease physician Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis joins CBSN's Lana Zak to discuss the day's other coronavirus headlines. Video Transcript LANA ZAK: As we've been reporting, the Biden administration is pushing coronavirus vaccinations to get the country out of the pandemic. The CDC predicts cases and deaths will continue to drop over the next four weeks, but the president warns that trend could reverse in the fall in areas with few vaccinations. So far, 41% of the population is fully vaccinated, and nearly 51% has received at least one shot. Despite the slowing pace, life is also returning to normal here in the US. As Mola Lenghi reports, many employers are now being asked to bring their employees back to work. MOLA LENGHI: Essential workers never left. The service industry has slowly returned. And now with more than 40% of Americans fully vaccinated, it's the office employees' turn to go back. NEIL BLUMENTHAL: Our office is open, and we expect a mandatory return after Labor Day. MOLA LENGHI: Neil Blumenthal is co-CEO of eyeglass retailer Warby Parker, which employs about 3,000 people nationwide. He says the pandemic has forced companies to be flexible, like providing more opportunities to work from home. NEIL BLUMENTHAL: I think what COVID did was enable executives to look back and say, hey, do all these policies really makes sense? Is it going to ensure productivity? Is it going to ensure engagement? MOLA LENGHI: A new survey of business leaders obtained exclusively by CBS News finds 27% of their workforce will work remotely, 38% will work at a physical location, and 29% will go hybrid, alternating between both. While some may expect a new re-imagined workplace when they return, it may be more familiar than you think. What about the COVID-specific changes that people will see in the workplace? Story continues - Employees are ready to get rid of the mask. People will respect distance a little bit more. We are absolutely not going to be as underneath each other as fellow human beings as we were pre-pandemic. Other than that and the flexibility that we've come to see and come to expect, I think things are going to be a lot like they were pre-pandemic. MOLA LENGHI: But a new question companies are wrestling with is whether to require employees to be vaccinated. The US Equal Employment Commission says employers have the legal right to do so, but employees can claim medical or religious exemptions, potentially creating new tension in the workplace after a stressful year zooming from home. Well, companies that require their employees to get vaccinated could expose themselves to potential lawsuits, like the one filed by 117 employees against Houston Methodist Hospital. The hospital insists, Lana, it's simply trying to protect its patients. LANA ZAK: Yeah, very interesting, Mola. Thank you. Infectious disease physician Dr. Hlatshwayo Davis joins me now. It's great to see you again. Let's talk about these new ambitious goals, because US coronavirus vaccinations are slowing. But given how much the pace has slowed, do you think that we're going to reach President Biden's July 4 goal of 70% of adults receiving at least one dose? MATI HLATSHWAYO DAVIS: I will always keep hope alive. I believe that this slow is an expected slow. We absolutely knew that we would capture the most eager people in the population who wanted vaccines right at the beginning of this push, and that at this point we would be dealing with folks who still were unsure, maybe on the fence, and those who are resistant. And so his plan and this push is absolutely appropriate. I appreciate the thoughtfulness around considering barriers to folks being vaccinated. For everyone, it's not a vaccine confidence issue. I believe that is part of it. And for that, we continue to have trusted messengers providing trusted resources. But for some, access is key. And I continue to see this particularly in Black and brown communities who continue to be the lowest vaccinated despite increasing in leaps and bounds in their vaccinate-- in their vaccine confidence. And so this innovation around helping with transportation, helping with child care, and incentives is exactly what should be happening. I'd also like to see more mobile units going to folks' homes, because it's not always just about transport. Some people physically have difficulty being away from their home because of care, because of their own morbidities. And here in St. Louis, I sit on the board of health where our commissioner of health has done a phenomenal job of innovation and partnering with our transportation services and fire department to get vaccines to people's homes directly. This is exactly what we need for this final push. LANA ZAK: Well as you know, vaccine rates vary across the country. And the head of the CDC is worried that the virus could, quote, "rear its ugly head" in parts of the US with low vaccination rates. How great a threat is this? MATI HLATSHWAYO DAVIS: This is a great threat. I think some folks thought that there would be a magic date that once we reached a certain number we would be in the clear. But this is a very large country that's comprised of different jurisdictions, and case positivity rates and vaccination rates are not equal across the country. So for that reason, we have to make sure that we get this into people's arms as equitably as possible and make sure that there's standardizations across our geographic regions. Otherwise, as immunity wears down and as we move further away from this first shot-- remember, we don't know how long immunity will last. So far, we have data to suggest that it will last at least a year. But once we move along, we will definitely be at risk for surges and going right back to the place that I know all of us don't want to go back to. LANA ZAK: Yeah, and as you and I have discussed previously, how we fight the pandemic isn't exclusive just to our national borders, because many countries around the world are suffering. In fact, Argentina, Malaysia, South Africa, they've all reimposed lockdowns. "The New York Times" actually says that Paraguay and Uruguay have the highest fatality rates per person anywhere in the world, as well as experts warning that India's death toll might actually be higher than reported. Why do you believe there is such a stark contrast in pandemic recovery globally? And how do we bridge that gap? MATI HLATSHWAYO DAVIS: Well, a few things come into play here. Certainly the variants have made this really difficult for countries, especially middle and low-income countries around the world, to get on top of this virus. The South African strain specifically, the B1351 variant, has shown itself to be extraordinarily transmissible, but also has shown the capacity to evade immune tactics, making it really difficult to get on top of. A lot of research around the country, even within South Africa and Johannesburg, has been looking at this, and unfortunately, it does not seem to be as easily protected by existing vaccines. This makes it very difficult. If you add to that the fact that vaccine equity has not been achieved where we see in many places in the world some people may not even have access to a vaccine as early as 2022, this makes this an absolutely untenable situation. It is paramount that the United States and other countries who have resources, who are able to take the lead here must do so. A threat anywhere is a threat to us all. And so we need to see not only funding, but sustainable resources being made available to all regions, especially being most impacted right now South America, India, and places in Africa, to make sure they can make their own vaccines and make-- and do so sustainably. We also know that our supply much outweighs our demand right here as we continue to vaccinate folks. So we must be prepared to make donations to this country so that we can all get to where we need to be around the globe. LANA ZAK: Before we let you go, I want to tap into your knowledge as an infectious disease physician, because China's National Health Commission is tracking the first-known human case of a strain of the bird flu. What more do you know about this? And how concerned are you? And how concerned should we be? MATI HLATSHWAYO DAVIS: The fact that we're even talking about this and it's just one case goes to show, quite frankly, how much our efforts around COVID have helped us with influenza, the numbers not merely where we've seen them. This case that is being reported in Jiangsu, China, in the Jiangsu province in China is, in one case, a 41-year-old gentleman. And in that case, we are seeing that the man had this illness for about two weeks, but was actually able to be discharged from the hospital and is otherwise doing well. We obviously take these cases very seriously. Avian viruses are not commonly-- avian flu viruses do not commonly transfer through humans. But when they mix with a human virus, that is when it can pose a threat. So that is why we keep an eye on it. But however, this is exceedingly rare, just one case, but the WHO and everyone else being very mindful because, again, in middle and low-income countries, there is absolutely no capacity to deal with the threat of an influenza outbreak while we are still trying to combat this pandemic. LANA ZAK: So appreciate you putting that into perspective for us and for giving us a little bit of hope that-- that perhaps-- MOLA LENGHI: Yeah. LANA ZAK: --we are learning something from this experience. Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis, thank you for joining me, and thank you for all that you do. MOLA LENGHI: Wonderful to be back with you. See you soon. A man who fired on law enforcement officers who were trying to arrest him on murder charges in Dallas, leading to an eight and a half hour standoff Wednesday, was taken into custody with no injuries, according to a news release. Dallas police said a U.S. Marshals Task Force, made up of multiple law enforcement agencies, went around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday to the home of 28-year-old Julio Guerrero, who police suspect in the May 10 shooting of a 3-year-old and the May 2 killing of Francisco Villanueva Rodriguez, 35. Guerrero was kneeling behind a bush at a home at the 4500 block of Humphrey Drive in Dallas when officers arrived to arrest him, according to the release. When he emerged from the bushes he opened fire on police, it said. No officers were injured. A Dallas police officer and sheriffs deputy returned fire as Guerrero moved into the residence but did not hit him, according to the release. Law enforcement surrounded the residence as Guerrero barricaded himself inside, police said. They learned of five small children inside the residence and were able to get them out as they attempted to negotiate an end to the standoff. Several attempts to negotiate Guerreros surrender didnt work, though, and Dallas SWAT officers began firing tear gas into the home. The tear gas did not force Guerrero outside the residence and Dallas SWAT continued trying to negotiate his surrender, according to the release. They were able to engage him in a conversation just before 7 p.m. and he surrendered peacefully around 7:05 p.m. Guerrero is suspected in the shooting of the 3-year-old child May 10 in the 3900 block of Linfield Road, and the shooting death of Rodriguez on May 2 at Tiger Cabaret at 9135 E. R.L. Thornton Freeway. He also had three outstanding warrants on charges of aggravated assault. Guerrero is being held at the Dallas County Jail. He will also face charges of aggravated assault on a public servant for the shots he fired at law enforcement, police said. This comes one week after police in Flower Mound were involved in a nearly 10-hour standoff with a man who fired on officers. Police in that incident were responding to a call about a man who was armed and suicidal. The editor of one of Uganda's biggest newspapers has been summoned for questioning by police after reporting findings from a BBC investigation into last year's police killings in Kampala. Tabu Butagira is the editor the Daily Monitor which ran the story on its front page on 31 May. Tony Glencross, the managing director of Nation Media Group, which owns the newspaper, has also been summoned. The two men are suspected of publishing false news, libel, and incitement. Mr Butagira told the BBC the charges were "possibly politically motivated" and that the Daily Monitor's lawyers would dispute them. Mr Glencross said the two men would comply with the summons, but that he was currently self-isolating after exposure to Covid-19 and would not be able to appear before police until next week. The BBC Africa Eye documentary Three Killings in Kampala, released on 31 May, presented evidence that Ugandan security forces fired indiscriminately at passers-by during a crackdown in the capital Kampala last November, killing and injuring unarmed people including women and children. The Daily Monitor was not involved in the investigation. But following the evidence shown in the BBC film, the newspaper reported that on 18 November at about 14:00 local time, armed men in a police truck with the registration number UP5564 drove down Kampala Road firing live ammunition. In the space of a minute or so, seven people were shot, at least four of them fatally. The Ugandan government told the BBC that its security forces were responding to riots, and that the people who died on Kampala Road were killed by "stray bullets". There is no evidence that any of the seven people shot on Kampala Road were rioting. NBS, one of the country's main television networks, usually broadcasts BBC Africa Eye's investigations, but it did not show Three Killings in Kampala. However, the documentary went viral on YouTube and WhatsApp in Uganda on 31 May, prompting calls from Ugandans for accountability. Story continues "The damning evidence [the] government needed to prosecute officers who killed Ugandans in November is here," tweeted Raymond Mujuni, a Ugandan journalist and news anchor. "Let justice prevail." This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Another Twitter user, @drlubegaM, cited the evidence shown in the BBC film and challenged the chief political commissar of the Ugandan police, Asan Kasingye, to "produce the killers of our people". Jenifa Ochwo wrote: "My prayer has been that at the very least these atrocious acts would be documented for future reference. For the victims' sake. For history. Our ruler has attempted to erase this or to rewrite history. However, now there is a record." The summoning of Mr Butagira and Mr Glencross highlights the increasing hostility faced by Ugandan journalists, especially those who report on opposition to President Yoweri Museveni or who criticise his government. The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders registered nearly 40 attacks against journalists in Uganda between November 2020 and March 2021, including 21 physical attacks and eight arrests. It places the country 125th out of 180 in the World Press Freedom Index, and states that "acts of intimidation and violence against reporters are an almost daily occurrence in Uganda". The Daily Monitor has reported extensively on the November killings and has profiled many of the victims. "The brand of Daily Monitor's journalism is that which seeks to unearth the truth," Mr Butagira said. "This government prides [itself] on the restoration of human security. Therefore, a media house seeking accountability for civilians shot dead on Kampala streets should not be conflated as a crime in a civilised and democratic society. " Advertorial* By Stephen Chapis In 1944, having built more than 30,000 military aircraft and the end of the war just starting to crest the horizon, Grumman was looking to enter the civilian market that was sure to be flooded with DC-3s, DC-4s, and other military transports that could be readily converted to airliners. Remembering how the Goose came to be because of wealthy sportsmen who wanted a fast and comfortable amphibian for commuting between their jobs in New York City to their fishing lodges, Grumman revisited this concept. A little older and a lot wealthier, their call was for a safer, bigger, more comfortable and faster amphibian. Project leader Gordon Israel scaled down the advanced hydrodynamic hull of the Albatross, equipped it with a luxurious cabin for ten and designed a gracious, transport category executive transport. Grumman literature from the period described the Mallard as fast and sleek and offered such features as, richly appointed interior, high performance, and exceptional utility. Grumman proudly named the Mallard, The Worlds Finest Amphibian. Read the company official brochure: Announcing the Mallard On September 27, the first production aircraft (c/n J-2, CF-BKE), was delivered to McIntyre Porcupine Mines in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Over the next five years, Grumman sold an additional fifty-six Mallards to private individuals and corporate leaders such as Henry Ford and Bill Boeing in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and two to the Egyptian Air Force for use by King Farouk. When Mallards were followed by Grummans turboprop Gulfstream, many were stripped of their executive interiors, fitted with turboprops and repurposed as ocean commuters to fly heavy loads to and from open ocean conditions. Within ten years most were destroyed by salt-water corrosion that weakened structural components that were then easily cracked by landing and take-off conditions that far exceeded Grummans design limits. When the cost of rebuilding a corroded Mallards center section reached a million dollars and more, many were scrapped For quite some time there were only two Mallards that were known to have avoided saltwater operations, and thus retained their condition and value. When Loel Fenwick, the owner of the Mallard seen here, discovered a third pristine Mallard, he bought it to keep it from going to sea. Loel Fenwick told Warbird Digest how he caught the flying bug, Farmer friends in Zululand taught me the basics, the University of Cape Town Flying Club gave me wings and systems, and I learned most from an instructor who let me take turns flying a Piper Seneca ambulance. I flew the empty leg while he instructed. He flew back while I attended to the patient. However, the story of how Fenwick gained an affinity for flying boats reads like something straight out of Indiana Jones. Fenwick explained, My first [seaplane] flight was with my mother and thirty other passengers aboard a BOAC Short Solent Empire Class flying boat. It was five-day trip from Southampton, England to Johannesburg, South Africa. Each night we would land on water the Mediterranean, Nile River, Lake Victoria, Victoria Falls and finally the Vaal Dam, to be taken ashore by launch to a beautiful hotel while the Solent was serviced. I was an enthusiastic five-year-old. The captain and crew became my new best friends. Every moment was an adventure, from the water swirling against lower deck windows during take-off to the wonders of the flight deck to the roar of the engines being run up every morning before departure. All those memories are still with me today. After Fenwick emigrated to the United States in 1974, business kept him from flying for an entire decade. However, after he sold his business, he got right back into the cockpit. I bought a Lake Renegade for my beloved wife Olson, who flew our four children from Tanglefoot, our property on Priest Lake, Idaho, to school in Moscow, Idaho, an 80 minute twice-weekly flight each way. Today, the same aircraft shares a hangar with a Goose and our subject aircraft, Mallard J57, the youngest Mallard in existence and one of only three that has never alighted in salt water. Fenwick outlined the history of this wonderful flying yacht, This aircraft was built for American Cyanamid Corporation in 1951certified in the transport airworthiness category to meet the exacting needs of the executive market, J57 was factory-equipped to airliner standards with dual pitot-static and navigation instrumentation. It features a 50-gallon auxiliary fuel tank in each sponson and an individually operable left and right landing gear system that helps control in crosswind water operations. The Mallard is one of the most capable and beautiful aircraft ever built. This queen of seaplanes attracts admirers wherever she goes. Fenwick continued about his love for seaplanes and the Mallard in particular, Seaplanes, especially flying boats can, in a few hours or even a few minutes, can take you to beauty and excitement that few ever see. But most of all, I appreciate the Mallards safety, from its Grumman Iron Works construction to its transport category redundancy to its gentle and predictable handling in the sky and in rough waters. The tragic and well-publicized crash of Chalks Ocean Airways G-73T N2969, which claimed the lives of 20 passengers and crew on December 19, 2005, nearly grounded all remaining Mallards. However, the Grumman Mallard Owners Association, which was founded at Tanglefoot Seaplane Base, represented Mallard owners in the FAA and NTSB investigation, helping to prove that N2969 had survived operation in severe ocean conditions before finally coming apart because of neglected corrosion and improper repairs. They also proved that properly maintained Mallards that had never been operated in salt water were in perfect shape with no structural deterioration whatsoever after 15,000 hours. What is it like to fly this pristine amphibian from yesteryear? Addison Pemberton told Warbird Digest, The airplane has delightful control harmony and effectiveness. The engines are very smooth, and the cabin is very quiet. I have to say 1,200-hp, and a full boot of right rudder for water take-offs, really gets the job done. The Mallard eased through weekend Priest Lake boat wake rough water like a China Clipper. In the end the Grumman Mallard, especially this youngest example that has only seen freshwater in six decades of flying, is a rare, classic flying boat, that can take a single pilot and ten adventurous passengers to wonderfully remote places in safety, comfort and nostalgic panache. The Grumman Mallard J57 is for sale, for more information visit www.mallardj57.com **An advertorial is an advertisement in the form of editorial content. Portugal will be removed from England's so-called "green list" allowing quarantine-free travel between the two countries, the UK government said Thursday, in a move slammed by Lisbon and Britain's tourism sector. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland announced the same rule would also apply to their travellers. The move could prove highly disruptive to thousands of British holidaymakers, after Portugal was the only European nation placed on the green list when it was first unveiled last month. The Portugese foreign ministry reacted angrily, tweeting: "We take note of the British decision to remove Portugal from the travel 'green list', the logic of which we cannot understand". A popular summer destination for Britons, from Tuesday at 4 am (0300 GMT) Portugal will be on the amber list, which requires travellers to quarantine at home for 10 days on their return and take several Covid-19 tests. It joins other European Union countries on the list, with no nations added to the green section. The British government advises against travel to amber-listed countries unless for a limited number of exceptional reasons, which does not include holidays. Meanwhile seven countries -- Afghanistan, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Trinidad & Tobago -- will move from England's amber list to its red list from Tuesday, requiring 10 days costly quarantine in a hotel on return. Only travellers who have British or Irish citizenship or residency rights can enter from these countries. - 'Don't want risk' - Shapps said he ordered the change to Portugal's status because its infection rate had nearly doubled since the last review in mid-May, when Britain lifted a ban on non-essential international travel. The Portugese foreign ministry tweeted that the country is implementing a "prudent and gradual deconfinement plan", however. Shapps also cited instances of a mutation of the Delta variant, first identified in India and fast becoming the dominant strain in Britain -- where cases are on the rise again after weeks of decline. Story continues The UK reported 5,274 new cases on Thursday, the highest figure since late March. A total of 12,431 cases of the Delta variant had been identified in the UK by Wednesday, according to Public Health England. "We just don't know the potential for that to be (a) vaccine-defeating mutation and simply don't want to take the risk as we come up to June 21," Shapps said. Britain is set to ease the last of its lockdown measures on that date. The government is facing calls to delay lifting the remaining measures -- which include social distancing, wearing face masks and a work from home recommendation -- as infections rise once again. But ministers are putting their faith in the country's successful vaccine drive. Over half of British adults have now had both doses of the authorised two-shot Covid-19 inoculations, while more than three-quarters have received at least a single dose. Thursday's updates to the travel list, which will be reviewed in three weeks, were heavily criticised by airlines, airports and tour operators. EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren called Portugal's designation a "shock decision" that "simply isn't justified by the science", while Virgin Atlantic boss Shai Weiss branded the government's approach "overly cautious". "We are yet to see clear and transparent guidance on the methodology and data the government is basing these decisions on," Weiss added. The chief executive of the UK's busiest airport Heathrow, John Holland-Kaye, complained that the government's move was "all but guaranteeing another lost summer for the travel sector". EasyJet and IAG, the owner of British Airways, were among sector leaders that saw their share prices fall significantly as a result of the new guidance on Portugal. jj/am/cdw The future United Airlines plane from Boom Supersonic Boom Supersonic United Airlines is purchasing 15 high-speed jets from startup Boom Supersonic. The airline company has the option to buy 35 more from Boom in the future. Boom's superfast plans could cut some flight times in half by 2029, United said. See more stories on Insider's business page. United Airlines announced on Thursday it would buy 15 super-fast airplanes from Denver-based start-up Boom Supersonic. The airline can also choose to purchase 35 more from Boom in the future, it said in a press release. Boom's first commercial super-fast plane, called Overture, hasn't been built yet, but it's expected to be operational in 2025, take to the skies in 2026, and carry passengers by 2029, United said. Overture could become the first big commercial aircraft to be net-zero carbon, and will run on fully sustainable aviation fuel, according to United. The supersonic jet, when built, will be able to fly twice the speed of the fastest airliners in today's market, cutting some flight times in half, the American airline company said. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Possible future journeys include Newark to London in three and a half hours, Newark to Frankfurt in four hours, and San Francisco to Tokyo in six hours, United said. Overture will have in-seat entertainment screens, ample personal space, and contactless technology, United said. "The world's first purchase agreement for net-zero carbon supersonic aircraft marks a significant step toward our mission to create a more accessible world," Blake Scholl, CEO and founder of Boom Supersonic, said in the statement. "At speeds twice as fast, United passengers will experience all the advantages of life lived in person, from deeper, more productive business relationships to longer, more relaxing vacations to far-off destinations," he said. The world got a taste of supersonic flight in the 1970s with the Concorde. However, with the jet's fatal crash in 2003, planes have remained well below the speed of sound ever since. Read the original article on Business Insider United Airlines announced plans Thursday to buy 15 planes from airline startup Boom Supersonic in a move that could revive the high-speed form of air travel. Under the commercial agreement, United would purchase Boom's "Overture" aircraft once the planes meet "United's demanding safety, operating and sustainability requirements" with an aim to start passenger travel in 2029, the companies said in a joint press release. The agreement covers 15 planes and includes an option for United to obtain another 35 aircraft. The companies did not disclose financial terms. Boom's plane is capable of flying at twice the speed of leading aircraft now on the market, with the potential to fly from Newark to London in three and a half hours and San Francisco to Tokyo in six hours, the companies said. The jets will also be "net-zero" in carbon use because they will employ renewable fuel. Commercial supersonic jet travel was introduced in the 1970s with the Concorde, but the jets were retired in 2003 due in part to the high cost of meeting environmental restrictions on sonic booms. The Concorde's demise also followed a 2000 Air France accident that killed 113 people. However, the technology is getting another look today as companies in the United States and abroad develop planes with lighter and more efficient composite materials and new engine designs, according to a fact sheet from the Federal Aviation Administration. "Our mission has always been about connecting people and now working with Boom, we'll be able to do that on an even greater scale," said United Chief Executive Scott Kirby. Founded in 2014, Denver-based Boom Supersonic said it is also working with the United States Air Force on a military version of the Overture. Jon Ostrower, editor of the aviation publication the Air Current, said on Twitter that United's order marked a shift in a long-term industry trend. "The last time United ordered supersonic aircraft, humans had yet to walk on the Moon," Ostrower said. "More than a half century later, United is again focusing on speed, bucking the most consistent airline trend over the past 50 years: a desire to fly cheaper, not faster." jmb/cs ANKARA, Turkey (AP) The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations announced on Thursday nearly $240 million in humanitarian funding to support the people of Syria, Syrian refugees and countries hosting them, and called for access through international crossings to allow the delivery of aid. Linda Thomas-Greenfield made the announcement during a visit to the Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Turkey and Syria the sole remaining point of access for humanitarian aid to enter the conflict-ravaged country. The ambassador is in Turkey on a four-day visit seeking to ensure that humanitarian aid can be delivered to Syria across borders a program which Russia, Syrias closest ally, has severely limited in recent years, insisting that the Syrian government should control all assistance to millions in need. The international crossing points were reduced to a single border crossing from Turkey to Syrias rebel-held northwest at Russias insistence. Im proud to announce the United States is providing nearly $240 million in additional humanitarian funding for the people of Syria and for the communities that host them, Thomas-Greenfield said, according to a statement from her office. Right now, more than 13 million Syrian people are in dire need of assistance. Thats the population of Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington D.C. combined. She added: Four in five people in northwest Syria need humanitarian assistance. For millions of civilians in Idlib, this is their lifeline. Over the last year and a half, some members of the Security Council succeeded in shamefully closing two other crossings into Syria... Bab al-Hawa is literally all thats left. The United States is seeking the reauthorization of U.N. access at Bab al-Hawa and the reopening of other border crossings before the current U.N. Security Council mandate for humanitarian aid deliveries expires on July 10. There is strong support in the 15-member council for maintaining and even adding border crossings, but Russia holds the key. Story continues This isnt a complicated issue. We want the U.N. to bring food to starving children and protection to homeless families. We want the U.N. to be able to deliver vaccines in the middle of a global pandemic. We want the suffering to stop, Thomas-Greenfield said. She met Wednesday with Ibrahim Kalin, a top aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey hosts some 4 million refugees. The talks come ahead of U.S. President Joe Bidens first meeting with Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels on June 14. Ties between Ankara and Washington, which once considered each other as strategic partners, steadily deteriorated in recent years over differences on Syria, Turkeys cooperation with Russia and Turkish naval interventions in the eastern Mediterranean, which U.S. officials have described as destabilizing. The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, said the new U.S. funding announced by Thomas-Greenfield, would support aid agencies providing assistance, including food for displaced families in Syria and the region and support bakeries in Syria. It would also provide psychosocial support and other services for children, rehabilitate water and sanitation systems and provide cash or vouchers to help Syrians meet basic needs. USAID said the United States was the worlds largest donor to the Syria crisis, and has provided more than $13 billion since the start of the conflict. After several recent fatal incidents involving migrants, US officials are warning people not to trust their lives to smugglers to bring them across the border. (June 2) Video Transcript RANDY GROSSMAN: In less than a three weeks span, just in the month of May, we have had four deaths and dozens of people have been rescued from the ocean and hospitalized after Maritime's smuggling events that have gone tragically wrong. We are appealing today to every person who is considering a desperate, perilous journey to the United States, whether in a boat, or on foot, or in the trunk of a car, don't do it. Do not place your life in the hands of human smugglers. It's not worth it. AARON HEITKE: There is no safe way to enter the United States illegally. The smugglers themselves represent a significant threat to the safety and well-being of their victims. JAMES GARLAND: We're not concerned with the origin of the people who need help in the water we respond to make sure that the waters of San Diego and the beaches of San Diego are safe. And we are asking you to not transit and do not put your life in the hands of smugglers. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz received a pledge of US support for whoever is Israel's next leader Thursday as he met with top officials in Washington while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was facing ouster back home. US security and defense officials also told Gantz they would help replenish its "Iron Dome" missile defense system after it was used heavily in the recent conflict with Gaza, but also pressed Israel to reduce tensions with Palestinians. "We're not going to speak to government formation while it's in process," State Department spokesman Ned Price said after Gantz met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. "Regardless of what happens, regardless of what government is in place, our stalwart support, our ironclad support for Israel will remain," he said. At the Pentagon, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reiterated that Washington supports Israel's right to defend itself, but that security also involved rebuilding confidence with Palestinians. "The President has expressed his full support for replenishing Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, which saved so many innocent lives during the most recent conflict," Austin told Gantz. "Now going forward, we seek lasting security for Israelis and Palestinians alike," he said. "As my colleague Secretary Blinken made clear in Israel last week, a lot of work needs to be done to rebuild confidence and trust, and to create conditions to reengage in a meaningful way on the path to a two-state solution." Gantz was in Washington just after a coalition of diverse opposition parties, to which he belongs, struck a deal Wednesday to remove Prime Minister Netanyahu from office after 12 years in power. Questions though remained over whether the coalition can hold together long enough to unseat Netanyahu. The political turmoil comes after the US was pulled into discussions over the recent deadly conflict between Palestinians and the Jewish state that left 254 dead from Israeli rocket strikes in Gaza and 13 dead in Israel. Story continues Gantz did not meet with US President Joe Biden, who has an ambivalent relationship with Netanyahu. Instead he met White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who "highlighted the importance of ensuring that immediate humanitarian aid is able to reach the people of Gaza," according to an official statement from the meeting. The two also discussed the threat Iran poses to the region, as the US seeks to restore the 2015 JCPOA agreement that prevented Tehran from pushing forward to develop nuclear weapons. "These very days Iran continues to develop nuclear weapons, and continues to armed militias throughout the Middle East," Gantz told Austin. "I am well aware of the important dialogue about future agreement, which will stop its nuclear armament," he said. "Our dialogue is so important to ensuring that any deal effectively meet its goal of keeping Iran away from nuclear weapons." fff/pmh/caw A deadbeat Utah dad, who beat his wife to death in front of their daughters on a cruise ship off Southeast Alaska in 2017 after she told him she wanted a divorce, received a 30-year prison sentence Thursday. Kenneth Manzanares, 43, pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder in connection with Kristy Manzanares slaying aboard the Emerald Princess in U.S. territorial waters, according to Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska Bryan Wilson. The couple got into an argument in front of their daughters in the cabin of their cruise ship on July 25, 2017, according to prosecutors. Kristy Manzanares told her husband she wanted a divorce and that he should get off the cruise when the ship reached Juneau. UK BILLIONAIRE'S DAUGHTER-IN-LAW- CHARGED IN SHOOTING DEATH OF TOP BELIZE COP Kenneth Manzanares ordered his daughters to leave the room, prosecutors said. But after the girls heard their mother scream, they tried to re-enter. With the door locked, they went around via a connected balcony and witnessed their father "straddling Kristy on the bed, striking her in the head with closed fists." Then he allegedly tried to throw her body overboard before his in-laws broke into the room, and one of them stopped him. Kristy Manzanares died from her injuries. "[She] had a severe head wound, and blood was spread throughout the room on multiple surfaces," according to an FBI arrest affidavit. The victims brother-in-law, identified in court documents as D.H., found Kenneth Manzanares with bloody hands and Kristy Manzanares covered in blood on the floor, according to an FBI affidavit. "She would not stop laughing at me," Manzanares allegedly told D.H. Authorities ruled the cause of death blunt force trauma to the head and face. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "In 2017, Kenneth Manzanares brutally murdered his wife Kristy Manzanares while on an Alaskan cruise with their three daughters and extended family members," Wilson said in a statement. "This was not a random act of violence but a chilling neglect for human life." Robert Britt, the special agent in charge of the FBIs Anchorage Field Office, described the victim as "a beloved mother, daughter, sister and friend." "While justice has now been served, the lasting impact and trauma this man inflicted on Kristys family can never be erased," he said. "Our thoughts are with Kristys family and her home community." ISTANBUL (AP) Three Uyghurs who fled from China to Turkey have described forced abortions and torture by Chinese authorities in Chinas far western Xinjiang region, ahead of giving testimony to a peoples tribunal in London that is investigating if Beijings actions against ethnic Uyghurs amount to genocide. The three witnesses include a woman who said she was forced into an abortion at 6 1/2 months pregnant, a former doctor who spoke of draconian birth control policies, and a former detainee who alleged he was tortured day and night by Chinese soldiers while he was imprisoned in the remote border region. They spoke to The Associated Press of their experiences before testifying by video link to the independent U.K. tribunal, which is expected to draw dozens of witnesses when it opens four days of hearings on Friday. The tribunal, which does not have U.K. government backing, will be chaired by prominent human rights lawyer Geoffrey Nice, who led the prosecution of ex-Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and worked with the International Criminal Court. While the tribunals judgment is not binding on any government, organizers hope the process of publicly laying out evidence will compel international action to tackle growing concerns about alleged abuses in Xinjiang against the Uyghurs, a largely Muslim ethnic group. One witness, mother-of-four Bumeryem Rozi, said authorities in Xinjiang rounded her up along with other pregnant women to abort her fifth child in 2007. She said she complied because she feared that otherwise authorities would have confiscated her home and belongings and endangered her family. I was 6 1/2 months pregnant ... The police came, one Uyghur and two Chinese. They put me and eight other pregnant women in cars and took us to the hospital, Rozi, 55, told the AP from her home in Istanbul. They first gave me a pill and said to take it. So I did. I didnt know what it was, she continued. Half an hour later, they put a needle in my belly. And sometime after that I lost my child. Story continues Semsinur Gafur, a former obstetrician-gynecologist who worked in a village hospital in Xinjiang in the 1990s, said she and other female clinicians used to go from house to house with a mobile ultrasound machine to check if anyone was pregnant. If a household had more births than allowed, they would raze the home ... They would flatten the house, destroy it, Gafur said. This was my life there. It was very distressing. And because I worked in a state hospital, people didnt trust me. The Uyghur people saw me as a Chinese traitor. A third Uyghur exile, Mahmut Tevekkul, said he was imprisoned and tortured in 2010 by Chinese authorities who interrogated him for information about one of his brothers. Tevekkul said the brother was wanted partly because he published a religious book in Arabic. Tevekkul described being beaten and punched in the face during questioning. They put us on a tiled floor, shackled our hands and feet and tied us to a pipe, like a gas pipe. There were six soldiers guarding us. They interrogated us until the morning and then they took us to the maximum-security area of the prison, he said. The tribunal is the latest attempt to hold China accountable for alleged rights abuses against the Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim and ethnic Turkic minorities. An estimated 1 million people or more most of them Uyghurs have been confined in re-education camps in Xinjiang in recent years, according to researchers. Chinese authorities have been accused of imposing forced labor, systematic forced birth control and torture, and separating children from incarcerated parents. Beijing has flatly rejected the allegations. Officials have characterized the camps, which they say are now closed, as vocational training centers to teach Chinese language, job skills and the law to support economic development and combat extremism. China saw a wave of Xinjiang-related terror attacks through 2016. The hearings organizers said Chinese authorities have ignored requests to participate in the proceedings. The Chinese embassy in London did not respond to requests for comment, but officials in China have said the tribunal is set up by anti-China forces" to spread lies. There is no such thing as genocide or forced labor in Xinjiang," the region's government spokesperson Elijan Anayat told reporters Thursday. If the tribunal insists on going its own way, we would like to express our severe condemnation and opposition and will be forced to take countermeasures. In April, Britains parliament followed those in Belgium, the Netherlands and Canada in declaring that Beijings policies against the Uyghurs amounted to genocide and crimes against humanity. The U.S. government has also done the same. But Nice, the lawyer leading the tribunal, said so far those declarations of genocide have come with limited analysis of evidence about the intentions behind the Chinese governments policies. It is the mental state of those organs (of the Chinese government) that would have to be examined or established and proved if any finding of genocide is ever to be made, Nice said. Its pretty obvious that purpose and intent is going to be critical. Nice was one of nine British citizens sanctioned by China in March for spreading lies and disinformation about the country. The move came after the U.K. and other Western governments took similar measures against China over its treatment of the Uyghurs. The lawyer said he isnt intimidated, but admitted that the sanctions have resulted in some participants withdrawing from the tribunal. Organizers also said they have been subjected to cyber targeting. They had to increase the events security after about 500 of the hearings free tickets were booked up by people with fake email addresses. While her fellow exiles said they agreed to testify to seek justice, Rozi, the woman who reported the forced abortion, says she is motivated to speak out for a more personal reason. Her youngest son has been detained since 2015, when he was just 13, and she hopes the tribunals work will help lead to his freedom one day. I want my son to be freed as soon as possible, she said. I want to see him be set free. The group is also trying to recruit local residents to work on a campaign to recall Mayor Quinton Lucas, who harangued the effort as that of an out-of-state special interest group. Video Transcript KACI JONES: About 200 people gathered at the Hodge Park Amphitheater to show support for law enforcement. Men, women, children, and officers were in the audience. NATHAN HARPER: We are doing as-- the best we can. We see a lot of calls that people don't see. And I think the way that we're doing it is the way that it needs to be done. We need everybody's help-- everybody else's help, though. KACI JONES: The group, We Back Blue, from Virginia organized the effort to also help recruit volunteers to push to recall Mayor Quinton Lucas. MELISSA ROBEY: The goal is to just get people motivated, interested, and get volunteers for, hopefully, petition purposes so that we can go out and show the people of Kansas City that their grassroots efforts are strong and people do support their beliefs. KACI JONES: This rally was in response to city council's plan to move more than $40 million of the $250 million police budget to a Community Service and Prevention Fund to allow council to oversee how the funds are used in the Department. The move has triggered a lawsuit. A judge has ordered a temporary stay for now. DOUG RICHEY: It's a very temporary stay. We've only got 30 days, and no one knows what the future holds. So I think now is a good time to continue to keep the pressure on in terms of making sure that we support our local law enforcement and, ultimately, by supporting law enforcement, working toward a safer Kansas City. KACI JONES: In response to the latest effort to garner support to recall the mayor, his spokeswoman sent a statement saying, in part, "Mayor Lucas' focus remains on ending our decades-long homicide crisis and building a safer Kansas City for all of our residents. The mayor will continue working with his colleagues, the Kansas City Police Department, and any Kansas Citians heartbroken by our violent crime numbers and interested in real, sustainable change and crime-prevention efforts." Story continues Rally attendees hope to show leaders they oppose any funding changes in the Department. - I thought, that's shameful. I think we should be doing the exact opposite. We should be funding them more money, not defunding them. KACI JONES: The group pushing to recall the mayor says this is their third time trying to get him out of office. They are currently looking for 200 volunteers that are willing to collect close to 100 signatures. Israel's visiting defense minister said Thursday that it will stay engaged as the U.S. tries to return to a nuclear deal with Iran, sidestepping what's long been an area of open disagreement between the United States and the now-jeopardized government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Benny Gantz told reporters before a meeting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that Iran's nuclear program and other actions were an existential threat to Israel. Stopping Iran is certainly a shared strategic need of the United States," Israel and other countries, Gantz said. But on a visit that came as an opposition coalition back home tries to end Netanyahu's 12 years in power, Gantz unlike Netanyahu stopped short of openly opposing the Biden administration's efforts to get the United States back into a deal limiting Iran's nuclear program, in exchange for relief from sanctions. Sitting across a table from his U.S. counterpart at the Pentagon, Gantz said, Our dialogue is so important to ensuring that any deal effectively meets its goal of keeping Iran away from nuclear weapons. Of course, given the scope of the threat, Israel must always make sure that it has the ability to protect itself, Gantz added. The Israeli official made clear the change in tone was purposeful. We will continue this important strategic dialogue in private discussion ... only, not in the media in a provoking way, he said, calling for open dialogue behind closed doors." It echoed Biden's own embrace of what the administration has called quiet diplomacy when dealing with Israel. Netanyahu's years-long fight to torpedo the Iran nuclear deal struck during the Obama administration in 2015, but rejected by President Donald Trump after his election included Netanyahu denouncing it to a 2015 joint session of the U.S. Congress as a very bad deal. Netanyahu has continued that open opposition in recent days, saying a deal paves the way for Iran to have an arsenal of nuclear weapons with international legitimacy and that the fight against that was worth any friction with our great friend the United States. Story continues Biden has pressed for a return to the nuclear deal as the best way to keep Iran from building up what it says is a civilian nuclear program, and to calm a flashpoint in the Middle East. European negotiators expressed some optimism this week as they closed the latest round of talks in Vienna on getting the U.S. and Iran back in the deal. Gantz also met with national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Gantz is part of the coalition pushing to unseat Netanyahu, and he is expected to remain in his post as defense minister if the government changes. His meetings Thursday underscored U.S. security commitments to Israel as that country weathers its greatest domestic political upheaval in years and the aftermath of last month's war with Hamas militants in Gaza. Gantz said he would lay out for administration officials a complete plan for a diplomatic end to hostilities with the Palestinians. He gave no details. A key aim of Gantz's visit to Washington was believed to be securing U.S. funding to help restock Israel's Iron Dome, a sophisticated missile defense system that smacked down many of the rockets Hamas militants fired toward Israel last month. More than 260 people were killed, the vast majority Palestinians, in an 11-day war in which Israel struck targets in Hamas-ruled Gaza with hundreds of airstrikes while Hamas fired more than 4,000 rockets at Israel. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, touring Israel this week in a show of support after the latest Gaza war, said he expected Israelis to seek up to $1 billion from the U.S. for Iron Dome, including for restocking the systems interception missiles. U.S. officials made no immediate announcements on funding. Austin noted Biden "has expressed his full support for replenishing Israels Iron Dome missile defense system, which saved so many lives. We are committed to maintaining Israels qualitative military edge and ensuring that Israel can defend itself," Austin added. The U.S. partnership in Israels Iron Dome has wide bipartisan support in Congress, as does overall U.S. support for Israels defense, a tenet of U.S. foreign policy for decades. Last months war, however the fiercest Israeli-Palestinian fighting since 2014 has exposed a rift in Bidens Democratic Party. Progressives and some others demanded a cease-fire by Israel as well as Hamas as Palestinian deaths grew in the crowded Gaza Strip. Blinken told reporters before meeting with Gantz that Americans also were talking to him about getting aid in to Gaza to help rebuild housing and services damaged and destroyed in the fighting, in addition to discussing Israeli security. By Ding Wendong and Liu Pan BEIRUT, June 2 -- The 19th Chinese peacekeeping multi-functional engineer contingent to Lebanon passed the second quarter equipment inspection carried out by the United Nations (UN) with high standard on May 31, which was also the last inspection on the contingent during its mission period. The headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) sent an inspection team of 14 officials. After listening to briefings, on-site inspections and actual operations, the team carried out a detailed inspection on nearly 10,000 sets or items of equipment and materials in 27 categories, including the barracks facilities, vehicles and weapons, electricity and water purification equipment, communication equipment, and medical equipment in the Chinese peacekeeping camp located in the Hinnieh village of south Lebanon. In addition, the officials in charge of vehicle inspections also made a special trip to the Blue Line area on the Lebanon-Israel border, and inspected all vehicles of the Chinese peacekeeping contingent conducting mine clearance operations in this area. After three hours of inspection, the inspection team fully affirmed the good condition and performance of the equipment and materials owned by the contingent, and believed that all the inspected equipment met the standards set by the UN. Equipment inspection aims to verify whether the equipment and facilities provided by the troop-contributing countries meet the requirements of the UN based on the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the UN and the troop-contributing countries. Since its deployment to the mission area in August last year, the 19th Chinese peacekeeping multi-functional engineer contingent to Lebanon has successively undergone one online inspection and three on-site inspections by the UNIFIL headquarters, and passed all with high scores. Jun. 3After helping Wheeler to back-to-back state championships, Ja'Heim Hudson signed a National Letter of Intent to play at Georgia State, Panthers coach Rob Lanier said Thursday. Hudson, a 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward earned all-state first-team honors this spring after helping guide the Wildcats to a second-straight title and a top-25 national ranking. He finished with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds in the Class AAAAAA state championship game against region rival Kell. Hudson was ranked as a three-star prospect by 247Sports, among the top 75 power forwards in the country and the No. 30 player in Georgia. "We are so fortunate to be able to add Ja'Heim to our program," Lanier said in a release. "His character and personality are outstanding. On the court, he's a prototype 4 man who plays with a high motor, is effective inside the paint and gives an additional 3-point shooting threat. He's a competitor and a proven winner who comes from a great high school program. He makes us better now, and along with our other young guys, sets us up for a very bright future." As a junior, Hudson helped Wheeler win the Class AAAAAAA championship. Heading into the 2020-21 season, Wheeler was ranked 19th nationally by MaxPreps, with Hudson among the team's top returning trio. Before transferring to Wheeler prior to the 2019-20 season, Hudson played at South Gwinnett. He has also played for the Game Elite and HYPE Hawks AAU programs. WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan while on his trip to Europe later this month, the White House announced Thursday. The meeting, which will take place June 14 on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels, comes against the backdrop of some tension between the two leaders. Erdogan had pushed for an earlier call with Biden after the U.S. president took office. And he was later frustrated when Biden declared the mass killings of Armenians at the hands of the Turks in 1915 as a genocide, a decree Ankara long opposed. The White House also revealed other details of Biden's first overseas trip as president, which begins next week. The president will first meet with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on June 10 ahead of attending the G-7 summit in Cornwall, United Kingdom. Biden and first lady Jill Biden will then have an audience with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle before heading to Belgium for the NATO and European summits. While there, he will meet with host leaders King Philippe and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. The trip will conclude in Geneva, where Biden on June 16 will meet with Swiss President Guy Parmelin and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis ahead of his highly anticipated summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin. The Biden administration on Thursday laid out its framework for sharing vaccines for the world and named the recipients of the first 25 million doses, taking a major step toward becoming a global vaccine supplier. Why it matters: The U.S. had until recently been the only major vaccine producer to keep virtually its entire supply at home, while countries looked to Russia or China for doses. But Biden has pledged to share at least 80 million doses this month and additional shipments beyond that. Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free Driving the news: The White House said today that 75% of the first wave of doses would go through the WHO-backed COVAX initiative, with priority shipments to Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa. Another 25% of the vaccines will be shared bilaterally to address immediate surges (with first doses available to Mexico and Canada). Through COVAX, approximately 6 million doses are planned for South and Central America, including hard-hit Brazil. 7 million doses are expected to reach Asia, including India and Pakistan. Africa will receive 5 million doses with recipient countries to be chosen through coordination with the African Union, the White House said. The 25 million doses will be comprised of Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients confirmed at a press briefing. The doses will be allocated from the federal pool of supply, not from states, Zients also confirmed. The 60 million AstraZeneca doses Biden has promised to share still have not been cleared by the FDA, Zients said. What they're saying: We want to save lives and thwart variants that place all of us at risk, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said at the briefing. And as the president has said, the United States will not use its vaccines to secure favors from other countries," he added. We also know that this wont be enough to end or reduce the life-span of the pandemic, and thats why were working with allies and partners to expand the production of vaccines and raw materials. What to watch: The U.S. rollout of overseas vaccine shipments comes ahead of Biden's first foreign trip as president. He will attend the G7 summit in England, NATO summit in Brussels, and meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin later this month. Sullivan noted that the 80 million-dose pledge is five times what any other country has promised to donate. He said the U.S. would be pressing other countries to donate while also seeking to build up manufacturing capacity around the world. Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free. Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. AP Photo/Keith Srakocic The Allegheny County district attorney reportedly asked deputies not to make plea deals with Milton Raiford. Stephen A. Zappala Jr.'s request was in an email seen by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He sent the email after Raiford criticized systemic racism in the court system, the report said. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. A white prosecutor in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, told deputy prosecutors in an email not to make plea deals with a Black lawyer who had criticized systemic racism in the court system, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported on Wednesday. The paper said that in the email, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. wrote that the lawyer, Milton Raiford, had demonstrated "unprofessional conduct" in the courtroom and gone on a "convoluted critical diatribe." "No plea offers are to be made," Zappala said, according to the report. "The cases may proceed on the information as filed, whether by general plea, nonjury or jury trial. Withdrawal of any charges must be approved by the front office." Raiford had said in court on May 13 that he thought that "the criminal justice system is systematically racist," according to a transcript seen by the Tribune-Review. Raiford called Zappala's email "vindictive." "I don't know why he's making my clients suffer because of something I said," he told the Tribune-Review. Zappala did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Insider When a burst of gunfire erupted on the street just outside a rented party space where hundreds of people had gathered last Friday, police on bike patrols in Miamis trendy Wynwood district were there within 35 seconds. So fast, some reported hearing gunfire and the bullets ricocheting off walls. But even that strikingly rapid response wasnt fast enough to stop the bloodbath or corral the shooters. Quinton Valbrun, 25, was killed and six others were injured by the gunfire that came from several different semi-automatic weapons, police said. Now, almost a week after the mass shooting, theres been no information released about possible suspects and some nearby business owners are questioning the safety of leasing out property to unregulated one-time events that they say all too often have inadequate security. They also say those gatherings too often skirt the citys alcohol laws by offering unlimited free booze for the cost of admittance. Albert Garcia chairs Wynwoods Business Improvement District. He called the proliferation of unregulated rent-for-a-night events that have popped up since crowds returned with the waning of COVID, concerning. The last week should be a wake-up call for property owners, said Garcia. Because if something on their property is mismanaged, it can unravel a lot of the hard work and progress and good will that has been built up. Philippe Kalifa, owner of El Patio bar and club in Wynwood, said hes fine with the deployment of police in the heart of Wynwood. Its the outskirts that dont seem to have enough resources and are more problematic, he said. In talking with our off-duty officers. Weve heard they need more funding to put more patrols in (parts of) Wynwood, Kalifa said. On the front end, in the main areas, theyre taking care of it. But on the back end, they should have more patrols. They need more police. Thursday morning more than a dozen local business owners gathered in Wynwood at MAPS Backlot, a Wynwood production house, for the monthly BID meeting to question the neighborhoods commanding police officer and learn what they could about last Fridays shooting. Story continues Miami-Dade County property records show the property that hosted the party prior to the shooting is owned by businessman Bernard Herskowitz of Coral Gables. State records indicate that a group called 3E Six LLC, also known as Miami Supercars and registered to Mai Kathy Elo, does business as a car showroom on the lot. Neither Herskowitz or Elo returned calls or texts for comment. Local business owners and police have said that Elo occasionally rents out the classic car space for parties advertised on the internet. The Miami Herald couldnt find any records to verify the claim and its unknown what role if any Elos company played in the event. Publicly, police have not admitted to making much headway in their investigation. Were still going over video, talking to witnesses and processing forensic evidence, said Assistant Miami Police Chief Armando Aguilar Jr. But were not ready to make an arrest. But Miami police Cmdr. Dan Kerr told the Wynwood business owners that detectives withholding information likely indicates the investigation is further along than theyre willing to publicly admit. When detectives show pictures, theyve typically exhausted all leads, Kerr told the group of assembled business owners. The fact that they havent done the media outreach, to me, is a positive thing. Nearby business owners say Elo has sub-leased the property for years for events like last Fridays Caribbean-themed pool party and other gatherings unrelated to the classic car showroom. Police said the occupancy permit at the space allows for up to 450 people on the site. It wasnt immediately clear how many visitors were at last Fridays party or if code enforcement was looking into the issue. Though several business owners expressed concern with unregulated events in private conversations, there was no mention of that during the groups discussion with Kerr on Thursday. The Friday night shooting in Miami happened just before midnight, about an hour after the party at 2022 NW First Court concluded, and while people continued to mill around the parking lot and Northwest First Court. The shooters fired off at least three dozen rounds and two types of shell casings were found at the scene. Though police believe there was a target, the shooters appeared to fire indiscriminately into the crowd. At least one nearby business was damaged by the gunfire. An officer described the scene as a war zone. One witness claimed to see the gunfire coming from the back of a car that was billowing smoke from rifle muzzles. This week the large ground parking lot at the corner of Northwest 20th Street and First Court, surrounded by a six-foot chain-link fence with barbed wire on top, was empty. The five garage bays behind it where classic cars usually sit, was closed. Next door, the Miami Rescue Mission, which feeds and clothes the needy, was doing business as usual. In the aftermath of the shooting, Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo called gun violence a public health epidemic our nation needs to address. Miami police have spoken with at least one of the victims. Kenneth Laing, 40, who was struck in the head and eye by shrapnel said he felt like he was being unfairly interrogated during an interview with police earlier this week. Thats because, Laing said, after speaking with him and noticing that a car he owned was pockmarked with bullet holes, police had it towed. Laing called it a misunderstanding. He said the car he drove to the party hall Friday night was already pockmarked with bullet holes when he bought it, not from the gunfire in Wynwood. I like that car, he said. They treated me more like a suspect than a victim. That pissed me off. Laing said he attended the event with more than a dozen friends who each chipped in for a section that cost about $3,500. There was free food and music and a lot of women in bikinis, he said. Laing also said most patrons were given water guns and other materials. It was an event, he said, that he had attended yearly before it was interrupted by the pandemic. Fridays shooting in Wynwood managed to stay off most peoples radar because of another similar mass shooting the next night that drew national headlines. Shooters jumped out of an SUV in Northwest Miami-Dade and fired into a crowd that had just left a concert at rented out El Mula banquet hall. Using semi-automatic rifles, like the ones believed used in Miami, they fired off about 100 rounds in about six seconds. Two people were killed and 21 others injured by the gunfire. Police have not indicated any connection between the two events. Kerr said this weekend in Wynwood was the busiest he has seen in the neighborhood, even compared to past Art Basel weekends or holidays, with clubs and restaurants so packed that crowds lined the streets for blocks. But, the commander said, he was hesitant to close off streets like Miami Avenue because they tend to become large gathering spots that are more difficult to police than the normal streets. The school board: You need to support Dr. Arnold, Witt said. You hired him to drive equity, hes doing it and all youre doing is driving it in the ground. Witt ended her comments with a call to action, encouraging communities to run for the board of supervisors if they were unhappy with the decisions being made. Susan Aigotti, a former county teacher and parent to a current county student, also spoke in favor of the lesson. If Black, indigenous and other students in Amherst County are old enough to experience racism, then white students are old enough to learn about those experiences, Aigotti said. A few speakers expressed concerns the material is associated with critical race theory, a term for an academic framework examining how policies and the law perpetuate systemic racism, which has drawn backlash among conservatives across Virginia. Martin Luther Kings movement was all about racial tolerance, community member Karen Angulo said. It was about coming together, its about finding a way forward, it was about measuring individual character regardless of skin color. But the opposite of what Martin Luther King stood for is being pushed today. Its racial hate and racial divide. An adult foster-care residence in Campbell County is expanding its services to reach more residents after garnering supervisor approval Tuesday night. Terri Tucker, who runs the facility out of a house on Courtney Terrace in Altavista, said she is looking to meet a need that exists for facilities of this kind between Gretna and Lynchburg. Tucker provides residential services including assistance with meals, medication management and other daily living skills to the elderly and mental health population. She currently has three clients. She said she has been running the business for three years and believes it is time to expand. After renovations to the home, which was upgraded to five bedrooms and three bathrooms, Tucker said she wanted to take on a fourth resident, an increase that causes the home to meet the definition of an assisted-living facility. The planning commission unanimously recommended approval of the rezoning of the facility from Residential-Single-Family to Residential-Multi-Family, with a concurrent special use permit for the operation of an assisted-living facility. Former Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. is requesting dismissal of a breach of contract lawsuit the university filed against him seeking more than $40 million, claiming much of the suit was simply an excuse to publicly shame him with irrelevant allegations. The university filed the lawsuit in mid-April, focusing in large part on an affair between Falwells wife, Becki, and a young man named Giancarlo Granda that Jerry Falwell Jr. has made public statements about. Falwell has claimed Granda once a pool boy, business partner and friend to the family had extorted the couple, which Granda has denied. LU honed in on those claims in its lawsuit, stating Falwell breached his fiduciary duty to the school by not disclosing Grandas extortive threats while negotiating a 2019 employment agreement that included a $1.5 million raise and a $2.5 million severance package. Beyond that, it alleges Falwell damaged the schools reputation and donor base through a series of indiscretions in recent years, along with his personal impairment by alcohol. In documents filed Tuesday in Lynchburg Circuit Court, Falwell states the suit focuses on his wifes personal life while not addressing his actions as the leader of Liberty. Following a discussion regarding a course offering that explores diversity, equity, bias and identity, the Lynchburg City School Board passed a high school program of studies for the 2021-22 school year that offers such a course. At the boards Tuesday night meeting, board member Michael Nilles expressed concern over a dual-enrollment course that was presented in the program of studies for the coming school year. The semester-long course, offered through the University of Lynchburg, is titled Human Diversity in American Schools and is offered to high school juniors and seniors. According to the course description, it provides an introduction to the study of human and relational dimensions of diversity in educational settings found across American schools today. The course claims to allow students the opportunity to explore their personal beliefs and values about all aspects of human diversity through seven themes: exclusion versus inclusion; intersectionality and identity; equality, equity, and inequity; acceptance, tolerance, and advocacy; social justice; bias [implicit and explicit]; and candidate self-reflection. The course falls under the education and training section of the program of studies and claims to aid students in their journey to becoming a culturally competent teacher. by Nirmala Carvalho In a shocking statement, the Delhi High Court urged the government to give priority to younger people because 80-year-olds have already lived their lives and we must look to the future. For Fr de Sales, Every life is gift to be respected, and the court should be concerned about the weakest of society. Mumbai (AsiaNews) Hard hit by the pandemic, India is finally starting to see a decline in the death toll; however, the vaccination campaign is not making any progress. According to the latest official data, 134,154 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours, a number much lower than the more than 300,000 daily cases reported just a few days ago. The death toll is still high (2,887 yesterday) but declining. This trend is only partially the result of the governments vaccination campaign, which is still too slow compared to what is needed. At present, about 221 million people have been vaccinated, around a sixth of the population. Among people 60 and over, who top the Indian governments priority list, only 43.7 per cent have been vaccinated since the campaign started four months ago. The problem is the lack of vaccines. Only 2.5 million doses can be administered daily because of shortages. The Modi government's decision to delegate vaccinations of those under 45 to individual Indian states and private health care providers is also creating tensions. Such a policy has reduced access to vaccines for younger people and those who cannot pay for the drug out of their own pocket. This is especially worrisome since COVID-19 is raging in younger age groups. Against this background, the Delhi High Court has publicly challenged the central government policy of giving priority to seniors who, in its view, have already lived their lives. The Court questioned the governments vaccination policy of not prioritising the younger population, noting that it is the younger people who are the future of this country. According to the justices, The 80-year-olds arent going to carry this country forward. Father Savio de Sales, a priest in Mumbai and liturgist, reacted on social media expressing deep dismay over this view. Caring for older generations is our duty, he told AsiaNews. The views expressed by the High Court are disgusting. According to the clergyman, Every life is a gift. Indeed, Life is a continuum from the moment of conception till natural death. While acknowledging that Ageism exists, he suggests that being kind and showing compassion is at least a step in the right direction. Speaking about seniors, Fr de Sales goes on to say that we need to remember that we are going to be in their shoes one day. We must defend the value, dignity, and sacredness of each life, which can never be lost by incapacitating illness or old age during this pandemic. "Instead of making learned observations on COVID-19 vaccine policy, or availability and distribution strategies, the learned judges should make observations about the weakest of society, the very ones, whom society needs to cherish and safeguarded. A 7-year-old boy in Florida is being hailed a hero after he swam ashore to get help when his sister and dad got swept away by a current. Steven Poust told CNN affiliate WKXT that he anchored his boat on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, to let his two children, Chase, 7, and Abigail, 4, swim, on Friday. All of a sudden, Abigail, who usually hangs out at the back of the boat, had to let go because the current was so strong, Chase said. The 7-year-old decided to also let go in order to try to keep her from drifting, but then he was stuck. Poust jumped in to try and help them, and told Chase to swim to shore while he tried to reach his daughter, who was wearing a life jacket. "I told them I loved him because I wasn't sure what's going to happen," Poust said. "I tried to stick with both of them. I wore myself out. She drifted away from me." It took Chase an hour to get to shore. He told WKXT that he floated on his back and doggie paddled so he wouldn't get worn out. When he reached land he ran to the nearest house for help. A group of Harvard researchers has come out against the U.S. Census Bureau's use of a controversial method to protect privacy with the numbers used for redrawing congressional and legislative districts, saying it doesn't produce data good enough for redistricting. The Harvard researchers said in a paper released last week that using the new privacy method will make it impossible for states to comply with the requirement that districts have equal populations, a principle also known as One Person, One Vote." The technique also doesn't universally protect the privacy of people who participated in the 2020 census, they said. The privacy method adds noise," or intentional errors, to the data to obscure the identity of any given participant in the 2020 census while still providing statistically valid information. Rather than use this technique, known as differential privacy," the researchers said the Census Bureau should rely on a privacy method used in the 2010 census, when data in some households were swapped with other households. Over the past half century, the Supreme Court has firmly established the principle of One Person, One Vote, requiring states to minimize the population difference across districts based on the Census data," they wrote. Differential privacy makes it impossible to follow this basic principle." The report said an uneven economic recovery is expected to begin in the second half of 2021, driven by progress in vaccinations and large-scale fiscal spending. It projects that the recovery will create 100 million jobs this year and an additional 80 million in 2022, but says that is still far short of pre-pandemic levels. To make matters worse, many of the newly created jobs are expected to be of low productivity and poor quality, the report said. The agency predicts employment growth will be insufficient to make up for the losses suffered as a result of the pandemic until at least 2023. It said that many businesses especially micro and small enterprises have already gone bankrupt or are facing a highly uncertain future. A survey of 4,520 businesses in 45 countries worldwide in the second quarter of 2020 found that 80% of micro-enterprises and 70% of small firms were facing significant financial difficulties, the report said. Recovery from COVID-19 is not just a health issue, said the agency's director, Guy Ryder. The serious damage to economies and societies needs to be overcome too." Without accelerated efforts to create decent jobs and support for the worlds most vulnerable people and hardest-hit economic sectors, the lingering effects of the pandemic could be with us for years in the form of lost human and economic potential and higher poverty and inequality, Ryder said. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Because hes relatively unknown, hes trying to define himself before the Democratic candidate can do that for him, said Bob Holsworth, a longtime Virginia political analyst. Hes going to have to put in enormous sums to overcome Democratic tendencies in this state its really his only chance. But its a challenge for the Democrats, Holsworth added. No one would have expected a year ago that if McAuliffe was the nominee, that he would be outspent. And thats now a possibility in this race. Holsworth said while Youngkin already has invested an extraordinary amount of personal wealth in his campaign, he has been able to attract large donations from both traditional GOP donors and others who have not previously supported a candidate at these levels. Youngkin reported about $4.8 million in cash on hand at the end of the reporting period, compared with about $3.3 million for McAuliffe. The Democratic primary Tuesdays financial disclosures shed light on the resources the Democrats had to close out the race heading into the June 8 primary. The racist and misogynistic acts and outcomes uncovered during this investigation are disturbing, the report states. Although VMI has no explicitly racist or sexist policies that it enforces, the facts reflect an overall racist and sexist culture. The report includes several other concerns at the 182-year-old institution: VMI is less diverse than other schools. It maintains an outdated" reverence for the Civil War and Confederacy. And a rift between athletes and non-athletes has led to the incorrect perception that athlete means African American. The report said the state should require VMI to submit quarterly reports on diversity and inclusion efforts, adding that VMI will likely follow through on its promised reforms only if it is forced to do so. The school's first Black superintendent, retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins, said the school has already been moving toward becoming more inclusive and welcoming. Those efforts include the removal of a prominent statue of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson, who taught at VMI, in December. Wins added that he developed an action plan following deep dives into VMI's policies that will help to better unify cadets. The European Union said Thursday that it has added Japan to a small list of countries for which restrictions on nonessential travelers should be lifted. As immigration controls fall under the authority of individual member states, countries within the bloc independently decide on entry conditions for travelers, including self-quarantine periods and negative COVID-19 test results. But with Japan's Foreign Ministry continuing to advise against travel to Europe, it remains unlikely that the region will see a sudden increase of Japanese tourists. Japan was removed from the list in January. Prichard, who did not immediately respond to requests for an interview, has been critical of Republican leadership or in the case of Reynolds, a lack of leadership. Hours before lawmakers adjourned their 2021 session, Prichard said that 1,875 Iowans had died as a result of COVID-19 since the session began in January. But rather than work with lawmakers on an aggressive recovery plans in the middle of this life-changing pandemic (Reynolds) chose a partisan agenda that by and large ignored the pandemic. Reynolds, he said, put headlines and impressing viewers of Fox News over being a leader for Iowa. Every decision has been an avoidance of dealing with the tough issues in front of the state, said Prichard, who briefly ran for governor in 2018. A Davenport native and lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, Prichard is one of the few rural Democrats in the Legislature and the only one who represents an entirely rural House district, he said. In 2018, Prichard succeeded former Marshalltown Rep. Mark Smith and was reelected minority leader ahead of the 2021 session, despite Democratic loses in the 2020 elections. Baughn Street, a community travesty The Baughn Street issue is being driven by one party, the YMCA. They chose to build a facility which did not meet even their original needs. This left the YMCA with no ability to expand on their original lot. Not surprisingly, they have outgrown the limitations of their building, and now they are financing a decision that will endanger the safety of many of our residents. While the neighbors are the most obvious victims, what about those rushing to CHI Mercy Hospital, only to be met with possible traffic congestion? The YMCA unnecessarily demolished a 100 year-old community treasure, the original St. Patricks Church. There was no doubt The 712 Initiative could have repurposed the structure of this beautiful house of worship for other community needs, if only the YMCA would have simply allowed The 712 Initiative to put its own plans into place. Now as if this wasnt bad enough, the good neighbor circumvented the wants and needs of longtime area residents and influenced our City Council members into voting to close Baughn Street. Do the YMCA and its board members have any respect for its neighbors? Please remember, the YMCA is community-funded, and receives all of the benefits the adjoining property owners and the rest of us pay for: police, fire, snow removal, etc. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. by A.M.A.* The emphasis on urban development and mega-projects, including the new administrative capital. Covid-19 pandemic has eradicated tourism with heavy losses to the state coffers. The role of the army as a guarantor and the position of the country in the international arena. The desire to share and work towards building the future is growing. Cairo (AsiaNews) - Notwithstanding the monumental new administrative capital built some sixty kilometers east of Cairo. Within one year, the Egyptian State was proud to have been able to erect the biggest mosque and cathedral in the new capital, three years ago. And Sissi attended the Christmas and Easter celebrations at the cathedral honoring the Pope Tawadraus, head of the Coptic Church, as attending the Muslim prayers for the two main Islamic feasts. It is also there that the Mubarak funeral was hold. Mubarak and his two sons were liberated from jail and freed from any charge, as a sign of the famous Egyptian tolerance temper. In Cairo many avenues and roads were widened to make an easier reach to the new capital, even if it had to erase part of the famous Eastern Mameluke Cemetery, or lift between fifteen to twenty thousand trees, dating for more than one hundred years in the beautiful suburb of Heliopolis founded in 1905 by the Belgian Baron Empain. More than twelve fly overs have been built on all the main cross roads. The widened streets and avenues have become real expressways or highways impossible for pedestrian to cross. So many deaths happened, that the civil authorities decided to build footbridges with escalators that are not always working so we still see pedestrian, mainly old and handicapped people trying to cross the highways! One can see also the shanty towns spreading all over around the peripheric boulevard surrounding Cairo for nearly seventy kilometers long. To an extent that a Minister for Shanty Settlements was created, and given to a woman minister for a couple of years! At this point, many women have been appointed ministers, judges, or governors or provinces, some of them Christian as well. A real attempt to foster women to candidate in parliamentary election is made. The number of women in Parliament has increased from fifteen to fifty, but still it is far from the total number that exceed five hundred. Among constructions, many new provincial museums and airports have been erected. We have to quote the Grand Egyptian Museum who is due to open near the Pyramids by the end of this year, and the Egyptian Civilization museum, recently inaugurated with the Pharaohs mummies input. Next to the GEM, the Sphynx Airport, will allow foreign visitors to avoid crossing the crowded Cairo to get to the Museum and from there join Louxor, Asswan, the Red Sea and Sinai. One also has to greet the enlargement of the Suez Canal waterway to help the move of the vessels back and forth at the same moment. The Corona Virus Pandemy and the lack of tourism have seriously attempted Egypt. The battle against fundamental extremist movements is still on the go, mainly in Northern Sinai, where the extremists attack Christian people, whom part of them flied from Sinai to the Nile Valley. A huge attack happened also on a soufi mosque, making hundreds of victims, since the fundamentalist wahhabite movement reprove and condemn soufism and all that is not radically conform to their beliefs. We have to add to the pitfalls of the present regime the battle against opponents, the stifling and smothering of intellectuals as well as the imprisonment of an unknown number of people without any accusation or judgement. This is unhappily hampering the regime reputation. The armed forces are not only the institution of defence for the country, but are also the main promoter in the fields of construction, industry, trade, agriculture, medicine, food industry, and all possible fields of life. It ensures stability in a country where the population increase is one of the highest in the world with limited possibilities to cover the needs. The Cotton production which is under the monopoly of the State decreased in quality during the last three or four decades. Since a few years, huge endeavours to higher the quality are made to reach the finest level of the renowned Egyptian cotton of yesteryears. On the Economy level, Egypt succeeded in greatly ameliorating the situation which was disastrous ten years ago. The minimum salary rate has been doubled by the State. Health Insurance is spreading and the Covid pandemic is worsening the health situation. One is amazed that the results of the pandemic spreading are not enormous. In fact, the official published numbers cannot cover the whole situation, since people affected are seeking private medication and try not to announce their illness. In the popular areas and shanty towns, medical doctors assert that people are immunized to so many viruses that the Covid one is not taking hold. The Vaccine is offered freely for more than three months now. It started with the Sinopharm, and now the Astra Zeneca, Moderna and Sputnik are available. Egypt is facing also a water problem that can endanger its future. Because of the Ethiopian dam erected on the Blue Nile and the stubbornness of Ethiopia refusing any agreement with Sudan and Egypt. Amazingly this dam in Ethiopia is made with the assistance of Israel and Qatar, two virtual enemies of Egypt. Life is not easy for the enormous population of the country, prices are high, work opportunities for the young ones are scarce, but at least, there is no starvation, and one can feel all the efforts made for a better life level, and against the terrible corruption mind inherited by tens and hundreds of years. On the International level, Egypt is regaining its stature, mainly with the recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, for which Sissi was an active and successful actor. The general tableau and circumstances of the situation in Egypt is still a complicated one. It is not a question of democracy, which cannot be reached by a simple decision, but needs years of education, consciousness and field experience. The Occident reached its level of democracy after hundreds of years of struggle and experiments. For a country where the literacy rate is still low, and the burden of customs high, the main goal is to ensure bread for all and then health care, education, training and work potential, as well as a consolidated economy and a better level for years to come. Hope for the future is essential. Egyptian people have the knowledge and ability to protest. People are aware and eager to quit the passiveness and lethargy in which they have been plunged for centuries. The eagerness to share in building the future is increasing. The path is still long to reach a convenient stage. But the important is to walk and advance in this path. It is easy to accuse a scape goat of being responsible of all the problems, but it is much hard to move in a positive way. It will take ten more years to analyze the situation and evaluate the developments. End of Part Two (for Part One click here) * Anonymous and modest witness analyst, pseudonym of a leading scholar and expert on Middle Eastern issues. A health worker administers the COVID-19 vaccine to an Israeli at mobile clinic parked near a bar in Tel Aviv. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty Images An official Israeli report released Tuesday found a striking correlation between COVID-19 mRNA vaccinations and a spike in cases of a heart-inflammation condition in young males, which appears likely to lead the country to revisit its recommendation that children receive two doses of the vaccine. The report found over 110 cases of myocarditis around the time of vaccination, 95 of which occurred following the second of Pfizers two-dose regimen. This translates to a rate of roughly one in 50,000. However, most of the people who developed the heart condition were young men, with a particularly high incidence for those aged 16 to 24, putting their rate at around one in 5,000. These findings raise the likelihood of a causal link between the vaccine and myocarditis, states the report presented by a committee that was appointed by the countrys health ministry to investigate a possible connection between myocarditis and the vaccines. Myocarditis can generally go away on its own, though it can also be serious, with lasting health consequences, and is sometimes even fatal. A detailed analysis at Hadassah Medical Center, a major hospital serving the greater Jerusalem area, found that cases of myocarditis at the facility were five to 25 times the normal number over the same time span in previous years, Dror Mevorach, the head of internal medicine and the COVID-19 ward at Hadassah, told Intelligencer. This potentially puts the rate as high as one in 3,000 to one in 6,000 vaccinated young men, he said. Mevorach, who also headed the national committee to investigate the myocarditis link, said that over a span of three months the hospital saw 20 cases of myocarditis, when it typically sees only four; 19 of the 20 cases were young males, ages 16 to 30. Eighteen of the 20 cases presented within four days of the second vaccine dose. The patients all had chest pain or difficulty breathing, ruling out that the condition was asymptomatic and caught inadvertently by general tests, Mevorach said. Only two patients of the 20 had evidence of past infection, eliminating any correlation with COVID-19 itself, rather than the vaccine. A possible link between myocarditis and the mRNA vaccines has been in the news since earlier this year, when initial reports of vaccinated people experiencing the heart condition surfaced from Israel, and in the U.S military. Last month, Connecticuts health commissioner said there were at least 18 teens and young adults in the state who developed heart problems following COVID-19 vaccination. Last week, the top health officer in King County, Washington, said his county had 14 cases of myocarditis or pericarditis (inflammation of the outer lining of the heart) following vaccination. Its unclear if the cases are linked to vaccination, he said. The ages ranged from 16 to 42, and all but two cases were males. Its important to stress that the Connecticut and Washington reports, among many others, are anecdotal. And the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions vaccine safety group on May 17 said in a report that rates of myocarditis reports in the window following COVID-19 vaccination have not differed from expected baseline rates. Yet, the statement continued, members felt that information about reports of myocarditis should be communicated to providers. To understand whether there is a real correlation between myocarditis and the vaccines, and if so its degree of prevalence, is, unfortunately, not an exact science. For starters, the United States lacks a system for measuring such data with precision. There is no way for CDC to query electronic records for myocarditis, said Shira Doron, an infectious-diseases physician and hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. Instead, federal agencies largely rely on the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) for tracking serious adverse events following vaccinations. But the system is passive, meaning that reports, which can be submitted by anyone, are voluntary. As such, a paper, published by authors from the CDC and FDA, explains, VAERS data cannot be used to determine if a vaccine caused an adverse event. Instead, the paper noted, the database is a safety-signal detection and hypothesis-generating system, which is still valuable. Putting a notice of a potential problem in the media, as the CDC has done with myocarditis, Doron said, is a good way to increase case findings, and the higher the number, the more reliable it is. Nevertheless, the numbers in VAERS are imperfect and can be over- or underestimates. Considering the known limitations of our tracking systems, the CDCs declaration that the rates of myocarditis following vaccination are no higher than baseline projects an unfounded certitude. First, the specific rate of myocarditis following vaccinations is unknown because, as was noted, the reporting system is not comprehensive. Second, there is no baseline rate of myocarditis to compare such events to. Some estimates suggest the baseline for myocarditis is between ten and 20 cases per 100,000 persons. Marc Richmond, a pediatric cardiologist at Columbia University Medical Center, said he thinks the baseline might be around three per 100,000, but that we dont actually know the rate. Nevertheless, he said, there does appear to be a small sign about the correlation between the vaccine and myocarditis. But, at the moment, its too hard to tell one way or the other. In the face of growing concerns about myocarditis, last week the CDC posted a statement saying it continues to recommend COVID-19 vaccination for everyone 12 years of age and older. The known and potential benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the known and potential risks, including the possible risk of myocarditis or pericarditis. Mevorach, the Israeli physician, suggested that its possible his committee found a seemingly definitive link while the U.S. has not because Israel is a small country and its easier within their system to find a signal faster. He predicts the CDC will change its assessment. As it stands, recent reports from Israel suggest that because of the side effects, and the countrys low rate of COVID-19, the health ministry is going to change its recommendation from two doses for pediatric vaccination to one dose, or perhaps no specified dose schedule. Unlike the U.S., Israel has held off on vaccinating 12- to 15-year-olds. The health ministry announced today that it will begin to allow that age group to be vaccinated next week. There is ambiguity about the balance of costs and benefits to kids to get vaccinated, at least right now, on this schedule, according to a number of experts. This is why, in part, some epidemiologists and others have suggested that children do not meet the criteria of an emergency-use authorization of the vaccines, unlike most adults. The risk of COVID-19 itself to children is low, and as I reported in late May, two studies found that pediatric hospitalization rates for the disease have been over-counted by at least 40 percent. So its hard to run the risk-benefit calculation with any degree of clarity. Indeed, during the meeting of VRBPAC, the advisory committee to the FDA for vaccine approvals, several members adamantly objected to the initial EUA beginning at age 16, rather than, at minimum, age 18. I do not believe we have sufficient data for 16- and 17 year-olds they do not get very sick, and are seldom hospitalized, one member said, which was typical of the critical comments. Cody Meissner, one of the committee members, and chief of the division of pediatric infectious disease at Tufts School of Medicine, told Intelligencer that he didnt vote in favor of the EUA because fewer than 100 adolescents aged 16 and 17 got vaccinated in the trial. Five out of 22 members ultimately did not vote in favor of the general EUA for the Pfizer vaccine, which the FDA approved in December. The clinical trial for 12- to 15-year-olds included a little over 2,000 participants, half of whom were in the placebo group. If an adverse event such as myocarditis occurs in one out of every 3,000 to 6,000 young males, as Mevorach estimates from his data, a trial with 1,000 people actually receiving the vaccine might not even see that event. In May, the FDA did not invite the advisory committee back when it extended the EUA for 12- to 15-year-olds. The good news is the data show that the absolute risk from COVID-19 to children is extremely small. Pediatric mortality is on par with or less than that from influenza in recent seasons, and the already very low hospitalization numbers, as noted, were found to be significantly over-counted. Conversely, a number of experts Intelligencer spoke with believe, and at least preliminarily the data suggest, that the absolute risks from the vaccine to children are likely extremely small as well. Nevertheless, despite the CDCs assurances, taking into account the dearth and opacity of the data in the U.S., the Israeli report may be worth considering. Photo: Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images While 63 percent of American adults have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, most of the rest of the world is struggling to vaccinate the bulk of their population. On Thursday, the Biden administration laid out how the United States would share the first 25 million of 80 million vaccine doses with the rest of the world. The first doses were already in the air as of Thursdays briefing on the plan. Of that 25 million, 19 million of those doses will be distributed through COVAX, a global partnership with the World Health Organization to distribute shots to poorer regions, with a priority on Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. The remaining 6 million doses would go directly from the U.S. to countries including Canada, Mexico, India, and South Korea. We are sharing these doses not to secure favors or extract concessions, President Biden said in a statement. We are sharing these vaccines to save lives and to lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic, with the power of our example and with our values. According to the White House, the 25 million doses doled out beginning Thursday will include the Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna vaccines but not AstraZeneca, which is still under review by the FDA. Biden has previously committed to providing other nations with all 60 million domestically produced doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is widely approved around the world, but the U.S.-produced doses will be available to ship as soon as they clear a safety review. (Bloomberg) -- Tesla Inc. shares fell by the most in three weeks, sitting out of the broader markets advance, after electric-vehicle sales figures showed a loss in global market share for April. The drop adds to pressure on Teslas stock in recent months as investors eyed growing competitive threats, an ongoing chip shortage, multiple crashes, signs of a slowdown in China sales and a potential delay to a factory in Germany. The Wall Street Journal also reported that U.S. regulators warned Tesla last year that Chief Executive Officer Elon Musks tweets had twice violated a court order. The shares fell as much as 4% in New York on Wednesday, before closing down 3%, restraining the advance in the S&P 500 Index. It was the stocks biggest one-day decline since May 13. Tesla shares also missed out on a two-day rally that lifted other electric-car stocks. Teslas global market share decreased to 11% in April from 29% in March, likely marking the lowest such reading since January 2019, according to Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy. He said Tesla lost ground in China, Europe and the U.S., where its dominance has been eroded by new competition and recent price hikes. While the data weighed on the stock, analysts warned against reading too much into volatile monthly moves in market-share numbers, given the small size of the electric-vehicle universe and the industrys challenges from the pandemic and semiconductor shortages. Month to month is tricky to extrapolate, Roth Capital Partners Craig Irwin said in an email. Tesla can continue to do well, but it wont be all of the market as so many are expecting. Tesla is now down 14% this year, while the S&P 500 has advanced 12%. That marks a shift from 2020, when the shares soared more than eightfold as investors plowed into growth stocks. Among 44 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, more than a quarter rate the stock a sell. It has been a choppy year in China along with a bunch of black eyes, and that combination in an overall risk-off environment means any bad news that the market would have dismissed last year, is being taken on the chin right now, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said by phone. Story continues (Updates stock move in first and third paragraphs.) More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2021 Bloomberg L.P. Washington, PA (15301) Today Thunderstorms. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 82F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms in the evening, with mostly clear skies overnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 58F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. by Paul Nguyen Hung Cases of Covid-19 are on the rise across the country. On International Children's Day on 1 June, government and hospitals step up support for children. Hanoi (AsiaNews) - The fourth wave of Covid-19 is hitting Vietnam and in particular children, who make up about 6% of new cases. According to data from John Hopkins University, 7,870 new cases were recorded on June 2 (an increase of 245 new cases over the previous day) and 49 deaths. Minister of Labor, Disabled People and Social Affairs, ao Ngoc Dung, stated that on May 28 there were 198 children affected by Covid-19, 6% of the total cases recorded that day. In addition to these, 3,915 are classified as "F1," meaning those people who live or have come into contact with people affected by Covid-19, while "F0" indicates the people currently infected. Since April 27, the Ministry of Labor, Disabled People and Social Affairs and the Vietnam Children's Fund have been providing free meals to children under 16 suffering from Covid-19 or in isolation. In the province of Bac Giang, in northern Vietnam, there are currently 1,000 children in isolation and who are being treated for the disease. Local communities have mobilized all available resources to care for the F0 children, while the F1 children are receiving free meals and treatment, whether they are in isolation in their communities or in health facilities. Cases of Covid-19 are on the rise throughout the country and the pandemic is affecting the psychological health of children and their daily activities. International Children's Day was celebrated on 1 June, but many were unable to celebrate as usual due to the pandemic. However, on May 30, doctors and nurses from a Nang Lung hospital and Hoa Vang medical center still celebrated by giving gifts to children with Covid-19 treated in their wards. The hospital is treating six children with Covid-19. One is a six-month-old baby, but they are all in a stable condition, "said Dr. Le Thanh Phuc, director of the a Nang Lung hospital. "On International Children's Day on June 1, we gave the children extra gifts to encourage them," he added. On the same day, the Hoa Vang medical center, in the city of a Nang, also organized a party for the children treated in their facility. Dr Tran Thi Thu, head of the pediatric department in Hoa Vang told AsiaNews that her team "is treating 12 children, aged between 10 months and 14 years of age". And she then continued: This year these children are more disadvantaged than others because when they had to celebrate Children's Day in a place like this. In the past, doctors and nurses have cared for the health of children and have been friends and carers of these children. We always try to help these children so that they can overcome the fear of the pandemic. Here, during the treatment, they not only improve their health conditions, but also overcome their fear while staying here, concluded Dr Thu. I didn't know summit could be a verb. That's all I have to add. Reply Thread Link Hmm after all those posts of users mentioning people's dead bodies being left up there....I wouldn't be gung ho about climbing it Finding about green boots was surreal. Reply Thread Link Thats how I found out about that man too! So many people have died climbing that mountain. I wish it wasnt a thing. :( Reply Parent Thread Link i think about green boots several times a week. it just hasn't left me and it's been well over a year since i learned about these issues. Reply Parent Thread Link i have so much whiplash from this post. first, i was gonna complain about the everest climbing industry. then, i was like oh i guess it's nice he did it for charity. then, i looked at the amount, saw it barely covers an expedition in the first place and was like bitch couldn't just donate money and cut out the middle step?? Edited at 2021-06-03 12:34 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link AND ALSO random venting but... you know what i hate almost as much as the everest climbing industry? reddit dudebros who gleefully watch each climbing season just to tally up deaths. like you're not actually? helping?? anything??? and they're always the type of person who knows precisely one (1) fact about mountaineering and that's that "well, actually, k2 is much harder than everest..." /venting Reply Parent Thread Link This. Its so expensive to climb Everest. He could have just donated money but this was all about ego. Reply Parent Thread Link Well, hes an attention whore, and this way he gets attention for a ~cause. Sidenote: google says it costs $35-45k to climb the mountain? Is he taking a large group of people with him? Reply Parent Thread Link i was admittedly being somewhat hyperbolic when i said it "barely" covered the cost. still it's a big chunk of change he could have just donated instead of using to climb the mountain. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link He's probably renting a Sherpa, hiking at base camp and on the mountain, buying air tanks. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I didnt read his GoFundMe (continuing the ONTD tradition) but did he do the summit out of his own money and is just fundraising the donation? Reply Parent Thread Link Dubious ethics aside, I didn't think he had it in him. Reply Thread Link you'd be surprised the people who have successfully summited everest. if you've got the money, sherpa will basically carry you up. i imagine that's what happened here. it's why everest isn't really considered a huge accomplishment in the mountaineering world anymore. Edited at 2021-06-03 12:43 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Everest isnt a very technical climb tbh. Its more just grueling and the weather at that altitude is very very finicky. It can change in a matter of hours and kill a lot of people. Most people die on Everest during the descent due to exhaustion, health problems, and other non-mountain based reasons! Reply Parent Thread Link Yea, I thought he'd legit die of exhaustion! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link His underpaid and exploited sherpa probably dragged his ass up there. Reply Parent Thread Link Yassssss underexperienced rich asshole, exploit the commercial tourism industry and put sherpas' lives in jeopardy as they haul your white ass to the summit, pasty colder-than-me king! Reply Thread Link Holy crap. Good luck to him. Reply Thread Link They have internet on Everest? Reply Thread Link definetly at camp 2 and base camp at least Reply Parent Thread Link Huh the more you know Reply Parent Thread Link Why are U punishing me - Sent from my Sony Xperia Z2 on Everest" Reply Parent Thread Link I am very much against the climbing Everest industry. It actually makes me pretty angry. If it has to continue i think the price should increase at least 3 fold. (Obviously to go to the Sherpa) Edited at 2021-06-03 12:39 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link The tourism around Everest is about 10% of Nepal's economy. I get how people in the west can just be like "ew" but that's not how it works. Reply Parent Thread Link Do you have a source for that because while it's significant, I've never seen it reported as 10% of their economy? And googling currently I can find nothing. Anyway, I'm aware that its not going to stop but it's still an exploitive industry. That's why I think it should cost more. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I'm glad he didn't die (so far). That was my initial assessment when this was announced. I wonder if all the money is going to charity or includes the cost of the guided trip. If you have a small party and are doing a supported expedition, it can be well over $100k. Also, there's cell signal at Camp 2? Maybe he texted someone on a satellite phone and they posted it to Twitter for him. [Edit] Wow looked it up and there are three 5G towers. I did a hike through the Peruvian Andes in 2006 and forgot to turn off my cell phone. It was wild that I got a text message at the far edge of the Sacred Valley. Edited at 2021-06-03 12:44 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link You'd think with all the dead bodies on the mountains we'd learn that humans have no business being that high up. Reply Thread Link i guess he's finally... (_) ( _)>- (_) cooler than you (just temperature-wise. i echo all the other concerns over the mt. everest tourism industry) Reply Thread Link How long have you been sitting on this one? Lol Reply Parent Thread Link i am so glad i scrolled down because i was about to say the same thing XDDDDD Reply Parent Thread Link i used to have nightmares about Everest bc young me thought i would somehow end up being forced to climb for some reason. anyways, i get (safe for everyone) mountain climbing, but i really dont get people who risk their lives on dangerous stuff like this. im huge baby about stuff so lol Reply Thread Link Maybe you heard about it so often you thought it was something everyone had to do? I do remember being a kid and being concerned about Mt. Everest and random patches of quicksand. Reply Parent Thread Link Everest, quicksand, and also shark attacks lol Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Some people do these kind of things for the attention and to feel like heroes. If you want to help the nonprofit, donate money, volunteer, do it quietly. If you want to climb Mount Everest do it quietly, too. I bet he wouldn't do it if he couldn't tell about it on social media, though. I'm cranky today. Reply Thread Link Favorite mountaineering documentaries, podcasts, and books? Into Thin Air is what got me into it all. I find Touching the Void is one of the most inspiring documentaries I have ever seen in my life. Ive watched The Summit as well. Ive read some books too but I cant recall them off hand. Reply Thread Link Into Thin Air is amazing. I recommend it to everyone!! I cry each time I read it. Reply Parent Thread Link [ Spoiler (click to open) ] The part right at the end about the guy leaving Yasuko Namba in the night and her begging him not to leave her to die absolutely broke my heart. And I cannot believe Beck Weathers survived everything that happened to him. Dude has 49 lives, I swear. I read Into Thin Air after the last post about this, I think it might have been one of your comments that prompted me actually! I literally devoured it in two days, it was so fascinating and awful and sad and made me feel totally on edge. I think about it often since I read it and have recommended it to a bunch of people too. Reply Parent Thread Link Touching the Void was so good but shone of the shots gave me the same type of feeling the seeing open ocean does. Just a palpable fear. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Check out K2: Siren of the Himalayas chronicling the attempt to summit K2 on the centennial anniversary of its first summit. And I'm really partial to Meru, which has a really wonderful human story element to it, as well as stunning visuals. Reply Parent Thread Link An American Ascent is the story of a team trying to be the first expedition of Black mountaineers to climb Denali. Death Zone: Cleaning Mount Everest documents an all-Sherpa expedition to remove trash and bodies from Everest. The voice over from Patrick Stewart is a little melodramatic but what stands out is the Sherpa climbers are the ones doing videography using GoPro. It's told from their point of view rather than outsiders. You learn how they view the mountain as sacred and see their incredible endurance and bravery. Reply Parent Thread Link The documentary "Sherpa" was really great. It starts focusing on Phurba Tashi (who at the time tied the record for most Everest summits) trying to break his record and Sherpa culture but shifts to cover the 2014 ice avalanche that killed 16 Sherpas. Fascinating look at Everest politics. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Its not alpinism, but I fucking love Dawn Wall and Free Solo as a sport climber. Valley Uprising is awesome as a peak into the dirtbag, acid dropping bouldering lifestyle of the 60s and 70s Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Ed Viesturs: No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks is an excellent book. Everest, the David Braeshears IMAX documentary that actually featured Ed climbing Everest and ended up being witnesses to the 96 disaster is amazing. Now I'm going back to do a deep dive on Everest documentaries and other stuff. Reply Parent Thread Link Ive posted on this before and Ill do it again: EVEREST (AND ANY OF THE OTHER 14 8,000m PEAKS) SHOULD NOT BE CLIMBED BY INEXPERIENCED CLIMBERS. You should have to climb other mountains with similar hardness before climbing one of these peaks. Theyre hard. Many many many people die on Everest, and many of those MANY people who have died are native Nepalese Sherpa. Theyre paid pennies for what is an incredibly hard, dangerous, and backbreaking job. Everest isnt even the hardest of the 8,000m peaks to climb. Its relatively low on the scale of hardest mountain to climb. And I mean that seriously, most people dont die because of the mountain itself but human error instead. K2 and Annapurna are much much much harder with many skilled professional alpinists who specifically climb Himalayan peaks dying on them. That ALL being said, I understand the want to climb Everest and I am for companies who provide the access to climbing but ONLY after the Sherpas are paid much much better and there is a check list of what you have to climb beforehand. Not a skill list of the techniques you need but actual summits of lower peaks. /end mountaineering/Himalayan mountaineering rant from a mountaineering history nerd. Reply Thread Link Endurance is a big part of it but the most critical skill to have is good judgment. So many people get summit fever, or just don't know when to turn around. Reply Parent Thread Link Omg I want the Tom Cruise audio from this meeting Reply Thread Link i can't wait Reply Parent Thread Link Gonna be a high bar to try and beat "we are fucking done professionally!!!" Reply Parent Thread Link Hey, theres always, We are fucking done personally! Reply Parent Thread Link I was looking at the light. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link The Indian variant is running rampant in the UK right now, why the fuck would you film here? Fuck off. Reply Thread Link I mean at this point its probably running rampant everywhere and the travel corridors are nonsense. people who have enough money can fly from place to place until they get to the location they want to. Reply Parent Thread Link I have a bad feeling by the fall of this year, it will hit the U.S. hard and all these fuckers who don't want to get vaccinated nor wear masks are gonna pay for it. Reply Parent Thread Link But also like baiiiiiii Reply Parent Thread Link Well thatll solve the housing shortage. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Tom Cruise is steaming!!! Reply Thread Link what if it's him tho LOL Reply Parent Thread Link he prob thinks scientologists can't get it, would be even more steamed!!! Reply Parent Thread Link that would be so fuckin funny if he was the superspreader 2.0 Reply Parent Thread Link this is still filming? Reply Thread Link This is like a movie equivalent of one of those celeb pregnancies that just seem to go on forever. Reply Parent Thread Link Mte, I thought his covid rant was like an entire year ago... Reply Parent Thread Link I legit did a double take and checked the date on the tweet. Just...how? How many jumbo jets do you need to Velcro tom cruise to? Reply Parent Thread Link I came here to ask the exact same thing. Wasn't this shit filming even pre-COVID? His rant was only like a couple months into the pandemic so it really has been like 84 years they've been at this... Reply Parent Thread Link They were due to start filming Feb 2020 in Italy but Italy locked down so filming never actually started there or any of the other MI7 locations. They started filming in Sep 2020 so it's not been a year but it feels a lot longer, maybe due to the many changes in release dates. (His covid rant was in Dec 2020). Edited at 2021-06-04 12:20 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I think they're filming 7 & 8 at the same time? Reply Parent Thread Link Didn't he break an ankle or something & that delayed filming? Or was that the last MI movie? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I hope Tom doesn't bust a vessel. Reply Thread Link I hope the suppressive person is found and dealt with Reply Thread Link uh oh Reply Thread Link hoo boy, imagine being the one who had to tell Tom Cruise this. Reply Thread Link I would have called in sick but I feel like that would have made things worse. Reply Parent Thread Link I would have texted him and put in my two week notice lol Reply Parent Thread Link Damn I hope whoever it is they recover! I wonder if the cast and crew have been vaccinated already? I imagine so. Reply Thread Link I hope so too. Guessing it may be a crew member. I think the cast is already vaxx. Simon did IG stories for his first and second shot. And his PA posted a different IG story yesterday of video with Simon, Pom, and Greg Tarzan Davis (and dogs) taking a stroll together. Edited at 2021-06-03 11:57 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link What if Tom is the one who tested positive? Reply Parent Thread Link It did come to my mind lol but I doubt it cause most cast and crews I imagine got vaccinated a long time ago. I think a lot of celebs got it before the public did to keep production going. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Yeah, wouldnt Scientology not condone vaccinations? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link You can still test positive if you're vaccinated, you're just extremely unlikely to have any symptoms. Apparently PCR tests are super sensitive and they can detect a much smaller amount of Covid than is associated with an active case so for vaccinated people this might result in basically false positives. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link This is still filming? Fuck him and the selfish director. Reply Thread Link Plot twist: it's Tom. Reply Thread Link i feel like this has been in production for like a year. Reply Thread Link tom cruise rn (pls note he is also roughly the same height as this bb) tom cruise rn(pls note he is also roughly the same height as this bb) Reply Thread Link Fuck him. Covid or not. Fuck him. Covid or not. Reply Parent Thread Link you realize this is a deepfake, right? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Wait till deepfakes become our new overlords Reply Parent Thread Expand Link This deep fake looks like Tom from 15 years ago, lol. Reply Parent Thread Link CEO of Pfizer Creates New Treatment Pill Projected to be Available by the End of 2021 The Pfizer pill is described as a game-changer. An oral pill is expected to treat variants of COVID-19. The CEO of Pfizer announced that an antiviral treatment for the disease could be available to the public by the end of 2021. A news article in the UK says Pfizer is currently conducting trials in the U.S. and Belgium, where adult volunteers are taking pills to help find a cure for COVID-19. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said it is accurate to say the company is working on such therapies. The company is actually testing two antivirals, one that is injected and one that is taken orally. Bourla explained Pfizer is focusing on the oral option because it provides multiple advantages, including people not coming to the hospital. He described the oral antiviral pill as a game changer. He says the end of the year is a reasonable time frame for availability to the public, all depending on the success of the trials and FDA approval. Although its still new, Pfizer announced the beginning of Phase 1 clinical trials of the drug - PF-07321332 - in late March. An article says its designed to work by stopping SARS-CoV-2 from replicating in the cell. "Tackling the Covid-19 pandemic requires both prevention via vaccine and targeted treatment for those who contract the virus," said Mikael Dolsten, Pfizer's chief scientific officer, "Given the way that SARS-CoV-2 is mutating and the continued global impact of COVID-19, it appears likely that it will be critical to have access to therapeutic options both now and beyond the pandemic." More than 296 million* COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the U.S. so far. BlackRock, the worlds largest asset manager, will continue to work with oil and gas firms in order to help them through the energy transition, Reuters quoted chief executive Larry Fink as saying on Thursday. BlackRock is a major shareholder in many large oil and gas companies, including in the two U.S. supermajors, ExxonMobil and Chevron. Investors cannot run away from the oil and gas industry, Fink said. Most of the decarbonization costs now fall on the private sector, the executive added, and suggested that governments should be more involved in the energy transition. In his 2021 letter to CEOs earlier this year, Fink said, we are asking companies to disclose a plan for how their business model will be compatible with a net zero economy. BlackRock is carbon neutral today in our own operations and are committed to supporting the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner, Fink noted in his letter to CEOs. Last week, BlackRock supported activist investor Engine No.1 at the shareholders meeting of Exxon, which resulted in the investor taking board seats at the U.S. supermajor. BlackRock backed three of Engine No. 1s four board nominees and said, We continue to be concerned about Exxons strategic direction and the anticipated impact on its long-term financial performance and competitiveness. The asset manager also voted for a shareholder proposal for Exxon to report on corporate climate lobbying aligned with the Paris Agreement because we believe such a report would help investors understanding of Exxons climate-related lobbying and participation in trade associations. BlackRock supported a similar vote at the Chevron annual general meeting, at which shareholders filed a non-binding proposal requesting that Chevron report on how the companys direct and indirect lobbying align with the Paris Climate Agreement goals. BlackRock sees Chevron as a leader among US peers with regard to board oversight of climate risk, but noted that One additional area that we believe would strengthen the companys disclosure is additional transparency around political spending and lobbying related to climate risk and the low carbon transition. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The surge in climate activism demanding that Big Oil drastically cut emissions and shift strategies to investment in low-carbon energy instead of oil and gas could result in a surge in oil prices in the not-too-distant future. As much as environmentalists and activist shareholders want the major international oil firms to slash upstream investment further, the worlds energy system is not ready yet to deprive itself of the oil and gas resources that Big Oil is exploring and developing. As it stands, 80 percent of global energy is still being met by fossil fuels, and net-zero emission targets or not, the global transition to low-carbon sources of energy will take decades, not just years, and a shareholder meeting or two. Last weeks rebuke of Big Oils current strategic direction sets the stage for some unintended consequences that climate activists may have overlooked. These consequences include unintentionally giving OPEC even more control over the global oil market. National oil companiesin countries where environmental policies are much weaker than in the U.S. and Europe where the oil supermajors are basedwill be all-too-eager to step up and fill in the supply gap. Then, significantly reduced investments in developing new resourceswhich are already low after the 2020 oil price collapsecould lead to a supply crunch down the road. This will, in turn, result in an oil price spike when oil supply struggles to catch up with demand. Some would argue that oil demand would fall anyway, and the world wouldnt need as much supply as it did over the past decade. But there are currently no signs that oil demand is getting ready for a drastic fall, despite wishful thinking and net-zero scenarios, including the one from the International Energy Agencys (IEA) bombshell report that suggested no new investment in oil and gas needs to be approved beyond this years commitments if the world is to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Investment in new oil will continue to be important, even if the world gets on the 2 degrees Celsius pathway. New low-cost, low-carbon barrels will be necessary in order to replace dwindling production from maturing fields, Wood Mackenzie analysts said last week. If these investments from international oil firms are insufficient, the national oil firms will step up to prove and commercialize new resources, WoodMac notes. If Big Oil were to heed all the calls from environmentalists and the IEAs suggestion of no new oil and gas investment ever again, oil supply would be severely constrained in a world that is only at the beginning of its energy transition and still needs oil and gas to function and support economies. Related: Asian Refinery Margins Crash To Nearly $0 If demand does not decline as rapidly as the IEA assumes in its scenario, and the supply side is simultaneously choked off, global energy provision could be threatened and lead to very high energy prices, said the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association, the professional body and employers association of the industry. Norway, Western Europes biggest oil producer, has more stringent environmental standards than OPECs producing countries and pumps oil at one of the worlds lowest emissions levels. In Europe, oil majors are preparing to reduce emissions and gradually slow oil production over the coming decades as per their net-zero by 2050 pledges. However, those firms are also aware of the fact that it will be oil and gas profits that will pay for their energy transition portfolios. Its nice to say that we need to stop producing oil, but if there are no longer enough projects or production, what will happen? Prices will rise, Patrick Pouyanne, chief executive at TotalEnergies, formerly Total, told Frances Europe 1 radio on Monday. Over the past decade, Big Oils reserves have dropped, but even Europes majors, all of which have pledged to become net-zero emission energy businesses, continue to rely on business models dominated by oil and gas sales, Rystad Energy said in a report last month. If reserves are not high enough to sustain production levels, companies will find it difficult to fund expensive energy transition projects, resulting in a slowdown of their clean energy plans, said Parul Chopra, vice president of upstream research at Rystad Energy. Big Oil had already awakened to the need to invest in low-carbon energy even before last weeks biggest wake-up call from shareholders and climate activists so far. Yet, aggressive reductionsor keeping it in the ground as environmentalists demandin future oil supply beyond the oil majors current plans would lead to oil price spikes. It would also leave most of the worlds supply in the hands of OPEC and Russia, where geopolitics is always in a state of flux and where emissions standards are not as high as in Big Oils home countries. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Protests which erupted across Colombia in late April 2021 in response to proposed government tax hikes are now in their fifth week. There are indications that anti-government rallies will continue for some time after failed attempts at violent oppression, which has left 71 protestors dead with 36 at the hands of authorities, fuels further protests. In response to the Duque administrations heavy-handed attempts at repressing anti-government demonstrations, protestors have established roadblocks blockading many of Colombias main transport arteries. This is having a profound impact on the Andean countrys economically crucial oil industry which data from statistics agency DANE shows generated 17% of government revenues, 28% of exports by value, and 3% of gross domestic product during 2020. The importance of Colombias oil industry is underscored by the Duque administrations focus on its reactivation after easing the restrictions imposed during the Andean countrys pandemic lockdown. These included providing tax relief to the hydrocarbon sector to bolster production and attract investment. There are signs that those measures were failing to achieve the desired results. While forecast 2021 investment of up to $3.45 billion is substantially greater than the $2.05 billion made last year, it is still at least 14% lower than 2019s $4.03 billion. The direness of the economic situation facing Bogota is underscored by the poor performance of Colombias economy and the struggle to reactivate many sectors which were irreparably damaged by the pandemic lockdown. DANE data (Spanish) shows that first quarter 2021 gross domestic product of $57 billion was a worrying 9% lower than the previous quarter. An existing security crisis, anti-government protests and road blockades are impacting economic activity and the petroleum industry putting Colombias crucial economic recovery is at risk. The current political turmoil has seen fuel shortages emerge in many parts of Colombia further constraining economic activity and oil industry operations in the affected regions. The latest news for the fiscally and economically vital petroleum industry bodes poorly for Colombias oil-dependent economy. Blockades are preventing oil companies operating from supplying their operations and transporting the crude oil produced by road to storage and port facilities. As a result, many drillers are being forced to turn off the spigots with onsite storage facilities brimming at capacity. The latest announcement is from Frontera Energy, Colombias third largest oil producer, which initially started its operations were unaffected, but this week revealed that it was forced to shut-in 3,600 barrels per day of production. This was because storage facilities at Fronteras Llanos Basin CPE-6 Block in the department of Meta are full because roadblocks in the vicinity of Puerto Gaitan, a hotspot for anti-oil industry activity. Prior to the protests commencing Colombias peak oil industry body the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP Spanish initials) released a statement condemning multiple oilfield invasions in Puerto Gaitan. The latest tensions in the area highlight that the petroleum industrys local social license is further deteriorating. Chilean energy company Geopark, which closed the Colombian Amerisur Resources deal in January 2020 to become Colombias fourth-largest oil producer, also released an update to its operations earlier this month. The company which last month announced the shut-in of up to 15,000 barrels of oil output per day stated it was in the process of bringing operations in the Llanos Basin back online. That sees net production curtailments at around 4,000 to 5,000 barrels per day, a significant reduction from the earlier production shut-ins. Beaten down Gran Tierra Energy, Colombias fifth largest oil producer has yet to provide an update after revealing last month it had shut-in 5,250 barrels per day of production because of roadblocks. Parex Resources, Colombias largest private oil producer, has yet to disclose the impact of the political turmoil on its operations but during mid-May 2021 advised it was withdrawing its second quarter 2021 guidance. Colombias national oil company Ecopetrol, which is 88.5% owned by the state, after initially claiming to be unaffected, announced late last month that production was down nearly 4% and refinery throughput had fallen. Ecopetrol subsidiary Cenit, which owns and operates most of Colombias oil pipelines, was forced to intermittently suspend operations because of the buildup of crude oil at various transportation and pipeline hubs. That according to Cenit caused refined and crude oil transportation volumes to fall sharply during May 2021. Related: ''We'll See $200 Oil": Russia & OPEC Ministers Blast IEA's Net Zero Plan These latest developments do not bode well for Colombias hydrocarbon output, which the energy ministry announced (Spanish) for April 2021 was an alarming 6.3% lower than for the same month in 2020 when Colombias pandemic lockdown was in full effect. That sharp decline in crude oil output occurred before the full impact of the anti-government protests in Colombia was being felt by the strife-torn countrys petroleum industry. There is further pain ahead for the Andean countrys crisis-stricken oil industry and its fragile petroleum-dependent economy. If production keeps deteriorating for a sustained period, it could precipitate a financial crisis for an already cash-strapped Bogota which in January 2021 issued over $2.8 billion in sovereign debt. Collapsing fiscal income because of weaker economic activity and declining oil output combined with increased spending is expected to cause the 2021 budget deficit to blow out to a record 9% of GDP. Even Duques proposed tax reform, which was intended to generate around 2.2% of GDP in additional revenue, would have done little to save an economy suffering from weak oil prices and the considerable fallout from the pandemic. Recent events underscore the volatile operating environment for Colombias oil industry. The ongoing turmoil will further impact operations and confidence, deterring much-needed development to expand Colombias meager oil reserves and waning production. By Matthew Smith for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Activist investor hedge fund Engine No.1 has won a third seat on the supermajors board of directors in an unprecedented shift of shareholder sentiment in the oil and gas industry. We look forward to working with all of our directors to build on the progress weve made to grow long-term shareholder value and succeed in a lower-carbon future, said Darren Woods, chairman and chief executive of Exxon. We thank all shareholders for their engagement and participation, and their ongoing support for our company. For all these thanks, however, many see Engine No.1s success with Exxons board member election as a game-changer for the oil and gas industry. The hedge fund is a relatively small shareholder with a stake worth $54 million. Yet it managed to convince other, larger shareholders to vote for the candidates it backed. It eventually got three of them on the board. The vote, according to observers, signals the continued displeasure of a growing number of shareholders with how Exxon is handling the push for lower-carbon energy and calls to do more to mitigate the impact of its business on the environment. We called for change at ExxonMobil, and a record number of shareholders, including many of the largest investors in the world, voted to hold the company accountable, one of the large shareholder backers of Engine No.1s candidates, CalSTRS, said in a statement on its website following the vote. The candidates that Engine No. 1 had put forward were directors who had experience in the energy industry transformation and who would factor climate change risks into a long-term business plan instead of just talking points. It is yet to be seen how the new board members will do. In the meantime, Exxon continues pursuing its core business objectives. Earlier this week, the company and its partner Equinor announced the final investment decision on the Bacalhau oil field in Brazil, whose development is estimated to cost some $8 billion. At the same time, Exxon exited an exploration project in Ghana before even drilling a single exploratory well. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Money managers reduced their bullish bets on the six most important petroleum contracts, but they bought more WTI Crude futures in the week to May 25 amid strong fundamentals for the U.S. benchmark, according to exchange data compiled by Reuters market analyst John Kemp. In the latest reporting week, hedge funds and other portfolio managers sold the equivalent of 8 million barrels in the six most important petroleum contracts, marking the third week of an overall reduction in the net long positionthe difference between bullish and bearish bets. The pace of the reduction in the longs, however, was much slower in the latest week than in the prior weeks, and the WTI Crude contract actually attracted more bullish bets. Hedge funds bought the equivalent of 10 million barrels in WTI, while they sold the equivalent of 12 million barrels in Brent Crude futures and options, according to the data compiled by Kemp. Despite the recent reduction in the net long, the market continues to be bullish overall on oil prices as longs outnumber shorts by a ratio of 4.86 to 1, Kemps estimates show. In the week to May 25, money managers boosted their long positions on WTI Crude buying 18,000 lots and sold Brent, thus cutting the combined net long position on crude oil futures to 624,000 lotsthe lowest net long since January, Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank, said on Monday, commenting on the Commitment of Traders reports. WTI bets rose in response to rising US fuel demand, low gasoline and Cushing oil stocks while Brent, the global benchmark, saw net selling due to the risk of rising Iranian production together with virus outbreaks in Asia curbing demand, Hansen noted. Early on Tuesday, oil prices were rallying as the OPEC+ group was meeting and widely expected to confirm the plan to raise collective production by 840,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July. WTI Crude was surging by 3.5 percent at $68.65 at 10:29 a.m. EDT, and Brent Crude was up 2.55 percent to $71.01. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Texas legislators have hashed out their differences in proposed legislation to address the failures at power plants and gas infrastructure and prevent another deadly power crisis like the disaster in February, which led to the death of more than 100 people and left over 11 million without electricity for days. The Texas House and Senate passed the new legislation, Senate Bill 3, in the nick of time, and sent it to Governor Greg Abbott one day before 87th Texas Legislature expired, which was on Memorial Day. In the version passed by the House and sent to the Senate, the state would require power plants to weatherize to be prepared for extreme weather events such as the Texas Freeze in February. Some gas infrastructurerelated to feeding gas to gas-fired power plantsconsidered critical will also be required to weatherize to avoid a repeat of this winters disastrous crisis. The state will identify which gas facilities and infrastructure are critical by mapping the electricity supply chain in Texas, while the Railroad Commission of Texas will have the authority to say what upgrades should be made at those gas facilities. The bill also sets penalties of between $5,000 and $1 million for operators who fail to comply with the requirements to be better prepared for harsh weather. The potential costs for winterization would be high. But the cost of doing nothing and not increasing oversight or improving the communication between power facilities and gas infrastructure would be even higher and even more disastrous in future extreme weather events, analysts say. Texas House Representative Chris Paddie, who presented the bill, said, as carried by Bloomberg, that it was the legislations best attempt to try to address the systematic failures from wellhead to light switch. Critical Gas Infrastructure Some energy analysts criticized the provision that only some gas facilities would be required to upgrade and winterize, describing it as a half step which does not address the bigger-picture issues with supply to electricity generators. If theres a take-home message for legislators to consider, are we requiring the gas plants, which were the biggest part of the outages, to winterize? Daniel Cohan, an energy researcher at Rice University, commented on the legislation for RTO Insider. Theres been more to winterize the power plant side than the gas side. Well just have more plants that dont have fuel to burn. Its hard to see how this provides the full coverage of winterization that we need, Cohan added. The oil and gas industry, however, says that 80 percent of the natural gas produced in Texas is not used for electricity generation, and the immediate step should be to map the supply chain to determine which natural gas production, distribution, and storage facilities feed into the gas electricity generation and local distribution companies. We also agree that proper weatherization of both power-generation and natural gas facilities directly connected to power generation are key elements of reform, Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TXOGA), wrote in an op-end for The Dallas Morning News last month. Some have suggested that all natural gas infrastructure including 86,000 natural gas wells and another 164,000 oil wells that produce associated natural gas should weatherize. In fact, many operators already weatherize at various levels. Yet without power, no amount of weatherization matters, Staples said. Related: Hedge Funds Grow More Bullish On U.S. Crude Oil According to TXOGA president, Improved communications, supply chain mapping, designation of critical load, storage and weatherization of power generation and those natural gas facilities directly connected to generation are all keys to ensuring natural gas does its part to keep Texans warm in the winter and cool in the summer. How Much Would Weatherization Cost? Following the crisis this winter, economists and economic policy advisors at the Dallas Fed indicated in an analysis last month that winterizing for extreme winter weather events appears financially reasonable. Early estimates indicated that the freeze and outage may cost the Texas economy $80 billion$130 billion in direct and indirect economic loss, while the amount of power lost along with value of lost load (VOLL) estimates suggest the power outage cost $4.3 billion, according to estimates compiled by the Dallas Fed. There is a range of preventive measures that could be implemented, each at a cost. Winterizing standards on new oil and gas wells may offer a targeted and effective approach in the long run, the Dallas Fed economists said, adding that many companies already implement winterizing measures. Winterizing equipment costs between $20,000 and $50,000 per well, so these measures statewide would total $85 million to $200 million annually. Another fix, statewide and perhaps inexpensive, would be to prioritize electricity delivery to gas infrastructure. If power plant and pipeline operators improve coordination to identify and constantly monitor the gas infrastructure requiring such prioritization, some of the problems experienced during the freeze could be prevented, the Dallas Fed said. Winterizing equipment for Texas gas plants could cost between $50,000 and $500,000 per plant, a 2011 estimate showed. Assuming these cost estimates remain valid now, installing winterizing equipment on all 162 gas-powered plants in Texas could cost up to $95 million today, according to the economists. Using our VOLL estimate of $4.3 billion, and accounting for the once-a-decade frequency of subzero temperatures in Texas, winterizing measures and other actions should be equal to or less than $430 million annually, they said. And concluded: Based on our analysis, the most reasonable solutions to prevent winter storm blackouts are within the bounds of being economically justified. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Brazil is importing so much liquefied natural gas (LNG) this year that volumes are close to levels usually seen in countries in Europe and Asia, as the South American countrys electricity system grapples with the worst drought in nearly a century. Brazils electricity mix is heavily dependent on hydroelectric power, which accounted for more than 75 percent of electricity generation in 2020, according to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA). Brazil has the largest installed hydropower capacity in South America and accounts for two-thirds of the continents total hydropower capacity. But this year, Brazil, the most populous country in South America, is experiencing its worst drought in 91 years and is struggling to keep the lights on with hydropower. Last year, natural gas accounted for just 6.2 percent of the electricity generation mix, as per the IEA data, but amid the drought not seen in decades, Brazil is now turning to more gas-fired power units. This has led to record imports of LNG. Over the past six months, Brazil has imported as many as 34 LNG cargoes from the United States, according to shipping data compiled by Bloomberg. U.S. export volumes to Brazil started setting monthly records after September 2020, EIA data shows. Rainfall in Brazil during the period September 2020 to April 2021 was the lowest since government records began in 1931, Argus noted. In 2021, Brazil will likely import a record amount of LNG due to the drought and new LNG-to-power projects becoming operational in the country, according to Argus estimates. Brazil has outstripped other countries in the region, such as Chile and even Mexico, in LNG imports so far this year, Bloombergs data showed. Demand continues to be strong as Brazilian state-controlled oil giant Petrobras is looking to buy on the spot market two LNG cargoes for July and another two for August, traders with knowledge of the tender told Bloomberg. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: As Lapid's exploratory mandate expires, Bennett and Mansour Abbas reach an agreement for the new executive. The coalition will consist of eight different parties, including nationalists and Arabs. It will have to pass in Parliament, but the numbers are tight. From July Israel will also have a new president, former Labor leader Isaac Herzog. Jerusalem (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The era of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached an end - perhaps forever - after a political and institutional domination that has lasted almost 12 years. The new executive was born last night just hours before the deadline of the Yair Lapid exploratory mandate. It will be formed by diverse parties ranging from the right-wing to centrists, passing through the Arab-Israelis of Raam, an absolute first in the government. In the afternoon the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, had elected former labor leader Isaac Herzog with 87 votes out of 120 as the next president, beating Miriam Peretz who got 26 votes. The 60-year-old son of Chaim Herzog, former president from 1983 to 1993, will take over from Reuven Rivlin whose term will expire on 9 July. In the first phase, the next executive will be led by right-wing member Naftali Bennett, head of the Yamina party, which is supported by a coalition made up of eight different formations. The agreement provides for a rotation regime which, in the second part of the legislature starting from 27 August 2023, will entrust the role of prime minister to the centrist exponent Yair Lapid of the Yesh Atid party. However, the coalition has yet to pass the formal process of moving to Parliament, where it must obtain a majority of at least 61 deputies to be sworn in to government. If it does not reach the necessary votes (to date the combined power of the parties is at the minimum threshold in the Knesset), the most probable scenario appears to be that of the fifth electoral round in two years. In a note, Lapid announced that he had informed President Rivlin of the agreement: "I pledge that this government will work in the service of all Israeli citizens, those who voted for it and those who did not. It will respect its opponents and do everything in its power to unite and connect all parts of Israeli society." To seal the agreement, an image (in the photo) that has circulated a lot in these hours on the net and on social media, showing Lapid, Bennet and the leader of the Arab-Israeli party Mansour Abbas signing the government pact, an event deemed unthinkable until a few weeks ago. Abbas told reporters: "The decision was hard and there were several disputes but it was important to reach agreements." He said that there were "many things in this agreement for the benefit of Arab society". The ruling coalition of broad understandings (and precarious balances) put together by Lapid includes eight parties: the centrists of Yesh Atid and Benny Gantz's Blue and White, with the Labor and radical left of Meretz, together with the nationalist right-wing parties. Yisrael Beiteinu, New Hope and Yamina. For the first time, an Arab-Israeli party - Raam's Islamist conservatives - officially participates in the formation of an executive of the Jewish state. The finalization of the government agreement took place yesterday after a long day of negotiations that took place in a hotel near Tel Aviv, during which various issues were discussed: from the legalization of cannabis to fines for illegal construction, to the rotation of top posts in the judicial system. According to the Israeli media, several issues remain unresolved and not all the elements have been defined, which is why there remain (not a few) doubts about the actual possibility of the coalition to obtain the vote of confidence in Parliament which for President Rivlin must take place as soon as possible. Outgoing leader Netanyahu had called the new government "the fraud of the century", stressing that it would endanger the state and people of Israel. Amid booming demand for key metals in the energy transition, the worlds largest commodity traders, as well as some hedge funds, are racing to hire metals traders to capitalize on the demand for critical minerals, Reuters reported on Wednesday, quoting sources with direct knowledge of the hiring spree. Trafigura, for example, became last year the first commodity trading company to establish a low-carbon aluminum trading desk and established a non-ferrous metals business development unit. During 2020, Trafiguras non-ferrous Metals and Minerals department recorded its most successful performance, the trader said in its annual report. Last year was also the first full year after restructuring the department into four books: copper, zinc and lead, nickel and cobalt, and aluminum. Now Trafigura has recently hired two copper traders from Glencore, a source told Reuters. Gunvor has also expanded its derivatives trading in commodities, some of Reuters' sources said. Hedge fund BlueCrest Capital Management has recently hired its first traders focused on metals. The war for metal trading talent in the current market is fierce, Ross Gregory, a director at recruitment firm Proco Commodities, told Reuters. The global push for an increased share of renewable sources in the energy mix, higher electric vehicle (EV) sales, and energy storage is set to boost demand for key minerals in the coming decades. The growing demand for clean energy and transport electrification will need as much as $1 trillion in investment in lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, and aluminum by 2035, according to Wood Mackenzie. In other words, the world will need nearly twice as much investment in critical energy-transition minerals over the next 15 years as it has invested over the past 15 years. This year, the prices of copper and lithium, for example, have surged after the pandemic prompted many governments to commit to greener recovery, stoking demand for critical minerals. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: A more severe than usual drought in California has depleted reservoirs and lakes, including the ones feeding some of the largest hydropower facilities, putting the state again at risk of power outages during heat waves this summer. Last year, residents in California went through rolling outages as there was insufficient energy to meet the high demand during the heatwave. This year, the drought in California has reduced output of hydropower stations and could force the state with ambitious emission-reduction targets to rely more on its remaining natural gas-powered plants for baseload electricity supply. Water levels at Lake Oroville, for example, are much lower than usual and could fall to below a threshold by Augustone that could prompt state officials to shut down the Edward Hyatt Power Plant, the Associated Press reports. The Hyatt power plant is the fourth largest energy producer of all the hydroelectric facilities in California. North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) warned last month in its 2021 Summer Reliability Assessment that parts of North America are at elevated or high risk of energy shortfalls this summer during above-normal peak temperatures. California falls in the high risk category, as it relies on large energy imports during peak demand and when solar resource output retreats in the evening hours, according to NERC. California is at risk of energy emergencies during periods of normal peak summer demand and high risk when above-normal demand is widespread in the west, NERC says. California needs imports to the area to maintain reliability when demand peaks in the afternoon and to ramp up even further for several hours as internal resources draw down, the assessment notes, despite the fact that the state will have 675 megawatts (MW) of new battery energy storage systems online at the start of the summer that can continue to supply stored energy for periods when needed. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: LONDON (AP) Buckingham Palace barred ethnic minorities from office jobs during the 1960s, the Guardian newspaper reported Thursday, citing documents in Britains National Archives. The revelation, published on the newspaper's front page, was based on papers showing that Queen Elizabeth IIs chief financial manager told civil servants in 1968 that it was not the palaces practice to hire coloured immigrants or foreigners for clerical posts and other office jobs. The palace replied forcefully to the historical allegations, stressing that the queen and her household comply in principle and in practice with anti-discrimination legislation. Claims based on a second-hand account of conversations from over 50 years ago should not be used to draw or infer conclusions about modern-day events or operations, a palace spokesman said, speaking on the customary condition of anonymity. The Guardians allegations stem from its investigation into the palaces use of a mechanism known as crown consent, under which the monarch grants permission for Parliament to debate laws affecting her. The town hall, which will be followed by other such events in North and South Omaha, will focus on the science behind the vaccines and address more myths. Featured presenters will include Dr. Sade Kosoko-Lasaki, co-executive director of Creighton Universitys Center for Promoting Health and Health Equity, and Dr. Derrick Anderson, a physician with the Charles Drew Health Center. Lassiter said organizers, who are working with the health department, also want to hear from community members about their questions and concerns. We have to just be honest with the community and just entertain whatever the questions are, said Lassiter, of the Nebraska Center for Healthy Families. As of Thursday, 44.4% of all Douglas County residents were fully vaccinated. When broken down by race and ethnicity, 44.9% of Whites were fully vaccinated, along with 43.8% of Asians, 32.1% of Native Americans, 31.9% of Hispanics and 25.4% of Blacks, according to the health departments dashboard. Early on in the vaccination effort, appointments were hard to get for those outside long-term care facilities and health care systems. Those with easy access to computers, the time and know-how to seek out appointments and the flexible work schedules necessary to line up for shots and wait out any side effects likely were first in line. In the days before the ceremony, Suchan said she reviewed the speech and asked Kemter to remove certain portions. Kemter said he didn't see the suggested changes in time to rewrite the speech and talked with a Hudson public official who told him not to change it. Kemter said he was disappointed that the organizers silenced two minutes of his 11-minute speech, during which he talked about how former slaves and freed Black men exhumed the remains of more than 200 Union soldiers from a mass grave in Charleston, South Carolina, and gave them a proper burial. This is not the same country I fought for, said Kemter, who spent 30 years in the Army and served in the Persian Gulf War. The decision to turn off the audio disrespected Kemter and all veterans, Hudson's mayor and City Council said in a statement, which also said the city is committed to addressing issues of systemic racism and intolerance. Veterans have done everything we have asked of them during their service to this country, and this tarnished what should have been a celebration of their service, the statement said. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Not only does this bill put lives in danger, it fully illustrates the arrogance of you and your party to think that you have the authority to dictate such personal matters," wrote Copeland, who ran unsuccessfully against Fite in the 2018 election. Emails attached to the lawsuit obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show Fite forwarded Copeland's message to Administrative Office of the Courts Director Marty Sullivan. Sullivan forwarded the email to AOC's human resources director and two other officials with the office and wrote, this isn't helpful, at all." Sullivan, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Fite told The Associated Press she forwarded the email to Sullivan because she was concerned it appeared as if Copeland was writing on behalf of AOC since it included his title. Fite said she did not have any additional discussions with Sullivan. I thought probably Mr. Sullivan or someone would want Mr. Copeland to understand that when he sends correspondence to state representatives or senators, he needs to make sure and make it clear whether he is doing that on his own behalf or whether he is doing that under the offices of the courts," Fite said. WASHINGTON (AP) For nearly an hour, President Joe Biden and the top Senate Republican negotiating infrastructure met Wednesday behind closed doors two seasoned legislators engaged in another round of conversations, but emerging with few outward signs of tangible progress ahead of a deadline next week. The White House billed the private meeting as more of a conversation with West Virginia GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, rather than a formal negotiation. No new offers were expected to be presented. More than anything, the session in the Oval Office was seen through the political lens of the president and Republicans trying to show the public what Americans say they want a willingness to work together, even if no deal is within reach. Biden and Capito had a constructive and frank conversation," according to a White House official granted anonymity to discuss the private talks. The senator's office said she is encouraged by the ongoing conversations. The two agreed to reconnect Friday. Still, talks over Bidens top legislative priority have been moving slowly, a daunting undertaking given the massive infrastructure investment, and time for a deal is running out. The administration has set a June 7 deadline to see clear direction and signs of progress. Nebraskas death row is at Tecumseh State Prison, a facility for male inmates only. Inmates there are separated from the general public and go to activities outside of their cells in groups. Todd Lancaster, an attorney with the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy, said that if Corrections had the same policy and rules for a woman at York, she would be in permanent restrictive housing, which he argued would amount to cruel and unusual punishment. On Wednesday, he renewed a motion to declare the death penalty unconstitutional, calling the way in which the state decides whom to seek the death penalty for arbitrary and capricious and saying it has more to do with the county where the crime happened or whether the prosecutor is experienced. Its all subjective, he said. Lancaster said that in a similar Nebraska case involving a dismemberment after a killing, Corey OBrien, the chief of the criminal bureau at the Attorney Generals Office, said Andres Surbers case wasnt a death penalty case because the really horrific part of this crime occurred after Mr. (Kraig) Kubik was dead, and under Nebraska law, aggravating circumstances cease to be applicable once death has occurred. Hunt said it was shocking to learn that foster children werent being informed that their Social Security benefits were being used by the state, and that Social Security benefits, according to the story, were considered the property of a child by federal law. Any time you have a policy that doesnt have transparency, thats a problem, especially since this is such a vulnerable population, the senator said of children in foster care. About 10% of all foster children in the U.S. qualify for Social Security benefits, the Marshall Project/NPR story said, and the benefits average about $700 a month. Hunt, in the waning days of the 2021 legislative session, scheduled an interim study of the issue, a move supported by Nebraska Appleseed, an organization that advocates for the poor and children, among others. Its a practice that were really concerned about, said Sarah Helvey, Appleseeds director of child welfare. But Garret Swanson, a spokesman for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, said the practice is permitted under both federal and state laws. He pointed to a state statute that says the agency shall take custody of and exercise general control over assets owned by children under the charge of the department. The proposed regulations would have capped the number of children who could be in a room or group. The caps would have been in addition to existing regulations that specify staff-to-child ratios and the amount of space that must be provided per child. As proposed, the youngest children, those ages 6 weeks through 18 months, would be limited to eight per group or room. The limits increase with the age of the children, until they reach 30 for school-age children. An HHS statement said the agency will work with providers to chart our path forward and ultimately ensure a collective approach towards a best in class model. We appreciate this opportunity to strengthen and enhance our child care system here in Nebraska and look forward to improving our systems and developing innovative solutions, especially because of all we experienced and learned in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Dannette Smith, the HHS CEO. State officials said the changes were being proposed to comply with federal law and improve the quality of care for Nebraska children. But providers, including Thibodeau, warned that the limits would force them to cut potentially thousands of spots for children and increase prices by 20% to 30% to make up for the loss of income. by Mathias Hariyadi Archbishop Mandagi said that he was the intended victim in two attempts this year. The police arrested 11 people, most likely linked to the Jamaah Ansharut Daulah terrorist network. Last Sunday, they had planned to set off bombs at the local cathedral, like the Palm Sunday attack in Makassar. Merauke (AsiaNews) Two terror attacks were planned against Archbishop Petrus Canisius Mandagi of Merauke (Papua Province) this year but he was able to escape both. Police have arrested 11 people in connection with the terrorist groups that planned the attacks. The prelate himself spoke about the incidents in a letter sent to Indonesian Cardinal Ignazio Suharyo. The first attempt took place on 1 January 2021, the day I arrived in Merauke to begin my term as archbishop, after my service as bishop in the Diocese of Amboina, the 72-year-old Mandagi told AsiaNews. A suspected terrorist wandered into the bishop's residence. He was even warmly welcomed by Father John Kandam, the secretary of the archdiocese, since he had asked about a potential house for rent, the archbishop said. He had brought with him some well-packed explosive material in his backpack. But by pure coincidence I was not around, because I had been asked to go to Buti, where the first missionary priest had arrived in Merauke district. On Tuesday, Merauke police chief Untung Sangaji confirmed Mandagi's version. Citing Fr Kandam, Sangaji said that a potential terrorist disguised as a guest was looking for the archbishop, saying that he was from the Diocese of Manado, in the North Sulawesi province. He carried a bomb ready to explode, but once he realised that the archbishop was not there, he cancelled his plan. Archbishop Mandagi, who now heads the Indonesian Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is originally from Manado province. The second attack against the prelate was supposed to take place last Sunday, during Mass in the cathedral of the Diocese of Merauke. The plan was to detonate explosives in the cathedral, but again luckily I wasn't around. I was still in Kepi, Mappin district, celebrating some confirmations, Archbishop Mandagi explained. Police arrested 11 people in two raids. Last Friday, Densus 88, the counter-terrorism squad of Indonesias National Police, and local police in Merauke captured 10 suspects most likely affiliated with terrorist groups linked to the self-styled Islamic State (IS) group. The 10 people [arrested] are linked to the Ansharut Daulah network, which has connections to IS, said Inspector General Argo Yuwono, head of the public relations division at the National Police headquarters. Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) is the terrorist group that planned the recent attack on Makassar Cathedral during Palm Sunday celebrations. On Sunday, the counter-terrorism squad also arrested the last suspect, who also appear to be linked to JADs network in Kurik, Papua Province. The capture of these 11 potential terrorists is part of a series of arrests in South Sulawesi. We seized several pieces of evidence, including air rifles, cutting weapons and arrows, Yuwono said. During the search of the suspects' homes, police also recovered liquids and other chemicals, which will be thoroughly examined to determine their exact nature. Yumono added that terror suspects had originally planned suicide bombings against churches, the police district station and the traffic police office in Merauke. Sparking a new wave of violence in Indonesia appears to be the purpose of these actions, following the Palm Sunday bombing last March. These attempted attacks were meant to spark a new wave of violence in Merauke district like in other territories of Papua, for example in mountainous areas and in the area of the Diocese of Timika, Merauke police chief said. Malone said the disruption could further raise meat prices ahead of summer barbecues. Even before the attack, U.S. meat prices were rising because of coronavirus shutdowns, bad weather and high plant absenteeism. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said it expects beef prices to climb 1% to 2% this year, poultry as much as 1.5% and pork between 2% and 3%. JBS, which is a majority shareholder of Pilgrims Pride, didnt say which of its 84 U.S. facilities were closed Monday and Tuesday because of the attack. It said JBS USA and Pilgrims were able to ship meat from nearly all of its facilities Tuesday. The JBS plant in Grand Island was to reopen Wednesday, while the plant in Omaha was to remain closed at least on Wednesday. Information on the schedule for opening of the Omaha plant wasnt available. Representatives of JBS and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union could not be reached for comment. Its not the first time a ransomware attack has targeted a food company. Last November, Milan-based Campari Group said it was the victim of a ransomware attack that caused a temporary technology outage and compromised some business and personal data. As they all know, my phone is monitored, so as soon as I call and as soon as they answer, they are frightened, he said. This is the atmosphere of fear created by the Communist Partys domestic high-pressure policies now. Fan said when he traveled to other cities in 2017 to see friends, police called every day to ask what he was doing. He said when he took a package vacation to Yunnan province in the southwest in 2018, police detained him and sent him back to Xian. Fan participated in the 1989 protests, joining thousands of students from across China in Tiananmen Square. But he left Beijing at the end of May, before the military attacked. His eyes fill with tears when he describes the event. Later, Fan studied law and worked as a legal consultant before joining the police in Shaanxi province in the west. He moved to a state security agency in 1994 and was assigned to watch the public and read their mail, looking for possible foreign ties. But he held onto hopes for a democratic China. PRAGUE (AP) The Czech coalition government led by populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis survived on Thursday a no-confidence vote in Parliament over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Five opposition parties also requested the vote as prosecutors are looking into whether to indict Babis over alleged fraud involving EU funds in a separate case and a recently published European Union report concluded that Babis has a conflict of interest over EU subsidies involving his former business empire. Babis denies any wrongdoing. Only 89 of the opposition lawmakers voted late Thursday at the end of an almost 14-hour session to oust the Cabinet, well short of the 101 needed in the 200-seat lower house. Babis centrist ANO (YES) movement is in a minority government with the leftist Social Democrats. It has recently lost its support from the Communist Party. But the Communists refused to vote against the government, left the lower house and didn't participate in the debate and the vote.. The problem is easier to fix than the more visible migration flow toward the U.S. from the so-called northern triangle nations of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, Mouynes said. Latin America has been among the regions worst-hit by the pandemic, both in terms of deaths and in economic damage. Panama has lagged regional peers in its vaccination drive, but Mouynes says the government is targeting a massive inoculation program in the third quarter to achieve herd immunity by September. The government of President Laurentino Cortizo, which took office in 2019, is inoculating elderly and at-risk populations and will begin mass vaccination in July, she said. Unlike most countries in Latin America, which raced to acquire shots wherever they could, Panama put nearly all its eggs in the basket of Pfizer-BioNTechs vaccine. Mouynes met with Pfizer during her trip to New York, and said she received assurances that Panama would get the shots it ordered. We want Pfizer to recognize that Panamas huge bet on Pfizer in terms of not having this hedge with other pharmaceuticals also leaves us at a bit of a risk if they dont deliver the supply, Mouynes said. We are targeting mass vaccination in July. If that doesnt happen for us we will be in big trouble. We asked ourselves: What kind of desperation must you feel to leave behind all that youve ever known your culture, your home, your belongings to seek safety and an uncertain future in a country with a different language? What kind of desperation must you feel to flee with your children, traveling thousands of miles miles fraught with untold dangers? The asylum seekers we met were parents looking for a safe place to live and work. When we watched them care for their children, we saw the same love and respect we see in the faces of our own adult children as they care for little ones lucky enough to be born here in the U.S. Currently the birthrate in the United States is below replacement level. At a time when employers are seeking workers for vacancies, it makes sense to welcome those who are looking for a better life and are eager to work. Immigrants have always enriched our nation with their cultural diversity while at the same time assimilating and becoming citizens and active community members. What can we do here in Nebraska, 1,000 miles from the southern border? We can listen to the news with an open heart to see beyond the rhetoric and shouting, to look at the human faces of those who are being spoken of in inhuman terms. Can we see our brothers and sisters there? Former Central Regional Minister, Kwamena Duncan, has warned authorities of the Achimota school not to treat their Rastafarian students unfairly. The Achimota school, in March 2021, refused to enroll two Rastafarian students on grounds that their dreadlocks flout the school's rules. The students were asked to shave the dreadlocks before they could attend the school but their parents sued the school asking the High Court to declare that the failure and or refusal of the 1st Respondent (Achimota School Board of Governors) to admit or enroll the Applicant on the basis of his Rastafarian religious inclination, beliefs and culture characterized by his keeping of Rasta, is a violation of his fundamental human rights and freedoms guaranteed under the 1992 constitution particularly Articles 12(1), 23, 21(1)(b)(c). They also requested, "an order directed at [Achimota School] to immediately admit or enrol the applicant to continue with his education unhindered" and also sought compensation for the "inconvenience, embarrassment, waste of time, and violation of his fundamental human rights and freedoms". After about eight weeks of legal battle between the students and the school, the court has ruled for the students to be admitted into the school. Following the court ruling, there are fears that the students may face a strong opposition and stigma on campus. As a result, seasoned journalist Kwesi Pratt has advised the parents that ''in the interest of the children, they shouldn't go to the Achimota school''. ''If I were their parent, I wouldn't allow them to go to the Achimota school. The victory has already been achieved. The rules have been set for the future. It's a major victory for the Rastafarian community. That's enough! Why do you push it to the extent that the children must by all means go to that school? The authorities of the school are at the school. They're still in authority and so on. It's not comforting for the children. All eyes will be on them; I don't think it's the best thing," Mr. Pratt added. But Kwamena Duncan has urged the parents to rather send their children to the school asking ''Who can hate them?'' "I don't think the Achimota teachers will say you have gone to court and won the case, so we won't teach you. No, no, not at all; they will continue to be professional...The kids were put there by the system. They m,ust go to school," he emphasized. He, however, cautioned the school authorities not to ''victimize these kids. They are Ghanaians and we don't know what their contribution will be for mother Ghana. All that we want is to move this country forward''. 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 A legal action by the Attorney-General (A-G) has saved the state from paying more than GH1.2billion in judgment debt which was being claimed by NDK Financial Services. The company went to court compel the government to pay GH1.273 billion it claimed was outstanding balance and interests on a judgment debt. Instead, the financial services company was awarded GH14,699.74 with interest, by the Supreme Court after the A-G had challenged the validity of its claims. The said judgment debt was in relation to a credit facility provided by NDK between 2005 and 2008 for Ahaman Enterprises Limited for the latter to hand some electrical poles and other electric materials on behalf of the Ministry of Energy. Ruling Following disagreement over the quantum of the judgment debt last year, the Supreme Court appointed the accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), to audit the books and ascertain the veracity of the GH1.23 billion being claimed by NDK Financial Services. That followed an application by the A-G, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, to the effect that the state did not owe NDK any amount on the basis that it had fully fulfilled all financial obligations to the company. It was after PwCs audit that the apex court reached its decision Tuesday [June 2, 2021]. In a unanimous decision, a five-member panel of the court, presided over by the Chief Justice, Justice Kwesi Anin Yeboah, threw out the application for GH1.23 billion by NDK. The decision of the court is unanimous; the plaintiff herein (NDK) is adjudged to recover from the defendant (A-G) an amount of GH14,699.74 as the outstanding balance by the defendant to the plaintiff, the Chief Justice said. The said amount adjudged to be paid by the defendant is to attract the statutory rate of interest under Rule 4(1) of Court (Award of Interest and Post-Judgment Interest Rules, 2005; that is, C.I. 52), from 28th November, 2014 to the date of final payment, with the rate being the rate as of 2nd June, 20121, the Chief Justice ruled. Other members of the panel were Justices Jones Dotse, Paul Baffoe Bonnie, Sule Gbadegbe and Nene Amegatcher. Background NDK Financial Services was approached by Ahaman Enterprises, a haulage company, for a credit facility and thereafter for several credit facilities over a period of time between 2005 and 2008 to enable the latter to execute contracts awarded it by the Ministry of Energy to haul electric poles and other electric materials from designated locations to various parts of the country under the National Electrification Project. As a condition for the approval of the credit facilities, NDK requested Ahaman Enterprises to secure a written undertaking from the Ministry of Energy that payment would be made in the joint names of NDK and Ahaman Enterprises. The undertakings were duly signed by the Chief Director and the Principal Accountant of the Ministry of Energy between 2005 and 2008. Relying on the undertakings, NDK advanced various sums of money to Ahaman Enterprises. NDK later argued that Ahaman Enterprises and the Ministry of Energy failed to honour the undertakings. Litany of suits On December 21, 2009, NDK issued a writ against Ahaman Enterprises, the A-G, Messrs Alex Aduko and Aduko Kyeremanteng, who had secured the amount. The plaintiff claimed jointly and severally against the defendants the sum of GH286,250.52, being part of the debt balance due under the facilities granted to Ahaman Enterprises by NDK between August 26, 2005 and April 28, 2006. On December 21, 2011, the High Court entered judgment in favour of NDK, but upheld an argument by the A-G that the State had fully discharged its obligation to NDK following a settlement process in which the government paid GH79.5 million to NDK. NDK went to the Court of Appeal, and on March 28, 2013 the court upheld the appeal and ordered the payment of all the sums under the haulage contract, at a monthly interest of 6.5 per cent. The A-G appealed to the Supreme Court, but on November 28, 2014 the highest of the land dismissed the appeal. A-G's moves Flowing disagreement over the quantum of the judgment debt, the A-G, in 2019, went to the apex court, asking it to determine the amount. Mr Dame submitted that in 2018, NDK wrote to the A-G claiming about GH640 million as the judgement debt and subsequently followed up in 2019 that the amount had ballooned to GH1.23 billion, and that it was prepared to accept GH450 million as final settlement. Mr Dame, however, urged the apex court to order that the state had already fulfilled its financial obligations by paying the GH79.5 million to NDK. That the applicant is of the humble view that there is nothing outstanding on the judgment of this honourable court, as it has fully satisfied the monetary awards made by the court and respondent has been unable to produce any evidence of what it terms unascertained diverted portions of the judgment'. That the instant application has become very necessary as the unsubstantiated claim of the judgment creditor will have a serious burden on the public purse, the A-G argued. It was based on the application by the A-G that the court ordered the auditing of the books and rejected the claims of NDK Financial Services. 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 Governance Lecturer, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah says he disagrees with the High Court ruling that Achimota school should admit two Rastafarian students who courted huge controversies months ago. The Achimota school, in March this year, refused to enroll the students because of their dreadlocks. The management of the school argued the students' long hair is against the school's rules, therefore directing them to shave their dreadlocks before they will be permitted into the school. But the school's decision exasperated the students' parents who subequently dragged the Achimota school to the High Court demanding "an order directed at [Achimota School] to immediately admit or enrol the applicant to continue with his education unhindered". They also called on the court to "declare that the failure and or refusal of the 1st Respondent (Achimota School Board of Governors) to admit or enroll the Applicant on the basis of his Rastafarian religious inclination, beliefs and culture characterized by his keeping of Rasta, is a violation of his fundamental human rights and freedoms guaranteed under the 1992 constitution particularly Articles 12(1), 23, 21(1)(b)(c)". After the court hearing, the presiding Judge ruled that the Achimota school's management decision is an infringement on the fundamental human rights of the students. The Judge ordered the school to admit the students. Discussing the court ruling, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah opined that the court should have allowed the school to apply its rules. To him, the ruling will potentially set a bad precedent in the nation. He explained the ruling has now opened doors for all kinds of misbehavior to go on in the various Senior High Schools because now any student can, in the name of religion, decide to wear anything to school. "I expected that we allowed the school to apply its rules for us all to have a common agenda," he expressed his disappointment. " . . I disagree with the court . . . because this is going to open doors for someone, who's father is a traditionalist, to say he wears fugu (smock) wherever he goes, so are we going to allow him to wear the fugu? Someone says his father is a fetish priest and that's also a religion, so he wants to wear beads and pour powder on himself to sit in the class; we should be very careful," he added. ''Ethics is not following the law, therefore the fact the law says this or that doesn't make it right. Ethics is knowing what is right from wrong, bad from good; so something maybe lawful but not right," he further argued. He spoke to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'' Thursday morning. 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 Former Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayensuano constituency, Samuel Ayeh-Paye, has lambasted former Member of Parliament(MP) for Kumbungu Constituency, Ras Mubarak and other critics for teasing Achimota School over a court ruling that the school should accept some Rastafarian students. Two Rastafarian students were told to shave their dreadlocks before they will be accepted into the Achimota school. The school's decision infuriated the parents of the Rasta students who then dragged the Achimota School, Attorney General, the Education Minister and Ghana Education Service to the High Court seeking ''an order directed at [Achimota School] to immediately admit or enroll the applicant to continue with his education unhindered". To them, the order for their children to shave their dreadlocks flouts their "Rastafarian religious inclination, beliefs and culture'' and is also a violation of their ''fundamental human rights and freedoms guaranteed under the 1992 constitution''. The court ruled in favour of the students and ordered the school to admit them. Following the ruling, the former Kumbungu MP is said to have made statements to the effect that the Rasta students have flawed the Board of the Achimota school. Ras Mubarak, speaking on Peace News, said; "This will also go a long way to affirm the country's democracy and its respect for human rights." Also speaking in an interview on Neat FM, he argued; ''This is what Bob Marley has been preaching for years but a lot of people are still incarcerated. If the whites are allowed to have their hairstyle in Achimota school, why disallow others because they are blacks.'' These kids are the future; hence, we can't stop their right to education just because they are Rastafarians. Will their locks affect their brains in any way? he questioned. Reacting to the issue, Samuel Ayeh-Paye advised Ras Mubarak and his likes to stop ridiculing Achimota school. According to him, what they are doing could make the teachers and management of the school behave hostile towards the Rasta students as they attend the school. He wondered why an ex-Member of Parliament would make such statements stressing it's an insult on the Achimota School's Board for any person to think the Rasta students have flawed them. "Let us stop sparking things that will result in anger which will make the children face a hostile situation on campus. We don't want a situation where the children will go to the school but the teachers and their classmates won't laugh with them . . . Those ridiculing the teachers, Board, PTA should stop this behavior," he said on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo''. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The board of Achimota School has advised its legal counsel to withdraw the application on the stay of execution as regards the judgement in the case involving the admission of two Rastafarian students. After Mondays judgement by the Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court, the board issued a statement to indicate its dissent to the judgement by Gifty Agyei Addo. It consequently announced an application to appeal the judgement. But on Wednesday, June 2, the board in another statement says it will allow the execution of the judgement to happen as it pursues the appeal at a higher court. While the Board remains committed to the appeal against the High Court ruling, it will withdraw the application for a stay of execution pending the determination of the appeal by a higher court, the latest statement from the governing board of the school said. 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 Vatican, which openly backs a two states solution in the Holy Land, is still waiting to see the implementation of the Fundamental Agreement signed with the State of Israel in 1993. Vatican City (AsiaNews) Mgr Adolf Titus Yllana is the new Apostolic Nuncio to Israel and Cyprus and Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine. Pope Francis appointed him today. From the Philippines, 73, the new Vatican representative to the Holy Land, has been in the Holy See's diplomatic service since 1984. Before today's appointment, he served in Australia, and before that in Ghana, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Lebanon, Hungary and Taiwan. The new nuncio will go to Israel in the aftermath of the birth of a government that could, after 12 years, end the Netanyahu era, and not long after Israel reached a cease-fire with Hamas following the latest round of violence, which Francis called "unacceptable". The Vatican, which is openly in favour of the two-state solution for the Holy Land, is still waiting for the implementation of the Fundamental Agreement signed between Israel and the Holy See on 29 December 1993 in Jerusalem and 30 December in the Vatican. The document essentially concerns the recognition of the legal personality of the Catholic Church, with all the consequences that it entails. Negotiations to implement the deal have been going on for years, but nothing has been said or achieved yet. Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin spoke about the Agreement during a reception at Romes main synagogue in 2019, saying that it began a new phase in bilateral relations, "initiating a significant path of cooperation" and adding that the work of the bilateral Commission "is nearing conclusion". A District Court in Tema has ordered a psychiatric assessment for the 21-year-old woman, Daniella Nyarkoh, who allegedly stabbed her 70-year-old father to death. This is to enable the court ascertain whether or not the suspect was mentally fit to stand trial. The suspect has been slapped with a provisional charge of murder but her plea was not taken by the court presided over by Justice Joseph Mc'Arthur. Police Prosecutor, Inspector Emmanuel Mensah on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 moved the application before the court for the suspect to be referred to the Pantang Hospital for medical assessment, detention, and treatment. Counsel for the suspect, Mr James Enu told the court that stories surrounding the incident warranted a psychiatric assessment and thus supported the application of the prosecution. The case has been adjourned to June 15, 2021. Specifics The suspect, a senior high school graduate, is said to have stabbed her father, Mr Alex Nyarkoh, who while he was in bed. The incident happened last Sunday, May 30, at Tema Community 2. The incident was reported to the Community 2 police by the suspects brother. When the police proceeded to the scene, they found the deceased lying in a pool of blood. An inspection of the body conducted by the police revealed multiple fresh wounds on the head and the throat. Two kitchen knives were also retrieved at the crime scene. Strange behaviour According to the police, preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect had exhibited a strange behaviour over the past week and was sent to a prayer camp at Tema New Town on Saturday, May 29.2021 The parents were however advised to send the suspect to a psychiatric hospital for treatment. However, the following day, Sunday, May 30, 2021 the suspect started behaving strangely again and rushed to the store room to pick two knives and subsequently stabbed her father to death while he was in bed. 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 Oheneba Nkrabea, one of the Rastafarian students who won the landmark dreadlock case against Achimota School has reported for school. He is set to be taken through admission processes and then join his colleagues in class. He was accompanied by his parents. Meanwhile, Achimota School has temporarily backtracked on its decision not to admit the two students. The School in a statement after the landmark ruling by an Accra High Court which was hailed by the majority of Ghanaians stated that it had instructed its lawyers to appeal the decision. But the schools board in another statement on Wednesday, June 2, 2021, said after consultations with relevant stakeholders it had considered the interest of all parties. The statement, however, added that it was committed to an appeal against the ruling of the High Court. Further to our statement issued on 1st June 2021 on the subject of two Rastafarian applicants, we have been in consultation with other relevant stakeholders to seek the best ways forward, taking into account the interests of all parties. While the Board remains committed to the appeal against the High Court ruling, it will withdraw the application for a stay of execution pending the determination of the appeal by a higher court. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Neat 100.9 FM Official Page (@neatfm1009) Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Police say more persons would be arraigned for their involvement in the breach of COVID-19 protocols during the Pneumatica Night church service held by Christ Embassy Church on May 2, this year. The police are, therefore, praying an Accra Circuit Court to grant them some days so they could amend the charges and put the people before the court. Prosecution led by Chief Inspector Simon Apiorsornu told the Court on Monday. Meanwhile, four persons have been arraigned for holding the all night service by the Church at Fantasy Dome at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre. They are Alex Asomani, Wilson Delali Agyemang, Kumi Nutifafa. The three have been charged with conspiracy to commit crime namely: failing to comply with restrictions imposed and failing to comply with restrictions imposed. Also in the dock was Edmond Dapaah, the facility Manager of the Fantasy Dome at Trade Fair Centre. He is being held on the charge of abetment of crime. All the accused persons have pleaded not guilty to the charges. They have been granted GHC80,000 bail each with two sureties each. The matter has been adjourned to June 23. Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Simon Apiorsornu told the court that, the Police gathered intelligence that the youth wing of Christ Embassy Church, Ghana, had organised an all-night service dubbed, Pneumatic Night at the Fantasy Dome within the Trade Fair Center, without obeying the COVID-19 safety protocols. He said a video footage of the said church service was also cited on various social media platforms and in the video, it was observed that, the congregants were not wearing face or nose masks. Chief Inspector Apiorsornu said upon the intelligence gathered, the Police proceeded to the Trade Fair Center where they met the head of security of the center, Justice Tuuru Konlan. The prosecution said the security confirmed to Police that the Christ Embassy Church organised the said programme on the 30th of April, this year, from about 2000 hours at the Fantasy Dome within the Trade Fair Center and closed in the morning of May 1. The Management of the Fantasy Dome did not officially inform the Management of Trade Fair Center about the said programme, he said. The prosecution said the Police conducted an inspection within the Fantasy Dome, as well as the Round Pavilion. Upon the measurement of the intervals between the arranged chairs, it was observed that the one-metre rule of social distancing between congregants was not observed, he said. Also, there was no fresh air ventilation and that the church relied on air conditioners. According to the Prosecution, further enquiries revealed that the programme exceeded the maximum two-hour duration. Consequently, Asomani, Agyeman, Nutifafa, organizers of the all-night church service were arrested by the Police. The Prosecution said Dapaah, the Facility Manager of the Fantasy Dome was also arrested by the police for questioning. He said in their investigative and cautioned statements these suspects could not give any tangible reasons for flouting the COVID-19 protocols. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Mr. Edward Akufo-Addo, Managing Director of Amaadi Cold Stores Limited and a biological brother to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has sued Accra FM's Presenter, Kwabena Bobbie Ansah, the Class Media Group and two others for defamation. The defendants are said to have claimed that the President's brother has been using Ghanas Presidential jet, also known as ''The Falcon''. The 1st Defendant is Class Media Group, followed by Kwabena Bobbie Ansah. The 3rd defendant, who allegedly made the allegation, touts himself as the Executive Director of a group called the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA), whereas the fourth defendant also touts himself as the Executive Director of a group called the Good Governance and Advocacy Group Ghana. In a writ sighted by Peacefmonline.com, Bumpty, as the plaintiff is affectionately called, is demanding GHC 10 million in damages, an apology and an order restraining the defendants from further denigrating him. Statement of claim According to the plaintiff, the claims also suggest that at the expense of the state and the Ghanaian taxpayer, he uses the Presidential Jet for his personal business unrelated to the official state duties. He says the claims also give the impression that, that plaintiff travelled on the Presidential Jet to Abuja for his personal business, while the President of Ghana was in France on official duty, and that he used and treated it as if the same were his family property, and that his conduct is an affront to the Ghanaian public. Plaintiff says the words complained of are utterly false and a product of the Defendants malicious imagination and were calculated solely to disparage him and bring his name into opprobrium. Reliefs It further said that, In seeking aggravated damage, the Plaintiff shall contend and so prove that the Defendants in publishing or causing to be published the statements complained of, were actuated by malice, in that they knew the words complained of to be utterly false, yet, 1st and 2nd Defendants looked on as 3rd and 4th Defendants make the statements without exacting any form of proof. Plaintiff says that 2nd Defendant particularly repeated the impugned publication on another radio station and could not defend same when probed by the host. Plaintiff says that, unless otherwise restrained by this Honourable Court, Defendants will continue to publish similar and other defamatory statements about the Plaintiff. Plaintiff, therefore, claims against the defendants jointly and severally; Ten Million Ghana Cedis (GH10,000,0.00) damages for defamation contained in the publication by Defendants on 29/05/21 and more particularized in paragraph 9 of this Statement of Claim. GHS2.8M Private Jet Trips...Ablakwa Drags Prez To Parliament NDC Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, recently revealed that he has filed an urgent question in Parliament over what he considers to be wasteful expenditure on President Akufo-Addos foreign travels. The MP has alleged that the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has spent an amount of GHS 2.8 million on his recent travels to only South Africa and France using the services of a private jet, while the Presidential jet is parked. Read full writ below: 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 parents of Oheneba Nkrabea, one of the Rastafarian students who was initially denied admission to Achimota School have confirmed that he was given a warm welcome when he reported to the school Thursday morning. The mother of the student Madam Maana Myers said he was welcomed on campus by the Day Students School Prefect. She said the Prefect also said Oheneba was going to be her student during his time at the school. "It was the day students prefect who approached us in a very warm and nice manner and asked Oheneba whether he was a day student or a boarder and she said you are going to be our school son. She said the Prefect also gave the assurance that "nobody was going to do anything to him and if he had any problem, he should just approach her". Madam Myers said the words of the prefect were very reassuring. The Judgment Delivering the judgment on the case of two Rastafarian boys, Justice Gifty Agyei Addo held that the Attorney-General failed to provide a legal justification as to why the rights of the two Rastafarian students to education should be limited on the basis of their dreadlocks. Tyrone Marhguy and Oheneba Nkrabea were denied admission into Achimota School for refusing to shave off their dreadlocks notwithstanding that they had passed their qualifying examinations, and, had been selected into the school through the computerized placement system. The school through the Attorney General argued in court that allowing the students into the school will have dire consequences on the schools discipline, health, tradition, and community cohesion. The Attorney General subsequently argued in Court that the Rastafarian students had not even completed or returned their acceptance of admission forms and could thus not be deemed to have been denied the admission. But for the students, their parents, and lawyers, this was simply a case of a breach of fundamental rights on the basis of their religion and religious practices. Justice Gifty Adjei Addo disagreed with the submissions of the Attorney and granted all the reliefs separately sought by the students, save for the relief of compensation in the case of Tyrone Marhguy. According to Justice Addo, it is preposterous for the Attorney General to have even suggested that the two were not students in the first place. Justice Gifty Adjei Addo consequently directed Achimota School to admit the two Rastafarian students. 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 The former National Coordinator of the now-defunct Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA), Mr Abuga Pele, who is currently in jail for causing financial loss to the state, has been admitted to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital) for some health challenges. Graphic.com.gh reports that a source at the hospital confirmed that Mr Pele was currently in critical condition at the High Dependency Unit (HDU) of the hospital, after he was taken there from the Nsawam Maximum Security Prison last week. It is not clear what the hospital is treating the incarcerated politician for. "He is currently on level two so that is a critical condition, the website quoted the source as saying. Mr Pele and businessman Philip Akpeena Assibit were sentenced to a total of 18 years in prison on February 23, 2018 for their involvement in the GH4.1 million GYEEDA scandal. The two were put before court in 2014. The court concluded that Mr Pele entered into an unlawful agreement with Mr Assibit, prevailing on the state to make payments when no work had been done. He has since served about three years at the Nsawam Maximum Security Prison from where he was rushed to the hospital on health grounds last week. False claims Mr Assibit, for his part, made false claims for payments to the tune of GH 3.3 million as services provided to the erstwhile National Youth Employment Programme. The said amount included developing an exit programme and securing a grant of GH65 million from the World Bank. Pele, who is also a former Member of Parliament for Chiana-Paga in the Upper East Region, is serving six years, while Assibit is serving 12 years in prison. Lower sentence The former MP was slapped with a lower sentence because the court held that there was no evidence that he benefited from the proceeds of the crime. Before sentencing, the lawyers pleaded with the presiding judge, Justice Afia Serwaah Asare Botwe, for lenient sentences. 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 Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, popularly known as Sir John will be laid to rest today, Thursday, June 3, 2021, and a picture of a special tomb made for him has gone viral on social media. It has been revealed that the mortal remains of the politician will be laid in state at Sakora Wonoo Junior High School, in the Ashanti Region, and later put to rest at the Sakora Wonoo family cemetery. Before his demise, Sir John was one of the leading members of and former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission. The affable politician gave up the ghost at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Wednesday, July 1, 2020 after testing positive for coronavirus. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Phylx Akakpo (@iamphylxgh) Source: ghlinks.com.gh 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 Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Kweku Baako, has slammed the North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa over his recent post on President Nana Akufo-Addo's foreign travels. Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa says he has laid an urgent question before Parliament requesting the appearance of the Defence Minister to respond to why the President is not using his Falcon jet but chartering private flight for his trips. He also revealed that the President has spent over 2.8 million cedis on his recent trips and therefore demands answers. North Tongu MP's Facebook Post The Airbus ACJ320neo owned by Acropolis Aviation based in Farnborough, UK and registered as G-KELT, is the most luxurious and the most expensive in the Acropolis fleet. The manufacturers describe it as the most outstanding ambassador for Airbus Corporate Jets. It costs the Ghanaian taxpayer approximately 15,000 an hour when President Akufo-Addo rents it. ''President Akufo-Addo undoubtedly has the greatest taste any Ghanaian President has ever had, but the question is, should that insatiable appetite for his creature comforts be at the expense of the suffering masses? ''Lets further analyze President Akufo-Addos latest trip to Europe: per Flightradar24, the G-KELT aircraft left Accra with the President to Paris on the 16th of May a 6 and half hour duration. Airlifted the President from Paris to Johannesburg for 11 hours on the 23rd of May. Then Johannesburg to Accra on the 25th of May was a five and half hour flight. This gives us accumulated flight travel of 23 hours; so at 15,000 an hour, it thus cost us a colossal 345,000. At the current exchange, that is a staggering GHS2,828,432.80. ''I have therefore filed an urgent question in Parliament to compel the Akufo-Addo administration to be accountable to the Ghanaian people on this matter and ultimately to prick their conscience to end this obscene profligacy at this time of considerable economic hardships. The African people deserve better from their leaders," he wrote on Facebook. Defence Minister To Appear Before Parliament In an interview with Umaru Sanda, Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa was asked whether the Falcon may have developed a fault, for which reason the government sought the services of Acropolis Aviation. He responded; That is why we are summoning the Defence Minister, who has oversight of the Air Force to tell us if the Falcon has developed a fault in these few days because we do know that the Falcon has been in pristine condition and that the other ministers have been using it. So we want to hear from the government on why the President chose that option. Assessing Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa's statement, Kweku Baako held that the MP has preempted his urgent question before Parliament providing "political ammunition" for people to pass their judgements even before the Defence Minister appears to answer his urgent questions.To him, the MP should have exercised restraint for the Defence Minister to come to Parliament."If I, as a Member of Parliament, who have filed a question [urgent question] and requiring a Minister of State to appear before the House to answer those questions, I'd be a bit patient and restrained in terms of prejudging, making prejudicial statements, predetermining those things . . . in the certain momentum, I will cite the framework of Parliament".''What the Minister will say in Parliament, if care is not taken, people will not believe; at least your support base because you have cultivated a certain sense, a certain momentum that whether you like it or not, I have laid down the solution. I have laid down the expenditure. I've found the man, in this case I'm talking of the President, guilty. So, someone will ask then why even pursuing the Parliamentary option because you've judged it," he said during a panel discussion on''Kokrokoo''.Mr. Baako blasted Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa saying, "it is inappropriate, the way he is gone about it. But you can't stop him because, now, he will say you want to impose a culture of silence or code of silence on him; so you dare not. He knows his strategy. He knows his tactics but I'm entitled to examine the quality of his strategy and possibly also make a verdict on the outcome''. 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 Seasoned Journalist, Kweku Baako has waded into discussions over President Nana Akufo-Addo's foreign travels. The President is said to have abandoned his jet and chartered a private flight for his trips. According to the North Tongu Parliamentarian, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the President wasted over 2.8 million cedis on his recent trips. The Airbus ACJ320neo owned by Acropolis Aviation based in Farnborough, UK and registered as G-KELT, is the most luxurious and the most expensive in the Acropolis fleet. The manufacturers describe it as the most outstanding ambassador for Airbus Corporate Jets. It costs the Ghanaian taxpayer approximately 15,000 an hour when President Akufo-Addo rents it. ''President Akufo-Addo undoubtedly has the greatest taste any Ghanaian President has ever had, but the question is, should that insatiable appetite for his creature comforts be at the expense of the suffering masses? ''Lets further analyze President Akufo-Addos latest trip to Europe: per Flightradar24, the G-KELT aircraft left Accra with the President to Paris on the 16th of May a 6 and half hour duration. Airlifted the President from Paris to Johannesburg for 11 hours on the 23rd of May. Then Johannesburg to Accra on the 25th of May was a five and half hour flight. This gives us accumulated flight travel of 23 hours; so at 15,000 an hour, it thus cost us a colossal 345,000. At the current exchange, that is a staggering GHS2,828,432.80'', he posted on Facebook. The MP also disclosed that he has, "filed an urgent question in Parliament to compel the Akufo-Addo administration to be accountable to the Ghanaian people on this matter and ultimately to prick their conscience to end this obscene profligacy at this time of considerable economic hardships''. Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'' programme, Kweku Baako sought to find out if the official jet of the President has developed any fault for him to be on private flights. He argued that the President's Falcon jet cannot be said to be faulty stressing ''unless there's something more serious, I don't think it should be old-fashioned or totally unusable. It cannot be''. ''What is the state of the Falcon?'', he questioned. "It's 11 years gone. I don't think 11 years is enough for it to become that weak," he added as he discussed Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa's post. 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 attention of the NPP General Secretary, John Boadu, has been drawn to a statement with the above caption, which has been making rounds on social media, and is purported to come from one Alhassan Muniru, who claimed to be the President of Concerned NPP Members, Northern Region. The statement is replete with spurious and unsubstantiated allegations against the person of the General Secretary, including claims that the General Secretary had defied his own ground rules of a temporary ban on all forms of campaign activities on the impending NPP internal National Executives contest slated for 2022. Ordinarily, the General Secretary would not dignify such blatant falsehoods and mischief perpetrated by persons who are not even bold enough to own their statement, and are hiding behind pseudo groups to advance their interest. However, conscious of the likelihood that some unsuspecting members of the public including party people who may have seen this statement, may be tempted to give it some modicum of substance in the absence of credible information to the contrary, the General Secretary has found it necessary to respond to the allegations and expose its blatant falsity. To start with, it is not true that the NPP, through the General Secretary, has issued any statement or drafted any ground rules governing the conduct of the 2022 national officers elections, where it has placed a temporary ban on all forms of campaign activities, contrary to what has been claimed in the said mischievous statement. It therefore cannot be true that the General Secretary is intimidating or disadvantaging his potential contenders with any tactic such as placing a temporary ban on their campaign activities as falsely claimed in the statement. However, what is true is that, the party is currently in the process of considering a draft code of ethics and guidelines for pre-elections period in respect of the conduct of the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary primaries. Indeed, at the last National Council meeting of the party, held on Monday, 31st May, 2021, a 5-member committee chaired by Lawyer Frank Davies, was constituted to fine-tune the proposed code of ethics for the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary primaries, before details of the code of ethics are made public. How can a code of ethics and for that matter rules which have not been finalized nor made public, be said to be in force? In any case, the code of ethics, as indicated, only applies to Presidential and Parliamentary primaries. There is also no evidence that the party has taken or is taking steps to gag, prevent, or sanction any prospective aspirant for any national executives position for breaches of non-existing rules. So, what exactly is the point of these mischief makers? Secondly, it is also not true that the General Secretary was recently engaged in his personal campaign activities in the Northern part of the country, under the guise of meeting regional and constituency party executives, as claimed in the statement. It must be noted that the work of a General Secretary of a serious political party like the NPP is not constricted to the national capital, Accra. The General Secretary, per the NPP Constitution, is in charge of the general operations and administration of the party at all levels and in all the 16 regions and 275 constituencies of the country. And so, since his election as General Secretary of the party, John Boadu has been crisscrossing every nook and cranny of the country to ensure that the party is functioning properly across all the levels of the party structure and organization. It would also be recalled that, as part of his usual rounds, John Boadu, in the past week or two, embarked on a working visit to the 5-regions in the North, which occasion he used to monitor and participate in the ongoing vetting exercise for party members who have applied for appointment as MMDCEs. Again, prior to his recent rounds, the General Secretary, together with the National Chairman, Hon. Freddy Blay, had led all the national executives of the party on a nationwide thank you tour to touch base with the party grassroots, and energize its base in preparations for the next general elections. As they say, in the face of incontrovertible and verifiable facts and records, lies and propaganda will always be exposed to the glory of Allah. Signed Alhaji Iddi Muhayu-Deen Aide to John Boadu 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 Media 'Daredevil' Focuses on 'Courageous Faith' in Middle East DARE TO BELIEVE: A veteran Christian media pioneer who lived through rocket attacks and car bombings in war-torn Beirut, Lebanon, says Christians in the Middle East have never been more willing to risk everything to put their faith on display. Dare to Believe! Stories of Faith from the Middle East -- a new book launched today -- tells how Christian television ministry SAT-7 (www.sat7usa.org) mushroomed into one of the Middle East's most-watched networks since the first broadcast exactly 25 years ago. Founder of TV ministry SAT-7 releases 'Dare to Believe! Stories of Faith from the Middle East' on network's 25th anniversary NEWS PROVIDED BY SAT-7 June 3, 2021 EASTON, Md., June 3, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- A veteran Christian media pioneer who lived through rocket attacks and car bombings in war-torn Beirut, Lebanon, says Christians in the Middle East have never been more willing to risk everything to put their faith on display. After decades of isolation and "underground" church meetings, Middle East Christians are now using the latest "uncensored" technology to show millions across the war-torn region what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ, says Dr. Terence Ascott, founder and former CEO of Christian satellite television ministry SAT-7 (www.sat7usa.org) and author of a new book, Dare to Believe! Stories of Faith from the Middle East. Dare to Believe! launches today as the Holy Land conflict continues to unfold. In the book, British-born Ascott tells how SAT-7's one-of-a-kind television ministry -- under the leadership of local Christians -- mushroomed into one of the Middle East's most-watched networks since the first broadcast exactly 25 years ago this week. 50 Years of Faith in the Middle East "During my nearly 50 years in the Middle East, I've witnessed massive change, starting with the Iranian Revolution and going on to the rise of the so-called Islamic State," said Ascott, who was forced to evacuate his family from Lebanon when civil war erupted in the mid-1970s. "I've seen disinterest in the Gospel to outright hostility toward it, and also the passionate embracing of Christianity and the daring courage of Middle Eastern believers," he said. Inspired by the sight of children in Egypt huddled around a black-and-white television set by the roadside, Ascott launched SAT-7 in 1996, initially broadcasting in Arabic from low-budget studios. At one point, the television ministry -- funded by donations -- was so popular in Egypt that when its studios were partially destroyed in an arson attack in 2002, local widows offered to sell their wedding rings to help it stay on the air. Hosted by local presenters, SAT-7's shows now reach more than 25 million people across the Middle East and North Africa in three regional languages -- Arabic, Persian and Turkish -- proving hugely popular even though less than 4% of the region's population is Christian. SAT-7 Bridges Religious, Social Differences Part of SAT-7's universal appeal across different religious and social backgrounds is its focus on "real people living out their faith," giving viewers hope in adversity, war and disaster. "Our goal was -- and remains today -- to make God's love visible to everyone," said Ascott, who re-lives nearly a half-century of fascinating experiences in the book, providing his own insights into evolving ministry and faith in the Middle East. 'Unstoppable' Ministry Over the past 25 years, SAT-7 has beamed uncensored faith-based and educational shows directly into homes across the Middle East and North Africa -- an unstoppable ministry that's kept going through wars, political turmoil, national disasters, and the current pandemic. Advances in technology -- including video-on-demand -- have given the ministry opportunities to reach millions more people on their smartphones and other digital devices -- as well as connect personally with thousands of viewers via social media and online chat. 'Explosion of Interest' in Christianity "We've seen an explosion of interest in Christianity in places like Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan," Ascott said. "Social media and phone apps like WhatsApp and Telegram give us a direct line of contact with millions of young people across the Middle East and North Africa, clamoring for hope and asking: 'Who is this Jesus?'" George Verwer, founder of Operation Mobilization -- one of the largest-ever global Christian mission movements -- described Ascott's book as "super relevant," saying it would help people "understand some of the historic background to the region and see the amazing faith of our brothers and sisters under persecution." For more about Dare to Believe! Stories of Faith from the Middle East, visit the website at https://www.terenceascott.com/dare-to-believe. About Terry Ascott Terence "Terry" Ascott has lived in the Middle East and served as the leader for indigenous media ministries for nearly 50 years. In 1973, British-born Terry moved to Beirut, Lebanon, and launched an Arabic Christian publishing ministry. After civil war broke out there, Terry and his family evacuated to Egypt where he started an Arabic-language Christian youth magazine distributed in more than a dozen Arab countries. In 1996, he launched SAT-7 (www.sat7usa.org) -- the first Arabic-language Christian satellite television channel. About SAT-7 Launched in 1996, SAT-7 (www.sat7usa.org) -- with its international headquarters in Cyprus -- broadcasts Christian and educational satellite television programs, and online media programs, to more than 25 million people in the Middle East and North Africa. Its mission is to make the gospel available to everyone, and support the church in its life, work and witness for Jesus Christ. SAT-7 broadcasts 24/7 in Arabic, Farsi (Persian) and Turkish, using multiple satellite channels and online services. SOURCE SAT-7 CONTACT: Gregg Wooding, 972-567-7660, gwooding@inchristcommunications.com Share Tweet by Vladimir Rozanskij Sports complex built on the remains of a 1,600-year-old city. The new building is now in ruins. Damages for millions of euros. The opportunism of the ruling family puts very ancient monuments at serious risk. Moscow (AsiaNews) - Two years have passed since Saida Mirziyoyeva, the eldest daughter of Uzbekistan president Shavkat Mirziyoyev, launched her "five projects" in the Bukinsk province, Tashkent region. The first among them was a youth center built on an archaeological site dating back to the 4th century: now the new building is falling into disrepair. The construction of the sports-recreational complex, which began in 2019, included dozens of buildings and a fitness club: according to the most modest estimates for a cost of 2 billion som (about 156 thousand euros). At the foot of the hill where the most modern buildings are located, there is an ancient monument, which testifies to the existence of the city of Samsarak, also called Mukhtepa or Ajdartiepa, although there are no comprehensive historical documents on it. The area destroyed by the construction covers 12,646 square meters, and the economic damage to the ancient city is calculated by the Uzbekistan cultural heritage department at 239 billion som (18.6 million euros). The Bukinsk court sentenced some local public officials, who were blamed for the damage done. The regional prosecutor of Tashkent has put forward a control plan "for the custody and use of the objectives of cultural and archaeological heritage", asking the provincial administration to compensate for the multi-billion dollar damages. As it was impossible to pay these astronomical sums, the court confiscated all the youth center buildings. Now no one knows how to demolish the buildings on the ancient hill, also because the regulations of the Department of Culture itself prohibit the use of excavators and other construction tools on the site. Ironically, the place now features modern ruins that stand on top of ancient ruins. Today only stray dogs and other wild animals live on the presidential project, created by Mirziyoyeva with the high patronage of the Ministry for Technological Development. Uzbek architect and art historian Abumalik Turdiev told Ozodlik that the 1,600-year-old city hill was a subject of ongoing research by archaeologists from all over the world. Samsarak is mentioned in the Baburname, the memoir of one of Tamerlane's heirs, Zahir al-Din Muhammed Babur, according to whom the city prospered in the most flourishing period of Zoroastrianism, the main religion of Central Asia between the sixth century BC and the 10th century AD The city was buried inside the hill, and to avoid further damage it had been placed under guardianship even in the times of the Soviet Union. The archaeological passion, on the other hand, seems to have waned considerably in independent Uzbekistan, where Mirziyoyeva's "five projects" were presented by the official press as "world events" with top-level national personalities at the launch in 2019. Dancehall Artiste, Shatta Wale, has admonished media houses and DJs in Ghana to play 90 percent of Ghanaian music than music from other countries. Shatta Wale noted that the culture where music from Ghana receive less airplay as compared to music from other countries must cease with immediate effect. He said this while addressing his fans and the entire nation in a 'State of the Nation Address' (SONA) in his office on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. The musician, who was on a vacation in Miami, United States, noted that his trip offered him opportunities to meet major foreign music stakeholders and investors who awakened his passion to address pertinent issues affecting the music industry in Ghana. He stated the meetings with these stakeholders and investors helped him to identify the remedy for Ghana's crippling music industry. Shatta Wale opined that one significant factor to boost Ghana's music is for media houses, DJs and event organizers to prioritize the country's music. ''I want to propose the institution and the enforcement of a national agenda to prioritize Ghanaian music on our airwaves. Let's give Ghana music 90 percent and spread 10 percent for other countries. For this proposition to work, we all need hands on deck. Media house owners, DJs, event organizers, MUSIGA and every single stakeholder including the Government of Ghana; this must be a national agenda. Let's all get involved now to make it happen." The dancehall king also suggested that, in addition to prioritizing Ghana's music, it is prudent for music events and concerts to be decentralized to promote minority regions in the country. ''Another important factor worth accentuating in music events and concerts, I think it's about time that we decentralized events in the country. It must not continue to happen that all major music shows only happen in Accra. We must be able to hold big and popular events that happen annually in different parts of the country. This will help promote new artistes coming from those minority regions. It is also a move that gives reason for government and investors to open and establish more event centers across the country," he said. Watch full Shatta Wale SONA below: 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 Ghanaian Hiplife musician, Patapaa has confirmed claims on social media that his German wife, Liha Miller is pregnant. You would recall that Liha Miller caused a stir online after sharing a video which showed her baby bump which made social media users raise suspicions of pregnancy. Speaking to Giovanni Caleb in an interview on 3FM, My wife is pregnant and if she gives birth successfully, the child will be named Spinini. As a reminder, Patapaa Amisty started off the year 2021 on a high note, getting hitched to his German girlfriend Liha Miller on Saturday, January 2. The couple met on Patapaas European tour in February 2020 and have been together since then. On December 31, the couple announced in a video on social media that they were getting married. While many may have thought it was a gimmick, Patapaa and Liha really meant business and set Agona Swedru in the Central Region alight with their marriage on January 2, 2021. Source: Eugene Osafo-Nkansah/Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Every parent only wants whats best for her child. For some families, this means having a specific number of children so they can provide for their needs adequately. What can you read in this article? What are condoms? 7 condom brands in the Philippines In the Philippines, the Department of Health encourages family planning. The DOH defines this as having the desired number of children and when you want to have them by using safe and effective modern methods. condom brands in the philippines File photo There are different methods you can use for contraception. Of course, you and your partner are free to choose which one works for you. When doing so, ask the following questions: Do you feel comfortable using it? How effective is it as birth control? How much does it cost? Are you both willing to use it? For this article, we are focusing on male condoms. These are convenient and affordable ways of practicing family planning. Well also be looking at the different condom brands in the Philippines. What are condoms? condom brands in the philippines File photo Male condoms are a thin, soft sheath made of latex, polyurethane, or polyisoprene. These are worn on the outside of the penis and are considered as one of the barrier methods of birth control. According to the National Health Service (NHS), it is 98% effective in preventing pregnancies when used correctly. When choosing a condom, look at the following: brand Who manufactures them? Do they have a track record in safety and effectiveness? quality This is related to the first point. Make sure that youre using high-quality condoms. other features Some manufacturers came up with different varieties like flavored condoms and ribbed ones for you to choose from. price If this is your chosen method of contraception, is this something you can afford regularly? condom brands in the philippines File photo READ MORE: Story continues 7 condom brands in the Philippines Trojan is considered one of the most popular brands of condoms in the US. It is manufactured by the company Church & Dwight. This pleasure pack comes with 12 condoms in 4 different varieties. Features brand Trojan quality tested for durability and protection against STDs and unwanted pregnancy other features 4 kinds in this pack Twisted Pleasure with a special twisted flared shape Her Pleasure have deep ribs near the base Intense Ribbed have ribs throughout the condom Shared Pleasure condoms have warming lubricant for heated sensations price P1,950 Premiere is known locally for its affordable offerings. This pack of 3 is less than P200 and its contents are all hygienically sealed. This seller also makes sure its discreetly packed when they send it to you. Features brand Premiere quality Sensitive and reliable 100% electronically tested other features ultra-thin for a more sensitive feel lubricated for comfort price P186.25 What sets apart this one from Olo is its Hyaluronic Acid content, which skincare junkies might be familiar with. It is said to retain moisture in the face and keep it hydrated and protected. In this case, Hyaluronic Acid keeps your nether regions healthy and moisturized as well. Features brand Olo quality Thinnest condom at just 0.01mm range soft, no constriction other features Hyaluronic acid to keep your privates moisturized price P199 P599 According to its writeup on Lazada, this Japanese brand has been voted as the Worlds Best Condom. Whether thats true or not is perhaps for you and your partner to decide. The brand also highlights the even thickness of its product. Features brand Okamoto, which has been producing its condoms since 1934 quality manufactured according to ISO 4074:2002 standard other features uses Sheerlon, a silkier material without a rubbery latex smell price P240 Trust is arguably one of the most popular condom brands here in the Philippines. Aside from being affordable, it is available almost everywhere you can buy this method of contraceptive. Features brand Trust quality hygienically sealed lubricated other features comes in different scents such as shower fresh, powder fresh, natural, chocolate, strawberry, and orange price P89.60 Heres another Japanese brand. Sagami is made of Polyurethane using Japanese technology. This material is said to be 3 times more durable than latex. It also has a silicone-free lubricant. Features brand Sagami quality FDA-approved superior heat conductivity for increased pleasure has approximately 3 times higher bursting pressure and 2 times higher tensile strength other features no rubber latex smell comes in a blister pack price P450 This one from Durex has an extra thin design. The company has over 90 years of experience manufacturing condoms. Its products are tested for holes and dermatologically tested for comfort as well. Features brand Durex, which has been producing condoms since 1929 quality subjected to rigorous forms of testing other features extra thin and sensitive lubricated easy-on shaped price P440 The post Lets talk about family planning: 7 condom brands in the Philippines appeared first on theAsianparent Philippines: Your Guide to Pregnancy, Baby & Raising Kids. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A report published by Queen Mary University of London reveals major racial disparities in police Stop and Scan practices. The research, undertaken in collaboration with the Racial Justice Network and Yorkshire Resists, shows evidence of systematic racial bias in the use of Biometric Services Gateway (mobile fingerprinting) by police forces. Evidence of racial bias According to the analysis, for every White North European person stopped and scanned in every 10,000 people, 48 Arabic people are scanned on average across the police jurisdictions. Similarly, for every one White North European person, 14 Black residents are scanned, 14 Asian people, almost four Chinese or two South East Asian. The report is based on new data obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) requests from the period of March 2019 to June 2020 to all police forces in the UK. Police forces in Scotland and Wales have discontinued the use of mobile fingerprinting. In addition to the system racial bias that was found, the FOI analysis on the use of mobile biometrics showed the that roll out of mobile fingerprint scanners has taken place very quickly with no public consultation or equality impact analysis. Police at risk of becoming a border force The report shows that the highest number of scans per area include the Metropolitan Police (34 in 10,000), Surrey Police (24 in 10,000) Cheshire Police (17 in every 10,000) and Lincolnshire Police (15 in 10,000). Kent Police overwhelmingly have the highest proportion of immigration arrests (17 percent of scans led to immigration arrest) and contact with Home Office Command and Control. 67 percent of scans were conducted because details provided were 'doubted or refused." The authors of report argue that the introduction of the Biometric Services Gateway runs fundamentally against public interest and that police are becoming a border force. In their view, this means that further harm will be inflicted on those racially minoritised, who they are required to protect under the Equality Act. Dr. Rachel Humphris, Queen Mary University London said: "This report reveals the extent of racial profiling in English police forces and the insidious nature of the UK's hostile environment policy. The New Plan for Immigration and Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will only serve to exacerbate these issues. These changes affect us all." Potential to create a hostile environment Peninah Wangari Jones, director of the Racial Justice Network said: "I am encouraged by the police forces in Wales and Scotland who discontinued the use of these scans. This National data has reinforced what we have been saying for nearly three years. This report paints a picture of what technology looks like when it serves classism, institutional racism and xenophobia. We do not need to wait any longer. Stop the scan now." Dr. Laura Loyola-Hernandez, trustee, Racial Justice Network, University of Leeds said: "The effects of years of hostile environment government policies and institutional racism embedded in police forces have been highlighted by the use of this technology. How can we trust the Home Office with our biometric information when they consistently fail the public by misplacing and/or deleting sensitive information which can ultimately lead to deportation as we have seen with the Windrush Generation?" There are 45 territorial police forces and three special police forces in the United Kingdom. 27 police forces responded to the FOI request with 17 either refusing or not responding. More than half use mobile biometric fingerprint scanning technology (18) with four more in the process of acquiring the software with the potential to start scanning in a year. Only seven of responding police forces have no plans to use it in the future. Explore further COVID lockdowns exacerbated racist policing in the UK, say experts More information: More information on the Stop the Scan campaign can be found More information on mobile biometric devices from Motorola Solutions, PRONTO Biometrics can be found More information on the Stop the Scan campaign can be found here More information on mobile biometric devices from Motorola Solutions, PRONTO Biometrics can be found here When you think you are reading a fictional or a literary text, you might go off on a mental memory-journey about your own life. Credit: Mathias North/Unsplash. When you read texts that challenge the boundaries between reality and fiction, it may lead you to reflect on truths about yourself and the world you live in. "People process texts differently depending on whether they think they are factual or fictional," says Alexandra Effe. Alexandra Effe is a literary scholar, studying what is often labeled autofiction. In this type of literature, readers' perceptions of what is fact and what fiction, and the relation between these terms, are constantly put to the test. Effe believes this can help us understand what is and feels true in our own lives. "Acts of imagination and fictionalization can effect our understanding of ourselves," she says. Alexandra Effe and her colleagues in the project Literature, Cognition and Emotions (LCE) combine methods from literary studies with psychology and cognitive studies to find answers to questions about literature and the human mind. "There will always be a diversity of perspectives on yourself and your own life. I think it is impossible to reach objective knowledge and to represent truth. But that is just a fact of life. Reading novels, and especially autofictional texts, can help us become aware of it," says Effe. Representing reality is an ethical question In recent years, authors like Karl Ove Knausgard, Philip Roth, Vigdis Hjorth and Rachel Cusk have gained popularity. Some of their writing is known as autofiction, as they write about characters we can understand to be family and friends. Whether living or dead, they do not get a say about how they are presented. Although the books are rooted in reality, they are labeled novels. "The authors tell their subjective truths that are not verifiable," Effe points out. According to the literary scholar, questions about reality are always ethical questions. This literature invites us to reflect critically on what truth is and on who gets to tell their story. "But even though the label novel may be a safety measure, it does not allow you to do just anything." Authors will have different motivations for using what Effe calls autofictional strategies. A dominant one is to highlight and claim the right to tell and transform subjective truths. "But there are also financial and political motivations, and both forms and functions vary across literary history." 18th-century autofiction Autofiction is not a new phenomenon. When the term was coined by the French author and critic Serge Doubrovsky in the 1970s, autofiction was a new term for a literary strategy Effe traces back to the 18th century. "It might be older. However, I believe that in the 18th century it emerged in a particular form, and relate it to the fact that this was when the modern authorship concept emerged." People were trying to make money with their writing, and started to see themselves as authors by profession. "They needed to market themselves through their texts. Authors were promoting themselves and their creativity in their books, and they were also implicitly saying 'in a way this is me and I want to make you curious about myself, but I also want you to see that it is not quite me, but art that I have created.'" One of the authors who embraced this strategy was Delarivier Manley, who wrote Adventures of Rivella in 1714. "The story of the text's origin was most likely that a publisher had commissioned somebody else to write a negative account of Manley's life. She heard about it and offered to write her own account, in order to avoid bad things being said about her." In the book, one can read a discussion about Rivella between two men, one of them allegedly a former lover. "Both men think Rivella is the sexiest and most brilliant woman on earth, which allows Manley to praise herself in seeming modesty, while criticizing these male perspectives. And of course the men tell her story from a very particular angle." Credit: University of Oslo Most people knew that Manley was the author "The text is quite intricate in terms of how it positions the reader and in how Manley promotes a certain image of herself. What makes it autofictional is the fact that Manley presents herself as author and the text as crafted, and in instances as invented." The best of both worlds Whether you think the text you are reading is fact or fiction affects how you approach it. Effe refers to findings from psychological experiments that work with framing: one group is asked to read a text from a history book or a newspaper and another group reads the same text, but is told that it is an excerpt from a novel, for example. "When reading a text framed as factual, we tend to read faster, we are interested in causal relations and we read with a scrutinizing attitude. So we are in it for information, and to check whether things are correct, make sense and are logical," she says. "Whereas when we think we are reading a fictional or a literary text, we pay much more attention to linguistic elements, to themes, to larger motives. We are also open to incompatibilities, and, it seems, more frequently go off on a mental memory-journey about our own life and an episode in which we are agents." Neuroscience studies have also shown that we get more emotionally involved when reading about real people, than about fictional characters. "The decisive factor actually seems to be whether the person has personal relevance, which may but need not equal factuality," Effe notes. However: "When we read autofictional texts, we appreciate the literary qualities, but it is also about real people, so we get the best of both worlds, in a sense." Fiction affects us more than scientific articles Effe mentions Ben Lerner's book 10:04, where he writes about climate change anxiety. "The fact that we take it to be a literary work means that we pay attention to different things than when we read an article about climate change. Portraying personal experience is the big difference, and what gives the text a different resonance for you." The novel argues for storytelling to have the potential to effect change in the world. It also addresses the reader directly. "Maybe that makes you think more about yourself in relation to the character's reflections." Effe hesitates to say that a certain style of writing will cause a certain effect, as all readers are different. However: "We do know from studies, but also from personal experience, that reading does change the way we think and feel and act." Fake News and Post-Truth Arguments call for reflections Alexandra Effe believes that reflections on the relationship between fiction and reality are especially important at a time when fake news abound and many talk about a post-truth era. The issues that have arisen in parallel with new media also find their way into novels. "In Olivia Laing's writing, you find Twitter feeds and diary texts incorporated, and Sheila Heti weaves in actual e-mails and recordings of conversations. Whereas Teju Coles Everyday Is for the Thief started out as a blog." That the authors mix text formats is an implicit argument for discussing the value of the modes of writing and speaking found in new media, Effe argues. "They show how confusing our world has become because of these media, and how difficult it is to differentiate between what is true and what is not. By integrating new media texts into their books, these authors given them a platform and show how they can work to shape our views of the world," she says. "By integrating these texts, authors also attribute value to them. Nonetheless, by choosing the form of a novel, or indeed an autofictional book, authors nonetheless also show the particular value of the book-form." Do you want to read autofiction? Alexandra Effe recommends Siri Hustvedt's Memories of the Future. "It interweaves the story of a first-person narrator who writes about a year of her life based on a diary she found that she kept for a year 30 years earlier. We have three strands of the narrative: excerpts from the diary, the present self writing the book that we are reading about the past self based on the diary, and excerpts from a novel that that person 30 years ago was writing then." "Hustvedt is very knowledgeable in terms of psychology and cognitive science and this is clearly visible in that text. It is a very interesting interplay between different versions of a self and a nuanced reflections on memory, imagination and autobiographical writing." Explore further Scientists develop interactive typeface for digital text Permafrost thaw in Alaska, above, results in ground subsidence and inundation that kills black spruce and other understory plants living on the permafrost plateau. Credit: USGS Just as your freezer keeps food from going bad, Arctic permafrost protects frozen organic material from decay. As the climate warms, however, previously frozen landscapes such as peatlands are beginning to thaw. But how much fresh carbon will be released into the atmosphere when peat leaves the deep freeze of permafrost? In a new study, Treat et al. use a process-based model to explore how different factors may affect the carbon balance in peatlands by the end of this century. The scientists simulated more than 8,000 years of peatland history to ensure accuracy, and they examined six peatland sites in Canada to cover a gradient from spottier southern permafrost zones to continuous permafrost sites north of the Arctic tree line. Their results reveal great variation, depending on each site's history. According to the simulations, some areas will release carbon as permafrost thaws or disappears altogether. Others will accumulate and store carbon at greater rates as vegetation responds to warmer temperatures and longer growing seasons. Overall, little carbonless than 5%will escape by 2100 compared with how much will remain stored. Before peat is preserved stably in permafrost, it spends time in an "active layer," which freezes and thaws seasonally. Unfrozen peat continues to decay, so by the time it is permanently frozen, peat might be highly degraded. When such frozen peat ultimately thaws, limited further decomposition is possible, so the carbon loss is much slower than might be expected. Therefore, most of the carbon that peat will release escapes before it ever enters the permafrost. Accordingly, in simulations of future years, the upper active layer, not deeper or newly thawed peat, continued to release the most carbon. Previous field studies showed a range of carbon balance outcomes as permafrost thaws, from the release of large amounts of carbon to the storage of additional carbon. This simulation helps explain that variation, linking carbon balance results to specific variables such as site history and active layer depth. Future models could continue to refine the picture by incorporating new variables, such as ice melt and vegetation productivity. Explore further Arctic rivers provide fingerprint of carbon release from thawing permafrost More information: Claire C. Treat et al, Predicted Vulnerability of Carbon in Permafrost Peatlands With Future Climate Change and Permafrost Thaw in Western Canada, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (2021). Claire C. Treat et al, Predicted Vulnerability of Carbon in Permafrost Peatlands With Future Climate Change and Permafrost Thaw in Western Canada,(2021). DOI: 10.1029/2020JG005872 This story is republished courtesy of Eos, hosted by the American Geophysical Union. Read the original story here. Credit: CC0 Public Domain In the face of a mounting humanitarian crisis at the U.S./Mexico border, the Biden administration has acknowledged climate change among the powerful forces pushing migrants from Central America. A $4 billion federal commitment to address the root causes of irregular migration acknowledges the need for adaptation efforts to help alleviate the situation. The challenge is not limited to the border. Last year, weather-related disasters around the world uprooted 30 million peoplemore than the population of the 14 largest U.S. cities combinedand wildfires displaced more than a million Americans, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. Below, Stanford climate and behavior experts discuss how climate change's effect on migration will change, how we can prepare for the impacts and what kind of policies could help alleviate the issue. The researchers include Chris Field, a climate scientist who has led UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change efforts to analyze climate-related risks, impacts and adaptation opportunities; Gabrielle Wong-Parodi, a behavioral scientist who studies how people react to challenges associated with global environmental change; Erica Bower, a Ph.D. student who studies human mobility in the context of climate change impacts and served as a climate change and disaster displacement specialist at the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees; Nina Berlin Rubin, a Ph.D. student in Earth system science whose research focuses on decision-making in the face of climate extremes. What is a common story of climate migration in the U.S./Mexico? Bower: Climate change is a threat multiplierit can exacerbate economic insecurity or political instability, which in turn may lead to migration. In the "dry corridor" of Central America, for example, climate change extremes such as droughts may hinder crop production. Without a consistent source of food or income, a farmer may seek other livelihood opportunities in a nearby city or further north. When combined with poverty or violence, a drought may make the perilous journey north seem to be a more promising adaptation or survival strategy. How has climate change's effect on the tide of refugees in the U.S./Mexico border changed in recent years? Bower: In recent years, climate change has made extreme weather events stronger and more frequent, which may contribute to migration decisions. However, given the multiple reasons why people move, we do not have the evidence required to say with certainty precisely how climate change has affected net migration flows to the U.S./Mexico border. What does the future hold for climate-related migration at the border? What should we expect, and how should we prepare for it? Field: In the long run, stopping climate change is a key element of getting the situation under control. In the short run, there are lots of effective ways to decrease vulnerability. These range from improving agricultural practices to strengthening social safety nets. Across the full suite of possible vulnerability reduction measures, it is critical that the solutions are implemented in partnership with local communities and not imposed on them. In regions with high levels of corruption or political or criminal violence, it is much more challenging to make progress on vulnerability reduction. Climate change and related extreme weather events have been shown to cause human migration around the globe. Stanford researchers discuss how events like drought and wildfire influence socioeconomic factors and might drive people to cross international borders or relocate domestically. Credit: Stanford University Bower: We may need to change our approach to welcoming people across our southern border. The definition of refugee in international law is very narrow, and most people fleeing in climate change contextsincluding from Central America to the U.S./Mexico borderare generally not recognized as refugees under international or domestic law. Newly proposed legislation in Congress would protect the human rights of people fleeing to the U.S. in the context of climate change. How extensive is climate change's effect on migration within the U.S.? Wong-Parodi: We are seeing some evidence that people who feel more impacted by wildfires and secondary impacts like smoke are more likely to intend to move to a new state within the U.S. or even out of the country. The question that remains is whether the destination they are planning on moving to is more or less at risk for wildfires or other climate hazards. Berlin Rubin: Exactly. One might decide to uproot their family and leave behind friends and neighbors in search of respite from wildfires and smoke, only to find themselves living somewhere with just as much wildfire riskor exposure to other risks like floodingas where they were before. And the reality is, as these fires become more frequent and destructive, people will have fewer options and less confidence that their destination is actually going to be free from wildfires. Bower: We are also seeing that many communities are seeking government support to relocate away from sea level rise or flooding. A recent mapping exercise identified 36 cases of community-wide relocation in the U.S. alone since 1970. How might federal and state policy lessen climate change's impact role as a driver of migration at the border and within the U.S.? Field: The U.S. Federal government can play a large role in addressing the core drivers of displacement, through three main pathways. It can decrease its contribution to warming through decreasing its greenhouse gas emissions. It can help other countries decrease their emissions through financial and technical assistance. It can also help poor countries adapt so that their people feel less pressure to migrate. This last pathway has the potential to be especially cost-effective in the near term, even though it cannot address all of the drivers of migration. Is there any promising research/data gathering that could dramatically change how we understand and react to this challenge? Field: It is likely that progress in decreasing pressure to migrate will require patience. One area where data can make a big difference is in cataloging investments in adaptation and following their consequences. At this point, we are not systematically cataloging and tracking adaptation efforts. A robust database can be the foundation for a new generation of evidence-based adaptation. Berlin Rubin: Research at the individual level will help us better understand and characterize the psychosocial and experiential factors that motivate climate-related migration decisions. But leaving is only half the story. Tracking these migration pathways from origin to destination can speak to whether people are moving to safer areas or to areas that introduce new or heightened risks. We need to understand the local context in which people are making their decisions in order to get ahead of these challenges. Secondary school students in PNG being tested on their language skills. Credit: New Guinea Binatang Research Center Around the world, more than 7,000 languages are spoken, most of them by small populations of speakers in the tropics. Papua New Guinea (PNG), where nine million people speak 850 languages, is the most linguistically diverse place on Earth. Unfortunately, a new study of secondary school students in PNG shows that the ability to speak Indigenous languages is declining precipitously in the younger generation. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was led by Alfred Kik, a postgraduate student from the Western Highlands of PNG, the first ever PNG researcher to lead a paper in the journal. Kik is a now a Ph.D. student, based in Europe at the University of South Bohemia. UConn's Robert Colwell, Distinguished Research Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Emeritus Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor and a coauthor of the study, served as an international evaluator of Kik's Master's thesis at the University of PNG, the basis of the study. Colwell has worked in PNG on a research team led by Vojtech Novotny, senior author of the new study, a Czech entomologist with decades of experience working with local PNG naturalists. Colwell has long had an interest in the geography of human languages, and has published previously on language geography with other researchers. The research team for the PNG study also included three other PNG postgraduate students, as well as linguists and social scientists from PNG, Europe, Australia, and U.S.. "I've been involved with this group studying the geography of languages, because one of my specialties is biogeography, or the geography of life. I got involved in geography of languages as a geographical modeler of biodiversity, which is not the same by any means," says Colwell. "However, it's strangely coincidental that the most biodiverse places on earth, like Papua New Guinea, are also the most linguistically diverse places." Tok Pisin, an English-based language serving as PNG's lingua franca, and English, the language of formal education, are replacing Indigenous languages. Kik and his collaborators tested more than 6,000 secondary school students from PNG speaking 392 languages. He found an unexpectedly rapid decline in their language skills. Only 58% of the students, compared to 91% of their parents, were fluent in Indigenous languages. This process is driven by an increasing share of mixed-language families, where each parent speaks a different Indigenous language, as well as life-style changes, particularly urbanization. Declining language fluency is accompanied by loss of traditional skills including hunting, fishing, growing staple crops, house building from forest materials, and medicinal use of plants. The gradual loss of languages also leads to declining traditional knowledge of rainforest plants and animals. The surveys in 30 secondary schools revealed these schools are a focus of extraordinary language diversity. As an extreme example, 381 students at the Lae Secondary School spoke 126 different PNG languages. Only one third of students speak the same Indigenous language as their best friend at school, suggesting that friendships are formed with low regard to the students' language identity. This trend may also lead to further increase in mixed-language families in the future, accelerating the loss of languages. "When people hear there are 800 languages in PNG, many think they're probably closely related, but many of these languages aren't even remotely related. Just for comparison, within all of Europe, there are spoken languages in only eight language families, and a single family, Indo-European, includes more than 94% of speakers in all of Europe," says Colwell. "Now consider PNG, one-twentieth the area of Europe, which has spoken languages from some 30 language families." This diversity and the absence of any one dominant Indigenous language means that, if two Papua New Guineans were to meet at random, they would speak the same Indigenous language in only one out of 100 such encounters, making these languages too localized to be practical for wider communication. Colwell adds, "A very large proportion of New Guinea people live on their own traditional land in their own language area. They grow crops, they use native plants from the extremely rich rain forests, many of medicinal or other cultural values. To know which plant to use in which situation is crucial knowledge. Knowing the names of useful plants and local birds in the language of their parents shows us whether these high school kids are maintaining not just language, but also traditional knowledge." This knowledge lives on through the Indigenous languages. Fortunately, a large majority (88%) of students want to teach Indigenous languages to their children, appreciating their cultural significance rather than practicality. While crucial for keeping languages alive, this intention faces powerful external pressures as key factors (education, cash economy, road networks, urbanization) associated with language decline are valued in contemporary society, in PNG and elsewhere. Explore further Google introduces Woolaroo, a tool for learning indigenous languages More information: Alfred Kik et al, Language and ethnobiological skills decline precipitously in Papua New Guinea, the world's most linguistically diverse nation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2021). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Alfred Kik et al, Language and ethnobiological skills decline precipitously in Papua New Guinea, the world's most linguistically diverse nation,(2021). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2100096118 The Sierra Nevada red fox, one of 10 subspecies of red fox in North America, occurs in two small and isolated populations in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. Credit: USFWS There's an elusive fox roaming the southern Sierra Nevada, and experts are trying to learn more about its behavior and breeding success by analyzing one of the few traces of its presencepoop. Living in areas above 9,000 feet in elevation, the fox is smaller than most, has fuzzy paws, and a thick fur coatall adaptations to help it survive the heavy winter snows and challenging alpine conditions. Its fur can range in color from red to black to grayish-brown. Recently proposed to be listed as an endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the southern population of the Sierra Nevada red fox is estimated to consist of fewer than 50 individuals. Recent hybridization with non-native red foxes that escaped from fur farms and other alpine foxes that traveled from Nevada or the Rocky Mountains has put this subspecies at-risk of going extinct. "With most endangered species, we're trying to manage the landscape to provide a path to recovery. For this species, we're trying to preserve the Sierra Nevada red fox genes while ensuring sufficient habitat exists," said Stephanie Eyes, a biologist with the Service's Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office. Collecting information on the fox is difficult. It's rarely seendeftly avoiding trail cameras and live traps. However, ongoing research is helping to paint a picture of the fox, its behavior and breeding success. Stephanie Eyes, biologist with the Services Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, during field work. Credit: Stephanie Eyes/USFWS Since 2011, Cate Quinn, a post-doctoral researcher in UC Davis' Mammalian Ecology and Conservation Unit, has been studying the fox by collecting its scat (the term preferred over poop, at least in the science world). In the science world, this type of tracking is called noninvasive genetic monitoring. It typically involves collecting DNA from scat, urine or hairs left behind in the great outdoors in lieu of using tracking collars that require capturing live animals. "The DNA found in scat is very powerful. You can tell which fox it came from and who they're related to," said Quinn. "This information helps us learn more about their movements across the landscape, their lifespan and which other types of foxes they're breeding with." Each year, starting in the late summer, Quinn and her team head out to four core locations between the northern border of Yosemite National Park and Highway 4 in the Sonora Pass to collect scat. The team collects anything that could be fox scat (some turn out to be coyote) and takes it back to the lab for analysis. While some trips can be completed in a day, others require backpacking across rocky mountain ridges for up to five days, constantly scanning the ground for scat, and hauling any scat collected the entire trip. Approximately 400500 samples are collected each year. The samples help create the "family tree" of the individuals living in the high Sierra. Cate Quinn, a post-doctoral researcher in UC Davis Mammalian Ecology and Conservation Unit, collects fox scat in the high Sierras. Credit: Cate Quinn "This annual census enables us to take the pulse of the Sierra Nevada red fox population," said Quinn. "The information helps us answer key questions like: Are there big dramatic changes in the population? Is mortality going up or down? Is reproduction stopping?" In 2018, Quinn added dogs from Rogue Detection Teams, owned by Jennifer Hartman, to the team of scat collectors. The dogs are specially trained to sniff out fox scat, and their keen sense of smell can find it more easily than the human eye, especially in areas where the foxes' presence is rare or unknown. The dog and its handler travel to several locations each year to support the collection efforts. They, too, backpack for several days across the high Sierra sniffing for traces of the fox. Once back in the lab, the DNA analysis tells a more detailed story. Quinn and her team have been able to identify and track the same individuals for several years and have found that the foxes are long-lived. They also travel long distances. One individual she's tracked traveled more than 60 miles in just one year. Rogue Detection Teams train dogs to sniff out fox poop, and their keen sense of smell can find poop more easily than the human eye, especially in areas where the foxes presence is rare or unknown. This dog, named Filson, has tracked fox scat as seen in the foreground. Credit: Rogue Detection Teams The DNA also shows that hybridization continues with non-native foxes, however, that's not entirely bad. There's a concern that too much inbreeding between pure Sierra Nevada red foxes could lead to more detrimental impacts to the species than some level of hybridization. Breeding with non-native or other alpine foxesto a certain pointcould be helpful for maintaining the Sierra Nevada red fox DNA and ensuring the longevity of the species. "The foxes have been here for thousands of years, which shows that they're resilient," said Quinn. "That gives me hope that they will persist if we can figure out ways to keep them going." While more information is gathered, efforts are already underway to help the fox. A group of representatives from the Service, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, and biologists from universities and the private sector are developing a conservation strategy for the Sierra Nevada red fox. This strategy will guide and prioritize recovery actions, such as translocations and possibly introducing other alpine foxes to support breeding. Additionally, the Forest Service, Park Service and Department of Defense have resource management plans on the lands they manage that minimize forest fragmentation and limit activities that could disturb Sierra Nevada red fox breeding and denning areas. A multi-agency conservation strategy for the Sierra Nevada red fox is in development. This strategy will guide and prioritize recovery actions, such as translocations and possibly introducing other alpine foxes to support breeding. Credit: U.S. Forest Service "This research is helping us get a better understanding of where the foxes are living, their breeding and movement, and how their home ranges and genetics are changing over time," said Eyes. "This information is incredibly useful as we determine ways to help recover this unique species." While Quinn's research will continue to shed light on the secretive fox, partners are optimistic that this species will remain part of the Sierra landscape, even if the only trace of their presence are the brown piles they leave behind. Explore further Photos from Yosemite suggest secretive forest predator might be moving north A car crosses Enterprise Bridge over Lake Oroville's dry banks Sunday, May 23, 2021, in Oroville, Calif. At the time of this photo, the reservoir was at 39 percent of capacity and 46 percent of its historical average. California officials say the drought gripping the U.S. West is so severe it could cause one of the state's most important reservoirs to reach historic lows by late August, closing most boat ramps and shutting down a hydroelectric power plant during the peak demand of the hottest part of the summer. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger Each year Lake Oroville helps water a quarter of the nation's crops, sustain endangered salmon beneath its massive earthen dam and anchor the tourism economy of a Northern California county that must rebuild seemingly every year after unrelenting wildfires. But the mighty lakea linchpin in a system of aqueducts and reservoirs in the arid U.S. West that makes California possibleis shrinking with surprising speed amid a severe drought, with state officials predicting it will reach a record low later this summer. While droughts are common in California, this year's is much hotter and drier than others, evaporating water more quickly from the reservoirs and the sparse Sierra Nevada snowpack that feeds them. The state's more than 1,500 reservoirs are 50% lower than they should be this time of year, according to Jay Lund, co-director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California-Davis. Over Memorial Day weekend, dozens of houseboats sat on cinderblocks at Lake Oroville because there wasn't enough water to hold them. Blackened trees lined the reservoir's steep, parched banks. At nearby Folsom Lake, normally bustling boat docks rested on dry land, their buoys warning phantom boats to slow down. Campers occupied dusty riverbanks farther north at Shasta Lake. A home destroyed in the 2020 North Complex Fire sits above Lake Oroville on Sunday, May 23, 2021, in Oroville, Calif. At the time of this photo, the reservoir was at 39 percent of capacity and 46 percent of its historical average. California officials say the drought gripping the U.S. West is so severe it could cause one of the state's most important reservoirs to reach historic lows by late August, closing most boat ramps and shutting down a hydroelectric power plant during the peak demand of the hottest part of the summer. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger But the impacts of dwindling reservoirs go beyond luxury yachts and weekend anglers. Salmon need cold water from the bottom of the reservoirs to spawn. The San Francisco Bay needs fresh water from the reservoirs to keep out the salt water that harms freshwater fish. Farmers need the water to irrigate their crops. Businesses need reservoirs full so people will come play in them and spend money. And everyone needs the water to run hydroelectric power plants that supply much of the state's energy. If Lake Oroville falls below 640 feet (195 meters)which it could do by late Auguststate officials would shut down a major power plant for just the second time ever because of low water levels, straining the electrical grid during the hottest part of the summer. In Northern California's Butte County, low water prompts another emotion: fear. The county suffered the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century in 2018 when 85 people died. Last year, another 16 people died in a wildfire. People walk near boat docks as they sit on dry land at the Browns Ravine Cove area of drought-stricken Folsom Lake, currently at 37% of its normal capacity, in Folsom, Calif., Saturday, May 22, 2021. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency for most of the state. Credit: AP Photo/Josh Edelson Walking along the Bidwell Canyon trail last week, 63-year-old Lisa Larson was supposed to have a good view of the lake. Instead, she saw withered grass and trees. "It makes me feel like our planet is literally drying up," she said. "It makes me feel a little unsettled because the drier it gets, the more fires we are going to have." Droughts are a part of life in California, where a Mediterranean-style climate means the summers are always dry and the winters are not always wet. The state's reservoirs act as a savings account, storing water in the wet years to help the state survive during the dry ones. Last year was the third driest on record in terms of precipitation. Temperatures hit triple digits in much of California over the Memorial Day weekend, earlier than expected. State officials were surprised earlier this year when about 500,000 acre feet (61,674 hectare meters) of water they were expecting to flow into reservoirs never showed up. One acre-foot is enough water to supply up to two households for one year. William Heinz parks his vehicle on a newly revealed piece of land due to receding waters at the drought-stricken Folsom Lake in Granite Bay, Calif., Saturday, May 22, 2021. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency for most of the state. Credit: AP Photo/Josh Edelson "In the previous drought, it took (the reservoirs) three years to get this low as they are in the second year of this drought," Lund said. The lake's record low is 646 feet (197 meters), but the Department of Water Resources projects it will dip below that sometime in August or September. If that happens, the state will have to close the boat ramps for the first time ever because of low water levels, according to Aaron Wright, public safety chief for the Northern Buttes District of California State Parks. The only boat access to the lake would be an old dirt road that was built during the dam's construction in the late 1960s. "We have a reservoir up there that's going to be not usable. And so now what?" said Eric Smith, an Oroville City Council member and president of its chamber of commerce. A launch ramp, extended to accommodate low water levels, stretches into Lake Oroville on Saturday, May 22, 2021, in Oroville, Calif. At the time of this photo, the reservoir was at 39 percent of capacity and 46 percent of its historical average. California officials say the drought gripping the U.S. West is so severe it could cause one of the state's most important reservoirs to reach historic lows by late August, closing most boat ramps and shutting down a hydroelectric power plant during the peak demand of the hottest part of the summer. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger The water level is so low at Lake Mendocino, along the Russian River in Northern California, that state officials last week reduced the amount of water heading to 930 farmers, businesses and other junior water-rights holders. "Unless we immediately reduce diversions, there is a real risk of Lake Mendocino emptying by the end of this year," said Erik Ekdahl, deputy director for the State Water Board's Division of Water Rights. Low water levels across California will severely limit how much power the state can generate from hydroelectric power plants. When Lake Oroville is full, the Edward Hyatt Power Plant and others nearby can generate up to 900 megawatts of power, according to Behzad Soltanzadeh, chief of utility operations for the Department of Water Resources. One megawatt is enough to power between 800 and 1,000 homes. Weeds sprout from a boat launch ramp, which rests far above the water line at Lake Oroville on Saturday, May 22, 2021, in Oroville, Calif. At the time of this photo, the reservoir was at 39 percent of capacity and 46 percent of its historical average. California officials say the drought gripping the U.S. West is so severe it could cause one of the state's most important reservoirs to reach historic lows by late August, closing most boat ramps and shutting down a hydroelectric power plant during the peak demand of the hottest part of the summer. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger That has some local officials worrying about power outages, especially after the state ran out of energy last summer during an extreme heat wave that prompted California's first rotating blackouts in 20 years. But energy officials say they are better prepared this summer, having obtained an additional 3,500 megawatts of capacity ahead of the scorching summer months. The low levels are challenging for tourism officials. Bruce Spangler, president of the board of directors for Explore Butte County, grew up in Oroville and has fond memories of fishing with his grandfather and learning to launch and drive a boat before he could drive a car. But this summer, his organization has to be careful about how it markets the lake while managing visitors' expectations, he said. "We have to be sure we don't promise something that can't be," he said. Empty boat docks sit on dry land at the Browns Ravine Cove area of drought-stricken Folsom Lake, currently at 37% of its normal capacity, in Folsom, Calif., Saturday, May 22, 2021. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency for most of the state. Credit: AP Photo/Josh Edelson A boat crosses Lake Oroville below trees scorched in the 2020 North Complex Fire, Sunday, May 23, 2021, in Oroville, Calif. At the time of this photo, the reservoir was at 39 percent of capacity and 46 percent of its historical average. California officials say the drought gripping the U.S. West is so severe it could cause one of the state's most important reservoirs to reach historic lows by late August, closing most boat ramps and shutting down a hydroelectric power plant during the peak demand of the hottest part of the summer. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger Dry hillsides surround Lake Oroville on Saturday, May 22, 2021, in Oroville, Calif. At the time of this photo, the reservoir was at 39 percent of capacity and 46 percent of its historical average. California officials say the drought gripping the U.S. West is so severe it could cause one of the state's most important reservoirs to reach historic lows by late August, closing most boat ramps and shutting down a hydroelectric power plant during the peak demand of the hottest part of the summer. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger Water drips from a faucet near boat docks sitting on dry land at the Browns Ravine Cove area of drought-stricken Folsom Lake, currently at 37% of its normal capacity, in Folsom, Calif., Saturday, May 22, 2021. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency for most of the state. Credit: AP Photo/Josh Edelson A family camps on a dry riverbed at Shasta Lake on Monday, May 24, 2021, in Shasta Trinity National Forest, Calif. At the time of this photo, the reservoir was at 45 percent of capacity and 52 percent of its historical average. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger A boat crosses Lake Oroville beneath a dry hillside Saturday, May 22, 2021, in Oroville, Calif. At the time of this photo, the reservoir was at 39 percent of capacity and 46 percent of its historical average. California officials say the drought gripping the U.S. West is so severe it could cause one of the state's most important reservoirs to reach historic lows by late August, closing most boat ramps and shutting down a hydroelectric power plant during the peak demand of the hottest part of the summer. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger In an aerial view, boat docks sitting on dry land at the Browns Ravine Cove area of drought-stricken Folsom Lake, currently at 37% of the normal capacity, in Folsom, Calif., Saturday, May 22, 2021. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency for most of the state. Credit: AP Photo/Josh Edelson A boat crosses Lake Oroville below trees scorched in the 2020 North Complex Fire, Sunday, May 23, 2021, in Oroville, Calif. At the time of this photo, the reservoir was at 39 percent of capacity and 46 percent of its historical average. California officials say the drought gripping the U.S. West is so severe it could cause one of the state's most important reservoirs to reach historic lows by late August, closing most boat ramps and shutting down a hydroelectric power plant during the peak demand of the hottest part of the summer. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger Empty boat docks sit on dry land at the Browns Ravine Cove area of drought-stricken Folsom Lake, currently at 37% of its normal capacity, in Folsom, Calif., Saturday, May 22, 2021. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency for most of the state. Credit: AP Photo/Josh Edelson Trees scorched in the 2020 North Complex Fire stand above Lake Oroville on Saturday, May 22, 2021, in Oroville, Calif. At the time of this photo, the reservoir was at 39 percent of capacity and 46 percent of its historical average. California officials say the drought gripping the U.S. West is so severe it could cause one of the state's most important reservoirs to reach historic lows by late August, closing most boat ramps and shutting down a hydroelectric power plant during the peak demand of the hottest part of the summer. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger A man fishes on the banks of Shasta Lake on Sunday, May 23, 2021, in Shasta Trinity National Forest, Calif. The reservoir is at 45 percent of capacity and 52 percent of its historical average. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger A buoy sits on dry land that had been under water, at a drought-stricken Lake Mendocino, currently at 29% of it normal capacity, in Ukiah, Calif., on Sunday, May 23, 2021. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency for most of the state. Credit: AP Photo/Josh Edelson Surrounded by dry hillsides, a houseboat floats on Lake Oroville on Saturday, May 22, 2021, in Oroville, Calif. At the time of this photo, the reservoir was at 39 percent of capacity and 46 percent of its historical average. California officials say the drought gripping the U.S. West is so severe it could cause one of the state's most important reservoirs to reach historic lows by late August, closing most boat ramps and shutting down a hydroelectric power plant during the peak demand of the hottest part of the summer. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger Anglers fish below a dry hillside at Lake Oroville on Sunday, May 23, 2021, in Oroville, Calif. At the time of this photo, the reservoir was at 39 percent of capacity and 46 percent of its historical average. California officials say the drought gripping the U.S. West is so severe it could cause one of the state's most important reservoirs to reach historic lows by late August, closing most boat ramps and shutting down a hydroelectric power plant during the peak demand of the hottest part of the summer. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger Low lake levels haven't stopped tourists from coming yet. With coronavirus restrictions lifting across the state, Wrightthe state parks official for Northern Californiasaid attendance at most parks in his area is double what it normally is this time of year. "People are trying to recreate and use facilities even more so (because) they know they are going to lose them here in a few months," he said. Explore further California already in throes of drought as summer looms 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Four are students, including the former president of the Chinese university student union. The new bishop of Hong Kong petitions for the reduction of the sentence for one of the accused. Police set to deploy 3,000 officers to stop June 4 Tiananmen vigil. Hong Kong (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A Kowloon court yesterday sentenced five people to between six and eight months in prison for having taken part in an unauthorized demonstration on October 20, 2019. On that day, thousands of demonstrators gathered in Mong Kok to protest against a law that prohibited the use of masks in public places. The protests which began peacefully, deteriorated into clashes between demonstrators and policemen. Owen Au, former president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong Students Union was among the five convicted; the others are three university students and a 49-year-old who worked in a department of the same university. After their arrest in May, all the offenders applied for a sentence reduction. According to Apple Daily reports, the request for Walter Tse, a student of the faculty of architecture, was presented by Msgr. Stephen Chow, recently appointed the new bishop of the former British colony. Meanwhile, tension is mounting for tomorrow, the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre. The police are ready to deploy 3,000 officers to prevent rallies commemorating the demonstrators killed in Beijing on June 4, 1989. On May 27, the police banned the holding of the traditional vigil in Victoria Park in memory of the incident. As in 2020, the authorities justified the ban with the need to respect Covid-19 prevention measures. A cut-away of Earth's interior shows the solid iron inner core (red) slowly growing by freezing of the liquid iron outer core (orange). Seismic waves travel through the Earth's inner core faster between the north and south poles (blue arrows) than across the equator (green arrow). The researchers concluded that this difference in seismic wave speed with direction (anisotropy) results from a preferred alignment of the growing crystals--hexagonally close packed iron-nickel alloys, which are themselves anisotropic--parallel with Earth's rotation axis. Credit: Daniel Frost For reasons unknown, Earth's solid-iron inner core is growing faster on one side than the other, and it has been ever since it started to freeze out from molten iron more than half a billion years ago, according to a new study by seismologists at the University of California, Berkeley. The faster growth under Indonesia's Banda Sea hasn't left the core lopsided. Gravity evenly distributes the new growthiron crystals that form as the molten iron coolsto maintain a spherical inner core that grows in radius by an average of 1 millimeter per year. But the enhanced growth on one side suggests that something in Earth's outer core or mantle under Indonesia is removing heat from the inner core at a faster rate than on the opposite side, under Brazil. Quicker cooling on one side would accelerate iron crystallization and inner core growth on that side. This has implications for Earth's magnetic field and its history, because convection in the outer core driven by release of heat from the inner core is what today drives the dynamo that generates the magnetic field that protects us from dangerous particles from the sun. "We provide rather loose bounds on the age of the inner corebetween half a billion and 1.5 billion yearsthat can be of help in the debate about how the magnetic field was generated prior to the existence of the solid inner core," said Barbara Romanowicz, UC Berkeley Professor of the Graduate School in the Department of Earth and Planetary Science and emeritus director of the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory (BSL). "We know the magnetic field already existed 3 billion years ago, so other processes must have driven convection in the outer core at that time." The youngish age of the inner core may mean that, early in Earth's history, the heat boiling the fluid core came from light elements separating from iron, not from crystallization of iron, which we see today. "Debate about the age of the inner core has been going on for a long time," said Daniel Frost, assistant project scientist at the BSL. "The complication is: If the inner core has been able to exist only for 1.5 billion years, based on what we know about how it loses heat and how hot it is, then where did the older magnetic field come from? That is where this idea of dissolved light elements that then freeze out came from." Freezing iron Asymmetric growth of the inner core explains a three-decade-old mysterythat the crystallized iron in the core seems to be preferentially aligned along the rotation axis of the earth, more so in the west than in the east, whereas one would expect the crystals to be randomly oriented. Evidence for this alignment comes from measurements of the travel time of seismic waves from earthquakes through the inner core. Seismic waves travel faster in the direction of the north-south rotation axis than along the equator, an asymmetry that geologists attribute to iron crystalswhich are asymmetrichaving their long axes preferentially aligned along Earth's axis. If the core is solid crystalline iron, how do the iron crystals get oriented preferentially in one direction? A new model by UC Berkeley seismologists proposes that Earth's inner core grows faster on its east side (left) than on its west. Gravity equalizes the asymmetric growth by pushing iron crystals toward the north and south poles (arrows). This tends to align the long axis of iron crystals along the planet's rotation axis (dashed line), explaining the different travel times for seismic waves through the inner core. Credit: Marine Lasbleis In an attempt to explain the observations, Frost and colleagues Marine Lasbleis of the Universite de Nantes in France and Brian Chandler and Romanowicz of UC Berkeley created a computer model of crystal growth in the inner core that incorporates geodynamic growth models and the mineral physics of iron at high pressure and high temperature. "The simplest model seemed a bit unusualthat the inner core is asymmetric," Frost said. "The west side looks different from the east side all the way to the center, not just at the top of the inner core, as some have suggested. The only way we can explain that is by one side growing faster than the other." The model describes how asymmetric growthabout 60% higher in the east than the westcan preferentially orient iron crystals along the rotation axis, with more alignment in the west than in the east, and explain the difference in seismic wave velocity across the inner core. "What we're proposing in this paper is a model of lopsided solid convection in the inner core that reconciles seismic observations and plausible geodynamic boundary conditions," Romanowicz said. Frost, Romanowicz and their colleagues will report their findings in this week's issue of the journal Nature Geoscience. Probing Earth's interior with seismic waves Earth's interior is layered like an onion. The solid iron-nickel inner coretoday 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) in radius, or about three-quarters the size of the moonis surrounded by a fluid outer core of molten iron and nickel about 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles) thick. The outer core is surrounded by a mantle of hot rock 2,900 kilometers (1,800 miles) thick and overlain by a thin, cool, rocky crust at the surface. Convection occurs both in the outer core, which slowly boils as heat from crystallizing iron comes out of the inner core, and in the mantle, as hotter rock moves upward to carry this heat from the center of the planet to the surface. The vigorous boiling motion in the liquid-iron outer core produces Earth's magnetic field. According to Frost's computer model, which he created with the help of Lasbleis, as iron crystals grow, gravity redistributes the excess growth in the east toward the west within the inner core. That movement of crystals within the rather soft solid of the inner corewhich is close to the melting point of iron at these high pressuresaligns the crystal lattice along the rotation axis of Earth to a greater degree in the west than in the east. The model correctly predicts the researchers' new observations about seismic wave travel times through the inner core: The anisotropy, or difference in travel times parallel and perpendicular to the rotation axis, increases with depth, and the strongest anisotropy is offset to the west from Earth's rotation axis by about 400 kilometers (250 miles). The model of inner core growth also provides limits on the proportion of nickel to iron in the center of the earth, Frost said. His model does not accurately reproduce seismic observations unless nickel makes up between 4% and 8% of the inner corewhich is close to the proportion in metallic meteorites that once presumably were the cores of dwarf planets in our solar system. The model also tells geologists how viscous, or fluid, the inner core is. "We suggest that the viscosity of the inner core is relatively large, an input parameter of importance to geodynamicists studying the dynamo processes in the outer core," Romanowicz said. Explore further Reproducing core conditions suggests Earth's outer core less dense than liquid iron More information: Daniel A. Frost et al, Dynamic history of the inner core constrained by seismic anisotropy, Nature Geoscience (2021). Journal information: Nature Geoscience Daniel A. Frost et al, Dynamic history of the inner core constrained by seismic anisotropy,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-021-00761-w Credit: CC0 Public Domain Under global warming, tipping elements in the Earth system can destabilize each other and eventually lead to climate domino effects. The ice sheets on Greenland and West Antarctica are potential starting points for tipping cascades, a novel network analysis reveals. The Atlantic overturning circulation would then act as a transmitter, and eventually elements like the Amazon rainforest would be impacted. The consequences for people would reach from sea-level rise to biosphere degradation. Interactions in the network can lower the critical temperature thresholds beyond which individual tipping elements begin destabilizing on the long-run, according to the studythe risk already increases significantly for warming of 1.5C to 2C, hence within the temperature range of the Paris Agreement. "We provide a risk analysis, not a prediction, yet our findings still raise concern," says Ricarda Winkelmann, Lead of FutureLab on Earth Resilience in the Anthropocene at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). "We find that the interaction of these four tipping elements can make them overall more vulnerable due to mutual destabilization on the long-run. The feedbacks between them tend to lower the critical temperature thresholds of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, the Atlantic overturning circulation, and the Amazon rainforest. In contrast, the temperature threshold for a tipping of the Greenland Ice Sheet can in fact be raised in case of a significant slow-down of the North Atlantic current heat transport. All in all, this might mean that we have less time to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and still prevent tipping processes." A third of simulations shows domino effects already at up to 2C global warming Around a third of the simulations in the study show domino effects already at global warming levels of up to 2C, where the tipping of one element triggers further tipping processes. "We're shifting the odds, and not to our favorthe risk clearly is increasing the more we heat our planet," says Jonathan Donges, also Lead of PIK's FutureLab on Earth Resilience in the Anthropocene. "It rises substantially between 1 and 3C. If greenhouse gas emissions and the resulting climate change cannot be halted, the upper level of this warming range would most likely be crossed by the end of this century. With even higher temperatures, more tipping cascades are to be expected, with long-term devastating effects." Tipping elements are parts of the Earth system that, once in a critical state, can undergo large and possibly irreversible changes in response to perturbations. They can seem stable until a critical threshold in forcing is exceeded. Once triggered, the actual tipping process may take a long time to unfold. The polar ice sheets for instance would take thousands of years to melt and release most of their ice masses into the oceans, yet with substantial effects: raising sea levels by many meters, threatening coastal cities such as New York, Hamburg, Mumbai or Shanghai. While this is well-known, the dynamics of interacting tipping elements were not. "Here's just one example of the many complex interactions between the climate tipping elements: if there is substantial melt from the Greenland Ice Sheet releasing freshwater into the ocean, this can slow down the Atlantic overturning circulation which is driven by temperature and salinity differences and transports large amounts of heat from the tropics to the mid-latitudes and polar regions," explains Nico Wunderling, first author of the study. "This in turn can lead to net warming in the Southern Ocean, and hence might on the long-run destabilize parts of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. This contributes to sea-level rise, and rising waters at the fringes of the ice sheets in both hemispheres can contribute to further mutually destabilizing them." 'It would be a daring bet to hope the uncertainties play out in a good way' Since Earth system models are currently computationally too heavy to simulate how tipping elements' interactions impact the overall stability of the climate system, the scientists use a novel network approach. "Our conceptual model is lean enough to allow us to run more than three million simulations while varying the critical temperature thresholds, interaction strengths and network structure," explains Jurgen Kurths, Head of PIK's Complexity Science Research Department. "By doing so, we could take into account the considerable uncertainties related to these characteristics of tipping interactions." "Our analysis is conservative in the sense that several interactions and tipping elements are not yet considered," concludes Ricarda Winkelmann. "It would hence be a daring bet to hope that the uncertainties play out in a good way, given what is at stake. From a precautionary perspective rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions is indispensable to limit the risks of crossing tipping points in the climate system, and potentially causing domino effects." More information: Nico Wunderling et al, Interacting tipping elements increase risk of climate domino effects under global warming, Earth System Dynamics (2021). Nico Wunderling et al, Interacting tipping elements increase risk of climate domino effects under global warming,(2021). DOI: 10.5194/esd-12-601-2021 Credit: Xi'an jiaotong-Liverpool University As climate change continues to cause unpredictable and extreme weather events around the world, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University researchers are calling for engineers to rethink how they design for flood prevention. In a recently published paper in the Journal of Hydrology, Ph.D. student Mengzhu Chen and Dean of Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University's Design School, Dr. Konstantinos Papadikis, analyzed historical flood series and meteorological data from 158 catchment areas across the UK. They found that flood series in most areas do not follow historical patterns. This finding directly challenges the use of a type of analysis that focuses on how often floods occurred in an area in the past. Flood frequency analysis has been the cornerstone of flood risk control, hydraulic structure design, and water resource management. "Conventional methods for flood frequency analysis fail to take into account the volatile nature of floods caused by climate change, human intervention, and land-use changes," Chen says. "This is because the method uses the 'stationary assumption'an assumption that relies on historical data to predict the frequency of floods and assumes that floods will occur within an unchanging range. "In recent years, we have seen increased frequency of extreme weather, which has made the stationary assumption questionable. Our study demonstrates that in many parts of the UK, floods series are no longer following historical patterns, making it more unpredictable." Avoiding disaster Chen says that if engineers or hydrologists continue to follow the traditional methods, it could lead to an underestimation of flood peaks with potentially catastrophic consequences. "Continuing to base design and engineering on the stationary assumption could increase the risk of hydraulic structures and flood prevention measures failing as the infrastructure is not designed to withstand additionalor more severeflooding than predicted," she says. "If we design structures to withstand 'one-in-100-year' floods but these extreme events are now happening three or four times in a decade, it would be disastrous. "Water-related planning should always depend on the analysis of past data to inform projections of future conditions. But the present non-stationary conditions we see now means that the past data alone can no longer provide all the necessary information we need to understand the future statistical behavior of extreme precipitation and floods." Multiple drivers The study evaluated various causes that may contribute to the non-stationarity of flood frequency. The results indicate that non-stationary behavior is more likely to be caused by a combination of multiple factors than a single element. "While climate change plays a role in the non-stationarity of flood frequency, our research shows that the variability of rainfall regime remains the dominant driver for changes in flooding," Chen says. "In the UK, the non-stationarity is also closely related with two atmospheric circulation patternsthe North Atlantic Oscillation and the East Atlantic Pattern." Study adds understanding Despite a growing body of research, hydraulic engineering design and projects are still based on the traditional stationary assumption as there is no consensus on methods of analyzing flood frequency under a non-stationary assumption. Chen, who is based in XJTLU's Department of Civil Engineering, says their study contributes to the understanding of flood behaviors in these increasingly common non-stationary environments. "The current non-stationary modeling for floods is still in the early stage," she says. "Although many new concepts and techniques for non-stationary flood frequency analysis are emerging, most of the existing studies are limited to the detection and diagnosis of apparent trends without investigating the underlying causal factors due to the high complexity of flood generating mechanisms. Our study provides new insights into these flood generating mechanisms, which is important for flood risk and water resources management. We need to adapt our approach to engineering to mitigate the impact of increasingly unpredictable and extreme flooding events." The research paper "An investigation on the non-stationarity of flood frequency across the UK" is published in the Journal of Hydrology. Explore further Flood risk uncertainties assessed at the global scale More information: Mengzhu Chen et al, An investigation on the non-stationarity of flood frequency across the UK, Journal of Hydrology (2021). Mengzhu Chen et al, An investigation on the non-stationarity of flood frequency across the UK,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126309 Galileo's new 'Batch 3' satellites will add a further 12 satellites to the 26-strong Galileo constellation already in orbit. Credit: OHB Europe's Galileo satellite navigation constellation is set to grow. Later this year the first two out of 12 "Batch 3" Galileo satellites will be launched by Soyuz from French Guiana. Their last step on the way to launch is situated beside sand dunes on the Dutch coast: the ESTEC Test Center, which is Europe's largest satellite test facility. All but two of the 26 Galileo satellites already in orbit underwent pre-flight testing at this 3000 sq. m environmentally-controlled complex, hosting test equipment to simulate all aspects of spaceflight. The Test Center is operated and managed by European Test Services for ESA. All 12 Batch 3 satellitesfunctionally similar to the Full Operational Capability satellites already in orbitare scheduled to come here from OHB in Germany to assess their readiness for space, before heading on to French Guiana. The first pair of these satellites were already at ESTEC when the COVID-19 pandemic began last year. Testing was briefly interrupted as the Test Center was closed, but resumed once safety measures were put in place. Testing of this first pair was completed in April, and they are now in storage on site. Two more Galileo satellites have since arrived with another due to join them this month. Newly-arrived satellites begin by undergoing a two-week immersion in vacuum and temperature extremes that mimic the conditions it faces in space. This 'thermalvacuum' test takes place inside a 4.5 m-diameter stainless steel vacuum chamber called Phenix. An inner box called the 'thermal tent' has sides that are heated to simulate the Sun's radiation or cooled down by liquid nitrogen to create the chill of Sunless space. Galileo Batch 3 satellites at OHB in Bremen. Credit: OHB Another test involves switching on all satellite systems within the Maxwell Test Chamber, which is fitted with shielded walls blocking out all external electrical signals and spiky, radio-absorbing 'anechoic' material that line the chamber to prevent signal reflections. Kept isolated in this way as though floating in infinite space allows 'electromagnetic compatibility' testing. Each satellite is switched on to check all its systems can operate together without harmful interference. Then, once the satellites' solar wings are fitted, which come from Airbus Netherlands in nearby Leiden, they can undergo 'mass properties testing." This involves measuring to check their center of gravity and mass are aligned within design specifications. The more precisely these are known, the more efficiently each satellite's orientation can be controlled with thruster firings in orbit, potentially elongating its working life by conserving propellant. Each satellite also undergoes acoustic testing in the Large European Acoustic Facility, LEAF, effectively the largest sound system in Europe. A quartet of noise horns are embedded in one wall of this 11-m-wide, 9-m-deep and 16.4-m-high chamber, generating sound by passing nitrogen gas through the horns, surpassing 140 decibels in all. Accelerometers placed within the satellite checked for potentially hazardous internal vibration during this trial by sound. Once each satellite's test campaign is over, they are shipped to Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana and prepared for launch. The two tested spacecraft will leave to Kourou in October, to be launched at the end of the year. A Galileo Full Operational Capability satellite inside the Maxwell test chamber of ESA's Test Centre in the Netherlands. Note its search and rescue antenna, left, and main navigation antenna, covered in silver 'single layer insulation' as it will be in space. Two further S-band telemetry, tracking and telecommand antennas are seen jutting out of the satellite body to its left and right sides. These 9 m-high spike-lined walls enclose the hushed interior of the chamber, isolating the satellite from all external influences to assess its electromagnetic compatibility. Once its main door is sealed, the metal walls of the chamber form a 'Faraday Cage', screening out external electromagnetic signals. The 'anechoic' foam pyramids covering its interior absorb internal signalsas well as soundto prevent any reflection, mimicking the infinite void of space. The satellite's systems are then switched on to detect any harmful interference as its various elements operate together. Credit: ESA/OHBS. Bury Summer 2020 saw the start of construction of a new 350 sq. m cleanroom for the ESTEC Test Center. Most of the time the ESTEC Test Center has several other test items as well as Galileo satellites within its walls simultaneously. Complex planning and traffic management are necessary to ensure every project get access to the facility they need at the time they need it. So sufficient room is required to accommodate the different customers and allow their movement between test facilities. Galileo is currently the world's most precise satellite navigation system, serving more than two billion users around the globe. Explore further Four Galileo satellites at ESA test centre The heat and pressure generated by a nuclear explosion can produce unusual chemical curiosities. Credit: United States Department of Energy/wikimedia Nuclear detonations unleash an astonishing amount of destructive force. But the extreme pressure and temperature that they generate also makes nuclear blasts a cauldron of chemical creation, capable of delivering new and surprising scientific discoveries. In the 1950s, for instance, scientists examining debris from US hydrogen bomb tests found two new elements, which now occupy numbers 99 and 100 in the periodic table. They named them after prominent nuclear scientists: einsteinium for Albert Einstein, and fermium for Enrico Fermi. Now, scientists sifting through debris at the site of the first-ever nuclear bomb detonationheld in New Mexico in July 1945 and named the Trinity testhave unearthed a different chemical oddity. In their paper, the researchers report the discovery of a previously unknown type of "quasicrystal"a crystal formation once thought impossible due to its irregular geometric structure. What are quasicrystals? Quasicrystals were first discovered by material scientist Dan Schechtman in 1984, but were initially seen as highly controversialeven impossiblebecause their unique form is not allowed by the rules defining crystal structures. Crystals are composed of units that repeat periodically in three dimensions. A good way to think of this is to picture them in two dimensions. You can tile a floor with certain geometric shapeslike squares, triangles and hexagonsbecause they tessellate, meaning that they can be slotted together in a repeating pattern with no overlaps or gaps. You can't do this with pentagonal or heptagonal tiles. They can't be tessellated, so they'd leave irregular gaps on your floor. Crystals of ice arrange to form a hexagonal structure. Danski14/wikimedia Three dimensional crystal structures adhere to the same rule. The repeating units naturally arrange themselves in a regular patternfilling up all the available space. A hexagonal arrangement, for instance, is a typical crystal structure. The general rule is that crystals must have repeating units with 2-fold, 3-fold, 4-fold or 6-fold axes. Here, "fold" means how many times you can rotate the three-dimensional crystal unit so that it looks the same as its starting positionenabling tessellation. The rule means that crystal units with a 5-fold axis (pentagonal) or anything 7-fold and above (heptagonal and beyond) won't tessellate, and therefore cannot exist. Penrose tiling This rule held until 1974, when the British mathematical physicist Roger Penrose found a way to cover a two dimensional space like a floor with shapes that do not repeat periodicallya form of tessellation now called "Penrose tiling". These ideas were soon applied to three-dimensional structures, and it was in 1984 that Schechtman published his experimental work on quasicrystals. His discovery won him the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2011. Over 100 types of quasicrystal have been discovered since, though nearly all of them have been produced in the lab. Three exceptions, found within the Khatyrka meteorite in north-eastern Russia, may date back to the beginning of our solar system. And now there's another, which is the oldest existing quasicrystal to have been producedalbeit accidentallyas a result of human activity. New quasicrystal The new quasicrystal was found within a glassy material called red trinitite, which the scientists sourced from the site of the 1945 nuclear blast. The trinitite was formed at the moment of the Trinity test's detonation, when the desert sands of New Mexico were thrown up into the air and heated to 8,000C before raining down as newly synthesised trinitite. This new quasicrystal is icosahedralpossessing 20 facesand is structured with 2-fold, 3-fold and 5-fold symmetry axes. This means that there are three specific perspectives of this complex 3D structure that are repeated identically when it's rotated: one is repeated twice, one three times, and the other five times. It's the 5-fold axislike the two dimensional pentagon we know can't tessellatethat means the sample is a quasicrystal. It's also a unique sample, because the quasicrystal has silicon, calcium and copper in its composition. The copper, which gives the trinitite its red hue, is likely to have found its way into the quasicrystal via a set of transmission lines that ran close to the site of the bomb test and were vaporized along with the sand upon detonation. Learning from quasicrystals Practically, material scientists are exploring the application of quasicrystals to exploit their poor heat conductivity, which is possibly related to their non-periodic structures. They've already been used as coatings in non-stick frying pans, for example. Other suggested applications include LED lights and surgical instruments, but their development is at an early stage. But if more of these crystallographic and chemical curiosities are found in the debris left behind by nuclear bomb tests, studying their composition could also help scientists understand the ferocious forces at play in the heart of nuclear blastsa place no scientific instrument has yet measured directly. Explore further Newly discovered quasicrystal was created by the first nuclear explosion at Trinity Site This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. During problematic temperature events, scientists and policymakers need to know which communities are most at risk for experiencing health effects. In a new study, researchers found that gridded, averaged climate data work just as well as weather station temperature measurements. Credit: Dominic Roye Weather stations provide detailed records of temperature, precipitation, and storm events. These stations, however, are not always well spaced and can be scattered throughout cities or can even be absent in remote regions. When direct measurements of weather are not available, researchers have a work-around. They use existing gridded climate data sets (GCDs) at different spatial resolutions that average weather within a specific grid. Unlike monitoring stations, the estimated temperatures in these grid cells are based on a combination of modeled forecasts and climate models as well as on observations (varying from ground monitors and aircraft to sea buoys and satellite imagery). These GCDs are very useful in large-scale climate studies and ecological research, especially in regions without monitoring stations. But can GCDs be effective in epidemiological studies, for instance, in looking at how adverse temperatures might affect human health and mortality? In a new study, de Schrijver et al. tested whether GCDs could be useful in studying temperature-related mortality in areas where weather stations are sparse. They compared gridded temperature data with weather station temperatures in two locationsEngland and Wales and Switzerlandto see whether one data set worked better than the other. These regions have varying topography, heterogeneous temperature ranges, and varying population distributions, all of which lead to pockets of irregular temperatures within an area. To understand which temperature data would be most helpful in predicting health risks for communities, the researchers compared deaths from exposure to hot or cold temperatures for both GCDs and weather station data. They used weather station data from each country and a high- and low-resolution GCD (local and regional scales) to see which data were better for predicting risk of death from cold or heat. The team found that both data sets predicted similar outcomes of health impacts from temperature exposure. However, in some cases, high-resolution GCDs were better able to capture extreme heat compared with weather station data when unequal distribution of the population was accounted for. This was especially the case in densely populated urban areas that experience notable temperature differences within them. The researchers conclude that in cities and areas with rugged terrain, local GCDs might be better than weather station data for epidemiological studies. Explore further New global temperature data will inform study of climate impacts on health, agriculture More information: Evan de Schrijver et al, A Comparative Analysis of the TemperatureMortality Risks Using Different Weather Datasets Across Heterogeneous Regions, GeoHealth (2021). Evan de Schrijver et al, A Comparative Analysis of the TemperatureMortality Risks Using Different Weather Datasets Across Heterogeneous Regions,(2021). DOI: 10.1029/2020GH000363 This story is republished courtesy of Eos, hosted by the American Geophysical Union. Read the original story here. DAVINCI+ will send a meter-diameter probe to brave the high temperatures and pressures near Venus surface to explore the atmosphere from above the clouds to near the surface of a terrain that may have been a past a continent. During its final kilometers of free-fall descent (shown here), the probe will capture spectacular images and chemistry measurements of the deepest atmosphere on Venus for the first time. Credit: NASA GSFC visualization by CI Labs Michael Lentz and others Although Earth and Venus are similar in size and location, they are very different worlds today. While Earth has oceans of water and abundant life, Venus is dry and fiercely inhospitable. Although it's somewhat closer to the sunabout 70 percent of Earth's distanceVenus is much hotter, with temperatures at the surface high enough to melt lead. The scorched landscape is obscured by clouds of sulfuric acid, and it is smothered by a thick atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide at over 90 times the pressure of Earth's, which causes the air to behave more like a fluid than a gas near its surface. However, scientists think that in an earlier time, Venus may have been more like Earth, a world with water oceans that was potentially habitable for life, perhaps for billions of years. They hypothesize something caused a "runaway greenhouse" effect in Venus' atmosphere, cranking up the temperature and vaporizing its oceans. NASA's DAVINCI+ mission is set to explore Venus to determine if it was habitable and understand how these similar worlds ended up with such different fates. "Venus is a "Rosetta stone' for reading the record books of climate change, the evolution of habitability, and what happens when a planet loses a long period of surface oceans," said James Garvin, principal investigator for DAVINCI+ at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "But Venus is 'hard' since every clue is hidden behind the curtain of a massive opaque atmosphere with inhospitable conditions for surface exploration, so we have to be clever and bring our best 'tools of science' to Venus in innovative ways with missions like DAVINCI+. That is why we named our mission "DAVINCI+' after Leonardo da Vinci's inspired and visionary Renaissance thinking that went beyond science to connect to engineering, technology, and even art." The science impact of DAVINCI+ will reach even beyond the solar system to Venus-like planets orbiting other stars (exoplanets), which are expected to be common and will represent important targets for NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope. But these planets may be difficult to interpret, especially if they are enveloped in thick Venus-like clouds. "Venus is the 'exoplanet in our backyard' that can help us understand these distant analog worlds by providing ground truth to improve the computer models we will use to interpret exo-Venus planets," said Giada Arney, deputy principal investigator for DAVINCI+ at NASA Goddard. "But there is so much about Venus that we still don't understand, and this is where DAVINCI+ comes in. Excitingly, if Venus was habitable in the past, some exo-Venus planets may be habitable too! So DAVINCI+'s investigation of the evolution of Venus may help us better understand how habitable worlds are distributed elsewhere in the universe, and how habitable planets evolve over time in a general sense." The mission, Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging Plus, will consist of a spacecraft and a probe. The spacecraft will track motions of the clouds and map surface composition by measuring heat emission from Venus' surface that escapes to space through the massive atmosphere. The probe will descend through the atmosphere, sampling its chemistry as well as the temperature, pressure, and winds. The probe will also take the first high-resolution images of Alpha Regio, an ancient highland twice the size of Texas with rugged mountains, looking for evidence that past crustal water influenced surface materials. DAVINCI+ uses observations from both above and within the planetary atmosphere to answer major questions about how Venus was formed, has evolved, and possibly lost its habitability (and past surface oceans). Its natural vertical mobility extends from the top of the atmosphere, through the clouds, and then throughout the deep atmosphere to just above the surface, where imaging of mountain landscapes in 3D will be undertaken together with detailed chemistry. Credit: NASA GSFC visualization and CI Labs Michael Lentz and colleagues Launch is targeted for FY2030 with two flybys of Venus prior to the probe's descent. The flybys are the initial phase of the remote-sensing mission to study the atmospheric circulation and map the surface composition. Approximately two years later, the probe will be released to conduct its investigation of the atmosphere during a descent that will last about an hour before landing at Alpha Regio. "The next step in Venus exploration requires a capable instrument payload that can employ modern capabilities to produce definitive datasets that transform our understanding of our planetary neighborhood," said Stephanie Getty, deputy principal investigator for DAVINCI+ at NASA Goddard. "DAVINCI+ takes proven instrumentation to the most innovative science problems of Venus today, and we are excited to bring along an energized science community on our journey as we deliver the chemical, geologic, and atmospheric dynamics datasets that will generate the next great discoveriesand next great questionsabout Venus and Venus-like worlds." The probe will contain four instruments. Two of themthe Venus Mass Spectrometer (VMS) and the Venus Tunable Laser Spectrometer (VTLS) will undertake the first complete compositional study of the entire cross-section of Venus' atmospheric gases, searching for clues as to how, when, and why Venus' climate may have changed so dramatically. The third instrument, the Venus Atmospheric Structure Investigation (VASI), will measure the pressure, temperature, and winds from about 43.5 miles (70 kilometers) in altitude to the surface at 10 times higher resolution (or more) than any previous Venus probe. After the probe drops under the thick cloud layer, the Venus Descent Imager (VenDI) instrument will take hundreds of near-infrared images of the Alpha Regio highlands, which the team will use to make maps of topography and composition. These images will show landscapes unique to Venus at the high resolutions typical of landers (near the surface). The spacecraft will have one instrument, a suite of four cameras called VISOR (Venus Imaging System from Orbit for Reconnaissance). One camera will be sensitive to ultraviolet light to track cloud motions in the atmosphere. Additionally, a suite of three cameras sensitive to near-infrared light will be able to identify surface composition at regional scales by analyzing near-infrared heat emission from the surface when the spacecraft is over the night side of Venus. Since rock composition can be influenced by water, these images will give clues to how ancient oceans may have shaped the crust of Venus. The camera suite will provide the first compositional maps of Ishtar Terra, the high latitude "continent" on Venus with a range in height of up to 6.8 miles (11 kilometers). Ishtar may be the last manifestation of a kind of plate tectonics on Venus that shut off when the oceans dissipated about one billion years ago. NASA Goddard is the principal investigator institution and will perform project management for the mission, as well as project systems engineering to develop the probe flight system. Goddard will build the VMS instrument in collaboration with the University of Michigan, and the sensor systems of the VASI instrument. Goddard also leads the project science support team. Major partners are Lockheed Martin, Denver, Colorado, who will build the aeroshell and backshell (the entry and descent system) to carry the probe into the atmosphere and provide the parachutes to position it into the proper descent trajectory, as well as the probe carrier spacecraft, the flyby telecom system for the probe, the flyby science platform for the VISOR camera suite, and the carrier/orbital spacecraft. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland will provide the two-way Frontier radio that the mission will use for communication between the probe and spacecraft, as well as science leadership of the VASI element. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, will provide the VTLS instrument. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, California, will provide the cameras including the VenDI descent camera and the orbital/flyby VISOR suite. NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, will provide entry-descent-systems support and NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley will collaborate on the thermal protection system and entry-systems measurement systems. KinetX, Inc., Tempe, Arizona, will support flight dynamics and trajectory development with Goddard and Lockheed Martin. Discovery-Program-class missions like DAVINCI+ complement NASA's larger "flagship" planetary science explorations, with the goal of achieving outstanding results by launching more smaller missions using fewer resources and shorter development times. They are managed for NASA's Planetary Science Division by the Planetary Missions Program Office at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The missions are designed and led by a principal investigator, who assembles a team of scientists and engineers to address key science questions about the solar system. Explore further NASA picks Venus as hot spot for two new robotic missions Monk Chat program hosts group conversations as well as one-on-one conversations with foreign tourists at the Buddhist temple Wat Suan Dok in June 2018. Credit: Brooke Schedneck, CC BY The economies of countries dependent on tourism are clearly hurting, with visitor numbers plummeting as a result of the pandemic. In Thailand alone, a country where tourism accounts for 11%-12% of the GDP, the number of international tourists dropped by 83% in 2020. During December 2020typically a peak tourism monththe country received just over 6,000 foreign touristsa 99.8% drop from December 2019, when there were nearly 4 million foreign tourists. The Thai government estimates a loss of 100 billion Thai baht (over US$3 billion) in the first quarter of 2020 and a loss of about 1.45 million jobs as a result of this slump in tourism. However, the actual loss cannot be captured in these numbers alone. Many cross-cultural exchange opportunities have been lost as well. I spent much of the previous decade living in Chiang Mai, a medium-sized city in northern Thailand, which relies heavily on tourism. As a scholar who was studying the relationship between tourism and Buddhist temples in the region before the pandemic started, I am able to assess the impact of COVID-19 on these sites of religious importance. Some Buddhist temples that relied heavily on donations from foreign tourists are now struggling to outlast the pandemic. Additionally, small businesses around temples have been badly hurt, as is the knowledge exchange with international visitors. Temples and tourism Before the pandemic, Wat Phra Chetuphon, known more commonly as Wat Pho and one of the most-visited temples in Bangkok, would receive about 6,000-10,000 tourists per day. Foreign tourists pay an entry fee of 200 baht, or $6.40, while Thai people enter free of charge. In an interview in January 2021 with Thai news outlet Prachachat, the assistant abbot of Wat Pho stated that the temple can weather this period without tourists for now, but not for much longer. With donations from Thai people, they were able to pay basic expenses of water and electricity and employ cleaning and security staff. But without the foreign tourist fees, it would become difficult to meet the monthly budget of about $96,000. Foreign visitor numbers are also scarce in the most famous temple in Bangkok, Wat Phra Kaew, or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This temple is part of the Grand Palace, the Thai royal family's former residence. In 2016, the Grand Palace was named one of the world's 50 most-visited tourist attractions in the world by Travel + Leisure magazine, with over 8 million visitors per year. Typically, the high tourist season would see a long line for entry and crowds of people inside, with foreigners paying $16 for entrance to the temple and the Grand Palace. Again, there is no entrance fee for Thai citizens. Losses have been significant, for members of the monastic community and small businesses that thrive near these famous temple complexes. Many vendors who sell water, street food and souvenirs around the temple have lost their incomes. Many of these people work within Thailand's informal economy. A 2018 survey found 55.3% of Thailand's total population found employment through this informal economy. Cultural exchange Much of the the loss of the engagement between foreign tourists and the monastic community cannot be measured in monetary terms. My recent book highlights the energy and effort student monks put into creating programs for foreign tourists to learn about their religion, many aimed at travelers or student groups on college or gap-year programs. In my research, I have found these cultural exchange programs to be beneficial for tourists and the goals of Buddhist monasticism. Several visitors volunteer while traveling in developing or underdeveloped nations to provide support to those in need. At the same time, these volunteer tourists immerse themselves in different cultures, religions and ways of life. In Thailand, volunteer tourists typically teach English and could also live in a temple for several months. In my interviews, these tourists said that the experience enabled them to learn about themselves, reflect on their own values and consider new ideas for how to live a happy life. Buddhist monks see it as their duty to spread their teachings to all who are curious. One program, called Monk Chat, which is hosted by the Buddhist temple Wat Suan Dok and the MahaChulalongkorn Buddhist University, facilitates one-on-one and small-group conversations between monks and foreign travelers in English. Monks who participate in these programs say that they often develop new ways of thinking based on their discussions with foreignersfrom becoming more accepting of cultural differences to being pushed to think deeply about the monastic lifestyle. For example, when I asked, "How have you changed as a result of meeting foreign tourists?" one monk replied that he used to just accept the monastic rules and practices without considering their purpose. However, after tourists asked why he shaved his head and wore yellow robes, he considered the ways that his lack of hair and uniform were part of a simple lifestyle. He understood more deeply that monks must give up such expressions of individuality as hairstyle and fashion preferences. Because of the pandemic, Monk Chat has switched to an online outreach. Since April 2020, MonkChat Live is streamed almost every week via Facebook, where various guests, usually monks, prepare some reflections on a specific topic related to Buddhism in the modern world, such as life lessons from COVID-19. Facebook Live is a good alternative for now, but it does not have the same impact as talking directly with foreigners. The format is more formal, with little chance for personal sharing or observing the playful ways monks interact with one another. It is difficult to measure these losses, but undoubtedly they will leave a deep impact for some time to come. Explore further New coronavirus cases set record in Thailand's capital This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. More record-breaking temperatures and heat events will occur in the tropics rather than the poles, like many once thought. This region contains a larger share of the world population and more biodiversity. Credit: The University of Washington and the University of Arizona Icebergs crumbling into the sea may be what first come to mind when imagining the most dramatic effects of global warming. But new University of Arizona-led research, published in Geophysical Research Letters, suggests that more record-breaking temperatures will actually occur in the tropics, where there is a large and rapidly growing population. "People recognize that polar warming is much faster than the mid-latitudes and tropics; that's a fact," said lead study author Xubin Zeng, director of the UArizona Climate Dynamics and Hydrometeorology Center and a professor of atmospheric sciences. "The second fact is that the warming over land is greater than over ocean. The question now is: Where do we see more extreme heat events? Over polar regions or the tropics? Over land or ocean? That's the question we answer." Zeng and his collaborators analyzed temperature data from the last 60 years in two different ways: by looking at raw temperature trends and normalized temperature trends. Raw temperature is the actual temperature measured outside, whereas normalized temperature is raw temperature divided by the year-to-year variations. Raw temperature data over the polar region reveals a huge range in temperature. Over the tropics, where it's warm and humid, raw temperature data reveals smaller temperature fluctuations. But when temperature is normalizedor divided- by the temperature fluctuations over the same period, the data shows that the tropics have greater normalized warming and are actually experiencing more record-breaking heat events. This new perspective allowed Zeng and his team describe the threat to these areas in a new way. "We realized that very few researchers have addressed the relationship between warming and extreme hot events between different regions, but when you do, the answer is unexpected," said Zeng, who is also the Agnes N. Haury Endowed Chair in Environment in the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences. Mitigating Harm It is generally understood that warming trends would increase the occurrence of extreme events in a given region. For instance, Arctic amplification, which is the scientific way of saying there's a larger temperature increase at the poles, has been emphasized in all five Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, reports. But it can overshadow what's happening in regions like the tropics, around the equator, where less dramatic swings in temperature are the norm. "Temperature trends in the tropics don't need to be as large to break records and affect the environment, ecosystem and human well-being," Zeng and his study co-authors write. The study authors also identified two surprising "hot spots" for the occurrence of extreme events: over the Northern Hemisphere's ocean and over the Southern Hemisphere's tropical land. This is important because marine heat waves are not well understood but would likely have large impacts on marine ecosystems. "These regions we've identified should receive more attention due to their significant impacts on ecosystem and environment. People know tropical forests are important, but here we're saying they're even more important because suddenly we realized there are going to be more extreme events and weather over the Amazon rainforest," Zeng said. Species can navigate changeif the change is gradualvia adaptation, but extreme events occur too quickly and often. Zeng also publishes annual hurricane forecasts for the North Atlantic. He said ocean warming not only leads to more intense hurricanes, but ocean temperatures also affect climate and weather in other ways. "For example, when we talk about the current drought over the western United States, it's linked to the ocean surface temperature," he said. "Earth system models for IPCC reports should not only use raw temperature data, but also normalized temperature data to understand the impacts of global warming on the occurrence of extreme heat events." Explore further Above-average Atlantic hurricane activity again expected in 2021 More information: Xubin Zeng et al, Quantifying the Occurrence of Record Hot Years Through Normalized Warming Trends, Geophysical Research Letters (2021). Journal information: Geophysical Research Letters Xubin Zeng et al, Quantifying the Occurrence of Record Hot Years Through Normalized Warming Trends,(2021). DOI: 10.1029/2020GL091626 Shipping traffic generates low-frequency sound that permeates the underwater soundscape. An underwater microphone (hydrophone) on MBARI's MARS cabled observatory recorded a decrease in shipping noise in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: Jess Morten, 2016 NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary The COVID-19 global pandemic upended life around the world and disrupted global economic activity. It enabled a rare opportunity to measure the relationship between shipping traffic and the underwater soundscape in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. A world of sound lies beneath the ocean's surfacethe bellowing calls of gargantuan whales, the sharp clicks of dolphins hunting for squid, the deluge of rain on the ocean's surface, the rumble of an earthquake. While most of these sounds come from natural sources, like animals or geological processes, noise from human activities is present too. The deep growls from shipping traffic can permeate the ocean's soundscape. These thundering grumbles ebb and flow with pulses of vessel activity. An underwater microphone (hydrophone) installed on MBARI's MARS cabled ocean observatory deep beneath Monterey Bay is constantly listening to the underwater soundscape, streaming sounds to shore year-round. Taking a closer listen to audio logged by MBARI's hydrophone in 2020 revealed a drop in low-frequency sound in the spring and summera change researchers attribute to a decline in shipping traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic. "The sound of global trade is in the ocean, and that sound is noise. Ocean noise levels responded very quickly to economic impacts of the pandemic," said John Ryan, a biological oceanographer at MBARI and lead author of the study published in Frontiers in Marine Science this week. This spectrogram shows sound recorded by an underwater microphone (hydrophone) installed on MBARIs MARS cabled observatory over a six-hour period on January 7, 2020 during the start of the COVID-19 global pandemic. The southbound transit of a container ship is clearly evident from the low-frequency rumble (outlined in black). The hydrophone also logged natural sounds during this time period, including wind on the oceans surface, an earthquake, and singing by a fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus). The vessels noise apparently drowned out the vocalizations of the fin whale. Credit: MBARI MBARI's hydrophone was uniquely suited to rapidly assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ocean soundscape. "The cable connection is a great benefit because the data are available immediately," explained Ryan. "We can see the change happening when it's happening." "We detected the changes by recording sound continuously through the cabled observatory and analyzing those recordings over not just 2020, but previous years too, so we could quantify how much quieter it was in 2020," explained Ryan. The MARS cabled observatory sits approximately 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) from offshore shipping lanes, providing researchers the opportunity to "eavesdrop" on vessels as they pass through the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to ports to the north (San Francisco Bay) and south (Southern California). Most marine acoustic recording systems can only be deployed for a relatively short period of time before battery and data storage capacity become depleted. MBARI's cabled observatory provides a constant connection to shore, removing the limitations on power and data to allow continuous listening to the ocean environment. MBARI installed a broadband hydrophone on the MARS observatory in 2015 and has collected a trove of acoustic data. The hydrophone at MBARIs MARS ocean observatory has been instrumental for observing the soundscape of Monterey Bay and beyond. A cable runs from the instrument to the observatory and back to shore, providing power and a high-speed data connection to continuously record underwater audio and reveal trends over time, like the reduction of low-frequency noise during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Credit: MBARI Examining data archived from the past three years proved critical for revealing how the marine soundscape off the central California coast changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Between January and June, low-frequency noise levels decreased," observed Ryan. But was this a typical seasonal change or a phenomenon unique to 2020? The research team compared recordings for each month of 2020 to the same month in previous years. "If noise levels during 2020 were persistently lower than previous years, then we know 2020 was unusual." Compared to 2018 and 2019, low-frequency noise was significantly reduced in 2020. "At its low point in June 2020, acoustic intensity was nearly halved," said Ryan. Noise levels began to rebound in July. To determine if the drop in low-frequency noise evident in the hydrophone recordings was in fact caused by a reduction in ship traffic, researchers leveraged two independent data sets. Using data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, personnel from the U.S. Maritime Administration (Department of Transportation) documented the total number of port calls for all ports along the California coast and the total gross tonnage that those ships were carrying. These data provided a statewide view of maritime shipping. Mapping total hours of vessel presence using Automatic Identification System (AIS) records revealed the arteries of maritime shipping off the coast of central California. The black dot marks the location of the MARS cabled observatory, and the white arc represents a 165-kilometer (103-mile) radius around the hydrophone connected to the cabled observatory. (Data from San Francisco Bay were excluded from this map and study because this traffic is not relevant to sound recordings logged at the MARS observatory.). Credit: MBARI To understand changes within earshot of MBARI's hydrophone, the research team leveraged Automatic Identification System (AIS) data from the U.S. Coast Guard. These data provided a way of tracking the movement of vessels, including their speed and their location, to focus on the Central Coast region specifically. The port and AIS data confirmed that the significantly reduced low-frequency noise during February through June 2020 occurred alongside unusually low port activity across California and reduced transits by large vessels in the Monterey Bay region. "2020 had the lowest levels of shipping activity and the lowest levels of noise among all three years," said Ryan, "and as it grew quieter during 2020, that was clearly related to less shipping activity." This research underscores how pervasive noise pollution in the ocean is. Sound travels further underwater than in air, extending the reach of anthropogenic noise. "Our noise can harm marine animals that rely on sound to live," emphasized Ryan. "They use sound to communicate, navigate, find food, reproduce, and survive." The MBARI team is part of the SanctSound research collaborative spearheaded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Navy to understand the soundscapes of national marine sanctuaries across the country. The four-year research project started in 2018 and brought together numerous scientific partners to study sound within seven national marine sanctuaries and one national monument in waters off the east and west coasts and Hawaii. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is home to at least 34 marine mammal species, including humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), that rely on sound to communicate. Understanding the underwater soundscapeand how it changes with human activitiesis critical to protecting these species of special conservation interest. Credit: Knute Brekke "The SanctSound project was designed to show how listening in special ocean places all around the U.S. can help us to better understand and protect them," explained Leila Hatch, marine ecologist with NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and co-lead of the SanctSound initiative. "The results of this study in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary provide an example of how underwater sound can be used to monitor the local implications of global-scale changes in human behavior, allowing us to further consider the implications of such changes for the marine animals that call this place home." SanctSound partners involved in this study are from NOAA, the Naval Postgraduate School, Southall Environmental Associates, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. The recording location inside the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is far from major shipping lanes and from a major port, yet the sanctuary's soundscape responded rapidly to changes in offshore, large-vessel traffic, demonstrating how well sound carries and may impact sensitive marine wildlife, like whales. "We heard the changes in noise clearly even though we are not recording near a busy port or shipping lanes," said Ryan. "Noise is an ephemeral pollutant," explained Ryan. "If we reduce the amount we put into the ocean, habitat quality improves immediately and there's an immediate benefit to animals that rely on sound for their lives." Thanks to data processing by MBARI engineers, the hundreds of terabytes of acoustic data collected by MBARI's hydrophone are accessible to other research teams. MBARI also streams live audio from the MARS hydrophone to the Soundscape Listening Room. The listening room also includes archived sounds from marine mammals. More information: John P. Ryan et al, Reduction of Low-Frequency Vessel Noise in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Frontiers in Marine Science (2021). Journal information: Frontiers in Marine Science John P. Ryan et al, Reduction of Low-Frequency Vessel Noise in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary During the COVID-19 Pandemic,(2021). DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2021.656566 The mass vaccination clinic at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium in Harford County already stopped dishing out first doses. The state will continue to assist in doling out second doses of Pfizer-BioNTechs vaccine and single-shot inoculations made by Johnson & Johnson until June 19. The silhouette of a shark composed of fossil shark dermal denticles described in this study. Denticles are typically 200-500 m in diameter and vary in morphology considerably between different species of shark. Credit: Leah D. Rubin The biggest shark attack in history did not involve humans. A new study by Earth scientists from Yale and the College of the Atlantic has turned up a massive die-off of sharks roughly 19 million years ago. It came at a period in history when there were more than 10 times more sharks patrolling the world's oceans than there are today. For now, researchers don't know the cause of the shark die-off. "We happened upon this extinction almost by accident," said Elizabeth Sibert, a Hutchinson postdoctoral associate in Yale's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies. She is lead author of the new study, which appears in the journal Science. "I study microfossil fish teeth and shark scales in deep-sea sediments, and we decided to generate an 85-million-year-long record of fish and shark abundance, just to get a sense of what the normal variability of that population looked like in the long term," Sibert said. "What we found, though, was this sudden drop-off in shark abundance around 19 million years ago, and we knew we had to investigate further." How big was the drop-off? Sibert said more than 70% of the world's sharks died offwith an even higher death toll for sharks in the open ocean, rather than coastal waters. It was twice the level of extinction that sharks experienced during the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction event 66 million years ago that wiped out three-quarters of the plant and animal species on Earth. Adding to the mystery is the fact that there is no known climate calamity or ecosystem disruption that occurred at the time of the steep drop in shark populations. "This interval isn't known for any major changes in Earth's history," said Sibert, "yet it completely transformed the nature of what it means to be a predator living in the open ocean." Co-author Leah Rubin, an incoming doctoral student at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, was a student at the College of the Atlantic at the time of the research. "The current state of declining shark populations is certainly cause for concern and this paper helps put these declines in the context of shark populations through the last 40 million years," Rubin said. "This context is a vital first step in understanding what repercussions may follow dramatic declines in these top marine predators in modern times." The researchers noted that past discoveries of extinction events have led to waves of new research to learn the origins of the die-off and whether it signaled a larger, previously unknown, perturbance in global ecosystems. For example, further research might confirm whether the shark-off caused remaining shark populations to change their habitat preferences to avoid the open ocean, Sibert and Rubin said. Additional research might also help to explain why shark populations did not rebound after the die-off 19 million years ago. "This work could tip-off a race to understand this time period and its implications for not only the rise of modern ecosystems, but the causes of major collapses in shark diversity," said Pincelli Hull, an assistant professor of Earth and planetary science at Yale, who was not part of the study. "It represents a major change in ocean ecosystems at a time that was previously thought to be unremarkable." Explore further Older than expected: Teeth reveal the origin of the tiger shark More information: E.C. Sibert at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA el al., "An early Miocene extinction in pelagic sharks," Science (2021). E.C. Sibert at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA el al., "An early Miocene extinction in pelagic sharks,"(2021). science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi 1126/science.aaz3549 C. Pimiento at University of Zurich in Zurich, Switzerland el al., "When sharks nearly disappeared," Science (2021). science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi 1126/science.abj2088 Journal information: Science Three microseconds from the life time of a nucleosome. Snapshots in time were taken every 4 nanoseconds and were superimposed on the core region of the histones (white). The positions of the DNA and the flexible histone tails in all snapshots are shown The DNA is in yellow and the histone tails in blue, green, red, orange and cyan. The ample motion of the DNA arms is known as nucleosome breathing motion. Remarkably, in this nucleosome, the lower arm moves more than the upper one due to the DNA sequence. Credit: Jan Huertas and Vlad Cojocaru, MPI Munster, Hubrecht Institute. Researchers from the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht (The Netherlands) and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Munster (Germany) used computer simulations to reveal in atomic detail how a short piece of DNA opens while it is tightly wrapped around the proteins that package our genome. These simulations provide unprecedented insights into the mechanisms that regulate gene expression. The results will be published in PLOS Computational Biology on 3 June. Every cell in the body contains two meters of DNA. In order to fit all the DNA in the cell's small nucleus, the DNA is tightly packed in a structure known as chromatin. Chromatin is an array of identical smaller structures named nucleosomes. In a single nucleosome, DNA is wrapped around 8 proteins called histones. Chromatin is not uniformly compact across the genome. The tightness of the packaging is important in regulating which genes are expressed and therefore which proteins are produced by a cell. Transitions from tightly to loosely packed DNAfrom closed to open chromatinare essential for cells to convert to another cell type. These cell conversions are hallmarks of development and disease, but are also often used in regenerative therapies. Understanding how such transitions occur may contribute to understanding diseases and optimizing therapeutical cell type conversions. Computational nanoscope One step in the opening of chromatin is the motion of DNA while wrapped in nucleosomes. Like all molecular structures in our cells, nucleosomes are dynamic. They move, twist, breathe, unwrap and wrap again. Visualizing these motions using experimental methods is often very challenging. One alternative is to use the so-called "computational nanoscope" Researchers use the term computational nanoscope to refer to a set of computer simulation methods. These methods enable them to visualize the movements of molecules over time. Over the past years, the methods have become so accurate that researchers started referring to them as a computational nanoscope; observing the molecules moving on the computer is similar to observing them under a very high resolution nanoscope. Nucleosomes breathing Jan Huertas and Vlad Cojocaru, supported by Hans Scholer from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine (Munster, Germany), generated multiple real-time movies of the movements of nucleosomes, each covering one microsecond from the nucleosome lifetime. Using these movies, they monitored how the nucleosomes open and close in a motion known as nucleosome breathing. In their new paper, published in PLOS Computational Biology, Huertas and Cojocaru describe what causes nucleosome breathing. First, they found that the order in which the building blocks of DNA are arrangedthe DNA sequenceis important for nucleosome breathing. Second, the dynamics of histone tails are essential for this process. These histone tails are flexible regions in the histones that play a role in the regulation of gene expression. While the role of histone tails has been studied intensively, little is known about how they influence the motions of single nucleosomes. With their simulations, Huertas and Cojocaru described the relationship between histone tails and nucleosome breathing in atomic detail. Histone modifications "Being able to observe the breathing of nucleosomes in computer simulations is very challenging. The fact that we have now been able to visualize this represents a major step towards simulating the complete spectrum of nucleosome dynamics, from breathing to unwrapping. It also allows us to study how these motions are affected by modifications of the histones, which occur in different cells and regions of our DNA. Our simulations revealed that two histone tails are responsible for keeping the nucleosome closed. Only when these flexible tails moved away from particular regions of DNA, the nucleosome was able to open," says the research leader, Vlad Cojocaru. Jan Huertas, first author in the publication and recent Ph.D.-graduate, adds: "Active (open) and inactive (closed) chromatin contain different modifications of histone tails. The next step is to perform simulations with such modifications. The atomic resolution of the simulations would allow us to pinpoint how each modification affects nucleosomes and chromatin dynamics." Towards understanding epigenetics All three researchers are excited about the future of the use of atomistic computer simulations in understanding gene expression mechanisms in development and disease. "With the further increase of computational power available in the world, we will soon be able to simulate milliseconds of a nucleosome lifetime with all its atoms included. Furthermore, we will be able to routinely simulate multiple nucleosomes to study the effect of different modifications of histones on gene expression. This will give unprecedented insights into the mechanisms that regulate gene expression," Cojocaru concludes. Explore further New method to analyze nucleosomes More information: Histone tails cooperate to control the breathing of genomic nucleosomes. Jan Huertas Hans R. Scholer, and Vlad Cojocaru, PLOS Computational Biology, 2021. Journal information: PLoS Computational Biology Histone tails cooperate to control the breathing of genomic nucleosomes. Jan Huertas Hans R. Scholer, and Vlad Cojocaru,, 2021. dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009013 Credit: Rob Davis/Fresh Energy Amid the steady growth of solar energy production in the United States, pollinator conservation at solar installations has become an appealing secondary pursuit, but the long-term success of such efforts remains to be seen. Can the land within a solar farm be made a true resource for pollinating insects? Will solar developers see value in the extra investment to plant and maintain flowering vegetation? A group of entomologists tackles these questions in a new article published today in the journal Environmental Entomology. They say pairing solar energy with pollinator habitat offers great promise, but scientific evaluation and meaningful standards will be key to making it a true win-win combination. Already, eight states have enacted legislation to promote pollinator-friendly solar development (Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, South Carolina, and Vermont), all of which include scorecards that outline criteria a solar installation must meet to earn a "pollinator-friendly" designation. The details vary, but the basic requirements are similar from state to state, following well-established principles for habitat that will attract and support bees, butterflies, and other pollinating insects. "If you stick with the principles of native, perennial, flowering vegetation and think about a mixture of species that would flower through the growing season, that's more than half the battle," says Matthew O'Neal, Ph.D., professor of entomology at Iowa State University and co-author on the paper with Adam Dolezal, Ph.D., assistant professor of entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Jacob Torres, a doctoral student in Dolezal's lab at UIUC. O'Neal and colleagues endorse the scorecard approach, but they say the criteria should be both stringent enough to produce measurable, positive impacts on pollinators but flexible enough to be feasible within the unique conditions of a solar farm. "You can say, 'How is this different than a hundred other conservation practices?'" Dolezal says. "And the answer is, well, it has some very weird and specific requirements to make it even on the table for solar developers to consider. And that's something we're still learning." On a typical solar farm, the zones beneath solar panels, immediately adjacent to them, and around the perimeter of the farm each allow for different mixes of plants. Some solar panels, for instance, may stand just 18 inches off the ground, which would rule out tall grasses and non-shade-tolerant plants beneath them. If the right mix of plants can be found, however, solar developers could stand to gain more than just positive, green public relations for their utilities. Some preliminary research suggests surrounding vegetation can boost efficiency of solar panels, but more in-depth analysis is needed. "We know that plants, through respiration, cool the air around them, and we know that, when solar panels are kept cooler, they are more efficient at producing electricity," says Dolezal. "What has not been demonstrated is, in these real-world, utility-scale facilities, does that actually provide a meaningful benefit that can then be quantified, put into an economic analysis that developers can look at and say, 'We will make X amount more megawatts of energy over what duration.'" A scorecard for solar-farm pollinator habitat is also just a first step. Many plants recommended for pollinator conservation take time to establish and require attention to weed out unwanted, non-native plants. So, Dolezal, Torres, and O'Neal recommend standards also be paired with periodic evaluations by independent, certified third parties. "These environments are dynamic," O'Neal says. "You want to make sure those plants are established and you meet the goals that you set out at the start." Other key elements for pollinator conservation at solar farms would include detailed maintenance and cultivation plans, clarity on whether to focus on wild pollinators or managed honey bees, and cooperation with local communities. "What may be true or what may work well in Iowa and Illinois and Indiana may not work in the Southeast, or it may not work in the coastal mid-Atlantic," says Dolezal. "The realities are going to be different there." Research has shown that even small patches of native habitat in otherwise cleared or developed areas can provide important resources for conserving plant and animal biodiversity. O'Neal and colleagues note examples of planned solar facilities in some states of several thousands of acres. "If even a fraction of the land allotted to future developments can be planted with effective pollinator habitat, these contributions could be substantial," they write. As more and more solar energy developments come into shape, researchers will have the opportunity to start measuring just how effective accompanying pollinator habitat may be. Dolezal will be among them, as he works on a project selected for funding by the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Technologies Office and managed by the University of Illinois Chicago. He'll be helping to evaluate ecological benefits, solar-production performance benefits, and economic impacts of pollinator plantings at six solar facilities. It is a setting Dolezal says he never envisioned when he began studying entomology and one that speaks to the unique combination of solar energy and pollinator conservation. "This would not have been a mechanism of habitat implementation I would have expected, for sure," he says. "And I never would have expected to have to go do pollinator sampling while wearing a hard hat." Explore further Partial shade from solar panels increase abundance of flowers in late summer More information: OUP accepted manuscript, Environmental Entomology (2021). OUP accepted manuscript,(2021). DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvab041 A northwestern pygmy marmoset from Ecuador. Credit: P. Yepez A new study confirms that there are two separate species of threatened pygmy marmosets but finds they can't be distinguished by fur coloring, as was previously thought. The study also broadens the distribution range for both species to include Ecuador and Peru. Found in the Amazon region of South America, pygmy marmosets are the smallest monkeys in the world. Adults weigh about four ounces, with the length of the head and the body together stretching just six inches. Two species had been proposed to exist, based on fur coloring and more recently on genetic analyses. However, fur color seemed highly variable and not exclusive to a particular region. "Our study showed the two species are not distinguishable by their fur color, but they are distinguishable by differences in their mitochondrial DNA and skull structure," says NIU biological anthropologist Leila Porter, who led the research, published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Three other primatologists collaborated on the work: Stella de la Torre from the University of San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador; Liliana Cortes-Ortiz from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor; and Pedro Perez-Pena from the Peruvian Amazon Research Institute. The study was funded in part by the Chicago Board of Trade Fund for Endangered Species. Leila Porter measuring the skull of a pygmy marmoset in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History. Credit: Leila Porter The new research builds on past findings. In 2018, a group of scientists using genetic analyses confirmed two separate species of pygmy marmoset living in Brazil. Porter's research team extends the range of both species to Ecuador and Peru. In Ecuador, the species appear to be separated by the Napo River, a tributary to the Amazon River. Pygmy marmosets live in family groups made up of an adult male and female and their offspring of various ages. The monkeys are cooperative breeders; the female usually gives birth to twins who are cared for mainly by their father and older siblings. They are also unusual in that they regularly gouge trees to feed on the gum that the trees produce to seal their wounds. In 2017, Porter, an NIU Presidential Engagement Professor, examined pygmy marmosets in the collections of the Field Museum in Chicago and the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The specimens had been collected in Ecuador and Peru in the 1920s. She took cranial measurements of the specimens to determine if there were identifiable differences in the sizes and shapes of skulls from across the region. She also photographed all the pelts of the monkeys in the collection and took small pieces of material from each specimen for her colleague Cortes-Ortiz. Cortes-Ortiz was able to extract mitochondrial DNA from the museum material and from new fecal samples collected by de la Torre and Perez-Pena at field sites. Cortes-Ortiz was then able to compare genetic similarities among the specimens. The testing revealed two distinct genetic groups with slightly different skull shapes. The results, based on cranial and molecular differences, are enough to officially recognize two distinct species, but not based on fur coloration. The skull and upper jaw of a pygmy marmoset from the Field Museums collection, Chicago. Photo Credit Leila Porter In the past, the monkeys were commonly known as "eastern" and "western" pygmy marmosets. Porter's research team is recommending those be reclassified as "northwestern" and "southern" to accurately reflect where the species live. The research team is working with colleagues in Brazil and Europe to officially name the second species. According to Porter, the results open the door for additional research on the two species. "Comparisons of their skull structure suggest they could have slightly different adaptations for foraging," Porter says. "For example, they might gouge on different kinds of tree species with different kinds of bark. In addition, there could be other behavioral and ecological differences between the species that have not been documented." The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List considers pygmy marmosets to be vulnerable to extinction due to habitat loss and the pet trade. "It is important to further study each species to better develop management plans for their protection," Porter says. Explore further Smallest monkey's evolutionary secret More information: Leila M. Porter et al, Taxonomic diversity of Cebuella in the western Amazon: Molecular, morphological and pelage diversity of museum and freeranging specimens, American Journal of Physical Anthropology (2021). Journal information: American Journal of Physical Anthropology Leila M. Porter et al, Taxonomic diversity of Cebuella in the western Amazon: Molecular, morphological and pelage diversity of museum and freeranging specimens,(2021). DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24266 Graph depicting the characteristic striped pattern. Credit: Leiden University Majorana particles have been getting bad publicity: a claimed discovery in ultracold nanowires had to be retracted. Now Leiden physicists open up a new door to detecting Majoranas in a different experimental system, the Fu-Kane heterostructure, they announce in Physical Review Letters. Majorana particles are quasiparticles: collective movements of particles (electrons in this case) which behave as single particles. If detected in real life, they could be used to build stable quantum computers. "Majoranas are quantum mechanical superpositions," explains Gal Lemut. This superposition, a special kind of combination, comprises an electron and a hole (a place in a crystal where an electron is missing. "Majoranas have no electric charge, no spin, and zero energy," adds co-author Micha Pacholski. This makes having no defining characteristics one of their defining characteristics. "So it's very difficult to detect a Majorana," says Pacholski. Clingy Majoranas One of the first systems in which they were predicted to exist, was the so called Fu-Kane heterostructure. "It's a topological insulator layered on a superconductor," says Pacholski. Topological insulators, which conduct current only on their surface, have been a major focus of recent physics research. Superconductors are materials which conduct electricity without any resistance. Earlier research by Liang Fu and Charles Kane predicted that Majoranas will appear when a Fu-Kane heterostructure is placed in a magnetic field. Superconductors will expel magnetic fields, through the so called Meissner effect. This means that the magnetic fieldlines pierce the superconducting material in pillar-like-vortices, where the superconductivity vanishes locally. Majoranas will cling to these vortices, Fu and Kane predicted. Experiments have so far matched up their predictions, but definitive proof for the Majoranas is still lacking. A welcome comeback The Leiden theorists decided to analyze Fu-Kane materias, and proved that adding an electric current could make a crucial difference. "The Majoranas delocalize," says Lemut. "This means that they spread out beyond their vortices, and they might meet each other." Since Majoranas are their own antiparticles, and can annihilate each other, this interaction might be expected to destroy them. But according to the paper, this is not the case: "They continue to exist as separate Majoranas," says Pacholski, "which is quite surprising." The finding may bring the detection and eventual use of Majoranas one step closer. "The next step would be to convince an experimental physicist to check it. It't hard to prove the existence of Majoranas, but our paper offers a clear signature: The holes and the electrons within the Majoranas would interfere with each other. This gives a characteristic striped pattern," says Lemut. If you detect this pattern, that would would mean a clear and welcome comeback for the Majorana. Explore further Researchers take first look into the 'eye' of majoranas More information: M. J. Pacholski et al, Deconfinement of Majorana Vortex Modes Produces a Superconducting Landau Level, Physical Review Letters (2021). Journal information: Physical Review Letters M. J. Pacholski et al, Deconfinement of Majorana Vortex Modes Produces a Superconducting Landau Level,(2021). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.226801 A cable car transports tourists up the slope in Obergurgl. Credit: Rike Stotten The towns of Vent and Obergurgl are nestled in the Otz Valley in the Tyrol region of Austria, just north of the Italian border. They sit on either end of the mountain valley, framed by jagged peaks and lush meadows. They appear quite similar, quintessentially picturesque mountain villages with chalets and steep roof peaks, but Vent and Obergurgl are in starkly different economic and social situations. Though they were born of the same land and history, a new study finds that one of these towns is much more likely to survive changing times than the other. Until the 19th century, the populations of most alpine mountain villages sustained themselves through subsistence farming. But with the industrial revolution and global modernization, this traditional way of life became unsustainable for many communities and was largely replaced by tourism. Vent and Obergurgl employed distinct strategies as they transitioned to tourism-based economies, and now have contrasting levels of community resilience. The concept of community resilience borrows metrics from ecology, and measures how well a system can maintain its function after a disturbance. This study, from the University of Innsbruck in Austria, assessed resilience in Vent and Obergurgl in a unique, longitudinal study that combined economic and social data with detailed interviews with townspeople. "With the Alpine Research Center Obergurgl, the University of Innsbruck has been actively researching this area for a long time," said lead author Rike Stotten in an interview with GlacierHub. "The Upper Otz Valley was intensively investigated in a project in the 1970s that focused on ecological aspects but also included aspects of social change, and we got the idea to build on these experiences." Researchers found that in Vent, where residents were reluctant to alter the natural landscape and engage in heavy development, a more resilient society has flourished. Rather than focusing solely on being a winter tourist destination, like Obergurgl, Vent positioned itself as a year-round mountaineering destination. A chairlift operating in the summer in Vent. Credit: Rike Stotten Vent has seen continued cooperation between farmers and the tourism industry. While farmers do not produce enough food to completely supply the hotels, some of Vent's hoteliers feature local produce and meat products on their menus. Many farmers have invested in hotels and Vent's chair lift company, and the tourism sector sees maintaining the town's farms as a critical part of its appeal to tourists. One farm in Vent has started hosting tourists in farm-stays, where visitors can take carriage rides and experience other farm activities. The research team also noted that many regional cultural traditions have endured in Vent, and that the Tyrolean dialect is still spoken by many. Obergurgl has continued to focus on being a destination for winter tourism, and is home to five chairlifts to serve its ski slopes. The village has made little effort to encourage summer tourism, and food production is not of economic importance. Much of the population no longer lives in Obergurgl year round, leaving many businesses shuttered and few services available throughout summer months. Researchers noted that during the summer even the police station in Obergurgl was closed. As a result of the focus on the economic success of the winter season in the town, social and cultural resilience has suffered. The local dialect is spoken with less frequency, and church attendance, of great social importance in both Vent and Obergurgl, has waned. Residents in Vent have embraced moves toward conservation and sustainability, but those in Obergurgl have been less willing to prioritize the environment. In Vent, residents have been hesitant to expand tourist bike paths that could negatively impact local fauna. In Obergurgl, the influx of single-family vehicles during the ski season has led to congestion on local roads and necessitated the construction of multi-level parking garages. Obergurgl's hoteliers have resisted making the town center a car-free zone. Researchers noted that while both towns are experiencing the consequences of climate change, there is virtually no public discourse about global warming in Obergurgl. "The high elevation of both villages guarantees low temperatures so that at least snow cover with artificial snow will be possible in the upcoming years of climate change," explained Stotten. "The glacier melt will cause major problems once the glaciers are gone, as this will lead to water shortages in summer." Life is sure to change in both of these small mountain towns in the coming years, and Vent shows how diversity of industry and prioritization of the preservation of the natural world can allow a community to more effectively weather the storms to come. Explore further Frog cakes and Fruchocs: Famous local foods attract valuable tourist dollars More information: Rike Stotten et al, Lock-ins and community resilience: Two contrasting development pathways in the Austrian Alps, Journal of Rural Studies (2021). Rike Stotten et al, Lock-ins and community resilience: Two contrasting development pathways in the Austrian Alps,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.04.001 This story is republished courtesy of Earth Institute, Columbia University http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu. Credit: Camilo Jimenez People in both the United States and China who think others are being duped by online misinformation about COVID-19 are also more likely to support corporate and political efforts to address that misinformation, according to a new study. The study suggests negative emotions may also play a role in the U.S.but not in China. "A lot of misinformation has been shared online over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we had a range of questions about how people are responding to this misinformation," says Yang Cheng, co-lead author of the study and an assistant professor of communication at North Carolina State University. "How do different emotions influence the way we feel about the impact of misinformation on other people? How does the way we perceive misinformation affecting other people influence which actions we think should be taken to address misinformation? Do emotions affect support for these actions? And do these things vary between China and the U.S.?" To address these questions, researchers conducted two surveys: a survey of 1,793 adults in the U.S., and a survey of 504 adults in China. The surveys asked questions aimed at understanding what participants think of online misinformation concerning COVID-19; how that misinformation makes them feel; how they think misinformation affects other people; their willingness to fact-check online statements and report misinformation; and what they think social media companies and the government should do to address misinformation. For the most part, study participants in the U.S. and China responded in similar ways. For example, study participants in both the U.S. and China who said online misinformation caused anger and/or anxiety were also more likely to think that other people are influenced by misinformation. And participants in both nations who felt others were being influenced by online misinformation were more likely to support a range of corrective and restrictive actions. Corrective actions in this study refers to an individual's willingness to fact-check online information, to report misinformation to social media platforms, and to file a complaint with the platform against the person who posted the misinformation. Restrictive actions refer to a range of actions that social media companies or policymakers can take. These range from deleting the accounts of social media users who share misinformation to enacting laws that bar the sharing of misinformation on social media. The study also found that study participants in the U.S. and China who reported that misinformation makes them angry were also more likely to engage in corrective actions. However, participants in the U.S. and China differed in terms of emotion and restrictive actions. People in the U.S. who reported that misinformation causes feelings of anxiety or anger were also more likely to support restrictive actions by lawmakers or social media companies. There was no relationship between negative emotions in Chinese study participants and support for restrictive actions. "Overall, the findings suggest that one way to engage the public in the fight against misinformation is to highlight the ways that misinformation can harm or otherwise influence other people," Cheng says. The study, "The Presumed Influence of COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media: Survey Research from Two Countries in the Global Health Crisis," is published open access in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Explore further What makes COVID-19 misinformation so tough to stop on social media More information: Yunjuan Luo et al, The Presumed Influence of COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media: Survey Research from Two Countries in the Global Health Crisis, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2021). Journal information: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Yunjuan Luo et al, The Presumed Influence of COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media: Survey Research from Two Countries in the Global Health Crisis,(2021). DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18115505 Warren County Health Services is monitoring 33 COVID-19 cases after three residents tested positive for the virus on Wednesday. One of the new cases involves an individual that was inside Queensbury Elementary School on May 26. Everyone in contact with the individual has been contacted and necessary quarantines have been arranged, according to a message on the districts website. The county reported no additional recoveries. Two people are hospitalized with a moderate illness. One person not hospitalized is also moderately ill. The remaining 30 cases involve mild illness, according to Health Services. The countys decline in COVID cases mirrors a statewide trend seen in recent weeks. The states seven-day positive test rate currently sits at 0.64% after 58 straight days of decline, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday. Just 431 people tested positive for the virus on Tuesday, the most recent day statewide data is available. A total of 1,007 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized, the fewest since Oct. 21. Federal prosecutors have dropped the criminal case against a New York man who was accused of participating in the riot at the U.S. Capitol, in what appears to be the first such move by the Justice Department in its sprawling Jan. 6 prosecution. The dismissal of the case against Christopher M. Kelly was disclosed on Wednesday, the same day prosecutors secured a second guilty plea by one of the more than 450 Capitol riot defendants. U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui agreed to dismiss the case against Kelly after prosecutors said in a court filing on Tuesday that they discussed the merits of the case with Kelly's lawyer and decided that ending the prosecution serves the interests of justice based on the facts currently known to the government. The filing doesn't elaborate on the decision, and the Department of Justice refused to provide more information. An attorney for Kelly didnt immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Faruqui agreed to dismiss the charges without prejudice, which means the Justice Department could attempt to revive the case. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it should be how to empathize for people we have never met and are never likely to meet. This includes our soldiers, people who face death to save us from facing death. With millions of Americans fully vaccinated, the daily average of COVID-19 cases has steadily fallen. The decline has been dramatic, but it has not faded, not yet, and the tragedy it has wrought should remind us of the tragedies our brave fighting men and women have faced since 1776. Americans are scared, and I lived with that myself, Coleen Bowman, whose husband died of cancer after serving in Iraq in 2013, told CNN last year. Bowman was referring to COVID-19, and to the parallel she saw between the pandemic and war. The similarities, she said, were striking, because she had experienced the impact of both an impact so stark and dramatic that she knew people, in both instances, who mourned before a friend or loved one had died. It was if they were trying to pre-empt the sorrow they knew was coming. Theres a constant fear that the worst is inevitable, and this anticipatory grief, well, thats what I felt when my husband went off to war, she said, and thats what Im seeing in my neighbors today. Glaze said in his bio that he comes from a loving family, with parents married more than 30 years who have given him an excellent example of what a relationship should look like. He is looking for a woman who is passionate about fitness but also enjoys a day of barbecue and sauvignon blanc. It was a very old place, very dated and was the first liquor license awarded in Middle Township after Prohibition, says Altobelli, who sold his body shops to a venture capital company. I already bought the restaurant but didnt get around to demo-ing it and working on it, but once I sold those businesses I concentrated on putting the new building up. Then COVID hit, so it wasnt worth opening. I originally bought it as a Real Estate venture I knew I couldnt go wrong with it. And then as you go through life and friends and family get in your ear and tell you how it would be nice to have a place to go, and then officials in the township told me it would be a real asset in the community to have a nice, newer place to add to the businesses already here I decided to go for it. A giant skull with something akin to tweezers for a mouth washed ashore in New Jersey, igniting a social media debate over what it might be and more importantly what killed it. The skull picked clean of all flesh was found Monday at Island Beach State Park, according to a Facebook post from park officials. You never know what you are going to find on the beach after a storm. Our State Park Police found this skull yesterday, the park wrote on Facebook. Park staff did not give dimensions of the skull, but a photo shows it stood waist-high alongside an officer and was a couple of feet wide. The invitation for people to guess what it might be has gotten 2,700 reactions, 2,000 comments and 6,500 shares in the past day. Many of the commenters guessed it was some kind of whale, which are often picked apart by hungry sharks and other marine life while drifting dead in the ocean. Some wondered whether it was a giant tooth, rather than a skull. A few pointed out it also resembled the skull of a pterodactyl, the prehistoric flying reptile. The idea it was floating unseen among Memorial Day vacationers horrified many people on social media. MILLVILLE Daniel Fenton Jr. vividly remembers battling the frost and the birds when he used to work at Holly Farm with his father. On Thursday, the 67-year-old returned to the farm as the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection designated it a permanent recreation and open space. The acquisition from Atlantic City Electric in 2020 was carried out by the Green Acres program, a state conservation initiative that also celebrated its 60th anniversary on the day of the event. With the 1,400-acre tract, the DEP plans to maintain a number of different habitats to help local endangered species. There also will be public tours of the land in the future. I think overall, its a good fate for the property to end up being enjoyed by everybody and having the state preserve it, Fenton said, rather than have a lot of asphalt here. Several state and county officials spoke at the event, gathering everyone under a tent in front of the Brian A. Parent Center. The central theme among them all was the emphasis that Holly Farm will be a crucial piece in New Jerseys conservation efforts. ATLANTIC CITY A company hoping to build a wind power farm off the coast of southern New Jersey is partnering with Rutgers University and the states clam industry to study the potential impacts of wind farms on the shellfish. Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, LLC said Thursday it is funding a $500,000 study of how New Jerseys valuable clam industry might be impacted by offshore wind farms over the next 30 years. The study also will take the possible impacts of climate change into account. It will also examine the economics of the clam industry in the lease area in which Atlantic Shores hopes to build its projects, as well as in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, a coastal region running from Massachusetts to North Carolina. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} The study will use an existing computer simulator at Rutgers to model clam biology, along with fishery captain and fleet behavior, federal management decisions, fishery economics, port structure and wind farm development. +14 Oyster farmers get boost selling live bivalves for reefs The COVID-19 pandemic has put a dent in the market for farmed oysters, which many people eat We are looking forward to having our model take this next step towards future casting, said Daphne Munroe, the studys principal investigator and associate professor of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers. LONG BRANCH A veteran police officer accused of operating a methamphetamine lab at his home will remain jailed until his trial, a state appellate court judge ruled. Christopher Walls, a 19-year veteran of the Long Branch force, was suspended without pay from his job following his May 15 arrest. City officials have said they plan to file disciplinary charges with the intent to fire Walls, though it's not clear when that could happen. A state Superior Court judge had ruled last week that Walls should be released pending trial, finding that Monmouth County prosecutors did not present enough evidence to overcome the presumption that Walls should be freed. Walls' attorney, Peter OMara, said no drugs had been found on the property and claimed prosecutors did not have the evidence to support a charge like maintaining a drug manufacturing facility. The judge stayed his order while prosecutors appealed it to the higher court. The appellate court ruling, which was made public late Tuesday, overturned that decision. Unfortunately, encouragement isnt likely to get us all the way to herd immunity, or not in enough places. So what happens then? Leaving aside employers, where arguments are different, is it acceptable for a government to consider disincentives, mandating vaccines for activities like eating out or even going to school, as already happens for childhood shots in many places? I believe vaccines are the greatest gift to public health after clean water. Should we consider an even tougher line? Full compulsion with fines or even prison, as opposed to simply not getting a benefit or public service isnt easily embraced. For me, thats less because of arguments about personal liberty than because of the deep polarization in many societies, including the U.S., that would only worsen with such an approach. More importantly, some reasons deterring people from vaccinations distrust of health or political authorities, or more pressing medical or shelter problems deserve to be tackled, not papered over. But the harm principle also suggests that intervention is necessary when there is a real or potential injury to others, and the harm here is great 3.4 million lives lost to date. The vaccines that had they existed could have avoided the vast majority of deaths are now becoming available to many more people, and time is of the essence. Against Mazzeo nomination Life begins at conception. Pre-born humans should be entitled to protection from deliberate acts of violence in the same way that post-born humans are. These basic propositions follow the science. Rather than embracing and protecting life, Gov. Murphy and Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo support the legacy of pro-abortion forces disregard of science. Their proposed Reproductive Freedom Act says abortions are safe, then proposes a change in the law to make them less safe by allowing abortions to be done by non-physicians. The act would force the N.J. commissioner of Human Services and the State Board of Medical Examiners to change regulations theyve for decades deemed necessary for the safety and well being of those who abort their babies. The law seems to say politicians know better than experts. Why are Murphy and the Legislature telling medical boards how to regulate the professionals? The proposed law says that it wants women to have accurate information on abortion. Yet, it does nothing to assure that accurate information is provided about the risks involved in the procedure. Some regret their decision to abort and say that if they had more information about the procedure and its risks, they would not have aborted their babies. RFE/RL Russian Service Director Andrey Shary published this blog post on May 27, on the svoboda.org website. We offer his post here in an English translation by Petr Serebrianyi of RFE/RL's Central Newsroom. On January 12, I was at the Moscow office of the state media-monitoring agency Roskomnadzor on Shkolnaya Street to see the reports on the lack of foreign agent label being filed. Yevgeny Zubarev, managing director of Federal News Agency [a Russian site considered by some to be a troll factoryeds.], found these violations on nine Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) websites and filed complaints. From January 12 to May 11, Roskomnadzor issued 520 violation reports; court circuit no. 423 and the Tverskoy district court were busy for four months imposing fines based on these reports. The total amount is about to reach $2.3 million, but it may keep growing ad infinitum if Yevgeny Zubarev or another volunteer make the effort. [On June 2, Roskomnadzor summoned RFE/RL to begin drafting a new set of 130 violation reports carrying potential fines of just under $1 million, starting on June 15eds.] It has gone far enough: Roskomnadzor is threatening to block RFE/RL websites; hundreds of our appeals have been denied, with little doubt that other appeals will be denied, too. RFE/RL has filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights, but when will it be considered? The due dates for the first batch of fines have expired, and we have seen RFE/RL Moscow bureau visited by court bailiffs twice, our bank accounts frozen, the state labor-monitoring agency Rostrud inquiring (allegedly concerned by the publications in the media) about possible delays in salary payments, and myself as director of the local representative company possibly facing one or two criminal charges. In Roskomnadzor, two nice young women introduce themselves by full name including patronymic, which is usual for Russian bureaucracy. Yekaterina Sergeyevna, still in the beginning of her career of finding violations in the media, files the reports nimbly. She is in a hurry to finish by lunch: her friends sneak into the room now and then, a sniff of borsht being warmed up in a kitchenette microwave permeates the hallway. Asiya Yunirovna, Yekaterina Sergeyevnas boss, is emphatically businesslike and yet friendly in her manners, she even addresses me as a colleague. I can hardly see anything common in our professions: Im a journalist, Asiya Yunirovna is a political censor, but I prudently keep it to myself as the two women do their job dutifully, although without visible joy: just doing what they were told to, its not them I should argue with. Im not sure if Asiya Yunirovna and Yekaterina Sergeyevna have heard about Hannah Arendt and her account of the banality of evil, but even if they have, they wont apply it to themselves or they wouldnt have applied for the job they have now. They have been told foreign agent, and they know what they should do. As I bide my time on a low couch by the window, I realize that Russian judicial practice seems to be dominated by positivism. It means that a docile parliament passes the laws in the political interests of the national leader, but not according to the spirit of justice or legal norms. The most abhorrent example of such an abuse of law was the Nuremberg race laws of 1935 that created the basis for the final solution to the Jewish question. Millions of innocent people were shot or sent to gas chambers in accordance with the law hailed by the parliament. There are no historical references like that in the appeals that RFE/RL lawyers filed in batches with the Tverskoy district court, the Moscow city court (then, supposedly, the Supreme court). The appeals explain in every detail why the Roskomnadzors requirement that we put on a clown cap and label ourselves enemy of the people (which is often a vernacular for foreign agent) is legally void and should be annulled. The appeals say that the Roskomnadzors requirement contradicts the Russian constitution, freedom to publish and consume information, and law on mass media; it infringes on the regulations for fair competition in media and creates negative bias towards RFE/RL. I can add a professional remark: this requirement is also an interference with journalistic work that hampers the distribution of our materials. Who is going to wait 15 seconds until the end of the foreign agent warning to see a video? Just look at the Twitter and Telegram accounts of Meduza and VTimes, our colleagues who have complied with the requirement. One can only pity them. [VTimes has now announced that it is shutting down because its business model was "destroyed" by its "foreign agent" designation - eds.] Should one pity RFE/RL, too? Our Moscow bureau that opened soon after the failed coup in 1991 is on the verge of being arrested. Its been three decades, and the history of Russian liberalism seems to have made a full circle. Our websites that have become twice as popular in the past two years are at the verge of being blocked (could that be one of the reasons of the crackdown?) Our journalists in Russia face the risk of making it into the list of foreign agents, with three of them already on it. Video production had to be partly relocated to Prague, into the RFE/RL headquarters, or Kyiv, where RFE/RL completed a technologically advanced bureau a couple of years ago. Journalism is not a crime. It is a right and a duty to do your job: to honestly cover the events in your country and the world. As a prominent public official once told me, its a duty to put the light on in a dark room. But also, Id add, its independence from the government of any kind: journalists shouldnt have nationality. So, Yekaterina Sergeyevna and Asiya Yunirovna, Maria Vladimirovna [Zakharova, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman] and Dmitry Sergeyevich [Peskov, Presidential spokesman], we are not foreign agents: no U.S. or any other politicians are allowed to influence the editorial policies of RFE/RL, and there have been no exceptions I can think of for all my years at the Russian Service. There have been mistakes, poor texts, stupid things, bad luck in management or circumstances. There have been ups and downs, like in any other job. But the company has always been faithful to its mission. Its the State Duma and Roskomnadzor, with the help of the Tverskoy district court and Yevgeny Zubarev, who are trying to forcefully interfere with our editorial matters. Whether one should pity RFE/RL journalists is a misguided question. One should pity a desperate situation Russia has found itself in after a decade of Kremlins foreign policies. One should pity the lawlessness Russians have encountered, fearing police batons and fooled by Kremlin TV propaganda: they have no right of political choice, freedom of speech and assembly. It may soon come to that there will be no one in a dark to put the light on. Whatever the losses, RFE/RL will survive and wont leave Moscow however hard we are pushed away; well find the way to our audiences no matter what. RFE/RL will still be there, because what we do is important and interesting for our readers, viewers, and listeners. So if you want to help us, just stay with us despite all the obstacles and contrary to all the unjust requirements. Iowa's unemployment rate fell to 3.7% in March, within 1% of where it was before COVID. In Illinois, the jobless rate fell to 7.1% in March, more than three percentage points higher than it was a year ago. Meanwhile, unemployment rose unexpectedly in the Quad-Cities in the first quarter of the year to 5.9% in March compared with 5.3% in December. Manufacturing continued to recover from its decline during the early months of the pandemic. Shipping container shortages and limited air freight capacity, however, continued to disrupt supply chains, causing delays and leading to higher shipping costs for both manufacturers and consumers, according to the chamber. While still unclear what the future holds for the corporate office sector, regional companies will more than likely lean more toward a hybrid version of in-person and remote working environments. "As we move into the second quarter of 2021, there appears to be more hope of reopening the economy and hope that successive rounds of federal fiscal stimulus will bode well for economic growth," Kriz wrote. "Many uncertainties remain, however. Concerns over vaccine hesitancy and the transmission of SARS-CoV2 variants have kept down growth expectations." Raw materials and labor shortages, combined with the prospect of higher inflation a result of too much money chasing too few goods sparked by unprecedented infusion of large amounts of cash to the economy from federal stimulus packages means "the economy faces a significant 'wall of worry' to climb," Kriz wrote. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 2 Sad 1 Angry 0 The business news you need With a weekly newsletter looking back at local history. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A: Virtual school was a shock compared to what I was used to. Its was very hard to hear that it wasnt safe to be at school and my senior year was going to be different. The school worked hard to make sure we transitioned easily to online learning. I wouldnt have been successful without help from teachers and without the technology CCPS loaned us this year. I took advantage of hybrid and in-person school as soon as possible. I think I ended up showing up almost every day ... even if it wasnt my cohort. I cant stay away. "It's annoying, because you're typically removing access to your driveways, if you're directly affected" Clay Merritt, assistant public works director, said. "We'll have our contractors work as fast as possible. But, in the end I think you will enjoy kind of the aftermath of having a brand-new road, instead of the (deteriorating) sections that are there now." The appropriations bill was given to Republicans after midnight on Sunday, along with other bills filed in the final hours. The last amendment on the original budget arrived about six minutes prior to voting on the bill, she said. "The last amendment on the budget was six minutes before midnight," McCombie said. "We did pass the budget before midnight and then we were only allowed one speaker. The process is so unfair and broken. We represent each one of us 109,000 people. If we have questions or concerns on a topic, we should have the right to speak on the floor and ask the sponsor of the bill (questions). That's really the worst part." McCombie said Democrats also included raises for legislators. State representatives currently make an annual salary of $67,836 and state senators earn $67,874. While the bill restores $350 million in annual funding for public schools that was passed in 2017, McCombie said last year's skipped payment should still be paid to schools. "We wanted to make sure education was funded, and it was," she said. Lander's nomination had been delayed for months as senators sought more information about meetings he had with the late Jeffrey Epstein, a financier who was charged with sex trafficking before his apparent suicide. Lander said he only met with Epstein twice, in 2012, and never requested or received funds from Epstein or his foundation. At his confirmation hearing, Lander also apologized for a 2016 article he wrote that downplayed the work of two Nobel Prize-winning female scientists. Lander, who has visited Greenland on a balmy 72-degree day, told the AP he sees climate change as an incredibly serious threat to this planet in many, many ways. Still, Lander said he was more optimistic now than he and others were a decade ago because I see a path to doing something about it. Lander pointed to a drop of about in 90% in solar and energy wind costs, making them now as cheap as fossil fuels that cause climate change. But he said whats also needed is an explosion of ideas to improve battery life and provide carbon-free energy that is not weather-dependent. Those innovations need federal incentives that are part of Bidens jobs package, he said. Reducing methane is key to fighting climate change, Lander added, but first improvements are needed in technology to determine where methane is leaking from. Amazingly, the news media has completely overlooked redistricting in Illinois. Democrats missed the message sent when Illinois fired Justice Tom Kilbride. Kilbride was not returned to the Supreme Court because of his anti-fair maps ruling on Democrat redistricting. Democrats in response have doubled down on drawing dystopian districts and now are adding the Supreme Court districts to the travesty. It isn't about creating fair districts that will reflect the people in the region. It is about cobbling together districts designed to elect Democrats, and in some cases specific Democrats. The new "Highway 150 District" runs out of Rock Island straight down Highway 150 all the way to Macomb. I'm not sure how far on either road ditch it extends. Maybe Representative Mike Halpin can explain it? The new districts move Sen. Neil Anderson and a tiny sliver of Rock Island County away from those he currently serves and into a Republican district that runs off to the south. Capable Rep. Tony McCombie goes from serving Rock Island County to the southeast corner of a district that runs off in a new direction. Virtually everyone Downstate gets twisted and mangled by this monstrosity. Adolf Hitler used the big lie to gain dictatorial power in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. Clearly, Donald Trump (called unhinged by members of his own party) intended to do the same before, during and, now, after his time in office. In 2020, Trump was soundly defeated by over seven million votes. Yet, he continues to use the Big Lie (and thousands more) to support a possible renewed campaign for office. If re-elected, his attack on the free press, the elimination of persons of color, policies that would make the earth unlivable, the obscene corruption and self-serving greed would accelerate. Now admitted and proven criminal ex-General Michael Flynn is proposing violent overthrow of our government. Recall: the Second World War was fought to end the scourge of Nazi fascism. Many Republicans, including Sen. Chuck Grassley and Gov. Kim Reynolds, seem to want that type of authoritarianism. Their letters, speeches, votes, silence and mandates make clear they want to imitate and protect Trump, who clearly sparked the Jan. 6 riot and insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Stay awake. Our country and democracy are under attack. This is not usual politics. May 6 9. Kira Lee Wall, 18, 5250 Troy Road, Avon, Illinois, was arrested at 12th Street and State Street on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance. May 7 10. A 2021 Ford F150 and a 2012 Honda passenger car collided at Hopewell Avenue and Middle Road, resulting in $11,000 in damage. 11. Scot David Smit, 24, 2805 East 43rd Street, Davenport, was arrested at 1300 Devils Glen Road on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. 12. A 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe and a 2011 Ford F150 collided at 3800 State Street, resulting in $7,000 in damage. May 8 13. A 2010 Honda CRV and a 2012 Ford Explorer collided at Grant Street and 17th Street, resulting in $9,000 in damage. May 9 14. A 2011 Nissan Rogue and a 1999 Ford F150 collided at the 900 block of Middle Road, resulting in $3,300 in damage. 15. A 2009 Honda Civic and a 2014 Buick Lucerne collided at Interstate 74 and Spruce Hills Drive, resulting in $3,000 in damage. Sixty-nine years later to the day Henry Vargas died in Davenport at the age of 92. There was work to do Henry Vargas could see from a young age that life was not fair, especially for Mexican-Americans. When his mother returned home from her job one day, her hands bloodied from the work, he knew he had to get a job to help his family. In those days, that's what many minority children did. Some were woefully young, not even teenagers. And the wages were criminally low. Rita Vargas, one of Henry and Lucy Vargas' nine children and the longtime Scott County Recorder, said many at Cook's Point would not have survived without the charity of a Jewish merchant from Rock Island. Picking through cast-out produce at the nearby city dump was not enough to sustain the families that lived in the 50-or-so homes at Cook's. All around him, Henry could see that hard work did not necessarily result in reward. So, he found another way. A founder among founders The eviction from Cook's Point revealed to Henry and other Davenport Latinos that, even if housing wasn't too expensive, discrimination against Mexicans was blocking their path. In the Quad-Cities, no one could have been fully vaccinated until the middle of January. Over the course of the roughly six months since full vaccination was possible, an average of 20,131 people have been fully vaccinated every month. COVID-19 in the Q-C, by the numbers Encouraging news continued Wednesday, as just 29 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the Q-C. The Rock Island County Health Department reported six new cases, raising the total number of cases confirmed since the start of the pandemic to 14,954. The death toll remained 328. Illinois' new case numbers also stayed low. The state reported 478 new infections Wednesday. The Iowa Department of Public Health reported 23 new cases Wednesday, giving the county 21,686 cases since the start of the pandemic. The total number of deaths in county linked to the virus remained 244. A total of 192 new cases were reported across Iowa. Walk-in vaccinations in the Q-C CHICAGO Two people have died, and three others including a 14-year-old girl were hurt during shootings Wednesday evening on Chicago's South and West sides, authorities said. In one fatal attack, a 31-year-old man was shot in the chest around 7:30 p.m. near the sidewalk in the 7700 block of South Damen Avenue, in the citys Gresham neighborhood, police said. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition and was later pronounced dead there. Earlier, a man was gunned down inside an Infiniti car about 5:10 p.m. in the 6300 block of South Rhodes Avenue, in the West Woodlawn neighborhood, police said. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his body and was pronounced dead on the scene, they said. Names of the dead were not immediately made public. Illinois State Police were also investigating the shooting of a motorist on the Dan Ryan Expressway just before 7:45 p.m. in the inbound express lanes near 33rd Street, ISP Trooper James Gawel said. The driver was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in serious condition, Chicago Fire Department Deputy District Chief Walter Schroeder said. A passenger in the car was being evaluated at the scene and was not shot, he said. DES MOINES A correctional officer was assaulted by an inmate Wednesday at the Anamosa State Penitentiary that was the scene of a deadly attack earlier this year. The Iowa Department of Corrections said an inmate, secured in restraints, was being supervised by the officer during a virtual disciplinary hearing with an administrative law judge. About 9:09 a.m., the inmate became upset and began acting out in a violent manner. The officer tried to restrain him and another officer arrived to assist. The assisting officer suffered an injury to his arm and was taken to the Anamosa hospital, where doctors determined he had a soft-tissue injury. The other officer, also examined at the hospital, was not injured, nor was the prisoner, corrections officials said. Wednesdays assault came nearly two months after, authorities say, two inmates attempting to escape March 23 from the same prison used hammers to bludgeon to death nurse Lorena Schulte and Corrections Officer Robert McFarland. Cawthorn, who Baltimore Police have said they created a task force to take down, is charged with at least five of those murders and several other murder attempts, some that took place at dice games. His own father was fatally shot in the summer of 2018 by rivals, and prosecutors say that Cawthorn retaliated by trying to kill those responsible. We like to think of ourselves as a Christian nation, but "In God We Trust" suggests of the sort of prideful assertion of religious sanctimony that Jesus wasnt particularly fond of. He said: "(D)o not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men." Jesus preferred a more personal expression of faith. Trusting God takes place in the heart, and its presumptuous to make such an assertion of trust on behalf of an entire nation. Besides, how well have we lived up to our national motto, anyway? Jesus preached much more compassion for the poor and downtrodden than we seem to be willing to commit these days. Do we really love our enemies? And have our leaders and presidents actually demonstrated much trust in God? Nixon? Clinton? Trump? The only plausible candidate for genuine godliness is probably Jimmy Carter, a president widely reviled by the right and not that popular on the left, either. South Dakota lawmakers tasked with redrawing legislative districts indicated Tuesday they will focus on the state's two largest cities, as well as Native American reservations. Both the House and Senate committees that are redrawing legislative boundaries decided to create subcommittees tasked with gathering input from Sioux Falls, Rapid City and tribal areas. Lawmakers are readying to receive data from the 2020 Census, develop boundary lines for legislative districts and approve them by Dec. 1. But the districts in urban areas and Indian reservations could have the most hiccups, according to Matt Frame, a lawyer with the Legislative Research Council that is guiding the redistricting process. Lawmakers must ensure that racial minority groups receive adequate representation in state government in order to stay in compliance with federal law. That could create a challenge in areas where mostly Native American people live, especially because those areas have a greater share of younger people who cannot yet register to vote and factors like poverty or physical distance can make it more difficult for people to register to vote. The legislative boundaries must be determined on total population, not voter registration. The opinion and order from Lange, chief justice of the federal courts in South Dakota, means that the night sky over Mount Rushmore will be devoid of the state's fireworks on Independence Day this year. Noem has decried the decision to deny the fireworks permit as political" and made a patriotic argument for holding fireworks at the massive monument. The event last year gave former President Donald Trump an opportunity to make a fiery speech at the monument. The state had signed an agreement with the federal government under Trump to continue hosting the fireworks. However, Noem's lawsuit also reignited legal skirmishing between her and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, which opposed the event on the grounds that the Black Hills, which contain Mount Rushmore, are sacred to the Lakota people. "It is unfortunate that the time, energy and resources we spend in conflict cannot be better spent providing the opportunity for our communities to have peace and prosperity," Chairman Harold Frazier said in a news release about the lawsuit. "This decision will greatly enhance the ability of all the people to gather medicine and pray without the intrusion of explosions or lights." Noem blamed President Joe Biden's administration for cancelling the fireworks, saying it was on completely arbitrary grounds. But rest assured, this fight is not over, she said, promising to appeal the decision in an effort to restore the event next year. The reservations expressed by service leaders could provide a measure of ammunition for those in Congress who oppose taking the chain of command out of sexual assault prosecutions. Supporters of change, however, argue that the current system has failed to address to a problem that has long plagued the military. Officials said that all service leaders recognize that change is virtually certain and that they agree more needs to be done to improve and professionalize the judge advocate corps. But they are concerned about how quickly changes are being made and whether there is room for negotiation about how they are implemented. Earlier this year, an independent review commission created by Austin recommended that the prosecution of sexual assaults be shifted to judge advocates reporting to a civilian-led Office of the Chief Special Victim Prosecutor. The independent judge advocates would decide two key legal questions: whether to charge someone and whether that charge should go to a court martial. Members of Congress are also pushing for a similar and in some respects more expansive change. Because any such change would amend military law, it will require an act of Congress and cannot be done unilaterally by Austin. Through the program, people will have more options to market their products, well have more opportunities to access meat thats grown here by South Dakota producers, and more importantly, well be better prepared and have a more stable food supply chain, Noem said. Ninety-nine meat processing grants have been approved, which will be used to help expand existing facilities and buy new equipment. Additionally, $1.5 million is going towards brand-new businesses and facilities. Grants were available to meat processors with 60 employees or fewer in South Dakota that meet one of the following guidelines: state-inspected equal to slaughter and/or processing plants; licensed custom-exempt slaughter plants; or very small federally inspected plants. To further expand the meat processing industry in the state, South Dakota is in the process of joining the Cooperative Interstate Shipping Program, which would allow processors to ship and sell their meats across state lines. Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden discussed some of the challenges the meat processing industry has faced over the past year with disruptions in business due to COVID-19 and the solutions the state has come up with -- the meat processing grants and, eventually, joining the CIS program. The Brain Injury Alliance of Montana also provided helmets that Kyer said bikers will be giving away to skateboarders who dont have one already. Most of the raffles at the parks will happen between noon and 3 p.m. The ride will end at Stevensvilles Lewis and Clark Park at 4 p.m. with a final skateboard raffle and raffle for the riders. Kyer said theres no way to predict how many bikers will show up in Stevensville. The group does another ride in Montana that has attracted as many as 300 riders to small communities. Last year, 150 riders turned out for that event. Last year we had about 50 riders for the first scavenger hunt, but that was put together at the last moment in kind of a rush, rush kind of affair, Kyer said. We only started hanging flyers two weeks before the event last year. This time, weve been hanging flyers for over a month and weve had some airplay on the radio. People have been asking for flyers, he said. It sounds like we are going to get a bigger draw this year. Licensed Clinical Psychologist Michael Scalatti testified that Clark had experienced numerous childhood traumas that contributed to his actions, his poor impulse control and his criminal mindset. Scalatti performed a presentencing psychological evaluation on Clark at the request of his attorney. One example of Clarks traumatic childhood highlighted by the defense involved witnessing his mothers abuse while growing up. Myrons daughter, Kiara, took the stand to give a tearful and heartfelt statement on the impact the murder of her dad had on her, her brother and their future lives. She described how she woke up the day after the murder believing it to be just a normal Monday. It was anything but a normal day, she said, describing how she attended college classes on Zoom unaware of the events for hours before receiving the news. My father had been shot and killed in the night and I did not hear about it until 10 hours later. She described how her dads killing caused her to fear that she could be the victim of a shooting. Due to that fear she was unable to sleep in her own room because it was close to the city street and she feared a drive-by shooting. Luisa A. Igloria, 59, is poet laureate of Virginia, a Norfolk resident and professor of creative writing at Old Dominion University. She plans to update and expand available public information on Virginian poets, in order to more accurately reflect the diversity of poets in the region. The fellowship will also support a series of virtual poetry workshops on themes like civic engagement, social justice and mental health. Igloria additionally plans to use the funds to launch a Young Poets in the Community program. Originally from the Philippines, Igloria said that when she was named poet laureate last year, she searched Wikipedia for Virginia poets and was shocked to find only 67 poets listed. I was horrified. I thought, This cant be right, Igloria said. She will be working with the library at Old Dominion University to form a database of Virginia poets that will more accurately reflect the diversity of poets in Virginia, including youth poets, poets in schools, immigrant poets, Black, Indigenous and people of color poets, LGBTQ poets, and poets in non-literary professions. She also hopes that the Young Poets in the Community program will encourage young people to use poetry as a tool for social change. Nobody is too young to start doing things like this. It never occurred to any of us that he would not be here, Murphy said of her father, who led a life of remarkably good health and finished a ride on his Harley from Kentucky to Richmond only a month before his death. Soon after, he was diagnosed with bone cancer, and he died about two weeks later. He also expected to be at the statue unveiling. His last email to me, which arrived before his cancer diagnosis, filled me in on what he had been up to with his characteristic enthusiasm and invited me to attend the originally scheduled ceremony in La Grange, which was then still more than eight months away. He liked to plan ahead. Heilman was mighty proud of the statue, and he had worked with the sculptor, Wyatt Gragg,who lives in the La Grange area and also happens to ride a Harley. He knew Dad well, Murphy said of Gragg, noting the details of the statue show it. Its just amazing. He really did capture the nuance. The day of the ceremony was cool and windy, but the moment was just right, Murphy said. La Grange is a place where train tracks run down the middle of Main Street (and a train did indeed arrive during the event). Commemorative do-rags, similar to the ones Heilman used to wear on his rides, were handed out. Well switch our focus from our large mass vaccination events to smaller mobile events where we will provide vaccines and education, connections and other resources as well, she said. This switch to much smaller teams will allow us to vaccinate and educate in more areas across the city and really meet people where they are. She said the health district will aim to hold about eight vaccination events each week. The district will continue the Wednesday evening walk-up clinics at George Wythe High School that have been held regularly over the last few weeks. While there will be fewer large-scale vaccination events, Jason Alley, a former chef and restaurateur the city hired in November as a provisional policy adviser to work with other local business owners, said a vaccination drive will be held at Southside Plaza on June 12. He said the event will also include a job fair that will help local businesses and organizations that are struggling to fill positions. The South Side area has some of the highest concentrations of lower income families, so we want to make sure that were doing something thats really accessible to these vulnerable populations, he said. It seems like a really good opportunity to have multiple services under one umbrella. Popovich feels optimistic about the 70% goal. Our families and friends will get to return to fun summer activities like going to the pool and parties on their block once theyre vaccinated, she said. We know that Richmonders love their neighbors, their families and the community, so I think we can get there. Additionally, police were notified of a walk-in shooting victim around 12:46 a.m. at an area hospital. When officers arrived, they found an 18-year-old man suffering from gunshot wounds. Preliminary investigation found that the victim was in the 4200 block of Erdman Ave. when he was approached by two people armed with a gun. Political heavyweight Dominion Energy emerged in the crowded Democratic race for lieutenant governor in the final weeks, giving $100,000 to a candidate who once said shed never take its money. By accepting the money, Del. Hala Ayala, D-Prince William, reversed course on prior statements she made to two groups who asked her not to accept money from Virginias largest regulated electric utility. The pair of $50,000 donations were disclosed in a report she filed Tuesday with the Virginia Department of Elections a week before the June 8 primary. Ayalas campaign did not respond to a request for an interview with her. Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, another top contender in the race for the Democratic nomination, who is one of the most outspoken lawmakers on Dominions political influence, had no comment. The campaign of former Fairfax County NAACP chairman Sean Perryman issued a statement calling for campaign finance reform, an issue Democratic leaders in the legislature shut down earlier this year. Because hes relatively unknown, hes trying to define himself before the Democratic candidate can do that for him, said Bob Holsworth, a longtime Virginia political analyst. Hes going to have to put in enormous sums to overcome Democratic tendencies in this state its really his only chance. But its a challenge for the Democrats, Holsworth added. No one would have expected a year ago that if McAuliffe was the nominee, that he would be outspent. And thats now a possibility in this race. Holsworth said that while Youngkin already has invested an extraordinary amount of personal wealth in his campaign, he has been able to attract large donations from both traditional GOP donors and others who have not previously supported a candidate at these levels. Youngkin reported about $4.8 million in cash on hand at the end of the reporting period, compared with about $3.3 million for McAuliffe. The Democratic primary Tuesdays financial disclosures shed light on the resources the Democrats had to close out the race heading into the June 8 primary. Its not just Tulsa. From the 2019 premiere of HBOs Watchmen, which introduced many Americans to a racial atrocity theyd never heard of, to all the recent media attention CNN, The New York Times, NPR marking this weeks centennial, the Tulsa Race Massacre of May 31 to June 1, 1921, lately has been inescapable. As well it should be. It stands out for multiple reasons. There is the sheer size of it: at least 35 square blocks leveled by white mobs. There is the death toll of it: an estimated 300 African Americans the exact number never will be known killed. And there is the cussed gall of it. Barred from white community and society, Black people created a thriving community and society of their own, a Black Wall Street only to have white people burn it to the ground. Its important that all of this be known. Yet it also is important to recognize that what happened in that Oklahoma town was not some isolated event. No, Tulsa in 1921 is echoed by New York in 1863; Memphis and New Orleans in 1866; Wilmington, N.C., in 1898; Atlanta in 1906; Springfield, Ill., in 1908; East St. Louis, Ill., in 1917; Chicago and Elaine, Ark., in 1919; Rosewood, Fla., in 1923 among others. Mental health resources readily available locally I appreciated the message about the pandemic's effects on mental health and the awareness of the subject addressed in a recent RTD editorial. With heightened rates of depression across the U.S. this year due to COVID-19, policies to combat this illness are needed more than ever. Isolation due to the pandemic has heavily increased the amount of people in mental health crises. According to the editorial, there was a 31% increase of emergency room visits this year for mental health reasons. Although the editorial highlights the main issues regarding depression and anxiety, it gives unclear policies and treatment plans available in Virginia. A helpful resource for some has been online therapy, which has proven to decrease anxiety about exposure to the virus. Also this allows patients to remain comfortable in their home. These services are covered by most insurance plans including Medicare and Medicaid, but they can cost under $100 without coverage. Luckily, the Richmond area offers some of the most resources for assistance in Virginia. The Richmond Behavioral Health Authority is the most notable support system available. Peer support is available seven days a week during business hours at no cost. Also available is a 24-hour phone number, which has extensive capabilities covering a range of treatments for illnesses including but not limited to depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety and addiction. Need country for both Israelis, Palestinians Editor, Times-Dispatch: I read the recent Richmond Times-Dispatch op-ed by Ellen Renee Adams and Daniel Staffenberg as I was preparing to travel to Washington, D.C., to support my Palestinian brothers and sisters. Once again, we witness the same old tired arguments that ignore the central question: What is the essence of Judaism? If the essence is Love thy neighbor as thyself, then we must value every human life equally and we must not elevate Jewish aspirations over the hopes and dreams of others. If the authors understand the longing of an Indigenous people who were exiled (albeit several thousand years ago), then what do they say about an Indigenous people who were exiled 73 years ago? Some of these people are alive today and still hold the keys to their homes in hopes of returning. In 1948, Palestinians lost everything. Until then, they had been thriving on that land, with majestic cities, lush farmlands, and a rich and deep cultural heritage. Five years ago, Rocky Forge obtained local and state permits that allowed for up to 25 turbines, no higher than 550 feet. But that version of the wind farm was never built, as a buyer for its renewable energy did not emerge. By the time a deal was struck in 2019 for the state of Virginia to purchase the electricity to help meet its climate agenda, new technology made it possible to build fewer, but taller, turbines. An amended special use permit approved by the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors last year gave Apex the authority to build what would have then been the tallest wind turbines in the country making the spinning windmills about the height of a 50-story building. But when it submitted a site plan to the county last December, Apex had trimmed its plans to 15 turbines, at 624 feet tall. Those numbers came down again in the latest plan made public by Apex. Turbine models are continually tweaked for optimization, so small changes can never be ruled out, Montague said. Opponents have said the giant turbines would be an eyesore, make too much noise, generate shadow flicker and pose a threat to a scenic, mountainous area and its wildlife. On Dec. 30, 2019, Burdette received a tip that pointed her to a recent Facebook post by an individual who does construction work. The tipster suggested he might be the roof thief. Another deputy checked his name against a list of scrap metal sellers to which police had access. There was no record the man had sold scrap metal around the time of the theft. In March 2020, Burdette interviewed three people her report described as boys who live in the Alleghany Springs area. Each acknowledged venturing onto Shorts land for target shooting. But all denied stealing anything from the house. They said they had seen a 1990s white Ford van around Shorts house around the time of the theft. Two of the boys agreed to take polygraphs but the third refused, Burdette wrote. But theres no reflection in her reports that polygraphs were ever administered in the case. In a June 1, 2020, supplemental report, Burdette wrote she got a tip that the Pilot Community Center in Montgomery County got a new metal roof about the same time that Shorts went missing. So Burdette drove over to Pilot. It did not appear to be the same roof, Burdette wrote. Roofing material is pretty custom to the house, Hamlin told me. It would be pretty unique to put it on another structure. RADFORD While the coronavirus pandemic changed life in Southwest Virginia, one thing has remained constant. As it does every two years, the Radford Army Ammunition Plant welcomed a new commander on a June day. In a ceremony Thursday at the sprawling propellant manufacturing facility, Lt. Col. Russell Jones officially took over operations from Lt. Col. Anthony Kazor, who has overseen the facility for the past 24 months. Army officers and staff command the facility, but it is operated by a civilian workforce employed by BAE Systems, an international military contracting firm. Jones commissioned into the Army in 2001 and most recently served as a chief at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency at Fort Belvoir near Washington, D.C., he said. He has also served as battalion chemical officer at Fort Steward in Georgia, with deployments to Kuwait and Iraq, according to information provided by RAAP. Jones said his priorities, like those of many of his predecessors, will be to ensure that workforce out there is safe in what theyre doing. Once we ensure that were taking care of the people, then we look at readiness and we look at modernization, he said. A 2013 profiling verdict against Arpaios office led to two court-ordered overhauls of the agency, one of its traffic enforcement division and another of its internal affairs operation, which under Arpaio had been criticized for biased decision-making and shielding sheriffs officials from accountability. The judge stripped the sheriffs office of some of its autonomy over internal affairs. Transfers of employees in and out the internal affairs unit are now required to be approved by a court official who is monitoring the sheriffs office on behalf of Snow. More training was required for supervisors. And the sheriffs office is required to investigate all complaints of officer misconduct, even those made anonymously. In trying to fend off a contempt hearing, Penzones attorney had previously said in court records that the sheriffs office made warnings about the backlog to court officials, but its suggestions for fixing the problem were rejected. They said the agency is committed to complying with the overhaul and that its efforts to close those cases were outpaced by an increasing number of new complaints. The U.S. Justice Department and attorneys who filed the profiling lawsuit argued that the length of the investigations has resulted in lost evidence that makes it more likely that officer misconduct wont be confronted. The federal censuses in 1840 and 1850 made no distinction between ownership and employment, the new report says. Census enumerators in these years were not required to establish that the head of household or the property owner was also the owner of any enslaved residents. It was very common in Baltimore to hire enslaved laborers on a temporary basis, and Johns Hopkins had a history of employing Blacks in his homes and businesses. Slaves who had been hired out were normally enumerated with their employers not owners. SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (AP) A Los Angeles County firefighter appeared to have a longstanding job-related dispute with the colleague he fatally shot at their small, rural fire station in what was Californias second deadly workplace shooting in less than a week, authorities said Wednesday. The gunman also critically wounded a fire captain at the station about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of Los Angeles on Tuesday before setting his house on fire in a nearby community and apparently killing himself, officials said. Preliminary interviews with other employees at Fire Station 81 indicate the shooter and the fellow veteran firefighter who was killed had some workplace beef, said Los Angeles County sheriffs Lt. Brandon Dean, who is overseeing the homicide investigation. It sounds like they didnt like each other, Dean told The Associated Press, without elaborating. He said investigators will review the Fire Department's personnel files to see if any official complaints had been made or disciplinary actions had been taken before the bloodshed. It was not immediately clear how long the two had worked together at the station in Agua Dulce, a rural community of about 3,000 people in the desert of northern Los Angeles County. WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) A Delaware man who shot three officers responding to a domestic violence call has died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said Thursday. Wilmington police said officers went to an apartment in northwest Wilmington about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday in response to a 911 call. As the officers entered the apartment, Bernard Goodwyn, 31, began shooting at them, striking all three, authorities said in a news release. The three officers were transported to the hospital in stable condition, and one was treated and released. Two of the officers have been with the department since 2014, and the third since 2018. With help from several local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, police established a perimeter around the apartment building and tried over the course of about 12 hours to negotiate Goodwyns surrender. When officers made entry into the room where he was holed up Thursday morning, they found him dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. Goodwyn's body was taken to the medical examiner's office. Police said the gun he used was recovered at the scene. Americans are not noted for their patience. We want to solve problems, not live with them. But sometimes its best to be patient, to wait for events to unfold instead of trying to control them. The Taiwan issue with China is an example. Ukraines struggle with Russia is another. A third is Irans threat to build nuclear weapons, and the newest was Israels effort to crush Palestinian resistance in Gaza. A classic example of waiting for leadership change occurred in 1953 when Soviet dictator, Josef Stalin, died at age 74. He had ruled the Soviet Union for nearly forty years. Now the logjam in relations with the West opened up and President Eisenhower took advantage of the resulting vacuum to press new Soviet leaders for detente in the Cold War. The Spirit of Geneva, as it was known, lasted until 1960 when an American spy plane piloted by Gary Powers was shot down over Russia. The new Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, chose to exploit the case for propaganda advantage and cancelled a Moscow summit with Eisenhower. Ikes successor, John Kennedy, faced a new Cold War. However, he soon became so popular that he rarely drew serious Democratic opposition and sometimes had no Democratic opposition at all. He won in 1984 with 70% of the vote, and in 1990 with 80.9%. Warner was, by all measures, the most popular politician in Virginia. All that changed in 1996 when Warner faced a very different type of Democratic contender a wealthy young tech entrepreneur named Mark Warner. It soon became apparent that John Warner faced a more serious challenge than he ever had before. In early October, his campaign went on the attack. The typical Republican playbook then was the same as it is now to portray the Democratic candidate as dangerously liberal. In some ways, that was easier to do then than it is now because back then Virginia still voted reliably Republican in presidential elections. Successful Democrats then had to be careful about what they said and how they said it. They certainly denied being liberals, insisting they were merely moderates. Whether that was true or not is beside the point today; that was just the political environment at the time. Republicans had one advantage in 1996: A Democrat, Bill Clinton, was president, and so Republicans were keen to tie Virginia Democrats to him. As a lifelong Virginian, I believe that Virginia is truly a leader in our country. However, I have also seen how politicians have failed their constituents when they prioritize special interest groups and lose focus on the struggles of everyday Virginians. This is why I support Jennifer Carroll Foy. Carroll Foy will advocate for Virginians and move us toward a brighter future as governor. Carroll Foy understands our concerns because shes lived them herself. Her experiences growing up in Petersburg, and as a graduate of VMI, public defender and working mother help her to know what Virginians truly need. As a Delegate, Carroll Foy proved her ability to lead by advancing the Equal Rights Amendment, expanding Medicaid, and supporting pro-environment and pro-labor legislation. As governor, she will raise teacher pay, expand broadband access, support unions and small businesses, and advocate for racial justice. Carroll Foy will lift all Virginians and support communities around the Commonwealth that are too often underrepresented and underserved. Young leadership in government is not something we see very often. Especially not in Southwest Virginia. My name is Flannery McNair. Im a recent graduate of Blacksburg High School and will be attending Carnegie Mellon University this fall. In my time in Montgomery County Public Schools, I have attended several protests, joined activist organizations, and spoken at school board meetings on issues I think are pertinent to students. At nearly all of these events, my peers and I have experienced less than empathetic reactions from our leaders. We have been placated and patronized with solutions that are temporary or with committees that do nothing, as if once brushed off we will stop paying attention. Liam Watson is a candidate who will take us seriously. As the youngest candidate to ever run for the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors and someone who Ive spoken to about issues concerning young people, I am sure that Liam will listen to us all. He will listen to those who are most directly impacted by the decisions made regarding education: students and teachers. He will not patronize us, nor will he brush us off with stopgap solutions that are no better than a band-aid on deep and systemic problems. Recently the Bristol Herald Courier printed an editorial from the Roanoke Times titled Biden Seems to go All-in on Appalachian Renewal. The article pointed out how little the previous administrations and state legislatures have done to help with the loss of jobs in SW Virginia. So, it was with real shock that after digging into the Biden Infrastructure Plan that the writers discovered a significant amount of money that would be available to SW Virginia. $16 billion dollars is specifically earmarked for coal country and would be used for cleaning up abandoned mine sites that would have the effect of creating new sites for industry in a topographically challenged part of the country. Another $14 billion would be allocated to distressed and disadvantaged communities Appalachia is specifically mentioned. Finally, the Biden administration has identified more than $38 billion in existing resources (described as money left on the table from the last administration that could be accessed by energy communities for infrastructure, environmental remediation, union job creation, and community revitalization efforts what???). The US has threatened to slap tariffs on $2bn worth of goods from the UK and five other countries as they argue about how to tax technology companies, a move that risks reigniting transatlantic trade wars unless parties resolve thorny talks over a broader international tax agreement. The office of the US trade representative said it was imposing but immediately suspending for six months the tariffs on Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the UK as it wrapped up a series of investigations over the way the countries tax US tech giants. The announcement comes as wealthy countries are locked in intense negotiations to hammer out an update to the international tax regime. The Biden administration has proposed giving advanced economies powers to raise corporate tax from US tech companies and other large multinationals, while instituting a global minimum corporate tax. The advanced economies of the G7 are close to reaching agreement after progress in recent weeks, with finance ministers due to meet in London to discuss a possible deal on Friday. A G7 pact would be a stepping stone towards a deal in the formal negotiations taking place at the OECD in Paris and directed by the wider G20 countries. Governments introducing digital services levies have argued that tech companies pay too little tax on the profits they make in many countries, partly because they record them in low-tax jurisdictions such as Ireland. Washington has said the taxes are unfair because they disproportionately affect US companies. Katherine Tai, the US trade representative, said the six-month suspension of the tariffs would allow more time for international tax talks to continue, but it would allow Washington to maintain the option of imposing tariffs . . . if warranted in the future. The Biden administration in April offered a fresh proposal to overhaul the international tax system in an attempt to break the impasse in the tax talks being held at the OECD. The US proposal would apply taxes to the global profits of the very largest companies, including big US technology groups, regardless of their physical presence in a given country. It also sought a minimum global corporate tax rate of 21 per cent, although the US has recently said it would accept a 15 per cent minimum. A Spanish budget ministry official emphasised common ground with Washington rather than the threat of tariffs. Madrid has been saying for months that it wants and is working towards an international agreement on digital tax by the summer. The fact that the US has suspended the tariff increase reflects its willingness to agree a deal on international taxation, the ministry official said. We celebrate the fact that the Biden administration is committed to tax co-operation and that it has aligned itself with positions that the Spanish government has been defending for years, such as establishing a minimum rate in corporate tax. The UK would be worst-hit by the new tariffs if an agreement to dissolve them is not reached, with British exports to the US worth $887m a year saddled with levies of 25 per cent. The goods to be targeted include perfumes, make-up, clothes, jewellery and video games. The US has already suspended tariffs of 25 per cent on $1.3bn worth of French handbags and cosmetics, having at first threatened to hit champagne and cheeses with import tariffs of 100 per cent. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. I believe in a South Carolina where the governor has the courage to lead, the compassion to feel empathy for others, a connection to the people she represents, the character to do the right thing simply because its the right thing, and the conviction to stand, even if she has to stand alone, McLeod said. McLeod is the first African American woman to seek the office of governor in South Carolina, according to University of South Carolina professor Bobby Donaldson. If elected, she would be the first African American female to serve as the governor of a state. However, Georgias Stacey Abrams nearly won in 2018. Abrams has yet to formally concede to Republican Brian Kemp in the race but did end her campaign in mid-November 2018. McLeod would also be the first African American to serve as governor of South Carolina and the second woman Republican Nikki Haley served from 2011 until 2017 to serve in the role. I want to be the person that is running not because Im a woman, and not because Im Black, but because I am so connected to and so much like the people that I represent, McLeod told the Associated Press before the launch of her campaign. Its a tremendous responsibility, but its one that Im excited about. The editorial regarding Gov. Larry Hogans vetoes (Gov. Hogans vetoes: all about political self-interest, June 1) was exactly on-point. I particularly appreciated the fact that there were not just his vetoes, but also the some 400 bills that will become law without his signature. Included with those are four bills designed to address the egregious health-related inequities that have festered for years and are now, with the pandemic, all too apparent. If the governor were actually concerned about the health and well-being of all Marylanders, one might think he would take pride in attaching his name to these important efforts. The fact that he isnt comes as no surprise to those who have been working for years on health equity issues. Notable new polling data on death penalty from Pew Research Center | Main | Prosecutors and Politics Project releases amazing "Prosecutor Lobbying in the States, 2015-2018" June 3, 2021 In 6-3 opinion for (police officer) defendant, SCOTUS limits reach of federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act The Supreme Court issued one opinion this morning, and it is an interesting criminal law decision with an interesting divide of Justices limiting the reach of a notable federal criminal statute. The majority opinion in Van Buren v. US, No. 19783 (S. Ct. June 3, 2021) (available here), is authored by Justice Barrett and it starts and ends this way: Nathan Van Buren, a former police sergeant, ran a license-plate search in a law enforcement computer database in exchange for money. Van Burens conduct plainly flouted his departments policy, which authorized him to obtain database information only for law enforcement purposes. We must decide whether Van Buren also violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 (CFAA), which makes it illegal to access a computer with authorization and to use such access to obtain or alter information in the computer that the accesser is not entitled so to obtain or alter. He did not. This provision covers those who obtain information from particular areas in the computer such as files, folders, or databases to which their computer access does not extend. It does not cover those who, like Van Buren, have improper motives for obtaining information that is otherwise available to them.... In sum, an individual exceeds authorized access when he accesses a computer with authorization but then obtains information located in particular areas of the computer such as files, folders, or databases that are off limits to him. The parties agree that Van Buren accessed the law enforcement database system with authorization. The only question is whether Van Buren could use the system to retrieve license-plate information. Both sides agree that he could. Van Buren accordingly did not excee[d] authorized access to the database, as the CFAA defines that phrase, even though he obtained information from the database for an improper purpose. We therefore reverse the contrary judgment of the Eleventh Circuit and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Justice Thomas authored a dissent joined by the Chief Justice and Justice Alito. It starts this way: Both the common law and statutory law have long punished those who exceed the scope of consent when using property that belongs to others. A valet, for example, may take possession of a persons car to park it, but he cannot take it for a joyride. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act extends that principle to computers and information. The Act prohibits exceeding the scope of consent when using a computer that belongs to another person. Specifically, it punishes anyone who intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or exceeds authorized access, and thereby obtains information from that computer. 18 U.S.C. 1030(a)(2). As a police officer, Nathan Van Buren had permission to retrieve license-plate information from a government database, but only for law enforcement purposes. Van Buren disregarded this limitation when, in exchange for several thousand dollars, he used the database in an attempt to unmask a potential undercover officer. The question here is straightforward: Would an ordinary reader of the English language understand Van Buren to have exceed[ed] authorized access to the database when he used it under circumstances that were expressly forbidden? In my view, the answer is yes. The necessary precondition that permitted him to obtain that data was absent. The Court does not dispute that the phrase exceeds authorized access readily encompasses Van Burens conduct. It notes, instead, that the statute includes a definition for that phrase and that we must follow that definition, even if it varies from a terms ordinary meaning. Tanzin v. Tanvir, 592 U.S. ___, ___ (2020) (slip op., at 3) (internal quotation marks omitted). The problem for the majority view, however, is that the text, ordinary principles of property law, and statutory history establish that the definitional provision is quite consistent with the term it defines. I am pretty sure that this is the first (non-unanimous) opinion in which all the Trump-appointed Justices joined with all the Justices appointed by Democratic presidents, and I am very sure that I am hopeful that this will not be the only case in which these Justices combine to limit the application of questionable criminal laws and doctrines. Interesting times. UPDATE: I see Kent Scheidegger at Crime & Consequences has this age-related take on the alliances of the Justices in this Van Buren: For those who like to categorize Justices and tally statistics, it may (or may not) be noteworthy that the six Justices appointed by Republican Presidents split by age, with the three younger ones supporting the narrower interpretation of this criminal law. There is perhaps a more libertarian streak in the more junior Justices and more wariness of overcriminalization. June 3, 2021 at 10:36 AM | Permalink Comments The split is fairly understandable. Thomas and Alito are basically "High Federalists" and will hold to the conservative interpretation of criminal law often in divided cases. Gorsuch will at times have "liberal" results in such cases. Kavanaugh and Barrett are likely swing votes. The slight surprise is Roberts, who tends to avoid a dissent, especially if the "swing" votes are not involved or it isn't something he is particularly concerned about such as his dissent in the standing case. The citation to the statutory guide that is co-authored by Scalia is almost standard now. How many times have it been cited? Posted by: Joe | Jun 3, 2021 10:52:39 AM This case reminds me of the 2011 incident involving Florida Highway Patrol Officer Donna "Jane" Watts, who pulled over a Miami police officer speeding (120 m.p.h.) in an unmarked police cruiser, without lights or siren activated, because he was late for his second, off-duty job. As a famous dash cam video shows, she arrested him at gunpoint, in uniform, at the side of the road, handcuffed him and took his service pistol. That Miami officer subsequently lost his job. Jane then became a subject of harassment for several years. Eventually, she discovered that 88 other law enforcement officers from 25 jurisdictions had illegally accessed her Driver's License and other personal information (including her home address) without a legitimate law enforcement purpose. She eventually sued 88 defendants, and all but 5 Miami police officers paid settlements for violating her right to privacy. The 5 Miami officers won at trial, saying that they thought she was a dangerous officer, because she had arrested another uniformed officer at gunpoint for speeding, so they wanted to see her picture and know what she looked like, in case they ever encountered her. Notably, several of those Miami officers continued to access Jane's personal information, even after they had already seen her picture from prior computer searches. Jane had to finish her time as a police officer on desk duty (until she retired) because of concern that other officers would not back her up in dangerous situations in the field while on patrol duty. Upon retirement, she also moved several hundred miles (from the Ft. Lauderdale area) to a new home on the panhandle of Florida. Posted by: Jim Gormley | Jun 3, 2021 11:25:53 AM It's a good result for sure. An even better result would have been Prof. Kerr's "code-based" approach, although I have some minor quibbles with that as well. But I think it's about the best anyone can hope for given that the Justices and even their clerks will never be inclined to delve into the deepest technical weeds. In one way, the opinion assignment isn't all that shocking, because Barrett is known to be, or at least is a self-professed (she was formerly a law prof, get it? ha!), statutory-construction buff. Plus, while it's a very important case in terms of practical consequences, it doesn't involve sexy constitutional issues and/or politically-charged circumstances. But I was surprised in one sense because at oral argument, her questions seemed to show very little grasp of the key issues. Maybe that just means you can't parse many tea leaves from the questioning. That said, Van Buren's underlying conduct was still reprehensible and I do hope that he somehow receives appropriate punishment. He did lose his job at least. Posted by: hardreaders | Jun 3, 2021 12:19:12 PM Also, LGM blog just did a feature on Martin Van Buren the other day, so I feel like they sort of called this one, albeit unknowingly. Posted by: hardreaders | Jun 3, 2021 1:53:45 PM The Seinfeld episode "The Van Buren Boys" episode REALLY was ahead of the curve on this one. The use of a police officer abusing his access to the computer database for personal gain as an avenue to provide a result that might later on help more sympathetic defendants is a tad ironic. But, that is how these things often work. Trivia note -- this appears to be the first opinion where Justice Breyer was in the majority. In theory, if Roberts, Thomas and Breyer was in the dissent, ALITO would get to assign a case. That would be an interesting case. Posted by: Joe | Jun 3, 2021 2:12:13 PM (that is, Breyer was the most senior justice and got to assign the opinion; he sorta was earlier but it was only a plurality opinion) Thanks to HR for the link on the other thread. Posted by: Joe | Jun 3, 2021 2:14:22 PM It will be interesting to see what if any influence this opinion has on state courts. Many states also have anti-hacking statutes which are similar to, but not exactly the same as, the federal statute. Technically, they are free to interpret their statutes differently (especially if the language is different), but I am sure that attorneys will cite to this case as persuasive authority for a narrow read of those statutes. Additionally, some states have specific statutes on misuse of criminal history information or restricting government employees from using information gained on the job for personal purposes. I don't know if Georgia does, but those could be alternative charges if the local prosecutor wanted to pursue this matter further. Posted by: tmm | Jun 4, 2021 10:32:06 AM The C&C piece has this bit: "The essence of what he did wrong was use law enforcement information for private gain. It would have been just as wrong if he had taken the information in hard copy out of a file cabinet." That sort of misses the point of the law, which is specifically concerned about computer crimes. People who break the specific law, applying how the majority defines it, will regularly do so for reasons that would be criminal for other reasons too. But, "Computer Fraud and Abuse" is specifically problematic too on its own. On that front, especially given the Supreme Court's concerns over the years about broad federal laws (even if here that was allegedly but "icing on the cake" and statutory interpretation did the trick), Congress and the states might want to be careful about crafting such laws. For instance, a bit more specifics would help dealing with cases like this without, e.g., the Facebook profile scenario and other hypos, also being covered. [For instance, perhaps misuse of computers for financial gain or whatever.] Posted by: Joe | Jun 4, 2021 11:48:00 AM Post a comment Fascinating split Third Circuit ruling on federal drug distribution prohibition (and death resulting 20-year mandatory minimum) | Main | Second Capitol rioter reaches plea deal with reported guideline range of 15 to 21 months in prison June 2, 2021 In latest sentencing filings, Derek Chauvin requests probation while prosecutors ask for him to get 30 years in prison As detailed in this CBS News piece, the parties in the case of Minnesota v. Chauvin are making very different sentencing requests: Derek Chauvin asked a judge to sentence him to a term of probation or a shorter prison term than suggested by Minnesota guidelines in a sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday. The memo cites Chauvin's lack of previous criminal history, his previous work as a police officer and the risk he could be victimized in prison as factors the judge should consider as he weighs a sentence. But in another memorandum filed Wednesday, prosecutors asked for a sentence of 30 years for the convicted former Minneapolis officer, a term they said would "properly account for the profound impact of [Chauvin's] conduct on the victim, the victim's family, and the community."... Last month, Judge Peter Cahill found "aggravating factors" exist that allow for him to sentence Chauvin to a term longer than the suggested 15 years. Cahill agreed with prosecutors that four such factors exist: that Chauvin committed a crime in front of a child, that Chauvin acted with particular cruelty, that he acted as part of a group, and that he abused his position of trust and authority as a police officer. Cahill found that Chauvin acted with particular cruelty because he killed Floyd slowly despite Floyd's pleas that he couldn't breathe. Floyd was "begging for his life and obviously terrified by the knowledge that he was likely to die" but Chauvin "objectively remained indifferent to Floyd's pleas," Cahill wrote. Wednesday, prosecutors said the aggravating factors support their recommendation of double the 15-year upper end of the sentencing range, or 30 years. Chauvin, they said, "brutally murdered Mr. Floyd, abusing the authority conferred by his badge." "His actions traumatized Mr. Floyd's family, the bystanders who watched Mr. Floyd die, and the community. And his conduct shocked the Nation's conscience," the prosecution's memo read. "No sentence can undo the damage [Chauvin's] actions have inflicted. But the sentence the Court imposes must hold [Chauvin] fully accountable for his reprehensible conduct." But in the defense memo, Chauvin's attorney Eric Nelson asked Cahill to discount his finding that aggravating factors apply, and rule instead that mitigating factors allow either for a term of probation or a shorter sentence than guidelines suggest. Nelson asked the judge to "look beyond" his findings to Chauvin's "background, his lack of criminal history, his amenability to probation, to the unusual facts of this case, and to his being a product of a 'broken' system." Nelson said that Chauvin has been "painted as a dangerous man," but argued that "behind the politics, Mr. Chauvin is still a human being." He cited Chauvin's 19-year history with the Minneapolis police department, several on-the-job commendations and the support of his family and friends. "In spite of his mistakes, Mr. Chauvin has demonstrated that he has a capacity for good and that he has the discipline to consistently work toward worthwhile goals," the memo reads. The defense memo says Chauvin, 44, has been diagnosed with heart damage and that he may be likely to die at a younger age like other ex-law enforcement officers. It also says Chauvin may be more likely to be victimized in prison because he was convicted as a police officer, pointing to the fact that he is being segregated from the general prison population before his sentencing over safety concerns. It also says Chauvin has no previous criminal convictions and complied with pre-trial release conditions and court procedures. "Throughout these proceedings, and in the face of unparalleled public scorn and scrutiny, Mr. Chauvin has been very respectful to the judicial process, the Court, and the State," the memo said. These new sentencing filings are available at these links: Prior related posts: June 2, 2021 at 06:39 PM | Permalink Comments Probation? So generous! I saw references to a couple plea deals for the 1/6 defendants. Posted by: Joe | Jun 2, 2021 9:37:36 PM Because of the public nature of this homicide by a police officer, I don't see him getting anything less than 15 years in prison. He slowly killed a handcuffed black man in public while the man was handcuffed behind his back and laying on the ground. It is a heinous and reprehensible crime. That said, I doubt that Minnesota can safely keep this former police officer in its prison system. I see them doing something that is occasionally done, but that the public has almost no awareness of: the various states and the Federal BOP sometimes swap off inmates with one another that they cannot or do not want to keep in their own prison systems. One example is North Dakota inmate Donald Lee McNair, who was swapped off to the Feds after he twice escaped from the North Dakota state penitentiary. McNair is serving 2 life sentences, for murder and attempted murder during a burglary. In April 2006, he became the first inmate to escape from a Federal maximum security prison (in Pollock, Louisiana). Upon being recaptured, he is now incarcerated at the federal "Supermax" prison (ADX) in Colorado. Another example is former Galveston, Texas Federal Judge Samuel B. Kent, who was convicted of Federal crimes and eventually resigned his Judgeship, after Congress commenced impeachment proceedings. The BOP eventually decided that they could not properly protect Mr. Kent, so the BOP swapped him off to the Florida Department of Corrections, where he served his sentence in solitary confinement, in protective custody in a Florida prison (where there is no air conditioning!). I expect Minnesota to swap off the former police officer to the Feds or to another state's prison system. A favorite for swapping off is North Dakota, because the population of their penitentiary is only about 600 inmates and 2/3 of them are Native American Indians from reservations. Posted by: Jim Gormley | Jun 3, 2021 8:49:08 AM Per a reference, be interested if there are any studies of police in prison. Posted by: Joe | Jun 3, 2021 11:00:53 AM Joe: https://www.vice.com/en/article/4adxd9/how-former-police-officers-are-treated-in-prison Posted by: hardreaders | Jun 3, 2021 12:40:47 PM Joe: Take a look at the article, "Ex-cops who end up in prison" (8/31/2020), which can be viewed at www.ranker.com/list/ex-cops-in-prison/ranker-crime. There is also an interesting 2016 "Washington Post" article, "Study Finds Police Officers Arrested 1,100 Times Per Year, 3 a Day", which is viewed at washingtonpost.com/news/2016/06/22. There are many good stories about cops who end up in jail and prison, some for serious crimes and others for stupidity. One former Sheriff out West even served 30 days in the county jail which had been named for him! Posted by: Jim Gormley | Jun 3, 2021 3:43:01 PM Thanks for the links. Posted by: Joe | Jun 3, 2021 4:22:37 PM The prosecutors deserve 30 years in prison for their disgraceful manipulation and collusion in regard to the autopsy and their over charging. They have damaged US Law beyond its ability to recover and should pay a stiff penalty. Posted by: restless94110 | Jun 3, 2021 10:50:05 PM Post a comment Second Capitol rioter reaches plea deal with reported guideline range of 15 to 21 months in prison | Main | In 6-3 opinion for (police officer) defendant, SCOTUS limits reach of federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act The Pew Research Center has just reported its latest polling on the death penalty in this extended online report titled, "Most Americans Favor the Death Penalty Despite Concerns About Its Administration." Here are some excerpts: [T]he death penalty for people convicted of murder continues to draw support from a majority of Americans despite widespread doubts about its administration, fairness and whether it deters serious crimes. More Americans favor than oppose the death penalty: 60% of U.S. adults favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder, including 27% who strongly favor it. About four-in-ten (39%) oppose the death penalty, with 15% strongly opposed, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. The survey, conducted April 5-11 among 5,109 U.S. adults on the Centers American Trends Panel, finds that support for the death penalty is 5 percentage points lower than it was in August 2020, when 65% said they favored the death penalty for people convicted of murder. While public support for the death penalty has changed only modestly in recent years, support for the death penalty declined substantially between the late 1990s and the 2010s. (See Death penalty draws more Americans support online than in telephone surveys for more on long-term measures and the challenge of comparing views across different survey modes.) Large shares of Americans express concerns over how the death penalty is administered and are skeptical about whether it deters people from committing serious crimes. Nearly eight-in-ten (78%) say there is some risk that an innocent person will be put to death, while only 21% think there are adequate safeguards in place to prevent that from happening. Only 30% of death penalty supporters and just 6% of opponents say adequate safeguards exist to prevent innocent people from being executed. A majority of Americans (56%) say Black people are more likely than White people to be sentenced to the death penalty for being convicted of serious crimes. This view is particularly widespread among Black adults: 85% of Black adults say Black people are more likely than Whites to receive the death penalty for being convicted of similar crimes (61% of Hispanic adults and 49% of White adults say this). Moreover, more than six-in-ten Americans (63%), including about half of death penalty supporters (48%), say the death penalty does not deter people from committing serious crimes. Yet support for the death penalty is strongly associated with a belief that when someone commits murder, the death penalty is morally justified. Among the public overall, 64% say the death penalty is morally justified in cases of murder, while 33% say it is not justified. An overwhelming share of death penalty supporters (90%) say it is morally justified under such circumstances, compared with 25% of death penalty opponents. Partisanship continues to be a major factor in support for the death penalty and opinions about its administration. Just over three-quarters of Republicans and independents who lean toward the Republican Party (77%) say they favor the death penalty for persons convicted of murder, including 40% who strongly favor it. Democrats and Democratic leaners are more divided on this issue: 46% favor the death penalty, while 53% are opposed. About a quarter of Democrats (23%) strongly oppose the death penalty, compared with 17% who strongly favor it. As in the past, support for the death penalty differs across racial and ethnic groups. Majorities of White (63%), Asian (63%) and Hispanic adults (56%) favor the death penalty for persons convicted of murder. Black adults are evenly divided: 49% favor the death penalty, while an identical share oppose it. Support for the death penalty also varies across age groups. About half of those ages 18 to 29 (51%) favor the death penalty, compared with about six-in-ten adults ages 30 to 49 (58%) and those 65 and older (60%). Adults ages 50 to 64 are most supportive of the death penalty, with 69% in favor. There are differences in attitudes by education, as well. Nearly seven-in-ten adults (68%) who have not attended college favor the death penalty, as do 63% of those who have some college experience but no degree. About half of those with four-year undergraduate degrees but no postgraduate experience (49%) support the death penalty. Among those with postgraduate degrees, a larger share say they oppose (55%) than favor (44%) the death penalty. In 6-3 opinion for (police officer) defendant, SCOTUS limits reach of federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act | Main | Split Sixth Circuit panel further muddles what grounds can contribute to basis for sentence reduction under 3582(c)(1)(a) The Prosecutors and Politics Project, a research initiative at the University of North Carolina School of Law, has just published this remarkable new report titled "Prosecutor Lobbying in the States, 2015-2018." Here are brief excerpts from the report's extended executive summary (which everyone should read in full): American prosecutors are active lobbyists who routinely support making the criminal law harsher. During the years 2015 to 2018, state and local prosecutors were involved in more than 25% of all criminal-justice-related bills introduced in the 50 state legislatures. Prosecutors were nearly twice as likely to lobby in favor of a law that created a new crime or otherwise increased the scope of criminal law than a law that would create a defense, decriminalize conduct, or otherwise narrow the scope of criminal law. And when state prosecutors lobbied in favor of a bill, it was more than twice as likely to pass than an average bill. Prosecutors appeared to have more success when they lobbied in favor of a bill than when they opposed a bill. Although bills with prosecutor support were twice as likely to pass, prosecutor opposition to a bill did not reduce its likelihood of passing. Notably, prosecutors were more successful when they supported criminal justice reform bills than when they supported traditional law-and-order bills. Approximately 60% of bills that narrowed the scope of criminal law and 55% of bills that decreased punishment passed when supported by prosecutors. In contrast, when prosecutors supported bills that increased the scope of criminal law, only 40% of those bills passed; and bills that increased punishments did not fare much better, passing only 42% of the time. More than 22,000 criminal law and criminal justice bills were introduced in the 50 state legislatures during the four-year period from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2018. The number of bills introduced varied wildly by state. The most bills (1536) were introduced in New York; the fewest bills (80) were introduced in Alaska. The median state introduced 296 bills.... Overall, state lawmakers were more likely to introduce bills that made the criminal justice system harsher than bills that made the law more lenient. More 40% of the bills introduced either increased the scope of criminal law or increased the sentencing range. In contrast, only 11% of bills narrowed the scope of criminal law or decreased punishment. Many criminal justice bills dealt with procedural issues. 35% of bills proposed changes in procedural limits or altered the rights, responsibilities, or liabilities of criminal justice actors. And less than 5% of bills dealt with funding issues..... Some prosecutor lobbying comes from specific prosecutor offices. An individual elected prosecutor or an employee in her office may choose to testify in favor or against a bill. The same is true for state attorneys general some state AGs were active lobbyists. But in many states the prosecutor lobbying was more coordinated. Most states have one or more organizations often called associations or councils that exist in part to lobby the state legislature. Some of these organizations are private non-profit corporations; others were created by statute. The organizations also serve other, non-lobbying purposes, such as providing training materials to local prosecutor offices or appointing members to serve on statewide commissions. The existence of these state organizations did not necessarily supplant the lobbying of individual prosecutors or the state AG. And, from time to time, the various prosecutors or their organizations took inconsistent positions on bills. When that occurred, we treated the bill as having both been supported and opposed by prosecutors. In latest sentencing filings, Derek Chauvin requests probation while prosecutors ask for him to get 30 years in prison | Main | Notable new polling data on death penalty from Pew Research Center June 2, 2021 Second Capitol rioter reaches plea deal with reported guideline range of 15 to 21 months in prison As reported in this Politico piece, a "38-year-old man from Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday became only the second defendant charged in relation to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot to plead guilty to obstructing Congress certification of the 2020 election results an agreement that could shed light on the governments strategy for prosecuting the hundreds of other alleged perpetrators of the insurrection." Here is more: In a virtual plea hearing before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, prosecutors told Judge Randolph Moss they would drop the four misdemeanor charges against Paul Allard Hodgkins in exchange for the defendants guilty plea on the obstruction charge, his only felony count, which carries a statutory maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison. However, defendants are typically sentenced in accordance with federal sentencing guidelines, and in most cases especially for defendants with little or no criminal record those standards call for sentences far shorter than the maximum. Hodgkins, who has no prior criminal convictions, is tentatively scheduled to be sentenced on July 19. On Wednesday, attorneys for both the defense and the prosecution said the guidelines were likely to call for a 15- to 21-month sentence for Hodgkins. Moss would ultimately be free to impose a shorter or longer sentence, and Hodgkins attorney said he would likely argue for less time behind bars for his client. The guidelines also call for a fine of between $7,500 and $75,000 for the obstruction charge in addition to the $2,000 in restitution Moss said had been calculated as Hodgkins share of the roughly $1.5 million worth of damage done to the Capitol during the riot. Although more than 450 people have been charged in relation to the storming of the Capitol, the only other defendant to accept a plea deal was Jon Schaffer, a 52-year-old man from Columbus, Ind., who pleaded guilty last month to two counts: obstruction of Congress and entering a Secret Service-restricted area with a deadly or dangerous weapon.... It is not clear, however, what information Hodgkins could offer prosecutors as part of his plea deal, and there was no discussion at the hearing about a cooperation aspect to his agreement. But taken together, Schaffer and Hodgkins pleas seemingly indicate that prosecutors will likely insist on a felony obstruction plea as the minimum plea deal for many defendants. This official DOJ press release, headed "Man Pleads Guilty to Obstruction of an Official Proceeding for Breaching U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6," provides some more details about the defendant's offense conduct: According to court documents, Paul Hodgkins, 38, of Tampa, Florida, entered the U.S. Capitol building at approximately 2:50 p.m. on Jan. 6. Around 3 p.m., Hodgkins entered the Senate chamber, walked among the desks, and then removed eye goggles. He took a selfie-style photograph with his cell phone and walked down the Senate well where, a few feet away, several individuals were shouting, praying and cheering using a bullhorn. Hodgkins walked toward the individuals and remained standing with them while they continued commanding the attention of others. At approximately 3:15 p.m., Hodgkins exited the Senate chamber and the U.S. Capitol Building. Prior related posts: June 2, 2021 at 11:26 PM | Permalink Comments This makes a mockery of US Law before the entire world. To insist on a felony plea? After months of torture in solitary? How on Earth could anyone be in favour of this horrible disgrace? Utterly despicable. Posted by: restless94110 | Jun 3, 2021 10:45:57 PM Post a comment By David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) -Some of the world's richest nations are within touching distance of a historic deal to close the net on large companies which do not pay their fair share of tax, France and Germany said on Friday after a day of talks in London. Finance ministers from the Group of Seven rich nations are meeting in person for the first time since the start of the COVID pandemic, after U.S. President Joe Biden's administration gave fresh impetus to stalled global tax talks this year. Rich nations have struggled for years to agree a way to raise more tax from large multinationals such as Google, Amazon and Facebook, which often book profits in jurisdictions where they pay little or no tax. "We are just one millimetre away from a historic agreement," French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told the BBC. German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said he was "absolutely confident" that there would be an agreement by the time the meeting finishes on Saturday. "We will have an agreement which will really change the world," he told the BBC. A deal could raise tens of billions of dollars for governments at a time when coffers are empty after the coronavirus pandemic. But major disagreements do remain on both the minimum rate at which companies should be taxed, and on how the rules will be drawn up to ensure that very large companies with lower profit margins, such as Amazon, face higher taxes. The United States has proposed a minimum global corporation tax rate of 15%, above the level in countries such as Ireland but below the lowest level in the G7. Le Maire said this represented "only a starting point". "We need something that is credible," he added. "We are still working on this very tricky point of the rate." Britain said talks on tax policy had been productive but differences remained. Discussions will continue over dinner. Due to COVID restrictions, ministerial delegations have been cut down. Seating plans at the ornate 19th century mansion Lancaster House have been redesigned with the help of health officials, and British finance minister Rishi Sunak greeted leaders by bumping elbows, not shaking hands Story continues Sunak - who has stressed the importance of face-to-face meetings for reaching agreement - told ministers earlier that the rest of the world was watching for progress. "We cannot continue to rely on a tax system that was largely designed in the 1920s," he said. Le Maire said a deal would send an important signal that the G7 - the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada - could still be influential. Any deal would still need much wider global buy-in, at a meeting of the G20 in Venice in July. "It's going to go right to the wire," one source close to the talks said. "The United States are holding to their position, as are we." Japan's finance minister Taro Aso said on Monday that he did not expect agreement this week on a specific minimum tax rate. The U.S. Treasury expects a fuller agreement when Biden and other heads of government meet in England on June 11-13. HEADLINE RATE Biden had been planning to raise the U.S. domestic corporate tax headline rate to as high as 28%. But on Thursday he offered to keep the rate unchanged at 21% but proposed a 15% tax floor after deductions and credits in a bid to gain support from Republicans for new spending measures. But just as important for Britain and many other countries is that large multinationals pay more tax where they make their sales - not just where they book profits, or locate their headquarters. "Their business model gives them chances to avoid taxes ... much more than other companies," Scholz said. The United States wants an end to the digital services taxes which Britain, France and Italy have levied, and which it views as unfairly targeting U.S. tech giants for tax practices that European companies also use. British, Italian and Spanish fashion, cosmetics and luxury goods exports to the United States will be among those facing new 25% tariffs later this year if there is no compromise. The U.S. has proposed levying the new global minimum tax only on the world's 100 largest and most profitable companies. Britain, Germany and France are open to this approach but want to ensure companies such as Amazon - which has lower profit margins than other tech firms - do not escape the net. (Additional reporting by William James and Leigh Thomas; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Mike Harrison and Giles Elgood) iGlobe Platinum Fund III, will back 15 to 20 startups across the U.S., Europe and Southeast Asia to fund their growth over the next three years. (PHOTO: Getty) By Yoolim Lee (Bloomberg) Singapores iGlobe Partners closed its latest venture-capital fund, which plans to invest US$100 million in startups focusing on synthetic biology, fintech and technologies for smart cities. The firms fourth fund, iGlobe Platinum Fund III, will back 15 to 20 startups across the U.S., Europe and Southeast Asia to fund their growth over the next three years, according to a statement from the company on Thursday. iGlobe, with a history of more than two decades, is betting on emerging trends in health care and technology to fuel its growth. The new fund, which was oversubscribed, will back startups including cancer diagnostic service C2i Genomics Inc. and personal finance startup NerdWallet Inc. in the U.S. as well as Singapore-based Docquity, a mobile app for doctors, and Tonik, a digital bank in the Philippines. We focus on cross-border deep tech, which other people cant easily copy, iGlobe founder Koh Soo Boon said in an interview. We are in the business of building companies, rather than just making a quick buck. Koh Soo Boon, founder and managing partner of iGlobe Partners Ltd., at the company's office in Singapore, on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020. Koh's firm, with a cadre of ambitious female executives, is raising a fourth fund, with a targeted $100 million to back synthetic biology, financial technology and tools that aid digital transformation in smart cities. Koh started iGlobe in Silicon Valley in 1999 and moved its headquarters to her native Singapore a decade later. The firm has scored big with Mountain View, California-based Matterport Inc., which helps consumers visit properties and shopping malls virtually and is going public in a $2.9 billion deal. IGlobe joined Matterports Series A fundraising and three subsequent rounds. Read a profile of IGlobe founder Koh Soo Boon Other iGlobe portfolio companies including Ginkgo Bioworks Inc., Hippo Enterprises Inc. and NerdWallet are also planning to go public in the U.S. this year, allowing the firm to deliver strong returns, according to Koh. iGlobes future investments could include womens health care, mental health care and 3D printing startups, she said. Story continues iGlobe Platinum Fund I has delivered 13 times capital return with a net internal rate of return of 33%, making it one of the top 5% of VC funds launched in 2010 globally, according to the company. iGlobe is often the sole investor from Asia in the investment deals it is involved in, Managing Partner Yoke Sin Chong said in the statement. Our global network allows us to facilitate as the bridge between the Western and Asian startup ecosystems. 2021 Bloomberg L.P. As of June 2 afternoon, the fund had received VND44 billion (US$1.91 million) from donors. (Photo: VNA) Managed by the Ministry of Finance, the not-for-profit fund will use the mobilised capital resources for right purposes and in line with legal regulations, ensuring publicity, transparency and efficiency. It is subject to the examination, inspection, and auditing by relevant State agencies and to the supervision by the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the community. The board is headed by Nguyen Quang Vinh, Deputy General Director of the State Treasury of Vietnam.The Prime Minister on May 26 issued a decision on the establishment of the Covid-19 vaccine fund.The fund is set up to receive, manage, and use voluntary financial and vaccine donations and assistance from domestic and foreign organisations and individuals, along with other legal sources, for the Covid-19 vaccine procurement and import, research and production in the country, and the provision of vaccines for people.The finance ministry said as of June 2 afternoon, the fund had received VND44 billion (US$1.91 million) from donors, which was channeled through the State Treasury and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV). Should your Administration continue down this path without proper consideration for the negative impacts to Marylanders, our chamber will be forced to consider all other tools at our disposal to ensure our States prosperity, Ferguson wrote in a letter on Wednesday along with Sen. Kathy Klausmeier, a Baltimore County Democrat who co-chairs a General Assembly unemployment committee. In the days before the ceremony, Suchan said she reviewed the speech and asked Kemter to remove certain portions. Kemter said he didn't see the suggested changes in time to rewrite the speech and talked with a Hudson public official who told him not to change it. Kemter said he was disappointed that the organizers silenced two minutes of his 11-minute speech, during which he talked about how former slaves and freed Black men exhumed the remains of more than 200 Union soldiers from a mass grave in Charleston, South Carolina, and gave them a proper burial. This is not the same country I fought for, said Kemter, who spent 30 years in the Army and served in the Persian Gulf War. The decision to turn off the audio disrespected Kemter and all veterans, Hudson's mayor and City Council said in a statement, which also said the city is committed to addressing issues of systemic racism and intolerance. Veterans have done everything we have asked of them during their service to this country, and this tarnished what should have been a celebration of their service, the statement said. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The prosecutor said Edwards made complaints internally, but her claims were not substantiated and she then leaked materials that jeopardized investigations ranging from terrorism to public corruption. She said her leaks also had a chilling effect on the financial sector's willingness to comply with disclosure requirements. Ravener said Edwards hoped to leverage her claims into a promotion. As he announced the sentence, Woods said it was sad and perhaps ironic that Edwards went into public service because she was upset over the Sept. 11 terror attacks. He said she came to believe disclosing America's secrets would somehow be beneficial to our nation. According to the online site U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, eight people have been prosecuted for leaking information to journalists since 2017. The cases included a counterterrorism analyst charged with leaking classified documents, an Internal Revenue Service employee accused of leaking suspicious financial transactions and the longtime director of security for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, who was charged with lying to the FBI about contact with journalists. NEW YORK (AP) A former U.S. Treasury Department worker was sentenced to six months in prison Thursday for leaking confidential financial reports to a journalist at BuzzFeed. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Decades-long political and legal battles over drilling in Americas largest wildlife refuge took another turn when the Biden administration suspended oil and gas leases in Alaskas Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The move Tuesday was a blow to oil and gas proponents, who came as close as they ever have to starting a drilling program after the refuge was expanded 40 years ago to include the oil-rich coastal plain. The refuge was nearly opened to drilling in 1995 until President Clinton vetoed a bill sent to him by Congress. Here is a look at the administration's decision and how it got there. DIDNT BIDEN DO THIS ALREADY? Sort of. President Joe Biden issued a temporary moratorium on drilling in the refuge on his first day in office. The executive order suggested a new environmental review was necessary to examine possible legal flaws in the program approved by Trump administration. The review, conducted by the Department of Interior, found defects in the underlying record of decision supporting the leases, prompting Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to suspend them. DID THE MOVE STOP DRILLING IN THE REFUGE? The business is now highly specialized. An affiliate will identify, map out and infect targets using ransomware that is typically rented from a ransomware-as-a-service provider. The provider gets a cut of the payout; the affiliate normally takes more than three-quarters. Other subcontractors may also get a slice. Those can include the authors of the malware used to break into victim networks and the people running so-called bulletproof domains behind which the ransomware gangs hide their command-and-control servers. Those servers manage the remote sowing of malware and data extraction ahead of activation, a stealthy process that can take weeks. WHY DO RANSOMS KEEP CLIMBING? HOW CAN THEY BE STOPPED? Colonial Pipeline confirmed that it paid $4.4 million to the gang of hackers who broke into its computer systems last month. The FBI discourages paying ransoms, but a public-private task force including tech companies and U.S., British and Canadian crime agencies says it would be wrong to try to ban ransom payments altogether. That's largely because ransomware attackers continue to find sectors and elements of society that are woefully underprepared for this style of attack. SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (AP) Kentuckys acceptance of extra jobless benefits is hampering efforts by businesses to find help as the economy moves beyond the pandemic, Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell said Wednesday, in a dig at the Democratic governor. Gov. Andy Beshear says the weekly $300 federal unemployment payments have contributed to surging consumer spending that benefits Kentucky businesses. The federal enhancement coming on top of state jobless benefits is set to expire in September. McConnell, the Senate's top GOP leader, said the extra benefit puts Kentucky at a competitive disadvantage with states that opted to cut off the supplemental payments. After meeting with local employers Wednesday in Shelbyville, McConnell said he hears ongoing complaints from Kentucky business operators struggling to lure back workers. Employers link their workplace shortages to the federal jobless bonus, he said. This issue is keeping them from getting people back to work," McConnell told reporters. "The coronavirus is behind us. We need to get back to work. We need to do things productively. And I do disagree with the governors position. Beshear has steadfastly defended the extra payments, saying Kentucky's economy has benefited. LAS VEGAS (AP) Clark County officials in Nevada have again dipped into the debt reserve account to make a scheduled bond payment for the NFLs Raiders new home at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Clark County spokesperson Dan Kulin said the county pulled $11.7 million from the stadium's debt reserve account to make the $18.6 million payment on Tuesday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. County officials were expecting to use the reserve account because there are continued shortfalls in room tax revenue, in part because of the coronavirus pandemic. Revenue toward the stadium bond payments is generated by a 0.88% tax on hotel rooms in Clark County. Officials previously pulled $11.6 million from the reserve account in December to make a bond payment. Clark County recently filed a material event notice notifying the market of an anticipated draw on the Stadium Authority bond reserve fund on May 25, Kulin said. This action does not constitute a default and was expected in light of the decline in tourism to Las Vegas. MADISON, Wis. (AP) Wisconsin business owners, university leaders and government officials would be prohibited from requiring the COVID-19 vaccination or treating unvaccinated people differently under Republican-backed bills moving through the state Legislature. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has already signaled that he will veto the bill forbidding any government official or business owner from requiring proof of vaccination. That and four other bills were heard at a public hearing Wednesday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Over the course of the last year weve almost normalized asking people their own personal medical decisions surrounding COVID, said bill author Republican Rep. Tyler August. That has never been a normal part of society. Evers on Tuesday said, its a reasonable request of businesses to make those requests. The Wisconsin Medical Society, which represents doctors, says rules requiring vaccinations help ensure patients and workers in hospitals dont get sick. To what extent Scotts gifts help or hurt recipients fundraising efforts remains to be seen. Several say some longtime donors now think their money is no longer needed. That couldnt be further from the truth, the nonprofit leaders say. We operate on thin margins, and the work needed is so important, says Williams. When you think about most nonprofits, theyre not really operating with a lot of cash in the bank, so to have a rainy-day fund or an endowment is a luxury. Leaders at Walla Walla Community College, located in a rural part of Washington State, have found a thoughtful way to talk to donors who might assume their support is no longer needed after learning that Scott had given the college $15 million. Jessica Cook, who leads fundraising, and the community colleges president, Chad Emerson Hickox, stress to donors that one of the reasons Scott decided to donate to the college is its track record of helping people who wouldnt otherwise go to college and that it was their giving that made that track record possible. This $15 million is a remarkable gift. But its not the only generosity that we received over the years, Cook says. I think it means a lot to people to hear that. This article was provided to The Associated Press by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Maria Di Mento is a senior reporter at the Chronicle. Email: maria.dimento@philanthropy.com. The AP and the Chronicle receive support from the Lilly Endowment for coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits. The AP and the Chronicle are solely responsible for all content. For all of APs philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Ohio residents who were recently vaccinated may want to answer their phone on Vax-A-Million days, even if the number isn't familiar. It might be Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on the other end. 102 new Covid-19 patients announced in Thursday noon report Vietnam has recorded 102 new Covid-19 infections, raising the total number of patients in the country to 7,972 the Ministry of Health reported at noon on Thursday. According to the ministry's report, 96 of the newly-confirmed patients are locally-transmitted cases most of whom were detected in quarantine sites or areas under lockdown in some localities including 55 in Bac Giang, 19 in Ho Chi Minh City, 14 in Bac Ninh, six in Hanoi, and two in Long An. The 55 cases in Bac Giang were recorded at some industrial parks of Van Trung, Dinh Tram, Song Khe-Noi Hoang, and Quang Chau which have reported a large outbreak over the last few weeks. As of Thursday noon, 4,876 locally-transmitted cases have been reported since the new outbreak occurred in the country on April 27, including 2,620 in the virus epicentre of Bac Giang. The outbreak has so far spread to 37 cities and provinces nationwide. Six imported patients included three Vietnamese citizens, two Chinese and a Russian nationals who recently arrived in Vietnam from Cambodia, Russia and China. They were sent to quarantine areas in Ho Chi Minh City and An Giang Province upon arrival and are now being treated at local hospitals. With these new infection cases, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to 7,972 including 6,446 locally-transmitted cases. As of 6 pm on June 2, a total of 3,085 Covid-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital. So far there have been 49 deaths, most of them being the elderly with serious underlying diseases. At present, over 151,000 people who had close contact with Covid-19 patients or returned from virus-hit areas are being monitored at hospitals, quarantine facilities, and at home. On June 2, an additional 11,733 people were given Covid-19 vaccine in Vietnam, raising the total number of vaccine doses used in the country to 1,110,111. The number of people who have received two doses has risen to 31,177. News Around the Republic of Mexico Remittances to Mexico Rose Nearly 40 Percent in April The cash sent to Mexico from abroad reached $4.05 billion in April 2021, a rise of 39.1% from $2.91 billion the same month in 2020, when uncertainty sparked by the pandemic dented the flow of transfers. The cash sent from abroad reached $4.05 billion in April, a rise of 39.1% from $2.91 billion the same month in 2020, when uncertainty sparked by the pandemic dented the flow of transfers. The percentage jump was the biggest since 2003. Mexicans abroad, mostly in the United States where the economy has benefited from stimulus measures, began increasing aid to families after the April 2020 dip. Those transfers drove remittances to Mexico to new heights, including the Mexico's economy has depended heavily on remittances as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador struggles to deliver on promises to energize growth. Mexico is currently on track to surpass its record 2020 year for remittances, after the sum increased 19.1% in the first four months of 2021 compared with the year-earlier period. Analysts from bank Banorte estimated that remittances could be up 10% at year's end. "The conditions that have supported the recovery of the United States economy remain in place, which in turn are beneficial for the outlook on remittances," Banorte said in a report. Original article Remittances to Mexico jumped almost 40% in April, posting the sharpest increase in nearly two decades after taking a hit at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic last year, Mexican central bank data showed on Tuesday.The cash sent from abroad reached $4.05 billion in April, a rise of 39.1% from $2.91 billion the same month in 2020, when uncertainty sparked by the pandemic dented the flow of transfers. The percentage jump was the biggest since 2003.Mexicans abroad, mostly in the United States where the economy has benefited from stimulus measures, began increasing aid to families after the April 2020 dip.Those transfers drove remittances to Mexico to new heights, including the March 2021 record of $4.15 billion. Mexico's economy has depended heavily on remittances as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador struggles to deliver on promises to energize growth.Mexico is currently on track to surpass its record 2020 year for remittances, after the sum increased 19.1% in the first four months of 2021 compared with the year-earlier period.Analysts from bank Banorte estimated that remittances could be up 10% at year's end."The conditions that have supported the recovery of the United States economy remain in place, which in turn are beneficial for the outlook on remittances," Banorte said in a report. Site Map Print this Page Email Us Top WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden announced Thursday the U.S. will swiftly donate an initial allotment of 25 million doses of surplus vaccine overseas through the United Nations-backed COVAX program, promising infusions for South and Central America, Asia, Africa and others at a time of glaring shortages abroad and more than ample supplies at home. Union members will vote this week on the company's current contract offer. According to the union, the proposed contract starts employees off at $18 an hour and cuts a 15-minute break period. The union is pressing to start employees at $19 an hour, as well as avoid increases to employees health insurance premiums and allow more time for medical leave. Smithfield Chief Administrative Officer Keira Lombardo said in a statement that the unions comments were inaccurate. The company said that if union members rejected an offer scheduled for a vote Thursday, there were discussions about scheduling more meetings next week. It is unfortunate that the union has issued a statement that is, unquestionably, inaccurate, Lombardo said. Such tactics during an active and ongoing contract negotiation are a disservice to our many hard-working employees. If the contract is not approved, union members could then vote to consider striking, but that would not become an option until June 7, when a contract extension deadline expires. Next, it has to learn to maneuver through traffic in Amsterdam's canals, which are full of private boats and canal cruises for tourists. The Roboats have orange propellers and four thrusters that are powered by an electric battery. They can go about 4 mph (6 kph) and can run for 12-24 hours, depending on the battery type and cargo load. They are steered remotely by a computer, which processes data from cameras and sensors that scan the areas around the vessel, detecting stationary and moving objects. The vessels are modular so they can be easily adapted for different purposes, carrying cargo or workers. Developers say they still need two-to-four years to perfect the self-steering technology. Its mostly because we want to be absolutely sure that we can navigate safely in the canals," said mechatronics engineer Rens Doornbusch. "Right now we have the autonomy in place, but one of the next steps is to make sure that we can actually handle any kind of situation that we might might encounter in the canals. Before the boats can be put to work, their developers also have to navigate legislative hurdles and privacy concerns. Senate Republicans refused to go along with the House and establish a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, which left five people dead, and more than 100 police officers injured. By a vote of 54 to 35, the bill to form the bipartisan commission failed. But who really believes that it would have been truly bipartisan? In Washington, virtually everything is partisan. Wall Street Journal columnist Gerald Seib attempted to make the case for a commission, even while acknowledging that trials, investigations by journalists and other information about the incident will eventually be known. He seems to think a commission made up of politicians will find credibility with most Americans. Probably the opposite will be true. How about a commission to examine the source of the anger that produced the attack? The sources arent conservative talk radio or cable TV. They are merely conduits for many Americans who are fed up with their government and want it to return to the boundaries established by the Founders. While violence and destruction were not justified on January 6, or at any other time, the riot might go a long way toward heading off future incidents if our leaders understood the depth of feeling held by those rioters who believe their country is being taken away from them without their consent. Growing your own indoor jungle can add up, but its more affordable if you can propagate the plants you already have. Heres how to nurture yo Cruella de Vil is best known for wearing Dalmatian fur, not Italian designer apparel, but that hasnt stopped critics from noticing how much Disneys villain origin story Cruella has in common with the 2006 comedy The Devil Wears Prada. One of the chief sources of deja vu in the new movie is the character of Baroness von Hellman, played by Emma Thompson, who seems to owe more than a little to Miranda Priestly, the role Meryl Streep made famous in Prada. The evidence goes beyond the circumstantial: The screenwriter who helped give the world Priestly, Aline Brosh McKenna, was hired to write an early draft of Cruella and received story credit on the finished film. So just how Devil Wears Prada is Cruella? Gird your loins for the following breakdown. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Baroness and the Editrix Though Cruella de Vil is canonically a diva on the order of a Miranda Priestly, Cruella is an origin story with the titular character, played by Emma Stone, as its protagonist, and like it or not, Disney decided that meant she needed an antagonist. A petty criminal in 1970s London who loves designing costumes for the scams she undertakes with her friends Jasper and Horace, Cruellanee Estellagoes to work at a department store early on in the film. Enter Thompsons Baroness, the head of a fashion label who notices Estellas talent and hires her as a designer. Priestly was the editor of a fashion magazine in 2000s Manhattan, and the Baroness is similarly a woman of a certain age at the helm of a fashion company, as well as a textbook bad boss who inspires fear in everyone she encounters. Both are imperious, impossible-to-please tyrants prone to belittling and borderline physically abusing their employees and everyone around them. Both movies even introduce their characters in similar waysin Prada, Priestly throws the Runway magazine offices into a tizzy when she unexpectedly arrives early to work one morning, and in Cruella, the Baroness throws the Liberty department store into a tizzy when she arrives unannounced. Even more specifically, the first thing you see of both characters is their high-heeled feet stepping out of cars. Baddies Barbs The Baroness and Miranda Priestly both have a penchant for withering put-downs. Some of the new movies lines in this vein feel very reminiscent of Priestlys, such as when the Baroness asks, Why am I the only one whos competent? or barks to Estella, Grubby girl, get me lunch! However, though amusing, none of the Baroness lines quite reach the heights of a Florals, for spring? Groundbreaking. Advertisement Ingenues Though the promise of the movie is her transformation into a villain, at the beginning of Cruella, Emma Stones character isnt such a far cry from Anne Hathaways Andy, the naive aspiring journalist who goes to work for Runway magazine in The Devil Wears Prada. The circumstances of their hiring are similar: Just as Miranda hires Andy to the disbelief of other staffers at the magazine who find her completely unsuitable, the Baroness hires Estella even though the department store where she discovers her has shunted her to the role of cleaning woman. (In both cases, these hirings soften the villains ever so slightly.) Though its a bigger plot element in Prada, both Andy and Estella have competitive relationships with their bosses (other) assistants: Andy competes with first assistant Emily, and at one point we see the Baroness assistant, Jeffrey, get jealous of Estella. While Estella is less initially mousy and uninterested in fashion than Andy, Andy and Estella both share a certain physical awkwardness at the beginning of their stories, but eventually are transformed via the power of makeover: Andy becomes a chic-er version of herself, while Estella, of course, becomes you-know-who. Both womens personal relationships are affected by their new jobs, as Andys friends and boyfriend complain that shes changed and is too obsessed with work, and Estellas fellow criminals Horace and Jasper complain about how bossy she gets on her way to becoming a villain. Advertisement Advertisement 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. Canine Companions The Baroness Dalmatians serve a much more important role in Cruella than any dogs do in Prada, but it seems noteworthy that Miranda Priestly, too, is the owner of a large, menacing pet, a St. Bernard named Patricia that in the movie can briefly be seen dragging Andy around. Bald Companions Miranda Priestlys closest confidant at work is her art director Nigel, played by the divine Stanley Tucci. So it should not escape any good Prada-heads notice that the Baroness also has her own inner-circle baldie in the form of her valet, John, played by Mark Strong. Tucci and Strong look a lot alike and have occasionally been mistaken for each other, but Nigel is more humorous than John, who is more of the strong, silent typeand, spoiler alert, ultimately more loyal, too. Advertisement Galas and Fountains No fashion movie worth its salt would be complete without some scenes involving galas, and Cruella and Prada both check that box several times overAndy helps memorize names so her boss will recognize everyone at one gala in Prada, and one of the new movies most memorable scenes is set at a gala where everyone in attendance comes dressed as Cruella. It is less of a requirement that a fashion movie have a key scene involving fountains, but again, both do: Cruella first meets Horace and Jasper at a fountain, and upon learning of an important revelation involving her identity, she visits a fountain to reflect (and monologue). Meanwhile, in what is arguably the climax of Prada, Andy throws her cellphone into a fountain in Paris. Good and Evil Back to that climax: In Prada, it occurs after Miranda tells Andy that she sees a lot of herself in her, and that if she wants a life like hers, looking out for No. 1 is necessary. Andy, who has just watched Miranda betray a friend, protests, which eventually leads to the aforementioned throwing of the phone into a fountain. In Cruellas parallel scene, when the Baroness preaches cultivating a killer instinct, Estella is of course more amenable to this message. Hence, Andy goes on to become a truth-seeking, serious-minded journalist, and Estella goes onto the presumably much more remunerative life of becoming Cruella de Vil. Slate has relationships with various online retailers. If you buy something through our links, Slate may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. All prices were up to date at the time of publication. The novels for which Edward St. Aubyn is best knownthe five-book Patrick Melrose series, based on St. Aubyns own lifeare distinguished by their witty, silken prose and by their savagery. St. Aubyn mercilessly details the petty vanities and yawning stupidity of the class that produced him, British aristocrats with lineages tracing back to the Norman conquest who sometimes even still possess the fortunes to go with their storied names. Patrick Melrose himself uses his drug addictions to subdue memories of his diabolically sadistic, incestuous father and drunken, complicit mother. As dark as these novels sound, they are as inhalable as good gossip. Readers tend to tear through all five books pell-mell that is, unless they belong that benighted tribe who insist upon likable characters. Advertisement So its surprising that almost all of the characters in St. Aubyns new novel, Double Blind, qualify as likable. Even Hunter Sterling, a billionaire who liquidated his hedge fund just before the market collapsed in 2008, only feints at becoming the books antagonist. Hunter does spend a few chapters doing coke and globe-trotting to nose out projects for his new venture capital firm. Hunter wants, he explains, to own intellectual property that makes a fundamental contribution but that also wins all the science Nobels across the board. One of these outfits involves the creation of Happy Helmets, which, when worn, promise to reproduce brain wave patterns copied from celebrated wise men and mystics. To Hunters annoyance, a Franciscan contemplative refuses to leave his rustic hermitage so Hunters team can scan his brain. If anybody ever doubted that humility was the ultimate arrogance, Hunter fumes, they should drop in on the Blessed Fra Domenico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No one writes about recreational drug use better than St. Aubyn. In Bad News, one of the Patrick Melrose novels, he describes the effects of heroin as soft and rich as the throat of a wood pigeon, or the splash of sealing wax onto a page, or a handful of gems slipping from palm to palm. But in Double Blind Hunters binging is short-lived, and even his voracious desire to acquire cutting-edge patents settles down a bit under the influence of that most anodyne of cures, the love of a good woman. The woman is Lucy, a biologist turned corporate consultant and the best friend of Olivia, a biology professor at Oxford. For her part, Olivia has just fallen for Francis, a botanist working on a wilding projectin which landowners allow their property to return to a carefully-monitored state of nature. These two couples serve as the novels center. Advertisement Advertisement St. Aubyn seems to be struggling for direction after the series that made his reputation. His one major novel between At Last, the final Patrick Melrose book, and this one was 2014s Lost for Words, a satire on the Booker Prize that felt a bit thin (although it did feature the delicious joke of a sub-Irvine Welsh working-class Scottish entry for the prize titled wot u starin at). With Double Blind, St. Aubyn aims for a novel of ideas similar to those of Richard Powers, but without Powers intellectual density or his churning, cyclical narrative structures. St. Aubyns characters spend a lot of time mulling over such matters as the mind-body problem, the theory of relativity, and the relationship between nature and morality. They have an implausible tendency to think in statistics. Schizophrenias reputation for violence was exaggerated, reads a chapter told from the point of view of Martin, Olivias father and a psychiatrist, except in the case of suicide, which about half of the schizophrenic population attempted, with one in twenty succeeding. The fictional action tends to bog down when it hits these data dumps. Advertisement But if St. Aubyn still seems to be figuring out how to integrate all this information into the smooth, elegant fiction that has been his trademark, he does often get it right. Olivias bete noire is the reductive belief that human behavior is genetically determined, an argument whose proponents, she (correctly) observes, make a fetish of science yet will bend empirical findings into tautological knots rather than admit that theres little evidence for their pet theories. Her scorn for such hedging is bracing. Theres even a wonderfully fatuous minor character who keeps cropping up to fan the flames, a Richard-Dawkins-style genetic reductivist with a bestselling book called The Insatiable Machine whom Olivia once worked with and who is, of course, a sex pest. Francis, ruminating on the mystery of how consciousness emerged, waspishly dismisses Occams Razor, the rhetorical resort of such materialists, as the minimalist aesthetic that was supposed to adjudicate over intellectual life for the rest of time, like a fashion editor in a black pencil skirt who simply refuses to retire, denying the art departments longing for a little moment of Baroque excess and a splash of color. As similes go, this is both absurdly Homeric and perfect. Advertisement Advertisement Anger is one of the founts of St. Aubyns fictional gift, but a dangerous one. Not coincidentally, both of these examples involve conflict. The angrier St. Aubyns characters get, the more Double Blind comes alive. The emotion is one of the founts of St. Aubyns fictional gift, but a dangerous one. The Patrick Melrose series was powered, and formidably so, by a propulsive rage and grief. But such volatile passions arent a source of sustainable energy. Everyone who reads the Patrick Melrose series wants Patrick to get better, but as readers our relationship to him is co-dependent; what makes the novels roar along is the same force that is killing him, and, we worry, his author, too. Double Blind suggests that St. Aubyn has gone in search of healthier material. Happily, the moments when St. Aubyns main characters are quarreling with someone arent the books only high points. The loveliest parts of the novel have to do with one of Martins patients, a man with schizophrenia named Sebastian who may or may not be Olivias twin. (Both were adopted, and they bear the names of the separated twins in Shakespeares Twelfth Night.) Martins pro bono treatment of Sebastian involves listening to him talk about what his other doctors simply dismissed as delusions, sorting out the secret symbolic language of his fears and hopes and treating them as meaningfuleven if their meaning isnt readily apparent, even to Sebastian himself. Slowly, endearingly, the patient recovers his ability to function and communicate with others, just as the land Francis tends gradually returns to a lush, functional ecosystem once people stop interfering with it. Double Blind might not burn as furiously as the Patrick Melrose seriesI suspect some fans of those books will find this one tepid by comparisonbut it is nevertheless full of the tender green shoots of new life. A couple of months ago, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumers office announced that it had figured out a way to move more of President Joe Bidens agenda around the 60-vote threshold needed to break a Senate filibuster. Under the budget reconciliation processwhich Democrats used to pass their $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan in Januarybudget-related legislation that meets certain conditions isnt subject to a filibuster, and thus can pass with 50 votes. The first step of the process is to pass an annual budget resolution that includes reconciliation instructions. The conventional wisdom, then, held that senators were limited to one reconciliation bill per fiscal year. Advertisement What Schumer envisioned, though, was Congress unlocking additional reconciliation bills by passing budget revisions. That could, theoretically, give the majority as many reconciliation bills as it wanted, so long as it was willing to rerun the tedious budget process. Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest Newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. In April, Schumers office said that it had gotten the green light from the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, who had advised that a revised budget resolution may contain budget reconciliation instructions. Where Democrats had thought they might only have one more crack at using reconciliation to pass Bidens jobs and/or families plans this year and early next year, they now had more options. Few outside of Schumers office had seen exactly what the parliamentarians memo said, however. Republicans, as well as some Democrats, were skeptical that Schumer had truly presented the parliamentarians beliefs in all of its nuances. Even Schumers own statement acknowledged the existence of follow-up questions, writing that some parameters still need to be worked out. Advertisement Indeed they did. And on May 28, MacDonough issued a follow-up that touched on some of those parameters. According to Punchbowl News, which first reported on the latest guidance, it was more of a mixed bag. While Democrats could use budget revisions to unlock additional reconciliation bills per fiscal year, Punchbowl wrote, there are limits to what Democrats can do. The majority partyin this case, the Democratscannot use reconciliation simply to avoid the regular legislative process, and there have to be reasons beyond political expediency for triggering the majority threshold, such as an economic downturn, Punchbowl wrote. In other words, the parliamentarian said Dems cant use this as a shortcut. Advertisement Is that what MacDonough said, though? Advertisement The parliamentarians guidance, of which Slate obtained a copy, does not lay down hard rules about how reconciliation cant be used to avoid the regular legislative processthat ship sailed a long time ago. Theres no rule spelled out that economic conditions need to change by a certain amount to unlock another reconciliation bill. Instead of such a rule, theres only MacDonoughs opinion that doing thisrevising budgets just to unlock reconciliation bills that the majority would use to bypass the pitfalls of regular orderwould be an abuse of the provisions original purpose. In a lengthy opening section, MacDonough goes through the record of the original intent of the budget revision process. According to the chairman of the Budget Committee in 1977, revisions were to be used to meet changed conditions arising after Congress passed the original budget resolution, and, as the ranking member said, to permit adjustment when economic or emergency conditions warrant. Advertisement The drafters and early users of [budget revisions] uniformly believed that it was to be used in extraordinary circumstances and not for things that should have been or could have been foreseen and handled in a [budget] resolution, MacDonough writes. The potential for abuse was clear in 1974 and is all the more obvious now. Advertisement Abuse of [budget revisions]overuse and over-reliance on a hyper-fast track procedure in the ordinarily deliberative Senatewill change the culture of the institution to the detriment of the committee and amendment processes and the rights of all Senators, she continues. Limits on the breadth and frequency of deployment of [budget revisions], however, will depend on adherence to the original purpose of the section and the good judgment and restraint of all involved. Advertisement Clearly, she would frown upon Chuck Schumer using a dusty revision clause to give himself as many filibuster-free legislative vehicles as he wants. But what is she saying she would do about it? When I sought guidance about the parliamentarians guidance (the life of a Senate reporter), opinions fell into a gray area. I think the parliamentarian was just trying to give herself wiggle room to be able to say that a future use of the process was not appropriate, one Senate aide said of the parliamentarians memo. In such cases, it comes down to the parliamentarians gut. Molly Reynolds, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, cautioned that she couldnt read anyones mind here. But she said MacDonoughs sentence about the limits reads to me like her saying, You can go ahead and try revisions to the budget resolution with reconciliation instructions, but know that this is how I read the original purpose of the section and we might end up arguing out whether a given revision qualifies as a privileged matter every time you try. Advertisement Advertisement But thats just my reading, Reynolds added. One important element of MacDonoughs guidance that was pretty definitive, though, was about the committee process. A revision couldnt be auto-discharged out of committee and to the Senate floor, as a budget resolution could. In other words, it would have to pass out of committee. Current Senate rules in the 50-50 Congress, where committee seats are allocated equally, do provide a mechanism to get bills to the floor when theres a tie vote in committee: The entire Senate holds a vote, for which a simple majority is needed, to discharge them from committee. But Senate Republicans could boycott a committee vote on a budget revision to deny Democrats a quorum. And if its a high-stakes, partisan Democratic bill on the line, they just might. Advertisement As fun as it is to stare further down this rabbit hole, we should come up for air. The parliamentarians trap-laden advisory, Reynolds argues, might mean that the dream of additional filibuster-free reconciliation bills, while theoretically doable, might not get off the ground. Democrats may just stick with the once-per-fiscal-year arrangement that we all know and love. Advertisement Advertisement I think this guidance creates enough uncertainty around the parameters of revisions, Reynolds said, that it will bolster the case of folks in the Democratic caucus who want one bill. Importantly, it is entirely possible that that was going to end up being the strategy anyway. But I think this guidance makes it more likely. Wed give another reason at that. Its been a slog for Democrats to get centrists in their caucus, like West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, to agree to jump onto a second reconciliation process, let alone a third or fourth. This is a big reason the White House and Senate leadership are going through a multimonth song and dance with Republicans about seeing if theres a way to do infrastructure on a bipartisan basis. By the time the next reconciliation bill is doneif it isit will be nearer to the election, and those vulnerable and centrist Democrats will be even more petrified of trying for a third megabill that gives them partisan exposure. Considering infinite reconciliation bills is a fun intellectual exercise, but its one that exhausts a bare-bones, 50-seat majority. Last week, Senate Republicans filibustered a bill to establish a bipartisan committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. This came after the Senate refused to hear witnesses on the same events at Donald Trumps second impeachment trial. Though the Department of Justice is conducting an extensive investigation of the events of Jan. 6 and has prosecuted many of the participants, the odds are low that this investigation will lead to accountability for the instigator of the Jan. 6 insurrection, Donald Trump. Further, the DOJ has thus far declined to appoint a special counsel to investigate Trumps role in inciting the insurrection, a step that would presumably be necessary if a serious investigation of his involvement, or that of other political leaders, were to be undertaken. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ordinary course investigations of Trump administration appointees and affiliates are continuing, including most recently an FBI investigation of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a matter about which we wrote and testified before a subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee. Merrick Garlands Justice Department, though, seems to have little appetite for holding Trump accountable for his other misdeeds, even opposing efforts by others to do so. It recently asked a federal judge to dismiss lawsuits against the former president relating to the forced clearing of protesters at Lafayette Square in June of 2020. As we have written about elsewhere, the department has also been jealously guarding the secrecy of the Office of Legal Counsel under Trump, refusing to turn over a memorandum relating to the departments decision not to accuse Trump of obstruction of justice following the release of the Mueller report. And the department has been defending the assertions of executive privilege of Trumps DOJ over Congress subpoena of former White House counsel Don McGahn, until recently when the department partially backed down by agreeing to allow McGahn to testify about publicly released portions of his prior testimony to special counsel Robert Mueller. Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest Newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. McGahns testimony will be critically important for understanding Muellers suggestion in part two of his report that Trump may have committed obstruction of justice. If Congress is to engage in meaningful oversight, it is essential that the department afford the House Judiciary Committee the opportunity to ask McGahn about all aspects of the Trump presidency during McGahns time in office. In other words, Garlands Justice Department should withdraw the assertion of privilege with regard to anything McGahn can tell Congress about the president he previously served. This would not only strike a blow for transparency; it would also begin to correct the ever-expanding concept of executive privilege, a doctrine that has not served the interests of U.S. democracy or national security. Advertisement Advertisement In this instance, as in others, the assertion of executive privilege appears designed to obscure the presidents misdeeds, and the DOJs support of that claim sets back efforts to bring the truth about Trumps presidency to light. The DOJ, which is ultimately answerable to the president, should never have had the ability to block Congress from hearing the testimony it requires to investigate the president. It is profoundly problematic to allow a president to control the evidence Congress receives, especially when it is investigating him. Worse, a presidents assertion of privilege may itself be an act of obstruction of Congress when used for the sole purpose of avoiding scrutiny into presidential misdeeds. In addition to waiving McGahns testimonial immunity, the DOJ must revisit an OLC memo issued in 2019 opining that presidential testimonial immunity entitles the DOJ to bar McGahn and other senior executive branch officials from testifying to Congress. This memo is out of keeping with the D.C. Circuits 2020 decision in Committee on the Judiciary of the United States House of Representatives v. McGahn, as well as with the Supreme Courts opinion in Trump v. Mazars, both of which affirmed Congress ability to enforce its subpoenas in federal court. Advertisement Advertisement As the McGahn and Mazars cases make clear, Congress has a constitutional right and duty to oversee the executive branch, particularly when there are allegations of illegal conduct by high-ranking officials. Moreover, U.S. v. Nixon and Trump v. Vance make clear that a sitting president cannot refuse to produce evidence, or insist that others refrain from producing evidence, for a legitimate criminal investigation just because it involves the president himself. Even during the Trump presidency, McGahn was required to provide evidence to DOJ prosecutors, just as President Bill Clintons White House lawyers were required by federal courts to provide evidence to independent counsel Kenneth Starr in 1998. Furthermore, there is long-standing authority beginning with U.S. v. Nixon that even the most private presidential communicationsin that case White House tapes of the presidents phone conversationsare not privileged when there is an investigation of presidential wrongdoing. If Trump criminally obstructed justice when he asked McGahn to arrange to have Mueller fired, their communications would not be privileged any more than Nixons attempt to obstruct the Watergate investigation. Advertisement The McGahn litigation has taught us that executive privilege can be profoundly antithetical to efforts to hold presidents accountable to the American people. Administrations that protect their predecessors real or imagined privilege from congressional subpoenas undermine the rule of law. Every president should embrace the fact that communications with White House staff and other government employees will eventually see the light of day and be subject to appropriate discovery by the representatives of the people. The Department of Justice can begin to push back on the damaging expansion of executive privilege by doing everything reasonably within its power to allow the truth about the former presidents conduct to come to light. Support local journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. The first rule of Israeli politics watching is to never count out Benjamin Netanyahu. The fragile coalition government that was formed to oust him last night still needs to survive a confidence vote in the Knesset, Israels parliament. The speaker of the Knesset is a member of Netanyahus Likud party and can delay the vote until June 14, a lifetime in this era of Israeli politics and ample time for Netanyahu to pick off wavering right-wing votes from the change bloc. Advertisement And there are plenty of ways to imagine this unwieldy coalition falling apart on its own. The new government, if it can survive the week, will certainly be the most ideologically disparate one in Israels history, and may be the most unlikely governing coalition anywhere in the world. For an American point of comparison, try to imagine a Joe BidenTed Cruz co-presidency with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Liz Cheney serving in the Cabinet. Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest Newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. The eight parties that would make up the government include the far-left and the far-right, two-staters and annexationists. The coalition would be led by Israels first yarmulke-wearing Orthodox Jewish prime minister, and would be the first to include a Reform rabbi, an openly gay party leader (Nitzan Horowitz of Meretz), and an Islamist. The inclusion of the Raam party breaks an unwritten rule of Israeli politics: that Arab parties do not serve in government. The wrangling that allowed this government to happen required Yair Lapid, whose centrist Yesh Atid party came in second in the last election after Likud and who therefore has the best case of the bunch to be the leader, to allow Naftali Bennett, whose right-wing Yamina party was in a four-way tie for fifth place, to be prime minister. (Under the terms of the deal, Lapid will take over as prime minister in 2023, which assumes the government lasts that long.) Advertisement The fact that such an unholy mutant of a government could even be a possibility is a testament to just how polarizing Netanyahu has become: These parties have nothing in common except a desire to remove the 12-year prime minister and current criminal defendant from power. Just two weeks ago, Netanyahu appeared to have pulled off yet another remarkable escape, when Bennett pulled out of coalition talks during the conflict with Gaza, saying he did not feel a government including Raam could adequately see to Israels defense in a conflict with Hamas. Opposition lawmakers didnt exactly accuse the prime minister of intentionally escalating the crisis in order to stay in power, but they didnt exactly reject the premise either. In the end, the prospect of immediately becoming prime minister proved too much for Bennett to resist. Advertisement Advertisement Netanyahu, who may very well be fighting to stay out of jail as much as to stay in office, can be expected to go full scorched-earth in what may be his final week, portraying the new government as dominated by leftists and Arab interests. There are fears that he could even take a page from his friend Donald Trumps book and adopt Jan. 6style tactics to stay in power. (Several potential government ministers have received death threats to themselves and their families.) What difference would a new government make? For one thing, it would end the two-year, four-election political stalemate in which Netanyahu did not have enough support to form a government and his opponents couldnt cobble together a coalition to oust him. With a real, non-caretaker government, Israel could pass its first budget since 2018. One of the few Israeli interest groups that dont have a representative in the Change Bloc is the ultra-Orthodox, who hitched their wagon to Netanyahu some time ago. In fact, it was former Defense and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liebermans feud with the ultra-Orthodox parties over military service for Yeshiva students that first sparked Israels two-year political meltdown in the first place. (Lieberman, a secular right-winger whose base is Israels Russian immigrant community, is likely to play an influential role in the new government.) While personally religious, Bennett isnt much of a culture warrior, and Israel may move somewhat left on issue like gay rights, marijuana, and access to prayer at the Western Wall, though the presence of the socially conservative Islamist Raam party adds another complicating factor. Advertisement Advertisement As far as Israels occupation of the Palestinian territories goes, theres not likely to be much change. If anything, Bennettone of the most prominent political leaders of the settlement movementis further to the right than Netanyahu on these issues: Hes implacably opposed to a two-state solution, and while the current prime minister has flirted with annexing parts of the West Bank, its a major part of Bennetts platform. The Biden administration will also not find Bennett any more cooperative when it comes to hopes of reviving the Iran nuclear deal. Still, it would be a mistake to dismiss this as an irrelevant development in the conflict. In recent years, the dominant political dynamic in the country has been Netanyahu lurching ever rightward in a bid to shore up his base and hold on to power. This reached its nadir with his embrace of members of the violent, neo-fascist Kahanist movement. Advertisement Bennett, meanwhile, will be somewhat constrained by the need to keep his left-wing and centrist, two-stater coalition partners in line. Its frankly a bit absurd that the leader of a party that controls only six of the 120 seats in parliament is about to be prime minister, and he likely knows it. If he cant keep this motley bunch together, he may not get another chance at the job. The presence of Raam leader Mansour Abbas in the government also adds a new dynamic: He has already extracted concessions for his new partners on the contentious issue of Arab house-building in the Negev. Advertisement A government that exists solely for the purpose of removing one man from government seems unlikely to be one that makes any historic changes, but it was still necessary. As long as Israel lurched from inconclusive election to inconclusive election and the dominant political issue of the country was the Bibi psychodrama, any sort of long-term planning, much less political risk-taking, was impossible. The new government may not last long, but it would at least allow the country to think more than a week ahead. By the standards of this corner of the world, that counts as cause for hope. If you needed any further evidence of the corrosive effect of Republicans performative election audit in Arizona, Pennsylvania Republicans now say they want one too. A group of Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers steeped in the election conspiracy claims of former President Donald Trump made a pilgrimage to Maricopa County on Wednesday to see for themselves how the partisan review of the 2020 results was going. The aim of the visit is exporting the Arizona model back to their home state, which President Joe Biden won by a point. Advertisement The team of state legislatorsSens. Doug Mastriano and Cris Dush, and Rep. Rob Kauffmanmet with Arizona officials before being briefed by the election conspiracyspewing head of Cyber Ninjas, the Florida-based firm with no prior election experience thats leading the audit. Cyber Ninjas has been given access to Maricopa Countys ballots and employed a team of contractors to scour for bamboo-laced China ballots that Trump supporters believe with all their hearts were imported ahead of Election Day to swing the vote to Joe Biden. The members of the Pennsylvania delegation in Arizona this week were among the 64 GOP legislators in the state that signed a letter asking the states congressional delegation to object to Pennsylvanias Electoral College votes going to Biden, the made-up procedural move that Trump supporters were demanding as they stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. One of the Pennsylvania trio, Mastriano, was in Washington to protest the election result that day, but says he left before the Capitol was stormed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. After their visit, the group largely bypassed traditional media outlets, focusing instead on right-wing outlets. When asked in passing by an Associated Press reporter if theyd like to replicate Arizonas process in Pennsylvania, Dush said, Without question. Absolutely. Speaking with a local radio host from WEEO-FM about the trip, Mastriano said, well bring the information back to the Senate leadership, well back-brief them on the way ahead and then hopefully we can come up with an approach here to make sure every person in Pennsylvania can rest assured they have one vote and it counts. The trio offered assurances that this wasnt about altering the 2020 election results. Im not about overturning anything, Mastriano explained to the Wall Street Journal. Im just trying to find out what went right, what went wrong? And how do we have better elections in the future? But did something go wrong? Other than their guy lost? Forty-seven percent of the people in this country dont have faith in the electoralelectoral integrity right now, Dush told the Journal. And my constituents are very much up in arms, with the lack of any movement on trying to find out what happened. Advertisement Just finding out what happened is the cover, as it has been in Arizona, because who doesnt want to find out what happened, after all? Theres no harm in being hypervigilant, unless you have something to hide, right? But the self-fulfilling logic of intentionally and erroneously sowing doubt about an election and then using that doubt to justify dissecting it to the point of abstraction allows you to draw whatever conclusions you want from the data. So expect vague, ominous conclusions that never quite stand up in the light of day, but the Republican thinking isit wont really matter. The damage will already be done, the suspicion will be real, even if the problem isnt. Advertisement Looking at the states that Republicans are targeting in their postelection audits, whats noticeable is that they are the swingiest of swing states, the ones that Biden was able to turn to secure victory. Each of the closest states in 2020Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvaniahas a Republican-controlled state legislature, and they are all bent on engaging in some form of audit. Whats clear from this selection of states is that the push for audits is a setup for next time, or another election in the future, undermining the process, and, coupled with new voter restriction laws, will make it easier to contest unfavorable results. This is where the Republicans in these states, and nationally, are headed. Thats the blueprint. Its not about overturning the last election; its about overturning the next one. S.B. 7, the Texas election legislation that would have limited how, when, and where Texans can vote, died on the floor late Sunday when Democrats walked out of the Capitol, breaking quorum. But the fight over voting rights in Texas, as in many Republican-controlled statehouses around the country, is far from over: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has said that he will call a special session to pass S.B. 7. On Thursdays episode of What Next, I spoke to Texas Tribune reporter Alexa Ura about what, if anything, state Democrats can do to stop the Republican assault on voting, and what this battle means for the future of Texas politics. Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. Advertisement Mary Harris: How did this voting bill get on the agenda? Advertisement Advertisement Alexa Ura: Texas is a state that has a very long history of making it harder to vote or tightening the rules around voting. And with that history has come a pretty bad track record of discriminating against Black and Hispanic voters in the process. Thats our starting point here. This time around, following the 2020 election, there was some pretty open hostility from Republicans about Harris County, which is home to Houston, the largest county in the state under Democratic control nowthey had tried a bunch of different voting initiatives that Republicans responded to in a very hostile way. And these were because of COVID, right? Stuff like drive-thru voting and 24-hour voting. Advertisement Yeah, but it was also things like moving to countywide voting, which predated the pandemic, basically letting voters cast their ballot anywhere in the county as opposed to being stuck within their precincts. Its something thats available in a whole lot of other counties, but leading up to the 2020 election, a lot of the remaining urban counties that werent doing that moved to that model. And so you had locals trying different voting options. You had the pressure of the 2020 election and Donald Trump making baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, a lot of claims of widespread voter fraud that Republicans in Texas have seized onto in the past, even before this. It was this combination of things, the final product of which was S.B. 7, this massive bill that touched nearly the entire voting process. And from the beginning of the session, Gov. Greg Abbott said that he supported a bill like this. He hadnt exactly said what he wanted in it, but it was clear that he wanted to sign a voting bill into law. And at that point, and even up until, honestly, the beginning of May, the odds were that this was going to become law. Advertisement Can you tick off some of the restrictions that eventually made it into this bill? Breaking quorum is an extraordinary measure. Youre basically walking out on the job. Alexa Ura Yes, there are quite a few of them. Some of the ones that have emerged more significantly: You had limitations to early voting hours. You had limitations to voting options, basically trying to ban things like drive-thru voting. In the original bill, there was a provision that regulated the distribution of polling places in the five big urban counties that leaned Democrat. The formula would have led to a pretty big cut in polling places in Democratic-held areas in some of those counties. You had things to ratchet up voting-by-mail rules. It made it a state jail felony to distribute an application to request a ballot to a voter who didnt request the application. It touched everything from early voting to vote tabulations. Advertisement Once both chambers passed their own version, it went behind closed-door negotiations and came back even bigger, adding new ID requirements for voting by mail, limiting Sunday early voting hours, which wasnt originally there. And so it was a massive, massive bill, one that we really hadnt seen despite the states history of really tightening the rules to vote. We had not seen one, at least in recent history, that was so massive in this way. Advertisement For most of the session, it seemed pretty certain that S.B. 7 would end up signed into law. Where the plan really started to fall apart was when the House and Senate had to reconcile their differences. Both had passed the bill, but very different versions of it. That led to some intense, closed-door negotiations between the chambers. Advertisement Ultimately, you got a combined version plus an additional 12 pages of changes to voting that werent originally in either of the bills and that werent made public until 48 hours before they had to be signed off on. And so the tension at the Capitol really escalated in the last 48 hours because thats when this final version of the bill came out, and it was so beyond what either chamber had passed that the reaction from Democrats in particular, who felt they hadnt really been part of the process, was pretty intense. And so the tension escalated and ultimately culminated in this walkout. It seems the Republicans really pushed the Democrats almost like a test, like, what happens if we push you this far? Advertisement Breaking quorum is an extraordinary measure. It doesnt happen often. Youre basically walking out on the job. And I think the impact of that was weighing on Democrats in the lead-up to this. Advertisement Some Democrats didnt want to do it. They had prepared points of order, which are these procedural challenges to the bill that can in many cases end up derailing it or even killing it if its close enough to a deadline like S.B. 7 was. I think that would have been the way a lot of Democrats wanted it to go down. Ultimately, though, as the clock was ticking, Republicans were going to use their own procedural motion to essentially cut off debate. So even if Democrats wanted to talk until midnight to leave them without a vote on this bill, Republicans were going to force a vote. And it was when Democrats saw that they were about to do that that the last few people who were on the floor walked out. At the end of the day, the only reason they were in a position to do that was because Republicans left the final vote on this bill so close to the deadline. This bill was in backdoor negotiations for more than a week. It was bottled up in those negotiations, and had that conference committee finished its work sooner and reported the bill out sooner, then this bill would never have been in reach of dying on a quorum break, because Democrats would have had to leave and not come back for other important bills that they themselves were still trying to vote out before the end of the session. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Back in January and February, we were talking about voting restrictions in Georgia, and its a very different situation than Texas. Joe Biden won in Georgia. You have two Democratic senators from Georgia at this point. And so for Republicans there, you can see the impetus for why you would want to pass voting restrictionsthis didnt work out for you, so lets rein this in. But in Texas, Republicans won in a pretty big way, they maintained their majority in the state Legislature, and its more about these state and local fights that are revving up, between a city like Houston that wants to expand access to voting and the state, which does not. What do you make of that? Advertisement You cant see any of these fights and not consider the political backdrop here in terms of the distribution of power in an increasingly diverse state like Texas. Republicans have been in control for more than 20 years, full control of the state. But in the last few elections, their margins have narrowed. At the presidential level, Mitt Romney won the state. It was almost 16 percentage points in 2012. In Donald Trumps last election, he won by only 6 percentage points. In that time period youve seen the suburbs, places where Republicans usually counted on voters to support them, shifting, becoming these battlegrounds, if not fully in Democratic control. You had places like Harris County that was once a battleground, and its now under Democratic control. And all of these places are experiencing demographic shifts. The growth in these places is driven largely by people of color. And those are people who are more likely to support Democrats. Those are the people who are turning 18 every year. Those are the people who are naturalizing and moving to the state. And so the ground is shifting beneath them to a certain extent. I think the question is, how far are they comfortable with the shift? Advertisement Advertisement I think that someone in Texas watches the things that happened in a state like Georgia or even in a state like Arizona, these formerly reliably red states that flip to Joe Biden, and you have to stop and wonder, is Texas next? This legislative session for Republicans ended up falling in the sweet spot where they could first try to pass rules that could narrow access to the ballot box for people and then come back in the fall for redistricting and really shore up and cement that power in these districts and maybe even end up with more Republicans running the state and holding these districts, both at the legislative level and at the congressional level. And so all of these things are happening with the backdrop of the politics of the state shifting, of the state becoming politically competitive in ways it has not been in the last quarter-century. Advertisement But it seems to me like expanding voting access was not necessarily bad for Republicans. Its not just that they maintained control of the state Legislature, but there were some counties where Republicans made inroads, like along the border, with Latino voters, where some people had said, Oh, well, obviously we dont have a chance here. These are Democratic areas. But it seemed like there was a turn there. So are they cutting off their nose to spite their face? Advertisement Thats sort of the X factor here, thats the unanswered question. When you look at a place like Harris County, where Republicans are trying to ban drive-thru voting, youve got the local elections administrators saying, like, Yalls voters are using this too. I think the site that they set up in sort of this heavily Republican area was among the ones that had the highest use in one of their recent local elections. And so the question here is, do you pull back? Do you tighten the rules so much that it starts hurting your voters? And thats a question that we just dont have an answer to at this point. Advertisement A state representative, a Democrat, said what the Democrats did here was the equivalent of crawling on our knees and begging the president to give us the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, to basically come in at the federal level and quash what Texas is trying to do here. How much faith did the Democrats in Texas have that Washington is going to be able to step in and finish the job that they started here? Advertisement In my conversations with Democrats leading up to this night, and even at the beginning of the legislative session, there was always a sort of addendum to every conversation. At the very end, it was always like, But well have to see what Congress does. Do they bring back preclearance, where the federal government oversees our laws? Do they pass the For the People Act, that does a lot of the things that we want to do to widen access to voting? I dont cover Congress, but as someone who covers voting rights litigation quite a bit, I never really understood where their confidence was coming from, particularly with the hurdles that seem to be clear in Congress to get something like this through, especially in the U.S. Senate. Advertisement I think after this walkout, it took about 10 seconds for Democrats to turn around and say, look, here is your Exhibit A for why you need to pass this. And I think if youre in a state like Texas where you have basically no control of the legislative process, where Republicans can pass anything they want, if youre a Democrat, your only hope really is for Congress to act on something like this, because you dont have the power to stop it any other way. And even if you did go to the courts, which obviously remains an option, the shift in the courts under the Trump administration is not something that leaves people with a whole lot of hope about being able to stop a lot of this. So, going into this special session, if youre a Democrat, whats your strategy now? I think Democrats are in a similar position that theyve been in on several other fights. They are outnumbered. They can try to use the rules to derail legislation. That doesnt always work. I think it honestly rarely works for them. And theyre in a sort of delaying tactic at this point. I think theres a question as to whether this walkout really revs people up to come out and oppose these bills during the special session, to testify against them, to really hammer their representatives on how they feel about this legislation. That doesnt ultimately change the outcome. But we have seen that public response play a role in the litigation, where courts will say, You heard from the public and the public was largely against this and you didnt change any of that. Obviously, thats a much longer game than I think a lot of Democrats feel comfortable with. But at the end of the day, theyre outnumbered and they know that. Subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts Get more news from Mary Harris every weekday. When I was in graduate school, in the early 2010s, mesh networks were in vogue. Mesh networks are decentralized networks of computer devices that are able to pass online traffic between them without each having to be connected to an internet service provider, and researchers have suggested they might be an important and useful way of, for instance, establishing ad hoc local networks in the aftermath of natural disasters: Instead of having to connect to Comcast you just connect to the other nearby devices. Famously, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, mesh networks took off in some communities struggling to recover. Advertisement Im used to hearing mesh networks described in positive terms, as a way to expand online connectivity and provide service in difficult-to-reach places at critical moments. So I was struck by the backlash against Amazons recently announced plans in late May to test run a mesh network among users of its Echo speaker and Ring security camera devices in the United States. Amazon Sidewalk, as the company has dubbed the proposal, will connect Ring and Echo devices across homes (and Wi-Fi networks) so that they can borrow internet access from one another. In other words, if youre setting up a Ring camera on your porch and its a little outside the range of your home network, you could potentially connect to your neighbors network (if they also have an Amazon device) and borrow a little bit of their bandwidth and connectivity, as needed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To be clear, that doesnt mean your neighbors have access to your entire home network or the data being collected by your Amazon devicesit just means they may be able to piggyback off your internet connection occasionally. In fact, Amazon published a white paper that describes all the privacy protections put in place to make sure that different households data dont end up being accessible to one another in any way. Perhaps you simply dont trust Amazon as a company to implement the technical architecture they describe in that paper, but in that case you probably shouldnt be buying their devices and trusting them with audio and video recordings in the first place. And from a technical standpoint, Amazon has been very solid when it comes to security protections for devices and data. Advertisement Maybe my reaction was colored by the rose-tinted memories of the mesh networking dialogue a decade ago, but I thought the Sidewalk program was a fairly clever systemeven a rather community-oriented one, offering a way for neighbors to help patch the spotty areas in each others wireless networks. That help would only extend to Rings and Echoes, at the moment at least, but its potentially a step toward trying to design bigger and more interoperable mesh networks somewhere down the road that allowed for other third-party devices as well. (I think Amazon is probably right to limit what the network will be used for and not try to do too much too fast in terms of giving other devices access to this network all at once.) So I was taken a bit aback by the wave of hostile reactions and articles not just giving information about how to opt out of Amazon Sidewalk (which any Amazon user can do) but actively encouraging people to disable it before the program begins June 8. Advertisement Advertisement There are at least three main criticisms of the Amazon Sidewalk plan: that Amazon should have given people more time to decide whether they wanted to opt out before launching the program, that the company should have made it opt-in instead of opt-out, and that it threatens users privacy and security. The first of those points is absolutely faira week is not a lot of time for people to learn about a new program and make an informed decision about whether they want to participate (though, in all honesty, Im not sure how many more people would have read up on it if theyd been given a month or two). The second criticism is more complicatedyes, in general, it makes sense to not enroll people in new programs by default, but a mesh network is only useful if a significant number of people are part of it, so I can certainly see why Amazon would prefer to opt everyone in at the outset. Its quite possible that an opt-in mesh network would ultimately lead to no mesh network at all. Advertisement Finally, theres the question of security and privacy. But Amazon really does seem to have done considerable work beforehand to make sure its system was as well protected as possible. The Echo and Ring collect large quantities of audio and video data, which certainly raises privacy issues for many people, but the Sidewalk program applies only to users who already have those devices at homepresumably people who have already made the decision to trust Amazon with that data and its protection. The really significant and important privacy decision you make when you buy an Echo or a Ring (or any other internet-connected speaker or security camera) is whether youre comfortable with someone collecting a lot of audio and video data from your house. Once youve made that decisionto trust Amazon with that datathe decision about whether to participate in Amazon Sidewalk is really more about how much people trust or want to help their neighbors than it is about how much they trust or want to support Amazon. Advertisement Advertisement Importantly, your neighbors will not be able to see if youre using their network and vice-versa. So even if your neighbors have a weak password or other lax security in place for their wireless network, it shouldnt affect you because all information passed between the gateways and devices is encrypted. There are also regulatory and legal issues raised by the Sidewalk program. Ars Technica quoted former FTC chief technology officer Ashkan Soltani describing Amazon as effectively becoming a global ISP with a flick of a switch, all without even having to lay a single foot of fiber. Soltani meant this as a criticism of what is already an enormous and very powerful company, but isnt it also kind of incredibly cool? Advertisement The enormous expense and significant bureaucratic hurdles to laying fiberdigging up streets, obtaining permitsis a huge part of why there are so few companies that provide internet service in many places. To have more companies able to provide internet access in different ways with smaller upfront investments is actually a good thing. Amazon might not be your first-choice company to fill that role, and Echoes and Rings might not be the devices you think most urgently need that support, but its still an important step toward thinking about how we can provide more and better internet service in faster, less expensive ways. Boosting connectivity for Echo and Ring devices is certainly a far cry from the idealistic natural disaster recovery use case for mesh networks, but these devices may be a useful starting point in a different way. Because everyone who owns an Echo or a Ring has already made the decision to trust Amazon with protecting lots of sensitive home data, its perhaps not unreasonable to think that many of them would also be comfortable with trusting Amazons mesh networking design. And Ring devices are often installed around the periphery of peoples homes, so they might especially benefit from a little signal boost if they are far from a households router. Advertisement By all means, opt out of Amazon Sidewalk if anything about this program makes you uncomfortable or if (despite already owning a Ring or Echo) you dont trust the company enough to share a little of your home network with your neighbors safely. Youre under no obligation to participate in this mesh networking experiment, and it probably would have made more sense for Amazon to at least launch the program with an opt-in model that gave people more time to learn about how it works and whether they want to be involved. But if youre just learning about mesh networks for the first time and arent sure what to think, or whether this is something to be very worried about, I really dont think it is. If youve already reconciled yourself to the privacy implications of owning an Echo or a Ring, the additional privacy and security drawbacks of participating in Sidewalk seem very limited and the benefits are potentially considerable, for you and for everyone around you. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists still arent sure where exactly the virus that caused this mess came from, and how it was able to spread so rapidly among humans. With the origins of the coronavirus still up in the air, theres been a lot of talk of the so-called lab leak theorythe idea that the virus spread to people in a laboratory accident, rather than jumping from a wild animal to a human. Advertisement In recent days, theres been a flurry of speculation, and it can be hard to parse what the lab leak theory is all about, how likely it is, and why it matters at all. Heres our attempt to sort some of that out. OK, for starters: I thought this was all a conspiracy theory. Advertisement Advertisement Well, sort of. Near the beginning of the pandemic, President Donald Trump blamed China for the virus and suggested it originated in a lab. He didnt have evidence, and he wasnt taking his cues from scientists (who were saying that the virus most likely came from animals, as many viruses do). So, yes, shouting that the virus came from a lab in that context was unwarranted. Advertisement Some researchers published letters in prominent journals that dismissed those unfounded statements. We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin, read a letter in the Lancet. We were just saying, hey, time out, lets not draw conclusions until we have data, says Charles Calisher, an emeritus professor of microbiology and immunology at Colorado State University and a co-author of the Lancet letter. So how is this no longer a conspiracy theory? Is there new data? There is currently no direct evidence for either a natural origin or a lab leak. That is, no one has found the smoking gunthe virus hanging out in a lab, or in nature. Genetically, the virus is similar to coronaviruses found in bats and in pangolins, which are a type of anteaterlike mammal. But scientists havent found the viruss exact sequence in an animal. Advertisement Advertisement That seems like good evidence for the lab leak theory! Not really. It can take years to identify a viruss source. Its also not a unique situationscientists also arent exactly sure where Ebola came from, either. Also, almost every vertebrate gets infected by coronaviruses, says Shangxin Yang, assistant medical director of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory at UCLA Health. Its really no surprise we havent found this one yet. OK, but what about that Wall Street Journal article about the researchers who got sick? In May, the Wall Street Journal reported that in November 2019, three researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were sick enough that they sought hospital treatment for respiratory illness. They had symptoms that were similar to those of COVID-19but also to those of other illnesses, like the flu. Advertisement Although some saw the report as supporting the lab leak theory, Yang notes that there was already some evidence that COVID-19 could have begun spreading in Wuhan as early as October. I dont really see that as evidence [of a lab leak], Yang says, because even if the researchers did have COVID-19, they wouldnt have had to have gotten it from a lab. Those three could be only three out of hundreds or thousands of people who already got it. Advertisement Got it. OK, so that sounds pretty shaky. Hasnt there been an actual investigation into the lab leak? Yes. In March 2021, a joint study between World Health Organization and Chinese scientists looked at some of the ways the virus might have spread. They visited hospitals and government labs and interviewed Chinese scientists, doctors, and officials about the start of the pandemic. The report concluded that a lab origin of the virus was extremely unlikely. Researchers in the Wuhan Institute of Virologys coronavirus labwhich is where the leak would have potentially come fromsaid none of them had antibodies for the virus, and no coronavirus sample matching Sars-CoV-2 exists in their lab. Plus, viruses similar to Sars-CoV-2 exist in nature. Advertisement Why not just trust that conclusion, then? Well, some scientists do. But it was far from a transparent investigation, says Alina Chan, a molecular biologist at the Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard. Chan has previously argued that a lab origin of the virus is possible in part because, unlike the original SARS virus, this new virus didnt change and mutate constantly to adapt to human hosts in the pandemics first months. The WHO scientists, she says, had to be chaperoned everywhere by Chinese government officials and werent allowed to see raw data on early COVID-19 patients, limiting their ability to draw conclusions about the viruss early spread. Chan also said that scientists early efforts to distance themselves from the theory, back when Trump was shouting about it, only made it harder for other scientists to voice concerns over the real possibility of a lab leak. Advertisement Advertisement In May, a group of dissatisfied scientists, including Chan and many prominent virologists, epidemiologists, and public health researchers, published a letter in the journal Science in support of a more transparent investigation and serious consideration of the lab leak theory. Soon after, President Joe Biden asked U.S. intelligence agencies to redouble their investigation into the viruss origins, which had been inconclusive. The agencies are to update Congress on the results within 90 days. Its important to acknowledge that scientists pushing for further investigation are not saying that the virus could have been engineered for use as a bioweapon or released on purpose. Thats where the conspiracy line is very clear, says Chan. OK, so the lab leakif it happenedwasnt purposeful. How could it have happened? Advertisement There are a few ways, says Chan. Researchers travel to remote areas to collect virus samples, she says, and during that fieldwork, a researcher could get reasonably infected, she says. Scientists going into remote caves and old mines to collect, for example, bat guano from infected animals sometimes wear full protective equipment but sometimes do not, as science writer David Quammen describes in his book on disease outbreaks from animals. Yes, this would effectively be an instance of spillover of a virus from an animal to a humanbut in the course of doing research. Researchers could also have become infected if they were working with a virus in the lab and not wearing proper gear or following safety procedures, says Chan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why would scientists in Wuhan be working with a dangerous virus in the first place? In part, to try to prevent a pandemic like this one from happening. A type of research called gain of function research examines how a virus might evolveor gaindifferent ways of spreading, including the ability to reach humans. Scientists try to mimic this process themselves, by altering parts of a viruss structure or genome, then infecting human cells grown in the lab. The reason for doing it [is] so in case an epidemic appeared, we want to be better prepared by understanding it better, says Robert Gallo, co-founder and director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and co-founder and international scientific adviser of the Global Virus Network. Advertisement According to National Institutes of Health grants examined by journalist Nicholas Wade, gain of function research was being done at the Wuhan Institute of Virology at some point. (Confusingly, Anthony Fauci has claimed that the NIH did not fund gain of function research, but Chan points out that his definition of gain of function research is a bit narrow). Does that mean scientists could have created Sars-CoV-2? Advertisement Not quite. The viruss genetic code shows that its genome has not been extensively altered by humans, says Chan. But she argues that its possible humans made small changes to it. Those are harder to detect. Other scientists argue that humans simply wouldnt be able to intentionally create (or tweak) a virus that spreads so efficiently. Humans are not smart enough to do that, says Yang. For proof, Yang says, just look to recent disease outbreaksEbola, SARS, and MERS are all caused by viruses that originated in animals. Gain of function research, in that line of thinking, would have to be very, very sophisticated in order to mimic that. Advertisement OK, so it sounds like the jury is still out. Most experts still tend to think the virus has a natural origin. Yang explains that a lab leak is theoretically possible but extremely unlikely. So many other infectious diseases have originated from animals, including the MERS and SARS outbreaks caused by coronaviruses. Because humans live increasingly close to animals, diseases that originate from animals have also long been predicted to become more prevalent. But yes, without more data, its impossible to know for sure. Chan thinks scientists shouldnt be asked to constantly make public judgment on the likelihood of one scenario versus anotherif new evidence emerges, they might feel like they cant change their mind. She also thinks its just impossible to really nail down the probability of a lab leak without a transparent understanding of what was happening in the lab. It would be like trying to guess whats the likelihood of rolling a six without knowing how many sides of the dice there are, says Chan. Advertisement Advertisement That all makes sense, but, as someone who is not a doctor or a scientist, do I need to care about it? Probably not. If it was ever a lab leak, WHO would want to know and make sure it never happens again, says Gallo. But youre not going to gain anything out of knowing one way or another. And regardless of the origin of this virus, we know that viruses jump from animals all the time. That kind of transmission definitely poses an ongoing threat. Yang says it will be important to identify regional outbreaks of diseases from animals before they spread very far. But if history is any lesson, says Yang, there is no way to entirely prevent diseases from spreading this way. The reality is, unfortunately, that COVID will not be the last one, he says. Others argue that everyone has a right to know how this pandemic started, especially if a safety lapse ended up causing a lab leak. As Chan explains, If were aware that these labs are doing very high-risk pathogen research on the sources of pandemics, people in America and most of the world can write to their governments and say, Lets not have that happen in my city. MPs okayed record-high budget deficit. Critics expect future tax hike Total increase in expenditures not necessary, economists say. Font size: A - | A + Slovakia may see the highest deficit in its history post-pandemic, analysts worry in the wake of the parliament passing a revision to the state budget, which caused a discord in the ruling coalition and kicked off a debate about the future increase in taxes. The surge in the Covid-19 infections that hit Slovakia last autumn and winter was accompanied by severe limitations in some business sectors, slashing the revenues of many companies and pushing some to the brink of bankruptcy. Increased medical expenditures and state aid to the bleeding economy have exhausted state reserves put aside to cover the adverse effects of the pandemic. To replenish them, the government of Eduard Heger passed an amendment to the 2021 state budget, increasing expenditures and thus also its deficit. Related article A huge debt and deficit, the threat of a Greek road. What is the new budget like? Read more While economic analysts do not see any general problem in higher spending, they criticise the scope of the increase as it includes expenditures not related to the fight against Covid-19 and its impacts. Radovan Durana, analyst with the think tank Institute of Economic and Social Studies (INESS), is afraid that the competition of the coalition parties in increasing budgetary expenditures will lead to the highest deficit in Slovakia's history. He finds it unusual that at a time of record deficits and rapid debt growth, Slovak politicians are coming up with increased parental bonuses or child allowances. Instead, we should talk about measures to bring spending back to pre-crisis normal. Unfortunately, there is silence about this, Durana told The Slovak Spectator. The junior coalition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), which has been known as the party of economic liberals, criticised the increase in the expenditures as too high as well. Todays deficits are tomorrows taxes, said Marian Viskupic (SaS), head of the parliamentary committee for finances, during the parliamentary debate before the final vote. Expenditures ballooned more than originally planned 3. Jun 2021 at 15:49 | Jana Liptakova Without team effort, the EU will become irrelevant Russia and China already see the Union as weak and quarrelsome, Slovakia's ex-PM Mikulas Dzurinda says in the interview. Font size: A - | A + The European Union is at a crossroads. If it goes the right way, it can be a global player within ten years, says Slovak former prime minister Mikulas Dzurinda, who currently heads the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, the official think-tank of the European Peoples Party. He warns that if this does not happen, the Union will become less and less important on the world stage, as can be seen now in the actions of Russian or Turkish officials against representatives of the European institutions. In the interview, Dzurinda also explains why it took the EPP a long time to get rid of Fidesz, and what would happen to the Union if populists came to the forefront of France and Italy. 3. Jun 2021 at 16:08 | Matus Krcmarik One in ten hotels have problematic ownership background Transparency International Slovakia ranked hotels based on transparency. Font size: A - | A + Of the more than 600 hotels in Slovakia, 50 have a background of problematic ownership. With some, the problem extends to their modus operandi (mode of operating). The information was brought by Transparency International Slovakia (TIS) on June 1, based on an analysis the non-governmental watchdog conducted in cooperation with journalists. Hotels were ranked based on several categories. Owner identification a criterion In regards to organisation transparency, criteria included who administrates the business, whether the hotel publicises deadlines, and if it is possible to identify the owner or final recipient of benefits via the means of public registries. The trustworthiness of hotel owners was the second category. The best grade, which is the excellent hotel rank, was received by over half of all hotels, and the worst grade, which is unsatisfactory hotel or problematic hotel, was assigned to about a tenth of all hotels, so 50 in total, said TIS analyst Lubos Kostelansky, as quoted by the SITA newswire. The hotels were graded on a scale from 1 through 6, from the best hotel down to the most problematic. Money laundering allegations Former director of TIS Gabriel Sipos noted that money from various scandals often ended up in the hotel industry. It is not a peculiarity of Slovakia. We see it in other places as well, that the hotel segment often attracts investors who are dedicated to the field and want to offer the best service, but also those who are looking for a means to launder their money or to solidify their status and influence society, he said, as quoted by SITA. According to journalist Martin Turcek, who helped with the project, among the worst hotels in terms of owner trustworthiness were those belonging to convicted businessman Marian Kocner and the former chief of Slovak intelligence service, Ivan Lexa. On the contrary, good hotels are owned by the current chancellor of the parliament, Daniel Guspan, and by businessman Radovan Horecky. Hotels linked to businessman Oskar Vilagi ranked somewhere in the middle. His name was mentioned in the Gorila files, but since then his name has not been associated with illicit actions, Turcek noted. Similarly, we have taken into account if a hotel is owned by several people, which is why a hotel co-owned by Martin K, who is currently accused of corruption related to the Cattle Breeder scandal, received a median ranking, he stated, adding that the other co-owner has not had charges levelled against him. The ranking of hotels can be found on the web page ktovlastni.sk. 3. Jun 2021 at 15:45 | Compiled by Spectator staff The attorney for a Torrington man accused of killing his girlfriend has asked for a mental health evaluation, according to court filings in Goshen County. In court papers filed May 13, the attorney for Sean Logan Pettus, public defender Jonathan Foreman, has filed a motion to suspend proceedings in the case against his client, stating he believes there is reasonable cause to believe that his client suffers a mental illness or deficiency. Foreman asks the court to send Pettus to the Wyoming State Hospital to be evaluated by staff to see if he is competent to stand trial. Pettus, accused of the April 20 death of Torrington resident Madison Cook, 20, as well as starting a fire at the business he leased and an adjoining business on East Valley Road, stealing a local womans Ford Taurus and items from her car. Pettus has been charged with first-degree murder, which if he is convicted is punishable by up to life in prison with no parole. He has also been charged with first degree arson, which is punishable by a penalty of 20 years or a $20,000 fine; felony theft over $1,000, which has a maximum penalty of 10 years or a $10,000 fine; and two burglary charges, which has a maximum penalty of 10 years or a $10,000 fine. Members of the Coppell Chamber of Commerce, including President/CEO Ellie Braxton-Leveen (center, in red) have made government affairs a key part of its mission. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Im just proud of the fact that were able to continue on the path for going forward to increase services and quality of service jobs while maintaining that low tax rate. Thats the advantage of having a growing county, Commissioner Gene Houpe said. We still have issues that were trying to deal with but being able to keep a low tax rate to attract people to come and live here and enjoy their families while having tremendous business growth, thats always an asset. The commissioners also thanked the countys employees for working through the COVID-19 pandemic, which helped the county maintain some sense of normalcy even if some services were unavailable. Mallory said that was a credit to the staff that kept working despite the difficulties. We never just closed the doors and said call this number, Mallory said. Team effort Brown highlighted that while he and the other commissioners are ultimately responsible for the budget that gets passed, he said it takes the work of the countys departments and county manager, Beth Mull, to get the job done. Among those, 32, or 57%, had symptoms, five have been hospitalized and three have died from COVID-19, according to the health department. +5 Teens roll up sleeves for COVID-19 vaccine across Cowlitz County Natalie Bargen hates needles, but on Thursday morning she received the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at PeaceHealth St. John Medic Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Ages of breakthrough cases range from their 20s to 90s, with an average age of 64. The department declined to release additional information about the cases to protect privacy. Vaccine breakthrough cases are expected with any vaccine, said County Health and Human Services Communications Manager Stefanie Donahue. These data show the COVID-19 vaccines are effective. Washington is seeing the expected amount of breakthrough cases, Acting State Health Officer Scott Lindquist said during a briefing Wednesday. The state recorded 1,575 breakthrough cases out of more than 3 million people fully vaccinated as of May 29, according to a Department of Health report published Wednesday. +2 Castle Rock leads Cowlitz County COVID-19 vaccination rates, rural southeastern areas trail Castle Rock has the highest rate of vaccination in the county, with 63% of residents initiating vaccination and 46% fully vaccinated, according to a county health department data report. Lindquist said the breakthrough cases are fairly equally split amongst age groups. About 75% had symptoms and many of the 25% that didnt were identified during outbreak-related testing, he said. Not all breakthrough cases are mild illnesses, and 9% were hospitalized, Lindquist said. Land managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources in Wahkiakum County will grow by six parcels in July. The departments board approved the purchase of 266 acres of forestland Tuesday, adding to the roughly 40,000 acres already managed by DNR in Wahkiakum County. According to the department, the county receives $1.8 million in nontax revenue a year from timber sales on DNR-managed land. The land is adjacent to DNR-managed land north of Skamokawa, as well as along State Route 4 between Skamokawa and Grays River. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Five parcels are valued at $520,000, according to the department, and will generate additional timber sale revenue for the county. A sixth parcel worth $60,000 will generate money for a state trust to fund kindergarten through 12th-grade school construction throughout Washington. Communications Manager Kenny Ocker could not estimate the potential revenue of timber sales from the new land purchase. He said harvesting the timber could take decades, depending on the growth of the trees. Some of the new parcels have trees 15 years old, while others are 40 years old. Shannon Dela Cruz School: Wahkiakum High School Age: 19 Hometown: Cathlamat and Avondale, Ariz. Mom: Candice Chapman. Plans: Study at Arizona State University to be a nurse anesthetist. If you could talk to anyone, living or dead, who would it be? "Robin Williams. Hes such a great actor and Id like to know a bit more about him." What would you order for your final meal? "Crab legs, lobster, anything seafood." Apples WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) 2021 is all set to kick off on June 7 and like every year, a bunch of 350 youngsters, winners of the Swift Student Challenge, will be a part of the million others attending it. Set to be held virtually this year, WWDCs Swift Student Challenge picks winners from a whole lot of students who compete to show off their coding and problem-solving skills by submitting an original Swift playground. This year, we are incredibly proud that more young women applied and won than ever before, and we are committed to doing everything we can to nurture this progress and reach true gender parity, said Susan Prescott, Apples vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations and Enterprise and Education Marketing. Among the 350 winners are three women who are involved in trying to solve real-world problems using technology. And thats not all, they are also actively involved in teaching the next generation to do the same. Gianna Yan, 16, was inspired into action when she saw her immunocompromised grandparents struggling to get essential supplies, like groceries, delivered to their home in Hawaii over the pandemic. My sister and I felt especially driven to help because we were so far away and couldnt physically be there for them, said Yan, who lives in Oakland, California. This lead to the creation of Feed Fleet, an app that pairs volunteers with at-risk individuals to deliver essential goods right to their doorstep. Yan also joined The Farmlink Project which is a student-created nonprofit that helps farms connect their surplus produce to food banks. This project has redirected over 30 million pounds of food in just over one year. On the other hand, Yan is also designing an app that will help students report incidents of sexual assault on school campuses, and another one that assists with breast cancer self-examinations and detecting heart disease in women. She also runs her own workshop, Encode Change, teaching BIPOC elementary students how to code. Also Read: Apple WWDC 2021 livestream link is now live, you can also sign up for its digital lounges For Abinaya Dinesh, 15, her passion for medicine and technology took a personal turn last year. I went to a gastroenterologist and he diagnosed me with a pelvic floor disorder, but then told me nothing about how I was supposed to get better, Dinesh said. So she took it upon herself to do something. Dinesh, who lives in North Brunswick, New Jersey, created an app called Gastro at Home. The app offers people with gastrointestinal disorders a way to access information and resources, especially because these conditions are sometimes too sensitive to be talked about. Dinesh plans to launch Gastro at Home on the App Store this summer. She has also started her own nonprofit, called Impact AI, which helps teach students about artificial intelligence and its ethical practices. As part of it, Dinesh has launched an eight-week high school program, called Girls in AI, to teach young women the basics of programming and machine learning. Damilola Awofisayo, 17, of Woodbridge, Virginia, loves hackathons. But she has been applying to a few of them for years and hasnt been getting in. This made her decide to start one for herself along with a friend. TecHacks mission is to create a supportive environment for girls everywhere to create, problem-solve, and showcase their talents alongside like-minded females to compete and work with". Open to women and nonbinary individuals, TecHacks first hackathon, in August 2020, virtually brought together more than 800 participants from over 60 countries. TechHacks next hackathon is scheduled for August this year and besides this, Awofisayo also helps the organisation run coding workshops and an annual fellowship. Shes also working on an American Sign Language app that she hopes will launch on the App Store later this year. This photo provided by Boom Supersonic shows an artist's rendition of United Airlines Boom Supersonic Overture jet. United said Thursday, June 3, 2021 that it reached a deal with startup aircraft maker Boom Supersonic to buy 15 of Boom's Overture jets. The planes haven't been built yet, but Boom says they will fly at 1.7 times the speed of sound, or around 1,300 mph. Credit: Boom Supersonic via AP United Airlines aims to bring back supersonic travel before the decade is over with a plane that is currently just an artist's drawingeven the prototype hasn't flown yet. The airline said Thursday that it plans to buy 15 jets from Boom Supersonic with an option for 35 more once the start-up company designs a plane that flies faster than the speed of sound while meeting safety and environmental standards. United hopes to carry passengers on the plane in 2029. The airline said the plane will reduce flights between London and the New York area to just 3 1/2 hours and make Tokyo only six hours from San Francisco. United declined to discuss financial terms, but Boom CEO Blake Scholl said the deal was worth $3 billion, or $200 million per plane with none of the discounting that is typical in the aircraft business. It has been nearly two decades since the last flight of the supersonic Concorde, which British Airways and Air France began using in 1976 to zip passengers in luxury across the Atlantic. The last one was retired in 2003, three years after an Air France Concorde crashed into a hotel shortly after takeoff from Paris, killing everyone on board and four people on the ground. Several companies are working to come up with new supersonic jets that would be more economical on fueland create fewer climate-changing emissionsthan the Concorde. Boom is working to develop an 88-seat plane it calls Overture, which it says will be the first supersonic airliner to fly on so-called sustainable fuel. Scholl said that a one-third sized prototype will make its first test flight later this year or early in 2022. This photo provided by Boom Supersonic shows an artist's rendition of United Airlines Boom Supersonic Overture jet. United said Thursday, June 3, 2021 that it reached a deal with startup aircraft maker Boom Supersonic to buy 15 of Boom's Overture jets. The planes haven't been built yet, but Boom says they will fly at 1.7 times the speed of sound, or around 1,300 mph. Credit: Boom Supersonic via AP The Denver company said the plane will be capable of speeds up to 1.7 times the speed of sound, or about 1,300 mph. That is slower than the Concorde but more than twice as fast as many current airliners. The endorsement from United is a huge lift for Boom. Another supersonic contender, Aerion, said last month that it was running short of money to get its plane, the AS2, into production. Supersonic jets are often banned over populated areas because of the sonic booms they create. That eliminates many potential overland routes because the planes would have to fly at less efficient subsonic speeds. Chicago-based United believes that its coastal hubs in San Francisco and Newark, New Jersey, and its corporate-traveler clientele make it better suited than its rivals to offer supersonic service. Mike Leskinen, United's vice president of corporate development and a former aerospace analyst, said United hopes to offer both premium and economy seating but that no final decisions have been made on cabin layout. United is sensitive about the high fares that helped doom the Concorde, and is trusting that the cost to operate the Boom plane will come down over time as it has for other jets. The Concorde was the pride of British and French aircraft companies, and it ushered in a new era of rapid travel over long distances. The plane had a distinctive delta-wing design that made it easily recognizable as it streaked overhead on its way to New York or Dulles Airport outside Washington. In this Saturday, Dec. 21, 2013, file photo, travelers check in at the United Airlines ticket counter at Terminal 1 in O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. United Airlines hopes to bring back supersonic travel before the end of this decade. United said Thursday, June 3, 2021 that it reached a deal with startup aircraft maker Boom Supersonic to buy 15 of Boom's Overture jets. Credit: AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File Despite its cachet, the plane never caught on widely. The sonic booms limited its routes over land, and its high costs and relatively small size compared with other jets made tickets too expensive for anyone other than the wealthy or well-connected. Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst for Atmosphere Research, said the Boom jet appears targeted at business flyers, but corporations are trying to cut travel spending and might resist putting employees on supersonic flights if the fares are too high. Scholl said the Boom jet will be 75% cheaper to operate than the Concorde thanks to decades of advancements in engines and lighter fuselages. "This is going to be a ticket that's affordable to way more people than supersonic ever has been before," Scholl said. He predicted that the speed of supersonic flight will revolutionize air travel the way that jets replaced most large propeller-driven planes. Not everyone who follows aviation is convinced, noting that developing a new plane costs many billions of dollars. Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst at Teal Group, said he believes that if there were a profitable market for supersonic airliners, Boeing and Airbus would be building them. "It tells you that the enormous, established players don't see it," he said. "There is no reason they couldn't do this. There is no secret sauce that Boom keeps in a safe somewhere." Explore further NASA captures unprecedented images of supersonic shockwaves 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Credit: CC0 Public Domain The search for sustainable energy sources continues apace. Research highlighted in the International Journal of Renewable Energy Technology, looks at one such sourcealgae, from which biodiesel can be derived, The work discusses production issues, characterisation, and compares the performance of such fuels with other sources of diesel. Alpesh Virendrabhai Mehta and Nirvesh Sumanbhai Mehta of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Government Engineering College, Gujarat, India, explain how ongoing industrialisation is increasing energy demands worldwide. This is giving rise to various interlinked problems for humanitydwindling resources, increased pollution, and climate change. The fossil fuels on which we have relied for decades represent an entirely unsustainable and highly polluting resource. The potential to use carbon compounds derived from sustainable sources such as crops and algae offer an energy stop-gap. Sustainable sources have the benefit of being renewable and will be required while we continue to rely on combustion for vehicles, heating, and power production at least until completely sustainable and non-polluting power sources, such as wind, solar, and tidal can be made more universally available. There is also the potential for certain approaches to biofuels that replace fossil fuels to have a smaller carbon footprint for the same power output. The use of algae rather than fuel crops would have the added benefit of not displacing food agriculture. The team has demonstrated that algal biodiesel is less viscous than conventional diesel and so has a shorter delay before combustion in a diesel engine. A minimal chemical delay also benefits algal diesel in terms of giving the highest brake thermal efficiency. The presence of oxygen in algal diesel also adds to this efficiency because the oxygen atoms act to promote combustion from "within" the fuel itself. The team reports that algal diesel gives better performance than conventional diesel. Moreover, exhaust gas analysis of various blends satisfies the emission regulations for biodiesel in India, the team writes. They suggest that algal diesel would be an environmentally beneficial substitute for conventional diesel. Explore further Sustainable biodiesel from neem tree trans-esterification More information: Alpesh Virendrabhai Mehta et al, Production, characterisation, comparison, and performance of algae biodiesel as an eco-friendly fuel, International Journal of Renewable Energy Technology (2021). Alpesh Virendrabhai Mehta et al, Production, characterisation, comparison, and performance of algae biodiesel as an eco-friendly fuel,(2021). DOI: 10.1504/IJRET.2021.115283 The two biggest Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce fundraisers of the year, Chamber Experience and Business & Bites, have been combined into one event for the first time. And it wont be the last. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Looking for in-depth reporting on labor issues? You're in the right place. Subscribe to The Chief and get stories that cover every side of civil service in New York City and beyond. You can sign up in minutes for immediate access. JASPER, Texas (AP) A child found dead in a Texas motel room is believed to be a boy reported missing in Houston and a suspect has been arrested in the case, police said Wednesday. Authorities had been searching for Samuel Olson, who was reported missing May 27. On Tuesday night, police recovered a child's body from a motel room in Jasper, about 135 miles (215 kilometers) northeast of Houston. Investigators believe that the body belongs to Samuel but are awaiting official confirmation from a medical examiner who will also determine how and when the child died, Assistant Police Chief Heather Morris said. The boy would have turned 6 over the weekend, family members said. The boy was reported missing by his father's girlfriend, Theresa Balboa, who told officers that Samuel's mother and a police officer showed up and took the boy from the home, Morris said. On Tuesday, police in Jasper, Texas, received an anonymous tip and searched the motel room, where they discovered the body. Balboa was also at the motel and was taken into custody, Morris said. Prosecutors in Houston have authorized a charge of tampering with evidence against Balboa, but Morris said more charges are possible once an autopsy is complete. The 2022 matchup could be the marquee statewide primary of this election cycle, and former President Donald Trump already looms large. He said in a statement last week that he would issue an endorsement in the race and do so "in the not-so-distant future." Both Bush and Paxton have histories with Trump. Bush son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was the only prominent member of his famous political family to support Trump in 2016, and Trump has praised him as the only Bush "that got it right." Paxton has positioned himself as one of the most pro-Trump attorneys general especially after the November election, when Paxton led an unsuccessful lawsuit challenging Trump's reelection loss in four battleground states. Paxton has been under indictment on securities fraud charges for most of the time since he took office in 2015. More recently, he has come under investigation by the FBI over allegations from former senior aides that he abused his office to help a wealthy donor. He has denied wrongdoing in both cases. A veteran with a fever and hacking cough that suggest a possible coronavirus infection tries to make a doctors appointment, only to be turned away by a receptionist who personally decides the would-be patient cant see a physician. A former service member and sexual assault survivor at risk of suicide is denied access to mental health services by a bureaucratic gatekeeper stationed at the therapists front desk. These are two of thousands of examples of veterans seeking the Veterans Affairs health care theyre legally entitled to and being wrongly refused it. This is due to a pervasive misunderstanding, and misapplication, of the rules regarding other-than-honorable discharges. Among veterans this refusal is based on what is known as having bad paper. The bad paper designation can be based on minor misconduct, such as being late to morning formation, showing disrespect to a superior or one-time drug use. Being turned away is an institutional shortcoming that easily can be remedied not by an act of Congress, or time-consuming changes to federal rules, but instead through administrative corrective steps that can be taken by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Another project in 2011 altered a bird flu virus so it could spread between mammals. This was a particularly scary creation because bird flu occasionally can jump from birds to humans, killing about 60% of those infected. A version of this that could travel from human to human would be devastating. Debate continued for years over whether the benefits of this kind of research could possibly justify the grave risk, though the research was scheduled to resume in 2019. Theres also U.S. funding for virus surveillance, which carries its own risks. Researchers go out and collect viruses, grow them in their labs, and use them in experiments. Ebright considers this analogous to the space virus collection in The Andromeda Strain, except that now we know that plenty of exotic viruses exist right here on Earth. Scientists have, more recently, been creating genetically altered coronaviruses. That research has been done as a collaboration between U.S. labs and the Wuhan Institute of Virology. In one controversial project, researchers took bat coronaviruses and introduced changes to see if they could induce greater pandemic potential. That research was published in 2015 in Nature Medicine. Bill would lead to a less-educated Texas Texas House Bill 3979 is a form of pre-censorship that restricts what educators teach and how they teach it. Moreover, the language of HB 3979 contains a sweeping form of double speak meant to be broadly repressive. The bill first says that teachers cannot "require" certain content and immediately after, it states that they can't "make part of a course" such content. In other words, the bill's language slides from selective to comprehensive prohibition. This means that teachers interested in covering past events -- let's say the Tulsa massacre -- or current events such as the killing of Marcus Smith would run afoul of the bill (when it becomes law), even if they let students opt out of the discussion and would, therefore, have to remove the content from their classes. Moreover, the terms of inclusion for such issues would mean that if, for instance, the Dakota massacre were taught, a teacher would have to cover both sides in an even-handed way and would therefore have to justify white-settler violence. This is, in fact, one of the more dangerous aspects of the bill, the suggestion that everything, every historical action is morally equivalent to another. On Friday morning, the remains of Army Private Lyle W. Reab will be transported from Omaha to Higby-McQuiston Mortuary in Aurora. On Tuesday, Reab will be buried at Lerton Cemetery, south of Giltner. The homecoming of Lyle Reab has been a long time coming. The World War II soldier was only 22 when he died in Germany in 1944. Reab was born in Phillips on Nov. 9, 1921, and spent most of his short life in Giltner. After being missing in action for 77 years, his remains were identified in February of this year. Were trying to organize an escort for him coming out of Omaha, said Karen Thomas of Battle Creek, whose father is Reabs first cousin. The Nebraska Army National Guard funeral honors team will present military honors. The American Legion Riders also will be present. Reab was the only child of Daisy (Croxen) and Harry Reab. Harry died in 1973 and Daisy passed away in 1988. Thomas father, Dale Croxen, is the son of David Croxen, who was Daisys brother. Dale, who is 94, lives in Tilden. He and his two sisters, Arlene Koenig of Lincoln and Opal Bartos of ONeill, will attend Tuesdays funeral. The investigating officer says in his affidavit filed with the court that upon arrival, he heard a woman screaming. Since I heard the screaming, I walked into the residence through the unlocked front door, the officer wrote, noting that the screaming directed him to the front bedroom. He says in the affidavit that when he walked through the bedroom doorway (which only had a curtain), he could see Reyes on top of the female victim with one hand around her neck and one hand around her wrist. I could see blood everywhere. The York Rescue unit also came in at that time. We determined that Mario (Reyes) was not helping (her), it appeared as if he was strangling her. Mario moved his hand from her wrist and had both hands around her neck. When this happened, she stopped screaming. The officer pulled Reyes off the victim, according to the affidavit. When asked what happened, Reyes allegedly said, I hurt (her). The affidavit says the officer saw a bloody knife lying on the ground next to Reyes right foot and extremely severe injuries to the womans neck. The officer said it appeared she had been stabbed multiple times. There was also blood splatter all over the room, the document says. The victim was transported to York General Hospital and then taken by helicopter to another hospital. At the time of her transport, York Police Chief Ed Tjaden said her injuries were considered life threatening. No further information about the womans condition then or since has been released. These past weeks have been an incredibly busy time in the Legislature. As of May 27, we have adjourned Sine Die. The Legislature will reconvene at a time later this year, yet to be determined, for the purpose of redrawing the district lines using 2020 Census data. This redistricting effort traditionally occurs during the main session of the year, but was subject to postponement due to the delay of the release of 2020 Census data, attributable to COVID-related issues. Due to the size of Grand Island, in respect to the entirety of Hall County, I dont anticipate there being many changes to District 35 besides minor adjustments to the border to accommodate changing population requirements. In the next few weeks, I will publish a list of legislative highlights from the past year. The Legislature passed 197 pieces of legislation, not including the three bills, and their three respective appropriations bills, vetoed by the governor and overridden this past session. Comparatively, this has been a lighter year than others, largely driven by Speaker Mike Hilgers request to limit our bill introduction and his efficiency in leading the Legislature. For comparison, in 2019, the 106th Legislature, First Session passed a total of 294 bills. Some might contend that the less legislation we pass, the better; but, going forward, I suspect the total number of bills passed will return to its normal level. The Texas Legislature wrapped up this years lawmaking session on Sunday. Although members of the House and Senate touted wins for both Republicans and Democrats, tensions are rising between the legislative bodies amid criticism from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. What would you grade this years legislative session? You voted: Paris, TX (75460) Today Intervals of clouds and sunshine. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible. High near 95F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. Low 73F. Winds light and variable. Carmi Cast can be found on more than 30 online podcast platforms, as well as Facebook and YouTube. He said the videos on Facebook have been garnering hundreds of views. Anderton and Weiss take turns serving as hosts for the show that features topics ranging from upcoming events in Carmi to discussions with residents about their unique hobbies. Anderton handles the post-production work of editing and uploading the finished podcasts. Its really showing people what is here and what others are doing in our community, explained Kelly Northcott, executive director of the Carmi Chamber of Commerce. Podcasts are so popular and this one is reaching people that probably otherwise would hear of things in Carmi. Its opening eyes to a lot of things in our community. For Weiss and Anderton, its about sharing all that their region has to offer. Ive always loved Carmi and there are a lot of good things about this area that many people dont know. Its a tight-knit community and its nice to be a digital way to promote the area that people dont expect coming from a small town like this, Anderton said. We wanted to take Carmi and make it a little bigger than it seems. He said hes been buying extra to store for what he thinks could be hard times come late summer and into fall. He said hes been getting grim reports from distributors. +2 Many workers won't return to pre-COVID jobs Theres a wild card in the push to return to pre-pandemic life: Many workers dont want to go back to the jobs they once had. Be prepared because come the fall theyre expecting prices to go through the roof, he said of the cost of poultry and oil. Kelley said the same of the shortening he uses in his fryers the price has gone from $30 per 35 pound drum now to $45 a 50% increase in two months. Kelley works with his father, Mike Kelley, who also spoke with The Southern. He said propane costs will also likely be tough in the coming months. Still he doesnt think customers will have to absorb much of the increase in supply costs. Theis and Hannah werent sure exactly what these rising prices would mean long term. When asked about wing alternatives, like boneless wings, Theis said this was an option at least on paper. But when the idea has been casually floated to customers, the response hasnt been great, Theis said. No one wanted to see that kind of switch. Davis students worked on the project during their weekly art classes in Carbondale, gathering unwanted CDs and explored everything from what sort of glue to use to how to anchor the completed lily pads in place. The group eventually settled on PVC pipe and stainless steel for the anchor weights and a non-toxic glue to adhere the CDs to neoprene foam. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Together, the students completed nine of the CD lily pads, each about three feet across and using more than 60 discs. They placed the completed projects in Campus Lake under the direction of Jared King, campus recreation coordinator for aquatics at SIU. Theres really two ideas here, King explained. Anna originally came to me with a beautification project, just something cool to show off to the local community and something for students to gravitate to, but I was also interested in seeing some of the impacts on the algal blooms in the area. King said he is hoping as the sunlight reflects off of the silver side of the CDs, the effect will be to lower the ambient water temperature, reducing the algae blooms a rapid growth of microscopic algae or cyanobacteria in the water which leads to the formation of scum on the waters surface accompanied by an odor. At 5 in the afternoon, on June 30, the Robert E. Lee backed out from the levee at New Orleans and five minutes later the Natchez followed herbut without the elaborate preparation for a race as had been made on the Lee. Captain W. Cannon of the Lee, had stripped his boat for the race, removing all parts of her upper works that could be dispensed with. He also hired the Steamer Frank Pargoud to precede her 100 miles up-river to supply coal; and arranged with coal yards to have flatboats awaiting her in mid-stream at given points, to be taken in tow underway until the coal could be transferred to the deck of the Lee, and then cut loose to float back. He refused all business of every kind and would receive no passengers. The entire town of Natchez, Mississippi turned out to watch the race and thousands of people congregated on the bluffs at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Ten thousand looked on at Memphis. At every point telegraphs ticked out progress. Passing times at Memphis and Cairo were cabled too Europe. The Robert E. Lee won the race, arriving in St. Louis 3 days, 18 hours, and 14 minutes from the time she left New Orleans. The Natchez had previously held the record for the run with 3 days, 21 hours, and 58 minutes. It's not just Tulsa. From the 2019 premiere of HBO's "Watchmen," which introduced many Americans to a racial atrocity they'd never heard of, to all the recent media attention -- CNN, the New York Times, NPR -- marking this week's centennial, the Tulsa Race Massacre of May 31 to June 1, 1921 has lately been inescapable. As well it should be. It stands out for multiple reasons. There is the sheer size of it: at least 35 square blocks leveled by white mobs. There is the death toll of it: an estimated 300 African Americans -- the exact number will never be known -- killed. And there is the cussed gall of it. Barred from white community and society, Black people created a thriving community and society of their own, a "Black Wall Street" -- only to have white people burn it to the ground. It's important that all this be known. Yet it's also important to recognize that what happened in that Oklahoma town was not some isolated event. No, Tulsa in 1921 is echoed by New York in 1863, Memphis and New Orleans in 1866, Wilmington, North Carolina in 1898, Atlanta in 1906, Springfield in 1908, East St. Louis in 1917, Chicago and Elaine, Arkansas, in 1919, Rosewood, Florida in 1923 -- among others. Government-and-politics editor's pick alert featured Frank Tourville Sr. honored by city; Orangeburg notes Zeus founders philanthropy BRADLEY HARRIS, T&D Orangeburg Mayor Michael Butler presents a resolution honoring the late Frank Tourville Sr. to his wife, Pearl, and son, Douglas Tourville. Frank Tourville Sr. was the founder of Zeus Industrial Products, Inc. Also pictured are Orangeburg City Council members Richard Stroman, Liz Keitt, Kalu Kalu and Jerry Hannah. Frank P. Tourville Sr. The City of Orangeburg recognized the service and philanthropy of Frank Paul Tourville Sr. City Council approved a resolution honoring the Zeus Industrial Products, Inc. founder during Tuesday's meeting. Tourville passed away in March. Mrs. Tourville, we thank you, and your husband and your family for the contributions you all have made to the City of Orangeburg. We thank you. It will never go unrecognized, Orangeburg Mayor Michael Butler said. A section of the resolution reads, Whereas in 1966, Mr. Tourville launched Zeus Industrial Products, Inc. Soon, Zeus would become one of the first polymer solutions providers to support minimally invasive techniques for revolutionary catheterization procedures. In the 1980s, Zeus expanded by purchasing an old cotton mill in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Zeus has evolved into a global leader and currently operates 11 facilities. Over the years the Tourvilles invested in the regions economic and community development, which resulted in over 1,200 new jobs across the state of South Carolina. The resolution notes that Tourville received The Order of the Palmetto, the states highest civilian honor. OCtech honors Tourvilles with naming of building; president cites familys impact on college, Orangeburg community Frank and Pearl Tourville's generosity and philanthropy are well known throughout the Orangeburg area and beyond. It also recognizes his contributions to the Medical University of South Carolina. The Frank P. Tourville Arrhythmia Treatment Center at MUSC and the Pearl Tourville Womens Pavilion at the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Childrens Hospital are named in honor of Tourville and his wife. Frank P. Tourville created a worthy legacy that will live on for many generations. He will be remembered for his commitment to the community, his business acumen, his philanthropic endeavors and countless contributions to the City of Orangeburg and beyond, the resolution states. The Tourville family accepted the resolution during the meeting. Community remembers Zeus Industrial founder Frank Tourville Sr. Business leader, entrepreneur, visionary, icon, pillar, community advocate, game-changer, philanthropist, father, husband, family man. Thank you, Mayor Butler and city council members. Our family is humbled with this remembering of our husband, father and grandfather. We really appreciate it, Douglas Tourville said. Our father, he loved Orangeburg so much, Tourville said. Also during the meeting: Samaritan House board Chair Brenda Jamerson appeared before council to request funding from the city. Jamerson stated the organization is requesting $75,000 to help sustain operations, fix plumbing and roofing issues, and pay medical expenses incurred when helping occupants. Orangeburg County Fine Arts Center Director Barbara Beach and Board Chair Dr. Annette Grevious appeared before council to request funding from the city. The organization is requesting $20,000. Beach stated the funding would be used to help offer benefits to full-time employees. Council approved first reading of an ordinance amending the flood damage prevention ordinance. The city adopted the state ordinance in 2014. The amendment ensures the ordinance is up to date. Council approved a retiree resolution honoring Gale Riley. Riley worked for the Department of Public Utilities for 32 years. Council approved a retiree resolution honoring Donald Stephens. Stephens worked for the Department of Public Utilities for 26 years. Council declared initiative the character trait for June. Council approved the appointment of Richard Polite to the City of Orangeburg Grievance Committee. Council approved the recommendation of the Grievance Committee regarding an employee grievance appeal. FORT JACKSON - The Army Training Center and Fort Jackson will host a change of command ceremony June 18 to welcome Brig. Gen. Patrick R. Michaelis as its new commanding general. The event will be at 9 a.m. on Hilton Field. Michaelis will become the 52nd commanding general for Fort Jackson. Michaelis is a distinguished military graduate from Texas A&M University and was commissioned as a second lieutenant of armor in 1993. He currently serves as the deputy commanding general (operations) for the United States Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky. His previous assignments include: deputy commanding officer (maneuver) for the 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas, and commander, Mission Command Element, Operation Atlantic Resolve, United States Army Europe; executive officer to the undersecretary of the Army; commander of the 2d Recruiting Brigade, Redstone Arsenal Ala.; G3 (operations officer) for the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, and as the chief of staff to the commander of the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command - Iraq (CJFLCC-I) in support of Operation Inherent Resolve in Baghdad, Iraq; commander of the 8th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 2-2 Stryker Brigade, where he had operational responsibility for Kandahar City, Afghanistan, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom 12-13; special assistant to the vice chief of staff, Army; operations officer for the 1st Ironhorse Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas during Operation Iraqi Freedom 06-08; executive officer and operations officer for 1st Squadron, 7th U.S. Cavalry; and as the Battle Command and Chief Knowledge officer for the 1st Cavalry Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom II. Hurricane preparedness is a big deal in South Carolina. Sundays T&D print edition included the annual South Carolina Hurricane Guide, a comprehensive look at preparedness in a state that is subject every year to major storms. The guide is primarily the work of the S.C. Emergency Management Division, the agency charged with preparing the state for hurricanes and other natural disasters, and keeping the states people safe. In 2021, SCEMD has added another tool, launching https://hurricane.sc/, an interactive website to guide people through the fundamentals of being prepared for hurricanes and tropical storms. The new website is a virtual companion to SCEMDs main website, www.scemd.org, the SC Emergency Manager mobile app and the annual hurricane guide. As much history as South Carolina has with hurricanes, there was a time when preparedness was not nearly at the level of today. South Carolinas storm of the century in 1989, Hurricane Hugo, stands as a watershed event. This subscription will allow existing subscribers of The World to access all of our online content, including the E-Editions area. NOTE: To claim your access to the site, you will need to enter the Last Name and First Name that is tied to your subscription in this format: SMITH, JOHN If you need help with exactly how your specific name needs be entered, please email us at admin@countrymedia.net or call us at 1-541 266 6047. We know diversification is one of our key tasks here, Kaumo said. A city or town can easily turn into a ghost town just with the loss of one industry. Weve been lobbying Rocky Mountain Power for several months, trying to find ways to prolong the life of the power plant, or sell it to maintain those high-paying jobs. Roumell said the reactor coming to the Dave Johnston plant would give the large energy workforce in Glenrock a good reason to stay, keeping their money and tax revenue in Converse County. The plant is also near Casper, the states second-largest city. Casper City Manager Carter Napier said Wednesday he expects that if the Glenrock site is chosen, the project will also preserve and add construction and energy jobs in Casper, Natrona County and Douglas, where many current coal workers already live. Napier said he hopes Casper would be included in conversations about construction and other financial impacts if the Dave Johnston plant is chosen. In Kemmerer, Thek said most people are connected to the energy industry in some way whether or not they work at the plant or the coal mine. The town is also adding around 50 housing units in the next few years. Chef Laurel Burleson vividly remembers the most glorious jam she ever had. She was in college, studying abroad in France, and her host mom participated in a jam and jelly exchange with friends. Everyone made, like, two dozen jars and traded with everyone else, Burleson says. One of her friends made this she called it Mirabelle. I dont know if they exist in this country, Ive never found them, but they were these little, almost apricot-size yellow plums, halved and in syrup. They were the most perfect preserved fruit Ive ever had. We would eat it with ice cream, and it was my favorite thing. Burleson makes lots of jams, jellies, marmalades and preserves these days as the owner of Ugly Apple Cafe, her food cart in Madison, Wisconsin, that focuses on breakfast. Burleson started the cart in 2016, in part to address the perfectly good produce that goes to waste every day in this country. Shes passionate about the cast-offs, ugly fruit that would end up in a compost pile or landfill. Those homely fruits are excellent candidates for Burlesons fruit leathers dehydrated apples, grapes, bananas and cranberries in snackable strip form and the preserves she pipes into paczki (Polish donuts). Preserving fruit is a Midwestern tradition, one that Burleson appreciates during long Wisconsin winters. Over the winter, its easy to feel like youre in a rut. When you can grab something that you made in-season, it gives you a little refresh, she says. It sounds silly to say its like a little vacation, but it is comforting. Its a little memory Remember when we got these great strawberries? Burleson shares three recipes for jam, accompanied by a way to use each one. Or feel free to make just the jam, or use a premade or purchased preserve for these delectable creations. +2 Pan-Seared Halibut with Tomato-Onion Jam Scratched or dented tomatoes are perfect for this tomato jam recipe, which can be served on halibut or cod. Strawberry Caprese Canapes with Strawberry-Basil Jam Tart strawberry-basil jam is offset by creamy mozzarella in this sweet take on a classic caprese salad. +3 Thumbprint Cookies with Rhubarb-Bourbon Jam Thumbprint cookies can be filled with any jam, but be sure to try this rhubarb-bourbon jam with cracked black pepper. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Another event to promote vaccination could be in the works this month, but once the Casper Vaccination Center closes, the health department isnt likely to launch another major effort, Bloom said. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Of course were going to continue to make sure its easily accessible, she said. But other than that, I dont see a large push. This doesnt mean the department will stop trying to reach reluctant populations, but those efforts will likely take place on a smaller scale. The department is still strategizing how to approach the more than 70% of residents who havent been inoculated. Bloom said the department is pondering a few questions, Where do we meet those people and how do we get to them in the best way we can? Natrona County isnt alone. In Wyoming, only Teton County exceeds the national total for vaccine coverage with 54% of residents fully vaccinated. Nationally, about 41% of the population is fully vaccinated. Albany County has the second-highest rate at 39%. Campbell County has the lowest, with just over 16% of residents fully inoculated against COVID-19. That county is now seeing high virus transmission levels, according to White House metrics. Statewide, about 32% of residents are fully vaccinated. A Natrona County woman allegedly threatened people with a gun and shot at a mans foot and motor home during a dispute over parking in Alcova on Monday, law enforcement said. Cheryl Fisher faces six felony charges for the incident four counts of aggravated assault and battery, one of felony property destruction and one for possessing a gun with intent to threaten. According to an affidavit in the case, Natrona County Sheriffs officers responded to a man who reported Fisher had shot a pistol at least twice, near his feet and at his home, near Sloanes General Store. The man reportedly told officers Fisher confronted him for parking his camper on Kortes Road, first grabbing his throat before shooting at the ground. Court documents state that after the man started walking away, she fired a round at his motor home and broke a window. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Another woman in the area at the time told officers, according to the affidavit, that Fisher threatened her and her two children while they were inside a truck driving through a trailer court behind Sloanes. In an interview with a deputy, Fisher said her landlord had tasked her with keeping trespassers out of her trailer court. JACKSON A statewide effort to reach a consensus about what to do with Wyomings wilderness study areas is being revived legislatively more than two years after it ended with an outcome that left many conservationists disgruntled. The Wyoming Public Lands Initiative did not lead to any consensus recommendations for what should become of Teton Countys portions of the Palisades and Shoal Creek wilderness study areas. But committees formed by Campbell, Carbon, Fremont, Hot Springs, Johnson, Natrona and Washakie county commissioners did finalize proposals. Altogether, their recommendations would elevate five study areas into wilderness areas totaling 20,381 acres, convert another three areas into special management areas that total 27,211 acres and release and manage another 99,750 acres of study areas as multiple-use lands. Some counties couldnt agree, but seven of them did, and thats why we went this way, U.S. Sen John Barrasso told the News&Guide. Im trying to put it into legislative effect now, basically at the request of the counties, he said. We wanted a locally driven process, not Washington stepping in, because my belief is that the people in Wyoming are the best to make the decision about how to treat these lands. POWELL (May 25) -- In the past week, high school seniors all over the Big Horn Basin have crossed the stage and collected their diplomas. At one time, it was considered an ending, when the kids went to work, or spent the short summer preparing to head off to college. Once there, they would take classes and meet new people, often marry or become engaged and once they graduated, get a great job. The downside of that scenario was that in the past they seldom returned to Park County to make a life. That is no longer the case. The county might still be a net exporter of our youth, but more and more are finding ways to come home to live and work. For example, there are several home-grown teachers at the area school districts. At least one is part of the recently unveiled virtual academy. That academy is the brainchild of Jason Sleep, who came back and not only made a life here, but started something great that will serve other youngsters who might wind up doing more of the same, coming home and building an opportunity for others to be able to live and work in their own hometown. There are many families who send their children to college or trade school with the knowledge they will return here to work in the family business, whether that be ranching, farming, construction or the hospitality industry. While Sheridan County has not seen a steep decline in its sales and use tax revenues like other counties across the state, it still faces serious challenges. Government officials across the county have discussed using the funds for infrastructure projects, but it would be wise to look at these one-time dollars as a way to reach beyond the norm. Perhaps these funds can offer solutions for the housing crisis in Sheridan County. Anyone looking for a rental or a home for less than $250,000 is currently hard pressed to do so. The money could also help fund projects that otherwise have struggled but would benefit the local economy in the long term such as long-discussed upgrades of Kendrick Pool or the first phase of development at Doubleday Sports Complex to promote sports tourism. While the federal government will likely put bumpers around the possibilities, local governments should look and think outside the box in terms of how the American Rescue Plan dollars should be spent and leverage those dollars for future success. The Sheridan Press is the newspaper of record in Sheridan County. This column is provided by the Wyoming News Exchange. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 FINANCE Minister Colm Imbert said yesterday that the proposal to increase the retirement age to 65 from the current age of 60 is under active consideration, but he said the Government has not made a firm decision on the matter as yet. Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has apologised for the vaccine fiasco last week, but said it was just one bad day. After more than a year of managing and attempting to control the spread of the Covid-19 virus in Trinidad and Tobago, Rowley admitted that the Government made a blunder by allowing walk-in vaccinations at health centres across the country. Do you have a news tip? Want to share good news story, or do you have information that should see the light of day? Then we want to hear from you. More here It is not often that well-resourced and politically powerful companies such as ExxonMobil and Shell suffer historic defeats. However, last month, in different ways, both oil majors saw activist shareholders and environmentalists cause them and the international energy sector to have to think hard about what the future holds for hydrocarbons. After 15 months of living with Covid-19, it is clear that uncertainty is the only certainty. A week ago, T&T was flush with the expectation of mass vaccinations and the re-opening of the countrys borders. A week later, elation has been quelled by the sober realisation that the vaccination route out of this pandemic is not assured for the foreseeable future given the realities of global supply. Tucson air travelers will have a new option to fly to the Seattle area this fall as Alaska Airlines inaugurates daily nonstop flights to Paine Field in Everett, Washington, in November. Under a plan to resume service at Paine after a shut down because of the pandemic, Alaska on Thursday announced it would begin its new, seasonal service to Tucson on Nov. 19. Passengers can now book Tucson-Everett flights on Alaskas website, Alaskaair.com. Other destinations served by Alaska from Paine Field are Las Vegas, Orange County, Palm Springs, Phoenix, San Diego and San Francisco. With the Everett route and the return of additional California flights starting this month, TIA is now back to 19 nonstop destinations, including some seasonal routes and few that arent served daily. Alaska Airlines says it will reach 13 nonstops from Everett, including the Tucson flight, by November and plans to resume a full schedule of 18 daily nonstop service at Paine by next spring. JERUSALEM (AP) Thousands of people marched through Jerusalem on Thursday in the annual Pride parade, celebrating LGBTQ rights in the conservative city amid heavy police security. Pride events in Jerusalem, which is home to a large ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, tend to be less raucous than those in more liberal Tel Aviv. A radical ultra-Orthodox Jew stabbed a 16-year-old girl to death at a Pride event in 2015, an attack that was condemned across the political spectrum. Only a few dozen people turned out to protest the parade this year, and were largely drowned out by the blaring music. I think we are getting better and better, said one of the marchers, Fabio Abulafiya, while acknowledging that more needed to be done. "It is very important to come to parades like this, not only to party... but also to protest for our rights. An alliance of far-right parties including openly homophobic candidates made a surprisingly strong showing in parliamentary elections in March and were set to be a key component in a new government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I drive by her street every day to work and I have been for the last year and a half. And every day its like I cant wait to share what Ive been doing, she said. You take for granted that this timeless human is going to be forever and that you have time. Never take for granted that you have time. Its a huge loss in terms of public education advocacy, which was central to her work, said former U.S. Rep. Ron Barber, who knew Pedersen through his daughter, Jenny Douglas, and son-in-law Gawain. Not long after Barber was injured, along with then-Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, in Tucsons Jan. 8, 2011, mass shooting, Pedersen surprised him with a luminarias display. She had recruited dozens of Sam Hughes Neighborhood kids to help create more than 400 luminarias something she organized with neighbors every December before the holidays that filled his backyard. I turned the corner to my backyard and I looked out and I lost it, Barber said. Every one of the luminarias had a message of love. Its a huge loss on so many levels. And I know that my daughter is not alone in feeling like the bottom dropped out of her world, Barber added. Chitwood said the recent events were emblematic of a larger problem that lawmakers and officials at the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice needed to address. We are arresting this kids in the state of Florida for violent crimes and the Department of Juvenile Justice wants to put them in places that cant handle them," Chitwood said Wednesday. People need to face facts ... Instead of mollycoddling these kids, and pat Johnny on his head, and hug Jane and tell her everything is going to be OK, we have an awful lot of violent criminals who are teenagers." The boy previously had made threats to kill another student and throw a brick at a school administrator, and the girl was arrested three years ago for stealing puppies. She was sent to teen court but failed to comply with the requirements and set five fires in a wooded lot last April, Chitwood said. She was sent to live with her mother, then placed in foster care, but she kept running away so she was sent to the juvenile home, the sheriff said. Juvenile justice officials said in an email that the children's home they ran away from is not a part of its program. When a youth is arrested in Florida, the courts determine whether or not they are held in secure detention or released into the community," the statement said. As the state's chief election officer since winning office in 2018, Hobbs' defense of the state's election systems after the 2020 election has been broad and vocal and has included frequent appearances on national media. She has heavily criticized the unsubstantiated allegations that Biden won in Arizona because of fraud or other problems and brought in independent observers to view the partisan recount now underway. She said she expects Trump and his backers to continue to raise doubts but said she'll continue to tell the truth about the election, which that is that it was a free and fair election. It is a partisan attack on free and fair elections, and reasonable people understand that, Hobbs said. The folks who dont, are never going to believe anything I say. Hobbs also was a defendant in a series of lawsuits brought by Trump backers seeking to overturn the 2020 election results, putting her at odds with the Republican attorney general and some GOP lawmakers. The Republican-dominated state Legislature has moved to strip her of the means to defend lawsuits by removing her ability to hire outside lawyers. She vowed to fight that effort if it is included in the final state budget proposal. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) Denmark has solid relationships with its allies, including France and Germany, that do not need to be restored, its prime minister said after reports that the country allegedly had helped the United States spy on European leaders more than seven years ago. I do not think it is correctly presented that there is a need to restore relations with either France or Germany, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Wednesday. We have an ongoing dialogue, and so do we in the field of intelligence. The Danish broadcaster DR reported Sunday that the Danish Defense Intelligence Service, known in Denmark by its acronym FE, in 2014 conducted an internal investigation into whether the U.S. National Security Agency had used its cooperation with the Danes to spy against Denmark and neighboring countries. The probe concluded that NSA had eavesdropped on political leaders and officials in Germany, France, Sweden and Norway. Frederiksen added that she does not comment on stories about the intelligence work that appear via the media. BEIJING (AP) Elephants in a wandering herd in southwest China walked down paved roads and poked their trunks through windows as they neared a city and authorities rushed to protect both the animals and people. Its not clear why the 15 elephants made their long trek from a nature reserve which has been documented and monitored both on the ground and from the air by a dozen drones. Authorities have urged people in the area to stay indoors and are blocking roads with construction equipment while seeking to lure the animals away with food. The elephants have already walked 500 kilometers (300 miles) from the reserve in Yunnans mountainous southwest. They appear healthy in images showing them roaming through farmland, villages and down paved roads at night in urban areas. One city along their route, Yuxi, deployed hundreds of trucks along a road to discourage the herd from approaching, the Beijing News reported. Drivers ate and slept in the vehicles for days, even as they heard the elephants moving about after dark, the newspaper said in a video clip posted online. On Tuesday, they turned up at a retirement home and poked their trunks into some of the rooms, prompting one elderly man to hide under his bed, according to residents interviewed by online channel Jimu News. TOKYO (AP) Japan's prime minister announced Wednesday an additional $800 million contribution to the U.N.-backed initiative to provide COVID-19 vaccines to poor countries, a four-fold increase of Japanese funding for the COVAX program. The pledge by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga comes as his government attempts to accelerate vaccinations in Japan, one of the worlds least inoculated countries, only about 50 days before it hosts the Olympics amid a continuing surge in infections. He spoke as Japan co-sponsored a fundraising event for COVAX with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which helps run the program. The program managers are seeking about $2 billion more to reach a target of $8.3 billion for its effort to fund free vaccines for low- and middle-income countries around the world. Now is the time for us to act, Suga said, leading a parade of world and humanitarian leaders who announced pledges and commitments on Wednesday. He said the additional $800 million will bring Japans contribution to $1 billion, second to the $2.5 billion pledged by the United States. Suga also announced plans to provide 30 million doses of a vaccine manufactured under license in Japan to other countries and regions in need. He did not specify the maker or recipients. OPINION: There is a lot to say about Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and what she is doing and more about what she is not doing. What are your thoughts? Write a letter to the editor at tucosn.com/letters. OPINION: "No, I am not and we are not 'over sensitive.' Anti-Semitism is real, hurtful and malicious. Sometimes it is subtle, sometimes flagrant. It affects more of us than anyone would want to admit," writes Rabbi Emeritus Robert Eisen. Hunter announced his resignation last week, citing certain personal matters that are becoming public." Although he didn't elaborate on the personal matter, Hunter filed for divorce from his wife of nearly 40 years just days before his announcement. Before he stepped down on Tuesday, Hunter dropped the charge against Ostrowe, stating in a court filing that his office faced a potential conflict of interest since Stitt would appoint Hunter's successor and Ostrowe was a member of Stitt's cabinet. Hunters former spokesman, Alex Gerszewski, said the ex-attorney general declined to comment beyond the release of the court filing, but defended the multicounty grand jury process used to indict Ostrowe. This case was referred to our office by state officials. The process undertaken was identical to every other case brought before the grand jury," Gerszewski said. Witness testimony is sworn under oath and lying before the grand jury is a felony. The grand jurors heard testimony and made the decision to issue an indictment." Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The Coffee Bunker is the citys only peer-run, nonprofit organization that seeks to help veterans as they work to reconnect with family and community life after service. The Salvation Army has employed doughnuts as a way to boost the morale of U.S. military personnel since World War I, when young women were sent to the front in mobile kitchens to cook doughnuts and other baked goods for the troops. The Salvation Army continues to provide comfort with coffee and doughnuts to survivors and emergency responders at the scene of natural disasters. Merritts Bakery will be offering a special Red Shield Doughnut at its Tulsa and Broken Arrow locations on Friday and will be donating 10 percent of all doughnut sales Friday to the Salvation Army. In addition, the familiar Salvation Army red kettles will be set up at each Merritts location for additional donations. For more information: salarmytulsa.org. Shilohs Downtown has limited openingThe newest location of the popular family-style restaurant Shilohs began serving a limited menu Tuesday, June 1, at 424 S. Main St. in downtown Tulsa. Tulsa Public Schools is dropping its lawsuit against the State Board of Education over a controversial proposed settlement. At a special meeting Wednesday afternoon, the board voted unanimously without debate or discussion to authorize its attorneys to file a motion to dismiss its claim in Tulsa County District Court against the State Board of Education for that boards March 25 vote to settle a 2017 lawsuit over charter school funding. Tulsa Public Schools filed the lawsuit in late April, seeking an injunction and declaratory injunction against the state board after it voted to approve a settlement that would allow members of the Oklahoma Public Charter School Association equal shares of revenue sources that by state law are restricted to traditional brick-and-mortar school districts. TPS attorneys projected that the settlement would cost the local district at least $4 million annually. Those sources of funding included the states gross production, motor vehicle and rural electrification association tax collections, state school land earnings and county tax collections. In response, almost 200 school districts across the state filed suit, either individually, as was the case for TPS and Oklahoma City Public Schools, or as a group. On this day in 2015, a former Tulsa man who served 16 years in prison on robbery and burglary convictions before being paroled and eventually In his invocation, the Rev. Robert Turner, pastor of Vernon AME Church, spoke of the God-given ability of Tulsans of every race, religion or creed today to confront the citys troubling past and to establish a better future for all. This generation you have equipped to address and make right the evil deeds of the past, Turner prayed. This generation has the power that youve given us to do what no other generation has yet to do. That is to give justice; that is to give restitution; that is to give reparations to those that lost everything. Give us your courage, Lord. We may lose some friends. Give us your courage, Lord. We may lose some elections. Give us your courage, Lord. This community is divided this city, this state but you can unite us for such a time as this. Indeed, the commission and its flagship project has drawn its critics, who have complained that among other things it does nothing to address the injustices that resulted from the massacre, including the economic hardships suffered by survivors and their descendants. Although Estrada confirmed to auditors that the practice began in 2000, the auditor general's review only covered five years of payments that totaled $196,842. That money went to 77 different employees who together claimed more than 7,200 hours of unworked overtime pay. Estrada, 77, served as sheriff of the border county for 30 years and retired late last year. He is known for his unapologetically liberal views in a state where sheriffs are often known for being politically conservative. In a brief interview Thursday, Estrada said he was disappointed that the attorney general had sued but referred questions to his attorney. In an interview after the auditor's report was released, Estrada denied personally profiting from the practice and confirmed that he believed county officials didnt adequately fund law enforcement. The only one that profited out of it was public safety in Santa Cruz County, Estrada said. Clark, Estrada's attorney, said much the same Thursday and that they could prove it. Everybody knew about it and approved it, Clark said. And we have affidavits from the prior county manager to that effect. And theres no question that they did nothing below board, they profited in no way individually. Over 500 firms in Bac Ninh resume operation More than 500 firms in Bac Ninh Province resumed operation on June 2 after having closed for Covid-19 prevention. A cafeteria in Que Vo Industrial Park SAN DIEGO (AP) A man alleged to have captained a boat that fell apart and killed three people off the San Diego coast has been indicted by a federal grand jury in what authorities said Wednesday was a growing number of deaths in migrant smuggling attempts along California's border with Mexico. Antonio Hurtado pleaded not guilty Tuesday to smuggling charges, weeks after he was arrested in the May 2 wreck when a cabin cruiser packed with 33 people smashed on the rocky shore of San Diego's Point Loma peninsula. Hurtado's age and citizenship were not disclosed in court filings but authorities have said the captain was a U.S. citizen. His attorney, Melissa Bobrow, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment late Wednesday afternoon. Exactly two months earlier, 13 Mexican and Guatemalan citizens in an overloaded SUV were killed when struck by a tractor-trailer in the remote desert community of Holtville. Authorities say 25 migrants died in smuggling attempts on California's border with Mexico from October through April, compared to 29 for the preceding 12-month period. Representatives of several law enforcement agencies pleaded with migrants at a news conference Wednesday to avoid the dangerous journey, saying smugglers' only concern was profits. Prosecutors said Kenneth Manzanares had issues with anger and that he had acknowledged restraining his wife in the past and punching holes in walls. Defense attorneys said the couple had a long and happy marriage, and Jamie McGrady, a federal public defender representing Manzanares, accused prosecutors of selectively parsing details from statements Manzanares made to try to paint him as someone who was abusive. Burgess said Kristy Manzanares life was viciously ended by her husband, in an attack partly witnessed by two of the couples children. Kristy Manzanares brothers and father, who also were on the cruise, responded to and witnessed the scene afterward, according to prosecution documents. The plea agreement Manzanares signed allows for an appeal of the reasonableness of the sentence. McGrady told The Associated Press an appeal would be filed. She called the sentence a tragedy and said the judge ignored scientific evidence. Manzanares attorneys, in a court filing last month, asked Burgess to consider the wishes of the Manzanares children, who they said hold their father responsible but also understand that his impairments played a major factor in the events that occurred, and they have already lost one parent. With each step, he checked off his list of big jobs to-do. Then it was demo-time: Hutcherson has a 4-year-old son of his own, so he knew his 7-year-old daughters toy ride-on car would make a great target for Benjamins time on the excavator. It went like this, Benjamin later recounted, using a toy excavator to demonstrate the crushing of the play car; voicing the sounds of destruction. It was broken, Hutcherson said of his daughters toy, shrugging. Tulsa firefighters arrived as a surprise after a Chick-Fil-A lunch Benjamins favorite and took the family on a ride around the parking lot. Benjamin grinned as he honked the horn, catching a couple spectators by surprise. Benjamin achieved remission from cancer in April of 2020 after battling it for most of 2019, but mid-pandemic, there really wasnt any time for a cancer-free celebration, said his mother, Megan Brister. Friday was that day, Brister said, to celebrate the health of her boy who has been through so much. Local police today often fill many roles not traditionally meant to be performed by police. These include providing mental health services, responding to homelessness, addiction, and substance abuse, enforcing national immigration policy, and collecting court fines and fees. Known racial disparities exist in police interactions in Oklahoma, including arrest and incarceration rates, uses of force, stops and searches. Some of these disparities seem to be growing. Virtually all witnesses agreed Oklahoma needs better policy and community relations. On the other hand, there was widespread disagreement whether there are systemic issues of racism in law enforcement. Considering these findings, the committee unanimously agreed to make recommendations to a variety of stakeholders from the local to federal level on how to improve police practices and strengthen community trust of law enforcement. Among these recommendations are: Implementing a statewide registry to track officers with a history of discriminatory conduct; Allocating more funding for mental health care providers who work with police departments; and Establishing meaningful community oversight to independently monitor police misconduct complaints. A disaster in his personal life destroyed the political career of Attorney General Mike Hunter, who resigned last week, midway through his first elected term in office. Online state court records list a Michael J. Hunter as filing for divorce Friday in Oklahoma County. A copy of the petition was not available for viewing online. In his divorce petition, Hunter alleges that a state of complete and irreconcilable incompatibility has arisen between the parties, according to The Oklahoman, which obtained a copy. Regrettably, certain personal matters that are becoming public will become a distraction for this office, Hunter said in a statement released by his office last week. The office of attorney general is one of the most important positions in state government. I cannot allow a personal issue to overshadow the vital work the attorneys, agents and support staff do on behalf of Oklahoma. Hunter wasnt our first choice for the office when he ran, but its difficult to argue with the results he got once he got there. An anti-smuggling police officer in Ho Chi Minh City, along with four other suspects, has been arrested on charges of smuggling. A source close to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper confirmed on Thursday that the municipal Department of Public Security had initiated legal proceedings against Hoang Duy Tien for smuggling. Tien is an officer of the police division in charge of dealing with economic crimes, corruption, and smuggling. Four other suspects have also been apprehended for the same offense. The arrests were made on Wednesday night after police officers raided multiple locations in Binh Tan and Binh Thanh Districts. Preliminary information showed that Tien had organized the establishment of many companies for his accessories to smuggle electronic goods. Further investigation is ongoing. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Twenty-eight people from multiple coronavirus-hit provinces and cities in Vietnam gathered for an inauguration party for a beauty salon in the Central Highlands on Tuesday. The inauguration was organized at Minh Chau Asian beauty salon on Nguyen Cong Tru Street in Bao Loc City, Lam Dong Province, the municipal Peoples Committee confirmed on Wednesday. A team of police officers and health workers later conducted an inspection of the venue and saw that pandemic prevention and control regulations were not followed there. The attendees were singing karaoke at the time of the inspection. Among the 31 participants, 28 are from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ninh, Bac Giang, Binh Duong, Lao Cai, Thai Binh, Thanh Hoa, Dong Nai, and Nghe An. Most of these provinces and cities are combating the coronavirus. They were staying at two hotels in Bao Loc City. Attendees at the inauguration of Minh Chau Asian beauty salon have their body temperature measured by a health worker in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam, June 1, 2021. Photo: L.D. / Tuoi Tre Although most of the attendees came from localities hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, none filed compulsory health declarations at the time of their arrival. The 31 individuals are currently under supervision and health monitoring. The Bao Loc steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control is completing the necessary procedures to impose suitable penalties on them in accordance with the law. According to the municipal Peoples Committee, the owner of the beauty salon on Monday asked for permission to organize the inauguration, but the request was denied. Attendees at the inauguration of Minh Chau Asian beauty salon work with authorities in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam, June 1, 2021. Photo: L.D. / Tuoi Tre Lam Dong Province has not recorded any local COVID-19 infection since the fourth wave of transmissions struck the country on April 27. Local authorities previously suspended such non-essential services as gyms, barbershops, beauty salons, and sidewalk eateries on May 8 after a COVID-19 patient from northern Bac Giang Province was discovered to have visited Da Lat City, a famous tourist destination in Lam Dong, during a national holiday earlier the same month. Such services were allowed to resume operations from May 27, after more than 600 direct and indirect contacts of the patient tested negative for the novel coronavirus and finished their quarantine. Vietnam has documented 7,972 COVID-19 cases as of Thursday afternoon, with 4,877 local infections recorded since April 27. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnams Ministry of Health recorded on Thursday 30 domestic coronavirus infections in Ho Chi Minh City, most associated with a religious mission. The health ministry announced 231 local cases in its evening update, including 228 detected in quarantine or sealed-off areas. Bac Giang reported 145 of the new cases, Bac Ninh 44, and Ho Chi Minh City 30. Twenty-eight of the infections in Ho Chi Minh City were traced to Revival Ekklesia Mission, a Christian congregation based in Go Vap District, which is largely isolated now, whereas contact tracing for the remaining two cases is underway. Vietnam has logged over 200 patients daily for ten days in a row, according to the Ministry of Healths data. The Southeast Asian nation has documented 4,956 domestically-transmitted cases in 37 out of 63 provinces and cities since the fourth wave erupted in the country on April 27. Bac Giang is taking the lead with 2,678 cases, followed by Bac Ninh with 951, Hanoi with 428, Ho Chi Minh City with 288, and Da Nang with 158. The overwhelming majority of the transmissions in Ho Chi Minh City were linked to the Revival Ekklesia Mission. Thirteen of the provinces and cities have registered zero additional patients in the past two weeks. Vietnams cumulative caseload has reached 8,063 patients as of Thursday night, including 6,525 domestic and 1,538 imported cases, according to the health ministrys statistics. A total of 3,085 patients have recovered from COVID-19 while 49 have died with many underlying medical conditions. Vietnam has fought four virus rounds as yet, the latest being the worst. The nation confirmed 106 community cases in the first wave from January 23 to April 16, 2020, 554 in the second from July 25 to December 1, 2020, and 910 in the third from January 28 to March 25, 2021. The government has administered 1,110,111 vaccine shots to medical staff and other frontline workers since it rolled out mass vaccination on March 8. A full two-dose course has been prescribed to 31,177 people in Vietnam. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Inbound flights to Vietnam will be resumed at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi and Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City following a suspension which lasted just a few days, according to an announcement released this week by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV). The CAAV ordered the resumption of international flights to Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat in an urgent document sent to airlines, airport authorities, and the administrative board of the two airdromes. The authorization procedures for these flights will also return to normal, the letter stated. Lower-level airports and aviation authorities are required to promptly work on the resumption after receiving the document. According to the CAAV, the order is a response to guidance from the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control and the Ministry of Transport. Last week, the CAAV suspended inbound flights to Tan Son Nhat for nine days, starting May 27. On May 31, the aviation authority decided to bar international flights from Hanoi from June 1 until the end of June 7 as part of an effort to contain the current coronavirus outbreak. Vietnam has closed its borders since March last year but the nation still authorizes certain flights bringing in foreign experts, diplomats, skilled workers, and Vietnamese repatriates. Vietnams most robust economic hub, Ho Chi Minh City, is currently scrambling to curb the fourth wave of coronavirus transmissions by imposing a 15-day social distancing mandate that started on Monday. Under restrictions in the city, public gatherings of more than 10 are banned, while those aged 60 and over are advised to stay indoors. Non-essential businesses have been halted. After successfully containing COVID-19 for most of last year, infections in Vietnam have risen since late April, accounting for more than half of the 7,972 cases registered among its population of 98 million. The country still has one of the worlds lowest caseloads. There have been a total of 49 virus-related deaths reported in the country so far. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! People who have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus should be placed under centralized quarantine for about seven days, instead of 21 days as present, when they enter Vietnam, a top pandemic control official has stated. Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam made the statement when he chaired an online meeting with the authorities of Ho Chi Minh City, Bac Giang Province, and Bac Ninh Province on Wednesday to review epidemic prevention and control results. Dam is also chief of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control At the meeting, he asked the Ministry of Health to promptly issue a new coronavirus testing and screening protocol applicable to people who enter Vietnam from abroad. Accordingly, the current mandatory 21-day quarantine period should be cut down to around seven days for those who have been inoculated against COVID-19, have had immune response to the virus or have tested negative for the virus, the steering committee said. Earlier on May 5, the health ministry extended the centralized quarantine period from 14 to 21 days for close contacts of COVID-19 patients and for people entering Vietnam from abroad, as a move to beef up coronavirus containment. At a later meeting on May 19, the deputy prime minister asked the health ministry to urgently develop and issue guidelines for combining different testing methods for international arrivals to Vietnam, first of all by air. The guidelines must include classification of all people entering in Vietnam so that not every immigrant has to be quarantined for 21 or 14 days, but those meeting safety conditions may be subject to seven-day centralized quarantine before being monitored at their residence. The flexible measure is significant as it facilitates the entry of foreign experts as well as the return of overseas Vietnamese, relieves crowding at isolation facilities, and help cut quarantine cost and time, the deputy prime minister said. The health ministry on Thursday noon confirmed 102 new COVID-19 cases nationwide, including 96 domestic and six imported infections, of which 69 were detected in Bac Giang and Bac Ninh Provinces. Ho Chi Minh City recorded 19 patients while Hanoi logged six. Vietnam has so far documented 7,972 COVID-19 cases since early 2020, including 49 deaths, the ministry reported. Since April 27, when the pandemics fourth wave began, 4,877 cases have been recorded across the Southeast Asian country. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The Peoples Court of District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City has announced that it is handling a claim for VND1 trillion (US$43.5 million) in damages against a recent live-streaming sensation over alleged made-up content. The claim was filed by Le Thi Giau, chairwoman of Binh Tay Food Company, against Nguyen Phuong Hang, chairwoman of Dai Nam Joint Stock Company, the operator of Dai Nam Wonderland, one of Vietnams largest tourism complexes. According to Giau, she first met Hang in 2017 during a visit to Phuoc Son Pagoda in southern Dong Nai Province. Although the two women neither developed a business relationship nor friendship, Hang would often send insulting text messages to Giau. Those text messages have been submitted as evidence to the court. Hang rose to Internet fame last month following her live-streaming sessions that both drew hundreds of thousands of live viewers and sparked a huge public controversy. Her live streams featured harsh language against many whom she claimed to be con artists and famous but dishonest entertainers in Vietnam. She also made disparaging remarks about Giau during a live stream on May 14. According to Hangs comments in the live stream, Giau forced the abbot of Phuoc Son Pagoda to return money and vehicles to Hang and managed the charity money box at the pagoda. She also claimed that Giau is a super-scam entrepreneur and took Buddha statues and flowers without paying. In her statement to the court, the Binh Tay chairwoman stated that the remarks were slanderous. Giau also accused Hang of damaging the reputation of Binh Tay Food Companys La Bo De (Bodhi Leaf) noodles and Nhi Thien Duong medicated oil by claiming they are untrustworthy brands with fake certifications. Her submission to the court demanded that the Dai Nam executive be required to refrain from her insults, remove social media content related to Giau, publicly apologize to Giau, and correct her slanderous statements against Giau on YouTube. Giau also demanded that Hang pay VND1 trillion in compensation for her material and mental losses. According to Vietnamese regulations, in lawsuits associated with honor, dignity, and reputation, the plaintiff has the right to make a claim without limitation. During the adjudication, the court will evaluate submitted evidence and legal provisions in order to make a final judgment on the amount of recompense. Mrs. Hang appeared several times on social networking sites to make inappropriate statements which directed vulgar curses and insults at many local artists, Giau said. I, myself, am a victim of Mrs. Hang. "I am extremely angry and indignant at her lies which seriously hurt my honor, reputation, dignity, and the brands of my products. Previously, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Information and Communications received a document from the Ho Chi Minh City Stage Artists Association complaining that Hang had continuously insulted and slandered many artists of the association in recent live-streaming sessions. The Ministry of Information and Communications has recently asked authorities in all provinces and cities to beef up the management and handling of live-streamers who insult other organizations and individuals, as well as use offensive language which goes against fine customs and traditions. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Media reports claim ABC has pulled an upcoming episode of Four Corners which suggests a link between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and a QAnon figure. The Sydney Morning Herald claimed the episode was pulled from next Monday following weeks of delays and speculated around editorial processes. Next weeks Four Corners episode is yet to be publicly confirmed, but this year ABC has seen some episodes announced as late as 2.5 hours before broadcast. The ABC did not pull a story from broadcast. Any suggestion to the contrary is misleading and mischievous, an ABC spokesman said. All ABC content is subject to the same rigorous editorial decision making processes before being published. The decision to publish is only made once all requirements, including editorial and legal requirements, have been met and it is appropriate to do so. The news comes at a tense time between the broadcaster and government, following mediation with Industry Minister Christian Porter, with the latter dropping defamation action over ABC reporting a historical rape allegation. ABC board member Joseph Gersh today defended Chair Ita Buttrose after Liberal powerbroker Michael Kroger who told SKY News she should resign her position. Ita has been a terrible failure. And I know there are many people in the Coalition, including people in the cabinet who regret her appointment, Kroger said. Gersh said Kroger was simply out of line for attacking the media veteran who had decades of experience and service. Asked by Virginia Trioli whether the board regretted the broadcasters coverage of Porter, Gersh said the board was by definition at arms length from editorial and it was not his call. The ABC has to be frank and fearless in what it does in holding those in power to account and has to do so consistently within its charter and within its editorial policies, and the board cant interfere, Gersh said. Updated: SMH has now published an excerpt from a letter from MD David Anderson to staff. On Wednesday I was provided with a link to a rough cut of a Four Corners story about the influence of QAnon conspiracy theories in Australian domestic politics which had been endorsed by News management, he wrote. Any suggestion that I pulled or blocked the program is simply not true. I reviewed the material and made an editorial decision it was not yet ready for broadcast, as any responsible Editor-in-Chief would. PM Scott Morrison today said, I find it deeply offensive that there would be any suggestion that I would have any involvement or support for such a dangerous organisation. I clearly do not. It is also disappointing that Four Corners would seek to cast this aspersion, not just against me but by members of my own family. I just think that is really poor form. Additional source: The Guardian Related (Getty Images) The 2021 Uefa Super Cup between Chelsea and Villarreal is set to take place in Northern Ireland after all. The August 11 clash was initially earmarked to take place at the National Stadium at Windsor Park in Belfast, only for reports last month to suggest that it was now likely to be switched to Istanbul. Istanbul missed out on hosting the recent all-English Champions League Final between Chelsea and Manchester City, which was switched from the Ataturk Olympic Stadium to Porto in Portugal due to coronavirus restrictions. Istanbul was also due to host the 2020 Champions League Final, only for Covid-19 to force the final stages of the competition to be moved to Lisbon. While Istanbul is reportedly expected to receive the 2023 Champions League Final instead, it seems that this years Super Cup between Champions League holders Chelsea and Europa League counterparts Villarreal will be played in Belfast as scheduled. "We have kept in close contact with our partners at Uefa on the matter and following these discussions we are delighted that they have confirmed that the game will stay in Belfast, Irish FA chief executive Patrick Nelson told irishfa.com. Read More Michael Gove received coronavirus app alert after trip to Portugal Conte on great power Tottenham and worlds best Kane Multiple positive Covid test results on Champions League Final flights The Canadian mother-of-two, 32, is reported to have told detectives she was giving Mr Jemmott a shoulder massage (Social media pic) The Belize police officer allegedly shot in the head by Lord Ashcrofts daughter-in-law told a friend he was going on a date the night he was killed, it was reported today. Police superintendent Henry Jemmott is said to have joked he would take the womans name to the grave when the friend asked for details of the meeting. Mr Jemmott was found hours later floating next to a wooden jetty in the coastal resort of Ambergris Caye. Jasmine Hartin has been charged with manslaughter by negligence and is being held in a prison notorious for its harsh conditions. The Canadian mother-of-two, 32, is reported to have told detectives she was giving Mr Jemmott a shoulder massage when she handed him his service pistol and it accidentally went off, shooting him on the back of the head. Aerial photographs of the jetty where the pair were said to have been shows what appears to be a pool of blood. Hartin is the partner of Andrew Ashcroft, the son of billionaire Tory donor Lord Ashcroft. Mr Ashcroft operates several luxury tourist properties in Belize. According to Mailonline, the 42-year-old officer told a friend last Friday he was going to meet a mystery woman that night. He was the happiest cop youll ever see but hes always like that. He said, I have a date, the friend reportedly said. He called the girl. I asked who she was. He joked, thats my secret, this one Im taking to my grave and he did take it. Im struggling to cope with that. Mr Jemmotts sister has said her brother and Hartin knew each other but there there was no romantic relationship. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo News UK Read More Brit father drowns trying to save daughters on holiday in Portugal Detained journalist Roman Protasevich appears in tearful interview Best pictures of the day Dissident journalist Roman Protasevich has been filmed appearing to praise Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in a new video. In the clip, recorded for Belarusian state-controlled TV, Mr Protasevich was asked whether he respected the president, to which he replied: "Absolutely". Mr Protasevich, 26, said Mr Lukashenko has "acted like a man with balls of steel", despite the "pressure" of resistance movements like his. The journalist, who was arrested last month after the Ryanair flight he was on was diverted, did not appear to be in good health in the clip. It comes after an earlier video for the state-controlled broadcaster saw him claim he was set up by an unidentified associate. Commenting on that clip, one of Mr Protasevich's associates said he was clearly speaking under duress. It is not clear when the more recent interview was filmed and under what conditions. In it, he said: "I won't hide it, I criticised Alexander Grigoryevich [Lukashenko] a lot. Of course, because it seemed to be that there were reasons for it. "I've been a journalist my whole life, but the more I was getting involved in political work, the more I wanted to run away from it. "And then I started to realise that many things Alexander Grigoryevich is criticised for are just attempts to pressure him. "And that in many moments he acted like a man with balls of steel, despite all the pressure and so on." Mr Protasevich, who worked for Poland-based online news service NEXTA, was detained by authorities in the Belarusian capital of Minsk on 23 May. There was international outrage when his Ryanair flight - from Athens to Vilnius, Lithuania - was diverted to Belarus by air traffic controllers over claims of a bomb threat. There have been accusations it was a "state-sponsored hijacking" on the orders of Mr Lukashenko. No bomb was found on board, but Mr Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega were arrested. Story continues Ms Sapega has since appeared in a video from prison where she confesses to running a channel that revealed personal data about Belarusian security officers. Her boyfriend left Belarus in 2019 and has since become Mr Lukashenko's leading opponent. As well as his work for the Polish news service, Mr Protasevich ran a popular channel on the messaging app Telegram that played a key role in organising anti-government protests last year. He was then charged with inciting mass disturbances, which could carry a prison sentence of up to 15 years. Mr Lukashenko, who has ruled the ex-Soviet nation for more than 25 years, is often referred to as Europe's last dictator. Anatoly Filatov Takes Down GGPoker Super MILLION$ June 03 2021 Matthew Pitt Russian superstar Anatoly Filatov bagged himself a $325,957 prize after finishing first from 149 entrants in the latest edition of the GGPoker Super MILLION$. Filatov was the chip leader at the start of the final table and built on his strong start to become the latest Super MILLION$ champion. Super MILLION$ Final Table Results Place Player Country Prize 1 Anatoly Filatov Russia $325,957 2 Bruno Volkmann Brazil $254,559 3 Sergei Denisov Russia $198,800 4 UncleToni Macedonia $155,254 5 David Peters Canada $121,247 6 Isaac Haxton Canada $94,689 7 Joakim Andersson Turkey $73,948 8 Juan Pardo Andorra $57,750 9 Elio Fox Mexico $45,100 Elio Fox performed heroics at last weeks final table, coming from one of the shortest stacks to chop the event. Fox could not repeat the previous weeks form this time round, and was the first finalist out of the door. Fox busted during the 20,000/40,000/5,000a level. David Peters min-raised to 80,000 with king-ten of hearts, Fox three-bet all-in from the button for 410,582 with ace-jack of clubs, and Peters called. Peters flopped a king and picked up a flush draw, leaving Fox drawing extremely thinly. Both the turn and river bricked, and Fox bowed out in ninth place. Juan Pardo was the next to fall, his eighth place exit bagging him a $57,750 payout. The blinds were now 30,000/60,000/7,500a, and Bruno Volkmann open-shoved from the small blind. Pardo called off his 1,071,413 chips before turning over ace-queen. Volkmanns jack-eight needed some help from the community cards, and it arrived in the shape of jack on the river. Seventh place and $73,948 went to Joakim Andersson who had been nursing the shortest stack from the moment the final tables action began. Andersson busted in a coinflip with Isaac Haxton. His exit hand started with Haxton min-raising to 120,000 with ace-king of diamonds from under the gun. Andersson responded with a three-bet to 366,225 with pocket eights from late position, a raise that left him only 295,319 chips behind. Haxton jammed all-in, and Andersson called. An ace on the flop won the hand for Haxton and left Andersson with a shade over one big blind. He busted in unspectacular circumstances a couple of hands later. Will You Become the First Member of GGPokers Team Champions? Sick Hand Send Haxton to the Showers Haxton could not put Anderssons chips to good use and was the next player out of the door, although his exit hand was cruel. Haxton raised to 132,000 with seven-six of spades from the button, and Volkmann called in the big blind with nine-seven. The flop fell five-six-king, and both players checked. The turn was a four, Volkmann led for 253,740, and Haxton called. An eight on the river improved both players to a straight, but Volkmanns straight was superior. Volkmann shoved all-in, and Haxton called off his 814,448 chips only to discover his hand was an expensive second best one. Everyone else was now guaranteed a six-figure prize, $121,247 to be exact. Peters collected this sum shortly after Haxtons untimely demise. The active Volkmann min-raised to 70,000 before calling when Peters three-bet shipped it in for 1,559,067. It was ace-jack for Peters and the dominating ace-king for Volkmann. Both players flopped an ace, but Peters could not find any of the three remaining jacks, and he exited in fifth place. Macedonias UncleToni joined the busted players soon after Peters exit. UncleToni won his seat in this event for $1,000 and turned that into $155,254. The Macedonian busted at the hands of Filatov, who opened to 140,000 with pocket kings and snap-called when UncleToni ripped it in for 1,017,636 with what turned out to be pocket tens. UncleToni turned a ten to soar into the led, but had his wings clipped when Filatov spiked a king on the river. Ouch. Three-handed play lasted 40 minutes and ended with the elimination of Sergei Denisov. Volkmann found jacks on the button and raised twice the big blind to 200,000. Denisov fired in his 15 big blind stack with king-seven of clubs and busted despite turning a club flush draw. Filatov held a 9,006,663 to 5,893,337 chip lead over Volkmann going into heads-up. It did not take long for Filatov to press home that advantage, only five hands to be exact. The final hand saw Filatov raise to 200,000 with pocket nines, Volkmann make it 745,225 with ace-king, and Filatov jam all-in. Volkmann call off the 40 big blinds he had behind, and it was off to the races for the title of Super MILLION$ champion. Volkmann flopped an ace to take the lead but the board four-flushed with spades to gift Filatov the victory thanks to him holding the nine of spades! Niklas Astedt Leads Final 9 of the GGPoker WSOPC Main Event $5 Million Guaranteed Super MILLION$ Anniversary Edition June 6 sees the Super MILLION$ celebrate its first anniversary and GGPoker is boosting the guarantee to a whopping $5 million. The buy-in remains the same $10,300 but there are five flights to compete in, each with dozens of satellite from $525. Day 2, where all the $5 million is awarded, takes place on June 14 under the watchful eye of the GGPoker Twitch and YouTube commentary team! Amid the pandemic, certain coronavirus patients have been given antibiotics unnecessarily, raising drug resistance fears. (Stock, Getty Images) Administering unnecessary antibiotics to critically ill coronavirus patients could worsen drug resistance, experts have warned. Antibiotics which only work against bacterial infections are unusual in that the more the drugs are taken, the less effective they become. Severely ill coronavirus patients can develop additional infections, like bacterial pneumonia, worsening their complications. The risk of this occurring has prompted some medics to prescribe antibiotics as a precaution. Read more: What is antibiotic resistance? Writing in The Lancet Microbe, a team of UK scientists has revealed bacterial infections affected around one in 10 (12%) people hospitalised with the coronavirus during the UK's first pandemic wave. The use of antibiotics was "high", with them administered to up to 85% of patients. Catching another infection alongside the coronavirus can worsen patient complications. (Stock, Getty Images) "In making any assessment of the use of antimicrobials in the treatment of COVID-19 [the disease caused by the coronavirus] patients, it is essential to acknowledge that clinicians in the UK and worldwide have been battling a global medical emergency," said lead author Dr Antonia Ho, from the University of Glasgow. "Antimicrobials" is a broad term for drugs that work against different pathogens, like bacteria and fungi. Less than 1% of the Lancet study's patients were given anti-fungal drugs, which also have resistance concerns, with the remainder being prescribed antibiotics. "Given the unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic particularly during its early stages when admitted patients were very sick, effective treatments were limited and the role of possible co-infections unknown it is unsurprising that doctors would prescribe antimicrobials," said Dr Ho. "However, we now know bacterial co-infection is uncommon in patients with community-acquired COVID-19. "Since antimicrobial resistance remains one of the biggest public health challenges of our time, measures to combat it are essential to help ensure these life-saving medicines remain an effective treatment for infection in years to come." Story continues Read more: Antibiotic discovery stunted by bust drug companies Antibiotic resistance was a concern before the pandemic. Over the years, many medics have mistakenly doled out antibiotics to treat viruses. Even when correctly prescribed, some patients fail to take the drugs as instructed, giving the underlying bacteria a better shot of developing resistance. In 2015, antibiotic use in England alone had increased by 6.5% over the past four years. Pre-coronavirus, at least three in 10 (30%) of the antibiotics prescribed in the US were "unnecessary". As a result, more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections arise every year, killing over 35,000 Americans. The World Health Organization has called antibiotic resistance "one of the biggest threats to global health". So-called "superbugs" like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Clostridium difficile (C diff) and some gonorrhoea strains are already not responding to once-effective antibiotics. UK guidelines advise against the use of antibiotics in COVID patients "without specific evidence of bacterial infection". Nevertheless, previous studies have suggested the drugs have been widely administered amid the pandemic. These studies were generally small and of low quality, however. To learn more, the UK scientists analysed over 48,000 coronavirus patients who were admitted to 260 hospitals in England, Scotland or Wales between 6 February and 8 June, 2020 the UK's first wave. Of these patients average age 74 8,649 underwent blood and respiratory tests, of whom 1,107 (12%) were found to have "COVID-19 related respiratory or bloodstream bacterial infections". Bacterial co-infections, defined as those that occur before a patient is admitted to hospital, are "far more common" with severe flu, affecting nearly a quarter (23%) of cases. When bacterial infections were detected in COVID patients, just over seven in 10 (71%) were considered to be "secondary", defined as the pathogen being acquired more than two days after hospital admission. These secondary infections were generally not COVID-related, but commonly come about during a hospital stay, particularly when in intensive care. Read more: Car crash left mother with antibiotic-resistant infection Among the patients with the necessary data available, 37% were prescribed antimicrobials by a doctor or pharmacist before being admitted to hospital. More than four in five (85%) then received at least one antimicrobial during their hospital stay. "While some COVID-19 patients will require antibiotics, mostly for secondary infections which develop after admission to hospital, our data show not all COVID-19 patients should be prescribed antibiotics," said Dr Ho. "The longer someone is in hospital, particularly if they are in critical care, the more vulnerable they are to develop secondary infections. "These should continue to be monitored, however, the bugs we identified are similar to those found in patients with hospital-acquired infection and not specific to COVID-19." Watch: Antibiotic resistance amid the pandemic Based on their results, the scientists recommend "antimicrobial stewardship interventions" be implemented amid the pandemic. "We only have safe surgery and medical cures for many life threatening conditions because antibiotics were discovered and mostly still work," said co-lead author Professor Calum Semple, from the University of Liverpool. "Overuse of antibiotics needs to be avoided to prevent emergence of resistance. "When the current threat from COVID-19 subsides, the problem of antimicrobial resistance will remain a threat." As well as avoiding antibiotics in patients who do not have a confirmed bacterial infection, the scientists recommend the drugs be "tailored", rather than relying on "broad-spectrum" medication. Medics are also encouraged to discontinue antimicrobials if a co-infection is later deemed to be unlikely or if tests confirm the patient does not have a bacterial infection. Read more: AI helps scientists find new antibiotic The scientists have acknowledged co-infections are difficult to diagnose, particularly during a pandemic, with fewer than one in five (17%) of their study's patients undergoing blood and respiratory tests to look for the pathogens. Nevertheless, co-author Dr Clark Russell from the University of Edinburgh said: "Our findings add much-needed depth to our understanding of how antimicrobials have been used in the treatment of patients with COVID-19 and how antimicrobial usage could be optimised. "Prioritising and incorporating existing antimicrobial stewardship principles into care plans could help to prevent a rise of drug-resistant infections becoming a longer-term sequela of the pandemic. "Our study looked at only the first pandemic wave in the UK, so it is important future studies assess antimicrobial usage later in the pandemic, both in the UK and other parts of the world." Watch: Antibiotic resistance is a bigger threat than climate change, warns expert Petra in the Children of God cult in the 1980s The happiest day of Petra Velzeboers childhood was not a special birthday, a holiday or party; it was the day she got a library card. "I was aged about 13 and it was great because suddenly I could sneak in all the books I wasnt allowed to read," says Petra, now 40, a mental health consultant who lives with her two children aged 17 and 15 in south London. "We had contraband music too. When The Bodyguard was released, my friends were passing Whitney Houston tapes to each other in secret. "If Id been caught, I risked anything from corporal punishment to having to wear a sign telling people they were not allowed to talk to me for up to two weeks. Read more: Former Moonies cult members are working with families of QAnon believers to help their loved ones get a grip on reality "Thankfully, I was good at disappearing into the background, so was never found out. "But these things happened to people close to me all the time and it made me jumpy. The draconian rules Petra was living under were the result of her growing up in the notorious The Children of God cult. Founded in the late 1960s, its founder, David Berg, believed he was the last prophet before Armageddon and advised his followers to abandon all their possessions and live an austere life. Horrifyingly, tales of child sexual abuse and exploitation have emerged about the cult and its leader, who was on the run from the FBI until his death in 1994. Although Petra herself was never a victim and even remembers happy times with her mother, stepfather and four siblings, her unconventional childhood had a devastating impact on her in later life. Petra found her new freedoms difficult to cope with. Watch: Woman's Rae Dunn parodies inspire their own cult-like following "There was a sense of community but also a sense of loss because we would move quickly from one place to another," says Petra, who was born in The Netherlands. "We lived all over Europe, India, Russia, Kenya and often youd have to go suddenly, leaving toys and friends youd made behind without ever saying goodbye. Story continues "Many leaders were manipulative and controlling. Going to school was not an option and we were only allowed to read literature they approved. "They said Jesus was coming back and the world was going to end, which sounds terrifying but when youre a child and youre told its normal, it doesnt frighten you, it is what it is. She hit 'rock bottom' soon after her first child was born. "However, it makes you hyper-vigilant, always wondering what is coming next. "People ask me how I escaped but there were no physical walls. I could have walked out at any time. "But those who did leave they were called backsliders - were ostracised, sometimes by their own family and many struggled with their mental health or took their own lives. Yet, like many of its members, Petra began to question the cults beliefs as she grew up into her teens. "One of my older sisters left when I was a teenager so I became aware of a whole different life out there," she says. "I started leading a double life, rising through the ranks of the cult but bending the rules and living on the outside too. Petra gaining her Master's Degree "I started leading a hedonistic life of sex, drugs and alcohol but it completely messed with my mental health. "We were not allowed to date non-cult members, but after leading a double life for some years, I ended up pregnant with my son by a man from outside the cult. "I was 22 and scared. I had to leave the cult, isolating myself from anyone in my past including my mother and siblings and it was the loneliest Ive ever been in my life. "I moved into my boyfriend's flat in London and we even had another baby two years later, but I couldnt escape the thought that I was a bad person." In fact, Petra says it was only after leaving the security of the cult that she felt her life spiral out of control. "Before, at least I felt I had a clear purpose and now I was part of nothing," she says. "I was very confused and depressed and was drinking heavily. "I began to self-harm and put myself and my children in dangerous situations. "One day, when my son was four and my daughter was two, I woke up and decided to take my own life. I thought my children would be better off without me. Petra in happier times, after coming to terms with her past "But, for whatever reason that day, another thought came into my head too. I decided I would give myself a year to make myself better, to experiment with all the things people said could make a difference. What did I have to lose? If it didnt work, I could kill myself then." Petras first priority was to join Alcoholics Anonymous, to quit drinking. Incredibly, for someone who didnt even have a GCSE, she enrolled on a counselling course and ended up doing a Masters in psychodynamics of human development without having a degree. "I had already been working with teenagers in the charity sector and studying part-time but I talked my way onto this course, working full-time and studying at night. Read more: Cult member jailed after historical rape and sexual assault of young girls "I was falling asleep in lectures and really struggled but I was determined to do whatever I could to lead a normal life. "I learned a lot about myself. I didnt know it but I was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder due to my upbringing in the cult and how I then repeatedly allowed myself to be manipulated and put in abusive situations." Today, Petra has turned her life around. She is back in touch with her family and is a qualified psychotherapist and CEO of a mental health consultancy working with global organisations to help them improve their wellbeing strategies. Petra Nunzi "Growing up in the cult gives me unique insight into companies who are also toxic and controlling on the inside," she says. "Theres a misconception that if we talk about our mental health at work, no one will ever get any work done but the opposite is true. "I want to normalise conversations about mental health and show people they can talk when they are struggling - long before they reach rock bottom." To find out more contact Petra at petravelzeboer.com Watch: 3 warning signs you might be in a cult! The headline was updated at 7pm Kate has shared a call she made to Gimba, who was working on a COVID-19 ward in London when she heard her mother was very ill in Nigeria, more than 4000 miles away. Despite her own heartbreak, Gimba did not take any time off, and continued her shift. Kate praised her resilience and the two women discussed the photo taken of her that day as she enjoyed her lunch break after feeding the patients on her ward. In the eighth grade, Denise Gonzalez went to Costa Rica on a trip with her school, World Language Academy in Hall County, Georgia. Since then, the University of North Georgia (UNG) sophomore has wanted to study abroad. "I have been working on the weekends to save money and applying for as many scholarships as I can," said Gonzalez, who is pursuing a degree in accounting. Her efforts proved fruitful. Gonzalez was one of nine UNG students to receive a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. This program provides up to $5,000 to help underrepresented students study abroad. The grant also provides up to $8,000 to critical language study. "Once I got the scholarship, I was so happy that my plans to study abroad in South Korea will become a reality," said the 19-year-old from Flowery Branch, Georgia. The other eight UNG students who earned a Gilman scholarship are: Cassandra Canakis, a junior from Watkinsville, Georgia, pursuing a degree in marketing with a minor in Japanese, plans to study in Japan. McLaren Christensen, a sophomore from Atlanta, Georgia, pursuing a degree in international affairs, plans to study in France. Maren Cooper, a senior from Augusta, Georgia, pursuing a degree in international affairs and a member of the Corps of Cadets, plans to study in Taiwan. Christian Cruce, a senior from Braselton, Georgia, pursuing a degree in strategic and security studies and a member of the Chinese Language Flagship, plans to study in Taiwan. Gicel Sagastume, a senior from Winterville, Georgia, pursuing a degree in elementary and special education, plans to study in Spain. Anh Tran, a junior from Gainesville, Georgia, pursuing a degree in marketing with a minor in graphic design, plans to study in the United Kingdom. Christy Villeda, a junior from Cumming, Georgia, pursuing a degree in nursing, plans to study in Spain. Mikalyn Wilkes, a senior from Cleveland, Georgia, pursuing a degree in elementary and special education, plans to study in Spain. Another eight UNG recipients earned Gilman scholarships in fall 2020. "We are very excited for the UNG students who received Gilman scholarships," said Dr. Kathryn Quinto, fellowships adviser for the Nationally Competitive Scholarships office at UNG. "Their hard work and persistence helped them to seek this opportunity, and they will maximize the chance to have an educational experience immersed in another culture." For some like Cooper, the experience will be delivered online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. "I won't have a totally immersive experience, but I will have classes and one-on-one time with other students from Taiwan," the 20-year-old said. "Through the program, I will strengthen my listening, reading and speaking skills. And it will be in the summer, so I won't have any distractions. I can just focus on improving my Chinese." Other students plan to defer their scholarships to a later date. For example, Christensen plans to use the Gilman in the spring 2022 semester for an extended stay in France. The 19-year-old spent four weeks there as a high school student. "I would benefit from a longer period of study, because I want to become fluent in French," Christensen said, adding it would help his future career goals. "I want to become a diplomat or work for a government agency or become a Foreign Service officer." Students interested in learning more about nationally competitive scholarships, including Gilman, should visit ncsadvising.ung.edu or email ncs@ung.edu for more information. Students interested in learning about study abroad opportunities through various programs may visit UNG's Center for Global Engagement. Armenia is due to hold a snap parliamentary election later this month, and foreign policy will be a key issue given the countrys noticeable lack of true allies during last years war with Azerbaijan. As Emerging Europe writes, during the latest round of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which came to an end in November following a Russian-brokered ceasefire, Azerbaijan enjoyed support from two relatively powerful nations: Israel and Turkey. The formers relationship with Azerbaijan is mainly limited to the military field, with Azerbaijan fielding hi-tech Israeli equipment, including suicide drones. During the hostilities, Armenia withdrew its ambassador in Tel Aviv in protest. Turkey and Azerbaijan have an even deeper relationship. The two nations share substantial cultural, linguistic and ethnic links, to the point that many consider them to represent the same people. Dozens of advanced Turkish-made drones were used to devastating effect during the war and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave full diplomatic backing to Azerbaijans offensive. Furthermore, there have been persistent claims that members of Turkish proxy militias in Syria were deployed to bolster Azerbaijani manpower in Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia alone In contrast, Armenia stood largely on its own during the six week conflict. Russia stood by idly until the end, when it brokered the ceasefire, allowing for the deployment of Russian peacekeepers to the region. Representatives of western governments expressed their concern at the humanitarian consequences of the conflict, but largely fell short of condemning the Azerbaijani offensive. Since independence from the Soviet Union, Russia has been Armenias primary ally. Armenia is a member of two Russian-led intergovernmental initiatives: the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). This makes Armenia by quite some distance Russias main partner in the Caucasus and Russias only real ally in the region. For better or worse, Russia has portrayed itself as a reliable partner to whichever state or government proves itself to be friendly enough towards Moscows interests. The substantial military support given to Bashar al-Assads regime in Syria and the extensive diplomatic support given to internationally isolated states such as Venezuela and Belarus demonstrate the Kremlins policy. Why then, did Russia largely do nothing to protect Armenia during the latest round of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh? When fighting started in September 2020, it was expected that Armenia would invoke security protections guaranteed by the CSTOs charter and prompt intervention from allied states. However, Russias position was clear from the beginning of hostilities: that because Nagorno-Karabakh was part of Azerbaijans internationally-recognised territory, the collective defence statute of the CSTO did not apply. Russia unmoved Some commentators, like Nicu Popescu of the European Council on Foreign Relations believe a major reason for this lack of action is that Russia had grown tired of Armenias intransigence in negotiations over Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenias initial victory in the 1990s, in which it took control of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts, fuelled sentiments of superiority in Yerevan, making the countrys leadership less forthcoming to concessions and negotiations. Instead of sticking to the parameters of 2009s Madrid Principles, the Armenian government was perceived by Moscow to be behaving unreasonably, making the Kremlin unwilling to continue providing cover. This issue became more pronounced after Armenias Velvet Revolution in 2018, which brought Nikol Pashinyan to power. Unlike his predecessors, Pashinyan has pursued a multi-vector approach in foreign policy, courting western governments with his stated commitment to democratic principles and liberal economics much to Russias dismay. This has prompted some to believe that Russia deliberately backed off giving more support during last years war as a kind of punishment, a demonstration of the consequences of making overtures to Russias rivals. This has shown that Russia is a patchy at best ally for Armenia. However, it remains the only country with both the capability and the interest in taking substantial steps to protect Armenia. Yerevan is therefore stuck in Moscows orbit, so to speak, particularly as it is difficult to envisage any other country having the political will to support Armenia to the same extent that Russia can do so. While French President Emmanuel Macron has consistently made strong statements condemning Azerbaijans offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh and its use of Turkeys Syrian proxy militias, France has fallen short of giving actual concrete support. However, during Mays flare up between Armenia and Azerbaijan following an Azeri incursion onto Armenian soil, Macron did express his readiness to provide military assistance (pending UN consent) in a phone call with Pashinyan. France does have vectors of conflict with Turkey, Azerbaijans main ally. The two support opposing sides in Libyas ongoing civil war and have also come to loggerheads over Frances support for Greece in maritime disputes with Turkey. However, if Frances focus is on Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan carry only a secondary importance and Armenia is too far from Frances main foreign policy concerns to expect any substantial support. Iran This leaves Iran as a potential ally for Armenia. Armenias borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan have long been closed; it also maintains a mutually suspicious relationship with Georgia. This leaves the Iranian border as one of Armenias only outlets to the rest of the world and the two countries have enjoyed an unlikely partnership. Furthermore, one of Irans main regional rivals is the newly-ascendant Turkey, and the two countries back opposed sides in Syria. Turkeys support for Sunni Islamist groups in the Middle East (including the militiamen allegedly deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh) also presents a threat to majority-Shia Iran. In addition to this, Iran also faces an ever-present threat of separatism within its Azeri population. There are more ethnic Azeris in Iran than Azerbaijan, and the recent rise of Turanist or pan-Turkic ideologies (propagated by Turkey) have given rise to separatist sentiments among Iranian Azeris. However, during the war, Iran like Russia pursued a neutral official approach. While expressing concern about the presence of terrorists within Azerbaijani ranks, Iranian officials stopped short of condemning Azerbaijan and instead stressed the need for negotiations. After the war, Iranian foreign minister Mohammed Javad Zarif visited both Baku and Yerevan a clear indication of the Islamic Republics neutrality. Last years war in Nagorno-Karabakh brutally exposed Armenias isolation in the world. The country is too small, and too economically insignificant to force the worlds powers to commit resources to defend it. That Armenias arguments for its ownership of Nagorno-Karabakh run contrary to accepted principles of international law further weakens Yerevans international standing. The war also showed that Armenia cannot afford to alienate Russia. Some candidates running in Armenias upcoming elections have openly called for greater integration with Russia this indicates that the notion is becoming accepted within the country. It appears that the next challenge for Armenia will be to solidify alliances with regional powers that will guarantee its security without compromising too much on sovereignty this months elections will provide an indication of which way this process will go. At the end of May - when and. about. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced his plan to de-escalate the situation on the border with Azerbaijan - Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazyan, four of his deputies and Foreign Ministry press secretary Anna Naghdalyan resigned. Armenia has returned to a time when foreign ministers held office for one to two years. The professional ethics of diplomats does not allow them to make loud scenes before leaving. This is exactly what Ara Ayvazyan did, modestly resigning from himself. His predecessor Zohrab Mnatsakanyan left the post of foreign minister on November 16, a week after the end of the Second Karabakh war, thereby admitting that Armenia suffered a fiasco not only on the battlefield, but in the foreign policy arena, failing to legitimize the occupation. However, the resignation of Ayvazyan, who was called upon to smooth over the most acute corners in the post-war settlement process, seems to be a reaction to the vector of political development chosen by the government. Clergymen and generals have long turned away from Pashinyan. Now it was the turn of the diplomats. Pashinyan's plans are at odds with the professional activities of the Foreign Ministry. Pashinyan tried to back up almost all his political initiatives with the words of diplomats in the hope that they would be as widespread as possible abroad. Since his election, Pashinyan has turned the Foreign Ministry into a branch of his image agency, which largely duplicated the words of the prime minister. For example, since the beginning of the anti-government rally in January, the ministry supported Pashinyan, expressing the opinion that it was inexpedient to hold early parliamentary elections, but as soon as the prime minister called for an extraordinary vote, the position of the Foreign Ministry was hastily adjusted. Two years earlier, Armenian diplomacy supported Pashinyan's "pan-Armenian idea" and even tried to give this slogan elements of the prime minister's corporate identity. The resignation of Ara Ayvazyan indirectly confirms the reorientation of the Foreign Ministry's work to meet Pashinyan's political needs. Diplomats are forced to keep up with the ever-changing interests of the acting president. prime minister, coming up with more and more diplomatic interpretations, making sure that they do not contradict each other. Pashinyan was never eager to take responsibility and trusted few people, negotiating behind the backs of diplomats. It is noteworthy that Ayvazyan resigned on the eve of the visit of the acting premiered in Paris and Brussels. Pashinyan preferred to personally discuss the possible implementation of his plan to delimit the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, in the implementation of which the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs from the United States and France could play a role. The current position of the head of the Cabinet of Ministers creates unbearable conditions for the work of the Foreign Ministry. Pashinyan sets before the diplomats the task of preparing the necessary basis for the restoration of the presence of the Minsk Group in the space of Armenia with the possibility of the republic entering the western political vector. In realizing this task, the diplomatic department must ensure the security of the Armenian-Russian relations, so that Moscow does not consider it necessary to react in a harsh form to Pashinyan's political research. Rapprochement between Armenia and the EU Pashinyan expects to carry out at the expense of Russia, while the republic is under its protection through the CSTO. In such a situation, Pashinyan's hypocrisy worries not only his opponents, but also the military. Following Ayvazyan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Stepan Galstyan intends to leave his post. Back in early March, it was his Pashinyan who tried to keep with various promises. Political orientation of the acting the premiere brings confusion. It is unclear how Pashinyan is going to cooperate with Moscow and participate in a trilateral peacekeeping mission if his political agenda is aimed at turning Armenia into a bargaining chip. Now the work of the Foreign Ministry is paralyzed, since diplomats are unable to work with the conditions of the vague policy of the head of state. Nowadays, natural gas has become one of the important factors that lead to economic and social growth. Diversification of natural gas supplies and routes, securing access to energy-rich regions, and guaranteeing reliable gas exports to energy markets are major goals of gas producers and consumers. As Eurasia Review writes, in this regard, Azerbaijan with a total proved 2.8 trillion cubic meters of natural gas is a key actor to supply the Caspian natural gas directly to the European energy consumers. Analyzing Azerbaijans natural gas sector, it is worth noting that natural gas exploration, development, and production defer with complexity because energy companies are usually aimed at developing gas fields with vast gas reserves. Towards this end, Azerbaijan has implemented a successful energy policy to develop its natural gas sector and protect national interests. Today, many international energy companies are engaged in the natural gas sector of the country. It should be underlined that BP is the biggest foreign investor in Azerbaijans energy sector, and the development of Shah Deniz Stage 1 and Stage 2 allowed Azerbaijan to be an important natural gas producer in the region. BP and SOCAR continue successful cooperation, and following the joint exploration work, the first gas-condensate reserves have been discovered in the Shafag-Asiman block in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. Meanwhile, Shah Deniz 2 is also the starting point for the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) series of pipelines that are supplying natural gas from the Caspian Sea directly to the European and Turkish energy consumers. Shah Deniz 2 Phase is expected to produce around 16 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year, and with the current Shah Deniz gas production, additionally, gas reserves in Shafag-Asiman, Umid and Nakhchivan fields, Azerbaijan will strengthen its position as a net gas exporter. All the above-mentioned facts show that the expected gas reserves of the country are much higher, and the country will play an important role in terms of natural gas supply to the European energy markets. 2020 was the most dynamic and remarkable year for Azerbaijan as the country restored its territorial integrity after the Second Karabakh War and completed the European segment of the SGC the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). It should be especially highlighted that the Armenian attacks against Azerbaijans critical energy infrastructure could not prevent the realization of the TAP project. The first Azerbaijani gas was delivered to Europe on 31 December 2020. TAP pipeline is a very strategic project because it supports Europes energy security and decarbonization efforts. Completion of all segments of the SGC allowed Azerbaijan to supply natural gas to different energy markets and also strengthen its position in the Caspian region. Following the natural gas supply to the European energy markets, during January-April of the current year, Azerbaijan increased natural gas exports up to 79,5% in comparison with the same period of 2020. The increase in natural gas export is directly connected with the volume of the Azerbaijani gas to the European energy markets. Within 2021 four month about 954 million cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas have been supplied to the European energy markets. In this context, Italy (734 million cubic meters) was the largest buyer of Azerbaijani gas, and the remaining volumes were delivered to Greece (128 million cubic meters) and Bulgaria (92 million cubic meters). The Azerbaijani budget received around 196 million of dollars from those gas exports. In addition, during the same period, the country has exported around 5.145 bcm of gas to Turkey and 1.737 bcm to Georgia. Natural gas exports affect positively on energy revenues of Azerbaijan because the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected global energy markets. Azerbaijan accepted oil production cuts under the OPEC+ agreement. As a result, low oil prices and production cuts affected the economic performance of the country. Sudan wants to renegotiate an agreement with Russia to establish a naval base. Kamran Hasanov, a political observer for Vestnik Kavkaza, examined how dangerous this is for Russian interests and who is actually squeezing Moscow out of Africa. So, about a month ago, the American and Saudi media wrote that the Sudanese authorities wanted to abandon the construction of a Russian naval base. Then a number of journalists and experts decided that this was a clear provocation, they say, Russia's enemies are spreading outright fakes in order to set the Sudanese against Russia and squeeze it out of Africa. There were grounds for such assumptions, because such techniques are often used by the media of unfriendly countries. In addition, the Russian Foreign Ministry also denied those stuffing. But this time the rumors were confirmed. Today, the Chief of the General Staff of the Sudanese Armed Forces, Mohammed Osman al-Hussein, officially said that the agreement on the creation of the Russian base would be revised. "We are in the process of revising the agreement signed between the former government of Sudan and Russia on a Russian military project on the coast of the Red Sea in Sudan," Interfax quoted him as saying. The formal basis for Khartoum's decision was that the base agreement was signed under the previous regime and was not ratified by the country's parliament. For reference, we note that in 2019, a coup d'etat took place in Sudan, President Omar Bashir, who ruled for 30 years, was removed from power. It was with him that Moscow agreed on the base. But the current authorities have nothing to do with Bashir and put forward their own conditions. The head of the Sudanese General Staff says that now Sudan "has the opportunity to make amendments and changes" taking into account the interests of the country. Of course, lawyers can convince us that Sudan has formal grounds to revise the treaty, that there are procedures that will have to be followed. But we know that legal issues in international politics are often ignored or adjusted to fit economic interests. Therefore, it is possible that all these statements are a very serious thing, and at such a pace Sudan can close the Russian base. Before assessing who might be the conductor of Khartoum's decision, let us briefly tell you why Russia needs a base in Sudan. The fact is that this African country has a very convenient geographical position. It has a wide coastline along the Red Sea, along which merchant ships and tankers ply between Europe, the Persian Gulf and Asia. Having a foothold here, Russia influences the lion's share of the world economy and 10% of the world's oil transit. Adding to this the intensification of Russia in other African countries, such as the Central African Republic, Libya, Egypt and Mozabmik, Western countries began to worry a lot about this. Especially Great Britain and France, which dominated the African continent for almost 100 years, and their Big Brother, who considers the whole world to be a zone of his interests. So, most likely, the Sudanese authorities are pushing the NATO states to curtail the Russian base. The author of the Rybar Telegram channel, which has been following Sudan for a long time, is not at all surprised by the news of the revision of the agreement. Unfortunately, this news did not come as a big surprise to those who followed the process. Back in January, during a visit to Sudan by a representative of the African Command of the US Armed Forces, the Americans pointed out the question of the future of the Russian base. Khartoum is forced to listen to the opinion of the White House because of the good prospects for bilateral cooperation. After all, it was Washington that removed Sudan from the list of sponsoring countries of terrorism and opened the way for foreign investment, and helped settle the debt to the World Bank. Also, the Americans are proposing the expansion of military-technical cooperation and major economic projects. Therefore, the United States is really able to influence Sudan and force it abandon the construction of a Russian base, "he commented to Vestnik Kavkaza. Rybar is sure that the problem is not only in the Americans - they act correctly out of their own interests - but also in the slowness of Russia. After all, the first talks about the base began back in 2017, and only three years later Russia signed an agreement. During this time, a coup d'etat took place in Sudan, and the new authorities, to put it mildly, do not entirely respect the seals stamped by the previous regime. And secondly, unlike the United States, Turkey and even the small Czech Republic, Russia did not try to invest and anchor Sudan economically, Rybar says. In the current situation, Russia "practically has no leverage" on Sudan, and against the background of great competition and "those who want to be friends with Khartoum, Moscow no longer looks like such a strong and significant partner," the expert added. To all of the above, you can only add what the Middle East Eye wrote about in April. When the frigate "Admiral Grigorievich" entered Port Sudan in February, becoming the first Russian warship to visit there, the American missile destroyer USS Winston S Churchill and the transport ship USNS Carson City arrived there almost simultaneously. So the United States has long been trying to squeeze Russia out of a strategically important African country. Time will tell whether Washington will be able to finish what it started. Duluth, MN (55816) Today Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 78F. WSW winds shifting to NNE at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight A mostly clear sky. Low 58F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Growing up in Guang'an, Zhang Yiwen always felt a closeness to late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, who spent the first 15 years of his life in her home city in the country's western province of Sichuan, as CNN writes, Zhang knows Deng's stories like the back of her hand and enjoys recounting them for visitors to the Communist revolutionary's former residence, where she's worked as a guide for the last 11 years. "Grandpa Deng has a great image in our heart," Zhang tells CNN, using the local nickname for the man who, as paramount leader from the late 1970s until his death in 1997, is credited with modernizing and opening up China. Zhang's passion for all things Deng, combined with her storytelling skills, has helped her win competitions and national recognition. In late 2020, she was one of the two people from Sichuan chosen to join the nationwide "Five Good Guides" program, one of several initiatives from the Chinese government to improve and highlight the country's rapidly booming "red tourism" industry. Ministry of Culture and Tourism officials handpicked 100 of the country's top tour guides working in so-called "red sites" -- locations with historical and cultural significance to the ruling Communist Party's history. The chosen ones traveled to Beijing to receive further training aimed at equipping them with skills to be, as the government puts it, "a firm inheritor of the red gene, a wonderful storyteller of red stories, a vivid interpreter of the red spirit, a loyal disseminator of the red culture and a powerful leader of the red trend." Although the concept of "red tourism" has been around for decades, it wasn't officially included in the country's national tourism plan until 2004. Some analysts say it presents a doctored version of history -- others going so far as to call it outright brainwashing. China's current strongman leader Xi Jinping has promoted "red tourism" numerous times since coming to power in late 2012, fueling rapid growth of this once niche segment among local governments and domestic tourists. As a result, "red sites" have expanded greatly across the country in recent years -- spotlighting everything from memorials to the Communist revolution to trees planted by Communist leaders. Pandemic gives 'red tourism' a lift With the global travel market still hindered by the pandemic and Chinese tourists forced to stay home, domestic travelers have given the "red tourism" industry a boost. "In 2020, the number of red tourists exceeded 100 million and contributed to 11% of domestic travel," says Mimi Li, associate professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and an expert on Chinese tourism policy. "That's quite phenomenal." The timing couldn't be better for travel industry players hoping to capitalize on this growing segment, with the country gearing up to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party in July. More "red tourism" initiatives are being rolled out almost weekly to coincide with this milestone -- in both state and private sectors. Ctrip, China's largest travel booking platform, launched 100 unique routes for "red pilgrims" earlier this year. The company predicted the campaign would attract 50 million travelers in 2021. "Most researchers classify red tourism as a type of heritage tourism. For some of the red sites like Jinggangshan or Yan'an, red tourism is almost a guaranteed income," says Li, referring to two famous former Communist revolutionary bases. CNN recently visited Yan'an in northern Shaanxi province as part of a government-led trip and witnessed throngs of visitors -- some donning revolutionary attire -- cramming into former residences of Communist leaders, auditoriums for past party congresses and countless exhibition halls. Droves of party members retook their admission oath -- "be ready at all times to sacrifice my all for the party and the people, and never betray the party" -- in ritualistic fashion, while schoolchildren received open-air lectures on why history chose the Communists to rule China. Unsurprisingly, Yan'an officials are eager to promote their city's biggest selling point with bold investments. A shiny airport, rows of new hotels and even a billboard advertising the upcoming opening of a Starbucks dot the former economic backwater. Their effort appeared to have paid off before the pandemic. In 2019, more than 73 million visitors flocked to the city of just over two million residents, nearly doubling the tourist figure just three years earlier. With the Covid-19 virus mostly contained within China, Yan'an tourism bounced back during the weeklong May Day holiday this year, with tourist spending already surpassing that in the same period before the pandemic, according to local authorities. Changing demographics Li, the Hong Kong professor, says that when the first "red tourism" wave kicked off, it mainly focused on education -- a compulsory activity for government officials and students. But the market has changed. "We see more and more tourists visiting those sites not because they are asked to do so but just because they want to do so," she says. And these "red travelers" are getting younger. According to data from travel platform Tongcheng-Elong, travelers aged 21 to 30 made up 40% of bookings and searches related to the "red tourism" segment over the recent May Day holiday. These figures won't come as a surprise to tourist guide Zhang, who says she's noticed more young people becoming interested in learning about Deng's story and his place in history. When she first started her job at Deng's birth home, most young visitors only took a casual look at the displays. But now, "most of them hire guides and pay close attention to our personal stories about Deng," she says. Improved facilities and services, creative souvenirs and the use of technology may have helped make "red sites" more appealing to younger generations. But some say the main driver is an increased focus on national pride and identity. "Young people nowadays are more proud and confident and identify more strongly with our nation and country," Zhang says. "They want to learn how China grew from a poor country to what it is today." Li notes that research shows young Chinese are displaying a greater appreciation than ever for national brands, from skincare to fashion. "They want to use the products produced in the country and they want to know the country better," she says. Chen Shuna, a student at Beijing's Capital University of Economics and Business, visited the city's Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression with her friends in November 2020. She tells CNN that what impressed her the most was the depiction of the Nanjing Massacre. "(The scene) was very tragic," says Chen. "Every item in the museum is proof of a story that earlier generations wrote with their blood. But we don't immerse ourselves in the emotion of revenge. Rather, we are alerted that our nation needs to rise up and strengthen itself to resist all invaders." The dark side of 'red tourism' While learning their own national history is a huge draw for tourists around the world, the difference is that "red sites" almost always offer one-sided storytelling. Critics say these sites focus on the perseverance of the Communist leaders and their glorious triumphs, overlooking their sometimes-catastrophic failures while even twisting historical facts. "The Chinese regime would certainly like to promote 'red tourism' for both commercial and ideological purposes," says Simon Shen, an influential political commentator from Hong Kong and founder of international relations company Glocal Learning Offices."It's regarded as a core subject of patriotic education. How effective it is -- that's another question." But Hong Kong academic Li insists that using historic sites and attractions as a means to "educate" citizens isn't exclusive to China. What the country lags behind in, she says, is sophisticated marketing. "In other countries like in the US, they do it very implicitly," says Li."I think it is something the Chinese government should pay attention to or spend more time and effort on. It really doesn't feel very good if you sense you are asked to believe something." In the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing, for example, emphasis is placed on the sacrifice the Communist Party made during the Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s and 40s and how the then-fledgling party was the "mainstay" that led the country into victory. On the history page on its official website, the museum alleges the Kuomintang -- the dominant ruling party of China from 1928 to 1949 -- displayed a lack of willingness to stand up against the Japanese invasion, calling out its "passive resistance" effort in the war. That's a claim rejected by many researchers outside mainland China. Zhang Yu, Sweden-based secretary-general of the Independent Chinese PEN Center, said in an interview with the Voice of America earlier this month that "red tourism" is effective in making its visitors believe in the Communist version of truth through "subtle indoctrination." "The most effective part of (red tourism) is that it isn't all fake," Zhang said in the interview. "The travel sites are half-real-half-false. The most important purpose is to (make people believe) that 'without the Communist Party, this country is over.'" Mike Robinson, director of the UK-based Ironbridge International Institute for Cultural Heritage, has conducted extensive research into heritage tourism in China. "There are complexities and anomalies in red tourism -- or any form of tourism that is so closely allied to only one ideology," he says.But the researcher says it's "uncritical, unreflective and naive" to outright dismiss "red tourism." "For the Chinese authorities, priorities for red tourism should be about building it into a wider program of sustainable tourism development for more marginal communities and then to open it up for a wider international audience through effective and honest interpretation." Shen, however, has a less optimistic view on the topic, comparing "red tourism" in China and tourism in North Korea, another communist country known for its pervasive indoctrination programs."For countries like North Korea, they also have similar routes for foreign tourists, but few would be 'brainwashed' afterwards -- more frequently the tourists would have very different thoughts," he says. The difference, he adds, is that China has the economic means to promote its version of history on a global scale."As a result, some tourists visiting those sites might ... become part of CCP's propaganda machine if they can't receive a proper debriefing in advance or afterwards." Using 'red tourism' to reduce poverty But Robinson, who has published reports on tourism and sustainability for UNESCO, notes the link between Beijing's sustainable development goals and "red tourism" growth -- and concrete benefits for local communities. Guang'an is one such example. Deng's former residence was the first "red site" in Sichuan to be awarded a 5A rating -- the highest tourism ranking in China. Renovations and upgrades have been carried out since the early 2000s. It's now a 3.19-square-kilometer tourist complex of attractions including a museum, a lake and a square with a bronze statue. With its pleasant scenery and abundant produce, Guang'an's "red tourism" appeal has helped local businesses prosper. In 2017, it was one of the first groups of counties in Sichuan to be lifted out of absolute poverty. In 2019, the city of less than half a million residents welcomed more than three million visitors. "Tourism policy -- for what it's worth-- is driven by economics," says Robinson. "It is not by chance that 'red tourism' is closely linked to programs of rural regeneration, agricultural diversification and improving local livelihoods." The St. Petersburg Economic Forum on June 2-5 will be the first global event since the pandemic to be attended by international delegations from the United States, Germany, Italy, China, South Asia and the Middle East. Addressing the forum, President Vladimir Putin noted that the most pressing issues of the modern economy will be discussed with the participation of statesmen, heads of major companies, corporations and banks, authoritative experts, young entrepreneurs who have already taken a successful business start. "It is obvious that without building up equal and constructive cooperation between members of the world community, expanding multifaceted business ties, it is impossible to effectively resist global challenges and provide conditions for sustainable development. We have been doing this work for a long time within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union, promoting the principles of free trade, mutually beneficial exchange of investments. Our country is interested in closer economic, scientific and technical cooperation with partners in other regions as well. We are ready to share our experience in such areas as healthcare and digitalization, to improve telecommunications, energy and transport infrastructure, work on the most important aspects of environmental and climatic agenda, Putin said. EUreporter writes that with the Forums main focus on green energy and sustainable development, Russia aims to boost international trade ties and attract investments to its economy. But the SPIEF could also be a link in the fragile chain between Russia and the US following Washingtons intention to work with Moscow and President Joe Bidens announcement, saying he looked forward to joint efforts and was very heartened by the countrys call for carbon removal. China is also not a passive participant in the climate deal. Despite it has the agenda, different from the one pursued by the US, President Xi earlier in April took part in the online Climate summit headlined by President Biden. Yet, China, the major economic competitor for the United States has been experiencing a number of sanctions from Washington including export bans and restrictions on two dozens of Chinese diplomats following the confrontation between the U.S. and China over the governance of Hong Kong. Russia, similarly, was imposed with sanctions on more than 30 officials and entities for attempts to meddle with the 2020 U.S. election, including the hacking of SolarWinds, an IT government contractor. Furthermore, in the first days of Bidens Presidency ten US diplomats were expelled from Russia in retaliation. Nevertheless, Biden has sought a meeting with Putin this summer, and Moscow confirmed Putin's attendance at the Climate summit. The SPIEF where most delegations come to make business could become a cracking point in the U.S-Russia tensions. But on the other side, Beijing with its huge delegation and broad program that includes signing of dozens trade and economic deals with Russia, will likely try to aside Washington from its involvement to global affairs as much as possible. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was among those to be vaccinated after Syria received a first shipment of Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, according to Syrian ambassador to Russia Riad Haddad. The ambassador did not say how big the shipment was but said the vaccine was now being administered to the public after doctors and the country's senior leaders were among those to get the first shots, Interfax news agency reported. Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged Armenia to adhere to principles of international law and refrain from unnecessary escalation of tension at the border and to stop its provocations, according to the ministrys press service. The ministry made the statement commenting on another provocation of the Armenian side in the direction of Azerbaijan's Kalbajar district. "According to the Ministry of Defense and the State Border Service of Azerbaijan, on June 1, 2021, another provocation of the Armenian armed forces, in the direction of Azerbaijans Kalbajar district, in Armudlu village, was prevented, the ministry said. So, the Armenian armed forces, which entered the territory of Azerbaijan with about 40 personnel, were immediately pushed back from the territory of our country as a result of measures taken by the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan without the use of weapons. "Armenia's continued provocations on the border between the two countries testify that the country purposefully take steps to aggravate the situation in the region," noted the ministry. "We reiterate the inadmissibility of such provocations and the importance of resolving differences on the border issue only through negotiations. Azerbaijan supports the process of delimitation and demarcation of the two state borders," AzerTAc cited the statement as saying. "We call on Armenia to adhere to the principles of international law, to refrain from unnecessarily escalating tensions on the border and to end provocations at the border," added the ministry. Earlier, a reconnaissance-sabotage group of Armenian Armed Forces undertook an attempt to enter Azerbaijans territory in the direction of the Yukhary Ayrim settlement of Kalbajar district near the state border on May 27. As a result of immediate operational measures, 6 Armenian servicemen who tried to mine the roads leading to the positions of the Azerbaijani Army on the border were detained. There are no bodies of Azerbaijani servicemen in the morgues of Armenia, the General Prosecutor's Office and the State Security Service of Azerbaijan said in a joint statement. The statement was made following certain reports from the Armenian media outlets. "On June 2, false allegations appeared in the Armenian media that some bodies in the morgues of Armenia may belong to Azerbaijani servicemen," the statement noted. "In this regard, we declare that among the unidentified bodies in the morgues under the Ministry of Health of Armenia there are no those belonging to the servicemen of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan." "Thus, the forensic genetic examination (DNA test), appointed by the law enforcement structures of Armenia, established that these are the corpses of Armenian servicemen," added the statement. Presently, search groups, consisting of employees of the General Prosecutor's Office, the Republican Military Prosecutor's Office, the State Security Service, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, are carrying out intensive activities to search for and transfer the bodies of the missing Azerbaijani servicemen, who died during the Second Karabakh war from late Sept. to early Nov.2020, to their families. U.S. President Joe Biden congratulated Israel's new president Isaac Herzog on his election on Wednesday amid the potential ouster of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israels parliament elected center-left politician Isaac Herzog to the nations No. 2 post. He is expected to assume to the role in July at the end of the seven-year term of current Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. Biden said in the statement that he "extend my warm congratulations to Isaac Herzog on his election to serve as the 11th President of the State of Israel," The Hill reported. "Throughout his career, President-elect Herzog has demonstrated his unwavering commitment to strengthening Israels security, advancing dialogue, and building bridges across the global Jewish community," Biden said. "I am confident that under his presidency, the partnership between Israel and the United States will continue to grow and deepen.? Biden also thanked Rivlin for his many years of service to the people of Israel." The president said he looked forward to welcoming Rivlin to Washington "in the weeks ahead to honor his dedication to the enduring partnership and the close friendship between our two nations." A huge fire broke out at an oil refinery in the southern part of the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday, Iranian state media reported, saying there were so far no reports of casualties. Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said all operations had been suspended at the facility, known as the Tondguyan refinery, as firefighters tried to contain the blaze. "A leak at a liquid gas pipeline at the facility sparked the fire," Mansour Darajati, the head of Tehran's crisis management organisation, told state TV. The cause of fire will be investigated, he added. Shaker Khafaii, head of the Tehran Oil Refining Co, which runs the refinery, ruled out the possibility of sabotage, Iran's state TV reported. Iranian media said ambulances and firefighters had been dispatched to the area, while TV said thick plumes of black smoke over the refinery could be seen from different parts of Tehran. The fire at the refinery happened a few hours after Iran's largest navy ship the Kharg caught fire and later sank in the Gulf of Oman, Reuters reported. Israeli opposition parties on Wednesday reached a coalition agreement to form a government and oust Benjamin Netanyahu, the longest-serving prime minister in Israeli history and a dominant figure who has pushed his nations politics to the right. The alliance would be led until 2023 by Naftali Bennett, a religiously observant former settler leader. He is a former ally of Netanyahu often described as more right-wing than the prime minister. If the government lasts a whole term, it would then be led between 2023 and 2025 by Yair Lapid, a centrist former television host considered a standard-bearer for secular Israelis, New York Times reported. Lapid, 57, is a former news anchor and journalist who became a politician nine years ago and later served as finance minister in a Netanyahu-led coalition. His party placed second in the general election in March, winning 17 seats. But Lapid considered the ouster of Netanyahu more important than demanding to go first as prime minister. An international meeting on Syria in the Astana format may take place in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, before the end of June, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov told reporters on Thursday on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. "We have plans to hold a new meeting in the Astana format sometime before the end of June," said Bogdanov, who is also deputy foreign minister. The diplomat also said that next week the Russian side will have contacts with its Iranian and Turkish partners on the issue, TASS reported. Trilateral consultations between representatives from Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia were held in Moscow on Wednesday, the sides discussed de-escalation in some areas along the Azerbaijani-Armenian border, several sources confirmed these reports. "On June 2, Moscow hosted trilateral consultations between representatives from Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia where ways to de-escalate the situation in certain border-adjacent areas in Armenia and Azerbaijan were discussed. [The sides] agreed to continue working contacts," TASS cited one source as saying. Switzerland has opened press accreditation for the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden in Geneva on June 16, the countrys Federal Department of Foreign Affairs informed on Wednesday. "Media representatives wishing to access media facilities in order to cover this event from Geneva must be accredited using the accreditation form below," the message by the federal department informs. The special accreditation form is provided on its website. "The media center will open on June 14 at 2pm and close June 17 at noon (CET)". The Vienna talks seeking to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, known as the Iran nuclear deal) are getting ahead, Russias Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov, who leads the Russian delegation at the talks in the Austrian capital, said on Wednesday. The Russian envoy told reporters that "the talks are advancing successfully." "There is almost total clarity on U.S. sanctions against Iran, which are to be lifted," Ulyanov said. "A list of nuclear-related steps that Iran must take to return to its nuclear commitments [in the nuclear deal] is nearly approved." According to Ulyanov, the vision of how those measures will be implemented is taking shape. "Who must do, and when and what must be done," TASS cited the Russian envoy as saying. Meanwhile, the next meeting of the Joint Commission on the Iran nuclear deal is tentatively scheduled for June 11. The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea is almost complete with just 100 kilometres left to build, Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday. "We hope that construction works on Nord Stream 2 will be completed by the end of this year," TASS cited the minister as saying. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz earlier said that the implementation of the project will help diversify energy supply routes and thus contribute to the energy security of Europe. The United States last month waived sanctions on the company behind the pipeline to Germany, a move opposed by critics of the project in the U.S. Congress, but welcomed by the Kremlin. However, environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe said on Wednesday it had applied for Nord Stream 2s construction and operating permit to be revoked on climate protection grounds, based on a ruling by Germanys top constitutional court. The court forced Germany earlier this month to tighten its climate law after plaintiffs, including North Sea islanders fearing rising sea levels, challenged a 2019 climate law. After the Covid-19 vaccine fund was established, Vietnamese businesses contributed hundreds of billions of Vietnamese dong. Many companies said they are willing to vaccinate their employees and customers with their own sources. Businesses have donated money to buy Covid-19 vaccines, as well as technological innovations and useful applications to fight the epidemic. In the field of technology, FPT Group has cooperated with the Ministry of Health to develop the virtual assistant nCov, which answers more than 1 million questions raised by Vietnamese people about the epidemic and supports students at 15,000 schools nationwide to study online for free during the quarantine time. Viettel Group has developed a series of "speedy" solutions: Vietnam Health app within six days; electronic medical declaration system in just two days; F0 tracing system by phone numbers; and the Telehealth system connected to more than 1,000 medical facilities within 45 days. Large corporations ceased most of their manufacturing activities to make ventilators when the country faced the risk of lacking ventilators for Covid-19 patients. In a short period of time, thousands of ventilators were manufactured and donated to the Ministry of Health. Corporations facing difficulties still donated tens of millions of US dollars to develop vaccines against Covid-19. When farmers in many provinces could not sell their products due to the pandemic, VnPost, Viettel Post and other e-commerce platforms immediately helped farmers sell their products online. The Voso.vn e-commerce floor of Viettel Post, under the direction of the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, offered litchi, a specialty fruit of Bac Giang province the countrys largest Covid-19 epicenter - on its floor since May 28, with the goal of selling 100 tons of litchi per day. Many businesses have been willing to accept losses to fight the pandemic. Airports have stopped welcoming passengers from overseas. Airlines have carried aid and overseas Vietnamese people back home. Banks cut profits on preferential loans. Corporate social responsibility Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is becoming a strong wave. According to the World Bank's Private Economic Development Group, CSR is the commitment to contribute to sustainable economic development, through compliance with standards on environmental protection, gender equality, occupational safety, labor rights, fair pay, employee training and development, and community development in a way that is beneficial to both businesses and society. CSR has long been implemented by Vietnamese businesses for charity purposes. Liz Maw, a member of the board of directors of the World Environment Center, said that sustainable development is not only important for the community, and for the planet, but also for the success of businesses. In the context of globalization and international integration, if corporations do not comply with social responsibility, they will not be able to access the world market. Corporate social responsibility helps to regulate the behavior of business entities, improve the quality, brand value and reputation of corporations, and attract good labor resources and increase profit. Moreover, corporate social responsibility contributes to enhancing the national image, through the role of the government in creating a complete legal environment, an equal playing field for businesses. It provides information and guidance on incentive mechanisms and policies for enterprises. There are more than 1,000 codes of conduct showing corporate social responsibility in the world, such as SA 8000 - labor standard in manufacturing factories; WRAP - Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production - the worlds largest factory-based certification program for manufacturers of clothing, footwear and other sewn products; ISO 14001 - environmental management system in enterprises; ISO 26000 - CSR standard of the International Organization for Standardization, and others. To implement corporate social responsibility, businesses must have criteria and rules, and define their core values. Japan is the most successful example in this regard, from which Vietnam should learn. Most Japanese enterprises have clear criteria when building and providing services and goods that are beneficial to consumers. They pursue three requirements: good for sellers, good for buyers and good for society. Mr. Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), emphasized that sustainable development and responsible business will be the new value system in business development of the new era. This is the passport for each business and the economy to go deeper and further into the global market. More than a responsibility: a mission In the process of economic development and national construction, Vietnam is facing many challenges such as environmental protection, human resource training, poverty alleviation and sustainable development, and raising national image in the international arena. The role and social responsibility of enterprises are increasingly important. A number of surveys around the world show that consumers want companies not only to perform traditional roles such as making profits, paying taxes, and complying with the law, but also to contribute to broader social goals. Going beyond social responsibility is the mission for the development and strength of the country. As Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung once emphasized: Vietnamese businesses must serve their country so that the country can develop. Thus businesses can have a larger market, a peaceful environment for doing business, and have greater profits. To further develop, Vietnamese businesses should incorporate the spirit of serving the country into their culture and turn it into their development philosophy. Duy Khanh Spirit of serving the country part of corporate culture of tech-firms If businesses want to continue to develop, the spirit of serving the country must be incorporated into their culture, becoming a philosophy of development. A woman in Bac Giang province, Vietnam's largest Covid-19 hotspot, refused to leave her home when medical workers came and asked her to to a concentrated quarantine area. An infant only 3 days old had to live far from her mother who was under quarantine. Bac Giang's woman refuses to leave her home when medical workers come and ask her to to a concentrated quarantine area. The factories in some northern industrial zones had to suspend operation after all their workers were classified as F1 (close contact) and sent to concentrated quarantine. The Medic Medical Center, where I work, which provides health examination services to thousands of patients a day, had to close its doors after tens of physicians were labeled as F1 and put under quarantine. At a quarantine camp in a northern province, a high proportion of F1 workers becoming F0 (person who is source of infection) was reported. Previously, when the pandemic spread to only a few provinces, people happily entered concentrated quarantine camps to protect themselves and society. But now they are afraid of concentrated quarantine, because they may become infected with coronavirus in the places that are set up to prevent the spread of virus. My co-workers are worried as they are not sure if the hospital will have to close its doors one day, and they will then be put under quarantine for three weeks if an F0 accidentally comes to the hospital for a health examination. What will happen if all hospitals and medical centers accidentally receive an F0? Will all of them have to close the doors? Who will serve non-Covid-19 patients if all medical workers are away for quarantine? No one wants to live far from his or her family and away from work, even for one day. Young mothers have small kids, while middle-aged people have old parents they need to take care of. If one day they become F1, they will be forced to leave home for three weeks and face the risks of becoming an F0. No one wants to live far from his or her family and away from work, even for one day. Young mothers have small kids, while middle-aged people have old parents they need to take care of. If one day they become F1, they will be forced to leave home for three weeks and face the risks of becoming an F0. I myself have to take care of my parents who are seriously ill. If I am absent for half a day, my mother may die. I was lucky when an F0 case came to my hospital. I was at home taking care of my mother, and was not put under quarantine. All solutions have an aim to ensure safety for society. There are many solutions from which to choose. If we think carefully, we will be able to find the solutions which are simple, and not costly and effective. Experts have raised their voice about F1 classification, using different management methods. Bac Ninh is piloting a new model, allowing F1 workers to return to factories where they can work and follow quarantine rules. Meanwhile, both Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces are allowing F1s to spend quarantine at their homes. The Ministry of Health (MOH) has told its taskforce in Bac Giang, which is directing the prevention and control of the pandemic in the province, to immediately "freeze" all the workers accommodation quarters to ensure strict isolation, especially the multi-story buildings where many workers live; and apply regulations in concentrated quarantine areas, considering these areas as 'concentrated quarantine zones'. This means that in industrial zones and populous residential areas with a high number of positive cases, workers and people are staying in their places and are not being taken to concentrated isolation areas. With this new model, Bac Giang, which is Vietnam's largest Covid-19 hotspot, allowed eight enterprises in four IZs to resume operations on May 28. Hanoi, in its latest instruction, still requires isolation of F1s, but says "if there are signs of cough, fever, difficulty in breathing or signs of suspected Covid-19 infection, people have to isolate themselves from other people. The young mother with small kids and the woman forced to go to quarantine can isolate themselves at home, where they do not harm other people. And they can escape the obsessive fear of getting cross-infected in concentrated quarantine zones. And I hope that my co-workers, the physicians under quarantine, can return to their work to take care of patients. As doctors, they understand well what they need to do to protect themselves from getting infected with coronavirus. Phan Xuan Trung (Medic Medical Center) National Cancer Hospital put under lockdown, more infections detected All three facilities of Vietnam's National Cancer Hospital, also known as K Hospital, in Hanoi were put under lockdown from 5:30am on May 7, after 10 COVID-19 infections were recorded in the hospitals Tan Trieu facility. The biggest headache for state agencies compiling talent training plans is that the recipients, after finishing courses overseas, do not return to Vietnam to serve at state agencies as they had previously promised. It would be better to seek scholarships from foreign universities. Besides the tuition, you get a $30,000 stipend. Your travel fees and gym services are also paid. Meanwhile, those who study with 322 or 911 scholarships (the scholarships granted under the state-funded Projects 322 or 911) have very modest stipends, so life is hard," said a Vietnamese postdoc student in the US. Many people also think it would be better to seek a good scholarship from foreign universities, and that studying abroad with the states funding should be a last resort. However, there are reasons to hope that this will change with the newly adjusted Project 89, which aims to improve lecturers and managerial officers at tertiary education establishments to meet the requirements on fundamental and comprehensive reform in 2019-2030. The project implementation is coming 2.5 years after approval. The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has released a dispatch guiding the implementation of the project in 2021 and 2022. The circular, dated on May 13, requires schools that want to send lecturers to training courses to register prior to May 20 and submit the lists of lecturers to the ministry prior to June 15. The biggest headache for state agencies compiling talent training plans is that the recipients, after finishing courses overseas, do not return to Vietnam to serve at state agencies as they had previously promised. Lecturers with doctorates at Vietnams universities just account for around 20 percent of the total number of lecturers. Changes Universities have praised Project 89 because of the positive changes. Under the previous Projects 322 and 911, MOET chose candidates for training programs. Under Project 89, universities choose candidates and organize training (3 percent of candidates attend training courses in Vietnam). The view about training expenses has also changed. According to Do Van Dung, former Rector of the HCM City University of Technology and Education, the estimated cost for training a PhD overseas is $30,000 a year. The living expenses are $10,000 per annum. As such, the total cost would be $160,000 for every trainee to fulfill a program in four years. While Project 911 fixed a budget of VND14 trillion to produce 20,000 PhDs, Project 89 has no exact amount. The project just says that the investment rate for training and producing PhDs covers the costs in training, scientific research, internships and research publication, among others. It also says that the expenses for project implementation would be from the state budget, tertiary education establishments, and other legally mobilized sources. Meanwhile, the expenses on scholarship, tuition and other training expenses come from the state budget. Dung pointed out that the production of good lecturers will offer big benefits, and that low training costs wont produce high-quality PhDs. Projects 322 and 911 had set a goal of producing at least 20,000 doctorate holders in 2010-2020, but the training had to stop in 2017. The main reason behind the failure of the projects was the unreasonable policy which was not attractive enough for university lecturers to register. The working conditions and wages offered to them after the training were not attractive, Dung said. Pham Sy Tien, the coordinator of Project 322, said the lecturers were well trained under the program, but could not promote their abilities after returning to Vietnam, because there was no environment for them to continue research. Nguyen Thu Thuy, director of the Higher Education Department under MOET, said that training establishments need to have reasonable policies to attract talents. The policies will motivate lecturers to improve their qualifications by attending refresher courses to devote themselves to the establishments. Bui Hoai Thang, head of the training division of the HCM City University of Technology, noted that schools need to take the initiative to train workers themselves, and not wait for every individual to return after they finish their study. Meanwhile, Nguyen Xuan Hoan, rector of the HCM City Food Industry University, said to attract talents, schools not only need to fund their studies but also offer them reasonable monthly pay. The schools lecturers attending training courses overseas can receive pay as if they were in Vietnam. So, nearly 100 percent of lecturers sent to training courses would more likely return after their study. Ngan Anh - Le Huyen The US-sponsored John Midgett coast guard ship, a Hamilton-class cutter, has departed from Seattle (Washington) and is expected to arrive in Vietnam in the coming days. Vietnam Coast Guard ship CSB 8021 is on its way to new home in Vietnam. (Photo: US Embassy) The vessel painted with the symbol of the Vietnam Coast Guard and number 8021 is part of the USs Excess Defence Articles (EDA) program that offers excess military equipment to US partner and allied countries in support of military and security modernization efforts. Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG) ship CSB 8021 departed Seattle, Washington for Vietnam on June 1, 2021, the US Embassy in Hanoi said on its Facebook. According to the US Embassy, the VCG crew will sail the former US Coast Guard cutter to its new homeport in VCG Region 3 this summer. This cutter donation to Vietnam is another concrete example of the strengthening US-Vietnam regional security partnership. CSB 8021, formerly known as the USCGC John Midgett (WHEC-726) run by the US Coast Guard, belongs to the Hamilton class built in the 1960s, the most modern at that time. The vessel has a length of 115 m, a width of 13 m, a draft of 4.6 m, and displacement of 3,250 tonnes. One of the great advantages of the Hamilton-class patrol boat is that it can operate continuously at sea for up to 45 days. The US had dismantled sensitive electronic equipment on board and tested the vessel before handing over it to Vietnam. In May 2018 the US Coast Guard also transferred its first High Endurance Cutter named CSB 8020 to Vietnam. The ship is expected to improve the Vietnam Coast Guards maritime domain awareness, increase its capacity to perform maritime law enforcement operations, and conduct search and rescue and other humanitarian response operations. VOV Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen Phan Van Giang on June 2 hosted separately receptions for Ambassador of the Philippines to Vietnam Meynardo Los Banos Montealegre, and Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaya Ratnam. Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen Phan Van Giang (R) and Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaya Ratnam (Photo: qdnd.vn) The Vietnamese minister congratulated the two ambassadors on their appointment, and thanked the two countries for their support for Vietnam during the year Vietnam served as Chair of ASEAN in 2020. Giang expressed his belief that the diplomats will fulfill their important task, contributing to further promoting the Vietnam Philippines and Vietnam Singapore strategic partnerships. Minister Giang and Philippine Ambassador Montealegres highly valued the implementation of the defence cooperation agreement between their defence ministries, saying that the bilateral defence relations have been deepened with practical results in many fields such as delegation exchange, dialogue, consultation, training and cooperation within the multilateral framework. Amid complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two sides agreed to organise suitable activities in the virtual form, especially the Defence Policy Dialogue, the joint working group on defence cooperation, bilateral navy and air defence consultations, cooperation in COVID-19 prevention, and support and settlement of issues related to fishermen in a humanitarian spirit. Meanwhile, Giang and the Singaporean Ambassador agreed that on the basis of results from the implementation of the agreement on bilateral defence cooperation, the two sides will promote the organization of a number of virtual meetings, including the deputy ministerial-level defence policy dialogue, meetings of joint working groups on bilateral defence cooperation and naval cooperation, security dialogues, and cooperation activities in responding to COVID-19. The two sides pledged to continue to complete procedures and sign an agreement on bilateral defence cooperation between the two governments in 2021 to replace the 2009 document, thus contributing to strengthening intra-ASEAN solidarity and improving ASEAN's position in the region and the world. Vietnam, China foster defence ties The Vietnamese Government and Defence Ministry have always attached importance to the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and China, considering this a premise to strengthen the bilateral defence ties. The statement was made by Deputy Minister of Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien at a reception for Chinas outgoing defence attache to Vietnam Colonel Luo Bin, and newly-appointed one Colonel Pan Tao. Chien said over the past more than seven decades, the bilateral defence cooperation has developed continuously, particularly after the two defence ministries signed a protocol on defence collaboration. Cooperation activities have been made routine, with increasingly diverse forms and more pragmatic outcomes, he continued. According to the officer, the two sides have maintained the exchange of high-ranking delegations, as well as cooperation mechanisms between naval forces, coast guards and institutes, and in military medicine in a flexible manner. Land border cooperation has also been implemented fruitfully, contributing to building a border area of peace, stability and development, Chien said./. VNA All businesses, organizations and provinces are allowed to negotiate with suppliers of legal vaccine sources, but they must contact qualified agencies. Deputy Health Minister Tran Van Thuan said the policy of the Vietnamese Government and the Ministry of Health is to diversify the sources of supply of Covid-19 vaccines to quickly have vaccines for people. Vietnam aims to have 150 million doses by the end of this year. The Ministry of Health expects that organizations, individuals, businesses, provinces and cities, with their relationships, can connect and access legal and qualified vaccine sources. The Ministry of Health, in its functions and duties, is ready to create favorable conditions for licensing, testing, and early import of vaccines. The Ministry of Health has sent a document to the People's Committees of 63 provinces and cities throughout the country on this policy. However, Deputy Minister Thuan emphasized that the Ministry of Health has warned of fraud regarding vaccine purchases. Photo: Four batches of AstraZeneca vaccine have arrived in Vietnam, of which two were provided by Covax Facility and two were ordered by the Ministry of Health through VNVC. As of June 2, 36 companies in Vietnam are allowed to import and trade vaccines. Agencies that have access to legal vaccine sources can directly work with the Ministry of Health or with one of these 36 agencies to import vaccines into Vietnam. With vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) for emergency use (AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, Sinopharm, Johnson & Johnson ...), the Ministry of Health will consider and grant an import licence within five working days upon receipt of all legal and valid dossiers and accompanied by official authorization of the Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer. For other vaccines, the approval is within 10 days. To date, Vietnam has licensed two vaccines for emergency use, AstraZeneca and Sputnik V. List of 36 agencies eligible to import and trade vaccines in Vietnam: 1. Saigon Pharmaceutical Company Limited: No. 18-20 Nguyen Truong To, Ward 12, District 4, HCM City. 2. DKSH Pharma Vietnam Co., Ltd: No. 23, Doc Lap Boulevard, Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park, Binh Hoa Ward, Thuan An Town, Binh Duong Province. 3. Ho Chi Minh City Medical Import-Export Joint Stock Company: No. 181 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Ward 6, District 3, HCM City. 4. Codupha Central Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company: Building 509-515, To Hien Thanh Street, Ward 14, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City. 5. May Cosmetics Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company: 53-55 Dien Bien Phu Road, Da Kao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. 6. Dai Nam Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company: 270A Ly Thuong Kiet, Ward 14, District 10, HCM City. 7. Branch of Zuellig Pharma Vietnam Co., Ltd. Lot 5 - Road No. 2 - Tan Tao Industrial Park, Binh Tan District, HCM City. 8. Branch of Hanoi Pharmaceutical and Medical Equipment Joint Stock Company: 475D Le Trong Tan Road, Son Ky Ward, Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City. 9. Branch of Nam Ha Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company: No. 423 Vu Tong Phan Street, Khuong Dinh Ward, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi. 10. Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company - Ho Chi Minh City Branch: No. 198 Hoang Van Thu, Ward 9, Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City. 11. Minh Dan Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company: Lot E2, N4 Road, Hoa Xa Industrial Park, Loc Hoa Ward, Nam Dinh City, Nam Dinh Province. 12. Vaccine and Biological Products One Member Company Limited No. 1: No. 1 Yersin Street, Pham Dinh Ho Ward, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi. 13. VIMEDIMEX Binh Duong One Member Limited Liability Company: No. 18 L1-2 VSIP II, Road 3, Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park 2, Hoa Phu Ward, Thuan An Town, Binh Duong Province. 14. Hanoi Medical Equipment Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company: No. 2 Hang Bai Street, Trang Tien Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi. 15. Da Nang Pharmaceutical - Medical Equipment Joint Stock Company: No. 2 Phan Dinh Phung Street, Hai Chau Ward, Da Nang City. 16. Branch of Hanoi Medical Equipment Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company: 27B Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Da Kao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. 17. Sohaco Pharmaceutical and Trading Group Joint Stock Company: No. 5 Lang Ha Street, Thanh Cong Ward, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi. 18. Sang Pharmaceutical and Trading Company Limited: 3rd Floor, 61 Cao Thang Street, Ward 3, District 3, HCM City. 19. Branch of Eco Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company: 148 Hoang Hoa Tham Street, Ward 12, Tan Binh District, HCM City. 20. Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company: No. 180 Truong Chinh Street, Khuong Thuong Ward, Dong Da District, Hanoi. 21. Medinsco Medical Equipment Joint Stock Company: Room 507-510, 5th floor, The Golden Palm Building, No. 21 Le Van Luong Road, Nhan Chinh Ward, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi. 22. Medcomtech Joint Stock Company: No. 61, Lane 291, Khuong Trung Street, Khuong Trung ward, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi. 23. Sanofi-Aventis Vietnam Co., Ltd: No. 10 Ham Nghi Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, HCM City. 24. TAVO Pharma Joint Stock Company: 32 Cau Xeo Road, Tan Quy Ward, Tan Phu District, HCM City. 25. Ben Tre Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company: 6A3 National Highway 60, Phu Tan Ward, Ben Tre City, Ben Tre Province. 26. Central Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company 2: No. 24 Nguyen Thi Nghia Street, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, HCM City. 27. GON SA Joint Stock Company: 88 Pham Thi Tanh Street, Ward 4, District 8, HCM City. 28. MSD HH Co., Ltd.: Room 22-115, 22nd floor, E-Town Central, No. 11, Doan Van Bo Street, Ward 12, District 4, HCM City. 29. Pfizer (Vietnam) Co., Ltd.: 13th floor, TNR Tower, 180-192 Nguyen Cong Tru Street, Nguyen Thai Binh Ward, District 1, HCM City. 30. Duc Minh Medical Joint Stock Company: No. 51, Lane 205, Alley 323/83, Xuan Dinh Street, Xuan Dinh Ward, Bac Tu Liem District, Hanoi. 31. Central Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company CPC1: No. 87, Nguyen Van Troi Street, Phuong Liet Ward, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi. 32. Johnson & Johnson (Vietnam) Co., Ltd.: 12th floor, Vietcombank Building, No. 5 Me Linh Square, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, HCM City. 33. Vietnam Medical Import-Export Joint Stock Company: No. 138 Giang Vo Street, Kim Ma Ward, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi. 34. AstraZeneca Vietnam Co., Ltd: 18th floor, A&B Building, No. 76 Le Lai Street, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, HCM City. 35. GSK Vietnam Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd: Rooms 702 and 703, 7th floor, Metropolitan Tower, 235 Dong Khoi Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, HCM City. 36. Center for Research and Production of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals: 135 Lo Duc Street, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi. Thuy Hanh Ngo Van Minh, a teacher at Archimedes Academy, a secndary school in Hanoi, has raised VND230 million from selling maize and running an online class to buy medical equipment for use in Bac Giang, the current Covid epicenter. Ngo Van Minh, a teacher of Archimedes Academy On May 25, Minh wrote on his personal page he would offer an online class via Zoom, designed for students who are about to enter the fourth grade and have love for mathematics. The tuition is VND300,000 a month for four hours (once a week). The course is expected to last 10 months, commencing from August 1. All the tuition paid in advance will be used to buy medical equipment for the Bac Giang epicenter. On May 8, 2021, the first IZ worker was tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 after spending the April holiday with family members. The idea was supported by his friends and colleagues. A professor in Poland has also expressed his willingness to teach the class. One day later, 60 students registered to attend the class. Some parents who do not have children at this age were willing to give money to cover tuition for one course. I read news about doctors fighting at the epicenter and I admire them. I am not a soldier in the forefront, but I want to make a contribution, the teacher said. I found that there is urgent demand for ventilators in Bac Giang. I thought of raising money by organizing an online class, he said. Minh said that although he had never organized private tutoring classes, he received strong support from parents, friends and co-workers. As of May 27, Minh had remitted VND231 million in the first phase to Bac Giang. The money will be used to buy ventilators and 300 M3 protective masks. Minhs action has inspired his co-workers. Some of them have decided to teach online via Zoom to raise money. All the money from the teaching will be used to help the battle against Covid-19 in Vietnam. Even parents whose children are Minhs students have called on their relatives and friends to join the teacher. Hundreds of million of dong have been mobilized to buy ventilators. Minh has also decided to sell the maize about to be harvested on his field for VND10 million to raise money for the effort. The amount of money is not that big. But I believe that if everyone joins hands, we will win the battle, he said. Thuy Nga Businesses seek sources to buy vaccines for their workers The electronics, textile and garment, footwear, wooden furniture and dairy sectors have proposed that the Government allow them to seek vaccine sources and pay for vaccinations at their enterprises so they can maintain production. In March 2016, McCarthy was temporarily suspended from practicing law after he failed to pay dues to the Client Protection Fund, according to the Bar Counsel investigation. He was reinstated on Feb. 16, 2017. He did not tell his client he wasnt allowed to practice law while he continued to represent him, the high court found. With a deep and commanding voice, Ford could be intimidating, and if a meeting bogged down, staffers could expect to see him gesture with the rolling fingers of death, a signal to wrap it up. But DeCluitt knew another side of Ford. He was a very caring and considerate fellow, he said. When my children were born, he came by the hospital. His death is a great loss for the state. Groth said the city of Waco and the Brazos River Authority sometimes found themselves at odds during Fords tenure, including disagreements about upstream dairy pollution and Wacos ultimately successful bid to take control of the regional sewer system from the authority. When agencies work together, its never as smooth as silk, Groth said. But we met a lot and talked through it and we came to an agreement. In the end, we shook hands and I felt like Phil was a friend. Collingsworth, the current general manager and CEO, said Ford was a powerful mentor for many of the people who are still at the agency, including himself. The thing thats most impressive is that after more than 30 years in the Air Force, the next thing he did was dedicate his life to making Texas a better place to live, he said. Funeral services are set for 10 a.m. Thursday at Woodway United Methodist Church. Interment with military honors is scheduled for 1 p.m. June 8 at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, under the direction of Grace Gardens Funeral Home. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. LOS ANGELES (AP) Former Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander has begun serving a federal prison sentence for corruption, it was reported Wednesday. Prison records show that Englander is serving a 14-month sentence at the U.S. penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona. Scott Taylor, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, said Englander is expected to be released next May 28, the Los Angeles Times reported. Taylor wouldn't discuss the reason for the projected release date, but he said prison sentences can be reduced for various reasons, including good conduct, the Times said. Englander, who served on the City Council from 2011 to 2018, was ordered to report to prison this week. He was sentenced in January for lying to federal investigators about his dealings with a businessman who provided him $15,000 in secret cash payments during a night out in Las Vegas. Englander, 50, was the first person to be sentenced in a wide-ranging federal investigation into corruption at Los Angeles City Hall. He pleaded guilty last year to scheming to falsify material facts, a felony. Ortiz first began in the position after Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham was elected, serving as chief of staff and other leadership roles in the secretary of state's office from 2011 through 2018. He had previously served as secretary of the Department of Workforce Solutions and director of the Motor Vehicle Division. His career in government began in 1993, where he also worked in the Taxation and Revenue Department and the Human Services Department. Its mixed feelings, Ortiz said. Its tough to leave, but Im also looking forward to the next chapter in my life as well. I have really enjoyed the opportunities and the people Ive gotten to work with. Ortiz said he has no immediate plans beyond spending time with his family. Deputy Secretary Duffy Rodriguez is expected to serve as the department's interim head while the governors office searches for a replacement for Ortiz. I am deeply grateful to Ken for his willingness to serve New Mexicans in this role, Lujan Grisham said. He has been a steady and trustworthy public servant for decades. I wish him the best. For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, The Santa Fe New Mexican. ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Taxpayers are set to foot the bill for a $2.5 million contract for lawyers representing Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office in an ongoing federal investigation over his administration's handling of COVID-19 data in nursing homes, the governor said Wednesday. Legal bills are mounting as Cuomo and his administration fight back allegations that he abused his power by sexually harassing and assaulting female employees and other women, publishing his COVID-19 leadership book in violation of state ethics laws, providing priority COVID-19 tests to his family in spring 2020 and minimizing the states tally of COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents. The Department of Justice and state Attorney General's office have launched probes of such allegations, while the state Assembly judiciary committee's separate investigation is also considering whether there are grounds to impeach Cuomo. When asked Wednesday if he is using campaign or personal funds to pay for any lawyers, Cuomo said: Not at this time. The way it works is the executive chamber has retained a counsel," Cuomo said at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. "And that is a state expense. It has been in every investigation. So that's where we are now. She comes back a second time, and thats when deputies open fire and she takes multiple rounds, Chitwood said. Chitwood said the 12-year-old boy, had told investigators that they had planned to roll like it's GTA," referring to the videogame series Grand Theft Auto. The often violent videogame series tracks characters as they rise through a criminal underworld. In body camera video released Wednesday, a deputy can be seen yelling, Put the gun down now! as shots are fired at him repeatedly while he takes cover behind a tree in the yard. A commander over the radio tells deputies not to challenge them. Lets not engage them, the commander said. Lets just hang out here. But several minutes later, a barrage of shots echoes across the lawn. Theyre shooting at me, the deputy says in the video. A little bit later, deputies report that the 14-year-old girl is down. Then the 12-year-old boy, who authorities said had been armed with the AK-47, comes outside with his hands raised. Its not just Tulsa. From the 2019 premiere of HBOs Watchmen, which introduced many Americans to a racial atrocity theyd never heard of, to all the recent media attention CNN, The New York Times, NPR marking this weeks centennial, the Tulsa Race Massacre of May 31 to June 1, 1921 has lately been inescapable. As well it should be. It stands out for multiple reasons. There is the sheer size of it: at least 35 square blocks leveled by white mobs. There is the death toll of it: an estimated 300 African Americans the exact number will never be known killed. And there is the cussed gall of it. Barred from white community and society, Black people created a thriving community and society of their own, a Black Wall Street only to have white people burn it to the ground. Its important that all this be known. Yet its also important to recognize that what happened in that Oklahoma town was not some isolated event. No, Tulsa in 1921 is echoed by New York in 1863, Memphis and New Orleans in 1866, Wilmington, North Carolina in 1898, Atlanta in 1906, Springfield in 1908, East St. Louis in 1917, Chicago and Elaine, Arkansas, in 1919, Rosewood, Florida in 1923 among others. Bad news Beto Why does a failed presidential, failed U.S Senate contender, and do-nothing congressman from El Paso think hes now born to be the governor of Texas? One would think Texans sent democrats a clear message in the 2020 election when Republicans won virtually every contested race from president to dog catcher. But Beto is a living whack-a-mole game, he just keeps popping up in different races. The man came out of nowhere and gained popularity for promoting gun-grabbing policies, proudly proclaiming in a 2019 debate, Hell yes, were [meaning the federal government] going to take [read: by force] your AR-15. Typical entitled politician. He hasnt achieved anything other than that sound clip played on repeat by sycophants at CNN and yet he believes he deserves your vote. Or maybe he believes he can take advantage of the new normal and steal the vote. Oh wait, thanks to Briscoe Cain and Bryan Hughes, Democrats (despite Betos best efforts) will have a much harder time committing election misconduct. All rhetoric aside, Beto has one of the most regressive, liberal voting records ever. If you take nothing else from this letter, please consider his voting record and ask yourself if this is the man you want leading Texas. Heres a sample of what he stands for: Blood said they were told a hearing was not set due to lack of time so the resolution will be put on pause until the January session begins. I did let Sen. Hughes know that I understood it was a small window of time (and) that we would accommodate any way that we could to encourage him to go ahead and schedule it, Blood said. But it still was thought that they would just schedule it in January. In the meantime, Blood said she plans on conducting roadshows starting at the end of June or beginning of July where she will travel the state holding open forums to discuss situations like AltEn and how to prevent something like that from happening again in the future in other communities. Blood said she does plan on hosting an event in Mead during this tour. When Blood started to see a lack of progress related to AltEn, she felt the need to take it a step further especially after being contacted by the affected communities. Just because shes now an urban senator, doesnt mean she doesnt care about rural Nebraska, Blood said. We represent all of Nebraska, so it shouldnt be an urban versus rural thing, Blood said. It should be that state senators want to make sure that Nebraskans are protected. The changes come as Anne Arundel County crosses the 50% mark for county residents with at least one COVID-19 vaccine. The county Health Department reported Thursday that about 50.1% of the population, or 290,551 people, have at least one does. Of those, 256,511 have completed their vaccination. The family will host a golf tournament, 5K and silent auction on Sunday called The Longest Day in honor of the summer solstice, or the day with the most light to fight the darkness of Alzheimers and all other dementias. JERUSALEM (AP) Thousands of people marched through Jerusalem on Thursday in the annual Pride parade, celebrating LGBTQ rights in the conservative city amid heavy police security. I had kind of gotten out of a bad situation and was just kind of lost and looking for ways to build myself and secure something solid for my kids and I, she said. Whiteside had tried buying homes several times in the past, but plans fell through each time. She learned a year ago she had been accepted for a new home through Habitat. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} I cried. I figured theyd say no. It seems like anything Id tried to help get a step up for myself and the boys I was always denied, she said through tears. I felt this was so far out of reach. Part of her contract included volunteering at the Habitat Restore at 4107 Hammond Ave. She also helped the volunteers through each stage of building, beginning with digging the foundation. Whiteside and her boys delivered snacks to the volunteers because she wanted her boys to meet the people who were helping their family. Judy Marshall, a neighbor and Habitat for Humanity board member, kicked off the dedication by sharing historic facts about the site, including a story of the earliest recorded home on the property built in the early 1800s. Mandy Mahncke, Habitat program director, also welcomed the family to their new home. WATERLOO As he shoveled compost on his family farm in Grundy County recently, state Rep. Ras Smith overheard his daughter ask her grandfather why they farmed. Smith knew in that moment why organizations like Silos and Smokestacks are so important. Its about preserving the things that we fought so hard for, Smith said. To ensure that my daughter has the opportunity to, maybe in 50 years, walk back to this building and show pictures of that strawberry farm in Grundy County, and the work that she remembers her grandpa and her dad doing, to make sure that that heritage of agriculture continues through our state. That theme of preserving the history of agriculture and teaching future generations about farmings importance was repeated often during Wednesdays COVID-delayed grand opening celebration of the new Silos and Smokestacks location at 305 W. Park Ave. in downtown Waterloo. First and foremost, we have to remember our rich agricultural history, Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart said, adding that one in five jobs is ag-related. Were in Iowa, and agriculture, farming, all those things are so much a part of who we are. And Silos and Smokestacks makes sure we never forget that. The university's failure to offer Hannah-Jones tenure has prompted outcry by dozens of members of the journalism school's faculty, who have demanded an explanation. Her lawyers argue the move is part of a conservative backlash against scholars telling the truth about the history of racism in the U.S. Hussman, 74, said that instead of sending one lengthy email, he sent separate emails, based on arguments from other historians, challenging assertions by Hannah-Jones that the American Revolution was fought to protect slavery, that the fight for freedom and equality for Blacks was fought by Blacks alone, and about reparations. The news website The Assembly first obtained the emails and reported on their content. Hussman said he showed his emails to one trustee, who suggested he show them to the other board members, but he said he decided to go no further. He declined to say which trustee he reached out to. I don't think that's my role as a donor. It would be perceived as lobbying the board to not hire, he said. I've made it known to one of the trustees; if they want to share it with others, they can. If they don't want to share it with others, that's their discretion. LARNACA, Cyprus (AP) Three European Union member nations and three Middle Eastern countries are looking to train personnel in border, customs, maritime and cybersecurity techniques at a cutting-edge U.S.-funded facility in Cyprus that is expected to be ready early next year, the Cypriot foreign minister said Thursday. The Cyprus Center for Land, Open-Seas, and Port Security (CYCLOPS) is scheduled to start operating on Jan. 16, 2022, Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said after inspecting the under-construction facility with U.S. Ambassador Judith Garber. Christodoulides said Cyprus was selected for the center because the Mediterranean island nation is located on the southeastern end of the EU and because it enjoys good relations with the nations in the Mideast. Officials from neighboring countries as well as from EU member states will receive the kind of training required to counter common threats of a non-military nature, he said. CYCLOPS will include state-of-the-art equipment and a mobile facility to train officials on how to best protect key infrastructure projects and conducting cyber investigations and border screening. The U.S. will provide equipment and training staff. WASHINGTON (AP) The Justice Department is investigating Postmaster General Louis DeJoy over political fundraising activity at his former business, a DeJoy spokesman said Thursday. Federal authorities in recent weeks have subpoenaed DeJoy and interviewed current and former employees of DeJoy and his business, The Washington Post reported. Mark Corallo, a DeJoy spokesman, confirmed an investigation in a statement to The Associated Press. Mr. DeJoy has learned that the Department of Justice is investigating campaign contributions made by employees who worked for him when he was in the private sector. He has always been scrupulous in his adherence to the campaign contribution laws and has never knowingly violated them," Corallo said. The agency declined to comment on news of the investigation. DeJoy, a wealthy former logistics executive, has been mired in controversy since taking over the Postal Service last summer and putting in place policy changes that delayed mail before the 2020 election, when there was a crush of mail-in ballots. DES MOINES (AP) The former CEO of Make-A-Wish Iowa has pleaded guilty to charges of embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from the charity that supports sick children and their families. Jennifer Woodley admitted in a written guilty plea last week that she made unauthorized charges on a foundation credit card, gave herself an unapproved bonus and salary increases and made false entries into foundation records related to those expenses. Woodley, 40, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree theft and one count of fraudulent practices, all felonies. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend a sentence of five years of probation, along with fines and restitution. A charging document alleges that Woodleys embezzlement totaled nearly $41,000, but restitution has not yet been set. Judge Scott Beattie accepted the guilty pleas Tuesday and scheduled a sentencing hearing for July 20. Woodleys attorney, Nicholas Sarcone, said that he would ask for a deferred judgment at sentencing. If granted, that means the case would be expunged from her record, as long as Woodley completes her probation and the other parts of her sentence. Personal attacks on counsel have no place in our judicial system, and our legal team will not respond in kind to Mr. Lyles, Donahue said in a statement. As is clear from our complaint, this lawsuit seeks nothing more than vindication of the well-established rights of more than 1,500 Annapolitans, and we look forward to resolving this case in court. LONDON (AP) A Hong Kong pro-democracy website was temporarily taken down after police warned the Israel-based hosting company that it breached a national security law, highlighting concerns about actions by authorities in the Chinese city to muzzle online dissent abroad. Nathan Law, a Hong Kong opposition leader based in the U.K., tweeted Thursday that the hosting company, Wix.com, received a request from the Hong Kong police department to disable the 2021 Hong Kong Charter website. He posted screenshots of the police notice telling the hosting company the site contained messages likely to constitute offences endangering national security and that it would be prosecuted if it didn't comply. Wix, headquartered in Tel Aviv, said the website was removed by mistake and has been reinstated. We have reviewed our initial screening and have realized that the website never should have been removed and we would like to apologize, the company said by email. We are also reviewing our screening process in order to improve and make sure that mistakes such as this do not repeat in the future." This generation is gone, but if they could see America now, theyd be shocked and ashamed. Theyd be in disbelief of Jan. 6. Many of them fought to protect Americas democracy during a terrible war. Could they ever believe that thousands of fellow Americans would hold a bloody and deadly insurrection to take over the U.S. Capitol? Or believe that these insurrectionists were inspired directly by the sitting president? Or believe this mob built a gallows chanting to hang the vice president? Would they believe that GOP members of both Houses of Congress have downplayed this event or are denying this happened? Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., has downplayed the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, comparing the mobs breaching of the building to a normal tourist visit. In addition, most GOP members of Congress are still claiming that Joe Biden is an illegitimate president. Despite dozens of failed legal challenges that the GOP made in numerous states about possible election fraud, they were all dismissed. GOP judges in GOP states with GOP governors ruled there was no election fraud. Congressional members are in positions of power and influence. Their systemic spreading of misinformation, mistrust and lying is creating a national democracy crisis. There have always been differences of opinion about national policies between political parties, but presently and during the Trump era, there have been few defined policies for the Republican Party. What is now substituting as policy for the GOP is the deceit, defiance, lies, and disinformation displayed by Trump. Total divisiveness had started after the George W. Bush era when Republicans voted no to anything Barack Obama and Democrats wanted to do to improve our country. By 2017 Republicans had reportedly voted 100 times to repeal Obamacare, but the GOP never did devise a national health plan of its own. With little policy to attract voters to the GOP they have resorted to falsely claiming election fraud, gerrymandering, and limiting voting in order to win elections. Even though Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney has been no angel in the past when it comes to deception, the current GOP lies being served are too hard for her to swallow, and she is disavowing them. Lubbock, TX (79423) Today Mostly sunny skies. Hot. High 97F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. Low near 70F. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph. Misty Keasler/Redux En espanol | When President John F. Kennedy started the Peace Corps in 1961 the idea was that young people right out of college would answer his call to: Ask not what your country can do for you ask what you can do for your country. Sixty years later, a small but dedicated cadre of older Americans have also become volunteers serving those in need around the world. From Belize to Nigeria to Albania to Ghana, the work of nearly 7,000 Peace Corps volunteers in 61 countries was abruptly cut short in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the organization to evacuate all its workers in the field. Of those volunteers, 232 3.4 percent of the Peace Corps total were age 50 or older. While many of the evacuated volunteers are at home waiting for the suspension of overseas Peace Corps work to be lifted, some have found another way to serve. Beginning in late May, 158 volunteers have been deployed to Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey and Oregon to work with the Federal Emergency Management Administration's COVID-19 vaccine effort. Some are working in mobile vaccination centers in hard-to-reach communities. Others are reaching out to help community organizations provide information to those who have yet to get a vaccine. This isn't the first time the Peace Corps and FEMA have teamed up for public service. In 2005, 270 volunteers responded to the call to help FEMA's relief operation along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. What many people may not know is that there is no upper age limit to joining the Peace Corps. Here are six inspiring profiles of older adults who heeded the call to serve in the Peace Corps abroad and now at home. Thompson Brothers Lithium Project Resource Upgrade Melbourne, June 3, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - The directors of Nova Minerals Limited ( ASX:NVA ) (QM3.F) ( OTCMKTS:NVAAF ) are pleased to announce a resource update at the Thompson Brothers Lithium Project through its majority owned subsidiary, Snow Lake Resources Ltd.Highlightso Mineral Resource Estimate:- Indicated Resource Estimate of 9.08 Mt @ 1.00 % Li2O using a 0.3 % Li2O cut-off grade and;- Inferred Resource Estimate of 1.97 Mt @ 0.98 % Li2O using a 0.3 % Li2O cut-off grade.o Canmine Consultants and ABH Engineering as Independent Consultants in support of Maiden SK 1300 MRE Report.o Resource entirely from a single high grade lithium bearing pegmatite dyke partially outcropping at surface which remains open along strike and to depth.o Resource represents less than 5% of the project area. Engage Brent Hilscher of DRA Global fast progressing PEASnow Lake Resource CEO, Mr. Phil Gross said:This resource update represents a major milestone in achieving our ambitions of becoming North America's first fully sustainable, carbon neutral and fully traceable lithium supplier. To date the exploration budget has been relatively modest and with the current resource limited to 5% of our property footprint, Snow Lake has the potential of being leveraged into a world class lithium producer. As we enter the tipping point of vehicle electrification, we will be in a unique position to play an important role and fully integrate into the EV industry supply chain.To view the Snow Lake Resources announcement, please visit:About Nova Minerals Ltd Nova Minerals Limited (ASX:NVA) (FRA:QM3) (OTCMKTS:NVAAF) is a dynamic explorer and developer of its flagship Estelle Gold district in the Tintina gold belt. Nova's strategy is to substantially increase the current 4.7Moz resource on the Korbel prospect. Subsequently to continue to lock in value through moving Korbel towards production whilst increasing the resource base across the pipeline of targets within the Estelle gold district. Nova Minerals also holds strategic investments in Snow Lake Resources Ltd (Thompson Brothers Lithium Project), Torian Resources Ltd (ASX:TNR) and RotorX Aircraft Manufacturing Co. At least 44 lynchings occurred in Maryland, in 18 of the states 24 counties. In the U.S., more than 4,000 African Americans were lynched from 1877 to 1950, according to the Equal Justice Initiative. The nonprofit opened the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, in Montgomery, Alabama, in 2018 to honor lynching victims. It also works with localities such as Salisbury that want to probe their history and engage their communities on current issues of race and justice. WENN Movie The 'Silence of the Lambs' actress has been officially announced as a recipient for the honorary award at the upcoming Cannes International Film Festival in France. Jun 3, 2021 AceShowbiz - Hollywood veteran Jodie Foster is heading to the 2021 Cannes Film Festival in France to receive the honorary Palme d'Or award. The actress and director will be a special guest at the opening ceremony of the festival when it launches on 6 July. The "Silence of the Lambs" star's career in film will also be celebrated in a tribute, and the honour means a lot for Jodie, who first attended the event at the age of 13 to promote movie classic "Taxi Driver". "Cannes is a festival to which I owe so much, it has completely changed my life," she said. "My first time on the Croisette (Cannes landmark) was a defining moment for me. Showcasing one of my films here has always been a dream of mine." "I am flattered that Cannes thought of me and I am very honoured to be able to share a few words of wisdom or tell an adventure or two with a new generation of filmmakers." Festival President Pierre Lescure added, "Jodie Foster has provided us with an amazing gift by coming to celebrate the return of the Festival on the Croisette. Her aura is unparalleled: she embodies modernity, the radiant intelligence of independence and the need for freedom." The 2021 Cannes Film Festival was delayed from its traditional May dates as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but will now take place from 6 to 17 July. Last year's event was cancelled due to COVID. Instagram Celebrity The 'I Took a Pill in Ibiza' hitmaker is celebrating as he conquers the world's highest mountain before planning to descend to base camp the following day. Jun 3, 2021 AceShowbiz - Mike Posner has reached the summit of Mount Everest. The "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" hitmaker has released a photo of himself atop the world's highest mountain, revealing it was taken at 4.35am local time on Tuesday (01Jun21). "Dawa Chirring Sherpa, Jon Kedrowski, Dawa Dorje Sherpa and Mike Posner summited Mt Everest," he wrote on Twitter. "That's what I call a sunrise." "We are now back at camp 2 but not out of the woods until we descend to base camp tomorrow am. Please keep us in your prayers." The climb came after Posner spent a year in intensive high-altitude training in Colorado. Posner is raising money via corporate sponsors and a GoFundMe page for The Detroit Justice Center, a non-profit law firm working alongside communities to create economic opportunities and transform the justice system. The hitmaker's father Jon, who passed away in 2017, served as a criminal defence attorney in Detroit, Michigan for 40 years. His father's death also compelled him to complete his walk across America in 2019. He previously set off on the epic journey from New Jersey in April 2019. Just after reaching the halfway point in August, he was bitten by a snake in Colorado and had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital. He took a break from his cross-country-walk to recuperate before resuming his journey by the end of the month and eventually completing his trek in October. "I walked to become someone I'm actually proud of," he explained. "Before I left, I suspected I had a little pocket of untapped potential inside me. I was wrong, there was a huge basin of untapped potential." Instagram Celebrity Weeks after the 'Thank You, Next' hitmaker tied the knot with Dalton Gomez, the animal rights activists reveal what they gave her and her new husband in celebration of their union. Jun 3, 2021 AceShowbiz - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals bosses have sent newlyweds Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez a quirky wedding gift - a bicycle built for two. The animal rights activists have bought the couple a tandem, so they can cycle around the "picturesque beaches and beautiful bike paths" in Montecito, where Ariana and Dalton tied the knot at her home last month (May 2021). PETA spokesperson Moira Colley says, "Grande has been outspoken about animal rights since she first rose to stardom, and late last year, she launched Orange Twins Rescue, an effort to spay, neuter, and find homes for dogs and cats in the Los Angeles area." "PETA was delighted to see that while the happy couple's ceremony only included a few close friends and family members, they, of course, made room for Grande's own adopted dogs." "After all she's done to help dogs and cats find loving families, PETA is delighted that Ariana has found love herself," PETA senior vice president Lisa Lange adds. "We wish her and Dalton a fun and happy future filled with adventures together - starting on the back of this tandem bike!" Gomez and Grande tied the knot beneath a floral ceiling in an intimate ceremony around five months after getting engaged in December 2020. Speaking of the couple's big day, her brother Frankie Grande gushed, "It was gorgeous. It was absolutely beautiful and everyone was so happy. It was such a joyful, joyful occasion." Being one of the under 20-guests invited to attend the nuptials, the older Grande stated, "I was so happy to be there." He added, "She looked absolutely gorgeous and it was a beautiful, beautiful ceremony. I'm just going back there reminiscing in my brain and it was literally, literally a perfect, perfect evening." WENN/FayesVision Celebrity The 'Eternals' actress is said to have been 'bitterly disappointed' after Judge John Ouderkirk ruled in favor of her estranged husband amid their five-year-long custody battle. Jun 3, 2021 AceShowbiz - Angelina Jolie is clearly upset with the court's decision in her five-year-long custody battle with Brad Pitt. Upon learning that Judge John Ouderkirk awarded her estranged husband joint custody over their six children, the "Eternals" actress reportedly "will never forgive" him. "[Angelina] will never forgive him," a source spilled to Us Weekly. "[She will use] everything she's got [to appeal the arrangement]. She maintains it's far from over and still believes that justice will prevail." The source also noted that the 45-year-old mom is "bitterly disappointed" after the judge dismissed her domestic violence allegations against the "World War Z" leading man. "[Her] testimony lacked credibility," the insider added. "The decision was based on extensive testimonies from people who spent time with the kids and by highly respected professionals." Prior to that, Angelina allegedly tried to remove John from the case. In August 2020, she claimed the judge didn't disclose "ongoing business and professional relationships" with Brad and his legal team. In May this year, she criticized the judge for not letting her kids testify. "Judge Ouderkirk denied Ms. Jolie a fair trial, improperly excluding her evidence relevant to the children's health, safety, and welfare, evidence critical to making her case," Angelina's legal team stated in the documents filed on May 24. In March 2021, however, Angelina and Brad's eldest child Maddox testified against the "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" actor. "Maddox has already given testimony as [an] adult in the ongoing custody dispute and it wasn't very flattering toward Brad," a source told Us Weekly at that time. "He doesn't use Pitt as his last name on documents that aren't legal and instead uses Jolie," the source continued. "Maddox wants to legally change his last name to Jolie, which Angelina has said she doesn't support." Angelina and Brad were dating for a decade before tying the knot in 2014. However, she filed a divorce from him after just around two years of marriage. Marvel Studios Movie The leaked spoilers confirm the long-rumored Multiverse storyline and the returns of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Men as well as reveal two major deaths. Jun 3, 2021 AceShowbiz - Marvel is known for being very secretive about its projects, to the point that it would keep secrets from its stars themselves. So it is no surprise that little has been known about "Spider-Man: No Way Home", though filming on the movie had been underway for months before it wrapped in March. But now fans' curiosity may be quenched with the leak of the possible plot details of the movie. The alleged entire plot of the upcoming film first surfaced on Reddit. A user, who claims to have worked on the movie, previously correctly guessed who would be the big surprise cameo in episode 5 of "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier". According to the said user, [SPOILER ALERT!] "No Way Home" starts off where "Spider-Man: Far From Home" ended and there's a time skip. Following the big reveal in the previous movie, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is in court and he is trying to prove his innocence. The leaked plot confirms the appearance of Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), who agrees to shelter Peter and his accomplices Ned (Jacob Batalon) and MJ (Zendaya Coleman) at the Sanctum Sanctorum. Doctor Strange has noticed that the Multiverse is breaking and villains from around the worlds are going into other dimensions, so he captures them and puts them in a special made prison by him. But Peter apparently messes up with something and accidentally breaks some of them, including Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), free. Doctor Strange asks Peter to bring the villains back, but he needs help after being defeated in a big fight. That's when Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker, who is now supposedly married to MJ and has a daughter, and Andrew Garfield, who is a college professor, come to his aid. The leak additionally reveals that the final act takes place at the Statue of Liberty, which now looks like a big Captain America with the shield. Maguire's Spider-Man is said to die during the battle. They capture the other villains, but not Green Goblin, who somehow has Ned as a hostage. Ned is reportedly also killed and Holland's Peter almost kills the Goblin, but Garfield's Peter stops him. After all the Sinister Six get locked in Strange's prison, the two Spider-Men attend Maguire's Peter's funeral in that reality. Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) then defends Holland's Spider-Man in court. The movie ends with Peter finishing high school and deciding to honor his fallen friend by continuing to be a hero. These leaked spoilers sound very much like fan theories and it should be noted that the source is still unconfirmed. Should the source be really an insider, there are also other parts of the movie that the said user may not have access to. "Spider-Man: No Way Home" will head into theaters across the nation on December 17. WENN Music The 'Man on the Moon' star is heading to space as he teams up with the International Space Orchestra for his scheduled performance at an upcoming Amazon Music gig. Jun 4, 2021 AceShowbiz - Rapper Kid Cudi is preparing for an out-of-this-world collaboration with the International Space Orchestra as part of Amazon Music's Prime Day celebrations. The hip-hop star will join Billie Eilish and H.E.R. on the bill for the upcoming Prime Day Show, a "three-part immersive musical event", and for his extravagant set, he will be departing Earth and heading to the moon for an "intercosmic performance" as he plays songs from his album "Man on the Moon III". He will be backed by musicians from the ISO, the world's first orchestra composed of space scientists from NASA Ames Research Center, the SETI Institute, and the International Space University, in what has been described as "a musical collision defying sight, sound, and space," according to event officials. Meanwhile, Eilish will be taking a virtual step back in time to visit Paris, France for her concert, which will pay tribute to the city known as the birthplace of cinema, as she previews songs from her upcoming release, "Happier Than Ever". The pop sensation will also co-direct the show with Sam Wrench. As for R&B star H.E.R., she will honour the history of the iconic Dunbar Hotel in Los Angeles as she imagines what the legendary venue would look like in the 21st century as she belts out tracks from her album "Back of My Mind". The Dunbar Hotel was known for hosting the likes of Duke Ellington, Lena Horne, Billie Holiday, and many other icons of black culture during the 1930s and '40s. All three concert experiences will premiere on Prime Video on 17 June (21), as well as Twitch and IMDb TV, and Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios, is excited for fans to tune in. "These iconic artists have not only broken new ground in music but are inspired storytellers, culture creators, and visionaries," she said. "We're thrilled to partner with Billie, H.E.R., and Cudi to bring these authentic and deeply personal specials to fans around the world as we celebrate Prime Day." In the meantime, Amazon Music subscribers and Prime members can listen to the official Prime Day Show playlist, which features hits from all three headliners. BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. - 15 Butte County Jail inmates and people who helped them receive COVID-19 unemployment insurance are facing fraud charges, Butte County District Attorney said. District Attorney Mike Ramsey said some of the inmates received over $30,000 in unemployment benefits while in jail. Investigators have found over $396,000 in unemployment benefits in total, Ramsey said. The district attorneys office became aware of the potential fraud after the state expanded unemployment benefits due to the pandemic. The office created a team of investigators and prosecutors to begin looking into the potential fraud. Evidence discovered inmates were working together to receive the benefits. Ramsey said he expects the 15 people charged Thursday to be the first wave of cases as more are expected to come in the months ahead. Currently, investigators are looking at 20 additional cases and have discovered a total of $396,513.72 in fraudulent money. Ramsey said this is a statewide issue due to the ease of the online application process and the lack of controls or checks and balances at the state EDD. A backlog of information requests through the EDD was created due to a high number of suspected fraud cases within the state. Other states created a system to cross-reference unemployment applications with people who are in prisons and local jails as California did not do this, Ramsey said. The majority of inmates charged in Butte County stole identification from someone they knew but there were cases of identity theft from strangers, Ramsey said. Anyone who may be a victim of EDD fraud is asked to contact the EDD directly at 1 (800) 229-6297 or www.edd.ca.gov. Click here to view the District Attorney's unemployment fraud announcement. OROVILLE, Calif. - The Community Action Agency of Butte County will host a free food distribution event on Wednesday, June 2. The food distribution will be held at the Southside Community Center at 2959 Lower Wyandotte Road from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., or until supplies run out. Weve organized a drive-through event using pre-boxed food to help protect those in need of food and our volunteers to the maximum extent Tom Dearmore, CAA Community Services Manager for the North State Food Bank said. The food boxes will include healthy, shelf-stable, and perishable food depending on seasonal availability. Attendees should stay in their vehicles and volunteers place the boxes into each car. I think its really fantastic to have a dedicated group such as PFLAG who has organized this event, Becker said, adding how its good to support the diversity in this city. They are a really important community group. Not only do they support the LGBTQ community but they support the family and friends of those in that community. REDDING, Calif. - The Redding Police Department received a grant to help fight impaired driving. Redding Police Department received the grant from the California High Patrol's Cannabis Tax Fund Grant Program. The police department received about $90,000 in grant funding. The money will be used to buy a new dedicated DUI and traffic patrol car and a drug testing machine. Which will be used to test suspected narcotics thru the packaging. Currently, when we're testing suspected narcotics, officers are required to take a small sample of the suspected drugs, said Lt. Chris Smyrnos with the Redding Police Department. When officers have to take small samples of the substance, it also exposes them to unknown substances. So the police department wants to make it safer when dealing with drugs. The Redding Police Department is looking to purchase laser-based drug testing tools. The department is looking at several vendors right now and looking into which will work best for the agency. It uses lasers to basically view the light that reflects back off the sample, said Lt. Smyrnos. Then there's a library catalog of known substances and so if it detects those substances, it will present a reading. Some people tell Action News Now they're all for these testing tools. It's not only going to help the safety of the officers, but it's also going to make things more efficient and effective, said Ty Correll of Redding. It's going to help get the drugs off the street a lot quicker and safer. Redding Police said the grant money will also for community outreach campaigns. Such as educating the community on the dangers of driving under the influence or impaired The Redding City Council unanimously approved the grant funding at Tuesday's meeting. MAGALIA, Calif. - Students on the ridge celebrated their high school graduation after overcoming many obstacles over the past four years. There were 24 graduating seniors joined by their families during an outdoor ceremony that was held at Pine Ridge Elementarys campus in Magalia. The school tells Action News Now it was important to host an in-person ceremony to celebrate all of their achievements. The students have gone through both the Camp Fire and challenges during the pandemic during their high school careers. They held an outdoor ceremony with masks and social distancing, students were able to bring 5 guests each. One senior said he's thankful the school put this together for them. "I was hoping we'd get it in person because we've all waited so long for the real experience so I'm excited about that. I'm proud of everyone, it was tough but we all did it," said Jakob Brodowski. The ceremony took place at Pine Ridge Elementary. Ridgeview High School is using a part of this campus temporarily because their old campus was destroyed during the Camp Fire. Ridgeview High has a total of 65 students. Before the Camp Fire they had around 115. Their new campus will be done next Summer. RED BLUFF, Calif. - Tehama County nonprofits and public entities are receiving a total of $154,399 in grants from the McConnell Fund at the Community Foundation at the North State. This year they saw a record-breaking amount of people applying for the McConnell grant due to the pandemic. The City of Red Bluff Parks and Recreation Department was one of the groups awarded a grant of $32,699. They are going to be using the funds to give the train in Diamond Park a complete makeover. They will be swapping out the beloved Diamond Park wooden train for a concrete cast one. "This is just going to make a safer project for kids to play on it and it will just be nicer, said Karen Shaffer, City of Red Bluff Parks and Recreation supervisor. Juan Cruz used to go to the park every day to play with his cousins as a kid. He is sad to see the train from his childhood go but knows the upgrade is much needed. "The train has a little wear and tear on it because of the splinters going into peoples hands, so it does need a lot of upkeep, said Cruz. Thank God the park is getting more upkeep and maintenance that it does need." Shaffer told Action News Now that the pandemic pushed back the distribution of many grants. This was the first grant Shaffer has applied for since she took over as supervisor three years ago. She cannot wait to welcome kids back to the park. RELATED: Shasta, Trinity nonprofits receive spring funding They hope to have the new train rolling into the park in six to eight weeks, just in time for summer. Hope Chest Thrift Store was another one of the recipients of the grant, getting $20,700 to fix the sewer lines that run through a 30-foot stretch of carpet inside the store to the side alley pipes. They will also be using the money to expand their tiny bathroom from its original spot to the storage room, so it can be ADA compliant. "We do have some volunteers that use a walker or a cane, so having a larger bathroom will benefit them greatly, said Lucretia Betts, president of the board of Hope Chest Thrift Store. The thrift store is not just supporting itself, but the low-income family counseling center that sits right next door. "This grant is going to help us from going back in the negative because we would have to pay for this regardless and we would definitely be in the negative as far as our books, said Lori Hale, manager of Hope Chest Thrift Store. Even with 56 years of business and a 100-year-old building, Betts told Action News Now they only ask for help when they really need it. We are very, very grateful to be considered when awarding grants because certainly do need it, said Betts. They do not have a start date for the projects yet but anticipate it will take four to five days to complete. They may need to close shop for that short time to get the work done. The Northern California Child Development Inc. (NCCDI) is getting $15,000 to purchase equipment for sensory integration rooms for seven different NCCDI locations across the county. At the NCCDI, they are working with kids with lots of different behaviors and disabilities and are noticing a lack of sensory interaction in children. The spaces will include things like painting rooms, soothing colors and eventually even sensory swings. We are looking at soft mats and things that are really light and also heavy, said Mellissa Owens, site supervisor. Heavy balls that they can just use if they are really upset and if their impulses are hands-on based. It is appropriate to throw that heavy ball, but it is not appropriate for you to shove my friend to the ground." Some classrooms already do have some makeshift sensory spaces, but the grant will help them better support kids in coping at school. "We are helping them learn how to control their behavior, calm their bodies and put themselves in a sensory surrounding to calm themselves, said Rosie Flores-Wilfong, Head Start program director. They are extremely grateful to the McConnell Foundation and excited to turn their vision into reality. The Red Bluff Joint Union High School District also received $36,000 to replace theater seating for their Performing Art Center in time for the new school year. Community Housing Improvement Program Inc. was awarded $50,000 to repair seven balconies and handles at the Brickyard Creek Apartments. In total, the organization awarded $683,313 split between 28 different groups across Shasta, Siskiyou, Trinity, Tehama and Modoc counties. CHICO, Calif. - Chico Police Department and the University Police Department are working together to ensure better safety for the citizens in Chico. I think that is probably a good thing, said Chico resident John Godman. This area gets a little crazy sometimes. It will definitely help keep our parks in better shape and keep our area safer, said previous Chico resident Kyle Shaw. The University Police Department will be stepping up and patrolling in more areas near the university to help Chico Police respond to more critical calls in other areas of Chico. Definitely would benefit the community to see the two law enforcement agencies collaborate and provide a higher-level support of service especially around the college campus, said Chico Police Chief Matt Madden. The University Police Department will assist more in areas around the Bidwell Amphitheater, along the creeks near the university and to the east along Lost Park behind 25 and 35 Main Street. I think it would reduce the amount of stress on the local PD and allow residents to enjoy this area without having to worry about crime or misbehavior, said Shaw. The City of Chico said implementing these changes will not cost them any extra money. If anything, it saves the city a substantial amount of money, said Mayor Andrew Coolidge. It allows us to provide a little better protection for the citizens in those various areas. Not only will this provide more safety for the community, Chief Madden said this will help the already short-staffed department. The city will continue to discuss making this joint public safety agreement a written agreement at its next city council meeting on June 15. At the city council meeting last night, the city allocated 70% of its general funds towards Chico Fire and the Chico Police Department. Good morning, North State. Here's what you need to know to start your day on June 3. Butte County PG&E Wildfire Safety Webinar PG&E is offering another wildfire safety webinar. Its a virtual way for you to learn more about wildfire safety and emergency preparedness. Today's webinar focuses on Butte County, it starts at 6 p.m. CAL FIRE to do second Highway 36 control burn There is a prescribed burn in the Red Buff area. You can expect smoke overnight along Highway 36. CAL FIRE will be burning between Cannon Road and the Dibble Creek bridge. The burn starts at 6 p.m. 4 a.m. Friday. A second burn will start at 6 p.m. Friday into 4 a.m. Saturday. North State high school graduations Action News Now would like to formally congratulate the graduating class of 2021! Students from a number of area high schools are set to take the stage tonight. Visit the link above to find links to High School live streams. Summer meals program starts for Chico unified Chico unified announced a new program for summer meals. It offers free breakfast and lunch for anyone under the age of 18. It starts next Monday and lasts until August 6. Meals last from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at several local schools. Cyber attack on major meat processor brings fear to people that prices could rise The world's largest meat processing company JBS says all its plants are expected to run at full capacity today, following a cyberattack that affected operations in Australia and North America. JBS provides 23% of the nation's beef processing and 18% of the nation's pork. The US Department of Agriculture said they are tapping on other meat processors to keep the supply chain going. California to pay $2M church legal fees over virus closures California is set to pay $2 million to several churches. The payment is a settlement, resulting from a legal battle over state coronavirus restrictions. The state lost a supreme court fight against lawyers representing a collection of California churches. As part of the settlement, the state has agreed to maintain the same restrictions for churches as retail businesses. Highway 70 expansion starts between Oroville and Marysville The next phase in widening Highway 70 between Oroville and Marysville is now underway. Crews are working on the three-and-a-half-mile stretch between Palermo road and Cox Lane. Existing utility lines are being moved outward to make room for the widening of the roadway. That work itself will not impact traffic. This $42 million phase of the highway 70 project is expected to be finished this fall. A week back, Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google, had said that it was committed to complying with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, which came into effect from May 26, 2021. A week later, Google, while approaching the Delhi High Court has said that it is an aggregator and not a social media intermediary and hence, doesnt come within the purview of the IT Rules, 2021. The new IT Rules define social media intermediary as an intermediary which primarily or solely enables online interaction between two or more users and allows them to create, upload, share, disseminate, modify or access information using its services [Rule 1 (w)], while significant social media intermediary, which has been defined as a social media intermediary having a number of registered users in India above such threshold as notified by the Central Government [Rule 1 (v)]. A Bar and Bench report states that Google has approached the Delhi High Court following a judgement by a single judge bench, which characterised Google as a significant social media intermediary, in a case where a woman had moved the court seeking removal of her private photos that had been posted on pornographic illegally. Bar and Bench reported, The Court had, thereafter, passed a detailed order on directions to be issued to search engines and intermediaries to deal with similar situations. In its appeal to the High Court, Google maintained that the single judge order had mischaracterised the Internet giant as a significant social media intermediary, as defined by the IT Rules 2021. Google, Twitter name grievance redressal officers, but... Meanwhile, with the new IT Rules coming into effect, Google website mentions Jon Grier as the person to be approached to serve any summons or notices in civil proceedings against Google LLC in India. The address given is that of Mountain View, USA, while the email address is: support-in@google.com Google has separate grievance redressal mechanisms for YouTube and for all other Google products other than YouTube, as well as a separate grievance centre for Google Pay in India. Googles website states that the email ID support-in@google.com is not to be used to submit requests related to removal of content. Twitter, too, has named Dharmendra Chatur as the interim Resident Grievance Officer for India. Globally, Calironia-based Jeremy Kessel is to be approached for grievance redressal. Twitter had been resisting sending in its compliance report to the IT Rules, 2021. Twitter is yet to name its compliance officer and nodal officer. Both Google and Twitter have not stuck to the guidelines mandated by the IT Rules, 2021 regarding appointment of their respective grievance officers. As per the IT Rules, 2021: the social media intermediary has to appoint a resident grievance officer who has to be an employee of a significant social media intermediary, who is resident in India. [Rule 4 (c)] As per this guideline, Googles grievance officer Jon Grier is not a resident of India, but based in the US, while Dharmendra Chatur, who Twitter has named as the interim Resident Grievance Officer for India, is not an employee of the microblogging site, but is a partner with the law firm that is representing Twitter. Elephant, a leading design agency, has won the coveted A Design Award Silver in the Packaging Design category for their packaging for Himalaya Sheet Masks. The new product has been launched in markets across the globe including the Middle East, Southeast Asia as well as Europe. The A Design Award and Competition is an international award hosted out of Italy by The International Design Academy. The Award recognizes stellar designers, innovators, and companies from different fields across diverse disciplines in a global setting. The grand jury comprises influential press members, established designers, leading academics and prominent entrepreneurs worldwide. Elephant crafted a visual language and system based on Zen Time, which focused on creating an entire skincare routine that evokes fulfilment, tranquillity, and a truly calming experience. The design facilitates Himalaya to carry forward its brand legacy of natural wellness in a contemporary manner. The visual language developed by Elephant strikes a balance between youthful vibrancy and romanticized world of natural ingredients. Sheet Mask is a new & and emerging category across different countries. For Himalayas range of Mask we wanted a design which would appeal across different age groups and attract Gen Zs attention. This design has a perfect balance of Herbs, Fruits & Product Benefits. conveys Himalaya Asia Pacific Team from Singapore. Commenting on the win, Ashwini Deshpande, Co-Founder & Director said, It is wonderful to be recognised on a global platform yet again. Our design collaboration with Himalaya was a great teamwork between our Singapore & India teams. I am looking forward to this design being a winner with the audiences across the world as well. Founded in 1989, the Pune-based Elephant has 70+ multi-disciplinary and highly collaborative team of designers & strategists, with over 2500+ successfully completed projects across diverse domains and regions. The company has given life to many household brands including Britannia, Tata Salt, Gillette Guard, Asian Paints, MTR Foods, Kurkure, Paper Boat, Symphony, Epigamia & Organic India amongst others. Himalaya is a leading global herbal health and personal care organization with close to 500 products in over 100 countries. Does it ever drive you crazy...Just how fast the night changes? Did you hum it or read it? How long was it when we were jamming to the blockbuster tracks by our favorite Boyband One Direction? It has been 5 years since our favourite One Direction broke hearts worldwide by announcing an indefinite hiatus. But are they taking a leaf from the recent influx of reunions and finally heading towards a much-awaited reunion? In the upcoming episode of My Life on MTV, Liam Payne will be seen spilling the beans around the reunion, talking about the intent of boys to keep it a secret. Does that mean our beloved British boys are all ready to set the stage on fire once again? We cant wait to find out! Was your childhood even complete without serenading your crush with As Long As You Love Me? In the nostalgic boyband special episode, apart from One Direction, you will look at yet another favourite boy band The Backstreet Boys. The reminiscence hits deep as the episode details out the glorious old days with the best pop band of the past 4 decades! My Life At MTV features the throwback journey of our beloved and most memorable international musicians from the industry. And its a throwback we wouldnt want to miss. Catch the explosive episode of My Life on MTV and take a glimpse inside the lives of Backstreet Boys and One Direction, only on Vh1 India and Voot Select on Sunday, 6th June 2021! Josh, Indias fastest growing and most-engaged short video app, welcomed the Ministry of Ayush on the platform. The ministry marks its debut as a short form content creator on Josh and will exclusively host this years campaign, Be with Yoga, Be at Home for International Day of Yoga (June 21st) on the Josh app. The collaboration aims at informing users about the Common Yoga Protocols and their multiple benefits- ranging from immunity enhancement and health promotion, to treating respiratory problems and curing stress issues, while amplifying the message to stay at home for their own safety. With the collaboration, Josh looks forward to provide a fresh impetus to the centuries old practice of Ayurveda and yoga by leveraging bite-sized content. While eyeing the promotion of health and well-being in such difficult times, Josh will focus on propagating the rich heritage of yoga amongst its user base in a fun and exciting manner. The Ministry of Ayush has been disseminating snackable videos, infographics, and all relevant information around Yoga as well as all-round health and wellbeing through its Josh profile. The videos will guide Joshs user base on how to perform different asanas and will inform the community about the benefits of practicing yoga and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. To further support the campaign, Josh has commenced its #BeWithYogaBeAtHome challenge to encourage users to adopt this physical, mental, and spiritual practice. With the goal to encourage users to join in this thriving culture of yoga, Josh has also invited its creators and NGO partners to share their yoga videos for the benefit of the larger community on the platform. Commending the initiative of Ministry of Ayush, Umang Bedi, Co-Founder, Josh said, It is a great honor to be the partner of choice for the Ministry of Ayush as it kickstarts its IDY-2021 campaign. At Josh, we make every effort to create a safe space where millions who are isolated today, can unite over content that entertains but more importantly, rejuvenates the mind and spirit. Were excited and committed to using the power of a social platform to amplify the ministrys unrelenting efforts in promoting an ancient, tested and trusted practice of health and well-being. P.N. Ranjit Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Ayush said, The Ministry thanks the Josh platform for supporting the Be with Yoga, Be at Home initiative. We invite other media platforms also to partner this activity. Under this initiative, the Ministry of Ayush will post several videos on Josh to inform and educate the users about its campaign. Also, major celebrities like Virat Kohli, Anil Kapoor, Mary Kom, Shilpa Shetty and many more have come forward to support this campaign and will be sharing their encouraging advice on Josh through the ministrys profile. Access to start-up capital is a big challenge for farmers. A small-grant program through the Farmer Veteran Coalition is helping. We are trying to keep our community the way it feels, she said. To those of us who live here, we cant understand what benefit is going to occur from the rezoning effort It seems that there will be a negative effect on the quality of life here and a lot of costs that will occur from necessary infrastructure upgrades. Connecting companies and customers can be a challenge, especially when it comes to smaller businesses. A program in Illinois hopes to add another layer of communication for ag companies looking to add data to their portfolio and farmers looking to try out new technology. Ag Tech Connect was introduced this past January by the Illinois Soybean Association, posting opportunities for farmers to test and gather information for innovative technology in agriculture. This program figures to be a boon for smaller ag-tech companies who might not have the same budget as bigger corporations. Theres a lot of people who will do trials if you have the money to pay, said David Stark, president of Holganix. For smaller companies, that can be a challenge. We cant come close to competing with the kind of (research and development) budgets of large ag companies. By using a program like Ag Tech Connect, Stark hopes he can be more strategic in the way Holganix, a fertilizer company that specializes in soil health, can target the people that will give him the best data possible. In turn, farmers also gain that data, which is becoming more and more of a valuable commodity in the agriculture world. A grower wants to see data, Stark said. They want to see what a neighbor does with technology and try a little more themselves. Whatever we do in the trials, we have to get real customers to use the product and see how it works. Getting it into the hands of people that can be customers sooner, frankly, skips a lot of the need to spend money on a lot of years doing trials. Brooklyn Mindeman of Ahwatukee will play one of the Wizard of Oz Munchkins in this Saturdays Studio 111 presentation, titled Happiness is. When Senator Richard Shelby announced he would not run for reelection to a sixth six-year term in 2022, speculation immediately began as to who would run for our iconic senior senators seat. Numerous names were floated as to who might lineup for the coveted seat. It is expected to be a fairly large field. The winner of next years May Republican primary and ultimately the summer GOP runoff will be our next junior senator. Winning the GOP Primary is tantamount to election in the Heart of Dixie in a statewide race and especially a U.S. Senate race. It is highly unlikely that a candidate can win the primary without a runoff. So, the mission for each candidate will be to be one of the top two vote getters in late May and be ready for a battle Royale runoff brawl in the summer. As the potential warriors prepare, they best be advised to have tough skin. It will be an acrimonious fray. All serious candidates will retain Washington consultants, pollsters, and media advisors. These D.C. consultants thrive on mean, vicious and unbridled, negative, advertising techniques. Therefore, the arena will be as tough to survive as a Roman gladiator spectacle. The key to winning this race is the same as all races. It is simple. It is who has the money. Money is the mothers milk of politics. When someone comes to this dance, the first question asked by those who observe, calculate, and analyze this race, is show me the money. Congressman Mo Brooks of Huntsville wasted no time getting into the race. He has been planning to run for over two years. He has come out of the gate impressively and is the early favorite to win the race, which by the way is only one year away. Brooks is riding high among right wing Republicans for his red meat speeches and voting record in Congress. There is no doubt that Mo Brooks is an ultra-conservative even if he has been ineffective. He has demonstrated his arch conservative Republican philosophy for nearly four decades of political life in Alabama Republican politics. He hails from the vote rich Tennessee Valley of North Alabama. It does not hurt him that he has run two statewide races, which has helped him build name identification and some organization. However, his major trump card is that he has received the early whole-hearted endorsement of former President Donald Trump. The problem Brooks faces is that Trumps influence will fade over the next year, and the early favorite very rarely wins in a highly contested race for an open senate seat in Alabama. Lynda Blanchard is another early entrant into the senate race. She is a Montgomerian, who appears to possess the main ingredient necessary to be a viable candidate. She appears to have the money. She began her campaign by loaning $5 million to her campaign efforts. She served as President Trumps Ambassador to Slovenia. Her background and resume could be attractive. She should not be underestimated. A well-heeled candidate who may be edging closer to entering the Derby is Dothan businessman Jeff Coleman. He possesses the right and necessary ingredient for a successful recipe money. He can bankroll the effort and also has proven fundraising skills. Some people might be skeptical that his 2020 loss in the second district congressional race might hurt his credibility. My guess is that it is irrelevant as to whether he won or lost, most people do not follow politics enough to recall the outcome. The amount of time and especially money spent by Coleman in that race has secured some name identification in the southern part of the state. The big question is, does Senator Shelbys former Chief of Staff and current President of the Business Council of Alabama, Katie Britt, enter the race. Her credibility and success lie totally on Senator Shelbys commitment to her cause. It is no secret that Shelby wants Katie Boyd Britt to succeed him. He likes the fact that she is brilliant, capable, and young. She would also be an excellent campaigner. However, it will take a lot of money to make Katie a winner. She begins with no name identification. Again, this will be an expensive and probably a vicious race. The gloves will come off and it will be tough brawl. It will be interesting to watch. I will keep you posted. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! The crew forced entry to an apartment where they found the three people and stole suboxone and money from a bedroom, the office said. One of the rooms occupants was restrained, and Day aimed a gun at the pregnant woman, according to the plea. He also kicked her in the abdomen when she attempted to help the minor, who was identified in the criminal complaint as her son. Day also struck the adult male in the unit with his gun. Already a print subscriber? Click above on "Already a print subscriber" and enter your 1 to 4 digit print subscriber ID number found on the mailing label on your newspaper and click Sign up. Images Sorry, there are no recent results for popular images. Courtesy of JTA; Photo credit: Yonatan Sindel. Naftali Bennett on his way to announce in a press conference at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, that he will join Yair Lapid's coalition, May 30, 2021. Lake Charles, Louisiana (70615) Today Partly cloudy in the morning followed by scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Hot and humid. High 96F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy with widely scattered showers or thunderstorms possible later at night. Low around 75F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%. Nearly every statement from the president, and other Democrat leaders as well, is now being touted as a "defense of democracy." "Democracy," in fact, has become the left's favorite word for defending its violent assault on our democracy. Whenever progressives use the word, rest assured that they're interested in their own power, not in your freedom. Biden's Memorial Day speech is a good example. In what the Washington Post called "a rousing defense of democracy," Biden launched a familiar attack on those who are actually protecting our democracy. In fact, Biden's "Memorial" Day speech said nothing of substance about those who have fought and died for our democracy. It was as empty of true Memorial Day spirit as Kamala Harris's obscene "Enjoy the long weekend" tweet. Calling democracy "the soul of America," Biden then referred to "the infrastructure of democracy," an odd phrase that he tied to opposition to election reform in Georgia, Texas, Florida, and other states. Biden seems to think the infrastructure of democracy whatever that is requires us to extend voting rights to illegals, felons, out-of-state voters, the dead, and even those who don't exist. Now Biden has put Kamala Harris, of all people, in charge of "protecting" voting rights. Biden has called the Texas voting rights bill, which helps assure a fair count of the vote, "a concerted attack on our democracy." It seems Biden considers every attempt to protect against voter fraud, and everything else conservatives believe in, an attack on democracy, and now he's put "no show" Harris in charge of another major job. The "infrastructure of democracy," Biden said, also includes a free press that "pursues the truth," and that, presumably, suppresses opinions that do not conform to "the truth" as progressives see it. For now, Biden's got just the kind of unfree press he wants. Google "Kamala Harris in charge of protecting voting rights," as I've just done, and you'll get pages of fawning praise of Harris as the right person to take on "another difficult role." Not a word questioning her work on the previous "difficult role" of defending the border. It would be difficult to unearth any criticism of Harris in search results. Biden also linked democracy to the idea that the law must "apply equally and fairly to every citizen." It's hard to disagree with such a platitude, except that for Biden, "equally and fairly" seems to mean just the opposite of what it says. Is it equal and fair to load a $1.9-trillion relief bill with billions in assistance specifically excluding whites? Is it equal and fair to pay off mortgage loans only for black and Hispanic farmers while specifically excluding whites? As if excluding qualified whites under affirmative action weren't enough, Biden is going farther, handing out race-based bonanzas to millions of blacks and Hispanics. Does he think this is "equal and fair"? And he follows this up with another reference to "systemic racism" and the supposed unequal treatment of blacks by the police. Biden's democracy "infrastructure" amounts to a defense of election fraud, press and media censorship, and false claims of widespread police bias. Thoughtful readers understand that those claims are not a defense of democracy they are an assertion of autocracy, the supposed "right" of progressives to rig elections, censor the opposition, and defund the police. As the Post pointed out, Biden used the same rhetoric to promote $4 trillion in infrastructure spending, "saying that Western democracies must show the world that they can make big investments and overcome gridlock." This is like saying that if you don't agree with ruinous borrowing and ruinous tax increases, you don't believe in democracy and what's more, you're part of "gridlock," a word recycled from the Obama administration's constant attempt to silence opponents by calling them "obstructionists." It might seem that Biden's use of "democracy" in defense of undemocratic initiatives is just politics as usual. Politicians have always lied, and opposing real election reform in the name of democracy is just another example. Except that it is not: it is an escalation of political deceit. There is something particularly brazen and dirty about invoking "the soul of democracy" in defense of back-room election-rigging or press censorship. It is brazen and ugly, and it is reminiscent of past regimes that were equally ruthless in their use of the Big Lie. The groe Luge or Big Lie is the name of a familiar propaganda technique coined by Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf. Hitler understood, as has every dictator since, that Big Lies are more effective than small ones. Who would challenge Hitler's assertion that Dachau, created just two months after he took office as chancellor, was not a death camp, but a re-education center operated for the benefit of its residents? The claim that death camps were nothing but health clubs is so brazen that it's hard to fathom. Likewise for the claim that allowing voter fraud is the soul of democracy. The Big Lie is a staple of dictators who despise democracy. Who, at the time, imagined that Stalin's Moscow show trials of 193638 would send between 950,000 and 1.2 million persons to their deaths with nothing resembling a fair trial? Stalin claimed that he was defending the state against criminals who received a fair trial, and Western liberals like Jean-Paul Sartre believed the Big Lie. The reality was that Stalin was cleansing the Soviet Union of potential rivals and political opponents. It's not necessary to look just to murderous tyrants to find the Big Lie. Obama was a Big Liar as well, often combining a glib use of language with an exaggerated or imprecise claim intended to confuse opponents. "We are the ones we've been waiting for" huh? "When you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." Really? Including those from whom it is "spread"? "In the end, that's what this election is all about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope?" So everyone who votes against Obama is "cynical," everyone who votes for him is for "hope"? "We want everybody to act like adults, quit playing games, realize that it's not just my way or the highway" this at a time when it was "my way or the highway" as far as Democrats were concerned. These were all Big Lies, and now we're back to Big Lies again. Biden's claim that everyone who disagrees with him is an enemy of democracy is not too subtle, but Big Lies don't have to be. Repeat it often enough, and people will believe you. Progressives tell us that election fraud is "democratic," open borders are really "closed" when they're wide open, there is no crime wave when there is, and it's equal and fair to exclude whites from opportunities and fair treatment. Those are all lies, but anyone who points that out is "attacking democracy." Make no mistake: this isn't just another example of Biden's fuzzy use of language this is a ruthless attack on opponents. Let's be clear: election fraud is not democratic, nor are open borders, affirmative action, and mob violence. What Biden is defending is not democracy it is the rule of a small political elite employing tactics of racial division and special interests. It's critical for the American people to see just what he means by "democracy," and how far it is from the democracy we love. Jeffrey Folks is the author of many books and articles on American culture including Heartland of the Imagination (2011). Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. The drama riveted Israelis at a time when tumult has not been in short supply: four inconclusive elections in two years followed by an 11-day war in the Gaza Strip last month that was accompanied by mob violence between Jews and Arabs in cities across the country. The country also is emerging from the coronavirus crisis that caused deep economic damage and exposed tensions between the secular majority and the ultra-Orthodox minority. Twenty twenty-one is the year for canceling back. Canceling back, as I practice the art, is not about retribution. It is about either strengthening or eliminating connections by asserting the highest truth I can perceive and requiring my viewpoints based on that truth to be respected in the relationship. My views on the questions of the day, such as the significance of race, are based on efforts to integrate unchanging truth given by God with the knowledge given by man. My views are considered transgressive by dominant mainstream America. I had largely accepted keeping my beliefs, including those about race, hidden from all but my closest connections. I will no longer do that. For example, I was recently contacted by a 68-year-old physician, who is a friend of a friend. She wanted me to do something for her, and by way of introduction, she sent me pictures from her same-sex engagement party. She was proud that the other woman was much younger. I responded, "I want to help you, but I will not be opening the attachment because I do not believe that God sanctifies same-sex marriage. This is a deeply considered viewpoint in a difficult question that I have studied for years. I am going to send you some discourses, which I think beautifully summarize why I do not support same-sex marriage. I would like you to read them carefully so we can build an authentic connection based on integrity and mutual respect." I never heard from her again. Here's an example of canceling back in a more important connection. I have been in a friendly relationship with a high school classmate for many years. This is a person of high intelligence and compassion. In 2021, I said to him, "I must speak out on the pain that your wife's racial bias against the people in the neighborhoods where we grew up has caused me. I have listened for years to her disparage the 'whiteness' of these people. In truth, they are the best of New York City. They are the people who risked their lives on 9/11. They are the people who risk their lives every day for her, and I can no longer bear her ingratitude in silence. I am going to send you highly researched material as to why I believe my vote was stolen. Yes, there will be a test. I need you not only to read it, but I need your heart to break as you understand what I foresee for our grandchildren in the aftermath of America." Now I am embarking on a multidimensional project to cancel back the word "white," because today it is a term of racist abuse. It dehumanizes by obviating the historic religio-cultural diversity and connections to ancestral homelands of people who are reduced to the color label "white." Henceforth, on my canceling back adventure, I insist on being called Anglo-European American, in those instances when I am being boxed into a racial typology, as in this questionnaire by an insurance company: "Ethnicity (optional): [ ] African American [ ] Asian American [ ] Native American [ ] Pacific Asian [ ] White, non-Hispanic [ ] Other_________________" Each group is afforded cultural and national identity except for the last, identified by skin color only. When you purchase a pedigree dog, you can specify the fur color: "I want a black lab or a fawn pug or a parti-color poodle." Human beings should not be classified by color. It is unnatural, ignorant, and divisive. American Indians are not red, Asian-Americans are not yellow, African-Americans are not black, and European-Americans are not white. The last group is the only one that corporate America is gratified to degrade in such a way. Inevitably, black and white groups are in eternal opposition. The racial group labeled black arose in the 1960s specifically to denote opposition to the majority-European Americans. Through the decades, the connotation of the word "black" has come to mean victimhood and "white" as racist victimizer. Like Native, African-, and Asian-Americans, European-Americans are a heterogeneous group of ancestral cultures, religions, and physical characteristics. The degradations spewed at them in pseudo-psychology like "white privilege" and "fragility" could not have been inflicted had not all the descendants of European immigrants, from Ireland to Greece, from the Azores to the Russian Steppes, been congealed into a color code designation of "white." In psychiatry, an idee fixe is a thought that so dominates the mind that it becomes the pivot of an obsessive mental illness. The public conversation in the United States is an obsessive insanity built around the idee fixe of "white" racism and "of color" resistance. Why have the leaders of government, education, and corporations become deranged babblers of this fixation? Here's why. They needed a lie so gigantic that it could enable them permanently to get away with crimes against this nation and her people. The country people hereabouts say, "Scratch a liar, and you find a thief." The Clintons, the Bidens, the hundreds of thousands of left-wing government apparatchiki have thrown the huge, malodorous blanket of "white racism" over their lies, their thievery, and worse. (The Obamas were not thieves because they didn't have to be. Countless millions are thrown at them just for being they. They didn't have to go out and do an honest day's graft like the Bidens.) The left gets away with decades of misdeeds through the diabolical device of calling the victims of its crimes racist. Be honest about where you live and why you choose that place. Every place has its own ways of wisdom. Learn them. Where I stay, a total stranger is likely to call you baby, or momma, or maybe sweetheart. A while ago, I was talking with a woman who was a sharecropper's daughter, one of fourteen children, raised in a house that was run down a hundred years ago. She, as well as her brothers and sisters, earned a fantastic advancement in wealth in their lives. Nothing held them back. But she chose to live on the family land in a rambling, rundown house. One day, she told me that the back of the house was falling into the dust. I said, "Oh, that's terrible! Are you going to call in a historical architect?" She looked at me as if I were insane and exploded into laughter. "Historical architect?" she gasped. I started to laugh, too. Since that time, we laugh together. I laugh a lot more now. Here's a lesson from the tall skinny pines swaying outside the rooms within the hours of my life. I followed a rowdy family argument that raged on for three weeks, about whether Tyreeq had put the rice out after Pastor left. One faction hollered, "He's running fool." The other defended him with equal vigor. Before the fighting was over, a sidestream developed about the time Aunt Sammie took the wrong purse home. Finally, Ty's momma put an end to it. "Get Tyreeq name out of your mouths!" I watched this with appreciation. These folks do not email discourses after ruminating about moral dilemmas for six years. That's how they stay close. Biden, get the words of color code out of your lying, demented mouth. Oprah Winfrey, get whiteness out of your race-baiting mouth. The pathetic, billionaire heinie-sniffers, Harry Whineser and Markel she a loose-tailed heifer get the word "white" out of your mouths. All of you who have stolen our nation's happiness and brotherhood to control the people with your hateful lies, get the white-shaming out of your mouths. We are not white-colored people. Cancel back any liar who calls you white. Image via Pixnio. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Seeing those giant "Black Lives Matter" flags being unfurled at embassies around the world last week was another "surely this can't be happening" moment for Americans watching the federal government's steady embrace of evil. It was as if Heinrich Himmler had risen from the grave to lead the Democratic Party in ordering the draping of Schutzstaffel (SS) flags over the entrances to civic buildings of conquered territories. Except all those embassies and consulates are on American soil, so the revolting reality was that the Marxist paramilitary "brownshirts" of BLM had succeeded in conquering the United States. It sent a shiver down my spine. Antifa and BLM engineered months of violence and property destruction last year that eclipsed anything in America's history, but to this day, official state propaganda considers them "mostly peaceful" civil rights "protesters." Any organization that burns businesses to the ground, threatens homeowners, blocks traffic in order to instigate beat-downs on civilians, and routinely engages in violence and intimidation against fellow citizens is at war with civil society and stands opposed to civil liberties. And any government that proudly displays those black flags for the world to see is promoting hate and promising enmity, not peace or amity. The State Department might as well have run the Jolly Roger up its diplomatic flagpoles, because the skull and crossbones flown at sea conveys an identical message: no laws will be respected, no quarter will be given, and no lives or property will be spared. When the U.S. government hangs a pirate flag as prominently as the Stars and Stripes, the symbolism is hard to miss. So we're ruled by pirates now race-obsessed authoritarians who use Democratic Partyaffiliated jackboots to instill fear on the streets and party-affiliated ideologues to instill fear from the offices of the CDC, FBI, CIA, and IRS, all while waging war on private property, personal autonomy, and free speech. Think that's an exaggeration? Try saying, "All lives matter," or "Hispanic lives matter," or "Asian lives matter," or, Heaven forbid, "white lives matter," and all hell breaks loose. College presidents have grovelled before the mob for engaging in such linguistic taboos. All of America's major corporations bend down to kiss the feet of the BLM racial agitators while creating new anti-white employment rules and advertisement campaigns dedicated to proving their brands' allegiance to the new racism. And America's laughingstock of a criminal justice system has made it crystal-clear that police officers confronted with violent criminals are better off walking away from felonies in progress than risking life in prison for harming Benjamin Crump's next client. Just as nobody made the mistake in Nazi Germany of saying, "Heil Goring" or "Heil Goebbels," nobody in the formerly free U.S. of A. makes the mistake of saying any lives other than "Black Lives" matter now. Heil BLM! It's been said many times before, but there's no easier way to determine who holds power in society than to look for the people who can speak without pushback or break laws without punishment. Hint: It's certainly not anti-communists, white people, or Christians with that kind of privilege. When Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier, a commander in the U.S. Space Force, was recently relieved of duty because he dared to speak up against Marxist indoctrination in the military, did it look as if he had any power? How about police lieutenant William Kelly, a veteran of the Norfolk, Virginia police department who was fired just shy of twenty years of service for sending a donation and words of encouragement to Kyle Rittenhouse, a teenager on trial for having killed two Kenosha rioters last August while in defense of his life? Did LifeSiteNews, a publication that reaches Christians all over the world, have any power to resist Google's and Facebook's decisions to censor and ultimately ban its content from their platforms for engaging in the thoughtcrimes of daring to provide non-state-sanctioned viewpoints on the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) Virus and taking a moral stand against abortion? Oh, no there won't be a single American embassy in the world that finds time to defend Lohmeier, Kelly, or LifeSiteNews. No flags, not even Old Glory, will be flown in their honor. The United States has a long and storied history of killing communists, but now even besmirching communism is too much for the U.S. military to abide. America has always taken pride in its commitment to protecting free speech, but now choosing to support a young American on trial for his life through a private donation is sufficient to end a career and punish a police officer with a cancer-stricken wife and three children. This country was founded on the defense of individual life and liberty, but now a Christian publication that promotes both is ostracized by state-aligned companies that promote neither. It's almost as if all this fabled white, Christian "privilege" is a figment of the Marxists' fever-pitched imaginations! If the pirates must hunt down and burn "privilege" in their midst until their woke gods are happy, it's time they start cannibalizing each other, because they've got a monopoly on the only American privilege left. Just ask any of the MAGA political prisoners who happened to discover after January 6 that the government had replaced their free speech and assembly rights with a cheap, third-world, knock-off "Go Directly to Jail!" card depriving them of due process or constitutional protections of any kind. In America, there is a two-tiered justice system, and there is no doubt that everyone would prefer to have the benefits of BLM's special protections. The Democrats' racial arsonists want war so badly that they ignore the bloodiest one America's ever fought. Over 620,000 men lost their lives during the Civil War a loss of life almost equal to American deaths in all other wars combined. As a percentage of today's population, it would be as if six million American men had died in that conflict. If that incredible sacrifice that unbelievable price paid in the recognition that black lives matter is utterly erased from American history, then no amount of bloodshed will ever sate the bloodlust of those who profit from racial division. Lest there be any doubt how immoral and destructive the Democratic Party's BLM crusade has been, the evidence of its villainy truly lies in a trail of blood. What started with Barack Obama's and Eric Holder's repeated attempts to demonize police officers in their efforts to energize an electoral base and hardened into BLM's outright war on police officers in the United States has had an obvious and permanent cost: BLM's Nazi thuggery has made cops everywhere targets for assassination. To add insult to injury, when they are assassinated for the color of their uniforms, Obama and other BLM apologists for state-sanctioned murder stand up at those officers' funerals and demand that they share in the moral culpability for their own deaths. To be executed and charged for the bullet has become the new American way another Communist China export bought in bulk by the Democratic Party. A country is defined by its heroes. Whom we choose to honor says everything about what we find honorable. Each Memorial Day is a chance to recognize American sacrifice in the fight for human dignity and freedom. Honoring BLM Marxists and their message of hate recognizes just the opposite. Image: Louis P. Hirshman via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Socialist leaders love to get rich while spending other people's money. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez thought she had a real zinger of a point to use against former President Trump, blaming him for her grandmother's plight in Puerto Rico almost four full years after Hurricane Maria hit the island. But she unconsciously revealed her selfishness in a Twitter thread showing her Abuela's (grandmother's) home, complete with leaking and damaged roof. Claiming in her first tweet, "Hurricane Maria relief hasn't arrived. Trump blocked relief $ for PR," she admitted two tweets later that in fact relief had been sent, but she didn't like whom it was sent to and the safeguards imposed to prevent theft of the aid (as has happened with previous disaster relief sent there): Trump admin oversaw two key items: handing millions in public $ to unqualified donor pals (ex Whitefish). The other was to impose extremely difficult eligibility rules for Puerto Ricans, which allowed mass rejections of recovery fund applications. As Samuel Chamberlain of the New York Post put it: Here is her first tweet: Just over a week ago, my abuela fell ill. I went to Puerto Rico to see her- my 1st time in a year+ bc of COVID. This is her home. Hurricane Maria relief hasnt arrived. Trump blocked relief $ for PR. People are being forced to flee ancestral homes, & developers are taking them. pic.twitter.com/wnRxLalA2D Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 2, 2021 The second tweet that followed revealed her mentality even more starkly: We immediately got to work reaching out to community advocates and leaders and following the money. Whats happening to Puerto Ricans is systemic. Much of it can be traced to La Junta, aka the Wall Street-connected fiscal control board that the US gave power to over the island. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 2, 2021 Not a thing about personally helping her beloved Abuela. No, it is community leaders hounding taxpayers for money that is the preferred solution for a wealthy socialist who loves wearing expensive clothes. And scoring political points. Imagine seeing those pictures and instead of thinking, "wow, human beings live in conditions like this (and much, much worse)" your first thought is, "how can I weaponize this for internet points" Aaron Lerner (@AaronCLerner) June 2, 2021 Honey, you drive a Tesla and have two apartments. If your grandmother is living poor thats because you dont help her out. Im surprised that a socialist wouldnt redistribute that wealth to their grandma. Sad! Lavern Spicer (@lavern_spicer) June 2, 2021 Matt Walsh wrote: Shameful that you live in luxury while allowing your own grandmother to suffer in these squalid conditions Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 2, 2021 Her response was a classic cultural putdown that totally evaded her personal responsibility for her grandmother, who she now claimed was "just fine" contradicting the point of her first tweet, that her grandma was living in terrible circumstances. You dont even have a concept for the role that 1st-gen, first-born daughters play in their families. My abuela is okay. But instead of only caring for mine & letting others suffer, Im calling attention to the systemic injustices you seem totally fine w/ in having a US colony. https://t.co/QN0ZVoyDt2 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 2, 2021 This elicited the responses it deserved: My sister is 1st-gen, 1st-born. And she'd fix the roof. Jason Rose (@JasonRose9999) June 2, 2021 Or.. stay with me now.. care for her while at the same time actually working on a solution to the larger issue. Are you saying you can't help everybody, so you won't help your own family? https://t.co/HWfsH47NK0 B-Rad (@BRadManYaKnow) June 2, 2021 Instead of caring for my abuela, I will do nothing for her so that I can get the government to do something. How sweet. https://t.co/ZueJpXJu9r ChasidicBaron (@ChasidicBaron) June 2, 2021 So heroic disregarding your own family for the good of the world. Youre a savior. https://t.co/jbsE96qjTo politiquing (@politiquing) June 2, 2021 What a sick idealogy that says "I will make my grandmother suffer until there is no suffering left." In reality, sounds like you hate your grandmother. https://t.co/W2WFWZz5gL Scoopan Pete (@ScoopanPete) June 2, 2021 There are more such responses at Twitchy. Photo credit: Twitter icon. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Remember when we used to be able to make ethnic and racial jokes? There was a time when humor was a major source of social engagement between people, who enjoyed laughing at themselves and the stereotypes attributed to them. In other words, they weren't so sensitive that they couldn't see the humor in a few innocuous manifestations of witty dialogue. My old buddy, Leroy Spivey, a cop I worked with in a radio car for a few years, didn't have any hang-ups about racial comedy. In addition, he wasn't so narcissistic about his color that he wouldn't get a kick out of a funny story. One story he used to tell was about a black guy who was crossing a street and got hit by a car driven by a white guy who was speeding. He said the black guy was thrown about fifty feet because of the impact. The people listening to the story would be appropriately shocked, asking, what happened to the driver? "Well," Leroy said, feigning outrage, but readying the punch line, "when the cops got to the scene, they picked up the black guy and arrested him for leaving the scene of an accident." After the initial look of bewilderment, everyone in the room, including Leroy, would bust out laughing. They were laughing not at the authenticity of the story, which was in fact apocryphal, but at the silliness of it. My erstwhile partner was making a joke out of the serious issue of race discrimination. It was a clever way of illustrating actual race prejudice by using an absurd example. There's a trait attributed to the Irish: they have a propensity toward liquid vegetables such as barley, corn, rye, and hops. Moreover, the descendants of the old sod have a reputation for being quick to temper after a few gulps of a distilled beverage. If you referred to an Irish as "Mick," you'd better get your dukes up. Some believe that the word "Mick" is derogatory because it sounds like a drunken hiccup. Interestingly, the Urban Dictionary tells us that the derogatory word "Spick" came from Mick. It seems that in the early 1900s when Irish and Spanish immigrants were equally hated by many Americans, they shared Catholic churches because both nationalities had the same faith and moral values. Therefore, they began referring to Latinos as Spanish Micks, or "Spicks." Irish bar brawls in my old neighborhood in lower Manhattan were as routine as egg rolls in a Chinese restaurant. Italians are often portrayed as mobsters in movies. Consequently, when I had an argument with one of my Italian buddies, I used to ask if he was going to put a horse's head in my bed. Jews are often depicted as stingy and greedy. When my wife and I visit the home of my Jewish brother-in-law, who lives in another state, he jokingly says we can stay at his place, but there'll be a small fee. Puerto Ricans are often associated with spicy food and sensual dancing. When people meet my wife, they commonly ask about rice and beans and the Pachanga. When Leroy and I had time for a meal during many busy nights on patrol, I would jokingly ask what chicken or rib joint he wanted to dine in. He knew me well enough to know there was no racial animus contained in that comment. Besides, he also knew I loved that food as much as he did. His retort might be, "Bob, I've heard about the seven-course Irish dinner; a six-pack and a boiled potato." We found humor in our respective heritages and used it affectionately, without even a hint of malice. Being able to accomplish that melding of cultures is what this great experiment called the USA used to be about. It took a long time to discover that our differences were no match for our similarities. If you've ever taken part in one of those DNA research companies, you're likely to discover that you are a mixture of numerous races and nationalities. When I received a report from 23 and Me, a genomics and biotechnology company, I found, among other genetic attributes, that I had a small percentage of African ancestry. Since then, I've been jumping higher and scoring more baskets than ever before. Image via Pxhere. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. In recent months, various factions of the Iranian regime have unanimously stressed that the regime's legitimacy is not being challenged even as the turnout in the presidential election, scheduled for June 18, is expected to decline. For the international community, this expected low turnout is a sign of the regime's instability. It calls into question whether negotiating with the mullahs' regime is worth the effort, based upon its shrinking support among the Iranian people. Mesbah Yazdi, a member of the Expediency Council, said: "Democracy, which is original for Westerners, is only a tool for us. The people's vote does not bring us legitimacy[.] ... In the Islamic government, the people's vote has no legal validity, neither in the choice of the type of political system of the country, nor in the validity of the constitution, nor the election of the president and the election of Committee of Experts and the leadership." On the other hand, others point to this low turnout as a sign that the regime lacks the support of the Iranian people, which could put its power in jeopardy. A low turnout demonstrates that the Iranian people could be ready for change, and an uprising could occur. "If the [low] turnout in the 2019 elections [parliamentary elections], which was unprecedented in the 42-year history of the regime, is repeated in the year 1400 [Iranian calendar, equivalent to 2021] presidential election, and people elect the head of the 13th government with low votes, will seriously challenge regime's legitimacy. All political factions, groups, and government institutions must think of a way to prevent the vote from falling in any way possible. So regardless of who and from which political group wins the upcoming election, the turnout is important." Etemad Newspaper, Oct. 8, 2020 According to a state medium, the Morning Star, the turnout for the parliamentary elections in Tehran in 2020 was 16 percent. In other cities, this figure has been lower. Many of those who voted feared losing government subsidies and benefits. There is a rumor in Iran these days that anyone who does not vote will not be vaccinated. "Low participation is considered as a warning for the regime," said a member of the Expediency Council. He continued: "You see those who want to overthrow the regime are announcing that no one should participate in the elections! I consider this (situation) dangerous for the Islamic Republic" (Mohammad Sadr, May 20). "The current situation" threatens the security of the system and provides the primary fuel for the overthrow," the Resalat newspaper wrote on May 20. The situation in Iran is like a barrel of gunpowder. After the two uprisings of November 2017 and December 2019, the regime saw firsthand the concerns of the Iranian people. Instead of focusing on meaningful change, the regime went into oppressive mode. After the peaceful demonstrations of the insurgent youth in 2019, according to Reuters, 1,500 people were killed by resistance units. These units have expanded rapidly in Iran. Those who support the Iranian democratic opposition, based on creating a republic by the people's votes and the separation of religion from the government, have boycotted the elections. A 19-year-old, whose mother was killed in the 2019 uprising, acknowledged that people's votes under the regime did not affect Iran's people over the past 42 years. "Guarantee the future of your children by boycotting this election," she said. The head of the Judiciary, Ibrahim Raisi, is one of the presidential candidates. He is known for his direct role in the 1988 massacre, in which 30,000 political prisoners were executed during a hot summer. He was a key member of the "Death Commissions." The members of the Death Commission summoned political prisoners and asked them a few questions. If the prisoner insisted on his beliefs, he was taken to be executed. The sentence would have taken just a few minutes. All the upcoming presidential candidates are active participants in the regime's 42 years of criminal activities. In the eyes of the people, any election under the rule of the mullahs has no legitimacy. Iranian resistance units across the country have called for a boycott by writing slogans on city walls and distributing leaflets in public places. In response to the nationwide movement of the resistance units, Ashtari, the police force commander, indicated the establishment of electoral security both in cyberspace and in real space. He added, "Insult and defamation to try to disappoint the people from the elections and any action that is against the law; the police will identify them and deal with them according to the law" (source: News Network TV 2/29/140). In a situation where the regime tries to impose fear and repression, the resistance units aim to break that atmosphere of terror prevailing in society. They give hope to the people who are burning in the fire of terror, poverty, and pandemic. The question is whether the international community will hold the regime accountable and support the Iranian people. Image: Pixabay, Pixabay License. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. "Panic" seems to be a way of life for Kamala Harris's aides. Just this week, they were reported to have been in a "panic" at Kamala Harris being named Joe Biden's border surge czar. Now they're in an even bigger panic. That's at the prospect of Kamala Harris being the Democrat presidential candidate in 2024. The proof was buried inside a vituperative left-wing editorial from the once-even-tempered Economist (Outline.com version here): Given the 78-year-old Mr Biden's age, her elevation could be only three years off. And the election that would ensue the Republicans' worsening derangement suggests may well be as crucial as the one just past. This raises the question of whether she has what it takes to rise above the right-wing slanders and appeal to middle America, as Barack Obama did, or whether she will be destroyed by them, as Hillary Clinton was. And it is making senior Democrats nervous. "Everyone is saying, 'Oh God, Kamala is next and then we're in trouble'," says a Democrat close to the White House. "Everyone is saying, 'Oh God, Kamala is next and then we're in trouble'"? All of them? Wow. Even if it's merely a lot of them, it's quite a vote of no confidence from the ground team for this wretch. Say "Kamala Harris," and for these Democrats, the panic attacks come. The Economist attempts to explain it out between the gushes ("no ordinary vice president"; "It would be a terrible shame if the former president turned out to be wrong" [about Harris]) by arguing that she flips and flops around (memo to Economist: It's to disguise an unsalable far-left agenda) and "hasn't carved out a definitive" vice presidential role. Well, if one doesn't do one's job and spends all one's time posing for Vogue, or carping about interior decorating, succoring the crochet ladies, or taking selfies, that's kind of what happens, fellas. The piece also points out that, unlike Obama, she's constantly bringing up identity politics, failing to understand that that annoys voters, including black voters, who, it noted without comment, find her "insincere." Seems they can't process that one. They note that identity politics is a good way to win elections in California, a state where people are fleeing, but not nationally, as if this were somehow a good idea. The editorial also sympathetically speaks of Harris's difficulty in laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign while doing the jobs Joe Biden wants of her, ignoring that for Kamala, doing her job has always been secondary to getting the next big job. She's in fact very likely prioritizing her campaign for the presidency, given her non-performance. That tells us she's already chosen, and staff are trembling enough at the prospect of it to tell The Economist. And the editorial solicitously offers Harris the advice that she must prioritize understanding why her presidential campaign failed in late 2019, which is ridiculous. Harris hasn't changed any since exposing herself as a cackling phony to voters. Harris is continuing as before because she doesn't do self-criticism or self-reflection. She just takes more selfies. No wonder Harris's staff are panicking at the prospect of a new Kamala campaign for president. They know this person, and they know how self-absorbed and tone-deaf she is. The more she spoke, the more the Iowa voters loathed her, so they know that the act is likely to be repeated if Democrats can't cheat their way to a 2024 victory as they did before. In the meantime, it will mean constant cleaning up after her, as her gaffes pile up, and her chaotic management style premised on crony relatives being the last word to staff and any problems that emerge will result in them getting blamed. That's what happened to hapless campaign manager Juan Rodriguez during her Iowa fiasco. She also shortchanges staff and hires crummy people. Even in the relatively tranquil White House, Kamala is such a prima donna and so difficult to work with that she still can't keep staff. No wonder they panic. There's a lot of reason for panic out there for that poor, miserable staff of hers, some 184 people. Around Kamala, panic seems to be a way of life. Image: FreeSVG / OpenClipart, public domain. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Is a shadow war returning? It sure looks as though something is happening, based on these two events: TEHRAN, Iran (AP) The largest warship in the Iranian navy caught fire and later sank Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman under unclear circumstances, the latest calamity to strike one of the countrys vessels in recent years amid tensions with the West. The blaze began around 2:25 a.m. and firefighters tried to contain it, the Fars news agency reported, but their efforts failed to save the 207-meter (679-foot) Kharg, which was used to resupply other ships in the fleet at sea and conduct training exercises. State media reported 400 sailors and trainee cadets on board fled the vessel, with 33 suffering injuries. The ship sank near the Iranian port of Jask, some 1,270 kilometers (790 miles) southeast of Tehran on the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf. ...and... Meanwhile, a massive fire broke out Wednesday night at the oil refinery serving Irans capital, sending thick plumes of black smoke over Tehran. It wasnt immediately clear if there were injuries or what caused the blaze at the Tondgooyan Petrochemical Co., though temperatures in the capital reached nearly 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and hot summer weather in Iran has caused fires in the past. This seems like a lot, given that the events are happening back to back. The ship was Iran's biggest. The smoke from the refinery soared over Iran's capital, putting the event impossible to erase in Iranians' minds. The ruling mullahs are planning elections on June 18, with, as AT contributor Hamid Enayat noting today, low turnout likely. Did someone do this because he wanted to knock the mullahs out? Show them as weak, maybe get a rebellion going? Or better still, deprive them of money? The mullahs live on oil earnings, and the AP report said 250,000 barrels a day at this big refinery would now be out of circulation (along with their earnings). It has that Gotterdammerung feel. What's more, the events really could have been coincidental. Everyone knows that the mullahs mismanage every operation, whether it's stealing money or installing politically reliable cronies over verified experts. The mullahs have been mismanaging a lot these days, maybe the crashes and collapses are spontaneous. But it's hard not to think somebody has gotten busy. Could it have been the U.S. that took out the ship and the refinery? It might have been if the U.S. president in office was one Donald Trump. On the other hand, with Joe Biden in the saddle, it seems fairly unlikely. Joe is slavering for a reinstatement of that failed Iran deal to restore the Obama legacy. He's doing all he can to lay the groundwork for that, including favors for Russian president Vladimir Putin. Russia is Iran's historic ally. His pattern thus far has been to succor the Iran regime any way he can. That might be the root of the problem. Joe wants his treaty restored, which might mean that the U.S. has been absent from such events. Iran has been attacking U.S. ships with small "limpet" mines, as the AP notes, which would be reason enough for retaliatory attacks. But there hasn't been much, at least that we know about. Why make the mullahs mad when Biden wants them at the signing table? There is a nation, though, that's being put out to pasture based on this Biden yen for the Obama Iran treaty: Israel. This is a country that has no problem with carrying out deadly threats, as well as the capacity to do so. It's interesting that as this has happened, the chief of the Mossad has retired. Could it have been a signature exit? We all know that such events if they were planned take months and months of preparation. And now it's happened, and the mullahs will be compelled to explain to the public just why the country seems to be falling apart at the seams. It's as though avenging angels have struck, given that we don't know whether the events were planned or Israel was the instigator. Don't count out Saudi Arabia, either, the nation that can't stand Iran's mullahs. They've got plenty of grounds to team up with the Israelis to get rid of a threat, especially with that ship stirring up trouble in the Strait of Hormuz not far from the Saudi coast and even closer to the smaller Gulf states. There's also Yemen in the region, with Saudi Arabia still incensed about Iran's troublemaking there. For good or ill, but certainly, in its national interest, it's also got a record of taking out troublemakers if the situation seems to warrant. It's quite likely a shadow war, as the AP characterizes it. We've seen a lot of these going on, from eastern Ukraine and Crimea to the cyber-attack on Sony. In the U.S., we've had hospital systems and energy pipelines, and more hacked by assailants, shutting vast parts of our nation's infrastructure down. Presumably, these are to be met with responses, and we see the same thing going on with all the world's superpowers, good and bad. It seems to be how warfare is done. That brings us back to Iran. Was it part of a shadow war? All we can do is watch how the mullahs behave in the wake of it and take notice of the activities of all the interested parties. Image: Screen shot from video posted by WION via shareable YouTube. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. Once again, the New York Times is acting to make it impossible for Jews to defend themselves against those who have announced their intention to exterminate the Jewish people. The first time this happened was back in the '30s and '40s when the New York Times had knowledge of the impending plans for the Holocaust, as well as knowledge of the shipping of Jews to concentration camps in Europe. For years it buried the story. This is now well known. Had the Times exposed the news that its correspondents had uncovered, many Jews could have been saved, and Jews and governments could have planned a defense against the perpetrators. There would have been more Jewish resistance and partisans. Instead, the New York Times buried these stories. Now the New York Times is once again doing what it can to demonize and prohibit the State of Israel from defending itself against those, such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Abbas's PLO, who daily announce their intention to destroy the State of Israel and the Jewish community. In a front-page photo-job, conceived to mis-portray Israel as an aggressor hell-bent on killing children, the Times flashed a photo of Gazan children's faces with a headline, "They Were Just Children." The New York Times definitely knows that many of these youngsters were killed by Hamas rockets, not Israeli return fire. They know that Hamas and other Palestinian Arab groups deliberately place their children in and near army installations. They know that Israel never targets civilians per se and warns civilians beforehand of upcoming bombings. They know that it is Hamas that deliberately aims rockets toward population centers and kindergartens. And they certainly know there was no need for Hamas to rain 4,000 missiles on Israel from Gaza and start a war. Why would Hamas put its children in harm's way over a landlord/tenant rent dispute...one that isn't even taking place in their country? Israel, in the most humane way possible, defended itself from relentless rockets being fired from hospitals controlled by Hamas in the Gaza area. Yet the New York Times is intent on making sure that Israel cannot defend itself, that Israel must sit there and have its children killed by Hamas and its citizens permanently maimed by Islamic Jihad rather than defend its own women and children. This was and remains the purpose of the New York Times incendiary photo. Once again, the New York Times is averse to Jewish people defending themselves from enemies hell-bent on destroying the Jewish community, be it this generation or my parents' and grandparents' generation. It is not a coincidence that the Times blasted this photo across the globe when the world was beginning to empathize with innocent Jews being physically attacked by Islamic groups here in America. Many Americans were appalled by Jews being attacked in their synagogues, in restaurants, and on their neighborhood streets. So as to deflect this sympathy for the Jewish community, the Times decided to cast the Jewish people as unsympathetic characters. In effect, the New York Times has given a green light to attack Jews as "baby-killers." The silence of the New York Times during the Holocaust was thought to be its way of hiding the Jewish genealogy of its publisher. No doubt their being simpatico with left-wing causes, their promotion of "woke" Black Lives Matter/Antifa-type themes, and their need for left-wing virtue-signaling play a major role today in their anti-Israel outlook. The Times is an ugly example of "radical chic." Beyond question, the New York Times, while not against secular Jewishness, is definitely upset with those things particularly and identifiably and uniquely Jewish, such as the Jewish State of Israel and Orthodox Judaism. No longer should the New York Times be seen as a voice for the "higher idealism" by which it likes to be defined, but rather a venue that has harsh enmity for Israel, things "too Jewish," and things too distinctively American. Its editorial board is arrogant, and its writers are smugsters who revel in iconoclastic destruction of America, Israel, and people of biblical faith, assured that they as the ruling class are impervious to the destructive forces they have encouraged and unleashed. Rabbi Aryeh Spero is the author of Push Back and president of the Conference of Jewish Affairs. (212) 252-6861. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. As analysts pore through the thousands of pages of Fauci emails released under FOIA, we are getting a better handle on his efforts to prevent exposure of his own role in funding gain of function research in the Wuhan lab where it appears COVID-19 was invented, and from which it leaked. Moreover, the emails expose Fauci's efforts to shape media coverage, his correspondence with billionaires Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, and his early acknowledgment that masks are useless in protecting a wearer from infection. So far, nobody has done a better job of putting it all together than Tucker Carlson, who began his Fox News show last night with a long segment on what the emails tell us. His basic thesis is that Fauci feared that the pandemic, which at first looked to be deadlier than it eventually turned out to be, would lead to his being held responsible for evading U.S. restrictions on funding gain of function research, and maybe for the pandemic itself. As a timeline of his words and actions emerges, we are getting a better sense of his responses to the developing situation. Particularly telling was his juxtaposition of Fauci's denial of gain of function research with his emails' reference to it. That "looks a lot like perjury." Referring to redactions of email contents under a law that mentions doing so if it would interfere with criminal investigations, Tucker wonders whether such investigation is underway. If you didn't see the show last night, do yourself a favor and watch at least the first 15 minutes of the show, including the interview with truth-teller Alex Berenson. Photo credit: YouTube screen grab. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. In "'Who's out protecting us?': Spate of anti-Jewish attacks in the US draws calls for more forceful response" (5/23/21), The Washington Post describes a series of violent attacks on Jewish citizens of America, most initiated by rabid pro-Palestinian mobs. The Post states, "The most recent attacks ... were reminiscent of anti-Jewish protests and rallies in Charlottesville in 2017, and recalled grim memories of the mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh the next year." This is wrong, and it seems to be a political dig against a side with whom the Post doesn't agree, rather than an accurate depiction of what is really going on. The violent attacks on Jews in America are more reminiscent of the pogroms in Europe 100 years ago which caused the forebears of most of the Jews now in America to flee Eastern Europe by the tens of thousands. Those pogroms were wreaked by mobs of local thugs who raped and pillaged Jewish towns (shtetls), murdering many in their path. It was also why the founder of Zionism, Theodore Herzl, in the late 19th century, spoke about the need for a Jewish state because host nations couldn't be relied upon to protect their Jewish citizens. Our current leaders' verbal condemnations of this mob violence these present-day pogroms are empty. American Jews need real protection, and the perpetrators need to be prosecuted for hate crimes to the full extent of the law. Image: Tom Hilton via Flickr, CC BY 2.0. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. The program, whose existence was first reported by The New York Times in December 2017, was revived by the Defense Department last summer as the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force. The department said the task forces mission was to detect, analyze and catalog sightings of strange objects in the sky that could potentially pose a threat to U.S. national security. Service members were newly encouraged to speak up if they saw something, with the idea being that removing the stigma behind reporting something weird would provide authorities with a better idea of whats out there. Laurence Fox, a British actor, is one of the few people in Britain standing for liberty and pushing back against political correctness. Most recently, he challenged a docudrama show that took Anne Boleyn a straight, white woman and turned her into a black woman with lesbian tendencies. It shouldn't be controversial to point out that this is erroneous, but in 21st-century Britain, it is. The popular Bridgerton TV series that aired last year used Black and White actors to play characters in a story set during the early 19th century in England, right down to making England's Queen Charlotte a Black woman. Everyone who viewed it understood that it was a romantic comedy played for laughs and lasciviousness. It was the romcom equivalent of a "what if" novel in which Lincoln is not assassinated. The new Channel 5 production, Anne Boleyn, is something different. (A subsidiary of Viacom, CBS owns Britain's Channel 5.) This show purports to be an accurate retelling of the doomed queen's final months of life in 1536 before her husband, Henry VIII, had her executed so he could marry Jane Seymour: You may know the history, but you don't know her story. Anne Boleyn is a new three part intimate psychological thriller, told from a new perspective hers. The show explores Anne's final months as she struggles to secure a future for her daughter and to challenge the powerful patriarchy closing in around her. Filmed on location in Yorkshire in 2020, Jodie Turner Smith (Queen & Slim) leads the cast as Tudor Queen Anne Boleyn. The ensemble cast includes BAFTA Nominated Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You, Gangs of London) as Anne's brother and Tudor nobleman George Boleyn, Mark Stanley (White House Farm) as Henry VIII, one of the most famous Kings in British history, and Lola Petticrew (Three Families, Dating Amber) as Anne's love rival, Jane Seymour. To the extent the show is a "thriller," some license is forgivable. That license began with casting Jodie Turner Smith, a Black woman, to play Boleyn. While admittedly weird, given that Anne really lived and was indubitably White, if she's a good actress who shows fidelity to the character's essence, well, that's acting. That fidelity failed when the first episode had Boleyn engage in a passionate kiss with Jane Seymour, the woman who supplanted her in Henry's affections. It's one thing to "act" as Boleyn, no matter one's color. It's another thing entirely to strongly imply to the audience that a show is historically accurate (although with some license) and then to turn the main historic character into a lesbian. This isn't dramatic license. It's part of the left's relentless push to make every historic character, from Abraham Lincoln to Norman Rockwell and, now, to Anne Boleyn, "queer." Enter Laurence Fox. A well known actor in England, American conservatives became aware of him in January 2020, when he appeared on Question Time, a show that allows the audience to ask questions of well known people. During the show, a feminist attacked Fox for refusing to acknowledge that racism drove Meghan Markle out of England. Fox struck back hard, denying that modern England is racist. He also challenged climate change hypocrisy and alleged sexism in politics and argued that the fear of racism encourages serious crime. One year later, in January 2021, Fox launched a campaign for mayor of London and created a new "Reclaim" political party, based on freedom. Fox garnered only 1.9% of the vote, with Londoners again supporting the leftist Sadiq Khan. Notably, in 2011, long before the most recent population shift, only 44% of Londoners were White British, and 37% were born outside of England. Indeed, 24.5% werent even from Europe. While he may have lost the mayoral election, Fox is still pushing for liberty and sanity: Anne Boleyn was a straight white female. Stick that in your diversity pipe. The Diversity agenda is racism. Pure and simple. Laurence Fox (@LozzaFox) June 1, 2021 He's right. An actor can override skin color through acting, but to lie about the essence of a historic person is wrong. What especially offended Fox, though, was the hypocrisy: For the record, I think any actor of any sexual orientation, skin colour or body difference can play any character. Hence why its called acting But it has to be consistent, otherwise its just discrimination. Laurence Fox (@LozzaFox) June 2, 2021 Only trans actors can play trans characters. Only gay actors should play gay characters. Actors apologising for playing limb different characters. (Anne Boleyn had 6 fingers on her right hand) But black actors can play white limb different characters. Laurence Fox (@LozzaFox) June 2, 2021 Bravo to Fox for standing against the madness. And best wishes to him as he continues his efforts to return Britain to a country defined by liberty, the rule of law, and sanity. Image: Anne Boleyn by Hans Holbein the Younger. Public domain. To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here. A small Pakistani village located about 150 kilometers south of Islamabad is home to a proud monumenta 19th century cannon gifted by the British government in recognition of the village's contribution to the First World War. Nestled in the stony hills of Punjabs salt ranges, Dulmial is a village steeped in military history. Since its foundation some eight centuries ago, the village has provided the largest number of army men to the state. During the Great War, Dulmial sent 460 of its men out of a population of 879 to fight in the British Army, making it the single largest participation of any village in South Asia. Nine gave their lives. In the Second World War, the village sent 732 more. 36 laid down their lives. The gun of Dulmial. Photo: Malik1968/Wikimedia Commons This was a massive contribution and almost every male in the village who was able to, joined the army, said Dr. Irfan Malik. They wouldnt have understood where or why they were going but they would have been loyal to their rulers. Dulmials military history goes back by several centuries. At the time of the outbreak of the First World War, there were already 21 pensioned Indian officers and 90 serving sergeants. After the partition of India, Dulmial had five Lt Generals (in both Army and Navy) and 23 brigadiers to the Pakistan Army, along with many other junior officers. The military traditions of the village are a great honour and privilege for its residents, says historian Riaz Malik. There is hardly any house in the village that did not produce an army officer, claims Malik. According to Riaz Malik, the reason behind the martial traditions of this village is due to the early education in the area. Dulmial got its first primary school in 1857 and a missionary high school in 1900, he said. A 1914 Christmas gift box for the Dulmial soldiers by British Army. Photo: Sana Jamal Both Dr. Irfan Malik and Riaz Malik are the great-grandsons of Captain Ghulam Mohammad Malik, the highest ranking and most decorated soldier in the village, and the one responsible for choosing the cannon, rejecting a range of possible gifts from the British government, including three years pay, land and water facilities. Captain Malik began his military life in the Derajet Mountain Battery and had taken part in Lord Roberts famous 300-mile march from Kabul to Kandahar in 1880. The 1.7-ton cannon chosen by the British army was a twelve-pounder that had been made back in 1816 at the Carron ironworks, in Falkirk, Scotland. It was shipped to Jhelum, a city on the bank of the Jhelum River, in the north of Punjab province, from where the cannon was carried by train to Chakwal. The final leg of the journey, a distance of 28 kilometers, was made on a cart pulled by three pairs of oxen. The roads were mountainous and the passage was difficult. The ox cart two weeks to cover the distance. The last five kilometers were the hardest, and Dulmial had to dispatch five additional pairs of oxen to relieve the initial six and complete the guns journey. Officers of Dulmial pose with the gun The cannon acts as a strong symbol of their [the soldiers] courage and sacrifices. At the same time, I wish to raise awareness of the 1.2 million Indian Army soldiers of the First World War. I dont wish them to be forgotten soldiers any longer, said Dr. Malik, now a resident of Nottingham, who brought to light the story of Dulmial and its Napoleonic-era gun. Dulmial is well-known within Pakistan as the village with the gun, but not much beyond its borders. This is because very little has been written or published about the the village in English, Dr. Malik said. Had the Captain not asked for this cannon, the proud history of the village may already have been forgotten, said Riaz Malik. References: # Michael Noble, The Dulmial Gun, The Centre for Hidden Histories # Sana Jamal, Dulmial, Pakistan: The town of forgotten World War heroes, Gulf News # Stephen Mcginty, Scots cannon gifted to village for role in WWI, The Scotsman Google wants to allow users to have more control over personalized ads by easy opt-out. After much criticism of Googles privacy procedures on Android, the company has invested heavily in enhancing Androids privacy capabilities. Google has released an announcement that describes the new changes that will start in late 2021. Google previously invented the advertising ID to allow developers to make money with ads and gives users control to disable ads any time they want. According to the new rules for developers, when a user opts out of interest-based advertising or ads personalization, the advertising identifier will not be available. You will receive a string of zeros in place of the identifier. Advertisement Google will notify developers when a user wants to opt-out of personalized ads. Previously, the ad ID was visible to the developers, which could violate users privacy. But by the new rules, any attempts to access the identifier will receive a string of zeros instead of the identifier. Of course, Google hasnt forgotten the developers. The company promised to develop an alternative solution for what it calls essential use cases. These cases could be analytics and fraud prevention. The apps that will run on Android 12 are at the forefront to comply with these new rules. Next year, all apps in the Play Store should follow this procedure for app release. You can access opt-out options through the Settings menu via apps, then Google, then Ads. Advertisement Google provides easy opt-out of personalized ads for users The discussions around privacy in Android have always been a controversial topic between Google and users. Google says it has always protected its users privacy. Users, on the other hand, believe that Google and apps are violating their privacy. What makes users pessimistic about Google is that the company has a lousy track record of protecting users privacy. In the latest case, it was revealed that Google was illegally collecting users location data. Also, the company has deliberately made it more complicated and vague to disable location tracking on Android. Googles move comes after Apple has disabled default access to user data for developers. Under Apples new rules, developers must obtain user permission to access their data. Well, it seems that Google is applying a similar process on Android. Purchase an online subscription to our website for $7.99 a month with automatic renewal. Each online subscription gives you full access to all of our newspaper websites and mobile applications. To cancel you may contact Customer Service @ 256-235-9253 or email JPAYNE@ANNISTONSTAR.COM For a limited time, for NEW SUBSCRIBERS ONLY a NEW ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION is just $59.99 for the first year. Existing customers do not qualify for the specials! After the first year, well automatically renew your subscription to continue your access at the regular price of $69.99 per year. Please note *Your Subscription will Automatically Renew unless you contact Customer Service To Cancel* (ANSA) - BOLOGNA, JUN 3 - The Union of Italy's Islamic Communities (UCOII) on Wednesday issued a fatwah (ban) on arranged marriages after the case of an 18-year-old Pakistani girl who is missing and believed killed by her family after refusing to marry a man her parents had picked out for her in Pakistan. UCOII issued the ban, along with one on infibulation, together with the Islamic Association of Imams and Religious Guides. The fatwah is against "conduct that cannot find any religious justification and are therefore absolutely to be condemned, and still more to be prevented". UCOII said the case of Saman Abbas, who went missing near Reggio Emilia at the end of April, "has shocked and concerned us form the start". A male cousin of Abbas's was arrested in France at the weekend. The man, who was reportedly gearing to flee to Spain and hide with relatives there, is one of five people probed for Abbas's disappearance, including her parents, another cousin and her uncle. Procedures to extradite Ikram Ijaz are set to be initiated although Reggio prosecutors have not ruled out going to Nimes to question him before that. The woman's father said she is well and in Belgium, a statement police have rejected as false. Abbas went missing from her home in Novellara at the end of April. Police said Thursday they had CCTV footage of three people carrying two spades, a bucket with a blue bag, a crowbar and another tool heading for the fields behind the Abbas family house. The suspected body-disposal party left the house at 19:15 on April 29 and came back at 21:50 on the same evening. Abbas had been placed in a shelter for girls after reporting her parents to social services while she was under age, at 17. She then decided to go back home to get her documents, sources said Thursday. The parents, aged 43 and 46, had been cited in January for trying to force someone to marry against their will. The wedding, with her Pakistani cousin, had been set for December 22 and airline tickets had been bought for December 17. Abbas reportedly disappeared after going for a brief trip to northern Europe, police said. Prosecutors said Thursday they had drafted a "plan" to seek Abbas's parents and were searching for her body using dog teams in the fields around her home, as well as dragging the local canals. (ANSA). Theres not much difference between these jobs and one at a coffee shop or restaurant at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, where the hourly wage for part-time work can be as low as $8 an hour. Workers, mostly minorities and immigrants, have been cobbling together enough jobs at different stores, often owned by the same company, to work 40 or more hours a week but not at full-time wages. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. It hasnt been a bumper year for photography. With restrictions on movement both nationally and internationally, most cameras have been limited to selfies and the living room window, but a few brave souls still managed to get out enough to snap some stunning shots. The Nature TTL Photographer Of The Year Awards celebrate the very best in nature photography, and this year more than 8,000 images competed for the 1,500 grand prize, in categories ranging from animal portraits to underwater and landscape. These are our favourite shots OVERALL WINNER: The World Is Going Upside Down, Thomas Vijayan An orangutan climbs a tree trunk in Borneo, the sky and canopy reflected in the water below (Thomas Vijayan/Nature TTL/PA) Animal Behaviour, Highly Commended: Dust Bath, Bence Mate Wild dog puppies playing in the dust of the South African desert (Bence Mate/Nature TTL/PA) Animal Behaviour, Highly Commended: Fun For All The Ages, Thomas Vijayan A group of grey langurs enjoy some family time (Thomas Vijayan/Nature TTL/PA) Animal Behaviour, Highly Commended: Floral Bath Tub, Mousam Ray A crimson sunbird bathes in the dew captured by a banana flower (Mousam Ray/Nature TTL/PA) Underwater, Runner-up: Round, Zhiyue Shi A coiled eel photographed in the Phillippines (Zhiyue Shi/Nature TTL/PA) Underwater, Highly Commended: My New Toy, Celia Kujala A Steller sea lion plays with a starfish near Hornby Island, Canada (Celia Kujala/Nature TTL/PA) Underwater, Highly Commended: Bluebottle Sunrise, Grant Thomas A bluebottle jellyfish bobbling off the shores of Sydney (Grant Thomas/Nature TTL/PA) Underwater, Highly Commended: European Whale Sharks, Nuno Vasco Rodrigues A whale shark gliding through the north Atlantic off the coast of the Azores (Nuno Vasco Rodrigues/Nature TTL/PA) Small World, Runner-up: Natures Pitfall, Samantha Stephens Two salamanders trapped by a predatory norther pitcher plant (Samantha Stephens/Nature TTL/PA) Small World, Highly Commended: 3 2 1 Takeoff!, Christian Brockes An acorn weevil readies itself to fly (Christian Brockes/Nature TTL/PA) Small World, Highly Commended: Bee Wolf with Honeybee Prey, Simon Jenkins The solitary bee wolf wasp claims another victim (Simon Jenkins/Nature TTL/PA) Wild Portraits, Highly Commended: Snow Monster, Amit Eshel A rare Pallas Cat on the snowy steppes of Mongolia (Amit Eshel/Nature TTL/PA) Wild Portraits, Highly Commended: A Predators Playground, Charl Stols A lion cub playing on the carcass of a giraffe (Charl Stols/Nature TTL/PA) Wild Portraits, Highly Commended: Kangu ,Tomasz Szpila A lowland gorilla named Kangu in the Lesio Louna reserve in the Republic of the Congo (Tomasz Szpila/Nature TTL/PA) The Night Sky, Category Winner: The Eye, Ivan Pedretti Geological strangeness on Uttakleiv Beach, Norway, beneath the green tinge of the Norther Lights (Ivan Pedretti/Nature TTL/PA) The Night Sky, Highly Commended: Purple Skies, Bence Mate Wading birds illuminated by flashes of forked lightning (Bence Mate/Nature TTL/PA) Under 16, Runner-up: Fight In The Mountains, Raphael Schenker Two young mountain goats frolicking in the Swiss Alps (Raphael Schenker/Nature TTL/PA) Urban Wildlife, Highly Commended: The Door, Jose Luis Ruiz Jiminez A barn owl peering through the door of an abandoned house (Jose Luis Ruiz Jiminez/Nature TTL/PA) Landscapes, Highly Commended: Bled, Tomasz Rojek Dawn breaks over Lake Bled in Slovenia (Tomasz Rojek/Nature TTL/PA) Camera Traps, Highly Commended: Moonwalker, Vladimir Cech Jr Removing Portugal from the travel green list will do untold damage to consumer confidence and risks sending a message that the UK remains isolated from the rest of the world, industry leaders have warned. Airlines and travel firms reacted with dismay to the latest Government announcement on foreign holidays, with many saying it risked the summer being ruined for the struggling sector. Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye said: Ministers spent last month hailing the restart of international travel, only to close it down three weeks later all but guaranteeing another lost summer for the travel sector. Everyone wants to protect public health, but the entire point of the Global Travel Taskforce was to establish a system to unlock low-risk travel safely. Britain is the worst performing economy in the G7, and in the week that the Prime Minister hosts G7 leaders to launch his Governments vision of Global Britain, hes sending a message that the UK will remain isolated from the rest of the world and closed to most of its G7 partners. If the Government is serious about protecting UK jobs and supporting businesses across the country, rapid action is needed to reopen flights to key trading partners, remove testing for vaccinated passengers from green countries, and slash the cost and complexity of testing, as other G7 countries are doing. Package holiday firm TUI UK was equally scathing, claiming the Government broke promises to the industry. Andrew Flintham, managing director for TUI UK, said: This latest announcement is another step back for our industry. After promises that the Global Travel Taskforce would result in a clear framework, removing the damaging flip flopping we all endured last summer, the Government decision to move Portugal straight from green to amber will do untold damage to customer confidence. We were reassured that a green watch list would be created and a weeks notice would be given so travellers wouldnt have to rush back home. They have failed on this promise. He added that the UK Government has refused to be transparent about the data requirements for green, amber and red destinations and said the industry must see the methodology for the decisions. Stewart Wingate, Gatwick chief executive, said: It is bitterly disappointing news for our impacted passengers and airlines that Portugal is to be added to the amber list from next week while no further destinations are being opened up for green travel. While it is in all of our interests to ensure that we only take forward steps out of the pandemic, we hope that the rest of Europe follows the UKs speed of public vaccination so that safe and easy travel to and from the UK becomes a reality quickly, particularly as travel between mainland European countries is opening up already. Business group the CBI said the move would hit other sectors linked to the travel industry. John Foster, CBI director of policy, said: The limited number of destinations on the green list means that businesses across the country are losing out on key links with trading partners just as the rest of the world is opening up. Of course, the UK mustnt jeopardise the strides made through the vaccine programme, but the international travel sector is on its knees and unable to trade its way to recovery. Without a successful summer season, the government will need to consider further sector specific support to save jobs and skills essential for future growth. Travel policy needs to effectively prevent the spread of Covid from potential red list countries, but also safely allow for more travel from lower-risk destinations. This could help boost business travel, fuelling growth by reconnecting firms with global markets. Low-cost airline firm Ryanair said in a statement: As the majority of adults across the UK/EU will be vaccinated in the coming weeks, these travel restrictions will become redundant. UK families continue to book for travel this Summer, safe in knowledge that if their plans change so can their booking, with Ryanairs zero change fee offer on all bookings made before the end of September for travel before 31 December 2021. Johan Lundgren, chief executive of easyJet, said moving Portugal to the amber list was a huge blow to those currently in the country. He said: When this framework was put together, consumers were promised a waiting list to allow them to plan. Yet the Government has torn up its own rule book and ignored the science, throwing peoples plans into chaos, with virtually no notice or alternative options for travel from the UK. This decision essentially cuts the UK off from the rest of the world. He added: While our European fleet is gearing up for summer as European governments open up travel for their citizens, the UK Government is making it impossible for airlines to plan while consumers are left grounded in the UK. Simon Cooper, chief executive of the online travel firm On the Beach, said: Holidaymakers want a sustainable return to normal travel as quickly as possible, and to achieve that, the travel industry must stop scrambling for short term gains. Reopening travel too widely and too quickly will increase the likelihood of the meaningful restart were all desperately hoping for being disrupted significantly. Rory Boland, travel editor with consumer champion organisation Which?, said the Government should take greater responsibility around making sure travellers are not left out of pocket. He said: Many people who booked holidays to Portugal believing it would be a safe bet are going to now face difficult decisions over whether to travel against Government advice and quarantine on their return, or potentially lose the cost of their holiday. Few tour operators and no airlines allow for refunds when a country changes from green to amber, and rebooking very often involves paying more money. The Government should take greater responsibility for making sure travellers are not left out of pocket when changes are made to its travel lists. A crucial step towards this would be to ensure destinations on the amber and red lists also come with a warning against travel from the FCDO, which should trigger package holiday providers to offer refunds to those who can no longer travel. Portugal will be added to the UKs amber travel list as Transport Secretary Grant Shapps raised concerns of a new coronavirus mutation and rising cases. The holiday hotspot, including the islands of Madeira and the Azores, will be removed from the green list exempting the need to quarantine on return from 4am on Tuesday. Sri Lanka, Egypt and five other countries will also be added to the red list requiring isolation in a Government-approved hotel, it was announced on Thursday afternoon. Labour criticised the chaos as reports about the restrictions dripped out of the Government ahead of official confirmation and travel bosses said the move will cause untold damage to customer confidence. Ministers confirmed Portugal would be placed on the amber list for all four nations following a meeting between the Westminster and devolved governments, as well as the Joint Biosecurity Centre. People returning to the UK from Portugal will be required to self-isolate at home for 10 days as part of coronavirus restrictions. Afghanistan, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Sudan, and Trinidad and Tobago will also be placed on the red list, meaning people arriving in the UK from those nations will be required to stay in a quarantine hotel for 11 nights. No countries have been added to the green list, despite speculation that some Spanish and Greek islands, plus Malta, would be added. In an interview, Mr Shapps said: I want to be straight with people, its actually a difficult decision to make, but in the end weve seen two things really which caused concern. One is the positivity rate has nearly doubled since the last review in Portugal and the other is theres a sort of Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant which has been detected and we just dont know the potential for that to be vaccine-defeating mutation and simply dont want to take the risk as we come up to June 21 and the review of the fourth stage of the unlock. Andrew Flintham, the managing director of the TUI UK travel group, blasted the announcement as another step back for our industry. After promises that the Global Travel Taskforce would result in a clear framework, removing the damaging flip flopping we all endured last summer, the Government decision to move Portugal straight from green to amber will do untold damage to customer confidence, he said. We were reassured that a green watch list would be created and a weeks notice would be given so travellers wouldnt have to rush back home. They have failed on this promise. Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye added: Ministers spent last month hailing the restart of international travel, only to close it down three weeks later all but guaranteeing another lost summer for the travel sector. If the Government is serious about protecting UK jobs and supporting businesses across the country, rapid action is needed to reopen flights to key trading partners, remove testing for vaccinated passengers from green countries, and slash the cost and complexity of testing, as other G7 countries are doing. Many holidaymakers in Portugal face a scramble for flights home before the move is introduced. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so. Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds MP said: The UK Government have caused chaos with the mishandling of travel restrictions at the border. The confusion over the amber list has led to reports of over 50,000 people travelling to the UK daily, with only a tiny percentage going into hotel quarantine and a stream of flights entering the UK from Amber List countries. Labour has warned time and time again that this is leaving the door wide open to new strains of the virus. Moving Portugal onto the Amber List is not the answer. The Amber List itself should be scrapped. The Governments move is a huge blow for the travel industry, as the country was the only viable major tourist destination on the green list. It is only 17 days since the ban on non-essential leisure travel from Britain was lifted. Portugals seven-day rate of coronavirus cases per 100,000 people stands at 37.2, up from 30.7 a week earlier. Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, told PA: They are basically putting at risk tens of thousands of jobs across aviation and the travel sector, and not showing any signs of helping the sector to recover. They seem to want to continue to create an atmosphere of fear among travellers, which is totally at odds with other countries. There are several countries which meet the criteria to be on the green list so this is clearly a politically charged decision rather than one based on data. The Government has previously said assessments of travel lists are based on a range of factors, including the proportion of a population that has been vaccinated, rates of infection, emerging new variants, and access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing. People returning to the UK from red-list locations must stay in a quarantine hotel at a cost of 1,750 for solo travellers. The announcement came as Public Health England said the Covid-19 variant that originated in India was now believed to be dominant in the UK, with early evidence suggesting it may lead to an increased risk of hospital admissions compared with the Kent variant. (PA Graphics) A total of 12,431 cases of the Indian variant, also known as the Delta variant, have been confirmed in the UK up to June 2, according to Public Health England (PHE), which is up 79% from the previous weeks total of 6,959. Dr Jeff Barrett, director of the Covid-19 Genomics Initiative at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said the Nepal mutation (B.1.617.2 with an additional mutation: K417N) of the variant first detected in India (B.1.617.2), has also been observed in other variants including the one first identified in South Africa. He said it is believed to be part of why that variant (South African) is less well neutralised by vaccines. Dr Barrett added that because of this possibility and because the Indian variant appears more transmissible than the variant first detected in South Africa, scientists are monitoring it carefully. He explained this Indian variant plus the K417N mutation has been seen in numerous countries, including the UK, Portugal, the USA, India, Nepal and Japan. Portugal has questioned the UKs decision to move the country to the amber travel list, as Transport Secretary Grant Shapps raised concerns over a new coronavirus mutation and rising cases. The holiday hotspot, including the islands of Madeira and the Azores, will be removed from the green list exempting the need to quarantine on return from 4am on Tuesday. However, a Portuguese ministerial social media account has said that they cannot understand the logic of the decision, amid dismayed reaction from the travel industry. Sri Lanka, Egypt and five other countries will also be added to the red list requiring isolation in a Government-approved hotel, it was announced on Thursday afternoon. Soon after the changes were revealed, the account of the cabinet of Portugals Minister of State for Foreign Affairs tweeted in English: We take note of the British decision to remove Portugal from the travel green list, the logic of which we cannot understand. Portugal continues to carry out its prudent and gradual deconfinement plan, with clear rules for the safety of those who live here and those who visit us. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so. People returning to the UK from Portugal will be required to self-isolate at home for 10 days as part of coronavirus restrictions. Afghanistan, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Sudan, and Trinidad and Tobago will also be placed on the red list, meaning people arriving in the UK from those nations will be required to stay in a quarantine hotel for 11 nights. People returning to the UK from red-list locations must stay in a quarantine hotel at a cost of 1,750 for solo travellers. No countries have been added to the green list, despite speculation that some Spanish and Greek islands, plus Malta, would be added. In an interview, Mr Shapps said: I want to be straight with people, its actually a difficult decision to make, but in the end weve seen two things really which caused concern. One is the positivity rate has nearly doubled since the last review in Portugal and the other is theres a sort of Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant which has been detected and we just dont know the potential for that to be vaccine-defeating mutation and simply dont want to take the risk as we come up to June 21 and the review of the fourth stage of the unlock. The news came on the same day the Government said a further 5,274 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus had been recorded in the UK as of 9am on Thursday, the highest single-day figure since March 26. Andrew Flintham, the managing director of the TUI UK travel group, blasted the announcement as another step back for our industry. He said: We were reassured that a green watch list would be created and a weeks notice would be given so travellers wouldnt have to rush back home. They have failed on this promise. Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye added: Ministers spent last month hailing the restart of international travel, only to close it down three weeks later all but guaranteeing another lost summer for the travel sector. If the Government is serious about protecting UK jobs and supporting businesses across the country, rapid action is needed to reopen flights to key trading partners, remove testing for vaccinated passengers from green countries, and slash the cost and complexity of testing, as other G7 countries are doing. Many holidaymakers in Portugal face a scramble for flights home before the new rules are introduced. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so. Labour criticised the chaos as reports about the restrictions dripped out of the Government ahead of official confirmation and travel bosses said the move will cause untold damage to customer confidence. Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said: The confusion over the amber list has led to reports of over 50,000 people travelling to the UK daily, with only a tiny percentage going into hotel quarantine and a stream of flights entering the UK from Amber List countries. He went on: Moving Portugal onto the Amber List is not the answer. The Amber List itself should be scrapped. Portugals seven-day rate of coronavirus cases per 100,000 people stands at 37.2, up from 30.7 a week earlier. The announcement came as Public Health England said the Covid-19 variant that originated in India was now believed to be dominant in the UK, with early evidence suggesting it may lead to an increased risk of hospital admissions compared with the Kent variant. (PA Graphics) A total of 12,431 cases of the Indian variant, also known as the Delta variant, have been confirmed in the UK up to June 2, according to Public Health England (PHE), which is up 79% from the previous weeks total of 6,959. Dr Jeff Barrett, director of the Covid-19 Genomics Initiative at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said the Nepal mutation (B.1.617.2 with an additional mutation: K417N) of the variant first detected in India (B.1.617.2), has also been observed in other variants including the one first identified in South Africa. He said it is believed to be part of why that variant (South African) is less well neutralised by vaccines. Dr Barrett added that because of this possibility and because the Indian variant appears more transmissible than the variant first detected in South Africa, scientists are monitoring it carefully. He explained this Indian variant plus the K417N mutation has been seen in numerous countries, including the UK, Portugal, the USA, India, Nepal and Japan. Holidaymakers are bracing themselves for changes to the Governments travel list, amid concerns over the impact of Covid-19 variants on summer plans. Ministers are predicted to update the traffic light destination system on Thursday, which could see countries moving between the green, amber and red lists. On Wednesday, Boris Johnson warned the Government will have no hesitation over moving countries off the green list if necessary, and said it will wait and see what the recommendations of the Joint Biosecurity Centre are before announcing changes to the travel lists. People returning to the UK from green locations are not required to self-isolate, and only need to take one post-arrival coronavirus test. (PA Graphics) Travellers returning from amber list locations which includes popular hotspots such as Spain, France, Italy and Greece must quarantine at home for 10 days and take two post-arrival tests, while there is a travel ban to red list countries. The Prime Minister said: We are going to try and allow people to travel as I know many people want to, but weve got to be cautious. Weve got to continue to put countries on the red list, on the amber list, when that is necessary. We will have no hesitation in moving countries from the green list to the amber list to the red list if we have to do so. The priority is to continue the vaccine rollout to protect the people of this country. Mr Johnson has insisted there is nothing in the data at the moment to prevent ending domestic Covid-19 restrictions on June 21, although he and his ministerial colleagues have urged caution. Debate is continuing over whether the final stages of unlocking restrictions in England can go ahead on June 21, due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus variant first identified in India. The Daily Mail reported ministers also have been alerted to a variant first thought to have originated in Nepal, suggesting this could have an impact on holidays. Ahead of any announcements, one industry expert said several Greek islands, Malta and parts of the Caribbean could be added to the green travel list on Thursday. Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said a number of popular holiday destinations really deserve to be moved to the low-risk tier. Mr Charles told the PA news agency he expects additions to the list to include the Greek islands of Zante, Rhodes and Kos, the Caribbean islands of Grenada and Antigua, plus Malta and Finland. (PA Graphics) The transition of those locations to green status would be a boost to the struggling travel industry, he said. Assessments are based on a range of factors, including the proportion of a population that has been vaccinated, rates of infection, emerging new variants, and access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing. Portugal is the only viable major tourist destination currently on the green list, but there have been reports that it could be downgraded in the future. Mr Charles said he would be surprised if Spains Balearic Islands including Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca are added in Thursdays update. Theyre hugely popular and Im not sure the Government is ready to encourage so much travel at the moment. The vaccination programme is seen as key in the bid to reopen the country and beyond. (PA Graphics) It was confirmed on Wednesday that 75% of UK adults across the UK had now had their first coronavirus jab, and 50% of adults in England had received both doses. The UK could hit another major milestone on Thursday, passing the point of half of all UK adults receiving both doses of a coronavirus vaccine. Latest figures suggest 49.5% of the UK population aged 18 and over have had two jabs. Government figures, based on people who died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, said a further 12 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Wednesday, bringing the UK total to 127,794. The Government also said that, as of 9am on Wednesday, there had been a further 4,330 lab-confirmed cases in the UK. It comes after zero Covid-19 deaths were reported in the UK on Tuesday. Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi, pressed about the dropping of domestic restrictions on June 21, told ITVs Peston: At the moment theres nothing in the data to suggest that we need to move the road map. Weve been straight with people, as both the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary have said, on June 14 we will share with the nation all the data that wed have gathered. The next 12 days are going to be really important to see what the virus is doing. Weve got a very large-scale surveillance infrastructure in place in terms of waste water surveillance and large-scale testing. Elsewhere, health ministers from the G7 nations will meet in Oxford on Thursday in a bid to reach agreement to help reduce the risk of global pandemics and emerging health threats. They are expected to agree to share information on how to detect such threats and the causes. West End star Olly Dobson predicted theatre will come back stronger following the pandemic. A cast of more than 50 performers is taking part in a celebration of musicals called The Show Must Go On at the Palace Theatre in London. The shows, running until Sunday, are raising money for Acting For Others and The Fleabag Support Fund following a catastrophic period for the industry. Theatres are set to reopen at full capacity in England from June 21. Olly Dobson is among the West End stars taking part in The Show Must Go On (Aaron Chown/PA) Dobson, star of Back To The Future The Musical, told the PA news agency of his relief at being back in a theatre. He said: It feels nice to be back where everything feels normal. The Show Must Go On is a reminder to everyone in the building that the love and care has always been there, its just been on hold, like everything else has. Obviously its been tough. But this is such a great form of escapism that its a really nice reminder just to give people that reminder we still love this, we care a lot and its going to be bigger and better than ever when were back. Christine Allado and Alexia Khadime are also starring in The Show Must Go On (Aaron Chown/PA) Christine Allado, star of The Prince Of Egypt, described being back on stage as a tonic. She told PA: Just seeing people in the industry, friends and colleagues, it just felt incredibly amazing to be like, how are you? Are you OK? It felt like this whole year, weve gone through this whole thing together. Its nice to be home. This feels like home. Allados co-star Alexia Khadime said being back on stage is like youve found yourself again. The Show Must Go On will run until Sunday June 6 and tickets are on sale now. If you are old enough to remember the hit comedy movie of 1980, Caddy Shack, then you will recall that a gopher infestation was threatening a golf course in Nebraska. The somewhat deranged groundskeeper was tasked with getting rid of the pest. His efforts at eradication include shooting, f After our 2nd year of being in business, it did not take long to figure out that people absolutely love talking about health insurance! Kidding of course. However, for as much as people do not WANT to talk about it, the truth is that you MUST talk about it. Why? Read more Owosso, MI (48867) Today Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High 83F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to occasional showers later during the night. Low 59F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Gen. Naravane held a separate meeting with J&K lieutenant-governor Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhavan and is due to interact with civil officials A J&K government spokesman said the Army Chief and the lieutenant-governor at their Raj Bhavan meeting discussed the recent internal security developments and prevailing security scenario in the UT and several internal and external security-related issues and their effective management. ANI New Delhi/Srinagar: On the eve of completion of 100 days of the ceasefire with Pakistan at the Line of Control, Army Chief Gen. M.M. Naravane on Wednesday reached Kashmir on a two-day visit to review the situation on the ground at the border and counter-terrorist operations in the Valley. The Indian and Pakistani DGMOs had agreed to observe a ceasefire at the LoC from February 24 midnight in a major de-escalatory move. The truce has mostly held till now, even though there were reports of some firing incidents at the international border. The Pakistan Army used to fire to give cover to terrorists to infiltrate into J&K. India and Pakistan signed a truce agreement in 2003 but it was frequently violated. The Army Chief on Wednesday visited units and formations where he was briefed by local commanders on the security situation and the steps being taken to identify and target the overground workers (OGWs) network involved in radicalisation and recruitment of youth into terrorist ranks. He was accompanied by Northern Command GOC-in-C Lt. Gen. Y.K. Joshi and 15 Chinar Corps commander Lt. Gen. D.P. Pandey. Gen. Naravane expressed appreciation to the jawans and commanders relentlessly battling the dual challenges of Pakistan-abetted terror and the global pandemic. He was briefed by Lt. Gen. Pandey on the overall situation at the LoC and the hinterland at the Badami Bagh headquarters of 15 Corps in Srinagar. Gen. Naravane held a separate meeting with J&K lieutenant-governor Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhavan and is due to interact with civil officials and some others for a broader assessment of the overall security scenario. A defence spokesman said the Army Chief was briefed by commanders in details on the measures to identify and target the OGWs network involved in radicalisation and recruitment of youth into terrorist ranks. As already reported by this newspaper, the number of Kashmiri separatists OGWs and sympathisers is swelling day after day, causing a serious concern among the security forces, who are combating a 31-year-old insurgency in J&K. In the past six months, the J&K police arrested several hundred OGWs of various militant outfits and a couple of dozen more are at present under their surveillance. A J&K government spokesman said the Army Chief and the lieutenant-governor at their Raj Bhavan meeting discussed the recent internal security developments and prevailing security scenario in the UT and several internal and external security-related issues and their effective management. Mr Sinha, the spokesman said, stressed on the need to maintain close synergy between the Army and other security forces to meet the security challenges. Lt. Gen. Joshi and Lt. Gen. Pandey were present at the meeting. Shyam has alleged that Dua, in his YouTube show, had made some allegations against the prime minister New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed an FIR lodged against journalist Vinod Dua for sedition and other offences by a local BJP leader in Himachal Pradesh over his YouTube show. A bench of Justices U U Lalit and Vineet Saran, however, declined the prayer of Dua that no FIR can be registered against any media personnel with 10 years' experience unless cleared by a committee. On July 20 last year, the top court had extended till further orders the protection granted to Dua from any coercive action in the case. The apex court had earlier said that Dua need not answer any other supplementary questions asked by the Himachal Pradesh police in connection with the case. An FIR against Dua under provisions of the Indian Penal Code for alleged offences of sedition, public nuisance, printing defamatory materials and public mischief was lodged by BJP leader Shyam at Kumarsain police station in Shimla district on May 6 last year and the journalist was asked to join the probe. Shyam has alleged that Dua, in his YouTube show, had made some allegations against the prime minister. A scene from Theatre Aspen Educations performance of Frozen last summer. Today, the nonprofit is expected to announce scores of added educational offerings for this summer. You are the owner of this article. AMG Actually, considering the nice walkaround feature and the way nicer drive video (both embedded below) with the microphone tucked in between the rear mufflers, you could even say theres a great deal of fun to be had onboard this 2007 Mercedes-Benz S65Its available for sale on dealer consignment (the sellers username is Bad_Chadi, which is kind of fitting in this case) via a Bring a Trailer auction, and the S65 AMG looks properly aggressive thanks to its all-black attire both inside (Black Exclusive leather) and outside.Theres just a handful of splashes of contrasting colors, such as the exterior chrome or the silver 20-inch AMG double-spoke wheels, plus the burred walnut trim featured in the cockpit on the steering wheel, dashboard, center console, and doors.Naturally, theres a long list of amenities, but we really need to get past the Keyless-Go, dynamic front seats, Night View Assist, or Comand infotainment with navigation toys available for the driver and front passenger.Thats because this is one Mercedes-Benz that also needs to be enjoyed from the back. Basically, our perfect trip would be to drive one way and enjoy the multi-contour individual rear seats on the way back. But thats just us, and youd probably catch us playing with the soft-close doors and trunk all day long inside the garage, as well.Here's one last highlight before talking about the damage this thing will do to your bank account. The factory twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12 was capable back in the day of churning out a mighty 604 horsepower and 738 lb-ft (1,001 Nm) of torque. That should be enough, along with the fact its a no reserve sale. The current highest bid is at $40K at the time of writing, with one day remaining on the auction clock. The Lancer, known as The Bone, has been serving the need of the U.S. Air Force ( USAF ) since 1985. If we are to trust the plans of the military, it will continue to do so well into the 2040s. Presently there are just a few over 100 of them in the skies of the world, but they seem to be enough to keep threats at bay.The plane was originally designed to carry nuclear weapons, but given how they were fortunately not needed so far, it was transformed into a more conventional bomber. With a wingspan of 137 feet (42 meters) and a top speed of Mach 1.2, the thing can carry 75,000 lbs of bombs (34 metric tons), including no less than 24 cruise missiles.Despite not being in the news as often as other military aircraft, the B-1B has some 12,000 combat sorties to its name, as it performed bombing runs over Syria, Libya, Afghanistan , and Iraq. It was also responsible for dropping 20 percent of the ordnance released over Yugoslavia in 1999, during Operation Allied Force, despite flying just 2 percent of all strike missions back then.As said, the plane is scheduled to remain in service for at least two more decades, and that means it has to be kept up to date. Most recently, the Air Force is getting ready to test a new flight software for the plane.One of the Lancers fitted with the software, deployed with the 337th Test and Evaluation Squadron, 53rd Wing out of Dyess Air Force Base (AFB) in Texas, is shown here as its moved through a hangar of the Edwards AFB in California. Captured by 1st Lt. Christine Saunders, the pic (click photo to enlarge) shows just how scary yet sleek and elegant the bomber is, even on the ground. HP kW The Molsheim automaker has confirmed that it will soon be delivered to its mysterious owner , described as a Bugatti enthusiast, who paid 11 million, before tax, or around $13.5 million at todays exchange rates.An ode to the Type 57 SC Atlantic developed and driven by Ettore Bugattis son, Jean, who named it La Voiture Noire, French for The Black Car, this is a true bespoke creation. The idea came to Achim Anscheidt, the brands Design Director, more than two decades ago, but they found it hard to materialize. Until the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, when they presented it to the world as a concept.We were rather in awe of the idea of developing the La Voiture Noire, Anscheidt said. No other vehicle in the long history of Bugatti has acquired the same legendary status as the Type 57 SC Atlantic (which disappeared without trace before WWII) and has become so synonymous with the brand. We had a great deal of respect for this historical responsibility, as well as for the customer.Despite being based on the Chiron, the La Voiture Noire ate around 65,000 engineering hours in total, or 7.4 years. Is features a custom carbon fiber body with numerous elements inspired by Jeans long-gone car. The exterior is obviously finished in black, whereas for the cockpit, they opted for Havana Brown grain leather, basing their choice on the historic model. Polished and turned aluminum inlays decorate various parts of the interior, and the driving modes can be selected from the rosewood switch.Anscheidt describes it as the ultimate dream car for long distances, while President Stephan Winkelmann referred to it as the ultimate GT when it broke cover two years ago.And dont think of it only as being extremely comfortable, but ultra-fast too. It uses the same quad-turbo 8.0-liter W16 engine as its modern brethren, which develops 1,500 PS (1,479/ 1,103) and 1,600 Nm (1,180 lb-ft) of torque. SUV kWh AWD We've heard rumors about the Amarok/Ranger battery-powered pickup trucks, and we've also seen a few pictures of a mysterious all-electricclad in camouflage and with a cloth wrap thrown on top for good measure. Well, it looks like that heavily disguised model will be the first product to come out of this collaboration, and British media outlet Autocar has just shared a few potential details about it.VW's MEB architecture is the basis for both the ID.3 and the ID.4, the two dedicated EVs in the German manufacturer's range at the moment. However, the reports claim that Ford's upcoming model will take after the larger ID.4 since practicality will play an important role.Even the model's design will reflect that, as seen in the spy photos captured earlier this year. It seems like it will distance itself from the swooping lines of the Mustang Mach-E and opt for a more pragmatic approach that should have an impact on the interior space as well. In terms of styling, they say the crossover will build on its American heritage, taking advantage that Ford still has a broad European presence. If that means borrowing some of the Bronco's design cues, then we're all for it, though it seems unlikely given its apparent size.The name of the new model, which is scheduled for a late 2022 reveal and a 2023 market launch, has reportedly not been set yet. The company seemingly ponders the possibility of resurrecting an old nameplate as it did with the Lightning. Still, since this is the European market, it would have to be something relevant there. Ford Escort, maybe?If the exterior design is largely a mystery, the report claims the interior will follow the layout debuted by the Chinese market-only Evos crossover (pictured). That means it'll get an ultra-wide display that spans nearly the entire width of the dashboard and, possibly, also the company's new infotainment system based on Google's Android operating system.Since it'll be built on the MEB platform, the unnamed model will inherit the powertrain and battery options of the ID.4 . That means a 52RWD entry version and 77 kWh options with either RWD (for improved maximum range) or(dual motor). The maximum range should also be similar to the ID.4's, with the only variables that could affect it being the vehicle's weight and drag coefficient.At the end of the day, what this means for the European customer (and maybe American as well, there's still time for Ford to change its mind) is that, come 2023, they'll have one more MEB model to choose from, and that can only be a good thing. Ford talking about an American-inspired design only makes things even more interestingand the wait more excruciating. South Africa: Contractors warned against building of houses of poor quality North West Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs MEC, Mmoloki Cwaile, has warned contractors that his department will not hesitate to take steps against those who build poor quality houses with sub-standard material. We state it unequivocally that we will not tolerate corruption under any circumstances. We will not tolerate shoddy work by our contractors, Cwaile said. Cwaile warned that his department will not hesitate to blacklist non-performing contractors on the Treasurys database for non-performance, fraud and corruption, barring them from getting tenders from the department. You cannot continue as if its business as usual. Consequence management will apply to those departmental officials who condone these acts, they will also face the full might of the law, Cwaile said. Cwaile said this when he delivered the Human Settlements R1.8 billion budget to the provincial legislature in Mafikeng this week. The MEC said over 280 000 houses have been constructed in the North West Province in the past 27 years of democracy. For the financial year 2021/2022, the department has committed to focus on constructing 5 225 low cost houses, eradicating informal settlements, especially in mining areas, procuring land to build townships and issuing of title deeds to low cost houses beneficiaries. He said the department will further strive to address the backlog on housing delivery across the province. The MEC acknowledged that the province is continuously experiencing service delivery challenges, especially with the slow delivery of housing over the years, resulting in backlogs and blocked projects, widespread mushrooming of informal settlements, land invasions, and a gross shortage of affordable rental stock, especially in areas where economic opportunities are located. He assured that all the challenges will be addressed, including disclaimers by the Auditor-General. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2021-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. TDI In his resignation letter, he spoke about being in shock about the events that had transpired and stunned that misconduct on such a large scale could take place within the Volkswagen Group. He went on to accept responsibility for all those irregularities, and while he did get indicted for wire fraud and conspiracy in the United States, hes yet to face any of those charges.Currently, both VW and Winterkorn arent making any statements. Still, according to Reuters , the two parties did agree on a settlement where the former CEO would pay the previously mentioned sum of money in damages. The settlement could reportedly get signed this week.If some of you forgot everything that led up to this point, heres a quick recap of how VW shot themselves in the foot while also taking a massive wrecking ball to the entire car industry and diesel technology in general.Back in 2015, VW admitted to using illegal software to rig diesel engine tests in the United States, something that ended up costing them more than 32 billion ($39 billion) in fines, legal fees, and recalls. Their legal woes started in September of that year when the EPA got wind of what was happening during laboratory diesel emissions testing as far as the carmakers turbocharged direct injection diesel units () were concerned.VW used software to manipulate those tests, which impacted roughly 11 million cars worldwide (500,000 of which were in the U.S.)model years 2009 through 2015. On the bright side, this incident resulted in the electric car industry expanding tremendously. Had it not been for "Dieselgate," most likely you wouldn't be driving a VW ID.3 or an ID.4 right now. Its no surprise then that the sole surviving part of Little Bastard, the Porsche 550 Spyder James Dean was killed in on September 30, 1955, sold at auction for a pretty penny. Neither is it surprising that the same part, the transaxle, is going on display at The Haunted Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada.The transaxle emerged on Bring a Trailer late last month, with the seller claiming ownership since 2020 and presenting it on a metal frame for display purposes. The myth around the 550 Spyder is that it was cursed, since actor and racer James Dean, forever the symbol of youthful rebellion and disillusionment, died in it just weeks after buying it. After the crash, parts from the Porsche were repurposed, and the receiving vehicles too were involved in a string of accidentsone of them fatal.Of course, to assume that a car, or anything else for that matter, can be cursed and cause injury or death on its own is ridiculous. Or not, depending on who you ask. Because Zak Bagans, star of the Travel Channel series Ghost Adventures and the owner of The Haunted Museum in Las Vegas, definitely believes these things are real.He is the one who ended up buying the transaxle for $382,000 after placing six bids on the platform. In one comment, he says the piece will go on display at the museum in Nevada because he wants everybody to see it. Porsche purists did not take the announcement too kindly, saying they would have preferred to see the iconic 550 Spyder rebuilt with whatever original parts could be flushed out.Speaking to TMZ , Bagans says he has no doubt the transaxle is cursed, much like the car was. Since the transaxle is the only known piece to still exist from Little Bastard (the body itself has been lost since the 60s, when George Barris reported it stolen from a shipping container), it is very likely it still carries the curse that killed Dean.Even if its not, it will be worth its weight in goldin tickets to the museum. Second Generation Galileo satellites will join the 26 first generation ones, which are in orbit today, plus the 12 Batch 3 satellites that are currently in production and expected to launch later this year. Thales Alenia Space (Italy) and Airbus Defense & Space (Germany) were awarded contracts for the G2 satellites, by the European Space Agency ( ESA ), on behalf of the European Commission.So, what exciting innovations do the G2 satellites bring? Well, in terms of technology, they will be the first to use electric propulsion. This will allow 2 satellites to be launched at the same time, even though they will also be much heavier than the existing ones. And, they are also built with fully digital payloads, which are more flexible and can be reconfigured in orbit, to be able to respond on the spot to evolving requirements.The G2s main asset is its unprecedented precision, which will take the current meter-scale accuracy to a decimeter-scale. Its new powerful navigation antenna will also help navigation devices acquire signal much faster, while also using less power. This enhanced positioning capability could become a major factor in further developing autonomous cars and unmanned vehicles.And thats not all. G2 satellites will also feature a new emergency communications capability, which will allow authorities to send out warnings anywhere on Earth, in case of imminent dangers, such as natural disasters. Plus, the satellites will be able to help with search and rescue operations.Besides new and improved capabilities, the G2 satellites will also feature enhanced jamming and spoofing protection mechanisms.Work on the Second Generation Galileo satellites is set to begin soon, and they are expected to be launched in less than 4 years. The 2024 landing on the Moon is still in the cards, despite an increasing number of people and organizations saying it simply cant be done that fast. With that in mind, and considering that even if the 2024 deadline is not met, we are definitely going up there, NASA continues to award contracts for the vehicles that will support Artemis, the Orion spacecraft.The most recent development on this front comes in the form of LAMS. Thats short for Laser Air Monitoring System, and its a piece of technology that will keep tabs on the air quality inside the spacecraft once crewed missions get going.LAMS is being developed for the Artemis III, IV, and V by an Alabama-based company called Dynetics, under a $17.8 million contract awarded at the end of May. It is a new piece of technology, says NASA, but is based on an air monitoring system sent to Mars on the Curiosity rover.Whereas on the rover, it was supposed to monitor the atmosphere of Mars, in this application, it will have to be on a lookout for potentially dangerous changes in oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, temperature, and pressure levels inside the capsule.NASA says it selected the Dynetics tech because it is small enough to fit inside the spaceship, and it doesnt need a lot of power to run. The thing also doesnt need any in-space calibration.The Artemis program is scheduled to kick off later this year, with the launch of the uncrewed Artemis I . The hardware used for the mission comprises the Space Launch System as the carrier rocket (one core stage and two boosters) and the Orion capsule itself.If all goes well, a dry run to the Moon and back but with no landing will take place with people on board, and only after that can we start dreaming of colonizing the Moon. Saildrone is a San Francisco-based manufacturer of uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) and uses them to collect ocean-related in situ data.In a partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) agency, the company prepares to launch five ocean drones in the Caribbean, more precisely in the US Virgin Islands. The drones will be launched in August and will collect valuable data during the 2021 Tropical Atlantic hurricane season.The USVs will help scientists get a better understanding of how hurricanes work and get to intensify. The drones will go right in the paths of hurricanes, observe the extreme weather and transmit real-time meteorological and oceanographic data such as the air and water temperature, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, and more, as announced by Saildrone.In order for the vehicles to cope with such extreme weather conditions, the ocean drones are designed to withstand waves that are more than 10 feet (3 meters) tall and winds of over 70 mph (112 kph). They are also equipped with so-called hurricane wings that are 16.5 ft (5 m) long.Christian Meinig, Director of Engineering at NOAA/PMEL says this will be an unprecedented event, as this is the first time someone dares to send a robotic vehicle right into the eye of a hurricane.According to Saildrone, hurricane damage is estimated at approximately $54 billion a year in the United States alone.Saildrones USVs are mainly powered by solar and wind, are equipped with advanced sensors, high-resolution cameras, and use artificial intelligence technology that allows them to maneuver on their own. Saildrone Explorer and Saildrone Surveyor are part of the companys fleet and they can carry out missions of up to 12 months at a time. The Explorer is a 23 feet (7m) USV, while the newer model, the Surveyor, is much bigger, at 72 ft (22 m). In most cases, it has to be said they were right to call them that. Out of the many that have tried, it's only Lucid Motors that seems to be somewhat ready to begin production, and even with them, there is still a tiny question mark hanging in the air. However, one would have to be blind not to see how blatantly Tesla itself has been using this strategy of throwing some numbers into the public's eyes way before it can ever deliver the product.The Roadster's second coming is probably the best example. The four-seat hypercar was first presented three-and-a-half years ago, and unless Tesla magically pulls it out of its behind tomorrow, we're not likely to see it sooner than one year. The company has made it very clear that it prioritizes the Semi and the Cybertruck , presumably because they bring a larger profit margin and could potentially sell in higher volumes as well.Meanwhile, Rimac Automobili has just unveiled the Nevera, an all-electric hypercar that uses four motors for a combined output of 1,914 hp and a ridiculous amount of torquenot 7,374 lb-ft (10,000 Nm), though, like the Roadster promised because unlike other companies, Rimac doesn't play dirty by advertising wheel torque and forgetting to mention it.We've seen the Nevera go head-to-head against the Ferrari SF90 Stradale hypercar in a quarter-mile drag race and absolutely destroy the hybrid Italian model. Not only that, but it also set an unofficial new record for a production car with a time of 8.62 seconds, and that was on an old Croatian airfield with no prep whatsoever. Who knows how fast it can go in ideal conditions?Back to the Tesla Roadster, the only thing we see these days is the car exhibited at the Petersen Automotive Museum and CGI videos like the one below simulating what the vehicle's acceleration will look like once it hits the streets. These things looked cool a few years ago when the promise was still fresh, but now, they simply highlight the fact Tesla seems to have forgotten about the Roadster.This particular clip shows a standard Roadster next to one equipped with the SpaceX package, which is rumored to boost the car's 0-60 mph acceleration time to just 1.1 seconds via a set of cold air thrusters. The video, which uses real physics to simulate the result as accurate as possible, shows only a few car lengths between the two cars over the quarter-mile distance. Obviously, given the performance level we're at, that will make an important difference for the actual time. How important? Sadly, the author of the video doesn't say, even though we're pretty sure he has the answer. One that's just as virtual as the entire video, of course. The ship caught fire almost two weeks ago, on May 21, while at Colombo anchorage, after an explosion occurred one day earlier, causing containers filled with nitric acid and other chemicals to tumble into the water . The X-Press Pearl was loaded with almost 1,500 containers containing 25 tons of nitric acid, cosmetics, vehicle parts, auto products, 297 tons of Heavy Fuel Oil, and 51 tons of Marine Fuel Oil, as stated by its operator, X-Press Feeders The vessels operator hasnt offered specific details on why the fire started, but preliminary investigations point toward a chemical reaction.The 25-member crew was evacuated safely, but all fishing on a 50-mile (80 km) distance of the coastline has been suspended, leaving 5,600 fishing boats docked. Two of the crew members suffered some leg injuries but are now safe and on their way to recovery.The maritime nightmare might get even worse now, as the ship started to sink, worrying authorities of a potential oil spill into the Indian Ocean. The vessel has begun to sink after an unsuccessful endeavor to tow it to deeper waters.The X-Press Pearl was built this year in Singapore and was operated by X-Press Feeders. It was around 610 ft (185 m) long. The ship left from the port of Hazira, India, and was supposed to arrive in Singapore via Colombo.X-Press Feeders stated that there are no reports of oil pollution so far, and the vessel is now sitting at a depth of 68 feet (21 meters). Sri Lankas Navy and the Indian Coast Guard are ready to take action in case of any possible debris. This was the case for the Royal Air Force (RAF) Gunners and a U.S. Army Cavalry unit, who recently participated in a joint training, in Romania. The RAF Regiment Gunners are deployed at the Romanian Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, with the purpose of providing Force Protection to 121 Expeditionary Air Wing. RAF units are currently conducting a NATO enhanced Air Policing mission, which was launched at the beginning of April.As part of their mission, RAF Gunners organized a joint training day, together with U.S. military personnel from the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, and 1st Armoured Brigade Combat Team, who are also being deployed at the same Air Base in Romania. During the training, members of the teams shared tactics and information about weapons and battlefield procedures, but they also got to know each other and experience what its like to work with people from a different military unit and a different country.U.S. Armys Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle took center stage, as it was the first time that RAF Gunners got the chance to see what it can do and to try it out for themselves. The Bradley M3 is a cavalry fighting vehicle that is designed to perform mainly scout missions, and is able to carry 3 crew members and 2 scouts.Theres also another Bradley, the M2, an infantry fighting vehicle, which can carry a commander, a gunner, 6 fully-equipped infantry men, plus the driver. These light-armored vehicles can reach a 41 mph (66 kph) speed, and have a 300-mile (483 km) range. A 25 mm M242 Bushmaster chain gun and a TOW anti-tank missile are Bradleys main weapons.The 121 Expeditionary Air Wing is currently conducting Operation Biloxi, which is the UKs NATO enhanced Air Police mission in Romanias air space. But this reality doesnt stop the U.S. Marine Corps ( USMC ) from thinking a bit more offensively, as there are times when every single piece of hardware needs to be used offensively. Back in May, for instance, the military branch announced its entire fleet of KC-130J (about 79 airplanes) would be getting some serious upgrades.More specifically, the Corps opted to have the Hercules Airborne Weapons Kit (HAWK) installed on the airplanes. This operation which will be handled for at least two of these planes, under a $1.6 million contract, by the Sierra Nevada Corporation.HAWK is a system that comprises a fire-control console for the cargo compartment of the plane, a multitude of sensors and cameras for imagery and reconnaissance, but also a weapons kit that gives the airplanes offensive capabilities. This kit comes with things like a Griffin launcher and Hellfire missiles.According to a report by the U.S. Naval Institute back in May, the USMC is planning to fit these HAWK systems on both the entire KC-130J fleet and the branch's variants of Osprey tiltrotor vehicles.The KC-130J is the airplane of choice for the transport and refueling of the Marine Corps. In recent years, it was extensively used and proved incredibly valuable in operations in Iraq, where it was used for over 20,000 hours of flight time.Based on the C-130 J Super Hercules, the airplane can carry a maximum load of 47,900 lbs (22 metric tons), and can keep flying for close to 5,000 miles (7,900 km) on a single outing, provided it is equipped with external fuel tanks. Kellie Gerardi joined the IIAS in 2017 and has since then completed an intensive training program including high-G training, high-altitude training, pressurized spacesuit training, biometric analysis, and instrumentation operations. While she has flown before in a series of simulated microgravity research flights, this will be her first time actually leaving the Earth to fly to space as a payload specialist.Once in space, Kellie will experience real zero-G as she will unbuckle from her seat to conduct the necessary experiments. According to Virgin Galactic , she will receive training so that she will be fully prepared for the mission, although 10 years of experience will play their part too.The experiments will focus on the Astroskin Bio-Monitor wearable sensors system, a bio-monitoring instrumentation developed by Canadian company Carre Technologies, which is designed to measure the biological effects of launch, weightlessness, re-entry, and landing on spaceflight crew members.Another experiment will test a free-floating fluid arrangement, which will be used to inform novel technologies such as humidifiers for spacecraft life support systems and syringe designs with which medication is administered in space.The insight gained from these applications will be used to advance the research and knowledge that Kelli has gained from her previous microgravity flights performed on Earth in partnership with the National Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).This is not the first dedicated research flight that Virgin Galactic is performing. Alan Stern, principal investigator on New Horizons Pluto probe, was also chosen last year under NASA's Flight Opportunities program to conduct experiments while in space. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. The U.S. is about to pivot from hoarding vaccines to sharing them globally, and countries around the world are trying to secure their places in line. Why it matters: President Biden has promised to donate 80 million doses by the end of June. With domestic demand waning, hell soon be able to offer far more. But the White House hasn't said how it will distribute the initial 80 million, or when it will feel comfortable truly opening its supply to the world. The state of play: The U.S. is currently second only to China in terms of vaccine production, but had until recently been the only major producer to keep virtually its entire supply at home. While more than half of all Americans have had at least one dose and dozens of rich countries aren't far behind, less than 1% of people across the world's low-income countries have been vaccinated. With the U.S. set to belatedly become a global vaccine powerhouse, Biden has some high-stake decisions to make. Zoom in: Facing a fast-unraveling domestic crisis fueled in part by the pandemic, Colombian Vice President Marta Lucia Ramirez traveled to Washington last week with an urgent request: access to some of the 80 million doses. Shes not alone. Such requests have come in from all over the world, but countries in the Americas have been particularly frustrated with Biden's unwillingness to share up to now. Most have purchased doses from Russia or China and some, like Mexico, have turned to both. Ramirez told Axios that many of the vaccines Colombia has ordered arent expected until December, and the already hard-hit country is now seeing its worst spike yet. The first decision Biden has to make is whether to send doses to individual countries, share in bulk through the WHO-backed COVAX initiative, or as White House officials have indicated is most likely pursue some combination of the two. A European diplomat who spoke with Axios argued that the U.S. should reject vaccine diplomacy as practiced by Russia and China and bolster multilateralism by sharing with COVAX, which aims to provide every participating country with enough doses to cover 20% of its population this year. Some countries are almost entirely reliant on COVAX, but export curbs from India have left the initiative months behind and with hardly any supply in the near term. Yes, but: Experts including Zeke Emanuel, who served on Bidens COVID-19 advisory board during the transition, argue that vaccines should be shipped where theyre urgently needed and can be readily distributed, not through COVAXs population-based system. And while Biden has said the U.S. donations will be driven by science and not geopolitics, there are clear soft power benefits to controlling distribution more directly. What's next: In addition to the donations, producers like Pfizer and Moderna will be able to export U.S.-made doses once they've fulfilled their U.S. contracts. But many of those would be expected to go to rich countries with existing contracts. Biden could exercise additional purchase options including 300 million doses each from Pfizer and Moderna to allow the government to choose the vaccines' destinations while also hedging against the need for boosters. The big picture: 80 million doses is only a sliver of Americas supply, and a fraction of the global need. The real question is what threshold were going to use to start aggressively donating doses, says Krishna Udayakumar, director of Duke University's Global Health Innovation Center. Rather than stockpiling on shelves or in freezers, Udayakumar argues, the U.S. should donate rapidly now, with the knowledge that more supply will be available as new domestic needs arise. The White House has sounded far more cautious, saying it wants to be "oversupplied and over-prepared" at home. What to watch: Rich countries will control a huge chunk of global production even after their initial needs are met, and the U.S. has been the first to make such an ambitious pledge to share doses in the near term. While most countries in the European Union have raced ahead after a slow initial vaccine rollout, countries in Eastern Europe are far behind, with little prospect of catching up quickly. The state of play: While 39% of people across the EU have had at least one dose, just 12% have in Bulgaria, the lowest rate among the 27 member states. The situation is even more difficult for non-EU members that dont have access to the blocs bulk vaccine purchases. Bulgaria, the EU's poorest member, declined to order its full share of Pfizer/BioNTech jabs under the EU's procurement scheme, relying mainly on AstraZeneca shots that are cheaper and easier to store. But Bulgaria suspended the AstraZeneca rollout in March after the death of a women who received the vaccine, before resuming it with added restrictions. Vaccine hesitancy is also a major problem. Just 18% of Bulgarians wanted to be vaccinated right away as of February, according to a Eurobarometer poll, while 64% thought the vaccines had been approved too quickly to ensure their safety. Conspiracy theories about the vaccine have spread widely in the country. The big picture: Bulgaria is actually far ahead of non-EU neighbors like North Macedonia, where just 4.5% of the population primarily health workers and the elderly have received a first shot, mostly from supplies shared by Serbia and Russia. The situation is similar in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is relying on the WHO-backed COVAX initiative for its doses. They've been slow to arrive, and Bosnia and Herzegovina was one of the last countries to start its vaccination program. Between the lines: Geopolitical factors have made a big difference for some countries in central and eastern Europe. Serbia was far ahead of even most EU countries on vaccinations for months, with supplies mainly coming from China and Russia, with which Serbia has friendly relations. of even most EU countries on vaccinations for months, with supplies mainly coming from China and Russia, with which Serbia has friendly relations. Serbia even has sufficient supply to begin to share President Aleksandar Vucic announced Thursday that residents of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be able to receive free vaccinations in Serbia as well. Ukraine, on the other hand, ruled out approval of the Sputnik V vaccine, seeing Russia's "vaccine diplomacy" as an unwelcome power play. ruled out approval of the Sputnik V vaccine, seeing Russia's "vaccine diplomacy" as an unwelcome power play. Ukraine has been one of the hardest-hit European countries during the pandemic, but just 2.4% of the population has been vaccinated. President Biden announced on Thursday that Ukraine would be one of the countries to receive vaccine donations from the US. What's next: The European Union has promised to ship over half a million COVID-19 shots to the Western Balkans by August, using for the first time a vaccine-sharing mechanism meant to help its poorer neighbors and counter Chinese and Russian influence. With the Iranian presidential elections looming, very little progress has been made so far in the fifth round of indirect talks in Vienna between the U.S. and Iran, two sources briefed on the talks tell me. Why it matters: The Iranian elections on June 18 are likely to strengthen the conservative camp, with Ebrahim Raisi the leader of Iran's judiciary and a close confidant of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei the favorite to win. Driving the news: U.S. officials expressed cautious optimism last week heading into the fifth round of talks. But little progress has been made in recent days on key issues like Irans development of advanced centrifuges that can dramatically shorten the "breakout time" to produce enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon. What they're saying: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani continued to express optimism in a speech on Wednesday, saying the main issues had been agreed upon. Irans chief negotiator, Abbas Araghchi, has sounded less optimistic this week than during previous rounds, though he said on Wednesday that the parties had reached a point where "all believe that the differences are not unresolvable." Enrique Mora, who heads the EU delegation in Vienna, told reporters at the end of the fifth round of talks that he hoped a deal could be reached in the next round of talks next week. We are in a moment of taking the hard decisions. We will go for consultation in the capitals and come back next week with fresh ideas. We are on a good track," Mora said. I think the sixth round could be the last round." A senior European diplomat told me the fifth round of negotiations has been intense and productive, but "it has also been increasingly difficult as we hone in on the most difficult issues of the negotiation." We continued to make progress and important parts of a future deal have now been fleshed out, but the most difficult decisions lie ahead. We have of course worked based on the principle of nothing is agreed to all is agreed. We understand that time is on nobodys side. Decision time is coming up." Senior European diplomat Big gaps between the U.S. and Iran over the measures needed to roll back and limit the Iranian nuclear program are stalling the Vienna talks, European diplomats and former U.S. officials briefed on the issue tell me. What's happening: The Biden administration has said any deal to restore the 2015 nuclear accord must include a return by Iran to full compliance with its previous commitments. But that's complicated by the fact that Iran's nuclear program has advanced since 2015. The U.S. and European signatories on the deal agree that Iran's "breakout time" the time needed to produce enough enriched uranium for a bomb must be at least a year. They also have a common position on what it would take to get there, a European diplomat tells me. But Iran's position is much different. One key disagreement is over what will happen to the new, more sophisticated centrifuges Iran has installed that allow Tehran to enrich uranium much more quickly, the diplomat says. Any new deal will have to determine whether Iran can still use those centrifuges and, if not, whether they would need to be taken out of the country or simply disconnected and stored in Iran. Between the lines: Much of the discussion around the nuclear talks has focused on disagreements over which sanctions the U.S. would have to lift. There has been substantive progress on that front in Vienna, but a separate working group handling the nuclear side of the equation has made almost no headway. The state of play: The latest round of talks over the weekend did not produce any major progress, and were placed on hold while many attended a G7 meeting. They are expected to resume Friday in Vienna. What to watch: Two major deadlines loom. On May 20, a temporary deal that allows the International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor some Iranian nuclear sites expires. The Iranians are threatening to shut down IAEA cameras in those sites and thus severely diminish the international community's visibility into Irans nuclear program. On June 18, Iran will hold presidential elections that could have a dramatic influence on the nuclear talks. Update: A U.S. official responding to this story said, "If you're hearing that we and our partners have resolved not to cut any corners when it comes to Iran's nuclear commitments, that's absolutely true." The official Russian TASS news agency reported that representatives of the two South Caucasus states as well as Russia met in Moscow for that purpose on Wednesday. It gave no details. According to Armenian press reports, the talks were hosted by Lieutenant-General Rustam Muradov, the commander of Russian peacekeeping troops that were deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh following last years Armenian-Azerbaijani war. The Hraparak newspaper said that Muradov arrived in Yerevan on Thursday morning. The Armenian Defense Ministry confirmed the renewed negotiations but refused to specify their agenda or results. It said only that the three sides are planning to hold more such meetings. Muradov already participated in a series of talks held by Armenian and Azerbaijani military officials after Azerbaijani troops reportedly crossed several sections of the border three weeks ago. The talks were stopped on May 19, with Armenia continuing to demand the immediate withdrawal of the Azerbaijani forces. The Moscow talks came five days after Russian and Armenian defense ministers met in the Russian capital discuss the border dispute. According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, they agreed on necessary steps to resolve it. Defense Ministers Sergei Shoigu and Vagharshak Harutiunian also spoke by phone on Monday. Tensions on the border rose further after six Armenian soldiers were captured by Azerbaijani forces on May 27. A senior Armenian official said on Tuesday that Yerevan is working around the clock to secure their release. The Defense Ministry in Yerevan reported on Wednesday another brawl between Armenian and Azerbaijani soldiers deployed at one of the contested border sections. It said two Armenian soldiers were injured in the clash that did not involve gunfire. The incident occurred on the parliament floor amid a continuing scandal over conditions in which the remains of some of those soldiers were kept at a morgue in Abovian, a town just north of Yerevan. Photographs publicized earlier this week showed them stuffed into plastic bags lying on the ground in the morgues basement, which was not refrigerated to prevent their decomposition. They caused outrage in Armenia, with many accusing the authorities of dishonoring the fallen soldiers who have still not been definitively identified. Health Minister Anahit Avanesian apologized to the soldiers families before the morgues director and two other employees were fired on Wednesday. Opposition deputies joined in the chorus of condemnation during a session of the National Assembly chaired by deputy speaker Lena Nazarian. They claimed that the degrading conditions were indicative of the authorities attitude toward the war victims. What message is the state sending to soldiers in this explosive situation? That they will end up being corpses stuffed into bags and thrown into some room? said Taguhi Tovmasian, a lawmaker who left Prime Minister Nikol Pashinians My Step bloc following Armenias defeat in the six-week war. This is the worst possible thing that could have happened, and I believe apologies are not enough in this case, she added. Idiot, Nazarian muttered right after Tovmasians speech. She did not switch off her microphone before uttering the insult, meaning that it was heard by deputies and journalists present in the chamber. Tovmasian rushed back to the parliament rostrum to condemn Nazarian and demand an apology. Instead of apologizing for the fact that your government desecrated corpses you are responding to criticism with an insult. You should be ashamed of yourself, said the former newspaper editor. Nazarian, who is a senior member of My Step, refused to apologize both during and after the session. Mrs. Tovmasian must herself apologize for the fact that while being a member of the My Step parliamentary group she acted not as a team member but as a correspondent for her newspaper and attended the groups meetings only for that purpose, the vice-speaker told reporters. She said Tovmasian must also apologize for defecting from the ruling bloc, blaming Armenias leadership for the outcome of the Karabakh war and joining a recently formed opposition bloc running in the snap parliamentary elections slated for June 20. Pashinian commented on the scandal at the start of a weekly meeting of his cabinet held on Thursday. He said he too was shocked by the images taken at the Abovian morgue but insisted that they do not reflect the current governments treatment of fallen soldiers and deceased persons in general. Pashinian and his health minister argued that the government has upgraded Armenian mortuaries and forensic medicine facilities since taking office three years ago. We are changing the system but changing people is not that easy, the prime minister said, putting the blame on the fired morgue personnel. Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazian stepped down on May 27 following an emergency meeting of Armenias Security Council which discussed mounting tensions on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Ayvazian was formally relieved of his duties on Monday hours after addressing the Foreign Ministry staff at a farewell meeting. He hinted that he decided to quit because of disagreeing with government decisions which he believes could put the countrys sovereignty and national security at risk. He did not go into details. The ministry said on Thursday that the ministerial duties are currently performed by one of Ayvazians four deputies, Artak Apitonian. Neither Apitonian nor any other Foreign Ministry official attended a weekly meeting of Pashinians cabinet. Also, ministry officials initially did not take part in a parliamentary debate on the execution of Armenias 2020 state budget relating to the work of the national diplomatic service. Their absence forced the leadership of the National Assembly to twice postpone the session scheduled for Thursday morning. The session went ahead only after the head of the Foreign Ministrys financial department arrived in the parliament. Mikael Melkumian, a deputy representing the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party, wondered why the ministry did not send one of the deputy ministers instead. Ruben Rubinian, a senior pro-government deputy, replied that parliament speaker Ararat Mirzoyan has received a letter from the ministry saying that they are too busy to address lawmakers and answer their questions. Taguhi Tovmasian, another opposition parliamentarian, claimed that all four vice-ministers have decided to step down. She said they do not want to bear responsibility for Pashinians treasonous efforts to resolve the border dispute with Azerbaijan. At least one of the vice-ministers, Gagik Ghalachian, did tender his resignation on May 27. Ghalachian on Thursday declined to comment on his move, referring all inquiries to the Foreign Ministrys press office. In written comments to RFE/RLs Armenian Service, the office said that Apitonian, Ghalachian and the two other vice-ministers are continuing to perform their duties. It did not explain why none of them attended the cabinet meeting or the parliament debate. Speaking at the May 27 meeting of the Security Council, Pashinian called for the deployment of international observers along contested portions of the frontier where Armenian and Azerbaijani troops have been facing off against each other for the last three weeks. Some opposition figures and other critics of Pashinian denounced the proposal, accusing him of failing to defend the country against foreign aggression and plotting to cede Armenian territory to Baku. The prime minister and his allies deny that. Ayvazians remarks gave Pashinians detractors more ammunition. An Armenian government spokeswoman challenged the outgoing minister on Monday to publicly clarify who, where and how was going to take some steps or to make decisions contradicting our countrys national and state interests. Hold on a minute, Mr. President. You had me at free premium content and free other things, but you lost me with that everyone pulling together stuff. Have you seen America, lately? We couldnt get everyone across the country to pull together to save a wide-eyed, meowing kitten stuck in a tree next to a hungry python about 20% of the population would say the kitten looks like an Antifa supporter and root for the python, 15% would try to build a wall around the tree and 5% would say the kitten and python arent real and the whole thing is fake news. Offer a personal message of sympathy... By sharing a fond memory or writing a kind tribute, you will be providing a comforting keepsake to those in mourning. If you have an existing account with this site, you may log in with that below. Otherwise, you can create an account by clicking on the Log in button below, and then register to create your account. Freedom from masks is coming for the vaccinated. Will it push skeptics to get their shots? The federal government should be able to provide emergency funds like PPP loans to the deserving public without having to feel constrained by possible fraudsters who seek to profit from the national disaster, federal fraud prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo. Bluefield, WV (24701) Today Intervals of clouds and sunshine. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 81F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Overcast with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly during the evening. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%. Looking to log in? Click the person icon (at the very top of the site, on the right) to login or register. Not getting your Beacon editions in your e-mail when they come out? Log in, click here, click "Email lists" and make sure "e-Edition subscribers" is selected Obviously we go into obstetrics because we love the concept of seeing new families emerge, and not being able to see it in an entire context is really hard, she said. I think everyones really eager to get back to how wed love to practice medicine, but I also think you cant unsee the things weve seen this year, and we still see people sick with COVID. Get complete access to The Beacon's website and e-editions for only $7.99 a month! This subscription option automatically re-bills every 30 days until cancelled. To cancel, just call us a 386-734-4622, or email circulation@beacononlinenews.com Click here to read the full article. F. Lee Bailey, the criminal defense attorney who helped successfully defend O.J. Simpson on murder charges, has died. He was 87. Bailey died today in Georgia, according to his son, as reported by the New York Times and Washington Post. The sharply dressed attorney also defended Patricia Hearst (for bank robbery), Army Capt. Ernest Medina (who was implicated in the My Lai Massacre) and Albert DeSalvo (who confessed to being the Boston Strangler), but had his own share of legal troubles in later years. A Harvard dropout who served in the military before resuming his studies, he graduated from Boston U. Law School in 1960, having already worked as a private investigator. Bailey became famous in 1966 when he won the Supreme Court reversal of osteopath Sam Sheppards conviction for the murder of his wife. Sheppard was acquitted during his retrial. The 1960s TV series The Fugitive and the 1993 movie of the same name were loosely based on Sheppards case. In 1995, Bailey joined the team that represented Simpson for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman. Baileys essential contribution to the trial was his harsh cross-examination of Los Angeles police detective Mark Fuhrman, during which he unveiled Fuhrmans history of racial slurs, which implanted enough doubt in jurors to help lead to a not-guilty verdict. I lost a great one. F. Lee Bailey, you will be missed, Simpson captioned on a Twitter video. He said his death comes the same week Bailey finished the book he wrote about Simpsons trial. Lee was 87 years old, but boy was he full of energy, he said. That is one book I am looking forward to reading Maybe the best lawyer of our time, of his generation. I lost a great one. F Lee Bailey you will be missed. pic.twitter.com/6s8JI3OQVB O.J. Simpson (@TheRealOJ32) June 3, 2021 Baileys personal legal troubles included a DWI charge in 1982 and an indictment on bank fraud charges in the 70s. Multiple counts of judicial misconduct led to his disbarment in Florida and Massachusetts in his later years. In attempt to revive his practice, he passed the bar exam in Maine, but its board of examiners ended up refusing to admit him, ultimately ending his law career. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The girlfriend of the father of a missing 6-year-old police believe was found dead in a Jasper hotel room Tuesday night was arrested and charged with tampering with evidence in the case. Theresa Balboa, 29, remained in Jasper County Jail on Wednesday without bail, according to jail officials. She reported Samuel Olson missing around 6 p.m. Thursday. Balboa told police that an unknown officer came to her home in the 8800 block of McAvoy Drive and told her she would go to jail if she didnt let him take the boy, said Houston Police Asst. Chief Heather Morris. Balboa told police she saw Olsons mother with the officer. But Olsons mother said the child was not with her, said Morris. And evidence showed that she was home Thursday morning, the assistant chief added. The mother, Sarah Olson, commented through her attorney on Wednesday evening. The attorney, Marco Gonzalez, said she had not seen the child since May 2020, citing complications from the pandemic and difficulty locating him, among other factors. All I want is justice for Samuel, my baby, Sarah Olson said, according to Gonzalez. I do not want people to forget Samuels name I just want to see my baby, please everyone needs to know I havent see my baby. She added that she was very upset at the whole situation and blamed the father and Balboa for the childs death. Morris said the departments homicide unit began investigating when some of Balboas statements conflicted with information she provided earlier in the probe. Officers learned that the last time Samuel had been seen at school was April 30, said Houston police Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite. Police searched multiple locations over the last week, including Balboas apartment and a 2012 Dodge Avenger that she primarily drove. On Tuesday, the Jasper Police Department received an anonymous tip that Balboa was at a hotel in the city more than 140 miles from where she lived in Houston. Police found Balboa in the hotel room with the body of a child investigators believe to be Olson, said Morris, adding that the department must wait for the medical examiners office to confirm his identity. A spokesperson for the the Jasper Police Department could not be reached for comment. The Harris County District Attorneys Office has accepted the charge of tampering with evidence against Balboa and additional charges may be filed if appropriate, said Morris. Investigators are interviewing several more people in connection to the case, Morris said. Officers will likely continue to interview the childs father, said Morris, adding that she would not say at this time whether he is a suspect. Morris said the motive in the case is still unclear at this time. Its absolutely heartbreaking, she said. The father was identified in court records as Dalton Olson. He and the mother shared custody of the child, police said. Dalton Olsons attorney in a child custody case could not be reached for comment by press time. Court records on Balboas tampering with evidence charge were not available Wednesday night. Balboa was accused last year of assaulting Dalton Olson, according to court records. She was arrested and charged on Nov. 29, 2020, with assault of a family member - impeding breathing, according to ourt records. She was let out on $5,000 bond the next day. A protective order filed in the case prohibits Balboa from directly communicating with him. hannah.dellinger@chron.com julian.gill@chron.com Preparation for the 2021 hurricane season started months in advance of the official June 1 kick-off, but the predictions of above-average activity are highlighting the yearly routine for a storm-weary Southeast Texas. The National Hurricane Center already has designated 21 names for the season ending Nov. 30, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations latest predictions place the likely range between 13 and 20 named storms. Of those formations, experts think between six and 10 could actually become hurricanes with winds about 74 mph. Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick said those numbers could concern residents who experienced massive damage from at least two systems that hit the area over the past three years, but thats why the county stays flexible when planning. We might consider a year with six hurricanes that dont hit us a good year, and one where a single storm lands here a bad one, he told The Enterprise. We may refine things and take into account lessons learned, but our plans remain the same. Branick said the county has already secured its disaster-related service contracts and has been in communication with state and local emergency authorities to make sure emergency resources are planned and accounted for. Jefferson County has had plenty of opportunities to put those plans to test during the last several storm seasons. The 2020 hurricane season brought 30 named storms and broke a record after 12 storms hit the continental U.S., but most of Jefferson County narrowly avoided two major storms that threatened area. Orange County, on the other hand, caught triple-digit winds from the edge of Hurricane Laura as it battered southwest Louisiana and pushed storm surge into Sabine Pass. Despite the partial reprieve, Jefferson County saw a mandatory and voluntary evacuation during hurricanes Laura and Delta, respectively. Unfortunately, parts of Southeast Texas already experienced another more recent reminder of the regions drainage issues during a mid-May downpour that overwhelmed retention basins and waterways. While part of hurricane season preparation involves forming and practicing plans for the worst case scenario, Branick said some of the most meaningful work is continued improvement to the regions drainage systems. Related: Four SE Texas cities to receive $25.1M for drainage and streets improvements Local drainage districts and cities have received millions of dollars in grant funding since Tropical Storm Harvey swamped the region, which have been used to make improvements to culverts or invest in infrastructure, like a $10 million improvement to Beaumonts Pine Street Water Treatment Plant, but adapting systems to the apparent new normal takes time. We have been getting rain events that have been above what our designed capacities are, and until we can get the grants and do the work to improve the system, we will have flooding, Branick said. Entergy Texas also has been strengthening key equipment and securing hurricane response plans drawing on lessons for an extremely-busy 2020. Related: Update: Entergy to reschedule outage in Bolivar During last year's biggest regional storm events, the utility dealt with broken transmission lines that left hundreds of thousands of customers across multiple states without power. The company restored those lines within a few days and focused on resiliency for the future, but it also was able to pilot new programs like the Power Through initiative, which could place back-up equipment at partner businesses and that can provide energy back to the system when it is strained. As the hurricane season begins, the utility is encouraging customers to download its app at entergy.com/app and sign-up for text alerts by texting REG to 36778. It will also update its storm center website and outages map continually during storm events. Those in need of a storm-planning guide can download one for free from Entergys website, which also has specific information about hurricanes. jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/jd_journalism The Class of 2021 has endured more than most when it comes to completing their education during what has been a difficult year and a half. This years graduates lost the last 3 months of their junior year to the COVID-19 pandemic and the move to remote learning to finish out the year. Then this year with mask mandates, social distancing even at extracurricular activities and all the stress of being a senior, they made it and the Jasper Newsboy would like to congratulate each and every graduate for their fortitude to stick it out and graduate from high school. PHOENIX -- Arizonas state-run COVID-19 vaccination sites, which were touted as a national model, will be shutting down later this month. The state Department of Health Services announced Thursday all its mass vaccination sites are gradually winding down operations and will be closed by June 28. Health officials pointed to the growing number of options for people to get vaccinated including pharmacies, doctors offices and pop-up clinics. Approximately 1.6 million vaccine doses have been administered across state mass vaccination sites. The very first one, which opened in State Farm Stadium in Glendale, drew praise from President Joe Biden. More than 5.9 million doses so far have been administered in the state. Around 3.3 million people have received at least one dose. More than 2.8 million have gotten both doses -- thats less than half of the states population eligible to receive vaccines. ___ MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK: Biden offers international COVID-19 vaccine sharing plan Slow to start, China mobilizes to vaccinate at headlong pace 1st cruise ship sails through Venice since start of pandemic Do I need to get tested for COVID-19 if Im vaccinated? ___ Follow more of APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine ___ HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING: DENVER -- About 500 people remain hospitalized in Colorado with COVID-19 even though the pandemic seems to be receding. Health officials say nearly all of them share a common trait: Theyre unvaccinated. Colorado Public Radio reports COVID-19 vaccines now in use and available to just about anyone 12 and older provide near universal protection against the illness and even greater protection against severe cases leading to hospitalizations. Doctors in hospitals treating COVID-19 patients in the state cant recall a single death of a vaccinated person. Still, health officials are struggling to convince some groups to get the vaccine, particularly younger people and minorities. Hispanic and Black residents continue to be hospitalized at disproportionately high rates, according to state health officials. Hispanics make up about 20% of the states population, but in recent weeks have made up roughly 28% of those hospitalized. Black residents account for nearly 4% of the states population but have been hospitalized in recent weeks at double that figure. ___ OLYMPIA, Wash. - Washington is the latest state to offer prizes to encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, with Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday announcing a series of giveaways during the month of June that include lottery drawings totaling $2 million, college tuition assistance, airline tickets and game systems. The incentive program, called Shot of a Lifetime, ends June 30 and applies to those who start the vaccination process this month as well as residents who are already vaccinated. Washington joins several other states including California, New Mexico, Ohio and Oregon that have already created lotteries in hopes of increasing the pace of vaccination, which has slowed in recent weeks. Starting next Tuesday, the state Lottery will hold one drawing a week for four weeks, with a prize of $250,000. At the end of the fourth week, a final $1 million drawing will held. In addition, the states public four-year universities and two-year community and technical colleges will receive nearly $1 million to run their own drawing for free tuition and expenses for vaccinated students. ___ SAN FRANCISCO -- Theres one pandemic change that Californians are sure to toast: The to-go cocktail. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state will allow restaurants to continue selling take-out alcohol and keep expanded outdoor dining through the end of the year. Restaurants turned to takeout and outdoor seating during the last year as coronavirus restrictions limited indoor service. The states department of Alcoholic Beverage Control relaxed regulations to allow them to keep selling alcohol, which can be a big money maker. Lawmakers could permanently extend the allowance of to-go cocktails through a bill by state Sen. Bill Dodd, a Napa Democrat. He said his proposal would boost income for struggling restaurants and give customers greater choice. The state is set to drop all capacity limits on businesses, indoor and outdoor, on June 15. ___ WASHINGTON White House officials say U.S. producers of vaccine materials and ingredients will no longer have to prioritize orders from three companies working on COVID-19 shots. The change is expected to ease global shortages of key vaccine materials for overseas companies and governments. Officials say the government is dropping its use of the Defense Production Act to prioritize supply orders from AstraZeneca, Novavax and Sanofi. Those three companies have not yet won U.S. authorization for their COVID-19 shots, despite receiving funding from the federal government for development and manufacturing. Administration officials say the U.S. now has enough vaccines to protect all Americans. President Joe Biden has faced increasing pressure to make more U.S. vaccines and supplies available to struggling countries. ___ CAPE TOWN, South Africa The World Health Organization says COVID-19 vaccine shipments have ground to a near halt in Africa while coronavirus cases have spiked 20% over the last two weeks. South Africa alone had a more than 60% rise in new cases last week as the country with the highest coronavirus caseload in Africa continued to face delays in its effort to roll out the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. More than 1 million J&J doses remain on hold at a pharmaceuticals plant in South Africa because of contamination concerns at a U.S. factory. The head of the Africa CDC said he expects an announcement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on those contamination issues soon. ___ GENEVA The World Health Organizations top vaccines expert says that immunizing children against the coronavirus is not a high priority given the extremely limited global supply of vaccines. Dr. Kate OBrien says vaccinating children is not a priority from a WHO perspective, even as increasing numbers of rich countries authorize their COVID-19 shots for teenagers and children. OBrien says since children are not typically at risk of getting severely ill or dying from COVID-19, vaccinating them during the pandemic is mostly aimed at stopping transmission, rather than protecting them from disease. Canada, the U.S. and the European Union have all recently approved some COVID-19 vaccines for children age 12 to 15 as they approach their vaccination targets for adults. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has previously urged rich countries to donate their COVID-19 shots to poor countries rather than immunize their adolescents and children. Fewer than 1% of COVID-19 vaccines administered globally have been used in poor countries. OBrien says its not necessary to vaccinate children before sending them back to school if the adults in contact with them were immunized. ___ WASHINGTON President Joe Biden plans to share COVID-19 vaccines with the world, including directing 75% of excess doses through the UN-backed COVAX global vaccine sharing program. The White House has previously stated its intent to share 80 million vaccine doses with the world by the end of June. The administration says 25% of doses will be kept in reserve for emergencies and for the U.S. to share directly with allies and partners. Of the first 25 million doses, the White House says about 19 million will go to COVAX. That includes about 6 million for South and Central America, 7 million for Asia, and 5 million for Africa. The doses boost the lagging COVAX effort, which so far has allocated just 76 million doses to needy countries. The vaccine sharing plan comes as demand for shots in the U.S. has dropped significantly and global inequities in supply have become more glaring. So far, more than 63% of American adults have received at least one dose. ___ BRUSSELS The European Union is urging countries around Europe to begin lifting restrictions on non-essential travel for people from Japan. The EU gave no details about Thursdays decision, but adds countries to its safe traveler list based on the extent of the spread of the coronavirus, how the nation is managing the disease and the reliability of its health data. Last Friday, Japan extended a coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas for 20 more days, as infections showed little sign of slowing as the country prepares to host the Olympics in just over a month. Japan now joins Australia, Israel, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand on a list of countries whose nationals the 27 EU nations should ease travel restrictions along with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The EU also lift non-essential travel bans on people from China, Hong Kong and Macao, provided the authorities there reciprocate by making it easier for Europeans to enter. ___ LONDON Britain has removed Portugal from its list of coronavirus-safe travel destinations, meaning thousands of U.K. residents currently on vacation there will have to quarantine on return. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says the difficult decision was prompted by rising case rates in Portugal and worries about new strains of the virus that could prove resistant to vaccines. The change will take effect Tuesday. Portugal is a major destination for sun-seeking British, and was the only large tourism destination on the U.K. governments green list, announced last month, of destinations that can be visited without the need to self-isolate on return. Tourism is a mainstay of Portugals economy, accounting for about 15% of annual gross domestic product. ___ SOAVE, Italy A cruise ship traveled down the Giudecca canal in Venice for the first time since the pandemic, despite repeated government pledges to reroute the huge vessels on safety and environmental grounds. The 92,409-ton MSC Orchestra passed through the basin in front of St. Marks Canal around 6 a.m. under tugboat and port authority escort, ahead of the first post-pandemic cruise ship departure from Venice, scheduled for Saturday. Protests are ramping up against the renewal of cruise traffic just 2 months after Italys culture minister, Dario Franceschini, vowed a definitive stop to the passage of big ships through the heart of the city. ___ SANTA FE, N.M. New Mexico state finance authorities say demand appears to be building for minimum-interest loans aimed at helping small businesses that lost income or experienced major disruptions during the coronavirus pandemic. New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority CEO Marquita Russel told a panel of state legislators on Wednesday that about 865 businesses have applied to the program since an overhaul in March. That could result in new loans worth $65 million. New Mexicos small business recovery loans are repaid at half the prime rate of interest that commercial banks charge their most creditworthy customers. Zero interest is accrued during the loans first year. ___ SACRAMENTO, Calif. California is set to fully reopen in less than two weeks and do away with almost all mask and social distancing requirements for vaccinated people, but those who regulate workplaces in the state arent ready to go that far and that has business groups upset. The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board meets Thursday and will consider new workplace rules that would only allow workers to go maskless if everyone in a room is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. The rules could remain in place into early next year even though coronavirus cases have fallen dramatically after a severe winter spike and as more people are vaccinated. Recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance says that fully vaccinated people can skip face coverings and distancing in nearly all situations, and the state is set to follow that recommendation starting June 15. ___ LONDON Britain risks failing young people with its half-hearted effort to bolster schools after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the former education recovery chief who resigned over the governments funding announcement. Kevan Collins criticized the 1.4 billion pound ($2 billion) education recovery fund that was announced Wednesday, describing it as a fraction of what is needed to meet the scale of the challenge. Children across the U.K. lost an average of 115 days of classroom time during the pandemic, curtailing academic achievement and social development. Collins reportedly recommended that the government plow an extra 15 billion pounds into education over the next three years to help students catch up. With the funding announced this week, Prime Minister Boris Johnsons Conservative government has pledged about 3.1 billion pounds to the education recovery effort, or about 400 pounds ($566) per pupil. Thats in contrast to the U.S., which has allocated the equivalent of 1,600 pounds ($2,265) per student, or the Netherlands, which has announced plans to spend over 2,500 pounds ($3,540) per student. Central to Collins plan is a proposal to extend each school day an average of 30 minutes so children can get the extra academic help they need without sacrificing enrichment programs such as music and sports. ___ BRUSSELS The European Union unveiled plans Thursday for a digital ID wallet that residents could use to access services across the 27-nation bloc, part of a post-pandemic recovery strategy that involves accelerating the shift to an online world. The European Digital Identity Wallet proposed by the EUs executive commission is a smartphone app that would let users store electronic forms of identification and other official documents, such as drivers licenses, prescriptions and school diplomas. The blocs 450 million residents would be able to use the wallet to access public or private services both online and offline while maintaining control of their personal data. Officials envision the wallet allowing a customer renting a car at an airport, for example, to complete the necessary ID checks and documents digitally and thereby skip the usual wait at an agency counter. Nightclub-goers could show the app to security guards at the door to prove their ages. Other potential uses include opening bank accounts, signing apartment leases and enrolling in universities outside an individuals home country. ___ Bedford, PA (15522) Today Thunderstorms likely. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High around 80F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early. Skies will become mainly clear overnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. MasterChef airs at 7 p.m. Wednesdays on WFLD-Ch. 32. Season 11 auditions are set to be shown over the next two weeks. Watch for stay-at-home mom Lexy Rogers, who lived in north suburban Zion at the time of the competition; physical therapist Kelsey Murphy, who hails from Western Springs; and electronics company executive Kathleen Murray, of Lombard. Masked protesters take part in a demonstration in Chin state where a civilian defense force has clashed with the military, May 16, 2021. Six people have died from COVID-19 over the past five days in northwest Myanmars Chin state near the border with India including three since Wednesday, according to officials, who are struggling to contain an outbreak along the countrys border with coronavirus-ravaged India. The outbreak comes as Chin, Myanmars poorest state, is wracked with armed conflict between local militias that have risen up to fight the military junta that deposed the countrys civilian government four months ago, and a doctor shortage from a nationwide work stoppage by professionals to oppose the army regime. In the townships of Tonzang and Cikha, bordered to the north and west by the Indian states of Manipur and Mizoram, a pregnant woman died of coronavirus complications on Sunday, a Christian priest died on Tuesday and three others died on Wednesday. A person in nearby Falam township died of COVID-19 on Wednesday after being diagnosed a day earlier, authorities said. Chin state also accounts for roughly half of Myanmars 270-km (170-mile) border with Bangladesh. Tonzang and Cikha now account for the lions share of the 183 recorded COVID-19 infections throughout Chin state, the director of Tonzang hospital told Radio Free Asia, a sister entity of BenarNews. Currently, there are 167 people [infected in the two townships], he said, adding that his hospital had been inundated with patients and is experiencing a critical shortage of healthcare workers. Tonzang township is now designated as a stay-at-home area [as of May 28] and there are a lot of sick people right now. We dont have enough medical staff, although we have sufficient amounts of oxygen, thanks to donations. Still, we need more medicine. Several COVID-19 infections were reported in Tonzang and Cikha on May 11 and the number of cases has quickly risen, with at least 82 reported on Monday alone, according to authorities. Residents of Cikha told RFA that authorities have had to close a testing site in the town hospital due to the sharp increase in patients. The hospitals are overcrowded, and people are no longer being admitted, one resident said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Nurses are visiting houses to give tests and only those in serious condition such as needing a respirator are taken in. A resident of Falam, where a 53-year-old woman died of COVID-19 on Wednesday, has reported 16 cases since May 20 and ordered lockdowns at the homes of people diagnosed with the disease. In the nearby township of Kalay, six patients were recently diagnosed with COVID-19 at the private Wesley Hospital, according to the facilitys superintendent Dr. Lalfakzuala. He said that the hospital was required to close temporarily after eight staff members were found to be infected. The townships public hospital is seriously understaffed, Lalfakzuala said, because many of the healthcare workers have joined the nationwide Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) to protest the militarys overthrow of the democratically elected government in a Feb. 1 coup. Residents of Kalay said that the entire township is under lockdown orders beginning Thursday. Border areas at risk Sources told RFA they believe that the coronavirus is spreading through Chin state by people who are illegally crossing the border with India, which has recorded the worlds second-highest rate of COVID-19 infections after the U.S. at 28.4 million and rising. The virus came from India, said one local resident. There have been many [unofficial] border crossings and people got infected. The first case of COVID-19 in Myanmar was detected in March 2020, and as of Wednesday, the Ministry of Health has recorded 143,629 cases and 3,219 deaths. According to Ministry of Health spokesman Khin Khin Gyi, at least 18.8 million of Myanmars 54 million people had received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and authorities have more than a million doses in reserve. Before the February coup, around 15,000 people were being tested for COVID-19 each day, but only around 2,000 now receive tests daily, according to the juntas own statistics. The KRI Nanggala-402 submarine sets out from the naval base in Surabaya, Indonesia, in this undated picture. The sub, with a crew of 53, sank during training exercises off the coast of Bali on April 21, 2021. Indonesia has unveiled a plan to spend U.S. $125 billion during the next three years to upgrade and modernize its military arsenal, the same week the Southeast Asian nation halted efforts to retrieve a 44-year-old navy submarine that sank in late April with 53 sailors aboard. Under the plan, outlined in a draft presidential decree that circulated recently, the government proposes spending $79.1 billion on military equipment, $13.4 billion in interest on 25-year loans from foreign sources, and $32.5 billion on contingencies and maintenance. The spending plan covers a period ending in 2024, the year President Joko Jokowi Widodo is due to leave office at the end of his second and constitutionally mandated final term. The document, obtained by BenarNews, states that funding will come from foreign loans, but it does not say what types of armaments the government seeks to acquire. Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak, spokesman for Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, confirmed the documents authenticity. Investment made during the 2021-2024 period will increase Indonesias bargaining position to obtain defense equipment at more affordable prices, Dahnil said in a series of tweets late Wednesday. In addition, because the investment is made in a relatively short time, it can be ascertained that all equipment purchased will be interoperable. Spending priorities include strengthening the domestic defense industry, the communication system, intelligence, border security, as well as guided munitions and air-defense systems, he said without citing specific proposed purchases. Threats faced by Indonesia include violations of border areas, foreign intervention, separatism and terrorism, the ministry said. Non-military threats include piracy and cyber espionage. Dahnil said the purchases were expected to be made during the final years of Jokowis presidency to significantly enhance defense equipment readiness in the shortest time possible. The defense ministrys budget for this year is $9.6 billion. Defense systems are aging Prabowo responded to reporters queries about the draft decree by asking a question. How did you know? he asked before a meeting with the House of Representatives defense committee on Wednesday. Prabowo said the plans were being discussed with the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), the Finance Ministry and other stakeholders. Many of our defense systems are aging, so replacing them is urgent, said Prabowo, a former general who commanded the Indonesian armys special forces (Kopassus). This is very important to respond to the ever-changing strategic environment. In late April, the defense chief articulated a similar message when Indonesia was frantically searching for the KRI Nanngala-402, a submarine which sank near Bali after diving during a torpedo-firing drill. Dahnil said the government hoped the nation would reach an ideal defense posture by 2025 or 2026 and after that would no longer need to purchase military hardware until at least 2044. Loans were expected to come from countries including the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain, Maj. Gen. Rodon Pedrason, the defense ministrys director general of defense strategy, told local media. The foreign powers, he said, will not leave Indonesia in the cold. The government plans to secure foreign loans for the modernization of defense equipment that is expensive and high-tech, but lasts long to maintain sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security, he told CNN Indonesia. Since taking office in 2019, Prabowo has visited weapons-producing countries including the United States, Russia, China and France to secure defense deals. In April, he visited South Korea to attend the launch of the first prototype of the KF-X fighter jet, which is being developed jointly by the two nations. In February, the defense ministry signaled that it was seeking to buy 36 Dassault Rafale fighter jets from France and was set to acquire four Boeing F-15EX jets from the U.S. by 2022. Connie Rahakundini Bakrie, a military analyst at the University of Indonesia, criticized what she called the ministrys lack of transparency in its plans. A defense budget of this size, in three years, what are we going to buy? Who are we fighting? she told BenarNews. Submarines Indonesias plan to modernize its military hardware took on new urgency after the April 21 sinking of the KRI Nanggala-402. On Wednesday, Navy spokesman First Adm. Julius Widjojono announced the end of efforts to salvage the wreckage of the submarine, which was found broken into three pieces at a half-mile below sea level, saying the risks were too great. He also said the military was seeking to acquire up to eight submarines to add to its fleet of four following the sinking. We have submitted the requirement, at least 12 submarines. But the decision rests with people at the top, Julius told BenarNews. How many submarines does Singapore, a small country, have? We, as the largest archipelagic nation, had only two at one point, Julius said, referring to a time when three of the militarys submarines were out of service. Indonesia has cooperated with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, a South Korean firm, to build submarines. Launched in 2019, the KRI Alugoro-405, one of three Indonesian submarines ordered from Daewoo, is the first to be partly assembled locally. Meanwhile, Beni Sukadis, a military researcher at Marapi Consulting and Advisory, cast doubt on whether the government could acquire many of the armaments during the next three years. Between preparing a contract and delivery can take three to five years, even 10 years, depending on the weapon system purchased, he told BenarNews. Indonesia needs corvettes, marine patrol boats, submarines, radar units, maritime patrol aircraft and drones, in line with geopolitical concerns in the South China Sea and threats of abductions by kidnap-for-ransom militant groups in waters near the southern Philippines, he said. Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin (center) talks to officials on a visit to a temporary immigration detention center in Beranang, outside Kuala Lumpur, June.3, 2021. Malaysias home minister on Thursday defended a policy reversal announced this week to arrest workers who lack valid papers in an effort to get them documented, and then vaccinated, as part of measures to contain surging coronavirus cases. Malaysia in February had assured undocumented migrants that they would not be arrested when COVID-19 vaccinations began. But on Thursday, Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin said the government had reversed its stance to protect the migrants and citizens from a new wave of the virus. Migrants without legitimate papers are afraid to register themselves for vaccination, so the government will work with employers and embassies to get documents for those it detains so they can be inoculated, he said. We are doing this to protect Malaysians and to help undocumented migrants. We cant vaccinate those without documents. We want to look after our people, Zainudin told the media after visiting a temporary detention center in Beranang, outside Kuala Lumpur. Thats why when we round up the undocumented migrants we will work with their employers [if any] and the respective embassies, to obtain the documents to facilitate the vaccination. If they dont come out to get the vaccine, we [will] go after them. Zainudin said that once the undocumented get the requisite papers and are vaccinated, they would have to decide whether they want to keep working in Malaysia, or return to their home countries. The World Bank estimates that between 1.23 million and 1.46 million undocumented migrants worked in Malaysia in 2017. Last Saturday, the home minister said that the Immigration Department, along with the police and the National Registration Department, would arrest undocumented migrants and anyone caught flouting lockdown protocols, starting June 1. Thats when a two-week near-total nationwide shutdown began as the country set grim records for new daily infections and virus-related deaths. Zainudin said the government had already discussed the issue of undocumented migrants inoculation with various embassies. It was also setting up temporary detention centers to house those arrested while they wait to be inoculated. The Southeast Asian country reported 8,209 new infections on Thursday, taking the cumulative caseload to nearly 600,000. With 103 virus-related deaths, pandemic fatalities rose to 3,096. If a migrant has an employer, but no valid documents, we will help [him] secure [documents]. Through this operation, we round the migrants up, we will check how long they have been here, and we will help them get documents if they have employers, Zainudin said. Parliamentarians who criticize this crackdown should sponsor the vaccination of the undocumented migrants instead. Zainudin was referring to lawmakers and elected officials across party lines who criticized the crackdown as counterproductive. They had noted that in April 2020, COVID-19 clusters were detected in several crowded detention centers for undocumented migrants. In a statement, a parliamentary group that advocates prison and detention reforms, said it was astonished that the government was planning mass arrests and incarcerations. This especially when more than 109 countries have followed the evidence and implemented decongestion measures, and alternatives to incarceration, said the group, which includes Deputy Speaker Azalina Othman Said, lawmakers from across parties, and others. We remain behind despite making initial progress. Have we forgotten the past painful experience of the third wave in September 2020, culminating from prison clusters? Another group of opposition lawmakers said the governments plan to arrest undocumented workers was embarrassing, and called out Zainudin on what they termed his boast about setting up additional temporary detention centers. It is a somewhat foolish and ignorant boast as the clusters created in such centers will endanger Malaysians working there and because of the[ir] regular movement in and out of prison, also their families and the public outside, this group said in a statement. Meanwhile, Glorene Das, executive director of Malaysian migrant rights group Tenaganita, said the crackdown on undocumented migrants could jeopardize millions of lives. This is the outcome when a ministry overrules all other relevant ministries, when the Immigration Act supersedes all other legislation in the country, and there are no consultative processes in decision-making ad-hoc policies such as this are issued, putting millions of people at risk, Das told BenarNews. Instead of lamenting about protecting the rights of Malaysians, the [Home] ministry should really work on revamping the immigration system with the right leadership. Southeast Asian nations are scrambling to increase their stocks of COVID-19 vaccines or shifting strategies to inoculate their people as the pandemic wreaks havoc across the region. Philippine health officials announced a shift in the nations inoculation strategy to target those most at risk of contracting the coronavirus disease in Metropolitan Manila and eight nearby areas because of delays in acquiring vaccines. We have shifted [our target] in the light of limited supply because while we have initially targeted 50 million to 70 million people, the supply is very erratic, Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje told BenarNews in an interview this week. If we focus on the vulnerable and most at risk, our hospitalizations, death and serious illness will be reduced, said Cabotaje, who has acted as the Philippine health departments spokeswoman on COVID-19. The Philippines recorded 146 COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 21,158. In addition, 5,257 infections were recorded, pushing the total to 1.24 million. Meanwhile on Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) approved for emergency use Chinas Sinovac one of the most widely available vaccines in Southeast Asia. The world desperately needs multiple COVID-19 vaccines to address the huge access inequity across the globe, said Dr. Mariangela Simao, WHOs assistant-director general for Access to Health Products. We urge manufacturers to participate in the COVAX Facility, share their knowhow and data and contribute to bringing the pandemic under control, she said, referring to the WHO-backed global initiative to ensure rapid and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries. In Malaysia, about 18 percent of the population is expected to benefit from Chinas Sinovac vaccine, said Khairy Jamaluddin, the federal minister in charge of the National COVID-19 Vaccination Program. Jamaluddin noted that all vaccines being used in Malaysia were validated by WHO, a U.N. agency. In next-door neighbor Thailand on Wednesday, the president of pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca announced that Siam Bioscience, a company owned by Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn, had delivered its first batch of locally made vaccines. While the number of doses delivered was not announced, the company said Siam Bioscience was prepared to deliver 1.8 million AstraZeneca doses to the kingdom for inoculations scheduled to begin on June 7. During a news conference, AstraZeneca President James Teak called the delivery an event of great importance and significance while noting that Thailand could produce a COVID-19 vaccine of good quality within a few months. Siam Bioscience is expected to begin exporting vaccines to Southeast Asian nations in the coming weeks, but media reports noted that a planned shipment to the Philippines has been delayed. According to a report by the Reuters news service, Philippine presidential adviser Joey Conception said he had been informed by AstraZeneca that a planned delivery of 1.3 million doses would be reduced to 1.17 million doses and delayed from the third week of June to mid-July. The Philippine Department of Health had received 8.3 million vaccines, as of May 31. A majority 5.5 million doses were developed by Chinas Sinovac, while the rest were supplied by Anglo-Swedish firm AstraZeneca, U.S. firm Pfizer and Russias Sputnik V. Still, only 1.1 million Filipinos have been completely vaccinated. Also on Wednesday, Malaysia for the first time recorded a three-digit daily death toll 126 along with 7,703 new infections. Malaysia could see more than 26,000 COVID-19 death related cases by September in a worst-case scenario, according to study by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in the U.S. Malaysian professor Adeeba Kamarulzaman who serves as a member of the science council at WHO, said that would require 200 COVID-19 deaths daily and would be the second highest cause of deaths after heart attacks. On Monday, Malaysia instituted its latest stimulus package valued at 40 billion ringgit (U.S. $10 billion) to counter the economic ripple effects of the pandemic as it imposed a new nationwide COVID-19 lockdown, which began the next day. This makes the governments total economic stimulus package during the pandemic last year to 340 billion ringgit ($82 billion). Vaccine politics Meanwhile during a visit to Bangkok, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who met with Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, reiterated on Wednesday an American government commitment to Thailand in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic. She noted that the United States had given $30 million in coronavirus-related aid to Thailand. Sherman, the second highest-ranking American diplomat, on Wednesday wrapped up a tour of three Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia. During her swing through the region, she highlighted plans by the Biden administration to donate 80 million doses to other countries five times more than any other country, Sherman said. The distribution plan is to be announced in the next two weeks, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday. And as the president has said, the United States will not share these doses in an effort to garner political favors, but rather to end the pandemic, as we work together to end this pandemic, Sherman told reporters during visits with officials in Jakarta on Monday, in what appeared to be a swipe at vaccine diplomacy in the region by Beijing. Thannapat Jarernpanit, a professor at Pibulsongkram Rajabhat University, said the meeting between U.S. and Thai officials had political implications tied to countering Chinas vaccine efforts in the region. Bangkok is expected to receive about 6.5 million vaccine doses from Beijing, including 1 million gifted to the nation. Looking at it from a peoples point of view, if both the U.S. and China can balance their powers like this, people will have more options for getting vaccinated, Thannapat told BenarNews. Now people dont care whether the vaccinations are free or not, but if it is a brand from the West, they are willing to pay as have more confidence. America will probably use this point to counter China, he said. Marielle Lucenio in Manila, Noah Lee in Kuala Lumpur, and Nontarat Phaicharoen and Kunnawut Boonreak in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand, contributed to this report. Traffic moves along a road in Marawi, where a five-month battle took place in 2017 between government forces and pro-Islamic State militants who had seized the city in the southern Philippines, May 21, 2021. A senior suspected member of the Islamic State militant group in the Philippine has surrendered to the military in southern Sultan Kudarat province, authorities said Thursday. Officials identified the suspect as Khalid Kalaing, 57, and said he was a sub-leader of the Maguid Group, a faction of Daulah Islamiyah (DI), as the Islamic State (IS) chapter in the country is known. His surrender was due to the relentless efforts of security forces with the cooperation of the local officials, said Lt. Col. Romel Valencia, commanding officer of the 7th Infantry Battalion. Kalaing gave himself up to government troops on Wednesday near the town of Isulan, Valencia said. The military had dismissed the Maguid Group as a small faction made up mostly of militants engaged in banditry and other crimes. The surrenderer feared for his life because of continuous focused military operations against the DI and the equally lawless Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in the borders of Maguindanao, North Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat provinces, Valencia said, according to the state-run Philippine News Agency. The suspect was being questioned, the military said, adding it could not divulge more details about him. Kalaing also surrendered various weapons, including several assault rifles of varying calibers as well as ammunition, Valencia said. According to a report by PNA, reporters interviewed Kalaing by telephone on Thursday. I have been sleepless for days lately thinking about my family and the normal life I once enjoyed. I feared that I might be a casualty of a lost cause, Kalaing said. Suddenly, I just wanted to become a farmer and be with my family again, PNA quoted him as saying. Maj. Gen. Juvymax Uy, commander of Joint Task Force Central and the 6th Infantry Division, called on other militant groups in the volatile Mindanao region of the southern Philippines to give up, or be slain or arrested in military and police operations. Continuous coordination is being undertaken to provide appropriate cash and livelihood assistance and benefits to members of terrorist groups that have surrendered to help them start a new and sustainable life with the community and their families, Uy said. Apart from the Maguid faction, other Muslim armed groups have pledged allegiance to IS in the Philippine south. These include the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a group that split from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the countrys largest former separatist group, which now controls an autonomous region in the south after it signed a peace pact with the Philippine government. The BIFF backed a five-month siege of the southern Philippine city of Marawi carried out by Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern pro-IS fighters in 2017, but held off from sending its fighters there. Last month, the BIFF engaged in clashes with the military last month, and President Rodrigo Duterte flew to the south to rally troops against the militants. Former Thai Army Lt. Gen. Manas Kongpaen arrives at Ratchada Criminal Court in Bangkok to hear the verdict on his appeal in the nations largest human-trafficking case, Oct. 31, 2019. A former three-star Thai army general who was sentenced to 82 years in 2019 after he was convicted on charges of being involved in a major regional ring that smuggled in Rohingya and Bangladeshis, died in a prison hospital after suffering a heart attack, authorities said Thursday. Manas Kongpaen, 65, was found unconscious at the corrections departments hospital and died on Wednesday evening, the department said in a news release. Manas was among 62 of 102 defendants convicted in 2017 following a sensational trial that stemmed from the discovery of dozens of graves of Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis along the Thai-Malaysian border in May 2015. Regarding Manas Kongpaens death, the autopsy found he suffered an acute heart attack, the statement said. He was walking to exercise but fainted, went unconscious and was not breathing. He received CPR and was placed on a respirator. At 7 p.m. on the same day, the doctors performed medical procedures to save his life and tested for COVID-19 which was negative. He died at 7:40 p.m., the statement said. Manas had been transferred from Bangkoks Klong Prem Central Prison on May 2 to the hospital and was under close watch until his death, it said. In July 2017, a Thai court sentenced Manas to 27 years in prison after finding him guilty for his role in trafficking Rohingya from Myanmar and Bangladeshis as part of a crime syndicate. The sentence was more than tripled to 82 years in October 2019. Lt. Gen. Manas Kongpaen was found guilty of five offenses, punishable to 55 years. Combined with other previous 27-year jail terms from other crimes, the total jail term now is 82 years, a judge at the Ratchada Criminal Court in Bangkok said in 2019 while upholding the lower courts decision. The appeals court in 2019 also convicted 26 others after prosecutors launched an appeal against all 102 defendants, meaning 88 of those charged were found guilty. Manas conviction was based on evidence that he had received a kickback from trafficking kingpin Pajjuban Aungkachotephan, (alias Ko Tong). Ko Tong, or Big Brother Tong, owned resorts on the island of Kho Lipe, and was accused of receiving trafficked persons and sending them to Malaysia. Manas held a key post in maintaining security in Thailands southern border region and preventing illegal migration there, when he participated in human trafficking efforts of Rohingya and other undocumented people, the courts ruled. The former general and the others were arrested in 2015 as part of a Thai crackdown on illegal immigration. The crackdown was triggered in May 2015 when the bodies of 32 suspected undocumented migrants were discovered at traffickers camps abandoned in the jungle in Songkhla province, near Thailands border with Malaysia. Investigators said the graves were part of a camp where traffickers held migrants until their relatives paid for their release. Thailand was seen as a destination or transit country for people trafficked from its neighboring countries, such as Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, according to the United Nations and the Australia-based rights group Walk Free Foundation, which monitors countries allegedly experiencing cases of modern slavery. Arraignments began in November 2015, but not without controversy, and the trial opened in March 2016. Lead police investigator Maj. Gen. Paween Pongsirin resigned just days before the arraignments began and sought asylum in Australia a month later, after claiming that influential people in the government had ordered him to stop the probe. But he and Netanyahu did not get along, and the coalition quickly crumbled. Yesh Atid has been in the opposition since 2015 elections. The party is popular with secular, middle-class voters and has been critical of Netanyahus close ties with ultra-Orthodox parties and said the prime minister should step down while on trial for corruption charges. Given the gravity of Bruscas crimes, his early release repulsed many Italians and prompted calls to reform laws that allow for reduced sentences for mafiosi who break the omerta, or wall of silence, and cooperate with investigators. But others, including the slain prosecutors sister, defended it as a necessary way to entice mafiosi to collaborate with the justice system. If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. Ald. Ray Lopez, 15th, who visited the shooting scene, said he learned from police and community sources that the girl and her boyfriend were walking to a corner store when three people approached her and asked if she was in a gang. She told them that she was not in a gang but that a relative of hers was a gang member. Bennington, VT (05201) Today Except for a few afternoon clouds, mainly sunny. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 81F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. Bennington, VT (05201) Today Generally sunny despite a few afternoon clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 81F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Low around 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. The state announced Thursday that the mass vaccination sites that were so critical earlier in the pandemic will be shutting down over the next several weeks as the fight against COVID-19 adopts a more targeted strategy 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. If you are feeling worried, anxious or just plain out of sorts about going back to working in person, or resuming some of your normal pre-COVI Community News Editor / Librarian Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989. She can be reached at jmaschino@berkshireeagle.com. Doug Cole, center, a survivor of sexual abuse, speaks during a Wednesday news conference, flanked by Bishop William Byrne, left, and Jeffrey Trant, director of Safe Environment and Victim Assistance. Byrne and Trant announced that the Diocese of Springfield now will list 61 individuals as credibly accused of sexual abuse while associated with the diocese. Amanda Burke covers Pittsfield City Hall for The Berkshire Eagle. An Ithaca, New York native, she previously worked at The Herald News of Fall River and the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise. Find her on Twitter at @amandaburkec. Police were able to get a description of the attackers from witnesses and captured one person, a juvenile. Updated information on the other three was not available Wednesday evening. Nikole Hannah-Jones, a co-author of The 1619 Project its a lengthy, Pulitzer-winning New York Times report on the arrival and enduring legacy of slavery in America was denied tenure last week at the University of North Carolina, after one or more conservative trustees objected. Reporter Heather Bellow, a member of the investigations team, joined The Eagle in 2017. She is based in the South Berkshire County bureau in Great Barrington. Her work has appeared in newspapers across the U.S. Ride-hailing and delivery app companies are facing scrutiny nationwide about how they classify and compensate drivers, with opponents contending that the existing independent contractor system leaves workers underpaid and with insufficient benefits. A hazardous weather outlook has been issued for Berkshire County, as thunderstorms could bring heavy rain, damaging winds and hail to the region Thursday. Regulations approved Thursday by the Tri-Town Health Department clear the way for a higher limit of 9,000 people combined in the open-air Koussevitzky Music Shed and on the lawn at Tanglewood. Phyllis McGuire writes from her home in Williamstown. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of The Berkshire Eagle. 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. Vietnam records 91 more Covid-19 infections, patients tally surpasses 8,000 An additional 91 more Covid-19 infections was announced as of Thursday evening, raising the daily counts to 250 and the total number of patients in the country to 8,063 the Ministry of Health has reported. According to the ministry's report, 79 of the newly-confirmed patients are locally-transmitted cases most of whom were detected in quarantine sites or areas under lockdown in some localities including 58 in Bac Giang, 11 in Ho Chi Minh City, and 10 in Bac Ninh. The 58 cases in Bac Giang were recorded at some industrial parks of Van Trung, Dinh Tram, Song Khe-Noi Hoang, and Quang Chau which have reported a large outbreak over the last few weeks. As of Thursday evening, 4,955 locally-transmitted cases have been reported since the new outbreak occurred in the country on April 27, including 2,678 in the virus epicentre of Bac Giang. The outbreak has so far spread to 37 cities and provinces nationwide. 12 imported patients are all Vietnamese citizens who recently returned from Cambodia to Kien Giang Province. They were sent to a local quarantine area upon arrival and are now being treated at a local hospital. With these new infection cases, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to 8,063 including 6,525 locally-transmitted cases. As of 6 pm on June 3, a total of 3,085 Covid-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital. So far there have been 49 deaths, most of them being the elderly with serious underlying diseases. At present, over 151,000 people who had close contact with Covid-19 patients or returned from virus-hit areas are being monitored at hospitals, quarantine facilities, and at home. On June 2, an additional 11,733 people were given Covid-19 vaccine in Vietnam, raising the total number of vaccine doses used in the country to 1,110,111. The number of people who have received two doses has risen to 31,177. We have known for some time that we had to take action to raise our voices as educators to advocate for our students and for learning at Latin. Forming a union was the logical choice for us, Woods said. AP FACT CHECK: Manchin, Sinema do not vote with GOP more President Joe Biden is stretching the facts when he suggests that two moderate Senate Democrats might be why his legislative agenda isnt quickly getting done on Capitol Hill A major Southwestern metro region delivered a resounding victory to a Democratic candidate for Congress who embraced the Biden administrations prescriptions for economic recovery, rebuffing Republican overtures in the heavily Latino and suburban political landscape of Albuquerque FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020, file photo, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice delivers his annual State of the State address in the House Chambers at the state capitol, in Charleston, W.Va. Gov. Justice confirmed on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, that he is personally liable for $700 million in loans taken by his coal companies from a lender in the United Kingdom that went bankrupt. The Republican governor took shots at the bankrupt Greensill Capital U.K. and said it is a burden on our family beyond belief. Shortly before the shooting, the victim was with a witness outside a restaurant at the intersection of Howard and Paulina streets when Williams became involved in a heated argument with the witness, James Murphy said. It elevated when Williams grabbed a crowbar from his black Jeep after the witness punched him. Many of us have a brief familiarity with Zipporah, Moses' wife from Midian. Perhaps we encountered her in Prince of Egypt, or read about her in Scripture. But some theologians surmised that Moses had married a woman before her, a woman from Cush named Tharbis. Scripture never lists Tharbis by name, and the closest evidence we have to her comes from Numbers 12:1-10. "Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? they asked. Hasnt he also spoken through us? And the Lord heard this. (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.) At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, Come out to the tent of meeting, all three of you. So the three of them went out. Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them stepped forward, he said, Listen to my words: When there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he left them. When the cloud lifted from above the tent, Miriams skin was leprousit became as white as snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease." So did Tharbis exist, this Cushite woman? Or was Zipporah the woman they were referring to in these verses, even though Midian is nowhere near Cush? We'll explore the possibility of Moses' second wife Tharbis, the evidence against it, and why this matters to us today. Who Was Tharbis, and Did She Exist? Sadly, because Scripture never lists the Cushite woman by name, we don't have anything to go off of biblically. We can go to extrabiblical sources like Josephus who claim that Moses made a pit stop in Cush before he got to the land of Midian, where he married Tharbis. Here's what Josephus has to say: "However, while Moses was uneasy at the armys lying idle, (for the enemies durst not come to a battel,) this accident happened; Tharbis was the daughter of the King of the Ethiopians: she happened to see Moses, as he led the army near to the walls, and fought with great courage: and admiring the subtilty of his undertakings, and believing him to be the author of the Egyptian success, when they had before despaired of recovering their liberty; and to be the occasion of the great danger the Ethiopians were in, when they had before boasted of their great atchievements, she fell deeply in love with him: and upon the prevalency of that passion, sent to him the most faithful of all her servants to discourse with him upon their marriage. He thereupon accepted the offer, on condition she would procure the delivering up of the city; and gave her the assurance of an oath to take her to his wife: and that when he had once taken possession of the city he would not break his oath to her. No sooner was the agreement made, but it took effect immediately: and when Moses had cut off the Ethiopians, he gave thanks to God, and consummated his marriage, and led the Egyptians back to their own land." Apparently, Moses, before he flees to Midian, makes war with the Ethiopians. There, Tharbis falls in love with him, and they get married. We don't know if Tharbis followed Moses when he fled from Egypt and toward Midian, but the marriage was well-known enough to make Miriam and Aaron question Moses' leadership. Although God did use Gentiles throughout the Old Testament as part of his plan (Ruth, Asenath, Rahab, etc.) the Israelites were not always so keen on these unions happening. Especially since those of other nations were known to lead God's people astray, such as King Solomon. We can assume that if Tharbis did exist, she was of high standing. She likely received a great education, and because those in the land of Cush had unmatched beauty, she was likely very easy on the eyes as well. Are Tharbis and Zipporah the Same Person? Others have surmised that Zipporah and Tharbis are the same person. That sometimes the biblical language about foreign lands like Cush and Midian gets blurred. Let's take a look at what the Bible says about Zipporah. Exodus 3:1: "Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God." Moses watches the flocks of his father-in-law. The Midianites did descend from the Israelites originally, but eventually, they became enemies of Israel (much like the Edomites). They, at this time, retained knowledge of Yahweh, but they stray from that later on. The Israelites likely considered them to be foreign peoples, in the same way they considered the Samaritans to be, even though the Samaritans did have Israelite blood. Exodus 2:1: "And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah." Moses marries Zipporah during his time in Midian. He spends several decades there before he returns to Egypt to tell Pharaoh to release the Israelites. All in all, we can't say. We do trust Josephus as a historical source, but we don't know if we can corroborate everything he says. Perhaps Moses married two women, perhaps he just married Zipporah, and Aaron and Miriam referred to her as a Cushite. But we can learn a few lessons from both Zipporah and Tharbis. What Lessons Can We Learn from Zipporah and Tharbis? First, we need to know that God has had a plan for the Gentiles all along. Even before the early church spread the Gospel to the Gentiles and allowed Gentiles to be grafted into the family of God, we see God using Gentiles in the Old Testament to fulfill his plan for salvation. Zipporah, and perhaps Tharbis, played a role in this as they furthered the generations of Moses and gave the Gentiles hope for the future. Secondly, conflict within the religious community about interracial relations has gone on for thousands of years. It breaks my heart whenever the Christian community gets mad about two people of different nations or ethnicities marrying. God has created us all in his image. There is no Jew and Gentile for those who are in Christ (Galatians 3:28). We see that God rebukes Aaron and Miriam for them questioning Moses on this matter. In fact, to the point where Miriam gets a nasty skin disease as punishment. Finally, it's important to look at the minor characters in the Bible. The ones where, if you blink, you might miss them. God can use even the smallest story to transform the hearts of men. Further Reading Was Zipporah a Great Woman Behind a Great Man? 20 Things You Didn't Know about Moses in the Bible The Bible Story of Moses: 10 Things That Make His Life and Calling Relatable Photo credit: GettyImages/fizkes Hope Bolinger is an editor at Salem, a multi-published novelist, and a graduate of Taylor University's professional writing program. More than 1,100 of her works have been featured in various publications ranging from Writer's Digest to Keys for Kids. She has worked for various publishing companies, magazines, newspapers, and literary agencies and has edited the work of authors such as Jerry B. Jenkins and Michelle Medlock Adams. Her modern-day Daniel trilogy released its first two installments with IlluminateYA, and the final one, Vision, releases in August of 2021. She is also the co-author of the Dear Hero duology, which was published by INtense Publications. And her inspirational adult romance Picture Imperfect releases in November of 2021. Find out more about her at her website. This article is part of our People from the Bible Series featuring the most well-known historical names and figures from Scripture. We have compiled these articles to help you study those whom God chose to set before us as examples in His Word. May their lives and walks with God strengthen your faith and encourage your soul. The Bible Story of Elijah The Life of Ruth - 5 Essential Faith Lessons The Bible Story of Queen Esther The Greatest Villain - King Nebuchadnezzar The Bible Story of Mary Magdalene WHITE BIRD - Located near the Idaho-Oregon border, high above the Salmon River and near the small town of White Bird, lies a 1,300-acre property donated to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation known as the Joseph Plains Wildlife Habitat Area. It is a ways off the beaten path, yet this slice of western Idaho elk country is now much more accessible due to recent access site improvements. We appreciate our partners at the Idaho Fish and Game and Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation for working with us, said Kyle Weaver, RMEF president and CEO. As snow in high country melts, hunters and others will now find it much easier to access this scenic landscape thats teaming with wildlife. Fish and Game, IFWF and RMEF provided funding for the recent access work including fencing, gravel and installation of improved signage and kiosks leading to the propertys main entry point. Its kind of a hidden gemboth secluded and gorgeous, said Brandi Felts, Fish and Game's Clearwater regional habitat biologist. You definitely need hiking boots and strong legs to take full advantage of it, but I challenge anyone to come here. It reaches into your soul and grabs a hold of you, and instantly becomes a part of you. Lying at the head of the Asotin, Howard and Gregory Creek drainages, which flow into the Salmon River, wildlife habitat area features steep canyons, sharp ridges and forestland that provide prime habitat for elk, deer, black bears, mountain lions and other wildlife. The Elk Foundation holds a conservation easement that forever protects the propertys wildlife values. Fish and Wildlife Foundation oversees management of the area by Fish and Game for both habitat and access with the agencys help, but if it ever seeks to dispose of the property, ownership automatically reverts to the Elk Foundation to ensure it stays intact and open to the public. Since the parcel is not officially state land, it appears as private land on ownership maps. Contact the Clearwater region office at (208) 799-5010 for more information on this unique property. Bill again joins Sean Hannity to bring a simple mans perspective to the Hannity radio program. The duo also discuss Bills latest #1 best seller Killing the Mob, which Hannity has now read despite his busy schedule. Plus: the inner workings of the Biden-Harris administration and the decision to essentially open the border. Did Kamala Harris panic when she was put in charge of the border? Is it because she knows the catastrophe that is the Biden border plan? OReilly and Hannity also discuss the unholy alliance that has formed between Russia and China providing weapons to Iran. Bill predicts war will break out in the Middle East within the next year or so. The media is protecting Biden on both of these issues. If Trump were in this situation, it would be a different story. Following a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity and allies, federal fishery managers just proposed a change to their Pacific salmon fishery plan that would help save Southern Resident orcas from starving. The proposal would limit nontribal commercial Chinook salmon fishing in years with fewer than 966,000 estimated salmon so that the critically endangered killer whales can still get enough to eat. Their population has dropped to only 74 individuals mostly because declining salmon runs have left them without enough food. Without more protections, well watch Southern Resident killer whales continue to spiral toward extinction, said Center attorney Julie Teel Simmonds. Salmon and orcas in the Pacific Northwest are both in trouble, so we need to limit commercial fishing. The agreement will streamline cell line development to IND filing process to enable seamless manufacturing of DSP502 Samsung Biologics, the world's leading contract development and manufacturing organization, signed a strategic partnership with KAHR Medical Ltd., a cancer immunotherapy company developing novel multifunctional immune-recruitment proteins. Under the terms of the agreement, South Korea based Samsung Biologics will provide its end-to-end cell line development and clinical drug substance and drug product manufacturing services as well as IND filling support for KAHR's drug candidate DSP502, a TIGITxPD1 fusion protein. As an innovative leader in the fusion protein space, KAHR's current technology is based on multi-functional immuno-recruitment proteins (MIRP) that bind cancer cells and T-cells to produce a synergistic effect to selectively target tumors. KAHR recently signed an exclusive license with Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA to develop and commercialize multiple new drug candidates, including DSP502. John Rim, CEO of Samsung Biologics said, "We will leverage our fully integrated, scalable, and high-quality development services and experienced teams to enable a faster transition from gene to IND in order to ensure KAHR's success in bringing cutting edge immuno-recruitment cancer drugs to patients in need." Kant was addressing the virtual Interactive session on Saving Lives and Livelihood, organised by FICCI, jointly with OYO Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog said that the second wave has been more catastrophic than the first one and it overwhelmed the health system for a while. Kant was addressing the virtual Interactive session on Saving Lives and Livelihood, organised by FICCI, jointly with OYO. The government has taken a series of measures since then and there has been a steady decline in the number of active cases. There has been further ramping up of the vaccination drive and the private sector has played a very pivotal role in managing the pandemic and has complemented the efforts of the government in a significant way, he added. Kant opined, There may be a slight demand-supply imbalance in vaccination during June-July but from August onwards there will be an adequate amount of vaccines available. From then on, we should be able to vaccinate everybody in India properly and that should help us, he added. Kant further said, We need to build up both hospital infrastructure and human resources. We need to ensure ICU facility at the grass-root level. This is also an opportunity for the private sector to come forward, he added. He emphasised the need to build up a model of private public-partnership in which government acts as a facilitator and the private sector comes forward. Dilip Chenoy, Secretary-General, FICCI said, FICCI will continue to support the initiatives of supporting the livelihoods of those associated with travel, tourism and hospitality industry. Solano said the other driver moved back and forth, and continued to threaten the officer by saying, Get out of your car or Im gonna pull you out of your car, and reiterated that hed beat him up. In another report, Solano alleged the driver was pacing back and forth with his muscles tensed and yelled at him so aggressively that his inadvertent spit hit the officer. The pulse oximeter can be simply clipped onto a fingertip and displays both the oxygen saturation, as well as pulse rate DetelPro, which entered the healthcare sector in 2020, is now disrupting the market with the most affordable pulse oximeter. DetelPro Oxy10 has an LED display which helps the users to easily check the results. The pulse oximeter can be simply clipped onto a fingertip and displays both the oxygen saturation, as well as pulse rate. It has the normal range of 70-99 per cent for oxygen saturation. Additionally, DetelPro pulse oximeter is equipped with an auto shut-off feature that gets activated after 8 seconds of inactivity. This oximeter, too, has a one button operation feature, so using it will not be a hassle. Commenting on the launch, Dr Yogesh Bhatia, Founder, Detel said, We are diligently expanding our inventory PAN India to reach the masses with quality medical supplies and helping the nation fight against corona." The cost of the oximeter is Rs 299. The company has claimed to have sold around 100,000 units of oximeters across price points so far. DetelPro is also providing 2 free doctor consultations virtually to only four members of the family on the purchase of an oximeter. Looking back to the 2002 film Minority Report, it certainly seems as if director Steven Spielberg was privy to the future. The box office and critically acclaimed film points out how we stand to lose our privacy when public digital ads can find you anywhere, trying to sell you things based on your previous purchases. Australia boldly pioneers fair content law Consumers have become dependent on a staple of free content pushed to them by algorithms on free social platforms. In turn, readers are required to do very little except for sharing their information. Its no secret that the main beneficiaries in this business model have been the tech giants that are republishing content. One just needs to look around at shrinking newsrooms to be reminded of how unfair this model is playing out. Google, Twitter and Facebook especially are coming under increased scrutiny from governments with the power to influence digital marketing trajectories. In a pioneering move that could change how people worldwide experience the internet, and sound the death of the algorithm, the Australian government has recently passed a law that will see these and other content republishing tech giants come to an agreement with local Australian media to fairly compensate them for reusing their original and unique content. The law requires them to make their ranking algorithms transparent and to provide access to their user data. It will also make provision for penalties and sanctions for non-compliance. This is a bold move, but a brave one where consumers will thrive as they are afforded more transparency in how their personal information is being used. Consumers have become dependent on a staple of free content pushed to them by algorithms on free social platforms. In turn, readers are required to do very little except for sharing their information. Its no secret that the main beneficiaries in this business model have been the tech giants that are republishing content. One just needs to look around at shrinking newsrooms to be reminded of how unfair this model is playing out. Google, Twitter and Facebook especially are coming under increased scrutiny from governments with the power to influence digital marketing trajectories. In a pioneering move that could change how people worldwide experience the internet, and sound the death of the algorithm, the Australian government has recently passed a law that will see these and other content republishing tech giants come to an agreement with local Australian media to fairly compensate them for reusing their original and unique content. The law requires them to make their ranking algorithms transparent and to provide access to their user data. It will also make provision for penalties and sanctions for non-compliance. This is a bold move, but a brave one where consumers will thrive as they are afforded more transparency in how their personal information is being used. Googles (third-party) cookie jar is half empty, or is it? Googles recent surprise announcement that the firm will be doing away with third-party (3P) cookies signals a win for personal data privacy if only at face value. For those seeing the world as a half full glass, the move might seem as if we are finally done with the intrusive business model where free content is exchanged for viewing carefully targeted ads to one where privacy is valued and protected. But worried marketers have been left scratching their heads as to whats next. Will another model replace third-party cookies? Forward-thinking marketers that are intentionally adapting new strategies to stay ahead of the curve will be just fine once they can no longer rely on Googles third-party cookies. On the darker side, sophisticated marketers with access to their own third-party data systems might just push more power and privileged information into the hands of a few tech giants. The dawn of an opt in culture demands changing marketing models Is the rise of the opting in culture eating into the reach of the 'niche'? Will a more mature view of personal information protection eclipse the right target, at the wrong time and place?... Back then, did Spielberg know something about the intrusive nature of digital advertising that more and more consumers and lawmakers know now in 2021?Because at the time of the films release, Spielberg predicted : "The internet is watching us now. If they want to, they can see what sites you visit. In the future, television will be watching us, and customising itself to what it knows about us. The thrilling thing is, that will make us feel we're part of the medium. The scary thing is, we'll lose our right to privacy. An ad will appear in the air around us, talking directly to us, served as a mirror, presenting a society in which law enforcement prosecutes citizens without a trial, all in the name of keeping people safe.Nearly 20 years on, while the world was on a trajectory towards fulfilling a real-life, the plot twisted in favour of data privacy protection. The age of privacy became a real consideration for organisations as consumers are demanding more sophisticated levels of personal information protection. Incoming privacy regulations are starting to lawfully protect this right.Lets go back to the basics of internet economics. While it may seem as if this medium is mostly free, there is a quantifiable but silent exchange of value. Most internet consumers do not think twice about the gears ticking over behind the scenes as they consume their free information, entertainment, content and services.Through detailed data analytics, content (re)publishing giants such as Facebook or search engines such as Google or Safari know exactly who their audiences are, where they are located, their previous history and their intent. Such information is made available on a (mostly) anonymous basis to advertisers via platforms such as Google Analytics, Firebase and Facebook Business Manager (being the most common).For the longest time, this model worked in the favour of brands, all of which got to speak directly to the niche audiences they had paid for. Digital advertising became quite the artful skill for marketing departments and budget-stretched small businesses.At the time the internet sprouted in the late 1990s, it rang in a 21st century unlike any before. The internet and social media in the early 2000s truly changed the lives of millions of citizens worldwide. We remember how the internet and social media allowed protesters during the Arab Spring to disseminate information about their activities, and raise local and global awareness of social injustice. It changed history in Egypt, and it continued to breed accessibility of information and connectedness of people.News reached the right audiences by design. It benefitted news content creators tremendously early on.But something unexpected (albeit somewhat foreseeable) happened while original news content conveniently got pushed to the right target markets via the Googles and the Facebooks of the world. Just as in a dry desert, revenue streams started to get diverted away from the original content creators and towards the content targeting engines within this trade-off environment. Sustainable newsrooms today are those that have found a way in which their readers can directly compensate them be it via a subscription or a paywall model.Have we reached the point where we can finally conclude that free content intended for viral consumption by targeted audiences, and unique content crafted well for sustainable audiences are not equal and the same?Recently, two data privacy-related developments in the world of digital marketing have caught my attention. Both of these events could potentially have a tremendous impact on the way news content organisations, firstly, reach their audiences and, secondly, sustain their future business model:Googles new proposed cohort identity system in place to track audiences based on the habits of these cohorts will be an interesting one to watch as stricter personal information protection regulation such as the PoPIA will continue to influence digital advertising.Im also encouraged to see other countries such as France, Canada and the UK follow in the footsteps of the Australian government. It signals a commitment to ensure publishers and journalists get paid a fairer share for their work, leaving less power and revenue in the hands of a few controlling tech giants. Perhaps these developments might also be the catalyst in putting an end to fake news.As someone intrigued by the way in which the world of tech has the power to influence how organisations adapt, these chess-like moves from all angles are worth paying close attention to in the months ahead. Every one of these decisions will have consequences for the way marketing functions interact with personal information. One of the United States of America's dominant domestic and international carriers, United Airlines, is determined to bounce back after pandemic restrictions. The airline has recently introduced a host of new routes to its portfolio, including direct flights to Johannesburg. Image by Dirk Daniel Mann from Pixabay South Africans should make the most of low airfares right now The global pandemic has had a devastating effect on the travel industry as a whole, but it's been especially hard for the airlines. While this is bad news for the airline industry, it's good news for travellers... United Airlines is among the first to capitalise on vaccine optimism, by introducing new routes across the globe. The airline has already commenced with 400 extra daily flights in the Northern Hemisphere for this summer and now its looking to Africa for more routes.United Airlines first dipped its toes into unexplored African markets in 2019, with direct flights to Cape Town from New York. The pandemic put paid to this as well as their second attempt in 2020, but the airlines now venturing back, driven by the prospect of herd immunity.Despite an ongoing travel ban which prohibits South Africans from entering the US without government approval, United is confident that it can service this route due to the growing number of vaccinated individuals in both countries.Vaccinated Americans can now visit South Africa without having to comply with quarantine on their return, South Africans wanting to travel to the US must meet several criteria in order to travel.As the countrys vaccination protocols continue to roll out, these are bound to lessen and United Airlines will be waiting on the landing strip when that day comes.The first of these pioneering flights took off on 3 June at an affordable rate of $792, which equates to around R11,000, making this one of the most affordable US flights ever offered.Local travellers, resident outside the hub of Gauteng as well as US citizens exploring further afield, can already benefit from cheap domestic flights to Johannesburg on local SA airlines. So, this opens up new affordable avenues of exploration for South Africans eager for a taste of the Big Apple as well as US travellers wanting to tick the Big Five off their bucket list.Currently, all flights to Johannesburg depart from Newark Liberty International Airport. The first flights depart on 3 June from the USA, and 5 June from South Africa. Passengers will enjoy all the luxuries of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner which seats 280 travellers, on both inbound and outbound trips.Apart from abundant leisure travel opportunities, Uniteds new flights boost the already strong business ties between the USA and South Africa and help bring friends and family closer once again. That is, once the US starts to loosen its ongoing travel restrictions.At the moment, passengers whove been fully vaccinated with the Moderna, Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson vaccines may enter the USA, provided they can present a negative Covid-19 test less than three days old.Theyll also need to wait at least two weeks after their last shot before boarding flights. Most vaccinated passengers who meet these criteria wont need to self-quarantine on arrival in the USA.As the coronavirus pandemic presents wave after wave of infections, adaptation has become the norm across affected industries. So, its heartening to see United Airlines taking positive steps to encourage a semblance of normality early on with direct flights to Johannesburg. With a passion for the media industry, Kati Dijane has worked in the industry for a decade. She's worked in various roles as a journalist, editorial assistant, digital editor, deputy managing editor and sub-editor. She's worked on titles including Real, Oprah, True Love, Move!, Mamas and Papas, Essays of Africa and Bona. Kati Dijane, founding editor of KDanielles Media Can you tell us more about KDanielles Media and what your role entails? When did your passion for media begin? You've worked in the media industry for about 10 years. Briefly tell us about your journey. You now run a blog. Tell us more. How did you get into it, and what is your goal? What is your biggest motivation? I want to be a bridge between the storyteller and the audience. Since being in the media industry. What has your biggest achievement been? If you could travel back in time, what advice would you give yourself? Do your best and celebrate each milestone, no matter how small it is. If you could have dinner with any 3 people (alive or dead), who would they be and why? Where do you see yourself in 5 years time? As we celebrate Youth Month, do you have any words of encouragement for the youth? Don't think you are insignificant or don't have a purpose in life. Four years ago, she created KDanielles Media , a platform where she was able to share her voice, provide tips from successful people and chose to profile predominantly young people to encourage other youth that success is possible, no matter your age and chosen career field.As part of our #YouthMatters feature, we are honouring the under-35s who are the rising stars of the future.I am the founding editor of KDanielles Media, which is a blog that I started in May 2017. The blog is a platform that profiles young, successful career-driven and business people with the aim to inspire other young people to not give up on their career and business dreams; and to show that success and fulfilling your dreams is possible, no matter how long it takes. What I believe makes the blog different as well is that sometimes, with the permission of the people I profile, I send out their profiles to other mainstream publications for a possible feature.My passion for media began when I was in primary school when I used to read magazines, especially, which my older sister, Mateboho, used to buy. Khanyi Dhlomo was the editor then. I knew from then that I wanted to make a difference (and a living) through the power of the pen (keyboard).I started my career as a journalist atmagazine, which was published by Media 24, in 2011 after months of freelancing for them. Since then, I worked across different titles, such as editorial assistant, digital editor, sub-editor, and deputy managing editor across different publications and media companies.I have always been an avid reader of different lifestyle websites and blogs, including theeverygirl.com and careergirldaily.com and I also wanted to establish my own blog that targets mainly young women who are starting and navigating their corporate and business journeys.When I started, I profiled people who were already in my contact book such asactress Mapaseka Koetle and also attended events, like The Hookup Dinner, to meet people who I could profile. Social media and press releases were great tools to use to create awareness for the blog.Since then I met and interviewed a lot of inspirational young people, including Zozibini Tunzi, Miss Universe 2019; Terry Pheto, an award-winning actress; fashion designers, Tshepo the Jean Maker and Gert-Johan Coetzee; Molife Kumona, editor of; Sonto Pooe, founder of Native Child; media personality and businesswoman, Bonang Matheba; Timothy Maurice, a best-selling author; Dr. Phumzile Mlambo Ncuka, executive director for UN Women; Christyn Breckenridge, an American businesswoman; Basetsana Kumalo, South African businesswoman; and African Unions Youth Ambassador for Peace, Karabo Mokgonyana to name a few. One of my biggest aims is to grow the blog to a point of creating employment.The fact that each person has a story to tell, which could change someone else's life and through the blog.It was definitely meeting people from different backgrounds and different corporate levels who have trusted me to share their stories across different publications, and especially in my blog.Don't be too hard on yourself because everyone's journey is different.They would be Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi because I believe she reshaped what beauty means on a global scale, and that through her reign, every young girl no matter their background can see themselves in her.Oprah Winfrey because she has proved over the years that you can have a big impact on other people's lives and be very successful doing what you are passionate about and talented in.And, Khanyi Dhlomo, because she inspired my love for the media industry. I'd definitely ask her what she's been up to lately.I see myself heading a communications department or a media organisation. I also see myself as an author of best-selling books. Importantly, I see my blog transitioning into a successful media company.Yes. Many young people have led revolutions and social changes that rewrote history, like Martin Luther King Jr, as well as the South African youth who led the historic march against Bantu education in 1976, which we are commemorating this month.Today, young people across universities are fighting for free education. This shows that you can be the change you want to see, no matter how challenging it may be.Identify your passion, your skills and passion and use those to try to meet the needs of your community. That's how change begins. Nobody can tell us why they closed our program, Michael Thomas said on a recent day at home as he sat on the couch with his mom. At one point during the conversation, he hoisted his leg onto her lap so she could tie his gym shoe, one of the simple tasks he cant do himself. In the past, businesses saw it as a social issue and faced a personal risk to speak out, Sears said. One of our data points that we found from some of our research was that the No. 1 reason gay/lesbian/bisexual people dont come out at work is because they dont want to make their straight colleagues uncomfortable. Well, its the same reason that Black colleagues have not shared the stories of discrimination and racism that they have experienced in their workplace. They were told for so many years, Dont make the white people around you uncomfortable, Sears said. Since last summers unrest, Black and LGBTQ people have been more vocal about discrimination in the workplace. Some students told her, to her face, that they disapproved of her sexual orientation, she said; there were also a lot of disapproving messages online. Once, she got an anonymous letter in the mail saying she should be ashamed of herself. Classmates would ask her to go out for coffee on the pretext of wanting to learn more, and then try to make her renounce her sexual orientation. For over a year now The Gateway Pundit has been reporting evidence that the COVID-19 Virus originated in a Wuhan, China laboratory. Our first report was back on April 9, 2020 when we confirmed Dr. Shi Zhengli ran the coronavirus program at the Wuhan lab AFTER her program was shut down in the US due to a prior leak that killed a researcher! As early as 2018 US State Department officials warned about safety risks at the Wuhan Institute of Virology lab on scientists conducting risky tests with the bat coronavirus. US officials made several trips to the Wuhan laboratory. Despite the warnings, the US National Institute of Health (NIH) under Dr. Anthony Fauci awarded a $3.7 million grant to the Wuhan lab studying the bat virus. This was after State Department warned about the risky tests going on in the lab. The deadly China coronavirus that started in China sometime in late 2019 has now circled the globe. Evidence suggests that the coronavirus didnt come naturally. We still dont know whether the deadly virus was leaked intentionally or if it was an accident. ** And yet as recently as February 9, 2021 , the World Health Organization (WHO) has denied the coronavirus leaked from a lab in Wuhan! But a video has surfaced from December 2019 of WHO official Peter Daszak admitting to coronavirus manipulation at the Wuhan Lab before the pandemic was announced. The video interview was originally filmed on December 9, 2019. A copy was posted in May 2020. As Dr. Lawrence Sellin reported at The Gateway Pundit back in July 2020 Dr. Peter Daszak, President of the EcoHealth Alliance and a long-time collaborator with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, presumably was referring to the Ralph Baric- Zheng-Li Shi experiments, stated you can manipulate them in the lab pretty easily inserting a spike protein into a backbone of another virus. And yet for over a year Dr. Anthony Fauci has vehemently denied the Wuhan coronavirus was man-made until last month when Dr. Fauci admitted it may have possibly been naturally occurring. On Tuesday emails from April 2020 were released via FOIA. In one email from April 18, 2020, Dr. Peter Daszak thanked Dr. Fauci for insisting the COVID-19 virus was naturally occurring when both men knew this was a lie. And now a second email surfaced from the Fauci email dump that shows Dr. Fauci was told inlate January 2020 that some of the features of the coronavirus look engineered. Dr. Fauci knew the truth. And he lied about it for over year maybe because he was funding the projects something else he lied about. What is Illinois waiting for? Lets create our own vaccine lottery and lets make the prizes so large that people cant ignore it. How about a grand prize of $50 million, to be given away on July 4, with 20 second place prices of $1 million each? To ratchet up the lotterys power even more, lets draw the winners from a pool of all vaccine-eligible citizens of Illinois, with the prize money only going to those who can prove they were vaccinated before the drawing. Who will want to face the possible regret of telling their friends and family that they won $50 million but had to forfeit the money? The General Assembly could instead opt for an alternative that would be far better for students, parents and the city. Lightfoot has pushed a compromise version that would establish by 2028 an 11-member board with three elected seats and eight spots appointed by the mayor. Under her plan, that setup would be preceded by a seven-member board in 2026, with two members elected. Lightfoots version gave voters a voice on the board, but maintained accountability for the nations third largest school district where it belongs in the mayors office. Submit your letter to the editor for publication in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Letters should be no more than 300 words and must include the writer's first and last name (no initials), home address and daytime phone number. Submit What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 814-368-3173 or email nfinnerty@oleantimesherald.com. Bradford, PA (16701) Today Partly cloudy with afternoon showers or thunderstorms. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 81F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 57F. Winds light and variable. A man in his 30s is the first COVID-19 related death of a Manitoba resident to occur in an intensive care unit outside the province, Shared Health reported Wednesday. Advertisement Advertise With Us A man in his 30s is the first COVID-19 related death of a Manitoba resident to occur in an intensive care unit outside the province, Shared Health reported Wednesday. "The ICU patient who was cared for at an Ontario hospital since May 20, has died," Shared Health said in a release. No further details were available. In an effort to manage the ongoing surge of patients, five more COVID-19 patients were transported out of province on June 1. Four of the five patients went to Ontario hospitals in Windsor, Sault Ste. Marie, St. Thomas-Elgin and Markham. One patient was sent to hospital in Saskatchewan. Due to privacy of the patients, Shared Health and the Saskatchewan government did not indicate specifically where the patient was transferred. One patient was repatriated to a hospital in Manitoba on Tuesday following care in an Ontario ICU. Alberta Health Services reached an agreement with the Manitoba government to accept up to 10 intensive care patients from the province. The province is currently receiving assistance from the Ontario and Saskatchewan governments with federal support from the Canadian Armed Forces. The number of critically ill COVID patients from Manitoba being treated out of province is 40. This includes 38 patients in Ontario and two in Saskatchewan. The number of patients returned to Manitoba for ongoing hospital care following discharge from an out-of-province ICU is now at seven. The number of critically ill COVID patients transported out of province since May 18 is now at 48. That includes 46 patients to Ontario and two to Saskatchewan. More patients were scheduled to be transported out of province to Ontario hospitals on Wednesday. Shared Health reported 11 more COVID patients were admitted to ICU in a 24-hour period ending midday Tuesday. This is a continuation of a weeks-long trend, stressing the provinces critical care program. The admissions are in addition to non-COVID patients who require critical care. In May, 253 COVID patients were admitted to ICU, which is more than five times the totals for April. The numbers referenced from Tuesdays 24-hour period will be included in the June statistics. As of midnight Wednesday, 127 patients were in Manitoba ICUs, including 69 who have or are recovering from COVID-19 and 16 of these 69 patients under the age of 40. The normal, pre-COVID baseline capacity for ICU was 72 patients. There were three more deaths in the province related to COVID-19 Wednesday. A woman in her 50s from the Winnipeg health region died of COVID-19. A man in is 60s from the Winnipeg health region died of the B.1.1.17 variant, and a woman in her 80s from the Winnipeg health region died from the B.1.1.7 variant. The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 12 per cent provincially and 13.5 per cent in Winnipeg. There were 232 new cases of the virus in the province. However, six cases have been removed due to data correction. This brings the net-new number of cases today to 226 and the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Manitoba to 51,316. The following is a breakdown of cases reported Wednesday: 10 cases in the Interlake-Eastern health region; 13 cases in the Northern health region; five cases in Prairie Mountain Health; 36 cases in Southern HealthSante Sud; and 168 cases in the Winnipeg health region. There were 4,333 active cases and 45,927 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19. There were 229 people in hospital with active COVID-19 as well as 76 people in hospital with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require care, for a total of 305 hospitalizations. There were 51 people in intensive care units with active COVID-19 as well as 21 people with COVID-19 who are no longer infectious but continue to require critical care, for a total of 72 ICU patients. There were 2,396 laboratory tests completed Tuesday, bringing the total number of lab tests completed since early February 2020 to 772,477. There were 1,056 deaths in people with COVID-19, the province reported Wednesday. Outbreaks have been declared at Health Sciences Centre, GD4; Grace Hospital, 3 South; Beacon Hill Lodge Personal Care Home in Winnipeg, and the Surgery Unit at the Dauphin Regional Health Centre. The facilities have been moved to the critical (red) level. kkielley@brandonsun.com Representatives of scooter companies said they have the capability to activate technology to prevent the vehicles from riding on sidewalks, and to require drivers licenses proving the renters are 18 years old to rent the scooters. And they said they could require the scooters be parked in certain areas, to reduce clutter. With one Westman MP having almost got his private members bill to the finish line, the other is trying his luck at accomplishing the same thing. Advertisement Advertise With Us With one Westman MP having almost got his private members bill to the finish line, the other is trying his luck at accomplishing the same thing. Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Larry Maguires bill on small business and farm inheritance has gotten through the House of Commons and into the Senate, and now his colleague from Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa has introduced legislation taking on internet service providers. Dan Maziers first-ever private members bill, Bill C-299, would require telecommunications companies to provide customers with more accurate information about the internet speeds they provide. Speaking to the Sun by phone, Mazier said internet providers tell customers that theyll receive speeds "up to" a certain point, but the speeds customers receive is frequently far below that target. "Right now, they can actually tell you here, we can offer you this service," Mazier said. "Its a theoretical service, its not the actual, factual service. Not the service that theyre actually offering." He likened it to being told that youll be receiving a four-wheel drive machine but only actually receiving a two-wheel drive machine. If passed, Maziers bill would amend the Telecommunications Act to require carriers of fixed broadband service to provide the public with information on their service quality metrics during peak periods, typical download and upload speeds during peak periods and any other information required by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission that is in the publics interest. According to the MP, the CRTC already collects this information from internet providers. His bill would make the information public. A media release put out by Maziers office states that Australia and the United Kingdom have both introduced measures to combat theoretical claims. In Australias case, the release stated that reports written after the measures were implemented reduced the number of complaints received by companies, increased service quality and consumer satisfaction. The release also includes an endorsement from a lawyer from the Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic lawyer named Tamir Israel. "This bill would provide Internet customers with a critical tool," Israel is quoted as saying in the release. The absence of clear speed labelling prevents many customers from making informed decisions when picking between Internet providers with competing service quality." According to its website, the clinics mission is to "advance the public interest on critical law and technology issues." "Absolutely," Mazier said when asked if he expects pushback from telecommunications companies on his bill. "Anytime we go to legislate or go to change the type of rules, they say this is going to cost the consumer more, so just let us go and do it. There is not enough competition when you have these oligopolies in certain areas. They always plead its going to cost more money. The reality is, were already paying far more for our services now. Were supposed to be getting world-class service, and were not." Apart from potentially improving Canadians internet service, Mazier said hes proud of his bill for offering a solution to a problem that wont end up costing taxpayers any money. The bill is currently in the second reading stage and will have its first hour of debate in September when the House returns from its summer break. cslark@brandonsun.com Twitter: @ColinSlark Manitobas police watchdog has charged an RCMP officer with a number of driving offences. Advertisement Advertise With Us Manitobas police watchdog has charged an RCMP officer with a number of driving offences. The Independent Investigations Unit of Manitoba launched an investigation after complaints against an on-duty RCMP officer on Jan. 8, according to a Thursday IIU statement. According to a Jan. 18 press release, at approximately 12 p.m. the officer was seen driving on Highway 83 "recklessly" and at an excessive speed. The IIUs civilian director, Zane Tessler, determined there were grounds to charge the officer under the provinces Highway Traffic Act. The officer has been charged with speeding, failing to stop at a stop sign and failing to signal a lane change. The officer is scheduled to appear in Virden Provincial Court on July 16. The Brandon Sun Mat Stone never imagined his experience working as a landscaper, personal trainer, tour guide and as a competitive cyclist would provide him with valuable skills he now uses working in aged care. The 46-year-old saw a careers counsellor last year who advised him that his strength was in working with people. Aged care was suggested to him as a possible option. I thought I might try that aged care gig and started studying and took a liking to the study, he said. Aged care worker Mat Stone brings his many life experiences that include competitive cycling to his job. I started working as a landscaper at the age of 19 and was juggling two jobs [landscaper and personal coach] for about 10 years. He also worked in tourism and was a competitive cyclist. If you have always wanted to own a work by a great artist but have never been able to afford the price tag, heres your chance. Artworks by 15 of this years Archibald, Sulman and Wynne prize finalists, and other well-known Australian artists, will be sold for a paltry $100 each this weekend. Theres just one catch. You will only learn the identity of the artist after you buy the work in whats being billed as an Australian first for an art show. The Incognito Art Show will feature 1500 postcard-sized works from artists including Ben Quilty, Laura Jones, Abdul Abdullah and Jasper Knight at Verona Studio in Paddington on Saturday. A movie about the events leading up to the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 has been accepted into competition at the Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first Australian movie in a decade to be chosen. Nitram, directed by Justin Kurzel and written by Shaun Grant the duo responsible for Snowtown and True History of the Kelly Gang stars American actor Caleb Landry Jones in the lead role of an unnamed loner who goes on a mass shooting rampage. American actor Caleb Landry Jones plays a disturbed young man who becomes a mass murderer in Nitram, a movie about the Port Arthur massacre from writer Shaun Grant and director Justin Kurzel. Credit:Ben Saunders Though clearly based on the events at the convict prison historic site in Tasmania in April 1996, the film does not mention the killer by name, in line with a growing movement around the world to deny perpetrators of such atrocities the recognition they desire. The movie is produced by Good Things, with Stan (owned by Nine, the owner of this masthead), and the Melbourne International Film Festival among its financiers. Unusually for a film of this scale and with such a strong creative pedigree, it did not receive direct funding support through state film agencies or Screen Australia likely because it was deemed too controversial. Former special forces soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has filed Federal Court proceedings against his ex-wife just days before his high-stakes defamation case against The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald is due to start. His estranged ex-wife, Emma Roberts, is expected to give evidence for the newspapers in that case. Mr Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient, launched the defamation lawsuit over reports that he says accused him of murder during his 2009 to 2012 tour of Afghanistan. He is also suing the parties, that include The Canberra Times, now under separate ownership, and three journalists, over an allegation of committing an act of domestic violence against a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair. Mr Roberts-Smith denies all wrongdoing. The trial, estimated to run for up to 10 weeks, is due to begin in the Federal Court in Sydney on Monday. Victorian authorities say two cases of stranger-to-stranger transmission the existence of which had been used to build the case for the extended lockdown have been reclassified as false positives. The two cases related to a woman who was thought to have acquired the virus at a Metricon display homes exposure site at Mickleham, and a male who was believed to have contracted the virus while dining the Brighton Beach Hotel. Testing commander Jeroen Weimar speaking to the media on Wednesday. Credit:Eddie Jim Deakin University epidemiologist Catherine Bennett said she was optimistic the reclassification of the cases could dramatically improve the outlook for the current lockdown. The Department of Health announced the reclassifications on Thursday night, days after the cases had been used to illustrate how contagious the strain of the virus spreading in Victoria is. The surface of Venus is much hotter than an oven. The atmospheric pressure crushes spacecraft like tin cans. Sulphuric acid falls as raindrops. But high above, among the planets swirling yellow cloud decks, things are calmer. There is water, and temperatures that approximate Earths. And, just maybe, a signal of life. To investigate, NASA said on Thursday it would finally return to Venus. Two $645 million probes, DAVINCI+ and VERITAS, are slated to launch between 2028 and 2030. They will sample the planets atmosphere, map the surface and look for evidence of past oceans and current life forms. Three police have been charged by Victorias anti-corruption watchdog over an incident in which a mans neck was broken during an arrest. The three officers have been charged with negligently causing serious injury, almost four years after Chris Karadaglis neck was broken while he was being arrested at his home in Warrnambool in November 2017. Chris Karadaglis was left paralysed from the neck down. Credit:Eddie Jim Police had been called to the 47-year-olds home to respond to a noise complaint. Mr Karadaglis was left paralysed from the neck down after he was allegedly handcuffed, put in a headlock and brought to the ground. The charges follow an IBAC investigation, Operation Blackmore, into an incident that occurred in Warrnambool in November 2017, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission said in a statement on Thursday. Mr Parkers reach extends across the eastern seaboard. In July 2018 Mr Parker toured Sydney for a series of talks on sexual orientation and sexual culture to parishes including St Charbels and St Josephs Maronite churches in Sydney. He was a keynote speaker at the 2019 Fiat Youth Congress in Victoria and is a regular on various podcasts distributed by Parousia Media, which promotes tours and events from Mr Parker and other speakers. Churches in several Perth suburbs have also hosted Mr Parker and his presentations have been promoted by Family Voice Australia, National Civic Council, Australian Christians and the Australian Christian Lobby. ACLs WA director Peter Abetz, a former Liberal member of the WA Parliament and now deputy mayor of Perth local government electorate Gosnells, has co-presented similar events with Mr Parker. The pair have previously campaigned against marriage equality and the Safe Schools program and have criticised the McGowan state government over its promise to outlaw gay conversion therapy. Ahead of the same-sex marriage plebiscite in 2017, Mr Parker claimed on Perth radio being gay could lead to an early death, and last year on Sky News the Christian activist likened Victorias proposed conversion therapy ban to Nazi Germany. Gay conversion therapy is now banned in Victoria, the ACT and Queensland. The WA government pledged to use the federal governments national code of conduct for unregulated healthcare workers to stop it too. The flyer advertises how attendees would hear stories of hope from those who had previously lived as LGBTQ+. Credit:Facebook If the introduction of legislation and/or regulations is necessary to give effect to the code, that will be looked at, a WA government spokesperson told WAtoday. Gay conversion therapy or efforts to change a persons sexual orientation was not therapeutic and caused mental health harm to LGBTI people, they said. Regulated healthcare areas such as psychiatry and psychology have codes of conduct that ban conversion practices and the national code would place standards on unregulated areas such as counselling services to give health authorities the power to intervene if someone offered the practice. Critics say the code doesnt extend to church groups, where they say the majority of conversion practices occurs. Health professionals, psychologists and advocates have condemned pressure by churches and other groups to make a person change or alter their sexuality or gender identity. Mr Parker posted a new blog online on Wednesday saying the evening contained no mention of going from gay to straight, and that the idea of being cured of homosexuality through quack conversion techniques was denounced from the stage. Storytellers merely shared how their life choices had brought about a deeper hope, a greater dignity, and a wider vision for their lives. Wouldnt anybody wish the same for their LGBTQ+ neighbour? he wrote. He also said WAs state government had yet to listen to the stories of many same-sex attracted and gender dysphoric people who had significantly benefited as a result of types of therapeutic help which politicians now seemed assiduous in their attempts to ban. On Wednesday Mr Parker wrote that it was becomming clearer that the tail was now wagging the dog, as public servants, in reference to the ABCs coverage, bowed down in servitude to LGBTQ+ lobbyists. As a former gay activist, I know firsthand that this was the goal we planned more than three decades ago and most people have fallen for the propaganda, only the cracks are now rapidly beginning to show, he wrote. Not only are mental health issues consistently disproportionate in the LGBTQ+ community, government funding is often increased to deal with mental distress in LGBTQ+ individuals with few signs of any significant, long-lasting improvements. Compare this to the advances which have transpired in the lives of the eight speakers who shared their real-life stories, and you might wonder why a macro minority would not want to replicate the hope, dignity and vision this micro minority of courageous individuals have found? Albany Baptist Church had promoted last weeks events on social media as an opportunity for parishioners to hear from people who embraced religion and ceased being same-sex attracted or transgender but removed the post after widespread criticism. Albany Pride spokesperson Tiger Bird said the context of Mr Parkers presentations could harm a persons mental wellbeing. The questioning and coming out experience is really unique to LGBT people; its a confusing and troubling time, and its inevitably made a lot harder when the people and society around you are opposed to LGBT people or view them as disordered or damaged, he said. For people that have spent their lives in these churches, whose family and friends are all connected with a particular church or religion, the damage is immense. Loading It puts them in a position of having to accept who they are and live authentically, or to lose everything and everyone they know and love. Mr Bird said society often mistook gay conversion therapy with extremes such as electro-shock treatment, torture, physical abuse and corrective rape. It can be a lot more subtle than that such as the idea that you can effectively pray the gay away, he said. Albany Baptist Church senior pastor Phil Beeck said a youth-focused session on Friday promoted counselling for same-gender attraction while the first event was well attended. It was an amazing night, around 430 people attended and we received only positive responses from all who came, Mr Beeck said. What is gay conversion therapy? Gay conversion therapy can take place in health clinics but mainly involves faith-based groups providing counselling and group support activities designed to overcome same-sex attraction and change gender identity or expression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse people. The practice includes prayer, scripture reading, fasting, spiritual healing and spiritual deliverance to heal sexual brokenness. Despite claims to the contrary, exorcism (as popularly understood in the west) has not been a feature of gay conversion therapy practised in Christian communities. Some faith-based organisations have referred people to registered medical and psychological clinicians known to provide psychotherapy, pharmacological and aversion therapies. Gay conversion therapy is based on the belief that everyone is born with the potential to develop into heterosexual people. Despite the term including the word gay, which refers to sexual orientation, conversion therapy is also based on the belief that peoples gender identity should accord with that assigned to them at birth. It emerged in Australian conservative Christian communities in the early 1970s and continues to be promoted by many churches, mosques and synagogues, through print and digital media, and some Christian radio programs. About 10 per cent of Australians who are attracted to people of the same sex or who are gender diverse are vulnerable to conversion therapy practices. Although the number of religious groups advertising gay conversion therapy in Australia and New Zealand has fallen sharply over the years, researchers have been unable to determine whether the practice itself has actually dropped off. Some religious groups engaged in gay conversion therapy have moved away from suggesting same-sex attraction can be overcome, instead promoting activities to help same-sex attracted people live chaste and celibate lives in accordance with their religious beliefs. Source: La Trobe University, the Human Rights Law Commission and Rainbow Healths Preventing Harm, Promoting Justice study, 2018. Scott Stoffel, an Abbott spokesperson, said employees were told the plant will close by the end of the week. They are being paid through then. The rapid COVID-19 antigen tests will continue to be made at other facilities, including one in Lake County. Britains high commissioner to Australia says the worlds leading export nations can avoid potential carbon tariffs by lifting their level of climate ambition when they head to the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow in November. Australia is pushing back against the widespread implementation of the mechanism, which has been flagged by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as an option to address global inaction on emissions reduction by taxing products from countries with weaker climate laws. Britains high commissioner to Australia, Vicki Treadell, says climate change remains the British governments number one policy priority. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Other nations to have expressed concern include Brazil, China, Thailand, the Philippines, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which argue the measure could distort global value chains and would be primarily designed to stop investment leaving Europe. Vicki Treadell, the United Kingdoms top diplomat in Canberra, said on Thursday climate change remained the British governments number one policy priority and it would top the agenda at the G7 summit in Cornwall, England this month. ABC director Joseph Gersh has said he would have preferred rape allegations against Industry Minister Christian Porter were never made but asserted it was the national broadcasters responsibility to hold the powerful to account and that its board would never intervene in editorial matters. Mr Gersh, who has sat on the ABC board since 2018, slammed accusations the national broadcaster is engaged in a witch hunt against the government after a high-profile legal dispute with Mr Porter over stories it has published and growing criticism from Liberal Party figures over the issue. ABC director Joseph Gersh has denied the national broadcaster is engaging in a witch hunt. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer The ABC has to be frank and fearless in what it does, in holding those in power to account and it has to do so consistently with its charter and editorial policies, and the board cant interfere, Mr Gersh said in an interview with ABC Melbourne radio presenter Virginia Trioli. Would I prefer a world in which these allegations were never made? Yes. But thats not my choice. And nor is it my role as a board member to stop the ABC acting professionally in the pursuit of its obligations to the public. Mr Gersh is the executive chairman of Gersh Investment Partners. He sits on the ABC board with chair Ita Buttrose, Peter Lewis, Georgie Somerset, Fiona Balfour, Mario DOrazio and Peter Tonagh. He appeared on ABC Melbourne on Thursday morning after former Victorian Liberal Party president and ABC board member from 1998 to 2003 Michael Kroger said that Ms Buttrose should resign from her position. Australias Ambassador to the United States, Arthur Sinodinos, says a scientific arms race between America and China has created a boom in opportunities for universities to collaborate on defence and sensitive technologies research with our foremost ally. Mr Sinodinos said the Biden administration was seeking out closer research collaboration with its allies and intelligence partners and was watching closely how Australia managed foreign interference risks inside universities. Ambassador of Australia to the United States Arthur Sinodinos has urged universities to capitalise on the research arms races between America and China. Credit:Amanda Andrade-Rhoades This new world of prosperity, science and national security is likely to result in more interesting Five Eyes co-operation in university research, Mr Sinodinos said in a keynote speech to a Universities Australia conference via videolink on Thursday. He said research and development was getting a lot of attention in the US, where Congress was debating a bill for $110 billion for science and technology research aimed at countering growing strategic competition from China. Washington: The Biden administration has unveiled the first phase of its plan to share US-manufactured COVID-19 vaccines with the world by announcing it will distribute 25 million doses to needy countries. The initial rollout will focus on developing countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa, with 19 million doses distributed via the COVAX global vaccine sharing initiative. US President Joe Biden, pictured with Vice-President Kamala Harris, has released details of his plan to share 25 million COVID-19 vaccine doses with the world. Credit:AP The remaining 6 million doses will be shared directly with US allies such as Mexico, Canada and South Korea as well as Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Australia is not among the more than 40 countries that will receive allocations in this phase of the US vaccine-sharing program. United Airlines says it will buy ultra-fast jets from Denver-based aerospace company Boom Supersonic, bringing back supersonic passenger travel that died out with the retirement of the Anglo-French Concorde in 2003. Under the agreement, the airline will buy 15 of Booms Overture aircraft once they meet Uniteds safety, operating and sustainability requirements, with an option for an additional 35 aircraft. A rendering of the supersonic jet that United Airlines will buy from Boom Supersonic. Credit:Boom Supersonic Overture, a supersonic aircraft with 65 to 88 seats which will initially be priced at business class fares, would cut flying time between London and the New York area by 50 per cent to about 3 hours, while Tokyo would be only six hours from San Francisco. The announcement comes less than two weeks after Aerions plans to produce a supersonic business jet faltered due to a lack of funding for production. But it doesnt eliminate my disappointment that it took national pressure to get Stanford to do what it should have done at the beginning, which is to realise it could not take action in this case. Stanfords investigation had triggered red flags among First Amendment advocates, who noted that the Supreme Court has held that satire of public figures qualifies as free speech. Loading A reasonable person cant read this email and think on the morning of January 6, Senator Hawley was actually in Northern California teaching students how to riot, said Adam Steinbaugh, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which advocates for freedom of speech on campus. Thats why its ironic. Thats why its satirical. Steinbaugh noted that while private universities are not beholden to free speech laws, Californias Leonard Law requires equal First Amendment protections for public and private institutions. Wallace, a third-year law student from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who is planning to take the bar exam this summer in his home state, dreamed up the satirical flyer in the wake of the Capitol riot. Following the events on January 6, the Federalist Society faced criticism after some members in Congress and state governments were accused of inciting or condoning the insurrection. On January 25, Wallace, who declined to comment for this story, sent the flyer using the similar format and tone of the Stanford Federalist Societys emails, to a student-run email list that is often used as a forum for politics discussion. The flyer, which was dated January 6, advertised an event called The Originalist Case for Inciting Insurrection. Senator Hawley will argue that the ends justify the means, Wallace wrote. Attorney-General Paxton will explain that when the Supreme Court refuses to exercise its Article III authority to overturn the results of a free and fair election, calling on a violent mob to storm the Capitol represents an appropriate alternative remedy. The flyer attracted mixed reactions among Stanfords law students. Some found it amusing, while members of the Federalist Society protested, according to copies of the emails made public by FIRE. The email soon went viral and was shared widely on Twitter and posted in a Facebook group dedicated to law school memes. USA Today caught wind of the post and published a fact check, confirming that the flyer was indeed fake. The outrage eventually simmered down and for months Wallace heard nothing about it. He was unaware, though, that a leader of Stanfords Federalist Society chapter, who has not been publicly identified, filed a student conduct complaint to the universitys Office of Community Standards in March. Wallace defamed the student group, its officers, Senator Josh Hawley, and Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton, the complaint said, adding that Wallace deceived people and that the reputations of members of the group have been harmed. In May, the group put pressure on Stanfords Office of Community Standards to pursue the charges, according to FIRE. On May 22, weeks before law school graduation, the university notified Wallace that the school was proceeding with the complaint and that his diploma would be put on hold. The Stanford Federalist Society did not immediately respond to request for comment late on Wednesday. Steinbaugh then took up the case, sending Stanford a letter expressing his organisations concerns that the investigation violated Wallaces free speech protections. If youre running a student conduct office at a university like Stanford, you should know what protected speech looks like and you should already have made steps to make sure that wont have a chilling effect, Steinbaugh said. Wallace said the schools decision to open a probe tarnished his last weeks at Stanford. It has been a pretty awful way to close out my career at Stanford, Wallace told Slate. Instead of studying for finals, Im trying to figure this out. I just sent an email to my family trying to reassure them that I havent blown it in my last few days at Stanford. Bryan, OH (43506) Today Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High 86F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear early, then a few clouds later on. Low near 60F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Norwegian renewable major Scatec has entered an agreement with Gurgaon-based to pick up a 50 per cent stake in the latter's 900-Mw solar power plant in Rajasthan. ACME had won this project at a record low tariff of Rs 2.44 per unit in 2018. In a public statement, Scatec said it has entered a partnership with ACME, to realise a 900-Mw solar power plant in the state of Rajasthan, India. The project holds a 25-year PPA with Corporation of India (SECI). The country is targeting a significant growth in capacity by 2030 and is a key growth market for renewables. We have already established a presence on the ground and are positioning for future tenders within solar, wind and hybrids, said Raymond Carlsen, CEO of Scatec. The project has an estimated total capex of USD 400 million, with 75 per cent debt financing from an Indian state-owned lender. Scatec will hold a 50 per cent economic interest in the project, while ACME will retain 50%. ACME will be the turn-key EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) provider for the project, Scatec said in the statement. ACME last year in May had applied for cancellation of PPA for a portion of the same project, citing pandemic as the reason for cancellation of agreement with SECI. providing support services to have initiated discussions with banks to raise debt under the modified Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS). On Sunday the government announced that in the which are facing headwinds would be able to borrow up to Rs 200 crore of fresh loans under the scheme. Aviation sector sources and bankers say that the expanded scheme could address the financing requirements of ancillary units in the whose financing requirements are lower than those of Since ECLGS scheme has been made available to the civil aviation sector, we are evaluating the funding options and our team is in discussion with banks to understand the modified scheme. We will be able to take a call once we have more clarity on the terms. The sector should be given another round of bank moratorium, said Murali Ramachandran, India CEO of Celebi Aviation which provides ground handling services to at major airports. Our business is at 20 per cent of the pre-Covid level but our costhave reduced only marginally. We have not received any relief on airport charges, rent or interest payments and we still need to service those with a substantially depleted revenue inflow, he added. A spokesperson of the Bird group which also provides ground handling services said business has been a challenge as it is operating at only 30 per cent of its pre-Covid capacity. We havent opted for restructuring of our loans and shall consider the ECLGS scheme, he added. fell 27 per cent in April on a sequential basis and contracted further in May as states tightened Covid-19 restrictions and enforced lockdowns. Rating agency ICRA estimates that domestic traffic in May fell sequentially by around 65-67 per cent to 1.9-2 million. Subodh Rai, chief ratings officer, CRISIL Ratings said It will take at least two quarters for demand to recover to January-March 2021 levels. The move to include civil aviation in the scheme will provide the sector much-needed liquidity support amid materially constrained cash generation ability due to several localized lockdowns. The continued inclusion of aviation in the ECLGS 3.0 with extended benefits of a six year period and two year moratorium will undoubtedly help a lot of aviation firms including us to maintain liquidity and overcome the acute headwinds emanating from the second wave of Covid-19, said D Anand Bhaskar, managing director of Air Works, an aircraft maintenance repair and overhaul firm. Airline executives said that the emergency credit line of Rs 200 crore will not have any material impact on their financials and instead the government should focus on giving waiver in dues and do structural changes like including Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) under GST. A Rs 200 crore of credit line means virtually nothing for an airline, said a CEO of a private carrier. Listed airlines IndiGo and SpiceJet earned revenue of Rs 1,714 crore and Rs 635 crore during October-December quarter. In such a scheme of things, Rs 200 crore will not make any material impact, the CEO said. Currently, most of the airline debt is owed to operational creditors like lessors and airports and not banks. So a credit line of Rs 200 crore will allow airlines to pay pending charges to those operational creditors and buy more time. Lessors are now daily asking to clear past dues. So if a company is able to clear a portion of the dues, it will help the airline to buy more time from the lessor, an aviation source said. Executives of airlines instead said that the should be given a waiver in terms of charges from landing and parking charges of airports. Passenger numbers in flights are depleting because of government-induced lockdown and curfews. Hence, we have been forced to ground and park our aircraft in airports owned by the Airport Authority of India, which is a government organisation. But we are being forced to pay Rs 9 per minute for parking those. Government should waive off those charges, a CFO of a private airline said. Text-to-donate campaign seeks support for COVID-19 fight A text message campaign for making donations to the fight against COVID-19 and the vaccines for workers programme were launched in Hanoi on June 3 as Vietnam exerts every effort to contain its latest outbreak. Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue (centre) and other officials at the launch of the text message campaign on June 3 (Photo: VNA) The launch, held by the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, and the Ministry of Information and Communications, saw the presence of Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Vuong Dinh Hue. All donations via text messages sent to the National Humanitarian Portal on 1400 will be transferred to the COVID-19 vaccine fund and used to assist anti-COVID-19 activities, with priority given to the procurement of vaccines for workers and the disadvantaged. Addressing the event, NA Chairman Hue asked VFF member organisations to increase communications to help people from all social strata understand the purpose of the text campaign. President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour Nguyen Dinh Khang also appealed to organisations, individuals, agencies, and enterprises to continue giving material and spiritual support to the COVID-19 fight. At the launch, Hanoi trade unions presented initial donations of 12 billion VND (nearly 522,000 USD) to the COVID-19 vaccine fund. Other trade unions at ministries and agencies contributed nearly 146 billion VND to the vaccines for workers programme. But the Traces heyday began in 1801, when President Thomas Jefferson ordered the U.S. Army to turn the rustic path into a federal road. Development of the road was ostensibly to allow mail delivery between Nashville and Natchez, and to provide safe passage home for the Kaintucks boatmen who regularly sailed down the Mississippi to the port cities of Natchez and New Orleans to sell their goods, then walked back home, the river being too difficult to navigate upstream. The improved road did help the post riders and Kaintucks, but it also served as a critical route for the movement of soldiers during the War of 1812 and other conflicts possibly its intended purpose. Pune-based vaccine maker (SII) has sought indemnity from the government of India from any claims linked to the use of their Covid-19 vaccines, according to sources. Meanwhile, the company is also in discussions with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to manufacture Sputnik V vaccine in India. SII sources said the company was hoping that if legal protection or indemnity is given to foreign vaccine makers, the same would be applicable for all. SII had sought indemnity for Covishield, the AstraZeneca vaccine before it launched the same in India. SII Chief Executive Adar Poonawalla had then indicated that legal indemnity was required to ensure that the vaccination drive could be completed smoothly. In an interview in January, Poonawalla had said an indemnity clause during the period of the pandemic would ensure the vaccination drive did not halt if there was an injunction. SII is selling the AstraZeneca vaccine named Covishield in India. It is also manufacturing the Novavax Covid-19 vaccine and would bring the same to the Indian market. Besides, the company has two more Covid-19 vaccines in its pipeline Spy Biotech and Codagenix candidates. No indemnity, however, was given to SII or Bharat Biotech when the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive was rolled out. Legal experts had pointed out at that time that by making the vaccination drive voluntary, the government has built in a concept of implied consent or that one understands the risks and benefits. However, after foreign vaccine makers like Pfizer and Moderna insisted on indemnity, the government is now giving this a serious thought. Reports suggest the Centre is likely to allow indemnity to these foreign vaccine makers. This would mean that by default, the same would extend to the Indian vaccine makers, too. Bharat Biotech and Zydus Cadila did not wish to respond on the matter. Most developed economies have opted for a no-fault vaccine injury compensation scheme, where a claim can be filed against the government by anyone who has received the vaccine and has been injured as a result, provided that the claim is filed within an agreed period, said Sidharrth Shankar, Partner, J Sagar Associates. He said some countries like Australia agreed on the inclusion of an indemnity provision, where an aggrieved person will have to file a legal action against the vaccine maker, and the government will foot the bill in case the action is successful. Most European economies have only agreed to be liable for claims which exceed a pre-agreed limit. In such cases, the vaccine maker bears the risk as well. While the Indian government can go ahead with the approach followed by other countries, it will raise demands from other manufacturers, Shankar said. Meanwhile, SII is in discussions with RDIF to make the Sputnik V vaccine at Pune, sources claimed. Discussions are on to decide on the number of doses SII can make. The company did not wish to comment. RDIF has tied up with several Indian manufacturers to make over 850 million doses of Sputnik V. SII has begun initial discussions with the regulator. SII is now making around 70 million doses per month of Covishield and has also started production of Covovax, the Novavax vaccine. It aims to make 100 million doses a month of Covishield from July onwards. A source indicated that SII has the capacity to manufacture Sputnik V. It has been readying plants for its pipeline products. Some capacity from that could be used to make Sputnik V. Recently, the firm had sought a Rs 3,000 crore grant from the Centre to allocate more capacities to make Covishield. It had said if it has to sacrifice some more capacity to make Covishield, then at least the cost of machinery and equipment should be given. Swedish telecom gear maker on Thursday said it has donated to around USD 1 million as a contribution from the company and its employees globally towards the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Ericsson's donation will go towards providing critical medical supplies and equipment in India. This includes, increasing the number of RT-PCR testing machines to boost identification of new COVID-19 cases and providing oxygen generation plants as well as procuring other critical supplies for health facilities in areas with the greatest needs in the country. "These supplies and equipment will ensure continuity and sustained access to immediate health services for children and their families and contribute to strengthening the health system in the future," said in a statement. The company's employees from more than 95 countries contributed to the cause. "As part of their support, made an upfront donation to and launched a month-long company matching employee donation drive globally in May, which resulted in a total donation amount of USD 9,71,567 to UNICEF," the statement said. India is well placed to support preparedness and response to COVID-19, through its well-established presence across 13 field offices in India, where it works to provide assistance and technical expertise in the areas of health, nutrition, water and sanitation, disaster risk reduction, education and child protection. "India is a very important market for Ericsson and a large number of our global employee base is located there. Many Ericsson colleagues around the globe asked how they could support India during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic," Heather Johnson, vice president for sustainability and corporate responsibility for Ericsson, said. Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director for Partnerships, said the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted countless lives in India and around the world. "UNICEF, together with partners, are tirelessly working to help save lives through the swift delivery and provision of urgent medical supplies and equipment in India. We are grateful to Ericsson and their employees for their timely and generous support in this crisis," Gornitzka 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.) Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor The government must consider Air India's massive financial burden, which is likely to be a potential liability of USD 20 billion before a business turnaround, during the disinvestment process and look at possible changes to the contours of the proposed sale, according to a report. Leading consultancy CAPA India on Thursday also emphasised that the government should have a 'Plan B' for the national carrier in place now, which can be immediately operationalised, if required, in face of the prevailing situation. The coronavirus pandemic has significantly impacted the industry worldwide, including India. Domestic carriers are now grappling with lower demand and rising costs, amid the second COVID wave. CAPA India said that shuttering would not only be extremely challenging politically but will have a notable impact on the market, especially in the international segment. The second COVID wave has increased industry challenges significantly and, as a result, may potentially increase the liabilities of to around an estimated USD 20 billion by FY2025, it added. As the government remains committed to the privatisation of the flag carrier, showing strategic resolve to conclude the transaction as a priority, the report said the intention to exit is the right strategy and must be pursued aggressively. Taking into account estimated losses in FY2021 and FY2022, Air India's liabilities will amount to over USD 16 billion, the report said. Aside from the existing liabilities, the airline is likely to incur closer to USD 4 billion of losses during FY23-25, it added. "Hence, the equation from an investor's perspective is a potential liability of around USD 20 billion before the business turns around. The government must therefore keep this massive financial burden in mind and consideration should be given to making changes to the terms and conditions," the report said. According to the report, it would be "highly unfortunate" if the government has to continue to support the national carrier when there will be so many high priority health and social infrastructure projects post-COVID, towards which public funds would be better directed. It also said that short-listed bidders may find it difficult to prepare a bid in the current challenging environment and therefore not certain at this stage whether the privatisation will succeed unless changes are made to the offer, CAPA India said. "We believe that the Government of India must have a Plan B for Air India in place now, which can be immediately operationalised if required. Ideally, the transaction will go through successfully, but the government should not be left scrambling for answers at the time should that not be the case," it said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) has secured a USD 239 million judgment in the commercial division of the High Court of London against a Cypriot subsidiary of India-based Essar Shipping Group, believed to be one of the largest debt judgments obtained by an Indian bank in the English courts. Mumbai-headquartered IDBI had entered into loans totalling USD 148 million with two Singapore registered -- Varada Drilling One Pte Ltd and Varada Drilling Two Pte Ltd -- for the construction of two jack up drilling rigs in March 2013. IDH International Drilling Holdco Ltd (IDH), the Cypriot-registered parent company of the borrowers, gave a corporate guarantee in respect of the loan. The loan and guarantee were governed by English laws and were therefore subject to the jurisdiction of the English courts. This is an important judgment both in terms of its size and the message it sends to defaulters that Indian banks are willing and able to recover outstanding debts through the English courts, said Nick Curling, legal director at TLT LLP, the London law firm representing IDBI. According to the law firm, in July 2017, after the borrowers failed to make scheduled repayments, IDBI served a formal demand for repayment of the principal amount, contractual interest, default interest and fees. After further non-payment, the borrowers entered liquidation in Singapore and, in January 2020, TLT commenced proceedings in the on behalf of IDBI. Subsequently, IDBI, IDH and Essar Capital Holdings Limited, another Essar Shipping Group company, entered into a one time settlement agreement pursuant to which IDBI agreed to accept a partial payment in full and final settlement of the debt, provided the sum was paid on or before February 28 this year. No such payment was received and, on March 1, IDBI applied for summary judgment, arguing there was no real prospect of IDH successfully defending the claim at trial. The case was heard in the Commercial Court on May 21 by Deputy High Court Judge Leigh-Ann Mulcahy QC. Essar spokesperson said, IDH is disappointed with the judgment as it had consistently argued that this debt was subject to a settlement arrangement reached with the lenders in 2020 and which is in the process of being implemented (and that remains the case). An affiliate of IDH has already paid 10 per cent down payment pursuant to that settlement arrangement and is confident of implementing the final stages of this settlement in next few months on completion of certain outstanding conditions. IDH is considering its position with regard to an appeal of this judgment. Essar has over the last two years repaid over Rs. 140,000 crores to its lenders. Such a repayment plan represents one of the largest debt repayment exercises undertaken by any corporate in India." The TLT team, which also included Indian banking litigation specialists Paul Gair (partner) and Alex Morris (solicitor), said the case demonstrates the ability of Indian banks to pursue defaulting borrowers and guarantors in the The law firm is also currently representing a consortium of 13 Indian banks led by the State Bank of India in enforcing a 1.145 billion pounds debt recovery judgment against Vijay Mallya, 65, the former boss of now defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Mallya, an accused in a bank loan default case of over Rs 9,000 crore, has been in the since March 2016. (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.) Indian are expected to post a consolidated loss of USD 4.1 billion this fiscal, similar to what they are estimated to have incurred in 2020-21, taking the total losses of two years to around USD 8 billion as a result of the pandemic so far, aviation consultancy and research firm CAPA said on Thursday. In a report, CAPA expects domestic passenger traffic to be around 80-95 million in 2021-22 as against 52.5 million in the previous financial year. However, despite this growth, it will be well below than around 140 million passenger volumes recorded in 2019-20, CAPA said in the report. This projection of the traffic volume does not take into account the anticipated third wave of the pandemic, it added. "We expect that Indian will lose a consolidated USD 4.1-billion in FY2022, similar to that in FY2021. This will take total losses over two years to around USD 8 billion as a result of the two COVID-19 waves," CAPA said in the report. It added that the full-service carriers are expected to contribute as much as USD 2.1 billion in the total losses this fiscal, while the budget carriers would account for the remaining USD 2-billion. The projected losses could rise further if necessary recapitalisation comes in the form of debt, for which borrowing costs will need to be included, the report said adding that at this stage, it is not known how recapitalisation will be funded. Full-service carrier Air India and no-frills player IndiGo combined will represent around USD 4.5 billion of the combined around USD 8 billion of losses, according to CAPA. are estimated to need closer to USD 5 billion of recapitalisation in 2021-22 just to survive, including requirements generated through the course of 2020-21, it said. Out of this, it is estimated that around USD 1.1-billion is in the pipeline in the form of initial public offerings (IPOs), qualified institutional placements (QIPs) and other instruments. This does not include additional funding required to achieve solvency. In light of the known recapitalisation plans of Indian carriers, the incremental requirement could be reduced to USD 3.5 billion. However, it is not currently possible to determine whether the USD 1.5 billion of the planned recapitalisation will materialise, CAPA stated. Bearing in mind its passenger traffic forecast range of 80-95 million and uncertainty that exists in the market, it said the guidance based on currently available information is for traffic towards the bottom-end of the range at around 80 million. "After a massive slump in April and May, we expect to see a moderate recovery in June as activity returns, with an acceleration in traffic from the second quarter. "As was the case in the second half of FY2021, we expect to see rising confidence and continued traffic recovery in the second half of this financial year," according to the FY2022 CAPA Outlook. The international traffic is projected to be in the range of 16-21 million passengers, and again, based on current settings, it is likely to be constrained towards the lower end of the range because of border restrictions, market access and other strategic risks, it said. However, international traffic will be particularly sensitive to discrete decisions taken by governments on such matters, which cannot be predicted, it noted adding that as with domestic traffic, the second half of the year is expected to be far more positive. CAPA said the industry is likely heading into a higher-cost environment at a time when it can least afford to with a possible higher crude prices and currency depreciation. Airport charges are also expected to be a potential challenge, it added. Recently, airport operators invested a capital expenditure (capex) of around USD 4 billion in infrastructure development, in anticipation of traffic that will not materialise for several years to come. Unless the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) Act is amended to lengthen the tariff control period from 5 years to 8 years, a high airport charges regime is inevitable, it stated. The industry is expected to induct around 70 aircraft in 2021-22. However, more than 80 aircraft are likely to be retired resulting in a slight net contraction of the fleet size. However, as older aircraft exit, the outcome will be a younger and more fuel-efficient fleet, as per CAPA outlook. It anticipated a strategic consolidation in the domestic airlines space, once the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. If there is no consolidation and if the privatisation of Air India does not proceed, the Indian may emerge from COVID-19 with more airlines than it went in with, as it is possible that 1-2 start-ups may be launched, resulting in 8-9 carriers in total, CAPA 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.) Billionaire Ranjan Pai-controlled has entered into a definitive agreement with private equity firm Multiples for a 100 per cent of Bengaluru based Vikram Hospital, making it their tenth hospital in the city. According to sources, the deal size is valued at Rs 350 crore. Post the acquisition, Vikram Hospital will be rebranded as Manipal Hospital. This is the second by this year. The hospital chain had completed the of India operations of for Rs 2,100 crore in April, making it the second largest player in the country after Apollo Hospitals. There are two greenfield hospitals that are currently under construction and once they are complete in the next 24 months, our network of 12 hospitals with over 2,300 beds would be best placed to provide ease of access and comprehensive care to everyone across this fast growing city (Bengaluru), said Pai, Chairman of Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG). Vikram Hospital has a good track record and it fits in well with our network in Bengaluru, said Dilip Jose, MD & CEO, Manipal Health Enterprises. Jose had earlier said the hospital chain is also looking at opportunities in east and west India to enhance coverage. had raised Rs 2,100 crore in April from government-anchored National Investment and Infrastructure Fund to finance its acquisition plans. With the completion of acquisition of 100 per cent stake in in India and addition of Vikram Hospital, the integrated network has a pan-India footprint of 27 hospitals across 14 cities with over 7,300 beds, and a pool of 4,000 doctors along with an employee strength of over 11,000. We are pleased that we are handing over this marquee asset to an extremely worthy Manipal Hospital Group. With this larger canvas our doctors will have the ability to have a deeper impact on the healthcare needs of the city, said Renuka Ramnath, founder, MD & CEO of Multiples, which took over Vikram Hospital in 2015. Masayoshi Son-led Group Corp is in talks with to invest $700 million in the e-commerce giant, according to the reports by The Economic Times and Mint. Japans is looking to invest in Flipkart, three years after it sold its entire stake in the company to Inc, the worlds largest retailer. It has been reported that the financing is part of a larger $2 billion round. Sovereign wealth funds such as Abu Dhabis ADQ and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) are expected to participate in this round. Existing investors such as GIC and Qatar Investment Authority may also invest. The transaction is likely to value the Bengaluru-based firm at $25-30 billion. Last July, led a $1.2-billion round in Flipkart, valuing the e-commerce firm at $24.9 billion. The Bentonville-based company (in Arkansas) is locked in a battle with US rival Jeff Bezos-led and Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliances for dominance in Indias online retail market through Flipkart, which it bought for $16 billion in 2018. Walmart-owned and PhonePe, the digital payments firm, are planning to go public in the US by 2022. Sources said is eyeing a valuation of about $40 billion for the IPO. However, it has been reported that the new could delay Flipkarts IPO plans and the firm may stay private for a longer time. Before it's exit in 2018, SoftBank had earlier invested $2.5 billion in Flipkart. The technology conglomerate is investing in Flipkart at a time when players such as and Tata are also betting big on e-commerce and making acquisitions. Reliances Jio Platforms has raised billions of dollars from investors including Facebook and private equity firms such as Silver Lake and KKR. has announced the acquisition of e-grocery firm Cementing its foray into the online grocery market, Tata Sons, through its subsidiary Tata Digital, has acquired a majority stake in While the company declined to comment on valuations, reports suggest Bigbaskets valuation at $2 billion. Flipkarts rival has so far committed over $6.5 billion to the India market. It has been scaling up its investments in the country at a time when the Seattle-headquartered firm had signed off from China. If the SoftBank- Flipkart deal is successful, the may help the e-commerce firm compete with players such as Amazon, Reliances JioMart, and Tata Group. Masayoshi Son Only 7 per cent of the $1.2-trillion retail market is online, and all these players are aggressively eyeing the remaining 93 per cent, according to analysts. The market opportunities for online commerce in the country are also expected to touch $200 billion by 2028 from $30 billion in 2018. Also, Indias is expected to grow dramatically as a result of the pandemic. The SoftBank may also help Flipkart to form strategic partnerships and do acquisitions. Flipkart is eyeing strategic stakes in multiple small, regional as well large retailers in India as it looks to tap the offline retail opportunity in the country. It is in a race with rivals and Reliances JioMart, who are also following a similar strategy and are in talks with multiple Indian offline retailers to buy strategic stakes. For instance, last year Flipkart Group and Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL) formed a new strategic partnership aimed at enhancing the consumer fashion experience. Flipkart made an investment of Rs 1,500 crore in ABFRL. Last year, Flipkart Group also bought a significant minority stake in retailer Arvind Fashions (AFL) subsidiary Arvind Youth Brands. Flipkart is also enhancing consumer experiences through strategic stakes or acquisitions of tech startups. Last November, Flipkart acquired Scapic, an Augmented Reality company (AR), to enhance its e-commerce shopping experience capabilities. Last year, it also strengthened its gaming strategy through the acquisition of intellectual property (IP) from Mech Mocha, a mobile gaming start-up. Flipkart and its parent also made a fresh round of investment in Ninjacart that connects farmers with kiranas and businesses using technology. In April this year, Flipkart announced its proposed acquisition of Cleartrip, a leading online travel technology company. It has been reported that SoftBank could put more than $4 billion to work in India in 2021 in the technology sector. These include edtech, healthtech, e-commerce, B2B marketplaces and software-as-a-service (SaaS). The investments will come from the SoftBanks Vision Fund 2, which has an investment outlay of up to $30 billion for the current calendar year. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 has made big bets in India this year. It is in advanced stages of talks to invest up to $500 million in food delivery giant Last month, banking technology start-up Zeta became the latest entrant to the unicorn club after raising $250 million in its Series C round from SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Also, it has been reported that OFB Tech, which runs the OfBusiness business-to-business marketplace, is in advanced talks to raise $150 million from SoftBank. A total of 367 with an estimated market value of Rs 3.19 crore were seized at NCT by Special Investigation and Intelligence Branch (SIIB) and ACC Export Commissionerate, informed Delhi on Thursday. The phones were concealed in eight courier parcels declared as household goods shipped from Riyadh. Further details are awaited. (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.) Antigua and Barbuda prefers that fugitive diamantaire be repatriated from Dominica to India directly, the Cabinet of the Caribbean island country decided in a meeting, local media reported. The Cabinet minutes published by the media outlet show that "Choksi matter" was one of the agenda items discussed during the meeting on Wednesday where it was held that Choksi is now a "problem" of Dominica and if he comes back to Antigua and Barbuda the "problem reverts" to it. The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Gaston Browne and attended by all his ministers physically and virtually decided that law enforcement officials will continue to gather intelligence in the circumstances of Choksi's "departure" from Antigua, media outlet Antigua Breaking News said. "The preference of the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda is for Choksi to be repatriated to India from Dominica," the Cabinet minutes said. Choksi had mysteriously gone missing on May 23 from Antigua and Barbuda where he was staying since 2018 as a citizen. He was detained in neighbouring island country Dominica for illegal entry after a possible romantic escapade with his rumoured girlfriend. His lawyers alleged that he was kidnapped from Jolly Harbour in Antigua by policemen looking like Antiguan and Indian and brought to Dominica on a boat. A Dominica High Court is hearing an Habeas Corpus petition filed on behalf of Choksi challenging his illegal detention. He was also brought before Roseau Magistrate, on the orders of High Court, to answer charges of illegal entry where he pleaded not guilty but was denied bail. Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi had fled India in the first week of January, 2018 weeks before Rs 13,500 crore scam in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) rocked the Indian banking industry. The duo allegedly bribed the officials of the state-run bank to get Letters of Undertaking on the basis of which they availed loans from overseas banks which remained unpaid. The allegedly corrupt officials did not enter these LoUs in the core banking software of the PNB thus evading any scrutiny. The non-payment of these LoUs or bank guarantees worth Rs 13,500 crore resulted in default and became a liability on the bank. Modi escaped to Europe and was finally held in London where he is contesting his extradition to India while Choksi took citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in 2017 where he had been staying since his escape from Delhi. (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.) China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Wednesday released the 14th five-year plan for the development of various sectors, laying out the overall requirements, development goals, major tasks and measures for the 2021-2025 period. The plan sets out the major tasks of developing culture and tourism, including advancing social civility, establishing artistic creation systems for a new era, improving the protection, inheritance and utility of cultural heritage, and enhancing the modern tourism system. "Efforts will be made to provide higher-quality and efficient public cultural services and greater accessibility and sustainability over the next five years," said Yan Xiaodong, an official with the ministry, at a press conference. The ministry will continue to upgrade the structure of the cultural industry and promote the employment of new technologies and digitization. It will also deepen international cultural cooperation and strengthen cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road. Tourist products will be enriched and improved during the period, with new offerings to be expected such as national cultural parks, red tourism routes and ice and snow tourism attractions, it said. The plan also underlines the development of internet-powered tourism, promotion of smart management of tourist attractions and innovation of tourism-related public services. Bharat Biotech on Thursday said the company and Ocugen Inc, its US partner for COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin, have agreed to expand their agreement to commercialise the jab in Canada also. Bharat Biotech on February 2 said it and Ocugen Inc a US-based biopharmaceutical companyhave entered into a definitive agreement to co-develop, supply, and commercialise, the India vaccine makers Covaxin for the USA market. Ocugen, which is working towards the submission of the emergency use application in the US, will simultaneously seek authorisation under interim order for emergency use in Canada Shankar Musunuri, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-founder of Ocugen said in a press release. "This amendment to expand our rights to commercialize Covaxin into Canada speaks of our strong relationship with Bharat Biotech and our joint dedication to bring this unique yet traditional vaccine to additional countries," Musunuri said. As the consideration for Bharat Biotechs grant of the rights to commercialise Covaxin in Canada, Ocugen will make an upfront payment and milestone payment upon first commercial sale in Canada to the Indian vaccine maker, in addition to sharing the profit from sales of the vaccine in that country. Similar to the US profit share arrangement, Ocugen will retain 45 per cent of the profits from sales of Covaxin in Canada, the release said. Krishna Ella, Chairman & Managing Director of Bharat Biotech said Covaxin has demonstrated an excellent safety record in human clinical trials and in vaccine administration under emergency use in India. "We are diligently working with Ocugen to bring Covaxin to the US market and now to the Canadian market," Ella said. With its potential effectiveness against multiple existing and emerging variants, Bharat Biotech believes that Covaxin is an important vaccine for everyone, including children, based on its unique yet traditional vaccine platform, he further said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US government will send 25 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to foreign countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America, the first time President Joe Bidens administration has shared shots it could have used at home. Through the UN-organized Covax program, the US plans to distribute 6 million shots to Central and South America, 7 million to Asia including hard-hit India and 5 million to Africa, the White House said in a statement. The US will directly send another 6 million shots to countries including Mexico, Canada, South Korea and the Palestinian territories, the White House said. The move is a watershed moment for the US, which secured the first hundreds of millions of doses made on its soil for domestic use but intends to be an engine of vaccine production globally. As vaccine demand wanes at home, Biden is facing calls internationally to release the American stockpile of shots made by Pfizer Inc., Moderna Inc. and Johnson & Johnson in order to curb the rise of variants against which existing vaccines might provide less protection. Administration officials have consulted with vaccine manufacturers and international organizations on aspects of the operation, including transportation logistics and legal requirements, one person familiar with the plans said. Thursdays announcement will include a framework to distribute shots among countries based on need. Biden has said his administration will donate 80 million doses by the end of this month, including 60 million that arent yet available for use. Nonetheless, the move is a sign of a cresting wave of American vaccine production poised to meet world demand. The gap between US doses delivered and actually administered has risen to 70 million -- much of which are in various stages of distribution. But the figure is an indication of the US glut Biden has to work with. Another 60 million doses of AstraZeneca Plcs vaccine remains on US shelves, despite Bidens repeated promises to export them. That shot has not been authorized for US use and is still under review by the Food and Drug Administration. In addition to the Biden administrations plans to begin sharing doses it bought, Pfizer and Moderna have both begun filling international orders from US plants that previously supplied only the US government. Harris is set to meet with the leaders of Mexico and Guatemala next week on a trip through the region. Mexico and other countries have publicly asked the US to share its vaccines, and some European allies had criticized Biden for hoarding US production. Next week, the president will leave for his first international trip, a series of stops in Europe including meetings of the Group of 7 nations, NATO and the European Union. A summit in Geneva with Russian President Vladimir Putin is also planned. In the US, 297 million doses of vaccines have been administered so far. In the past week, an average of 1.1 million doses per day were administered, down significantly from just several weeks ago. Biden has said he will not use US vaccines as a diplomatic tool, after accusing China and Russia of leveraging doses of their vaccines for foreign policy gains. India on Thursday reported a net reduction of 80,232 in active cases to take its count to 1,713,413. Indias share of global active cases now stands at 12.74 per cent (one in 8). The country is second among the most affected countries by active cases. On Thursday, it added 134,154 cases to take its total caseload to 28,441,986. And, with 2,887 new fatalities, its Covid-19 reached 337,989, or 1.19 per cent of total confirmed infections. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor The Foundation has been found guilty of unauthorisedly stocking, procuring and distributing Fabiflu medicine to COVID-19 patients, the Delhi High Court was informed by the Delhi government's drug controller on Thursday. The drug controller submitted that action will be taken without delay against the foundation, drug dealers as also in other such cases which would be brought to its notice. MLA Praveen Kumar has also been found guilty for similar offences under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, the court was informed. The court asked the drug controller to file status reports on further progress in these cases within six weeks and listed the matter for hearing on July 29. (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.) Samajwadi Party supremo on Thursday demanded that the Centre should share COVID-19 vaccine data, saying many nations have shown that sharing the data saves lives. He raised the demand in a tweet and also tagged a UK newspaper report titled "How Modi's fraught relationship with pandemic data has harmed India" to attack the prime minister. In a separate tweet, Yadav also demanded that the Uttar Pradesh government make public the data of free treatment provided to patients and also sought free treatment for those suffering from black fungus. "The BJP government of UP had announced that it would pay for the treatment of patients at private hospitals. Now the BJP government should tell how many bills of people have been paid so far. The BJP government should put the data in front of the public," he said. "Along with this, the government should also immediately announce free treatment of black fungus," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said. Yadav had on Wednesday demanded that the government should publicly share data on the safety and efficacy of various vaccines. "Why is the government not publicly sharing data on effectiveness and safety of various vaccines? Transparent disclosure will help health care workers optimise uptake of vaccines and provide greater comfort to Indian citizens when it comes to infections and mortality," he had said in a tweet. (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 government would make an advance payment of Rs 1,500 crore to Hyderabad-based vaccine maker Biological-E to reserve 300 million doses of the second India-developed vaccine from August-December 2021, the said on Thursday in a statement. The Covid-19 vaccine of Biological-E is currently undergoing Phase-3 clinical trials. The vaccine is an RBD protein sub-unit vaccine and is likely to be available in the next few months. The proposal of M/s Biological-E was examined and recommended for approval after due diligence by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19, the statement said. The company has been supported by the government from pre-clinical to third phase study phase. The Department of Biotechnology has provided financial aid of Rs 100 crore given as grant-in-aid to the firm and also partnered with Biological-E to conduct all animal challenge and assay studies through its Research Institute Translational Health Science Technology Institute in Faridabad. ALSO READ: In talks with Pfizer, Moderna, J&J to make vaccines in India: Foreign secy India is expecting a supply of 2 billion doses by the end of December 2021, enough to vaccinate the entire adult population of the country. Government recently said it would be able to give up to 10 million jabs a day by mid-July or early August. Biological-Es supply of 300 million is part of the future supply that the government has envisaged. said that the Mission COVID Suraksha- the Indian COVID-19 Vaccine Development is supporting development of 5-6 Covid-19 vaccine candidates some of which are now closer to licensure and introduction in public health systems. It has not just accelerated COVID-19 Vaccine development efforts, but also fostered a robust end-to-end vaccine development ecosystem in the country that will be available for other on-going and future research and developmental activities for other vaccines, the government statement said. Education Minister Kanwar Pal on Wednesday announced that the state government will conduct the internal assessment for Class 12 of the School Education Board. "The state government will follow the directions of the Central government in regarding the Class XII examination of School Education Board, Bhiwani and will conduct an internal assessment based on which the results will be declared soon," Pal said. The state Education Minister also informed that the results of the Class X examinations will also be declared by June 15. "Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation is not conducive for conducting the examination. But if a student wants to take the examination, the examination can be conducted for such students when the circumstances are normal," he said. Earlier on June 2, the Uttarakhand government, Madhya Pradesh government and Rajasthan government decided to cancel Class 12 state board examinations in view of the prevailing COVID situation in the state. The Central government on Tuesday, during a review meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding decided that class XII board exams of CBSE would not be held this year in view of the uncertain conditions due to COVID-19 and the feedback obtained from various stakeholders. The government said that CBSE will take steps to compile the results of class XII students as per well-defined objective criteria in a time-bound manner. It was also decided that like last year, in case some students desire to take the exams, such an option would be provided to them by CBSE, as and when the situation becomes conducive. On April 14, the Central government took the decision to cancel Class 10 board exams. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India is in discussion with top US vaccine manufacturers -- Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna -- on the manufacturing of their vaccines in the country to strengthen the inoculation drive in the country. We are part of the discussion with major vaccine manufacturers about sourcing and manufacturing their vaccines locally. We have also helped to expedite the introduction of Sputnik-V vaccines, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Thursday. Vaccines have complex supply chains. We have worked to ease regulatory disruption to these supply chains with key partners through diplomatic interventions, Shringla said. During April-May, India battled a devastating second wave of the pandemic, coupled with a severe shortage of essential medical supplies, including Covid-19 vaccines, in various parts of the country. India is expecting 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines between August and December, enough to take care of the adult population of the country. ALSO READ: Biden administration to send 25 mn vaccine doses abroad, including India Last week, NITI Aayog member V K Paul had said the Centre and were working together on importing the Covid vaccine following indications from the US pharma company that it had the vaccine available from July. Besides, the government is looking at Pfizers indemnity request. Speaking at the World Health Organizations South-East Asia Regional Health Partners Forum on Covid-19, Shringla said India was also looking forward to the UN bodys approval for the indigenous vaccine Covaxin, manufactured by Bharat Biotech. ALSO READ: PM Modi speaks with Kamala Harris, discusses Covid-19 vaccine cooperation He further said India was fighting an exceptionally severe second wave of the pandemic, which had resulted in unprecedented economic and social disruptions and distress. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has been working towards procuring essential raw material and medical supplies for Covid-19, he said, adding that throughout the pandemic, his department identified and connected with potential suppliers of essential medicines, raw material, and medical equipment across the world. We have adapted rapidly to virtual diplomacy during the pandemic period. The prime minister has conducted over 12 virtual summits and more than 75 virtual bilaterals. The external affairs minister and the ministry have conducted literally hundreds of ministerials, joint commissions, multilateral engagements, foreign office consultations, senior officials meetings, etc, he said. ALSO READ: Govt to reserve 300 mn doses of Biological-E vaccine for August-December India will participate in creating global scale capacities. A number of serious global conversations are underway on this in platforms such as the G7, the G20, QUAD, BRICS, the United Nations and the WHO itself, he added. India is also working with several other countries in the World Trade Organization (WHO) on a targeted and temporary waiver under the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to ensure timely and secure access to vaccines for all. In a separate briefing, MEA Official Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India was separately engaging with the US administration to ensure that necessary components and raw materials for vaccine manufacturing and production in India were available. The US had said it will share an additional 20 million Covid-19 vaccine doses with other countries, in addition to the 60 million AstraZeneca vaccines it has committed. Currently, 60 million doses of AstraZeneca are still undergoing the control checks by the Food and Drug Administration and are expected to be available soon. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi successfully fought the battle against COVID-19 and managed to bring disease curve down with the help of 135 crore citizens. "Now, the cases are dipping, the number of patients is decreasing. The oxygen requirement has come down to 3,500 MT from 10,000 MT. This indicates that the COVID-19 curve is going down," Shah said. He also said the speed of India's vaccination drive is the fastest in the world and it will further gain momentum in future to cover maximum number of people in the shortest possible time, as envisioned by the PM. Shah was speaking via video conference after virtually inaugurating nine medical oxygen plants set up at government- run hospitals in different parts of Gujarat. The plants have been set up by an NGO - Vallabh Youth Organisation - at government-run hospitals in Tilakvada, Sagbara, Ahmedabad (Sola civil), Daskroi in Ahmedabad district, Kalavad, Kapadvanj, Bhanwad, Mehsana and Porbandar. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani joined the virtual event from Gandhinagar. Shah said the government succeeded in controlling the spread of the virus and bringing the curve down through collective efforts. "As you might have seen in media (reports), even highly developed countries struggled to tackle the pandemic. On the other side, we fought the battle with patience and planning," he said. He said in other countries, only governments were fighting against the "In India, along with the government, 135 crore citizens also fought this battle under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. This is the reason for our success," said Shah. He paid tributes to all those who lost their lives due to the The minister also thanked frontline workers, doctors, nurses, NGOs and volunteers for helping the people in their hour of need. "Non-governmental organisations helped people in all possible ways. When migrants were going back home (last year), NGOs provided them food, water, shelter and helped them reach their destinations. The government could not have done it all alone," he said. As the new COVID-19 cases (per day) are coming down, Shah said the demand for medical oxygen is also decreasing. As against the daily demand of 1,000 metric tonnes of oxygen in the country earlier, the demand suddenly shot up to 10,000 MT during the second wave of COVID-19, he said. Currently, the demand stands at 3,500 MT, he added. The Centre pressed into service trains and defence aircraft to transport medical oxygen and cryogenic tankers across the country to save the lives of COVID-19 patients when the demand for the life-saving gas was very high, he noted. "While 15,000 MT of oxygen was transported through trains, cryogenic tankers for oxygen storage were transported using Army aircraft," he said. Shah further said that while 162 PSA oxygen plants were approved under the PM Cares Fund after the first wave of COVID-19, another 1,051 were approved this year. Th Centre purchased one lakh oxygen concentrators through the PM Cares Fund, he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Oulu in northern Finland was selected as the European Capital of Culture for 2026 by a European expert panel here on Wednesday. After visiting three Finnish candidate cities including Oulu, Tampere, and Savonlinna, the panel, composed of nine independent experts in the field of arts and culture, announced that Oulu was selected as the European Capital of Culture for 2026, according to a press release issued by Finland's Ministry of Education and Culture. Oulu will be Finland's third European capital of culture, following in the footsteps of Helsinki in 2000 and Turku in 2011. It will share the accolade in 2026 with an as-yet-unnamed city from Slovakia. Oulu's successful bid was built around three themes, "Wild City, Cool Contrasts and Brave Hinterland," with a focus on sustainability. Antti Kurvinen, Minister of Science and Culture, noted in his speech that he hopes each of the candidate cities of Finland makes use of all the good work they have already done and continues to develop their cultural life in innovative and sustainable ways. "The European Capital of Culture event is a unique opportunity to create new kinds of arts and culture, boost operating conditions, and encourage people to participate in and experience arts and culture together. It is a year-long cultural program by which the selected city showcases its arts and culture for Finnish and European audiences," said Kurvinen. After the announcement of the result, Piia Rantala-Korhonen, the manager of the Oulu2026 project, told Finnish media that Oulu's selection is "a huge opportunity for Oulu and the whole of Northern Finland." "I hope that Northern Finland will now be clearly visible on the map of Europe," she said. European Capitals of Culture have been designated since 1985, aiming to highlight the diversity of cultures in Europe, to boost cultural exchange, and to increase European citizens' sense of belonging to a common cultural area. The Indian envoy in the US is having an intense engagement with the CEOs of top American companies, particularly from the pharma sector, to help India get the necessary medical equipment and drugs to successfully combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Spoke today afternoon with Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha on their support in India's fight against the pandemic including through supply of ventilators along with other partners," India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu tweeted after the meeting on Wednesday. "Also discussed the supply of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machines and enhanced investments in the healthcare sector in India, " Sandhu said after one of the series of meetings that he has had with top American pharma sector CEOs. Medtronic has been supporting India in its battle against COVID-19. Being part of the Global Task Force, it has provided ventilators and is also offering training for its use. During the virtual meeting, Sandhu also highlighted that the knowledge and education partnership is a key pillar of the India US relationship. Notably, Medtronic has two research centres in India. Sandhu also had a meeting with Michael Stubblefield, president and CEO of Avantor, an American life sciences company. Avantor, a Fortune 500 company, is supplying raw materials to several companies including those for Novavax vaccine production; and biological-E covid vaccine. So far, the Indian Ambassador has met several CEOs of top American companies to have discussions on COVID-19 related issues. Prominent among them are Saifi Ghasemi, CEO of Air Products; AdvaMed CEO Scott Whitaker, Albert Bourla from Pfizer with whom he had two separate meetings; Walmart CEO Doug McMillon; Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell; United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby; Thermofisher Scientific CEO Marc Casper and Pall Corporation CEO Joseph Repp. He also had meetings with Boeing Corporation CEO David Calhoun; Antylia Scientific CEO Bernd Brust; Cytiva CEO Emmanuel Ligne; Genentech CEO Alexander Hardy; Fujifilm Irvine Scientific president Tim Mullane and Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks. He also held meetings with the leadership of Johnson & Johnson and Ligand Pharma. India on Wednesday added 1,32,788 new infections, taking the country's tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,83,07,832. The country's COVID-19 death toll climbed to 3,35,102 with 3,207 fresh 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.) The Indian Newspaper Society has written to the Prime Minister and the Information and Broadcasting Minister to exclude traditional newspapers from the recently announced Information Technology Rules for intermediaries and digital publishers. INS has said that news websites of traditional papers follow the same stringent guidelines for publication as followed by newspapers, and should be exempted from the new IT Rules. The print media in India is responsible and credible, following stringent editing and fact checking norms by Editors everyday. Our newspaper digital websites are produced from the newspapers newsroom and follow the same guidelines, INS has said in the letter to PM It has further said that exemptions should be provided to newspapers registered wfh the Registrar of as they fall under the Press and Registration of Books Act. The PRB Act is a Parliamentary law, and has stronger legal force than the IT rules, which are subordinate legislation under the IT Act, INS added. It also said the new rules amount to regulatory overreach and is unnecessary to ask the news organisations to follow another set of rules, which are meant primarily for categories of organisations and intermediaries who are not covered by the PRB Act. Japanese Prime Minister on Wednesday pledged an additional USD 800 million to COVAX facility aiming for a fair distribution of vaccines worldwide. The announcement came at an online vaccine summit which co-hosted with the GAVI vaccine alliance, an international group that promotes vaccinations in developing nations, reported NHK World. Participants included US Vice President Kamala Harris, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, and others. Suga told them that a vaccine divide based on wealth and other circumstances of various nations cannot be tolerated. has already contributed 200 million dollars to the cause. Suga explained that more than 76 million doses of vaccines have been supplied to over 120 countries and regions through the COVAX facility, reported NHK World. He said more solidarity and commitment will be needed to overcome the global crisis. He said that will fully support the safe, fair and effective distribution of vaccines to as many people as possible. He asked participants to work towards realizing the goal of securing 1.8 billion vaccine doses -- enough to vaccinate 30 per cent of populations in developing countries and territories before the end of the year, NHK World reported. Suga added that Japan also plans to supply 30 million vaccine doses manufactured in the country, taking into account the spread of variants and the delay in vaccine shipments. He said this will happen when all conditions are met, and at an appropriate time, reported NHK World. (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 lockdown slated to end on June 7 was extended till June 14 in as Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday announced a Rs 500 crore second relief package. The relief was meant for sections, which were left out in the previous package of Rs 1,250 crore. "We had earlier announced stringent restrictions from May 24 to June 7 to contain the spread of Coronavirus, Though the infections have reduced, the spread of the disease is still on," Yediyurappa said. The decision to extend the restrictions by a week was taken following the recommendation of experts, he said. The lockdown-like restrictions have been in effect since April 27. From May 10, the Chief Minister announced a lockdown till May 24 morning. However, it was further extended till June 7. The second COVID relief package of Rs 500 crore would encompass teachers, 'ASHA' and Anganwadi workers, fishermen, workers in film industry, temple priests, Muezzins in mosques and powerloom workers. The relief package would benefit over 62.50 lakh people, the Chief Minister said. According to Yediyurappa, Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for purchasing milk to sustain those who are in the dairy business and have been hit by decrease in the demand. The milk would be processed into milk powder and half kilogram of it would be supplied to each school child along with their regular foodkit in June and July. Teachers working in unaided private schools would get Rs 5,000 each, which would cost the state exchequer Rs 100 crore. A sum of Rs 35 crore has been reserved for 59,000 powerloom workers who would get Rs 3,000 each, the Chief Minister said. He added that each of the 22,000 unorganised workers in film industry and television medium would get Rs 3,000 for whom Rs 6.6 crore has been earmarked. Temple priests serving in the 'C' category of temples under the Muzrai department, Imams and Muezzins in mosques and ASHA workers would also get Rs 3,000 each, Yediyurappa said. He said Rs 24.7 crore has been earmarked for Anganwadi workers who would get Rs 2,000 each. The government also exempted the medium, small and micro enterprises from the fixed electricity charge which would cost Rs 114.7 crore to the government. BJP unit chief and Dakshina Kannada MP, Nalin Kumar Kateel welcomed the second package announced by the Chief Minister. To a query, the Chief Minister said already the disbursement of relief packages to various sections, as announced earlier, is on. "Almost 70 per cent of people have started receiving the benefits of the previous package. Within two days, we will start disbursing the second relief package to the beneficiaries.We will make a sincere effort to give the benefits to people within a week," Yediyurappa told reporters. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Dominica magistrate has denied bail to absconding diamond tycoon Mehul Choksi, who was arrested on May 23 for alleged illegal entry to the Caribbean island country, the local media reported. Choksi, wanted here in connection with a Rs 13,500-crore fraud in the Punjab Bank (PNB), pleaded before the magistrate that he was abducted and forcibly brought to Dominica from neighbouring Antigua and Barbuda, about 100 nautical miles away, Dominica News Online reported. The 62-year-old wheelchair-bound diamantaire, who has a pending Interpol Red Corner Notice (RCN) against him, arrived before the presiding Roseau Magistrate Court in a black pair of shorts and a blue T-shirt from the Dominica China Friendship Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment. The Dominica High Court, which was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Choksi, had ordered him to be presented before the magistrate to face charges of illegal entry. A habeas corpus petition is filed for producing before a court a person who is under arrest or in unlawful detention. "Our stand that is in illegal detention as he was required to be produced within 72 hours before the magistrate and was not so produced has been vindicated. In order to remedy this, he has been asked to be produced before the magistrate. This establishes the illegal detention of Choksi as pleaded by the defence. Contrary to numerous media reports, there was no discussion regarding the Government of India," Choksi's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal said here. During the hearing before Magistrate Candia Carrette-George, the Dominica prosecution cited two main arguments to keep Choksi under detention -- theN against him and the ongoing extradition proceedings in the courts of Antigua and Barbuda, where he is staying since 2018 after leaving India. Prosecutor Sherma Dalrymple told the court that Choksi is a "flight risk" and does not have any ties in Dominica that prevent him from fleeing the country if bail is granted. Defence counsel Wayne Norde said Choksi was not a flight risk considering his health and the pending extradition proceedings in Antigua and Barbuda were also a reason for him not to leave Dominica. Offering to pay a bail amount of ECD 10,000, double the fine amount for illegal entry to Dominica, Norde said Choksi did not have any criminal case in Antigua and Barbuda and the proceedings against him were civil in nature, which shows that he is a a man of good character. The lawyer said the new bail act says a defendant is entitled to the relief as a right unless the offence is of a serious nature. In her order, the magistrate said considering the "severity" of the matter, she is not convinced that Choksi will stay in the country to face legal proceedings and adjourned the matter till June 14. (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.) was kidnapped, didn't go to Dominica of his own free will, said fugitive diamantaire's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal said on Wednesday and added that the only question in front of the Dominican court is where he entered Dominica illegally or not and whether the local police has the right to keep him in custody. Aggarwal said that according to Dominican law, any arrested accused has to be presented before the court in 72 hours and added that because Choki was not presented in court within the prescribed time, the court has ordered to produce him before the magistrate at 4 pm (Dominica time). "The only question before the court is that whether he entered Dominica illegally or not, whether he's liable to be detained. Whether Dominican police have the right to keep him in custody. How'll he be deported isn't a question before the court," he said. "We said that he was kidnapped and didn't go to Dominica of his own free will. Here under section 6 of Dominica's Passport and Immigration Act, he is not a prohibited immigrant, therefore he has not committed any crime and Dominica police cannot arrest him," the lawyer added. Aggarwal claimed that the hearing in matter in Dominica court is over. "On the basis of Magistrate's order, the discussion will resume in court tomorrow. It proved our stand that Dominican police committed illegality by not producing him within 72 hours. The court agreed and said irregularity needs to be corrected," the lawyer added. Choksi and his nephew are accused in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab Bank fraud case. Choksi fled the country was granted citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in January 2018. He is involved in a legal battle to prevent his extradition to India. Antigua police launched a manhunt for last month after his lawyer said that family members were worried as Choksi was missing. He was apprehended in Dominica and is in the custody of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the country. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A surrendered militant, who shot at and injured a constable inside a police camp in the Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir's district, was killed in a gunbattle with security forces in the early hours of Thursday, officials said. Mohammad Amin Malik was shot dead by the security forces following an overnight encounter, a police official said. The gunbattle between the surrendered militant and police broke out inside the Special Operations Group (SOG) camp in Tral on Wednesday evening. Malik allegedly snatched the rifle of constable Amjid Khan and shot at him. Khan was injured in the incident and evacuated to a hospital here for treatment. The ultra then hid himself inside the camp along with the rifle. The officials said Malik, a resident of Nagbal in the Tral area, had surrendered before security forces on May 30 along with a .12 bore rifle. The security forces tried to persuade the militant to surrender on Wednesday and even called his parents to convince him to lay down the arms, the officials said, adding that Malik, however, refused the offer. He started firing towards the positions of the security personnel, who retaliated, leading to his death. (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.) Chief Minister on Thursday said his government has no objection to holding peaceful but those taking law into their own hands will be dealt with strictly. Farmer groups have been protesting in the state alleging that JJP legislator Devender Singh Babli used abusive language against them when they were protesting in Tohana in Fatehabad district on Tuesday. However, Babli has denied the charges and instead accused a group of protesting farmers of launching a "murderous attempt" on him during their protest in Tohana city. On Thursday, a group of farmers held a protest in Fatehabad against Babli and burnt his effigy, demanding that the MLA should apologise for his comments. Khattar, who was interacting with reporters here after holding a meeting with deputy commissioners on Covid situation and steps taken for its management, while replying to a question said DCs (deputy commissioners) have been told that if any protest is held in a peaceful manner, the government has no objection to it. However, if anyone takes law and order into one's hands, that will not be tolerated. And whatever action needs to be taken as per law in those cases, the DCs have been told not to hesitate and take action, he added. On Wednesday, Haryana's Home Minister Anil Vij had also issued a warning to those protestors taking the law into their own hands. A group of protesters had tried to march towards Babli's residence in Tohana on Wednesday evening but were stopped by the heavy police contingent deployed there. Around 25-30 protestors were taken into custody by police. Police said the protesters were released later. A farmer leader told reporters in Fatehabad on Thursday that the MLA had allegedly publicly used abusive language and threatened farmers. He also claimed that three farmer leaders had been detained by the Fatehabad police after the incident. On June 5, he said, farmers will burn copies of black farm laws outside the residence of MLAs and MPs of the BJP and the JJP in the state. Several farmer groups in the state have been opposing the public functions of the BJP-JJP leaders over the three controversial agriculture laws of the Centre. They are demanding that the three laws be repealed. On Thursday, a group of farmers held a protest and blocked a highway near Titram chowk in Kaithal for about two hours demanding that Babli should apologise, or a case be registered against him. Protesting farmers in had on Wednesday said they will gherao all police stations across the state on June 7 if Babli did not tender an apology by June 6 for his remarks. About protesters who tried to gherao Babli's residence on Wednesday evening, BKU chief Gurnam Singh Chaduni had said there was no call for that and some people had gone there on their own. He had said there are a handful of people who want to bring a bad name to the agitation and become heroes. Addressing small gatherings of protesting farmers on Thursday in Jind district, Chaduni appealed to them to abide by the call given by Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and hold peacefully. Appealing to the protesting farmers, especially the youth, to ensure that agitation continues in a peaceful manner, he urged them to draw lessons from agitations in the past which came to an abrupt end over incidents of violence. We don't have to take any such step which will break this (farmers') agitation. This agitation is at that stage that one small lapse can cost us heavily. We have to continue this agitation in a peaceful manner. Everyone has to follow the collective decision. The government may use force or try to create a situation to break this agitation, but we will continue to protest peacefully, Chaduni said. JJP MLA Babli had earlier said, "Some unruly elements tried to make a murderous attempt on me, hit my vehicle three times, my personal assistant was injured and they are demanding my apology. Is there a 'goonda raj' in the state?" He had denied that he used any abusive language against the farmers. The Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) and The BJP are in a coalition government in Haryana. (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 Thursday registered its highest single-day spike of 42 COVID-19 fatalities, raising the toll to 2,873, while 8,839 fresh cases pushed the tally to 7,90,970, a health department official said. The fatality rate in the coastal state stands at 0.36 per cent, which is still one of the lowest in the country, and the positivity rate at 6.61 per cent, the official said. Taking to Twitter, the health department said, "Regret to inform about the demise of forty two Covid positive patients while under treatment in hospitals." Of the 42 fatalities, five were reported from Sundergarh, followed by four each from Cuttack and Kalahandi, three each from Boudh, Jharsuguda and Khurda, and two each from Angul, Balasore, Bolangir, Deogarh, Gajapati, Kendrapara, Nabarangpur and Rayagada. One each succumbed to the infection in Bargah, Bhadrak, Ganjam, and Puri. This apart, 53 other COVID-19 patients in the state have died due to comorbidities. Khurda district, of which state capital Bhubaneswar is a part, reported the maximum number of new cases at 1,235, followed by Cuttack at 769 and Mayurbhanj at 583. Six other districts recorded less than 100 cases each -- Bolangir (89), Gajapati (52), Kandhamal (58), Koraput (99), Malkangiri (85) and Nuapada (34). Accordingly, the number of active cases in climbed to 85,423. As many as 7,02,621 patients have recovered from the highly infectious disease, the official said. Over 1.19 crore sample tests have been conducted in the state, including 70,178 on Wednesday, the highest so far in a single day, he added. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister spoke with US vice-president on the phone after the vaccine sharing announcement by the Biden administration. Harris elaborated on the US plans to make vaccines available to other countries, including India, under its "Strategy for Global Vaccine Sharing", according to a statement from the Prime Ministers Office. The PM expressed his appreciation to Harris for the decision, as well as for all other forms of support and solidarity that India has received in recent days from the US government, businesses and the Indian expatriate comm-unity in the US. Negotiations would begin between members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) regarding Britain's entry into the regional free trade deal, a Japanese official said on Wednesday. According to Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan's minister in charge of the negotiations, 11 members of the CPTPP came to the decision during a virtual meeting chaired this year by Japan. Nishimura referred to Britain as a "global strategic partner" of Japan's, saying that Britain joining the CPTPP, "will further advance bilateral economic ties and bring great strategic significance." Following Britain's exit from the European Union last year and in a bid to expand its trade ties in the Asia-Pacific region, it filed a request to join the 11-member partnership in February. Britain's entry negotiations were described in a joint statement by the member countries as providing "an opportunity to advance the CPTPP's high-standard rules for the 21st century and further promote free trade, open and competitive markets and economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond." While working groups are now expected to be set up henceforth to discuss tariffs and investment issues, sources close to the matter said it could take until next year or even longer until a final decision is made as to whether Britain is granted permission to join the partnership. The members of the current pact, which came into force in 2018 and covers about 13 percent of global gross domestic product, include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The pact has been ratified by seven countries so far. In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, has said that it will continue to provide salaries for five years to the nominee of employees who succumbed to the disease. In a statement, Reliance further said that under the 'Reliance Family Support and Welfare Scheme', it would fully fund tuition fees, hostel accommodation and books of all the children of the employee, up to bachelors degree at any institute in India. It also promised 100 percent payment of premium for hospitalisation coverage for the spouse, parents and children (till the bachelor's degree). "Further, all colleagues affected by COVID-19 personally or within their family can avail the special COVID-19 leave for the full duration of their recovery, both physically and emotionally," the statement, signed by Chairperson Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Foundation's founder and chairperson Nita Ambani, said. They added that the leave policy is to ensure that colleagues 'only focus on recovering fully or caring for their family members'. "Dear colleague... We have come together thus far for precisely on the strength of our solidarity as One Team and with the Ownership Mindset that will keep this adversity until we win," the statement added. In another statement, the Reliance Foundation promised a lumpsum payment of Rs 10 lakhs to all bereaving families of the off-roll workforce. "A lumpsum payment of Rs 10 lakh directly to the nominee of the deceased to support and care for the grieving family," it said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Southwest monsoon will hit on Thurday later, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said considering the favourable conditions for its onset that has already been delayed by a few days. Fairly widespread to widespread rainfall and thunderstorms with heavy rainfall has been predicted at isolated places over Northeast India from June 8 to June 10. Scattered rainfall and thunderstorms with isolated heavy falls likely over south Peninsular India and Islands, as well as over Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and East, Central and West India. Weather likely to be dry over remaining parts of the country, said the IMD in its early morning report. Sharing inputs about monsoon circumstances, the weather office said, the northern limit of southwest monsoon continues to pass through 5 degree North and 72 degree East. "Condition are favourable for onset of southwest monsoon over today, June 3, 2021," said the IMD. The Western Disturbance as a trough in mid and upper tropospheric westerlies with its axis at 5.8 km above mean sea level roughly along longitude 80 degree east to the north of latitude 25 degree north persists, it said. The weather office also mentioned that the trough with its axis at 3.1 km above mean sea level roughly along longitude 90 degree east to the north of latitude 22 degree north persists. The cyclonic circulation over central Pakistan and neighbourhood, the IMD said, is also extending up to 1.5 km above mean sea level. It also said that similar weather conditions also persist over south Chhattisgarh and neighbourhood at 0.9 km above mean sea level. "The trough from Sub-Himalayan West Bengal to the cyclonic circulation over south Chhattisgarh and neighbourhood at 0.9 km above mean sea level persists." As per the weather office, cyclonic circulation also persists over east central Arabian Sea and neighbourhood between 3.1 km and 4.5 km above mean sea level. --IANS rak/in (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), on Thursday, said that evaluation criteria for Class 12 students are under consideration and it would take up to two weeks to arrive at a final decision on how to grade students. If students are not satisfied with the evaluation process, then an option of re-exam will be available for them after COVID, CBSE Secretary Anurag Tripathi was quoted as saying by ANI. On Wednesday, the Centre cancelled Class 12 board examinations because of the public health risk amid the Covid-19 pandemic. CBSE as well as other state education boards will now come up with revised criteria for evaluating the academic performance of Class 12 students. We are making sure that students do not face any issues when it comes to results. Want to assure students they will have their results before admissions to higher universities begin, Tripathi added. Delhi University Vice-Chancellor PC Joshi also assured that the university's admission process will begin as and when the results of Class 12 board examinations are announced. "But contrary to previous years, it (admission) will be delayed this year," Joshi told ANI. On Thursday, the Supreme Court said it was happy to note that the government had cancelled the class 12 board exams, and directed the CBSE and CICSE to place on record well-defined objective criteria for assessment of students in two weeks. A bench of justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari clarified that it will not give more time for the placement of objective criteria as many students will take admissions in colleges in India and abroad. The top court said that it will go through the objective parameters for the assessment of marks so that if anyone has objections, they can be dealt with. The bench was hearing a plea seeking directions to cancel the class 12 exams of CBSE and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) amid the pandemic situation. Ltd. is working on a new Covid-19 drug and cheaper testing kits as the conglomerate owned by Asias richest man Mukesh Ambani looks to curb the pathogen which has ravaged India in the past year. Indias most-valuable company is exploring use of a tapeworm drug, Niclosamide, as a cure for Covid-19, according to its annual report. Its diagnostic kits -- R-Green and R-Green Pro -- have been approved by Indias apex medical research body and it has designed a process to make sanitizers at one-fifth the market cost, Reliance said in the report. ALSO READ: India Covid update: 134,000 coronavirus cases, 2,887 deaths in 24 hrs The refining-to-retail groups efforts come as India emerges the pandemics epicenter with the worlds fastest-surging outbreak that has sickened 28.44 million so far and killed more than 337,900 people in the Asian nation. Even though the deadly second wave is ebbing, experts have warned against a possible third wave of infections. Reliance is also trying to address ventilator shortages across Indian hospitals seen earlier this year by using 3D technology and a special snorkeling mask. It is designing medical-grade oxygen generators with five to seven liter capacity per minute, the report said. When India faced a huge oxygen shortage during the second wave in April, Reliance repurposed its plants in Jamnagar, worlds biggest oil refinery site, to produce medical-grade oxygen. Last year, it set up a unit to make personal protective equipment kits for the front-line health care workers. The on Thursday said that Maharashtra needs to tell the that mucormycosis patients in the Marathwada region of the state are dying due to the shortage of medicine required in its treatment. Justices R V Ghuge and B U Debadwar of the high court's Aurangabad bench was informedthat patients in Marathwada were being under-treated as there is a shortage in the supply of Amphotericin B, a drug used in the treatment of mucormycosis or black fungus infection. The bench was hearing petitions pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic. Advocate Satyajit Bora, appointed to assist the court, argued that patients are being administered one to two injections per day as against the requirement of four to five injections per patient per day. As a consequence, there have been 124 deaths. Even today, there is a shortage of about 70 per cent of the required quantity of the drug, he said. Government pleader D R Kale told the court that currently there are 1,178 mucormycosis cases in the Marathwada region. Of these, 669 patients are currently undergoing treatment, 385 others have been cured, while 124 patients have died till now. Appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh told the court that Maharashtra has been allocated 68,360 vials of the drugs from the overall stock of 2,70,000. The pharmaceutical industries that were manufacturing the said drug, have been instructed to ramp up the production, he said. The attempt to increase the production would be fruitful over a period of 20 to 25 days. After hearing all the submissions, the court said, "Considering the situation, we find that the state of Maharashtra will have to apprise the Union of India as regards to the growing number of mucormycosis patients and especially highlight the factthat in some parts of the state, as like in the Marathwada region, patients are dying due to shortage of Amphotericin B." As patients are being administeredinadequate dosage, the mortality rate is quite high considering 669 active patients today and 124 deaths, it noted. The bench directed the state government to place before it a ready reference chart indicating thenumber of mucormycosis patients under treatment, cured patients and the number of deaths till June 9. It also sought a chart indicating supply of Amphotericin B, between June 2 and 9. The court will hear the matter again on June 10. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A high-level committee headed by Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba has suggested a revamp of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to boost domestic manufacturing. Global technology giant moved Delhi High Court (HC), asking for interim protection against its declaration as a 'social media intermidiary'. Our top headlines on Thursday track the latest developments. Cabinet secy-led panel wants revamp to boost manufacturing A high-level committee headed by Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba has suggested a revamp of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to boost domestic manufacturing and make the initiative more investor-friendly by regular hand-holding and removing hurdles at the earliest. The panel, in a recent meeting with different ministries, called for setting up an effective institutional mechanism to constantly engage with companies that have decided to participate in the Rs 1.97 trillion scheme, an official aware of the matter said. The panel, in a recent meeting with different ministries, called for setting up an effective institutional mechanism to constantly engage with companies that have decided to participate in the Rs 1.97 trillion scheme, an official aware of the matter said. Read More search engines not an intermediary under new IT Rules, says co Global technology giant on Wednesday moved Delhi High Court (HC), asking for interim protection against its declaration as a 'social media intermidiary'. Google petitioned to set aside a part of an April order that "mischaracterises" its search engine as a social media intermediary that has to comply with the new Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021. Experts agreed there may be merit in Google asking not to be identified as a social media intermediary. Read More Experts agreed there may be merit in Google asking not to be identified as a social media intermediary. US-India Chambers of Commerce Foundation has raised more than USD1.2 million for coronavirus-related efforts in India. With a record-breaking fundraising, US-India Chambers of Commerce Foundation has shipped or en route nearly 120 ventilators and over 1,000 oxygen concentrators, a release said on Wednesday. United Airlines is one of the logistics providers who has been partnering with the foundation to help get this needed medical equipment in country as quickly as possible. Some of the equipment has already reached hospitals in India and already being used, the release said. Recipients have been Indian Red Cross, along with no-governmental and government hospitals in Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Tamil Nadu. The situation in India is catastrophic, however, India and the people of India are resilient and will see better days with the support of all of us. The international community is joining hands with health care workers in India by sending needed medical equipment to control this pandemic, said Ashok Mago, an eminent Indian-American community leader. Raj Malik, CEO of Bioworld Merchandising, who donated over 100 oxygen concentrators said the pandemic has touched their families in a very personal way. Many of us know people who have been personally affected or died from COVID-19 and we want to do everything we can to help in every way that we can," he said. Foundation president Neel Gonuguntla in a statement said the Texas-based Indian American community is offering its prayers and good wishes for India to heal quickly through these contributions. We have been trying to honour our donors' sincere wishes by getting needed medical equipment into the country as quickly as possible. We know that the sooner India gets the equipment, the more lives healthcare workers can save," Gonuguntla said. "We are grateful to all of donors and community organisations who are partnering with us in this effort. We couldn't do any of this without all of their support," said Sanjeev Khanna, past Chairman of the foundation. (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.) Congress leader and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday accused the central government of needlessly delaying approval to vaccines in the country for many months except in the case of Covaxin, Covishield and Sputnik V. "Our suspicion that the government had not approved any vaccine other than Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik V, has been proved correct," Chidambaram said. "Why did government go through the charade of negotiating quantities with Pfizer and Moderna without first giving Emergency Use Approval (EUA) to their vaccines? "Why has it taken 8-9 months for the government to decide to give approval when the US and other countries had granted approval? "Remember, Dr Manmohan Singh had made this specific suggestion in his letter which got a rude reply from the Union Health Minister!" he added. In mid-April, Singh's letter to the Centre suggested ramping up the vaccination drive as key to battling the pandemic, asking the government to "resist the temptation to look at the absolute numbers being vaccinated, and focus instead on the percentage of the population vaccinated". The former Prime Minister had also added that India currently has vaccinated only a small fraction of its population, adding that with the right policy design, "We can do much better and very quickly." Experts from the National Institute of Malaria Research and the Indian Council of Medical Research, on Wednesday, slammed the government for poor planning of the home-grown vaccine production and deployment, as a result of which "India doesn't have enough vaccines to go around with", they said. While there are plans to significantly ramp up production of the Covaxin and Covishield vaccines, the target to vaccinate around one billion people may still not be reached in 2021, the experts said in a commentary published in the online journal BMJ Global Health. Only around 3 per cent of the population has been inoculated till now. The experts urged the government to expedite the approval of foreign vaccines already deployed elsewhere around the globe. The Centre on Wednesday took steps to accelerate domestic vaccine production. Mumbai-based Haffkine Biopharma will produce 22.8 crore doses per annum of Covaxin under technology transfer arrangement with Bharat Biotech. With the aim of vaccinating the entire eligible population at the earliest, domestic vaccine production is being steadily ramped up in the country with the help from the Centre. Three public enterprises were being supported by the Department of Biotechnology under Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 Mission 'Covid Suraksha'. Apart from Haffkine Biopharmaceutical Corporation Ltd, Mumbai, these enterprises are the Indian Immunologicals Ltd, Hyderabad and Bharat Immunologicals & Biologicals Ltd, Bulandshahr, in Uttar Pradesh. --IANS miz/in (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A year and a half into the pandemic, we still do not know exactly where the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, came from. The prevailing view so far has been that the virus spilled over from bats into humans. But there are increasing calls to investigate the possibility that it emerged from a lab in Wuhan, China, where Covid first appeared at the end of 2019. So what do we know for sure, and what do we need still to find out? We know the sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is close to that of bat coronaviruses. Several decades ago its ancestor was circulating in bat populations in southern Asia. But there are still many unanswered questions: we dont know how the virus arrived in Wuhan, how its sequence evolved to allow human infection, and under what conditions it infected the first people who crossed its path. And for each of these stages, we dont know whether there was a human contribution (direct or indirect). Lire cet article en francais: Origine de la Covid-19 : lhypothese de laccident de laboratoire doit-elle etre etudiee dun point de vue scientifique ? Zoonotic transmission pathways, in other words the passage of viruses from animals to humans, are now widely documented around the world. Scientists even consider that this is a principal mechanism for the spreading of new viruses. But the fact that the pandemic began in the vicinity of a main virus research centre that specialises in the study of coronaviruses with epidemic potential in humans the Wuhan Institute of Virology has given rise to another hypothesis, the lab leak theory. Lab accidents have already led to human infections, including the H1N1 flu pandemic of 1977, which killed more than 700,000 people. Which theory is correct? In the absence of definitive proof, and without promoting conspiracy theories, there needs to be a serious international conversation about the origin of SARS-CoV-2. The zoonosis theory In the scientific community, the debate on the origin of SARS-CoV-2 started with the publication of two articles at the very beginning of the outbreak. The first, dated February 19, 2020, was published in the medical science journal The Lancet. This article, signed by 27 scientists, highlighted the efforts of Chinese experts to identify the source of the pandemic and share the results. The authors deplored rumours and misinformation about the origins of the virus, and stated that they strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that Covid-19 does not have a natural origin. The authors based their opinion on the first published sequence data, but did not detail the scientific arguments supporting a natural origin. In March 2020, another article published in Nature Medicine provided a series of scientific arguments in favour of a natural origin. The authors argued: The natural hypothesis is plausible, as it is the usual mechanism of emergence of coronaviruses The sequence of SARS-CoV-2 is too distantly related from other known coronaviruses to envisage the manufacture of a new virus from available sequences Its sequence does not show evidence of genetic manipulation in the laboratory. This last argument can be questioned, as methods do exist which allow scientists to modify viral sequences without leaving a trace. These include cutting the genome into fragments that can later be joined together or, more recently, using the ISA protocol, whereby overlapping fragments naturally come together in cells through homologous recombination: a phenomenon in which two DNA molecules exchange fragments. Besides, genetic manipulation is not the only scenario compatible with a laboratory accident or leak. Meanwhile, intense research that has been carried out for more than a year to try to prove the zoonotic scenario has not been successful so far: all 80,000 animal samples, from some 30 species, have tested negative. The samples came from farm animals and wild animals from different provinces in But it is important to note that this large number of negative samples does not refute the zoonotic scenario. The lab theory The first articles arguing for the laboratory accident theory received little attention, perhaps because they came from groups like the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which tends to be critical of technology, or outsiders such as the DRASTIC team (an acronym for decentralized radical autonomous search team investigating Covid-19). Composed of 24 self-styled Twitter detectives who are mostly anonymous with the exception of a few scientists participating under their real names, the DRASTIC group formed on Twitter in 2020 and has set itself the mission of exploring the origins of SARS-CoV-2. Information and arguments from the group have been examined in their own right, taken up and developed by some virologists, microbiologists and science communicators. In July 2020, one of the authors of this article, Etienne Decroly, co-wrote a scientific paper discussing the possibility of a laboratory accident. The lab leak theory gained wider traction after a May 13 article in the journal Science, signed by 18 scientists, called again for the origins of SARS-CoV-2 to be examined. So is it possible? Several elements regarding the emergence of the virus do raise questions. In particular, it has been established that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was handling viruses close to SARS-CoV-2 collected in southern In addition to direct genetic manipulation, a laboratory accident could also have occurred as a result of infection during collection in the wild or during an experiment with a virus that evolved in cells or mice in the laboratory, without necessarily directly manipulating its genome. How can we find out for sure? In an investigation at the start of this year, a joint commission between and the World Health Organization (WHO) failed to identify the cause of the pandemic, concluding that a zoonotic origin is most likely and the hypothesis of a laboratory accident is very unlikely. But the director-general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced there were still questions that will need to be addressed by further studies. Determining whether SARS-CoV-2 has escaped from a laboratory will require a more thorough investigation in which investigators have access to sequence databases as well as to the various resources used by Chinese researchers, including laboratory notebooks, submitted projects, scientific manuscripts, viral sequences, order lists and biological analyses. Unfortunately, sequence databases for SARS-CoV-2 have been inaccessible to scientists since September 2019. In the absence of direct evidence, alternative approaches may provide additional information. By analysing the available sequences of SARS-CoV-2-like coronaviruses in detail, it is possible that the scientific community will reach a consensus based on strong clues, as they did for other outbreaks, including the 1977 H1N1 virus. Biological black boxes Whether the origin is zoonotic or not, it is necessary to question the consequences of our interactions with ecosystems, the industrialisation of intensive breeding, safety protocols on collecting and experimenting on potentially pandemic viruses, and the proliferation of high-security laboratories, particularly those near megacities. We need to equip facilities that study viruses with safety systems as demanding as those used for studying nuclear energy. This could include the introduction of biological black boxes, similar to flight recorders which allow investigators to recreate the final moments of a plane accident. Access to certain high-risk labs could be made dependent on detailed digital descriptions of experiments; sequencing data could be systematically archived; laboratory air filters could be collected, and if there is a suspicion of pathogen dissemination, the genetic material on their surface could be sequenced. Such new safety measures should be put in place internationally to limit the risk of future pandemics. As for SARS-CoV-2, it is important to trace its exact origins in order to understand precisely what flaws may have led to its spread. Virginie Courtier, Directrice de recherche CNRS, genetique et evolution, Universite de Paris and Etienne Decroly, Directeur de recherche en virologie, Aix-Marseille Universite (AMU) This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opponents on Wednesday announced they have reached a deal to form a new governing coalition, paving the way for the ouster of the longtime Israeli leader. The dramatic announcement by opposition leader Yair Lapid and his main coalition partner, Naftali Bennett, came shortly before a midnight deadline and prevented the country from plunging into what would have been its fifth consecutive election in just over two years. This government will work for all the citizens of Israel, those that voted for it and those that didn't. It will do everything to unite Israeli society, Lapid said. Under the agreement, Lapid and Bennett will split the job of prime minister in a rotation. Bennett will serve the first two years, while Lapid is to serve the final two years. The historic deal also includes a small Islamist party, the United Arab List, which would make it the first Arab party ever to be part of a governing coalition. The agreement still needs to be approved by the Knesset, or parliament, in a vote that is expected to take place early next week. If it goes through, Lapid and a diverse array of partners that span the Israeli political spectrum will end the record-setting 12-year rule of Netanyahu. Netanyahu, desperate to remain in office while he fights corruption charges, is expected to do everything possible in the coming days to prevent the new coalition from taking power. If he fails, he will be pushed into the opposition. Netanyahu has attempted to put pressure on hard-liners in the emerging coalition to defect and join his religious and nationalist allies. Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin, a member of Netanyahu's Likud party, may also use his influence to delay the required parliamentary vote. Lapid called on Levin to convene the Knesset for the vote as soon as possible. Netanyahu has been the most dominant player in Israeli over the past three decades serving as prime minister since 2009 in addition to an earlier term in the late 1990s. Despite a long list of achievements, including last year's ground-breaking diplomatic agreements with four Arab countries, he has become a polarising figure since he was indicted on charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in 2019. Each of the past four elections was seen as a referendum on Netanyahu's fitness to rule. And each ended in deadlock, with both Netanyahu's supporters as well as his secular, Arab and dovish opponents falling short of a majority. A unity government formed with his main rival last year collapsed after just six months. The new deal required a reshuffling of the Israeli political constellation. Three of the parties are led by hardline former Netanyahu allies who had personal feuds with him, while the United Arab List made history as a kingmaker, using its leverage to seek benefits for the country's Arab minority. This is the first time an Arab party is a partner in the formation of a government, the party's leader, Mansour Abbas, told reporters. This agreement has a lot of things for the benefit of Arab society, and Israeli society in general. Lapid, 57, entered parliament in 2013 after a successful career as a newspaper columnist, TV anchor and author. His new Yesh Atid party ran a successful rookie campaign, landing Lapid the powerful post of finance minister. But he and Netanyahu did not get along, and the coalition quickly crumbled. Yesh Atid has been in the opposition since 2015 elections. The party is popular with secular, middle-class voters and has been critical of Netanyahu's close ties with ultra-Orthodox parties and said the prime minister should step down while on trial for corruption charges. Bennett, meanwhile, is a former top aide to Netanyahu whose small Yamina party caters to religious and nationalist hardliners. Bennett was a successful high-tech entrepreneur and leader of the West Bank settler movement before entering It is far from certain that their coalition will last that long. In order to secure the required parliamentary majority, Lapid had to bring together eight parties that have little in common. Their partners range from a pair of dovish, left-wing parties that support broad concessions to the Palestinians to three hard-line parties that oppose Palestinian independence and support West Bank settlements. Lapid's Yesh Atid and Blue and White, a centrist party headed by Defense Minister Benny Gantz, and the United Arab List are the remaining members. The coalition members are hoping their shared animosity to Netanyahu, coupled with the agreement that another election must be avoided, will provide enough incentive to find some common ground. Today, we succeeded. We made history, said Merav Michaeli, leader of the dovish Labor Party. The negotiations went down to the wire, with Labor and Yamina feuding over the makeup of a parliamentary committee. Earlier this week, when Bennett said he would join the coalition talks, he said that everyone would have to compromise and give up parts of their dreams. During the recent election campaign, Bennett had publicly vowed never to share power with Lapid or an Arab party. But facing the prospect of another unwanted election, Bennett, like the others, found flexibility. In order to form a government, a party leader must secure the support of a 61-seat majority in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament. (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 24th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) kicked off in Russia's second largest city on Wednesday, during which participants will seek cooperation amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This year's forum with the theme "Together Again - Economy of New Reality" consists of four main programs: Joining Forces to Advance Development, Delivering on National Development Targets, Human Factor in Responding to Global Challenges, and New Technology Frontiers. Russian President Vladimir Putin will address the plenary session of the SPIEF in person on Friday, while Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz will deliver speeches via video link. More than 130 events are planned during the four-day forum to discuss issues regarding medium and small-sized enterprises in Russia, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BRICS, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the Business Twenty (B20) among others. The largest delegations are expected from Qatar, the guest country of this year's forum, as well as from the United States and China. Since 1997, the SPIEF has become a leading global platform for members of the business community to meet and discuss the key economic issues facing Russia, emerging markets, and the world as a whole. The forum was canceled last year due to the pandemic. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opponents raced against the clock to finalize a coalition government that would end his 12-year rule ahead of a deadline at midnight Wednesday. Centrist Yair Lapid and ultranationalist Naftali Bennett have joined forces and agreed to rotate the premiership between them, with Bennett going first. But they were still working to cobble together a ruling coalition that would include parties from across the political spectrum. Israeli media reported some lingering disagreements over lower-level political appointments. According to the reports, Ayelet Shaked, Bennett's deputy in the Yamina party, was demanding a place on a committee that chooses the nation's judges. But Shaked, a prominent voice in Israel's hard-line right wing, has expressed misgivings about joining forces with the dovish members of the emerging coalition. Both Shaked and Bennett have come under heavy pressure from Netanyahu and the country's right wing base not to join his opponents. The Knesset, or parliament, has assigned additional security guards to both in recent days because of death threats and online incitement. By Wednesday night, less than two hours before the deadline at midnight (2100 GMT; 5 pm EDT), there was still no deal. In a sign of progress, Lapid announced a coalition deal with the United Arab List, a small Islamist party whose support is key to securing a coalition. The deal would make it the the first Arab party to be part of an Israeli governing coalition. But there was still no deal with Yamina, the last holdout in the emerging government. Mansour Abbas, leader of the United Arab List, said his party made the difficult decision to join Lapid's governing coalition. This is the first time an Arab party is a partner in the formation of a government, he told reporters. This agreement has a lot of things for the benefit of Arab society, and Israeli society in general. Lapid must inform Israel's largely ceremonial president, Reuven Rivlin, by midnight that he has formed a majority coalition of at least 61 seats in the Knesset. The assembly would then have a week to hold a vote of confidence. If Lapid misses the deadline, the country will almost certainly have a fifth election in just over two years, and Netanyahu would have yet another chance to hold onto his position as he stands trial for corruption. Netanyahu's Likud won the most seats in the March 23 election, but he was unable to form a majority with his traditional religious and nationalist allies. Crucially, a far-right party allied with Netanyahu refused to join forces with a small Arab party that emerged as one of the kingmakers in the race. Netanyahu had hoped to extend his long rule and battle the corruption charges from the prime minister's office. He has emerged as a deeply polarising force in recent years, leaving in a prolonged state of political limbo through a series of inconclusive elections. An emergency government formed last year between Netanyahu and former military chief Benny Gantz to battle the coronavirus pandemic quickly became mired in political bickering and collapsed in December. That government remains in place as caretaker. Amid the political deadlock, parliament on Wednesday elected Isaac Herzog, a veteran politician and the scion of a prominent Israeli family, as the country's next president. The presidency is a largely ceremonial role that is meant to serve as the nation's moral compass and promote unity. I intend to be the president of everyone, Herzog, whose late father held the same position, said after the votes were tallied. We must defend Israel's status and its good reputation in the family of nations, fight antisemitism and hatred of Israel, and preserve the pillars of our democracy. Herzog, 60, is a former head of Israel's Labor Party and opposition leader who unsuccessfully ran against Netanyahu in the 2015 parliamentary elections. He comes from a prominent Zionist family. His father, Chaim Herzog, was Israel's ambassador to the United Nations before being elected president. His uncle, Abba Eban, was Israel's first foreign minister and ambassador to the United Nations and United States. His grandfather was the country's first chief rabbi. He defeated challenger Miriam Peretz by a margin of 87-26. Peretz, 67, is a prominent educator and lecturer who is well known because she lost two sons in battle during their military service. In 2018 she was awarded the Prize, the country's top award, for lifetime achievement. Herzog is set to take office next month and could play a role in Israeli down the road. The president's responsibilities include choosing the party leader in parliament he believes has the best chance of forming a coalition after each election. If the country is forced into another vote, Herzog could help determine who becomes prime minister. The president also has the authority to grant pardons making Herzog a potentially key player if Netanyahu, who is on trial for multiple corruption charges, is eventually convicted. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Dominique Patton BEIJING (Reuters) - has come to crave Demand that had been steadily growing has spiked further after doctors touted its health benefits amid the coronavirus pandemic and firms across the country have embarked on a farm-building frenzy. But quenching that thirst will be problematic, not least because finding the millions more cows needed for planned new and expanded farms will be challenging. is the world's third-largest producer, but last year's 34 million tonnes of output only met about 70% of domestic needs. Complicating matters are feed costs at multi-year highs, while land and water are also in short supply, making the country a costly place to produce Interactive Graphic: Cow milk output by country https://tmsnrt.rs/3icwtD8 Cow milk output by country https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/azgpoobkqpd/CowMilkProductionbyCOuntry.png Spurred on by near record highs for raw milk prices and government subsidies, just over 200 new Chinese farm projects were announced last year, according to consultancy Beijing Orient Its analysis shows that 60% of the new projects have set their sights on 10,000-plus cows and in total the plans call for some 2.5 million cows - roughly half of China's current milking herd - to be added in the coming years. On the face of it, China's dairy market, worth some $62 billion in annual sales, is ripe for development. The government has heavily promoted milk and its benefits - in part to support the rural dairy industry - boosting consumption. Even so annual per capita intake is only 6.8 litres compared to 50 litres for the United States, according to Euromonitor "Average per capita consumption is still very low," Gao Lina, the CEO of Modern Dairy Holdings Ltd told Reuters. "The potential is huge." Interactive Graphic: Milk-producing cows by country https://tmsnrt.rs/3g0fzF3 Cow milk consumption by country https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/gjnvwmyxmvw/CowMilkConsumptionbyCountry.png She said Chinese people, especially children, have begun eating more cheese which will further inflate demand. A kilogram of cheese generally requires 10 kilograms of milk to make. Milk in China is, however, still considered special enough to be a popular gift. Fresh milk costs about $2 a litre, roughly double UK and U.S. prices, while the more common 240 ml packs of room temperature UHT milk cost about 40 cents. Demand for fresh chilled milk especially, which constitutes just a fifth of milk sales in China, has shown rapid growth, climbing 21% in the first 11 months of 2020 versus 10.9% for room-temperature milk, according to Nielsen data. To satisfy that demand, big players will need to develop more raw milk sources closer to wealthier population centres, analysts say. SEND IN THE COWS Firms outlining grand plans include Modern Dairy, which wants to double its herd over the next five years to 500,000 by buying up smaller farming companies and building new farms. Shanghai-based processor Bright Dairy and Food Co Ltd aims to build four more farms to add 31,000 cows to its 66,000-strong herd. China Youran Dairy is planning an IPO, seeking up to $800 million to expand its breeding herd and increase milk output. According to Beijing Orient Dairy, new Chinese farms needing a total of 1.35 million cows are already under construction, but some of those will have to sit empty. It estimates that over the next two years, China's domestic herd will generate about 500,000 new heifers while imports could come in at around 400,000 if the pace of imports stays the same as last year when China imported almost 200,000 heifers, mostly from Australia and New Zealand. Importing heifers is the fastest way to stock a new farm, shaving about a year off the time it would take to breed the stock at home. Imports are also preferred as the cattle are free from the many diseases circulating in China's herd. But clouding that outlook has been New Zealand's decision in April to halt live cattle exports within two years due to concerns about the welfare of livestock on ships for long periods. "We have been inundated with inquiries, especially as New Zealand stops the trade," said an Australian cattle exporter who declined to be identified, adding that the surging demand from China is encouraging graziers to spend more on breeding. Chile and Uruguay also export small volumes, but shipping times are twice as long and the breeds used produce less milk, making them less attractive options. Brazil, the United States and European countries could become good sources of breeder cattle, said Dou Ming, chief economist at Beijing Orient Dairy. "If we just added two more import countries, we'd be fine," he said. Interactive Graphic: Milk-producing cows by country https://tmsnrt.rs/3g0fzF3 Milk-producing cows by country https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-DAIRY/xegpbrmmrpq/chart_eikon.jpg China and the United States pledged to start talks on imports of breeder cattle within a month of the Phase 1 trade deal signed in Jan. 2020 but it remains unclear if the discussions have begun. The office of the U.S. Trade Representative, China's Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs did not respond to requests for comment. Feed costs, however, present another impediment, analysts and industry sources say, as imported heifers take time before they become milkable cows. Corn prices are at record levels, while hay/grass is also set to become more expensive as it competes for acres with corn, said Grant Beadles, China manager at Land O Lakes, which supplies feed and forage seed to the market. (Reporting by Dominique Patton; Additional reporting by Beijing Newsroom, Colin Packham in Canberra, Tom Polansek in Chicago and Gavin Maguire in Singapore; Editing by Tony Munroe and Edwina Gibbs) (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.) European diplomats say the latest round of talks over Iran's nuclear program has made progress, expressing hope that agreement could soon be reached for Tehran to comply with a 2015 deal aimed at curbing its atomic ambitions and also see the United States rejoin the accord. Enrique Mora, the European Union official who chaired Wednesday's talks in Vienna, said delegations from Russia, China, Germany, France, Britain, Iran and the US would return home to brief their governments and then meet again in the Austrian capital next week. I'm sure that the next round will be the one in which we will finally get the deal," Mora told reporters after the meeting. There are a few political issues (and) there are a number of technical issues, again rather complex," he added. "But I can say that they are fewer than they were one week ago. So we are (on) a good track. I think every capital has to give a green light to their respective delegations to get the agreement, and I think that will be the case next week, said Mora. Other European diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity as they weren't authorised to be quoted by name, described the talks in Vienna as intense and productive, but cautioned that they would become more difficult as delegates tackle harder issues. While progress had been made and important aspects of a future deal had been hammered out, the diplomats said that tough decisions lie ahead and nothing would be agreed until everything was agreed. Asked about the United Nations' atomic watchdog this week stating that it hasn't been able to access data important to monitoring Iran's nuclear program since late February, Mora said delegations had taken note of the report. Iran started limiting inspections in a bid to put pressure on the government of US President Joe Biden to lift crippling sanctions reimposed after then-President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, in 2018. It's something that is not directly related to the negotiations of the JCPOA, Mora said, referring to the UN atomic energy agency's report that it had not had access to the monitoring data since February 23. (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.) German airline said late Wednesday that it has received the green light from to resume there, after being briefly denied permission, which resulted in a reciprocal blocking of by In a statement, said Russian authorities had issued approval for its from Frankfurt to Moscow and St. Petersburg for the month of June. had been forced to cancel two flights Tuesday and Wednesday after failing to get approval from Russia's aviation authority FATA. Due to the underlying reciprocal practice, the German Federal Aviation Authority also did not issue any further permits for flights of the Russian carriers as long as the permits were pending on the Russian side, Germany's Transport Ministry said in a statement. The move affected connections operated from by Aeroflot and budget carrier S7. It wasn't immediately clear whether the green light for Lufthansa would prompt German authorities in turn to issue approval for Russian airlines to resume flights to But the ministry had stated that as soon as the FATA approvals for Lufthansa flights are granted by the Russian side, the flights of Russian companies will also be approved. The tit-for-tat spat comes amid mounting tension between and the European Union over Moscow's support for Belarus. The 27-nation bloc and the United States last week introduced fresh sanctions against Belarus after authorities there diverted an flight to arrest a dissident journalist. The sanctions come on top of those already imposed on Belarusian officials, including its authoritarian leader, President Alexander Lukashenko, for rigging elections and clamping down on protests last year. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) was handed a stinging rebuke from the European Unions top court for consistently failing to clean up dirty air in its cities from Berlin to Cologne, endangering public health. Between 2010 and 2016, systematically and persistently exceeded the limit values for nitrogen dioxide, the Court of Justice said in a ruling on Thursday. A 2018 crackdown on dirty air by the European Commission included the U.K., and France, with the regulator accusing them of failing to meet limits on nitrogen oxide, which is mostly caused by road traffic and industry. court judges in previous rulings also chided France and the U.K. for persistently exceeding limits. Germany saw a wave of litigation in 2018 over in inner cities and various courts said that local governments needed to improve their plans, including banning older, and more polluting, diesel vehicles from streets that suffered most from Since then the government has improved its targets. The judgment refers to the past, Hildegard Mueller, president of the German auto industrys lobby group VDA, said. The development of the last few years shows a massive improvement of the air in our cities. Vehicle emissions have been reduced through considerable efforts of the car industry. ALSO READ: Fossil fuel pollution kills millions more than scientists previously knew The courts have become an increasingly successful arena for campaigners to hold governments and countries to account over pollution and climate change. Germanys highest court said in April that Chancellor Angela Merkels climate-protection efforts were falling short. Autos are the main emitters of nitrogen oxides, which cause respiratory problems and have been linked to premature deaths. Some EU countries have consistently breached pollution limits set my the bloc. kills more than 400,000 Europeans each year and about 60,000 Germans, according to the European Environment Agency Not-for-profit environmental law firm ClientEarth last year sued Germany over its long-term failure to control illegal and dangerous air pollutant emissions all over the country. Any new government must ensure that the roughly 10 million fraudulent diesel cars still circulating our streets need to be taken of the roads or be retrofitted at the expense of the carmakers, said DUH, a German environmental NGO that successfully sued the German government over pollution previously. The case is: C-635/18, European Commission v. Federal Republic of Germany. and the are in arrears on paying their dues to the United Nations' operating budget and will lose their voting rights in the 193-member General Assembly, the UN chief said in a letter circulated Wednesday. In the letter to General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said three other African countries -- Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe, and Somalia -- are also in arrears. But he said the assembly passed a resolution saying they can still vote in the current session which ends in September. The UN Charter states that members whose arrears equal or exceed the amount of their contributions for the preceding two full years lose their voting rights. But it also gives the General Assembly the authority to decide that the failure to pay is due to conditions beyond the control of the member, and in that case a country can continue to vote. According to the secretary-general's letter, the minimum payments needed to restore voting rights are USD 16,251,298 for and USD 29,395 for the Comoros needs to pay USD 871,632, Sao Tome and Principe USD 829,888, and Somalia USD 1,443,640 to reduce their arrears and avoid a possible cutoff of voting rights after September, the letter says. (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.) Facing scrutiny at home, Jack Mas Co. is building a team to burnish its reputation with policy makers in the on which its ambitions hinge. The Hangzhou-based firm set up a division with just under 10 staff to handle government and policy matters, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Senior Vice President Chen Leiming is heading the division and is in the process of hiring, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Central to Ants overseas ambitions are digital wallets and payments, data-heavy businesses that require a good rapport with local authorities, the people said. The team, known as Public Policy and Government Affairs, will prioritize markets including Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Macau, though Europe will also be a target, they said. Ants international push comes as the fintech giant faces increased scrutiny and slowing growth at home. The firm is overhauling its business and engaging with regulators as it seeks to revive its stalled initial public offering that was torpedoed by authorities who accused it of being defiant of regulatory demands. Communications and engagement with government and regulatory bodies overseas are important in promoting transparency and mutual understanding, Ant said in an emailed statement, without elaborating. Slow Start Although Ant has made significant headway in Singapore where it secured a digital-banking license, progress in other bigger has been slow. In Indonesia, the worlds fourth most-populous country and a popular tourist destination for Chinese, regulators said in December they approved Ants Alipay partnership with a local bank, almost a year after rival Tencent Holdings Ltd. Read More: Ant Group to be financial holding firm in overhaul forced by China As part of the regional expansion, Ant will help its overseas partners, including digital wallets, payment institutions and banks, to handle cross-border remittances and plans to share its tech solutions with them, the people said. To do so, Ant will need to explain the value the company can bring to local communities and hold discussions on how to handle data, they said. Chen joined Ant in Hong Kong in 2016 from New York-based law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. He reports to Chairman Eric Jing and Angel Zhao, president of Ants international business group. Carrie Suen, who moved from Ants legal division as a senior adviser, will also be a key member of Chens team, the people said. Suen spent more than a year as a legal counsel at affiliate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.s merger & acquisition team before joining Ant in October 2014, according to her LinkedIn profile. Ant has also been expanding its global legal team to more than 300 people, with about 30 staff in Hong Kong and 30 employees in Singapore, the people said. By Nandita Bose and Tom Polansek WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Reuters) -JBS SA employees started returning to U.S. meat plants on Wednesday, a day after the company's beef operations stopped following a ransomware attack, disrupting meat production in North America and Australia. A notorious Russia-linked group is behind the cyberattack against JBS, a source familiar with the matter said. Brazil's JBS controls about 20% of the slaughtering capacity for U.S. cattle and hogs, so the plants' reopening should prevent a severe supply-chain disruption. JBS, the world's largest meatpacker, said most operations resumed on Wednesday, "including all of our pork, poultry and prepared foods facilities around the world and the majority of our beef facilities in the U.S. and Australia." "We anticipate operating at close to full capacity across our global operations tomorrow," JBS Chief Executive Andre Nogueira said in a statement. The cyberattack followed one last month by a group with ties to on Colonial Pipeline, the largest fuel pipeline in the United States, which crippled fuel delivery for several days in the U.S. Southeast. It is the third major attack this year tied to Russia, and press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday the JBS hack was expected to be discussed at President Joe Biden's mid-June summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "We're not taking any options off the table in terms of how we may respond, but of course there's an internal policy review process to consider that. We're in direct touch with the Russians, as well, to convey our concerns about these reports," Psaki added. "President Biden certainly thinks that President Putin and the Russian government has a role to play in stopping and preventing these attacks." The Russian cyber gang goes by the name REvil, the source said. Cybersecurity investigators have said they believe some members of the REvil ransomware team are based in The prolific ransomware group, which is perhaps best known for attacking an Apple Inc supplier named Quanta Computer Inc earlier this year, previously posted in Russian on cyber-crime forums, marketing stolen data. In the Quanta Computer case, the hackers sent extortion threats and demanded a payment of $50 million for the company to regain access to its systems. Over the past few years, ransomware has evolved into a pressing national security issue. A number of gangs, many of them Russian speakers, develop the software that encrypts files and then demand payment in cryptocurrency for keys that allow the owners to decipher and use them again. SCRAMBLING FOR BEEF With North American operations headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, JBS sells beef and pork under the Swift brand, with retailers like Costco Wholesale Corp carrying its pork loins and tenderloins. U.S. beef and pork prices are already rising as China increases imports, animal feed costs rise and slaughterhouses have confronted a labor shortage since COVID-19 outbreaks shut down many U.S. meat plants. "It's probably going to be pretty tight for the next few days because even though they (JBS) are going to start opening ... who knows how they are going to run," said Altin Kalo, economist at Steiner Consulting Group. "There's a fair amount of people that are scrambling (for beef supplies)." U.S. meatpackers on Wednesday slaughtered 12.5% fewer cattle than a week earlier and 8% less than a year earlier, although slaughtering was up about 12% from Tuesday, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Plants are expected to return to full capacity in the next couple days, said officials with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union, which represents over 25,000 JBS meatpacking workers. JBS also owns most of chicken processor Pilgrim's Pride Co, which sells organic chicken under the Just Bare brand. The company's operations in Brazil, Mexico and the UK were not affected by the attack, JBS said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle futures rose on Wednesday after tumbling on Tuesday as the JBS plant shutdowns prevented farmers from delivering their cattle to slaughter plants. The attack drew attention to the concentrated beef sector in the United States, where four including JBS slaughter over 80% of fed cattle and shutdowns of slaughtering plants have a severe impact on prices that ranchers are paid for their cattle. "The Justice Department needs to take a serious look into the meatpacking industry, and if they cannot, Congress needs to pass reforms that protect a fair and open cattle market," U.S. senators led by Republican Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Democrat Tina Smith of Minnesota wrote in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland. (Reporting by Tom Polansek and Julie Ingwersen in Chicago and Nandita Bose in Washingon; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Peter Cooney) (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President plans to amend a US ban on investments in companies linked to Chinas military this week, after the Trump-era policy was challenged in court and left investors confused about the extent of its reach to subsidiary firms, people familiar with the matter said. Under Bidens amended order, the Treasury Department will create a list of companies that could face financial penalties for their connection to Chinas defence and surveillance technology sectors, the people said. Until now, the financial sanctions and selection of targeted companies were tied to a congressionally mandated Defense Department report. The amended order, which Biden is expected to sign later this week, will change the criteria for blacklisting entities to capture those that operate in the defence or surveillance technology sectors. The Trump order targeted companies owned, controlled or otherwise affiliated with the Chinese military. The Biden administration is set to keep a large number of previously listed entities, and Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control will add new entities as part of the order, one of the people said. Treasury would consult the State and Defense departments in the listing process. Spokespeople for the White House and the Treasury Department didnt respond to requests for comment. Stock Impact The US should respect the rule of law and correct its mistakes, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular press briefing in Beijing. The ban ignores the facts and the real situation of relevant companies, severely undermines normal market rules and order, and harms the legal rights and interests of the Chinese companies and also the interests of global investors, including the American ones, he said. We will take measures to firmly uphold the interests of Chinese companies. Some stocks related to Chinas defence industry dropped on Thursday, led by AVIC Jonhon Optronic Technology and AECC Aviation Power, while already-blacklisted Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment fell 3.9 per cent. Xiaomi, which was dropped from the list last month after challenging the Trump administration order in a lawsuit, advanced 2.4 per cent in Hong Kong. After two Chinese companies successfully challenged the order, Bidens team said a revision of the policy was necessary to ensure it was legally sound and sustainable in the long-term. By shifting responsibility to Treasury, the Biden team aims to solidify the legal standing for the penalties, one of the people said. The Nigerian government on Wednesday expressed doubts about Twitter's mission in the country, accusing the U.S. technology company of double standards and supporting the secessionists in the west African country. Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed took a swipe at after it deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari who issued a warning to troublemakers in "We have a country to rule, and we will do so to the best of our ability. Twitter's mission in is very suspect, they have an agenda. The mission of in is very suspicious," Mohammed said. In the deleted tweet, Buhari had made a reference to the country's 30-month civil war in 1967-1970, warning "those who wanted the government to fail" to desist from fomenting trouble. "Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigeria civil war. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand," the president tweeted on Tuesday night. deleted the president's post on Wednesday, following criticisms from some netizens.However, Mohammed questioned the rule of Twitter. "Twitter may have its own rules, it's not the universal rule. If Mr. President, anywhere in the world feels very bad and concerned about a situation, he is free to express such views," he said.The social networking service, he said, had overlooked the tweets of leading secessionists in Nigeria. "When people were burning police stations and killing policemen in Nigeria during End SARS, a decentralised social movement, for Twitter, it was about the right to protest. But when a similar thing happened in the United States, it became insurrection," Mohammed 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.) You are here: Business Xiamen, a coastal city in east China's Fujian Province, Wednesday saw the 1,000th China-Europe freight train trip since the city launched the service in 2015. With 50 carriages loaded with daily necessities, auto parts and other goods, the X8098 train left the Haicang station of Xiamen for Germany Wednesday morning, bringing the number of train trips of such service to 1,000. Launched in August 2015, Xiamen's rail cargo service to Europe and Central Asia has so far transported nearly 80,000 TEUs of goods worth more than 3 billion U.S. dollars, which included electronics, machinery, daily necessities and food. Last year, the city handled 24,112 TEUs of goods via the China-Europe freight train service. The weight and worth reached 142,400 tonnes and 962 million U.S. dollars, up 59 percent and 40 percent year on year, respectively. To date, Xiamen's rail cargo service has linked the city with more than 30 cities in 12 countries of Europe and Central Asia. In a major change to North Korea's ruling party, Kim Jong Un has a new second-in-command, according to excerpts of a government document seen by CNN. The position was created in January as part of a revision to the rules of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the communist political organ that rules the secretive country. However, it is unclear who has filled it. Experts believe it could be vacant or occupied by Jo Yong Won or Kim Tok Hun, two of the most powerful men in North Korea's government, reported CNN. Jo, who is in his 60s and believed to be one of Kim Jong Un's longest-tenured and most-trusted aides, serves as the secretary of the WPK's central committee. He is often photographed alongside the young North Korean leader. Kim Tok Hun is the premier of North Korea's government. Jo and Kim have, according to North Korean state media, chaired meetings or conducted official visits across the country this year that previously would have likely been handled by Kim Jong Un, reported CNN. Some analysts believe that only members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the upper-most echelon of the WPK, would be eligible for the new role. That means Kim's powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, is probably not the person tapped for the role, according to Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Graduate School of North Korean Studies. Though Kim has influence "comparable to the second-most powerful person in North Korea," she does not occupy a high rank in the WPK, Lim noted. However, former Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok said it's possible Kim Yo Jong could fill the role in the event of an emergency. There is nothing to indicate the position's creation has anything to do with Kim Jong Un's health, which was the subject of intense speculation last year after he disappeared from state media for several weeks, reported CNN. It's also unlikely whoever occupies the new position, officially the first secretary of the WPK, would take power from Kim Jong Un if he were to die or become incapacitated. Some analysts believe it would be difficult for Kim to install a successor outside his immediate family, who have ruled since its inception. believe that, as a man in his 30s, he is simply too young to be thinking about a succession plan, CNN reported. Kim Jong Un once held the title of first secretary, but in January named himself general secretary of the party, a title previously held by his father. Kim Jong Il was designated "eternal general secretary" after his death in 2011. The addition of the new first secretary position was one of several changes the WPK made to its rules, the ninth time it has made such revisions. Several of them emphasize Kim's stated desire to improve North Korea's economy. However, his plans to pull the country out of dire poverty have in large part failed due to punishing sanctions and the draconian measures Pyongyang enacted to keep Covid-19 at bay, reported CNN. (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.) Over 100 terrorists were killed in fighting with government forces across the country, as per Afghan Defence Ministry. According to Khaama Press, the Ministry stated that clashes between Afghan government forces and the have left more than 100 terrorists dead. During the operations, 50 terrorists were wounded, a number of weapons were seized and some amount of ammunition was destroyed. These operations were conducted in the past 24 hours in Laghman, Kunar, Nangarhar, Ghazni, Paktia, Maidan Wardak, Khost, Zabul, Badghis, Herat, Faryab, Helmand, and Baghlan provinces. 35 types of mines were planted in different parts of the country were also defused, MOD said, reported Khaama Press further. The violence and insurgency have dramatically increased recently, however, the have not yet officially declared claim, but practically they have started attacking security checkpoints and convoys in several locations throughout the country. (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.) Secretary on Wednesday held a virtual meeting with China's Vice Premier Liu He, discussing plans for economic recovery and "frankly" tackling issues of concern, according to a readout issued here. Yellen noted that she looks forward to future discussions with Vice Premier Liu, the Department of Treasury said. During the meeting, Yellen discussed the Biden-Harris Administration's plans to support a continued strong economic recovery and the importance of cooperating on areas that are in US interests while at the same time "frankly" tackling issues of concern, said the readout. Meanwhile, over 200 Republican lawmakers wrote to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, urging her to hold the Chinese Communist Party (CPP) accountable for its role in causing the COVID-19 pandemic. We request that you instruct the appropriate Democrat committee chairs to immediately join Republican calls to hold the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for its role in causing the global COVID-19 pandemic. There is mounting evidence the pandemic started in a Chinese lab and the CCP covered it up. If that is the case, the CCP is responsible for the deaths of almost 600,000 Americans and millions more worldwide, the lawmakers said. These questions about the CCP's liability are not a diversion as you falsely claimed. To the contrary, every American family that lost someone deserves answers about the origin of this terrible virus and House Democrats' ongoing refusal to allocate investigative resources to get those answers is an affront to them, wrote the Republican lawmakers. Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, a Commissioner of the Congressional-Executive Commission on (CECC) and a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, in a video message said that the growing threat of is much larger than many Americans realise, warranting the need for American leaders to stand up, speak out and educate the public on the extent of dangers. In a separate move, Senator Steve Daines introduced a Senate resolution stating any treaty that limits the United States' ballistic missile arsenal must impose the same limits on both Russia and and it must be subject to consent from the US Senate. "Since the United States first entered the INF treaty with Russia, China has been developing and building an arsenal of ballistic missiles," Daines said. "Any treaty moving forward must hold both Russia and China to the same standards, and it must be approved by the Senate according to the Constitution," he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Gold has dropped below $1900. Now, although dollar weakness contributed fractional tailwinds, it was not enough for gold to close positive on Tuesday. Despite a minor pullback, gold bulls are near technical advantage. A two-month-old price uptrend is in place on the daily bar chart and next resistance for gold comes around $1959, a level last seen in December 2020. Meanwhile, immediate support for gold in COMEX is at $1885. Golds next move is expected on Friday when the US Labor Department releases its non-farm payrolls report for May. A disappointing non-farm payroll could push further upside while better than expected number could see US dollar and yields pivot higher. Hedge funds and investors have covered their short positions and have added long as speculative interest in gold has risen for four consecutive weeks. Some caution is needed as momentum oscillator RSI_14 is now in overbought zone around 75. Anything above 70 level is considered overbought, so long positions should be held with strict stoploss. In MCX, prices are still above its 200-day moving average and we recommend taking some profit off the table as gold in COMEX is trading in overbought zone while in MCX, Gold prices, due to strong rupee (it underperformed compared to COMEX), has just entered overbought zone. There would be opportunity to go long around 48,800 with stoploss of 48,200. Wait for some decline before taking fresh long positions but underlying trend still remains positive. Silver has been locked in the range of 70,900-73,500 for past 14 trading session. Gold is outperforming silver and a strong rally in silver is expected above 73,500. 70,000-68,000 is a strong support zone for silver and any selling pressure will come below that level. We are more neutral in silver while bullish on gold. Silver will play catch up if Gold manages to break $1920 on the upside Crude oil has hit nearly 2-year high around $70 on upbeat demand outlook and falling stock piles. OPEC+ gave a green light to further increase production by 850K bpd in July, as agreed at a meeting in early April. The oil cartel painted a rosy demand outlook for the second half of this year, forecasting that global inventories could fall by 2 million bpd during the September to November period which led to prices rising to $70. Nuclear talks between the US and Iran have paused, so the only thing that was keeping prices under pressure is now no longer there. US ISM manufacturing data came positive suggesting strong recovery in the economy. US Total inventories have fallen to a three-month low of 484.35 million barrels, and this trend looks set to continue with the arrival of the summer driving season. There is holiday weekend in US this week and there is a hotter forecast in June which means natural gas will have high demand for cooling. Prices are already showing signs of strength and with this much demand in the forecast, thanks to the hot pattern, it is difficult to argue for a notable move lower in prices. We are bullish in Natural Gas till 218 prices are not breached on the downside. Recommendation: Buy Nickel above 1350 | TGT: 1,420 | Stoploss: 1,300 Nickel has double top around 1,348 and needs to break that level for fresh upside. Trend is positive but the hurdle around 1,348 has created major resistance in the month of May and on the first day of June. So clearly, sellers need to clear out before buyers can push prices up. RSI_14 is at 60 so there is room on the upside. Support comes around 1300 where 20 DMA is. We recommend long position above 1350 for expected target of 1420 and stoploss of 1300. Buy Aluminum | TGT: 203 | Stoploss: 190 Aluminum has shown V-shaped recovery and prices have climbed above 20 and 50 day moving average. Trend is positive and RSI_14 is around 56. There is no divergence on daily scale and we expect prices to test levels of 203. So we recommend long position with stoploss of 190 closing basis. ================================= Prices for 22 carat gold on Thursday jumped to Rs 48,230 for 10 gm from Rs 46,900 and silver was at Rs 71,900 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 changes. In New Delhi, the price of 22-carat gold is at Rs 47,000 per 10 gm. In Chennai, it increased to Rs 46,470. The rate in Mumbai was Rs 46,900. The price of 24-carat gold in Chennai was Rs 50,700 per 10 gm, according to the website. Prices for 24-carat gold witnessed an uptick of Rs 1,300 per 10 gram to Rs 49,230 on Thursday from Rs 47,900 in the previous trading session. Gold in 22-carat in Delhi on Wednesday was up by Rs 20 to Rs 47,000 per 10 gram due to rupee depreciation. In the previous trade, the precious metal had closed at Rs 46,980 per 10 gram. shot up in India despite retreating at nearly 5-months high in the bullion Silver dipped by Rs 700 to Rs 71,900 per kilogram from Rs 72,600 per kilogram in the previous trade. Indian rupee ended lower at 73.08 per dollar on Wednesday, amid volatile trade saw in the domestic equity market. In the global market, dipped on Wednesday, as elevated Treasury yields and an uptick in risk appetite weighed on the safe-haven metal, while investors cautiously awaited US jobs data for cues on economic recovery and near-term Federal Reserve policy action. The US 10-year Treasury yield held firm above 1.6% after hitting a more than one-week high, increasing the opportunity cost of holding non-interest-bearing gold. Spot gold was 0.3% lower at $1,902.05 per ounce at 1:41 p.m. EDT (1741 GMT), after touching its highest since January 8 at $1,916.40. U.S. gold futures settled little changed at $1,905. Nifty futures on the SGX were trading 66 points higher at 15,696 around 8.35 am, indicating a firm start for the benchmark indices on Thursday. Here are the top stocks to track today: Earnings Today: Gujarat State Petronet, APL Apollo Tubes, Arvind Fashions, Nucleus Software Exports and Quess Corp are among 29 companies slated to post their quarterly numbers today. Sugar stocks: The government brought forward the target date for achieving 20 per cent ethanol-blending with petrol by two years to 2023 to help reduce India's dependence on costly oil imports. Panacea Biotec: Drug firm Panacea Biotec reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 54.14 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 as against a net loss of Rs 69.70 crore for the corresponding period of the previous financial year. RIL: After record fundraising and debt prepayments, Reliance Industries (RIL) now has a strong balance-sheet with high liquidity that will support growth plans for its three hyper-growth engines - telecom arm Jio, retail and oil-to-chemicals business, firm's Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said. Tata Power: Solar, a subsidiary of Tata Power, has got a letter of award for an order worth Rs 686 crore from state-owned power giant NTPC. Rossari Biotech: The company on Wednesday announced the acquisition of Unitop Chemicals, a supplier of surfactants, emulsifiers, and specialty chemicals, for Rs 421 crore. Wipro: IT company Wipro said it has sold its entire stake in Denim Group for a consideration of USD 22.42 million (about Rs 160 crore). In March 2018, Wipro acquired a 33.33 per cent stake in Denim Group Ltd and Denim Group Management, LLC, for a consideration of USD 8.83 million. Reliance Infrastructure: Its board will meet this week to consider raising funds through various means like issuing equity shares, rights issue and qualified institutional placement. MTAR Technologies: The company said its profit after tax was up by 47 per cent YoY at Rs 46.1 crore in FY21 against Rs 31.3 crore in the year ago period. Ruchi Soya: The company said it has made a foray into the nutraceuticals and wellness segment and initially will launch 10 products under the brand 'Patanjali' and 'Nutrela'. NHPC: The company board will meet on June 10 to consider a proposal for raising of debt up to Rs 4,300 crore through issuance of corporate bonds, raising of term loans or external commercial borrowings in suitable tranches. Shriram Transport Finance Company: Company board to meet on June 7 to consider raising of funds by way of issue of equity shares, convertible se Muthoot Finance: The company reported higher consolidated profit at Rs 1,023.76 crore in Q4FY21 against Rs 835.77 crore in Q4FY20, total revenue increased to Rs 3,104.5 crore from Rs 2,630.5 crore YoY. PNB Housing Finance hit an upper circuit of 10% at Rs 762.50 on BSE, extending its winning run to seventh consecutive trading session. Shares of PNB Housing Finance have rallied 88.76% in seven trading days from its previous closing low of Rs 403.95 on 25 May 2021. The counter hit a 52-week high of Rs 762.50 in intraday today. The stock has soared 308% from its 52-week low of Rs 186.70 hit on 3 June 2020. The company on Monday (31 May) announced that its board has approved a capital raise of up to Rs 4,000 crore, led by entities affiliated to The Carlyle Group Inc. PNB Housing will raise Rs 3200 crore through preferential equity shares and Rs 800 crore through warrants. The issue price of equity shares and warrants is fixed at Rs 390 each. Pluto Investments, an affiliated entity of Carlyle Asia Partners IV and Carlyle Asia Partners V, (together, "Carlyle") has agreed to invest up to Rs 3,185 crore through a preferential allotment of equity shares and warrants, at a price of Rs 390 per share. Existing shareholders of the company, funds managed by Ares SSG and General Atlantic, are also participating in the capital raise. PNB will continue to be the promoter and a key stakeholder in the company. The proposed transaction has triggered a mandatory open offer by Pluto Investments for the purchase of up to 26% equity shares of PNB Housing Finance from public shareholders. The open offer is for acquisition of up to 7,07,93,011 fully paid up equity shares of PNB Housing Finance, representing 26% of the expanded voting share by Pluto Investments. The open offer is being made at a price of Rs 403.22. As part of this transaction, Salisbury Investments, the family investment vehicle of Aditya Puri, Senior Advisor for Carlyle in Asia and the former CEO & managing director of HDFC Bank, will also invest in the capital raise. Aditya Puri is expected to be nominated to the PNB Housing Finance board as a Carlyle nominee director in due course. PNB Housing said that the key objective of raising capital is to augment capital adequacy, reduce gearing and accelerate growth with a focus on retail housing including self-employed and affordable housing loans such as the Unnati segment. Assuming full capital infusion (including warrants) and no other change to the 31 March 2021 financials, the capital adequacy ratio of the company as of 31 March 2021 would increase from 18.7% to over 28% and gearing as of 31 March 2021 will decline from 6.7x to less than 5x. On the technical front, the stock's RSI (relative strength index) stood at 92.379. The RSI oscillates between zero and 100. Traditionally the RSI is considered overbought when above 70 and oversold when below 30. The stock is trading above its 50 and 100 days simple moving average placed at 404.51 and 396.89 respectively. These levels will act as crucial support zones in near term. PNB Housing Finance is a deposit-accepting housing finance company, with second largest deposits outstanding within housing finance companies. The company provides housing loans to individuals for purchase, construction, repair, and upgrade of houses. On a consolidated basis, PNB Housing reported a net profit of Rs 127 crore in Q4 FY21 compared with net loss of Rs 242 crore in Q4 FY20. Total income fell 6% to Rs 1,833.90 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. 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 auto major on Thursday announced that it has raised $425 million through unsecured offshore bonds at a rate of 4.35% to refinance existing debt and meet general corporate expenses. TML Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors, successfully priced a $425 million 5NC 2.5 year Fixed Rate Senior Unsecured Notes due in 2026 at a coupon rate of 4.350%. The notes have received a rating of B from Standard & Poor's Rating Service, which is equated to S&P's rating on Tata Motor (rated 'B' with stable outlook). The Notes will be issued on 9 June 2021 with a maturity date of 9 June 2026. The transaction has received significant interest from investors across Asia and Europe with the final order book in excess of $2.2 billion (representing an oversubscription of over 5.1x) from 138 accounts and 84% of the final allocation to high quality, blue-chip real money funds and asset managers. TML Holdings is the holding company of JLR Automotive Plc, Tata Daewoo, Korea and few other international operations of Tata Motors. The proceeds from the Notes issuance will be used by TMLH for refinancing the outstanding syndicated loan facility of GBP 225 million, for meeting the issue expenses and for other general corporate purposes. Shares of Tata Motors were up 0.87% at Rs 325.80 on BSE. Tata Motors, part of the Tata group, is a global automobile manufacturer of cars, utility vehicles, pick-ups, trucks and buses. On a consolidated basis, the auto major reported net loss of Rs 7,605.40 crore in Q4 FY21 lower than net loss of Rs 9,894.25 crore in Q4 FY20. Total revenue from operations during the quarter increased 41.8% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 88,627.90 crore in Q4 FY21. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid the increased political activity within Congress, Bholath MLA and former Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira along with two rebel AAP MLAs Pirmal Singh and Jagdev Singh Kamalu joined the party on Thursday. Chief Minister inducted three legislators--Khaira along with Bhadaur MLA Singh, and Maur MLA Kamalu--into the party fold in a low-key event at his residence before his visit to Delhi to meet the party's three-member panel (constituted to resolve factionalism in Congress). "Chief Minister before leaving for Delhi today welcomed Sukhpal Singh Khaira, MLA and former Leader of Opposition and his two AAP MLA colleagues namely Jagdev Singh Kamalu, MLA Maur, and Pirmal Singh Dhaula, MLA Bhadaur into the party fold," tweeted Punjab Former Leader of Opposition, Khaira, after quitting the had joined the AAP in December 2015 and was elected from the Bholath Assembly seat in 2017 on AAP ticket. He later resigned from AAP in January 2019 and formed Punjabi Ekta Party. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh along with Punjab Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla reached Kapurthala House in Delhi, ahead of the expected meeting with the three-member panel on Friday. Earlier today, leader Harish Rawat had informed that Punjab Chief Minister will meet the party's three-member panel formed by Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi to resolve factionalism in Punjab Congress on June 4. Rawat along with Mallikarjun Kharge and JP Aggarwal are the member of the panel formed to resolve the widening differences between its leaders - and Navjot Singh Sidhu. Now, eight months before the election, the demand to replace Captain is gaining momentum. The Congress leadership has formed a committee to stop the rebellion, but the challenge before the committee is very complex. The most complicated thing is that this dispute is not limited only to the tussle between Captain and Sidhu. In two days, a panel set up by Sonia Gandhi has met more than 50 Punjab MLAs in Delhi. Some have spoken of unity and discipline in the party, while some leaders have demanded the change. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President said that his administration was "looking closely" at whether to retaliate against for a recent attack. "We're looking closely at that issue," Biden told reporters at the White House on Wednesday when asked if the US would retaliate against for the latest attack. Biden replied "no" when asked if he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin was testing him with the hack ahead of their first-ever face-to-face meeting in Geneva on June 16, reports Xinhua news agency. Major meat producer JBS USA said on Sunday that it suffered a cyberattack and notified the administration that the ransom demand came from a criminal organization likely based in The US was in direct touch with Russia and conveyed concerns about the issue, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at a briefing on Wednesday. "We do expect this to be one of the issues that the president will discuss with President Putin at the summit. "Harboring criminal entities that are intending to do harm, that are doing harm to the critical infrastructure in the United States is not acceptable," she added. The latest attack came weeks after a similar cyberattack targeting Colonial Pipeline, which forced the company to shut down approximately 5,500 miles of fuel pipeline for days. The Biden administration concluded that the Kremlin was not involved in the attack against Colonial Pipeline, while indicating criminals behind the hack were living in Russia. The President said last month that he would raise the cybercrime issue in talks with Putin. Relations between Washington and Moscow have been adversarial in recent years. The two sides have obvious differences on issues related to Ukraine, cybersecurity, human rights, and US election interference. The Biden administration noted it seeks "a more predictable, stable relationship" with Russia. The much-anticipated Russia-US summit in a third country was first proposed by Biden during a telephone conversation with Putin on April 13, according to the Kremlin. --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.) A conference was held Wednesday in Beijing to mark the 80th founding anniversary of the China Democratic League (CDL), one of the eight non-communist political parties in China that participate in state affairs under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Vice Premier Sun Chunlan attended the gathering and read out a congratulatory message on behalf of the CPC Central Committee. Over the past 80 years, the CDL has made important contributions to the great cause of China's revolution, development and reform, as well as the development of the united front work and the cause of multiparty cooperation, said Sun, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. In the message, the CPC Central Committee expressed appreciation of the CDL's work in providing suggestions for political affairs, and its contributions to the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The CDL is expected to deepen political consensus, conscientiously perform its duty and strengthen self-construction, according to the message. Ding Zhongli, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and chairman of the CDL Central Committee, reviewed the history of the CDL, and urged all CDL members to devote themselves to the building of a modern socialist country in an all-round way, and make new and greater contributions in realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. New Delhi [India], June 3 (ANI): Dog with Blog has built a niche following of pet lovers, a foster and adoption network, which leverages social media to drive adoptions and celebrates indi dogs as against breeders and puppy mills. The blog has so far helped 900+ dog adoptions including street dogs. Post his MBA, Abhishek- the Founder of Dogwithblog, started as a digital marketer for an IT firm, and was managing the company website - content, social media, blogs, etc. Since his professional domain was digital and he had a keen interest in the same, he experimented with creating a personal blog for his favorite cause over a weekend. Since he was most interested in dogs and was volunteering towards their care, which came to be the theme of the blog. In India, there are many(https://dogwithblog.in/indian-pariah-dog/) homeless dogs that rarely fund takers despite them being best suited to withstand and flourish in the tropical climates. Abhishek tries to raise awareness towards their plight and with active communities and runs a dog adoption network which is completely free Unfortunate as it is, most of the Indian streets are riled with blatant apathy towards animal lives. The callousness in civic societies is far worse - where a handful of humans who care for the stray animals is often met with unbelievable ridicule and resistance. It is not that there aren't animal laws in India - but the ineptness to implement them and the severity of punishment leaves them crippled. Here are some laws put forth in the constitution to uphold the rights of the voiceless and activists who work towards animal welfare.Animal Laws in India to protect stray dogs (https://dogwithblog.in/)Stray dogs are protected under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCA), 1960, and rules enacted under Section 38 of the act, particularly, the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001; Indian Penal Code, sections 428 & 429 and Article 51A (g) of the Constitution. 1. Street dogs cannot be beaten, killed or driven away or displaced or dislocated, they can only be sterilized in the manner envisaged in The Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001, vaccinated, and then returned back to their original locations. The stray dogs can be sterilized only when they've attained the age of at least 4 months and not before that. 2. Killing, maiming, poisoning or rendering useless of any animal is punishable by imprisonment for up to two years or with fine or with both, under Section 428 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. 3. As per Section 11 (i) of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960 abandoning an animal, leaving it in a situation that it suffers pain due to starvation or thirst, is a punishable offence. 4. The Delhi High Court states that there are no laws that prohibit people from feeding stray animals. It is a crime to threaten abuse or harass neighbours who feed animals. (Section 506) Your rights to pet ownership - RWA Pet ownership comes with a set of responsibilities - not only to the pet but to the neighbours too. RWA can place reasonable requests like - allotting pet corners, defecation rules, asking for regular vaccinations etc. As long as you are not causing a nuisance, you have a right to keep a pet. RWA cannot ask you to disown your pet. If you feel threatened or targeted because of keeping a pet - you can do the following: RWA can't make laws on their whims to disallow pet companionship. 1. Reach out to local SPCA or any other animal welfare organization. They will usually talk to the RWA and make them understand the laws - it should end there. You can also write a letter to Municipal Corporation. 2. You can file a complaint with the nearest local police station under Section 428, 429 IPC (Indian Penal Code) if the RWA is not cooperative. 3. You may contact the Animal Welfare Board of India in case your pet or any other animal is under threat. 4. You can reach out to Ms Meneka Gandhi. Mention the registered address of the RWA and fax number if any. A letter from official MP letterhead usually knocks some sense into RWAs. 5. The Registrar of Societies (RoS) can take action against or even dissolve an RWA for its unwarranted approach towards a pet-owning family. 6. Action can be initiated against RWA members under Section 2 (1)(g) of the Consumers Protection Act. (District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum) Animal's laws to protect pets The Animal Protection (Dogs) Rules, 2001 provide for rules relating to pet and street dogs. 1. Keeping, or confining any animal chained for long hours with a heavy chain or chord amounts to cruelty on the animal and punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to 3 months or both. 2. If an owner fails to provide its pet with sufficient food, drink or shelter, he/she shall be liable for punishment according to section 11 (1) (h) of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 is a punishable offence. 3. Any person who, without any reasonable cause, abandons an animal in such a situation where the animal is bound to suffer pain due to starvation or thirst- Section 11 (i) 4. Any owner of an animal who consciously allows an infected, diseased or disabled animal to go into any street without any permit or leave the animal to die in any street- Section 11 (j) 5. Any person intimidating another person and preventing him/her, who is the owner of a pet, from keeping or taking care of his/her pet can be held liable under Section 503 of the IPC. How to use Animal laws? If you come across a situation which is in violation of animal rights, you can either send a legal notice to the individual/group of animal abusers yourself through a lawyer or report the matter to an NGO which would do that for you. In case no action is being taken by the abuser even after sending the notice, you can file an official complaint. Here's a list of NGOs in (https://dogwithblog.in/bangalore-animal-helpline/) Bangalore, (https://dogwithblog.in/dog-adoption-in-chennai/) Chennai, (https://dogwithblog.in/emergency-animal-helplines-in-delhi-ncr/Delhi, (https://dogwithblog.in/dog-adoption-in-hyderabad/) Hyderabad, (https://dogwithblog.in/animal-helplines-in-mumbai/) Mumbai and (https://dogwithblog.in/pune-animal-shelters-and-emergency-helplines/) Pune that you may reach out to. To ensure that authorities actually take action, please seek help from NGOs - many of them have legal outreach and it helps move the machinery. You may also reach out to journalists over social media - similarly politicians or higher authorities (unfortunately that' how the cookie crumbles sometimes). Try raising awareness in your neighbourhoods and societies - strays can also be trained to be guard dogs. Along with colony guards, they can provide an additional security cover. While the severity of punishment(s) is still not that harsh and needs to be revisited real soon, one can hope that animal laws act as a deterrent to those who try to take the law in hand. We hope that awareness regarding these laws would help people to report and stand up for the animals. This story is provided by Dogwithblog. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI) DISCLAIMER (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On April 11, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Indian businessman and Lulu Group Chairman MA Yusuff Ali and his wife, along with three others, had a miraculous escape from a helicopter crash. The 65-year-old businessman and others were travelling in a personal chopper to see a relative admitted to his family-owned Lakeshore hospital in Kochi from his home at Kadavanthra in the same city. The copter developed a technical snag but crashed safely and exactly into a small walled swampy field at Panangad, close to the national highway and in one of the most crowded regions of the Kochi city. Many people who adore Yousaffali not only for being the richest Malayali businessman but also for his extensive philanthropic activities, felt the miraculous escape was the act of God's grace and love for him. Yusuff Ali's LuLu Group International is one of the fastest-growing retail chains in the world with over 193 supermarkets in the Middle East, Africa and India, with revenues in excess of $7.4 billion. Forbes estimates his real-time net worth at $4.9 billion. Within two months of the crash, MA Yusuff Ali is again hogging the limelight for his benevolence -- this time for saving the life of a Keralite youth sentenced to death in the UAE for a freak accident eight years ago. Also read: LuLu's chairman Yusuff Ali becomes first Indian to get Saudi's premium residency On September 7, 2012, Becks Krishnan (45), then working with a private company in Abudhabi, was driving to Musafa for a business assignment. His car rammed into a group of kids playing on the pavement and killed a young boy of Sudan nationality. With the help of CCTV footage and eyewitnesses, the police established that Becks Krishnan recklessly drove the car and rammed into the group of kids. The UAE Supreme Court found him guilty and sentenced him to death. His family and friends were relentlessly trying for Krishnan's release and sought all available help but could not succeed. Efforts got complicated as the Sudani boy's family returned to their native land. One of the relatives of Krishnan approached Yusuff Ali and the businessman came forward to help. The only option left to save Becks Krishnan from death was to convince the Sudan boy's family to pardon him, pay blood money and inform the Court and the UAE authorities. Yusuff Ali's team started talking to the boy's family in Sudan. After months and years of negotiations, the family was brought back to Abudhabi for elaborate discussions and convinced to arrive at compensation. Finally, the family agreed to pardon Becks Krishnan and informed the Supreme Court. In January, the Court ordered to deposit AED 500,000 (Rs 1 crore approximately) as compensation in the court and Yusuff Ali paid the money immediately. Becks Krishnan is likely to be released this week from Alwathba jail in UAE and will fly to rejoin with his family in Kerala. He says the freak accident changed his life forever and release from jail is a rebirth. His one ambition is to meet his saviour, MA Yusuff Ali, whom he had never met in his life. Yusuff Ali says the almighty and the benevolence of UAE rulers has to be thanked for the release of Krishnan, wishing the youth a prosperous and peaceful life ahead. Hailing from Nattika, a small village at Thrissur in Kerala, Yusuff Ali went to assist his uncle's provision store in Ahmedabad at a young age. He left for Abu Dhabi in 1973 to open a shop selling essential goods for South Indian expatriates. Now he also owns the Waldorf Astoria in Scotland and the Great Scotland Yard Hotel, the former headquarters of the UK Metropolitan Police, besides buying a stake in the East India Company (EIC), founded in 1600 and was instrumental in British Raj in India. His son-in-law Dr Shamsheer Vayalil runs VPS Healthcare, a big hospital chain with 23 hospitals and 125 health centres across four countries with over $1 billion turnover. Larry Chen, who was once a school teacher at an impoverished Chinese village and later went on to become one of the world's richest people, is on the verge of losing his billionaire status. The shares of his company, GSX Techedu Inc, has seen 88 per cent fall since January, wiping almost $14 billion from his net worth. On Wednesday alone, Techedu's share fell 4 per cent in New York trading as Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock and cut the price target, Bloomberg reported. Chen's net worth has now declined to $1.9 billion, shows the data. The reason behind the fall in Chen's company share has been the crackdown on the online education sector by the Chinese authorities. The company's poor performance and the implosion of an investor, Bill Hwang's Archegos Capital Management, has added fuel to the fire. President Xi Jinping-led government in China has increased scrutiny over the education sector as after-school tutoring has put pressure on children's wellbeing. Amid a plunge in share value, GSX has decided to shut down its pre-school education business after the Chinese government banned kindergarten and private-tutoring schools from teaching elementary school curriculum. The company has fired several employees -- almost a third of its staff -- as business remains muted. Chen controls a 44 per cent stake in GSX and the latest blow came in March when Archegos imploded as the company could not meet margin calls, leading to a 56 per cent fall in GSX share in just one day. Chen came from a humble background starting his career as a middle-school teacher. In 1999, he joined Oriental Education and Technology Group Inc 1999 and later became its president. In 2014, he started his ed-tech firm called GSX. In 2019, his company stock had risen 13 times. Also read: China's services sector growth slows in May; falls to 55.1 from 56.3: Caixin PMI In an attempt to help India tide over its COVID-19 crisis, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries is working on a new COVID-19 drug and cheaper testing kits. The conglomerate, backed by Asia's richest man, is mulling usage of Niclosamide- a tapeworm drug as a cure for COVID-19 infection. Diagnostic kits made by the company-- R-Green and R-Green Pro-- have received approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Besides, Reliance has also designed a plan to make sanitizers at one-fifth of the market cost. The Mumbai-based conglomerate is further working to plug ventilator shortages across hospitals in India. For this, the refining-to-retail group will use 3D technology and a "special snorkeling mask", Bloomberg reported. Reliance is designing medical-grade oxygen generators with 5-7 litre capacity per minute. Reliance is actively helping with medical-grade liquid oxygen supply across the country. The company stated that when the COVID-19 pandemic struck India, they had zero medical-grade liquid oxygen production. Reliance produces 11 per cent of India's total medical-grade liquid oxygen production at its refinery-cum-petrochemical factory in Gujarat's Jamnagar. The company supplied more than 15,000 MT of oxygen free of cost in April and also airlifted 24 ISO containers from Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany into India. In 2020, Reliance set up a unit to make personal protective equipment (PPE) kits for front-line health workers. The company contributed Rs 500 crore to PM CARES Fund and Rs 5 crore each to Maharashtra CM Relief Fund and Gujarat CM Relief Fund last year. Reliance Foundation, the philanthropic wing of Reliance has also contributed 875 beds for COVID-19. The foundation along with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has set up a 225-bed facility at Seven Hills Hospitals where patients receive free treatment. Edited by Mehak Agarwal Also read: COVID-19 impact: Reliance to pay full salary of deceased employee for five years Also read: COVID-19: Reliance becomes India's largest medical oxygen producer Also read: India Inc to the rescue! How Tata, RIL, Adani & others are helping fight Covid-19 Kymeta (www.kymetacorp.com), the communications company making mobile global, is proud to announce it has received ISO 9001:2015 certification. ISO 9001:2015 is the world's most widely recognized quality management standard. This standard was selected to validate Kymetas quality management system specifically to meet the quality expectations and requirements of Kymetas customers, partners, and suppliers. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210602005283/en/ The International Organization for Standardization developed the ISO 9001:2015 standard to standardize quality management systems across multiple industries. Setting the bar for quality management system performance, ISO certification validates Kymeta has the right processes in place to support the wider business strategy. Focus on risk-based thinking and accountability in all organizational processes helps to improve communications, efficiency, and implementation of continuous improvement. The Kymeta culture is built on commitment to both our customers and our employees, said Walter Berger, President, and COO at Kymeta. We want to build quality into every process, and every employee is responsible for quality. We are deeply committed to the timely delivery of reliable, high-quality products and services, delighting our customers, and providing superior customer support. Through the ISO 9001:2015 certification, Kymeta has validated its quality management system to provide the processes necessary to support our commitment. The road to certification requires both time and dedication on behalf of all Kymeta employees. After a year of significant growth, even during the disruptions caused by COVID-19, Kymeta moved toward enhancing corporate policies, procedures, and tools to ensure scalable and repeatable delivery of high-quality products and services. Kymetas quality management system helps ensure that Kymeta customers, partners, and suppliers receive consistent, high-quality products and services, which in turn brings many business benefits. Kymeta supports connectivity services by design and assembly of flat panel satellite terminals. The quality management system helps drive the maturity of major processes such as customer service, new product introduction, connectivity services, supply chain activities, and manufacturing as examples. Kymetas QMS brings a clear, actionable, and thorough approach to the vital components of a successful mission-first organization and positions Kymeta well for the next round of corporate growth. About Kymeta Kymeta is unlocking the potential of broadband satellite connectivity, combined with cellular networks, to satisfy the overwhelming demand for comms on the move and making mobile global. Lepton Global Solutions, a Kymeta company, hosts the companys satellite connectivity solutions and offers unique, complete, and turnkey bundled solutions to the market based on best-in-class technologies and tailored customer-centric services that meet and exceed customer mission requirements. These solutions in tandem with the companys flat-panel satellite antenna, the first of its kind, and Kymeta Connect services provide revolutionary mobile connectivity on satellite and hybrid satellite-cellular networks to customers around the world. Backed by U.S. and international patents and licenses, the Kymeta terminal addresses the need for lightweight, slim, and high-throughput communication systems that do not require mechanical components to steer toward a satellite. Kymeta makes connecting easy for any vehicle, vessel, or fixed platform. Kymeta is a privately held company based in Redmond, Washington. For more information, visit kymetacorp.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210602005283/en/ WIPRO News Summary Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company, today said it has been recognized with the SAP Innovation Award 2021 in the Partner Paragon category for its Fashion Rental solution built on SAP Business Technology Platform. The 5th Avenue Bridge reconstruction project over the west branch of the Clam River near Marion should begin June 1 after years of issues and traffic restrictions. Whats new: Infectious disease specialist Zhang Wenhong estimates that China may wait until the first half of 2022 to begin relaxing its restrictions on international travel. The timeline would depend on vaccination rates both domestically and abroad, Zhang was quoted as saying in media reports. Getting people vaccinated as soon as possible and meeting the need for conditional opening, China will be able to conditionally resume exchanges with other countries that are well vaccinated and have low incidence of infection, the director of the infectious diseases department at Shanghais Huashan Hospital told the Global Health Forum of the Boao Forum for Asia. The background: As with many countries and regions, inbound travel to the Chinese mainland has been significantly curtailed since early 2020. Those who are able to enter the country are usually subject to weeks of quarantine. China has approved five domestically made vaccines for emergency or general use. As of Tuesday, more than 680 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered across China, according to the National Health Commission (link in Chinese). On Sunday, Zhong Nanshan, another prominent infectious disease expert, said he hoped that the country could inoculate 80% of its population by the end of the year. Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. Contact reporter Cai Xuejiao (xuejiaocai@caixin.com) and editor Joshua Dummer (joshuadummer@caixin.com) Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go. Get our weekly free Must-Read newsletter. (Nikkei Asia) Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor will open a factory in Thailand next week after turning a plant acquired last year from General Motors into a regional base with production lines powered by artificial intelligence. The facility will mark the companys first smart plant in Southeast Asia and strengthens its presence in the region, Great Wall said Tuesday. The automaker has not disclosed the upgrade costs, but it has announced plans to invest 22.6 billion baht ($726 million) in Thailand, a market long dominated by Japanese automakers. An opening ceremony for the Rayong Province plant is slated for June 9. The factory, with an annual capacity of 80,000 vehicles, will initially build hybrids, adding electric vehicles down the road. About 60% of vehicles assembled there will be sold in Thailand one of Southeast Asia's largest auto markets as well as the region's top auto producer with the rest exported elsewhere in the region as well as to Australia. GM sold the Rayong factory after announcing last year it would exit the Thai market. The newly upgraded plant marries state-of-the-art production technology with eco-friendly manufacturing processes, Great Wall said in February. Thailand has a talented and skillful labor force and resourceful manufacturing facilities with high quality automotive suppliers, Elliot Zhang, Great Wall's president for ASEAN and Thailand, said in November. Great Wall said in March that it would set up 17 showrooms in Thailand, with plans to increase the tally to 30 locations as early as this year in a bid to crack the market roughly 90% dominated by Japanese brands. Besides China, Great Wall has production bases in Malaysia and Ecuador. It positions Thailand as the production and sales hub of electric vehicles in Southeast Asia. The Rayong plant is the automaker's first Thai factory. Elsewhere in Asia, Great Wall Motor said in January 2020 it would acquire a GM factory in India, making a full-fledged entry into that country. This story was first published in Nikkei Asia. Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go. Get our weekly free Must-Read newsletter. Taiwan on Wednesday reported 549 local COVID-19 cases, including 372 new infections and 177 backlogged local cases, the island's disease monitoring agency said, noting that 12 fresh deaths were registered. The number of new local infections on the island exceeded 200 for the 18th consecutive day on Wednesday. Of the new local cases, 207 were male and 165 female. The onset of symptoms occurred between May 2 and June 1. Among the 177 backlogged cases, 96 were male and 81 female, aged from below five to over 80 years, who experienced symptoms between May 13 and May 30, the agency said. The 12 fatalities included seven men and five women, who died between May 13 and May 29. Facing a severe shortage of vaccines, Taiwan is struggling to contain the worst outbreak of the epidemic amid strained medical resources. Given the severity of local transmissions, the island has extended its level-3 alert for COVID-19 to June 14. The total number of confirmed cases on the island since the epidemic began has risen to 9,389, including 8,195 local cases. A total of 149 deaths have been recorded, the agency said. This is the second of a two-part story. Read part one here. The rapid rise of the $15 billion Chinese fast-fashion firm challenging industry titans like Zara and H&M has prompted questions about who controls the company and the sustainability of its business model. Shein, a Chinese retail website and app focused almost entirely on the export market, has proved a smash hit among young women and teenage girls in Western countries thanks to its huge selection of cheap, trendy clothing. But observers say its strategy, which uses Chinas world-leading garment manufacturing networks to outmuscle its rivals on speed and price, reprises global fast-fashion schemes linked to a litany of environmental and labor abuses. Shein is not publicly listed, and therefore is not under an obligation to disclose its finances. But as rumors swirl that the company is preparing for an IPO, its opaque ownership structure and media-shy approach has prompted questions about who exactly is reshaping the sector. Read more In Depth: The $15 Billion Chinese Fast Fashion App Youve Never Heard of (Part 1) Black box Shein shuns traditional marketing in favor of online advertising, social media promotion and tie-ups with celebrities and influencers. Western A-listers Katy Perry, Lil Nas X and Rita Ora are among those who have promoted the companys clothes. It also shies away from the news media. Since its founding more than a decade ago, Shein has issued just a handful of press releases, most of which are run-of-the-mill communications about corporate events, supplier reshuffles and changes to its brand name. Neither Sheins app nor its website give details of the companys origins, history or ownership, or disclose that it is a Chinese firm. Few details about the company exist in major online directories and encyclopedias. It may make sense to keep a low profile. Chinese technology firms have come under fire overseas in recent years, with the U.S. taking aim at TikTok, a short-video app developed by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., and India banning dozens of apps, including Shein, on supposed national security grounds. Who, then, ultimately runs Shein? Corporate filings paint a hazy picture. Tianyancha, an online registry of Chinese companies, says the brand belongs to Nanjing Lingtian Information Technology Co. Ltd., an internet firm specializing in cross-border trade. But the same website also says the company revoked its business license in April. A person who answered when Caixin called a number associated with Nanjing Lingtian said they worked for Shein and that the company was now known as Nanjing Xiyin E-Commerce Co. Ltd. The person said they did not know why the name had changed. Phonetically, Xiyin sounds like Shein. Companies sometimes change their names when they are gearing up for an IPO. Both Nanjing Xiyin and a related company, Guangzhou Xiyin Supply Chain Management Co. Ltd., are owned by Guangzhou Xiyin International Import-Export Co. Ltd., a trading firm, according to Tianyancha. The trading firm, in turn, is owned by Zoetop Business Co. Ltd., a company registered in Hong Kong about which little is known. Shein has said in press releases it was founded in 2008 by Chris Xu, an American-born Chinese graduate of Washington University. Its not clear if that refers to Washington University in St. Louis, a Missouri-based university, or one of several other universities with similar names, such as Seattles University of Washington. Several Chinese media outlets, citing interviews with former colleagues, name the founder as Xu Yangtian, an entrepreneur from East Chinas Shandong province who, the story goes, started the company in 2008 as sheinside.com and initially sold wedding dresses online. Xu Yangtian is the legal representative of Nanjing Xiyin and was chairman, CEO and legal representative of Nanjing Lingtian. Like the other people named as key personnel at the above companies, he has a minimal online presence. Caixin was unable to contact Chris Xu, Xu Yangtian or any other people listed as executives at Sheins affiliates. We were also unable to contact Zoetop, whose details are not listed in Hong Kongs corporate registry. All of the above companies in Nanjing and Guangzhou declined interview requests. More than 10 current and former Shein employees contacted by Caixin for this story either declined to be interviewed or did not respond. But one who did was Hamza Ucar, a Turkey-based business developer who worked as a digital marketing manager at Sheins Nanjing headquarters for seven months in 2018. During his tenure, Ucar helped design a website targeting Turkish consumers, conducted market research and analysis, and oversaw Sheins expansion into Turkey, he said. The firms multistorey, open-plan workplace was decorated with images of iconic global cities and felt pretty relaxed and cool, akin to the culture of a tech startup. Two things about the company particularly stood out, Ucar said. One was how aggressively it pushed into new sectors: In one case, Shein began building its Turkish website before Ucar had even completed his market analysis, indicating that the report was a mere formality. The other was how little was known about the people in charge. Throughout those seven months, Ucar said, he never once met or spoke with Xu or any other Shein executives. As far as he could tell, neither did any of his immediate colleagues. We never actually saw them, he said. We didnt even know where their offices were. Unapologetically fast fashion Industry experts interviewed by Caixin described Shein as filling the space vacated by fast-fashion brands that have bowed to pressure to abandon some of the business models worst excesses. Such marques include Zara, Pull & Bear, and Bershka, all of which are owned by Inditex, the worlds largest fashion group. The Spanish conglomerate has pledged that all its labels will only sell sustainable clothes by 2025. H&M, which like Zara recently faced a backlash in China for its response to alleged labor abuses in its Chinese supply chains, has also announced a series of targets for the coming decade. Such companies have sought to burnish their ethical credentials at a time when consumers are increasingly anxious about the fashion industrys impact on workers and the global climate. The sector has long been linked to suppliers with unsafe or exploitative labor practices, and also produces more global emissions of carbon dioxide, a planet-warming greenhouse gas, than international air travel and maritime shipping combined, according to the World Bank. Shein, too, stresses its dedication to sustainability. The company says on its website that it bans the use of child or forced labor in its supply chains, demands that its vendors pay their workers fairly, and minimizes waste and power consumption to limit its impact on the environment. But experts said it was tough to substantiate those claims. One clothing sustainability expert, who later asked not to be named, described the firm as unapologetically fast fashion. Sheins marketing materials are filled with vague statements like pledge to stay transparent, but they technically havent even started being transparent, said Stephanie Lawson, the founder of sustainable fashion consultancy Laws on Design. There is no absolute information or data to show their track record or goals. In response to climate concerns, many other brands are more clearly working if imperfectly toward reducing their carbon footprint and are actively engaged within civil society and with their customers in order to do so, said Lawson, who previously consulted for H&M. While other companies gradually invest in new materials, experiment with more sustainable business models and back initiatives that empower disenfranchised communities, Shein is doing none of these, at least not visibly, Lawson said. The planet cannot currently sustain a lifestyle whereby the majority purchase non-recyclable products currently priced and seen as single-use, she added. Contact reporters Flynn Murphy (flynnmurphy@caixin.com) and Matthew Walsh (matthewwalsh@caixin.com) and editor Joshua Dummer (joshuadummer@caixin.com) Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go. Get our weekly free Must-Read newsletter. China should carefully manage its rising nationalistic sentiment, particularly among young people, to help create a favorable environment for the countrys development and foreign relations, Singapores former United Nations ambassador said in a wide-ranging interview with Caixin. Kishore Mahbubani, the city-states ambassador to the U.N. from 2001-2002, said that nationalism is a natural consequence of countries becoming stronger and stronger. However, it will be good for the Chinese government to manage this nationalism very carefully, he said. Nationalism can evolve into a big angry dragon and must never be seen as unmitigated good, so its better to restrain the dragon before it starts breathing fire. Mahbubani, also the founding dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at National University of Singapore, shared his views with Caixin in April on various issues related to Chinas role in the world, such as Cross-Strait relations, the Sino-U.S. tech war and regional trade talks. Instead of confrontation, he said China and the U.S. should work together to deal with the worlds thorniest issues including the conflict between civil government and military in Myanmar and boost regional trade and economic integration in Asia-Pacific. There are many issues in the world that can be solved with U.S. and China working together with each other, rather than working against each other, he said. He also said its unlikely that a war would break out across the Taiwan Strait as, compared with the former Trump administrations provocative acts, the new U.S. government is taking positive steps to stabilize the situation. As long as everybody respects the One China Policy, I think the status quo in Taiwan can continue, until a final solution can be found, he said. The former ambassador also said Singapore will remain politically stable as the countrys prime minister is planning to retire next year. The Singaporean system will continue, he said, we have enough time for the fourth generation leadership to select a new leader. Heres the transcript of Caixins interview with Mahbubani. Caixin: Your recent book published in March 2020 is titled Has China Won? The Chinese Challenge to American Primacy. What is your definition of winning? Mahbubani: Winning can mean many things. I dont think that there will be a war between U.S. and China in a way there was during the World War II between U.S., Germany, and Japan. I think Chinas winning will not be in the military dimension, but in the economic dimension. The United States has had the worlds largest economy for 130 years. The Americans cannot even conceive of the possibility that America could have the No. 2 economy in the world. But according to IMF statistics, in 10 or 15 years, Chinas GNP will become bigger than Americas GNP. Then I will say, China has won and America is number two. Some say that 20 or 30 years from now, as the West looks back on the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century, the West would lament, it was at this time that the United States missed the final chance of containing the rise of China. To what extent would you agree with this forecast? In my book Has China Won? I argued that the United States hasnt worked out a comprehensive strategy in terms of dealing with the rise or the return of China. But even after Chinas GNP becomes bigger than that of the United States, United States can still remain the most influential country in the world if it has a strategy of looking after the interests of the world, and not just the interests of America. This is why it was a mistake for Donald Trump to say he wants to make America great again. The former U.S. President John F. Kennedy said that America will pay any price and bear any burden to defend democracy in the world. So, America should prepare itself for a world where even after America has the second-largest economy in the world, you can still remain an influential country by showing an interest in helping other countries in the world. What is your evaluation of the Taiwan situation? How should we interpret the recent remarks and signals coming from China, U.S., Japan, and relevant sides regarding a possible conflict across the Taiwan Strait? I dont think its likely that a war will break out. However, if the leaders in Taiwan are unwise, and if they push further for independence of Taiwan, then I think war is a possibility, but I think Taiwan leaders will be very careful. Also, I think Taiwan should be grateful that a Biden administration has been elected in the United States, because the Trump administration was violating the understanding between U.S. and China on Taiwan by sending incumbent officials to Taiwan. The Biden administration has taken a positive step by sending retired officials to Taiwan, including former Senator Christopher Dodd, Richard Armitage, who served as deputy secretary of state in the George W. Bush administration, and Jim Steinberg, who served as deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration. This means that United States is going back to the old understanding the United States sends retired officials to Taiwan who no longer have a government position. So in this regard its a positive development by the Biden administration. Across the Taiwan Strait tensions have been rising, partially because the Trump administration was very reckless on the issue of Taiwan, and violating understandings that have been achieved for a long time between United States and China, and partially because Tsai Ing-wen was trying to change the goal posts in her agenda. So the important thing is for all the parties to ask a very simple question: why did we have peace for the past several decades? Between 1949 and 2021, one of the key understandings that all the parties must respect the One China Policy. As long as everybody respects the One China Policy, I think the status quo in Taiwan can continue, until a final solution can be found. If a war breaks out across the strait, do you think Washington could send troops or navy to intervene? I think nobody knows. The U.S. has a Taiwan policy of strategic ambiguity, which I think is a good policy to have. A war can happen in two ways. One is that the Taiwanese start the war, then United States will say: this is not my fault; they started the war. On the other hand, if China starts the war, its a different matter. Therefore, it depends on who starts the war, and thats why strategic ambiguity is a good thing. In my opinion, the best thing to do in Taiwan is to not shake the status quo, which means that we have had peace across the Taiwan Strait since 1949. Since youve had peace there for 72 years, dont change the status quo. Taiwan should not push for independence. Taipei should also continue to say that it respects a One China Policy. Maintaining the One China Policy and the status quo is the best way to prevent war in the Taiwan Strait. Judging from Biden administrations economic stimulus policies and new legislation, the U.S. has essentially embarked on a path of strongly supporting the development of the domestic tech sector, for example the semiconductor industry. How do you see the future of Sino-U.S. tech war as Washington takes more steps to implement industrial policies? The U.S. and China contest plays out in many areas, in the economic, trade, technologies, military, political, ecological, and many dimensions. I think in the technology sphere, the United States is trying very hard to ensure that it maintains a technological superiority over China. Now that China is catching up in many critical technologies, the United States is carrying out government policies to maintain its technological supremacy, which previously was mainly the work of the private sector. For example, the former head of Google, Eric Schmidt, is now chairing National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. When we look at the history of the United States, when the United States emerged after World War II in the 1950s and 1960s, many technologies, including the Internet, happened as a result of U.S. military investments in technology. Theres no such thing as a perfect market system, or a perfect state-run system. Both United States and China have hybrid systems. So some of the investment is made through the public sector, and some is made through the private sector. I think both countries will have hybrid versions of both public and private sector investments to retain their technological edge. Also, more and more countries will have industrial policies to maintain the edge in critical technologies. This is natural and not necessarily a bad thing, because as China becomes stronger and stronger in artificial intelligence, and the U.S. becomes stronger and stronger, then its good for the rest of the world, since everyone can learn from China and from America. The U.S. has taken measures to restrict exports of semiconductor chips to China. This is a strategic mistake on the part of United States, because now China has no other choice but to become self-reliant. And when China becomes self-reliant, American companies would have lost a big market. So it is not wise of the United States to do so, and it is an example of the United States not having a comprehensive strategy in dealing with a rising China. If I was advising the United States, I would say, the U.S. should continue to export semiconductor chips to China, then China will be dependent on the United States in the semiconductor sector. Instead, by restricting the exports, the United States has now forced China to become self-reliant, which is not a win but a loss for the United States. What is your evaluation on the chances of China and the United States joining the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership)? What are both sides calculations in this issue? I think it would be in Americas national interest to join the CPTPP, because this means that American economic influence remains in the region. But unfortunately, as you know, the political environment in the United States Congress is so opposed to free trade agreements, that it is unlikely that the United States will be able to rejoin the CPTPP, even though it will be in Americas interest to do so. I hope at some point, America will come back to the CPTPP. I think its more likely that China will join the CPTPP than for the U.S. to join at this stage, which is unfortunate on the part of the Americans. China has been integrating itself with Southeast Asia for a long time, starting with China joining the World Trade Organization in 2001. China has worked out a consistent policy of sharing its prosperity with its neighbors. When you share your prosperity with your neighbors, then United States cannot carry out a containment policy against China. Even for American allies like Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, they also want trade with China as they do with the United States, and they cannot afford to join a containment policy against China. And thats a fact. I dont know whether the Chinese leaders explicitly thought of that, but the result has been that integration. ASEANs economic ties with China have been strengthening, while the region still expects to rely on the United States for security concerns. Yet this solution seems more and more untenable. What will be ASEANs strategy to reconcile these conflicting elements? ASEAN countries want to maintain good ties with both China and the United States. And its not necessarily in the way described as economics versus security, because United States also has a very large economic presence in Southeast Asia. Total American investment in Southeast Asia is much larger than Chinese investment. ASEAN countries dont want to be forced to choose sides. They dont want to see just an American military presence in the region, they want to see an American economic presence in the region as well. And similarly, they want to have good economic and military ties with China. Since the ASEAN countries are benefiting a great deal from trade with China, they will carry on with their trade relationship with China. If the United States asks ASEAN to stop, ASEAN will not stop. Its natural that pressure will come from both sides, but I think its not wise for either China or the U.S. to force ASEAN. Because when you have a pressure, you have a backlash. It is better to let ASEAN decide what is good for ourselves. In the long run, would ASEANs consensus-based decision-making model and noninterventionist principle affect its leverage in major international affairs, for example, in its authority to mediate in the recent Myanmar crisis? Myanmar is a tragedy. It is very sad. I think its important to save lives first, we dont want innocent people to die. There could have been a political compromise between Aung San Suu Kyi and the military. It is a pity that there was no compromise, so the military seized power. At the end of April, the ASEAN countries held a meeting to discuss the Myanmar situation in Jakarta. The good news is that the Myanmars junta chief Min Aung Hlaing attended and listen to the five-point consensus of the ASEAN countries. I think ASEAN countries can push for some kind of compromise between the Myanmar civil government and Tatmadaw (the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar) whereby no one side can have all the power, then that will be good for both sides. ASEAN will try very hard to push for compromise. The ASEAN strength is that they can talk to both sides, whereas the Western countries cannot talk to the military. What might this new compromise between the civil government and the military look like? It would be very difficult to go back exactly to the pre-crisis status, including the agreement that 25% of Myanmar parliaments seats are reserved for the military. The best way is for the U.S., China, ASEAN, and India to work together to help Myanmar achieve political stability, which is the most important thing at the moment. And political stability in Myanmar can only come if the two sides compromise with each other, which is what we should be pushing for. I think, if there are consistent messages coming from United States, China, ASEAN, India and Japan to call for political stabilization in Myanmar, then it can exert an impact on Myanmar. Furthermore, I think the crisis in Myanmar provides an opportunity for the United States and China, which have difficulties in many issues, to collaborate on some areas. I was a diplomat for 33 years. From my experiences, diplomacy is best conducted behind closed doors. You mustnt talk to journalists about diplomacy. And in diplomacy, when you collaborate in some areas, you build up trust. There are many issues in the world that can be solved with U.S. and China working together with each other, rather than work against each other. Across the world, social media platforms have contributed to more radical political stances and rising nationalist sentiment, especially among the younger generation. Have you observed such trends in the Chinese young people? In what way was this domestic factor interweaved into the development of Chinese foreign policy? I think I am not surprised that there is rising nationalism in China, because nationalism is a natural consequence of countries becoming stronger and stronger. At the same time, I think it will be good for the Chinese government to manage this nationalism very carefully. Nationalism can evolve into a big angry dragon and must never be seen as unmitigated good, so its better to restrain the dragon before it starts breathing fire. I think the Chinese government does tell the Chinese people: it is good for China to be strong and at the same time to get along with its neighbors and with the rest of the world. This is why I like President Xi Jinpings idea of having a community of shared future. It is in Chinas interest not just to take care of the interests of Chinese people, but also to help the rest of the world. Politics in Singapore Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat made a surprising announcement that he would no longer be the leader of the fourth generation leadership. What has been the major reaction from the Singaporean people? People in Singapore are not worried. I know at the end of the day, there will be some solution, then Singapore will remain politically stable. As you know, Singapore has been one of the most politically stable countries in the world. The ruling party Peoples Action Party has been winning elections since 1959. No other political party in the world has won elections every five years for 62 years, so Singapore is No. 1. Do you think the Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keats decision to step down as the prospective Singaporean leader would have a permanent impact on Singapores traditional way of choosing and cultivating the next leader, where every member of the leadership agrees upon their leader collectively? I think the Singaporean system will continue. Prime Minister Lee, who planned to retire next year, has agreed to stay on longer, which is good for the country so we will have political stability. I think we have enough time for the fourth generation leadership to select a new leader. Singapore will remain politically stable. Contact reporter Zeng Jia (jiazeng@caixin.com) and editor Lu Zhenhua (zhenhualu@caixin.com) Xiaomi Rapidly Jumps to Become Major Player in Chiles Smartphone Market By Ding Yi / Jun 03, 2021 07:10 PM / Business & Tech Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi took only a year to become Chiles third-largest smartphone vendor from obscurity, signaling its ambition in an overseas market from which ailing heavyweight Huawei is retreating as the U.S. sanctions bite. In the first quarter of 2021, Xiaomi grabbed a share of 15.5% in Chiles smartphone market with 500,000 shipments, a sharp contrast to the same period last year when it only controlled 2.4% of the market, according to a report released by Strategy Analytics on Tuesday. The Beijing-based company counts smartphones as its biggest revenue source. Strategy Analytics analyst Rajeev Nair attributed Xiaomis rise in the country to increased consumer acceptance of its budget Redmi models as well as the decline of Huawei, which saw a sharp contraction in sales from the second half of 2020 as a result of key component shortages caused by the U.S. sanctions. If the current growth trends continue, Xiaomi will overtake Lenovo-Motorola to become Chiles second-largest smartphone brand before the end of 2021, said Nair. However, Xiaomis future in Chile might be challenged by its aggressive Chinese rivals. Woody Oh, director at Strategy Analytics, said that Oppo, Vivo, Realme and other Chinese brands also have ambitious expansion plans for the year ahead, which might put a damper on Xiaomis growth momentum in the South American country. Overall, smartphone shipments in Chile jumped 71% year-on-year in the first quarter to an all-time high of 2.9 million units, with Samsung and Lenovo-Motorola taking the top two spots with respective shares of 42.1% and 17.2%, according to Strategy Analytics. Contact reporter Ding Yi (yiding@caixin.com) and editor Heather Mowbray (heathermowbray@caixin.com) Related: Xiaomi Grabs More Market Share From Huawei on Surging Smartphone Sales Here you'll find our latest collection of Caledonian-Record reports on the coronavirus outbreak and local response, from the beginning of April. Our January, February and March stories are here: https://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/local/our-coronavirus-coverage/collection_5885178c-692e-11e Become A Subscriber A subscription opens up access to all our online content, including: our interactive E-Edition, a full archive of modern stories, exclusive and expanded online offerings, photo galleries from Caledonian-Record journalists, video reports from our media partners, extensive international, national and regional reporting by the Associated Press, and a wide variety of feature content. A record 10.78 million students around China are expected to take this year's all-important national college entrance exam - the gaokao - from Monday to Tuesday, the Ministry of Education said on Wednesday. It's a slight increase from 10.71 million last year, when the exam was postponed for a month to July 7 and 8 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been moved back to the usual time slot this year. The gaokao is a pivotal moment for high school students because their scores will largely determine whether they can attend university, which institutions will accept them and consequently what careers await them. Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan has urged authorities to adopt the highest standards in organizing the important exam and to ensure it proceeds smoothly. Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visited a middle school and an examination authority in Beijing on Tuesday during an inspection tour of gaokao preparations, Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday. She told authorities to implement the strictest epidemic prevention measures to ensure the safety of all test takers and monitors and prevent a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. COVID-19 patients and their close contacts will be allowed to sit exams in medical facilities or isolation venues if conditions permit, Sun said. She also required authorities to make contingency plans and conduct drills for emergencies including extreme weather or flooding, adding that convenient services should be provided for exam participants with disabilities or other difficulties. The gaokao is vital in ensuring education and social fairness and authorities should further crack down on cheating and identity fraud in the exam, Sun added. The Ministry of Education said it has worked with local authorities to ensure the security of test papers and answer sheets throughout the exam. Local authorities have adopted various detection methods to prevent any equipment for cheating from being smuggled into test centers and will conduct vigorous identity checks to screen out impostors, the ministry said. Local authorities should coordinate on food safety, smooth traffic flows and heatstroke prevention to better serve test takers, the ministry said. The ministry has also worked with the Cyberspace Administration of China and the Ministry of Public Security to root out illegal and fake social media accounts that have spread false information about the gaokao, it said. Local authorities have closed more than 360 social media accounts that were posing as official ones, it added. You are here: China President Xi Jinping on Thursday sent a congratulatory letter to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) non-governmental friendship forum, which is being held in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. "I put forward the initiative of holding an SCO non-governmental friendship forum last November, which has received an enthusiastic response and support from all SCO member states," Xi said. Xi expressed the confidence that the forum would become an important platform for all parties to enhance mutual understanding, deepen friendship and strengthen cooperation. Xi said he hopes that all parties will uphold the Shanghai Spirit, stay committed to the SCO's original aspirations, work together, help and support each other, and deepen cooperation. "We should leverage the advantages of non-governmental diplomacy and expand channels for people-to-people exchanges, so as to make contributions to the SCO's development," Xi said. The SCO non-governmental friendship forum kicked off in Wuhan on Thursday, with the theme of promoting people-to-people friendship and carrying forward the Shanghai Spirit. Do you have an athlete in mind that contributes to the team or sport, holds sportsmanship and team spirit, has epic playmaker moments and/or in general makes the the sports fun? If yes, please make your nominations for our edition of Athlete Spotlight. CLICK TO NOMINATE Heather Sink is the Beaufort Historical Association featured artist in June and July, as well as for the BHA's 60th annual Old Homes Tour. (Contributed photo) In this image from U.S. Capitol Police video, Paul Allard Hodgkins, 38, of Tampa, Fla., front, stands in the well on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. Hodgkins, who carried a Trump 2020 flag while in the U.S. Senate during the Jan. 6 riot pleaded guilty on Wednesday, June 2, 2021, to a felony charge of obstructing an official proceeding. (U.S. Capitol Police via AP) This map of Carteret County shows the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases organized by zip code. The numbers in parenthesis indicate deaths associated with each zip code. (Carteret County map) Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and consider subscribing for only $7 per month to get access to more articles and news as it happens. Photo: Brendan Kergin A Victoria masseur has been charged with sexual assault in connection with an incident at a downtown business. Ajesh Jacob, 35, who goes by Sam, faces one count of sexual assault. Police said he was employed as a masseur at a business in the 700 block of Fort Street at the time of the incident. He is not registered with the College of Massage Therapists of British Columbia, police said. Detectives with the special victims unit began an investigation in late March after someone made allegations of sexual assault. Jacob was arrested on May 13. He was charged and released on several conditions, including that he does not perform massages. Police said others have made allegations against Jacob, and they believe there may be more. Detectives are continuing to investigate and would like to speak to others who have not come forward. In addition to contacting the Victoria Police Department, sexualized violence can be reported to the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre at 250-383-3232 or [email protected], or through a family doctor or a counsellor. Anyone with information about Jacob is asked to call VicPDs non-emergency line at 250-995-7654 or report anonymously by calling the Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Like every Canadian I find it so very VERY hard to accept and to fathom the stories that we are getting concerning the deceased children at the Kamloops Residential School; how these poor little kids died and were buried without apparent concern for their families. The article on the Archbishop of Vancouver has made me write this letter, because to my mind it is exactly why the Indigenous Peoples have this feeling of being let down by Canada. Archbishop Miller says the Church was wrong in implementing a government colonialist policy...., and he apologizes for the role the Church played in this disaster (my words). But Archbishop, it was Catholic Church people who were running the schools, it was Church people who apparently placed these kids into unmarked graves, or are you saying the Church had orders from the government to take these actions? And this is the issue, passing the buck, finding excuses, any excuses, the government blames the people running the schools, the Church who was entrusted to run the schools blames the government, and we end up with no one taking the full responsibility. And then we wonder why there is mistrust and sadness from the peoples that were actually affected. This issue really needs to be investigated thoroughly, and despite the fact it relates to the past, it is time that names be named - U.K. government if this is where the colonial policy came from, the Canadian government if they gave the Church the order to ignore deaths and forget about family information, and very importantly the Church people involved - who ran the schools and who oversaw the way the schools were operated. To my mind the actions that are being described cannot be totally legal, so this is more than just some parliamentary committee being set up to investigate; this requires a formal possibly criminal forensic investigation. Until such time as we Canada undertake to get to the truth, to find who the guilt really rests with, then all of us are guilty of looking away. We need to take responsibility and not just mouth apologies that have no meaning in reality. Malcolm Roberts, Kelowna US-sponsored John Midgett coast guard ship en route to Vietnam The US-sponsored John Midgett coast guard ship, a Hamilton-class cutter, has departed from Seattle (Washington) and is expected to arrive in Vietnam in the coming days. Vietnam Coast Guard ship CSB 8021 is on its way to new home in Vietnam. (Photo: US Embassy) The vessel painted with the symbol of the Vietnam Coast Guard and number 8021 is part of the USs Excess Defence Articles (EDA) program that offers excess military equipment to US partner and allied countries in support of military and security modernization efforts. Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG) ship CSB 8021 departed Seattle, Washington for Vietnam on June 1, 2021, the US Embassy in Hanoi said on its Facebook. According to the US Embassy, the VCG crew will sail the former US Coast Guard cutter to its new homeport in VCG Region 3 this summer. This cutter donation to Vietnam is another concrete example of the strengthening US-Vietnam regional security partnership. CSB 8021, formerly known as the USCGC John Midgett (WHEC-726) run by the US Coast Guard, belongs to the Hamilton class built in the 1960s, the most modern at that time. The vessel has a length of 115 m, a width of 13 m, a draft of 4.6 m, and displacement of 3,250 tonnes. One of the great advantages of the Hamilton-class patrol boat is that it can operate continuously at sea for up to 45 days. The US had dismantled sensitive electronic equipment on board and tested the vessel before handing over it to Vietnam. In May 2018 the US Coast Guard also transferred its first High Endurance Cutter named CSB 8020 to Vietnam. The ship is expected to improve the Vietnam Coast Guards maritime domain awareness, increase its capacity to perform maritime law enforcement operations, and conduct search and rescue and other humanitarian response operations. Sino-European relations are critical for safeguarding a multilateral world order. Both China and Europe, including EU member states and non-member states, hope for peace and prosperity. The goal is common but methods to achieve it can differ. It is therefore natural that the path towards fulfilling the common objective is occasionally turbulent. The decision of the European Parliament to freeze the ratification of the December 2020 Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) is demonstration of recent frictions. In the aftermath of the end of the Cold War, China and Europe forged a relationship of harmonious cooperation without pretending that their approaches were identical. The heterogeneity of their governance models itself did not allow full agreements but did not prevent interests from converging. This pattern is still applicable despite some recent tension. In comparison to three decades ago, however, China is much stronger and more confident. This reality adds new characteristics to world affairs and impacts Sino-European relations. A speech given by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in an online session of the 2021 Munich Security Conference outlined the Chinese position. The Chinese administration values mutual cooperation and identifies sectors where joint actions can take place. These include Iran's nuclear program, the fight against terrorism, climate change, regional conflicts such as the Israel-Palestinian conflict, global governance and above all the COVID-19 pandemic. Collaboration is possible because most world challenges are transnational. There is no better example than the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Most European countries are now striving to accommodate American geopolitical calculations in their policy vis-a-vis China. They want to strike a balance that will keep both Washington and Beijing relatively satisfied. This is a particularly delicate task that will take time to master due to its unprecedented nature. Throughout the process, the "strategic autonomy" concept of the EU is vital. Leaders of the EU often talk about becoming "strategically autonomous" meaning that they seek to build the block's resilience, reduce dependencies and avoid hard choices between other superpowers in order to strengthen the EU's position in the multilateral world order. The EU strategy for the Indo-Pacific, for instance, does not exclude China. It rather earmarks a more active and robust European presence in future discussions about maritime security, supply chains, environmental protection and other themes in this vast area. The 2018 EU-Asia connectivity strategy launched by Brussels had similarly aimed at offering European assistance in the Eurasian region that might complement the Belt and Road Initiative. Last week, State Councilor Yang Jiechi flew to Croatia and Slovenia. Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Serbia visited Beijing, while Wang Yi held a telephone conversation with his British counterpart Dominic Raab, reportedly expressing China's interest in becoming a partner in the "Global Britain" project. Additionally, China and Norway coordinated their policies at the U.N. Security Council to push for a ceasefire between Israelis and Palestinians. Although the position of different European states towards China is not standardized and varies, they all keep their communication channels open, and some of them endeavor to achieve maximum bilateral cooperation. We are living in a world that is unstable and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates the previous disorder. China and Europe are not losing their orientation but no reasonable analyst can ignore existing problems. Leaders must find a logical way forward. If partners do not join hands in times of urgent need due to political reasons, dystopia will be the automatic result. Calmness and foresight must prevail. Good Sino-European relations will be beneficial for people in China, Europe and across the globe. George N. Tzogopoulos is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/GeorgeNTzogopoulos.htm Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn. I submit this letter after the discovery of 215 children's remains in an unmarked burial site at the Tk'emlups residential school last week. I'm incredibly disappointed that our federal government has not acted faster on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action, specifically 71 through 76. (These are the recommendations that deal with missing children and burial information) Potentially, the children buried there could still living parents, siblings. Those parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, they all deserve closure and the opportunity to learn where their stolen family members were buried. The opportunity to take their deceased child home. To give them a proper burial in their community. I am utterly horrified that these steps have not been taken already, given that T&RC came out 6 years ago. I live in Kelowna, on the unceeded territory of the Silyx people. The Tk'emlups residential school is the closest geographically, and likely imprisoned the grandparents, maybe even the parents, of my indigenous classmates that I went to public school with. I want my community as well as communities across Canada to be able to bring their deceased loved ones home. Or at least, to know where, when and why their loved ones died. I am asking others to make this issue a priority. Write your member of parliament. Talk about this issue. It is the least we can do for our neighbours, our coworkers, our friends, our classmates from whom so much has been taken. Elizabeth Williams Photo: The Canadian Press RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki. RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki has dismissed the idea of a special prosecutor to look into numerous claims that women in the national police force were assaulted by colleagues. Lucki told the House of Commons public safety committee Wednesday that the details were provided in confidence to former Supreme Court justice Michel Bastarache, who wrote an independent report on harassment of women in the RCMP. As a result, Lucki said, it is up to individual women to come forward to police to seek a criminal investigation. "We can't ... figure out who those offenders are, because it was all done in confidentiality," Lucki said. But if it is a criminal matter, it is paramount that women come forward so it can be investigated by an outside police force, she said. "We don't need special prosecutors ... It'll be brought to a Canadian court, and the charges will be laid and people will be held to account if the evidence is there." In his report released in November, Bastarache said fundamental change is needed to rid the RCMP of a toxic culture that tolerates hateful and homophobic attitudes. Bastarache was the independent assessor who oversaw the provision of millions of dollars in compensation to 2,304 women involved in a class-action settlement covering several decades. He said a shocking level of violence was reported by claimants, including over 130 penetrative sexual assaults. Others described a sexualized environment in RCMP workplaces. This was characterized by the frequent use of swear words and highly degrading expressions that reference womens bodies, sexual jokes, innuendoes, discriminatory comments with respect to the abilities of women and unwelcome sexual touching," Bastarache's report said. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair stressed Wednesday that it would be highly improper for him to tell the RCMP to begin a criminal probe. "I have ministerial responsibility and oversight of the RCMP, but I do not direct the commissioner or the RCMP in their operations," he told the committee. "And in particular, I do not direct criminal investigations or the outcome of those investigations." Opposition MPs expressed concern that more should be done about the troubling cases. Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs said members of the committee, regardless of political affiliation, "are deeply concerned about what will happen in terms of justice for the victims and consequences for the perpetrators." Bastarache's report, Broken Dreams Broken Lives, concluded that change cannot come from within the RCMP. It called for a deep external review of the institution and the future of the force as a federal policing organization. Lucki has expressed deep sadness and outrage at the findings. But she has not fully endorsed Bastarache's recommendation of an externally led overhaul, instead outlining numerous initiatives to remedy the problems. Photo: Glacier Media A man who set fire to his ex-girlfriends house in West Vancouver and tried to burn it down after she broke off their relationship should spend two to five years in jail, a prosecutor has argued. Crown counsel Ariana Ward asked for the jail term during an aboriginal sentencing circle that began in North Vancouver provincial court May 19 for Scott Ryan Woods, 33, of Surrey. Woods pleaded guilty Nov. 12 to a charge of arson of an inhabited property. Ward told Judge Joanne Challenger that Woods had previously been in a relationship with Ilona Joseph, who lived at 331 Kawtin Road, but that it was a relationship marked by violence, frequently involving police. Two days before her home went up in flames, Joseph had phoned police to say Woods had choked her in a violent encounter, said Ward. When his ex-girlfriend refused to take his calls, Woods began texting her threatening messages about ignoring him, telling her, I guess your house gets it then, said Ward. When Joseph told him she was calling police, Woods texted back, I don't care if you call the cops. You won't have anything to go back to. Shortly after the fire started, Woods again texted his ex-girlfriend with the message, I walked past your house and it's on fire, stupid. I saw the flames. I was trying to call you but I guess you dont care. When West Vancouver Police arrived on the scene, they saw flames coming out of the window, as well as a makeshift ladder leading to a bathroom window, said Ward, which was where the fire was started with gasoline. A crowd had formed outside and people were trying to put out the fire with fire extinguishers, she said. Inside the house, the Josephs cousin Isaac Joseph was the only person home. He heard a smoke alarm go off, said Ward, and made his way outside where he saw Woods. The cousin was taken to hospital with smoke inhalation and later released. Later, witnesses told police Woods had been seen walking towards the house a few minutes before the fire holding a jerry can. Woods left the scene, said Ward, but returned later where he encountered Suzanne Paul, a family friend of the ex-girlfriend, who called police, telling them Woods smelled like gasoline. When police arrived, they found Woods hair, eyelashes, facial hair and eyebrows singed from heat exposure, said Ward, and arrested him at the scene. Police got security camera images from a nearby gas station showing Woods picking up the gas minutes before he torched the house. When officers told him that, Woods admitted to some involvement in the fire, said Ward, saying hed tried to cause some damage at the front door, but stopped short of admitting to having set the main fire in the house. He did say he didnt mean for the fire to get out of hand. He said he shouted for help. But none of the witnesses said anything about him shouting for help, she said. In victim impact statements, the ex-girlfriend spoke of losing sentimental items from her late mother in the fire, while her father said he had lost irreplaceable carvings estimated to be worth between $50,000 and $100,000. Both spoke of having nightmares and anxiety. Woods has previous convictions for assaults on former girlfriends, said Ward, including one who he restrained and jumped on while she was pregnant, before pointing a gun at her and hitting her in the head with the butt of the firearm. Sentencing has been adjourned until September. I, along with everyone else read with absolute horror the news about the 215 bodies buried at the Kamloops residential school and my heart goes out their families. Not only were these children taken from their families to get an education, but their families were never even informed of their deaths. Imagine the years that these families waited and hoped that their loved ones were still alive and would return one day. The Catholic Bishop in Vancouver offered an apology to the families. Too little too late. The majority, if not all, of these schools, were run by the Catholic church and were funded by the government. There is no excuse that there are no records with respect to the children that died and what attributed to their death. And there is definitely no excuse for not notifying the families. Now the government is talking about compensation to the indigenous families. I agree, however I believe that the compensation should be paid by the Catholic Church (one of the richest churches in the world), and NOT by the Canadian taxpayer. It should beheld no less responsible than any other business would be for a catastrophic event. Helen Odell Photo: The Canadian Press Nisga'a dancer Rosita Martinez takes part in a ceremony on Parliament Hill Thursday June 3, 2021 in Ottawa. A bill creating a statutory holiday to commemorate the tragic legacy of residential schools in Canada has been passed unanimously by the Senate. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld A bill creating a statutory holiday to commemorate the tragic legacy of residential schools in Canada was passed unanimously Thursday by the Senate. Bill C-5 was expected to receive royal assent later Thursday, in time for Sept. 30 to become the first national day for truth and reconciliation. Both houses of Parliament were prompted to fast-track the bill after last week's grisly discovery of what are believed to be the remains of 215 Indigenous children in unmarked graves at a former residential school in Kamloops. The bill creates a statutory holiday for employees in the federal government and federally regulated workplaces. Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault told the Senate on Thursday that the objective is to create a chance for Canadians to learn about and reflect on a dark chapter in their country's history and to commemorate the survivors, their families and their communities as called for by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Indigenous leaders. The "terrible" discovery of children's remains in Kamloops is "a stark reminder of the heavy toll of our colonial past," Guilbeault said in French. "Addressing the consequences of colonial violence needs to go beyond words ... Bill C-5 is an important step in the path towards reconciliation, which won't be achieved in the blink of an eye." Over the course of more than 100 years, some 150,000 Indigenous children were ripped from their families and forced to attend church-run residential schools, where many suffered physical and sexual abuse, malnutrition and neglect. More than 4,000 are believed to have died. Although unanimously supported in the Senate, Guilbeault did face some questions about the cost of creating a new national holiday and whether it is simply an empty symbolic gesture. Conservative Senate leader Don Plett noted that the government has been slow to implement the 94 calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, including those dealing with locating and commemorating grave sites at residential schools. "Why, minister, did you choose to focus on this call of action (to create a national day for truth and reconciliation) and not on other ones?" Plett asked. "Minister, is it because it's easier to give bureaucrats (a holiday), because really it's bureaucrats that get the day off here, than to work on the more pressing but difficult issues that are facing Indigenous communities every day of the week? Plett further questioned how the government can ensure it is day of commemoration and not simply a "day to stay home and put up our feet and watch TV." Guilbeault acknowledged that the government can't force people to use the day to reflect on the trauma caused by residential schools. But he expressed hope that it will be similar to Remembrance Day, creating an opportunity to educate and remind Canadians about the history of residential schools, honour the victims and celebrate the survivors. "Let's use that day as a day of reflection but also a day of learning," he said. Guilbeault could not offer any details of federal plans to mark the first truth and reconciliation day on Sept. 30. Commemorations should be Indigenous-led, he said. Officials estimated that the day off will cost the federal government almost $166 million each year, mainly in lost productivity, and another $223 million for federally regulated employers. Gabriella Acosta is given a hero's sendoff when she was well enough to go home after beating COVID-19. The effect of HIV infection on COVID-19 outcomes is unclear. Studies in South Africa (1) and the United Kingdom (2) found an independent association between HIV infection and COVID-19 mortality; however, other studies have not found an association between poor COVID-19 outcomes and either HIV status among hospitalized patients (35) or HIV-associated factors such as CD4 count, viral load, or type of antiretroviral therapy (ART) (6). The effect of HIV infection on COVID-19 outcomes remains an urgent question in sub-Saharan Africa, where many countries are experiencing dual HIV and COVID-19 epidemics, and capacity to treat severe COVID-19 is limited. Using data from patients with probable or confirmed COVID-19 admitted to specialized treatment centers during MarchDecember 2020 in Zambia, the Zambian Ministry of Health and CDC assessed the relationship between HIV infection and severe COVID-19 and COVID-19associated death. Among 443 patients included in the study, 122 (28%) were HIV-positive, and of these, 91 (89%) were receiving ART at the time of hospitalization. HIV status alone was not significantly associated with severe COVID-19 at admission or during hospitalization or with COVID-19associated death. However, among HIV-positive persons, those with severe HIV disease were more likely to develop severe COVID-19 and were at increased risk for COVID-19associated death. Ensuring that persons maintain HIV disease control, including maintaining ART continuity and adherence, achieving viral suppression, and addressing and managing underlying medical conditions, could help reduce COVID-19associated morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Zambia is a landlocked country in southeastern Africa, with an estimated population of 17.4 million* and a generalized HIV/AIDS epidemic with HIV prevalence among persons aged 15 years of 12.1% (7). Beginning in March 2020, patients with a diagnosis of probable or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in Zambia were admitted to one of five Zambia Ministry of Health specialized COVID-19 treatment centers located in the capital city of Lusaka (two treatment centers) and in Ndola, Kabwe, and Livingstone. Confirmed cases were those with positive reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction or rapid antigen test results for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Patients with diagnosed probable cases had radiologic evidence suggestive of COVID-19 with acute respiratory symptoms. Treatment centers have specifically designated isolation and treatment units staffed by clinicians and nurses trained in COVID-19 clinical management. All patients who received medical care for COVID-19 in these centers during MarchDecember 2020 and who provided verbal consent to receive treatment were enrolled in the COVID-19 clinical outcomes study. Patient demographic, clinical, and survival time data were collected during hospitalization until patients died or were discharged. Data were primarily collected electronically in real time by trained staff members using a standardized case record form; among patients who had received COVID-19 care before the start of data collection, medical records were reviewed and abstracted into the case record form. Study staff members contacted discharged patients by telephone 28 days after admission to determine their health status. Severe COVID-19 was defined as having an oxygen saturation <90%, respiratory rate >30 breaths/minute, or a need for oxygen therapy. COVID-19 severity was assessed at admission and during hospitalization. HIV status was self-reported, and patients with unknown status or deemed eligible and consented for testing were tested at admission. Underlying medical conditions were self-reported and included cardiac disease, hypertension, diabetes, other pulmonary disease, active tuberculosis (TB), previous TB, asthma, kidney disease, liver disease, neurologic disorder, asplenia, malignant neoplasm, and current smoking. The number of underlying conditions was summed for each patient. Patients with severe HIV disease were defined as those meeting one or more of the following criteria: 1) severely anemic (hemoglobin <8.0 g/dL); 2) CD4 <200 cells/L; 3) active TB, including patients taking anti-TB medication; or 4) underweight (body mass index [BMI] <18.5 kg/m2). HIV-positive patients who did not meet any of the conditions were considered to have controlled HIV infection. The three primary outcomes assessed in the study were 1) severe COVID-19 at admission; 2) severe COVID-19 during hospitalization; and 3) death. Mixed-effects logistic regression models were used to assess associations between exposure variables (age, sex, number of underlying conditions, and HIV status) and the two severe COVID-19 outcomes (at admission and during hospitalization). Mixed-effects Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to examine time to COVID-19associated death in relation to exposure variables. All models included a random-effects term for treatment center, and other covariates were sex, age, and number of underlying health conditions. Cox models were also adjusted for COVID-19 severity at admission. Similar mixed-effects logistic regression and mixed-effects Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess COVID-19 outcomes among HIV-positive persons stratified by HIV infection control status; covariates in these models included sex, age, and treatment center (random effects term). Data were analyzed using R (version 4.0.2; R Foundation). An alpha level of 0.05 was used to assess statistical significance. The study protocol was approved by the University of Zambia Biomedical Research Ethics Committee, reviewed by CDC, and conducted consistent with applicable federal law and CDC policy. Among 612 hospitalized patients who were eligible for the study, 443 (72%) had HIV status recorded. Among those patients, 122 (28%) were HIV-positive, and among the 102 HIV-positive persons who provided information on ART status, 91 (89%) were receiving ART (Table 1). Although sex and mean age did not differ by HIV status, among HIV-negative patients, the proportion of those aged 60 years was higher than the proportion of those aged <60 years (p = 0.002). HIV-positive patients also were more likely to be anemic (defined as hemoglobin [Hb] <12 g/dL for women and Hb <13 g/dL for men) (p<0.001) or severely anemic (Hb <8 g/dL) (p = 0.004) and to report having two or more underlying medical conditions than were HIV-negative patients (p = 0.017). Age 60 years and having two or more underlying medical conditions were associated with severe COVID-19; however, HIV status alone was not associated with severe COVID-19 at admission or during hospitalization (Table 2). Similarly, male sex, age 60 years, and reporting two or more underlying medical conditions were significantly associated with COVID-19associated death, but HIV status was not. However, among HIV-infected patients, compared with patients with controlled HIV, severe HIV disease was associated with severe COVID-19 at admission (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 3.91; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.699.69) or during hospitalization (aOR = 4.42; 95% CI = 1.8311.66) and with increased COVID-19associated death (aOR = 3.27; 1.218.79). Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription, or activate your access, to continue reading. On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) granted approval to the COVID-19 vaccine made by Sinovac. It was the second such authorization it has granted to a Chinese company, with the Sinopharm vaccine having been granted such approval two weeks earlier. The WHO said it "meets international standards for safety, efficacy and manufacturing," further finding that the vaccine was able to prevent severe disease and hospitalization in 100% of those studied. Its approval now allows Sinovac to be part of the WHO COVAX program, which supplies vaccines to poorer countries struggling to procure or manufacture their own. Already, Sinovac has been approved in over 40 countries and over 600 million doses both at home and abroad have been supplied, with over 430 million administered already. Sinovac has made a global impact in a very short space of time. Easily stored and transported at 2-8 degrees Celsius, it holds a logistical and supply chain advantage. It is no surprise that the vaccine has been widely distributed in countries with hot and tropical temperatures, including Indonesia, Turkey and most of Latin America as well as Africa. Despite the virus situation running out of control in Brazil due to a more contagious new variant and a poor rollout of vaccines on a national scale, the town of Serrana pursued a mass vaccination with Sinovac inoculating the entire adult population. They found that deaths dropped by 95% and life practically returned to normal. Likewise, an Indonesian study of Sinovac comprised of 130,000 medical workers, found that two shots of the vaccine were 94% effective in preventing symptomatic illness, 96% effective against hospitalization, and 98% effective in preventing deaths. Moreover, a similar study in the South American nation of Uruguay found that deaths were reduced by 97% and severe cases were reduced by 95%. There is now plenty of data across the board to demonstrate that Sinovac is increasingly a game changer for many countries, as stated by the WHO. As a result, the addition of this vaccine to the COVAX arsenal will be crucial. The inclusion of Sinovac and Sinopharm will subsequently diversify global vaccine output, ensure a stable supply chain, and provide a lifeline to more developing countries. It is important to give Sinovac the credit it deserves as opposed to dismissing it purely on account of geopolitical, cultural or ideological biases. This is a big step forwards in the global fight against the COVID-19, and raises our hopes of a world eventually returning to normal. Tom Fowdy is a British political and international relations analyst and a graduate of Durham and Oxford universities. He writes on topics pertaining to China, the DPRK, Britain and the U.S. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/TomFowdy.htm Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn. Buena Vista, CO (81211) Today A mainly sunny sky. High 88F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Clear skies. Low near 50F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions The Knights of Danville Community College are welcome to return to campus this fall without getting a COVID-19 vaccine if they choose to do so. Vaccinated students can elect to go to class without a mask for the first time in nearly a year and a half. Danville Police arrested a suspect in a pair of armed robberies; The suspect in a bizarre probe in Caswell County is behind bars; Another big vaccination clinic is set for Saturday in Danville; The slate of candidates is decided in this fall's city and county elections. The BCSO Criminal Investigations Division warn the Bradley County community and surrounding areas of a group known as the Irish Travelers who have a history of targeting elderly and vulnerable people in order to financially exploit them. More often than not, it has been reported that this group of perpetrators use aggressive and demanding sales tactics, usually having something to do with home repairs. Residents are urged to report any incidents that fit this profile to local law enforcement. On May 28, the BCSO solicited information from its community that would help criminal investigators in identifying a suspect who had preyed on an elderly resident in the Hopewell area. Citizens of Bradley County provided information that led to the identification of Tommy Sherlock, 42, from North Augusta, SC. Investigators have determined that Sherlock is a member of a group of people known as Irish Travelers, who are known for funding their livelihoods through scams involving driveway paving, roofing and other home related repairs. Sherlock has been known to target elderly people who often fall prey to these con-artists.During this incident, Sherlock targeted an elderly resident of Bradley County in the Hopewell area. Sherlock was reported to have been fast-talking and convincing in telling the elderly resident that his/her driveway needed work. Once a small amount of work had been done, Sherlock became aggressive, demanding payment for the work. The victim reports to have been intimidated into driving separately to a local retailer to obtain the maximum cash back from several small purchases. A sticky black film was left on the victims driveway, ultimately requiring it to be replaced or re-surfaced entirely."Please be on the look out for these types of suspicious or aggressive sales tactics and contact your local law enforcement immediately," officials said. "Thank you to those who provided information relating to this case." Warrants have been issued for the arrest of Sherlock for theft, vandalism and financial exploitation of an elderly adult. Once again, the residents of Bradley County have come together in partnership with our investigators to ensure justice is brought to a perpetrator who would take advantage of the vulnerable, says Sheriff Lawson. The actions of this man and this group are inexcusable and it is my intention to keep our county informed and educated on issues like this for their safety. If you have any information about Tommy Sherlock, contact the BCSOs Criminal Investigations Division at 423-728-7336 or leave an anonymous tip at https://www.bradleysheriff.com/leave-a-tip. The Chattanooga Fire Department responded to a commercial fire Thursday morning on 8th Avenue. The call came out at 7:37 a.m. to Mitchell Industrial Tire Company and responding units were informed that a possible solvent was on fire in a barrel at the business. Engine 9 found smoke showing on arrival, laid a line and started an investigation. At one point, a large plume of smoke was visible. Fire officials asked nearby companies to shelter in place and advised them to shut off their ventilation systems as a safety precaution. Engine 9 and Engine 5 made an interior attack, found the smoldering product and extinguished it. The next hurdle was ventilation because the entire building was filled with smoke. Crews used multiple positive pressure vans along with the ventilation system at the business to help clear the smoke. Air monitors were used to check the building to confirm that everything was clear before employees were allowed to re-enter. After employees had re-entered, businesses to the north were advised that they could resume normal operations. All of the employees at Mitchell Industrial Tire Company made it safely out of the business at the time of the fire and there were no injuries. Engine 9, Engine 5, Quint 14, Squad 13, Ladder 5, Ladder 1, Quint 1, Squad 1, Battalion 1, Battalion 2 (Red Shift), CFD Special Operations and HCEMS responded. The Harrison Ruritan Club, 5709 Tyner Lane in Harrison, will host a Bluegrass Jamboree on June 19 from 6-9 p.m., and every third Saturday of the month, except in December. There will be free parking and admission; food available for purchase and donations will be accepted to help support the needs of the community. Several bluegrass bands will be performing on stage. There are opportunities for jam sessions if you are a bluegrass musician. To schedule your bluegrass band for future events, contact 423-344-4828 or email rmerpond@aol.com. County Commissioner Sabrena Smedley said Thursday that Dean Moorhouse, who fell one vote short of winning an appointment to the open District 9 seat, is "a staunch Conservative." Commissioner Greg Martin was the only Republican not to vote for Mr. Moorhouse, saying he favored Jeff Eversole, who only got two votes on the first round and was dropped off. When Commissioner Martin passed on the Moorhouse nomination, that left Mr. Moorhouse one vote short of appointment. Commissioner Martin said a solid Republican was needed in the seat. Commissioner Smedley said she and other commissioners had gotten numerous calls and emails from supporters of Mr. Moorhouse. She said Mr. Moorhouse had long been active in the County Republican Party, and she said she had not previously heard of Mr. Eversole. Commissioner Smedley said, "Dean Moorhouse has been active in the Republican Party and in community service for years. After he lost a school board race in 2014, he didn't stop working in the party." She said of him not being a staunch Conservative, "Where's the proof?" The commission is set to try again to come up with a replacement for Chester Bankston at the meeting next Wednesday at the County Courthouse. Multiple roads are closed due to flooding. Harrison Pike between Forest Road and Benton Drive is closed due to downed trees, power lines, and a mudslide. Norfolk Southern Railroad is inspecting their right-of-way above the slope failure out of an abundance of caution. Please utilize Wilcox Boulevard Tunnel is closed between N Chamberlain Avenue and Greenwood Road until further notice due to a large tree blocking the east portal. The closure is expected to last several hours, possibly overnight. Detours are posted. The following locations are closed due to flooding as of 5:10 p.m.: EAST MAIN STREET AT DODDS (WIRES DOWN) ST ELMO AVENUE BETWEEN BROAD STREET AND W 32ND STREET 700 E MAIN STREET AT CENTRAL AVENUE UNDERNEATH RAILROAD BRIDGE 4300 BONNY OAKS DRIVE (NEAR MT JOY BAPTIST AND BENTON DRIVE) 4000 CUMMINGS HIGHWAY AT INTERSTATE 24 500 BLOCK E 10TH STREET UNDER RAILROAD BRIDGE 500 BLOCK E 11TH STREET UNDER RAILROAD BRIDGE VINE STREET AT HOUSTON STREET LONG STREET AT E 17TH STREET CANNON AVE AT E 28TH STREET E 20TH STREET AT WASHINGTON STREET HARRISON PIKE AT FOREST ROAD (WIRES DOWN) E 16TH STREET ADAMS STREET PASSENGER STREET JOHNSON STREET PEEPLES STREET BETWEEN E 10TH ST AND E 11TH STREET REGGIE WHITE BLVD COMPRESS STREET WHITEHALL ROAD AT RIVERSIDE (WIRES DOWN) POLK STREET AT E 17TH E 3RD AT WILLOW PEERLESS AVE SHARP STREET AT N WILLOW 5800 BLOCK SHADY HOLLOW ROAD (WIRES DOWN) Other locations which may have lane closures, obstructions, or hazardous conditions as of 5:10 p.m.: N HOLTZCLAW AVENUE AT WILCOX BLVD CUMMINGS HIGHWAY (DEBRIS ON LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN) CUMMINGS HIGHWAY AT BROAD STREET (HIGH WATER UNDER RAILROAD BRIDGE) S HOLTZCLAW AVE AT E 12TH / GREENWOOD AVE N CHAMBERLAIN AT INFANTRY OCHS HIGHWAY EVERETT STREET W 42ND STREET W 38TH STREET AT ALTON PARK BLVD These are the known flooding locations as of 5:10 p.m.; however, additional roads will incur flooding as heavy rains persist. Area creeks and rivers are rising at a rapid pace as severe weather continues into this afternoon. A flash flood warning is in place. The public should report flooded locations by dialing the 311 Service Center, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday at 423 643-6311; or if after hours/weekends, the Chattanooga Police Department Non-Emergency Number at 423 698-2525 Remember to never attempt to cross flooded roads. Flash Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that China and Azerbaijan should take the 30th anniversary of their diplomatic relationship next year as an opportunity to push for greater development of bilateral ties. In a telephone conversation with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Xi suggested that the two countries carry forward their traditional friendship, deepen win-win cooperation, increase mutual support, and create more benefits for their people. Xi pointed out that since last year, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Azerbaijan have supported each other and joined hands against the challenge, which has demonstrated their true friendship. The Communist Party of China is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary, and China has embarked on a new journey of fully building a modern socialist country, he said, adding that China-Azerbaijan relations now stand at a new historical starting point. China supports the development path chosen by the Azerbaijani people on the basis of their national conditions, and regards Azerbaijan as an important partner for Belt and Road cooperation, Xi stressed. The two sides, he suggested, should share opportunities, pursue common development, and ensure sound planning and effective implementation of their Belt and Road cooperation. China is willing to import more high-quality specialty products from Azerbaijan, encourage Chinese enterprises to invest and start business in Azerbaijan, and carry out cooperation in such fields as infrastructure construction, he added. The two sides, he said, should deepen cooperation in international transportation and logistics, promote the building of Asia-Europe transport corridors, and improve the level of regional connectivity. China stands ready to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Azerbaijan in medical areas, and continue to provide vaccines and other assistance for Azerbaijan's fight against COVID-19, Xi said. He added that China has achieved a complete victory against poverty, and is willing to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Azerbaijan and jointly promote the cause of global poverty reduction. In season 5 of the classic television comedy Everybody Loves Raymond, the Barone family matriarch Marie portrayed by actor Doris Roberts announces that she has tucked away enough money to take the entire family to Italy. Her daughter-in-law Debra, played by actor Patricia Heaton, sheepishly inquires if that includes her, Marie assures her it does, and off they went. But did Raymond actually fly the entire cast and crew to Europe to film the two episodes titled Italy? Actors Patricia Heaton, Doris Roberts, and Ray Romano in a chaotic scene from Everybody Loves Raymond | Ron Jaffe/CBS via Getty Images The shows executive producer was inspired by Ray Romano After season 1 of the show was completed, executive producer and show creator Phil Rosenthal discovered that star Romano had never done any European travel. I said, Ever been to Europe? Rosenthal recalled, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Ray said, Nah. I asked, Why not? and Ray said, Im not really interested in other cultures. Even his own culture (Italian). And I thought, Theres an episode. Throughout the shows run, Rosenthal, the shows writers, and Romano culled situations and incidents from their own marriages and families as material for the comedy. From dealing with PMS in a marriage to the intrusiveness of in-laws, the show covered it. When Romano told Rosenthal he wasnt really a globetrotter, the showrunner then seized on what he knew was a winner of an episode idea. Italy The cast and crew did indeed film on location in Europe. The two-parter called Italy were the premiere episodes of the shows fifth season and were filmed in July 2000 in the town of Anguillara Sabazia outside of Rome. Rosenthal revealed that it took some persuasion on his part to get CBS to send everyone on the set overseas. We send [Ray Romano] over to Italy as Ray, and he comes back as [Italian actor] Roberto Benigni transformed by the food, the people, the beauty, the joy of travel, Rosenthal explained. After some convincing of CBS and a reluctant Raymond, we filmed two episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond in Rome. RELATED: Why Ray Romano Got an Acting Coach in the Early Days of Everybody Loves Raymond For her part, show co-star Roberts was clearly fond of the Mediterranean country as she told the Television Academy Foundation: Ive been to Italy 21 times in my life. She explained that when she was told the show would be filming in Italy, I took my children ahead of time. My grandchildren, my son and daughter-in-law to Italy. So we vacationed before I had to go to work. It was fabulous working there. It was a wonderful story, the veteran actor said of the episodes. And you got to see Italy. We all had a great time together. This show is kind of a spin-off of Italy Phil Rosenthals parents chat with him on an episode of Somebody Feed Phil Rosenthal credited the Italian Raymond episode for breathing life into his idea for a new series. First on PBS in 2015 as Ill Have What Phils Having, Rosenthal went on to perfect his food and travel show concept on Netflix in 2018 as Somebody Feed Phil, now with four seasons available on the streaming giant. This is what inspired me to make Somebody Feed Phil, he said of the Everybody Loves Raymond Italy episode. Its part food and travel but also part sitcom and to my surprise today, part political statement. How did that happen? Since when did embracing other people and other cultures become a liberal cause? You can take the girl out of Paris, but you cant take Paris out of the girl. After getting picked up for a second season in November, Emily in Paris finally started filming once again in May 2021. But theres one thing about the Netflix production that feels off, considering the series name: Filming for season 2 did not begin in Paris. On the contrary, the cast and film crew were spotted elsewhere in France. This has left fans to wonder: What is Emily doing outside of Paris? Is this a permanent change of scenery? Lily Collins and Ashley Park on the set of Emily in Paris drinking champagne in front of the Eiffel Tower. | Carole Bethuel/Netflix Emily in Paris has divided viewers around the globe Emily in Paris debuted its first season in October 2020. The Netflix comedy, starring Lily Collins, follows a young American woman to Paris, where she manages social media accounts for a luxury marketing company. During her time in the City of Love, Emily develops quite the following on Instagram and becomes a budding influencer, which both wins and loses her points with her French boss. As Emily finds her way in Paris, she meets new friends and love interests, learns about French culture, and polishes her sense of French fashion trends. Unfortunately, Emily in Paris did not sit so well with Parisians. Some French viewers had many negative comments about the first season, pointing mostly to the stereotypes sprinkled throughout the series. As a 20 Minutes review noted (translated by The Guardian), Emily in Paris is rife with The berets. The croissants. The baguettes. The hostile waiters. The irascible concierges. The inveterate philanderers. The lovers and the mistresses. In the United States, Emily in Paris received more praise. The show may have divided viewers around the world, but it still turned out to be Netflixs most popular comedy in 2020. Emily in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat Actor Lily Collins gets sprayed with water on the set of Emily in Paris in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France. | Arnold Jerocki/GC Images RELATED: Emily in Paris: What Lily Collins Loves Most About Her Character When Emily in Paris Season 2 filming began, the cast and crew were nowhere to be found in Paris. As W Magazine reported, production actually kicked off in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, a village in Southeastern France. Its not exactly clear what Collins character will do in this French Riviera town, but Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrats reputation may be of interest to fans. According to Business Insider, the village is particularly popular among billionaires. As the publication reported, Global Super Prime Residential partner Edward de Mallet Morgan told CNBC that there are almost too many billionaires living here to count. What brings Emily to the town of French billionaires? For now, fans can only speculate. As TVLine noted, Emily in Paris also has plans to film in St. Tropez, as well as other locations throughout France. For what its worth, though, it does seem likely that Emily will return to Paris. She has some unfinished matters with Gabriel and Camille in the City of Love. Emily left Paris once in season 1 Emily in Paris will return for Season 2! pic.twitter.com/QDOzpzjliz Netflix (@netflix) November 11, 2020 While most of season 1 took place in Paris, Emily traveled to another area of France once before. In season 1, Emily joined her new friend Camille (played by Camille Razat) and Camilles boyfriend, Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), on a trip to Camilles family home. On the show, Camille calls the home Chateau de Lalisse and its located in Champagne. The winery does exist in real life but under the name La Chateau de Sonnay. Emily in Paris production designer Anne Seibel told House Beautiful that shes friends with the castles owner who let the show borrow the home. The castle is really located in the Loire Valley, a region in central France. The winery has operated since the 1800s. And yes, fans can visit La Chateau de Sonnay in real life! NCIS: Hawaii has been announced as the latest spinoff in the popular CBS franchise. Set at NCIS: Pearl on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, the series will star Vanessa Lachey as Special Agent in Charge Jane Tennant. Other details have started to emerge in recent weeks now that the network has confirmed the new series. Heres what we know so far about production and premiere dates for the Aloha State spinoff. NCIS: Hawaii lead Vanessa Lachey at the 45th Annual Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in 2018 | Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic The executive producers of NCIS: Hawaii are coming from NCIS: New Orleans When the news first broke that NCIS: Hawaii was in development, it came on the heels of the announcement that CBS was canceling NCIS: New Orleans after seven seasons. At the time, insiders revealed that NOLA executive producers Christopher Silber and Jan Nash would be moving on to the Aloha State spinoff. Making a show that not only features two #AAPI leads but one that tells a local story about a character who grew up on the island. A show that is co-created by an AAPI writer with a crew that has so many amazing & talented AAPI faces in a place that is over 70% AAPI. #NCISHawaii pic.twitter.com/nseoItUklp CBS Studios (@CBSTVStudios) May 31, 2021 SEAL Team writer and supervising producer Matt Bosack will also be part of the NCIS: Hawaii production team. The network has hired Larry Teng to direct the pilot, and theyve also staffed the writers room. The Aloha State spinoff will have a female lead Lachey has been cast in the role of NCIS: Hawaii lead character Jane Tennant. She will be on the top of the call sheet like her counterparts: NCIS Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), NCIS: Los Angeles Callen (Chris ODonnell) and Sam Hanna (LL Cool J), and NCIS: New Orleans Dwayne Pride (Scott Bakula). In addition to Lachey, CBS has also cast Yasmine Al-Bustami as Lucy, a junior member of Tennants NCIS team. The third confirmed cast member is Jason Antoon who will play the role of Ernie, an NCIS Cyber Intelligence Specialist and Hawaii expert. NCIS: Hawaii has also cast Noah Mills in the role of Jesse, a former homicide detective who is Tennants confidante. NCIS: Hawaii begins production in June 2021 According to a tweet from Reel News Hawaii, production lists have been updated, and filming for NCIS: Hawaii is slated to begin in early June on the island of Oahu. CBS already has an extensive production base there thanks to Hawaii: Five-0, which ran for 10 seasons. Currently, the network has the Magnum P.I. reboot shooting in Hawaii, which could possibly set up future crossovers with NCIS: Hawaii. You heard it here first! Production lists have been updated and NCIS: Hawaii is a go!! Slated to start filming the beginning of June on Oahu. Excited to find out who the cast is in the coming weeks!! We'll be keeping you updates as news rolls in. pic.twitter.com/lkunvlk1t0 Reel News Hawaii (@reelnewshawaii) April 18, 2021 RELATED: NCIS: Hawaii Already Has 1 Major Difference Than Any Other NCIS Spinoff The real-life Naval Criminal Investigative Service actually has a field office at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on the Island of Oahu. In 2012, NCIS: Los Angeles filmed a crossover with Hawaii Five-0 on the Hickman tarmac. The spinoff will have a Monday night time slot With NCIS: New Orleans canceled and NCIS: Hawaii joining the CBS prime time lineup, the network has made some huge scheduling changes for the 2021-2022 TV season. Theyve announced that the spinoff will air on Monday nights at 10:00 pm (EST), just after the flagship series, NCIS. CBS has taken NCIS out of its traditional Tuesday night time slot and moved it to a new night for the first time in nearly two decades. NCIS: Los Angeles will remain in its Sunday night 9:00 pm (EST) time slot for season 13. The star of NCIS: Hawaii cant believe she landed the role CBS recently gave fans their first look at Lachey as Tennant with a 90-second trailer. In the video, she says her character is a single mom who is juggling her career and home life. My character Jane Tennant is Special Agent in Charge of NCIS. Shes the mother of a 15-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl. And, that is real life. Juggling life, and love, and work, Lachey said. The actor told her 882K Instagram followers that she was surprised that she landed the role, and she thanked CBS for believing in her. Honored is an understatement! Lachey wrote. To join the NCIS franchise as the first female lead and to do it on the Beautiful Islands of Hawaii I still cant believe it! Thank You CBS for believing in me! Now lets get to work! #NCISHawaii NCIS: Hawaii will premiere this fall on CBS. NCIS: Hawaii is coming, and while the series is shrouded in mystery, more and more details are slowly being released, filling eager fans with anticipation. The series, which is viewed by some as the replacement for the now-canceled NCIS: New Orleans, is set to be released in the fall, although no specific release date has been given by CBS just yet. This newest member of the NCIS universe is bound to be buzzworthy, and with stars like Vanessa Lachey set to star, many NCIS fans are wondering if some past fan-favorites could make appearances in the brand-new series. Pauley Perrette | Cliff Lipson/CBS via Getty Images What do fans know so far about NCIS: Hawaii? For months, there were rumblings that a new NCIS spinoff series was in the works and in early 2021, reports started circulating that indicated the newest series had officially been greenlit by CBS. Finally, after weeks of intense speculation, the network confirmed that NCIS: Hawaii would be debuting during CBSs 2021-2022 schedule, according to Parade. Some key members of the cast have also been announced, with Vanessa Lachey taking the lead and making history to be the first woman to head up an NCIS series. As Special Agent Jane Tennant, Lachey will be joined by other television veterans like Yasmine Al-Bustami, playing a junior member of Tennants NCIS team, and Jason Antoon, who will play Ernie, an NCIS Cyber Intelligence Specialist. Fans are excited at the diversity of the casting and in recent weeks, many have been speculating that showrunners could take the opportunity of the new series to trot out some established, fan-favorite characters from the NCIS universe. Abby is a fan-favorite NCIS character NCIS: Los Angeles Renewed for Season 13 at CBS, NCIS: Hawaii Ordered to Series https://t.co/A136ZRwF4e Variety (@Variety) April 23, 2021 NCIS, the show that started it all, is responsible for introducing such popular characters as Gibbs and Ziva David. However, possibly the most beloved character in the long-running series was Abby Sciuto, played to utter perfection by Pauley Perrette. The actor started appearing as a regular on the show in 2003, and fans quickly fell in love with the character of the eccentric forensic scientist. Not only did Perrette play the role of Abby on NCIS for many years, but she also appeared in several major crossover events, including episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles, and NCIS: New Orleans. In 2018, Perrette left the series, shocking viewers everywhere and in the years since, the actor has been open about the problems that she experienced on the set of NCIS. Could Pauley Perrette reprise her role as Abby in NCIS: Hawaii? In recent weeks, fans online have debated the possibility of CBS showrunners using NCIS: Hawaii as a vehicle to re-introduce some established characters in the NCIS franchise including Pauley Perrettes Abby Sciuto. According to The Pioneer Woman, fans point to the fact that showrunners were able to bring back Ziva David, played by Cote de Pablo, after a lengthy break from the show. Still, when it comes to Pauley Perrette, things are a bit more complicated. Not only has Perrette detailed her history of issues with NCIS lead Mark Harmon, but she even claimed that his dog attacked a crew member and that she was silenced by the media when she tried to talk about Harmon and the atmosphere on set. Furthermore, Perrette has addressed the possibility of returning to the NCIS universe, stating unequivocally that NO I AM NOT COMING BACK! EVER! (Please stop asking?) I am terrified of Harmon and him attacking me. I have nightmares about it. Granted, Perrette would be working with a different cast if she appeared in NCIS: Hawaii but still, it seems as though the bad blood that exists between Perrette and the NCIS franchise is there to stay, at least for now. RELATED: Will NCIS: Hawaii Actually Be Filmed in Hawaii? There are thousands of skincare products on the market to keep you looking fresh and beautiful all day. But, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been a constant challenge when wearing a mask. Many people complain that their makeup comes off when they remove the face mask, requiring constant touch-ups. Actor Nina Dobrev from The Vampire Diaries fame has found a product that helps keep her makeup from wearing off all day long. The setting spray is a trusted part of her beauty product arsenal and one that frequent mask wearers are going to want to get their hands on. Who is Nina Dobrev? Nina Dobrev | George Pimentel/Getty Images Dobrev was born Nikolina Konstantinova Dobreva in 1989 in Bulgaria. She grew up in Toronto, Canada, where she developed a passion for ballet and gymnastics. According to The Famous People, the now 32-year-old actor left Canada in 2008 to pursue a career in acting. After appearing in several made for TV movies, Dobrev landed the role of Mia in the dramatic television series Degrassi: The Next Generation. She is best known for her role as Elena Gilbert on the CWs hit show, The Vampire Diaries. IMDB reports Dobrev appeared in the supernatural television series from 2009 to 2017. The Bulgarian-born actor has also appeared in films such as Perks of Being a Wallflower, Then Came You, and Flatliners. Dobrev recently launched a line of health-conscious wines with her best friend and fellow performer, Julianne Hough. The Hollywood Reporter spoke with the new business entrepreneurs, and Dobrev commented, Having a glass of wine is an experience. When we think about life and friendship and all the things that we accomplish, at the end of the day, life is made up of memories. Dobrevs beauty hacks RELATED: Nina Dobrevs Latest Instagram Posts Prove Shes in the Best Shape of Her Life Dobrev recently told Womens Health that she always cleans her skin after a workout and keeps makeup wipes on hand, so she can wash her face right away. The busy actor said she is always on the go and has to multitask. She keeps products in her shower, saying she has a whole routine. The bright and bubbly actor says she brushes her teeth and washes her face in the shower, along with washing her hair and the rest of her body. She also keeps a Tatcha face mist in her purse and gym bag, saying, It brings me back to life if Im tired. One of Dobrevs favorite beauty hacks is to mix a little bit of my concealer and my foundation together to put under my eyes, not just the concealer straight to the eye I mix them together for a more natural finish. How Dobrev keeps her mask makeup-free RELATED: Did Julianne Hough and Nina Dobrev Meet Before They Were Famous? Wearing face masks during the pandemic has not been easy on anyone, especially those that regularly wear makeup. The Daily Mail caught a glimpse of the Lets Be Cops star wearing a clear see-through face mask while out walking her dog, Maverick. In an interview with The Strategist, Dobrev revealed she uses Tarte Shape Tape Stay Spray Vegan Setting Spray when she needs her makeup to stay on. The Fam actor said she always has it handy on set for when she is sweaty or doing kissing scenes. Dobrev explained, Without it, putting on and taking off a mask would remove all of my makeup. Id look inside a mask and see my whole face imprinted on it. She said, This spray really locks everything in, and it literally lasts all day. Available for $25 at Ulta Beauty, Dobrev said she recently shocked a friend when she took off a white face mask, and there was no makeup on it. RELATED: The Vampire Diaries: Nina Dobrev Despised 1 Co-Star for Seasons Until Developing Absolute Mutual Love Taika Waititi has become one of the most beloved filmmakers on earth, thanks largely to his work on Marvels Thor: Ragnarok. The charismatic director, writer, and actor is known for his lighthearted sets and willingness to have a little fun with the process. At no point was this clearer than in a recent behind-the-scenes photo in which Waititi, playing Hulk for Mark Ruffalo, got intimate with the movies star. Taika Waititis rise to fame Waititi grew up in New Zealand, where he started making movies for fun with friends. After several short films put him on the map, he started getting noticed thanks to his work on Flight of the Conchords in 2007. This began his working relationship with Jermaine Clement that eventually led to their big-screen collaboration, What We Do in the Shadows. While many filmmakers like to keep the set dead serious and want everyone to be professional, order, and respectful to the process, Waititi developed a reputation as Hollywoods new fun director. The results showed on the screen. While Waititi takes his job very seriously, he does so in an unusual way. Part of this stems from his belief that he isnt a filmmaker at all. I made one short film which ended up doing really well, and then suddenly I was propelled into this job as a filmmaker. But actually, I didnt want to be a filmmaker. I just wanted to make short films to try it out! I still dont really think Im a filmmaker, the director told Filmmaker Magazine of his unusual rise to prominence. This may be why his films, from Shadows to Hunt for the Wilderpeople, have such an aura of authenticity. He wants people to have fun at the theater and letting his actors do the same. It makes this fun more natural. As one behind-the-scenes photo shows, he didnt stop when the budgets got bigger, either. Waititi kisses his co-star If one wants to see the levels to which Waititi goes to loosen up on set, look no further than this shot that a fan posted on Reddit. In it, Waititi is seen kissing his lead actor and co-star, Chris Hemsworth. As anyone in tune with recent discourse can tell you, this up-close-and-personal approach to filmmaking is nothing new, although unlike his recent kiss with Tessa Thompson, this appeared less romantic. If you ask u/xRememberTheCant, the kiss is par for the course. If anything, this is on-brand. Gods are huge sluts. We already saw Ego trying to bang anything that moved, and soon we will see Zeus, the user joked. Another user, u/steve1186, saw the picture as a testament to the same loose set that Waititi is known for. I can only begin to imagine the pure joy that Taika had directing this movie and doing random stand-in roles like this, they wrote of the peck on the cheek. Fans love seeing this approach in an industry that can often be a bit self-serious. It also might be why Waititi has such a full-slate coming up, as well. Whats next for Waititi? Taika Waititi | Jeff Kravitz /Getty Images Now an Oscar-nominated writer thanks to the Nazi satire Jojo Rabbit, IMDB notes that Waititi has not let his rising acclaim get the best of him. His next film, Next Goal Wins, is due to release in the near future, while his next entry in the MCU, Thor: Love and Thunder, recently wrapped up filming. From a Star Wars movie to several television series, Waititi has a full plate going forward. Theres no right or wrong way to make a movie, as long as it resonates. Waititi has found a way to keep things light and fluffy while building an impressive resume. Where it goes beyond his current slate of movies is anyones guess. However, as long as Waititi keeps doing things his way, the fans will keep arriving at his films. RELATED: Marvel Is About to Reclaim Yet Another of Its Most Divisive Movies There are plenty of memorable things about Twilight. From its gritty cinematography to its unique lines of dialogue, the film has a distinctly indie vibe that stands out amongst its four sequels. But perhaps one of the best things about the movie is its soundtrack and musical score. Featuring songs by Robert Pattinson and Iron & Wine, and gorgeous compositions by Carter Burwell, fans are still enamored with the music featured in the film over a decade after it premiered. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart | Franco S. Origlia/Getty Images Its no secret that a lot of people who eventually became involved with Twilight werent impressed by the concept of the movie at first glance. Catherine Hardwicke, who directed the film, actually threw the script away when it first landed on her desk. Meanwhile, Kristen Stewart (who famously played the vampire-obsessed human, Bella Swan) thought the description of the film sounded shallow and vain and wasnt interested in auditioning until she read the eponymous book. Another person who was a hard sell was Burwell, who composed and orchestrated the score for the film over a period of 10 weeks including the song Bellas Lullaby which was featured on the soundtrack. How Carter Burwell was convinced to compose music for Twilight So just how did Burwell end up composing songs for Twilight? When Hardwicke first approached him about it, he was far from interested. The overall story seemed incredibly divorced from his usual work, but the persistent director was willing to use everything in her arsenal to give him the hard sell. In an interview with NYLON, Burwell recounted how he was convinced to come onboard the project. RELATED: Twilight: Kristen Stewart Got Candid About the Foreplay in the Movies She sent me the script, and I knew nothing about the books at that point, the Twilight composer shared. I read the script, and I think my first reaction was that it didnt seem like my cup of tea. You know, whether or not you think its melodramatic, its very romantic and completely sincere. Theres no irony really in it. And it seemed like it would at least be very difficult for me, and I wasnt sure why Catherine was interested in me doing it. It seemed like other composers might be better. And she seemed to feel that I was wrong about this and that I was just a terrified person and she wanted to convince me, so she flew me out to Portland, Oregon, and showed me some of the footage and we talked about it some more. And she convinced me. Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson helped convince the composer to make songs for the movies soundtrack Continuing on, Burwell shared that it was his respect for Hardwicke that made him decide to do the music for Twilight. Another deciding factor came when Hardwicke showed Burwell clips of Stewart and Pattinsons performances. I knew a little of Kristen Stewart shortly before that, the composer shared. I dont know if Rob Pattinson had ever had a leading role, but she showed me some scenes that they had shot, and I could see that Catherine had gotten something special out of the actors. And she was certain that I would be able to bring something new to it. Something unexpected. And I have a lot of respect for Catherine as a director, so I decided to take her word for it. Clearly, Hardwicke had the right instincts in going after Burwell. Twilight certainly wouldnt be the film it is today without its gorgeous musical score. Specialty chemicals company LANXESS completed the sale of its organic leather chemicals business to TFL Ledertechnik GmbH on June 1, 2021. TFL is a global supplier of leather chemicals and a portfolio company of US investment firm Black Diamond Capital Management, L.L.C. All relevant antitrust authorities have granted the necessary approvals for the transaction, which was announced in August 2020. The purchase price comprises a fixed component of EUR 80 million. Furthermore, the agreed trade working capital mechanism will lead to a payment of around EUR 20 million, to be paid out in the third quarter. In addition, there will be a performance-related component of up to 115 million euros, to be paid out over the next three years. TFL has also assumed certain liabilities associated with the business. With the sale, all operations of the organic leather chemicals business line with around 420 employees have been transferred to TFL. In January 2020, the specialty chemicals company had already divested its chrome chemicals business and, at the end of 2019, signed an agreement to sell its stake in the South African chrome ore mine. LANXESS is thus exiting the leather chemicals business completely. Since the end of 2019, the company has reported the Leather business unit as a discontinued operation. Christian Kullmann, who has been chairman of Evonik's executive board since May 2017, will head this Essen-based specialty chemicals company for another five years. At its meeting today, the supervisory board extended Kullmann's contract until May 2027. Christian Kullmann has shown excellent leadership during his present term of office as chairman of the executive board. He has played a key role in driving forward the company, and successfully kept it on track in challenging times. The supervisory board has therefore decided that it is important and right to enable Christian Kullmann to continue what he has started. We have great confidence in his ability to transform Evonik into a best-in-class specialty chemicals company and look forward to continuing to work with him, says Bernd Tonjes, chairman of the supervisory board of Evonik. Extending Kullmann's contract enables the company to drive forward and strengthen its strategy: concentrating on specialty chemicals, pooling innovative capability, focusing on sustainability, and profitable growth. Kullmann is grateful to the supervisory board for its confidence in him and has announced further steps to increase growth and profitability. Sustainability will play an extremely important role in this. Profitable and sustainable growth is the toughest discipline in industry, says Kullmann. We want to rank right at the top, and that is what our customers want, too. They are increasingly choosing our solutions in order to achieve their own sustainability targets. Kullmann compares the transformation into a best-in-class specialty chemicals company with a 100-meter sprint. We have just reached the 50-meter mark, he says. Along the way, Evonik's resilience to crises has been strengthened considerably, which has paid off in the coronavirus pandemic. Now the goal is to build on the progress made in establishing a performance-oriented culture and focusing on growth businesses with a good sustainability profile. Kullmann therefore announced that further steps will be taken to optimize the portfolio in the coming years: We will be investing specifically in our three growth divisions and focusing our combined innovative capability on developing new products." Kullmann (52) was appointed to Evoniks executive board as chief strategic officer in 2014 and became chairman of the executive board in May 2017. Since March 2020, he has also headed the German chemical industry association, VCI. Kullmann is married and has two daughters. Flash The proportion of coronavirus-related deaths in England and Wales is at its lowest level since September last year, according to figures from the British Office for National Statistics (ONS) released Wednesday. Of 9,860 deaths from all causes registered in the week ending May 21, 107 deaths or 1.1 percent had "novel coronavirus" mentioned on the death certificate. The number is the lowest since the week ending Sept. 11 last year, when the virus accounted for 1 percent of deaths. At the peak of the second wave, in the week ending Jan. 29, coronavirus-related deaths accounted for 45.7 percent of all registered deaths, according to the ONS. The latest data came after Britain on Tuesday reported zero daily coronavirus-related deaths for the first time since March last year. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain stood at 127,782. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test. Another 3,165 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,490,438, according to official figures. Scientists advising the British government said the progress of Britain's vaccination program does not mean that the fight against coronavirus is over. Professor Adam Finn from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which advises the government on vaccine priority, said earlier this week that the country remains "vulnerable" as large numbers of people remain unvaccinated. More than 39.4 million people, about three-quarters of adults in Britain, have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures. Experts have warned that coronavirus may continue to evolve for years to come, and eventually it is likely current vaccines will fail to protect against transmission, infection, or even against disease caused by newer variants. 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. Memorial Service for Carol "Sue" Woods will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 5, 2021 at Hawkins Baptist Church in Alex, OK. Carol "Sue" Woods, of Alex, OK passed away on Saturday May 29, 2021 at the age of 76 in her home surrounded by her family. Sue was born June 15, 1944 in Scipio, Nancy Lloyd is a peninsula artist and historian, and long-time contributor to the Chinook Observer. Within three decades, Muslims may comprise 14 percent of Europe. The face of the historically Christian continent, tallied at 5 percent Muslim in 2016, may dramatically change by 2050 if high migration patterns hold. And as Muslim families have a birth rate one child higher than the rest of the continent, the Pew Research Center projects nearly 1 in 5 people will be Muslim in the United Kingdom (17%), France (18%), and Germany (20%). Sweden is projected to become 30 percent Muslim. And Austria, with its 20 percent projection, is on guard. The majority-Catholic nation recently published an online Islam Map, to identify mosques and other centers of politicized religion. According to European religion experts, however, one-third of European Muslims do not practice their faith. Conversely, this suggests that two-thirds of Muslims believe in and practice Islam. Contrast this with the median figure of 18 percent of Western Europeans (across 15 nations) who attend church at least monthly and the median figure of 27 percent who believe in God according to the Bible. Could the fear of some European Christians be plausible: an eventual Eurabia? Or is it Islamophobia to say so? Or, to the contrary, should Americans look across the ocean and consider French separatism laws and Swiss burqa bans in pursuit of a shared secularism? For concerned evangelicals, Bert de Ruiter has his own questionsabout their own faith. If Islam is taking over Europe, is that a problem? asked the European Evangelical Alliances consultant on Muslim-Christian relations. Will God suddenly be in a panic? Muslims will not take over the continent, he believes, noting Pews other 2050 Muslim population estimates of 7 percent if zero migration and 11 percent if medium migration. But more important is that under any scenario, God will be faithful to his church, says de Ruiter. Once chairman of a Dutch political party, he has a passion for Muslims, to reach out with the love of Christ. Yet too many European Christians, he said, act instead like politicians. Worse, they betray the love of Christ for neighbor. According to statistics collected in the 2019 European Islamophobia Report (EIR), 37 percent of Europeans have negative views of Muslims, while 29 percent would not feel comfortable working with Muslims. And in Denmark, 28 percent at least partially agreed with the idea that Muslims should be deported. But again, flip the statistics, and substantial majorities treat Muslims just fine. Farid Hafez, coeditor of the EIR report, said that among the main drivers of Islamophobia is propaganda pushed by far-right networks seeking to create a scapegoat. Amplified by politicians and aided by counterterrorism narratives, perception then creates the reality. The more hostility people go through, the more they feel attached to their religious community, said Hafez, also a lecturer at the university of Salzburg in Austria. But I dont see the problem that others do; Muslims are a part of society. Labels like no-go zones and parallel societies, he said, reflect Europes inability to adopt an American mentality that accepts multiple identities. And the relationship with Muslims is not fixed but boils down to a collective choice. Austria once suffered the siege of Vienna, but it also allied with the Ottoman Empire, said Hafez. History provides many options for how to tell your story. So will we choose a narrative of cooperation or conflict? In his column for Evangelical Focus, an online news site focused on Europe, de Ruiter said there are many actors trying to shape the narrative. Among them are majority-Muslim nations such as Turkey and Morocco that build mosques and supply imams. Transnational networks such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Sufi orders compete to gain adherents and to define Islam. Wahhabi preachers on the internet break down traditional lines of authority. And state-linked Muslim councils strive for integration within secular society. Muslims came to Europe largely as invited migrant labor in the 1950s, following the destruction of World War II. Over time, they brought their families, married, and had children. Initially isolated because of language, increasingly they put their stamp on society, building mosques and opening schools. A European society that once welcomed them began to grow uncomfortable. We invited guest workers, said de Ruiter, quoting a frequent saying. But it turned out they were actually people. People created in the image of God. Therefore, the task for Christians, he recently wrote in an analysis for Evangelical Focus, is fourfold: Research: Matthew 10 speaks of finding the worthy person in a village you come to. Likewise, Christians must learn the real situation of actual Muslims, not media-driven images. Reflect: Psalm 139 invites God to search our hearts. Anti-Muslim prejudice is often unconsciously ingrained, and with humility Christians can repent and develop attitudes of compassion. Relate: In 1 Thessalonians 2, Paul describes how he shared his life with those he was trying to reach. Christians must develop relationships with Muslims, in hope of also sharing the gospel. Relax: In Psalm 46, the Lord reminds believers to be still, and know that I am God. Whatever changes happen in Europe are according to Gods sovereignty, and he will be exalted among the nations. In America, Warren Larson adds a fifth R: represent. As Christians, we must speak up in defense of persecuted Muslims, said the senior research fellow and professor at the Zwemer Center for Muslim Studies at Columbia International University. We must take the initiative through acts of kindness, warmth, and generosity to Muslims, in our midst and around the world. A former missionary to Pakistan, Larson said his life was spared when Muslims defended his family against a mob that believed America was conspiring to undermine Islam. Today, he highlights the genocide underway against the Uighur Muslims in Chinas northwest Xinjiang province. But Larson has noticed something curious in his mentorship of Chinese Christians. Many are unaware of the atrocities or, like their government, deny them altogether. Some of it may be fear, he said, as China uses sophisticated technology to surveil its diaspora around the world. But there may also be a parallel to Islamophobia in Europe and the United States. Chinese Christians from the mainland, he has noticed, speak out in defense of Hong Kong but not Xinjiang. One missionary to the Uighurs even said China was only dealing with terrorism, said Larson. Is it possible that she, along with most Chinese, fears what the Uighurs might do? Citing ethnic violence and acts of terrorism in Xinjiang that began in 2009, the Chinese media campaign against the Uighurs has been relentless. The United Nations has recognized a similar, though not state-run, pattern against Muslims in Europe. A European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance report found that in the Netherlands, media descriptions most frequently call Dutch people average, even beautiful. Muslims, however, are predominantly described as radical and terrorist. And in Switzerland, a federal commission found that news reports on Muslims focused on their failure to integrate, while only 2 percent of media coverage was of their normal lives and successful examples of integration. In a statement supporting the UN report on Islamophobia, issued in March, the World Evangelical Alliance praised its Swiss branch for condemning an arson attack on a mosque and contributing financially to its repair. Similar efforts at solidarity were praised in India, Sri Lanka, and the Central African Republic. We reaffirm the unique value of each and every member of the human family, it stated. We believe each one of us is created in the image of God. But of Muslims, said Asma Uddin, there is a different image. Many evangelicals view Islam as a satanic deception, fundamentally violent and evil, said the Muslim author of The Politics of Vulnerability: How to Heal Muslim-Christian Relations in a Post-Christian America. They then mistake standing up for Muslims as standing up for a religion they despise or distrust. Evangelical advocates she has worked with are devoted, she said, but outliers. Nearly 2 in 3 white evangelicals (63%) said Islam encourages violence more than other faiths, according to a 2017 Pew survey. This was the highest level among religious groups. But the issue is also partisan. Over half (56%) of Republicans said there was at least a fair amount of extremism among US Muslims. Only 22 percent of Democrats said the same. Since liberals are associated with defending the rights of Muslims, Uddin said, political tribalism leads many conservatives to dismiss the severity of discrimination. The setting is different in Europe, according to Hafez. While Muslims in the UK are well represented in academia and politics, they also represent a disproportionate 16 percent of the prison population. Germany continues to have issues integrating its large migrant community. And Frances vision of secularism separates not just church and state but also religion and society. Combined with a lingering colonial superiority, Hafez ranks the nation as Europes worst for Muslim communities. But Islamophobia, he emphasizes, is not about anti-Muslim cartoons. Neither is it the critique of Islam or the criticism of Muhammad. It is the construction of a scapegoat with a generalized identity, which is then excluded from the rights afforded to all. Protestants in Europe, he said, often feel it also. In Austria, only since 1861 were they allowed to build a steeple. Today, many of them sympathize when Muslims want a minaret. And similarly, many are troubled by the publication of the Islam Map. Michael Chalupka, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Austria, said he would not accept this for his own community, joining the calls to take it down. When you are weak, you stand by the weak, said Hafez, a Muslim. Jesus also stood with the weak, and in Europe, Muslims are among the weakest. De Ruiter finds greater solidarity with Muslims on moral issues than he does with the secular Dutch. And he too knows the pain of generalization. Preaching once in Russia, he was queried repeatedly not about his sermon but about Hollands lax laws on drugs and prostitution. The state, he told CT, has a biblical obligation to provide security, justice, and human rights. But the believer is to welcome the stranger and love the neighbor. If the Christian values that shaped Europe are taken advantage of, the Christian cannot retreat. After all, Jesus was crucified. For this message, de Ruiter is often accused angrily: Dont you care to preserve what your grandfathers built? But the values they cherish, he said, usually center around materialism, identity, and place in society. If they desire instead to reverse the losses suffered in a post-Christian society, there is a better way than fearmongering of Muslims. That fight employs the weapons of the world, and must be rejected. It will lose the gospel, for all. If we want things to change, Muslims will have to see something real in us, said de Ruiter. But they cannot if we shut the door. Editors note: This article has been updated to use Pews median findings on church attendance and belief in God across 15 Western Europe nations. The Pakistani Christian woman who replaced Asia Bibi in her prison cell on death row, Shaguftah Kausar, hasafter a dozen delays since April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemicbeen acquitted from the death penalty by the Lahore high court. The mother of four, along with her disabled husband, Shafqat Emmanuel, was arrested for blasphemy in 2013 and sentenced to death in 2014. Despite both being illiterate, the Catholic couple, surnamed Masih*, were convicted of sending blasphemous textsin Englishto Islamic clerics. The couple appealed against their death penalty in 2016, but the appeal was continuously delayedleaving them languishing in jail for yearsbecause blasphemy cases are so controversial and sensitive in Pakistan. When the then-EU Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Jan Figel, visited Pakistan to discuss Asia Bibis case in December 2017, he told officials that the renewal of the nations export privileges to Europe depended on her release. It was only after Bibis acquittal in October 2018 (and final freedom in spring 2019), that her lawyer Saif ul Malookin the glare of international media attentionsaid his next case would be that of Shaguftah. This was the first time many people heard of the married couples separate cases. After Figels visit, an interfaith advisory council was started to look at the misuse of the blasphemy lawoften used to grab disputed land or to settle personal grudges, business rivalries, and so on. In April 2021, the European Parliament adopted a joint motion for a resolution calling for a review of the GSP+ trade status granted to Pakistan and seeking more comprehensive approaches to address such abuses of the law. The motion specifically referred to this couples case. This apparent planting of fake texts or images on the mobile phones of sometimes-illiterate Pakistani Christians has been reported by World Watch Monitor over recent years. What did the couple allegedly do to deserve the death penalty? Their accuser, Muhammad Hussein, said he was praying after breaking Ramadan fast on July 18, 2013, in Gojrars Talabwali mosque at around 10 p.m. when his cellphone vibrated. He stated that after finishing prayer, he checked his cellphone and found blasphemous text messages insulting both the Prophet Muhammad and the Quran. Gojra City Police station house officer Muhammad Nisar told World Watch Monitor in 2013 that Husseins call data revealed the messages were sent from Shaguftahs cellphone number. However, she told the police that the cellphone had been lost for a month, and she did not know who might have sent the alleged messages. Nevertheless, the Gojra City Police detained the couple, along with their four children, and pressured them to name someone who could have sent the messages. Nisar told World Watch Monitor that a large number of Islamic clerics got angry when they heard of these text messages, and that they remained in the police station until the First Investigative Report (FIR) was lodged. In what some said was an attempt to show that progress had been made, the police formally arrested the couple on July 20 and sent them to Toba Tek Singh District Jail the next day. Shafqat has admitted to the police he sent the blasphemous messages and gave this statement to the judicial magistrate, Nisar said. The lawyer for the couple at the time, Riaz Anjum, said the police lodged the case under Section 295-B and 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code, which recommend life imprisonment and the death penalty, respectively, for blasphemy. Anjum said the police had made stronger the case against the couple by recording Shafqat Masihs judicial confession. Investigation should have been done by the senior superintendent before lodging the case, but here the police have extracted a confession from Shafqat which is illegal, he said. He said the police also charged the couple under 25-D of The Telegraph Act of 1985 which recommends a maximum of three years for intentionally causing annoyance. Islamists staged a sit-in on Mankanwala Crossing in Gojra on July 23, 2013, and demanded death for the couple. Shafqat Masihs backbone was fractured in an accident in 2004. Since then, hed been in a wheelchair due to the paralysis of his lower body. He also has to use a catheter. In prison, he was confined to bed; visitors reported him covered in bedsores and thought he would die in prison. After his accident, Shaguftah Masih was the breadwinner for the familys four children, Ambrose (then 13), Danish (then 10), Sarah (then 7), and Amir (then 5), until their arrest. She has found almost eight years in prison extremely hard and has had depression. Her brother Joseph told World Watch Monitor in 2013 she is the eldest of six siblings. Other cases had been registered against Christians, before Shafqats and Shaguftahs, based on blasphemous text messages. Only days before the Emmanuels were arrested in July 2013, a court had sentenced a Christian man, Sajjad Masih*, from their same city, to life imprisonment (25 years in Pakistan) for blasphemy. Masih too was convicted of sending blasphemous text messages in a case first lodged in December 2011, again despite an absence of evidence. His alleged text messages were sent from a SIM card registered in the name of his ex-fiancee, Roma. Neither the cellphone nor the SIM was recovered from Masih during police investigation. Nor was there any eyewitness or forensic evidence available. Nevertheless, there were banners in the Gojra streets at the time protesting that life was not sufficient for him, and that he should die. However, the Lahore High Court threw out his case on October 14, 2013, ruling he could not be tried for the same offense twice. In May 2006, Qamar David was accused of sending blasphemous text messages to various Islamic clerics in the city of Karachi. He was convicted in February 2010 and died in prison on March 15, 2011. In January 2009, Hector Aleem and Basharat Khokhar were accused of sending text messages that hurt Muslims religious sentiment. They were acquitted of the charge on May 31, 2011. Sixteen-year-old Ryan Stanton was charged with sending blasphemous text messages on October 10, 2012. He fled the country for refugee status in Sri Lanka. Pastor Zafar Bhatti was accused of the same crime on November 11, 2012. Several Muslims, such as Abdul Sattar and Irfan Rafique, have also been charged for sending text messages. *Editors note: Masih, which derives from Messiah, is a common name among Christians in Pakistan. How do you decide which students you spend time with one on one? A parent asked me, as she sat in my office at church. I had been a Youth Pastor for about five years at this point and this mom was looking for a new church. At the top of her priority list was an active youth group where her daughter could get involved, stay busy and make Christian friends. With this list of needs, she also expressed that the church must employ a female youth pastor. So far so good, I thought, as I got the sneaking suspicion that I was being interviewed. In my role at the time, I oversaw the youth ministry that served around 250 teenagers. This is why the mom questioned my philosophy about which students I spend time with and how I make those decisions. It was a good question, one that I as a mother will want to know from my kids Youth Pastor one day. She was a very thoughtful woman and I knew that she was taking this church shopping season very seriously. She rightly discerned that her daughters peer group and mentoring relationships were among the most important things in her life. The problem was, I didnt know how to answer her. The truth was, I made decisions about who I spent time with based soley on need. If a pastoral care need came up that was in need of my professional attention, I attended to it. I no longer led a small group of students. I didnt have a discipleship group. I was running an organization with dozens of volunteers. I was equipping parents and planning large group events and leading a staff. The truth was, I didnt really have time to spend a lot of one on one time with the students. I didnt tell her this because that didnt sound very spiritual. Over the years in Ministry, however, I have developed a philosophy that speaks to her question and allows me to spend more intentional time with my students/volunteers/parents. It is what Andy Stanley calls the Do for One leadership principle. All of us, whether we lead large or small ministries or organizations, can glean wisdom from this principle. The Do For One principle embraces the fact that the leader cannot spend equal time with every person they lead. In my case, as the Youth Pastor, I cannot have a deep mentoring relationship with every single student, parent and volunteer that I serve. I can, however, take the opportunity to do for each one what I wish I could do for all. Whether it is at a congregants request or in response to a need, I can be fully present with whoever I am meeting with at the time. This means that I dont have to be overwhelmed by the amount of people I need to connect with. I can instead embrace a ministry of presence to whoever is in front of me and give them what I have to offer. I can go to a volleyball or football game and watch a student without the guilt of not being able to go all the games. I can disciple and connect with a volunteer. I can equip and support one parent the way that I want to support all of my parents. This philosophy of ministry recognizes my own limitations. It also removes me from the center of all that happens in my ministry. It acknowledges that I, as the pastor, am not the solution to everyones needs. The truth is, I can only do so much with the resources I have been given. This is also why equipping leaders is a part of my philosophy. (See my last post). I can trust that as I Do For One that there will be enough to go around. How are you doing with the Do For One leadership principle? Are you finding yourself stressed out and guilt-ridden because there is not enough of you to go around? Do you find yourself half-present when you are with a congregant instead of fully present? Maybe it is time to take a deep breath. De-center yourself from the story. Trust that God will accomplish Gods purposes in your ministry. And do for one what you wish you could do for all. Flash A media forum was held in Beijing on Wednesday to promote China-ASEAN strategic relations, bringing together over 60 government officials, diplomatic envoys, media representatives, and think tank fellows from China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The 2021 ASEAN-China Media Cooperation Forum was guided by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, co-sponsored by China International Publishing Group (CIPG) and the ASEAN-China Centre, and organized by China Report Press. The forum, on the theme of "Thirty Years On: A New Chapter for ASEAN-China Win-Win Cooperation," also included two panel discussions centering around "new prospects for regional economic and trade cooperation under the RCEP" and "new media trends in the new technological revolution." During his keynote speech, Du Zhanyuan, president of CIPG, said that the year 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of China-ASEAN dialogue relations, the 10th anniversary of the founding of the ASEAN-China Centre and the China-ASEAN Year of Sustainable Development Cooperation. He pointed out that media exchanges and cooperation are an integral part of China-ASEAN relations and play a crucial role in promoting the development of bilateral relations as well as enhancing exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations. "We hope that we can further deepen cooperation, expand fields of cooperation, and create new cooperation models, so as to contribute more wisdom and strength to maintaining the sustainable and stable development of China-ASEAN relations and building a China-ASEAN community with a shared future," he said. Tang Heng, deputy secretary-general of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, noted that in the China-ASEAN Year of Sustainable Development Cooperation, the media should play a greater role in achieving the common goal of China and ASEAN countries to enhance the ability of defusing risks and attaining sustainable economic and social development. "The media on both sides should meet each other halfway, work together and employ multiple platforms and channels to share their cooperation methods and valuable experience in poverty alleviation, disaster prevention and alleviation, environmental protection, and scientific and technological innovation, so as to bring the sustainable development and cooperation to a higher level," he said. The ASEAN-China strategic partnership will be further strengthened in 2021, Kung Phoak, deputy secretary-general of ASEAN, said via video link, noting that media cooperation will help allow greater progress in bilateral ties. Khamphao Ernthavanh, the Lao ambassador to China, said that in the difficult times of COVID-19, the Chinese and ASEAN media served as the main communication channels providing information, contributing to preventing and controlling the pandemic, and also making a difference in social, economic and cultural sectors. She proposed that the media should make full use of existing institutions such as the ASEAN-China Centre and China-ASEAN Expo to write a new chapter in ASEAN-China cooperation. On the sidelines of the forum, Yu Yunquan, president of the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies, announced the release of the Chinese-English bilingual book "Keywords to Understand China: Foreign Affairs in the New Era." Chinese and ASEAN guests also visited a photo exhibition titled "Mogao Caves Meet Angkor Wat" prior to the opening ceremony. Pakistani court acquits Christian couple on death row for 7 years of blasphemy charges Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A Pakistani court acquitted a Christian couple of their blasphemy charges after being left to die on death row for nearly eight years over false allegations that they insulted the Islamic prophet Muhammad through text messages. Police arrested Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar in July 2013 when Maulvi Mohammed Hussain, a mosque leader, claimed Emmanuel used his wifes phone to send him an offensive message insulting Muhammad with other blasphemous statements. A two-member bench of the Lahore High Court finally ordered their release from jail on Thursday after hearing arguments from both sides, Daily Pakistan reported. Emmanuel claims that the police extracted a false confession from him by torturing him in front of his wife and children, according to the United States-based persecution watchdog group International Christian Concern. The couple was charged with "insulting the Quran" and "insulting the prophet," though little evidence was presented regarding the couples charges. Saif-ul-Malook, the couples attorney, told ICC he was just happy to get justice for this couple. Malook had previously told the Union of Catholic Asian News that it was a bogus case that judges were afraid to hear. A session judge who visited the Faisalabad jail described Shafqat as a hopeless case, Malook said. It means that being Christian and a blasphemy accused is itself sufficient for being hated by police, judges, lawyers and the overall society. They are left to die. The phone that sent the blasphemous messages was registered in Kausars name, but she claims Hussain stole her National Identity Card to purchase a SIM card in her name to send the incriminating messages to himself to frame her. The texts were also written in English, which the couple does not even speak. The couple claims the arrest stemmed from a minor quarrel between their children and neighbors six months before the arrest. Emmanuel, who is a paraplegic and suffers from deteriorating health due to a lack of adequate medical care, was sent to a separate prison from his wife in 2014. Amnesty International wrote an appeal to the inspector general in April urging the prison to provide Shafqat with adequate healthcare as he was in sharp decline due to painful bedsores and reliance on prison guards for his care. The couple should not be in jail at all, let alone at risk of execution, Amnesty International wrote in the letter. Pakistans blasphemy laws do not meet human rights law and standards, they lack essential safeguards to minimize the risk of rights violations and illustrate the dangers faced by the countrys religious minorities. The urgency with which the injustices in this case must be remedied is heightened by Shafqats pain and lack of access to appropriate health care. I strongly urge you to grant Shafqat prompt, regular and unrestricted access to adequate health care as necessary, the letter added. In addition to that, [he] and his wife Shagufta should be immediately and unconditionally released. I call for the couple and their lawyer to be provided with adequate security upon their release. The couples children remained in hiding as their parents case was delayed since the blasphemy accusations could lead to extremist attacks against them. ICC Regional Manager William Stark said it was "great to see such a prolonged blasphemy case justly resolved, even though the family remains in danger. However, we remain deeply concerned for the safety of the Christian couple and their family," Stark said in a statement. Extremists in Pakistan are known to target individuals accused of religious crimes, like blasphemy, even after they have been acquitted." "The abuse of Pakistans blasphemy laws must be curbed, and false allegations must be rooted out and punished," he continued. "Too often these laws have been a tool in the hands of extremists seeking to stir up religiously motivated violence against minorities. Without reform, religious minorities will continue to face false blasphemy accusations and the violence that often accompanies these accusations. A Christian mother of five, Asia Bibi, was acquitted by the Pakistan Supreme Court in 2018 after sitting on death row for around eight years after being falsely accused of blasphemy. Bibi wrote a memoir entitled Finally Free about her ordeal. Blasphemy charges against minority faiths are common in Pakistan. While no one has been executed on a blasphemy charge, many accused of blasphemy are impacted by retaliatory mob violence, mass lynchings or vigilante murders carried out by extremists. False accusations of blasphemy are widespread in Pakistan and often stem from ulterior motives, religious hatred and personal vendettas. Many charged with blasphemy never reach the courtroom. Pakistan is the fifth-worst country in the world for Christian persecution due to Islamic extremist oppression, according to Open Doors USAs 2021 World Watch List. It is also ranked as the second-most dangerous country in Asia for Christians. The U.S. State Department recognizes Pakistan as a "country of particular concern" for tolerating or engaging in egregious violations of religious freedom. The U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom reports that human rights activists have advocated for decades to reform Pakistans blasphemy laws that disproportionately charge religious minorities and are often based on false accusations. Vague provisions found in sections 295 and 298 of Pakistans Penal Code criminalize any speech or acts insulting a religion or belief or defiling the Quran, the [Islamic] prophet Muhammad, a place of worship, or religious symbols, according to USCIRF. Lisa Curtis, the senior director for South and Central Asia at the U.S. National Security Council during the Trump administration, said at the 2019 State Department Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom that more people are imprisoned for blasphemy in Pakistan than all the other countries in the world combined. Mike Stone says leaked Russell Moore letter an attempt to sway SBC presidential election Leaked 4,000-word letter details anguish about SBC leadership, racism, sex abuse Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A leaked letter from Russell Moore, the former head of the Southern Baptist Convention's public policy arm, details what he says is a "toxic" culture of protecting sexual abusers in churches and allowing racial prejudice. But Mike Stone, a leading candidate running for SBC president, believes the letter's release is an attempt to sway the upcoming election. Moore, who recently left SBC's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission to take a job with Christianity Today, explained in a February 2020 letter to ERLC trustees leaked to Religion News Service that his time at the helm of the organization has been one of deep anguish due to dynamics at work within the upper echelons of the convention. In addition to leaving the denomination professionally, Moore appears to have left it personally, having recently accepted a ministerial position at Immanuel Church in Nashville, Tennessee, an Acts 29 network congregation not affiliated with the SBC. At the time he wrote the letter, the SBC Executive Committee scrutinized the ERLC amid ongoing concerns from within the denomination about Moore's leadership, with some threatening to withhold donations from the SBC Cooperative Program, which in part funds the commission. Though Moore was a frequent critic of Donald Trump, the 45th president was not the source of Moore's distress. Instead, it was the opposition by some to the stance he took on sexual abuse within the SBC and the promotion of racial reconciliation. Moore recounted in the letter how SBC leaders and entities were protecting sexual abusers within churches, racist comments against fellow Christians were uttered and how he was subjected to unfair attacks, manipulative threats and investigations by the SBC Executive Committee. Although he was not explicitly named in the letter, some of Moore's grievances seemed to be aimed at the then-president of the Executive Committee and former head of the Georgia Baptist Convention, Mike Stone. Stone is the pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Blackshear, Georgia, and one of the leading candidates for president of the SBC. This election will be decided later this month in Nashville. In a statement emailed to The Christian Post Thursday, Stone said he does not recognize the SBC that Moore describes and that he had mischaracterized Southern Baptists. "The accusation that a special 2020 ERLC Task Force was a unilateral action on my part is blatantly and provably false," Stone, who was a member of the task force that found the ERLC under Moore to be a threat to SBC funding, said. "This attack is a deflection from the fact that Russells leadership of the ERLC has been an ongoing source of division and distraction for Southern Baptists." An area of contentiousness Moore described as "unrelenting and draining" was racial reconciliation, particularly related to the emergence of critical race theory within the denomination, which was brought to the fore with the adoption of Resolution 9 at the 2019 annual meeting. The resolution recognized the theory as an analytical tool that can be useful though incomplete as a worldview framework. It has been a source of significant division in the convention ever since. "From the very beginning of my service, I have been attacked with the most vicious guerilla tactics on such matters, and have been told to be quiet about this by others,'" Moore reportedly wrote in the leaked letter. "One SBC leader who was at the forefront of these behind-closed-doors assaults had already ripped me to shreds verbally for saying, in 2011, that the Southern Baptist Convention should elect an African-American president. This same leader told a gathering that 'The Conservative Resurgence is like the Civil War, except this time unlike the last one, the right side won.'" "Another SBC leader used constant pressure against me in protest of our hiring of Dan Darling and Trillia Newbell, in 2013. At the time, this was, he said, because they did not have adequate Southern Baptist backgrounds. When I answered his concerns to his face, he said, 'I was really just concerned about that black girl, whether shes an egalitarian.' When I asked what possibly could lead him to think that a woman who has written complementarian articles for complementarian websites was an 'egalitarian,' he responded: 'A lot of those black girls are.' In a tweet, Newbell said that she has experienced racism her entire life and its not going to stop her from "doing the good work the Lord planned for me." The long-running debate over complementarian and egalitarian theology has surged within the SBC in recent months after Bible teacher Beth Moore announced her departure from the denomination and Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in California ordained several women in defiance of convention policy. While nuances abound regarding what theological complementarians and egalitarians believe, in general, complementarians hold that women are restricted from certain offices within the church, such as the lead pastor. Egalitarians believe Scripture does not warrant such restrictions. Moore additionally claimed he was constantly accused of being a liberal, despite his repeated assertions that he adheres to theological orthodoxy and that some wanted him to live in terror of and under the "rule of a toxic and abusive gerontocracy." Moore added that he meets faithful Christians who were raised or are former Southern Baptists everywhere he goes. The reason they left the denomination is that they have seen and experienced similar things. He said former Southern Baptist young people who are now nondenominational Christians "just look at the rage and the bigotry and the cover-ups and the buffoonery and they shrug their shoulders and say, 'I guess they dont want people like me.'" Regarding sexual abuse, Moore shared with the ERLC trustees that the organization intended to host an honest conversation about the issues at a 2019 national conference and that nobody would be policed from speaking what they had experienced or thought. "At least one speaker harshly criticized us for not doing enough, or not handling things the way he thought we should. I welcomed that criticism. I learned from it, and was glad that the speaker felt the freedom to do so," he explained. At that conference, advocate Rachael Denhollender participated with Moore in an exchange where she voiced strong feelings about how poorly the SBC Executive Committee staff had treated a sexual abuse survivor, an account Moore said was accurate. "This enraged some Executive Committee trustee leadership, who communicated that they were incensed that we would allow such a story to be told," he recalled, noting it was communicated with "special outrage" because the Executive Committee had financially contributed to the conference and a story like that should not have been shared from the platform. In his statement, later published online, Stone accused the letter of being a "back-door press release" that is "clearly an attempt to influence the upcoming presidential election in the SBC." "And I think Southern Baptists can see this letter for exactly what it is," he argued. "His letter contains numerous misrepresentations of me and of the leadership of our beloved Convention. More broadly, it illustrates that he holds a markedly different view of the Southern Baptist Convention than the one held by the overwhelming majority of our 14 million members who have generously paid his salary." "His view is apparently of an SBC filled with 'white nationalists and white supremacists,'" Stone continued. "His view is of an SBC that contains 'neoconfederate activities' and 'raw racist sentiment.' That is not the SBC that I know." Stone refuted the notion that SBC national leaders employed "'psychological terror" against Moore to "prevent him from speaking the truth about sexual abuse and racism." "In my entire service at the Executive Committee and as a pastor, I have never heard a single Southern Baptist be angry over opposition to sexual abuse or racism," Stone stressed. "That is not the SBC that I know. Today, at our 47,000 churches, devoted Southern Baptists are preparing for Vacation Bible School, childrens camps, student mission trips, and more. Thats the SBC that I know." He concluded that Moore's terse accusations against the SBC and its leadership were supposedly made in private correspondence in February of 2020, and it is strange that they were sat on for nearly a year and a half, given their seriousness. "I regret that Russells service as president of one of our agencies has led him to such a disillusioned opinion of who we are. My prayer is that his new place of service outside the SBC will lead him to a better and more peaceful place personally and professionally," he said. Others running for SBC president this year include Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler and Alabama Pastor Ed Litton, who is endorsed by the SBC's first and only black president, Fred Luter. Prosecutors want Derek Chauvin sentenced to 30 years in prison for George Floyds murder Defense asks for time served, lower sentence or probation Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Citing aggravating factors, including committing the crime in the presence of children, prosecutors have asked a judge to sentence former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin to 30 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd. The State respectfully requests a sentence of 360 months, or 30 years, for Defendant Derek Chauvin, a former police officer convicted by a jury of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of George Floyd, prosecutors led by Attorney General Keith Ellison noted in a sentencing brief filed Wednesday. Such a sentence would properly account for the profound impact of Defendants conduct on the victim, the victims family, and the community. Defendant brutally murdered Mr. Floyd, abusing the authority conferred by his badge. His actions traumatized Mr. Floyds family, the bystanders who watched Mr. Floyd die, and the community. And his conduct shocked the Nations conscience. No sentence can undo the damage Defendants actions have inflicted. But the sentence the Court imposes must hold Defendant fully accountable for his reprehensible conduct." 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 despite passersby and other eyewitnesses begging him to stop. 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, including Christian leaders. On April 20, a jury found Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for Floyds death at the end of an emotional trial. In their arguments seeking twice the upper end of the presumptive sentencing range for Chauvins crime, prosecutors cited four aggravating factors for their recommendation. They contend that Chauvin abused a position of trust and authority, acted with particular cruelty, acted in concert with three other individuals who all actively participated in the crime and committed the offenses in the presence of children. The Minnesota Supreme Court has made clear that where one or more aggravating factors are present, the district court can impose a sentence up to double the upper limit of the presumptive range,'" the prosecutors argued. "Here, the existence of four separate aggravating factors reflects the seriousness of Defendants conduct. The severity of several of these aggravating factors this Court found that Defendants abuse of his position of trust and authority was egregious, and that multiple aspects of Defendants conduct were particularly cruel.'" According to the document, the presumptive sentencing range for the second-degree unintentional murder conviction is 128 to 180 months. "The State therefore respectfully requests that the Court sentence Defendant to 360 months, or 30 years, in prison, the document states. In another brief filed Wednesday, Chauvins defense team asked the court to sentence him to probation, limit his incarceration to time served, or consider an incarceration period lower than the presumptive sentencing range for his crime. There is no evidence that the assault perpetrated by Mr. Chauvin against Mr. Floyd involved a gratuitous infliction of pain or cruelty not usually associated with the commission of the offense in question," Chauvins attorney Eric J. Nelson wrote. "The infliction of substantial bodily injury necessarily causes pain. The assault of Mr. Floyd occurred in the course of a very short time, involved no threats or taunting, such as putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger, and ended when EMS finally responded to officers calls." Nelson argued that the "requisite substantial and compelling circumstances for a downward dispositional departure are present in this case." He urged the court to "grant its motions and impose a probationary sentence" and limit "incarceration to time served, or in the alternative, a downward durational departure." Chauvin's sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 25. Supreme Court denies Colorado churches' request for relief from COVID-19 worship restrictions Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The United States Supreme Court has rejected a request for emergency relief from two churches that are challenging Colorado's restrictions on worship in response to COVID-19. Denver Bible Church in Wheat Ridge and Community Baptist Church in Brighton filed the request in response to several worship restrictions implemented by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch rejected the request without comment on Tuesday, with the justice also not referring the case to the full court for consideration. The denial follows a series of other recent rulings on the courts shadow docket in which the court has granted emergency relief to religious groups seeking exemptions from state limits on in-person gatherings, according to SCOTUSblog. Among those rulings was an April decision in Tandon v. Newsom, in which the court ruled 5-4 that group prayer meetings were entitled to an exemption from Californias policy limiting gatherings in homes during the pandemic. Last year, the churches sued Colorado over public health orders that they argued, among other things, gave houses of worship fewer exemptions than various secular entities. U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico ruled in favor of the churches last October, granting them a preliminary injunction against the public health orders. The Constitution does not allow a state to tell a congregation how large it can be when comparable secular gatherings are not so limited, or to tell a congregation that its reason for wishing to remove facial coverings is less important than a restaurants or spas, wrote Domenico. With each exception Colorado makes for secular institutions, the failure to make the same exemption for houses of worship becomes increasingly problematic. However, a two-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit issued a brief order overturning the injunctive relief. Plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits of their claim that the Colorado Disaster Emergency Act violates the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, either as applied to plaintiffs or on its face. Plaintiffs motion is therefore denied, stated the order. Over the course of the litigation by Denver Bible and Community Baptist against Colorado, the restrictions on in-person worship in the state have been gradually loosened. According to Colorados official COVID-19 response website, last updated on May 2, noted that worship services, as well as weddings and funerals, were deemed critical, meaning they can ... make exceptions to state public health guidelines if they cannot conduct their essential activity within those restrictions. It is still strongly recommended that places of worship in counties with high rates of COVID-19 transmission substitute in-person service with online programming and prioritize outdoor activities over indoor, they added. As with all essential establishments, places of worship must comply with required guidelines unless doing so would make it impossible to carry out essential activities. The paradox of a celebrity pastor Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment I originally came to Christ in one of the darkest times of my life. I left Islam once I removed my head cover and was told I would spend an eternity in hellfire, hanging from my hair. After more than twenty years, I could no longer worship a God that was that cruel and unpredictable. I resolved to a life without a relationship with God, but it was not long before my personal and professional life was in utter chaos. I turned to prayer for help. I no longer knew or had a personal relationship with the God I was seeking, but I knew He would help me. During that time, I came across a tweet from a woman I did not even know who posted a clip from her celebrity pastor. She said his sermons had healed her of her emotional trauma, and that piqued my curiosity. I wanted to know how a Christian pastor could provide that kind of inspiration, so I watched the video. To put it plainly, I was hooked. The pastor's message was about the healing and redemptive power of accepting Christ as Lord and Savior. That He alone can restore what was broken and would give you the ability to overcome whatever obstacles you have in life. It was like listening to a Christian Tony Robbins seminar, filling me with hope, motivation, and the desire to learn more about the Jesus of the Bible. At this point, I only had one Christian friend and never set foot in a church for worship. My only exposure to the power of Christ was on YouTube. After binge-watching this pastor for more than a month, I started to pray for God to reveal Himself. I was so confused by the notion that Jesus was God because, as a Muslim, we are told believing in the Trinity would violate God's oneness. In one of those prayers, head bowed on the floor as I did in the traditional form of Muslim worship, I heard the audible voice of Christ say, "Hedieh, it's Me". At that moment, my life changed forever. The Lord Jesus Christ had answered my prayer, and it was not long before I was baptized and became a Christ-follower. I traveled to North Carolina to be baptized at the megachurch of that pastor, and a group of extraordinary believers surrounded me. They supported me through the emotional upheaval of telling family and friends I was now a Christ follower and instructed me on the importance of prayer and reading the Scripture. They helped me understand how to hear God's voice and live a life that reflects God's holiness. Eventually, I realized that what my church friends were teaching me was not in the pastor's messages. Instead, they encouraged me to draw closer to God's word and live the life that the disciples described for a believer through the Gospel. Our pastor was charismatic and led me to explore what Christ had to offer, but eventually, I needed more. The pastor never spoke of repentance and turning away from sin. He did not warn us about false teachers and the level of deception that would occur before Christ's return. He almost entirely ignored the Book of Revelation, and each sermon only covered one or two verses of the Bible. It was not until I started to attend Calvary Chapel Chino Hills that I realized how little I learned about the Bible from my previous church. Had the Lord not led me to seek out true teachings of the Bible, I would have stayed in the megachurch that was the "cool place to be" but left me without the relationship to Christ I needed to withstand the storms of life. All of this is to say that as a Muslim convert, the crisis of many megachurch is beyond the hypocrisy of celebrity pastors who preach what they do not emulate. More troublesome for people like me is that many celebrity pastors fail to teach the whole counsel of the Gospel; the obsession with social media fame, personal popularity, and wealth accumulation leads to an intentional omission of the hard truths of Christ's message. Repenting and turning from sin, not conforming to the patterns of this world, and facing persecution for our beliefs is a constant theme in the Bible. Without these truths to guide our behavior, a church body ends up more like a self-help group or a social club than a place of discipleship. I am eternally grateful that the Lord led me to find a Bible-based pastor so I can grow in the knowledge of righteousness. However, I cannot dismiss that I was drawn to Christ and fed the milk through a celebrity pastor. As Paul explains in Hebrews: You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.[1] I witnessed hundreds of new believers come through my previous church, and though I do not know how many of them became true believers, I remember the parable of the wheat and the tares[2]. The Lord teaches that it is not for us as servants to uproot what the enemy sows because we may lose the good in the process. As a community of believers, we must do everything in our power to prevent corruption in the Church, and using the standards of corporate America rather than Christ will only lead to further moral decay.[3] We are also commanded to guard against false teachers and those that come as wolves in sheep's clothing to mislead the flock[4]. Finally, our attendance at church should be focused on drawing near to God, not idolizing a preacher and his hip sense of style.[5] All this being true, we cannot dismiss how God uses some of these institutions to draw in people like me. Maybe I would have eventually found my way to Christ through another means, but the wisdom of the parable gives me pause. He says, "Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."[6] [1] Hebrews 5: 12-14 [2] Matthew 13:24-30 [3] https://www.christianpost.com/voices/the-modern-evangelical-church-is-sick-where-it-fell-apart.html [4] Matthew 7:15 [5] https://www.christianpost.com/books/preachersnsneakers-creator-churchgoers-demand-celebrity-pastors.html [6] Matthew 13:30 Psychiatrist says transgender medicalization is a folly that will collapse like eugenics movement Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A renowned psychiatrist who was instrumental in shutting down the sex change clinic at Johns Hopkins University in 1979 argues that the contemporary folly of transgender medicalization will soon collapse similar to how the eugenics movement crumbled. In a recent interview that covered many areas of psychiatric medicine with Public Discourse, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Distinguished Service Professor Dr. Paul McHugh explained that the bodily process of puberty is one of the most mysterious stages of human development. Gender dysphoric youth who are given drugs in pediatric gender clinics across the country to suppress their normal puberty are incapable of consenting to such interventions, as are their parents, he said. Unlike other animals, [w]ith human beings, some of the most interesting individuating characteristics of themselves occur only after puberty, probably with a combination of the intellectual powers and the energy that sexual development brings, McHugh recounted. I dont think any child and any parent, for that matter can make an informed consent to permit the blocking of puberty and the transmission of another sex. Thats the first thing: you dont have an idea what youre doing. So how can you have an informed consent about it? Because nobody knows. McHugh co-authored a controversial 2017 report arguing that the treatment of gender-confused children with puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones has not been adequately researched by the science and medical communities. He and his colleagues argued that treating kids with puberty blockers should be seen as "radical" and "experimental." The report received much opposition from the LGBT community. Other doctors and researchers have argued that the report misrepresents the state of scientific research. McHugh has maintained that although he is not against transgender people, he believes that they should receive psychiatric help rather than hormone therapy and reassignment surgeries. He explained in the interview that almost all children, 85% to 95%, who believe they are the opposite sex will grow out of it if allowed to go through the normal puberty process. Yet, if a hormone blocker is introduced at age 9 or 10, only 5% to 10% of such children will refuse to go further down a medicalized pathway that may entail cross-sex hormones or body-altering surgery. He said the reason for this dramatic difference in percentages is because the pubertal processes shape the brain, and the normal signaling does not occur if thwarted by a blocker. Transgender advocates frequently assert that puberty blockers are completely reversible, an idea McHugh says is still very debatable. Moreover, he continued, puberty is an incredibly complex process that is being reduced by some to appear as though it is simple. The vulnerability of scientists is that they can be dealing with the most complex issue and try to oversimplify it and make it seem like a simple issue" despite complex brain issues, hormones and neuroendocrine relationships, he said. The psychiatrist added that he is amazed at how much money, medical institutions and political machinery the transgender movement has amassed to support its goals. But, he believes it will not succeed in the end. Im absolutely convinced that this is folly and its going to collapse, just as the eugenics folly collapsed, he asserted. McHugh was the director of the psychiatry and behavioral sciences department at Johns Hopkins University and was the psychiatrist-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital from 1975 to 2001. His comments come amid greater scrutiny of specific practices now occurring in some European nations. Late last year, the High Court of Justice in the United Kingdom ruled in a judicial review brought in part by a young woman named Keira Bell that children under the age of 16 are unlikely to be mature enough to consent to chemical puberty blockade given the significant risks and repercussions to their health. Bell, now 24, underwent the experimental practice as a teenager at the London-based Tavistock gender clinic. She went on to take cross-sex hormones and have her breasts surgically removed. Bell argued that she was not capable of understanding the consequences of what she was doing as a troubled youth battling depression and other social struggles. A subsequent court ruling held that parents could give consent for their under-16 children for the hormone blockers. Earlier this year in Sweden, the prominent Karolinska University Hospital said that as of April 1, puberty blockers would no longer be given to youth younger than 16 and reference the Bell ruling in the U.K. These treatments are potentially fraught with extensive and irreversible adverse consequences such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, infertility, increased cancer risk, and thrombosis," the statement read. "This makes it challenging to assess the risk/benefit for the individual patient, and even more challenging for the minors and their guardians to be in a position of an informed stance regarding these treatments." In June of last year, health authorities in neighboring Finland revised their professional guidelines by prioritizing psychological help and support over experimental medicine, especially for young people whose gender dysphoria came about after puberty, which is at present the most common form of gender confusion. Although McHugh helped shut down the sex change clinic at Hopkins in 1979, the influential medical school relaunched the clinic in 2017. Last month, an episode of "60 Minutes" aired the concerns of detransitioners, those who once identified as transgender but now regret their decisions to transition. They testified about how they felt rushed into a decision to undergo medicalized gender transition procedures. Pastor Greg Laurie shares how to overcome the devil in sermon on Revelation 11-12 Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Greg Laurie, senior pastor and founder of the multi-campus Harvest Christian Fellowship in California, explained in a sermon how Christians can overcome the devil as all are in an invisible war, a spiritual battle. In the recent sermon based on Chapters 11 and 12 of the book of Revelation, Laurie asked the listeners, Are you overcoming the devil, or are you being overcome by the devil? Being overcome by the devil means when you find yourself captive to a sin and it gets you again and again and again. Referring to Ephesians Chapter 6, Laurie said we're not wrestling against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this age, a spiritual host of wickedness in heavenly places. Its a very real battle, the megachurch pastor stressed. To describe the battle, the pastor shared that in the Last Days, Jerusalem will be the center of End Times events. And for that to happen, Jerusalem must be in Jewish hands and the Third Temple must be rebuilt, he said, adding that the Antichrist will help the Jews rebuild their Temple, and then desecrate it. Here we are now, in 2021, and, as usual, the Middle East, Israel and specifically Jerusalem is in the news. Jerusalem ironically means the City of Peace, yet more wars have been fought at her doorstep than in any other city in the entire world. Laurie then shared two points that can help a Christian overcome the devil. One, the devil knows his days are numbered, he said. Hes working through his network of demon powers and we find this battle in Heaven, Laurie said. This is a heavenly battle between the angels of God under the direction of Michael the Archangel and Lucifer, the son of the morning, the powerful fallen angel, and his demon forces. So the devil and his angels cannot defeat these powerful angels from God, he added. Point No. 2, he said, is that the devil does not want Christians to know that his primary attack comes through accusation. He tempts you and, by the way, its not a sin to be tempted because temptation comes at the worst time, like maybe youre listening to a message like right now and all of a sudden an evil thought comes into your mind and then the devil condemns you for having an evil thought. Its not a sin to be tempted; its only a sin if you give in to the temptation. Its not the bait that constitutes sin; its the bite, he explained. The pastor continued, Hell say, No one will ever know. No one will ever be aware of what youve done. Go for it. Youll have fun. And, so, you go for it and then the devil comes back to you and says, You miserable hypocrite, you call yourself a Christian? The devil also tells us, Dont even pray. Dont even read your Bible; that would be the ultimate act of hypocrisy. Dont you dare show your ugly face in church. Laurie cautioned that Christians need to know the difference between Satans accusations and the Holy Spirits conviction. See, when a Christian sins and yes we will sin the Holy Spirit will convict or convince you of your sin. Why? To drive you into shame? No. To bring you back to Jesus, he explained. Laurie further said, God doesnt hear your prayers based on what youve done. He hears your prayers based on what Hes done sending the Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross in your place. So theres nothing I need to do to earn the favor of God. To conclude, Laurie encouraged the congregants not to listen to Satan. Hes a liar and the father of lies. God hears your prayers. God loves you and if youve sinned against Him, He will forgive you no matter what you have done. Satan does not want you to know that there is forgiveness through Jesus Christ. But heres what God says if you will confess your sin. Hes faithful and just, [and He will] forgive you your sin and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. I literally wanted to die: Porn star-turned-pastor wanted to escape it all until a simple act shattered his reality Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Joshua Broome wanted to die. After achieving fame in the porn industry, he spiraled down into a pit of confusion, was at the end of himself and believed he had no viable path forward. For Broome, seeing beyond the fog of the present felt impossible. After years of buried emotions, the former adult film star could no longer compress his angst and fear. SUBSCRIBE: LISTEN TO LETS TALK PURITY ON THE EDIFI PODCAST NETWORK The last scene that I did, I'm laying in bed, Broome recently told the Lets Talk Purity podcast. And I'm thinking, I want to die. I don't have the guts to kill myself, but like how would I do it ... I just don't want to live anymore. There's no future, there's no one who's going to marry me, there's no employer whos going to hire me ... I'm absolutely useless. But rather than give up, Broome mustered the courage to leave the industry and rebuild his life and is now a husband, father and pastor, boldly defying the lies he told himself in the midst of his despair. Broome recently told Lets Talk Purity hosts Richard and Brittni De La Mora about his journey into and out of porn, explaining that he entered the industry like many others do: through a chance encounter and haphazard steps and then found himself trapped in a diabolical cycle. Listen to his absolutely incredible story: Broome started modeling when he was a teenager and set his sights on making it big in a city like Los Angeles or New York. He headed off to California, but was diverted into porn after he met someone who connected him to the industry. DISCOVER: LISTEN TO THE BEST CHRISTIAN PODCASTS ON EDIFI At first, he was skeptical, but for some reason agreed to perform in his first adult film. It's just so bizarre. Looking back at who I am and how my mom raised me, I don't know how I got to the point of how I would say yes to that, Broome said. Everyone is vulnerable in a moment. I was at a peak of insecurity and I saw an opportunity and someone spoke to my weakness and I was like, Sure I'll do this one. After it was done, he thought to himself, What did I just do? But for some reason, Broome continued to perform in various types of pornography over the next few years. I don't know where four years went, he said. There were signs throughout Broomes career that exposed his internal battle over what he was doing, as he would often return home after a shoot and shower, describing how disgusting he felt, but how he was unable to wash those emotions all away. Broome concealed his pain from those around him and retreated from his family and friends, no longer taking calls from his own mother. I had to put on a facade because I was hurting so bad, Broome said. I literally wanted to die. ... I'm doing everything I can to mask how bad I'm hurting. READ ALSO: CHRISTIAN PODCASTS YOULL LOVE: THE WORLDS BEST FAITH APP As his pain progressed, so did his career. Broome said he was eventually working 20 to 25 times each month. That was 20, 25 times that I went home and sat in the shower and just prayed to the God [who] I didn't know that I would just stop breathing, he said. It was never an intimate act. It was a business transaction that I needed to use drugs to be able to do. Broome found himself wondering why he was so empty if he had everything he thought he always wanted. One day, though, a chance encounter with a bank teller changed everything. I went inside [the bank] and I handed the check to the person and they deposited it, he recalled. And as I was leaving ... they said, Joshua, is there anything I can do for you? ... Joshua, can I help you? It was a moment that stunned Broome, as it had been a long time since someone called him by his real name. His entire life had been enveloped by his career and his toxic identity was intrinsically tied to his stage name. I get chills, because I had gotten to the point where ... I wasn't interacting with one person who was calling me by my real name, he said. I did not hear my name. When that bank teller said my name it shattered what was my reality and it just freaked me out. Broome bolted across the street to his apartment and took a long look in the mirror. I just lost it ... I didn't see that actor anymore, he said. I saw Joshua Broome. He was suddenly overtaken by emotion, realizing all of the ways he had abandoned his family and loved ones. And, in that moment, he decided to leave it all behind. After I wept and wept and wept, I picked up the phone and called everyone I needed to call and said, I'm out, he said. Within days, I was gone. For the next two years, Broome tried to rebuild a life for himself. He began working at a gym and initially lied to everyone he met about his past. Eventually, he met a girl at the gym who asked him two questions, Do you know who God is?" and "Do you have a relationship with Him?" Broome started attending church with her, the two later became engaged and they married. Now, theyre loving parents and Broome who once wanted to die is fully alive, preaching and sharing the faith that helped transform his life. Jesus did die for me, he said. He came to make me alive. Listen to other episodes of Lets Talk Purity: East Texas pastor finally gets high school diploma at 99 Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment It took him a while to achieve his dream, but Jack Hetzel, a 99-year-old World War II veteran who leads the First United Methodist Church in Big Sandy, Texas, is beaming with joy after recently achieving his dream of getting a high school diploma. Its very exciting, said Hetzel, who joined Big Sandy High Schools graduation ceremony to collect his honorary diploma last Friday, to KETK. According to Hetzel & Hetzel Enterprises, where the recent graduate is listed as president and CEO, the pastor had no more than a third-grade education but enjoyed a full military career spanning 20 years in the U.S. Army Air Corps, U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force. He fought six major battles in World War II in Europe and the Korean War. With no more than [a] third-grade education, Jack became an instructor of Military Science at Texas A&M University. Since retiring from the military, Jack has always been involved with entrepreneurship, creating many successful businesses and nonprofit charities which are still in operation today. Jack is happiest when helping people in need, the company noted. Hetzel, who had received his GED in 1948, said he was forced to drop out of school in the third grade and could not get his diploma then because the school had no record of him attending. "I have longed to get this diploma since 1948 when I passed my GED but the school that I have attended I'd only attended the third grade and they didn't have any record of me so I then couldn't get a diploma from that school," Hetzel said. He explained that even though he always regretted not getting his diploma he took advantage of alternative ways to learn. You see, when you have little education and then you have to come up through life and you have to front life with little education, you have to learn somehow, said the preacher who will turn 100 this fall. I used other people to be my teachers. So if I got a question, Id go to somebody that knew and asked them the question and then I would use it in everyday life. On Memorial Day, Hetzel was recognized by the Texas Senate which adopted a resolution by state Sen. Bryan Hughes commending him for his achievement. Getting his high school diploma at his age and his background, with all hes accomplished in life especially on this Memorial Day weekend, it seemed appropriate to give him special honors, Hughes told KETK. Were proud of him. Hes someone that I represent, so Im glad to brag about him and tell the story. It was fun for us. Hetzel also told the television network earlier that in addition to his academic achievement he was blessed to be alive at 99. 99 years of age, thats something to be blessed about, he said. I know my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, thats enough to be blessed about. How much more do I need? Move of Holy Spirit coming to LGBT persons amid battle over Equality Act, therapy bans: pastor Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A move of God is afoot among those who once identified as LGBT, one pastor says, as laws prohibiting counseling for unwanted same-sex attraction and gender confusion are being considered. Ken Williams, co-founder of the Redding, California-based Equipped to Love explained in a phone interview with The Christian Post on Thursday that it felt like a threat was put forth last year in California with AB 2943, a bill that was ultimately withdrawn but would have banned therapies for persons with unwanted same-sex attraction or gender confusion by classifying them as "consumer fraud." What ended up happening, he said, was the sparking of a movement of people who once identified as LGBT but no longer do. "In the '80s, when I was struggling, there was no safe person for a gay person to come out to. But today, there is no safe place for a once-gay person to come out to because of the social narrative being that LBGTQ is something to celebrate and leaving that life is controversial," he explained. The bill caused concern among those who had quietly found resolution to their unwanted same-sex attraction and confusion about their sexual identities and were going on and living their lives, many in heterosexual marriages with children. Williams has been married to his wife for nearly 14 years and now has four children. "When this bill came forward all of us realized, 'Hey, we've got to come forward and go public and let the world know out there that there are different options that should be protected for people.' Because not everybody that is finding themselves with same-sex attraction or gender confusion is content to live that out, for many different reasons," he elaborated. "So all of a sudden there is this movement now of people who once identified as gay standing up and saying, 'Hey world, I actually do exist and please don't take away our rights.'" More broadly speaking, a sovereign move of the Holy Spirit is afoot, he believes. It's one that will be led by those who, due to the nature of their often painful journey with their sexuality, come to know God in the most intimate of ways. "God is definitely on the move and He is passionate," Williams said. "For me, having had life experience of same-sex attraction and homosexuality and leaving that and having to discover at a very deep level what were the root issues ... that culminated later in same-sex attraction. And having worked with as many people as I have that have left homosexuality behind, you come to realize that gender confusion and homosexuality is a relational issue, an intimacy disruption," he offered. "The gift of homosexuality, if you will, is that those who find themselves in an atmosphere where they can access God's presence ... they by default have to know God very intimately. The issue was an intimacy deficit so God can open up an intimacy in Him that satiates those needs that are deep within a person. The end state of that person, very often if not always, is a person who is very sold out in following Jesus and knowing the Father's love. " Williams was recently in Washington, D.C., to speak with congressional staffers about his concerns with the Equality Act that recently passed out of the House Judiciary Committee and will likely pass when it comes to a full floor vote. He explained in a Daily Signal podcast on Tuesday that during his teenage and college years he was "struggling every hour of every day with same-sex attraction," which for him was unwanted and then "had several different experiences and a relationship for a period of time that was homosexual." "If were going to call something the Equality Act, it sure would be great if it felt equal to all people. And so LGBTQ, the Q stands for queer or questioning. Well, questioning, OK, lets take that. So if someones questioning their sexual identity, shouldnt they be able to consider going down multiple paths if theyre questioning?" "I never wanted to have sex with men. Thats just the only people I was sexually attracted to. That probably doesnt seem like it makes any sense. But thats pretty common actually," he said. He noted that at various seasons in his life he was addicted to homosexual porn but has been free from it for the past 15 years. "We dont really plan our sexual desires. We find ourselves with our sexual desires. And when I found myself with mine at, I dont know, 13 or 14 years old, I realized to my shock one day, 'Wow, Im not like the other boys. Im sexually attracted to the boys. I feel like Im more like one of the girls,'" he added. When asked if he considers what he now does in ministry to be "conversion therapy" Williams replied that he does not. "And I know over 100 people that have left homosexuality and I dont know a single one of them that has ever experienced what people would say is conversion therapy, and they dont know of anyone who has either," he said. "Its this term that gets used in culture that all of us with life experience, we dont even know what youre talking about. That didnt happen to us. And in the movies that are out there, its very unfounded. So I have [seen] some things happen that were harmful to people. Im sure that there are some cases out there, but I dont personally know of any." Pakistani Christian couple's death row appeal delayed after 6 years in prison for blasphemy Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A Pakistani Christian couple who've been imprisoned for six years and sentenced to death on false blasphemy charges of sending a text message insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad continue to have their conviction appeal delayed. Shagufta Kausar and her husband, Shafqat Emmanuel, who is partially paralyzed, were accused by a local imam of committing blasphemy by sending him an offensive text message in 2013. Maulvi Mohammed Hussain, a leader at a mosque in the town of Gojra in Punjab province, claimed that Emmanuel used his wife's cellphone to send an anti-Islamic text message. He later claimed other messages followed. Hussain said he was praying when he received the offensive text message from an unknown number. The Muslim cleric reportedly showed the text message to two other imams before approaching his counsel for legal proceedings. He and his lawyer later claimed they both received subsequent blasphemous messages. Police registered the blasphemy case following the imam's complaint, and the couple were arrested on July 21, 2013. They were charged with "insulting the Quran" and "insulting the prophet." They were sentenced to separate prisons in 2014. According to some reports, "[Kauser] is being held in the same prison cell Asia Bibi was held in before her release," Will Stark, regional manager for South Asia at International Christian Concern, told The Christian Post on Wednesday. "In regards to Shafqat, his medical condition has deteriorated significantly during his imprisonment," Stark added. "This is because the jail does not provide facilities for him, as someone partially paralyzed. Bedsores and lack of nutrition are definitely issues I have seen reported specifically in regards to Shafqats case." According to the BBC, a final hearing before the Lahore High Court was scheduled for Wednesday. However, the hearing was delayed and a new hearing date will be announced. Kausar's brother, Joseph, told the BBC that his sister and her husband are not only innocent, but he believes they aren't even literate enough to have written the text messages. Joseph also said his brother-in-law had been tortured and forced to make a false confession. "He told me the policeman hit [him] so hard that his leg was broken," Joseph was quoted as saying. The text messages were also alleged to have been written in English. Aside from being illiterate, Shafqat and Shagufta are not familiar with the English language written or spoken. The couple's lawyer, Saif ul Malook, who also assisted in the appeal of Asia Bibi's blasphemy case, said the charges against Kausar and Emmanuel are "deeply flawed" and "weaker" than those levied against Bibi. Although the phone was registered in Kausar's name, Malook told the BBC that "in their trial, they suggested a Christian neighbor they had argued with might have purchased a SIM card in Kausar's name and sent the messages in order to frame them." In 2014, Nadeem Hassan, who's also representing the couple at the high court, said the offending messages were sent from a phone that had been lost. He further explained that a "bogus SIM card" had been presented as evidence against the couple, The Telegraph reported. Hassan told ICC last year that the allegation is "based on religious hatred and is being used to settle personal grudges. Before her arrest, Kausar worked as a cleaner at a Christian school. Emmanuel has been paralyzed from the waist down since 2004, following an accident that fractured his spine. At the time of the accident, they were living with their four young children in a church compound. The children continue to remain in hiding as their parents case continues, Stark said. Like many relatives of Christians accused of blasphemy, they live in fear that their parents blasphemy accusation may cause extremists to attack them, he added. Malook said the couple needs the same international support that Bibi received during the years she waited for her appeal to be heard. And if they're acquitted, he said they will also need to be granted asylum. While no one has yet been executed on blasphemy charges, people who've been accused of the crime have been killed by retaliatory mob violence. Allegations of blasphemy are frequently lodged to settle personal disputes and to discriminate against religious minorities. Christians make up just 1.6% of the country's population. Last year, Asia Bible was acquitted by Pakistan's Supreme Court of blasphemy charges after she languished on death row for more than eight years. Bibi has since written a book about her ordeal. Pakistan, a 96% Muslim-majority country, ranks as the fifth-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA's 2020 World Watch List. In 2018, Pakistan was also named by the U.S. State Department as a "country of particular concern" for religious freedom violations. The couple's appeal hearing has been rescheduled for June 22. Therapies for Unwanted Same-Sex Attraction Are Effective, Study Finds Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment UPDATE: SEPT. 7, 2019: The study, "Effects of Therapy on Religious Men Who Have Unwanted Same-Sex Attraction," has been retracted from the The Linacre Quarterly journal at the request of the journal editor and SAGE Publishing based on unresolved statistical differences." Following a statistical review and additional information provided by the studys authors, the editor concluded that in spite of this additional information, the original review still required retraction of the paper. A new study is challenging the American Psychological Association's contention that therapies for unwanted same-sex attraction are harmful. The study, "Effects of Therapy on Religious Men Who Have Unwanted Same-Sex Attraction," which was first published July 23 in The Linacre Quarterly, finds that sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE), often derisively called "conversion therapy," improves the mental health of participants. Researchers surveyed 125 male residents of the United States. The men, mostly Christian, were at various stages of experiencing unwanted same-sex attraction. Some were sexually active while others were abstaining from sex. Eighty-nine percent of respondents were Christians from a variety of traditions; 13.6 percent identified themselves as "non-denominational Christians"; 5 percent said they were Roman Catholic; 28 percent were Mormons; and 9.6 percent were Jewish. 55 percent of the sample reported that they attended religious services weekly. Fifty-four percent of the participants were single; 46 percent were married; and the sample had about the same number of those who were homosexually active as abstainers. Over 80 percent reported they had some degree of depression and suicidality at the beginning of therapy. Nearly 70 percent of respondents self-reported "some to much" reduction in their same-sex attraction and their behavior and an increase in their opposite-sex attraction and behavior. The study counters the assertions and recommendations of the APA that efforts aimed at reducing same-sex attractions are unsafe and damaging to mental health and well being. Of all the SOCE techniques represented, over three-fourths of survey participants endorsed as especially helpful, with ratings of "extremely," "markedly," and "moderately" the following: "developing nonerotic relationships with same-sex peers, mentors, family members, and friends"; "understanding better the causes of your homosexuality and your emotional needs and issues"; "meditation and spiritual work"; "exploring linkages between your childhood and family experiences and your same-sex attraction or behavior"; and "learning to maintain appropriate boundaries." Survey participants also reported improvements "in self-esteem and social functioning, and similarly decreases in suicidality, substance abuse, depression, and self-harm. Before therapy, they had experienced an average of three of these problems. The changes had apparently lasted for a median of nearly 3 years, for those postSOCE. The degree and intensity of the initial conditions are not known and are self-reported, nor are they on established psychometric scales." "For this survey group, contrary to the null hypotheses, SOCE is neither ineffective, nor harmful, conflicting with APA findings. On the basis of this survey, religious clients could be told that some degree of change is likely from SOCE, and positive change in suicidality, self-esteem, depression, self harm, substance abuse, social functioning should be moderate to marked. Also contrary to the null hypotheses, social pressures do not predominate as reasons for entering SOCE, and effect sizes are not clearly less than for standard psychotherapies," the study concluded. In 2009, APA formed a task force to study the issue. It concluded that telling patients with unwanted sexual attraction that they can change could harm their mental health. In 2015, Barry S. Anton, then-president of the APA stated that "[s]o-called reparative therapies are aimed at 'fixing' something that is not a mental illness and therefore does not require therapy. There is insufficient scientific evidence that they work, and they have the potential to harm the client." "APA has and will continue to call on mental health professionals to work to reduce misunderstanding about and prejudice toward gay and transgender people." Yet the authors of the study maintain that the survey is further evidence that APA should reconsider their stance of discouraging men from seeking therapy for their unwanted same-sex attraction. George Carneal Jr., author of From Queer To Christ: My Journey Into The Light concurs. Carneal spent 25 years living and identifying as a homosexual but has been celibate for over 10 years and says same-sex attraction no longer controls him like it once did. "The APA's claim that 'sexual orientation change therapies should not be used because they are probably ineffective and may cause harm' is an opinion. There are countless success stories from LGBT individuals who would beg to differ," he said in an interview with The Christian Post Monday. "Harm doesn't come from a therapist who operates with compassion and a desire to help a client who is seeking help. Harm comes as a result of being told we have to live with these unwanted desires and have no hope of change! In my case, therapy was an important part of my journey but real change happened when I truly surrendered my life to Christ," he said. High school valedictorian slams Texas heartbeat abortion law in graduation speech Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A graduating Texas high school senior has received praise from liberal politicians and celebrities after using her valedictory speech to condemn the state's new abortion restrictions. Paxton Smith, the valedictorian at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, Texas, used part of her graduation speech to share concerns about losing the autonomy over her body without using the word abortion directly. A video of her speech, which took place Sunday, quickly went viral. I have dreams and hopes and ambitions, Smith said. Every girl graduating today does, and we have spent our entire lives working towards our future. And without our input and without our consent, our control over that future has been stripped away from us. Smith said that she is "terrified" that if her "contraceptives fail" or if she is raped, her "hopes and aspirations and dreams and efforts for my future will no longer matter." "I hope that you can feel how gut-wrenching that is," she said. "I hope you can feel how dehumanizing it is to have the autonomy over your own body taken away from you. I cannot give up this platform to promote complacency and peace when there is a war on my body and a war on my rights, a war on the rights of your mothers, a war on the rights of your sisters, and a war on the rights of your daughters, she continued. We cannot stay silent. Smith acknowledged that she initially planned to talk about TV and media and content but switched the topic of her speech in light of the recent passage of the heartbeat bill in Texas that will ban abortion after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, usually around six weeks gestation. The valedictorian argued that six weeks into a pregnancy is before women realize they are pregnant and have a chance to decide if they are emotionally, physically and financially stable enough to carry out a full-term pregnancy. She contended that such a decision has been made for them "by a stranger." In an interview with the Dallas-based D Magazine, Smith stated that she was glad her speech received a lot of attention. It feels great. It also feels a little weird," she said. "Whenever I have opinions that can be considered political or controversial, I keep them to myself because I dont like to gain attention for that kind of stuff. But Im glad that I could do something. Smith, who plans to attend the University of Texas at Austin in the fall, urged people to register to vote in the next election and to stay involved in local elections because those have more power than I think the media gives them credit for. Prominent Democrats and Hollywood celebrities quickly took to Twitter to express solidarity with Smith. Hillary Clinton, the Democrats presidential nominee in 2016, remarked that this took guts and thanked the graduating senior for speaking out. Beto ORourke, a former Democratic congressman from Texas who has made unsuccessful bids for the United States Senate and presidency, shared a longer message of support. Paxton, thank you for having the courage of your convictions and inspiring Texas with your refusal to accept injustice as the price of participation in civic life, he wrote. May we all use our place in this democracy to fight for what we believe to be right and follow your example! Paxton, thank you for having the courage of your convictions and inspiring Texas with your refusal to accept injustice as the price of participation in civic life. May we all use our place in this democracy to fight for what we believe to be right and follow your example! https://t.co/PS3ZR80Gl7 Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) June 2, 2021 Comedian Sarah Silverman retweeted a video of the speech, accompanied by the word Brave. Comedian Kathy Griffin, who faced enormous pushback after posting a picture of herself holding a depiction of former President Donald Trumps decapitated head on social media, asked, Isnt it nice to see someone trending for the right reasons? We stan a queen. Presenting Paxton Smith, speaking with courage, integrity, and intelligence, wrote author Jodi Picoult. Conservatives strongly criticized the implication in Smiths speech that having children and having a career and professional life are mutually exclusive. Podcaster Allie Beth Stuckey devoted a Twitter thread to pushing back on Smiths argument. Theres no war on womens bodies, Stuckey asserted. Abortion is a war on the babies right to live, and no high school graduation speech will ever change that. She puts forth the classic lie that a baby is nothing more than an impediment to success. Shes imbibed propaganda," Stuckey added. "She couldnt begin to logically explain why a job is a good reason to end a human life. She puts forth the classic lie that a baby is nothing more than an impediment to success. Shes imbibed propaganda. She couldnt begin to logically explain why a job is a good reason to end an innocent human life. Allie Beth Stuckey (@conservmillen) June 2, 2021 Smith is not the first person to express this point of view. During an acceptance speech at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards, actress Michelle Williams credited her abortion for enabling her to have a successful career. Williams proclaimed, I wouldnt have been able to do this without employing a womans right to choose. Earlier this year, actress Jameela Jamil told fans in a YouTube video that her life was a million times better because she had an abortion. She added that a baby can just f***ing ruin everything if its not something that you feel comfortable with and that you are ready for. Jamil also alleged that the only side effect she had from her abortion was relief. Wisconsin gov. signs order banning state funding of conversion therapy for minors Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has signed an executive order preventing state and federal funds from going to any programs that involve sexual orientation change efforts therapy for minors, or what's often derisively known as "conversion therapy" for unwanted same-sex attraction. Known as Executive Order 122 and signed Tuesday, the measure directs the Department of Health Services, the Department of Children and Families, and the Department of Corrections to take appropriate steps to expressly disallow payment of state and federal funds allocated by their respective agencies for conversion therapy for individuals under eighteen (18) years of age to the extent allowable by state and federal law. the State has a strong interest in ensuring that state funds are used for evidence-based services, and not used to facilitate unethical, dangerous, contraindicated, or harmful practices that are no longer recognized as viable by practicing health professionals, especially where those services pose a particular risk of harm to minors, noted the order. my administration is committed to ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of all young people, including LGBTQ young people, and taking action to stop the harmful practice of conversion therapy on minors in Wisconsin. EO 122 was one of multiple measures that Evers signed to observe "LGBT pride month" in June, with others including the rainbow pride flag being raised over the Wisconsin state Capitol and directing state agencies to expand their use of gender-neutral language. In addition to celebrating the resiliency and joy of the LGBTQ community, Pride also offers an opportunity for us to reflect on how the state and our communities can be better allies, stated the governor on Tuesday. These executive orders today recognize the work we have to do as a state to protect, support, and celebrate all LGBTQ Wisconsinites, especially our kids, and ensure our state is a safe, inclusive, and just place where every person has the resources and support to thrive. In an emailed statement to The Christian Post on Thursday, Julaine K. Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Action, said: Governor Tony Evers is using every means possible to advance the LGBTQ+ agenda this month. This executive order is an end-run around the legislature shutting down a rule that his administration wanted approved that would have done what this EO purports to do. This EO actually harms minors rather than helps them because the governor is making it more difficult for parents to get help for their minor children who are struggling with same-sex attraction or gender confusion." Appling added: "Conversion therapy, as defined in the EO, would mean a licensed Christian counselor whose agency receives any state funds could not offer true help and hope to these young people. True help and hope is not giving wholesale endorsement to same-sex attraction and gender reassignment. Its being able to point out harms both short-term and long-term and to offer real help in coming to terms with truth and biological realities. Governor Evers is trying to bully these counselors and their agencies with this threat of losing funding. In doing so, he hurts those he says he wants to protect. Also called reparative therapy, sexual orientation change efforts therapy involves individuals undergoing talk therapy in counseling sessions with psychologists or psychiatrists to remove or diminish unwanted same-sex attraction. The therapy has been rejected by American psychiatric organizations and several states, beginning with California in 2012, have passed bans on the practice for minors. These bans, along with similar ones issued by localities, have garnered legal challenges from groups that believe they trample on parent rights and religious freedom. In March, the Wisconsin state Legislature blocked the implementation of a rule by the Department of Safety and Professional Standards to ban the practice. Mike Mikalsen, an aide to state Sen. Steve Nass of the rules committee, explained that blocking the rule was not about the debate over the effectiveness of the therapy. (The committee) was not dealing with the pluses and minuses of conversion therapy, said Mikalsen to The Associated Press earlier this year. The issue is until the Legislature adds that as a prohibited practice (in statute), someone should not lose their license for doing that. Kamala Harris pays tribute to fallen soldiers after backlash over Memorial Day tweet Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Vice President Kamala Harris paid tribute to fallen members of the U.S. Armed Forces one day after she faced criticism from numerous people for referring to Memorial Day as a long three-day weekend without mentioning the significance of the national holiday. Throughout our history, our service men and women have risked everything to defend our freedoms and our country. As we prepare to honor them on Memorial Day, we remember their service and their sacrifice, Harris tweeted Sunday. On Saturday, her tweet, along with a photo of herself smiling, read, Enjoy the long weekend. Enjoy the long weekend. pic.twitter.com/ilGOrod4AW Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) May 29, 2021 Observed on the last Monday in May, Memorial Day is a federal holiday in memory of those who have died while serving in the U.S. military. Suggesting Harris was missing a significant detail in her tweet, Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Republican from New York who's running for governor of that state, wrote on Twitter, and pay tribute to the courageous men and women of our nations military who sacrificed their lives in defense of our freedoms and liberties. Paul Szoldra, the editor of the military news site Task & Purpose, called the vice presidents tweet a real misfire. It is a long weekend. Its also Memorial Day weekend, which means far more than our government officials should acknowledge: a time to remember and honor the millions of Americans who lost their lives in our nations defense, Szoldra tweeted. Dont forget why we have a long weekend, wrote one Tony Lederer who included a picture of the Vietnam Memorial. Last month, Harris was criticized by Republican lawmakers for refusing to go to the southern border amid the immigration crisis that continues to overwhelm Border Patrol agents who apprehended 178,622 people crossing the border in April. Instead, Harris decided to speak with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to discuss a tree-planting proposal in Central America in an attempt to provide more jobs and reduce migration. This proposal didnt address the influx of fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine trafficked into the U.S. by drug cartels and illegal border crossings by people from China and other nations. An official with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection told members of Congress this month that fentanyl seizures at the U.S.-Mexico border have increased by 308%. Troy Miller, the senior official performing the duties of commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, appeared before the House Appropriations Committees Homeland Security Subcommittee on May 19 to discuss the continued surge in illegal border crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border and the resources that CBP needs to respond to the situation and carry out its duties effectively. Our fentanyl seizures are up 308% in fiscal year 21, Miller said. He also noted that heroin seizures have increased by 14%, cocaine seizures have increased by 100%, and methamphetamine seizures have increased by 20% in the same period. At least 46% of Americans believe the situation at the U.S. border has worsened compared with what it was under former President Donald Trump about two years ago, according to a recent Fox News poll, which revealed that only 15% of Americans think otherwise. Harris has neither visited the border region nor held a news conference about her border-related duties since she took on a special border assignment from Biden on March 24. Turning to Almighty God: 5 profound Memorial Day proclamations Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Memorial Day is an annual federal observance that honors those in the U.S. military who have passed away and a day for Americans to spend time praying for "permanent peace." The holiday was observed in the 19th century under the name Decoration Day," which sought to honor the memory of soldiers who died in the American Civil War. Later on, the observance was broadened to include Americans killed in all armed conflicts, with parades, barbeques and other festivities being connected to the holiday. As part of the observance, presidents of the United States have issued proclamations calling upon Americans to not only remember the fallen but also pray for lasting peace. Many presidents over the years have set aside a specific time in the day for Americans to pray for peace. President Joe Biden continued the tradition, issuing a proclamation urging Americans on Monday to "designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11:00 a.m. ... as a time when people might unite in prayer and reflection." The following pages highlight five notable presidential Memorial Day proclamations calling for national prayer signed by presidents of both major political parties. Im a teacher but I serve God first: Virginia teacher placed on leave after refusing to kowtow to trans ideology Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment An elementary school in Virginia has placed a physical education teacher on leave after he told the school board that he wouldn't affirm transgender identities because it's tantamount to lying and child abuse, and stressed, Im a teacher but I serve God first. Leesburg Elementary School in Loudoun County placed the teacher, Byron Tanner Cross, on leave Thursday, Fox News reported. The decision was made two days after Cross explained at a Loudoun County School Board meeting on May 25 why he wouldnt affirm that a biological boy can be a girl and vice versa. My name is Tanner Cross and I am speaking out of love for those who suffer with gender dysphoria, he told the board. Referring to CBS News 60 Minutes investigation that aired Sunday, the Christian teacher said the over 30 young people who were interviewed by Lesley Stahl had transitioned but felt led astray because of lack of pushback or how easy it was to make physical changes to their bodies in just three months. They are now detransitioning, he added, explaining that he was not intending to hurt anyone, but there are certain truths that we must face when ready. We condemn school policies like 8040 and 8350 because it would damage children, defile the holy image of God, he continued. I love all of my students but I will never lie to them regardless of the consequences. Im a teacher but I serve God first and I will not affirm that a biological boy can be a girl and vice versa because its against my religion. He stressed that it's lying to a child, it's abuse to a child, and it's sinning against our God. A public draft of Policy 8040 states that teachers would be required to use a student's preferred pronouns. "LCPS staff shall allow gender-expansive or transgender students to use their chosen name and gender pronouns, regardless of the name and gender recorded in the student's permanent educational record," the policy says. Policy 8350 states: "LCPS staff shall allow gender-expansive and transgender students to participate in such activities in a manner consistent with the students gender identity." The policy also stipulates that Louden County Public Schools will be required to give trans-identified students access to the restrooms of their choosing, and to provide private single-use facilities if requested. "Students should be allowed to use the facility that corresponds to their gender identity. While some transgender students will want that access, others may want alternatives that afford more privacy. Taking into account existing school facilities, administrators should take steps to designate gender-inclusive or single-user restrooms commensurate with the size of the school." In October 2019, Peter Vlaming, a high school French teacher at a school in West Point, Virginia, sued the school district that fired him because he opted to use a trans-identified students chosen name instead of their preferred pronouns. In a scathing op-ed published by The Washington Times at the time, the teacher wrote against the West Point School Boards decision. They didnt want to listen to my students and their parents, or to the clear directives of our state constitution (and Virginia law), or to what I tried to explain to them with my words and in the way I lived out my professional life on the West Point High School campus, Vlaming wrote. Indeed, the administrators proved themselves deaf to virtually everything but the current political mandate which decrees that only one perspective on gender identity is to be accommodated, he added. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Do you know the story of Leah Sharibu? Do you know why a song has just been released in her honor? Do you know about her boldness, her faith, and her courage? If not, then please allow me to share her story with you. As reported on an official US Government website, On February 19, 2018, the Boko Haram faction ISIS-WA attacked the Government Girls Science and Technical School in Dapchi, Yobe State, Nigeria. ISIS-WA abducted 110 girls, five of whom were reported killed in the abduction. In March, ISIS-WA returned 104 girls to their families, all the students they had abducted from the school except for Leah Sharibu. ISIS-WA reportedly kept Leah Sharibu because she refused to comply with their demands and convert to Islam. She was just 14 years old (I write these words with tears in my eyes). Can you imagine the fear and intimidation she suffered? She and the other girls were violently kidnapped by merciless terrorists. Some of her fellow-students died during the raid. All the Christians were ordered to convert to Islam or die. She refused to comply. And so, to this day, now more than three long years later, she remains captive, in the words of the terrorists, a slave for life. And to date, none of the Nigerian governments efforts to rescue have availed in the least. A friend of mine, herself an American missionary helping to educate the poorest of the poor in Nigeria, sent me this this email on Monday, with a link to a new video made in Leahs honor: A tribute to Leah Shaburu who just spent her 18th birthday as a sacrificial lamb in the hands of Boko Haram. She reportedly has given birth to her second child. She needs rescue. So, not only is she a slave for life, but she has also been raped. Take a moment to watch the video for yourself, then share it with your friends. May we not forget Leahs name! Sadly, she is not alone in her suffering, and a report issued on February 22, 2021, on the Baptist News Global website, shared this painful news: There are many others, both Muslim and Christian girls, in the terrorist dens, including many students of Government Secondary School, Chibok, who were kidnapped in April 2014. Although some of the 276 kidnapped Chibok girls have been released, more than half of them still remain in captivity seven years after. Does this ring a bell for you? Back in 2014, this atrocity drew the attention of First Lady Michelle Obama, who took her husbands place one week to deliver her own address to the nation. She said, Like millions of people across the globe, my husband and I are outraged and heartbroken over the kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian girls from their school dormitory in the middle of the night. This unconscionable act was committed by a terrorist group determined to keep these girls from getting an education grown men attempting to snuff out the aspirations of young girls. She even launched a campaign with hashtag #BringBackOurGirls. But that was a long time ago, and for the girls (and boys) who remain in captivity, they are out of sight and out of mind. In the same way, the thousands of Nigerian Christians who have been slaughtered in the last year, both by Islamist Fulani herdsmen and Boko Haram terrorists, are nameless and faceless to most of us. Plus, this is happening in a distant part of the world, and even as it happens, the news does not reach most of the newsfeeds that we follow. But we know the name of Leah Sharibu, and we have now seen pictures of her face. So, as we say her name (and pray and advocate for her release), let us also remember the names and faces of the others. And let us mourn with those who have watched their family members and friends be butchered and raped and kidnapped. May the persecutors themselves repent and be converted, may the sufferers find grace, and may justice be done. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment As hard as this might be to believe, there are some people convinced that Jesus was not a man of history but some type of mythical figure. They claim the Resurrection story was based on ancient myths of religious figures who rose from the dead. These mythological stories were written many years before the Christian myth was written. However, there are no credible historical scholars who make this claim. In the wonderful bookThe Story of Reality, Greg Koukl confronts this issue head on. He has read extensively from the trained historians who have gone back to the earliest records of these ancient accounts. Here is what those historians have discovered. A close look at the primary sources shows two things that are startling given the popularity of this view. First, the myths that actually pre-date Jesus time bear virtually no resemblance to the particular details of Jesus life. A host of alleged similarities turn out to be nonexistent. Whatever parallels remain are usually far too general to be significant. According to historian Tryggve Mettinger, the scholar who has done the most recent exhaustive study of this question, there simply is no prima facie evidence that the death and Resurrection of Jesus is a mythological construct, drawing on the myths and rites of the dying and rising gods of the surrounding world. Second, mythical accounts of the mystery-religion gods that actually do bear some resemblance to Jesus life unfortunately (for the theory) show up after his time. This fact creates a problem for the recycled redeemer view since it looks very much like those stories were copied from the Gospels, not the other way around. Clearly, the child cannot come before the parent. The recycled version must appear in the historical record after the one it allegedly came from, not before it. It is also important to recognize the number of ancient historians, who lived during the time of Christ, and wrote of Him. Historian Gary Habermas details a total of thirty-nine ancient sources documenting the life of Christ. Some of these were Christian historians, but many of them were not. To put this into perspective, there are only nine ancient sources that mention Tiberius Caesar. Only nine. Here we find an emperor of Rome who ruled for twenty-two years, yet there are only nine ancient sources that mention him while there are thirty-nine sources that speak of Jesus. Of these thirty-nine, several mention Jesus in just a paragraph or two while others write of him extensively. These include Cornelius Tacitus, considered the greatest historian of the Roman Empire who was born in 57 A.D., and Justin Martyr, who lived from 65 A.D. to 110 A.D. and wrote extensively of Jesus. Then you have Flavius Josephus, touted as the greatest Jewish historian of antiquity and who wrote about the life of Christ. He was born in 37 A.D., just after Jesus death. So abundant is the testimony pointing to Christs historical existence that Dr. F.F. Bruce, professor of biblical criticism at the University of Manchester in England, suggests that reputable historians could not possibly propagate this theory. Some writers may toy with the fancy of a Christ myth, but they do not do so on the ground of historical evidence. The historicity of Christ is as axiomatic for an unbiased historian as the historicity of Julius Caesar. Scott Appleby, a professor of Church History at Notre Dame, concurs: Theres no real doubt that Jesus existed, he said. What Jesus of Nazareth did and what he means is a different question. But on the question of the existence, there is more evidence of the existence of Jesus of Nazareth than there would be for many other historical people who actually existed. Not only did Jesus actually exist, but he actually had some kind of prominence to be mentioned in two or three chronicles." What I also find interesting is the number of religious skeptics who clearly are convinced that Jesus was a legitimate historical figure. Will Durant, the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian who wrote the most successful work of history, the eleven-volume The Story of Civilization, concludes his material on Christ this way: No one reading these scenes can doubt the reality of the figure behind them The skeptic and famed Irish historian W.E.H. Lecky says this: The character of Jesus has not only been the highest pattern of virtue, but the strongest incentive in its practice, and has exerted so deep an influence, that it may be truly said that the simple record of three short years of active life has done more to regenerate and to soften mankind than all the disquisitions of philosophers and all the exhortations of moralists. Most significantly, from Mark Clarks The Problem of God: Answering a Skeptics Challenges to Christianity listen to the words of the great historian H.G. Wells: I am a historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history. Finally, this last point needs to be given strong consideration. Today the worlds calendars are built around the birth of Christ. History is divided into events that took place before His birth and those that took place after His birth. This is clearly an indication of the extent to which Western culture was shaped by this man Jesus. It is quite obvious that something of universal importance began with the historical figure of Jesus. Truly, no one could have possibly invented the person of Christ. I close with this question posed by Jesus himself in Matthew 16:15, But who do you say that I am? This article, Part 2 of my 3-part series, is an essay from my newest book Reflections on the Existence of God. The book lays out, in short essays, much of the evidence for the existence of God that is available. We should seek to take the evidence offered and use it to make reasonable conclusions. What you will find is, as the evidence accumulates, it enables us to come to confident conclusions about God. Who He is. And, that He truly is. Pakistan Christian man poisoned, killed for reporting sisters harassment Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A Christian man in Pakistan was allegedly poisoned and killed by a group of radical Muslims for defending his sister from harassment, which has sparked demands for justice. Arif Masih, 32, was beaten, kidnapped, poisoned and abandoned on the street in the Muslim-majority Tariqabad village of the Punjab province on May 23, the Union of Catholic Asian News reported. Earlier in the week, two young men dragged his sister into the street and stripped her naked after following her home from the store and breaking into the home. They fought her brother, Arif Masih, who filed a complaint against Muhammad Tariq and Muhammad Majid, the two men who harassed his sister on May 20. According to Asia News, an official press agency of the Roman Catholic Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, the men were not arrested. Masih was reportedly threatened for not dropping the complaint and was attacked by the perpetrators three days later. The perpetrators allegedly loaded Masih on their motorcycle, beat him, poisoned him and threw him into the street. He was taken to the hospital but did not survive his injuries. Two men from Gujjar community raided our house and forcefully took him on a motorcycle. About an hour later, they threw him in the market at our front door," the victim's brother Rizwan Masih said in a police first information report filed following a protest for justice, according to UCA News. "He was semi-conscious, hospitalized and died the same night." More than 300 mourners and Pakistani Christians protested his death last Monday and publicly displayed his body in the street, UCA News reports. Arif Masih was murdered for demanding justice. The panchayat [local village assembly] scolded the Christian family for filing the case and threatened them with a social boycott for pursuing it, Minorities Alliance Pakistan Chairman Akmal Bhatti told UCA News. The influential accused easily attained pre-arrest bail. MAP will provide legal aid to the late Masihs family. The Pakistani criminal justice system often discriminates against religious, racial and ethnic minorities. The Pakistani criminal justice system favours those with financial resources and social capital, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported in February. When discriminated against, vulnerable populations such as the poor, women, the mentally ill, religious, racial and ethnic minorities, etc. have less resources to use and fewer people willing to help them. In Pakistan, belonging to one or more of these marginalised groups puts you at greater risk for police bias, wrongful arrest and conviction, spending life in prison or even capital punishment." Human rights activist Baba Intizar Gill, president of the Aqliyat-e-tahafuz party, demanded justice for the family. The government ... must take prompt action against the guilty and protect the rights of minorities, considering them full citizens, Gill said, according to Asia News. These incidents against religious minorities are not new in our nation, but unfortunately, the government never takes firm steps against the culprits. It is sad to see that up to now, none of the perpetrators have been arrested." International persecution watchdog group Open Doors USA ranks Pakistan No. 5 on its 2021 World Watch List of countries where Christians face the most severe persecution due to an extreme level of Islamic oppression. Pakistan is also listed by the U.S. State Department as a "country of particular concern" for tolerating in or engaging in egregious violations of religious freedom. False accusations of blasphemy in Pakistan, mainly targeting Christians and other minority faiths, are widespread due to religious hatred. Under Pakistan's blasphemy laws, people accused of insulting Islam or its prophet Muhammad can face life in prison or be sentenced to death. Earlier this month, it was reported that a Christian couple on death row in Pakistan for blasphemy has been left to die even though the husband, Shafqat Emmanuel, is a paraplegic and in significant pain due to bedsores. In addition to the nation's often-abused blasphemy laws, Christian girls are especially at risk of abduction and rape. Venus Bibi, a 30-year-old Christian mother of five kidnapped by Muslim men in Pakistan on April 1, was recently freed, according to the Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement. She was detained, raped, beaten, drugged, and threatened that her husband and children would be killed if she tried to escape. Her husband said Muhamad Akbar, the man who kidnapped his wife and detained her for at least 20 days, had kidnapped women before. Bibis husband, Warris Masih, said that although he complained to police about her kidnapping, they did not take action. Bibi was eventually found on a roadside and could not walk on her own. We are poor and Christian therefore, the police are not taking any action against abductor, and because he has heavily bribed the police, Warris Masih said, according to CLAAS-UK. But I want justice for my wife," he continued. "I want all the kidnappers arrested and punished for their crimes so they can stop kidnapping more Christian women. There are a million ways to operate a business, but which way is most likely to lead to success? Startups tend to operate differently from long-established companies. Startup culture is flashy and fun, but sometimes older companies see these differences as immature. While undoubtedly companies whove been successful for years know a thing or two about successful operation strategies, its important to keep an open mind about new strategies that young companies come up with. If older companies are unable to incorporate some of the successful strategies of young businesses, theyll soon start struggling to keep up. Related: It's Time for Startup Culture to Talk About Mental Health 1. Passion drives employee engagement One of the defining characteristics of startup culture is the energy in the workplace and among the employees. When you talk to the employees at a startup, they tend to believe in the mission of their company, and they want to help it succeed. Because of this shared passion for the goals of the organization, these employees tend to have the passion and drive that are necessary for creating a sustainable sense of engagement. A Gallup case study with New Century Financial Mortgage showed that engagement is more important than any other workplace perk in driving results. Over a period of six months, account executives at the company who were reportedly disengaged produced 28 percent less than their colleagues who reported feeling engaged at work. New Century then took steps to improve employee engagement at certain branches. The branches who improved engagement grew at a rate six times faster than branches whose engagement stayed the same. Engagement is one of the things that startups have done a really good job at creating. Long-established companies can see major success if they can replicate the type of engagement that is commonly seen among employees at startups. Related: Employee Engagement Has a Direct Link to Successful Business Outcomes 2. The ability to adapt to change is a must The business world is constantly changing, and startups know how to change with it. They have to be scrappy to keep up with competitors who are more established and have more resources. Because of this, successful startups are good at pivoting as necessary and adjusting course when the situation calls for it. The most recent event that required worldwide businesses to adjust more rapidly than ever before was the Covid-19 pandemic. The companies who were able to successfully pivot to the changing needs of the world were able to keep revenues stable, and sometimes even increase revenue during that time. AXA PPP Healthcare was one of the companies that adapted quickly when the pandemic swept the world, and their business thrived. As a major insurance provider, the company had to provide value to customers while hospitals were not available. They did this by offering more digital services. This involved a massive communication initiative to inform customers how to use new and altered products and services. Because AXA PPP Healthcare was able to adapt with the speed and efficiency that you see in startup companies, it thrived throughout the uncertainty of Covid-19. This type of adaptability is essential for successful companies to establish. 3. Innovation allows you to keep up with the times Theres a reason so many of the worlds most successful companies are young tech companies. Companies like Facebook, Netflix, Airbnb and Uber are all companies that saw a changing need and built an innovative solution. Old companies have to be able to also recognize changing opportunities. They must be creative in providing solutions to customers if they dont want younger, more creative companies to pop up and take their place. One of the industries that has recently seen innovation is commercial real estate. While this industry has been around for centuries, its only in recent decades that innovators have brought tech into the field. Tech has helped reinvent real-estate investing, allowing people in the industry to remain competitive as the world progresses. Related: Time to Reinvent: 5 Tips for Boosting Creativity and Innovation 4. Knowing your employees creates a better culture Startups have a huge advantage because of their size. Its easy for top leadership to know everyone at the company when the company is smaller than 100 people. Even though its more difficult for employees at larger companies to be well-connected to each other, its important to cultivate this feeling of connection and communication. Employees are more likely to feel fulfilled and engaged when they feel like they have a voice. Top leadership is also more likely to offer valuable direction to the rest of the company when they know what its like to be on the front lines of the business. Even if you have a large company, take steps to ensure employees are well-connected. Provide social opportunities and make sure that communication channels are open to everyone. Chances are, if your company has been around for a while, youre doing something right as part of your operations. However, theres plenty to be learned from young startups and how theyre able to so successfully break into the markets and take off. If you want to keep up with these new companies, its important to add an element of freshness to your operations and stay open-minded. Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved In the last decade, the demand for artificial intelligence programmers has increased exponentially, both in Mexico and throughout the world. According to Gartner , sectors such as energy, retail , financial services, telecommunications and manufacturing, are the most predisposed to take advantage of artificial intelligence in Mexico. Precisely Donald Feinberg , research director at Gartner, specializing in the area of artificial intelligence (AI), assures that in the country this field of information technology is reaching a very important role, as important as the one it already has in the United States. However, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) , in the country there are 976 thousand people trained in computing or information and communication technologies, of which 241 thousand, at least, do not have a related job to the race. The reason? 60% of companies in Mexico report difficulties in finding professional profiles with the appropriate skills to fill digital positions. For this reason, it is becoming increasingly necessary to carry out training, through which the knowledge and skills required by emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, are obtained, and thus be able to aspire to the jobs offered by different companies. Today there are different modalities and types of learning, from online and free courses, to specialized training that, in addition, provide the opportunity for labor insertion within this field. If you are self-taught, and you want to start as a programmer in artificial intelligence , you have the option of taking a free online course. One of the online learning platforms that offers different introductory programs to artificial intelligence is Udemy . Currently this site offers, for example, the Introduction to artificial intelligence course, as well as the introductory course to artificial intelligence in software testing , among others. These training options are ideal for beginners in artificial intelligence, since with them you can learn the basic concepts and fundamentals to introduce you to the subject. Another of the alternatives that you have available online and for free is the Artificial Intelligence course taught by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) . the same It is made up of 30 lectures that introduce students to the representation of basic knowledge, problem solving and learning methods of artificial intelligence. Available on the MIT platform , it has videos, support materials and exercises that teach to develop intelligence systems by solving specific computational problems. Also, Udacity offers a free Introduction to Artificial Intelligence course . At an intermediate level, this educational proposal presents the basic concepts of AI, as well as examples of some of its possible applications in machine learning , probabilistic reasoning, robotics and natural language processing. Its duration is 4 months and to be able to take it, basic knowledge of statistics is required. But, if what you are looking for is to obtain a degree with university endorsement, then you can resort to the alternative of pursuing a Diploma or a Master in artificial intelligence in some of the schools or Universities in Mexico. For example, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) within its educational offer has the Master in Artificial Intelligence , which has a duration of 4 semesters (2 years). It should be noted that these different study plans are characterized by having a mainly theoretical approach , so that at the end of the course you will not have practical or work experience. If you are looking for a type of specialization that also gives you practical experience , it is best to opt for training . The main advantage of this type of learning is that it provides a hybrid between a base of theoretical foundations, with practice and real experience in the industry . One of the best options are the training programs for Mexican programmers in artificial intelligence such as those offered by Ai Lab School . This is an online educational and job placement program in Mexico on artificial intelligence , where practical projects and proven methodologies of advanced learning and analysis are offered, which provide the fundamental bases to develop skills in AI programming. One of the main advantages of this training is that it lasts for 9 months . In addition, it is designed to take the programmer step by step from the basic to the advanced level, with the aim of raising their skills for the next stage: job placement in technology companies in Silicon Valley such as Facebook , Google and Amazon . As you can see, there are multiple types of learning that you have to start your career as a programmer in artificial intelligence . Decide on the one that best suits your needs and time, and start navigating the fascinating world of AI. Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved San Antonio will get a taste of Houston's famed Turkey Leg Hut next weekend. The popular Houston restaurant, known for over-the-top turkey legs, will host a pop-up weekend event at the Freeman Coliseum Parking Lot from June 11-13. The restaurant's Cajun bowls will accompany the "fall of the bone" signature item on the trip to San Antonio. Turkey Leg Hut typically warrants large crowds that celebrities like Kevin Hart, 50 Cent and James Harden tend to pop up in. MORE FOOD NEWS: GEORGE LOPEZ TACOS AMONG NEW HOUSTON RESTAURANT OPENINGS IN JUNE Customers have the option of stuffing their turkey legs with everything from Cajun Mac and Cheese to shrimp alfredo. There's also a Hennessy Cognac Glaze to top it off. Were so excited to be coming to San Antonio, Turkey Leg Hut Co-Founder Nakia Price said in a news release. Weve had a lot of requests for a visit to this area on social media and we are glad to finally be able to share a taste of our signature menu with the San Antonio community! Nakia Price and co-founder Lynn Price started the business in family owned parking lot near the Houston Rodeo in 2015. In 2017, the turkey business expanded into a brick-and-mortar location in Houston's Third Ward. PHOENIX (AP) Two more people have been arrested in connection with the death of a Scottsdale man whose body was found in a Phoenix park, according to authorities. Scottsdale police on Wednesday said 24-year-old Leeontay Munns and 23-year-old Anya Bobo were booked this week on murder charges. ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New York failed to provide desperately needed protective gear, testing and help with staffing for group homes serving residents with developmental and intellectual disabilities at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders of those homes and family members told lawmakers at a legislative hearing Thursday. Staffing levels in New Yorks system supporting individuals with disabilities have dwindled since the COVID-19 pandemic, which advocates say threatens the quality of care for some of the states most vulnerable residents. Gov. Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers faced calls Thursday to boost pay for group home workers, require routine COVID-19 testing and ensure people with disabilities are a priority in response plans. Among advocates concerns is that group homes, unlike nursing homes, aren't required to regularly test staff for COVID-19 or launch rounds of testing after a resident or staffer test positive. Its very troubling that people in group homes arent given the same protection as people in nursing homes and other congregate settings, said Julie Keegan, a director with Disability Rights New York. People in group homes often have higher rates of comorbidities that put them at higher risk of death. There is no rational basis for this discriminatory practice. At least 577 people have died due to confirmed COVID-19 infection at group residences overseen by the states Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, according to the agency's latest data. That tally doesn't include the number of residents who died at hospitals, or deaths of residents who likely died of COVID-19. About 7,100 of roughly 40,000 people who live in OPWDD residences have tested positive for COVID-19, along with 11,700 staffers. Residents of group homes in New York City saw higher rates of infection, hospitalization and deaths than other New Yorkers, according to Marco Damiani, chief executive officer of AHRC New York City, a nonprofit organization supporting children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The rate of infection was five times the New York City rate, hospitalization was three times the rate, and the fatality rate was twice the rate of New York City, Damiani said at the Thursday hearing. Low staffing levels and extensive use of overtime have long plagued New York group homes: OPWDD's workforce has decreased by 15% or 4,500 employees in recent years, according to Randi DiAntonio, vice president of the NYS Public Employees Federation. OPWDD workers were required to go to work last spring even if they had tested positive for COVID-19, according to Joshua Terry, legislative director of CSEA Local 100. We were so stretched that even contracting this virus would not let them miss work, if they were healthy in other ways, Terry said. "We had members that had to float in clusters from home to home, which likely spread the disease into different homes among staff and residents." Yvette Watts, executive director of the New York Association of Emerging & Multicultural Providers, said there's still a very high rate of hesitancy to get vaccinated among group home staffers, especially in Black and brown communities. Watts said low pay doesn't help: Many of them feel and they said it to me, Why should I trust someone to vaccinate me when they cant even compensate me or understand that what I do is important?" Meanwhile, group homes were left scrambling to purchase costly protective gear without the promise of reimbursement, while competing for everything from face masks to nurses to rapid tests. In early 2020, State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker repeatedly assured the public that New York had enough stockpiles of medical supplies. At a Feb. 6 meeting of the states public health and planning council, Zucker said New York could tap into an incredible stockpile and was very well prepared for this response. But some group homes were told they couldnt request protective gear from the states stockpiles because their workplaces didnt count as essential health care settings, unlike hospitals, according to Disability Rights of New York attorney Alyssa Galea. The system of supports and services to individuals with developmental disabilities must be a priority in the same way that hospitals are a priority, Margaret Raustiala, a steering committee member for the State-Wide Family Advocacy Network of NYS, whose 50-year-old son Riko lives at a group home, said. HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) An Arkansas state trooper fatally shot a man during a struggle for the troopers gun Wednesday, Arkansas State Police said. In a statement, the agency said the man was riding a motorcycle about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday when he failed to comply with the troopers order to stop on U.S. 70 near Lake Hamilton, just west of Hot Springs. After a short chase down a dead-end street, the man hopped off the bike and ran away as the trooper pursued him. After the trooper fired a stun gun at the man and approached him, the struggle ensued and the man was shot dead, according to the State Police statement. The identities of the suspect and the trooper havent been released. HOUSTON (AP) The body of a newborn baby was found Thursday in a portable toilet at a Houston-area riverside park, authorities said. Maj. Susan Cotter of the Harris County Sheriff's Office said workers emptying the chemical toilet found the body. She said the umbilical cord was still attached, and the baby appeared full term. MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (AP) A company that heralds itself as the largest primary aluminum producer in the U.S. is expanding its South Carolina operations, announcing 100 new jobs at a smelter in Moncks Corner, less than a year after saying it could possibly shutdown over an electric rates dispute. Dignitaries including Gov. Henry McMaster and U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn were on hand for Thursday's ceremonial restart at Century Aluminum, a Chicago-based company that operates its Mt. Holly smelter in Berkeley County. FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) A state commission has recommended funding for projects in several Kentucky school districts as part of a $127 million school construction plan, Gov. Andy Beshear said. The Kentucky School Facilities Construction Commission on Wednesday recommended funding for projects in the following districts: Hart, Martin, Floyd, Boyd, Bellevue, Mayfield, Jackson, Grant, Breckinridge, Bath, Cumberland, Pendleton and Carter. HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) A Connecticut man seen in photos and video in the U.S. Senate chamber standing with the so-called QAnon shaman during the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection was charged with several crimes Thursday, federal authorities said. Richard Crosby Jr., 25, of Harwinton, appeared before a federal magistrate judge in Bridgeport later in the day via video conference from a detention cell. He was expected to be released under several conditions while the case is pending. Crosby is among more than 400 people who have been arrested in connection with the Capitol breach. Hundreds of supporters of former President Donald Trump broke through police barricades and overwhelmed officers in a violent, unsuccessful attempt to stop the certification of President Joe Bidens election victory. Among the charges Crosby faces are obstruction of Congress, knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building and disorderly conduct in a restricted building. Neither Crosby nor his public defender responded to the charges during the court hearing. Crosby, wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants, repeatedly said he understood his rights during a series of questions by the magistrate judge. According to a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday, authorities said Crosby confirmed to FBI agents that he was the person seen in photos on the rostrum of the Senate chamber, standing with two other people including Jacob Chansley, the so-called QAnon shaman. Chansley, who also was charged, had painted his face red, white and blue, and wore a fur hat with horns sticking out. Video taken by a reporter for The New Yorker also shows Crosby on the rostrum. The video shows Chansley saying a prayer that included, Thank you for allowing the United States of America to be reborn. Thank you for allowing us to get rid of the communists, globalists and traitors within our government. At the end of the prayer, Crosby and others shouted Amen." Crosby told federal agents that he went to Washington because he believed the presidential election was stolen and he wanted his voice heard, according to the criminal complaint. During Thursday's court hearing, Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti found that Crosby was not a flight risk or danger to the public and ordered him released on several conditions, including that he live with his parents in Harwinton and not travel to Washington, D.C., unless it is for legal purposes. Federal prosecutor Margaret Donovan did not seek detention or bail for Crosby, whose case is expected to be transferred to U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Another Connecticut man, Patrick McCaughey III, of Ridgefield, was charged in the attack on the Capitol. McCaughey was seen on video pinning an officer into a doorway, but his public defender said other people were pushing McCaughey and other parts of the video show him trying to help the officer. The Aim to End Hunger Shoot will benefit the West Texas Food Bank with support from ConocoPhillips and the Midland Shooters Association. The shoot starts 8 a.m. June 10 with 30 unique stations at the fully updated MSA shooting range at 7400 W. County Road 170. Six-man teams are available. Because of ConocoPhillips, all proceeds will benefit the West Texas Food Bank. Individual teams are $900 for six shooters with sponsorship packages available. Applications are available here: drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1lkzHbso3fBdfzsNlsEY6fP_gfV4Rut5e. CLAIRE MAULDING, SPECIAL TO THE SEATTLEPI SEATTLE (AP) A construction worker at the State Route 520 Montlake Project was killed Wednesday when he was struck in the chest by an 11,000 pound steel beam and was pinned between the pillar and a flatbed trailer that was carrying it. The 45-year-old victim, whose identity was pending, died while being transported to a hospital for medical care, a spokesperson for the Seattle Fire Department said. The accident occurred shortly after 5 p.m., KOMO-TV reported. OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) Each year Lake Oroville helps water a quarter of the nations crops, sustain endangered salmon beneath its massive earthen dam and anchor the tourism economy of a Northern California county that must rebuild seemingly every year after unrelenting wildfires. But the mighty lake a linchpin in a system of aqueducts and reservoirs in the arid U.S. West that makes California possible is shrinking with surprising speed amid a severe drought, with state officials predicting it will reach a record low later this summer. While droughts are common in California, this year's is much hotter and drier than others, evaporating water more quickly from the reservoirs and the sparse Sierra Nevada snowpack that feeds them. The state's more than 1,500 reservoirs are 50% lower than they should be this time of year, according to Jay Lund, co-director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California-Davis. Over Memorial Day weekend, dozens of houseboats sat on cinderblocks at Lake Oroville because there wasn't enough water to hold them. Blackened trees lined the reservoir's steep, parched banks. At nearby Folsom Lake, normally bustling boat docks rested on dry land, their buoys warning phantom boats to slow down. Campers occupied dusty riverbanks farther north at Shasta Lake. But the impacts of dwindling reservoirs go beyond luxury yachts and weekend anglers. Salmon need cold water from the bottom of the reservoirs to spawn. The San Francisco Bay needs fresh water from the reservoirs to keep out the salt water that harms freshwater fish. Farmers need the water to irrigate their crops. Businesses need reservoirs full so people will come play in them and spend money. And everyone needs the water to run hydroelectric power plants that supply much of the state's energy. If Lake Oroville falls below 640 feet (195 meters) which it could do by late August state officials would shut down a major power plant for just the second time ever because of low water levels, straining the electrical grid during the hottest part of the summer. In Northern California's Butte County, low water prompts another emotion: fear. The county suffered the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century in 2018 when 85 people died. Last year, another 16 people died in a wildfire. Walking along the Bidwell Canyon trail last week, 63-year-old Lisa Larson was supposed to have a good view of the lake. Instead, she saw withered grass and trees. It makes me feel like our planet is literally drying up, she said. It makes me feel a little unsettled because the drier it gets, the more fires we are going to have. Droughts are a part of life in California, where a Mediterranean-style climate means the summers are always dry and the winters are not always wet. The state's reservoirs act as a savings account, storing water in the wet years to help the state survive during the dry ones. Last year was the third driest on record in terms of precipitation. Temperatures hit triple digits in much of California over the Memorial Day weekend, earlier than expected. State officials were surprised earlier this year when about 500,000 acre feet (61,674 hectare meters) of water they were expecting to flow into reservoirs never showed up. One acre-foot is enough water to supply up to two households for one year. In the previous drought, it took (the reservoirs) three years to get this low as they are in the second year of this drought, Lund said. The lakes record low is 646 feet (197 meters), but the Department of Water Resources projects it will dip below that sometime in August or September. If that happens, the state will have to close the boat ramps for the first time ever because of low water levels, according to Aaron Wright, public safety chief for the Northern Buttes District of California State Parks. The only boat access to the lake would be an old dirt road that was built during the dams construction in the late 1960s. We have a reservoir up there thats going to be not usable. And so now what? said Eric Smith, an Oroville City Council member and president of its chamber of commerce. The water level is so low at Lake Mendocino, along the Russian River in Northern California, that state officials last week reduced the amount of water heading to 930 farmers, businesses and other junior water-rights holders. Unless we immediately reduce diversions, there is a real risk of Lake Mendocino emptying by the end of this year, said Erik Ekdahl, deputy director for the State Water Boards Division of Water Rights. Low water levels across California will severely limit how much power the state can generate from hydroelectric power plants. When Lake Oroville is full, the Edward Hyatt Power Plant and others nearby can generate up to 900 megawatts of power, according to Behzad Soltanzadeh, chief of utility operations for the Department of Water Resources. One megawatt is enough to power between 800 and 1,000 homes. That has some local officials worrying about power outages, especially after the state ran out of energy last summer during an extreme heat wave that prompted California's first rotating blackouts in 20 years. But energy officials say they are better prepared this summer, having obtained an additional 3,500 megawatts of capacity ahead of the scorching summer months. The low levels are challenging for tourism officials. Bruce Spangler, president of the board of directors for Explore Butte County, grew up in Oroville and has fond memories of fishing with his grandfather and learning to launch and drive a boat before he could drive a car. But this summer, his organization has to be careful about how it markets the lake while managing visitors expectations, he said. We have to be sure we dont promise something that cant be, he said. Low lake levels havent stopped tourists from coming yet. With coronavirus restrictions lifting across the state, Wright the state parks official for Northern California said attendance at most parks in his area is double what it normally is this time of year. People are trying to recreate and use facilities even more so (because) they know they are going to lose them here in a few months, he said. ___ Associated Press writer Brian Melley in Los Angeles contributed to this report. LARNACA, Cyprus (AP) Three European Union member nations and three Middle Eastern countries are looking to train personnel in border, customs, maritime and cybersecurity techniques at a cutting-edge U.S.-funded facility in Cyprus that is expected to be ready early next year, the Cypriot foreign minister said Thursday. The Cyprus Center for Land, Open-Seas, and Port Security (CYCLOPS) is scheduled to start operating on Jan. 16, 2022, Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said after inspecting the under-construction facility with U.S. Ambassador Judith Garber. Christodoulides said Cyprus was selected for the center because the Mediterranean island nation is located on the southeastern end of the EU and because it enjoys good relations with the nations in the Mideast. Officials from neighboring countries as well as from EU member states will receive the kind of training required to counter common threats of a non-military nature, he said. CYCLOPS will include state-of-the-art equipment and a mobile facility to train officials on how to best protect key infrastructure projects and conducting cyber investigations and border screening. The U.S. will provide equipment and training staff. Cypriot government spokesman Kyriakos Koushos said U.S. President Joe Biden considers Cyprus a significant partner in bolstering regional security in the east Mediterranean and has pledged to further strengthen U.S.-Cyprus relations. Biden made the remarks in a letter addressed to Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, Koushos said. In the letter, the U.S. president looks forward to working with Anastasiades to deal with issues of common interest in the east Mediterranean, the spokesman said. Cyprus and the United States forged closer security links in recent years, culminating in the 2019 congressional approval of the Eastern Mediterranean Energy and Security Partnership Act, which underscored U.S. support for an energy-based partnership between Greece, Cyprus and Israel. Under the act, the U.S. is providing ethnically divided Cyprus with funding for military training and has partially lifted an arms embargo that was enacted 33 years ago to prevent a potential arms race from harming peace talks with the country's breakaway Turkish Cypriots. Cyprus has licensed ExxonMobil to prospect for oil and gas in waters where the island nation has exclusive economic rights. BAMAKO, Mali (AP) France issued its strongest threat yet to Mali's coup leader late Thursday, suspending joint military operations with Malian forces until the junta complies with international demands to restore civilian rule. The move by the former colonial power comes amid mounting international criticism of Mali's second coup in nine months and deepening fears that the political instability will embolden Islamic extremists in the north. There was no immediate reaction from Col. Assimi Goita or his allies who retook control of Mali's transitional government May 24 by forcing the resignations of the civilian transitional president and prime minister. France's military has been fighting Islamic extremists in Mali since 2013, and the temporary suspension applies only to operations carried out in coordination with the Malian military. France will continue to maintain its military presence alongside other regional partners, such as Chad, who are helping fight extremists in northern Mali. A French Defense Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not allowed to be publicly named, said it was now up to the Malian authorities to respond quickly. The West African regional bloc ECOWAS and the African Union already have suspended Malis membership, and the French official said those regional bodies have made clear what actions the junta now needs to take to avoid further isolation. Pending these guarantees, France, after informing its partners and the Malian authorities, has decided to suspend, as a temporary measure, joint military operations with the Malian forces as well as national advisory missions on their behalf, the official said. These decisions will be re-evaluated in the coming days in light of the answers provided by the Malian authorities, the official added. Goita first seized control of Mali last August, then agreed to let a civilian president and prime minister lead a political transition following international condemnation. But then nine months later he changed course, deposing both men after they announced a Cabinet reshuffle without his consultation. While Goita has pledged to still hold elections in 2021 as promised, his latest coup detat has significantly undermined global confidence in his ability to hold fair elections free of junta interference. ___ Associated Press writer Baba Ahmed reported this story in Bamako and AP writer Krista Larson reported from Dakar, Senegal. AP writer Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report. MANCHESTER, Iowa (AP) A northeastern Iowa woman convicted of killing her husband a decade ago has been sentenced to life in prison a significant increase from the previous 40 years she had been handed before her appeal in the case. Revette Sauser, 52, of Ryan, was sentenced this week in Delaware County District Court after a Clayton County jury found her guilty last month of first-degree murder in the 2011 shooting death of 59-year-old Terry Sauser in their home in Ryan, the Telegraph Herald reported. PHOENIX (AP) A federal judge said Thursday that he will hold a contempt of court hearing against the sheriff of metro Phoenix in the same racial profiling case that led to contempt rulings against his predecessor, Joe Arpaio. Sheriff Paul Penzone has a week to decide whether to contest arguments that he should be held in civil contempt over his huge backlog of internal affairs cases or whether to acknowledge that he is in contempt and work to remedy the problems. The lawyers who won the racial profiling case eight years ago say Penzone is out of compliance with a court-ordered overhaul of his agencys much-criticized internal affairs operation, which has a backlog of 1,800 cases, each taking an average of 500 days to complete. The court requires the sheriffs office to complete the investigations within 60 or 85 days, depending on which operation within the agency handles the cases. Commenting on Penzones written response to the call for a contempt hearing, U.S. District Judge Murray Snow said: Even if I accept everything as true which I dont I would hold the sheriff in contempt. Snow said it would be more reasonable to focus on remedying the backlog and related problems in a bid to bring the agency into compliance for the first time, rather than wasting time arguing over whether Penzone is in compliance. The money is far better spent on a remedy, the judge said. One possible remedy mentioned by the judge: Imposing a monthly fine against Maricopa County until it comes into compliance -- and using the proceeds to hire more internal affairs employees. We know we have work to do, and we are doing it, and we would like to continue our efforts in that direction, Mary OGrady, one of Penzones attorneys, told the judge. Penzones office declined a request to comment on the hearing. The contempt hearing hasnt yet been scheduled. During his last year in office, Arpaio was found in civil contempt for disobeying a 2011 order by Snow to stop his traffic patrols targeting immigrants. Once out of office, he was convicted of criminal contempt for prolonging the patrols, but he was spared a possible jail sentence for the misdemeanor conviction thanks to a 2017 pardon from then-President Donald Trump. Arpaios defiance in the profiling case contributed significantly to his election defeat after 24 years in office. Penzone defeated Arpaio in late 2016 on a promise to turn the page on the problems created his predecessor, who was voted out of office after he was found in civil contempt for disobeying a judges order an order to stop his immigration patrols. A 2013 profiling verdict against Arpaios office led to two court-ordered overhauls of the agency, one of its traffic enforcement division and another of its internal affairs operation, which under Arpaio had been criticized for biased decision-making and shielding sheriffs officials from accountability. The judge stripped the sheriffs office of some of its autonomy over internal affairs. Transfers of employees in and out the internal affairs unit are now required to be approved by a court official who is monitoring the sheriffs office on behalf of Snow. More training was required for supervisors. And the sheriffs office is required to investigate all complaints of officer misconduct, even those made anonymously. In trying to fend off a contempt hearing, Penzones attorney had previously said in court records that the sheriffs office made warnings about the backlog to court officials, but its suggestions for fixing the problem were rejected. They said the agency is committed to complying with the overhaul and that its efforts to close those cases were outpaced by an increasing number of new complaints. The U.S. Justice Department and attorneys who filed the profiling lawsuit argued that the length of the investigations has resulted in lost evidence that makes it more likely that officer misconduct wont be confronted. They also pointed out that a community advisory board set up to help improve trust in the sheriffs office has said its questionable whether it should encourage people to file complaints when the process is so flawed, according to court records. Although some of the agencys numbers are near or at 100%, the sheriffs office hasnt yet been deemed fully compliant with either of the court-ordered overhauls of its operations. The compliance and legal costs for taxpayers in metro Phoenix from the profiling case are expected to reach $202 million by the summer of 2022. Much of spending goes toward hiring employees to help meet the courts requirements. JACKSON, Miss. (AP) The leader of the organization that sponsored the voter-approved Mississippi medical marijuana initiative that was recently blocked in court says the program should be changed and improved by the state Legislature but not by too much. Medical marijuana advocates were outraged last month when the state Supreme Court ruled that Mississippis initiative process is outdated and therefore the initiative is void. Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association executive director Ken Newburger said when Initiative 65 was written, he and others made some short-sighted missteps, such as tasking the state Department of Health with running the program on its own. There are some major gaps that I think a lot of you have pointed out in the past and a lot of people in the state have pointed out that need to be remedied," Newburger said Thursday during a Senate Public Health Committee meeting at the state Capitol. However, Newburger said it's important that the basic tenets of what voters approved stay the same: Patients should be able to consume marijuana in any form in a joint, edibles or otherwise; doctors should be responsible for certifying patients; small businesses should be able to operate and compete in the industry; and the program should be self-funded. Mississippi residents voted in November to adopt Initiative 65, a state constitutional amendment that would have required the Health Department to create a program so marijuana could be available to people with debilitating medical conditions. The long list included cancer, epilepsy and sickle cell anemia. As lawmakers on Thursday discussed what a state medical marijuana program might look like, major topics of conversation centered on whether Mississippi should allow people to smoke marijuana, how much marijuana people should be able to receive each month, how it will be taxed, where the revenue will go and how close treatment centers should be to schools and churches. The sooner we start talking about what options we have, the better, said Democratic Sen. Hob Bryan of Amory, the Public Health Committee chairman. What is in the best interest of the public? That's what we must determine. Republican Sen. Kevin Blackwell of Olive Branch said some lawmakers might balk at a program that allows people to smoke marijuana, as well as allowing people to receive up to 5 ounces (142 grams) a month, as proposed in Initiative 65. Five ounces a month seems like an awful lot of marijuana, Blackwell said. Republican Sen. Brice Wiggins of Pascagoula asked whether some of the tax revenue from the sale of marijuana should go into the state budget. Initiative 65 would have put the revenue into running the medical marijuana program. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves has not said whether he will call legislators into special session this year to consider medical marijuana legislation. If he does not, the discussion would happen after the next regular session begins in January. State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs told lawmakers Thursday there is still limited research on the benefits and impacts of using medical marijuana. He said he has concerns about young people developing substance use disorders and about the use of marijuana by pregnant women. There are potential harms," Dobbs said. As we look into this, I think we need to think about it in the context of, Its not a panacea. There are downsides to everything.' He said the Health Department is also opposed to allowing medical marijuana to be smoked because of the risk of lung cancer and other detrimental health impacts. Dobbs said it would realistically take the Health Department six to nine months at minimum to develop a medical marijuana program. Initiative 65 would have required a medical marijuana program to be in effect the middle of this year, and the department had been working on creating a program before the Supreme Court ruling. About 1.3 million people voted in Mississippi in November, and more than 766,000 of them voted in favor of Initiative 65. Thats about 10,000 more residents than voted in November for then-President Donald Trump, who won handily in the state despite losing his reelection bid. ___ Leah Willingham is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) Malaysian police said Thursday they have detained a French conspiracy theorist who is wanted back home on charges of organizing the kidnapping of a girl. Remy Daillet-Wiedemann was detained Saturday in the northern resort island of Langkawi, along with his pregnant wife and three children aged 18, 9 and 2, said acting police criminal investigation chief Dev Kumar. French police reportedly issued an international arrest warrant in April for Daillet, an anti-government conspiracy theorist who they alleged helped organize the kidnapping of an 8-year-old girl in eastern France. They were arrested for possessing expired travel visas," Dev told The Associated Press, adding that the Frenchman's arrest had nothing to do with his warrant in France. He said the family was believed to have lived in Langkawi since 2015, but their visas expired on May 21. He said Daillet had earlier refused to undergo a COVID-19 swab test, delaying plans to hand him over to the immigration bureau, but he finally agreed to be tested Thursday. Dev said he would be handed over to the immigration if the test is negative, joining his wife and children. We are mindful of the condition of the wife and children. That is why we have expedited the investigations and handed them over to the Immigration Department soonest for deportation. We hope that they do not have to spend any longer time than is necessary in Malaysia," Dev said. Immigration and French Embassy officials couldn't be immediately reached for comments. The 8-year-old, Mia Montemaggi, was abducted on April 13 and found in Switzerland a few days later with her mother in an abandoned factory. The mother allegedly ordered the kidnapping after she lost a custody battle, and Daillet was named as a mastermind. Several people with right-wing ties have been indicted in the kidnapping. Daillet was a former regional leader of Frances centrist Democratic Movement party before he was expelled in 2010. He reportedly runs a website calling for the overthrow of the French government and supports extreme conspiracy theories including calling for a halt to the undue placement of children" and the use of face masks and 5G technology. YUCCA VALLEY, Calif. (AP) The man who shot and killed a Southern California sheriff's deputy after an attempted traffic stop this week in a desert community east of Los Angeles had a warrant out for his arrest, authorities said. Bilal Winston Shabazz was being sought on a no-bail warrant out of Los Angeles County, the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department said. MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) A record number of Montanans are enrolled in the states Medicaid expansion program, which provides health insurance for low-income adults, according to the state health department. Nearly 99,000 people were being served by the program in April, which is 18,300 more than the nearly 80,500 enrolled a year earlier, according to state data. SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) The secretary of the New Mexico General Services Department announced his retirement Wednesday after about 30 years in state government. Ken Ortiz, 51, will retire from the state New Mexico General Services Department, which provides resources and services supporting state agencies, local government bodies and public schools, The Santa Fe New Mexican reported. During his two years in the position, the department made $32 million in energy investments to state buildings, added 28 electric cars to its fleet and installed 30 charging stations for the cars. The investments included installing solar panels, new central-air systems, low-flush toilets and tinted windows, Ortiz said. The investments are expected to save the department more than $1 million in energy costs, he said. It helps all of us, Ortiz said of the energy-efficiency work. Not just state employees, but the citizens of New Mexico and our children for generations to come. Ortiz also said the department assisted in planning a new 44,000-square-foot (4,000-square-meter) forensic laboratory under construction in Santa Fe, worked to become more transparent and bring more government contract dollars to local businesses. Ortiz first began in the position after Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham was elected, serving as chief of staff and other leadership roles in the secretary of state's office from 2011 through 2018. He had previously served as secretary of the Department of Workforce Solutions and director of the Motor Vehicle Division. His career in government began in 1993, where he also worked in the Taxation and Revenue Department and the Human Services Department. Its mixed feelings, Ortiz said. Its tough to leave, but Im also looking forward to the next chapter in my life as well. I have really enjoyed the opportunities and the people Ive gotten to work with. Ortiz said he has no immediate plans beyond spending time with his family. Deputy Secretary Duffy Rodriguez is expected to serve as the department's interim head while the governors office searches for a replacement for Ortiz. I am deeply grateful to Ken for his willingness to serve New Mexicans in this role, Lujan Grisham said. He has been a steady and trustworthy public servant for decades. I wish him the best. TRENTON, N.J. (AP) New Jersey's Democrat-led Legislature on Thursday passed a bill to end the public health emergency brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak. The measure, which passed with Democrats in favor and Republicans against, ends most of the more than 100 executive orders that Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy enacted to address the pandemic, but leaves about a dozen of them in place until January. The bill won't go into effect until 30 days after its' signed into law. Murphy, whose administration was involved in drafting the measure, said in a joint statement with Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin that he will sign the legislation on Friday. Thursday's vote came after Murphy and legislative leaders announced recently that they'd work to end the public health emergency that gave the governor extraordinary powers, including mandating masks and requiring social distancing. The legislation leaves in place a moratoriums on evictions and utility shutoffs, among others. It also leaves in place an executive order that barred the garnishment of stimulus checks and extends certain rulemaking deadlines, among other directives from the governor. The legislation also provides that the state's face mask and distancing requirements cannot be more restrictive than what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise. It does, though, allow for more stringent requirements if the state's COVID-19 hospitalizations spike, the transmission rate rises above 1 or spot positivity increases substantially. Republicans derided the legislation as window dressing, saying that it accomplishes nothing that couldn't have been done by the governor on his own since the power to end the public health emergency rests with him. The bill is completely useless, Republican Assembly member Brian Bergen said during a debate on the Assembly floor. They were buoyed by a boisterous crowd outside the statehouse building that at times chanted kill the bill, and hoisted signs criticizing Murphy over keeping a mandate for masks in schools in place for now. Some banners read: Free the smiles unmask our kids, and, It's not about the virus. It's about control. There were also banners and T-shirts reflecting the slogans of Republicans running in Tuesday's gubernatorial primary. Amy Rozen, 51, of Rockaway, was among the crowd at the rally. She said she was a progressive Democrat, but wouldn't support Murphy this year because of what she cast as his mishandling of the outbreak. She also echoed GOP concerns that the measure moved too fast without giving people enough time to review it. They didnt leave any time for public comments or even for the legislators even to understand. Its been rammed through. The people of New Jersey are not going to stand for that, she said. Democratic Assembly member Nicholas Chiaravalloti, a sponsor of the bill, defended the legislation, saying it sets timelines that aren't included in executive orders. What this bill does is provide a definitive end to the public health emergency," he said. Murphy first signed an executive order declaring a public health emergency at the outset of the pandemic in March 2020. He's renewed it every month since then until recently, when he said he planned to let it expire, but not without legislation that enshrined certain parts of his orders. New Jersey has vaccinated nearly 4.3 million people. Murphy set a goal of inoculating 70% of the adult population, or 4.7 million people, by June 30. WARREN, Mass. (AP) A person of interest has been named in the murder of Molly Bish, a 16-year-old lifeguard who vanished from her post at a Massachusetts pond in 2000. Francis Frank P. Sumner Sr., who died in 2016, is being investigated in the 2000 murder after investigators recently received new information, Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. announced Thursday. HONOLULU (AP) A white man the mayor has tapped to fill a vacancy on the Honolulu Police Commission said he doesn't believe racial discrimination exists in Hawaii. When City Councilwoman Esther Kiaaina asked Larry Ignas at a council meeting Wednesday if he acknowledged there is racial discrimination in Hawaii, the 77-year-old said he hasnt seen any in his more than 30 years in the state. I have never seen any, Ignas said. I dont see any discrimination in Hawaii not like back in the mainland." He founded the private security firm Star Protection Agency and later ran United Security Alarms. Before coming to Hawaii, he was a police officer in East Chicago, Indiana. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, attended the council meeting but did not testify on behalf of Ignas, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. Blangiardi declined to answer questions from the newspaper, including whether he shares Ignas beliefs on racial discrimination. Councilwoman Radiant Cordero called his comments out of touch and upsetting. Council Chairman Tommy Waters said, Mr. Ignas comments were insensitive, offensive and frankly, ignorant." Waters noted that a Honolulu Police Department report showed that Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, who make up 25% of Oahus population, were the subject in more than a third of the incidents involving police use of force in 2019. Hawaii residents who are Black or part-Black, and represent only 4.3% of Honolulus population, were subject of the use of force in 7.4% of incidents. After the hearing, council members referred the nomination to the City Council Committee on Public Safety for further review. Fourteen out of 17 people who submitted written testimony and all five who testified remotely were opposed to Ignas serving on the commission. Louis G. Herman, a professor of political science at University of Hawaii-West Oahu wrote in testimony that Ignas' career seems to have been focused on protection of property. There is no evidence of post high school education, any experience in investigating complaints against the police, any concern with or knowledge of systemic racism in policing, militarization of police forces in the United States, excessive police use of force, lethal police shootings, he wrote. Has Mr. Ignas ever been an advocate for the community at large? For marginalized groups? Does he have any knowledge of or experience with our vulnerable communities, the mentally ill, homeless, Pacific Islanders, victims of domestic violence. Jill Baptist submitted testimony in favor of Ignas. As the general manager of Alakea Corporate Tower, Larry has made security a priority for the building, its tenants and visitors," she wrote. He has trained his team to be vigilant and mindful of potential dangers surrounding the building. BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) The investigation into the disappearance of an Indiana University student 10 years ago continues as police say they keep receiving tips. Lauren Spierer was 20 when she vanished on June 3, 2011, after a night out partying with friends in Bloomington. Searches around the city and the surrounding wooded countryside thats dotted with lakes and water-filled limestone quarries failed to turn up any sign of the Greenburgh, New York, woman. WASHINGTON - Democratic leaders and activists are urgently stepping up pressure on Sen. Joe Manchin III to support legislation to fight Republican-led voting restrictions across the country, with party officials increasingly concluding that the battle over voting rights could come down to what the centrist Democrat from West Virginia does. In a rare show of public frustration with his own party on Tuesday, President Joe Biden appeared to lash out at Manchin when he accused a pair of unnamed senators of aligning too closely with Republicans and stalling efforts to pass sweeping voting standards. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., recently announced that his chamber would vote this month on a House-passed elections bill co-sponsored by every Democratic senator except Manchin - a move that would force Manchin to pick a side in a fight that has taken on new urgency in recent weeks. Even some of Manchin's Democratic colleagues are beginning to prod him more aggressively to join their cause, while activists and civil rights leaders are loudly decrying his hesitation. The Rev. Al Sharpton said Wednesday that he and other civil rights leaders plan to meet with Manchin next week to talk about the importance of supporting Democrats' voting legislation. "The idea there is to is not to attack Manchin but to appeal to him," said Sharpton. He said NAACP president Derrick Johnson and National Urban League president Marc Morial are also expected at the Tuesday meeting. The obstacle Manchin poses to his party's voting rights effort is twofold: He is also one of several Democrats who oppose changing Senate rules to advance legislation with a simple majority rather than a 60-vote supermajority. While Manchin is not alone in his party in opposing the elimination of the filibuster, he has emerged as one of its most prominent defenders, which has made him a lightning rod for frustrated Democrats in the early months of Biden's presidency. Some fear that he will enable Republicans to block Democratic plans to address climate change, gun violence and immigration, even though his party controls the White House and Congress. When it comes to voting laws, Manchin has struck the most sensitive nerve. Democrats increasingly see an existential threat from Republican-led state governments determined to place new limits on voting, which critics say would disproportionately affect voters of color, a core part of the Democratic coalition. One Democratic congressional aide, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid, said "panic" is the right word to describe the mood in the party. The GOP moves, which include scaling back the use of ballot drop boxes, limiting access to mail ballots and creating new identification requirements, threaten to make it harder for Democrats to keep their congressional majorities in the midterms and hold the White House in 2024. Florida, Georgia and Arizona, all battleground states with potentially competitive Senate races, have enacted new Republican voting laws this year, while a Republican attempt to do so in Texas was thwarted by Democratic state legislators over the weekend. As former president Donald Trump continues to claim the 2020 election was tainted by fraud despite no evidence to back his assertion, Republicans say they are safeguarding future votes. Many Democrats argue the Republican strategy is a threat to democracy. "This sacred right is under assault with incredible intensity like I've never seen," Biden said Tuesday in Tulsa, where he marked the 100th anniversary of a massacre of Black residents. "It's completely un-American." Sharpton, who attended the speech, said he briefly spoke with Biden there, reiterating to the president that voting rights is a crucial priority. "He said, 'I understand that, Al.' And he says, 'I'm doing what I can, and I understand what ya'll want to do,'" recalled Sharpton of Biden's response. He said Biden committed to discussing the topic more in an upcoming meeting with civil rights leaders that organizers are seeking to schedule. Biden has come under growing pressure from Democrats demanding that he use the powers of his office to combat the Republican strategy. "That is a problem with the Democratic Party. What you see with Republicans - they stick together no matter what," said the Rev. William Barber II, a civil rights leader who attended Biden's speech in Tulsa. "They need to let Manchin understand we elected Joe Biden - not Joe Manchin - to be president." White House officials have argued that Biden has already made strides, pointing to an executive order he signed in March to expand voting access. But that hasn't stopped Republicans from moving swiftly to change the laws in key states. The only real answer, in the eyes of many Democrats, is federal legislation. "This legislation is the ballgame," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., speaking of the "For the People Act," the marquee Democratic voting bill that Schumer vowed to bring to the Senate floor this month. "If we want any fair strike zone or distance between the bases, we've got to pass this." Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who has helped spearhead the "For the People Act" in the Senate, accused Republicans of waging a "continuing insurrection" after their 2020 electoral losses. She said colleagues such as Sens. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., have spoken up in "heartfelt caucus meetings" about concerns with new laws or proposals in their states. Klobuchar said she has had discussions with Manchin, including about changes she pursued in the legislation to ease concerns of the West Virginia secretary of state. "He's well aware of them," said Klobuchar. With the bill headed to the Senate floor, she added, "To me, it's a jump ball." In a nod to the anxieties in his party and the shrinking window for passing major legislation before lawmakers turn their attention to the midterm elections next year, Biden said Tuesday that "June should be a month of action on Capitol Hill," as he offered a blunt defense for the inaction that plagued his earliest months in office. "I hear all the folks on TV saying why doesn't Biden get this done? Well, because Biden only has a majority of effectively four votes in the House and a tie in the Senate, with two members of the Senate who vote more with my Republican friends," he said. "But we're not giving up." Although Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona stand out in the Democratic caucus for both their willingness to work with the other side and their support for the filibuster, both vote mostly with the party. But the point of Biden's remark was clear, sending a sharp message about his willingness to call out even some of his allies. White House press secretary Jen Psaki sought to defuse tensions on Wednesday, saying that Biden was not criticizing the two Democrats and arguing that "sometimes, these conversations can be oversimplified." She added, "I don't think he was intending to convey anything other than a little bit of commentary on TV punditry." Representatives for Manchin and Sinema declined to comment. Unlike Manchin, Sinema is a co-sponsor of the For the People Act, though she does not support overturning the filibuster to pass it. While both of their positions stand as huge barriers to passing the bill, which is a catchall for numerous liberal priorities on voting rights, government ethics and campaign finance, Manchin's unwillingness to embrace the bill on its merits is especially alarming to Democrats. Some of the provisions would set minimum standards for early voting and vote-by-mail that could override some of the state Republican voting laws. Others would force transparency for so-called dark money donations to politically active nonprofit groups. Manchin has expressed support for these proposals, while remaining silent on other provisions, such as mandating nonpartisan redistricting commissions and establishing a public financing system for congressional campaigns. Manchin has said his overriding concern is a lack of bipartisan support for the measure. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and his colleagues have united in opposition to any federal attempt to dictate state election laws. With the Senate split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, Manchin and Sinema have emerged as two of the most influential figures in government. If Biden and Schumer lose the support of even one of them on any given vote, they must find at least one Republican to join them - an almost impossible task given the strong partisan divisions that have come to define governance. Manchin in particular has embraced his powerful status, often sending warning shots to Democrats seeking to challenge him to fall in line. As a Democratic officeholder from a conservative state where former president Donald Trump twice won handily, Manchin is eager to showcase any distance from party leadership. Biden announced Tuesday that he has tapped Vice President Kamala Harris, who has clashed with Manchin, to tackle voting rights. After Harris went on a West Virginia news station to pitch Biden's pandemic relief bill this year, Manchin said he was flabbergasted. "I couldn't believe it," he said on WSAZ-TV. "No one called me." Now, Harris and Manchin will be two of the most closely watched Democrats on voting rights. Harris issued a statement saying she planned to work with "voting rights organizations, community organizations, and the private sector." She added, "we will also work with members of Congress." With their majority dependent on complete unity and Harris's tiebreaking vote - and Manchin and Sinema clear about their wariness about changing Senate rules - Schumer and other Democrats formulated a strategy aimed at proving to the holdouts that Republican intransigence will always dash their hopes of bipartisanship. But it wasn't until Friday that Republicans actually blocked a Democratic bill - when efforts to close debate and vote on creating a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection failed 54-35. Schumer announced his intention to move forward with the voting bill just moments after the vote. Manchin told reporters after the commission vote that he was "very, very frustrated" and that the Republican opposition was "truly disheartening." But he showed no sign that he was willing to budge on the filibuster, saying he was "not ready to destroy our government" and that Democrats "have to have faith there's 10 good people" in the GOP ranks willing to join them on legislation. As the only Democratic senator who has opposed moving forward with the substance of the For the People Act, arguing that the bill as written is "too darn broad" and that it would be a mistake to proceed with voting legislation without bipartisan support, Manchin has drawn concerns from his own colleagues behind closed doors. This dynamic was on display last week in a closed Senate Democratic caucus meeting, according to multiple attendees. The party's top elections lawyer, Marc Elias, briefed members on the scope and scale of the state-level GOP efforts underway, and several senators pleaded for action as Manchin listened. None mentioned the West Virginian by name, the attendees said, but one said the discussion was definitely directed at Manchin. Democrats are hoping that Schumer's decision to bring the measure to the floor for a vote could force Manchin off his position - or at least demonstrate that Republicans are unwilling to even debate the issue. Failing to reach even 50 votes would be an embarrassing setback for Democrats, who have described the present threat to voting rights and democracy in increasingly stark terms. But that possibility continues to loom over Schumer's gambit. "I'm adamantly opposed to dividing our country any further," Manchin told reporters last month. "A major policy change such as that (which) goes down on partisan lines would be very detrimental and, I think, very harmful to our country." Still, some Democrats are hopeful Manchin will come around, given his track record. Despite his well-tended reputation as a centrist maverick, Manchin to date has generally been a team player for Democrats. After airing some misgivings about the scope of Biden's $2 trillion pandemic relief package and forcing some rollbacks to unemployment benefits, for example, he voted for the bill. No Republican in the House and Senate supported it. Though Manchin derailed Biden's first nominee for budget director, Neera Tanden, he has supported several other controversial administration nominees, such as Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Pentagon official Colin Kahl and two senior Justice Department officials, Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke. By allowing pressure for action to build over time, Schumer has in effect sought to run a playbook used by his predecessor as Democratic leader, former senator Harry Reid of Nevada. When Reid led the 2013 effort to invoke the so-called nuclear option and change Senate rules to allow for the confirmation of most presidential nominees on a simple majority vote, that effort took shape over the course of months, with Reid bringing up some judicial nominees repeatedly to demonstrate a GOP blockade and unify his caucus. In the end, however, his caucus was not completely unified. Three Democrats voted to keep the 60-vote threshold for nominees; one of them was Manchin. - - - The Washington Post's John Wagner contributed to this report. BENNETTSVILLE, S.C. (AP) Since the country's founding, no Black woman has ever served as a governor in the United States. But South Carolina Democratic state Sen. Mia McLeod says she's the person who can change that, despite the fact that Democrats haven't been elected to a statewide office there in 15 years. I want to be the person that is running not because Im a woman, and not because Im Black, but because I am so connected to and so much like the people that I represent, McLeod, a Columbia-area lawmaker, told The Associated Press ahead of Thursday's official 2022 campaign launch. Its a tremendous responsibility, but its one that Im excited about. McLeod, 52, spoke extensively with AP during a Tuesday tour of her hometown of Bennettsville, a rural hamlet about 100 mi (160 km) northeast of the state capital, and seat of Marlboro County, often home to one of the state's highest unemployment rates. Asked about her top campaign concerns, McLeod cited education and health care, noting the area's crumbling schools and lack of a hospital since 2015. I believe rural counties like mine are a microcosm for whats happening statewide, when it comes to our rural communities that have been left behind, she said, of her hometown, arguing that Republicans like Gov. Henry McMaster, in his first full term, had failed the state. According to University of South Carolina professor Bobby Donaldson, a scholar of Southern history and African American culture, McLeod is the first Black woman to seek South Carolina's top job. If elected, she would be only its second female governor. She would also be the first-ever Black governor in the state whose constitution was reconfigured during the Jim Crow era, weakening the office in the event that a Black person were ever elected to it. A state lawmaker for a decade, McLeod was elected to the House in 2010, and the Senate in 2016. A communications consultant, she's served several state government stints, including director of the Office of Victim Assistance and government affairs director at the state probation department. In the Senate, McLeod has made recent waves. In spring 2020, as lawmakers returned to Columbia following an abrupt, pandemic-related halt, McLeod stayed away, citing concerns related to her battle with sickle cell anemia and calling Republican leaders decision to hold in-person session tone-deaf and deadly as coronavirus cases rose. During a contentious debate over this years heartbeat bill," which bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, McLeod in January railed against Republicans for opposing exceptions for rape victims, revealing that she had been the victim of sexual assault. The measure became law but is stalled in litigation. Two Democrats have announced gubernatorial bids: activist Gary Votour and Joe Cunningham, who in 2018 flipped his congressional district from red to blue for the first time in decades, before losing reelection to Republican Nancy Mace last year. Asked how she will differentiate herself from Cunningham, who has been traveling South Carolina in the weeks since his launch, McLeod said she hadn't followed Cunningham closely, but looked forward to an active primary, citing her willingness to challenge fellow Democrats on legislative issues including redistricting. I am a fierce advocate who is unafraid to fight for the people and advocate for the people in the state, McLeod said. Even if I have to fight alone, and even when I have to fight members of my own party, Ive shown that I have the courage to lead. But McMaster is the foe McLeod references most often, criticizing what she characterizes as a leadership void, particularly during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Tapped to give the Democratic response to the governors State of the State address this year, McLeod excoriated the Republican for bringing South Carolina to a bleak place, arguing McMaster pushed economic reopening too quickly, failed in not instituting a statewide mask mandate, and rushed a return to five-day-a-week, in-person education. Winning a statewide office in South Carolina is an uphill climb for Democrats. Republicans have long dominated the state's politics, winning all statewide elections over the past 15 years and controlling the governorship for more than two decades. DNC chairman Jaime Harrison, who smashed money records in his 2020 challenge against U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, was defeated by a double-digit margin. Asked how to overcome that kind of statewide math, McLeod said she'd apply the same nonpartisan standard to voter outreach as she does to constituent services. I never ask anybody, when they email me for help or call me for help, whether theyre a Democrat or a Republican, said McLeod, recounting tales of constituents from all political persuasions who sought her help during the pandemic, citing difficulties with state unemployment resources or vaccine availability two areas where she says McMaster failed the state. I know what connects with everyday people, because I am everyday people," she said. Acknowledging the historic nature of her run, McLeod says she hopes to appeal to all voters regardless of race, although she understands that some may connect with her candidacy on a personal level, like an older Black woman did at a recent event. "'Baby, Im going to knock on every door in Calhoun County for you,' McLeod says the woman told her. She finally had somebody who saw her, and who was speaking her language, and who talked to her not about racial issues, not about Black and white, but just about life and living and wanting the same for our families that these white men, who have been in these positions historically, forever, want for their families. Its not like Im speaking a different language, McLeod said. Its just that they havent ever seen or heard anybody who looks like me speak in a way that resonates with all the people. ___ Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP. The new White House science adviser wants to have a vaccine ready to fight the next pandemic in just about 100 days after recognizing a potential viral outbreak. In his first interview after being sworn in Wednesday, Eric Lander painted a rosy near future where a renewed American emphasis on science not only better prepares the world for the next pandemic with plug-and-play vaccines, but also changes how medicine fights disease and treats patients, curbs climate change and further explores space. He even threw in a Star Trek reference. This is a moment in so many ways, not just health, that we can rethink fundamental assumptions about whats possible and thats true of climate and energy and many areas, Lander told The Associated Press. Lander took his oath of office on a 500-year-old fragment of the Mishnah, an ancient Jewish text documenting oral traditions and laws. He is the first director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to be promoted to Cabinet level. Lander said President Joe Bidens elevation of the science post is a symbolic show that science should have a seat at the table but also allows him to have higher-level talks with different agency chiefs about making policy. Lander is a mathematician and geneticist by training who was part of the human genome mapping project and directed the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard. He said he is particularly focused not so much on this pandemic, but the lessons learned from this one to prepare for the next one. It was amazing at one level that we were able to produce highly effective vaccines in less than a year, but from another point of view youd say, Boy, a years a long time, even though in the past it would take three years or four years, Lander said. To really make a difference we want to get this done in 100 days. And so a lot of us have been talking about a 100-day target from the recognition from a virus with pandemic potential. It would mean that we would have had a vaccine in early April if that had happened this time, early April of 2020, Lander said. It makes you gulp for a second, but its totally feasible to do that. Scientists were working on so-called all-purpose ready-to-go platform technologies for vaccines long before the pandemic. Theyre considered plug-and-play. Instead of using the germ itself to make a vaccine, they use messenger RNA and add the genetic code for the germ. Thats what happened with the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 shots. Beyond being optimistic about confronting future pandemics, Lander wonders about the implications for preventing cancer. "Maybe the same sort of experience about moving so much faster than we thought is applicable to cancer, said Lander, who during the Obama administration was co-chair of the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. A company already has been working on that. For that matter, the pandemic and telehealth brought the doctor to patients in some ways. Lander said he is reimagining a world where we rearrange a lot of things to get more patient-centered health care, including community health workers checking up every few weeks on people about their blood pressure, blood sugar and other chronic problems. Two of Landers predecessor praised him. Neal Lane, President Bill Clintons science adviser, said Lander is perfect for the pandemic because of the need for a strategy and international agreements. Obama's science chief, John Holden, called him a Renaissance man. Lander's nomination had been delayed for months as senators sought more information about meetings he had with the late Jeffrey Epstein, a financier who was charged with sex trafficking before his apparent suicide. Lander said he only met with Epstein twice, in 2012, and never requested or received funds from Epstein or his foundation. At his confirmation hearing, Lander also apologized for a 2016 article he wrote that downplayed the work of two Nobel Prize-winning female scientists. Lander, who has visited Greenland on a balmy 72-degree day, told the AP he sees climate change as an incredibly serious threat to this planet in many, many ways. Still, Lander said he was more optimistic now than he and others were a decade ago because I see a path to doing something about it. Lander pointed to a drop of about in 90% in solar and energy wind costs, making them now as cheap as fossil fuels that cause climate change. But he said whats also needed is an explosion of ideas to improve battery life and provide carbon-free energy that is not weather-dependent. Those innovations need federal incentives that are part of Bidens jobs package, he said. Reducing methane is key to fighting climate change, Lander added, but first improvements are needed in technology to determine where methane is leaking from. As for space, Lander said he was too new to comment on whether heading to the moon or Mars should be the goal. The Obama administration redirected NASA away from the Bush-era plan to send astronauts back to the moon and was more aimed for Mars or an asteroid. The Trump administration not only focused back on the moon but set a 2024 goal for a new moon landing. Are we going to go to the moon and are we going to go to Mars and are we going to moons of Jupiter? Sure. The exact order I think is great to think about or great to talk about, Lander said. He quoted Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, when Captain James T. Kirks love interest asked if he was from outer space. He responded: Im from Iowa, I only work in outer space. Adds Lander: That was a fun line in Star Trek IV, but folks in Iowa are really going to say that." ___ AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard contributed to this report. ___ Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Kirsten Carlson, Wayne State University (THE CONVERSATION) The Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the sovereign power of American Indian tribes on June 1, 2021, ruling that tribal police officers have the power to temporarily detain and search non-Indians on public rights-of-way through American Indian lands. In most communities in the United States, the local government has the authority to investigate and prosecute both misdemeanor and felony crimes. And local police can detain and search individuals suspected of state and federal crimes, at least until handing them off to the appropriate authorities. Tribal governments the local governments in Indian country have the power to prosecute tribal citizens on tribal lands. When it comes to non-Indians, though, the situation is different. In 1978, the Supreme Court ruled that tribal governments could not prosecute non-Indians for any crimes in Indian country. Tribal governments have to rely on state and federal governments to prosecute non-Indians which doesnt happen often. Effectively, non-Indians have been able to commit crimes in Indian country with impunity. Tribal police are often the first responders to reported crimes on tribal lands, regardless of whether the victims or the alleged perpetrators are American Indians or not. Now, with this latest ruling, the court has clarified that tribal police can search non-Indians suspected of state or federal crimes in Indian country and detain them until handing them off to federal or state authorities. A tribal officers encounter Late one night in February 2016, Crow Nation police officer James Saylor stopped to examine a truck sitting on the side of Highway 212 on the Crow Reservation in Montana. He wasnt attempting to arrest the occupants, but rather thought they might need assistance. When he approached the truck, however, Saylor noticed that the driver, Joshua James Cooley, had watery bloodshot eyes. Saylor also saw two semiautomatic rifles sitting on the front seat. He ordered Cooley out of the truck, conducted a pat-down search, and called for backup from other officers. Saylor then noticed a glass pipe and a plastic bag of methamphetamine in the truck. Upon their arrival, federal and state officers instructed Saylor to seize the drug evidence. Federal officers eventually arrested Cooley. A federal grand jury later charged Cooley with gun and drug charges under federal law. Cooley sought to defeat the charges by arguing that the drug evidence seized by Saylor could not be introduced into court because a Crow Tribe police officer lacked the authority to investigate crimes by a non-Indian. Cooleys argument included a claim that the Supreme Courts 1978 ruling also limited the ability of tribal police officers to detain and search non-Indians in Indian country. Federal Indian law attorneys feared that a Supreme Court decision limiting tribal policing authority would further undermine the safety of Indians and non-Indians living in Indian country. They worried such a ruling could hamstring the ability of tribal police to detain and search potential criminals. Tribes have power on their lands The Supreme Court unanimously ruled against Cooley. Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the court, stated clearly that no treaty or statute has explicitly divested Indian tribes of the policing authority at issue. The new ruling built on another Supreme Court decision from 1981, declaring that a tribe may retain power over the conduct of non-Indians within its reservation when that conduct threatens or has some direct effect on the political integrity, the economic security, or health or welfare of the tribe. The new ruling made clear that this case unmistakably affected the health or welfare of the tribe, saying that deny[ing] a tribal police officer authority to search and detain any person he or she believes may commit or has committed a crime would make it difficult for tribes to protect themselves against ongoing threats. [Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend. Sign up for our weekly newsletter.] This decision affirms the authority tribes have on tribal lands, and acknowledges the vital role that tribal governments play in keeping their communities safe. It also reinforces Congress recent efforts in the Tribal Law and Order Act and Violence Against Women Act to close legal loopholes that have allowed non-Indians to avoid accountability for crimes committed in Indian country. The justices focus on the practical importance of tribal sovereignty to ensure safety for everyone in Indian country signaled that non-Indians may be held responsible for crimes they may commit in Indian country. Tribal police officers, like local police across the country, can detain and search non-Indians suspected of state and federal crimes in Indian country, including making suspects wait until state or federal officers arrive to take over the case. That decreases the likelihood of potential criminals getting away scot-free. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/supreme-court-affirms-tribal-police-authority-over-non-indians-162050. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) A Tennessee state panel is proposing another $44.6 million in federal COVID-19 relief aid to increase the payouts businesses can receive for their losses due to the pandemic. The proposal announced at a meeting Wednesday of the states Financial Accountability Stimulus Group drew backlash from critics, who note that businesses will see an additional boost as the state begins cutting off extra payments to unemployed people through federal pandemic aid starting next month. Currently, the state has reported approving $73 million through the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund for more than 3,200 businesses at an average payment of about $22,500. The group is proposing to raise the cap on payments per business from $30,000 to $100,000, saying more than 1,100 businesses have shown that they lost more than $30,000 during the pandemic. The state plans to reach out to those businesses to assess their situations and won't make the payments automatically. One of the things that we have worked really hard to do during the pandemic is to make sure that livelihoods are maintained, and the best way to do that is to make sure that the companies that Tennesseans work for are able to continue to operate, Republican Gov. Bill Lee told reporters Wednesday. Democratic state Sen. Heidi Campbell called it an immoral double standard to prioritize paying businesses more after Lee last month announced a halt to the extra federal unemployment aid offered amid the COVID-19 pandemic starting July 3, including the end of $300 weekly additional payments. In Gov. Lees mind, $300 a week of federal assistance for a parent who lost their job is bad, but millions worth of federal assistance for business owners is good, Campbell, a Nashville lawmaker, said in a statement Thursday. The increase in business payments is part of Tennessee's effort to spend down the rest of $2.3 billion in federal coronavirus relief money from the prior Coronavirus Relief Fund. The panel also recommended using the funding to cover almost $303 million in state payroll expenses eligible for reimbursement. Officials said spending the existing federal relief cash is the priority before diving into the new recovery package, President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan. On Wednesday, state Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner David Salyers announced a request of more than $1 billion for water and sewer projects, which are among the spending categories allowed under the American Rescue Plan. The state expects a fiscal recovery fund from the law of about $3.7 billion, while Tennessee local governments will have autonomy to spend almost $2.3 billion within permitted categories, from broadband to public health improvements. State officials mulled offering grants to match local governments if they spend their share on water and sewer initiatives. House Speaker Cameron Sexton recommended that water projects get priority over sewer investments. The American Rescue Plan federal money must be obligated by Dec. 31, 2024 and spent by Dec 31, 2026. Tennessee's highest court will soon decide whether a contentious school voucher program is constitutional after attorneys made their final arguments before the justices Thursday. The program, which has never been implemented, has faced legality questions ever since the GOP-controlled General Assembly narrowly advanced the measure and Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed off on the law in 2019. Last year, a lower court decided that the program violated the Tennessee Constitutions home rule, which says the Legislature cant pass measures singling out individual counties without local support. An appeals court later upheld that decision. According to the law, the voucher program would apply only to Nashville and Shelby County, which includes Memphis, the areas with the lowest performing schools and regions with Democratic political strongholds. Those Democratic lawmakers largely opposed the measure while Republican lawmakers repeatedly tweaked the legislation to ensure it didn't apply to their regions. Tennessees attorney general office and school choice advocacy groups have countered that the state is in charge of providing education and thus the home rule measure does not apply. On Thursday, attorneys also argued that voucher opponents which include Nashville and Shelby County officials do not have standing to sue because any concern of harm was speculation since the program had not been given a chance to be implemented. Known as education savings accounts, the program would allow eligible Tennessee families to use up to $7,600 in public tax dollars on private schooling tuition and other pre-approved expenses. Supporters argue ESAs are beneficial to providing families with more options to improve their childs education when they likely did not choose to live in a poor-performing district. Yet teacher unions, parents and other education advocates have raised concerns that the law does little to improve the states failing schools because the program doesn't address the needs of the students left behind. Furthermore, local counties which help fund public schools along with the state are not allowed to reduce their school funding amounts if students enroll in the ESA program and leave the school district. This ESA act is like the Hotel California students check out of the school district but financially they never leave," said Bob Cooper, Nashville's law director. Because of the county requirement in the ESA statute, then that keeps the enrollment artificially high and keeps the county from taking advantage of then reducing its maintenance of effort," Cooper added. Cooper noted that more than 700 applicants applied in the ESA program before the lower court blocked its implementation. That means Nashville and Shelby County would have been forced to fund those children even though they weren't enrolled at the public school districts. The justices did not indicate when a ruling may be issued. However, Lee told reporters earlier this week that should the high court uphold the law, Tennessee would be ready to implement the program in January. Currently, five states allow some sort of ESA: Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and North Carolina. The Nevada Supreme Court struck down its states law after ruling that the funding mechanism was unconstitutional. In Tennessee, there is an existing program that is fairly small and much more narrowly focused. Parents of students with certain disabilities can withdraw their children from public school and then receive up to $6,000 to pay for private educational services. KENT, Wash. (AP) A murder trial in the first case brought against an officer since Washington state voters made it easier to prosecute police for using deadly force has been set for Feb. 28. Auburn Officer Jeffrey Nelson was charged last year with second-degree murder and first-degree assault in the shooting death of Jesse Sarey, 26, on May 31, 2019. It was the first time an officer was charged with using excessive force under Initiative 940, which removed the requirement that prosecutors show an officer acted with malice. At a Thursday hearing, King County Superior Court Judge Nicole Gaines Phelps signed off on the trial date the prosecution and defense had worked out. Nelson was not at the hearing. Nelson had responded to reports that a man was throwing garbage, banging on store windows and kicking vehicles in a shopping area in Auburn, a city of about 70,000, about 28 miles (45 kilometers) south of Seattle. Nelson confronted Sarey outside a grocery story and told him he was under arrest for disorderly conduct. After Sarey failed to comply with Nelson's orders, the officer put his hands on Sarey's shoulders and began a physical arrest. At one point, Nelson is seen in surveillance video from nearby businesses punching Sarey seven times in the head and upper body before pulling out his firearm and shooting Sarey in the torso. He fell back on the pavement and Nelson aimed his gun again. When it jammed, the video shows him clearing the round, racking another bullet and firing a second shot into Sarey's forehead. Nelson has pleaded not guilty. His previous lawyer, Alan Harvey, has said the officer was acting in self-defense when he shot Sarey. Nelson's new attorney, Emma Scanlan, declined to comment Thursday. King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg has said Nelson escalated the situation with Sarey, failed to wait for backup before confronting him, and that the level of force he used was unreasonable. CHARLOTTE, Tenn. (AP) The trial for a Tennessee man who is accused of killing his 5-year-old son got underway Thursday in Dickson County. Joe Clyde Daniels was reported missing April 4, 2018. His father, Joseph Daniels, is charged with first-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty. OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) More than two dozens Oakland police officers were reprimanded or suspended for using tear gas last summer against peaceful protesters who took to the streets following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, officials said Wednesday. Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said the disciplined officers, who included a deputy chief, violated department policy involving tear gas. The policy is very clear, officers were not authorized to use gas in a manner which they did, and for that, the department's held them accountable, Armstrong said. Hundreds of people gathered in Oakland and some briefly shut down Interstate 880. Things became increasingly tense as protesters defaced buildings, smashed windows and threw bottles and fireworks at police, injuring several officers. The city saw protests over four nights last May and June that began peacefully but sank into chaos late at night. On May 29, 2020, a federal agent was killed by a member of the far-right Boogaloo movement, authorities said. Dozens of businesses were damaged or destroyed. Police said 13 officers were injured and people in car caravans broke into marijuana dispensaries and other businesses in Oakland and neighboring Emeryville. With limited resources, the department was forced to deploy the same officers over four difficult, exhausting days, Armstrong said. On June 1, 2020, police declared an unlawful assembly and fired tear gas into a crowd, prompting some demonstrators to pour milk or water into their stinging eyes. There was a failure on June 1 and for that, we are holding ourselves accountable, Armstrong said. It starts with me. I will ensure, moving forward, that there is a strong plan, that there's a strong supervisory and command control, and that we are minimizing the use of force. Armstrong wouldn't say how many officers faced disciplinary action but Mayor Libby Schaaf told KTVU-TV it was more than two dozen. WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden on Thursday instructed the federal government to elevate anti-corruption measures as a central U.S. foreign policy and national security issue. A report expected in about six months from an interagency review will recommend ways to strengthen corruption-fighting efforts. A presidential memo directs agencies to identify how they can improve intelligence-gathering and combat illicit financial activities. It reaffirms Washington's commitment to sanction or pursue legal action against those involved in corruption, instructs agencies to work with international organizations to tackle the problem and emphasizes enforcement measures in foreign assistance programs. In a statement, Biden said fighting corruption is a mission for the entire world. He said it was not just good governance. It is self-defense. It is patriotism, and its essential to the preservation of our democracy and our future. The memo is aimed at delivering on a campaign promise. In a Foreign Policy essay written during the 2020 campaign, Biden pledged to lead efforts internationally to bring transparency to the global financial system, go after illicit tax havens, seize stolen assets, and make it more difficult for leaders who steal from their people to hide behind anonymous front companies. On Wednesday, the Treasury Department announced sanctions against a number of Bulgarian officials and businessmen and their related entities, in what was said to be the department's single biggest action targeting corruption to date. During Secretary of State Antony Blinkens visit to Central America this week, corruption in the region was a major focus of his private conversations with foreign leaders. During her trip to the region next week, Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to raise the issue when she meets with the presidents of Guatemala and Mexico. RENO, Nev. (AP) An extremely rare wildflower that grows only in Nevadas high desert where an Australian mining company wants to dig for lithium should be protected under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Thursday. The agency outlined its intention to propose listing Tiehms buckwheat as a threatened or endangered species as part of its belated, 12-month review of a listing petition conservationists filed in 2019. A federal judge said last month the finding was six months overdue and ordered the agency to render a decision within weeks. The conclusion announced on Thursday that federal protection is warranted could jeopardize Ioneer Ltd.s plans to build the mine halfway between Reno and Las Vegas. It also ups the ante in an early test of the Biden administrations ability to make good on promises to protect public lands and their native species while at the same time pursuing an ambitious clean energy agenda that includes bolstering production of lithium needed for electric car batteries. Environmentalists say the delicate, 6-inch (15-centimeter) tall wildflower with yellow blooms is on the brink of extinction with fewer than 30,000 individual plants remaining. Ioneer acknowledges Tiehms buckwheat hasnt been documented anywhere else in the world but insists it can co-exist with the mine. Nevertheless, the looming listing presents the biggest regulatory hurdle to date for what would be only the second large-scale lithium mine operating in the United States. Under the court order, the service now has until Sept. 30 to submit a formal rule proposing protection of the plant as a threatened or endangered species. A 60-day public comment period will follow. The Center for Biological Diversity first petitioned for federal listing in October 2019 and weeks later filed suit against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to block construction of the mine at Rhyolite Ridge west of Tonopah in the Silver Peak Range about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of the California line and 200 miles (322 km) southeast of Reno where Tesla Motors largest lithium battery factory is located. Tiehm's buckwheat shouldn't be wiped off the face of the earth by an open-pit mine, Patrick Donnelly, the center's Nevada director, said Thursday. The service stepping in to save the plant from extinction is the right call. Ioneer Managing Director Bernard Rowe said Thursday they expected the warranted finding and share the Fish and Wildlife Services commitment to protect and preserve Tiehms buckwheat in its habitat. This process will provide greater certainty around our schedule and diminishes the prospect of future litigation, he said. We remain confident that the science strongly supports the coexistence of our vital lithium operation and Tiehms buckwheat. The tiny population of Tiehms buckwheat is found on 21 acres (8 hectares) spread across 3 square miles (7.8 square kilometers) at the mine site. Scientists say the plant plays an integral role in the desert ecosystem by stabilizing soils, dispersing seeds and creating a sort of oasis that provides rare food and moisture for bees and other pollinators. The service said a 2019 survey estimated the plant's global population totaled 43,921 all at the mine site. But it said in Thursday's finding that an unprecedented rodent attack during severe drought last summer damaged or destroyed more than half the plants. It said that herbivory combined with the potential impact from the mining project would reduce the flower's population by an estimated 70% to 88% or from 43,921 individuals to roughly 5,289-8,696 individuals. Ioneer is proposing to salvage most of the remaining plants by transplanting them to another location, the service said. However, we are uncertain whether the salvage operation will succeed because current research indicates that Tiehm's buckwheat is a soil specialist, that adjacent unoccupied sites are not suitable for all early life-history stages, and there has been no testing and multiyear monitoring on the feasibility of successfully transplanting the species, the agency said. Other threats to the plant include road-building, off-road travel, livestock grazing and climate change, the service said. Ioneer says the mine would create 400 to 500 construction jobs and 300 to 400 operational jobs, and is expected to produce 22,000 tons (19,958 metric tons) of lithium enough to power hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles annually. Demand for lithium worldwide is expected to double by 2025. Much of the worlds lithium supply currently comes from Australia and South America, where Chinese firms are heavily invested. Boosting domestic production could potentially lower the price tag on a key component of President Joe Bidens $2 trillion climate plan: offering rebates to consumers to trade in gas-powered for electric cars. The only large-scale lithium mine currently operating in the U.S. is also in Nevada, only about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from where Ioneer proposes its mine. The North Carolina-based Albemarles Silver Peak Mine has been in operation since the 1960s. A third lithium mine proposed in north-central Nevada near the Oregon line at the largest known lithium deposit in the U.S. also is facing legal challenges. ___ This story corrects an early version that said the plant is 2-foot (0.6 meters) tall. It is 6 inches (15 centimeters) tall. DUBLIN, Va. (AP) A Virginia man who escaped from a jail transport during a transfer is back in custody, according to authorities. James Wesley Wall, 39, of Fancy Gap is facing new charges after his capture on Wednesday evening, Carroll County Sheriff Kevin Kemp told The Roanoke Times. The new charges are escape and petit larceny, the latter related to the handcuffs and waist chain he was wearing at the time, Kemp said. FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) A former Kentucky education commissioner has been named as the recipient of the 2021 Karem Award for Excellence in Education Policy. The Kentucky Board of Education announced during a board meeting Wednesday that the award goes to Terry Holliday, who served as state education commissioner from 2009-15, the Kentucky Department of Education said in a statement. The award recognizes a Kentuckian who makes a significant improvement to public education. Several Texas officials and groups don't agree with Gov. Greg Abbott's recent actions. On Tuesday, Abbott issued a disaster declaration in response to what he is calling a border crisis due to the "ongoing influx of unlawful immigrants." The order authorizes all available state resources to assist state and local law enforcement to protect Texans from property damage, trespassing, smuggling, and human trafficking. The Governor directed the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to take all necessary steps to discontinue state licensure of any child care facility under a contract with the federal government that shelters or detains unlawful immigrants. Additionally, Abbott directed the Texas Commission on Jail Standards and the Texas Commission to work with Texas counties to request any necessary waivers in order to give counties the flexibility needed to establish alternative detention facilities or otherwise add or expand capacity. READ ALSO: NBA fans respond to rumors of Spurs' Becky Hammon heading to Celtics San Antonio Congressman Joaquin Castro responded by calling the order a "cynical political move" that will keep vulnerable kids locked in border jails. He said Abbott's intentionally sabotaging the system for resettling unaccompanied children. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat, told KXAN he doesn't support Abbott's labeling of the situation at the border as a "disaster." "I do not think that this is a disaster," Cuellar told KXAN. "This is a state version of [former President Donald Trump] declaring a border emergency. I disagree with that." Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez issued a statement regarding the proclamation, in which he says that local law enforcement had not reported a level of criminal activity that would require a disaster proclamation. "Apparently, Governor Abbott has information that we don't have," stated. "In speaking to local law enforcement, they have not reported levels of criminal activity that would require a disaster proclamation. I have repeatedly suggested to our federal government to address comprehensive immigration reform because our current laws need change to address what we want and what we don't want." Border group La Union del Pueblo Entero also said Abbott's order is an attempt to distract from "his failure of leadership," adding his "political stunts" are the real threats to Texans. Chinese woman gives up seven-figure job to raise earthworms People's Daily Online) 16:46, June 02, 2021 Fa Yueping, a 51-year old woman who didn't grow up on a farm or previously study agriculture, made a staggering decision seven years ago when she quit her job that paid a seven-figure annual salary and decided to throw herself into raising earthworms as a way to increase crop yields. Photo shows Fa Yueping posing for a picture on her farmland. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee) After getting her doctorate in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu province, Fa worked as training instructor and corporate consultant, earning an average of 2 million yuan ($310,000) a year. However, on one occasion in 2013, when Fa worked on a consulting project aimed at developing eco-tourism in a mountainous area of Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong province for a client, she came across the use of earthworms for disposing of waste, which drew her deep interest. Fa later consulted over 600 pieces of academic literature on the practical use of earthworms. After learning about the extensive inherent value of this tiny animal, Fa made a huge decision to quit her well-paid job and invested her savings of 2 million yuan into cultivating earthworms on a leased piece of land of more than 400 mu (about 27 hectares). Photo shows Fa Yueping holding a handful of soil with earthworms in it. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee) "After earthworms die, their dissolved protein and organic matter can be returned to the soil and provide nutrients for the growth of crops," said Fa while explaining how earthworms contribute to improving the soil quality and enhancing crop yields. Since Fa had never been involved in farming before during her past education or work experience, she had to learn the agricultural business from scratch and attended to all the work personally. At that time, she even spent seven hours a day pulling up weeds. However, things did not go smoothly to begin with. In 2015, she took a hit when a sudden hailstone destroyed her farmland, leading to financial losses of nearly 400,000 yuan. Photo shows Fa Yueping showing a handful of soil with earthworms in it to farmers. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee) In the face of this major obstacle, Fa thought of giving up. Luckily, at this time, she felt buoyed by the good news that she had been shortlisted into a local talent program. "I encountered failures in the process of starting a business, but there were also some lessons I could draw from my entrepreneurship. For instance, I made an overall plan for the next five years soon after I registered my company," Fa recalled. Thanks to Fa's efforts, earthworm dung and active enzyme polypeptide solution developed by her team has gradually gained more recognition within the industry, while stories regarding her process of entrepreneurship have been covered by many state-level media outlets including the People's Daily. In 2018, Fa served as the only speaker representing China's agricultural industry at the 2018 International Solid Waste Management Summit. "We aim to help farmers improve their production quality and increase their income while reducing the costs of agricultural production," said Fa, whose team generated revenue of more than 10 million yuan last year. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 WASHINGTON - The Justice Department revealed Wednesday that it had, during President Donald Trump's administration, secretly obtained the phone records of four New York Times reporters, marking the third time in recent weeks that federal law enforcement has disclosed using the aggressive and controversial tactic to sift through journalists' data. The New York Times reported Wednesday night that the Justice Department had informed the newspaper it had seized the phone records of four of its reporters: Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eric Lichtblau and Michael S. Schmidt. The Times reported that the department also disclosed it had secured a court order to take logs, but not contents, of the reporters' emails but that "no records were obtained." The records dated from Jan. 14, 2017, to April 30 of that year. READ ALSO: New York Times shines spotlight on Latinas in South Texas politics Anthony Coley, a Justice Department spokesman, confirmed the seizures in a statement, saying the department "notified four journalists that it obtained their phone toll records and sought to obtain non-content email records from 2017 as part of a criminal investigation into the unauthorized disclosure of classified information." "The records at issue were sought in 2020 under Department regulations that apply to records of members of the news media, and the journalists were neither subjects nor targets of the investigation," Coley said. He added that forthcoming public reports detailing the department's seeking of information from journalists for 2019 and 2020 would show that "members of the news media have now been notified in every instance in this period in which their records were sought or obtained in such circumstances." The department already had released reports detailing the steps it took to obtain such information in 2017 and 2018. A Justice Department spokesman declined to elaborate. Last month, the Justice Department made similar disclosures to The Washington Post and CNN that it had secretly obtained the records of those organizations' journalists. Media outlets and free-press advocates denounced the moves, questioning whether the department under Trump had followed its own policies and asserting that such tactics have a chilling effect on journalists' ability to uncover essential information about the federal government. IN TEXAS: Ken Paxton says he doesn't support Greg Abbott for reelection - then tweets that he does President Joe Biden declared recently that he would not allow his Justice Department to seize journalists' phone or email records, calling the practice "simply wrong." "So you won't let your Justice Department do that?" a reporter asked. "I will not let that happen," the president responded. Though the Justice Department did not follow Biden's decree with any formal policy guidance, White House press secretary Jen Psaki reiterated the point later when asked whether the Justice Department was aware of his wishes. "The president made those comments quite publicly, so everyone, I think, is aware," Psaki said. The New York Times reported that authorities did not disclose what story generated the Justice Department's investigation, but noted "the lineup of reporters and the timing suggested that the leak investigation related to classified information reported in an April 22, 2017, article the four reporters wrote about how James Comey, then the FBI director, handled politically charged investigations during the 2016 presidential election." ICYMI: Trump lawyers, not Ken Paxton, drafted lawsuit challenging election results, New York Times reports Executive editor Dean Baquet told the Times that seizing reporters' phone records "profoundly undermines press freedom." "It threatens to silence the sources we depend on to provide the public with essential information about what the government is doing," he said, adding that he expected the Justice Department "to explain why this action was taken and what steps are being taken to make certain it does not happen again in the future." The Post and CNN have similarly pressed for more information on the government's secret seizure of their reporters' records, though the Justice Department has repeatedly declined to answer specific questions. In The Post's case, the department sought the records of reporters Ellen Nakashima and Greg Miller, and former Post reporter Adam Entous, from April 15, 2017, to July 31, 2017. The letter does not state the purpose of the phone records' seizure, but toward the end of the time frame mentioned in the letters, those reporters wrote a story about classified U.S. intelligence intercepts indicating that, in 2016, then-Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., had discussed the Trump campaign with Sergey Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the United States at the time. Sessions went on to become Trump's first attorney general. In CNN's case, the department sought records of Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr for the two-month period between June 1, 2017, and July 31, 2017. In that period, according to CNN, Starr reported on options the U.S. military had prepared to present to Trump on North Korea, as well as other topics. On May 24, Washington Post publisher and chief executive Fred Ryan wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting "an immediate meeting" to discuss the newspaper's concerns over the records seizures. Of particular concern is that the department did not notify The Post in advance of its desire for information and engage in negotiations, as the agency's policies dictate except in instances in which the attorney general thinks doing so could jeopardize an investigation. "We believe the Department has an obligation to explain its actions, including its failure to provide the Post and our journalists with notice of these subpoenas and an opportunity to assert our rights to resist the government's seizure of our records," Ryan wrote. To date, such a meeting has not been scheduled. Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced Wednesday that he is running for attorney general, challenging fellow Republican Ken Paxton with a focus on Paxton's legal troubles. "Enough is enough, Ken," Bush said during a campaign kickoff at a downtown Austin bar. "You've brought way too much scandal and not enough integrity to this office." The 2022 matchup could be the marquee statewide primary of this election cycle, and former President Donald Trump already looms large. He said in a statement last week that he would issue an endorsement in the race and do so "in the not-so-distant future." Both Bush and Paxton have histories with Trump. Bush son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was the only prominent member of his famous political family to support Trump in 2016, and Trump has praised him as the only Bush "that got it right." Paxton has positioned himself as one of the most pro-Trump attorneys general especially after the November election, when Paxton led an unsuccessful lawsuit challenging Trump's reelection loss in four battleground states. Review: Virus of selfishness worms its way through pandemic play Paxton has been under indictment on securities fraud charges for most of the time since he took office in 2015. More recently, he has come under investigation by the FBI over allegations from former senior aides that he abused his office to help a wealthy donor. He has denied wrongdoing in both cases. On Tuesday, Paxton asked a state appeals court to dismiss a whistleblower lawsuit brought by the former aides. His lawyers argue that under state law, a whistleblower must believe someone has violated the law, but the aides only reported that "they expected laws might be violated." Despite the long-running indictment, Paxton faced no primary opposition for a second term 2018. He ended up having a closer-than-expected race in the general election, when the Democratic nominee, Justin Nelson, campaigned heavily on Paxton's legal troubles and finished within 4 percentage points of him. Bush was first elected land commissioner in 2014 and won a second term four years later. He's received considerable pushback over his office's restoration project of the Alamo, the historical site in San Antonio that the General Land Office oversees. In 2018, dissatisfaction with Bush's management of the Alamo project fueled three primary challengers to the land commissioner, most notably his predecessor, Jerry Patterson. Trump endorsed Bush in that primary, and he went on to win with 58% of the vote. In recent weeks, Bush has taken heat in his job after his office gave Houston and Harris County $0 of the $1 billion available in the latest round of federal relief funding related to Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Under bipartisan criticism, Bush said last week he was asking the federal government to send $750 million directly to Harris County. The Bush-Paxton matchup has the potential to splinter top Texas Republicans, or at least put them in an awkward position. The last time one statewide official challenged another in Texas was in 2006, when Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn unsuccessfully ran as an independent against GOP Gov. Rick Perry. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has already indicated he will not get involved in the Bush-Paxton primary, and in an interview with The Texas Tribune on Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott said he was not focusing on 2022 campaigns yet but did offer praise for Paxton. "I think everybody knows that Ive had a very effective working relationship with the attorney general," Abbott said, adding that Paxton has been a "big help" to the governor's office. "I think hes done a very effective job in fights that we are waging together." At least one Democrat, Joe Jaworski, has already launched a campaign for attorney general. Jaworski is a Galveston attorney and former mayor of the city. Lee Merritt, the nationally recognized civil rights lawyer from North Texas, has said he plans to challenge Paxton but has not specified which primary he would run in. The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans and engages with them about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form A. Transportation. There's a strong need for a long-term mobility plan, especially on U.S. 19 and State Road 44. B. Resiliency. Crystal River needs blueprints for the future, especially focusing on sea level rise and health of bay waters. C. Downtown. Areas within the city's CRA need more projects like the Town Square. D. Revitalization. Abandoned shopping centers and older structures like the mall need a makeover. E. Residential neighborhoods. Interconnecting communities and maximizing the potential in Crystal River neighborhoods is the key to happy living. Vote View Results While no official date has been set, a recent meeting with Ontario border-city mayors and the federal government suggest June 22 could be a date to watch. Ontario mayors talk Canada-U.S. border re-opening with public safety minister While no official date has been set, a recent meeting with Ontario border-city mayors and the federal government suggest June 22 could be a date to watch. Ontario mayors talk Canada-U.S. border re-opening with public safety minister While no official date has been set, a recent meeting with Ontario border-city mayors and the federal government suggest June 22 could be a date to watch. Ontario mayors talk Canada-U.S. border re-opening with public safety minister While no official date has been set, a recent meeting with Ontario border-city mayors and the federal government suggest June 22 could be a date to watch. Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A A meeting with Ontario mayors from border cities and the public safety minister suggests travel restrictions may start to ease on the southern border by the end of June. Mayor Drew Dilkens from Windsor told iHeartRadio that while the feds did not provide an official date, they are expecting enough Canadians to be vaccinated by June 21 to consider easing restrictions on travel between Canada and the U.S. Earlier in May, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested that 75 per cent of Canadians would have to be vaccinated and coronavirus cases would have to remain low in order to scale back restrictions. Coronavirus cases are down in both countries, the U.S. seeing the lowest numbers since March 2020 and Canada is down to October levels. About 41 per cent of the U.S. is fully vaccinated, and about 58 per cent of Canadians have received one dose with only five per cent being fully vaccinated. Find Out if Youre Eligible for Canadian Immigration The mayor of Niagara Falls, Jim Diodati, also said Public Safety Minister Bill Blair is expecting 75 per cent of Canadians to have their first dose and 20 per cent to be fully vaccinated by June 21, then for 75 per cent of the population to be fully vaccinated by July 21. In an interview with CHCH TV, Diodati said the federal government is looking at gradually opening up the border, and is optimistic that a reopening plan will be out soon. This afternoon Border City Mayors are meeting with Minister @BillBlair to discuss vaccine & data sharing, timelines and plans for reopening our #canusborders. pic.twitter.com/YaNmEGpLkc Jim Diodati (@jimdiodati) May 28, 2021 The minister of public safetys spokesperson, James Cudmore, told CIC News the improved public health conditions following increased vaccination rates have opened the door to the possibility of an easing or refinement of border measures, aligned with the best advice of public health experts. Cudmore also noted that current measures could be extended again depending on the situation in three weeks time. Until we can be assured, based on the advice that we receive from our public health officials and our evaluation of those conditions is such that we believe that those restrictions can be lifted safely, well keep them in place, Cudmore wrote to CIC News, quoting Minister Blair. Trudeau himself has said that Canada is in no rush to reopen the border, and neither are Canadians, according to a recent Angus Reid poll. Nearly half of Canadians in that survey say the border should stay closed until September. Were on the right path, but well make our decisions based on the interests of Canadians and not based on what other countries want, Trudeau told reporters at a press conference in Ottawa, the nations capital. Only the federal government that can make the rules on border restrictions. Provinces have the power to enact certain public health measures, or ask for regional measures like the Ontario international student ban, which never came to fruition. At the end of the day, decisions on travel restrictions are a federal government collaboration with Health Canada. Find Out if Youre Eligible for Canadian Immigration CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options. Every new decade sees businesses split into winners and losers as technology evolves, competitiveness tightens, and new market entrants challenge the incumbents. As we head into 2021, the next generation of winners will be those that are leading the charge on digital transformation, which is the integration of technology into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing how organizations operate and deliver value to their customers. It is true that the idea of businesses going digital has been around for 25 years, beginning with the World Wide Web and the shift to e-business in the 1990s. However, this year digital transformation takes it to a whole new level, especially with the COVID-19 crisis. Data and analytics are the key accelerant of an organizations digitization efforts, and traditional Business Intelligence technologies cant offer the transformative speed to insight and actions needed in this digital age. At Qlik, we believe digital transformations needs Active Intelligence where real-time, up-to-date data triggers immediate action to accelerate business value across the entire data and analytics supply chain. In this blog post, which is the first one of a series of six, I will explain the digital, data and insights needs of analytics consumers, highlight the main issues that many of the current generation of Business Intelligence tools have in not delivering against these needs, and explain in-depth how Active Intelligence serves to close these gaps. Analytics consumers need real-time insights that drive actions from hyper-contextual data with the scale of cloud computing to support decision-making at the speed of business. Real-time agility: Digital business transformation will lead to improved outcomes and the development of new business capabilities. But real-time information and analysis is needed to inform data-driven decisions and optimize every business moment. This requires a shift away from batch uploads towards a data analytics pipeline that uses automation in the context of Change Data Capture (CDC). At Experian, for example, the implementation of Qlik Data Integration has been critical in ensuring that the billions of rows of constantly changing data are accurately captured, so that credit reports are based on the latest information. Hyper-contextual data is at the core of every modern digital business: As businesses are digitally transforming, and the lines between business processes and technology blur, data is the one constant denominator. The synergy of multiple digital technology innovations, like event stream processing, real-time data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) requires data technologies that can enable analysis of data in motion and data at rest. Analytics consumers need assistance uncovering insights about complex relationships within all these hyper-contextual data, which includes more than just operational and transactional data, encompassing situational and real time context. It would be nigh impossible for Vancouver International Airport, for example, to manually optimize its choice of gates for a flight based on the diverse parameters, from wind, size of aircraft, or where most incoming passengers are transferring onto. However, intelligent analytics can understand the indirect relationships between distantly connected datapoints. Intelligence-driven decision making, automation and actions: In digital business, decisions are becoming more connected, more contextual and more continuous. To boost organizations operational speed and efficiency, some decisions should be entirely automated, through the application of process automation, IPaaS and machine learning algorithms. More complex, strategic decisions still should be made by humans, and can be informed by real-time insights that support collaborative capabilities. The power here is the combination of human and technology working together. The current generation of Business Intelligence tools cant deliver against the demands of the digital economy. Most Business Intelligence technologies use preconfigured data and mostly support batch analysis: Theyre designed to answer known questions with batch reloads. Because they use constraints to define the relationships between entries in different data tables and sources, those constraints also define what queries can be used to answer business questions. This creates a significant bottleneck to surfacing hidden insights, and limits the agility needed to answer constantly changing business questions in real-time that todays market conditions require. They do not deliver a governed end to end analytics data pipeline: Most current technologies comprise a series of solutions for data ingestion, integration, delivery, analytics, collaboration and storytelling that havent been brought together into a unified pipeline. However, when bringing these capabilities together, for instance at IAS through the implementation of a Qlik Data Integration toolset and Qlik Sense data analytics platform, information can be integrated faster, with insights gleaned in record time. Indeed, for IAS this drove significant productivity gains: analysts flipped from spending 90% of their time on reporting to solving business problems, while developer productivity increased five-fold. Finally, they are designed to inform, but not to compel actions: Traditional Business Intelligence was designed to inform humans, and by extension it could be used to inform action. It was not designed to compel action, and certainly not to trigger it autonomously in real-time. Active Intelligence should be one of the main considerations on the path to digital transformation. Digital transformations need a much more dynamic relationship with information. One where data has high business value because it reflects the current moment. And one where information flows continuously into everyday processes, empowering users to engage with it in intuitive ways at any time, creating in-the-moment awareness about every aspect of the business and the market. This requires Active Intelligence - a state of continuous intelligence where technology and processes support the triggering of immediate actions from real-time, up-to-date data. Active Intelligence closes the gap between whats happening in the business right now and the insights and actions available. As a result, it introduces tremendous opportunity for boosting innovation and accelerating value for digital business. In my next blog post, I will cover reengineering decision making in digital age and how Active Intelligence supports it. But if you cant wait until then, you can find more information on Active Intelligence in our eBook. Wilkes-Barre, PA (18701) Today A few showers during the morning with thunderstorms developing in the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High around 75F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. As Kathryn Garcia, the former Sanitation commissioner, rises in the polls, there is hope among some establishment liberals that she can be the candidate who can stop the relatively moderate frontrunners, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and celebrity Andrew Yang. Since receiving the coveted New York Times endorsement, Garcia has gotten warm receptions at the Union Square greenmarket and on the Upper West Side. Kathryn Garcia knows her shit, Time wrote approvingly, likening her bid to be New York Citys first female mayor to Sen. Elizabeth Warrens and former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons presidential campaigns. New York magazine later celebrated her in their approval matrix. While there may be good reasons for voters to choose Garcia, such as her widely acknowledged competence, experience and integrity, progressives should know that she isnt to the left of Yang and Adams. Garcia, a Park Slope, Brooklyn native, worked in both the Bloomberg and de Blasio administrations, but gained notable executive experience in the latter. De Blasio, who was often derided as feckless and indecisive, trusted Garcia to helm the Department of Sanitation and later appointed her interim chair of NYCHA. When coronavirus hit, Garcia was tapped to lead the citys food distribution efforts. There are parts of her mayoral platform that are quite progressive. She has proposed building on the universal pre-K and 3-K programs by offering free childcare up to age three for families earning less than $70,000 a year. She promises to create more than 250 miles of new bike lanes, installing thousands of electric car chargers and implementing a version of the Green New Deal for public housing. She wants to build new housing for the homeless. But on several important policy positions, she is wholly aligned with Yang and Adams and on one particular education issue, she may veer even further right. The most obvious agreement among the three candidates is policing. Garcia, like Adams and Yang, rejects the defund-the-police movement. As NY1 reported, she wants to increase the size of the NYPD Gun Violence Suppression Division to tackle an increase in shootings. Like Adams, a former police captain, Garcia wants to hold officers accountable for misconduct, require cops to live in the city and dispatch mental-health professionals on the subway, but she offers no radical departure from the de Blasio administrations approach to the NYPD, which was largely deferential. Her rhetoric emphasizes the danger of New York Citys rising violent crime rate. I remember not being able to take the subway at night and that you had (to) memorize car service numbers so you could get home safely and had lots of strategies: which street you walked down, how you maneuvered around the city. No one should be in that position again, Garcia said at one recent press conference. I do support the PD and want to make sure they are the most effective department, that we think of police as a service and that police officers are our guardians, not as warriors. On housing, Garcia, Adams and Yang all support upzoning in transit-accessible areas to allow the development of more market-rate housing and her plan to abandon single-family zoning would increase equity. However, in an interview with the Real Deal, Garcia did not embrace the idea, championed by her rival Scott Stringer, of forcing all new developments to include affordable units, saying only that affordable housing should be incentivized. The strengthening of the rent stabilization laws in Albany didnt seem to thrill Garcia, who has balked, like Yang, at raising taxes on the rich. We need neighborhoods to be stable, and rent stabilization does that, but we also need to make sure that were not having unintended consequences of folks of not having the money to do the renovations on vacant apartments, Garcia said, echoing real estate lobby talking points. We have a lot of small landlords. They control an enormous amount of the rent-stabilized housing stock and they have to be able to make it here as well. For similar reasons, she opposes cancellation of rent during the COVID-19 pandemic. When asked by the Real Deal whether the state should pass a pied-a-terre tax on absentee owners of homes worth more than $5 million, she said, not necessarily. Fundamentally, this view is Bloombergian. Garcia is wary of public regulations interfering with a lucrative private market. Invoking small landlords ignores the reality that the rental market is, in fact, dominated by incredibly large and wealthy firms. Perhaps thats why one of Garcias biggest boosters is Alicia Glen, the Goldman Sachs alum who oversaw de Blasios housing policy and was an architect of the failed Amazon deal, which sought to offer billions in tax breaks to the richest company on Earth, and which Garcia said she also would have supported. This Bloomberg-like approach extends to education, where Garcia, like Yang and Adams, has grown quietly enthralled with privately-run, publicly-funded charter schools. Celebrated by corporate America and centrists in both parties, charter schools do not need to recognize teachers unions, unlike traditional public schools, and can block students with disabilities or language difficulties from attending. Though millionaire and billionaire charter school backers are funding super PACs on behalf of Yang and Adams, it is Garcia who has staked out one of the most pro-charter stances in the Democratic primary. Garcia and the former banking executive Ray McGuire are the only candidates who support raising the cap on charter schools in the five boroughs, a top priority in the Bloomberg years. Im going to stand up for you, Garcia told charter parents at one recent forum. Because youre a charter school does not mean that I think youre being selfish. Of course, some progressive voters might define their ideology differently in a municipal election, in which the person theyre voting for is responsible for picking up the trash but has no power to raise taxes without permission from the state government. To some, in that context, progressive governance might mean competent, corruption-free and apolitical management, rather than ambitious expansion of the welfare state or advocacy for state policy changes that are ultimately up to the Legislature. But with unified Democratic control in Albany, the opportunity is ripe for a mayor who could push state housing, economic and educational policy leftward. Garcia, undoubtedly, would be more experienced and even more qualified than any of the other frontrunners in the field. But there is little indication that she would offer any kind of alternative vision for a city emerging from a once-in-a-century pandemic. Administratorii portalului nu poarta raspundere pentru continutul postarilor si materialelor plasate de utilizatorii site-ului. Utilizati informatia din acest articol pe propriul risc. IN MARCH 1945, New Yorker co-founder and editor Harold Ross sent a letter to Janet Flanner, a war correspondent who had just filed a piece from Cologne about atrocities inflicted by Germans on their POWs. Ross was proud of Flanners reporting, and he feared that many other equally important events were not being coveredand might even be in danger of being lost forever in the chaos. The war is going to be over and forgotten before any number of real atrocity stories are printed, Im afraid, he told her. Unless the New Yorker gets around to doing something. He was right to worry. News outlets were quick to move on. When the war in Europe ended in May, many Allied correspondents were re-routed to the Pacific theater right away. After the Japanese surrender three months later, some of those reporters instantly pivoted to occupation coverage in that country. Others began covering new post-war events, including war crimes trials, returning American troops, and the fledgling cold war between the United States and Soviet Russia. In the wars immediate aftermath, US leaders also encouraged Americans to look forward instead of back. Many gladly complied. Exhausted after surviving the deadliest conflict in human history, and numb from overexposure to atrocity news and clinical mass casualty statistics, Americans in 1945 seemed to have had little interest in absorbing new journalistic excavations of terrible wartime events. Even the biggest stories of the war receded into the background, quickly becoming the provenance of historians, not reporters. Two of those storiesthe atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasakihad been arguably the most significant news events not only of the war, but human history: these bombings had revealed that mankind had finally come up with an invention that could instantly end civilization. (They were stealing Gods stuff, as New Yorker writer E. B. White put it.) A couple of initial press reports out of Hiroshima were followed by near-radio silence on the subject of the bombings and their aftermath. As a result, the official government narrative that the bombs had essentially been conventional megaweapons was allowed to stand, and the public remained unaware of the new, global existential threat posited by nuclear warfare. Sign up for CJR 's daily email It would be easy to blame the shocking lack of reportorial investigation on the War Departments almost impenetrable secrecy and on General Douglas MacArthurs control over Japan-based correspondents, but Allied reporters and editors were also at fault. Within mere weeks of the bombings, many simply lost their appetite for covering such remnant war stories. Hiroshima was old stuff, as one editor put it; there seemed to be a collective newsroom decision that readers and audiences simply didnt want to hear about it anymore. When occupation forces eventually made access to the atomic cities a little easier, the Tokyo-based Western press corps had long since shifted attention to new stories, such as Japans makeover from bastion of the yellow peril to an American foothold against the Soviets, and General MacArthurs new role as the American Caesar ruling over the conquered country. Back at the New Yorker, however, Harold Ross and his deputy editor William Shawn remained determined to commission reporting on stories that other major news outlets had left behind. Their mission implicitly questioned whether Americans even had the right to move on without the proper reckoning on certain wartime events. In late 1945, Shawn, along with war correspondent John Hersey, decided to tackle the old stuff story of the Hiroshima bombing. The idea was simple: Hersey would attempt to get into the city and investigate what the atomic bombs had really done to human beings. No one has even touched it, Shawn told Hersey. Hersey managed to access Hiroshima in late spring, 1946, and interviewed dozens of survivors. His subsequent New Yorker reportreleased on August 31, 1946 and comprising nearly the entire contents of that issuewas told from the point of view of six survivors, and revealed the truth about the bombs: they had been apocalyptic and uniquely deadly. The story also showed in excrutiating detail that radiation poisoning was not, in fact, a very pleasant way to die, as Manhattan Project leader General Leslie Groves asserted to Congress in 1945. Herseys Hiroshima revealed how much the US government had covered up about its experimental weapons. Just as importantly, it also showed how deficient the breaking news coverage of the bombings had been, despite the initial frenzy and blockbuster headlinesand that the mainstream media had failed to signal to the world the true and terrifying implications of the new atomic age. IN SOME RESPECTS, 2021 has a similar feel to postwar 1945. Many of us today are exhausted, and we find ourselves amidst the aftermath of a different sort of war. Over the past five years, we were firehosed with alarming news as the country swung wildly from one crisis to the next. We are only just escaping the jaws of a global pandemic that killed more Americans in a single year than the Axis powers killed in four. As in 1945, many in this country are desperate to move on to the next chapter, and tempted to escape into easy comforts, as Albert Einstein once put it, to the peril of all. Revisiting events of the Trump eraand of 2020 and early 2021 in particularmay, for many, feel like a traumatic prospect. As NPRs Terry Gross said in a recent Fresh Air interview with the New Yorkers Jane Mayer, Some people think we should just move on, [and say], Lets focus on the present and the future. The media appears to be moving on once again, too, and we are in danger of leaving major stories of the Trump era under-investigated and perhaps even forgotten. One White House correspondent friend of mine likened the last four years to being in a series of car crashes, after which everyone walked away each time as though nothing had happened. A host of major stories desperately need additional reporting. Significant investigations into the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrectionarguably one of the most traumatic watershed moments in American historywill be more crucial than ever, given the GOPs blockage in the Senate of legislation to create an independent commission investigating the attack. We also need to learn about what happened to intellectual property stolen during the attack, and the roles that Trump White House principals and various members of Congress may have played in preparations for the assault. Also falling by the wayside: investigations into the Trump administrations relationships with various dictatorsincluding Russias Vladimir Putin, North Koreas Kim Jong-un, and Turkeys Recep Tayyip Erdoganand how those relationships may still compromise our national security. In addition, we need further reporting on the fallout from the Trump administrations denial and downplaying of the threat of COVID-19 from late 2019 onward. Hersey and his team also would have been wildly concerned that we are now, in 2021, living in what experts deem the most perilous nuclear landscape in history: in 2020, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set its Doomsday Clock to 100-seconds-to-midnight, where it remains this year. The clock has never been set so close to nuclear apocalypse beforenot even in 1953, when the first thermonuclear weapons were tested, or during the Cuban Missile crisis in 1962. Yet the announcement went comparatively unnoticed by the press, and urgent nuclear issues remain dismayingly absent from front pages and broadcasts. Media organizations during the Trump era operated in relentless breaking news mode, and the inclination to take a breather, as the country adjusts to the relative placidity of the new Biden administration, is understandable. But moving on too quickly may come at an awful price. Herseys reporting in 1946 has been credited with helping to prevent subsequent wartime use of atomic weapons, because it showed the world the true horrors of nuclear conflict, making it more difficult for leaders of nuclear countries to deploy them readily. To be fair, todays journalists face deep-reporting obstacles that reporters and editors of Herseys generation did not. Until the past few weeks, the COVID pandemic grounded many journalists, although vaccines will now allow more of them to return to shoe-leather reporting at last. American newsrooms have lost half of their employees since 2008, and have fewer resources than ever to launch in-depth investigative reporting efforts. We are also contending with an adrenaline-soaked, social media-driven information landscape that worships speed and novelty over deliberation, and rewards hot-takes over in-depth investigation. This has intensified this breaking news mentality to the point of absurdity. Subjects premiere and age out within hours on Twitter, and become almost instantlyand prematurelyclassified as old news. Yet there is also a perpetual newsroom challenge at play: next-scoop mentality, just as it pervaded the occupation press corps in Japan in 1945 and 1946. As journalists change up their new administration beats this spring, many will be looking to break exclusives in their new spheres, as their successorslacking their predecessors expertise and immediate proximity to Trump era eventswill try to do the same. While newsrooms will always be rightfully devoted to breaking news, and journalists will always covet fresh exclusives, this impulse must not come at the expense of powerful, follow-up investigations into events that could not be fully reported at the moment of breaking. The New Yorkers Hiroshima team felt that it was crucial to go back and tell such stories not only because there was, as Harold Ross put it, the after-the-fact opportunity to scoop the world, even if a flock of other journalists [had] the same facts and the same opportunities. They did it also because there was a moral imperative to do so. In many ways, Herseys Hiroshima was a unique feat, but it stands as an instructive example during this moment, and not just as a critical reminder of the importance of going back right away, while memories are fresh, and evidence and records intact. Herseys work provides an example of disturbing and painful material rendered in the most human, intimate, and relatable terms possiblean essential approach to commanding the attention of even the most resistant and beleaguered of audiences. In this way, even old stuff stories have a new shot at changing the course of global history for the better. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Lesley M. M. Blume is a New York Times bestselling author, historian, and journalist. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Wall Street Journal, and National Geographic, among many other publications. Her most recent book, Fallout: The Hiroshima Cover-Up and the Reporter Who Revealed It to the World, documented the crucial role investigative journalism can play in combating global existential threats. TV newsman Bill Moyers likes to tell the story of how Edward R. Murrow, the pre-eminent US broadcast journalist of his time, insisted on covering what became Germanys invasion of Poland in 1939. Murrows bosses at CBS News had other priorities; they ordered Murrows reporters to cover dance competitions in Hamburg, Paris, and London, explaining that Americans needed some happy news. Murrow wouldnt do it. Itll probably get us fired, he told his colleagues, but he sent his correspondents to the German-Polish border; they arrived just in time to witness Hitlers tanks and troops roar into Poland. Suddenly, Europe was at war. And Americans heard about it because journalists at one of the nations most influential news outlets defied convention and did their jobs. Today, all of humanity is under attack, this time from an overheated planet and too many newsrooms still are more inclined to cover todays equivalent of dance competitions. The record heat waves and storms of 2020 confirmed what scientists have long predicted: climate change is underway and threatens unparalleled catastrophe. And because carbon dioxide traps heat in the atmosphere for centuries, temperature rise and its effects are only getting started. As one scientist said as wildfires turned San Franciscos skies orange last September, Were going to look back in 10 years, certainly 20 and say, Wow, 2020 was a crazy year, but I miss it. A handful of major newspapers are paying attention. But most news coverage, especially on television, continues to underplay the climate story, regarding it as too complicated, or disheartening, or controversial. Last month, we asked the worlds press to commit to treating climate change as the emergency that scientists say it is; their response was dispiriting. We created Covering Climate Now in April 2019 to help break the medias climate silence; Bill Moyers talked about Murrow at our inaugural conference. Since then, Covering Climate Now has grown into a consortium of hundreds of news outlets reaching a combined audience of roughly 2 billion people, and the climate coverage of the media as a whole has noticeably improved. But that coverage is still not going nearly far enough. To convey to audiences that civilization is literally under attack, news outlets should play the climate story much bigger, running more storiesespecially about how climate change is increasingly affecting weather, economics, politics and other spheres of lifeand running those stories at the top, not the bottom, of a homepage or broadcast. News reports should also speak much more plainly, presenting climate change as an imminent, deadly threat. This message is muted at best today, and the result is predictable. In the United States, only 26 percent of the public is alarmed about climate change, according to opinion polls analyzed by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communications (a member of the CCNow consortium). One reason why? Less than a quarter of the public hear about climate change in the media at least once a month. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Good journalism leads the conversation, and there is certainly plenty of climate news worth covering these days. In a pair of stunning developments last week, a court in The Netherlands ordered the Royal Dutch Shell oil company to reduce its own and its customers greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by 2030 in accordance with the Paris Agreement, even as shareholders of ExxonMobil and Chevron rebelled against managements refusal to take strong climate action. A week earlier, the International Energy Agency declared that all new fossil fuel development must stop to prevent irreversible climate destruction. The climate emergency is upending politics, economics and virtually every other subject journalists cover, and newsrooms need to catch up. They can start with the Climate Emergency Statement that CCNow issued in April as part of our Earth Day coverage. Co-signed by eight of our partnersColumbia Journalism Review, The Nation, The Guardian, Scientific American, Noticias Telemundo, La Repubblica, The Asahi Shimbun, and Al Jazeera Englishthe statements first sentence said it is time for journalism to recognize that the climate emergency is here. Emphasizing that this was a statement of science, not politics, the statement linked to articles in peer-reviewed journals where thousands of scientists affirmed that fact. The statement noted that the Covid-19 pandemic illustrated how well news outlets can cover emergencies when they commit to it, and it invited journalists everywhere to apply that same urgency to the climate story. More than 30 newsrooms have now signed the statement (an updated list is here), but some major outlets told us privately they wont sign. The phrase climate emergency sounded like activism, they said; endorsing it might make them look biased. Instead, they added, they would let their climate coverage speak for itself. But thats the problem: their coverage does speak for itself, and it is simply not reflecting the facts of the story. It is a fact that thousands of the worlds scientists, including many of the most eminent climate experts, say humanity faces a climate emergency. Most major news outlets still present climate change as no more important than a dozen other public issues, when the fact is that if the world doesnt get it under control, fast, climate change will overwhelm every other issue. Another fact: the climate emergency comes with a time limitwait too long to halt temperature rise and it becomes too late; CO2s long atmospheric life makes further temperature rise inevitable, perhaps irreversible. Were not obsessed with whether a news outlet does or doesnt use the term climate emergency; what matters is whether the outlets overall coverage treats climate change like an emergency. For example, does the outlet give the climate story the same 24/7 coverage it has devoted to the Covid-19 pandemic or, before that, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, or other landmark events? Has it reoriented its newsroom and reassigned reporters to cover the climate story? Do its journalists present the story with a sense of urgency? At a summit in Glasgow this November, world leaders are supposed to adopt much stronger measures against the climate emergency. Between now and then, journalists have a responsibility to make sure the public understands whats at stake and, crucially, that humanity already has the technologies and solutions to decarbonize our economies; whats needed is the political will to implement them. Journalists also have a responsibility to hold powerful interests accountable for doing whats needed to preserve a livable planet. That starts with telling the truth: about the climate emergency, its solutions, and how little time remains before its too late. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle Pope are the authors. Mark Hertsgaard is the executive director of Covering Climate Now, the environment correspondent for The Nation, and the author of HOT: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth. Kyle Pope is the editor and publisher of Columbia Journalism Review. FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) Kentuckys attorney general on Wednesday sued CVS Health, accusing its pharmacy chain of flooding the state with prescription opioids that contributed to the states addiction woes. Attorney General Daniel Cameron filed the lawsuit in Franklin County Circuit Court, saying the health care company played a role in fueling the crisis by inundating the state with millions of doses of powerful prescription painkillers. As both distributor and pharmacy, CVS was in a unique position to monitor and stop the peddling of these highly-addictive drugs from their stores, yet they ignored their own safeguard systems, Cameron said in a news release. Its the states latest legal action against companies it blames for supplying a massive pipeline of prescription pills into Kentucky. In 2015, drug overdoses accounted for about 60% of Kentuckys statewide accidental deaths, Cameron said. The Republican attorney general is pressing lawsuits against several other opioid manufacturers and distributors. Many of those suits were filed by Camerons predecessor, Democrat Andy Beshear, who is now Kentuckys governor. CVS Health did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The company operates one of the nations largest drugstore chains. The new lawsuit says CVS Health used unlawful business practices and failed to guard against the diversion of the powerful opioids. To highlight the massive supply, Cameron said one CVS store in Perry County purchased more than 6.8 million dosage units of oxycodone and hydrocodone from 2006 to 2014 _ enough opioids for resident of the Appalachian county to have more than 26 pills every year during the same period. In western Kentucky, a CVS store in Crittenden County bought more than 2.8 million dosage units of the drugs, enough to supply everyone in the county with at least 34 pills every year, he said. Since CVS had a dual role in the opioid supply chain as a distributor and pharmacy, the lawsuit says the companys compliance with the law was vital to safeguard consumers and control the rate of addiction, abuse, and diversion of opioids. Despite supplying staggering quantities of opioids in Kentucky, CVS reported zero suspicious orders for its Kentucky stores from 2007 to 2014, Cameron said. Even during the height of the opioid epidemic, CVS helped promote opioid products, he said. Drug overdose deaths spiked nationally and in Kentucky during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Kentucky, overdose deaths rose by 50% from September 2019 to September 2020, compared with the previous 12 months, according to preliminary figures released in April by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Courier Journal reported. Addiction experts say the pandemic left people stressed and isolated, disrupted treatment and recovery programs, and contributed to an increasingly dangerous illicit drug supply. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. A federal judge in Seattle has dismissed lawsuits filed by hundreds of Washington state businesses seeking insurance coverage for revenues lost because of COVID-19 public health orders. U.S. District Judge Barbara J. Rothstein on Friday granted insurers motions to dispose of lawsuits filed by dentists, restaurants, barbershops, law firms and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. The case consolidated multiple lawsuits against 10 separate insurance groups that were filed or removed to federal court. Rothstein said in her order that each of the lawsuits involved all-risk polices that provided coverage only if there was direct physical loss of or damage to property. The policies didnt define the term. Insurance law doctrine, however, holds that all-risk policies are intended to cover damage to property, not economic loss, she said. This court joins the numerous courts across the country that have held that COVID-19 does not trigger direct physical loss or damage, the order says. Rothstein noted that some of the plaintiffs in the consolidated case had asked the Washington state Supreme Court for a declaratory ruling on whether COVID-19 can cause a direct physical loss or damage, but the high court refused. She said in the absence of direction from the Supreme Court, she is required to answer the question by reviewing Washington state law. Rothsteins decision represents one of the biggest losses so far for policyholders seeking coverage for pandemic-related losses. According to a COVID-19 litigation tracker maintained by the University of Pennsylvania, federal courts have dismissed with prejudice 252 COVID-19 lawsuits and denied only 23 dismissal motions. Another 30 cases were dismissed without prejudice and three were partially dismissed. Policyholders who were able to keep their lawsuits in state court have done better. According to the litigation tracker, 27 state court lawsuits were dismissed with prejudice and in 27 cases motions to dismiss were denied. In fact, two plaintiffs with lawsuits that have been heard by Washington state courtsone in King County and one in Spokane Countydefeated insurer motions to dismiss. Rothstein discussed those rulings in her order. The Spokane County Superior Court in a lawsuit filed by Perry Street Brewing Co. found that loss and damage must have distinct meanings and that loss can be understood to cover situations where property cannot be used for its intended purpose. Similarly, a lawsuits filed by Hill and Stout argued that their dental practice could not be used for its intended purpose because of the virus. Rothstein said those rulings are unpersuasive. The reasoning that loss could plausibly mean something akin to deprivation of use discounts the preceding term physical,' the order states. As stated above, this Court has already determinedin accord with the reasoning of the vast majority of those courts that have addressed the issuethat COVID-19 does not physically alter the insured property. The judge said the presence of a virus exclusion in a policy was irrelevant to her holding because there was no physical loss, regardless. However, she rejected arguments that the virus exclusion was barred by the doctrine of regulatory estoppel. Plaintiffs hard argued that insurers may not have been forthcoming with regulators when they filed the standard form that created the exclusion, so they may be prohibited from using it. The policyholder losing streak in COVID-19 business-interruption claims appears to be gaining momentum. According to the University of Pennsylvania litigation tracker, during the month of May insurers were granted 49 motions to dismiss or for summary judgment, with only six cases decided in favor of policyholders. About the photo: The owner of the Posquitos Mexican restaurant in Seattle was one of hundreds of plaintiffs whose lawsuits seeking coverage for business-interruption losses caused by COVID-19 were dismissed on Friday. Were you an online subscriber to the Clearwater Progress prior to October 2020? Your subscription can be validated to continue access on our new site. Simply verify the email address associated with your subscription and you will be good to go! Having access to everything inside our own homes is something most of us take for granted. Simply being able to climb stairs, reach counter tops or perform basic tasks around the house is something that comes easy to most people. But for people with reduced mobility from physical or mental d Beachwood, OH (44122) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 78F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low 61F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Beachwood, OH (44122) Today Intervals of clouds and sunshine. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 77F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear early, then a few clouds later on. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Celebrate the Class of 2020 Submit a profile of your favorite graduate to have them featured in our Virtual Graduation 2020 special section. Tout their accomplishments, share their photos, and wish them well! Submit profile A new form of COVID vaccines were reported to possibly come in the form of "wafers" similar to Communion hosts. LifeSite News said that a team of three scientists from the University of Minnesota has developed a polymer "wafer" that looks much like the Communion host used in Catholic Mass, which would be a more convenient way of being vaccinated not only for COVID but also for HIV and for other vaccines in the future. The scientists have discovered that drugs are effectively absorbed by the underside of the tongue and they believe the "wafer" form of the vaccine would work more effectively with human immunodeficiency virus proteins unlike with those used with current vaccines that have larger molecules that need to be injected to the body through the arm. The scientists released their study entitled, "Mucoadhesive Wafers Composed Of Binary Polymer Blends For Sublingual Delivery And Preservation Of Protein Vaccines," in the Journal of Controlled Release last February. There are six authors for the study who mostly come from the University of Texas and the Mayo Clinic. The study highlights the delivery of vaccines through "a simple biopolymer platform of mucoadhesive wafers" that will be administered through "sublingual delivery and preservation of protein vaccine without cold chain," meaning there is no need to freeze the vaccines for transportation and preservation, which allows for easier distribution and handling. The study also highlights the "adjusting polymer composition allows tuning of wafer properties and performance" and "potential use for improving vaccines against infectious diseases." The University of Minnesota, in a press release, said that the wafer is composed of alginate and carboxymethyl cellulose that respectively preserve proteins and helps the membranes be intact for a long period of time so that proteins remain to be in high concentration. Lead Author Chun Wung said keeping the right balance of this composition was necessary to make the wafer work effectively. "People have been struggling with creating an HIV vaccine for many years, and one of the problems is how to deliver it. So the challenge becomes, can we take a large molecule like a protein, store it at room temperature, give it through the sublingual site, avoid the pain and hassle with needles, have it be absorbed, and actually generate an immune response? And it turns out that we have demonstrated it actually can work with a rather simple but elegant material platform," Wung said. He added that the results of the study are but "a small step" to bigger possibilities and discoveries when it comes to the development of vaccines. "If we continue this line of work, it can bring us to a point where we will have vaccines-they could be based on DNA, RNA, proteins-that can be stored without refrigeration and easily delivered under the tongue at the sublingual site," he stressed. "They will be quickly disseminated throughout the world because they don't rely on certain equipment and preservation and all of that stuff. This will be particularly good for low-resource regions of the world, even in America-rural areas that are lacking certain essential facilities and infrastructure." LifeSite News said the development of the wafer-like vaccine as coincidentally identical to Communion hosts are aligned with what former Papal Nuncio to the United States Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano said on the vaccines previously. Vigano remarked that the authoritarian COVID measures adhered to globally are similar to that of religious observance, especially in line with what Pope Francis said that the vaccines are a "moral obligation." He echoed what former Vatican bank head Ettore Gotti Tedeschi said that COVID vaccines are like a new form of religion. "They have thundered at us, using arcane words like 'social distancing' and 'gatherings,' in an endless series of grotesque contradictions, absurd alarms, apocalyptic threats, social precepts and health ceremonies that have replaced religious rites," he pointed out. "The apparent result seems to be a new form of scientism, reincarnated to solve the COVID problem with vaccines to be accepted fideistically (with blind faith), and perhaps nominating itself as the new moral authority of this age, one that demands an act of faith towards the modern religion, the scientific one," he added. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) The government should procure additional vote counting machines so voters can be dispersed to more polling precincts in 2022, Senator Cynthia Villar said Thursday. She made the statement in response to concerns raised by a Commission on Elections official during a Senate hearing that the poll body may be forced to assign 1,000 voters per clustered precinct, instead of the ideal 500 or lower, due to the limited number of VCMs. "Sa (In the) Palawan plebiscite, its only 200 maximum per clustered precinct," COMELEC Deputy Executive Director for Operations Teopisto Elnas, Jr. said during the Senate committee on electoral reforms hearing on the preparations for the May 2022 general elections. He was referring to the plebiscite held in March where the voters rejected the bid to split Palawan into three. It's now being used in crafting policies for next year's polls. "This time meron kaming... medyo problema dahil with the national and local elections and the limited number of VCMs available na gagamitin so mapipilitan kami na babalik kami sa 1,000 voters per clustered precinct," he added. [Translation: This time, we have a bit of a problem because with the national and local elections and the limited number of VCMs available, we would be forced to revert to 1,000 voters per clustered precinct.] The official said the country has 97,000 VCMs to date. Villar replied, the government still has time to buy more VCMs. "Edi bumili, may time pa naman bumili. Kaysa mapostpone ang election at magkagulo ang election, bumili na lang," she said. [Translation: Buy, there's still more time to buy. Instead of postponing the election and risk having a disorderly election, let's just buy.] Elnas said he will raise this with the COMELEC's steering committee for the 2022 polls. He stressed that a number of factors have to be considered, including the bidding process and availability of funds. Senator Imee Marcos, chair of the electoral reforms committee, said it's not the time to be stingy, since elections are important for democracy. COMELEC is eyeing extended voting hours, from 8 to 10, or even 12 hours, to avoid crowding in precincts amid the COVID-19 pandemic. READ: COMELEC says extended voting hours almost sure in 2022 elections But Villar believes the only way to conduct a one-day election period is to add polling precincts. "Hindi talaga magagwa with this kind of (health) protocol na matapos ang eleksyon on the same day, dapat yata damihan ang presinto," Villar said. [Translation: We really can't finish the elections on the same day with this kind of health protocol. We have to add precincts.] The Ateneo School of Government's Political Participation for Greater Electoral Integrity or PARTICIPATE estimates that the country would need an additional 10 billion to "COVID-proof" the elections, or implement the necessary health and safety protocols, based on a study of other polls held amid the pandemic. The amount will be "in addition to what we are normally spending in order to just conduct safe, free, and fair elections," said Ateneo School of Government dean Dr. Ronald Mendoza. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) - The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the hazard pay granted by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) to contractual janitors beyond the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) period last year worth 4,708,525. Under Administrative Order No. 26 issued by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2020, government workers - including those under contract of service and job order scheme - were entitled to 500 daily for physically reporting to work during ECQ. The national government implemented ECQ last year from March 17 to May 15. However, state auditors said over 4 million in hazard pay were granted to janitors provided by Stellar 167 Manpower Recruitment and Services, Inc. (SMRSI) from May 17 to September 18, 2020. "Audit disclosed that payments made to Stellar include hazard pay for janitors totaling 4,929,025.00. The janitors are institutional COS (contract of service) workers; hence they are covered by AO No. 26 with regard the grant of hazard pay," COA said in its annual audit report for 2020. "Out of the 4,929,025.00, the amount of 4,708,525.00 was incurred for the period beyond the duration of ECQ. Thus, payments of hazard pay to janitors after ECQ has no legal basis," COA added. The COA also flagged the lack of detailed technical specifications of the service to be rendered in the work order, which served as contract between the OCD and the manpower agency. "The areas to be cleaned or areas of responsibilities and number of operating hours are relevant in order to determine the number of janitors needed and the number of hours to be rendered to warrant the rendition of overtime and payment of night differential pay," state auditors said. Among COA's recommendations is for the OCD to require SMRSI to refund the hazard pay granted after May 15, 2020, or offset the amount against the unpaid billing of the contractor. Following the audit findings, COA said the OCD has already sent a letter to SMRSI - through a certain James Christopher Verano - stating that the amount of 4,708,525 will be offset against the OCD's unpaid billings to the company. COA added that the OCD will also provide complete and detailed specifications on all contracts covering janitorial services. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) A missed vaccination appointment should not hinder Filipinos from completing their COVID-19 shots, several health experts said on Thursday. Dr. John Wong, an epidemiology and data analytics expert working with the Inter-Agency Task Force, issued this reminder after revealing that half of Filipinos who have received their first dose missed their second one, therefore failing to complete their vaccination. "They should still go no matter how long they missed their second dose, they should still go back to get their vaccine as soon as possible. Even if you missed your schedule, getting your second dose does boost your immunity," he told CNN Philippines. "One dose is not enough. You need two doses so try to get your second dose as soon as possible to enjoy the full benefits of the vaccination," Wong added. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III assured that those who missed their scheduled second dose can still get vaccinated by contacting their LGU to book a new appointment. "We urge you to coordinate with your LGUs to reschedule your vaccination. Makukuha lang natin ang proteksyon ng mga bakuna laban sa COVID-19 sa kumpletong doses, he said in a statement. [Translation: We can only achieve protection from the COVID-19 vaccine if we complete the doses.] Different data? Wong reported that over 3 million doses of the Sinovac and Gamaleya vaccines have been administered since the country's vaccination drive started on March 1. He said that about 2.1 million should have gotten their second dose of either the Sinovac or Gamaleya vaccine by now since those two brands require two doses that need to be given about a month apart. However, the Department of Health said the number presented by Wong during the town hall session were "estimates and based on certain assumptions." Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said data from the National COVID-19 Vaccination Operation shows that only 9% or roughly 113,000 individuals have deferred their second dose. She said the number continues to go down as local government personnel reach out to the recipients. DOH said the most common reasons for deferrals are getting sick, getting exposed to someone positive for COVID-19, or undergoing quarantine. Wong also said that some Filipinos failed to show up for their appointment due to logistical difficulties or the perception that they are already safe from the virus after getting their first shot. The doctor also said some are scared to take the second dose if they experienced side effects during the first one. The Philippines has administered a total of 5.18 million shots as of June 1, with 1,206,371 people having completed their second dose since the launch of the national program in March. The average daily administered doses is now at 144,000. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) An official of the ruling PDP-Laban party says the possible pairing between Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio and her father, President Rodrigo Duterte, in the 2022 presidential elections must be looked into. "Kung sasabihin natin yung [If we're going to say] Duterte-Duterte, that is something we need to really study. We cannot answer whether it's good or not good at the moment," PDP-Laban vice chairman and Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said Thursday, when asked about recent remarks by Albay Representative Joey Salceda. Salceda earlier told reporters he does not see a Duterte-Duterte tandem in next year's polls, saying it would be better for the Davao City mayor to find a running mate who's not from Mindanao. "'Yung [The] 60% share ng [of] Mindanao, I think is pretty solid as a bailiwick. Kailangan mo lang [What you just need] is (a) significant share of Balance Luzon or NCR. Then I think that's a winning combination," the lawmaker said. Duterte-Carpio has yet to formally announce her plans for 2022, but she previously said she could run for President "in 2034." As for the President, the PDP-Laban adopted a resolution earlier this week urging him to run for vice president next year. The Palace said Duterte is leaving the decision to God. RELATED: Duterte for VP? Ask PDP-Laban members from grassroots too, says party exec "What we need to do is find out who can really...'yun bang makakatulong, makakapagsulong sa pag-asenso ng ating mga mamamayan at ng ating bayan. 'Yun ang importante," Cusi said. [Translation: We need to find out who can help our country and our citizens progress. That is what's important.] CNN Philippines correspondent Xianne Arcangel contributed to this report. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) President Rodrigo Duterte still has not responded to the request of PDP-Laban party president Sen. Manny Pacquiao to meet and discuss issues within the group, a top party official said Thursday. PDP-Laban Executive Director Ron Munsayac, an ally of Pacquiao, told CNN Philippines' The Source that they have not heard any feedback yet from Duterte, chairman of the ruling party. "We've written our honorable chairman once but we've also texted some people in his office. We may have to write him another letter following up our request for a meeting," Munsayac said. "As of this morning wala pa tayong (we still have no) feedback but we will do the necessary follow-ups. But we understand the President is extremely busy," he added. Pacquiao earlier sought to meet with Duterte after Malacanang bared that it was the President who directed PDP-Laban vice chairman Alfonso Cusi "to organize, convene, and preside over" a national council meeting in Cebu on Monday. Pacquiao earlier asked PDP-Laban members not to take part in the Cebu meeting, hinting of rival factions within the party. He said the meeting, led by Cusi, violated the party's rules since only he and Duterte could call for a council assembly. During the meeting, PDP-Laban adopted a resolution urging Duterte to run for vice president in 2022 and to choose his running mate for president. READ: PDP-Laban eyes talks to settle 'misunderstanding' PDP-Laban Vice President for External Affairs Raul Lambino previously said local government units, different sectors and other non-party members have expressed their support for the continuity of the Duterte administration, hinting a possible pairing between Duterte and his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio. Duterte-Carpio topped the April Pulse Asia survey on preferred presidential bets for next year. Albay Rep. Joey Salceda also revealed Wednesday that the Davao City mayor will "definitely run," though she has not made any public declarations on the matter. Meanwhile, Pacquiao has still kept mum about his political plans despite rumors that he intends to run for president next year. Malacanang previously said Duterte was leaving his VP bid "to God," a statement similar to the one he made in an interview in 2015 before announcing his plan to run for president. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) Many members of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan openly expressed their support for the vice presidential bid of President Rodrigo Duterte next year. For a top party official, however, members from the "grassroots" have not yet been heard. "If we will ask our partymates, all are very happy with the leadership of President Duterte," PDP-Laban Executive Director Ron Munsayac told CNN Philippines' The Source on Thursday. "He has done a lot of great things as President and party chairman," he said. But despite the 107 PDP-Laban members present at the national council meeting recently held in Cebu, the ruling party must also consider the sentiments of the rest of the group, according to Munsayac. He said PDP-Laban has over 100,000 members, including local officials and grassroots community leaders. "First, we would like to consult our more than 100,000 partymates because the national council meeting that they held three days ago, there were only more than 107 members there," Munsayac said. "PDP-Laban is 100,000-strong so sana bigyan muna natin ng boses yung mga kapartido natin sa baba para marinig natin kung ano ba talaga yung sentimyento nila dito," he added. [Translation: PDP-Laban is 100,000-strong so I hope we give our partymates from the grassroots a voice so we could hear their true sentiment about this.] During the meeting on Monday, PDP-Laban adopted a resolution urging Duterte to run for vice president in 2022 and to choose his running mate for president. READ: PDP-Laban adopts resolution urging President Duterte to run for VP in 2022 Munsayac, who also serves as the party spokesperson, said members have to properly convene in a national assembly to settle the issue. He echoed what the acting party president, Sen. Manny Pacquiao, had said that the meeting violated party rules. "Pag nasunod ang tamang proseso at tamang mga miyembro ng national council ang nandoon, then we can discuss politics," he said. "At kung ano man ang mapagbotohan doon, obligation na po namin as party members to follow the will of the majority of the party." [Translation: If the right process is followed by the legitimate members of the national council, then we can discuss politics. Regardless of who the members vote for, it is our obligation as party members to follow the will of the majority of the party.] Do party members want a Pacquiao presidency? Munsayac did not address whether the senator from General Santos City will run for president in 2022. However, he noted that some of his partymates see "how good of a person, how good of a leader, and how God-fearing" Pacquiao is. The senator, on the other hand, would tell him it is too early to talk about his political plans, Munsayac said. Pacquiao has already reached out to President Duterte to settle the issues within the party. Munsayac said they have yet to hear from the President. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) - Malacanang has maintained the country's vote to investigate Israels alleged human rights violations has only been consistent with the Philippines' position over the past years and should not in any way affect the excellent Philippine-Israeli ties. This is the same statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs, President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesperson Harry Roque said Thursday in a media briefing. Consistently naman po ang ating boto ay pabor po sa karapatan ng mga Palestino na magkaroon ng estado, in the same way na sinuportahan din po natin ang Israel nung binuo ang Israel bilang isang bansa, he said. [Translation: Our vote has consistently been in favor of the Palestinians right to have a state of their own, in the same way we supported Israel when they became a country.] On Sunday, the Israeli government said it has summoned Philippine envoy Macairog Alberto to clarify the country's vote on the United Nations Human Rights Council's resolution, which seeks a probe into possible war crimes committed by Israel in Palestinian territories it occupies. According to Gilad Cohen, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs' deputy director-general for the Asia-Pacific, the Philippines' vote is "unacceptable to Israel and constitutes a reward for terrorism." The UN resolution, the ministry said, is "grossly one-sided" and ignores the Palestinian Hamas terrorist organizations war crimes. Israel expects friends such as the Philippines not to support proposals that strengthen terrorism, and to stand by us during this time, the foreign affairs ministry had said. Also echoing the DFA, Roque stressed Manila values its relations with Israel, adding it is one of the nations which President Duterte relies on to help modernize the Philippine military. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III on Thursday called on the pandemic response task force and the Health Department to scrap the policy requiring fully vaccinated travelers to complete the 14-day quarantine upon arrival, warning that it could discourage business investors. "It doesnt make sense! (It) defeats the purpose of vaccinating so we can open the economy. Vaccinated investors wont come because they have to quarantine or even Filipinos who are vaccinated are having second thoughts," Sotto said in a statement. The Senate leader said the mandatory quarantine policy can be cancelled as long as health standards are followed. The government is implementing the requirement to all inbound travelers whether they are fully vaccinated or not. The passengers need to head straight to a quarantine facility and get tested on the 7th day. If they yield a negative test result, they can be turned over on the 10th day to their destination's local government where they will complete the 14-day isolation. Despite this appeal from Sotto and some overseas Filipinos planning to return to the country, the government stands by its guidelines, saying getting a vaccine isnt a guarantee that a person can no longer be infected with COVID-19 or infect others. Transportation Undersecretary Raul del Rosario, however, did not discount the possibility of revising the policy. He said experts and officials at the IATF have been carefully discussing for weeks the possible changes. Siyempre baka magkamali tayo ng protocol diyan eh lalong mag-spread (ang virus), he said on Wednesday. [Translation: Of course, we may issue the wrong protocols that could lead to the spread of the virus.] More facilities needed Del Rosario also admitted theyre facing challenges on housing returning overseas Filipinos. Hotels in Metro Manila that are being used as quarantine facilities are now 90% to 95% occupied even after the government set a quota on daily arrivals to 2,000. He said government is now looking for more hotels outside of Metro Manila, like Cavite and Batangas. Authorities have also put up a centralized command center to monitor hotel occupancies daily. CNN Philippines correspondents Eimor Santos and Rex Remitio contributed to this story. Republican South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace announced in a series of posts on Twitter that her home was vandalized with Antifa symbols and profanity on Memorial Day, reports say. The Daily Caller News Foundation reported there were multiple circle-A anarchist symbols and messages on the congresswoman's home and sidewalk. The Daily Caller said this may have something to do with Mace's signing against the Pro Act last March that was meant to strengthen protection for worker unions, even though it was passed by the House on a majority party-line vote. "In the early morning hours of Memorial Day, my home, where I'm raising my two children, was vandalized with Antifa symbols and profanity. Although my kids and I are thankfully fine, these criminal acts are unacceptable no matter your politics," Mace said. "There is a significant difference between nonviolent protests and criminal acts of intimidation and vandalism. I'm concerned too for my neighbors who've been impacted by this appalling criminal behavior," she added. Mace thanked her neighbors from the Charleston community who have provided her the support and assistance she needed at that time. She took the opportunity to urge people to be careful with their words and actions since it impacts others, as well as, to highlight the "difficult task" she has in her role as South Carolina's 1st District representative considering the political climate today. She also highlighted the need to "do better for our kids and for our country." "As I've had time to digest what has happened over the last 24 hours, I also wanted to take a moment to urge people to think about their words and their actions," she disclosed. "It's not just social media, but our words impact real people and impact real lives. We should take it down a notch." "I also hope people realize just how hard I'm working for the 1st Congressional District and also how hard I'm working across both sides of the aisle--a particularly difficult task--given the vitriol of our current political environment," she stressed. The Daily Caller revealed that this was the second time Mace experienced vandalism of her property. The first time was in October before she won the elections when her car "was keyed with expletives." In line with the incident, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott condemned the vandalism as "simply unacceptable and have no place in our society." He consoled Mace, her family, and community with prayers and expressed trust that law enforcement officers "will get to the bottom" of the matter. WND also cited former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley to have expressed support for Mace as well in line with the incident. WND added that the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace reacted to the incident stating that the vandalism is proof of the ongoing intimidation done by unions and extremist groups. WND pointed out that the coalition is opposed to the Pro Act much like Mace. The coalition pointed out that said unions and extremist groups are pressuring the campaign for the approval of the PRO Act that is expected to "dramatically alter" labor laws in the country. Besides Mace's home, three parks near Mace's community were also vandalized "with an anarchist symbol," The Post and Courier reported. The Charleston police said the Hampton Park's Denmark Vesey monument was smashed with a hammer and filled with graffiti. While the Smythe Park was painted with black spray paint of anarchist symbol. A similar incident was reported for Barfield Park. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 2) Medical experts are discouraging the public from undergoing antibody tests after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. They said an individual's antibody count does not paint a full picture of the level of their immunity against the deadly virus. There are apparently other factors to consider like cellular response, they added. "The immune system is amazingly sophisticated so one measurement cannot totally measure the entire immune response," Dr. Michelle de Vera told a breifing of the House Committee on Health on Wednesday. De Vera, who represents the Philippine Society for Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, leads the government's study on mixing brands of vaccines. Dr. Regina Berba, head of infectious disease control at the University of the Philippines-PGH, said antibody levels do not completely correlate with the protection a vaccine provides. "Our countrymen who will eventually have a negative test should not have a decline in their confidence in the vaccine," Berba said. Lawmakers expressed concern over people unnecessarily testing for their antibodies after getting vaccinated. "It's not only an unnecessary expense," Garin pointed out, "it's also sowing a lot of confusion. Even our vaccinators are testing themselves right and left and people are very wary: 'Ay, bakit kalahati lang sa amin ang nagpositibo? Bakit kalahati ng ospital personnel ay negatibo?'" [Translation: How come only half of us ended up testing positive? How come half of hospital personnel turned out negative?] Garin said the Health Department must issue a clear statement against this as it may cause more confusion on the effectivity of vaccines. One of the problems in the country's pandemic response is vaccine hesitancy among Filipinos. The Coastal Point is a local newspaper published each Friday and distributed in the Bethany Beach, South Bethany, Fenwick Island, Ocean View, Millville, Dagsboro, Frankford, Selbyville, Millsboro, Long Neck and Georgetown, Delaware areas. Columbia, SC (29201) Today Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 86F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. Built upon brick foundation and passion for unscripted performance, Happy Valley Improv will showcase its acting talents on the Blue Brick Theatres stage, the companys newfound home. The Blue Brick Theatre at 209 W. Calder Way in State College, will open July 9 for a number of improv classes, programs and performances. After opening, the Blue Brick Theatre will host improv shows at 7 p.m. every Friday. Improv classes will be available Tuesdays and Saturdays, a youth program will be held Wednesdays and a free community improv session will be held Sunday nights. James Tierney, one of the founders of Happy Valley Improv and an economics professor at Penn State, said Happy Valley Improv prides itself on being a community-based organization, similar to a nonprofit. The business was founded by three Penn State faculty members and one staff member, all of whom currently run the organization. The name of the new theater refers not only to the amount of exposed brick inside the building but also to the organizations common metaphor for building a scene brick by brick and the blue ball of energy shared by the actors when theyre performing, according to Tierney. The idea of a back alley with exposed brick really makes the vibe exactly what were looking for, Tierney said. Most shows at the theater will be open to about 40 people, with special shows expanding to 60 or 70, Tierney said. The classes will focus on stage presence, character development and cooperation, with additional classes in stand-up comedy and comedic writing. All will be open to anyone 18 or older. Happy Valley Improv arose from humble beginnings, with members originally performing in the basement of Saint Andrews Episcopal Church in State College, according to Andrea McCloskey, another co-founder. The group then performed often at The State Theatre on College Avenue, where it rented stage time, usually in the attic. The founders saw a need in State College for improv open to adults since the student improv scene at Penn State was already well-developed, according to Tierney. MORE BOROUGH COVERAGE Borough of State College to celebrate Pride month with 'Pride Ride' The borough of State College will host a Pride Ride car caravan at 4 p.m. on June 12 to ce Tierney also said they saw a lack of affordable theatre in the area, which is why Happy Valley Improvs ticket prices generally range from $7-12 for a show ranging from an hour to an hour and a half. McCloskey said one of her favorite parts of improv is creating inside jokes with the audiences and returning to the jokes throughout the show. We attempt to create an extremely inclusive environment a safe environment for people to be vulnerable to create and connect with other people, Tierney said. I love teaching our level one class, seeing students for the first time and showing them what improv is. Tierney, McCloskey and other company members voiced their excitement for the opening of Blue Brick Theatre, because during the pandemic, Zoom was the only way to perform. Tierney said one of the benefits of Zoom was people tuning in from London and Australia, and he said he thinks Happy Valley Improv will continue virtual shows in the future. However, founders and members still prefer in-person audiences. Jason Browne, a 2006 mechanical engineering graduate from Penn State and a Happy Valley Improv company member, said he was frustrated at not being able to see audiences expressions on Zoom. We created the best solution for Zoom, but its still nothing like the real thing, Browne said. After a year of staring at a screen, theres nothing better than to laugh in person with others. According to Tierney, the Blue Brick Theatre will adhere to current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, which allow fully vaccinated individuals to remove their masks in most indoor settings. Tierney encouraged Penn State students to take classes with Happy Valley Improv and said student improv groups will also be able to use the Blue Brick Theatres stage. And, McCloskey said she likes the history of the building and said theres been many businesses there before the theater is at the former site of State Colleges arts and crafts studio The Makery. MORE BOROUGH COVERAGE Founders and members said participating in the improv group has helped their lives outside of performances. Browne said improv requires clearing ones head, which is a meditative process. He also said improv develops listening skills, and both practices have proven useful to him. This has helped me find the opportunity to put myself into situations that arent typically comfortable for me but in an environment that creates a safe space to practice being a human, Luke Streich, a company member, said. It has been a long time since I experienced that sort of spontaneity, collaboration and unconditional acceptance. Browne said both entertaining and being in the audience is one of his favorite parts of improv. Having an audience to go along for the ride through all that is incredibly satisfying from both a performance point of view and audience point of view, Browne said. McCloskey, who teaches math education at Penn State, said improv provides her a break from the analytical life of academia. It gets me up and moving and out of my head and into my body. It helps me quiet the critic. . . this helps me be not critical but accepting open to newness and more joyful. Traffic stops along with arrests resulting from those stops declined sharply in Missouri last year due in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Black motorists were still far more likely to be pulled over and arrested. Catholic commentators hit President Joe Biden's embassy to the Holy See for flying the gay pride flag. WND said that various commentators and conservatives have criticized the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See for "deliberately provoking the Catholic Church" last Tuesday in line with the celebration of Pride Month that Biden announced should be honored that same day. As per WND, the embassy posted on Twitter a photo of their building displaying the pride flag stating that, "The United States respects the dignity and equality of LGBTQI+ people. LGBTQI+ rights are human rights." The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See celebrates #PrideMonth with the Pride flag on display during the month of June. The United States respects the dignity and equality of LGBTQI+ people. LGBTQI+ rights are human rights. pic.twitter.com/Xentlnr16E U.S. in Holy See (@USinHolySee) June 1, 2021 Author and political commentator Dinesh D'Souza retorted by pointing out that it was insensitive to do so considering the embassy was in the Vatican. "It is intended to offend devout Catholic sensibilities. Trampling on human hearts is what the Left does best," he said. WND also cited New York Post Iranian-American columnist Sohrab Amari for condemning the act as a "profanation, a desecration" and totally "not diplomacy, but a grave offense against the Church." While Newsweek opinion editor Josh Hammer echoed their sentiments when he retweeted the embassy's post. "Difficult to view this as anything other than a deliberate, provocative insult to traditional Catholicism. Not a good look," he stressed. In an interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation, Republican South Carolina Representative Jeff Duncan called out to Biden for the inappropriateness of displaying the Pride flag and tagged it as "divisive." "Joe Biden claims to respect religious liberty, yet thinks it's appropriate to display the pride flag at the Vatican. He claims to support law enforcement, yet has given permission for the divisive BLM flag to fly above our embassies, despite their desire to defund the police and their founding member's calls for Israel to no longer exist," Duncan pointed out. "The only banner that is truly representative of all Americans is the American flag, which is why I've filed legislation that prohibits all other political symbols from being displayed above our foreign embassies and consulates," he stressed referring to the Old Glory Only Act that he authored. Many netizens bashed the embassy's post as ungrateful to how the welcoming actions of Pope Francis toward the LGBTQ+ community since it is "disrespectful," "disgusting," "disgrace," a "blasphemy," and "mockery" of the Church being "in the heart of Christianity." Other netizens pointed out if the United States would be able to do the same in the middle east, echoing Florida Senator Marco Rubio's tweet that the embassy in Saudi Arabia would probably not do something like this. The White House released "A Proclamation On Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Pride Month, 2021," on Tuesday as a means to "recall the trials" of the LGBTQ+ who "bravely fought--and continue to fight--for full equality." Biden highlighted the achievements and progress of the United States for the LGBTQ+ community and repeatedly stressed his administration's continuous push to advocate their full liberty as part of the United States' "obligation to uphold the dignity of all people," especially "the most vulnerable among us." The news comes after religious leaders called for Biden and his administration to stop labeling himself as a "devout Catholic" due to his pro-abortion and pro-LGBT principles. Truman Veterans' Hospital hosts the 11th Annual VA2K Walk and Roll on Wednesday at the veterans hospital in Columbia. Participants walked two laps around the hospital in support of homeless veterans and to promote this years theme of living a healthy lifestyle. Participants, although not required, were encouraged to bring various household and personal hygiene items to donate to the homeless veterans . Stephens College students participate in the VA2K Sarah Froese hula hoops A community member signs in at the 2K The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form Stay up to date on COVID-19 Get Breaking News Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. In the UK, decisions on higher education for British students interested in tech careers revolve around which schools would be the best choice. With costs pegged at 9,250 a year, those considering university often feel pressure to make sure they get their moneys worth. With the technical skills gap continuing to grow and tech specialists finding themselves much in demand, computer science and related degree courses are, not surprisingly, growing in popularity. In 2019-20, more than 131,000 students studied for a computer science degree in the UK. This list, while by no means definitive, provides an overview of some of the top-ranked universities in the UK for computer science and IT-related degree courses. It was drawn up by averaging scores from The Guardian and The Times university rankings for 2021, after the rankings were filtered by the course title "computer science." Oxford and Cambridge Its rare to find a university listing that doesnt have Oxford or Cambridge university ranked first and when it comes to computer science and IT courses, theres no change at the top. Cambridge university offers just one undergraduate computer science course, whilst Oxford allows applicants to take a three-year undergraduate course or a four-year Masters course, both of which can be taken in combination with mathematics or philosophy. Acceptance onto the Masters course is subject to achieving a 2:1 at the end of the third year. According to the Guardian league table, 95% of students who studied computer science at Cambridge had a job within 15 months of graduation. The same statistic wasnt available for Oxford, but the university claims that six months after graduation, our students had achieved a median salary of 45,000, higher than graduates of all other UK undergraduate degree courses. Outside of university life, Cambridge is home to two unicorns worth more than $1 billion, whilst both cities boast 5 companies in the Fast-Track Tech Track 100 list. Entry requirements: Oxford: A*AA including at least an A in mathematics, with the A* in mathematics, further mathematics or computing/computer science. Cambridge: A*A*A. Mathematics is a requirement for all colleges, but other A Level subject requirements differ depending on which college students apply for. Details can be found online. Course cost: 9,250 per year for students who are designated as having "Home fee status" by the UK government. At Oxford, international students can expect to pay fees of 37,510 per year, whilst at Cambridge, overseas students looking to study computer science will need to pay 33,825 a year. Imperial College London Imperial College offers prospective students 10 different computer science courses to choose from, each specialising in a different area and available up to Masters level. These include computing alongside management and finance, software engineering, security and reliability, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and visual computing and robotics. At the end of the course, students are awarded with either a BEng or a MEng (Bachelor of Engineering or Masters of Engineering), depending on whether they opt to study the three- or four-year course. This means students who undertake a computer science degree at Imperial College will study the engineering of computer hardware and software alongside the mathematical principles of computing. Imperial College is also attractive because London tech companies attracted around 7.6 billion in Venture Capital funding in 2020 and has 60 companies in the Fast-Track Tech Track 100 list. There are also 16 unicorns startups valued at $1 billion or more based in the city. Entry requirements: A*A*A including at least an A* in mathematics. Further maths is preferred but not essential. Course cost: 9,250 per year for students who have "Home fee status" by the UK government, 33,750 per year for international students. Edinburgh Like Imperial College, Edinburgh university also offers students a wealth of computer science courses. All come with an optional study abroad year and classifications range from BScs or BEngs to MAs, MEngs, and MInfs (Master of Informatics). In addition to the wide range of degree classifications, Edinburgh also allows students to specialise and combine the institutions base-level computer science degree with artificial intelligence, cognitive science, informatics, physics, software engineering mathematics, electronics, and even linguistics. Those who do decide to study at a Scottish university should be aware that all these degree courses will be studied full-time over a four-year period for undergraduates and five-years for those who opt to do an undergraduate and Masters degree. This differs from degree courses in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland where undergraduate degrees typically last three years with an extra year added for the full-time study of a Masters. Entry requirements: For those taking Scottish Highers, AAAA or AAAB by end of S5, with mathematics at grade A. For students in England and Wales, A*A*A* - AAB, again with an A in mathematics. Higher maths is recommended but not required. Course cost: 1,820 per year for Scottish students, 9,250 for students from the rest of the UK, and 28,950 for international students. University of Southampton Although the University of Southampton didnt place as highly as some other institutions in The Guardian and The Times rankings, it was recently placed seventh in the UK for STEM subjects by QS World University rankings. Offering prospective students a choice of 15 courses, including specialisms in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and the opportunity to spend a year in industry, the university says its students learn to develop technologies in topic areas including algorithmics, data management, software design, and modeling and interaction design. Entry requirements: A*AA, including minimum grade A mathematics, or A*A*B including minimum grade A* mathematics. The university will also accept AAAA, with one of those subjects being mathematics. Students with an International Baccalaureate Diploma or a BTEC in a relevant course can also apply. Course cost: 9,250 per year for UK students, 22,760 a year for EU and international students. Manchester Manchester university offers 24 different computer science courses for those who wish to study an undergraduate or Masters degree at the Russell Group institution. All courses come with the option of taking a foundation year before embarking on the degree, helping to fill in any potential knowledge gaps for students who dont have the appropriate subject background for direct entry to first year. Unlike other universities that offer computer science in combination with a specialism, Manchester university provides single-discipline degrees in artificial intelligence, software engineering, computer systems engineering, and IT management for business. Students can also combine a computer science course with mathematics or human computer interaction and most courses allow students to undertake a "sandwich" year in industry. Entry requirements: A*AA including A* in mathematics. For some of the specialist courses, other subjects are required; these can be checked in the course catalogue. Course cost: 9,250 per year for students with "Home fee status." (The university estimates that approximately a third of its undergraduate students will receive bursaries of up to 2,000 per year.) International students should expect to pay a minimum of 25,000 per year. Bristol Bristol university offers 13 different courses at undergraduate and Masters levels, most of which can be taken with either a study abroad year or a year in industry. While Bristol doesnt offer students the chance to specialise in specific areas of computing from the outset, it does offer its computer science course in combination with physics, chemistry, electronics, or innovation. In addition to the university scoring highly for STEM education, 339m in venture capital funding went to Bristol tech firms in 2020, the third highest amount behind Oxford and London. The city also boasts two tech hubs and is the home of a billion-dollar company. Entry requirements: A*AA including A* in mathematics. Those looking to study a course in combination with physics or chemistry must achieve an A in the subject. Bristol also makes contextual offers to students from backgrounds who are generally less likely to attend university. A contextual offer comes with a grade reduction of up to two grades below the standard entry requirements. Course cost: 9,250 per year for "Home fee status" students, 24,700 per year for international students. Glasgow When it comes the number of computer science course combinations, Glasgow is the clear winner. The Guardian lists 57 variations of the Scottish universitys computer science course, with students able to study it alongside everything from statistics and mathematics to English language or literature, Greek, theology, philosophy, theatre studies and politics. The university also offers joint degree options for its digital media and information studies course, which falls under the computer science umbrella and provides teaching on database development, artificial intelligence, and information systems throughout the four-year course. There are also software engineering and electronic software engineering courses for those who want to specialise from the outset. As with Edinburgh university, undergraduate courses at Glasgow university run for four years, whilst those who elect to study a Masters will be at the university for five years. Entry requirements: For those taking Scottish Highers, AAAA/AAABB, with mathematics at grade A. For students in England and Wales, AAB again with an A in mathematics. Due to the large number of course options available, students will need to check the individual courses for other, subject-specific requirements. Course cost: 1,820 for Scottish students, 9,250 for students from the rest of the UK, and 23,000 for international students. Birmingham Like most cities in the UK, Birmingham has two universities. For this list, the University of Birmingham made the cut, with The Guardian giving the university a score of 84/100 when it comes to course satisfaction. The university offers single-discipline, undergraduate and Masters degree courses in computer science and joint computer science and artificial intelligence, software engineering and mathematics degrees. Most of these subjects allow students to undertake a year of studying abroad or a year in industry, and foundation years are available for those lacking the necessary entry requirements. Although London is often regarded as the UKs best technology hub, a recent study by the Carphone Warehouse found that Birmingham ranked second in accessibility to the tech industry, with investments in the West Midlands tech sector tripling in 2020. Entry requirements: AAA including at least an A in mathematics. The university says that it is desirable, but not essential, for students to have some experience of writing computer programs Course cost: 9,250 per year for students with "Home fee status" by the UK government. International students pay 23,400 per year. If you've read much tech news lately, you might be feeling a slight sense of shock right now. A series of newly publicized documents related to an Arizona lawsuit reveals that Google's had some complicated systems for collecting location data across Android over the years and that, according to the info, the company at one point tried putting a catch-all location toggle into the software's Quick Settings panel but saw a substantial increase in the number of users who took advantage of it with that more prominent positioning in place. Google "viewed the large increase as a problem to be solved," the documents say, and consequently removed the location toggle from Android's Quick Settings panel on its own phones and "sought ... to convince other manufacturers using Android to do the same on the basis of false and misleading information." Yamma hamma that's one greasy pancake to chew over. But hang on: Before you soil your britches and bury your phone in the nearest mountain of mustard, there are a few important points to consider here points that play a significant role in this story and are largely getting lost amidst all the sensational headlines and eye-catching claims. It's not to say that any of these claims are good, by any means. Of course not! But in their current form, they're lacking some critical context that paints a more nuanced and complete picture of the situation. [Get level-headed knowledge in your inbox with JR's Android Intelligence newsletter. Tips, insights, and other tasty treats await!] Let's dive in, shall we? 1. The location toggle context One of the more eyebrow-raising revelations in these materials is the part about Google removing that location toggle from Android's Quick Settings because of how too many people were tapping it when it was front and center. Here's the interesting thing about that, though: Google didn't actually remove that toggle. It's still there. See? JR The Quick Settings Location toggle, as seen on a Pixel phone running Android 11. I went back and looked at phones running Android versions as old as 2017's Android 8.0, and the location toggle is present and available in all of 'em continuing all the way up through the current Android 12 beta release. This is true both on Google's own Pixel phones and on devices made by other manufacturers. When you look more closely at the court documents, it becomes clear that no one's actually claiming Google flat-out removed that option as a result of the increased activity its presence apparently created. That's the telephone-game version of the story that ended up getting repeated throughout most media reports and social media chatter. The actual information says that Google simply moved that toggle to a secondary page within the Quick Settings panel as in, one swipe over in that area, where lots of less frequently used toggles reside. Now, the issue of why Google made that change is a whole other story. (For its part, Google has gone on the record as saying that the Arizona Attorney General and "[its] competitors driving this lawsuit have gone out of their way to mischaracterize [its] services," that it has "always built privacy features into [its] products and provided robust controls for location data," and that it "look[s] forward to setting the record straight.") But regardless, the fact of what actually changed is an important bit of context to consider. Speaking of which... 2. The Google data context This whole situation revolves around the realization that Google is making some behind-the-scenes decisions designed to encourage us all to share location data and other such info with the company. That data, in turn, is then used as part of our profiles that determine what sorts of ads we see around the web. And those ads are what allow Google to offer us all of its various services Search, Gmail, Docs, Drive, you name it without charging us, at least at the services' base levels. It's tempting to portray all of this as part of a "surveillance mission," a "war on privacy," and other such accusatory terms. But let's take a second to step back and think about what the situation actually is. Yes, Google wants to encourage you to give it access to stuff like location data and yes, it's probably making some design choices that are carefully considered to help accomplish that goal. But, critically, the company is not selling your data or sharing it with anyone. It's using it to programmatically determine what ads you see around the web. And that's all. (It's probably no coincidence that Google seems to have launched a campaign of sorts to address the misconceptions around this area. I've seen pop-ups in numerous Google apps and services over the past several days pointing out that Google never sells or shares information and that in some cases, such as with Gmail and Photos, it doesn't even use the associated data for ad targeting purposes. Clearly, Google sees this as being as much about misrepresentation as anything.) You know what else? Just as that sort of data is core to Google's business, the now-sensationalized notion of "privacy" has become core to lots of other companies' businesses. As I pointed out the other week, bashing Google and selling the idea of "privacy" has become a big business in and of itself, and the manufactured outrage over Google's business model is a core selling point in that arena. Before you panic over what Google knows about you and what manner of info it's collecting, ask yourself: Do you enjoy using Google services and get some manner of value out of them that you couldn't get at that same level anywhere else? And does the actual Google business model and what the company does with data really bother you all that much? To quote an exceptionally handsome Google-focused writer I know: Google's been up-front about how its business works from the very beginning: The company provides us with mostly free services in exchange for allowing it to use certain parts of our data the things we search for, the stories we click on, and so on to build up private profiles of our interests. And it then uses those profiles to programmatically show us targeted ads that relate to those interests. It's worth stating once more: To the best of our knowledge, Google has never sold, shared, or otherwise misused any manner of personal data. That's something that seems to get lost in much of the discussion as of late the fact that while, yes, privacy is obviously important and worth thinking through carefully, what we're talking about here is simply select areas of our data being compiled to create a profile that's then used internally and automatically to make matches with the sorts of ads we see. And while the defaults do tend to veer toward allowing most manners of access, you can absolutely take control of how your info is used in an ever-increasing number of ways. If that does bother you, then by all means, you've got some serious thinking to do. With most people, though myself included once the practical reality of the situation sets in, the mindset seems to shift from steaming rage to shrugging acceptance. At the end of the day, Google's a business. And of course it's going to position things in a way that supports the system at the center of its strategy. The same is true for practically every company out there. The specifics of the transaction and what value you're providing in exchange for the service just vary from one instance to the next. And on that note... 3. The company decision-making context More than anything, this saga serves as a reminder that, yes, tech-service-providing organizations are profit-seeking entities and despite the lofty and sometimes genuine stories they love to shower us with, at the end of the day, they're all invested in building up their own businesses and selling a story that supports that goal. Take Apple, for instance a company that, more than any other, has latched onto the notion of "privacy" as a selling point as of late. That's all well and good, but let's not forget that Apple's glorified iOS privacy policies are actually poised to boost Apple's own advertising business, as the Wall Street Journal explains: When targeting users who have opted out of tracking, advertisers who buy ads through third-party platforms will have to wait three days for insights on their campaigns and will receive only aggregate information, such as the total number of users who took an action after an ad, people familiar with Apples ad products said. Advertisers who buy Apple ad space can receive more data about user behavior, the people said. They can learn which version of their ads users saw and which search keywords ads appeared on, they said. Those advertisers will get results nearly in real time, the people said. And, of course, all the hubbub surrounding the subject is also serving as a strong marketing point for Apple's own primary business model selling hardware and locking you into its ecosystem so you'll keep buying more and more devices over time. Apple, unlike Google, depends on ongoing hardware sales for the bulk of its income. It's a different model, but just like Google, Apple is selling the story that best positions its business for success. Then there's Amazon, whose business revolves around getting us all in the habit of turning to its virtual storefront for any and all purchases, all of the time. That's why it sells us on the value of its Prime service and continues to add more and more elements into that arrangement despite the fact that, as has become increasingly clear over time, the value provided isn't quite as clear cut as it seems. None of this is to say that these sorts of sometimes-sneaky, arguably deceptive tactics are optimal. They're not. But they're a part of business, for better or for worse and on some levels, they always have been, even dating back to our pre-technological world. Ultimately, it's a reminder that it's up to us to look past the surface, assess what's actually going on in any given scenario, and then look out for our own best interests. The good news is that with Android, specifically, it really isn't all that difficult to do even if the onus does typically fall upon you to take the initiative. I've got a detailed step-by-step guide to deciding exactly how information can and can't be used on your phone and what tradeoffs are involved in every associated choice. And the amount of control available is only increasing with every year and every new Android version. It's mostly just a matter of figuring out your personal priorities and deciding which is more important to you: preventing your data from being used to show you relevant ads around the web or accepting the various perks of Google services that come along with that exchange. The power to decide is in your hands and so, too, as this situation reminds us, is the responsibility to make that decision. Sign up for my weekly newsletter to get more practical tips, personal recommendations, and plain-English perspective on the news that matters. Singapore allows Sinovac vaccine to be administered through special access route after WHO approval Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) has allowed the use of Sinovac Biotech Ltd.s COVID-19 vaccine, after the World Health Organisation (WHO) approved the drug as part of its emergency use listing. Singapores decision comes about three months after the country received its first shipment of 200,000 doses of the Sinovac shot on February 23, and amid debate over the efficacy of the vaccine. Twitter/@nickmarsh6 MOH had announced that through a special access route, private healthcare institutions will be able to bring in unregistered COVID-19 vaccines. The WHO authorised the Sinovac vaccine on June 1, paving the way for a wider rollout in countries scrambling for a supply of immunisations. Singapores decision comes about three months after the country received its first shipment of 200,000 doses of the Sinovac shot on February 23, and amid debate over the efficacy of the vaccine. The shot, dubbed CoronaVac, has the lowest efficacy rate reported from clinical trials among the frontrunner wave of vaccines: it was found to be just 50.7% effective in preventing symptomatic Covid in a trial in Brazil, barely crossing the minimum threshold required by drug regulators around the world. But real world evidence is emerging that its far more effective on the ground: In a recent study of around 130,000 Indonesia health workers, it protected 94% against symptomatic infection, 96% against hospitalization, and 98% against death. The vaccine has not been approved for use by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA). Yesterday, MOH said it will release more details in the coming few days for private healthcare institutions to apply to be licensed providers for the Sinovac-CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine under the special access route. The ministry also reiterated that Sinovac is not part of the national vaccine programme and therefore will not be covered under the Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Programme for COVID-19 Vaccination. WHO recommended the vaccine for use in adults 18 years and older, in a two-dose schedule spread out across two to four weeks. Texas Representative Mike McCaul reportedly hit China's "extreme" efforts to cover up truth about the source of the COVID-19 virus that has caused the global pandemic. WND said McCaul was interviewed by CNN last Sunday for its "State of the Union" program and was asked of his opinion on the source of the virus. McCaul pointed out to the Wuhan Institute of Virology and called it the "worst cover up in human history." "Let me say, this is the worst cover-up in human history that we have seen, resulting in 3.5 million deaths, creating economic devastation around the globe," McCaul stated. "As you mentioned, though, it was just declassified that three of the researchers were actually hospitalized in November of 2019 with flu-like symptoms consistent with COVID. That was suppressed by the Chinese Communist Party," he added. McCaul also pointed out the the said researchers were hidden by China and cited the World Health Organization's failure in pinpointing the true source of the virus, citing a similar incident that happened in 2004 with the SARS virus that also "accidentally leaked" from the same laboratory. He said these are proofs of the repeated cover-up that has been happening. "Since that time, in December, they silenced and detained the doctors who were reporting a SARS-like virus, which, under international health regulations, had to be reported within 24 hours," he stressed. "They went and destroyed lab samples. They wouldn't admit it was human-to-human and then, working with the WHO, failed to report to the world that we had a local--local epidemic that was now going into a global pandemic." McCaul also said that the laboratory was already trying to find a vaccine for the virus when it leaked out. But he disclosed that there is a probability that those in the laboratory have already "destroyed everything" in it to cover up their tracks and this is the reason that President Joe Biden's 9-day review of the released intelligence community information is "long overdue." Politico, on the other hand, reported that former President Donald Trump's Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Pottinger stated the importance of pinpointing the source of virus since it is still unclear if it really came from the "laboratory" or from "nature." Pottinger stressed that there is really no "concrete evidence" at this time as to the virus' source and all the "growing amount of circumstantial evidence" point to the leakage "from the laboratory." A similar call for investigation was made by a team of scientists in May on the origins of the virus. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo repeatedly said evidence points to COVID-19 as having come from a laboratory in Wuhan. The CCP, however, prevented any form of transparency into the issue. Last Month, National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Anthony Fauci finally reversed his stance and said he is "not convinced" that the virus developed naturally and had called for investigation on its source. Alongside the cover up is mainstream media's dismissing the theory of the Wuhan Laboratory leakage because it is being pushed by Republicans. This was after reports revealed that the Wuhan researchers sought hospitalization in November 2019 for COVID-like symptoms and that one of the Wuhan Laboratory researcher's wife died in December 2019 of similar symptoms before China did admit the spread of the virus. Courtesy photo Navarro County Sheriff's deputies arrested a man for public intoxication, and caught with a handgun, ecstasy, and cocaine June 2 after he was reported walking in the middle of IH-45, near mile marker 236. Surely, an egregious statement from someone known for making wild and sensationalist claims need not throw an established mode of medicine into paroxysms of rage or some kind of self-doubt. By now most of us have experienced some very admirable cures and some remarkable allopathic doctors we are grateful to. There is no question that allopathy is an established mode of practice in India. But examples from the medical education and the medical profession from countries like Cuba show, there are more people-centric goals that even allopathic practitioners can adopt. With the privatization of healthcare in India, costs are prohibitive. As a recent One had not seen any mass protests or rumblings from within the medical fraternity protesting such medical systems. Ramdev need not bother India's medical fraternity that much. But there is a case to be made regarding the physicians, and the system they are in, healing itself. --- *Writer based in Delhi NCR According to one recent report , titled Post Vaccination Deaths Raise Concerns in India, there have been several hundred cases of people with one or both vaccine doses succumbing to Covid. How then does one impose complete faith in vaccines coming out of the western/allopathic medicine pipeline?Surely, an egregious statement from someone known for making wild and sensationalist claims need not throw an established mode of medicine into paroxysms of rage or some kind of self-doubt. By now most of us have experienced some very admirable cures and some remarkable allopathic doctors we are grateful to. There is no question that allopathy is an established mode of practice in India.But examples from the medical education and the medical profession from countries like Cuba show, there are more people-centric goals that even allopathic practitioners can adopt. With the privatization of healthcare in India, costs are prohibitive. As a recent news report , titled Covid-19 in Karnataka: Families sell valuables, land to settle bills, highlights, the costs associated with treatment, especially in private institutions are extortionist.One had not seen any mass protests or rumblings from within the medical fraternity protesting such medical systems. Ramdev need not bother India's medical fraternity that much. But there is a case to be made regarding the physicians, and the system they are in, healing itself.--- As civil rights activist Harsh Mander's experience in a Delhi hospital during the pandemic last year demonstrated, there are huge gaps in healthcare delivery even in established medical institutions. Siddhartha Mukhejee, another practising doctor and a writer, comments in a piece on American medicine during the virus last year, that "Medicine is a system for delivering care and support; its also a system of information, quality control, and lab science. All need fixing."A recent report regarding a yoga institution in the Coimbatore area highlighted how its nearly 3,000 residents have remained largely disease free. They also imbibe some ayurvedic concoctions, which they feel helps them against threats of a disease. They have shared the drink with residents of several villages around Coimbatore, who have also remained largely unaffected by the virus while it has been rampaging through the city of Coimbatore.One can of course take such descriptions with a pinch of salt, but the fact remains that there is no shortage of people projecting alternative cures and treatments. Some adivasi communities in Jharkhand have decided to use their own treatments, such as neem oil, to fight Covid and they feel it is effective.The medical profession need not protect itself to be beyond any criticism, making it almost punishable to utter contrary views, as though indulging in some offence equivalent to contempt of court.Soon after Mamata Banerjee was elected for the third time, she announced that "quacks" would be drafted to confront the corona crisis. According to the news report about the quacks, "they often form the backbone of treatment in areas with hardly any qualified doctors." Qualified doctors in India's rural areas is a challenge that has bedevilled medical education and deployment in the country for a very long time.Can one legitimately raise the question why the doctors who profess to serve the most underserved and needy, avoid India's rural areas - and leave them to the mercy of quacks? Where is the sense of moral responsibility in such cases? Extending the argument, where then does this system of medicine draw its moral authority from, when it seems to shrug off its larger responsibility towards the society?People like Ramdev are probably the lunatic fringe of the Hindutva brigade that is often talked about. But it is undeniable that his advice on several matters pertaining to issues of health are followed with great reverence by many Indians.I personally know of acquaintances who claim to have benefited from some chronic issues by following one of his yoga routines. Speaking of which -- the current popularity of yoga among Indians, where it is recommended as part of the Covid-recovery regimen -- owes a lot to Ramdev.Close to 30 years ago when I became familiar with the system of yoga, it was still almost a niche activity in India. That has dramatically changed today, in great part on account of Ramdev.If the speakers' list at an upcoming international conference on yoga is to be believed, several allopathic practising doctors from around the world will be participants, including those from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, and from some leading institutions in the US like Massachusetts General Hospital. The overlap between the allopathic medicine system and more traditional systems such as yoga and meditation is fairly well established now and it would be pointless to tear them asunder. professor at one of the leading institutes of the world, Harvard Medical School, for instance, is also on the yoga faculty of a yoga institute in the USA. There are hundreds of such examples today, especially with the popularity of research areas like mind-body interactions and integrative medicine.One has to remember that alternative modes of knowledge exist all over the world. There are various ways to look at the human body and its processes and functioning. The western medicine mode of super-specialization, where each specialization only seems to know about its tiny little area is a bane of the system though often seen in glowing light.Not for nothing have disciplines like systems biology started to be adopted at leading universities around the world, like Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). According to one explanation , systems biology is "a holistic approach to deciphering the complexity of biological systems that starts from the understanding that the networks that form the whole of living organisms are more than the sum of their parts."It is not difficult to see that Ramdev is merely lashing out, having been frustrated in his attempts to push through his Covid vaccine and other sundry cures. Fair enough. But even the Government of India approved vaccines are causing fatalities which are hardly being reported. Well, folks, it seems even olive oil isn't safe from the oil-hungry, invading forces of the United States armed forces on Tuesday, the U.S. Army issued an apology after several soldiers accidentally invaded an olive oil factory during a training exercise in Bulgaria, likely to the terror of the workers trying to make the delicious condiment in peace. On May 11, soldiers entered and cleared a building next to the airfield that they believed was part of the training area, but that was occupied by Bulgarian civilians operating a private business, read the statement on the training exercise, designed simulate seizing and securing the Cheshnegirovo decommissioned airfield in Bulgaria" posted on the US Army Europe and Africa website. The U.S. Army takes training seriously and prioritizes the safety of our soldiers, our allies, and civilians," the post continued. We sincerely apologize to the business and its employees. We always learn from these exercises and are fully investigating the cause of this mistake." As we all know, folks, nothing says teachable moment quite like scaring the absolute shit out of some workers who have done nothing wrong except for maybe press an olive a little too tightly when attempting to extract its sweet, sweet nectar. In a pair of settlements that require more than $2 million in compensation to the attorneys who challenged the laws for breach of religious freedom, the state of California has agreed to refrain from imposing coronavirus regulations on church meetings that are no more rigorous than retail venues. On Tuesday, a federal court in San Diego granted final approval to a settlement between the churches and the state, which is the culmination of the previous three Supreme Court challenges that resulted in a win for the church, reports CBS Sacramento. Attorney Paul Jonna said that the settlement includes a permanent injunction in keeping with decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court that ruled limitations on places of worship cannot be greater than those on retail companies. "If they're gonna restrict Costco to 50%, then they can do the same thing to churches," he said. "But what they were doing before, as you may remember, is they were keeping those places open and they were shutting down churches - at least in California - completely." The attorney added that though the settlements only pertain to limitations enforced for the COVID-19 outbreak, he believes the state will not put tougher limitations on churches in the future due to the recent Supreme Court decision. The settlements in this case include a lawsuit that was initiated by the South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista and Bakersfield Catholic priest Fr. Trevor Burfitt who sued in Kern County Superior Court. Litigation for the Thomas More Society, a conservative public interest law firm, is estimated to cost about $1.6 million in the South Bay case and $550,000 with regards to the Burfitt case. Complications with Newsom's Shutdown Orders As the case rate of COVID-19 has declined significantly, Gov. Gavin Newsom is prepared to relax all COVID-19 restrictions on June 15. Newsom's office also published a statement in which he claimed that he placed the health of Californians first when he implemented shutdown orders, reports Centre Daily. The statement also said that the settlements give clarification on how public health rules may apply to churches. Before he issued a nationwide pandemic preparedness order in March 2020, Governor Newsom was the first to implement a house quarantine at the beginning of the crisis. In response to his many closure orders and revisions that permitted certain enterprises to operate at differing capacities, the courts heard challenges at both the state and federal levels. Health orders prohibiting public activities were generally upheld until last year, when a vacancy in the Supreme Court created by the death of liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the appointment of conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett led to victories for religious groups. In a separate legal battle, Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena and Harvest International Ministry challenged Newsom's limitation orders. They questioned why small Bible study groups are not permitted yet all other small events, markets, and companies are. The churches won their lawsuit, and the California government was required to pay $1.3 million in legal fees as part of the settlement. To Scottish Finance Minister Kate Forbes, denouncing the animosity that is rising in contemporary British culture is insufficient. Instead, she's looking to actively stand up to it. "I believe in the person of Jesus Christ. I believe that he died for me, he saved me and that my calling is to serve and to love him and to serve and love my neighbors with all my heart and soul and mind and strength....I am a person before I was a politician and that person will continue to believe that I am made in the image of God," she openly declared in an interview with the BBC on May 21. In an interview with the BBC's Political Thinking podcast, Ms. Forbes claimed she had never sought to conceal her faith. However, she said that she felt just as guilty as anybody in walking on eggshells around the issue, fearing and believing that the public would believe she and her organization just represented herself, rather than everyone. According to the International Christian Concern (ICC), Forbes is the daughter of Scottish missionaries who went to India. She went back to the U.K. and finished her studies in history and migration before getting a job as an accountant. Her noteworthy career, particularly in Scottish politics, began only when she was 31. In a very short time span, she was one of Scotland's top candidates, selected by one of the Scottish Parliament's political parties to run for office, and she was successful in being elected in 2016. Forbes then became the first woman in the U.K. to present the Scottish Budget to Parliament in 2020, when she served as the country's Finance Minister. Despite her contributions, she has lately come under attack for statements she made about her beliefs. As of 2018, she was still a member of the Scottish Parliament, and at a prayer breakfast in Edinburgh, she made her public prayer. In it, she said, "May our politicians recognize that the way we treat the most vulnerable - whether the unborn or the terminally ill - is a measure of true progress." This one sentence about defending the unborn was enough to garner her widespread resentment from people in the British press on the left. Additionally, when the news broke that she was being considered for the post of finance minister, activists with the pro-LGBT movement had doubts about her eligibility for the position, given she does not believe in redefining marriage. "Those who disagree with me call out my side [for prejudice], but I look at my Twitter timeline and the levels of vitriol, abuse and creative insults are such that I cannot read it," she said. "So, I think the problem is not by any means monopolized by one side, and my job and other's job is to try and break that mold." While noting that people's life experiences differ, she also said that politicians should be able to be compassionate toward everyone, regardless of whether they have "walked in their shoes or completely understand where they are coming from." "I would like to think if you asked a single politician on the opposite benches in the Scottish parliament whether they respect me, whether they disagree with me, and whether I can build relationships with them, all of them to a person would say yes. So, it starts with us, not just calling vitriol, but with doing things differently." To enjoy our website, you'll need to enable JavaScript in your web browser. Please click here to learn how. 11-year-old boy with leukemia realizes police dream People's Daily Online) 17:31, June 02, 2021 Zixuan, an 11-year-old boy who suffers from leukemia, realized his dream of becoming a special police officer after his story made the local news. Photo shows Zixuans letter telling of his dream to become a special police officer. (Photo from the Weibo page of Hangzhou Daily) The boy has been receiving treatment at the Childrens Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang province. Zixuan (Photo from the Weibo page of Hangzhou Daily) In early May, Zixuan wrote on a piece of paper in the hospital that his dream is to become a special police officer. The note was later posted on the Weibo page of Hangzhou Daily, a local newspaper. After the local media report, an employee from Childream, a public welfare foundation in the city, contacted his mother in mid-May and told her that the foundation could help the boy realize his dream. Photo shows a group photo of Zixuan and special police officers. (Photo from the Weibo page of Hangzhou Daily) Photo shows Zixuan and special police officers standing in line to salute. (Photo from the Weibo page of Hangzhou Daily) Several special police units in Hangzhou also decided to help Zixuan make his dream come true. The brigade in the citys Xiaoshan district tailored a uniform for him while another brigade in Gongshu district, closer to the hospital, invited the boy for a visit. Officers from the brigade taught him how to hold a gun and guided him on how to get on an anti-riot vehicle and a motorcycle. A special police officer teaches Zixuan how to hold a gun. (Photo from the Weibo page of Hangzhou Daily) A special police officer teaches Zixuan how to ride a motorcycle. (Photo from the Weibo page of Hangzhou Daily) Photo shows Zixuan in an anti-riot vehicle. (Photo from the Weibo page of Hangzhou Daily) Photo shows a group photo of Zixuan and special police officers. (Photo from the Weibo page of Hangzhou Daily) They also let him see his head teacher and classmates again via video link at the police station. Zixuan was excited to see them while proudly showing the anti-riot vehicle to them. (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) Christians in China are once again under attack by the CCP after authorities arrested a Vatican-appointed bishop, seven priests, and a number of seminarians in May. CCP police took Joseph Zhang Weizhu, a 63-year old bishop of the Xinxiang Diocese in Henan province on May 21, just 24 hours after the priests and seminarians were detained. The Christian leaders were accused of violating China's repressive measures against religious gatherings. Now, many more fear that there will be increasing persecution of Christians in the coming days, if not months. Bishop Zhang and the priests were taken by CCP police after they were found to have used an abandoned factory as a seminary for the formation of priests, Catholic Philly reported. They were then charged with violating China's new rules that were implemented in May, which required all clergy to register with the state to be allowed to serve their congregation. Under the new rules, religious groups are forbidden to participate in activities or worship in places that are not controlled or registered under the communist government of China. According to UCA News, the Xinxiang Diocese where Bishop Zhang served was not recognized by CCP authorities despite the Vatican establishing it back in 1936. The bishop was secretly ordained in 1991 after his appointment by the Vatican was not approved by the Bishops' Conference of the Catholic Church in China (BCCCC) and the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), two organizations that are state-run. The new rules established by the CCP took effect this month and do not recognize the Sino-Vatican deal, which supposedly enabled the appointing of bishops through a mutual agreement to avoid conflict between Vatican mandate and state appointments. According to media reports, over 100 CCP police surrounded the abandoned building before Bishop Zhang was arrested. National Catholic Reporter said that the deployment of CCP police continues while a manhunt is ongoing for the other seminarians who allegedly fled to avoid getting captured and detained. "These arrests appear to confirm fears that restrictions on religious communities will continue to tighten," Christian Solidarity Worldwide founding president Mervyn Thomas told Catholic Philly. "We call for the immediate and unconditional release of these Christians and all those detained across China on account of their religion or beliefs. We also encourage the international community to raise this and other cases of arbitrary detention and harassment of religious leaders." In response to fears of CCP's continued and increasing persecution of Christians in China, Pope Francis called upon the faithful all over the world to pray for Chinese Christians who he admitted he "[carries] in the depth of [his] heart." Pope Francis said, "Therefore, I invite you to accompany with fervid prayer the Christian faithful in China, our dearest brothers and sisters, whom I carry in the depth of my heart. May the Holy Spirit, protagonist of the Church's mission in the world, guide them and help them to be bearers of the Good News, witnesses of goodness and charity, and builders of justice and peace in their country." The pope expressed his desire to see Christian communities "united in love and in faith" throughout the trials faced by many across the world. The year after I finished college, I became friends with a guy who was smart, kind, and grew up in much the same way I did...sweet family, went to church, small town, etc. We want to grab dinner one night, and he said, Maggie, I need to tell you something. Well thats never good, right? So I settled in, trying to prepare myself for whatever was about to come. He took a deep breath and said, Im agnostic. I must have looked very confused because he proceeded to lay out his explanation for his thinking based on lack of historical/scientific evidence and doubt about the Bibles authenticity, assuming that this would change things between us. As I listened, I prayed about what to say and how to make him see that God was real, realizing that there was so very much at stake because of those two little words. And then this came to mind: Always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that you have. I had heard it in Sunday School, read it in my Bible, and now it was time to put it into action. So what would I do? I had a choice to make...face possible ridicule and loss of a friend or drop the conversation altogether? What would my answer be? What Does 'Always Be Prepared to Give an Answer' Mean? In 1 Peter 3:13-17, Peter shares what to do if we, as believers, suffer for doing what is right. He tells us not to worry or be afraid, but instead, continue to worship Christ as Lord of our lives. And then, he says this: ...if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it (NLT). Always be ready to give an answer...always be ready to explain the hope that we have in Jesus. But how? Im not a biblical scholar. I havent been to seminary. Im a simple girl who loves Jesus, reads His word, and wants everyone to know Him. But what could I say and do to make my friend see? To open his eyes to the truth? I felt utterly unprepared, inadequate, and unworthy of this task because my answer wasnt smart or eloquent, or deep. And I didnt think it was enough. Does This Mean We Have to Know Everything There Is to Know about the Bible? At that point in my walk with the Lord, I knew very little Scripture right off-hand and even less about proof of biblical stories and Jesus life. Knowing how intelligent this friend was, I knew he would need that proof though. So I took him a stack of books the next day: The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, More Than a Carpenter, and The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict. I told him that I didnt have all the answers, but this was a start, so he agreed to read them. I left, and I waited. A few days later, he called me and asked me to come over. My heart was completely undone, as I wondered what he would say. I prayed that the Lord had used these books, this evidence, to convince him of Truth. But did it work? What if We're Scared We Won't Know the 'Right Thing' to Say? When I arrived to see him, I prayed for the right thing to say. The right words to soften his heart toward the Lord and His Word...to help him see the only One who could save him. And I went in with confidence. I excitedly asked if he had read the books and what he had found, completely expecting him to say he was wrong and maybe this Jesus stuff had some truth to it. But he didnt. He said he looked through the books, compared them to the Bible some, but nothing had changed. There wasnt enough proof to make him alter his thinking. And so I did the only thing I could do when he asked again why I believed. I told him I just knew. I told him how I had seen Jesus work in my own life and those in my family. People and circumstances and feelings had changed that could only be explained because of His presence. I felt His hand over me and heard His voice as He drew me close in the dark times of my life. I believed because I had faith...being sure of what I hoped for, and certain of what I could not see (Heb.11:1). I told him I knew Jesus was more than a story because I felt Him in my heart and soul. But it still wasnt enough. He said he admired my faith, my kindness, but he wouldnt believe unless he saw Jesus for himself. And so I left. Dejected, but hopeful, that somehow, someway, Jesus would make himself real in his life. At that moment, the Lord comforted me with the realization that a heart change couldnt come from me...it could only come from Him. I had been obedient to share, and now my part was done. The truth is, sweet friends, that there is no right answer for telling others about your faith in Jesus. But there are a few things you can do to prepare for when this day comes in your own life. Because most likely, it will. 4 Ways to Be Prepared to Give an Answer for Your Faith Study the Word intentionally, memorize it, and prepare to point others to it. The Word of God has power, yall. And being able to share it and speak it with confidence, assurance, and faith is powerful for those listening. None of us will ever know it all. Every time I read a passage, no matter how many times Ive read it before, the Lord shows me something new about Himself. He teaches a new lesson, shares a new mercy, or calls my attention to more of His goodness. His Word brings peace and comfort and solidifies the faith and hope that we have, as we hold it close to our hearts. My one regret about sharing my faith with that friend, almost 20 years ago, was that I didnt point him more to the Word itself...because I wasnt rooted in it yet either. But since that time, other opportunities have come, and I have been able to quote Scripture on the spot and point others to start in John or another book that pertains to an area they are struggling with. Sharing the source of all Truth for them to turn to when Im not around. Choose to carve out time to read the Word for yourself, sweet friends, and make every effort to know it for yourself (Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 119:105). Pray for the courage to speak when the opportunity presents itself. Sharing your faith out loud can be scary. In the cancel culture that is so prevalent today, one wrong word can end friendships or begin a wave of unfollows. But throughout the Bible, we are encouraged to speak out about our faith (Ps.107:2). To tell the whole world what He has done (Ps.105:1-2)! And in our own strength, it will be difficult. But thats where the prayer begins...ahead of time...for the Lord to give us the strength (Phil.4:13), for boldness to be strong and immovable (1 Cor.15:58), and for those of us who believe, to speak (2 Cor.4:13). Remember how the Lord has worked in your own life, and prepare to tell the story that only you can tell. Over the years, I have found that many times, the story that helped people see Jesus was not that of those in the Bible, but the personal stories of friends right here. Not because of anything they have done, but because of what He has done in them. We each have a story that is only ours to tell, yall. A testimony of what the Lord has done in our lives, whether deep and dark and dramatic, or simple and soulful and sweet. He is always working in our lives, and it is a gift, a privilege that we can share how we have seen Him move personally. Dont for one minute, take for granted the story that He is writing in your life, because one day, it may be the story that changes someone elses. Prepare to release those you love as they seek Jesus. Ask Jesus to show himself to you. Ask Him to make Himself real. Go after Him and seek Him with all your heart. Hell do it. Those are the words a friend, who I consider to be a mentor mom told one of her sons as he went to explore the world years ago. He wasnt sure Jesus existed in any way, much less for him. But she did. She does. And she believed, with full confidence that seeds had been planted in her sons life that would lead him back to the Truth one day. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise (Hebrews 10:23). Sometimes the greatest answer about our faith...is the act of faith in releasing those we love to the One who is able. So, why is it important that Christians should always be prepared to give an answer about their faith? Because there isnt one person on Earth who isnt searching for the One, the only One, that can fill the empty places in their hearts, and we can point them in His direction. Because our answers can change someones path from that of death...to life...and introduce them to the greatest gift the world has ever known. What an amazing gift that answer is. Photo credit: GettyImages/fizkes Maggie Meadows Cooper is a wife, mom, educator, author, and blogger with a longing for women to grow a heart for Jesus and others. She is the author of the childrens book Bumper and blogs at The Little Moments about what the Lord is teaching her through her children and everyday life. She contributes to Blogs by Christian Women, Devotional Diva, She Disciples, and Connecting Ministries. An educator with a M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education from Auburn University (War Eagle!), she has twenty years of experience working with young children. She loves all things chocolate, real Coca-Cola, and lives with her husband, three children, and two rambunctious dogs in Opelika, Alabama. 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. "Be Still and Know that I Am God" "Pray Without Ceasing" "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made" "All Things Work Together for Good" "Do Not Fear" Yes, I am sure my money is invested in companies I trust. I'd like to invest in more ethical companies but I don't know how. I'd like to invest more in ethical companies but I don't think the returns are as good. I don't know where my money is invested. Vote View Results BRIDGEPORT Less than a month after two were slain from shots fired at what officials referred to as an illegal nightclub, police say two people are facing reckless endangerment and alcohol-related charges. Josiah J. Israel, 35, and Christopher Mojica, 37, are facing charges of illegal sale of alcohol, conspiracy to commit illegal sale of alcohol and second-degree reckless endangerment, a release from police read. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Crews on Thursday removed the concrete barriers that blocked traffic at a Minneapolis intersection where a memorial to George Floyd was assembled after his death last year, but community activists quickly put up makeshift barriers and resumed chanting the name of the Black man whose killing galvanized the racial justice movement. It took the crews less than four hours to clear the barriers, artwork, flowers and other items from 38th Street and Chicago Avenue where Floyd was killed, informally known as George Floyd Square. City spokeswoman Sarah McKenzie said a fist sculpture, which stands several feet tall, will remain. The city said the effort was led by a community group known as Agape and several city departments were involved. The intersection had been closed to traffic since Floyd's death in police custody on May 25, 2020, but some residents and businesses expressed frustration that it had been closed for so long. Traffic briefly flowed through the intersection Thursday morning after the concrete barriers were removed, but community members quickly erected new makeshift barriers. Dozens of people gathered near the intersection, singing, chanting Floyds name and giving speeches expressing frustration and urging people to continue organizing. Police were not seen at the intersection on Thursday morning and there was no visible police presence later in the day. Mayor Jacob Frey said avoiding clashes between activists and police was of utmost concern, and going forward, the police will patrol the area just like any other neighborhood in the city. Frey said a phased reopening of the intersection was necessary to promote healing, restore area businesses, and provide social and city services that have been lacking for a year. He said artwork from the memorial will be preserved, and that the city wants to ensure the location where Floyd died never has tires run over it again. This intersection will forever be changed and we need to be investing in that transformation, Frey said at a news conference. This can be a critical location of gathering, not just for our city but the entire world. City Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins said she has talked with residents and business owners who have struggled with the loss of revenue and sleep, and some who feel trapped in their homes. Its time for us to begin a process of rebuilding this community, she said. Frey acknowledged the reopening would not happen all at once and declined to say when the intersection would fully reopen to traffic. The square sprang up organically in the days after Floyds death. As people gathered to express their grief and anger, community members set up makeshift barricades to block traffic, which the city eventually replaced with concrete ones. Frey and other city leaders pledged to reopen the intersection, but activist leaders said they wouldnt step aside unless the city met their 24 demands. Among them: recall the county prosecutor, fire the head of the states criminal investigative agency, and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on programs to create jobs, combat racism and support affordable housing. Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the removal of the memorial was an attack on Floyd's legacy. This space is a space that has now become a national memorial, a national memorial for victims of police violence all over this world, Hussein said during a news conference. We will not give up this space," he said. "We will save it for George Floyd. Violent crime at the intersection and the blocks immediately surrounding it rose dramatically in 2020, though crime also increased citywide. There were 19 nonfatal and fatal shootings in the area in 2020, including 14 from May 1 through Aug. 31. Thats compared with three shootings in all of 2019 and none during the summer months. Shots were fired in the area last week, just hours before an event to mark the anniversary of Floyds death. One person was injured. McKenzie said Agape has a contract with Agape to reopen the intersection. The contract, which will have a maximum cost of $359,000 and runs from June to the fall, includes community building and health and safety services associated with the reopening. Most of the cost of the contract covers the hourly rate for Agape personnel. Several city departments are involved and coordinating with Agape, she said. Steve Floyd, one of Agapes founders, said he admires the demonstrators efforts to maintain the square but that they had to engage the city in that process instead of letting them come in here with bulldozers. As far as controlling this and maintaining it, thats a noble job. We dont disrespect the protesters, everything can stay the same, said Floyd, who isn't related to George Floyd. They can still do it. But we just let them in here to fix what we have and develop it. Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted in April of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for pressing his knee against Floyds neck for about 9 1/2 minutes as he pleaded for air. Chauvin has also been indicted on federal charges alleging he violated Floyds civil rights, as well as the civil rights of a 14-year-old he restrained in a 2017 arrest. The three other former Minneapolis officers involved in Floyds arrest and death were also charged with federal civil rights violations. They await trial in state court on aiding and abetting counts. ___ Find APs full coverage of the death of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd ___ Mohamed Ibrahim is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. BRIDGEPORT Dale LaPrade, the former manager of the historic Park Cemetery awaiting trial for allegedly having old graves dug up for new burials and embezzling more than $60,000 of the cemeterys money, has died. The Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner confirmed Thursday that LaPrades death was reported to the office as a cremation and that the cause of death was cardiovascular disease. Her criminal cases had been continued to July 12. Her public defender declined comment. Attempts to reach out to family members were not immediately successful. Trumbull Attorney Anthony Monelli, appointed by a Superior Court judge as part of a three-member board to oversee the cemetery following LaPrades arrest, said he was aware of LaPrades death but declined to comment on it. According to reports, LaPrade took over managing the cemetery in 2007 after her husband, who had been the manager, became ill. She was relieved of the position in 2019. The renewed grief suffered by so many Park families, not only in Bridgeport but across the country, who learned of the unspeakable harm to their loved ones final resting place wont get the answers or justice in a court of law they expected or deserve, said Cheryl Jansen, who has four generations of her family buried in the cemetery. Perhaps we can take solace in knowing Dale LaPrade wont evade answering to a higher judge. LaPrade, 66, of Stratford, was charged with first-degree larceny, second-degree larceny and interfering with a cemetery following an intensive investigation by police detectives based on a complaint made by Jansen in 2019. LaPrade, manager of the Lindley Street cemetery for 12 years, refused several requests for comment by Hearst Connecticut Media at the time. During a civil court trial in which Jansen successfully sued to get LaPrade removed as cemetery manager, police detectives Jorge Cintron and Kimberly Biehn testified that dozens of headstones, some dating to the 1800s, had been moved at Park Cemetery so the newly dead could be buried in plots stacked on old graves. Biehn, who retired from the Police Department, was recently named the new manager of the cemetery by the board. Amateur sleuths on the Internet are often regular citizens who have enough time on their hands to dig up information and research on cold cases and mysteries. Since the Internet came about, Internet sleuths around the world have created online communities to help solve different kinds of cases. Arguably one of the biggest cases today is the COVID pandemic and the search for is true origins. Recently, the Wuhan lab leak theory has gained credibility following reports that several Wuhan researchers fell ill with COVID-like symptoms way before the pandemic was even declared. The U.S. has already ordered further investigation into the Wuhan lab leak, an effort that's supported by British intelligence. But that's not all, as amateur sleuths are also on the case to determine just how credible the Wuhan lab leak theory is. According to Newsweek, what once was a "racist conspiracy theory of the alt-right" is now being considered as a viable theory as to how the coronavirus began. In the last few weeks, substantial evidence supporting the Wuhan lab leak theory "became too substantial to ignore." The credit for this major change in attitude by the general public goes to DRASTIC, or Decentralized Radical Autonomous Search Team Investigating COVID-19, a group of amateur sleuths who had enough time and curiosity on their hands to search the Internet for clues. This group is made up of around two dozen individuals from all over the world who combed through the Internet, gathered documents, pieced together information, and presented their research on Twitter as an "open-source, collective brainstorming session that was part forensic science [and] part citizen journalism." "Without the work done by the DRASTIC team, I don't really know where we would be today with the origins of COVID-19," Alina Chan, a researcher at MIT and Harvard commented on Twitter, as reported by The Blaze. "Because what they have accomplished collectively is not something scientists can do. It's more similar to intelligence gathering." The work of amateur sleuths helped uncover Wuhan Institute of Virology's involvement in bat coronavirus studies that began in the foraging of bat caves, where miners have been said to have been infected by a virus that is the closest known relative to COVID. Through DRASTIC's work, it was also made known how the Wuhan lab leak may be possible because of their inadequate safety protocols, which the CCP tried to cover up. The amateur sleuths also uncovered how the non-profit EcoHealth Alliance through its president, biologist Peter Daszak, pushed to "strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin." In August 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported how the National Institutes of Health (NIH) demanded EcoHealth Alliance for answers on the "apparent disappearance" of a Wuhan lab scientist and information on the Wuhan lab's safety protocols. Daszak himself proudly admitted that he has a longstanding "collaboration" with the Chinese Communist Party, which reports said to have prevented transparency in their handling of the virus, controlled the progress of investigations into how the pandemic came to be, and tried avoiding taking responsibility for how they handled COVID-19, which first spread in China. Daszak's EcoHealth Alliance, on the other hand, is the non-profit that provided American taxpayer-paid funding to the Wuhan lab for its coronavirus studies. In uncovered emails from Daszak to infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, the EcoHealth Alliance president thanked the top infectious diseases expert for highlighting that COVID had zoonotic origins and did not come from a Wuhan lab leak. Investigations led by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, however, found no evidence of the virus as having zoonotic origins. AP BERLIN (AP) Germanys health minister says he is anything but happy that Syrias government which has waged a devastating, deadly decade-long war against dissenters has been selected for a seat on the World Health Organizations executive board. Health Minister Jens Spahn said Tuesday that the choice of Syria, which was confirmed with no debate or dissent at a meeting of WHO member nations in Geneva over the weekend, reflected the need to work with some governments for the benefit of their people especially on health matters. HAMDEN The Police Commission chose not to hire James Boulay, the police officer who was cleared of wrongdoing after he shot and killed Bridgeport teen Jayson Negron, Chairman Michael Iezzi confirmed Thursday. Boulay, who is facing a civil lawsuit filed by Negrons family, had applied for a job in Hamden, stirring controversy and prompting protesters to gather outside police headquarters Wednesday. Their message was clear: they did not want Boulay working for Hamden. By that point, however, the commission already had interviewed and rejected Boulay, at its May 26 meeting, Iezzi said. But meeting minutes available online did not show the outcome of Boulays application to become a town police officer, and there was some confusion among protesters about what had occurred. Its critical that were out here today whether or not the news has changed, said Kerry Ellington, a protest organizer. We are here today because James Boulay was given impunity by the state of Connecticut. ... He has not been fired or decertified. Ellington said she had been informed Boulay received a conditional offer of employment from Hamden, which Mayor Curt Balzano Leng and Iezzi later said was not true. She demanded Hamden publicly confirm that Boulay is no longer being considered as a candidate. Jazmarie Melendez, Negrons sister, also addressed the crowd at Wednesdays protest. This moment is a clear message that any department that is considering Boulay we will show up. James Boulay is gonna be held accountable for what he did to Jayson, she said. James Boulay should not be allowed to be a police officer in any city, ever. When asked Thursday morning about Boulays application, Leng suggested certain information was inaccurate but did not immediately return a follow-up request to elaborate on what had occurred. He later issued the following written statement. The officer was not hired. There was not an offer to hire the officer, he said. I believe the Police Commission made a good choice. At the protest, Ellington expressed outrage that Boulay was considered at all. When asked to provide insight, Chief of Police John Sullivan said he could not comment on individual personnel matters but indicated the forwarding of Boulays application followed proper procedure. To receive an interview with the police commission, applicants must go through several evaluations after receiving approval that they meet the basic job qualifications from the Civil Service Commission, according to Iezzi, who stressed that he was speaking generally and also could not elaborate on individual personnel matters. Before making it to the police commission, applicants must meet certain criteria, undergoing interviews, a background check, polygraph testing and physical exams, Iezzi said. Then (the application) becomes available to be presented to the police commission based on all the criteria and evidence thats been accumulated regarding this individual, he said. Its unclear when the Civil Service Commission processed the application. Meeting minutes from March 2 suggest three police officers received approval to go through the testing process, but does not list their names. According to the minutes, it was the decision of the Commission that three (3) applicants are Certified Police Officers and will move on in the Hamden Police testing process. A message seeking comment was left with CSC Chairwoman Andrea Lobo. An email seeking comment was sent to Boulay and a message was left with his attorney. Boulay was not charged in the 2017 fatal shooting of 15-year-old Jayson Negron but is a defendant in a pending lawsuit related to the teens death. The states attorney report clearing Boulay of wrongdoing indicates Negron was driving a stolen vehicle when Boulay approached. After Negron put the vehicle in reverse, striking Boulay with the driver-side door, Boulay fired four shots into the vehicle, per the report, which concludes, Officer James Boulay reasonably believed that the use of deadly force was necessary to defend himself from the use of deadly force - that being the Subaru operated by Jayson Negron. Negrons family in 2020 filed a federal lawsuit alleging Boulays conduct was unreasonable and unlawful. He denied wrongdoing in his response to the lawsuit, filed in May of last year. Another federal lawsuit accused Boulay and other Bridgeport officers of using excessive force during an arrest several years ago. City attorneys previously have declined comment. Both issues were raised during the protest Wednesday. meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com MERIDEN A man accused of driving under the influence and crashing into a police cruiser faces a number of charges after he was taken into custody last weekend, police said. Thomas Popham, 62, was taken into custody Sunday night after hitting the police cruiser on North Colony Road around 10:30 p.m., police said. Police said the sergeant was assigned to a traffic detail on North Colony Road as a company repaired a phone pole that had been hit and damaged by a car earlier in the night. The sergeant was in his cruiser when he was hit by another driver in a Dodge caravan, police said. The driver fled, police said, leaving the sergeants cruiser damaged and inoperable. Police said the sergeant was injured, but the extent of them do not appear to be overly serious in nature. The sergeant called in the drivers last direction of travel, and truck that was working on the telephone pole repairs followed the vehicle, police said. Officers then found the vehicle on Hicks Avenue and the work crew was still behind it. Officers tried to approach the van, but the driver later identified as Popham took off at a very low speed, police said. Popham then made a U-turn and drove toward one of the officers, police said. The suspect attempted to go up and around the officer by hopping the curb and going up onto a grassy area, police said. With Popham driving at such a slow speed, police said, an officer was able to open the drivers door on the van. The officers foot was hit, but he was uninjured, police said. The officer got Popham out of the vehicle, which continued to roll and hit another cruiser before coming to a stop, police said. Police said once Popham was out of the vehicle, he was slurring his speech. Officers suspected he was under the influence, police said. He was taken to the hospital with minor injuries sustained when he crashed into the cruiser, police said. Popham, of Stratford Road in New Britain, was charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence, second-degree assault with a motor vehicle, evading responsibility, assault of a police officer, reckless driving, interfering with an officer, second-degree reckless endangerment, two counts of third-degree criminal mischief, disobeying the signal of an officer, striking an officer with a motor vehicle, operation of a motor vehicle with a valid out-of-state license beyond 30 days and a seat belt violation. His bond was set at $100,000. Hes expected in court on July 23. According to a Wilton Police Department press release, former preschool and day care center employee has been arrested after a 6-month-old child suffered abusive head trauma while in her care earlier this year. Amy Tingets, 39, a former Goddard School employee, turned herself in last Friday on an arrest warrant stemming from a February incident at the Wilton facility, according to the press release. The Norwalk resident has been charged with one count of first-degree assault and one count of risk of injury to a child. Bonnary Lek, director of public relations of Goddard Systems, said Tingets was immediately placed on leave in February and is no longer employed at the school. Lek told Hearst Connecticut Media on Thursday that the school cooperated with authorities in their investigation. Police said they received a 911 call from the Goddard School on Feb. 9, reporting a 6-month-old child was breathing, but unresponsive. The boy was taken to Norwalk Hospital before being transferred to Yale New Haven Hospital, police said. Yale medical staff determined the symptoms the child was experiencing were consistent with abusive head trauma, the police press release said. An investigation revealed Tingets was the only caregiver who had contact with the child prior to the 911 call, the police press release said. Tingets was assigned to the infant room, where the 6-month-old had spent some portion of his day, police said. Lek said all new hires undergo a screening process and are required to complete a child abuse course. We follow all of the standards and protocols to abide by all background checks, Lek said. Lek said Tingets completed the screening process when she was hired. However, Leks said she could not provide the date when Tingets was hired. This is not something we started after this incident, Lek said. However, Lek said the school administration has increased its oversight of staff members. According to Wilton Police Lt. Gregg Phillipson, Tingets did not have a criminal record prior to the incident. Phillipson said the child is still recovering, but could not provide more information about the severity of the injury. Tingets was released on a $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear Monday in state Superior Court in Stamford. TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) In the span of just five days last month, China gave out 100 million shots of its COVID-19 vaccines. After a slow start, China is now doing what virtually no other country in the world can: leveraging the power and all-encompassing reach of its one-party system and a maturing domestic vaccine industry to administer shots at a staggering pace. The rollout is far from perfect, including uneven distribution, but Chinese public health leaders now say theyre hoping to inoculate 80% of the population of 1.4 billion by the end of the year. As of Wednesday, China had given out more than 704 million doses with nearly half of those in May alone. China's total is roughly a third of the 1.9 billion shots distributed globally, according to Our World in Data, an online research site. The call to get vaccinated comes from every corner of society. Companies offer shots to their employees, schools urge their students and staffers, and local government workers check on their residents. That pressure underscores both the systems strength, which makes it possible to even consider vaccinating more than a billion people this year, but also the risks to civil liberties a concern the world over but one that is particularly acute in China, where there are few protections. The Communist Party has people all the way down to every village, every neighborhood, said Ray Yip, former country director for the Gates Foundation in China and a public health expert. Thats the draconian part of the system, but it also gives very powerful mobilization. China is now averaging about 19 million shots per day, according to Our World in Data's rolling seven-day average. That would mean a dose for everyone in Italy about every three days. The United States, with about one-quarter of China's population, reached around 3.4 million shots per day in April when its drive was at full tilt. It's still unclear how many people in China are fully vaccinated which can mean anywhere from one to three doses of the vaccines in use as the government does not publicly release that data. Zhong Nanshan, the head of a group of experts attached to the National Health Commission and a prominent government doctor, said on Sunday that 40% of the population has received at least one dose, and the aim was to get that percentage fully vaccinated by the end of the month. In Beijing, the capital, 87% of the population has received at least one dose. Getting a shot is as easy as walking into one of hundreds of vaccination points found all across the city. Vaccination buses are parked in high foot-traffic areas, including in the city center and at malls. But Beijings abundance is not shared with the rest of the country, and local media reports and complaints on social media show the difficulty of getting an appointment elsewhere. I started lining up that day at 9 in the morning, until 6 p.m., only then did I get the shot. It was exhausting, Zhou Hongxia, a resident of Lanzhou, in northwestern Gansu province, explained recently. When I left, there were still people waiting. Zhou's husband hasn't been so lucky and has yet to get a shot. When they call the local hotlines, they are told simply to wait. Central government officials on Monday said they're working to ensure supply is more evenly distributed. China has even focused on vaccinating its citizens abroad, donating vaccine s to Thailand, some of which were used to inoculate its nationals before most Thais received their doses. Globally, it has vaccinated more than 500,000 overseas citizens under what it calls the Spring Sprout" program. Before the domestic campaign ramped up in recent weeks, many people were not in a rush to get vaccinated as China has kept the virus, which first flared in the country, at bay in the past year with strict border controls and mandatory quarantines. It has faced small clusters of infections from time to time, and is currently managing one in the southern city of Guangzhou. Although there are distribution issues, it is unlikely that Chinese manufacturers will have problems with scale, according to analysts and those who have worked in the industry. Sinovac and Sinopharm, which make the majority of the vaccines being distributed in China, have both aggressively ramped up production, building brand new factories and repurposing existing ones for COVID-19. Sinovacs vaccine and one of the two Sinpharm makes have received an emergency authorization for use from the World Health Organization, but the companies, particularly Sinopharm, have faced criticism for their lack of transparency in sharing their data. "What place in the world can compare with China on construction? How long did it take our temporary hospitals to be built? asked Li Mengyuan, who leads pharmaceutical research at Western Securities, a financial firm. China built field hospitals at the beginning of the pandemic in just days. Sinovac has said it has doubled its production capacity to 2 billion doses a year, while Sinopharm has said it can make up to 3 billion doses a year. But Sinopharm has not disclosed recent numbers of how many doses it actually has made, and a spokesman for the company did not respond to a request for comment. Sinovac has produced 540 million doses this year as of late May, the company said on Friday. Government support has been crucial for vaccine developers every step of the way as it has in other countries but, as with everything, the scope and scale in China is different. Yang Xiaoming, chairman of Sinopharms China National Biotec Group, recounted to state media recently how the company initially needed to borrow lab space from a government research center while it was working on a vaccine. "We sent our samples over, there was no need to discuss money, we just did it, he said. Chinese vaccine companies also largely do not rely on imported products in the manufacturing process. That's an enormous benefit at a time when many countries are scrambling for the same materials and means China can likely avoid what happened to the Serum Institute of India, whose production was hobbled because of dependence on imports from the U.S. for certain ingredients. But as the availability of the vaccine increases so, too, can the pressure to take it. In Beijing, one researcher at a university said the schools Communist Party cell calls him once a month to ask him if he has gotten vaccinated yet, and offers to help him make an appointment. He has so far declined to get a shot because he would prefer the Pfizer vaccine, saying he trusts its data. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns he could face repercussions at his job at a government university for publicly questioning the Chinese vaccines. China has not yet approved Pfizer for use, and the researcher is not sure how long he can hold out although the government has, for now, cautioned against making vaccines mandatory outright. They dont have to say it is mandatory, Yip, the public health expert, said. Theyre not going to announce that its required to have the vaccine, but they can put pressure on you. ___ Associated Press video producer Olivia Zhang in Beijing and researcher Chen Si in Shanghai contributed to this report. (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Brooke Schedneck, Rhodes College (THE CONVERSATION) The economies of countries dependent on tourism are clearly hurting, with visitor numbers plummeting as a result of the pandemic. In Thailand alone, a country where tourism accounts for 11%-12% of the GDP, the number of international tourists dropped by 83% in 2020. During December 2020 typically a peak tourism month the country received just over 6,000 foreign tourists a 99.8% drop from December 2019, when there were nearly 4 million foreign tourists. The Thai government estimates a loss of 100 billion Thai baht (over US$3 billion) in the first quarter of 2020 and a loss of about 1.45 million jobs as a result of this slump in tourism. However, the actual loss cannot be captured in these numbers alone. Many cross-cultural exchange opportunities have been lost as well. I spent much of the previous decade living in Chiang Mai, a medium-sized city in northern Thailand, which relies heavily on tourism. As a scholar who was studying the relationship between tourism and Buddhist temples in the region before the pandemic started, I am able to assess the impact of COVID-19 on these sites of religious importance. Some Buddhist temples that relied heavily on donations from foreign tourists are now struggling to outlast the pandemic. Additionally, small businesses around temples have been badly hurt, as is the knowledge exchange with international visitors. Temples and tourism Before the pandemic, Wat Phra Chetuphon, known more commonly as Wat Pho and one of the most-visited temples in Bangkok, would receive about 6,000-10,000 tourists per day. Foreign tourists pay an entry fee of 200 baht, or $6.40, while Thai people enter free of charge. In an interview in January 2021 with Thai news outlet Prachachat, the assistant abbot of Wat Pho stated that the temple can weather this period without tourists for now, but not for much longer. With donations from Thai people, they were able to pay basic expenses of water and electricity and employ cleaning and security staff. But without the foreign tourist fees, it would become difficult to meet the monthly budget of about $96,000. Foreign visitor numbers are also scarce in the most famous temple in Bangkok, Wat Phra Kaew, or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This temple is part of the Grand Palace, the Thai royal familys former residence. In 2016, the Grand Palace was named one of the worlds 50 most-visited tourist attractions in the world by Travel + Leisure magazine, with over 8 million visitors per year. Typically, the high tourist season would see a long line for entry and crowds of people inside, with foreigners paying $16 for entrance to the temple and the Grand Palace. Again, there is no entrance fee for Thai citizens. Losses have been significant, for members of the monastic community and small businesses that thrive near these famous temple complexes. Many vendors who sell water, street food and souvenirs around the temple have lost their incomes. Many of these people work within Thailands informal economy. A 2018 survey found 55.3% of Thailands total population found employment through this informal economy. Cultural exchange Much of the the loss of the engagement between foreign tourists and the monastic community cannot be measured in monetary terms. My recent book highlights the energy and effort student monks put into creating programs for foreign tourists to learn about their religion, many aimed at travelers or student groups on college or gap-year programs. In my research, I have found these cultural exchange programs to be beneficial for tourists and the goals of Buddhist monasticism. Several visitors volunteer while traveling in developing or underdeveloped nations to provide support to those in need. At the same time, these volunteer tourists immerse themselves in different cultures, religions and ways of life. In Thailand, volunteer tourists typically teach English and could also live in a temple for several months. In my interviews, these tourists said that the experience enabled them to learn about themselves, reflect on their own values and consider new ideas for how to live a happy life. Buddhist monks see it as their duty to spread their teachings to all who are curious. One program, called Monk Chat, which is hosted by the Buddhist temple Wat Suan Dok and the MahaChulalongkorn Buddhist University, facilitates one-on-one and small-group conversations between monks and foreign travelers in English. Monks who participate in these programs say that they often develop new ways of thinking based on their discussions with foreigners from becoming more accepting of cultural differences to being pushed to think deeply about the monastic lifestyle. For example, when I asked, How have you changed as a result of meeting foreign tourists? one monk replied that he used to just accept the monastic rules and practices without considering their purpose. However, after tourists asked why he shaved his head and wore yellow robes, he considered the ways that his lack of hair and uniform were part of a simple lifestyle. He understood more deeply that monks must give up such expressions of individuality as hairstyle and fashion preferences. Because of the pandemic, Monk Chat has switched to an online outreach. Since April 2020, MonkChat Live is streamed almost every week via Facebook, where various guests, usually monks, prepare some reflections on a specific topic related to Buddhism in the modern world, such as life lessons from COVID-19. Facebook Live is a good alternative for now, but it does not have the same impact as talking directly with foreigners. The format is more formal, with little chance for personal sharing or observing the playful ways monks interact with one another. It is difficult to measure these losses, but undoubtedly they will leave a deep impact for some time to come. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/the-pandemic-has-slowed-tourism-to-thailands-buddhist-temples-but-the-impact-is-more-than-economic-160673. This editorial was updated Thursday to include breaking news from Dan Haars column. Connecticut has had years to plan this. Why cant the Legislature figure out how to finally legalize a marijuana marketplace for all adults? One big holdup is over payback to communities of color that were wronged by a century of prohibition. Come on, lawmakers. The state learned how to vaccinate 2 million people over half the population against COVID-19 in just a year. Surely you can work out how to license cannabis establishments while being fair to the communities that suffered the most in the war on drugs. There will be plenty of tax revenue for all. Legislators who represent the cities targeted by the 50-year-old drug war do have a valid point: Many constituents have gone to prison because of marijuana. Lives were disrupted, if not destroyed, by harsh sentencing. In 2003, the sentence was up to a year in prison for getting caught with a few ounces of pot. Now state government wants a cut of the cannabis traffic that will flow from legal sales to anyone over 21. It would levy taxes of about 20 percent on recreational marijuana if the bill in the General Assembly ever gets passed. With all that money coming in, there should be restitution to the communities hurt by decades of criminalization. So, yes, some of the $75 million that the state is expecting to earn in taxes on legal marijuana sales ought to go to righting that old wrong. Hearst columnist Dan Haar more details on the evolving bill in his column today. Those details include such sticking points as requiring marijuana sellers to sign union agreements. Connecticut could doom this new venture before it even gets started with such costly obstacles. Meanwhile, Massachusetts is eating our lunch on this, financially. Our neighbor just to the north opened marijuana stores in 2018 and collected $122 million in taxes in the first two fiscal years of sales, according to the Boston Business Journal. Massachusetts grants home-delivery licenses to members of communities that have been disproportionately harmed by drug laws. Another neighbor, New York state, voted to legalize recreational marijuana earlier this year. Rhode Island is looking at legalization as well. Dont miss this cruise, lawmakers. Call a timeout from the partying thats reportedly going on in the legislative garage to get this bill passed. A majority of Connecticut residents support legalization, according to polls. The Connecticut State Medical Society does oppose it, saying states that have legalized pot have more car accidents and more teenage use. However, other studies show no statistically significant difference in teen use. The Connecticut bill would allow recreational marijuana for adults only. The bill is now before the state Senate. It has the governors blessing. (Its his bill.) What do you say, senators? Can we do this? A credit unions greatest asset is not a line item on the balance sheet it is our employees. When it comes to attracting and retaining the very best individuals, credit unions need competitive employee benefit programs that highlight the exceptional things we do as a movement. How can we continue offering competitive benefit plans when the trajectory of healthcare costs is rising at such a fast pace? Exploring collaborative funding strategies is a great way to start. Background Most small and mid-size credit unions purchase health insurance that cover employee medical claims using a fully-insured model. Fully-insured models are popular because of their perceived simplicity and low risk. However, no matter how healthy our group is, every credit union knows that fully-insured plans increase in cost every year. And we rarely receive claims data information to know why our premiums continually increase. The fully-insured model is structured and designed to benefit the insurance carrier only. Larger credit unions can utilize a more efficient but higher risk funding model, called self-funding. The model is more efficient because the credit union is self-funding a percentage of their employees medical claims. Claims data reports are typically available to the HR department that provide access into what is driving our increases. However, self-funded plans can be volatile in cost month-to-month which is why only the larger credit unions typically transition to this funding model. In reality, both the fully insured and self-funded models transfer most of the risk onto the credit union and they are both designed for the insurance carrier to win every year. Collaborative funding models to purchase insurance more efficiently, with reduced risk, exist today. Here are two options: Insurance Captive A captive is an insurance company that is wholly owned and licensed by its participating members and is a collaborative approach to leverage the advantages of self-funding, while minimizing the risk. Credit unions participating in a captive have access to detailed claims data. Meaning they know why their medical insurance costs are changing and they can implement specific strategies to control and limit high-cost claims. Insurance captives also lower the tax burdens of purchasing insurance. Plus, through collaboration and stop-loss insurance, credit unions can cap their total annual spending and mimic the premium payments that a traditional fully-insured plan offers. Insurance captives allow participating credit unions the opportunity to pool their resources together and purchase less insurance through a lower pooled rate. Here are the key components of a captive: Self-funding a portion of your employees medical insurance claims means your credit union is buying less insurance compared to a fully-funded plan. insurance compared to a fully-funded plan. Depositing funds into a captive as a means to pay for higher-cost claims means credit unions are buying less insurance. insurance. Purchasing stop-loss insurance as a larger pool also equates to buying less insurance and you are buying less of it. The need to purchase high-cost stop-loss insurance is mitigated by two factors: Each credit union is self-funding a portion of their employees claims. A portion of high-cost claims are funded through the captive before any stop-loss insurance is purchased. insurance and you are buying of it. The need to purchase high-cost stop-loss insurance is mitigated by two factors: Most importantly, because the captive is managed by the participating credit unions, any unused captive funds can be shared back to the credit unions each year. Association Health Plan (AHP) An AHP is another example of leveraging the collaborative spirit of credit unions to drive down healthcare costs. With a focus on buying less insurance at lower rates, AHPs are a perfect model for most credit unions. Here are the key components of an AHP: Multiple credit unions banding together to negotiate lower medical insurance pricing. The collective buying power provides HR teams with enhanced technology and higher levels of service and support typically only afforded to the largest credit unions. Creating a risk pool consisting of only credit union associates keeps long-term costs down and mitigates the risk of double-digit premium increases. Each participating credit union is provided with a full suite of competitive plan design options with HSAs, HRAs, and FSAs. AHPs require key stakeholders to build, implement, and maintain the success of the program. Look to CUSOs, Leagues/Associations, Corporates, and other credit union aggregators for assistance. Conclusion Medical insurance costs are expected to double over the next decade. To change the course of healthcare costs, credit unions need to do something different and better. The power of cooperation continues to be a core reason for our success as a movement. A collaborative healthcare model is our best strategy to combat the rising costs of medical insurance and employee benefits. Funeral service for Helen Francis Turner, 76, of Cullman will be Saturday, June 12, 2021 at 11 a.m. at Peck Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. James Watts and Rev. Keith Whitley officiating and Peck Funeral Home directing with burial in Bell Springs Cemetery. Visitation will be Friday, June 11, 2 Photo: Courtesy of Wellfare When the Bushwick restaurant that Nellie Santana worked at closed temporarily last winter, she had to get strategic with her grocery budget. The 48-year-old, who lives with her diabetic father, stretched things to make her weekly shopping last two weeks and cut out the trips she took each Monday to a grocer at Union Square to buy low-sugar nutrition bars and sweets things she said she had a tough time finding near Hylan Houses where she lives in Williamsburg. So when Santana spotted a sign-up event outside the Morris Street Market in her neighborhood for a new snack subscription service, she jumped. Instead of cutting back, Sanata could get a box filled with things like grass-fed turkey jerky sticks, corn syrup-free caramel stroopwafels, and sparkling water flavored with organic tea at her door every two weeks and all for free. People might think, Oh, its just snacks, but they make a big difference, said Santana, who has high blood pressure and is anemic. We like to eat healthy, but its expensive. This makes it easier. We eat these things, and we feel good. The boxes come from Wellfare, a nonprofit food pantry launched in February thats now focused on delivering to food-insecure households. The idea is to pick up the tab for shelf-stable but also relatively healthy items that are often the most expensive part of a grocery trip. The delivery component helps to zero in on those who may have trouble reaching traditional food banks whether thats the elderly, disabled, or those who cant wait hours in line. So far, the initiative is serving 1,000 qualifying households (for now, thats those living in public housing) within southeast Williamsburgs 11206 Zip. The project got its start after Cole Riley, who was running a marketing agency for food and beverage brands when the pandemic hit, sought to leverage his industry contacts to support food-insecure households. Eva Kerner, his longtime friend who works as a brand strategist, joined Riley in launching Wellfare late last year and began reaching out to neighborhood groups, the local community board, and quizzing residents about what theyd find helpful. A lot of the tenant associations were saying, Please stop with the onions, the tomatoes, and the potatoes. Pantries are stocked with them, and theyre readily available in grocery stores, said Riley. Its the packaged goods that are tough and are very, very expensive, even the unhealthier options. Each box contains more than $100 worth of goods, and while items vary delivery to delivery, there are three core categories: pantry goods, ready-to-eat snacks, and single-serve beverages. The products are donated by a network of over 300 brands that range from specialty sellers like Ancient Provisions and Smart Sweets to megacorporations like Kelloggs and Hershey. Every other Saturday at a warehouse in Long Island City, hundreds of volunteer-packed boxes are loaded into a pair of trucks destined for North Brooklyn. The food-subscription boxes are strategically delivered to drop points across Williamsburg and Bushwick and then are rolled on dollies into public-housing complexes and into the hands of residents. Every other week, Riley, Kerner, and a crew of volunteers do phone check-ins with subscribers, asking folks what they liked or maybe disliked about their haul and how their boxes can be best tailored to their lifestyle. Among diabetics, zero-sugar beverages that are still big on flavor, like drinks from Super Coffee, are a big hit. A favorite item for Maria Diaz, who lives in the Borinquen Plaza complex with her 22-year-old daughter, is the Banza chickpea pasta, because it cooks faster than regular pasta and makes for more filling meals. Through the boxes, Santana has discovered oat milk, which she now uses daily with her cereal. She also tucks away a couple of Vital Protein collagen bars in her purse ahead of waitressing shifts shes been able to pick up at her old job they help her avoid eating the fried foods at the restaurant where she works. Another woman said she appreciated the jackfruit chips she received because they reminded her of her hometown in Jamaica. For her, the deliveries were a boon because she had long given up waiting in lines at food banks, typically alongside smokers, because of her chronic pulmonary disease. For now, Wellfare is focused on its sole Brooklyn Zip Code, working out its kinks. But its founders have lofty expansion plans: They want to reach all public-housing developments in Brooklyn by the end of the year and to go citywide by the end of 2022 for all New Yorkers. The eventual hope is to send Welfare boxes across the country. Its honestly changed my life, I dont have to take the subway to find things we want, said Santana. I can just drop things in my purse and bring them to work. I tell my dad to take snacks with him when he goes out. It gives us more options to eat healthy, and that feels good. A school in Michigan has allowed a valedictorian to deliver her speech uncensored after arguments over its substantially religious content. Graduating at the top of her class, Savannah Lefler is set to address the Honors Convocation Ceremony at John Glenn High School (JGHS) on a pre-recorded video. But school officials have asked Lefler to modify her "Christianized" speech, citing the First Amendment's freedom of religion. However, lawyers from the First Liberty institute argued that the school should respect the student's rights on free speech, The Christian Post reported. In the draft of her speech that Lefler submitted, she shared the Gospel and urged other students to turn their lives to Christ. She also encouraged her classmates to "seek the truth," highlighting that the teachings of the secular thinkers such as Plato and Charles Darwin, as well as of other religions, are "wrong." "The purpose of life is to live a life devoted to Christ," her speech also says. Further, she also tackled the Bible's perspective about "goodness," saying that "no one does good, not even one." The school principal, Michael Wegher, requested for the modification of the speech. He said that though he appreciated Lefler's desire to speak about her "beliefs and philosophies," he pointed out that a public educational institution like JGHS should abide by the rules of the Constitution, in accordance with the First Amendment. Such rule states that "government institutions, including public schools, cannot favor one religion over any others." Wegher urged Lefler to make her speech "inclusive and respectful" of other students who have different religions. But Mike Berry and Stephanie Taub, lawyers of the First Liberty Institute, said that censoring "the private speech of students" violates their "rights under the Free Speech Clause." Kevin T. Sutton, the school district's lawyer, has written the law firm, saying that its legal position is "without any merit whatsoever." "Nearly half of Ms. Lefler's draft speech was unmoored from any sort of academic or pedagogical interest related to the School District's Honors Convocation. Rather, it was an attempt to proselytize at a school-sponsored event, with the School District's imprimatur. ...," he added. "Indeed, it is not a speech - it is a sermon," the lawyer further wrote. However, Sutton told the law firm that though the school district is not obligated "to deviate from its practice, the School District will permit a one-time, non-negotiable relinquishment of control over Ms. Lefler's speech." Thus, her speech would be allowed to be recorded but the video would have a disclaimer, stating that Lefler's statement is her own views and not of the school. The decision was gladly welcomed by the First Liberty Institute lawyers. "We are grateful that Savannah will be allowed to freely express her religious perspective in her remarks. [She] is thrilled that she'll be able to celebrate with her classmates without being censored," they said. Lefler also expressed her gratitude, being able to articulate her Christian views. "May God be glorified in the situation. I'm thankful I will be able to share my faith in Christ with my classmates and pray that this never happens to another student in the future," the student stated. Instant unlimited access to all of our content on currypilot.com. The Curry Coastal Pilot's E-Edition Newsletter emailed to you each week, the night before the paper hits the street! This subscription is for NEW or RENEWING online subscribers. (The charge will appear as "Country Media Inc." on your credit card statement) Kankakee, IL (60901) Today A mainly sunny sky. High 86F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A mostly clear sky. Low 67F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. The Meagher Elementary School and district offices can be seen on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020. Diane Pineiro-Zucker has been a reporter at the Daily Freeman since April 2013. Pineiro-Zucker worked as a reporter in the Freemans Rhinebeck bureau in the early 1980s, left to become executive editor at Taconic Newspapers in Dutchess County. A Vietnamese Christian group is in danger of losing the authority to hold religious gatherings following a COVID-19 outbreak in its center. On May 26, a couple who attended a meeting at Revival Ekklesia Mission (REM), a house church organization in Ho Chi Minh City, tested positive for coronavirus. The diagnosis led to the discovery that 211 others were also infected and the infection has spread to seven more provinces. With this, the government imposed a temporary suspension of the church's registration. In addition, the local security police also launched a criminal investigation against the group and threatened REM with "permanent erasure" if found to have committed serious violations, Morning Star News reported. In adherence to the country's pandemic regulation, imposing ban on meetings with more than 20 people, the REM church holds its worship services online. Rev. Vo Xuan Loan said that when the infected couple went to the house church gathering, there were only seven people. To control the outbreak, the government has decided to lock down Ho Chi Minh City and imposed suspension on incoming flights from abroad. The people in REM's two other branches in Hanoi were also tested but were found negative. However, in a move that seems to be a punishment on churches, the authorities ordered closure of all religious gatherings in the city. Relative to the incident, the Government Committee for Religious Affairs has directed local authorities to require house churches undergo inspection and education for COVID-19 regulations. With these actions, Christians are concerned that the government would use the REM incident to impose stricter restrictions on house churches. Though stricken with COVID-19, Rev. Loan, with her husband Rev. Phuong Van Tan, wrote a letter from her hospital bed, apologizing to the people affected with the outbreak in their center and expressing gratitude to the authorities for helping those who were infected. In an interview with a local newspaper, the leader also pledged to pay government services and medical cost relative to the spread, as well as to reimburse the economic loss of people. Further to the Vietnamese administration's actions against the religious group, the government-controlled media had also thrown negative reports about REM. A Methodist pastor had written Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asking for compassion towards the organization, pointing out that REM was a victim itself and that the spread was not done deliberately. An archbishop in Ho Chi Minh City had also written the Catholic priests in the country, echoing the pastor's statement. In support of the Christian group, a Catholic organization published an article in Vietnamese language, addressing the online campaigns against REM, its members and Christian faith. It also questioned the public attacks against the group since there were also other outbreak sources in the past, which were even larger, but not treated that way. The article also called for people to "support each other in prayer and encourage one another to overcome" the situation. But Vietnamese believers are doubting if their plea would ever be heard by the government. A communist state, Vietnam persecutes Christians, especially the "non-traditional Protestants and converts from indigenous religions." According to Open Doors USA, the country rank's as 19th most challenging nation in the world for Christians. The following items are based on information provided by officials in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Advertisement Chinese Yuan Outlook: USD/CNH rates have experienced a more significant technical breakdown than their EUR /CNH counterpart. In general, m ore weakness in USD /CNH is good for risk appetite, regardless of EUR/CNH price action. Falling US Treasury yields and elevated US equity markets reinforce a market narrative hasnt been favorable for the US Dollar PBOC Flexes on Chinese Yuan The Chinese Yuan is experiencing some weakness as the first week of June matures into its second half, thanks in part to the news earlier in the week that the Peoples Bank of China would be mandating that financial institutions increase the ratio of their foreign exchange deposits to 7% from 5%. In other words, the PBOC mandated that financial institutions hold more foreign currency, thereby forcing Chinese domestic market players to rebalance away from the Yuan. This near-term setback may be just that a near-term setback. The Chinese Yuan has already made a significant technical breakout versus the US Dollar (via USD/CNH), and while the Yuan-Euro cross has not been as volatile, it remains the case that consolidating markets are reminiscent of a coiling spring: as potential energy is stored, we as traders await the kinetic energy release the breakout. USD/CNH Rate Technical Analysis: Weekly Chart (November 2013 to June 2021) (Chart 1) Looking at the weekly timeframe, USD/CNH rates have made a decisive break below two important Fibonacci levels: the 76.4% retracement of the 2018 low/2020 high range at 6.4623; and the 61.8% retracement of the 2014 low/2020 high range at 6.4656. Concurrently, fresh yearly lows were reached last week prior to rebound at the start of June. Consistent with the breakdown through the uptrend from the 2014 and 2018 lows, as well as the perspective that the weekly timeframe also suggests that a longer-term bearish rising wedge has formed dating back to early-2017 (with the bearish breakout coming in mid-2020), USD/CNH rates are still on track towards their ultimate target of 6.2356. EUR/CNH Rate Technical Analysis: Weekly Chart (June 2012 to June 2021) (Chart 2) Conditions in EUR/CNH suggest that more downside is possible long-term, even as the pair continues to range between the 61.8% (7.8459) and 76.4% (7.7332) Fibonacci retracements of the 2020 low/high range. The fact remains that the pair has broken the ascending trendline from the April 2015 and February 2020 lows. But seeing as how EUR/CNH rates remain within a descending parallel channel thats encompassed price action since the start of the year, it remains the case as it was last month that until further development on the charts, commentary around EUR/CNH is much ado about nothing. --- Written by Christopher Vecchio, CFA, Senior Currency Strategist Ashland, KY (41101) Today Partly cloudy in the morning followed by scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 86F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Ashland, KY (41101) Today Partly cloudy in the morning followed by scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 86F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Sunbury, PA (17801) Today Scattered thunderstorms in the morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 79F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. A federal judge has dismissed Planned Parenthood's lawsuit against Lubbock, Texas and clears the path to become a 24th "sanctuary city for the unborn." Forbes reported that the lawsuit filed by American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in behalf of Planned Parenthood in May was dismissed by the judge on the account of a lack of jurisdiction and that it could not stop lawsuits of private citizens if it ruled in their favor. Forbes said the judge's decision has now paved the way for the ordinance voted on by Lubbock's citizens to be in effect on Tuesday. According to the Texas Tribune, citizens of Lubbock voted in May on an ordinance that will make their city a "sanctuary for the unborn." The ordinance received a 62% vote that made Lubbock the biggest Texas city to be declared a "sanctuary" where abortions are prohibited to be performed locally. Texas legislators and conservatives were reported to praise the positive outcome of the elections for the ordinance. One of those who commended the ordinance's passing was Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Movement Founder Mark Lee Dickson who said this achievement will now push the measure on a city level--that is creating a domino effect for other cities to follow. "This was a landslide election, it's very obvious that the people of Lubbock have spoken. I am expecting that Planned Parenthood will obey," Dickson said in an interview with the Christian Post. The ordinance also allows any family or relative besides the mother--"an unborn child's mother, father, grandparents, siblings, and half siblings"--to sue the abortion provider or anyone who assists in the abortion even those who refer them to the abortion clinic. The city did not implement the abortion ban but drafted the ordinance that relied heavily on lawsuits filed by private citizens against abortion. However, the ordinance could not be enforced unless the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, which the judge's decision on Tuesday technically did. The Texas Tribune said the ACLU of Texas filed the lawsuit like it did with seven other Texas towns previously out of their belief that abortion bans are "unconstitutional" and there is a need to "protect the fundamental rights of the people of Lubbock." Forbes added that there are 26 cities in Texas that have already declared themselves as "sanctuaries" against abortion, including Lubbock that actually has an abortion provider facility in its midst. Forbes also highlighted that the lawsuits filed by ACLU were all dismissed since the cities already amended their measures to decriminalize suing organizations. The Texan said Poyner is the 26th town in Texas to become a "sanctuary city for the unborn," following Abernathy which is the 25th. In May, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the Heartbeat Bill that bans all abortions in six weeks of pregnancy and beyond as part of his promise to "always lead the way to protect the unborn." Abbott stressed that so many "children lose their right to life every year" and the state aims to "save those lives" through the said bill. The bill penalizes physicians who have not checked the fetal heartbeat of an unborn child prior to conducting an abortion. I'm not going to mince my words - smoking is a disgusting habit. But should that entitle the Health Police in our town halls to ban citizens from exercising their right to smoke outdoors? Were we consulted before this draconian decision was taken? Of course not once again the nanny-state-knows-best mob are acting on our behalf. It's all part of a pattern of behaviour which sees council officials all over the country adopt a series of measures to 'improve' our lives without bothering to exercise democracy by putting it to a vote. First, they built cycle lanes through our city centres, reducing traffic to a crawl. Then, these dictators dreamt up 'traffic free neighbourhoods', blocking up quiet residential backstreets so that emergency services can't reach the sick and dying and police can't catch gangs. People eat and drink in London's Soho in April following the easing of lockdown restrictions The barriers have forced all the traffic onto main roads where it sits gridlocked, spewing out the fumes the dictators were trying to reduce. Well done everyone at the council! Now, (with no consultation), five city and local councils covering a large area of England are introducing rules banning smoking outside pubs, cafes and restaurants. Lighting up on a pavement will soon be as illegal as waving your willy about. One whole county Oxfordshire - has gone further, planning to make it illegal to smoke in play areas, outside school gates and even in your car. They want to be a smoke free county by 2025, five years ahead of the National target. At least one local authority is making smoke-free zones a non-negotiable condition when granting a liquor licence. I come from a family of nicotine addicts. My dad was a heavy smoker - until he had a heart attack, followed by triple bypass surgery. My mum was equally bad - she could not take a fag out of her mouth long enough to be able to visit him in hospital. I had to ferry messages between the two, while she puffed away at a Woodbine in the car park. My sister smoked heavily until she died of lung and brain cancer. So, you can understand why I don't smoke. But I strongly believe in allowing others the freedom to live their lives as they choose. Which is why I totally oppose the banning of smoking in the open air. Did you even know that the government has decided that Britain would be 'smoke free' by 2030? No, neither did I. Soon, they plan to issue a 'tobacco control plan' - introducing measures to reduce the number of smokers to just 5 per cent from the current level of 14.1 per cent or 6.9million people. That is a laudable goal, because smoking-related conditions killed around 90,000 last year, more than Covid (75,000 deaths) did. But you can't deal with addiction by imposing bans, nagging and demonising a habit. I know because I've lived with an alcoholic (who no longer imbibes) for many years. The last thing any addict needs is a Nanny - especially a State-Sanctioned one. Education and encouragement are key, not fines and negativity. And what about the impact of these non-smoking bans on pubs and bars? For the first time in months, we're eating and drinking outside with friends, enjoying the warmer evenings. Thank god it's been sunny for the last few days, because the hospitality business is on its knees. They are desperate for any customers, even people who smoke! Nearly a quarter of pubs, restaurants and bars have not re-opened, because social distancing makes it uneconomic. They are praying that June 21st will see the end to restrictions, otherwise, the majority of these businesses will go bust. They're not just short of cash, they can't get staff. Since lockdown, many have returned to Europe and will find it difficult to return. Others have been on furlough and have then changed jobs which pay better than catering or serving food. Many fear that working in hospitality places them at risk from catching covid because the government is not sending out clear messages that it's safe. five city and local councils covering a large area of England are introducing rules banning smoking outside pubs, cafes and restaurants (file picture) As a result, even top restaurants say they can't open for lunch or are operating reduced hours because they have failed to recruit enough highly trained staff. Overall, the industry says there's a huge shortfall of 188,000 workers. Tim Martin, the pro-Brexit boss of Wetherspoons, wants EU worker visa to be introduced to help reduce the problem. It might seem a bit rich, from the bloke who couldn't wait to leave Europe, but he's never been anti-immigration. One-in-five smokers are aged between 25 and 34. One-in-four work in routine or manual jobs, compared to just 2.5 per cent of professionals or managers. The message is clear - banning smoking affects the lower paid more than the posh people. And why shouldn't they smoke if it gives them pleasure? I'm not being patronising, but why is smoking worse than cocaine, the 'fun' drug of the white collar worker? If we want people to stop smoking it has to become unfashionable. Being unaffordable hasn't worked, people will buy fags before food. The best thing about British society has always been our tolerance of others. Smoking might not be my secret sin, but I would fight for others to smoke if they wish, albeit not in my immediate vicinity. Pubs and bars don't need even more red tape. They are poised, like rudderless ships, waiting for Boris, the Duke of Ditherdom, to tell them if they can re-open without social distancing on June 21st. What they don't need is to the cost of employing stewards to implement an outdoor smoking ban. Everyone knows that smokers will just regroup a few yards away, out of sight. The air we breathe will not change much either way. Smokers are already forced to be a huge amount of tax - 12-13, every time they buy a packet of 20. Why not go the whole hog and force them to wear SORRY, I'M A SMOKER headbands at the same time? Damn! I bet someone from Oxfordshire council is already putting that in a memo. The group of elite Israeli commandos were making their way in a small boat across the Suez Canal at night when all hell broke loose. Egyptian troops had spotted them and opened fire. As the special forces tried to make their way back to safety, one of them fell in the water. With a heavy backpack and a lifejacket that refused to inflate, the man was soon struggling and started to drown. His friends in the boat grabbed at him. But amid the deadly fire of the ambush, they lost him before finally getting hold of him once more and pulling him to the surface. The date was May 13, 1969 and the drowning soldier was Sgt Benjamin Netanyahu, who would go on to become one of the most Right-wing and controversial prime ministers in Israels history. Whether the incident shaped him as a leader is hard to say. What is certain is that Netanyahu, who was twice wounded during his time in the army, has never been so close to death. I was nearly killed in a firefight inside the Suez Canal, he admitted. I mean that literally. Sgt Benjamin Netanyahu would go on to become one of the most Right-wing and controversial prime ministers in Israels history Could his struggle in those dark waters help to explain the extraordinary tenacity he has shown in life at the top of politics? For 15 years he has been Prime Minister of Israel first from 1996 to 1999, as the nations youngest holder of that post, following the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin; then again from 2009 to the present day, as its longest-serving PM. In a country where the electoral system of proportional representation has always resulted in unstable, squabbling coalitions and short-term leaders, King Bibi, as his supporters call him, has long been hailed as a magician for his knack of winning elections and conjuring up alliances with unlikely partners to defy political gravity and stay at the top. Nothing the Palestinians, Hezbollah or Iran could throw at his country during his long tenure seemed to weaken his hold on power. As a crisis manager, no one could match him and he was certainly not above manufacturing a crisis himself if it skewed things to his advantage. But now, as his country emerges from its latest confrontation with the Palestinian terror group Hamas the fourth such conflict in just 12 years the former commando seems to have fought and lost his last political battle. And as so often, a long-term leader has been toppled by rivals at home rather than foreign enemies. In a seismic development, Israeli opposition parties normally at loggerheads have reached an agreement to form a new government without Netanyahu at the helm. A generation of politicians has chafed in Bibis shadow. Of course, veteran political opponents want to see him gone. But what looks to have been fatal to his hold on power is the desertion of former allies who now see the 71-year-old as a political bed-blocker denying them their chance to take charge. Now, as his country emerges from its latest confrontation with the Palestinian terror group Hamas - the fourth such conflict in just 12 years - the former commando seems to have fought and lost his last political battle Bibi considers his likely far-Right successor Naftali Bennett as his Brutus, the protege who turned assassin. Rather than offering Netanyahu his unqualified support in recent years, Bennett teamed up with Centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid to strengthen his own hand and force the Prime Ministers in coalition negotiations. Bibi was furious. Bennett had been his chief of staff for two years (2006-08) when he was last in opposition. Netanyahu had been his mentor and patron, and claims to have plucked Bennett, 49, from the obscurity of Right-wing extremist groups to bring him into the heart of Israeli politics. Like Netanyahu, Bennett was in an elite Israeli military unit. He then became a high-tech millionaire by selling an anti-fraud software company to a U.S. security firm for 103 million in 2005. But the affinity between the two men is no longer. Today, Netanyahu considers Bennett a treacherous ingrate. This kind of bitter personal antagonism has both stalked Netanyahu over the years and been his hallmark. Many Israelis now fear that the rivalries among their political leaders could be unbridgeable and threaten the stability of the country. The wider world, too, will watch with apprehension as Bennett struggles to hold together his fragile coalition of nationalists, Centrists, Left-wingers and Arabs before, in theory, handing over to Yair Lapid after two years as part of an agreement the two men have made. Anything that upsets the status quo in Israel can have dramatic repercussions in the tinder box of the Middle East. With Netanyahu, you knew at least where he stood. His approach to Palestinian terrorism and to Iran has been unremittingly hardline which goes down well with his supporters. Last month, he said Israels bombardment of Gaza, which killed more than 200 Palestinians in response to Hamas rockets, had set Hamas back by many years. Under Netanyahu, Israel also undertook risky but remarkably successful clandestine operations to sabotage Irans nuclear programme and other military developments. As Yossi Cohen, the outgoing head of its intelligence agency, Mossad, said at his retirement ceremony, they had reached into the heart of hearts of Iran. Other Israeli PMs might have authorised similarly high-risk operations, but it was Netanyahu who made these successes public and gained from the boost to his popularity while daring Iran to respond. The wider world, too, will watch with apprehension as Bennett struggles to hold together his fragile coalition of nationalists, Centrists, Left-wingers and Arabs before, in theory, handing over to Yair Lapid after two years Netanyahus relationship with Donald Trump was equally controversial, leading to a closer alignment between the Israeli and U.S. governments. Trump saw eye to eye with Netanyahu on Iran, the latter welcoming the presidents withdrawal in 2018 from the Iran nuclear deal and the reinstatement of sanctions. Trump also publicly recognised Jerusalem as Israels capital to the fury of the Arab world, which supports Palestinian claims to the eastern half of the city. But then, Bibi always had an affinity with America. Although he was born in Tel Aviv in 1949, his family had moved to the U.S. in 1963. He returned to Israel at 18 to join the army for five years and serve in his commando unit, but afterwards he went back to the U.S. for university. In 1976, he and his family were devastated when his brother Yonatan, also a commando, was killed leading a raid to rescue hostages from an airliner hijacked by terrorists at Entebbe airport in Uganda. It would colour his attitude to terrorism for life, and he set up an anti-terrorism institute in Yonatans memory. By 1984, Netanyahu had been appointed Israels permanent representative at the UN in New York, and he became involved in domestic politics when he returned to Israel four years later. Today, he is beset by corruption allegations and stands accused of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases, all of which he is contesting. In one of them, it is alleged he accepted more than 160,000 worth of gifts mainly cigar boxes and cases of champagne from wealthy businessmen, while in another he is said to have dispensed favours in exchange for flattering press coverage. Will the ex-commando go down without a fight? Not likely. Netanyahu still has immense support. And Bennett is already under pressure there have been death threats and protesters chanting traitor outside the home north of Tel Aviv where he lives with his pastry-chef wife and four children. Netanyahu is a veteran politician who thinks tactically and does not give way to emotion, whatever pressure he is under. It is too soon to write off King Bibi particularly when the only thing that unites the motley coalition against him in the Israeli parliament is the desire to get him out of office. He is a survivor, as that near-fatal experience in the Suez Canal made only too clear. Mark Almond is Director of the Crisis Research Centre, Oxford After all the misery inflicted by the Covid pandemic, the travel industry desperately needed a shot in the arm. Instead it has just been given a kick in the teeth. At the very moment that Britain should be opening up, given that the virus is in retreat, the Government has decided to impose more restrictions. In a depressing step backwards, it was announced yesterday that seven additional countries are joining the red list of high-risk destinations, including such popular hotspots such as Egypt, Sri Lanka and Trinidad. Even more regrettably, the Government has actually removed Portugal from the green list of countries where journeys can be made without any requirements for quarantining and self-isolation. 'At the very moment that Britain should be opening up, given that the virus is in retreat, the Government has decided to impose more restrictions' This decision is a savage blow to the sector and to thousands of Britons, who are either in Portugal at the moment or had booked trips to go there soon. Some will lose money, others will have holiday plans ruined and for what? The exclusion of Portugal makes no sense and is wholly unjustified by science, since the country's rates of Covid infection are much the same as the United Kingdom's. Nor is there any sign of disease beginning to surge again in Portugal, with hospital admissions and deaths at extremely low levels. Indeed, the whole current system is riddled with gross inconsistencies and anomalies. 'This decision is a savage blow to the sector and to thousands of Britons, who are either in Portugal at the moment or had booked trips to go there soon' The British Government pledged to give special consideration to European islands, but that looks like another broken promise. The Balearic Islands off Spain have a current Covid infection rate of just 33 per 100,000 people significantly lower than the 50 per 100,000 in Britain yet they remain on the amber list. Similarly, restrictions still apply to Malta, where the infection rate is just 12 per 100,000. The reality is that, with the Covid crisis now rapidly diminishing throughout the continent, nearly all of Europe could be put on the British Government's green list and such a step would not have any negative impact on the United Kingdom. The absurdity of the Government's stance is further highlighted by the fact that there are no restraints on domestic travel by car, train or air around Britain, yet a number of places badly affected by the Delta variant have far more serious Covid problems than most of Europe. Britain's ill-conceived approach is costing the airline industry millions of pounds. Jobs are being lost, livelihoods destroyed Yesterday's decision makes a mockery of the political rhetoric which promised that the vaccine programme would bring back normality and freedom. The jabs were meant to allow us back to the beaches of Spain and villages of France. Yesterday, an important milestone was reached as more than half of the adult British population has now received two doses. Shouldn't that have been the cue for great travel liberation rather than more tightening? It is highly unconvincing of the Government to argue that caution is needed because of the risk from new variants. That is a recipe for a permanent shutdown. As the distinguished Oxford professor Sir John Bell put it this week: 'If we scamper down the rabbit hole every time we see a new variant, we are going to spend a long time huddled away.' If ministers think that Britons should not travel, then they should be honest, instead of presiding over endless chaos that wrecks plans, promotes frustration and damages business. But rather than being gripped by fear, they should look across to Europe where Governments are embracing openness. Typical is the Netherlands, which allows unrestricted travel, without any further tests, both for anyone who has been fully vaccinated or anyone comes from a country that has an infection of less than 150 per 100,000. 'If ministers think that Britons should not travel, then they should be honest, instead of presiding over endless chaos that wrecks plans, promotes frustration and damages business' Britain's ill-conceived approach is costing the airline industry millions of pounds. Jobs are being lost, livelihoods destroyed. This month alone, 1,800 flights were due to depart from Britain for Portugal. In light of the green list decision, many of those will now have to be withdrawn. In one sense my own company of easyJet is lucky, in that 50 per cent of our operations are outside of the UK. Even so, like the rest of the industry, we have been badly affected. A radical change in thinking is needed. Brexit, we were told, was a great opportunity for Britain to take its place on the global stage as a buccaneering, ambitious nation. That chance is now being squandered as ministers pull us into timorous isolation. Katherine Johnson, the pioneering black mathematician whose contributions to Americas space program were immortalized in the film Hidden Figures, has chronicled her battle with racism and sexism in her new posthumous memoir. Co-written by Joylette Hylick and Katherine Moore, two of Johnson's three daughters, 'My Remarkable Journey' was published on May 18, a little over a year after her death. In the book, she recounted how she went from a child prodigy in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia to a NASA employee, detailing the struggles and fears she faced as a black woman. 'I remember at one point she said when she first walked into the office of NASA, there was a desk, and when she sat there, the man got up and walked out,' Moore told the Today show. 'She said, "Oh, well, this is my desk. I'm going to work." And when they started seeing that she had answers to the questions they needed, no problem.' Story: Legendary mathematician Katherine Johnson wrote about her fight against racism in her posthumous memoir, 'My Remarkable Journey,' which was published on May 18 Hero: Johnson, who died in February 2020 at age 101, is remembered as a trailblazer who helped America dominate aeronautics, space research, and computer technology at NASA 'Mom's fight was more, shall we say, intellectual in the sense that she wasn't ready to go, "Fight, fight." Instead it was like, "I'm going to outthink you,"' Hylick explained. According to the book's description, the mathematician's story is centered around the basic tenets of her life no one is better than you, education is paramount, and asking questions can break barriers.' Johnson was born Katherine Coleman on August 26, 1918, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, near the Virginia border. The small town had no schools for black children beyond the eighth grade, she told The Richmond Times-Dispatch in 1997. Family affair: Johnson's memoir was co-written by Joylette Hylick and Katherine Moore, two of her three daughters Each September, her father drove Johnson and her siblings to Institute, West Virginia, so they could attend high school on the campus of the historically black West Virginia State College. She excelled in her studies, including math. 'The thing I loved about math, more than any other subject, was that there was a definite right or wrong answer,' she wrote, according to the Washington Post. 'I loved counting everything I saw, and I always pushed myself to go higher and higher.' Johnson said she inherited her math skills from her father, Josh Coleman, who was a generation removed from slavery. While he only had a 6th-grade education, she recalled his talent for numbers and calculations. 'Daddys mind was quick with numbers,' she explained. 'He could add, subtract, and do complicated math problems in his head. He also could look at a tree and instinctively know how many logs he could get from it.' She studied math at West Virginia State College and graduated with highest honors in 1937, according to NASA. In her memoir, Johnson paid homage to her mentor African American math professor W. W. Schieffelin Claytor who both encouraged her and prepared her to become a research mathematician. Claytor, the third black person in the country to receive a doctorate in math, created the course 'Analytic Geometry of Space' to help enrich Johnson's studies. Looking back: Johnson was hired by NASA's precursor organization, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, in 1953 Contributions: In 1969, she calculated the precise trajectories that allowed the Apollo 11 mission to land on the moon before Neil Armstrong's historic moonwalk While she was one of the school's top students, there were few job opportunities for her. She took a teaching position at an all-black elementary school in Virginia after graduation. Her mother warned her about the racism she would face in the state, saying: 'Remember you're going to Virginia.' But she wasn't deterred. 'Well, tell them I'm coming!' she replied, according to ScienceNews. In another instance, she recalled how a white friend told her his pastor wouldn't allow black guests at his wedding. 'I just shrugged it off,' she wrote. 'I was not going to allow his pastors backward views to change my opinion of the lovely couple.' Johnson became one of three black students picked to integrate West Virginia's graduate schools in 1939. However, she left after the first session to start a family with her first husband, James Goble. She returned to teaching when her three daughters grew older. After Goble died in 1956, she married James A. Johnson in 1959. Hyklick told the Today show that it could be 'challenging' having a mathematician mother and a father who was a science major, saying they never heard 'math is hard.' Incredible: Johnson (pictured in 1980) considered her work on the Apollo moon missions to be her greatest contribution to space exploration Success: She also worked on the Space Shuttle program before retiring in 1986. Johnson is pictured receiving an award at NASA Langley Research Center in 1985 Recognition: Johnson had been a relatively unsung hero of America's Space Race until 2015, when President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom 'It was always fun,' Moore added. 'As we went through math, it was just another subject that they expected us to do well because she said, 'If you expect nothing, you get nothing.' Johnson's life changed forever when a relative told her about the open positions at the all-black West Area Computing section at NASA's precursor organization, National Advisory Committee, where she was hired in 1953. She and other black women worked in a racially segregated unit at what is now called Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, until 1958, when NACA became NASA. In a later chapter of her memoir, she detailed her concerns about allowing her daughters to participate in school integration. She recalled how the black students who were chosen to integrate Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas in 1957 faced a violent white mob. 'Once Id seen what those Negro teenagers experienced in Little Rock, I couldnt unsee it,' she wrote. The trailblazer also discouraged her daughters from participating in civil rights protests out of fear they would get hurt or arrested, but they did so anyway. Johnson joined Project Mercury, the nation's first human space program, in 1958 as one of the so-called 'computers' who calculated rocket trajectories and earth orbits by hand, using a pencil and slide rule. Immortalized: Johnson's story inspired the 2016 Oscar-nominated movie Hidden Figures starring Janelle Monae, Taraji P. Henson, and Octavia Spencer (left to right) Big role: Johnson was portrayed in Hidden Figures by Henson (center left in the film) 'Our office computed all the [rocket] trajectories,' Johnson told The Virginian-Pilot newspaper in 2012. 'You tell me when and where you want it to come down, and I will tell you where and when and how to launch it.' In 1961, Johnson did trajectory analysis for Alan Shepard's Freedom 7 Mission, the first to carry an American into space. A year later, she manually verified calculations by a nascent NASA computer for astronaut John Glenn's groundbreaking orbital mission as the US beat the Soviet Union (USSR) in the Space Race. 'Get the girl to check the numbers,' a computer-skeptical Glenn had insisted in the days before the launch. Seven years later, Johnson calculated the precise trajectories that allowed the Apollo 11 mission to land on the moon in 1969 before the world watched Neil Armstrong's historic moonwalk. Johnson considered her work on the Apollo moon missions to be her greatest contribution to space exploration. She also worked on the Space Shuttle program before retiring in 1986. She spent her later years encouraging students to enter the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Looking back, she said she had little time to worry about being treated unequally. 'My dad taught us: "You are as good as anybody in this town, but you're no better,"' Johnson told NASA in 2008. 'I don't have a feeling of inferiority. Never had. I'm as good as anybody, but no better. What a moment: Johnson is pictured on stage with the stars of Hidden Figures during the 89th Annual Academy Awards in 2017 Achievements: NASA presented Johnson with an award honoring members of the segregated West Area Computers division of Langley Research Center in December 2016 Honor: Johnson is pictured at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility in Hampton, Virginia, in September 2017 She shared a similar sentiment in her book, writing: 'I grew up and was told by law that I had to sit in the back of buses, climb to isolated theater balconies, and use colored water fountains and bathrooms, because of my race, but I chose to believe Daddy. I was just as good as anyone else, but no better.' Johnson and her black colleagues had been relatively unsung heroes of America's Space Race until 2015, when President Barack Obama awarded Johnson then 97 the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. The story of how Johnson and her co-workers Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson assisted in breaking the Earth's atmosphere while fighting against sexism and racism during a time of segregation was told in the 2016 movie Hidden Figures. The film starring Janelle Monae, Octavia Spencer' and Taraji P. Henson who portrayed Johnson grossed more than $200 million and was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. 'She said, "What's all the fuss about? We were just doing our job,"' Hylick recalled. Johnson was met with thunderous applause as she joined the actors on stage at the Academy Awards ceremony. Jackson and Vaughan had died in 2005 and 2008, respectively. 'If Ive done anything in my life to deserve any of this, it is because I had great parents who taught me simple but powerful lessons that sustained me in the most challenging times,' she wrote in her memoir. 'I was always proud of my work, but for Petes sake, I didnt do anything alone.' Johnson passed away in February 2020, at the age of 101. They say if you're going wrong - go wrong with confidence, and that's exactly what these people did. A hilarious gallery collated by My Health Gazette shows people from around the world being very assertive in their incorrect assumptions, from claiming the world has 3 billion people to saying getting milk from female cows is sexist. One person claimed that there were three million penguins in Antarctica for every one person in Ireland to someone thinking blueberries were the only fruit named after a colour. Others said that the average of 31 and 65 was 96 - while another was convinced that Canada wasn't in North America. From claiming chicken isn't a meat to incorrectly correcting Stephen King on spelling, here FEMAIL reveals the funniest and most awkward social media brags. Are you sure about that? One YouTuber proudly got to 1bn views - but thought that took him to a third - not an eighth - of the world's population Think about that one again! One person said it was 'misogynistic' that all milk came from female cows, not realising there's no such thing as bull milk Maths is a little off! One person got the population of Ireland - 5 million- a little off - and the number of penguins in Antartica - 12 million- way off. Their maths was even more wrong One misogynist tried to correct someone on grammar after making a sexist comment, before incorrectly correcting someone A fowl error! One person was convinced that chicken isn't a meat - just don't tell vegeterians! That's not how maths works! One person tried to say the average of 31 and 65 was 96 - after incorrectly adding them up Time to go back to school! One person thought that 2018 was 18 years after 2010 Check your sources! Wikipedia is unreliable at the best of times - but especially when confusing a US state and a country Do you research! One person said they only wanted to buy American made cars so wouldn't buy the American brand Tesla Orange you glad you're not this person! This person forgot about dozens of fruits, while another thought a star was a colour Water you saying! This person had a very interesting - and incorrect - theory about drinking water Where do the supermarkets get it from? One person was very confidentially confused about where food comes from Another case of Americans vs Geography! This person thought North America didn't include Canada Not so simple! One advert referred to a supermarket as no middleman - ignoring the fact they are Time to check in! This person didn't realise there was a flu vaccine which has been available for years Ageing backwards! This person corrected someone who thought BC years went forward Practice social distancing! One person thought the dinosaurs and cavemen lived at the same time Are you sure about that? Someone thought Ohio spelt backwards was Ohio - not Oiho Maths is what you make of it! This person got their maths very wrong but couldn't help but double down on it Indian and Chinese Christians in Myanmar reportedly continue to face systemic government discrimination. The International Christian Concern (ICC) released the first part in a series of articles that analyzes the challenges faced by Christians in 90%-Buddhist Myanmar. ICC said that Indian and Chinese Christians are faced with the fact that they are a minority group but also belong to an "unpopular religion" in Myanmar. "Indians and Chinese in Burma face systemic government discrimination, including difficulty obtaining national identification cards and marriage licenses. It is common for them to wait years before receiving proper documentation-an unfortunate reality that makes it difficult for them to participate fully in society," ICC said in its website. ICC, a global organization focused in providing "a holistic approach to persecution ministry" over the last 20 years, said that Christians in Myanmar have "a good reason to fear" that persecution against them will continue to rise. "Ethnic and religious minorities across Myanmar have good reason to fear that their condition will worsen as the Burmese military, or Tatmadaw, attempts to solidify its grasp on the government after the February 1 coup," ICC stressed. As previously reported, the Myanmar coup has gravely affected the lives of Christians in the country. The conflict between the Myanmar Armed Forces or the Tatmadaw and the Kachin Independence Army has caused more than 100,000 Kachin Christians to flee their homes in fear for their lives. Christians of various minority groups in Myanmar have already joined forces in support of the anti-coup movement. The ICC explained that persecution against Indian and Chinese Christians became evident in 2015 during the November elections where they were not allowed to vote. "The discrimination faced by Indian and Chinese Christians were evident during a November 2015 election in which they were banned from voting," ICC stressed. "Hundreds of thousands of voters with temporary identity cards were disenfranchised by a discriminatory election rule. The action mostly targeted Rohingya Muslims in western Burma, but it impacted Indian and Chinese around the country as well." The same group of Christians were also prevented from receiving the National Registration Card. This does not include the country implementing an Interfaith Marriage Law that prevents certain groups from marrying based on their religious backgrounds. ICC cited an ethnic Indian pastor named Johnson in saying that there were a "lot of restrictions regarding different ethnicities and religions" when it comes to obtaining the National Registration Card. He pointed out during his interview of the need of the said system to be more flexible. Johnson also pointed out that, although the Religious Conversion law does not pressure one to "convert to another religion," the said right is really "not a concern of the government." ICC also pointed out the need to push back against the military junta of Myanmar--the Tatmadaw--to remove the threat and protect the people in the said country. In its 2020 report on Religious Freedom, United States Department of State Secretary Antony Blinken have condemned the junta's violence but did not mention anything on the persecutions done against Myanmar Christians. Marks & Spencer has announced it will shift away from seasonal pieces and focus its attention on classic staples in a bid to turnaround its clothing offering following a year of losses. The British high street stalwart last week reported pre-tax losses of 209.4million, its first annual loss in 94 years and its worst year on record. The clothes department, once a major attraction at M&S, was to blame. In hope of fixing the problem, chief executive Steve Rowe announced it will focus on '100 timeless essentials' that everyone needs in their wardrobes. These classics will include cashmere jumpers and skinny jeans, the sort of pieces shoppers can buy once and wear year-round. Marks & Spencer has announced it will shift away from seasonal pieces and focus its attention on classic staples in a bid to turnaround its clothing offering following a year of losses. Stylist Rachel Gold revealed the classic pieces you need, including a trench like Hailey Bieber's The Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sussex both favour buying investment pieces that they wear again and again. Pictured, Kate in a sharp blazer and Meghan in a white shirt This strategy has been dubbed 'NOOS', which stands for 'never out of style' or 'never out of season', by fashion insiders, according to Tamara Abraham of the Daily Telegraph. It is not new, as a concept, or as a business model but its adoption by a high street giant like M&S signals it is becoming more mainstream. It could mark a return to a time when shoppers relied on investment pieces that could be worn, reworn, mended, or passed down to a sibling, friend or family member. 'For years we have be wearing classic pieces and most of us own (what we would consider to be) a few investment pieces. That special item that we either saved up for or we bought in a sale which even on sale was expensive,' explained fashion stylist Rachel Gold. However the rise of online shopping sparked a wave of fast fashion e-tailers focused on producing quick turnaround, trend-led 'throwaway' pieces that could be bought for cheap, worn once, photographed, and then replaced with something else for the next night out. Now a greater awareness of fashion's impact on the environment, as well as sustainability's growing 'cool factor', means some retailers, including M&S, are shifting towards the other end of the spectrum. A dress to suit your body type is key to any wardrobe, according to Rachel. A midi dress like the ones worn by Holly (above) can be easily adapted to give a number of different looks Revealed: The 9 staples YOU need Stylist Rachel Gold, who shares her tips on YouTube and Instagram, revealed the key NOOS pieces every wardrobe needs: Trench coat: A classic trench will take you through the seasons. It looks fab flung over your shoulders with an evening dress or sequin number. It can be worn alone as a dress too! Jeans: Just remember to buy in whatever shape best suits your figure. Try grey or pale pink for Summer in a lighter fabric. Chunky boots: This style is here to stay! Surprisingly versatile, they can be worn with a summer or winter dress, trousers and jeans. Heels: Always have a pair of good heels that fit well. Wedges are a good option if you can't manage a sharp point. Blazer: Whereas once a classic blazer would have been in navy, now you can get a rainbow of gorgeous colours to suit your mood and personal style. Try a bright colour or white to elevate your wardrobe. Dress: A good dress is a must, just make sure you choose the right cut and length for your body shape. If its midi, you can still change the look by belting and hoisting it up. If it's a short dress you can try wearing trousers underneath. White shirt: Will forever be in style worn with a blazer, jeans, under a dress with spaghetti straps, with a suit. If its oversized it can be worn with shorts under and chunky boots or alone. Go French and make it a beautiful but classic staple. Cashmere sweater: In a good colour, ecru, navy, black, or a pastel will last you for years and can be worn over the shoulders, round your waist dressed up or down. Suit: Every wardrobe needs one it is multi functional and will see you through the seasons as well as worn as the blazer of the trousers independently. Advertisement Leading the way are brands like Misha Nonoo, founded by the Duchess of Sussex's BFF, which produces made-to-order pieces to cut down on waste. Others, like US-based Everlane, focus on wardrobe essentials that can be mixed and matched. Fashion insiders and stylists have long championed buying fewer, higher quality pieces that you can wear for longer to serve as the 'building blocks' for your wardrobe. As Abraham explained: 'You only need to buy a Burberry trench once, but you can wear it for decades to come. Ditto a Chanel handbag or your favourite crew-neck cashmere knit (provided the moths dont get to it).' Rachel agreed: 'As a stylist I constantly show people how to style their clothes in multiple ways to get the most out of their wardrobes and looks. I am a huge fan of a classic wardrobe and then every season just topping up with a few on trend pieces and colours so that your look remains relevant and on trend.' Victoria Beckham dressed to impress in a suit, another of the wardrobe staples everyone needs. A suit can look elegant on its own, or can be worn in separate parts M&S is preparing to stock at least 30 per cent more of these key NOOS products than it would do normally, to avoid the disappointment of popular products selling out. Chairman Archie Norman said the chain was forced last year to rapidly pare back the range of products it was buying to reduce costs after the shock of store closures. That prompted a new focus on the size and shape of the entire clothing range. Norman said the pandemic had made it 'imperative' to reduce the number of choices for customers. 'We made decisions because we had to make them,' he said. 'But what emerged from that was very encouraging. 'You'll see an improvement now and there's further improvement in the autumn and that's not the end of the journey. I think there's quite a lot further to go.' The strategy follows a substantial thinning of ranges in stores to weed out poor selling product lines and reduce replication. Chief executive Steve Rowe said the number of lines had already been cut back by a quarter in three years which has made stores 'cleaner and clearer'. However not all analysts are confident this approach will be enough to save M&S. 'While M&S is confident this will succeed, it remains to be seen whenever a "cleaner and clearer" store will persuade consumers to venture out onto the high street,' noted Liam Patterson, CEO and Founder at Google Shopping Management specialists Bidnamic. 'With ecommerce booming and the infinite digital shelf offering endless choice, the decision to cut stock could counterintuitively harm the retailers ability to cater to all people. However the cost cutting is likely to prove effective and is a priority for many retailers after rising debt over the last year.' British expats are rushing to Aldi supermarkets across Australia to pick up iconic UK snacks such as prawn cocktail crisps, fruit pastilles and Penguin chocolate bars. The discount store ran its latest 'British Day' on Wednesday as part of the bi-weekly Special Buys sale, giving shoppers the chance to stock up on old favourites from the home sod. An Aldi Australia representative told Daily Mail Australia the products will be available for a limited time only, while stocks last. Photos uploaded to the Facebook group 'Poms in Sydney' show piles of Cadbury Wispa bars, Rowntree's Randoms, Fry's chocolate creams and Galaxy Minstrels. Others show boxes of Yorkshire Tea and black pudding along with bottles of Worcestershire and HP sauces. Aldi ran is first-ever 'British Day' on Wednesday as part of its bi-weekly Special Buys sale, giving shoppers the chance to stock up on old favourites from the home sod One of the biggest drawcards sending shoppers into meltdown are prawn cocktail crisps Photos uploaded to the Facebook group 'Poms in Sydney' show piles of Cadbury Wispa bars, Rowntree's Randoms, Fry's chocolate creams and Galaxy Minstrels Top picks from Aldi's 'British Day' * Digestive biscuits $1.99 * Gold bars, Club bars and Penguins $2.99 * Yorkshire Tea $3.49 * Bisto gravy $4.99 * Fruit pastilles $3.99 * Wispa and Fry's Chocolate Creams $2.99 * HP Sauce $3.29 * Fray Bento's Pies $6.99 Advertisement Shoppers are going wild for the nostalgic treats, with many calling them the 'perfect taste of home' while international borders remain closed. Others said they are bulk buying as much as they can carry. 'I've already cleared out the joint at my local Aldi,' one man wrote. 'I've just spent $100+ on prawn cocktail and pickled onion crisps, Worcestershire sauce, fruit pastilles, revels, shrimp and bananas, club mint, penguins, wisps, HP sauce and black pudding!' a second added. Another replied: 'Me too! Only went in for a loaf.' One woman said she spent $200 on crisps and chocolate and 'couldn't be happier'. Brits are going wild for the nostalgic treats, with many bulk buying as much as they can carry A second said she made two trips to stock up on prawn cocktail crisps after spotting them in-store. 'Well worth it,' she wrote. Others tagged their friends, begging them to drive them to Aldi over the weekend. The snacks are said to be available at remarkably affordable prices. One man said he paid $1.49 for a pack of six Penguin bars and just $3.49 for a box of Yorkshire tea - more than $1 cheaper than the same box from Coles or Woolworths. Australians are in disbelief that Americans never end 'happy birthday' with 'hip hip hooray'. Callers to KIIS FM's Kyle and Jackie O Show on Tuesday marvelled that the traditional Aussie way to end the celebratory tune is rarely sung in the US, after a Georgia expat revealed he had never heard the chant until moving Down Under in a now-viral TikTok video. The cheer, believed to have started as a toast in Britain in the early 19th century, is customary in many countries including Ireland, Germany, South Africa, Fiji and the UK, but it is alien to anyone who grew up in the US. One man said there was an 'unspoken rule' that 'hip hip' is always shouted by the 'biggest, burliest dude with the deepest voice', leaving the rest of the group to reply: 'Hooray!' Shock jock Kyle Sandilands (pictured) says he is always the one to yell 'hip hip hooray' in his circle of friends Poll Is 'hip hip hooray' chanted where you come from? Yes No, I'd never heard it until I moved to Australia Is 'hip hip hooray' chanted where you come from? Yes 45 votes No, I'd never heard it until I moved to Australia 6 votes Now share your opinion 'On the day, no one ever decides who say hip hip, but everyone knows exactly who it's gonna be...he's never contested. No one ever says it at the same time,' he said. 'The more you think about it, the weirder it becomes.' Kyle agreed, saying: 'It's true! I'm the one who always yells hip hip in my circle of friends.' Jackie said she has never been the one to shout 'hip hip', to which Kyle replied: 'Yeah because you're not burly enough.' Jackie said she had always believed 'hip hip hooray' was universal, but a Uruguayan production assistant on the show also insisted he had never heard of the chant before moving to Australia. The duo drew criticism after they posted an Instagram video claiming that 'only Aussies' sing 'hip hip hooray'. 'Hip hip hooray', a cheer believed to have started as a toast in Britain in the early 19th century, is customary in many countries, but it is alien to anyone who grew up in the US (stock image) Viewers were quick to correct them, with many branding the clip 'fake news'. 'Not true guys, the British do it too,' one replied. 'England do this as well. Fake news,' said a second, while a third added: 'We do it in Ireland all the time too.' The debate comes after American expat Adam Foskey took to TikTok to share his surprise over the Australian addition of 'hip hip hooray'. While the cheer is not customary in the US, Mr Foskey said it is something he can 'get behind because it adds to the whole birthday vibe'. Adam Foskey (pictured) was baffled the first time he heard Australians sing 'happy birthday' Viewers were baffled by his revelations, which have been watched more than 531,000 times since they were uploaded on May 24. 'You don't say hip hop hooray? What? How awkward is it after you finish singing happy birthday?' one person asked. Another wrote: 'So what happens when you finish singing happy birthday. It just... ends?' A stylist has sparked a rush on a pair of $12 jeans after using them to create two trendy winter looks on social media. Canberra fashion blogger 'This is Genevieve', who is known for making cheap clothes look like high-end pieces, built her latest Instagram outfits around Kmart's Wide Leg Jeans. The budget-friendly pants, which are available in cream and khaki green, are so popular they have already sold out in all sizes except 16 and 20. Similar styles cost $59.99 in Glassons and $79.99 from Australian brand Dazie, but Genevieve has shown there is no need to spend any more than $12 on the basic staple. Canberra stylist 'This is Genevieve' wears the $12 Wide Leg Jeans from Kmart Genevieve built two of her latest Instagram outfits around the budget-friendly pants (pictured) The jeans (left) are so popular they have already sold out in all sizes except 16 and 20; they are almost identical to ones that cost $79.99 - more than six times the price - from Dazie (right) Genevieve demonstrated the versatility of the cut-price trousers by pairing them with a black bra and blazer for one outfit and a cosy H&M knit for a more casual look. Dozens of her 11,000 followers were quick to rave about the ensembles, with comments including 'so beautiful', 'gorgeous' and 'love it'. Those willing to splash out on more expensive denim have been investing in $99 jeans from an Australian label that suit almost every body shape. Dozens of Genevieve's 11,000 followers were quick to rave about the ensembles (one pictured) Photos of the '94 High Slims' from Abrand Jeans, known for its range of everyday staples made from premium fabrics, have been flooding Instagram in recent weeks alongside five-star reviews about their flattering fit. Made from 100 percent cotton, the jeans - which are said to 'hug you in all the right places' - are high-waisted and have a cropped design that stops at the ankle, perfect for showing off statement shoes. Available in sizes six to 16, they can be bought in three colour washes - light, classic or indigo - from fashion websites including the Iconic and General Pants Co. Delighted customers have praised the high-quality material for how perfectly it cinches the waist and lifts the behind. Millennials have chosen a pair of $99 jeans from an Australian fashion label (pictured) as their go-to denim for winter Photos of the '94 High Slims' from Abrand Jeans (pictured) have been flooding Instagram in recent weeks Made from 100 percent cotton, the jeans are high-waisted and have a cropped design that stops at the ankle, perfect for showing off statement shoes 'The only jeans that hug you in all the right spots,' one shopper wrote. 'Favourite pair of jeans I own,' said a second, while a third called them 'the cutest'. A fourth added: 'OMG. I received mine last week and I'm obsessed! I love how my bum looks in them and the overall fit is amazing.' An Australian beauty brand that sells sheet masks for your vulva is set to launch on Kourtney Kardashian's coveted POOSH website. FIG Femme is the first Aussie skincare brand to retail on Kourtney's website, with its range of 'intimate-wellness products' that have been designed to cater for the 'most delicate of female body parts'. Highlights of the range include a 'Refresh Daily Wash' ($15), for your intimate parts, the 'Revive Hydrating Mist' ($17), for eliminating odour-causing bacteria, and the 'Restore Mask' ($25), which is a luxurious sheet mask for the vulva. An Australian beauty brand that sells sheet masks for your vulva is set to launch on Kourtney Kardashian's coveted POOSH website (FIG Femme pictured) FIG Femme is the first Aussie skincare brand to retail on Kourtney's site, with its range of 'intimate-wellness products' designed to cater for the 'most delicate of female body parts' The brand was created by Balinese princess Lindy Rama-Ellis, who said she was 'sick' of the typical taboo connotations associated with talking about the female vulva and the lack of conversation and information on post-pregnancy care. Lindy made it her 'mission' to create a wellness brand that caters for all areas of the body, and so FIG Femme was born. Every FIG product has been specially pH balanced so that it nourishes and supports the vulva. A normal vaginal pH level sits between 3.8 and 4.5, which is moderately acidic. This acidic level is good because an acidic vaginal environment is protective and creates a barrier that prevents unhealthy bacteria and yeast from multiplying too quickly and causing infection. The brand was created by Balinese princess Lindy Rama-Ellis, who said she was 'sick' of the typical taboo connotations associated with talking about the female vulva (FIG pictured) Every FIG product has been specially pH balanced so that it nourishes and supports the vulva health (products pictured) Each of the FIG products is designed to do a different thing. The 'Refresh' fragrance-free wash gently cleanses the intimate area without changing its natural scent or disrupting its moisture balance. The 'Revive' hydrating vulva mist is a quick freshen up in a bottle, and is perfect after hitting the gym. Finally, the 'Restore' vulva mask aims to hydrate, soothe and protect the delicate skin around the vulva. Reviews online for FIG are glowing, where many have described it as their 'new favourite product' (products pictured) Reviews online for FIG are glowing, where many have described it as their 'new favourite product'. 'It leaves my skin so silky,' one woman posted of the wash. Another wrote of the sheet mask: 'I have started using post laser and thank the lord!! It is the most soothing post-laser treatment I can find'. A third added: 'It's so super-soothing, I enjoyed the mask with an episode of Sex and the City'. FIG Femme has launched on POOSH now. For more information, please visit here. A mum has revealed her 'genius' hack for making a trip to Aldi a breeze and the seemingly simple trick has impressed the store's most loyal shoppers. The mum bought collapsible crates for her Aldi trips and says it is a big help at the checkout because they are much easier to fill than bags. The woman bought the crates from Bunnings and noted they are collapsible which makes them easy to store. A mum has revealed her 'genius' hack for making a trip to Aldi a breeze and the seemingly simple trick has impressed the store's most loyal shoppers The mum bought collapsible crates for her Aldi trips and says it is a big help at the checkout because they are much easier to fill than bags 'Do you use crates, plastic bags or Aldi freezer bags?' she asked on the post, which included pictures of the black plastic boxes. Most people shared their own systems for stacking groceries from the store, while congratulating her on her 'great idea'. One woman revealed she uses a collapsible shopping trolley when she heads to the store. 'I have this bad boy, makes getting everything into the house easy too,' she said. Some admitted to putting their groceries in a washing basket to get them home. Others use bags and are happy with their system. 'I use the Aldi trolley bags, it is so quick,' one mum said. While another admitted she doesn't use bags at all and let her groceries be 'free range' in the boot. The woman bought the crates from Bunnings and noted they are collapsible which makes them easy to store But the poster wasn't alone with her use of crates - others also employ the tactic when they head to the German-owned chain. 'Collapsible crates from Costco here, never going back to bags,' said one woman who uses them at other stores too. 'I have been using a collapsible crate for over 40 years,' bragged another. Another woman simply uses a large Ikea bag, which she lines the trolley with, getting all of her groceries in and out in one go. Advertisement Location, Location, Location viewers slammed a demanding family after presenter Phil Spencer was forced to tell them a home that their specifications did not exist. During the programme last night, Phil Spencer revisited Carol and Alan, from Somerset, who appeared on the show in 2010 searching for their dream property with a healthy 700,000 budget. However they had a lengthy list of demands, and wanted space to run a dog training business and live together, with a barn for dog agility classes, ten acres of paddocks, parking and good access for customers, as well as outbuildings which could be converted into holiday rentals, a bolt hole and no neighbours close-by - but also said they didn't want to be too isolated. When they began their search, Phil told them: 'What I can say confidently is that the whole package that everyone wants, within the budget, does not exist, it's not there.' And the family struggled to find the perfect home, announcing one house was 'too close to the neighbour', while another had rooms which were 'too small'. Though they put in an offer for a property at the end of the show, it was 95,000 over their budget, and viewers were left frustrated by the family, with one commenting: 'I've had to switch it off because it's sent my blood pressure into the stratosphere.' Location Location Location viewers slammed a demanding family Carol, Alan and their daughter Lauren, from Somerset, last night after Phil Spencer was forced to tell them a home that their specifications did not exist Another wrote: When Phil talking of property, the daughter rudely looking away, not listening! And the parents doing it all for her. Shes an adult having it handed to her on silver platter, with such bad manners.' At the start of their search, the couple admitted they had been searching for the perfect property for over a year, had been gazumped twice and even hired a professional property searcher. They questioned if their dream home was even out there and within their budget. Phil asked why they hadn't had any success, saying: 'What's been going on? Why haven't you worked it out yet?' Within minutes of meeting the family, the property expert told them their dream home 'didn't exist' , and they ended up putting in a bid on a home 95,000 over their budget (pictured) The second property in Wellington ticked several boxes on their wish-list, with space for all the family, 12 acres of paddock, a tumble-down barn for the dog arena and space for holiday lets (pictured) However the family were critical of the 'small rooms' in the property, and also suggested they needed their dream home to have a barn for their dog training business Their daughter Lauren, who wanted to run a dog training business from the property, replied: 'It's a fairly complex search I think, the fact that our requirements are unique. 'For me, the outside space is really really important, and I am not bothered about the house at all, I just need some outside space.' Carol said: 'It has to be fairly isolated and have no neighbours, we have to run the business without annoying anyone else. [The holiday rentals] excite me.' Phil was blunt in telling the family that their dream property would be almost impossible to find within their price range, adding: 'We've got a good budget but it doesn't go far in this part of the world.' Viewers were highly critical of the family, with some suggesting daughter Lauren had 'bad manners' and was spoiled while others wondered why they had such a large budget The first property, a 595,000 farmhouse in Tiverton, came with 14 acres and plenty of outbuildings. However Alan immediately said the property made him 'very nervous' and pointed out the proximity of one neighbour, and the isolation of the area, as issues. Carol said she was unsure about taking on such a historic period home, with Alan adding: 'You don't know what's going on behind it.' The second property in Wellington was closer to their wish-list, with space for all the family, 12 acres of paddock, a tumble-down barn for the dog arena and space for holiday lets. When they began their search, Phil told them that he was 'confident' the 'whole package' didn't exist for the family of three within their budget It was on the market at 645,000, leaving the couple with plenty of budget for a bolthole to add if they wanted. But Carol was critical, saying the rooms were 'small' and adding: 'If it had a barn already up, it would be perfect.' The third property had all the facilities they needed for the dog business, large barns and eight acres of flat paddocks. The 400-year-old family home had period features galore and a little annex for Lauren to live in, while the two holiday lets were four-star-rated and already flourishing. The first property, a 595,000 farmhouse in Tiverton, came with 14 acres and plenty of outbuildings, but the family felt it was 'too isolated' The property had period features, another request on the family's list, but they immediately took a dislike to the space (pictured, the dining room) Meanwhile Alan immediately admitted the property made him 'very nervous' and said he had concerns about the period features (pictured, the kitchen) The house had forever home written all over it - but was completely out of their price range at 795,000. Carol fell in love with the house immediately, calling it 'fantastic', while Lauren said: 'I think I'd move anywhere right now.' The following day, the family returned to the property to discuss how they could stretch their budget and decided to put in an offer on the house, which was accepted. The Location, location, location team returned to visit the family in October 2020, a decade on since they first put bought the property. The second property was on the market at 645,000, leaving the couple with plenty of budget for a bolthole to add if they wanted (pictured, the living space) Despite being well within their budget, Carol was critical immediately of the house immediately, saying the rooms were too 'small' Lauren described the house as 'a special bubble', with her dog training business proving a huge success. Meanwhile Alan said: 'We have gone from job to job to job without catching our breath really.' While Lauren had been invested in the canine side of things, Carol was focused on the property rental business, which had been flourishing over the years. She said guests continued to return multiple times a year to stay at the stunning home, which was recently revalued at a whopping 1.6 million. ' The third property was a budget buster at 795,000 but had all the facilities they needed for the dog business, large barns and eight acres of flat paddocks The 400 old family home had period features galore and a little annex for Lauren to live in, while the two holiday lets were four star rated (pictured, the dining room) The property had forever home written all over it - with Carol calling it 'fantastic', while daughter Lauren also said she would be happy to move into the house (pictured, the farmhouse style kitchen) Carol explained: 'We're very different people than who we were when we first came here. The experience of being here...the place I saw when we moved here was amazing and like a dream, and it's gotten better. However viewers were highly critical of the family, and questioned why the programme makers continued to show people with large budgets. One person said: 'Wouldn't it be great if they helped out ordinary, struggling people? I guess that wouldn't be considered good telly.' Another wrote: 'Where do these people get all this money from?' 'It's a farce,' a third wrote, 'It's basically a millionaire's club. Show something real ffs.' Fifty Shades of Grey author E. L. James said that she originally aimed to sell just 5,000 copies of the bestselling erotic novel. Her latest novel in the Freed series was published this week and marks the latest in the hugely successful Fifty Shades franchise - with the original trilogy selling 150 million copies worldwide. The novel is the latest in the Freed series, which re-tells the story of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele from the male protagonist's point of view, and fans were 'hounding her' to write the novel. Appearing on Lorraine today from her London home, the author said she never dreamed 'in a billion years' that her novel would be so popular, and that her success has 'shattered' any expectations she had. Scroll down for video Fifty Shades of Grey author E. L. James said that she originally aimed to sell just 5,000 copies of the bestselling erotic novel during an appearance on Lorraine Her latest novel in the Freed series was published on earlier this month and marks the latest in the hugely successful Fifty Shades franchise. She is pictured in 2018 'My only ambition for all of this was to sell 5,000 copies and maybe one day see the books in a book shop', said James. 'My dreams have completely shattered [expectations]. It was extraordinary and this journey has been such a wild ride and here I am with my final book.' She later added: 'I never thought in a million years it would have that kind of influence at all'. James says that she enjoyed getting into the psyche of Christian, and that writing novel offered a much-needed escape during lockdown. 'I think part of the joy for me of writing it is, hes a complicated character completely, and trying to fit what he says with what he thinks from 50 Shades Freed was quite a challenge. But it seems to be going down well, so I'm really pleased with the reactions Ive had so far. The story has been adapted into a film series starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan. The pair are pictured in the 2015 film Speaking of her fans she said: 'Basically they were hounding me to write the book. We had three books from her point of view and only two [from his]. 'So during my lockdown this is what I did, I escaped to Seattle with these two characters who were out there not socially distancing and wearing masks - well, wearing a different kind of mask but we wont get into that!' The final chapter of the trilogy sees the two protagonists eventually marry, and the author admitted that while she was reluctant to explore the storyline - it made her 'very emotional'. 'I personally find weddings incredibly dull,' she said. So in 50 Shades Freed, I wrote it in flashbacks and people said "I want the wedding", so I wrote the wedding. 'I actually felt very emotional doing it, which really surprised me, and theres a few little surprises in there for readers. It was fun and I'm glad I got to pick a menu and do all the things you do for a wedding.' The final chapter of the trilogy sees the two protagonists eventually marry, and the author admitted that while she was reluctant to explore the storyline - it made her 'very emotional' While it may be her last novel in the series, James doesn't think she'll 'ever say goodbye' to the characters she's created. 'I think we leave them in a very good place,' she said. 'Theyve had such an exhausting time. Ive thrown the kitchen sink at this couple, so Id like to leave them in this place for a long time, but never say never.' The story has been adapted into a film series starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan, and mother-of-two James recalled a moment at the film's 2015 premiere where her son made her 'burst into tears'. 'They're not particularly interested [in the series] which is appropriate. But have been incredibly supportive', she said. 'At the after party of the film premiere in London my eldest son, we were in a swanky bar, and everyone was there following the film's release and he grabbed me and said "Look at all these people, they're all here because of you. I'm so proud of you".' Advertisement Princess Charlene of Monaco debuted a dramatic new shaved hairstyle on her recent conservation trip to South Africa. The 43-year-old wife of Prince Albert showcased the 'French crop' hairdo - featuring a longer strip on top of the head and dramatically shaved back and sides - in snaps shared on her charity's Instagram page. She has not been pictured publicly with her husband since late January and she's believed to have travelled to South Africa in mid-March. However, she did post a snap of the family together at Easter on April 2. It's unknown whether they joined her in South Africa or whether she returned to Monaco and flew back out again in May for her rhino conservation trip. The royal, who is mother to six-year-old twins Jacques and Gabriella, first stepped out with a dramatic half-shaved head in December 2020 but has since gone even shorter and bolder with the cut. It is understood that Charlene remains in South Africa after being struck down with an ENT (Ear, nose and throat) infection 'that does not allow her to travel'. It's been a tumultous start to the year for the royal, after news emerged that her husband is facing a paternity suit over a love child born in the early years of their relationship. Bold: Princess Charlene of Monaco debuted a dramatic new shaved hairstyle on her recent conservation trip to South Africa. The photos were shared on her charity's Instagram account Passionate: Charlene, who was raised in South Africa and represented the country at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, travelled to Thanda Safari in KwaZulu-Natal to learn more about being done by the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation South Africa to help save rhinos 'Emotional': The princess took part in conservation operations including rhino monitoring and tracking, deployment with the Anti-Poaching Unit, educational wildlife photography sessions, and a White Rhino dart and dehorning exercise (pictured) When did Princess Charlene travel to South Africa and when was she last seen with her husband? January 27 - Charlene is pictured with Albert for the Sainte Devote Ceremony in Monaco. March 18 - Charlene is pictured at the memorial for the late Zulu monarch, King Goodwill Zwelithini at the KwaKhethomthandayo Royal Palace in Nongoma, South Africa April 2 - Charlene posts an Instagram picture of herself, Albert and their twins Jacques and Gabriella for Easter. It is unknown where the image was taken. May 8 - Albert, Jacques and Gabriella attend a Grand Prix event in Monaco May 10 - Albert attends Monaco Gala Awards in Monaco May 18 - Charlene shares her first picture from her conservation trip in South Africa June 1 - Prince Albert II, Jacques and Gabriella attend event at Oceanic Museum in Monaco June 3 - New photos emerge of Charlene on her conservation trip Advertisement The palace were forced to comment on the princess's whereabouts ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, which she had been due to attend in Albert. Instead the prince attended with their children. It appears Charlene has still yet to return from South Africa as Albert stepped out without his wife on Monday for a visit to the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco with their twins. The 62-year-old prince, who already supports two illegitimate children, is alleged to have had a relationship with a Brazilian woman which resulted in a daughter in 2005. The claim, which his lawyers dismissed as a 'hoax', is particularly painful as he was dating Charlene at the time, having met the former Olympic swimmer in 2000. The 34-year-old claimant who cannot be named for legal reasons says she had a passionate affair with Albert, leading to the birth of their daughter whose name is also classified on July 4, 2005. Albert received a handwritten letter from the child, who is now 15, in September last year reading: I don't understand why I grew up without a father, and now that I have found you, you don't want to see me. Legal papers were also filed, as lawyers for the claimant called on Albert to undergo a DNA test just as he did before finally being identified as the father of two illegitimate children born in the 1990s and early 2000s. In January, Charlene spoke publicly for the first time since the allegations, telling Point de Vue: 'When my husband has problems, he tells me about it. I often tell him, "No matter what, no matter what, I'm a thousand percent behind you. I'll stand by you whatever you do, in good times or in bad." The mother-of-two went on to say she also often tells her husband she will 'protect him' and will 'always be by his side.' Charlene, who was raised in South Africa and represented the country at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, travelled to Thanda Safari in KwaZulu-Natal to learn more about being done by the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation South Africa to help save rhinos from poachers. The princess took part in conservation operations including rhino monitoring and tracking, deployment with the Anti-Poaching Unit, educational wildlife photography sessions, and a White Rhino dart and dehorning exercise. Photos of Princess Charlene with the animals and rangers were shared on Instagram. 'This entire experience moved me,' Charlene said. 'I connected with amazing people and spoke to the local trackers and anti-poaching units who all have an incredible passion for protecting our rhinos and environment.' Princess Charlene of Monaco wears a black lace veil as she attends the memorial service for Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini at the KwaKhethomthandayo Royal Palace in Nongoma, South Africa, on 18 March Last public outing together: Charlene and Albert were last pictured together in public in January at the Sainte Devote Ceremony in Monaco. On April 2, she shared a photograph alongside her husband Prince Albert and their children Jacques and Gabriella to mark Easter, although it is not clear where it was taken Flying solo! Her husband Prince Albert has continued with public duties with their children, taking them to the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco on Monday (pictured) Prince Albert stepped out at the Monaco Gran Prix on 22 May in Monte Carlo without his wife, Charlene, after an 'infection' prevented her from returning from South Africa New look: Charlene first stepped out with a dramatic half-shaved head in December 2020 (left) but has since gone even shorter and bolder with the cut, as seen right She continued: 'It filled me with immense joy to reconnect with the African people and spirit again. I was fascinated to learn more about the areas history and culture. 'How fitting to rediscover my love for Africa at a place aptly named Thanda, meaning "love" in the Zulu language!' The photos of Charlene's expedition drew comments from confused fans who questioned why the rhinos had to be dehorned. The royal explained: 'The experience was very emotional. Personal impact: Charlene said of the dehorning process (pictured): 'The experience was very emotional. I experienced first-hand the anguish and distress of the rhinos when we have to dehorn them, so poachers dont slaughter them [for the ivory]' Making a difference: The princess wanted to learn more about the work to save rhinos In the field: Photos of Princess Charlene with the animals and rangers were shared online Majestic: One of the rhinos being tracked by Charlene and the rangers in South Africa Taking a stand: Charlene took part in a number of operations to help protect the rhinos 'I experienced first-hand the anguish and distress of the rhinos when we have to dehorn them, so poachers dont slaughter them [for the ivory]. 'I want to do all that I can to protect the rhinos, including raising funds to protect them and educating my children and others about rhino conservation.' The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation South Africa has partnered with the Thanda Foundation Trust to help protect the rhinos. A 20-year-old ballerina from Northumberland is set to become one of a handful British dancers to graduate from the world famous Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. Rachel Armstrong, 20, who grew up in the small village of Bardon Mill, has spent the last three years following a gruelling regime at the prestigious Russian school, which saw learn Russian and live under the watchful eye of 'strict' instructors. Rachel, who has been dancing since the age of six and applied for the Bolshoi at 17, will finish the course at the 17,000-a-year school later this month. She is planning to apply for positions with ballet companies across Europe, although she admits the pandemic has made it a more challenging prospect. Rachel said: 'It's gone so quickly. I feel like I haven't even blinked. I still can't believe it. It's been very hard and stressful at times. Rachel Armstrong, 20, pictured, has spent the last three years following a gruelling regime at the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow and is now looking forward to being reunited with her family in Bardon Mill, Northumberland When she was a child, pictured aged six, Rachel's parent turned their garage into a dance studio so she could practice 'I am just so happy to be graduating. When I started three years ago I didn't know if I would ever get to this point. I still have a difficult time believing this has happened. 'I am quite relieved to have got this far to be honest and am really looking forward to going home, but I feel very proud, and I know my parents are too. 'It will be more difficult to find a position because of Covid, but I will be working on my video application when I get home. I am open to living anywhere in Europe and am interested in experiencing life somewhere different from Russia.' Rachel studied at the Affleck Academy in Gateshead under the tutorage of Hilda Affleck. Her parents, Peter and Lisa, turned her garage into a studio so she could practice ballet at home. She left school at 16 after sitting her GCSEs and studied at the Affleck Academy full time until she left for Russia. Rachel received her her offer to the Bolshoi just four days after sending off an application. It is thought just seven Brits have ever been accepted into the school. Rachel doing an arabesque. Her parents hope she will become one of the world's top ballerinas She flew out to Moscow in September 2018 with her parents Lisa, 52, a supply teacher, and Peter, 57, a retired headteacher of a primary school. At the Bolshoi Rachel shared a dormitory with up to three other dancers. They trained in ballet from 9am until 10.30am before embarking on Russian and other classes until 6.30pm. Rachel added: 'At the weekends I enjoyed exploring different parts of Moscow. We would also go to the theatre as much as possible. Rachel, pictured in costume, left, and doing an arabesque, right, said her training had been hard and stressful but she will now have her pick of companies Rachel, pictured left, pictured with her fellow dancers at the Bolshoi. Very few ballerinas have been admitted at the prestigious dance school After three years of intense work, Rachel, pictured, is on of the very few British ballerinas to have graduated from the prestigious dance institution 'It's definitely not a similar experience to going to university. It's a much more disciplined and controlled environment. 'The people looking after us were quite strict and we were sharing dormitories with dancers of different ages. 'It's been an overwhelming experience but I've thoroughly enjoyed it, and I am now looking forward to going home, working on my applications and seeing my family and friends.' The ballerina with her father Peter and mother Lisa Armstrong back when she was accepted into the school in 2018 Rachel with her fellow dancers in Moscow. The ballerina will soon return home to the UK before setting off for a dancing company Lisa, right, with her fellow dancers and dance teacher. Her mother Lisa said Rachel's confidence developed thanks to her time at the academy Rachel showing off her skills. As well as graduating from one of the world's leading dance school, the Brit now also speaks Russian Rachel's mother Lisa added: 'She has done amazingly well and we couldn't be more proud of her. 'Of course the hope is that she will become one of the world's top ballerinas, but no-one can predict the future. 'She's very determined and has learnt so much while she's been away. She was very shy, but has grown in self confidence a lot and she is now keen to experience other countries. 'She can speak Russian as all her classes were in the language and she says she sometimes finds it difficult to think of the English word because she's so used to it.' In August, 2019 news broke that scientists had created the first known human-monkey chimeras. Scientists have numerous reasons why they do this kind of science, but regardless of their reasons, this science is fraught with ethical concerns. These concerns raise questions of their own which the Christian must consider. What is a chimera? The term chimera originates in Greek mythology. The chimera of myth breathes fire, has a lions head, goats body, and dragons tail. In modern usage a chimera is an organism with genetic material from two or more genetically distinct sources. A part-human chimera is an animal with some human organs or other characteristics. The reasons There are numerous reasons why part-human chimeras are made. A major reason is, if we master growing human organs, it helps to solve the organ shortage by providing new sources of human organs for transplants. Researchers hope human-animal chimeras could provide better models in which to test drugs or treat diseases. The goal Ultimately, the goal is to better understand how cells of different species communicate with each other in the embryo during its early growth phase, and investigate how the two types of cell develop alongside each other. In April, a team injected monkey embryos with human stem cells and watched as they developed in a dish. Scientists werent able to control which cells developed into which tissues. Japan lifts ban Japanese lifted a ban on and began funding experiments with animal embryos containing human cells in March, 2019. Japanese scientist Hiromitsu Nakauchi was the first to receive government support to create human-animal chimeras and to transplant them into surrogate animals. Nakauchi and colleagues announced at a meeting in Texas theyd put human induced pluripotent stem cells into sheep embryos engineered to not produce a pancreas. But the embryos contained few human cells, and nothing resembling organs. Nakauchi says the approval in Japan allows him to attack this problem. Concerns There are concerns about this science. Some bioethicists believe that human cells might stray beyond the targeted organ, travelling to the developing animals brain and affecting its cognition. Nakauchi says these concerns have been taken into consideration. We are trying to do targeted organ generation, so the cells go only to the pancreas, he says. For the purposes mentioned previously, part-human chimeras will first have to be born. This research takes us one step closer to that eventuality. Ambiguity Because of the nature of these experiments these creatures could possess ambiguous moral status somewhere between that of humans and animals. How we end up treating chimeras will depend upon the moral status we assign them, a task that these experiments only make more pressing. As monkeys are genetically closer to us, theres a greater chance the cells will interact effectively with each other. The goal of human-monkey experiments is to understand and perfect development of chimeras in primates before transferring the technology to pigs. There are fewer ethical concerns with harvesting organs from pigs because we farm and eat them. This research is likely to cause major public opprobrium, if animals are developed with humanised features. This could set back public acceptance of the science significantly. Behind the chimera yuck factor lies a thorny ethical problem the moral status of monkeys or pigs that have human-like brains. Moral status is the concept of treating life forms according to their interests and capacities. For example, humans are higher than monkeys, monkeys higher than pigs, and pigs higher than worms. Its linked to mental capacities such as self-consciousness, moral capacities, and rationality. Human-chimeras could develop mental capacities between ordinary animals and humans. This presents a challenge for those determining the moral status of chimeras, and rights and obligations that follow. Chimeras will probably be regarded as lesser than humans. Seeing as we already struggle with issues of equality between humans, it seems were poorly prepared for challenges presented by advances in chimeric research. How to Respond How are Christians to respond? God created every living creature so it reproduces according to its own kind. A kind is made of individuals which can breed and have offspring. Example: In species A, B, and C if A and B can hybridise with C, then it suggests all three are of the same kind. Its not our province to play God by creating creatures that cross the barriers in place, transferring behavioural characteristics from one species to another. Do we want creatures with, say, the strength of gorillas and the intelligence of humans? Id say no, we dont. Differences between us There are three differences between animals and humans: animals were created by way of Gods word; God breathed the breath of life into mans nostrils; the flesh of living creatures is different: one for humans, one for birds, etc.; humanity alone was created in Gods image. This fact widens the boundary between human and animal even further. Its true most animal chimeras to date resulted in individuals easily classified as animals. But such arguments distract from the crucial point: innocent humans and animals are used and destroyed in the process of producing the chimeras. An embryo is always an embryo of something, and only matures according to what it already is a member of its own kind. With these embryos, no-one truly knows what were getting, and thats something which concerns us all. Kate Middleton told friends that it 'wasn't too late' to 'pull Harry and Meghan back into the fold' before their Oprah interviewed aired, a royal expert has claimed. The Duchess of Cambridge, 39, is said to have 'taken the same approach as The Queen' before the interview in hoping that the 'much loved members of The Firm' would return. Writing for Stella magazine, Camilla Tominey said: 'I have been reliably informed she was even telling her friends before the Oprah interview that she did not think it was too late to "pull them back in".' Kate Middleton told friends that it 'wasn't too late' to 'pull Harry and Meghan back into the fold' before their Oprah interviewed aired, a royal expert has claimed. Harry and Meghan are pictured during the interview The commentator added that an insider told her 'Kate's natural instinct is to try to smooth things over'. During an explosive chat with Oprah Winfrey in March, Meghan Markle, 39, claimed Kate made her cry before she married Prince Harry as the couple dropped a series of 'truth bombs' including saying there was 'concern' over Archie's skin colour. When Harry was reunited with his family just weeks later at his grandfather Prince Philip's funeral, Kate was the first member of the family to be seen chatting to him - and was even spotted holding back in a bid to reunite him with brother, Prince William. Camilla also said that after Meghan Markle accused Kate Middleton of making her cry, the duchess decided to 'rise above' it and act as a peacemaker at Prince Philip's funeral, a royal expert has claimed. The Duchess of Cambridge, 39, is said to have 'taken the same approach as The Queen' before the interview in hoping that the 'much loved members of The Firm' would return. She is pictured in Edinburgh last week It comes after Kate's uncle Gary Goldsmith said his niece is 'trying to mediate' and bring peace to the royals after Prince Harry's nuclear truth-bombing. Gary Goldsmith, 56, who is brother to Kate's mother Carole, described the Duchess as a 'brilliant arbiter and peacemaker' and insisted she is doing everything she can to make things right between her husband and his brother. Speaking to Closer magazine, Gary added that the Duke of Sussex, 36, needs to 'get a grip' and stop his 'self-indulgent episode' before it gets to the point where there is 'no common ground or relationship to rebuild'. The Ibiza-based recruitment consultant said everyone has been left 'astonished' by Harry's outbursts, which include accusing the Royal Family of racism and neglect in a series of interviews with Oprah Winfrey. Speaking to Closer magazine, Gary (pictured in 2017) added that the Duke of Sussex, 36, needs to 'get a grip' and stop his 'self-indulgent episode' 'If you want an easy life, work it out privately and have a conversation respectfully. Don't air it in public, it's really hurtful,' Gary told the publication. 'The harsh truth - in my opinion - is that if Harry doesn't get a grip and stop this self-indulgent episode, there will soon be no common ground or relationship to rebuild. 'But if anyone can bring peace to the royals, Kate can. Kate is a brilliant arbiter and peacemaker. Every bone in her body is about making friends and doing the best she can... she's trying to mediate.' Gary observed how his niece was trying to improve relations between William and Harry at Prince Philip's funeral in April. The trio were once a close unit, and Gary said Kate is trying to go what she can to make things right. He added that while he is 'sorry' that Harry believes he's had a tough time, he can see from Kate that she is 'very happy' being part of the Royal Family, and is doing a great job while constantly 'under a microscope'. Gimba, ward host at Whipps Cross Hospital, in Leytonstone, refused to take time off and said: 'I have to feed my patients' Unable to fly home to Nigeria because of travel restrictions during the pandemic On the day her photograph was taken, Gimba received news mother has fallen ill Duchess of Cambridge spoke to Gimba who was involved in her Hold Still project The Duchess of Cambridge has praised the 'dedication' of a hospital cook during a phone call with the participant in her Hold Still photography contest after she refused to take time off work when her mother fell ill. On the day her entry photograph was taken, Gimba, a ward host at Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone, received the terrible news from Nigeria that her mother had fallen ill. Despite being heartbroken that she couldn't fly home due to travel restrictions during the pandemic, Gimba declined to take any time off, saying: 'I have to feed my patients.' She was photographed on that same day having her lunch after preparing meals for all eighteen COVID-19 patients in the ward. During a clip shared to YouTube today, Kate Middleton, 39, said: 'It's such a pleasure to chat to you too. I wanted to call to say thank you so much for sending in your wonderful photograph. It's fantastic! You look like you're seriously enjoying your chicken and rice, Gimba?' The Duchess of Cambridge (pictured), 39, praised the 'dedication' of hospital ward host Gimba, who works at Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone, during a phone call with the participant in her Hold Still photography contest who refused to take time off when her mother fell ill On the day the photograph was taken, Gimba, a ward host at Whipps Cross Hospital, received the terrible news from Nigeria that her mother had fallen ill. Pictured, tucking into her chicken and rise lunch Despite being heartbroken that she couldn't fly home to see her mother (pictured) due to travel restrictions during the pandemic, Gimba declined to take any time off, saying: 'I have to feed my patients' Gimba replied: 'Yeah, I was having my break, yeah.' Kate, who is a keen amateur photographer, launched the Hold Still initiative during lockdown and asked the public to submit their images which captured the period for a digital exhibition. She was then joined by a panel of five judges to select the best photos from more than 31,000 submitted for the nation-wide contest and said she was 'overwhelmed' by the response and that it was 'so hard' to whittle the images down to a top 100. During the five-minute call, the royal went on to say that while every day on the ward is a busy one for the staff, it was a particularly hard day for Gimba. 'Yeah, yeah, that day because I had a phone call in Africa because I'm from Nigeria, and my mother was not very well and was very sick,' she explained. When the royal asked how she was doing now, Gimba replied: 'She's feeling better now yeah. She's at home now.' Kate (pictured) thanked Gimba for sending in her 'wonderful' photograph, and went on to brand it 'fantastic' Gimba (pictured), who will have been at the hospital for twenty years next March, said how she likes to rustle up everything from Chinese and Carribean to English food Explaining how it was tough not being able to be there with her, she added: 'It was hard, but it's a job I love to do because the patients need us.' Kate went on to say how she bet Gimba made everybody's day that 'little bit brighter.' Gimba, who will have been at the hospital for twenty years next March, said how she likes to rustle up everything from Chinese and Carribean to English food. Kate added: 'Well, food nurtures the soul, doesn't it?' Then duchess also asked whether her friend Hasaan told her whether he was going to send in the photograph, to which Gimba responded: 'He told me that they selected my picture and you love my picture. They called me, told me, so I was so happy. I'm very grateful, thank you so much, yeah.' When the duchess also asked whether Gimba's friend Hasaan (pictured) told her whether he was going to send in the photograph, she replied: 'He told me that they selected my picture and you love my picture. They called me, told me, so I was so happy' Kate continued: 'It's lovely to see the resilience and that glimmer of hope that you showed, the sort of enjoyment of the simple things because I think we all sort of really hunkered down and really relished in the simple pleasures. And I love the gentle smile on your face despite it being a really hard day for you and how much, obviously, you're enjoying your lunch.' 'We're all so proud of you and your colleagues too, you know? You showed sort of the total dedication to the patients that you cared for. And even in times of hardship, you're still there and not wanting to let those patients down. 'So you should be very proud of the amazing work that you do on a day-to-day basis. And thank you for sharing your photograph as well. It really, really made everybody smile, so thank you.' Gimba added: 'Thank you for loving my photograph. I'm so excited, I sad "Wow, me!" Queen Maxima of the Netherlands enjoyed a glass of champagne after she planted a 'climate tree' at the opening of the new offices for a coffee roasters today. The Dutch Queen, 50, looked stunning in a recycled oatmeal-coloured linen top and trousers with orange floral detail that she first wore back in 2019. The Argentinian-born royal attended the event which was held to mark the opening of Hesselink Koffie's new business premises in Winterswijk. Maxima appeared to be thoroughly enjoying herself as she balanced in her bright orange high heels while planting the tree and was later seen raising a glass of bubbly to celebrate the occasion. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands raised a glass of champagne after she planted a 'climate tree' at the opening of the new offices for a coffee roasters today The royal once again showed off her flawless fashion sense in the summery ensemble which featured a wide-legged look that was cropped mid-calf and a tailored top with short sleeves. The mother-of-three paired her outfit with a matching headband and wore her long blonde tresses in a low ponytail tied at the nape of her neck. She completed the outfit with some delicate accessories including a pair of gold drop earrings, a simple gold bangle as well her favourite gold bracelet and black wristwatch. Maxima showed off her sustainable side by re-wearing the outfit which she first wore in April 2019 to celebrate Kings Day, the Dutch national holiday that celebrates the Kings birthday. The Dutch Queen, 50, looked stunning in a recycled top and trousers - that she previously wore in 2019 - as she attended the opening event for Hesselink Koffie in Winterswijk The Argentinian-born royal showed off her flawless fashion sense in the summery ensemble featuring an oatmeal-coloured linen top with orange floral detail and wide-legged trousers Maxima appeared to be thoroughly enjoying herself as she balanced in her bright orange high heels while planting the tree The mother-of-three paired her outfit with a matching headband and wore her long blonde tresses in a low ponytail tied at the nape of her neck The monarch, who is the wife of King Willem-Alexander, 54, and mother to daughters Amalia, 17, Alexia, 15, and Ariane, 14, was given a tour of the new building and was treated to a taste of the coffee they produce. The new premises are energy neutral and the coffee which is produced is climate neutral. Following the event, Hesselink Koffie posted a picture of Maxima as she planted the tree on their Instagram page, writing: 'A crown on our work. 'Queen Maxima traveled to Winterswijk today to open our renovated building. 'Planting the climate tree is a new step for us in giving happiness. Ready for the future, as the most sustainable coffee roaster in the Netherlands!' Maxima also paid a separate visit to a dairy farm in Lettele in connection with debt counseling and financial health on the same day. She completed the outfit with some delicate accessories including a pair of gold drop earrings, a simple gold bangle as well her favourite gold bracelet and black wristwatch Her royal visit came weeks after the country celebrated Queen Maxima's 50th birthday on May 17. Her subjects honoured her legacy in the weeks leading up to the celebration and a collection of stamps were released to mark the occasion. The biggest stamp, Koningin Maxima, features an unseen retro black and white close-up snap from the monarch's private collection, showing Maxima in New York in 1999. It shows a profile of the then 22-year-old with freckles on her cheeks, and strands of blond hair falling down to her shoulders. The monarch was given a tour of the new building and was treated to a taste of the coffee they produce which is climate neutral Maxima wore a protective face covering as she spoke to staff from Hesselink Koffie during the royal visit The Dutch queen also paid a separate visit to a dairy farm in Lettele in connection with debt counseling and financial health on the same day In her latest modeling gig since signing with IMG in January, Vice President Kamala Harris' stepdaughter Ella Emhoff is featured in Vogue this month where she discusses why she is a fan of the mullet. The 22-year-old who is the daughter of Harris' husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, and Doug's first wife, Kerstin posed in a pair of close-up shots for the fashion bible this month, showing her own mullet hairstyle from the front and back. 'I feel like in the past, the mullet was deemed unattractive and kind of odd, and Im really drawn to that almost ugly-chic look,' she told the magazine. The 'do! Vice President Kamala Harris' stepdaughter Ella Emhoff is featured in Vogue this month where she discusses why she is a fan of the mullet 'I feel like in the past, the mullet was deemed unattractive and kind of odd, and Im really drawn to that almost ugly-chic look,' she said 'The more you have this style, the more you want to push the limits of how mullet-y you can get it,' Ella said Family: The 22-year-old is the daughter of Harris' husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, and Doug's first wife, Kerstin (pictured with Doug, Kamala, and brother Cole) The images show Ella, who graduated from The New School's Parsons School of Design last month, getting her curly brown hair snipped by hairstylist Masami Hosono. She's modeling a Celine by Hedi Slimane yellow cardigan and ruffled pussybow blouse, which are paired with large Gucci glasses and minimal makeup by Fara Homidi. Vogue's article titled 'Business Up Front With a Party in Back, the Mullet Returns (Really)' makes the case that the 'maintenance-free' hairstyle is seeing a resurgence in popularity. 'The more you have this style, the more you want to push the limits of how mullet-y you can get it,' Ella said. Ella has certainly earned plenty of attention for her unconventional style since attending the inauguration in January in a stunning Miu Miu coat. Underneath, she later revealed she was wearing a burgundy tea dress from independent New York designer Batsheva Hay, with whom she later collaborated on a capsule collection. Big moment: Ella has been enjoying her newfound status as a fashion favorite since taking the inauguration by storm Chic! Ella is pictured in her bedazzled Miu Miu coat walking alongside her dad, her stepmother Kamala, Kamala's niece Meena, and one of Meena's daughters Dressy: Under her statement-making coat was a burgundy dress by designer Batsheva Hay That morning: Ella wowed in a preppy white shirt and tie tucked into a striped Thome Browne pleated skirt in the colors of the US flag as she posed with her mother and brother at the Lincoln Memorial on Instagram Photos of Ella from before the inauguration also showed the Brooklyn resident at the Lincoln Memorial with her mom and brother, wearing a collared button-down-shirt with a patriotic red, white, and blue pleated skirt from Thom Browne's Fall 2020 collection. She topped it all off with a chic long coat, a necktie, and a small hand-held bag. Her looks quickly caused a stir in the fashion world, with Teen Vogue calling her the 'cool girl' of the Biden-Harris administration, Vice branding her a 'slow fashion king,' and British Vogue saying the coat was the 'first viral moment' of the new presidency. Later that month, it was announced that she had signed with IMG Models. 'It's not really about shape, size or gender any more,' said Ivan Bart, the president of IMG Models. 'Ella communicates this moment in time. There's a cheekiness and a joy she exudes.' He said his response to seeing her at the inauguration was: 'Wow, she's communicating fashion.' Ella said the approach from Bart took her aback, even though she had been dabbling in modeling for a smaller agent. 'I was pretty surprised when everything with IMG was happening because when I was younger, I never saw that as being part of my timeline,' she told The New York Times. Voila! In February, she appeared in her first designer fashion show, just three weeks after it was announced that she had signed with IMG Models Model moment: She stormed the runway for Proenza Schouler in three different stylish looks According to Proenza Schouler's Instagram, Ella was styled by Brian Molloy, her hair left in her natural curls was done by Mustafa Yanaz, and her makeup was done by Diane Kendal Busy week! She also participated in a Q&A with the designers on February 15 'As someone who, like a lot of young girls out there, had self-confidence issues, it is intimidating and scary to go into this world that is hyper-focused on you and the body.' She said she was encouraged by the diversity of models working today, and the opportunity to be 'part of that change.' 'I've obviously got a bigger platform now, and I'm excited to share a lot of things I really care about, and do some good,' she said, adding that she was 'excited to do things like wear fun clothes' and 'to bring a bit of Bushwick into the high fashion realm'. Ella started booking work in no time, landing her first cover of Dust magazine in February. That same month, she appeared in her first designer fashion show, storming the runway for Proenza Schouler in three different stylish looks. Ella's first outfit included oversized gray slacks with a matching, below-the-knee gray coat, which were accessorized with furry shoes and a large tote. Onward! Last month, Ella graduated from the Parsons School of Design, and was joined by her stepmother, Vice President Harris, for the occasion Congrats! Her proud dad shared a photo of her in her cap and gown 'Our baby girl Ella!' Ella is one of two children the Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff fathered during his 16-year marriage to Kerstin Mackin (left), which ended in 2008 Dressed up: Ella (pictured with boyfriend Sam Hine) wore a long, pleated black skirt, a white button-down, a black blazer, and a black tie, which she accessorized with black loafers She also modeled a black leather trench, and then had the honor of closing the show in a slinky black suit, worn with a button fastened at the chest and her stomach exposed. This was all while she was still a full-time student at Parsons, from which she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts on May 14. Ella donned a traditional cap and gown for the ceremony, and was joined by her mother, her father, and her stepmother in New York City for the virtual commencement. Not one to let a dowdy cap and gown wreck her style, Ella layered the commencement uniform over her own fashion-forward outfit. A photo shared by her boyfriend, GQ senior associate editor Sam Hine, showed Ella in a long, pleated black skirt, a white button-down, a black blazer, and a black tie, which she accessorized with black loafers. Another photo Sam shared shows Ella riding in a car in her chic outfit and sunglasses, checking her face out in her phone. Big dreams! Ella earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts and shared excitement over starting her career 'I was pretty surprised when everything with IMG was happening because when I was younger, I never saw that as being part of my timeline,' Ella said In business: Ella has certainly earned plenty of attention for her unconventional style since attending the inauguration Her dad proudly shared a photo of them posing together this afternoon. 'My darling Ella, we are such proud parents!' he wrote. 'We love you so much, and are very much looking forward to all you do in the future. And, to the other Class of 2021 graduates out there, huge congratulations!' Harris, whom Ella calls 'Momala,' later added: 'Congratulations to our daughter Ella on her graduation. I am so proud of you. Keep dreaming with ambition and there is nothing you cannot achieve.' Past Parsons graduates include Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, Anna Sui, Narciso Rodriguez, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, Isaac Mizrahi, Derek Lam, Prabal Gurung, and Jenna Lyons. Several other well-known people have taken courses there without obtaining degrees, including Nicky Hilton Rothschild, Bella Hadid, Sailor Brinkley Cook, Alexander Wang, Donna Karan, and Jason Wu. Advertisement There is a new First Lady in town. Despite, at 33, being the youngest spouse at the G7 summit next week and surely the most recently married, having only sealed the deal with Boris at the weekend the new Mrs Johnsons choice of outfits delivered to No 10 yesterday shows a level of intent beyond her years and experience. The dresses she is believed to be picking to pack in tissue for her world-stage debut in Cornwall demonstrate that Carrie fully intends to take over from the Duchess of Cambridge as the best-dressed advertisement for Team GB you are ever likely to meet. Because Carrie hasnt just chosen some of Kates most beloved labels L.K. Bennett, Alessandra Rich, The Vampires Wife (Kate wore an emerald version of the metallic dress shown here). She has recently found the confidence to steal Kates silhouette: narrow and feminine with a high neckline, pouffy shoulders and a mid-calf-length skirt. In the bag: Delivery to No 10 yesterday. Clothes were seen wrapped in plastic as they were carried into the residence Several dresses - in a wide variety of prints - were seen being hauled out of the boot of a car before being carried into No 10 A red, black and white tartan garment along with what appears to be a brown coat were seen being carried out of the car It could all be a tad dour were it not for the high-end labels, pricey fabrics that wont crease and, of course, Carries youth. This sort of floral, floaty fashion only really suits the young. This is luxe boho. Etro is the Italian label beloved of ladies who lunch and is as far away from the buttoned-up, tailored two-pieces we can expect from the other First Ladies. Being this loose and this fluid takes buckets of confidence. Not only that, many of these pieces are (like Carries wedding gown) likely to be rented if our spies are right, two collections from dress hire companies My Wardrobe HQ and Hurr Collective were delivered on Wednesday and Thursday. Also, they are so unashamedly girly. Hell, one of the dresses is even patchwork, like something out of Little House On The Prairie, and shows how much Carrie wants to lighten the mood and have fun. Some might point out the absence of High Street stalwarts, but I applaud Carries refusal, knowing the eyes of the world will be upon her. There are a couple of questionable choices: Im not keen on the animal print. But everything else is vibrant and fresh. Carrie has always favoured colourful printed tea-dresses over trousers and skirt-suits: they put people at ease and belie the steel beneath. For Carrie has a job to do here, and an important one. A security officer was seen helping to carry some of the many clothing items into No 10 yesterday Weighed down: More dresses for Carrie While her husband (I wonder if she has got used to calling him that yet?) focuses on the main G7 talks, it will be Carries job to forge personal bonds with the leaders spouses. She will host a series of events to keep them entertained and occupied. Special attention will be paid to how well Mrs Johnson gets on with Jill Biden another G7 novice. Boris hopes the UKs treasured special relationship with the U.S. will help him secure a post-Brexit trade deal with Mr Biden soon. Id venture that Carrie didnt even call on a stylist to put this little lot together, so clear is she about the image she wants to put across and her job in hand. A printed dress is so easy to sling on that your brain is freed up for more important things. Only the Dolce is sleeveless, which means she will even be able to wave without fear of a less-than-flattering photo. Just like the princess she so clearly is. Here, we reveal how Carrie might look in outfits available and show the retail and hire prices . . . Left: Glitzy: The Vampires Wife falconetti metallic silk-blend maxi dress. Cost new: 1,595. Hire price: 136. Right: Prairie Princess: O Pioneers dolly dress. Cost new: 395. Hire price: 39 Left: Boho chic: Etro Pamela dress. Cost new: 2,300. Hire price: 142. Right: Toasty: L.K. Bennett Manon wool-blend coat. Cost new: 395. Hire price: 54 Left: Peachy keen: Stine Goya Judy tiered dress. Cost new: 575. Hire price: 65. Right: In the pink: L.K. Bennett Katie check midi. Cost new: 295. Hire price: 42 Left: Green credentials: Kiera silk dress, L.K. Bennett. Cost new: 450. Hire price: 60. Right: Check it out: Therese tweed, L.K. Bennett. Cost new: 325. Hire price: 46 Celebrity chef Adam Liaw has offered his top three tips for taking home cooking to the next level - including his 'dirty secret' behind the perfect winter dish. The cookbook author said traditional cooking is all about 'building umami' - a Japanese word to describe the savoury taste we experience when eating food. The 2010 MasterChef Australia winner said chefs use dozens of ingredients to boost the flavours of their dishes, including stock, miso, soy and fish sauces, chicken powder, mushrooms, cured meats or dried seafood. 'We treat it like it's a dirty secret,' Liaw told the Good Food. Australian celebrity chef Adam Liaw (pictured) has offered his top three tips for taking home cooking to the next level - including his 'dirty secret' umami To save time in the kitchen, the dad-of-three said he always cuts all his vegetables for a few days worth of cooking. 'Cooking feels like a chore because we try to do too much of it at once,' he said. When he's in the middle of whipping up a meal, Liaw said he can simply toss his prepped veggies into a pan or wok 'la minute'. To improve the flavours in your dish, Liaw suggested slow cooking over winter. 'Almost every bolognese in Australia could be improved by cooking it a little (or a lot) longer. I cook mine for about two hours,' he said. 'Stop trying to cram all of your "cooking" into the last minute. Use time to your advantage. You'll find when you're not rushing your food, it turns out better.' The 2010 MasterChef Australia winner said traditional cooking is all about 'building umami' - a Japanese word to describe the savoury taste we experience when eating food (pictured of Liaw's monkfruit soup with pork rib, daikon and carrot) Three ingredients every household should always keep in pantry Adam Liaw revealed the ingredients every household should always keep in the pantry amid coronavirus - including dried mushrooms, polenta and eggs. Liaw said dried mushrooms should be a staple in your pantry at all times. 'They add a big punch of umami and a meaty texture to dishes, and reconstituting them in water gives you an instant mushroom stock,' he told Good Food. For vegetarians or vegans, Liaw said dried shiitake is perfect for grating over pasta dishes. Liaw suggested keeping a few dozen eggs in the pantry if you do end up in isolation because you could create different savoury or sweet foods such as fried rice, cakes, omelette, boiled or scrambled eggs and even mayonnaise. 'Eggs are quite possibly the most versatile food in the world,' he said. Another ingredient he suggested is polenta, in which he described it as a 'very underrated apocalypse food'. 'What I like about it is that is that it's a different meal every day,' Liaw said, adding that polenta can be served as a hot porridge, baked, fried, or grilled. Advertisement His tips comes after Liaw offered his guide to home cooking - including meal planning, simple ingredient swaps, and using offcuts to prevent food wastage. The food writer said you can substitute a missing ingredient in your dish with other alternatives so you don't have to return to the supermarket - as millions of Australians stay at home to minimise the risk of spreading coronavirus. Whether you need a sweet, salty or sour ingredient, the MasterChef 2010 winner said you can recreate the flavours just from what you already have in the pantry. 'If you don't have sugar, use honey. If you run out of soy sauce, use a bit of salt. No lemon juice? Try vinegar instead,' Liaw said in a piece for The Good Food. Rather than stockpiling, Liaw said the best way to make the ingredients stretch further is to 'throw out less'. 'If you have some odds and ends of vegetables, chop them up and throw them into that quarantine bolognese. Turn bones and offcuts into stock,' he said. Liaw encouraged people to ignore 'use-by' and 'best before' dates - and instead use your nose to check whether the product has gone off. According to the Food Standards of Australia and New Zealand, most foods can be safely consumed after the best before dates but they may have lost some quality. Liaw said there are two distinct smells to avoid if you are sussing out foods that have just edged past its use-by or best-before dates. 'The first is putrefaction - the sour, disgusting and quite unmistakable smell of something that has gone off. Avoid,' he said. 'The second is rancidity. Rancid, oxidised oils have a waxy smell and while they might not make you sick immediately, they can be unpleasant tasting.' The British Medical Association has sparked fury by claiming walk-in GP appointments are not safe for patients because poor ventilation means they are at risk of Covid infection. Critics said continuing to consult patients over the phone or on Zoom would mean many more will be diagnosed later than normal, risking the worsening of serious conditions. Last month the NHS announced all patients have the right to see their family doctor in person. Officials had been intent on forcing people to speak to their GP on the phone or via online video chats in a 'total triage' system prior to the announcement but were forced into a U-turn after patient backlash. The new guidance means patients should now be able to visit their surgery to secure an appointment. But the BMA's GP committee is against the new guidance and its latest bulletin urges doctors to screen patients online and on the phone before seeing them. Professor Karol Sikora, a medical expert at the University of Buckingham and ex-director of the WHO's cancer programme, said the argument was 'madness'. 'It makes sense if the NHS is in crisis but the crisis has gone and we are dealing with the remains now,' he told MailOnline. The British Medical Association has urged GPs to screen patients online or on the phone before seeing them because of poor ventilation surgeries (stock image) 'The follow-up of patients online is perfectly acceptable, but seeing patients with new illnesses for the first time it seems risky to do it online, and no other country that I know of is doing this. 'You need to see someone for the first time to check them, there's no way you can examine them online. 'If you take my speciality, cancer, you are going to miss a lot more cancers earlier if they do appointments online and they will be diagnosed at a later stage if you switch to online practice.' Dr Jeanette Dickson, clinical oncologist and president of the Royal College of Radiologists, said: 'Patients need to be reassured that face-to-face GP assessments are available, easy to access and will happen quickly if they need them. 'Generally, patients should always be examined before a referral is made, and face-to-face consultations are best practice to both reassure patients and talk them through the possibility of a serious diagnosis. What was the previous guidance for GPs on about total triage? Patients should be remotely screened before being directed to the most appropriate health service for their problem, previous NHS guidance said. Doctors were told the system of 'total triage' must be embedded into general practice, despite the Royal College of GPs' reservations. The method was brought in during the pandemic and sees a person checked by phone, video or online, unless clinically appropriate. It came despite the RCGP saying patients must be able to access both remote and face-to-face doctor appointments in a post-Covid world. In a report, general practice leaders said while remote consultations should be an option, they must not become the 'automatic default' for GP care. Currently around half of consultations in general practice are being delivered face to face. Before the pandemic, some 70 per cent of appointments were face-to-face and 30 per cent were phone, video or online; but this switched to around 30 per cent face-to-face and 70 per cent remote during the crisis. The RCGP study pointed to benefits of online and phone care, including offering patients convenience and flexibility, which may suit people who struggle to take time off work or housebound patients. But it said remote consultations are better suited to more straightforward conditions or queries and where a physical examination is not required. More complex conditions or those of a sensitive nature are better suited to face-to-face appointments, it said. It added: 'In some cases, non-verbal or 'soft' cues such as signs of anxiety, self-harm, or smelling alcohol on a patient's breath, may be more easily missed remotely, or there may be concerns about a patient's safeguarding, capacity or confidentiality.' The report added: 'Every patient is likely to sit somewhere along a spectrum between needing remote and face-to-face care, and this will change according to their needs at any particular time and as symptoms or circumstances change.' The report warned that the long-term impact of greater use of remote care on the general practice workforce is currently unknown, with some GPs reporting 'that remote consultations can often be exhausting, leading to 'Zoom fatigue'. Advertisement 'However, assessment information can be gained via video calls and patient photos and urgent referrals can be made without a preceding face-to-face appointment and this happened even before the pandemic. 'An obvious instance where a face-to-face appointment would be beneficial is for the proper assessment of possible breast lumps. However, in some cases with symptoms such as coughing up blood or severe weight loss a hands-on clinical assessment is preferable, but a referral will often be made regardless of what is found on examination. 'Face-to-face appointments are especially useful in the case of hearing-impaired patients, those with English not as a first language, when providing reassurance about the safety of hospital attendance, and in order to better direct which service the patient should be referred to.' The BMA letter said: 'With social distancing and infection protection and control measures still necessary, patients should only receive a face-to-face appointment if they need one, not simply because they demand one. 'Many surgeries have restricted and unventilated reception areas and are not yet safe for patients to walk in without an assessment.' People with Covid symptoms have been turning up at practices for appointments, putting staff and other patients at risk, the letter said. It said practices are 'already working well beyond their safe limits' and it is 'not possible for practices to continue to deliver all that is expected of them'. The letter said: 'The simple truth is that within the constraints of limited resources, dwindling workforce numbers and infection control measures it is not possible for practices to continue to deliver all that is expected of them.' But patients rights organisations have said GPs have to move away from the 'them and us' characterisation of doctor-patient relationships and listen to the needs of patients. Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: 'It is clear that GPs have had to cope with immense pressures over the last year, so its no surprise practices feel overwhelmed. 'However, even with the efforts of practices and GPs, a significant number of patients have struggled to get the care they need. 'Both experiences are real, and we need to get away from a "them and us" type debate in which doctors complain about what patients "demand". 'We want to see doctors working with patients to meet their needs, not simply insisting that they know best and disregarding what patients tell them. 'Partnership working is the way out of this difficult moment. 'So its right that GPs should assess how their patients can be safely accommodated within their premises, and also right that they should provide the face-to-face appointments whose absence patients have so keenly felt.' Officials last month unveiled plans to fully embed a 'total triage' system, with patients asked to talk to a doctor on the phone or via video call before being allowed a face-to-face appointment. But health chiefs U-turned on the move which was brought in as a safety feature at the start of the Covid pandemic after critics hit out. NHS chiefs updated guidance to say all patients have the right to see their GP face-to-face first. But the moved sparked immediate backlash from BMA GPs, who said it was based on media backlash and not the 'needs of the profession'. Dr Richard Vautrey, the BMA GP committee England chairman, claimed the letter was 'the final straw for many hard-working GPs'. Despite the NHS saying its preference was for face-to-face care, GPs were told last week they would be going down the opposite route. Matt Hancock and health chiefs are keen to digitalise the NHS, with the Health Secretary last year embracing 'Zoom medicine' when he confirmed all consultations should be taken by phone or video call unless doctors decide they have to see a patient in person. But other family doctors hit out at the plans, with the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) calling for the idea of more remote consultations to be overhauled. RCGP chair Professor Martin Marshall told MailOnline that while GPs switching to more remote appointments in the early days of the pandemic was necessary for safety, he did not want to see the trend continue after the crisis is over. Professor Marshall said: 'Post-pandemic, the RCGP does not want to see general practice become a totally or even mostly remote service. 'Face to face consulting is an essential part of general practice, and when is it safe, it needs to be down to GP practices to be able to decide, in partnership with their patients, how they deliver services. 'Ideally, we want patients to have the choice as to how they want to access GP services based on their health needs and preferences.' It comes after MailOnline last month revealed there were more than 90million fewer face-to-face appointments carried out last year. NHS Digital statistics showed 147.85m in-person consultations happened between April 2020 and this March. This was down from the 238.26m during the same 12-month spell the year before. Critics slammed the damning numbers, with Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, Ms Power saying: 'Access to general practice is clearly extremely difficult for patients at the moment. 'The solution lies in ensuring patients get the care they need: it is not acceptable for the NHS to divert patients down routes that don't work well simply to relieve pressure on the system that's not a solution. 'Remote appointments, which in truth are mostly by phone rather than new online systems, should remain as an option for those who want them. She added: 'But face-to-face appointments with GPs must be restored as the default option.' Advertisement Twelve U.S. states have administered at least one coronavirus vaccine dose to 70 percent of their adult populations as officials attempt to ramp up the pace of shots. Nine of the states - Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont - are in the Northeast with just three states, California, Hawaii and New Mexico, in the west. Vermont and Hawaii currently lead the pack, giving an initial shot to 82.1 percent and 80.7 of residents, respectfully. At least six states, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Virginia and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia are close to crossing the threshold and are expected to do so within the next week. President Joe Biden has set a goal of giving 70 percent of American adults getting at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose by July 4. However, this has proven difficult with the number of daily vaccinations falling, decreasing from an average of three million per day in April to less than 1.5 million per day currently. When asked on Thursday how the administration planned to meet Biden's goal, CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky appeared to draw a blank and didn't give any specifics. Twelve U.S. states - California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont have administered at least one coronavirus vaccine dose to 70% of their adult populations President Joe Biden has set a goal of giving 70% of American adults at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose by July 4, but vaccinations have fallen from an average of three million per day in April to less than 1.5 million per day According to CDC data, 62.9 percent of all U.S. adults have received at least an initial dose of the inoculation and 51.9 percent are fully vaccinated. However, this is still short of Biden's goal of 70 percent and the administration has been trying to motivate more Americans to get vaccinated. To get the nearly 15 million more Americans to roll up their sleeves, Biden announced incentives including free Anheuser-Busch beer for 200,000 people and even a visit to the White House. Additionally, pharmacies that have teamed up with the White House will be open for 24 hours on Friday and centers will be offering free childcare for parents TODAY host Savannah Guthrie asked Walensky if the current pace of vaccinations is enough to hit the president's target or if a push is need to increase the daily numbers. The CDC director appeared to side-step the question, saying that she anticipates the incentives will 'meet [people] where they are' by providing people with more information and access to shots. Every shot in every arm is a win because that person is now safe and protected from getting COVID-19. -@CDCDirector Rochelle Walensky pic.twitter.com/5O79V6ngt6 TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 3, 2021 CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky could not answer questions Thursday about how the U.S. would meet this threshold, instead replying that 'every shot in the arm is a win' 'I think that any singular day's counts of how many vaccines we're doing is not necessarily reflective. We've launched this push now. We anticipate we'll be able to reach more and more people,' she answered. 'Every shot in every arm is a win because that person is now safe and protected from getting COVID-19.' Guthrie also asked if the 70 percent benchmark is a goal for political purposes or if there is a public health threshold. 'We know that the more and more people that get one vaccine and then two - get fully vaccinated - the more we as a nation are protected,' Walensky said. 'We know that the vaccine not only protects individuals, it protects communities, it protects their families. And so the more people who get vaccines...there is no magic target for herd immunity.' On Sunday, the U.S. recorded 16,913 new infections, with a seven-day rolling average of 16,265, which is the lowest figure recorded since March 30 A total of 610 coronavirus deaths were also reported on Wednesday, with a seven-day rolling average currently sits at about 553 deaths per day, which makes it two months since the average has been a four-digit figure It comes as coronavirus cases and deaths continue to plummet across the United States, reaching lows not seen in at least a year. On Wednesday, the U.S. recorded 16,913 new infections, with a seven-day rolling average of 16,265, which is the lowest figure recorded since March 30, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of Johns Hopkins University data. The rate of new infections is currently 7.9 cases per 100,000, markedly lower from one month ago when cases averaged about 18 per 100,000 on April 23. A total of 610 coronavirus deaths were also reported on Wednesday, marking the sixth day in a row that fatalities have been below 1,000. The seven-day rolling average currently sits at about 553 deaths per day, which makes it two months since the average has been a four-digit figure. AstraZeneca is in talks with the U.S. government to shift production of its COVID-19 vaccine from a troubled Baltimore plant to a new one in New Jersey. The pharmaceutical company has been looking for a new site ever since workers at Emergent BioSolutions ruined millions of doses of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine with an ingredient intended for the AstraZeneca vaccine. The facility was forced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to stop producing all vaccines after the screw-up. The new plant, also in Maryland, is run by Catalent - a New Jersey-based company - and already makes AstraZeneca vaccines for other countries, first reported by The New York Times. Because the AstraZeneca vaccine is not authorized for use in the U.S., doses produced at this plant will likely be sent abroad to aid the international vaccination effort. On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced a shipment of 25 million doses worldwide, though this won't include AstraZeneca doses. The federal government is in talks with AstraZeneca to move its production out of a plant that ruined millions of vaccine doses earlier this spring In April, the FDA ordered Emergent's Baltimore facility to stop manufacturing - and vaccine makers are still dealing with the fallout. The Baltimore facility, run by Emergent BioSolutions, had been making both J&J and AstraZeneca shots. An error at the plant led AstraZeneca ingredients to contaminate J&J doses - ruining 15 million doses. At the time, J&J drew attention for falling behind on its commitments to provide the U.S. with vaccines. But the mix-up and subsequent shutdown impacted AstraZeneca, too. AstraZeneca was 'temporarily unable to produce its vaccine for the government,' according to The Times. In order to improve AstraZeneca's production, the U.S. government is now renegotiating the manufacturer's contract. The contract shift will likely move production from Emergent to Catalent, a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company. Catalent already makes some AstraZeneca shots at a factory in Maryland - though these shots are sent out to international destinations. The company is in talks to retrofit a production line to also make vaccines for the U.S., The Times reported. The potential timeline for this switch isn't yet known, but federal officials estimate that Catalent could make 25 to 35 million AstraZeneca doses a month for the U.S. - effectively replacing Emergent in its commitment to provide vaccines. Emergent BioSolutions will be making fewer AstraZeneca vaccines if production moves The AstraZeneca vaccine is one of the most widely used vaccines around the world with millions of doses on track to supply the European Union, India, COVAX, and others. This vaccine is seen as especially crucial for COVAX - the global effort to vaccinate lower-income countries - because it is easier to store and distribute than Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines. In the U.S., however, AstraZeneca hasn't even applied for emergency use authorization with the FDA. The vaccine may be considered unnecessary in America's vaccination effort as the country has plenty of Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J supplies to meet national inoculation targets. Additionally, some Americans may be hesitant to use AstraZeneca. The vaccine has been shown to cause blood clots, in very rare cases - similar to the side effect that led to a pause in Johnson & Johnson use last month. As a result, AstraZeneca doses produced for the U.S. government are still likely to be sent abroad. The U.S. is vaccinating over a million people a day - and it likely won't need AstraZeneca shots Over half of the population has received at least one vaccine dose The Biden administration has committed to aiding the global vaccination effort in recent weeks, with promises to send extra doses to COVAX and other countries. On Thursday, Biden announced destinations for the first 25 million doses to be sent abroad. Of those 25 million, 19 million doses are going to COVAX. In June, the administration has promised to send out 80 million doses in total. These initial dose batches will be Pfizer, Moderna, or J&J because the FDA is still reviewing AstraZeneca doses produced at the Emergent plant. However, future international shipments will likely be AstraZeneca-heavy because the U.S. is unlikely to need those vaccines. Still, some federal officials say the AstraZeneca doses may be useful in the U.S. if the company does apply for authorization. Recent trials have shown AstraZeneca's vaccine can be effective when used along with Pfizer in a mix-and-match regimen - it may be used in the U.S. for booster shots later in the rollout. Half of the U.S. population has received at least one vaccine dose, as of June 2. This includes more than 60 percent of adults and 86 percent of seniors who have received at least one dose. Schizophrenia patients - especially young adults - are at a greater risk of committing suicide, a new study suggests. Researchers at Columbia University and Rutgers University found that adults with schizophrenia have a suicide rate 4.5 times higher than the general U.S. population. Adults in the 18-34 age group had the highest suicide rate. Rates were also higher for men and for patients with other mental health conditions. The team says understanding these vulnerable characteristics will allow mental health advocates to better treat schizophrenia patients and prevent unnecessary deaths. Suicide risk is dramatically higher for younger schizophrenia patients, a recent study finds WHAT IS SCHIZOPHRENIA? Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. People with schizophrenia may seem like they have lost touch with reality. The cause of schizophrenia is not understood and it is believed to be a mix of genetics (hereditary), abnormalities in brain chemistry and/or possible viral infections and immune disorders. Symptoms of schizophrenia usually begin between ages 16 and 30. In rare cases, children have schizophrenia too. The symptoms of schizophrenia fall into three categories: positive, negative, and cognitive. Positive symptoms are disturbances that are 'added' to the person's personality and include: Hallucinations Delusions Thought disorders (unusual or dysfunctional ways of thinking) Negative symptoms are capabilities that are 'lost' from the person's personality and include: 'Flat affect' (reduced expression of emotions via facial expression or voice tone) Reduced feelings of pleasure in everyday life Difficultly beginning and sustaining activities Cognitive symptoms are changes in their memory or other aspects of thinking and include: Trouble focusing or paying attention Problems with 'working memory' Poor ability to understand information and use it to make decisions Figures suggest around one percent of the world population suffers from schizophrenia with around two million in the US. Source: National Institute of Mental Health Advertisement Mental health conditions such as depression and substance abuse are well known to be connected to a higher risk of suicide. Almost half of those who die by suicide had a known mental health condition, the National Alliance on Mental Illness reports. Other risk factors include a family history of suicide, history of trauma or abuse, access to firearms, and prolonged stress. Those who suffer from schizophrenia are particularly at risk - suicide is a leading cause of death among these patients. Schizophrenia, as described by the National Institute of Mental Health, is a serious condition that impacts how someone thinks, feels, and behaves. Patients may suffer from psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions, loss of motivation, and difficulty focusing or processing information. A new study provides more detailed information on the suicide risks for schizophrenia patients. Researchers analyzed data on almost 670,000 patients with schizophrenia who have health insurance through Medicare. The Medicare database included anonymized information on patients from across the country. In addition to seniors, Medicare covers younger patients with disabilities - an estimated 46 percent of U.S. adults with schizophrenia get insurance through this program. The researchers found an overall suicide rate of 74 deaths for every 100,000 person-years - referring to the number of years of schizophrenia patients' life reflected in the analysis. This rate is 4.5 times higher than the suicide rate in the U.S. population. But for younger schizophrenia patients, the rate is even higher. In the 18 to 34 age group, there were 154 suicides for every 100,000 person-years - twice as high as the rate for schizophrenia patients overall. As patients got older, their suicide risk declined. The oldest age group, over age 65, had a rate of 24 suicides for every 100,000 years. In their paper - published in the Journal of the American Medical Association - the authors suggest that this trend may be because, as they get older, schizophrenia patients learn to live with their symptoms. Older patients may also have received decades of treatment, and may see general mental health improvement. The researchers provide a depressing caveat, though: 'survivor bias' also contributes to this trend. Those seniors with schizophrenia have survived high mortality risks from suicide and other causes earlier in their lives - and now represent those luckier patients who made it to old age. Older patients may benefit from years of treatment and improved mental health Men with schizophrenia have a higher suicide rate than women - 89 deaths for every 100,000 person-years, compared to 56. White patients have a higher suicide rate compared with black and Hispanic patients. White men are considered to have the highest suicide risk of any demographic - this is true broadly as well as for schizophrenia patients. The researchers also noted higher suicide rates for patients with other mental health conditions: depression, anxiety, drug use, and sleep disorders. The highest rate by far, though, was for those schizophrenia patients with a history of suicide attempts or self injuries - a rate more than 500 deaths for every 100,000 person-years. Still, the family and friends of a schizophrenia patient often may not get a warning. 'When a person with schizophrenia is becoming suicidal, an attempt can happen with little warning,' said Dr Mark Olfson, professor of psychiatry at Columbia and lead author of the study, in a statement. 'Often, suicidal behavior in schizophrenia is driven by psychotic processes. This aspect can make it difficult to anticipate and prevent.' 'Knowing more about which age groups and what personal characteristics are linked to higher risk could increase attention and support for the most vulnerable patients,' Olfson said. Valuable as this study may be for shaping treatment programs, it's important to note that the researchers only looked at those patients covered by Medicare. Many adults with schizophrenia may be going untreated or may not have health insurance - especially those younger adults who are at the highest risk. More accessible healthcare - enabling patients to get diagnosed and begin treatment - may be a key step in preventing suicides for schizophrenia patients. A coronavirus mutation that first cropped up in the nation of Nepal has been detected in the U.S, one health expert claims. Known as Delta+K417N, the alleged strain is said to combine mutations from the Indian and South African variants. This means that, like the Indian variant, it is more transmissible and, like the South African variant, it is more evasive of COVID-19 vaccines. It has been suggested that the variant could have been spread by climbers ascending Mount Everest, after at least 100 cases were reported at base camp. According to Dr Jeff Barrett, director of the COVID-19 Genomics Initiative at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in the UK, at least one case has been found in America. What's more, cases have also been identified in India, Japan, Portugal and the UK. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not confirmed whether or not infections have been detected in the U.S. and the World Health Organization (WHO) says it 'not aware' of any new variant from Nepal Infectious disease experts told DailyMail.com they have heard rumors about this variant - but cannot confirm its existence - and that it could have the potential to cause serious harm among the unvaccinated population. A health expert says a variant of the coronavirus has emerged in Nepal, with at least one confirmed case in the US It is said to be closely related to the Indian variant and South African variant, meaning it is more transmissible and could evade vaccines more easily. Pictured: Health workers carry Ramjee Kunwar, 65, a Covid patient from a helicopter to an ambulance after being airlifted from Pokhara to Kathmandu The first report of the Nepalese mutation of the virus was announced in the UK during a press conference on Thursday. It came as Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps said Portugal was being moved from the UK's green list - requiring no quarantine upon return - to the amber list, requiring passengers to quarantine for ten days on return. 'I want to be straight with people, it's actually a difficult decision to make, but in the end we've seen two things really which caused concern,' he said. 'One is the positivity rate has nearly doubled since the last review in Portugal and the other is there's a sort of Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant which has been detected and we just don't know the potential for that to be vaccine-defeating mutation.' According to Public Health England (PHE), the new strain is a version of the Indian variant which has acquired new mutations. PHE's weekly report found the variant had been spotted 43 times in Britain so far, up from the 29 last week Dr Peter Chin-Hong, a professor of medicine and infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, says he has only heard 'rumors of this variant' and is not sure if the mutation actually exists. He said if cases do emerge in the U.S, he fears the worst. 'The biggest fear I have in terms of action, is that it said to have a feature of increased transmissibility and a superpower of vaccine evasion,' he told DailyMail.com. 'So, because it is said to be related to Indian variant, it could be one of the most transmissible variant we know about plus one of most vaccine evasive we know about. 'It has the potential to cause real harm to the unvaccinated population.' According to Barrett, 13 samples were found among passengers on flights from Nepal to Japan, leading some to believe they were infected during climbs on Mount Everest. Dr Stuart Ray, a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins, also said he can't confirm cases of the Nepal variant, but told DailyMail.com that transmission during a climb is possible. 'I would worry about all the crowded tents that people traveled through on the way up there,' he said. 'It's plausible that places like that could be the transmission site.' Dr Ali Mokdad, an epidemiologist with the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation - who said he hasn't been able to confirm cases of a Nepalese variant either - agrees. 'The virus mutates when people come close together,' he told DailyMail.com. 'No one climbs unless they are healthy and have good lungs so they're healthy, strong, will get infect asymptomatically and spread it.' None of the doctors that DailyMail.com spoke to say they can confirm there is such a variant either from genomes updated to a database or from health organization reports and say their responses are purely based on hypothetical scenarios. Khatmandu has allowed thousands of climbers into the country for Everest season this spring and at least 100 cases were reported at base camp. At the same time, COVID-19 cases have been soaring across Nepal driven by the devastating second wave in neighboring India. 'We also know the subcontinent is awash with COVID right now,' Ray said, speaking about the cases of the confirmed Indian variant. 'There are a lot of crowded places within hundreds of miles of there. So the subcontinent is place I would be very cautious.' Nepal's Covid cases peaked at more than 9,000 a day on May 12, before dropping to 4,500 (307.6 cases per million people to 174.5 per million). The new variant believed to be linked to Nepal, is thought to have emerged over the last few months Nepal's Covid death rate peaked at an average of 200 per day on May 19, before falling to 100 on June 2(6.89 deaths per million people to 3.48 per million) The World Health Organization said it was 'not aware' of any new strain circulating in Nepal The thirteen cases in Japan were spotted during hotel quarantine after the individuals returned from Nepal. Japanese have also spotted one further infection that was not linked to the group. Only one case of the variant has been recorded in Nepal so far, but the country carries out very little surveillance for mutant strains. The UK has Nepal and India on its 'red' list, while the US, Japan and Portugal are on the 'amber' list. What do we know about the 'Nepal variant'? Real name: Delta+K417N When and where was it discovered? The mutant strain is thought to have first emerged in Nepal after the Indian variant mutated. Scientists believe the country is the most likely origin of the virus because of its similarities to the Indian variant, and the detection of so many cases on flights from the Himalayan nation. Only one case has been identified in Nepal, but the country carries out very little Covid surveillance. What mutations does it have? The variant is a mutated version of the Indian variant but with a new mutation called K417N which has also been spotted on the South African variant. Is it more infectious and can it evade vaccines? There are no studies at present showing whether it is more infectious or can evade vaccines compared to other variants. But scientists fear it has combined the worst features of the the Indian and South African variants, making it more transmissible and more resistant to vaccines. Some experts have warned, however, that Britain must stop 'scampering down rabbit holes' every time a new variant is detected. Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University, said: 'We need to change our attitude to variants and not panic every time a new variant is identified. 'Virus variants are generated by every one who is infected and this will continue as more people are infected around the world.' How deadly is it? It is not clear whether the mutant strain is more deadly, but it is being watched closely by scientists. Studies suggest the Indian variant is not more deadly than the original virus. How many cases have been detected in the UK? Forty-three cases have been identified in the country, PHE's surveillance report from last week shows. The number is now thought to be higher. The variant had arrived on British soil by April 24, sequencing data suggests. Advertisement Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at Reading University, told MailOnline it was 'entirely possible' the mutant strain was being spread by travelers. 'Anywhere travelers go is a likely source of transmission across the world,' he said. 'It seems to me that the Himalayan region is for Nepal is a tourism hotspot.' Covid outbreaks have been reported at the base camp for Mount Everest - the highest mountain in the world - with at least 100 climbers and guides testing positive last month. Visitors told the Telegraph there were almost daily evacuations from the camp of people who had caught the virus. And Austrian Lukas Furtenbach - who takes tour groups to the mountain - said he could hear people coughing in their tents, and saw others who looked unwell. The outbreak at the mountain coincided with Nepal's second wave of the pandemic, which struck in May and was driven by the Indian variant. Nepal gave out about 300 licenses to climb the mountain this year, with visitors told to self-isolate for three days and take a Covid test before arriving at base camp. But tour operators say enforcement of the rules has been lax, and only around half of the 43 groups visiting the mountain were tested for the virus. There have been no confirmed cases of the new variant linked to Mount Everest, but there is little Covid surveillance in Nepal. Britain's public health authorities do not normally detail which country a traveller infected with Covid has arrived from. Mount Everest was so popular in 2019 that tourists had to queue along the final stretch in order to reach the peak. Tourism to the mountain is a major source of revenue for local authorities. . 'There have been 91 sequences observed of the (new variant), with an additional mutation: K417N,' Barrett said. 'This mutation is present in B.1.351 / Beta, and is believed to be part of why that variant is less well neutralised by vaccines. 'Because of this possibility, and because Delta appears more transmissible than Beta, scientists are monitoring it carefully. 'This Delta+K417N has been seen in numerous countries, including the UK, Portugal, the USA, and India. 'It has also been observed once in Nepal (which does very little sequencing), and 14 times in Japan, of which 13 are samples from airport quarantine from travellers from Nepal.' A member of the UK Government's SAGE committee said last night officials should not be overly concerned. He added: 'There are thousands of variants. This is a virus that is changing all the time.' And Tory peer Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, chairman of the Airport Operators' Association, said: 'How many more variants have we got to be worried about? What matters is data and the success of our vaccination programme.' Twelve more lives were also lost to the virus today rising a third on last Wednesday's figure after yesterday's recording of zero bolstered calls for No10 to stick with its roadmap Covid cases jumped by more than 36 per cent in a week today, the eighth day in a row they have been above 3,000 and the second day in less than a week they have reached more than 4,000 The Indian variant appears to be prone to mutating and there are already three versions of it. The B.1.617.2 variant is currently dominant in the UK - accounting for roughly three in four cases - and appears to be the most transmissible. Vaccines are highly effective against it, PHE's analysis has shown, with a similar efficacy against symptomatic illness as the Kent strain following two doses. GRANT SHAPPS STRIPS PORTUGAL OFF THE UK'S 'GREEN LIST' Holidaymakers suffered a hammer blow today as Portugal was removed from the UK's green list with Grant Shapps citing fears over the spread of the Nepal variant. In a brutal overhaul, the only major tourist destination in the lowest bracket is being axed from 4am Tuesday - with sources suggesting the new strain identified in the country was a significant factor in the decision. No countries are being added to the 'green list', dashing hopes that places such as Malta, Jamaica and Grenada could be added to the roster. And more countries are being put on the 'red list' that means returning travellers must go into quarantine hotels. They are Egypt, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Bahrain, Sudan, Trinidad and Tobago and Afghanistan. Grant Shapps revealed Portugal was to be removed from the 'green' list Transport Secretary Mr Shapps said there had been a rise in test positivity in Portugal, and also pointed to the danger that the coronavirus variant linked to Nepal could pose a fresh threat to the escape from lockdown. 'I want to be straight with people, it's actually a difficult decision to make, but in the end we've seen two things really which caused concern,' he said. 'One is the positivity rate has nearly doubled since the last review in Portugal and the other is there's a sort of Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant which has been detected and we just don't know the potential for that to be a vaccine-defeating mutation, and simply don't want to take the risk as we come up to June 21 and the review of the fourth stage of the unlock.' At least 20 cases of the strain, which combines mutations from the Indian and South African versions, have been spotted in the UK. And a case has been identified in Portugal - which does far less genomic screening than Britain. The decision sparked fury from the travel industry, while Portuguese MP for the Algarve Cristovao Norte branded it 'unfair' and 'overly cautious'. Meanwhile, Labour has renewed demands for the 'amber list' to be scrapped to prevent mutant strains from being imported. And in another setback for travellers the EU has again delayed a decision on whether the UK will be added to its 'white list' of safe countries from which leisure travel is welcome. Advertisement Experts have called for calm, saying new variants emerging is part of the evolution of viruses. Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University, called for calm over new variants. He told MailOnline: 'We need to change our attitude to variants and not panic every time a new variant is identified. 'Virus variants are generated by every one who is infected and this will continue as more people are infected around the world. 'The more the virus replicates in more people the greater the likelihood that variants will be generated that could be more infectious and also more resistant to current vaccines. 'Vaccination significantly reduces the risk of infection and will prevent new variants from being generated.' Dr Clarke echoed those comments. He told this website: 'Over the next few years we're going to keep getting variants cropping up over the next few years and people are going to worry about their sensitivity to vaccines. 'But the truth is the weakening of vaccines will be incremental and no one single variant will blow them out of the water. So I think we're probably being a bit over-cautious.' Last night, even government advisers said the UK could not keep panicking every time a new variant emerges. Professor Sir John Bell said ministers should avoid 'scampering down a rabbit hole' when new strains are detected, and instead focus on hospitalisations, serious disease and deaths. The WHO said in a tweet on Thursday that it 'is not aware of any new variant of SARS-CoV-2 being detected in Nepal'. 'The three confirmed variants in circulation are: Alpha (B.1.1.7), Delta (B.1.617.2) and Kappa (B.1.617.1). The predominant variant currently in circulation in Nepal is Delta (B.1.617.2).' Nepal's health minister Mr Tripathi told CNN that media reports about the new Covid variant were 'completely false'. Hospitals in Nepal are on the brink of collapse after cases of Covid surged over the past month. Cases had fallen to fewer than 100 a day in March but reached more than 9,000 a day in mid-May. Nepal's second wave has been driven by the spread of the B.1.167 variant from neighboring India. But last night scientists warned that another variant of Covid-19 has since been identified. Concern among ministers about the strain is one of the main reasons for not putting more holiday destinations on the UK's updated green list. They are also concerned about the slower pace of the vaccine rollout across Europe. Even though cases are falling in many European countries, they are far behind Britain's vaccine drive. A lack of genome sequencing for detecting new variants in some European countries, a key criteria for making the green list, is also a concern. After meeting the UK's ambassador to Spain yesterday, Spanish hospitality official Antonio Mayor said: 'The impression I was left with was that there was a good chance the Balearic Islands could be included on the next green list, but not necessarily the Canary Islands. 'What was made clear at the meeting is that mainland Spain is not going to be put on the next green list that's announced. 'We hope it will be before but we're looking now at July 20 as the sort of date when things might change. If that does happen the tour operators are going to need at least a fortnight to normalize operations which takes us into the start of August.' Last night, MPs and industry expressed alarm at the prospect of foreign summer holidays slipping away. Tory MP Henry Smith, chairman of the all-party Future of Aviation group of MPs, and whose constituency includes Gatwick, said: 'After a devastating year for our aviation, travel and tourism industries, this will come as a hammer blow to an industry that is close to breaking point. 'Far from benefiting from a vaccine dividend, this reinforces that our overly cautious approach to international travel is a restart in name only. 'We must ensure that we avoid a summer shutdown that will cause irreversible damage to businesses and communities who rely on international travel.' LIFESTYLE IF IN DOUBT, WASH YOUR HAIR by Anya Hindmarch (Bloomsbury 18.99, 256 pp) Anya Hindmarch has always had a genius for keeping her finger on the pulse of the global zeitgeist. Over the past decade, her top-selling item has shifted smoothly from the Im Not A Plastic Bag (a canvas tote to signal ones anti-plastic credentials) to her current I Am A Plastic Bag (made from 32 recycled plastic water bottles, signalling ones keep-plastic-out-of-landfill credentials). When she launched Im Not A Plastic Bag in 2007, there was a stampede outside her store in Taipei, Taiwan, and 30 people ended up in hospital. Anya Hindmarch, 52, (pictured) shares her advice for running a successful business and being happy in a memoir The I Am A Plastic Bag project, which was launched in 2020, was my husbands idea, even though it pains me to admit it, Hindmarch, 52, writes in this honest memoir, which also gives us tips on how to run a business and (just as tricky) how to be happy. Her top piece of advice for happiness came from a nun at her convent school: If you accept that you will never be satisfied, then you will be very happy indeed. This was the gutsy, dyslexic but highly visually minded girl who, on holiday in Italy aged 19, spotted a bag she liked and asked an Italian factory to make up samples of it. She then persuaded Harpers & Queen to sell the bags as their monthly offer. They sold 500 and she made a profit of 7,000. Aged 28, she married James Seymour, whose wife had recently died leaving him with three children under the age of four. Anya took them on with limitless maternal love, and had two more sons with James, who is now the financial director of her business. The couple seem blissfully happy in spite of his love of socialising and her deep need for free weekends. The rather unambitious title, If In Doubt, Wash Your Hair, is Hindmarchs top piece of advice for the busy woman: It sums up how much better I feel about myself how much more confident, how much glintier-eyed, how much better able to cope and respond if I have freshly washed hair. IF IN DOUBT, WASH YOUR HAIR by Anya Hindmarch (Bloomsbury 18.99, 256 pp) For such a successful businesswoman, it seems surprising that Hindmarch ever suffers much doubt, but she admits that with every new project she has ever launched, her cycle of emotion has been: I love it Im nervous Im bored of it its really hard I hate it actually I really hate it I hate myself, then climbing gradually back to I love it again. She quotes a chilling piece of advice given to her by adman Nick Hurrell of M&C Saatchi: Every time that you leave the office at night, you should mentally fire yourself, and then in the morning come back as your successor. Hindmarch could be said to have taken that advice to its extreme: in 2011 she sold a large chunk of the business, then in 2019 she bought it back again. That was one of the scariest and hardest things Ive ever done, she writes. But I like to be in charge. I like the pressure. The fun of her working life, at its best, among her team of loyal colleagues, dances off every page. None of her success seems to have gone to her head and the self-doubt never goes away, hence the constant hair-washing. In fact, the self-doubt comes across as a vital, piquant ingredient in her drive to succeed. HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY by Matthew Oates (Bloomsbury 12.99, 416 pp) HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY by Matthew Oates (Bloomsbury 12.99, 416 pp) Incredibly, only one person has died in pursuit of the Purple Emperor in Britain, writes the naturalist and poet Matthew Oates in his exuberant natural history. First recorded in Britain in 1710, the Purple Emperor has been an object of obsession: Victorian butterfly enthusiasts would go to bizarre (and even fatal) lengths to capture one. Oates has been obsessed with butterflies since he was a schoolboy, and now devotes his time to ensuring the future of Britains most magnificent species. His captivating account of this mysterious, elusive, ebullient, enthralling and highly amusing insect concludes on a positive note: although its numbers have been in decline, the Purple Emperor is now making a welcome comeback. SEX AND VANITY by Kevin Kwan (Cornerstone 8.99, 368 pp) SEX AND VANITY by Kevin Kwan (Cornerstone 8.99, 368 pp) Nineteen-year-old Lucie Tang Churchill has been invited to the wedding of the year a marriage between her childhood friend, Taiwanese heiress Issie Chiu, and an Italian aristocrat, Adolfo De Vecchi, on the island of Capri. The only downside is that Lucie is chaperoned by her cousin, Charlotte, who is nicknamed Madame Buzzkill. No sooner have they arrived than Charlotte is complaining vociferously about the lack of a sea view from their luxurious hotel rooms. She is overheard by a gloriously vulgar fellow guest, Rosemary Zao, who insists that Lucie and Charlotte take over her sea-view suites. A homage to E.M. Forsters novel A Room With A View, Kevin Kwans witty, frothy and entirely delectable romcom is a sharp but affectionate satire on the luxurious lives of the international smart set. LOVE LOVE by Roddy Doyle (Vintage 8.99, 336pp) by Roddy Doyle (Vintage 8.99, 336pp) For Davy and Joe, a tour of the bars of Dublin becomes a night of memory, confession and the rediscovery of old friendship. In their 20s, the two spent many nights like this, drinking, talking, trying to get off with women. But then they both got married, Davy moved to England, and the friendship dwindled to occasional meetings. On this particular evening, both men are in the midst of life-changing events. A year ago, Joe ran into Jessica, a woman with whom both he and Davy were in love decades ago. That encounter has changed his life in ways that he can hardly explain: There is a reason why men dont talk about their feelings, he says. The words arent really there. But Roddy Doyle finds the words in this tender, funny novel about love, loss and male friendship. Anyone who thought the social media excitement around Gamestop was a one-off and the interest of millennials and Gen-Z investors taking on the might of Wall Street would fizzle out has been proved wrong. The last few days have seen amazing gyrations in the shares of movie chain AMC, one of the meme stocks widely touted on Reddit. Last year, with cinemas closed, AMC was all but bankrupt. This week the shares were in the stratosphere, with a valuation of $30billion (21.4billion) after the chain offered investors free buckets of popcorn when they go to the movies. Showtime: The last few days have seen amazing gyrations in the shares of movie chain AMC, one of the meme stocks widely touted on Reddit It may all be just fun to social media investors, but AMCs management has taken advantage of the share price surge by announcing it is going to sell 11.55m of its shares on the open market in a do-it-yourself rights issue. The stock tumbled 8 per cent from its highs with chief executive Adam Aron cleverly using the situation to bolster stretched finances. Last week Aron sold a $230million stake in the company to hedge fund Mudrick Capital Management which took an immediate profit when it sold the shares back into the market at a premium in this weeks trading. The disrupters taking on the powers of Wall Street have effectively assisted AMC out of a financial hole and enriched the very capitalists who they were seeking to punish. Most companies might not welcome the arrival of a rabble of 3m private investors, brought aboard as a result of social media posts, buying shares through no-commission broker Robin Hood. But Aron has greeted the new shareholders by talking to them directly on favoured sites. The AMC situation is also breathing life into London-quoted Cineworld, where three quarters of pre-Covid revenues came from its US chain of Regal cinemas. Broker Jefferies says Cineworld is now its top leisure pick. The shares plummeted to just 24.76p in October 2020 and are currently trading at 95.5p. As stored new releases flood on to the silver screens, it expects Cineworld shares to rise by as much as 50 per cent. Its fascinating how serious players are taking their lead from slick neophyte investors. But one cant help but feel that Reddit, crypto-currencies, Spacs and recent tech float valuations are all part of the same phenomenon created by the global central banks. There is too much money chasing too few reliable investment opportunities. Deep waters Pennon, which owns South West Water, is often overlooked as it dives in and out of the FTSE. The all-women team at the top of chair-man Gill Rider and chief executive Susan Davy is reshaping the group by refocusing on core water supply. The board disposed of waste company Viridor for 4.2billion to private equity princelings KKR in March 2020. Pennon is now splashing the cash. It is buying neighbour Bristol Water for 814million including debt. And it is holding on to a small fighting fund for future acquisitions. Preferably it wants to buy contiguous water providers but does not rule out looking further afield. Pennon is using some of the money sloshing around to pay back 1.1billion of debt. It is also proposing to pay a special dividend of 1.5billion to shareholders and to organise 400million of share buybacks. That is terrific for investors, who generally buy stock in utilities for predictable returns rather than one-off payouts. The company famously bought some goodwill from customers with its offer last October of 20 worth of free Pennon shares. Nevertheless, given that the group is cash rich and South West Water bills historically have been higher than other suppliers, customers might feel aggrieved that the distribution of resources was not more evenly shared among all stakeholders. No change there then. Discount rate Amid the myriad of retail private equity-backed companies which gone wrong, B&M stands out as a great success story. It generated a 108.5 per cent jump in pre-tax profits in a pandemic year to 525.4million. It was the moment when middle-class former M&S customers transferred their loyalty to the cheap-as-chips stores in droves. When it went public, B&M founders the Arora brothers took flak for the offshore tax arrangements put in place alongside backers Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. We are assured that all that is over and dividends and other payouts are taxed in the usual way by HMRC. Just as it should be. Tesco faces a 2.5billion bill after Europe's top court backed thousands of shop floor workers in a mammoth equal pay lawsuit. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that an EU law could be used in an employment tribunal being brought against Britain's biggest grocer. The store staff who are mostly women have accused Tesco of paying them up to 3-an-hour less than the company's warehouse workers, who are mostly men. Tesco store staff who are mostly women have accused the supermarket chain of paying them up to 3-an-hour less than the company's warehouse workers, who are mostly men The 6,000 workers in the case argue their work is of equal value and that the differences in their rates is sexist breaching UK and EU laws. The ECJ's landmark decision could trigger back pay claims of more than 2.5billion for as many as 25,000 female workers, who might be owed compensation for being underpaid for at least seven years. Tesco's equal pay case is the latest in a string of lawsuits dubbed 'Made in Dagenham for the 21st century' in reference to the film about strikes by women at the Ford factory in the 1960s. In March, the Supreme Court ruled that lower-paid staff who work on the shop floor at Asda can compare themselves with higher-paid workers in warehouses. It was widely expected that the Supreme Court's ruling could have a knock-on effect for other cases and the ECJ decision could too. Costly: Tesco chief exec Ken Murphy. The grocer has insisted the difference in pay had nothing to do with gender There are similar equal pay claims against the likes of Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Co-op. It is thought the industry could be facing a bill of 10billion from a string of claims. Pam Jenkins, who works at Tesco, said: 'To get a judgment confirming shop floor workers can use an easier legal test to compare their jobs to male colleagues in distribution is uplifting. I've always been proud to work at Tesco, but knowing that male colleagues working in distribution centres are being paid more is demoralising. 'I'm hopeful that Tesco will recognise the contribution shop floor workers make to the business and reflect that in our pay.' Tesco and the law firm Leigh Day, which represented the workers, asked the ECJ to clarify a specific part of European law, which is whether a 'single source' test applies to businesses in the UK after it was brought up at the tribunal. Under EU law, a worker can be compared with someone working in a different establishment if a 'single source' has the power to correct the difference in pay. Tesco claimed this was not applicable in the UK but the ECJ ruled it applies to British businesses. The decision which is final will become a part of UK law and will apply to any future equal pay case despite Britain leaving the EU, Leigh Day said. It is expected to be one of the last major decisions on UK employment matters made by the EU before the changes triggered by Brexit come into force. The tribunal will still ultimately make the decision on the Tesco case though it will need to take the ECJ's ruling into account. Kiran Daurka, a partner in the employment team at Leigh Day, which represents the employees, said: 'This judgment is simple, if there is a single body responsible for ensuring equality, the roles are comparable. 'Clarification from the ECJ confirms that this single source test can be relied upon by people in the UK bringing an equal value claim.' Tesco claims the jobs in its stores and its distribution centres are fundamentally different which justifies the differences in pay. A spokesman said: 'These roles require different skills and demand which lead to variations in pay but this has absolutely nothing to do with gender.' A NSW Police sergeant is suspended but still receiving his salary after being charged with possessing child abuse material. The 49-year-old was arrested at Georges Hall in Sydney's south-west on Wednesday. He was charged at Liverpool Police Station and granted conditional bail. Police also searched the property where he was arrested, seizing electronic storage devices. A 49-year-old police officer has been charged with having child abuse material (stock image) NSW Police said its professional standards investigators started a probe into allegations that child abuse material was being stored and distributed on an electronic device in May. They seized a mobile phone and other items as part of the investigation. Another man, 62, was also arrested as a result of the investigation. He's been charged with using a carriage service for child abuse material and possessing the material. The sergeant, who is attached to a specialist command, will appear at Liverpool Local Court on June 21. The other man will appear at Burwood Local Court on July 13. A father was barred from meeting his two-day-old son because the state government would not grant him an exemption from hotel quarantine to visit his wife and child in hospital. Moe, 30, and Sarah Haidar, 27, landed in Brisbane on a flight from Qatar on May 26 when their flight to Melbourne, their home city, was cancelled due to Victoria's Covid-19 outbreak. The young mum was 30 weeks pregnant when she started having complications in hotel quarantine and was whisked away to hospital for an emergency C-section - 10 weeks before her son Ilyas' due date. Both parents received two Pfizer shots in Qatar, where they worked for four years, and tested negative for Covid three times since re-entering Australia. Pictured: Moe and Sarah Haidar, who are from Melbourne but lived and worked on Qatar until May 26 Pictured: Sarah Haidar while she was pregnant with her first child Ilyas. She delivered him via emergency C-section without her husband by her side Mr Haidar told Daily Mail Australia he missed the birth of his first child because when he applied to Queensland Health for an exemption to be with his family in hospital, it was never processed. Health authorities told him the exemption was coming, but he never got a direct reason as to why it was not approved in the first instance. Whenever he spoke to a member of the health department, they would say, 'this is above me', 'I'm just a team leader' or 'I'm just a nurse'. Mr Haidar said Ilyas was separated from other babies in the neonatal intensive care unit, and not even his mother is allowed to see him until the quarantine period ends on June 9. 'We do video calls with the nurses in the ward. He's in NICU but he's on his own,' he said. 'He isn't with all the other babies. In a separate room but we don't understand the risk to see him.' Moe and Sarah Haidar (pictured) are desperate to see their infant son, but say they will not be allowed to until quarantine ends on June 9 The new father said it was difficult to stay in hotel quarantine knowing his wife was stressed and dealing with parenthood alone The new father said it was difficult to stay in hotel quarantine knowing his wife was stressed and dealing with parenthood alone, while his infant son is starved of human contact. At one stage, Mrs Haidar called her husband at 3am while shivering, but she didn't want to ask the nurses for another blanket because they have to take so many Covid safety precautions before entering the room at she didn't feel it was worth it. On Wednesday morning, the exemption as finally approved - two days after his wife's emergency surgery. Mr Hairdar said Queensland authorities did not treat him with compassion, but the state's Health Minister Yvette D'Ath defended the way the family were treated. Pictured: Moe and Sarah Haidar on their wedding day. They re-entered Australia on May 26 and were in hotel quarantine until Sarah had an emergency C-section 'All applications for exemptions are dealt with by the exemptions unit, as they should be,' she said on Wednesday. 'These are based on clinical decisions and risk factors around Covid-19.' She said many local cases start with overseas travellers and 'we can't afford to take risks'. On its website, the Queensland Government states: 'There are very few reasons why an exemption from quarantine will be granted'. 'You will need to quarantine while your exemption is being considered, and you will be required to pay for the quarantine for a period of up to 14 days.' Daily Mail Australia has contacted Queensland Health for comment. A 'horrific surge' in anti-Semitic attacks in the past month has 'surpassed anything we have seen before', campaigners have said. The Community Security Trust (CST) recorded 351 anti-Semitic incidents between May 8 and 31, already surpassing the highest total for any single month since records began. The spike has been linked to the escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza. The CST said the rise was fuelled by anti-Semitic reactions to the conflict and called it 'utterly predictable and completely disgraceful'. There are concerns the situation will only worsen as violence in the Middle East continues. The Campaign Against Antisemitism cited physical beatings and vandalism, chants and placards at rallies, social media abuse and threats to Jewish children at schools and universities as examples of the hostility faced by the community. 'None of these should be features of life in Britain in 2021, but they are for Jewish people,' a spokesperson said. The Community Security Trust (CST) recorded 351 anti-Semitic incidents between May 8 and 31. Pictured: Previous incidents of alleged anti-Semitism include a convoy of cars with Palestinian flags made threats against Jewish people (left) and police at the scene where a rabbi was attacked The figures already surpass the highest total for any single month since records began. Pictured: The Trafalgar Square menorah 'Ultimately, the blame lies with the racist perpetrators of these cowardly incidents.' They added: 'It is vital that the police investigate incidents as they arise and bring offenders to justice. 'In a year defined by solidarity against racism worldwide, it is extraordinary how little support there is out there for Britain's Jews. Racism against Jews just doesn't seem to count.' Board of Deputies of British Jews President Marie van der Zyl added: 'The past few weeks have been terrifying for the UK Jewish community as both physical and online attacks have increased exponentially. Rabbi Rafi Goodwin's was attacked near his synagogue in north London amid rising cases of anti-semitism 'Jews in this country have been subjected to far-right racism for many years and this continues. However, increasingly, the threat has also come from the extreme left under the thin disguise of anti-Zionism and opposition to Israel. 'This erupts every time there is a conflict in the Middle East. It should not be confused with legitimate criticism of the Israeli Government. 'This is visceral hatred expressed through ancient tropes and cannot be sanctioned in a modern democracy.' In one incident, a man stopped Jewish secondary school students and threatened to punch them if they did not say they supported Palestine. He then said: 'Tell your f****** mum and dad they are murderers and killing babies.' In another case, a rabbi was attacked near his synagogue in north London. Two men have since appeared in court accused of assaulting Rabbi Rafi Goodwin who was allegedly struck over the head with a concrete brick. Colchester Magistrates' Court heard from prosecutors that Abderrahman Brahimi, 25, and Souraka Djabouri, 18, allegedly forced him out of his car before beating him in the street, after reportedly saying 'he's a Jew'. On the same day, four men were arrested and bailed after passengers in a convoy of cars with Palestinian flags used offensive language and made threats against Jewish people in the St John's Wood area of London. It prompted Prime Minister Boris Johnson to publicy denounce anti-semitism, posting on Twitter: 'There is no place for anti-Semitism in our society. 'Ahead of Shavuot, I stand with Britain's Jews who should not have to endure the type of shameful racism we have seen today' Prime Minister Mr Johnson Tweeted: 'There is no place for anti-Semitism in our society. Ahead of Shavuot, I stand with Britain's Jews who should not have to endure the type of shameful racism we have seen today' Education Secretary Gavin Williamson also wrote to all headteachers of state secondary schools urging schools to clamp down on rising anti-Semitism. Describing anti-Semitism as 'abhorrent', he condemned a 'concerning increase in anti-Semitic incidents in some schools' in this country amid the Israel-Gaza violence. The previous highest number of anti-Semitic incidents was recorded in July 2014, with 317, also coinciding with an escalation of violence in the Middle East. Gavin Williamson (pictured) previously described anti-Semitism as 'abhorrent' and condemned a 'concerning increase in anti-Semitic incidents in some schools' in this country amid the Israel-Gaza violence But campaigners fear the situation may worsen still. A statement from the CST said: 'CST expects the levels of antisemitism to continue, or indeed worsen, until the conflict in Israel and Gaza subsides.' They urged Britain's Jewish community to be 'calm but vigilant' and encouraged them to report any anti-Semitic behaviour to police. In light of the figures, Jewish organisations across the UK called for campaigners and community groups to work together to stamp out anti-semitism. A spokesperson for the Jewish Council for Racial Equality told Mail Online: 'It's important for all groups to work together and to get governments both national and locally to say what needs to happen [to end anti-Semitic abuse]. That needs to be accelerated. 'To have abusive people walking down the street is just unacceptable.' A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism added: 'The surge in antisemitism has been tolerated, if not fuelled by, activists who appear to believe that racism directed at Jews simply does not count. 'While they are rightly sensitive to the nuanced manifestations of other forms of racism, they show no interest in understanding the oldest and most variegated hatred of all. 'Indeed across social media, campuses and recently on the frontline of British politics there are active efforts to stymie attempts by the Jewish community to inform the public of what constitutes contemporary antisemitism. 'No other minority would be treated in this way, and this antisemitism-denial has been recognised by the EHRC as part of the victimisation of Jews.' The figures were released amid a period of political upheaval in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opponents announced they have reached a deal to form a new governing coalition, paving the way for the removal of the long-time Israeli leader. Pictured: Three opposition leaders (From left: Lapid, Bennett, Abbas) signing an agreement amid the talks on Wednesday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opponents announced they have reached a deal to form a new governing coalition, paving the way for the removal of the long-time Israeli leader. The dramatic announcement by opposition leader Yair Lapid and his main coalition partner, Naftali Bennett, came a matter of minutes before a midnight deadline, and prevented the country from plunging into what would have been its fifth consecutive election in just over two years. It came after he signed a pact with Bennett and his nationalist New Right party, and Mansour Abbas, leader of the Islamist United Arab List party. Under the agreement, Lapid and Bennett will split the job of prime minister in a rotation. Bennett will serve the first two years, while Lapid is to serve the final two years. The historic deal also includes a small Islamist party, the United Arab List, which would make it the first Arab party ever to be part of a governing coalition. The 10-year-old migrant boy who went viral in April after he was found abandoned and crying at the US-Mexican border, has been reunited with his mother at last, Dailymail.com can reveal. Exclusive photos shared by his family show Wilton Obregon wearing a paper hat and grinning from ear to ear while posing with mom, Meylin, after being released from the Casa Padre children's shelter in Brownsville, Texas on Friday. In another shot, the Nicaraguan boy is seen donning a Batman t-shirt while holding a stuffed toy and a shiny blue model tractor at his feet. While in a third he stands proudly, hand on hip, with a giant red fluffy bear and a large heart bearing the words 'I Love You'. The touching photos are a stark contrast to the heartbreaking images captured on a US Border Patrol agent's bodycam that showed a lonely and terrified Wilton sobbing after being abandoned at the border in April when his mom was kidnapped by a Mexican cartel. Ten-year-old Wilton Obregon was all smiles Friday after he was finally reunited with his mother, Meylin Obregon, nearly two months after he was abandoned at the border after she was kidnapped by the Mexican cartel The Nicaraguan boy was photographed over the weekend after he was released from the Casa Padre children's shelter in Brownsville, Texas, where he had been staying since he was picked up in April The footage made headlines around the world amid the deepening border crisis in the US, which is seeing a growing flood of migrants paying cartel smugglers up to $9,000 to be ferried over the Rio Grande in flimsy rafts every night. The new photos were taken over the weekend in the Brownsville area, where Wilton is staying with his mom, who is deciding where in the US they will wait out their asylum application. Up until Sunday, the plan was for the pair to join Meylin's brother Misael Obregon in Miami. Misael told Spanish television station Telemundo at the time: 'Of course they are coming to stay with me.' But those plans are now up in the air due to online haters that have made things difficult for the family, he told Dailymail.com in an exclusive interview. Misael, who has been in Miami for five years, revealed: 'Things have changed. My sister has the idea that she wants to live somewhere else, in the shade, where she will not attract attention.' The carpenter, whose 15-year-old twin sons also recently crossed the border and are with him pending an asylum application, added: 'She wants to be out of the spotlight. 'A lot of people have criticized her, particularly on social media. She doesn't want to be in the firing line of people attacking her. 'I had planned to help Wilton start school, but we will have to see. Whatever, Wilton is so happy to be free now.' The migrant boy made international headlines after a viral video showed him crying to a US Border Patrol agent and asking for help after was left behind by people smugglers in Texas Misael was able to raise $5,000 in April to free Wilton after he was also snatched by the cartel with his mother. The construction worker, however, could not afford to pay the ransom for his sister who was eventually released and crossed over into the US. He spoke of his joy at the pair reuniting, telling Telemundo: 'I feel very emotional, my heart is beating with happiness.' But he added: 'For the people with bad intentions, that they were praying for my sister to return to Nicaragua with her boy they are American citizens and I hope they never have to go through what we had to.' Wilton and his mother had tried to enter the US in March but were deported under Title 42, a pandemic-era policy that expels migrants without them allowing them to apply for protection Wilton was discovered wandering on his own on April 1 in the dusty barren landscape near La Grulla, Texas, by a Border Patrol agent on his way home from a shift. Crying and shaking as he approached the officer's vehicle, he begged in Spanish: 'Can you help me? I was coming with group and they abandoned me. I don't know where they are.' When asked if he had been told to ask for help, Wilton replied between sobs: 'No, I came because if not, where am I supposed to go? 'Somebody could abduct me, kidnap me. I am scared,' he added. Wilton and his mother were seized by a cartel in northern Mexico during an earlier failed attempt to cross into the US. They had crossed the border in March but were immediately sent back under Title 42, a pandemic-era policy that expels migrants without allowing them to apply for protection. After Wilton's ransom was paid, the people smugglers whisked him across the frontier into Texas, where they later left him behind. He was taken to a shelter run by the US Office of Refugee Resettlement, a division of Health and Human Services. Meylin, meanwhile, was released by the cartel two weeks later and turned herself over to immigration officials to request asylum. She was later transferred to a migrant center in Texas. She visited Wilton at the children's refuge and was finally reunited with him properly nearly two months after he was picked up. The two were later kidnapped by members of a Mexican cartel, who eventually released Wilton after his uncle paid his ransom. The boy was then smuggled into the US with a group of migrants who later left him behind in a desert area in Texas The boy's uncle, Misael Obregon (pictured in April) was able to pay a $5,000 ransom to free Wilton after he was snatched by the cartel with his mother Misael was seen speaking to his nephew in a video where he asked him: 'Would you like to go back to Nicaragua or do you want to come with me?' The boy answered: 'I don't want to go back' 'I felt fortunate and very happy because it was not like all the other times I went and returned without him,' she told Telemundo. 'On the other hand, today was a very special day for me because I no longer returned alone, I returned with my son. Today is the happiest moment of my life.' Wilton said of the shelter: 'I had friends there. I was happy there, but now being with my mother is more joyful.' The publicity from the video sparked a battle over the boy's custody, that at one point involved the Nicaraguan government. Nicaraguan officials urged the US to return Wilton to his home located in an isolated mountain region of the country where his father Lazaro Gutierrez and other family members live. They eventually abandoned the request and Wilton's cattle farmer dad agreed the boy would be better off in the US with his mother. Wilton's release from the child migrant center follows latest figures that reveal 178,622 undocumented immigrants tried to enter the United States in April. The US Customs and Border Protection monthly report showed this was a 5,274 increase over March. The April total was 10 times that of the same month last year, when 17,106 people were stopped by agents along the 1,954-mile southwestern border. Border officers detained 17,171 unaccompanied children in the southwestern border region in April, down nine per cent from 18,890 in March when a record number of unaccompanied migrant children entered US custody. DailyMail.com has obtained an exclusive first look at the 'Gone Girl hoaxer couple' getting married, after they were wrongly accused of staging a kidnap and rape in a Gone Girl movie-style plot six years ago. Denise Huskins, 35, and Aaron Quinn tied the knot in 2016, a year after she was released by her captor following a two day ordeal. Their daughter was born in 2020, five years after Denise's release. Denise was snatched from the couple's bed in Vallejo, California, by Matthew Muller, a 41-year-old disbarred lawyer who had been watching her with a drone. He drugged Aaron and tied him up to stop him from intervening, and drove to a secluded house hours away with Denise in the trunk. For two days, he raped her and held her against her will while demanding $15,000 from Aaron. Then, inexplicably, he dropped her off in an alley outside her parents' home. When Aaron reported the incident to police, they didn't believe him and accused him of harming Denise. When she reappeared, they were even less convinced of the story. It wasn't until Muller turned himself in that police accepted the couple's version of events. Now, the couple is telling their story in an ABC 20/20 special to promote a book. In an exclusive first look at the special, the couple is seen with their baby girl. 'She was born 5 years to the day of my release. It was an incredible rebirth. I'll tell her everything. Scroll down for video Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn at their wedding in 2016, a year after she was freed by her captor after two days of rape and torture. The pair were accused of making the story up in a 'Gone Girl' style plot. Now, they are sharing their details of their life for the first time since The couple made headlines around the world in 2015 after Denise was safely returned to her family, two days after being kidnapped Ruskins said she is grateful to be alive after the ordeal in 2015. The couple sued the police department which doubted them and won The couple welcomed their daughter in 2020 - five years after Denise was released by her captor The pair said their daughter, whose name they did not share, has given them 'more than she could imagine'. Denise called it a 'rebirth' 'Although a lot of what we wrote about is tragic and sad, it is our love story. There is a happy ending - and it's her. I feel like she completed me. She has given me more than she could ever know.' Matthew Muller, 41, handed himself in to police months after the kidnapping. He had been watching Denise at her home The special also includes footage of Aaron's first police interviews, where a cop tells him emphatically: 'I'm telling you it did not happen the way that you're describing it. It did not. Period.' In another clip, Denise talks about realizing that Muller had set her free, dropping her off in an alley next to her parents home in Huntington Beach after drugging and raping her for two days. 'I heard him drive off, I counted slowly to 10, I peeled the tape off my eyes and I was by myself in this alley. I grabbed my bags and started walking and looked at the corner street name and saw Utica which is the street I grew up on. "I thought, "oh my God." It's a street I've walked down hundreds of times in my life. 'As I'm stumbling, still sedated, just stumbling down the street, all I wanted to do was to hug my mom and dad. And finally feel safe.' She described how Muller dragged her across a cold, concrete floor after driving several hours away with her in the trunk of his car. 'He was awkwardly trying to get me out of the trunk, when he grabbed me he stumbled and fell. The ABC special includes new footage of Aaron being told by cops that he was lying Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn became known as the 'Gone Girl' hoaxer couple in 2015 after she was kidnapped from their home in Vallejo, California. They are shown in an ABC 20/20 special about their ordeal that will air on Friday night He just drug me, it was a cold, really cold concrete floor. He put a blanket over me and said he had to go inside and clean. 'I told myself, no matter what they do, I'm not going to beg and scream. If it is the last moments that I am going to be living, I am just going to stay calm and be grateful for the life I had.' Douglas Rappaport, her attorney, said he was convinced of her innocence from the beginning. 'When she was going through the story the emotion was so real... by the time I was finished interviewing her, I was absolutely convinced that she was telling the truth.' Denise and Aaron also recalled reuniting for the first time after he ordeal. She said she thought about feeling 'safe in his arms' when she was in captivity. 'Every moment in captivity I kept picturing him, I kept just visualizing what that feeling must be like to finally feel safe in his arms again. 'When he knocked on that door and I opened it, we just embraced...we were crying and holding each other.' 'I knew our lives had changed forever and we'd go through more struggles but at least we had each other,' Aaron added. ABC's 20/20 special featuring the couple will air on Friday June 4 at 9pm EST. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has launched a $5 million international ad campaign for tourism to kick start local economy despite many travelers not being allowed to enter. The advertisement was previewed at a press conference on Wednesday and shows views of maskless people enjoying the Big Apple at some of its most iconic sites. Travelers from countries across the world are still barred entry into the United States including the 26 countries in the European Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, China, Iran, South Africa, Brazil, and India, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines last updated in April. During the wide ranging press conference, Cuomo also addressed New York City's mayoral race, rising crime, and the state's controversial bail reform law. The first phase of the advertisement campaign, which costs $5 million, is being run by Empire State Development - the umbrella organization for New York's principal economic development public-benefit corporations. The ad was previewed at a press conference on Wednesday and shows views of maskless people enjoying the Big Apple at some of its most iconic sites Tourism is a massive industry in New York, and not just for New York City. In 2019, New York saw 265 million visitors with $73.6 billion in revenue from direct spending and a total $117.6 billion in overall economic impact The first phase of the advertisement campaign, which costs $5 million, is being run by Empire State Development The press conference played a version of the ad that will run in downstate New York, the lower region of New York State which includes New York City, Long Island, and the counties in the lower and middle Hudson Valley regions. 'We're starting an international ad campaign for tourism, New York is back and New York is the best and we want people to be a part of it,' Cuomo said during the press conference on Wednesday. He also said during the press conference that the pandemic 'is over' while predicting a 'tremendous burst of energy' as people resume their daily lives. 'We want people coming to New York and we want them to know they are welcome, and we want them to come make us the venue for their reentry into living and thriving and enjoying once again,' Cuomo said. 'Our message is: to domestic and international tourists, this is the place you want to visit. This is the one state where whatever you want to do, you can do it in this great state of New York.' Cuomo also attempted to persuade New Yorkers to vacation within their own state this summer instead of traveling elsewhere, boasting about the Empire State's low COVID-19 positivity rates. 'To New Yorkers, you're planning your summer vacation, forget traveling. Forget getting on a plane, going to Europe where you still have COVID infection rates at a much higher rate than the United States,' Cuomo said. 'Stay in New York this state has anything you could possibly want to do. Vacationing in New York is smart ant it is safe you know this state is responsible when it comes to handling COVID.' Tourism is a massive industry in New York, and not just for New York City. In 2019, New York saw 265 million visitors with $73.6 billion in revenue from direct spending and a total $117.6 billion in overall economic impact. 'Tourism is also a big business for our bottom line,' Cuomo said. 'So our message is simple, its time to reenter society, its time to reopen, its time to reimagine.' Cuomo added that 'New York City really needs a good mayor,' in a dig at his long-time rival and fellow Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio Cuomo also praised tourist destinations like the Radio City Music Hall which have decided to open at 100 percent capacity for people who are fully vaccinated. 'If you have vaccinated people come into the venue, it helps you sell tickets because when you can tell everyone don't worry, the person you're sitting next to is going to be vaccinated so you know they're not carrying the viruses,' Cuomo said. 'Secondly, by reopening rules, when people are vaccinated you can sit them one next another.' He added: 'The vaccination card that you get, this opens doors and allows you participate in life in a way that you are going to want to do.' Cuomo also praised the New York Mets for announcing that, at their home games, 90 percent of the seats will go to vaccinated people. 'You are going to see a surge of consumer activity and a surge of social activity. We want it to happen here. We want to capitalize on this moment. We don't want to just reopen society to where we were a year ago,' he said. Cuomo said that crime in New York City 'is a major problem' that the state will have to overcome in its quest to attract tourism vital for reviving the economy. 'The number one economic development priority is public safety,' Cuomo said. He added later in the press conference: 'Crime is a problem. The number of homeless on the street is a problem. ... The stories in the paper about crime can be a real impediment.' He speculated that rising crime rates in New York are caused, in part, by the 'relationship issue between the police and the community.' 'Members of the police will say that they can't do their job in this environment. Members of the community will say that they have issues of trust with the police. That is the relationship you have to resolve,' Cuomo said. Cuomo said that New York City voters should ask the mayoral candidates what they would do about crime 'specifically' and 'not just that it's a problem and we have to address it.' 'Tell me what you would do. How many police would you put in then subways? Do you believe we need more police on the subways? At one point, we had an NYPD person on every train on the system. Would you do that again?' Cuomo said. He added: 'How do you restore the relationship where the police feel empowered to do their job and that they can do their job without being attacked?' The governor also said he would be open to a 'discussion' about the state's controversial bail reform law which passed in 2019, though some of the reforms were rolled back last June. The law had eliminated cash bail for most misdemeanor and non-violent felony charges - which critics argued led to increases of crimes like gun violence. It was amended to allow judges to set bail for more types of crimes and the discretion to set bail for a defendant based on their legal history. Some, like the Center for Court Innovation, have argued that the impact of the sweeping bail restrictions 'significantly diminished' in 2020 as 'judges reverted to setting bail more often' leading to a 'steady, months-long rise in the number of people in jail awaiting trial.' 'If New York City said, look we think the bail reform is a problem, that would obviously be a major discussion,' Cuomo said. 'I'm open to doing whatever we need to do to facilitate New York City's addressing the crime problem. But New York City has to address the crime problem you know, it is a city responsibility.' Cuomo added that 'New York City really needs a good mayor,' in a dig at his long-time rival and fellow Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio - who the governor has verbally sparred with since long before their disagreements on how to handle the pandemic. 'We need to see real leadership in the city, and we need to see competence in a mayor, and we need it desperately,' Cuomo said. 'You talk about all these issues, crime, that's about leadership. That's about restoring trust with members of the community in New York City.' He added: 'So this mayor matters, and we need someone who both can communicate with the people of the city and bring the people of the city together and get things done. You need a level of competence that doesn't currently exist, and a level of credibility.' Cuomo is facing a number of scandals, including revelations that his administration started tracking COVID-19 related nursing home resident deaths as early as last April, but the complete data was left out of a health department report three months later, The state Health Department sent a memo to nursing homes and adult care facilities on April 18, 2020, directing them to report the number of residents who died from COVID-19 whether they died in the facility or not, the New York Post reports. But 11 weeks later, the Health Department released a report on July 6 that excluded residents who did not die in a nursing home - appearing to under report the nursing home death toll by more than 8,000. A March 25, 2020 order from the Cuomo administration that nursing homes accept COVID-positive residents returning from hospitals has been blamed for a spike in nursing home deaths. Andrew Cuomo is seen on a call in March, as the allegations against him piled up. His brother took part in strategy calls and urged him not to give into 'cancel culture' But the July report found that the March 25 directive did not have a 'causal link' to the number of reported nursing home deaths. The April memo, which was obtained by the New York Post, ordered nursing home administrators to tally the daily number of residents who died of COVID-19 whether the death occurred in their 'facility or the hospital setting'. The Health Department's report only included deaths that happened in the facilities - which critics claim misrepresented the effect of the pandemic on nursing homes and the state's handling of the crisis. The Health Department received information daily from the Hospital Emergency Response Data System, an application on the agency's health commerce system, a spokesperson for the agency told the New York Post. That data included information from 'more than 1,000 long term care facilities and more than 200 hospitals since the start of this pandemic,' spokesman Gary Holmes said in April. 'In April 2020 we asked for additional information to provide a more specific clinical picture, and as part of that correspondence we asked all facilities to provide that same level of information retrospectively to March 1,' Holmes said. Beth Garvey, special counsel and senior advisor to Governor Cuomo, admitted in a March statement that the data about nursing home resident deaths outside of the nursing homes was omitted. Cuomo is also facing at least nine allegations of sexual assault or misconduct, including by former state employees. When asked if he's paying of his own legal fees to handle the allegations with his personal money or campaign money, Cuomo said 'not at this time.' 'Executive chamber has retained a counsel and that is a state expense, it has been in every investigation, so that's where we are now,' Cuomo said. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has slammed the skyrocketing crime rate in New York City and hit out at a lack of 'competence' by mayor Bill de Blasio. The Governor told reporters at his latest Covid press conference that crime has become a 'major problem' in the Big Apple, and said it would be up to the current slate of city mayoral candidates to address it. Responding to a question about the Monday attack of a 55-year-old Asian woman in Chinatown that left her hospitalized, Cuomo said there is no single solution to the increasingly visible acts of violence throughout the city. But he said he believes the fundamental issue was a deteriorated relationship between police and the communities they serve. 'Crime in New York City is a major problem,' he said. 'I have said repeatedly, as you know, were talking about reopening, reimagining, getting people to come back to New York, back to offices, etcetera. We have all sorts of incentives in economic development. The number one economic development priority is public safety.' Cuomo appeared to take a dig at Mayor Bill DeBlasio when he said that the choice for the next mayor would be hugely consequential. He said: 'This mayor matters, and we need someone who can both communicate with the people of the city and bring the people of the city together and get things done. 'You need a level of competence that doesn't currently exist.' Gov. Andrew Cuomo said crime in New York City had become a major problem while responding to a question about a 55-year-old Asian woman who was sucker punched in the face in Chinatown on Monday. Cuomo is pictured Wednesday at the Javits center where he made the remarks In 2021, almost every type of violent crime is on the rise in New York City. According to recent figures from Compstat, the NYPD's data gathering unit, crime is up 30 percent city wide. In total in 2021, there have been 32,695 major crimes reported. There have been nearly 400 more major crimes reported this week in New York than there were in the same week last year - a surge in 30 percent. Bill de Blasio says crimes has soared because the world was 'turned on its head' with COVID. He has also blamed a backlog in the court system for it, saying it means criminals are on the streets longer than they might have been before. The NYPD lays the blame with de Blasio's bail reform which has meant many more suspected criminals have been let out of jail early, or never put there in the first place. Cuomo said he believes in-depth discussions are required to address the crime issue, and encouraged the candidates to come up with detailed solutions, whether they involve bail reform, police misconduct disclosures or parole reform and then come to state lawmakers with their concerns. 'This is not [just] today, we've been talking about this for months. George Floyd was an inflection point nationwide, but there's been a growing tension for years. 'The police officers will tell you, and the community members will tell you it's not a simple one-fix cure all and that's why I think it should be a major topic of the mayoral debate.' he said. 'I would have a debate just on crime to drill down into the specifics.' He declined to endorse any specific candidate. This chart shows how serious crimes - including felony assaults and murders - have soared in NYC over the last 12 months Cuomo's comments on crime came days after a homeless man was seen on security footage punching an Asian woman so hard in the face that she was knocked to the ground in a random attack in NYC's on Monday afternoon. Alexander Wright, 48, was charged with a hate crime in the attack, in which he appeared to randomly punch the woman in the face as she was walking down the sidewalk in front of the Kong Sihk Tong restaurant on Bayard Street. Four of the New York mayoral candidates in a crowded Democratic primary field spoke out at rallies condemning Monday's incident not far from where it occurred, the New York Daily News reported. Cuomo's comments came as three Democratic mayoral primary candidates gathered on Bayard Street at the site of the attack earlier in the day to condemn the crime Kathryn Garcia a former city sanitation commissioner said police presence and a focus on mental health were needed to combat such crimes 'This was not someone who was victimizing only Asian-Americans, he was victimizing New Yorkers,' said Andrew Yang, who is seen as a leading candidate in the race, on the Bowery just blocks away from where the attack took place. 'It's unacceptable. Our city has been failing us for far too long.' 'We have to go after Asian hate crime,' said former city Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, who is also vying for the candidacy. 'We need to have a police presence here to protect people. But we need to go deeper. We need to make sure we are dealing with the mental health crisis on our streets.' She joined former federal housing secretary Shawn Donovan and city Comptroller Scott Stringer, at a separate press conference on Bayard Street. All three are also vying for the mayoral candidacy. Shawn Donovan, a former federal housing secretary who is also vying for the candidacy was present at Wednesday's rally City Comptroller Scott Stringer is also running in the crowded mayoral Democratic primary field. He too was present on Bayard street Wednesday 'Im outraged and saddened, like all of us, that we are doing this again,' Donovan said. 'It is outrageous in our city that a mother has to wonder whether she can walk to the store, a child has to worry that even going outside is a threat to their life.' Monday's attack was caught on video. It has since emerged that Wright has been arrested 41 times since his 17th birthday, including eight times in the past year alone Dailymail.com as learned. Police records reviewed by DailyMail.com show Alexander Wright's first arrest was a robbery in September 1989 At his arraignment Wednesday, prosecutors highlighted Wright's most recent arrests in recommending high bail to actually keep him behind bars this time, including an open case in the Bronx from last July. 'In that case, the defendant is accused of striking a 72-year-old man in the face with a closed fist, causing the victim to fall to the ground,' Manhattan assistant district attorney William Darling told the judge. 'The victim in that case did then seek treatment at a hospital. He is currently released on his own recognizance. The defendant has failed to appear twice on that case and has been returned on warrants both times.' 'The defendant pled guilty to two violent crimes in New York County only four days ago,' Darling continued, one where he 'threw a rock through a window, causing damage to the window, and minutes later grabbed a stranger by the face, scratching the victim's face causing lacerations to his face and substantial pain.' In the other, 'the defendant threw hot coffee into the faces and eyes of two traffic officers, causing redness and substantial pain.' He then detailed Monday's assault, pointing out that Wright walked up to a complete stranger and 'struck her in the face with a closed fist so hard that her hat flew off her head, she fell to the ground, and lost consciousness.' Alexander Wright has been arrested 41 times since his 17th birthday in 1989 including eight times in the past year alone, DailyMail.com has learned 'Given the defendant's record the viciousness of this attack, the People are currently recommending 364 days jail,' Darling argued. Judge Angela Badamo agreed with the prosecution's recommendation to set bail at $15,000 cash. Surveillance camera captured the attack, which shows the woman falling to the sidewalk due to the force of the punch. Several pedestrians were seen rushing to help to her as she lay motionless on the pavement afterwards. Police have charged Wright with a hate crime over a sickening assault on a 55-year old Asian woman in New York City's Chinatown area. The victim (in pink) is seen strolling along minding her own business before Wright (in the orange hoodie and denim vest) punches her in the face Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, whose district encompasses Chinatown, shared the video of the attack on Twitter, which quickly went viral. Bystander Jin Zhen posted to Instagram, saying he ran to a nearby police precinct to alert officers who were able to track Wright down several blocks away. The Chinatown attack came after other terrifying crimes were captured on camera in New York City over the Memorial Day Weekend and in recent weeks. Unsuspecting Big Apple residents have been violently set upon on sidewalks and in subways. Compstat statistics show transit crimes - those taking place on NYC public transport - rocketed by almost 162 per cent in the last seven days. A total of 55 transit crimes were recorded between May 17 and May 23 - far more than the 21 recorded over the same week in 2020. On Sunday, a 64-year-old man was cornered by a pair of robbers at a Midtown subway turnstile at East 59th Street and Lexington Ave. Wright was taken into custody and charged with assault, assault as a hate crime and possession of controlled substance Bystander Jin Zhen posted to Instagram, saying he ran to a nearby police precinct to alert officers who were then able to track Wright down several blocks away Surveillance video showed the two in distinctive, flashy footwear jumping the victim before punching him and cutting his face with a knife. Identified only as Brooklyn-resident H.M., the victim said he is done commuting to Manhattan after the vicious and unprovoked attack, ABC7NY reports. 'I feel angry and upset and sad,' he said. He had just finished praying at a Midtown mosque. 'Hit me two times here, in this eye and this eye, and the other guy, he brought a razor,' he added. 'And the blood start coming and took the money from me and disappeared.' He required 12 stitches on his forehead and other two stitches near one of his eyes. He wore a COVID-19 mask during the Eyewitness News interview to obscure his identity out of fear that his attackers might come after him again. Meanwhile, a teenage boy was killed and 11 others were left injured after a series of shootings in New York City across the weekend. The 15-year-old, identified by NBC New York as Amir James of the Bronx, was shot in the chest and killed in East Harlem around 10:30pm on Monday night at Lexington Ave. and E. 123rd St. Last week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo admitted New Yorkers don't feel safe in their own city. 'We have a major crime problem in New York City. Everything we just talked about, with the economy coming back, you know what the first step is? People have to feel safe. 'We're building new projects, stimulating new business - what comes before that is public safety, otherwise none of it works. 'New Yorkers don't feel safe and they don't feel safe because the crime rate is up. It's not that they are being neurotic or overly sensitive - they are right. 'Subways are cleaner than they've been, operating better - but they're not as safe and people are afraid to take the train,' he ranted. He said that defunding the police - which de Blasio agreed to last summer by taking $1bn from the NYPD budget amid pressure from BLM activists - was not the answer. Meanwhile, hate crime attacks against Asians and Asian-Americans are also surging in New York. At least 86 anti-Asian hate crimes being reported to authorities this year, according to the NYPD. There were only 19 such reports over the same period of 2020. In a separate attack, surveillance footage captured a man sucker-punching an elderly Asian woman last Wednesday. NYPD reported that it was working to identify the man who punched 75-year-old Wing Wa Chin near 57th Avenue and 97th Place in Queens. The vicious and unprovoked attack left the elderly woman with a broken nose, fractured eye socket and two black eyes. 'She was just coming back from the supermarket and she had her shopping cart,' the victim's son, who asked not to be identified in fear of retaliation, told CBS2. 'It's kinda obvious. He punched her because she was an Asian lady,' he added. A report from the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, found that antiAsian hate crimes surged 149 per cent across the US while overall hate crime dropped 7 per cent in 2020. The report indicated that the rise in anti-Asian crimes was attributed to 'a rise in COVID cases and negative stereotyping of Asians relating to the pandemic.' Former President Donald Trump was blamed for stoking anti-Asian sentiment by repeatedly branding COVID-19 'the China virus,' and even 'kung flu.' In light of all the recent citywide anti-Asian as well as anti-Semitic attacks, de Blasio announced increased funding for anti-hate initiatives. De Blasio announced the creation of a new initiative called Partners Against The Hate, or P.A.T.H. Forward last Thursday, while committing $3 million in funding for Asian American and Jewish community groups, CBS reports. Teachers should avoid using the term 'boys and girls' as well as referring to things as 'normal' to improve inclusion in the classroom, according to new education guidebook. The proposed policies also urge staff to teach 'superdiversity' to promote the acceptance of different cultures and to stop using terms including 'other'. One chapter in the book, edited by academics from Monash University, encourages teachers 'to commit to telling the truth about the reality of climate breakdown'. 'An associated policy should be used to bring the school community together, drawing on the energy, ideas, and capacities of the school community, even though the policy is likely to be demanding and far-reaching,' the book reads. School students attend the the global #ClimateStrike rally in Sydney in March 2019. New guidelines have urged teachers to warn students about the impending 'climate change emergency' The book - Building Better Schools with Evidence Based Policy - also tells teachers they can promote inclusion in the classroom if they 'actively embrace diversity'. The term 'English as a second language' meanwhile should be replaced by the phrase 'emergent - bilingual' to give students who speak multiple languages more confidence. 'Boys and girls' should also be removed from common usage in schools, the book suggests. Defending his chapter on climate, academic author Alan Reid said teachers should encourage students to debate the concepts he raises. 'A school can also listen and challenge particular viewpoints, and make clear what stays at the school gate, so to speak, given what the social contract on education is,' he told The Daily Telegraph. Sydney radio broadcaster Kel Richards said trying to remove the word 'normal' from classroom usage was certain to fail. 'Whatever they do in the classroom, whatever they say, whatever report comes out, the word normal will still be there and well still have a use for it,' he said. Teachers have also been encouraged in the book not to use the term 'boys and girls' in the the classroom, and to abandon terms like 'normal' and 'other' The revelation comes just weeks after it emerged schools in Melbourne were being urged to use gender neutral pronouns and scrap 'mum and dad' in favour of 'parent' as part of a campaign to improve inclusivity for LGBTQI+ students. Unisex bathrooms, non-gendered sporting teams and the flying of rainbow flags to are also recommended to improve inclusivity. Some schools are even being encouraged to stop teachers and pupils from using words including mum, dad and boyfriend in a controversial bid to banish gendered words. Instead, 'parent' and 'partner' is preferred. Three baby sea snakes were released back into the ocean after their mother was found washed up on a popular tourist beach. Sarah Mailey from I'll Catch It Snake Relocations found a mother olive head sea snake and her five newly birthed offspring stranded on Pottsville Beach in northern New South Wales at about 11am last Wednesday. The snake catcher rushed the reptiles to a petrol station in Currumbin where she met a Sea World employee who transported the serpent family to the Sea World Hospital on the Gold Coast. Three baby olive head sea snakes were released back into ocean on Wednesday (pictured) Sea World Marine Rehabilitation nursed babies to health but mother and two babies didn't survive The group of animal rescuers were able to save three of the baby snakes, while two were left fighting for their lives, alongside their mother. 'Sea Snakes have no need to come ashore so when one becomes stranded there is most likely an underlying illness or injury,' Ms Mailey said. Sea World Marine Rehabilitation Coordinator Siobhan Houlihan said it was a rewarding experience to nurse the baby sea snakes back to health. 'I'll Catch It Snake Relocations' found mother and five babies stranded on Pottsville Beach NSW last Wednesday A mother olive head sea snake and her five newly birthed offspring were founded stranded on Pottsville Beach The sea snakes resided in a specially-designed tank in Shark Bay, Queensland (pictured) 'While at Sea World the snakes resided in a specially-designed sea snake tank at Shark Bay and our team was able to provide them with the rehabilitation and rest needed to strengthen them up for release,' she told the Daily Telegraph. The Sea World Rescue Team released three of the healthy baby snakes back into the ocean on Wednesday morning. 'This species of sea snake prefer a reef and rocky habitat so to give them the best chance of survival we released them back to the safety of the reef just off the seaway,' Ms Houlihan said. Following the rescue on Pottsville Beach three of the baby snakes were healthy and two were fighting for their lives The snake catcher rushed the reptiles to Sea World Hospital on the Gold Coast where three of the baby snakes were healthy and two were fighting for their lives Unfortunately the mother and two of her babies didn't survive the ordeal. Snake catcher Sarah Mailey said sea snakes 'need our help more than ever'. 'With steep and sudden population declines and many species being endangered and vulnerable to begin with, the least we can do is report beached sea snakes,' she said. A man has made a light-hearted video poking fun at the perception that Australians who have Covid-19 travel far and wide while people who've tested negative barely get out of the house. Sam Griffin, 29, from Ballarat, around 115km east of Melbourne, shared a TikTok of himself pretending to be a contact tracer asking two men where they had been in the last eight hours. The 'average' Aussie who doesn't have coronavirus said he'd just woken up and been to work before he was tested. But the infected man immediately started listing countless cities from all over the country to the tune of the country song 'I've Been Everywhere' - including places as far apart as Lismore in northern New South Wales and Darwin. 'Where do they find the time?' he captioned the video, which has nearly 730,000 views. Mr Griffin's video was a reference to those who had been struck down with Covid-19 and had visited an unusual amount of towns and venues without knowing they were infectious - such as a Victorian family who travelled around NSW last month. 'I definitely think it's weird,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'But it might also not be a coincidence as the more places you visit - if you're a busy or active person - the more places you could potentially be exposed to the virus.' The 29-year-old, who runs a burger restaurant, said Melbourne's one-week lockdown had been tough but he is supportive of the harsh restrictions. 'Our business has been hit really hard as has the rest of the hospitality industry but we were fortunate enough to be able to trade throughout,' he said. Sam Griffin, 29, from Ballarat, around 115km east of Melbourne, shared a TikTok of himself pretending to be a contact tracer asking two men where they had been in the last eight hours 'I feel for all of the businesses such as gyms who arent able to trade at all. If the extension means that after seven days that Melbourne residents can get back to some sort of normality again then I definitely think its worth it.' Mr Griffin's video comes just days after it was revealed a Victorian family who later tested positive for the virus went on a 1,765km road trip across NSW. The man, his wife and their two children were some of Victoria's six new locally acquired infections recorded on Wednesday. There are fears the outbreak may have spread to NSW after a family from Melbourne went on a roadtrip across NSW Their trip prompted urgent Covid health alerts for numerous venues in NSW. The family travelled from Melbourne across the NSW border to Jervis Bay, Hyams Beach, Vincentia and Goulburn while potentially infectious on May 23 and 24, just before the city was plunged into lockdown on May 27. The father had some symptoms on May 25 after driving back to Melbourne on May 24, and tested positive on May 31 - almost a week later. Three more cases were recorded in Victoria on Thursday with Melbourne plunged into another week of lockdown. There are currently 69 active cases around the state. Fast food giant KFC has vowed to fight the litter scourge as it acknowledged it has an important role in stopping takeaway rubbish. The chicken chain has been criticised over KFC-branded waste, something its boss has said is distressing. But now it has promised it will make amends, starting with backing the Great British Spring Clean as staff from all of its 600 UK restaurants were sent out yesterday to clean up their areas. Paula MacKenzie, managing director of the firm in Britain and Ireland, said: I can say this as the MD of KFC, there is nothing more distressing than when youre walking or driving somewhere and you see a piece of your own brand that you care very, very much about sometimes nowhere near a KFC restaurant and youre like, how did that get there?. Litter has always been a topic of utmost importance. If you run a takeaway restaurant brand then litter is up there as one of the top challenges you want to tackle. Fast food giant KFC has vowed to fight the litter scourge, starting with backing the Great British Spring Clean campaign PS: The Crown star Emma Corrin takes park louts to task Actress Emma Corrin has told revellers on Londons Hampstead Heath its not cool to litter. The Crown star said she had spent Monday evening picking up after them. Advertisement The Mail has long campaigned against the plight of plastic pollution. When the UK came out of lockdown in May last year, distressing images showed fast food litter strewn across the countrys parks and beaches. One picture of a discarded box featuring the face of Colonel Sanders, the KFC figurehead, in Beccles, Suffolk, went viral, drawing more than 40,000 reactions and 6,000 comments online after being posted by nature photographer Harry Read. The fast food giant reacted with posters urging its customers not to be tossers. As the country comes out of lockdown again, KFC said it will introduce a dedicated email address litter@kfc.co.uk for customers to log complaints about litter around restaurants. It will also train 28,000 employees on the damage litter can cause and will work with councils across England to determine what infrastructure they have to deal with rubbish problems. This is in addition to the three rubbish clean-ups KFC staff do around restaurants each day. Conservative MP Rebecca Pow tidies up rubbish as part of the Great British Spring Clean in her Taunton constituency The branches taking part yesterday included those in Penrith, Cumbria; Buckshaw Village, Lancashire; Newton Aycliffe, County Durham; Beckton, east London; Handsworth, Sheffield and in Taunton, where environment minister Rebecca Pow helped out. Mrs MacKenzie said: We all have a responsibility and the bigger a company you are, the more responsibility to have. We have a big responsibility as KFC but I think we all have a responsibility as members of the public to make our country and our place where we live look the best it can be, I feel passionate about that. She added she and her sons, aged eight and ten, would be litter picking the next time they were on holiday. Mrs MacKenzie said that while some councils struggled with red tape, private business had an important role to play in dealing with litter. 154,658 litter pickers have so far pledged to clean 981,119 miles of Britain's streets, beaches and countryside [Stock image] The news follows years of campaigning by the Daily Mail against plastic pollution She said: I remember talking to council members who said, Its almost impossible for us as a council to sign off even a bin to get the money, to get the budget to sign off a bin. So we just have such a role to play. Yesterday 154,658 volunteers had pledged to clean 981,119 miles of the UK, putting the Great British Spring Clean organised by Keep Britain Tidy and backed by the Daily Mail in touching distance of its target of a million miles by June 13. For more info go to gbspringclean.org Absent Premier Daniel Andrews has been criticised for saying Victorians are having 'another week off work' in his first social media post since April 18. Under pressure from Opposition MPs and media outlets including Daily Mail Australia, the silent premier finally wrote a message of support to Victorians who have been locked down since last Thursday. 'I won't talk about how hard this is, or why it matters so much. You all know that,' he wrote in his customary dramatic language after the state's fourth shut-down was extended for another week on Wednesday. Absent Premier Daniel Andrews (pictured with his wife) has been criticised for saying that Victorians are having 'another week off work' in his first social media post since April 18 A closer look at the message posted by Daniel Andrews on Wednesday as he recovers from a back injury A sign on the door of a business in Melbourne after the extension of lockdown was announced 'But I did want to send a message to Victorians facing another week off work, away from school, or with the kids at home.' That second sentence sparked fury from opponents who claimed Mr Andrews was failing to grasp the damage caused by lockdowns. David Hodgett, shadow education minister, wrote: 'This is a Premier completely out of touch with ordinary Victorians. 'No, Premier, these workers are not having ''another week off work''. They are being financially ruined by your government.' Mr Hodgett's comment sparked a mixed response from Victorians online. 'No surprise Premier Andrews has no idea about how tough ordinary Victorians are finding it,' wrote one resident. 'This is from the Millionaire Premier who is still collecting his $8,400 weekly salary despite preventing many Victorians from working and earning even $1.' But others said the shadow minister was just finding ways to criticise the government. 'Are you a bit thick or is it just a temporary condition brought on by feeling an urgent need to sledge people on the opposite side of politics,' wrote one Victorian. Premier Andrews (pictured with daughter Grace, 18) in April as he recovers from a serious back injury Daniel Andrews issued this message to Victorians on social media on Wednesday night after six weeks of silence Victoria was plunged into its fourth lockdown last week due to an outbreak which originated in hotel quarantine in Adelaide. It was due to last seven days but on Wednesday the government announced Melbourne would be shut down for another week in accordance with its strategy to eliminate the virus.' Scott Morrison announced a new temporary disaster payment for Australians who are stuck in lockdown and can't work. Workers will be able to claim money from the federal government if a coronavirus lockdown goes on for longer than seven days in an area defined by the Commonwealth as a hotspot. Claimants will be entitled to a $500 weekly payment if they ordinarily work more than 20 hours a week or $325 if they work less than that. State government sources predict restrictions may be in place for weeks. When did states introduce a uniform QR code system? SA: December 1, 2020 NSW: January 1, 2021 ACT: March 6, 2021 TAS: May 1, 2021 QLD: May 1, 2021 VIC: May 28, 2021 WA and NT: Not mandatory Advertisement Three new Covid cases were recorded overnight, taking the total infected in this cluster - which involves the Indian variant of the disease - to 63. In total, Victoria has suffered five and a half months of lockdown during the pandemic, costing the state an estimated $26billion. Students have been stopped from going to school for 23 weeks, compared to just seven weeks in New South Wales. The government has been slammed over its struggling contact tracing system and for failing to implement a mandatory universal QR code check-in system until Friday, five months after New South Wales. The Liberal-National Opposition has said it would only use lockdowns as a 'last resort' and would make them targeted and proportionate rather than across the whole state. Opposition leader Michael O'Brien also said he would publicly release health advice that lockdowns are based on if he were in power. The Victorian government has demanded a federal bail-out for its latest lockdown and federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg is expected to announce financial support on Thursday. Premier Andrews - who is the nation's best-paid premier earning $441,439 - promised to reveal when he intends to return to the job after breaking his back in a fall at a holiday house on the Mornington Peninsula on March 9. Andrews was hospitalised on March 9 and spent 10 days in hospital. This is one of just two pictures the usually prominent politician has appeared in since the accident - with conspiracy theorists claiming it was photoshopped 'I have more scans and a meeting with my medical team next week. I'll let you know how that goes and exactly when I'll be back on deck later this month,' he wrote. Premier Andrews suffered at least five broken ribs and an acute compression fracture of the T7 vertebra in his spine, putting him on extended sick leave. There will be some relief for regional Victorians who from Friday will enjoy an easing of restrictions with shops opened back up and limits relaxed. Restaurants and cafes outside Melbourne were ordered to check customers' IDs when they reopen to ensure no one from the city sneaks out into regional towns. Despite the dreaded lockdown extension, the travel limit for Melburnians for exercise and shopping will extend from 5km to 10km, but compulsory wearing of masks both indoors and outdoors will remain in place. Victoria's Chief health officer Brett Sutton hinted some of the restrictions could even stay in place beyond the next week. Sidelined Premier Daniel Andrews posted a message to Facebook about his return to work after a serious fall People exercise in Melbourne on June 2 with the coronavirus lockdown of Australia's second-biggest city to be extended by another seven days Victoria is pursing an 'aggressive suppression' strategy, with the intent of bringing cases back down to zero. 'We can't have one or two cases out there and open back up to the kind of settings we had before,' Prof Sutton said. 'That's what led one case from South Australia to lead to 60 cases and thousands of primary close contacts within a month.' But with stay-at-home order costing the state about $150 million a day, according to KPMG modelling, and no JobKeeper subsidies in place, it remains unclear how vulnerable Victorians will be supported if the draconian measures continue. The lockdown is the fourth for Victoria since the lockdown took hold in Australia. There are fears the outbreak may have spread to NSW after a family from Melbourne went on a roadtrip Poll DO YOU AGREE WITH THE LOCKDOWN EXTENSION? Yes - we need to keep Australia safe No - it's an overreaction DO YOU AGREE WITH THE LOCKDOWN EXTENSION? Yes - we need to keep Australia safe 935 votes No - it's an overreaction 1516 votes Now share your opinion In contrast, the NSW Government has been reluctant to impose border restrictions or lockdowns even after it was discovered on Tuesday that a Victorian family who later tested positive for the virus went on 1,765km roadtrip across the state. The man, his wife and their two children were some of Victoria's six new locally acquired infections recorded on Wednesday. Their trip prompted urgent Covid health alerts for numerous venues in NSW. The family travelled from Melbourne across the NSW border to Jervis Bay, Hyams Beach, Vincentia and Goulburn while potentially infectious on May 23 and 24, just before the city was plunged into lockdown on May 27. The father had some symptoms on May 25 after driving back to Melbourne on May 24, and tested positive on May 31 - almost a week later. Last year, Victoria was shut down for 112 consecutive days as the state rachet up 800 Covid deaths. Acting Premier James Merlino announced an extension to the lockdown on Wednesday An eerily empty Melbourne is seen on Wednesday (pictured) as the city faces another week in lockdown On Wednesday Mr Merlino confirmed Victoria's initial seven-day lockdown, sparked by a Covid cluster arising in May, would be extended for another week in the Melbourne area. 'Just because we've had to do this before, doesn't mean it's easy to do again,' Mr Andrews wrote. 'Some of us will be tired. Some stressed. Some sick to the back teeth of this pandemic. Maybe a mix of all three. 'But please know that every individual effort you made today, and everything you'll do tomorrow and every day after will save lives.' Advertisement What schools recovery tsar Sir Kevan Collins wanted - and what No10 gave him instead Sir Kevan Collins' recommendations - Extend the school day by 30 minutes; Fund 100 hours extra teaching a year for sixth formers; Widen the number of disadvantaged children eligible for childcare/early years education; Fund a recovery premium that schools could choose how to distribute; Increase pupil funding for early years and disadvantaged sixth formers; Hire more highly qualified early years practitioners What he actually got - An extra year of teaching for teenagers who fail their A-levels; Extra funding for training teachers, including early years teachers; Extending tutoring to five million pupils by 2024 Advertisement Boris Johnson's education recovery tsar last night said he had 'no option' but to quit as he accused the Prime Minister of taking a 'half-hearted approach' that risks failing hundreds of thousands of children. Sir Kevan Collins claimed Mr Johnson rejected his proposals for a 15billion package to provide pupils with extra time and teaching to catch up on lost education due to successive lockdowns over the next three years. Writing in the Times, he said the Government's approach risked failing children and damaging Britain's long-term economy after ministers revealed they would only guarantee a tenth of the funding he recommended. 'The support announced by government so far does not come close to meeting the scale of the challenge and is why I have no option but to resign,' he wrote. 'It is too narrow, too small and will be delivered too slowly. A half-hearted approach risks failing hundreds of thousands of pupils.' Labour said Sir Kevan's resignation was a 'damning indictment' of the Government's plan while Robert Halfon, Tory chair of the education select committee, said it was a 'blow' to lose someone of Sir Kevan's stature. Sir Kevan had demanded ministers approve a 15billion package to help thousands of children whose learning has been interrupted by the pandemic get back on track. But Education Secretary Gavin Williamson yesterday announced that only an initial 1.4billion would be pumped into the system. His call for the school day to be extended by half an hour also looks to have been kicked into the long grass, with moved a 'next stage' review due to report only by the end of the year. In his resignation letter, first revealed by TES, Sir Kevan said the Government scheme was 'too narrow, too small and will be delivered too slowly'. He also pointed out that the average primary school will directly receive just 6,000 per year - equivalent to 22 per child. 'A half-hearted approach risks failing hundreds of thousands of pupils,' he said. 'The support announced by Government so far does not come close to meeting the scale of the challenge and is why I have no option but to resign from my post.' The funding announcement sparked a furious backlash from across the political spectrum, The respected IFS think-tank pointed out that even with previously announced investment the government was spending 310 per pupil compared to 1,600 in the US. The Netherlands has allocated around 2,500 for each child. Sir Kevan Collins claimed Boris Johnson rejected his proposals for a 15billion package to provide pupils with extra time and teaching to catch up on lost education due to successive lockdowns over the next three years The funding announcement sparked a furious backlash from across the political spectrum, The respected IFS think-tank pointed out that even with previously announced investment the government was spending 310 per pupil compared to 1,600 in the US. The Netherlands has allocated around 2,500 for each child Teachers will also receive extra training and support worth 400million, bringing government spending to date on education recovery to more than 3billion. Stock picture Steve Chalke, founded of the Oasis academy chain, was among those criticising the government plans Other countries spending EIGHT TIMES as much as the UK on schools catch-up Boris Johnson faced pressure to pump more money into the schools Covid catch-up today as experts said other countries were being 'much more ambitious' than the UK. Luke Sibieta, a research fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said the government's total package so far was worth around 3.1 billion. 'A lot of that now is focused on the national tutoring programme, which (Sir) Kevan Collins talked about as being quite an important part of education recovery but it is clearly a lot less than the 10-15billion that Kevan Collins was proposing for a full-scale education recovery, which would incorporate much bigger elements.' The education researcher said there was 'value' in staggering funding for schools and that the prospect of clawing back lost learning in the space of two years was 'a bit fanciful'. But he said education recovery commissioner Sir Kevan's idea of longer school days had been 'pushed into the long grass' as the Government had failed to pilot the idea. Comparing the UK Government's outlay on school catch-up programmes internationally, he added: 'The Biden administration in the US has proposed about 122 billion about 1,600 per pupil, over five times more than we're spending in the UK. 'The Netherlands is going even further and has allocated over eight billion euros, which amounts to over 2,500 per pupil, so there are countries around the world going much further and being much more ambitious.' Advertisement The Prime Minister was forced to pledge that more money would be 'coming through' as he tried to fend off anger at the 'pitiful' funding. Mr Johnson held out the prospect of a cash boost at a later stage, saying there was no doubt 'many kids are incredibly resilient but a lot of them also need help to catch up'. He said the funding announcement should also 'give parents the confidence that their child is going to get particular attention', as well as 'find potential in kids that may be missed in the back of the classroom'. But he suggested that there will need to be more investment in future. Shadow Education Secretary Kate Green said: 'Kevan Collins' resignation is a damning indictment of the Conservatives' education catch-up plan. 'He was brought in by Boris Johnson because of his experience and expertise in education, but the Government have thrown out his ideas as soon as it came to stumping up the money needed to deliver them. 'Labour has set out a plan to deliver the bold policies that will boost children's recovery from the pandemic recognising that learning and wellbeing go hand-in-hand together. 'Our children and their future ambitions and life chances depend on us getting this right. The Conservatives' failure to deliver for children now could cost our country dearly long-term.' The Tory chair of the Education Select Committee, Robert Halfon, said on Twitter: 'To lose someone of the stature of Sir Kevan Collins is a real blow. 'Whilst today's catch up money is hugely welcome, to repair damage of school closures, to improve attainment & outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, we need a properly resourced, radical long-term plan & funding.' Children will be offered 100million hours of tutoring over the next three years to help them bounce back from the pandemic - but plans for a longer school day appear to have stalled. Teachers will also receive extra training and support worth 400million, bringing government spending to date on education recovery to more than 3billion. The Government has also announced that schools or colleges will be given funding to let Year 13 students repeat the year if they have been badly affected by the pandemic. However, a longer school day and a huge 15billion funding package were notably absent. A No 10 spokeswoman said: 'The Prime Minister is hugely grateful to Sir Kevan for his work in helping pupils catch up and recover from the effects of the pandemic. 'The government will continue to focus on education recovery and making sure no child is left behind with their learning, with over 3 billion committed for catch up so far.' Earlier, Education Secretary Gavin Williams squirmed during interviews as he insisted he 'absolutely' trusts catch-up envoy Sir Kevan. In his resignation letter, first revealed by TES , Sir Kevan said the Government scheme was 'too narrow, too small and will be delivered too slowly' Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced that only an initial 1.4billion would be pumped into the system. Sir Kevan's resignation statement in full 'Advising the Government on the education recovery plan has been the most important task of my professional life. The recovery approach we take will reveal our commitment to a generation of children. After the hardest of years, a comprehensive recovery plan - adequately funded and sustained over multiple years - would rebuild a stronger and fairer system. 'A half-hearted approach risks failing hundreds of thousands of pupils. The support announced by Government so far does not come close to meeting the scale of the challenge and is why I have no option but to resign from my post. 'One conservative estimate puts the long-term economic cost of lost learning in England due to the pandemic at 100bn, with the average pupil having missed 115 days in school. In parts of the country where schools were closed for longer, such as the North, the impact of low skills on productivity is likely to be particularly severe. The pandemic has affected all pupils but hit disadvantaged children hardest. A decade's progress to narrow the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers is estimated to have been reversed. 'As part of the plan I proposed to Government, I recommended a landmark investment in our teachers, whose dedication throughout the pandemic has been inspiring. It is also right to extend access to tutoring, in particular to support disadvantaged children. Tutoring can provide valuable support that complements classroom teaching. But it is not a panacea and must be high-quality to make a difference. 'This is one reason why I recommended schools and colleges be funded to extend school time for a fixed, three-year period and providing significant funding for a flexible extension to school time, equivalent to 30 minutes extra every day. From the perspective of teachers, extra time would have been optional and paid, with schools also able to use the time to offer enrichment activities that children have missed out on. 'The package of support announced yesterday falls far short of what is needed. It is too narrow, too small and will be delivered too slowly. The average primary school will directly receive just 6,000 per year, equivalent to 22 per child. Not enough is being done to help vulnerable pupils, children in the early years or 16- to 19-year-olds. Above all, I am concerned that the package announced yesterday betrays an undervaluation of the importance of education, for individuals and as a driver of a more prosperous and healthy society.' Advertisement In a bruising round of interviews yesterday, Mr Williamson tried to put a brave face on the situation saying that 'as a Yorkshireman' he 'always thought that 1.4billion was a pretty hefty amount'. But he refused to say how much that worked out for each child. Pushed repeatedly on whether he believed in what Sir Kevan was proposing, Mr Williamson told Sky News: 'We have been working very closely with Sir Kevan Collins and actually the interventions around tutoring, driving up teaching quality, these are very much built on the work we've been doing together, recognising how incredibly important it is that we take on these interventions in order to help children.' He insisted a longer school day is still 'on the agenda'. Amid reports that the Treasury had baulked at the huge figure, Mr Williamson confirmed a 'further instalment' of just 1.4billion. Meanwhile, the question of whether the school day should be extended remains under review and 'will be set out later in the year', the Department for Education said. Mr Williamson said: 'It is a lot of money and it builds on 1.7billion that we've already committed in terms of actually delivering for children - it is an extra 100million hours of tutoring. 'It is making sure that children who need that help, who need that support, that we're delivering that tutoring revolution to help them get it. 'But we recognise it is part of a process. Over the past 12 months, we have already announced a previous 1.7billion worth of additional funding and we are looking at a whole raft of additional ideas for how we can continue to support our children, making sure none of them are left behind.' Hailing the extra funding, Boris Johnson said it would 'make sure that no child is left behind'. 'This next step in our long-term catch-up plan should give parents confidence that we will do everything we can to support children who have fallen behind and that every child will have the skills and knowledge they need to fulfil their potential,' he said. Sir Kevan added: 'The investments in teaching quality and tutoring announced today offer evidence-based support to a significant number of our children and teachers.' However, he pointedly warned that 'more will be needed to meet the scale of the challenge'. Unions reacted angrily to the announcement, saying the package did not go far enough. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union the NAHT, said: 'It's a damp squib - some focus in a couple of the right areas is simply not enough. 'The funding announced to back these plans is paltry... education recovery cannot be done on the cheap.' Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), told Sky News: 'It's pretty dispiriting, here I am as somebody who is leading a trade union, and for all my colleagues it feels this morning as if we have got higher ambitions for the nation's children and young people than the Education Secretary. 'It's pretty pitiful, only yesterday we were hearing stories about extending the school day and even if some people disagreed with it, at least there was a sense of 'let's do something radical, let's do something different'. 'Today's announcement essentially equates to 50 per head, you compare that with the USA which is putting 1,600 per head, per young person, or the Netherlands, 2,500 per head. 'So what is it about those children in the Netherlands or the USA that makes them worth more than our Government seems to say? 'It's time to stop the rhetoric I think and start the action on behalf of children and young people.' Mr Williamson suggested that further funding will be forthcoming in future. However, a longer school day and a huge 15billion funding package, which were key demands made in a document penned by the education recovery tsar Sir Kevan Collins were notably absent. Stock picture Labour education spokesman Kate Green accused the Tories of 'showing no ambition for children's futures' as she unveiled alternative measures which would cost 14.7billion. As well as expanding extracurricular activities and breakfast clubs, mental health support should be available in every school, as well as small group tutoring and teacher development, she said. Sir Peter Lampl, of education charity Sutton Trust, said the 'funding is only a fraction of what is required. Low-income students who have already been most heavily impacted will be disadvantaged even more and overall standards, which have fallen dramatically, will be very slow to recover'. Donald Trump once said he would pay 100,000 not to hear Theresa May speak after learning what she was paid to make corporate appearances, Piers Morgan has claimed. The broadcaster said the former US president was shocked at hearing that she was paid more than 100,000 on the lecture circuit. When I informed Donald Trump just before the last US election that Mrs May gets paid more than 100,000 a pop for speeches, he exploded into mocking laughter and spluttered: Are you kidding me? Id pay 100,000 not to hear her talk! Morgan wrote in The Spectator. Theresa May and Donald Trump, pictured in Washington DC on January 27, 2017, had a strained relationship while in office Journalist Piers Morgan told Mr Trump, right, about Mrs May's lucrative speaking career Mr Morgan added that the ex-US president was bemused that the former prime minister had raked in more than 1million for corporate speeches since leaving office. Mr Trump and Mrs May had an at times strained relationship while they were in office, clashing over the Brexit deal and failing to establish a rapport. The former president said he advised Mrs May on Brexit but she ignored him. When Boris Johnson was elected, Mr Trump was far more enthusiastic, describing him as Britains Trump. Mr Johnson has since had to patch up relations with Joe Bidens new administration partly because he was seen as being close to Mr Trump. The former PM receives 85,000 a year since December 4, 2019 from the Washington Speakers Bureau. Also she also received 160,370 from JP Morgan Chase for a three hour speech which is yet to take place. Incredible underwater footage has captured the moment two octopuses started mating underwater. The footage, captured by a diver based in the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, showed the two octopuses entangled in each other's tentacles, before the female scurries away. The male octopus then caught up with his mating partner and enveloped her with his tentacles. The footage, captured by a diver based on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, showed the two octopuses entangled in each other's tentacles, before the female scurries away Diver Jules Casey, who captured the footage, said the octopuses' sexual encounter lasted 'several hours' Diver Jules Casey, who captured the footage, said the octopuses' sexual encounter lasted 'several hours'. 'When I found them they were already together. I watched for about an hour then went home, changed into a dry wetsuit and had lunch. They were still going when I returned,' she said. Ms Casey said the video caught 'the final minute' of the mating ritual, as one of the octopus 'slaps' the other in the face when they've 'had enough'. The mating process for octopuses 'may take up to several hours, depending on the species,' marine biologists have said. The sexual encounter comes a month after Ms Casey captured two southern keeled octopuses mating in an oyster shell. The video, filmed by in Port Phillip Bay in southern Victoria, showed the female octopus hiding in a oyster shell, before the male crawled over and perched on top - flaring his eight tentacles. In a caption on Instagram, Ms Casey wrote: 'He then inserts his third modified arm into her mantle to pass the sperm packages'. Upon finishing the act, the male octopus suddenly changed from a creamy colour to a dark brown before he crawled off and settled on the sand. A mother was allegedly violently assaulted in front of her young children in a road rage incident in Melbourne, as three men are charged. The woman aged in her 40s was driving with her two kids, both aged under ten, on the Monash Freeway, in Wheelers Hill around 6.05pm on Wednesday May 19. A car with three young men then allegedly pulled up alongside her vehicle and started abusing her and throwing bottles and other items at her car. The woman aged in her 40s was driving with her kids, both aged under ten, on the Monash Freeway, in Wheelers Hill (pictured) The men then allegedly followed the mother to an address in Petronella Avenue where they assaulted her in front of her children. The woman sustained a serious leg injury and was taken to hospital. Victoria Police announced on Wednesday they had arrested three men, a 19-year-old from Wheelers Hill and two 21-year-olds from Mount Waverley and Croydon, over the alleged assault. They trio have been charged with recklessly cause serious injury and affray. They were all bailed to appear at Ringwood Magistrates Court on October 13. Anyone with information or dashcam vision have been urged to contact Crime Stoppers. Advertisement George P. Bush launched his next political move on Wednesday: a run for Texas attorney general in 2022. Bush, who has served as Texas' land commissioner since 2015, is the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the nephew of former President George W. Bush and the grandson of former President George H.W. Bush. He is the last of the Bush family still in public office and was the first to break with them to support former President Donald Trump, who has mocked the family that was once the face of the Republican Party. Bush is now launching the first major challenge against embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has spent six years in office under felony indictment over accusations of defrauding investors, and more recently was accused of bribery by his own former top aides. Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush arrived for a kick-off rally with his wife Amanda to announced he will run for Texas Attorney General on Wednesday Bush, center, spoke with the media at a kick-off rally where he announced he was running for Texas attorney general 'Here in Texas, we have a scandal that is plaguing one of our highest offices. And I believe conservatives should have a choice,' Bush, 45, said at a campaign kickoff rally in Austin. Bush said he spoke with Texas' two previous attorneys general prior to Paxton Bush said he spoke with Texas' two previous attorneys general prior to Paxton Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn after the latest accusations surfaced, but did not go into details. 'There's concern there,' he said, 'and that's why I'm willing to go out there and offer myself because everybody else has been quiet and afraid to tell the truth about this guy.' Paxton's campaign responded with a statement that made no mention of the accusations against him. 'Texans know Attorney General Paxton's rock-solid conservative record,' Paxton spokesman Ian Prior said. Bush's bid to move up Texas' political ladder sets up a potentially bruising primary that will test GOP voters appetite for the Bush name, and the durability of a two-term attorney general who is embroiled in legal trouble, but was embraced by conservatives last November after bringing a failed lawsuit to the Supreme Court that sought to overturn President Joe Bidens victory. Asked if he supported Paxton's efforts to overturn Biden's win, Bush faulted Paxton's legal strategy and claimed there were irregularities, but acknowledged Biden's victory. No widespread corruption was found, and Trumps allegations of massive voting fraud also have been dismissed by a succession of judges and refuted by state election officials. Bush launched the first major challenge against embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton When asked if he supported Paxton's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Bush faulted Paxton's legal strategy and claimed there were irregularities, but acknowledged Biden's victory On Tuesday, Trump endorsed Abbott for a third term, but has not weighed in on the Texas' attorney general race, which Bush had signaled for months he would enter. Hours ahead of Bush's announcement, Paxton's office publicized a court brief that denies the impropriety claims leveled against the attorney general by top-level deputies who were fired after taking part in an extraordinary revolt against Paxton last fall. Eight staffers accused Paxton of abusing his office in the service of a wealthy donor, which is now the target of an FBI investigation. Paxton called the accusations an 'unsubstantiated smear campaign' and has pleaded not guilty in his separate securities fraud case that has languished since 2015. He has also used his office in ways that have benefited allies and other donors. Bush entered the race at a moment of scrutiny and bipartisan outrage in Houston over his General Land Office announcing the city would not receive any money from the initial $1 billion in federal funding that was promised to Texas following Hurricane Harvey Bush, meanwhile, enters the race at a moment of intense scrutiny and bipartisan outrage in Houston over his General Land Office announcing the city wouldn't get a cent of the initial $1 billion in federal funding that was promised to Texas following Hurricane Harvey. He has also angered conservative activists over a renovation plan for the Alamo, the revered Texas shrine. The race is pivotal for Bush's political future in Texas, where he has aligned himself with Trump unlike his famous relatives. Bush has carefully sidestepped Trump's antagonism toward his family, which included taunting his father as 'low energy' during the 2016 presidential campaign. His late grandfather, George H.W. Bush, had said he voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, while George W. Bush said he voted for 'none of the above.' During a visit to Texas in 2019, Trump called George P. Bush 'the only Bush that likes me.' Covid-19 conspiracy theorist Eve Black has mocked the use of QR codes as a tool to track the virus. Black, whose real name is Eugenia Limberiou, went viral in July for filming herself driving through a Melbourne police checkpoint in defiance of lockdown laws. The 28-year-old became a national disgrace after performing the stunt and uploading the video to Facebook, where she was largely slammed. Eve Black (pictured) caused national outrage after filming herself drive through a lockdown blockade in Melbourne in July Black shows her contempt for a Melbourne magistrate who released details of her alleged crimes. She had been represented by a man with a parrot She was dramatically arrested days later in Carlton by police who were allegedly forced to smash in her car window. The Covid troublemaker's latest musings came shortly after Victorians had been placed into their third lockdown in February. By then, she had fled the state to live in Queensland where she thankfully remains. Speaking to Melbourne 'alternative' online news WilmsFront on March 25, Black mocked people who felt the need to check into public venues. In Victoria, Daniel Andrews' Labor government has been slammed over its failure to enforce QR code check-ins, which is being largely blamed for the state's fourth lockdown. On Friday the government finally introduced a single check-in system and ordered all public venues to enforce the system under threat of massive fines. 'It doesn't appear to be enforced too seriously,' Black told Tim Wilms from QLD. 'I certainly don't take it very seriously. You can decipher whatever it is that means for you.' Black went onto laugh at concerned citizens who did check into venues in belief it would help contact tracers limit the spread of the deadly virus. 'I mean some people actually, like, I overhear people saying "oh you know, should we check-in". Like even just walking past places, you know. Some people are just really staying onto it,' she said 'I mean, whatever. If that helps you sleep at night. But the general attitude towards it I would say: "Ah yeah, whatever, do it". 'But then there's also a lot of people who are just like "urgh". It's like pointless and silly and a lot of people they actually completely avoid it. Like they really make an effort to go around it and make sure that they're not checking in.' Eve Black, real name Eugenia Limberiou, was once a popular stripper Black has been documenting her new religious journey online (pictured), revealing she is living with nuns 'to get closer with God Black is expected to be seen again in Victoria next month - albeit via videolink - when she is scheduled to appear in a Melbourne court over her alleged Covid breaches last year. Following her arrest, Black was exposed as a topless waitress and stripper who had performed at swingers parties in Melbourne. Now the Covid denier claims she is on a path to religious enlightenment and spent time with nuns to build her relationship with God. Black had made a bizarre court appearance the day before her interview with Wilms in which she was represented by a man named 'Zev Secured Party Creditor'. 'Zev' had appeared with a noisy parrot that squawked throughout the hearing in March. Black now claims Zev was simply looking after the bird and paid credit to his legal know-how in the courtroom. She addressed the controversy surrounding that court appearance in a near hour-long interview with Wilms. An irate Black lashed out at Judicial Registrar Alison Paton, who released information of her alleged offending to Melbourne journalists. Black performed an 'up yours' salute to Ms Paton, whom she will likely appear before again during her next hearing. 'Of course they're paid off, they're all on the same team, blah blah blah, the magistrate said "no I do think it's important the public know this',' Black told Wilms. Black claimed 'Zev' had torn the magistrate a 'new one' during the hearing. 'He knew exactly what he was talking about,' she said. Eve Black in her now infamous ride through a police check point last year in Victoria Eve Black mocked QR code check-ins during an hour long interview Black faces a charge of failing to provide her details to police when they pounced on her in Carlton. Court documents reveal police allege Black locked herself inside her car and refused to comply with directions when they found her in Carlton on July 29. The officers claim she filmed them on her mobile phone before they were forced to smash their way into the vehicle and arrest her. She eventually complied after spending some time in the back of a divisional van. In August, it was revealed Black was all woman and had in fact appeared in raunchy photographs on stripper website Chase Strippers. She had been arrested after a manhunt where police were allegedly forced to smash her car window in to arrest her. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews lashed out at the Black at the time, declaring the Covid restrictions were not about human rights. 'This is about human life', he said. Mr Andrew's takedown of Black came at a time when coronavirus deniers were making life hell for police and shop workers trying to enforce mask wearing. Black had gloated in a Facebook video about making it through a Melbourne COVID-19 roadblock without telling officers where she was going. After that video went viral, she tried the same trick again in the inner-city suburb of Carlton but was far less successful. Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent shares of a South Korean publishing company soaring Wednesday after he tweeted about the viral Baby Shark video Shares of a South Korean book publishing company soared more than 10 percent on Wednesday, after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted about the viral Baby Shark song. In reply to a South Park tweet on Tuesday, sharing the show's 'Meme Stars Battle it Out' scene, Musk wrote: 'Baby Shark crushes all! More views than humans.' The tweet was posted in the early Tuesday morning hours in Asia, and by Wednesday, shares of Samsung Publishing, a major shareholder in the producer of the viral song and video, increased more than 10 percent, before closing 6.29 percent higher, according to CNBC. The publishing company has no affiliation with the Samsung Group, the multinational technology conglomerate, despite having the same name. It did not reach its year-to-date high in shares, at 59,000 Korean won in April, CNBC reported, but shares were sitting at 47,300 won by the end of Wednesday. In his tweet, which came in the early Tuesday morning hours in Asia, Musk wrote 'Baby Shark crushes all,' noting that it has more views than there are humans in the world The tweet sent shares of Samsung Publishing surging, closing Wednesday 6.29 percent higher Its shares had previously surged more than 76 percent in 2018 after after Baby Shark went vial, hitting the Top 40 charts in the U.K. The Baby Shark song had been around for over a decade at that point, according to CNBC, but the 2016 video cover by Samsung Publishing affiliate SmartStudy made it go viral worldwide. The video was created by SmartStudy's Pinkfong division which 'develops, creative, animated content to provide stimulating and fun learning experiences to children worldwide,' according to the SmartStudy website. Pinkfong distributes its content on mobile apps and platforms like YouTube and Amazon Video. The YouTube video for the Baby Shark song has been viewed more than 8.6 billion times since it was first posted in June 2016, and inspired a Nickelodeon show. The video was first posted in 2016 and went viral with 8.6 billion views on YouTube. It features two young children singing about a family of sharks This is not the first time Musk's tweets have had an affect on the stock market, though. Over the past month, shares of cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum plummeted after the billionaire announced Tesla would no longer accept Bitcoin as payment, a reversal of his stance from two months prior. His tweets have also been linked to an increase in shares of Dogecoin in early May, when Musk tweeted that he was working with Dogecoin developers to improve its efficiency. At around the same time, he also said his company, SpaceX would accept the meme-inspired cryptocurrency as a payment for trips to the moon and would send a 40-kilograb cube satellite named DOGE-1 to the moon. In 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission ordered Tesla to vet all material public communications Musk made about the company, after accusing him of fraud for a tweet in which he claimed he had 'funding secured' to take Tesla private at $420 a share. The tweet sent the company's stock soaring and forced a halt in trading. Musk reportedly gained $851 million in the wake of posting that tweet. The SEC then sued Musk for fraud for 'false and misleading tweets' claiming he simply chose the $420 price because the number is a marijuana reference which would 'amuse' his girlfriend. Musk was fined $20 million and was forced to resign as chairman of Tesla after reaching a settlement with the Commission. But on two occasions, one in 2019 and another in 2020 the SEC contended that Tesla had violated the terms of the settlement, according to exchanges obtained by the Wall Street Journal. On July 29, 2019 Musk posted that Tesla was, 'spooling up production line rapidly,' on the solar roof, and, 'Hoping to manufacture ~1000 solar roofs/week by end of this year.' On May 1, 2020 he tweeted: 'Tesla stock price is too high imo' Initially, Tesla was required to review all of Musk's tweets under the terms of the settlement in which which the company was also required to pay $20 million. In February 2019 the terms of the social media agreement were narrowed to require the company review only tweets involving certain topics. The topics were: production numbers, new products and Tesla's financial status. By May 2020, however, the agency said the company was failing to abide by even those requirements with a letter to Tesla signed by senior SEC official Steven Buchholz saying, 'Tesla has abdicated the duties required of it by the courts order,' according to the Journal. 'In the face of Mr. Musks repeated refusals to submit his covered written communications on Twitter to Tesla for pre-approval, we are very concerned by Teslas repeated determinations that there have been no policy violations because of purported carve-outs,' the SEC replied. The Wall Street Journal obtained the exchanges through a Freedom of Information Act request. So far, neither Tesla nor the SEC have responded to the feud. If any evidence exists that the Covid-19 pandemic was caused by a lab leak in Wuhan it would likely have been destroyed by China, the former head of MI6 has said. Sir Richard Dearlove has said proving the theory that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was working on 'gain of function' experiments to create a natural coronavirus that would be more deadly to humans will be very difficult. He also said he thought Western countries had been naive in their trust of China, which he says has infiltrated scientific institutions and journals in Britain and abroad. Speaking to The Daily Telegraph's 'Planet Normal' podcast, Dearlove - who lead the British secret intelligence service from 1999 to 2004 - also said it was possible that scientists who wanted to speak about the experiments had been 'silenced'. If any evidence exists that the Covid-19 pandemic was caused by a lab leak in Wuhan it would likely have been destroyed by China, the former head of MI6 has said. Pictured: Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of MI6 from 1999 to 2004 'The People's Republic of China is a pretty terrifying regime and does some things we consider unacceptable and extreme in silencing opposition to the official line of the government,' he said. 'We don't know that's what's happened, but a lot of data have probably been destroyed or made to disappear so it's going to be difficult to prove definitely the case for a "gain of function chimera" being the cause of the pandemic.' For this reason, Sir Richard said, scientific research is now more important to determine whether the virus was created in a man-made lab experiment. "Even if it's a zoonotic outbreak, which I think is highly unlikely, China comes out of the pandemic with its reputation in tatters" On our new #PlanetNormal podcast, former head of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove speaks to @AllisonPearson and @LiamHalligan https://t.co/EBw3EnT09x pic.twitter.com/qMiOCKk0Of The Telegraph (@Telegraph) June 3, 2021 Sir Richard's comments come after US President Joe Biden last week told intelligence agencies to look into the lab leak theory, along with other possible origins for the coronavirus, and deliver a report to him within 90 days. British intelligence is working alongside their US counterparts, and have said that the theory that coronavirus leaked from a lab is 'feasible', while a number of respected scientists have called for a major inquiry into its origins. Dearlove has long questioned the origins of the coronavirus and spoke of how he received 'a lot of stick' for sharing his beliefs in the past. Western intelligence agencies had seemingly written off the 'remote' chance that the laboratory - where research into bat-derived coronaviruses is conducted - had played a role. Pictured: Researchers in a lab at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province, February 2017 Now, he said, people are beginning to take the theory seriously, giving him a sense of 'vindication' after some 'extraordinary behaviour in the scientific community which successfully shut down any debate' which he said could amount to bullying. He added that people not taking the theory seriously could have been a symptom of the Trump regime in the US, with the former president's outlandish allegations so often being dismissed. 'In the end its going to boil down to scientific evidence because the data is no longer available unless some courageous Chinese individual, probably a scientist, comes forward,' Sir Richard added. He also case doubt over whether - if the allegations were found to be true - China would pay reparations for the global damage caused by the coronavirus, with China's relations with the rest of the world in that scenario becoming unpredictable. An inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus should no longer be left to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Sir Richard added. The UN's health body has been criticised for failing to investigate the issue sufficiently. In an interview earlier this month President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, agreed that a lab escape was 'a possibility'. He said he would also back a second investigation by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Pictured: The Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) British intelligence operatives now believe the theory, once discarded as a conspiracy theory, is 'feasible'. They are now investigating the possibility that a leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a Chinese research facility, sparked the global crisis which has sparked more than 3.5 million deaths. Western intelligence agencies had seemingly written off the 'remote' chance that the laboratory - where research into bat-derived coronaviruses is conducted - had played a role, but a recent reassessment has meant the leak theory is considered 'feasible', sources say. The development, which Beijing has angrily denied, has prompted US diplomatic sources to share their concerns 'we are one wet market or bio lab away from the next spillover', The Sunday Times reports. Chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, Tom Tugendhat, said: 'The silence coming from Wuhan is troubling. We need to open the crypt and see what happened to be able to protect ourselves in the future. That means starting an investigation, along with partners around the world and in the WHO.' Last week US President Joe Biden told intelligence agencies to look into the lab leak theory, along with other possible origins for the coronavirus, and deliver a report to him within 90 days. British intelligence is working alongside their US counterparts. A western intelligence source familiar with British involvement said: 'There might be pockets of evidence that take us one way, and evidence that takes us another way. 'The Chinese will lie either way. I don't think we will ever know.' Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said a World Health Organisation investigation must be able to fully investigate the origins of the pandemic. He told Sky News this week: 'I think it's really important that the WHO is allowed to conduct its investigation unencumbered into the origins of this pandemic and that we should leave no stone unturned to understand why - not only because of the current pandemic that has swept the world but also for future-proofing the world's capability to deal with pandemics.' Scientists who had called for an inquiry into the lab leak theory say they have been silenced by colleagues and journals over the past year. Jamie Metzl, human genome editing advisor to the WHO, said: 'Since the earliest days of the pandemic there were a small number of leading scientists who took it upon themselves to enforce this kind of orthodoxy. 'We were ostracised and called conspiracy theorists.' The origins of the virus are under fresh scrutiny with the collapse of the scientific consensus that it emerged from human contact with an infected animal, with some experts now arguing that the virus was man-made. David Asher, who led a task force investigating the origins of Covid, said evidence pointed to a leak from a biological weapons program at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which the Chinese government has repeatedly denied. President Biden ordered the intelligence community to re-examine how the virus originated, including the lab accident theory. He ordered a 90-day intelligence push to get to the bottom of the question. His announcement followed the revelation that a previously undisclosed intelligence report had been made to the White House, claiming that several researchers at the Wuhan institute were hospitalized with illness in November 2019. The document was uncovered this week by the Wall Street Journal. Both the US and Britain are stepping up demands for the World Health Organisation to take a closer look into the origins of the virus, including a new visit to China where the first human infections were detected. US health officials have also come under fire for allegedly funding researchers' controversial and risky experiments at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. US House Republican Whip Steve Scalise and more than 200 of his GOP colleagues have also called for Nancy Pelosi to direct her Democrat-led committees to investigate China's complicity in causing the Covid pandemic. In a letter to the Democratic House Speaker, the Republicans said there is 'mounting evidence the pandemic started in a Chinese lab' and the Chinese Communist Party 'covered it up'. 'If that is the case, the CCP is responsible for the deaths of almost 600,000 Americans and millions more worldwide. These questions about the CCP's liability are not a diversion, as you falsely claimed,' the letter reads. Meanwhile, an explosive new study claims Chinese scientists created Covid in a Wuhan lab, then tried to cover their tracks by reverse-engineering versions of the virus to make it look like it evolved naturally from bats. The paper's authors, British Professor Angus Dalgleish and Norwegian scientist Dr. Birger Srensen, wrote that they have had 'prima facie evidence of retro-engineering in China' for a year - but were ignored by academics and major journals. Dalgleish is a professor of oncology at St George's University, London, and is best known for his breakthrough creating the first working 'HIV vaccine', to treat diagnosed patients and allow them to go off medication for months. Srensen, a virologist, is chair of pharmaceutical company, Immunor, which developed a coronavirus vaccine candidate called Biovacc-19. Dalgleish also has share options in the firm. The shocking allegations in the study include accusations of 'deliberate destruction, concealment or contamination of data' at Chinese labs, and it notes the silencing and disappearance of scientists in the communist country who spoke out. The journal article, obtained by DailyMail.com, is set to make waves among the scientific community, as the majority of experts have until recently staunchly denied the origins of COVID-19 were anything other than a natural infection leaping from animals to humans. While analyzing COVID-19 samples last year in an attempt to create a vaccine, Dalgleish and Srensen discovered 'unique fingerprints' in the virus that they say could only have arisen from manipulation in a laboratory. They said they tried to publish their findings but were rejected by major scientific journals which were at the time resolute that the virus jumped naturally from bats or other animals to humans. Even when former MI6 chief Sir Richard spoke out publicly saying the scientists' theory should be investigated, the idea was dismissed as 'fake news'. Over a year later, leading academics, politicians and the media finally flipped, and have begun to contemplate the possibility that COVID-19 escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China - a lab where experiments included manipulating viruses to increase their infectiousness in order to study their potential effects on humans. Dalgleish and Srensen have authored a new study, which concludes that 'SARS-Coronavirus-2 has no credible natural ancestor' and that it is 'beyond reasonable doubt' that the virus was created through 'laboratory manipulation'. In the 22-page paper which is set to be published in the scientific journal Quarterly Review of Biophysics Discovery, the scientists describe their months-long 'forensic analysis', looking back at experiments done at the Wuhan lab between 2002 and 2019. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed it paused trials of its new 3.47 billion fleet of army tanks over design issues which reportedly include them being unable to travel safely faster than 20 miles per hour. The government has ordered more than 580 of the tanks in a range of models, but so far only 14 without turrets have been delivered. When first announced, the new generation of armoured fighting vehicles were due to be delivered by 2024. In total, the fleet high-tech fleet was due to have six variants - each with a different mission specialty. The MoD has halted trials of its new Ajax fleet of armoured vehicles because of a range of problems with the new fleet The US-designed machines are being built in Merthyr Tydfil though the project has been beset by delays and problems. According to the Daily Telegraph, the crews testing the new machines have been ordered not to exceed 20mph - only half of the top speed of 40mph. Also, the tanks are unable to fire on the move. Citing a Government report, the paper said the speed restrictions had been caused by excessive vibrations in the tanks, and that crews were limited to 90 minutes inside them at a time. Due to be published next month, the report says the tanks cannot reverse over obstacles more than eight inches high, that personnel must wear noise-cancelling headphones when operating them and undergo ear tests afterwards, and that the Household Cavalry Regiment 'cannot conduct effective collective training' in them. The MoD decided to bring in a new range of tanks in 2010, with 589 vehicles across a range of models ordered in 2014. Of the 580 planned tanks only 14 of the turretless versions have been delivered Soldiers evaluating the weapons system found it has problems clearing eight-inch high obstacles Troops have complained that the new tank is not performing as it was designed But the programme has been plagued by problems and is four years behind schedule, the Telegraph said, adding only 14 of the turretless Ares model tanks, made by US firm General Dynamics, had been delivered. The MoD said in a statement its training on 'Ajax variants' had now recommenced 'with appropriate safety measures in place'. 'We are committed to the Ajax programme which will form a key component in the Army's modernised warfighting division, with current plans for Initial Operating Capability scheduled for summer 2021,' an MOD Spokesperson said in a statement. 'The MOD can confirm that some training on the Ajax family of vehicles was paused as a precautionary measure. 'This is a normal measure for the demonstration phase of projects; an investigation, incorporating trials, is being carried out jointly with the manufacturer. It is inappropriate for us to comment further at this time. 'The health and safety of our personnel is of the utmost importance and we are committed to providing a safe working environment.' When first announced, the MoD described the fleet of tanks as 'a complex, fully-digitised, land vehicle project delivering transformational change to the Armys armoured fleet; providing a step-change in capability to the British Army. Each of the variants, Ajax, Ares, Athena, Atlas, Apollo and Argus are designed for a specific role. A farmer has nearly lost his life after contracting a rodent-borne disease while battling regional Australia's hellish mouse plague. Darrell Jordison, who lives near Gulargambone in central western New South Wales, was hospitalised for a week in February this year after falling severely ill. He had a fever of close to 40C, lost 11kg and had felt run-down for months. Little did he know he'd contracted lymphocytic choriomeningitis - an extremely rare type of bacterial meningitis that's believed to have never been recorded before in Australia. When his wife desperately phoned an ambulance in February, he was told that if he went another night without help he wouldn't have survived. 'The doctor asked me why did I call the ambulance and he said that phone call saved my life,' Mr Jordison told the Today Show. Darrell Jordison, who lives near Gulargambone in central western New South Wales, was hospitalised for a week in February this year after falling severely ill from a disease carried by rodents 'He said I wouldn't have lasted into the morning.' Mr Jordison said that even after his stint in hospital, doctors were unable to determine what was wrong with him for another five weeks. He said as well as feeling like he'd been struck down with an extreme case of the flu, he was unable to deal with light and had a constant throbbing headache. 'I hadn't eaten. I kept thinking ''gee I hope I never get this sick again'',' the farmer said. 'I wasn't taken any risks with the mice but I was told that just picking up a bale of hay that had some (mouse) urine on the string and not washing my hands was enough to get it.' The farmer had actually contracted lymphocytic choriomeningitis - an extremely rare type of bacterial meningitis that's believed to have never been recorded before in Australia The shocking mathematics behind the lifecycle of mice is one of the main reasons the mouse plague inundating Australia's eastern states is so terrifying. Mr Jordison said the disease comes with a range of side affects but luckily he's been able to make a full recovery and return to normal life on his farm. Shockingly, the bacterial meningitis kills as many as one in ten who have caught it. Plagues of mice continue to wreak havoc across regional Australia with many families detailing how they've felt the rodents crawl over them while they slept. The lifecycle of mice is one of the main reasons the mouse plague inundating Australia's eastern states is so terrifying. The common mouse can live for up to two or three years - but female mice start reproducing at just six weeks of age. Three weeks later they can give birth to ten youngsters, while the mother can potentially get pregnant again the very next day If half of every litter is female - who will be mature enough to reproduce just six weeks later - those two original mice will have sparked of colony of almost 2,000 mice within five months. Plagues of mice continue to wreak havoc across regional Australia with many families detailing how they've felt the rodents crawl over them while they slept (pictured is mice killed by farmer in NSW) A desperate search is underway for a missing teenage boy who was last seen leaving school as police release images of the hat he is believed to be wearing. Owen Fisher, 16, was last seen leaving a school on Gipps Street, Wollongong, at 3.30pm on Wednesday. Police have launched a desperate search for missing Wollongong teenager Owen Fisher (pictured) The 16-year-old was last seen leaving a school on Gipps Street (pictured) at 3.30pm on Wednesday His family reported him missing at 6.40pm that evening after he failed to return to his Kieraville home and a police investigation was launched. Police and family are concerned for Owens welfare as he has a medical condition, and his disappearance is out of character. Owen is described as being of Asian appearance, about 180cm tall, of thin build with short black hair. He was last seen wearing his school uniform; a white shirt and grey pants, with black rectangular glasses. Owen is believed to be wearing a grey and black peaked hat. Anyone who sees Owen or knows of his whereabouts urged to call Wollongong Police on 4226 7899 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. A 'beautiful' 10-year-old girl has died after her parents made the agonising decision to turn off her life support while the rest of her family fight serious injuries in hospital after a horror car crash. The Lee family - father Geoff, 44, mother Sommar, 42, daughter Chloe and son Declan, eight - were all involved in a crash on Sunday morning when their car slammed into a tree near Williams, a town 170 kilometres south-east of Perth. Chloe suffered untreatable head and spinal injuries forcing her parents - who are still recovering from their own very serious injuries - decided to turn off her life support on Wednesday. The family of a young girl on life support after tragic car crash want to fly her home to say their final goodbyes The Japan Karate Association Karate Wood Dojo in Mandurah, Western Australia - a club the Lee family recently joined - expressed their condolences for the loss of 'a beautiful little girl Chloe Lee'. 'It is with the saddest of hearts we are sharing this news of a beautiful family who only recently started training with our JKA karate family,' the business wrote on Facebook. 'We wondered why we had not seen you on Monday as usual.' The karate club shared a picture of Sommar, Chloe and Declan taken last week dressed in their karate uniforms with 'happy smiles, loving smiles and touching all our lives'. 'There will be empty places in our dojo today. We are better people for having known you Chloe, Declan and Sommer,' they said. Chloe suffered untreatable head and spinal injuries when her parents (pictured) decided to turn off her life support on Wednesday The club asked their students to help in assisting the Lee family to take their 'precious angel Chloe home to Queensland.' 'Our thoughts are with her wonderful brother Declan and her caring, loving and beautiful parents whose hearts are now broken'. Emergency service personnel spent two hours attempting to cut the family from the car with the other members of Chloe's family experienced serious but non life-threatening injuries. The parents were flown to Royal Perth Hospital by RAC Rescue helicopter as father Geoff broke both ankles and suffered spinal and internal injuries and Sommar broke her pelvis, legs and wrist. The children were first taken by St John Ambulance to Narrogin Hospital before being airlifted to Perth Children's Hospital where Declan suffered cuts and bruises. A close family friend started a GoFundMe to help the Lee family 'kiss their baby girl goodbye' as they have to wait to fly her home to Queensland from Western Australia to say their final goodbyes. Chloe's mother Sommar, 42, (pictured) broke her pelvis, legs and wrist following the car crash Family friend Barbara Wilkinson started the fundraiser to help the Lee family pay for medical costs to transport Chloe back to Coobulture. 'Geoff is currently employed on a casual basis and has no holiday/sick pay. They have a house that they rent south west of Perth and a mortgage on their home in Caboolture,' Ms Wilkinson wrote on the GoFundMe. 'The family will be under significant financial pressure due to Geoff not being able to work and costs associated with the accident. 'Sommar and Geoff have expressed their wish to return Chloe to her home town of Caboolture for a funeral so that her friends and relatives have the opportunity to commemorate her short life.' The fundraiser has already surpassed its $20,000 goal, sitting at $43,934 at the time this article was published. The family from Caboolture, situated between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, are well known in the area for their involvement in the local schools and community. They had recently moved from Queensland to the West Australian south coast before the tragic accident occurred. You can help the Lee family by donating to the GoFundMe here. A trial regarding the White Island-Whakaari volcanic eruption appears many months away following a hearing in New Zealand's Whakatane District Court on Thursday. Last December, New Zealand's workplace safety watchdog Worksafe laid charges against 13 organisations or individuals following the devastating 2019 eruption, in which 22 people were killed. All but one party are yet to enter pleas due to the complex case and the mountain of paperwork to assess. The WorkSafe investigation itself took 12 months, costing $NZ5.5 million ($A5.1 million). Melbourne resident Krystal Browitt (pictured right) was one of the 22 victims on White Island in December of 2019 when a volcano erupted in New Zealand Stephanie Browitt (pictured) survived the horrific ordeal in New Zealand, but suffered burns to 70 per cent of her body A dramatic image from the White Island volcanic eruption in New Zealand (pictured) that killed 22 people in December of 2019 The charges relate to safety failings in the lead-up to the eruption, and if parties are found guilty, they face fines of up to $NZ1.5 million ($A1.4 million). The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has pleaded not guilty. The other 12 parties have been instructed by Justice Evangelos Thomas to issue their pleas not later than August 24. Given the intricacies and the difficulty of bringing the 13 different parties in the one action, a potential trial will still be many months away. Justice Thomas heard arguments from counsel representing Worksafe, Kristy McDonald QC, urging the court to 'move the matter along', and to ask defending parties to enter pleas. Richard Raymond, representing White Island Tours, said defendants were overwhelmed by documents to assess. Some 3000 documents, some more than 100 pages long, have been disclosed and there are more than a thousand still to come. Parties also argued over where future hearings should be held. A March hearing was based in Auckland - where seven of the defendants are based - but this week's hearing was moved to Whakatane, 300km away, the city closest to the offshore volcano. Justice Thomas appointed local lawyer Roger Gowing to prepare a report for the court on views on what the most appropriate site would be. The White Island volcanic eruption trial won't start for months due to the difficulty of bringing 13 parties in the one legal action Ten Australians died on White Island following the volcano disaster on December 9, 2019 (a rescue helicopter is pictured at the scene) Worksafe NZ alleges 13 parties - 10 organisations and three people - were negligent in their duty of care to visitors to the island (pictured - bodies being recovered following the volcano eruption on White Island) Mr Gowing said he had heard representations from some family of Australian victims that the case be heard in Auckland for ease of access, however the overwhelming sentiment was to hold the hearings in Whakatane. Justice Thomas set the next case review hearing for September 13 in Whakatane. Worksafe alleges 13 parties - 10 organisations and three people - were negligent in their duty of care to visitors to the island. That includes tourism outlets Inflite Charters, ID Tours, Tauranga Tourism Services, White Island Tours, Kahu NZ, Volcanic Air Safaris and Aerius; as well as government agencies NEMA and GNS Science. The three people to have been charged are the legal owners of the island; James, Peter and Andrew Buttle, as well as their ownership company Whakaari Management. Xi highlights vital role of BRI solidarity China Daily) 08:42, June 03, 2021 The X9041 train prepares to leave Xi'an International Port for Kazakhstan in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, April 13, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Yibo) President has talks with Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Dominican Republic leaders China and Kazakhstan should foster new growth engines in bilateral cooperation in fields such as green energy, artificial intelligence, e-commerce and digital finance to jointly promote the high-quality building of the Belt and Road, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday. Xi made the remark in a phone conversation with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. He also spoke on the phone on Wednesday with Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, and Luis Abinader, the president of the Dominican Republic. The friendship between China and Kazakhstan, as permanent comprehensive strategic partners, is built on a deep foundation and powered with strong impetus, Xi said. In promoting the high-quality building of the Belt and Road, Xi said the two sides should scale up cooperation in production capacity, trade, agriculture and infrastructure and keep improving their level of connectivity. The two nations should jointly build a green Silk Road, a health Silk Road and a digital Silk Road, adding that Beijing is willing to deepen cooperation in areas such as telemedicine and traditional medicine, he said. China will continue to offer help and support to Kazakhstan in its fight against COVID-19, and the two sides should work more closely in law enforcement, security and defense affairs to jointly safeguard regional peace and security, he said. Tokayev hailed China's historic achievements under Xi's leadership, saying that the COVID-19 pandemic has further exemplified the importance and necessity of China's proposal to build a community with a shared future for mankind. The two nations are genuine permanent comprehensive strategic partners, and Kazakhstan would never do anything that harms China's interests under any circumstances, he said. In his talks with Aliyev, Xi said China and Azerbaijan have supported each other in the face of the raging pandemic, which truly embodies their friendship. The two sides should amplify their traditional friendship, deepen win-win cooperation, enhance mutual support and use the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties next year to work toward greater progress in bilateral relations and more benefits for the two peoples, he said. China sees Azerbaijan as an important partner in the joint building of the Belt and Road, and the two sides should share opportunities, jointly plan development and ensure the sound planning and progress of Belt and Road cooperation, he said. China will import more high-quality produce from Azerbaijan and support more of its businesses to invest and start new businesses in the nation, Xi said. He highlighted the need for the two nations to step up cooperation in international transportation and logistics, promote the building of a Eurasian transportation corridor and improve regional connectivity, adding that China will continue to offer aid to help the nation fight COVID-19. Aliyev said Azerbaijan welcomes investment by more Chinese businesses, and the nation stands ready to step up communication and cooperation with China on regional affairs. China is a true partner of Azerbaijan, and the nation has supported China's position, and will continue to do so, on issues regarding Taiwan, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. While speaking with Abinader, Xi said China highly appreciates the Dominican Republic's firm adherence to the one-China policy and its regarding ties with China as a priority in its foreign relations. China will continue to do its best to help the Dominican Republic fight the pandemic and is willing to make joint efforts to bring bilateral relations to a higher level, he said. Abinader expressed sincere appreciation for China sending medical supplies and vaccines to the Dominican Republic to assist its fight against COVID-19, saying that the nation firmly adheres to the one-China policy and would like to expand bilateral cooperation in trade and economics. (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun) New York City's transit system was hacked by Chinese operatives in April, it emerged on Wednesday, as a ferry company taking passengers to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket confirmed that they too had been targeted by hackers. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) discovered that their computer systems had been accessed, but the hackers did not gain access to systems that control train cars, The New York Times reported, citing an internal MTA investigation. Transit officials said riders were never at risk, and they do not believe passenger or employee data was compromised. On Wednesday it emerged that New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) was attacked by Chinese hackers in April. The MTA said no passengers were at risk, and data was not stolen, but analysts are concerned at the news - the third hack of the MTA by a foreign agent in recent years, according to The New York Times But the attack in New York showed once again just how exposed the United States' infrastructure is to cyberattack. On Tuesday the world's largest meat processor was forced to close all nine of its beef plants in the United States, with many of its pork and poultry plants also affected Last month, a ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline, which transports gas to nearly half the East Coast, triggered gas and jet-fuel shortages and panic buying. And on Wednesday, the Steamship Authority, which operates ferries between the Massachusetts mainland and popular holiday islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, said they too had been hacked. The website was still down on Thursday morning, and passengers were told to expect delays. A view of a Steamship Authority ferry approaching the Nantucket Terminal on April 25, 2020. The company was hacked on Wednesday, they said Passengers were being encouraged to use cash to buy tickets, and are currently unable to book tickets or change vehicle reservations online or by phone. The ticketing processes will likely continue to be affected on Thursday. 'The Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority has been the target of a ransomware attack that is affecting operations as of Wednesday morning,' the Steamship Authority said in a statement. 'As a result, customers traveling with us today may experience delays.' At 5:30pm on Wednesday they tweeted: 'The Steamship Authority continues to work with our team internally, as well as with local, state, and federal officials externally, to address today's ransomware incident. 'At this point, we are unable to release or confirm specific details of what occurred.' The company have not specified whether they paid a ransom. Cars are seen loading on to the Steamship Authority ferry in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The ferry is a lifeline for those living on Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, as it is the only way to get cars on and off the islands The operators of the Colonial Pipeline confirmed they paid $4.4 million to Russian-based hackers Dark Side, to resume their vital operations. The hack in New York is just the latest attack on transit systems within the U.S. A study last year by the Mineta Transportation Institute, cited by The New York Times, found that only 60 per cent of transit authorities had a cybersecurity plan in place. They appeared naive to the risks: over 80 per cent believed they were prepared to manage cybersecurity threats. 'A lot of transit agencies don't have chief security officers, much less cybersecurity officers,' said Scott Belcher, a consultant specializing in transportation technology who led the study. In 2016, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency was hacked, messing with the ticketing systems and forcing the agency to provide free service for three days. In 2019, the transportation agency in Fort Worth, Texas, lost access to its IT systems, data and customer support. And in October, a ransomware attack disrupted the Philadelphia transit authority's operations for months after the agency was forced to block employees from accessing their email and stopped providing real-time travel information to riders. Sacramento's transit agency and the state transportation department in Colorado have also been hit by cyberattacks in recent years. New York's system - North America's largest - appears particularly vulnerable, and has been breached three times by foreign agents in recent years, The New York Times reported. New York's transit system is the largest in North America. But it is vulnerable to cyberattack, as happened in April and has happened twice before Hackers gained access specifically to systems used by New York City Transit, which oversees the subway and buses. They also accessed the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad, compromising three of the transit authority's 18 computer systems. The hackers appeared to have gained entry via remote working systems used as staff logged on from home. The MTA required 3,700 employees and contractors, representing five per cent of its workforce, to change passwords as a precautionary measure, according to the transit agency. Several theories have been put forward as to why Beijing would want to hack into New York's public transit. One idea is that China wanted to learn more about New York's systems, as they try to make advances in the industry that supplies parts and carriages for the service. Another idea is that China accessed the system by mistake, while fishing around, and realized there was little of interest. Some see the hack as China flexing their muscles and showing off their capabilities. 'The M.T.A.'s existing multilayered security systems worked as designed, preventing spread of the attack,' said Rafail Portnoy, the M.T.A.'s chief technology officer. 'We continue to strengthen these comprehensive systems and remain vigilant as cyberattacks are a growing global threat.' A brazen man police are searching for has taunted officers online by posting a daring meme on his own wanted poster. Orana Mid Western Police posted a plea to Facebook for information to help locate Dallas Bradford, 24, who is wanted in relation to an outstanding arrest warrant related to property damage. 'Police have been unsuccessful in locating him and are now seeking assistance from the community,' Orana police posted online alongside a photo of Bradford. Dallas Bradford (pictured) who is wanted by police has taunted officers online by posting a daring meme as authorities attempt to locate him Bradford, who is known to frequent the Dubbo area, teased police by commenting a meme of American rapper Bhad Bhabie with the caption 'catch me outside how bout dat'. Bhad Bhabie - also known as Danielle Bregoli - is a rapper, songwriter, and internet personality who rose to fame back in 2016 during an episode of the American chat show Dr Phil. She appeared with her mother to discuss her behavior - that involved stealing cars - when she responded to audience members laughing at her by saying 'cash me outside how bout that', referring to how she would fight them outside the studio. Orana Mid Western Police posted a plea of Facebook for information to help locate Dallas Bradford who is wanted on a warrant Bradford responded to Orana Police's Facebook post by commenting a cheeky meme (pictured) The then 13-year-old's catch phrase soon went viral online and later became a well-known internet meme. Bradford's cheeky use of the meme to Orana police amused other Facebook users. 'This is amazing,' one user commented. 'That's wild,' another wrote. Bradford (pictured) posted 'cash me outside' meme on police's Facebook post about him Danielle 'Bhad Bhabie' Bregoli (pictured) rose to fame back in 2016 when she appeared on American chat show Dr Phil Orana Police has urged anyone who has information to contact Dubbo Police or CrimeStoppers. 'Even if you do not know him, you can assist by liking and sharing this post to ensure it reaches as many members of the community as possible,' they said. Daily Mail Australia has contacted NSW Police for comment. A Brisbane man who stabbed a stranger in the neck in an act of 'explosive heinousness', leaving him permanently disabled, has been sentenced to almost 10 years behind bars. John Matthew Fitzgerald was found not guilty of the attempted murder of Josue Natanael Espinosa-Cassanelli at a Woolloongabba unit in April 2019, after a five-day trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court. However, the jury found the 42-year-old guilty of the alternative charge of a malicious act with intent. The court found the violence erupted at a party with Fitzgerald stabbing Mr Espinosa-Cassanelli in the neck. John Matthew Fitzgerald was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years behind bars at Brisbane's Supreme Court (pictured) over the stabbing of Josue Natanael Espinosa-Cassanelli in 2019 A wounded Mr Espinosa-Cassanelli stumbled from the apartment before he collapsed from severe blood loss. When taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital for emergency surgery, he was in critical condition with a deep 8cm wound that almost severed his left jugular vein. He still has no memory of the attack. Mr Espinosa-Cassanelli 's career as a draftsman was destroyed, and he now survives on National Disability Insurance Scheme annual subsidies of just $26,000. During submissions, the Crown said the pair were 'not known to each other', describing the attack as an unpremeditated act of explosive heinousness. The court heard Mr Espinosa-Cassanelli was rushed to Princess Alexandra Hospital (pictured) in a critical condition after being stabbed in the neck during the 'unprovoked' attack Justice Susan Brown described the attack as an 'unprovoked assault' during a sentencing hearing in the Supreme Court on Thursday. 'After stabbing Mr Espinosa-Cassanelli, you left the scene and were seen to be walking away,' Justice Brown said. 'There is no evidence you had any remorse for what you had done.' Without medical intervention, Justice Brown said Mr Espinosa-Cassanelli 'most certainly would have died' and the injuries had left him disabled with no hope of rehabilitation. Fitzgerald was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years behind bars and will be eligible for parole after six years. Fox News Host Tucker Carlson on Wednesday accused Dr. Anthony Fauci of perjury, saying that a trove of the expert's emails released earlier in the day suggested he had lied to the Senate about the Wuhan lab's coronavirus research. Carlson said the emails also suggested Fauci made misleading statements about the efficacy of post-infection immunity and mask wearing. 'We're Americans, he said. 'So we assumed the man in charge of protecting the US from COVID must be rational and impressive. 'We also assumed he must be honest, but we were wrong. It soon became clear that Tony Fauci was just another sleazy federal bureaucrat, deeply political and often dishonest. 'More shocking than that, we then learned that Fauci himself was implicated in the very pandemic he'd been charged with fighting.' Carlson's comments came after a trove of 3,200 of Fauci's emails from January to June 2020 were obtained and published by Buzzfeed. They showed leading virus experts warning Fauci that COVID-19 may have been created in a lab while he publicly played such claims down. Fauci, who serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under the umbrella of the NIH, has denied that the NIH directly funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan while answering questions in Congress. Fox News Host Tucker Carlson said a trove of emails released Wednesday from Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested the nation's top disease expert had lied about research into the origins of the coronavirus, and accused him of perjury. The host's dissection of the emails began with ones Fauci sent early in the pandemic expressing worry that people might believe the virus had emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a Chinese lab in the province the disease is believed to have come from. The worry, Carlson said, was likely based around US government-funded research done in collaboration with the lab. On Jan. 1 2020, shortly after the first cases of the virus were detected, Dr. Kristian Anderson, an immunologist at the Scripps Research Institute emailed Fauci saying that some features of the virus could potentially be man made. Shortly after, Fauci sent an urgent email to a deputy of his, Hugh Auchincloss, asking him to review a document he was attaching, which was titled 'baric, shi et al nature medicine SARS gain of function.' Carlson went so far as to say Fauci had tried to cover up suggestions that the virus could have been manmade, as well as the nature of US government funded research into the disease in Wuhan, the Chinese province where the virus emerged from Although the contents of the attachment are unknown, the title, Carlson said, was likely a reference to Dr. Ralph Baric a US-based virologist, who had performed US government-funded research in collaboration with Wuhan Institute scientist Dr. Shi Zhengli, who specializes in coronavirus transmission in bats. Gain of function research involves altering diseases to increase their transmissibility. Carlson says Fauci's denials about gain of function research in his comments to congress amounted to perjury. 'In retrospect that looks a lot like perjury,' the host said. 'We do know that starting early last year, a lot of people at NIH were worried that COVID had not occurred naturally that it had instead been manipulated in a lab in China and yet they seemed determined to hide that fact from the public.' In other emails from early in the pandemic, British medical researcher Dr. Jeremy Farrar, who was involved in early top secret conference calls discussing the virus, shared an article from the website ZeroHedge suggesting that the virus could be a bioweapon. British medical expert Dr. Jeremy Farrar, who was in early international discussions about the coronavirus shared an article from a website suggesting the virus was a bioweapon. Social media networks would later ban the sharing of articles from that site Carlson said that conclusion seemed more likely than the early reports saying the virus may have emerged from Chinese pangolins. Articles shared from ZeroHendge were later banned on major social media networks, which the host said was after pressure from figures like Fauci who said the virus couldn't be manmade. 'Tony Fauci assured the tech monopolies that the coronavirus could not have been manmade,' he said, 'and so the tech monopolies shut down the topic.' On April 17, 2020 Fauci announced that it was believed the virus had emerged from bats in China, which Carlson contends the disease expert could not have known definitively that early in the pandemic. 'At that point, he could not have known that,' he said. 'That was dishonest.' In an email sent two days after the announcement, Dr. Peter Daszak, a virologist who was doing US government-funded coronavirus research in Wuhan, thanked Fauci for: 'publicly standing up and stating that the scientific evidence supports a natural origin for Covid 19 from a bat-to-human spillover.' Carlson said the emails suggested Dr. Peter Daszak, a virologist who was doing government-funded coronavirus research in Wuhan, could be under criminal investigation Much of the rest of the email, however, was redacted under a Freedom of Information Act section that blocks the release of records that could interfere with law enforcement proceedings. Carlson suggested it could suggest an investigation into the two's dealings. 'Are Peter Dazak and Tony Fauci under criminal investigation? We can only hope they are. They certainly deserve it' Other emails between oncologist Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, and Fauci, Carlson said, suggested that Fauci has made misleading comments about the efficacy of coronavirus immunity after one has recovered from virus. In a March 4, 2020 email responding to an inquiry from Emanuel concerning the matter, Fauci wrote that there's, No evidence in this regard but you would assume that their would be substantial immunity post infection. 'Studies now show that it's true,' Carlson said. 'In fact, studies now show it is true. People who have had Covid and recovered almost never get sick again from Covid. So they don't need to be vaccinated.' He noted, however, that the disease expert has yet to confirm how safe one is from infection after recovering from the virus. Other emails with Emanuel early in the pandemic, Carlson said have Fauci cast doubt on the efficacy of mask wearing, which the doctor has repeatedly urged in public since then. Drawing from the email's conclusion the masks, Carlson said, 'are in short, a form of make belief he had once again, well, under oath in public Tony Fauci claimed precisely the opposite.' 'He told me it wasn't gain of function, but admitted it in these emails': Rand Paul says Fauci lied to him over US-funded research that was being carried out in Wuhan lab and demands he is fired Republican Sen. Rand Paul demanded Dr. Anthony Fauci be fired and claimed that he lied to him about gain-of-function research conducted at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that was allegedly funded by the United States. Paul appeared on Fox News' The Ingraham Angle where he claimed that thousands of emails revealed by Buzzfeed News and the Washington Post proved Fauci may have been in-part responsible for the development of COVID-19. The junior senator from Kentucky said that Fauci bears 'moral culpability' while asserting that COVID-19 was created by the Wuhan Institute of Virology through funding from the National Institute of Health, a theory which has not been proven. Fauci appeared in an interview with NewsNation Now anchor Leland Vittert on The Donlon Report in which he defended a grant the United States had provided the Wuhan lab. Rand Paul appeared on The Ingraham Angle where he claimed revealed emails proved Fauci may have been in-part responsible for the development of COVID-19 The junior senator from Kentucky said Fauci bears 'moral culpability' for the pandemic and should be fired from his government roles Paul asserted COVID-19 was created by the Wuhan Institute of Virology through National Institute of Health funding, a theory which has not been proven. Paul said: 'In his email, in the subject line, he says 'gain of function research.' He was admitting it to his private underlings seven to eight months ago' Scientists have primarily focused their beliefs about COVID-19 on the theory that it spread naturally from a bat to an intermediary animal before infecting humans. Claims that the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology have been laughed off as conspiracy theories - but even researchers at a number of top universities like Harvard and Cambridge have suggested in a letter that the 'hypotheses' cannot be ruled out until there is more evidence. In gain-of-function research, scientists alter organisms and diseases to study how they could become deadlier or more transmissible. The field of virology widely relies on such studies. Fauci, who serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under the umbrella of the NIH, has denied that the NIH directly funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan. However, Paul asserted to Fox News host Laura Ingraham that the recently reveals emails show Fauci admitted to funding gain-of-function research. 'I think we've had a sea change of opinion. Everybody left-of-center was saying this was a conspiracy, no way it could have happened in the Wuhan lab. Now even Dr. Fauci is saying we should investigate it,' Paul said. 'But the emails paint a disturbing picture, a disturbing picture of Dr. Fauci form the very beginning worrying that he had been funding gain of function research. And he knows it to this day but hasn't admitted it.' Paul claimed in the interview that 'there is a lot of evidence' that Fauci's views on the Wuhan lab-leak theory were compromised by a 'conflict of interest.' 'If it turns out this virus came from the Wuhan lab, which it looks like it did, that there's a great deal of culpability in that he was a big supporter of the funding,' Paul said. 'But he was also a big supporter to this day of saying that we can trust the Chinese on this, that we can trust Chinese scientists and I think that's quite naive and really should preclude him form the position that he's in.' Dr. Anthony Fauci dismissed recent revelations that he was warned by scientist at start of pandemic that COVID-19 may have been 'engineered' Fauci made his comments in an interview with NewsNation Now anchor Leland Vittert on The Donlon Report where he also admitted he 'can't guarantee everything that is going on in the Wuhan lab' The NIH awarded a $3.7 million grant to EcoHealth Alliance, which is based in the United States, to study the risk of coronaviruses emerging from bats in 2014. EcoHealth Alliance in turn distributed nearly $600,000 of that funding to its collaborator, the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Paul claimed during the Fox News interview that Fauci's emails show he was worried the NIH funded gain-of-function research as early as last February during the emergence of the pandemic. 'In his email, in the subject line, he says 'gain of function research.' He was admitting it to his private underlings seven to eight months ago,' Paul said. In a February 1, 2020 email obtained by Buzzfeed News, Principal NIAID Director Hugh Auschincloss wrote to Fauci to discuss a paper the top infectious disease expert had sent him appearing to question if NIH grants funded gain of function research relating to coronaviruses. In the email to Fauci, Auschincloss noted that a colleague would 'try to determine if we have any distant ties to this work abroad.' When Ingraham asked Paul if Fauci could face criminal culpability, he replied: 'At the very least, there is moral culpability.' Fauci, who is considered America's top expert on infectious disease, also explained why scientists focused their theories on the natural transmission from bats rather than an accidental leak from the Wuhan lab Researchers at a number of top universities have recently penned a letter claiming that theories that COVID-19 escaped from a Wuhan lab 'remain viable' The Wuhan Institute of Virology is about 20 miles from the Huanan Seafood Market where the first coronavirus cases are reported to have occurred Paul's interview on Wednesday came as Fauci dismissed recent revelations that he was warned at the start of pandemic that COVID-19 may have been 'engineered' and said that the emails are 'really ripe to be taken out of context.' Fauci also admitted on The Donlon Report that he 'can't guarantee everything that is going on in the Wuhan lab.' Considered America's top expert on infectious disease, Fauci also explained why scientists focused their theories on the natural transmission from bats to humans through an intermediary species. The interview comes after a trove of 3,200 of Fauci's emails from January to June 2020 were obtained and published by Buzzfeed on Tuesday that showed leading virus experts warned him COVID-19 may have been created in a lab while he publicly played such claims down. 'The only trouble is they are really ripe to be taken out of context where someone can snip out a sentence in an email without showing the other emails, and say 'based on an email from Dr. Fauci, he said such and such' where you don't really have the full context,' Fauci said in the interview. Another trove of emails, published by the Washington Post, also revealed his cozy relationship with China's top infectious disease expert Dr. George Gao - the director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention - during the early days of the pandemic in March and April of last year. 'Let's put things in context ... We're not talking about the Chinese Communist Party. We're not talking about the Chinese military. We're talking about scientists that we've had relationships for years,' Fauci said. Fauci then defended his relationship with Gao, a colleague of Fauci's 'for many years' and a member of the United States National Academy of Scientists. 'The scientists there, and others that we dealt with the original SARS, with the influenza virtually every year, the scientists are experienced,' Fauci said. Fauci added that the Wuhan lab 'is a very large lab to the tune of hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars.' 'The grant that we're talking about was $600,000 over five years for an average of about $125,000 to $140,000 a year,' Fauci said. He added: 'I can't guarantee everything that is going on in the Wuhan lab, I can't do that. But it is our obligation as scientists and public health individuals to study the animal-human interface' in the aftermath of the original SARS virus in 2002. Fauci explained that SARS-CoV-1 'was clearly a jumping of species from a bat, to a civic cat, to a human.' 'So it was incumbent upon us to study the animal-human interface and to understand what potential these viruses have of infecting humans which then might damage the United States,' Fauci said. 'So you don't want to go to Hoboken, New Jersey or to Fairfax, Virginia to be studying the bat human interface that might lead to an outbreak. You go to China.' A two-year-old boy has been rushed to hospital in Adelaide after arriving back into Australia and testing positive to coronavirus. The toddler has been taken to the Women's and Children's Hospital for treatment with South Australia Chief Health Officer Nicola Spurrier describing the child as 'very unwell'. 'The family have tested negative at this stage. Because this is a child, and they are under 12, they would not have been wearing a mask on the air flight,' she said. 'We're just a little bit more anxious about that particular flight and as a result we will be implementing additional testing for anyone else who was on that flight, and they will be having a day three test as well.' The toddler has been taken to the Women's and Children's Hospital for treatment with South Australia Chief Health Officer Nicola Spurrier describing the child as 'very unwell' Professor Spurrier said her thoughts are with the little boy's family. The toddler is one of two South Australians being treated for the virus in hospital. The other, a man in his 60s, is in a stable condition, Professor Spurrier said. The health department also revealed on Thursday that all aged care workers in SA are eligible for the Pfizer vaccine. These workers can get the jab through state health clinics instead of waiting for the federal government to organise the rollout. The state also earlier announced they would not be imposing stricter restrictions despite the growing Covid-19 crisis across the border in Victoria. The current restrictions limit capacity at venues such as pubs and restaurants to 75 per cent. SA's border is closed to Victorian travellers but the Collingwood AFL team have controversially been granted an exemption for their clash with the Adelaide Crows on Saturday. Collingwood AFL team travel from Melbourne to take on Adelaide this weekend. Pictured: Pictured: Adelaide Crow's fans Prof Spurrier gave the go-ahead on the grounds it is a 'special situation'. Under the strict protocols, a 'pared back' contingent of 35 Collingwood players, coaches, and officials will be permitted to cross the border but will not be able to interact with anyone outside their bubble apart from opposition players. 'The requirement on Collingwood is now to go into quarantine in Victoria if they are with their family, their family needs to quarantine too,' Prof Spurrier said. 'Individually each player must sign a declaration they have not been at any of (the Victorian) exposure sites and sign one once they are in SA too.' 'They have to be tested within 24 hours of coming to SA, and will be swabbed at the airport and not be able to play until we have all their results in and they're negative.' 'All players and staff, including the Crows, will then be tested again 48 hours later and will have to isolate until 'every test is back and they are all negative'. Dr. Anthony Fauci has dismissed revelations that he was warned at the start of pandemic that COVID-19 may have been 'engineered' and claimed that Donald Trump supporters 'resent' him because they do not 'understand' science. Fauci seemed to play down a mass trove of damaging emails which include warnings from the start of the pandemic that the virus originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. He said his emails are 'ripe to be taken out of context' but he 'can't guarantee everything that is going on in the Wuhan lab'. Fauci, who has been a frequent target of Trump and his supporters for dismissing the lab leak theory, claims he was never 'anti-Trump' as he accused his critics of failing to understand science. Speaking with MSNBC's Deadline, Fauci said: 'There is no doubt that there are people out there who, for one reason or another, resent me for what I did in the last administration, which was not anything that was anti-Trump at all. 'It was just trying to get the right information, to try and get the right data. What they didn't seem to understand, I guess that it is understandable that they didn't understand it, is that science is a dynamic process. 'So something that you know in January, you make a recommendation or a comment about it, but as you get more and more information, the information leads you to change because that is what science is, it is a self-correcting process. 'That is what I was trying to do, always tell the truth on the basis of what the data is. It was never deliberately something against the president.' In a separate interview with NewsNation Now anchor Leland Vittert on The Donlon Report, Fauci explained why scientists focused their theories on the natural transmission from bats to humans through an intermediary species. The interview comes after a trove of 3,200 of Fauci's emails from January to June 2020 were obtained and published by Buzzfeed on Tuesday that showed leading virus experts warned him COVID-19 may have been created in a lab while he publicly played such claims down. 'The only trouble is they are really ripe to be taken out of context where someone can snip out a sentence in an email without showing the other emails, and say 'based on an email from Dr. Fauci, he said such and such' where you don't really have the full context,' Fauci told Vittert. Dr. Anthony Fauci dismissed recent revelations that he was warned by scientist at start of pandemic that COVID-19 may have been 'engineered' Fauci made his comments in an interview with NewsNation Now anchor Leland Vittert on The Donlon Report where he also admitted he 'can't guarantee everything that is going on in the Wuhan lab' Fauci, who is considered America's top expert on infectious disease, also explained why scientists focused their theories on the natural transmission from bats rather than an accidental leak from the Wuhan lab Researchers at a number of top universities have recently penned a letter claiming that theories that COVID-19 escaped from a Wuhan lab 'remain viable' The Wuhan Institute of Virology is about 20 miles from the Huanan Seafood Market where the first coronavirus cases are reported to have occurred Another trove of emails, published by the Washington Post, also revealed his cozy relationship with China's top infectious disease expert Dr. George Gao - the director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention - during the early days of the pandemic in March and April of last year. 'Let's put things in context ... We're not talking about the Chinese Communist Party. We're not talking about the Chinese military. We're talking about scientists that we've had relationships for years,' Fauci said. Fauci then defended his relationship with Gao, a colleague of Fauci's 'for many years' and a member of the United States National Academy of Scientists. 'The scientists there, and others that we dealt with the original SARS, with the influenza virtually every year, the scientists are experienced,' Fauci said. He then defended a grant the United States had provided the Wuhan lab, which has raised concerns that American money may have helped pay for the alleged creation of virus at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. 'The Wuhan lab is a very large lab to the tune of hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars. The grant that we're talking about was $600,000 over five years for an average of about $125,000 to $140,000 a year,' Fauci said. He added: 'I can't guarantee everything that is going on in the Wuhan lab, I can't do that. But it is our obligation as scientists and public health individuals to study the animal-human interface' in the aftermath of the original SARS virus in 2002. Fauci explained that SARS-CoV-1 'was clearly a jumping of species from a bat, to a civet cat, to a human.' 'So it was incumbent upon us to study the animal-human interface and to understand what potential these viruses have of infecting humans which then might damage the United States,' Fauci said. 'So you don't want to go to Hoboken, New Jersey or to Fairfax, Virginia to be studying the bat human interface that might lead to an outbreak. You go to China.' How Fauci flip-flopped on the origins of COVID April 2020: Fauci repeatedly made public statements suggesting that that COVID was the result of an 'unusual human-animal interface' in a Chinese 'wet market' and that 'the mutations that it took to get to the point where it is now is totally consistent with a jump of a species from an animal to a human.' May 2020: Still adamant that he didn't believe the coronavirus was man-made. 'If you look at the evolution of the virus in bats and what's out there now, [the scientific evidence] is very, very strongly leaning toward this could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated,' he told National Geographic in an exclusive interview published May 4, 2020. 'Everything about the stepwise evolution over time strongly indicates that [this virus] evolved in nature and then jumped species.' Late May 2021 to early June 2021: During an event called 'United Facts of America: A Festival of Fact-Checking,' Fauci was asked if was 'still confident' that the virus evolved naturally. 'No, actually I am not convinced about that. I think we should continue to investigate what went on in China until we continue to find out to the best of our ability what happened,' Fauci said. 'Certainly, the people who investigated it say it likely was the emergence from an animal reservoir that then infected individuals, but it could have been something else, and we need to find that out.' He added: 'So, you know, that's the reason why I said I'm perfectly in favor of any investigation that looks into the origin of the virus.' Advertisement During the interview, Fauci also defended the government's early messages telling Americans not wear masks before nationwide mask mandates were later ordered. In one email, Fauci had said: 'The typical mask you buy in the drug store is not really effective in keeping out virus, which is small enough to pass through the material.' Responding to questions about that email, Fauci said: 'Let me explain, and it is a complicated issue. At the time we were saying it wasn't necessary to wear masks there were three things that were going on.' 'One of them was, there was a consideration that there was a shortage of personal protective equipment, particularly among people who actually needed the mask those who were taking care of patients in the hospital. 'So we didn't want to have people running to the stores and getting N95 and other masks. So I should have probably been more explicit, you're right, and said that there are a number of aspects to it including the poor fitting.' In March 2020, Gao had told Science magazine that it was a 'big mistake' for U.S. experts including Fauci to tell their citizens that they did not need to wear face masks. A subsequent email shows that Gao was anxious as to how Fauci would interpret the remark. He messaged Fauci on March 28 saying: 'I saw the Science interview... That was journalist's wording. Hope you understand. Lets work together to get the virus out of the earth.' Fauci warmly replied: 'I understand completely. No problem. We will get through this together.' On April 3, Fauci formally reversed his stance on mask-wearing, telling Americans that they should cover their noses and mouths to stop the spread. The top doctor was slammed by numerous pundits and millions of Americans for giving mixed messages. He later said he did so to try and prevent members of the public panic-buying masks when hospitals were struggling to obtain adequate supplies of PPE. Less than a week later, Gao emailed Fauci again expressing his support amid the onslaught of attacks. 'I saw some news (hope it is fake) that you are being attacked by some people. Hope you are well under such a irrational situation,' Gao wrote on April 8. 'Thank you for your kind note. All is well despite some crazy people in this world,' Fauci replied three days later. Fauci also admitted during the interview that he doesn't believe COVID-19 will ever be fully eradicated. 'I don't believe we will ever fully eradicate SARS-COV-2, I hope we will be able to eliminate it or greatly control it in this country,' he said. Fauci was warned that the coronavirus was possibly 'engineered' in a lab before the pandemic started and seemed to be taking it seriously behind closed doors while downplaying the idea in public. In a Jan. 31, 2020 email - more than two months before the World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic - Fauci forwarded a copy of Science magazine article titled 'Mining coronavirus genomes for clues to the outbreak's origins' to two people. U.S. virus researcher Kristian Andersen and Sir Jeremy Farrar, who runs a global health charity in Britain, were on the receiving end of the email. 'This just came out today. You may have seen it. If not, it is of interest to the current discussion,' wrote Fauci, the longtime head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Andersen, who runs a viral genomics lab at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California, wrote back, 'The problem is that our phylogenetic analyses aren't able to answer whether the sequences are unusual at individual residues, except if they are completely off. 'The unusual features of the virus make up a really small part of the genome (<0.1%) so one has to look really closely at all the sequences to see that some of the features (potentially) look engineered.' Andersen also noted that he and others 'all find the genome inconsistent with expectations from evolutionary theory' but added that 'there are still further analyses to be done, so those opinions could still change.' On March 30 and April 1, Andersen sent dozens of tweets in a thread after the World Health Organization released its report about the origin of the coronavirus. In the thread, he included a tweet saying, 'First of all, I have very carefully considered the possibility of a lab leak, dating back to January, 2020. A committee under the White House OSTP/NASEM was set up in response to these enquiries and I remain a member of that committee today.' On Wednesday, after Fauci's emails went viral, Andersen tweeted a reply to Australian reporter Sharri Markson downplaying the idea of a cover up. 'I know it's super mundane, but it isn't actually a 'massive cover-up,' Sharri. It's just science. Boring, I know, but it's quite a helpful thing to have in times of uncertainty,' Andersen tweeted. Two days later - February 2, 2020 - Farar sent an email to Fauci and other US health officials sent a ZeroHedge article wit the headline 'Coronavirus Contains 'HIV Insertions,' Stocking Fears Over Artificially Created Bioweapon.' The emails show Fauci received 'a flurry of correspondence about the theory that coronavirus leaked from a lab in Wuhan,' Buzzfeed reported, including one email sent to Fauci on April 16, 2020 by Francis Collins. Collins, the director of the National Institute of Health, wrote 'conspiracy gains momentum' in the subject line and included a link to a Mediaite news article referencing comments made a day earlier about the Wuhan lab leak theory by Fox News anchor Bret Baier. The contents of Collins' email was redacted. Fauci replied on April 17 at 2.45am but his response also was blacked out. Fauci requested a 'quick call' with Collins in one of his earlier replies. US virus researcher Kristian Andersen responded to a January 2020 Fauci email about COVID NIH Director Dr Francis Collins (left) appeared to dismiss the theory that COVID-19 leaked from a Wuhan lab as a 'conspiracy' in an email to Dr Anthony Fauci (right) on April 16 last year The other email recipients included NIH Deputy Director Dr. Lawrence Tabak, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Deputy Director Clifford Lane and NIH spokesman John Burklow. The story linked in Collins' original email was based on an April 15 broadcast on Fox News during which Baier told fellow anchor Sean Hannity that 'multiple sources' believed COVID-19 originated in a Wuhan lab before accidentally escaping. 'This is from multiple sources who have been briefed at the beginning part of the origins of China and the beginning of the virus. They've also seen documents, open source and classified,' Baier said. 'We've asked to see those documents directly, but they are saying that it is increasingly likely, that there is increasing confidence that the virus - COVID-19 - started in a Wuhan lab. 'They're saying it occurred naturally because China was trying to show that they could be as good or better than the US in handling viruses, discovering viruses, and that this was a botched effort to contain this and it got out to the population. 'They are 100 percent confident that China altered the data, the statistics, they did a lot of things to contain the information. Meanwhile, they cut down, as you mentioned, travel from Wuhan internally, but left the international flights going, and there obviously is how you have a spread like this.' Evidence has been mounting of late that supports the theory that the pandemic began as an accidental leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The subject line of Collins' email to Fauci and several others at the National Institutes of Health was titled 'conspiracy gains momentum'. It included a link to a Mediaite news article referencing comments made a day earlier about the Wuhan lab leak theory by Fox News anchor Bret Baier (above) New evidence, including word of three workers at the Wuhan lab who fell seriously ill with COVID-like symptoms in November 2019, has forced a sober reassessment among doubters President Joe Biden last week ordered a 90-day intelligence review to investigate the possibility and several high-profile public health experts have come out in recent months saying they believe that's how COVID-19 started. Former CDC director Robert Redfield told CNN in March that he believes the virus 'escaped' from a Wuhan lab and started spreading as early as September 2019. Fauci later dismissed Redfield's belief when asked about them at a White House COVID-19 briefing - noting that if the virus had been circulating for months it would make the assertion that it came from a lab less likely. 'So when you think about the possibilities of how this virus appeared in the human population, obviously there are a number of theories,' Fauci said in the briefing. 'The issue that would have someone think it's possible to have escaped from a lab would mean that it essentially entered the outside human population already well adapted to humans, suggesting that it was adapted in the lab.' However, Fauci said that most public health officials believe that the virus was actually circulating in China for a month or more before they were clinically recognized at the end of December 2019. 'If that were the case, the virus clearly could have adapted itself to a greater efficiency of transmissibility over that period of time up to and at the time it was recognized,' Fauci said. 'So, Dr. Redfield was mentioning that he was giving an opinion as to a possibility. But, again, there are other alternatives others that most people hold by.' Even Collins has appeared to change his tune as recently as last month while speaking to senators when he told them the Wuhan lab leak theory couldn't be completely ruled out. 'It is most likely that this is a virus that arose naturally, but we cannot exclude the possibility of some kind of a lab accident,' he said. David Arnold Relman, left, and Jesse D. Bloom, right, recently organized a letter for the Science journal which said that the Wuhan lab escape theory can't be ruled out yet There is continued discussion over whether COVID is a naturally-occurring virus or a more sinister genetically-modified virus that was meant to be confined to the Wuhan institute that leaked by accident. Claims that the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology have been laughed off as conspiracy theories - but even researchers at a number of top universities like Harvard and Cambridge have suggest in a letter that the 'hypotheses' cannot be ruled out until there is more evidence. New evidence, including reports of three workers at the Wuhan lab who fell seriously ill with COVID-like symptoms in November 2019, has forced a sober reassessment among doubters. Facebook also has been forced to reverse its policy censoring posts speculating that the virus was engineered in a lab, amid serious questions about the 'gain of function' experiments being done on coronavirus strains at the Wuhan lab. China continues to furiously deny that the virus behind COVID-19 escaped from its lab in the original epicenter, accusing the United States of taking a 'dangerous stance' in calling for a full investigation into the possibility. 'He told me it wasn't gain of function, but admitted it in these emails': Rand Paul says Fauci lied to him over US-funded research that was being carried out in Wuhan lab and demands he is fired Republican Sen. Rand Paul demanded Dr. Anthony Fauci be fired and claimed that he lied to him about gain-of-function research conducted at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that was allegedly funded by the United States. Paul appeared on Fox News' The Ingraham Angle where he claimed that thousands of emails revealed by Buzzfeed News and the Washington Post proved Fauci may have been in-part responsible for the development of COVID-19. At a Senate hearing last month, Paul accused the National Institutes of Health of funding Chinese research into bat coronaviruses that infect humans But Fauci told Paul: 'You are entirely and completely incorrect. The NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain of function research in the Wuhan Institute.' On Wednesday, the junior senator from Kentucky said that Fauci bears 'moral culpability' while asserting that COVID-19 was created by the Wuhan Institute of Virology through funding from the NIH, a theory which has not been proven. The junior senator from Kentucky said Fauci bears 'moral culpability' for the pandemic and should be fired from his government roles Scientists have primarily focused their beliefs about COVID-19 on the theory that it spread naturally from a bat to an intermediary animal before infecting humans. Claims that the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology have been laughed off as conspiracy theories - but even researchers at a number of top universities like Harvard and Cambridge have suggested in a letter that the 'hypotheses' cannot be ruled out until there is more evidence. In gain-of-function research, scientists alter organisms and diseases to study how they could become deadlier or more transmissible. The field of virology widely relies on such studies. Fauci, who serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under the umbrella of the NIH, has denied that the NIH directly funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan. However, Paul asserted to Fox News host Laura Ingraham that the recently reveals emails show Fauci admitted to funding gain-of-function research. 'I think we've had a sea change of opinion. Everybody left-of-center was saying this was a conspiracy, no way it could have happened in the Wuhan lab. Now even Dr. Fauci is saying we should investigate it,' Paul said. 'But the emails paint a disturbing picture, a disturbing picture of Dr. Fauci form the very beginning worrying that he had been funding gain of function research. And he knows it to this day but hasn't admitted it.' Paul claimed in the interview that 'there is a lot of evidence' that Fauci's views on the Wuhan lab-leak theory were compromised by a 'conflict of interest.' 'If it turns out this virus came from the Wuhan lab, which it looks like it did, that there's a great deal of culpability in that he was a big supporter of the funding,' Paul said. 'But he was also a big supporter to this day of saying that we can trust the Chinese on this, that we can trust Chinese scientists and I think that's quite naive and really should preclude him form the position that he's in.' The NIH awarded a $3.7 million grant to EcoHealth Alliance, which is based in the United States, to study the risk of coronaviruses emerging from bats in 2014. EcoHealth Alliance in turn distributed nearly $600,000 of that funding to its collaborator, the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Paul claimed during the Fox News interview that Fauci's emails show he was worried the NIH funded gain-of-function research as early as last February during the emergence of the pandemic. 'In his email, in the subject line, he says 'gain of function research.' He was admitting it to his private underlings seven to eight months ago,' Paul said. In a February 1, 2020 email obtained by Buzzfeed News, Principal NIAID Director Hugh Auschincloss wrote to Fauci to discuss a paper the top infectious disease expert had sent him appearing to question if NIH grants funded gain of function research relating to coronaviruses. In the email to Fauci, Auschincloss noted that a colleague would 'try to determine if we have any distant ties to this work abroad.' When Ingraham asked Paul if Fauci could face criminal culpability, he replied: 'At the very least, there is moral culpability.' A recent addition to Gladys Berejiklian's corporate wardrobe has become a much-loved favourite due to a special connection. The New South Wales Premier made a trendy fashion statement at a public health briefing last week rocking a black cropped jacket by popular Australian designer label MARCS. The texualised single-breasted jacket which retails for $279.95 online is fittingly named 'Gladys'. The Premier's office has confirmed Ms Berejiklian owns the 'Gladys' jacket from MARCS but was unable to say if she chose the outfit because of its name, the Daily Telegraph reported. NSW Premier Gladys Berjiklian (pictured left with health minister Brad Hazzard) rocked the MARCS Gladys jacket at a public health briefing last week A spokesman told the publication Ms Berejiklian owns a number of MARCS outfits and added that the jacket style is similar to other blazers the Premier often wears. Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Premier's office and MARCS for comment. Ms Berejikian wore a similar-styled blazer three days later May 29 at the 62nd Federal Council of the Liberal Party of Australia and wore the same jacket to a press conference at Westmead Hospital in Sydney's west nine days earlier on May 20. The online price of the black MARCS jacket in sizes ranging 6-14 has been slashed by a more than a third on the designer's website and can be yours for $179. The jacket is also available in-store at department stores Myer and David Jones. The MARCS Gladys jacket (pictured) purchased by the NSW Premier retails for $279.95 online 'Fastening at the front in a single-breasted style, this softly tailored blazer creates a cropped silhouette with three-quarter length sleeves,' the jacket description on the designer's website states. 'Fully lined, the blazer is made from a European boucle fabric in black, pink and ivory, with contrast black lace edging on the lapel, cuff, hemline and front patch pockets, accentuated with fringe detailing. MARCS sells a number of other Gladys pieces, including a skirt and textured dress. MARCS was founded in 1979 by Mark Keighery who sold the business for nearly $21 million in 2002. He died in 2008 aged 53 after a long 10-year cancer battle. A former Catholic priest who sexually exploited boys in poor Asian countries spoke of how he could 'milk the max out of my poolside weekend'. Peter Andrew Hansen also lamented the possibility the King of Thailand would die 'before I get there and everything is shut'. The former Melbourne priest, Labor Party official and lawyer has pleaded guilty in the NSW District Court in Sydney to 31 charges. This includes filming and assaulting young boys as young as 10. The now 63-year-old, who was at one point the Labor Party's Cabramatta branch president, was arrested at Sydney Airport in October 2018 on his way back from Vietnam. Peter Andrew Hansen (pictured) has pleaded guilty to 31 charges related to child exploitation He appeared via audio-visual link from prison on Thursday as Judge James Bennett outlined his offending at the start of his lengthy sentencing remarks. The judge referred to online encrypted exchanges between Hansen, using the moniker Baga Tay, and another person called 'Maliboy Hornbag'. Hansen sent images of boys and said he was 'hoping to keep the camera running' in the Philippines. 'I am still thinking of how I can milk the max out of my poolside weekend'. He referred to news about the health of the King of Thailand. 'With my bloody luck, he dies before I get there and everything is shut' and he hoped he 'lasts long enough for me to get about'. The NSW District Court heard the former Catholic priest sexually exploited nine boys in Vietnam and the Philippines Maliboy Hornbag warned him not to overspend, saying 'they become greedy, that is what Manila is like now'. Hansen replied not only would he not overspend, 'I can't'. His offending included paying sums - sometimes the equivalent of $7.50 - to boys to pose for pornographic photos in his hotel rooms, and engage in sexual activity with other boys or with him. More than 100,000 pornographic photos were found on his devices, dating back to 2008, relating to his frequent overseas trips. The sentencing is continuing. Donald Trump's former White House chief of staff has urged Congress to hold another hearing with Dr Anthony Fauci, to question him on what he knew about suggestions that COVID-19 could have escaped from a laboratory. Mark Meadows on Wednesday night told Fox News' Sean Hannity that the release of 3,000 of Fauci's emails earlier in the day made another hearing essential. Fauci has appeared before Congress several times to discuss the origins of the pandemic. He has confirmed that the U.S. did provide $600,000 over five years to the Wuhan laboratory, to fund their research into coronaviruses transmitted from animals to humans. He also told Congress that, even though the grant stipulated that no research be done into 'gain of function' - making viruses more lethal or transmissible - he had no way of guaranteeing that the money was not used for the controversial science. On Wednesday his emails, obtained by BuzzFeed News via a Freedom of Information Act request, showed that Fauci was warned that the coronavirus was possibly 'engineered' in a lab before the pandemic started. Mark Meadows, who was Trump's chief of staff from March 2020 until the end of his presidency, on Wednesday night urged Congress to hold another session with Anthony Fauci, to ask him about his thoughts on COVID-19 having escaped from a lab Fauci seemed to be taking it seriously behind closed doors, while downplaying the 'lab leak' idea in public. 'Part of the troubling thing that we are seeing with these emails that are coming out is not only do they seem to correspond with what President Trump said, and what Secretary Pompeo said in terms of the origins of the virus, but it indicates that Dr Fauci had knowledge or at least a suspicion of things not happening in an evolutionary manner very early on,' said Meadows. 'And he didn't share that with the task force. 'That's very troubling and something that we do need to get to the bottom of.' Trump and Mike Pompeo, his Secretary of State, said from early in the pandemic that they believed the virus could have been man-made, and released by accident. Their suggestion was derided as a conspiracy theory, designed to detract from any criticism of their own handling of the pandemic and the terrible toll it was taking on the U.S. But in recent weeks the 'lab leak' theory has become increasingly mainstream. Meadows appeared on Sean Hannity's show alongside Ohio congressman Jim Jordan, who said: 'They downplay it even though you have people in real time saying it was a real possibility that this virus started from a lab leak in Wuhan, China' Meadows said that there needed to be another Congressional hearing, to find out why Fauci was so dismissive of the 'lab leak' theory in public - despite other scientists telling him it was possible. 'When you start to look at this, when you look at the emails where you have at least probable cause to say that we need to look at it further, it's troubling,' said Meadows. 'But the bigger part of it is to suggest that D. Fauci is making these declaratory statements that he wasn't looking at. 'Secretary Pompeo and I, we were able to look at intel on a regular basis and to suggest that Dr Fauci can come out and say there is no there there, just wasn't based on real research.' Meadows said that Republicans in the House and Senate needed 'to hold the Democrats accountable.' He added: 'If they are at all wanting to hold China accountable, it's time that the Democrats call this hearing in the House and let the truth come out.' Jim Jordan, an Ohio congressman who appeared on the show alongside Meadows, said that Fauci had questions to answer. 'They downplay it even though you have people in real time saying it was a real possibility that this virus started from a lab leak in Wuhan, China,' he said. Jordan criticized Joe Biden's decision to rejoin the World Health Organization - which Trump withdrew from at the start of the pandemic - and questioned again why the U.S. was funding research in China. The research was done in China, Fauci has explained previously, because 'that's where the bats are' that they need to study to understand the coronaviruses. Fauci earlier on Wednesday evening defended himself, appearing on Chicago-based cable news show News Nation. The 80-year-old admitted that he 'should probably have been more specific' in some of the wording of his emails, but defended their content - insisting it was easy to misinterpret and twist his meaning without context. 'The only trouble is they are really ripe to be taken out of context when someone can take a sentence and say, based on an email from Dr Fauci, he said such and such,' Fauci explained. Asked why he said in one email, sent early on in the pandemic, that masks sold in pharmacies were not recommended, Fauci replied: 'Let me explain, and it's really important. How Fauci flip-flopped on the origins of COVID April 2020: Fauci repeatedly made public statements suggesting that that COVID was the result of an 'unusual human-animal interface' in a Chinese 'wet market' and that 'the mutations that it took to get to the point where it is now is totally consistent with a jump of a species from an animal to a human.' May 2020: Still adamant that he didn't believe the coronavirus was man-made. 'If you look at the evolution of the virus in bats and what's out there now, [the scientific evidence] is very, very strongly leaning toward this could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated,' he told National Geographic in an exclusive interview published May 4, 2020. 'Everything about the stepwise evolution over time strongly indicates that [this virus] evolved in nature and then jumped species.' Late May 2021 to early June 2021: During an event called 'United Facts of America: A Festival of Fact-Checking,' Fauci was asked if was 'still confident' that the virus evolved naturally. 'No, actually I am not convinced about that. I think we should continue to investigate what went on in China until we continue to find out to the best of our ability what happened,' Fauci said. 'Certainly, the people who investigated it say it likely was the emergence from an animal reservoir that then infected individuals, but it could have been something else, and we need to find that out.' He added: 'So, you know, that's the reason why I said I'm perfectly in favor of any investigation that looks into the origin of the virus.' Advertisement 'At the time we were saying it wasn't necessary to be wearing masks, there were three things going on. 'One is that there was a shortage for people who actually needed it - those taking care of patients. 'I should probably have been more specific. There were a number of aspects to it, including the poor fitting.' He was then cut off by the host, before he could explain further. Fauci defended funding the Wuhan lab, insisting they had had 'very many years of experience of productive interaction with Chinese scientists.' He added: 'You are absolutely correct that I can't guarantee everything that is going on in the Wuhan lab. 'It is our obligation to study the animal-human interface because we had a very difficult experience with SARS, which went from a bat to a civet cat to a human. 'So it is very important to understand these. 'You don't want to go to Hoboken, New Jersey, or Fairfax, Virginia, to study the interface. So you go to China.' Much of the attention has focused on a January 31, 2020 email - sent more than two months before the World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic. Fauci forwarded a copy of Science magazine article titled 'Mining coronavirus genomes for clues to the outbreak's origins' to two people. US virus researcher Kristian Andersen and Sir Jeremy Farrar, who runs a global health charity in Britain, were on the receiving end of the email. 'This just came out today. You may have seen it. If not, it is of interest to the current discussion,' wrote Fauci, the longtime head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Andersen, who runs a viral genomics lab at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California, replied: 'The problem is that our phylogenetic analyses aren't able to answer whether the sequences are unusual at individual residues, except if they are completely off. 'The unusual features of the virus make up a really small part of the genome (<0.1%) so one has to look really closely at all the sequences to see that some of the features (potentially) look engineered.' Andersen also noted that he and others 'all find the genome inconsistent with expectations from evolutionary theory' but added that 'there are still further analyses to be done, so those opinions could still change.' On March 30 and April 1, Andersen sent dozens of tweets in a thread after the World Health Organization released its report about the origin of the coronavirus. In the thread, he included a tweet saying: 'First of all, I have very carefully considered the possibility of a lab leak, dating back to January, 2020. A committee under the White House OSTP/NASEM was set up in response to these enquiries and I remain a member of that committee today.' On Wednesday, after Fauci's emails went viral, he tweeted a reply to Australian reporter Sharri Markson downplaying the idea of a cover up. 'I know it's super mundane, but it isn't actually a 'massive cover-up,' Sharri. It's just science. Boring, I know, but it's quite a helpful thing to have in times of uncertainty,' Andersen tweeted. Two days later - February 2, 2020 - Farrar sent an email to Fauci and other US health officials. Attached was a ZeroHedge article with the headline: 'Coronavirus Contains 'HIV Insertions,' Stocking Fears Over Artificially Created Bioweapon.' The messages were included in a batch of more than 3,200 of Fauci's emails from January to June 2020 that were obtained and published by Buzzfeed on Tuesday. The emails show Fauci received 'a flurry of correspondence about the theory that coronavirus leaked from a lab in Wuhan,' Buzzfeed reported, including one email sent to Fauci on April 16, 2020 by Francis Collins. Collins, the director of the National Institute of Health, wrote 'conspiracy gains momentum' in the subject line and included a link to a Mediaite news article referencing comments made a day earlier about the Wuhan lab leak theory by Fox News anchor Bret Baier. The contents of Collins' email was redacted. Fauci replied on April 17 at 2.45am but his response also was blacked out. Fauci requested a 'quick call' with Collins in one of his earlier replies. US virus researcher Kristian Andersen responded to a January 2020 Fauci email about COVID NIH Director Dr Francis Collins (left) appeared to dismiss the theory that COVID-19 leaked from a Wuhan lab as a 'conspiracy' in an email to Dr Anthony Fauci (right) on April 16 last year The other email recipients included NIH Deputy Director Dr Lawrence Tabak, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Deputy Director Clifford Lane and NIH spokesman John Burklow. The story linked in Collins' original email was based on an April 15 broadcast on Fox News during which Baier told fellow anchor Sean Hannity that 'multiple sources' believed COVID-19 originated in a Wuhan lab before accidentally escaping. 'This is from multiple sources who have been briefed at the beginning part of the origins of China and the beginning of the virus. They've also seen documents, open source and classified,' Baier said. 'We've asked to see those documents directly, but they are saying that it is increasingly likely, that there is increasing confidence that the virus - COVID-19 - started in a Wuhan lab. 'They're saying it occurred naturally because China was trying to show that they could be as good or better than the US in handling viruses, discovering viruses, and that this was a botched effort to contain this and it got out to the population. 'They are 100 percent confident that China altered the data, the statistics, they did a lot of things to contain the information. Meanwhile, they cut down, as you mentioned, travel from Wuhan internally, but left the international flights going, and there obviously is how you have a spread like this.' The subject line of Collins' email to Fauci and several others at the National Institutes of Health was titled 'conspiracy gains momentum'. It included a link to a Mediaite news article referencing comments made a day earlier about the Wuhan lab leak theory by Fox News anchor Bret Baier (above) New evidence, including word of three workers at the Wuhan lab who fell seriously ill with COVID-like symptoms in November 2019, has forced a sober reassessment among doubters Fauci's foes called for him to be fired on over the emails on Wednesday, with the hashtag #FireFauci gaining in popularity. Steve Scalise, a Republican for Louisiana and the House Minority Whip, said: 'Big Tech was censoring posts about the Wuhan lab leak. 'The media was calling people who talked about the Wuhan lab leak conspiracy theorists. 'All while Fauci himself was emailing about COVID-19 possibly leaking from the Wuhan lab. Let that sink in.' At 7:30am, Rand Paul, the Kentucky senator who has emerged as one of Fauci's most vocal critics, tweeted: 'Told you #firefauci ... Can't wait to see the media try to spin the Fauci FOIA emails.' Four hours later - shortly before noon - Paul tweeted again saying: 'But even more importantly than being a hero, he was a fraud. A massive fraud. The newly released trove of emails to and from Dr. Fauci makes that abundantly clear.' Sen. Rand Paul and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene are calling for Fauci to be fired Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also seized the opportunity to criticize Fauci, who's considered America's top infectious disease expert. 'After reading through Anthony Fauci's leaked emails, it's more clear than ever that our country needs to #FireFauci,' she tweeted. The 'lab leak' theory is now being pursued at the highest level. President Joe Biden last week ordered a 90-day intelligence review to investigate the possibility and several high-profile public health experts have come out in recent months saying they believe that's how COVID-19 started. Former CDC director Robert Redfield told CNN in March that he believes the virus 'escaped' from a Wuhan lab and started spreading as early as September 2019. Even Collins appeared to change his tune as recently as last month while speaking to senators when he told them the Wuhan lab leak theory couldn't be completely ruled out. 'It is most likely that this is a virus that arose naturally, but we cannot exclude the possibility of some kind of a lab accident,' he said. There is continued discussion over whether COVID is a naturally-occurring virus that leaked by accident, or a more sinister genetically-modified virus that was meant to be confined to the Wuhan institute. The media and academics long heaped scorn on the lab leak hypothesis, insisting that it was a fringe conspiracy theory and even racist after Trump embraced the idea. But new evidence, including reports of three workers at the Wuhan lab who fell seriously ill with COVID-like symptoms in November 2019, has forced a sober reassessment among doubters. 'I think a lot of people have egg on their face,' ABC News Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl admitted on Sunday. 'Some things may be true even if Donald Trump said them. 'Because Trump was saying so much else, that was just out of control... but now serious people are saying it needs a serious inquiry,' he said. Facebook also has been forced to reverse its policy censoring posts speculating that the virus was engineered in a lab, amid serious questions about the 'gain of function' experiments being done on coronavirus strains at the Wuhan lab. Three researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology reported COVID-like symptoms in November 2019, before the virus began to spread around the world China continues to furiously deny that the virus behind COVID-19 escaped from its lab in the original epicenter, accusing the United States of taking a 'dangerous stance' in calling for a full investigation into the possibility. It comes after another trove of Fauci's emails, published by the Washington Post, revealed his cozy relationship with China's top infectious disease expert during the early days of the pandemic. The emails were exchanged between Fauci and Dr George Gao - the director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention - in March and April of last year. Fauci did not ask any questions about the origins of the virus. In March, Gao had told Science magazine that it was a 'big mistake' for US experts including Fauci to tell their citizens that they did not need to wear face masks. A subsequent email shows that Gao was anxious as to how Fauci would interpret the remark. He wrote to Fauci on March 28 saying: 'I saw the Science interview... That was journalist's wording. Hope you understand. Lets work together to get the virus out of the earth.' Fauci warmly replied: 'I understand completely. No problem. We will get through this together.' On April 3, Fauci formally reversed his stance on mask-wearing, telling Americans that they should cover their noses and mouths to stop the spread. The top doctor was slammed by numerous pundits and millions of Americans for giving mixed messages. He later said he did so to try and prevent members of the public panic-buying masks when hospitals were struggling to obtain adequate supplies of PPE. Less than a week later, Gao emailed Fauci again expressing his support amid the onslaught of attacks. 'I saw some news (hope it is fake) that you are being attacked by some people. Hope you are well under such a irrational situation,' Gao wrote on April 8. 'Thank you for your kind note. All is well despite some crazy people in this world,' Fauci replied three days later. 'He told me it wasn't gain of function, but admitted it in these emails': Rand Paul says Fauci lied to him over US-funded research that was being carried out in Wuhan lab and demands he is fired Republican Sen. Rand Paul demanded Dr. Anthony Fauci be fired and claimed that he lied to him about gain-of-function research conducted at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that was allegedly funded by the United States. Paul appeared on Fox News' The Ingraham Angle where he claimed that thousands of emails revealed by Buzzfeed News and the Washington Post proved Fauci may have been in-part responsible for the development of COVID-19. At a Senate hearing last month, Paul accused the National Institutes of Health of funding risky Chinese research into bat coronaviruses that infect humans But Fauci told Paul: 'You are entirely and completely incorrect. The NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain of function research in the Wuhan Institute.' On Wednesday, the junior senator from Kentucky said that Fauci bears 'moral culpability' while asserting that COVID-19 was created by the Wuhan Institute of Virology through funding from the National Institute of Health, a theory which has not been proven. The junior senator from Kentucky said Fauci bears 'moral culpability' for the pandemic and should be fired from his government roles Scientists have primarily focused their beliefs about COVID-19 on the theory that it spread naturally from a bat to an intermediary animal before infecting humans. Claims that the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology have been laughed off as conspiracy theories - but even researchers at a number of top universities like Harvard and Cambridge have suggested in a letter that the 'hypotheses' cannot be ruled out until there is more evidence. In gain-of-function research, scientists alter organisms and diseases to study how they could become deadlier or more transmissible. The field of virology widely relies on such studies. Fauci, who serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under the umbrella of the NIH, has denied that the NIH directly funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan. However, Paul asserted to Fox News host Laura Ingraham that the recently reveals emails show Fauci admitted to funding gain-of-function research. 'I think we've had a sea change of opinion. Everybody left-of-center was saying this was a conspiracy, no way it could have happened in the Wuhan lab. Now even Dr. Fauci is saying we should investigate it,' Paul said. 'But the emails paint a disturbing picture, a disturbing picture of Dr. Fauci form the very beginning worrying that he had been funding gain of function research. And he knows it to this day but hasn't admitted it.' Paul claimed in the interview that 'there is a lot of evidence' that Fauci's views on the Wuhan lab-leak theory were compromised by a 'conflict of interest.' 'If it turns out this virus came from the Wuhan lab, which it looks like it did, that there's a great deal of culpability in that he was a big supporter of the funding,' Paul said. 'But he was also a big supporter to this day of saying that we can trust the Chinese on this, that we can trust Chinese scientists and I think that's quite naive and really should preclude him form the position that he's in.' The NIH awarded a $3.7 million grant to EcoHealth Alliance, which is based in the United States, to study the risk of coronaviruses emerging from bats in 2014. EcoHealth Alliance in turn distributed nearly $600,000 of that funding to its collaborator, the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Paul claimed during the Fox News interview that Fauci's emails show he was worried the NIH funded gain-of-function research as early as last February during the emergence of the pandemic. 'In his email, in the subject line, he says 'gain of function research.' He was admitting it to his private underlings seven to eight months ago,' Paul said. In a February 1, 2020 email obtained by Buzzfeed News, Principal NIAID Director Hugh Auschincloss wrote to Fauci to discuss a paper the top infectious disease expert had sent him appearing to question if NIH grants funded gain of function research relating to coronaviruses. In the email to Fauci, Auschincloss noted that a colleague would 'try to determine if we have any distant ties to this work abroad.' When Ingraham asked Paul if Fauci could face criminal culpability, he replied: 'At the very least, there is moral culpability.' A federal inquiry has been opened into whether Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz obstructed justice in a phone call he had with a witness in his sex-crimes probe. The witness, who has not been named, was one of the women associated with Joel Greenberg, a Seminole County tax collector and former friend of Gaetz, who pleaded guilty last month to sex-trafficking a 17-year-old girl in 2017, sources told Politico. The phone call in question was between Gaetz's ex-girlfriend and the witness, who reportedly had been in a three-way open relationship with the two, the outlet said. At some point, the congressman allegedly joined in on the call, but it is not known what the three discussed. Investigators are reportedly looking into whether he suggested she lie or give misleading testimony to investigators about him. Gaetz, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, is being investigated by the Justice Department over whether he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl. He denies the allegations. Prosecutors are looking into whether Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz obstructed justice when was on a phone call with a witness in the sex-crimes investigation against him The 17-year-old girl was reportedly friends with both Gaetz's ex-girlfriend and the witness who was on the call, according to Politico. The witness later spoke to investigators. The congressman has denied any criminal involvement with Greenberg, as well as obstructing justice. Gaetz has not been criminally charged by federal prosecutors and has always denied having had sex with the underage girl and transporting her across state lines. 'Congressman Gaetz pursues justice, he doesn't obstruct it,' a Gaetz spokesman said in a statement provided to Politico. 'The anonymous allegations have thus far amounted to lies, wrapped in leaks, rooted in an extortion plot by a former DOJ official. After two months, there is still not a single on-record accusation of misconduct, and now the 'story' is changing yet again.' Much of the investigation into Gaetz surrounds his relationship with Greenberg, who is reportedly cooperating with investigators and could be providing information that could lead to the congressman's indictment. Much of the probe into Gaetz has surrounded his dealings with friend and Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg. Greenberg pleaded guilty last month to sex trafficking a 17-year-old girl in 2017 Gaetz's ex-girlfriend is also reportedly looking to obtain an immunity deal from prosecutors, with fears that she too could have obstructed justice in conversations with the trafficking victim, Politico also reported. People with knowledge of the investigation have told Politico that the ex-girlfriend could sign the immunity deal by the end of June, and that an indictment against Gaetz could come in July if prosecutors believe there is enough evidence. The congressman and his ex-girlfriend dated in 2017, when Greenberg's sex-trafficking took place, and in 2018, and the couple reportedly had an open relationship, including with the witness who was on the phone call. Gaetz has acknowledged that he had been in so-called 'sugar daddy' relationships with women provided to him by Greenberg, although the Florida representative has denied he ever paid a woman for sex. The Florida age of consent is 18 years old and sexual intercourse with anyone underage is statutory rape. However, the state has a so-called Romeo and Juliet law that allows minors who are 16 or 17 to have sex with someone who is at most 23 years old. Gaetz is 39. His so-called wingman Greenberg pleaded guilty to charges including sex-trafficking of a minor at a court hearing in a deal to cooperate with prosecutors, which may spell trouble for the Republican congressman. TIMELINE OF THE GAETZ SAGA MARCH 30: The New York Times reports that Gaetz is under investigation for a sexual relationship with an underage girl. Details are sparse but the relationship is said to have happened two years ago. Gaetz went on Tucker Carlson's FOX News show that night to deny the allegations and claim he was the victim of an extortion plot. He names David McGee as a DoJ official who is extorting him. McGee denies it. MARCH 31: Gaetz's father Don tells Politico that the extortion plot is real and that he was working with his son and the FBI to expose it APRIL 1: Texts emerge to support Gaetz's claim that he was being extorted and they introduce a new element to the saga - that the extortion plot was part of a ruse to rescue American hostage Robert Levinson from Iran. WHO'S WHO Rep Matt Gaetz Gaetz, 38, is the representative for Florida's 1st congressional district. He is a Trump ally who has ties to Roger Stone and he's been known to fan the flames of controversy in the past. He has DUI convictions, has been accused of inciting violence on Twitter and claimed that facial recognition technology proved some of the January 6 Capitol rioters were not Trump fans, but 'antifa' masquerading as them. Don Gaetz Gaetz's father who was a well-liked Senator. He sold his company with his partners for $406million in 2004. They had founded VITAS Healthcare in the 1980s. He was a senator for ten years from 2006 until 2016. David McGee McGee was a prosecutor with the Department of Justice but he is now a private practice attorney. According to his bio on his law firm's website, he spent six years as the First Assistant at the United States Attorney's Office and for seven years as the Lead Attorney for a United States Department of Justice Organized Crime Task Force. Bob Kent Kent is an Air Force intelligence officer whose involvement in the alleged plot was only revealed on Wednesday night through the texts. Robert Levinson Levinson spent 22 years working for the FBI before he vanished in Iran in 2007. The government claimed they knew nothing about it but later admitted he had been working there for the CIA. The last time he was seen alive was in 2011, when he appeared in proof of life photos. His family say that this month, they were given reason to believe he was dead. Advertisement Greenberg, a former tax collector in Florida's Seminole County, is central to the federal probe into whether Gaetz trafficked a minor for sex. Greenberg was arrested last year and immediately started telling the feds about Gaetz and how they 'sex trafficked' together to get himself a deal. Federal prosecutors recently dropped 27 charges against Greenberg in exchange for his cooperation and testimony. Greenberg admitted to introducing the minor he trafficked to other adult men, who allegedly engaged in sex acts with the minor in Greenberg's presence, court papers showed. The papers did not identify the other adult men. Gaetz has not been charged with any crimes and has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. He was not mentioned in the plea agreement or during the court hearing. It was also revealed in a letter obtained by Daily Beast, which Greenberg penned to Trump confidante Roger Stone seeking a pardon, that the pair paid for sex with the minor who 'was involved in sexual activities' with Gaetz. Investigators are seeking to determine whether Gaetz had sex with the same 17-year-old Greenberg was accused of trafficking, according to reports and a law enforcement source who spoke with Reuters. Court papers show that Greenberg, who is married, is thought to be ready to accuse Gaetz of paying at least 15 young women for sex including an escort named Megan Zalonka after a cocaine-fueled party at a Trump fundraiser. A recent report alleged Gaetz snorted cocaine and had sex Zalonka, an escort and amateur Instagram model, who was Gaetz's date in October 2019 at the Trump Defender Gala in Orlando. After the gala, an after-party was held in Gaetz's hotel room, The Daily Beast reported. Zalonka, 28, chopped up lines of cocaine, which she and Gaetz took together, the report claims. She is also said to have been paid up to $15,000 of government money by Greenberg after he hired her for a social media manager job in Seminole County that did not require Zalonka to do any work, the report claims. Two sources told the site that Zalonka and the Florida congressman had an ongoing financial relationship in exchange for sex. However, the Daily Beast could not confirm that Zalonka and Gaetz had sex the night of the gala. A former Capitol Hill intern who dated Gaetz has also reportedly agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors. The unnamed woman worked on Capitol Hill and was linked to the Florida congressman as far back as 2017, CNN reported. The ex-girlfriend, who is not being named publicly, was on a trip Gaetz took to the Bahamas in 2018 that allegedly involved drug use and arrangements with women, including paying them for sex. Gaetz's ex is considered key to helping prosecutors piece together transaction records, which they believe to be payment for sex. In April, Politico reported that the former girlfriend had told friends she was worried that the 17-year-old tried to get her to incriminate him after the teen called her to discuss the Bahamas trip. The call took place sometime after Greenberg was indicted for the sex crime in August, it was reported. Gaetz was accompanied in the Bahamas by two other Florida Republican political players - Jason Pirozzolo, a former Orlando-area aviation authority member, who has acted as a fundraiser for Governor Ron DeSantis; and Halsey Beshears, a former state representative. Federal authorities are examining the Bahamas trip to see if it violated the Mann Act, which forbids transporting people across state lines to engage in prostitution. Advertisement Lake Oroville waters a quarter of US crops, sustains endangered salmon under its massive dam, and anchors tourism in Northern California, but it may soon reach record low water capacity amid a severe drought, according to state officials. While droughts are common in California, this year's is much hotter and drier than others, evaporating water more quickly from the reservoirs and the sparse Sierra Nevada snowpack that feeds them. The lake is a linchpin in a system of aqueducts and reservoirs in the arid West that makes California possible. Stark photos capture the crisis in the region that experts say will only get worse in the years to come. Slide me Lake Oroville in Northern California sustains agriculture and tourism in the region, which makes its current situation dire Slide me According to the US Drought Monitor, 16 percent of California is in exceptional drought, the most severe level Slide me Docks at Folsom Lake, pictured above in 2017 and 2021, sit on a bed of dry land during California's drought Slide me The Folsom Lake Marina, pictured above in 2017 and 2021, features pontoon and kayak rentals for visitors The state's more than 1,500 reservoirs are 50 percent lower than they should be this time of year, according to Jay Lund, co-director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California-Davis. The Sierra Nevada snowpack, which supplies one third of the state's water when it melts in the spring and summer, has disappeared two months earlier than expected thanks to warm weather and a lack of spring snow, according to the Weather Channel. UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain called it an 'extremely rapid melt-out with very little runoff generated.' If Lake Oroville falls below 640 feet (195 meters) - which it could do by late August - state officials would shut down a major power plant for just the second time ever because of low water levels, straining the electrical grid during the peak demand of the hottest part of the summer. Last month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded an emergency drought proclamation to 41 counties, covering 30 percent of the state's population. The governor cited climate change as a contributing factor to the drought, and called on citizens to conserve water. 'With the reality of climate change abundantly clear in California, were taking urgent action to address acute water supply shortfalls in northern and central California while also building our water resilience to safeguard communities in the decades ahead,' Newsom said in a statement. 'Were working with local officials and other partners to protect public health and safety and the environment, and call on all Californians to help meet this challenge by stepping up their efforts to save water,' he said. Over Memorial Day weekend, dozens of houseboats sat on cinderblocks at Lake Oroville because there wasn't enough water to hold them. Blackened trees lined the reservoir's steep, parched banks. A home destroyed in the 2020 North Complex Fire sits above Lake Oroville. At the time of this photo, the reservoir was at 39 percent of capacity and 46 percent of its historical average People walk near boat docks as they sit on dry land at the Browns Ravine Cove area of drought-stricken Folsom Lake In nearby Folsom Lake, normally bustling boat docks rested on dry land, their buoys warning phantom boats to slow down. Campers occupied dusty riverbanks farther north at Shasta Lake. But the impacts of dwindling reservoirs go beyond luxury yachts and weekend anglers. Salmon need cold water from the bottom of the reservoirs to spawn. The San Francisco Bay needs fresh water from the reservoirs to keep out the salt water that harms freshwater fish. Farmers need the water to irrigate their crops. Businesses need reservoirs full so people will come play in them and spend money. And everyone needs the water to run hydroelectric power plants that supply much of the state's energy. In Northern California's Butte County, low water prompts another emotion: fear. The county suffered the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century in 2018 when 85 people died. Last year, another 16 people died in a wildfire. Walking along the Bidwell Canyon trail last week, 63-year-old Lisa Larson was supposed to have a good view of the lake. Instead, she saw withered grass and trees. A car crosses Enterprise Bridge over Lake Oroville's dry banks on May 23. The lake waters a quarter of the nation's crops Slide me Lake Oroville is a linchpin in a system of aqueducts and reservoirs in the arid West that makes California possible Slide me 'It makes me feel like our planet is literally drying up,' said Lisa Larson in a visit to Lake Oroville's Bidwell Canyon Slide me Temperatures in much of California hit triple digits earlier than expected over the Memorial Day weekend 'It makes me feel like our planet is literally drying up,' she said. 'It makes me feel a little unsettled because the drier it gets, the more fires we are going to have.' Droughts are a part of life in California, where a Mediterranean-style climate means the summers are always dry and the winters are not always wet. The state's reservoirs act as a savings account, storing water in the wet years to help the state survive during the dry ones. Last year was the third driest year on record in terms of precipitation. Temperatures hit triple digits in much of California over the Memorial Day weekend, earlier than expected. State officials were surprised earlier this year when about 500,000 acre feet (61,674 hectare meters) of water they were expecting to flow into reservoirs never showed up. One acre-foot is enough water to supply up to two households for one year. 'In the previous drought, it took (the reservoirs) three years to get this low as they are in the second year of this drought,' Lund said. Lake Oroville's record low is 646 feet (197 meters), but the Department of Water Resources projects it will dip below that sometime in August or September. If that happens, the state will have to close the boat ramps for the first time ever because of low water levels, according to Aaron Wright, public safety chief for the Northern Buttes District of California State Parks. The only boat access to the lake would be an old dirt road that was built during the dams construction in the late 1960s. 'We have a reservoir up there thats going to be not usable. And so now what?' said Eric Smith, an Oroville City Council member and president of its chamber of commerce. Dry hillsides surround Lake Oroville on May 22 in Oroville, California A deserted boat launch ramp sits far from receded waters at Folsom Lake on May 22 The water level is so low at Lake Mendocino - a reservoir along the Russian River in Northern California - that state officials last week reduced the amount of water heading to 930 farmers, businesses and other junior water-rights holders. 'Unless we immediately reduce diversions, there is a real risk of Lake Mendocino emptying by the end of this year,' said Erik Ekdahl, deputy director for the State Water Boards Division of Water Rights. Low water levels across California will severely limit how much power the state can generate from hydroelectric power plants. When Lake Oroville is full, the Edward Hyatt Power Plant and others nearby can generate up to 900 megawatts of power, according to Behzad Soltanzadeh, chief of utility operations for the Department of Water Resources. One megawatt is enough to power between 800 and 1,000 homes. That has some local officials worrying about power outages, especially after the state ran out of energy last summer during an extreme heat wave that prompted California's first rotating blackouts in 20 years. But energy officials say they are better prepared this summer, having obtained an additional 3,500 megawatts of capacity ahead of the scorching summer months. The low levels are challenging for tourism officials. Bruce Spangler, president of the board of directors for Explore Butte County, grew up in Oroville and has fond memories of fishing with his grandfather and learning to launch and drive a boat before he could drive a car. But this summer, his organization has to be careful about how it markets the lake while managing visitors expectations, he said. 'We have to be sure we don't promise something that cant be,' he said. Low lake levels haven't stopped tourists from coming yet. With coronavirus restrictions lifting across the state, Wright - the state parks official for Northern California - said attendance at most parks in his area is double what it normally is this time of year. 'People are trying to recreate and use facilities even more so (because) they know they are going to lose them here in a few months,' he said. Frustrated Victorians desperately trying to book the jab are having salt rubbed in their wounds as an online booking system remains offline and phone bookings are near impossible to obtain. On Thursday, as Melburnians persisted with attempts to get vaccinated, calls to the government hotline were simply cut-off after being mocked by a brief automated message. Due to a high volume of calls, we cannot assist you,' the voice said. Frustrated Victorians vented their anger after attempting to access an online booking site to get the jab People wait in line to be vaccinated for COVID-19 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre last month. Long waits are becoming the norm in Victoria amid a range of bungles by bumbling bureaucrats People line up to be tested for COVID-19 after it was released into Victoria from South Australia Meanwhile, north of the border in New South Wales, those wanting to get the jab can obtain one akin to a simple click and collect. Victorians were given false hope that they too might be able to book a vaccine appointment online after a Victorian Government booking system went live on Saturday night. The state government had set up a dedicated hotline after slamming Victorians for failing to get the jab quick enough and placing them into lockdown last Thursday. Both the new number and the existing COVID-19 hotline immediately went into melt down as people aged 40 to 49 suddenly became eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine. Victoria's health department line received more than 77,000 calls in just 15 minutes, prompting Telstra to double the amount of phone lines and increase operator numbers from 350 to 550. The booking website went live two days later to sighs of relief from a frustrated community suffering its fourth hard lockdown. It was short lived. Health officials would later declare Victorias online vaccine booking system had accidentally gone live on Saturday night leaving hundreds in the lurch. 'Victorias online vaccine booking system is currently in test mode, preparing for launch,' it tweeted. 'It will be available for use soon. Until then, you can book by calling 1800 675 398 or visiting (Coronavirus Victoria website) to see walk-in centres.' The view down a empty Bourke Street Mall on Wednesday in Melbourne Victoria's health department claimed the vaccine booking site was not supposed to go live yet In NSW, citizens are simply able to book the jab via a website The department assured anyone who booked online during the 'test' would have their bookings honoured. 'And we look forward to seeing you there,' it tweeted. Bureaucrats promised an online system would be operational before the end of the weekend. The state government had purchased the system from Microsoft in mid-January for a whopping $6 million. On announcing the deal, it had been lauded for being 'fine-tuned' for Victorias use. On Thursday, opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier labelled the website a dud, telling Daily Mail Australia tech experts believed it 'wasn't fit for purpose'. 'They have had months to prepare for vaccine bookings. We have known the state was going to have some responsibility and yet they have failed to plan,' she said. 'It's pretty obvious they thought theyd never have another outbreak as that has been a total (disaster) as well. 'Testing sites, wait times etc, no surge capacity, and the continual failures with contact tracing including identifying wrong sites and debacle with QR codes which is all part of it.' 'Honestly, these people running the show have no clue.' Victorian Shadow Health Minister Georgie Crozier has been calling out her bumbling rivals for a series of mistakes People line up to be vaccinated in Melbourne last month Victorian Testing Commander Jeroen Weimar claims a government website booking system for the Covid jab will be ready in weeks Daily Mail Australia contacted the Premier's office on Thursday over the debacle, but received no response. Last week, Victoria's Covid-19 testing commander Jeroen Weimar had assured reporters the new platform was expected to be up and running within weeks, rather than months. 'We will launch the online portal when we are confident it will be a good option for people to use,' Mr Weimar said. 'We were standing here a week ago with low levels of demand for vaccination across the network.' With Victoria almost entirely out of the Pfizer jab, forcing health officials to beg for vaccine donations from other states, Victorians face a bleak winter with little respite anytime soon. A money savvy McDonald's worker saved $34,000 in 15 months in a heartwarming bid to pay for a visa to bring his mother to Australia. Henry Serfontein, 23, is more than halfway to his goal of saving $60,000 to finally reunite with his mother after his dad, sisters and step mum left South Africa in 2017. The Wollongong resident said nothing can 'ever be enough to say thank you for what a mum does' and to bring her to Australia is 'the least I can do'. Henry Serfontein, 23, (pictured) is saving to pay for a visa to bring his mother to Australia from South Africa 'I really don't need more than that, to me, that's perfect, that's enough to be able to do this and give her a better quality of life and feel safer,' he told news.com.au. Mr Serfonstein said the last time he saw his mother was when he was 20 years old and is concerned if anything happens to her he isn't close enough to solve the problem. 'At the moment in South Africa, it's just my mum and my grandmother. South Africa has naturally a very high crime rate and its more just the fact I can't be there anymore, which is really concerning for me,' he said. The 23-year-old is currently employed as a restaurant manager at McDonald's after working his way up at the global fast food chain over the past few years. The money savvy 23-years-old saved a massive $34,000 in 15 months and even bought himself a new car The McDonald's manager said the last time he saw his mother was when he was 20 years old (pictured: Stock image of McDonalds restaurant) The secret to his saving success is stashing away the majority of his wages into a savings account and then dividing what's leftover for his monthly needs. The strategy even helped him buy a brand new car. 'The misconception is that you have to limit yourself with your spending but as soon as you put your money aside first, the guilt of spending isn't there anymore as you have already saved,' he said. The McDonald's manager enrolled in an online program called Mastering Money from finance company SkilledSmart to help streamline his savings. Founder of SkilledSmart Paridhi Jain, 31, said Mr Serfontein's money saving journey has been 'heartwarming to watch' as his finances had a 'deeply personal goal' behind them. 'The idea that is he going to be a pivotal piece of bringing his mum to Australia, it's such a heartwarming story and kudos to him for taking that on at such a young age, but it's a great example of what you can do when you set your mind to it,' she said. He has denied that the NIH directly funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan Republican Sen. Rand Paul demanded Dr. Anthony Fauci be fired and claimed that he lied to him about gain-of-function research conducted at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that was allegedly funded by the United States. Paul appeared on Fox News' The Ingraham Angle where he claimed that thousands of emails revealed by Buzzfeed News and the Washington Post proved Fauci may have been in-part responsible for the development of COVID-19. At a Senate hearing last month, Paul accused the National Institutes of Health of funding Chinese research into bat coronaviruses that infect humans. But Fauci told Paul: 'You are entirely and completely incorrect. The NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain of function research in the Wuhan Institute.' On Wednesday, the junior senator from Kentucky said that Fauci bears 'moral culpability' while asserting that COVID-19 was created by the Wuhan Institute of Virology through funding from the NIH, a theory which has not been proven. Fauci appeared in an interview with NewsNation Now anchor Leland Vittert on The Donlon Report in which he defended a grant the United States had provided the Wuhan lab. Rand Paul appeared on The Ingraham Angle where he claimed revealed emails proved Fauci may have been in-part responsible for the development of COVID-19 The junior senator from Kentucky said Fauci bears 'moral culpability' for the pandemic and should be fired from his government roles Paul asserted COVID-19 was created by the Wuhan Institute of Virology through National Institute of Health funding, a theory which has not been proven. Paul said: 'In his email, in the subject line, he says 'gain of function research.' He was admitting it to his private underlings seven to eight months ago' Scientists have primarily focused their beliefs about COVID-19 on the theory that it spread naturally from a bat to an intermediary animal before infecting humans. Claims that the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology have been laughed off as conspiracy theories - but even researchers at a number of top universities like Harvard and Cambridge have suggested in a letter that the 'hypotheses' cannot be ruled out until there is more evidence. In gain-of-function research, scientists alter organisms and diseases to study how they could become deadlier or more transmissible. The field of virology widely relies on such studies. Fauci, who serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under the umbrella of the NIH, has denied that the NIH directly funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan. However, Paul asserted to Fox News host Laura Ingraham that the recently reveals emails show Fauci admitted to funding gain-of-function research. 'I think we've had a sea change of opinion. Everybody left-of-center was saying this was a conspiracy, no way it could have happened in the Wuhan lab. Now even Dr. Fauci is saying we should investigate it,' Paul said. 'But the emails paint a disturbing picture, a disturbing picture of Dr. Fauci form the very beginning worrying that he had been funding gain of function research. And he knows it to this day but hasn't admitted it.' Paul claimed in the interview that 'there is a lot of evidence' that Fauci's views on the Wuhan lab-leak theory were compromised by a 'conflict of interest.' 'If it turns out this virus came from the Wuhan lab, which it looks like it did, that there's a great deal of culpability in that he was a big supporter of the funding,' Paul said. 'But he was also a big supporter to this day of saying that we can trust the Chinese on this, that we can trust Chinese scientists and I think that's quite naive and really should preclude him form the position that he's in.' Dr. Anthony Fauci dismissed recent revelations that he was warned by scientist at start of pandemic that COVID-19 may have been 'engineered' Fauci made his comments in an interview with NewsNation Now anchor Leland Vittert on The Donlon Report where he also admitted he 'can't guarantee everything that is going on in the Wuhan lab' The NIH awarded a $3.7 million grant to EcoHealth Alliance, which is based in the United States, to study the risk of coronaviruses emerging from bats in 2014. EcoHealth Alliance in turn distributed nearly $600,000 of that funding to its collaborator, the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Paul claimed during the Fox News interview that Fauci's emails show he was worried the NIH funded gain-of-function research as early as last February during the emergence of the pandemic. 'In his email, in the subject line, he says 'gain of function research.' He was admitting it to his private underlings seven to eight months ago,' Paul said. In a February 1, 2020 email obtained by Buzzfeed News, Principal NIAID Director Hugh Auschincloss wrote to Fauci to discuss a paper the top infectious disease expert had sent him appearing to question if NIH grants funded gain of function research relating to coronaviruses. In the email to Fauci, Auschincloss noted that a colleague would 'try to determine if we have any distant ties to this work abroad.' When Ingraham asked Paul if Fauci could face criminal culpability, he replied: 'At the very least, there is moral culpability.' Fauci, who is considered America's top expert on infectious disease, also explained why scientists focused their theories on the natural transmission from bats rather than an accidental leak from the Wuhan lab Researchers at a number of top universities have recently penned a letter claiming that theories that COVID-19 escaped from a Wuhan lab 'remain viable' The Wuhan Institute of Virology is about 20 miles from the Huanan Seafood Market where the first coronavirus cases are reported to have occurred Paul's interview on Wednesday came as Fauci dismissed recent revelations that he was warned at the start of pandemic that COVID-19 may have been 'engineered' and said that the emails are 'really ripe to be taken out of context.' Fauci also admitted on The Donlon Report that he 'can't guarantee everything that is going on in the Wuhan lab.' Considered America's top expert on infectious disease, Fauci also explained why scientists focused their theories on the natural transmission from bats to humans through an intermediary species. The interview comes after a trove of 3,200 of Fauci's emails from January to June 2020 were obtained and published by Buzzfeed on Tuesday that showed leading virus experts warned him COVID-19 may have been created in a lab while he publicly played such claims down. 'The only trouble is they are really ripe to be taken out of context where someone can snip out a sentence in an email without showing the other emails, and say 'based on an email from Dr. Fauci, he said such and such' where you don't really have the full context,' Fauci said in the interview. Another trove of emails, published by the Washington Post, also revealed his cozy relationship with China's top infectious disease expert Dr. George Gao - the director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention - during the early days of the pandemic in March and April of last year. 'Let's put things in context ... We're not talking about the Chinese Communist Party. We're not talking about the Chinese military. We're talking about scientists that we've had relationships for years,' Fauci said. Fauci then defended his relationship with Gao, a colleague of Fauci's 'for many years' and a member of the United States National Academy of Scientists. 'The scientists there, and others that we dealt with the original SARS, with the influenza virtually every year, the scientists are experienced,' Fauci said. Fauci added that the Wuhan lab 'is a very large lab to the tune of hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars.' 'The grant that we're talking about was $600,000 over five years for an average of about $125,000 to $140,000 a year,' Fauci said. He added: 'I can't guarantee everything that is going on in the Wuhan lab, I can't do that. But it is our obligation as scientists and public health individuals to study the animal-human interface' in the aftermath of the original SARS virus in 2002. Fauci explained that SARS-CoV-1 'was clearly a jumping of species from a bat, to a civic cat, to a human.' 'So it was incumbent upon us to study the animal-human interface and to understand what potential these viruses have of infecting humans which then might damage the United States,' Fauci said. 'So you don't want to go to Hoboken, New Jersey or to Fairfax, Virginia to be studying the bat human interface that might lead to an outbreak. You go to China.' One of Australia's more modest homes has hit the market - and it's just begging for a makeover. The two-bedroom cottage on Fifth Avenue in South Townsville, north-east Queensland offers a 'large' bedroom and kitchen but not much else. Described as a renovator's dream, the home is believed to be around 100 years old and even comes with its own sleepout area adjacent to the back. Harcourts Kingsberry agent Sam Musemeci said the house has already received an overwhelming amount of interest. The two-bedroom cottage on Fifth Avenue, in South Townsville, north-east Queensland offers a 'large' bedroom and kitchen but not much else 'We had a fair bit of interest pre-market and have gotten even more recently especially from wannabe fixer-uppers,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'I'm a bit concerned about the open house on the weekend, I'm probably going to be inundated.' He said potential buyers are both looking at renovating the home or knocking it down completely and starting from scratch. 'The ones that see vision have certainly showed interest in what they could do to it,' he said. Real estate agents said the home has already garnered a lot of interest from fixer-uppers Potential buyers are either looking to knock down the house completely or renovate it 'It's a blank canvas for those wanting to restore it to its full glory. It's a project that will require a lot of imagination and elbow grease.' One of the 502sqm property's best features is its location just walking distance from the new Queensland Country Bank Stadium and the city's CBD. It's also very close to the boat ramp so it's a perfect place to settle down for those who love to get out on the water. Mr Musemeci said the previous owners had planned to renovate the house themselves but their circumstances changed and they've since put it on the market. 'You have to look past the skin of the home to see what's behind it but it could be beautiful,' he said. 'It's one of those ones you really can have fun with.' The Fifth Avenue home will go on auction on June 19. Some of the main features of the 502sqm property is its location which is just walking distance from the new Queensland Country Bank Stadium and the area's CBD American Legion officials cut a veteran's microphone at a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, when he began speaking about how the holiday was first marked by a group of freed black slaves. The ceremony organizers turned off the microphone for about two minutes in the middle of Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter's 11-minute speech, just as he was starting to talk about how the holiday was born out of a ceremony in which freed slaves honored deceased soldiers at the end of the Civil War. He explained: 'Memorial day was first commemorated by an organized group of freed black slaves less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered.' But moments later the sound was cut, leaving Kemter looking confused and tapping the microphone, before continuing with his speech without amplification. Cindy Suchan with the Hudson American Legion Lee-Bishop Post 464 in Ohio told the Akron Beacon Journal that organizers wanted the part of the speech excluded because it was 'not relevant to our program for the day' and added, the 'theme of the day was honoring Hudson veterans.' Suchan had told Kemter to edit his speech the day before the ceremony, but the veteran continued with it anyway saying he didn't have time to rewrite it. The microphone was cut off from Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter's keynote address at a Memorial Day ceremony in Hudson, Ohio as he was starting to talk about the slave origins of the holiday Kemter said he wanted to use his speech to detail the history of the origins of Memorial Day, which, he recounted in his speech, began when emancipated slaves gave fallen Union prisoners a proper burial. Many of them died in the Battle of Fort Wagner on Morris Island, a battle many black soldiers fought in. The freed slaves reportedly exhumed the mass grave and reinterred 200 Union soldier bodies in a new cemetery with a tall whitewashed fence inscribed with the words: 'Martyrs of the Race Course,' referring to the Washington Race Course and Jockey Club in Charleston, South Carolina, where they were buried. Then on May 1, 1865, reports show, a crowd of 10,000 people, mostly freed slaves and some white missionaries decided to parade around the race track, with little black schoolchildren carrying flowers and singing a Union marching song. At the end of his speech, Kemter said, he received 'numerous compliments from attendees who told him 'it was nice to hear the history.' The clubhouse at the Charleston racetrack where the 1865 Memorial Day events took place. 'It was well-received,' Kemter said in the Akron Beacon Journal article, adding a lot of people told him they never knew about the slave origins of the holiday. 'I find it interesting that [the American Legion] would take it upon themselves to censor my speech and deny me my First Amendment right to speech,' Kemter said. 'This is not the same country I fought for.' Officials with the American Legion said they 'asked him to modify his speech, and he chose not to do that' before the Memorial Day ceremony. Suchan, who chairs the Memorial Day parade committee and is president of the Hudson American Legion Auxiliary, said the two minutes where Kemter's microphone was turned off were part of what she asked him to exclude. Kemter confirmed he was emailed by an event organizer, whom he did not name, asking him to remove part of his speech detailing how black Americans helped found Memorial Day, and proceeded to ask the organizers to specify which portions they wanted to have excluded. The organizer emailed him back, he said, telling him that all the parts that are highlighted should be removed, but he said he did not see anything highlighted, and with less than 24 hours to the ceremony, 'I didn't have time to sit down and write another speech.' The Battle of Fort Wagner on Morris Island was the Union attack on July 18, 1863, led by the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. The infantry was one of the first major American military units made up of Black soldiers He said he showed the text to a Hudson public official, who told him to keep the speech intact. Then on the day of the ceremony, Suchan said she asked the audio engineer, AJ Stokes, to turn off Kemter's microphone. Stokes said he refused to do it himself, but pointed to the knob that controlled the microphone, saying it was Jim Garrison, adjutant of American Legion Lee-Bishop Post 464, who turned off the microphone and turned it back on. When asked about the claims, Garrison declined to say whether he turned off the microphone and said he had 'nothing to add' about the situation. Stokes said Suchan and Garrison were both 'very adamant' about turning off the microphone, but he was 'very upset' about what happened and feared he would be blamed, even though Suchan said Stokes was 'totally blameless.' Kemter, meanwhile, thought there was a problem with the audio equipment, he said, but Stokes told him the truth about the incident afterwards. In a video of the ceremony, the crowd tries to tell Kemter they can't hear him when the audio goes off, at which point, Kemter looks off-screen and says, 'AJ, mic,' apparently talking to Stokes. Kemter then smiled at the crowd and joked that this is why he told the crowd to move closer at the beginning of his keynote address. He continues to speak, and after about two minutes, the microphone comes back on, and stays on for the rest of his speech. Advertisement Britain enjoyed another hot day today with the mercury set to hit 82F (28C), before forecasters expect a balmy weekend and above-average temperatures to continue for at least the rest of June. Today was the eighth day in a row that the mercury has been above 70F (21C) somewhere in the UK, after the country experienced its hottest day of the year so far for the third successive day yesterday. One of the hotspots today was London, which made it to 75.2F (24C). Temperatures peaked at 82.9F (28.3C) in Northolt, West London, yesterday after hitting previous 2021 highs on Tuesday with 79F (26.1C) in Cardiff and 77.2F (25.1C) at Kinlochewe in the Highlands on bank holiday Monday. In contrast, Malaga in Spain reached a maximum of 81F (27C) yesterday, while Rome was 79F (26C) and Athens 77F (25C). The UK's previous warmest day had been on March 30, when Kew in West London hit 76.1F (24.5C). It comes as the Government will today update its 'green list' of countries Britons can visit without having to go into quarantine when they return, with Portugal the only major warm weather holiday destination currently on it. Looking ahead, a Met Office forecast said this weekend will be 'mostly fine and dry with sunny spells and only a few showers' and temperatures will be 'around or above average in light winds' with chilly nights in some areas. It added that next week, 'temperatures will trend towards the warmer side of average', while the following week from June 14 will see the mercury 'remain average to warmer than average' and the rest of June 'average or above'. Holidaymakers and sunbathers flock to the beach to enjoy the sunshine at the Dorset seaside resort of Lyme Regis today Ziggy Starkey, aged 16 months, swims with his mother Clem Malpas at the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park in London today Tourists enjoy the good weather on a City Cruises boat on the River Thames in London today A group of young men ride bicycles along the Embankment in London today However, the Met Office said parts of the UK will just miss out on an official heatwave despite temperatures remaining high. To meet the definition of a heatwave, areas must see three days in a row of high temperatures. These range from around 77F (25C) to 82F (28C) - depending on location. Although temperatures around the country are expected to stay in the high-70Fs (mid-20Cs) today, most places will not 'tick the box' for a heatwave. How temperatures have risen every day for a week June 2: 82.9F (28.3C) - Northolt, West London June 1 : 79F (26.1C) - Cardiff : 79F (26.1C) - Cardiff May 31 : 77.2F (25.1C) - Kinlochewe, Highlands : 77.2F (25.1C) - Kinlochewe, Highlands May 30 : 75.2F (24C) - Achnagart, Highlands : 75.2F (24C) - Achnagart, Highlands May 29 : 73.2F (22.9C) - Chivenor, Devon : 73.2F (22.9C) - Chivenor, Devon May 28 : 71.8F (22.1C) - Achnagart, Highlands : 71.8F (22.1C) - Achnagart, Highlands May 27 : 71.6F (22C) - Wisley, Surrey : 71.6F (22C) - Wisley, Surrey May 26 : 65.5F (18.6C) - Killowen, County Down Advertisement It comes as temperature records for the year were smashed yesterday with the high in the capital, while parts of Surrey and Kent also saw temperatures of between 81F (27C) and 82F (28C). The village of Hawarden in Flintshire reached 79.9F (26.5C) to become Wales' own warmest day of the year. Scotland also recorded its hottest days of 2021 with Achnagart reaching 75.9F (25.4C). And the 73.9F (23.3C) in Ballywatticock, Northern Ireland, matched its previous warmest day of the year. The warm weather has been a welcome break for people following a washout May, which brought heavy downpours and prolonged spells of rain for much of the UK but it is 'unlikely' to be an official heatwave, according to the Met Office. Its meteorologist Steven Keates said: 'We define a heatwave depending on three consecutive days meeting certain temperature thresholds and it depends where you are in the UK - it ranges from about 25 to 28 degrees. 'My suspicion is that a handful of places will come close to meeting the thresholds but not many will tick the box for a heatwave. I think it's going to be a bit of a near miss for most places. 'It's been a lovely warm spell but if we're using the strict criteria we use to measure it then I don't think anywhere is going to quite get it this time.' A swimmer leaves the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park during warm weather in London today People swim in the Serpentine Lake at Hyde Park in London today during warm weather conditions He added: 'Nonetheless we're going to see several very warm days up and down the country which will be welcome for a lot of people after what has been a pretty cool, damp, disappointing May. Some areas in South West England and South Wales, which had enjoyed sunny and warm weather in recent days, experienced some heavy showers during yesterday afternoon. The heaviest storms were in Pembrokeshire, where up to 11mm (0.4in) of rain fell at Mathry, near Fishguard. Mr Keates said temperatures were expected to stay above 68F (20C) in most areas today with the highest, most 'humid' temperatures being felt in the east, with up to 81F (27C) predicted in East Anglia. He added: 'Weather-wise it will be a bit of a mess' The showery rain tomorrow morning will pivot a bit and push its way toward Scotland. 'Elsewhere across England and Wales it'll be a bit cloudy and dull to begin with but we should see some sunny spells in the afternoon. It'll be pleasantly warm for most of us but a bit humid in the east tomorrow.' Mr Keates said that more heavy rain was expected late this evening and overnight tomorrow. Healthcare organisations representing nurses and doctors want the same quality of PPE used in the US to protect them from Covid variants in hospital. A team-up of over 20 groups want stricter rules to combat the risk from infection through the air. In an upcoming meeting with officials, which is to be held virtually, they will say the current PPE leaves them at risk from developing problems. The group, who include the British Medical Association and Royal College of Nursing, will put the case to government heads responsible for PPE they should get the US masks. In America the front line workers use N95 respirators also known as FFP3 masks - which are effective in preventing aerosol transmission of the virus. RCN acting chief executive and general secretary Pat Cullen said: We cannot give the virus any opportunity to spread if we have the means to prevent it. Currently medics in the UK use the surgical-style masks as seen above on April last year This N95 respirators also known as FFP3 masks - is the more favoured PPE and used in the US Royal College of Nursing acting chief executive Pat Cullen will ask for the new masks As we see new variants of concern emerge, we continue to demand FFP3 masks are made more widely available and increased levels of ventilation as a standardised approach. Along with many other organisations, we have consistently urged that the health secretary and prime minister provide greater protection for all nursing staff, she added to Nursing Times. The issue of appropriate PPE for medics is a problem that has dogged the government since the pandemic began. It has also been plagued by accusations of cronyism over how certain companies were awarded contracts to make the protective gear. In November The National Audit Office revealed officials had signed contracts for hundreds of thousands of facemasks which turned out to be unusable wasting hundreds of millions of pounds. The then Business Secretary Alok Sharma had refused to apologise for the extraordinary spending and allegations of cronyism, claiming there was 'huge pressure' to get PPE for the NHS at the start of the pandemic and through the first wave. A medics in one of the preferred masks working in New York during the pandemic Workers at the Bloc Blinds factory in Magherafelt, where staff are currently manufacturing PPE, including face shields, for health workers fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic He said: 'We had to do an enormous amount of work very fast to secure PPE and that's what we did, and I'm not going to apologise for the fact that quite rightly we made that effort'. The NAO's report looked at 8,600 contracts awarded by the Government between January and July. These were worth 18billion, of which 17.3billion were new contracts rather than contract extensions. Most of the money, 12.3billion, went on PPE, with the remainder going on other equipment and virus testing. Ministers, MPs and civil servants could refer businesses to a 'high-priority' lane and firms which were granted this VIP access were more than ten times as likely to be awarded a contract as those in the ordinary lane. Leads came into a dedicated mailbox, but officials only recorded the sources in half of cases, although many were from ministerial offices following tip-offs from MPs about firms in their constituencies. The NAO highlighted one 840,000 contract with Public First for focus groups and communications. The policy and research firm is owned by James Frayne and his wife Rachel Wolf, both of whom have previously worked for Michael Gove, the minister for the Cabinet Office. Miss Wolf co-wrote Boris Johnson's 2019 manifesto. The NAO said there was no evidence Mr Gove had been involved in the award, but 'we found no documentation on the consideration of conflicts of interest'. Mr Cummings's association with Mr Frayne dates back to at least 2000, when they worked together on a campaign against Britain joining the euro. They also co-founded a Right-wing think tank. The report discussed another potential conflict of interest in reference to Lord Agnew, a minister in the Treasury and the Cabinet Office. The NAO report also explicitly exonerated Lord Agnew for any role in the contracts in its conclusion. He owned shares in Faculty, an artificial intelligence firm given three coronavirus contracts worth 3million for data analysis. Faculty worked with Cummings on the Vote Leave campaign in 2016. The firm also worked for Cummings company Dynamic Maps under a commercial contract in 2018 and 2019. Advertisement How Ministers washed hands on smoking law to let councils use new 'al fresco' legislation to ban cigarettes outside pubs and cafes by stealth Five councils in England have brought in outdoor smoking bans for pubs, cafes and restaurants by stealth after the Business and Planning Act 2020 came into effect in July last year. This Covid-19 legislation was intended to give hospitality venues fast-tracked 'pavement licences' which meant they could place removable furniture on pavements and streets outside. This was because social distancing and other measures were limiting indoor space, and lockdown rules at some points meant people could only sit outside. The law states that venues must provide a 'smoke-free seating' area outside, but also gives councils the provision to make 100 per cent smoke-free seating a condition of licence, if the council can demonstrate there is 'reasonable justification' to do so. This 'reasonable justification' exception means councils imposing their own local condition need to set out their reasoning in their officer's report to the licensing committee. The report needs to include public health justification making the link between the harm caused by smoking, why tackling this is a priority and the harm that could be caused by smoking in licensed pavement areas. This would be straightforward to demonstrate, with council lawyers able to point to how smoking is the leading cause of preventable illness and premature death in England, killing 78,000 people each year. The Act does not technically make it illegal for someone to smoke in a smoke-free seating area outside, but it could be a breach of the venue's licence - meaning the venue could lose their pavement licence. There is no provision within the Act for a venue to face enforcement action in the form of a fine, although councils are allowed to recover the costs from the venue of serving a notice on them. Manchester City Council is among those with the smoke-free rule, and the condition under its pavement licence states: 'Smoke-free seating condition: Smoking of tobacco is not permitted within the licensed area and at least one 'no smoking' sign shall be visibly displayed within it.' Advertisement Hospitality bosses reacted with fury today after five councils in England banned smoking on pavements outside pubs, cafes and restaurants with others considering joining them by using Covid al fresco dining laws as the Government tries to make the UK smoke free by 2030. Newcastle City Council, Manchester City Council, Durham County Council, Northumberland County Council and North Tyneside Council have all banned smoking on the pavements where outdoor hospitality venues have tables. And Oxfordshire County Council is set to follow suit under plans for the first smoke-free county, with employers expected to asked to enforce smoke-free spaces outside shops, offices and factories to help staff kick their habit. A seventh local authority, Gateshead Council, does not have an official policy on smoking outdoors, but all the licences it grants to venues with pavement areas say they must be smoke-free - unless they can guarantee enough separation between a smoking and non-smoking section. The rules being implemented by councils do not apply to pre-existing beer gardens and outdoor areas in place before the pandemic. Councils in England can ban smoking at all hospitality venues under an exception within the Business and Planning Act 2020 which has provision for 'pavement licences'. This law states that venues must provide a 'smoke-free seating' area, but also gives councils the provision to make 100 per cent smoke-free seating a condition of licence, if the council can demonstrate there is 'reasonable justification' to do so. This means councils imposing their own local condition need to set out their reasoning, including why it would benefit public health. Enforcement action taken against a venue breaching this ban can include revoking their licence, although it is not technically illegally for someone to smoke in a non-smoking area outside a pub. The Government said last July that it will 'not ban outdoor smoking'. But hospitality chiefs said staff could 'well do without the risk of conflict that could arise when challenging customers breaching the rule', and warned councils against 'burdening us with more red tape at the worst possible time'. And Simon Clark, director of the smokers' lobby group Forest (Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking), told MailOnline: 'It's very clear that the Government does not want to ban smoking in outdoor al fresco dining areas, so for any council to effectively introduce a ban goes against the spirit of the legislation. 'The interesting thing is how few councils have actually done it. I'm only aware of five councils who have actually done it, so it suggests that the vast majority of councils are acting in accordance with the spirit of the legislation and they support the idea of choice. 'What the Government was trying to come up with with these compromise amendments is that they're very much on the side of business. There's absolutely no justification for central government or local authorities to get involved on public health grounds.' He also said it was 'no business of local councils if adults choose to smoke' - and it follows a failed attempt last summer to push through an amendment in the House of Lords to make pavements smoke-free. And Mark Oates, director of campaign group We Vape, told MailOnline: 'The Government should be mandating councils to use safer alternatives to smoking such as e-cigarettes in all smoking cessation centres. 'Instead it has failed to act in this regard and passed on draconian powers to local authorities to ban people smoking outdoors. Most pubs currently don't differentiate between smoking and vaping and so there is little doubt that this ban will also include vaping. 'Despite the Government saying they would 'not ban outdoor smoking' they have instead created a postcode lottery where punters won't know whether they can smoke or vape outside a pub or workplace.' Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, told MailOnline today: 'The pandemic has been the worst period our pubs have ever had to endure - months of closure followed by periods of severely reduced trading. We would encourage all local authorities to work with the sector in helping us get back on our feet, not burdening us with more red tape at the worst possible time.' Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: 'This damaging decision would be a hugely disproportionate step and will inevitably deter customers from pubs, bars and restaurants - businesses that already find themselves in a very fragile state following months of closure and over a year of severely disrupted trading. 'It would impose a burden on our hardworking staff, who can well do without the risk of conflict that could arise when challenging customers breaching the rule especially now, when they are already coping with the extra burden of Covid regulations and maintaining social distancing. Venues already cater for non-smokers and smokers alike, so making people walk 10 metres away from a venue, simply displacing the smoke, is illogical.' She later added: 'Regardless of where, how or why this legislation came about, the bottom line is that venues have enough on their plate at the moment, in simply striving to stay afloat. As such, we strongly urge local authorities to put the futures of their high street and local jobs above moving outdoor cigarette smoke outside of one type of venue to another'. And Nik Antona, national chairman of the Campaign for Real Ale, told MailOnline: 'As restrictions on pubs lift and they are able to welcome back customers once more, we are wary of outdoor smoking bans being imposed on hospitality businesses. 'Especially as we look down the long road to recovery for the industry from the Covid crisis, we would hope that the Government and local councils want businesses to trade and bring in as many customers as possible. Of course, non-smoking areas in pub gardens for customers who would prefer it are important, but this should be up to the licensee as the person who understands their customers' needs best.' Another organisation which campaigns for vaping said it 'seems fashionable again to attack smokers instead of helping them' and the five councils 'don't care about the individual smoker's health, they care about looking good'. A Wetherspoon spokesman said: 'We already have quite a large number of non-smoking beer gardens. Our other beer gardens have smoking and non-smoking areas. This proposition has come out of the blue, and we have no policy on it, but we will discuss the issue with our pub teams and customers in the coming weeks and months.' The pubs industry has suffered a torrid period since the indoor smoking ban in England became active in July 2007, with 11,400 fewer venues open one decade later amid claims that the two were closely linked. Pubs are said to have suffered financially from the ban because smokers are known to drink more, with previous US studies estimating that 85 to 90 per cent of adults who are alcohol-dependent are also nicotine-dependent. Many venues have improved their food offering and family friendly appeal since the ban in an attempt to survive, with the number of jobs at pubs and bars actually rising 6 per cent between 2008 and 2018. The Office for National Statistics said this may be because the greater focus on food requires more waiting and kitchen staff. In Oxfordshire, officials will work with the NHS and other local organisations to end smoking near hospitals, play parks and school gates. People will also be discouraged from smoking at home and in their car. It is part of the push to make the county smoke-free by 2025 - five years ahead of the national target - in proposals in the Oxfordshire Tobacco Control Strategy discussed by the county's health improvement board last week. People eat and drink at outside tables in London's Soho in April following the easing of lockdown restrictions in England Newcastle City Council and Manchester City Council have banned smoking on the pavements where outdoor hospitality venues such as pubs, restaurants and cafes have tables The policy document says 'reducing the visibility of smoking' will make it seem more abnormal, so children are less likely to start. And it adds: 'By compelling smokers to remove themselves from defined areas to smoke, there is increased chance that they will consider stopping.' Ansaf Azhar, Oxfordshire's public health director, told the meeting: 'It is not about telling people not to smoke - it is about moving and creating an environment in which not smoking is encouraged and they are empowered to do so.' Some 12 per cent of Oxfordshire's population currently smoke but rates are higher among those on lower incomes or with mental illnesses, the homeless and travellers. Bosses will make it easier for people to access quit-smoking drugs and therapies to bring this figure down, the board papers reveal. They say: 'To be smoke free by 2025, smokers need supportive environments to quit and young people need environments where being smoke free is the easy option. One smokers' lobby group said it was 'no business of local councils if adults choose to smoke' (file picture) A man smokes a cigarette with his meal at the Craven Arms pub in Birmingham in 2004, three years before the indoor ban 'We will be working closely with workplaces, communities, and our smoke free partner organisations to support the implementation of smoke-free indoor and outdoor places, and to improve access to nicotine replacement and pharmacotherapy for those who need it most.' How will the proposal work in Oxfordshire? When will the ban come into force? Oxfordshire County Council has said there are no timeframes for plans and it has not yet been agreed. The decision to make outdoor seating 100 per cent smoke-free remains the responsibility of individual district councils - as part of the 2020 Business and Planning Act. There are no timeframes or plans regarding enforcement or signage. District councils have yet to agree on a timeframe that would be consistent with the county-wide ambition of smoke-free by 2025. The proposal Under the proposal by the Oxfordshire Tobacco Control Alliance, the council aims to have reduced the prevalence of smoking in the adult population to below five per cent by 2025. This would include encouraging employers to stop the habit outside offices and factories, or by creating smoke-free areas in newly created pavement dining areas. The authorities have said they will follow the four pillars of prevention, local regulation and enforcement, smoke-free environments and provide support for smokers to quit in order to see through their vision What the council hopes to achieve by 2025? Reduce the prevalence of smoking in the adult population to below 5 per cent by 2025. Reduce the prevalence of smoking in routine and manual workers to below 10 per cent. Reduce the prevalence of smoking in those with a serious mental illness to below 20 per cent. Reduce the prevalence of women who smoke at the time of delivery to below 4 per cent. Reduce the prevalence of smoking at age 15 below 3 per cent. Local Regulation and Enforcement The council said it will also support regional programmes to reduce illegal tobacco. Ensure effective prosecutions continue to be pursued in appropriate cases based on intelligence received. Take actions to reduce the sale of tobacco related products and electronic cigarettes to people underage. 'Smoke-free' areas Encourage workplaces to promote smoke-free environments and support staff to quit smoking Ensure that local NHS Trusts are smoke-free, including encouraging smokers working in the NHS to quit. Explore opportunities to protect both adults and children from the harm of secondhand smoke Support organisations working across the community to promote smoke-free environments, including homes, cars, play parks and school gates. Train and support staff working with families to promote smoke-free homes and cars. Supporting Smokers to Quit The council will reduce health inequalities by targeting those populations where smoking rates remain high, including routine and manual workers, unemployed and those living in the most deprived communities. Community-based client friendly Local Stop Smoking Services will target vulnerable groups. Frontline healthcare workers will be trained to raise the issue of smoking. Advertisement The Government wants England to be smoke-free - meaning only 5 per cent of the population smokes - by 2030. But the Oxfordshire Tobacco Control Strategy aims to achieve this goal by 2025. The local authority will tackle sellers of illicit tobacco and take action to reduce the sale of tobacco-related products and electronic cigarettes to people who are underage. Dr Adam Briggs, the public health official leading the strategy, said smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in Oxfordshire, costing the public purse 120million a year. He told the meeting: 'We have got a condition that is entirely a commercially driven cause of death and disease. It is impossible to be on the wrong side of history with tobacco consumption.' Last year, data from the charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), found 2,132 people died from smoking-related causes in Oxfordshire between 2012 and 2017. ASH also said 23 tonnes of waste, or enough to fill 421 wheelie bins, is gathered in the form of cigarette butts in Oxfordshire each year. It was also estimated that smoking-related house fires cost the Oxfordshire economy 2.7million. Oxfordshire County Council said on Tuesday: 'Oxfordshire has set itself an ambitious aim to be smoke-free by 2025. 'Creating healthy, smoke-free environments - including considering proposals for hospitality outdoor seating to be 100 per cent smoke-free - is just one small part of a wider range of county-wide plans. 'At present there are no timeframes for smoke-free pavement licensing proposals and nothing has yet been agreed. 'Any decision on this would be ultimately the responsibility of our individual district councils in Oxfordshire. 'Our tobacco control strategy further outlines our smoke-free 2025 plans, which includes creating healthy and family-friendly smoke-free spaces, helping people stop smoking in the first place, and supporting those who wish to quit.' Mr Clark, director of the smokers' lobby group Forest (Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking), criticised the plans. He said: 'It's no business of local councils if adults choose to smoke, and if they smoke outside during working hours that's a matter for them and their employer not the council. 'Nor should it be the role of councillors to force smokers to quit by extending the indoor smoking ban to any outdoor area where there is no risk to non-smokers.' He added: 'The public will want local authorities to help local businesses bounce back from the impact of the pandemic. They will also be expected to focus on issues like employment and housing. 'Reducing smoking rates to meet some idealistic target is not a priority for most people and council policy should reflect that.' He also said: 'At any time banning smoking outside is not justified but to do it in the wake of a pandemic when restaurants and pubs have suffered so badly, anything that would drive more customers away would be utterly foolhardy. 'But ultimately it has to be the choice of the pubs and restaurants, they know who the customers are, they know whether or not they would ban smoking. 'I'm sure some would, if most of their customers are non-smokers, but there are others who think their customers who are smokers and non-smokers can co-exist happily.' And Mark Oates, director of campaign group We Vape, said: 'It now seems fashionable again to attack smokers instead of helping them, which is all these five councils are doing. 'They don't care about the individual smoker's health, they care about looking good. Smokers need to be educated in the alternatives, not treated like exiles. 'Public Health England and Cancer research UK have publicly stated between them vaping is 95 per cent safer than smoking, doesn't hurt people nearby and we know it is far more effective at quitting tobacco than any other nicotine replacement method. It is a fact. 'So by ignoring this and not advising on far healthier alternatives and instead forcing smokers down the road or wherever they can push them, they are blindly rejecting science for some PR stunt.' Professor Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, told a recent conference more than 90,000 people died from tobacco related diseases in 2020, compared with 75,000 from Covid. He added: 'One in five people who die from cancer will die from [lung cancer]. The reason that people like me get very concerned and very upset about it is that this cancer is almost entirely caused for profit.' Facebook has denied that Donald Trump has been allowed back on to its social networking site after rumors spread that the former president's ban was lifted. Trump was banned from many social media sites following the storming of the US Capitol on January 6. A number of conservative commentators falsely believed he had been restored to Instagram and Facebook on Wednesday after noticing his pages were viewable, unlike his Twitter account. Facebook has denied that Donald Trump has been allowed back on to its platform after rumours spread that the former president's ban was lifted Facebook's policy communications director Andy Stone responded to the rumours on Twitter, where he denied Trump's reinstatement But even those the pages are visible to the public, they are still frozen for Trump, meaning he cannot post on them. His last post on Facebook remains his final message on January 6 in which he said: 'I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! 'Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!' His previous posts are now flooded with messages from supporters welcoming him back to the social media site despite his continued censorship. Facebook's policy communications director Andy Stone responded to the rumors on Twitter, where he denied Trump's reinstatement. On Instagram, Trump's final post in January is now flooded with comments welcoming him back to the site The president's most recent post on Facebook, asking for Capitol protesters to be peaceful, has also received new comments falsely believing Trump had returned He said: 'Nothing about the status of President Trump's presence on our platform has changed. He remains indefinitely suspended.' It comes as Trump permanently shut down the website he used to get around his social media ban and where he posted his statements after just 29 days. 'From the Desk of Donald J. Trump' has been scrubbed from the former president's website and instead the URL redirects users to a page to sign up for his email and text alerts. A Trump adviser told The Washington Post that Trump shut it down because he didn't like that the site was being mocked and didn't garner a large readership. Senior Trump aide Jason Miller told CNBC that the site 'will not be returning.' 'It was just auxiliary to the broader efforts we have and are working on,' he added. Trump was banned from Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg (left) and Twitter by Jack Dorsey (right) following his posts during the storming of the Capitol on January 6 The site was set up amid the former president being banned from social media sites but it received criticism from those who claimed it was a sad excuse for an alternative to these other platforms. A GOP strategist predicted on Twitter that it was shut down as 'a precursor to him joining another social media platform?' 'Yes, actually, it is. Stay tuned!' Miller confirmed in a response to the post. Trump promised after being booted from his accounts that he would set up his own social media site, which he insists is different from the 'desk' blog. Miller claimed he is 'hoping to have more information on the broader efforts soon' regarding the new social media site. 'I do not have a precise awareness of timing,' he said. Trump used 'From the desk of Donald J. Trump' to post all of his statements after he was booted from social media like Facebook and Twitter after the January 6 Capitol attack, for which he was ultimately impeached for 'inciting an insurrection' The URL for the 'desk' site now redirects users to a page where they can sign up to receive text and email alerts from the former president Trump unveiled his new blog last month billed as a 'communication platform' for the former president to interact more directly with supporters and the public after losing his access to other platforms. A Twitter account set up to repost those statements verbatim was immediately shut down by CEO Jack Dorsey. The 'desk' site, however, also gave visitors the ability to easily share the statements for themselves onto social media platforms. Due to Trump's messaging for a new social media platform, many felt this new website was him unveiling that. A GOP strategist predicted the site getting shut down is a preview for the former president 'joining another social media platform,' to which Miller confirmed 'Yes, actually, it is. Stay tuned!' He and his team pushed back against this, however, claiming it was just a way to pump out his statements, which were also sent out through the email account for his Save America political action committee. Miller said at the time in his own Twitter post that the 'Desk' page was 'a great resource' to find Trump's statements. He clarified 'this is not a new social media platform.' Belarusian dissident journalist Roman Protasevich who was dragged off a hijacked Ryanair flight in Minsk and arrested has told people not to protest in a new video aired on state television on Wednesday. It comes amid renewed fears the 26-year-old has been beaten and tortured after exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya said she was sure he had been mistreated. In the footage, released on Wednesday, Protasevich appeared relaxed, smoking as spoke about the opposition with an unidentified interrogator. 'These is simply no [protest] activity right now,' the 26-year-old said in the broadcast. 'We need to abandon those schemes.... there can't be any such activity now... when I was in Vilnius, I said openly that street protests were not needed.. Protasevich added: 'At the very least we have to wait for the economic situation to heat up. 'We must wait for the day when people will not go to protest about new elections or against violence by the security forces, but when people will take to the streets for a bowl of soup.' Belarusian dissident journalist Roman Protasevich who was dragged off a hijacked Ryanair flight in Minsk has told people not to protest in a new video aired on state television on Wednesday The call comes amid renewed suspicions the 26-year-old has been beaten and tortured in prison, but the footage showed him relaxed, smoking as spoke with an interrogator The new video comes after Protasevich last appeared on May 24, telling viewers he was in good health and was being treated well. 'I continue cooperating with investigators and am confessing to having organised mass unrest in the city of Minsk,' he said. The video was widely rubbished as forced and Protasevich's father claimed the 26-year-old had has his nose broken. Roman Protasevich has appeared on camera for the first time since his arrested on Sunday (left), as his father said it appears his nose is broken and that he is wearing makeup - possibly to conceal bruising on the side of his face, with marks visible on his forehead (Protasevich is pictured right in 2017, for comparison) Belarus has used video confessions to justify detentions and to attempt to dissuade the population from showing support for the opposition. Western countries have condemned the government of Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko after it scrambled a Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jet to escort the commercial plane to Minsk. Ryanair flight FR4978 had been flying from Athens in Greece to Vilnius in Lithuania when it was forced to make an emergency landing in Minsk amid fake reports of an IED on board. Ryanair flight FR4978 had been flying from Athens in Greece to Vilnius in Lithuania when it was escorted by a Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jet to Belarus amid fake reports of an IED on board Belarusian dog handler checks luggage from the Ryanair flight in Minsk International Airport on May 23 Authorities arrested Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega, 23, on arrival in Minsk. Russian national Sapega is being held in a pre-trial detention centre in Minsk. A day after her arrest Belarusian state media released a video showing her confessing to having organised 'mass riots' in Belarus. She also 'admits' to having edited the social media channel that has published personal information about Belarusian police officers. Her parents say the confession is false, and that Sapega did not attend mass anti-government rallies in Minsk last summer, and only met her boyfriend in Lithuania in the New Year. Belarus was rocked by strikes and weekly street protests after authorities announced that Lukashenko, who has ruled in authoritarian fashion since 1994, had secured re-election on August 9 with 80 per cent of votes. Roman Protasevich's girlfriend Sofia Sapega (pictured) has been in jail in Minsk since May 23. She appeared in a video and confessed to editing a social media channel that has published personal information about Belarusian police officers Belarus was rocked by strikes and weekly street protests after authorities announced that Lukashenko, who has ruled in authoritarian fashion since 1994, had secured re-election on August 9 with 80 per cent of votes Flight data shows that airspace over Belarus is virtually empty after Belarus scrambled a military jet and forced a plane carrying dissident journalist Roman Protasevich and his partner to land in Minsk How flights are flying AROUND Belarus after Ryanair flight was hijacked as it crossed airspace Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko ordered the hijacking of a Ryanair plane as it crossed Belarusian airspace so he could arrest dissident blogger Roman Protasevich and girlfriend Sofia Sapega on May 23. Since then, the EU has directed flights around Belarus until the matter is resolved. The move - which takes longer - is expected to burn more fuel. Flights paths formulated by the Financial Times show just how out of the way people-carriers are forced to go. Amsterdam to Bangkok on May 21 vs May 24: The grey line shows the route on May 21 going through Belarus. The purple line shows the route just three days later on May 24 Advertisement The EU has banned Belarusian airlines, urged EU airlines not to cross Belarusian airspace and threatened tough economic sanctions on Lukashenko's Kremlin-backed regime. The British government instructed all UK planes to cease flying over Belarus. Flight data shows that the airspace over the state is virtually empty following the incident. Some countries have also imposed sanctions against Belarusian officials over a crackdown on demonstrators and a presidential election last year that the opposition said was massively rigged. On Saturday, the EU offered to give 2.8billion to Belarus if Lukashenko steps aside and the country peacefully transitions to democracy. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the 'development funding' is ready once 'the democratic choice of the Belarusian people' is respected - after elections last year which Lukashenko claimed to have won but is widely thought to have lost. Von der Leyen said: 'To the people of Belarus: We see and hear your desire for change, for democracy, and for a bright future. 'And to the Belarusian authorities: No amount of repression, brutality or coercion will bring any legitimacy to your authoritarian regime.' But, over the weekend Lukashenko met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and 'agreed a loan deal' during a yacht tour in Sochi. Putin is the only world leader to defend Lukashenko over the hijacking. Russia promised Belarus a 1.06billion loan last year as part of Moscow's efforts to stabilise its neighbour and longstanding ally. Minsk received a first installment of 352million in October. Following talks in Sochi, the former-Soviet superpower said it will move ahead with a second 352million loan to Belarus next month. Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko (left) 'agreed a loan deal' during a yacht tour in Sochi over the weekend A BBC director has sparked outrage after describing a London tower block used for broadcasting during the 2012 Olympics as a dump. BBC News creative director Chris Cook made the comments on social media, posting a picture of the tower block in Newham, east London. The 50-year-old wrote: 'We had the best time in this dump of a tower block in 2012.' Pictured: BBC News creative director Chris Cook has sparked outrage after describing a London tower block as a dump when he filmed there during the London Olympics in 2012 The post shared by BBC executive Chris Cook describing Lund Point in Newham as a dump The picture was captioned with arrows indicating that there were purpose-built news and weather studios on the top floors of the Lund Point tower block which overlooks the Olympic Park. Dino Sofos, BBC News podcasts editor, then shared a staff manual from the same time, in which another unnamed boss told workers: 'Hopefully no one will find themselves stuck at Lund Point much, apart from me.' The posts, which have since been removed from Twitter, were met with anger from the local community. Clare King wrote: 'Do you realise how you sound like a pair of elite entitled brats?' Accusing him of being arrogant, Lara Oyedele said: 'Chris. My fabulous aunt lives in that block. I'd rather you were not so condescending about it. It IS home for some people.' Another resident added: 'Your contempt for council tenants is disgusting.' Pictured: Mr Cook later deleted the tweet and apologised for his use of 'insensitive language' One person tweeted: 'Man from BBC describes council housing as a dump and shows with his classist attitude how out of touch he is with Britain's housing crisis. What an outrage.' Another added: 'Glad you had fun while families were denied homes and dumped in bedsits.' Mr Cook, 50, who lives in a 450,000 house in west London, has now removed the post and shared an apology. He said: 'I deleted a previous tweet about Lund Point. My language was insensitive and I want to say sorry for my mistake.' The BBC rented the top floors of the tower block from Newham Council for the London Olympics in 2012 because of its spectacular view of Olympic Park. Cook has worked for the BBC since 1997 when he joined the corporation as Network Director. He has worked on various high-profile programmes including President George W Bush's inauguration in 2005, a special edition of Newsnight from New York on the anniversary of the Wall Street Crash and The Tony Blair Interview with Andrew Marr. He has been senior director for News at Six and News at Ten and the Andrew Marr Show since 2007. Since 2007, he has worked for the BBC News team and in 2012, directed all BBC National News bulletins from Lund Point. The BBC declined to comment. Advertisement A video appearing to show a group of migrants crossing from Calais to Dover in a boat has been posted on TikTok, as the number of asylum seekers who have crossed the English Channel so far this year surpassed 4,000 today. The short clip posted yesterday by a man named Sada Halak showed a group of men in a dinghy, some wearing face masks and lifejackets, and was captioned with the phrase 'unsuccessful challenge' and three crying emojis. It has since been watched more than 500,000 times, liked 18,000 times and attracted 24,000 comments with the most liked saying 'go home, we are full', 'you're not welcome in England' and 'welcome but behave'. The user, who has 1,600 followers and 18,500 likes, has a quote on his profile saying: 'I've never met a challenge I didn't like.' The video emerged as the number of migrants who have crossed the English Channel so far this year hit 4,016 - with nearly a quarter of them, 857, completing the journey on calm seas in just the past six days. MPs have urged France to take back asylum seekers caught crossing in small boats as people smuggling gangs take advantage of the warm and settled weather to send hundreds of would-be asylum seekers to Britain. At least 13 migrants were brought ashore to Dover Marina in Kent on the first boat this morning, including one wearing an expensive 'Anti-Social Social Club' jacket who was pictured being led away by a Border Force official. The man's jacket, officially called a '2016 Anti Social Social Club 'No Expectations' black button flannel', is by the Los Angeles brand and is available online for between 92 and 175, but cannot be bought new from the retailer. A second group of migrants were then photographed arriving at Dover later in the morning today, with at least 36 seen on the Border Force boat Hunter - including two young children, helped to shore by officials. Separately, a group of 19 migrants including a toddler and a baby landed on the beach alone the Kent coast at Dymchurch. Earlier, police and coastguard teams had been out on a search with the help of RNLI lifeboats and a specialist helicopter from Lydd in Kent - and this is believed to have been related to those who later arrived at Dymchurch. A further group of at least 13 were pictured after being brought in from Hastings by the Dungeness Lifeboat. So far in 2021, the total number of migrants to reach the UK stands at well over double the running total at the same point last year, of 1,737. The 2021 total includes 157 people arriving yesterday, but not today's arrivals. Last month saw 1,619 migrants make the perilous journey - up 118 per cent on the 741 who arrived in May last year. This figure included 336 migrants reaching Britain aboard 19 boats last Friday - the busiest day of the year so far. The Home Office confirmed a further 132 people reached the UK aboard small boats on Tuesday. Eyewitnesses had reported another 50 arrivals yesterday morning, before the total for yesterday was later confirmed as 157. A flurry of late crossings yesterday saw a lifeboat called out to help deal with at least two boats. Families and many young children were rescued, and some were seen waving as they were brought into Dover Marina for processing. A video appearing to show a group of migrants crossing from Calais to Dover in a boat has been posted on TikTok The short clip posted yesterday by a man named Sada Halak showed a group of men in a dinghy, some wearing face masks The clip has since been liked 18,000 times and attracted 24,000 comments with the most liked saying 'go home, we are full' A Border Force worker accompanies a migrant after he arrives at Dover Marina in Kent today following a small boat incident A group of migrants are brought into Dover Marina in Kent this morning after crossing the Channel in a small boat A second group of migrants are brought into Dover in Kent today as asylum seekers continue to arrive in England There were also 144 arrivals recorded on Saturday, 17 on Sunday and 71 on Bank Holiday Monday. That brought the total number of migrants to 857 from last Friday to yesterday. Conservative MP for Dover Natalie Elphicke said: 'Urgent action must be taken to stop these crossings. How many migrants have arrived in recent days? The number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats over each day of the past week is: Today: 71 so far (unconfirmed estimate) Yesterday: 157 Tuesday: 132 Monday: 71 Sunday: 17 Saturday: 144 Friday: 336 (busiest day of the year so far) CONFIRMED TOTAL: 857 (From Friday to yesterday) Advertisement 'That means tackling the criminal gangs at source, doing more to stop the small boats leaving France in the first place, turning them round in the Channel, and swiftly returning people who have entered the country through an illegal route of entry. 'The Government's new border system plans are straightforward and sensible but we also need more and firmer action now.' Home Secretary Priti Patel has vowed to make illegal immigration across the Channel 'unviable' - but numbers are continuing to soar. During the whole of 2020, 8,410 people - including women and children - reached the UK, up from 1,850 in the previous 12 months. Yesterday, the first two boats carrying about 20 migrants were brought into Dover Marina, in Kent, shortly before 8am on the back of the UK Border Force cutter Hunter. Another boat containing around 15 was intercepted shortly afterwards floating just a few hundred yards from the White Cliffs of Dover. Border Force cutter Alert brought around 15 more migrants to harbour at around 9am. A Home Office spokesman said: 'Criminal gangs are putting profits before people's lives through these dangerous and unnecessary crossings. 'More than 3,500 people have been prevented from making the dangerous crossing so far this year and we are cracking down on the despicable criminal gangs behind people smuggling. Inaction is not an option whilst people are dying. May 2021 saw 1,619 migrants make the perilous journey from northern France - up 118 per cent on the 741 in May last year A group of migrants are brought into Dover Marina in Kent today following a small boat incident in the Channel this morning A child is carried from a boat at Dover Marina in Kent this morning as more migrants arrive on the south coast A group of migrants are brought into Dover Marina in Kent today following a small boat incident in the Channel A child holds a woman's hand as they arrive at Dover Marina in Kent today as migrants continue to cross the Channel A group of migrants are brought into Dover Marina in Kent today following a small boat incident in the Channel A young child is carried by a Border Force officer today as more migrants arrive at Dover Marina in Kent 'The Government is bringing legislation forward through our New Plan for Immigration which will break the business model of these heinous people smuggling networks and save lives.' Migrants crossing the Channel in small boats January 2020 - 87 February 2020 - 192 March 2020 - 187 April 2020 - 530 May 2020 - 741 June 2020 - 702 July 2020 - 1118 August 2020 - 1,468 September 2020 - 1,954 October 2020 - 463 November 2020 - 757 December 2020 - 211 January 2021 - 223 February 2021 - 308 March 2021 - 831 April 2021 - 746 May 2021 - 1,619 Advertisement Even more migrants could have crossed over the past few days if they had not been stopped by authorities in France. Last Friday, the French prevented seven crossings involving 165 migrants. The next day they stopped a further nine crossings concerning another 144, while on bank holiday Monday the French prevented two crossings involving 37 people. Overnight on Monday and Tuesday, French authorities discovered people near their coast with marine equipment such as boats and engines. They prevented a further six crossing attempts where 20 people were concerned. On Tuesday, the French intercepted one further crossing, preventing 16 people from reaching Britain. And yesterday, French authorities also prevented three crossings involving 75 people. In 2019. Miss Patel pledged that migrant Channel crossings would be an 'infrequent phenomenon' by last spring. But last year's total was more than four times the number seen in the previous 12 months. Overall numbers of asylum applications in Britain were down by 24 per cent year-on-year to just under 27,000 in the 12 months to the end of March. The growth in the number of Channel crossings reflects how migrants are increasingly using the route, compared with other methods such as hiding in lorries. It comes as six asylum seekers formerly housed at Napier Barracks won a legal challenge today against the Government after a High Court judge found their accommodation failed to meet a minimum standard. The former Army barracks in Kent have been used to house hundreds of asylum seekers since last September, despite the Home Office being warned by Public Health England (PHE) that it was unsuitable. The men, all said to be 'survivors of torture and/or human trafficking', argued that the Home Office unlawfully accommodated people at the barracks and conditions there posed 'real and immediate risks to life and of ill-treatment'. A group of people, including children, are brought into Dover Marina today following a small boat incident in the Channel A Border Force officer arrives on a jet ski into Dover Marina in Kent today as small boats continue to cross the Channel A child is helped off a boat at Dover Marina in Kent today as migrants continue to arrive at the south coast A group of migrants are brought into Dover in Kent today following a small boat incident in the Channel earlier this morning A child holds a woman's hand as they arrive at Dover Marina in Kent this morning after crossing the English Channel During a two-day hearing in April, the men's lawyers said accommodating asylum seekers at the 'squalid' barracks was a breach of their human rights and could amount to false imprisonment. This morning, Mr Justice Linden ruled in favour of the men and found that the Home Office acted unlawfully when deciding the former military camp was appropriate. He said: 'Whether on the basis of the issues of Covid or fire safety taken in isolation, or looking at the cumulative effect of the decision-making about, and the conditions in, the barracks, I do not accept that the accommodation there ensured a standard of living which was adequate for the health of the claimants. 'Insofar as the defendant considered that the accommodation was adequate for their needs, that view was irrational.' The men's lawyers had argued that moving them to the former Ministry of Defence camp 'exposed them to an exceptionally high risk' of contracting Covid-19. Almost 200 people tested positive for coronavirus during an outbreak at the barracks earlier this year, senior Home Office officials told MPs in February. A migrant is escorted onto Dover Marina by a Border Force official this morning following a small boat incident in the Channel Migrants are seen on board a boat as they are taken into Dover Marina in Kent today after crossing the English Channel A migrant is led ashore at Dover Marina in Kent this morning while accompanied by a Border Force official Migrants are pictured this morning as they are brought into Dover following a small boat incident in the Channel A migrant is brought to shore at Dover in Kent today after a small boat incident in the Channel earlier this morning A migrant wears a blanket over his head as he is brought into Dover Marina in Kent this morning after crossing the Channel A migrant wears a face mask as he is accompanied to shore at Dover Marina in Kent by a Border Force official this morning This came after PHE told the Home Office that 'opening multi-occupancy dormitory-style accommodation at Napier' was not supported by guidance in September. Mr Justice Linden referred to overcrowding and the failure to follow PHE advice as among the reasons the barracks were unlawfully unsuitable, finding it was 'virtually inevitable that large numbers of residents would contract Covid-19'. He said: 'The fact that the decision to make use of the barracks entailed failing to apply fundamental aspects of the advice of PHE - not to use dormitory-style accommodation but, if they did, to keep numbers down to six per dormitory which would then form a bubble - meant that the defendant failed to ensure 'a standard of living adequate for the health of (the claimants)' whether the point is taken in isolation or cumulatively with the other features of the accommodation at the barracks. 'It was also irrational, in itself, to depart from the advice of the government body charged with providing advice to the public on Covid safety in such a fundamental way without good reason, and to send the claimants to the barracks when the measures which the defendant herself regarded as appropriate - e.g. transferring asylum seekers from quarantine and in bubbles - were not in place.' Separately, a group of 19 migrants including a toddler and a baby landed on the beach at Dymchurch in Kent today Police officers attend to two youngsters after a group of migrants landed on the beach at Dymchurch in Kent today A police officer lets a young child hold his finger after a group of migrants arrive at Dymchurch in Kent today A group of migrants landed on the beach up the coast at Dymchurch in Kent this morning There was a further group of migrants brought in from Hastings by the Dungeness Lifeboat in Kent this afternoon A group of migrants sit on the ground today after being brought in from Hastings by the Dungeness Lifeboat in Kent today Police officers watch over a group of migrants brought in from Hastings by the Dungeness Lifeboat in Kent this afternoon Migrants sit in space blankets as police officers watch after they were brought in from Hastings by the Dungeness Lifeboat Campaigners including Liberty and the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, who both intervened in the case, have called for Napier Barracks to be shut down. The judge declined to rule that the barracks could never be used to house asylum seekers and said his findings were based on the conditions the six men faced. He added: 'Even if it were appropriate to adopt a more wide-ranging approach, which I do not accept, the circumstances of the particular asylum seeker are relevant, as I have pointed out, and much depends on the conditions at the time when they are or were there, and for how long they were there.' Mr Justice Linden's judgment does not force the barracks to close, and the Home Office is now considering its next steps. The judge later said: 'If the barracks are to continue to be used, there clearly need to be substantial improvements in the conditions there, and lower numbers of asylum seekers living there for significantly shorter periods, with measures to reduce the risk of Covid infection which are consistent with PHE advice. This map shows the accommodation providers contracted by the Home Office to provide housing to asylum seekers TUESDAY - Some 132 people were brought in to Dover Marina aboard a Border Force cutter around noon on Tuesday YESTERDAY - More migrants were brought to shore at Dover Marina in Kent yesterday following further Channel crossings 'But there also needs to be a better system for identifying those for whom such accommodation is not suitable and for detecting cases where, although suitable when initially transferred, it ceases to be during the course of their stay.' The Home Office and the six men need to agree on damages and what declarations are required. A Home Office spokesman said: 'During the height of the pandemic, to ensure asylum seekers were not left destitute, additional accommodation was required at extremely short notice. 'Such accommodation provided asylum seekers a safe and secure place to stay. Throughout this period our accommodation providers and sub-contractors have made improvements to the site and continue to do so. 'It is disappointing that this judgment was reached on the basis of the site prior to the significant improvement works which have taken place in difficult circumstances. Napier will continue to operate and provide safe and secure accommodation. We will carefully consider the ruling and our next steps.' Drowning migrants trying to cross into the US from Mexico were this week saved from the Rio Grande by a people smuggler in the latest harrowing incident laying bare the crisis at the southern border. Joe Biden's 'reckless' open borders policy was described by Sean Hannity as 'a gift to human traffickers, drug traffickers - a boom for the drug cartels ... the consequences are devastating, 90 percent of the fentanyl [potent synthetic heroin] comes from that southern border.' Footage captured by a Fox News contributor in Roma, Texas, showed migrants crying out for help in the water as they attempted to cross from the cartel stronghold of Ciudad Miguel Aleman, in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, on Tuesday night. Screams are heard echoing across the Rio Grande as migrants wail: 'I'm drowning.' A smuggler in a dinghy then appears to rescue them and fortunately all of the people survived. 'This is a crisis,' said correspondent Sara Carter. 'It was terrifying but everyone in that video survived, the Texas National Guard, as well as the Border Patrol were getting ready to go in and rescue them but the smuggler put them back in the boat. 'That's just a little of what we experienced last night.' The Biden administration on Tuesday formally axed Donald Trump's 'Remain in Mexico' policy which kept asylum seekers on the other side of the southern border while they waited for hearings in US immigration courts. The system had sent back around 70,000 migrants to Mexico since January 2019 - until Biden halted it on his first day in office earlier this year. Migrants attempting to cross from Mexico are seen flailing around in the Rio Grande on Tuesday night A smuggler in a dinghy then appears to rescue them and fortunately all of the people survived The people smuggler is seen helping the people in the water. 'This is a crisis,' said correspondent Sara Carter. 'It was terrifying but everyone in that video survived, the Texas National Guard, as well as the Border Patrol were getting ready to go in and rescue them but the smuggler put them back in the boat' Fox News contributor is seen rushing to the screams accompanied by members of the National Guard and Border Patrol Hannity's report also contained heartbreaking footage of a little boy who had been abandoned at the Texas border and crying out for help Hannity's report also contained heartbreaking footage of a little boy who had been abandoned at the Texas border crying out for help. 'That child is the victim of these open border policies of Joe,' Hannity said, 'And that child deserves better, he'll probably be put in one of Biden's new cages where they're on top of each other in the middle of a pandemic.' The Biden administration on Tuesday marked the first of National Immigrant Heritage Month by asking Congress to pass the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, which Biden pitched his first day in office, paving the way for 11 million undocumented people to legally stay in the US. 'My plan would provide a pathway to lawful permanent residency and citizenship for these undocumented immigrants, including Dreamers, individuals with Temporary Protected Status, farm workers, and other essential workers who contribute to our Nation every day,' Biden's proclamation said. The White House memo also noted that it was an 'especially difficult period' thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and 'the all-too-frequent demonization of immigrants,' with Biden asking Americans to 'recommit ourselves to our values as a welcoming Nation.' Biden's changes to Trump's 'Remain in Mexico' were a foregone conclusion - as Biden had promised as a candidate to end the policy - but the president left a window open by ordering a review before shutting it down permanently. President Joe Biden's (left) administration formally ended former President Donald Trump's (right) 'Remain in Mexico' policy on Tuesday that forced asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said keeping the policy intact or modifying it 'would not be consistent with this Administration's vision and values and would be a poor use of the Department's resources.' He said the costs would far outweigh any benefits. The policy coincided with a sharp decline of asylum-seekers at the border, but critics noted that people were hampered by violent conditions in Mexico, lack of access to lawyers and difficulty making it to court. Mayorkas acknowledged those concerns by noting the high rate of denied claims for failing to appear in court and the lack of housing, income and safety in Mexico. Donald Trump blasted the 'disastrous decision' in a statement on Wednesday, calling the policy 'one of the most successful border security programs anyone has ever put into effect anywhere.' 'The Biden Administration inherited the most secure border in history, and they turned it into the greatest border disaster in history. Our border is now run by cartels, criminals, and coyotes,' Trump said. He claimed that everything from criminals to 'lethal drugs' are 'pouring across like never before.' 'Not only are illegal immigrants being caught and released, they are being put up in hotels at taxpayer expense,' Trump said, referencing the more relaxed 'catch-and-release' immigration policy the Obama administration has been associated with. Biden's decision to end the Trump-era policy 'is proof that their objective is to eliminate the U.S. border entirely and flood the country with so many illegal aliens that every community is overwhelmed,' Trump said. A group of migrants board a van to go get tested for Covid-19 at a migrant shelter on May 26 in Matamoros, Mexico Asylum-seeking migrant families wait to be processed by U.S. Border Patrols after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico in Roma, Texas, on May 28 Asylum seeking unaccompanied migrant children from Central America board a U.S. border patrol bus after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico, in Roma, Texas, U.S., May 20 Since February 19, about 11,200 people with active cases have been allowed to return to the US to wait for a ruling, a process that can take years in the backlogged court system. The administration has yet to say if tens of thousands more whose cases were either dismissed or denied will get another chance. The administration has largely kept in place pandemic-related powers introduced by Trump in March last year to expel people to Mexico without an opportunity to seek asylum, justified on grounds of protecting public health. Mayorkas acknowledged planning for those pandemic-related powers to be lifted but was light on specifics. The secretary pointed to a new docket in immigration court announced Friday that aims to decide asylum cases at the border within 300 days. He promised 'additional anticipated regulatory and policy changes,' without elaborating. PHE's weekly report found the variant had been spotted 43 times in Britain so far, up from the 29 last week A potentially vaccine resistant coronavirus variant that is being linked to Nepal could have been spread by climbers travelling home from Mount Everest, experts say. Thirteen passengers on flights from Nepal to Japan were infected with the new mutant strain that combines mutations from the Indian and South African variants. At least 43 cases have been spotted in the UK, with the strain first spotted on April 24 according to PHE's surveillance data. Cases were also detected in the US, India and Portugal. Its mutations mean scientists fear it could combine the worst traits of the Indian variant, which is more infectious, and the South African variant, which is more resistant to vaccines. Scientists believe Nepal is the most likely origin of the strain, because of its similarities to the Indian variant and the detection of so many cases on flights from the Himalayan nation. UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: 'There's a sort of Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant which has been detected and we just don't know the potential for that to be a vaccine-defeating mutation, and simply don't want to take the risk as we come up to June 21 and the review of the fourth stage of the unlock.' Dr Jeffrey Barrett, a director at the UK's largest Covid surveillance centre the Wellcome Sanger Institute, revealed today that the strain had been spotted in the Japanese travellers returning from Nepal. Khatmandu has allowed thousands of climbers into the country for Everest season this spring and at least 100 cases were reported at base camp. At the same time, Covid cases have been soaring across Nepal driven by the devastating second wave in neighbouring India. And the detection of the variant in Portugal will raise further alarm bells for the UK, where hundreds of football fans have been ordered to quarantine today over cases linked to travel to the Champions League final. The country was today removed from Britain's 'green' list, amid fears over the new variant. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said today Portugal had been removed from the 'green' list because its cases had doubled in a month, and there was a new variant which may be able to evade vaccines. 'Theres a sort of Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant which has been detected and we just dont know the potential for that to be vaccine-defeating mutation and simply dont want to take the risk as we come up to June 21 and the review of the fourth stage of the unlock,' he said. Pictured above is the Mount Everest base camp, Nepal, in April this year. There has been an outbreak at the camp and guides say at least 100 people have tested positive Nepal's Covid cases peaked at more than 9,000 a day on May 12, before dropping to 4,500 (307.6 cases per million people to 174.5 per million). The new variant believed to be linked to Nepal, is thought to have emerged over the last few months Nepal's Covid death rate peaked at an average of 200 per day on May 19, before falling to 100 on June 2(6.89 deaths per million people to 3.48 per million) Hospitals in Nepal are on the brink of collapse after cases of Covid surged over the past month. Cases had fallen to fewer than 100 a day in March but reached more than 9,000 a day in mid-May. Pictured: Health workers carry Ramjee Kunwar, 65, a Covid patient from a helicopter to an ambulance after being airlifted from Pokhara to Kathmandu The World Health Organization said it was 'not aware' of any new strain circulating in Nepal The thirteen cases in Japan were spotted during hotel quarantine after the individuals returned from Nepal. Japanese have also spotted one further infection that was not linked to the group. Only one case of the variant has been recorded in Nepal so far, but the country carries out very little surveillance for mutant strains. The UK has Nepal and India on its 'red' list, while the US, Japan and Portugal are on the 'amber' list. The strain is a mutated version of the Indian variant currently dominant in the UK B.1.617.2 but it also carries the K417N mutation. This is also on the South African variant B.1.351 and scientists say it can make jabs less effective. The new mutant strain has been named Delta+K417N. Matt Hancock said yesterday Britain is preparing to buy millions of tweaked doses of the AstraZeneca jab that target the South African variant. SAGE scientists think it makes jabs at least 30 per cent less effective against infections, but its impact on severe disease is not known. What do we know about the 'Nepal variant'? Real name: Delta+K417N When and where was it discovered? The mutant strain is thought to have first emerged in Nepal after the Indian variant mutated. Scientists believe the country is the most likely origin of the virus because of its similarities to the Indian variant, and the detection of so many cases on flights from the Himalayan nation. Only one case has been identified in Nepal, but the country carries out very little Covid surveillance. What mutations does it have? The variant is a mutated version of the Indian variant but with a new mutation called K417N which has also been spotted on the South African variant. Is it more infectious and can it evade vaccines? There are no studies at present showing whether it is more infectious or can evade vaccines compared to other variants. But scientists fear it has combined the worst features of the the Indian and South African variants, making it more transmissible and more resistant to vaccines. Some experts have warned, however, that Britain must stop 'scampering down rabbit holes' every time a new variant is detected. Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University, said: 'We need to change our attitude to variants and not panic every time a new variant is identified. 'Virus variants are generated by every one who is infected and this will continue as more people are infected around the world.' How deadly is it? It is not clear whether the mutant strain is more deadly, but it is being watched closely by scientists. Studies suggest the Indian variant is not more deadly than the original virus. How many cases have been detected in the UK? Forty-three cases have been identified in the country, PHE's surveillance report from last week shows. The number is now thought to be higher. The variant had arrived on British soil by April 24, sequencing data suggests. Advertisement Ministers sparked surge testing in postcode areas where the strain was detected, to root out every last case. Public Health England will likely announce its arrival in the UK later today when it updates its weekly variant report. Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at Reading University, told MailOnline it was 'entirely possible' the mutant strain was being spread by travellers. 'Anywhere travellers go is a likely source of transmission across the world,' he said. 'It seems to me that the Himalayan region is for Nepal is a tourism hotspot.' Covid outbreaks have been reported at the base camp for Mount Everest the highest mountain in the world with at least 100 climbers and guides testing positive last month. Visitors told the Telegraph there were almost daily evacuations from the camp of people who had caught the virus. And Austrian Lukas Furtenbach who takes tour groups to the mountain said he could hear people coughing in their tents, and saw others who looked unwell. The outbreak at the mountain coincided with Nepal's second wave of the pandemic, which struck in May and was driven by the Indian variant. Nepal gave out about 300 licences to climb the mountain this year, with visitors told to self-isolate for three days and take a Covid test before arriving at base camp. But tour operators say enforcement of the rules has been lax, and only around half of the 43 groups visiting the mountain were tested for the virus. There have been no confirmed cases of the new variant linked to Mount Everest, but there is little Covid surveillance in Nepal. Britain's public health authorities do not normally detail which country a traveller infected with Covid has arrived from. Mount Everest was so popular in 2019 that tourists had to queue along the final stretch in order to reach the peak. Tourism to the mountain is a major source of revenue for local authorities. Dr Jeffrey Barrett, a director at the UK's largest Covid surveillance centre the Wellcome Sanger Institute, revealed today that the strain had been spotted in Japanese travellers returning from Nepal. 'There have been 91 sequences observed of the (new variant), with an additional mutation: K417N,' he said. 'This mutation is present in B.1.351 / Beta, and is believed to be part of why that variant is less well neutralised by vaccines. 'Because of this possibility, and because Delta appears more transmissible than Beta, scientists are monitoring it carefully. 'This Delta+K417N has been seen in numerous countries, including the UK, Portugal, the USA, and India. 'It has also been observed once in Nepal (which does very little sequencing), and 14 times in Japan, of which 13 are samples from airport quarantine from travellers from Nepal.' A member of the Government's SAGE committee said last night officials should not be overly concerned. He added: 'There are thousands of variants. This is a virus that is changing all the time.' And Tory peer Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, chairman of the Airport Operators' Association, said: 'How many more variants have we got to be worried about? What matters is data and the success of our vaccination programme.' The Indian variant appears to be prone to mutating and there are already three versions of it Alpha (B.1.1.7), Delta (B.1.617.2) and Kappa (B.1.617.1). The B.1.617.2 variant is currently dominant in the UK accounting for roughly three in four cases and appears to be the most transmissible. Vaccines are highly effective against it, PHEs analysis has shown, with a similar efficacy against symptomatic illness as the Kent strain following two doses. GRANT SHAPPS STRIPS PORTUGAL OFF THE UK'S 'GREEN LIST' Holidaymakers suffered a hammer blow today as Portugal was removed from the UK's green list with Grant Shapps citing fears over the spread of the Nepal variant. In a brutal overhaul, the only major tourist destination in the lowest bracket is being axed from 4am Tuesday - with sources suggesting the new strain identified in the country was a significant factor in the decision. No countries are being added to the 'green list', dashing hopes that places such as Malta, Jamaica and Grenada could be added to the roster. And more countries are being put on the 'red list' that means returning travellers must go into quarantine hotels. They are Egypt, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Bahrain, Sudan, Trinidad and Tobago and Afghanistan. Grant Shapps revealed Portugal was to be removed from the 'green' list Transport Secretary Mr Shapps said there had been a rise in test positivity in Portugal, and also pointed to the danger that the coronavirus variant linked to Nepal could pose a fresh threat to the escape from lockdown. 'I want to be straight with people, it's actually a difficult decision to make, but in the end we've seen two things really which caused concern,' he said. 'One is the positivity rate has nearly doubled since the last review in Portugal and the other is there's a sort of Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant which has been detected and we just don't know the potential for that to be a vaccine-defeating mutation, and simply don't want to take the risk as we come up to June 21 and the review of the fourth stage of the unlock.' At least 20 cases of the strain, which combines mutations from the Indian and South African versions, have been spotted in the UK. And a case has been identified in Portugal - which does far less genomic screening than Britain. The decision sparked fury from the travel industry, while Portuguese MP for the Algarve Cristovao Norte branded it 'unfair' and 'overly cautious'. Meanwhile, Labour has renewed demands for the 'amber list' to be scrapped to prevent mutant strains from being imported. And in another setback for travellers the EU has again delayed a decision on whether the UK will be added to its 'white list' of safe countries from which leisure travel is welcome. Advertisement Experts have called for calm, saying new variants emerging is part of the evolution of viruses. Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University, called for calm over new variants. He told MailOnline: 'We need to change our attitude to variants and not panic every time a new variant is identified. 'Virus variants are generated by every one who is infected and this will continue as more people are infected around the world. 'The more the virus replicates in more people the greater the likelihood that variants will be generated that could be more infectious and also more resistant to current vaccines. 'Vaccination significantly reduces the risk of infection and will prevent new variants from being generated.' Dr Clarke echoed those comments. He told this website: Over the next few years were going to keep getting variants cropping up over the next few years and people are going to worry about their sensitivity to vaccines. But the truth is the weakening of vaccines will be incremental and no one single variant will blow them out of the water. So I think were probably being a bit over-cautious. Last night, even government advisers said the UK could not keep panicking every time a new variant emerges. Professor Sir John Bell said ministers should avoid 'scampering down a rabbit hole' when new strains are detected, and instead focus on hospitalisations, serious disease and deaths. The WHO said in a Twitter post this morning it 'is not aware of any new variant of SARS-CoV-2 being detected in Nepal'. 'The three confirmed variants in circulation are: Alpha (B.1.1.7), Delta (B.1.617.2) and Kappa (B.1.617.1). The predominant variant currently in circulation in Nepal is Delta (B.1.617.2).' The post was shared by Dr Rajesh Pandav, the WHO's representative for Nepal. Nepal's health minister Mr Tripathi told CNN that media reports about the new Covid variant were 'completely false'. Hospitals in Nepal are on the brink of collapse after cases of Covid surged over the past month. Cases had fallen to fewer than 100 a day in March but reached more than 9,000 a day in mid-May. It is thought that the Indian variant is behind the outbreak there and to what extent the new strain has played remains unknown. Hospitals in Nepal are on the brink of collapse after cases of Covid surged over the past month. Cases had fallen to fewer than 100 a day in March but reached more than 9,000 a day in mid-May. Nepal's second wave has been driven by the spread of the B.1.167 variant from neighbouring India. But last night scientists warned that another variant of Covid-19 has since been identified. Concern among ministers about the strain is one of the main reasons for not putting more holiday destinations on today's updated green list. They are also concerned about the slower pace of the vaccine rollout across Europe. Even though cases are falling in many European countries, they are far behind Britain's vaccine drive. A lack of genome sequencing for detecting new variants in some European countries, a key criteria for making the green list, is also a concern. After meeting the UK's ambassador to Spain yesterday, Spanish hospitality official Antonio Mayor said: 'The impression I was left with was that there was a good chance the Balearic Islands could be included on the next green list, but not necessarily the Canary Islands. 'What was made clear at the meeting is that mainland Spain is not going to be put on the next green list that's announced. 'We hope it will be before but we're looking now at July 20 as the sort of date when things might change. If that does happen the tour operators are going to need at least a fortnight to normalise operations which takes us into the start of August.' Last night, MPs and industry expressed alarm at the prospect of foreign summer holidays slipping away. Tory MP Henry Smith, chairman of the all-party Future of Aviation group of MPs, and whose constituency includes Gatwick, said: 'After a devastating year for our aviation, travel and tourism industries, this will come as a hammer blow to an industry that is close to breaking point. 'Far from benefiting from a vaccine dividend, this reinforces that our overly cautious approach to international travel is a restart in name only. 'We must ensure that we avoid a summer shutdown that will cause irreversible damage to businesses and communities who rely on international travel.' After today, the green list which currently contains 12 countries will not be reviewed until the week running up to June 28. If there is not a significant expansion then, it will be July 19 or 20 before there is another chance for more destinations to make it on to the list. A high school student who was shot dead outside a Mississippi gas station just hours after her graduation was killed two months after her boyfriend was also gunned down. Kennedy Hobbs, 18, was shot three times at a Texaco gas station in Jackson just before 11pm on Tuesday as she was on her way to a graduation party. Hours earlier, video livestreamed on Facebook showed the teenager - dressed in silver high heels and a royal blue cap - smiling as she received her diploma at Murrah High School. Her death came just two months after her 21-year-old boyfriend Jaquan Williams was shot dead outside a convenience store in Jackson. Police say the shooter fled the scene before officers arrived and they are still in the process of questioning witnesses. They have not released any information on whether Hobbs - who died at the scene - knew her killer or what circumstances led to her death. It wasn't immediately if police believe her death is linked in any way to her boyfriend's killing. Kennedy Hobbs, 18, was shot three times at a Texaco gas station in Jackson just before 11pm on Tuesday just hours after she was filmed crossing the stage at her Murrah High School graduation ceremony Hobbs had graduated from Murrah High School on Tuesday morning. Video of the ceremony livestreamed on Facebook shows she wore silver high heels and a blue cap and gown Her boyfriend was shot dead at about 1pm on April 8 outside a convenience store following an argument in the parking lot with another man. Williams was shot multiple times. The suspect in that shooting also fled the scene and it is unclear if they have been arrested. One of Hobbs' relatives said they were on the phone with the teenager right before she was shot and that she heard her arguing with someone before the gunshots rang out. Her family have since slammed the Jackson Police Department for not bringing in any outside law enforcement agencies to help with the investigation. 'Why isn't (the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) out here? Why isn't (the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation out here),' her uncle, William Edwards, told the Mississippi Clarion Ledger. 'We haven't been told anything.' Around two dozen people gathered at the Jackson Police Department headquarters on Wednesday to listen to the family plead with officials to do more to solve her murder and address the city's growing crime rate. 'She's not just my niece or just her dad's child or her mother's child: she's all our children,' Edwards said. 'I'm all for the right to bear arms but at what cost?' Hobbs' family say the teenager's boyfriend, Jaquan Williams, 21, was killed in a shooting in April on Rose Street at Robinson Street Her family say she had big plans after graduation and had already set up her own licensed business: Kaay's Waxing Bar. 'She already had her waxing business and her lashes, hair...Kennedy was in fashion. That's all Kennedy knew,' her god sister Teiaudria Hawkins told WLBT. 'Kennedy was loving; Kennedy was outstanding; everyone loved Kennedy. 'I can't even describe the feeling; we are torn to pieces. We all are. From her classmates to her family to her friends. This is unbelievable. We just want to know why. What happened?' The death of Hobbs, who was the daughter of a faculty member in the district, has cast a shadow over the end of the school year ceremonies planned for the week. The city was celebrating graduations at its seven high schools after a year marked by challenges brought by the coronavirus pandemic. Multiple commencements were planned so the district could limit crowds and follow COVID-19 safety precautions. Speaking to reporters between graduation ceremonies on Wednesday, Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Errick Greene said Hobbs was on everyone's mind. 'To get the news this morning of the passing of one of our dear graduates, it's tough,' he said. 'It's really tough. And it brings into view just how important this work is that we do.' The shooter fled the scene before officers arrived. It is unclear whether Hobbs was acquainted with her killer or what the motive for the shooting was Police say the shooter fled the scene before officers arrived and they are still in the process of questioning witnesses Whenever Greene speaks to graduates, he urges them to be mindful of their time on this Earth and not to put off pursuing their dreams, he said. Speaking at Wednesday's graduation ceremony, after the news of Hobbs' death, 'it really did hit a little differently,' he said. 'It was a little more timely and meaningful as I challenged them to look to the left and look to the right to realize that they may not see their classmates again,' he said. Usually, when he tells students that, it's because he knows they'll all follow different paths after graduation. 'The reality is, we just don't know when our last day will be,' he continued. 'And so it's just important for us to be more smart about how we set our lives up and the way that we sow positivity and peace in the world and the community around us.' Mississippi's capital saw a record number of homicides in 2020, with close to 130 killings in the city of about 161,000. Most were gun-related, according to law enforcement. In 2021, the city is on track to surpass that milestone. As of the end of April, 50 people had been killed in Jackson. Greene said he's often asked what the school district can do to reduce violent crime in the city. He said education is one of the most powerful tools the community has. An Austrian student who was attacked on a train and called a 'Jewish slut' was accused by police of acting provocatively by reading a book about Jewish people. The student, 19, was attacked by three men on the Vienna underground while she was reading the historical book The Jew in the Modern World for a Jewish studies course. The woman, who has not been named, was cruelly called a 'child murderer' and a 'Jewish slut' by her attackers, who also pulled her hair, according to The Times. She said she managed to run out of the train at Stephansplatz square and escape from her alleged attackers before approaching two police officers for help. A student, 19, was attacked by three men on the Vienna underground while she was reading the historical book The Jew in the Modern World for a Jewish studies course (file image) The student told Austrian radio station O1 that one police officer's first reaction was to ask her: 'Why do you have to read such a book now in this conflict situation?' His alleged comments appeared to refer to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which saw an outbreak of violence last month. She claimed the officers suggested it was provocative to be reading the historical book, before adding that the attack couldn't have been anti-Semitic as she was not Jewish. She also claimed that the two officers told her to 'forget' about the alleged attack and not bother going to a police station to report the incident. A few days after the attack, the student reportedly asked the Vienna transport authority for footage of the incident but claimed she was told it had been deleted. She claimed she was told that footage is deleted after 72 hours unless police ask for it - which could make finding the three men who attacked the student challenging. She managed to leave the train at Stephansplatz (pictured), where she approached two police officers, but claimed she was told her book was provocative and to 'forget' about the incident A police spokesman reportedly said that all officers who were on patrol on the day of the attack were being contacted and questioned, while the officers could 'face disciplinary and criminal consequences'. Austria's interior minister Karl Nehammer criticised the incident and said there was no tolerance for antisemitism in the East Alpine country. He added: 'The most effective means in the fight against antisemitism is to make Jewish life in Austria visible, the police are a guarantor of this.' Meanwhile, Daniel Landau, who is an education expert commissioned by the government to create antisemitism awareness training for Austrian police, slammed the incident as 'pretty horrendous'. He told Austrian television: 'It's like telling a woman who has been raped "why did you dress so provocatively". 'It must be made unmistakably clear that reading a book in this country does not constitute complicity.' The president of the Jewish Community of Vienna (IKG), Oskar Deutsch, said the incident showed that antisemitism was present in society as a whole. A police spokesperson said: 'The 19-year-old concerned reported to a police station, the facts were recorded and a complaint was made against unknown perpetrators after suspicion of coercion. 'The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution took over the further investigations due to the possible anti-Semitist background. 'The person concerned also reported to the Citizen Information Unit and described her perception in writing. The descriptions of those affected will now be checked and the internal surveys will be continued.' MailOnline has contacted Vienna transport authority for comment. It comes after campaigners said there was a 'horrific surge' in anti-Semitic attacks in the Britain in May which 'surpassed anything we have seen before'. The Community Security Trust (CST) recorded 351 anti-Semitic incidents between May 8 and 31, already surpassing the highest total for any single month since records began. Austria's interior minister Karl Nehammer (pictured) criticised the incident and said there was no tolerance for antisemitism in the East Alpine country The spike has been linked to the escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza. The CST said the rise in Britain was fuelled by anti-Semitic reactions to the conflict and called it 'utterly predictable and completely disgraceful'. The Campaign Against Antisemitism cited physical beatings and vandalism, chants and placards at rallies, social media abuse and threats to Jewish children at schools and universities as examples of the hostility faced by the community. 'None of these should be features of life in Britain in 2021, but they are for Jewish people,' a spokesperson said. 'Ultimately, the blame lies with the racist perpetrators of these cowardly incidents. But some politicians, the media, social media companies and others have done their part in tolerating or even stoking the hate. 'It is vital that the police investigate incidents as they arise and bring offenders to justice. 'In a year defined by solidarity against racism worldwide, it is extraordinary how little support there is out there for Britain's Jews. Racism against Jews just doesn't seem to count.' Boris Johnson's predecessor Theresa May has joined a major Tory revolt over cuts to the international aid budget. The former prime minister is among 30 Conservative who support a move to force the Government to backtrack on plans to cut spending from 0.7 per cent of national income to 0.5 per cent. Mr Johnson has come under fire after declaring foreign aid will be temporarily cut from due to the pandemic hammering the economy. Now the group of mainly senior Conservatives are backing an amendment that looks set to be the subject of a dramatic Commons vote next week. The number of potential rebels doubled today, with Mrs May's former deputy Damian Green, and Johnny Mercer, who recently resigned as a defence minister, also adding their names to an amendment led by former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell. Mr Mitchell, who is also a former Conservative chief whip, is leading a parliamentary push to ensure new legislation makes up the shortfall left by the cut to the UK's official development assistance. Other big-hitters who support his plan include ex-foreign and health secretary Jeremy Hunt and ex-aid minister Sir Desmond Swayne. Defence Committee chair Tobias Ellwood, who also supports it, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he was 'confident' that there would be enough rebels to defeat the government. Around 40 are needed to overturn the government's huge majority. But in a round of interviews this morning, Home Office minister Victoria Atkins defended the aid cut - pointing out that even with the reduction the UK is still allocating more than 10billion this year, making it one of the largest donors in the world. Mrs May is not a natural Tory rebel but she has previously criticised Mr Johnson over the aid cut. Writing in the Mail to mark Joe Biden's inauguration as US President in January, she suggested her successor had failed to honour British values by tearing up the foreign aid target. Mrs May is not a natural Tory rebel but she has previously criticised Mr Johnson over the aid cut. Boris Johnson (pictured yesterday) is facing a huge Tory revolt over slashing foreign aid - with MPs 'confident' they can force the government to bring back the 0.7 per cent spending target next year Mr Johnson has come under fire after declaring foreign aid will be temporarily cut from 0.7 per cent of national income to 0.5 per cent due to the pandemic hammering the economy. The chart shows IFS estimates of the projected change in spending Ex-minister Andrew Mitchell is leading a parliamentary push to ensure new legislation makes up the shortfall left by the cut to the UK's official development assistance. Mr Mitchell has tabled an amendment to the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria) Bill, a piece of legislation which establishes a new 'high-risk, high-reward' research agency backed with 800million of taxpayers' cash to explore new ideas. The explanatory note of Mr Mitchell's amendment to the Bill says: 'This new clause is intended to reaffirm the duty in the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015 for UK official development assistance (ODA) to amount to 0.7 per cent of gross national income each year. 'It would require Aria to make up any shortfall in that proportion from January 2022.' It will be up to Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to decide whether the amendment is selected for consideration when the Bill returns to the Commons for further consideration on Monday June 7. It could be considered outside the scope of the legislation. Other senior Conservatives to back the amendment include ex-Brexit secretary David Davis and former Welsh secretary Stephen Crabb, as well as father of the House Sir Peter Bottomley. Others include select committee chairs such as Caroline Nokes, Tom Tugendhat and Karen Bradley. The amendment is also collecting support from the Labour benches, with signatories so far including International Development Committee chair Sarah Champion and Public Accounts Committee chair Meg Hillier. The Government has blamed economic damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic for its aid decision. But critics believe the cut will result in tens of thousands of deaths in other parts of the world. Defence Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood (left) and Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat (right) are both backing the rebel move Other big-hitters who support his plan include ex-foreign and health secretary Jeremy Hunt and ex-aid minister Sir Desmond Swayne. The Government has also come under fire for making the change without holding a Commons vote. Ms Atkins told Sky News the UK could 'hold our head up high in terms of international development'. 'The Prime Minister has made clear that this is a temporary measure,' she said. 'In 2019, no one could have foreseen the extent of the pandemic and the measures we were going to have to take as a country in order to deal with this; it has had a huge impact on our economy.' And she added: 'So we've had to make some very, very difficult decisions.' But she said: 'Even with this small temporary reduction, we are still one of the largest donors of aid in the world, spending more than 10billion on aid. 'And so I do believe we still have a record of which we can very much hold our head up high in terms of international development.' Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy wrote on Twitter: 'On Monday, just days before world leaders arrive in Cornwall to discuss the global response to the pandemic, the Government faces defeat over its short-sighted and self-defeating decision to slash aid. 'The Conservatives should do the right thing and reverse this cut.' Conservative former minister Caroline Nokes, one of the amendment signatories, told ITV's Peston: 'It's taken quite a lot of manoeuvring to find an opportunity to actually have a vote on this. 'I feel really strongly that we legislated for the 0.7 per cent commitment and the cuts are affecting women and girls. 'I am chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, the cuts of 85 per cent to family planning, the cuts to girls' education what we know from that is that if girls are not educated they won't be empowered, they won't be empowered if they are pregnant too early. Conservative former minister Caroline Nokes, one of the amendment signatories, criticised the government for failing to have a vote on the change 'Women will die because of these cuts to family planning so I have joined forces with colleagues to make sure we can have a vote on it and I will be voting to keep that 0.7 per cent.' Asked if the amendment would be binding on the Government, Ms Nokes said: 'I think it's very unclear at the moment and what we've seen the Government do so far is what I'd describe as cuts by stealth. 'So there hasn't been an opportunity for Parliament to express its view on this with a vote. 'I very much hope it will be binding. 'I don't want to see the Government try and find a way out of a commitment that we all signed up to just a few short years ago.' Special forces trooper Ben Roberts-Smith had launched legal action against his ex-wife after claiming she leaked a photo of him drinking out of a prosthetic leg that allegedly belonged to a dead Afghani man. Lawyers for the Victoria Cross recipient, 42, filed Federal Court proceedings against his estranged partner Emma Roberts on Thursday, just days before his blockbuster defamation case over war crimes and domestic violence begins. The nature of the legal action against his wife is not known and is scheduled for just before the so-called trial of the century starts on Monday. Mr Roberts-Smith is seeking an estimated $2-3 million in damages against The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, and the Canberra Times. Special forces soldier Ben Roberts-Smith is suing his ex-wife, claiming that she leaked photos of him drinking out of a prosthetic leg (pictured) that allegedly belonged to a dead Afghan man SMH and The Age's silk Nicholas Owens, SC, told the court at a pre-trial hearing Mr Roberts-Smith warned Ms Roberts in a letter about speaking to the lawyers for the news outlets, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. The letter said Mr Roberts-Smith would seek an injunction or attempt to sue her if she spoke about any potential evidence. The SAS veteran's barrister, Bruce McClintock, SC, said the letter was a confidentiality agreement, not a threat, that was agreed to by two legally-represented parties - and 'we do not waive' it. Another of Roberts-Smith's lawyers, Matthew Richardson, told a pre-trial hearing the team were still going through images on USB drives that were pivotal to the case. The court heard SMH and The Age's lawyers had still not been granted access to material on the USB drives. They are said to hold photographs of soldiers drinking from a prosthetic leg which allegedly belonged to an Afghan man who was unlawfully killed. 'We don't have the material on the USBs and... my client did not receive them from the applicant's ex-wife,' Ms Barnett said. But Mr Richardson alleged the outlets were provided the images by Mr Roberts-Smith's ex-wife. Emma Roberts - the ex-wife of Australia's most decorated soldier - has 'flipped' and will give evidence for Nine, the court has heard Mr Roberts-Smith will be the first witness to take the stand against claims that he played a role in the alleged murders of six people while serving in Afghanistan between 2009 to 2012. He will also deny he punched a woman in the face while they were having an affair with in 2018. 'My client wants to get in the witness box and he wants to expose the lies that... the respondents have told about him,' barrister McClintock SC said at a recent hearing. 'He's extremely anxious to do so.' The trial will begin with an opening address from Mr Roberts-Smith's lawyer, followed by the soldier giving evidence-in-chief and being cross-examined by Nine. Character witnesses - originally to include the former Governor-General Dame Quentin Bryce - will then attest to the soldier's reputation. Nine will then present its case: that the serious allegations it has levelled against Mr Roberts-Smith are true. Mr Roberts-Smith's reputation is on the line - as is how the country understands Australia's role in the Afghan war. Above, the soldier at the Australian War Memorial The media company argues Mr Roberts-Smith was complicit in and responsible for the six alleged killings while on deployment and that they constituted war crimes. Each of Nine's witnesses will testify - including his ex-wife Ms Roberts, her friend, a former bodyguard to Schapelle Corby, and several Afghani villagers. Then Mr Roberts-Smith's team will call evidence from his other witnesses. Mr Roberts-Smith's lawyers had been determined that their witnesses would be called after Nine presented its case and were granted that procedural win by Justice Anthony Besanko in a decision published last week. Much is on the line at the trial. Mr Roberts-Smith's reputation would be in tatters if Nine successfully defends the action. Not least given the mother of his two children Ms Roberts has sensationally 'flipped'. Seven proprietor Kerry Stokes (left) is bankrolling the Roberts-Smith lawsuit. Above with wife Christine Simpson Mr Roberts-Smith's lawyer Mr McClintock said that he will have to call her a liar at trial, warning it will be a high price to 'air a family's, well, dirty linen.' Nicholas Owen SC for Nine told the court recently that Ms Roberts' evidence will be carefully limited to matters at hand. If Nine lost, it would be a devastating blow - both in financial terms, given hefty legal fees on top of multi-million dollar damages - but also for morale. The company has invested much in the case with some of the company's highest profile and most acclaimed journalists behind the stories in question, including multiple-Walkley Award winner Nick McKenzie and veteran reporter Chris Masters. Also on the line are the egos of the country's biggest media proprietors. Seven billionaire and Australian War Memorial chairman has bankrolled Mr Roberts-Smith's legal action. In audio obtained by 60 Minutes, Mr Roberts-Smith said he would be 'f***ed' without Mr Stokes's financial firepower. Ben Roberts-Smith will be the first witness to give evidence at his defamation trial over war crimes claims. Should he win, he could reap damages of between $2-3million, legal sources estimate Even Rupert Murdoch appears to have a dog in the race. Sydney tabloid The Daily Telegraph has seized upon recent developments in the case - Nine 'not pressing' a seventh murder claim - to seemingly niggle rival publishing house Nine with a front page story. Also on the line is the truth of what happened in the nation's longest ever war. Mr McKenzie has said 'critical issues are at stake', describing the trial as a 'difficult, vital search for truth in (and after) war for Australia and Afghanistan.' The trial is expected to run for about 10 weeks starting June 7. Not all of it will likely be open for public consumption - with national security concerns meaning some evidence could be heard behind closed doors. An auctioneer dubbed the 'Mick Jagger of art auctions' has been taken to court by his former personal assistant for allegedly failing to pay her commission for six years. Simon de Pury, a fine art expert who sells pieces for hundreds of millions of pounds, is being sued at an employment tribunal by Harmony Hambly-Smith. Ms Hambly-Smith claims her 69-year-old former boss - considered to be the most famous auctioneer in the world - didn't pay her because he was trying to work out a 'tax efficient' way of doing it. A hearing in London was told the breakdown in their working relationship came amid Mr de Pury's divorce from his glamorous wife, 50-year-old Dr Michaela de Pury. Ms Hambly-Smith was made to choose which of the couple she would continue to work for after the couple's split, the tribunal was told. She elected to stay with Mr de Pury, but he fired her just a month after she demanded to be paid the commission she says she was owed. Details of the divorce emerged during a preliminary hearing for the case. In 2013 the couple - both art veterans who shared a lavish Mayfair home filled with expensive artworks - formed the highly successful de Pury & de Pury auction firm. Simon de Pury (left), a fine art expert who sells pieces for hundreds of millions of pounds, is being sued at an employment tribunal by Harmony Hambly-Smith (right) A hearing in London was told the breakdown in their working relationship came amid Mr de Pury's divorce from his glamorous wife, 50-year-old Dr Michaela de Pury (pictured in 2017) Ms Hambly-Smith began working for the de Purys in January the same year, acting as both of their personal assistant. She alleges when she started work it was agreed she would be paid five per cent commission on all fees she negotiated plus two per cent for any works that she consigned for sale at auction. Mr de Pury denies the arrangement. Employment Judge Pavel Klimov said: 'Her position is that although her entitlement to commission continued to accrue from February 2013, it was agreed that the de Purys' liability to make payments in respect of her commission entitlement shall be deferred. 'Therefore her commission payments were not due or payable until a tax efficient structure was set up.' The hearing was told that in 2017, the de Purys' marriage began to founder. Mr de Pury during Phillips de Pury and Company's 210th Anniversary Party and Auction at Howick Place in London in 2006 Mr De Pury (left) as chairman of Sotheby's Switzerland with auctioneer Nicholas Rayner and director of jewellery David Bennett. He was appointed chairman in 1986 Mr de Pury is pictured alongside his wife at an Old Selfridges gala in June 2012 The judge's report said: 'When in 2017 [the] personal relationship between Simon de Pury and Michaela de Pury started to deteriorate, Ms Hambly-Smith's position working for both of them became difficult. 'In March 2018, Simon de Pury and Michaela de Pury started to negotiate a post-nuptial agreement, which was concluded in September 2018. 'In December 2018, Simon de Pury issued divorce proceedings against Michaela de Pury, which created further strain in their relationship and made Ms Hambly-Smith's position as a personal assistant to both of them increasingly more difficult.' It added: 'She needed to choose whether she wanted to continue working for Simon de Pury or Michaela de Pury, because Simon de Pury was not content with her working for both of them.' Mr de Pury with Drew Barrymore, fashion photographer Mario Testino and Anna Wintour in 2006 in New York City Mr de Pury is pictured with Suzanne Speich and a self-portait by Cuno Amiets in 1995 The auctioneer is pictured at a cancer research ball in New York in 2017 Ms Hambly-Smith's ultimately chose to work for de Pury over his wife - despite her attempts to poach her - and in November 2019 demanded unpaid commission payments from de Pury dating back to January 2013. Mr De Pury sacked her for allegedly breaching her contract two months later. Ms Hambly-Smith brings claims of unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal, and unlawful deduction from wages relating to the unpaid commission and three months of unpaid salary at the end of her employment. At the preliminary hearing at London Central, Judge Klimov ruled all claims must be answered by Mr de Pury and not his wife as she was no longer employing Ms Hambly-Smith. Ms Hambly-Smith, who has since set up her own firm called Harmony Fine Art, will contest the claims against Mr de Pury at a full hearing. Mr De Pury was dubbed the 'Mick Jagger of art auctions' due to his charismatic performance on the stand. He started his career in Switzerland then worked for Sotheby's in London and Monte Carlo, later rising to chairman of Sotheby's Europe then chief auctioneer worldwide. When he left Sotheby's in 1997 he started his own art advisory company. Video footage has captured the moment an alleged drunk driver smashed into four parked cars, narrowly missing an oncoming vehicle. In the 12-second clip, a black car can be seen arriving at a three-way junction in Ilford before suddenly swerving to the left. A security camera captures the driver smashing into two parked vehicles on the other side of the road before narrowly missing an oncoming car. According to local reports, police arrested a 60-year-old man on suspicion of driving while over the prescribed alcohol limit. The car continues back to the other side of the road and grazes another parked vehicle before smashing into the rear of another, crashing it into the facade of a property. The incident was recorded on Thorold Road at around 8.47pm on May 31. Officers attended the scene along with the London Ambulance Service and the London Fire Brigade. There were no reported injuries. A spokesperson for the London Fire Brigade said: 'A car had collided with a house and four parked cars. The 60-year-old driver can be seen suddenly swerving to the left at a three-way junction in Ilford, East London The driver hits two cars before narrowly missing an oncoming driver and hitting another on the opposite side of the road 'One man had left the vehicle before the brigade arrived and was assessed at the scene by London Ambulance Service crews.' Social media users compared the incident to a scene from Wacky Races. 'It's like something from a 70s comedy sketch,' wrote one viewer. 'How lucky is that other car driving past to avoid getting hit, hes laughing into the sunset,' added a Twitter user. Another joked it was the 'U-turn of the year' while another questioned: 'How the hell did they manage that?' Others did not see a funny side to the dangerous incident, with one viewer adding: 'Lucky they didn't kill anyone, ban them for life!' Three police officers have been injured in a shootout with a gunman who barricaded himself in an apartment on Wednesday night. The officers from Wilmington, Delaware, are in a stable condition after they were rushed to hospital. Dozens of police cars, fire trucks and a SWAT team were on the scene after the shooting at about 10.30pm. Three police officers were injured in a shootout with a gunman who barricaded himself in an apartment in Wilmington, Delaware, on Wednesday night The shooting took place on North Market Street in Wilmington's Brandywine village neighborhood. Several blocks were closed early on Thursday morning as the gunman remained shut inside the apartment during the standoff. Officers were seen carrying long rifles while others took cover behind vehicles. Nearby residents were asked to shelter and not approach the scene until they received further instructions. The officers from Wilmington, Delaware, are in a stable condition after they were rushed to hospital The shooting took place on North Market Street in Wilmington's Brandywine village neighborhood The order was lifted by 10.30am on Thursday as police announced there was 'no immediate threat to the public'. Officers were seen using a fire truck ladder to enter the building and minutes later, a woman and small child were brought down. Their connection to the shooting is not known and police have not revealed if any arrests have been made. Several blocks were shut early on Thursday morning as the gunman remained shut inside the apartment during the standoff Nearby residents were asked to shelter and not approach the scene until they received further instructions One officer has been released from hospital but the other two are receiving surgery and are in a stable condition. The investigation is still ongoing. Delaware Senator Chris Coons said: 'I am praying for the wounded officers of the Wilmington Police Department and thankful that they are in stable condition, on the path toward a speedy recovery. 'I'm grateful for their service and thinking about the first responders and the residents of Wilmington impacted by this tragic incident.' Advertisement A Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan 'Grand Wizard' is being exhumed and moved from a park where a statue of him once stood in Memphis, Tennessee, a flashpoint of Black Lives Matter protests last summer, thanks to a compromise made between a pro-Confederate group and a rival non-profit organization. The bodies of General Nathan Bedford Forrest, notorious for the massacre of 300 black Union soldiers after they surrendered, and his wife are being moved from Health Sciences Park in Memphis to a museum dedicated to the Confederacy located 200 miles away in a agreement made between the Sons of Confederate Veterans and a rival non-profit organization. The exhumation, which was finally was carried out on Wednesday, was a move more than two years in the making following the December 2017 removal of Forrest's statue, which stood over his grave, and subsequent lawsuit by the Sons of Confederate Veterans. The pro-Confederacy group then sued non-profit Memphis Greenspace on the grounds the removal violated the state's cemetery law and Heritage Protection Law, blocking the exhumation and creating a legal quagmire. But a judge in Nashville ruled that the city and Greenspace, which made the park privately operated, removed the statue legally. The Sons of Confederate Veterans only agreed to drop its statue lawsuit with Greenspace if they disinterred the bodies of Forrest and his wife, Mary Ann Montgomery. They will be taken, along with the statue, to the National Confederate Museum at Elm Springs in Columbia, Tennessee. Workmen remove a pedestal that once held a statue of Confederate general and early member of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), Nathan Bedford Forrest. Forrest's statue which stood over his grave was removed in December 2017 but the Sons of Confederate Veterans group sued Memphis Greenspace, a non-profit which has bought up city property holding Confederate monuments, on the grounds it violated the state's cemetery law and Heritage Protection Law, blocking the exhumation The map above shows the location where Forrest's body was buried in Memphis (left) and the new site in Columbia (right) Forrest's remains used to be buried under this statue of him at Health Sciences Park in Memphis 'The details got worked out to everyone's satisfaction, so there was no need to continue the lawsuit,' Lee Millar, spokesperson for the Sons of Confederate Veterans, told WREG. Van Turner, of Memphis Greenspace, said: 'They don't have to worry about further protests, further potential vandalism of the monuments.' The National Confederate Museum, which is owned and operated by the Sons of the Confederate Veterans, 'was designed to resemble a large carriage house, one that might accent the style and age of historic Elm Springs,' according to the museum's website. The National Confederate Museum, which is owned and operated by the Sons of the Confederate Veterans, will be the new resting place for Forrest and his wife after an agreement was reached out of court with original burial site owners The museum features 'a spacious gift shop and lobby, a research library, and two exhibit halls. The offices of the SCV General Headquarters were also incorporated into the new building. In total, the museum building has 18,500 square feet of usable space with unfinished shell space that can be used for future growth' according to their website 'The interior of the museum features a spacious gift shop and lobby, a research library, and two exhibit halls. The offices of the SCV General Headquarters were also incorporated into the new building. In total, the museum building has 18,500 square feet of usable space with unfinished shell space that can be used for future growth.' Visitors to Forrest's soon-to-be new eternal resting place will be able to observe Confederate-era weaponry like cannons and muskets, flags sewn and produced during the Confederacy's existence, and other items of Confederate historical importance. 'No government funding was used in the construction of this building,' the museum's website reads. 'Nor will government funding will be used in the operation of the museum. This means no politically-correct politician or justice warrior can dictate what can be displayed in the museum or how it shall be interpreted. This museum is owned and operated by the Sons of Confederate Veterans and all of the exhibits will be created by the Sons of Confederate Veterans.' Memphis Greenspace previously considered an effort to ban the statue from ever being erected again in the state of Tennessee but abandoned the idea under the agreement. 'As an American, as a defender of the Constitution, it is their right to do so, to freely express their views,' Turner said. 'It's my right as an American to not support that, to not visit it.' John Spain, (left) who had six relatives fight under General Nathan Bedford Forrest, stands by as workmen remove a pedestal, on June 2, 2021. The Sons of Confederate Veterans dropped its lawsuit and agreed with Greenspace to disinter the bodies of Forrest and his wife, Mary Ann Montgomery, who will be taken, with his statue, to the National Confederate Museum at Elm Springs in Columbia, Tennessee. The remains of Forrest and his wife were moved from a Memphis cemetery and buried under the statue of the former Memphis City Council member in 1904 A heavy crane was positioned nearby as workers began taking apart the pedestal on Tuesday. The entire process could take weeks A pile of rubble sits on a yellow of 'Black Lives Matter' sign, added near the monument last summer Last summer, Black Lives Matter protesters painted around the site where Forrest and his wife are buried in Health Sciences Park in Memphis, Tennessee 'In all likelihood, theyll never see me there, but thats what theyve decided to do, and its their right to do so,' he added. Workers must dismantle the statue's pedestal before they can disinter the Forrests' remains. A heavy crane was positioned nearby as workers began taking apart the pedestal on Tuesday. The entire process could take weeks. As Sawyer spoke to the press, she was interrupted by protester George 'K-Rack' Johnson, leader of Confederate 901, a Tennessee-based organization that has tried to prevent efforts to remove Confederate-era monuments and symbols. Johnson paced a few feet from her behind a fence waving a Confederate flag and singing Dixie, which the councilwoman called a racist song. 'My ancestors picked cotton while his ancestors beat and raped my ancestors,' Sawyer told the assembled media as Johnson continued singing. Sawyer then raised her voice so as to be heard above Johnson's singing and said: 'Dixie is dead, and it was killed by the descendants of black people.' This man, part of the construction crew, has been harassing and yelling at Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer as she came to give an interview to the media. pic.twitter.com/bwz1mJs1Fu Chris Luther (@cluther_wmc5) June 1, 2021 George K-Rack Johnson is seen in the video taunting Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer on Tuesday As Sawyer spoke to reporters, Johnson could be seen a few feet from her behind the fence waving a Confederate flag and singing Dixie, a song about the South that became the de facto national anthem of the Confederacy When Sawyer told the assembled media members that 'this is a powerful moment,' Johnson said: 'It's a communist moment.' Sawyer did not speak directly to Johnson, though she did try to refute his claims as she addressed the media. She told reporters that Martin Luther King Jr, James Baldwin, the Black Panthers, and others in the civil rights movement were accused of being communists. The park has been the site of Black Lives Matter protests and activists have long called for the removal of the statue and the remains, painting their slogan around the monument last summer. The tree-lined park is next to the University of Tennessee's medical school and a community college on Union Avenue, a busy street leading in and out of downtown Memphis. It is another example of how cities and activists have taken steps in recent years to get rid of statues and monuments of historical figures who supported the South's secession and led the fight against the North, from Gen. Robert E. Lee to Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy. Forrest sold slaves in Memphis and served in the Confederate army as a cavalry general. In April 1864, Forrest's troops attacked Fort Pillow in northwest Tennessee and massacred 300 black Union soldiers. Northern newspaper reports referred to the battle as an atrocity. Historians said he later became an early leader of the Ku Klux Klan, though some of Forrest's supporters dispute that. Forrest's critics call him a violent racist. The remains of Forrest and his wife were moved from a Memphis cemetery and buried under the statue of the former Memphis City Council member in 1904. Advertisement What schools recovery tsar Sir Kevan Collins wanted - and what No10 gave him instead Sir Kevan Collins' recommendations - Extend the school day by 30 minutes; Fund 100 hours extra teaching a year for sixth formers; Widen the number of disadvantaged children eligible for childcare/early years education; Fund a recovery premium that schools could choose how to distribute; Increase pupil funding for early years and disadvantaged sixth formers; Hire more highly qualified early years practitioners What he actually got - An extra year of teaching for teenagers who fail their A-levels; Extra funding for training teachers, including early years teachers; Extending tutoring to five million pupils by 2024 Advertisement Boris Johnson is facing a Tory revolt against his 'half-hearted' schools catch-up plans today after his education tsar quit in disgust at a lack of funding. Education Committee chairman Robert Halfon and former immigration minister Caroline Nokes were among those who urged the Prime Minister to look again at funding to help children left behind by pandemic-induced school closures. They spoke out after Sir Kevan Collins resigned following the announcement of a 1.4billion package - a tenth of the cash he said was needed. Sir Kevan said he had 'no option' but to quit as he accused the Prime Minister of taking a 'half-hearted approach' that risks failing hundreds of thousands of children. Sir Kevan Collins claimed Mr Johnson rejected his proposals for a 15billion package to provide pupils with extra time and teaching to catch up on lost education due to successive lockdowns over the next three years. Mr Halfon, the chairman of the Commons Education Committee, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'Of course there are funding constraints but the Treasury announced over 16 billion extra for defence only last year, we've got 800 million being spent on a new research agency, 200 million being spent on a yacht. 'So where there is the political will, the Treasury can find the money from the back of the sofa, and there has to be that political will because we need a long-term plan for education, a proper funding settlement.' And Ms Nokes told ITV's Peston last night: 'I just think that the government needs to listen to what Sir Kevan Collins, who I think did great work, has said, they need to work with the unions, and I can speak from a position, both my parents were teachers. 'They know what it's like to be on the front line, and it's really important that the investment goes into children. 'Or they become a lost generation, don't they, and they won't be as productive in the workplace in years to come, for the rest of their lives. So we have an opportunity now - we should grab it with both hands.' Chancellor Rishi Sunak and the Treasury have come under fire, with reports that he blocked plans to spend more money on education recovery, with the Prime Minister siding with him over Education Secretary Gavin Williamson. Writing in the Times, Sir Kevan said the Government's approach risked failing children and damaging Britain's long-term economy after ministers revealed they would only guarantee a tenth of the funding he recommended. 'The support announced by government so far does not come close to meeting the scale of the challenge and is why I have no option but to resign,' he wrote. 'It is too narrow, too small and will be delivered too slowly. A half-hearted approach risks failing hundreds of thousands of pupils.' Sir Kevan Collins claimed Boris Johnson rejected his proposals for a 15billion package to provide pupils with extra time and teaching to catch up on lost education due to successive lockdowns over the next three years Education Committee chairman Robert Halfon and former immigration minister Caroline Nokes were among those who urged the Prime Minister to look again at funding to help children left behind by pandemic-induced school closures. In his resignation letter, first revealed by TES , Sir Kevan said the Government scheme was 'too narrow, too small and will be delivered too slowly' Chancellor Rishi Sunak and the Treasury have come under fire, with reports that he blocked plans to spend more money on education recovery, with the Prime Minister siding with him over Education Secretary Gavin Williamson. The funding announcement sparked a furious backlash from across the political spectrum, The respected IFS think-tank pointed out that even with previously announced investment the government was spending 310 per pupil compared to 1,600 in the US. The Netherlands has allocated around 2,500 for each child Teachers will also receive extra training and support worth 400million, bringing government spending to date on education recovery to more than 3billion. Stock picture Steve Chalke, founded of the Oasis academy chain, was among those criticising the government plans Other countries spending EIGHT TIMES as much as the UK on schools catch-up Boris Johnson faced pressure to pump more money into the schools Covid catch-up today as experts said other countries were being 'much more ambitious' than the UK. Luke Sibieta, a research fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said the government's total package so far was worth around 3.1 billion. 'A lot of that now is focused on the national tutoring programme, which (Sir) Kevan Collins talked about as being quite an important part of education recovery but it is clearly a lot less than the 10-15billion that Kevan Collins was proposing for a full-scale education recovery, which would incorporate much bigger elements.' The education researcher said there was 'value' in staggering funding for schools and that the prospect of clawing back lost learning in the space of two years was 'a bit fanciful'. But he said education recovery commissioner Sir Kevan's idea of longer school days had been 'pushed into the long grass' as the Government had failed to pilot the idea. Comparing the UK Government's outlay on school catch-up programmes internationally, he added: 'The Biden administration in the US has proposed about 122 billion about 1,600 per pupil, over five times more than we're spending in the UK. 'The Netherlands is going even further and has allocated over eight billion euros, which amounts to over 2,500 per pupil, so there are countries around the world going much further and being much more ambitious.' Advertisement Sir Kevan had demanded ministers approve a 15billion package to help thousands of children whose learning has been interrupted by the pandemic get back on track. But Education Secretary Gavin Williamson yesterday announced that only an initial 1.4billion would be pumped into the system. His call for the school day to be extended by half an hour also looks to have been kicked into the long grass, with moved a 'next stage' review due to report only by the end of the year. In his resignation letter, first revealed by TES, Sir Kevan also pointed out that the average primary school will directly receive just 6,000 per year - equivalent to 22 per child. The funding announcement sparked a furious backlash from across the political spectrum, The respected IFS think-tank pointed out that even with previously announced investment the government was spending 310 per pupil compared to 1,600 in the US. The Netherlands has allocated around 2,500 for each child. The DfE's programme includes 1 billion to support up to six million, 15-hour tutoring courses for disadvantaged pupils, as well as an expansion of the 16-19 tuition fund. A further 400 million will go towards providing high-quality training for early years practitioners and school teachers to ensure children progress. Home Office Minister Victoria Atkins attempted to defend the Government today. She told Sky News the education recovery fund was 'very much focused on what we can deliver and deliver quickly'. She said she had not read his resignation statement and disputed that he was alleging those worst affected by the pandemic in the North and disadvantaged areas had been failed by plans. But former children's commissioner for England Anne Longfield told BBC Breakfast: 'We've seen in other areas of course spending has needed to happen during the pandemic. Furlough, not least. 'None of us would say that wasn't money well spent, but somehow when it gets to children and education there's so many hoops that need to be jumped through. 'So, wherever this lives, whether it's in Number 10 or whether it's in the Treasury, this is a false economy.' The Prime Minister was forced to pledge that more money would be 'coming through' as he tried to fend off anger at the 'pitiful' funding. Sir Kevan's resignation statement in full 'Advising the Government on the education recovery plan has been the most important task of my professional life. The recovery approach we take will reveal our commitment to a generation of children. After the hardest of years, a comprehensive recovery plan - adequately funded and sustained over multiple years - would rebuild a stronger and fairer system. 'A half-hearted approach risks failing hundreds of thousands of pupils. The support announced by Government so far does not come close to meeting the scale of the challenge and is why I have no option but to resign from my post. 'One conservative estimate puts the long-term economic cost of lost learning in England due to the pandemic at 100bn, with the average pupil having missed 115 days in school. In parts of the country where schools were closed for longer, such as the North, the impact of low skills on productivity is likely to be particularly severe. The pandemic has affected all pupils but hit disadvantaged children hardest. A decade's progress to narrow the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers is estimated to have been reversed. 'As part of the plan I proposed to Government, I recommended a landmark investment in our teachers, whose dedication throughout the pandemic has been inspiring. It is also right to extend access to tutoring, in particular to support disadvantaged children. Tutoring can provide valuable support that complements classroom teaching. But it is not a panacea and must be high-quality to make a difference. 'This is one reason why I recommended schools and colleges be funded to extend school time for a fixed, three-year period and providing significant funding for a flexible extension to school time, equivalent to 30 minutes extra every day. From the perspective of teachers, extra time would have been optional and paid, with schools also able to use the time to offer enrichment activities that children have missed out on. 'The package of support announced yesterday falls far short of what is needed. It is too narrow, too small and will be delivered too slowly. The average primary school will directly receive just 6,000 per year, equivalent to 22 per child. Not enough is being done to help vulnerable pupils, children in the early years or 16- to 19-year-olds. Above all, I am concerned that the package announced yesterday betrays an undervaluation of the importance of education, for individuals and as a driver of a more prosperous and healthy society.' Advertisement Mr Johnson held out the prospect of a cash boost at a later stage, saying there was no doubt 'many kids are incredibly resilient but a lot of them also need help to catch up'. He said the funding announcement should also 'give parents the confidence that their child is going to get particular attention', as well as 'find potential in kids that may be missed in the back of the classroom'. But he suggested that there will need to be more investment in future. Shadow Education Secretary Kate Green said: 'Kevan Collins' resignation is a damning indictment of the Conservatives' education catch-up plan. 'He was brought in by Boris Johnson because of his experience and expertise in education, but the Government have thrown out his ideas as soon as it came to stumping up the money needed to deliver them. 'Labour has set out a plan to deliver the bold policies that will boost children's recovery from the pandemic recognising that learning and wellbeing go hand-in-hand together. 'Our children and their future ambitions and life chances depend on us getting this right. The Conservatives' failure to deliver for children now could cost our country dearly long-term.' The Tory chair of the Education Select Committee, Robert Halfon, said on Twitter: 'To lose someone of the stature of Sir Kevan Collins is a real blow. 'Whilst today's catch up money is hugely welcome, to repair damage of school closures, to improve attainment & outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, we need a properly resourced, radical long-term plan & funding.' Children will be offered 100million hours of tutoring over the next three years to help them bounce back from the pandemic - but plans for a longer school day appear to have stalled. Teachers will also receive extra training and support worth 400million, bringing government spending to date on education recovery to more than 3billion. The Government has also announced that schools or colleges will be given funding to let Year 13 students repeat the year if they have been badly affected by the pandemic. However, a longer school day and a huge 15billion funding package were notably absent. A No 10 spokeswoman said: 'The Prime Minister is hugely grateful to Sir Kevan for his work in helping pupils catch up and recover from the effects of the pandemic. 'The government will continue to focus on education recovery and making sure no child is left behind with their learning, with over 3 billion committed for catch up so far.' Earlier, Education Secretary Gavin Williams squirmed during interviews as he insisted he 'absolutely' trusts catch-up envoy Sir Kevan. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced that only an initial 1.4billion would be pumped into the system. In a bruising round of interviews yesterday, Mr Williamson tried to put a brave face on the situation saying that 'as a Yorkshireman' he 'always thought that 1.4billion was a pretty hefty amount'. But he refused to say how much that worked out for each child. Pushed repeatedly on whether he believed in what Sir Kevan was proposing, Mr Williamson told Sky News: 'We have been working very closely with Sir Kevan Collins and actually the interventions around tutoring, driving up teaching quality, these are very much built on the work we've been doing together, recognising how incredibly important it is that we take on these interventions in order to help children.' He insisted a longer school day is still 'on the agenda'. Amid reports that the Treasury had baulked at the huge figure, Mr Williamson confirmed a 'further instalment' of just 1.4billion. Meanwhile, the question of whether the school day should be extended remains under review and 'will be set out later in the year', the Department for Education said. Mr Williamson said: 'It is a lot of money and it builds on 1.7billion that we've already committed in terms of actually delivering for children - it is an extra 100million hours of tutoring. 'It is making sure that children who need that help, who need that support, that we're delivering that tutoring revolution to help them get it. 'But we recognise it is part of a process. Over the past 12 months, we have already announced a previous 1.7billion worth of additional funding and we are looking at a whole raft of additional ideas for how we can continue to support our children, making sure none of them are left behind.' Hailing the extra funding, Boris Johnson said it would 'make sure that no child is left behind'. 'This next step in our long-term catch-up plan should give parents confidence that we will do everything we can to support children who have fallen behind and that every child will have the skills and knowledge they need to fulfil their potential,' he said. Sir Kevan added: 'The investments in teaching quality and tutoring announced today offer evidence-based support to a significant number of our children and teachers.' However, he pointedly warned that 'more will be needed to meet the scale of the challenge'. Unions reacted angrily to the announcement, saying the package did not go far enough. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union the NAHT, said: 'It's a damp squib - some focus in a couple of the right areas is simply not enough. 'The funding announced to back these plans is paltry... education recovery cannot be done on the cheap.' Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), told Sky News: 'It's pretty dispiriting, here I am as somebody who is leading a trade union, and for all my colleagues it feels this morning as if we have got higher ambitions for the nation's children and young people than the Education Secretary. 'It's pretty pitiful, only yesterday we were hearing stories about extending the school day and even if some people disagreed with it, at least there was a sense of 'let's do something radical, let's do something different'. 'Today's announcement essentially equates to 50 per head, you compare that with the USA which is putting 1,600 per head, per young person, or the Netherlands, 2,500 per head. 'So what is it about those children in the Netherlands or the USA that makes them worth more than our Government seems to say? 'It's time to stop the rhetoric I think and start the action on behalf of children and young people.' Mr Williamson suggested that further funding will be forthcoming in future. However, a longer school day and a huge 15billion funding package, which were key demands made in a document penned by the education recovery tsar Sir Kevan Collins were notably absent. Stock picture Labour education spokesman Kate Green accused the Tories of 'showing no ambition for children's futures' as she unveiled alternative measures which would cost 14.7billion. As well as expanding extracurricular activities and breakfast clubs, mental health support should be available in every school, as well as small group tutoring and teacher development, she said. Sir Peter Lampl, of education charity Sutton Trust, said the 'funding is only a fraction of what is required. Low-income students who have already been most heavily impacted will be disadvantaged even more and overall standards, which have fallen dramatically, will be very slow to recover'. Police have charged a second man and a 14-year old boy with the murder of a teenager who was chased and stabbed to death. Dea-John Reid, 14, was killed in College Road in the Kingstanding area of Birmingham at about 7.30pm on Monday. George Khan, 38, and the boy - who cannot be named for legal reasons - were charged with the schoolboy's murder by West Midlands police on Thursday. In a tribute last night, Dea-John's family described him as an 'incredibly talented young boy' A police tent at the scene of the attack, which shocked the community earlier this week Police have launched a murder investigation after a 14-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the street during a large street fight. Pictured: Police at the scene on Monday afternoon Both are due to appear at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on June 4. It comes after 35-year-old Michael Shields, from Alvis Walk in Castle Bromwich, appeared at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Thursday, also charged with the murder. Shields was not required to enter any pleas and was remanded in custody until Friday when he will appear at the city's crown court. Two men aged, 36 and 33, and a 13-year-old boy had been released with no further action. Police are also appealing for information regarding a car believed to have been used during the attack. It is thought the offenders arrived and left the scene in a dark blue VW Golf with the registration number TN07 GBR. Officers have been trying to locate the vehicle but so far it has not been found. A forensics officer at the scene on College Road, Kingstanding, north of Birmingham, where a 14-year-old boy died after being stabbed on Monday evening West Midlands Police has referred itself to the police watchdog, after a latest U-turn in which it claimed the murder of a 14-year-old boy in the street could have been racially motivated Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Mobberley said: 'We really need to trace this VW Golf and I would urge anyone who believes they have seen the car or knows of its whereabouts to get in touch. 'It could be crucial to the investigation so if anyone has any information please message us or call. 'People can call anonymously, we don't need their names, just information. 'We are pursuing all lines of enquiry to find anyone else involved in Dea-John's tragic death and anyone who has information should contact us.' Police said racist language was directed at Dea-John before he was killed, and urged any witnesses to the 'precursor incident' to come forward. Officers previously said there was 'nothing to suggest' the stabbing was racially motivated. Dea-John's family paid tribute to the 'incredibly talented' teenager on Wednesday and called for an end to knife crime, saying: 'How many more mothers will have to mourn for their sons for this to stop?' The force said a post-mortem examination confirmed Dea-John died from a stab wound to the chest. Experts say it is unclear what prompted the migration, but possible an 'inexperienced' male leader got lost Official notice warned residents not to engage with the elephants, not to leave food out and to stay indoors More than 360 people have been involved with trying to divert the herd away from the city's Jinning district The wild animals have reached outskirts of Kunming, a southwestern Chinese city of seven million people A rampaging herd of 15 elephants have trekked 300 miles after breaking out of nature reserve on A Advertisement A herd of elephants that trekked 300 miles from a nature reserve have caused chaos by ploughing through a Chinese city of seven million people after experts claimed the 'inexperienced' male pack leader 'got lost'. The rampaging herd of 15 elephants left a trail of destruction as they reached the outskirts of Kunming, the capital of the Yunnan province, after breaking out of a nature reserve in Xishuangbanna Dai prefecture on April 16. The wild animals have caused mayhem by walking down urban roads and sticking their trunks through residential windows in Kunming, despite officials' efforts to divert them away from the populated southwestern city of seven million people. Authorities announced it is 'forbidden to surround and gawk at the elephants' or disturb them using firecrackers or other materials after the herd reached Jinning, one of the seven districts of Kunming, late on Wednesday night. Video footage, taken from the ground and by air by dozens of drones, shows the elephants wreaking havoc as they ploughed through residential streets, walked up people's driveways, and munched on farm crops. A herd of 15 elephants left a trail of destruction as they reached the outskirts of Kunming after breaking out of nature reserve in Xishuangbanna Dai prefecture on April 16. Pictured: Elephants captured on drone footage walking up a residential street The wild animals have caused mayhem by walking down urban roads, eating farm crops (pictured) and sticking their trunks through residential windows in Kunming, despite officials' efforts to divert them away from the populated southwestern city Authorities urged residents to avoid contact with the elephants after the herd reached the Jinning district on the edge of Kunming, a city of seven million residents, late on Wednesday night. Pictured: Elephant walks up driveway to a house Video footage (pictured), taken from the ground and by air by dozens of drones, shows the elephants wreaking havoc as they ploughed through residential streets, walked up people's driveways, and munched on farm crops The government of the semi-rural Jinning district issued a notice urging residents not to leave corn or other food in their yards that might attract the elephants and warned people to stay indoors and avoid contact with them. The 15-strong group of elephants have passed through towns and smaller cities along their route - closing down streets, raiding barns, and causing damage worth an estimated $1million. No injuries have been reported. On Tuesday, the herd turned up at a retirement home and poked their trunks into some of the rooms, prompting one elderly man to hide under his bed, according to residents interviewed by online channel Jimu News. Roads have been blocked using lorries while 18 tons of pineapples and corn have been scattered in an attempt to lead the elephants away from the city's populated Jinning district. More than 360 people have been sent to try and divert the herd, including police using 76 squad cars, along with wildlife officers flying nine drones to monitor their progress. Elephants are a protected species in China, meaning the herd will not be destroyed, while wildlife officers are also keen to avoid using tranquilizers on the infants. The 15-strong group of elephants have passed through towns and smaller cities along their route - closing down streets, raiding barns, and causing damage worth an estimated $1million. Pictured: Elephants munch on farm crops on journey More than 360 people have been sent to try and divert the herd (pictured), including police using 76 squad cars, along with wildlife officers flying nine drones to monitor their progress Animal experts told Xinhua news agency that it is unclear what has motivated the elephants' migration, which is the longest ever recorded in China and has seen them closing down streets (pictured left and right) on their journey The elephants began their march - the longest of its kind on record in China - on April 16, wandering through farmland and smaller villages before reaching the city of Yuxi on June 1, and now the outskirts of the regional capital Kunming Animal experts told Xinhua news agency that it is unclear what has motivated the elephants' migration, which is the longest ever recorded in China. But they said it is possible the pack leader 'lacks experience and led the whole group astray'. Sixteen animals were originally in the herd, but the government said two returned home while a baby was born during the walk. The herd is now composed of six female and three male adults, three juveniles and three calves, according to official reports. The wild herd had been living in the Xishuangbanna Dai Nature Reserve until moving out of the area more than a month ago and beginning their destructive march. Last week, the elephants wandered on to the streets of a town called Eshan, close to Yuxi, and remained there for six hours with residents warned to stay indoors. During that time, the elephants wandered the streets, broke into barns, ate out of rubbish bins and munched their way through nearby farmland. When and how the elephants will be returned to the reserve isn't clear. Elephants are the largest land animals in Asia and can weigh up to five metric tons. A herd of 15 wild elephants that has migrated 300 miles across rural China after breaking out of a nature reserve is now on the outskirts of Kunming city, home to 7million people (pictured on May 28) Experts say it is unclear what caused the herd - three males, six females, three juveniles and three calves - to migrate, but say it is possible that an inexperienced male leader 'got lost' An Italian artist has sold an invisible sculpture for 13,000 and given the buyer a certificate of authenticity to prove it is real. Sardinian-born Salvatore Garau, 67, sold the artwork, titled 'I am', to an unidentified buyer earlier this month. The 'air and spirit' sculpture is intended to be displayed in a 5ft by 5ft square in a private space without artificial lighting or air conditioning. An Italian artist has sold an invisible sculpture for 13,000 and given the buyer a certificate of authenticity to prove it is real Sardinian-born Salvatore Garau, 67, sold the artwork, titled 'I am', to an unidentified buyer earlier this month (pictured, Garau in 2016) The 67-year-old described the piece as a 'vacuum' because 'the vacuum is nothing more than a space full of energy'. 'Even if we empty it and there is nothing left, according to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, that 'nothing' has a weight', Garau told Hypebeast. 'Therefore, it has energy that is condense and transformed into particles, that is, into us.' Italian auction house Art-Rite which organised the sale of the sculpture, has refused to reveal the name of the buyer. It follows his earlier work - another invisible sculpture titled 'Buddha in Contemplation'. It follows his earlier work - another invisible sculpture titled 'Buddha in Contemplation', which was revealed in a Instagram video last month The 67-year-old shared a short video of the earlier piece on Instagram last month. It shows a tape square in the middle of an empty Piazza della Scala, Milan. His previous works include a 2005 abstract painting on a 650ft piece of tarpulin, which was then hung across scaffolding around a church in Milan. And in 2006, he produced 'Ichthys Sacro Stagno', creating large ponds on the floors of three churches, which he then filled with fish from nearby lakes. His last piece has sparked controversy online, with several people quick to offer to sell their own 'exquisite invisible artworks'. Others wondered if they were only ones thinking the whole story was a joke. A nine-year-old girl and her four-year-old sister got into a head-on crash in Utah after driving off in their parents' car because they wanted to go on a 'road trip' to California to swim with dolphins. The youngsters from West Jordan, Utah, stole the red Chevrolet Malibu in the middle of the night Wednesday and set off for the beach. They made it around 10 miles to West Valley City before the nine-year-old driver drove the wrong way along a freeway off-ramp and plowed straight into a semitrailer. Bodycam footage shows responding police officers shocked to find the young children behind the wheel. Both the girls and the truck driver escaped the incident unscathed, while the siblings' parents were still fast asleep and none the wiser back at their family home. A nine-year-old girl who swiped her parents' car keys and tried to drive to the beach in the middle of the night with her four-year-old sister has crashed head-on with a semi-truck The nighttime escapade unfolded around 3am Wednesday when the young children who share a bedroom took the car keys and snuck out of the house through the basement. They then sat in the car for an an hour and a half while they worked out the basics of driving, police said. They headed out from the driveway at 4.30am and started on their journey towards what they thought was California - 700 miles away. Instead, they drove north 10 miles to West Valley City. A number of motorists reported seeing the car being driven erratically as the girl bumped into the side of a pickup truck. A pickup driver thought the red Chevrolet was being driven under the influence and followed the car and reported it to the police. After the girls exited State Road 201 at 3200 West, they crossed over a median and headed into traffic where they hit the semi-truck head-on. The semi-truck driver told police he thought the car was going fast and may not have braked. The Utah youngsters wanted to have a road trip to California to swim with dolphins in the ocean and drove 10 miles from their West Jordan home before the collision Both the car and the truck had to be towed and police said it could have been much worse if the girls were not wearing seatbelts The airbag went off for the nine-year-old in the driver's seat but not for the four-year-old in the passenger's seat. The semi driver got out to check on the drivers of the other vehicle and told police he could not believe his eyes when he saw who was behind the wheel. Both the car and the truck had to be towed and police said it could have been much worse if the girls were not wearing seatbelts. Their parents were completely unaware of the road trip until police called them to inform them of the crash. Lt. Sean McCarthy said the underage drivers told officers they wanted to swim in the ocean with dolphins in California. 'They told the officers they were headed to California, wanted to enjoy the beach for a few days. I don't know that we'll tell them they were going the wrong way,' he said. Their parents were completely unaware and were sleeping in bed until police called them to inform them of the crash Officers asked the parents if they had talked to the girls about taking a road trip to California but they said the girls came up with the idea themselves Detective Scott List with the West Jordan Police Department said: 'There's no history of this this is a motivated kid who from what I understand wanted to go swim with dolphins in the ocean. 'To do what she did is impressive. Scary but impressive.' Eyewitness Danielle LeBlanc, a school bus driver in Salt Lake county, said: 'First thing I did was look for the parents. Then I saw the car and the whole front end was gone and I was like, "Oh no!" And then I looked over again and I saw two little girls in the front seat. 'I was pretty shocked. I'm like, "Oh my gosh if my kids did that, holy cow, that's insane." I don't know what I would do or emotions I would go through.' A semi-truck driver thought the driver was under the influence and the nine-year-old then swerved into his path after leaving State Road 201 on to 3200 West The semi driver got out to check on the drivers of the other vehicle and told police he could not believe his eyes when he saw who was behind the wheel Lt. Sean McCarthy told Fox 13: 'The semi-truck driver reported that there were two kids in the car and they appear very young. 'Officers got here and discovered it was a 9-year-old driver and her 4-year-old sister.' Officers asked the 'shocked' parents if they had talked to the girls about taking a road trip to California but they said the girls came up with the idea themselves. The parents added that all doors apart from one in the basement are on a latch and the children escaped after grabbing the keys from a place 'not normally accessible by children'. West Valley police spokeswoman Roxeanne Vainuku said: 'I guess they were intending to start their summer vacation a little early.' An academic who was placed under investigation after speaking out against political correctness has been cleared. Dr Neil Thin criticised a move last year by the University of Edinburgh to rename David Hume Tower, named after the philosopher now accused of slavery links. The senior anthropology lecturer also condemned a 2019 anti-racism event called Resisting Whiteness, where white students were initially banned from asking questions. Dr Thin, 60, was the subject of two complaints from students over his allegedly 'problematic' views and a barrage of anonymous social media accusations. Last night he told the Mail: 'The university's formal investigation into two complaint emails from students about me has after eight weeks concluded that the two allegations (offensive tweets, and biased marking) must be dismissed. Dr Neil Thin (pictured) criticised a move last year by the University of Edinburgh to rename David Hume Tower, named after the philosopher now accused of slavery links 'This is what I expected, but of course it doesn't immediately undo the massive damage to my reputation and to public trust in the university. It also still leaves unchallenged the defamatory online attacks which triggered the investigation.' Dr Thin added: 'I agree with the findings of the investigation, and will find its recommendations useful even though I'm not allowed to discuss specific contents.' He also raised concerns about the 'severe psychological and social damage that can be caused both by online attacks and by unnecessarily punitive investigations into students and staff who express views that some people take offence to'. Psychological and social damage Dr Thin added that in the longer term he hopes to promote 'a campus climate that fosters core academic values such as considerate debate, curiosity, intellectual honesty [and] freedom of expression'. The academic withdrew from teaching while the investigation was under way. In online comments, Dr Thin was branded a 'scumbag', a 'rape apologist' and a 'crusty old man'. The senior anthropology lecturer at the University of Edinburgh (pictured) also condemned a 2019 anti-racism event called Resisting Whiteness, where white students were initially banned from asking questions The academic withdrew from teaching while the investigation was under way. Pictured, Dr Neil did not think David Hume (pictured) Tower should be renamed Some of the students responsible for the smear campaign were investigated by the university authorities but no further action was taken. Toby Young, of the Free Speech Union, previously said: 'For the university to publicly shame Dr Thin because he dared to speak out against the excesses of a powerful hard-Left cabal is reminiscent of the 'struggle sessions' that distinguished scholars were subjected to during China's Cultural Revolution.' A spokesman for the University of Edinburgh confirmed the complaints process had been completed and added: 'While it is not appropriate for us to comment on specific details, we can confirm the complaints have not been upheld. 'When complaints are made we have a responsibility to consider them seriously and if taken forward through our complaints process, to ensure all parties are heard and receive support.' The university reiterated its commitment to 'freedom of expression and academic freedom' as well as maintaining an 'environment of mutual respect'. Residents of a retirement estate are locked in a bitter feud over the placement of wheelie bins on rubbish collection night. Judy Bond, who lives on a quiet cul-de-sac at Stockland Retirement Village in Campbelltown, south-west of Sydney, on Thursday opened up about the dispute plaguing her street. She explained that she has lived happily on the street for eight years, but things started going awry when her pedantic neighbour George started moving her green bins from where she put them on the nature strip, to her driveway. 'That is a concern because that blocks the driveway for any emergency services that need to come in to residents in this area,' she told A Current Affair. Pictured: George and Judy locked in a battle over where to put the wheelie bins on garbage collection night She insisted her bins were only ever outside briefly and she was regularly one of the first to bring them in after collection - even helping other with theirs. Judy said the village managers water and mow the verge so residents don't need to, but George had a different story. He claimed to water and fertilize the grass out the front of both his and Judy's home, and does not want garbage bins sitting on the fruits of his labor. According to George, the bin is supposed to be in the gutter - in front of the driveway - before it is collected by the garbage truck. 'Is it the end of the world if it does go there?' ACA host Brady Halls asked. George replied: 'The point is that the lady parks the bin here,' he said, pointing at a patch of grass about three metres away from the road, near his letterbox. Judy's daughter Joanna then piped up and told the elderly man that her mother did not leave the bin that far up the verge. 'She does not, George. She never, ever has put the bins there. Have you got photos of evidence?' she asked. Judy interjected and showed the host where she leaves the bins - on the grass, near the gutter - about five metres away from where George was pointing. She also shared footage of George grabbing at her bins and moving them off the grass, while his wife said 'we water it'. George thinks that where Judy places here bin (pictured) is incorrect, and often moves it to the driveway Several professional and amateur video clips also showed a series of run-ins between the neighbours. In one video, George can be seen pushing Judy's bin back across the grass line, to the shock of both the neighbour and Mr Halls. Joanne said the ongoing feud is damaging her mother's mental health. 'Not only has it affected her mentally, emotionally, physically - it's exhausting,' she said. When three managers finally did interject during another row over the garbage, Judy was filming the situation unfold but claims someone in charge snatched her phone from her. Poll Is George overreacting? Yes, it's just a bin No, it's in the wrong place Is George overreacting? Yes, it's just a bin 881 votes No, it's in the wrong place 418 votes Now share your opinion 'And as I was recording, one staff member sneakily came around and viciously snatched the mobile phone from my hand,' she said. 'I was shocked... I was stunned... how dare a staff member do that to a resident.' Video shown on ACA of the shadow on the ground when her phone was knocked out of her hands appeared to back up her claims. Mother and daughter are calling for an investigation over the phone snatching incident, and the bin crisis. Judy claimed Stocklands asked her if she would like to move to another area in the village, rather than make an effort to resolve the issue. 'No identifiable conclusion to the assault or to where the bins should be... and I find that disgraceful,' Joanne said. A Current Affair contacted Stocklands, but it refused to comment. 'For reasons of confidentiality we cannot comment further on our investigation. We are not aware of any follow up action from police in relation to the reported incident,' it said. Pictured: George and Judy's daughter Joanna, who accused him of calling the manager when her mother moves the bin back to the grass Hundreds of viewers reacted to the story by saying they had experienced similar situations over bins with their neighbours. 'I have neighbours who are going berserk because I used to have my bins beside my gate on what they maintain is 'common ground,' one wrote on Facebook. 'They are inundating the landlords and agent with emails and my agent is responding by telling me to get them off his back. 'I blame the pandemic for their behaviour and pray for the day they can resume cruising and just get off MY back.' 'We have neighbours that like to get their bin emptied and then bring it over, in-between our neighbours' bins to get emptied again,' another commented. 'We have had our bin not emptied because of this. We had to complain as talking to them did nothing.' Another Facebook user said they thought George probably just 'had pride in his grass' and didn't want a bin blocking the view. 'Stick to your guns George,' one person added. One social media user explained exactly how each bin is meant to be placed on the street: 'On each council website and info sent in the mail it shows you where to put/place you're bins. 'Ours on the nature strip and set exactly a metre apart, must be placed after a certain time the night before and must be put away before a certain time the evening emptied, or you will be fined by our council. 'It's poor planning and greed when there is no pathway between road and property line.' Piano prodigy Brigitte Xie, 3, is set to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City after becoming the youngest person to win the Elite National Music Competition. Brigitte, from Ridgefield, Connecticut, took up the piano amid the COVID-19 pandemic. She initially started taking virtual lessons with award-winning piano teacher Felicia Feng Zhang before going to her Greenwich, Connecticut studio for in-person sessions. Brigitte, from Ridgefield, Connecticut, took up the piano amid the COVID-19 pandemic Brigitte's talent led her to winning the prestigious international competition and a performance slot at Carnegie Hall in November In six months, the three-year-old progressed more on the piano than some people do over the course of years, with a knack for the instrument and the ability to learn sheet music quickly. Her music teacher quickly noticed her 'exceptional' talent and encouraged her to practice more. 'I said, "Brigitte, do you like a challenge? Would you like to be on stage?"' Zhang said. Brigitte won the prestigious Elite International Music Competition, landing a performance slot at Carnegie Hall in November. Speaking to the New York Post, her father, Tao Xie, explained how his daughter developed her love for the piano during lockdown Her music teacher, Felicia Feng Zhang, quickly noticed her 'exceptional' talent and encouraged her to practice more Speaking to the New York Post, her father Tao Xie explained how his developed her love for the piano during lockdown. 'We tried to keep her entertained. She started playing a little bit while she was stuck at home during the pandemic,' he said. 'I was surprised at how quickly she got good. I thought it was amazing.' According to Xie, the entire family are huge music fans and are always playing a wide variety of genres. Her mother, Nicole Sun, who also plays the piano. said she was 'deeply moved' the first time she heard her daughter play. A multi-millionaire former Tory treasurer has donated 500,000 to the party this year, months after controversially being handed a seat in the House of Lords by Boris Johnson. The Prime Minister sparked a croynism row last December when he over-ruled objections to make Peter Cruddas, dubbed the 'City of London's richest man', a peer. At the time he was estimated to be worth 860million and had previously given more than 3.5million to the party. Figures released by the Electoral Commission today show that the banker and businessman, en-nobled as Baron Cruddas, poured an additional six-figure sum into central party coffers in February, days after taking his seat in the upper chamber. As well as the 500,000 for the central party funds, he also donated 10,000 to the City of London and Westminster branch of the party in March, making him the party's largest individual donor of the period. Baron Cruddas is controversial because he quit as treasurer in 2012 after nine months following an undercover newspaper investigation into 'cash for access' claims. Figures released by the Electoral Commission today show that the banker and businessman, en-nobled as Baron Cruddas, poured the six-figure sum into party coffers in the first quarter of 2021. The Prime Minister sparked a croynism row last December when he over-ruled objections to make Peter Cruddas, dubbed the 'City of London's richest man', a peer. The cool half-a-million makes him the party's largest individual donor of the period and adds to the more than 3.5million he has previously given the party. He is estimated to be worth 860million. Brexiteer tycoon gives Laurence Fox's Reclaim Party more than 1m Laurence Fox's Reclaim party was handed more than a million pounds by a Brexiteer who previously backed Nigel Farage's Brexit Party. Jeremy Hosking was the largest individual donor to any party int he first quarter of 2021, Electoral Commission records show. He handed former actor Mr Fox's nascent party more than 1,153,000 between January and March, with 1million in the later month alone. Mr Hosking was a Conservative donor until 2018 when he became disillusioned with the impasse over Brexit and plunged money into the Brexit Party, then led by Mr Farage. Its successor party, Reform, led by Richard Tice, linked up with Lewis star Mr Fox to back his bid to become London mayor last month. However, he came a distant sixth, finishing with 47,634 votes, or 1.9 per cent of those cast. Advertisement He was apparently recorded offering access to figures such as then prime minister David Cameron and chancellor George Osborne in return for 'premier league' donations in 2012. The City tycoon denied wrongdoing and claimed his comments were just 'bluster'. He lost part of a libel action over the issue on appeal, although judges backed him over a separate allegation that he had countenanced breaches of electoral law surrounding foreign donors, and he ultimately won 50,000 damages on this point. Labour Party chairwoman Anneliese Dodds said: 'The Conservative Party that brought us allegations of cash for access when Peter Cruddas was Treasurer seems to have turned its attention to peerages. 'Whether it's handing out taxpayers' money to their mates or giving peerages to disgraced donors, there is always one rule for the Conservatives and their chums and another for the rest of us.' At the end of last year Cruddas was given a life peerage by Mr Johnson, despite its Appointments Commission advising against the move. In a letter to commission chairman Lord Bew, the Prime Minister rejected the 'historic concerns' raised about Mr Cruddas. Explaining his decision, Mr Johnson said 'the most serious accusations levelled at the time were found to be untrue and libellous', and an internal Conservative Party investigation 'found there had been no intentional wrongdoing'. 'Mr Cruddas has made outstanding contributions in the charitable sector and in business, and has continued his long track record of committed political service,' the Prime Minister said. 'His charitable foundation, which supports disadvantaged young people, has pledged over 16 million to good causes through over 200 charities and he is a long-standing support of both the Princes Trust and the Duke of Edinburgh Award.' On the appointment of Mr Cruddas, a statement on the gov.uk website said: 'The House of Lords Appointments Commission was invited by the Prime Minister to undertake vetting of all party political and cross-bench nominations. 'The commission is an independent non-statutory body. It provides advice but appointments are a matter for the Prime Minister. 'The commission has completed its vetting in respect of all nominees. 'The commission advised the Prime Minister that it could not support one nominee - Peter Cruddas. 'The Prime Minister has considered the commission's advice and wider factors and concluded that, exceptionally, the nomination should proceed.' In a statement today a Tory party spokesman said: 'Donations to the Conservative Party are properly and transparently declared to the Electoral Commission and are published by them. 'Fundraising is a legitimate part of the democratic process: the alternative is more taxpayer-funding of political campaigning, which would mean less money for frontline services like schools, police and hospitals - or else, being in the pocket of union barons, like the Labour Party.' The Electoral Commission today reported that 20 political parties registered in Great Britain and Northern Ireland reported accepting a total of 15,298,219 in donations and public funds in the first quarter of 2021. This was up from 11.9m in donations reported in the same period in 2020. The Conservatives received the most of any party, with 6,418,296, with Labour second on 4,348,849. The opposition party's largest donor was the Unison trade union. This is the heartwarming moment a three-year-old was able to see his parents' faces properly for the first time after being given a pair of glasses. Three-year-old Jaxon Emberton, who was born with a chromosomal abnormality know as DiGeorge syndrome, smiled with delight as his new glasses were placed on his head at Children's of Alabama hospital in Birmingham. Footage shows the infant beaming at his parents Charles Emberton and Cassie Booth as he takes in his surroundings. Jaxon's parents said they initially struggled to believe their son had issues with his eyesight until a doctor advised them on the type of strong lenses he would need. Three-year-old Jaxon Emberton beams at his parents Charles Emberton and Cassie Booth as he sees their faces for the first time at Children's of Alabama in Birmingham on April 13 The infant smiles at his parents and takes in his surroundings after the glasses are placed on his head Mr Emberton said: 'Once we put those glasses on him it was one of the most amazing moments. 'Seeing his little face light up when the world opened up for him was all the confirmation we needed that the glasses were exactly what he needed.' The footage was filmed on April 13 and has been shared widely online. 'His smile has captured the hearts of so many on social media - I remember looking at the video the next morning and seeing how many views he'd already gotten and we were floored,' Mr Emberton added. 'It's amazing to read all the comments and see just how his smile can brighten someone's day.' Jaxon's mother later wrote on social media: 'Until recently, we had no idea how bad Jaxon's eyesight really was. 'He adapted so well for someone who couldn't really see anything, at least not with any kind of clarity, past his own nose. 'My heart has been broken for weeks since we found out. Today Jax got his glasses! And for the first time, he can actually see his surroundings! My heart is so full right now!' Because of Jaxon's condition, he underwent his first open heart surgery when he was just 11 days old and his second at six weeks old. Jaxon (pictured with parents Charles Emberton and Cassie Booth) was born with a chromosomal abnormality know as DiGeorge syndrome The young boy underwent his first open heart surgery when he was just 11 days old. Doctors also had to perform a tracheostomy on Jaxon to help him breathe The infant, who also spent the first 255 days of his life in hospital, will have to undergo at least two more surgeries in the future. Doctors also had to perform a tracheostomy on the infant as he was unable to breath without the help of a ventilator. After Jaxon's parents shared the footage on social media, viewers praised the emotional scenes, with one calling the toddler 'absolutely precious'. One person wrote: 'This is amazing! I'm so happy you shared this special moment!' Another added: 'I love it. He was like ''oh wait, I can see y'all now!''' Another user commented: 'Amazing!' Social media users praised the heartwarming scenes, with one thanking Jaxon's parents for sharing the footage DiGeorge syndrome, also known as 22q11.2 deletion syndrome is a disorder caused when a small part of chromosome 22 is missing from someone's DNA. This deletion results in the poor development of several body systems, and can cause learning and behavioural issues, heart defects and bone, muscle and joint problems. The genetic condition is diagnosed with a blood test. Jaxon's parents are currently raising funds for a new vehicle which will help accommodate Jaxon's wheelchair and equipment as he grows older. The family's GoFundMe page can be visited here. A female MP in Tanzania has been kicked out of the country's parliament for wearing trousers deemed 'too tight'. Condester Sichwale, a minister for the ruling CCM party, was ejected on Tuesday after male colleague Hussein Amar - a member of the same party - complained. Ms Sichwale was told by the Speaker to 'go dress up well, and then join us back later' before she walked out. It is unclear whether she returned to the chamber that day. The reprimand has sparked and angry backlash with a group of female MPs branding it 'unfair' and demanding an apology. Condester Sichwale, a female MP from Tanzania's ruling CCM party, was kicked out of parliament on Tuesday after a male colleague complained her trousers were 'too tight' The incident took place following a debate in Parliament House in Tanzania's capital of Dodoma, which Sichwale and Amar had been taking part in. Immediately after the session finished, Amar stood up to ask Speaker Job Ndugai for guidance on 'modest' dress. 'The code is clear about the dress and for the sisters but in here there are MPs wearing clothes that are not modest,' he said, according to local site Mwananchi. Asked who he was referring to, Amar pointed to Sichwale and said: 'The MP is right there on my right hand. 'She is wearing a t-shirt but please call her in front to see the pants she is wearing in a tight way.' He added: 'Parliament is a mirror of society and Tanzania, and some of our sisters are wearing strange clothes and are legislators. What are they showing to the society?' Ms Sichwale was told by the Speaker to 'go dress up well, and then join us back later' - but his remark sparked an angry backlash from other women MPs who said it was 'unfair' Amar also accused Sichwale of wearing 'sunglasses', though it appears from photos that she was wearing transition lenses that change depending on light conditions. After seeing Sichwale's outfit, Ndugai told her: 'Go dress up well, and then join us back later.' He added that it is not the first complaint he had received about female MP's dress, and then told parliamentary security to conduct extra checks on clothing. A group of MPs led by Jacqueline Ngonyani and Stella Manyanya has branded the move 'unfair', the BBC reports, adding that there was nothing wrong with the outfit. The move has also attracted criticism online, with users accusing Amar and Ndugai of 'policing women's bodies'. 'Hypocrites, focus on the important things like governance,' one said. Advertisement Professor Tim Spector, an epidemiologist from King's College London, has told No10 it should 'soften lockdown' but not lift it completely 'just yet' after data showed the number of Britons getting ill with Covid has increased by 81 per cent in a week A leading scientist who backed easing lockdown just two days ago has told No10 it should 'soften' restrictions but not lift them completely 'just yet' after data showed the number of Britons getting ill with Covid has spiked by 80 per cent in a week. Professor Tim Spector, an epidemiologist from King's College London, threw his weight behind England's June 21 Freedom Day on Tuesday, tweeting that 'vaccines are working' against the Indian variant and that outbreaks were confined to hotspot regions. But the eminent professor changed his tune this morning in the face of stark findings from his Covid symptom tracking study. It estimated there were 4,608 new symptomatic cases of Covid in the UK last week, up from 2,550 the week before, a rise of 81 per cent. Professor Spector described surging cases in people aged between 20 and 39 as the 'start of an epidemic in the young'. The study found that teenagers through to under-30s, who are largely unvaccinated, were recording rates of about 140 cases per 100,000 people compared to fewer than 20 per 100,000 in the over-60s and 30 per 100,000 in the over-50s. There are fears that if the virus is allowed to spread wildly in younger people while there are still millions of unvaccinated older Brits, it will eventually infect them and push up hospitalisations and deaths. Professor Spector said: 'The data highlights that the increase is happening in the younger age groups, suggesting the start of an epidemic in the young. We cant be too complacent, and we are monitoring things closely. 'The ending of lockdown is on everyone's minds and given the current situation, I believe we should continue to soften restrictions but not lift them all just yet.' Meanwhile, separate NHS Test and Trace data released today shows cases in England have increased 22 per cent to 17,162. It is the highest number of infections recorded by the contact tracing system since the middle of April, as fears surrounding the Indian variant mount. The figures comes as Matt Hancock insisted ministers will focus on deaths and serious illness rather than infections when deciding if the June 21 unlocking can go ahead. Hospital rates remain flat nationally but are rising in the North West of England, where Indian variant hotspots are concentrated, and there is a sign they are ticking upwards in London and the East of England, which are also home to areas with high levels of the variant. The number of Britons getting ill with Covid has increased by 80 per cent in a week, according to the ZOE and King's College London study. It estimated there were 4,608 new symptomatic cases of Covid in the UK last week, up from 2,550 the week before Professor Spector described surging cases in people aged between 20 and 39 as the 'start of an epidemic in the young'. The study found that teenagers through to under-30s, who are largely unvaccinated, were recording rates of about 140 cases per 100,000 people compared to fewer than 20 per 100,000 in the over-60s and 30 per 100,000 in the over-50s NHS Test and Trace data shows 17,162 people tested positive for Covid at least once in England between May 20 and 26, a 22 per cent increase on the previous week Some 4.5million people were tested at least once between May 20 and 26 for Covid, consistent with the previous week Slide me Cases are concentrated in the North West and Scotland, where the R values reached 1.3 and 1.2 respectively according to the study. Right: Symptomatic cases in the week ending May 31. Left: Symptomatic cases in the week ending May 25 It comes as Public Health England's weekly Covid surveillance report found infections rose in every region and age group last week. WHAT HAS PROFESSOR TIM SPECTOR PREVIOUSLY SAID ABOUT JUNE 21 ? Professor Tim Spector has reversed his position from two days ago, when he appeared to throw his his weight behind easing lockdown. The Kings College London epidemiologist has been outspoken about needing to push ahead with the unlocking even when his peers have called for longer restrictions. Speaking after scores of SAGE experts came out against sticking to the date set out in Boris Johnson's roadmap out of lockdown on Tuesday, Professor Spector suggested vaccinations would keep the Indian variant at bay. June 3 The eminent professor changed his tune this morning in the face of stark findings from his Covid symptom tracking study. He said:'The UK picture is changing quickly now. Cases are rising, but not nationwide, its very much a regional issue. 'The North West of England and Scotland are the two regions with the highest prevalence, with rates higher than in some parts of Europe. 'However, the data highlights that the increase is happening in the younger age groups, suggesting the start of an epidemic in the young. We cant be too complacent, and we are monitoring things closely. 'The ending of lockdown is on everyone's minds and given the current situation, I believe we should continue to soften restrictions but not lift them all just yet. 'While unlikely, its too early to tell if these increases are going to have any impact on hospital admissions or death rate. 'The government said it would use data, not dates to make key decisions. Its sensible to continue measures like working from home as transmission rates are very high in offices, not to mention the impact of increased use of public transport. 'Id also recommend we keep wearing masks on public transport and reduce overcrowding indoors. 'Whats really important moving forward is having the flexibility to deal with local outbreaks while letting the rest of the country and economy get back to normal at the same time.' June 1 On Tuesday he spoke out against SAGE's public lobbying for a delayed or watered down June 21. Professor Spector tweeted: 'The UK hotspots clearly tell the story. The Delta variant has taken a hold of these areas but numbers are around 4,000 per day and is not taking hold more widely. 'Virtually all cases are aged under 50 or unvaccinated so vaccines work.' May 27 Last week he said national figures remained 'unaffected, despite numerous measures saying that the outbreak was starting to get bigger with the quick growth of the Indian variant. May 20 The week before he said it was 'highly unlikely' that the Indian variant outbreak would mean June 21 needed to be delayed. 'While the outbreaks remain localised and UK numbers are steady and most cases appear mild, its highly unlikely to cause the NHS to be overrun or stop us coming out of lockdown.' Advertisement North-west England saw the largest rise, with 87.4 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to May 30, up week-on-week from 53.7. This is the highest for the region since the week ending February 28, and is also the highest of any region in England. South-west England has the lowest rate: 9.4, up very slightly week-on-week from 9.1. The ZOE Covid Symptom study relies on reports from more than 700,000 Britons on whether they are suffering Covid symptoms and have tested positive for the virus to model its spread through the country. It showed on average one in 1,090 people showed signs of Covid in the last week and the national R rate is 1.1. But cases were significantly higher in the North West home to six of the top twelve hotspots for the Indian variant and Scotland, which together made up 53 per cent of national infections. The North West saw cases rise to 1,490 with Tameside (844 cases per 100,000 people) and Bury (587) the worst affected. And Scotland had 944 symptomatic cases, which were concentrated in North Lanarkshire (645 cases per 100,000 people), North Ayrshire (542) and East Dunbartonshire (519). The study also showed only one in 14,503 people who have had one vaccine dose suffer Covid symptoms, while one in 34,583 fully vaccinated adults do compared to one in 6,710 unvaccinated people. Professor Spector said: 'The UK picture is changing quickly now. Cases are rising, but not nationwide, its very much a regional issue. 'The North West of England and Scotland are the two regions with the highest prevalence, with rates higher than in some parts of Europe. 'However, the data highlights that the increase is happening in the younger age groups, suggesting the start of an epidemic in the young. We cant be too complacent, and we are monitoring things closely. 'The ending of lockdown is on everyone's minds and given the current situation, I believe we should continue to soften restrictions but not lift them all just yet. 'While unlikely, its too early to tell if these increases are going to have any impact on hospital admissions or death rate. 'The government said it would use data, not dates to make key decisions. Its sensible to continue measures like working from home as transmission rates are very high in offices, not to mention the impact of increased use of public transport. 'Id also recommend we keep wearing masks on public transport and reduce overcrowding indoors. 'Whats really important moving forward is having the flexibility to deal with local outbreaks while letting the rest of the country and economy get back to normal at the same time.' NHS Test and Trace figures released today show testing numbers remained stable at around 4.5million over the last week, while recording an increase of 22 per cent of cases. Some 13,644 cases were transferred to the contact tracing system between May 20 and 26, an increase of 26 per cent on the previous week. MailOnline analysis yesterday showed the number of people in hospital with Covid is only rising in the North West, where Indian variant hotspots are concentrated, going up by 24 per cent over the last fortnight of May to 177 Covid patients on wards. Speaking to reporters on a visit to a school Mr Johnson struck an optimistic tone, but admitted infections are rising and that he needs to be 'cautious'. He insisted people must 'wait a little longer' for the final decision. The Prime Minister said: 'What we need to work out is to what extent the vaccination programme has protected enough of us, particularly the elderly and vulnerable, against a new surge, and there I'm afraid the data is still ambiguous. The best the scientists can say at the moment is we just need to give it a little bit longer.' One of the top scientific advisers to No10, Oxford medicine professor Sir John Bell, said he was optimistic that the roadmap would be able to go ahead and urged ministers not to run scared from rising cases in the face of the new variant and lifting lockdown rules but to watch data on hospital admissions and deaths instead. Hitting back at members of SAGE calling for a longer lockdown, Sir John Bell said ministers must instead focus on hospitalisations and deaths, which have remained flat nationally but there are signs of admissions increasing. The Oxford University medical expert, who has advised the Government on Covid tests and vaccines, suggested the country must take a leap of faith and put trust in its world-beating vaccination rollout. Covid cases were significantly higher in the North West home to six of the top twelve hotspots for the Indian variant and Scotland. Graph shows: The estimated number of cases in each region of the UK across May Becoming the highest profile Government adviser to advocate for June 21 to go ahead, Sir John told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I think we do need to keep our eye on hospitalisations, serious disease and deaths, which is really what we are trying to manage. 'If we scamper down a rabbit hole every time we see a new variant we are going to spend a long time huddled away so I think we need to get a bit of balance into the discussion and keep our eyes on the serious disease we are trying to prevent.' Pressure has been mounting on Mr Johnson to push back England's June 21 lockdown easings to buy time to roll out jabs to millions more people to further curb the transmission of the Indian variant. But Scotland's Nicola Sturgeon has already delayed unlocking north of the border, admitting she was worried about the rapid spread of the virus. Advertisement Britain yesterday recorded more than 5,000 coronavirus cases for the first time in more than two months while 18 more people died from the virus as the reproductive rate - R rate - soars above 1 in all but three parts of the UK. The Department of Health revealed there were 5,274 positive tests in the past 24 hours, the highest number since March 26, when the country was under much stricter lockdown rules. It marks a 49 per cent rise on the figure recorded last Thursday. Yesterday's deaths are 80 per cent higher than last week, when there were 10, and may be higher than normal because of a reporting delay over the bank holiday weekend. England's r-rate has now soared to 1.1 - with every region in the country now hitting the dreaded one mark. The R rate which measures how many people each person with the virus infects must stay at one or lower for an outbreak to stop growing or to shrink. However, there were zero Covid deaths on Monday, the first time since the pandemic began, which was seized upon by the Government and Health Secretary Matt Hancock as proof the jabs had put the worst of the crisis behind us. The rising numbers are the result of the highly-infectious Indian variant which has become dominant in Britain and accounts for more than three in four new cases. But, in a positive sign, the Government revealed that half of all adults in the UK are now fully vaccinated against coronavirus. Two doses of the jabs prevent the vast majority of people getting ill or dying with Covid, even against the new strain. A total of 26,422,303 second doses have now been delivered since the vaccination rollout began almost six months ago. This is the equivalent of 50.2 per cent of all people aged 18 and over. Roughly 75.5 per cent of UK adults have received a first dose of vaccine. Meanwhile, tracking by the King's College London app shows Covid is advancing in all but three parts of the country for which estimates are available - Wales, the East of England and Yorkshire and the Humber. Speaking to the Telegraph, Professor Tim Spector, who leads the study, said: 'The UK picture is changing quickly now. Cases are rising, but not nationwide, it's very much a regional issue. 'The North West of England and Scotland are the two regions with the highest prevalence, with rates higher than in some parts of Europe. However, the data highlights that the increase is happening in the younger age groups, suggesting the start of an epidemic in the young.' Public Health England's weekly Covid report found cases are on the up in every region of England and every age group with the biggest spike seen in people in their 20s. The weekly figures mark an inevitable rise in infections that scientists and ministers knew would happen once lockdown rules were ended, but come alongside fears that the Indian variant is close to triggering a third wave. Ministers remain tight-lipped about whether social distancing will be allowed to end on June 21 as planned, but Matt Hancock said there was a 'good sign' that vaccinated people were making up only a minority of hospital admissions. The Health Secretary said the government is keeping a close eye on daily case levels but stressed what 'really matters' is how many people end up in hospital and die from the disease and how well the jabs keep numbers down. This week's Public Health England report showed infection rates are highest among teenagers (dark blue) in most regions, although it is less clear in the South West. Cases are rising in most age groups in most regions now that lockdown rules have ended Positive tests have started increasing in England after months of near-continuous decline during the post-Christmas lockdown, statistics show Slide me Public Health England figures show that in the last week of May more areas of the country were seeing increases in coronavirus cases. A total of 112 areas saw a rise in their infection rates while only 37 had declining rates of positive tests Matt Hancock hailed 'good signs' over Covid vaccines as he insisted ministers will focus on deaths and serious illness rather than infections when deciding if the June 21 unlocking can go ahead The number of Britons getting ill with Covid has increased by 80 per cent in a week, according to the ZOE and King's College London study. It estimated there were 4,608 new symptomatic cases of Covid in the UK last week, up from 2,550 the week before PORTUGAL CUT FROM UK TRAVEL GREEN LIST Holidaymakers faced a hammer blow today as Portugal was removed from the UK's green list amid fears over the spread of the Nepal variant. In a brutal overhaul, MailOnline understands that the only major holiday destination in the lowest bracket is being axed - with sources suggesting the new strain identified in the country was a significant factor in the decision. No countries are being added to the 'green list', dashing hopes that places such as Malta, Jamaica and Grenada could be added to the roster. And more countries are being put on the 'red list' that means returning travellers must go into quarantine hotels. They are thought to be Egypt, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Bahrain, Sudan, Trinidad and Tobago and Afghanistan. It comes amid alarm that a coronavirus variant linked to Nepal could pose a fresh threat to the escape from lockdown. At least 20 cases of the strain, which combines mutations from the Indian and South African versions, have been spotted in the UK. And a case has been identified in Portugal - which does far less genomic screening than Britain. Meanwhile, Labour has renewed demands for the 'amber list' to be scrapped to prevent mutant strains from being imported. And in another setback for travellers the EU has again delayed a decision on whether the UK will be added to its 'white list' of safe countries from which leisure travel is welcome. Advertisement He also appealed for the public to be patient, warning it is still 'too early' to say whether the planned 'freedom day' can go ahead. One of the scientists most closely tracking the UK's outbreak, Professor Tim Spector of King's College London and the Covid Symptom Study, changed his tuned after an optimistic start to the week, saying lockdown should only be 'softened' rather than ended. On Tuesday he had said 'vaccines work' and appeared to back lifting restrictions. Professor Spector's study estimated there had been an 80 per cent spike in the number of people developing Covid symptoms each day, from 2,550 on May 22 to 4,608 last week. He warned of 'the start of an epidemic in the young'. The PHE report showed that, in the last week of May, the positive test rate shot up by 63 per cent in the North West of England and by 65 per cent in people aged 20 to 29. It also rose 74 per cent in the South East but remained at lower levels than most other regions. Younger adults and teenagers saw the worst increases in cases while the rise in older generations was slower, offering promise that the vaccines are protecting the most at-risk from getting infected with the virus. Mr Hancock's comments came ahead of a G7 health ministers' meeting in Oxford, where they are expected to discuss the threat from variants after it emerged there is another one first seen in Nepal that is already in England. Yesterday's PHE report showed infection rates had risen in 112 areas of England in the week ending June 1 and come down in only 37, showing the country's outbreak as a whole is growing. This aligns with figures from NHS Test & Trace and the Covid Symptom Study, which both noticed a spike in the numbers of people catching the virus in their most recent reports. Growing numbers suggest the virus is not contained only to hotspots, but some areas and groups are worse affected than others. By far the highest infection rate is in the North West of England home to Indian 'Delta' variant hotspots Bolton and Blackburn where there were 87 positive tests for every 100,000 people last week, up 63 per cent in a week. Second ranked is Yorkshire & The Humber, with a rate of 39 per 100,000, followed by London (31), East Midlands (24), North East (24), West Midlands (23), South East (23), East Anglia (21) and the South West (9). The biggest week-on-week rises were in the South East (74 per cent), the North West (63 per cent), the West Midlands (44 per cent) and London (34 per cent). Between age groups, the 65 per cent spike to 52 cases per 100,000 among 20-somethings was the worst increase. The highest rate was in 10 to 19-year-olds, at 72 per 100,000. While young age groups saw big week-on-week surges in the positive test rate, ranging from 29 to 65 per cent for people between 10 and 50, growth was much slower in older groups, with only a 14 per cent rise in over-80s and 19 per cent among people in their 70s. Rates were significantly lower among the elderly groups, too just five cases per 100,000, 10 times lower than in people in their 20s. Mr Hancock said: 'It's too early to say what the decision will be about step four of the road map, which is scheduled to be no earlier than June 21. 'Of course I look at those data every day, we publish them every day, the case numbers matter but what really matters is how that translates into the number of people going to hospital, the number of people sadly dying. PHE FIGURES SHOW INFECTION RATES ARE HIGHER AND RISING FASTER IN UNVACCINATED AGE GROUPS Date/age 0 to 4 5 to 9 10 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 39 40 to 49 50 to 59 60 to 69 70 to 79 80+ 1st dose vaccine uptake N/A N/A N/A N/A 58% 84% 94% 97% 99% 95% May 25 (cases per 100,000) 10.9 26.7 55.1 31.6 33.0 25.5 15.6 9.0 4.2 4.4 June 1 (cases per 100,000) 11.9 34.5 72.3 52.0 45.8 33.4 19.3 11.1 5.0 5.0 % change 9% 29% 31% 65% 39% 31% 24% 23% 19% 14% Graph shows Covid Symptom Study estimates of infection rate by age. Professor Spector described surging cases in people aged between 20 and 39 as the 'start of an epidemic in the young'. The study found that teenagers through to under-30s, who are largely unvaccinated, were recording rates of about 140 cases per 100,000 people compared to fewer than 20 per 100,000 in the over-60s and 30 per 100,000 in the over-50s Covid cases were significantly higher in the North West home to six of the top twelve hotspots for the Indian variant and Scotland. Graph shows: The estimated number of cases in each region of the UK across May Pfizer vaccine 'works less well against Indian variant': Vaccine produces fewer antibodies against Covid Delta than other strains increasing likelihood an autumn booster will be needed, study finds People who have had the Pfizer vaccine have lower antibody levels targeting the Indian coronavirus variant than those against previously circulating strains in the UK, new data has found. A study by the Francis Crick Institute and the National Institute for Health Research UCLH Biomedical Research Centre also suggests the levels of these antibodies are lower with increasing age and that levels decline over time. Researchers say this provides additional evidence in support of plans to deliver a vaccine boost to vulnerable people in the autumn. But it could spark fears in some corners that the Pfizer jab is less effective in preventing serious illness from the more transmissible variant, known as Covid Delta. Public Health England said the variant appears to be twice as likely to lead to hospital admissions as the Kent strain which sparked the second wave, and has become dominant in the UK. Together with the emergence of a so-called Nepalese variant, the data could persuade ministers to pause the final easing of restrictions due to take place on June 21, which is being dubbed 'Freedom Day'. Advertisement 'The vaccine breaks that link the question is how much the link has yet been broken because the majority of people who ended up in hospital are not fully vaccinated. 'That's a good sign if you like because it means that the vaccine is clearly protecting people from ending up in hospital but it also demonstrates that we need to keep going with this vaccine programme.' Boris Johnson insisted that he still sees 'nothing in the data' to stop June 21 going ahead, after official statistics showed Covid made up just one in 150 deaths across England and Wales last week. Speaking to reporters on a visit to a school the PM struck an optimistic tone, but admitted infections are rising and that he needs to be 'cautious'. He insisted people must 'wait a little longer' for the final decision. As the UK recorded another 12 deaths yesterday - suggesting the zero tally on Tuesday could have been a blip - Mr Johnson said: 'What we need to work out is to what extent the vaccination programme has protected enough of us, particularly the elderly and vulnerable, against a new surge, and there I'm afraid the data is still ambiguous. 'The best the scientists can say at the moment is we just need to give it a little bit longer.' There have been rumours the government is planning to keep restrictions such as mask wearing and work-from-home guidance in place as a trade-off for dropping social distancing in shops and pubs. Professor Tim Spector had last week thrown his weight behind England's June 21 Freedom Day on Tuesday, tweeting that 'vaccines are working' against the Indian variant and that outbreaks were confined to hotspot regions. But the eminent professor changed his tune this morning in the face of stark findings from his Covid symptom tracking study. It estimated there were 4,608 new symptomatic cases of Covid in the UK last week, up from 2,550 the week before, a rise of 81 per cent. Professor Spector described surging cases in people aged between 20 and 39 as the 'start of an epidemic in the young'. The study found that teenagers through to under-30s, who are largely unvaccinated, were recording rates of about 140 cases per 100,000 people compared to fewer than 20 per 100,000 in the over-60s and 30 per 100,000 in the over-50s. There are fears that if the virus is allowed to spread wildly in younger people while there are still millions of unvaccinated older Brits, it will eventually infect them and push up hospitalisations and deaths. Professor Spector said: 'The data highlights that the increase is happening in the younger age groups, suggesting the start of an epidemic in the young. We can't be too complacent, and we are monitoring things closely. 'The ending of lockdown is on everyone's minds and given the current situation, I believe we should continue to soften restrictions but not lift them all just yet.' Office for National Statistics figures revealed yesterday that Covid was behind less than one per cent of deaths in the week to May 21, the latest available. Only 66 out of 9,840 fatalities listed the virus as the underlying cause. MailOnline's analysis of hospital admissions showed they are only rising in the North West, where Indian variant hotspots are concentrated, going up by 24 per cent over the last fortnight of May to 177 Covid patients on wards. Boris Johnson (pictured holding a tea party with children in Downing Street yesterday) has insisted he still sees 'nothing in the data' to stop June 21 going ahead One of the Government's top scientific advisers has also warned the UK cannot keep 'scampering down a rabbit hole' every time a new Covid variant emerges. Hitting back at members of SAGE calling for a longer lockdown, Sir John Bell said ministers must instead focus on hospitalisations and deaths, which have remained flat nationally but there are signs of admissions increasing. Sir John told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I think we do need to keep our eye on hospitalisations, serious disease and deaths, which is really what we are trying to manage. 'If we scamper down a rabbit hole every time we see a new variant we are going to spend a long time huddled away so I think we need to get a bit of balance into the discussion and keep our eyes on the serious disease we are trying to prevent.' Covid cases have remained above 3,000 for eight consecutive days in Britain. Scotland's Nicola Sturgeon has already delayed unlocking north of the border, admitting she was worried about the rapid spread of the virus. Michael Gove today insisted the government is 'open-minded' about extending the massive furlough scheme - after Nicola Sturgeon demanded it stays in place beyond September. The Cabinet Office minister signalled the bailout - which has been costing about 4billion a month - could be kept in place longer ahead of a summit with the UK nations. The virtual 'Covid recovery' meeting involves Boris Johnson and the leaders of the devolved governments in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. The discussion had been due to take place last week but was postponed after the Ms Sturgeon and Wales's Mark Drakeford pulled out demanding assurances it will be a 'meaningful discussion with substantive outcomes'. An analysis of Treasury figures by the Resolution Foundation has calculated that two billion days of furlough had been claimed up to April - the latest date that detailed statistics are available. The total cost has hit 64billion. Meanwhile, ONS data up to mid-May - which is considered less accurate but more recent - showed the proportion of the workforce on furlough dropped to 8 per cent. That is equivalent to around 2.1million people, the lowest since last October. Speaking ahead of the summit, Mr Gove said the initiative, which sees the taxpayer pay cash towards workers' wages, had been a 'huge success' that was only possible 'thanks to the broad shoulders of the UK Treasury'. Michael Gove (right) today insisted the government is 'open-minded' about extending the massive furlough scheme - after Nicola Sturgeon (left) demanded it stays in place beyond September The virtual 'Covid recovery' meeting involves Boris Johnson (pictured yesterday) and the leaders of the devolved governments in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast The UK Government minister insisted higher spending as a response to the coronavirus pandemic would continue, as the country as a whole seeks to 'build back better'. Asked whether that meant furlough could continue, he told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: 'We are open minded, yes.' 'We'll be spending more. 'We'll be spending more on the NHS, we will be spending more on education, we will be spending more on criminal justice, because in all of these areas it is absolutely vital that we build back better. 'Extra funding for everyone will continue, and it is important we all learn from each other about how that money should be spent.' Dan Tomlinson, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: 'Employees have clocked up two billion days' worth of furlough since the start of the pandemic. This shows just how big an impact the pandemic has had on the economy and how vital the furlough scheme has been in term of preventing mass unemployment.' Ahead of the summit, the Scottish First Minister called on the UK Government to extend furlough again and ensure pre-existing inequalities are not further exacerbated by the crisis. In a thinly-veiled reference to her push for independence, Ms Sturgeon complained about 'limited powers'. She said: 'We have done everything we can with the limited powers we have to tackle inequality and mitigate the impact the pandemic has had on people's livelihoods, but we cannot allow that to be eroded as we enter the next phase of living with the virus. 'A return to the pre-pandemic austerity would be disastrous for jobs, for public services and for people and families across Scotland. Mark Drakeford is also attending the virtual summit of UK leaders this afternoon 'As the UK Government hold the key financial levers to help us recover from this, I will be calling on it to commit to maintain public spending during the period of recovery, and to extend the furlough scheme for as long as it is needed to protect businesses and people who have been required to stop working to protect others, and I will be emphasising that it is managed sensitively in a way that supports longer-term recovery.' Mr Johnson called the meeting in the wake of the Welsh and Scottish parliamentary elections last month as he called for a united approach 'to overcome the significant challenges of the Covid recovery'. The virtual summit is due to be attended by the four nations' first ministers and deputy first ministers as well as Chancellor Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Mr Gove and the UK Government's secretaries of state for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A shamed anti-vaxxer nurse who spread coronavirus conspiracy theories and compared the NHS to the Nazis has been struck off. Kate Shemirani used her status as a health professional to spread 'distorted propaganda' about the Covid-19 pandemic. She claimed that symptoms of the virus were caused by 5G and that vaccines were 'rushed through' because 'they want to kill you'. Employing 'inflammatory and derogatory language', the campaigner said nurses were complicit in genocide, said vaccination teams should be renamed 'death squads' and referred to the NHS as the 'new Auschwitz'. The 54-year-old took part in mass protests against coronavirus restrictions with fellow conspiracy theorists David Icke and Piers Corbyn at Trafalgar Square. The mother-of-four from Nottingham saw her social media accounts taken down and was suspended from the Nursing and Midwifery Council in July last year for spreading misinformation. Shamed anti-vaxxer nurse Kate Shemirani (pictured at a Covid denier rally with Piers Corbyn) who spread conspiracy theaories and compared the NHS to the Nazis has been struck off Shemirani (pictured with Piers Corbyn) used her status as a professional to spread 'distorted propaganda' about the Covid pandemic, a panel of the Nursing and Midwifery Council found Now a NMC Fitness to Practice Committee has ruled that her misconduct was so serious that she should be struck from the nursing register permanently. In its ruling, the chair of the panel found that Mrs Shemirani 'attempted to encourage people to act contrary to public health guidance issued by the UK government by spreading this information through social media platforms and at public events'. The panel heard that Mrs Shemirani first joined the NMC register in June 1986 and had previously worked in the NHS but now describes herself as an 'aesthetic nurse practitioner'. The NMC received a 'significant number of referrals' about her conduct last year as she became a leading activist, speaker and promoter against vaccines and the existence of Covid-19. She used her social media brand 'Kate Shemirani - Natural Nurse in a Toxic World' to spread her dangerous opinions, often referring to herself as a registered nurse and wearing a nurse's uniform in her videos. The panel heard her describe face masks as 'dirty rags' and 'muzzles'. She claimed they 'do not stop viruses' and that 'wearing a mask makes people very sick and increases the risk of bacteria and the risk of infections'. Shmirani's social media accounts with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram have since been blocked, but the panel heard that she continued to post similar content and feature on other people's accounts on other social media sites such as Telegram, BitChute and Brighteon According to her, ingredients in vaccines include 'acetone and aborted foetal cell tissue that turns into cancer'. She said the HPV 'kills girls on the spot' and described the Covid-19 vaccines as 'downright deadly', adding that 'there is no C-19 other than the one pre loaded into a syringe'. Her social media accounts with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram have since been blocked, but the panel heard that she continued to post similar content and feature on other people's accounts on other social media sites such as Telegram, BitChute and Brighteon. She was interviewed on main stream national media networks as a leading 'anti-vaxxer', including on BBC One Panorama, Sky News, and ITV Wales. At a mass rally of coronavirus-deniers in September, Shemirani, who was in charge of the mic, directed yobs to confront riot police Her interview with Sky News, in which she said 'no vaccine has ever been proven safe and no vaccine has ever been proven effective' is still available to view on YouTube and has received over 200,000 views. At a mass rally of coronavirus-deniers in September, the former registered nurse directed yobs to confront riot police. Shemirani branded police officers dirty dogs and mocked them for wearing face masks before trouble erupted in Londons Trafalgar Square. The 54-year-old, who was in charge of the microphone at the event, repeatedly urged male demonstrators to confront groups of police officers in the square. During increasingly ugly scenes a Mail on Sunday photographer was surrounded by a group of screaming protesters and had his face mask ripped off. At an interim hearing held by the NMC last July, she was represented by Mark Steele, a campaigner against 5G phone masts. At the hearing, both Miss Shemirani and Mr Steele attacked the panel for not wanting to hear their 'facts' about vaccines and 5G. Mr Steele accused the nursing regulator of being complicit in genocide, it is claimed. Miss Shemirani said nurses who made accusations against her did so because they were overweight and jealous. She added: 'We all know what women can be like.' Reaching it's decision, the panel heard how she also used her social media platform to compare health organisations with Nazi death camps. Pictured: Thousands of people, including anti-vaxxer Shemirani who spoke to the crowd, met at the Unite For Freedom rally from Trafalgar Square to Downing Street in September last year She posted 'the Nurse vaccination teams need to be renamed DEATH SQUADS!' and claimed the NMC was working to 'murder the old, infirm, disabled, vulnerable and sick'. She claimed: 'We are now in possession of enough evidence against the NMC in relation to the facilitation of the TERRORIST AGENDA TO COMMIT GENOCIDE.' The panel saw how she spoke about the 'Nazification of the NHS' and claimed 'The NHS is the new Auschwitz' while referring to healthcare professionals as 'Nurses and Drs of The Third Reich'. The panel heard that an Ofcom investigation was opened after she was interviewed on Uckfield FM. Ofcom said: 'Listeners would have been particularly vulnerable to any misleading or unsubstantiated claims that could be potentially harmful to them, at a time when they were highly likely to be seeking information about how to protect themselves and others from the spread of the virus.' She attended an anti-Covid protest in London's Trafalgar Square on 19 September 2020 and protests in London on 20 and 29 August 2020. Nicola Jackson, chair of the committee, said: 'Mrs Shemirani had actively discouraged people from wearing masks, adhering to social distancing, and taking vaccinations. 'Mrs Shemirani has not shown any remorse, nor given any explanation for repeatedly spreading misinformation. 'The panel noted that Mrs Shemirani appears to see herself as some sort of standard-bearer, referring to herself as a 'Natural Nurse in a Toxic World', but determined that this could not be further from the truth. 'Mrs Shemirani has used the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to promote her own distorted version of events. Mrs Shemirani makes incorrect and outdated comments on pharmacological improvements, and presents in a dramatic and hysterical fashion to garner interest. 'The panel considered Mrs Shemirani to have been deeply offensive to the nursing and medical professions, by using inflammatory and derogatory language to describe other nursing and healthcare professionals. 'Mrs Shemirani is using her nursing status as a way of endorsing her own distorted propaganda.' The panel ruled that Mrs Shemirani's fitness to practise as a registered nurse was impaired on both public protection and public interest grounds and struck her from the register. Passenger numbers on Britain's railways have reached their lowest level in at least 150 years, new figures show. Just 388 million journeys were made in the 12 months to the end of March as the coronavirus pandemic saw demand for travel collapse, regulator Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said. That's less than a quarter of the 1.7 billion passenger train trips made during the previous year, and is the lowest ever figure in records dating back to 1872. The period between April and June 2020, as the nation endured its first lockdown, saw the lowest demand for train travel, with just 35 million journeys made. After coronavirus restrictions eased, 133 million journeys were made in the following three months, and 139 million between October and December 2020. The new figures come as industry leaders call for reduced ticket prices and a media campaign highlighting the safe ventilation trains offer. London Bridge and King's Cross stations in central London were both deserted during rush hour in March 2020 as millions started working from home Figures from the Office of Rail and Road show rail passenger journeys plummeting to their lowest levels in 150 years Those at the Office of Rail and Road say the Covid-19 pandemic is entirely to blame for the decimated demand for passenger rail travel in the last 12 months. Despite figures picking up in the summer and early autumn of 2020, the reintroduction of strict measures to curb Covid-19 transmission saw passenger numbers fall again in the latter quarter of the year. The imposition of another national lockdown in November led to just 80 million journeys being made in the first three months of 2021. Passenger revenue in 2020/21 totalled 1.9 billion, just 18% of the 10.4 billion figure generated 12 months earlier. ORR director of planning and performance Graham Richards said: 'This unprecedented fall in passenger numbers, the lowest annual fall since the time series began, has clearly had an impact on both rail usage and ticketing revenue. 'Despite this, recent estimates published by the Department for Transport show that rail usage has recovered to around 45% of pre-Covid levels by the end of May 2021.' He added that the regulator 'continues to work closely to support industry and help passengers back on to the railway safely'. Analysing data from when records began in 1872 must be considered alongside the context that the mainline network was built by that date and services were still operated by steam trains. Railway historian Christian Wolmar said it was 'not an integrated network', meaning journey times were much longer. A trip between London and Edinburgh took around eight or nine hours compared with as little as four hours and 20 minutes today. Passenger numbers on Britains railways reached the lowest level in at least 150 years, new figures show Passengers shared their pictures of empty trains, this one from Edinburgh to King's Cross, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 Robert Nisbet, director of nations and regions at industry body the Rail Delivery Group, commented: 'Despite plummeting passenger numbers during the last year, Britain's trains have helped to keep key workers and people who cannot work from home on the move throughout the pandemic. 'As restrictions are lifted, the rail industry, through our safer travel pledge, will welcome more people back to train travel and help to support the country's economic recovery.' Mr Wolmar called for 'a campaign that sells the railway to the public' to boost journey numbers. He said: 'Far too much energy is going into sanitising handles and all that, rather than trying to reassure people that actually with the ventilation you have on railways, air conditioning and so on, it's very safe. 'There needs to be a big marketing campaign. That needs to include fare offers. 'Instead of putting the fares up which is what happened in March the fares need to come down both across the board but also there needs to be lots of good offers (such as) two for one, get the family on free.' The mass trial of 13 people over death threats sent to a teenage girl after she called Islam a 's**t religion' in a viral video started in Paris on Thursday. The teenage girl, identified only as Mila, was placed under police protection with her family and forced to change school following the threats. The case sparked outrage and renewed calls to uphold free-speech rights after the 16-year-old was subjected to a torrent of abuse on social media after her expletive-laden videos went viral last year. 'The Koran is filled with nothing but hate, Islam is a s***y religion,' Mila said in a post on Instagram in January 2020. She made no statement as she entered the courtroom Thursday under a flurry of press camera flashes. Her lawyer Richard Malka told the court that she 'received more than 100,000 hateful messages and death threats promising to have her trussed up, cut up, quartered, beheaded, with images of coffins or doctored pictures of her decapitation.' 'I cannot believe that these 13 people who have all been through our education system do not know that criticising religions is legal and has nothing to do with racism,' he said. The mass trial of 13 people over death threats sent to a teenage girl, identified as Mila (pictured arriving at court) after she called Islam a 's**t religion' in a video started in Paris on Thursday The case has sparked outrage and renewed calls to uphold free-speech rights after the 16-year-old was subjected to a torrent of abuse on social media (pictured, Mila arriving at court on Thursday with her lawyer Richard Malka) Mila and her lawyer Richard Malka looked upbeat ahead of the opening hearing of the trial in the 'Mila case' in Paris on Thursday A second post in November, this time on TikTok, came after the jihadist killing of high school teacher Samuel Paty over his showing of controversial cartoons of the prophet Mohamed to students. The reactions were swift and virulent. 'You deserve to have your throat cut,' read one, while another warned 'I'm going to do you like Samuel Paty'. Mila had to be placed under police protection along with her family in Villefontaine, a town outside Lyon in southeast France, and was forced to change schools. The teenage girl, identified only as Mila (pictured) was placed under police protection with her family after she received death threats for calling Islam a 's**t' religion in a viral video Mila had also appeared on a French TV programme following her viral video to say she 'does not regret' her comments. In the show Quotidien aired in February 2020, Mila defended her right to her strong atheist convictions during the interview. She told host Yann Barhes: 'I absolutely do not regret what I said, that it was really what I thought... 'I would still like to say that in some way I am a little bit sorry towards the people who I might have hurt who practise their religion in peace, and I never wanted to target human beings. 'I simply wanted to... blaspheme... I wanted to talk about a religion, and say what I thought about it, and that's all.' In February 2020, Mila appeared on a French TV programme to say she 'does not regret' her comments. She defended her right to her strong atheist convictions during the interview Even President Emmanuel Macron came to her defence, saying that 'the law is clear. We have the right to blaspheme, to criticise and to caricature religions.' In February, investigators identified thirteen people from several French regions aged 18 to 30, and charged them with online harassment. Some are also accused of threatening death or other criminal acts. 'This is a trial against the digital terror that unleashes sexist, homophobic and intolerant mobs against a teenager,' Mila's lawyer Richard Malka told AFP ahead of the trial, which opens Thursday afternoon. 'This digital lynching must be punished,' he said. Thirteen people are facing trial over alleged online harassment of Mila (pictured, arriving with her lawyer at court on Thursday) Mila and her lawyer Richard Malka arrive at court ahead of the opening hearing of a trial of thirteen people over online harassment, threatening death and other criminal acts The teenager's lawyer, Richard Malka (pictured speaking to journalists ahead of the court hearing on Thursday) said 'this digital lynching must be punished' France's defence of its secular values and a crackdown on religious extremism have stirred fierce protests by many Muslims worldwide, who accuse the country of encouraging insults against their beliefs. But defence lawyers have argued that the 13 on trial are unfairly taking the rap as scapegoats for thousands of people taking advantage of the anonymity offered by social media platforms. 'My client is totally overwhelmed by this affair,' said Gerard Chemla, a lawyer for one of the accused. 'He had a fairly stupid instant reaction, the type that happens every day on Twitter.' Defence lawyers (pictured, Juan Branco, lawyer of one of the defendants, arriving at court) have argued that the 13 on trial are unfairly taking the rap as scapegoats for thousands of people taking advantage of the anonymity offered by social media platforms Defence lawyer Juan Branco arrives at the courtroom on Thursday ahead fo the opening hearing of the trial in the 'Mila Case' The accused face up to two years in prison and fines of 30,000 euros ($36,600) for online harassment (pictured, defence lawyer Juan Branco) The accused face up to two years in prison and fines of 30,000 euros ($36,600) for online harassment. A conviction of death threats carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison - two people previously convicted of death threats against Mila have received prison terms. Mila, now 18, is to publish a book this month recounting her experience, titled 'I'm paying the price for your freedom.' A video of a black father slamming critical race theory with his young daughter is going viral after he warned it is just teaching children to judge each other based on their skin color. Kory Yeshua, who lives in Riverside County, California, posted the video on TikTok last month in which he discusses the controversial teachings with his six-year-old daughter Royalty. The father, who is staunchly conservative, said he is refusing to allow his children to be impacted by critical race theory. Yeshua, whose social media feeds are filled with videos of himself slamming Democrats, said he is choosing instead to teach his children that they be anything they want to be if they work hard. In an interview with DailyMail.com, Yeshua said he is pushing back against the theory because children are being taught an agenda that black and white children are 'separate' because of their skin color. Kory Yeshua posted the video on TikTok last month in which he discusses the controversial teachings with his young daughter 'It's just always the same thing, trying to teach black and white kids that they are separate,' he said. 'We have got enough to worry about in America, we do not need to be teaching kids that they are oppressors or oppressed based on the melanin content of their skin.' His video has gone viral since it was posted on May 19 and has been viewed more than 60,000 times across TikTok and Instagram. In the video, Yeshua tells his daughter: 'Daddy teaches you that you can be anything in this world that you wanna be. Doesn't daddy teach you that?' His daughter responds: 'It doesn't matter if you're black or white or any color.' 'How we treat people is based on who they are and not what color they are,' Yeshua added. The little girl then chimed in: 'And if they're nice and smart.' Yeshua noted that his daughter's interpretation was evidence of how most children think. 'See, this is how children think right here. Critical race theory wants to end that. Not with my children, it's not going to happen,' he said. 'My baby is going to know that no matter what she wants to be in life, all she has to do is work hard and she can become that. 'We need to stop CRT. Period. Point blank. 'Children do not see skin color. They love everybody. If they're good people, they love them.' The father, who is staunchly conservative, said he is refusing to allow his children to be impacted by critical race theory. He said he is choosing instead to teach his children that they be anything they want to be if they work hard Yeshua is staunchly conservative and his social media feeds are filled with videos of himself slamming Democrats CRITICAL RACE THEORY: WHAT DOES IT MEAN? The fight over critical race theory in schools has escalated in the United States over the last year. The theory has sparked a fierce nationwide debate in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests around the country over the last year and the introduction of the 1619 Project. The 1619 Project, which was published by the New York Times in 2019 to mark 400 years since the first enslaved Africans arrived on American shores, reframes American history by 'placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the center of the US narrative'. The debate surrounding critical race theory regards concerns that some children are being indoctrinated into thinking that white people are inherently racist or sexist. Those against critical race theory have argued it reduces people to the categories of 'privileged' or 'oppressed' based on their skin color. Supporters, however, say the theory is vital to eliminating racism because it examines the ways in which race influence American politics, culture and the law. Advertisement The audio on the original TikTok video has since been removed, although a reproduction of the clip remains on Yeshua's Instagram page. DailyMail.com has reached out to the social media platform to ask why. 'The audio was taken off the story yesterday, after it started to blow up,' Yeshua told DailyMail.com. 'I don't know what happened - I haven't heard anything about it being a copyright issue. I have used that music in the background of other posts, and it's all over TikTok.' Yeshua said his daughter hadn't been taught critical race theory at her school but she was shown a video several months ago about segregation and Jim Crow. 'About four months ago, my daughter was shown a video about segregation by her teacher. I had to have a conversation with her about race after, and would have preferred to have been able to choose when to do that myself. I had a word with the principal, who was very understanding,' he said. Yeshua regularly posts videos that are critical of Democrats and the left. He says his politics were inspired by the deaths of two of his brothers - one of whom was murdered, with the other dying of an overdose, as well as a third brother who is in prison. In one of his previous TikTok videos, Yeshua addressed the Black Lives Matter movement, saying it advocates for the 'destruction of America and the destruction of our families'. He said he would have supported the movement if it was only calling for police reform. Critical race theory has sparked a fierce nationwide debate over the last year in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests and the introduction of the 1619 Project. Some of the controversy is centered on concerns that children, in particular, are being indoctrinated into thinking that white people are inherently racist or sexist as the theory is being taught in schools. Those against critical race theory have argued it reduces people to the categories of 'privileged' or 'oppressed' based on their skin color. Supporters, however, say the theory is vital to eliminating systemic racism because it examines the ways in which race has, or continues to, influence American politics, culture and the law. Cases have emerged in recent months across the country of teachers and parents saying their children are being forced to learn critical race theory in schools. Lawmakers have been introducing bills that, in varying degrees, aim to ban educators from teaching children they are either 'privileged' or 'oppressed' in classrooms. Oklahoma became one latest states to sign into law a ban on teaching critical race theory in public schools, with Republican Gov Kevin Stitt arguing that it will allow history to be taught without labeling a 'young child as an oppressor'. A police staffer who chased a 13-year-old girl into a lift and squeezed her left breast twice has been found guilty of indecent assault. Glenn Roche, a civilian employee of the police force, groped the teenager at Sydney's Cabramatta train station in July 2019 after spending the day sightseeing with her family and his wife. In shocking CCTV footage, the 54-year-old chases the girl into an elevator and clutches her around the waist before sliding to the ground. The victim managed to escape and tell her mother about her horrific ordeal, and later told a court he squeezed her breast twice. Glenn Roche chases the girl into a lift at Sydney's Cabramatta train station in July 2019 When Roche faced Liverpool Magistrate's Court this week, he told the judge chasing her into the lift was a game. In police interviews, Roche acknowledged his hands slid across her chest area, 'so there would have been some sort of contact without doubt, but claimed there was "no sexual gratification",' according to 7 News. 'She contributed to that occurring by releasing her body weight and sliding through my hands,' he added. During the initial court proceedings in September, Roche told police he gave the victim's younger sister and mother a hug and a kiss on the cheek to say goodbye, the Daily Telegraph reported. 'My mind has gone off on a tangent like, this is a challenge, to me, I can get her and give her a kiss on the cheek like her two sisters and mum,' he said. Pictured: Roche, describing how he touched the teenage girl as she slid to the ground in a lift He said that when he saw the teenager run into the elevator, he jumped in to say goodbye and told investigators he 'should have realised her desire for me not to kiss her on the cheek'. 'I remember kissing her on the right cheek and I said that's all I wanted to do,' he said. Later that night, he received a call from the girl's mother to say she was scared. The girl told the court she still has nightmares about the attack and worries it will happen again. The magistrate did not accept Roche's explanation and found him guilty of indecent assault. Roche still maintains he did nothing wrong. He was suspended from his job and will be sentenced in August. Advertisement American nuclear bombers have flown over all 30 NATO states in a show of strength ahead of Joe Biden's first meeting with Vladimir Putin since becoming president. Four B-52 long-range bombers took part in the European leg of Operation Allied Sky, which saw them fly over 28 of the allied states over the course of 12 hours, including the likes of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuanian - on Russia's doorstep. At the same time, more B-52s based in the US flew through American and Canadian airspace to complete the tour of NATO members. General Jeffrey Harrigian, commander of US and NATO air forces, called the mission 'an awesome demonstration of NATO air superiority' and said it proves 'there is no challenge we cannot tackle'. It is just the latest large-scale NATO exercise to take place ahead of a meeting between Presidents Biden and Putin scheduled for June 16 in Geneva. An American B-52 nuclear bomber is escorted by an RAF Typhoon as it flies over the UK as part of NATO drill Allied Sky on Monday The mission saw four B-52s fly over NATO allies in Europe over the course of 12 hours, accompanied by KC-135 Stratotankers that refuelled them mid-air (pictured) At the same time the European mission was taking place, B-52s based in America also flew through US and Canadian airspace (pictured) to complete the tour of NATO allies Huge sea drills involving British aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth - accompanied by a submarine plus destroyers and frigates- are currently taking place near Portugal. They will be followed up later in the month by ground exercises taking place around the Black Sea, close to the Russian border. Operation Allied sky is now in its second year, having taken place for the first time in 2020 with six B-52 bombers - four flying over Europe, and two over the US. It is thought another four bombers took part in the European leg of this year's drill, after they were redeployed from America to Moron Air Base, in Spain, several weeks ago, Stars and Stripes reported. The US Air Force did not specify how many aircraft took part in the American leg of the mission this year. During the European mission, the bombers were escorted by 100 fighters from 22 different NATO nations. The operation also involved KC-135 Stratotankers stationed at RAF Mildenhall in England which refuelled the flying fortresses while they were in the air. A B-52 bomber is accompanied by Belgian fighter jets as it flies in the skies over Europe on May 31 as part of Operation Allied Sky A B-52 bomber is accompanied by German fighter jets as it flies through the skies above Germany as part of Operation Allied Sky Captain Kevan Thomas, a B-52 pilot, prepares to take off for the American-Canadian leg of the Allied Sky mission from a base in Louisiana 'Bomber missions demonstrate the credibility of our forces to address a global security environment that is more diverse and uncertain than at any other time in our history,' General Harrigian added. It comes amid rapidly worsening relations between Russia and the West, which deteriorated further last week following the hijacking of a Ryanair flight over Belarus. While Russia has not been directly implicated in the plot, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has said it is 'hard to believe' Moscow wasn't involved and Putin has been the only world leader to defend Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko. It comes after Russia suddenly began massing forces on its border with Ukraine earlier this year, prompting fears of an invasion. Biden and Putin agreed to their meeting amid that standoff, after the new US President had previously said he was 'too busy' to schedule a meeting. Biden had also likened Putin to a 'killer' in an earlier interview, prompting an angry rebuke from the strongman who sarcastically wished his counterpart 'good health'. The US has also sanctioned Russia over what Biden said were attempts to interfere in its elections and state-sponsored hacking, among other things. The pair will attempt to bury the hatchet in Geneva, where Biden has promised to restore 'predictability and stability' to American relations with Moscow. On the agenda will be a number of sticking points, including Ukraine, Belarus, cyberattacks, and human rights issues such as the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who has complained of ill-treatment behind bars. A Slovakian Air Force MiG-29 is seen from inside a B-52 as it escorts the bomber through European airspace as part of a joint mission Three German Air Force Typhoons fly alongside a B-52H Stratofortress during Operation Allied Sky which took place on May 31 A B-52 bomber is shown taking off from a US Air Force base during Operation Allied Sky The race is on to remove a washed-up minke whale from an English beach 'before it explodes'. It comes after the 40ft mammal was spotted by a walker on the shore near a windfarm in South Gare, Redcar on Tuesday evening. Experts have been called to the scene to begin preparations for the sea mammal's removal. When any whale washes up on a beach, it is only a matter of time before they explode, sending their guts flying across the shoreline. Emergency services cordon off the whale which is feared could explode on a Redcar beach due to the heat of the sun The minke whale is believed to measure up to 40ft and is usually seen in the North Sea Colin Stonehouse, a member of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue said: 'When I arrived I checked to see if it was alive, but it was already deceased, so we're going to take it in. 'We need to pull it back, take some data and find its cause of death.' He added that while the North Sea would be its natural habitat it's not unusual for whales to come close to the shore. He added: 'It could be navigation problems, there's a lot of bruising on it. 'It's female, a juvenile going towards adult, but I'd need to measure its length to get a precise age.' Why do dead animals explode? When an animal dies, bacteria inside the carcass produce methane as part of the decomposition process. If this is not let out of the body gradually it builds up, exploding at the first opportunity. Whales are the most extreme because their huge size makes the consequences of a gas build-up so much greater. Living toads in Hamburg, Germany, started spontaneously combusting in 2005. It was thought that crows were picking out their livers, leaving a hole, so when the toads puffed themselves as a defence mechanism, their whole bodies burst. And Royal funeral attendants hurriedly drilled a hole in the coffin of overweight English King George IV to let out gases - after an apparent botched embalming job. Advertisement Mr Stonehouse was in talks with Redcar & Cleveland Council and was waiting for them to confirm when to remove the whale from the water. He added: 'The sunlight will cause pressure to build up and it will explode, probably this afternoon. 'We need to keep dogs away, if seals come onto the beach they could bite a dog.' A crew of coastguards were in attendance to keep people away and ensure dogs didn't go in the water, and they had cordoned that part of the beach off. Walker Fiona Rowbotham first spotted the whale on Wednesday morning and posted a warning on social media. 'There's some kind of big shark or whale washed up down the Gare,' she said. 'Just be careful anyone walking dogs down there.' Minke whales are the smallest of the 'great whales,' growing to an average of 35ft (10.6 m) long and weighing up to 20,000 pounds (9 tonnes). They are also the most common of the great whale species, and can be found throughout the world's oceans. When any whale washes up on a beach, it is only a matter of time before they explode, sending their guts flying across the shoreline. When an animal dies, bacteria inside the carcass produces methane as part of the decomposition process. If this is not let out of the body gradually it builds up, exploding at the first opportunity. Whales are the most extreme because their huge size makes the consequences of a gas build-up so much greater. In 2013, a biologist was filmed cutting open a washed up whale on the Faroe Islands. As soon as the biologist began working, the gas trapped inside exploded, spewing tons of organs and guts into the air. Former Rep. Katie Hill has been ordered to pay more than $100,000 in legal fees to DailyMail.com after a judge tossed her lawsuit over an article that revealed her 'throuple' with a campaign staffer. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yolanda Orozco awarded Mail Media Inc., the parent company of DailyMail.com, about $105,000 Wednesday, taking Hill's legal fees over the revenge porn suit soaring to around $220,000. The judge previously awarded about $84,000 in attorney fees to Jennifer Van Laar, managing editor of the conservative website RedState, and about $30,000 in attorney fees to radio producer Joseph Messina. Hill was once a rising star in the Democratic party before she fell from grace when her three-way relationship with her then-husband Kenneth Heslep and 22-year-old campaign staffer Morgan Desjardins was exposed. She was California's first openly-bisexual congressional lawmaker. The 33-year-old filed an unsuccessful revenge porn lawsuit against Heslep, DailyMail.com, RedState and the two conservative journalists in December for publishing nude images of her showing the inappropriate tryst. The suit was dismissed in April on the grounds of public interest and First Amendment rights. Former Rep. Katie Hill has been ordered to pay more than $100,000 in legal fees to DailyMail.com after a judge tossed her lawsuit over an article that revealed her 'throuple' with a campaign staffer. Hill speaking at a press event with House Democrats in July 2019 Hill slammed Wednesday's ruling on Twitter raging that the justice system is 'broken'. 'A judge just ordered me to PAY the Daily Mail more than $100k for the privilege of them publishing nude photos of me obtained from an abuser,' she tweeted. 'The justice system is broken for victims.' She also called on her social media followers to help fund her legal fees and to boycott DailyMail.com A spokeswoman for Hill told the Los Angeles Times the former lawmaker is planning to appeal the rulings that dismissed her suit. Krista Lee Baughman, an attorney for Van Laar and Messina, said the judge's decision showed that 'those who file speech-chilling [intimidation] lawsuits must pay the price.' 'If you have a problem with the way the Legislature wrote the revenge-porn statute, that needs to be addressed in the Legislature,' she said. 'The court is duty-bound to follow the writing. In this case, the statute itself clearly had a public interest exception.' Hill was elected Democratic Representative for California's 25th congressional district in 2018, turning a historically red state blue and propelling her name into the spotlight. Hill slammed Wednesday's ruling on Twitter raging that the justice system is 'broken' In October 2019, DailyMail.com published texts and photographs showing the congresswoman had been in a three-way relationship with Heslep and Desjardins. Desjardins began working as a campaign staffer for Hill in 2017 and the trio embarked on their throuple soon after. The affair broke down in the summer of 2019 when Hill told both her husband and her lover that she wanted to focus on her work. The affair was first reported by RedState which also published allegations Hill had a separate affair with Graham Kelly, her male legislative director. A relationship between a congressional member and congressional staffer is a violation of House rules. DailyMail.com and Red State published intimate photos depicting the throuple between Hill, Heslep and Desjardin. In one, Hill was seen naked brushing Desjardin's hair during a trip the three took to Alaska. Hill was once a rising star in the Democratic party before she fell from grace when her three-way relationship with her then-husband Kenneth Heslep and 22-year-old campaign staffer Morgan Desjardins was exposed (all three pictured together) Hill with Heslep. The ex congresswoman filed an unsuccessful revenge porn lawsuit for publishing nude images of her showing the inappropriate tryst The trip was allegedly funded using campaign finances. Another photo showed a naked Hill holding a bong emblazoned with a skull and crossbones, while another showed her with a tattoo of an Iron Cross resembling a Nazi symbol on her bikini line. The scandal led the House Ethics Committee and the Federal Election Commission to launch investigations into the congresswoman. Hill resigned from her position days later, with her seat later won by Republican Congressman Mike Garcia. She admitted to having an affair with Desjardin saying the relationship - also involving Heslep - occurred 'during the final tumultuous years of my abusive marriage.' Hill continues to deny the allegations of an affair with Kelly. Hill then filed a lawsuit in December accusing Mail Media Inc., Salem Media Group Inc., which owns RedState, Heslep, Van Laar and Messina of publishing 'nonconsensual porn' without her consent. She claimed the distribution and publication of the intimate images violated California's revenge-porn laws. Orozco threw out the case in April, ruling that the articles and release of the photos were of 'compelling public interest' and protected by the First Amendment. In one, Hill was seen naked brushing Desjardin's hair during a trip the three took to Alaska. Pictured the two women together Hill arriving at the Capitol in 2019. The suit was dismissed in April on the grounds of public interest and First Amendment rights The judge said arguments by Hill's lawyers were 'unpersuasive.' She added that DailyMail.com's stories about the former congresswoman were in the 'public interest' because they detailed her alleged affair with a campaign staffer. The judge said there was a further public interest justification because Hill was pictured using drugs that were illegal at the time, and had exposed her iron cross crotch tattoo which 'resembled a white supremacy symbol that had become an issue during her congressional campaign.' 'The photos show a sitting Congresswoman engaging in conduct some might consider highly inappropriate and perhaps unlawful, with one exhibiting Plaintiff's tattoo which looks similar to the symbols formerly used by white supremacists,' the ruling said. 'The facts of which these photos speak are about Plaintiff's character, judgment and qualifications for her congressional position. Of course, these are matters of public concern.' Hill had dropped her claim against Messina earlier in the year. Advertisement An 80,000-tonne cargo ship caused mayhem today after it crashed into a Taiwanese port and sent a crane toppling towards a crowd of terrified dock workers. The giant vessel was preparing to dock at a port in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, on Thursday morning when it hit the overhead crane, the port management company confirmed. Dramatic video footage shows the 80,000-tonne ship, which belongs to Orient Overseas (International) Ltd, collide with the crane as it turns in dangerously close to the port. An 80,000-tonne ship was preparing to dock at a port in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, on Thursday morning when it hit the overhead crane and sent it toppling into the dock (pictured) Dramatic video footage shows the top of the 80,000-tonne cargo ship (left), which belongs to Orient Overseas (International) Ltd, collide with the crane (right) as it comes into dock In the clip, the overhead cranes catastrophically crash into a stack of shipping containers (left), which are sent tumbling towards the terrified workers on the dock (right) The crane, which also collided with a second crane as it collapsed, was destroyed (pictured) and debris was flung everywhere as it fell into the port in Kaohsiung In the clip, the crane gives way and is sent toppling into another crane, which both crash to the ground as the ship continues to push forward after the initial collision. The overhead cranes catastrophically crash into a stack of shipping containers, which are seen tumbling towards the terrified workers on the dock. The shocked workers on the port are seen fleeing for their lives as the heavy boxes collapse like dominoes towards them. A port worker, 58, surnamed Chang, was sent to hospital for a cut on his arm following the terrifying collapse, according to Taiwan News. First responders arrived at the scene to survey the damage after the crane collapsed at the port of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Thursday morning A port worker, 58, surnamed Chang, was sent to hospital for a cut on his arm, while two engineers were trapped inside the crane after the accident (pictured: scene after collapse) Two engineers - a 33-year-old man surnamed Lin, and a 31-year old man surnamed Yang - were rescued from the collapsed crane by 12.44 on Thursday. Pictured: First responders on scene The site of the accident (pictured) has been sealed off, the state-run Taiwan International Ports Corp. Ltd. said in a statement Two engineers who were in the crane at the time of the collapse had to be rescued as they were trapped inside the wreckage following the accident. The engineers - a 33-year-old man surnamed Lin, and a 31-year old man surnamed Yang - were rescued from the collapsed crane by 12.44 on Thursday afternoon. Rescuers used a 60-metre mast-type jib crane to pull the men out of the destroyed structure. Witnesses at the scene said both men seemed very shaken up after they were pulled out of the crane, but did not appear to be seriously injured. The site of the accident has been sealed off, the state-run Taiwan International Ports Corp. Ltd. said in a statement. A kind-hearted police officer in Georgia dipped into his own wallet to buy toothpaste for a homeless man after learning he'd been brushing his teeth with baking soda. The Duluth Police Department shared Officer Clifford Cavorsi's act of kindness in a Facebook post on Wednesday, which featured a photo of the cop handing the tube of toothpaste to the man down on his luck. The department said Cavorsi sprang into action when the man, who was living out of his car, told him that he'd been using baking soda as an alternative to toothpaste because he could not afford toiletries and other essential items. 'Even though this may not be the biggest story you've heard, our Duluth officers show empathy for many individuals we come across daily, and this is just one of the stories,' the department wrote in a Facebook post. 'Great job, Officer Cavorsi!' The Duluth Police Department shared Officer Clifford Cavorsi's act of kindness in a Facebook post on Wednesday, which featured a photo of the cop handing the tube of toothpaste to the man down on his luck 'Those police officers have BIG HEARTS,' one person commented. 'These police officers are real heroes,' another commenter wrote. 'Why don't people like these officers get nominated for things like Times Person of the Year or other awards. They should be rewarded, awarded and applauded for these selfless and caring acts.' Baking soda is an ingredient in some name-brand toothpaste products due to its whitening power - and some dentists regard it as a quality substitute for teeth cleaning for people worried about wearing down their enamel. However baking soda lacks the fluoride benefits of regular toothpaste and the taste is fairly off-putting. Cavorsi's heartwarming act seemed to inspire others, with several commenters saying they would like to donate toiletries and other items for the police to distribute amongst the needy. This is hardly the first time Officer Cavorsi has gone above-and-beyond in his capacity in law enforcement. Officer Cavorsi (pictured) is no stranger to heartwarming acts, having made local news for rescuing baby ducklings from a storm drain just last year In April of last year, Cavorsi was filmed assisting a family of ducks after a mother's baby ducklings fell into a storm drain in a video posted to YouTube. The officer can be seen working with road crew personnel and personally placing the baby ducklings into a pet carrier before reuniting them with their frantic mother, before the mother duck guides her babies back into a nearby pond, according to 11 Live. Duluth Public Information Officer Ted Sadowski said that the cage to catch the baby ducks was loaned to them by Banfield Pet Hospital and staff from the nearby Firestone Tires business assisted the officers in opening the drain, the YouTube video caption reads. 'I believe Officer Cavorsi, Officer Seiferheld and the Duluth Police Department should be held up as a model of what policing in America should be,' a commenter noted on the department's Facebook post. The Georgia police officer has had his share of scares on the job, too, however, having suffered injuries after a car he was attempting to stop dragged him for several feet while fleeing Commenters on the department's Facebook post praised the officer for his small but selfless act of kindness, with one claiming Cavorsi should be 'be held up as a model of what policing in America should be' Cavorsi did another heartwarming act on the job just last year after rescuing baby ducklings who had fallen down a storm drain. The frantic mother duck appeared grateful for his help as she rushed her ducklings into a nearby pond after the rescue The officer's act of kindness comes at a time where police and community relations are strained following the murder of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota While Officer Cavorsi's community contributions make up part of his workload, not everything is as lighthearted and heartwarming for the Duluth cop. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported back in 2016 that Officer Cavorsi was dragged by a car for several feet after attempting to make a traffic stop. Cavorsi had pulled over the 17-year-old high school student for not wearing a seatbelt before dashcam video shows the teen taking off from the scene, all while the officer's arm was stuck in the car's driver side window, according to the news outlet. The teen managed to evade police until eventually being caught and arrested at the Gwinnett Place Mall, while Officer Cavorsi was forced to take time off of work to recover from his injuries, according to the Georgia news outlet. Ex-employees say that former Believer magazine editor-in-chief Joshua Wolf Shenk had a reputation for 'making women uncomfortable' - revelations that have emerged since he resigned after flashing dozens of employees on a Zoom call. Shenk, who served as editor-in-chief at Believer magazine, and artistic and executive director of the Black Mountain Institute, handed in his resignation after flashing his staff. In February, Shenk stood up during a Zoom call and exposed himself to about a dozen staffers from Believer magazine and the Black Mountain Institute, the Los Angeles Times reported. On March 24, the publisher of Believer magazine and staff at the Black Mountain Institute, a literary arts center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas were informed that Shenk resigned due to the incident, the Los Angeles Times reported. Joshua Wolf Shenk (pictured) was the former editor-in-chief at Believer magazine, and artistic and executive director of the Black Mountain Institute prior to his resignation in May Current and former employees at Believer magazine (pictured) called out Shenk for being an 'inattentive and negligent boss,' in an anonymous open letter published in May Shenk's literary agent, Ira Silverberg, explained to the Los Angeles Times that Shenk was soaking in a bath to relieve nerve pain related to fibromyalgia during the Zoom call. Silverberg said that Shenk had chosen a virtual backdrop to hide his location and was wearing a mesh shirt, but when he stood up to charge his computer without turning off the camera or covering the lower half of his body, he exposed himself to staffers. But now current and former employees tell Vice that Shenk had a history of problematic behavior prior to his bathtub incident, which they said was no 'random accident.' 'I wasn't surprised in the sense that it seemed like something that would happen,' a Believer staffer told Vice about the Zoom incident. 'Like, of course there would be this. I don't think it's fair to categorize him as someone who's predatory, but you can categorize him as someone who just didn't care. He didn't have any respect for boundaries or comfort or what his coworkers deserved from him in terms of attention or time or decency.' Shortly after the LA Times article published, staffers from The Believer and BMI wrote an anonymous open letter accusing Shenk of being an 'inattentive and negligent boss,' and said his behavior on the infamous Zoom call 'matched a pattern of callousness and abusive disregard for the staffers who worked under him.' 'We see this act as the culmination of a years-long pattern of inappropriate and disrespectful behavior that belies a chronic lack of care and concern for the comfort, boundaries, and safety of the staff not to mention that of students, fellows, and others in BMI and The Believer's communities,' the open letter said. 'This pattern of behavior resulted in a workplace culture that was difficult and at times painful to operate within. We worked, in spite of this, to create the successful programs and publications BMI and The Believer are known for work for which Shenk is credited throughout the LA Times article.' On March 24, the publisher of Believer magazine and staff at the of Black Mountain Institute, a literary arts center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (pictured) were informed that Shenk resigned Current and former employees that worked under Shenk tell Vice that the executive director of the Black Mountain Institute (pictured) had a history of problematic behavior prior to his bathtub incident Two former female Believer staffers told Vice that they had been warned about Shenk's conduct early on in their employment. Four current staffers told Vice that he made female staffers deeply uncomfortable, but none said he had sexually harassed them. 'He doesn't seem to be aware of his body or of other people's comfort or reality,' one staffer told Vice. Shenk responded to the accusations in an emailed statement to Vice that said that he needs to work on boundaries around both men and women. 'I'm often awkward around folks regardless of their gender, and I own that,' he said. 'In imaginative spaces, you've got to balance deep appreciation for people's boundaries with openness and creative risks. For any times I got that balance wrong, though, I want to learn from them and make amends.' A staffer also said that in order to make leeway at work or be 'taken seriously' she was forced to befriend him and spend time with him after work, which was frustrating because at the time, many people on staff were contractors and being paid very little. Shenk is also being accused of underpaying staffers of color. An employee told Vice that at one point, every person employed as a full staffer with benefits was white, while everyone who was a person of color was on contract. 'He had a clear pattern of tokenizing in the most literal sense,' an employee said. Silverberg disputed that claim, telling Vice that Shenk had created 6.5 salaried positions, with benefits, for women of color and had a pending full-time offer to another woman of color out at the time he left. 'These numbers represent a commitment to DEIA principles,' he said in an email statement. 'They exist in all aspects of BMI/The Believer's work.' In a farewell letter following his resignation Shenk called the Zoom incident 'a dumb, reckless choice to disregard appropriate setting and attire for a Zoom meeting.' 'I crossed a line that I can't walk back over. I sorely regret the harm to you and, by extension, to the people we serve. I'm sorry.' he wrote. At least two witnesses of the incident reported it to the university's Office of Equal Employment and Title IX, but the University dismissed and closed the Title IX complaints when Shenk resigned. Additionally, staffers at Believer are now claiming that a public records request put in by Vice was used to intimidate them and gain access to their personal correspondence. While reporting on the Shenk story, Vice sought documents from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, that were created by staff at the university, Believer and the Black Mountain Institute and that had certain keywords. The university sent a follow-up email to Vice on May 20 regarding the public records request and around the same time emailed magazine staff telling them that under state law they had to turn over private texts and emails as part of Vice's public records request. Despite Vice clarifying the specifics of its inquiry, the university took days to relay that information to Believer staff. Some staffers released private correspondence to the university while others did not. Some even sought legal counsel. On May 26, the university told staffers their private records were no longer required and said that the university had received clarification on the Vice request that day despite actually getting clarification on May 20. Some staffers find the situation suspicious. 'We're not worried about the requesters, about you guys,' a Believer staffer told Vice. 'We're worried about what university officials are going to be reading our private correspondence, much of which is critical of the university.' The girlfriend of a man whose six year-old son vanished carried a foul-smelling plastic bin containing a child's corpse into a motel room, court papers say. Theresa Balboa - who lost custody of her two young daughters in 2019, according to other newly revealed papers - was caught on camera meeting a male friend outside a Walmart in Cleveland, Texas, on Tuesday evening. The store is located around 45 miles north east of 29 year-old Balboa's home in Houston. A body believed to belong to Samuel Olson, who would have turned six on Saturday, was found in Balboa's motel room shortly afterwards. Balboa was dating Olson's dad Dalton Olson. Samuel, from Houston, was last seen alive on April 30, and was reported missing on May 27. The Walmart pal, who has not been named, helped Balboa load the black container, which had a yellow plastic lid, onto the back of his truck, then drove her another 88 miles north east to a Best Western motel in Jasper, Texas. Once there, the box was carried inside room 106, with the man so horrified by the smell coming from it that he made an anonymous call to CrimeStoppers tipline to report it. It is unclear when that call was made, but cops raided the motel on Tuesday and found Balboa close to the box. Police in Texas on Tuesday found a body that is suspected of being that of missing Samuel Olson, 6 (left). Theresa Balboa (pictured right in her new mugshot), the girlfriend of Samuel's father, has been arrested and charged with evidence tampering Police recovered the remains believed to be that of Samuel wrapped with duct tape and stuffed inside a black plastic bin in room 106 at this Best Western motel in Jasper, Texas When officers acting on that tip arrived on the scene, they reportedly found the plastic container in the room and Balboa in the bathroom. Upon removing the lid, which was secured with zip ties, police were said to have found a small body stuffed inside a black plastic bag and wrapped in duct tape. Theresa Balboa was arrested by cops in Jasper shortly afterwards, and has since been charged with evidence tampering. More serious charges are expected to follow after the body has been identified and a cause of death determined. The map above shows the four locations associated with the search for missing Samuel Olson Meanwhile, it emerged on Wednesday night that Balboa previously lost custody over her two young daughters in 2019 over claims she was a bad mom. Court records obtained by Click2Houston revealed that the girls - now aged six and eight - were removed from their mom's care after she failed to show up to court for a custody hearing. The father of Balboa's children was also a no-show, and the children were given to a family member, who was appointed their guardian. The woman told the station that Balboa was not taking good care of her daughters. TIMELINE OF SAMUEL OLSON CASE: April 30: Samuel Olson, 5, seen for the last time by anyone outside his family May 8-9: Samuel's paternal grandmother, Tonya Olson, says she spent the weekend with her grandson May 27: Theresa Balboa, girlfriend of Samuel's father, Dalton Olson, reports him missing in Houston June 1: Police in Jasper, Texas, receive anonymous tip that leads them to Best Western motel, where they find Balboa and later child's body in a plastic bin June 2: Police in Houston announce discovery of body, Balboa's arrest and evidence tampering charge, with ID of remains still pending. June 3: Details of Balboa's meeting with a man in Walmart emerge, as its claimed he helped transport child's body. Balboa is also revealed to have lost custody of her own young daughters in 2019. Advertisement 'She wasn't born to be a mom,' the guardian said. Shortly before the discovery of the child's body and Balboa's arrest, Tim Miller, the founder of the volunteer search group Texas Equusearch, was said to have confronted the woman about apparent inconsistencies in her story concerning Samuel's disappearance. 'I told her, I said, "Im so damn disappointed in you,' Miller told KHOU11. 'I said, "You know, every word youre saying is a lie." And thats when things started unravelling, I think.' Balboa, who at the time was out on bond stemming from a domestic violence incident, was the one who reported the child missing on May 27, although the boy's last verified sighting was on April 30 at his school. Balboa claimed that Samuels mother, Sarah Olson, and a person dressed as a police officer showed up and took the boy from the home. Sarah Olson said through her attorney that she did not know the whereabouts of her son, and that despite having primary custody of him, she had been denied access to him by his father since January 2020. Balboa is currently jailed in Jasper County, but she will be returned to Houston to face the evidence tampering charge. Houston Assistant Police Chief Heather Morris said during a press conference on Wednesday that more charges are possible once an autopsy is complete. Samuel's father, Dalton Olson (pictured with his girlfriend Balboa before the grim find) said the six-year-old is his 'whole world.' He has not been named a suspect Sarah Olson, Samuel's birth mother (pictured together, left), said through a lawyer that she had primary custody of the boy but had not seen him since January 2020 Samuel's family have spoken out after the discovery of the body presumed to be his, revealing their devastation. '[I am] shocked and so many other things that words cannot explain at the moment,' Tonya Olson, the boy's paternal grandmother, told CNN. 'We are grieving as a family. None of us can wrap our heads around this. My son or anyone in our family had absolutely nothing to do with this.' Miller, the founder of Texas Equusearch, said that he was with Samuel's paternal relatives after the discovery of the body and witnessed their heartache firsthand. 'It was just devastating over there last night and seeing dad go through all the pain and grief and everything he was going through,' Miller said, referring to Dalton Olson, the boy's father. Assistant Police Chief Morris said Dalton Olson is not considered a person of interest in his death at this time, but investigators continue to speak with him. No motive has been disclosed so far. Samuel's biological mother, Sarah Olson, released a statement through her attorney, demanding justice for her son. 'I do not want people to forget Samuels name,' she stated. 'Please Let the outside world know that Im a heartbroken, but I believe that body is my baby.' Balboa reported Samuel missing on May 27 in the 8800 block of McAvoy Drive in Houston, having claimed the boy was taken by his biological mother and a person dressed as a police officer. Dalton Olson is pictured embracing his mother, Tonya,, with his girlfriend standing on the side. Tonya Olson said the family are devastated Cops were unable to verify Balboa's version of events. The last confirmed sighting of Samuel was April 30 at Holbrook Elementary School. Samuels paternal grandmother claimed he was with her the following weekend, May 8-9, and that she then heard his voice on the phone days before he was reported missing. On Monday, police executed a search warrant at an apartment where Balboa has been living with a friend and impounded her Dodge sedan. Court records uncovered by Click2Houston indicate that Balboa was charged with assault of a family member impeding breathing in November 2020 after she allegedly choked Dalton Olson. Balboa was charged with assault of a family member impeding breathing in November 2020 after she allegedly choked Dalton Olson. Olson was said to have been issued an emergency protective order against Balboa. The woman is pictured in previous mugshots Olson was said to have been issued an emergency protective order against Balboa, barring her from having direct contact with the victim or any member of his family. When asked about the order prior to the discovery of the body in the motel, Olson said that he and Balboa have reconciled, and that the choking incident had nothing to do with his son, who was not present during that altercation. Olson further defended Balboa, saying that she had been helping him care for his son while he was at work. Portable microwave weapons capable of causing 'Havana Syndrome' experienced by US diplomats and spies have reportedly been developed by an America's adversaries in recent years. James Giordano, a senior fellow in biotechnology at the US Naval War College, made the startling claim in an interview with The Guardian on Thursday, amid a Pentagon probe to determine what has caused the government workers to become ill. Since 2016, more than 130 employees from the State Department, CIA and National Security Council (NSC) have become sickened by a sudden onset of dizziness, debilitating migraines, vertigo and nausea. Last November, one NSC employee suffered an unexplained episode in Washington, DC, during which he suddenly fell to the floor, became unable to speak and 'thought he was going to die'. Some investigators believe the symptoms could be caused by 'sonic attacks' in which 'rapid microwave pulses heat soft tissue in the brain to cause a shockwave inside the skull'. Giordano claims one US company made a prototype of a small portable weapon capable of causing such effects back in the early 2000s before research was abandoned. However, he says he has discovered that other countries have developed a similar device that 'uses microwave frequencies able to disrupt brain function without any burning sensation'. 'This was important and rather frightening because it represented a state of advancement and sophistication of these types of instruments that heretofore had not been thought to be accomplished,' he told the publication. Giardono is prohibited from disclosing which countries have created the weapon, but The Guardian mentions Russia and China as two possibilities. Portable microwave weapons potentially capable of causing 'Havana Syndrome' experienced by US diplomats and spies have reportedly been developed by an American adversary in recent years. First reports of the mystery illness originated in Havana, Cuba back in 2016. The country's US embassy is pictured What is 'Havana Syndrome'? The mysterious illness believed to have sickened at least 130 US officials since 2016 The problem has been labeled the 'Havana Syndrome,' because the first cases affected personnel in 2016 at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba. At least 130 cases across the government are now under investigation, up from several dozen last year, according to a U.S. defense official who was not authorized to discuss details publicly. The National Security Council is leading the investigation. People who are believed to have been affected have reported headaches, dizziness and symptoms consistent with concussions, with some requiring months of medical treatment. Some have reported hearing a loud noise before the sudden onset of symptoms. Investigators believe there are at least four cases involving Trump White House officials. Advocates for those affected accuse the U.S. government of long failing to take the problem seriously or provide the necessary medical care and benefits. US senators said last month that the government is investigating an apparent increase in the mysterious directed-energy attacks. Advertisement Research on the US prototype was not developed beyond 2004, reportedly due to ethical concerns. Lev Sadovnik, who was a part of the development team, told The Guardian: 'We have here very strict limitations, of course, on human tests and animal testing. The Russians do not adhere to these standards.' He added that different ethical norms fostered by the Chinese government would present them with 'unique opportunities to advance bioscientific and technological development in ways that would be untenable in the United States and programs of our Nato allies'. Like Giardono he believes that it is entirely possible for one of those nations to have created a microwave weapon that is small in size and easy to transport. 'It's quite conceivable that you can hide it in a car, or in a van but it would not work over a long distance,' he stated. Similarly, University of Illinois professor James Lin told the newspaper: 'You can certainly put together a system in a couple of big suitcases that will allow you to put it into an SUV. 'It's not something that you need to have enormous amounts of space or equipment to do it.' The claims from all three experts now make it appear more likely that the cause of the unexplained illness is nefarious in nature. Last month reports emerged that some US officials suspected that Russia's infamous foreign intelligence agency - the GRU - could be the culprit. A US military officer based in a country with a large Russian presence told The New Yorker that he felt like his head was going to explode during one incident where he was found to have been near a GRU vehicle. However, China also cannot be ruled out. In October last year it was reported how diplomat Mark Lenzi, 45, was stationed in Guangzhou, China, in 2017, when he developed unexplained symptoms, including headaches, memory loss and trouble sleeping. His neighbor Catherine Werner also fell ill and fellow US official Robyn Garfield was evacuated from Shanghai with his family in June 2018. Since 2016, more than 130 workers from the State Department, CIA and National Security Council (NSC) have suffered a sudden onset of dizziness, debilitating migraines, vertigo and nausea. Some investigators believe the symptoms could be caused by a sonic attack where 'rapid microwave pulses heat soft tissue in the brain to cause a shockwave inside the skull' The Biden administration is facing extreme pressure to resolve the mystery with lawmakers from both parties. The 130 people believed to be affected are also demanding answers. In addition to an investigation now being undertaken by the Pentagon, the CIA has launched its own probe. CIA Director William Burns recently testified before Congress that he would make the investigation 'a very high priority to ensure that my colleagues get the care that they deserve and that we get to the bottom of what caused these incidents and who was responsible.' Burns receives daily updates on the investigation, which covers employees who have reported cases this year. Whatever an official review concludes could have enormous consequences. Confirmation that a US adversary has been conducting damaging attacks against US personnel would unleash calls for a forceful response by the Biden administration. A UK Dragonfire laser directed energy weapon system is that emits microwave pulses is pictured in 2019. It's possible that Russia or China has developed a device that is much smaller in size However, some scientists remain skeptical as to whether the illness is actually caused by a portable microwave weapon. Dr. Robert Baloh of the University of California, Los Angeles, told The Associated Press that scans of healthy people's brains sometimes display mini-strokes and that any possible weapon would be too large or require too much power to be deployed without detection. Baloh said the growing number of cases considered directed energy attacks is actually linked to 'mass psychogenic illness,' in which people learning of others with symptoms begin to feel sick themselves. But Giardono disagrees. 'It's very difficult, if not impossible, to fake or misrepresent certain findings to objective clinical evaluations,' Giordano said. 'I mean, there are certain things you can't make your nerves do or not do.' Police investigating the murder of the 'Flower man of Islington' have arrested a woman for perverting the course of justice and assisting an offender, as the suspected killer appeared in court for the first time today. James Peppiatt, 21, is accused of killing Tony Eastlake, 55, who was stabbed close to his stall on Essex Road in the north London borough on Saturday afternoon. It was revealed earlier that the 21-year-old suspect - who was remanded in custody at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court this morning - is the son of the victim's former girlfriend. Tony, who had run his flower stall for over 30 years and was widely known in the area, is understood to have been dating the accused killer's mother earlier this year. That woman, Alicia Callaghan, 43, was found dead at another Islington address on April 1. It's unclear how she died but it's understood there were no suspicious circumstances. Meanwhile, police confirmed today that a 48-year-old woman, accused of assisting an offender and perverting the course of justice, had been arrested. She was taken into custody at a police station in north London yesterday for questioning, before being released on bail to return to police in mid-June. Detective Chief Inspector Vicky Tunstall, leading the investigation, described the arrest as a 'significant development' and appealed for anyone with information about the killing to come forward. James Peppiatt, 21, is accused of killing Tony Eastlake, 55, who was stabbed close to his stall on Essex Road in Islington Tony, who had run his flower stall for over 30 years and was widely known in the area, is understood to have been dating the accused killer's mother earlier this year She said: 'This is a significant development and our dedicated team of officers continue to work to bring justice to the victim, Tony, and his family. 'I continue to appeal for any information and witnesses to the incident, in particular a number of cyclists and a scooter passing through Ecclesborne Road at the time of the attack. 'I urge these people to come forward as the information they hold may be vital.' Ms Callaghan was found at 1.08am in the property and an inquest has been opened and adjourned - with a full hearing due later this summer. It's understood Mr Eastlake had been in a relationship with Ms Callaghan in the weeks before her death. Peppiatt, who had lived with his mother in Elmore Street, Islington, appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court today. The suspect blew a kiss to his father and shouted 'I love you' and smiled and winked as he was led away after a brief court appearance this morning. The defendant, who wore a face mask, confirmed his name, address and date of birth. His barrister Nick Ferrarri made no application for bail and the suspect was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on Monday. A man, identified as Peppiatt's father, shouted 'stay strong, boy!' as he was led away to the cells following the two-minute hearing. A vigil was held in Tony's honour outside the stall on Monday attended by friends, family and loved ones, including his daughter Paige Eastlake who called the flower seller 'my twin' and 'my best friend'. In a statement his family said: 'Our hearts are broken forever at the loss of such a very special man. 'A man who was loved by everybody in the Islington community, who is remembered as kind and caring and always laughing, but most importantly a father who leaves behind a devastated family, Lisa, Pauline, and his only daughter and best friend Paige, who he adored. 'Tony worked on the flower stall on Essex Road since he was 14 years old and was there through rain or shine, a smiling and friendly face to so many of us. 'There have already been hundreds of messages of support for him from all those who knew and loved him over the years.' Tony Eastlake's daughter Paige Eastlake with his partner Lisa Maggs at a vigil at his stall Tributes at a vigil for Tony Eastlake at his stall at Essex Road Station in London organised by the Islington Community Group People at a vigil for Tony Eastlake at his stall at Essex Road Station in London Meanwhile, many locals paid tribute to Mr Eastlake on the Islington Community Group on Facebook. Francis O'Brien said: 'Such sad news, my thoughts are with Tony's family and loved ones. 'Tony had a kind heart, served our community for a number of years and always put a smile on the faces of people across Islington. He was not just a local businessman, but a friend to many.' Andres Paniagua Toro said: 'What a very sad day, the community has lost a great human being who helped many people daily with his beautiful smile and willingness to listen to their woes. 'Tony would always make me smile every morning on my way to work.' Elsa Smurthwate posted: 'How very very tragic. RIP fella, a true islingtonian and a man who also had time to smile and say hello. Him and his stall have literally been one of the few things that stood the test of time x. I hope the council would consider his stall to be left as a shrine in his memory.' Garry Clowes said: 'God rest Tony, always enjoyed pulling up for a chat and a cuppa. London's slowly being crushed.' Uighur exiles who fled China say they were forced to have abortions while heavily pregnant, tortured and made to inform on relatives, and had their houses bulldozed if they were found to have more children than allowed. The horrifying accounts are from three exiles living in Turkey who will give testimony tomorrow at a tribunal in London which is investigating whether Beijing's actions amount to genocide. They include a mother-of-four made to abort her fifth child at six-and-a-half months pregnant, a former obstetrician-gynaecologist who witnessed homes being knocked down if mothers had too many babies, and a man who was beaten and tortured by soldiers who wanted information on his brother. The tribunal, which is not backed by the British government, is chaired by Geoffrey Nice QC, famous for his prosecution at The Hague of former Serbia President Slobodan Milosevic for war crimes in Kosovo. The China Tribunal is non-binding but hopes the evidence it hears will prompt international action to tackle the alleged abuse in Xinjiang province against the Uighurs, a largely Muslim ethnic group. Mother-of-four Bumeryem Rozi (pictured in Istanbul on Tuesday), said authorities in Xinjiang rounded her up along with other pregnant women to abort her fifth child in 2007. She said she complied because she feared that otherwise authorities would have confiscated her home and belongings and endangered her family. Detainees listening to speeches in a camp in Lop County, Xinjiang, China A person stands in a tower on the perimeter of the Number 3 Detention Center in Dabancheng in western China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region on April 23, 2021 Bumeryem Rozi, said authorities in Xinjiang rounded her up along with other pregnant women to abort her fifth child in 2007. She said she complied because she feared that otherwise authorities would have confiscated her home and belongings and endangered her family. 'I was six-and-a-half months pregnant ... The police came, one Uighur and two Chinese. They put me and eight other pregnant women in cars and took us to the hospital,' Rozi, 55, told the AP from her home in Istanbul. 'They first gave me a pill and said to take it. So I did. I didnt know what it was,' she continued. 'Half an hour later, they put a needle in my belly. And sometime after that I lost my child.' Semsinur Gafur, a former obstetrician-gynecologist who worked in a village hospital in Xinjiang in the 1990s, said she and other female clinicians used to go from house to house with a mobile ultrasound machine to check if anyone was pregnant. 'If a household had more births than allowed, they would raze the home ... They would flatten the house, destroy it,' Gafur said. 'This was my life there. It was very distressing. And because I worked in a state hospital, people didnt trust me. The Uighur people saw me as a Chinese traitor.' A third Uighur exile, Mahmut Tevekkul, said he was imprisoned and tortured in 2010 by Chinese authorities who interrogated him for information about one of his brothers. Tevekkul said the brother was wanted partly because he published a religious book in Arabic. Tevekkul described being beaten and punched in the face during questioning. 'They put us on a tiled floor, shackled our hands and feet and tied us to a pipe, like a gas pipe. There were six soldiers guarding us. They interrogated us until the morning and then they took us to the maximum-security area of the prison,' he said. The tribunal is the latest attempt to hold China accountable for alleged rights abuses against the Uighurs and other predominantly Muslim and ethnic Turkic minorities. Members of Uighur community living in Turkey stage a protest outside the Chinese consulate in Istanbul on Wednesday, Semsinur Gafur, an ethnic Uighur who fled from China to Turkey. Gafur, a former obstetrician-gynecologist who worked in a village hospital in Xinjiang in the 1990s, said she and other female doctors used to go from house to house with a mobile ultrasound machine to check if anyone was pregnant 'If a household had more births than allowed, they would raze the home ... They would flatten the house, destroy it,' Gafur said. 'This was my life there. It was very distressing. And because I worked in a state hospital, people didn't trust me. The Uighur people saw me as a Chinese traitor.' An estimated 1 million people or more - most of them Uighurs - have been confined in re-education camps in Xinjiang in recent years, according to researchers. Chinese authorities have been accused of imposing forced labor, systematic forced birth control and torture, and separating children from incarcerated parents. Beijing has flatly rejected the allegations. Officials have characterized the camps, which they say are now closed, as vocational training centers to teach Chinese language, job skills and the law to support economic development and combat extremism. China saw a wave of Xinjiang-related terror attacks through 2016. The hearings organizers said Chinese authorities have ignored requests to participate in the proceedings. The Chinese embassy in London did not respond to requests for comment, but officials in China have said the tribunal is set up by 'anti-China forces' to spread lies. 'There is no such thing as genocide or forced labor in Xinjiang,' the region's government spokesperson Elijan Anayat told reporters Thursday. 'If the tribunal insists on going its own way, we would like to express our severe condemnation and opposition and will be forced to take countermeasures.' In April, Britains parliament followed those in Belgium, the Netherlands and Canada in declaring that Beijings policies against the Uighurs amounted to genocide and crimes against humanity. The U.S. government has also done the same. But Nice, the lawyer leading the tribunal, said so far those declarations of genocide have come with limited analysis of evidence about the intentions behind the Chinese governments policies. 'It is the mental state of those organs (of the Chinese government) that would have to be examined or established and proved if any finding of genocide is ever to be made,' Nice said. 'Its pretty obvious that purpose and intent is going to be critical.' Mahmut Tevekkul, an ethnic Uighur who fled from China to Turkey, said he was imprisoned and tortured in 2010 by Chinese authorities who interrogated him for information about one of his brothers. 'They put us on a tiled floor, shackled our hands and feet and tied us to a pipe, like a gas pipe. There were six soldiers guarding us. They interrogated us until the morning and then they took us to the maximum-security area of the prison,' he said. Nice was one of nine British citizens sanctioned by China in March for spreading 'lies and disinformation' about the country. The move came after the UK and other Western governments took similar measures against China over its treatment of the Uighurs. The lawyer said he isn't intimidated, but admitted that the sanctions have resulted in some participants withdrawing from the tribunal. Organizers also said they have been subjected to cyber targeting. They had to increase the events security after about 500 of the hearings free tickets were booked up by people with fake email addresses. While her fellow exiles said they agreed to testify to seek justice, Rozi, the woman who reported the forced abortion, says she is motivated to speak out for a more personal reason. Her youngest son has been detained since 2015, when he was just 13, and she hopes the tribunals work will help lead to his freedom one day. 'I want my son to be freed as soon as possible,' she said. 'I want to see him be set free.' Advertisement A 9/11 Homeland Security expert is leading calls for President Biden to lift the 'outdated' ban on travel from the UK and Europe which is 'stuck in time', decimating the economy and no longer makes sense when most of the world's tourists can freely come to America. Since March 2020, the US border has been closed to 26 European countries, the UK, Ireland, Iran, China and South Africa because of COVID fears. They were the countries with the worst outbreaks at the start of the pandemic. India, which is experiencing a terrifying COVID outburst - is now also on the list and so is Brazil. People from any other country can fly to the US, so long as they have a valid visa and a negative COVID-19 test, and Americans can also enter the US from anywhere in the world so long as they also test negative. That includes traveling from countries like some in Africa, where the vaccine roll-out is barely off the ground, and Nepal, where a frightening new variant has been detected. Unlike in March last year, when the proclamation was put in place, the US is on track to have vaccinated 70 percent of its population by July. The UK has vaccinated half of its citizens and Americans are allowed to travel there. Europe is also launching vaccine passports that will allow Americans to travel there. Many countries like Greece and Italy are already open to Americans. The ongoing ban on open travel to the US from Europe and the UK in particular - which was previously the biggest source of inbound airline traffic - is stumping policy experts who say it is outdated and no longer makes sense. Former Assistant Homeland Secretary C. Stewart Verdery Jr. is among those who says the ongoing ban is not only divorced from data, but that it is damaging the US economic recovery from COVID. Verdery Jr. worked in Homeland Security from 2003 and 2005. He was among officials who came up with new travel rules to adapt to the post 9/11 world. In an interview with DailyMail.com on Thursday, he described how Biden's policy is outdated, and why the reasons to excuse it before no longer stand. People from any other country can fly to the US, so long as they have a valid visa and a negative COVID-19 test, and Americans can also enter the US from anywhere in the world so long as they also test negative. That includes traveling from countries like some in Africa, where the vaccine roll-out is barely off the ground, and Nepal, where a frightening new variant has been detected 'I accept that they inherited a tricky situation. They inherited policies that were in place but there hasn't been a re-look at them in light of the fact those countries have been leaders on vaccinations. Former Assistant Homeland Secretary C. Stewart Verdery Jr. is among those who says the ongoing ban is not only divorced from data, but that it is damaging the US economic recovery from COVID 'Especially among the traveling public - the chances of the average person who's going to be traveling, being vaccinated, is 90 percent. On top of that you have the testing requirement. 'You've got this odd situation where you van fly into the US from half the world regardless of their conditions or vaccine rollouts, then the other half of the world that are doing well, they're not taking into consideration. It's like they're stuck in time.' The ban was first implemented by Trump last March, at the very beginning of the crisis. Shortly before he left office, Trump announced that he was lifting the ban. Biden reinstated it within a day or two of taking office. Verdery said by doing so, he backed himself into a corner that now the administration is struggling to get out of. 'Once they revoked Trump undoing it, they put themselves in a box. And unless there was a bulletproof plan that all of the doctors and advisers agreed on, they weren't going to press ahead with it. 'They backed themselves into a corner. I thought that corner might last a month or two, but not five,' he said. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is said to be hopeful that Biden will reopen the border this summer and that they can discuss a UK/US travel corridor at the G7 from June 11 until June 13. The White House is stonewalling journalists who ask about it and behind the scenes, experts say the Biden administration is hesitant to allow travel from one of the banned countries without allowing it to resume from all of them including India - where COVID-19 is spiraling out of control. 'You've got this odd situation where you van fly into the US from half the world regardless of their conditions or vaccine rollouts, then the other half of the world that are doing well, they're not taking into consideration. It's like they're stuck in time Former Assistant Homeland Secretary C. Stewart Verdery Jr. 'The government is trying to solve the whole problem, all of the challenges at once, recognizing variants as an issue. 'Rather than starting with what they can, it seems like they want to conquer the whole issue and we think that from an economic standpoint, that will continue to damage the US economy. We know the science tells us that we can safely reopen with the UK. The process is moving forward and there are ongoing conversations but they are just not there yet. 'We plan to continue to press on them that we can't wait any more,' Tori Emerson Barnes, executive vice president of public affairs and policy at the U.S. Travel Association, told DailyMail.com. Verdery said that plan is flawed and the administration should go country by country. 'We ought to be doing a country by country analysis on the health front just like we do on immigration and terrorism. I was in Homeland Security after 9/11...we had to rebuild all of our policies and look for the needle in the haystack - it took a while but our work with the Brits was at the forefront of that. 'There is no reason to hold the British travel corridor hostage to facts on the ground in India. And this isn't irreversible - if a country starts back-sliding, it can be changed again.' One of the biggest issues is that the industry needs time to prepare. 'We were asking in May for reopening in July and obviously that has passed... it will take some time. The businesses are looking now at what they can do but it's not something that can turn on a dime.' In May, the CEOs of 22 major airlines begged Biden to give them a timeline that would allow them to reopen in July. They said there are multiple things to be considered like staffing airline routes, checking that fleets of planes which haven't been used for months are still safe, replacing thousands of rental cars that have been sold, and bringing back hotel staff. But their pleas were ignored from the White House, which is yet to offer a tentative end date for the ban. Barnes revealed that if the US does not reopen international travel by the end of 2021 in some significant way, the US economy will lose 2million jobs and more than $400billion. 'We've got to be able to move things forward. We really urge, respectfully, that our government looks at the science. It is vital that the global travel economy reopens,' she added. Americans are free to go on vacation to many foreign countries, including Europe, but no one from the banned countries can get into the US Governor Andrew Cuomo has launched a $5million ad campaign to try to boost international tourism even though millions remain banned from the country There are growing efforts to revive travel in the US but they will be severely hindered for as long as travel is banned from several countries. On Wednesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo launched a $5million ad campaign to try to boost domestic and international travel to New York City - which has been financially and culturally decimated by the pandemic - but millions still won't be able to visit because of the federal ban. 'We're starting an international ad campaign for tourism, New York is back and New York is the best and we want people to be a part of it. The White House continues to fail to give any form of timeline for when the ban may be lifted despite Biden's 70% vaccine goal in July 'We want people coming to New York and we want them to know they are welcome, and we want them to come make us the venue for their reentry into living and thriving and enjoying once again. 'Our message is: to domestic and international tourists, this is the place you want to visit. This is the one state where whatever you want to do, you can do it in this great state of New York.' He didn't give any explanation for how his plan would work while the border remains closed to millions of people around the world, and his office didn't answer questions about it on Thursday. The ban has created a nightmare scenario for immigrants and families who have been separated. Many haven't seen their families for more than a year. Others, whose visas in America have expired, won't be able to leave the country even if the ban is lifted without an appointment at a US embassy abroad, and the appointments are backlogged for months. The US embassy in London has just canceled all appointments between August and October. The soonest available appointments now are not until March 2022. Some countries, like Australia, are not allowing citizens to travel for recreation. Canada is also not allowing tourists from anywhere in the world. The only people who are eligible to enter are citizens. Non-essential travel to the US from Canada is also banned. Montana Senator begs Biden and Trudeau to reopen the border for farmers who need it to make a living Montana Senator Jon Tester is begging Biden and Trudeau to reopen the border for non-essential travel to allow people to make a living again Montana Senator Jon Tester is begging Biden and Trudeau to reopen the border for non-essential travel to allow people to make a living again. In an open letter, he said this week: 'As a farmer in north central Montana, I hear often from my neighbors and others in the region about the negative impact the continued border closure has on their daily lives. 'Each day that passes without resolution is a hit to family farmers and ranchers, small businesses, and the rural communities along the border. 'I am pleased to see reports that U.S. and Canadian officials have begun preliminary discussions about reopening the border. 'However, there are still no immediate plans to reopen the border and there has been no additional guidance on timing. 'I urge you to work with the Canadian government to develop an actionable plan to reopen the northern border for all trade and travel in a timely manner. 'Our governments must continue to work together to establish clear reopening thresholds and policies,' he said. Dramatic new bodycam footage shows a 14 year-old girl wailing in pain after being shot when she and a 12 year-old foster home friend fired at cops with an AK-47. Nicole Jackson and Travis O'Brien are accused of breaking into a home in Volusia County, Florida, on Tuesday night and arming themselves with an AK-47 and rifle before repeatedly shooting at sheriff's deputies as they tried to persuade them to surrender. Their behavior saw them likened to a 'young Bonnie and Clyde' by Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood. The stand-off ended with Jackson being shot in the chest, with newly-released bodycam footage capturing her wailing in pain after being struck. The two children are facing charges of attempted first-degree murder of law enforcement officers and armed burglary. The man who owns the home they broke into has since revealed he fears it was targeted because he had a sheriff's star hanging from the window, although no-one was home at the time. O'Brien appeared in a juvenile court for the first time on Thursday where a judge ordered him to be arraigned on June 23. Jackson is yet to face court as she remains in hospital after undergoing surgery for her gunshot wound. Nicole Jackson, 14, and Travis O'Brien, 12, are accused of breaking into a home in Volusia County on Tuesday night and opening fire on officers during a 30-minute standoff that ended with the girl being shot Authorities have released footage of the 30-minute standoff that ended when the 14-year-old girl was shot and the 12-year-old boy was forced to surrender. The boy is pictured above with his arms in the air walking towards police Authorities have now released footage of the 30-minute standoff that only ended when the girl was shot when she emerged from the garage while pointing her gun at officers. In the moments before she was shot, Volusia County Sheriff's deputies were shouting over their radios that the girl was standing near a door with an AK-47 and shotgun. They noted that the boy had armed himself with a handgun. 'Stand by, she's got the AK and the shotgun. She's wrapping them around the top of her neck,' a deputy can be heard saying. Moments later, a deputy shouted: 'Shot fired, goddammit. Shot fired again.' The children then appeared to swap weapons with a deputy noting that the girl had now taken possession of the handgun, while the boy was armed with a 'long gun'. 'She's pointing a gun, pointing a gun behind a trash can,' a deputy then shouted. The girl could be heard screaming in pain just seconds later as the aerial footage captured officers exchanging gunfire with the children. The standoff that only ended when the girl was shot when she emerged from the garage while pointing her gun at officers. She is pictured above next to the blue trash can after being shot The girl could be heard screaming in pain as aerial footage showed her lying on the ground (above) after being shot The footage showed the boy appearing to immediately surrender as he walked towards deputies with his hands in the air. Deputies repeatedly said the girl was lying on the ground near the trash can where she was shot. After the boy was taken into custody, deputies could be seen running over to treat the injured girl. Jackson ended up being rushed to Central Florida Regional Hospital with life-threatening injuries and underwent surgery. She is now in a stable condition. The two children had earlier run away from the Florida United Methodist Children's Home where they were living. On Thursday, homeowner AJ Bedizel says he believed the children may have broken into the house because he had a sheriff's star hanging from a window, a memento from when he served as a Brevard County Sheriff's Deputy. Bedizel told ClickOrlando that he was on a brief trip to a Publix supermarket with his two teenage daughters when their house was broken into. No-one was home at the time, although Bedizel says his house was badly damaged during the shootout, and that he feels 'violated' by what happened there. Florida United Methodist Children's Home is a group home that started out as an orphanage. Police said they responded to the home hundreds of times last year for various incidents. It is not clear why, or how long, the two children had been staying at the home. The whole ordeal unfolded after O'Brien and Jackson were reported missing from the children's home just before 5pm. Deputies were searching the area when a neighbor reported hearing glass break at a home around 7.30pm. The aerial footage captured officers exchanging gunfire with the children as the girl was shot. The officers can be seen on the far right behind the tree. The children are out of view having fired from the house After the boy was taken into custody, deputies could be seen running over to treat the injured girl. Jackson ended up being rushed to Central Florida Regional Hospital with life-threatening injuries and underwent surgery. She is now in stable They contacted the homeowner after spotting two people inside but the owner told deputies they were not home and there were multiple guns inside the property. The girl started shooting at deputies when they surrounded the home and ordered the pair to come out. Authorities say the children fired multiple rounds at deputies four times in the space of 30 minutes. Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said the two children, who he described as 'evil' and likened to 'Bonnie and Clyde', used a handgun, rifle and AK-47 to fire at deputies from several vantage points in the home. No deputies were injured in the ordeal. 'Deputies did everything they could tonight to de-escalate and they almost lost their lives to a 12-year-old and a 14-year-old,' Sheriff Chitwood said. 'If it wasn't for their training and their supervision Somebody would have ended up dead. 'They took rounds - multiple, multiple rounds - until they were left with no other choice but to return fire.' Pictured: To Kill A Mockingbird is voted the most inspirational book of all time by British readers To Kill a Mockingbird has been hailed the most inspirational book of all time, according a new study by British readers. Researchers polled the nation's literature lovers to discover the books which have inspired, awed and influenced us most. And Pulitzer Prize winner and American classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee came first in the survey of Britons of all ages. Originally banned in some schools due to its themes of racism and sexual violence, the book continues to captivate younger generations of readers and feels as relevant now as it was when first published in 1960. The plot and characters are loosely based on Lee's observations of her family, her neighbours and an event that occurred near her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama when she was 10. Scout Finch and her older brother, Jem spend much of their time with their friend Dill and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbour, Boo Radley. When Atticus, their widowed father and a respected lawyer, defends a black man named Tom Robinson against fabricated rape charges, the trial and tangent events expose the children to evils of racism and stereotyping. How to Win Friends and Influence People and The Handmaid's Tale make up the top three An American classic: Harper Lee and the most influential novel of all time Harper Lee was born Nelle Harper Lee on April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, the youngest of four children of lawyer Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee. She was known to family and friends as Nelle. Lee's older sister Alice once described her sister as 'Atticus in a skirt', referring to her beloved Mockingbird character Atticus Finch, who was believed to have been inspired by their father. After moving to New York in the spring of 1957, Lee worked on the manuscript for what would eventually be To Kill a Mockingbird for a number of years. Meanwhile, interest in racial relations in the South had increased nationally as the U.S. Supreme Court had issued its school desegregation decisions in 1954. When the novel was finally ready, the author opted to use the name 'Harper Lee', rather than risk having her first name Nelle be misidentified as 'Nellie'. The manuscript, according to the publishing house, arrived under the title Atticus. The title later became 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' referring to an old saying that it was all right to kill a blue jay but a sin to kill a mockingbird, which gives the world its music. Published July 11, 1960, the book was an immediate bestseller and won great critical acclaim. It remains a bestseller, with more than 30 million copies in print. In 1999, it was voted 'Best Novel of the Century' in a poll by the Library Journal. Advertisement The Female Eunuch, written by Germain Greer in 1970, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by the master of espionage John Le Carre also featured in the top 25, according to the 1,500 book lovers, surveyed by the Amazon Literary Partnership. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald and J D Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, also made the final cut. Dale Carnegies self-help book How to Win Friends and Influence People first published in 1936 also made the list of most influential books of all time. So important is literature to the nation, almost a quarter (22 per cent) of those surveyed, claim they have read at least one novel that has changed their lives. According to the survey, over a quarter of the nation (27 per cent) think they have a best selling book inside them waiting to be written, although 54 per cent admit they simply would not know where to start. Darren Hardy from Amazon.co.uk said: 'With such a diverse range of literature out there, it is no surprise that as a nation we feel inspired by so many different genres of books. 'We know from working with incredible literary organisations supported by the Amazon Literary Partnership, that there is still so much untapped writing talent waiting to be discovered in the UK.' Through programmes such as the Amazon Literary Partnership, Amazon provides grants to a whole range of literary organisations across the UK who empower writers of all ages and stages. The grans help them create, publish, learn, teach, experiment and thrive. Now in its second year in the UK, the Amazon Literary Partnership has awarded grants to non-profit literary organisations whose mission it is to champion emerging writers and diversity in storytelling. One in five Brits (20 per cent) reckon their writing skills have deteriorated greatly since they left school, while half say that constantly texting and using instant messaging have not helped their writing ability either. In fact, 42 per cent admit they have become completely reliant on automatic spelling and grammar checks, while 38 percent say an increased use of social media has affected their ability to write well. John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen also made the top 5 But 37 per cent believe that technology means it's now easier and more accessible than before to write a book. In terms of the books we enjoy reading, half say they feel there are more diverse characters appearing in today's books, while 43 per cent believe there are more diverse authors coming to the fore when it comes to bestselling literature. When it comes to getting creative with words, while not writing poetry or prose themselves, 37 per cent of Britons enjoy composing social media posts, almost a quarter (24 per cent) write a daily journal, and 24 per cent love writing letters to their friends and family. Dr. Anthony Fauci doubled down on claims that the coronavirus likely originated from an animal then was transmitted to humans in a Thursday morning interview on CNN, despite increasing speculation that it leaked from a China lab. Fauci, who served under former President Trump and President Joe Biden, continues to fight the idea that he downplayed theories that the virus originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology after a trove of emails exchange at the beginning of the pandemic revealed he was warned about a potential lab leak. 'I have always said and will say today to you ... that I still believe the most likely origin is from an animal species to a human,' Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Thursday on CNN. Although he said he's keeping an open mind about the possibility of a lab leak, Fauci said it was 'far-fetched' to think the Chinese would kill their own people. 'The idea, I think, is quite far-fetched that the Chinese deliberately engineered something so that they could kill themselves, as well as other people. I think thats a bit far out.' Scroll down for video. Fauci was interview Thursday morning on CNN A team of researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the EcoHealth Alliance have trapped bats in caves all over China, like this one in Guangdong, to sample them for coronaviruses Chinese virologist Shi Zhengli is seen inside the P4 laboratory in Wuhan, capital of China's Hubei province, on February 23, 2017 In a separate Thursday morning interview on MSNBC, Fauci said they want to definitively find the cause of the coronavirus pandemic - whatever that origin is - but pointing the finger at China isn't going to help. 'It's in China's interest to find out exactly what it is,' Fauci said. 'Obviously, you want openness and cooperation. One of the ways to get it is not to be accusatory. Try to get a forensic, scientific and investigational approach. I think the accusatory part about it is only going to make (China) pull back more.' Fauci was asked during the MSNBC interview if he thought it was in China's best interest to hide information if the origin was a lab leak or if it was designing a weapon. He sidestepped, saying no matter what he says, 'it will be taken completely out of context,' which he said has already happened after more than 3,200 of his emails from January to June 2020 were obtained and published by Buzzfeed on Tuesday. The emails showed leading virus experts warned him COVID-19 may have been created in a lab while he publicly played such claims down. Many emails were redacted, and Fauci was asked during the Thursday morning interview on CNN if he remembers what was said. 'They only took about 10,000 emails from me. Of course, I remember. I remember all 10,000 of them,' he said sarcastically. 'Give me a break.' In an interview with NewsNation Now anchor Leland Vittert on The Donlon Report, Fauci said the emails 'are really ripe to be taken out of context where someone can snip out a sentence in an email without showing the other emails, and say 'based on an email from Dr. Fauci, he said such and such' where you don't really have the full context.' Fauci also explained on NewsNation why scientists focused their theories on the natural transmission from bats to humans through an intermediary species. Dr. Anthony Fauci dismissed recent revelations that he was warned by scientist at start of pandemic that COVID-19 may have been 'engineered' The under-fire chief medical advisor to the president has dismissed revelations that he was warned at the start of pandemic that COVID-19 may have been 'engineered', and claimed Trump supporters 'resent' him because they do not 'understand' science. He has now acknowledged he 'can't guarantee everything that is going on in the Wuhan lab' amid increasing speculation it did not occur naturally. Fauci, who has been a frequent target of Trump and his supporters for dismissing the theory, claims he was never 'anti-Trump'. Speaking with MSNBC's Deadline on Wednesday evening, Fauci said: 'There is no doubt that there are people out there who, for one reason or another, resent me for what I did in the last administration, which was not anything that was anti-Trump at all. 'It was just trying to get the right information, to try and get the right data. What they didn't seem to understand, I guess that it is understandable that they didn't understand it, is that science is a dynamic process. 'So something that you know in January, you make a recommendation or a comment about it, but as you get more and more information, the information leads you to change because that is what science is, it is a self-correcting process. 'That is what I was trying to do, always tell the truth on the basis of what the data is. It was never deliberately something against the president.' Fauci made his comments in an interview with NewsNation Now anchor Leland Vittert on The Donlon Report where he also admitted he 'can't guarantee everything that is going on in the Wuhan lab' Fauci, who is considered America's top expert on infectious disease, also explained why scientists focused their theories on the natural transmission from bats rather than an accidental leak from the Wuhan lab Researchers at a number of top universities have recently penned a letter claiming that theories that COVID-19 escaped from a Wuhan lab 'remain viable' The Wuhan Institute of Virology is about 20 miles from the Huanan Seafood Market where the first coronavirus cases are reported to have occurred Another trove of emails, published by the Washington Post, also revealed his cozy relationship with China's top infectious disease expert Dr. George Gao - the director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention - during the early days of the pandemic in March and April of last year. 'Let's put things in context ... We're not talking about the Chinese Communist Party. We're not talking about the Chinese military. We're talking about scientists that we've had relationships for years,' Fauci said to Vittert. Fauci then defended his relationship with Gao, a colleague of Fauci's 'for many years' and a member of the United States National Academy of Scientists. 'The scientists there, and others that we dealt with the original SARS, with the influenza virtually every year, the scientists are experienced,' Fauci said. He also defended a grant the United States provided the Wuhan lab, which has raised concerns that American money may have helped pay for the alleged creation of virus at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. 'The Wuhan lab is a very large lab to the tune of hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars. The grant that we're talking about was $600,000 over five years for an average of about $125,000 to $140,000 a year,' Fauci said. He added: 'I can't guarantee everything that is going on in the Wuhan lab, I can't do that. But it is our obligation as scientists and public health individuals to study the animal-human interface' in the aftermath of the original SARS virus in 2002. Fauci explained that SARS-CoV-1 'was clearly a jumping of species from a bat, to a civet cat, to a human.' 'So it was incumbent upon us to study the animal-human interface and to understand what potential these viruses have of infecting humans which then might damage the United States,' Fauci said. 'So you don't want to go to Hoboken, New Jersey or to Fairfax, Virginia to be studying the bat human interface that might lead to an outbreak. You go to China.' How Fauci flip-flopped on the origins of COVID April 2020: Fauci repeatedly made public statements suggesting that that COVID was the result of an 'unusual human-animal interface' in a Chinese 'wet market' and that 'the mutations that it took to get to the point where it is now is totally consistent with a jump of a species from an animal to a human.' May 2020: Still adamant that he didn't believe the coronavirus was man-made. 'If you look at the evolution of the virus in bats and what's out there now, [the scientific evidence] is very, very strongly leaning toward this could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated,' he told National Geographic in an exclusive interview published May 4, 2020. 'Everything about the stepwise evolution over time strongly indicates that [this virus] evolved in nature and then jumped species.' Late May 2021 to early June 2021: During an event called 'United Facts of America: A Festival of Fact-Checking,' Fauci was asked if was 'still confident' that the virus evolved naturally. 'No, actually I am not convinced about that. I think we should continue to investigate what went on in China until we continue to find out to the best of our ability what happened,' Fauci said. 'Certainly, the people who investigated it say it likely was the emergence from an animal reservoir that then infected individuals, but it could have been something else, and we need to find that out.' He added: 'So, you know, that's the reason why I said I'm perfectly in favor of any investigation that looks into the origin of the virus.' Advertisement During the interview, Fauci also defended the government's early messages telling Americans not wear masks before nationwide mask mandates were later ordered. In one email, Fauci had said: 'The typical mask you buy in the drug store is not really effective in keeping out virus, which is small enough to pass through the material.' Responding to questions about that email, Fauci said: 'Let me explain, and it is a complicated issue. At the time we were saying it wasn't necessary to wear masks there were three things that were going on.' 'One of them was, there was a consideration that there was a shortage of personal protective equipment, particularly among people who actually needed the mask those who were taking care of patients in the hospital. 'So we didn't want to have people running to the stores and getting N95 and other masks. So I should have probably been more explicit, you're right, and said that there are a number of aspects to it including the poor fitting.' In March 2020, Gao had told Science magazine that it was a 'big mistake' for U.S. experts including Fauci to tell their citizens that they did not need to wear face masks. A subsequent email shows that Gao was anxious as to how Fauci would interpret the remark. He messaged Fauci on March 28 saying: 'I saw the Science interview... That was journalist's wording. Hope you understand. Lets work together to get the virus out of the earth.' Fauci warmly replied: 'I understand completely. No problem. We will get through this together.' On April 3, Fauci formally reversed his stance on mask-wearing, telling Americans that they should cover their noses and mouths to stop the spread. The top doctor was slammed by numerous pundits and millions of Americans for giving mixed messages. He later said he did so to try and prevent members of the public panic-buying masks when hospitals were struggling to obtain adequate supplies of PPE. Less than a week later, Gao emailed Fauci again expressing his support amid the onslaught of attacks. 'I saw some news (hope it is fake) that you are being attacked by some people. Hope you are well under such a irrational situation,' Gao wrote on April 8. 'Thank you for your kind note. All is well despite some crazy people in this world,' Fauci replied three days later. Fauci also admitted during the interview that he doesn't believe COVID-19 will ever be fully eradicated. 'I don't believe we will ever fully eradicate SARS-COV-2, I hope we will be able to eliminate it or greatly control it in this country,' he said. Fauci was warned that the coronavirus was possibly 'engineered' in a lab before the pandemic started and seemed to be taking it seriously behind closed doors while downplaying the idea in public. In a Jan. 31, 2020 email - more than two months before the World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic - Fauci forwarded a copy of Science magazine article titled 'Mining coronavirus genomes for clues to the outbreak's origins' to two people. U.S. virus researcher Kristian Andersen and Sir Jeremy Farrar, who runs a global health charity in Britain, were on the receiving end of the email. 'This just came out today. You may have seen it. If not, it is of interest to the current discussion,' wrote Fauci, the longtime head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Andersen, who runs a viral genomics lab at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California, wrote back, 'The problem is that our phylogenetic analyses aren't able to answer whether the sequences are unusual at individual residues, except if they are completely off. 'The unusual features of the virus make up a really small part of the genome (<0.1%) so one has to look really closely at all the sequences to see that some of the features (potentially) look engineered.' Andersen also noted that he and others 'all find the genome inconsistent with expectations from evolutionary theory' but added that 'there are still further analyses to be done, so those opinions could still change.' On March 30 and April 1, Andersen sent dozens of tweets in a thread after the World Health Organization released its report about the origin of the coronavirus. In the thread, he included a tweet saying, 'First of all, I have very carefully considered the possibility of a lab leak, dating back to January, 2020. A committee under the White House OSTP/NASEM was set up in response to these enquiries and I remain a member of that committee today.' On Wednesday, after Fauci's emails went viral, Andersen tweeted a reply to Australian reporter Sharri Markson downplaying the idea of a cover up. 'I know it's super mundane, but it isn't actually a 'massive cover-up,' Sharri. It's just science. Boring, I know, but it's quite a helpful thing to have in times of uncertainty,' Andersen tweeted. Two days later - February 2, 2020 - Farar sent an email to Fauci and other US health officials sent a ZeroHedge article wit the headline 'Coronavirus Contains 'HIV Insertions,' Stocking Fears Over Artificially Created Bioweapon.' The emails show Fauci received 'a flurry of correspondence about the theory that coronavirus leaked from a lab in Wuhan,' Buzzfeed reported, including one email sent to Fauci on April 16, 2020 by Francis Collins. Collins, the director of the National Institute of Health, wrote 'conspiracy gains momentum' in the subject line and included a link to a Mediaite news article referencing comments made a day earlier about the Wuhan lab leak theory by Fox News anchor Bret Baier. The contents of Collins' email was redacted. Fauci replied on April 17 at 2.45am but his response also was blacked out. Fauci requested a 'quick call' with Collins in one of his earlier replies. US virus researcher Kristian Andersen responded to a January 2020 Fauci email about COVID NIH Director Dr Francis Collins (left) appeared to dismiss the theory that COVID-19 leaked from a Wuhan lab as a 'conspiracy' in an email to Dr Anthony Fauci (right) on April 16 last year The other email recipients included NIH Deputy Director Dr. Lawrence Tabak, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Deputy Director Clifford Lane and NIH spokesman John Burklow. The story linked in Collins' original email was based on an April 15 broadcast on Fox News during which Baier told fellow anchor Sean Hannity that 'multiple sources' believed COVID-19 originated in a Wuhan lab before accidentally escaping. 'This is from multiple sources who have been briefed at the beginning part of the origins of China and the beginning of the virus. They've also seen documents, open source and classified,' Baier said. 'We've asked to see those documents directly, but they are saying that it is increasingly likely, that there is increasing confidence that the virus - COVID-19 - started in a Wuhan lab. 'They're saying it occurred naturally because China was trying to show that they could be as good or better than the US in handling viruses, discovering viruses, and that this was a botched effort to contain this and it got out to the population. 'They are 100 percent confident that China altered the data, the statistics, they did a lot of things to contain the information. Meanwhile, they cut down, as you mentioned, travel from Wuhan internally, but left the international flights going, and there obviously is how you have a spread like this.' Evidence has been mounting of late that supports the theory that the pandemic began as an accidental leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The subject line of Collins' email to Fauci and several others at the National Institutes of Health was titled 'conspiracy gains momentum'. It included a link to a Mediaite news article referencing comments made a day earlier about the Wuhan lab leak theory by Fox News anchor Bret Baier (above) New evidence, including word of three workers at the Wuhan lab who fell seriously ill with COVID-like symptoms in November 2019, has forced a sober reassessment among doubters Biden last week ordered a 90-day intelligence review to investigate the possibility and several high-profile public health experts have come out in recent months saying they believe that's how COVID-19 started. Former CDC director Robert Redfield told CNN in March that he believes the virus 'escaped' from a Wuhan lab and started spreading as early as September 2019. Fauci later dismissed Redfield's belief when asked about them at a White House COVID-19 briefing - noting that if the virus had been circulating for months it would make the assertion that it came from a lab less likely. 'So when you think about the possibilities of how this virus appeared in the human population, obviously there are a number of theories,' Fauci said in the briefing. 'The issue that would have someone think it's possible to have escaped from a lab would mean that it essentially entered the outside human population already well adapted to humans, suggesting that it was adapted in the lab.' However, Fauci said that most public health officials believe that the virus was actually circulating in China for a month or more before they were clinically recognized at the end of December 2019. 'If that were the case, the virus clearly could have adapted itself to a greater efficiency of transmissibility over that period of time up to and at the time it was recognized,' Fauci said. 'So, Dr. Redfield was mentioning that he was giving an opinion as to a possibility. But, again, there are other alternatives others that most people hold by.' Even Collins has appeared to change his tune as recently as last month while speaking to senators when he told them the Wuhan lab leak theory couldn't be completely ruled out. 'It is most likely that this is a virus that arose naturally, but we cannot exclude the possibility of some kind of a lab accident,' he said. David Arnold Relman, left, and Jesse D. Bloom, right, recently organized a letter for the Science journal which said that the Wuhan lab escape theory can't be ruled out yet There is continued discussion over whether COVID is a naturally-occurring virus or a more sinister genetically-modified virus that was meant to be confined to the Wuhan institute that leaked by accident. Claims that the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology have been laughed off as conspiracy theories - but researchers at a number of top universities like Harvard and Cambridge have suggest in a letter that the 'hypotheses' cannot be ruled out until there is more evidence. New evidence, including reports of three workers at the Wuhan lab who fell seriously ill with COVID-like symptoms in November 2019, has forced a sober reassessment among doubters. Facebook also has been forced to reverse its policy censoring posts speculating that the virus was engineered in a lab, amid serious questions about the 'gain of function' experiments being done on coronavirus strains at the Wuhan lab. China continues to furiously deny that the virus behind COVID-19 escaped from its lab in the original epicenter, accusing the United States of taking a 'dangerous stance' in calling for a full investigation into the possibility. 'He told me it wasn't gain of function, but admitted it in these emails': Rand Paul says Fauci lied to him over US-funded research that was being carried out in Wuhan lab and demands he is fired Republican Sen. Rand Paul demanded Dr. Anthony Fauci be fired and claimed that he lied to him about gain-of-function research conducted at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that was allegedly funded by the United States. Paul appeared on Fox News' The Ingraham Angle where he claimed that thousands of emails revealed by Buzzfeed News and the Washington Post proved Fauci may have been in-part responsible for the development of COVID-19. At a Senate hearing last month, Paul accused the National Institutes of Health of funding Chinese research into bat coronaviruses that infect humans But Fauci told Paul: 'You are entirely and completely incorrect. The NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain of function research in the Wuhan Institute.' On Wednesday, the junior senator from Kentucky said that Fauci bears 'moral culpability' while asserting that COVID-19 was created by the Wuhan Institute of Virology through funding from the NIH, a theory which has not been proven. The junior senator from Kentucky said Fauci bears 'moral culpability' for the pandemic and should be fired from his government roles Scientists have primarily focused their beliefs about COVID-19 on the theory that it spread naturally from a bat to an intermediary animal before infecting humans. Claims that the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology have been laughed off as conspiracy theories - but even researchers at a number of top universities like Harvard and Cambridge have suggested in a letter that the 'hypotheses' cannot be ruled out until there is more evidence. In gain-of-function research, scientists alter organisms and diseases to study how they could become deadlier or more transmissible. The field of virology widely relies on such studies. Fauci, who serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under the umbrella of the NIH, has denied that the NIH directly funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan. However, Paul asserted to Fox News host Laura Ingraham that the recently reveals emails show Fauci admitted to funding gain-of-function research. 'I think we've had a sea change of opinion. Everybody left-of-center was saying this was a conspiracy, no way it could have happened in the Wuhan lab. Now even Dr. Fauci is saying we should investigate it,' Paul said. 'But the emails paint a disturbing picture, a disturbing picture of Dr. Fauci form the very beginning worrying that he had been funding gain of function research. And he knows it to this day but hasn't admitted it.' Paul claimed in the interview that 'there is a lot of evidence' that Fauci's views on the Wuhan lab-leak theory were compromised by a 'conflict of interest.' 'If it turns out this virus came from the Wuhan lab, which it looks like it did, that there's a great deal of culpability in that he was a big supporter of the funding,' Paul said. 'But he was also a big supporter to this day of saying that we can trust the Chinese on this, that we can trust Chinese scientists and I think that's quite naive and really should preclude him form the position that he's in.' The NIH awarded a $3.7 million grant to EcoHealth Alliance, which is based in the United States, to study the risk of coronaviruses emerging from bats in 2014. EcoHealth Alliance in turn distributed nearly $600,000 of that funding to its collaborator, the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Paul claimed during the Fox News interview that Fauci's emails show he was worried the NIH funded gain-of-function research as early as last February during the emergence of the pandemic. 'In his email, in the subject line, he says 'gain of function research.' He was admitting it to his private underlings seven to eight months ago,' Paul said. In a February 1, 2020 email obtained by Buzzfeed News, Principal NIAID Director Hugh Auschincloss wrote to Fauci to discuss a paper the top infectious disease expert had sent him appearing to question if NIH grants funded gain of function research relating to coronaviruses. In the email to Fauci, Auschincloss noted that a colleague would 'try to determine if we have any distant ties to this work abroad.' When Ingraham asked Paul if Fauci could face criminal culpability, he replied: 'At the very least, there is moral culpability.' Lara Trump said Thursday that people are getting 'worked up' over nothing and her father-in-law does not actually expect to be reinstated as president in August despite reports stating otherwise. 'As far as I know, there are no plans for Donald Trump to be in the White House in August. Maybe there's something I don't know,' Lara told the Fox & Friends panel Thursday morning. 'But no, I think that that is a lot of folks getting a little worked up about something just because maybe there wasn't enough pushback, you know, from the Republican side,' she added. 'So no, I have not heard any plans for Donald Trump to be installed in the White House in August.' A New York Times journalist first reported Tuesday that the former president 'has been telling a number of people he's in contact with that he expects he will get reinstated by August.' The comments from Times reporter Maggie Haberman come after Trump's original National Security Advisor Michael Flynn said a Myanmar-style coup 'should happen.' She also pointed out that Trump supporters have expressed support for the coup idea. Donald Trump's daughter-in-law Lara pushed back against reports Thursday, insisting to 'Fox & Friends' that the former president does not expect to be reinstalled at the White House in August Trump has been telling people he expects to be reinstated as president by August, according New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman. The former president is spotted in front of Trump Tower in New York last week MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a staunch Trump ally, said he likely inspired the former president. 'If Trump is saying August, that is probably because he heard me say it publicly,' Lindell told The Daily Beast on Wednesday. Lara, who is married to Trump's second-eldest son, Eric, appears to be the most high-profile member of the former president's orbit to weigh in on the report and deny its validity. Trump shut down his desk blog this week where he posted statements as a way to get around his social media ban. The webpage was shuttered just 29 days after it launched because Trump didnt like that it had such low readership and was getting mocked, according to The Washington Post. Much of the former presidents musing through those statements were focused on his claims of widespread voter fraud. He also would complain of Democrats in Washington and issue endorsements for Republicans loyal to him. Haberman said Trump has been 'laser focused' on election audits - including the state Senate Republican-led one in Maricopa County, Arizona, as well as another audit expected in Georgia's Fulton County - as the Manhattan district attorney has convened a grand jury that is expected to decide whether to indict the former president. MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a staunch Trump ally, said he likely inspired him. 'If Trump is saying August, that is probably because he heard me say it publicly.' The two are pictured together at the White House on March 30, 2020 Trump's daughter-in-law, who shared two children with Eric, is largely rumored to be considering a Senate run in her home state of North Carolina for retiring Senator Richard Burr's seat. During the Thursday interview, Lara mocked the outlet that first claimed Trump thinks he will be reinstated in late summer 2021. 'I think you should take a look at who those networks are and who is pushing that story out,' she said of the report that came from the Times and soon thereafter was pushed by some of Trump's biggest enemy outlets CNN, MSNBC and The Washington Post. Trump has continued to falsely push that he didn't lose the 2020 race to President Joe Biden. The New York Times' Maggie Haberman tweeted Tuesday morning that former President Donald Trump has been telling people he expects to be reinstated as president by August The former president lost legal protections once he left office in January, with Haberman reporting that Trump is pushing the idea of reinstatement as he faces potential indictment over his business dealings Haberman also reported that Trump has been 'laser focused' on audits happening in Arizona with another expected in Georgia, as the former president continues to push the 'big lie' Supporters have glommed on to that message, with a number of Trump fans sporting 'Trump won' flags at a large boat parade in Florida over Memorial Day weekend. And some of his allies have given Trump's most vehement supporters false hope that he could be reinstated. Over the weekend, lawyer Sidney Powell told an audience in Dallas that Trump could be back. 'It should be that he can simply be reinstated, that a new inauguration day is set,' she said to cheers. 'And Biden is told to move out of the White House. And President Trump should be moved back in.' Powell is known for spreading a number of conspiracy theories to Trump supporters about the 2020 race. The former first couple paid their respects as MAGA fans took to the water in Jupiter, Florida , for a boat parade The huge flotilla of boats with a sea of Trump flags takes part of the parade in Jupiter, Florida Staunch Trump ally Roger Stone posed with his trademark peace sign alongside wife Nydia as boaters drifted by. Nydia was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer last week The Washington Examiner's Byron York, sharing Powell's comments and Haberman's tweet, speculated there could be problems for Trump if the former president brought reinstatement up publicly. Trump is expected to start holding rallies this month, including in the swing states of Florida, Georgia, Ohio and North Carolina. 'If Trump brings this up in public, will likely increase number of Republicans who say they are ready to move on,' York said. Flynn was forced to backtrack on comments he made at the same Dallas conference Powell appeared at this weekend. The retired general, who briefly served as national security adviser under Trump, made the comments in response to a question from an audience member at a conference organized by supporters of the QAnon conspiracy in Dallas, Texas. The man said he was a 'simple Marine' and asked 'why what happened in Myanmar can't happen here?' 'There's no reason', Flynn responded as the audience cheered. 'I mean, it should happen that's right.' Response to the exchange was furious, with some calling for his court martial. On Monday Flynn issued a frantic backtrack in a post on messaging app Telegram. He wrote: 'Let me be VERY CLEAR There is NO reason whatsoever for any coup in America, and I do not and have not at any time called for any action of that sort. He said his comments had been misconstrued, adding, 'I am no stranger to media manipulating my words and therefore let me repeat my response to a question asked at the conference: There is no reason it (a coup) should happen here (in America).' Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's former national adviser walked back comments he made over the weekend in which he supported the idea of a military coup similar to Myanmar's happening in the U.S. Flynn made the comments at a conference organized by supporters of the QAnon conspiracy in Dallas, Texas On Monday Army Col. Yevgeny 'Eugene' Vindman tweeted, 'With these seditious remarks Comrade Flynn may have crossed the line for recall to active duty and court-martial. As a JAG I'm qualified and also happy to prosecute this case.' Vindman is the twin brother of Alexander Vindman, who was a key witness in Trump's impeachment over comments he made to the Ukrainian President. Both sat on the National Security Council before being fired shortly after the trial. Steve Vladeck, a professor in federal law at the University of Texas also wrote on Twitter that even retired Flynn was subject to the Army's Uniform Code of Military Justice. 'The constitutionality of jurisdiction over retirees for post-retirement offenses is something we're currently challenging in the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces & the D.C. Circuit,' he tweeted. Army Col. Yevgeny 'Eugene' Vindman said that Flynn's comments could lead to a court martial. He is the twin brother of Alexander Vindman, who served as a key witness in Trump's Ukraine impeachment trial Federal law professor Steve Vladeck said that even retired, Flynn was subject to the Army's Code of Military Justice Myanmar's military-led coup saw the country's democratically-elected government overturned. Military chief Min Aung Hlaing was installed as the country's leader with the junta killing hundreds of civilians. Others also took to social media to blast Flynn's remarks. 'Hello SecDef! Can we get a Court Martial? Call him back to duty and then dishonorably discharge him. My tax payer dollars shouldn't be paying for his benefits,' wrote one. 'Wow. It don't get much more traitory than this,' added another. 'Why isn't Michael Flynn behind bars of fomenting a treasonous insurrection against the United States? Surely treasonous words are not covered by Trump's pardon,' asked Muriel Burrows. 'Recall General Michael Flynn to active duty immediately for purposes of court-martial. This must be done ASAP.' tweeted Jeannette Stone. 'I think now might be a good time to call retired officer Michael Flynn back to active duty, court martial and strip him of his rank and benefits for conspiracy and committing seditious acts against the United States,' said another. 'Michael Flynn is clearly an enemy of the USA. Let's honor our veterans this Memorial Day by arresting this unamerican traitor.' 'Minimar? sounds like dude has been spending too much time at the minibar,' joked one Twitter user who noticed Flynn's mispronunciation. 'We now return you to the Republican coup, already in progress . . . THIS is why the GOP wants to block every investigation into the January 6th attack on the Capital: Because it starts and ends with them,' said DC Lascelle. 'Flynn hopefully will be prosecuted under 18 U.S. Code 2385 Astonishing if someone holding the rank of General in the United States Army who was also a National Security Advisor can get away with calling for a Myanmar-style coup,' wrote another user. 'FBI please arrest this man. He is asking Americans to turn against their government!', demanded another Twitter follower. In the past, QAnon supporters have aired their support for a coup to take place that would see Trump be placed back at the White House. The interview Haberman shared from CNN showed Trump supporters advocating for a military coup to take over and 'redo' the election, remove 'puppet president' Biden and hold a new inauguration for Trump. Trump pardoned Flynn last Thanksgiving. Flynn's conviction for lying to the FBI during the Russia investigation was wiped following the presidential pardon. In 2017, Trump fired Flynn after just weeks on the job after it was revealed he did not disclose his contacts with Russia's former ambassador to the US to Vice President Mike Pence. President Trump pardoned Flynn last Thanksgiving. Flynn's conviction for lying to the FBI during the Russia investigation was wiped following the presidential pardon. Pictured in 2016 Who's who in New York criminal probe into Trump New York state has opened a criminal investigation into former US president Donald Trump (pictured November 2020) A Democratic prosecutor nearing the end of his term, a loyal lieutenant of the Trump family and a lawyer determined to sink his former boss: AFP details some of the players in New York's criminal probe into Donald Trump. Cyrus Vance The 66-year-old Democrat has been Manhattan District Attorney since 2010. He was the first to launch a criminal investigation into the Republican ex-president. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance (pictured May 2020) has doggedly pursued Donald Trump, winning a years-long battle to obtain his tax records and deploying significant human and financial resources to the politically sensitive investigation Vance, whose father was US Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter, has sometimes been accused of a reluctance to prosecute the rich and powerful. He delayed filing charges against disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein before securing a landmark conviction last year. Vance has doggedly pursued Trump, though, first by winning a years-long battle to obtain his tax records and secondly by deploying significant human and financial resources to the politically sensitive investigation. He has announced that he will not run for a fourth term when his current one expires in December, and many observers expect him to go out with a bang by filing what would be the first indictment against a former US president. Letitia James The Democrat became the first Black woman to become New York state attorney general in 2018. Since then, the 62-year-old has forged a reputation as a combative and independent prosecutor, filing countless civil actions against large companies, particularly tech giants, and the National Rifle Association (NRA). In addition to Donald Trump, Letitia James (pictured August 2020) is also investigating New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, over sexual harassment allegations and his response to the coronavirus pandemic When Trump was in the White House, James launched dozens of civil actions against his government. She is also investigating New York's powerful Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo, over sexual harassment allegations and his response to the coronavirus pandemic. James has been cited as a possible successor to Cuomo, particularly if her investigation forces him to resign. Allen Weisselberg The 73-year-old is the Trump Organization's long-serving chief financial officer and one of the family's most loyal servants. He began as an accountant for Trump's father's company before joining the Trump Organization as financial controller in the 1980s when Donald established himself as a Manhattan real estate mogul. Allen Weisselberg, pictured standing behind former president Donald Trump and his son Donald Jr. in January 2017, has served as the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization since the 1980s Weisselberg has been around for all of Trump's entrepreneurial adventures, including when his Atlantic City casinos went bust. According to Barbara Res, a former executive vice president at the Trump Organization, Weisselberg 'thought Trump was a god,' she told the Daily News. Investigators believe Weisselberg knows all of the Trump family secrets and have been putting pressure on him for months to cooperate with their investigation. Observers are closely watching whether Weisselberg will turn against his former boss. Michael Cohen Trump's ex-personal lawyer was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 for tax evasion and violating campaign finance laws relating to Trump's 2016 vote win. Cohen was one of Trump's closest henchmen for a decade, once proudly boasting that he was prepared to 'take a bullet' for the real estate mogul-turned-president. Michael Cohen, pictured March 2021, openly rejoices in former boss Donald Trump's legal troubles on Twitter and through his podcast He turned against his former boss, though, deciding to collaborate with federal investigators in Manhattan. During a Congressional hearing in February 2019, Cohen alleged -- among other things -- that Trump regularly undervalued or overvalued his assets, both with banks and insurance companies. Cohen openly rejoices in Trump's legal troubles on Twitter and through his podcast 'Mea Culpa.' Source: AFP Advertisement 'We want Trump to declare an insurrection and call us up as the militia': Oath Keepers founder rallied Capitol rioters on a conference call on November 9 - just six days after the election, new indictment reveals The founder of far-right militia Oath Keepers started rallying men who eventually stormed the Capitol January 6 as far back as November 9, after Biden won the election, telling them on a conference call: 'We want Trump to declare an insurrection and call us up as the militia. Let the fight start there.' The new details were included in an indictment against four rioters - Joseph Hackett, 50, Jason Dolan, 40, William Isaacs, 21, and another, unnamed defendant, filed on Monday. They are among 16 Oath Keeper members who have been charged so far. The others are Thomas Caldwell, 65, Donovan Crowl, 50, Jessica Watkins, 38, Sandra Parker, 60, Bennie Parker, 70, Graydon Young, 54, Laura Steele, 52, Kelly Meggs, 52, Connie Meggs, 59, Kenneth Harrelson, 40, Roberto Minuta, 36, Joshua James, 33, Joseph Hackett, 50. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes has not been charged, but he was mentioned repeatedly in the newly unsealed indictment as 'Person One'. It's unclear why he has not been arrested. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes has not been charged, but he was mentioned repeatedly in the newly unsealed indictment as 'Person One'. It's unclear why he has not been arrested Members of Oath Keepers were shown protecting Roger Stone on January 5and 6 at the Capitol According to prosecutors, on November 9 - after the election was called for Biden -Rhodes told the men in an online GoToMeeting conference call: 'We're going to defend the president, the duly elected president. Because if you don't, guys, you're going to be in a bloody, bloody civil war and a bloody...insurrection, or you can call it a war or fight. 'I'm willing to sacrifice myself for that. Let the fight start there. That will give President Trump what he needs, frankly. 'If things go kinetic, good. If they throw bombs at us and shoot us, great, because that brings the president his reason and rationale for dropping the Insurrection Act.' 'I do want some Oath Keepers to stay on the outside, and to stay fully armed and prepared to go in armed, if they have to...So our posture's gonna be that we're posted outside of DC, um, 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.' By then, claims from Trump's camp about voter fraud were widespread and millions thought he'd been robbed of victory. Over the coming months, members of the group allegedly plotted the attack. Watkins is said to have recruited people in Ohio, telling them he was organizing a week-long training camp and saying: 'I need you fighting fit by inauguration.' On November 17, when asked what his prediction was for the coming year, Watkins allegedly told a recruit: 'I can't predict. I don't underestimate the resolve of the Deep State. 'Biden may still yet be our President. If he is, our way of life as we know it is over. Our Republic would be over. 'Then it is our duty as Americans to fight, kill and die for our rights.' The men who have been arrested continued to exchange texts and emails until the riot. Rhodes encouraged them online, according to the indictment. On January 4, he posted online: 'It is CRITICAL that all patriots who can be in DC get to DC to stand tall in support of President Trump's fight to defeat the enemies foreign and domestic who are attempting a coup, through the massive vote fraud and related attacks on our Republic. 'We Oath Keepers are both honor-bound and eager to be there in strength to do our part.' In another, he said: 'As we have done on all recent DC Ops, we will also have well armed and equipped QRF1 teams on standby, outside DC, in the event of a worst case scenario, where the President calls us up as part of the militia to to assist him inside DC. 'We don't expect a need for him to call on us for that at this time, but we stand ready if he does (and we also stand ready to answer the call to serve as militia anytime in the future, and anywhere in our nation, if he does invoke the Insurrection Act).' Despite his alleged role in organizing the men who have been charged, Rhodes has not. He claimed in March that he and other Oath Keeper members were the victims of a conspiracy. 'I may go to jail soon, not for anything I actually did, but for made-up crimes,' he said. Four more members of the far-right militia have been charged with federal criminal conspiracy, bringing to 16 the total number facing prosecution Members of the Oath Keepers on the steps of the Capitol during the January 6 riots. A total of 16 have now been charged with federal conspiracy The Oath Keepers are a far-right, anti-government militia group who claim they have a membership of around 35,000 Jessica Watkins (left) and Donavan Crowl, both military veterans, are among the 16 people who have been arrested from Oath Keepers over their role in the riot This superseding indictment, part of a larger federal government criminal conspiracy case, now includes a total of 16 Oath Keepers. The other 12 co-defendants have pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors have said in recent weeks that other members of the militia group planned to commit violence and brought firearms into the city. The Oath Keepers accept anyone, the recent court filing notes, but 'explicitly focus on recruiting current and former military, law enforcement, and first-responder personnel.' Senate Republicans last week voted down a House-passed bill that would create a 9/11-style commission to investigate the January 6 Capitol attack. Democrats were unable to override a Republican filibuster placed on the bill during a Friday vote of 54 to 35, with 60 votes needed. Republican Sens. Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, Bill Cassidy, Lisa Murkowski, Rob Portman and Ben Sasse voted alongside 48 Democrats. The bill is now essentially dead - though Democrats may launch other investigations and some are ongoing in Senate committees. Last month, a founding member of the far-right group Oath Keepers has pleaded guilty to two felony charges over the January 6 riot at the US Capitol. Jon Ryan Schaffer, 53, struck a plea deal with prosecutors Friday, becoming the first person charged in relation to the attack to plead guilty. Schaffer was initially slapped with six charges over the violent incident, but pleaded guilty to two charges as part of the deal: obstruction of an official proceeding and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon. Police said Schaffer - who hails from Indiana - was armed with bear spray when he barged into the Capitol following a 'Stop the Steal' rally held earlier in the day. As part of the plea deal, Schaffer has agreed to cooperate with investigators - prompting rumors he may 'turn' on some of his fellow Oath Keeper members. The Oath Keepers are a far-right, anti-government militia group who claim they have a membership of around 35,000. Clear your desk! Trump SHUTS DOWN his website From The Desk of Donald Trump after just 29 days because he 'didn't like it being mocked and having so few readers' Donald Trump 'permanently' shut down his blog website where he posts his statements just 29 days after it launched Donald Trump has permanently shut down the website he used to get around his social media ban and where he posted his statements after just 29 days. 'From the Desk of Donald J. Trump' has been scrubbed from the former president's website and instead the URL redirects users to a page to sign up for his email and text alerts. A Trump adviser told The Washington Post that Trump shut it down because he didn't like that the site was being mocked and didn't garner a large readership. Senior Trump aide Jason Miller told CNBC that the site 'will not be returning.' 'It was just auxiliary to the broader efforts we have and are working on,' he added. The site was set up amid the former president being banned from social media sites like Twitter and Facebook following the January 6 Capitol riot. The site, however, received criticism from those who claimed it was a sad excuse for an alternative to these other platforms. A GOP strategist predicted on Twitter that it was shut down as 'a precursor to him joining another social media platform?' 'Yes, actually, it is. Stay tuned!' Miller confirmed in a response to the post. Trump promised after being booted from his accounts that he would set up his own social media site, which he insists is different from the 'desk' blog. Miller claimed he is 'hoping to have more information on the broader efforts soon' regarding the new social media site. 'I do not have a precise awareness of timing,' he said. Trump used 'From the desk of Donald J. Trump' to post all of his statements after he was booted from social media like Facebook and Twitter after the January 6 Capitol attack, for which he was ultimately impeached for 'inciting an insurrection' The URL for the 'desk' site now redirects users to a page where they can sign up to receive text and email alerts from the former president Trump unveiled his new blog last month billed as a 'communication platform' for the former president to interact more directly with supporters and the public after losing his access to other platforms. A Twitter account set up to repost those statements verbatim was immediately shut down by CEO Jack Dorsey. The 'desk' site, however, also gave visitors the ability to easily share the statements for themselves onto social media platforms. Due to Trump's messaging for a new social media platform, many felt this new website was him unveiling that. He and his team pushed back against this, however, claiming it was just a way to pump out his statements, which were also sent out through the email account for his Save America political action committee. Miller said at the time in his own Twitter post that the 'Desk' page was 'a great resource' to find Trump's statements. He clarified 'this is not a new social media platform.' The bloodied and blind-folded face of an ex-bikie was sent to his family and friends on the night he was allegedly kidnapped, demanding they pay a $100 million ransom. Former Lone Wolf Dillon Mancuso, 37, was allegedly abducted at gunpoint and driven to a warehouse in Sydney's south-west, where he was captive for six hours. The terrifying torture photograph was allegedly taken as part of extortion plot shows Mancuso with duct tape over his eyes and mouth, blood streaming down his face from his mouth and nose, and significant swelling on his lip. The ordeal only ended when heavily-armed tactical police stormed the building - which was allegedly set on fire by the gang - and rescued Mancuso in just his underpants. The bloodied and blind-folded face of an ex-bikie Dillon Mancuso was sent to his family and friends on the night he was allegedly kidnapped, demanding they pay a $100million ransom Investigators alleged a group of men - one armed with a gun - forced their way into a Bringelly in Sydney's south-west about 3am on Tuesday and confronted Mancuso, and a 61-year-old man also inside. The gang allegedly assaulted the older man before dragging Mancuso into a waiting vehicle outside the Jersey Road home. Inquiries led detectives and the tactical operations unit officers to the industrial warehouse 28km away in Revesby later that day, where officers negotiated with the alleged kidnappers to release Mancuso. There have been 10 men and teenager charged with kidnapping and a string of other offences. In a text message which accompanied the gruesome photo was the greeting: 'Hello brother' with three smiley-face emojis. It goes on to say 'send to his friends who value his life and will negotiate. Send to his friends who value his life and will negotiate', the Daily Telegraph reported Fire can be seen billowing from the warehouse where a 37-year-old was allegedly being held Police alleged the warehouse was set on fire as officers stormed the building. Eight men were dragged from the industrial unit and arrested by tactical officers in dramatic scenes caught on camera. Another three men were arrested after they allegedly arrived in a vehicle at the warehouse during the police operation. Mancuso was filmed at the scene calmly resting on a police vehicle wearing white briefs following his harrowing ordeal. He was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries to his head, face and ribs, where he remains under police custody. Seven males - two 23-year-olds and the others aged 16, 19, 22, 26 and 27 were later charged with kidnapping with intent to ransom resulting in actual bodily harm, break and enter, tampering with evidence, and participating in a gang. They were refused bail and are due to appear at courts in Bankstown and Parramatta on Wednesday. Investigators allege a group of men - one armed with a firearm - forced their way into a home in Bringelly in Sydney's far south-west at about 3am on Tuesday and confronted a 37-year-old and a 61-year-old man who were inside Another three men - aged 27, 28 and 30 charged with kidnapping and gang-related charges will appear at Parramatta Local Court. A nearby office worker at an adjacent warehouse described the dramatic raid as it played out in the middle of the day. 'I looked out the window and three cop cars were blocking the driveway and calling for the people in the unit to come out,' the witness told Daily Mail Australia. 'We sort of saw it coming. Those guys had been rolling around for a few months bringing in motorbikes and exotic cars and making a lot of noise.' Detective Superintendent Andrew Koutsoufis, robbery and serious crime squad commander, said 'at this stage it appears there are some organised crime and bikie-related links'. He added the abducted man was lucky to be alive. 'The level of violence towards the alleged victim was quite severe and concerning. We believe it was completely targeted,' Detective Superintendent Koutsoufis told reporters. 'The incident was exceptionally dangerous and could have been even more severe, or even fatal.' Inquiries into the incident are continuing. Mancuso is facing charges including dealing with the proceeds of crime after Federal Police seized more than $1 million cash and three luxury cars valued at more than $100,000 each last year. Dillion Mancuso was loaded onto a stretcher by paramedics and taken to hospital following the alleged kidnapping. Pictured are emergency services at the scene This is the moment a gaggle of geese stopped the traffic to cross a busy city ring road. Footage captured by student Dalal Alqallaf, 24, shows the family of birds slowly waddling out in front of cars and vans in Salford, Manchester. Within seconds, motorists begin to stop their vehicles and patiently wait for the geese and goslings to make their way across the dual carriageway. Motorists stop their vehicles as the gaggle of geese step onto the busy ring road in Salford, Manchester, at around 3.30pm on May 28 As the cars wait for them, one of the motorists gets out to ensure the geese are safely past their car. Filmer Ms Alqallaf said the incident happened at around 3.30pm on May 28. She added: 'I thought it was so cute I just had to take a video. 'Yes, I have seen this before and they usually cross the road between 1-3pm but I have never been able to film it on my phone. 'They always cross safely and the cars are very patient and wait for them.' Social media users applauded the heartwarming scenes, with one describing the footage as 'so quintessentially British.' One user wrote: 'Absolutely beautiful to watch!' The family of geese waddle across the busy road as one motorist gets out of their car and watches them The cars begin to make their way along the road as the family of birds make their way across Canada geese, which are an introduced species from North America, feature a distinctive black head and neck and large white throat patch Social media users have praised the heartwarming scenes, with one describing the clip as 'beautiful to watch' Layla Atkinson commented: 'This is so quintessentially British.' Another, called Michael, said: 'Respect to every one of them.' Grazza 98 added: 'Hope they got across to the other side safely.' The Canada goose is native to the Arctic and temperate parts of North America, but has been introduced to the United Kingdom. It is identifiable by its black head and neck, with a white throat patch that extends up over its cheeks and a brown body. It prefers to live near water with open areas of short grass and forms noisy flocks which are often regarded as a nuisance in parks. Goslings are led to water within a day after hatching. A mayoral candidate's headquarters was attacked by a group of gunmen in the latest episode of violence ahead of Sunday's midterm elections in Mexico. A resident in Villa de Reyes, San Luis Potosi, recorded how assailants opened fired at at a convoy Erika Briones was traveling on outside her campaign facility on Wednesday. The shooting reportedly took place after a man identified as Briones' husband by her challenger Abigail Hernandez opened fired during a street brawl, striking Hernandez's car and wounding a political party member. Briones, who is running under the dual National Action Party and Party of the Democratic ticket, said she was about to leave the building when the attackers arrived and started shooting. The gunmen also crashed into another SUV and kidnapped five members of her campaign staff. Their whereabouts were unknown as of Thursday. Briones, her son, and none of the people who remained at the scene were injured. Gunmen opened fire outside the campaign office of mayoral candidate Erika Briones on Wednesday in Villa de Reyes, a city in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potosi, Erika Briones pinned the attack on former mayor Juan Gabriel Solis and his brother Jonathan Solis. The ex-mayor's wife, Abigail Hernandez, is also running against Briones In an interview with Milenio Television, Briones pinned the attack on former mayor Juan Gabriel Solis and his brother Jonathan Solis. She is running against the ex-mayor's wife, Abigail Hernandez, who is backed by the Institutional Revolutionary Party and Popular Conscience Party. 'They need to allow people the opportunity to vote freely for what they want, they should not want to restrain people with these dirty games. It is not worth it,' Briones said as she broke down in tears in a video message posted on her Facebook account following the attack. 'The PRI has to recognize that lost. They need to recognize that they lost in Villas de Reyes, that the people do not like them, that they detest them. Nobody wants that family, it will not come to power. Is that what they want power for? For this kind of thing? We will not allow it.' A campaign banner with Erika Briones' likeness was vandalized Wednesday. It read: 'You step down or we will take you down. Your head will be next' Authorities also discovered the severed heads of two pigs inside a cooler that had Erika Briones' name on it after it was abandoned on a neighborhood overpass Erika Briones is running under the dual National Action Party and Party of the Democratic ticket and seeking the mayor's office in Villa de Reyes, a city in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potosi Hours before the attack, Briones learned that death threats had been made against her son. Authorities also discovered the severed heads of two pigs inside a cooler that had her name on it after it was abandoned on a neighborhood overpass. The perpetrators also vandalized a campaign banner with Briones' likeness that included a warning message that read: 'You step down or we will take you down. Your head will be next.' In a separate incident, Hernandez's SUV was attacked by a gunman, who she identified as Alfredo Tellez, Briones' husband. Still image of a cellphone video shows a man opening fire during a street brawl in Villa de Reyes on Wednesday. Mayoral candidate Abigail Hernandez said her SUV was attacked by the gunman (pictured), who she identified as Alfredo Tellez, Erika Briones' husband. Briones is running against her in Sunday's midterm elections Video footage shows several individuals arguing in the middle of a street before a man started firing into the air. Aurelio Luna, a key political figure in the Popular Conscience Party, was wounded in the incident. 'We saw Mr. Alfredo Tellez fire directly against the truck I was in,' Hernandez told online news portal Codigo San Luis,. 'Yes, it was him and his criminal group that is hired.' Hernandez said she filed a police report Wednesday evening. No arrests were reported. Codigo San Luis reported that the midterm election process has turned violent at times in Villa de Reyes with incidents of kidnappings and beatings of party officials, as well as threats being levied via phone calls and text messages. Civilians have also been spotted openly carrying military weapons. According to consulting firm Etellekt, 89 political party members had been murdered since September 2020. The most recent victim, 65-year-old Cipriano Villanueva, was gunned down Friday. He was the Chiapas United Party nominee for mayor of Acapetahua, a municipality in the southern state of Chiapas. Marilu Martinez, who is running for mayor in the Guerrero city of Cutzamala de Pinzon, and her family were abducted by an armed gang on Tuesday. They were safely located Wednesday, according to Citizen's Movement director Clemente Castaneda. There have been more than 780 criminal incidents targeting politicians in the current campaign as opposition parties seek to regain control in the lower house and senate from President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's National Regeneration Movement. Queenslanders flying home from holiday claim they were 'interrogated' by police thanks to Victoria's Covid outbreak. Daniel Gibbs flew back into the Sunshine Coast from Sydney where he said police rudely barraged him with questions as though they thought he was lying. He told the ABC the police asked him: 'Where else have you been? Why have you been there? You can really tell me where you've been. I don't believe you. Show me your Google Maps so I can see exactly where you've been'. Taize Taylor (pictured) said police just waived him through at Sunshine Coast airport after he said he hadn't been to Victoria Flights in and out of Victoria are still operating, but many states including Queensland implemented border controls against hotspot area with passengers questioned about their travel. The border restrictions were sparked by Melbourne's latest Covid outbreak, which sits at 63 cases on Thursday. Mr Gibbs said he handed over his phone and the officer went through the Google Maps apps to check where he had been in Sydney. He also said an elderly couple in their 70s got the same treatment and looked flustered - he suspected they might not have a phone to prove their travel. He also explained arriving passengers were split into two groups of returning residents and interstate visitors - with the visitors only quickly having to flash their border pass and identification then walk straight through. Carina Aul (pictured) said she felt police demanding to look though people's Google Maps was a bit much Taize Taylor, 27, from NSW agreed, saying he was asked if he had been to Melbourne in the past two weeks or been in contact with someone who has Covid. When he replied 'no' the officers simply pointed him to the exit. Other returning Queensland residents like Carina Aul said having their Google Maps data checked felt like police were invading their privacy. Some even said they had to show bank transaction histories because their location tracking was turned off. The passengers were arriving at Sunshine Coast airport (pictured) where they were met by police Queensland Police Superintendent Craig Hawkins said his officers had jobs to do enforcing the health directives. He explained the flight in question was from NSW and Queensland returning residents could have caught a connecting flight in Sydney from Victoria. 'A NSW resident - there's far less likelihood that they would have come from Victoria,' he said. Police are given powers under the Public Health Act to stop and question members of the public in response to a public health emergency. Greek border police has showcased powerful sound cannons designed to stop migrants from crossing into the country from Turkey. The long-range acoustic devices, fitted to armoured trucks, are only the size of a small TV set but are capable of unleashing a blast as loud as a jet engine over the Turkish border. The country's plan is to use sound cannons to stop people entering the EU illegally. They have been set up in the Greek province of Alexandroupolis alongside the Maritsa river, which runs through the Balkans and southeast Europe. Greek border police has showcased its powerful sound cannons (pictured) designed to stop migrants from crossing into the country from Turkey Originally developed for long-range communications, the gun's high decibel capacity has led to it being used as a controversial method of crowd control. The sound cannons can emit powerful sound waves which may cause pain and shock to the human body. They are already used on airports to keep wildlife away and at wind and solar farms, nuclear power facilities and gas and oil platforms, but their usage on people is more controversial. The long-range acoustic devices (LRADs), also known as sonic weapons, can be used on land or mounted on vehicles. The cannons are one of many new physical and experimental digital barriers being installed and tested at the 125-mile (200km) Greek border with Turkey. The automated surveillance network is aimed at detecting migrants early and deterring them from crossing with the cannons and river and land patrols using searchlights. The long-range acoustic devices (above), fitted to armoured trucks, are only the size of a small TV set but are capable of unleashing a blast as loud as a jet engine over the Turkish border Border police are firing bursts of deafening noise from the high-pitched cannons (pictured) from an armoured truck over the frontier into Turkey The guns have been set up in the Greek province of Alexandroupolis alongside the Maritsa river, which runs through the Balkans and southeast Europe The country's plan is to use the devices (pictured) to drive away crowds that might try to enter Greece either by crossing a land border, or come ashore by boat The new network follows testing of an array of futuristic security controls - including automated lie detectors, virtual border guards and cameras that see through foliage. As part of the new measures, a steel wall is also now blocking many commonly-used crossing points along the Evros River, which separates Greece and Turkey. Observation towers are being fitted with long-range cameras, night vision, and multiple sensors, while data will be sent to control centres to flag suspicious movement using artificial intelligence analysis. Police Maj. Dimonsthenis Kamargios, head of the region's border guard authority, said: 'Our task is to prevent migrants from entering the country illegally. We need modern equipment and tools to do that.' But the European Union has expressed concern about Greece's use of the sound cannons, raising questions on whether the device contravenes the 27-nation bloc's laws on fundamental rights. European Commission spokesman Adalbert Jahnz said the EU's executive branch 'noted with concern the reports in the media concerning this system of sound cannon' and will be seeking information from Athens about its use. Jahnz added that while EU member countries like Greece can decide how they manage their borders, their methods 'should conform to European fundamental rights, including the right to dignity'. 'Measures must be proportionate and respect fundamental rights, including asylum rights and the principle of non-refoulement,' he said, referring to the policy of not sending people back over borders they have crossed before they have a chance to apply for asylum. 'Refoulement,' also known as pushbacks, is banned under EU law and international refugee treaties. The EU has poured 3 billion euros ($3.7 billion) into security tech research following the refugee crisis in 2015-16, when more than one million people - many escaping wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan - fled to Greece and on to other EU countries. Researchers at universities around Europe, working with private firms, have developed the futuristic surveillance and verification technology, while more than a dozen projects have been tested at Greek borders. AI-powered lie detectors and virtual border-guard interview bots have been piloted, as well as efforts to integrate satellite data with footage from drones on land, air, sea and underwater. The new network follows testing of an array of futuristic security controls - including automated lie detectors and a steel wall at Evros river (pictured) As part of the new measures, a steel wall (pictured) is blocking many commonly-used crossing points along the Evros River, which separates Greece and Turkey Observation towers (pictured) are being fitted with long-range cameras, night vision, and multiple sensors, while data will be sent to control centres to flag suspicious movement The EU has poured 3 billion euros into security tech research following the refugee crisis in 2015-16. Pictured: A view of a steel wall at Evros river at the Greek-Turkish border Palm scanners could record the vein pattern in a person's hand for use as a biometric identifier, while live camera reconstruction technology could erase foliage virtually, exposing people hiding near border areas. Testing has also been underway in Hungary, Latvia and elsewhere along the eastern EU perimeter. The strategy has been advanced by European policymakers over the past five years, funding deals with Mediterranean countries outside the bloc to hold migrants back. It has also seen the EU border protection agency, Frontex, transformed from a coordination mechanism to a full-fledged multinational security force. But regional migration deals have left the EU exposed to political pressure from neighbours. Last month, several thousand migrants crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in a single day, prompting Spain to deploy the army. Meanwhile, a similar crisis unfolded on the Greek-Turkish border and lasted three weeks last year. Greece is pressing the EU to let Frontex patrol outside its territorial waters to stop migrants reaching Lesbos and other Greek islands, the most common route in Europe for illegal crossing in recent years. Not all the surveillance programs being tested will be included in the new system, but human rights groups say the technology will make it harder for refugees fleeing wars and extreme hardship to find safety. Patrick Breyer, a European lawmaker from Germany, has taken an EU research authority to court, demanding that details of the AI-powered lie detection program be made public. 'What we are seeing at the borders, and in treating foreign nationals generally, is that it's often a testing field for technologies that are later used on Europeans as well. And that's why everybody should care, in their own self-interest,' Breyer of the German Pirates Party said. He urged authorities to allow broad oversight of border surveillance methods to review ethical concerns and prevent the sale of the technology through private partners to authoritarian regimes outside the EU. Greece is pressing EU to let Frontex patrol outside territorial waters to stop migrants reaching Lesbos and other Greek islands. Pictured: Police officers patrol the steel wall at Evros river Migration has slowed in Europe during pandemic. In Greece, arrivals dropped from nearly 75,000 in 2019 to 15,700 in 2020. Pictured: Police car patrols the steel wall at Evros river Amid new measures, virtual border-guard interview bots have been piloted, as well as efforts to integrate satellite data with footage from drones (pictured) on land, air, sea and underwater While Ella Jakubowska, of the digital rights group EDRi, argued that EU officials were adopting 'techno-solutionism' to sideline moral considerations in dealing with the complex issue of migration. 'It is deeply troubling that, time and again, EU funds are poured into expensive technologies which are used in ways that criminalize, experiment with and dehumanize people on the move,' she said. The London-based group Privacy International argued tougher border policing would give a political reward to European leaders who have adopted a hard line on migration. 'If people migrating are viewed only as a security problem to be deterred and challenged, the inevitable result is that governments will throw technology at controlling them,' said Edin Omanovic, an advocacy director at the group. 'It's not hard to see why: across Europe we have autocrats looking for power by targeting foreigners, otherwise progressive leaders who have failed to come up with any alternatives to copying their agendas, and a rampant arms industry with vast access to decision-makers.' Migration flows have slowed in many parts of Europe during the pandemic, interrupting an increase that has been recorded over years. In Greece, the number of arrivals dropped from nearly 75,000 in 2019 to 15,700 in 2020 - a 78 per cent decrease. Between 2000 and 2020, the world's migrant population rose by more than 80 per cent to reach 272 million, outpacing international population growth, according to United Nations data. Stanford University has dropped a threat to withhold a law student's graduation diploma after he wrote a satirical flier mocking a conservative society over the US Capitol riot. Nicholas Wallace, 33, will be allowed to graduate from the prestigious California college as planned on June 12. Wallace's diploma was put in jeopardy after he posted a satirical flier for a fake Federalist Society event purportedly welcoming Senator Josh Hawley and Texas AG Ken Paxton to speak to the conservative group. Stanford came under fire after it was revealed the school was withholding Wallace's diploma and had launched an investigation into the fake flier following complaints from the school's conservative group the Stanford Federalist Society. Wallace had emailed a flier to a law school email listserv on January 25 parodying the society as well as Hawley and Paxton. The flier, titled 'The Originalist Case for Inciting Insurrection,' promoted a fake event on January 6 welcoming the two Republicans to speak about 'violent insurrection.' Nicholas Wallace, 33, (pictured) sent a satirical flier to a Stanford Law School email listserv on January 25 parodying the school's Federalist Society and Hawley and Paxton Titled 'The Originalist Case for Inciting Insurrection,' it promoted a fake event on January 6 welcoming the Republicans to speak about 'violent insurrection' Stanford confirmed Wednesday to Slate, which first reported the saga, that Wallace will be allowed to graduate and that his satirical email falls under protected speech. 'The complaint was resolved as expeditiously as possible, and the respondent and complainant have been informed that case law supports that the email is protected speech,' it said in a statement 'For that reason, and pursuant to the Leonard Law, the university is not moving forward with the OCS process and the graduation diploma hold has been released.' Wallace also confirmed the complaint had been dropped in an email to his fellow students. 'I hope to work with Stanford in the little time I have left to make sure no student is subjected to an abuse of power this way again,' he wrote. 'PS this email is not satire,' he added. While private universities do not have to follow free speech laws, California's Leonard Law states that both public and private institutions are governed by First Amendment protections. The Supreme Court has previously ruled that satire falls under the First Amendment as protected speech. Stanford University walked back its threat to withhold Wallace's graduation diploma over the incident Wednesday In the flyer, Wallace mockingly detailed that the focus of the event would be discussing the merits of a coup and staging a violent insurrection to gain a desired political outcome. 'Violent insurrection, also known as doing a coup, is a classical system of installing a government,' the flier read. 'Although widely believed to conflict in every way with the rule of law, violent insurrection can be an effective approach to upholding the principle of limited government.' It continued: 'Senator Hawley will argue that the ends justify the means. 'Attorney General Paxton will explain that when the Supreme Court refuses to exercise its Article III authority to overturn the results of a free and fair election, calling on a violent mob to storm the Capitol represents an appropriate alternative remedy.' The MAGA mob riot at the US Capitol on January 6 left five dead and sent lawmakers running for their lives. The parody event was dated January 6 Sen. Josh Hawley (left) and Texas AG Ken Paxton (right) were among those accused of inciting the violent insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6 as they rallied behind Donald Trump's false claims of election fraud and pushed for the presidential election to be overturned The two Republicans were among those accused of inciting riots at the US Capitol on January 6 as they rallied behind Donald Trump's false claims of election fraud and pushed for the presidential election to be overturned. The flier had been mocked up in the same style as Stanford Federalist Society's emails. It was widely shared on social media and USA Today published an article fact-checking the flier, confirming it to be satire. Despite the flier being mailed out 19 days after the date of the fake event it advertised - and 19 days after the MAGA mob riot that culminated in five deaths - the Stanford Federalist Society filed a complaint claiming Wallace 'defamed' the group, Hawley and Paxton. The complaint was not filed until March - two months on from the incident and just days after Wallace planned a real virtual event titled 'The Federalist Society's Connections to the Insurrection' at Stanford. Despite the flier being mailed out 19 days after January 6 the Stanford Federalist Society filed a complaint (above) claiming Wallace 'defamed' the group, Hawley and Paxton 'Wallace defamed the student group, its officers, Senator Josh Hawley, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton,' it read, claiming people were 'deceived' by the memo. The Federalist Society then pushed the university again in May to open a formal probe into Wallace. Wallace told Slate he only learned about the complaint on his final day of classes on May 27. He said he was told the school was investigating him for 'a possible violation' of the school's code of conduct and found out it would not only jeopardize his graduation but also his ability to take the bar exam. Graduates are required to send their diplomas on graduation to the Michigan bar to be able to take the exam in the summer. Wallace told Slate it had piled on the pressure in his final days at the school. Stanford launched a probe and revealed it was withholding Wallace's diploma over the fake flier. Pictured Wallace A Slate journalist tweeted an email from Wallace Wednesday also confirming the complaint has been resolved and the third-year student will be allowed to graduate to plan on June 12 'It has been a pretty awful way to close out my career at Stanford,' he said. 'Instead of studying for finals, I'm trying to figure this out. I just sent an email to my family trying to reassure them that I haven't blown it in my last few days at Stanford.' He added that he believed the Federalist Society was retaliating against him over the March event, given the timing of its complaint. The university faced a backlash over its handling of the matter with critics arguing that satire is free speech protected by the First Amendment. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) sent Stanford an email this week calling on it to 'immediately abandon' its investigation and saying that 'no reasonable person' would believe the flier to be real. After backing down over the probe, Stanford said it is reviewing its policy but insisted it was following procedures with the launch of the investigation. 'We followed our normal procedures and conducted a factual inquiry. Given that this complaint raised issues of protected speech, we also consulted with legal counsel after we obtained the relevant facts,' a spokesperson told DailyMail.com in a statement. 'In cases where the complaint is filed in proximity to graduation, our normal procedure includes placing a graduation diploma hold on the respondent.' The school said the complaint had been'resolved as expeditiously as possible.' 'We will continue to review policies and practices relating to these to ensure ongoing compliance,' the statement added. 'We are also reviewing procedures for placing holds on student accounts in judicial cases in close proximity to graduation to ensure that holds are limited to cases for which the outcome could be serious enough to affect the timing of degree conferral.' Was Donald Trump right all along about covid-19? Did the world's worst pandemic for 100 years emanate from a laboratory in Wuhan, China? If so, where does all this leave Dr Anthony Fauci, America's top infectious disease expert, and the face of the nation's response to Covid, who vehemently dismissed the engineered theory but has close and potentially conflicting ties to China's top scientists and the very lab under suspicion? These are some of the very uncomfortable questions now gathering ferocious momentum following President Biden's decision to order a new 90-day investigation by US intelligence agencies to 'redouble their efforts' in determining how the coronavirus started. And there's a fourth even bigger question if the answers to the first two are 'yes' and 'yes', which is this: if China knew the virus erupted from one of its labs, either accidentally or nefariously, and then covered it up to the world, how should it be punished? These are all vitally important questions because this is potentially shaping up to be the biggest scandal and mass manslaughter case in modern history. At the centre of it is The Wuhan Institute of Virology, one of China's top virus research labs, which built a huge amount of genetic information about coronaviruses after the 2003 outbreak of SARS. Was Donald Trump right all along about covid-19? Did the world's worst pandemic for 100 years emanate from a laboratory in Wuhan, China? If so, where does all this leave Dr Anthony Fauci, America's top infectious disease expert, and the face of the nation's response to Covid, who vehemently dismissed the engineered theory but has close and potentially conflicting ties to China's top scientists and the very lab under suspicion? At the centre of it is The Wuhan Institute of Virology, one of China's top virus research labs, which built a huge amount of genetic information about coronaviruses after the 2003 outbreak of SARS The official theory of how COVID-19 started, leaping from a bat to a human in a live animal wet market in Wuhan, always seemed a bizarre and convenient for China coincidence given that just a few kilometres away from the market lies the huge WIV laboratory run by scientists performing constant tests on coronaviruses. China's credibility in this crisis was already severely damaged from the start by its refusal to be transparent about the rapid spread of the virus, lies about its soaring infection numbers while setting up temporary hospitals, denials it could be transmitted from human-to-human even when it was happening, and decision to allow international travel to continue when it knew that was likely to export a global outbreak. Since then, Chinese officials have continued to spread disinformation in a desperate effort to avoid blame, even suggesting that COVID-19 could have started in myriad other countries from Italy and India to the US or arrived in China via frozen food. In fact, they've said anything and everything to deflect attention from the WIV lab-leak theory which would, if proven, make China directly culpable for the ruinous pandemic. Those who have screamed loudest about the theory, led by Donald Trump who dubbed COVID-19 the 'China virus', have been berated and belittled as conspiracy theorists and nutjobs. That view was encouraged by experts like Dr Fauci who repeatedly publicly dismissed the theory, insisting that coronavirus mutations which led to COVID-19 are 'totally consistent with a jump of a species from an animal to a human rather than a lab leak.' Now, thanks to a massive news dump of 3,200 pages of Fauci's emails, following a FOIA request by BuzzFeed, we can see how vital his opinion was to those with a vested interest in the WIV lab and what a tangled web starts to emerge about exactly what America's own involvement might have been in the lab's work. What is clear from the emails is that from near the start of the pandemic, Fauci was being sent repeated warnings about the lab-leak theory. On April 16, 2020 Francis Collins, the director of the National Institute of Health, emailed him a link to a Fox News report news supporting the theory under the subject line 'conspiracy gains momentum.' Fauci's response to Collins is entirely blacked out, which in itself is suspicious. What did he say in response? Why can't we know it? Unsurprisingly, Trump is revelling in the latest developments. In a statement to the New York Post, he said: 'To me it was obvious from the beginning, but I was badly criticised, as usual. Now they are all saying: 'He was right.' They're not.. yet. But more and more experts are coming round to the idea that Trump's theory might the correct one. And it would be truly ironic if the guy who got most things wrong in the way he handled this pandemic turns out to be the one who called the cause of it as the experts rubbished him Perhaps the reason is connected to an email he received two days later from Peter Daszak, president of nonprofit pandemic-research group EcoHealth Alliance, in which he thanked Fauci for supporting 'evidence' that COVID-19 came from an animal rather than the Wuhan lab. 'I just wanted to say a personal thank you on behalf of our staff and collaborators, for publicly standing up and stating that the scientific evidence supports a natural origin for COVID-19 from a bat-to-human spillover, not a lab release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology,' Daszak wrote. He lauded the NIAID director's comments as 'brave,' saying they would 'help dispel the myths being spun around the virus's origins.' 'Many thanks for your kind note,' responded Fauci. Daszak had every reason to be very grateful because he was right in the crosshairs of the lab-leak allegations. EcoHealth Alliance was given a $600,000 federal grant from NIAID which then paid the WIV to study the risk that bat coronaviruses could infect humans. It's been alleged by Senator Rand Paul and others that this funding may have contributed to dangerous 'gain-of-function' research which involves altering an organism or a disease to increase its development, transmissibility or range of hosts it can affect. Fauci has previously, in a 2012 paper, lauded such research, saying: 'In an unlikely but conceivable turn of events, what if that scientist becomes infected with the virus, which leads to an outbreak and ultimately triggers a pandemic?' he wrote at the time. Scientists working in this field might say - as indeed I have said - that the benefits of such experiments and the resulting knowledge outweigh the risks.' Many now think that is exactly what may have happened with COVID-19. 'It's a good conspiracy theory,' Daszak said. 'Foreigners designing a virus in a mysterious lab, a nefarious activity, and then the cloak of secrecy around China.' He added that attacking scientists 'is not only shooting the messenger, it's shooting the people with the conduit to where the next pandemic could happen.' There's just one problem with his indignant response: it might be the messenger who shot the virus out of the lab and into the rest of the world, killing more than three million people to date. The finger of suspicion is certainly pointing more and more to that possibility. The State Department said in January 2021 that several researchers inside the WIV became sick in autumn 2019 with symptoms consistent with COVID-19. Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported previously undisclosed U.S. intelligence documents that found some of those WIV workers who fell ill required hospital care. You don't have to be a conspiracy theorist to think this is very suspicious. After spending just 12 days at in Wuhan, which included a visit to the WIV laboratory, a team of WHO-appointed scientists concluded the lab-leak theory was 'extremely unlikely', dismissing it in just a few pages of a several-hundred-page report which, surprise surprise, Beijing is accused of having had a heavy hand in writing. Earlier this year, a team of World Health Organisation-appointed scientists flew to Wuhan tasked with investigating the source of the pandemic. But after spending just 12 days there, which included a visit to the WIV laboratory, the team concluded the lab-leak theory was 'extremely unlikely', dismissing it in just a few pages of a several-hundred-page report which, surprise surprise, Beijing is accused of having had a heavy hand in writing. A prominent group of scientists criticised the WHO report for not taking the theory seriously enough. 'We must take hypotheses about both natural and laboratory spillovers seriously until we have sufficient data,' they wrote in Science Magazine. And now, finally, it appears that everyone is. Even the WHO's own director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has called for a new investigation, saying: 'All hypotheses remain open and require further study.' And Dr Fauci now says he's 'not convinced' the virus originated naturally. But that's a screeching U-turn from what these two men have said previously, and the unpalatable reality for them is that Donald Trump may be proven right, and they may be proven embarrassingly wrong. Unsurprisingly, Trump is revelling in the latest developments. In a statement to the New York Post, he said: 'To me it was obvious from the beginning, but I was badly criticised, as usual. Now they are all saying: 'He was right.' They're not.. yet. But more and more experts are coming round to the idea that Trump's theory might the correct one. And it would be truly ironic if the guy who got most things wrong in the way he handled this pandemic turns out to be the one who called the cause of it as the experts rubbished him. But if he is, then what should be done to punish China? The world has suffered a catastrophic loss in both human life and multi-trillion-dollar economic downturn. When private companies are responsible for disasters like oil spills or toxic water, they get hit with severe financial penalties. Trump has repeatedly said China should 'pay a big price' for the damage wrought by covid, and if it turns out that COVID-19 escaped from the WIV lab, and China knew that and lied to the world about it, then it should be slammed with the biggest financial punishment ever seen. It should also be compelled to put all its laboratories like WIV under tight international regulatory control to prevent anything like this happening again. But in the eventuality of the lab-leak being verified, the question of whether Dr Fauci approved US funding for the lab which may have directly contributed to the pandemic, and then tried to cover up what happened, may reach career-ending velocity. Law firm is run by Polly Glynn, 53, known for taking on asylum seeker cases Polly Glynn, 53, a partner at Deighton Pierce Glynn was dubbed 'millionaire champion of travellers' for her role in a legal fight against the eviction of 86 families from Dale Farm in Crays Hill, Essex A left-leaning private law firm representing asylum seekers in their bid against the Home Office previously cost the taxpayer 20million while representing squatting travellers in a fraught ten-year legal battle. Polly Glynn, 53, and her firm Deighton Pierce Glynn (DPG) have been representing four of the six asylum seekers taking on the government over 'squalid and unsafe' living conditions in Kent military barracks where they had been housed. Today the firm's partner landed a huge victory after a High Court judge ruled against the Home Office, calling the conditions inside unlawful. The London and Bristol-based 'civil rights solicitors' are known for taking on high-profile cases where claimants are reliant on legal aid. Ms Glynn, who has previously protested about legal aid cuts, was dubbed the 'millionaire champion of travellers' for her role in a high-profile legal challenge fighting the eviction of 86 families from Dale Farm in Crays Hill, Essex. The eviction process took ten years and is believed to have cost taxpayers more than 20million. The travellers were also believed to have been funded by legal aid. DPG also hit the headlines after being exposed for threatening to sue hospitals that refused to provide free treatment for migrants. Ms Glynn's firm has been involved in several high-profile legal challenges and was once exposed for threatening to sue hospitals that refused to provide free treatment for migrants. Pictured: In 2018, Ms Glynn was romantically linked to former BBC journalist Kamal Ahmed The firm has previously represented asylum seekers who launched a bid to sue the Home Office over 'unlawful detention' in October last year - in a case expected to cost taxpayers millions of pounds. In 2018, Ms Glynn was romantically linked to former BBC journalist Kamal Ahmed following his split from newsreader Sophie Long. Prior to that, she lived in a 3.5million London home with then husband Christopher Henley QC, 49, and their two daughters. Henley represented one of the killers of ten-year-old Damilola Taylor, who died in South London in 2000. Today Ms Glynn's firm DPG landed a huge victory after a High Court judge ruled against the Home Office, calling the conditions inside Napier Barracks in Kent as unlawful Ms Glynn, was dubbed the 'millionaire champion of travellers' for her role in a fraught high-profile legal challenge fighting the eviction of 86 families from Dale Farm in Crays Hill, Essex He specialises in defending terror suspects. He represented a defendant in the 21/7 terror plot trial and is acting in proceedings involving allegations of terrorism in Syria. Mr Henley has led protests against plans to cut a further 200million from the annual 2.1billion legal aid bill by 2018/19. The cuts target the extortionate fees paid to barristers defending criminals. He and Ms Glynn live in a five-floor townhouse in North West London with their two daughters. The other two asylum seekers that were part of the claim against the Home Office were represented by Matthew Gold & Co. Solicitors Ms Glynn has also spoken openly about the difficulties faced by lawyers during times of austerity. Once speaking at an Oxford University law faculty event, Ms Glynn reportedly discussed how to combat 'the deleterious effect of the legal aid austerity measures'. The other two asylum seekers that were part of the claim against the Home Office were represented by Matthew Gold & Co. Solicitors. The firm, established in 2002, calls itself a specialist in civil liberties and judicial review that 'fights injustice and holds public authorities to account' and has offices in London and the south east of England. He has represented the victims of several miscarriages of justice cases, including the Birmingham Six and Guildford Four who were accused of separate bombings and the Cardiff Three wrong convicted for the murder of Lynette White. A creative car enthusiast has turned a Holden Barina into a bizarre contraption he claims drives like a LandCruiser - with all the 4WD toys. Andre Hawily, from Perth, posted his creation on Facebook marketplace with a selling price of $900 - and quickly found a buyer. His 'touring weapon' was kitted out with a bunch of impressive gear - for a hatchback - that wouldn't look out of place in a Mad Max movie. The 1993 Barina included a 7-inch touchscreen, a snorkel, roof racks, an awning, light bar, 'aircon that needs a service' and the all-important cup holders. A creative car enthusiast has turned a Holden Barina into a bizarre contraption he claims drives like a LandCruiser - with all the 4WD toys 'Do you want to own a LandCruiser but don't want to pay the price and want more luxuries? Well this is the car for you,' the ad began. Mr Hawily assured potential buyers the contraption was actually a very capable 4WD and even has four new light truck tyres for some extra ground clearance. Even more surprisingly the seller said the car was serviced routinely came with full service books . 'Yes it has a few battle scars on the bumpers but looks the part with racing stripes down the sides,' he continued. 'It has straight pipe exhaust and is quite loud. Snorkel made from fuel hose and a catch can to protect the engine. Runs great and drives good. 'Throw me an offer and have the touring weapon of your dreams.' New owner Alexander Krygsveld seemed pretty happy with his new purchase, posting a snap of himself with the car The 'touring weapon' was kitted out with a bunch of impressive gear - for a hatchback - that wouldn't look out of place in a Mad Max movie Commenters on the ad were impressed the the sales pitch. 'The guy is a marketing genius,' one person wrote. 'I wouldn't stress too much about the aircon. Landcruisers always need aircon servicing too,' another added. New owner Alexander Krygsveld seemed pretty happy with his new purchase, posting a snap of himself with the car on Thursday afternoon. 'Just bought this legendary piece of work,' he wrote, followed by some laughing emojis. A leading female bishop has been forced to apologise after slamming the Conservative party on Twitter. Dr Joanna Penberthy was the Church in Wales' first woman bishop when she was appointed to St Davids in 2017. But the 61-year-old, who has 3,287 online followers, sparked controversy after posting a politicised message in response to a row over Welsh devolution. Dr Penberthy wrote 'never, never, never trust a Tory' in March this year - and it has taken ten weeks to apologise only after it is understood senior Conservatives complained. The bishop, who has previously expressed her anti-Brexit and anti-Conservative views, used a Twitter handle that included the term 'We Are Remain' as well as the acronyms GTTO and FBPE - which stand for 'Get The Tories Out' and 'Follow Back Pro European'. Dr Joanna Penberthy was the Church in Wales' first woman bishop when she was appointed to St Davids in 2017 Dr Penberthy wrote 'never, never, never trust a Tory' in March this year - and it has taken ten weeks to apologise In a statement, Dr Penberthy said: 'On March 25th 2021 I put out a private tweet about Conservative Party supporters which has caused offence and for which I sincerely apologise. 'The tweet was in response to another tweet which claimed that the Conservative Party was planning to abolish the Senedd. 'I acknowledge that while there may be those within the Conservative Party who oppose Welsh devolution, it is not the policy of the Conservative Party to abolish the Senedd and I should have checked all the facts before tweeting. 'I, of course, trust and have trusted many Conservatives and know there are many honourable people in that party. 'I further apologise for other tweets I have posted which have caused upset and offence. 'While I hold strong political views, I have expressed them on Twitter in a way which was both irresponsible and disrespectful and I deeply regret this. 'I have now closed my account down.' The 61-year-old (centre), who has previously expressed her anti-Brexit and anti-Conservative views, sparked controversy after posting a politicised message in response to a row over Welsh devolution Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said: 'The many divisive and intolerant views pushed out from this very public account by the Bishop of St Davids will be troubling to many of her parishioners in West Wales.' Other posts included her telling her followers she 'will forever remain a Welsh European'. Her timeline also included claims the country was 'in the foothills of fascism' and tweets from others asking 'who the f***'funded the Prime Minister's recent wedding. The Church in Wales said the Bishop's 'strong political views are well known'. A spokeswoman said: 'The Church in Wales expects all its clergy to engage robustly in public life. 'However, they need to do so in a way which is respectful, responsible and fair, acknowledging the breadth and diversity of political opinion within the church. 'We do not support intemperate claims or poorly-informed commentary and we urge all clergy to recognise that, as public office holders, there should be no expectation that personal views will be regarded as private.' At least two people have died and three are buried under rubble after a favela tower block collapsed in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday morning. Local residents said they heard a booming noise that was followed by a fire, causing panic in the western neighbourhood of Rio das Pedras. More than 100 firefighters and other public safety workers rushed to the scene. A man, a woman and a child were buried, authorities said. According to a public safety source, who requested anonymity as he was not permitted to speak to media, only the woman survived. 'Unfortunately, we lost the other two.' At least two people have died and three are buried under rubble after a favela tower block collapsed in Rio das Pedras, in westRio de Janeiro on Thursday morning More than 100 firefighters and other public safety workers rushed to the scene. A man, a woman and a child were buried, authorities said The construction in Rio das Pedras, a working class area in west Rio de Janeiro, collapsed around 3:20am The construction in Rio das Pedras damaged nearby residences as it collapsed (pictured, firefighters check over damage caused to other houses) The construction in Rio das Pedras collapsed around 3:20 a.m. and also damaged nearby residences. The building consisted of four small homes built atop one another, according to a spokesperson for the Fire Department. The accident has underlined the precarious state of many structures in parts of the city where authorities say organised crime is heavily involved in construction. The cause of the collapse is under investigation, police said. The collapsed building consisted of four small homes built precariously atop one another, according to a spokesperson for the Fire Department Firefighters pulled a woman alive from the debris of the collapsed building on Thursday morning Authorities said the tragic accident had highlighted the precarious state of many buildings in the Rio das Pedras neighbourhood Local residents said they heard a booming noise that was followed by a fire, causing panic in the western neighbourhood of Rio das Pedras Firefighters continued to search for three people buried under the rubble on Thursday morning Firefighters survey the damage caused to local infrastructure after a building collapsed in the Rio das Pedras neighbourhood Firefighters and safety officials continued the search for three people stuck under the rubble into the morning after a building collapsed during the night Firefighters carefully search through the debris of the building, where three people are still trapped following the accident on Thursday morning Residents looked on as firefighters and rescue teams picked through the debris of a building that collapsed in Rio das Pedras on Thursday morning Firefighters pull a woman from the debris after an early morning building collapse in Rio das Pedras Firefighters are joined by a rescue search dog as they continue to look for victims of a building collapse in Rio das Pedras, west Rio de Janeiro A rescue worker looks for victims of an early morning building collapse at the Rio das Pedras favela in Rio de Janeiro Firefighters search for more survivors after pulling some from the debris of a four-floor building that collapsed overnight in Rio das Pedras Firefighters and rescue teams look for victims of an early morning building collapse at the Rio das Pedras favela in Rio de Janeiro Rio das Pedras is the birthplace of Rio de Janeiro's so-called 'militias,' and it remains firmly in the grasp of the organised crime groups. While originally created to defend inhabitants from drug gangs, militias now act as crime outfits in their own right. These groups have grown in power in the last two decades, operating increasingly complex, profitable and deadly rackets throughout the city. Among their money-making operations, they build residential structures without official permission or approval, and rent the buildings out, sometimes to disastrous consequences. The building that collapsed on Thursday was not approved by authorities, sources involved in the rescue said. In 2019, a militia-constructed building in the adjacent neighbourhood of Itanhanga collapsed, killing two. Firefighters rescue a woman from the debris of a collapsed building in Rio das Pedras, known as the birthplace of Rio de Janeiro's so-called 'militias' Rescue teams inspected the damage caused by an early morning building collapse in Rio das Pedras on Thursday Firefighters continue to search for survivors after pulling a woman alive from the debris on Thursday Firefighters rescue a woman from under rubble in the Rio das Pedras area in west Rio de Janeiro Authorities said the tragedy underlined the precarious state of many of the structures in the area Residents hold their heads in the hands while watching firefighters and rescue teams comb through debris of a building collapse in Rio das Pedras on Thursday morning Authorities said local militias had built the precarious residential structures without permission or approval resulting in these types of tragedies Firefighters and rescue teams continue to search for people trapped under the rubble after a building collapsed in Rio das Pedras on Thursday morning Firefighters and rescue workers carefully surveyed the damage, looking for victims of an early morning building collapse in Rio das Pedras, Brazil The building that collapsed on Thursday was not approved by authorities, sources involved in the rescue said The construction in Rio das Pedras damaged nearby residences as it collapsed (pictured, firefighters check over damage caused to other houses) A Walmart shopper got more than he bargained for when he was knocked out by an enraged store employee during a brawl. Video of the violent clash has gone viral on social media, raking in thousands of views on Instagram. Little information is known about the exact circumstances of the fisticuffs. A version of the cellphone video capturing the bust-up that was uploaded to the site WorldStarHipHop.com on Wednesday was accompanied by a caption that identified the location of the Walmart as being in Englewood. A fight between a Walmart employee and a shopper was caught on video, which has since gone viral on social media In the video, the shopper pushes a cart into the worker and spits on him before trying to walk away with his purchases Enraged, the store worker pursued the shopper and punches him in the head (left and right) There are Walmart stores in Englewood, Florida, and in Englewood, Ohio. It is unclear at this time where the fight took place. The video begins with the skirmish already in full swing. It is unknown what sparked the conflict in the first place. A man in a brown hooded sweatshirt and black shorts pushes a shopping cart laden with merchandise into a Walmart employee, pinning him against a display case near the cash registers. The unhappy customer then appears to spit at the store worker, who explodes in rage. The man collapses to the floor, causing an alarm to go off, having been knocked out It is unknown if any arrests or charges followed this violent display The aggrieved Walmart staffer attempts to pursue the shopper to exact revenge, but a colleague in a yellow vest restrains him. The offended store clerk ultimately manages to free himself, runs up to the shopper and punches him in the head. 'Don't do it, don't do it,' a woman's voice is heard saying off camera. After swaying for a moment, the knocked out man collapses and remains sprawled out on the floor. An alarm is heard blaring in the background. It is unknown if any arrests or charges followed this violent display. President Joe Biden will hold his first face-to-face meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson next week when the two leaders sit down ahead of the G7 meeting. Schedule for President Biden's Europe Trip President Joe Biden makes a seven-day trip to Europe next week. Here's the itinerary thus far: June 10: Meeting with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson June 11-13: Attending G7 Summit in Cornwall June 13: He and Dr. Jill Biden meet with The Queen at Windsor Castle June 14: NATO Summit in Brussels June 15: U.S.EU Summit in Brussels June 16: Meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva Advertisement Biden and Johnson will on Thursday ahead of the gathering of world leaders in Cornwall as the president embarks on a seven-day trip to Europe, the White House announced. It's Biden's first international trip as president and he's crammed in a packed schedule: the G7 meeting, a NATO meeting, an EU summit and a sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Biden held off on foreign travel due to the coronavirus pandemic but is making up for it with this trip that includes meetings with foreign leaders, Queen Elizabeth II, the king of Belgium, and his Russian counterpart. First lady Jill Biden will join him for the British portion of the trip but will return to the United States after the first couple meets with the Queen at Windsor Castle next Sunday. Biden will be the 13th American president the Queen has met since ascending to the throne in 1953. There is speculation that the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will also meet the American couple at some point during their visit to the UK. At his sit down with Johnson, Biden will 'affirm the enduring strength of the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. Biden and Johnson have spoken on the phone multiple times since Biden was elected president. 'There's a range of issues of mutual interest,' Psaki said Thursday at her White House press briefing when asked about the sit down. 'From the future of economic growth in the world to addressing the COVID pandemic to security issues around the world so they have a range of topics they can clearly discuss.' Johnson will also asked the American president to exempt vaccinated British and American travellers from quarantine restrictions to facilitate travel between the two nations. The PM wants to create a 'green channel' for those fully vaccinated, The Times reported, as the summer holiday season approaches. Afterward their meeting, Biden will attend the G7 summit, where he will hold bilateral meetings with fellow G7 leaders. The G7 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union. After his meeting with The Queen, Biden will travel to Brussels, Belgium, to participate in in a NATO meeting and an EU Summit. President Joe Biden will hold his first face-to-face meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday, June 10 First lady Jill Biden will join President Biden when he meets with The Queen at Windsor Castle on Sunday, June 13 The Carbis Bay Hotel in Cornwall still 'looks like a building site' with just weeks before it hosts the G7 summit The hotel - where US President Joe Biden and Boris Johnson will be staying is littered with construction materials There, the president will discuss transatlantic security and the collective defense of Europe. He will also meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Biden also will participate in the U.S.EU Summit while in Brussels. That meeting with focus on global health and the world economy. Leaders will discuss climate change, trade, and democracy. President Biden will also meet with His Majesty King Philippe of Belgium and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. Then Biden travels to Geneva for his sit down with Putin on June 16. He will also meet with Swiss President Guy Parmelin and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis. Biden on Wednesday did not rule out retaliation against Russian President Vladimir Putin for a series of cyber attacks on American companies. 'We're looking closely at that issue,' Biden said when asked if he would retaliate for the latest ransomware attack, which was against JBS Foods. But he dismissed concerns he was being tested by his Russian counterpart. 'No,' he said when asked if he thought Putin was testing him. The two leaders will meet in Geneva, Switzerland on June 16 for their first sit down amid rising tensions between the two nations. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Wednesday the cyber attacks on US companies, believed to be done by hackers in Russia but not in conjunction with that government, will be on the summit agenda. 'President Biden certainly thinks that President Putin and the Russian government has a role to play in stopping and preventing these attacks hence it will be a topic of discussion when they meet in two weeks,' she said. The agenda is filling up rapidly. Also likely to come up: Russian interference in US elections; Moscow's aggressive posture toward the Ukraine and the treatment of dissent Alexei Navalny. President Joe Biden did not rule out retaliation against Russian President Vladimir Putin for a series of cyber attacks on American companies There have been multiple attacks on US companies by Russian hackers, including the Solar Winds hack last year, the hack of the Colonial Pipeline that caused gas prices to spike, and the attack on JBS Foods, the world's largest meat processing company 'We're not taking anything off the table in terms of how we may respond,' Psaki said without getting into specifics. 'I will say that this attack is a reminder about the importance to private sector entities of hardening, their cybersecurity, and ensuring they take the necessary steps to prepare for this threat, which we've seen rising even over the last few week,' she said. What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 319-283-2144 or email circ@oelweindailyregister.com. Author Andy Ngo shared footage of himself hiding from members of an angry mob, who he said chased and beat him while he was doing research at a protest in Portland. Ngo, who recently published the book 'Unmasked: Inside Antifa's Radical plan to Destroy Democracy' said members of Antifa tried to kill him 'again,' on Friday. He was working on a new book chapter at a rally commemorating the first protest in Portland a year ago following George Floyd's death. 'I was chased, attacked and beaten by a masked mob, baying for my blood,' the author said on a Twitter thread on Wednesday. 'Had I not been able to shelter wounded and bleeding inside a hotel while they beat the doors and windows like animals, there is no doubt in my mind I would not be here today.' Footage captured author Andy Ngo hiding from an angry mob at a hotel in Portland while they scream 'Nazi scum' and multiple threats and bang on the glass The Portland Police Department did not respond to multiple calls about Ngo's case. Police have not confirmed details to Dailymail.com or that the group chasing Ngo was Antifa. Ngo said his life has been threatened over the last two years and he shared angry social media posts that read: 'Murder Andy Ngo' and 'Kill Andy Ngo,' and tweets of people threatening him. One tweet read: 'Don't worry about martyrs being created from "cancel Culture" Andy Ngo needs to go, one way or another.' And another tweet that read: 'Looks like meat is back on the menu boys' Ngo shared a series of tweets of people threatening him, including one tweet that read: 'Looks like meat is back on the menu boys' Andy Ngo shared an image of his bloodshot eye that he says he got from a member of Antifa last Friday Author Andy Ngo said he sustained injuries after being beaten and chased by a masked mob while covering ongoing protests in Portland Ngo says that following his attack he was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for multiple injuries to his head and body Ngo says he was previously beaten by Antifa members while covering the group two years ago He claimed that shortly before midnight on Friday an Antifa member began questioning him. Andy Ngo, (pictured) author of Unmasked: Inside Antifa's Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy' Ngo said when he didn't answer and attempted to walk away, a group of masked people in black followed and surrounded him, then eventually pulled his mask off, identifying him. He said they yelled 'That's Andy. Get him! Get him!' Ngo wrote that he sprinted through downtown Portland seeking police assistance and was tackled by an Antifa member and punched in the head repeatedly while he 'pleaded for them not to kill me'. He said he was able to crawl away from the mob and went into a hotel for help. In a video Ngo posted on his Twitter thread, the author appears to hide behind the lobby desk with the mob outside the doors screaming 'Nazi scum' while banging on the glass. Ngo said police eventually arrived. He was taken to a local hospital and treated for his injuries, which he said included a blood-shot eye, and wounds to his hands, knees and bruises on his abdomen. Author Andy Ngo published a book on the left-wing militia group Antifa: 'Unmasked: Inside Antifa's Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy' The anti-fascist protest movement known as Antifa gained new prominence in the United States after the white supremacist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017 Police have not released details of Ngo's case, but the movement known as Antifa gained new prominence in the United States after the white supremacist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. 'Antifa', which is short for 'antifascist', counter-protesters believe in active, aggressive opposition to far right-wing movements. Its ideology is rooted in the assumption that the Nazi Party would never have come to power in Germany if people had more aggressively fought it in the streets in the 1920s and 30s. Most Antifa members come from the anarchist movement or from the far left, though since the 2016 presidential election, some people with more mainstream political backgrounds have also joined. Ngo said Antifa previously beat him up when he was covering the group two years ago. According to Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, Sean Gabriel Lopez, 26, was arrested on Saturday on charges of felony unlawful use of a weapon, felony attempted assault, and felony riot. He was released on bail. Ngo claims that Lopez is responsible for attacking him, but it is unclear if the charges are connected directly to Ngo. Ngo called Wednesday on Portland Police to act and for journalists to denounce the mob's violent tactics. 'I call on journalists and all those who believe in the First Amendment to join me in standing against the tyranny of those who use violence to terrorize, silence and suppress the truth,' he added. A two-year-old boy who was found unresponsive in a lake at a nature reserve has died in hospital. Firefighters dramatically fished the toddler out of the water at Swanwick Lake, near Fareham, Hampshire, as emergency services dashed to the scene on Sunday evening. The boy was rushed 12 miles by ambulance to Southampton General Hospital, where he was then said to be in a 'critical but stable condition'. But today Hampshire Constabulary revealed he had died from his injuries. An 18-year-old man, who is understood to have been with the boy, was arrested earlier this week. He has since been bailed until June 27 while enquiries continue. Hampshire Constabulary refused to explain to MailOnline on what the teenager had been arrested on suspicion of, citing 'operational reasons'. Detectives are continuing to appeal for anyone who may have seen how the toddler came to be in the water. A forensic officer at the scene at Swanwick Lake in Hampshire where the boy was pulled from the water on Sunday Hampshire Constabulary arrested an 18-year-old man from Southampton, who is known to the boy and is understood to have been with him. Police vehicles pictured at the scene The toddler was found unresponsive in the water at Swanwick Lake (pictured), near Fareham, Hampshire, on Sunday evening Swanwick Lakes Swanwick Lakes is a 36-hectare nature reserve in Swanwick in Hampshire Swanwick Lakes is a 36-hectare nature reserve in Swanwick in Hampshire. It is managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. The site was once a clay pit for a local brick works. It is described by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust as 'a beautiful oasis for nature in an otherwise urban area. A mixture of woodland, lakes and meadows attracts a large array of species'. The lakes and ponds around the site are said to be prime locations for dragonflies and damselflies, 'including unusual species such as the downy emerald'. Advertisement A police spokesman said: 'We are now in a position to confirm that a boy who was found unresponsive in water at Swanwick Lakes Nature Reserve has died in hospital. 'We're investigating the circumstances surrounding how the boy came to be in the water, and officers would like to hear from anyone who was in this area between 7.45pm and 8.30pm.' Detective Inspector Matt Gillooly, who is leading the investigation, said: 'This is a very sad case, and our thoughts remain with the child's family at this time. 'We are still trying to establish exactly how this boy came to be in the water, and we are keeping an open mind regarding the circumstances. 'As part of our investigation, we want to speak to everyone who was at the reserve between 7.45pm and 8.30pm. We know there was a female dogwalker with a small dog in the area at this time. 'Was this you? Please call us if you were there. Equally, we want to identify everyone who was there as any information, no matter how small, could prove significant.' Police said the 18-year-old man from Southampton, 'who is known to the boy', has been bailed until June 27 while enquiries continue. People living near Swanwick Lake told how they saw more than 16 emergency service vehicles - including an air ambulance - rush to the scene on Sunday night. A local woman said she believed some of the the water near where the boy was found could become 'tidal'. She said: 'People are silly down there and it's very tidal.' General view of Swanwick Lake as a body was found in the water on Sunday night General view of Swanwick Lake as a body was found in the water on Sunday night The 36 hectare site of Swanwick Lakes was once a clay pit for a local brick works A man who lives around 100 yards from the lakes said he saw around six police cars, two ambulances, fire engines and and also heard the air ambulance. He said: 'There were about five or six police cars, two ambulances and I heard the air ambulance above. 'It was such a scene that all the local people came out to see what was going on. 'We thought it was some sort of exercise to do with NATS which is the air traffic control centre down by the lake.' NATS is the main air navigation provider in the UK and its Swanwick control centre - which is next to the lake - is one of two in the country. The 36 hectare site of Swanwick Lakes was once a clay pit for a local brick works. It is described by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust as 'a beautiful oasis for nature in an otherwise urban area. A mixture of woodland, lakes and meadows attracts a large array of species'. The lakes and ponds around the site are said to be prime locations for dragonflies and damselflies, 'including unusual species such as the downy emerald'. The White House unveiled its plans for sharing unused COVID-19 vaccines with the world, freeing up 25 million shots in the first tranche for countries badly hit by the pandemic such as India and for neighbors Canada and Mexico. The U.S. has said it will share 80 million doses by the end of June and on Thursday officials said they would retain control of where they go. The new plan allocates three quarters of unused vaccines for the U.N.-backed COVAX global distribution system, sending some some 6 million to Latin America and the Caribbean, about 7 million to Asia and roughly 5 million to Africa. President Joe Biden said the U.S. was not sharing vaccinations to 'secure favors or extract concessions' as his administration announced where the first 25 million unused doses would be sent. The president has committed to sending 80 million doses overseas by the end of June The plan delivers six million doses to South and Central America, five million to Africa and seven million to Asia, along with another six million that the Biden administration is sending to regional priorities and partners, including United Nations frontline staff An elderly man with breathing difficulty due to coronavirus takes oxygen with the help of an oxygen mask at a COVID-19 care facility, inside Gurudwara Rakab Ganj (Sikh temple), in New Delhi, India. The country is one of the places singled out for vaccine doses by the White House Where the first 25 million vaccine doses will be going Nearly 19 million will be shared through the global vaccine distribution system COVAX, with the following allocations: Approximately 6 million for South and Central America to the following countries: Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Bolivia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Haiti, and other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, as well as the Dominican Republic. Approximately 7 million for Asia to the following countries: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, and the Pacific Islands. Approximately 5 million for Africa to be shared with countries that will be selected in coordination with the African Union. Another 6 million will be targeted toward regional priorities and partner recipients, including Mexico, Canada, and the Republic of Korea, West Bank and Gaza, Ukraine, Kosovo, Haiti, Georgia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Yemen, as well as for United Nations frontline workers. Advertisement As he made the announcement President Joe Biden said he would not be using the life-saving doses for diplomatic gain. 'We are sharing these doses not to secure favors or extract concessions,' he said. 'We are sharing these vaccines to save lives and to lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic, with the power of our example and with our values.' Critics said it was too little, too late and called on the administration to invest in manufacturing sites around the world. Developed nations have been accused of monopolizing vaccine production, protecting their own populations at the expense of poorer countries. The U.S. ranks second only to China for vaccine production but was singled out for keeping almost its entire supply at home. The result was a world waiting to see how the Biden administration would decide to share its doses. The vast majority will be distributed by COVAX, a World Health Organization-backed program. Another six million will go to what the White House described as 'regional priorities' and 'partner recipients' including Mexico, Canada, and the Republic of Korea, West Bank and Gaza, Ukraine, Kosovo, Haiti, Georgia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Yemen, as well as for United Nations frontline workers. The Biden administration has said 25% of spare doses will be kept in reserve for emergencies. 'As long as this pandemic is raging anywhere in the world, the American people will still be vulnerable,' said Biden said. 'And the United States is committed to bringing the same urgency to international vaccination efforts that we have demonstrated at home.' In a briefing, said National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the U.S would retain control of where the vaccines went. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the U.S. would stay in control of where the doses distributed through COVAX ultimately go 'We're not seeking to extract concessions, we're not extorting, we're not imposing conditions the way that other countries who are providing doses are doing; we're doing none of those things,' he said. He added that Gaza had been picked out because of the recent crisis there. 'We're not asking anything of the people of Gaza and West Bank, but we feel that given what they are dealing with, in the situation on the ground there, it is only right and proper and good for the United States to actually allocate some doses to that country,' he said. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said via Twitter that he had offered his thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris in a phone call when he was informed that doses were on their way. 'I expressed our appreciation on behalf of the people of Mexico,' he said on Twitter. Campaigners demanding more help for poor nations said the announcement was a good step but should be followed with a deeper commitment. 'The donation of these few doses is welcome but deeply insufficient, and no substitute for a plan of scale and urgency to end the pandemic,' Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizens Access to Medicines program. 'The U.S. needs to do more, much more.' Tom Hart, of the One Campaign, also welcomed the news but said the U.S. should accelerate plans to distribute AstraZeneca doses that have not yet been licensed by Washington. 'However, its disappointing to see delays in donating the 60 million AstraZeneca doses which have been approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization and will go unused otherwise,' he said. Biden announced in April that the U.S. would send the AstraZeneca vaccines overseas by July 4. However, problems at a manufacturing plant have delayed production. The iconic bikini worn by Dame Barbara Windsor in Carry On Camping is set to go under the hammer after being discovered 52 years later in a dustbin. The late star donned the instantly recognisable strapless swimwear in the classic 1969 film known for the scene when the ill-fitting top pinged off as she was stretching and hit co-star Kenneth Williams in the face. The bikini, which still has a hole from where a fishing hook was attached to rip it off, was salvaged from a dustbin by a member of staff during a stock clearance at London costume company Bermans & Nathans in about 1990. The yellow bikini is best known for an iconic scene in Carry on Camping when it flies off and hit Kenneth Williams in the face The chartreuse cotton towelling bikini with strapless underwired brassiere was discovered in a dustbin in 1990 The unnamed vendor is now selling it with Kerry Taylor Auctions of London on June 15, with the proceeds of the sale going to the Alzheimer's Society. The chartreuse cotton towelling bikini with strapless underwired brassiere and matching briefs is tipped to fetch 1,200. Dame Barbara died of Alzheimer's aged 83 in 2020 and the photo of her protecting her modesty at the end of the scene was included on the order of service at her funeral. Her husband Scott Mitchell said: 'It's a touching tribute to Barbara to think any item associated with that famous scene will raise money to help people living with Alzheimer's. 'I'd say it was fitting - but it flew off - so it wasn't!' The vendor, who worked there from 1987 to 1994, said: 'The heads of department checked the rejects and staff were permitted to take anything they wanted or that they could make use of.' Although duplicate bikinis would have been made for the film, this is the only one known to have survived. The scene is one of the most famous from the Carry on films which dated from 1958 to 1992 Kate Lee, chief executive of Alzheimer's Society, said: 'Dame Barbara Windsor inspired so many when she spoke out about her dementia diagnosis and we are so incredibly grateful to have had her and her husband Scott's unwavering support - what they achieved for people with dementia has been truly awe-inspiring. 'This bikini is an iconic item from an iconic lady. People living with dementia have been worst hit by coronavirus and have never needed our help more. 'Our support services like our Dementia Connect support line have been used more than five million times since March 2020, and people tell us they have been a lifeline. 'It is fantastic that such an iconic item will continue Dame Barbara's legacy to support people affected by dementia, and we are touched by the generosity of the vendor.' A Kerry Taylor spokesperson said the bikini was a memento of 'arguably the most memorable moment of the Carry On franchise'. A trove of Dr. Anthony Fauci's emails has revealed that the infectious disease expert was initially skeptical that the coronavirus pandemic would reach the deadly proportions that it has. Among the emails obtained through public records requests and released on Tuesday by Buzzfeed is one sent early in the pandemic to Fauci from the managing editor of ABC News' medical unit, one day after the CDC reported the first confirmed U.S. death from COVID-19. In the March 1, 2020 email, the ABC editor asked whether Fauci agreed with what a source at the Department of Homeland Security told him: that epidemiology models showed 98 million people could be infected with COVID-19 and the death toll could reach 500,000. 'That seems exceptionally high,' Fauci responded. Fauci's emails revealed that the infectious disease expert was initially skeptical that the coronavirus pandemic would reach the proportions that it has A total of 33,307,976 Americans have had confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 595,839 have died from the virus, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins. The email reflects Fauci's early skepticism that the coronavirus would have a major impact in the U.S. as it already had in China and Italy at the time. Just a few weeks later, New York City would enter lockdown as hospitals and morgues there hit critical capacity. Publicly, Fauci blamed Chinese officials for not offering accurate information about the transmission rate and lethality of the virus. 'If we had known that this was highly transmissible early on when it was just in China, I think other countries would have maybe been more quick on the trigger to try and inhibit travel from China to their country,' he said in an interview on April 3, 2020. On April 10, 2020 he told Fox News: 'Early on we did not get correct information and the incorrect information was propagated right from the beginning.' In private emails, Fauci was always courteous to his Chinese counterparts -- and did not question them on the origins of the virus, the emails show. Dr. Anthony Fauci's emails reveal the contrast between his public and private sentiments, showing what the top infectious disease expert said behind the scenes Fauci exchanged several emails in March and April of 2020 with George Gao, the head of the Chinese CDC. In one exchange, Gao apologized for an article quoting him saying that Fauci's then stance against public mask wearing was a 'big mistake'. 'I understand completely. No problem. We will get through this together,' Fauci replied. Less than a week later, Gao emailed Fauci again expressing his support amid the onslaught of public criticism Fauci faced. 'I saw some news (hope it is fake) that you are being attacked by some people. Hope you are well under such a irrational situation,' Gao wrote on April 8. 'Thank you for your kind note. All is well despite some crazy people in this world,' Fauci replied three days later. On Thursday, Fauci doubled down on claims that the coronavirus likely originated from an animal then was transmitted to humans in an interview on CNN, despite increasing speculation that it leaked from a China lab. 'I have always said and will say today to you ... that I still believe the most likely origin is from an animal species to a human,' said Fauci. Although he said he's keeping an open mind about the possibility of a lab leak, Fauci said it was 'far-fetched' to think the Chinese would kill their own people. 'The idea, I think, is quite far-fetched that the Chinese deliberately engineered something so that they could kill themselves, as well as other people. I think that's a bit far out.' Though there have claims that the virus that causes COVID-19 was engineered as a deliberate bioweapon stretch credulity, it has been suggested that it could be the product of Chinese experiments to enhance natural viruses for research purposes. Fauci forwarded a paper co-authored by Dr. Shi Zhengli (left), a Wuhan researcher who works with bat coronaviruses, that discussed gain-of-function research The emails appear to show that Fauci was well aware that such research, known as 'gain of function' was occurring at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. A February 1, 2020 email Fauci sent to his top deputy at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Hugh Auchincloss a 2015 article describing gain-of-function research on coronavirus strains, co-authored by Wuhan researchers. One of the paper's authors was Dr. Shi Zhengli, a Wuhan researcher known as the 'bat woman' for her work on bat coronaviruses. 'The paper you sent me says the experiments were performed before the gain of function pause [in October 2014] but have since been reviewed and approved by NIH,' Auchincloss emailed Fauci later in the day. 'Not sure what that means since Emily is sure that no Coronavirus work has gone through the P3 framework. She will try to determine if we have any distant ties to this work abroad.' Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, slammed the email as evidence that Fauci was 'very troubled early on that there was gain-of-function.' 'Somebody is culpable here. It's either Fauci or somebody else approved without going through the review committee,' Paul told WVHU radio in an interview on Wednesday. 'You see they set up the review committee because even the scientists were alarmed that these very dangerous viruses could get out of the lab and cause a pandemic. So they stop it, set up a special review process but then the Wuhan stuff goes around it,' he said. While a number of big tech companies have had their sights set on permanent remote work since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Apple has opted for a more conservative approach. CEO Tim Cook told employees Wednesday that they would be required to come back to the office at least three days a week beginning this September. In an email sent to employees and acquired by The Verge, Cook said: 'For all that we've been able to achieve while many of us have been separated, the truth is that there has been something essential missing from this past year: each other.' Video conference calling has been beneficial, Cook added, but it could not replace in-person collaboration. Starting September, most Apple employees will report in person on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Others will be returning for four or five days a week, depending on the needs of their job. Employees will also have the option to apply for permission to work remotely two full weeks out of the year 'to be closer to family and loved ones, find a change of scenery, manage unexpected travel, or a different reason all your own,' according to Cook's email. Apple informed staff on Wednesday that they will be required to work from the office three days a week beginning in September. Pictured: Apple's main campus in Silicon Valley Google and Microsoft have adopted similar policies when it comes to working in the office. In an e-mail published online by Google and sent to its employees on May 5, CEO Sundar Pichai wrote that 20 percent of its employees could work from home, permanently, after its offices reopen later this year. He added that he expects 60 percent to work in-person about three days a week and the remaining 20 percent to work in new office locations. Pichai wrote that, by mid-June, employees will have more information about whether they could work remotely or if their job requires them to come back to their office. 'Since in-office time will be focused on collaboration, your product areas and functions will help decide which days teams will come together in the office,' he wrote. 'There will also be roles that may need to be on site more than three days a week due to the nature of the work.' In an email sent to employees, Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote: 'For all that we've been able to achieve while many of us have been separated, the truth is that there has been something essential missing from this past year: each other' Meanwhile, Microsoft announced in March that it would continue operating on a hybrid schedule depending on the severity of the pandemic. 'Our goal is to give employees additional flexibility to support individual work styles, balance business needs and ensure we live our culture,' reads a post shared on its official blog. The post continues to say that the company aims to allow most employees to work from home less than 50 percent of the time. By contrast, Facebook, Twitter and Square didn't wait more than two months into the coronavirus lockdowns and remote working to tell their employees that they could continue working from home on a permanent basis. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey first began encouraging his employees to work from home in 2018 after he saw a personal spike in productivity by doing so. A press release published to Twitter's blog in May 2020 reads, '. . . if our employees are in a role and situation that enables them to work from home and they want to continue to do so forever, we will make that happen.' Facebook officials told news outlets in April that it would maintain its commitment to allowing employees to work remotely after the pandemic. A recent report by benefits consulting firm Willis Towers Watson found that 57 percent of American employees are currently working from home and 37 percent are likely to still be working from home by the end of 2021. Denmark on Thursday ratcheted up its tough anti-immigration laws by adopting new legislation enabling it to open asylum centres outside Europe where applicants would be sent to live. The latest move by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's Social Democratic anti-immigration government is aimed at deterring migrants from coming to Denmark at all. Asylum seekers would now have to submit an application in person at the Danish border and then be flown to an asylum centre outside Europe while their application is being processed. If the application is approved and the person is granted refugee status, he or she would be given the right to live in the host country, but not in Denmark. The bill sailed through parliament on Thursday, supported by a majority including the far-right, despite opposition from some left-wing parties. The European Commission on Thursday said the Danish plan violates existing EU asylum rules. A Kurdish Iraqi, enters through the front gate at Kaershovedgaard, a former prison and now a departure centre for rejected asylum seekers in Jutland, Denmark, in Mach 2019 A resident climbs through a window at Kaershovedgaard, a former prison and now a departure centre for rejected asylum seekers in Jutland, Denmark, March 26, 2019 However, since Copenhagen has an opt-out on EU migration and asylum cooperation, the Commission would examine the situation 'before deciding on any next steps,' spokesman Adalbert Jahnz told reporters. Denmark has repeatedly made headlines in recent years with its anti-immigration policies including its official 'zero refugees' target, its withdrawal of residence permits from Syrians now that it deems parts of the wartorn country safe and its crackdown on 'ghettos' to reduce the number of 'non-Western' residents. The aim of the new law is to establish a legal foundation for the transfer of people seeking international protection in Denmark to a third country, according to the immigration ministry. Denmark would foot the bill but the processing of asylum requests would be carried out by the host country. If a person's asylum request is rejected, the migrant would be asked to leave the host country. But even 'those whose asylum claims are successful after being exported will not be allowed to come 'back' to Denmark to enjoy refugee status. They will simply get refugee status in the as yet unnamed host country,' University of Copenhagen migration expert Martin Lemberg-Pedersen told AFP. No country has agreed to collaborate with Denmark yet, but the government says it is in talks with five to 10 nations, without identifying them. 'A system of transferring asylum seekers to a third country must, of course, be established within the framework of international conventions,' Migration Minister Mattias Tesfaye told AFP. 'In addition, we need to have a monitoring mechanism in place so that we can continuously ensure that everything is going as planned.' He had previously said the countries may not necessarily be democracies 'in the way we see things.' Danish media have mentioned Egypt, Eritrea and Ethiopia as possibilities. And Denmark and Rwanda signed a memorandum of understanding in April on asylum and migration cooperation, though the document doesn't specifically cover external asylum processing. The new legislation marks a complete U-turn on immigration for the Social Democrats under Frederiksen's reign. For many years, the populist Danish People's Party had a monopoly on anti-immigration policy. But their stance has become the norm, University of Copenhagen political scientist Kasper Hansen noted. Five years after the adoption of a law that allowed Denmark to seize asylum seekers' valuables - legislation that made headlines but was actually rarely applied - authorities continue to practice deterrence. The new law is a 'continuation of the symbolic policy,' the secretary-general of ActionAid Denmark, Tim Whyte, told AFP. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen arrives for an EU summit in Brussels last month In 2019, only 2,716 people sought asylum in Denmark, eight times fewer than during the 2015 migrant crisis. While the initiative will yield political gain at home, international observers have expressed concern. The UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, said the law was 'contrary to the principles of international refugee cooperation.' 'By initiating such a drastic and restrictive change in Danish refugee legislation, Denmark risks starting a domino effect, where other countries in Europe and in neighbouring regions will also explore the possibility of limiting the protection of refugees on their soil,' UNHCR's representative in the Nordic and Baltic countries, Henrik Nordentoft, told news agency Ritzau. Denmark is letting its European partners down, Whyte said. 'Refugees will seek asylum in Germany, France, Sweden. It will not deter them to cross the Mediterranean Sea but they won't get to Denmark, which in a way is abdicating its responsibilities.' A grandmother claiming to be the oldest person in the world at 124 has received her first coronavirus jab in India. Rehtee Begum from the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir was among 9,000 people in the district who was given the Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday. She received the vaccine as doses were given out door-to-door, and her ration card reportedly revealed her age to be 124, although no further proof was given. Rehtee Begum from the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir was among 9,000 people in the district who was given the Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday (pictured) According to local reports, the news emerged when youngsters - initially too afraid to get the jab themselves - were inspired to do so by her coming forward and offering to get the first dose. Health workers explained that they were giving out coronavirus vaccines, with Ms Begum expressing her consent to be given the jab, local reports said. 'Rehtee was administered the Covishield vaccine. It took place during a mobile inoculation drive held in Baramulla district's Srakwara area,' a local health worker explained. Later, the Department of Information and Public Relations of Jammu and Kashmir also confirmed the jab had been given to the elderly woman. In a video recorded after she was given the vaccine dose, the woman said she was feeling fine and doing well after being inoculated. The Deputy Commissioner of Baramulla Bhupinder Kumar also said that an elderly woman from the district was vaccinated on Wednesday. Pictured: An Indian woman receives a shot of COVID-19 vaccine during the vaccination drive for the students and residents who want to travel abroad, in Bangalore, India, 03 June 2021 Meanwhile, Block Development Officer for Wagoora, Abdul Rashid Ganie, said he was part of the group to visit the family which housed a grandma. 'The ration card revealed her age as 124,' Ganie said, adding that when she was asked about her age, all she said was that she had crossed 100. 'We saw the ration card of the family which listed her as 124 years old. Well, she surely seems to be 100-plus, but, I cannot certify her real age,' he added. If the ration card is to be believed then Rehtee is not only the world's oldest surviving person to receive a Covid vaccine, but the world's oldest person ever recorded. The official oldest person to be recorded was Jeanne Calment, a woman from France who died at the age of 122 years and 164 days. Currently, the oldest known person still alive is Kane Tanaka, a man in Japan aged 118 years and 152 days (as on June 3). Rehtee said she is also enthusiastic to take the second jab in seven weeks time. She also said she thought that the health facility has done remarkably well in its coronavirus vaccine programme. The news of Rehtee's vaccination offers some light in a particularly challenging time in India as it continues to fight a serious third wave of coronavirus. Pictured: Students wear mask and stand in a queue as they maintain social distance, before receiving a shot of COVID-19 vaccine during the vaccination drive for the students and residents who want to travel abroad, in Bangalore, India, 03 June 2021 For the past month, India has been struggling with the deadly virus, and although the number of cases are starting to decline, the country has been facing a high daily death toll. The tally of new daily infections stood at 127, 510 on Monday, its lowest daily rise in little over a month. This number increased slightly on Tuesday and Wednesday. Meanwhile, the number of new Covid-deaths reported on Wednesday stood at 2,887 - lower than the peak of over 4,000 per day seen last week. In total, India has seen over 28.4 million reported cases and almost 338,000 deaths - although experts believe both figures to be much higher than that reported by health officials. It comes as the country's capital of New Delhi has been gradually ending its weeks-long lockdown from Monday, when factories were allowed to operate again and construction work could resume. The city recorded peaks of 25,000 cases in April, but is now reporting less than 1,500 cases per day. Despite the easing of certain restrictions, experts have warned that people in the country should continue to follow safety protocols, reaffirming that the pandemic is not over in India just yet. Medical researcher Bhramar Mukherjee told the BBC: 'The notion that the peak has passed may give false sense of security to everyone when their states are in fact entering the crisis mode. 'We must make it clear that no state is safe yet.' The country has been left reeling after a deadly second wave of the virus hit in March. Health workers are set up around the country to record the temperature of citizens A health worker takes a swab sample from a man for a Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test along a road in New Delhi Indian covid sufferers are now contracting deadly 'black fungus' infection with spike causing a shortage of the drugs to treat it A growing number of current and recovered Covid-19 patients in India are contracting a deadly and rare fungal infection, doctors said on last week. Mucormycosis, dubbed 'black fungus' by medics, is usually most aggressive in patients whose immune systems are weakened by other infections. 'The cases of mucormycosis infection in Covid-19 patients post-recovery is nearly four to five times than those reported before the pandemic,' Ahmedabad-based infectious diseases specialist Atul Patel, a member of the state's Covid-19 taskforce, told AFP. In the western state of Maharashtra, home to India's financial hub Mumbai, up to 300 cases have been detected, said Khusrav Bajan, a consultant at Mumbai's P.D. Hinduja National Hospital and a member of the state's Covid-19 taskforce. Some 300 cases have been reported so far in four cities in Gujarat, including its largest Ahmedabad, according to data from state-run hospitals. The western state ordered government hospitals to set up separate treatment wards for patients infected with 'black fungus' amid the rise in cases. 'Mucormycosis - if uncared for - may turn fatal,' the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), the scientific agency leading the government's response, said in a treatment chart released on Twitter.o used steroids during their virus treatment, and those who had prolonged stays in hospital ICUs, the ICMR added. Reporting by AFP Advertisement Hospitals, morgues and crematoriums have been overwhelmed ever since, with many areas of the country suffering chronic oxygen shortages. In recent weeks, a horrifying Covid-19 complication has also swept the country, with thousands of people contracting black fungus. The wave of infections with the previously very rare condition has been blamed on excessive use of steroids to treat the country's millions of Covid patients, experts say. Mucormycosis, as it is scientifically known, is highly aggressive and surgeons sometimes have to remove patients' eyes, nose and jaw to stop it reaching the brain. The death rate is over 50 percent. India normally deals with fewer than 20 black fungus cases a year but now there are several thousand across the country including more than 2,000 in Maharashtra state, home to India's financial capital Mumbai. At least nine Indian states have declared the problem an epidemic. The cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bangalore have opened special wards. Before the coronavirus pandemic, only those with severely compromised immunity, such as HIV or organ transplant patients, were at risk. Earlier this week, analysis by the New York Times was published, which suggested that the death toll in the country could be as many as 1.6 million compared to the official 310,000 fatalities reported. The paper's 'more likely' scenario estimates the number of deaths to be 1.6 million, while the worst-case could be as high as 4.2 million. By comparison, Britain recorded just nine deaths on May 27 and more than 127,000 fatalities in total. The US has recorded about 590,000, also suspected to be an undercount, in a population of about 330 million. Official figures in India put the toll at 310,000 in a population of 1.4 billion. In consulting with more than a dozen experts, the Times said it found it difficult to get a clear picture even of the total number of infections in India due to poor record-keeping and a lack of widespread testing. Vinod Paul, head of India's coronavirus task force, dismissed the study and said it was 'not backed by any evidence and is based on distorted estimates. 'Our [fatality] number is 0.05 per cent of those infected. They've said 0.3 per cent. Why? On what basis have you decided that it's 0.3 per cent of that large infection universe? There is no basis at all. Five people get together, make phone calls to each other and then throw this number. That's how this report has been done,' Mr Paul told NDTV. 'There may be some late reporting of deaths but there's no intent of any state or the Centre. If I apply the same three times yardstick to New York, then there would be 50,000 deaths. But they say it's 16,000. So this is distorted,' he added. Advertisement Thousands of people have packed the streets of Jerusalem for the annual Pride march on Thursday. While the coronavirus pandemic has seen similar marches cancelled elsewhere, Israel's swift vaccine rollout allowed the mass celebration to go ahead. It took place under heavy security over fears of extremism as ultra-right wing groups had called for a counter-demonstration. Several people were arrested on suspicion of potential threats prior to the celebration's start. Some 3,000 police officers lined the route and observed the march from atop tall buildings. A number of streets were blocked off for the march as helicopters circled overhead. Many participants waved rainbow flags, balloons and placards bearing slogans such as 'Born this Way,' a reference to a Lady Gaga song of the same title which has become an anthem of self-acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community and others. The Times of Israel reported Hebrew media as saying that some 7,500 people took part in the parade on Thursday. Thousands of people have packed the streets of Jerusalem for the annual Pride march on Thursday after last year's event was cancelled due to coronavirus While the coronavirus pandemic has seen similar marches cancelled elsewhere, Israel's swift vaccine rollout allowed the mass celebration to go ahead The march took place under heavy security over fears of extremism as ultra-right wing groups had called for a counter-demonstration. Several people were arrested on suspicion of potential threats prior to the celebration's start Some 3,000 police officers lined the route and observed the march from atop tall buildings. A number of streets were blocked off for the march as helicopters circled overhead Jerusalem's march was among the first Pride events of 2021, made possible thanks to a swift vaccination campaign. Israel's 2020 celebrations were muted, with its famed gatherings including Tel Aviv's annual parade scrapped to avoid further spreading of Covid-19. The move echoed most municipal decisions worldwide to cancel large Pride events and shift celebrations online. A number of marches are back on the global calendar this year, including New York's, due to take place on June 27. Jerusalem has held its annual celebration of LGBTQ+ rights since 2002, often against a backdrop of protests from the ultra-Orthodox community and far-right extremists. Many participants waved rainbow flags, balloons and placards bearing slogans such as 'Born this Way,' a reference to a Lady Gaga song of the same title which has become an anthem of self-acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community and others The Times of Israel reported that some 7,500 people took part in the parade on Thursday. Pictured: A participant in Jerusalem's Pride event takes to the stage Jerusalem's march was among the first Pride events of 2021, made possible thanks to a swift vaccination campaign in Israel Israel's 2020 celebrations were muted, with its famed gatherings including Tel Aviv's annual parade scrapped to avoid further spreading of Covid-19 On July 30, 2015, teenager Shira Banki was stabbed to death during the parade by Yishai Shlissel, an ultra-Orthodox Jew, who also wounded six others. The annual event has been heavily protected by law enforcement in the years since. This year's celebrations began with a ceremony honouring Banki's memory. Israeli police said they arrested a suspect on Wednesday in central Jerusalem for 'rampaging around and disturbing public order,' with reports indicating the man had levelled threats of violence related to Pride events. He will remain in custody until Friday, a police spokeswoman told AFP news agency. On Thursday morning, police also said that they had arrested two 17-year-old boys for hanging anti-Pride posters in downtown Jerusalem overnight. A right-wing advocacy group providing them with legal counsel said the posters included slogans referring to the events as 'a perversion'. Jerusalem has held its annual celebration of LGBTQ+ rights since 2002, often against a backdrop of protests from the ultra-Orthodox community and far-right extremists. Pictured: A demonstrator holds a sign bearing lyrics from the musical Hamilton Israeli police said they arrested a suspect on Wednesday in central Jerusalem for 'rampaging around and disturbing public order,' with reports indicating the man had levelled threats of violence related to Pride events Critics have frequently accused Israel of 'pinkwashing,' saying the government exploits LGBTQ+ rights to present a progressive image that distracts from concerns around its treatment of Palestinians and occupation of Palestinian land The throng of Pride revellers hoisting signs with slogans like 'Queer Revolution' overwhelmed the city's streets on Thursday as only a handful of counter-protesters turned out The throng of Pride revellers hoisting signs with slogans like 'Queer Revolution' overwhelmed the city's streets on Thursday as only a handful of counter-protesters turned out. Critics have frequently accused Israel of 'pinkwashing,' saying the government exploits LGBTQ+ rights to present a progressive image that distracts from concerns around its treatment of Palestinians and occupation of Palestinian land. But for marcher Netta Weiss, 26, Jerusalem's edition of Pride is essential. She told AFP it was close to the 'original meaning' [of Pride] because it's 'actually a protest'. The first Pride march was held in 1970 in New York to mark the anniversary of the city's 1969 Stonewall Riots, a landmark event seen as instrumental in sparking the global gay rights movement. 'As long as we need so much security, and I need to conceal my flag on the way here because I'm afraid I'm going to get stabbed... it shows how dirty the problem is,' Weiss said. Guy Gazit, 18, turned out to Thursday's Pride festivities for the first time, saying he 'felt guilty saying I support the community but not really doing anything about it, so I wanted to take a more active role.' He said his parents voiced concern about his decision to go considering the spectre of violence, but he opted to show up anyway because 'we can't just sit by and be passive.' 'It's a very loving community,' Gazit said of those attending Pride, a rainbow flag tied at his neck as Born This Way blared in the background. 'Our ideas are here to stay.' Marcher Netta Weiss, 26, told AFP Jerusalem's Pride was close to the 'original meaning' [of Pride] because it's 'actually a protest' The first Pride march was held in 1970 in New York to mark the anniversary of the city's 1969 Stonewall Riots, a landmark event seen as instrumental in sparking the global gay rights movement. Pictured: Residents watch the march from their windows A number of marches are back on the global calendar this year, including New York's, due to take place on June 27. Pictured: Revellers at Jerusalem's Pride march on Thursday Doctors from around the country say a Soviet-style purge is underway in medicine as professionals are hesitant to voice opinions that run counter to woke culture for fear of being labeled racist. A new generation of medical professionals believes it is incumbent on them to confront patients on their racist views and to offer treatment to minorities. 'I've heard examples of Covid-19 cases in the emergency department where providers go, "I'm not going to go treat that white guy, I'm going to treat the person of color instead because whatever happened to the white guy, he probably deserves it",' one doctor said. The concern is so great that doctors are holding private Zoom sessions with colleagues in secret to discuss strategy as everything from medical research to doctor-patient relationships are viewed through a prism of race. They say they are being reprimanded for criticizing patients for being late because doing so is perceived as racist and that if they question prevailing orthodoxy, they are being fired. Dr. Howard Bauchner (pictured in 2015) will leave his job as editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association at the end of June after a decade at the helm of the prestigious publication Bauchner is stepping down after a February 24 tweet promoting a podcast that questioned whether systemic racism exists in medicine stoked harsh backlash on Twitter The podcast was billed as a discussion for skeptics and featured two white doctors: a deputy journal editor, Edward Livingston (left), and Dr. Mitch Katz (right), a physician who runs a New York City health system. 'Structural racism is an unfortunate term,' said Livingston, the deputy editor, said on the podcast. 'Personally, I think taking racism out of the conversation will help. Many people like myself are offended by the implication that we are somehow racist.' On the JAMA Network web site where the podcast was posted, the episode was pulled. Bauchner posted an audio clip less than a minute long in which he apologized. 'The podcast on structural racism based on the discussion between Dr Ed Livingston and Dr Mitchell Katz has been withdrawn,' Bauchner says in the clip. 'Comments made in the podcast were inaccurate, offensive, hurtful, and inconsistent with the standards of JAMA' The doctors spoke anonymously to journalist Katie Herzog, who reported their concerns in an article that was posted to Bari Weiss blog on Substack. Earlier this week, it was announced that Dr. Howard Bauchner would be stepping down at the end of the month as editor-in-chief of the Journal of American Medical Association. He was forced out after a February 24 tweet from JAMAs official Twitter account promoted a podcast that questioned whether systemic racism exists in medicine stoked harsh backlash on Twitter. No physician is racist, so how can there be structural racism in health care? the tweet read, sparking outrage and generating intense interest in the podcast. The tweet and the podcast episode sparked outrage among those who lambasted the notion that the American medical community is devoid of structural racism Edward Livingston, a deputy editor of JAMA who took part in the podcast, was forced to resign. In the podcast, Livingston held a discussion on race with Dr. Mitch Katz, a physician who runs a New York City health system. Personally, I think taking racism out of the conversation will help, Livingston said at one point during the podcast. Many of us are offended by the concept that we are racist. Last year, Norman Wang, a cardiologist at the University of Pittsburgh, was demoted by his department after publishing a paper in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) that was critical of diversity initiatives in cardiology. In his paper, Wang wrote that data from the last 50 years show that affirmative action and other race-based initiatives failed to meaningfully increase the number of black and Hispanic clinicians or improve patient outcomes. He proposed that medicine adopt race-neutral policies in hiring. Long-term academic solutions and excellence should not be sacrificed for short-term demographic optics, Wang wrote. Ultimately, all who aspire to a profession in medicine and cardiology must be assessed as individuals on the basis of their personal merits, not their racial and ethnic identities. Initially, the paper did not attract much attention. Four months after it was published, however, snippets were posted on Twitter, prompting medical professionals to criticize Wang, accusing him of racism. The viral outrage led JAHAs editor-in-chief, Barry London, to issue an apology and retract the paper. Wang went on record as stating that he was opposed to the retraction and he stood by his findings. Research papers that appear in medical journals are usually retracted if there are glaring methodological errors or faulty data. But Londons statement cited no such errors, only that publishing it ran contrary to his and JAHAs values. The American Heart Association (AHA), JAHAs publisher, denounced Wangs paper and vowed to investigate. The organization said the paper does NOT represent AHA values. JAHA is editorially independent but thats no excuse. Well investigate. Well do better. Were investedin helping to build a diverse health care and research community. The burgeoning public outrage in response to Wangs paper prompted his removal as director of a fellowship program in clinical cardiac electrophysiology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Last year, Norman Wang, a cardiologist at the University of Pittsburgh, was demoted by his department after publishing a paper in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) that was critical of diversity initiatives in cardiology Wang was also barred from having contact with students since his classroom was said to be inherently unsafe because of his views against diversity programs. In response to the demotion, Wang filed a lawsuit against the AHA and the University of Pittsburgh for defamation and for violating his First Amendment rights. Medical professionals who spoke to Herzog cite the Wang demotion as well as the Bauchner-Livingston case as chilling examples where experts are threatened with having their careers derailed if they do not fall into line with dominant liberal orthodoxy. Im into efforts to make medicine more diverse, a doctor told Herzog. But whats gone off the rails here is that there is an intolerance of people that have another point of view. And that's going to hurt us all. Forcing researchers to stay within the bounds of what is considered acceptable discourage will have far-reaching consequences on scientific advancement and the quality of care, according to the doctors. Wokeness feels like an existential threat, one doctor told Herzog. In health care, innovation depends on open, objective inquiry into complex problems, but thats now undermined by this simplistic and racialized worldview where racism is seen as the cause of all disparities, despite robust data showing its not that simple. In his paper, Wang wrote that data from the last 50 years show that affirmative action and other race-based initiatives failed to meaningfully increase the number of black and Hispanic clinicians or improve patient outcomes. He proposed that medicine adopt race-neutral policies in hiring Initially, the paper did not attract much attention. Four months after it was published, however, snippets were posted on Twitter, prompting medical professionals to criticize Wang, accusing him of racism Whole research areas are off-limits. The anti-racism worldview has led to medical scholarship that the doctor calls shoddy as hell. Last year, a journal called the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published a widely quoted study claiming that black newborns in the United States are more likely to survive childbirth if they are cared for by black doctors. The study also claimed that black babies are three times more likely than white babies to die when looked after by white doctors, according to CNN. Doctors taking part in the Zoom meetings panned the study, though they did so anonymously for fear of the career repercussions of speaking out, according to Herzog. Its some of the most shoddy, methodologically flawed research weve ever seen published in these journals, with sensational conclusions that seem totally unjustified from the results of the study, one doctor said. Its frustrating because we all know how hard it is to get good, sound research published, the doctor said. So do those rules and quality standards no longer apply to this topic, or to these authors, or for a certain time period? Herzog reports that the discourse around race makes doctors think twice about providing constructive criticism to minority trainees for fear that their comments will be construed as racist and that their careers will be jeopardized as a result. Some attending physicians are hesitant to provide constructive criticism to trainees over fears of being perceived as racist, one doctor told Herzog. You ask yourself, Is this worth bringing up? You second guess yourself. A construction company boss paid $300,000 to bail three Tacoma cops charged with the murder and manslaughter of a black man who died with a spit hood on his head. Josh Harris, owner of local Tacoma business Integrity Construction Group, posted bond for Officers Christopher Burbank, 35, Matthew Collins, 38, and Timothy Rankine, 32, Friday. Harris said he didn't want the 'highly decorated veterans' to be stuck behind bars over Memorial Day weekend. The trio are charged over the March 2020 killing of Manuel Ellis, 33, who died after officers pinned him to the ground and put a spit hood over his head as he said 'I can't breathe, sir.' Harris said he had worked with the cops on multiple occasions, and that they sometimes patrolled the area around his construction firm. He told KIRO he does not know the officers personally but he attended their court appearance Friday where bail was set at $100,000 each. All three cops were charged with first-degree manslaughter, while Burbank and Collins were also charged with second-degree murder last Thursday - 14 months on from Ellis' death. Ellis, a 33-year-old black father-of-two, died on March 3 2020 during an arrest as he was walking home from a convenience store with a snack. The Pierce County medical examiner ruled his death a homicide and said it was caused by lack of oxygen from being restrained. Josh Harris, pictured, has paid $300,000 bail to free the three Tacoma cops charged with the murder and manslaughter of Manuel Ellis Harris, owner of local Tacoma business Integrity Construction Group, posted bond for Officers Christopher Burbank, 35, Matthew Collins, 38, and Timothy Rankine, 32,(left to right during their arraignments Friday) Harris told Fox 6 he wanted to put up the money to free the officers because they were veterans and because he has the funds to do so. 'Being the fact that they were veterans, highly decorated veterans, I wasn't about to see them sit in jail over Memorial Day weekend,' he said. 'We're blessed. I had the funds available to do it. I know several people have offered to step up and reimburse me and if that happens great, but that's not the intention.' All three officers previously served in the Army. Collins and Burbank had each served eight years in the Army before joining the Tacoma Police Department four years before Ellis' death. Rankine served six years in the Army and worked two years as a security contractor for the US State Department before joining the department in 2018. Harris said the bond money was 'really nothing' compared to what he said the three cops and their families are dealing with. 'Compared to what these guys were up against right now is really nothing. Their families are highly affected and their friends are highly affected and their department is highly affected,' said Harris. Harris told the outlet he had received hate calls and messages since it became public that he was the man behind the bond payments. He said he learned about a flier circulating calling him a fascist but insisted 'everyone that knows me knows that I'm all about the community, I'm all about giving back.' Manuel Ellis, a 33-year-old father-of-two, died of oxygen deprivation on March 3 after being pinned to the ground by cops and having a spit hood put over his head as he walked home from a convenience store with a snack The businessman called for the community to let the court process play out. 'We have due process and we need to let that play out and people need to take a deep breath and relax and sit back and let the courts figure things out,' said Harris. 'Let everything, all the evidence be brought out and that the truth will lay out there and a decision will be made and people need to respect that decision.' Harris had posted photos on social media from inside the courtroom Friday, writing that 'the truth will set them free'. Integrity Construction Group is a full service contractor that provides repair, development and remodeling to residential and commercial properties. It is based in Tacoma, south Washington. Burbank, Collins and Rankine walked free from Pierce County Jail at the same time Friday afternoon after the bail was posted. They had each pleaded not guilty to their charges during a virtual court appearance where prosecutors had urged the judge to set their bail at $1 million. They all remain on paid administrative leave with the police department. The charges against the officers marks the first time the Washington Attorney General's Office has criminally charged police officers for the unlawful use of deadly force. Harris told Fox 6 he didn't want the 'highly decorated veterans' to be stuck behind bars over Memorial Day weekend The local businessman said the cops sometimes patrolled the area around his construction firm. He told KIRO he does not know the officers personally Harris attended their court appearance Friday where bail was set at $100,000 each. He posted from inside the courtroom writing that 'the truth will set them free' If convicted, given their lack of criminal history, Burbank and Collins could face up to 18 years in prison, and Rankine could spend more than eight years behind bars. Both offenses carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. Prosecutors said in court documents Thursday that Burbank and Collins 'tackled and struck Ellis multiple times, applied an LVNR (Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint) on Ellis, and shot him with a taser three times, all without justification.' Their 'felonious assault and/or unlawful imprisonment of Ellis' resulted in his death, the documents state. They also hogtied the black man and failed to administer urgent medical aid. The documents say Rankine continued to hold Ellis in a prone position and apply pressure to his back even after he told the officers he could not breathe. The charges come more than one year after Ellis' death and come after questions have been mounting over the handling of the investigation. Ellis died on March 3 2020 but his case gained attention three months later, after the release of bystander footage of his death and in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder. Tacoma police officers Matthew Collins (left) and Christopher Burbank (center) were charged on Thursday with second-degree murder for the death of Manuel Ellis, and officer Timothy Rankine (right) was charged with first-degree manslaughter Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died on Memorial Day when white cop Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes while he begged for air saying 'I can't breathe.' Chauvin was convicted of murder in April and is awaiting sentencing. Police claimed Ellis had been the aggressor and that they saw him trying to open car doors of occupied vehicles at a red light. They said he then charged at an officer as they exited a police car and had to be restrained. But bystander footage and witness accounts cast serious doubt on this version of events. Witnesses said they saw Burbank and Collins attack Ellis without provocation, according to a probable cause statement filed in Pierce County Superior Court. An officer sitting in the passenger side of a patrol car slammed his door into Ellis, knocking him down, and then jumped on him and started beating him, they said. 'Ellis was not fighting back,' the probable cause statement said. 'All three civilian witnesses at the intersection... state that they never saw Ellis strike at the officers.' Footage of Ellis' arrest was posted on Twitter by the Tacoma Action Collective, a racial justice group, last June. Footage of Ellis' arrest was posted on Twitter by the Tacoma Action Collective last June. Officers are pictured in footage from the video aggressively trying to restrain Ellis Ellis seen in the video on the ground, kicking at the officers in the footage shot by the witness from her vehicle n the witness video, a woman filming the arrest from her car is heard yelling out to the officers to stop The footage later shows the officers restraining Ellis as the witness drives by In the witness video, a woman filming the arrest from her car is heard yelling out to the officers to stop as they are seen throwing punches at Ellis, who is on the ground and kicking at them. 'Hey! Stop! Oh my God! Stop hitting him. Stop hitting him. Just arrest him. Just arrest him,' the unidentified woman pleaded from her vehicle, before a man, also not identified, distracts her from outside. The officers are later seen in the footage holding down the man as the woman drives past them. When the footage surfaced, protests erupted in Seattle demanding justice for Ellis and Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards called for a full investigation and for the officers involved to face immediate firing. The Pierce County Sheriff's Department botched the investigation when it failed to disclose for three months that one of its deputies had responded. When this conflict of interest surfaced, the Sheriff's Department was disqualified from its role as the independent investigating agency. The Pierce County medical examiner ruled Ellis' (above) death a homicide The Washington State Patrol took over, and the Attorney General's Office conducted its review based on evidence gathered by the patrol. Ellis's family, who believe he was murdered, have accused law enforcement of a cover up after it emerged in January - 10 months on from his killing - that two additional officers were involved in the restraint that led to his death. Collins, Burbank, Rankine and a fourth officer - Masyih Ford - had previously been named by authorities. Authorities then revealed a fifth officer - Tacoma Police Officer Armando Farina -placed a spit hood over Ellis' head after he told the officers he couldn't breathe. And Pierce County Sheriff's Office Det. Sgt. Gary Sanders, who was off duty at the time, was also named for the first time. He helped to shove the 33-year-old's leg into a hobble to hogtie him while he lay handcuffed and prone on the pavement. Ellis' family said they were unaware any other Tacoma Police officers were involved before then. Governor Jay Inslee also waded in to the case in the summer ordering an impartial investigation by the Washington State Patrol and taking it away from the Pierce County Sheriff's Department on learning of the department's sergeant's involvement. Inslee this month signed one of the nation's most ambitious packages of police accountability legislation, including outright bans on police use of chokeholds, neck restraints and no-knock warrants. The legislation also makes it easier to decertify police for bad acts - and creates an independent office to review deadly force cases. A Canadian Bitcoin investor whose sudden death in 2018 left $137 million of his clients' money in limbo had spent millions funding his own lavish lifestyle and had been in business with a white-collar criminal. Gerald Cotten, who was the 30-year-old founder of cryptocurrency trading platform Quadriga CX, died while he was on his honeymoon in India in 2018. The company kept his death secret for a month before announcing it and later declared bankruptcy after Cotten's wife, Jennifer Robertson, revealed her late husband was the only person who had the passwords needed to access investors' funds. That shifty behavior has sparked speculation that Cotten faked his demise, and is still alive. At the time of Cotten's death, Quadriga CX owed its 76,000 investors approximately $137 million ($215 million CAD). The country's biggest securities regulator ruled last year that Quadriga CX's collapse was due to a Ponzi scheme operated by Cotten. Investigations by the Canada's Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the FBI are ongoing after investors raised concerns about the mysterious timing of Cotten's death. Speculation among clients has been rife that Cotten may have faked his own death and they are pushing authorities to have his body exhumed in Canada to prove their theory. Gerald Cotten, who was the 30-year-old founder of cryptocurrency trading platform Quadriga CX, died while he was on his honeymoon in India in 2018. He is pictured with his wife Jennifer Robertson in India One of those investors, identified only as QCX-INT, spoke at length to CBC for its A Death in Cryptoland. 'He couldn't control himself, by the looks of things, and blew just an absolutely eye-popping amount of money,' QCX-INT told the podcast. QCX-INT spent months investigating Cotten and Quadriga CX before passing his intel onto Canadian and US authorities. It is not clear how much of QCX-INT's own investigation forms the basis of the ongoing probes. He - and other investors - have been critical of the Canadian authorities for what they claim is a lack of investigation. 'It's theft... It's like a $200-million bank job could happen, and you've got a law enforcement agency that does next to nothing about investigating it,' he said. 'Even when there is hard evidence of fraud provided to them, you know, they would continually come back and say to us, 'We need more evidence, even in order to investigate,' he said. 'I felt like I actually had to present them with a bloody corpse and a gun with fingerprints on it in order just to get them to investigate.' The Ontario Securities Commission ruled last year that Quadriga CX's collapse was due to a Ponzi scheme operated by Cotten. It found that Cotten had siphoned off assets for personal use. Included in the report was this image of wads of cash in his home The Ontario Securities Commission revealed in its June 2020 report that some 76,000 investors collectively lost at least $124.2 million (C$169 million) from the collapse of Quadriga in 2019 The commission found that Cotten was trading on the platform and that clients were not informed when Cotten was the counterparty to their trades During his investigation, QCX-INT determined that Cotten's co-founder, Michael Patryn, was a convicted white collar criminal. Patryn, who was born Omar Dhanani, changed his name at least twice over the years. He was convicted in the US in 2005 for his role in an identity theft ring and was sentenced to 18 months in prison before being deported back to Canada. Cotten's co-founder, Michael Patryn, was a convicted white collar criminal who served time in the US over an identity theft ring Patryn, who changed his name to Michael Patryn after being released from prison, says he had no knowledge of Cotten's dealings and left Quadriga in 2016. Cotten's wife has also said she had no knowledge of her late husband's dealings. Cotten died in December 2018 due to complications from Crohn's disease while traveling to India. His death came four days after he completed a will, which left all of his assets to his wife, including $9million in real estate, a Lexus, Cessna plane and yacht. His death certificate issued by Indian authorities has the incorrect spelling of his name. After waiting a month to announce his death, the company revealed Cotten was the only person with access to passwords for the digital wallets holding roughly $135 million. In the wake of his death, QuadrigaCX was unable to locate or secure a significant amount of cryptocurrency reserves. Cotten died in December 2018 due to complications from Crohn's disease while traveling to India. His death came four days after he completed a will, which left all of his assets to his wife, including $9million in real estate, a Lexus, Cessna plane and yacht The Ontario Securities Commission revealed in its June 2020 report that some 76,000 investors collectively lost at least $124.2 million (C$169 million) from the collapse of Quadriga in 2019. About C$115 million of that was due to Cotten's fraudulent trading, the regulator said. When Cotten died, the platform owed approximately C$215 million to clients, according to the commission. Cotten also siphoned off assets for personal use, transferring about C$24 million to himself and Robertson between May 2016 and January 2018, the report found. About C$34 million was recovered by the bankruptcy trustee and paid to clients. The trustee also recovered assets from Robertson expected to be worth about C$12 million, while Cotten returned about C$10 million to Quadriga in the months before his death. Speculation has been rife among investors that Cotten is actually still alive and living off the embezzled funds. Lawyers representing some clients filed a lawsuit in late 2019 asking police to exhume Cotten's body to make sure it's him. In an affidavit, Cotten's widow said she has been subjected to online threats and 'slanderous comments', including claims that her husband is not dead. To date, a ruling has not been made about whether Cotten's body can be exhumed. A British expert orchestrated a behind-the-scenes bullying campaign to ensure blame for Covid was directed away from a Chinese lab with which he had worked closely. Dr Peter Daszak, 55, from Manchester, persuaded 26 other scientists to sign off on a letter he had written to world-leading scientific journal The Lancet claiming the virus could only have been natural in origin and to suggest otherwise creates 'fear, rumours, and prejudice'. The letter flatly denied the virus could have originated in a lab in Wuhan and dismissed it as a 'conspiracy theory'. Dr Daszak runs the New York-based, tax payer-funded non-profit EcoHealth Alliance, which has funnelled hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. He worked closely with the lab's so-called 'bat woman' Shi Zhengli as they investigated and modified coronaviruses. Shi, 57, proved that horseshoe bats were behind a SARS virus that killed nearly 800 people in 2002 and has collected thousands of samples from bat caves. Dr Daszak was one four Brits to sign the letter, including SAGE advisor Sir Jeremy Farrar and two other experts working for the Welcome Trust at the time. The letters' signatories included four others who worked for EcoHealth. The letter was seen as so influential it cowed most experts into refusing even to consider that the virus could have been man-made and escaped from the Wuhan Institute. And it is only now, nearly 16 months after that letter was published in the journal The Lancet, that that theory is being looked at seriously. US President Joe Biden last week ordered intelligence agencies to launch a probe into whether it was man-made after all. But China immediately hit back and called the suggestion a 'conspiracy'. Jamie Metzl, who sits on the World Health Organization's advisory committee on human genome editing and is a form Bill Clinton administration staffer, said Dr Daszak's letter was a 'form of thuggery'. He said: The Lancet letter was scientific propaganda and a form of thuggery and intimidation. By labelling anyone with different views a conspiracy theorist, the Lancet letter was the worst form of bullying in full contravention of the scientific method. MailOnline has approached the letters' signatories for comment. Dr Peter Daszak, 55, from Manchester, orchestrated a behind-the-scenes bullying campaign to ensure blame for Covid was directed away from a Chinese lab with which he had worked closely. runs the New York-based non-profit EcoHealth Alliance that has funnelled hundreds of thousands of pounds to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (pictured) The Wuhan Institute of Virology is about 20 miles from the Huanan Seafood Market where the first coronavirus cases are reported to have occurred Who signed the letter in The Lancet? Peter Daszak, EcoHealth Alliance, New York Charles Calisher, Colorado State University Dennis Carroll, Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs, Texas Rita Colwell, University of Maryland Ronald Corley, NEIDL Institute, Boston Christian Drosten, Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin, Germany Luis Enjuanes, National Center of Biotechnology, Madrid Jeremy Farrar, The Wellcome Trust, London Hume Field, EcoHealth Alliance, New York Josie Golding, The Wellcome Trust, London Alexander Gorbalenya, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands Bart Haagmans, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands James Hughes, Emory University, Atlanta William Karesh, EcoHealth Alliance, New York Gerald Keusch, Boston University Sai Kit Lam, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Juan Lubroth, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy John Mackenzie, Curtin University, Perth, Australia Larry Madoff, Massachusetts Medical School Jonna Mazet, University of California at Davis Peter Palese, Icahn School of Medicine, New York Stanley Perlman, University of Iowa Leo Poon, The University of Hong Kong Bernard Roizman, University of Chicago Linda Saif, The Ohio State University Kanta Subbarao, The University of Melbourne, Australia Mike Turner, The Wellcome Trust, London Advertisement It has only now been discovered through a Freedom of Information Act request that he told his fellow signatories in an email that the letter would not be sent under the EcoHealth logo 'and will not be identifiable as coming from any one organisation of person'. The emails show he even considered not signing the letter himself, although in the end he did. The idea, he said was for it to be coming from 'a community supporting our colleagues'. The letter titled 'Statement in support of the scientists, public health professionals, and medical professionals of China combatting Covid-19' praised the Chinese 'who continue to save lives and protect global health during the challenge of the Covid-19 outbreak'. It went on to add: 'We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that Covid-19 does not have a natural origin. 'Conspiracy theories do nothing but create fear, rumours and prejudices that jeopardise our global collaboration in the fight against the virus.' It ended with the words: 'We declare no competing interests.' The letter proved so influential that it virtually ended debate on the origin of Covid for more than a year. Anyone who suggested it could have been man-made was shot down amid accusations of anti-Chinese xenophobia. Neither Dr Daszak nor EcoHealth responded to a DailyMail.com request for comment. Ironically the organisations offices on New Yorks Eighth Avenue are currently closed due to coronavirus, a message on its answering service says. After the letter was published, any idea that Covid may have been lab-engineered deliberately or not were dismissed. Then-President Donald Trump arguably made matters worse by claiming he had seen classified documents that showed the virus came from the Wuhan lab. Then he told reporters he could not tell them what those documents were. That made all of government shy away from suggesting the virus started in a lab. Robert Redfield, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control told Vanity Fair he received death threats after floating the theory that the virus could have been man-made. He said: 'I was threatened and ostracised because I proposed another hypothesis. I expected it from politicians. I didnt expect it from science.' Dr Daszak is one of the worlds leading experts on disease ecology. He warned repeatedly that a pandemic was coming. He said it on CBSs 60 Minutes in 2003. He reiterated it at a World Health Organization meeting in 2018. And he said it once more in a New York Times op-ed as the tentacles of Covid were first spreading around the world in February last year. He termed his virus 'Disease X' and said it would spread silently and quickly and be confused with other illnesses. It would ravage multiple countries, he said, and 'thwart containment'. While China has tried to insist the virus originated elsewhere, academics, politicians and the media have begun to contemplate the possibility it escaped from the WIV - raising suspicions that Chinese officials simply hid evidence of the early spread Did Covid originate in Chinese lab? The Wuhan Institute of Virology has been collecting numerous coronaviruses from bats ever since the SARS outbreak in 2002. They have also published papers describing how these bat viruses have interacted with human cells. US Embassy staff visited the lab in 2018 and 'had grave safety concerns' over the protocols which were being observed at the facility. The lab is just eight miles from the Huanan wet market which is where the first cluster of infections erupted in Wuhan. The market is just a few hundred yards from another lab called the Wuhan Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (WHCDC). The WHCDC kept disease-ridden animals in its labs, including some 605 bats. Those who support the theory argue that Covid-19 could have leaked from either or both of these facilities and spread to the wet market. Most argue that this would have been a virus they were studying rather than one which was engineered. Last year a bombshell paper from the Beijing-sponsored South China University of Technology recounted how bats once attacked a researcher at the WHCDC and 'blood of bat was on his skin.' The report says: 'Genome sequences from patients were 96% or 89% identical to the Bat CoV ZC45 coronavirus originally found in Rhinolophus affinis (intermediate horseshoe bat).' It describes how the only native bats are found around 600 miles away from the Wuhan seafood market and that the probability of bats flying from Yunnan and Zhejiang provinces was minimal. In addition there is little to suggest the local populace eat the bats as evidenced by testimonies of 31 residents and 28 visitors. Instead the authors point to research being carried out within 300 yards at the WHCDC. One of the researchers at the WHCDC described quarantining himself for two weeks after a bat's blood got on his skin, according to the report. That same man also quarantined himself after a bat urinated on him. And he also mentions discovering a live tick from a bat - parasites known for their ability to pass infections through a host animal's blood. 'The WHCDC was also adjacent to the Union Hospital (Figure 1, bottom) where the first group of doctors were infected during this epidemic.' The report says. 'It is plausible that the virus leaked around and some of them contaminated the initial patients in this epidemic, though solid proofs are needed in future study.' Advertisement All that proved correct, but still he is now under fire for clinging to the view that Covid could not have originated in the Wuhan lab. Dr Daszak earned a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology from the University of Bangor in Wales and a PhD in parasitic infectious diseases from the University of East London. He took over the Wildlife Trust, a conservation charity founded by author Gerald Durrell, renamed it and changed its focus to research on the intricate relationships between wildlife, ecosystems and human health. He and his wife Janet Cottingham moved to Atlanta around 1998 where he worked with the National Center for Infectious Diseases. He later moved on to New York and has worked on committees of the National Academy of Sciences and the Department of the Interior. He is now an American citizen. Under his leadership, the government has made millions of dollars in grants to EcoHealth, some of which he passed on legally to the Wuhan Institute of Virology so they could work together on the study of coronaviruses. Despite his close connections to the lab, Dr Daszak was picked by the World Health Organization to be part of its 13-member team that was tasked with finding the cause of the pandemic which began in Wuhan, a city of some 11 million people in Central China. Mr Metzl said that was was a 'massive and outrageous conflict of interest'. He said: 'As a funder of research at the WIV, Peter should have had absolutely no role as a member of the independent expert committee.' Mr Metzl called the WHO report fatally flawed. He Tweeted: They set out to prove one hypothesis, not fairly examine all of them. Others agree. Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist and bio-security expert at Rutgers University, said Dr Daszaks conflicts unequivocally disqualify him from being part of an investigation of the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. Professor Ebright, a frequent critic of Dr Daszak, described the WHO mission as a charade. He said: 'Its members were willing and in at least one case enthusiastic participants in disinformation. 'The pre-negotiated terms of reference for the WHO study did not even acknowledge the possibility of a laboratory origin of the virus.' Mr Metzl who believes that the pandemic is likely to have started in a lab although he still has an open mind said part of the problem was that the World Health Assembly, which authorised the WHO team, limited the investigation to its natural 'zoonotic' origin. But he said Dr Daszak still should not have been on the panel. Dr Daszak was not proposed by the Trump administration for the WHO team. It put forward three other names, all of whom were rejected. At the time of his appointment, Dr Daszak vowed that he would investigate 'with an open mind' and 'not be bound by preconceived ideas', according to the Wall Street Journal. He was also chosen to chair a second inquiry funded by The Lancet. Mr Metzl told DailyMail.com he believes the journals editor should resign over that decision. US taxpayer-funded grants made to EcoHealth have eventually gone to the Wuhan lab as the two organisations worked hand in hand on research. 'Daszak was the contractor who funded the laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that potentially was the source of the virus,' one expert says Professor Ebright said: 'Daszak was the contractor who funded the laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that potentially was the source of the virus with subcontracts from $200million [142million] from the US Department of State and $7million [5million] from the US National Institutes of Health and he was a collaborator and co-author on research projects at the laboratory.' Despite his close connections to the lab, Daszak was picked by the WHO to be part of its 13-member team that was tasked with finding the cause of the pandemic that began in Wuha So if it were proven that the virus is man-made and leaked from the Wuhan lab, EcoHealth could itself be directly implicated in the outbreak. Dr Daszak has led the way in dismissing the idea that the coronavirus leaked from the Wuhan lab, calling it a 'conspiracy theory'. During his trip to China, he praised lab bosses for not responding to claims that Covid was man-made. He said: 'The reason isthey dont want to give oxygen to these conspiracies. Theyre all unfounded.' Dr Daszak admitted that the group had not asked Shi for access to the Wuhan lab's database of 22,000 virus samples, which had been taken down due to hacking concerns, Vanity Fair reported. Daszak described that decision as absolutely reasonable. He said: 'We did not ask to see the data. As you know, a lot of this work has been conducted with EcoHealth Alliance. We basically know what is in those databases.' An internal government memo slammed the final WHO report for taking only a cursory look at the lab-leak theory, the magazine said. Fauci was interview Thursday morning on CNN and said he believed that there could have been a lab leak Workers wearing protective suit walk next to Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan in March, 2020 But now, as Dr Daszak's links to the Wuhan lab become clearer, more questions are being asked about his influence over the WHO team that went to China in January and stayed for four weeks searching for answers. The team was met with resistance in China. Authorities there made them quarantine for two weeks in Wuhan and barred two members completely after they tested positive for coronavirus antibodies. But critics say the WHO researchers were too cozy with Chinese authorities, who are desperate not to shoulder the blame for a worldwide death toll now approaching 3.6 million. They claim its members may have been influenced by a tour they took round a propaganda museum which described Wuhans fight against the virus and the leading role taken by President Xi Jinping. In recent weeks, the lab-escape theory has gained ground. Already British intelligence officials, who are helping the US search for the cause of the pandemic that has cost nearly 600,000 American lives, are said to be leaning towards the man-made scenario. On Friday, DailMail.com revealed two leading scientists had found unique fingerprints in Covid samples that could only have come from lab manipulation. British Professor Angus Dalgleish and Norwegian scientist Birger Srensen, wrote that they have had 'prima facie evidence of retro-engineering in China' for a year but were ignored by academics and major journals. And just last week President Joe Biden ordered another look at the theory as part of a wide-ranging intelligence investigation into the pandemics origins. He felt it so urgent that he put a 90-day deadline for a conclusion. Emails from Dr Anthony Fauci, Mr Bidens chief medical advisor, show that leading virus experts warned Covid could be man-made even as he downplayed the possibility. Fauci says those emails, obtained by Buzzfeed, have been taken out of context. One of them was from Dr Daszak, who thanked Dr Fauci for pushing back on the man-made theory. In April, Dr Drazak wrote: I just wanted to say a personal thank you on behalf of our staff and collaborators, for publicly standing up and stating that the scientific evidence supports a natural origin for Covid-19 from a bat-to-human spillover, not a lab release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.' Even WHO's Ethiopian director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the report was not extensive enough and more work needed to be done to discover the cause of Covid. As far as WHO is concerned, all hypotheses remain on the table, he said. This report is a very important beginning, but it is not the end. A drug dealing duo were caught with a rucksack full of cocaine worth 500,000 after they sped past a police car at 100mph in an expensive BMW on a motorway hard shoulder. Dramatic dash cam footage shows driver Simon Pagett, 39, behind the wheel of a 100,000 BMW i8 and undertaking a patrol car on the M6 near junction 7 near Walsall, West Midlands. A gobsmacked police officer is heard saying 'Really?' before setting off in pursuit of Pagett and his friend Dean Stone, who had 5kg of high-purity cocaine in their possession - worth an estimated half a million pounds. Dash cam footage shows the expensive BMW (pictured) pretend to pull over, before accelerating away at more than 100mph on the M6 After their short-lived escape, in which Pagett dangerously weaved in and out of traffic and went three times the speed limit in a residential area, both he and his accomplice were stopped by police. The pair were sentenced to more than six years behind bars each at a Birmingham court. The video, released by West Midlands Police, shows the expensive motor pretend to pull over on the M6, before accelerating away at more than 100mph. Drug dealing duo Simon Pagett, 39, (left) and Dean Stone, 40, were caught on dashcam footage attempting to flee from a patrol car at 100mph The dramatic dash cam footage also shows Pagett jumping red lights and weaving in and out of traffic on the A34 heading towards Walsall, at one point hitting the central reservation. He even did a lap of Toby Carvery car park in a desperate bid to escape before veering off road in a residential 30mph area as he attempted to shake off the officer. It was at this moment that Stone, 40, jumped from the car and ran off clutching a black Nike backpack. He was arrested trying to get into a nearby taxi, while the rucksack was recovered in nearby bushes. It was found to contain five 1kg slabs of high-purity cocaine with a value of around 500,000. The rucksack - which contained five 1kg slabs of high-purity cocaine with a value of around 500,000 - was recovered in bushes Five minutes later Pagett stopped the car and gave himself up to police. He later claimed he earned 300,000 from dog breeding, cutting trees and running a vehicle recovery business. Both men, of Walsall, admitted possessing drugs with intent to supply with Pagett also pleading guilty to dangerous driving. Pagett was jailed for seven years and Stone sentenced to six years in prison at Birmingham Crown Court. The high speed pursuit ended poorly for the drug dealers (above), who were both jailed at Birmingham Crown Court after admitting to the possession of drugs with intent to supply Investigating Officer Detective Constable Mandy Dorrington, of West Midlands Police, said: 'Pagett and Stone clearly thought they were above the law and far too important to waste time in a traffic queue - but unfortunately for them they undertook one of our patrol cars. 'Pagett tried to try and shrug off the advanced police driver but after a few minutes realised it was a fruitless task and gave up. 'He was driving a BMW i8 worth more than 100,000. 'In interview he claimed the car and his lifestyle was funded through his dog breeding, cutting trees and vehicle recovery businesses which he suggested netted him 300,000. 'We'll be putting that claim to the test and examining his finances and any cash or assets he can't demonstrate he's accrued legally we'll look to seize under the Proceeds of Crime Act.' Dr. Anthony Fauci's emails reveal the contrast between his public and private sentiments, showing what the top infectious disease expert said behind the scenes. The trove of emails obtained through public records requests and published on Tuesday by Buzzfeed and the Washington Post offers a rare glimpse behind the curtain as Fauci responded to the pandemic last year. Origins of COVID-19: Fauci was warned privately of lab leak possibility but dismissed it in public Fauci's emails do not reveal his personal take on the theory that coronavirus escaped from a lab in China, but show that multiple experts warned him of the possibility. He received emails about this issue in January 2020, on February 21, 2020 and April 16, 2020 On April 18, 2020, Fauci received an email from the head of a research group which partners with the Wuhan Institute of Virology thanking him for publicly insisting that the evidence did not point to the lab as the source. Last month - after mounting evidence supporting the lab leak theory - Fauci hedged, saying the origin is likely a natural occurrence, where it goes from an animal reservoir to a human. In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Fauci said that he is 'keeping an open mind that it might be a lab leak' but dismissed the idea of bioengineering as 'far out'. Working with China: Fauci was courteous to Chinese counterparts in private but critical in public Fauci exchanged several emails in March and April of 2020 with George Gao, the head of the Chinese CDC. Fauci did not ask Gao any questions about the origins of the virus. In one exchange, Gao apologized for an article quoting him as saying that Fauci's then stance against public mask wearing was a 'big mistake'. 'I understand completely. No problem. We will get through this together,' Fauci replied. Less than a week later, Gao emailed Fauci again expressing his support amid the onslaught of attacks, saying 'Hope you are well under such a irrational situation.' 'Thank you for your kind note. All is well despite some crazy people in this world,' Fauci replied three days later. In public, Fauci was polite but critical of China for failing to disclose key information early in the pandemic. White House censorship: Fauci denied being 'muzzled' and said he always said what he wanted based on scientific evidence On March 1, 2020, Fauci responded to an email from a member of the public who expressed concern that he was being 'muzzled' by the Trump administration and offering to make an outcry. 'Please stay silent since I have not been muzzled,' Fauci responded. 'I will be on multiple TV shows tomorrow and was on FOX this AM. No one is censoring me.' Publicly, Fauci also denied being 'muzzled' early in the pandemic, but once Trump left office suggested that he had been 'blocked' from certain appearances. On January 23, 2021, just three days into President Joe Biden's term, Fauci appeared on Rachel Madow's MSNBC show, an interview he implied Trump's administration had denied. Hydroxychloroquine: Fauci expressed doubts in private and in public Early on, Fauci expressed doubts about the immunosuppressive drug hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19. A small French study, which was not randomized for proper control, suggested that the cheap drug could help patients with severe COVID, and Donald Trump seized on the possibility to Fauci's dismay. He said there's no data supporting this claim in emails on February 22, 2020, April 22, 2020 and May 1, 2020. In public, Fauci was also dismissive, dismissing the French study at a March 20, 2020 press conference as Trump looked on. Masks: Fauci flip-flopped in private emails and in public Fauci's evolving views on masks were just as evident in his private emails as they were in his public statements. On February 5, 2020, Fauci said masks are 'really for infected people to prevent them from spreading infection' Two days later, he delivered the same advice on CNN, saying 'A lot of people are wearing masks that don't need them.' By late March, Fauci was changing his tune in public and private. 'There are some data from NIH that indicate that mere speaking without coughing elicits aerosols that travel a foot or two. If that is the case, then perhaps universal wearing of masks in the most practical way to go,' he wrote in an email on March 31, 2020. He explained his reasoning in an interview with NBC one day earlier, saying asymptomatic individuals can transit the infection. Police are investigating the deaths of two tourists who fell from the balcony of an Ibiza hotel as a potential murder-suicide. Detectives said they have not come to a final conclusion but confirmed that evidence so far suggests that the man pushed his partner off the fourth-floor balcony before leaping to his death. The deceased are a 26-year-old Moroccan man and a Spanish-Italian woman who has been reported as being both 21 and 22 years of age. Neither have been named. They were staying at the four-star Torre del Mar Hotel in Platja d'en Bossa, a favourite resort for British holidaymakers. Police are investigating the deaths of two tourists who fell from the balcony of an Ibiza hotel as a potential murder-suicide. Detectives said they have not come to a final conclusion but confirmed they are investigating the incident as a possible case of gender-based violence The deceased couple, who have not been named, were staying at the four-star Torre del Mar Hotel (pictured) in Platja d'en Bossa, a favourite resort for British holidaymakers The alarm was raised at around 4:30am on Thursday morning but paramedics could do nothing to save the couple, who were pronounced dead at the scene. Local media reported that the couple, who were sharing the same room, had been heard arguing by some Belgian tourists before they plunged more than 15 feet to their deaths. Spanish National Police have launched an investigation which is being coordinated by an island court. At daybreak, investigators began inspecting the balcony and taking statements from guests in the nearest rooms and eyewitnesses. Several bottles were discovered on a table on the balcony. The deaths were initially suspected to be accidental but witness testimony persuaded police to treat the incident as a potential case of gender-based violence, local media reported. Gender-based violence refers to harm committed against an individual because of their gender. It is 'rooted in gender inequality, the abuse of power and harmful norms,' according to the United Nations. Periodicodeibiza.com reported that preliminary autopsy results could not confirm this hypothesis. Advertisement Thursday marked a historic day for wizards and muggles alike, as the world's first Harry Potter flagship store opened in Manhattan. The opening of the store was delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the crowds were ready to fly in on their broomsticks as soon as the doors opened on Thursday. The store, which is located next to the Flatiron Building, has plenty of merchandise for sale, but also provides virtual-reality experiences, an inclusive scavenger hunt, and the opportunity to sip on some 'Butterbeer.' 'I've been here since about 7pm yesterday,' a man in line at the store told DailyMail.com. 'I got here about 5:30 this morning,' a woman added. Scroll down for video The official Warner Bros. Harry Potter-themed flagship store is opening today in New York City People were lined up for hours, some even overnight, to get into the store on its opening day The store will house the largest collection of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts products in the United States Fans stuck outside in line got to glimpse at little peeks of the store through its windows 'It is extremely nice to see everybody and come together as the Potter community that we are,' said one woman in line. 'We're just here to see our friends, we're here here to experience this amazing new store ... and we're just here to see our fan family, our community,' said an artist in line, excited about the presence of the MinaLima graphic design team, who worked on all of the movies. A line for the store could be seen going down the block in each direction, with many holding umbrellas due to the rain and wearing masks as security patrolled the queue. This banner announced the opening of the official store, which is located next to the Flatiron Building Hundreds of people appeared to be lined up outside of the store before it opened its doors on Thursday morning The store will feature over 20,000 square feet and three expansive floors, giving witches and wizards everything they need People could be seen lining up around the block in both directions on Thursday in anticipation of the opening These fans got on line at 7pm last night and are from Maryland, California, New Jersey, Connecticut and New York The store is three stories tall and spans a whopping 20,000 square feet. It will be open from 10am to 9pm most days, with hours limited to 11am to 7pm on Sundays. 'Whether the Harry Potter fan who has everything is looking for something new, or someone just wants to come in and and browse and soak up the ambiance there is something for everyone,' Doran Finneran, sales and experience manager, told MarketWatch ahead of opening day. There are approximately 1,300 different items for sale in the store, ranging from cheap stationary to expensive robes. Some of the items will also be exclusive to the New York City store, such as Harry Potter shirts branded with NYC-inspired artwork. Kids also lined up in their best Harry Potter costumes and masks to take in the action on opening day These fans pose as they line up outside of the Harry Potter store on Thursday morning Hundreds of fans lined up outside of the store to take in the Harry Potter ambiance on the first day of opening On the lower level of the store, consumers can customize a number of items, including wands, robes, and an acceptance later to Hogwarts. Karl Durrant, vice president and general manager of Warner Bros. Worldwide Retail Destinations, says the decision to open this store in New York was made in part due to the connected Fantastic Beasts franchise, which is set in the city. 'This New York location makes sense for many reasons, but a connection to Fantastic Beasts was one of the reasons, and the incredible fan base that lives here,' Durrant said. There are little nods to the franchise throughout the store, such as Lord Voldemorts snake, Nagini, hissing over shoppers at the basement level. Inside of the store, staff members could be seen preparing for the big day on Thursday The rain did little to deter people from the store's opening day, with people waiting in the inclement weather for hours The line for the store roped around the sidewalk and on to the edge of the street as excitement abounded These Harry Potter fans were wearing robes and masks as they prepared to enjoy the store on its first day Shoppers and staff are required to wear masks in the store, which is open at 50 percent capacity due to COVID-19, which is 250 people. The 'touch' elements of the store will be in use, though, and they will be cleaned frequently. There will also be a virtual queuing system to prevent overcrowding both in the store and outside of the store for those waiting to enter. Consumers who download an app can go on a virtual scavenger hunt in the store, which involves collecting nine keys for a password, which can then score a shopper a free gift from cashiers. Two virtual-reality experiences are scheduled to open in the summer, one called 'Chaos at Hogwarts' and one called 'Wizards Take Flight.' 'Were really excited to bring some magic into peoples lives,' Durrant added. While many were hyped to experience the magic themselves, some also took to Twitter to express displeasure about the wait to get into the store on Thursday. 'Note, also waiting in line in the pouring rain for the Harry Potter store to allow you admittance is not what Id ideally like to be doing right now. I have only about 3 more hours to go. Possibly. It may be double that,' IngyBingy tweeted. They later added, 'Im officially throwing in the towel on Harry Potter. I feel like our number wont come up for another 6 hours after waiting 2 so far. DONE.' Despite some complains about the waiting, the day managed to also breeze by without any notable incidents of protest. The inside of the store is full of Easter eggs, as is the outside of the store The Harry Potter store is set to be open from 10am to 9pm on most days and 11am to 7pm on Sundays for fans of all ages J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, has been under fire for her controversial comments about the transgender community. In June 2020, she tweeted about an op-ed piece that didn't use the word 'women' when talking about those who menstruate. She responded to the backlash by tweeting, 'If sex isnt real, theres no same-sex attraction. If sex isnt real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isnt hate to speak the truth.' Then, she tweeted out 'TERF Wars,' an acronym for a trans-exclusionary radical feminist. Since then, many transgender-rights advocates have had Rowling in their sights - although her comments did look unlikely to dampen the popularity of her brand's latest venture. Advertisement The public display of a statue of slave trader Edward Colston lying flat after being torn down during a Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol last year has been branded a 'partisan act' by an art critic. Its' new home is at the M Shed museum in the city alongside placards from the protest and a timeline of events and the figure is displayed lying on a wooden stand. The authorities say its positioning is down to money and because it wants the public to tell them how it should be shown in future. But today art critic Alastair Sooke, 40, suggested they had already taken the decision themselves, given the exhibition. He said: 'Dredged from the riverbed, Colston's effigy has been kept out of sight in storage, like a disgraced celebrity awaiting trial. Colston lies flat, overturned like a vanquished chess piece. 'Presented alongside BLM placards, he's still covered with graffiti, too. According to the authorities, the display is only temporary, designed to canvas public opinion about what should happen to the statue. 'Moreover, it would, they say, be too costly for now to stand Colston upright again safely - hence, his supine position. 'But that strikes me as mealy-mouthed. Let's not pretend that presenting the statue horizontally is impartial, when, really, it's a partisan act,' he told the Telegraph. The bronze memorial to the 17th century merchant had stood in the city since 1895, but was pulled from its plinth during the demonstration on June 7 last year. It was damaged as it was dragged through the city to the harbourside, where it was thrown in the water at Pero's Bridge, which is named in honour of enslaved man Pero Jones who lived and died in the city. Days later, the statue was recovered from the water by Bristol City Council and put into storage before months of work to clean and preserve the state it was in. A statue of slave trader Edward Colston (pictured) that was toppled during a Black Lives Matter protest on June 7, 2021 will go on public display on Friday - almost a year-to-the-day since it was torn down The bronze memorial to the 17th century merchant had stood in the city since 1895, but was pulled from its plinth during the demonstration on June 7 last year. Pictured right: A picture from 1895 issued by Bristol Archives showing the ceremony for the statue of Bristol slave trader Edward Colston Protesters throw statue of Edward Colston into Bristol harbour during a Black Lives Matter protest rally, the came amid anger over the death of George Floyd in America on May 25, who was killed while being arrested by police in Minneapolis Members of the public are being asked by the We Are Bristol History Commission, which was set up following the protest, what should happen to it next. Options include removing the statue from public view entirely, creating a museum or exhibition about the transatlantic slave trade, or restoring the statue to its plinth. Dr Shawn Sobers, associate professor at the University of the West of England and part of the commission, said the effects of the statue being pulled down 'ricocheted' across the UK and the world. 'We know this isn't an isolated incident, we know that there are statues across the world that celebrate slavers,' Dr Sobers said. 'At the same time, the anti-racist movement isn't about statues. It's trying to eradicate racism from society and bring equality where there's racial disparity which cuts across economic divides. 'But statues are a symbol of how seriously our cities in Britain are actually taking these issues.' On Friday, almost exactly a year since it was toppled, the bronze (pictured) will go on public display at the M Shed museum in the city alongside placards from the protest and a timeline of events The statue, featuring graffiti and damage from when it was pulled down, is unable to stand upright and so is displayed lying on a wooden stand Pictured: Red graffiti on the statue of Bristol slave trader Edward Colston, which was retrieved from the water after being toppled during a Black Lives Matter protest on 7th June 2020 and thrown into Bristol Harbour Pictured: Scratch marks on the coat sleeves, from being dragged on the ground, on statue of Bristol slave trader Edward Colston Dr Sobers described putting the Colston statue on display as an opportunity to tell a 'wider history' and encourage people to speak about it. The display at M Shed forms the first part of the public consultation, with a survey also launched for people to provide their views on the future of the statue and of how Bristol's history is told. 'It's not an exhibition, it's not trying to answer all the questions,' Dr Sobers said. 'We're using this opportunity to find out what local people think because we have to live in this city together. 'We know it's not going to be an overnight process but as a history commission we're going to take the answers on board, consult other people in the city and put recommendations back to the city on how we feel it can move forward.' Members of the public are being asked by the We Are Bristol History Commission, which was set up following the protest, what should happen to it next Options include removing the statue from public view entirely, creating a museum or exhibition about the transatlantic slave trade, or restoring the statue to its plinth Dr Shawn Sobers, associate professor at the University of the West of England and part of the commission, said the effects of the statue being pulled down 'ricocheted' across the UK and the world An image in the display shows the unveiling of the Colston statue in 1895, with crowds of smartly dressed people gathering in the centre of Bristol for the event. Pictures also detail how the statue was pulled down, rolled through the city and then thrown into the harbour - surrounded by people recording what happened on phones and cameras - in June last year. When asked why the statue is not displayed upright, Dr Sobers said it was 'on its back' after being retrieved from the harbour. 'It would have been a very conscious decision to make it go up and it would cost quite a lot of money because it can't stand up by its own, it's actually fallen apart,' he said. 'Also, to put it back upright in a way sends a signal that it's trying to reverse the toppling. 'It's been toppled, it's been laid on its back in a warehouse for a year and we want it to be a very transparent display to say this is how it is, this is what we're working with, and we want to ask what happens next.' Protesters tied ropes around the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol city centre, before tearing it to the ground, June 7 2020 Pictured: A protester stands atop the fallen statue of Bristol-born English merchant, philanthropist, slave trader, and Member of Parliament Edward Colston An estimated 10,000 protesters gathered in Bristol on June 7 last year to march through the city to protest against racism and discrimination. Avon and Somerset police said at the time that although the protests were a breach of coronavirus lockdown regulations, they understood why people wanted to gather Graffiti covered the statue to Edward Colston, a slave trader who invested his money back into the town of Bristol. He has become a controversial figure in the city, with thousands previously calling for the statue to be removed peacefully. The statue was dragged through the streets by angry protesters towards the city docks After the statue was pulled down, hundreds of people that had attended the protest laid their placards around its empty plinth. More than 500 of these were collected by teams from the city council before being carefully dried out and stored. Only six form part of the current display at M Shed. A selection of quotes, representing a range of reactions to the statue being toppled, form a slideshow on the wall behind it. 'This display isn't trying to be from an idealistic position or from an ideological position and celebrating or commiserating, it's trying to be balanced,' Dr Sobers added. The display, focusing on the Colston statue, is on the same floor as a permanent exhibition at M Shed that details Bristol's role in the transatlantic slave trade. Ray Barnett, head of collections and archives at Bristol City Council's culture team, said painstaking work to preserve both the statue and placards from the protest had taken place. 'Most of the placards were just pieces of cardboard and they'd been left out on the site and it had rained so our first task was to stop them falling apart and turning into mush,' Mr Barnett said. Protesters cheered as they forced a monument into the water at Bristol Harbourside. Home Secretary Priti Patel said at the time that the actions of protesters were 'utterly disgraceful' After pulling the monument to one of Bristol's most famous sons to the ground, protesters dropped it in the city's harbour Crowds packed side by side, with no room for social distancing, at Bristol's harbour to watch the statue as it was thrown into the water. It was later recovered by officials Having torn the monument down, demonstrators plunged the statue into the waters at Bristol harbour, cheered on by thousands BLM protesters in Bristol city centre. The Edward Colston statue was pulled down by Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters BLM protesters in Bristol city centre. The Edward Colston statue has been pulled down by Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters in Bristol. Colston was a 17th century slave trader who has numerous landmarks named after him 'That meant air drying them. We had them all out in our studios to gradually dry out and they were lay down so they wouldn't lose their shape and become contorted. 'With the statue itself, the metalwork is pretty robust but it had been damaged by the scraping along the pavement and a couple of pieces are missing from it. 'There was a wax layer originally on the statue with paint on top of that, so we gradually washed out the silt and dried out the statue. 'We had to be very careful as it dried out that the wax layer didn't dry and fall off, taking the paint with it, because we felt it was our duty to say this is the situation after the protest, this is what the statue looks like.' Mr Barnett described the display as 'work in progress' but it was important to quickly provide context to what happened, including the controversy that had surrounded the statue for decades. 'There has been this disagreement, people have differing views about the situation but now the city needs to pull together and we'd like people to give their views as to how that can be achieved,' Mr Barnett added. The Colston statue: What next? opens at M Shed on Friday. Former President Donald Trump is demanding that China pays ten trillion dollars for its role in the coronavirus pandemic as he added to growing calls for Dr. Anthony Fauci to explain exactly how much he knew about work being done at the Wuhan Institute of virology. In a statement, Trump derided his scientific adviser by claiming he saved hundreds of thousands of lives by resisting Fauci's guidance on everything from closing borders, developing vaccines and wearing masks. 'Now everyone, even the so-called "enemy, are beginning to say that President Trump was right about the China Virus coming from the Wuhan Lab,' he said in a second statement sent minutes after the first. 'The correspondence between Dr. Fauci and China speaks too loudly for anyone to ignore. 'China should pay ten trillion Dollars to America, and the world, for the death and destruction they have caused.' President Donald Trump publicly feuded with Dr. Anthony Fauci throughout 2020 and is now claiming victory amid growing questions over how much his adviser knew about work being done at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The Chinese laboratory is at the center of conspiracy theories that the novel coronavirus escaped from a scientific facility rather than jumped the species barrier naturally Dr. Anthony Fauci has been a favorite target of conservatives for the past year. They accuse him of flip flopping on whether masks and border closures were effective and now say the release of his emails show he has not been telling the truth on the origins of COVID-19 Fauci has been a favorite target of conservatives throughout the pandemic, attracting fire for his support for social distancing and mask wearing. They have accused him of flip-flopping for the way he initially resisted closing borders and wearing masks before endorsing both. But his role in the early days of the crisis is under fresh scrutiny after two news organizations obtained his emails under a Freedom of Information request. In particular, Republicans claim the communications show Fauci knew the Wuhan Institute of Virology - at the center of the lab leak hypothesis for the origins of the COVID-19 crisis - was carrying out experiments with genetically engineered coronaviruses. They also show he was warned of the possibility of a lab leak at a time when he was publicly insisting the pandemic emerged naturally by jumping from an animal host to human. President Biden has ordered the intelligence community to redouble efforts into finding out whether the novel coronavirus emerged naturally or from a lab. Researchers at the Wuhan Institute for Virology are seen in this February 2017 file photo Three members of staff Wuhan Institute of Virology were reported to have sought medical help for COVID-like symptoms in November 2019, adding to growing speculation that the virus escaped from the facility triggered a pandemic And on April 18, 2020, Fauci was emailed by the head of a research group which works with the Wuhan lab thanking him for publicly saying the evidence did not support the idea of a leak. Yet in recent weeks he has insisted that the lab, which received U.S. funding, was not doing secret 'gain of function' research of the sort his critics believe triggered the pandemic. Trump piled on with a statement demanding to find out how much Fauci really knew about the Wuhan lab. 'There are a lot of questions that must be answered by Dr. Fauci,' he said. 'The funding of Wuhan by the U.S. was foolishly started by the Obama administration in 2014 but ended under the Trump administration. 'When I heard about it, I said no way. 'What did Dr. Fauci know about gain of function research, and when did he know it?' Minutes earlier, the White House defended Fauci against his accusers. Press Secretary Jen Psaki said he retained the confidence of Biden and added: 'He's been an undeniable asset in our country's pandemic response.' For his part, Fauci says his emails - obtained by Buzzfeed News and the Washington Post - have been taken out of context. 'I have always said, and will say today to you ... that I still believe the most likely origin is from an animal species to a human, but I keep an absolutely open mind that if there may be other origins of that, there may be another reason, it could have been a lab leak,' he told CNN Fauci and Trump cut awkward colleagues at the best of times, with Fauci repeatedly introducing a note of caution to the president's bold pronouncement about the efficacy of unproven treatments such as hydroxychloroquine Uncertainty of the origins of the pandemic have created a slew of theories about what happened. The scientific consensus remains that it emerged from the wild, like other coronavirus outbreaks such However, interest in the idea that it could have leaked from a laboratory researching bat coronaviruses has surged since a number of high-profile scientists last month admitted they could not be sure where it came from. As a result, Biden announced he had tasked the intelligence community with 'redoubling' its efforts to find out which of the two theories is true. House Republicans are also demanding that Fauci testify before them again on the origins. Rep. Steve Scalise, the senior Republican on the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, and House Oversight Committee Ranking Member James Comer wrote to their Democratic counterparts asking that he appear again. They wrote that Fauci's emails 'debunk many Democrats' claims from the past year,' according to Fox News which obtained their letter. 'More importantly, the emails contain new evidence regarding the origins of COVID-19, including the possibility it leaked from a U.S. taxpayer funded laboratory,' they wrote. Police have warned swimmers to stay away from a picturesque blue lagoon in the Peak District as its toxic waters have been described as 'a bath of bleach'. The limestone quarry, known as Harpur Hill Quarry in Buxton, has been described as 'probably the most dangerous water in the UK' owing to its high alkaline pH levels. And as the weather turns warmer Derbyshire Police say they are monitoring the lagoon and urging people to stay away. The flooded lime pool, once the site of an industrial kiln that towered above Harpur Hill, near Buxton, in the Peak District, was the source of huge problems for locals last year, as thousands of people were attracted to the water's bright blue hue People were seen wading into the blue waters of the former quarry, unaware of the dangers posed A spokeswoman for the force said: 'Officers have not received reports of anti-social behaviour around the quarry at Harpur Hill over the bank holiday weekend but continue to monitor the area and work with partnership agencies to help maintain this over a long-term period. 'There are a number of disused quarries across Derbyshire, and throughout the country. 'Many of them are on private land so as well as the risk of trespassing penalties, people swimming in quarry waters put themselves in danger of cold-water shock, getting injured by hidden items beneath the surface or other health issues relating to pollution. 'Please don't put yourself at risk.' The blue lagoon has previously been filled with black dye several times over the years by council workers to stop selfie seekers flocking to the Derbyshire beauty spot for photos. The quarry has been dyed black on several occasions by the local council to put people off from swimming in it The flooded lime pool, once the site of an industrial kiln that towered above Harpur Hill, near Buxton, in the Peak District, was the source of huge problems for locals last year as thousands of people were attracted to the water's bright blue hue. The site, in Buxton, is also said to be full of animal carcasses, excrement and even a rusting car floating just beneath the surface. It is full of harmful chemicals that can cause skin irritations, thrush and illness, with the water reportedly having the same PH value as bleach. It comes as two teenagers have lost their lives after swimming in open water in Yorkshire in the past week. Sam Haycock, 16, tragically lost his life after he jumped in to help a friend at Ulley Reservoir in Rotherham on Friday, May 28. A man raises his arms as he swims in the lagoon last year, after police had used dye to turn the water black Despite a huge search being launched by the emergency services his body was found a short time later. Then just four days later a 13-year-old boy lost his life after playing in the River Calder at Brighouse on Tuesday, June 1. The boy's body was found after hours of urgent searching by specialist police and fire service teams. Record 10.78m students to sit gaokao in 2021 Chinadaily.com.cn) 08:46, June 03, 2021 Graduating students attend a class at Hohhot No. 35 Middle School in Hohhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, March 30, 2020. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen) A record 10.78 million students around China are expected to take the all-important national college entrance exam this year, or gaokao, from Monday to Tuesday, Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday. The number marks a slight increase from 10.71 million last year. The number of test centers and monitors has also increased, Xinhua said. The gaokao was postponed for a month to July 7 and 8 last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun) What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 319-352-3334 or email legals@waverlynewspapers.com. Republican Sen. Rand Paul continued to go after Dr. Anthony Fauci in a radio interview Wednesday, claiming he's invested in a Wuhan lab leak theory being discredited because the U.S. financed some of the lab's research. Paul claimed the nation's top infectious disease expert had an 'incestuous' relationship' with Dr. Peter Daszak, a British zoologist whose EcoHealth Alliance non-profit steered U.S. funding toward the Wuhan lab, and the scientists working there. 'It's all so incestuous,' Paul told Tom Roten with WVHU, a local radio station in Kentucky. 'It's a small group of people. Fauci is at the head of this and really if we want to investigate this lab and we want to know how to prevent this from happening again, Fauci cannot be a part of this investigation.' Sen. Rand Paul was out with fresh criticism against Dr. Anthony Fauci, pushing a theory that Fauci wants the Wuhan lab leak theory discredited because the U.S. financed some of the lab's research Sen. Rand Paul claimed that Dr. Anthony Fauci (left) had an 'incestuous' relationship' with Dr. Peter Daszak (right), whose EcoHealth Alliance non-profit steered U.S. funding toward the Wuhan lab, and the scientists working there Sen. Rand Paul, along with former President Donald Trump, have leaned into the theory that the COVID-19 pandemic started as a leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology Paul is one of the most vocal Fauci critics who's pushing that Fauci's emails prove the doctor is lying about whether the Wuhan lab pursued what's called 'gain of function' research - which would make a virus more contagious or deadly. Last week, Fauci testified before Congress that there was no way to know if Chinese scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology lied and conducted those experiments on bat coronaviruses using U.S. tax dollars. 'There's no way of guaranteeing that,' Fauci said last Wednesday at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, responding to a question from Republican Sen. John Kennedy. 'But in our experience with grantees, including Chinese grantees, which we have had interactions with for a very long period of time - they are very competent, trustworthy scientists,' Fauci testified. Paul, as well as former President Donald Trump, have leaned into the theory that the COVID-19 pandemic started as a Wuhan-based lab leak - and not a naturally occurring animal-to-human transmission that either started or grew from a Wuhan wet market. A number of Republicans have expressed outrage that the National Institutes of Health gave $3.4 million to EcoHealth Alliance from 2014 to 2019 and $600,000 of that went to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. With a trove of Fauci's emails now public, one getting attention was one from Daszak thanking Fauci for dismissing the theory that COVID-19 leaked from the institute. 'I just wanted to say a personal thank you on behalf of our staff and collaborators, for publicly standing up and stating that the scientific evidence supports a natural origin for COVID-19 from a bat-to-human spillover, not a lab release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology,' Daszak wrote. 'From my perspective, your comments are brave, and coming from your trusted voice, will help dispel the myths being spun around the viruss origins,' he wrote to Fauci in April 2020. Fauci responded, 'Many thanks for your kind note.' That correspondence rattled Paul, who pointed out that Daszak was one of the members of the World Health Organization's team investigating the origins of COVID-19. 'Well when they call for an investigation who do they put in charge of it? But this Peter Daszak, who is buddies with Fauci, who is thanking him privately in emails for covering up the Wuhan leak,' Paul charged. The Kentucky Republican also said Daszak cannot be part of any investigation into COVID-19 origins. 'Or any of these people who are in this close group of friends because they have an incentive to cover it up because they were funding the lab,' Paul said. Despite Daszak's association with the WHO, the organization didn't slam the door on the Wuhan leak theory, just said it was the least likely. 'Although the team has concluded that a laboratory leak is the least likely hypothesis, this requires further investigation, potentially with additional missions involving specialist experts, which I am ready to deploy,' said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on March 30, when WHO's COVID-19 origins report became publicly available. 'Let me say clearly that as far as WHO is concerned all hypotheses remain on the table.' Paul also claimed that some of Fauci's emails showed that he was 'very troubled' about some gain-of-function research being done - though it was not immediately obvious which emails the Kentucky Republican was speaking of. Paul referred to those messages as a 'red herring.' A request for comment from Paul's office wasn't immediately returned. On Wednesday, Fauci said his emails 'are really ripe to be taken out of context.' 'Where someone can snip out a sentene in an email without showing the other emails and say, "based on an email from Dr. Fauci, he said such-and-such," where you don't really have the full context,' the doctor said. Republican co-chairs of the House Border Security Caucus are urging the Senate to reject President Joe Biden's 'dangerous anti-border security' nominees for three key Homeland Security positions because of their 'history of dangerous policy making.' Reps. Andy Biggs and Brian Babin claim Biden has 'unleashed the worst border crisis in two decades' on a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. They say confirming his progressive-leaning picks for key immigration roles would 'endorse the policies that created the crisis.' 'Each of these candidates has a history of making dangerous policy decisions, ignoring immigration law, and perpetuating the open borders narrative,' Babin, who represents a Texas district not on the southern border said. None of the three nominees would 'enact the changes necessary to end the crisis,' Republicans say. Seen here are migrants being escorted off an immigration bus on the Hidalgo International Bridge in Texas on June 2 Biggs (right) and Babin (left) say confirming Biden's progressive-leaning picks for key immigration roles would 'endorse the policies that created the crisis.' Pictured here on May 20 Biden's nominee to head U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Ur Jaddou, said in a May nomination hearing that cutting down the 'dramatically increasing' visa backlog would be a priority for her in the role. Jaddou led the Biden-Harris transition team's review of DHS under former President Trump. 'In this role she developed the policies that created the current crisis at the southern border,' Biggs and Babin claim. Jaddou led the Biden-Harris transition team's review of DHS under former President Trump. Pictured here on May 26 Tucson, Arizona Police Chief Chris Magnus, Biden's pick to lead Customs and Border Patrol, 'publicly defended' sanctuary cities, the GOP statement reads, which made it 'more difficult for DHS to enforce immigration law, and endanger federal law enforcement officers.' The statement points out that Biden's nominee to head ICE, Ed Gonzalez, 'terminated a formal cooperation agreement' with the agency when he was sheriff of Harris County, Texas. None of the three nominees would 'enact the changes necessary to end the crisis,' Republicans say. 'In April, over 178,000 illegal aliens were encountered at the border, representing a 944 percent increase from the prior year. April was not an anomaly; in March, more than 173,000 were encountered, in February more than 101,000 were encountered. The inhumane border crisis that the Biden administration's policies created is growing.' Chris Magnus 'publicly defended' sanctuary cities, the GOP statement reads, which made it 'more difficult for DHS to enforce immigration law , and endanger federal law enforcement officers' Trump also took aim at Biden's border policies, blasting his 'disastrous decision' to formally end the 'Remain in Mexico' policy that forced asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court. 'The Biden Administration inherited the most secure border in history, and they turned it into the greatest border disaster in history. Our border is now run by cartels, criminals, and coyotes,' Trump wrote in a statement Wednesday. 'Not only are illegal immigrants being caught and released, they are being put up in hotels at taxpayer expense,' Trump said, referencing the more relaxed 'catch-and-release' immigration policy the Obama administration has been associated with. Biden's decision to end the Trump-era policy 'is proof that their objective is to eliminate the U.S. border entirely and flood the country with so many illegal aliens that every community is overwhelmed,' Trump claimed. The Biden administration formally ended the controversial immigration policy on Tuesday. Democrats praised the move, calling it a huge victory for immigrants' rights. Judy Rabinovitz, the American Civil Liberties Union attorney who led a case challenging the policy, called the Trump-era rule 'cruel, depraved and illegal' in comments to CNN. Also on Tuesday the Biden administration marked the first day of National Immigrant Heritage Month by asking Congress to pass the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, which Biden pitched his first day in office, providing a way for an estimated 11 million undocumented people to legally stay in the U.S. 'My plan would provide a pathway to lawful permanent residency and citizenship for these undocumented immigrants, including Dreamers, individuals with Temporary Protected Status, farm workers, and other essential workers who contribute to our Nation every day,' a White House proclamation read. The Biden administration marked the first day of National Immigrant Heritage Month by asking Congress to pass the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, which Biden pitched his first day in office, providing a way for an estimated 11 million undocumented people to legally stay in the U.S. Pictured here are asylum-seekers from Venezuela waiting for U.S. Border Patrol on May 27 Biden's changes to Trump's 'Remain in Mexico' were a foregone conclusion - as Biden had promised as a candidate to end the policy - but the president left a window open by ordering a review before shutting it down permanently. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said keeping the policy intact or modifying it 'would not be consistent with this Administration's vision and values and would be a poor use of the Department's resources' in a White House memo. The policy coincided with a sharp decline of asylum-seekers at the border, but critics noted that people were hampered by violent conditions in Mexico, lack of access to lawyers and difficulty making it to court. Mayorkas acknowledged those concerns by noting the high rate of denied claims for failing to appear in court and the lack of housing, income and safety in Mexico. Since Feb. 19, about 11,200 people with active cases have been allowed to return to the United States to wait for a ruling, a process that can take years in the backlogged court system. The administration has yet to say if tens of thousands more whose cases were either dismissed or denied will get another chance. It has also largely kept in place pandemic-related powers introduced by President Donald Trump in March 2020 to expel people to Mexico without an opportunity to seek asylum, justified on grounds of protecting public health. Mayorkas acknowledged planning for those pandemic-related powers to be lifted but was light on specifics. The secretary pointed to a new docket in immigration court announced Friday that aims to decide asylum cases at the border within 300 days. He promised 'additional anticipated regulatory and policy changes,' without elaborating. After a nationwide search, police arrested a New York man who fled to West Virginia after his girlfriend was found dismembered at their home. Police found Seth Larson, 40, in West Virginia on Wednesday after he called 911 to request an ambulance due to an injury, Irondequoit Police Chief Alan Laird told reporters on Thursday. The chief did not specify how Larson, who had been a person of interest in the case, was hurt. Police put out an alert for the blue 2011 Nissan Juke (pictured) with New York plates that Seth Larson was driving 37-year-old Lisa Shuler (pictured) was found dismembered outside the home she shared with Larson in Irondequoit on May 25 Larson's girlfriend, 37-year-old Lisa Shuler was found dismembered outside the home she shared with him in Irondequoit, New York on May 25, police said. Irondequoit is a suburb of Rochester in northwestern New York. Police have not confirmed when she was killed. They said on Wednesday that more human remains found at Durand Lake earlier in the week also belonged to Shuler. Police said Larson was in Maryland the day Shuler's body was discovered. Police released images of Seth Larson and his vehicle from the day before his girlfriend's dismembered body was found by authorities Police found Lisa Shuler's dismembered body outside her Irondequoit home on May 25, the same day police confirmed that her boyfriend Seth Larson was in Maryland Police have not determined a motive for the murder or a cause of death but said they are confident this was a homicide 'He does need to be brought to justice,' Laird told reporters last week as the search for him went on. 'The victim deserves this, the victim's family deserves this.' They put out an alert for the blue 2011 Nissan Juke with New York plates that Larson was driving and set off a nationwide search for Larson. Authorities had just missed him the day Shuler's body was found. Laird said Larson was pulled over for speeding in Cumberland, Maryland at around 1 pm on May 25, at least four hours before Shuler's body was discovered. The officer stopped Larson and let him go, but once the officer discovered that he was a person of interest in Shuler's death, Irondequoit Police were contacted. Laird said that Larson faces charges of second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and concealment of a corpse. Officers have not determined a motive for the murder or a cause of death, but police are confident this was a homicide, said Laird. Larson is currently being held in a West Virginia hospital, District Attorney Sandra Doorley said. Police said the investigation is ongoing. The former director of the Centers for Disease Control received death threats from fellow scientists after he said during a TV interview that he believed COVID-19 originated in a lab, according to an interview released Thursday. Robert Redfield, who served as the CDC director under Donald Trump when the pandemic began, told CNN on March 26 that he thought the most likely 'etiology of this pathogen in Wuhan was from a laboratory - you know, escaped.' He said he wasn't insinuating that there was ill intent, but that was his opinion. After that 10-second sound bite, he told Vanity Fair he was 'threatened and ostracized because I proposed another hypothesis.' At the time, the Wuhan lab leak was widely considered a 'fringe theory' at best, in favor of transmission from an animal to a human. The Vanity Fair article said 'death threats flooded his inbox' from strangers who said he was being racist to prominent scientists, even some he considered friends. One told him to 'wither and die,' Vanity Fair reported. 'I expected it from politicians. I didn't expect it from science,' Redfield said. Robert Redfield, who served as the CDC director under Donald Trump when the pandemic began, said on CNN that he thought the most likely 'etiology of this pathogen in Wuhan was from a laboratory, you know, escaped' The idea the coronavirus escaped from a Wuhan lab was at best a 'fringe theory' until recently, when the Biden administration ordered a review Stephen Goldstein, an evolutionary virologist at the University of Utah, wrote an opinion piece on Webpagetoday on April 5 shooting down Redfield's assertions on CNN. 'Questions are undoubtedly going to persist about the origin of SARS-CoV-2 until, and if, a definitive answer is uncovered (and perhaps beyond),' Goldstein wrote. 'Until then, it's imperative that leaders in science, public health, and government continue to call for rigorous study and stick to the science of viral evolution and viral ecology in their public commentary. 'One of the fundamental principles of a life in science is to admit what you don't know, and never be afraid to look it up. That's where Redfield falls short, unfortunately on a big stage.' The comments he made to Vanity Fair were published as part of a months long investigation into the origin of COVID-19 that included interviews with more than 40 people and a review of hundreds of pages of U.S. government documents (including internal memos, meeting minutes and emails). The magazine outlined the first moments Redfield heard about a mysterious new pneumonia affecting people in a Wuhan market from Dr. George Fu Gao, head of the Chinese CDC, on January 3, 2020. Redfield told Vanity Fair that he thought it was odd that family clusters were getting sick, and Gao later told Redfield that many cases had nothing to do with the market. That's when it became apparent the virus was jumping from person to person, and Redfield told Vanity Fair he immediately thought of the Wuhan Institute of Virology. He wanted to send researchers to the facility to rule it out, but the Chinese didn't allow it, Vanity Fair reported. 'A team could rule it out as a source of the outbreak in just a few weeks, by testing researchers there for antibodies,' according to Vanity Fair. Redfield's two-year tenure as CDC director ended when the new administration took over, but the debate over the coronavirus' origin heated up last week. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention testifies at a hearing with the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, on Capitol Hill in Washington on September 16, 2020 On May 28, President Joe Biden said his administration is joining other nations to pressure China to be more open about the outbreak. He ordered intelligence officials to 'redouble' efforts to establish the origins of COVID-19 and report back in 90 days. U.S. national laboratories were directed to assist with the investigation. China, meanwhile, insists that the virus simply mutated and passed naturally from animals to humans from a Wuhan market. The two major competing origin theories - bat to human or lab escape - have resurfaced since The Washington Post and Buzzfeed published Dr. Anthony Fauci's emails on Tuesday. Fauci doubled down Thursday on his belief that the virus came from a bat in the Wuhan market, but left the door open for the possibility of a lab escape. Casey Anthony revealed that her ex-boyfriend was a cop after reporting another of his exes to police for hurling a drink over her in a Florida bar. Body camera footage has been released showing Casey Anthony complain of being 'still damp' from having a drink thrown at her in a bar by her romantic rival, and reveal that her ex-boyfriend who has sparked the feud is a Florida police sergeant. News of Anthony's recent altercation with her 'arch-nemesis' Thelma Moya at O'Shea's Irish Pub in West Palm Beach first emerged last week, but on Thursday TMZ obtained video capturing her exchange with a police officer whom she had summoned to the scene. 'I'm still wet,' Anthony tells the responding officer at the beginning of the recording. 'I got a drink thrown at me. This girl has been harassing me for a while. I have her cellphone.' Anthony states her rival's full name and then launches into an explanation of the altercation, while also naming the shared ex as West Palm Beach Police Sergeant Malcolm Allison. Newley released body camera video shows Casey Anthony at a West Palm Beach, Florida, bar, making a complaint to the police after having a drink thrown at her Anthony, who says she is 'still damp' from the drink-throwing incident, accuses her romantic rival Thelma Moya (right) of assaulting her in a jealous rage Anthony, 34, claims that she and Moya at one time had dated the same man, who is a sergeant with the West Palm Beach Police Department 'She verbally assaulted me, but physically assaulted me with witnesses,' Anthony says. 'I am still damp from the drink she threw at me.' When pressed by the officer to elaborate on the circumstances of the dispute, Anthony replies: 'we dated the same person for a couple of years, Malcolm Allison...who is one of your sergeants.' She continues: 'whether they're together or not together, she got upset that he had texted me. I let her know that he had. And she came inside and threw a drink at me.' Anthony and Moya's former boyfriend, Malcolm Allison, is pictured in this image from 2010, when he was an officer Anthony complains that despite her efforts to not make a 'big deal of things,' Moya has been 'a problem' in her life for three years. She claims to have changed her phone number just to prevent Moya from contacting her. She then again invokes Sgt Allison's name and tells the officer that he could confirm her account, but then says, 'I don't want to get him involved. He's my ex, he's her ex, That's why all of this happened.' Further details on what happened between Anthony, Moya and Allison to have triggered Moya's fury have not been shared. When the officer suggests that Anthony file a restraining order against Moya, she claims that until now, she had not had enough evidence against her rival to justify filing for such an order. 'This is enough,' Anthony says, gesturing toward her apparently drenched clothing. But moments later, Anthony appears to have a change of heart, telling the officer: 'I am not trying to file a restraining order. I just want it to stop. And I know that a restraining order is only good for six months.' The officer encourages Anthony to 'follow up' on her complaint against Moya 'so we can do something.' In an interview with Fox News last week, Moya claimed that the cause of the bar bust-up with Anthony was not limited to their past romantic rivalry. 'It wasn't just over an ex-boyfriend,' she said. 'There's more to it I wish to not say.' Anthony (left) is heard on a 911 call reporting that her rival threw a drink at her at O'Shea's Irish Pub in West Palm Beach, Florida. Anthony has been a regular at the bar, having been pictured there several times in recent years. She is pictured above in 2019 Anthony called West Palm Beach cops while she was at O'Shea's Irish Pub, pictured In the recording of a 911 call that was made by Anthony after the bar incident and previously obtained by TMZ, she says: 'It was a repeated incident. It was harassment on top of the [thrown] drink,' she explains. Anthony, who was acquitted of murdering her two-year-old daughter, Caylee, a decade ago, goes on to claim that the incident involved a verbal assault outside the bar, which was followed by the drink-throwing inside. 'And I would like to make an official report,' Anthony tells the dispatcher, 'just so if it happened again... so I can file a restraining order. It has happened repeatedly, okay?' The 1 minute, 34 second call concludes with the dispatcher assuring Anthony that officers will be sent to the bar as soon as possible. Thank you so much, I appreciate it,' Anthony replies. Anthony stayed at the drinking establishment and spoke to the responding officer, but ultimately she decided to not press charges against Moya, according to her spokesperson. The pair's feud was a longstanding one over their mutual former lover. Anthony, 34, said Moya has repeatedly harassed her. The two had once dated the same man Anthony is said to have got into a row with another woman about an ex the pair had both dated. She is pictured here in 2016 At one stage Anthony was reportedly good friends with Moya, pictured. The pair appear to have fallen out over a boyfriend both the women dated Thelma Moya confirmed to DailyMail.com on last week that she was the woman at O'Shea's bar in West Palm Beach Anthony (pictured in 2008) was branded the most hated mom in America during her six-week trial in 2011. Her daughter, Caylee, was reported missing in July 2008. The two-year-old had not been seen by her mother for a month when she was reported missing by her grandmother Anthony was seen at the same West Palm Beach bar in 2018 and 2019. She was branded the most hated mom in America during her six-week murder trial in 2011. Her two-year-old daughter, Caylee, was reported missing in July 2008. Caylee had not been seen by her mother for a month when she was eventually reported missing by her grandmother, Cindy. The child's skeletal remains were discovered in a wooded area near the Anthony family's home in Florida that December. Casey changed her story several times before her sensational 2011 trial, suggesting at times that Caylee drowned in the family's pool and appearing to implicate her own father who she claimed molested her as a child. Anthony's two-year-old daughter, Caylee, was reported missing in July 2008. Caylee had not been seen by her mother for a month when she was eventually reported missing by her grandmother, Cindy George Anthony vehemently denies having any involvement in his granddaughter's death and ferociously disputes Casey's sexual assault allegations. He believes she killed Caylee accidentally with chloroform, traces of which were found in Casey's abandoned car during police investigations. Casey has staunchly maintained she has no idea how the toddler died, telling the Associated Press that she does not 'give a s***' what people think of her and that she 'sleeps pretty good at night'. She has since admitted lying to the police, but described herself as 'one of the unfortunate idiots who admitted they lied'. Prosecutors had alleged that she was a party girl who had killed her daughter to live a carefree life free of parental responsibility, but a jury found her not guilty. Anthony was sentenced to four years in jail, but was released just weeks later, in July 2011, due to credit for time served. She was acquitted of murdering the child in 2011 and has since been living the good life and is often spotted hitting up happy hours at bars in Florida. Google has been blasted after it failed to fire its head of diversity over anti-Semitic blog posts - after the tech giant merely moved him to a different job. Kamau Bobb, who is also an 'Equity in Computing' don at Georgia Tech, wrote a 2007 blog post, which remains on his website, titled: 'If I Were A Jew.' The most offensive section of the blog read, 'If I were a Jew I would be concerned about my insatiable appetite for war and killing in defense of myself. 'Self defense is undoubtedly an instinct, but I would be afraid of my increasing insensitivity to the suffering of others.' Google announced on Wednesday that Bobb would be removed from his position as global lead for diversity strategy and research, but would remain with the company in a research role. Google announced on Wednesday that Bobb would be removed from his position as global lead for diversity strategy and research following his anti-Semitic blog post Google condemned 'the past writings by a member of our diversity team that are causing deep offense and pain to members of our Jewish community' in their statement. 'These writings are unquestionably hurtful,' the statement added. 'The author acknowledges this and has apologized. He will no longer be part of our diversity team going forward and will focus on his STEM work.' Insider reports that Bobb has not been fired, though. Instead, he has been reassigned to a STEM research role. Google has not commented on why Bobb ultimately kept a job with the company. Google declined to fire Bobb, though, instead reassigning him to a new role Stop Antisemitism, a Jewish group, was among those criticizing Google for not firing Bobb outright. 'How is the obscene, antisemitic bigot still employed there?' the group tweeted. In his blog post, Bobb goes on to evoke the memory of Kristallnacht, a Nazi massacre against Jews in 1938, and Holocaust victim Anne Frank to question why Israel lacks 'compassion' towards Muslims in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank. 'My greatest torment would be that I've misinterpreted the identity offered by my history and transposed spiritual and human compassion with self righteous impunity,' the academic wrote. Kamau Bobb was Global Lead for Diversity Strategy and Research at Google and the founding Senior Director of the Constellations Center for Equity in Computing at Georgia Tech According to his website, Bobb - who grew up in Brooklyn - is the 'Global Lead for Diversity Strategy and Research at Google and the founding Senior Director of the Constellations Center for Equity in Computing at Georgia Tech.' Prior to this he worked for the US government at the National Science Foundation where he was 'responsible for $30 million annually of investments targeted on improving computing and STEM [Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] education.' Critics rounded on Bobb after the blog post was highlighted in an article by the Washington Free Beacon. Michael Dickson, director of Stand With Us, which educates people to fight anti-Semitism, tweeted: 'All of this begs the question whether (1) Google did due diligence when selecting Kamau Bobb for the sensitive position of global Google DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) Director and (2) whether he should remain in these positions.' In another tweet, Dickson wrote that Bobb made 'revolting, and antisemitic, comparisons between Nazi actions and that of the world's only Jewish country. He portrays Jews as bloodthirsty.' The Simon Wiesenthal Centre, an educational establishment which takes its name from the Jewish Austrian Holocaust survivor, Nazi hunter, and writer, tweeted: 'Google must fire this #antisemite #KamauBobb.' DailyMail.com has contacted Bobb and Google for comment. He hadn't responded to requests for comment from the Free Beacon. The 14-year-old blog post came as a small group of Google employees recently demanded executives cut ties with Israeli businesses following last month's bombing campaign against Islamist terrorists in the Gaza Strip. An internal letter to CEO Sundar Pichai urged a company-wide statement 'recognizing the violence in Palestine and Israel, which must include direct recognition of the harm done to Palestinians by Israeli military and gang violence.' It also argued that Google should 'reject any definition of antisemitism that holds that criticism of Israel or Zionism is antisemitic,' which is 'limiting freedom of expression and distracting from real acts of antisemitism.' The letter had only around 250 signatures as of the middle of May. Kamau Bobb previously worked for the US government at the National Science Foundation In his 14-year-old blog post, Bobb wrote: 'Suffering and oppression typically give rise to sympathy and compassion among the oppressed ... I would conclude that my Jewish faith and the history of my people render me closer to human compassion; closer to the instinct to offer healing to hurt, patience to anxiety and understanding to confusion. 'I don't know how I would reconcile that identity with the behavior of fundamentalist Jewish extremists or of Israel as a nation ... 'I wouldn't understand those who suggest that bombing Lebanon, slaughtering Lebanese people and largely destroying Beirut in retaliation for the capture of a few soldiers is justified. 'I wouldn't understand the notion of collective punishment, cutting off gas, electricity and water from residents in Gaza because they are attacking Israel who is fighting against them. 'It would be unconscionable to me to watch Israeli tanks donning the Star of David rumbling through Ramallah destroying buildings and breaking the glass.' The essay concludes with the paragraph: 'If I were a Jew I would be concerned about my insatiable appetite for war and killing in defense of myself. Self defense is undoubtedly an instinct, but I would be afraid of my increasing insensitivity to the suffering others. My greatest torment would be that I've misinterpreted the identity offered by my history and transposed spiritual and human compassion with self righteous impunity.' According to the New York Post, Bobb sent an apology to the 'Jewgler' Employee Resource Group at Google this week. 'My blog is a place for my personal reflection on a number of complex issues spanning years. Reading it again and seeing the pain its caused, I would like to respond directly and honestly,' Bobb wrote. 'Let me first apologize. What I wrote crudely characterized the entire Jewish community. What was intended as a critique of particular military action fed into antisemitic tropes and prejudice. I think we can all agree, there is no easy solution to this situation. But thats beside the point. The way I expressed my views on that conflict were hurtful,' he continued. 'My work here at Google is focused on expanding computing pathways through our interface with educational institutions. The world is leaving us all feeling unsafe and unsettled right now. I certainly dont want to contribute to that. 'None of this changes or excuses the words I wrote but I am deeply sorry for them,' Bobb concluded. Hunter Biden appears to have moved out of the luxury $5.4million home he was renting in Venice Beach, California amid a crime and homelessness wave that has hit the beach-front Los Angeles city. The son of President Joe Biden was reportedly paying $25,000 a month to rent the three-story property on the Venice canals - just a block away from the beach. But on Monday, DailyMail.com spotted a moving truck outside the palatial home with furniture being loaded into it. Father-of-five Hunter, 51, moved into the stylish property with wife Melissa and their son Beau at the end of 2020. Residents in Venice Beach have complained of an increase of crime as homelessness in the area has risen during the pandemic. Moving trucks were seen at Hunter Biden's Venice Beach rental home this week, DailyMail.com can reveal Father-of-five Hunter, 51, moved into the property with wife Melissa and their son Beau at the end of 2020 Now the president's son appears to have moved out of the $5.4million home amid a crime and homelessness wave that has hit the beach-front Los Angeles city Residents in Venice Beach have complained of an increase of crime as homelessness in the area has risen during the pandemic Hunter was reportedly paying $25,000 a month to rent the three-story property on the Venice canals The homeless population has mushroomed in Venice - in 2014 only 175 people lived rough and five years later that figure stood at more than 1,200 - but things have spiraled out of control in the last few months. Exclusive DailyMail.com photos from last month show tent-dwellers who have abandoned downtown LA's Skid Row and the freeway ramps in Long Beach for Venice Beach, turning a short stretch of prime property just south of the Santa Monica border into a flashpoint between business interests and those forced from their homes. While tourists and locals still visit the iconic boardwalk - a place they have long shared with the weird and the wacky - visitors' numbers have decreased as they must contend with an ever-growing army of homeless and the crime that accompanies them. Residents in the area - like Hunter have been considering moving, but property prices have dropped by anything between 10 and 30 percent. Crocodile Dundee star Paul Hogan, 81, who lives in the area, warned the homeless away. 'This is my house, not yours,' he wrote on a note he posted on the gate of his $3.5 million Venice Beach home. Hogan complained that he is homesick and desperate to return to his native Australia but doesn't want to go through two weeks Covid quarantine. 'I'm like a kangaroo in a Russian zoo, I don't belong here,' he said. Exclusive DailyMail.com photos from last month show tent-dwellers who have abandoned downtown LA's Skid Row for the iconic tourist destination of Venice Beach The homeless population has mushroomed in Venice - in 2014 only 175 people lived rough and five years later that figure stood at more than 1,200 - but things have spiraled out of control in the last few months Secret Service officers sitting outside of Hunter's home have had to contend with the stench from a small encampment on the other side of a parking lot The encampments have crept closer to the famed picturesque Venice Canals. Secret Service officers sitting outside of Hunter's home have had to contend with the stench from a small encampment on the other side of a parking lot. The tent city itself has its dramas just like any other human settlement. Last month a 30-year-old woman from Virginia gave birth in one of the oceanfront camps, the Venice Current reported. A homeless man was shot and injured on April 28. The gunman calmly walked away. The victim is not cooperating with police. Earlier the same week a tent was deliberately set on fire. One local woman talks of how she was chased by a man with a sword. Cops sweep through on a regular basis, more to show they are a presence than to actually make arrests, say business owners on Ocean Front Walk, the official name of the boardwalk. The homeless encampments have crept closer to the famed picturesque Venice Canals, where a moving truck is see outside of Hunter's home Hunter had moved to the 3,700 square feet property after he had been splitting his time between his home state of Delaware and his Hollywood Hills pad Hunter was believed to be renting the property from Sweetgreen co-founder and CEO Jonathan Neman for $25,000 a month The home also had a terrace furnished with outdoor seating, a fireplace, and breath-taking views of the idyllic neighborhood When DailyMail.com visited Venice Beach, there were syringes one with a needle still attached nestling in the sand in a children's play area on the beach, emblematic of how the people for whom the area was designed are now being pushed out. 'I can't even walk my dog or go bike riding along the Venice Beach bike path anymore, longtime Venice resident Heather Sullivan said. 'It's too scary and just too violent. 'We have had numerous dog thefts and it's just heartbreaking and many of the animals in these encampments are not treated well.' TV cameras caught the moment that a Washington DC parent was flipped off by a neighbor as she explained how friends and family had turned on her because she spoke out against the teaching of critical race theory in her kids' schools. Jessica Mendez, a mother of two children in the Loudoun County Public School system, says she has been branded a racist after attempting to block the controversial lessons. 'I had my own family criticize me openly, and asked me you know, what's wrong with me? You know, why didn't I understand? , told the interviewer for Fox News. But during the interview, a neighbor walks past in the background and raises two middle fingers at Mendez and the camera. 'I thought that I had a good friend,' Mendez added. 'I'm really hurt right now because I thought that we had a rapport, that I could be conservative, and she could be liberal, and we could still be friends. I guess I was wrong.' Loudoun County, where the average home sells for $575,600, has found itself a divided amidst the nation's recent equity initiative to provide student's with classes on critical race theory. Mother of two Loudoun County Public School students Jessica Mendez says she has fought with her own family over the issue of critical race theory in the classroom During the interview, a neighbor walks past in the background and raises two middle fingers at Mendez and the camera. When a group of parents stepped up to block the theory from being taught to their children, they were met with intense backlash from peers, including some who launched a Facebook group called Anti-Racist Parents of Loudoun County. In interviews released Thursday, several of the so-called 'anti-CRT' parents revealed how their friends, neighbors and families turned on them for speaking out. Loudoun County parent and president of the Loudoun County Republican Womens Club Patti Hidalgo Menders said she had been targeted on the Facebook group. She said: 'They put three pictures of me in there, and they called me a racist. 'They had my first and last name, the name of my husband, where my son goes to high school, what town I live in, and they called me disgusting.' Patti Hidalgo Menders, a Loudoun County parent and president of the Loudoun County Republican Women's Club Critical race theory is a school of thought that explores power structures and racial dynamics among minorities, with advocates of the concept claiming it creates a better understanding of diversity and different cultural backgrounds amongst those who study it. Those against critical race theory have argued it reduces people to the categories of 'privileged' or 'oppressed' based on their skin color. With diversity sensitivity trainings and evolving academic curricula coming to the forefront of the nation's attention recently, the concept of CRT has become a powder keg of a theory for both critics and proponents alike. The debate over CRT in Loudoun County appears to reflect its diverse ethnic makeup, according to a DataUSA report, with 55.1 percent being white/non-Hispanic, 19 percent Asian, eight percent white/Hispanic and 6.88 percent African American. IT engineer and Kenyan immigrant Fred Rege lives in Loudoun County, where his two daughters are enrolled in the county's public school system. He does not think CRT should be taught, and he says numerous other parents don't either but they are afraid to speak out for fear of retribution. A Facebook group titled 'Anti-Racist Parents of Loudoun County' has been shaming anti-CRT parents online, detractors of CRT say Kenyan immigrant Fred Rege says he's not afraid to speak out against CRT - which he doesn't think should be taught in schools 'I finally got to the point where I said, "my number one responsibility is my children,"' says Rege. 'Even if it costs me certain things in society and canceling from this and canceling from that, you know, I'll have my dignity. I'll have my children's, you know, integrity, and their self-belief, their belief in themselves intact. And that's worth it.' As for the pro-CRT Facebook group, Menders says their intimidation tactics have actually backfired into emboldening the opposition. 'They tried to intimidate us by using social media,' Menders added. 'But I'll be honest, I feel like it's emboldened my passion for this more.' Republicans stepped up their pressure on Dr. Anthony Fauci on Thursday demanding access to his unredacted emails and asking that he appear again before House committees to answer questions about whether COVID-19 could have leaked from a Chinese laboratory. He is back in the firing line with the release of a trove of emails, revealing that he knew about the possibility of a lab leak early in the pandemic. His critics seized on them to say he knew more about 'gain of function' research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology than he let on. House Republican whip Steve Scalise and James Comer wrote to the chairs of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus and the House Oversight Committee to say it was 'imperative' that Fauci appeared before them. Senior Republicans have written to their Democratic counterparts demanding that Dr. Anthony Fauci answer fresh questions about evidence revealed in his emails about his knowledge of the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic Rep. Steve Scalise (left), ranking member of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus, wants more answers from Dr. Anthony Fauci (right) following the release of a cache of emails Security personnel keep watch outside Wuhan Institute of Virology during a visit by a World Health Organization team of investigators in February They said the release of Faucis emails, obtained by news organizations under Freedom of Information laws 'debunk many Democrats claims from the past year, including that Fauci and other scientists were muzzled by the Trump administration. 'It is now imperative that Dr. Fauci come before our Committees to provide information related to the origins of the novel coronavirus as well as the U.S. governments role in funding research that may have contributed to the development of the novel coronavirus, they said. 'The American people have a right to know what our government knew about the origins of the pandemic and when it was known.' They also called on the committee's chairman and chairwoman to demand unredacted versions of Fauci's newly released emails. The cache triggered an intervention from former President Donald Trump, who said the communications revealed he was right all along. He demanded that China pay ten trillion dollars for its role in causing 'death and destruction.' 'Now everyone, even the so-called "enemy, are beginning to say that President Trump was right about the China Virus coming from the Wuhan Lab,' he said in the second of two statements he issued in quick succession. 'The correspondence between Dr. Fauci and China speaks too loudly for anyone to ignore.' Fauci has been a favorite target of conservatives throughout the pandemic, attracting fire for his support for social distancing and mask wearing. They have accused him of flip-flopping for the way he initially resisted closing borders and wearing masks before endorsing both. But his role in the early days of the crisis is under fresh scrutiny with the release of his emails. In particular, Republicans claim the communications show Fauci knew the Wuhan Institute of Virology - at the center of the lab leak hypothesis for the origins of the COVID-19 crisis - was carrying out experiments with genetically engineered coronaviruses. And they include messages in February last year with a key deputy in which they discuss whether his National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases might have ties to the work. Sen. Rand Paul is among those demanding fresh answers to whether Fauci still stands by his testimony that the U.S. did not fund 'gain of function' research on coronaviruses. Fauci defended his actions, telling CNN on Thursday that the messages had been taken out of context. And the White House issued a public defense of his work. Press Secretary Jen Psaki said he retained the confidence of Biden and added: 'He's been an undeniable asset in our country's pandemic response.' A father and his four-year-old daughter were found dead and four people, including his wife were injured, after an illegally constructed building collapsed in a Rio de Janeiro favela on Thursday. Rescue workers pulled out the tiny body of Maite Gomes at 10:20am local time and the recovered the remains of her father, Natan Gomes, around noon, Brazilian online news portal G1 reported. Gomes' wife, Kiara Abreu, 27, was pulled out alive from under the rubble at 9:20am and was rushed to Miguel Couto Hospital. Nataniela de Souza, 28; Antonia Conrado, 38; and Jonas Rodrigues, 29, were also hospitalized after members of a search and rescue team which consisted of more than 100 firefighters and other public safety workers. The extent of the survivors' injuries is unknown. Kiara Abreu (left) was one of four people who survived the collapse of an illegally built building in Rio de Janeiro. Her daughter Maite Gomes (center) and her husband Natan Gomes (right) were the only two casualties in the accident Firefighters search for more survivors after pulling some from the debris of a four-floor building that collapsed overnight Thursday in the Rio das Pedras favela of Rio de Janeiro. At least two people, including a four-year-old girl, were confirmed dead and four others were injured Local residents said they heard a booming noise followed by a fire, causing panic in the western slum of Rio das Pedras after building collapsed around 3am. Other nearby residences were also damaged. The structure consisted of four small homes built atop one another, according to a spokesperson for the Fire Department. Gomes was the manager of an internet cafe located in the first floor of the building and lived in one of the floors above with his wife and daughter. Authorities have not said if the three other survivors are related to the couple. The accident has underlined the precarious state of many structures in parts of the city where authorities say organized crime is heavily involved in construction. The cause of the collapse is under investigation, police said. Rio das Pedras is the birthplace of Rio de Janeiro's so-called 'militias,' and it remains firmly in the grasp of the organized crime groups. While originally created to defend inhabitants from drug gangs, militias - which consist of former cops, soldiers and firefighters - now act as crime outfits in their own right. Kiara Abreu with her daughter Maite Gomes (center) and her husband Natan Gomes The construction in Rio das Pedras, a working class area in west Rio de Janeiro, collapsed around 3:20am More than 100 firefighters and other public safety workers rushed to the scene. A man, a woman and a child were buried, authorities said The construction in Rio das Pedras damaged nearby residences as it collapsed (pictured, firefighters check over damage caused to other houses) Local residents said they heard a booming noise that was followed by a fire, causing panic in the western neighborhood of Rio das Pedras These groups have grown in power in the last two decades, operating increasingly complex, profitable and deadly rackets throughout the city. Among their money-making operations, they build residential structures without official permission or approval, and rent the buildings out, sometimes to disastrous consequences. The building that collapsed on Thursday was not approved by authorities, sources involved in the rescue said. 'With me, militias are not going to build any more crap in this city,' Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes said Thursday. Residents looked on as firefighters and rescue teams picked through the debris of a building that collapsed in Rio das Pedras on Thursday morning According to Rio's Department of Conservation, since January more than 180 irregular buildings have been demolished in the West Zone alone, and more than 150 notifications were also issued. A notification is the first step toward demolition, the department said. City officials said they had blocked access to seven buildings close to the fallen structure, and all 20 of its residents were relocated. Maria Augusto da Silva, who lives in the building opposite the one that collapsed, said she started screaming when she heard a terrifying noise in the middle of the night. 'I was desperate, I thought this was the end of the world,' she said. 'I asked God that it saved me and my family. But the noise kept going and going.' In 2019, a militia-constructed building in the adjacent neighborhood of Itanhanga collapsed, killing two. The collapsed building consisted of four small homes built precariously atop one another, according to a spokesperson for the Fire Department Firefighters pulled a woman alive from the debris of the collapsed building on Thursday morning Firefighters are joined by a rescue search dog as they continue to look for victims of a building collapse in Rio das Pedras, west Rio de Janeiro Lockdowns are awful and Britain must learn to live with Covid without restrictions, one of the countrys most senior scientists has warned. Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said the measures had had very profound consequences on the nations mental health, education and jobs. But he was hopeful that the Government would be able to open up on June 21 based on the data so far but stressed the next few weeks would be crucial. Sir Jeremy Farrar (pictured), director of the Wellcome Trust and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said the measures had had very profound consequences on the nations mental health, education and jobs He pointed out that more than eight in ten adults would be vaccinated by then, adding that he was very confident the jabs were working. There is a danger of not opening up and this infection is now a human endemic infection. Its not going away, he said. Humanity will live with this virus now for ever. And there will be new variants. This year, next year, the year after, there will be new variants and we will have to learn to cope with that. Lockdowns are awful. They are a mark that you havent been able to control the virus in other ways. They have very profound consequences on mental health, on education, on job opportunities particularly affecting people on lower incomes. Societies cant stay in that mode for ever. Earlier this week Boris Johnson said that while there was nothing in the data to suggest the June 21 ending of lockdown could not go ahead, the numbers were still ambiguous. But Sir Jeremy said he was hopeful the jabs had separated the inevitable rise of infections which comes with easing restrictions and the subsequent increase in hospitalisations. Asked whether he thought the country would be able to open up on June 21, he added: If you really push me today, I would say Im more optimistic because I think that the vaccines have been so incredibly successful. Sir Jeremy Farrar he was hopeful that the Government would be able to open up on June 21 based on the data so far but stressed the next few weeks would be crucial'. Pictured: Families enjoy the weather in London, Britain, 01 June 2021 Covid cases jumped by more than 36 per cent in a week today, the eighth day in a row they have been above 3,000 and the second day in less than a week they have reached over 4,000 Twelve more lives were also lost to the virus today rising a third on last Wednesday's figure after yesterday's recording of zero bolstered calls for No10 to stick with its roadmap He added that based on current data, although he would lift restrictions, sensible advice such as wearing a mask indoors should still be in place. Sir Jeremy also said: If hospitalisations have remained low and deaths have remained low, I would accept a degree of transmission and I would open up. I think this is the hardest decision, frankly, of the last 18 months actually. I am optimistic in the sense that I do believe that vaccines are incredibly safe and very effective. The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation which supports science to solve urgent health challenges and Sir Jeremy has been director since 2013. He also said he believed the vaccines provided protection from the virus for at least a year and added: I think the data is more reassuring that the immune response is stronger and is longer-lived than you could dare dream a year ago. But Sir Jeremy said it was now imperative that the UK and the other G7 nations including the US, France, Germany and Japan donated their available jabs to developing countries. He is writing to Mr Johnson to ask him to offer up ten million of Britains doses over the next three months, which he claims would only set our vaccination campaign back by ten days. Withholding the jabs from poorer nations would be playing with fire, he said, as it would only be a matter of time before a new and even deadlier strain emerged. Only yesterday the Mail revealed how Whitehall officials were concerned about a new variant which had been detected in Nepal, as well as Portugal, the US, Japan and India, which may be more resistant to vaccines. Sir Jeremy said: Theres 1.4billion people in India and hundreds of millions in Indonesia, Brazil and Nigeria. Its these huge populations with uncontrolled epidemics and no access to vaccines, thats where a variant will come. Another Sage member said Covid vaccines have left the UK in a much better place to end lockdown despite the emergence of new variants. Professor John Edmunds, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, also said that although the Government may ease restrictions on June 21, it does not mean that people will necessarily take up the opportunity. This combined with the vaccination programme means the UK is in a better place to end restrictions. n Children over 12 could be vaccinated against Covid by the end of the year, Sir Jeremy predicted. He also said jabs could be extended down to five-year-olds if they are safe and effective. A photo of a man betting a 'significant' amount of money at a Sydney casino - mainly on poker machines - has resulted in the seizure of $900million of cocaine and multiple arrests across NSW. Police formed Strike Force Jillabenan in early 2020 after the NSW Organised Crime Squad received information a number of men allegedly part of a criminal syndicate involved in a conspiracy to import three tonnes of the drug into Australia. The drugs were allegedly being sourced for the organised syndicate from North America and South America and would have been enough to supply the entire using population of NSW for one year. The first major breakthrough was in October last year when the US Navy, acting on NSW police intelligence, allegedly seized 870kg of cocaine when they raided a vessel off the coast of Colombia. April this year saw another major breakthrough, with the US Coast Guard allegedly seized a further 900 kilograms of cocaine, after intercepting a boat travelling off the coast of Ecuador. A man betting a significant amount of money at a casino (pictured) has resulted in the seizure of $900 million of cocaine and multiple arrests across NSW Police arresting one of the men (pictured right) after they uncovered a plot to import three tonnes of cocaine into NSW The haul was significant, with the seizure of cocaine (pictured) said to have a street value of $900 million Two vessels were stopped by law enforcement in different operations off the coast of South America (pictured) Three men - aged 37, 42 and 58 - were arrested in NSW on Thursday, June 3 and charged over their alleged roles in the global conspiracy. Armed police and Polair were on the scene just after 8.30am on Thursday when the 42-year-old man attempted to access the items he allegedly believed to contain cocaine at Morriset, in the Hunter region of NSW. His accomplice, the 37-year-old man, was nabbed by police in a nearby carpark. Shortly after the arrests, the Organised Crime Squad executed five search warrants at homes at Mortdale, Rockdale and Sans Souci in Sydney's south as well as Paddington in Sydney's east and Regents Park in western Sydney. During the searches, investigators located and seized cash, electronic devices, documentation, and numerous mobile phones, some of which were encrypted devices. NSW Police confirmed they had co-operated with the US Drug Enforcement Administration as part of its investigations and seized a total of 1770kg of cocaine during two separate interdictions off the coast of South America. The 42-year-old man and another man, 58, were both charged with two counts of conspiracy to supply a prohibited drug on a large commercial scale, large commercial drug supply and participating in a criminal group. The other man, 37, was charged with large commercial drug supply. NSW Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said the cocaine seized represented roughly 12 months worth of the party drug for the state of NSW. He added the trio of alleged drug importers could face life sentences following the record drug haul by authorities. '[Their] surprise has now obviously gone to anguish,' he told 2GB. All three men were refused bail to appear at local courts on Friday. Police arrested a number of men (pictured) in raids on a series of addresses in Sydney as well as Newcastle The caller sounded hysterical shrieking, sobbing and hyperventilating as an emergency operator struggled to extract a few details about the terrible accident he had phoned to report. It was just after 2.40am one night in December 2001 when American novelist Michael Peterson called 911 to say his wife Kathleen had had a terrible accident at their home in Durham, North Carolina. She fell down some stairs, he gasped. Shes still breathing, please come! The emergency services did come but rapidly reached a very different conclusion about why Mrs Peterson, a successful telecoms company executive, was lying in a pool of blood at the foot of the back staircase at their mansion. The walls were heavily spattered with blood and she had horrific head injuries as well as dozens more around her body that were difficult to tally with taking a tumble. Michael Peterson (left) called 911 to say his wife Kathleen had had a terrible accident. The emergency services did come but rapidly reached a very different conclusion about why she was lying in a pool of blood at the foot of the back staircase at their mansion Within days, Peterson had been charged with first-degree murder by prosecutors who laid out a macabre scenario of a couple trapped in an unhappy marriage. It had ended, they said, with Peterson, then 58, bludgeoning his 48-year-old wife to death with a fire iron after she discovered lurid details of his secret gay sex life. And it led to a televised trial whose astonishing twists and turns behind the scenes were intimately captured for an acclaimed documentary series, The Staircase, first shown in the UK on BBC 4 as Death On The Staircase. That 2004 series, hailed as the godfather of the true-crime documentary and currently riding high in the ratings as its re-shown on Netflix, is now being made into a TV drama mini-series on HBO starring Colin Firth as Peterson and Australian actress Toni Collette as Kathleen. The walls were heavily spattered with blood and she had horrific head injuries as well as dozens more around her body that were difficult to tally with taking a tumble It also stars Juliette Binoche as Sophie Brunet, an editor of The Staircase who started a romance with Peterson while working on the documentary that lasted until 2017. (That relationship wasnt featured in the 2004 series.) Hollywood has a bad reputation for over-egging true crime stories but theres not much it can do to make the Peterson case any more outlandish. Its a saga that included claims that the former U.S. Marines captain and decorated Vietnam veteran not only murdered his wife but may have carried out a startlingly similar killing thousands of miles away in Europe 18 years earlier. Its even been alleged that Kathleen wasnt killed by a man but by an owl. At Petersons request, the French makers of The Staircase were given an extraordinary level of access to him, his warring family (who were fiercely divided over his guilt or innocence) and his defence team. The series was undeniably sympathetic towards him, which may not be surprising given its director, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, had just won an Oscar [in 2001] for a documentary about a 15-year-old wrongly accused of murder. It was just after 2.40am in December 2001 when American novelist Michael Peterson called 911 to say his wife Kathleen had had a terrible accident at their home in Durham, North Carolina (pictured) And yet its a challenge to watch all 13 episodes and not feel that something doesnt quite add up about the cultured and intelligent Peterson, who had used his time in Vietnam as inspiration for three novels and two non-fiction books. He also wrote a column for a local newspaper and had even stood for mayor, a campaign not helped by the revelation that one of his war wounds had been sustained in a car accident rather than from shrapnel. But he seems just too good-humoured and sanguine for an innocent man accused of killing his beloved spouse. Time magazine called him suspiciously laid-back. Even now, debate rages over whether he did it or not. All in all, he presents a challenging role for Firth who has played gay men on two main occasions before: first in the 2009 drama A Single Man, in which he portrayed a depressed academic, and again in the 2020 romantic drama Supernova, in which he plays a pianist whose lover is diagnosed with dementia. Although Peterson was originally set to be played by Harrison Ford, Firth may have been drawn to the role by the homophobia theme in his case Peterson and his lawyers accused the prosecution (with good reason) of cynically playing up his sexual preferences to turn a Bible-bashing Southern jury against him. The way Peterson tells it, on the night of Kathleens death, they had drunk some wine and champagne (to celebrate a possible film deal for one of his books) and watched a film, Americas Sweethearts. Peterson said he believed that while he lingered outside by their swimming pool, she went indoors and having taken Valium on top of the alcohol and wearing flip-flops stumbled on the fourth step of a narrow, poorly-lit staircase, falling backwards and hitting her head on a door frame. To explain her extensive injuries, he and his lawyers suggested she then slipped in her own blood and hit her head again, losing consciousness and bleeding to death. An autopsy confirmed law enforcements scepticism, revealing that Kathleen had sustained seven deep lacerations on her skull, among 38 injuries over her face, back, head, hands, arms and wrists. The tale is now being made into a TV drama mini-series on HBO starring Colin Firth as Peterson and Australian actress Toni Collette as Kathleen As a prosecutor claimed at the trial, which opened in Durham in July 2003, it didnt take a rocket scientist to question how falling down a few wooden stairs could cause such devastating injuries. Paramedics who rushed to the house after Petersons panic-filled phone call testified theyd been puzzled that the blood pooling around Kathleen had been mostly dry, suggesting shed died some time earlier. Prosecutors claimed she had died several hours earlier and Peterson spent the time cleaning up. A crime scene analyst also gave evidence, saying he had thought Petersons behaviour charging around, hugging his dead wife and sobbing had been melodramatic. The court heard the murder weapon was most likely a blow poke, a hollow fireplace poker that can be blown through to rekindle a fire. There had been one in the Peterson household for years but it was now missing. However, the prosecution had a tougher time establishing a convincing motive until it hit the jackpot. After examining Petersons computer, it claimed that while waiting that night to receive an important work-related email, Kathleen had stumbled on the 2,000 images of gay sex he stored on it. The prosecution also discovered explicit email conversations hed had with a local male prostitute and serving soldier, Brent Wolgamott, which along with the pornographic photos were shown to the jury. In one email, Peterson described himself as very happily married with a dynamite wife, but added: Im very bi and thats all there is to it. He said hed never used an escort before although he had once paid a super-macho guy who played lacrosse for sex. Mr Wolmagott who eventually cancelled their planned liaison gave evidence, providing the trial with one of its lighter moments when he revealed his many well-heeled clients included a judge, though not this judge. Even Peterson managed a smile as he listened to the excruciating details. The prosecution argued that Petersons secret bisexuality had been the trigger for the murder. While he countered by claiming that Kathleen had been aware of his sexuality, he conceded they had never properly discussed it. Citing claims by some who knew him that Peterson had a vicious temper, prosecutors speculated that the couple had had an altercation about his sexuality which led him to kill her. It suggested that money might have been another motive: although the Petersons lived in a grand house, they were $143,000 in debt. If Kathleen the main breadwinner died accidentally, the court heard, Peterson would be eligible for a $1.4 million payout from life insurance. The four-month trial one of the longest in North Carolina history also saw warring experts argue over the blood spatters and over whether Peterson would have even had room on the narrow staircase to wield a fire iron that was more than 3 ft long. The defences spatter expert, who had testified at O. J. Simpsons murder trial, theatrically swigged some ketchup and then spat it out to show how Kathleen might have coughed up blood on the staircase walls. The prosecution were to detonate another bomb in court. Eighteen years earlier, it revealed, another woman closely connected with Peterson had been found dead at the bottom of stairs in very similar circumstances. Elizabeth Ratliff, an American military widow had been a close friend of Peterson and his first wife Patty while they were living near Frankfurt in West Germany. One morning in 1985, she was found at the foot of her staircase with head injuries and the walls heavily spattered in blood. She even had the same number of lacerations on her scalp as Kathleen. Peterson was the last known person to have seen her alive, having helped put her children to bed after he and Patty had dined there the previous night. A German autopsy concluded she had died from a brain haemorrhage unrelated to the fall but the court ordered Elizabeths body to be exhumed from her Texas grave for a second autopsy. This time, the Durham coroner listed her cause of death as homicide, satisfying some of her friends and relatives who had always suspected foul play. The prosecution didnt formally accuse Peterson of killing Elizabeth but argued that even if he hadnt done it, the tragedy was a blueprint that had given him the idea of how he could stage his wifes death as an accident. Again, the defence raised the crucial question of motive, claiming Peterson had nothing to gain from killing Elizabeth. In fact, he adopted Elizabeths young daughters Margaret and Martha and raised them as his own. (They stuck by him loyally in the case.) The defence produced the next shocker, pulling out with a flourish in court the missing blowpoke that prosecutors had called the likely murder weapon. It had been in the Peterson garage all along and bore no signs of having been used to bludgeon anyone. But it wasnt enough to sway a jury who were warned by prosecutors to bear in mind that Peterson dreamt up fiction for a living and had sat at home looking at filth while his wife was out earning their living. He was found guilty and jailed for life. Even before his trial, Kathleens daughter Caitlin (Petersons stepdaughter) filed a civil wrongful death claim against him. One of the many intriguing aspects of the case was the way family members picked sides. Peterson and Kathleen were both on their second marriage when they wed in 1997. By then Peterson had two sons, Clayton and Todd, as well as his two adopted daughters. At the time of Kathleens death, all of their offspring had left home, leaving their parents rattling around the large house and said the children drinking fairly heavily. Kathleens two sisters and Caitlin turned against Peterson after seeing graphic photos of the autopsy. The sisters insisted that as infidelity had ruined her first marriage, she would not have tolerated it from Peterson. (He admitted cheating on his first wife, Patty, with both men and women but didnt regard his gay trysts during his marriage to Kathleen as relationships that undermined his love for her). Still, the revelations made the defences claim in its opening statement that the Petersons had an idyllic marriage look unwise. Caitlins civil claim ended in her winning $25 million although by then her stepfather had already filed for bankruptcy. Petersons appeals failed but in 2009, Lawrence Pollard, a lawyer and neighbour, made the outlandish suggestion that an owl might have attacked Kathleen after reading that a microscopic owl feather was mentioned on the trials evidence list. The feather was entangled with some of Kathleens hair found clutched in her left hand. Other tiny feathers were found in her hair. The coroner said it was unlikely any bird could have made such deep wounds in her scalp, but three animal experts contradicted her, saying the lacerations looked very much like those made by the talons of a large raptor, which might have become entangled in her hair and panicked. The defence didnt need to follow up the owl theory as the following year the blood spatter expert whod testified Peterson must have beaten Kathleen based on stains on his clothes was found to have lied in various other trials. Petersons judge accepted he had done the same in his trial and ordered a new one, releasing him from prison after eight years but insisting he remain under house arrest. In 2017, Peterson avoided a new trial by entering an Alford plea in which he pleaded guilty while still asserting his innocence to the lesser charge of manslaughter. Since he had already served more prison time than the sentence carried, he was a free man. His trial judge later regretted allowing jurors to hear about his sexuality and the earlier death in Germany, admitting they were enormously prejudicial. Jurors, however, countered that it was the gruesome autopsy photos that really swung them against him. Its difficult to accept that Mike Peterson was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, but its also hard to believe that the tragic carnage at the bottom of his backstairs was caused by a drunken slip. Whatever Hollywood has to say about it, the mystery will linger. Britons were scrambling to cancel foreign holidays last night as travel bosses accused ministers of laying waste to the industry and isolating the UK amid fears the ongoing shutdown will cost the economy more than 11billion. Tourists who made it out to Portugal were trying to get home before 4am Tuesday to avoid having to quarantine for 10 days after the European hotspot was downgraded from green to amber yesterday. Manoeuvres yesterday including the shrinking of the green list of safe destinations and the expansion of the red list wiped a staggering 2billion off the value of airlines as industry figures warned at least half of the 1.6 million jobs in the sector had already been lost or were now at risk. Furious travel chiefs accused the Government of trying to 'isolate' Britain from the world and warned that another 'lost summer' could lead to a jobs bloodbath and billions more being wiped from the economy. Figures compiled by the all-party Future of Aviation group of MPs last night projected that the cost to the economy could be as much as 11.5billion in outbound travel alone if the current restrictions remain through the next three months. Yesterday's developments wiped more than 2billion off the value of UK-listed travel and airline firms on the London stock exchange. British Airways owner IAG, easyJet, Ryanair, TUI, Wizz Air and engine maker Rolls-Royce all suffered heavy falls as news spread that no countries would be added to the green list. And package holiday giant Jet2 cancelled all foreign holidays until July 1 - three days after the next review of the green list is due. Pictured: London' Heathrow airport's international arrival gate on June 3 Industry figures warned that at least half the 1.6million jobs in the sector had either already been lost or were now at risk, with many more redundancies feared No countries are being added to the 'green list', dashing hopes that places such as Malta, Jamaica and Grenada could be added to the roster thanks to easing Covid rates British holidaymakers reveal how they have cut their family holidays to Portugal short in order to avoid quarantine in UK Changing rules at will? It feels wrong Karen Beddow (pictured with her husband Matthew and daughters Lily, Isobel and Eve) said she felt let down after being forced to cut her family holiday to Portugal short in order to avoid quarantine on return to the UK Karen Beddow said she felt let down after being forced to cut her family holiday to Portugal short in order to avoid quarantine on return to the UK. She had travelled to a villa in the Algarve with her husband Matthew, their three daughters and her parents last month. Mrs Beddow, 43, from the Wirral in Cheshire, said the family was due to fly back to the UK on Tuesday just hours after the new 'amber list' restrictions take effect. Faced with the prospect of additional testing and quarantine, and fearing Portugal was likely to go on the list, she scrambled to rearrange the flights to Sunday before the official announcement was made yesterday. Although able to change the Easyjet flights for her immediate family for free, her parents faced a sizeable fee to make the changes. Mrs Beddow said the family also had to rearrange pre-booked Covid tests to be taken on their return to the UK in line with Government rules. She said: 'We cut our holiday short by two days which I actually feel really annoyed about. Not because of us but because my parents decided to change their flights as well. 'I feel really let down because the whole thing about this green list was to give people certainty. We were told there would be three weeks' notice. 'Obviously, what they actually mean is three weeks' notice of countries coming on the list, not coming off. I certainly felt that if we went away we could have two weeks and have a window. If they are going to change flights at will that just feels wrong. 'It's all very stressful having to fix this as well. We had an afternoon of faffing and sorting out.' Mrs Beddow, a travel blogger, and her husband, a 47-year-old property developer, spent 665 on travel tests for the couple and their three daughters. She said that she felt 'lucky to have made it to Portugal at all'. I had to cancel my last trip too Having cancelled a family holiday to Portugal last year, Laura Wolfe faces more disappointment Having cancelled a family holiday to Portugal last year, Laura Wolfe faces more disappointment. Her two-week trip to the Algarve with her partner Daniel and sons, aged ten and 16, is now in doubt. Miss Wolfe, pictured, said the Government's decision to change the travel status of the country was 'a complete fiasco'. She said: 'Part of us is thinking we might just go. We have saved up and are in a position to do it. And we just love it there. 'But the issue is with the rules, which seem to be changing all of the time, the quarantine and the costs of the testing for four of us. 'If we do say 'sod it' and go, what then happens if the country is placed on the red list? 'The trip isn't for another eight weeks so things could change several times before then.' Although the 6,000 holiday is refundable, the events and marketing worker, from Manchester, said the possibility of cancelling has provoked a lot of anxiety. Miss Wolfe has had both Covid jabs and her partner is about to get his second. 'I thought this was part of why we were doing it,' she said. 'I know there are a lot of unknowns but if I am double-vaccinated and test negative, how can it not be OK for me to go away?' Advertisement Airlines and tour operators began to lay on extra flights after being 'blindsided' by the Government's decision to relegate Portugal to amber over concerns of the so-called Nepal coronavirus variant. Analysts told the Times that more than 1,800 flights were due to depart from the UK to Portugal this month, with almost 345,000 seats available. They said that the decision to change the country's status on the UK travel list would instead terrify Britons into not booking trips overseas this summer. Lauren Dudley, 25, said she was 'gutted' that she and her partner, Theo, 25, would have to delay their trip to Lisbon - and revealed they would not be able to get a refund on the 320 they paid for their two tickets with TAP Portugal. Just one case of the Nepal variant, which combines mutations from the Indian and South African strains, has been detected in Portugal. By comparison, at least 43 cases have been identified in the UK so far. The Airport Operators Association called on ministers to provide a bailout to save jobs if it blocks another holiday season, as it warned this summer could be 'worse than last summer, which was the worst in aviation history'. The move triggered a furious diplomatic row, with Portugal's president accusing UK ministers of 'health fundamentalism' and of being 'obsessed' with infection rates. It also sparked a race among thousands of British holidaymakers in Portugal to get back before quarantine-on-return rules kick in on Tuesday, when the country is formally placed on the amber list. Those booked to go to Portugal in coming weeks were left in limbo over whether to go ahead with their holiday under the tougher quarantine rules or to rebook for later in the summer and hope the country goes green again. Mark Tanzer, chief executive of the travel agents' association Abta, said it was clear the Government's strategy was 'continuing to prevent any meaningful resumption of international travel'. He suggested it was time ministers considered bailing out the industry. He warned: 'You can't build the recovery of a multi-billion-pound sector while mass market holiday destinations remain off the green list. The removal of Portugal comes on the back on what was already a very short and cautious green list. 'Travel agents and tour operators haven't been able to generate income since the start of the pandemic and have been depending on the return of international travel to help bring some much needed relief. 'The Government now needs to come forward with tailored financial support for the sector.' Other travel bosses meanwhile were equally scathing. EasyJet boss Johan Lundgren accused the Government of having 'torn up its own rule book'; Brian Strutton, from the pilots' union, said the decision to axe Portugal from the green list was 'a total disaster for the already fragile travel industry'; while Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, which represents carriers, accused the Government of leading the industry on a 'painful merry dance'. The outcry came after the Government said Portugal would be added to the amber list from next Tuesday, forcing thousands of British holidaymakers to cancel their trips or cut them short to avoid quarantine. It means there will be just 11 countries or territories on the green list, of which only Iceland and Gibraltar are viable holiday destinations. Hopes that the Balearics or Greek islands could be added were also scuppered. Instead, seven countries are being added to the red list, forcing anyone returning from them to quarantine in Government-approved hotels at a cost of up to 1,750 per person. Senior figures warned the about-turn would devastate confidence in foreign holidays because of the uncertainty over whether a green country could suddenly turn amber. In 2019, outbound tourism was worth 11.7billion to the UK economy for the summer months, according to the Future of Aviation Parliamentary Group. If the travel list stays as it is now for June, July and August, then it will only be worth a 200million. Shares in IAG, the parent company of British Airways, fell 5 per cent, with easyJet sinking about the same. Ryanair closed 1.3 per cent lower and TUI fell about 4.5 per cent. BA warned the UK had reached a 'critical point' and was in urgent need of more air travel for business and pleasure to restart the economy and reunite loved ones. Karen Dee, boss of the Airport Operators Association, added: 'Summer 2021 is shaping up to be worse than last summer, which was the worst in aviation history. 'Analysis has shown that 860,000 jobs of the 1.6million UK jobs in aviation, travel and tourism were lost or sustained only due to government furlough schemes since the pandemic started.' Mr Lundgren said: 'The Government has torn up its own rule book and ignored the science, throwing people's plans into chaos, with virtually no notice or alternative options for travel from the UK.' Union boss Mr Stratton said: 'Our airlines need this summer season if they are to survive.' Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye called for rapid action to reopen flights to key trading partners and remove testing for vaccinated passengers from countries on the green list. In Portugal, Joao Fernandes, President of the Algarve Tourist Board, described the UK decision to downgrade Portugal from green to amber as a 'severe setback.' He told Portuguese press: 'We had a very robust and growing demand for the coming weeks from the British market, with flights increasing their capacity and hotel reservations consolidating.' Speaking just before the announcement was made public he added: 'It's obvious any change will have a very significant impact on the Algarve. 'Data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has just come out which places us among the three countries in Europe with the lowest accumulated incidence of coronavirus in the last 14 days per 100,000 inhabitants. 'Before coming to Portugal a British tourist has to do a PCR test. In a European context Britain has the most advanced vaccination programme.' Alfonso Rodriguez Badal, mayor of the municipality of Calvia which includes the popular British holiday resort of Magaluf, said the decision to keep the Balearic Islands on amber was a 'surprise.' He added: 'It's also obviously a disappointment. At least 43 cases of the Nepal coronavirus variant have been identified in the UK As well as Portugal being moved to the amber list from Tuesday at 4am, seven countries are being shifted to the red list 'We were confident we would go onto a green light rating because we understood people here had made a real effort to get our accumulated coronavirus rate down to a very low level to make us one of the safest if not the safest Mediterranean resort. 'Therefore we felt this could give the UK enough confidence to let holidaymakers come here without imposing restrictions on their return. 'It hasn't happened but we are going to continue working towards achieving this and we are confident and hope that the next UK government revision will lead to Calvia and the Balearic Islands and the rest of Spain as well if it can happen, being given that green traffic light rating that will facilitate the arrivals of more tourists here.' Iago Negueruela, regional Tourism Minister for the Balearic Islands which was hoping to be the sole Spanish region to be put on the UK's green traffic light system, said he viewed the decision as that of a 'sovereign state focused on its own domestic health situation' in light of the June 21 Freedom Day date. He added: 'At the moment practically no Mediterranean holiday destination is open for the UK. We respect the British government's decision. 'Given the good vaccination rate in the UK if we can go onto a green rating in the next UK government revision, we'll be in line with the estimations of the major tour operators like TUI and Jet2 who had said they would restart their operations towards the end of June. 'The British market is a very important market for us and we hope to recover it towards the end of this month.' Eduardo Jesus, the Regional Secretary for Culture and Tourism of Madeira, called the UK decision to demote it to amber 'unfair and completely inadequate.' He said: 'We are already reacting with the British government, presenting a set of arguments we believe are valid, and pointing out that this decision is totally incorrect for Madeira, inadequate and above all, very unfair.' He told local press: 'The reality of Madeira has been different from the national reality for a long time, with a model adopted here for controlling entry and monitoring citizens throughout their stay in the region. 'Furthermore, it is important to bear in mind that Madeira is in a much more advanced state with regard to the vaccination process than mainland Portugal and this is also a factor of confidence, not only for those who live here, but also for those who visit us. 'The risk of British citizens traveling to Madeira is reduced by the fact that the overwhelming number of passengers come on direct flights.' In a howl of protest, bosses tell of panic and job loss fears amid yet more chaos Andrew Flintham - TUI Unlike other European countries and despite multiple requests, the Government has refused to be transparent about the data requirements for green, amber and red destinations. We must see the methodology so we can help our customers and plan our operations accordingly. There are destinations around the world with little or no Covid-19 cases and good vaccination rates, so we need to understand why these remain on the amber list. John Holland-Kaye - Heathrow Ministers spent last month hailing the restart of international travel, only to close it down three weeks later, all but guaranteeing another lost summer for the travel sector. Everyone wants to protect public health, but the entire point of the Global Travel Taskforce was to establish a system to unlock low-risk travel safely. Britain is the worst performing economy in the G7, and in the week that the Prime Minister hosts G7 leaders to launch his Government's vision of Global Britain, he's sending a message that the UK will remain isolated from the rest of the world and closed to most of its G7 partners. Johan Lundgren - easyJet When this framework was put together, consumers were promised a waiting list to allow them to plan. Yet the Government has torn up its own rule book and ignored the science, throwing people's plans into chaos, with virtually no notice or alternative options for travel from the UK. This decision essentially cuts the UK off from the rest of the world. Brian Strutton - Balpa (Airline Pilots Association) This decision is a total disaster for the already fragile travel industry and is likely to lead to further airline failures and many more job losses. Any shred of public confidence is in tatters and the traffic light system seems stuck on red. Tim Alderslade - Airlines UK This is no way to treat passengers. The Government promised a green watchlist to avoid this very scenario of people being stranded overseas where is it? This decision just adds to the belief that ministers don't actually want international travel this summer, and want to cut off the UK from the rest of the world despite the success of the vaccination programme. If that is the case they should be open and tell us rather than leading us and our customers further down this painful merry dance, and put in place longer-term support measures for an industry now on its knees. Paul Charles - The PC Agency They are basically putting at risk tens of thousands of jobs across aviation and the travel sector, and not showing any signs of helping the sector to recover. They seem to want to continue to create an atmosphere of fear among travellers, which is totally at odds with other countries. There are several countries which meet the criteria to be on the green list, so this is clearly a politically-charged decision rather than one based on data. Advertisement Jab should give freedom, not timorous isolation... This decision to add seven more countries to the red list is a savage blow to the travel sector, writes Easyjet boss JOHAN LUNDGREN By Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet For the Daily Mail After all the misery inflicted by the Covid pandemic, the travel industry desperately needed a shot in the arm. Instead it has just been given a kick in the teeth. At the very moment that Britain should be opening up, given that the virus is in retreat, the Government has decided to impose more restrictions. In a depressing step backwards, it was announced yesterday that seven additional countries are joining the red list of high-risk destinations, including such popular hotspots such as Egypt, Sri Lanka and Trinidad. Even more regrettably, the Government has actually removed Portugal from the green list of countries where journeys can be made without any requirements for quarantining and self-isolation. 'At the very moment that Britain should be opening up, given that the virus is in retreat, the Government has decided to impose more restrictions' This decision is a savage blow to the sector and to thousands of Britons, who are either in Portugal at the moment or had booked trips to go there soon. Some will lose money, others will have holiday plans ruined and for what? The exclusion of Portugal makes no sense and is wholly unjustified by science, since the country's rates of Covid infection are much the same as the United Kingdom's. Nor is there any sign of disease beginning to surge again in Portugal, with hospital admissions and deaths at extremely low levels. Indeed, the whole current system is riddled with gross inconsistencies and anomalies. 'This decision is a savage blow to the sector and to thousands of Britons, who are either in Portugal at the moment or had booked trips to go there soon' The British Government pledged to give special consideration to European islands, but that looks like another broken promise. The Balearic Islands off Spain have a current Covid infection rate of just 33 per 100,000 people significantly lower than the 50 per 100,000 in Britain yet they remain on the amber list. Similarly, restrictions still apply to Malta, where the infection rate is just 12 per 100,000. The reality is that, with the Covid crisis now rapidly diminishing throughout the continent, nearly all of Europe could be put on the British Government's green list and such a step would not have any negative impact on the United Kingdom. The absurdity of the Government's stance is further highlighted by the fact that there are no restraints on domestic travel by car, train or air around Britain, yet a number of places badly affected by the Delta variant have far more serious Covid problems than most of Europe. Britain's ill-conceived approach is costing the airline industry millions of pounds. Jobs are being lost, livelihoods destroyed Yesterday's decision makes a mockery of the political rhetoric which promised that the vaccine programme would bring back normality and freedom. The jabs were meant to allow us back to the beaches of Spain and villages of France. Yesterday, an important milestone was reached as more than half of the adult British population has now received two doses. Shouldn't that have been the cue for great travel liberation rather than more tightening? It is highly unconvincing of the Government to argue that caution is needed because of the risk from new variants. That is a recipe for a permanent shutdown. As the distinguished Oxford professor Sir John Bell put it this week: 'If we scamper down the rabbit hole every time we see a new variant, we are going to spend a long time huddled away.' If ministers think that Britons should not travel, then they should be honest, instead of presiding over endless chaos that wrecks plans, promotes frustration and damages business. But rather than being gripped by fear, they should look across to Europe where Governments are embracing openness. Typical is the Netherlands, which allows unrestricted travel, without any further tests, both for anyone who has been fully vaccinated or anyone comes from a country that has an infection of less than 150 per 100,000. 'If ministers think that Britons should not travel, then they should be honest, instead of presiding over endless chaos that wrecks plans, promotes frustration and damages business' Britain's ill-conceived approach is costing the airline industry millions of pounds. Jobs are being lost, livelihoods destroyed. This month alone, 1,800 flights were due to depart from Britain for Portugal. In light of the green list decision, many of those will now have to be withdrawn. In one sense my own company of easyJet is lucky, in that 50 per cent of our operations are outside Europe. Even so, like the rest of the industry, we have been badly affected. A radical change in thinking is needed. Brexit, we were told, was a great opportunity for Britain to take its place on the global stage as a buccaneering, ambitious nation. That chance is now being squandered as ministers pull us into timorous isolation. Another leg of former President Donald Trump's summer tour was announced Thursday, with the ex-president headlining a Conservative Political Action Conference event in Dallas next month. Fox News Channel first reported Trump's involvement in the CPAC event, which like the annual February conference Trump spoke at, will be hold under the America UnCanceled' banner. Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, the organizer of CPAC events, explained that theme means taking on the 'Silicon Valley censorship czars' and 'woke school boards,' among other alleged enemies of the conservative movement. Former President Donald Trump will headline another Conservative Political Action Conference event, as the ex-president heads to Dallas in July, with new rallies expected to be scheduled this month Former President Donald Trump (left) shakes the hand of American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp (right) who said CPAC's 'America UnCanceled' theme means taking on 'Silicon Valley censorship czars' and 'woke school boards' 'Were honored that he'll join us in Dallas and remind us that freedom means never being silenced,' Schlapp told Fox. He said a 'corrupt alliance of Jim-Crow-shouting elected officials dead-set on cutting out voter ID, Silicon Valley censorship czars, woke school boards and corporate CEOs, and a legacy media operation on life support are working together to silence and cancel the voices and votes of conservatives.' Trump has found himself without the help of Facebook or Twitter to get his message out since the January 6 MAGA Capitol attack. He launched a short-lived 'From the desk of Donald J. Trump' blog, but killed the site on Wednesday. Trump is expected to restart his rallies sometime this month, with the Republican National Committee sending out emails promoting the future events. On Saturday he'll headline the North Carolina Republican Party Convention at a dinner in Greenville, North Carolina. However, that speech will be closed to the press, Livy Polen, a spokeswoman for the NC GOP told the Associated Press last month. Trump's first post-presidential speech was held at the annual CPAC event in February, which this year took place in Orlando instead of Washington, D.C., as the COVID-19 protocols were less restrictive. His appearance in Dallas will take place during the CPAC event scheduled for July 9 through 11. A BBC anchorman wore shorts and deck shoes under the desk while reading a serious news bulletin on Wednesday, the hottest day of the year. Though broadcaster Shaun Ley, 51, was dressed in a jacket and tie from the waist up, eagle-eyed viewers spotted his legs in a split-second side view. He appeared grim-faced and serious from the front while explaining coronavirus travel rules and the political turmoil engulfing Israel. But one Twitter user jibed: 'Is BBC news reader Shaun Ley keeping his cool by wearing shorts? And if so, were viewers meant to find out?' A BBC anchorman wore shorts and deck shoes under the desk while reading a serious news bulletin on Wednesday on the hottest day of the year Though broadcaster Shaun Ley, 51, was dressed in a jacket and tie from the waist up, eagle-eyed viewers spotted his legs in a split-second side view One Twitter user jibed: 'Is BBC news reader Shaun Ley keeping his cool by wearing shorts? And if so, were viewers meant to find out?' Another explained: 'It's hot today in London (where Broadcasting House, which is where their newsroom, is located), that's why he's wearing shorts.' On Wednesday, temperatures peaked at 82.9F (28.3C) in Northolt, west London after hitting previous 2021 highs on Tuesday with 79F (26.1C) in Cardiff and 77.2F (25.1C) at Kinlochewe in the Highlands on bank holiday Monday. Guests reviewing the newspapers appeared to be stifling laughter when they turned to him to discuss the serious issues of the day. Mr Ley was still in casual attire as midnight approached, but was wearing glasses. He was also spotted wearing shorts while reading the news in late April. Another Twitter user explained: 'It's hot today in London (where Broadcasting House, which is where their newsroom, is located), that's why he's wearing shorts' He was also spotted wearing shorts while reading the news in late April At the time, one Twitter user posted: 'Must be warm in the @BBCNews studio, Shaun Ley wearing shorts - Behind a desk maybe but come on'. The Devon-born presenter lives in west London, where he has been spotted strolling in shorts to get a tan, according to the Sun. He joined the BBC from university in 1990 and has worked on Radio 4's World at One, and hosted shows about his beloved Doctor Who. Watching the headlines, Justyna Tosun, 34, told the Sun: 'I roared with laughter! He'd been reading all this gloomy news when I realised he had no trousers on. 'It was hilarious because he looked like a bank manager from the waist up - and a holidaymaker from the waist down.' She added: 'It was like something out of a comedy show.' The BBC has been contacted for comment. Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins has been hospitalised to protect her welfare, three months after alleging she was raped in Parliament House. Her boyfriend David Sharaz told Guardian Australia she was recovering after being admitted on Thursday night over concerns for her well-being. He said she was 'receiving the support she needs after months of sustained political pressure'. Former political staffer Brittany Higgins is pictured in April as she leaves the Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices after meeting with Prime Minister Scott Morrison Ms Higgins shocked the nation earlier this year when she alleged she was raped by a colleague in former defence minister Linda Reynolds' office after a boozy night out in March 2019. She made a complaint to police in February and officers have almost concluded their investigation, meaning a decision on whether to charge her alleged rapist is imminent. Ms Higgins' hospitalisation comes after a report found Scott Morrison's advisers did not spread smears about her boyfriend - a former civil servant - to journalists in a practice known as 'backgrounding'. Mr Sharaz believes the prime minister's spin doctors told journalists that he had a grudge against the government which could explain Ms Higgins' decision to allege she was raped. Mr Morrison tabled the findings of the 'backgrounding' investigation by his chief of staff John Kunkel in parliament last week. Earlier that week Labor had named members of the prime minister's staff accused of 'back-grounding' journalists about Mr Sharaz during a feisty Senate estimates hearing. Brittany Higgins speaks at the Canberra March 4 Justice on March 15 Protesters attend the March 4 Justice Rally on March 15, 2021 in Canberra The four-page report by Mr Morrison's chief of staff John Kunkel found only 'hearsay' to back up the claims of 'backgrounding'. 'I do not make a finding that negative briefing against Mr Sharaz of the sort alleged has taken place,' he wrote. 'My conclusion, based on the evidence presented to me, should in no way be taken as a reflection upon the honesty or sincerity of Ms Higgins.' Labor's Katy Gallagher had said one journalist who came forward and forced the hand of the prime minister to launch the investigation had since withdrawn their evidence. She questioned why Dr Kunkel would ask the victim of an alleged rape at Parliament House in March 2019 to now demonstrate that the backgrounding occurred. 'This looks like an attempt to push back on Ms Higgins very strongly and it seems extremely unfair to me,' Senator Gallagher said. Ms Higgins came forward with her allegation in February, two years after the alleged rape. She sparked an outpouring of anger over the treatment of women and spoke at a March 4 Justice rally in Canberra in March, dressed in all white. Ms Higgins has also signed a deal with Penguin books to write about her experience. She has pledged to give half the money she makes to the Canberra rape crisis centre which helped her following the incident. SpaceX has launched 50,000 microscopic living animals into space on Thursday in a bid to examine how extended stays in space might affect human health. The animals - including glow-in-the-dark squid, worms, and tardigrades, were blasted to the International Space Station on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on Thursday morning. They will be studied in microgravity to try and improve the lives of astronauts while in space, and discover how long-term stays in space could affect human health. The hope is that studying the impact of spaceflight on 128 baby bobtail squid, which have an immune system similar to humans, could help preserve astronaut health on long-duration space missions. Those creatures will be used as part of research into the effects of spaceflight on beneficial interactions between microbes and animals. 'Animals, including humans, rely on our microbes to maintain a healthy digestive and immune system. We do not fully understand how spaceflight alters these beneficial interactions,' Jamie Foster, the experiment's principal investigator said. Scroll down for video SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket Thursday for the firms 22nd resupply mission delivering 7,300 pounds of experiments and other vital cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) The hope is that studying the impact of spaceflight on 128 baby bobtail squid, which have an immune system similar to humans, could help preserve astronaut health on long-duration space missions Tiny water bears: NASA hopes to pinpoint genes of Tardigrades that protect it from harsh environments with the aim of better protecting astronauts from the stressors of space Scientists want to understand more about human muscle loss and how to prevent it. It is also hoped the research could help shed light on developing new treatments for muscular dystrophies a group of inherited genetic conditions that gradually cause the muscles to weaken. The worms, known as Caenorhabditis elegans, are about 1mm in size and known to share many of the biological characteristics as humans. They are also affected by the biological changes caused by living in space which includes changes to muscle mass and the ability to use energy. Dr. Bethan Philips, associate professor of clinical, metabolic and molecular physiology at the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham, said: 'Since the dawn of the space age, there have been concerns that space travel can be harmful to astronauts. 'We are very excited that this latest mission will enable us to build on the work we have already done to not only further explore what causes muscle loss with spaceflight, but to also look at how to prevent it.' Approximately 20,000 tardigrades microscopic water-dwelling animals capable of surviving harsh environments on both Earth and in space will also be on the flight. They will be studied with the aim of identifying specific genes involved in their adaptation and survival in high-stress environments. Weather was 60 percent favorable for launch Tardigrades, also known as water bears, have proven to be virtually impossible to kill they can be frozen, boiled, crushed and even zapped with radiation but still survive. Such powerful abilities caught the attention of NASA, which hopes to pinpoint genes that protect the creatures from harsh environments with the hopes of better protecting astronauts from the stressors of space. Alongside the squid, worms and tardigrades, the payload will include cotton and tissue chips to help researchers better understand how microgravity impacts plant resilience and the formation of kidney stones, respectively. Kidney stones, often painful and debilitating, have long been a serious concern for astronauts, who have reported them more than 30 times post-flight. To better understand what causes their formation, scientists are sending the ISS crew tissue chips that make up a 3D kidney cell model, which will monitored for changes while in microgravity. The rocket ignited its nine Merlin engines at 1:30pm ET from Pad 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida WHAT EXPERIMENTS ARE SPACEX SENDING TO THE ISS? Squid: Determining whether spaceflight alters the mutually beneficial relationship between microbes and their animal hosts. This could support development of protective measures and mitigation to preserve astronaut health on long-duration space missions. Tardigrades: Identify gene that helps them survive harsh conditions. Scientists hope this gene could be used to better protect astronauts. Worms: Understand more about human muscle loss and how to prevent it. Also, hope is to develop new treatments for muscular dystrophies Cotton: Define which environmental factors and genes control root development in the absence of gravity. The findings could help uncover agriculture methods for plants amid climate change. Tissue chips: Understanding how kidney stones form in microgravity. This experiment aims to not only help astronauts, but also those suffering with kidney stones on Earth. Ultrasound: A portable ultrasound will be tested in microgravity to collect crew feedback. This device could be used by astronauts going to Mars who are in need of medical attention. Advertisement Also along for the ride to the orbiting laboratory is cotton, which has a gene that allows it to thrive in droughts and other stressful conditions. Improved understanding of cotton root systems and associated gene expression could enable development of more robust cotton plants and reduce water and pesticide use. The final experiment in the payload is a portable ultrasound, called Butterfly IQ Ultrasound, which will be studied to see how it operates in microgravity. The experiment collects crew feedback on ease of handling and quality of the ultrasound images, including image acquisition, display and storage. Testing of the ultrasound could be vital for missions to Mars, as astronauts will not have traditional medical devices in the event of an emergency. Falcon 9, whose cargo weighed 7,300 pounds, ignited its nine Merlin engines at 1:30pm ET from Pad 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Falcon 9 released fire and clouds of white smoke from its base, shot off into space and then reentered the atmosphere upon separation of the CRS-22 Dragon cargo ship in space. The rocket fell back to Earth and made a successfully landing on the droneship, 'I Still Love You' that was waiting in the Atlantic Ocean. Weather was 60 percent favorable for launch, although the rocket blasted into a hazy afternoon sky from Kennedy Space Center. Unlike previous cargo missions, the booster used in Thursday's event is completely new and will be recycled for a NASA astronaut flight this fall. The Dragon cargo capsule - also brand new - is delivering the first of three sets of high-tech solar panels designed to bolster the space station's aging power grid. Astronauts will conduct two spacewalks later this month to help install the two roll-out panels alongside solar wings that have been in continuous operation for 20 years. Unlike previous cargo missions, the booster used in Thursday's event is completely new and will be recycled for a NASA astronaut flight this fall The Dragon capsule, meanwhile, is heading to the ISS, where it is due to arrive on Saturday, June 5 at 5:00 EDT (10:00 BST). It will include fresh supplies for the station's astronaut crew, the scientific experiments and two new roll-out solar arrays to be installed during upcoming spacewalks. Astronauts will conduct two spacewalks later this month to help install the two roll-out panels alongside solar wings that have been in continuous operation for 20 years. Pictured is the second stage firing off in space The Dragon capsule, meanwhile, is heading to the ISS, where it is due to arrive on Saturday, June 5 at 5:00 EDT The rocket fell back to Earth and made a successfully landing on the droneship 'I Still Love You' that was waiting in the Atlantic Ocean Off to space: NASA is sending glow-in-the-dark squid to the International Space Station as part of scientific research tasked with finding new ways of bettering the human body Scientific tests: Also along for the ride to the orbiting laboratory is a portable ultrasound, called Butterfly IQ Ultrasound, which will be analyzed to see how it operates in microgravity The final experiment in the payload will study cotton, which has a gene that allows it to thrive in droughts and other stressful conditions Cases of noble false widow spider bites are on the rise in the UK and can be serious enough as to require hospital treatment, scientists have warned. Despite having become one of the most common arachnids in many urban parts of the UK, the exact health threat they pose has long been a subject of debate. Experts from the National University of Ireland, Galway, however, have shown that their venom can trigger reactions similar to those seen with true black widow bites. They analysed 16 instances of false widow bites, bringing the total number of confirmed cases reported in scientific literature up to 24. Symptoms can include pain, swelling, nausea, tremors, altered blood pressure, impaired mobility and in rare cases minor wounds and severe bacteria infections. The team also found that most noble false widow bites occur in the home, with 88 per cent occurring while the victim slept or had the spider trapped in their clothes. The researchers have established a DNA database to aid doctors with bite analysis even when the offending spider itself has been squashed beyond recognition. Those who suspect they have been bitten by a false widow spider and are experiencing severe symptoms should seek medical assistance. WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT Cases of bites from the noble false widow spider (pictured) are on the rise in the United Kingdom and can be serious enough as to require hospital treatment, scientists have warned Despite having become one of the most common arachnids in many urban parts of the UK, the exact health threat they posed has long been a subject of debate. Experts from the National University of Ireland, Galway, however, have shown that their venom can trigger reactions similar to those seen with true black widow bites. Pictured: a finger swollen by a painful bite NOBLE FALSE WIDOW BITE SYMPTOMS Bites from the noble false widow spider can trigger symptoms that are both localised and systemic, and can range from light to debilitating pain and mild to intense swelling. Other reported symptoms include: Elevated or lowered blood pressure Impaired mobility Nausea Tremors In rare cases, victims have also been known to develop minor wounds at the puncture site and/or required treatment for severe bacterial infections as a result of the bite. Advertisement 'In addition to their medically significant venom, noble false widows are extremely adaptable and competitive in the wild,' said paper author and venom expert Michel Dugon of the National University of Ireland, Galway. 'Two decades ago, this species was almost unknown in Ireland, the UK or in continental Europe. We still have much to learn about its genetics, origin, behaviour and development. 'One thing is certain, though this species is here to stay, and we must learn how to live with it.' Having originated on the Canary Islands and Madeira, the noble false widow is now in the running to be one of the world's most invasive species of spider, having made it parts of Europe, North and West Africa, California, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador. The reason for this expansion in range, as well as population density, is not clear, the researchers said, although one likely explanation comes in a genetic mutation which has made the species more capable of adapting to new environments. Their travel from country to country, meanwhile, has been facilitated by our increasingly global economy, with the spider able to accidentally hitchhike in crates and shipping containers to far-flung parts of the globe. The noble false widow was first spotted in England in 1879 and since is most commonly reported from the southern counties, although its range is thought to be increasing northwards thanks, in no small part, to the recent spate of mild winters. This spider is said to thrive in seaside cities and villages that have a temperate climate, but they are also are capable of establishing themselves in urban environments more broadly and can rapidly reach large population numbers. As a result, the noble false widow is now one of the most commonly reported spiders found in urban settings in parts of Britain and Ireland, with their increasing presence in homes leading to a rise in painful, venomous bites. 'Approximately ten species of Irish spiders have fangs large enough to bite through human skin,' noted paper author and toxicologist Aiste Vitkauskaite, also of Galway. 'Yet over the past five years, we have never heard of anybody being bitten by any of the native species. 'Within the same period, we have recorded dozens of confirmed or probable False Widow bites. These spiders will become increasingly common and so will their bites.' The experts have established a DNA database to aid doctors with bite analysis even when the offending spider itself has been squashed beyond recognition. Pictured: a noble false widow The team also found that most noble false widow bites (pictured) occur in the home with 88 per cent occurring while the victim slept or had the spider trapped in their clothes 'Speculations around the potential severity of the bites by the Noble False Widow have been debated for many years,' said paper author and venom system expert John Dunbar, also of the National University of Ireland, Galway. 'Our latest study confirms without a doubt that Noble False Widows can cause severe envenomations (the process by which venom is injected). 'We only compiled envenomation cases where we had a clear identification of the spider responsible for the bite. We had to rely on DNA extraction and genetic profiling to confirm some cases. 'This species is increasing its range and population density which will undoubtedly lead to an increase in bites (since submitting our study in March we have already received further confirmed bite cases). 'While most cases will have a mild outcome, we need to continue to closely monitor bites by the Noble False Widow to understand the potential range of symptoms and to treat severe cases when they occur.' The team have encouraged members if the public who think that they might have been bitted by a noble false widow spider to get in contact with them. 'We are encouraging people to capture a photograph of the spider immediately after being bitten,' Dr Dunbar added. The full findings of the study were published in the journal Clinical Toxicology. 'In addition to their medically significant venom, noble false widows are extremely adaptable and competitive in the wild,' said Michel Dugon of the National University of Ireland, Galway Symptoms of noble false widow bites can include nausea, tremors, elevated or lowered blood pressure, impaired mobility and in rare cases minor wounds (pictured) and bacteria infections Having originated on the Canary Islands and Madeira (pictured above), the noble false widow is now in the running to be one of the world's most invasive species of spider, having made it parts of Europe, North and West Africa, California, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador Amazon's Ring doorbell camera aims to rid itself of a bad reputation of facilitating surveillance by making video footage requests from law enforcement more transparent, the company said on Thursday. Starting next week, law enforcement must submit information or video requests through a new, publicly viewable post category on its neighborhood watch app, Neighbors, called Request for Assistance. Public safety agencies can also use these posts to notify specific communities of an incident, along with seek information regarding an investigation. Previously, Ring device owners would receive private messages from the app on behalf of police looking for videos. Scroll down for video Amazon's Ring doorbell camera is to make law enforcement make request for users' video footage through its neighborhood watch app more transparent Ring is a smart security device company whose video doorbell product allows users to see and record people who approach their doorsteps, deterring theft and allowing them to monitor around their homes. It was bought by tech giant Amazon in 2018 and has since become a hot topic among the cybersecurity community due to law enforcement having access to users' footage. Ring's partnerships with US law enforcement agencies have drawn particular attention. Hundreds of police and fire departments have joined the Neighbors app, according to Ring's active agency tracker. Last year alone, law enforcement agencies filed 22,337 individual requests for Ring videos, according to data compiled by Lauren Bridges, a PhD candidate at University of Pennsylvania, who shared the data with The Guardian. Starting next week, law enforcement must submit information or video requests through a new, publicly viewable post category on Neighbors called Request for Assistance Ring said its new 'Request for Assistance' feature in the Neighbors app will roll out starting next week. 'Since our founding, we have been committed to improving our products and services by listening to and incorporating feedback from all parts of our communities,' Ring shared in the Thursday announcement. 'As part of this effort, we have spent the past year working with independent third-party experts to identify ways to provide customers with greater insight into how public safety agencies use the Neighbors app, including how they inform and request help from those around them. ' Ring made it very clear that no information would be shared with agencies without users choosing to do so and that requests can be issued only by verified agency profiles and request history will be logged online, so users can see how their police force is using the posts. Social apps focused on neighborhood safety have also come under increasing scrutiny in recent months. Crowdsourced crime-tracking app Citizen was recently blasted for putting a $30,000 reward to find a man it wrongly said was an arson suspect. The company has said it regrets the mistake and is working to improve its internal processes. Citizen has also sparked controversy over what it said were internal tests for a service that would deploy rapid-response security personnel to app users in Los Angeles. Ring is a smart security device company whose video doorbell product allows users to see and record people who approach their doorsteps, deterring theft and allowing them to monitor around their homes Hyper-local site Nextdoor, which attracted more users during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been criticized for failing to more quickly address racial profiling and misinformation on the site. The site has said it is adding user prompts and moderator training to mitigate these issues. Ring said on Thursday it had rules in place to prevent 'overly broad requests' from agencies on the Neighbors app, such as needing a valid case number and limiting the time frame and area in a request. Amazon also recently extended its one-year moratorium on police use of its facial-recognition technology, which it says is not used in Ring products. Another day, another theory on what interstellar object 'Oumuamua is. In a new study, researchers from Yale University believe that the first-known interstellar visitor, which flew past Earth four years ago, is not an alien craft or space rock, but rather a 35-million-year old hydrogen iceberg from deep space. The findings, which have been published in the pre-print journal Arxiv, suggest the object emanated from a giant molecular cloud (GMC), a type of interstellar cloud that allow the formation of molecules, usually hydrogen. By contrast, most other interstellar formations are ionized gas. Although hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, H2 ice is rarely seen in nature as it requires exceptionally cold temperatures to form, such as the ones that exist in GMCs. 'If a true physical association exists, we would expect 'Oumuamua's trajectory to intersect the trajectory of the source association at the time of the latter's formation,' the scientists wrote in the study. 'Moreover, this constraint should be satisfied regardless of whether 'Oumuamua was a comet-like object ejected from a protoplanetary disk, or alternately, a product of the parent GMC itself.' Yale University researchers believe 'Oumuamua is a 35-million-year old hydrogen iceberg from deep space The experts gave two possible GMCs from where 'Oumuamua -- which means 'pathfinder' or 'scout' in Hawaiian -- could have originated: the Carina-Near moving group and the Columba association. Of the two, they believe that 'Oumuamua's orbit with trajectories of nearby moving groups confirms 'that its motion is fully consistent with membership in the Carina moving group.' Both GMCs are in deep space, at roughly 100 and 160 million light-years from Earth, respectively. A light-year, which measures distance in space, is roughly 6 trillion miles. The researchers gave two possible giant molecular clouds (GMC) where 'Oumuamua could have originated: the Carina moving group (pictured) and the Columba association. Of the two, they believe that 'Oumuamua's orbit with trajectories of nearby moving groups confirms 'that its motion is fully consistent with membership in the Carina moving group' GMCs are a type of interstellar cloud that allow the formation of molecules, usually hydrogen. Its origins from the Columba association (pictured) are less likely than that from the Carina moving group As for its composition, hydrogen (H2) ice, something rarely seen in nature, is a likely explanation. This could account for its odd, cigar-like shape and the fact that 'Oumuamua appeared to accelerate in space, the researchers note. Because of the low amount of heat required to change it from a solid to gas, 'exposed H2 ice need only cover several percent of 'Oumuamua's surface in order to produced the observed acceleration,' researchers wrote in the study. 'The transient nature of H2 ice thus naturally accounts for 'Oumuamua's exceedingly young kinematics, as well as the strange shape,' they added. The two GMCs, which have no clear boundaries and can be seen in the night sky, may produce more interstellar objects over time, the researchers added. The new study comes almost a year to the day when a separate study from Yale University also suggested that 'Oumuamua is comprised of hydrogen ice. Others have suggested the 900ft-long object was an alien space probe because of its cigar-like shape, but those had come under intense scrutiny. Customers using the drive-thru at 10 McDonald's locations in Chicago are not ordering burgers and fries with human employees, but machines using artificial intelligence. The fast-food chain is testing voice recognition software at select locations that has shown to be 85 percent accurate. But close to one in five orders need human intervention, CNBC reports. CEO Chris Kempczinski made the announcement Wednesday, but also explained that the software may not roll out to all of the fast-food chain's 14,000 locations. 'Now there's a big leap from going to 10 restaurants in Chicago to 14,000 restaurants across the U.S., with an infinite number of promo permutations, menu permutations, dialect permutations, weather and on and on and on,' Kempczinski said, per CNBC. The technology, according to McDonald's, aims to shorten the wait at the drive-thru by a yet to-be determined amount of time. Scroll down for video Customers using the drive-thru at 10 McDonald's locations in Chicago are not ordering burgers and fries with human employees, but artificial intelligent-powered machines When a customer pulls up to the large menu board in the drive-thru, a digital voice immediately says: 'Hey there. Welcome to McDonald's. What would you like to order?' Customers read off their orders and confirm them on a digital display. McDonald's has increasingly adopted technology over the years former CEO Steve Easterbrook redesigned the brand in 2019 with tech savvy machines. Easterbrook also acquired Apprente, which uses artificial intelligence software to take drive-thru orders, and now the technology is finally making its way into some fast-food locations. CEO Chris Kempczinski (pictured) made the announcement Wednesday, but also explained that the software may not roll out to all of the fast-food chain's 14,000 locations 'We've never been more focused on improving the experience of the drive-through, in particular, the speed of service,' McDonald's said in a 2019 earnings report, following the acquisition announcement of Apprente. Easterbrook also acquired Israeli digital startup Dynamic Yield, which offers AI menus that suggests items based on the time of day, weather or recent trends. McDonald's is also planning to automate the kitchen with robotic fryers and grills, Kempczinski told CNBC. However, such technology may not launch for another five years. Replacing human McDonald's workers with robots has been a hot topic for years in the US, which started nearly five years ago, when workers at the company wanted the minimum wage increased to $15. McDonald's is one company that seems to change with the times former CEO Steve Easterbrook redesigned the brand in 2019 with tech savvy machines At the time, former McDonald's USA CEO Ed Rensi said it would be cheaper to hire robots to replace the company's staff than to pay the wage many were demanding in protests across the country. 'It's cheaper to buy a $35,000 robotic arm than it is to hire an employee who's inefficient making $15 an hour bagging French fries,' Rensi told Fox Business in May 2016. 'If you can't get people for a reasonable minimum wage, you're going to get machines to do the work,' he concluded, adding that such developments wouldn't just be restricted to the fast-food industry. A massive gamma-ray blast more than a billion light years from Earth is the largest explosion in the Universe ever detected and recorded by astronomers. The explosive event was the death of a star and the start of its transformation into a black hole, according to experts from the German Electron Synchrotron in Hamburg. This was a massive gamma-ray burst, made up of a combination of bright X-ray and gamma-ray flashes observed in the sky, emitted by distant extragalactic sources. It was detected by space-based Fermi and Swift telescopes, with support from the Earth-based High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S) telescope in Namibia. Artist's impression of a relativistic jet of a gamma-ray burst (GRB), breaking out of a collapsing star, and emitting very-high-energy photons WHAT CAUSED THE EXPLOSIVE BURST? In a distant galaxy, a massive, dying star collapses, creating a neutron star or a black hole. In the process, two vertical relativistic plasma jets are formed, which break through the star's envelope. The star eventually explodes in a supernova. The plasma jets plow through the surrounding gas and collect electrons. These electrons are deflected by magnetic fields in the jet and accelerated by the shock wave. With each deflection, the fast electrons then emit light particles in the range of X-rays and gamma rays. This light is called synchrotron radiation and is focused in the direction of the plasma beam by relativistic effects. If you look directly into the jet from the front, the event becomes visible as a gamma ray burst. Around 900 million years later, the radiation from this gamma ray burst reaches Earth and is registered by satellites and telescopes. Advertisement Despite being a billion light years from the Earth, this is considered within our 'cosmic backyard,' coming from the constellation of Eridanus. It the most energetic radiation and with the longest gamma-ray afterglow of any gamma-ray burst discovered to date, say the German team who spotted it. Previous gamma-ray bursts have been an average of 20 billion light years away. The burst, named GRB 190829A, was first detected on August 29, 2019. 'The observations with H.E.S.S. challenge the established idea of how gamma-rays are produced in these colossal stellar explosions which are the birth cries of black holes,' the team said. Dr Andrew Taylor from German Electron Synchrotron (DESY), co-author of the said they were 'in the front row' when the gamma-ray burst happened. 'We could observe the afterglow for several days and to unprecedented gamma-ray energies,' the DESY scientist explained. The comparatively short distance to this gamma-ray burst allowed detailed measurements of the afterglow's spectrum, that is the distribution of photon energies of the radiation in a very high energy range. Co-author Edna Ruiz-Velasco, a PhD student from the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Germany, was also involved in the research. She said they were able to determine its spectrum up to 3.3 tera-electronvolts, or a trillion times as energetic as photons within visible light. 'This is what's so exceptional about this gamma-ray burst - it happened in our cosmic backyard,' Ruiz-Velasco explained. 'The very-high-energy photons were not absorbed in collisions with background light on their way to Earth, as it happens over larger distances in the cosmos.' The team could follow the afterglow of GRB 190829A, only the fourth gamma-ray burst detected from the ground, up to three days after the initial explosion. However, the earlier detected explosions occurred much farther away and their afterglow could only be observed for a few hours each and at much lower energies. DESY scientist Sylvia Zhu, one of the authors of the paper said these bursts are the biggest explosions int he universe, caused by the collapse of a rapidly rotating star. X-rays from the gamma-ray burst were detected by NASA's Swift satellite in Earth's orbit. Very-high-energy gamma rays entered the atmosphere and initiated air showers that were detected by the H.E.S.S. telescopes from the ground (artist's impression) WHAT ARE GAMMA RAY BURSTS? Gamma ray bursts (GRBs), energetic jets of gamma rays that come from black holes, can be created in two different ways resulting in long or short GRBs. They are created from some of the most violent deaths in the universe. Long GRBs last about a minute, and scientist think they are produced by supernova: when the core of a massive star collapses to become a black hole. Short GRBs last a second and are produced when two neutron stars merge. Advertisement These stars are in their final moments before turning into a black hole, when a fraction of the liberated gravitational energy feeds the production of an ultrarelativistic blast wave - detected as a gamma-ray burst. 'Their emission is divided into two distinct phases: an initial chaotic prompt phase lasting tens of seconds, followed by a long-lasting, smoothly fading afterglow phase,' explained Zhu. The team could follow the afterglow up to three days after the initial explosion. The result came as a surprise as observations revealed curious similarities between the X-ray and very-high energy gamma-ray emissions from the afterglow. Established theories assume that the two emission components must be produced by separate mechanism, similar to how particle accelerators on Earth produce bright X-rays for scientific investigations. However, according to existing theories it seemed very unlikely that even the most powerful explosions in the universe could accelerate electrons enough to directly produce the observed very-high-energy gamma rays. This is due to a 'burn-off limit', which is determined by the balance of acceleration and cooling of particles within an accelerator on Earth. But the observations of GRB 190829A's afterglow now show that both components, X-ray and gamma ray, faded in sync. Also, the gamma-ray spectrum clearly matched an extrapolation of the X-ray spectrum. Together, these results are a strong indication that X-rays and very-high-energy gamma rays in this afterglow were produced by the same mechanism. Artist's impression of very-high-energy photons from a gamma-ray burst entering Earths' atmosphere and initiating air showers that are being recorded by the telescopes of the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) in Namibia. 'It is rather unexpected to observe such remarkably similar spectral and temporal characteristics in the X-ray and very-high energy gamma-ray energy bands, if the emission in these two energy ranges had different origins,' says co-author Dmitry Khangulyan from Rikkyo University in Tokyo. The far-reaching implication of this possibility highlights the need for further studies of very-high energy GRB afterglow emission. H.E.S.S spokesperson Stefan Wagner, said the prospects for the detection of gamma-ray bursts by next-generation instruments looks promising. This includes the Cherenkov Telescope Array that is currently being built in the Chilean Andes and on the Canary Island of La Palma. 'The general abundance of gamma-ray bursts leads us to expect that regular detections in the very-high energy band will become rather common, helping us to fully understand their physics,' he said. The paper was published in the journal Science. The 'Storegga slide' an underwater collapse 8,200 years ago that triggered a huge tidal wave demolished 373 miles of Scotland's coastline, a study found. Had it happened today, with our higher sea levels, it would have demolished part of all of towns such as Aberdeen, Inverness, Arbroath, Montrose, Stonehaven and Wick. All have substantial built-up areas that sit just 33 feet (10 metres) above sea level and directly face the shore which leaves them vulnerable to such tsunamis. The 98-foot (30-metre) wave, which caused the UK's largest natural disaster in 11,000 years, was triggered by a 36,680 square mile landslide in the Norwegian Sea. Researchers led from Sheffield University analysed and dated sediment deposits left behind by the ancient tsunami to model the wave's impact on the Scottish coast. This allowed them to reveal, for the first time, that the monstrous wave succeeded in travelling as far as 18.6 miles (30 kilometres) inland in some locations. Scroll down for video The 'Storegga slide' an underwater collapse 8,200 years ago that triggered a huge tidal wave demolished 373 miles of Scottish coastline, a study found. Pictured: the locations around the shores of Scotland where the Storegga tsunami left sediment deposits in its wake Researchers led from Sheffield University analysed and dated soil deposits left behind by the ancient tsunami to model the wave's impact on the Scottish coast. Pictured: their model of the Montrose basin just north of Dundee, on Scotland's eastern coastline, as visible in the previous map) showing the extent of the wave's inundation of the coast (in the darker blue, with the study site at Maryton labelled with a star). An animation of the tsunami's impact on this area can be seen below (in which the Maryton site is labelled with a blue cone. Note that the video is shown with the North axis oriented towards the bottom left corner 'Although the Storegga Tsunami has been known about for years, this is the first time we have been able to model how far inland from Scotlands coastline the tsunami wave travelled,' said paper author Mark Bateman of the University of Sheffield. 'Though there is no similar threat from Norway today, the UK could still be at risk from flooding events from potential volcanic eruptions around the world, such as those predicted in the Canary Islands. 'These would cause a similar resulting tsunami wave due to the amount of material that would be displaced by the volcano. 'These models give us a unique window into the past to see how the country was, and could be affected again.' The Storegga tsunami was triggered when submarine glacial and interglacial sediments on the coastal slopes of Norway's continental shelf shifted. In their study, Professor Bateman and colleagues studies deposits at Maryton in Aberdeenshire, dating the sediments with luminescence techniques. This allowed them to determine the age, number and relative power of the tsunami waves which had struck the Scottish coast. The Storegga tsunami was triggered when submarine glacial and interglacial sediments on the coastal slopes of Norway's continental shelf shifted. Pictured: a map showing the source of the Storegga tsunami (in dark blue) with wave height estimates at various locations shown in yellow. The red circle represents the Montrose Basin study site in eastern Scotland The 98-foot (30-metre) wave which caused UK's largest natural disaster in 11,000 years was triggered by a 36,680 square mile landslide in the Norwegian Sea. Pictured: a model of the tsunami as would have been recorded in eastern Scotland, as based on modern bathymetry Pictured: a tsunami wave map showing the distribution of the first (top) and second (bottom) waves to hit the British coastline 'Thirty years ago, identifying the Storegga tsunami flooding [] was seminal in recognising that submarine landslides are a major hazard,' commented Dave Tappin of the British Geological Survey, who was not involved in the present study. The new research, he added, 'provides important new insights into the understanding of the Storegga tsunami flood.' 'The research highlights the importance of applying new scientific techniques to older-studied events, thereby improving our knowledge of their impact.' The full findings of the study were published in the journal Boreas. A new scientific study shows birds of a feather specifically the pigeon really do flock together to protect each other. Researchers at Royal Holloway University of London performed experiments with a robotic bird of prey and flocks of the homing pigeon, a variety of the domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica). The species acted selflessly in the air when under threat, defiantly turning away from the direction of the dummy predator, as a collective unit. It was previously thought pigeons selfishly scramble to the centre of their herd to reduce the possibility of being picked off known as the 'selfish herd' theory. The experiments showed the pigeons defiantly turned away from the direction of the dummy predator (left), away from the danger, as a collective unit But in reality, pigeons' collective movements suggest a collaborative group effort to prevent a predator from claiming a single victim from their flock. Study author Dr Daniel Sankey, who is now at the University of Exeter, argues that the selfish herd theory isn't actually always evident in the wild. '[We found] individuals flew in the same direction as one another, away from the danger,' he told MailOnline. 'As a boy watching the David Attenborough, I always came to think that this is how all animals escape. 'They are running, flying or swimming as a cohesive group, away from the direction of danger. You don't see zebras tripping over one another to "get to the centre". 'We believe our finding will showcase the importance of cooperative escape mechanisms in many fleeing groups, from herding mammals to shoaling fish.' The 'selfish herd' theory was initially proposed in 'Geometry for the selfish herd', a 1971 article by British evolutionary biologist W. D. Hamilton, to explain why animals from insects, schools of fish and even herds of wildebeest move in groups. Dr Sankey said he haven't seen anyone arguing against the selfish herd theory, despite 4,000-odd citations of Hamilton's original paper. The Royal Holloway University of London study used flocks of homing pigeons - a variety of the domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica, pictured) Dr Sankey and his colleagues used a robotic peregrine falcon, known as RoboFalcon, as a controlled predator among test groups of small and large flocks of homing pigeons, which were fitted with GPS tags. Researchers were able to track the pigeon flocks' movements and adjustments in the presence of danger. Observations revealed that the GPS-tagged pigeons did not adjust their flight patterns to fly nearer the centre of the group a traditional display of selfish individual behaviour. Instead, the pigeons all aligned with one another away from the direction of danger, demonstrating a form of cooperation in the face of attack, although the team didn't study the specific shapes of the flock formations. These behaviours showed no significant changes between different sizes of flocks. The study authors used a robotic peregrine falcon, known as RoboFalcon (pictured) for their experiments The pigeons' behaviour provides an opportunity for the evolution of behavioural mechanisms that promote collective escape, according to Dr Sankey. To understand this, one has to consider the limitations of the selfish herd theory, or the 'hopefully not me' mechanism. 'Let's say there is a group of 10 individuals,' he explained to MailOnline. 'Each time they are attacked, all the animals all crowd to the centre so that one of them gets eaten. 'If this group gets attacked 10 times before they reproduce, there are no individuals left. These individuals die and their "selfish genes" die with them. 'Consider the same group, [but] all align with one another, away from the predator. Now they have a much greater chance that the whole group can escape. 'Out of 10 attacks, there could well be a good few left! Alignment evolves as a result.' Unlike V-formation bird flocks, which can benefit from improved aerodynamics and energy savers, flying in a flock has been shown to increase a pigeon's work rate by 18 per cent. This suggests pigeons are willing to risk the increased exertion from flying alone, due to the benefits of flying in a flock in the face of danger. The data presented in this study forms part of a larger project to determine the value of the RoboFalcon as a bird deterrent at airfields, and ultimately reduce collisions with airplanes. The research provides promising evidence that the RoboFalcon could be an effective safety resource at airports. The study, 'Absence of 'selfish herd' dynamics in bird flocks under threat', has been published in the journal Current Biology. The world's smallest monkeys - pygmy marmosets which weigh in at just 100 grams each - belong to two different species, a new study has found. The research, published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, confirms the animals skull structure and DNA mean they belong to two difference species - although their fur color, previously thought to be another such indicator, does not. 'Our study showed the two species are not distinguishable by their fur color, but they are distinguishable by differences in their mitochondrial DNA and skull structure,' the study's lead author, Northern Illinois biological anthropologist Leila Porter, said in a statement. In contrast to previous findings, fur color seemed to be 'highly variable' and not exclusive to one region or another. 'Comparisons of their skull structure suggest they could have slightly different adaptations for foraging,' Porter added. 'For example, they might gouge on different kinds of tree species with different kinds of bark. In addition, there could be other behavioral and ecological differences between the species that have not been documented.' A species is a group of organisms that have common characteristics and can breed with one another. For pygmy marmosets, the groups are slightly separated by their DNA and differently-shaped skulls, thus resulting in two species. Pygmy marmosets, which weigh just four ounces at maturity, are found in the Amazon region of South America. Researchers have found that the world's smallest monkey, the 100-gram pygmy marmoset, is actually two species. A 'northwestern' pygmy marmoset (pictured) from Ecuador The study's lead author, Leila Porter (pictured), is seen measuring the skull of a pygmy marmoset in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History At full-length the entire body of the pygmy marmoset is just six-inches. The skull and upper jaw of a pygmy marmoset (pictured) from the Field Museums collection Samples were acquired from 13 sites in South America to help the researchers come up with their findings. The distribution range of the two species has also been broadened to include Ecuador and Peru. They were previously known as 'eastern' and 'western' pygmy marmosets, but Porter's team is recommending they be reclassified as 'northwestern' and 'southern' for greater accuracy. The researchers proposed the two species be given the scientific names Cebuella pygmaea and Cebuella niveiventris. The second name is not yet official. Pygmy marmosets, which live in family groups comprised of parents (male and female) and their children, are considered 'cooperative breeders,' with the female usually giving birth and the male tending to the children and any older siblings. At full-length, their entire bodies are just six inches long. For comparison purposes, the largest monkey, some male mandrills can reach more than 3 feet in length and weigh almost 80 pounds. The new findings come after a 2018 study confirmed that there were two different species of pygmy marmoset living in Brazil. This map of South America shows where the two pygmy marmoset species reside In Ecuador, the species are separated by the Napo River, an offset of the Amazon. They were discovered by a German naturalist in 1823. Stone Age ravers would dance in a strange 'psychedelic way' with elk teeth tied around their bodies rattling percussively as they moved, a study has revealed. A study of 8,000-year-old elk teeth discovered at the Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov burial site in Russia revealed the unusual dancing practice, according to researchers from Finland. Wear marks on the teeth, as well as their location within the graves, indicated that the objects were used as 'rattlers'. 'Ornaments composed of elk teeth suspended from or sown on to clothing emit a loud rattling noise when moving,' say the team from the University of Helsinki. Wearing the rattlers while dancing made it easier for the Stone Age ravers to immerse themselves in the soundscape, letting the sound and rhythm 'take control', they said. The authors discovered the link between dancing by exploring wear marks on the teeth, then recreating an elk teeth suit, wearing it while dancing for six hours and comparing the marks on those teeth with the 8,000-year-old fossils. Stone age ravers would dance in a strange 'psychedelic way' with elk teeth tied around their bodies, ratting percussively as they moved, a study has revealed A study of 8,000-year-old elk teeth discovered at the Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov burial site in Russia revealed the unusual dancing practice, say researchers from Finland. The teeth are seen as black marks surrounding the bones in each grave Study lead author Riitta Rainio spent six consecutive hours wearing the elk tooth ornaments while dancing. She worked with artist Juha Valkeapaa to recreate a Stone Age model that she could wear during her dance to find out what kind of wear marks are formed in the teeth when they bang against each other and move about. The sound of a tooth rattler can be clear and bright or loud and pounding, depending on the number and quality of the teeth, as well as the intensity of movement, Rainio discovered during the dance. Microanalysis, as well as recreating the dancing process, allowed the team to demonstrate that wear marks found in these teeth were the result of dancing. A study of 8,000 year old elk teeth discovered at the Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov burial site in Russia revealed the unusual dancing practice, say researchers from Finland 'Ornaments composed of elk teeth suspended from or sown on to clothing emit a loud rattling noise when moving,' say the team from the University of Helsinki The teeth worn out by dancing were analysed for any microscopic marks before and after the dancing. These marks were then compared to the findings made in the Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov graves by the Russian Academy of Sciences. Russian researcher Evgeny Girya documented and analysed the wear marks in the elk teeth found in four graves chosen for the experiment. Comparing the chips, hollows, cuts and smoothed surfaces of the teeth, he observed a clear resemblance between teeth worn out by dancing and the Stone Age teeth discovered within the graves. Wearing the rattlers while dancing made it easier for the Stone Age ravers to immerse themselves in the soundscape, letting the sound and rhythm 'take control', researchers said The authors discovered the link between dancing by exploring wear marks on the teeth, then recreating an elk teeth suit, wearing it while dancing for six hours and comparing the marks on those teeth with the 8,000-year-old fossils However, the marks in the Stone Age teeth were deeper and more extensive, suggesting they were the result of a similar activity. 'As the Stone Age teeth were worn for years or even decades, it's no surprise that their marks are so distinctive,' Girya said. Kristiina Mannermaa a researcher from the University of Helsinki said these findings were very exciting and fill in information about Stone Age culture. Study lead author Riitta Rainio is she spent six consecutive hours wearing elk tooth ornaments while dancing She worked with artist Juha Valkeapaa to recreate a Stone Age model that she could wear during her dance - held as a performance to find out what kind of wear marks are formed int he teeth when they bang against each other and move about 'Elk tooth rattlers are fascinating, since they transport modern people to a soundscape that is thousands of years old and to its emotional rhythms that guide the body,' the associate professor said. 'You can close your eyes, listen to the sound of the rattlers and drift on the soundwaves to a lakeside campfire in the world of Stone Age hunter-gatherers.' A total of 177 graves of women, men and children have been found in the Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov burial site, of which more than half contain several elk tooth ornaments, some of them composed of as many as over 300 individual teeth. The findings have been published in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal. Lewis Hamilton has taken aim at French Open organisers for fining Naomi Osaka - and claimed he was 'thrown into the pit without any support or guidance' when he started his Formula One career. Osaka, 23, was ordered to pay 10,500 by Roland Garros chiefs after she refused to speak to the media following her first-round win. A joint letter from Grand Slam organisers then threatened the world No 2 with a ban before Osaka withdrew from the Paris major, revealing she has been battling with depression and anxiety. Lewis Hamilton (left) has taken aim at French Open organisers for fining Naomi Osaka (right) Osaka released a statement saying she would boycott the press at the French Open, citing mental health concerns as the reason behind her decision 'Naomi is an incredible athlete and a human being and her activism has been so impactful, but when you are at such a young age with so much weight on her shoulders, it is inevitable what has happened,' said Hamilton, who wrote in a recent social media post that he struggles with his mental health. 'She was incredibly brave and it is now about asking those in power to think about how they react because the way they reacted with the fine was not good. 'Someone talking about their personal mental health and then being fined for it was not cool. 'They could definitely have handled it better and I hope they take a deep dive into that and find a better way to navigate it in the future.' A joint letter from Grand Slam organisers then threatened the world No 2 with a ban Osaka withdrew after saying she had struggled with her mental health since her 2018 US Open victory (pictured above) Hamilton, 36, who walked out of a press conference on the eve of the Japanese Grand Prix in 2016 citing unfair media criticism, posted a message in support of Osaka earlier this week. The seven-time world champion, who trails Red Bull rival Max Verstappen by four points ahead of Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, admitted he too is uneasy with the media glare. Hamilton was a year younger than Osaka when he burst on to the global sporting stage with McLaren in 2007. 'I have learnt the hard way, and made many a mistake,' he continued. Mental health is not a joke, this is real and serious. This takes a lot of courage to do. Let's all make sure Naomi knows she's not alone. Today is a good day to check and ask your friends and loved ones how they are doing and let them know they are not alone. https://t.co/2ytC6k1hHd Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) June 1, 2021 'It can be daunting standing in front of a camera. It is not the easiest thing to do, particularly if you are an introvert and you struggle under those kind of pressures. 'When I was young, I was thrown into the pit and I was not given any guidance or support. I was never prepared to be thrown in front of the camera or guided as to what to look out for and how to navigate through it. 'When youngsters are coming in, they are facing the same thing and I don't know whether that is the best thing for them. We need to be supporting more because you shouldn't be pressured. 'With Naomi's scenario, she didn't feel comfortable because of her own personal mental health and the backlash against her was ridiculous. 'People were not taking into account that she is a human being and she was saying, 'I am not well enough to do this right now'. That needs to be looked into and how people react to that.' Hamilton added he was 'thrown into the pit without any support or guidance' when he started Advertisement In the American West, unsightly cell phone masts are being cunningly disguised so they blend in with their environments, as revealed in an intriguing new book by photographer Annette LeMay Burke. Fauxliage (Daylight Books) is a collection of fascinating landscape images that show the country's phone masts camouflaged as quirky fake palm trees, giant cacti and even church crosses. In the foreword, Ann M. Jastrab, Executive Director, Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, California, says: 'Initially what I saw were picturesque landscapes. But, wait, what was happening in these views? Something was amiss. There were giant saguaro cacti, palm trees reflected in crystal clear pools, and a towering pine tree in a barren desert. What was a pine tree doing in the middle of the Mojave Desert with not even a tuft of grass to be seen nearby? I looked a little closer. These werent real live trees at all... 'I couldnt help but laugh and look again, taking my hat off to the brilliant title as well. It became almost like a game of "Wheres Waldo?" in some images.' Meanwhile, Annette writes in the book: 'While I was initially drawn to the towers whimsical appearances, the more I photographed them, the more disconcerted I felt that technology was clandestinely modifying our environment. Would our children soon accept these towers as normal?' Scroll down to see the unique creations in our pick of the tome's pictures... Annette spotted this trio of phone masts disguised as towering palm trees in Palm Springs, California. The photographer argues that fake foliage 'draws more attention to itself than it provides camouflage' A giant faux cactus plant partially hides a phone mast in Phoenix, Arizona The fake trees have been dubbed 'frankenpines'. This image was taken in Provo, Utah This picture from Annette's new photo book was taken in Barstow, California. Annette says: 'While I was initially drawn to the towers whimsical appearances, the more I photographed them, the more disconcerted I felt that technology was clandestinely modifying our environment. Would our children soon accept these towers as normal?' Pictured is a well-camouflaged phone mast in Palo Alto, California A phone mast with a palm tree aesthetic located in a drive-thru in La Mesa, California The above image captures a phone tower disguised as a pine tree in Gorman, California Annette took the above image in Henderson, Nevada. She writes: 'While the quirky disguises can be entertaining to look at, the towers present privacy and environmental concerns. The often-farcical pole disguises belie the equipments covert ability to collect all the personal data transmitted from our cell phones' Some of the phone towers in the book are so cleverly hidden they're hard to spot. The image on the left was taken in San Lorenzo, California, and the image on the right in Calimesa, in the same state Annette discovered these phone-mast crosses in Mesa, Arizona. Writing in the foreword about this photo, Ann M. Jastrab says: 'The Holy Trinity at the local church is really three cell phone towers? Im not religious, but this might be a form of blasphemy. Or genius, as the cell phone companies are paying the church good money to plant those there' A sculpture of a bison hides a phone tower at the Wyoming/Colorado border Advertisement Heather Beagley pictured aged 14 on the Queen Mary in 1936 A 99-year-old lady who was on the maiden voyage of Cunard liner the Queen Mary from Southampton to New York in 1936 has described the experience as 'the most inspiring trip of my life'. In a letter to Cunard, Heather Beagley, who lived in Bristol at the time, wrote about dancing with a movie star who happened to be onboard, a close shave with an iceberg and the ship's grand arrival in Manhattan. Heather penned the note to Cunard ahead of a talk she gave about her journey, aged 14, to fellow residents at her Hertfordshire care home. 'My father had to book places onboard months in advance as so many people yearned to be passengers,' she wrote. 'Permission had to be sought for me to be absent from school for a fortnight and to our relief, my headmistress said: "Lucky girl! It will be an education in itself!" So it was! 'My brother could not accompany us as he was taking his finals in classics at Oxford.' According to Heather, a huge fanfare surrounded the departure of the ship, which left Southampton on May 27, 1936. She told Cunard: 'Everyone in Bristol envied us and friends drove down to Southampton to wave us off. 'Before setting foot on this prestigious ship I was amazed at the sight of it, towering above us as we approached, all 81,000 tons.' The letter explained how, once onboard, Heather's parents had a first-class cabin while she was in second class, sharing with three other young women. 'Of course, I sat with my parents in the magnificent dining room,' she wrote. 'Walls lined with beautiful wood and with superb lighting. 'In the centre of our table was always a bowl of red roses and the meals, of many courses, were varied and delicious.' The Queen Mary pictured in New York after arriving on her maiden voyage in 1936 One of the suites onboard the Queen Mary, which made her maiden voyage, on the Southampton-Cherbourg-New York route, on May 27, 1936 Luxury liner: Beds in a Queen Mary suite Heather also told Cunard how she spent her time onboard. She wrote: 'There were all sorts of deck games, though very few people my age to play them. 'Most days I went to the cinema. Films were all the rage in the 1930s and there were five stars on board including Jack Buchanan (nearly always drunk), Olivia de Havilland and Frances Day. 'I enjoyed reading from a selection of books in the library. 'In the evening, there was dancing to the famous Henry Halls Dance Band in the big ballroom.' It was on the dance floor of the ballroom that Heather actually got to know Hollywood actor Buchanan, who is best known for his role in the 1953 musical The Band Wagon. Heather revealed: 'Via friends we were introduced to Jack, aged 42. Although so much older than me he danced with me every night. How lucky I was! 'One night when I was almost asleep I heard one of my companions say how did that young girl find a gigolo when we cant?" 'Next day, I asked my mother what "gigolo" meant. She replied: "A polite gentleman who loves dancing!"' According to Heather, there was an iceberg scare during the journey. She told Cunard: 'After four days and a scare about an iceberg looming too close, we arrived in New York.' And what an arrival that was. Heather (far left), gave a talk to her Hertfordshire care home residents about her extraordinary Queen Mary voyage Heather is pictured here giving her talk. A Cunard spokesperson said: 'I can only imagine the excitement and anticipation Heather must have felt as a young woman preparing to set sail across the Atlantic, and arriving in such style in New York' Cunard sent some afternoon tea treats and fizz to Heather's care home for her talk King George V's Queen consort Mary of Teck launching Queen Mary in Clydebank, Scotland, on September 26, 1934 'The welcome in New York was astounding!' Heather recounted. 'Aeroplanes flew overhead, ships hooted and sprayed water, VIPs came out in little boats to greet us and crowds lined the quays to welcome us. 'All the big liners were competing for what was known as "The Blue Riband" for the swiftest crossing of the Atlantic. 'Some people were disappointed that the Queen Mary did not beat the record, but the answer was they did not try as the ship had to be run in like a new car.' Heather's care home talk was followed by a Cunard-themed afternoon tea, accompanied by Champagne, all courtesy of the liner. Following Heather's journey, the Queen Mary and sister ship the Queen Elizabeth went on to dominate the transatlantic passenger transportation market. The ship was officially retired from service in 1967. A Cunard spokesperson said: 'I can only imagine the excitement and anticipation Heather must have felt as a young woman preparing to set sail across the Atlantic, and arriving in such style in New York on board the brand new record-breaking Cunard ocean liner. Reading a first-hand account of her tales of first-class travel, extravagant dinners and dancing all night with the coveted celebrities of their day, really brings alive the glamour of what ocean travel is all about.' Advertisement Orkney, with its Neolithic sites and panoramic views, has been named the best Scottish island in a survey by Which? While Scotlands waters are home to approximately 800 islands, Which? Travel readers rated 14, highlighting how undiscovered and uninhabited many of them still are. And of the 14 that received enough visitors to be ranked in the survey, 10 received an impressive visitor score of 80 per cent or more. Top-ranked Orkney - with its 70 or so islands off the country's northeastern coast - was awarded an overall customer experience score of 88 per cent by visitors. Orkney has been named the best Scottish island in a survey by Which? with a customer experience score of 88 per cent. Pictured is the island's Neolithic settlement of Skara Brae Second-place Shetland received an overall score of 86 per cent. It received four stars for scenery, tourist attractions and shopping. Pictured is the archipelago's St Ninian's Beach Harris, which came joint third, received five stars for both its beaches and its scenery, as well as for peace and quiet. Pictured is its spectacular Luskentyre beach A table showing the full ranking by Which?. Ten of the 14 islands surveyed were awarded customer scores of more than 80 per cent Which? said it was the only destination in the survey to receive five stars for its tourist attractions, with visitors speaking highly of its many prehistoric sites and archaeology. According to the consumer champion, some of the most frequently cited highlights included the Italian Church, Skara Brae, and the 'spectacular' Ring of Brodgar. The archipelago was also praised for its 'beautiful scenery and friendly locals' said Which?, while others cited its remoteness as its main attraction. One reader told the consumer group they were particularly impressed by the 'miles and miles of secluded sandy beaches with no-one in sight'. In second place was Shetland, with a score of 86 per cent. Of its 100 or so islands, only 16 are inhabited and Which? believes this could go some way to explaining its five-star rating for peace and quiet. It added: 'This, combined with the fact it is closer to the Arctic Circle than it is to London, might lead some to think it could be difficult to reach but the island was given four stars for ease of travel.' It also received four stars for scenery, tourist attractions and shopping, meaning most travellers will be well catered to, Which? added. Port Charlotte on Islay, which was joint third in the ranking with a score of 85 per cent. The island received five stars for peace and quiet and four stars for its food and drink The colourful houses of Tobermory on Mull. The island, which was joint third, scored five stars for its scenery The Isle of Arran, pictured, received an overall customer score of 83 per cent. It scored a maximum of five stars for its scenery Barra, pictured, scored five stars for both its beaches and peace and quiet. It gained an overall customer score of 83 per cent Harris, Islay and Mull each received a visitor score of 85 per cent, putting them in joint third place. Harris received five stars for both its beaches and its scenery, as well as for peace and quiet, making it 'the perfect destination for anyone looking to escape to the great outdoors'. Which? suggested: 'Visitors can also head to Tarbert where they can buy their own Harris tweed, handwoven from local wool and reflecting the colours of the landscape, for a memento to remember the stunning views by.' Islay, known for its distillery tours and whisky tasting, also received five stars for peace and quiet, as well as four stars for its food and drink. With fishing a mainstay of the island, Which? said visitors can enjoy 'fresh seafood or fish and chips from many of the islands restaurants'. Lewis, pictured, in the Outer Hebrides, scored a maximum of five stars for its peace and quiet as well as four stars for its beaches, accommodation, ease of travel and value for money. Its overall score was 82 per cent A stunning view across Quiraing - a landslip on the Isle of Skye. The island received an overall customer score of 82 per cent and five stars for its scenery Iona, pictured, received an overall customer score of 80 per cent. It scored four stars for its beaches and tourist attractions While Mull only scored three stars for tourist attractions, food and drink, and shopping, its main attraction was its five-star scenery, made up of 'white-sand bays fringed with wildflower-rich grassland, and pink granite skerries scattered across the sea'. Which? explained: 'Visitors can soak up the view from the top of Ben More, Mulls only Munro, head to Tobermory with its picturesque painted houses, or visit one of the islands imposing castles.' Only one island in the survey - Benbecula - received a score that dipped below 70 per cent and Which? said this is 'largely down to it being seen as a stepping stone between North and South Uist'. It received a visitor score of 67 per cent but still received four stars for its beaches and peace and quiet. While it only received three stars for scenery, visitors still spoke warmly of its landscape, with its wildlife and birdwatching being praised by a number of those in the survey, said the consumer champion. Many of Scotlands islands, including Orkney, are currently under Level 1 coronavirus restrictions. This means visitors can freely travel to the islands unless they are in a Level 3 area in Scotland, or under other tiered restrictions across the rest of the UK. North Uist, pictured, in the Outer Hebrides, was awarded an overall customer score of 76 per cent. It received five stars for its peace and quiet South Uist, pictured, scored five stars for its beaches and peace and quiet. It had an overall score of 76 per cent Port Bannatyne on Bute, which received a customer score of 73 per cent. It got four stars for ease of travel and accommodation Benbecula, pictured, received a visitor score of 67 per cent but still earned four stars for its beaches, and peace and quiet Which? explained: 'Almost all hospitality, shopping, visitor attractions and holiday accommodation are allowed to open and operate under Level 1 restrictions. 'However, anyone planning to visit one of the islands should check the restrictions in place at the time they are due to travel, and only book with a provider that will allow them to rebook or cancel for a refund if they cannot travel as a result of government restrictions. 'The Scottish government is also encouraging anyone planning on travelling to one of Scotland's islands to take a coronavirus test before they do to reduce the risk of the virus being brought into island communities. Visitors are recommended to get tested three days before travelling and then again on the day of departure.' Rory Boland, Which? Travel Editor, said: 'After more than a year of restrictions that have seen most of us confined to our homes, many of us will be craving a holiday featuring beautiful scenery, grand landscapes, and the peace and quiet to soak it all in. 'The Scottish islands have all of this in abundance, making many of them a brilliant choice for a UK holiday this summer. 'Youll need to pack for all seasons, and be prepared for a bit of travelling to get there but when you do, youll be glad you made the effort. 'Just be sure to book with an accommodation provider that will allow you to freely change or cancel your booking at short notice, should coronavirus restrictions change and prevent you from travelling as planned.' Comedians Anne Edmonds and Lloyd Langford are expecting their first child together. Anne, 41, revealed the exciting news in an Instagram post on Wednesday and shared a series of photos to mark the special moment. The Have You Been Paying Attention? panellist posted an ultrasound of their unborn child and a selfie with her partner, fellow comedian Lloyd Langford, looking very happy. 'Hello everyone, I'm pregnant!' Comedians Anne Edmonds and Lloyd Langford are expecting their first child together. Anne, 41, revealed the exciting news in an Instagram post on Wednesday and shared a series of photos to mark the special moment She also included another selfie of herself proudly smiling as she showed off her growing baby bump. The mother-to-be wrote in the caption: 'Hello everyone, I'm pregnant! Not sure who the father is but @lloydlangford1 being very supportive.' 'Joke, obviously thrilled and can't wait to meet this little Australian-Welsh person. Nice to have other news beside being locked down,' she added, referring to Melbourne's current Covid lockdown. Meanwhile, Lloyd - who also makes appearances on HYBPA - shared the news on his Instagram. Growing baby: Anne also shared an ultrasound of their unborn child from 'I want to call it Trevor regardless of the sex but coming up against some resistance from @anne_edmonds_,' Lloyd joked of the news The 37-year-old shared a selfie with Anne and a photo of their unborn child from a 3D scan, along with the caption: 'we are having a baby.' 'I want to call it Trevor regardless of the sex but coming up against some resistance from @anne_edmonds_,' he joked. Many of their friends and fellow comedians congratulated the happy couple on their baby news, including Rove McManus who wrote: 'Look at you, making your own humans now! Congratulations you three.' Baby on the way: Lloyd - who also makes regular appearances on HYBPA - shared the news on his Instagram, including a photo of their child from a 3D scan Well wishes: The couple's friends and fellow comedians congratulated the happy couple on their baby news, Rove McManus wrote: 'Look at you, making your own humans now! Congratulations you three.' Chrissie Swan said: Oh how wonderful! Congrats to both of you angels' Radio presenter Chrissie Swan said: Oh how wonderful! Congrats to both of you angels.' Nazeem Hussain and Hannah Gadsby also congratulated the expecting couple. Dave Hughes commented: 'Pics and it happened. That's one lucky kid!!!! Congrats.' Meanwhile, fellow HYBPA panellist Ed Kavalee wrote: 'Congrats. Can't wait to meet baby Trev!' in reference to Lloyd's Instagram caption. Exciting news! Nazeem Hussain and Hannah Gadsby also congratulated the expecting couple 'Can't wait!': Dave Hughes commented: 'Pics and it happened. That's one lucky kid!!!! Congrats.' Meanwhile, fellow HYBPA panellist Ed Kavalee wrote: 'Congrats. Can't wait to meet baby Trev!' in reference to Lloyd's Instagram caption Earlier this year, Anne discussed the impact of Covid lockdown on her relationship with Lloyd with The Age. 'We've only been together for two years. But after the lockdowns in Melbourne, it feels as though we're about to celebrate our golden anniversary. 'It's like we've compacted 20 years into four months,' she added, noting that they shared a one-bedroom apartment. She recently underwent surgery to correct the curvature of her spine caused by scoliosis. And model Natalie Roser shared images of her recovery on Wednesday, along with a tongue-in-cheek reference to Afterpay Australian Fashion Week, which is currently under way in Sydney. The 31-year-old captioned a video of herself walking through hospital corridors with the aid of a walking frame: 'Time for my Fashion Week runway.' Runway ready: Bikini model Natalie Roser shared images of her recovery from spinal surgery on Wednesday, along with a tongue-in-cheek reference to Afterpay Australian Fashion Week Clad in a hospital gown, the blonde gave an enthusiastic thumbs up as she walked. In subsequent videos, Natalie revealed she had gained height since her operation. 'Guys, I am so tall!' she marveled. Natalie then shared a video of herself standing up next to her boyfriend Harley Bonner, who seemed noticeably shorter than the statuesque catwalk queen. The Neighbours actor was visibly shocked by the change in his girlfriend's height, gasping: 'Babe, I think you're a bit taller. Wow!' Good spirits: The 31-year-old captioned a video of herself walking through hospital corridors with the aid of a walking frame: 'Time for my Fashion Week runway' Statuesque: In subsequent videos, Natalie revealed she had gained height since her operation Natalie recently revealed that behind her picture-perfect Instagram feed, she has been fighting a secret health battle with scoliosis, a condition that causes the spine to bend sideways. The Newcastle-born beauty was on Wednesday in hospital preparing to undergo surgery to correct the curvature, which develops in roughly one in every 15 Australian girls during puberty from age nine to 14. In a video on her Instagram stories last week, Natalie said she was both 'excited and terrified all at the same time' about the operation. Hiding the pain: Natalie recently revealed that behind her picture-perfect Instagram feed, she has been fighting a secret health battle with scoliosis On the mend: The Newcastle-born beauty was on Wednesday in hospital preparing to undergo surgery to correct the curvature Natalie's actor beau Bonner on Thursday morning revealed she is 'good spirits' following the seven-hour procedure, which has a recovery time of up to six weeks. The actor said his girlfriend was feeling 'battered and bruised' but assured fans the operation went 'perfectly'. Scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine that typically develops during the growth spurt stage just before puberty. While the condition, which is estimated to affect about three percent of teenagers worldwide, can be caused by disorders such as cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy, the cause of most scoliosis is unknown. Getting better all the time: Natalie (pictured) was said to be in 'good spirits' following the seven-hour corrective procedure, which has a recovery time of up to six weeks Documenting her recovery: The swimwear model shared photos from her hospital bed to her Instagram story What is scoliosis? - According to Healthline.com, it is the 'abnormal curvature of the spine' - Signs or symptoms of the condition, which has various forms, include back pain, uneven hips, different shoulder blade levels - Treatments include bracing or surgery depending on age or state of the condition - Princess Eugenie was diagnosed with scoliosis as a child and at age 12 had surgery on her back - She proudly showed off her surgery scar at her wedding in October 2018 Advertisement Most cases are mild and resolve naturally, but some spine deformities worsen as children grow. The most severe curvatures can dramatically reduce the amount of space within the chest cavity, making it difficult to breathe. One of the most famous names who has suffered from scoliosis aside from Natalie Roser is Queen Elizabeth II's granddaughter Princess Eugenie, who was diagnosed with the condition at the age of 11. Also affected: Princess Eugenie's Peter Pilotto wedding gown (pictured) featured a low back, designed to reveal the scar on her back from her childhood spinal surgery to address her scoliosis The daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson underwent corrective surgery one year later and used the resulting scar as inspiration for the design of her wedding dress. Eugenie shunned a veil to expose her upper back in the stunning Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos gown she wore to exchange vows with longtime boyfriend Jack Brooksbank at Windsor Castle on October 12, 2018. The 31-year-old is a patron of the British Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital where she underwent her life-changing operation 19 years ago. His forebears fought alongside Edward III at Crecy in 1346 and helped Henry VII vanquish Richard III at Bosworth in 1485. Now the Earl of Shrewsbury, Premier Earl of England, is thundering into battle against litter. His ancestral lance, I can disclose, is unwaveringly aimed at an enemy all too close to home fly-tippers who routinely despoil the beauty of lanes leading to the Peak District National Park. Charles Shrewbury family motto Prest d'accomplir, ready to accomplish has turned detective in pursuit of litter louts as well as collecting rubbish in black bin bags every weekend. 'The final straw,' Lord Shrewsbury, 68, says, was 'seeing used Covid face masks, broken children's toys and much more'. He hints that some of the items he prods into his refuse bag cannot be mentioned in a family newspaper. His forebears fought alongside Edward III at Crecy in 1346 and helped Henry VII vanquish Richard III at Bosworth in 1485. Now the Earl of Shrewsbury (pictured), Premier Earl of England, is thundering into battle against litter For the past three years, Lord Shrewsbury, whose family once owned Alton Towers, now a theme park, has been picking up 'a black bin-liner's worth of litter, possibly more', almost every week on the same mile-long stretch of lane For the past three years, Lord Shrewsbury, whose family once owned Alton Towers, now a theme park, has been picking up 'a black bin-liner's worth of litter, possibly more', almost every week on the same mile-long stretch of lane. Last Saturday, he adds: 'I put gloves on and searched through. It looks like somebody who was moving house had missed the six o'clock cut-off point at the tip and had just chucked it instead. People should be prosecuted.' His local council seemingly lacks his zeal. 'I rang them four times yesterday and no one picked up and that's their fly-tipping helpline.' But Lord Shrewsbury found a vital clue to the lout's identity: a receipt, complete with number plate and MOT details, from a garage. Enough to persuade the council to snap into action. The public-minded aristocrat is determined to turn the tide. He used to smoke two packs a day and admits to letting his drinking get out of control, yet former Spandau Ballet frontman Tony Hadley says he's never taken drugs because he vowed to his granny he wouldn't. ' I made a promise to my grandmother when I was 16 or 17,' he says. 'I've never done any of that stuff, and I thank her for that. It was a promise well made.' Thandiwe cuts a dash while she bleaches her tash Thandiwe Newton shared a video of herself cooking in her North-West London kitchen while applying a cosmetic treatment to her upper lip Being a Hollywood star while also raising three children can be a multi-tasking challenge, but Thandiwe Newton appears to be pulling it off with aplomb. The 48-year-old shared a video of herself cooking in her North-West London kitchen while applying a cosmetic treatment to her upper lip. 'I'm bleaching my moustache not much of one, but it's there,' she says. 'It totally lightens the hairs.' Some like it hot, Doc Actor Martin Clunes has made no secret of his love of hot sauce, and even makes it at home. Now he wants to bring out his own range. He has registered the name 'Hi Jawawa Hot Sauce' as a trademark. He has also included advertising, marketing and online ordering, suggesting he will be selling it over the internet. The Doc Martin star's passion for hot chilli sauce was evident two years ago when he visited the family-run Tabasco sauce factory in Lousiana during his Islands Of America TV series. Good luck, Martin. Paul Newman's, pasta sauces and dressings are still selling well, 13 years after his death. Hello Eva! Model's a peach on the beach Keeping in shape is a priority for Eva Herzigova, who, when she turned 48 earlier this year, bought an exercise bike to keep fit It's hard to believe nearly three decades have gone by since supermodel Eva Herzigova shot to fame in the 'Hello Boys!' Wonderbra campaign. The mother-of-three has been flooded with compliments this week from friends and her partner, businessman Gregorio Marsiaj after sharing a picture of herself at the beach in Cornwall, looking as though she'd just stepped off the catwalk. Keeping in shape is a priority for Eva, who, when she turned 48 earlier this year, bought an exercise bike to keep fit. 'I made up my mind to actually start doing some regular exercise,' she says. 'Last time I have done sport on regular basis was back at school.' Dame Judi Dench recently declared that at 86, she likes nothing better than skinny-dipping in her swimming pool. It seems that she also has a penchant for forest bathing, which involves doing a slow, sensory woodland walk; and spending quality time under a canopy of trees with your phone switched off fully clothed. She says: 'As humans, we have a deep connection to trees and woodland.' Demelza's in de money We are more used to seeing Eleanor Tomlinson (pictured), 29, playing the impoverished mine-owner's wife, flame-haired Demelza, in the long-running BBC TV series Poldark. But in reality the actress has no fewer than two homes and a bank balance the dashing Cornish Captain would envy We are more used to seeing Eleanor Tomlinson, 29, playing the impoverished mine-owner's wife, flame-haired Demelza, in the long-running BBC TV series Poldark. But in reality the actress has no fewer than two homes and a bank balance the dashing Cornish Captain would envy. According to new accounts for her company Eleanor May, which she set up in August 2015, she is worth 1.2 million. Land Registry records reveal she bought a 325,000 two-bed flat in South-West London and a three-bed house in Bristol for just under 600,000. Both properties were bought mortgage-free and acquired on the same day in June last year. Made up for the year ending August 31, 2020, her company accounts report 350,000 worth of fixed assets within part of a total of 648,959 worth of shareholder funds. TV Rev's divine approval As a man of the cloth, celebrity vicar Richard Coles says he asks for the 'blessing' of his bishop before accepting any TV work. The former Strictly Star confesses: 'I do call the bishop if it's a significant thing. I will always ask the bishop's advice and for his blessing, which has always been forthcoming. 'I don't think he had ever seen Strictly, though, and he had to speak to the suffragan bishop to find out more about it.' He adds: 'I mean, I do make a right ball of it sometimes. I don't think my Paso Doble in Strictly is something I want chiselled on my headstone.' Bachelor couple Irena Srbinovska and Locky Gilbert have shared intimate details about their future together. The pair, both 31, revealed their 'five-year' plan in a series of Instagram Stories on Wednesday. Nurse Irena explained the couple would love to have two children - ideally twins - and that marriage was also on the cards. Planning ahead! Bachelor stars Irena Srbinovska and Locky Gilbert have shared their five-year plan together, including marriage and their hopes for twins She said of their future: 'Locky is super easy to talk to about marriage and babies. He is just as excited about our future as I am.' The couple recently completed a trip around Australia and are almost at the end of their holiday as they settle back into Locky's home state of Perth. The pair had initially moved to Perth in October, shortly after The Bachelor finished airing. True romance: Irena said on Wednesday that Locky was 'super easy to talk to' when it came to discussing marriage and kids Irena was also asked during her Instagram Q&A whether she still kept in touch with other stars from The Bachelor. She indicated she had heard from 'all but a couple of the girls', and said she was particularly close with contestant Laura Calleri. Her career in nursing was also brought up, with Irena revealing she will take up a new position in Perth in the near future. She had previously quit her old job at a Melbourne hospital last year. Quizzed: Irena was also asked during her Instagram Q&A whether she still kept in touch with other stars from The Bachelor. She indicated she had heard from 'all but a couple of the girls' Irena and Locky sparked engagement rumours early last month when they attended a friend's wedding together. Irena was an absolute knockout in a slinky nude frock by designer Shona Joy, prompting fans to say she'd make a beautiful bride. Meanwhile, Locky looked dapper in a black suit, pants and tie. She's a body positivity advocate who's never been afraid to show off her figure. And Honey Ross proudly put her curves on display in a skimpy pink bikini for a series of Instagram snaps on Wednesday. Promoting her work with a size inclusive swimwear brand, the 24-year-old daughter of TV host Jonathan Ross sent her fans wild with the snaps. Fun in the sun! She's a body positivity advocate who's never been afraid to show off her figure. And Honey Ross proudly put her curves on display in a skimpy pink bikini on Wednesday Honey showed off her curves in a lace front bikini top that offered a look at her ample cleavage. She teamed the garment with a pair of matching tie side briefs in the same bold pink leopard print, that she praised for being 'as skimpy as possible', but whilst also avoiding 'giving her a wedgie'. In a lengthy caption, Honey revealed she was 'overjoyed' to promote Snag Tights as she praised their 'inclusivity and refusal to compromise on quality and ethics'. A taste of Honey: Promoting her work with a size inclusive swimwear brand, the 24-year-old daughter of TV host Jonathan Ross sent her fans wild with the snaps She explained: 'Snag are on a mission to make sure everyone has swim wear they feel amazing in and thats really a mission I can get behind. 'Theyre launching the worlds first fully inclusive swim wear range catering to sizes 4 to 38! Because everyone deserves to feel confident and radiant when theyre out enjoying their hot girl summer staycation!' Honey added: 'I also love so much that the bikini is so adjustable like I love to wear my bikinis high on my hips and lets be honest, have them as skimpy as possible so I love having the option to adjust it, to suit my vibe and not get a wedgie.' Pretty in pink prints: Honey showed off her curves in a lace front bikini top that offered a look at her ample cleavage Bootylicious: She teamed the garment with a pair of matching tie side briefs in the same bold pink leopard print, that she praised for being 'as skimpy as possible' Honey is known for sharing her scantily-clad snaps as a body confidence advocate. Appearing on ITV's Lorraine last year, she said that since embracing her body shape, she's gained more confidence than her slimmer friends. 'I'm a size 18 and I'm more confident than all of my thin friends and they always say, "I wish I was more confident", And Im like, "You have the body society likes".' Feeling good: In a lengthy caption, Honey revealed she was 'overjoyed' to promote Snag Tights as she praised their 'inclusivity and refusal to compromise on quality and ethics' Honey's Instagram page boasts 44,000 followers and she insisted that she continues to post as just one message from someone she has inspired means it's 'absolutely all worth it' . She said: 'The reason I continue to post like this, is because I receive messages that say "Just so you know, I brought the first bikini in ten years or threw away my scales because of you". Or teens saying "Youve inspired me to go out in shorts" and that makes it absolutely all worth it.' The activist recently praised fellow body positivity influencer Lena Dunham for helping her to love her body, and stripped off for a nude snap together. Chris Harrison will not host Bachelor in Paradise this summer, about four months after a race-related controversy in which he suggested 'a little understanding' toward a contestant who had attended a plantation-themed theme bash in 2018. In the wake of the controversy, the 49-year-old Dallas native said he was 'stepping aside' for a 'period of time,' taking off the latest season of The Bachelorette with an uncertain future ahead in the ABC reality romance universe. While Bachelor Nation alums Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe hosted The Bachelorette in Harrison's initial absence, producers are utilizing a rotating cast of hosts for Bachelor in Paradise, including David Spade. The latest: Chris Harrison, 49, will not host Bachelor in Paradise this summer, about four months after a race-related controversy, as producers are utilizing a rotating cast of hosts for the show, including David Spade, 56 A source told Page Six that Spade's interest in The Bachelor - he's talked about it on his social media accounts and in a Jimmy Kimmel appearance - was a factor in his selection. 'The producers want to put some fun in the show,' the source said. 'They think its become too serious.' Harrison fell under scrutiny in February after an appearance on Extra in which he downplayed the past actions of contestant Rachael Kirkconnell after images surfaced of her at a 2018 bash with an antebellum theme. Harrison said that 'we all need to have a little grace, a little understanding, a little compassion' toward Kirkconnell amid the turbulent times of the 'woke police' and cancel culture. In the wake of the controversy, the 49-year-old Dallas native said he was 'stepping aside' for a 'period of time,' taking off the latest season of The Bachelorette with an uncertain future ahead in the ABC reality romance universe Background: Spade's interest in The Bachelor - he's talked about it on his social media accounts and in a Jimmy Kimmel appearance - was a factor in his selection 'I have seen some stuff online - this judge, jury, executioner thing - where people are just tearing this girls life apart and diving into, like, her parents, her parents voting record,' said Harrison. 'Its unbelievably alarming to watch this. 'I havent heard Rachael speak on this yet. And until I actually hear this woman have a chance to speak, who am I to say any of this?' Harrison, the longtime host of all three Bachelor Nation shows - The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise - later took to Instagram to clarify his remarks on the controversial topic. 'While I do not speak for Rachael Kirkconnell, my intentions were simply to ask for grace in offering her an opportunity to speak on her own behalf,' he said. 'What I now realize I have done is cause harm by wrongly speaking in a manner that perpetuates racism, and for that I am so deeply sorry.' Those remaining in the Big Brother house are entering the home stretch. But producers Endemol Shine are already looking ahead to the next crop of housemates, putting out a casting call this week for the 2022 season of the show. In the online application form, the producers say they expect 'thousands of potential housemates to apply'. Casting: Those remaining in the Big Brother house are entering the home stretch, but producers Endemol Shine are already looking ahead to the next crop of housemates Applicants must be 18 or older, with shooting expected to take place over 12 weeks from October to December 2021. The closing date for applications is 5pm on August 2. The call-out comes with only ten of the original 26 housemates left, and 19 days until the 2021 season finale airs. Still in play: The call-out comes with only ten of the original 26 housemates left, and 19 days until the 2021 season finale airs. Pictured: housemate Mary Kalifatidis Meanwhile, on Wednesday's episode, the remaining housemates were subjected to 'one final twist' as Hell Week came to a close. Sarah Jane Adams, Marley Biyendolo and Mary Kalifatidis were all up for eviction, before it was revealed no one would be leaving the competition. 'The person with the most votes won't be going home. In fact, they won't be going anywhere,' revealed host Sonia Kruger, leaving the housemates stunned. Game on: With Hell Week coming to a close on Wednesday's episode of Big Brother, the show's unsuspecting housemates were subjected to 'one final twist'. Pictured, Sarah Jane Adams The 55-year-old veteran TV host teasingly added: 'You didn't think Big Brother would let you finish Hell Week without one final twist?' Big Brother then explained that the person with the most votes gets 'all the power', meaning the housemate who was voted out by the others is actually in charge. 'The housemate with the most votes will actually become my head of house for the next few days,' Big Brother continued. 'The person with the most votes won't be going home. In fact, they won't be going anywhere,' revealed host Sonia Kruger, leaving the housemates stunned He then explained that they'd be housed in an exclusive executive suite where they'd be given star treatment. 'I will call on them as my 2IC to help out in the tasks and other Big Brother duties, and they will get huge game advantages. While the twist is good for one, it's complete hell for the rest,' he explained. Understandably, the other housemates were concerned by this new development, as it was revealed that SJ had won the most votes. In control: Big Brother then explained that the person with the most votes gets 'all the power', meaning the housemate who was voted out by the others is actually in charge The 65-year-old appeared satisfied as Big Brother instructed her to choose another housemate to bring into the executive suite with her. SJ ultimately chose Danny Hayes, before making it clear she was out for revenge after coming dangerously close to eviction. 'It's war,' she told Danny, 48, in no uncertain terms after they entered the executive suite together. Helen Mirren ensured to command attention as she promoted Fast & Furious 9 on Wednesday in a pretty pink suit in Beverly Hills, California. The 75-year-old British actress gave an interview for the upcoming action movie while standing in front of the McLaren dealership in the bright outfit. Showcasing her impeccable style credentials, Helen also donned a green top and matching brightly coloured heels. Pink power: Helen Mirren promoted Fast & Furious 9 on Wednesday in a pretty pink suit in Beverly Hills, California She accessorized with a necklace and earrings and had her hair pulled back and gathered with a blue wrap. The Oscar-winning actress will play Magdalene 'Queenie' Shaw in the upcoming ninth installment of the Fast & Furious franchise. Helen previously portrayed the character in 2017's Fast & Furious 8 and also cropped up in the 2019 spin-off Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, starring Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson. And this time, Helen will be behind the wheel for the first time as she gets to drive a 200,000 supercar. Action film: The 75-year-old British actress gave an interview for the upcoming action movie while standing in front of the McLaren dealership in the bright outfit In the latest movie, Vin Diesel is back to battle for his family while John Cena makes his debut as Dominic Toretto's long-lost brother Jakob. The trailer, which came out in April, shows Helen sitting behind the wheel of her purple super car with her neck decorated with diamonds offering Vin Diesel advice. She says: 'There's nothing more powerful than the love of family but you turn that into anger and there's nothing more dangerous.' And speaking of the supercar, Helen said: 'This is a match made in heaven for me.' Villainous: The Oscar-winner will play the role of Magdalene "Queenie" Shaw in the ninth Fast and Furious film and got to drive a a 200,000 supercar Meanwhile, Vin Diesel has gushed about the Academy Award Winner's driving and said: 'She can work that wheel. The boys have nothing on her.' The actress then kissed him on the cheek for praising her driving, according to the Mirror. Speaking about her appearance in Fast and Furious 8, Helen revealed: 'My role in F and F 8 came about because I begged for it. 'I almost went down on my knees. Not quite... But I went down on my metaphorical knees to Vin [Diesel] and to everyone. Back again: Helen previously starred in 2017's Fast & Furious 8 and also cropped up in the 2019 spin-off Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (pictured with Vin Diesel in the upcoming film) High speed chase: Living up to the title of the film, the death-defying star's impressive ride can go from 0 to 120mph in just nine seconds Always stylish: Helen will zoom through the streets wearing zebra print boots and a 64-carat diamond and emerald necklace 'I always... I just wanted to be in one of those movies. So word went out that I wanted to be in it and they very kindly gave me a role in it. So I was very excited.' Fast & Furious 9 was originally set to be released in May 2019, but it was pushed back in part due to the coronavirus pandemic and was released in May in Hong Kong and South Korea. The film is scheduled for release in the US on June 25. Helen won the 2007 Oscar for Best Actress and a BAFTA Film Award for her performance in The Queen. Coming soon: Fast & Furious 9 was originally set to be released in May 2019, but it was pushed back in part due to the coronavirus pandemic She also has received the Olivier Award for Best Actress and a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play both for her role in The Audience. The Fast And The Furious starring Vin Diesel, 53, and the late Paul Walker was first released in June 2001. Paul died in November 2013 at age 40 in a single-car crash in Santa Clarita, California. Thermal Spray Coatings Market Growth & Trends The global thermal spray coatings market size is projected to reach USD 14.1 billion by 2028, registering a CAGR of 4.1% over the forecast period, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The global market is anticipated to be driven by the increasing product application scope owing to advantages, such as wear and corrosion protection, low toxic gas emissions, thickness capability, and electrical resistance. Thermal spraying is used to improve or restore the surface of a solid material. It can also be used for applying coatings to a wide range of components and materials for better resistance against cavitation, wear, abrasion erosion, and heat. Approximately, 40 to 45% of paints & coatings produced globally are used as protective and decorative paints in the architecture industry. These can be used either for existing or newly constructed structures including monuments, private offices, residential buildings, plants & factories, and public buildings. China, India, and Indonesia are majorly contributing to the growth of the construction industry in Asia Pacific. The rising population coupled with rapid urbanization & industrialization, especially in the aforementioned economies, has encouraged governments to increase their construction spending and boost infrastructural development. Furthermore, the rising popularity of powder-based coatings owing to the low cost is also significantly contributing to the growth of the global coatings market. Various rules are applicable, in terms of the manufacturing of coatings, due to the carcinogenic and flammable nature of solvents. However, powder-based coatings are eco-friendly as they contain no solvents and hence do not lead to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which cause air pollution. The Covid-19 pandemic has severely disrupted supply chains and sharply curtailed product demand. Restriction in transportation and supply due to slowdown or halting of factories and partial or nationwide lockdowns in several countries to restrain the spread of the coronavirus are expected to have an adverse impact on market growth Request a free sample copy or view report summary: Thermal Spray Coatings Market Report Thermal Spray Coatings Market Report Highlights The aerospace application segment dominated the market with a revenue share of 32.2% in 2020 The high growth is attributed to the wide product usage in aerospace applications as it helps reduce the high-temperature effects on components and increase their lifespan Ceramicswas the dominant product segment and accounted for the highest revenue share in 2020 This growth is credited to the high demand for these products from the industries, such as healthcare, aerospace & defense, energy, and industrial goods The global market is highly competitive because of the presence of several medium- and small-scale companies across the globe Key manufacturers focus on developing innovative formulas to offer diverse and high-quality products Access Press Release@ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-thermal-spray-coating-market Thermal Spray Coatings Market Segmentation Grand View Research has segmented the global thermal spray coatings market on the basis of product, technology, application, and region: Thermal Spray Coating Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028) Metals Ceramics Intermetallics Polymers Carbides Abradables Others Thermal Spray Coating Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028) Cold Flame Plasma High-Velocity Oxy-Fuel (HVOF) Electric Arc Others Thermal Spray Coating Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028) Aerospace Industrial Gas Turbine Automotive Medical Printing Oil & Gas Steel Pulp & Paper Others Thermal Spray Coating Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028) North America US Canada Mexico Europe Germany UK France Finland Denmark Sweden Asia Pacific Japan China India Australia Thailand Malaysia Central & South America Brazil Argentina Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates (UAE) Oman List of Key Players of Thermal Spray Coatings Market Praxair Surface Technologies, Inc. C. Starck, Inc. Wall Colmonoy Corp. Powder Alloy Corp. Saint-Gobain S.A. Carpenter Technology Corp. Durum Verschleiss-Schutz GmbH Montreal Carbide Co. Ltd. Progressive Surface, Inc. American Roller Company, LLC Lincotek Surface Solutions John Wood Group PLC Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Metallizing Equipment Co. Pvt. Ltd. About Grand View Research Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare. More than 40 years after making her debut at the Cannes Film Festival, Jodie Foster is receiving a lifetime achievement award from the festival. Cannes announced on Wednesday she will receive an honorary Palme d'Or, and she was named a special guest of the Opening Ceremony, scheduled to take place Tuesday, July 6. Foster was just 13 years old when she made her debut at the Palais Croisette in 1976 for her critically-acclaimed film Taxi Driver, which won the Palme d'Or, the highest honor for a film at the festival. Lifetime achievement: More than 40 years after making her debut at the Cannes Film Festival, Jodie Foster is receiving a lifetime achievement award from the festival Festival: Cannes announced on Wednesday she will receive an honorary Palme d'Or, and she was named a special guest of the Opening Ceremony, scheduled to take place Tuesday, July 6 'Cannes is a festival to which I owe so much, it has completely changed my life. Although I had already directed before, my first time on the Croisette was a defining moment for me,' Foster said. 'Showcasing one of my films here has always been a dream of mine. In fact, I have had several opportunities to fulfil my dream. Cannes is a film festival by auteur-filmakers who honour artists. And I greatly appreciate that,' she added. 'I am flattered that Cannes thought of me and I am very honored to be able to share a few words of wisdom or tell an adventure or two with a new generation of filmmakers,' Foster concluded. Defining: 'Cannes is a festival to which I owe so much, it has completely changed my life. Although I had already directed before, my first time on the Croisette was a defining moment for me,' Foster said Seven of Foster's films, both as an actress as a filmmaker, have been featured at the Cannes Film Festival throughout the years. Cannes President Pierre Lescure added, 'Jodie Foster has provided us with an amazing gift by coming to celebrate the return of the Festival on the Croisette.' 'Her aura is unparalleled: she embodies modernity, the radiant intelligence of independence and the need for freedom,' he added. Gift: Cannes President Pierre Lescure added, 'Jodie Foster has provided us with an amazing gift by coming to celebrate the return of the Festival on the Croisette' 'Jodie never ceases to reinvent herself,' adds General Delegate, Thierry Fremaux in his statement. 'She questions with her piercing gaze, learns from others, and is willing to step back from her beliefs in order to forge new morals. Do what is fair,' he added. 'An idea that she strives to convey in the decisions she makes as an actress and director, and which makes her so precious during our confusing times. We will honour her with warmth and admiration!' the statement concluded. Reinvent: 'Jodie never ceases to reinvent herself,' adds General Delegate, Thierry Fremaux in his statement Others who have received the Honorary Palme d'Or include Jeanne Moreau, Bernardo Bertolucci, Jane Fonda, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Manoel de Oliveira, Jean-Pierre Leaud, Agnes Varda and Alain Delon. The 74th Cannes Film Festival kicks off with the opening ceremony at the Palais des festivals on Tuesday, July 6. The festival comes to a close with the awards handed out by this year's Jury president, Spike Lee, on Saturday, July 17. Former Home And Away bad boy George Mason has been happily in love with his long-time girlfriend Manon Buchalet since 2016. And now the French model has sparked rumours the pair have secretly have tied the knot after changing her Instagram name to Manon Mason. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to the brunette beauty and her New Zealand actor beau for comment. Did Home And Away hunk George Mason secretly marry his girlfriend Manon Buchalet? Rumours swirl are swirling that the pair have tied the knot after the French model changed her surname on Instagram At this stage, her official Vivian Models profile still has her listed without her maiden or marriage name, simply referring to her as Manon. In January 2017, rumours swirled that the blonde hunk got engaged to the brunette beauty while on holiday in Europe. In an image shared to the French model's Instagram at the time, Manon looked ecstatic as she flaunted her impressive ring. Engaged? In January 2017, rumours swirled that the blonde hunk got engaged to the brunette beauty while on holiday in Europe The model wore her luscious curly brown locks in a loose, messy bun, pulling her hand through a thick woolen coat to expose the gold-banded rock on her ring finger. George - who plays embattled hunk Martin 'Ash' Ashford on Home and Away - wore a beanie and warm winter coat as he smiled at camera. Long time coming! The long haired Home and Away star has been linked with the beauty since April 2015 Long time coming! The long haired Home and Away star has been linked with the beauty since April 2015 Bad Boy! George once played an embattled ex-convict Martin 'Ash' Ashford on the popular TV soap Meanwhile, a close friend of the pair told Woman's Day at the time that George had been thinking about the proposal for quite some time. 'Ive never seen George as happy as he is when hes around Manon, and he cant imagine spending the rest of his life with anyone else.' the source said. 'He's quite the romantic.' The long haired surfer boy has been linked with the beauty since April 2015. Bliss! A friend told Woman's Day: 'Ive never seen George as happy as he is when hes around Manon, and he cant imagine spending the rest of his life with anyone else' Family matters: In 2017, Manon, who works as a model, spent Christmas with George and her family in her home country of France The actor joined the cast of the popular soap in 2014, where he played a recently released prisoner. The ripped bad boy persona has earned the attention of countless fans, who swarm to his brooding looks and buff torso. George hails from New Zealand and played the role of Martin 'Ash' Ashford in the long-running show for four years. He made his debut as a resident bad boy on the long-running Australian soap in late 2014. Roxy Horner put on a brave face as she attended the launch of new dating app Victoria just weeks after being in hospital. The model, 29, was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease last month but proved she wasn't letting her health scare get her down as stepped out with boyfriend Jack Whitehall, 32, on Wednesday. Together the couple enjoyed the easing of lockdown restrictions as they spent the night at London private members club Home House, joining clothing designer Joshua Kane, 36, who hosted the celebratory dinner. Glam: Roxy Horner put on a brave face as she attended the launch of new dating app Victoria at London private members club Home House on Wednesday weeks after being hospitalised Roxy looked every inch the fashionista as she arrived at the VIP evening in a sheer lace crop top, which showcased her washboard abs. She complemented the look with satin flared trousers and added a boost to her statuesque frame with open toe sandals. Roxy mingled with the likes of Anastasia Higgins and Harrison Osterfield at the bash. Jack and girlfriend Roxy were out on the town to celebrate the launch of new dating and networking app Victoria, which is a platform created for entrepreneurs and influencers. Victoria aims to become the most exclusive social network and has a rigorous application process complete with committee team who only approve the most connected individuals. Designer Joshua, who enjoyed the night alongside couple Jack and Roxy, hosted the celebratory evening. Hitting the town: Roxy proved she wasn't letting her health scare get her down as she headed to the party with her boyfriend Jack Whitehall, 32 Strutting her stuff: The model later changed into a white co-ord which highlighted her slender physique to perfection Wow factor: The model, 29, looked every inch the fashionista as she arrived to the VIP dinner in a sheer lace crop top which showcased her washboard abs Time to go home: Roxy appeared in high spirits as she left the venue with Jack with a bag in hand Update: The model, 29, was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease last month after undergoing a series of tests The model later changed into a white co-ord which highlighted her slender physique to perfection. Jack, meanwhile, rocked a navy shirt and cream trousers. Roxy appeared in high spirits as she left the venue with Jack with a goodie bag in hand. The lovebirds headed to a taxi after the fun evening out. Statement: Roxy complemented the look with satin flared trousers and added a boost to her statuesque frame with open toe sandals Sartorially: The crop top featured long billowing sleeve and was embroidered with an intricate pattern Here come the girls: Roxy mingled with the likes of Anastasia Higgins, who wore very similar trousers Fashionista: Roxy layered a matching jacket over the statement crop top Dressed to impress: She rubbed shoulders with Harrison Osterfield at the VIP dinner It comes just two weeks after Roxy candidly revealed she's feeling 'angry, frightened and sad' as she adjusts to her 'new way of life' after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. Sharing a glam selfie, Roxy penned: 'Tonight is my first night alone living with my new way of life. 'I can't stop researching my auto immune disease, every bit of pain or sickness I feel, I worry. Roxy was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease last month after undergoing a series of tests Gentleman: Jack showed off his chivalrous side as he held the door oped for his girlfriend to get in the car Evening out: Jack wore a black face mask as he left the venue, with Roxy following shortly behind 'I feel like I can't quite get the hang go it, I'm angry, I'm frightened and I'm sad but I'm also so proud of myself for trying so hard. 'Covid please go away so I can be with my family.' Roxy, who has been dating Jack since early 2020, added: 'Screw auto immune diseases though!' Roxy has not disclosed what type of autoimmune disease she was battling, and MailOnline have contacted her representatives for further comment. Conversation: The pair chatted to one another before getting into the taxi Going well: Since the first lockdown Roxy has been dating comedian Jack after the pair met during a trip to Australia Autoimmune diseases can cause either low or over activity of the immune system. The immune system can mistake body parts, such as skin, joints or organs, as bacteria or viruses so attacks them and healthy cells. Roxy was later discharged from hospital and gave her fans the update while sharing a selfie from her hospital bed. Over a picture of her smiling while wearing a hospital gown, she wrote: 'I can leave tonight yay.' Bed time: The lovebirds headed to a taxi after the fun evening out Whirlwind romance: The model moved into his London home after just a few weeks of dating What are autoimmune diseases? Autoimmune diseases can cause either low or over activity of the immune system. The immune system can mistake body parts, such as skin, joints or organs, as bacteria or viruses so attacks them and healthy cells. It is not known exactly what causes the immune system to attack healthy cells. Symptoms can range from mild to severe. Advertisement Before revealing news of her discharge, Roxy shared a loved-up picture with Jack and gushed: 'I'm so lucky and grateful for my man, my biggest support through everything. I don't know what I would have done this past year without you.' Since the first lockdown Roxy has been dating comedian Jack after the pair met during a trip to Australia. The model moved into his London home after just a few weeks of dating. Jack previously admitted although the decision 'accelerated' their relationship, they did miss out on doing ordinary things like restaurant and cinema dates. Speaking on the Couples Quarantine podcast, he said: 'Weirdly that was quite nice because we spent a lot of time together and it accelerates the relationship in a way. 'Then when lockdown ended, there's a lot of things we realised. We'd never gone to see a film together. We'd never been to a restaurant in England because we met in Australia.' Damian Lewis has revealed he is thinking of recording music in a studio but admitted that he needs to be 'pushed out of his comfort zone' over the decision. Speaking on the Out to Lunch podcast on Monday, which was originally recorded six weeks before Helen's tragic death from cancer aged 52 on April 16, Damian said that he is 'too much of a coward' to pursue music as acting is his main 'discipline'. The actor, 50, revealed that he got in touch with music manager Steve Abbott after picking up his guitar again during lockdown, with the two deciding to make fun music together over the past eight months with others also getting involved. Music: Damian Lewis has revealed he is thinking of recording music in a studio but admitted that he needs to be 'pushed out of his comfort zone' over the decision (pictured at the BRITs in 2018) He explained: 'We've put together a bunch of songs and there's chat of trying to put some tracks down in a recording studio... seeing if there's something there that people might want to listen to.' However, Damian admitted that he is 'cautious' over the creative choice and joked that he is 'too much of a coward' as he needs to be 'pushed out of his comfort zone'. The star said: 'When it comes to creative choices like this, I am cautious. Of course, they will be lining up to take shots as I stick my head above the parapet because no one is an easier target than an actor who thinks he can be a bit of a musician. Sweet: It comes after the actor, 50, said he is 'very proud' he and his late wife Helen McCrory helped raise over 1.5 million to feed NHS staff during the pandemic (pictured in 2012) 'But I don't want to go off and be a great jazz star or pop star, or rock star. I'm an actor. I want to remain in my discipline. But for me this is something of unbelievable value. 'It's so much fun and what we don't do well in this country is we don't cross-fertilise across the different arts and that's a big shame.' He added: 'I'm too much of a coward to want to be out of my comfort zone too much... I need a bit of pushing or shoving and reassuring that this is worth it what we are all doing together.' Damian has previously showcased his musical side over the years and the actor was seen performing at his friends' wedding in September 2020. Podcast: Speaking on the Out to Lunch podcast on Monday, which was originally recorded six weeks before Helen's tragic death from cancer aged 52 on April 16, Damian said that he is 'too much of a coward' to pursue music as acting is his main 'discipline' (pictured in 2019) The Homeland star was pictured strumming a guitar as he sang along to a series of classic Irish tracks outside the Kensington and Chelsea Register Office in London. Elsewhere during the podcast, Damian said he is 'very proud' he and his late wife Helen helped raise over 1.5 million to feed NHS staff during the pandemic. Helen and Damian led fundraising efforts alongside Matt Lucas to provide hot meals for NHS staff during the Covid-19 crisis, which saw them partner with chains including Leon and Wasabi for the Feed NHS scheme. Damian said: 'We raised over one and a half million pounds and by the end of it were feeding 40,000 meals a day to a hundred different hospitals across the UK. 'It had started just with a conversation with a pal and he said "look we're good at looking after patients but we are c**p at looking after our own staff, can you think of anyway we can feed them?" Scheme: Damian said: 'We raised over one and a half million pounds and by the end of it were feeding 40,000 meals a day to a hundred different hospitals across the UK' (pictured in 2016) 'I am very, very glad we did it and I am full of admiration for people who give their time working in the charity sector.' The Homeland star went on: 'I knew one of the founders of Leon and I knew Leon was popular with people and Helen and myself became friendly with CEO John Vincent. 'He's great friends with Matt Lucas so us four sort of clubbed together to try to raise money; that's what we did and I'm very proud actually. It was hard work.' Helen, who was awarded the OBE for services to drama in the 2017 New Years Honours, was best known for playing the matriarch Polly in Peaky Blinders and Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter films. Damian has previously said she had shown 'no fear, no bitterness, no self-pity' and had only told to close friends and family members about the diagnosis. Gushing: Damian (pictured in 2012) added, 'I am very, very glad we did it and I am full of admiration for people who give their time working in the charity sector... I'm very proud' In April, Damian revealed Helen urged him to find love again two weeks before her death. In The Sunday Times, Damian said Helen told him, their daughter Manon, 14, and son Gulliver, 13, that she wanted 'Daddy to have lots of girlfriends'. He wrote: 'She has been utterly heroic in her illness. Funny, of course generous, brave, uncomplaining, constantly reminding us all of how lucky we've been, how blessed we are. 'Her generosity has extended to encouraging us three to live. Live fully, take opportunities, have adventures. 'Only a couple of weeks ago she said to us from her bed, "I want Daddy to have girlfriends, lots of them, you must all love again, love isn't possessive, but you know, Damian, try at least to get though the funeral without snogging someone."' Heartbroken: In April, Damian announced the Peaky Blinders star had passed away after a 'heroic' battle with cancer Damian also wrote of his heartbreak that Helen had left their children 'too early' but they have been prepared for life as she taught them to be 'courageous'. The actor also wrote that Helen had told her children not to be sad by her passing because she had lived the life she wanted to. He stood by the actress' side during her illness, with Helen brushing off her hoarse voice in her final TV appearance in March to selflessly talk about their charity work. The couple's devotion to one another shone brightly for all to see, with Damian saying the actress died peacefully at home surrounded by 'peace and love' and their children. Brave battle: Damian has previously said she had shown 'no fear, no bitterness, no self-pity' and had only told to close friends and family members about the diagnosis (Helen pictured in Peaky Blinders) In his first announcement of the news, Homeland star Damian tweeted: 'I'm heartbroken to announce that after a heroic battle with cancer, the beautiful and mighty woman that is Helen McCrory has died peacefully at home, surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family. 'She died as she lived. Fearlessly. God we love her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. 'She blazed so brightly. Go now, Little One, into the air, and thank you.' The couple were last seen during an appearance on Good Morning Britain in March, where they appeared to speak about their charity work for the Prince's Trust and the Prince's Trust Awards. Today host Allison Langdon has revealed she is still in pain almost four months after badly injuring her leg in a hydrofoiling accident. The Nine presenter, 42, spoke about her 'horrible' injuries on Nova's Fitzy and Wippa on Thursday. When asked how her knee felt now, she said: 'It's okay, it's still very sore.' Yikes! Today host Allison Langdon has revealed she is still in pain almost four months after badly injuring her leg in a hydrofoiling accident. Pictured on Fitzy and Wippa on Thursday She added: 'I snapped the leg, I did the kneecap, I did the ligaments. I shattered the knee cap, snapped the leg, did the PCL, the meniscus... The tibia snapped.' 'It was pretty horrible,' she added, noting that her knee had hit the hydrofoil when she fell over during the watersports segment. Allison then joked that the worst thing about the accident - which took place when the Today show was filming on the Gold Coast on February 4 - was that she didn't get to win the race against her co-host Karl Stefanovic. Ouch: Allison, 42, joked that the worst thing about the accident was that she didn't get to win the race against her co-host Karl Stefanovic She said: 'I was kicking Karl's backside - and I feel like that bit's been lost. Right before I really lost, I won the race.' Allison said she felt pain instantly when she fell off the board, telling the rescuers who rushed to her aid she had 'done my kneecap'. She explained she had to sit with the excruciating pain for two and a half hours before she got any 'real drugs'. Incident: She hurt herself when the Today show was filming on the Gold Coast on February 4 But she only had herself to blame as she'd refused an ambulance and decided to get to the local hospital by car instead. Allison went on to reveal she'd recently seen her doctor, who told her she was still in the recovery process. She won't full recover for another 12 months, she said. But on the plus side, she noted: 'The hospital bed at our house has gone, the little chair in the shower has gone. It's nice to see the back of that.' Not out of the woods yet: When asked how her knee felt now, she said: 'It's okay, it's still very sore.' Allison is pictured with her children, Scout and Mack After the accident in February, Allison was flown from the Gold Coast to Sydney where she underwent knee surgery. She's been having regular sessions with a physiotherapist and her husband, media executive Michael Willesee Jr., has been taking care of her. The TV presenter made her return to the Today show in March, sporting a large brace over her knee and using a wheelchair and crutches to get around. Travis Barker looked worry-free while seen out for the first time since he caught liking a snarky comment about Scott Disick's teenage girlfriend Amelia Gray Hamlin over the weekend. After raising eyebrows for seemingly shading the model, 19, by double-tapping a post describing her as a 'baby,' the performer, 45, went out rocking a black tank top with a red skeleton and the name of the punk band The Exploited on the front. The Blink-182 drummer completed his laid-back look with a pair of black sweatpants with a skeleton design just under the knee, a beanie and sneakers while exploring Los Angeles on Tuesday. Raising eyebrows: Travis Barker was seen out for the first time since he caught liking a snarky comment about Scott Disick's teenage girlfriend Amelia Gray Hamlin over the weekend He also toted a large gym bag and backpack for his outing, days after expressing his feelings about Disick's younger girlfriend with a not-so-subtle Instagram 'like.' A tipster for the gossip account DeuxMoi reported spotting Kourtney Kardashian, Travis, Scott, and Amelia all dining together at Nobu in Malibu, news which made its way to a Kardashian fan account. There, a snarky fan comment seemed to catch the Blink 182 drummer's attention. Unfazed: After raising eyebrows for seemingly shading the model, 19, for double-tapping a post describing her as a 'baby,' the Blink-182 drummer, 45, a black tank top with a red skeleton with mohawk on the front while exploring Los Angeles on Tuesday The comment, 'liked' by Barker, on the @kardashianvideo account, read: 'It's so odd to me like what does a 2001 baby have to do w these grown a** people i know that dinner was awkward as hell.' Scott, 38, and the model daughter of Real Housewife Lisa Rinna, have incurred lots of flack for their large age gap, prompting Amelia to previously hit out against 'weird' and 'judgmental people.' Scott just turned 38 on May 26, and Amelia is set to turn 20 at the end of the month, making her nearly three years younger than his ex-girlfriend Sofia Richie, 22. Awkward dinner: An anonymous tipster reported spotting the two couples all dining together at Nobu which was reposted to @kardashianvideo where Barker 'liked' a snarky comment Prior to the 'awkward' sushi dinner, Kourtney and Amelia had actually crossed paths at Disick's aviation themed birthday party, which was also attended by the rest of the Kardashian clan. A source told ET that Kourtney is 'unbothered' by the pair's relationship and that it's 'not weird,' to see them together, but reportedly Scott wishes she was 'more affected,' by it. 'He wishes Kourtney was more affected by it, like he is about Kourtney and Travis, an insider said. 'Scott hasn't hung out in a big family setting with Kourtney and Travis yet. He's still a little skeptical of their relationship and hurt by it.' Thumbs up: 'It's so odd to me like what does a 2001 baby have to do w these grown a** people i know that dinner was awkward as hell,' the comment read Age gap: Amelia is nearly 20 years his junior and in her birthday tribute she called the Talentless designer 'my love,' which made people cringe But Amelia seems to be going full speed ahead with the relationship, and recently penned a birthday tribute to her 'love' Scott that made followers cringe so much she had to turn off comments. 'happy birthday my love. you light up my life, and make my world better. i can't imagine what i would do without you. thank you for being you. the most caring, loving, special person on this planet. i'm so lucky. i'm so blessed to have met you. i love you,' she wrote. Negative fan comments flooded the post with some writing that he was just waiting for Kourtney to become single again, while others continued to highlight the pair's nearly twenty year age difference. Nobu nights: Nobu has become the family's favorite haunt and Kourtney enjoys dinner there at least once a week The pair went public with their relationship in the fall and things became Instagram official between them just ahead of Valentine's Day, around the same time Kourtney and Travis confirmed their romance. Recently Barker referred to the Poosh founder as 'the love of my life,' and has continued to get three new pieces of ink to pay tribute to the reality star. They escaped to Palm Springs for the holiday weekend, whereas Amelia and Scott spent theirs in Montecito. PDA: 'He wishes Kourtney was more affected by it, like he is about Kourtney and Travis, an insider said of Scott's feelings about Kourtney being 'unbothered' by his new relationship He returned to Neighbours last year to replace Tim Robards in the role of Pierce Greyson. And Don Hany admits that while he's playing a character with a complicated past, he felt at home as soon as he returned to the Melbourne set. 'It's like putting on a pair of old socks... There's a lot of familiarity about it and you know how lucky you are straight away to be coming back,' the 45-year-old actor told TV Week. Too easy! Actor Don Hany says he feels right at home on Ramsay St after returning to long-running Neighbours last year to replace Tim Robards in the role of Pierce Greyson He also went on to explain that Pierce is keen to see how things are going with his son and ex-wife Chloe Brennan (played by April-Rose Pengilly), after he had an illicit affair with Dipi (played by Sharon Johal). 'He's a bit curious about what's going on with Chloe, but I think he really wants to know, how things have progressed with his son,' he added. Don also warned fans that drama is set to unfold as Chloe has now moved in with her mum Nicolette Stone. His character is worried that his former flame Chloe 'has hurried into the relationship... Also, he doesn't trust Nicolette.' Ex-wife life: He also went on to explain that Pierce is keen to see how things are going with his son and ex-wife Chloe Brennan (played by April-Rose Pengilly, pictured here left), after he had an illicit affair with Dipi (played by Sharon Johal) Don's acting reel includes some of Australia's most popular dramas, including Underbelly, Picnic at Hanging Rock and White Collar Blue. Perhaps one his most iconic roles to date was Dr. Chris Havel, the love interest of Dr Nina Proudman played by Asher Keddie on Offspring. In the same interview with TV Week, Don also admitted that he wouldn't say no to a reboot of the popular Channel Ten show. Career highlights: Don's acting reel includes some of Australia's most popular dramas, including Underbelly, Picnic at Hanging Rock and White Collar Blue 'I'd be so up for that, it would be so much fun,' he said. 'There are a lot of things that would have to fall into place for something like that to happen but I'd be excited to be a part of it.' Neighbours airs weeknights and some weekends on 10Peach. Grown-ish actress Francia Raisa discussed the 'emotionally-draining' two-week process to have 28 of her eggs frozen in order to delay the whole biological clock issue. 'I don't want to settle, and I really want to wait for the right person,' the 32-year-old LA native explained while guest co-hosting Monday's episode of The Talk. 'I really want to be friends with someone first and really know you, because I don't want to have to worry about that again ever. So I went ahead and did it, and now I'm not in a rush to get into a relationship...If you're a working woman and you just want to take your time, I think it's very smart.' 'I don't want to settle': Grown-ish actress Francia Raisa discussed the 'emotionally-draining' two-week process to have 28 of her eggs frozen to delay the whole biological clock issue Francia admitted it wasn't as easy as she thought it would be because 'you're basically pregnant.' 'I think the hardest part was you know, I did get bigger and I didn't have a baby. So, that was rough,' Raisa (born Almendarez) said. 'It's very emotional. I cried all the time. I thought everyone hated me. I am grateful to everyone at Grown-ish for being so patient with me while I was doing the whole process, because I would walk off set right at 5:45 to make sure I was injecting at 6 o'clock. It was definitely very emotional, and I'm glad that I'm not as crazy anymore.' While guest co-hosting Monday's episode of The Talk, the 32-year-old LA native explained: 'I really want to wait for the right person...So I went ahead and did it, and now I'm not in a rush to get into a relationship' 'I did get bigger and I didn't have a baby. So, that was rough': Francia admitted it wasn't as easy as she thought it would be because 'you're basically pregnant' Raisa (born Almendarez) said: 'It's very emotional. I cried all the time. I thought everyone hated me...It was definitely very emotional, and I'm glad that I'm not as crazy anymore' The JoJo video vixen added: 'I'm glad I did it, and I do suggest it to other women to do it. The recovery process is hard. I had a lot of great support, and now I'm not afraid of needles so much' The JoJo video vixen added: 'I'm glad I did it, and I do suggest it to other women to do it. The recovery process is hard. I had a lot of great support, and now I'm not afraid of needles so much.' Francia - who's of Mexican and Honduran descent - looked lovely in a sleeveless ruffled cranberry pencil dress selected by 'image architect' Law Roach. Hairstylist Ashley Ruiz coiffed Raisa's sleek middle-parted updo and make-up artist Bria Vlencia made sure she was ready for her close-up on the CBS talk show. Chic: Francia - who's of Mexican and Honduran descent - looked lovely in a sleeveless ruffled cranberry pencil dress selected by 'image architect' Law Roach Glam: Hairstylist Ashley Ruiz coiffed Raisa's sleek middle-parted updo and make-up artist Bria Vlencia made sure she was ready for her close-up on the CBS talk show 'Guess I'm a creature of habit': On Tuesday, the Floored guest judge - who boasts 2.5M social media followers - shared a snap of herself wearing a yellow plunging one-piece swimsuit On Tuesday, the Floored guest judge - who boasts 2.5M social media followers - shared a snap of herself wearing a yellow plunging one-piece swimsuit. Francia currently portrays Cal U senior Analisa 'Ana' Patricia Torres in Freeform's Black-ish spin-off sitcom Grown-ish, which returns for a fourth season on July 8. But Raisa is probably best known for charitably donating one of her kidneys in 2017 to her elusive yet grateful friend Selena Gomez, who was suffering from the autoimmune disorder Lupus. Fourth season premieres July 8! Francia currently portrays Cal U senior Analisa 'Ana' Patricia Torres in Freeform's Black-ish spin-off sitcom Grown-ish Stunning Pilates instructor Coco Stedman was one of the breakout stars from the latest season of Married At First Sight. And the 30-year-old revealed on Wednesday she wasn't always so glamorous, sharing a rare throwback photo from her awkward childhood years. The feisty redhead uploaded a picture on Instagram Stories of herself as a kid when she had shoulder-length blonde hair. Glow up! Married At First Sight's Coco Stedman (right) revealed on Wednesday she wasn't always so glamorous, sharing a rare throwback photo from her awkward childhood years (left) She had an early 2000s fashion sense, pairing a white and navy tank top by surfwear brand Roxy with colourful shorts. 'Oh my, I went back through my old posts and look what I found. That's baby Coco,' she wrote in the caption. Coco's childhood throwback snap comes after she unveiled her dramatic hair transformation last week. New look! Coco's childhood throwback snap comes after she unveiled her dramatic hair transformation last week She showed off her new red 'do in a series of Instagram posts, after ditching her dark brown locks for a lighter, more vibrant look. Coco told fans: 'Variety is the spice of life, isn't it? I've been brown, blonde and I just wanted to, like, try something else. 'I don't really care if you say that you liked it better before. 'Cause like, why not?' 'Cause like why not?' She showed off her new red 'do in a series of Instagram posts, after ditching her dark brown locks for a lighter, more vibrant look She explained that normally she would colour her hair dark in winter, but wanted to change things up this year. 'There's method in my madness. I want to go out with only people who follow me on Instagram being like, "Oh my God, is it you? Like, we don't know,"' she said. Coco rose to fame as the loud bride who married tradie Sam Carraro on MAFS. Just married! Coco rose to fame as the loud bride who married tradie Sam Carraro on MAFS Forbidden: She infamously had a fling with Cameron Dunne, who was paired with Sam Harvey She infamously had a fling with Cameron Dunne, who was paired with Sam Harvey. Their short-lived romance came to a spectacular head at the reunion special, when their clandestine meet-ups were revealed to the rest of the cast. Those secret meetings culminated in a kiss - and once that was revealed to the group, the show's relationship experts slammed the couple for their affair. Karlie Kloss has been getting back into the swing of things since welcoming her first child, son Levi, with husband Joshua Kushner earlier this year. And the 28-year-old supermodel looked every bit runway-ready on Wednesday afternoon while out for a stroll in Manhattan's Soho area. Kloss slipped her 6foot2inch frame into woven blazer and matching high-waisted trousers. Runway maven: Karlie Kloss looked every bit runway-ready on Wednesday afternoon while out for a stroll in Manhattan's Soho area Layered beneath her blazer was a tight fitting white T-shirt with a flattering scoop neckline. The Victoria's Secret Angel strutted down the city sidewalk in a pair of black Gucci loafers that matched the purse draped over her shoulder. Karlie's signature blonde strands were styled into a sleek updo while the majority of her face remained concealed behind a mask. She appeared to be wearing little to no makeup, with just a tinge of mascara on the eyes. Business chic: Kloss slipped her 6foot2inch frame into woven blazer and matching high-waisted trousers Karlie gave birth to her son Levi nearly three months ago, but did not reveal his arrival until April. 'Levi Joseph 3.11.21' wrote the model, who uploaded an image of herself holding onto the newborn's hand to Instagram. In the snapshot, which has since garnered nearly 300,000 likes, Karlie can be seen sporting a gold 'Mama' ring. Since then, Kloss has continued to give her 9.1million followers glimpses at Levi. Motherhood: Karlie gave birth to her son Levi nearly three months ago, but did not reveal his arrival until April Big reveal: 'Levi Joseph 3.11.21' wrote the model, who uploaded an image of herself holding onto the newborn's hand to Instagram She also recently provided a look into her pregnancy journey by uploading a slew of snapshots taken before Levi's March birth. One of the image showed Karlie posing in front of a floor-length mirror with her baby bump on full display. Another showed a bunch of Kloss' friends placing a hand on her bump, while the model rocked a pair of white overalls and a black turtleneck. Karlie and Joshua first met in 2012, and the brother of former president Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner was seen with Kloss at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show after-party. Glimpses: Since then, Kloss has continued to give her 9.1million followers glimpses at Levi Pregnancy journey: She also recently provided a look into her pregnancy journey by uploading a slew of snapshots taken before Levi's March birth The two made one of their first official appearances as a couple at an awards ceremony in New York City the following year and were often spotted getting close to each other following the event. Rumors about a potential engagement swirled over the next couple of years, although the two quickly shot down any suggestions about the next step in their relationship. However, the businessman went on to pop the question in 2018, and the couple solidified their union later that year. Kloss and Kushner went strong as a pair for the next few years until 2020, when it was reported by People that the model was expecting her first child. The global electric two-wheeler market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 7.5% during the forecast period according to a new report by Polaris Market Research. Electric two-wheelers include electric bicycles, electric scooters, electric motorcycles, and others, which are powered through an electric power source. Electric two-wheelers are lightweight, compact, easy to handle, and highly fuel efficient. A small engineering company based in Austria, Johammer, has developed a futuristic electric cruiser, Johammer J1. This bike is equipped with a 2.4-inch digital display attached to its rear-view mirrors, which displays speed, revs, and warnings. It offers a top speed of 75 mph with acceleration of 62 mph in 8 seconds. The bike is designed with motor and controller integrated into the rear wheel to enhance shock absorbance. Complete Summary with TOC Available @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/electric-two-wheeler-market The demand for electric two-wheelers has increased over the years owing to depletion of traditional fuel sources and growing environmental concerns. The growing awareness regarding environmental pollution caused by vehicles run on traditional fuels, and development of public charging infrastructure has increased the adoption of electric two-wheelers. Governments are introducing stringent regulations regarding vehicular emissions, supporting the market growth. Governments across the world have introduced several laws and regulations to monitor vehicular emission. These regulations have mandated two-wheeler manufacturers to use advanced technologies to combat high emission levels in vehicles. The report provides an extensive qualitative and quantitative analysis of the market trends and growth prospects of the Global Electric Two-Wheeler Market, 2017-2026. This report comprises a detailed geographic distribution of the market across North America, Europe, APAC and South America, and MEA. North America is further segmented into U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Europe is divided into Germany, UK, Italy, France, and Rest of Europe. Asia-Pacific is bifurcated into China, India, Japan, and Rest of Asia-Pacific. Get sample copy of this report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/electric-two-wheeler-market/request-for-sample Asia-Pacific generated the highest revenue in 2017 owing to increasing awareness regarding environment, and growing vehicular population in this region. The increasing resource depletion, and development of public charging infrastructure have resulted in increasing adoption of electric two-wheelers in the region. The global electric Two-Wheeler market is characterized by the presence of well-diversified international and small and medium-sized vendors. These companies are consistently launching new products to enhance their offerings in the market. With the advancement of technologies, companies are innovating and introducing new customized products to cater the growing needs of the customers. Leading companies are also acquiring other companies, and enhancing their product offerings to improve their market reach. Acquisitions enable key players to increase their market potential in terms of geographic expansion and expansion of customer base. The leading companies profiled in the report include Zhejiang Luyuan Electric Vehicle, Yadea Technology Group, Zero Motorcycles, Energica Motor company, Sanyang Industry, Alta Motors, Guangzhou Camqi Electric Vehicle, Yobykes, Ampere Vehicles, and Jiangsu Xinri E-Vehicle Co. Ltd. Make Inquiry about this report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/electric-two-wheeler-market/inquire-before-buying About Polaris Market Research Polaris Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide unmatched quality of offerings to our clients present globally. The company specializes in providing exceptional market intelligence and in-depth business research services for our clientele spread across different enterprises. We at Polaris are obliged to serve our diverse customer base present across the industries of healthcare, technology, semi-conductors and chemicals among various other industries present around the world. Contact us- Polaris Market Research Phone: 1-646-568-9980 Email: sales@polarismarketresearch.com Web: www.polarismarketresearch.com As the old saying goes, the best revenge is looking good. And Gladys Berejiklian certainly showed her 'dodgy' ex-boyfriend Daryl Maguire what he was missing on Thursday as she turned heads at Australian Fashion Week. The New South Wales Premier, 50, was a vision in blue as she sat in the front row for a catwalk showcase at Carriageworks in Sydney. Chic: Gladys Berejiklian certainly showed her 'dodgy' ex-boyfriend Daryl Maguire what he was missing on Thursday as she turned heads at Australian Fashion Week She teamed her dress with nude heels and styled her dark hair in a chic bob. The politician was seated next to her sister Mary Berejiklian and fashion executive Natalie Xenita for the Indigenous Fashion Projects runway. Gladys, who has a reputation for being 'married to the job', is believed to be single following her split from former Wagga Wagga MP Maguire. In good company: The New South Wales Premier, 50, was seated next to her sister Mary Berejiklian and fashion executive Natalie Xenita for the Indigenous Fashion Projects runway Flying solo: Gladys, who has a reputation for being 'married to the job', is believed to be single following her split from former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire Details: Gladys teamed her dress with nude heels and styled her dark hair in a chic bob Their romantic history was exposed in October when Gladys admitted during an ICAC inquiry that she'd been in a secret relationship with Maguire while he was in office. At the time, Maguire was at the centre of a corruption probe amid claims he'd used his position for personal gain. While some feared her five-year entanglement with the disgraced ex-MP would derail her political career, Gladys emerged from the scandal relatively unscathed. Dodgy Daz: Gladys' romance with Daryl Maguire (left) was exposed in October when she admitted during an ICAC inquiry that she'd been in a secret relationship with the disgraced former MP while he was in office Indeed, many women felt sorry for her and argued she shouldn't have been held accountable for the misdeeds of her ex-partner. After being cancelled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Australian Fashion Week, primarily based at Sydney's Carriageworks, is the first national fashion show to be held live anywhere in the world for more than a year. The five-day event coincides with the release of an EY report, from High Fashion to High Vis - detailing the economic contribution of Australia's fashion and textiles sector. According to the Australian Fashion Council, which commissioned it, it's the most comprehensive study of the fashion and textiles industry ever done in Australia. It found the industry creates $7.2billion in export revenue for Australia, while the industry's economic impact represents upwards of 1.5 per cent of the national economy. The study also found the industry employs almost half a million Australians, more than mining and utilities, with women making up 77 per cent of the workforce. Australian Fashion Council CEO Leila Naja Hibri said the report highlighted the economic strength of the fashion industry. Scandal: At the time Maguire was at the centre of a corruption probe amid claims he'd used his position for personal gain. While some feared her five-year entanglement with the disgraced former MP would derail her political career, Gladys emerged from it relatively unscathed 'This ground-breaking report highlights the true economic clout of our dynamic and diverse industry,' Ms Hibri said. 'Until now, the comprehensive value of the industry's economic contribution and its predominantly female workforce has not been fully recognised. 'Now we can better understand the impact of this sector's significant role in Australia's creative economy, and the substantial potential of its future.' This year's Fashion Week will be the largest since 2015, featuring Australia's leading and emerging designers as well as the collections of Indigenous fashion designers. The week will have a renewed focus on sustainability and it's also the first time in its 25-year history that the public has been invited to attend, with 41 runway shows, workshops, panel talks, masterclasses as well as live podcasts. Kirsten Dunst showed off her slender legs in a pair of Daisy Dukes as she stepped out for an iced coffee in Burbank on Tuesday afternoon. After getting her caffeine fix at Coffea, the 39-year-old star was seen rocking a black blouse, matching flip flops and dark brown shades. She kept her nose and mouth covered under a black and white plaid face mask amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as California prepares to fully reopen on June 15. The latest: Kirsten Dunst showed off her slender legs in a pair of Daisy Dukes she stepped out for an iced coffee in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon The Golden Globe winner's straight blonde hair cascaded just past her shoulders and she wore minimal makeup under her facial covering. In April, the star announced she was expecting her second child on the cover of W magazine's Volume 2 The Director's Issue. 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. Refreshing: After getting her caffeine fix at Coffea in Burbank, the 39-year-old star was seen rocking a l black blouse, matching flip flops and dark brown shades Staying careful: She kept her nose and mouth covered under a black and white face mask amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as California aims to fully reopen on June 15 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.' Exciting: She added flip flops to round out her casual look 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.' Proud mama: Dunst revealed her growing baby bump while draped in white lace and posing on the cover of W magazine three months ago 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. The pair also share a three-year-old son, named Ennis. She is already a rising star in the modelling world, appearing in several swimsuit shoots and on the cover of magazines such as Maxim. And Aussie model Isabelle Mathers was front and centre at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week most days this week. The Bella Hadid lookalike, who is signed with IMG Models, looked absolutely jaw-dropping as she shot the camera a number of blue steel looks from the front row. That model look! Bella Hadid lookalike model Isabelle Mathers, 22, (pictured) was front and centre at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week most days this week The beauty was spotted in a grey pinstripe blazer on Tuesday, showing her sensational abs in a black bralette. She looked toned and tanned in the two-piece, which she paired with strappy black heels and a pale blue handbag. Abs-olutely incredible: Isabelle showcased her flat midriff in a white bralette, while her trim pins were also on display in a matching mini skirt on Thursday She wore her brunette tresses down past her shoulders and opted for a matte makeup look for the day. On Thursday, she looked equally amazing in an all-white ensemble. Isabelle showcased her flat midriff in a white bralette, while her trim pins were also on display in a matching mini skirt. Sheer delight: The beauty topped off the outfit with a white long-sleeve shirt The beauty topped off the outfit with a white long-sleeve shirt, a small white handbag and a pair of matching pumps. Isabelle is from the Gold Coast and is a rising star in the modelling world. She previously spoke to Daily Mail's FEMAIL about her day on a plate. 'On a typical day I would eat two eggs for breaky, whether they are scrambled, poached or fried, with half an avocado and two pieces of toast,' she said, in 2018. Cold: Isabelle is from the Gold Coast and is a rising star in the modelling world. She previously spoke to Daily Mail's FEMAIL about her day on a plate 'After breakfast I make a protein shake with almond milk and a banana added. Lunch is generally sushi, a burger or a salad wrap or sandwich. 'For dinner I have some type of protein with veggies and I won't lie, I always have something sweet like chocolate after dinner.' She admitted her fashion sense changes from 'really girly' to grungier, with most of what she wears inspired by shoots she appears in. Bethenny Frankel on Wednesday announced her new business venture, a wine called Forever Young. Frankel, 50, took to Instagram with a shot of herself in a white dress holding a glass of the wine. In the caption of the post, she referred to her past success with her Skinnygirl brand - which she sold for more than $100 million in 2011 - in announcing the business venture. The latest: Bethenny Frankel, 50, on Wednesday to Instagram to announce her new business venture, a wine called Forever Young 'Can lightning in a bottle strike twice?' she wrote. 'I cracked the code in the spirits business once before. My little cocktail baby was the fastest growing liquor brand in history, at the time. 'I paved the way for many other media personalities to launch their own cocktail brands and created a new category.' She noted that she was the first female celeb to emerge with a breakthrough brand, in which she shattered previous industry norms regarding the marketing of alcohol. The former Real Housewives Of New York City star said, 'Celebrities have historically been strictly told to never be photographed with alcohol. Liquor companies were marketed by men to men and I changed that game. Trailblazer: Frankel noted, 'I paved the way for many other media personalities to launch their own cocktail brands and created a new category' Details: The product currently is featured in Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Sauvignon Blanc, with plans for a Rose in the offing The former Real Housewives Of New York City star noted that she was the first female celeb to market an alcohol brand 'Now its a whole new world for women, thanks to my little brand that could. I waited until I found another brand and concept that I wanted to call my own.' She said that the product is 'absolutely superb' and 'next level' with the right amount of balance and elevation, proclaiming, 'With every sip, you will understand why I entered back into this space.' Frankel said that a milestone in her life inspired her latest business turn. Track record: Frankel noted how her Skinnygirl cocktail line 'was the fastest growing liquor brand in history, at the time' Endorsement: The reality star said that the product is 'absolutely superb' and 'next level' with the right amount of balance and elevation 'I want to do it again with a new [wine emoji],' she said. 'Im 50. I feel great and I, like you, want to be and feel FOREVER YOUNG ... I want to be FOREVER YOUNG. Do you???' The product currently is featured in Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Sauvignon Blanc, with plans for a Rose in the offing. In a clip on her site, she asked, 'What is better than being forever young,' adding that many wines on the market don't live up to their labels. 'This is spectacular, enjoy - you're going to love feeling forever young,' she said. Frankel is collaborating on the product with its founders, Seth Greenberg and Dozortsev & Sons Enterprises, according to People. Samantha Harris returned to the runway during Afterpay Australian Fashion Week in Sydney on Thursday. The 30-year-old model stepped out onto the catwalk in a patterned one-piece as part of the Indigenous Fashion Projects show. Samantha flaunted her figure in a plunging spotted bathing suit by Australian label Indii Swimwear. Strutting her stuff: Samantha Harris returned to the runway during Afterpay Australian Fashion Week in Sydney on Thursday The suit featured a deep V-neckline and small ruffle sleeves, with Samantha stepping out in a pair of white block heel sandals. She accessorised with a pair of apricot-coloured oversize spiral earrings, and her long blonde highlighted hair was styled in loose waves. Samantha confidently sauntered down the runway to a crowd of the who's who of Australia's fashion industry. Prints charming: The 30-year-old model stepped out onto the catwalk in a patterned one-piece as part of the Indigenous Fashion Projects show Working it: Samantha modelled a spotted bathing suit by Australian label Indii Swimwear The stunning star also modelled for Kirrikin, an Indigenous Australian fashion label. Samantha looked incredible in a navy blue silk dress with a V-neckline and flowing shape. She also wore a long, colourfully patterned belted kimono over the top. Making a splash: Samantha confidently sauntered down the runway to a crowd of the who's who of Australia's fashion industry Out of the blue: The stunning star also modelled for Kirrikin, an Indigenous Australian fashion label. Samantha stepped out in a navy blue silk dress with a V-neckline and flowing shape After attending Australian Fashion Week as a guest, Samantha shared a photo of herself backstage on Instagram Stories on Thursday. 'My turn to walk in a show,' she captioned the mirror selfie. In the photo, Samantha is seen sitting in front of a Hollywood mirror with makeup laid out on the dresser in from of her. Discrimination: In an interview with The Morning Show in June last year, Samantha spoke about her experience with racism as an Indigenous model in the fashion industry A masked makeup artist stood behind her with a brush in hand, as she prepared to get to work. On Monday, Samantha revealed her excitement about heading to Fashion Week in a post on Instagram: 'Let the fashion madness begin. Sydney Fashion Week 21'. In an interview with The Morning Show in June last year, Samantha spoke about her experience with racism as an Indigenous model in the fashion industry. All made up: After attending Australian Fashion Week as a guest, Samantha shared a photo of herself backstage on Instagram Stories on Thursday 'I still can't believe that I've been singled out about my culture and my race - I've been told that I'm a token Aboriginal model, and that I'm only a model because I'm Aboriginal,' she said at the time. 'I know it says a lot more about the person than me, but to hear that and to read that in this day and age, it's really sad and not right.' She added: 'For people to single you out, and single a race out, it's not right.' Tessa Thompson looked to be in a cheery mood on Wednesday afternoon. The actress, 37, had a huge smile on her face as she enjoyed lunch with a friend at Frenchette restaurant in New York City. Thompson made headlines recently after photos obtained by MailOnline showed her getting very cozy with Taika Waititi and his girlfriend Rita Ora at the director's home in Sydney. Cheery: Tessa Thompson looked to be in a cheery mood on Wednesday afternoon in NYC For her outing on Wednesday, Tessa put on a stylish display in a pair of geometric trousers and an oversized striped button down shirt. She wore her top slightly tucked into her waistband and slipped her feet into a pair of platform mules to complete the look. Thompson accessorized her ensemble with a pair of frameless shades, as well as several choker necklaces. The Thor: Ragnarok star had her raven hair tied up into a bun and secured with a black bandana. Style inspiration: For her outing on Wednesday, Tessa put on a stylish display in a pair of geometric trousers and an oversized striped button down shirt Retro: She wore her top slightly tucked into her waistband and slipped her feet into a pair of platform mules to complete the look She carried the majority of her belongings in a backpack, while keeping her cellphone and a pack of cigarettes in hand. After dining, Tessa was seen smoking a cigarette as she crossed a busy street with a slew of fellow New Yorkers. Thompson's lunch date comes just a little over a week after pictures obtained by MailOnline showed her cozying up to Rita Ora and Taika Waititi following an all-night party at Taika's home in Sydney. Three is NOT a crowd: Thompson made headlines recently after photos obtained by DailyMail.com showed her getting very cozy with director Taika Waititi and his girlfriend Rita Ora at his home in Sydney; Rita and Taika pictured In the snaps, the trio appeared to be in great spirits as they wrapped their arms around each other and beamed smiles over al fresco drinks. It was a busy day for the actress as on the same day, she was also spotted locking lips with model Zac Stenmark, reports Page Six. The duo were seen passionately kissing and laughing as they enjoyed a stroll together in Sydney, with Zac even spotted lifting Tessa' sunglasses so that he could gaze into her eyes. Kiss kiss: It was a busy day for the actress as on the same day, she was also spotted locking lips with model Zac Stenmark (Pictured in 2020) PDA: The duo were seen passionately kissing and laughing as they enjoyed a stroll together in Sydney (Zac is pictured here with his twin brother, Jordan [left]) After the photos of Rita, Tessa, and Taika were published, it was reported that Waititi received a dressing down by Marvel bosses. According to the Daily Telegraph, Marvel executives were left vastly unimpressed after seeing images of the Thor director, 45, cuddling up with the two women. Both Rita and Tessa were in Sydney filming scenes for the Kiwi filmmaker's upcoming Thor sequel Love and Thunder. Reprimand? After the photos of Rita, Tessa, and Taika were published, it was reported that Waititi received a dressing down by Marvel bosses; Taika pictured in April The publication claimed that Taika's display also ruffled feathers among the bosses at Marvel's parent company Disney. 'Not exactly the image they're looking to project in relation to one of their biggest franchises,' a Thor: Love and Thunder production insider told the publication. The insider claimed that, while Taika is known for being a 'party animal', the photos 'crossed a line' for company bosses. She's known for her signature blonde tresses. And Tammy Hembrow proved she was tressed to impress when she touched down in Sydney with boyfriend Matt Poole on Thursday. Tammy debuted the extensions which stood out - and were longer than - her natural hair. Tressed to impress? Instagram queen Tammy Hembrow, 26, (pictured) debuted her new hair extensions when she landed in Sydney with boyfriend Matt Poole on Thursday Tammy looked every inch the influencer at the airport, flashing her toned tummy while wearing a white bralette and blue tracksuit pants. She wore a matching blue jumper over her shoulders and finished the outfit with a pair of Nike hi-tops and a white Chanel chain-link handbag. Tammy strolled through the terminal carrying her Louis Vuitton suitcase. All tressed-up? Tammy debuted the extensions which stood out - and were longer than - her natural hair She landed at the airport alongside her boyfriend Matt and lookalike sister, Amy. At one point, Tammy was every inch the doting aunt as she played with baby niece, Aurora. The social media star looked to be in a good mood as she strolled to a waiting car at the terminal. Influencer: Tammy looked every inch the influencer, flashing her toned tummy while wearing a white bralette and blue tracksuit pants Low-key: Tammy wore a matching blue jumper over her shoulders. She finished the outfit with a pair of Nike high-tops and a white Chanel chain-link handbag High style: Tammy carried a Louis Vuitton suitcase through the airport Tammy is currently in Sydney launching her Saski Collection faded Collection at Australian Fashion Week. The blonde bombshell has hinted she and Matt are thinking about having children together. In leaked messages in May, the pair got onto the topic of babies after discussing how they wanted oysters for dinner. Matt asked her how many people would be coming over, to gauge how many dozens of the oysters were needed. Sister act! Tammy was joined by Matt and her lookalike older sister, Amy 'Just you and me baby baby.... Should I buy some?' Tammy wrote. 'Also should we make one?' she then cheekily asked, referring to a 'baby'. Tammy has built a fitness and fashion empire on Instagram, attracting more than 12.3million followers thanks to her racy bikini photos and famous derriere. Patient: Tammy was seen waiting in the terminal while holding onto her suitcase Her social media fanbase, however, could include almost 2.7million 'fake' followers, according to an audit report by FakeCheck.co for Daily Mail Australia. The Gold Coast-based influencer's social engagement doesn't align with the number of followers she has, FakeCheck claims. Her average likes make-up only 1.17 per cent of her following - when the report claims it should be above 1.5 per cent. Star: Tammy was seen strolling to a waiting car Apparel: Tammy is the owner and founder of Saski collection, an activewear brand Family first: Amy carried daughter Aurora through the terminal Meanwhile, her comments percentage is a meagre 0.032 per cent when it should supposedly be above 0.05 per cent. Bearing those statistics in mind, the report states that 2,730,125 of her followers are 'possibly fake'. Despite having no paid promotions pushing her account, Tammy gained a whopping 224,550 followers in the past 30 days, according to SocialBlade. Doting: Tammy was seen cradling baby Aurora at the airport Kisses: Tammy appeared to take the youngster for a cuddle at the airport Daily Mail Australia has contacted Tammy Hembrow for comment. Tammy has long denied rumours she underwent a Brazilian butt lift to achieve her shapely derriere. She has said she instead relies on gym sessions and eating well. Babies? The blonde bombshell has hinted she and Matt are thinking about having children together. Brood: In leaked messages, Tammy wrote: 'Just you and me baby baby... Should I buy some?' Tammy wrote. 'Also should we make one?' she then cheekily asked, referring to a 'baby' Business blonde: Tammy has built a fitness and fashion empire on Instagram, attracting more than 12.3 million followers thanks to her racy bikini photos and famous derriere The mother-of-two has previously said she 'hates' it when people falsely accuse her of having undergone surgery on her backside. She said during an interview with Studio 10 in December 2019: 'I hate when people accuse me of doing that. 'I take such offence to it because I worked so hard and it makes me annoyed.' Nearly five years after it hit theaters, Joel Kinnaman is reacting to the harsh reviews of 2016's Suicide Squad. The super-villain adventure with an all-star cast including Will Smith and Margot Robbie was bashed by critics, with just a 26% score on Rotten Tomatoes. While promoting the new season of In Treatment in a podcast interview with Variety, the 41-year-old Swedish actor opened up about the negative reviews of the first movie, and why the upcoming sequel by director James Gunn will be 'insane.' Reacting: Nearly five years after it hit theaters, Joel Kinnaman is reacting to the harsh reviews of 2016's Suicide Squad Suicide Squad did take in $325.1 million domestic and $746.8 million worldwide, though it was still considered a disappointment given the all-star cast which included Jared Leto, Viola Davis, Common and Cara Delevingne. When asked about the negative reviews, Kinnaman revealed that there was another 'vision' at play that apparently didn't belong to writer-director David Ayer. 'I thought the first 40 minutes of the film was f***ing great, and then there were conflicting visions and it just didnt end up being what we all hoped it was,' Kinnaman began. Conflicting: 'I thought the first 40 minutes of the film was f***ing great, and then there were conflicting visions and it just didnt end up being what we all hoped it was,' Kinnaman began He added that the movie, 'didnt feel like the movie that we hoped we were going to make,' though he added the upcoming sequel, dubbed The Suicide Squad, 'is something very different.' 'Its just a different universe. Its a James Gunn universe. Its a very hilarious and depraved place,' he added. Kinnaman also confirmed that he saw the movie 'a couple of days ago' and said, 'It's insane. It's by far James Gunn's best movie.' Not the same: He added that the movie, 'didnt feel like the movie that we hoped we were going to make,' though he added the upcoming sequel, dubbed The Suicide Squad, 'is something very different' Gunn is best known for his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Kinnaman added that the sequel is, 'very much the movie that I thought it was going to be because the vision was so clear from the beginning,' which was apparently not the case on the first movie. He added he's, 'hopelessly biased,' though he added, 'I found it to be one of the most entertaining films Ive ever seen.' Clear vision: Kinnaman added that the sequel is, 'very much the movie that I thought it was going to be because the vision was so clear from the beginning,' which was apparently not the case on the first movie He added one of the biggest surprises of the movie was 'how well it flowed,' and 'how he was able to create these little bubbles, these little moments of emotional depth and visual and emotional poetry.' The actor added the movie is, 'very silly and ridiculous,' but also 'super violent' and 'just gory at times.' The Suicide Squad, which also stars Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Alice Braga, Nathan Fillion and Pete Davidson, hits theaters August 6. Surprise: He added one of the biggest surprises of the movie was 'how well it flowed,' and 'how he was able to create these little bubbles, these little moments of emotional depth and visual and emotional poetry' Montana Brown has blasted influencers for promoting brands that could be harmful to their fanbase. On Tuesday it was reported Chloe Ferry, Myles Barnett and Helen Briggs were said to have been paid to share Instagram posts targeting debt-stricken fans which have since been banned by Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) due to not being clearly labelled. And the Love Island star, 25, expressed on Wednesday how 'angry' it makes her that celebrities would choose to be 'flogging whatever online' without any thoughts for the consequences. 'I'm not one of those dodgy celebs flogging whatever': Montana Brown blasted influencers Chloe Ferry, Myles Barnett and Helen Briggs for 'sharing posts targeting debt-stricken fans' Speaking in her column with The Sun she reflected on her own experience, saying: 'After doing Love Island, it was really important to me that I wouldnt be one of those dodgy celebs flogging whatever online.' Montana, who has her own swimwear brand Swim Society, added that she has been given paid promotion opportunities that she found 'strange' in the past, but said she always quickly turned them down. Referring to influencers targeting those with debts, she went on: 'There are some celebrities who dont care even if what they promote could financially ruin their followers. 'Knowing that their audience is made up of young and, at times, vulnerable men and women, this makes me angry.' Claims: On Tuesday it was reported Chloe Ferry (pictured), Myles Barnett and Helen Briggs were said to have been paid to share Instagram posts targeting debt-stricken fans Criticism: Referring to influencers targeting those with debts, she said: 'There are some celebrities who dont care even if what they promote could financially ruin their followers' Montana added that when she was young and impressionable she put her health at risk by buying fat-burning pills which made her realise, when she became an influencer, that she couldn't promote these kinds of products to others. On Tuesday, The Sun reported that Ashteck Media, which trades as Debt Slayers, paid Chloe, Myles and Helen to share the adverts, which offered to 'write off up to 85% of debts' and 'save 1000s', in December and January. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) are said to have upheld three complaints about the adverts as they were not clearly labelled and 'exaggerated' how debts could be written off. The watchdog told the publication: 'We understood that Debt Slayers had dictated the contents of the posts and that the influencers had been remunerated for making the posts. Upset: Montana expressed how 'angry' she was that celebrities would choose to be 'flogging whatever online' without any thoughts for the consequences (pictured on Love Island) Adverts: On Tuesday it was claimed the Instagram posts targeting those with debts have since been banned by Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) due to not being clearly labelled 'However, there was nothing in the posts, such as "#ad" displayed clearly, that made clear to consumers they were ads.' ASA are also said to have banned the adverts from appearing 'in that form' again with Ashteck Media and the reality stars involved ordered to ensure future posts are 'obviously identifiable as marketing communications'. In a clip obtained by The Sun, it sees TOWIE star Myles, 27, during a past Instagram video say: 'One of my friends just got 81 per cent of his debt wiped off.' 'Paid': The Sun reported Ashteck Media, which trades as Debt Slayers, paid the trio to share the adverts, which offered to 'write off up to 85% of debts' and 'save 1000s', in December and January (Helen Briggs pictured in a stock image) ASA: Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) are said to have upheld three complaints about the adverts as they were not clearly labelled and 'exaggerated' how debts could be written off (Myles Barnett pictured in a stock image) He adds: 'I know it's weird times at the minute and everyone's finances have taken a hit. So swipe up, and you can wipe off a big, big chunk of your old debt.' Earlier this year, in a now-deleted picture shared by Geordie Shore star Chloe, 25, on her Instagram, her post read: 'This is a new fully regulated scheme that can help you write off 85% of the debt.' However it is believed that Ashteck Media, which trades as Debt Slayers, did not offer any help and instead 'passed on details to another company' which would then 'arrange an Individual Voluntary Agreement'. Slayers: The service has caused ructions The post in question: Earlier this year, in a now-deleted picture shared by Geordie Shore star Chloe, 25, on her Instagram, her post read: 'This is a new fully regulated scheme that can help you write off 85% of the debt.' According to The Sun, Ashteck Media has now 'stopped using social media influencers for promotions'. While Ex On The Beach star Helen, 25, has insisted her future adverts will be 'properly labelled'. Chloe and Myles have said they wont work with debt companies again. Earlier this year, it was claimed that Chloe can earn up to 7K per sponsored post on her Instagram, which has 3.7million followers. MailOnline has contacted ASA, Chloe, Myles and Helen's representatives for further comment. She's spoken out in the past about her hormone imbalance that left her feeling like she'd 'given birth to a baby'. And Catherine Tyldesley took to Instagram on Wednesday to share the extent of her uncomfortable bloating with her Instagram followers. The former Coronation Street star, 37, posed in a black crop top as she revealed to her fans that she goes up 'an entire dress size' once a month due to bloating. 'Hormones you're so cruel to me': Catherine Tyldesley took to Instagram in a black crop top on Wednesday to share the extent of her uncomfortable bloating with her Instagram followers Posing with her hand on her hip in the bathroom mirror, Catherine asked her followers: 'Anyone else go up an entire dress size???' The actress looked downbeat as she displayed her bloating bump for her fans in a bid to discuss the uncomfortable hormonal side effect. She lamented: 'Hormones you're so cruel to me!! I literally balloon once a month #walkingwomb #oestrogenprobs' It comes after Catherine told Hello! magazine that she recently felt like she was 'pregnant' due to a hormone imbalance that triggered her bloating. Contrast: The former Coronation Street star revealed to her fans that she goes up 'an entire dress size' once a month due to her period The TV star shared: 'My body seemed to think it was pregnant. I took so many tests as I was convinced I was actually pregnant and even had morning sickness, but in fact my body was just mimicking a pregnancy. 'My endocrinologist said she'd never seen such a reaction. It felt like I'd given birth without having a baby. 'I put on a stone in weight even though I was eating well and training hard. It is only now that I feel I've got my body back.' Tough: It comes after Catherine said that she recently felt like she was 'pregnant' due to a hormone imbalance that triggered her bloating by mimicking child birth A champion of body positivity, Catherine hit back at trolls earlier this year who accused her of editing her Instagram pictures in order to look thinner. She told the The Sun's Fabulous Magazine: 'I was gutted, because it is something I'd never, ever do. 'Not only is Photoshopping bad for that person's mental health in terms of body dysmorphia, but it also impacts on the mental health of the people seeing that image and comparing themselves.' She added that she has to work 'really hard' to stay a 'smaller size' and that staying healthy 'doesn't come easy'. Body positivity: The soap star hit back at trolls earlier this year who accused her of editing her Instagram pictures in order to look thinner The beauty also discussed how because influencers so often use filters and apps to change their bodies and faces that sometimes people assume that everyone is doing it. The star said she has always been self-conscious about her jaw as she thinks it is 'manly' and so it upsets her when people accuse her of having filler in it as it has taken her a lot time to feel comfortable with that part of her face. She said: 'You just don't know the inner battle I've had to get to where I am now.' Around 10 years ago Catherine lost a staggering six stone before joining the cast of Coronation Street. Dropping from a size 22 to a size 8-10, the soap star previously said that she struggled to control her weight as a teenager, and said in 2013 she was motivated to shift the pounds after being told by a director she was too fat for play a leading lady. Before: Around 10 years ago Catherine lost staggering six stone before joining the cast of Coronation Street and says she works 'really hard' to stay a smaller size Catherine went onto drop another two stone after giving birth to her son Alfie in 2015, and in 2018 unveiled her transformation after a 12-week fitness regime. Speaking about what motivated her to drop the pounds in a Q&A on Instagram in January said: 'I couldn't walk up the stairs without gasping for breath.' 'I had zero energy and my skin was terrible. Educating myself on nutrition was the best thing I ever did.' Catherine now speaks openly about the importance of health and nutrition and says that some elements of the body positivity movement have gone too far. She said that if people are saying 'I weigh 25st and I'm really healthy' that that is 'scientifically impossible'. Catherine also recently urged the government to tackle the UK's 'obesity crisis' in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The actress accused the government of not 'giving two hoots' about obesity, and expressed dismay at Krispy Kreme's decision to offer free doughnuts to Americans that can prove they've been vaccinated against coronavirus. 'I swear to god Boris, if you follow suit and start reducing fast food again knowing how severely obesity affects this virus, I will lose my marbles,' Catherine said in an impassioned Instagram video. Warning: The actress recently urged the government to tackle the UK's 'obesity crisis' in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic The soap star suggested slashing prices on fruit and vegetables instead, saying: 'Why not reduce fruit and vegetables? Why not send out fruit and vegetables to families that can't afford it.' Catherine said in full: 'We all know that for years now the UK has been in an obesity crisis, an obesity epidemic. The government don't seem to give two hoots. 'We also know that if you contract COVID and you are obese or you are overweight the struggle is much worse. 'But in America, if you wiggle around your vaccine passport you get a free Krispy Kreme doughnut.' She continued: 'Do outreach: free, educational programmes for families that need to know more about nutrition. 'Leaving gyms until the last minute when statistically they are one of the lowest places that you can catch COVID. My mind is blown.' Antipsychotic Drugs Market Overview As per the analysis by Market Research Future (MRFR), the global antipsychotic drugs market is predicted to acquire significant market value, expanding at a CAGR of 4.5% by 2025. The rising awareness about the importance of mental health and psychological illness is expected to be a significant factor in boosting the antipsychotic drugs market 2020. The growing incidents of psychotic disorders, such as; schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, are expected to boost the demand for antipsychotic medication and which can strengthen the market. The rising initiatives taken by the government of several countries to break stigmas related to psychotic disorders are anticipated to boost the demand for such drugs that can develop the market. Furthermore, increasing drug abuse and growing addiction to drugs are projected to be other causes that can escalate the demand for antipsychotic drugs and bolster the market. On the other hand, side effects of such drugs, such as; weight gain and risk of diabetes, can impede the market in the assessment period. However, the growing insomnia patients and rising geriatric population are anticipated to underpin the market expansion in the forthcoming period. also read @ https://www.medgadget.com/2019/11/antipsychotic-drugs-market-size-estimation-share-analysis-future-growth-insights-top-key-players-and-global-antipsychotic-drugs-industry-trends-by-2025.html Antipsychotic Drugs Market Segmentation The segmental analysis of the global antipsychotic drugs market is done by generation, end-users, and therapeutic applications. The generation-based segments of the global antipsychotic drugs are generation, has been segmented into first generation, second generation, and third generation. The end-users-based segments of the global antipsychotic drugs are hospitals & clinics, research institutes, and others. The therapeutic application-based segments of the global Antipsychotic Drugs Market Share are schizophrenia, anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, dementia, and others.a Antipsychotic Drugs Market Regional Analysis Based on the region, the global antipsychotic drugs market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World (RoW). As per the analysis, the global antipsychotic drugs market is projected to be dominated by North America owing to the rising population being affected by psychosis. The US and Canada are expected to make significant participation due to the increasing cases of schizophrenia and insomnia. Further, the presence of established key players in the region is predicted to augment the market in the coming period. The developing healthcare infrastructure is anticipated to strengthen the market during the review period. Europe is expected to acquire significant antipsychotic drugs market value during the forecast period, thriving at a notable CAGR. The region is anticipated to grow due to the expanding patient pool. The on-going development in the concerned field is likely to bolster the market during the assessment period. Further, the development of healthcare infrastructure can augment the market during the evaluation period. The APAC region is expected to garner substantial antipsychotic drugs market value during the review period. The expanding patient pool with the growing innovation in medical devices is likely to grow the market in the forecast period. Developing countries like India, China, and Japan are projected to play a crucial role in strengthening the regional market due to the on-going development of the healthcare sector. Furthermore, the on-going R&D in the field is expected to drive the regional market at a fast pace in the coming period. The MEA region is anticipated to witness steady antipsychotic drugs market growth during the forecast period due to the developing healthcare infrastructure. The presence of Middle East countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia are expected to make more significant participation than the African countries due to economic stability. Antipsychotic Drugs Market Key Players Key players of the global antipsychotic drugs market are Bristol-Myers Squibb (US), Eli Lilly & Co. (US), AstraZeneca (UK), GlaxoSmithKline Plc. (UK), Pfizer Inc. (US), and Johnson & Johnson (US). Browse Detailed TOC with COVID-19 Impact Analysis at: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/antipsychotic-drugs-market-2784 related reports Ayurvedic Products Market Research Report- Forecast to 2027 Ophthalmoplegia Market Research Report- Global Forecast Till 2027 Lichen Sclerosus Treatment Market Research Report - Global forecast till 2027 About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), & Consulting Services. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. They marked their 48th wedding anniversary in January. And Michael Caine and wife Shakira looked happier than ever as they enjoyed a dinner date at Oswald's private members club in London on Wednesday. The actor, 88, cut a dapper figure in a blue jacket as he held on to his glamorous wife's arm as they made their way down the street. Just the two of us: Michael Caine and wife Shakira looked happier than ever as they enjoyed a dinner date at Oswald's private members' club in London on Wednesday Michael added a blue shirt to his look, finishing his outfit with black trousers and black trainers. The Interstellar star used a cane while he walked, with Shakira on hand for extra support. He has used the cane since he suffered an ankle injury in 2018 after he fell on ice. Meanwhile, former actress Shakira looked effortlessly chic in a tailored cream jacket, beneath which she wore a black, lace-trimmed camisole. Date night: The actor, 88, cut a dapper figure in a blue jacket as he held on to his glamorous wife's arm as they made their way down the street The Guyanese beauty added black trousers and black heels, while she rounded off her stylish look with a string of pearls, diamond earrings and a sparkling black handbag. Their romance has proved to be one of the longest marriages in showbiz, after tying the knot in Las Vegas in 1973. In 2019, the veteran British actor revealed how he met the love of his life after seeing her star in a coffee commercial. 'I was at home and this commercial came on, for Maxwell House coffee. And there was this beautiful Brazilian girl,' he told Andrew Denton's Interview. Loved up: Their romance has proved to be one of the longest marriages in showbiz, after tying the knot in Las Vegas in 1973. Michael first saw Shakira on a coffee commercial (pictured in 1972) 'I said to my mate "we're going to Brazil tomorrow - I have plenty of money, we're going to find her.'' Much to his surprise, his dream woman was not on the other side of the world, but instead a stone's throw away from where he was living. The thespian reportedly called his future wife every day for ten days until she finally agreed to go out with him. The couple have one daughter together, Natasha, 48, while the Alfie star has another daughter Dominique, 65, from his previous marriage with actress Patricia Haines. She's used to a lavish lifestyle as the ex-husband of megastar Phil Collins. And, while she's not married to the rocker today, Orianne Cevey is certainly still living the high life as illustrated when she attended a glamorous jewellery launch in Vegas. The designer, 47, and her pet pooch posed with Stuart Berger of designer jewellery firm Berger & Sons at their OC Wonders Collection showcase on Wednesday. Living the high life: Jewellery designer Orianne Cevey, 46, stepped out with her pet pooch at Berger & Sons' OC Wonders Collection showcase in Las Vegas on Wednesday night Orianne, a Swiss jewellery maker, who is now married to fellow trinket creator Thomas Bates, 31, looked glamorous in a sleek black dress on the night. Her gown reached down to the floor and had a touch of sparkle with some sequinned detailing to the front to suit the glamorous occasion. Orianne's tattooed arms were on display as she dressed for the Vegas desert heat. She carried her perfectly groomed white pup for the evening. The fashionista, who was wed to rocker Phil from 1999 to 2006, was happy to pose for pictures as she inspected the gems on display. Mixing with the fashion set: The designer, 47, and her pet pooch posed with Stuart Berger of designer jewellery firm Berger & Sons at their OC Wonders Collection showcase on Wednesday Orianne, who shares two children with her ex, tied the knot with current beau Thomas at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in the Nevada city on August 2, 2020. She hit headlines last year due to a dispute with musician Phil, 69, over their home in Miami. The songwriter tried to have his former spouse kicked out in October 2020 after finding out she secretly remarried and moved Thomas into the mansion. Walkies! Orianne, who was previously married to Phil Collins, 70, took her pet dog to the event Woman's best friend: Orianne adoringly posed for pictures with her pet on the night The mother-of-three hit back, however, refusing to leave and claiming she was entitled to half its value under a 'verbal cohabitation agreement'. The pair agreed she could stay until late January, giving her time to find a new residence for their youngest sons, Matthew, 15, and Nicholas, 18. The exes tied the knot in 1999 before splitting up just seven years later, with the artist paying $47million (33.2million) to Orianne in their settlement. On-off: Orianne and Phil married in 1999, had two sons, Nicholas, 18, and Matthew, 15, before splitting seven years later, but later rekindled their relationship in 2016 (pictured in 2019) The businesswoman, who also shares daughter Andrea with ex-husband Charles Mejjati, was packing her bags and getting ready to leave the rocker's abode 'in weeks' after snapping up a plush, new waterfront home. DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that Orianne and Thomas purchased the sprawling $5.5million (3.9million) six-bed property in Fort Lauderdale before Christmas. The lavish pad boasts a pool, spa, home theatre and a dock big enough for a 90ft yacht. He's brushed off backlash from fans after being chosen to present the long-awaited Friends Reunion. And James Corden cut a casual figure as he enjoyed a romantic date night with his wife Julia Carey at Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica on Wednesday. The presenter, 42, who recently revealed he's lost 23lbs, displayed his svelte physique in a laid-back ensemble as he and his spouse headed home following their meal together. Date night: James Corden cut a casual figure as he enjoyed a romantic dinner with his wife Julia Carey at Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica on Wednesday James opted for a simple black bomber jacket and jeans alongside a black face mask as he and Julia exited the Italian eatery. Julia cut a chic figure in pink velvet blazer over an all-black ensemblr with matching heels, and carried her essentials in an aubergine snakeskin bag. The couple, who are parents to son Max, 10, and daughters Carey, six, and Charlotte, three, enjoyed a break from looking after their brood to head out for the meal together. Laid-back: The TV presenter, who recently revealed he's lost 23lbs (right in 2008), opted for a black bomber jacket and jeans as he and Julia exited the Italian eatery Last month James revealed he'd lost a staggering 23lbs in the latest round of his weight loss journey. Appearing on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on Radio 2, James said the trick to his weight loss has been to see his new eating regime as a lifestyle change, rather than a 'diet'. When Zoe said he had shed a stone, James replied: 'Oh it's more, I've lost more. I'm down like 23 pounds which I think is what, a stone and a half? 'I'm doing a bit of exercise, this is my tip. I've done every single diet in the world, I've done them all and what I've realised is, the notion of going on a diet is wrong. 'You're not going on a diet, you're changing the way you eat and you're going to change the way you eat forever. See it as, this is how I eat now.' Stylish: Julia cut a chic figure in pink velvet blazer over an all-black ensemblr with matching heels, and carried her essentials in an aubergine snakeskin bag James revealed in the New Year that he has signed up to the health and fitness programme to help shift the conversation around wellness. His outing also comes after Friends fans took to social media to question why the British presenter was picked to host the sitcom's long-awaited reunion, with some suggesting that an American star should have landed the gig. This comes as MailOnline also reported that James was the number-one choice by all six of the show's cast members to host the reunion, which saw the stars look back at some of the sitcom's most iconic moments. James appeared as host when the cast made their way to the show's iconic brown sofa, placed in front of a replica of the famous fountain that appeared in the opening credits. Couples' outing: The couple, who are parents to son Max, 10, and daughters Carey, six, and Charlotte, three, enjoyed a break from looking after their brood to head out for the meal Why him? James' outing comes after Friends fans took to social media to question why the British presenter was picked to host the sitcom's long-awaited reunion Courteney Cox (Monica Gellar), Jennifer Aniston (Rachel Green), Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing), Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay) and David Schwimmer (Ross Gellar) all returned to the sitcom's original set for the show. James was widely-panned for his interview with the show's stars, with one critic slamming his 'banal' questions. While the nostalgic element has been called upon and praised by experts, the lack of awareness towards the more problematic nature of the show set tongues wagging as well as James' appearance as host. Lara Worthington (nee Bingle) is often spotted rocking stylish outfits while jaunting around Sydney. So it's not surprising the 33-year-old made a style statement when she went fishing in a $3400 belted trench coat by Kwaidan Editions in Sydney. The model cut a chic figure in the designer number as she enjoyed a day by the sea in Watsons Bay with her brother Josh and sons Rocket, five, and Racer, four. Scroll down for video Family time! Lara Bingle cut a chic figure in a designer coat as she took her children fishing in Sydney Fun in the sun! The model dressed to impress in a coat as she stepped out with her two sons Rocket, five, and Racer, four The mother-of-three teamed the stylish ensemble with black trousers, a pair of white sneakers and retro sunglasses. Lara styled her blonde locks straight and appeared to be wearing a neutral palette of makeup. During the outing, the model was spotted putting bait on her rod before casting her line into the water. At one point, Lara was also seen assisting her son as he held his fishing rod. Style: The mother-of-three teamed the stylish ensemble with black trousers, a pair of white sneakers and retro sunglasses Beauty: Lara styled her blonde locks straight and appeared to be wearing a neutral palette of makeup Looking like a pro! During the outing, the model was spotted putting bait on her rod before casting her line into the water Family outing: At one point, Lara was also seen assisting her son as he held his fishing rod Lara and her husband Sam Worthington arrived back in Australia with their children in January. Sam returned to Australia to star in the Sydney Theatre Company production of the Wesley Enoch directed comedy, Appropriate. Reports surfaced last year that the couple were planning to move Down Under on a permanent basis after living in the U.S. Back home: Lara and Sam Worthington arrived back in Australia with their children in January. Pictured: Lara and brother Josh New role: Sam returned to Australia to star in the Sydney Theatre Company production of the Wesley Enoch directed comedy, Appropriate Relocating? Reports surfaced last year that the couple were planning to move Down Under on a permanent basis after spending years living in the U.S The couple have been based in the US with their sons Rocket and Racer for a number of years. In June 2020, they welcomed their most recent addition, a baby boy, whose name is yet to be revealed. Lara and Sam began dating in 2013 and married in secret a year later. Living in the U.S: The couple have been based in the US with their sons Rocket and Racer for a number of years Growing family: In June 2020, they welcomed their most recent addition, a baby boy, whose name is yet to be revealed Angelina Jolie reportedly will 'never forgive' Brad Pitt after he was awarded joint custody of their children last week. According to reports from US Weekly on Tuesday, the actress, 45, was left 'bitterly disappointed' by the result and feels their legal battle is 'far from over'. Angelina and Brad share children Maddox, 19, Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 15, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12. Battle: Angelina Jolie (pictured in 2019) 'will never forgive' Brad Pitt after he was awarded joint custody of their children and 'feels the legal battle is far from over', it was reported on Tuesday A source told the publication: 'She will never forgive him... She maintains it's far from over and still believes that justice will prevail.' It was also claimed that the Maleficent star will give 'everything shes got' to appeal the decision in court. The court ruled that Brad and Angelina will have shared custody of all their children with the exception of Maddox, who is no longer a minor. Brad's representatives declined to comment when approached by MailOnline, spokespeople for Angelina have also been contacted for further comment. Case: Last week, the court ruled Brad (pictured with Angelina in 2014) has joint custody of their children with the exception of Maddox who is no longer a minor Case: However sources say Angelina (pictured in 2019) 'maintains it's far from over', and it was also claimed that she will give 'everything shes got' to appeal the decision in court On Thursday, sources close to the actress and humanitarian shared that she felt let down by the courts that did not allow her children to testify at the custody hearings. One person close to her claimed she did not object to the custody decision, but to a lack of 'care for her family,' according to Page Six. It was added the star did not feel the court 'took into account the full set of issues that affect her family.' 'The custody schedule was always determined by the court,' the source explained. 'It's sad that Brad's people are gloating about a potential win when beating a system that exists to protect families and children from issues that harm their well-being is not something to brag about.' They stressed that Jolie wasn't simply trying to deprive Pitt of time with his children. Upset: On Thursday, sources close to the actress (L in 2019, and Brad right in 2020) shared that she felt let down by the courts that did not allow her children to testify at the custody hearings 'The heart of this dispute has not been about keeping the children apart from their father, its been Angelina asking for care for her family,' they continued. 'Her motivations have never been to deny the children a relationship with their father.' Complicating the court battle between the exes was Jolie's submission in court of evidence of allegedly domestic abuse by Pitt, which The Blast reported she planned to introduce back in March. The alleged evidence was recently submitted, but it remains under seal and its exact contents are unknown. Case: A source close to her said: 'The heart of this dispute has not been about keeping the children apart from their father, its been Angelina asking for care for her family' (L-R: Knox, Vivienne, Pax, Shiloh, Zahara and Maddox) Gloating: The source added, 'The custody schedule was always determined by the court. It's sad that Brad's people are gloating about a potential win'; seen in 2019 in London The director is reportedly most upset over Judge John Ouderkirk's decision to not allow her and her six to children testify in the custody hearings. 'This system is at fault, and Angelina is focused on fighting a system that does not take into account the full set of issues that affect her family and other families in this situation,' the source continued. 'Shes working hard to ensure that other families dont go through her experience.' Judge Ouderkirk's decision may only be temporary, as last year Jolie launched a bid with an appeals court to have him taken off the case because he allegedly failed to disclose business interests he shared with Pitt. The judge previously officiated the couple's wedding in 2014. Slowing down: 'Any delay would only work grave harm upon the children, who will be further denied permanence and stability,' Brad's lawyers wrote, according to The Sun; seen April 25 On Thursday, The Sun reported that Brad's lawyers had made a filing opposing any delay in the joint custody decision. 'Any delay would only work grave harm upon the children, who will be further denied permanence and stability,' they wrote in response to her attempts to block the proceedings. The attorneys added that allowing for a delay would be 'wholly inappropriate.' Despite Jolie's fury over Ouderkirk's handling of the custody case, other individuals with knowledge of the custody case contended that the judge made an informed decision based on hours of hearings with experts, including therapists and child service professionals, who had spoken to Pitt and Jolie's children. Another insider familiar with the couple's divorce said Pitt's goal was always 'just to spend more time with his children, to make sure theyre healthy, happy and cared for.' Family time: Another insider familiar with the couple's divorce said Pitt's goal was always 'just to spend more time with his children, to make sure theyre healthy, happy and cared for'; Jolie seen with the children in 2018 in Paris In his ruling, the judge wrote that Jolie's statements 'lacked credibility in many important areas.' He added: 'The existing custody order must be modified in the best interests of the children.' However, he's reserving any celebration over the joint custody ruling in case it's overturned and Ouderkirk is taken off the case. 'The process isnt over, and every step of the way Angie has resorted to extreme tactics to misrepresent her story [to the media] and to destroy anyone who goes against her therapists, experts and even the judge,' the source claimed. 'And at the end of the day, Angie was found not to be credible by all of these people.' In Brad's corner: 'At the end of the day, Angie was found not to be credible by all of these people,' said a source close to the custody hearings; seen in January 2020 The insider also referenced reports that the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood actor had been involved in a dispute on a private jet with his son Maddox, who was 15 at the time. 'She thought there would be charges brought against Brad after the plane incident, she dropped her lawyer Laura Wasser and claimed that Brad owed her millions in support, which was untrue,' they claimed. They added that Jolie has made her children 'tools through the [court] process.' The Academy Award winner has been known to bring all of her children to her red carpet premieres in the past, and even posed with the children in intimate photos taken at their LA home for British Vogue. She never fails to command attention in her daring ensembles. And Saweetie turned heads in a plunging black crop top that was held together by chains as she stepped out in Los Angeles on Wednesday. The rap star, 27, flaunted her taut abs in the mid-riff baring lace up top as she headed to a rooftop party at the Hollywood cocktail bar, Highlight Room. Commanding attention: Saweetie turned heads in a plunging black crop top that was held together by chains as she stepped out in Los Angeles for rooftop cocktails on Wednesday Her statement top clung together with a silver chain that linked both sides and criss-crossed round her waist to accentuate her curves. Saweetie paired the racy item with flared black trousers that featured a matching silver chain belt. She accessorised with large hoops and plenty of bling as she donned five chunky diamond necklaces, including one with a glittering cross charm. The blonde bombshell wore her tresses in loose curls around her shoulders and accentuated her beauty with glamorous winged eyeliner and lashings of lip gloss. Turning heads: The rap star flaunted her taut abs in the mid-riff baring lace up top as she headed to a party at Highlight Room in Hollywood The rap artists completed her all-black ensemble with a pair of towering black platform heels and toted a bedazzled pineapple-shaped bag on her shoulder. Flashing a glimpse of her extremely long purple nails, Saweetie looked in high spirits when she threw out a wave to onlookers as she entered the rooftop bash. The outing comes as Saweetie announced the upcoming release of her latest single Come And Shake That A$$ - Saweetie's Freaknik on Instagram on Wednesday. Sharing the album cover art, Saweetie told her fans: 'SAVE THE DATE! 7/2,' alongside a flawless snap of her sat on a pink Honda in a leopard print corset. Flawless figure: Her statement top clung together with a silver chain that linked both sides together and criss-crossed round her waist to accentuate her curves And on Sunday night, Saweetie made a splash when she walked the red carpet at the BBMAs in a stunning salmon-pink Giambattista Valli Couture ballgown. The California native had been nominated for Top Female Artist despite having not yet released her debut album. The studio album titled Pretty B***h Music is set to drop this summer but in the meantime, she's enjoyed a string of hit singles such as Tap In, Fast and Best Friend with Doja Cat. Of the album, Saweetie told Hype Bae last year: 'The key inspirations behind my new album was being a boss, getting money, loving my family, talking about them more and also just exploring my Filipino roots again.' She continued: 'I wanted to do something that highlighted the Filipino culture because I have a couple lyrics that are in Tagalog so I think thats cool. 'The Pretty B*tch movement came about when I started the pretty girl tap in on Twitter. 'I really like that different types of boys and girls who look different were all tapping in because beauty is unique. 'We should not all be looking alike but on social media a lot of people are starting to look alike. We need to celebrate our differences.' New music: The outing comes as Saweetie announced the upcoming release of her latest single Come And Shake That A$$ - Saweetie's Freaknik on Instagram on Wednesday Reflecting on her experience of releasing hip hop music as a female artist, Saweetie gushed that her career had been happily lucrative. She revealed: 'My experience as a woman in hip hop and rap has been great . I love getting dressed up, I like getting fly, I like getting my own money. 'And I feel like music is kinda like the new drug dealers. We make a lot of money from a lot of different things and Im really grateful to be put in my financial position.' She's a mother to daughters Esmerelda, six, and four-year-old Amanda. And it seems Eva Mendes takes inspiration from her mother Eva Suarez when it comes to raising her kids as she took to Instagram to honour her on Wednesday. The retired actress, 47, posted a picture and a quote from Brene Brown reading: 'The question isn't so much, "Are you parenting the right way?" as it is, "Are you the adult that you want your child to grow up to be?"' Family focus: Eva Mendes, 47, shared a picture of herself and her mother on Instagram on Wednesday, saying she takes lead from her parent when it comes to raising her daughters Eva captioned her post: 'My Mami always leads by example. This powerful parenting quote reminded me of how she raised me. Wanted to pass on. Thanks @mindfulgentlemama for sharing.' The model shared a photo of herself with her mother as they relaxed at home. It appears the picture may have been taken at Christmas as she was dressed in fun festive attire with items such as Santa hats and candy canes printed across it. The businesswoman sat with her arm around her family matriarch and the pair looked content as they smiled for the camera. Working it: The retired actress, 47, posted a picture and a quote from Brene Brown reading: 'The question isn't so much, "Are you parenting the right way?" as it is, "Are you the adult that you want your child to grow up to be?" Like mother, like daughter: Eva was raised by her mother Eva Perez Suarez in Los Angeles Eva was born to Cuban parents Eva Perez Suarez and Juan Carlos Mendez, and she was raised by her mother in the Los Angeles area of Silver Lake. After her parents divorced, Eva's mother worked hard to look after her and her brother, the late Juan Carlos Mendez Jr, while working at the famous Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Eva recently showed off the colorful stylings of her two children Esmerelda and Amanda, and how they use her as a 'canvas.' Inspiration: The star was inspired by a quote from Brene Brown as it reflected her mother's parenting style, something she says she uses for her own daughters today She shared a photo of herself on Instagram, revealing some of the colours her kids used on her face. 'My kids did this to me. Again. From head to toe. I guess, when in doubt, be their canvas,' Mendes said in the caption. She was wearing a black and white striped top with large gold hoop earrings and a colorful headdress for the snap. There were smudges of red and green paint visible on her cheek and chin, as evidence of her being a 'canvas.' Canvas: Eva recently showed off the colorful stylings of her two children, and how they use her as a 'canvas' Mendes met their daughters' father, Ryan Gosling in 2011, while filming their indie movie The Place Beyond the Pines. They started dating shortly thereafter, with Mendes giving birth to Esmerelda in 2014 and Amanda in 2016. She also made the decision to retire from acting, with her final role in husband Gosling's directorial debut, Lost River. When asked about her six-year acting hiatus in an Instagram comment last year, Mendes said there are roles she simply does not want now that she's a mom. Hiatus: When previously asked about her acting hiatus in an Instagram comment, Eva said there are roles she simply does not want now that she's a mom 'As a mother now, there are many roles I won't do. There are many subject matters that I don't want to be involved with, so it limits my choices and I'm fine with that. I have to set an example for my girls now,' she said. Back in 2018, just two years into her retirement, Mendes stated to E! Online that she simply does not want to leave her kids to go back to work. 'I'm just so obsessed with my kids that I don't want to leave them,' Mendes said, adding, 'They're just still so little.' 'I don't feel like I have it balanced at all. I kind of have been figuring it out as I'm going along and it's just important to have a support system,' she continued. She added: 'I have my family, I have Ryan's family and that's just like, invaluable to have family around supporting you.' Dr Alex George wants NHS staff to be rewarded for their efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic by being given spots on the new series of Love Island. The A&E doctor, 30, told MailOnline he hopes ITV bosses accurately reflect on the past year within the new cast of Islanders and he'll be happy to see a medical professional follow in his footsteps. In an exclusive interview Alex, who starred on the dating show in 2018, said he's even ready to pass on the baton to a fresh recruit because he feels 'old' after turning 30. 'I will be glad to see a doctor on the show': Dr Alex George wants NHS staff to be rewarded for their efforts during the pandemic by being given spots on the new series of Love Island He told MailOnline: 'It makes sense. ITV know for the past year there's been so much focus on the NHS and it's good to actually represent that in the cast. 'It'll be good to see some representatives from the NHS there. I will be glad to see a doctor on the show or a nurse or someone within the healthcare system to represent every angle of society. I'm hoping they'll have diversity both in body and background. 'It could be argued in the past that there were very similar people on the show. If you look at some of the popular characters over the years, the people that have not been the typical contestants you expect on the show, Camilla Thurlow for example, great character and from a very different background and that's what they should do, they should represent that.' A new doctor on Love Island potentially taking over his title doesn't bother Alex, who was appointed young mental health ambassador by Boris Johnson in February. 'I'm hoping they'll have diversity': The A&E doctor hopes ITV bosses accurately reflect on the past year within the new cast and he'll be happy to see a medic follow in his footsteps Throwback: Alex rose to fame on the 2018 series alongside the likes of Megan-Barton Hanson, Dani Dyer, Samira Mighty and Laura Anderson (pictured in 2018) He admitted: 'I'm old now, I'm 30, and so I have to move on. It's time for someone else to be in that space. I have no worries about that and believe it's good to have that representation in society.' NHS doctor Toluwa Adepeju is rumoured to be taking part in the upcoming series, which is set to launch in Majorca on June 28. Dr Alex warned thorough testing will need to be implemented to ensure none of the contestants catch the virus and the villa remains a safe 'bubble.' He said: 'As long as they have really clear structures and planning for how they're going to mitigate risk then that's okay. 'ITV won't be taking risks and I'm certain they will have occupational risks and planning involved. I don't know what steps they have taken but I'm certain they will have thought about this. 'We have to at some point go back to normality and we're all desperate to see normal things happening again not to say Love Island is the defining thing but it is apart of people's summers now.' 'It's time for someone else to be in that space': NHS doctor Toluwa Adepeju is rumoured to be taking part in the upcoming series, which is set to launch in Majorca on June 28 'I have to move on': Alex, who starred on the dating show in 2018, said he's even ready to pass on the baton to a fresh recruit after admitting he feels 'old' after turning 30 (pictured in 2018) Close contact between Islanders and the chance of intimate nights in The Hideaway could be under threat to prevent the spread of the virus. But Alex believes kissing on the show should not be banned if stars have been vaccinated and are regularly tested by Love Island producers. He said: 'I don't know what they're doing about that but it's a very good question about close contact. The main thing is preventing the virus. 'If you've got a closed circle, as the villa would be, it's preventing hopefully they'll have people vaccinated. They should be doing regular testing and interval testing, both of the contestants coming in and the people in there. It's preventing it coming into that circle. 'If you've got a closed circle, a bubble, you'd hypnosis that would make it a lot safer but I'm sure this is something they've had to look into but I don't actually know what they've done so far.' 'I have to trust people': Alex split from Amelia Bath (pictured) last July and while he refused to comment on his current relationship status, he admitted dating in the pandemic was 'hard' In July last year, Alex split from girlfriend Amelia Bath, and while he refused to confirm his current relationship status, he admitted dating during the pandemic was 'hard.' The star, who recently spoke on the Locker podcast with Army Sergeant Major Gavin Paton, said: 'I'm not going to comment on my love life. The whole last year was very different clearly. 'Being well known does change things but I don't use any dating apps, it has to be quite organic, and I have to trust people. 'I have quite a close circle that I trust but it's fine. I was in a relationship up until the middle of last summer and bearing in the mind the pandemic, it's been hard to meet someone.' The mental health ambassador suffered the devastating loss of his younger brother, Llyr, who died from suicide aged 19 last summer. 'It's been a difficult time': Alex suffered the devastating loss of his younger brother, Llyr (pictured), who died from suicide aged 19 and described grieving as an 'ongoing process' Since his tragic passing, Alex has been supported by close friends and said his family's new dog, Paddington, helped to bring some happiness back to their lives. He also took a much-needed month-long break from A&E after working nonstop during the pandemic and on the release of his book Live Well Every Day. Alex said: 'It's an ongoing process. It's been a difficult time; you don't just get over grieving. It's a long process but the family is doing okay. 'Having a puppy has brought joy. It's about putting your energies into things and my mum is working on her own mental health stuff and I'm working on a new campaign, the book has been a huge focus and I have great family and friends around me to support me. 'I have taken a bit of time out of A&E, it's actually been a month because I was working so flat over the pandemic, and I didn't take any time off. 'I've had some time out but I'm going back next week and it will be quite good to get some shifts under my belt again. It was good to have a breather because it's full on in there so it's important to take some time.' Companion: Since his tragic passing, Alex has been supported by close friends and said his family's new dog, Paddington, helped to bring some happiness back to their lives Alex is working with California Almonds who have conducted research to raise awareness of heart health in millennial men. The Almond Board of California have discovered that 68 per cent of millennial men are 'unconcerned' about developing a heart condition in the future while 61 per cent care more about heartbreak than their overall heart health. The consumer survey, which was conducted in honour of Men's Health Month this June, showed 54 per cent of men don't consider heart health to be a risk despite it being the No1 cause of death in the UK. Alex explained: 'The research is around millennial men and heart health that around two thirds of millennial men are more concerned with heartbreak than heart health in terms of physical. 'We experience heartbreak, which is very tangible whereas heart health and especially heart disease can be quite silent until it rears its head but we have an opportunity and we know more and more throughout the research that has been done that the things you do even through your teenage years and your 20s does have a big impact on your likelihood of suffering from illness later on in life. 'When you look at risk factors for cardiovascular disease its obesity, smoking, cholesterol levels, whether you exercise, stress, genetics is in there but most of the risk factors are actually modifiable. 'We can do things each day that can build up and make a difference in terms of your health and likelihood of suffering heart disease. The number one cause of death for men in the UK is heart disease and it isn't just men, women as well, but we're really trying to reach those target audiences that really aren't thinking about it as much. 'It is a worry that we're not having that focus. A big part of modern life, Zoom calls, it can encourage a sedentary lifestyle and we're not designed for that. 'Almonds have done two decades worth of research supporting its impact on cholesterol levels. If you're feeling a bit peckish, if you have a handful of almonds, it's really filling and then you feel good because you've eaten something healthy. 'I take almonds and bananas to A&E, otherwise it's so easy to go to the canteen and have something that isn't very good. No one is perfect; do I like a takeaway? Yes. Do I like a pint of beer? Yes. But it's all about having that balance.' Dr Alex George is working with California Almonds to raise awareness amongst Millennial men and encourage them to take steps to future proof their heart health Sofia Vergara has told how her dream of adopting a dog went horribly wrong once she brought Bubbles home and she instantly preferred her husband Joe Manganiello. The Modern Family actress, 48, joked that the Chihuahua has 'stolen everything that was hers', after moving into the LA pad she shares with her actor beau, 44. Sofia discussed her pet - who she branded an 'idiot' - during a recent appearance on the Ellen Show, as she revealed the pooch has taken over her bed and husband. 'She hates me!' Sofia Vergara has told how her dream of adopting a dog went horribly wrong once she brought Bubbles home and she instantly preferred her husband Joe Manganiello When quizzed on her dog Bubbles, Sofia said: 'I don't have a dog it's not mine, it's Joe's dog.', despite revealing she originally bought the Chihuahua for herself. When Ellen showed the audience a picture of the pup, Sofia said: 'Look at her, idiot. 'It doesn't even look like a Chihuahua, it looks like some sort of teddy bear. The dog was for me, I got the dog, but she arrived and completely ignored me. Went straight to Joe. She has taken everything that was mine.' Joking about how Bubbles has made it clear who her favourite is, she said: 'It's not funny - it's horrible, she's taken my husband, my bed. Picked her favourite: The Modern Family actress, 48, joked that the Chihuahua has 'stolen everything that was hers', after moving into the LA pad she shares with her actor beau, 44 'She sleeps in bed with Joe, they sleep together and then I sleep on the other side. It has become something so weird. 'But I have to say it's not Joe's fault, it's her, she's obsessed with him.' Ellen then admitted she can understand why someone would be obsessed with Joe, however Sofia quipped back: 'Yes, but not to that level. She hates me. 'If he has to go away for work and she knows she has to stay with me in the house and knows she has to deal with me, but won 't do eye contact. Love: Joe and Sofia have been married since 2015, tying the knot at the Palm Beach resort The Breakers which is an historic hot spot for high society parties 'She's always looking out, every little noise she's looking for, she can't enjoy the time with me. It's like she knows she has to sit with me cos I'm the only other person in the house. Ellen said: 'I have that with my three dogs, they prefer Portia.' While Sofia joked: 'Oh so you must be worse than me!' 'So I was thinking maybe I'd get another dog, but it could happen that they'd also fall in love with him and not with me.' 'She has taken everything that was mine!' Sofia discussed her pet - who she branded an 'idiot' - during a recent appearance on the Ellen Show, as she revealed the pooch has taken over her bed and husband Sofia then told Ellen how she thought it was awful how she had renamed her rescue dogs, and that her and Joe kept Bubbles' rescue name. Joe and Sofia have been married since 2015, tying the knot at the Palm Beach resort The Breakers which is an historic hot spot for high society parties. The sitcom diva has a son named Manolo, 29, by her first husband Joe Gonzalez who had been her high school sweetheart in her native Colombia. Modern Family made stars out of its cast particularly Sofia whom Forbes ranked as the world's highest-paid TV actress for several years during its run. When Ellen showed the audience a picture of the pup, Sofia said: 'Look at her, idiot' Last year Sofia made so much money on her various projects that Forbes reported she was the world's highest paid actress in any medium. All 11 seasons of Modern Family became available simultaneously on both Hulu and Peacock beginning this February 3 less than a year after airing its finale. Modern Family enjoyed its long 250-episode broadcast run on ABC which has the same parent company as Hulu - Disney. Meanwhile Peacock is the streaming arm of NBCUniversal which of course own's one of ABC's main broadcast rivals ABC. Disney and NBCUniversal have struck a multiple-year deal that has allowed for both company's streamers to share the program, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She has amassed over 1.5million social media followers thanks to her stunning outfit snaps and sultry selfies. And Zara McDermott sent temperatures skyrocketing once more on Thursday as she showed off her incredible figure in a series of racy garments from her summer collection with Missguided. The former Love Islander, 24, worked her best angles at a photoshoot in anticipation for the clothing launch at 11am. EXCLUSIVE: Zara McDermott posed in an intricate bikini with criss-cross detail for new fashion shoot for fashion brand Missguided in images which were released on Thursday Wow! Zara sent temperatures skyrocketing in the new collection and showed off some serious underboob in a sexy wrap dress For one look, Zara rocked a strappy bikini and beach skirt which rested on her slender curves. She also wore a cut-out halterneck dress in a lilac hue, highlighting her surgically-enhanced assets, as she seductively reclined on the floor. The TV presenter switched into another revealing cut-out mini dress which she paired with coral heels. Zara also nailed bohemian glamour in blue paisley trousers in a high-rise fit and a complementing crop top. Vision in white: For one look, Zara wore a revealing cut-out mini dress as her caramel tresses were styled in loose waves and she opted for full coverage make-up Her caramel tresses were styled in loose waves beneath a matching head scarf as she opted for full coverage make-up. Zara showed off her washboard stomach once more in a lilac cross-over bikini which she teamed with unbuttoned denim jeans and a bucket hat. She also paired the statement swimwear with a mint green shirt and ribbed mini shorts. The model then slipped into a sheer white mini dress, revealing her toned figure and pastel bikini underneath. Seasonal style: Zara also nailed bohemian glamour in blue paisley trousers in a high-rise fit and a complementing crop top Fashionista: Zara showed off her washboard stomach in a lilac cross-over bikini which she teamed with unbuttoned denim jeans and a bucket hat Zara added a splash of colour with coral heels once again and rocked another headscarf. Showcasing another stylish look from her Missguided collection, she rocked a paisley halterneck top, cream high-waist trousers and a grey silk scarf. Zara closed her eyes and turned her head to the side as she leant against an orange wall. She also donned chic black trousers, complete with a split hem, and a delicate black crop top as she delivered another captivating pose. Mix and match: She also paired the statement swimwear with a mint green shirt and ribbed mini shorts Leave little to the imagination: The model then slipped into a sheer white mini dress, revealing her toned figure and pastel bikini underneath Discussing the new collection, Zara said: Im so over the moon to be working with Missguided again on this next collection. 'I have been their biggest fan since buying my first dress as a teenager, so being able to create my own collection with them has been a dream come true. 'I love the brand and everything they stand for - empowering women and championing inclusivity with an incredible range of silhouettes and shapes. 'Weve waited a long time for this summer to finally arrive, and Im really excited to finally be able to share the pieces in this collection with everyone! Serene: Showcasing another stylish look from her Missguided collection, she rocked a paisley halterneck top, cream high-waist trousers and a grey silk head scarf Black is always in fashion: She also donned chic black trousers, complete with a split hem, and a delicate black crop top as she delivered another captivating pose Last week, Zara hit back at a social media troll on Wednesday after they claimed she'd edited one of her Instagram snaps. The former Love Island star took to social media to share sultry photos of her curves clad in a skintight white dress after jetting to Portugal for a sunny getaway. But Zara was forced to respond to a troll after they claimed one of the trees had become 'wonky' from her editing. She looked sensational once more in the form-fitting white knitted dress with a black swirl print as she posed outside her luxurious hotel. Nope! Last week, Zara hit back at a social media troll on Wednesday after they claimed she'd edited one of her Instagram snaps The star's post was soon flooded with complimentary messages from fans, but one social media user was quick to question whether she may have edited her snaps. They wrote: 'The trees wonky by her bum lol.' But Zara was quick to correct her, replying: 'The trees are all wonky. That's how they grow, have a look at all the trees in the pics.' The full Zara McDermott Iconic Summer Collection is available now with sizes ranging from 4 to 26. Summer ready: The former Love Island star took to social media to share sultry photos of her curves clad in a skintight white dress after jetting to Portugal for a sunny getaway Market Scenario Surgical equipment plays a vital role during the surgeries. It is one of the important aspects in the medical as well as medical technology. With the developing surgical procedure, the trade of the instrument is developing. The instrument must have good quality and elaborative ornament to be prefer widely. Surgical equipment are widely used in neurosurgery, wound closure, urology, cardiovascular surgeries, orthopedic surgery, and others. Increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, increasing number of hospitals, increasing geriatric population, and increasing healthcare expenditure boost the market growth. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 60% of the worlds total diabetic population is living in Asia Pacific region. get free sample @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/631 Key Players Some of the key players in this market: Integra LifeSciences Corporation (US), Boston Scientific Corporation (US), Smith & Nephew (UK), B. Braun Melsungen AG (Germany), Ethicon US, LLC. (US),Stryker Corporation (US), COVIDIEN (US), CONMED Corporation (US), MEDICON (US), Synergetics USA, Inc. (US), Erbe Elektromedizin GmbH (Germany), KARL STORZ & Co. (US), and KLS Martin (Germany). Market Segmentation Surgical Equipment Market size is into product type, application, and end users. On the basis of product type the market is segmented into surgical sutures & staplers, handheld instruments, electrosurgical devices, electrosurgical generators, monitoring devices, and others. Surgical sutures & staplers are further segmented into absorbable and non-absorbable sutures. The handheld instruments are sub-segmented into forceps, sutures, visual scope, and others. The electrosurgical devices are further categorized into electrosurgical instruments (HET bipolar system, electrosurgical pencils, smoke evacuation system, and other), and electrosurgical generators. On the basis of application, the market is segmented into neurosurgery, wound closure, urology, cardiovascular surgeries, orthopedic surgery, and others. On the basis of end user, the market is segmented into government hospitals, private hospital, and other. Browse Complete Premium Research Report https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/asia-pacific-surgical-equipment-market-631 related reports Ayurvedic Products Market Research Report- Forecast to 2027 Ophthalmoplegia Market Research Report- Global Forecast Till 2027 Lichen Sclerosus Treatment Market Research Report - Global forecast till 2027 Regional Analysis Asia Pacific surgical equipment market is segmented into Japan, China, India, Republic of Korea, Australia, and Rest of Asia Pacific. Increasing number of hospitals, rising geriatric population, and increasing healthcare expenditure drives the growth of Asia Pacific surgical equipment market. Moreover, increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, government initiatives, and increasing patient inflow have fuel the market growth. China holds the major share in the Asia Pacific surgical equipment market owing to huge geriatric population and rapidly developing economy. Moreover, India and Australia contributes considerable share to the market. And Many More. About Market Research Future: MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members. MasterChef fans have expressed their concern for celebrity chef Shannon Bennett after he has failed to appear as a guest on the current season of the show. The head chef of restaurant Vue de monde, 45, has made many appearances on the popular cooking show in the past. 'I miss Shannon Bennett. Why do they no longer invite Shannon as a guest in the new seasons?' one viewer asked on Facebook. What happened to Shannon Bennett? MasterChef fans have expressed their concern for the celebrity chef after he has failed to appear as a guest on the show 'Good question, I miss him, too,' another person agreed. 'They're probably trying to introduce new people who are just as good but haven't had the exposure,' one suggested. 'I loved Shannon on the show. Perfect mentor and great personality,' another person agreed. 'I miss Shannon Bennett. Why do they no longer invite Shannon as a guest in the new seasons?' one viewer asked on Facebook Shannon has made several appearances on past seasons of MasterChef Australia. In 2018, a number of former employees alleged Bennett's Melbourne restaurant Vue de monde had overworked and underpaid them during their time at the venue, the ABC reported. The Vue Group strongly denied the allegations though it later announced it would 'move away' from annualised salaries. Guest: The chef has made many appearances on the cooking show in the past. Pictured: Shannon with former hosts Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston That same year, Shannon announced his split from Madeleine West after 13 years of dating. The former couple, who never married, share six children: Phoenix, Hendrix, Xascha, Xanthe, Xahlia and Margaux. Despite their break-up, the pair relocated with their kids to Byron Bay in 2019 after selling their marital home in Toorak, Melbourne, for $16million. Darcey Bussell has revealed the British Ballet Charity Gala she's hosting on June 3 will have all eight UK companies on the same stage for the first time. The retired ballerina, 52, made an appearance on Thursday's edition of Good Morning Britain to discuss the fundraising event, which will see young performers take to the stage for one night only. She said: 'It's incredibly exciting, I haven't had enough sleep as you can imagine! For one show, this is a big fundraising with eight leading companies. Helping hand: Darcey Bussell revealed on Thursday's GMB that she will host the British Ballet Charity Gala with all eight UK companies on the same stage for the first time ever 'It's for the companies themselves, there are also community dance companies which we have nominated, and they will be able to show their story as part of the evening. But there is each company, about 65 dancers, all involved. 'It's the first time to get them all and have a big voice, so they all came together and we've got something really to talk about. 'We just want audiences to be aware they've got to go buy tickets and see these dancers performing, we've got to fill theatres again.' Darcey also reflected on Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's plan to sue the government if they decide theatres can't open fully on June 21, 2021. Great cause: Darcey (pictured performing in 2007) said: 'It's incredibly exciting, I haven't had enough sleep as you can imagine... this is a big fundraising with eight leading companies' Giving her thoughts, she said 'I wish I was as brave as that', before saying she supports his decision to speak out because it is important for young people to be able to tread the boards again because they have short careers. When asked if she supported Webber, Darcey went on: 'I definitely do, I wish I was brave as he was to think what they've gone through. 'It's such a young persons world the performing arts, like an athlete it's a really short career, any time missed. 'The creative arts is such an important part of what we do and the talent, this is really to celebrate the talent.' All together: Darcey said of the event, 'It's for the companies themselves, there are also community dance companies which we have nominated... about 65 dancers are all involved' Reflecting on how difficult a year off can be for a young person, she added: 'Because it's that short a career and it is about young people, its about the next generation coming into that industry. 'They want home and know they're going into a thriving industry... that's why I wanted to create something, a show, that would make a great noise, and awareness and celebrate the great talent we have in the UK. 'Across the UK, they're not just based in London at the West End, these are across the whole UK and they've all come together for this one.' Making a stand: Darcey added, 'It's the first time to get them all and have a big voice, so they all came together and we've got something really to talk about' (production of A Dream Within a Midsummer Night's Dream in 2014) She added: 'We're losing talent who are going to other countries that are investing more in the arts, but also we have had the help we just have to get the public in. If everybody bought one ticket in the year.' Darcey also spoke about the event -which is set to take place on June 3- with Tatler magazine last week, saying: 'Its crazy, because we've changed the date literally about four times. 'But I mean, that's been the company's world in the last year and a bit. But I knew that it would only really resonate if we did it right at the beginning of everybody getting back on their feet.' The British Ballet Charity Gala is set to take place at the Royal Albert Hall on June 3. Viewership for the ITV breakfast show has been in steady decline since Piers Morgan quit back in March, after peaking at 1.9 million viewers days before he left the show. It comes after Piers himself claimed ITV bosses have been in touch asking him to return to the show, after he sensationally quit following his comments about Meghan Markle and subsequent onscreen clash with co-star Alex Beresford. Disappointing: Good Morning Britain's ratings have plunged as just 450,000 viewers tuned into Tuesday's episode Tuesday's GMB was hosted by Adil Ray and Ranvir Singh, with a small number of viewers watching following the May Bank Holiday. A mere 450,000 viewers tuned into the programme, one of the lowest figure in the show's seven-year history, and a far cry from the heyday when Piers was on the panel. It was just twelve weeks earlier that GMB brought in its highest ever viewership, with a peak of 1.9 million viewers watching the panel react to the Megan and Harry Oprah interview which had aired overnight. Its viewership averaged out at 1,151,400 million. Dropping: Viewership for the ITV breakfast show has been in steady decline since Piers Morgan quit back in March, after peaking at 1.9 million viewers days before he left the show The following day, March 9, an average of 1.29 million viewers saw Piers storm off GMB after clashing with Alex Beresford about the Meghan and Harry interview following its broadcast on UK screens. That programme ended up being Piers' last, as just hours later he announced he'd quit the show. Following news that Piers had quit, the first show following his exit on March 10 saw ratings quickly take a hit, with an average of 1.24 million viewers watching Susanna react to her presenting partner's exit alongside stand-in Ranvir. At odds: Piers stormed off GMB in March as he discussed the Harry and Meghan interview, where he expressed his belief that Meghan was lying during the chat with Oprah Winfrey Numbers continued to slide as the week went on, and by the week's end ratings had slipped to just 850,000 viewers. By Monday March 15, average viewers were down by 255,700 compared to the previous Monday. Since then numerous presenters have filled Piers' spot, while producers reportedly search for a permanent replacement to begin work in September. Last week Piers claimed ITV bosses had been in touch asking him to return to GMB, telling The Sun he believes he could 'take the ratings back to where he left them' after a slump in viewing figures. A return? Last week Piers claimed ITV bosses had been in touch asking him to return to GMB, telling The Sun he believes he could 'take the ratings back to where he left them' He said: 'They reached out there have been approaches. Never say never. 'I have no doubt I could take the ratings back to where I left them but the doubt is, would anyone be allowed to do it that way again? 'I was hired to give very strong, honestly held opinions, which I did. But in the end I was asked to apologise for a genuinely held opinion.' He added: 'I have had some quite random third-party feelers put out to see if I would consider a return to the show.' Piers stormed off GMB in March as he discussed the Harry and Meghan interview, where he expressed his belief that Meghan was lying during the chat with Oprah Winfrey and that the couple damaged the royal family's reputation. The outspoken host left the daytime series after he insisted he 'didn't believe a word' of Meghan's account of suffering suicidal thoughts and experiencing racism at the hands of the royal family. Decline: Piers' final episode was a ratings hit, beating BBC Breakfast's viewing figures for the first time ever, prompting him to thank the 'hard work and dedication' of the production team Piers then walked off set after a fierce debate with Alex, in which the weather presenter accused Piers of unfairly 'trashing' Meghan, and branded him 'diabolical'. When Piers walked off screen, Alex continued: 'I'm sorry but Piers just spouts off on a regular basis and we have to sit there and listen.' Piers, who refused to apologise, later announced his resignation and tweeted his thanks to the GMB team, praising them for their 'hard work and dedication' that led to them beating their main breakfast TV rival. And Piers shared his own reflections on the events of that fateful week in a piece for the Mail On Sunday shortly afterwards. Piers called Alex 'GMB's occasional stand-in weatherman' and 'uptight' in the telling account, adding that the presenter hasn't messaged him since his exit unlike others on the show. Shares in ITV also plunged in the wake of his resignation with almost 200million wiped off the company's value overnight and share prices dropping by 3.8 per cent. A TV insider also said a bidding war is now on to secure the services of Piers, who is also Editor at Large for MailOnline. ITV was also said to be interested in the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire as Piers' replacement, according to reports. Derbyshire - who appeared on ITV's I'm a Celebrity last year - currently presents the news for the BBC after her award-winning current affairs programme was axed last March. A source told The Sun: 'ITV producers have been looking for the right platform for Victoria for a while. 'They think she is a real talent and one of the few opinionated TV journalists who could be a real powerhouse addition to GMB. 'She's not afraid to challenge guests, ask tough questions, get straight to the point and wax lyrical about what she believes in. They're using Piers' exit as an opportunity to trial new faces.' Meghan is said to have raised concerns with ITV about the effect Piers's comments may have on the issue of mental health generally and those attempting to deal with their own problems. But Piers later repeated his condemnation of her interview when he told reporters outside his West London home: 'If I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly held opinion about Meghan Markle and that diatribe of bilge that she came out with in that interview, so be it.' He said: 'I won't be going back, but thanks to everyone who has signed these petitions. Normally, people start petitions to have me fired or deported, so this is a pleasant surprise.' In a 332-word statement shared on Instagram, the tough-talking journalist thanked his supporters and declared he was 'willing to stand my ground'. He wrote: 'To all my supporters, I just wanted to drop you a note of thanks. (To all my haters, whatever.) 'It has been an extraordinary week for me, for Britain, for our monarchy and for our future. 'Those of you that know me well enough know that, despite my many faults, I'm always willing to stand my ground for the things that I think matter most. Decline: Shares in ITV also plunged in the wake of his resignation with almost 200million wiped off the company's value overnight and share prices dropping by 3.8 per cent 'My fervent opposition to the Iraq War led to my demise from the Daily Mirror. My outspoken views on the insanity of American gun laws led to the end of my time at CNN. 'And now I've lost my job at Good Morning Britain because I chose not to apologise for disbelieving Meghan Markle's claims in her interview with Oprah Winfrey.' He added: 'I thus became the latest ''victim'' of the cancel culture that is permeating our country, every minute, of every hour, of everyday. Though of course, I consider myself to be neither a victim, nor actually cancelled. 'However, I do believe the defence of free speech and the right to express honestly held opinions, is the most important issue of my career, and the most important issue in British society.' Amy Willerton's sister Erin, 23, was rushed to hospital last month after suffering three strokes and a blood clot in her neck. The social media star, who boasts 256k followers on Instagram, took to the photosharing site on Wednesday to reveal she had been stricken last week alongside images showing her hospital while recovering. She penned: 'Ended the month of May with 3 strokes, a blood clot in my neck and possible emergency brain surgery. Alexa play I'm still standing. #June.' Shock: Amy Willerton's sister Erin, 23, was rushed to hospital last month after suffering three strokes and a blood clot in her neck When a follower queried whether the clot was associated with the coronavirus vaccine, she clarified: 'I've seen a few vaccine comments, I would like to clarify the blood clot was not caused by the covid vaccine x.' Erin then stated that she is yet to have the vaccine, following further queries over whether the strokes were linked to the jab. On concerns surrounding the vaccine and blood clots, the government website explains: 'Recently there have been reports of an extremely rare but serious condition involving blood clots and unusual bleeding after AstraZeneca (AZ)... 'Some people with this condition have suffered life changing effects and some have died. These cases are being carefully reviewed but the risk factors for this condition are not yet clear.' Shocking: She penned: 'Ended the month of May with 3 strokes, a blood clot in my neck and possible emergency brain surgery. Alexa play I'm still standing. #June' Pained: The social media star, who boasts 256k followers on Instagram, took to the photosharing site on Wednesday to reveal she had been stricken last week alongside images showing her hospital while recovering Shocking: When a follower queried whether the clot was associated with the coronavirus vaccine, she clarified: 'I've seen a few vaccine comments, I would like to clarify the blood clot was not caused by the covid vaccine x' A host of celebrity friends flooded the comments to wish their best, including Debbie Bright, Lydia Rose Bright and Georgia Harrison. Erin recently returned from a prolonged stay in Dubai alongside her I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here star sister Amy. In her first shot, she raised a peace sign in the air while curled in a hospital bed with an eye mask in place and the marks of a cannula on her left hand. In another image, Erin was pictured in an ambulance as she sported a mask while taking the picture close to her face. Not here! She told fans that she had not had the coronavirus vaccine Heading off: In another image, Erin was pictured in an ambulance as she sported a mask while taking the picture close to her face A vision: She was recently posing up a storm during her trip to Dubai Erin and Amy hit headlines last year when they voiced their heartache over coronavirus restrictions meaning they were not able to see their brother Ross , 26, who has an ultra-rare condition called mosaicism and lives in a care home. He has an extra chromosome and has the mental age of a one-year-old. Ross also suffers from severe autism. Following the roll-out of rapid testing later in the year and a petition, the family were allowed to reunite with Ross in December. Sharing a picture showing her and her mum hugging her brother, Erin penned a caption reading: 'The most wonderful Christmas present Thanks to everyone who signed the petition. Merry Xmas from my family to yours'. Her love: Erin and Amy hit headlines last year when they voiced their heartache over coronavirus restrictions meaning they were not able to see their brother Ross , 26, who has an ultra-rare condition called mosaicism and lives in a care home She's no stranger to posting sultry snaps for her 3.7million followers. And Chloe Ferry put on a a very busty display when she took to Instagram to share snaps showing her in a sheer bra from her latest Nikki Intimates drop on Thursday. 'Shooting from my new collection,' the Geordie Shore star, 25, told fans as she posed in a mirror selfie in the skimpy bra and barely-there baby blue floral thong. Setting pulses racing: Chloe Ferry put on a a very busty display when she took to Instagram to share pics in a see-through bra from her latest Nikki Intimates release on Thursday Chloe left little to the imagination as she worked her angles for the camera and flaunted her surgically-enhanced figure. With her curves on full display, Chloe added to her allure by accentuating her features with heavily-applied eyeliner, fake lashes and baby pink lipstick. She opted for a bronzed make-up look and showed off her numerous tattoos as well as her belly button piercing. The brunette bombshell wore her shoulder length tresses in a sleek straight style for the photo shoot and tucked the front layers behind her ear. New collection: 'Shooting from my new collection,' the Geordie Shore star, 25, told fans as she posed in a mirror selfie in the skimpy bra and barely-there baby blue floral thong She accessorised each underwear look with a chunky gold watch and a selection of matching rings and flaunted a bright white manicure as she lifted her phone. Scheduled to drop in two weeks time, Chloe shared other similarly revealing ensembles from her upcoming underwear collection. Donning an all red set in one sizzling snap, Chloe honed a Kendall Jenner aesthetic as she twinned the Kardashian's SKIMS photo shoot from back in February. The behind-the-scenes snaps come after Chloe went public about her romance with Hollyoaks' Owen Warner, 21, over the weekend, sharing a series of loved-up snaps to Instagram. Inspo? Chloe honed a Kendall Jenner aesthetic as she twinned the Kardashian's SKIMS photoshoot from back in February as she donned an all red set The beauty even hinted that she is engaged as she shared a picture of the duo putting on a very cosy display up on a sun lounger. She appeared to confirm they are set to tie the knot as she penned in the caption: 'Now I no what love feels like @_owenwarner,' (sic) alongside a diamond ring emoji. Her Geordie Shore pals were left confused by the apparent engagement news while others congratulated her on the announcement. Charlotte Crosby penned on the post: 'Right confusion is high right now if your gunna get a boyfriend can you please watsapp me and tell me all about it.' (sic) Meanwhile Sophie Kasaei, who is also staying in Portugal with Chloe, wrote: 'Hahahahahahahahaha how many lads can 1 gal be in love with.' (sic) Owen also declared his feelings as he shared a video of Chloe playing around with a vacuum cleaner in a hotel lobby as he wrote: 'Love of my life'. Big news! The behind-the-scenes snaps come after Chloe went public about her romance with Hollyoaks' Owen Warner, 21, over the weekend and hinted they were engaged Chloe is believed to have been single for more than a year following a turbulent relationship with Sam Gowland which began in 2017. The on-and-off couple parted ways for good in February 2020. Since then, the reality star has been embracing the single life and dating, having appeared on the 2020 series of Celebs Go Dating. She built a connection with Kieran Bishop and they reportedly spent time together when they left the show's mansion. However, the alleged romance didn't last long as Chloe failed to confirm they were ever dating. She even shared a series of flirty exchanges with her Celebs Go Dating co-star Wayne Lineker, 59, who sent fans wild when he posted a fake engagement photo. They had to postpone their wedding twice after coronavirus restrictions put the dream day on pause. And Holly Hagan and her fiance Jacob Blyth had a shot to mark the day they were supposed to get married on Thursday. The Geordie Shore star, 28, and her partner are currently partying with some of their pals in Portugal to celebrate what would have been their special day. Special day: Holly Hagan and her fiance Jacob Blyth had a shot to mark the day they were supposed to get married on Thursday Taking to Instagram Stories, Holly shared a clip of herself and Jacob lamenting the ceremony that couldn't happen. 'Whats today?' Holly asked. 'We were supposed to be getting married today,' Jacob replied. 'In about, oh, 45 minutes!' Holly said. 'Well have a little shot to celebrate?' Jabob said, with Holly adding: 'Why not?' She added: 'I think youve got another year to think about marrying' Trip: The Geordie Shore star, 28, and her partner are currently partying with some of their pals in Portugal to mark what would have been their special day Jacob then jokingly warned her: 'Best not f**k up then, otherwise its going to be off wont it?' Flashing the camera over her jaw-dropping figure, Holly asked: 'I mean how could you leave that?' Holly then took part in a fan Q&A where she was asked if she ever worried Jacob had doubts about the couple tying the knot. She responded: 'I could never think he'd have doubts because I see it in his eyes how much he has for me every day, you can't doubt that.' Candid: Holly then took part in a fan Q&A where she was asked if she ever worried Jacob had doubts about the couple tying the knot Plans: Holly and Jacob originally planned on a joint hen/stag do before her fiance changed his mind Asked if the pair would have a joint hen/stag do, Holly said: 'We were going to because we both wanted to do glitterbox however Jacob now thinks he's going to @obeachibiza without me but I'll just sit with @waynelineker @tonytrumanibiza and spy on them.' Holly was also asked if she was upset that fellow Geordie Shore star Marnie Simpson would be getting married to partner Casey Johnson before her. She said: 'When I first got engaged I was so buzzing to be the first married. I felt it was so ironic from being the most hated, the fat s**g who apparently [no one] was going to ever want to marry. Candid: Holly was also asked if she was upset that fellow Geordie Shore star Marnie Simpson would be getting married to partner Casey Johnson before her. 'It made happy thinking wow f**k you all, who's laughing now? But honestly my personal growth over the past two years, it's honestly not that important to me now. 'I'm marrying for us, not other people and I can't wait to watch Marnie and Casey marry.' [sic] The couple the enjoyed a night of partying with their pals, including Holly's former Geordie Shore co-star Charlotte Crosby and her boyfriend Liam Beaumont. Sharing a snap of the group, she wrote: 'Happy supposed to be wedding night. Had the best night with the best people ever '. Wow: Holly also gave her followers a glimpse at her jaw-dropping figure Holly decided to put her wedding plans on hold due to travel restrictions introduced during the Covid pandemic which meant guests would have to complete a ten day quarantine upon returning to the UK. A source previously told The Sun: 'Like so many other brides Holly has been really put through the ringer with her wedding and she is hugely upset. 'Holly has started telling people about the cancellation now. So much goes into planning a wedding and obviously Holly is just desperate to marry Jacob. She just wants to be his wife but also wants the wedding she has dreamt of for years. 'They are hopeful it won't be too long until they can say 'I will' but for now all plans are on ice.' Advertisement Dani Dyer's sleek 2,150 a month apartment is back on the lettings market after she moved to a countryside pad with her son, Santiago, and partner Sammy Kimmence in March. In photos published by estate agent Spencer Munson on Thursday, the Loughton property featured modern fixtures and plush furnishings, in addition to being in commutable distance of central London. The open-plan kitchen at her former home boasted wooden cupboards, white counters and a marble table with grey velvet seats. LED lights lined the ceiling and a vase full of flowers was tastefully positioned in the eating area. Moving on: Dani Dyer's sleek 2,150 a month apartment is back on the lettings market after she moved to a countryside pad with her son, Santiago, and partner Sammy Kimmence in March The living room laid claim to an inviting grey sofa with patterned cushions, a faux fur throw and a complementing footstool. Personal touches were peppered throughout the space including a glitzy 'Love' sign on the wall, candles and congratulatory cards surrounding the fireplace. A huge flat screen TV was also positioned on the wall for the next tenants to catch-up on their favourite shows. The second kitchen/utility room boasted spotless grey cupboards and mahogany wooden flooring. The bathroom was covered in beige marble tiles and featured a roomy shower, complete with a ceiling shower head. Wooden brown drawers were positioned beneath a large sink basin and wall-mounted mirror. Transition: The Love Island winner, 24, and her boyfriend, 25, received the keys to their 'dream home' earlier this year as she announced online: 'Heres to the next chapter' The backyard featured black decking and outdoor seating, perfect for warm summer evenings. Dani, 24, and her partner Sammy, 25, moved out of they property when they received the keys to their 'dream home' in March, as she announced online: 'Heres to the next chapter. 'Cant believe we have got our own house! So excited to start this next chapter and make loads of new memories as us 3. 'Feel so grateful to have found our perfect home to raise our beautiful boy in.' Spacious: The open-planned kitchen at her former house boasted wooden panelled cupboards, white countertops and a marble table with grey velvet seats Finishing touches: LED lights lined the ceiling and a vase full of flowers was tastefully positioned in the eating area The big move came amid Dani's boyfriend's legal battle. In April, Sammy made a last-minute change to plead guilty to scamming two men out of 34k when he appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court. He was warned that he could face jail after he admitted to scamming two elderly men by posing as a financial investor. The entrepreneur duped Peter Martin, 90, and Peter Haynes, 80, between 2016 and 2018 by persuading the vulnerable pensioners to allow him to invest their money. The 25-year-old's victims were said to have been clients at a legitimate investment company, S&S Trading Ltd, where Kimmence previously worked. Plenty of space: The second kitchen/utility room boasted spotless grey cupboards and mahogany wooden flooring A previous hearing was told Sammy took the clients on when the business stopped operating, falsely claiming he was authorised to provide financial services. Now Kimmence, who had previously denied all the charges and pleaded not guilty, faces a possible prison sentence after a last-minute change of plea. He ultimately pled guilty to five counts of fraud, totalling 33,919. The judge warned him his offences were so serious they crossed the custody threshold and he could be sent to jail. Standing in the dock, Kimmence, dressed in a black suit with a blue tie, spoke only to confirm his name and plead guilty to each charge. Washroom: The bathroom was covered in beige marble tiles and featured a roomy shower, complete with a ceiling shower head, while wooden brown drawers were positioned beneath a large sink basin and wall-mounted mirror The court heard Kimmence, who announced the birth of his and Dani Dyer's son Santiago in January, used one of his victims' bank cards to withdraw more than 1,200 for himself and also racked up credit card charges of more than 1,300. He also admitted to getting Peter Martin to transfer him 22,912 on one occasion, and 400 on another. He conned Peter Haynes in a similar way to the tune of 7,927. Martin sadly died in November last year aged 91 while Haynes suffers from Alzheimer's. Defending, Craig Harris asked for a pre-sentence report to be made and said: 'He is a relatively young man of previous good character, the offences go back into his late teenage years. Memory: Dani shared a snap by their removal van earlier this year and penned: 'Cant believe we have got our own house! So excited to start this next chapter and make loads of new memories as us 3' 'This is a case that crosses the custodial threshold but might be within a range which I argue could be suspended.' He added: 'Quite a lot has gone into this young man's life in the last few years. He is seeking to reimburse the losses he has caused so some time is also needed to allow him to do that.' Adjourning the hearing for sentencing, Recorder Nicholas Haggan, QC, said: 'The offences to which you have pleaded guilty are serious offences, it's accepted they cross the custodial threshold and you are at risk of receiving a custodial sentence. 'Given you are young man of no previous convictions, I am going to order a sentencing report. I am going to grant you conditional bail.' Case: Amid their relocation, her boyfriend Sammy was warned he faces jail after he admitted to scamming two men out of 34,000 by posing as a financial investor (pictured arriving at Portsmouth Crown Court in April) He ordered a pre-sentence report and added: 'I am going to grant conditional bail until the hearing of your case which is on 11 June. 'The fact I am granting bail affords no indication of what the sentence will be. You are at risk of a custodial sentence.' Dani, who is the daughter of EastEnders star Danny Dyer, shot to fame on Love Island in 2018. She had previously been in a relationship with Kimmence but struck up a new partnership with Jack Fincham in the villa before going on to win the show. But the 24-year-old rekindled her romance with Kimmence shortly afterwards and there have been rumours that the pair may be getting married in the near future. Brody Jenner is now the 'fun police' and Heidi Montag isn't having any of it. The pair got into a heated argument this week on Wednesday's episode of The Hills: New Beginnings after Jenner, 37, tried to curtail his girlfriend Amber's 'blackout' drinking. Heidi, who was drinking quite a bit herself, called Brody an 'a**hole' for being so controlling and stormed off from dinner. Spat: Brody Jenner and Heidi Montag got into a heated argument this week on Wednesday's episode of The Hills: New Beginnings after Jenner, 37, tried to curtail his girlfriend Amber's 'blackout' drinking The episode titled 'Who's A Better Kisser' began with Audrina calling over her old friend Heidi Montag, 34, for moral support while arguing with Brody. Audrina accused Brody of being too controlling over his new girlfriend Amber's drinking and wanted Heidi's opinion. During a dinner out, Heidi and Amber had been drinking together when the 24-year-old said she didn't want to get too wasted since Brody is currently sober and would get upset. 'Let her do whatever she wants,' Heidi snapped at Brody after hearing what Amber said. 'You're not her dad. You are not the boss.' 'Let her do whatever she wants,' Heidi snapped at Brody. 'You're not her dad. You are not the boss.' Adding later: 'I don't know when he became the fun police.' Brody told Heidi that she didn't know anything about his relationship with Amber. 'You are butting in our relationship,' Brody told Heidi. 'I just don't want her to get blackout wasted. She gets blackout wasted.' Heidi said in her confessional about the altercation that she doesn't understand why Brody wouldn't let Amber drink. 'I don't know when he became the fun police,' she said. 'You are butting in our relationship,' Brody told Heidi. 'I just don't want her to get blackout wasted. She gets blackout wasted' Still seated at his table, Heidi's husband Spencer Pratt, 37, told Frankie Delgado, 40, that he knew that his wife would speak her mind to Brody. He said in a confessional that in certain situations like with Brody, who might not want to hear the truth, that Heidi's behavior can be 'a problem.' The argument intensified as Heidi told Brody he needed to calm down because he was all 'hyped up.' 'I'm trying to be nice to you, I'm trying to support your girlfriend,' she yelled. 'All I'm trying to say is, "Girl, hey you want a shot, have a shot!"' 'I'm trying to be nice to you, I'm trying to support your girlfriend,' she yelled. 'All I'm trying to say is, "Girl, hey you want a shot, have a shot!"' Brody responded by telling Heidi that it was impossible to talk to her when she was this drunk. 'You have been drinking all night,' said Brody, who had his arm around Amber. 'Please don't talk to me until you are sober.' Heidi stormed off as she walked away said that he'd been an 'a**hole all weekend.' Brody, in a confessional, admitted that he had his own problems with drinking in the past so he understood while other cast members might think he was being hypocritical by not wanting Amber to drink. 'You have been drinking all night,' said Brody, who had his arm around Amber. 'Please don't talk to me until you are sober.' Heidi stormed off as she walked away said that he'd been an 'a**hole all weekend.' The next morning, Amber admitted to Brody that she didn't remember anything about the previous evening. He asked her if she had shots, but she said she couldn't remember. 'I was pretty drunk,' she admitted. Brody said in a confessional that 'it is frustrating when someone doesn't remember anything from the night before.' He admitted later in the episode that he didn't want to be controlling, but when she drinks that 'she is just a shell of who she really is.' Truth: Brody, in a confessional, admitted that he had his own problems with drinking in the past so he understood while other cast members might think he was being hypocritical by not wanting Amber to drink Heidi stopped by Brody's room the next day to apologize for 'over stepping her boundaries' the previous evening. 'I'm not trying to get in your relationship,' Heidi said to Brody. He filled her in that prior to the trip that Amber had asked him to make sure that she didn't drink too much and admitted that he felt attacked. 'I'm sorry,' she told Brody. 'I was coming from a good place.' Black out: The next morning, Amber admitted to Brody that she didn't remember anything about the previous evening. He asked her if she had shots, but she said she couldn't remember The two hugged and Brody told her that he cared about her and Spencer. Meanwhile in the episode Brody flirted with former fling Audrina Patridge. 'Who's a better kisser?' Brody, 37, asked Audrina, 36, after learning that she kissed Sean Stewart, 40, during a wild weekend in San Diego. 'I honestly didn't make out with Sean,' Audrina told him. 'I just honestly don't want him to think we are together.' The son of Caitlyn Jenner, 71, told Audrina that he realized after some excessive drinking that his relationship with 24-year-old Amber Davis was not going to work out. Jerry Maguire and Seinfeld actress Ali Wentworth posted a heartwarming Instagram snap Wednesday of her daughter Elliott Anastasia, 18, on prom night. Elliott was at home all dressed up to attend the big event - but before she left she posed with her father, Good Morning America co-anchor George Stephanopoulos, 60. 'Prom night! That is not her date....' her proud mother Ali, 56, joked as she uploaded the picture to her Instagram page. 'That is not her date': Ali Wentworth posted a heartwarming Instagram snap Wednesday of her daughter Elliott Anastasia, 18, posing before prom with her dad George Stephanopoulos Ali rose to fame as a comic actress on the sketch show In Living Color and a few years ago she created and starred on a short-lived sitcom called Nightcap. Meanwhile George used to work as an adviser to the Clinton administration before becoming an anchorman on ABC. The showbiz couple were introduced in 2001 when they were set up on a blind date by one of his exes, she told Joy Behar on BUILD Series a few years ago. Initially she was not interested in dating George inasmuch as 'I grew up in DC amongst politics and I just, I had no interest.' Coming up on 20 years: Ali and George have been married since late 2001 having gotten engaged just two months after the blind date where they were introduced She confessed that it was not exactly a 'blind date' as she 'knew who he was' and he had looked her up on Google before they met up. However she 'knew' he was the one 'right when I sat down' and 'we were engaged two months later,' marrying that very year. They welcomed Elliott a little less than 10 months after the wedding and they also share a 16-year-old daughter named Harper. Last year early in the coronavirus lockdowns Ali came down with COVID-19 and after she recovered she shared her experiences on The Wendy Williams Show. Family photo: They welcomed Elliott a little less than 10 months after the wedding and they also share a 16-year-old daughter called Harper; the four of them are pictured in 2017 Although George was asymptomatic Ali was 'deathly ill' beginning with a 'very heavy chest, like hard to breathe, hard to breathe, I was walking my dogs and I thought: "Am I, did I just turn 94 years old? I can't even walk down the street."' She added: 'And after that I got bodyaches, I got a high fever. So it was basically two weeks of high fever, like I couldn't even lift my arm.' Ali revealed; 'And then at the end was a terrible cough. It looked like it was turning into pneumonia so I went on a different set of very powerful antibiotics.' Alan Davies has opened up about his traumatic childhood, which saw him sexually abused by his father between the ages of eight to 13. The comedian, 55, spoke candidly during an appearance on Lorraine on Thursday in which he told guest host Cat Deeley that 'secrets and shame are terrible things to carry for a child' while discussing his memoir Just Ignore him, in which the abuse was detailed. Alan admitted that he had taken a 'long time' to find a way to discuss the 'difficult' aspects of his childhood, telling Cat, 44, that he wasn't able to share his story on stage in his stand-up comedy routines. Difficult: Alan Davies opened up about his traumatic childhood on Lorraine on Thursday, which saw him sexually abused by his father between the ages of eight to 13 The Jonathan Creek star, who's book was initially released in September but is now out on paperback, told how he's had friends share their own experiences of childhood abuse after reading his words, with Alan feeling that this aspect was one of the most 'important' things to come from him penning the memoir. He explained: 'It took me a long time to kind of find a forum as it were to talk about the more difficult things in my childhood, I havent been able to do it in stand-up comedy, Ive done it in this book. 'Several people, people I know, one or two quite well known people, theyve come to me and theyve said "Ive read your book and a similar thing happened to me" or "similar things happened to me" and then weve had a conversation about it as normal as talking about having a cup of tea.' He continued: 'I feel like thats the most important thing to come from the book, what I hoped would come from the book was that other people would find someone to speak to. Because secrets and shame are terrible things to carry for a child. Tough: The comedian, 55, spoke candidly during an appearance on Lorraine on Thursday in which he told guest host Cat Deeley that 'secrets and shame are terrible things to carry for a child' while discussing his memoir Just Ignore him, in which the abuse was detailed 'But also, you start carrying them as a child and then you carry them your whole life and they taint everything you do. They taint your whole life experience, all your relationships, everything.' When asked if writing the book helps in anyway, he responded: 'It does because recurring thoughts and recurring memories are just there every day. 'It took me a couple of years to write this and it felt like kind of extracting something and made something worthwhile, I did the best words that I could.' Alan's difficult childhood was made worst my the fact that that he had lost his mum to leukemia when he was just six-years-old, with the physical, emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of his father following. Honest: Alan admitted that he had taken a 'long time' to find a way to discuss the 'difficult' aspects of his childhood, telling Cat, 44, that he wasn't able to share his story on stage in his stand-up comedy routines The TV star has previously told how he finally reported his father, who is still alive, in 2017, but was told that he wouldn't be able to stand trial as he was in his eighties, had dementia and was in a care home. Alan went on to detail writing part of the book while studying for an MA in creative writing, explaining how the experience helped him to not only feel free to release his emotions but in a way shaped his future comedic career. He said: 'I did a writing course and that was the place at Goldsmiths college where I was able to explore how I wanted to tell this story. 'And I was encouraged to use my comic voice, to not abandon being a stand-up comedian, to be angry if I felt angry, to write things that made me cry and not worry about if anyone was going to read them lots of good advice. Painful experience: It took me a long time to kind of find a forum as it were to talk about the more difficult things in my childhood, I havent been able to do it in stand-up comedy, Ive done it in this book 'Also they pointed me to lots of other good books that were similar, Nigel Slaters book for example. It was enormously helpful and I was able to write anonymously and privately and not, you know, it wasnt for work.' During the interview, Alan also spoke warmly about his mother Shirley, who sadly passed away from leukemia aged 38, with the star suggesting that she may have influenced his future career. He said of her: 'She liked to laugh she got leukemia, so I was 6 when she died, I dont have a lot. But I dont remember being shouted at, I just remember trying to make her laugh or other people making her laugh. Childhood: 'I feel like thats the most important thing to come from the book, what I hoped would come from the book was that other people would find someone to speak to. Because secrets and shame are terrible things to carry for a child' (pictured, the cover of Alan's memoir) 'I remember once we had someone doing some painting in the house, I mustve been 3 or 4 and he said "Engelbert Humperdinck". It was top of the hit parade at the time. 'And she really laughed at that and I thought "whats going on?" That didnt sound like a name so I went "whats your name?" and he went "Engelbert Humperdinck" again and she laughed again, she was a good audience. 'I think she was my first audience maybe and her not being around, thats what part of what made me or pushed me towards being a comedian, maybe I dont know.' Lorraine continues weekdays from 9am on ITV. MUMBAI, India, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Netcore Cloud , the leading full-stack martech SaaS company, announced thatA BonusLink, Malaysian multiparty loyalty card program, has partnered with Netcore Cloud to drive its multichannel marketing automation and engagement campaigns for boosting customer retention and experience. Launched in 1998, BonusLink is Malaysia's first premier consumer rewards program with 12 million members nationwide. It has partnered with 260+ prominent brands with 3000+ outlets across Malaysia. BonusLink members collect points on transacting at these participating outlets, and can redeem gifts using these points. BonusLink launched the BLINK app in July 2020 with a whole suite of features, a new merchant microsite with easy sign-in, the merchant app, and new digital initiatives. BonusLink Pay ("BLINKIT") was later introduced in late 2020, when more than 200 F&B merchants around the! Klang Va lley region accept BLINKIT as a mode of payment. Currently, there are more than 400,000 registered users on the BLINK App with over 200,000 monthly active users and the numbers keep growing. Netcore Cloud has been a formidable player in the martech space globally, with a keen focus on SouthEast Asia. 75% of Asia's unicorns trust Netcore Cloud with their multichannel customer engagement and retention campaigns. Netcore Cloud's platforms that include omnichannel marketing automation, dynamic segmentation, content personalization, advanced actionable analytics, and CDP with a layer of AI across the platform, make Netcore Cloud a preferred partner for brands focusing on improving their customers' experience. BonusLink has chosen to replace its traditional marketing tools with Netcore Cloud's all-in-one martech platform to power intelligent engagement across all consumer touchpoints a app, website, emails, SMS etc.A It wishes to deliver enhanced personalized experiences to its loyalty members, enable timely redemption, and encourage repeat purchases. "We wanted a comprehensive marketing automation platform to replace the multiple tools and solutions we had been using. We trust that Netcore Cloud's consolidated AI-powered platform will help us execute our engagement campaigns seamlessly. We are particularly enthusiastic about the personalized recommendations and behavioral targeting. This is in-line with the BonusLink's latest transformation journey, where we wish to extend the concept of personalized rewards/offers into something more fitting and relevant thus making 'every moment a bonus' for our Members," said Melvin Ooi, CEO of BonusLink. "We are excited to partner with a leading brand like BonusLink which has a huge member base of 12 million. Its rich demographic and transactional data collected over last 23 years is something we are keen to analyze further and provide personalized solutions to impact the key engagement and experience KPIs. We are confident that, with us, BonusLink will achieve the same level of success as the other global marquee brands we work with," said Abitabh Bhaskar, CEO - International Business, Netcore Cloud. About Netcore Cloud Netcore Cloud is a globally recognized martech SaaS company. It offers full-stack martech products that help product and growth marketers deliver AI-powered intelligent customer experiences across all customer touchpoints. The platform is an all-in-one solution for building unified views of customers, orchestrating omnichannel communication journeys, personalizing the apps and websites, optimizing user experience, real-time reporting and actionable analytics.A All the products are designed to scale, with a focus on ROI. Netcore Cloud delivers 12+ billion emails, and tracks 100+ billion marketing events every month for world's top marketers. Netcore Cloud serves 5000+ clients across 18 countries. Industry leading brands like Celcom, TNG Digital, Fave, Standard Chartered Bank, Star Media, AirAsia BIG, PizzaHut Malaysia, McDonalds Malaysia, Malindo Air, Hermo, MPH Online, and FlowerChimp, trust Netcore Cloud to power their customer acquisition, engagement, and retention goals.A Netcore Cloud has been in business for 20+ years, is a leader in Asia and is expanding its presence in the US, EU, and South America.A It operates out of India, USA, Germany, Nigeria, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, and UAE. A About BonusKad Loyalty Sdn Bhd BonusLink is Malaysia's most successful loyalty marketing company and is a service provider to big brands such as Shell, AmBank, Parkson, KK Super Mart, Focus Point, Agoda, EzCab, Merchantrade and many more eminent brands. 'BonusLink Online Shopping' was also recently introduced with over 20 top online brands such as Watsons, Malaysia Airlines, SportsDirect.com, Shopee and more under its wing. BonusLink is more than a one-destination card, gladly accepted by many of Malaysia's best brands nationwide, covering various industries. Since its inception in 1998, BonusLink's membership base has grown to over 12 million Members comprising two thirds of the urban population in Malaysia. Users can download the award-winning BLINK App by searching for "BonusLink" on the iOS or Android App Stores, available only in Malaysia. The BLINK App has recently won in the 2021 Malaysia Technology Excellence Award under the category of Mobile a Marketing and Public Relations. Visit A www.bonuslink.com.my for more information. Media Contact: Swapnesh Patra swapnesh.patra@netcorecloud.comA A Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1495164/Netcore_Cloud_Logo.jpg They were seen passionately kissing in the street on Tuesday night. But TOWIE star Demi Sims, 24, and Geordie Shore's Bethan Kershaw, 26, have taken to Instagram to explain to their followers they are not together and simply have 'a really flirty relationship'. It comes a month after Demi went through a bitter breakup with her ex, Too Hot Handle's Francesca Farago, 27, after their whirlwind four-month romance. 'We just have a really flirty relationship': TOWIE's Demi Sims (pictured) and Geordie Shore's Bethan Kershaw have addressed THOSE kissing snaps, insisting they are just friends Talking to her followers on her Stories on Thursday afternoon, Demi said she and Bethan had both agreed to 'clear a few things up' on social media. She said: 'Were both single, were both on our own journeys of finding ourselves at the moment. 'And dont get me wrong me and Bethan have spoken in the past and when we are with each other we are all over each other, like we just have a really flirty relationship and thats what it was the other night, it was just really flirty and stuff. 'But that doesnt mean we are in a relationship, no, but I do love her. Ive got a lot of time for Bethan. Lovebirds: Demi passionately kissed Bethan outside a hotel in Mayfair, London on Tuesday night after a party celebrating the Geordie Shore star's clothing launch 'We're both just living life': Bethan also took to her Instagram stories on Thursday to explain their 'situationship', relaying a similar account as Demi 'Dont get me wrong me and Bethan have spoken in the past and when we are with each other we are all over each other, like we just have a really flirty relationship,' Demi said 'Were both on the same page with this were both like its not like that.' Bethan also took to her Stories to explain their 'situationship', relaying a similar account as Demi. She said information about her's and Demi's relationship could be 'misleading'. 'I wouldnt say its untrue but at the same time I wouldnt say its true, I think its just been misconstrued,' she said. 'So me and Demi were really good friends, were friends that like to have a bit of a flirt, have a bit of a neck on, but we are not in a serious committed relationship. 'Ive spoke to her for a while, I really get on with her, I think shes really funny, we laugh a lot but at the same time were both single were both just living life and doing us. Just flirty: She continued: 'But that doesnt mean we are in a relationship, no, but I do love her. Ive got a lot of time for Bethan' 'At the end of the day were just young, dumb and having fun.' Demi passionately kissed Bethan outside a hotel in Mayfair, London on Tuesday night. Demi showed no signs of heartache as she packed on the PDA with Bethan after a boozy evening celebrating the launch of the Geordie Shore star's clothing collection. In an exclusive chat with MailOnline on Tuesday, Bethan said of her love life: 'I have found someone gorgeous, intelligent and amazing - that person is me'. The pair couldn't keep their hands off each other as they smooched outside the hotel, hours after uploading Instagram stories of themselves kissing at the party. Bethan, who appeared worse-for-wear as she stood barefoot in the street, wrapped her arms around Demi during the romantic embrace. Exes: Demi and Francesca (pictured) broke up last month after a whirlwind four-month relationship Smooch: Demi took to Instagram to share a video of herself kissing Bethan during the wild night out MailOnline has contacted Demi and Bethan's representatives for comment. Both Demi and Bethan are bisexual, with Demi's most recent romance with Francesca having been documented on the latest series of TOWIE. During the whirlwind four-month relationship, the couple talked about marriage, moved in together within weeks of dating and got matching tattoos. However, it all came to a bitter end last month. Happier times: Both Demi and Bethan are bisexual, with Demi's most recent romance with Francesca (pictured) having been documented on the latest series of TOWIE Demi broke down in tears on the show as she told her sisters Chloe, 38, and Frankie, 26, she had broken up with Francesca. She said at the time: 'Me and Francesca broke up. I feel literally heart broken but it was for the best. It was the best for both of us. 'We just werent getting on behind closed doors. The relationship we were having in front of everyone else was a different relationship from what we were having when no one was there. Further explaining the distance that grew between them, Demi said: 'The spark was gone. There was no conversation, it was like getting blood out of a stone.' 'I just feel so unhappy. I would've given her the world if she wanted it but, I don't know, it just didn't work. It just really hurt me.' It's over: Francesca said the ultimate end to their relationship came from their different expectations and things just 'fizzled' Francesca also addressed her tumultuous split from TOWIE star Demi Sims, saying that their love languages 'didn't match up' and it 'fizzled' [out]. The Too Hot To Handle beauty claimed she and her ex-girlfriend are 'not on good terms' and said that following their break-up Demi 'blocked her, deleted her and told her to leave London'. She spoke about their split in a lengthy YouTube video posted to her channel earlier this month, in which detailed her side of the story and the reasons for their break-up. Francesca said that while things moved very quickly at the beginning of their relationship - with her asking Demi to be her girlfriend after three days - it started to 'go south' after she got sick with coronavirus. She said: 'We lived together right off the bat and everything was great, and then I got Covid. I got really sick, it kicked my a**. 'I almost had to go to the hospital. I think that's when things started to go south between Demi and I. Whirlwind: Demi said at the time of the break-up: 'Me and Francesca broke up. I feel literally heart broken but it was for the best. It was the best for both of us.(pictured in March) 'We were only talking to each other for a few weeks online before we met and then we moved in together right away so we never had that dating period or getting-to- know-you period.' The reality TV star said that another factor behind the split was that she felt unsupported as she made the move to the UK to be with Demi while she filmed scenes for TOWIE. Francesca said: 'I was really, really stressed and I was really frustrated because I didn't really feel like Demi was helping me and I'm moving across the country for this person. 'I was spending so much money It was a lot of effort and work and I just didn't feel like I was being helped out or anything was being reciprocated.' Following the split, Francesca insisted in the video that she felt like they 'could have remained friends' but said Demi felt differently and 'blocked her'. Past romance: Demi previously dated Megan Barton Hanson after meeting on Celebs Go Dating (pictured). The pair split in 2019 She said: 'After the break-up, she just blocked me and deleted me and told me to leave London and just was like: ''You're cut''. 'I didn't think I deserved that because I didn't do anything wrong, and she didn't do anything wrong. 'We just kind of fizzled and there was no more spark. We weren't like having conversations or doing anything fun, we weren't seeing anything in London, the relationship was so blah.' Ex: Francesca, who is from Canada, has remained in London since her split from Demi but said that she is planning to move to the US soon Francesca, who is from Canada, has remained in London since her split from Demi but said that she is planning to move to the US soon. Demi made history as the first bisexual star on TOWIE and later hit headlines for her romance with glamour model Megan Barton Hanson, 27. Bethan, meanwhile, dated Beau Brennan after meeting on Geordie Shore in 2019. However the pair split in February last year after a series of onscreen rows on the reality show. Irina Shayk made a statement in New York City on Thursday. The Vogue model was seen in a vintage Britney Spears T-shirt as she added ripped jeans. The beauty's four-year-old daughter Lea De Seine was also chic as she had on a princess dress with sparkly Mary Jane shoes. This comes the day after the Russian model met up with her ex Bradley Cooper as they shared pizza with their daughter. She is a proud mother of one: And this week in New York Irina Shayk doted over her four-year-old daughter Lea De Seine whom she shares with her ex Bradley Cooper Irina made sure her little princess was ready for a downpour as Lea was seen carrying a Disney umbrella. Meanwhile Irina was dressed for warmer weather, tucking a Britney Spears t-shirt into a pair of faded jeans. The leggy star, who was born in the Soviet Union, was seen wearing black boots and jazzed up her look with necklaces. Quality time: The Russian model dressed her little girl in a princess dress before they stepped out for a stroll together in rainy New York City So sweet: Irina made sure her little princess was ready for a downpour as Lea was seen carrying a Disney umbrella Irina added an extra pop of color to her outfit by carrying a hot pink handbag for her outing with her little girl. The model also added two colorful rings from Bonbonwhims to complete her look. She was involved with Bradley from 2015 until 2019 and before that she also had a relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo. Although she and Bradley are no longer a couple they have kept up a friendly co-parenting relationship. Meanwhile: Irina was dressed for warmer weather, tucking a Britney Spears t-shirt into a pair of faded jeans. The leggy star, who was born in the Soviet Union, was seen wearing black boots and jazzed up her look with necklaces Looking amazing: Irina added an extra pop of color to her outfit by carrying a hot pink handbag for her outing with her little girl 'Well, its hard to find a balance between being a single mom and being a working woman and provider,' she told British Vogue in 2019. 'Trust me, there are days I wake up and Im like: "Oh my god, I dont know what to do, Im falling apart." I always try not to stay away from my daughter for more than a week, but I also dont want to be this woman whos not truthful to herself, because I love my work and I was raised in a woman-run household,' Irina added. 'I want my daughter to know that momma has a job in her life because I want to raise a strong, powerful woman. Presents and food do not come out of the blue.' Kate Winslet has discussed ageing in a new candid interview and revealed that she is 'going easy' on herself as things are 'changing all the time'. It comes as the actress, 45, was announced as L'Oreal Paris' new spokesperson on Thursday in a new radiant photoshoot. Talking about working with the brand and her positive outlook ageing, Kate told Allure: 'They celebrate women at every age. And yes, it's a beauty brand, but at the same time, they talk about cost-efficient ways of taking care of your skin and feeling good about yourself. Radiant: Kate Winslet has discussed ageing in a new candid interview and revealed that she is 'going easy' on herself as things are 'changing all the time' Work it: The 45-year-old star was just named as the new spokesperson for L'Oreal Paris and celebrated the announcement with a stunning series of portraits 'I've noticed my face and how it's changing a little bit more in the last year because there's just been more time with yourself to look at those things. What I've found is that to my relief I'm just going easy on myself. 'I'm at an age now where things are changing all the time. The skin on my neck is really different now, the skin on the back of my hands needs some serious TLC.' Elsewhere during the interview, Kate revealed that she has enjoyed not having to constantly wear make-up during the pandemic and that she now enjoys applying it when she feels like it, having 'quiet conversations' with herself. The actress was announced as L'Oreal Paris' new spokesperson on Thursday and she looked radiant in an accompanying photoshoot. Posting a stunning picture of the actress on its official Instagram account, the brand penned: 'Welcome to our new spokesperson Kate Winslet! A true icon determined to give a voice to the voiceless and a figurehead of women empowerment.' The brand also praised Kate for 'giving voice to the voiceless' and for her support of women's rights. Way back when: Kate (pictured in 1998 at age 23) explained in a statement that it has 'taken work' for her to feel comfortable in her own skin Opening up: 'Sometimes, you may not feel worth it at all... We all have moments like that, and that is what makes us all human,' she explained In a press release about her new role, Kate also opened up about how she learned to embrace her natural appearance and her 'flaws', noting that she hopes her work with L'Oreal will enable her to help others achieve that same self-confidence. 'Its taken work to get to a place where I make no apology for who I am, where I accept my flaws,' she said in a statement. 'Im delighted to join the LOreal Paris sisterhood to say: it takes courage and strength to believe that you are worth it. 'Sometimes, you may not feel worth it at all... We all have moments like that, and that is what makes us all human. But, the more you say these words and believe in everything that you truly are, and however you identify, then with time and belief in yourself, you too will feel worth it.' Kate also appeared in a video shared on the brand's official Instagram, where she spoke about what makes her feel 'worth it'. The star said: 'Knowing that I've got a lovely family and that I have worked hard for all of my adult life.' Candid: 'I've noticed my face and how it's changing a little bit more in the last year because there's just been more time with yourself to look at those things. What I've found is that to my relief I'm just going easy on myself,' she told Allure Yay! The actress was announced as L'Oreal Paris' new spokesperson on Thursday and she looked radiant in an accompanying photoshoot Speaking about three things she 'can't do without, Kate sweetly said: 'My husband, my children... and probably cheese.' Kate also gave her advice for ageing, saying: 'Slow down, don't be so impatient, it's all worth it. You have no idea how busy you're going to find yourself in your mid 40s.' It comes after the actress admitted she is no longer comfortable stripping off for roles as she feels her 'nudity days are numbered'. Speaking to the New York Times, the Titanic star, who has recently won critical acclaim for her role in Mare Of Easttown, said she did not want viewers to think: 'Oh, here she goes again', so has decided to stop nude scenes. 'Worth it': Kate also appeared in a video shared on the brand's official Instagram, where she spoke about what makes her feel 'worth it' She said: 'I think my days are getting a little bit numbered of doing nudity. I'm just not that comfortable doing it anymore. It's not even really an age thing, actually.' Kate starred in arguably one of cinema's most iconic nude scenes of all time in 1997's Titanic while playing Rose, where she reclined on a sofa and asked love interest Jack - played by Leonardo DiCaprio - to 'paint her like one of his French girls'. Despite her bold moment in cinematic history, she insisted those days are fast going behind her as she detailed her feelings on future nude scenes. She said: 'I think my days are getting a little bit numbered of doing nudity. I'm just not that comfortable doing it anymore. Ruling out: It comes after the actress admitted she is no longer comfortable stripping off for roles as she feels her 'nudity days are numbered' (pictured in Mare of Easttown) 'It's not even really an age thing, actually. There comes a point where people are going to go, "Oh, here she goes again"... 'I hope that in playing Mare as a middle-aged woman I will be 46 in October I guess that's why people have connected with this character in the way that they have done because there are clearly no filters. 'She's a fully functioning, flawed woman with a body and a face that move in a way that is synonymous with her age, her life and where she comes from. I think we're starved of that a bit.' Elsewhere, Kate revealed she fought to keep an unflattering sex scene with her Mare of Easttown co-star Guy Pearce, which exposed a 'bulgy bit of belly.' Image: Kate starred in arguably one of cinema's most iconic nude scenes of all time in 1997's Titanic while playing Rose, where she reclined on a sofa and asked love interest Jack - played by Leonardo DiCaprio - to 'paint her like one of his French girls' (pictured in still) In order to realistically portray a middle-aged woman in her new HBO limited series, the Oscar winner said her character is 'a fully functioning, flawed woman with a body and a face that moves in a way that is synonymous with her age.' 'I think we're starved of that a bit,' she said of the scarcity of unfiltered and realistic female bodies on film and television during the interview. While acknowledging her 'unglamorous' appearance in the show may be surprising to some viewers, she said she turned down director Craig Zobel's offer to edit out 'a bulgy bit of belly.' 'Don't you dare,' she recalled telling him after he assured her the angle wouldn't air. No retouching: Speaking to the New York Times , the Titanic star, who has recently won critical acclaim for her role in Mare Of Easttown, said she did not want viewers to think: 'Oh, here she goes again', so has decided to stop nude scenes (pictured in still) Additionally, she raised eyebrows for sending back the series' promo poster twice 'because it was too retouched' and she knows how 'many lines' she really has by the sides of her eyes. Previously, the actress said she got 'very fit' for the role since she had to do 'a lot of running' in the show. 'It's nice to sense that Mare was once strong in her youth, but I didn't want to make her an impossible, superhuman forty-something-year-old,' she told Emmy Magazine last month. She added: 'Mostly women aren't like that. We do what we can in the midst of the juggle of everything else.' As for the possibility of her returning to play Detective Mare Sheehan again, the star told TV Line she would love the opportunity. 'I miss her. I really do. It's the strangest thing. I feel like I'm in mourning,' Winslet said. 'It was an absolutely wonderful role.' HBO is still calling Mare of Easttown a limited series, and they intend to have it compete in the Limited Series category at the Emmy Awards this year. The show follows Detective Mare Sheehan, a local Easttown detective who is investigating a young girl's murder, also starring Julianne Nicholson, Jean Smart and Angourie Rice. Matthew Perry fans think the actor has already found a rebound following an unexpected split from his fiance. Last week the Friends star shared a photo to social with his longtime assistant Briana Brancato to promote his limited addition line of merch which prompted followers to question if the pair have embarked on a romantic relationship. The 51-year-old had proposed to 29-year-old literary agent Molly Hurwitz in November 2020 but confirmed in a statement to People on Tuesday that they had called it quits. Speculation: Matthew Perry shared a photo to social with his longtime assistant Briana Brancato to promote his limited addition line of merch and his followers are questioning if the pair have embarked on a romantic relationship In the snap, Perry is seated on the couch in his 'Could I BE more ME?' hoodie next to Brancato who sported a 'could I have had a longer day' crew neck from the star's new collection. 'Ready for the long weekend and an even longer bath! After a week like this, I know my team is! Shop the entire collection and let the relaxation begin,' the Chandler Bing actor wrote in the caption. One person commented on the photo calling it a 'coincidence' that the actor called off his engagement recently and then promptly 'posts with another girl 'friend'." Some fans were confused by the pair, asking whether or not Bianca was Matthew's girlfriend with one person saying they made a 'handsome couple.' More than meets the eye? One person commented on the photo calling it a 'coincidence' that the actor called off his engagement recently and then promptly 'posts with another girl 'friend' He also shared a separate photo with Bianca to his Instagram story asking: 'Could I be anymore grateful for my assistant?' There doesn't seem to be, however, any indication that the sitcom star and his employee are more than just boss and worker. Bianca has worked alongside Matthew for a long while now, celebrating her five year work anniversary in October of 2020. She shared a similar photo to her own Instagram page with the caption: 'My boss just released a new limited edition merchandise collection. Get yours and gear up for the Reunion. :)' Perry himself commented with an innocuous quip: 'hey! Thats a good picture' Platonic: There doesn't seem to be, however, any indication that things are anything but professional between the sitcom star and his employee who has worked for him for more than five years On Wednesday, Perry's ex fiancee Molly Hurwitz was seen for the first time since the actor announced he had called off their seven month engagement. The 29-year-old literary manager's engagement ring was nowhere to be found as she manned her dogs' leashes during a stroll through Los Angeles. 'Sometimes things just don't work out and this is one of them,' said the Friends star adding: 'I wish Molly the best.' News of the split comes just weeks after Perry was outed for using the dating app Raya, where he allegedly asked a 19-year-old girl, 'Am I as old as your dad?' during one flirty exchange. Splitsville: The 51-year-old had proposed to 29-year-old literary agent Molly Hurwitz (pictured) in November 2020 but confirmed in a statement to People on Tuesday that they had called it quits Perry can be seen in a video posted in May flirting with TikTok user @kittynichole - real name Kate Haralson - who claims they matched on the membership-only dating service in May 2020. Haralson, now 20, shared the footage of herself with the caption: 'When you match w Matthew Perry as a joke on a dating app and he facetimes you and plays 20 questions with you.' In the 16-second video, Perry is seen smiling as he asks his potential date, 'Do you always play with your hair this much?' to which she responds, giggling: 'I guess so.' Haralson, a personal assistant who says she was 19 when Perry first contacted her, told PageSix at the time that she wanted to show how older men in Hollywood are 'taking advantage' of younger women on dating apps. Sometimes things just don't work out and this is one of them,' said the Friends star adding: 'I wish Molly the best.' (Molly pictured) 'A lot of people were saying I'm a bully and mean for posting this, and it made me feel kind of bad, but at the same time, I feel like a lot of guys in Hollywood are talking to all these young girls and it's something that I think a lot of people should be aware of,' she told the outlet. Haralson claims the FaceTime exchange happened in May last year, which is when Perry is said to have briefly split with his current fiancee Hurwitz, who he had been dating since 2018. The LA-based PA said she had matched with other celebrities before but wouldn't 'ever talk to older guys' though she thought talking to the Friends actor 'would be funny.' Haralson, who said she 'never even really watched Friends,' claims that Perry asked her at one point, 'Am I as old as your dad?' Could this BE more embarrassing? News of the split comes just weeks after Perry was outed for using the dating app Raya, where he allegedly asked a 19-year-old girl, 'Am I as old as your dad?' during one flirty exchange She alleges that she told Perry he was only about a year older than her father, which she claims he 'laughed off' and said she felt 'uncomfortable' at times during their call. 'I don't think he minded that,' she claimed. 'It kind of felt weird talking to someone my dad's age and it just felt not right, especially when he knew how young I was.' Halston also said that she was 'inspired' by Nivine Jay, who posted a video of Ben Affleck in early May and the pair are now in touch with each other. However, Haralson said she decided to delete the video because she thinks Perry is a 'nice guy' and stated that they never met up in person, though he allegedly tried to. 'Maybe one day you can get a COVID test and come over' he is alleged to have told her. While Haralson said she did it 'more for the joke of it' she added: 'Honestly, it's not really OK for these older guys to be talking to such young girls.' TikTok tell-all: She alleges that she told Perry he was only about a year older than her father, which she claims he 'laughed off' and said she felt 'uncomfortable' at times during their call. There is no suggestion that the Tik Tok video is the reason behind Perry's split. Perry and Molly were first romantically linked in 2018, with the actor gushing to the outlet last year that she is 'the greatest woman on the face of the planet.' Back in November, Perry joyously announced his engagement to People. 'I decided to get engaged. Luckily, I happened to be dating the greatest woman on the face of the planet at this time,' he said at the time. Concern: It comes after fans expressed their fears for Perry after he appeared to slur his speech in a promotional interview for the recent Friends reunion Last May, the pair were reported to have endured a brief split that an insider described as 'very amicable' but that they had 'both decided to go their separate ways. 'It is unclear when the pair reconciled and how closely that reconciliation occurred to their November 2020 engagement. It comes after fans expressed their fears for Perry after he appeared to slur his speech in a promotional interview for the recent Friends reunion. Although some fans queried whether Perry had relapsed, it was later revealed his slurred speech was down to recent dental work. Kim Kardashian is starring in the highly-anticipated PAW Patrol: The Movie as the film dropped a trailer on Thursday. The 40-year-old actress reposted on both her Twitter and Instagram the two-minute clip as she revealed that she will be playing Delores the poodle in the highly-popular children's animated franchise. She captioned the post to her 226million followers: 'Im so excited for you guys to hear me play Delores in PAW Patrol: The Movie! New gig: Kim Kardashian (seen in September 2019) is starring in the highly-anticipated PAW Patrol: The Movie as the film dropped a trailer on Thursday Graceful: The 40-year-old actress will be playing new character, Delores, the poodle in the highly-popular children's animated franchise 'Watch the trailer now and dont miss #PAWPatrolMovie in theatres and streaming on Paramount+ August 20. [bone, poodle, and paw print emojis]' No doubt Kim's four children - daughters North, seven, Chicago, three, and sons Saint, five, and Psalm, two - will be pleased to hear their mom on the big screen. As Delores is a newcomer to the PAW Patrol universe, Kim is not the only guest star in the feature film as she will be joined by Yara Shahidi, Randall Park, Marsai Martin, Tyler Perry, Iain Armitage, Jimmy Kimmel and Dax Shepard. Promotion: The 40-year-old actress reposted on both her Twitter and Instagram the two-minute clip She captioned the post to her 226million followers: 'Im so excited for you guys to hear me play Delores in PAW Patrol: The Movie!' Star-studded: As Delores is a newcomer to the PAW Patrol universe, Kim is not the only guest star in the feature film as she will be joined by Yara Shahidi, Randall Park, Marsai Martin, Tyler Perry, Iain Armitage, Jimmy Kimmel and Dax Shepard PAW Patrol is one of the most popular animated shows for children as it has aired on Nickelodeon since August 2013. The series follows a young boy named Ryder who leads a crew of search and rescue dogs as they work together on missions to protect to shoreside community of Adventure Bay. PAW Patrol: The Movie is set for release in theaters on August 20, 2021 with it set to stream on Paramount+ 45 days later. Family first: No doubt Kim's four children she shares with Kanye West - daughters North, seven, Chicago, three, and sons Saint, five, and Psalm, two - will be pleased to hear their mom on the big screen It's a hit! PAW Patrol is one of the most popular animated shows for children as it has aired on Nickelodeon since August 2013 To the rescue! PAW Patrol: The Movie is set for release in theaters on August 20, 2021 with it set to stream on Paramount+ 45 days later Meanwhile, Kim is in the middle of a divorce with rapper/fashion designer Kanye West. While Kim is back on the market after filing for divorce from 43-year-old West earlier this year, she is 'not ready' to date anyone, a source told Hollywood Life. However, she still remains the most eligible of bachelorettes with a newly minted billionaire status. Split: Meanwhile, Kim is in the middle of a divorce with rapper/fashion designer Kanye West, as they are seen together in LA back in December 2019 Page Six had previously reported that Kim has garnered attention from 'royal family members, A-list actors, athletes and billionaire CEOs,' with some trying to contact her through mutual friends or DM. At the time a source had said that she was 'not looking to jump into anything' but was 'keeping an open mind.' Kim filed for divorce from Kanye in February and reportedly met with attorney Laura Wasser as far back as July 2020. The couple were married in Italy in 2014 and share four children. An upcoming documentary about the beautiful and tragic life of Anthony Bourdain just released its first trailer. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain takes a deep look into who the chef, writer and provocateur was before his untimely death in 2018 using videos of the star himself interspersed with interviews from those who knew him best. Bourdain died by suicide at 61-years-old on June 8, 2018 while away in France with his best friend, and world-renowned chef, Eric Ripert. Bitter sweet: An upcoming documentary about the beautiful and tragic life of Anthony Bourdain, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, just released its emotional first trailer Hearing Bourdain's rich voice in the trailer hits like a shock of cold water: 'You're probably gonna find out about it anyway, so here's a little preemptive truth-telling: There's no happy ending.' The film uses Tony's own words to carry viewers through a journey of his exceptional yet dark life through old footage. Oscar winning fimmalker Morgan Neville is behind Roadrunner and aimed to tell the story of the author and food icon through the prism of Bourdain himself along with candid conversations with those who were closest to him in life. 'It was almost never about food, it was about Tony learning to be a better person,' says friend and chef David Chang. Gone too soon: The doc a deep look into who the chef, writer and provocateur was before his untimely death in 2018 using videos of the star himself interspersed with interviews from those who knew him best 'It's not where you go. It's what you leave behind,' reads the logline for the film. 'Chef, writer, adventurer, provocateur: Anthony Bourdain lived his life unabashedly.' 'Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain is an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at how an anonymous chef became a world-renowned cultural icon.' Neville will unravel the former Les Halles chef's rise to fame as well as his home life with 14-year-old daughter Ariane and ex-wife Ottavia Busia-Bourdain. The film will also look at the sad truth behind the globetrotting food lover's struggle with his mental health. Hearing Bourdain's rich voice in the trailer hits like a shock of cold water: 'You're probably gonna find out about it anyway, so here's a little preemptive truth-telling: There's no happy ending.' Behind the camera: Oscar winning fimmalker Morgan Neville is behind Roadrunner and aimed to tell the story of the author and food icon through the prism of Bourdain himself along with candid conversations with those who were closest to him in life 'I know how hard that must have been for him to reach out to someone and be like, 'Hey man, I'm not doing well,'' says David Choe in the trailer. Tom Vitale, the director of Bourdain's hit series Parts Unknown added: 'He was always rushing to get into the scene. He was rushing to get out of the scene, to go somewhere next even if he had nowhere to go.' One particular gut punch for fans comes in a sweet moment of laughter between bourdain and his best friend, world renowned Michelin starred chef Eric Ripert. 'It was almost never about food, it was about Tony learning to be a better person,' says friend and chef David Chang. Roadrunner trailer follows late chef-journalist Anthony Bourdain Tom Vitale, the director of Bourdain's hit series Parts Unknown added: 'He was always rushing to get into the scene. He was rushing to get out of the scene, to go somewhere next even if he had nowhere to go.' 'You inspire so many people with the show, you have good karma,' Ripert tells him over a picnic table. 'Good karma?' Bourdain replies with the tone of surprise. 'I think so!' the perpetually positive Ripert says before adding: 'Well ...' as they both bust out laughing. Ripert, owner of New York City's famed Le Bernardin restaurant, is the one who found Bourdain dead in his hotel room in Kaysersberg, France. Heart break: One particular gut punch for fans comes in a sweet moment of laughter between bourdain and his best friend, world renowned Michelin starred chef Eric Ripert RIP: Ripert, owner of New York City's famed Le Bernardin restaurant, is the one who found Bourdain dead in his hotel room in Kaysersberg, France in 2018 Bourdain, a recovering cocaine and heroin addict, hanged himself while staying at the Le Chambard hotel, where he was filming an upcoming episode of his CNN show Parts Unknown. Paramedics made efforts for revive Bourdain, before he was pronounced dead. 'Anthony was a dear friend,' Ripert later told the New York Times. 'He was an exceptional human being so inspiring and generous. One of the great storytellers of our time who connected with so many. I wish him peace. My love and prayers are with his family, friends and loved ones.' 'Anthony was a dear friend,' Ripert later told the New York Times. 'He was an exceptional human being so inspiring and generous. One of the great storytellers of our time who connected with so many. I wish him peace. My love and prayers are with his family, friends and loved ones.' Bourdain rose to fame with his gritty best-selling memoir Kitchen Confidential, and became a household name on TV. The travel host and author was also very open about his past struggles with addiction to heroin and cocaine. 'You get scarred, marked, changed in the process' Bourdain poignantly says of travel and no doubt viewers will feel the same after watching the emotional film. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain hits theaters July 16. Kim Kardashian has faced accusations of 'cultural appropriation' for wearing a pair of earrings with a Hindu symbol, in a series of photos that were posted to her Twitter account last month. The 40-year-old reality star caught the eyes of some of her followers by sporting the hoop earrings featuring Om, the central sacred symbol of Hinduism, as she lounged across a pink bed while showing off her cleavage. But while some social media users lambasted her for using the religious symbol as 'an accessory' - other Indian fans also appreciated the jewelry and leapt to her defense saying they did not see it as 'disrespect.' Spot them: Kim Kardashian posed up a storm on Twitter recently in a photo-shoot that saw her lounging across a pink bed and wearing Om earrings Om symbols have been popular in America for decades as Eastern philosophy and Hindu cultural traditions like yoga have grown in popularity. However amid the recent debates about 'cultural appropriation' Kim's jewelry selection caused her to fall afoul of some Twitter users. 'Is now a good time to mention that the Om is a sacred symbol to Hindus and not just an accessory?' wrote one Ria Sen. Twitter user Niyati Sharma exclaimed: 'STOP CULTURAL APPROPRIATION OF INDIAN CULTURE!!! WHAT'S UP WITH THOSE EARINGS GIRLLLL???' Outrage: A few social media users in her replies lambasted her for 'cultural appropriation' One of Kim's replies was from someone named Krishti who moaned: 'Not the Om symbol as an accessory,' while one Vivek Bandhekar wrote: 'Om is sacred symbol of hindu... What the hell she doing with that.' 'WHEN WILL YOU UNDERSTAND THAT A RELIGION IS NOT AN AESTHETIC,' another Twitter user scolded Kim underneath her pictures. However a number of Twitter users with Hindu names did not mind the jewelry, such as one Nitish Chauhan who wrote that she was 'looking fantastic' in the pictures. 'I don't see this as disrespect at all. How can you assume beyond reasonable doubt that she's ignorant about its origins?' argued a fan called Aaron Nair. 'Because she's a Kardashian? Prejudice. And lowering Hinduism to a "religion" is short-sighted in the first place. [Om] is so much more than a "sacred" symbol.' 'Religion is about tolerance': Some Indian fans also appreciated the jewelry and defended her 'If the Om can be worn around the neck why can't it be worn as an earring? People taking a swing at Kim here are just doing some sort of propaganda to get Hindus to be branded as intolerant, which hindus are absolutely not,' wrote one Pinaki Dutta. A Twitter user who identified himself as Sunny replied to Kim's tweet: 'Hi Kim ..cool style ...I am a Hindu, actually a Rajput and a proud Indian....n I love ur style ... Religion is about tolerance ....if we can wear a Cross or Om in pendant ...thn we can took ur earrings in the right spirit too ...' One Twitter user joked: 'Ayo where are the BJP mfs?? Come take a look at this,' referring to India's governing Hindu nationalist party. There she is: Kim has found herself in hot water over allegations of Indian 'cultural appropriation' before - one case was when she covered Vogue India in 2018 Kim has found herself in hot water over allegations of Indian 'cultural appropriation' before - one case was when she covered Vogue India in 2018. The fact that she wore an Indian lehenga inside the magazine also aroused some controversy even though the garment was from the Indian designer Anita Dongre and the look was put together by the Indian stylist Anaita Shroff Adajania. Much was made of the fact that - in a remark she has since apologized for - she called Indian food 'disgusting' on Keeping Up With The Kardashians in 2012. Stunning creation: The fact that she wore an Indian lehenga inside the magazine also aroused some controversy even though the garment was from the Indian designer Anita Dongre Last year she posed on social media wearing a crop top and skirt with an ornately designed Indian maang tikka, resulting in another furor. She was slammed on Twitter by some commentators, including one who wrote in Hindi that 'even her brain is made of plastic.' However Vogue India praised the look and said: 'Worn with a maang tikka, Kim Kardashian Wests crop top + skirt makes a great alternative to lehengas.' Kim had previously worn a maang tikka to a Sunday Service hosted in 2019 by her now estranged husband Kanye West, attracting similar controversy. AJ Pritchard and his girlfriend Abbie Quinnen were among attendees at Darcey Bussell's British Ballet Charity Gala on Thursday. Former Strictly star AJ, 26, looked dapper in a tuxedo while dancer Abbie, 24, stunned in a thigh-skimming black sequin dress. The outing comes after Abbie suffered horrific burns in a freak fire accident while she was filming a YouTube video with the dancer in January. Good looking couple: AJ Pritchard, 26, and his girlfriend Abbie Quinnen, 24, were among attendees at Darcey Bussell's British Ballet Charity Gala on Thursday Abbie teamed her short gown with chic black heels and wore her bright blonde hair loose. She opted for a full face of expertly-applied glam and toted her belongings in a stylish clutch. Abbie also adorned her fingers with beautiful jewelled rings. Gorgeous: Abbie stunned in a thigh-skimming black sequin dress teamed with chic black high heels Recovery: Abbie needed three skin grafts after a YouTube video she was filming with AJ went horribly wrong and saw a wine bottle explode and set fire to her hair and clothing, in January The British Ballet Charity Gala, held at the Royal Albert Hall with Darcey hosting promises a 'unique evening of ballet'. The event, for the very first time, will see dancers from all eight of Britain's main ballet companies, including Ballet Black, Birmingham Royal Ballet and English National Ballet, perform on the same stage accompanied by Royal Ballet Sinfonia. The British Ballet Charity Gala is aiming to raise both awareness and funds for the ballet industry. Glam: She opted for a full face of expertly-applied glam and toted her belongings in a stylish clutch Abbie needed three skin grafts after a YouTube video she was filming with her boyfriend went horribly wrong and saw a wine bottle explode and set fire to her hair and clothing on January 19. She detailed the fears she felt for her life during the accident while her beau AJ spoke about how 'seconds felt like a lifetime' when he attempted to quell the flames consuming her during an appearance on Lorraine. And despite the ordeal, Abbie remained positive about her recovery as she said: 'I'm doing OK a lot better than I was, that's for sure. My face has almost healed now.' She continued: 'I think when it happened I was just thinking the worst, my face is never going to look the same again, I'm always going to have scars on my body. 'I'm never going to be able to dance or perform and do what I love doing, so I instantly thought that was it for me. Luckily my face is healing really well.' Abbie revealed last week that she struggles to find clothes to wear because she has to wear a compression vest '23 hours a day' and keep her scars out of the sun. Taking to Instagram, the dancer made the candid admission, revealing that she is always left 'panicking' before she leaves home. Abbie penned: 'There's only a few things I feel comfortable wearing at the moment and this dress is one of them. 'Definitely am finding it hard to find what to wear at the moment as I have to wear a compression vest 23 hours a day under my clothes and keep my scars out of the sun. 'I'm always panicking about what I'm going to wear before I leave the house so it's always so lovely to get so many compliments from you all about what I'm wearing! Thank you.' Jessica Chastain spent four hours in hair and makeup to transform into televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker for the upcoming biopic The Eyes Of Tammy Faye. The Golden Globe winner, 41, was unrecognizable in a first look at the film, where she was seen rocking Tammy's signature dark eyeshadow and teased hair while sitting for an interview. And Jessica said the makeup, prosthetics and wigs were essential to the role, telling People her team 'helped so much with my confidence in playing' Tammy, who would later go by her second husband's last name, Messner. Double take: Jessica Chastain looked unrecognizable in the first look at The Eyes Of Tammy Faye. The star underwent four hours of hair, makeup and prosthetics to transform into televangelist Tammy Faye Messner, nee Bakker The real deal: The real Bakkers are seen above in archival footage In stills from The Eyes Of Tammy Faye, the Julliard alum depicts the eccentric Christian leader throughout the years, seen opposite Andrew Garfield as first husband Jim Bakker in many of the shots. Gone are Jessica's red locks, in place of a blonde coif which evolves from an 50s housewife flip to bubbly 70s curls and 80s spikes through the years. And they recreated Tammy's notoriously dramatic makeup look with generous amounts of eyeshadow and frosty lipstick. The transformation was a team efforts, according to Chastain. 'Every moment, I had something on my face,' the actress revealed. Leading man: Andrew Garfield plays Tammy's first husband Jim Bakker in the film Blondes have more fun: Gone are Jessica's red locks, in place of a blonde coif 'I have a dimple in my chin that she didn't have, so we would seal that up. Her face was more round than mine, so I would have things on my cheeks.' Her longtime makeup artists Linda Dowds and Stephanie Ingram worked with Justin Raleigh to create the film looks, which depicted Tammy over decades of her life. 'Their expertise just helped me so much with my confidence in playing her,' Jessica said. Chastain spent over a decade researching Tammy through reading biographies and watching old interview footage of the media personality, who died in 2007 at age 65 after colon cancer spread to her lungs. 'I just was so blown away by her and her story,' Chastain said, explaining how she became fascinated after watching the 2000 documentary which shares the same name as Jessica's new film. Constant: 'Every moment, I had something on my face,' the actress revealed Movie magic: 'I have a dimple in my chin that she didn't have, so we would seal that up. Her face was more round than mine, so I would have things on my cheeks,' she revealed 'The thing I loved the most about Tammy is her capacity to love. She knew what it felt like to not feel important, and she didn't want anyone to experience that.' Bakker and husband rose to prominence in the 70s through their Christian news program the PTL Club, which raked in $120 million annually in the 1970s. But the couple's pure image crumbled when Jim became embroiled in a sex scandal with model Jessica Hahn. He was later convicted, and imprisoned on numerous counts of fraud and conspiracy in 1989. TV stars: Bakker and husband rose to prominence in the 70s through their Christian news program the PTL Club, but Bakker was imprisoned in 1989, leading to the end of their show During the time, Tammy was painted as a hysterical woman, who was often mocked by media. But Chastain is hoping her depiction offers another side of Messner, as she explained: 'Here's a woman that I had an idea of because of what I was fed about her.' 'Even the thing about the mascara running down her face. There is not one picture of her with mascara running down her face in reality,' she explained. 'But people were always making her into a clown and punishing her for the mistakes of her husband, which all throughout history women have been the victim of, atoning for the sins of men.' The Eyes of Tammy Faye arrives in movie theaters on September 17th 2021. The Block's Jimmy and Tam Wilkins have revealed the most gut-wrenching part of being duped by Emese Fajk - the so-called 'conwoman' who placed the winning bid on their Brighton house last year but then failed to pay. The Noosa couple, who this week sold their renovated Palm Springs-inspired home to a legitimate buyer for $4million, told Thursday's A Current Affair that Ms Fajk's deception was made worse by the fact they'd bonded after auction day. The enigmatic cyber security expert, 28, even met Jimmy and Tam's daughter, Frankie. 'It was absolutely heartbreaking': The Block's Jimmy and Tam Wilkins have revealed the most gut-wrenching part of being duped by Emese Fajk - the so-called 'conwoman' who placed the winning bid on their Brighton house last year but then failed to pay 'I felt like I trusted her, she met our daughter. It was heartbreaking. It was absolutely heartbreaking,' said Tam. But she and Jimmy are moving past the scandal, having sold their home for $4million after eight months on the market with the help of some 'great real estate agents'. The new owners of the 1950s-style, five-bedroom Brighton townhouse are a local family, reports The Herald Sun. Betrayal: The Noosa couple, who this week sold their renovated Palm Springs-inspired home to a legitimate buyer for $4million, told Thursday's A Current Affair that Ms Fajk's deception was made worse by the fact they'd bonded after auction day Earlier this month, Jimmy and Tam revealed they were still getting their record-breaking $966,000 prize money after last year's sale fell through. In January, New Idea claimed The Block host Scott Cam had 'saved the day' by secretly purchasing the home for himself after Ms Fajk failed to pay the $4.2million she'd pledged on auction day. However, his manager Chris Giannopoulos told Daily Mail Australia the rumours were 'not to believed' and that Mr Cam did not purchase the property. Close: The enigmatic cyber security expert, 28, even met Jimmy and Tam's daughter, Frankie Meanwhile, the 58-year-old revealed on Thursday The Block was implementing new measures to make sure no one ever tries an auction-day scam again. 'We will try and put some things in place for next auction to make sure that doesn't happen again,' he told A Current Affair. The Block's latest season just wrapped filming in Hampton, Melbourne, and will air on Channel Nine later this year. Palestinians and their supporters protest Israel's recent actions in Gaza outside President Biden's appearance at the Coast Guard Academy graduation ceremony in New London Conn. on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. They announced they are expecting their second child last month. And Ore Oduba and his wife Portia beamed with happiness as they made their first public appearance since their baby news at the British Ballet Charity Gala at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Thursday night. The Strictly star, 35, cut a dapper figure in a black suit and bow tie, while Portia, 32, dressed her pregnancy curves in a purple figure-hugging gown. Expecting: Ore Oduba and his wife Portia beamed with happiness as they made their first public appearance since their baby news at the British Ballet Charity Gala on Thursday The midi dress featured a halterneck neckline and highlighted her blossoming bump. Portia cut a glamorous figure as she teamed the look with nude pink sandals and wore her blonde locks in soft curls. The couple took a night off from parenting duties to mingle with the likes of Emma Weymouth and Darcey Bussell. Baby joy: The Strictly star, 35, cut a dapper figure in a black suit and bow tie, while Portia, 32, dressed her pregnancy curves in a purple figure-hugging gown The British Ballet Charity Gala, held at the Royal Albert Hall with Darcey and Ore hosting promises a 'unique evening of ballet'. The event, for the very first time, will see dancers from all eight of Britains main ballet companies, including Ballet Black, Birmingham Royal Ballet and English National Ballet, perform on the same stage accompanied by Royal Ballet Sinfonia. The British Ballet Charity Gala is aiming to raise both awareness and funds for the ballet industry. Evening out: The couple took a night off from parenting duties to mingle with the likes of Emma Weymouth and Darcey Bussell Ore and Portia announced their news in an interview with Hello! magazine from his London home, marking the 10th anniversary of their first date. He said: 'We're thrilled. I never thought I was going to find the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with so when I think that 10 years on from our first date, we've got one amazing little boy and another baby on the way, I get quite emotional. This is the life I've always dreamt of.' Revealing that the child's due date falls in October, Oduba added: 'The last year has been the biggest test of our entire relationship. 'I thought I'd be terrified (at having a second child), but after this year I say bring it on.' Fun: The British Ballet Charity Gala, held at the Royal Albert Hall with Darcey and Ore hosting promises a 'unique evening of ballet' (pictured with Angus Forbes) This comes as Ore recently shared how parenting in lockdown had tested his marriage to wife Portia. The couple who have been together for nearly ten years welcomed their son Roman, in 2018. And in an interview on Good Morning Britain recently, Ore spoke about how the past 12 months have been particularly 'challenging' and that he and Portia have to 'remember we love each other'. Host Kate Garraway said to the presenter, who appeared on GMB to talk about starring in the Rocky Horror Show: 'It's not easy when you go from 2 to 3 and become a family.' Ore replied: 'Yeah, he came along and knocked all our plans up, that's what kids do. 'My wife and I will be ten years together next month and weve never done anything more challenging than the last 12 months. There were tears, tantrums. 'Roman has enhanced our world more than we could have dreamt but there are times we have to remember that we love each other and whats why hes here. He's been our guardian angel in lockdown but he's also been the cause of a few little tiffs. 'It's just finding that time for each other. Every household is different. Communication is the key. We don't go to bed in an argument.' The Strictly star continued: 'I'm someone who thrives on routine. When we didn't have that, I found it quite difficult to get some kind of structure. 'Spending more time with each other gave us more appreciation for what the other person does.' Tammy Hembrow and Ruby Tuesday Matthews got VERY cosy on the red carpet at the blonde's Saski Collection show on Thursday night at Australian Fashion Week. The two influencers turned heads as they appeared to share a sultry kiss while posing on the media wall. Tammy stuck out her tongue as Ruby puckered up to her Barbie doll lips. Top of the crops: Byron Bay influencer Ruby Tuesday Matthews wore a bandeau bra to Tammy Hembrow's Australian Fashion Week show at Meu Jardim in Sydney on Thursday night The women then dissolved into fits of giggles, before Tammy draped herself all over her friend as they posed for more photos. Ruby, 26, turned up the heat by attending the event in a bandeau bra that showed off her washboard abs. She wore the top underneath a black blazer and a pair of matching wide-leg trousers. A least she's got a jacket! She wore the top underneath a black blazer and a pair of matching wide-leg trousers Accessories, accessories! The mother-of-two accessorised with a Dior saddle handbag and added a pop of colour with her turquoise mules Sultry: Tammy and Ruby turned heads as they appeared to share a sultry kiss while posing on the media wall The mother-of-two accessorised with a Dior saddle handbag and added a pop of colour with her turquoise mules. She went for a wet-look hairstyle, and a sultry smoky eye and nude lip combination for makeup. There was certainly no missing Tammy, who attended the fashion show for her athleisure wear clothing line in a figure-hugging strapless pink jumpsuit. The over-the-top ensemble featured pink rope detailing, which draped onto the floor. Tammy rounded out her bold ensemble with a pair of pink pointy-toe heels, and she carried a white handbag with the Saski name written across the front. Classy: The two women also flipped the bird at the camera Ruby was recently forced to deny she was appearing in Netflix's upcoming reality series Byron Baes. In April, the streaming giant announced it had commissioned an eight-episode series about the glamorous lives of Byron Bay's biggest Instagram stars. And while Ruby could have been a fascinating addition to the cast, the mother of two has made it clear she won't be making an appearance. Ruby posted a promotional image for Byron Baes on Instagram Stories, and wrote: 'For everyone asking if I'll be on this show, I declined the offer.' 'Goodbye Byron, you are officially cooked. How embarrassing,' she added. Tom Cruise is reportedly being forced to self-isolate for two weeks after 14 people on the UK set of Mission: Impossible 7 tested positive for coronavirus. The actor, 58, is said to have spent a day filming with four female dancers as they shot scenes in a nightclub for the upcoming movie, who later tested positive. Filming of the new instalment has been taking place at Longcross Studios in Chertsey, Surrey - production has now been halted and the 60-member team is now self-isolating, according to The Sun. Delays: Tom Cruise is reportedly being forced to self-isolate for two weeks after 14 crew members on the set of Mission: Impossible 7 tested positive for coronavirus (pictured on set in April) Ten crew members have also reportedly tested positive since and it is understood the actor has had to isolate since Tuesday. A source told the publication: 'Tom is absolutely fuming about what's happened, especially given his rant to his staff last year. 'It's going to badly affect filming and they'll be playing catch-up when they finally come back. 'Fourteen crew members have got Covid most of them are close aides of Tom's. The whole shooting crew, about 60 people, have all had to self-isolate for 14 days.' Pandemic: The actor, 58, reportedly spent a day filming with four female dancers as they shot scenes in a night club for the upcoming movie, who later tested positive The crew had been filming in Yorkshire earlier this year but have more recently been shooting scenes on the outskirts of London. MailOnline has contacted representatives for Paramount and Tom for a comment. Mission: Impossible 7 filming has been hit with several set backs and delays amid the Covid pandemic, with it shooting on location in Italy, the UK and Norway. And in December it was reported that five crew members had quit after Tom launched into two rants. Oh dear: Filming in the UK has now been halted and the 60-member team is now self-isolating, according to The Sun The actor was said to have given staff a dressing down after he caught them breaking UK Covid rules at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, Hertfordshire. A source claimed after news of the first outburst was made public, there was 'more anger' at the already 'tense' production. An insider said: 'Tension has been building for months and this was the final straw. Since it became public there has been more anger and several staff have walked. 'But Tom just can't take any more after all the lengths they have gone to just to keep filming at all. He's upset others aren't taking it as seriously as him.' They added that it was Tom who feels responsible for the production after putting so much time and money into ensuring precautions are in place so the team can film. It was previously reported that the Hollywood star scolded workers who flouted social distancing rules while filming at Warner Bros. Studios. MailOnline contacted Tom's representatives for further comment at the time. Tom later addressed his outburst in an interview with Empire magazine, stating: 'I said what I said. There was a lot at stake at that point. But it wasn't my entire crew. I had the crew leave the set, and it was just select people.' 'And here we are, continuing to film. I do Zoom parties and kids' parties also, you know!' he joked. It comes after last month Tom reportedly had to call security to deal with trespassers breaking into the huge Mission: Impossible 7 set in Yorkshire. The movie had been filming in the village of Stoney Middleton in Derbyshire, with the movie using Darlton Quarry for some of the stunt scenes. Tough: Ten crew members have also reportedly tested positive since and it is understood the actor has had to isolate since Tuesday Vast: Filming of the new instalment has been taking place at Longcross Studios in Chertsey, Surrey following production at multiple locations in Europe A source told The Sun that because the area was so large, it had been difficult to seal it off and stop daredevil's from trying to climb the production's equipment. They explained: 'So trespassers have been getting in and attempting to scale the rigs and equipment set up for the stunts. 'Police were called to one incident last week and then Tom was forced to take action when it happened again. 'Extra security might have to be drafted in Along with it being a safety nightmare, Tom and the team don't want any delays to filming.' The second incident mentioned by the source reportedly involved two intruders 'clambering' all over the set, however security were on site to get them off. MailOnline contacted Tom Cruise's representative for further comment at the time. In March, the cast and crew of Mission: Impossible 7 were seen prepping an action sequence with a moving train - however it was almost derailed by angry locals. Tom was spotted squaring off in an epic fight atop a moving train with the sequel's villain, played by Esai Morales, while filming in North Yorkshire. For the scene, the team have reportedly built a track which stops over the old quarry, with the train said to go hurtling off the tracks and fall 160 feet into a water tank, while Cruise's Ethan Hunt and Morales' unnamed villain fight atop the locomotive. However, The Sun reported that the production team received complaints from a local couple who claimed the shoot would 'shatter the tranquility' of the area. The filming application was objected by retired couple, Elizabeth Longbottom, 80, a former health visitor, and her husband Robin, 76, a retired surveyor. 'This is an area of beauty and tranquility and that's going to be shattered when Mr Cruise and his team turn up. He means nothing to me, it's 46 years since my husband and I went to the cinema,' Elizabeth said. Robin added: 'I assume the film company are paying handsomely for the privilege of disrupting everyone's lives.' The couple's objection also added that they felt the scene, 'could be done more economically and with less disturbance by being digitally generated.' On location: It comes after last month Tom reportedly had to call security to deal with trespassers breaking into the huge Mission: Impossible 7 set (pictured) in Yorkshire In February it was also reported that plans to shoot MI7 in the Middle East had been abandoned after production staff 'demanded' to return to the UK before mandatory 10-day hotel quarantine rules are enforced. The Sun reported that studio executives were forced to hire a private jet to ensure staff could return home. A source said to the publication: 'The whole production has hit yet another issue and there have been revolts among the cast and crew. 'Morale is really down and many of the younger staff who arent earning the big bucks just dont feel its worth it any more.' Crew first began shooting scenes in February in 2020, a few weeks prior to the first global lockdown, and production has been delayed multiple times due to the pandemic. Mission: Impossible 7 is currently slated for release on May 27, 2022, with Mission: Impossible 8 expected to follow on July 7, 2023. She found fame as Betty Draper in hit TV series Mad Men. And on Thursday, January Jones showed off her playful side on Instagram. The actress, 43, posted a topless selfie in which she's seen with shampoo covering her wet blonde hair. Pamper session: January Jones showed off her playful side on Instagram on Thursday, posting a topless selfie with her hair covered in shampoo along with a motivational message In the caption, she wrote: 'Pro tip: When overtired make shampoo art to boost your mood.' January didn't divulge why she is overtired but she was due to travel to Mexico City last week to start work on the movie God Is A Bullet. She's part of a star-studded cast that includes Jamie Foxx, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Ethan Suplee and Karl Glusman. Directed by Nick Cassavetes and based on the 1999 Boston Teran novel of the same name, the crime drama follows a former vice detective who goes in search of his daughter who's been kidnapped by a satanic cult. New project: January, 43, didn't divulge why she is overtired but she was due to travel to Mexico City last week to start work on the movie God Is A Bullet for director Nick Cassavetes Earlier this year, January showcased her incredible figure as she posed in a daring red dress she'd worn to the Golden Globes in 2011. '10yrs later and it still, (sorta), fits,' she wrote alongside then and now photos. When she's not working on TV and film projects, January is a doting mom to her son Xander, who was born in September 2011, She has never publicly revealed the identity of the boy's father. Still has 'it': Earlier this year, January showcased her incredible figure as she posed in a daring red dress she'd worn to the Golden Globes in 2011. '10yrs later and it still, (sorta), fits,' she wrote alongside then and now photos She's an undeniable fashionista. And Sofia Vergara looked simply stunning as she visited The Ellen Degeneres Show wearing a hot pink jumpsuit for Thursday's episode. The 48-year-old America's Got Talent judge showed off her outfit to her 21.8 million Instagram followers, captioning her post: 'My look for the @theellenshow today,' along with three pink flower emojis. Eye-catching: Sofia Vergara stunned in a hot pink jumpsuit that she wore during a recent appearance on The Ellen Degeneres Show The Modern Family star snapped a mirror selfie after donning the strapless neon pink Alex Perry 'Mandel' jumpsuit. The stretch-crepe jumpsuit featured a lightly boned bustier-style bodice with a bandeau neckline that showcased Sofia's ample curves. The high waistline emphasized Vergara's hourglass figure. The fashion-forward jumpsuit's pressed wide leg pants fell almost to the floor as the Colombian-born beauty rested one hand on her hip and leaned to the side. She also sported colorful Dolce & Gabbana platform patchwork sandals. Sofia added some sparkle to her ensemble, accessorizing with a diamond bracelet and large diamond ring. Vergara also layered three gold necklaces. Her caramel-streaked locks fell loosely over her shoulders in waves. She was rocking a bold red lipstick that showed off her beautiful white smile. The second photo that Sofia included in her post was a still from the show in which she lounged in a chair as she was interviewed by Ellen. During her appearance, she told the host how her dream of adopting a dog went horribly wrong once she brought Bubbles home and she instantly preferred her husband Joe Manganiello. Vergara joked that the Chihuahua has 'stolen everything that was hers', after moving into the LA pad she shares with her actor beau, 44. Sofia discussed her pet - who she branded an 'idiot' - during a recent appearance on the Ellen Show, as she revealed the pooch has taken over her bed and husband. 'She hates me!' Sofia Vergara has told how her dream of adopting a dog went horribly wrong once she brought Bubbles home and she instantly preferred her husband Joe Manganiello When quizzed on her dog Bubbles, Sofia said: 'I don't have a dog it's not mine, it's Joe's dog.', despite revealing she originally bought the Chihuahua for herself. When Ellen showed the audience a picture of the pup, Sofia said: 'Look at her, idiot. 'It doesn't even look like a Chihuahua, it looks like some sort of teddy bear. The dog was for me, I got the dog, but she arrived and completely ignored me. Went straight to Joe. She has taken everything that was mine.' Joking about how Bubbles has made it clear who her favourite is, she said: 'It's not funny - it's horrible, she's taken my husband, my bed. Picked her favourite: The Modern Family actress, 48, joked that the Chihuahua has 'stolen everything that was hers', after moving into the LA pad she shares with her actor beau, 44 'She sleeps in bed with Joe, they sleep together and then I sleep on the other side. It has become something so weird. 'But I have to say it's not Joe's fault, it's her, she's obsessed with him.' Ellen then admitted she can understand why someone would be obsessed with Joe, however Sofia quipped back: 'Yes, but not to that level. She hates me. 'If he has to go away for work and she knows she has to stay with me in the house and knows she has to deal with me, but won 't do eye contact. Love: Joe and Sofia have been married since 2015, tying the knot at the Palm Beach resort The Breakers which is an historic hot spot for high society parties 'She's always looking out, every little noise she's looking for, she can't enjoy the time with me. It's like she knows she has to sit with me cos I'm the only other person in the house. Ellen said: 'I have that with my three dogs, they prefer Portia.' While Sofia joked: 'Oh so you must be worse than me!' 'So I was thinking maybe I'd get another dog, but it could happen that they'd also fall in love with him and not with me.' 'She has taken everything that was mine!' Sofia discussed her pet - who she branded an 'idiot' - during a recent appearance on the Ellen Show, as she revealed the pooch has taken over her bed and husband Sofia then told Ellen how she thought it was awful how she had renamed her rescue dogs, and that her and Joe kept Bubbles' rescue name. Joe and Sofia have been married since 2015, tying the knot at the Palm Beach resort The Breakers which is an historic hot spot for high society parties. The sitcom diva has a son named Manolo, 29, by her first husband Joe Gonzalez who had been her high school sweetheart in her native Colombia. Modern Family made stars out of its cast particularly Sofia whom Forbes ranked as the world's highest-paid TV actress for several years during its run. When Ellen showed the audience a picture of the pup, Sofia said: 'Look at her, idiot' Last year Sofia made so much money on her various projects that Forbes reported she was the world's highest paid actress in any medium. All 11 seasons of Modern Family became available simultaneously on both Hulu and Peacock beginning this February 3 less than a year after airing its finale. Modern Family enjoyed its long 250-episode broadcast run on ABC which has the same parent company as Hulu - Disney. Meanwhile Peacock is the streaming arm of NBCUniversal which of course own's one of ABC's main broadcast rivals ABC. Disney and NBCUniversal have struck a multiple-year deal that has allowed for both company's streamers to share the program, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Pride month was kicked off with a special flag raising by a student group at Royal Oak Middle School. A colorful pride flag was raised Tuesday to recognize the month that celebrates the LGBT community, led by the student-led group Sexuality Acceptance and Gender Alliance. "For the first time in Royal Oak Schools History, ROMS is showing its Pride," said Sarah Bockhausen, a teacher at Royal Oak Middle School and SAGA Club co-sponsor. Happy Pride Month said in a release. Thanks, SAGA Club for your amazing leadership." The students in the club planned all of the details, including welcoming messages on the school sign and the property's sidewalks as well as the flag raising. - Advertisement - We are incredibly proud of our SAGA students, said teacher and SAGA co-Sponsor Hannah Mathes. SAGA seeks to make ROMS a more welcoming place for everyone. Tuesday's events were an excellent example of the leadership and vision we have come to expect from students at ROMS." U.S. suspends tariffs on six trading partners for digital service tax negotiations Xinhua) 08:53, June 03, 2021 Photo taken on March 16, 2020 shows the White House Visitor Center in Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai said that the nation will suspend the tariffs for up to 180 days to provide "additional time" to complete the ongoing multilateral negotiations on international taxation. WASHINGTON, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Wednesday announced that it will impose tariffs on certain goods from Austria, Britain, India, Italy, Spain and Turkey over disputes on Digital Service Taxes (DSTs), while noting that it will suspend tariffs for six months for multilateral negotiations. United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai said in a statement that the final determination in the one-year Section 301 investigations of DSTs adopted by the six countries is to impose additional tariffs on certain goods from these countries. Tai, however, noted that the United States will suspend the tariffs for up to 180 days to provide "additional time" to complete the ongoing multilateral negotiations on international taxation. "The United States remains committed to reaching a consensus on international tax issues through the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) and G20 (Group of Twenty) processes," Tai said. "Today's actions provide time for those negotiations to continue to make progress while maintaining the option of imposing tariffs under Section 301 if warranted in the future," said the USTR. In July 2019, the United States launched a Section 301 investigation into France's planned tax on digital services, accusing the French government of "unfairly targeting the tax at certain U.S.-based technology companies." French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, however, argued that the tax is necessary to make big internet companies pay their fair share of taxes. Anti-tariff posters are seen on a life vest outside the building of U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington D.C., the United States, June 17, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) In June 2020, the United States initiated Section 301 investigations into DSTs considered by 10 U.S. trading partners, including the European Union, Brazil and India. In January this year, the USTR decided to suspend proposed additional 25-percent tariffs on about 1.3 billion U.S. dollars worth of French products amid DSTs dispute, "in light of the ongoing investigation of similar DSTs adopted or under consideration in ten other jurisdictions." Also in January, USTR determined that the DSTs adopted by Austria, Britain, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey discriminated against U.S. digital companies, were inconsistent with principles of international taxation, and burdened U.S. companies. In March, USTR announced proposed trade actions in these six investigations, and undertook a public notice and comment process. USTR also terminated the remaining four investigations (of Brazil, the Czech Republic, the European Union, and Indonesia) "because those jurisdictions had not implemented the DSTs under consideration." (Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun) Police ran the Maine license plate on the Honda and saw that the car was registered to Smith. Sgt. Michael Rykowski spotted the car in a rear driveway on Oakland Terrace, about seven blocks away. He also saw Smith, still wearing the blue T-shirt, gray pants and limping. Police later learned that Smith had suffered a serious hip injury in an April crash, the warrant said. Seattle, WA (98195) Today Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 59F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch.. Tonight Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 59F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch. DETROIT (AP) Shares of General Motors Co. closed at a record high Thursday after the company said its efforts to manage the global computer chip shortage have worked better than expected, so it's financial results will improve. The company said in a statement Thursday it has made engineering changes, prioritized semiconductor use and pulled some potential deliveries into the second quarter. So now the first-half earnings will be significantly better than forecasts it issued earlier in the year. GM had predicted a first-half pretax profit of around $5.5 billion when it released first-quarter earnings in May. The company also said it's optimistic about the full year, but gave no further details. Shares of GM rose 6.4% to close Thursday at $63.46, a record since the company left bankruptcy protection in November of 2010. The stock is up 52% so far this year as the company has emphasized its transition from internal combustion to electric vehicles. In the first quarter the company turned a $2.98 billion net profit as strong U.S. consumer demand and higher prices offset production cuts brought on by the chip shortage. GM previously forecast a full-year pretax profit of $10 billion to $11 billion and said earnings would be at the high end of the range. Full-year net income is expected to be between $6.8 billion and $7.6 billion. In a Thursday afternoon online discussion with a Credit Suisse analyst, GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said the chip supply situation is volatile, but GM has been able to step up its production a bit from what it expected a month ago. The company sees the shortage lasting into the third quarter. We certainly see it starting to get better in the second half, and hopefully getting to a point where we've reached normalization in 2022, he said, cautioning against predictions that far into the future. Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy said GM has enough dealer stock to supply only 22 days of demand, when it normally has 80. Jacobson said consumer demand has been strong, especially for full-size SUVs and pickup trucks. He said the company may not return to the stocks its dealers carried before the pandemic, but it has to increase inventory from current levels because there are too many dealers with empty lots. The chip shortage happened because automakers and parts-supply companies closed factories and canceled chip orders early last year as the novel coronavirus was spreading. The factories came back in eight weeks, faster than expected, but by then the semiconductor industry had switched production to chips for the booming consumer electronics market. A March 19 fire at a Japanese factory that makes automotive chips made the problem worse. The shortage has forced production cuts, crimping the supply of new vehicles just as demand recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, causing shortages and raising new vehicle prices. Used vehicle prices have hit record levels. Renesas, the company hit by the fire, said production is now back to 88% of what it was before the blaze. With new equipment being installed, the company expects to resume full production by mid June. Ford has said the shortage would halve its production from normal levels in the second quarter. Nearly all automakers have been affected including Nissan, Honda, Stellantis, Tesla and Volkswagen. GM's statement said its factories will still be affected by the chip shortage through June and July. But it's shifting chips to higher-margin, high-demand vehicles such as pickup trucks and full-size SUVs. U.S. assembly plants that build those products won't take the traditional summer two-week shutdown this year, the company said. In addition, GM's heavy-duty truck plant in Flint, Michigan, will crank out about 1,000 more trucks per month due to production line efficiencies, the company said. GM also said it's starting to install computers in midsize trucks that were built without them due to the shortage. Those vehicles will be shipped in early July. Skip to main navigation For Release: Thursday, June 3, 2021 DEC to Host 'Outdoors Day' Celebration at Lowville Forestry Demonstration Area Free Family-Friendly Activities on June 12 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) Region 6 will host 'Outdoors Day' on June 12, at the Lowville Forestry Demonstration Area at 7327 State Route 812, Lowville, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free family-friendly activities include fishing, archery, camping demonstrations, and a scavenger hunt. There will also be an opportunity to sign-up for a nearby hike scheduled for the weekend of June 19, 2021. This year's Outdoors Day event will incorporate current COVID-19 guidelines, including mask and social distancing requirements, as appropriate. Equipment will be provided for archery and fishing. Attendees may also bring their own fishing poles and equipment for personal use. DEC is hosting the Lowville celebration and other events at sites across the State at no cost to attendees as part of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's Adventure NY Initiative to connect people to nature and provide increased access to the outdoors so that New Yorkers of all ages and abilities can experience a wide range of hands-on recreational activities. Details, including schedules and registration requirements, can be found on DEC's website. Participation is limited and registration is required for most events and not all activities are available at all locations. To improve public safety and encourage visitors to State-owned and managed lands to practice responsible recreation, DEC recently launched the 'Love Our New York Lands' campaign. The campaign is responsive to the steady increase in the number of visitors to state lands, both during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the decade prior, as more and more New Yorkers and visitors from other states and countries discovered the natural beauty of New York State lands, particularly the Adirondack and Catskill parks. The campaign bolsters ongoing State- and partner-led efforts to educate the public about how to responsibly enjoy outdoor recreation on public lands without negatively impacting natural resources. The campaign will implement a variety of multi-media and in-person strategies to promote Leave No Trace principles, hiker preparedness and safety, sustainable use, and responsible trip planning, as well as reinforce the role of DEC professionals who protect public lands and manage public access, including DEC Foresters, Natural Resource Planners, Forest Rangers, Assistant Forest Rangers, and natural resource stewards. For details and more information, visit the Love Our New York Lands webpage. remaining of SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription and are still unable to access our content, please link your digital account to your print subscription If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. The shootings occurred earlier Sunday evening at 70 Meriden Ave. in Southington, offices for Hartford HealthCare; homes at 2344 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike and 376 North Star Drive in Southington; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 750 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike in Southington; Polumbos Service Center at 828 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike in Southington; and homes at 156 School St. and 216 Flanders Road in Bristol. All of the locations have some connection to Gollnick, police said. ENT surgeons documenting the different cases state that in 20 per cent of the black fungus infection cases, the patients had lower cell immunity. (DC file photo) HYDERABAD: High sugar levels, side-effects of medicines and the immune-compromised state of those suffering from black fungus are leading to multi-organ failure, causing death. The recorded deaths in ENT Hospital are only two. This apart, in private hospitals and homes, there are unregistered deaths. There have been more than 250 surgeries at the ENT Hospital, 100 surgeries in Gandhi Hospital and more than 450 surgeries in different private hospitals in the state. New patients admitted into the Government ENT Hospital and Gandhi Hospital are more than 30 every day. For those patients who are suffering from invasion in the brain and lungs are in an inoperable stage and they are treated with medicines only. Dr Raja Rao, superintendent at Gandhi Hospital said, "We have less than 10 percent of patients who are suffering from invasion in the brain and lungs. The patients in Gandhi Hospital are also Covid positive and have black fungus. The surgeries are carried out for those who are fit to be operated on." It has been noted in both private and government hospitals that 80 per cent of these patients were suffering from diabetes. Of these, 30 per cent were aware of their disease condition while 20 per cent were having uncontrolled diabetes. Some 30 per cent of these patients were in the age group of 30 to 45 years, who developed high sugar levels after contracting the Covid19 infection. They were not aware of their condition and became susceptible to the disease. ENT surgeons documenting the different cases state that in 20 per cent of the black fungus infection cases, the patients had lower cell immunity. These secondary infections are treated with medicines post-recovery for two months. For this reason, liver and kidney functioning require to be monitored till the time they are on medicines. A doctor explained, "Oral posaconazole is given to patients at home after discharge. This will have to be taken for one to two months. Till then, the creatinine levels and liver functioning will be monitored." A team of specialists are working on these patients as maxillofacial surgeries are required after the surgical intervention in most patients. This has caused a lot of anxiety in patients between ages 30 and 45 years. They will also require counselling to cope with the trauma due to facial disfigurement. While officials in the Wakf Board say they did not have any information on the whereabouts of the Anees-ul-Ghurba inmates, TMREIS functionaries say the children were handed over to their families last year, following imposition of the lockdown and closure of hostels. (Representational DC photo) HYDERABAD: Around 25 inmates of the Anees-ul-Ghurba orphanage, who were handed over to the Telangana Minorities Residential Educational Institutions Society (TMRES)s facility four years ago under certain situations, are left to their fate. The shift took place when the dilapidated orphanage owned by the Wakf Board was demolished to make way for a new building. These inmates had been sent back home from TMREIS schools following the Covid-19 lockdown imposed in March 2020. Anees-ul-Ghurba was established in 1921 by philanthropist Mir Khaja Badruddin Chishti. The institution was under the control of the ecclesiastic department in the Asaf Jahi dynasty. Later, it was put under the control of the Endowment Department. In 2009, the management was transferred to the Wakf Board via a government order. In 2017, the government has sanctioned Rs 20 crore and an adjacent piece of government land, a one-acre plot, to construct a building with the facility designed to accommodate 600 inmates (320 girls and 280 boys), and a provision for commercial leasing of part of the land for generating income. At that time, 60 inmates were living in the orphanage. But as per TMREIS, only 25 children were admitted to its institutions and these children were later shifted to the TMREIS-run Musheerabad Girls School. While officials in the Wakf Board say they did not have any information on the whereabouts of the Anees-ul-Ghurba inmates, TMREIS functionaries say the children were handed over to their families last year, following imposition of the lockdown and closure of hostels. According to information provided by TMREIS under RTI to Kareem Ansari of Yungantar, 25 children (15 boys and 10 girls) were shifted from Anees-ul-Gurba in 2017. Among them, 15 students dropped out while 27 students (12 boys and 15 girls) were admitted to the orphanage in later years. Among them, 10 students dropped out. While some officials of the Wakf Board were not in a position to furnish any details about these children and admitted that they were not even sure of the number of children handed over to TMREIS custody, Wakf Board chairman Mohammed Saleem said: These children were handed over to the TMREIS at the instance of government adviser on minorities welfare A.K. Khan. I will discuss with our CEO and the TMREIS about the children tomorrow. He said, We will take over these children when construction of the new Anees-ul-Ghurba complex is completed. TMREIS secretary B.S. Shafiullah stated that, during the first lockdown in March 2020, these students were handed over to their families as we shut all our hostels. These students had even attended our online classes. We have the tracking records of these students. Our principals and teachers are in touch with them and their guardians. These students will be accommodated again at the time of reopening of the hostels, he said. Speaking to this correspondent, Choti Begum, a mother of two inmates at the orphanage, said her two daughters Mohammadi Begum (10) and Hajira Begum (7) who were boarding at Musheerabad School were handed over to her in March last year. She said these children were admitted to the orphanage after the demise of their father as she was not able to provide education and take care of them. She said her daughters were very happy in the hostel as they were getting proper education and care. When asked if anyone was in touch with them from TMREIS or the Wakf Board, she replied that initially teachers from TMREIS were in touch for a few days. Now no one calls or contacts us, she said. Meanwhile, Abid Rasool Khan, former chairman of the Human Rights Commission, addressed a letter to CEO of the Wakf Board, expressing concern about the safety and well-being of the inmates. He said TMREIS should have contacted the Wakf Board before asking the guardians to take their children back. He also said that since many of the children came from families that were in turmoil, the Wakf Board should have taken better care when the TMREIS shut its hostels, and taken the children back and taken care of them in alternative accommodation. The second wave of Coronavirus is devastating many families and claiming the lives of their breadwinners. (Representational Photo: PTI) KARIMNAGAR: The second wave of Coronavirus is devastating many families and claiming the lives of their breadwinners. Deaths of two to three persons in same family are also being reported from several areas of erstwhile Karimnagar district, often leaving their children orphans. Those in between the 35-45 age group are among the worst affected. In Peddapalli district, couple Kudikala Mallesh (38) and Srujana (33), residents of Adavi Srirampur village of Muttaram Mandal, died of Covid in a span of 12 hours. The couple, survived by two sons, used to run a medical shop in Adavi Srirampur village. When both the husband and wife were diagnosed positive, they underwent treatment and remained in home isolation for a week. The struggle with the virus continued and they were later admitted to a private hospital at Karimnagar. Before they decided to move into the hospital, they had left their two sons Charan (11) and Manideep (7) at the house of Malleshs parents in Begumpet of Ramgiri mandal in Peddapalli. Taking loans from relatives and money lenders, Mallesh spent around Rs10 lakh for their treatment, the relatives said. Malleshs brother Sadi and Srujanas brother Krishna, having learnt about the Ayurvedic medicine of Anandaiah, had even gone to the Andhra Pradesh border in an ambulance. With the help of their friends in Krishnapatnam, they managed to get the medicine. However, when they were returning with the medicine, they heard that Mallesh has passed away in the hospital. They rushed to the hospital in Karimnagar to save at least the life of Srujana. But, within a span of 12 hours, she took her last breath, leaving the children orphans. A similar incident took place in Vemulakurthi village of Ibrahimpatnam mandal of Jagtial district. Both the husband and wife died leaving their two children orphans. One Satapuram Bhimaiah, a fisherman died of Covid five months ago. When Bhimaiah passed away, his wife Rajakala (32) was four months pregnant. After the death of Bhimaiah, she faced a lot of hardships to take care of their two sons -- Ganesh (13) and Manoj (7) -- working as a farm labourer from a rented house. On May 19, she started receiving labour pain and was admitted to a hospital. But the strain she faced during the last five months led to the death of a growing fetus. Due to loss of excess blood, she went into an unconscious state. The doctors tried to administer her fresh blood. With an increase in the number of Corona patients, though, the blood of the same group was not available. This led to the death of Rajakala. The two children who became orphans do not have any close relatives. Their grandparents had died long ago. The villagers conducted the final rites of Rajakala. Having learnt about the tragic death of Bhimaiah and Rajakala, distant relative Saiamma came to help the orphaned children. An elderly woman, she was living alone in a rented space in Metpally mandal. In Rajanna Sircilla district, auto driver Shaik Khaleem (40) and his wife Nikath Tabbassum (38), living in Vidhyanagar Colony at Sircilla town, died of Covid in a space of five days. They left their two daughters Amaan (15) and Rumaan (13) orphans. Even their daughters have also contracted the deadly virus, and there was no one to help them out. Luckily for them, Sircilla MLA and minister KT Rama Rao came to the rescue of the girls and directed district collector Krishna Bhaskar to provide immediate treatment to them -- Amaan and Rumaan. He also assured them that he would take care of their education after their recovery and will extend other support to secure their future. In yet another incident, both father and son in a family died within 15 days time. T Lakshminarayana (60), resident of Mallial mandal of Jagtial district, was running a beedi unit. He died after being infected with coronavirus. His son Madhu (36), a private college lecturer, was also tested positive but could not attend the final rites of his father since he was undergoing treatment in a hospital. After 15 days, Madhu too died. Madhu is survived by his daughter of three years and wife who, the family said, is three months pregnant. The family is in deep pain over the death of two members of the family. The family members, who suspected he was abducted by some gang as he was incommunicado for about three hours, received a letter from the police later in the day, stating that he was placed under arrest. Representational image HYDERABAD: The Mattampally Police in Suryapet has put under arrest a journalist from Malkajgiri a few hours after he was taken into custody by them on Thursday afternoon, when he stepped out of his home to buy groceries. The family members, who suspected he was abducted by some gang as he was incommunicado for about three hours, received a letter from the police later in the day, stating that he was placed under arrest. Raghu Ramakrishna, who has been writing for Tolivelugu and contributed pieces to other media outlets, was a critic of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). The SHO of the Mattampally police, in a statement to Raghus wife, said that the scribe was arrested at 12.45 pm on June 3 near his house in Hyderabad after he was informed of the grounds for his arrest. He was later produced before a local court before being remanded to judicial custody. Police sources said the arrest was in connection with an old case wherein he was named as accused number 19, and booked under Sections 146, (rioting) 147 (punishment for riots) and 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapon), 332 and 333 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty) read with 149 (unlawful assembly) of the IPC, besides other sections of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1932. Police officials at Malkajgiri said that as per the law, they should inform an individual either before or after his arrest. We received information about the arrest a while after the cops took him into custody. Since its the law and order police of the state that made the arrest, they need not inform us beforehand, said Malkajgiri inspector B. Jagadeeswar Rao, explaining the delay in informing Raghus family of the arrest. Journalist unions and political parties across the city have expressed their anger and condemned the move by the TRS government. Women and children line up to receive free meals from a non-government organization during a lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus in Bengaluru, Wednesday, June 2, 2021. (AP/Aijaz Rahi) Indias prisoners offer a telling insight into the state of the countrys economy. In Uttar Pradesh, the countrys most populous state, 21 jail inmates have recently written to the authorities saying they dont want parole. Their reason: staying in prisons is safer and healthier during the Covid-19 pandemic. They know that in the world outside, there wont be free food nor regular health checkups and they will have to struggle for a living. The signs of economic distress are everywhere. Even as the Centre and state governments continue to weigh in on the grim maths between lives and livelihoods, it is becoming obvious that social protection for our vulnerable makes for a compelling moral argument as well as an economic and social one. Without it, neither the pandemic-battered economy nor the fractured will gain normality any time soon. India has begun to take baby steps to emerge from the lockdowns that were triggered by the sharp spike in coronavirus cases in the second wave. Currently, there are flickers of promise: the daily infections are falling in many places though Covid-19 deaths still remain high at around 3,000 every day. Worryingly, the virus continues to course through the countryside. This week, manufacturing and construction work was allowed to resume in Delhi and some other areas, but with many roads remaining barricaded, transporting material is not easy and there is an acute shortage of labourers. Many have gone back home. This time around, there was transport so there have been no long marches down national highways like last year, after the first nationwide lockdown. But clearly, many labourers who come to big cities in search of livelihoods have little faith in their employers or the State to look after them during lockdowns. In the past year, we have not put in solid social protection mechanisms for migrant workers or those working in the informal sector. There is the odd relief scheme for limited periods or cash transfer through Jan Dhan, but these have limited reach, says Amit Basole, associate professor of economics at Azim Premji University, one of the key authors of a study, The State of Working India 2021: One year of Covid-19, brought out by the university. In the absence of a real social protection mechanism in the cities, people have gone back to their villages. This should surprise no one. Neither should it come as a surprise that this will impact attempts to unlock the economy. Overnight, we may not be able to formalise all informal workers, but we need to definitely start putting in place a more solid social protection mechanism as a matter of immediate priority, Prof. Basole stresses. Why is not this a bigger issue? Perhaps the heart-breaking images of deaths, often without dignity, have something to do with it. The huge health crisis and graphic images of the dead have overshadowed the severe economic crisis across the country. Not only has the informal sector been rendered more precarious, many who earlier had salaried jobs are now being forced into odd jobs and errands just to survive as a result of the pandemic, lockdowns and various other restrictions, says Prof. Basole, He speaks movingly about a school bus driver he knows who is trying to make a living ferrying vegetable from wholesale markets to retail shops. But this is not a stable way of earning a living. Admittedly this is only anecdotal, but its not difficult to imagine many more such cases may be there. The report says mobility restrictions, such as those caused by lockdowns, predictably lead to income losses due to decreased economic activity. We find that a 10 per cent decline in mobility was associated with a 7.5 per cent decline in income. This number is useful to keep in mind when estimating the impact of future lockdowns, it cautions. Predictably, the poor who lack cushions have been the worst-hit. Nearly half of formal salaried workers moved into informal work, either as self-employed (30%), casual wage (10%) or informal salaried (9%) workers, between late 2019 and late 2020. Women have been affected more and households have tried to cope by cutting back on food intake, selling assets, and borrowing informally from friends, relatives, and moneylenders. Government relief measures have helped, but exclusions were also common. In a recent commentary, The Covid-19 Crisis and Peoples Right to Food, development economists Jean Dreze and Anmol Somanchi note that relief measures helped, but they were patchy. A large majority of the population had access to PDS in 2020 (with enhanced monthly rations for eight months), and this played a critical role in averting the worst. But its possible some of the supplementary rations got diverted, initially at least, and significant minority of poor households had no access to PDS at all for lack of a ration card. Other relief measures such as NREGA and cash transfers also had a patchy coverage. Given the unpredictable trajectory of the virus, its hard to forecast when lockdowns may be reimposed. All the more reason to invest in a solid social protection mechanism to minimise the damage due to disruption. The State of Working India 2021 suggests some urgent policy measures. These include extending free rations under PDS beyond June, at least till the end of 2021, cash transfer of Rs 5,000 for three months to as many vulnerable households as can be reached with the existing digital infrastructure, including but not limited to Jan Dhan accounts, expansion of MGNREGA entitlement to 150 days, revising programme wages upwards to state minimum wages, expanding the programme budget to at least Rs 1.75 lakh crores, launching a pilot urban employment programme in the worst-hit districts, possibly focused on women workers, increasing the Central contribution in old-age pensions, automatically enrolling all MGNREGA workers who do construction work, as registered workers under the Building and Other Construction Workers (BoCW) Act so that they can access social security benefits and a Covid hardship allowance for Anganwadi/Asha workers of Rs 5,000 per month for six months. All these measures together will cost money -- approximately Rs 5.5 lakh crores of additional spending and bring the total fiscal outlay on Covid relief to around 4.5 per cent of GDP over two years. But what will be the cost of not having this large fiscal stimulus, given the magnitude of the distress? As Dreze and Somanchi put it: The Covid-19 crisis brings out once again that India needs a more reliable and comprehensive social security system. Rabinowitz said he decided to sell the two properties, worried about rising apartment vacancies in Hartford and elsewhere as the pandemic deepened. A partner in the four Spectra apartment properties downtown, including three at the corner of Pearl and Trumbull streets and one on Constitution Plaza, had similar concerns, selling stakes in those projects. Released: June 2, 2021 Vaccine to be available at the Yeadon site on June 3 and June 10 The Delaware County COVID-19 Task Force will offer the Pfizer vaccine this Thursday and next Thursday at the Delaware County Wellness Center. The Wellness Center, located at 125 Chester Avenue in Yeadon, will be open June 3 and June 10 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Wellness Center has been dispensing the Moderna vaccine for months at the Yeadon location, and is now also offering the Pfizer vaccine, which has been approved by the CDC for use in individuals 12 years of age and older, on these select dates. Vaccinations are free. No identification, health insurance, or appointments are required. Second doses will be scheduled on site, following the recommended 21 day wait period. Individuals can make an appointment for the vaccine by visiting the County website at delcopa.gov/vax or can walk-in without an appointment. The website also provides additional information about COVID-19 pop-up vaccination locations, testing and resources. Individuals can contact the Delaware County COVID-19 Call Center by phone at (484) 276-2100, or by email covid19resources@co.delaware.pa.us, for additional information about COVID-19 and vaccinations. Highlights of this day in history: Ed White is the first American to walk in space; Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini and Pope John XXIII die; Britain's Duke of Windsor weds Wallis Simpson; Poet Allen Ginsberg and entertainer Josephine Baker born. (June 3) County government Delco council holds its first in-person meeting in 14 months CRIME Former manager at nursing home in Darby pleas to endangering 3 residents Courts Woman pleads to manslaughter in death of 10-month-old OPINION Why we should engage in ritual You cant understand the houses unless you understand the property, he said as he led a tour of the centers first exhibit, which will feature: black and white photographs of privies more commonly known as outhouses or places of ease that were essential to advances in indoor plumbing; an homage to the Connecticut Society of the Colonial Dames of America, which was created to preserve the countrys history and educate people about its founding principals; and a collection of items from the three houses in an exhibit titled Hidden in Plain View. Black Lives Matter protesters in Derry who faced the threat of prosecution for a year have welcomed a Public Prosecution Service decision not to prosecute. However, all three individuals concerned have said the announcement is long overdue and the fight is far from over as fines have not been withdrawn. The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) yesterday revealed that three people will not be prosecuted for taking part in a Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest at the Guildhall on June 6, 2020. The anti-racist protest was organised in direct response to the murder of black American man George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Director of Operations at North West Migrants Forum, Lilian-Seenoi-Barr, was one of those to receive a letter from the PPS notifying her that it was not pursuing criminal charges. She said: These prosecutions should never have been brought in the first place. The fact that they were is evidence of discriminatory policing and systemic racism in Northern Ireland. She added: For 12 months, lawful activists have been living in the shadow of threatened prosecution. The disparity between the treatment of black and minority ethnic protestors and others is obvious. No other group was targeted by the PSNI in their homes. This is further evidence that the black and minority ethnic population are treated less favourably than both the unionist and nationalist communities. While the PPS decision is welcome, the fixed penalty notices and fines issued by the PSNI on 6 June 2020 have not been dropped. This issue is far from over. Racial Equality and racial justice are not just slogans. Northern Ireland still has a lot to learn and a long way to go to overcome inequality and discrimination. Local People Before Profit Councillor, Shaun Harkin, also received a letter from the PPS informing him that he would not be brought before the courts. He said: People power has pushed through the hypocrisy of the PSNI who criminalised the protests and the Stormont political establishment who greenlighted the crackdown. The decision by the PPS not to bring prosecutions further vindicates the Black Lives Matter movement and all civil rights campaigners. A Tyrone man, Damien Gallagher, confirmed that he was the third person. He criticised political representatives who chose not to do the right thing. We only have what we have now because 50 years ago others of all religious backgrounds stood for Civil Rights for all here. That fight is clearly far from over. LEGAL ISSUES Last week the Derry News revealed that prosecutions were still hanging over three individuals in the city one year on. The PSNI submitted three files PPS relating the Black Lives Matter (BLM) rally at Guildhall Square on June 6, 2020. On the day local police officers in Derry also issued 57 fines for breaches of the Coronavirus Health Protection Regulations. A total of 14 suspects were reported to the PPS for consideration of potential offences under the Coronavirus Regulations at one or more of three BLM protests held in Derry and Belfast last summer. The PPS said that after careful consideration of all evidence reported by the PSNI on six files relating to the 14 individuals, it was concluded that the Test for Prosecution was not met in respect of any suspect on evidential grounds. Assistant Director Martin Hardy said: Decision making on this file included consideration of a range of complex and novel legal issues arising from the Coronavirus Regulations in place at the time of these protests and relevant human rights considerations. It also involved a careful analysis of the particular circumstances of these protests and the conduct of the individuals reported. The evidence received from police was subjected to an impartial and independent application of the Test for Prosecution, in line with the PPS Code for Prosecutors. The prosecution team was also assisted by advice received from independent Senior Counsel. It was concluded that, in respect of each of the 14 individuals reported, there was no reasonable prospect of conviction for any offence. This was on the basis that the evidence would allow the suspects to successfully raise the statutory defence of reasonable excuse. In these circumstances the Test for Prosecution was not met. No charges have yet been brought against individuals responsible for shooting eight men in Derry this year, it can be revealed today. Since January 1, eight males have sustained serious injuries as a result of being shot in paramilitary-style attacks in the city. However, no-one has appeared in court at this stage in connection with the offences. Chief Superintendent Darrin Jones, the local police commander said investigations into the shootings are active. Those responsible for these violent gun attacks on members of the Derry community have nothing to offer and only want to exert fear and control over the community for their own selfish gains and think nothing of using their guns against people in the communities where they live," he said. The brutal injuries they inflict on people are a stark violation of peoples basic human rights. They do not care about the long-term physical and emotional damage they are inflicting on their victims and their families. We are actively investigating these incidents to identify those involved and bring them before the courts. Police have conducted a number of searches and, while no persons have been charged, five men have been arrested and questioned in connection with a number of these violent incidents. Chief Superintendent Jones urged people with any information about the attacks to come forward. He added: There are obvious difficulties in getting victims and witnesses of such attacks to come forward due to fear but Police are far from powerless when it comes to dealing with these people who are exploiting their own communities. We are targeting the groups and individuals we suspect are responsible for the attacks and tackling their wider criminality, be that drug dealing, or any other illegal activity. My message is simple: Policing works for communities, particularly for those communities that engage and work with us. TIMELINE OF SHOOTINGS January 6: The first paramilitary style attack took place when a man in his 30s was targeted in what police described as a barbaric shooting. It took place around 7.30pm in the Southway area of Derry. January 8: Just two days later, a man was shot outside a residential property in Creggan Heights before 7.45pm, sustaining what police said may be life-changing injuries. February 6: Two men were hospitalised after being shot in the legs in Rinmore Drive, close to Creggan shops. Again, it took place early in the evening and was described as reckless and brutal by the PSNI. February 27: A teenager was shot in an alleyway in the Curryneirin area. April 13: A man in his 20s was shot in the Meenan Drive area in a paramilitary-style assault. April 15: Men forced their way into a property in the Whitethorn Drive area of the city where a man was shot a number of times in his legs. May 17: The most recent involved a man being bundled into a car on the Letterkenny Road and driven to Claudy where he was shot. The injured man made it to a nearby house where he raised the alarm and was transported to hospital. INTIMIDATION Photo: A masked gunman pictured in the Bogside area of the city last year - credit: Hadrien Holstein. Paramilitary groups in the city often attempt to justify the shooting of individuals who they claim are drug dealers. However, graffiti appeared in Creggan, Ballymagroarty and the Bogside earlier this year with members of the New IRA and INLA accusing one another of protecting drug dealers. According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), serious and organised crime gangs involved in the sale and supply of drugs have adapted during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the yearly period to March 2021, NI has experienced its highest number of drug offences on record. The number of drug offences increased by 163 in the past twelve months to 8,165 offences. Derry City and Strabane saw the biggest increase in drug seizure incidents, up from 670 in 2019/20 to 812 in 2020/21. Drug related arrests at a local level also increased from 430 to 473 the biggest jump in the country, with other policing areas experiencing a decrease in arrests. Michael Mulqueen, Professor of Policing and National Security at the University of Central Lancashire, has focused on policing in Ireland. The Derry News asked him whether it is normal in other parts of Ireland or the UK for eight people to be shot and nobody brought before the courts. He says community intelligence in a small city such as Derry can be contingent upon how the police is perceived within local communities. Professor Mulqueen added: But any shootings much less those flowing from the menacing world of paramilitarism allied to serious and organised crime create an additional challenge. Unscrupulous and well-organised paramilitary crime gangs will, routinely, engage in despicable acts of witness intimidation. So, whereas police should always be trying to do more to resolve serious crime, there are, frustratingly, complicating factors. COLLATERAL DAMAGE Overall recorded crime decreased in all of the PSNIs 11 policing districts over the last 12 months. Derry has experienced the smallest annual percentage drop in crime at -1.7 per cent. By way of comparison, Belfast City experienced a -17.1 per cent drop and across Northern Ireland, as a whole, recorded crime decreased by -11.4 per cent. Local policing commanders will offer reasons for the variance. But, Professor Mulqueen believes that in the case of Derry, data seems to expose the myth' that republicans violently opposed to the peace process suppress crime in communities. He said: Resorting to knee-capping and other thuggish ways may be running counter to the intended effect: could it be that it is persuading people in Derry to report crime to the PSNI with greater frequency? Alternatively, one can read the data as PSNI and its partners having experienced a year in which crime has proved harder to contain than in other districts. This may be, not least, due to the efforts of a menacing dissident presence. Indeed, however it is cut, those opposed to the peace are living up to the refrain of their critics: they offer nothing. The policing expert cited Februarys double shooting at Rinmore Drive, Creggan, as an example in this regard. A PSNI investigating officer concluded that two men were shot in savage attacks in a residential area at a time when people would have been out and about. The trauma inflicted upon victims and the community was, no doubt, designed to inflict collateral damage in the form of weakening the will of vulnerable people to seek local PSNI support, Professor Mulqueen concluded. Police have appealed for anyone with information about any criminality to contact police on 101, or submit a report online using our non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/ In the market for a "forever home" or a holiday hideaway? Check out this detached four-bedroom dormer bungalow in the wilds of Donegal. It goes under the hammer at an auction on June 25 with a guide price of just 68,000 Euro (59,000). The property is located approximately 4km from Glenties town centre and has stunning views of woodland and mountains. The bungalow is on a generous site of three-quarters of an acre. Local amenities in the area include the Highlands Hotel, Glenties Health Centre and Scoil Mhuire National School together with a range of shops, bars and restaurants available in Glenties town centre and nearby Donegal town. Transport links include regular bus routes (991, 492), the R250 and N56 national road. Juhi Chawla's Plea Hearing Against 5G In HC Gets Interrupted By Man Singing Her Song Some of the hit songs of actress Juhi Chawla's movies made their way in the proceedings before the Delhi High Court on Wednesday when a man started singing them during the virtual hearing relating to the Bollywood star's plea against the 5G wireless network. The action of the man resulted in the periodic interruption of hearing and on the judge's directions, the person was repeatedly removed from the hearing, but he kept on joining and started singing till the time the proceedings were locked. Chawla also joined the virtual proceedings from South Africa. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Juhi Chawla (@iamjuhichawla) The man, who was logging in the virtual hearing with different names first started singing 'Ghoonghat ki aad mein dilbar ka didaar adhura' from her blockbuster movie 'Hum Hai Rahi Pyaar Ke' and he was then removed. He again joined the proceedings and started singing from her another hit film Naajayaz, 'Lal Lal Hoton Pe Gori Kiska Naam Hai' and was again removed from the hearing. The third time, he joined and sang 'Meri Banno Ki Aayegi Baraat' from the movie Aaina. At the outset, the man was heard saying 'where is Juhi Ma'am I can't see her' and when the judge asked the court master to mute the concerned person, he said 'you want to mute me. Oh really! Initially, he joined the hearing with the name of Azaan, thereafter, changed name to Manisha Koirala and then to Janvi. The film star herself on her Twitter account last evening had shared the link for joining the proceedings. She had tweeted "if you do think this concerns you in anyway, feel free to join our first virtual hearing conducted at Delhi High Court to be held on 2nd June, 10.45 AM onwards". Justice J R Midha asked the court master to lock the proceedings and to contact Delhi Police and ask them to identify the person so that a contempt notice could be issued against him for his conduct. On a lighter note, Chawla's lawyer said maybe the person is already affected by the radiations. Nyay: The Justice: Sushant Singh Rajput's Name Or His Caricature Not Depicted, Claims Makers To HC The Delhi High Court was on Wednesday told that the upcoming film -- 'Nyay: The Justice' -- which is purportedly based on the life of late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, does not depict his caricature, name or likeness as it is not a biopic on him. The submission was made by the producers and director of the film, scheduled to be released on June 11, while opposing a plea moved by Rajput's father to restrain anyone from using his son's name or likeness in movies. After hearing arguments of both sides, Justice Sanjeev Narula reserved judgement in the matter and asked the producers and director of the film not to release the movie till the court pronounces its verdict. The court said it would most likely deliver the verdict before June 11, but if it was unable to do so, then the movie's release will be held back. Senior advocate Chander Lall, appearing for the director of the film, said that the movie's release has been widely publicised and therefore, he would not be able to give any assurance with regard to holding it back. In view of the submission by Lall, the court said if it was unable to deliver the verdict before June 11, it will again take up the matter before that date and pass interim orders staying release of the film. During the day's hearing, the senior advocate told the court that Rajput's caricature, name or likeness has not been used in the film. Lall as well as the counsel for the producers told the court that restraining anyone from making any movie on what happened to Rajput would be an infringement of the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under the Constitution. They said that Rajput being a celebrity, people need to know what happened to him. They cited examples of movies, both Indian and foreign, made on various individuals and companies without their express permission and said that such activity was permissible. They also said that since Rajput has passed away the rights of fair trial and privacy cannot be inherited by his father. Senior advocate Vikas Singh and advocate Varun Singh, appearing for Rajput's father, opposed the contentions of the film's producers and director and said since the father filed the complaint, which was the basis of the FIR and trial, and also the present suit, he had a right to fair trial and privacy. According to the plea moved by Rajput's father -- Krishna Kishore Singh -- some of the upcoming or proposed movie projects, based on his son's life are - 'Nyay: The Justice', 'Suicide or Murder: A star was lost', 'Shashank' and an unnamed crowd-funded film. Rajput's father has contended that the filmmakers are taking advantage of the situation for commercial gains and therefore, the right to freedom of speech and expression would not apply to them. "Plaintiff (Singh) has apprehension that various plays, movies, web-series, books, interviews or other material may be published which would harm the reputation of the son of the plaintiff and his family," the suit, which has sought damages of over Rs two crores from the filmmakers for "loss of reputation, mental trauma and harassment" to Rajput's family, has claimed. It has also claimed that in case a "movie, web-series, book or any other content of similar nature is allowed to be published or broadcasted, it would affect the right of the victim and deceased for a free and fair trial as it may cause prejudice to them". The suit has also contended that Rajput being a well-known celebrity, "any misuse of his name/ image/ caricature/ style of delivering dialogues also amounts to infringement of the personality right vested with the plaintiff besides amounting to acts of passing off". The contentions of Rajput's father have been opposed by the filmmakers of the upcoming and proposed movies. Salman Khan And Katrina Kaif Starrer Tiger 3's Sets Dismantled In Mumbai; Here's Why... One of the films that the janta of the nation is eagerly waiting for is undoubtedly Tiger 3. The third part of the Tiger franchise will bring back our favourite jodis- Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, and this time Emraan Hashmi will step in as the suave antagonist! The shoot was also going on in full fledge. However, it came to a sudden halt with the lockdown being imposed in Maharastra. And now, looks like the set of the film would be dismantled. According to a report in Mid Day, YRF's Aditya Chopra has decided to dismantle the huge sets of Tiger 3. Reports of the set being damaged due to cyclone Tauktea had already been doing the rounds. A source said, There is no clarity on when shoots will resume. Even if the government green-lights them by mid-June, the studio is being cautious about the way forward. Considering Tiger 3 has a massive crew of about 300 people, Aditya wants the team to be vaccinated before they report to work. Maintaining the outdoor structure was turning out to be an expensive affair. They realised it will be easier on the pocket to erect a set whenever they are ready to resume work. The source further added, With Europe reopening its borders to fully vaccinated travellers, Aditya and Maneesh are studying the countries that can be part of Tigers journey. They will zero in on the locations post August. Well, we are hoping to get an update on shoots being resumed soon. Nintendo filed a lawsuit against RomUniverse.com, a website involved in hosting pirated versions of Nintendo games, in September of 2019. Nintendo claimed that the site facilitated the infringement of its intellectual property. Its initial complaint said that the site reportedly offers memberships of up to $ 30 a year, allowing subscribers to download games faster than non-subscribers. This was seen as an act of profiting from Nintendo's copyrighted works, and it sought $15 Million in potential damages. Matthew Storman, the sites operator, did not take down the site until last summer, even after repeated DMCA takedown notices. He decided to defend himself in the court of law without an attorney and claimed that he did not upload pirated games. He asked the court to dismiss the case. However, Nintendo picked his defence apart and found itself in the courts favour. After winning a lawsuit against RomUniverse, Storman was charged with copyright and trademark infringement and was ordered to pay over $2 Million in damages to Nintendo. Storman was penalised $35,000 in statutory damages for each of the 49 copyright violations. He was also punished $400,000 in statutory damages for each of the 29 trademark violations to Nintendo, amounting to the $2.1 million figure. Nintendo is well known for suing those that infringe its intellectual proper and has previously won similar cases in US and UK courts, including a $ 12.2 million settlement with illegal ROM distributors. There are several ongoing lawsuits against the creators and distributors of Nintendo Switch hackers. Litigation is not limited to civil litigation. In 2020, two hackers, one of them named Gary Bowser, were arrested and charged with 11 felonies. Nintendo also filed a lawsuit against Bowser this year, accusing him of creating and selling Switch hacks similar to copyright infringement. The digital divide could exclude millions The digital divide could exclude millions of the UK's poorest people, academics warned at the first event of Imperial's new 'SDG of the month' series. The panel of experts, chaired by Imperial College Business Schools Professor of Economics Tommaso Valetti, discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the digital divide and what is being done to address the gap between the under-connected and the highly digitised to help spread the benefits of technology in the new online age.The SDG of the Month series aims to explore the work from Imperials staff, students, alumni and global partners that is aligned with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The first event focussed on Goal 10: Reducing Inequalities and explored the The Digital Divide in a COVID-19 World. Digital inequalities "For people on the wrong side of the digital divide, the disadvantages associated with being unable to access digital technologies have become more pronounced. Unless digital exclusion is taken seriously as part of a wider task to reduce inequality, millions of the poorest people will suffer the consequences.Professor Valetti said: Global inequalities, if you do cross-country comparison, have probably narrowed, because some poor countries have been catching-up, but if you look at inequality within countries, this has been increasing over the past 25 or 30 years. The panel included Sunita Grote, co-founder and manager at UNICEF Venture Fund, Joseph Chambers, a researcher at the Good Things Foundation, and Sophie Coronini-Cronberg, honorary senior lecturer at Imperials Department of Primary Care and Public Health. Imperials Sophie Coronini-Cronberg, said: Technology can have huge positives and has widened access to a resource for many. However, not everyone will benefit equally, and thats where the inequity and inequality comes in. Impact of COVID-19 on digital access UNICEFs Sunita Grote spoke about their Venture Fund. Sunita said: We run an early stage fund that takes the principles of venture capital investing and applies them to solutions that may accelerate results for children, such as using AI and data science to track the impact of social distancing measures on access to schools and learning opportunities. The Good Things Foundations Joseph Chambers said: In the UK there are nine million people who cant use the internet without help and seven million with no internet access at home. During lockdown and the impact of Covid, we saw two groups emerge who were severely impacted, those who are digitally excluded such as the vulnerable and those shielding, and the second group who were often from a professional background, but didnt have the digital skills needed to work from home. Next event: Accelerating solutions towards Gender Equality The SDG series is hosted by Imperials Global Development Hub, which will launch later in the year. The Global Development Hub provides a platform to show case Imperials global impact and development through the UNs Sustainable Development Goals. The next event in the series will focus on Goal 5: Achieving Gender Equality, and will take place on March 11 during Women@Imperial Week. This webinar, the second instalment of the SDG of the Month series, will explore the progressive work and innovative research towards achieving gender equality from three different UNDP Accelerator Labs covering unpaid care work and supporting female entrepreneurs. The digital divide could exclude millions Frederick Dorsey of Kainen, Escalera & McHale, P.C., the board of educations attorney, told The Courant in May: She was never available to come to work, and all of her doctors notes said she couldnt come to work until next school year. Only when she was told that she was going to receive the [termination] letter from the superintendent ... she suddenly came in the next day with a note saying, Oh yes I can work now. " The Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar T.D. is writing to every registered business in Ireland to thank them for their efforts to date in keeping people safe during the pandemic and to update them on changes to financial supports in light of the reopening. The letter from the Tanaiste, which is issuing to approximately 225,000 businesses registered with the Companies Registration Office (CRO), acknowledges the pivotal role businesses have played in keeping people safe. In the letter, the Tanaiste states: Businesses and employers have made a huge contribution to keeping us safe and now, thanks to your sacrifices, co-operation and the efforts of all our citizens, we are in a position to gradually reopen our economy and society. Our vaccination programme is on schedule. By the end of the week, nearly three million doses will have been administered and we expect to have 2.5 million people fully vaccinated by the end of July. We arent out of the woods yet and there will be bumps in the road but there is every reason to be hopeful again." The letter sets out changes to the financial supports that are available to businesses as the country reopens, following on from the publication of the Economic Recovery Plan yesterday. In the letter, the Tanaiste states: The Government announced a new Economic Recovery Plan this week, with 4 billion of stimulus to fuel the economy and help you and your business to recover and rebuild. Across 2020 and 2021, 38 billion was provided to help us all to weather the pandemic. This is an unprecedented level of Government spending but we believe the best chance of rapid economic recovery, of returning to full employment, of avoiding tax rises or spending cuts is for our economy to bounce back fast." There will be a number of changes to the current financial supports as public health restrictions unwind. They are as follows: The Covid-19 Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) will remain in place for businesses that have to stay closed. For businesses re-opening in June and July, you will receive a double payment for the first three weeks upon reopening up to a maximum of 30,000. This will help firms with cashflow and to restock and re-engage with staff. The Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) is being extended until the end of 2021. Some adjustments are being made to how it is calculated - it will now be based on your business earnings for a full 12-month period relative to 2019, rather than six months to ensure businesses and workers are supported through the earlier part of the recovery. The commercial rates waiver will continue in its current form during the third quarter of this year for those availing of it. The 9% VAT rate will be extended until the 1 September, 2022. Tax warehousing is being extended until the end of the year and will be interest free in 2022. The Pandemic Unemployment Payment will be closed for new entrants from 1 July of this year and will be gradually phased out from 7 September, so that by early 2022 it will be back in line with the Jobseekers Allowance. You can find further information on each of these changes on the gov.ie website. We will use 950m in EU Recovery grants to fund additional investment in higher and further education, skills, research, the digital transformation and climate action, like retrofitting homes and commuter rail. There will be a special fund of 85m to help enterprises decarbonise and 55m to help you to go digital. Youll be hearing more about this in the coming months. Furthermore, a new additional, more streamlined business support scheme, the Business Resumption Support Scheme (BRSS) will be introduced in September 2021 for businesses with very significantly reduced turnover as a result of public health restrictions. This will be open to business with and without a rateable premises and will be administered by Revenue in a similar way to the CRSS. Businesses who previously availed of other schemes such as the Small Business Assistance Scheme for COVID (SBASC) and the Tourism Business Continuity Scheme for example, as well as CRSS will be eligible to apply provided they meet the qualifying criteria. Details on this scheme will be announced closer to the time, but the Government will continue to help those businesses that are particularly challenged through to the end of the year and beyond if needed. The suspension of section 12A of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 has been extended one last time until the 30 September, at which point employees can trigger a redundancy claim if not taken back on. Companies genuinely unable to pay will be able to get an interest free loan from the Social Insurance Fund. The Tanaiste also took the opportunity to update businesses on changes to examinership and the extension of provisions brought in to allow remote meetings. In the letter, the Tanaiste states: The provisions to allow your business to hold virtual AGMs and creditor meetings have been extended until the 31 December, 2021. The extension of the period of examinership to 150 days will also remain in place until that date, as will the 50,000 threshold at which a company is deemed unable to pay its debts. We hope the continuation of these important measures will provide additional breathing space to those of you who are struggling. We are also updating the examinership process more generally and are aiming to introduce a new, more accessible and cheaper rescue process for small business before the autumn. The Fair Deal Scheme is of interest to many business owners. The Tanaiste updated on changes which will ensure small family businesses and farms will be protected. In the letter, the Tanaiste states: Finally then, I know the Nursing Home Support Scheme, commonly known as the Fair Deal will be of interest to many of you. The Government has sought to design the Scheme in a way that will provide reassurance to people in their old age, while protecting small family business owners and farmers. To alleviate unnecessary financial pressures, we are extending the cap on contributions based on family-owned and family-operated farm and business assets at three years, where a family successor commits within the first three years of the person's time in care to working the farm or business for a period of six years. "This means, regardless of the length of a person's stay in long-term residential care, the maximum contribution based on the capital value of a business will be 7.5% per year for three years only, where all the conditions of the scheme are complied with. This will provide significant protection for business owners, while ensuring those who need to be cared for in a nursing home, receive the help they need. Louth County Council (LCC) has applied for 119,000 worth of funding to help create covered dining space on Earl Street. The application comes as pubs and restaurants across Dundalk are set to open for outdoor dining from next Monday. The funding application is being done through Failte Irelands outdoor dining scheme, and if approved would provide covered outdoor dining space for restaurants on Earl Street and Market Square. Dundalk is limited in terms of covered outdoor dining space, said a spokesperson for the council, Some of the businesses in support of the scheme have no space directly outside their premises and have been looking for an intervention like this for some time. The funding itself would be used to create four large tulip parasols on Earl Street, which the council has said would be multi-use and not restricted to just outdoor dining. Picnicking space, a covered market and a staging area for a music festival have all been mooted by LCC as potential other uses of the parasols. The council has also said that it would provide space for people to gather in all weather, as the Government continues to ask people to meet outdoors over the summer due to continuing Covid-19 restrictions. According to the council, the application was made for Earl Street due to it being a widely used pedestrian street, as well as its proximity to Market Square in the centre of the town. Final confirmation on whether or not LCC will receive the funding will be announced at the end of June or in early July. The council has also applied for 40,000 worth of funding to install hydraulic bollards on Earl Street, from the National Transport Authoritys Outdoor Infrastructure Fund. This is to restrict access for cars during the day, but it will still allow delivery vehicles to access the street. There will be a total of 545,000 spent in Louth on the NTAs Outdoor Infrastructure Fund, with 100,000 being allocated to creating outdoor dining parklets in 10 locations in the county. Last year, LCC received 585,000 worth of funding from the NTA to enhance outdoor facilities, with 190,000 of the total funding going to Dundalk. This was used to create 10 parklets for restaurants and businesses around the town, alongside 12 parasols and 24 flower planters placed in the centre of the town. The Leaving Certificate results for 2021 are set to be sent directly to candidates through the Candidate Self Service Portal on Friday, September 3. In any subject where a candidate sits the examination and opts to receive Accredited Grades, they will be credited with the better of the two results. Candidates results will be transferred to the CAO to facilitate progression to higher education. The written examinations begin on Wednesday, June 9 and will run until June 29. Students had the choice to opt to sit the examination or seek an accredited grade, or both, in each of their subjects. Minister for Education Norma Foley TD said: I am pleased to be able to announce that the State Examinations Commission expects that Leaving Certificate results will be provided to students on Friday, September 3. Students will receive their results directly on the Candidate Self Service Portal, where they registered their options for examinations or accredited grades, or both. Students results will combine their best results of examinations and accredited grades, where they chose both options. The usual helplines and supports will be in place for students on results day and beyond. I will be in contact with schools asking them to ensure that guidance support is available to students at this time. I would like to take this opportunity once again to stress how important it is that students taking the examinations continue to follow the public health advice and limit their contacts as the examinations approach and during the examination period. I wish all Leaving Certificate students taking the written examinations well, in their final preparations this week," she stated. The gap between two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine can be reduced from 12 weeks to eight, the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) has advised. Responding to the new advice from the NIAC Labour TD Ged Nash said what the people of Louth and East Meath will want to know is if it will be implemented. The Louth TD backed the call from Labour Leader Alan Kelly for the Minister for Health to provide clarity, especially for those in the 60-69 age cohort. He said:This is a welcome development from NIAC but we need clarity on whether the shorter eight week gap between doses will now be implemented? "The evidence from a Public Health England study is clear, the first dose of AstraZeneca only provides 33% protection against the new delta variant that first appeared in India. "This has caused so much concern with people in the 60-69 aged cohort and their families, and the increasing incidence of the new variant that is causing such concern. Labour leader Alan Kelly has raised this with the government on a number of occasions asking them to get the experts in NIAC to look at it, as there is significant public concern about the three month wait, and I have have been inundated with queries from so many in the 60-69 age cohort worried about the emerging risk from the new delta variant. "I also raised this in the Dail with Minister Donnelly. They are worried and their families are worried. The advice from the experts is now clear. These people waiting for their second dose are likely to be among the most vulnerable and will have to wait the longest to be fully vaccinated and are at real risk from new variants. With this clear recommendation from NPHET and NIAC we need clarity from the Minister for Health if he will act to implement this new advice. Methuen - Michael V. Finn, a longtime resident of Lawrence, passed away unexpectedly and peacefully on May 25, 2021, at the age of 72 while doing something that he loved, playing golf. Known to many as "Mickey", he was born in Lawrence on April 20, 1949 to James L. and Margaret (Bateman) Fin On Jan. 5, he said he drove to New Haven and took a train to Washington where he met his girlfriend and her mother and checked into the Hilton. They attended the rally the next day. He said his girlfriend and her mother left early but he stayed to its conclusion and, afterward, followed the crowd toward the Capitol. Bill Aney is a forester and wildlife biologist living in Pendleton and loving the Blue Mountains. Earn your Associate of Applied Business in Business IT (BIT) degree online from the University of Cincinnati. This program can be completed fully online, with curriculum customized to fit your schedule, interests and how quickly you want to complete your degree. Application deadline July 1, 2021. Learn More E-commerce merchants are literally at the mercy of the digital checkout systems tied to their web stores. For retailers, what happens on the other side of the "pay" button is critical to avoiding denied approvals. Online sellers cannot survive without a strong checkout page. Meanwhile, the payment system that runs much of the online transactions is 40 years old. Some investors have taken notice. A new behind-the-scenes payment system is slowly taking over. For instance, Fast, a startup that provides online checkout and identity products, announced recently that it closed a $102 million Series B funding event led by Stripe, a previous investor in the company. Stripe, an online payments giant, also led Fast's Series A last year, a deal worth $20 million. Fast says it has raised $124 million to date. Credorax, a payment provider for cross-border processing of e-commerce and omnichannel payments, peeled back the curtain for the E-Commerce Times to reveal the ins and outs of what happens behind the pay button. The process can be a dizzying integration of numerous moving parts. Authentication, currency conversions, and approval rates all must work together to ensure a quick and complete transaction so merchants can bring their business to the next level. How fast money moves in a transitioning digital economy is a sign of efficiency and health. So what does it mean when $18 trillion in U.S. business-to-business payments takes days to clear and land in bank accounts? For merchants, it means lost efficiency and lost time to put cash to work. For consumers, such delays mean they do not have access to funds that many of them need right now. For both parties, it also means failed transactions. "Unsurprisingly, payment acceptance and authorization are among the most significant hurdles that any merchant must overcome," Igal Rotem, CEO of Credorax, told the E-Commerce Times. Money in Slow Motion This process is changing slowly. However, big movements this year could start to happen as the first new payment system to be unleashed in the U.S. in 40 years picks up momentum. Developed by The Clearing House, RTP (Real-Time Payments) is backed by major U.S. banks and has been adopted by nearly 40 percent of large enterprises in the U.S., according to Dimitri Dadiomov, co-CEO and founder of payments operations platform Modern Treasury. RTP represents the new frontier for payments and will likely become the new standard. Already, more than one-third (36 percent) of large enterprises in the U.S. use Real-Time Payments, which was launched in 2017 in the United States. However, beyond U.S. borders, RTP is in much bigger use. Modern Treasury supports RTP and enables companies to more easily work with banks. The process results in automating and speeding up payments. Modern Treasury recently secured $38 million in venture funding and is growing more than 24 percent a month, according to Dadiomov. RTP's prominence is likely to expand, he predicted. Levvel Research's "2021 Real-Time Payments Market Report," showed that 66 percent of companies in the U.S. indicate they are likely to adopt RTP in the next two years. The technology has already gained momentum in other countries. Modern Treasury supports RTP for corporate customers looking to speed up Automated Clearing House (ACH) or wire payouts. ACH is a banking network that coordinates electronic payments. ACH, wire payments, and checks account for 76 percent of all money flow in the U.S., said Dadiomov. "Those are technologies that have not had major updates for decades. Payments are slow, cumbersome to process, and do not enable real-time views into cash. RTP is a big step to speeding up and modernizing payments, accounting, and money movement," he explained. New Benefits, Less Risk RTP enables financial institutions and businesses to send and receive payments in real time. The process is much faster than checks, ACH, or wires, which can take up to three days to clear. Each year, more than $18.5 trillion in B2B payments are sent in the U.S., and half of them are still via paper check, noted Dadiomov. Other than speed, RTP differs from the way B2B payments are made today in that it enables three new processes. One is better data to drive better insights. With non-RTP transactions, vendors, at best, may see their clients' payments post to their bank account. RTP enables data to transfer with the payment, so companies get visibility into invoices, dates, purchase orders, and more. "This gives companies an advantage in responding to customer needs and has potential to improve their finance function and decision making," said Dadiomov. The second new process provides for continuous availability. RTP is always available. This provides merchants with more flexibility than traditional banking hours that constrain non-RTP payments. The third benefit is the mitigated risk of payment failure. RTP payments are irrevocable. Payment instructions are not sent unless there are sufficient funds. This reduces the risk of payment exceptions. Making Online Checkouts Seamless From a merchant's viewpoint, three levels of optimization are needed for a seamless checkout experience. They are improvements to checkout, integration, and issuer responses, offered Credorax's Rotem. They can provide a customer with the most seamless experience, increasing the likelihood of completing a purchase. This also will make it easy for merchants to keep track of their transactions and get the most from their shoppers. Checkout optimization reduces the number of steps a consumer needs to take when paying for goods online. Fewer steps mean less frustration and fewer abandoned baskets. "Offering customers preferred local payment methods and multiple currency options is vital to ensuring customers have a convenient and familiar checkout experience, no matter which country they are shopping in," said Rotem. Integration optimization means not making consumers insert their credit card details into a website they do not trust. So ensuring a payment gateway that is properly configured and integrated into the checkout process with the same look and feel as the rest of the experience is critical. That optimization should include the authorization process and structured data that informs merchants about their business transactions. This way, merchants can quickly identify where any declines come from in the processing chain, what the reason for it is, and oversee the smooth flow of transactions. Issuer optimization is the final cog in the payment wheel. Once payment has passed through the gateway and the acquirer, the final decision on whether to authorize a transaction ultimately sits with the issuer. "Interestingly, each issuer has its own rules. They are complicated and change regularly, which makes them difficult to keep track of," Rotem observed. "To combat this, merchants must continually educate themselves on how issuers think and understand their reasons for declining the transactions in the territories they trade." Behind the Pay Curtain What happens on the other side of the pay button is critical. A maze of steps must execute without glitches to complete transactions successfully. Even if a customer commits to a purchase, enters the details, and clicks the pay button, the order will not necessarily be successful, as all sorts of variables such as authorization rates come into play here, Rotem cautioned. Multiple parties are involved in every transaction. Each has the power to cause a transaction to fail and impact a merchant's approval rates. That is why it is so vital that merchants work with a payments partner that looks after this process for them. "However, this is the part of the process that customers never see. They do not understand why their transaction was declined has nothing to do with the merchant or retailer. But unfortunately, at this point, as far as the customer is concerned, the damage is done," he explained. Customers cannot be expected to go to the effort of trying to shop again with a merchant with whom they could not complete the transaction process, he reasoned. "That is why it is critical that merchants optimize their payments process. Because, by not doing so, they risk losing out on conversions, and the cumulative impact of those conversions further down the line," he said. The RTP Edge RTP is inevitable because the speed of business and economies is only getting faster. RTP is all about expediency as payments occur instantly, noted Modern Treasury's Dadiomov. Companies cited immediate access to funds as the most appealing benefit of RTP, the Levvel report found. Also, 76 percent of companies believe RTP will provide them with a competitive advantage. As more companies adopt, others will, too, in order to stay competitive. In addition to RTP, the Federal Reserve is forging ahead with its real-time payment system, FedNow, which is expected in 2023 or 2024. For consumers, real-time payments will mean instant access to funds with no more waiting for checks to clear. For some consumers who live paycheck to paycheck, that could reduce the need for expensive, short-term loans or reduce chances of bank overdrafts. In addition, RTP will speed up operational requirements of foundational back-office processes like accounts receivable and accounts payable, potentially leading to lower costs. It goes without saying that these savings can result in increased incremental value for their customers. 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. Stay up to date on COVID-19 Get Breaking News Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. Sponsored By: St Anthony's Hospital People watch as the CMA CGM Marco Polo moves through the water near Fort Monroe on Monday, May 24, 2021. The Marco Polo is the size of 3 1/2 football fields or about five Manhattan city blocks, and is breaking records for its size along the East Coast this week. Virginia is among a number of ports that are deepening and widening shipping channels to accommodate larger container ships. (Kaitlin McKeown/Virginia Media) Athens, AL (35611) Today Partly cloudy skies in the morning will give way to cloudy skies during the afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 90F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A few clouds. Low 71F. Winds light and variable. In this Oct. 22, 2019, file photo, a sign that reads, "HELP," is posted in the window of an inmate cell during a tour along with state officials at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Ala. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020, against Alabama over conditions in the state prisons, saying the state is failing to protect male inmates from inmate-on-inmate violence and excessive force at the hands of prison staff. Google I/O is done, and so is Microsoft Build that means Apples Worldwide Developers Conference is the last high-profile software showcase for at least a month. If youre one to take Apple at its word, this years WWDC is shaping up to be the biggest and best yet, which leads us to the obvious question: what does the company plan to show off this year? Short answer: a lot. We totally get it if youd rather be surprised, but if you dont mind spoilers about what were expecting to see once WWDC kicks off, weve got you covered. The details WWDC will begin on June 7th with a keynote at 10AM Pacific/1PM Eastern, where Tim Cook and the rest of Apples execs will walk us through some of the biggest changes going into iOS, iPadOS, macOS and more. These addresses typically last a shade over two hours, so be sure to block out plenty of time. (Oh, and dont forget to carve out time to watch our reviews editor Cherlynn Low and UK bureau chief Mat Smith dissect the days news after the keynote over on our YouTube channel.) Of course, theres much more to WWDC after all, the show runs through June 11th. Theres just one catch: while WWDC is technically free to attend, its only open to registered developers who have shelled out the $100/year fee. That means the events many sessions, deep dives, and one-on-one developer labs are off-limits to the public. At the time of publication, Apple is still keeping its full list of sessions under wraps, but dont worry well keep you abreast of any big developments that turn up after the keynote. Chris Velazco/Engadget iOS 15 iOS got a pretty substantial revamp at last years WWDC expanded widget support, a new App Library, App Clips and limited support for changing default apps were just a few of the changes found in iOS 14. Reports suggest we might be looking at a quieter year for the iPhone, but wed still expect it to get the lions share of attention. The juiciest details weve seen so far come from Bloomberg, which claims that among other things Apple has revamped the way notifications work in iOS 15. Youll apparently be able to set an iPhone to deal with incoming notifications differently depending on what youre doing say, when youre driving or sleeping. Bloomberg also suggests that iOS 15 can be set to automatically respond to messages depending on which of those statuses youve set. It sounds almost like a spiritual successor to away messages from the AOL Instant Messenger days. As a nerd who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s, thats very exciting. Weve also heard that Apple might be gearing up to show off a new look for the iPhone Lock Screen, which would make sense if theyre planning to push the concept of statuses or availability. That also dovetails with rumors that the iPhone 13 could embrace an Android-style always-on display, a feature thats only possible because Apple started using OLED screens in iPhones last year. Now, considering how vocal Apple is about its focus on privacy, I cant say Im surprised that the company seems to be building on the App Tracking Transparency work that debuted in the recent iOS 14.5 release. For iOS 15, Apple has reportedly built a feature that shows users which apps are subtly collecting information about them. Weve also heard that Apple is planning to flesh out iMessage with more social features to help it compete with platforms like WhatsApp, but who knows if thats going to be ready in time for the updates fall launch. Apple has already highlighted a handful of interesting accessibility features coming to iOS 15, including a feature that plays soothing background sounds like rain, crashing waves, babbling brooks, and what Apple calls bright and dark noise. That might not sound like a big deal, but for people who get distracted very easily like many of us around here this might be the iOS 15 feature that gets the most use. How truly eclectic are your music tastes? Spotify is here to express exactly how leftfield your playlists are, with Only You. No, not a niche Kelly Clarkson ballad, but a new feature that tells you how your song combinations are different from anyone else. Spotify Only You begins with a unique artist pairing, showing two disparate musicians you might hop between. It also offers insight into music from specific years you stream often, and even the music or podcast you listen to frequently at a specific time of day. If youre feeling particularly brave in your song tastes this comes from someone who stopped sharing his Spotify listening after being heckled by one of his Engadget colleagues another new feature, Blend, can merge two peoples music collections into a curated playlist thats updated daily. Better you than me. Mat Smith Discovered through an unannounced listing. Ikea If speakers inside lamps and bookshelves werent doing it for you, how about a frame? While a retail page on Ikeas site is no longer available, it briefly showed a new Symfonisk product that combines wireless speaker tech with, well, a picture frame. Itll be available in black or white, priced at $199. According to its description, you can hang it on its own, place it on the floor or lean it against a wall. While it's called a "picture frame," it doesn't sound like you can use it to display your own physical or digital images. It has "interchangeable fronts," however, that fit the frame. The frame appears to have a fabric cover, which could make customized artworks a little trickier, but well wait to test one for ourselves before offering our verdict. Continue reading. More Snapdragon-powered laptops. Qualcomm recently announced a pair of updated Snapdragon ARM CPUs made for use in PCs, and now Samsung has announced new laptops featuring both of them . The new Galaxy Book Go promises instant-on performance and 18 hours of battery life with a Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 chipset. The 14-inch Windows 10 laptop can be customized with 4GB or 8GB of RAM, and either 64GB or 128GB of built-in storage. It's set to go on sale June 10th, with prices starting at $349. Continue reading. Shame. Donald Trump's blog page is no more. From the Desk of Donald J. Trump has shut down permanently, and Trump senior aide Jason Miller confirmed that it won't be returning. If you recall, the Trump blog was a preemptive response to Facebook's Oversight Board ruling regarding the social network's ban on the ex-president. It launched May 3rd, meaning Trumps blog didnt even survive its first month. Continue reading. Surely not Windows 11. Microsoft After teasing the next generation of Windows during Build last week, Microsoft will officially unveil the new version of its operating system on June 24th at 11 AM ET. The event announcement follows news that Microsoft killed development of Windows 10X , an OS variant that was initially meant for dual-screen devices. Windows 10 launched back in 2015, what will 2021s iteration hold? Continue reading. Across phones, smartphones and tablets. Huawei is rolling out its own operating system, HarmonyOS 2, to existing smartphones and tablets, including the Mate 40, P40, Mate 30 and its MatePad Pro tablet. The company plans to shift around 100 existing products away from Android and on to HarmonyOS. HarmonyOS 2 offers upgraded connectivity and includes a drag-and-drop interface for pairing devices, which seemingly makes it easy to move files between a tablet and a Windows PC something weve seen in Huaweis laptops already. To celebrate the new OS, the launch touched on a new smartwatch and three new Huawei tablets. That included a new 12.6-inch MatePad Pro with an OLED display and Huaweis own Kirin 9000 processor. Continue reading. Upgrade his outdoor haven with any of these gadgets. Brumate As summer approaches, its time to head outdoors. That means some dads will be obsessively monitoring the grill, trying to keep the family safe from bug bites and perhaps enjoying a cold beverage. Lets upgrade those experiences. Continue reading. But wait, theres more... My Tamagotchi Pix is drowning in poop and it's not my fault Vizio's 2022 TVs include a 40-inch TV with variable refresh rates for less than $250 The best Father's Day gifts for new dads BMW's i4 arrives next year starting at $55,400 with up to 300 miles of range 'No Man's Sky' is getting a major visual upgrade Tesla recalls almost 6,000 cars due to loose brake caliper bolts "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Erika Jayne and estranged husband Tom Girardi will be featured in a new ABC-produced Hulu documentary that will expose their embezzlement allegations. "The Housewife and the Hustler" is a real-life drama that will feature legal experts, Erika's "Real Housewives" co-stars such as Danielle Staub and Dana Wilkey, as well as the victims, to discuss about the scandals that the former couple are facing. According to ABC's press release, It aims to follow the story of the former couple's fraud case, as well as "the trail of documents and money to find out who was involved, how much they knew and who will pay for the alleged crimes" The documentary is also expected to release voice messages, court documents, as well as a deposition tape of the 81-year-old former millionaire that admits that his millions of dollars are now all gone. READ NOW: Is Kelly Osbourne Lying About Drug Addiction At The Age of 13? Here's Why Fans Think So Erika Jayne & Tom Girardi Allegedly Embezzles Money to Fund Lavish Lifestyle Just late last year, the former couple was sued for allegedly using their divorce to embezzle millions of dollars. Erika and Tom were sued by Edelson PC, a lawfirm that represents some of the families who lost their family members to the Jakarta plane crash. According to legal documents obtained by People, Girardi had allegedly embezzled the money that was meant for the family members of Lion Air Flight 610 plane crash. It is said that the money is allegedly used in order for him and Erika to maintain their lavish Beverly Hills lifestyle. Girardi's law firm, which is Girardi & Keese, is also a part of the lawsuit, and it is believe that his firm and himself "are on the verge of financial collapse and locked in a downward spiral of mounting debts and dwindling funds." In another report published by Reality Blurb, Erika was served two in-person subpoenas but she failed to appear in court, that means the judge has the power to charge or even give her an arrest warrant. This is about another case that her estranged husband is handling, Tom represented a man who suffered burns during a gas explosion accident in San Bruno, California. The victim has won the case and is expected to get $11 million but Girardi only gave his family $1 million. Erika failed to attend the court hearings because apparently she was "out of town". She also listed her mansion the same day of her court date. When will it be released and where to watch? "The Housewife and The Hustler" will be available for streaming on June 14, exclusively on Hulu. The documentary was produced by ABC News and its executive producer is Steven Baker. Erika Jayne and Tom Girardi has not yet commented on the new documentary but Erika remains active on Instagram. READ ALSO: 'Big Brother' Winner Mike 'Boogie' Malin Sentenced to 2 Years For Stalking Co-Star Dr. Will Kirby: Court Details Here! See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles Hailey Rhode Bieber is speaking out about the judgemental comments she's been receiving from "other Christians" regarding her faith. Recently, Hailey sat down with "Insecure" star Yvonne Orji to discuss their Christianity, sex, and things that revolve around faith. The interview video was uploaded to Hailey's YouTube channel that has over a million subscribers. The model stated that she had met a lot of Christians in the past that are "judgemental" which makes her feel like a bad person. (watch the full video below) "I've met Christian people that are just super judgmental and made me feel like I'm a bad person because I don't live my life the way they think I should live my life," the model stated Bieber had also opened up on how she feels about certain photos of herself that she posts online because it makes her question herself "People in the church are gonna see this. Am I doing something wrong? Am I setting a bad example?" she added. Hailey Bieber accused of being a "fake Christian" In a report posted by Cheat Sheet, Hailey was called out by Christians on social media for celebrating halloween. It all started when the model posted a question on Instagram asking her followers what costume should she wear for the holiday. As obtained by the publication mentioned above, one user commented "Aren't u a Christian?" which Hailey briefly responds "Yes. I still dress up for Halloween." Another user called out Hailey by commenting "FAKE CHRISTIAN," READ NOW: 'The Housewife and the Hustler': Erika Jayne And Tom Girardi's Legal Scandals on New Hulu Documentary The model has already responded to the accusation in a now-expired Instagram story obtained by BuzzFeed. In the photo, the model stated "I'm a Christian... It means I redefine everything in culture." "Halloween is now MY HOLIDAY and I am claiming all candy for the glory of God and the celebration of Saints." Hailey added. Bieber didn't confirmed in the recent video if the "judgemental comments" are from her past controversy. Hailey and husband Justin Bieber's relationship as Christians In the video, the model also tackled how her faith is the biggest common denominator between her and her husband Justin Bieber. Hailey mentioned that if they didn't have "faith", they won't even be together. The couple was seen attending Hillsong Church in New York City in the past. Pastor Carl Lentz, the church's organizer, is Justin's good friend and spiritual advisor. Late last year, Hailey and Justin reportedly unfollowed the church leader on Instagram after its controversies but it wasn't addressed publicly. READ ALSO: Was Marilyn Monroe Murdered? Frank Sinatra Believes Drug Overdose Was NOT The Real Cause of Death See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles Before all of the royal drama, Prince Charles and her son Prince Harry's wife Meghan Markle have a pretty good relationship. The future king allegedly thinks highly of the former Hollywood actress, even gracing her with a cool new nickname that many royal commentators consider a "pretty neat compliment." According to Christine-Marie Liwag Dixon of "The List," Meghan Markle's witty moniker was given to her because of her "resilient nature." She discussed how the Duchess of Sussex didn't have an easy time joining the British royal family. "Not only has the press hounded her relentless, but she has also said that she felt less than at home in the royal family." The commentator further said that the royal family disapproved of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's decision to step down as senior royals, despite them doing so was for an escape in an environment that was "clearly not good for their mental health." What Was Prince Charles' Nickname for Meghan Markle? Dixon revealed that the secret nickname Prince Charles gave for Meghan Markle was "Tungsten." In an interview, Royal correspondent Russell Myers revealed that the nickname was given to her after the metal because she is "tough and unbending." "Tungsten is the strongest naturally occurring metal on the planet." The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Sussex's relationship were good even though he and Prince Harry had a lot of tension in theirs. In numerous engagements, the in-laws were always seen chatting and laughing together. One notable moment between them was when Prince Charles walked Meghan Markle down the aisle during her wedding. According to royal editor Emily Andrews, that gesture was considered to be a very significant royal moment. She explained that it was the future king's way of "welcoming Meghan" into the British royal family. Prince Charles Might Reunite With Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Soon Not only was it helpful for Meghan, but it was also said to be a "touching moment between" Prince Charles and Prince Harry. READ ALSO: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Living Near a Crime Scene? Officers Arrive Upon Disturbing Discovery [REPORT] Prince Charles may soon be able to call Meghan Markle her unique nickname when their son and daughter possibly appear on Buckingham Palace balcony next year for an extraordinary occasion. The Sussex kids could be with the royal family on June 2, 2022, when they celebrate Trooping the Colour, the Queen's 70th year on the throne. The event is usually attended not just by working royals but also extended members of the royal family who are not serving the crown. READ MORE: Prince Harry Initially Reluctant To Join Military But Might Go 'Off The Rails' If Not, Says Biographer See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles Duman denied he had spoken with any member of the public safety group. He also said his office received the proclamations proposal about a week and half ago, but Duman did not say who brought forth the proposal. The mayor hadnt made a decision about the proclamation until Wednesday evening, which he said is why is was not on the meetings agenda. 2021-05-31 Maeci The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Luigi Di Maio, had a telephone conversation with the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, Mons. Gallagher During the conversation, satisfaction was expressed with the outcome of the 74th World Health Assembly, at which the resolution formally granting the Vatican City State observer status at the WHO, proposed by Italy, was adopted consensually. 2021-06-03 Maeci PERU - TELESPAZIO WINS TENDER TO BRING INTERNET CONNECTIVITY TO THE COUNTRY'S AMAZONIAN REGIONS Telespazio Argentina has won a contract worth approximately USD 20 million with Pronatel, the Peruvian national telecommunications programme of the Ministerio de Transportes y Comunicaciones. The contract is part of a project called "Conecta Selva" to bring satellite Internet connection to the primary schools and health facilities in the Amazonas, Loreto, Madre de Dios and Ucayali regions of the Amazon jungle. The project is one of the priority initiatives envisaged by the authorities to address the difficulties of Internet connection in remote areas of the jungle, mainly to promote education. At present, education in the country is almost exclusively provided as distance learning. 2021-06-02 Maeci Strengthening cooperation on migration issues and consolidating bilateral relations will be at the heart of the talks of Minister Luigi Di Maio during today's visit to Niamey, the capital of Niger. The Minister's agenda includes meetings with the President of the Republic, Mohamed Bazoum, Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassoumi Massoudou, Minister of the Interior, Alkache Alhada, and the local leadership of UNHCR, as well as a visit to the MISIN contingent. Niger is a priority partner for Italy in the Sahelian region, crucial for regional stability, fighting against jihadist terrorism, and managing migratory flows towards the Mediterranean. Within this context, Italy confirms its commitment to the country in terms of development and cooperation, as the signature of a new framework agreement also shows. The visit to Niger is Minister Di Maio's second mission to Sub-Saharan Africa after his visit to Bamako (Mali) last April. Italy strongly reaffirms that the African continent is a priority, as demonstrated by the special attention dedicated to Africa by the Italian G20 Presidency. 2021-06-03 Maeci The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Benedetto Della Vedova, is on an institutional mission today and tomorrow, to Madrid. He will have a series of discussions with his Spanish counterparts, as well as meeting representatives of the Italian community on the Iberian peninsula. The questions Deputy Minister Della Vedova will be discussing with the Spanish Government, will include the new European Pact on immigration and asylum, and the prospects of a Conference on the future of Europe. The mission will begin with a visit to the Italian School, where he will meet student representatives, before moving on to the Dante 700 photographic exhibition at the Italian Cultural Institute. On Friday morning, D.M. Della Vedova will begin with discussions with Angeles Moreno Bau, the Secretary of State for international cooperation at the AECID. This will be followed by a visit to Cristina Gallach Figueras, Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and for Ibero-America and the Caribbean, before closing the morning with a meeting with Juan Gonzalez Barba, Spanish Secretary of State for European Affairs. At 13:30, before returning to Italy, D.M. Della Vedova will brief the Italian press in Madrid, to bring them up to date on the mission. A study published in the journal Pediatrics shows the combination of two early reading programs had positive effects on preschool students entering kindergarten in Cincinnati Public Schools over a three-year period. The two early reading programs are: Reach Out and Read, through which children receive a new book and guidance about reading at home during well-visits from newborn through age 5; and Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which mails new books to the child's home once a month from birth through age 5. Each of these is well-established at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and across the nation. "With this early study, we suggest that when combined and sustained, these two programs have the potential for effectively supporting the development of preliteracy skills of large populations of at-risk children, improving kindergarten readiness, and, ultimately, success in school and life," said Greg Szumlas, MD, of the Division of General and Community Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's. "I can't stress enough to parents the importance of reading with your child, starting at birth," Szumlas added. "Just a few minutes a day, reading aloud, and interacting with your child over books can make a huge difference in helping them prepare and be ready for kindergarten." Cincinnati Children's initiated the unique combination of the two programs in July 2015 with the participation of 23 health clinics throughout the city and funding from Every Child Capital. Researchers analyzed the results of the kindergarten readiness assessment (KRA), a standardized state test for all children entering kindergarten at a public school, of program participants over the course of three school years - 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019. Over 3200 children participated in the combined program during the three-year period. For a sample of participants, scores on the kindergarten readiness assessment were analyzed and compared to the school district average. Results showed an increase of 15.4 percentage points between the 2016-2017 school year and the 2018-2019 school year for students participating in the program, while the school district average increased by only 3.8 percent during this same time period. "Even though the percentages for the entire district were higher than our program participants, the increase in percentage points over that three-year period represents significant progress and improvement," Szumlas said. "This early study suggests that pediatric health care providers are positioned to influence the literacy developmental trajectory of children long before they start school and that literacy promotion should be considered a routine part of primary care." Lisha Lungelow, a Cincinnati Children's social worker in the Pediatric Primary Care Clinic, enrolled her son, Jordan, in the Reach Out and Read/Imagination Library program when he was 13 months old back in 2016. "When he came to me, he didn't really have any exposure to books," Lungelow said. "Reading was a way for us to connect and bond. He loved getting the books in the mail and seeing his name on them." When Jordan entered kindergarten last year, Lungelow believed he was ready and credits his exposure to books through the combination program. "When he was in kindergarten, I went to grab a book for us to read," Lungelow said. "Jordan took it from me, and he read the book to me. I can't even explain the joy that brought me. It was really great." ### Cincinnati Children's and more than 20 health centers in Greater Cincinnati continue enrolling children in Reach Out and Read and Imagination Library. In March 2020, the Ohio Governor's Imagination Library, in partnership with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, expanded to include every child from birth to age 5 in Ohio through online enrollment. For more information or to enroll go to: Los Angeles (June 3, 2021) Children's Hospital Los Angeles has been awarded a $2 million grant from the state of California to study a precision medicine approach to screening children for adverse childhood experiences. The three-year grant--part of the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine--was announced by the Governor's Office of Planning and Research, in partnership with the Office of the California Surgeon General. Adverse childhood experiences, also called ACEs, are potentially traumatic events early in life--such as neglect, abuse, racism, witnessed violence and economic hardships. These events can result in toxic stress--a physiologic response to severe adversity. ACEs can increase a child's risk for developmental delays, as well as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and mental illness later in life. The Children's Hospital Los Angeles study aims to improve early screening for ACEs by using precision medicine to identify specific biomarkers of early-life stress. Nearly two-thirds of children in the U.S. have experienced at least one ACE, and 15% to 20% have experienced four or more. "Excessive adverse childhood experiences can cause toxic stress in children, and many studies have shown this may have lifelong consequences for health challenges, such as cardiovascular disease, obesity and mental illnesses," says Lead Principal Investigator Pat Levitt, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Vice President and Director of The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the Simms/Mann Chair in Developmental Neurogenetics. "To improve outcomes for these children, we need to identify those at greatest risk as early as possible, because early interventions promote the best outcomes." 'Red flag warning' Currently, the only screening method for ACEs involves questionnaires for parents and caregivers. But screening rates are generally low in pediatric practices, and the questionnaires are not able to identify which babies and children are having a toxic stress response. The team at Children's Hospital Los Angeles will study a potential new screening method that combines a robust questionnaire--the Pediatric ACEs Screening and Related Life Events Screener (PEARLS)--with development of a novel lab test that measures potential disturbances to critical cell structures called mitochondria, which are responsible for producing energy for cells to function normally. The biomarker measures mitochondrial allostatic load (MAL). The group aims to show that MAL measures are a "red flag warning" for toxic stress in infants. Researchers at The Saban Research Institute and in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine will develop and test three different novel assays to measure MAL in babies--the first time such a test will be used in children. Samples will be collected using simple and painless oral swabs. In addition, mothers will complete questionnaires, including the PEARLS questionnaire, and researchers will evaluate infant cognitive development and use novel computerized methods to assess mother-baby interactions with colleagues in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. The multidisciplinary collaboration brings together experts on precision medicine, clinical test development and validation, pediatric health care, child development, infant mental health, use of new measures to identify stress-related health risk, and research on health equity improvement. "We believe this multipronged approach will improve our understanding of the mitochondrial stress associated with ACEs, and will ultimately lead to a cost-effective test that could be readily adopted by pediatricians across the state," says Co-Investigator Xiaowu Gai, PhD, Director of Bioinformatics for the Center for Personalized Medicine at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Challenging disparities The team aims to recruit 300 mother-baby pairs into the study from the Children's Hospital Los Angeles/AltaMed Health Services general pediatrics community clinic. The two-decade partnership between Children's Hospital Los Angeles and AltaMed has brought pediatric expertise to the care of children in local communities. AltaMed, one of the largest federally qualified health centers in the U.S., delivers care to medically underserved families across Southern California. Families who screen positive for ACEs will be referred to intervention services through a Children's Hospital Los Angeles behavioral health program that specializes in family-centered infant mental health directed by Marian Williams, PhD, Director of the Stein Tikun Olam Infant-Family Mental Health Program. "Early life stress is not equally distributed," says Principal Investigator Rajan Sonik, PhD, JD, MPH, Director of Research at the AltaMed Institute for Health Equity within AltaMed Health Services. "Social and economic hardships are disproportionately experienced by marginalized communities, leading to critical racial/ethnic disparities. I look forward to working with Children's Hospital Los Angeles and our community partners to challenge these disparities, close the equity gap and take steps toward a better future for all children and families." California's first Surgeon General, Nadine Burke-Harris, MD, MPH, FAAP, has set a bold goal to reduce ACEs and toxic stress by half in one generation. In 2019, Dr. Burke-Harris shared these plans during a special visit to Children's Hospital Los Angeles, where she presented during Pediatric Grand Rounds. Children's Hospital Los Angeles was one of four institutions chosen to receive a grant under the initiative. In total, $9 million in state funds will support proof-of-principle projects for patient populations with ACEs--with all studies using precision medicine to improve access, care and outcomes. The projects, which were selected from a pool of 39 applicants from across the state, will begin in July. ### Study collaborators Additional partners, collaborators and supporters include Alexander R. Judkins, MD, Alma Gharib, PhD, Hannah Perez, PsyD, Aime Ozuna, MPH, Jenny Kingsley, MD, MA, and Suzanne Roberts, MD, of Children's Hospital Los Angeles; Gabriela Tovar, JD, AltaMed Institute for Health Equity; Lauren Klein, MS, and Maja Mataric, PhD, USC Viterbi School of Engineering; Irene Martinez, MSW, Fiesta Educativa Inc.; Natalia Garcia, Para Los Ninos; Lorna Little, MSW, St. Anne's; and Frances Nova, MSW, Karsh Family Social Service Center. About Children's Hospital Los Angeles Founded in 1901, Children's Hospital Los Angeles is the highest-ranked children's hospital in California and fifth in the nation on the prestigious U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll of best children's hospitals. U.S. News ranks Children's Hospital Los Angeles in all 10 specialty categories. Clinical care at the hospital is led by physicians who are faculty members of the Keck School of Medicine of USC through an affiliation dating from 1932. The hospital also operates the largest pediatric residency training program at a freestanding children's hospital in the Western United States. The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles is home to all basic, translational, clinical and community research conducted at the hospital, allowing proven discoveries to quickly reach patients. Our mission: to create hope and build healthier futures. To learn more, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter, and visit our blog at CHLA.org/blog. You would not be surprised to see an elephant in the savanna or a plate in your kitchen. Based on your prior experiences and knowledge, you know that is where elephants and plates are often to be found. If you saw a mysterious object in your kitchen, how would you figure out what it was? You would rely on your expectations or prior knowledge. Should a computer approach the problem in the same way? The answer may surprise you. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor Partha Mitra described how he views problems like these in a "Perspective" in Nature Machine Intelligence. He hopes his insights will help researchers teach computers how to analyze complex systems more effectively. Mitra thinks it helps to understand the nature of knowledge. Mathematically speaking, many data scientists try to create a model that can "fit an elephant," or a set of complex data points. Mitra asks researchers to consider what philosophical framework would work best for a particular machine learning task: "In philosophical terms, the idea is that there are these two extremes. One, you could say "rationalist," and the other "empiricist" points of view. And really, it's about the role of prior knowledge or prior assumptions." Rationalists versus empiricists A rationalist views the world through the lens of prior knowledge. They expect a plate to be in a kitchen and an elephant in a savanna. An empiricist analyzes the data exactly as it is presented. When they visit the savanna, they no more expect to see an elephant than they do a plate. If a rationalist came across this set of data points in the kitchen, they might at first be inclined to view it as a plate. Their prior knowledge states that a plate is likely to be found in a kitchen; it is highly unlikely to find an elephant. They have never seen this situation before, nor have they ever learned that such a situation could occur. Although their result takes in a certain amount of the data, it leaves out other parts. In this case, their methods have produced an incorrect result: a plate. When an empiricist sees the same data, they will analyze it without regard to whether they are in the savanna or their kitchen. They will piece together an image from as many data points as possible. In this case, their result is a jagged image. It doesn't tell the empiricist if they are looking at an elephant, a plate, or anything else. Neither the empiricist nor the rationalist is wrong. Both approaches work for various kinds of problems. However, in this case, if there is an elephant in the kitchen, it would pay to figure it out as quickly as possible. A middle ground between purely empirical and purely rationalist approaches may be best. With some prior knowledge of what an elephant looks like, you may notice the trunk and legs. And although the chances of an elephant being in your kitchen are low, it is certainly not impossible. Therefore, you would come to the conclusion that there is indeed an elephant in your kitchen, and you probably should leave--fast. Predictable but wrong Data scientists face this sort of problem all the time. They train computers to recognize new objects or patterns. Some machine learning programs may be able to process a lot of information and make many rules to fit the presented data, like the jagged image above. The jagged image might be reproducible when the same rules are applied to another similar data set. But just because the pattern is reproducible, that doesn't mean it accurately represents what is happening (the elephant). There are historical examples of this dilemma. Two thousand years ago, Ptolemy developed a model of the universe that yielded excellent predictions for the movements of the moon and planets. His model was used successfully for centuries. However, Ptolemy used the wrong prior information: he placed the Earth at the center of the solar system and prioritized the circular motions of celestial objects. Johannes Kepler questioned this view in the 17th century and ultimately rejected Ptolemy's approach, which eventually led to Newton's law of universal gravitation. Although Ptolemy's complex model fit his own observations exceptionally well, it did not accurately represent what was happening. Mitra warns that "if you want to be an extreme empiricist, you really do need a lot of data. We now understand why under certain circumstances, such an approach can, in fact, succeed in a mathematically rigorous setting. Biological brains, on the other hand, are halfway in between. You do learn from experience, but you're not entirely data-driven." Mitra hopes that data scientists will look to brain circuitry for inspiration when developing next-generation machine learning approaches. Vertebrate brains have circuits of different sizes, including medium-sized (mesoscale) ones. Those circuits are encoded with priors (known information, such as what animals look like, where they are found, or how to escape quickly from a charging elephant). At the same time, your brain is highly flexible, classifying new information and weighing the importance of different priors based on experience--elephants may not belong in a kitchen, but somehow, you have one anyway. Mitra concludes in his article: "This points to the possibility of a new generation of intelligent machinery based on distributed circuit architectures which incorporate stronger priors, possibly drawing upon the mesoscale circuit architecture of vertebrate brains." ### Scientists have gained the best view yet of the brightest explosions in the universe: A specialised observatory in Namibia has recorded the most energetic radiation and longest gamma-ray afterglow of a so-called gamma-ray burst (GRB) to date. The observations with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) challenge the established idea of how gamma-rays are produced in these colossal stellar explosions which are the birth cries of black holes, as the international team reports in the journal Science. "Gamma-ray bursts are bright X-ray and gamma-ray flashes observed in the sky, emitted by distant extragalactic sources," explains DESY scientist Sylvia Zhu, one of the authors of the paper. "They are the biggest explosions in the universe and associated with the collapse of a rapidly rotating massive star to a black hole. A fraction of the liberated gravitational energy feeds the production of an ultrarelativistic blast wave. Their emission is divided into two distinct phases: an initial chaotic prompt phase lasting tens of seconds, followed by a long-lasting, smoothly fading afterglow phase." On 29 August 2019 the satellites Fermi and Swift detected a gamma-ray burst in the constellation of Eridanus. The event, catalogued as GRB 190829A according to its date of occurrence, turned out to be one of the nearest gamma-ray bursts observed so far, with a distance of about one billion lightyears. For comparison: The typical gamma-ray burst is about 20 billion lightyears away. "We were really sitting in the front row when this gamma-ray burst happened," explains co-author Andrew Taylor from DESY. The team caught the explosion's afterglow immediately when it became visible to the H.E.S.S. telescopes. "We could observe the afterglow for several days and to unprecedented gamma-ray energies," reports Taylor. The comparatively short distance to this gamma-ray burst allowed detailed measurements of the afterglow's spectrum, which is the distribution of "colours" or photon energies of the radiation, in the very-high energy range. "We could determine GRB 190829A's spectrum up to an energy of 3.3 tera-electronvolts, that's about a trillion times as energetic as the photons of visible light," explains co-author Edna Ruiz-Velasco from the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg. "This is what's so exceptional about this gamma-ray burst - it happened in our cosmic backyard where the very-high-energy photons were not absorbed in collisions with background light on their way to Earth, as it happens over larger distances in the cosmos." The team could follow the afterglow up to three days after the initial explosion. The result came as a surprise: "Our observations revealed curious similarities between the X-ray and very-high energy gamma-ray emission of the burst's afterglow," reports Zhu. Established theories assume that the two emission components must be produced by separate mechanisms: the X-ray component originates from ultra-fast electrons that are deflected in the strong magnetic fields of the burst's surroundings. This "synchrotron" process is quite similar to how particle accelerators on Earth produce bright X-rays for scientific investigations. However, according to existing theories it seemed very unlikely that even the most powerful explosions in the universe could accelerate electrons enough to directly produce the observed very-high-energy gamma rays. This is due to a "burn-off limit", which is determined by the balance of acceleration and cooling of particles within an accelerator. Producing very-high energy gamma-rays requires electrons with energies well beyond the burn-off limit. Instead, current theories assume that in a gamma-ray burst, fast electrons collide with synchrotron photons and thereby boost them to gamma-ray energies in a process dubbed synchrotron self-Compton. But the observations of GRB 190829A's afterglow now show that both components, X-ray and gamma ray, faded in sync. Also, the gamma-ray spectrum clearly matched an extrapolation of the X-ray spectrum. Together, these results are a strong indication that X-rays and very-high-energy gamma rays in this afterglow were produced by the same mechanism. "It is rather unexpected to observe such remarkably similar spectral and temporal characteristics in the X-ray and very-high energy gamma-ray energy bands, if the emission in these two energy ranges had different origins," says co-author Dmitry Khangulyan from Rikkyo University in Tokyo. This poses a challenge for the synchrotron self-Compton origin of the very-high energy gamma-ray emission. The far-reaching implication of this possibility highlights the need for further studies of very-high energy GRB afterglow emission. GRB 190829A is only the fourth gamma-ray burst detected from the ground. However, the earlier detected explosions occurred much farther away in the cosmos and their afterglow could only be observed for a few hours each and not to energies above 1 tera-electronvolts (TeV). "Looking to the future, the prospects for the detection of gamma-ray bursts by next-generation instruments like the Cherenkov Telescope Array that is currently being built in the Chilean Andes and on the Canary Island of La Palma look promising," says H.E.S.S. spokesperson Stefan Wagner from Landessternwarte Heidelberg. "The general abundance of gamma-ray bursts leads us to expect that regular detections in the very-high energy band will become rather common, helping us to fully understand their physics." ### More than 230 scientists from 41 institutes in 15 countries (Namibia, South Africa, Germany, France, the UK, Ireland, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Armenia, Japan, China and Australia), comprising the international H.E.S.S. collaboration, contributed to this research. H.E.S.S. is a system of five Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes that investigates cosmic gamma rays. The name H.E.S.S. stands for High Energy Stereoscopic System, and is also intended to pay homage to Victor Franz Hess, who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1936 for his discovery of cosmic radiation. H.E.S.S. is located in Namibia, near the Gamsberg mountain, an area well known for its excellent optical quality. Four H.E.S.S. telescopes went into operation in 2002/2003, the much larger fifth telescope - H.E.S.S. II - is operational since July 2012, extending the energy coverage towards lower energies and further improving sensitivity. In 2015-2016, the cameras of the first four H.E.S.S. telescopes were fully refurbished using state of the art electronics and in particular the NECTAr readout chip designed for the next big experiment in the field, the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), for which the data science management centre will be hosted by DESY on its Zeuthen site. DESY is one of the world's leading particle accelerator centres and investigates the structure and function of matter - from the interaction of tiny elementary particles and the behaviour of novel nanomaterials and vital biomolecules to the great mysteries of the universe. The particle accelerators and detectors that DESY develops and builds at its locations in Hamburg and Zeuthen are unique research tools. They generate the most intense X-ray radiation in the world, accelerate particles to record energies and open up new windows onto the universe. DESY is a member of the Helmholtz Association, Germany's largest scientific association, and receives its funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (90 per cent) and the German federal states of Hamburg and Brandenburg (10 per cent). Reference: Revealing x-ray and gamma ray temporal and spectral similarities in the GRB 190829A afterglow; H.E.S.S. collaboration; Science, 2021; DOI: 10.1126/science.abe8560 Five scientists with exceptional promise and novel approaches to fighting cancer have been named the 2021 recipients of the Damon Runyon Physician-Scientist Training Award. The awardees were selected through a highly competitive and rigorous process by a scientific committee comprised of leading cancer researchers who are themselves physician-scientists. Physician-scientists, uniquely positioned to offer insight into patients' experiences and needs, are essential to the translation of scientific discovery into effective therapies. However, this vital cadre of cancer researchers is declining at a time when cancer research holds the greatest promise of improving survival and quality of life among cancer patients. To help increase the number of physician-scientists, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation (Damon Runyon) created the Damon Runyon Physician-Scientist Training Award, which provides physicians who have completed clinical specialty fellowship training the opportunity to gain the skills and experience needed to become leaders in translational and clinical research. Since its launch in 2015, the program has funded 33 new physician-scientists from across a range of disciplines. Their research has not only brought forth insights into how cancer develops and spreads but also led to the development of new therapies, including several in clinical trials. "Physician-scientists require protected time and funding for research, so that they can bring crucial insights from the clinic to the laboratory, and vice versa," said Yung S. Lie, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Damon Runyon. "Each of our physician-scientists is pursuing research with high potential for impact, and we are proud to enable this critical work." Damon Runyon seeks to address the financial disincentives that often deter physicians from pursuing a research career by providing considerably higher funding than most research fellowships--$100,000 in the first year, with increases of $10,000 per year over the next three years. It will also retire up to $100,000 of any medical school debt still owed by an award recipient. (The average medical school debt now exceeds $200,000.) The Physician-Scientist Training Award was established thanks to the generosity of Damon Runyon Board members Leon Cooperman and Michael Gordon. 2021 Damon Runyon Physician-Scientist Training Award Recipients: Caitlin F. Bell, MD, with mentors Nicholas J. Leeper, MD, and Irving L. Weissman, MD, at Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford The connection between cardiovascular disease and cancer, the two leading causes of death in the United States, extends beyond cancer treatment's impact on the cardiovascular system. These complex diseases share several important risk factors and aspects of disease progression. In the development of atherosclerosis, a build-up of fatty material in the arterial walls, vascular smooth muscle cells can change their roles and influence the progression of disease. Dr. Bell aims to determine if the same dynamic activity of smooth muscle cells occurs in the environment of a tumor, and whether these cells influence disease progression or response to therapies. Preclinical data suggests a significant role for these cells in the tumor environment for multiple solid tumor types, such as melanoma, breast cancer, and colon cancer. These findings could represent a new pharmacologic target for multiple cancers. Albert E. Kim, MD, with mentors Priscilla K. Brastianos, MD, and Elizabeth R. Gerstner, MD, at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston A feared complication of malignant solid tumors is the development of brain metastases (BM), for which current treatments are limited and morbidity is high. While precision medicine approaches for BM have recently demonstrated promise, many patients are not able to benefit from this treatment approach as molecular analysis of BM tissue is not usually feasible. To address this obstacle, Dr. Kim will apply genomic profiling and deep learning methods to a rich dataset comprised of BM tissues, patient-matched brain MRIs, and cell-free DNA samples to develop techniques that reveal therapeutic targets within a patient's BM. He hopes to identify ways to non-invasively characterize oncogenic drivers for a BM or monitor tumor evolution. These findings will demonstrate the potential of using algorithmic tools in the clinic to augment clinical decision-making and unlock opportunities for widespread application of precision medicine for BM. (Peter) Geon Kim, MD, with mentor Benjamin L. Ebert, MD, PhD, at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Blood stem cells, which give rise to various blood cells in the body, acquire mutations with increasing frequency as we age. In the absence of blood cancer development, this state is called clonal hematopoiesis. Up to a quarter of individuals over 60 years old will have recurrent mutations detected in their blood. Recent studies suggest that those with clonal hematopoiesis have an increased risk of developing heart disease and blood cancer, as well as increased levels of inflammatory cytokines - signaling molecules released by immune cells to promote inflammation. Dr. Kim will dissect the mechanisms underlying increased inflammation, which could provide insight into various inflammatory conditions associated with clonal hematopoiesis and potentially elucidate how clonal hematopoiesis progresses into blood cancer. Juan C. Osorio, MD, with mentor Jeffrey V. Ravetch, MD, PhD, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York Cancer cells overexpress a "don't eat me" signal that protects them from phagocytosis by interacting with a receptor on the surface of immune cells that ordinarily attack pathogens. Antibodies blocking this interaction enable elimination of tumor cells by phagocytosis and enhance adaptive immune responses, representing a promising strategy in cancer immunotherapy. However, this strategy remains poorly understood; there is no consensus on which type of antibodies is ideally suited to maximize immune cell activity in clinical trials. Dr. Osorio will investigate the mechanisms that promote effective antitumor immunity, aiming to inform the development of optimized antibodies, prevent on-target off-tumor toxicities, and design optimal combination strategies. His findings could apply to a wide range of malignancies. Max M. Wattenberg, MD, with mentors Gregory L. Beatty, MD, PhD, and Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, PhD, at University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Drugs that trigger the immune system to kill cancer cells show remarkable promise as cancer therapy. Many cancers, however, avoid detection by the immune system altogether. Dendritic cells (DCs), which play a critical role in initiating and maintaining immune responses, are often dysfunctional in cancer, preventing the immune system from "seeing" cancerous cells. Dr. Wattenberg hypothesizes that DC dysregulation is driven by systemic inflammation, a common reaction to cancer, and that novel DC-targeted treatments can reverse this dysfunction and sensitize tumors to immune attack. He will use mouse models of cancer and patient samples to investigate the mechanisms by which systemic inflammation impacts DC function and orchestrates resistance to immunotherapy, and will test methods to overcome DC dysregulation. Dr. Wattenberg hopes that these studies will provide new insight into fundamental mechanisms of cancer resistance to immunotherapy and identify novel treatment strategies for patients with cancer. ### About the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today's best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative research. The Foundation has gained worldwide prominence in cancer research by identifying outstanding researchers and physician-scientists. Twelve scientists supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel Prize, and others are heads of cancer centers and leaders of renowned research programs. Each of its award programs is extremely competitive, with less than 10% of applications funded. Since our founding in 1946, in partnership with donors across the nation, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has invested over $400 million and funded over 3,850 scientists. This year, it will commit nearly $17 million in new awards to brilliant young investigators. 100% of all donations to the Foundation are used to support scientific research. Administrative and fundraising costs are paid with revenue from the Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets Service and our endowment. For more information visit damonrunyon.org. When it was a schoolhouse, Cornland had no running water or electricity. A wood-burning stove in the center of the room kept students warm and was used to cook lunch. Students in grades 1 through 7 were taught by daylight by one teacher. Once the school is moved to its new home, the building will face the same north-south direction. The city will also reinstall its original wood floors, whose boards are now piled high in a corner. DURHAM, N.C. - A group of researchers have discovered the detailed inner workings of the molecular motor that packages genetic material into double-stranded DNA viruses. The advance provides insight into a critical step in the reproduction cycle of viruses such as pox- herpes- and adeno-viruses. It could also give inspiration to researchers creating microscopic machines based on naturally occurring biomotors. The research was conducted by scientists from Duke University, the University of Minnesota, the University of Massachusetts and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). The results appear online in a trilogy of papers published in Science Advances, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Nucleic Acids Research. "There were several missing pieces of information that prevented us from understanding how these kinds of DNA packaging motors work, which hindered our ability to design therapeutics or evolve new technologies," said Gaurav Arya, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, biomedical engineering, and chemistry at Duke. "But with new insights and simulations, we were able to piece together a model of this fantastic mechanism, which is the most detailed ever created for this kind of system." Viruses come in many varieties, but their classification generally depends upon whether they encode their genetic blueprints into RNA or single- or double-stranded DNA. The difference matters in many ways and affects how the genetic material is packaged into new viruses. While some viruses build a protein container called a capsid around newly produced RNA or DNA, others create the capsid first and then fill it with the genetic material. Most double-stranded DNA viruses take the latter route, which presents many challenges. DNA is negatively charged and does not want to be crammed together into a small space. And it's packaged into an extremely dense, nearly crystalline structure, which also requires a lot of force. "The benefit of this is that, when the virus is ready to infect a new cell, the pressure helps inject DNA into the cell once it's punctured," said Joshua Pajak, a doctoral student working in Arya's laboratory. "It's been estimated that the pressure exceeds 800 PSI, which is almost ten times the pressure in a corked bottle of champagne." Forcing DNA into a tiny capsid at that amount of pressure requires an extremely powerful motor. Until recently, researchers only had a vague sense of how that motor worked because of how difficult it is to visualize. The motor only assembles on the virus particle, which is enormous compared to the motor. "Trying to see the motor attached to the virus is like trying to see the details in the Statue of Liberty's torch by taking a photo of the entire statue," said Pajak. But at a recent conference, Pajak learned that Marc Morais, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at UTMB, and Paul Jardine, professor of diagnostic and biological sciences at the University of Minnesota, had been working on this motor for years and had the equipment and skills needed to see the details. Some of their initial results appeared to match the models Pajak was building with what little information was already available. The group grew excited that their separate findings were converging toward a common mechanism and quickly set about solving the mystery of the viral motor together. In a paper published in Science Advances, Morais and his colleagues resolved the details of the entire motor in one of its configurations. They found that the motor is made up of five proteins attached to one another in a ring-like formation. Each of these proteins are like two suction cups with a spring in between, which allows the bottom portion to move vertically in a helical formation so that it can grab onto the helical backbone of DNA. "Because you could fit about 100,000 of these motors on the head of a pin and they're all jiggling around, getting a good look at them proved difficult," said Morais. "But after my UTMB colleagues Michael Woodson and Mark White helps us image them with a cryo-electron microscope, a general framework of the mechanism fell into place." In a second paper, published in Nucleic Acids Research, the Morais group captured the motor in a second configuration using x-ray crystallography. This time the bottom suction cups of the motor were all scrunched up together in a planar ring, leading the researchers to imagine that the motor might move DNA into the virus by ratcheting between the two configurations. To test this hypothesis, Pajak and Arya performed heavy-duty simulations on Anton 2, the fastest supercomputer currently available for running molecular dynamics simulations. Their results not only supported the proposed mechanism, but also provided information on how exactly the motor's cogs contort between the two configurations. While the tops of the proteins remain statically attached to the virus particle, their bottom halves move up and down in a cyclic pattern powered by an energy-carrying molecule called ATP. Once all the proteins have moved up--dragging the DNA along with them--the proteins release the byproduct of the ATP chemical reaction. This causes the lower ring to release the DNA and reach back down into their original helical state, where they once again grab on to more ATP and DNA to repeat the process. "Joshua pieced together lots of clues and information to create this model," said Arya. "But a model is only useful if it can predict new insights that we didn't already know." At its core, the model is a series of mechanical actions that must fit together and take place in sequential order for everything to work properly. Pajak's simulations predicted a specific series of mechanical signals that tell the bottoms of the proteins whether or not they should be gripping the DNA. Like a line of dominoes falling, removing one of the signaling pathways from the middle should stop the chain reaction and block the signal. To validate this prediction, the researchers turned to Jardine and colleagues Shelley Grimes and Dwight Anderson to see if removing one of the signaling dominoes actually stopped the motor from packaging DNA. A third paper, published in PNAS, shows that the sabotage worked. After mutating a domino in the signaling pathway so that it was unable to function, the motor could still bind and burn fuel just as well as ever, but it was much worse at actually packaging DNA. "The new mechanism predicted by the high-resolution structures and the detailed predictions provided a level of detail greater than we ever previously had," said Jardine. "This allowed us to test the role of critical components of the motor, and therefore assess the validity of this new mechanism as we currently understand it." The result is a strong indication that the model is very close to describing how the motor behaves in nature. The group plans to continue their highly integrated structural, biochemical and simulation approach to further test and refine the proposed model. They hope that that this fundamental understanding could potentially be used to someday fight disease or create a synthetic molecular motor. "All technology is inspired by nature in one way or another," said Arya. "Now that we really know how this molecular motor works, hopefully it will inspire other researchers to create new inventions using these same mechanisms." ### This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (GM118817, GM122979, GM127365) and the National Science Foundation (MCB1817338). Cryo-EM data were also collected at NIH-supported regional cryo-EM imaging facilities (1U24 GM116787-01, 1U24 GM116792-01). Simulations were performed on Anton 2 supercomputer made available by D.E. Shaw Research and hosted at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center via the NIH (R01GM116961) and the Comet supercomputer hosted at the San Diego Supercomputer Center via the NSF (ACI-1053575). CITATIONS: "Viral Packaging ATPases Utilize a Glutamate Switch to Couple ATPase Activity and DNA Translocation." Joshua Pajak, Rockney Atz, Brendan J. Hilbert, Marc C. Morais, Brian A. Kelch, Paul Jardine, and Gaurav Arya. PNAS, April 27, 2021 118 (17) e2024928118. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2024928118 "A Viral Genome Packaging Motor Transitions Between Cyclic and Helical Symmetry to Translocate dsDNA," Michael Woodson, Joshua Pajak, Bryon P. Mahler, Wei Zhao, Wei Zhang, Gaurav Arya, Mark A. White, Paul J. Jardine and Marc C. Morais. Science Advances, 07 May 2021: Vol. 7, no. 19, eabc1955. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abc1955 "Atomistic Basis Of Force Generation, Translocation, and Coordination in a Viral Genome Packaging Motor," Joshua Pajak, Erik Dill2, Emilio Reyes-Aldrete, Mark A. White, Brian A.Kelch, Paul J. Jardine, Gaurav Arya1, and Marc C. Morais. Nucleic Acids Research, 2021. DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab372 Entomologists say the pairing has promise, but standards will ensure it's more than just buzz Annapolis, MD; June 3, 2021--Amid the steady growth of solar energy production in the United States, pollinator conservation at solar installations has become an appealing secondary pursuit, but the long-term success of such efforts remains to be seen. Can the land within a solar farm be made a true resource for pollinating insects? Will solar developers see value in the extra investment to plant and maintain flowering vegetation? A group of entomologists tackles these questions in a new article published today in the journal Environmental Entomology. They say pairing solar energy with pollinator habitat offers great promise, but scientific evaluation and meaningful standards will be key to making it a true win-win combination. Already, eight states have enacted legislation to promote pollinator-friendly solar development (Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, South Carolina, and Vermont), all of which include scorecards that outline criteria a solar installation must meet to earn a "pollinator-friendly" designation. The details vary, but the basic requirements are similar from state to state, following well-established principles for habitat that will attract and support bees, butterflies, and other pollinating insects. "If you stick with the principles of native, perennial, flowering vegetation and think about a mixture of species that would flower through the growing season, that's more than half the battle," says Matthew O'Neal, Ph.D., professor of entomology at Iowa State University and co-author on the paper with Adam Dolezal, Ph.D., assistant professor of entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Jacob Torres, a doctoral student in Dolezal's lab at UIUC. O'Neal and colleagues endorse the scorecard approach, but they say the criteria should be both stringent enough to produce measurable, positive impacts on pollinators but flexible enough to be feasible within the unique conditions of a solar farm. "You can say, 'How is this different than a hundred other conservation practices?'" Dolezal says. "And the answer is, well, it has some very weird and specific requirements to make it even on the table for solar developers to consider. And that's something we're still learning." On a typical solar farm, the zones beneath solar panels, immediately adjacent to them, and around the perimeter of the farm each allow for different mixes of plants. Some solar panels, for instance, may stand just 18 inches off the ground, which would rule out tall grasses and non-shade-tolerant plants beneath them. If the right mix of plants can be found, however, solar developers could stand to gain more than just positive, green public relations for their utilities. Some preliminary research suggests surrounding vegetation can boost efficiency of solar panels, but more in-depth analysis is needed. "We know that plants, through respiration, cool the air around them, and we know that, when solar panels are kept cooler, they are more efficient at producing electricity," says Dolezal. "What has not been demonstrated is, in these real-world, utility-scale facilities, does that actually provide a meaningful benefit that can then be quantified, put into an economic analysis that developers can look at and say, 'We will make X amount more megawatts of energy over what duration.'" A scorecard for solar-farm pollinator habitat is also just a first step. Many plants recommended for pollinator conservation take time to establish and require attention to weed out unwanted, non-native plants. So, Dolezal, Torres, and O'Neal recommend standards also be paired with periodic evaluations by independent, certified third parties. "These environments are dynamic," O'Neal says. "You want to make sure those plants are established and you meet the goals that you set out at the start." Other key elements for pollinator conservation at solar farms would include detailed maintenance and cultivation plans, clarity on whether to focus on wild pollinators or managed honey bees, and cooperation with local communities. "What may be true or what may work well in Iowa and Illinois and Indiana may not work in the Southeast, or it may not work in the coastal mid-Atlantic," says Dolezal. "The realities are going to be different there." Research has shown that even small patches of native habitat in otherwise cleared or developed areas can provide important resources for conserving plant and animal biodiversity. O'Neal and colleagues note examples of planned solar facilities in some states of several thousands of acres. "If even a fraction of the land allotted to future developments can be planted with effective pollinator habitat, these contributions could be substantial," they write. As more and more solar energy developments come into shape, researchers will have the opportunity to start measuring just how effective accompanying pollinator habitat may be. Dolezal will be among them, as he works on a project selected for funding by the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Technologies Office and managed by the University of Illinois Chicago. He'll be helping to evaluate ecological benefits, solar-production performance benefits, and economic impacts of pollinator plantings at six solar facilities. It is a setting Dolezal says he never envisioned when he began studying entomology and one that speaks to the unique combination of solar energy and pollinator conservation. "This would not have been a mechanism of habitat implementation I would have expected, for sure," he says. "And I never would have expected to have to go do pollinator sampling while wearing a hard hat." ### "Can Solar Energy Fuel Pollinator Conservation?" will be published online on June 3, 2021, in Environmental Entomology. Journalists may request advance copies of the article via the contact below or download the published paper after 10 a.m. on June 3 at https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 1093/ ee/ nvab041 . CONTACT: Joe Rominiecki, jrominiecki@entsoc.org, 301-731-4535 x3009 ABOUT: The Entomological Society of America is the largest organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and people in related disciplines. Founded in 1889, ESA today has more than 7,000 members affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. Headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, the Society stands ready as a non-partisan scientific and educational resource for all insect-related topics. For more information, visit http://www. entsoc. org . Mangrove vegetation, which grows naturally in subtropical shorelines, provides a wide range of ecosystem functions such as reducing coastal erosion, promoting biodiversity, and removing nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon dioxide. These vital ecological functions are influenced by the water flow around the intricate mangrove roots, which create a complex energetic process that mixes up sediments and generates a depositional region behind the roots. How these mangrove roots interact with water flow is believed to be a key element in mitigating coastal erosion. Accurately projecting hydrodynamic erosion and the essential amount of mangrove species has been a challenge for managers and restoration experts to forecast a successful component of project designs. That is because they need two critical pieces of information: characterization of the near-bed boundary layer of the mangrove roots and their effect on the mangrove root erosion; and a quantitative understanding of mangrove root erosion and the habitat requirements based on the optimal porosity. Florida Atlantic University's Oscar M. Curet, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering within the College of Engineering and Computer Science, spearheaded the research with his co-authors, and are the first to quantify the optimal mangrove root hydrodynamic with a predictive model. For the study, published in Scientific Reports, (published by Nature) they used simplified mangrove root-type models with different porosities to investigate the impact of porosity on the initial motion of the sediments, which is critical to the evolution of shorelines, delta and lands. This predictive model takes into account the mangrove roots' porosity and the near-bed turbulence effect. The study identified the pivotal role of mangrove root porosity and provides insight into the sediment transport and erosion processes that govern the evolution of the shapes of shorelines. The field studies' wide spatiotemporal parameters could extend the results of the current research to successfully predict mangrove erosion outcomes on estuarine shorelines. "Our data address the first informational need for global restoration communities with mangrove habitats and will bring about opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration with the environmental and ecological engineering community," said Amirkhosro Kazemi, Ph.D., lead author and a post-doctoral research associate in the Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering. "Furthermore, understanding the hydrodynamics and scaling of this problem could contribute to the design and development of a bio-inspired mangrove-like system for coastal protection globally, especially in the subtropical regions where mangrove growth is possible." Characterizing the hydrodynamics of mangrove-like structures could explain the primary mechanisms for its resilience and by which mangrove roots can withstand high-energy fluid conditions. For example, the researchers observed that most sediments are eroded for the case with high porosity (less blockage), and the sediment deposition region for the low porous patch ( = 47 percent) had the maximum area among others signifying an optimal porosity to mitigate erosion for a fixed root configuration. This information has the potential to improve future coastal infrastructure design with bio-mimetic mangrove-like structures. The study also suggests that optimal porosity design of shoreline may add habitat flexibility to sites that are on the borderline of mangrove habitat suitability. This optimal porosity would affect increase in the critical velocity at which the sediment transport starts. The increment in the critical velocity has biological importance as it could potentially increase nutrients around the roots, increase energy dissipation to withstand high flow speeds, and control changes to the substrate bottom to facilitate the propagation of mangrove swamps. "Roots that do not exceed the critical porosity for maximum energy dissipation may have adaptive benefits, for example, the ability to tolerate brackish waters in depositional environments," said Curet. "Increasing the mangrove species through pre-restoration grading can potentially increase the likelihood of decreasing erosion success, with a higher energy dissipation that increases the resistance of mangrove roots to the energy in tidal flows." Down the road, Kazemi, Curet and co-author Luciano Castillo, Ph.D., Kenninger Professor of Renewable Energy and Power Systems in Mechanical Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, propose using machine learning (ML) algorithms that can be an alternative way to predict the processes of sediment transport in three-dimensional directions under oscillating flow conditions, by utilizing the available dataset of video images and the state-of-the-art deep learning and ML algorithms. With abundant sediment transport data, ML algorithms can find the patterns and structures of the data to produce a viable morphodynamic model. Based on the training dataset, these algorithms can learn, infer and predict physical phenomena that can potentially be utilized in several applications such as flow control, energy harvesting and erosion mitigation. "This important research by Dr. Kazemi, professor Castillo and Dr. Curet contribute to fill a gap in understanding the near-bed flow and step forward accurate prediction of sediment transport in vegetated regions, which contributes to shaping them in nature," said Stella Batalama, Ph.D., dean, College of Engineering and Computer Science. "The optimal configuration porosity range and the critical velocity presented in this study can provide useful guidance for coastal managers restoring estuarine mangrove forests or planting mangroves as part of living shoreline stabilization." ### About FAU's College of Engineering and Computer Science: The FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science is internationally recognized for cutting edge research and education in the areas of computer science and artificial intelligence (AI), computer engineering, electrical engineering, bioengineering, civil, environmental and geomatics engineering, mechanical engineering, and ocean engineering. Research conducted by the faculty and their teams expose students to technology innovations that push the current state-of-the art of the disciplines. The College research efforts are supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Education (DOEd), the State of Florida, and industry. The FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science offers degrees with a modern twist that bear specializations in areas of national priority such as AI, cybersecurity, internet-of-things, transportation and supply chain management, and data science. New degree programs include Masters of Science in AI (first in Florida), Masters of Science in Data Science and Analytics, and the new Professional Masters of Science degree in computer science for working professionals. For more information about the College, please visit eng.fau.edu. If insomnia keeps you awake at night, Flinders University researchers recommend a trip to the doctor - not for a sleeping pill prescription but for a short course of intensive behavioural therapy. Researchers have developed new clinical guidelines for Australian doctors to give family GPs insights into the most effective treatment for insomnia - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for insomnia (or 'CBTi'). CBTi improves insomnia, mental health and quality of life, and can be more successful than sleeping pills, say Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health (AISH) sleep experts from Flinders University in a new paper in the Australian Journal of General Practice. Most patients with insomnia managed in general practice are prescribed potentially addictive sedative-hypnotic medicines (e.g. benzodiazepines), and never access the CBTi that would treat their underlying condition, they say. "We are aiming to provide GPs with more information, accessible guidelines and tools, as well as referral and treatment options to manage insomnia with CBTi," says lead researcher Dr Alex Sweetman from Flinders University. "To get the ball rolling, our step-by-step model for GPs will identify, assess and treat insomnia with a Brief Behavioural Treatment for Insomnia program (BBTi)." Brief Behavioural Treatment for insomnia leads to long-term improvement of insomnia, mental health, and overall quality of life, and can help patients reduce their use of sedative-hypnotic medicines. This clinical review published in the Australian Journal of General Practice provides GPs with a description of a four-session insomnia treatment program that is tailored to the time limitations, knowledge, and capacity of general practice staff. Dr Sweetman and his team are currently running two trials to provide GPs with a suite of tools and treatment options to manage patients with insomnia. Chronic insomnia is characterised by difficulties getting to sleep, staying asleep, and/or early morning awakenings from sleep - with daytime impairments including reduced work productivity, fatigue and concentration difficulties. Common in approximately 15% of the general population, it can persist for many years unless treated - ideally with non-pharmaceutical interventions. Meanwhile, AISH and other sleep experts have also expanded ongoing investigations into better treatments for complex cases of combined insomnia, and sleep apnoea (COMISA), all conditions leading to doctor diagnoses and the need for targeted interventions. The study of 2044 adult Australians found COMISA disorders are common and associated with increased medical and psychiatric co-morbidity, as well as poor general health. "Much more investigation is required understand these combined disorders and improve diagnostic and treatment approaches," researchers say in their paper, Prevalence and associations of co-morbid insomnia and sleep apnoea in an Australian population-based sample (2021) by A Sweetman, YA Melaku, L Lack, A Reynolds, TK Bill, R Adams and S Appleton has been published in Sleep Medicine (Elsevier) DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2021.03.023 More information at A step-by-step model for a brief behavioural treatment for insomnia in Australian general practice (2021) by Alexander Sweetman, Nicholas A Zwar, Nicole Grivell, Nicole Lovato and Leon Lack has been published in the Australian Journal of General Practice Volume 50, Issue 5, DOI: 10.31128/AJGP-04-20-5391 Insomnia is a common and debilitating disorder that is frequently associated with important consequences for physical and mental health and wellbeing. It often occurs in tandem with another common sleep disorder, obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Along with daytime sleepiness and fatigue, these debilitating disorders can be treated in a number of ways to reduce long-term health issues including diabetes, heart disease, anxiety and depression. ### A new method to monitor epidemics like COVID-19 gives an accurate real-time estimate of the growth rate of an epidemic by carefully evaluating the relationship between the amount of viruses in infected people's bodies, called the viral load, and how fast the number of cases is increasing or decreasing. "This new method, which effectively links what we know about how the virus grows within the body to the dynamics of how the virus spreads across a population, provides a brand new metric that public health officials, policy makers, and epidemiologists will be able to use to get up-to-date real-time information on the epidemic," said Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a core member of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics. Mina is the senior author of a paper that describes the method, published June 3, 2021 in the journal Science. Monitoring epidemics is essential for public health response to understand how well interventions like masks, lockdowns, or vaccines are working, and to know where to distribute extra resources when cases are rising. The current approaches to monitoring epidemics rely almost entirely on following case counts or hospitalization rates over time, and looking at test positivity rates and deaths. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, daily case data like that published by the New York Times has been crucial for public health officials and researchers to evaluate how well states and countries are controlling the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. However, these types of data can often be of only limited use because of variable testing practices or poor reporting. For example, a growing epidemic might look like it is leveling off if testing capacity is maxed out or if reporting is delayed because resources are being focused elsewhere. These pitfalls of monitoring case reports over time can adversely impact appropriate public health responses. Because outbreaks grow or fall exponentially, when cases are growing, most people who are positive at any moment in time will have been recently infected and will thus have higher viral loads--as measured in PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests--at the time that they are tested. This is because the virus is at its peak amount in the body early after infection and then falls to very low but still detectable levels in PCR tests over weeks or even months after infection. When the outbreak is slowing down and cases are falling, the average person who is detected as positive in surveillance testing will have been infected potentially weeks before testing and thus will have lower viral loads at the time of testing. To better track pandemic hotspots, researchers at Harvard Chan School developed a mathematical tool that carefully evaluates the relationship between viral load--measured from the PCR test in a value called the cycle threshold (Ct value)--and how fast cases are increasing or decreasing. Using even the relatively small number of 30 SARS-CoV-2 positive samples taken from surveillance testing on a single day can give an accurate real-time estimate of the growth rate of the epidemic. When Ct values are available from multiple time points, the researchers discovered that they can use even a very limited amount of positive results to reconstruct the epidemic curve and estimate how many people have been infected over time. Even viral amounts detected in positive PCR test samples collected from one location at just a single point in time can help estimate the growth or decay rate of an outbreak across a population, the researchers found. In the U.S. and in much of the world, the PCR Ct values--the values that show how much virus is collected on the swab from someone's nose--are often discarded and the results of the PCR test returned with a simple "positive" or "negative" result. "Our work demonstrates just how valuable the Ct values are and why we should not only stop our current practice of throwing them away, but why we should instead make them a key piece of data to collect for our pandemic response," said Mina, who has previously published on the use of PCR Ct values to aid in clinical decision making and who has been a leader in developing new approaches for using COVID-19 tests to limit the disease's spread. James Hay, who co-led the research as a postdoctoral researcher in Mina's lab, stressed that the new technique is not COVID-19-specific but is a method that will be valuable for monitoring outbreaks and epidemics of other viruses in the future. "This tool is not just for COVID, but rather provides a new approach to estimating epidemic trajectories of many types of viruses, and is an approach that does not rely on potentially biased approaches like counting cases over time and will not be reliant on accurate reporting of cases or hospitalization," he said. ### Other Harvard Chan School researchers who contributed to the study include Lee Kennedy-Shaffer and Marc Lipsitch. "Estimating epidemiologic dynamics from cross-sectional viral load distributions", James A. Hay, Lee Kennedy-Shaffer, Sanjat Kanjilal, Niall J. Lennon, Stacey B. Gabriel, Marc Lipsitch, Michael J.Mina, Science, online June 2, 2021. Visit the Harvard Chan School website for the latest news, press releases, and multimedia offerings. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health brings together dedicated experts from many disciplines to educate new generations of global health leaders and produce powerful ideas that improve the lives and health of people everywhere. As a community of leading scientists, educators, and students, we work together to take innovative ideas from the laboratory to people's lives--not only making scientific breakthroughs, but also working to change individual behaviors, public policies, and health care practices. Each year, more than 400 faculty members at Harvard Chan School teach 1,000-plus full-time students from around the world and train thousands more through online and executive education courses. Founded in 1913 as the Harvard-MIT School of Health Officers, the School is recognized as America's oldest professional training program in public health. Lehigh University electrical and computer engineering researcher Wenxin Liu awarded two ONR grants--totaling $900,000--for algorithmic design and hardware experimentation that could lead to advances in civilian microgrid technology Wenxin Liu's research has been funded by the Office of Naval Research for the past 10 years. That support will continue with the addition of two grants, each providing $450,000 over three years. Both awards are a continuation of the Lehigh University researcher's work on the advanced control of power systems. The first of his two projects examines real-time optimal power flow control in power electronic power distribution systems (PEPDS). Liu, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, is developing an advanced algorithmic design and doing hardware experimentation. Ultimately, his work is laying the foundation that will eventually allow naval ships to travel longer distances. It will also reduce waste energy--and costs--and has implications outside the military. "A ship's power system is a special kind of microgrid," says Liu. "If we can improve its performance, we can apply the same approach to the civilian microgrid." Microgrids, which are smaller networks with multiple distributed generators, are seen as the way of the future in power distribution, says Liu. They are more flexible (operating in both grid-connected and autonomous modes), customizable, and efficient than traditional, centralized power grids, and less vulnerable to attack by malicious actors. The second project involves coordinating heterogeneous generators within the ship's power system. Currently, the generators differ in terms of response speed, capacity, and reliability. "Coordinating them is a challenging problem," he says. "If they're not properly coordinated, both steady and dynamic performance will be low and it's also a waste of the capability of modern power electronics." Liu is employing the same algorithmic and experimentation approach to optimize the generator system and improve its performance. The end goal is also similar: to improve the reliability of the ship's power system using a technique that can also benefit microgrids in the civilian world. "I believe that even for basic research, we should bring future applications into consideration when we do our research," says Liu. "That's why I work on both algorithm and hardware design. These are problems that are practical, important, and not well studied. And they need to be solved." About Wenxin Liu Wenxin Liu is Class of '61 Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Lehigh University. He joined the faculty of the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science in 2014 and leads the Smart Microgrid and Renewable Technology (SMRT) Research Laboratory. His research interests include power systems, power electronics, and controls. Liu holds degrees in industrial automation (BS, 1996) and control theory and applications (MS, 2000) from Northeastern University, in Shenyang, China. He earned a PhD in electrical engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly the University of Missouri-Rolla) in 2005. From 2005 to 2009, he was a postdoc and then an assistant scholar scientist with the Center for Advanced Power Systems at Florida State University. From 2009 to 2014, he was an assistant professor in the Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at New Mexico State University (NMSU). Liu has published more than 60 journal papers (mostly in IEEE Transactions with his students) and received over $3.5 million research funding from the Department of Defense/Office of Naval Research, National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and California Energy Commission, as well as from industry. While at NMSU, he was named ConocoPhillips Faculty Fellow (2011) and received the Dean's Recognition Award (2012) and Early Career Award (2013). He was named to a P.C. Rossin professorship at Lehigh in 2016 and a Class of '61 professorship in 2019. Liu is an editor of IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, and Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology. Related Links: ### A new study in the journal Sleep finds that increased evening screen time during the Covid-19 lockdown negatively affects sleep quality. During the lockdown period in Italy, daily internet traffic volume almost doubled compared to the same time in the previous year. Researchers here conducted a web-based survey of 2,123 Italian residents during the third and seventh week of Italy's first national lockdown. The survey ran in the third week of lockdown (March 25th - 28th, 2020) and evaluated sleep quality and insomnia symptoms, using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Insomnia Severity Index as means of measurement. The second assessment survey, in the seventh week of lockdown (April 21st - 27th, 2020), inquired about usage of electronic devices in the two hours before falling asleep, in addition to repeating the sleep questionnaires. Of the participants surveyed, 92.9% reported an increase in their electronic device usage between the first and second surveys. These participants showed decreased sleep quality, an increase in insomnia symptoms, shorter total sleep times, and later bedtimes and rising times. Researchers found an increased prevalence of poor sleepers and respondents with moderate to severe insomnia symptoms only within this group of respondents. Some 7.1% of participants reported a decrease in evening screen time between the first and second survey, and conversely reported improved sleep quality and fewer symptoms of insomnia. This subgroup also demonstrated a decrease in the prevalence of poor sleepers and moderate/severe insomnia symptoms. These respondents went to bed consistently earlier after four weeks of home confinement. Survey respondents who reported no change in their screen time exposure likewise showed no variations in their sleep habits. Notably, this group of responders had the best sleep quality and fewest insomnia symptoms in the first survey results, suggesting that the lockdown exacerbated negative sleep conditions for people already suffering from poor sleep quality. Dr. Federico Salfi, Ph.D. student and first author of the paper, says "The overuse of electronic devices in the hours before sleep was a deeply rooted habit in our society already before the pandemic emergency, in particular among young people. In our opinion, the current period of social distancing added fuel to the fire." Prof. Michele Ferrara, Director of the Laboratory of Sleep Psychophysiology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of L'Aquila, says "The evidence of a strong relationship between screen habits and the time course of sleep disturbances during the lockdown period suggests that, now, more than never, raising public awareness about the risks of evening exposure to electronic devices could be crucial to preserve general sleep health. This applies to both the ongoing pandemic and the future, as electronic technologies will find more and more space in our daily routine." ### Direct questions about the study to: Prof. Michele Ferrara, Ph.D. Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences University of L'Aquila Via Vetoio (Coppito 2) 67100 Coppito (AQ) Italy michele.ferrara@univaq.it To request a copy of the study, please contact: Emily Tobin Emily.tobin@oup.com Sharing on social media? Find Oxford Journals online at @OxfordJournals RUDN University mathematician and his colleagues from France and Hungary developed an algorithm for parallel computing, which allows solving applied problems, such as electrodynamics or hydrodynamics. The gain in time is up to 50%. The results are published in the Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics. Parallel computing methods are often used to process practical problems in physics, engineering, biology, and other fields. It involves several processors joined in a net to simultaneously solve a single problem -- each has its own small part. The way to distribute the work between the processors and make them "communicate" with each other is a choice based on the specifics of a particular problem. One possible method is domain decomposition. The study domain is divided into separate parts -- subdomains -- according to the number of processors. When that number is very high, especially in heterogeneous high-performance computing (HPC) environments, asynchronous processes constitute a valuable ingredient. Usually, Schwarz methods are used, in which the subdomains overlap each other. This provides accurate results but does not suit when overlap is not straightforward. RUDN University Mathematician and his colleagues from France and Hungary proposed a new algorithm that makes the asynchronous decomposition easier in many structural cases -- the subdomains do not overlap; the result remains accurate with less time needed for computation. "Until now, almost all investigations of asynchronous iterations within domain decomposition frameworks targeted methods of the parallel Schwarz type. A first, and sole, attempt to deal with primal nonoverlapping decomposition resulted in simultaneously iterating on the subdomains and on the interface between them. That means that computation scheme is defined on the whole global domain", Guillaume Gbikpi-Benissan, Engineering Academy of RUDN University. Mathematicians proposed an algorithm based on the Gauss-Seidel method. The essence of the innovation is that the calculation algorithm is not run simultaneously on the entire domain, but alternately on the subdomains and the boundaries between them. As a result, the values obtained during each iteration within the subdomain can be immediately used for calculations on the boundary at no additional cost. Mathematicians tested the new algorithm on the Poisson equation and the linear elasticity problem. The first one is used, for example, to describe the electrostatic field, the second one is used in hydrodynamics, to describe the motion of liquids. The new method was faster than the original one for both equations. A gain of up to 50% was indeed achieved -- with 720 subdomains, the computation of the Poisson equation took 84 seconds while the original algorithm spent 170 seconds. Moreover, the number of synchronous alternating iterations decreases with an increase in the number of subdomains. "It is a quite interesting behavior which can be explained by the fact that the ratio of alternation increases as the subdomains sizes are reduced and more of interface appears. This work therefore encourages for further possibilities and new promising investigations of the asynchronous computing paradigm", Guillaume Gbikpi-Benissan, Engineering Academy of RUDN University. ### WASHINGTON (June 3, 2021) - Nearly three-quarters of breast cancer patients (73%) report using at least one type of complementary medicine after cancer diagnosis, while oncologists believe that less than half (43%) of patients are using these approaches during cancer care. These and other findings from a national survey of oncologists and breast cancer patients were released in conjunction with the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting. The study found that doctors report discussing integrative health with only about half of patients, leading patients to seek information outside the clinic. "Cancer is a complex disease that affects every component of a patient's life. While conventional medicine is effective for curing disease, it can fall short in helping patients heal," said Wayne Jonas, MD, report co-author and executive director for Integrative Health Programs at the Samueli Foundation. "Patients are turning to these therapies to looking for hope and to improve their quality of life and wellbeing after diagnosis, but they are looking for more guidance from their oncologists." A national survey of 115 clinical oncologists who treat breast cancer was conducted in late 2020 alongside a similar survey of 164 breast cancer patients who had been diagnosed within two years of the survey. The poll was conducted by IQVIA, a global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry, to understand awareness, usage, and attitudes toward the use of complementary and lifestyle therapies in addition to medical treatment. In the study, the researchers found that two-thirds of oncologists (66%) and patients (65%) believe using complementary and lifestyle therapies improve patients' quality of life. Many patients (60%) also believe these treatments lead to better health outcomes. Interestingly, patient use of tai chi/chi gong or acupuncture had the strongest correlation with positive impact on quality of life among the 12 modalities tested. The survey also gauged patients' and physicians' awareness of complementary and lifestyle therapies and sources of information for patients. Most oncologists reported familiarity with at least one therapy. These physicians saw nutrition consultation, support groups, psycho-oncology support, and exercise consultation as the most important integrative services. However, they gave relatively low marks to spiritual services and meditation or mindfulness--two approaches that patients see as important. Patients also recall their care teams providing fewer recommendations about these two modalities than the others. While oncologists and patients agree that an oncologist, oncology nurse, or patient navigator is a good source of information for complementary medicine and lifestyle therapies, patients have a slight preference to hear directly from the oncologists. "Many oncologists are generally supportive of integrating complementary and lifestyle therapies with conventional medical treatment, but the education and guidance given to patients varies widely," said Terri Crudup, Senior Principal of Primary Intelligence at IQVIA. "Oncologists and the institutions at which they practice should look for methods to educate and expose patients to a variety of safe and effective complementary and lifestyle therapies to find the ones that will help their patients most." ### About Samueli Foundation: Samueli Foundation's Integrative Health Programs are dedicated to the promotion of personal health and well-being with the support of health teams dedicated to all proven approaches, including conventional, complementary and self-care. Dr. Wayne Jonas, the former director of the NIH Office of Alternative Medicine and the former director of a World Health Organization Center for Traditional Medicine, is clinical professor of Family Medicine at the Uniformed Services University and at Georgetown University School of Medicine. About IQVIA: IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) is a leading global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry. IQVIA creates intelligent connections across all aspects of healthcare through its analytics, transformative technology, big data resources and extensive domain expertise. IQVIA Connected Intelligence delivers powerful insights with speed and agility -- enabling customers to accelerate the clinical development and commercialization of innovative medical treatments that improve healthcare outcomes for patients. With approximately 72,000 employees, IQVIA conducts operations in more than 100 countries. COVID-19 continues to claim lives across the world and is infecting millions more. Although several vaccines have recently become available, making significant strides towards preventing COVID-19, what about the treatment of those who already have the infection? Vaccines aren't 100% effective, highlighting the need--now more than ever--for effective antiviral therapeutics. Moreover, some people can't receive vaccines due to health issues, and new variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, that can penetrate vaccine-conferred immunity, are being reported, indicating that we need to think beyond prevention. Given this need, a team of researchers based in Japan, the US, and the UK launched a project to develop effective therapeutics. This team included several researchers based at Tokyo University of Science: Visiting Professor Koichi Watashi, Dr. Hirofumi Ohashi, Professor Shin Aoki, Professor Kouji Kuramochi, and Assistant Professor Tomohiro Tanaka. Their goal was clear and simple: finding a cure for COVID-19. To achieve this goal, the researchers first established an experimental system for screening drugs that may help to control infections. This system used a type of cells called VeroE6/TMPRSS2 cells, which were manipulated to efficiently be infected with and produce SARS-CoV-2. "To determine whether a drug of interest could help combat infection by SARS-CoV-2, we simply had to expose VeroE6/TMPRSS2 cells to both the drug and SARS-CoV-2 and then observe whether the drug's presence served to hinder the virus's efforts to infect cells," explains Professor Watashi. The researchers used this experimental system to screen a panel of drugs that are already approved for clinical use, including drugs like remdesivir and chloroquine that have already being approved or are being trialed as treatments for COVID-19. In an exciting outcome, the researchers found two drugs that provided effective SARS-CoV-2 suppression: cepharanthine, which is used to treat inflammation, and nelfinavir, which is approved for the treatment of HIV infection. Cepharanthine inhibited the entry of the virus into cells by preventing the virus from binding to a protein on the cell membrane, which it uses as a gateway. In contrast, nelfinavir worked to prevent the virus from replicating inside the cell by inhibiting a protein that the virus relies on for replication. Given that these drugs have distinct antiviral mechanisms, using both of them together could be especially effective for patients, with computational models predicting that combined cepharanthine/nelfinavir therapy can hasten the clearance of SARS-CoV-2 from a patient's lungs by as few as 4.9 days. So, does this mean we will be seeing these new drugs in COVID-19 treatment centers? Of course, the drug duo isn't ready to be rolled out into healthcare systems just yet. These findings justify further research into the clinical potential of cepharanthine/nelfinavir therapy, and only following this can we say for sure that it is useful and helpful. Nevertheless, given the ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ever-increasing death toll, the development of cepharanthine/nelfinavir therapy may provide clinicians and patients with a much-needed new treatment option. ### Reference Title of original paper: Potential anti-COVID-19 agents, cepharanthine and nelfinavir, and their usage for combination treatment Journal: iScience DOI: https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 1016/ j. isci. 2021. 102367 About The Tokyo University of Science Tokyo University of Science (TUS) is a well-known and respected university, and the largest science-specialized private research university in Japan, with four campuses in central Tokyo and its suburbs and in Hokkaido. Established in 1881, the university has continually contributed to Japan's development in science through inculcating the love for science in researchers, technicians, and educators. With a mission of "Creating science and technology for the harmonious development of nature, human beings, and society", TUS has undertaken a wide range of research from basic to applied science. TUS has embraced a multidisciplinary approach to research and undertaken intensive study in some of today's most vital fields. TUS is a meritocracy where the best in science is recognized and nurtured. It is the only private university in Japan that has produced a Nobel Prize winner and the only private university in Asia to produce Nobel Prize winners within the natural sciences field. Website: https:/ / www. tus. ac. jp/ en/ mediarelations/ About Professor Koichi Watashi from Tokyo University of Science Dr. Koichi Watashi is the Director of the Division of Drug Development, Research Center for Drug and Vaccine Development, at the Japanese National Institute of Infectious Diseases and a Visiting Professor at the Tokyo University of Science Graduate School of Science and Technology. His main research interests include virus-host interaction mechanisms and the development of antivirals. He has authored more than 140 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and he has received several prestigious professional awards from organizations such as the Japanese Cancer Association, the Japanese Society for Virology, and the Japanese Society of Hepatology. About Dr. Hirofumi Ohashi from Tokyo University of Science Dr. Hirofumi Ohashi, the first author of this paper, is a researcher affiliated to the Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, and the Department of Applied Biological Sciences, Tokyo University of Science. He has authored 18 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and he has received awards from International Symposium on Hepatitis C Virus and related viruses. His key research interests focus molecular biology of positive-strand RNA viruses, mainly SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and the hepatitis C virus. Funding information This work was supported by the Japanese Agency for Medical Research and Development, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the Japan Science and Technology Agency, and the Wellcome Trust. Chinese vaccines boost global fight against COVID-19 pandemic Xinhua) 08:54, June 03, 2021 Photo taken on Jan. 6, 2021 shows the packing line for inactivated COVID-19 vaccine of Sinovac Biotech, a Chinese biopharmaceutical company, in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) The approval of the two Chinese vaccines, at a time when the world is still struggling to contain the virus with many countries and regions in dire need of vaccines, will help China make greater contribution to the global fight against the pandemic, said experts. GENEVA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) validated on Tuesday the CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac for emergency use, which made it the second Chinese vaccine included in the WHO Emergency Use Listing after the previous one developed by another Chinese manufacturer Sinopharm. Experts believe the approval of the two Chinese vaccines, at a time when the world is still struggling to contain the virus with many countries and regions in dire need of vaccines, will help China make greater contribution to the global fight against the pandemic. BROADER PORTFOLIO OF VACCINES According to the WHO, 352,685 new cases were reported on June 1 across the world, bringing the global tally to 170,426,245, while COVID-19 deaths worldwide reached 3,548,628. As of May 31, a total of 1,579,416,705 vaccine doses had been administered. The WHO's announcement on Tuesday about the validation of the Sinovac vaccine is good news for the whole world, especially for countries that are in serious shortage of vaccines. Earlier last month, the Sinopharm vaccine, an inactivated vaccine, was validated by the WHO for emergency use. "The Sinovac-CoronaVac product is an inactivated vaccine. Its easy storage requirements make it very manageable and particularly suitable for low-resource settings," said a statement issued by the WHO. A nurse prepares the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac in Bangkok, Thailand, May 31, 2021. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak) "The world desperately needs multiple COVID-19 vaccines to address the huge access inequity across the globe," WHO Assistant Director-General for Access to Medicines and Health Products Mariangela Simao said in the statement. "We urge manufacturers to participate in the COVAX Facility, share their knowhow and data and contribute to bringing the pandemic under control." Delegates who attended the just-concluded 74th World Health Assembly (WHA) also called for increasing vaccine supply and ensuring fair access to vaccines for countries around the world, especially low-income countries. Following the WHO's announcement of the validation of the Sinovac vaccine, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted that the vaccine is widely used in Turkey, and "we will continue to bring every vaccine with proven safety and effectiveness to our citizens." Turkey began its vaccination drive with China's Sinovac vaccine on Jan. 14, with priority given to healthcare professionals and the elderly. Until the beginning of April, the country had solely used Sinovac's jabs. The WHO's authorization of the Sinovac vaccine for emergency use is "very positive," Lu Mengji, professor at the Institute of Virology of the University Hospital of Essen in Germany, told Xinhua. "It will play an important role in the global fight against the pandemic." WIDER UTILIZATION The Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines, which have already been used in many countries and regions across the world, are playing an important role in the global anti-pandemic fight. China has provided COVID-19 vaccines as public goods by offering medical assistance to 80 countries, exporting vaccines to 43 countries and supplying 300 million doses of vaccines worldwide, said Chinese delegate Yang Feng at the WHA. Airport staff members unload the first batch of Chinese Sinovac vaccine raw materials from a plane at the Cairo International Airport in Cairo, Egypt, May 21, 2021. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic expressed her gratitude for the delivery of millions of doses "in the shortest possible time" when her country welcomed the eighth flight carrying Chinese vaccines last week, a huge boost to the Balkan country's vaccination campaign. "We are very grateful to China and the Chinese people for enormous support and help, for the vast quantity of vaccines that we received," said Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic when he received the second dose of the Sinopharm vaccine on April 27. Hungary, the first European Union (EU) member state to buy and authorize the use of Chinese vaccines, has a leading vaccination rate among EU countries thanks to Chinese and Russian COVID-19 vaccines, Zoltan Kovacs, international spokesman for the Hungarian government and secretary of state for international communication and relations, told Xinhua. This is extremely valuable at a time when every dose of vaccine is eagerly awaited not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) but all over the world, said BiH's Minister of Civil Affairs Ankica Gudeljevic when receiving a batch of China-donated Sinopharm vaccine in late April. China has also shown great concern about the epidemic situation in Africa, and has already donated vaccines to many countries on the continent. At a recent United Nations Security Council meeting, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China has been a staunch supporter of Africa in the COVID-19 fight. China has been, and is, providing vaccines to more than 30 African countries on the basis of their urgent need, said Wang. GREATER CONTRIBUTION In his speech at the 74th WHA opening, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged countries worldwide to share vaccine doses now and fast to COVAX, the WHO-led initiative for equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the world. China has already decided to offer 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to COVAX, a concrete step to deliver on its promise to make vaccines a global public good. It has also called for a rejection of vaccine nationalism to make vaccines more accessible to and affordable for developing countries. For example, China has recently agreed with Egypt on establishing a Chinese vaccine production line in the country. The first batch of the raw materials to manufacture the Sinovac vaccine arrived at the Cairo International Airport on May 21. It is believed that the WHO's validation of China's two vaccines will further help the global fight against the pandemic, and boost confidence in defeating the virus through international cooperation. For countries with limited resources of medical technology, inactivated vaccines like the Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines have a great advantage when it comes to putting into use, said Lu, the professor in Germany. "The higher the trust in the vaccines available on the market, the quicker the world can advance to its goal of a high global protection against the COVID-19 pandemic," said Neville Calleja, head of the Department of Public Health at the University of Malta. "The quicker this is achieved, the less the time available for the virus to mutate ... As for the variants that occur, it is increasingly clear that collaboration between manufacturers is key for the creation of boosters later on," Calleja told Xinhua. (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun) Matt Cahill is a digital editor at The Virginian-Pilot. He grew up in Hampton Roads and joined the staff in 2012 after working as a sports clerk at the Daily Press. He hasn't ruled out a career as a professional bowler. RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- Immersive virtual reality isn't just for amusement parks, the U.S. Army is funding research that uses it to understand group dynamics. The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, known as DEVCOM, Army Research Laboratory funded scientists at Kent State University's Electrophysiological Neuroscience Laboratory to create an immersive virtual reality lab that can be used in tandem with their other biophysiological technologies to advance an interdisciplinary understanding of group dynamics. Immersive reality combines virtual reality with images, sounds, or other stimuli to provide an engrossing environment. According to Dr. Bruce West, a senior Army scientist, the military is becoming increasingly reliant on small special operations teams, but little is known about how small groups function in these extreme environments. The research team uses cutting edge electrophysiological and physiological equipment to probe team functioning and decision-making under threat. "In order to make valid and efficacious practical recommendations for small special operations teams in the modern global military context and other threat environments, Soldiers can benefit by training in immersive virtual environments to make them feel like they are really there," said Dr. Lisa Troyer, program manager, social and behavioral sciences, ARL. "The immersive virtual reality system at Kent State University is developing more valid, impactful knowledge about how teams and individuals navigate dangerous environments." The lab includes cutting edge virtual reality headsets with three-dimensional eye tracking and omnidirectional treadmills, which can be integrated with EEG and other emerging biometric technologies. "With this lab, ENLoK is generating path-breaking social science discoveries," Troyer said. "The team's efforts are leading the use of immersive virtual reality and capabilities to identify neurological signals of influencers in groups that can support Army missions by better understanding Army influence networks as well as adversarial groups." In earlier research, also funded by ARL and published in Social Psychology Quarterly, the Kent research team conducted a series of experiments manipulating status and used brain activity analyses to successfully identify neurological signals during social interaction that are unique to others' perceptions of high status actors and their influence over group members. "Understanding the consequences of status-based behavior in a variety of settings, including small team contexts, can help the Army prepare and train for modern military operations," said Dr. Will Kalkhoff, ENLoK's director and professor of Sociology at Kent State University. "The Army can also use the knowledge we are developing to better understand how influencers in allied groups support Army missions through their social networks or how adversarial groups mobilize." Now, the research team at Kent State is partnering with MILO, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based component of Arotech's Training and Simulation Division that provides immersive training solutions for military and law enforcement organizations around the world. The objective is to improve police and military readiness by integrating rigorous social science with emerging technologies already in use throughout the Department of Defense. "Support and assisted facilitation of this kind of social research is exactly why we established the MILO Cognitive Division," said Robert McCue, MILO's general manager. "Our ultimate goal is to advance the scientific understanding of behavior and decision-making under threat and, in so doing, reduce danger to our servicemen and women and improve mission success by facilitating team functioning under threat." ### Visit the laboratory's Media Center to discover more Army science and technology stories As the Army's corporate research laboratory, ARL is operationalizing science to achieve transformational overmatch. Through collaboration across the command's core technical competencies, DEVCOM leads in the discovery, development and delivery of the technology-based capabilities required to make Soldiers more successful at winning the nation's wars and come home safely. DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory is an element of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. DEVCOM is a major subordinate command of the Army Futures Command. The so-called 'bullshit jobs theory' - which argues that a large and rapidly increasing number of workers are undertaking jobs that they themselves recognise as being useless and of no social value - contains several major flaws, argue researchers from the universities of Cambridge and Birmingham. Even so, writing in Work, Employment and Society, the academics applaud its proponent, American anthropologist David Graeber, who died in September 2020, for highlighting the link between a sense of purpose in one's job and psychological wellbeing. Graeber initially put forward the concept of 'bullshit jobs' - jobs that even those who do them view as worthless - in his 2013 essay The Democracy Project. He further expanded this theory in his 2018 book Bullshit Jobs: A Theory, looking at possible reasons for the existence of such jobs. Jobs that Graeber described as bullshit (BS) jobs range from doormen and receptionists to lobbyists and public relations specialists through to those in the legal profession, particularly corporate lawyers and legal consultants. Dr Magdalena Soffia from the University of Cambridge and the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, one of the authors of the article, said: "There's something appealing about the bullshit jobs theory. The fact that many people have worked in such jobs at some point may explain why Graeber's work resonates with so many people who can relate to the accounts he gives. But his theory is not based on any reliable empirical data, even though he puts forward several propositions, all of which are testable." To test Graeber's propositions, the researchers turned to the 2005-2015 European Working Conditions Surveys (EWCS), examining reasons that led to respondents answering 'rarely' or 'never' to the statement: 'I have the feeling of doing useful work'. The surveys - taken in 2005, 2010 and 2015 - gather measures on the usefulness of the job, workers' wellbeing and objective data on the quality of work. The number of respondents grew from over 21,000 in 2005 to almost 30,000 in 2015. According to Graeber, somewhere between 20% and 50% of the workforce - possibly as many as 60% - are employed in BS jobs. Yet the EWCS found that just 4.8% of EU workers said they did not feel they were doing useful work. The figure was slightly higher in the UK and Ireland, but still only 5.6% of workers. Graeber also claimed that the number of BS jobs has been 'increasing rapidly in recent years', despite presenting no empirical evidence. Again the researchers found no evidence to support this conjecture - in fact, the percentage of people in BS jobs fell from 7.8% in 2005 to just 4.8% in 2015 - exactly the opposite of Graeber's prediction. His next hypothesis was that BS jobs are concentrated in particular professions, such as finance, law, administration and marketing, and largely absent in others, such as those linked to public services and manual labour. "Many service workers hate their jobs; but even those who do are aware that what they do does make some sort of meaningful difference in the world . . . [Whereas] we can only assume that any office worker who one might suspect secretly believes themselves to have a bullshit job does, indeed, believe this," he wrote. When the researchers ranked the occupations by the proportion of people who rated their job as rarely or never useful, they found no evidence for the existence of occupations in which the majority of workers feel their work is not useful. The authors found that workers in some occupations, such as teachers and nurses, generally see themselves as doing useful jobs, while sales workers are above average in the proportion rating their job as not useful (7.7%). Even so, most of the results contradict Graeber's assertion. For example, legal professionals and administration professionals are all low on this ranking, and jobs that Graeber rates as being examples of essential non-BS jobs, such as refuse collectors (9.7%) and cleaners and helpers (8.1%), are high on this scale. Not everything that Graeber suggested was wrong, however. He argued, for example, that BS jobs are a form of 'spiritual violence' that lead to anxiety, depression and misery among workers. The team found strong evidence between the perception of one's job as useless and an individual's psychological wellbeing, albeit a correlation rather than necessarily a causal link. In the UK in 2015, workers who felt their job was not useful scored significantly lower on the World Health Organisation Well-Being Index than those who felt they were doing useful work (a mean average of 49.3 compared with 64.5). There was a similar gap across other EU nations. Dr Alex Wood from the University of Birmingham said: "When we looked at readily-available data from a large cohort of people across Europe, it quickly became apparent to us that very few of the key propositions in Graeber's theory can be sustained - and this is the case in every country we looked at, to varying degrees. But one of his most important propositions - that BS jobs are a form of 'spiritual violence' - does seem to be supported by the data." Given that, in absolute terms, a substantial number of people do not view their jobs as useful, what then leads to this feeling? The team found that those individuals who felt respected and encouraged by management were less likely to report their work as useless. Conversely, when employees experience management that is disrespectful, inefficient or poor at giving feedback, they were less likely to perceive their work as useful. Similarly, individuals who saw their job as useful tended to be able to use their own ideas at work - an important element for feeling that your job provides you with the ability to make the most of your skills - was correlated with a perception of usefulness. There was a clear relationship between the extent to which people felt that they had enough time to do their job well and their rating of the usefulness of their job, suggesting that one source of feeling a job to be useless is the pace at which one is working, affecting the ability to realise one's potential and capabilities. Other factors correlated with feeling that a job was worthwhile included support by managers and colleagues and the ability to influence important decisions and the direction of an organization. Professor Brendan Burchell from the University of Cambridge said: "Although the data doesn't always support David Graeber's claims, his insightful and imaginative work played an important role in raising awareness of the harms of useless jobs. He may have been way off the mark with regards how common BS jobs are, but he was right to link people's attitudes towards their jobs to their psychological wellbeing, and this is something that employers - and society as a whole - should take seriously. "Most importantly, employees need to be respected and valued if they in turn are to value - and benefit psychologically as well as financially from - their jobs." ### Reference Soffia, M, Wood, AJ and Burchell, B. Alienation Is Not 'Bullshit': An Empirical Critique of Graeber's Theory of BS Jobs. WES; 3 June 2021; DOI: 10.1177/09500170211015067 Researchers at the University of Turku, Finland, showed that the antibody treatment reactivates the immune defense in patients with advanced-stage cancer. The treatment alters the function of the body's phagocytes and facilitates extensive activation of the immune system. The immune defense is the body's own defense system equipped to combat cancer. However, cancer learns to hide from immune attacks and harnesses this system to promote its own growth. Therefore, it would be beneficial to be able to return the immune defense back to restricting the advancement of cancer. Macrophages, a type of white blood cell, are central in the fight against cancer. Cancer educates macrophages to subdue the defense system and renders many treatments targeting the immune system ineffective. Academy Research Fellow Maija Hollmen's research group has searched for means of altering the activity of macrophages in order to direct the immune defense to attack cancer. The antibody bexmarilimab, developed based on this research and in collaboration with Faron Pharmaceuticals, is currently undergoing clinical trials in patients. Hollmen's group has studied the changes occurring in the defense systems of patients with cancer following antibody treatment. "In the majority of patients, the antibody treatment activated killer T cells, which are the body's strike force against cancer. Additionally, the antibody treatment successfully lowered the suppressive potential of macrophage precursors travelling in the blood circulation. The patients also showed increases in certain mediators of inflammation and types of white blood cell in the blood," describes Hollmen. "The activation of the killer T cells is a very promising demonstration of the antibody's capability to boost the defense system against cancer. The treated patients had very advanced and poorly treatable cancers, which highlights the significance of the results," says Doctoral Candidate Jenna Rannikko. Bexmarilimab May Benefit Patients for Whom Current Treatment Options Are Ineffective The research also yielded new information on the mode of action of bexmarilimab. The antibody binds the molecule Clever-1 present on macrophages and alters its function. Clever-1 transports material needless to the body inside macrophages to be degraded. Objects disposed in this manner are swept under the rug, in a manner of speaking. This kind of concealment is beneficial for the body's natural balance and helps to avoid stirring the immune defense unnecessarily. "However, cells originating from cancer should be detected. When the antibody is used to block Clever-1 from performing its cleaning job, it facilitates the activation of cells of the immune defense. This in part leads to the waking up of the T cells in patients," describes Doctoral Candidate Miro Viitala. There is demand for treatments that boost the activity of the immune defense since the current options on the market only help some patients. "Bexmarilimab's mode of action is different from the drug treatments against cancer currently on the market. Therefore, it can be beneficial for patients for whom current treatment options are ineffective," concludes Postdoctoral Researcher Reetta Virtakoivu. Maija Hollmen's research group is part of the InFLAMES Flagship which is a joint initiative of University of Turku and Abo Akademi University. The goal of the Flagship is to integrate immunological and immunology-related research activities to develop and exploit new diagnostic and therapeutic tools. The research article has been published in the esteemed Clinical Cancer Research publication series. ### Patients who, perhaps unbeknownst to their health care providers, are in need of genetic testing for rare undiagnosed diseases can be identified en masse based on routine information in electronic health records (EHRs), a research team reported today in the journal Nature Medicine. Findings from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center study suggest that, among the patients of any sizeable health care system, there are hundreds or thousands with undiagnosed rare diseases of the sort where a genetic test could lead to a diagnosis. "Patients with rare genetic diseases often face years of diagnostic odyssey before getting a genetic test, if they get one at all. Our work could contribute to a more systematic and timely approach, alerting providers of patients that might benefit from a genetic test," said the leader of the study, geneticist Douglas Ruderfer, PhD, associate professor of Medicine at VUMC. It's estimated that more than 70% of rare diseases are genetic in origin. According to authors of the study, rare genetic diseases may look quite different from one patient to the next and may go undiagnosed even when well characterized in the medical literature. Using routine EHR data to directly identify patients with specific genetic diseases is, for now, quite challenging: according to the study authors, the current state of knowledge about disease-causing genetic variation is too wanting, and the genetic resolution of current clinical tests is too low. Given this state of affairs, the team developed their predictive model to instead detect patients who fit historical criteria for testing in the eyes of clinicians. To begin, the team developed a range of competing predictive algorithms. For training data, they used EHRs of patients for whom clinicians had ordered a type of genetic test called chromosomal microarray (1,818 cases), and similar patients whose records showed no history of genetic testing (7,326 matched controls). Across the training and test sets, the average age of the patients represented was 8. "We were really aiming to build a model that captured and automated clinical suspicion of a genetic disease," said Theodore Morley, a staff data scientist who worked closely with Ruderfer on the study. With all traces of genetic testing removed from a test set of 2,286 records, a machine learning algorithm emerged as the best performer, correctly classifying 87% of cases and 96% of controls. Also showing high accuracy were independent validation efforts at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital and again at VUMC, with far greater numbers of longstanding patients, cases now defined by evidence in the EHR of interaction with a genetics provider. Importantly, the algorithm also performed well in identifying patients who received genetic tests other than chromosomal microarray. The study supports the hypothesis that, within any EHR population, patients who are to be suspected of having rare genetic diseases are distinguishable via computation thanks to the presence of multiple rare signs and symptoms -- phenotypes, in the language of the study -- that are subject to documentation in the EHR. The team's predictive algorithms used EHR diagnosis codes exclusively (the same codes that drive health care billing), amalgamated for prediction purposes into so-called phenotype codes. "After extensive validation demonstrated high predictive performance, we were really interested in assessing how an implementation of our model might compare to the current status quo for who receives a test, and what the results of those tests are," Ruderfer said. From a set of 6,445 deidentified EHRs corresponding to genotyped patient specimens from BioVU, Vanderbilt's DNA biobank, the algorithm proved accurate in picking out individuals with pathogenic copy number variations, a type of genetic abnormality. In collating this and other findings from the study, the authors estimate there are more than 2,000 patients at VUMC who have an unrecognized, potentially diagnostic copy number variation that could be identified with a genetic test. Among close observers of the study is Josh Peterson, MD, MPH, director of VUMC's Center for Precision Medicine (where Ruderfer is an affiliated faculty member). "The team's predictive model was shown to handily outperform current clinical performance, identifying patients who need testing more quickly and in greater numbers. Crucially, the model also proved portable to another health system. This paper's findings align very well with the push at VUMC to use data science to improve diagnosis of genomic syndromes," Peterson said. ### Others on the study from VUMC include Lide Han, Nancy Cox, PhD, and Lisa Bastarache, MS. They were joined by researchers from Boston and Los Angeles. The study was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health (MH111776). A biomarker in the blood of patients with bowel cancer may provide valuable insight into the risk of cancer relapse after surgery and the effectiveness of chemotherapy. Research published in PLOS found circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) measured before and after surgery provided a reliable marker for predicting whether the cancer would recur following chemotherapy treatment. The ctDNA also provided a real-time measure of the effectiveness of chemotherapy, highlighting the potential for this test to provide an early indication of the success of chemotherapy in eradicating microscopic cancer. At a glance By measuring levels of ctDNA present in the blood of bowel cancer patients after surgery, researchers were able to predict the likelihood of the cancer recurring. Measuring the presence of ctDNA after chemotherapy provided a real time indication of whether the chemotherapy had cleared the cancer. ctDNA could be used as a biomarker in the future to improve patient care and treatment Prognostic impact of ctDNA Led by Associate Professor Jeanne Tie, who is also a medical oncologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Western Health, the research followed a group of patients with metastatic bowel cancer who had secondary cancer in the liver that had been removed by surgery. The study builds on earlier research reported in 2018. The ctDNA test looks for fragments of tumour DNA in a patient's blood before and after the removal of a cancerous tumour. The presence of ctDNA in the blood of patients after surgery provides evidence of remaining microscopic tumours, enabling researchers to predict the likelihood of the cancer reoccurring. Associate Professor Tie said the study once again confirmed the prognostic impact of ctDNA. "What we found is that if ctDNA is present after surgery, it predicts an almost 100 per cent recurrence rate for these patients," she said. "In contrast, for patients who were ctDNA-negative after surgery, the likelihood of the cancer reoccurring was far lower, about 25 per cent." Measuring chemotherapy in real time Associate Professor Tie said ctDNA also provided an indication of the effectiveness of chemotherapy. "This biomarker could also identify whether patients would respond to chemotherapy treatment," she said. "Until now, we had no way of measuring the effectiveness of chemotherapy in real time. The usual process is to do the surgery to remove the cancer metastases, give the patient chemotherapy, and then follow up with CT scans every six to 12 months, to see if the cancer recurs. And if the cancer does recur, you know the treatment hasn't worked. By measuring the ctDNA in the blood, we could immediately see whether the chemotherapy had cleared the cancer and were therefore able to predict the likelihood of the cancer recurring." Associate Professor Tie said ctDNA biomarkers might allow clinicians to intervene earlier. "Cancer that can be detected on a CT scan is unlikely to be curable by chemotherapy. But if we are able to detect microscopic disease, that we can't pick up on a scan, we can intervene earlier and potentially still offer the patient a chance of cure." Promising sign for the future of cancer treatment Associate Professor Tie said while ctDNA technology was already being used in the US, further research was needed before it could be rolled out in Australia. "The test needs to be very sensitive to be able to pick up microscopic cancer cells. I am hopeful the new technology coming through will have enough sensitivity that we will be able to use this technique in the years ahead to improve patient care and treatment," she said. "With further development of this technology, this could also mean patients with a low recurrence risk could avoid unnecessary chemotherapy." ### This work was made possible with support from the National Institutes of Health, the Virginia and D.K Ludwig Fund for Cancer Research, the Victorian Cancer Agency Clinical Research Fellowship, the Victorian Government, the Sol Goldman Sequencing Facility at Johns Hopkins, and the John Templeton Foundation. West Virginia University research shows faith communities have the potential to promote physical wellbeing along with emotional or spiritual health MORGANTOWN, W.Va.--If someone joins a church, mosque or synagogue, they may be seeking better emotional or spiritual health. But according to research out of West Virginia University, faith communities have the potential to promote physical wellbeing, as well. A new study led by Angel Smothers, Stephanie Young and Elizabeth Morrissey--researchers with the WVU School of Nursing--and James Thomas from the School of Medicine's Division of Exercise Physiology suggests that healthcare providers who work directly with a faith community can help congregants stick with an exercise program. Their results appear in the Journal of Interprofessional Education and Practice. "Even in Biblical texts, there were always caregivers who cared for people within early congregations, so it's not a new idea," said Smothers, a clinical associate professor in the Department of Family/Community Health. "But a health ministry program can be from any faith background. It's not just a Christian concept. Regardless of the range of beliefs that different faith communities may subscribe to, the goal of any faith-community healthcare provider is the same: to uncover and address congregation-specific health needs. The study involved 14 participants who were members of a Christian congregation. When the study began in 2018, the participants completed surveys to identify their current exercise habits, describe their general outlook on personal health and pinpoint what--if anything--made adherence to an exercise program difficult. After being guided through a 12-week program of exercise, health education and devotional discussions, they took the surveys again. The participants tended to report more favorable responses regarding whether they had time to exercise and whether they needed more time to sleep or catch up on rest. They also reported improved comfort with exercise on a regular basis. These results suggest that the program encouraged better time management, provided the participants with more energy or did both. That's especially important because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists lack of time and energy as a common barrier to physical activity. Health ministry programs may offer one way to improve the longevity of exercise programs. "We know that when people have social support, they're more likely to engage in activities like these," said Young, a clinical assistant professor and PhD student in the Department of Family/Community Health. "The little research into faith-community nursing that's out there is showing that a spiritual component can be a motivator. If people believe they can serve God better by being healthier--if they believe that God wants them to take care of themselves--then that can be even more internal motivation." For the 12-week study period, the participants attended two hour-long meetings in their church gym twice per week. The first hour consisted of an exercise routine that researchers with the School of Medicine's Division of Exercise Physiology developed. The exercises took participants' safety and physical abilities into account. For example, participants with mobility issues might be assigned activities they could perform while seated, rather than being asked to walk laps around the gym. During the second hour, participants discussed health-related matters with the faith-community nurse, who kept tabs on their health, checked their vitals and answered questions about their medications, their symptoms and ways to preserve their health. "You know, we had young people whose blood pressures were high, and they had no idea until we checked," Smothers said. "It was multidimensional in that some people would come and walk a little, but what they really enjoyed was the devotional and educational piece," Smothers said. "Some people wouldn't feel like walking at all, but they would still come get their blood pressure checked and stay for the education and devotional. Once someone has formed a new walking habit--or made another physical activity part of their routine--the benefits can be numerous. As the CDC reports, they tend to lose weight; lower their blood pressure; reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke, diabetes and some forms of cancer; and alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety. In this case, the program proved so popular that it continued beyond the 12 weeks that the study encompassed. It lasted for more than a year and a half, until COVID brought it to an end. "This project was just one example of how a partnership between faith-community nurses and professionals from another discipline--which, for us, was exercise physiology--can really turn into meaningful pockets of access to care," Smothers said. "Because that's really what this was. It's definitely something that can be done grassroots, by meeting people right where they are." ### GBP/USD Exchange Rate Rises US Manufacturing Buoys Market Mood The Pound US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate rose today. USD has been muted by the risk-on trade. The pairing is currently fluctuating around $1.41. The US Dollar (USD) struggled today as demand for the safe-haven Greenback has slipped on bullish market sentiment. The latest US ISM manufacturing PMI rose to 61.2 in May, sparking confidence in the worlds largest economy and improving market mood. Timothy R. Fiore, Chair of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, commented on the data: The manufacturing economy continued expansion in May. Business Survey Committee panellists reported that their companies and suppliers continue to struggle to meet increasing levels of demand. Record-long lead times, wide-scale shortages of critical basic materials, rising commodities prices and difficulties in transporting products are continuing to affect all segments of the manufacturing economy. In the absence of any notable US economic data today, USD investors are mainly eyeing various speeches from Federal Reserve officials. Any signs of optimism in the US economy would further contribute to global risk sentiment. Pound (GBP) Exchange Rates Edge Higher as Concerns Rise Over Possible Delay to Easing Lockdown Measures in June The Pound (GBP) rose against the US Dollar today following comments from Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Johnson reiterated that there was currently no evidence to delay the easing of lockdown measures later this month. However, the Prime Minister also said that the data was ambiguous about whether enough people were vaccinated against the virus to further allow easing to go ahead on 21 June. As a result, Pound investors are becoming more cautious, as a delay in easing lockdowns would severely impeded the UKs economic recovery. Boris Johnson said: What we need to work out is to what extent the vaccination programme has protected enough of us, particularly the elderly and vulnerable, against a new surge, and there Im afraid the data is still ambiguous. The best the scientists can say at the moment is we just need to give it a little bit longer. GBP/USD Exchange Rate Forecast: Could Strong US PMIs Further Buoy Risk Sentiment? Pound (GBP) investors will be looking ahead to tomorrows release of the latest UK services PMI for May. Any improvement in the UKs largest sector would buoy the GBP/USD exchange rate. GBP investors will also pay close attention to the Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Baileys speech. If he is notably upbeat about the outlook for Britians economy, then the GBP/USD exchange rate would head higher. US Dollar (USD) traders will be eyeing the latest US PMI figures for May. Any indications of a recovery US economy would further boost risk-sentiment and limit the appeal of the Greenback. Thursday, June 3, 2021 We interrupt our regularly scheduled program to bring you some breaking news. Nick Nalli is a brilliant man. I met him a few years ago in Maryland while I was going through documents at the National Archives. He has a great sense of humor and he excels in his job as a climate scientist. His sharp mind allows him to the type of analysis that is beyond mere mortal people, like myself. Nick Nick wrote an amazing paper on the head shot to JFK. I couldn't think of a better person to write an in-depth review of Josiah Thompson's new book, Last Second In Dallas. And, I woke up this morning to some very good news - Nick Nalli has done it again! Here is his review of Last Second in Dallas. You can also click here for a .PDF file of the article which includes animated GIFs. Nick worked on his article with other brilliant people including Paul Hoch, Michael ODell, Max Holland, Francis Corbett, Roland Zavada, Martin J. Kelly, and Louis Girdler. Thanks, Nick! In normal times, a City Council vote over street closures isnt an occasion to bust out a ritzy crown. But a unanimous vote Thursday to close certain downtown streets for the 10-day Fiesta celebration merely a formality was treated with a degree of pomp and-circumstance and as a symbol of San Antonios return to-normal after a year of hardship and death. Were ready to Fiesta, Walter Serna, who heads the Fiesta Commission, told council members. This city needs it. As hospitals filled with COVID-19 patients last year and case counts mounted, Fiesta leaders canceled the annual celebration one of the first developments in which the severity of the pandemic sunk in for many San Antonio residents. The winter surge of the virus further put off the event, initially scheduled earlier this year. Joshua Fechter /San Antonio Express-News On ExpressNews.com: For Fiesta San Antonio fans, even a mini June Fiesta with fewer events and just the Texas Cavaliers River Parade is cause to celebrate Now, as transmission of the coronavirus subsides and the number of fully vaccinated residents grows, the party is on later this month. City leaders and Fiesta officials greeted the celebration as a way to bring the community together. Joshua Fechter /San Antonio Express-News It has been a very challenging year, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. Theres been a lot of work thats gone into getting us to this point to where we can safely conduct a Fiesta. Fiesta royalty, decked out in the celebrations signature flamboyant garb, mingled with sash-wearing City Council members. Nirenberg at least momentarily took off his suit jacket and donned a blue Fiesta vest. I did see a Winnebago without curtains that used to look exactly like that vest, District 8 Councilman Manny Pelaez razzed Nirenberg. I need (Police Chief William) McManus to investigate where those curtains went. Council members got a little bit loose on the occasion. Pelaez confessed that he mistook the Fiesta court for a convention for Central American dictators when he first arrived in San Antonio in 1992. District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry regaled the council with tales of his days as a beer booth babe. But the imminent resumption of Fiesta felt like a collective sigh of relief in council chambers and a sign that the worst of the pandemic is behind the city. We really think this is going to be a great way to bring the city of San Antonio back together and celebrate and start bringing back some normalcy, Fiesta executive director Steve Rosenauer said. On ExpressNews.com: Officials announce 2021 Fiesta schedule Still, leaders implored residents to get vaccinated if they havent or to wear masks if they wont. When we picked June, we said we would only do it if it was safe, Serna said. For those people that are out there still listening, please get vaccinated. Thats the safest way to move forward. Nirenberg concurred. We are at this point because the community has been working together, but there is still work to do, Nirenberg said. The pandemic is not over. jfechter@express-news.net | Twitter: @JFReports KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) A bomb ripped through a minivan in a mostly Shiite neighborhood of the Afghan capital on Thursday, killing at least four people, a police spokesman said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The police spokesman, Ferdaws Faramarz, said the attack happened in western Kabul. The area is largely populated by the minority Hazara ethnic group who are mostly Shiite Muslims. An email purporting to be from a group called White Lies Matter claimed responsibility and said the chair would be returned only if the United Daughters of the Confederacy agreed to display a banner at its Virginia headquarters in Richmond bearing a quote from a Black Liberation Army activist. The email also included images of a fake chair with a hole cut in the seat like a toilet and a man dressed in Confederate garb. A former San Antonio councilman is accused of paying for prostitution, court records show. Christopher "Chip" Haass, 43, was arrested Wednesday near the intersection of South Presa Street and Stratford Court during an undercover operation. San Antonio police said Haass drove up to an officer posing as a prostitute and offered to pay for sexual intercourse. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio police shoot, kill man allegedly threatening officers with knife He was booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center and later released on a $750 bail, according to records. Prostitution is a misdemeanor charge. Haass served as the District 10 councilman from 2003 until 2007. He now works in a governance role for Choose to Succeed, a local nonprofit that promotes charter schools. According to previous Express-News story, he was replaced as the organization's CEO in 2020 by Tom Torkelson, who co-founded IDEA Public Schools. taylor.pettaway@express-news.net The first sign that Texas biggest corporate tax break might be in trouble appeared May 10 on the state House floor. State Rep. Jim Murphy, R-Houston, rose from his desk to explain a bill that would renew and expand the so-called Chapter 313 program, which gives manufacturing and energy companies deep discounts on their school property taxes. The program enjoys wide support in the business community, and lawmakers had renewed it three times by wide margins since its initial passage in 2001. This session, something was different. Across the chamber, skeptical lawmakers from both parties lined up to ask Murphy about his legislation. They offered amendments that stripped away its new business-friendly provisions and even proposed letting voters approve each tax break a move that was unheard of in the history of Chapter 313, which is named after its place in the state tax code. After an hour of debate, Murphy finally made a motion to delay discussion until after the Legislative session, killing his own bill before it could be amended beyond recognition. Murphy wasnt the only lawmaker who tried to renew the program. But none of the bills made it to the governors desk. For the first time since Chapter 313 was created, the Texas Legislature declined to extend the controversial program. Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Key lawmakers said the programs exponential growth - its now saving hundreds of companies more than $10 billion on their taxes over the 10-year life of the agreements - helped raise its profile. And many lawmakers who looked closely at Chapter 313 disliked what they saw. More Information The Houston Chronicle spent months investigating Texas' largest corporate tax break. Read the "Unfair Burden" series at houstonchronicle.com/unfairburden See More Collapse State Sen. Juan Chuy Hinojosa, D-McAllen, was among those who pointed to a Houston Chronicle investigation published days after Murphys proposal imploded, which found that firms announced dozens of projects or even started construction before applying for the incentives. The newspapers investigation revealed that lawmakers had repeatedly undercut the programs job and wage goals by weakening the requirements for companies. The programs gatekeepers the Texas Comptrollers Office and local school boards rarely deny applications. And only one company has ever had to repay a tax break for failing to meet its job-creation target, though dozens have fallen short of those targets. It was being abused by the school districts and the corporations, Hinojosa said. We have known this for years, and every year a promise is made a promise is not kept that it will be reformed, that they will deliver the jobs. They have not. It was time to end it. Lawmakers and lobbyists who tracked the issue said Murphys attempt to expand the program proved to be a strategic blunder because it drew even more attention to a tax break that was already one of the most expensive in Texas. Murphys proposal would have expanded Chapter 313 to grant incentives not just for new projects but also for repairs and renovations of existing facilities. Business groups loved it. But the state Comptrollers office estimated the bill would, through 2049, cost the state an additional $45 billion. That was a huge fiscal note and got everybodys attention, said state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston. That was a light-bulb moment. That bulb came on, and it cast a long shadow. After Murphy explained his proposal, calling Chapter 313 a huge winner for Texas, Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, offered an amendment to strip out the language allowing renovations and repairs to qualify for tax breaks. How long do we continue to give 313 money to organizations that are already here? Tinderholt asked. Theyve made their bed in Texas. Theyre doing business in Texas. Lets reserve this money to bring more business to Texas. The lawmaker to most aggressively question Murphy in support of Tinderholts amendment was not a fellow conservative, however, but San Antonio Democrat Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer. Ultimately, dozens of members of both parties voted in favor of Tinderholts amendment, and then, in similarly bipartisan fashion, tacked on three more revisions. Facing more amendments and finding himself pushing a proposal far different from his original plan, Murphy killed his own bill. Its a matter of political timing, Fischer later said in an interview. Maybe Jim thought the opportunity was ripe for him to move forward. He judged it wrong. Murphy didnt respond to messages for this story. Lawmakers who hadnt known much about the obscure Chapter 313 program were paying attention to the debate on the House floor, Martinez said. The fact that we had a discussion about how expensive this program is and how very little we receive in return, I think folks recognized that this is not a fair program, he said. And I think that echo in the House chamber made its way into the Senate. Senators never weighed Murphys proposal, as it died in the House. But the lower chamber had already passed a more benign bill by Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas, that would simply extend Chapter 313 for two years with no changes. Critics from across the political spectrum including the progressive nonprofit Every Texan, the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, and nonpartisan groups such as the Texas Industrial Areas Foundation felt emboldened by the demise of Murphys proposal. Still, they thought victory would mean ensuring that only Meyers modest two-year extension passed. Then they entered the office of Sen. Lois Kolkhorst. The advocates said Kolkhorst a Brenham Republican who for years has sought to reform Chapter 313 and her staff urged them to lean on senators they thought might let the program expire, and helped them brainstorm amendments that could be offered if the proposal reached the floor. It was clear that she and her staff are all in on fighting it and wanted to think with us about, How do we help create that coalition to fight it and keep it from coming up for a vote, said Joe Higgs, an organizer with Gulf Coast Interfaith, part of the Industrial Areas Foundation network. Thats when we realized, We need to really double down. The advocates were further energized when state Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, the sponsor of the two-year extension bill, sought to stretch the renewal to three years as he introduced the bill in the Senate Committee on Natural Resources & Economic Development. Hinojosa, a member of the committee, called this gambit a bit on the greedy side; Birdwell scrapped the idea by the time the divided group forwarded the bill to the full Senate. Ultimately, Dick Lavine, the senior fiscal analyst for Every Texan, and Doug Greco, an organizer with the Industrial Areas Foundation network, said Sen. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, was prepared to join Kolkhorst in offering amendments to highlight flaws in the program if the bill was called to the floor. The senators did say, Well, listen, Ill start with this amendment and then if that amendment goes on then youll go on with the next two, it will attract votes from the other side, Lavine recalled. In the end, Birdwell, who did not respond to messages seeking comment, told colleagues he couldnt muster the votes to get the bill through the Senate. The clock ran out on the Legislative session with no final showdown on Chapter 313. Unless lawmakers come back during a special Legislative session to revive it, the program will end in December 2022. Existing projects will run their course but no new Chapter 313 deals will be able to be approved. Some senators said the weighty issues of the session the February failure of the state power grid, COVID-19, and fights over guns, abortion and voting rights left no bandwidth for lawmakers to grapple with a program as complex as Chapter 313. Still, it was a stunning defeat for industry groups who warned that the Texas economy would suffer without the program. The Legislature failed to renew Chapter 313, our most important economic development tool, and our neighboring states are surely celebrating to see Texas throw in the towel, said Tony Bennett, president and CEO of the Texas Association of Manufacturers. But even some Chapter 313 supporters said they welcome the opportunity to rethink how to deliver on the programs goals. State Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, said she had planned to support Meyers bill, but is glad there is more time to review the program. People do see that there is some economic benefit and that it can be used as a tool to create jobs, but theres also some aspects that have perhaps invited some overreaching, Alvarado said. Dale Craymer, president of Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, which has long been among the programs top boosters, said he has little interest in maintaining Chapter 313 in its current form. Wed like to have an economic development program that works rationally, thats fair, and thats competitive with other states. I dont think Chapter 313 checks all those boxes, he said. Kolkhorst, who said the program will be one of the hottest topics of the interim, said Chapter 313 simply crumbled under its own weight. Ive been so unsuccessful in making changes to the program, Kolkhorst said. But this session, enough members were engaged and said, I think we need to tap the brakes on all of this, and thats exactly what happened. It came to a screeching halt. mike.morris@chron.com PHOENIX (AP) An increasing number of American citizens have been apprehended as they have tried to smuggle illegal drugs into the U.S. since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, an uptick that's come amid travel restrictions at the border with Mexico. For more than a year, the closure of the southern border to nonessential traffic has sharply limited the number of foreign citizens entering the U.S. by land. The rules have been extended until at least June 21, but Mexican authorities have allowed most U.S. citizens to walk or drive south across the border with relative ease. Law enforcement officials and drug trafficking experts say the border rules put in place in April 2020 to curb the spread of the coronavirus and their lopsided enforcement are driving the rise in U.S. citizens involved in borderland drug busts. Mexican traffickers, however, have long recruited Americans for the job. U.S. citizens were apprehended nearly seven times more often than Mexican citizens between October 2020 and March 31 for trying to smuggle drugs in vehicles, U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows. In the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years, Americans were caught roughly twice as often as Mexicans. As cross-border travel shifted to essential travel only, criminal organizations shifted their operations as well, the agency said in a recent statement. It noted it's increasingly seized drugs trafficked by U.S. citizens and by commercial trucks during the pandemic. Both groups are exempt from the restrictions at U.S. land borders. Despite early pandemic disruptions to the global drug trade, illegal substances have since been pouring into the U.S. the world's largest consumer of them. Customs and Border Protection says narcotics seizures along the U.S.-Mexico border have increased slightly in the 2021 fiscal year, while the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said Mexican traffickers' ability to move drugs into the country had stayed largely intact." Most illegal drugs in the U.S., particularly narcotics, enter at the southern border. Americans are critical to these operations, trafficking experts say. The perception is that U.S. citizens are given less scrutiny by Border Patrol and CBP, said Michael Corbett, who worked at the Drug Enforcement Administration for 30 years and is now a narcotics expert witness. Smuggling drugs is a risk management enterprise. Theyre looking for whatever methods they can come across to most safely and efficiently move drugs across the border. Victor Manjarrez, a former Border Patrol sector chief in El Paso and Tucson, said the use of American citizens kind of ebbs and flows. Drug organizations are much more adept at changing than the government is, said Manjarrez, now a professor of border and national security at the University of Texas, El Paso. Customs and Border Protection figures show the agency seized nearly 92,000 pounds (41,730 kilograms) of drugs from vehicles at southern ports of entry between October 2020 and May. U.S. citizens had been apprehended about 2,400 times by late March for drug smuggling during inspections of vehicles crossing those checkpoints. In comparison, just 361 such apprehensions during the same period involved Mexican citizens, who are generally second behind Americans for drug trafficking arrests at ports of entry. Arrests of U.S. citizens who bring drugs through in their bodies also have risen. In the first four months of the 2021 fiscal year, 505 Americans were arrested with drugs concealed in their bodies at southern checkpoints, compared with just 35 people from all other countries during the same period. Though illegal substances brought in by that type of courier represent just a fraction of the overall drugs crossing into the U.S., those apprehensions in fiscal year 2018 were more balanced between U.S. citizens and non-citizens at 467 vs. 386, respectively, Customs and Border Protection data shows. Apprehension numbers for U.S. and Mexican citizens caught driving drugs over the border in recent years also were not as far apart as this year 1,693 vs. 793 in 2018 and 2,694 vs. 1,218 in 2019, respectively. In many cases, drug couriers in the U.S. are recruited for one-off assignments to drive a shipment across the border in exchange for a lump sum payment based on how much product they are transporting, experts say. Yatziri Barboza was one. In March, the 24-year-old from Houston was arrested after an X-ray and further inspection at a port of entry in Laredo, Texas, uncovered nearly 127 pounds (58 kilograms) of liquid methamphetamine concealed in the gas tank of the SUV she was driving, court documents said. Barboza told law enforcement officials that she was to drive the shipment to an undisclosed location in Houston in exchange for $10,000, according to a criminal complaint. Mryna Montemayor, a public defender representing Barboza, did not respond to an email seeking comment. Similarly, 23-year-old Mike Mendoza, also of Houston, was arrested in February after border agents stopped him at the JuarezLincoln International Bridge in Laredo while driving a pickup truck with 132 pounds (60 kilograms) of meth stashed in its tires, according to a criminal complaint. Authorities estimate the street value of the drugs to be $360,000. Abundio Rene Cantu, a lawyer representing Mendoza, said he believes his client was offered a reward in the thousands of dollars. He denied knowing which Mexican criminal organization recruited Mendoza, who had been working in construction. This was not something he was regularly involved in, Cantu said of Mendoza, who pleaded guilty to a drug smuggling charge in March. But generally speaking people sometimes may find themselves in a bind. And so they get caught up with somebody that knows somebody from a Mexican organization, and they offer the money to get involved into this type of activity. Cantu estimates the number of cases he's handled of U.S. citizens facing drug smuggling charges has doubled since 2019. He largely credits the partial closure of the border. Its just opened up that opportunity to get new recruits, he said. U.S. citizens ... people that are struggling financially that are going to be allowed to come in. San Antonio police shot and killed a man they said was threatening officers with a knife early Thursday morning. According to police, officers responded to the 2400 block of Castroville Road after and an unknown person reported a disturbance involving a man with a gun and a knife. Three officers arrived to find the individual up against the side wall of a Family Dollar store. On ExpressNews.com: Body of man found hanging from trees in middle of San Antonio River still has not been ID'd Chief William McManus said the officers attempted to speak with the man, but at some point he pulled out a knife with a 10-inch blade from his backpack. The officers retreated but eventually shot the man after he continued to advance toward them with the weapon, police said. The man was hit several times in the torso and later died at the hospital. McManus said he had not seen the body camera footage during a news conference after the incident. Police did not say if they found a gun on the man. Two of the of officers involved in the shooting have been with the department for 10 and 14 years, respectively. The third officer started with SAPD one month ago. All have been placed on administrative duty, per department policy. taylor.pettaway@express-news.net COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) Authorities in Sri Lanka were trying to head off a potential environmental disaster Thursday as a fire-damaged container ship that had been carrying chemicals was sinking off of the country's main port. The Singapore-flagged MV X-Press Pearl started sinking Wednesday, a day after authorities extinguished a fire that raged on the vessel for 12 days. Efforts to tow the ship into deeper waters away from the port in Colombo failed after the ships stern became submerged and rested on the seabed. The ship's operators, X-Press Feeders, say the fire destroyed most of the ship's cargo, which included 25 tons of nitric acid and other chemicals. But there are fears that remaining chemicals as well as hundreds of tons of oil from the vessels fuel tanks could leak into the sea. Such a disaster could devastate marine life and further pollute the island nation's famed beaches. The disaster has already caused debris including several tons of plastic pellets used to make plastic bags to wash a ashore. The government already has banned fishing along about 80 kilometers (50 miles) of coastline. The ship operator said Thursday that the vessel's stern was resting on the seabed about 21 meters (70 feet) below the surface and the ship's bow was "settling down slowly. It said salvage experts were remaining with the vessel to monitor the ship's condition and oil pollution. The company said its experts were coordinating with Sri Lanka's navy to deal with an oil spill or other pollution. Sri Lankan navy spokesman Indika de Silva said the navy and coast guard were preparing for a spill with assistance from neighboring India. India has sent three ships to help, including one specifically equipped to deal with marine pollution. Colombo port's harbor master, Nirmal Silva, said there had been about 300 tons of oil on board and that experts believe it could have burned off in the fire. But we have to look at the worst-case scenario and we are not saying 100% there is no oil. There is a possibility that there may be some, Silva said. So far we have not seen any oil spill. We consider we are lucky. A ship manifest seen by The Associated Press described the X-Press Pearl as carrying just under 1,500 containers, with 81 of those containers described as carrying dangerous goods. Environmentalist Ajantha Perera said there was the potential for a terrible environmental disaster as hazardous goods, chemicals and oil could be released into the water and destroy marine ecological systems. Charitha Pattiaratchi, a professor of oceanography at the University of Western Australia, said as many as 3 billion tiny plastic pellets had already been released into the sea and were washing up on beaches. He said the pellets, known as nurdles, will persist in the marine environment forever as they are not biodegradable. The fire erupted on May 20 when the ship was anchored about 9.5 nautical miles (18 kilometers) northwest of Colombo and waiting to enter the port. The navy believes the blaze was caused by the vessel's chemical cargo which was carrying from the port of Hazira, India. Sri Lankan police are probing the fire, and a court in Colombo on Tuesday banned the captain, the engineer and the assistant engineer from leaving the country. The government has said it will take legal action against the owners of the ship to claim compensation. Sri Lankas Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said it wouldnt be an easy task to calculate the damage caused to our environment. He told the media late Wednesday that an investigation was underway to determine what went wrong and whether the shipping company was responsible. If this disaster happened due to negligence, then those responsible should be punished, he said. ___ Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributed to this report. CAIRO (AP) Protesters took to the streets in Sudans capital and elsewhere across the country amid tight security on Thursday, demanding justice for the victims of a 2019 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators. The marches commemorate the second anniversary of the deadly June 3 breakup by security forces of a major protest camp outside the militarys headquarters in Khartoum and others in Sudan. The violence came shortly after the military overthrew longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir amid a public uprising against his nearly three-decade rule. Sudan is now on a fragile path to democracy and is ruled by a transitional military-civilian government that faces towering economic and security challenges. Protest organizers say security forces killed at least 128 people during the dispersal and subsequent crackdown in June 2019, which was a turning point in the relationship between the generals and the protest movement that led the uprising against al-Bashir. The crackdown also involved what activists describe as a campaign of rapes and sexual misconduct by troops ordered by the military to crush the pro-democracy movement. Thursdays demonstrations were called by the Sudanese Professionals Association, and the so-called Resistance Committees, which were instrumental in leading protests against al-Bashir. Ahead of Thursday's protests, security forces closed off major roads and streets leading to the government and military headquarters in Khartoum. Video footage later shared online shows protesters gathering outside the Cabinet headquarters and carrying Sudanese flags and posters of those killed in the uprising. The marches came amid mounting frustration among activists who accuse the government of delaying and obstructing investigations and trials related to the crackdown. Todays protest is another test for the commitment of the government to seek justice and protect the freedom of assembly, said activist Nazik Awad, adding that families of the victims are loosing faith in the ongoing investigation process." The protest organizers also renewed calls for an international investigation into the crackdown calls that the army generals have repeatedly dismissed. The government established an independent committee in 2019 to investigate the crackdown, but the panel kept missing its deadlines, angering the victims families and rights groups. Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said in a statement late Wednesday that his government has done its best to achieve justice. But he admitted that its complicated ties with security agencies overseen by the generals, has sometimes slowed down justice and delayed the submission of information prosecutors need for their investigations. It is travesty of justice that two years since this senseless and unprovoked attack on unarmed protesters took place claiming dozens of lives, no investigation report has been published and no-one responsible for the bloodshed has been held accountable. Instead those demanding justice have faced further attacks, said Deprose Muchena, a regional director at Amnesty International. Last month, two protesters were killed when troops opened fire on a demonstration in the capital at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The June 2019 disposal of the Khartoum protest camp also coincided with the end Ramadan. Heat Biologics is seeking a break on local taxes to expand its manufacturing operations in San Antonio with a new venture focused on developing cancer-fighting drugs. In exchange, the North Carolina-based company is offering an economic investment of more than $24 million. Bexar County commissioners discussed offering a 75 percent tax abatement over the next 10 years valued at just over half a million dollars to entice the biopharmaceutical company to bring its operations here. The court has directed its staff to continue negotiations. City officials also are negotiating a potential incentive package with the company. Opening its new subsidiary, Scorpion Biological Services, in San Antonio would create 44 new bioscience jobs with starting salaries of $50,000 within the next three years, according to Heat Biologics. That is 60 percent above the areas median wage, according to the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation, which pushed the company to consider San Antonio over other potential sites, including Houston. On ExpressNews.com: Health care, bioscience overtake military as San Antonio areas top money-generating industry John Davenport /San Antonio Express-News If the local incentive packages are approved, the plan is to build a research facility for Scorpions contract bioanalytical, diagnostic and manufacturing services at the Texas Research & Technology Foundation Merchant Ice Complex, near the East Side on E. Houston St. and N. Cherry St. Cleanroom suites, laboratories and office space would be added to the complex, which houses VelocityTX Innovation Center and BioBridge Globals GenCure lab. Scorpions general manager David Halverson has 30 years of experience running contract development and manufacturing organizations, which allow drugmakers to outsource those duties and focus on marketing the breakthrough therapies. The new 21,000-square-foot facility could be completed in one year, according to the companys application submitted to the Bexar Countys Economic and Community Development Department. Once the building is finished, Scorpion will develop in-house immuno-assays, create biomarkers and operate labs that meet the strictest guidelines to ensure the manufacturing process is of high standards with quality control. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio nonprofit BioMedSA gets more proactive, plans virtual event to match bioscience entrepreneurs with investors Heat Biologics CEO Jeff Wolf said Scorpion would add significant capabilities to its existing operations by tripling its analytical testing footprint and adding manufacturing space. BioMedSAPresident Heather Hanson hailed the move as a huge win for San Antonio. Hanson, who runs the nonprofit advocacy organization that promotes the citys bioscience and health care industry, said the precision medicine venture would be a nice addition to the growing work in this new field. The expansion would be Heat Biologics second San Antonio-based subsidiary after Pelican Therapeutics relocated here in 2017 to focus on developing antibody therapies designed to activate the immune system in cancer patients. Pelican is the recipient of a $15 million state grant from the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas. laura.garcia@express-news.net William St. John, one of three Pearl Harbor survivors in San Antonio, had looked forward to turning 100 on Aug. 28. His family planned to celebrate with 100 balloons. But St. John kept losing weight and finally stopped eating. He died Wednesday, said his son, David St. John. We were really hoping that he would make it to the 28th of August. He just couldnt do it, just couldnt do it, he said. So they kept him comfortable. l was pulling for him, hoping hed make it, but it was his time, David St. John added. Services are pending, but viewing will be scheduled at Mission Park North Funeral Home, 3401 Cherry Ridge, with burial next to his wife, June, at Mission Park South Cemetery, 1700 Southeast Military Drive. Daniel Carde /Contributor St. John was on the ground floor of Americas entry into World War II, which started at dawn on a sleepy Sunday in Hawaii. At 7:55 a.m. on Dec. 7, 1941, waves of Japanese planes appeared out of nowhere, stunning those on the ground and darkening a tropical blue sky with black smoke rising from Battleship Row. His death leaves San Antonio with just two surviving Pearl Harbor veterans: retired Air Force Tech. Sgt. Kenneth Platt, who recently turned 100, and retired Navy Chief Petty Officer Gilbert Meyer, 97. The local Pearl Harbor group had 64 members in 1992, but it has dwindled, particularly in the past two years. Virgil Lee Ward, a former San Antonio resident, died Feb. 28 at his home in Grand Prairie at 102, while Abner James A.J. Dunn died Nov. 23 at his home in Floresville at 98. Dunn was a regular at Pearl Harbor commemorations in Corpus Christi but unknown to the group in San Antonio. On ExpressNews.com: Virgil Lee Ward, a Pearl Harbor veteran who lived in San Antonio, dies at 102 A Japanese strike force of 353 aircraft launched from the decks of four aircraft carriers pounded the Navys Pacific Fleet. The attack lasted just 75 minutes but left 2,403 Americans dead, including 68 civilians. BOB OWEN /San Antonio Express-News Within days, Japanese forces landed near Singapore, took Guam and invaded Thailand, the Philippines and Burma. British Borneo and Hong Kong fell, as did a small U.S. garrison on Wake Island just before Christmas. Now a memorial in Honolulu, the USS Arizona was one of eight battleships, and 21 ships in all, that were damaged or destroyed in the wars most lopsided and humiliating American defeat and the Navys worst ever. The attack missed four U.S. aircraft carriers at sea, which would form the nucleus for American victories that would halt the Japanese momentum by summer. A onetime radioman first class, St. John had just gotten off work with fellow sailor Woodrow Strauss at a new air station, surrounded by three 180-foot towers, on Kaneohe Bay on the island of Oahu. Both couldnt believe what they saw in the distance buzzing aircraft dropping bombs. I was coming off midnight shift, so I was up and about, and was eyeball to eyeball with one of the Japanese pilots, St. John recalled in a 2017 interview. The only reason he didnt shoot me was he had a tower he had to go up and over, so he didnt have a shot at me. And he would have ripped me in half. On ExpressNews.com: Pearl Harbor survivor celebrates 100th birthday at a San Antonio restaurant At 98, St. John struggled with dementia. When he awoke the Saturday before the annual Pearl Harbor Survivors Association luncheon marking the 78th anniversary of the attack in 2019, he knew something big was ahead but was confused about what it was. I asked him if he was ready to go, and he said, Well, whats today? recalled David St. John, 69, of San Antonio, a semi-retired automotive repair shop owner. At first, his father thought it was Thanksgiving. The younger St. John reminded him that they were attending a lunch to honor survivors of the attack, unless you dont want to go. He said, Oh, no! I want to go. I want to go. He says, I remember that! David St. John recalled. It was William St. Johns last reunion gathering. The next year, the lunch was called off because of the coronavirus pandemic. On ExpressNews.com: In search of travel, one farm boy found a war His 100th birthday was a milestone everyone looked forward to, maybe especially St. John himself. He asked if there would be balloons for his party, and my wife said, Oh, yeah, theres going to be plenty of balloons for you, David St. John said. Daniel Carde /Contributor The plan was to have 100 of them. But St. Johns spirits werent the same after his wifes death. COVID-19 came and the family tried a FaceTime visit with David St. Johns daughter in Midland, but it confused him. The family decided against window visits during the pandemic because those, too, could be a problem, given his dementia. His health was on the wane, in any case. St. John became too frail for trips away from the Poets Walk nursing home for lunch at Lubys. He eventually was able to see one or two visitors at a time on a patio with people who had received the COVID vaccine. The younger St. John said he had been with his dad for his last four or five days. I told him, Hey, its OK, Dad. The Lords waiting with open arms. Mom and your brother and your sisters, theyre all there waiting, so its OK. Dont be afraid and dont worry about us. Go ahead and take the leap. sigc@express-news.net As you read this, various city of San Antonio entities are weighing the fate of the historic Whitt Publishing Co. building in the historic Cattlemans Square district near the University of Texas at San Antonios Downtown Campus. Historic buildings have been endangered for some time in San Antonio. Too many have been razed. The Whitt is the latest to face the threat of demolition, placing it on the agendas of several city commissions. On May 5, the Historic and Design Review Commission denied a request to demolish the building at the corner of West Houston and Frio Streets, citing its historic significance. Last Wednesday, the citys Department of Development Services received an anonymous call that the Whitt building was in danger of collapsing. An emergency-demolition-by-neglect case was opened. The Whitt was inspected last week. It was determined the area needed to be secured. Fencing was placed around the building, along with barriers on the sidewalk and street. A structural engineering report determined the buildings columns are stable, but that most of the roof isnt. The report said some of the walls between the columns arent safe either. It set off a process to determine if the building should be stabilized, or whether it should be partially or fully demolished. Since then, the citys Department of Development Services and the citys Office of Historic Preservation have been working to develop an alternative to emergency demolition, both offices said Wednesday. Sometime in the last week, the owners of the building, who also own the Golden Star Cafe, and allowed the building to deteriorate, rented a piece of large equipment. The kind of equipment used to take down structures. Its still sitting there, ready to take the action it seeks. Owners are capitalizing on the worth of the building now that it sits near UTSAs expansion. Advocates representing several neighborhood and historic preservation groups know this drill. Usually, its not just owners who are involved in a rush to demolish a historic structure. Developers, their lawyers and their friends in office are usually involved, too. The Whitt Building and the historic Cattlemans Square District are in District 5, represented by outgoing Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales. The runoff election to determine her successor is Saturday. Those who fear the worst arent being paranoid. Theyre experienced. They remember similar devastating events that destroyed important historic and cultural sites. A commercial real estate site called LoopNet.com, meanwhile, shows a listing for an acre that includes the Whitt. It doesnt mention that its a historic building in the middle of a historic district. Over the Memorial Day weekend, activists held an overnight vigil there. On Tuesday, activists testified before the Zoning Commission, another venue that owners and their lawyers have involved to get their desired outcome. They asked for the Whitts historic designation to be dropped. Luckily, the commission voted for a 30-day continuance until its July 6 meeting. Discussion of the Whitt also was dropped from todays City Council agenda. On Wednesday night, after my deadline, the HDRC was set to hear about the emergency demolition order and potential solutions. The commission might recommend the building be preserved and stabilized. Its concrete columns could remain, along with its facade. The collapsed roof and other debris would be removed. The buildings skeleton could remain, or the walls could be braced and preserved, as the historic Lermas Nite Club was similarly rescued. Its another example of West Side working-class vernacular architecture. Not too long ago, San Antonio had the most Spanish-language publishing houses of any U.S. city. The Whitt was part of that. As council members watch, lets hope they learn the importance of the Whitt building, that they listen to historians like Antonia Castaneda of the Westside Preservation Alliance, who says the Whitt played an integral role in the states Spanish-language press. Lets hope they listen to scholar Tomas Ybarra-Frausto, who points to the Whitts well-preserved Mission Revival parapet, its textured tiles and canopy hooks. He said its demolition would leave a permanent, deep scar on the West Side and downtowns historic fabric. Lets hope council sees how a potential cookie-cutter housing complex and parking lot will ruin the Whitts legacy. Lets hope they learn about Gilberto Whitt, who was taken hostage in Mexico and threatened with death for his political views; and that the author, printer and publisher escaped. And he landed in San Antonio. eayala@express-news.net Hyderabad: Former minister Etala Rajendar has decided to submit his resignation from the Legislative Assembly and also from the TRS on Friday. According to his close aides and relatives, Rajendar will join the BJP in New Delhi in the presence of party president J.P. Nadda and other key leaders on June 8. Also joining BJP, along with him, will be former MLA Enugu Ravinder Reddy and Tula Uma, former chairperson of the Karimnagar zilla parishad. Rajendar returned to Hyderabad after meetings with Nadda, and BJP organisation secretary B.L. Santhosh in the national capital. He informed his followers and well-wishers that the meetings with BJP leaders were fruitful and he has decided to join the party to fight against Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao. Some of his constituency leaders advised him to launch a party by roping all those dissatisfied with TRS leadership. They also suggested that in BJP he may not have the freedom to speak against Chandrasekhar Rao, a problem being faced by some senior leaders who had joined the BJP. Rajendar persuaded them saying that in the given situation, it was better to sail with the BJP which is in power at the Centre and stronger than Congress. He said a new party will be compared to the shortlived Praja Rajyam of Telugu film actor Chiranjeevi and the Telangana Jana Samiti of Prof. Kodandaram. Meanwhile, it is being rumoured that Rajendar wants to field his wife Jamuna for the Huzurabad byelection. If she loses, his image will not be dented much and if she wins it will underscore his clout. News from TRS circles is that Chandrashekar Rao would like to expel Rajendar from the party and complain to the Speaker that he had crossed the party line which warrants disqualification from the Assembly. Interestingly, political analysts and the people are wondering about the outcome if Rajendar submits his resignation to the Speaker and at the same time the TRSLP rakes up its disqualification demand. Meanwhile, Rajender tendered his resignation from the TRS party on Friday. While addressing reporters, he said, "I have resigned from the TRS party and will submit my resignation as Huzurnagar MLA to the Speaker of Telangana Assembly soon." "I have been insulted on several occasions. I am a leader in Telangana and not a slave to the TRS Party," he added. The scapegoat population is skyrocketing. Name a calamity, and there is a conspiracy theory to explain it and a group to condemn for it. Some people and they are legion scorn facts and create their own truth or find distortions in online forums. The result is ugly. Jewish Americans were blamed for the recent airstrikes in Gaza, and Asian Americans have been targeted for a pandemic believed to have originated in China. On Memorial Day, an Asian woman was attacked outside a restaurant in New York City, the kind of incident that has increased to an alarming level, according to a recent United Nations study. Stop AAPI Hate, an advocacy group, reported more than 2,800 hate incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in 2020. The pandemic was cruel enough, but that cruelty was exacerbated for an innocent segment of the population. We need to unite as one people, one nation, President Joe Biden said during his first week in office, after signing an executive action that banned the use of terms such as the China virus and kung flu within the federal government. He called hate an ugly poison, which has long plagued and long haunted our nation. The hate may intensify now that Biden has ordered intelligence officials to redouble efforts to probe the origins of COVID-19, including the theory that it emerged from a Chinese lab. Delighting in the offensive term kung flu, former President Donald Trump spread the Chinese lab theory. In typical Trump fashion, he was high on rhetoric and low on making a factual case. The World Health Organization reported earlier this year it was extremely unlikely, although U.S. scientists complained that the WHO study provided a partial and incomplete picture. Biden, saying intelligence officials were split on whether the virus originated in a Chinese laboratory, told investigators he wants a report within 90 days, with the results of the inquiry to be transparent. Phase 2 of the COVID origins study must be launched with terms of reference that are transparent, science-based and give international experts the independence to fully assess the source of the virus and the early days of the outbreak, Biden said. This is a fact-finding mission. If the intelligence community is divided on the origins of the virus, it is reasonable to intensify the search for answers, no matter where that search may lead. We should not fear the truth, for the truth leads to knowledge, enlightenment and the tools that may help us avoid future calamities. Biden is doing the right thing. The concern is that the investigation, regardless of what it discovers, may exacerbate hostility toward Asian Americans. This could pile tragedy upon tragedy, with hate groups exploiting COVID-19. If the situation were reversed, if an American lab were suspected of being the origin point for the virus, would they want Americans to be assaulted in China? We need to know the truth about the origin of COVID-19 to potentially prevent another pandemic and provide greater understanding about the hell of the past 16 months. But truth, even the pursuit of truth, is distorted by conspiracy theorists and those filled with hate. Thats why all levels of government must be prepared to address assaults against Asian Americans, with forceful investigations and prosecutions of the hate crimes that may result. SOAVE, Italy (AP) Early risers in Venice were surprised Thursday to see a cruise ship nosing down the Giudecca canal for the first time since the start of the pandemic, despite repeated government pledges to reroute such huge vessels due to safety and environmental concerns. The 92,409-ton MSC Orchestra passed through the basin in front of St. Marks Canal around 6 a.m. under tugboat and port authority escort, ahead of the first post-pandemic cruise ship departure from Venice, scheduled for Saturday. Its arrival comes two years and a day after the MSC Opera struck a dock and a tourist river boat in the same canal, an event that underlined safety concerns among anti-cruise ship campaigners. Protests are amping up against the renewal of cruise traffic, just 2 months after Italys culture minister, Dario Franceschini, vowed a definitive stop to the passage of big ships through the heart of the city. They include an open letter by the Venice Heritage non-profit organization, signed by celebrities including musician Mick Jagger, actress Tilda Swinton, filmmaker Wes Anderson and director Francis Ford Coppola. Venice is suffering, and we, citizens of the world, cannot remain deaf to her cries, read the open letter addressed to Italian officials including Premier Mario Draghi, members of his Cabinet, the Venice mayor and the Veneto governor. This fragile entity, (a) world heritage site, cannot survive without our help, the letter added. The signatories laid out 10 priorities for the city, including a stop to the passage of huge ships through Venice and a better management of mass tourism, which saw 25 million tourists visit the city in 2019, before the pandemic shut down global tourism. The Italian government in March passed a decree aimed at definitively blocking cruise ship traffic through Venice, leaving many with the mistaken impression that the ban was already in effect. JC Viens was arriving at St. Marks Square around 6 a.m. for an on-location radio broadcast when he looked up to see an unusual flurry of smaller boats with flashing lights passing through St. Marks Basin. The square was nearly empty, except a few tourists snapping photos of the Doge's Palace as the sun rose behind it. Then I saw this vessel moving very slowly. It was very surprising. I thought cruise ships were not allowed any more in the canal, said Viens, a Canadian communications director who became aware of the controversy over the ships while living in Venice for the second half of 2020 when the drop in tourism reduced even everyday canal traffic. Recalling the fall and the new round of virus restrictions, he said It was quite eerie to see the city so quiet, and also to experience the Giudecca canal without any such vessels. It was impressive to see the peacefulness. After the virus pause, many Venetians aren't happy to see cruise ships return for the first time since January 2020. The No Big Ships Committee is planning to see the Costa Orchestra passengers off with a noisy protest on Saturday. The battle over cruise ships in Venice took focus after the Costa Concordia sank off Tuscany in 2012, killing 32 passengers and crew members. After an initial ban on ships over 40,000 tons in Venice, the industry and authorities reached a voluntary agreement allowing vessels with lower sulfur fuel levels to traverse the lagoon. But the underlying point of contention on having cruise ships in the lagoon at all, as both a safety and environmental hazard, still hasn't been addressed, despite years of studies and proposals. Cruise industry officials say the current government seems the most focused on resolving the issue once and for all. Italys Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility Ministry told The Associated Press that a bidding process would open any day now for ideas aimed at identifying better and structural solutions to realize a new docking area for large ships outside of the Venice lagoon. The new terminal would be used both for cruise and container ships, the ministry said in an email. Meanwhile, in 2022, as a temporary solution a certain number of ships will be able to dock in Marghera, easing transit on Venice, the ministry said. Cruise industry officials have told the AP that Marghera, an industrial port within the Venice lagoon, currently does not have suitable facilities to serve as a passenger terminal. In addition, for it to become even a temporary solution for larger ships, the current docks would have to be extended and a channel would have to be dredged. Jane da Mosto, executive director of the non-governmental organization We Are Here Venice, called on the government to send stronger signals, and return to the 40,000-ton limit. I can understand it taking time to figure out a solution, but why not just have smaller ships come in? da Mosto said. It is days like today that, as Venetian citizens, we want to hear someone formally recognize that what is happening shouldn't be happening, and that they are really trying to clear it up. TIZAMARTE, Guatemala (AP) Alvina Jeronimo Perez tries to avoid going out. She doesn't want to see neighbors. She's even changed the chip in her cellphone since her failed journey to the United States. The 42-year-old woman is fearful her unsuccessful migration could cost her more than she can bear even the single-story concrete block house her husband built on land passed down from her great grandparents in this mountaintop hamlet in south-central Guatemala. Her husband, Anibal Garcia, had recently added another room onto the back. The family had borrowed money to pay for the addition and was having trouble paying. Jeronimo thought she might be able to find the money if she migrated. From afar, it seemed a safe bet. Many others in town, even in her own family, had made similar journeys. Since people were passing (the border), we thought they were going to let us pass, Jeronimo said. The smuggler told her to bring her daughter to make it a sure thing, banking on the idea U.S. authorities wouldn't deport a minor or her parent. He promised her a job in the U.S. that would allow her to pay her debt. So she put the house up as collateral to pay the smuggler $7,700. The deal was that when we had arrived there, we were going to pay that money and they would return (the deed), but it wasnt possible, she said. In March 2020, she and her daughter Yessenia, then 14, left Tizamarte. Three weeks later they were caught entering Texas. They were deported a week after that. When Jeronimo realized they would be sent back, she cried. I thought of everything the trip had cost me. I asked myself What am I going to do? Ive lost everything. ___ This story was supported by The International Womens Media Foundation. ___ Jeronimos story is similar to that of thousands of Guatemalans who scramble to gather the money needed to migrate to the United States. Often it comes from relatives already living in the U.S. or networks of informal lenders. Sometimes migrants must sell their possessions, including their homes, or like Jeronimo, use the deeds as collateral. They are driven by the chance of breaking the cycle of poverty that affects 60% of the country's population. The COVID-19 pandemic initially blunted migration to the U.S. last year, but numbers were soon on the rise again. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported more than 30,000 encounters with Guatemalan migrants at the Southwest border this April. President Joe Biden put Vice President Kamala Harris in charge of finding ways to address the root causes of migration and Harris was scheduled to arrive in Guatemala on Sunday. She has been talking with officials and nongovernmental groups about the forces at play, including poverty, corruption, violence and climate change. She has also expressed interest in groups historically facing discrimination including indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants and LGBTQ communities. The Biden administration fears that an unmanageable number of migrants, especially children and families at the southwest border, will distract from its domestic policy goals even as it tries to present a more compassionate face than its predecessor. Jeronimo is among more than 228,000 Guatemalans deported by the United States since 2015. For many of those, the dream failed. They were sent home with the stigma of failure and staggering debts that cant be paid in a country where the minimum wage is about $11 per day. She, like many others, sees no way out but to try again. Theres an old and rusting white refrigerator in Jeronimos house, though most of the time it's not plugged in: She often has no food that needs cooling and has to save money on electricity. Most of the time it just serves as a stand for the television perched on top. In the dry winter months, the house is dark and cold under its corrugated tin roof. In the rainy season, it is hot and stifling. It sits tight to the dirt road at the entrance to Tizamarte, a village of some 110 families, about 700 people. A five-hour drive from Guatemalas capital, Tizamarte is in the so-called dry corridor, a swath of land extending from southern Mexico to Panama where climate change has evolved into a series of punishing droughts and devastating tropical storms. For people in Tizamarte and other settlements, that means eking out a living with subsistence agriculture to feed their families while harvesting coffee for cash to pay school fees or medicine. Chiquimula, the department or state, where Tizamarte is located, accounts for 10% of Guatemala's exported coffee, according to the National Coffee Association, Anacafe. During the coffee harvest from November to February, the village comes alive with an influx of cash, albeit modest. A picker makes about $8 per sack harvested and can usually fill one or two per day. Jeronimo's husband makes a little extra money by cooking up orders of fried chicken and french fries on a stove at home and selling them for a little under $2 to the pickers. Jeronimo sells basic groceries to passersby from a tiny store in the houses front room. The couple doesnt pick coffee and does not have land to grow it. Garcia raises corn and beans for their own consumption on a small rented plot. They typically get by on two meals a day of corn tortillas, beans and coffee. Their home is unusual in town for having running water. Women and children line up at Tizamarte's five public spigots to fill containers. As in many other parts of Central America, migration to the north has become a tradition. Someone in nearly every family in town has gone to the U.S. or tried to. Anyone who has the opportunity should go, said Adan Rivera, a 40-year-old farmworker. Migrating isnt easy; you put yourself in danger. But there is need. Rivera himself takes his three young sons to harvest coffee because together they can fill three big sacks in a day, earning $24 versus just one he could fill alone. With that, you can buy more food, Rivera said. But when the harvest is over, theres little work, so people leave. So many have left that much of the country survives on remittances they send home. Last year, that accounted for more than 14% of Guatemalas gross domestic product a flow of money that that trickles broadly through villages across the nation. In Tizamarte, its during the hot months from March to October after the harvest is over, when wages and water dry up and food grows scarce, that people migrate. Last year, Jeronimo decided to join them. She and her daughter left early one morning; she wont say exactly how. Jeronimo carried a change of clothes in a small knapsack and 500 quetzales about $65. It was the first time Jeronimo had traveled outside the department of Chiquimula near the Honduras border. For three weeks mother and daughter walked, rode on buses and in cars. Jeronimo says she doesnt recall the details of their route, but also clearly did not want to share them. What stuck in her memory was concern for her daughter, recalling a time when another migrant, frustrated that the girl's weariness might slow the group, had threatened her. She remembered nights spent awake making sure no one tried to harm the teenager. At the Mexico-U.S. border Jeronimo says she doesnt remember what part they spent days locked inside a safe house before crossing into Texas, only to be apprehended hours after entering the U.S. The U.S. Border Patrol held them together for seven days and put them on a plane back to Guatemala City. It was the first time Jeronimo set foot in her countrys capital. Jeronimo said neither she nor her daughter were tested for COVID after being detained or flown back something that led to widespread complaints against the Trump administration's deportation flights during the pandemic. Guatemalas health minister said in April 2020 the same month Jeronimo and her daughter were deported that deportees from the United States were driving up the countrys COVID-19 caseload, adding that on one flight some 75% of the deportees tested positive for the virus. Last year, while much of the world was donning protective masks and learning about social distancing, life went on as usual in Tizamarte. There were few confirmed cases in the area none in Tizamarte and Jeronimo didnt wear a mask until she was in Border Patrol custody. Guatemala has limited health services, especially in rural communities like Tizamarte, and has struggled to obtain COVID-19 vaccine. By the end of May, only 133 of the 61,000 residents in the municipality that includes Tizamarte, had been vaccinated. Jeronimo finally arrived back home without a cent. She had to ask a relative in the U.S. to wire her $50 to buy bus tickets back to Tizamarte. Others in her family had migrated successfully in past years, though at least one attempt ended in tragedy. Jeronimos son-in-law Santiago de Leon left in December 2018 with his 5-year-old son Wilman. They made it to the U.S. But when he found work, De Leon had no way to care for his son and sent him home to his wife on a commercial flight with a friend who had a visa. Wilman was one of at least four children sent back to Tizamarte after helping their parents enter the U.S. in 2019 and 2020, residents recalled. De Leon sends his wife $125 each month to support their three children. Encouraged by his brothers successful journey, 16-year-old Juan de Leon left on his own for the U.S. in April 2019. Transito Gutierrez, Juans mother, said he had left because he wanted to help the family, which sometimes had nothing to eat. Juanito made it into Texas, but was detained by Border Patrol. While in custody he fell ill, was hospitalized and died in Corpus Christi. Guatemalan authorities said he died from a brain infection. He was sent back to Guatemala and buried in Tizamarte. Still, nearly a year later, Jeronimo decided she had to go. She has been with Garcia since they were teenagers. They have three children together, two of whom, Yessenia and her 20-year-old brother, live with them. The house is hers, the land is hers, he said. I built it, but theres nothing in my name. She decided to go. With debts now hanging over the family, Jeronimos mind this past March turned again toward leaving. The coffee harvest and her husband's side business have ended. Soon food would become scarce again. If I could, I would go, Jeronimo said. Fried chicken and frugality helped the family pay $650 toward the loan on the home addition, which was destroyed by tropical storms last year. But they still owe more on that. And there's the $7,700 due for the failed migration attempt. Smugglers in recent years have promised would-be migrants three tries at successfully crossing the U.S. border an acknowledgment that its a large investment that doesnt always pan out. But Jeronimo had hired the smuggler through an intermediary a neighbor who lives about 100 yards away who apparently pocketed a significant portion of the fee, according to Jeronimo. So the smuggler refused to take her again. That neighbor also had arranged a loan for Jeronimo turning to a migrant living in the U.S. and his father, who lives in a town not far away. Those lenders call and send text messages from time to time asking when she will pay. The first deadline was last October and Jeronimo asked for more time. The threats of seizing her house then became so frequent that Jeronimo changed the chip in her phone. The anxiety of potentially losing the house affects Yessenia as well. The teenager says she's willing to take the risk of trying on her own to return to the U.S. Losing the house and being left without anything scares me more, she said. Yessenia has been out of school for two years, because even before the pandemic her parents couldnt afford the school fees. She used to dream of being a police officer and fantasizes about being able to study again and buy new clothes, but the risk to the house looms over everything. I want to save the house and the deed to not be in the hands of someone else, but in our hands, she said. So to help my mom Im going. Yessenias parents disagree. If theres a way, even if it means risking more debt, Jeronimo said she herself will go. That is what makes you desperate enough to migrate, she said. Its pure necessity. FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) A woman and three young children found dead in a home in northeastern Indiana each died of multiple stab wounds, a coroner said Thursday. The Allen County coroner also identified strangulation as a cause of Sarah Nicole Zents death in Fort Wayne. The body of the 26-year-old Zent was found Wednesday morning along with two young boys and a girl: Carter Matthew Zent, 5; Ashton Duwayne Zent, 3; and Aubree Christine Zent, 2. The Allen County coroner did not say how they were related, but local media say the woman was the mother of the children. She was found kneeling beside her bed, with the three children face down on the same bed, according to a probable cause affidavit filed Thursday in Allen Superior Court. About 11 a.m. Wednesday, a man and woman worried about the family went to check on them. As officers approached the home, the couple yelled, He killed them. Theyre dead, court records said. The man accused of killing the four, Cohen Hancz-Barron, 21, was being held without bond following his arrest Wednesday afternoon at an apartment complex in Lafayette more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the scene of the killings. He was moved late Wednesday to the Allen County Jail in Fort Wayne. Fort Wayne Police spokesman Sgt. Jeremy Webb said Hancz-Barron faces four preliminary murder counts, pending a formal charging decision by the Allen County Prosecutors office. Our detectives are still finishing up and putting the case together. That will be reviewed by the prosecutors office and they will file charges as they see fit, he said Thursday morning. Webb said Hancz-Barron had been wanted on an arrest warrant issued in April stemming from a probation violation in northwestern Indianas Starke County. Webb said friends and family identified Hancz-Barron as a suspect in the killings, which police believe occurred between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. Wednesday. Police had asked the public for help finding Hancz-Barron, saying he was armed and extremely dangerous and possibly driving a stolen pickup truck. Webb said Hancz-Barron knew the woman and the three children, but police have not released information on his relationship to the victims. A representative from the victims family asked for privacy in a statement sent Wednesday to WANE-TV, describing it as a very devastating time. Please give us time to process the horrific events that have occurred today, the statement said. A warrant was issued for Hancz-Barron's arrest in April after he walked away from a drug treatment center in Tippecanoe County, where he was serving the remainder of a sentence after pleading guilty in a 2019 robbery case, WPTA-TV reported. In that case, a man told authorities Hancz-Barron pointed a gun at him in Starke County in August 2019 and demanded his wallet. The man said Hancz-Barron told him he needed money because he had a baby on the way, and hed shoot him in the head and bury his body in a ditch if he didn't hand over his wallet. Hancz-Barron pleaded guilty in that case and was sentenced to six years of home detention last year, and given credit for having served 426 days in jail. His sentence was amended in February to allow him to serve his remaining time at Home with Hope, a residential drug treatment program. 3 1 of 3 Hartford Police / Contributed Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Hartford Police / Contributed Show More Show Less 3 of 3 HARTFORD A city man is being held on a $1 million bond on a murder charge in connection with a fatal stabbing on Irving Street Wednesday afternoon, police said. Minutes before 3 p.m., officers responded to the 80 block of Irving Street for a call about a person who had been stabbed. Lt. Aaron Boisvert said the officers found a victim, later identified as Shedrack Bruff, stabbed multiple times. Contributed photo WEST HAVEN Two new faces have joined the citys emergency services after being sworn in at a recent ceremony. Vincent Del Vecchio and Thomas OToole were sworn in as West Havens newest firefighter/paramedics May 28 at the Minor Park Station on Fairfax Street, according to a release from the city. President Biden repeatedly insists that his infrastructure plan will create millions of jobs and labor unions will be the big winners. But interviews with economists, union leaders, government officials and trade groups as well as basic math suggest otherwise. The once dominant trade and construction unions no longer have enough members outside of their strongholds on both coasts and in the Midwest to claim most of the projected infrastructure jobs. By some estimates, two-thirds of these jobs will go to nonunion workers who dominate the construction markets in most states. Biden, in short, appears to be harking back nostalgically to an era of union strength in the private sector that is decades gone. Its going to be really hard for unions, says David Macpherson, an economist at Trinity University who specializes in organized labor. I expect they would get far less than half of the infrastructure jobs. In addition, the overall number of jobs that the $2 trillion American Jobs Plan will generate is a matter of debate. The proposal is so sprawling -- covering roads, bridges, water and transit systems, broadband, the power grid, clean energy, housing and more and the labor market is so unpredictable because of the pandemic that economists are making wildly divergent forecasts. One group says it will create a few million jobs; another says it wont create any jobs. The challenge for economists is particularly difficult in this situation, says Bill Dupor, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. There is a wide range of estimates of the jobs effect of infrastructure spending." In response to these challenges, the Biden administration is trying to put its thumb on the scale to give unions an advantage in securing the jobs that are created and in some projects force nonunion workers to pay union dues to get a piece of the action. North Americas Building Trades Unions and other labor groups involved in cement, iron, electrical and other construction work are in line to benefit from the strategy. Bidens Union Jobs Strategy The administration is pushing prevailing wage requirements on federally backed projects that make it easier for unions to win bids. Democrats say these laws, which often set wages at higher union rates, prevent a race to the bottom by nonunion contractors who pay about 13% less. Nonunion companies that dont like the higher labor costs and compliance headache shun these projects -- to the benefit of unions. Bidens second lever of federal power government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) packs more union clout. The PLAs hand unions control over big and complex developments to provide an ample and skilled workforce and prevent delays. PLAs, which were used on the Hoover Dam and Cape Canaveral, also keep nonunion contractors such as Mohawk Northeast away by imposing union work rules and extra costs. PLAs hurt nonunion contractors and are not fair because the competitive advantage we have is lost, says David Schill, a vice president at Mohawk, which operates in New England. Associated Builders and Contractors, a trade group of mostly nonunion members, and Republican lawmakers aim to undercut Bidens union strategy. They deride it as a Democrat payback to unions that punishes nonunion blue-collar workers and taxpayers. President Biden will receive pushback from the vast majority of the construction workforce and industry as well as some state and local governments, says Ben Brubeck, vice president of regulatory affairs at ABC in Washington. Taxpayers lose when small businesses can't access these jobs. The PRO Act Withers The pressure on the administration to deliver union jobs is rising as one of its major pro-union efforts, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, languishes in the Senate without enough votes. Sens. Mark Kelly and Sinema of Arizona and Mark Warner of Virginia have been the Democratic holdouts. A top priority of organized labor, the PRO Act would change the rules to make it far easier for unions to win collective bargaining rights. More controversially, it would void the right-to-work laws passed by 27 states that give workers a choice of whether to join a union. The legislation, which union leaders see as key to reversing the steady decline in membership, would mostly effect workers in manufacturing plants and warehouses like those run by Amazon. But when given the chance, employees at some companies have voted down unions. Workers at an Amazon facility in Alabama, for example, defeated a union drive in April. With the PRO Act all but dead, trade unions are not in the mood for an infrastructure compromise with Republicans that significantly slashes the plan. While the president has trimmed his proposal from $2.3 trillion to $1.7 trillion in a nod to bipartisanship, its still several times bigger than the offer from Republicans. They also reject Bidens call to raise corporate taxes to pay for it. A big infrastructure package will mean an enormous growth in employment and its going to build roads, bridges and tunnels that the country desperately needs, says David Mallino, legislative director of the Laborers International Union of North America in Washington. The current Republican offer falls short. Clashing Job Forecasts In the face of the obstacles, the administration has offered questionable and misleading estimates of the jobs the plan would produce. Although predictions from economists are all over the map, the administrations go-to estimate is from Moodys Analytics, a Wall Street research firm. Its chief economist, Mark Zandi, said in April that the infrastructure plan would generate about 2.6 million jobs over a decade after calculating the impact of federal spending on economic growth. Zandi wrote that spending on infrastructure when unemployment is high produces more bang for the federal buck, making the next few years an especially propitious time to increase investment. Administration officials then pumped up Zandis estimate for public consumption. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told ABC News in early April that the infrastructure plan will lead to 19 million jobs a number that added the Moodys estimate to the 16 million jobs that the firm said will be created regardless of the plan. Confronted with this fuzzy math, Buttigieg later walked back his overstatement. But a month later Biden stated in a speech in Louisiana that well create up to 16 million good-paying jobs, overstating Moodys forecast six-fold. In fact, the overall effect of the infrastructure plan on jobs may be nil. Thats the conclusion of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. By the time most of the infrastructure spending rolls out in the mid-to-late-2020s, the researchers predict, the economy will have already returned to full employment, eliminating the benefit to jobless workers at the center of Moodys analysis. Improvements to roads and broadband Internet will make the American workforce more productive, but that will be largely offset by the reduction in business investment from higher corporate taxes to pay for Bidens plan. We project that the net effects on employment will be very small, says Alex Arnon, associate director of policy analysis for the Penn Wharton Budget Model. Americas last major infrastructure push, which was part of the Obama administrations Recovery Act, didnt go according to plan. Overall the legislation did provide a needed boost to the collapsing economy. But Dupor of the St. Louis Fed says the $28 billion given to states to fix highways didnt significantly improve them and created only a limited number of construction jobs. How could that be? As President Obama put it in 2010, "There's no such thing as shovel-ready projects," which made it hard for states to quickly spend the money within the allowed two years. In addition, as federal dollars poured into states, Dupor says, they slashed their own highway funding, freeing it for other uses during the recession. Bidens buildout, which is set to occur over a decade, is designed to avoid these pitfalls. Prevailing Wage Violators How many infrastructure jobs go to unions will partly depend on a legal relic of the Great Depression called the Davis-Bacon Act. Congress expanded this prevailing wage law over the years to cover federally backed roads, bridges, airports, dams, schools, housing and community development projects as well as federal buildings like Veteran Affairs hospitals and courthouses. The giant construction union LIUNA, with the support of the Biden administration, is lobbying Congress to expand Davis-Bacon again as part of the infrastructure plan. They want prevailing wage to apply to Bidens ramp-up of wind and solar farm construction, which will be heavily backed by federal tax credits. If developers get a tax break, LIUNA officials say, workers should benefit too with better wages. But prevailing wage has never been tied to tax credits before, making the proposal a tough sell amid moves by Republicans to repeal Davis-Bacon. An unlikely repeal would save taxpayers $12 billion in construction costs over the decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The bigger problem for unions is the widespread noncompliance with Davis-Bacon. The Labor Department found 7,000 to 16,000 violations a year by companies over the last decade, according to department data. To say the violations are common is an understatement, says Irv Miljoner, who enforced prevailing wage laws for decades at the department before recently retiring. Many complaints target nonunion contractors who win bids for prevailing wage projects but then pay workers less undercutting the advantage that the law bestows on unions. In a rare crackdown, S.A. Taylor, a nonunion construction company in Virginia, agreed to a big $560,000 settlement in March after federal prosecutors said the company paid workers significantly less than the prevailing wage on two VA projects and falsified records to try to hide it. The Biden administration is making Davis-Bacon enforcement a priority in preparation for the infrastructure buildout. The enforcement division is hiring investigators after its ranks were depleted during the Trump administration. It now has more than 700 investigators spread across the country, a few hundred shy of Obamas crew. Our goal is to continue to try to put more boots on the ground to make sure we are pursuing the laws, says Jessica Looman, the divisions principal deputy administrator and former building trades official. The administration is also promoting controversial project labor agreements, which convert big developments like Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., into union work sites. PLAs are negotiated with unions before ground is broken. They set the rules of the road on wages, benefits, training programs and more to keep the many contractors on a big project in line and on time. But nonunion contractors like Mohawk Northeast avoid such agreements because they can jack up labor costs. Under these agreements in Connecticut, for instance, Mohawk must hire 70% of its workers from union halls, carry extra insurance to cover them and pay union fees for its nonunion workers who will never enjoy the benefits, says Schill of Mohawk. Already this year there have been four major projects with PLAs that we havent bid, he says. The administrations ability to mandate PLAs on federal projects is limited by laws protecting free competition. In a 2009 executive order, Obama went as far as encouraging federal agencies to consider mandating PLAs on projects on a case-by-case basis after surveying the views of contractors. Obamas order spurred a counter-offensive by PLA opponents. Nonunion companies with Associated Builders and Contractors attacked the proposed agreements in hundreds of surveys, arguing they were anti-competitive. As a result, agencies required them on only about dozen federal projects out of almost 1,900 over the last decade. The order also lifted a ban by the prior Bush administration on the power of states to require PLAs on their own federally backed projects. In response, more than 20 states in the South, Midwest and West passed laws restricting government-mandated PLAs, shielding hundreds of billions of dollars in construction spending from the union-friendly agreements. A handful of states like New York moved in the opposite direction to encourage their use. Construction on the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge just north of New York City shows how the agreements can backfire. When there was a shortage of experienced local union welders, ABCs Brubeck says, nonunion welders in the area declined to work on the bridge because of the PLA. Contractors ended up importing robotic welders from the South to do some of the work and made their handlers join a union. Union leaders, frustrated with the slow PLA rollout under Obama, are now pressing the Biden administration for better results. In May, the Treasury Department encouraged state and local officials to use PLAs on projects funded with $350 billion in pandemic recovery money. The administration is also urging Congress to attach them to upcoming infrastructure construction. Whether the president who calls himself a union man can deliver a huge infrastructure package with a bonanza of union jobs is the test hes yet to pass. Ive worked in the labor movement for 20 years and Im always ready for disappointment, says LIUNAs Mallino. But I have never felt more optimistic in my life about achieving real gains for members with this administration. The UK's farming unions have warned of the increasing dairy production costs the sector faces alongside unsustainable milk prices. The unions have said that the dairy industry is facing an 'extremely challenging year' on the back of spiralling production costs and variable milk prices. It follows new analysis from AHDB which highlights how the milk to feed price ratio for some producers is at a level which historically has led to reducing milk production. Farming unions and other industry groups have previously highlighted the 'haves and have nots' when it comes to dairy contracts. Even those on the best performing contracts would be struggling to keep up with the rising bills, they have warned. NFU dairy board chair Michael Oakes said: For those on the least favourable contracts, we know it means that many may consider cutting production or leaving the industry. "Milk prices may now be improving slightly, but those on certain contracts will have been suffering losses for a while now, which is unsustainable. NFU Scotland milk committee chair, Gary Mitchell said there was a number of farmers who were receiving below the UK average farmgate milk price for April 2021. "The AHDB data is clear; milk supply is likely to suffer if this trend of cost to income is not rectified," he explained. For too long dairy farmers in the UK have been asked to produce a quality product at an unsustainable price - one which inhibits on farm investment and a profitable return for the primary producer. "The whole supply chain from cow to consumer must recognise the severity of this situation. NFU Cymru milk board chair Abi Reader added: Compliance with a huge array of standards is constantly in milk producers minds, to meet consumer demands and trust in the UKs amazing safe and trusted dairy products. "Although those standards are very important to our industry, it comes at a cost and those producers with milk prices below average will be hardest hit." In Northern Ireland, farmers are facing the challenge of constantly rising variable input costs which is 'seemingly relentless', the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) warned. Dairy chairman Mervyn Gordon said: This expands beyond traditional dairy inputs to include many general and capital items needed to run a viable dairy enterprise. Farm workers from the European Union have until the end of of this month to apply for settled status, farming businesses have been reminded. The governments settlement scheme ensures that any EU citizen who does not already have indefinite leave to remain can retain their rights to live and work here. It is available to those who were living and working in the UK in a seasonal, temporary, or permanent capacity before 31 December 2020, With applications for settled status to be in by 30 June, NFU Scotland has told farming businesses that 'time is of the essence' to avoid disruption. Keeping good workers makes good business sense for farmers, said George Jamieson, the union's education and skills policy manager. "We know the significant value that migrant workers bring to the industry and their knowledge and skills developed over years of employment are essential. "As an employer, its vital to be aware of the EU settlement scheme and its impending deadline. Employers of seasonal workers from the EU who worked in the country in 2020 or before can encourage returnee workers to register for pre-settled status. Individuals who achieve pre-settled status can stay in the UK for a further five years from the date that pre-settled status is achieved. Pre-settled status also entitles individuals to up to two years in a row outside the UK without losing their status. This can be a big bonus for the soft fruit sector according to David Michie, NFU Scotland's crops policy manager. Migrant workers are a critical part of the soft fruit and vegetable sectors success," he explained. "Good workers that know the job and return every year are a huge asset to our members businesses, and it is in their best interests to encourage these workers to apply for settled status." Under its influence, the MET has forecast light to moderate rain or thundershowers at many places over north and south coastal AP, Yanam and Rayalaseema from June 4 to 8. (Representational image: PTI) Vijayawada: The southwest monsoon will set in over parts of Rayalaseema in the next 48 hours as the weather conditions are favourable for the movement of the rain clouds. The Amaravati Meteorological Centre said here on Thursday that monsoon had advanced into south Kerala and south Tamil Nadu on Thursday, against the normal date of June 1. The MET authorities said that the onset of the monsoon in Rayalaseema usually begins on June 4 and spreads to parts of north coastal Andhra covering Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam by June 11 and other parts of the state subsequently. Under its influence, the MET has forecast light to moderate rain or thundershowers at many places over north and south coastal AP, Yanam and Rayalaseema from June 4 to 8 as well as thunderstorm and lightning from June 4 to 6. Several parts of AP witnessed scattered rainfall, bringing down the day temperature. The people suffered severe heat wave conditions in the last few days with the temperature rising by up to 3 Celsius. A lack of commercial interest from large breeders is limiting organic farmers access to suitable wheat varieties in the UK, but a new group is aiming to change that. The current breeding system is leaving organic farmers reliant on varieties bred for conventional, high-input systems, or on imported organic varieties from other countries, which can succumb to disease in the UK climate, say researchers. Without wide-scale testing of conventional varieties under organic conditions, growers are further disadvantaged with a lack of information about how these varieties perform in organic systems. To combat this information gap, a team of farmers have been collaborating, first through an Innovative Farmers field lab and then the LiveWheat programme, to trial organic wheat varieties. Their aim is to do what big, conventional breeders have not, and discover which varieties perform best without chemical inputs. If theyre successful, their discoveries could revolutionise organic wheat growing in the UK and put growers themselves in the driving seat for future research. It is 'almost impossible' to get hold of new organic wheat varieties, says Bill Angus, founder of Angus Wheat Consultants, which runs the largest independent wheat breeding programme in the UK, and is supplying the on-farm trials. There is a huge chasm between what organic farmers need, and the system they have, explained Mr Angus. At the moment they get the scraps from the conventional breeding world. The fundamental problem is that the organic market is very small and big companies are not interested in small. Dominic Amos, senior crop researcher at Organic Research Centre (ORC), added: Almost all wheat breeding in the UK is done under high input scenarios, then tested under high input conditions. Since organic growers are therefore reliant on conventionally bred varieties, companies should at least test these under organic conditions, ideally across farms to account for variability in environments and management. But because companies dont do this and the system for testing new varieties is unlikely to change any time soon, Mr Amos believes the on-farm, farmer-led trials could be the solution. We need to work with the system weve got so that we can help organic farmers now, Mr Amos added. The research began with arable farmers in a field lab to grow a large number of wheat varieties under organic conditions to assess traits and identify novel varieties for testing at a larger scale. Since then, research has gained momentum and Defra funding to build LiveWheat, a network of 15 arable farms trialling varieties under real world, organic conditions. Knowledge coming from Innovative Farmers has been used to inform LiveWheat about which varieties might be useful to test at larger scale in their network. Longer term, Mr Amos hopes these farmer groups could develop into a participatory plant breeding network. Were finding out from organic farmers what they want in terms of traits beyond yield, said Mr Amos. These might include spring vigour to help out-compete and even suppress weeds, which is so important in organic systems, as well as a consistent yield, height, grain quality and disease resistance. Oxfordshire contract arable farmer and no-till specialist, James Alexander, is taking part in LiveWheat and has been trialling five varieties on organic land, having first joined the project through the field lab. If youre a conventional farmer, you can gather as much information as you want as theres loads available, said Mr Alexander. But if youre organic there is no trial information. You can look at the recommended list for untreated seeds, but they are still treated with herbicides and mineral nitrogen. So letting farmers trial varieties on a bigger scale allows us to capture real world data, especially because youre not all growing it in perfect Lincolnshire soil. "By pooling our findings were also learning quicker which varieties might be suitable. Mixed organic farmer, Charles Hunter-Smart, in Oxfordshire, is hosting a field lab as part of this activity. He says growing organic milling wheat is challenging and hopes the trials will help him identify varieties that are more economically viable for his farm. We find it difficult to produce consistently good quality milling wheat. Our soils are low in nitrogen and nitrogen is what builds protein. "So were looking for a variety that is naturally high in protein but not to the detriment of yield. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike. We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve. Gov. Jim Justice, somewhat belatedly, has come around to admit that the states vaccination effort has hit a wall and that, at its current pace, we will not reach herd immunity anytime soon. Oak Hill, WV (25901) Today Partly cloudy early with thunderstorms becoming likely during the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High around 85F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms before midnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 63F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Oak Hill, WV (25901) Today Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 83F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms before midnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 63F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. She looked down at her hands, and then back again at the judges on the online panel. Somehow, she managed to make eye contact with all of them. Consistency, she said. Consistency is what brings you success.The next day,the first-ever winner of the online hunt that Femina had conducted through lockdown. This was a quest to showcase the personality and talents of some of Indias most unstoppable women, in keeping with the brands ethos. Sharma had consistently stood out in the four challenges, and impressed the judges with her versatility and confidence. She stood first among equals. She laughs about being happy in not having to actually stand up, confiding, Im just 52. Thats why I never tried for Miss India, though it was a dream.It was a dream that fuelled her journey that began in small town Rajgangpur in Odisha, as part of a Marwari family so conservative that even watching television was a no-no. But her father was so determined that his children should be able to achieve what they set their hearts on, that he broke away from the homestead to live in another town.There, finding themselves bereft of the support that a joint family admittedly provides, they were forced to send their sons and daughter away to boarding school in Rajasthan. Ever independent, Sharma went on to graduate in commerce from Symbiosis College, Pune (because acting is in my blood, and Pune is close to Mumbai), and then, ever practical, she did a course in HR from NMIMS.Sharma gave an impromptu audition outside the college gates, and got a call for a cameo role in the Balaji serial Kasautii Zindagii Kay. It took just two or three days, but I had my foot in the door, she smiles, remembering. It took another 50 to 60 auditions to get a proper show, Jiya Jale on 9x, in which she played the leads youngest sister. Then came Sasural Genda Phool, and popularity. It gave me a lot of recognition, she reveals with touching pride.Sharma worked in television until 2014; her last show was Devon Ke Dev...Mahadev, in which she played Usha, Mahadevs daughter. She stepped away from the bright lightsfor a whilewhen she became a mom. There was much she took away from her time on the small screen. I went into television thinking it was a fun and glamorous job, which, of course, it is. I quickly learned that it is a lot of hard work, and physically and mentally exhausting. I also learned very quickly that it was very important to take care of yourself. And it made me realise that I could be scared of rejection. Being in television also improved her people skills. From being an introvert who loved being alone, I went on to become an extrovert who enjoys talking to people. And this is a skill I have realised is quite necessary in life.Sharma met her to-be husband when she shifted to Mumbai; they dated for six years and married in 2013. Getting married into this amazing family was a game changer. My mother-in-law actually thinks of her daughters-in-law as her daughters. There are very strong women in my family, and I can proudly say that I owe winning the Mrs. Femina title to them.Sharmas businessman husband is also her best friend. We have been together for 14 years now. He is also an actor, so he also understands me as an artiste.Her son is now six, and Sharma believes she truly discovered herself and her strengths after he came into her life. My dream for him is that he becomes a good and happy person. I want him to do whatever it is that makes him happy, and to know that material things are not the key to happiness. I want him to be extremely compassionate and do whatever he can to help people.Becoming a mother brought Sharma much joy, but also a lot of pain. I changed physically when I became a mother, but the fact that people around me changed hurt me. Having been an actor for eight years, I was used to attention but, when I put on weight and gave up work, a lot of people made me feel insignificant. I could not figure out what to do to raise my self-esteem. Then, one day, it struck me that, I love music and dancing, and that if I became a deejay, I wouldnt have to give up my time with my child. It was mostly a night job, so it was perfect. It took self-discipline, but it also brought new excitement into her life, and a sense of achievement. Its quite unnerving when you have to take over the console and play for the crowd, she confesses. Before every session, I feel super scared, but I go ahead and do the best that I can, and that makes me feel like I can do anything.One of the anythings was taking part in the Mrs. Femina online hunt. Sharma saw the call for entries on Instagram. I was so thrilled when I saw it, but I didnt register because I knew, in between my sons online school, my deejaying and my responsibilities at home, it would be very difficult to find time to take part. But my husband pushed me to register; he assured me that he would help out more with our son and home.All of this happened during the lockdown, and the optimist finds plenty to be grateful for through the whole process. The first lockdown was a chance to spend more time with family and to relax, though I dont enjoy relaxing too much. I did quite a few online live sessions on social media and for private parties. I made a lot of dance videos and kept myself occupied. I am grateful to have had the privilege to do that when so many people around us were trying to survive; it breaks my heart to think about that. This lockdown is much more difficult mentally, especially since I was really looking forward to enjoying my opportunities as Mrs. Femina. The title is such a huge honour. I feel that the efforts and hard work that I have put in through my life have led me to earn this recognition. It shows that, when a womans dreams are supported, she is capable of reaching great heights. Now, as the title winner, I think I have a lot of opportunities opened up to me and a lot of responsibilities. I want to use the title to make a difference in my life and in others lives. I think it will give a lot of hope to so many great married women who are capable of doing great things; it is a chance to be recognised for being multi taskers and achievers.Ive realised that if I want to be successful and happy, I need to be consistent. I say successful and happy because, for me, these are two separate things. I know consistency that will bring me closer to my goals. Consistency, for me, is doing something in spite of not feeling motivated or passionate in that moment, but knowing that this is what I need to do if I want to see my visions for my life coming true.I see my life today as a result of everything I have done and the things I did not do. Honestly, I feel I should have worked harder and smarter when I was single. One takes for granted the time that they have. Its only after having my son that I realised the value of time. Every moment spent away from him now has to be either productive or good for my soul. The goals I have now are many more than when I was younger and carefree, and the responsibilities are twice what they were then, so working hard is the only option.Fight for your dreams! It is not easy; it takes courage, effort and sacrifice to make your dreams come true, but it is possible when you have faith in yourself. Fighting doesnt necessarily mean arguing, it means figuring out a way. So figure out what you want, figure out how you can get it and just dont stop until you reach your destination. Be flexible in your strategies, but stubborn about your goals.Also Read: Everything You Need To Know About Mrs Femina Vijayawada: Despite a Supreme Court direction to allow only drugs control authorities to deal with cognisable offences like diversion of certain drugs for Covid and black fungus cure, as per the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, the vigilance and enforcement and the police along with drugs control administration (DCA) are on a spree of booking cases even as their action may fail to stand legal scrutiny. The apex court recently ruled that the police does not have power to make arrests under the Chapter IV of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, which deals with manufacture, sale and distribution of drugs and cosmetics. The court directed drugs inspectors to carry out the arrest as provided in Section 58 of CrPC and report to their superior officers. The Act also specifies the powers of drugs inspectors in Chapter IV Section 22 (D), allowing them to exercise such other powers as may be necessary for carrying out the purpose of this chapter or any rules made under. However, in the wake of rampant diversion of vials like remdesivir which was sold even at nearly 80,000 per vial against the government-fixed price of `3,940 for a certain manufacturer, tocilizumab at about Rs 5-6 lakh a vial against the fixed price at `46,000 and amphotericin B at ` 60,000-`70,000 a vial against the fixed price of `6,248 a vial, meant for cure for Covid and black fungus respectively, teams of officials from vigilance and enforcement, DCA and health formed flying squads in districts and carried out raids and booked cases. Sources in the DCA say that cases are being registered under Sections like 18 (a), (b),(c) of DCA, 1940, and also under relevant sections including 188 of IPC, Disaster Management Act, 2005, under Sections 51 (b), 53, Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and others, during raids on hospitals and black marketeers. They say that booking of cases under sections of various laws will not serve the purpose as they may fail to stand legal scrutiny in a majority number of cases. They say that the drugs inspectors are even being forced to lodge complaints with the police even under IPC sections and also beyond their territorial jurisdiction. For instance, as a drugs inspector is allotted for district-level flying squad, he or she is being asked to file cases with police all over the district and in case, the court asks the jurisdiction of the drugs inspector during the trial for filing cases, the official will face trouble from the court and the case may also fail to stand despite the grave nature of the crime. On an average, five to 10 cases of diversion of vials to black market are registered in each district and the number may be more in districts like Krishna, Guntur, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari and others as such practice has been rampant. The state vigilance and enforcement authorities have booked nearly 70 hospitals in the state for a series of offences including misappropriation, overcharging and other violations dealing with vials and other offences like overcharging the patients for Covid care. Appreciating the efforts to curb such menace in a broader perspective, a section of DCA officials expressed dismay over lack of seriousness in dealing with the situation as they should be confined to book cases under their acts and take the culprits to task as per norms. They are also critical of the police for just serving notices to the accused under section 41 of CrPC instead of arresting them. A senior official from the drugs department said, Though filing of cases under a mix of laws may serve as a deterrent to curb diversion of injections for Covid and black fungus care, they may not stand legal scrutiny and defeat the very purpose of booking cases unless apex court order is complied with in toto. It is good to allow us to confine filing cases only under DCA norms for such offences to stand trial in the court of law. Written for Fethiye Times and with photos by Mike Vickers Feature photo above: Snow at the head of the Gogubeli pass. I thought youd appreciate this chilly vista now that the temperatures are really starting to climb in Fethiye. I know I do If youre fortunate enough to be occupying a window seat on a daytime flight, two features catch the eye as your plane dips down on its final approach into Dalaman airport. Firstly, there are endless rows of dark green dots scattered across the landscape which, upon exiting the airport, you discover are grove upon grove of orange trees. This is definitely polka-dot country, although not the only one Jan and I have seen the landscape north of Malaga in Andalusia is identical, but in that instance the trees are olives. The other notable feature, and frankly its difficult to miss these because theyre really rather lumpy and scattered around all over the place, are the mountains. Turkey is most definitely a mountainous country, although perhaps not quite as much as Nepal, but very definitely more so than The Netherlands. These vary in size from our trio of local peaks, Babadag, Mendos and Cal over Nif way, all the way up to Agri, the Biblical Ararat, over in the far east, which tops out at a highly respectable 5137 metres, a smidge under 17,000 feet in old school measurement. I think youll agree were straying into serious Himalayan territory at that height. The numerous tectonic plates beneath Turkey have been dancing a slow tango with each other for millions of years, resulting in a generously crumpled terrain across almost all of Anatolia, and if you want to drive any distance, you will sooner or later inevitably encounter something high, rocky and very stubborn indeed. When confronted with this situation, there are the two classic options over or around. The road from Fethiye to Isparta is a good example of a route that swings back and forth around some of these ranges, but today I want to talk about going over the top, although not quite in the same heroic way as my grandfather did on the Somme! If youre prepared to leave the main roads behind then theres a good selection of high passes to consider traversing, however, lets stick with just three local routes which can be tackled without significantly tightening parts of the body not talked about in polite society. These have all been chosen not only for relative ease of driving, but also for a sense of adventure and with the added bonus of encountering some really lovely scenery along the way. One route is local to the Fethiye area whereas the other two are a little further inland, and although both of these were mentioned in passing in my previous article on Elmal last year, they are certainly worthy of further examination. The first mountain pass is over the far flank of Babadag and can be reached by taking the Faralya road out of Oludeniz. This road climbs the cliffs above the sea with a distant misty Rhodes floating way over on the horizon. Turn left at the junction beside the radio masts above Butterfly Valley, signed to Karaagac, and follow the road up into the hillside village of Kirme. As with many other outlying areas around Fethiye, theres a slew of new development here, with luxury villas springing up all over the place. I can see why its a very lovely location. Distant Kirme nestling down in the valley below. Having passed through the village, the road rises steadily through the forests as you climb over the high flank of Babadag, revealing stunning views back towards Gemiler Island and Fethiye Gulf beyond. Resist taking any side turnings and drive on through the village. The road then begins to climb in earnest, plunging back into the forest and switchbacking up a series of no-nonsense hairpins, each with its own expansive vista. This climb to the top of the pass has only recently been upgraded from a forest dirt track to tarmac, making it safer, easily manageable and definitely much less destructive on the suspension of your vehicle. Pausing on one of the hairpin bends. It was pretty quiet here, but we could hear the slow drip of water nearby and discovered ..these frozen stalactites by the roadside. In February, you dont have to go particularly high to experience significantly chilly temperatures. Be assured these have now well and truly melted. It was on this stretch back in February that we fetched up behind a Belediye lorry with an industrious gang shovelling hot aromatic tarmac into every pothole they could find. They gave us a cheerful wave as we drove by and, of course, as any driver around here knows, its then your civic duty to drive over this freshly-dumped tarmac to flatten it into the pothole, and we kindly obliged. Five sections of the same road visible through the forest as it swings back and forth above Kirme. The smell of fresh pine was heavenly. The views are tremendous at the top of the pass, on the one side out over a sparkling azure sea, and as the road winds back and forth across the ridgeline, inland towards the high Akdag range which, unsurprisingly for February, was still generously capped with pristine snows. The road meanders through the forest for a long way with glimpses of cliffs and hidden beaches before descending into Karaagac, after which it finally turns away from the coast and heads inland, descending along broad valleys and passing through rural Bogazici and its surrounding farmlands before exiting onto the D400 near the town of Esen. From there, the journey back into Fethiye is on this first-class road. View inland towards a snow-capped Akdag beyond this fertile yayla, or upland valley. Approaching the little village of Bogazici. Any flat land has long been under cultivation here, and the spring planting had already been completed. This route is really quite lovely and theres lots to see, from splendid coastal vistas to little pastoral villages that have not changed much in generations, and on a hot day is a very enjoyable way to spend a few hours at a noticeably cooler elevation than Fethiye. The second mountain pass is one of our favourites the Gogubeli, which connects Seki to Elmal. Leave Fethiye and head towards Seydikemer on the D400, then take the D350 over the mountains towards Antalya and after climbing up onto the rolling Anatolian uplands, turn right towards Seki beside the newly-restored elegant stone Ottoman bridge. If you dont want to drop in on Seki, carry straight on at the roundabout where the hand is holding the apple youll understand when you see it and follow the signs to Elmal. The road soon starts to climb the long flank of the mountains, and as you rise higher and higher, the pines finally give way to gaunt, gnarled junipers, the only trees tough enough to endure the bitter winters experienced at this altitude. Near the summit of the Gogubeli looking over the broad valley back into Mugla province. Big country, big skies. The summit here is at a height of 1850 metres, or just over 6000 feet, where a sign beside the road indicates this crest is also the boundary between Mugla and Antalya provinces. Looking back into Mugla, the panorama is huge, with a breathtaking sweep down across the broad valley far below and beyond, ridge upon ridge of mountains fading into the distance. Turn around and the spectacle into Antayla province is totally different, yet just as beautiful, with steep-sided valleys nestling between great crags and peaks, but whichever way you look, its quite a view. Looking into Antalya province, the topography is entirely different, with deep narrow valleys and craggy peaks. Meeting the local girls out for a leisurely afternoon stroll, always a possibility on any road up country. We bumped into this sociable party near Seki. You can, of course, choose to return to Fethiye the way youve come, tracing your steps back to Seki again and picking up the D350, or, if you wish to carry on to Elmal, the road descends in a steep series of hairpins, and as the height is scrubbed off, the forest pines reappear again, followed by small fields and very pastoral villages before the road emerges from a ravine into the Elmal yayla, a huge flat-bottomed valley noted for its extensive apple orchards. The third mountain pass is one that can be used in conjunction with the above to create a round trip back over the mountains to Seki. On leaving Elmal, take the main road to Finike and Demre and a few kilometres out of town turn right towards Kas and Fethiye. Pass through Dudenkoy and turn right just beyond Beyler, signed towards Yuva This little village nestles right up against the foot of the mountains as if huddling for protection, which is hardly surprising because, although weve descended from the heights of the Gogubeli, the valley itself is still at a significant elevation, with winters cold and snowy. The road above Yuva, looking back towards the Elmal valley, with yet more mountains in the distance Beyond the centre of Yuva, turn right just before the cemetery and follow this road as it starts to climb steadily up the hillside behind the village, taking care as its single track in places and when we last drove it, some sections of tarmac had disappeared completely, the surface reverting to dirt which had benefitted from having a grader smooth out some of the more serious craters and bumps. Enjoying a moment gazing out over the yayla above Yuva. My sister took this photo some years ago and, with the exception of the colour and quantity of my hair, this scene has not changed at all since then. Mountain spring in the Yuva yayla. Judging by the carved cross, it looks like some ancient church columns have been usefully repurposed. This road eventually reaches a low crest before dropping down into a series of enclosed but spacious cultivated yaylas, each blessed with rich brown soil and protected by the surrounding peaks. All are serviced by the one road, so theres no chance of getting lost. The area is fairly remote and sparsely populated, with most seasonal agricultural workers retreating back down to Yuva to sit out the winter in front of a nice warm soba while sipping a glass or two of cay. Im no farmer but that looks like pretty good soil to me. The road winds on for quite a few kilometres past these fields before climbing up to pass over a notch in those distant peaks. The scenery is wonderful as the road winds through the yaylas, no doubt about it, and eventually, leaving the patchwork of fields behind, the road ascends once more, zig-zagging up to reach the head of the pass, this one even higher than the Gogubeli. We always pause here and listen to the silence its so high even the insects are absent. Climbing up to the summit above the Yuva yayla. Once again, the pines have been replaced by junipers because of the altitude. Time for an experiment. Im sure most people understand the nature of our planets atmosphere, where air pressure is greatest at sea level and declines as you gain altitude, but under most circumstances, apart from the occasional popping ears, we are not aware of that change. Well, standing at the top of this pass offers the opportunity to conduct an easy practical demonstration of just how heavy air is and all you need is a plastic water bottle. Ensure the bottle is empty, tighten the cap, pop it into the glove box and forget about it. Well return to this later. The top of the pass is just up behind the car. We love the absolute silence up here. Very calming. Very serene which is a good job because this tortuous road is what confronts you when youve passed over the crest and start descending towards Seki. Back to our journey and cresting the summit brings you into Mugla province once again, the road falling steeply in a series of serpentine switchbacks. Thankfully, this is now a tarmac surface, but when we first came up here it was just a dirt track, heavily scored and pitted with dozens of deep erosion gullies washed out by the winter rains. Jolting violently down that road is the reason why, even today, medical science is still unable to discover the current location of my kidneys! Eventually, as before, fields and farmhouses reappear as the terrain gradually flattens and eventually, this road reaches a junction on the Seki to Elmal route, and from there it is a simple task to return to Fethiye once again. If, after lockdown, you need to banish the last lingering effects of stifling confinement, then there is no better remedy than to get yourself up into the mountains. Those huge skies and distant vistas are balm to the soul and there really is nothing to compare with a lungful or two of cool fresh mountain air, but, as ever, these rural roads do need to be treated with both caution and respect. Surfaces can suddenly become uneven and there are very few barriers, the general principle appearing to be that no sensible driver would go anywhere near the edge. Do drive carefully and be aware of your surroundings at all time so if the unexpected does happen and thats always a possibility you can remain safe and enjoy, just like Wallace and Gromit, A Grand Day Out. And the water bottle? Take a look when you get back to Fethiye and youll see it crushed and flattened. Air is much heavier than you think! Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category Dubber now a standard feature on Cisco Webex Calling and UCM Cloud Dubber compliant Call Recording included in all subscriptions Cisco first Dubber Foundation Partner MELBOURNE, Australia and DALLAS, Texas, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Dubber Corporation Limited (ASX: DUB) (Dubber), today announced that Cisco Webex Calling and Cisco Unified Communications Manager Cloud (UCM) will now include Dubber call recording as part of all Cisco Webex and UCM services at no additional cost to users. See related blog post here. Now, Webex Calling and UCM users with the ability to record any and all conversations as an included feature of their Webex subscription. If a user or business requires additional features such as extended storage, video recording, transcription, sentiment analysis or AI-enriched insights, they can simply upgrade their Dubber plan from within Cisco's Control Hub with immediate access and effect. Business users that have compliance or regulatory requirements to record and store calls can easily ensure recording, replay and data storage via the Cisco Webex platform, meeting their compliance obligations, regardless of the employee work location - a major concern for businesses as a result of the significant shift to remote and hybrid workforce arrangements. "Cisco and Dubber share a common vision of the way that voice data will become a critical resource for all businesses and users in the future. This marks a major milestone in increasing the ubiquity of Dubber as the Unified Call Recording and voice data layer for the world's leading collaboration platforms," said Steve McGovern, CEO, Dubber. Cisco as a Foundation Partner Additionally, Cisco will become Dubber's first major Foundation Partner. The Dubber Foundation Partner Program utilises the scale and native cloud capability of the Dubber platform, enabling a service provider to embed Dubber within their core service and make basic call recording available for every user as a standard feature. Dubber and its Foundation Partners are then able to cross and upsell richer functionality for compliance, AI services, additional storage, insights and more. McGovern added: "Dubber Foundation benefits Cisco and Dubber customers with a required capability as a standard feature while providing for the broader journey whereby the content of calls can be transformed into rich, usable data for compliance, productivity, insights and customer engagement. "Customers worldwide are responding to increased regulatory and compliance obligations for their businesses. Embedding tools, like Dubber call recording, as a standard service that is available to Webex users will help customers meet those requirements while enabling easy access to powerful advanced voice data services," said Lorrissa Horton, Vice President and General Manager of Webex Calling and Online. "The Foundation Partner Program provides Dubber with a significant additional revenue stream while preserving our current revenue models and creating the opportunity to accelerate growth in our core products. Having 100% of a customer base enabled provides Dubber and Cisco the opportunity to significantly drive consumption and uptake of call recording and voice data services on the platform," said McGovern. As well as being an embedded solution, Dubber addresses critical data, privacy and regulatory requirements while providing a simple and easy pathway to richer functionality as it is required. Dubber recordings and AI-enriched data can easily be unified in the Dubber Voice Intelligence Cloud alongside conversations from other end-points such as land-lines and mobile. "Business and Government require more than personal call recording," said James Slaney, COO, Dubber. "They need conversations to be captured in a way that is compliant and converted to data for revenue intelligence, dispute resolution, proactive compliance and customer service. Today's announcement is proof not only of the scalability of Dubber, but the potential we and Cisco see in tapping voice data to improve the performance of businesses and governments worldwide." Background: Dubber on Cisco Webex Calling and UCM Cloud: Available to all Cisco Webex Calling and UCM Cloud users as of today Dubber call recording on Cisco is free for any end user on the Webex Calling or UCM platforms Provides unlimited recordings stored for up to 30 days and is easily upgraded to unlimited storage for longer periods of time. Additional Dubber compliance, storage, transcription and AI plans are available immediately Access Cisco blog post here. Access more informationhere. Access Dubber on Webex via Cisco Control Hub Background: Cisco UCM Cloud & Cisco Webex Calling recording: Cisco UCM Cloud provides enterprise-class call control, session management, voice, video, messaging, mobility, and conferencing services that are scalable, customizable, reliable, private and highly secure. In a sector where call recording is usually the domain of the contact centre, businesses can now switch on specific or all employees immediately paving the way for real-time insights across the entire organisation. Cisco Webex Calling is a cloud-based phone system optimized for businesses of all sizes. It provides essential business calling capabilities for desktop, mobile, and remote workers and is delivered from the global Webex collaboration platform. Webex Calling leverages cloud delivery to provide flexibility, rapid innovation, predictable operating expenses, and instant global scale while protecting on-premises investments by connecting them to the Webex collaboration platform. This announcement has been approved for release by Steve McGovern, CEO, Dubber. About Dubber: Dubber is unlocking the potential of voice data from any call or conversation. Dubber is the world's most scalable Unified Call Recording service and Voice Intelligence Cloud adopted as core network infrastructure by multiple global leading telecommunications carriers in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Dubber allows service providers to offer call recording for compliance, business intelligence, sentiment analysis, AI and more on any phone. Dubber is a disruptive innovator in the multi-billion dollar call recording industry, its Software as a Service offering removes the need for on-premise hardware, applications or costly and limited storage. For more information, please contact: Investors: Simon Hinsley UK Media: James Taylor | The PR Network simon.hinsley@dubber.net james.taylor@thepr.network +61 (0) 401 809 653 +44 (0)7796 138291 AU & NZ Media: Terry Alberstein US Media: Charlie Guyer, Guyer Group for Dubber terry@navigatecommunication.com.au charlie@guyergroup.com +61 (0) 458 484 921 +1 617 599 8830 Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1346523/Dubber_Logo.jpg Capstone Mining Corp. ("Capstone" or the "Company") (TSX:CS) announces that Mr. SeungWan Shon has resigned from the Board of Directors of the Company effective immediately. Mr. Shon was Korea Resources Corporation's nominee elected to the Board of Directors, and served as a member of the Technical, Health, Environmental, Safety and Sustainability Committee. Mr. George Brack, Chairman of the Board, commented, "On behalf of Capstone's Board of Directors, I would like to thank Mr. Shon for his valuable contributions during his tenure and wish him well in the future." ABOUT CAPSTONE MINING CORP. Capstone Mining Corp. is a Canadian base metals mining company, focused on copper. We are committed to the responsible development of our assets and the environments in which we operate. Our two producing mines are the Pinto Valley copper mine located in Arizona, US and the Cozamin copper-silver mine in Zacatecas State, Mexico. In addition, Capstone owns 100% of Santo Domingo, a large scale, fully permitted, copper-iron-gold project in Region III, Chile, as well as a portfolio of exploration properties. Capstone's strategy is to focus on the optimization of operations and assets in politically stable, mining-friendly regions, centred in the Americas. Our headquarters are in Vancouver, Canada and we are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Further information is available at www.capstonemining.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210602006130/en/ Contacts: Jerrold Annett, SVP, Strategy and Capital Markets 647-273-7351 jannett@capstonemining.com Kettina Cordero, Director, Investor Relations Communications 604-262-9794 kcordero@capstonemining.com Americas board director elevated to Chair, as three new board members are elected NEW YORK, June 03, 2021to a two-year term as Chair of Boyden's Board of Directors. Effective immediately, Stevens succeeds Jorg Kasten, Managing Partner, Germany. Three new board members have also been elected: Dina Aki m ova , Managing Partner, Russia; Kath l ee n D u nton , Managing Partner, Germany and EMEA Leader, Private Equity & Venture Capital Practice; and Kris t en Smit , Managing Partner, France. Harmon , Managing Partner, Canada, was re-elected. Board members completing their service are Ulrich Schumann, Managing Partner, Germany and Kjetil Haug-Nodeland, Managing Partner, Norway. Commenting on his election, Stevens said, "It is an honor to serve Boyden as Chair of the Board. My predecessor, Jorg Kasten, and our esteemed President & CEO, Trina Gordon, were exceptional leaders in navigating the pandemic recession. I am energized to work with the Board to support our partners, as they collaborate with our clients across the globe to build high performing executive teams that are prepared to address rapidly evolving challenges." Stevens, who had previously served as Americas Director on the board is also Managing Partner, United States and a member of the firm's global Technology, CEO & Board Services, Professional Services and Social Impact practices. Dina Akimova is Managing Partner and leader of Boyden's Russia office. She focuses on C-level searches and provides clients with broad industry expertise, particularly in industry and financial services. Dina holds a Bachelor's degree from Maxim Gorky Literature Institute and studied leadership at Harvard Business School. Kathleen Dunton is Managing Partner, Germany and EMEA Leader of Boyden's Private Equity and Venture Capital practice. A member of Boyden's global Industrial practice, she has expertise in the professional services, industrial machinery and chemical sectors. She holds a Bachelor's degree in economics and geography from the University of Massachusetts, US. Kristen Smit is Managing Partner, France. She is a member of Boyden's global Healthcare & Life Sciences and Industrial practices, and provides board services and leadership development expertise to clients. Kristen is a former member of Boyden's board. She holds a degree in international business administration from The American University of Paris. About Boyden Boyden is a premier leadership and talent advisory firm with more than 75 offices in over 45 countries. Our global reach enables us to serve client needs anywhere they conduct business. We connect great companies with great leaders through executive search, interim management and leadership consulting solution. Boyden is ranked amongst the top companies on Forbes' Americas Best Executive Recruiting Firms for 2021. For further information, visit www.boyden.com. Contacts: Chris Swee Global Head of Marketing T: +1 914 747 0172 E: cswee@boyden.com Craig Stevens Chair of Board of Directors Managing Partner, United States E: cstevens@boyden.com Photos accompanying this announcement are available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/274d6f36-e734-4023-a4df-2c9bad41d028 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7c4cbbd8-b0c4-4595-b31e-d1d25d634a08 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9281a44c-baab-4521-a2d7-53bb0e71c188 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/dae58c9b-c414-48d3-99c2-304a9b3bbe1f LONDON, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/-- The United States has donated a field hospital valued at $640,000 to the Commonwealth of Dominica in a move that symbolises the longstanding relationship between the two nations. The hospital includes five medical tents, air conditioning systems, a water purification and distribution system and 40 hospital beds. Significantly, the hospital is not permanently fixed to any location and can be erected wherever needed, ensuring that the emergency response is swift and efficient. The donation also came with training from the US manufacturer of the hospital, which Dominica's Ministry of Health attended, the Office of Disaster Management (ODM), the fire and ambulance service and the cadet corps. The hospital will significantly help the island in weather disasters. The effort showcases the United States' commitment to supporting Dominica to strengthen its emergency response. "This initiative is in keeping with the ODM's goal to integrate Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) in our key sectors. The Health Sector will benefit tremendously from this donation as it provides redundancy and additional capacity to our health infrastructure. We are grateful to the US Government for this generous donation and to the instructor and participants of this training programme," remarked Fitzroy Pascal, the National Disaster Coordinator. In recent years, Dominica has made significant strides in mitigating disasters on the island. Since the devastating impact of Hurricane Maria in 2017, the small island has committed to becoming the world's first climate-resilient nation - a quest that has seen support from the international community both near and far. Institutional bodies like the World Bank and the European Union have provided funding for the monumental feat along with countries like the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, international investors have also contributed to Dominica's journey to climate resilience via its popular Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme. Established in 1993 to diversify its economy, Dominica has welcomed foreign investors and their families to become citizens once making an economic contribution to the nation. This can come in either a one-time non-refundable investment into a government fund or through the purchase of pre-approved real estate property. Funds generated from the programme are channelled into various sectors of Dominican society, particularly in financing initiatives in climate resilience. This includes the construction of over 5,000 hurricane-resistant homes for its population, a geothermal plant and resilient infrastructure that abides by the Build Back Better code. In exchange for the investment, economic citizens gain access to increased global mobility with visa-free or visa-on-arrival entry to over 140 destinations, including key business hubs, the right to live, work and study in the country and the option to pass citizenship down through descent. 447867942505, pr@csglobalpartners.com, www.csglobalpartners.com North Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 2, 2021) - Lion One Metals Limited (TSXV: LIO) (OTCQX: LOMLF) (ASX: LLO) ("Lion One" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Chief Operating Officer and senior exploration team for the Company's 100% owned and fully permitted Tuvatu Gold Project located on the island of Viti Levu in Fiji. Patrick Hickey - Chief Operating Officer Mr. Hickey has over 40 years of experience as an engineer and executive in the design and construction of world class mining, petroleum, and power generating operations throughout the world. He has worked for some of the world's leading operators, including Mobil in the USA and in the Middle East, Power in the Czech Republic, BHP Oil Refining in Hawaii, Kinross Gold Corp. in Africa and Spain, and Newmont Gold in Indonesia and Peru. From 2010 to 2014, Mr. Hickey was Chief Executive of the African operations for Kinross Gold Corp., where he was responsible for eight Kinross subsidiaries and projects such as the Tasiast Gold Mine in Mauritania, and the Chirano Gold Mines in Ghana. Prior to that from 2008 to 2010 he served as the President and Managing Director for Sherritt International for the $4.5 billion Ambatovy nickel-cobalt mine in Madagascar, and from 2004 to 2008 served Newmont Mining as the President and Director of the $2 billion Batu Hijau copper-gold mine in Indonesia, and General Manager of the Yanacocha and Minas Conga gold projects in Peru. Mr. Hickey is currently the President and Director of PHNG, a mining consultancy based in Denver, CO. Sergio Cattalani - Senior Vice President Exploration Mr. Cattalani is an experienced economic geologist with over 35 years of experience and distinguished leadership in mineral exploration around the world. Following 3 years in an applied research position with the Mineral Exploration Research Institute in Montreal, Sergio accepted the position of senior geologist for Cominco based out of Noranda, Quebec. Sergio then moved on to Inco, then CVRD-Inco for 12 years as senior geologist where he was responsible for project generation and technical evaluations in Ontario, Quebec, and NWT in Canada, in Turkey, Indonesia, Tasmania and Western Australia, China and Brazil. In 2008 he was appointed Senior Geologist for Hecla Mining focused on South American projects before being appointed Vice President Exploration for Osisko Mining Corporation in 2009 where he managed their exploration and evaluations team in Canada, and subsequently their USA exploration portfolio before Osisko was acquired by Yamana Gold and Agnico Eagle Mines for C$3.9 billion in 2014. In 2016, he was appointed VP Exploration at Newcastle Gold to oversee a 40,000 meter drill program on the Castle Mountain gold project in California prior to the combination of Newcastle, Trek Mining, and Anfield Gold that created Equinox Gold Corp. in 2017. Mr. Cattalani was then appointed by Equinox as Vice President Exploration and retained responsibility for all aspects of exploration at Castle Mountain which now has P&P Reserves of 3.6 million oz. @ 0.56 g/t gold and expected to produce 30,000-40,000 oz. of gold in 2021. More recently, from 2018 to Dec. 2020, Sergio was Economic Geologist in the business development unit of Denver-based EMX Royalty Corp. working with EMX's Capital Group on technical evaluations for investment opportunities worldwide, and in developing EMX's Canadian business unit. Will Ostrenga - Senior Geologist Will Ostrenga commenced his exploration career in 2012 as a contract geologist with Teck Resources at the Noatak lead-zinc project in the Red Dog Mine complex in Alaska, prior to joining Rangefront Consulting in Elko, Nevada, where he managed major drilling programs over the next eight years for client companies such as Kinross Gold and Sumitomo. In May 2019, Mr. Ostrenga was appointed as a Representative Geologist to Novo Resources Corp. for Sumitomo Corporation of Japan where he developed large-scale paleo-placer exploration programs and lead reconnaissance teams that discovered new gold prospects in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Mr. Ostrenga now resides in Nadi and works alongside the Lion One Fiji exploration team. He holds a BSc in geology from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and holds the designation of Certified Professional Geologist (AIPG). Resignation of Stephen Mann The Company announces the resignation of Managing Director Stephen Mann, for personal reasons. The Company would like to thank Mr. Mann for his lengthy service and many contributions including his instrumental role in building Lion One's exploration and drilling division, completion of the Tuvatu Environmental Impact Assessment, the development and commissioning of Lion One's own geochemical laboratory, all in Fiji, in addition to negotiating and securing a significant magnetite royalty on the Olary Creek iron asset in South Australia. The Company wishes Mr. Mann the best in his future endeavours. Grant of Stock Options The Company announces that it has granted 3,500,000 incentive stock options to various directors, officers, and employees at an exercise price of $1.25, valid for a period of five years from the date of grant and subject to regulatory approval. About Lion One Metals Limited Lion One's flagship asset is 100% owned, fully permitted high grade Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project, located on the island of Viti Levu in Fiji. Lion One envisions a low-cost high-grade underground gold mining operation at Tuvatu coupled with exciting exploration upside inside its tenements covering the entire Navilawa Caldera, an underexplored yet highly prospective 7km diameter alkaline gold system. Lion One's CEO Walter Berukoff leads an experienced team of explorers and mine builders and has owned or operated over 20 mines in 7 countries. As the founder and former CEO of Miramar Mines, Northern Orion, and La Mancha Resources, Walter is credited with building over $3 billion of value for shareholders. On behalf of the Board of Directors of Lion One Metals Limited "Walter Berukoff" Chairman and CEO For further information Contact Investor Relations Toll Free (North America) Tel: 1-855-805-1250 Email: info@liononemetals.com Website: www.liononemetals.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release may contain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward looking information. Generally, forward-looking information may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "proposed", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases, or by the use of words or phrases which state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, or might occur or be achieved. This forward-looking information reflects Lion One Metals Limited's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to Lion One Metals Limited and on assumptions Lion One Metals Limited believes are reasonable. These assumptions include, but are not limited to, the actual results of exploration projects being equivalent to or better than estimated results in technical reports, assessment reports, and other geological reports or prior exploration results. 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 Lion One Metals Limited or its subsidiaries to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: the stage development of Lion One Metals Limited, general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the actual results of current research and development or operational activities; competition; uncertainty as to patent applications and intellectual property rights; product liability and lack of insurance; delay or failure to receive board or regulatory approvals; changes in legislation, including environmental legislation, affecting mining, timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; not realizing on the potential benefits of technology; conclusions of economic evaluations; and lack of qualified, skilled labour or loss of key individuals. Although Lion One Metals Limited 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. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Lion One Metals Limited does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86336 It is yet to be confirmed whether Mr Bandyopadhyay, who had indicated on Tuesday he would respond to the notice on proper grounds, had sent his reply to the MHA as the three-day deadline ends on Thursday. ANI Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said the controversy over former chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyays bureaucratic stint was a closed chapter since he had retired. She added, however, that her government would give full support to the retired 1987 batch IAS officer who was pulled up by the Centre through a show-cause notice with penal charges under the Disaster Management Act seeking his explanation for skipping Prime Minister Narendra Modis review meeting on the Cyclone Yaas devastation at Kalaikunda airbase on May 28. Please do not ask me any questions on Alapan Bandyopadhyay. That chapter is over now, the CM told the media about her chief adviser in his presence at Nabanna, the state secretariat. Asked about the show-cause notice by the Centre to Mr Bandyopadhyay, she said: I have already said I would not make comments on him since he has taken retirement. Still, regarding what is happening with him, the government will give full support to him. Though Ms Banerjee did not reveal the nature of her full support to the retired IAS officer, official sources indicated the former bureaucrat is likely to get legal assistance from the state government as the Union home ministry has targeted him legally in its show-cause notice to keep the door ajar for his criminal prosecution, that could lead to a prison term of upto two years or a fine, or both. According to the MHA, Mr Bandyopadhyay, by skipping the PMs meet, acted in a manner tantamount to refusing to comply with the lawful directions of the Central government and is thus violative of Section 51(b) of the Disaster Management Act 2005. That was why he was called upon to explain in writing to this ministry within a period of 3 (three) days, as to why action should not be taken against him under Section 51 of the DM Act 2005 for the aforesaid violation under that law. It is yet to be confirmed whether Mr Bandyopadhyay, who had indicated on Tuesday he would respond to the notice on proper grounds, had sent his reply to the MHA as the three-day deadline ends on Thursday. Successful multi-beam, over-the-air tests in the UK and US advance multi-beam antenna development SES Government Solutions (SES GS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SES, and Isotropic Systems, a leading developer of transformational broadband terminal technologies, announce the successful completion of the first of two milestone next-generation antenna trials with the U.S. Military aimed at unleashing unprecedented information distribution to warfighters across the battlefield. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210602006167/en/ (Photo: Business Wire) The U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army, through the innovative Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) program, are evaluating the ability of Isotropic Systems' optical beamforming antenna to enable frontline armed forces to access high-speed, real-time data simultaneously over multiple commercial and military satellites. First phase dual-beam tests conducted at the Harwell Science, Technology and Innovation Campus near Oxford, UK, have successfully demonstrated transformational optics at the core of Isotropic Systems' multi-beam terminal that are fully capable of linking with multiple satellites at the same time. Over-the-air (OTA) trials conducted at an SES teleport in Port St. Lucie, Florida, also part of phase one, have verified the Isotropic Systems' high-performance multi-beam platform meets military requirements to acquire and track SES' O3b MEO satellites. Phase two trials will test Isotropic Systems' latest antenna prototype over links with SES satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) and medium earth orbit (MEO), demonstrating seamless satellite-to-satellite transitions and a redundant, resilient leap in wartime communications. The DEUCSI trials will wrap up in 2021, ahead of the commercial launch of Isotropic Systems' optical multi-beam antenna production scheduled for 2022, and in time to support SES' new high-throughput MEO constellation satellites coming online, the groundbreaking O3b mPOWER system. "The armed forces and defense agencies are incredibly good at acquiring actionable information, but they run into bottlenecks when they try to distribute that mission-critical data over single beam parabolic antennas and other outdated infrastructure," said Scott Sprague, Isotropic Systems CCO. "These milestone trials with the U.S. Army and Air Force are successfully demonstrating the multi-beam, multi-orbit connectivity and capabilities our high-performance terminals will put in the hands of frontline warfighters and decision makers across the government sector and battlespace." "Next-gen satellites and constellations need equally robust and resilient terminals and ground infrastructure to meet the government's 'Fighting SATCOM' vision," said Pete Hoene, President and CEO of SES Government Solutions, Brigadier General, USAF (Ret.). "Interoperability and multi-orbit capabilities are essential to achieving this vision, and these collaborative trials with the armed forces demonstrate how Isotropic Systems' multi-beam antenna can successfully deliver robust connectivity across our vast MEO and GEO fleet. Each successful phase is a prime example of how the government and commercial partners can develop capabilities in parallel, which is especially important to us as we ready to launch our O3b mPOWER constellation and SES-17 satellite this year. "Without affecting the main communications link, the Isotropic Systems multi-beam terminal can use a second or third link to evaluate the environment to preemptively decide the best routing option at any given time to maximize performance," explained Brian Billman, Vice President of Product Management for Isotropic Systems. "That's the level of differentiating capabilities our terminal roadmap leads to as a result of these important trials with the U.S. military." For further information please contact: About SES Government Solutions SES Government Solutions (SES GS) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SES, the leader in global content connectivity solutions. SES GS operates under a proxy board allowing them to provide services through contracts with the U.S. Government, including classified work. SES GS is exclusively focused on meeting the satellite communications needs of the U.S. Government. Leveraging more than four decades of experience in the government SATCOM market, SES GS offers robust and secure end-to-end satellite communications solutions. Further information can be found at www.ses-gs.com. About SES SES has a bold vision to deliver amazing experiences everywhere on earth by distributing the highest quality video content and providing seamless connectivity around the world. As the leader in global content connectivity solutions, SES operates the world's only multi-orbit constellation of satellites with the unique combination of global coverage and high performance, including the commercially-proven, low-latency Medium Earth Orbit O3b system. By leveraging a vast and intelligent, cloud-enabled network, SES is able to deliver high-quality connectivity solutions anywhere on land, at sea or in the air, and is a trusted partner to the world's leading telecommunications companies, mobile network operators, governments, connectivity and cloud service providers, broadcasters, video platform operators and content owners. SES's video network carries over 8,200 channels and has an unparalleled reach of 361 million households, delivering managed media services for both linear and non-linear content. The company is listed on Paris and Luxembourg stock exchanges (Ticker: SESG). Further information is available at: www.ses.com. About Isotropic Systems Isotropic Systems is developing the world's first multi-service, high-bandwidth, low power, fully integrated high throughput terminals designed to support the satellite industry to 'reach beyond' traditional markets and acquire new customers with a full suite of high throughput services. The company's team of industry experts and scientists has pioneered several firsts in satellite terminal design resulting in a line of terminals that are customizable to meet the performance, cost and power requirements of countless applications from the most complex government defense systems and mobile backhaul solutions capable of extending 5G, to next-gen connected experiences aboard commercial airliners, cruise ships, offshore rigs, and even small fishing boats at sea. Isotropic Systems' Series A funding was led by Boeing to advance space-based connectivity. Further information is available at www.isotropicsystems.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210602006167/en/ Contacts: Jon Bennett Government Affairs, Marketing Communications, SES GS Tel. +1 703 610 0998 jon.bennett@ses-gs.com Melanie Dickie VP Global Marketing Tel. +31 6 14 22 97 62 mdickie@isotropicsystems.com Follow us on: Read our Blogs Visit the Media Gallery > LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Informa Plc (INFMF.PK, INF.L), an Information Services, Advanced Learning, B2B Exhibitions and Events Group, Thursday said it has continued to trade in line with expectations and remains on track to deliver the baseline revenue target for the year 2021 of at least 1.7 billion pounds. In its trading update to coincide with its Annual General Meeting in London, the company reported improving underlying revenue growth in two Subscriptions-led businesses.. The trading reflects further strength in Informa's subscriptions-led businesses and measured confidence in the progressive return of physical events in Mainland China, North America and the Middle East. Stephen Carter, Group Chief Executive, said, 'We remain on track to deliver our revenue commitments through the 2021 Transition Year, whilst continuing to generate positive cashflows. Improving growth in subscriptions, ongoing expansion in Digital Services and the enduring strength of our B2B brands and platforms, gives us increasing confidence in Revitalisation and Growth through 2022-2024.' Taylor & Francis business is on track to return to pre-COVID levels of growth in 2021, with the potential for further improvement in the 2022-2024 Revitalisation and Growth period. In Informa Intelligence, the company said it remains confident of meeting target for 4%+ underlying growth in 2021. The company plans to publish its half-year results on July 29. 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. Latest acquisition further enhances MAPAL Group position as a leading European provider of modern back of house and business analytics hospitality software solutions MAPAL Group ("MAPAL"), a European developer and provider of hospitality management software solutions, today announced the acquisition of Easilys, a leading multi-site restaurant and kitchen management software provider based in France with offices in Paris, Geneva and Barcelona. The acquisition is the latest in a series of investments by MAPAL in complementary hospitality technologies, with a view to combining solutions to create a powerful, integrated back of house multi-site operating system for the hospitality sector. This transaction follows the acquisition of UK-based Flow Hospitality Training in December 2019, US-headquartered Cloud Reputation in 2020 and Sweden-based GetCompliant earlier this year. Easilys was founded in France by three brothers who aimed to change how catering and restaurant groups manage, supply and control their restaurants and kitchens. Easilys seeks to empower restaurateurs to focus on their core passions of cooking and customer experience. The software has been used by more than 5,000 hospitality websites in six countries with the aim to improve margin and drive procurement efficiencies through multiple features including production and recipe management, inventory, RFP management, waste reduction and compliance control. Key customers include Sodexo, Big Mamma Group, Vapiano, Pokawa and over 2,000 schools. The acquisition of Easilys will not only expand MAPAL's existing product offering but also has the ability to boost the group's presence across Europe and France in particular. Following the transaction, MAPAL's software is expected to be used to power more than 50,000 hospitality sites in 54 countries. Jorge Luruena, Founder and CEO of MAPAL, said: "Welcoming Easilys to the MAPAL Group family is very exciting, as we believe it represents one of the missing pieces of our puzzle in offering a full-suite of management tools to the hospitality sector. While we have been active in France for a while, we are excited to grow our presence in the country and use it as a base to grow in neighbouring countries also." Emmanuel Grelaud, CEO and Co-Founder of Easilys added, "Since first meeting the MAPAL team and learning of their vision of an integrated management solution encompassing all the tools a restaurateur needs, I believed it would be a good partnership. In our view, this means great opportunities for our customers, from complementary applications within the same operating system provided by an international partner they can expand with. For us, we believe it is an opportunity for growth across Europe and Latin America." MAPAL Group is backed by funds advised by PSG, a leading growth equity firm partnering with middle-market software and technology-enabled services companies. PSG invested in Mapal Software in 2019 with an aim to support the company's founder and management team to change the European hospitality industry by providing modern back of house software solutions. Since then, MAPAL Group has grown quickly through a combination of organic growth and strategic M&A. Financial terms were not disclosed. MAPAL Group MAPAL Group brings together hospitality industry experts, data scientists and software developers to create MAPAL OS, a management and business intelligence platform powering the world's biggest and best hospitality brands. MAPAL boasts a large portfolio of customers, serving more than 50,000 venues in 54 countries in Europe and the Americas, including KFC, Burger King, Starbucks, Taco Bell, Soho House Co, Compass Group Pizza Hut, Grupo Areas and Five Guys, among others. www.mapal-os.com Easilys As a leading global software provider in France, Easilys is dedicated to chains and groups of restaurants in mass and commercial catering. The application seeks to enable them to improve margin and drive procurement efficiencies through multiple features including production and recipe management, inventory, RFP management, waste reduction and compliance control. Established in the west of France, Easilys is composed of a team of experts in food costs control and sustainable procurement. www.easilys.com PSG PSG is a growth equity firm that partners with middle-market software and technology enabled services companies to help them navigate transformational growth, capitalize on strategic opportunities and build strong teams. Having backed more than 65 companies and facilitated over 300 add-on acquisitions, PSG brings extensive investment experience, deep expertise in software and technology, and a firm commitment to collaborating with management teams. Founded in 2014, PSG operates out of offices in Boston, Kansas City and London. https://www.psgequity.com/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005401/en/ Contacts: For images or further information: James Hacon Chief Marketing Officer MAPAL Group +44 7787408634 LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Pennon Group Thursday reported profit of 1.762 billion pounds or 418.5 pence per share for the full year compared with 206.3 million pounds or 47.7 pence per share during the same period a year ago. Earnings from continuing operations were 31.9 pence per share during the year compared with 35.2 pence per share last year. Revenue for the year increased to 644.6 million pounds from 636.7 million pounds in the previous year. Separately, Pennon Group has announced the acquisition of Bristol Water Group for an enterprise value of 814 million pounds, including assumed debt. Pennon acquires Bristol Water from its indirect shareholders including infrastructure funds advised by iCON Infrastructure LLP, who owns 80% of the shares, and ITOCHU Corporation, owning 20%, for an equity value of 425 million pounds. The company has declared a special dividend of 355 pence this year. It also proposed to buyback up to 0.4 billion pounds. The Board has decided to increase the Group's dividend level by c.9%, an increase of 2 pence per share on a pre-consolidation basis, from 2021/22 on wards. 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. - Caverion Corporation Investor news 3 June 2021 at 10.00 a.m. EEST - PostNord and Caverion enter into a long-term Facility Management partnership in the Nordics HELSINKI, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PostNord, the leading supplier of communications and logistics solutions within the Nordic Region, and Caverion continue their facility management partnership. Caverion provides technical maintenance and customer center services (Caverion Help Desk) at more than 100 locations around Denmark, Sweden and Finland. "We have had a successful transition during the interim agreement and are happy to enter into a long-term partnership. Caverion SmartView is already providing us a real-time view into the activities and conditions of our buildings and improving the transparency. In Sweden, Caverion will also provide us additional modernisation and installation services, as a result of a tender process we just finalised," says Christian Gottsche, Head of PostNord Facility Management. "Supporting PostNord during their interim phase has been our pleasure and we hope to develop our partnership strategically further, also in the field of sustainability. Caverion's target is to support PostNord's core business in the long-run and ensure concrete outcomes, such as energy and cost optimisation, with high customer satisfaction," says Thomas Hietto, Deputy CEO and Head of Caverion's Business Unit Services. Read more about the launch of the partnership (Investor news 14 December 2020) Read more about our Partner services Read more about Caverion SmartView CONTACT: For more information, please contact: Daniel Tabermann, Head of International Sales and key accounts, Caverion Corporation, tel. +358 40 193 1094, e-mail: daniel.tabermann@caverion.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/caverion/r/postnord-and-caverion-enter-into-a-long-term-facility-management-partnership-in-the-nordics,c3360086 The following files are available for download: LONDON (dpa-AFX) - SThree (STHR.L) said that it now expects profit before tax for the 12 months to 30 November 2021 to be materially above market consensus. The company announced an upwards revision of its profit before tax expectations for the financial year ending 30 November 2021. SThree noted that its trading performance during the second quarter has been stronger than expected across the majority of the Group's portfolio. High levels of demand in Life Sciences and Technology have been seen throughout the quarter and there have been continued strong performances from the US, German and Dutch businesses. 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. BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 3.45 am ET Thursday, IHS Markit releases Italy's composite PMI data. Final PMI survey results are due from France and Germany at 3.50 am and 3.55 am ET, respectively. At 4.00 am ET, IHS Markit is set to issue euro area final PMI data. Ahead of the data, the euro traded mixed against its major rivals. While it rose against the franc, it fell against the rest of major rivals. The euro was worth 133.76 against the yen, 1.0975 against the franc, 0.8606 against the pound and 1.2187 against the greenback as of 3:40 am ET. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Cryptology Asset Group (ISIN: MT0001770107; Ticker: CAP:GR), a leading European investment company for blockchain- and crypto-related businesses founded by Christian Angermayer and Mike Novogratz, intends to invest USD 100 million over the next 24 months into crypto-related venture funds. Cryptology will take an entrepreneurial approach in building its fund portfolio and will focus on first time funds and emerging managers, globally, including seeding funds and taking stakes in GPs as well. Christian Angermayer, Founder of Cryptology, explains: "We are at the very beginning of the crypto revolution, and we strive to become one of the leading global investors in this very nascent asset class. Our fund investment strategy will focus on emerging talent, taking a global approach, and will encompass both funds investing in equity stakes of crypto- and blockchain related companies as well as funds investing in crypto assets and tokens." Patrick Lowry, CEO of Cryptology, adds: "There is no better asset class to bet on than crypto, in my opinion. Within just three years, Cryptology has grown invested capital of approx. EUR 27 million into an NAV of approx. EUR 450 million, as of June 1, 2021. This results in an estimated IRR of more than 300% per year, which is an impressive testimony to the tectonic shift we are seeing in front of our very eyes. We will work hard to continue this success story in the coming years and decades. Patrick further elaborates: "With regards to our fund investment strategy, our vision is to collaborate closely with our portfolio funds, offering them access to our broad network and experience, as well as to co-invest alongside them into innovative blockchain companies and crypto assets." Cryptology is one of the few stock-market listed investment companies exclusively focusing on crypto and blockchain related businesses, trading on multiple German exchanges under the ticker symbol CAP:GR and ISIN MT0001770107. Cryptology offers retail and institutional investors unparalleled and easy access, via its daily liquid shares, to an exclusive asset class that is otherwise reserved for a small group of investors, given that most companies and funds in the crypto sector are still private. For example, Cryptology offers indirect participation in iconic crypto giant Block.one, the publishers of EOSIO, and their newly announced exchange, BULLISH. Cryptology's fund investment strategy will strengthen its position as the leading access stock to a global, diversified crypto portfolio. About Cryptology Asset Group p.l.c. Cryptology is a leading European investment company for crypto assets and blockchain-related business models. Founded by Christian Angermayer's family office, Apeiron Investment Group and crypto-legend Mike Novogratz, Cryptology is the largest publicly traded holding company for blockchain- and crypto-based business models in Europe. Noteworthy portfolio companies include crypto-giant and EOSIO software publisher Block.one, leading HPC provider Northern Data, commission-free online neobroker nextmarkets, and crypto asset management group Iconic Funds. Language: English Company: Cryptology Asset Group PLC Beatrice 66 67, Amery Street SLM 1707 Sliema Malta E-mail: info@cryptology-ag.com Internet: cryptology-ag.com ISIN: MT0001770107 WKN: A2JDEW Listed: Regulated Unofficial Market in Dusseldorf EQS News ID: 1203868 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005409/en/ Contacts: Jefim Gewiet Tel:+356 799 85 85 1 Email:jg@cryptology-ag.com 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. PARIS, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Atos and Huma, the digital health innovator, have announced a 5-year strategic global partnership to shift healthcare and clinical trials from hospital to home. The partnership will focus on Huma's modular platform which can power digital 'hospitals at home' up to national scale, as well as support pharmaceutical and research industries to run complex global decentralized clinical trials. The platform is already used in the US and across Europe for illnesses ranging from atrial fibrillation to diabetes to Covid-19. Atos will use its experience in implementing and scaling complex transformation projects to accelerate adoption of Huma's technology. This will include investment by Atos worth up to 20 million split across R&D and go-to-market resources, including dedicated consulting and sales personnel. The investment in R&D will fast-track the integration of the Huma platform with other leading clinical platforms, as well as develop a dedicated video module. The immense pressure exerted by the Covid-19 pandemic on the world's healthcare systems exposed the weaknesses of current models already overstretched with ageing populations and the rising global incidence of chronic conditions. Innovation is needed to improve both patient care and the overall efficiency of the care chain. Atos and Huma's approach means patients are monitored outside of hospital and given timely, proactive clinical intervention ahead of need, ultimately optimizing the use of resources, improving patient outcomes and reducing long-term healthcare costs. Early stage evidence has shown Huma's service, which has already been operating nationally across Germany, England and the UAE, can almost double hospital capacity. Robert Vassoyan, Head of Health & Life Sciences business, Atos, said: "We have great excitement about this partnership, as we are convinced that Atos and Huma can drive a systemic shift from reactive to proactive models of care. Huma is the company we've been looking for in this important mission that resonates with each of us personally as we seek to improve the lives of our family, friends, neighbors and society. This is a partnership worthy of the mission." Dan Vahdat, CEO and Founder of Huma, said: "This partnership takes us to a new league - we have already shown that we can create a service for a new disease area in a matter of weeks, as we did during the pandemic, and that we can go live with over 100 clinics in a day. Atos will supercharge our work so we can offer services at scale, anywhere in the world across delivery of care and pharma collaborations leading to more people living longer, fuller lives." The partnership will benefit from Huma's class-leading software platform and 40+ patents, and Atos' extensive professional service expertise in digital strategy, change management and service management. The 5-year partnership will begin with integration, enabling global go-to-market deployments, but will also combine Atos's expertise of driving digital adoption, support and infrastructure with Huma's digital care, clinical trials and biomarkers. The companies conservatively expect the combined service will reach 100m revenue per year within the first four years. About Atos Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with 105,000 employees and annual revenue of over 11 billion. European number one in cybersecurity, cloud and high performance computing, the Group provides tailored end-to-end solutions for all industries in 71 countries. A pioneer in decarbonization services and products, Atos is committed to a secure and decarbonized digital for its clients. Atos operates under the brands Atos and Atos|Syntel. Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea), listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index. The purpose of Atos is to help design the future of the information space. Its expertise and services support the development of knowledge, education and research in a multicultural approach and contribute to the development of scientific and technological excellence. Across the world, the Group enables its customers and employees, and members of societies at large to live, work and develop sustainably, in a safe and secure information space. www.atos.net About Huma Huma is a global health technology company that helps people live longer, fuller lives. Our modular platform supports digital 'hospitals at home' across different disease areas. In life sciences we power some of the world's largest decentralized clinical trials and studies. Our platform combines artificial intelligence, digital biomarkers and real-world data to advance proactive, predictive care and research. Our 'hospitals at home' help care for patients across the England NHS, Wales, Germany, and the UAE - evidence shows they can double clinical capacity, reduce readmission rates by a third, and reduce costs whilst providing safe, high-quality care. We offer Covid-19 digital services, not-for-profit, to national governments to help fight against the pandemic and have shipped over a million devices that complement our 'hospitals at home' to help power them. www.huma.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1427908/Huma_Logo.jpg Municipal administration Minister Botsa Satyanarayana on Thursday affirmed that three capitals would come into force in AP anytime to ensure distributed development of the three regions of the state. (Photo: Facebook@@BotchaBSN) VIJAYAWADA: The Chief Minister can work from any place and Visakhapatnam will soon start to function as APs executive capital. Municipal administration Minister Botsa Satyanarayana on Thursday affirmed that three capitals would come into force in AP anytime to ensure distributed development of the three regions of the state. He claimed there is no restriction on the Chief Minister and he can work from any place. Satyanarayana said that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had announced three capitals as a policy decision for the uniform development of all areas of the state and, hence, the decision to turn Visakhapatnam as executive capital, Kurnool as judicial capital and Amaravati as legislative capital. He said some evil forces unable to digest the distributed development of AP state went to the court against the implementation of the three capitals decision. The minister asserted that the government would not go back on its decision. He added that the government was working towards resolving legal hurdles and affirmed that court cases cannot stop the CM from working at any place for administrative purposes. Respected automotive executive joins Budapest-based automated driving company BUDAPEST, Hungary, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AImotive, a leading automated driving technology company based in Budapest, today announced that Arnaud Lagandre will be joining its team as Chief Commercial Officer. Arnaud Lagandre brings over 25 years of international automotive experience collected at European, Asian and North American positions at Continental to the Budapest-based team. The executive has a deep understanding of the ADAS and automated driving markets, having spent the past six years leading Continental's ADAS LiDAR segment in Santa Barbara, California. Arnaud led a team of engineers working on developing a solid-state LiDAR for use in automated vehicles, then the global ADAS R&D team, and finally the North American Business Unit. In his new role at AImotive, Arnaud will oversee the company's business efforts, including international sales, managing partner relations and marketing. Speaking about his decision to dive deeper into automated driving, Arnaud said, "The industry has realized that it is very unlikely a single player will be able to launch a safe and reliable Autonomous Driving vehicle entirely on their own. () The time for partnerships, the close collaboration of experts across the board has come." Adding, "I feel the AImotive product portfolio matches an identified need in the industry, to close a gap in both development speed and the reliability of the perception algorithms in corner cases." "Arnaud joining the AImotive team is a major milestone for the company," said Laszlo Kishonti, AImotive's founder and CEO. "The fact that a top executive from a respected automotive company agrees with our vision for an automated future is a strong validation of our philosophy and technology." Arnaud will be based in AImotive's headquarters in Budapest and work with the company's international commercial team in Munich, the US and Japan. To read the whole Q&A with AImotive's new CCO, click here. About AImotive AImotive is one of the largest independent teams in the world working on automated driving technologies. Developing self-driving software, proprietary simulation tools and neural network acceleration hardware IP, we are building an ecosystem to aid the deployment of automated driving. To catalyze industry collaboration, our products are scalable, modular and hardware agnostic. We build on our team's expertise in artificial intelligence, sensor fusion, 3D graphics and real-world automated driving workloads, developed utilizing our global test fleet to support partners in realizing their automated driving goals. AImotive is a privately held company headquartered in Budapest with offices in Mountain View and Detroit in the US and Yokohama, Japan. Follow @AImotiveon Twitter or on LinkedIn, like us on Facebook, or learn more at https://aimotive.com/ Contact Bence Boda Marketing & Communications Manager bence.boda@aimotive.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d428702d-f68a-4dd8-acad-72e45d8d29eb Zaandam, the Netherlands, June 3, 2021 - Sebastiaan de Jong (47) has been appointed Brand President of drugstore chain Etos, effective July 1st, 2021. De Jong started his career at Ahold Delhaize 23 years ago and is currently working as Head of Procurement of Ahold Delhaize Europe & Indonesia. He will report to Wouter Kolk, CEO Ahold Delhaize Europe & Indonesia. De Jong has gained extensive commercial and operational experience at Ahold Delhaize. After studying economics, he started as a management trainee at Ahold in 1998, starting with his first job at Etos. He continued his career in various buying, marketing & format and merchandising positions including a position as SVP Commerce in the Czech Republic for the Ahold Delhaize-brand Albert. In 2017 he became VP store operation at Albert Heijn. In 2018 Sebastiaan was appointed Chief Commercial Officer at Intergamma. At this DIY market leader in the Benelux he gained experience in the field of omnichannel organizational development. In early 2021 Sebastiaan returned to Ahold Delhaize in the role of Head of Procurement at Ahold Delhaize Europe & Indonesia, where he launched and led the European procurement initiative. Wouter Kolk, CEO Ahold Delhaize Europe & Indonesia: "With the appointment of Sebastiaan, the Etos team gains a teamplayer with extensive retail experience, in the Netherlands and internationally. In his various roles, Sebastiaan has demonstrated to be an inclusive leader, focused on team collaboration and set on bringing out the best in everyone. Etos has a long history in qualitative and innovative personal care products and in advising customers. The drugstore brand is a familiar and trusted face in the streets of The Netherlands. Sebastiaan will be focused on further shaping the strong Etos strategy with the team. I am convinced that he will make an excellent new Brand President for the company." Sebastiaan de Jong: "Etos is a wonderful brand, rooted in society and with a loyal customer base. I personally relate strongly to the mission to help our customers feel good every day and I am very much looking forward to leading the further development of Etos together with the team." De Jong will start in his role at Etos as of July 1st and will be double hatted, fulfilling the procurement role, until Fall 2021. About Etos Dutch drugstore chain Etos, founded in 1919, has long been a trusted expert on what customers (72% of the Dutch population) are increasingly looking for, in stores and at home. Etos owns, among others, health websites gezondheidsplein.nl and ziekenhuis.nl. The company is thus the largest provider of online health and wellness information in the Netherlands. In its 550 stores, Etos employs 5,400 associates, of which 2400 are certified (assistant) chemists. Etos has been voted the best drugstore in the Netherlands seven times. Cautionary notice This communication includes forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Words and expressions such as will, be, further, strategy, until Fall 2021 or other similar words or expressions are typically used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and that may cause actual results of Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V. (the "Company") to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the Company's public filings and other disclosures. Forward-looking statements reflect the current views of the Company's management and assumptions based on information currently available to the Company's management. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and the Company does not assume any obligation to update such statements, except as required by law. HONG KONG, June 3, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - On June 2, S&P Global Ratings announced that it would keep its 'BBB+' long-term and 'A-2' short-term issuer credit ratings on China Huarong Asset Management Co. Ltd. (CHAMC) and its subsidiaries, China Huarong Financial Leasing Co. Ltd. (HRFL) and China Huarong International Holdings Ltd. (Huarong International) on CreditWatch with negative implications. The 'BBB+' long-term issue rating on the notes that Huarong International guarantees also remained on CreditWatch with negative implications. S&P continues to view CHAMC as a government-related entity, with a very high likelihood of extraordinary government support. The CreditWatch extension reflects continued uncertainties over CHAMC's core credit risk metrics and how the relevant transaction would affect the group following the prolonged delay in the release of its 2020 earnings. S&P believes that the authorities could be taking steps to mitigate relevant systemic risks. This includes the plausible reported development of Chinese banks maintaining their funding facilities with CHAMC, and further government efforts are possible. As Reuters reported earlier that Chinese regulators had coordinated a number of banks "not to rescind loans" on related loans of CHAMC and prepared well to support. Regarding its overseas bond issuer Huarong International, S&P continues to view Huarong International as a core subsidiary of CHAMC and that any potential extraordinary support from the government will be indirectly available to the company if needed. S&P expects the CHAMC may extend direct liquidity support or indirect liquidity support to Huarong International through the group's relationships with Chinese financial institutions. So far, CHAMC has maintained its domestic and overseas public debt payments on schedule. CHAMC previously announced that from April 1 to May 20, the company and its subsidiaries had accumulatively redeemed 25 domestic and foreign bonds due on schedule and in full, of which: 2 overseas bonds with an amount of S$600 million and US$300 million respectively, and 23 domestic bonds (including deposit certificates of Huarong Xiangjiang Bank) with a total amount of RMB18.866 billion. It was reported recently that the principal and interest funds of the US$900 million bond with a coupon of 3.25% of Huarong International due on June 3 had been transferred to designated accounts in full. Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. 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. FREDERICTON, NB, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Smart Skin Technologies Inc., a global leader in IIoT productivity solutions, raised $10.7 million CAD to accelerate the company's growth in the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Smart Skin supports 18 of the world's 20 largest pharmaceutical companies and nearly every major bottling company in the world with their QuantifeelTM solutions, designed to improve production efficiency, yield and product quality. BDC Capital's Industrial Innovation Venture Fund led the financing round. Existing investors including SCHOTT AG, Mariner's East Valley Ventures and the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation also participated in the financing. "Smart Skin's success in deploying their technology and delivering quantifiable return on investment to some of the world's leading corporations is what originally attracted us," said Joe Regan, Managing Partner of the Industrial Innovation Venture Fund at BDC Capital. "We are excited about the opportunity to play a role in accelerating Smart Skin's expansion in this important market," continued Regan. In addition to BDC Capital's investment, Regan will be joining Smart Skin's Board of Directors chaired by Gerry Pond of Mariner. This is the second time that SCHOTT AG has participated in a Smart Skin financing round. SCHOTT is a global leader in specialty glass products, including billions of vials, syringes, and cartridges for a broad variety of pharmaceutical drugs. About 90% of all approved COVID-19 vaccines rely on SCHOTT vials. Fabian Stocker, VP Global Strategy & Innovation for SCHOTT's pharma business, said, "Smart Skin's solution gives pharma companies a powerful lever to prevent breakage on their filling lines and boost productivity - and it is a great enhancement to our portfolio. We are more than happy to increase our close cooperation with Smart Skin." Smart Skin founder and CTO Kumaran Thillainadarajah commented, "Building a globally significant business would not have been possible without early-stage investors like East Valley and NBIF , as well as a strong innovation partner like the National Research Council's IRAP program that has allowed us to push the boundaries of what is possible in our product space. We are thrilled to be working with large financial and strategic investors, such as BDC Capital and SCHOTT AG, that want to fuel our mission to make production lines more productive." The company expects to hire up to 50 new employees in the next year, primarily in Fredericton, New Brunswick, more than doubling its workforce. Manufacturing, engineering & software development roles will be the company's primary hiring focus although several sales, marketing, and field support roles are being established as well. About Smart Skin Technologies Smart Skin Technologies, Inc. is based in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. The company's patented Quantifeel solutions fuse innovative sensors, deep analytics and artificial intelligence to provide global manufacturers with actionable data on the forces their containers experience during the filling and packaging process. By identifying previously undetectable adverse or abnormal operating conditions, workers are able to better control the process, preventing product defects and costly downtime. Smart Skin's technology is in use on every continent around the world and has earned a strong reputation as a world leader in IIoT productivity solutions across multiple industries. Smart Skin was honoured with the "Best Manufacturing Innovation" at the 2020 PharmaPack Awards in Paris and has garnered back-to-back Supplier of the Year awards as an innovation partner within Coca-Cola's bottling network. About BDC Capital BDC Capital is the investment arm of BDC, the bank for Canadian entrepreneurs. With over $3 billion under management, BDC Capital serves as a strategic partner to the country's most innovative firms. It offers businesses a full spectrum of capital, from seed investments to growth equity, supporting Canadian entrepreneurs who have the ambition to stand out on the world stage. Visit bdc.ca/capital. CONTACT Smart Skin Technologies Scott VanWart scott.vanwart@smartskintech.com (506) 449-3871 BDC Capital Media Relations mediainfo@bdc.ca 1-844-625-8321 Related Images smart-skin-technologies-provides.jpg Smart Skin Technologies provides productivity solutions for packaging lines. STOCKHOLM, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Zinzino is very proud to announce the launch of its business in Malaysia on June 3, 2021 as a strategic part of the company's global expansion strategy. After several years of preparing the launch of the Malaysian market and having carried out multiple country establishment processes in recent years, Zinzino has learned the importance of ensuring thorough preparatory work and adapting to the local conditions in each market. Profitable growth is an important business strategy for the e-commerce-based health tech company Zinzino. During 2020 the company sales target was exceeded showing excellent sales growth and a strong EBITA performance. Overall sales grew to 1.139 billion SEK from 771 million in 2019. "Strong growth provides economies of scale and increased profitability. This launch is a logical next step that creates great expectations for continued good profits going forward. Malaysia is a very interesting entrepreneurial market with one of Southeast Asia's most vibrant economies that offers a high growth potential for us", says CEO Dag Bergheim Pettersen. Malaysia is currently ranked as one of the top 10 most relevant markets for direct sales making this a very strategic launch for Zinzino; a global, direct selling company within test-based, scientifically proven nutrition. The company has high growth ambitions and is expecting to reach 1 million customers by the year 2025 and 20 million by 2035. With the launch in Malaysia, Zinzino will be operating on 98 markets while keeping its focus on global expansion. For more information: Dag Bergheim Pettersen CEO Zinzino +47 (0) 932 25 700, zinzino.com Fredrik Nielsen CFO Zinzino +46 707 900 174, fredrik.nielsen@zinzino.com Pictures for publication free of charge: Marcus Tollbom +46 (0) 70 190 03 12, marcus.tollblom@zinzino.com Certified Adviser: Erik Penser Bank Aktiebolag, +46 (0) 8 463 83 00, email: certifiedadviser@penser.se This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/zinzino/r/zinzino-ab--publ--zinzino-announces-the-launch-of-malaysia-as-next-step-in-their-global-expansion,c3360093 The following files are available for download: K&K Compensation Lawyers is Devoted to Helping NSW Locals with Personal Injury Matters in Sydney SEABRIDGE HOUSE, SYDNEY NSW / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2021 / K&K Compensation Lawyers Sydney is pleased to announce their new office located in Central Sydney CBD. The new Sydney office, which opened in February 2021, further extends the range and accessibility of their lawyers and personal injury legal services. To learn more about K&K Compensation Lawyers and the new Sydney team, which looks after Medical Negligence, Slip & Fall, Motor Vehicle Accidents and Compensation Claims, please visit https://kramerandkramer.com.au/compensation-lawyers-sydney/ K&K Compensation Lawyers is looking to provide convenience and personalised support to those seriously injured in a work accident, motor vehicle accident, or through third-party negligence in all areas of Sydney. The team is devoted to exploring the different options for their clients before embarking on their legal journey to recovery. "Kramer & Kramer, a father and son team, has over 50 years of combined professional experience," Director and Solicitor Benjamin Kramer noted. "Unlike large firms which offer an impersonal service, who emphasise billable hours over efficiency, Kramer & Kramer brings a streamlined premium boutique service that gives you direct access to a Personal Injury Lawyer and a Senior Counsel. It's this dedicated care and commitment that allows us to get the maximum compensation for our clients and that stands us apart from other larger multi-disciplinary firms." In addition, because not everyone can make it into their new Sydney office due to being injured or immobile, the team are happy to travel to meet with clients at their home, or a mutually convenient location that is within 20 km of the new location. "If you are in the Sydney area and have been hurt, the first step is to speak to one of our Senior Lawyers to find out if you have a case or not," Mr Kramer noted, adding that the team at K&K Compensation Lawyers Sydney can help determine if the claim is eligible, calculate the likelihood of getting compensation and give an estimate of the potential payout size. "One of our lawyers will reach out to you so that we can better understand your needs and situation. It's our job to make sure you are awarded the maximum entitlement possible, and it is completely free to get your compensation claim/case assessed by our team." The K&K Compensation Lawyers Sydney look forward to serving the area and helping all locals in Sydney's CBD and the Greater Sydney region with Personal Injury Law claim. About K&K Compensation Lawyers Sydney: At K&K Compensation Lawyers, as one of the earliest specialised personal injury lawyers in Australia, they bring a deep understanding of the law to each client's corner. They are dedicated to helping clients understand what results they can achieve, and what steps must be taken to get the best result possible. They will work with their clients every step of the way to make sure that they understand the choices they are making and feel empowered to make them. For more information, please visit https://kramerandkramer.com.au/. K&K Compensation Lawyers Sydney Suite 77, 377 Kent Street, Seabridge House Sydney NSW 2000 Australia 02 8385 1451 Contact: Benji Kramer socialmedia@kramerandkramer.com.au 02 8385 1451 SOURCE: K&K Compensation Lawyers Sydney View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/650267/Announcing-the-Opening-of-KK-Compensation-Lawyers-Sydney Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Ely Gold Royalties Inc. (TSXV: ELY) (OTCQX: ELYGF) ("Ely Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it will be presenting at the Virtual Investor Day IV ("VID IV") June 8-10, 2021 hosted by IR.INC and FTMIG. Mr. Trey Wasser, President and CEO of Ely Gold, will provide an in-depth update on the Company at 3:00 p.m. EST, June 8, 2021. VID IV is a completely interactive experience for feature companies and stakeholders. Feature companies will have 30 minutes to outline their investment opportunity, while stakeholders and the audience will be invited to engage via direct Q&A, polls and other interactive tools after and during each presentation. To register for VID IV, please click the link: https://www.bigmarker.com/series/virtual-investor-day-iv/series_summit About Ely Gold Royalties Inc. Ely Gold Royalties Inc. is a Nevada-focused gold royalty company. Its current portfolio includes royalties at Jerritt Canyon, Goldstrike and Marigold, three of Nevada's largest gold mines, as well as the Fenelon mine in Quebec, operated by Wallbridge Mining. The Company continues to actively seek opportunities to purchase producing or near-term producing royalties. Ely Gold also generates development royalties through property sales on projects that are located at or near producing mines. Management believes that due to the Company's ability to locate and purchase third-party royalties, its strategy of organically creating royalties and its gold focus, Ely Gold offers shareholders a favourable leverage to gold prices and low-cost access to long-term gold royalties in safe mining jurisdictions. About IR.INC IR.INC Capital Markets Advisory & Services works with its clients to develop and deploy strategic plans and build industry alliances while providing shareholder introductions and solutions. The Company also provides a number of traditional Investor Relations Services. You can find out more about IR.INC here www.irinc.ca. About FTMIG Follow the Money Investor Group is a financial portal that provides content and information needed to navigate the ever-changing capital markets. Our global community of visitors and investors are able to use our platform to discuss and collaborate daily on all facets of their current and potential investments. Our goal is to help retail investors make the right financial decisions that fit their individual needs. You can find out more about FTMIG here www.ftmig.com. Disclaimer Follow the Money Investor ("FTMIG") is an online investor community that connects investors and public companies. Both FTMIG and IR.INC are not registered as a broker, dealer, exempt market dealer, or any other registrant in any securities regulatory jurisdiction and will not be performing any registerable activity as defined by the applicable regulatory bodies. Both FTMIG and IR.INC and their affiliates do not endorse or recommend any securities issued by any companies identified on, or linked through, this conference. Please seek professional advice to evaluate specific securities or other content discussed during this event. Links, if any, to third party sites are for informational purposes only, and not for trading purposes. FTMIG and IR.INC. and their affiliates have not prepared, reviewed or updated any content on third party sites and assume no responsibility for the information posted on them. For further information, please contact: Joanne Jobin, Principal IR.INC | Capital Markets Advisory & Services jjobin@irinc.ca www.irinc.ca Karl Boyd, President Follow the Money Investor Group kboyd@ftmig.com www.ftmig.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86283 Sale of Xuyi crawfish on Suning.com represents a new trend of rural revitalization NANJING, China, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Suning.com (002024.SZ), China's leading smart retail service provider and a Fortune Global 500 company owned by Suning Group, is helping farmers in Xuyi County in eastern China'sJiangsu Province to harness the internet and logistical, technological and geographical challenges associated with the sale of the local specialty crawfish, to expand product awareness and boost sales as this year's season comes around. Xuyi crawfish are bright red, clean, tender, and revered for their fresh and sweet taste but shoddy imitations are often sold by illegal vendors around the country. Now, thanks to Suning.com, consumers everywhere can enjoy fresh agricultural products at a more accessible price. The Xuyi crawfish story is a shining example of Suning.com's e-commerce solution helping farmers to get their products from farm to table. Earlier this year, Suning.com held a training course to cultivate the use of the internet as a way to bring agricultural products from China's villages where they are produced to more customers in metropolitan areas. More than 300 small and micro e-commerce merchants from Xuyi County participated in the event, where they learned the difference between food and agriculture, and gained insights into how to market Xuyi County's unique agricultural products online. Trainees also learned foundational steps to run an e-commerce business, including how to use new media to open stores and promote products. "Suning.com taught us all the components needed to effectively run an online business, from operational planning to online system operations. In addition to training, there will be teams providing us with professional guidance along the way. This allows us to communicate and solve problems as a group in real-time," said Qian Haiwen, General Manager of Xuyi Lobster Supply Chain Co., Ltd. Suning.com has also established a 5,000sqm base in Xuyi County to enable authentic sales and delivery of Xuyi crawfish directly from the source. Qian Haiwen has high expectations and is already looking forward to expanding his business in anticipation of a growing market. Suning.com has a history of supporting counties and villages to promote their agricultural products. In the mountainous Yuegou Village of central China'sHenan Province, agricultural treasures are abundant, including the village's native eggs. However, its geographical location and topographical conditions mean the village cannot easily ship products, which has led to the depletion of local jobs. To improve the situation, Yuegou county leaders called on villagers to join Suning.com's rural revitalization program, where they can get help to sell the village's eggs and improve their income. With policy support from the county and assistance from Suning.com, Yuegou Village has built a complete egg supply chain with a record of 100,000 orders per day and a monthly turnover of RMB20 million. Suning.com has also established an inaugural batch of listed purchasing villages as the sources of high-quality agricultural products, including Liangjia, Qing'an County, Suihua City in Heilongjiang Province and Kedeng Village, Yanyuan County, Daliang Mountains in Sichuan Province that span across China. Furthermore, the company has developed a Chinese style online pavilion to promote Chinese agricultural brands and enhance the visibility of agricultural products. In addition to immediate sales, the increased popularity and distribution of agricultural products also helped strengthen regional industrial chains and cultivate a more sustainable business model. In turn, these create long-term benefits, from strengthening the local labor market to attracting young talent to return to their hometowns. To date, Suning.com has established 120 purchasing villages, 71 factories, and 68 industrial clusters. With its brand-new supply chain, the company is cutting out the middleman to obtain products from the source, support manufacturing and promote marketing. Through these joint efforts, Suning.com is bolstering the agricultural farming economy, allowing villages to reap more profits, and delivering affordable prices to consumers. About Suning Group Founded in 1990, Suning Group has two listed subsidiaries at home and abroad and more than 300,000 employees around the world, ranking the third in the Chinese private sector. Being committed to its mission of Leading the Industrial Advancements in Creating a Higher Quality of Life for All, it provides quality products and services to more than 700 million customers worldwide and has its business scope covering three main sectors: Retail, Real Estate, and Financial Service. Suning.com, the main subsidiary is a leading O2O smart retail service provider in China. In 2020, Suning.com maintained its position among the Fortune Global 500 and topped the 2020 List of China's 500 Most Valuable Brands with a brand value of RMB 296.815 billion. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1525107/Suning_Crawfish.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1525108/Suning_Crawfish_2.jpg INDIA, June 3, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - This month, over 300 senior data and analytics leaders will meet in a virtual forum, to dissect and analyse how organisations are successfully operationalizing AI and embedding it within day-to-day processes."As more companies apply data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence to their businesses, more questions come up regarding how to truly extract value from the investment." Stated Kate Tappin, Content Director, Corinium, "CDAO ASEAN Online will deliver answers and forward-thinking strategies for organisations to adopt".CDAO ASEAN Online will be live over the 29th - 30th June 2021 and feature Chief Data and Analytics Officers from companies such as the Pfizer, UPS, Central Bank of Malaysia, Ministry of Health Singapore, Reckitt, Grab-Singtel Digibank, Cigna and more.The free online forum will kick off with a keynote panel discussion: Turning Theory into Action - Extracting the Tangible Value of Data. Which will include examples of how organizations are adapting to the current speed of business. Speakers include Mark Dionisio, Chief Data Officer, Unistar Credit & Finance Corporation, Ramkumar Venkatachalam, Chief Data & Analytics Officer, Cigna, Dr. Geraldine Wong, Head of Data, Grab-Singtel Digibank, Allan Tan, Group Editor-in-Chief, CXOCIETY.Key topics include; Collective intelligence, guidance and thought leadership on data evolution; Awakening data investment and opportunity; fuelling Data Innovation; staying data-informed, through upskilling and adapting.Register free here: https://bit.ly/2Ri5Gu1Event website: https://bit.ly/3uG242ADate: 29-30th JuneVenue: OnlineCost: FreeFor further details please contact: info@coriniumintel.comVictoria KavanaghMarketing ManagerSource: CDAO ASEAN OnlineCopyright 2021 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. 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. Doubles Silver Land Holdings With the Addition of Over 3,800 Hectares Previous Results Include 353 G/T AgEq Over 5.9 Metres1,2 THUNDER BAY, ON / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2021 / Wolfden Resources Corporation (TSXV:WLF) ("Wolfden" or the "Company") is pleased announce that it has commenced a silver focused exploration program on its substantial land holdings in the prolific Bathurst Mining camp of New Brunswick (see Figure 1). A recent compilation of its silver rich occurrences along with some insight gained from its recent acquisition the Big Silver Project in Eastern Maine, suggests that there was a regional epithermal silver-gold event that extends between Maine and New Brunswick that could have formed the large scale, breccia-type silver-rich deposits that Wolfden is targeting. "Our efforts this year in both New Brunswick and Maine will focus on the discovery and extension of the known silver-rich showings and previously identified zones." said Don Dudek, Vice-President Exploration of the Company. "The New Brunswick compilation indicated that the silver-gold system has the potential to extend off of our concessions onto open ground and is the reason why we doubled our land position. The first phase of the program, now underway, includes line cutting, mapping, soil sampling and prospecting followed by IP geophysical surveys, trenching and likely lead to 3,000 metres of diamond drilling." Similar work is planned in Maine on the Big Silver Project once the timing of line cutting and geophysical survey crews can be confirmed. Drilling at Big Silver will depend on the availability of a second drill rig and crew or remobilizing the drill currently operating at Pickett Mt. Once the Canadian-USA border has reopened, the specialized equipment and crews that are required at this stage, will be able to move more efficiently. Figure 1 - Bathurst West area, Wolfden concessions, regional geology and silver zones The Bathurst Mining Camp hosts many significant deposits including Brunswick No. 12, one of the world's premier polymetallic (high silver) deposits with a total reserve of 136.6 million tonnes at a grade of 0.37% Cu, 3.44% Pb, 8.74% Zn and 102.2 g/t Ag3. attesting to the jurisdictions world-class endowment and mineral potential. Although considerable exploration has occurred for massive sulphide type deposits, there has been little work exploring for the hydrothermal breccia style deposits that are expected to occur higher in the volcanic sequence (younger rocks). Wolfden's Bathurst Area exploration property portfolio overlies at least five zones of epithermal Ag-Au (including subordinate base metal mineralization). A summary of these zones are as follows: California Lake Drill intercepts up to 315.6 g/t AgEq over 4.7 metres 1,2 (true width ~4.2 m) (true width ~4.2 m) At least 4 parallel, breccia-type (Figure 2), mineralized structures along an open-ended 1,000 metre strike Individual assays up to 7,341 g/t AgEq over 0.10 metres 1,2 (estimated 0.08 metres true width) (estimated 0.08 metres true width) Soil data indicates potential for another 5 parallel zones Excellent potential for the discovery of additional zones along a 17-kilometre trend from California Lake to Bear Creek Zones. Woodside Brook Zone Drill intercept up to 347 g/t Ag, 0.70 g/t Au over 0.9 metres 1,2 (true width unknown) (true width unknown) An untested silver-in-soil anomaly extends approximately 1.5 km to the southeast Carroll Zone Trench results include 8 metres at 61 g/t Ag, 0.34 g/t Au, 0.29% Zn, 0.69% Pb and 359 ppm Sb1,2 in a quartz porphyry intrusive host. Possible source of heat and mineralization for the epithermal system. Bear Creek Zone Drill intercept up to 353.2 g/t Au, 0.34 g/t Au over 5.88 metres (true width ~4.7 m) (true width ~4.7 m) Mineralized system appears to strike for over 1,000 metres with high grade intercept open to West Potential to extend zone another 2 km to the west, along trend, to another northwest-trending, linear cluster of soil anomalies Nearby, untested parallel silver-in-soil anomalies Upsalquitch Zone Drill intercept up to 6 metres at 155.8 g/t Ag, 0.21% Cu, 0.25% Pb and 731 ppm Sb 1,2 (true width unknown) (true width unknown) Associated 400 metre long Ag, Pb, Sb strong soil anomaly that is open-ended Grab sample site that returned 275 g/t Ag, 2% Zn and 1% Pb was collected approximately 1,100 metres to the north along trend. Figure 2 - California Lake - Trench Sample of Felsic Breccia 2021 Exploration Program New claims were staked over open ground to the northeast of the California Lake concession block and south-southwest of the Upsalquitch concession block to cover potential parallel zones of epithermal Ag-Au mineralization. The silver focused land holdings now total over 8,000 hectares with the addition of these 3,856 hectares. Line cutting, mapping, soil sampling and prospecting are currently underway in the California Lake area. IP geophysical surveys, trenching and approximately 1,200 metres of drilling is planned in eight holes once all 2021 results have been received. Soil sampling, prospecting and mapping are planned over the Carroll, Bear Creek and Upsalquitch areas with a goal to validate existing soil anomalies and develop drill targets. Pending timing, some of these drill targets may also be tested this fall. About Wolfden Wolfden is an exploration and development company focused on high-margin metallic mineral deposits. Its wholly owned Pickett Mountain Project is one of the highest-grade polymetallic projects in North America (Zn, Pb, Cu, Ag, Au). This relatively advanced project in northern Maine is well-located near excellent infrastructure that will support near term development as detailed in a Preliminary Economic Assessment date September 14, 2020. For further information please contact Ron Little, President & CEO, at (807) 624-1136 or Rahim Lakha, Corporate Development at (416) 414-9954. This press release contains certain scientific and technical information. The Company is solely responsible for the contents and accuracy of any scientific and technical information related to it. Don Dudek, P.Geo. Vice President Exploration of the Company and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this press release. All analytical results noted, are based on exploration programs carried out by other companies and as such, Wolfden is only providing the drill and assays values to highlight areas and prospects of interest. 1 Silver Equivalent grades in g/t (AgEq) were calculated using a silver price of US$16.00 and gold price of US$1,200, per ounce. 2 All assay results in this news release are historical in nature and are presented to highlight areas of exploration interest and the tenor of previous results and should not be relied on until the Company has had opportunity to validate the historic results with drilling and a documented QAQC program. 3 Great Mining Camps of Canada 8. The Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick, Part 1: Geology and Exploration History, October 2020, McCutcheon and Walker Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking information (within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation) that involves various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information includes statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance of the Company, and include, without limitation, metal price assumptions, cash flow forecasts, projected capital and operating costs, metal or mineral recoveries, mine life and production rates, and other assumptions used in Preliminary Economic Assessment dated September 14, 2020, information about future activities at the New Brunswick Silver properties, Big Silver Project and Pickett Mountain Project that include plans to complete additional drilling and pre-permitting (rezoning petition), the results of the Preliminary Economic Assessment dated September 14, 2020, the potential upside of the Pickett Mt. Project, and the timing and completion of drill programs in Maine, Manitoba and New Brunswick and the respective drill results. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and the Company's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information in this news release, including without limitation, the following risks and uncertainties: (i) risks inherent in the mining industry; (ii) regulatory and environmental risks; (iii) results of exploration activities and development of mineral properties; (iv) risks relating to the estimation of mineral resources; (v) stock market volatility and capital market fluctuations; and (vi) general market and industry conditions. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. This forward-looking information is based on estimates and opinions of management on the date hereof and is expressly qualified by this notice. Risks and uncertainties about the Company's business are more fully discussed in the Company's disclosure materials filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada at www.sedar.com. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from such information unless required by applicable law. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Wolfden Resources Corporation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/650235/Wolfden-Commences-Silver-Focused-Exploration-in-New-Brunswick A boy gestures with his hand on his neck in an indication of the threat of beheading, at al-Hol camp, which houses families of members of the Islamic State group, in Hasakeh province, Syria, Saturday, May 1, 2021. It has been more than two years that some 27,000 children have been left to languish in al-Hol camp. Most of them not yet teenagers, they are spending their childhood in a limbo of miserable conditions with no schools, no place to play or develop and seemingly no international interest in resolving their situation. Petrobras Faces Multi-Billion Euro Potential Liability as Litigation Finally Moves to Arguments concerning the Merits of the Case International Securities Associations Foundations Management Company (ISAF) On May 26, 2021, the District Court in Rotterdam ruled that Stichting Petrobras Compensation Foundation (SPCF or Foundation) has standing to pursue declaratory relief in the Netherlands on behalf of global investors who purchased Petrobras securities on the Brasil Bolsa Balcao S.A. or B3 Brazil (formerly BM&FBOVESPA) and linked markets in the European Union as well as certain bonds prior to July 28, 2015. Established in 2016, SPCF has been in active litigation on these matters with Petrobras since January 2017. The first major ruling granting jurisdiction for the Foundation was an interim ruling handed down in September 2018. Since the interim ruling in 2018, the litigation has progressed largely on procedural terms and technicalities regarding standing of the Foundation. The ruling from the Dutch Court effectively denies the Defendants' motion to dismiss the case. With this final and favorable ruling on standing of the Foundation, the litigation will now focus on the merits of the case and whether Petrobras violated applicable laws thus causing damage to shareholders. The declines in Petrobras stock price germane to the Dutch litigation occurred over the course of several months throughout 2014 and 2015. It was revealed during this time that, for many years, Petrobras made fraudulent and misleading statements to investors regarding (i) the company's books and records, (ii) the valuation of company assets, and (iii) the associated bribery and kickback schemes uncovered by Brazilian Federal law enforcement agencies in 2014 the widely reported Operacao Lava Jato scandal. In summary, the key takeaways from the May 26, 2021 ruling in Rotterdam are: 1) The Court wholly rejected the Petrobras Defendants' argument that the Petrobras investors who purchased shares on the B3 and linked markets in the EU have no right to seek relief in the Netherlands pursuant to article 58 of the Petrobras Articles of Association the so-called Petrobras arbitration clause. a. The Court in Rotterdam took particular issue with the disingenuous attempts by Petrobras to advance the argument for the arbitration requirement in the Rotterdam Court when, in fact, the same Defendants argued the exact opposite in arbitration proceedings in Brazil a contradiction for which the Foundation provided evidence to the Court during the most recent oral hearings held in Rotterdam in January 2021. b. The Court also noted how a broad interpretation of the arbitration clause would result in the shareholders being denied access to an independent national court. Since access to an independent court is a fundamental right, any provisions in the articles of association that would cut off this route should be clear and unambiguous. The Court determined that this was not the case since Brazilian courts have ruled on two occasions that article 58 of the Articles of Association only applies to the internal operations of the company. Since the Foundation's case did not concern a dispute about the internal operations of the company, the Court ruled that the arbitration clause did not apply. c. Therefore, the facts presented by the Foundation resulted in the Court reversing its earlier interim ruling on the applicability of article 58 and affirmed the Foundation's position that the class of Petrobras investors should include all eligible investors and not exclude a subset of investors who are domiciled in Brazil or Portuguese speaking jurisdictions. 2) The Court ruled that Petrobras investors who are currently actively engaged in arbitration proceedings or separate litigation for the same facts in Brazil or elsewhere are excluded from the global class of investors for whom the Foundation in the Netherlands litigates. 3) The Court affirmed that the Foundation represents a sufficiently large class of investors and that the collective action process in the Netherlands is an efficient vehicle by which to prosecute the claims of the eligible and damaged class of global investors. 4) The Court has set a date of September 1, 2021 for the Foundation to submit its further arguments and facts regarding the merits of the case and specifically the arguments that support the Foundation's allegations that Petrobras violated investors' rights under the laws of various jurisdictions as previously determined by the Court in Rotterdam. Petrobras Faces Multi-Billion Euro Potential Liability Now that the Dutch Court has ruled that the Foundation has standing to pursue a declaratory relief ruling in the Netherlands, the Petrobras Defendants face increased exposure to material liability. In the United States, Petrobras resolved the claims of American Depository Receipt (ADR) investors and certain bondholders through a settlement of USD 3 billion (EUR 2.5 billion). The US ADR float (American Depository Receipts) are Receipts linked to underlying Petrobras Shares equivalent to approximately 15% of the global public equity issued by Petrobras. When excluding the underlying ADR shares and shares owned by the Brazilian government and Brazilian government agencies, the remaining public equity float of Petrobras, or "The Rest of The World," is approximately 30% or double the equity float owned via ADR investors. In the US ADR and bond litigation, investors claimed damages of over USD 13 billion (EUR 10.6 billion) for which Petrobras offered a settlement of USD 3 billion mainly allocated to ADR/shareholders. The presumed liability incurred by "The Rest of The World", mainly international and Brazilian direct Petrobras shareholders and some bondholders represented in the Netherlands, by extension, could exceed EUR 20 billion (USD 24.5 billion) a decisively material potential liability notwithstanding Petrobras' recent report of a strong financial position. In the next phase of the litigation in the Netherlands, the Court will seek to determine if Petrobras violated anti-corruption and securities laws outside of the United States, specifically under the laws of several EU countries and in Brazil. The fact that Petrobras has already admitted to violating the US laws, which are similar to many countries in these matters, further supports the thesis that Petrobras faces significant legal jeopardy and associated shareholder damages in the Netherlands. Among other things, Petrobras entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2018. The statement of facts in the DOJ agreement affirm that the Petrobras defendants admit violations of US anti-corruption laws and US securities laws as summarized in the US DOJ press release regarding the USD 853.2 million (EUR 697.3) criminal penalty paid to the DOJ, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Brazilian authorities (https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/petr-leo-brasileiro-sa-petrobras-agrees-pay-more-850-million-fcpa-violations). ISAF Management congratulates the Foundation on this favorable outcome for global Petrobras investors. While the Court has already ruled that the Foundation has standing to represent all eligible shareholders, ISAF Management encourages any eligible investors who have not yet actively joined in support of the Foundation to do so before the next hearings which will commence on September 1, 2021. More information about the litigation can be found at www.pbcompensation.com. SPCF instructed ISAF to coordinate all administration with investors, including funding of all litigation costs so investors can participate on a contingency only basis with no upfront cost. More information about ISAF can be found at www.isafmanagement.com. Petrobras investors who purchased shares on the B3 prior to July 28, 2015 can start the ISAF and Foundation registration process on the ISAF website. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005318/en/ Contacts: MEDIA GENERAL INVESTORS: ISAF Management +1-203-252-3378 Adam Foulke info@isafmanagement.com, afoulke@isafmanagement.com On May 26, 2021, the District Court in Rotterdam ruled that Stichting Petrobras Compensation Foundation (SPCF or Foundation) has standing to pursue declaratory relief in the Netherlands on behalf of global investors who purchased shares on the Brasil Bolsa Balcao S.A. or B3 Brazil (formerly BM&FBOVESPA) and linked markets in the European Union as well as certain bonds prior to July 28, 2015. The May 26 ruling effectively denies the Defendants' attempt to dismiss the litigation before having to argue the merits of the case. The litigation will now focus on the merits of the case and whether Petrobras violated applicable laws, thus causing damage to shareholders. In 2014 and 2015 it was revealed that, for many years, Petrobras made fraudulent and misleading statements to investors regarding (i) the company's books and records, (ii) the valuation of company assets, and (iii) the associated bribery and kickback schemes uncovered by Brazilian Federal law enforcement agencies in 2014 the widely reported Lava Jato scandal. The key takeaways from the May 26 ruling in Rotterdam are: The Court rejects Petrobras Defendants' argument that Petrobras investors cannot seek relief in the Netherlands due to an arbitration clause in Petrobras' articles of association. The Court in Rotterdam takes particular issue with the disingenuous attempts by Petrobras to argue in the Netherlands that investors should pursue their rights through arbitration in Brazil whilst arguing in Brazilian arbitration that the same arbitration clause does not permit investors to seek relief through arbitration. The Court noted how a broad interpretation of the arbitration clause would result in the shareholders being denied access to an independent national court. The Court ruled that Petrobras investors who are currently actively engaged in arbitration proceedings or separate litigation for the same facts in Brazil or elsewhere are excluded from the global class of investors for whom the Foundation in the Netherlands litigates. The Court has set a date of September 1, 2021 for the Foundation to submit its further arguments and facts regarding the merits of the case and specifically the arguments that support the Foundation's allegations that Petrobras violated investors' rights under applicable securities laws. For more information on the May 26 ruling, please visit www.pbcompensation.com or send an e-mail to board@pbcompensation.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005321/en/ Contacts: MEDIA GENERAL INVESTOR CONTACT: ISAF Management Adam Foulke, afoulke@isafmanagement.com Phone: +1 (203) 252-3378 CUPERTINO (dpa-AFX) - With the slowing down of coronavirus cases, Apple Inc. employees are likely to return to their respective offices starting in early September, as per an email reportedly sent by Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook. Reports said citing the letter that the company is asking employees to return to the office three days a week from September. With the proposed new changes, the employees can also work remotely for up to two weeks a year. Cook also encouraged all employees to get vaccinated. Most employees may be required to be in the office on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, with the option of working remotely on Wednesdays and Fridays. Meanwhile, those teams that need to work in-person will return four to five days a week. Apple employees have been working remotely during the coronavirus pandemic. In December, a Bloomberg report said Cook told employees that they could be asked to come back to the office as early as June. In the memo informing staff of the change, Cook said, 'For all that we've been able to achieve while many of us have been separated, the truth is that there has been something essential missing from this past year: each other. Video conference calling has narrowed the distance between us, to be sure, but there are things it simply cannot replicate.' As per the letter, the company will allow employees to work remotely for up to two weeks a year that will allow them to be closer to family and loved ones, find a change of scenery, manage unexpected travel, or a different reason. The company managers are required to approve remote work requests. Since the start of coronavirus pandemic, corporates across the world have allowed employees to work from home aiming to help slow down the spread of virus. Of late, many companies are revising their work from home policies. In early May, Google announced a new 'hybrid' plan at its workplace that will see about 20% of its employees work from home even after its offices reopen later this year. Ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc. in mid April said it expects employees to return to office by September 13, and that it will require employees to work at least three days from office. Wells Fargo, the bank with the largest workforce of about 200,000 employees in US, is reportedly planning to bring its employees back into offices in September, after Labor Day. Further, auto giant Ford Motor has allowed its over 30,000 employees to continue to work from home even after the pandemic is over and use the office only when they need to. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX APPLE-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de Mondi plc Incorporated in England and Wales Registered number: 6209386 LEI: 213800LOZA69QFDC9N34 LSE share code: MNDI ISIN: GB00B1CRLC47 JSE share code: MNP 3 June 2021 Regulatory Report on Payments to Governments in respect of Logging Industries for the Year 2020 This report of payments to governments is made by Mondi plc and its subsidiary undertakings ('Mondi') for the year ended 31 December 2020 as required by companies in the extractive and logging industries of their payments to governments in countries in which they operate. The report is prepared in compliance with the UK's Report on Payments to Governments Regulations 2014 (as amended in December 2015) (the 'Regulation') and in accordance with DTR 4.3A of the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the UK Financial Conduct Authority. To read details of Mondi's payments to governments go to www.mondigroup.com/en/corporate-governance/regulatory-reports Basis of preparation The application of the Regulation for Mondi relates to our logging activities and specifically to the disclosure of payments to governments relating to the logging of primary forests. We have used the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations definition of 'primary forest' being: 'Naturally regenerated forest of native tree species, where there are no clearly visible indications of human activities and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed'. Also, for the purposes of this report, the original 'IFL 2000' (Greenpeace, World Resources Institute (WRI) and Transparent World) inventory of intact forests has been used as the base for reporting on the harvesting of primary forests in the Komi Republic, Russia ('Komi'). Only a portion of our Syktyvkar logging operations in Komi fall within the above definition of primary forests. Our operations in South Africa comprise plantation forests that are not associated with any primary forests and therefore are excluded from the report. Our logging operations in Komi do not result in deforestation. In terms of the Russian Forestry Code and Mondi's sustainable development policies all logged areas are regenerated, either naturally or via planting where required, including tending and protection of the young forest stands for the next sustainable forest cycle. During logging operations protected areas, High Conservation Value (HCV) areas and sensitive biotopes, comprising approximately 1/4 of the area, are set aside for conservation. Exchange rate Payments made in currencies other than the euro (Mondi Group's reporting currency) are translated for this report using the average exchange rate during the financial year to which it relates. Further information For further information regarding the Mondi Group's approach to sustainably managing our forests, please refer to our Sustainable development report 2020 which can be found at www.mondigroup.com/sd20 and our sustainable forestry policy, one of our issue specific SD policies at www.mondigroup.com/en/sustainability/governance-of-sustainability . Report Government Report Country Production entitlement Taxes Royalties Dividends Bonuses Licence fees, etc Infrastructure improvements Total Russia Nil -194,072 Nil Nil Nil 1,033,145 Nil 839,073 Projects Report Entity Production entitlement Taxes Royalties Dividends Bonuses Licence fees, etc Infrastructure improvements Total JSC Mondi Syktyvkar Nil -194,072 Nil Nil Nil 1,033,145 Nil 839,073 The report has been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at: https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism. Contact: Mondi Group Kerry Cooper Group Head of External Communications +44 1932 826323 About Mondi Mondi is a global leader in packaging and paper, contributing to a better world by making innovative packaging and paper solutions that are sustainable by design. Our business is integrated across the value chain - from managing forests and producing pulp, paper and plastic films, to developing and manufacturing effective industrial and consumer packaging solutions. Sustainability is at the centre of our strategy and intrinsic in the way we do business. We lead the industry with our customer-centric approach, EcoSolutions, where we ask the right questions to find the most sustainable solution. In 2020, Mondi had revenues of 6.66 billion and underlying EBITDA of 1.35 billion. Mondi has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (MNDI), and a secondary listing on the JSE Limited (MNP). Mondi is a FTSE 100 constituent, and has been included in the FTSE4Good Index Series since 2008 and the FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment Index Series since 2007. Sponsor in South Africa: UBS South Africa Proprietary Limited. EP Global Opportunities Trust plc (the "Company") The Company announces that on 2 June 2021 it purchased 50,000 of its own Ordinary 1p shares at a price of 2.87 per share. The shares have been placed into Treasury. Following this transaction, the Company has 27,616,917 Ordinary shares held in Treasury and 36,892,725 Ordinary shares in circulation. Accordingly, the total voting rights in the Company are 36,892,725. The total number of shares in issue remains as 64,509,642. The above total voting rights figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine whether they are required to notify their interest in EP Global Opportunities Trust plc under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules. 3 June 2021 LEI: 2138005T5CT5ITZ7ZX58 Enquiries: Kenneth J Greig Edinburgh Partners AIFM Limited Tel: 0131 270 3800 The Company's registered office address is: 27-31 Melville Street Edinburgh EH3 7JF EASTLEIGH, ENGLAND / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2021 / i3 Energy plc (AIM:I3E) (TSX:ITE), an independent oil and gas company with assets and operations in the UK and Canada, is pleased to announce that, following the conclusion of its general meeting held earlier today, the resolution was duly passed to cancel the Company's share premium account. The table below sets out the results of the voting on the resolution: Resolution Votes for % Votes against % To cancel the Company's share premium account. 219,199,236 100% Nil 0% Enquiries: i3 Energy plc Majid Shafiq (CEO) / Graham Heath (CFO) c/o Camarco Tel: +44 (0) 203 781 8331 WH Ireland Limited (Nomad and Joint Broker) James Joyce, James Sinclair-Ford Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1666 Canaccord Genuity Limited (Joint Broker) Henry Fitzgerald- O'Connor, James Asensio Tel: +44 (0) 207 523 8000 Tennyson Securities (Joint Broker) Peter Krens Tel: +44 (0) 207 186 9030 Camarco Owen Roberts, James Crothers, Violet Wilson Tel: +44 (0) 203 781 8331 Notes to Editors: i3 Energy is an oil and gas Company with a low cost, diversified, growing production base in Canada's most prolific hydrocarbon region, the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and appraisal assets in the North Sea with significant upside. The Company is well positioned to deliver future growth through the optimisation of its existing 100% owned asset base and the acquisition of long life, low decline conventional production assets. i3 is dedicated to responsible corporate practices and the environment, and places high value on adhering to strong Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") practices. i3 is proud of its performance to date as a responsible steward of the environment, people, and capital management. The Company is committed to maintaining an ESG strategy, which has broader implications to long-term value creation, as these benefits extend beyond regulatory requirements. i3 Energy is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol I3E and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ITE. For further information on i3 Energy please visit https://i3.energy/ The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014. This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com. SOURCE: i3 Energy PLC View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/650273/i3-Energy-PLC-Announces-Result-of-General-Meeting Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Edgemont Gold Corp. (CSE: EDGM) (FSE: EG8) has agreed to a non-brokered private placement of 2,000,000 flow through units at a price of $0.335 per unit for gross proceeds of $670,000. Each unit will be comprised of one flow-through common share and one half of a common share purchase warrant, with each full warrant entitling the holder to purchase an additional non-flow-through common share at an exercise price of $0.35 per share for a period of one year from the date of closing. The proceeds of this private placement will be used to extend the drill program scheduled this summer at Edgemont's Dungate copper/gold porphyry project near Houston, B.C. Common shares comprising part of the Units issued under this private placement will qualify as flow through shares under the Income Tax Act (Canada). The total funds received by the Company will be used to incur 'Canadian exploration expenses' that will qualify as 'flow through mining expenditures' under the Income Tax Act and will be renounced to the initial purchasers of the flow through shares. All securities to be issued with respect to this private placement will be subject to a hold period expiring four months and one day from the closing date of the placement, in accordance with applicable securities laws. A total of 160,000 finders warrants will be paid with respect to this placement. Closing of the private placement is subject to final acceptance by the Canadian Securities Exchange. About Edgemont Edgemont is actively exploring the Dungate copper/gold porphyry project located just 6 km south of Houston in the Omenica Mining Division of northern British Columbia. Having acquired an interest in its initial claims at Dungate in 2018, the Company now holds five mineral tenures covering 1,582.2 hectares that can be explored year round by all-season roads. For more information, please visit our web site at www.edgemontgold.com. For further information, please contact: Stuart Rogers Chief Executive Officer Tel: (778) 239-3775 www.edgemontgold.com Kevin Arias VP Corporate Development Tel: (778) 773-4786 E-mail: info@edgemontgold.com Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as the term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities 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/86266 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Oculus VisionTech Inc. (TSXV: OVT) (OTCQB: OVTZ) (FSE: USF1), an emerging data compliance innovator, is pleased to announce and welcome Spencer Spicker to our ComplyTrustTM Inc. team as Vice President, Business Development and Sales. Mr. Spicker has spent his career driving revenue growth within the enterprise data storage industry. Spencer's strong business development leadership experience with direct, OEM and channel sales models has successfully grown revenue at multiple storage companies both large and small. Spencer is a Veteran of Naval Special Warfare and attended Louisiana State University and presently serves on the board of Inspire, the Foundation for Education. Mr. Spicker is tasked with building new AWS cloud and Salesforce relationships for ComplyTrust's ComplyScanTM cloud-native backup compliance reporting tool and their Forget-Me-Yes (FMY) Software-as-a-Service application for organizational and individual Right-to-be-Forgotten (RtbF) and Right-of-Erase (RoE) data privacy compliance. ComplyScanTM is a cloud-native application that provides compliance reporting of backup/restore job activities for AWS services including Aurora, DDB, EC2/EBS, EFS, RDS and StorageGateway. Forget-Me-Yes (FMY) is an innovative zero-knowledge data privacy platform now available on a monthly subscription-basis for Salesforce organizations, supporting both structured and unstructured data queries, ensuring DSAR deletion-request compliance for Brazil's LGPD, California's CCPA/CPRA, Europe's GDPR, Nevada's SB220 and Virginia's CDPA data privacy legislation. "We are pleased to have Spencer on-board and welcome his expertise in helping to build a solid foundation for the future long-term success of our ComplyTrustTM brand and products," said Rowland Perkins, President and CEO at Oculus VisionTech. For more information, please visit https://complytrust.com/ today. About Oculus VisionTech Oculus VisionTech Inc. (OVT), www.ovtz.com, is a development-stage technology company focused on cyber security and data privacy compliance products for Enterprise business customers. With offices in San Diego, California and Vancouver, British Columbia, the company is currently expanding its' new ComplyTrustTM, www.complytrust.com, product suite which includes the ComplyScan cloud backup reporting tool and Forget-Me-YesTM B2B data privacy Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, optimizing CCPA, CDPA, GDPR, LGPD, SB220 and other regulatory compliance legislation for Salesforce organizations worldwide. OVTZ's legacy Cloud-DPS digital content protection solution implements invisible forensic watermarking technology that seamlessly embeds imperceptible tracking components into documents and video-frame content that enables tamper-proof legal auditability for intellectual property protection. Learn more about Oculus at www.ovtz.com or follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/OculusVT) or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Oculus). About ComplyTrustTM ComplyTrust Inc. https://complytrust.com/, a 100% wholly-owned subsidiary of Oculus VisionTech, is specifically focused on providing enterprise organizations and individuals with secure data privacy tools that provide sustained and continuous global regulatory compliance of data subject rights. Headquartered in San Diego, California, ComplyTrust was founded by industry veteran storage technology experts and is operated by an experienced management team. Learn more about ComplyTrust at https://complytrust.com/. For further information, contact: Anton Drescher Telephone: (604) 685-1017 Fax: (604) 685-5777 Website: http://ovtz.com/ TSXV: https://tmxmatrix.com/company/OVT US OTC Markets (OTCQB): https://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/OVTZ/security Berlin Borse: https://www.boerse-berlin.com/index.php/Shares?isin=US67575Y1091 Frankfurt Borse: https://www.boerse-frankfurt.de/equity/oculus-visiontech Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"), including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in this news release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among others, statements as to the intended uses of the proceeds received from the Offering. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "pro forma", "plans", "expects", "may", "should", "budget", "schedules", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "potential" or variations of such words including negative variations thereof and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors including risks and uncertainties relating to, among others, the change of business focus of the management of Oculus, the inability of Oculus to pursue its current business objectives, the ability of the Company to obtain any required governmental, regulatory or stock exchange approvals, permits, consents or authorizations required, including TSXV final acceptance of the Offering and any planned future activities, and obtain the financing required to carry out its planned future activities. Other factors such as general economic, market or business conditions or changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting the Company's industry, may also adversely affect the future results or performance of the Company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and Oculus assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Although Oculus believes that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this news release are reasonable, there can be no assurance those beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consider all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosed in Oculus' periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the United States Securities Exchange Commission and Canadian securities regulators. These reports and Oculus' public filings are available at www.sec.gov in the United States and www.sedar.com in Canada. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86270 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - AbraSilver Resource Corp. (TSXV: ABRA) (OTC Pink: ABBRF) ("AbraSilver" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it will be presenting at the Virtual Investor Day IV ("VID IV") June 8-10, 2021 hosted by IR.INC and FTMIG. Mr. John Miniotis, President and CEO of AbraSilver, will provide an in-depth update on the Company at 10:00 a.m. EST, June 9, 2021. VID IV is a completely interactive experience for feature companies and stakeholders. Feature companies will have 30 minutes to outline their investment opportunity, while stakeholders and the audience will be invited to engage via direct Q&A, polls and other interactive tools after and during each presentation. To register for VID IV, please click the link: https://www.bigmarker.com/series/virtual-investor-day-iv/series_summit About AbraSilver Resource Corp. AbraSilver is a well-funded silver-gold focused advanced-stage exploration company. The Company is rapidly advancing its 100%-owned Diablillos silver-gold project in the mining-friendly Salta province of Argentina, which has an Indicated resource base of over 140Moz on a silver-equivalent basis and an initial open pit PEA study completed in 2018. The Company is led by an experienced management team and has long-term supportive shareholders including Mr. Eric Sprott, Altius Minerals and SSR Mining. In addition, AbraSilver owns a portfolio of earlier-stage copper-gold projects, including the Arcas project in Chile where Rio Tinto has an option to earn up to a 75% interest by funding up to US$25 million in exploration. AbraSilver is listed on the TSX-V under the symbol "ABRA" and in the U.S. under the symbol "ABBRF". For further information please visit the AbraSilver Resource website at www.abrasilver.com, our LinkedIn page at AbraSilver Resource Corp., and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/abrasilver. About IR.INC IR.INC Capital Markets Advisory & Services works with its clients to develop and deploy strategic plans and build industry alliances while providing shareholder introductions and solutions. The Company also provides a number of traditional Investor Relations Services. You can find out more about IR.INC here www.irinc.ca. About FTMIG Follow the Money Investor Group is a financial portal that provides content and information needed to navigate the ever-changing capital markets. Our global community of visitors and investors are able to use our platform to discuss and collaborate daily on all facets of their current and potential investments. Our goal is to help retail investors make the right financial decisions that fit their individual needs. You can find out more about FTMIG here www.ftmig.com. Disclaimer Follow the Money Investor ("FTMIG") is an online investor community that connects investors and public companies. Both FTMIG and IR.INC are not registered as a broker, dealer, exempt market dealer, or any other registrant in any securities regulatory jurisdiction and will not be performing any registerable activity as defined by the applicable regulatory bodies. Both FTMIG and IR.INC and their affiliates do not endorse or recommend any securities issued by any companies identified on, or linked through, this conference. Please seek professional advice to evaluate specific securities or other content discussed during this event. Links, if any, to third party sites are for informational purposes only, and not for trading purposes. FTMIG and IR.INC. and their affiliates have not prepared, reviewed or updated any content on third party sites and assume no responsibility for the information posted on them. For further information, please contact: Joanne Jobin, Principal IR.INC | Capital Markets Advisory & Services jjobin@irinc.ca www.irinc.ca Karl Boyd, President Follow the Money Investor Group kboyd@ftmig.com www.ftmig.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86284 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Golden Independence Mining Corp. (CSE: IGLD) (OTCQB: GIDMF) (FSE: 6NN) (the "Company" or "IGLD") announces that it is proceeding with a non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") of up to 1,724,138 common shares (each a "Share") a price of $0.29 per Share to raise gross proceeds of up to $500,000. All securities issued pursuant to the Private Placement will be subject to a four-month hold period from the date of issuance. Completion of the Private Placement is subject to the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange. About Golden Independence Mining Corp. Golden Independence Mining Corp. is an exploration company currently focused on exploring the advanced-stage Independence Gold Property located in the Battle Mountain-Cortez Trend, Nevada and the Champ precious metal property near Castlegar, British Columbia. The Independence Gold Property benefits from over US$25 million in past exploration, including over 200 holes drilled, and is located adjacent to Nevada Gold Mines' Phoenix-Fortitude mining operations in the Battle Mountain-Cortez trend of Nevada. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Christos Doulis, Chief Executive Officer Telephone: 1.647.924.1083 Email: christos@goldenindependence.co Forward Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking information (within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation) that involves various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information includes statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance of the Company, and include, without limitation, statements regarding completion of the Private Placement. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and the Company's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information in this news release, including without limitation, the following risks and uncertainties: (i) the risk that the Canadian Securities Exchange will not accept the terms of the Private Placement; (ii) the risk that the Company will not be able to locate suitable purchasers for the Private Placement; and (iii) management's discretion regarding the use of proceeds. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. This forward-looking information is based on estimates and opinions of management on the date hereof and is expressly qualified by this notice. Risks and uncertainties about the Company's business are more fully discussed in the Company's disclosure materials filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada at www.sedar.com. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from such information unless required by applicable law. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION INTO THE UNITED STATES OR THROUGH U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86347 FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2018 file photo, Pakistani lawyer Saiful Malook, left, leaves the Supreme court with a bodyguard, in Islamabad, Pakistan. A Pakistani appeals court on Thursday, June 3, 2021 acquitted a Christian couple sentenced to death on blasphemy charges for allegedly insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad, their defense lawyer Malook said. Murchison has just commenced field prospecting on these conductors that includes mapping, sampling and backpack drilling where warranted. The Company has also acquired, by map designation, an additional 4,600 hectares (46 km 2 ) of mineral claims adjacent to the existing claims, effectively consolidating a 100% interest over 104 km 2 of contiguous mineral claims. This expanded property holding covers additional prospective geological units that host significant historic nickel, copper and cobalt mineralization identified in grab samples. TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2021 / Murchison Minerals Ltd. ("Murchison" or the "Company") (TSXV:MUR) is pleased to announce that a preliminary review of the recently completed VTEM-Plus helicopter electromagnetic (EM) survey data has identified many new highly-prospective geophysical anomalies at its Haut Plateau de la Manicouagan ("HPM") project in northern Quebec. The analysis was completed by Condor Consulting, Inc. on the 655 line-kilometre airborne survey that was carried out in April of 2021. Condor Consulting has thus far defined 55 discrete conductive trends totalling 42 km in cumulative length, varying in strike extent from 290 m to 2.3 km. To date, only a small portion of the HPM property has been evaluated. Previous exploration has been primarily focussed on two areas of nickel, copper and cobalt mineralization (PYC & Barre de Fer) that were originally discovered by Falconbridge Nickel in 1999. Past diamond drilling at PYC (single hole drilled in 2001) and Barre de Fer (25 holes drilled in 2001 and 2008) has confirmed the nickel, copper and cobalt mineralization continues at depth. Generally, mineralization occurs as massive sulfide breccia and as disseminated (5-15% sulfides) to net-textured sulfide within norite (Barre de Fer area) or in gabbro (PYC area). The nickel, copper and cobalt mineralization at Barre de Fer has been traced by diamond drilling for approximately 300 metres along strike and to a depth of about 280 metres. The mineralization remains open at depth and along strike. The wide interval of disseminated sulfide may have substantial tonnage potential and warrant assessment for high-volume, low-cost open-pit mining potential. Diamond drilling at Barre de Fer has substantiated the presence of multiple zones of brittle fracture hosted nickel-copper-cobalt bearing massive sulphide breccia vein-type mineralization that coincides with an airborne EM conductor. The best result occurs in hole HPM 08-03 where a 43.2 metre intersection returned 1.74% Ni, 0.90% Cu and 0.1% Co. Five-hundred metres of the 800-metre-long conductor, remain untested. Past prospecting on the PYC conductor identified a mineralized zone over a strike length of 1,200 metres that returned grab samples containing up to 0.76% Ni, 0.93% Cu and 1,415 ppm Co. Notably, only one drill hole, #151-03 was ever completed on the PYC conductor and intersected 15.3 metres of 0.28% Ni, 0.14% Cu and 0.06% Co (0.89% Cu Eq. using current metal prices) within a broad interval of disseminated nickel, copper and cobalt mineralization hosted by granulitic gabbro. The single diamond drill hole has not adequately tested the zone's potential to host massive nickel-copper deposits. Additional drilling is warranted. Ground prospecting undertaken in 2009 in the vicinity of the Barre de Fer prospect led to the discovery of several new nickel, copper and cobalt showings (including the Syrah, Muscat and Pinot). At the Syrah showing, breccia-vein style, semi-massive to massive sulphide (pyrrhotite +/- chalcopyrite) mineralization has been observed over a 65 metre by 15 metre area within the Gabbro Est Intrusive. Grab samples have returned values up to 0.50% Ni, 0.43% Cu and 1,137 ppm Co. Figure 1: Map showing major conductors (Ch. 45) in the area covered by the VTEM-Plus airborne survey Magmatic nickel, copper and cobalt mineralization is the principal exploration target at the HPM project. Worldwide, the most important magmatic deposits occur almost exclusively at the base of their associated mafic and ultramafic igneous bodies which implies that the magmas involved were saturated in sulphide and carrying excess sulphide at the time of their emplacement. Magmatic deposits are the dominant source of nickel and are variably important by-product sources of copper and cobalt. The Manicouagan Intrusive Complex is comprised of extensive areas of mafic and ultramafic rock displaying repeated pulses of mafic magma that have intruded sulphide-bearing metasedimentary rocks. The massive sulphide breccia veins at HPM are similar in character to the vein-type footwall deposits found at Sudbury and at Voisey's Bay. At Sudbury, these veins are hosted by footwall breccias or enclosing gneisses up to 2 km from the contact and may be connected to massive ore bodies at the base of the Sudbury Igneous Complex. The sulphides have intruded along incompetencies produced by the brittle fractures in the wallrock of the intrusive complex. A 655 line-kilometre VTEM & MAG survey flown in April 2021 covers the claim package. As a result of the preliminary interpretation of the airborne survey, Murchison expanded its HPM land holdings by adding 46 km2 of new claim coverage. Limited prospecting and sampling completed last September and historically, successfully identified a number of mineralized surface showings coincident with airborne anomalies. High potential for new discoveries exists given the numerous priority airborne EM targets identified in an area that has remained largely unexplored since 2009. Figure 2: Expanded claim block & priority airborne anomalies identified by the recent VTEM survey Figure 3: Expanded claim block & Nickel-Copper-Cobalt assays The Corporation is moving into recruiting mode in preparation for the reopening of its facilities. Before operations were suspended, some 150 people worked at the Beaufor mine and 30 at the Beacon mill. Monarch will focus on operating the Beaufor Mine through two accesses (the production ramp near the mine (500 m) and the shaft), instead of the shaft access only. The Beaufor mine has produced over 1.1 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 7.50 g/t Au since it opened in the early 1930s. The 42,500-metre drilling program is ongoing, with four drills operating underground and one on surface. BBA Inc. will prepare a new resource estimate for the Beaufor mine during the summer of 2021. MONTREAL, QC / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2021 / MONARCH MINING CORPORATION ("Monarch" or the "Corporation") (TSX:GBAR) (OTCQX:GBARF) is pleased to announce that it plans to reopen its wholly-owned Beaufor mine and Beacon mill by June 2022. The mine and mill are located some 20 kilometres east of Val-d'Or, Quebec. The Beaufor mine has produced over 1.1 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 7.50 g/t Au since the early 1930s. The mine is currently on care and maintenance, which enabled Monarch to undertake a huge diamond drilling program of 42,500 metres in June 2020 aimed at expanding and better defining the resource at the mine. The Corporation has reported the results for 14,465 metres of drilling, about 34% of the program, including the following high-grade intersections: 783 g/t Au over 0.2 m and 293 g/t Au over 0.5 m (press release dated October 1, 2020), 35.87 g/t Au over 9.8 m (press release dated January 19, 2021) and 187.0 g/t Au over 0.5 m, 151.5 g/t Au over 0.5 m and 147.5 g/t Au over 0.3 m (press release dated April 29, 2021). In addition, BBA Inc. is scheduled to prepare a new resource estimate in the summer of 2021 (press release dated May 10, 2021). The 750 tonne-per-day Beacon mill, just 7 kilometres from the Beaufor mine, has also been on care and maintenance since being acquired in 2016. The mill is fully permitted to process up to 1,800,000 tonnes of tailings, representing some nine years of ore processing at full capacity. "We are at the stage where we are ready to proceed with the decision to restart the Beaufor Mine and the Beacon Mill," said Jean-Marc Lacoste, President and CEO of Monarch. "Following the release of our drill results last April, our technical team did their own internal compilation of the historical data and the drill results obtained to date, and they have given us the green light to proceed with the restart process. The next steps will mainly be to continue exploration, definition and development work, recruit the required personnel and purchase the equipment needed for production." "Our new production strategy will focus on operating the Beaufor Mine through two accesses, the production ramp and the shaft, whereas historical production was always from the shaft. Ever since the mine was temporarily closed in 2019, our goal has been to restart the mine with a view to creating long-term value and good-quality jobs in the Abitibi region. We still believe that the Beaufor Mine has excellent gold potential in the vicinity of the existing mineralized envelope and at depth, and we are confident of realizing its full potential," added Mr. Lacoste. The new job openings will be posted on the Corporation's website over the next few weeks, at www.monarchmining.com. The technical and scientific content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by Christian Tessier, Geo., the Corporation's qualified person under National Instrument 43-101. About Beaufor The Beaufor Mine is located within the Bourlamaque Batholith at the eastern contact with the Dubuisson Formation. The Bourlamaque Batholith, a synvolcanic intrusion, is a major geological feature of the Val-d'Or mining camp. It is a quartziferous granodiorite cut by fine-grained dioritic dykes. Gold mineralization occurs in veins associated with shear zones dipping moderately south. Mineralization is associated with quartz-tourmaline-pyrite veins resulting from the filling of shear and extension fractures. Gold-bearing veins show a close association with mafic dykes intruding the granodiorite. A National Instrument 43-101 resource estimate for the Beaufor Mine property was prepared for Monarch Mining in December 2020 by Carl Pelletier, P. Geo., InnovExplo Inc., and John Langton, P. Geo., JPL GeoServices Inc. The mineral resource estimate is listed in the table below. Table 1: 2020 mineral resource estimate for the Beaufor Mine Category Tonnes Grade (g/t Au) Gold (ounces) Measured 121,000 5.62 21,900 Indicated 310,100 7.10 70,800 Total M+I 431,100 6.68 92,700 Inferred 134,600 6.96 30,100 Mineral Resource Estimate notes: The independent and qualified person for the 2020 MRE, as defined by NI 43-101, is Carl Pelletier, P.Geo. (InnovExplo Inc.), and the effective date is December 18, 2020. These mineral resources are not mineral reserves as they do not have demonstrated economic viability. The mineral resource estimates follow CIM Definition Standards and Guidelines. A capping of 68.5 g/t Au on assays was applied for zones 8, B, M, M1 and Q, and 34.25 g/t for all other zones. The DDH intercepts (min. 2.4 m) were capped at 16.5 g/t. The estimate method was polygonal on cross-sections with a minimum width of 2.4 m using a density of 2.75 t/m3 for the 63 mineralized zones. Measured resource polygons extend 8 m above and below development and up to 10 m laterally. Indicated resource polygons extend up to 20 m from DDH intercepts, along dip and along strike and a minimum of 2 polygons need to be in contact. Inferred resource polygons extend up to 40 m from DDH intercepts, along dip and along strike where a drill spacing ranges from 20 m to 40 m and/or in areas of isolated drill holes where mineralization is known. The reasonable prospect for an eventual economical extraction is met by having a reasonable minimum width for the polygons, a cut-off grade of 3.20 g/t Au, application of constraining volumes on the blocks (potential underground scenario) below a 30 m crown pillar. The cut-off grades inputs are: a gold price of USD1,612/oz, a CAD:USD exchange rate of 1.34; a mining cost of $100/t for the long hole method and $145/t for the room and pillar method; a processing cost of $50/t; and G&A and environment of $13/t and includes the royalty of 1.0% and a refinery charge of $5/t. The cut-off grades should be re-evaluated in light of future prevailing market conditions (metal prices, exchange rate, mining cost, etc.). Results are presented in situ. Ounce (troy) = metric tons x grade / 31.10348. The number of tonnes and ounces was rounded to the nearest hundred. Any discrepancies in the totals are due to rounding effects; rounding followed the recommendations as per NI 43-101. InnovExplo Inc. is not aware of any known environmental, permitting, legal, title-related, taxation, socio-political, marketing or other relevant issue that could materially affect the mineral resource estimate. About Monarch Monarch Mining Corporation (TSX:GBAR) is a fully integrated mining company that owns four advanced projects, including the fully permitted past-producing Beaufor Mine, which has produced more than 1 million ounces of gold over the last 30 years. Other advanced assets include the Croinor Gold, McKenzie Break and Swanson properties, all located near Monarch's wholly owned and fully permitted Beacon 750 tpd mill. Monarch owns 28,725 hectares (287 km2) of mining assets in the prolific Abitibi mining camp that host 588,482 ounces of combined measured and indicated gold resources and 329,393 ounces of combined inferred resources. Forward-Looking Statements The forward-looking statements in this press release involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Monarch's actual results, performance and achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied therein. Neither TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jean-Marc Lacoste 1-888-994-4465 President and Chief Executive Officer jm.lacoste@monarchmining.com Mathieu Seguin 1-888-994-4465 Vice President, Corporate Development m.seguin@monarchmining.com Elisabeth Tremblay 1-888-994-4465 Senior Geologist - Communications Specialist e.tremblay@monarchmining.com www.monarchmining.com Table 2: Monarch's consolidated gold resource Tonnes (metric) Grade (g/t Au) Ounces Croinor Gold1 Measured resource 80,100 8.44 21,700 Indicated resource 724,500 9.20 214,300 Total Measured and Indicated 804,600 9.12 236,000 Total Inferred 160,800 7.42 38,400 Mine Beaufor2 Measured resource 121,000 5.62 21,900 Indicated resource 310,100 7.10 70,800 Total Measured and Indicated 431,100 6.68 92,700 Total Inferred 134,600 6.96 30,100 McKenzie Break3 In-pit Total Indicated 1,441,377 1.80 83,305 Total Inferred 2,243,562 1.44 104,038 Underground Total Indicated 387,720 5.03 62,677 Total Inferred 1,083,503 4.21 146,555 Swanson4 In -pit Total Indicated 1,864,000 1.76 105,400 Total Inferred 29,000 2.46 2,300 Underground Total Indicated 91,000 2.86 8,400 Total Inferred 87,000 2.87 8,000 TOTAL COMBINED5 Measured and Indicated resource Inferred resource , 588,482 329,393 1 Source: Monarch Gold prefeasibility study (January 19, 2018) and resource estimate (January 8, 2016). This resource estimate was prepared for Monarch Gold and has not been reviewed by a qualified person for Monarch Mining as required under National Instrument 43-101 and is thus considered as an historical estimate. 2 Source: NI 43-101 Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate for the Beaufor Mine, December 18, 2020, Val-d'Or, Quebec, Canada, Carl Pelletier, P. Geo., InnovExplo Inc. and John Langton, P. Geo., JPL GeoServices Inc. 3 Source: NI 43-101 Technical Evaluation Report on the McKenzie Break Property, February 1, 2021, Val-d'Or, Quebec, Canada, Alain-Jean Beauregard, P.Geo., Daniel Gaudreault, P.Eng., Geologica Groupe-Conseil Inc., and Merouane Rachidi, P.Geo., Claude Duplessis, P.Eng., GoldMinds GeoServices Inc. 4 Source: NI 43-101 Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate for the Swanson Project, January 22, 2021, Val-d'Or, Quebec, Canada, Christine Beausoleil, P. Geo. and Alain Carrier, P. Geo., InnovExplo Inc. 5 Numbers may not add due to rounding. SOURCE: Monarch Gold Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/650094/Monarch-Plans-to-Restart-the-Beaufor-Mine-and-the-Beacon-Mill-by-June-2022 Ottawa, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Molecule Holdings Inc. (CSE: MLCL) ("Molecule" or the "Company"), a Canadian craft-focused cannabis beverage production company, is pleased to announce that the company's newest brand Phresh has been picked up by the Ontario Cannabis Store ("OCS") for both online and retail distribution. Phresh is the 6th brand accepted and sold by the OCS on behalf of Canadian licensed cannabis beverage production company, Molecule (CSE: MLCL). Phresh Strawberry Kiwi is anticipated to launch in time for the busy summer season. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7979/86388_phresh_banner.jpg Phresh marks the 6th brand accepted and sold by the OCS on behalf of Molecule. It is anticipated to launch in time for the busy summer season. "We are especially excited about the Phresh brand being picked up so quickly. The product pushes the boundaries on a number of fronts and represents the single largest order we have received as a company to date," commented President and CEO Phil Waddington. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD MOLECULE HOLDINGS INC. Per: "Philip Waddington" President, CEO and Director For further information, please contact: Andre Audet, Chairman and Co-Founder Phone: 1 (888) 665-2853 x101 Email: andre@molecule.ca www.molecule.ca About Molecule Holdings Inc. Molecule works with client-partners to engage in the production of cannabis-infused beverages and edibles. We provide the infrastructure, know-how, technology, and licensing for craft producers to create consumable cannabis products. Molecule's goal is to be the on-ramp for companies wishing to enter into the cannabis beverage and edibles market, but who choose not to go through the significant process of obtaining the required cannabis licences. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Forward-Looking Statements 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, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. In this news release, the Company is making forward-looking statements with respect to the timing of a beverage launch. 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. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. 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/86388 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Psyched Wellness Ltd., (CSE: PSYC) (OTCQB: PSYCF) (FSE: 5U9) (the "Company" or "Psyched") a life sciences company focused on the production and distribution of artisanal functional and psychedelic mushrooms, is pleased to announce the company has contracted dacs Marketing, a full service agency focused on delivering brand, sales, marketing and digital conversion strategies for B2B and B2C clients across North America, including full creative services; design, art, photography, video, digital and web. "When Jeff Stevens outlined their business and product plans, our senior team was all in. People are looking for natural supplements to regain physical health and mental balance coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and we believe Amanita will disrupt the market," says Dave Schmidt, CEO of dacs Marketing. "This is an important step for the company as we initiate plans to commercialize our products in the first half of 2022. Identifying dacs as an agency that understands the health and wellness category as well as the alternative categories including psychedelics and cannabis is key to helping Psyched build a fulsome go-to-market strategy," says Jeff Stevens, CEO of the Company. For further information, please contact: Jeffrey Stevens Chief Executive Officer Psyched Wellness Ltd. Tel: 647-400-8494 Email: jstevens@psyched-wellness.com Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider have reviewed or accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. About Psyched Wellness Ltd.: Psyched Wellness Ltd. is a Canadian-based health supplements company dedicated to the distribution of mushroom-derived products and associated consumer packaged goods. The Company's objective is to create premium mushroom-derived products that have the potential to become a leading North American brand in the emerging functional food category. The Company is in the process of developing a line of Amanita muscaria-derived water-based extracts, teas and capsules designed to help with three health objectives: promote stress relief, relaxation and assist with restful sleeping. 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 receiving the Initial Supply on the timelines and in quantities mentioned above, the quality and potency of the Amanita muscaria mushrooms received from MB MEMEL GOODS, the intended use of the Initial Supply and the Company's ability to reach commercial production. 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, including MB MEMEL GOODS being unable to deliver Initial Supply on the timelines and in quantities mentioned above, the quality and potency of the Amanita muscaria mushrooms received from MB MEMEL GOODS being unfit for AME-1, and the inability of the Company to reach commercial production. 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. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86238 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Provenance Gold Corp. (CSE: PAU) (FSE: 3PG) (OTCQB: PVGDF) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the following corporate update on its three gold and silver exploration properties located in Nevada, USA. The Company's focus in Nevada is based on several key factors: Nevada is a significant gold producer with a history of major gold discoveries. Many new discoveries are still being made. Nevada has a stable pro-mining environment. Most mines in Nevada are large open-pit mines with low grade but very economic ores. Exploration for this type of ore deposit is ideal for junior mining companies because shallow reverse circulation (RC) drilling is fast and inexpensive. Provenance's geologists are experienced, with a history of discoveries, including successful exploration in Nevada. Provenance's exploration manager for Nevada has managed the drilling of more than 120 projects in Nevada and has been involved in several major discoveries in the state. Provenance's experienced geologists have acquired three strong Nevada properties, and hope to turn these properties into potential new discoveries. With its recent funding, the Company is entering a key new stage in its growth into a successful precious metals company. The recent funding has already allowed an initial drilling program on its first project, the Silver Bow property, with drilling planned to start on its second project, the White Rock property, in early June. The Company's three properties are outlined below. Silver Bow The Silver Bow gold and silver property is located in Nye County, Nevada, about 40 miles east of the historic mining town of Tonopah. The Silver Bow property contains several strong exploration targets, for both bulk-tonnage and high-grade gold and silver. The property has several defined drill targets. The primary target on the property is a mineralized twin flow-dome complex that Provenance believes may host a high-grade vein system at depth. This dome complex additionally contains a large breccia zone that is exposed on its north flank. Most surface samples of this breccia assayed potentially economic values in gold and silver, suggesting an open pit deposit. Because it is private property that did not need permitting, the Company's first drilling program was on its Blue Horse claim about four kilometers east of the primary flow dome target. This first drilling program consisted of 23 shallow reverse circulation holes. The drilling has been very recently completed and the results are being analyzed. White Rock Provenance acquired the White Rock gold property located in northeastern Elko County from Ely Gold Royalties Inc. and expanded the property to 258 claims covering 5,160 acres. This expansion resulted from a new understanding of the gold system after review of historical drill logs and the Company's field work. This new understanding has identified what the Company anticipates being a major gold mineralization system that starts at the surface. The Company believes the property hosts a large structurally controlled, sediment-hosted gold system similar to the Black Pine mine in nearby Idaho. The initial drilling program is designed to verify and expand on the historically identified gold zones, and to confirm the new mineralization model. The first drilling program at White Rock is expected to start during the first week of June. This initial drill program will focus on a core area of gold mineralization that is more than a mile across. Most of the 65 holes that were historically drilled on very wide spacings were in this core area. Although most of the historic exploration intersected persistent and thick gold intervals, gold prices were low and the companies at that time sought higher gold grades than are currently being mined today. Those same grades that were intersected in the historic drilling are very attractive today. Additionally, the gold mineralization controls were poorly understood and strong gold intercepts along control structures were not followed up on. Provenance's current understanding of the gold system today suggests significant expansion of the recognized area of mineralization is likely. Mineral Hill Provenance recently acquired the Mineral Hill silver property south of Carlin, in Lander County. Provenance is currently evaluating this historic high-grade silver mine from a new perspective, and plans to release more information about this acquisition in the near future. The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Rauno Perttu, a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101. 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. 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/86260 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Cabral Gold Inc. (TSXV: CBR) (OTC PINK: CBGZF) ("Cabral" or the "Company") is pleased to advise that following the recent identification of a gold-bearing oxide blanket above the MG deposit, Cabral has acquired all of the remaining surface rights which cover the oxide gold blanket and the underlying MG gold deposit. The MG gold deposit is one of two deposits with significant resources which have been identified to date within the Cuiu Cuiu gold district in northern Brazil. Highlights are as follows: Cabral has signed a binding agreement to acquire the surface rights to the eastern part of the MG gold deposit and the recently identified gold-bearing oxide blanket where recent drilling returned 60m @ 3.5 g/t gold The Company acquired surface rights totaling 184.7 hectares, bringing its total surface land holdings at both MG and Machichie to 256.5 hectares. These surface rights cover the entire gold-bearing oxide blanket and underlying MG gold deposit. Both remain open As part of the transaction, the Company also acquired a second area amounting to 186.9 hectares immediately north of the Machichie target and close to the Quebra Bunda target where surface sampling of a high-grade vein in outcrop previously returned a value of 3,727 g/t gold (120 oz/t gold) The Company has also been granted Trial Mining License permits over the MG and Machichie areas totaling 85 hectares which gives the Company the right to process up to 100,000t of ore per year, subject to the granting of environmental licenses Alan Carter, Cabral's President and CEO commented, "The recent drill results from the gold-bearing oxide blanket at MG meant that the acquisition of the surface rights over this part of the Cuiu Cuiu district became an extremely high priority for us. Cabral now controls both the mineral rights and the surface rights to the MG gold deposit and gold-bearing blanket, as well as the recently identified Machichie zone located 500m north of MG. The acquisition of these surface rights, together with the recent granting of two Trial Mining Licenses over the MG deposit and the Machichie zone, enhances Cabral's control of the area and raises the possibility of an accelerated path to production." Following the recent identification of a significant gold-bearing oxide blanket above the MG gold deposit, Cabral has acquired all of the surface rights, totaling 184.7 hectares (Figure 1), covering the eastern part of the MG deposit and the bulk of the overlying gold-bearing oxide blanket, where recent drilling returned 60m @ 3.5 g/t gold (see press release dated May 19, 2021). As with most jurisdictions around the world, in Brazil surface rights are separate from mineral rights. Cabral already owns the two contiguous blocks of surface rights at Cuiu Cuiu (totaling 71.7 hectares) which cover the western half of the MG deposit and the parallel Machichie target (located 500m north of MG). It also covers most of the Machichie SW vein array where recent drilling at the Hamilton Novo vein returned 3m @ 13.2 g/t gold (see press release dated April 15, 2021). This new acquisition brings the Company's surface land holdings at both MG and Machichie to a total of 256.5 hectares. As part of the transaction the Company also acquired a second area amounting to 186.9 hectares northeast of Machichie, and 1km east of the Quebra Bunda target where surface sampling of a high-grade vein in outcrop previously returned a value of 3,727 g/t gold (120 oz/t gold). The total consideration for both properties was R$474,000 (C$111,720) plus an additional nominal amount relating to compensation for structures and other improvements on the property which will be paid in Q3 2021. The Company applied for a number Trial Mining Licenses in December 2020 of which two have been granted on the 850/615/2004 and 850.047/2005 tenements. Applications for Trial Mining Licenses over the Central gold deposit and the Pau da Merenda target area are still pending. The two Trial Mining Licenses over the MG and Machichie areas total 85 hectares and give the Company the right to process up to 100,000t of ore per year, subject to the granting of environmental licenses which have been applied for. Figure 1: Map showing the outline of the MG gold deposit as well as the recently discovered Machichie zone and the NE trending Machichie SW vein array (in yellow) and the recently identified gold-bearing oxide blanket which overlies the MG gold deposit. Cabral's surface rights including the new acquisition are also shown To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3900/86363_267ac4d694ecdae1_002full.jpg Surface access rights are distinct from mineral rights. The Cuiu Cuiu mineral rights held by the Company total 41,576 hectares including all ground comprising and surrounding the 'New Acquisition' and 'Cabral's properties' referred to in Figure 1. The Company is planning to aggressively determine the size of the gold-bearing oxide blanket at MG in the coming months, whilst continuing to both outline the high-grade zones in the underlying MG gold deposit, and drill test regional targets within the Cuiu Cuiu gold district. About Cabral Gold Inc. The Company is a junior resource company engaged in the identification, exploration and development of mineral properties, with a primary focus on gold properties located in Brazil. The Company has a 100% interest in the Cuiu Cuiu gold district located in the Tapajos Region, within the state of Para in northern Brazil. Two gold deposits have so far been defined at Cuiu Cuiu and contain 43-101 compliant Indicated resources of 5.9Mt @ 0.90g/t (200,000 oz) and Inferred resources of 19.5Mt @ 1.24g/t (800,000 oz). The Tapajos Gold Province is the site of the largest gold rush in Brazil's history producing an estimated 30 to 50 million ounces of placer gold between 1978 and 1995. Cuiu Cuiu was the largest garimpo in the Tapajos and produced an estimated 2Moz of placer gold historically. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: "Alan Carter" President and Chief Executive Officer Cabral Gold Inc. Tel: 604.676.5660 Guillermo Hughes, P. Geo. FAusIMM and AIG., a consultant to the Company as well as a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively "forward-looking statements"). The use of the words "will", "expected" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon. This news release contains forward-looking statements and assumptions pertaining to the following: strategic plans and future operations, and results of exploration. Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors. The Company believes the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. Notes Gold analysis has been conducted by SGS method FAA505 (fire assay of 50g charge), with higher grade samples checked by FAA525. Analytical quality is monitored by certified references and blanks. Until dispatch, samples are stored under the supervision the Company's exploration office. The samples are couriered to the assay laboratory using a commercial contractor. Pulps are returned to the Company and archived. Drill holes results are quoted as down-hole length weighted intersections. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86363 AMSTERDAM, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Amsterdam-based fashion brand Scotch & Soda celebrates its long-term partnership with Plastic Whale with the launch of a boat in acknowledgment of World Environment Day. Made from recycled plastic waste collected from the city's main canals, the boat is named 'The Free Spirit of Amsterdam'. Among the most iconic landmarks in the world, Amsterdam's canal system is over 100 kilometres long. Plastic waste ends up in the water primarily due to heavy seasonal tourism and wind - cleaning at the source contributes to preventing this waste from flowing out to the North Sea and preserving and improving the water quality of the canals. Plastic Whale makes it its mission to collect plastic from the water during plastic fishing trips together with companies, schools and individuals. In 2019, they collected around 50,000 plastic bottles from the three main canals of Amsterdam: Herengracht, Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht. Plastic Whale owns a fleet of boats made from the PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles that they've collected from the canals. The construction of each boat, which takes up to three months, is made with over 5,000 PET bottles. A strong, lightweight plastic widely used for packaging, PET is completely recyclable and can be transformed into a valuable raw material. The PET bottles are first washed, then processed into granules and fibres to make the foam plates, which they use to build the boats. Scotch & Soda's custom-made boat is named 'The Free Spirit of Amsterdam' as a tribute to the liberal outlook of Amsterdam that inspires the brand to champion individuality, authenticity and the power of self-expression. Scotch & Soda's brand colours - tan, charcoal, and cloud white - are reflected in the boat's unique design. The deck is made from a mosaic of around 900 black plastic bottle caps collected from the canals, mixed with golden brass buttons left over from Scotch & Soda sample collections featuring the brand's logo icon, an ampersand that embraces the symbol of unity at the heart of its name. The rims of the boat are made from Platowood, an FSC and OLB-certified wood. Measuring 5.5 x 2.2 metres and weighing 1,000 kilos, 'The Free Spirit of Amsterdam' is powered with an electric motor and can carry up to eight people. From 12th June, Scotch & Soda customers will be able to participate by booking their own fishing trip on the brand's boat every other Saturday during the summer months. The trips will start on Saturday 19th of June and can be booked on www.scotch-soda.com. Please click here to download images Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjQXrQmMLow PDF - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1525142/Scotch___Soda.pdf VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2021 / Wedgemount Resources Corp. (CSE:WDGY) ("Wedgemount" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce the signing of an option agreement (the "Agreement") to acquire the Friendly Lake-Deer Lake copper-gold property ("Friendly" or the "Project") in south-central British Columbia. Friendly becomes Wedgemount's third copper focused exploration property in one of BC's most prolific copper belts. Under the terms of the Agreement, Wedgemount may acquire up to 100% of Friendly, subject to a 3% net smelter return ("NSR"), 50% of which can be repurchased by the Company. Mark Vanry, President & CEO of Wedgemount commented, "Wedgemount is excited to add a third highly prospective copper and gold property in British Columbia. Our project portfolio now gives Wedgemount total exposure to over 35,000 hectares of under-explored copper focused assets within one of B.C.'s most prolific copper belts. Similar to our Eagle and Red properties, the terms outlined in the Friendly Agreement include favorable cash, share and exploration commitments during initial phases of the option. Further, Friendly's location in southern B.C. allows for a longer and lower cost exploration season. Access and logistics for the Project are excellent with a multitude of logging roads, ATV trails and lodges in the area." Friendly Lake - Deer Lake Property The year-round, road accessible, 13,000-hectare Friendly property is approximately 100 kilometers north of Kamloops, a community with a rich mining and development history. Newgold Inc's New Afton copper-gold mine is 100 kilometers to the south of Friendly and Imperial Metals Mount Polly copper-gold mine is 130 kilometers to the northwest. Previous exploration on the Project, dating back to the 1960's, has included geological mapping, extensive soil and rock-chip sampling, trenching, geochemical surveys, ground-based geophysics, however, only limited shallow drilling. The Project is underlain by arc-related volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of the Quesnel Terrane (Nicola Group) cut by Triassic-Jurassic intrusions varying from syenite to diorite with associated porphyry and skarn-related copper and gold mineralization. The Project comprises two key target areas; Friendly Lake and Deer Lake. The BOGG occurrence, central to the Friendly Lake target, comprises local zones of chalcopyrite-bornite cemented magmatic breccias associated with the margins of a northwest-elongated monzodiorite to syenite intrusive complex (Friendly Lake complex). A grab sample from the BOGG occurrence by the B.C. Geological Survey yielded 3.4 % Cu (Schiarizza and Israel, 2001). The BOGG occurrence forms the northwest extent of an approximately 7-kilometer northwest-trending corridor of widespread copper and multi-element soil geochemical anomalies locally coincident with complex IP (induced polarization) chargeability anomalies defined by previous surveys. Based on a preliminary compilation of historic drill data, only six drill holes with depths greater than 200 meters have tested for porphyry-related copper and gold mineralization along this prospective 7-kilometer corridor. The Deer Lake target comprises numerous magnetite-chalcopyrite skarn occurrences (e.g., Lakeview) associated with the Deer Lake diorite. Historic work has defined multiple poorly tested, multi-element soil and rock geochemical and coincident geophysical anomalies (Gruenwald, 2010) considered high priority areas for detailed investigation. Wedgemount is currently compiling and interpreting geochemical data from over 20,000 historic soil samples and over 700 rock-chip samples together with historic IP and magnetic geophysical data and historic drill data (shallow reverse circulation and diamond) with the goal of defining new exploration targets and prioritise areas of focus for this upcoming field season. Exploration plans will be released once budgets are set and targets are ranked. Option Agreement Summary terms of the Agreement include: Cash payments totalling $775,000 over five years ($25,000 paid); Issuance of 5,000,000 common shares (200,000 issued); Exploration expenditures of $6,750,000 over five years; and A 3% NSR, which the Company can reduce by 50% for $2,000,000 prior to a production decision. The Agreement is subject to Canadian Securities Exchange approval, any common shares issued in connection with the Agreement, will be subject to a hold period expiring four months and one day from the date of issuance. Data Verification and National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure Some data disclosed in this news release relating to sampling and drilling results are historical in nature. Neither the Company nor a Qualified Person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), have verified the data, and, therefore, investors should not place undue reliance on such data. In some cases, the data may be unverifiable due to lack of drill core. Mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby and/or geologically similar properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the company's property. The technical information disclosed in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Christopher Leslie, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. References Gruenwald, W., 2010, Diamond drilling assessment report on the Deer Lake Property Little Fort, British Columbia, Assessment Report 31299, Assessment Report Indexing System, aris.empr.gov.bc.ca, 62 p. Schiarizza, P., and Israel, S., 2001, Geology and mineral occurrences of the Nehalliston Plateau, south-central British Columbia (92P/7, 8, 9, 10), Ministry of Energy and Mines, Paper 2001-1, pp. 1-30. About Wedgemount Resources Corp. Wedgemount Resources is a junior mineral exploration company focused on maximizing shareholder value through the acquisition, discovery and advancement of high-quality copper - gold projects in North America. On behalf of the Board of Directors, WEDGEMOUNT RESOURCES CORP. Mark Vanry, President and CEO For more information, please contact the Company at: Telephone: (604) 343-4743 info@wedgemountresources.com www.wedgemountresources.com Reader Advisory This news release may contain statements which constitute "forward-looking information", including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements made in this news release include the Company's plans for exploration of the property and anticipated exploration results. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, availability of funds, personnel and other resources necessary to conduct exploration programs, successes of the Company's exploration programs, availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such information will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the applicable securities laws. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Wedgemount Resources Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/650227/Wedgemount-Signs-Option-Agreement-to-Acquire-Friendly-Lake--Deer-Lake-Copper-Gold-Property-in-South-Central-BC A jury from AI Worldwide Finance Awards has recognized VantagePoint, the first A.I. powered software for independent traders. WESLEY CHAPEL, FL / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2021 / Acquisition International has recognized VantagePoint as the Best A.I. Stock Forecasting Software as part of this year's Worldwide Finance Awards. Louis Mendelsohn founded Vantagepoint AI over 40 years ago with the mission of leveling the trading field for independent traders. When he released his concept of strategy backtesting, Mendelsohn transformed the trading world. With the release of VantagePoint software over 30 years ago, Vantagepoint became the first company in the world to offer traders the power of Artificial Intelligence for their home computers and gave birth to what would become the FinTech Industry. Vantagepoint's patented, predictive, A.I.-driven forecasts and Global Intermarket Analysis allow traders to see predicted market movements 1-3 days in advance. VantagePoint's A.I. forecasts have been third-party verified at up to 87.4% accuracy surpassing the typical 27% of market gurus. "Our software is literally helping traders around the world change their lives," says company president Lane Mendelsohn. "Using the information from our technical analysis, traders can make trading decisions with far more confidence and better trade timing for improved opportunities to find gains. In turn, VantagePoint traders tend to pay their trading success forward by creating a lasting legacy for their families and their communities." While many companies now populate the FinTech sector, Vantagepoint continues to be a stand-out for its innovation, constant improvements, and acclaimed customer care. See how A.I. can transform trading and provide insights, confidence, and timing assistance at a free, live, interactive training. Traders in attendance suggest which markets to be reviewed at each class. Attendees benefit from seeing what the A.I. forecast is for their favorite markets. About Vantagepoint AI, LLC. Vantagepoint's artificial intelligence-based software forecasts Stocks, Futures, Forex, and ETFs with proven accuracy of up to 87.4%. Using patented Neural Network processes, VantagePoint software predicts changes in market trend direction up to three days in advance. Traders then know the optimal times to make their trades. Family-owned, Vantagepoint employs over 90 team members and is actively committed to giving back in the Tampa Bay community including regularly donating a portion of revenue to Shriners Hospitals for Children and The Children's Cancer Center. See artificial intelligence in action with a demonstration: www.vantagepointsoftware.com/demoor https://bit.ly/2S86VMy Media Contact: Lisa Moretti, lisam@vantagepointsoftware.com SOURCE: VantagePoint Software View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/650151/VantagePoint-Recognized-Internationally-as-The-Best-AI-Stock-Forecasting-Software DGAP-News: BodySmart Finance Limited / Key word(s): Bond BodySmart Finance Limited: Coupon Payment Announcement 03.06.2021 / 14:15 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. BodySmart Finance Limited (the "Issuer") (incorporated with limited liability in the Bailiwick of Jersey with registered number 131386) 44 Esplanade, St Helier, Jersey, JE4 9WG BodySmart Finance Limited - Coupon Payment Announcement 3rd June 2021 BodySmart Finance Limited Series 2020-B1 12.00% Fixed Rate Bonds Due 2025 (ISIN: GB00BMQ56V55) (the "Bonds") The Issuer is pleased to announce that it has paid, in full and on time, the coupon due to bondholders on 3rd June 2021, under its secured Medium Term Note Bond Programme. This is the Issuer's second coupon payment. The next coupon payment is due on 3rd December 2021. BodySmart Investment Group's (the "Borrower") trading activities are focused on the medical, aesthetic and wellness industry - a sector on the rise in the Middle East. The Borrower already owns a successful portfolio of cosmetic clinics and wellbeing studios and since the issuance of the Bonds, the Borrower has continued to grow and develop the business. Recent highlights include: Despite the Covid effected environment, the Borrower's medical equipment distribution business has seen enhanced activity (across multiple jurisdictions in the region). With specific demand in high value equipment that promote targeted weight-loss and skin-toning Dr. Tarek Bayazid, one of Dubai's premier plastic surgeons is now fully on-boarded and licensed to the Borrower's clinics. Dr. Bayazid, who has joined the team as a senior plastic surgeon, is known for his exemplary work, especially in facial rejuvenation and body contouring The Borrower is regulated by the Dubai Health Authority and the Dubai Department of Economic Development. During the 2020/21 Covid impacted period, the Borrower's clinics and health clubs have passed all regular inspections and continue to experience good demand for their offerings. The bonds are admitted to trading on the Frankfurt Open Market. For the Distributor: Glenn Scott-Ellis gse@bodysmart.ae For the Arranger: Hesham Dahman hesham@zigzag-me.com IMPORTANT INFORMATION This announcement is not itself an offer for the sale of any Bonds. Investors should not subscribe for any Bonds referred to in this announcement except on the basis of information in the programme listing particulars which are available on request. The distribution of this announcement and other information in connection with any offer in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law and persons who come into possession of this announcement or any document or other information referred to herein should inform themselves about and observe any such restriction. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any jurisdiction. This announcement does not constitute or form any offer or invitation to sell, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase any Bonds. Any Bonds referred to herein will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the "Securities Act"). Subject to certain exceptions, such Bonds may not be offered, sold or delivered within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons. Any Bonds referred to herein are expected to be offered and sold outside of the United States in reliance on Regulation S of the Securities Act. There will be no public offering in the United States. This information is provided by Reach, the non-regulatory press release distribution service of RNS, part of the London Stock Exchange. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com. MONTREAL, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bombardier Inc. ("Bombardier") today announced that it has launched an offering of US$1,000,000,000 aggregate principal amount of new Senior Notes due 2026 (the "NewNotes"). The net proceeds of the offering of New Notes are expected to be used to finance Bombardier's tender offer for certain of its outstanding 5.750% Senior Notes due 2022 (the "5.750% 2022 Notes"), 6.000% Senior Notes due 2022 (the "6.000% 2022 Notes"), and 6.125% Senior Notes due 2023 (the "2023 Notes") (the "Tender Offer"), and the remainder for general corporate purposes, including the repayment and/or retirement of other outstanding debt. Consummation of the offering of the New Notes and of the Tender Offer are subject to market and other conditions, and there can be no assurance that Bombardier will be able to successfully complete these transactions on the terms described above, or at all. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or buy or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation, sale or purchase of any securities in any jurisdiction in which such offering, solicitation, sale or purchase would be unlawful. The New Notes mentioned herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, any state securities laws or the laws of any other jurisdiction, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. The New Notes mentioned herein may be offered and sold in the United States only to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the U.S. Securities Act and outside the United States in reliance on Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act. The New Notes mentioned herein have not been and will not be qualified for distribution to the public under applicable Canadian securities laws and, accordingly, any offer and sale of the securities in Canada will be made on a basis which is exempt from the prospectus requirements of such securities laws. The New Notes will be offered and sold in Canada on a private placement basis only to "accredited investors" pursuant to certain prospectus exemptions. The Tender Offer mentioned herein will be conducted in accordance with a separate Offer to Purchase relating thereto, which contains the terms and conditions of such Tender Offer, subject to amendment or waiver by Bombardier, which include, among other things, an aggregate total tender purchase price, a cap on the aggregate purchase price for the 2023 Notes, priorities among series of notes, possible proration, an early tender premium and a financing condition relating to completion of the offering of New Notes. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking statements based on current expectations. By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to important known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause our actual results in future periods to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. For information Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Bunker Hill Mining Corp. (CSE: BNKR) or the ("Company") is pleased to announce that it will be presenting at the Virtual Investor Day IV ("VID IV") June 8-10, 2021 hosted by IR.INC and FTMIG. Mr. Sam Ash, CEO and David Wiens, CFO of Bunker Hill Mining Corp. will provide an in-depth update on the Company at 9:00 a.m. EST, June 9, 2021. VID IV is a completely interactive experience for feature companies and stakeholders. Feature companies will have 30 minutes to outline their investment opportunity, while stakeholders and the audience will be invited to engage via direct Q&A, polls and other interactive tools after and during each presentation. To register for VID IV, please click the link: https://www.bigmarker.com/series/virtual-investor-day-iv/series_summit About Bunker Hill Mining Corp. Under new Idaho-based leadership, Bunker Hill Mining Corp intends to sustainably restart and develop the Bunker Hill Mine as the first step in consolidating a portfolio of North American precious-metal assets with a focus on silver. Information about the Company is available on its website, www.bunkerhillmining.com, or under its profile on SEDAR and EDGAR. For additional information contact: ir@bunkerhillmining.com About IR.INC IR.INC Capital Markets Advisory & Services works with its clients to develop and deploy strategic plans and build industry alliances while providing shareholder introductions and solutions. The Company also provides a number of traditional Investor Relations Services. You can find out more about IR.INC here www.irinc.ca About FTMIG Follow the Money Investor Group is a financial portal that provides content and information needed to navigate the ever-changing capital markets. Our global community of visitors and investors are able to use our platform to discuss and collaborate daily on all facets of their current and potential investments. Our goal is to help retail investors make the right financial decisions that fit their individual needs. You can find out more about FTMIG here www.ftmig.com. Disclaimer Follow the Money Investor ("FTMIG") is an online investor community that connects investors and public companies. Both FTMIG and IR.INC are not registered as a broker, dealer, exempt market dealer, or any other registrant in any securities regulatory jurisdiction and will not be performing any registerable activity as defined by the applicable regulatory bodies. Both FTMIG and IR.INC and their affiliates do not endorse or recommend any securities issued by any companies identified on, or linked through, this conference. Please seek professional advice to evaluate specific securities or other content discussed during this event. Links, if any, to third party sites are for informational purposes only, and not for trading purposes. FTMIG and IR.INC. and their affiliates have not prepared, reviewed or updated any content on third party sites and assume no responsibility for the information posted on them. For further information, please contact: Joanne Jobin, Principal IR.INC | Capital Markets Advisory & Services jjobin@irinc.ca www.irinc.ca Karl Boyd, President Follow the Money Investor Group kboyd@ftmig.com www.ftmig.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86286 HELSINKI, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Aiforia, a software company providing AI-based solutions for clinical and preclinical image analysis in pathology, announced today the closing of the first 12.6M tranche of their Series B round. The funding round has the potential to reach 25.2M if investors exercise the optional second tranche. The funding round is led by Epredia's UK entity, a subsidiary of PHC Holdings Corporation. Investors also include Aktia Nordic Micro Cap and existing shareholders. KPMG acted as a financial advisor to Aiforia in the successful Series B round. Aiforia's cloud-based software currently has over 3,000 users in more than 50 countries. The funding round helps strengthen the company's global presence for pharmaceutical companies looking to accelerate their drug development pipeline with deep learning AI powered solutions - as well as the development and release of Aiforia's novel platforms for the diagnosis of the world's most prevalent cancers. The Aiforia Clinical Suites are portfolios of powerful tools enabling pathologists and hospitals to harness the power of AI to support them in accelerating sample review, enhancing diagnostic accuracy, and ultimately in improving patient outcomes. The Breast and Lung Cancer Suites are intended to be CE-IVD marked and launched this year. "The support from our investors confirms the importance of scalable and powerful tools to pathology in drug development and disease diagnosis. This fresh funding enables us to further our long-term vision in the clinical field: providing a single platform with broad clinical possibilities to enable precision diagnostics and therefore personalized patient care," explains Jukka Tapaninen, CEO of Aiforia. "We are delighted to be investing in another AI company with solutions that can enhance the pathology workflow," explains John Sweeney, President of Epredia. "We believe that digital pathology has a critical role to play in the future of cancer diagnostics and are excited by the technology that Aiforia are developing. Their solutions have the potential to improve the speed and accuracy of image analysis in the area of research and potentially even in the clinical setting. We see a strong opportunity for growth in their business and want to help to bring their solutions to more pathologists across the world." Find out more about Aiforia at www.aiforia.com Contact: Emma Vehvilainen Head of Marketing emma.vehvilainen@aiforia.com About Aiforia Aiforia equips pathologists and scientists in preclinical, academic, and clinical labs with powerful deep learning artificial intelligence and cloud-based technology to increase the speed, accuracy, and consistency of analyzing large and complex medical images across a variety of fields from oncology to neuroscience. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1030945/Aiforia_Logo.jpg - As a launch partner, OPPO has provided data and insights to help the Eco Rating achieve an objective and consistent evaluation - In 2020, OPPO has reduced its general waste by 42.7% and cut indirect greenhouse gas emissions by 20% DUBAI, UAE, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Global smartphone brand OPPO is solidifying its role as an active participant in sustainability initiatives across all of its verticals by being among the first companies to join a new pan-industry Eco Rating scheme. Launched by Europe's top five operators, the new consumer labelling score aims to identify sustainable mobile phones and encourage suppliers to reduce the environmental impact of their devices. Taking another step towards its "Technology for Mankind. Kindness for the World" mission - and in celebration of World Environment Day - OPPO aims to raise awareness over some of the most pressing environmental issues and best practices in sustainability by joining the scheme, which will be rolled out across Europe starting June 2021 to help consumers identify and compare the most sustainable smartphones. "Our unique devices are designed, built and delivered with the highest standards of quality and environmental management. Whether we are finding solutions to reduce our carbon footprint, operate responsibly or serve our communities - we ensure that sustainability is built in," said Ethan Xue, President of OPPO Middle East and Africa. "As we develop and deliver innovative, environmentally friendly smartphones based on OPPO's core values, we maintain our responsibility towards the environment. At OPPO, we monitor the impact that we have on society and contribute to addressing global issues. Through this new initiative/programme, we aim to support demand for more sustainable devices. We are committed to continually improving our environmental performance and moving towards best practices in corporate sustainability by joining initiatives such as the revolutionary Eco Rating," he added. Europe's leading mobile operators Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica (operating under the O2 and Movistar brands), Telia Company and Vodafone have joined forces to launch the new pan-industry Eco Rating labelling scheme, which builds on industry knowledge gathered through previous environmental labelling initiatives. As a launch partner, OPPO has provided data and insights to help the Eco Rating apply a balanced, objective and consistent evaluation methodology comprising 19 different criteria which culminate in a single final score for each device. Following the detailed assessment, each smartphone handset is given an overall Eco Rating score out of a maximum of 100 to demonstrate its environmental performance across its entire life cycle. The Eco Rating label for mobile devices emphasizes five aspects: durability, repairability, recyclability, and climate and resource efficiency. In addition to its win-win collaborations with industry partners, OPPO recognises that its environmental responsibilities are an integral part of its brand ethos and engages in sustainable practices which seek to minimise environmental dips. The company currently adopts a more planet-friendly approach to production - which spans design, packaging, processing and more. OPPO has recycled 13 times as much products by weight in 2020 in comparison with 2019. In addition, the global smartphone leader has demonstrated its commitment towards environmentally friendly practices, with 45% of its packaging being made of renewable fibers. OPPO has also reduced its general waste by 42.7% and cut indirect greenhouse gas emissions by 20% in 2020. Through its commitment to the goal of protecting the environment, OPPO integrates its business values and operations to meet the expectations of stakeholders, receiving recognition and positive reinforcement. OPPO will continue to partner with environmental and developmental organisations all over the world with the aim of reducing its environmental and societal impact. The technology company aims to benefit local and global communities, providing innovative and sustainable solutions for today and generations to come. 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/1525267/OPPO.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1451542/OPPO_Logo.jpg Highlights Lincoln's position as leading M&A advisor to private equity and as one of the most active advisors in the filtration segment globally Lincoln International, a global investment banking advisory firm, has advised Blackstone on the acquisition of Desotec. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005329/en/ Blackstone has acquired Desotec from EQT (Photo: Business Wire) Based in Roeselare, Belgium, Desotec's mission is to help protect the planet through innovative circular filtration solutions, enabling clean water, air and soil. The company was founded in 1990 and is focusing on mobile purification solutions mainly based on activated carbon technology. Desotec's fleet of approximately 2,700 mobile filters is the largest of its kind in Europe and it serves a broad range of industrial applications, including air emission, biogas, remediation, wastewater and chemicals. The company's mobile filters enable its customers to comply with environmental regulations and sustainability requirements, through its closed-loop, "filtration-as-a-service" rental solution. Blackstone is one of the world's leading investment firms with $619 billion in assets under management across a wide range of alternative asset classes in private equity, real estate, credit and hedge funds as well as in infrastructure, life sciences, insurance and growth equity. Lincoln acted as exclusive mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisor to Blackstone on this transaction. This transaction highlights Lincoln's momentum in Belgium and marks the sixth transaction in the last six months involving Belgian corporates and private equity groups. Lincoln previously advised AAC Capital on the sale of Desotec to EQT in 2017. About Lincoln International We are trusted investment banking advisors to business owners and senior executives of leading private equity firms and public and privately held companies around the world. Our advisory services include mergers and acquisitions and capital markets advisory for the mid-market. We also provide valuations and fairness opinions and joint ventures advisory services. As one tightly integrated team of more than 600 professionals across 16 countries, we offer an unobstructed perspective, backed by superb execution and a deep commitment to client success. With extensive industry knowledge and relationships, timely market intelligence and strategic insights, we forge deep, productive client relationships that endure for decades. Connect with us to learn more at www.lincolninternational.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005329/en/ Contacts: Donna McSorley 973-886-1832 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Tombill Mines Limited (TSXV: TBLL) (the "Company" or "Tombill"), is pleased to give an exploration update at its 100% controlled, royalty-free flagship and patented Tombill Main Group property within the heart of the Geraldton Gold Camp. Highlights Surface Exploration Program: Surface stripping and sampling program is underway Multiple new targets identified from recently collected airborne magnetics data Grab samples from the East Porphyry Zone returned 24.3 and 14.9 grams per tonne (gpt) Deep Drilling Program: Phase One drilling at Tombill Main Group is ongoing with a total of more than 6.6 km completed on five parent holes and two daughter wedge holes Assay results should be released over the next few months Adam Horne, CEO, commented: "Our technical team are doing a fine job in executing our drilling and surface program. In line with our neighbour, we are hoping to present a diversified gold system including extensions of known lodes at depth but also new discoveries at our multiple near-surface targets. We have an aggressive exploration program this year, the first modern exploration program on this highly prospective property. We look forward to good news on several fronts over the course of the next few months." Surface Exploration Program Update Detailed magnetic data from Tombill's Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Magnetometer Survey ("UAV-MAG Survey") has been utilized to create new near-surface targets, based on refolded lithologies and east-west structures oblique to regional foliation (Figure 1). The magnetics map has been analysed together with geology mapping and historic showings resulting in definition of multiple new targets. Tombill has now identified a total of ten surface targets including the past producing Talmora Mine. Near-surface targets are being accessed with bulldozer trails in preparation for stripping of overburden to facilitate detailed mapping and channel sampling. Tombill is continually updating a Bayesian ranking system as more data is acquired in order to refine and rank targets for exploration. The goal of surface exploration is to identify near-surface targets, those defined as extending down to 300 m depth, that will be tested by drilling in Q2/Q3 2021. Figure 1 - Magnetics Map Magnetics map of first-vertical derivative from UAV-MAG Survey in 2021, with Tombill's drill collars from Deep Exploration Program, together with historic gold zones and new targets. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7659/86391_92d34f7b44b08822_003full.jpg Assay Results from Grab Samples of Historic Trenches Trails have been completed to the various targets and historic showings are being evaluated. The highest ranked surface target is the East Porphyry Zone which saw limited sampling and drilling in the 1930's. The first pit encountered was subjected to grab samples of mineralization as shown in Figure 2. Figure 2 - Historic Sampling First sampling of historic trench in East Porphyry Zone, in May 2021. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7659/86391_92d34f7b44b08822_005full.jpg Grab samples were taken in the first trench from the East Porphyry Zone and submitted for assay, results in Table 1 below show the sample number followed by the co-ordinate location and a brief description of the rock. Amongst multiple samples, the Greywacke and mineralized Banded Iron Formation (BIF) in the first trench sampled within the East Porphyry Zone returned samples of 24.3 and 14.9 gpt gold, respectively. Samples 447972 and 447959 contain coarse-grained disseminated pyrite with silica that replaced the magnetite bands. This is similar mineralization as the North Zone ore that was mined from the historic underground mines on the adjacent Hardrock Project. A photo of that mineralized sample 447959 is shown in Figure 3. Table 1 - Assay Results from Grab Samples of Historic Trenches Sample Northing Easting gpt Zone Rock Description 447972 500933 5503225 24.3 East Porphyry Greywacke 447959 500933 5503222 14.9 East Porphyry Mineralized BIF 447973 500933 5503225 4.37 East Porphyry Greywacke 447961 500915 5503229 0.323 East Porphyry BIF 447975 500881 5503246 0.30 East Porphyry Greywacke 447978 500872 5503249 0.26 East Porphyry Greywacke Note: UTM co-ordinates in NAD83 Zone 16U The Company cautions that grab samples have no widths associated with them and are not necessarily indicative of the mineralization on the Tombill Main Group. They are used to assist in pinpointing the first areas to be assessed by stripping and channel sampling. Mineralization is adjacent to a quartz-feldspar porphyry (QFP) dyke that is sericite-altered. The QFP is the same dyke that extends from the proposed open pit at the Hardrock Mine and is also the same QFP associated with F-Zone type mineralization at depth as outlined by Tombill's deep exploration program. Figure 3 - Mineralised Iron Formation Close-up of mineralized iron formation from East Porphyry Zone, showing coarse-grained pyrite and quartz veinlets replacing magnetite bands. Grab sample 447959 returned 14.9 gpt gold To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7659/86391_92d34f7b44b08822_007full.jpg. Deep Drilling Program Update Phase One drilling at Tombill Main Group is ongoing with five main holes completed and two planned wedges. Daughter hole TB21-001A was completed to a downhole depth of 1220 m and intersected the target zone. 397 samples have been sent for assay. TB21-002 was completed to a down-hole depth of 1453 m. 505 samples were sent for assay. TB21-003 was drilled to 891 m down-hole, but was abandoned due to encountering a large water-filled cavity. 339 samples were sent for assay. TB21-004 was completed at a down-hole depth of 1394 m and intersected the target zone. 626 samples were submitted for assay. TB21-005 was drilled to a down-hole depth of 875 m. 310 samples were submitted for assay. Drill hole TB21-005 was wedged at 600 m to drill the daughter hole TB21-005A. This is ongoing and on-track to intersect the central part of the target zone. The hole is currently at 975 m downhole depth. Figure 4 - Core Shack To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7659/86391_tombill_fig4.jpg As of May 8, 2021, Tombill's Phase One drilling program has been executed by Rodren Drilling. Figure 5 - Rodren Drilling To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7659/86391_tombill_fig5.jpg A second Rodren drill arrived earlier this week, and is accelerating the program. Drill Hole TB21-004 will be wedged and daughter hole TB21-004A will be drilled. To date, more than 6.6 km of core have been drilled. When assays are received from the present drill-holes, a synopsis of the deep drill results should be released over the next few months. Qualified Person Glen Kuntz, P.Geo, of Nordmin Engineering Ltd., is the Company's designated Qualified Person for this news release within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and has reviewed and approved its scientific and technical content. The Company cautions that its Qualified Person has been unable to verify the information concerning the Hardrock Project and that this information is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization on the Tombill Main Group. About Tombill Tombill owns various royalty-free mineral exploration and past-producing gold properties in the Geraldton and Beardmore Camp, Ontario. The Company's business is mineral exploration, primarily gold. It has 74 claims: 60 are owned and patented, five leased, and nine where it owns the mineral rights. Of these, the Tombill Main Group property comprises 58 claims: 54 owned patents, and four owned mineral rights. The Tombill Main Group claims were originally staked in the first Geraldton Gold Rush in the 1930's by Tom Johnson and his brother Bill. For more information, please visit www.tombillmines.com, and contact: Adam Horne Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Email: adam@tombillmines.com / Tel: +44 (0) 207 529 2351 Reda Jalabi Strategic Development Email: reda@tombillmines.com / Tel: +44 (0) 207 529 2361 Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information Certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the trading date of the Company's common shares on the TSXV. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "will" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. 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. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. The Company will not update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in filings by the Company with the Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSXV) 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/86391 Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Grizzly Discoveries Inc. (TSXV: GZD) (OTCQB: GZDIF) (FSE: G6H) ("Grizzly" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that planning has commenced to evaluate the 18 high-priority conductivity anomalies that have been identified at its Robocop Property following analysis of the recent 400 line-km Versatile Time Domain Electromagnetic ("VTEM") and magnetic survey data (Figure 1 below). Grizzly is planning field work to commence in June 2021 over the high-priority anomalies. The Robocop Property is 100% owned by Grizzly and is easily road accessible in Southeast British Columbia (the "Property"), near the hamlets of Grasmere and Roosville. Brian Testo, CEO of Grizzly, commented, "We are excited to continue to progress the prospects at our Robocop property with field work commencing in June, which will be followed by planned drilling later this year. The geophysical anomalies will be drill tested following additional fieldwork to identify drill-collar locations. The Robocop geology and anomalies have potential for world-class copper-cobalt discoveries in a road accessible area offering significant logistical advantages." In consultation with Mr. Martin St. Pierre, P. Geophysicist, of St. Pierre Geoconsultant Inc., the company is developing plans for an Induced Polarization (IP) survey and follow-up geochemical surveys to test a number of high and secondary priority geophysical anomalies identified in the vicinity of the "Discovery Area" (See Figure 2 below). In particular, IP surveys to cover anomalies 14-3, 15-3 and 16-3 in the vicinity of the Discovery Area, which has provided historical anomalous core intersections of up to 0.134% cobalt (Co), 1.19% copper (Cu) and 33.8 g/t silver (Ag) over 1.23 m, are being planned for execution in the upcoming program. Fig 1. New mineral claims (in white outlines) on a map of calculated time constant TAU values for conductance for S Field (dB/dt) with Cu in rocks & soils. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4488/86310_2f5a5b5a242a1a33_002full.jpg A number of high priority targets have been identified with some in close proximity to known Co-Cu-Ag geochemical anomalies identified in historical rocks grab samples, soils and drilling. Figure 2 below provides an example of several such targets in the vicinity of the main Discovery Area (Anomalies 14-3, 15-3 and 16-3) and a buried series of EM anomalies (13-3 and 54-3 to 58-3) along a ridge with significant down-slope Cu-Co-Ag anomalies on the south face of the ridge. These targets will be further investigated using IP or some similar ground geophysical technique in the upcoming program. Figure 2 also shows a number of EM anomalies of interest elsewhere on the property. All of these anomalies will be targeted with at least prospecting, rock, soil and stream sediment sampling during the upcoming exploration program. Fig 2. EM anomalies (including high priority anomalies 13-3, 14-3, 15-3 & 16-3 as white stars) on a map of conductance for S Field (dB/dt) with Cu in rocks & soils. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4488/86310_2f5a5b5a242a1a33_003full.jpg Figure 3 below shows a conductivity time channel profile of EM anomaly 16-3 and its relationship to the local total field magnetics in the vicinity of the Discovery Area. The anomaly shows up well in the mid to later time channels, suggesting it is buried. This anomaly may be topographically below the mineralization identified at the Discovery Area and may represent a separate target or a feeder target. The anomaly warrants follow-up exploration including ground geophysics and drill testing. Ground methods including additional geochemical sampling and ground geophysical methods will assist in refining the geological model of the Property and to target conductive portions of the assemblage, potentially those portions associated with both stratigraphic and vertical structural anomalies, and in particular those that might be associated with sulphide minerals and Co-Cu-Ag mineralization, in advance of a planned 2021 drilling campaign. Fig 3. EM anomaly 16-3 in profile showing SFz (dB/dt) conductivity in the mid to late time channels(as well as a positive B Field) shown on a map of the total field magnetics. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4488/86310_2f5a5b5a242a1a33_004full.jpg Further integration of the geophysical interpretation with the geological model is ongoing and is required prior to commencing additional ground work. The additional work will include plate and/or inversion modelling along with an integrated structural and 3D model of the combined EM and magnetic data. The results of this work will be released as they become available. The property is hosted within a similar geological setting to the Idaho Cobalt-Copper belt where conductivity (EM) and magnetic surveying techniques have been used previously to successfully guide drilling of prospective targets and assist in making new metal discoveries. HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE ROBOCOP PROPERTY The Robocop Project is comprised of 9,053 acres (3,663 ha) in five mineral claims that are all road accessible, just off Provincial Highway 93 in southeast B.C. Initial surface trenching in the late 1980's to early 1990's yielded up to 0.06% Co and 1.93% Cu over 6 metres (m) in one trench, and in a separate trench up to 0.146% Co , 1.8% Cu and 5.3 grams per tonne (g/t) Ag over 5 m in sediment-hosted sulphide mineralization within middle Proterozoic Purcell Group rocks (Thomson, 1990). A total of 15 drill holes in the area between 1990 and 2008 have yielded several intersections of near surface Co-Cu-Ag mineralization with grades of up to 0.134% Co , 1.19% Cu and 33.8 g/t Ag over 1.23 m core length in hole R-1990-5 and 0.14% Co , 0.9% Cu and 2.7 g/t Ag over 3.1 m core length in hole R-1990-6 (Thomson, 1990), along with an intersection of 0.18% Co , 0.28% Cu and 4.1 g/t Ag over 1 m core length in hole R-2008-02 (Pighin, 2009). All but one of the historical drillholes tested a single target in an area about 500 m by 350 m. The Property is approximately 10 km in length and 3.5 km in width and contains at least four untested anomalous soil +/- rock geochemical targets. Sediment hosted Co-Cu-Ag mineralization is similar in style, age and host rocks to mineralization at Jervois Mining Ltd.'s Idaho Cobalt project and Hecla's Revett Formation hosted mineralization near Troy, Montana. The Property has yielded significant historical cobalt, copper and silver results and presents an opportunity to discover battery and electrification metals as the world shifts to electric vehicles, sustainable practices and greener alternatives. The macroeconomic outlook for battery metals such as Co and Cu remains strong with the ongoing shift to electric vehicles. It is estimated that the battery sector accounts for approximately 57% of current Co demand; this is expected to grow over the next five years to 72%, and will require an additional 100,000 tonnes/annum of Cobalt to meet demand.1 GRIZZLY CLOSES FIRST TRANCHE OF PRIVATE PLACEMENT Grizzly is pleased to announce that, on June 2, 2021, it closed on the first tranche of a private placement (the "Offering"), announced on May 17, 2021, by the issuance of 300,000 Units (as defined below) and 3,008,466 FT Units at a price of $0.06 per Unit and per FT Unit for gross proceeds of $198,508. The Offering remains open and the Company may close on additional subscriptions for the remaining 1,991,534 FT Units and 2,200,000 Units under the initial terms of the Offering. Under the terms of the Offering, each Unit consists of one common share of the Company ("Common Share") and one non-transferable warrant ("Warrant"). Each FT Unit consists of one Common Share issued as a flow through share for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and one half of one Warrant. Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one additional Common Share at an exercise price of $0.085 per Common Share until the earlier of: (a) 30 days following the issuance of a news release by the Company that the trading price of the Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange is at or greater than $0.10 per Common Share for 10 consecutive trading days; and (b) June 2, 2023. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Units for general working capital, and the proceeds from the Units and FT Units on exploration of its Greenwood and Robocop mineral projects in British Columbia. In connection with the Offering, the Company paid cash finder's fees totaling $6,150 and issued 102,504 Finder Warrants (with the same terms and expiry date as the Warrants) to registered dealers. The Common Shares and any Common Shares issued on exercise of the Warrants and Finder Warrants will be subject to restrictions on trading until October 3, 2021 in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. Following closing of this first tranche of the Offering, the Company has 94,660,180 Common Shares issued and outstanding. The Offering is subject to Final Acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. Directors, management and insiders subscribed for an aggregate of 1,100,000 FT Units representing gross proceeds of $66,000. The purchase of such FT Units is considered to be a related-party transaction under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"),but is exempted from the requirements to obtain a formal valuation and to obtain minority approval, as the purchase of securities does not exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization. The Company is relying on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements provided under sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101. The Company did not file a material change report more than 21 days before the expected closing of the Financing because the details of the participation therein by related parties of the Company were not settled until shortly prior to closing of the Financing and the Company wished to close on an expedited basis for business reasons. The technical content of this news release and the Company's technical disclosure has been reviewed and approved by Michael B. Dufresne, M. Sc., P. Geol., P.Geo., who is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. ABOUT GRIZZLY DISCOVERIES INC. Grizzly is a diversified Canadian mineral exploration company with its primary listing on the TSX Venture Exchange, with 90 million shares issued, focused on developing its over 160,000 acres of precious and base metals properties in southeastern British Columbia. Grizzly is run by a highly experienced junior resource sector management team, who have a track record of advancing exploration projects from early exploration stage through to feasibility stage. On behalf of the Board, GRIZZLY DISCOVERIES INC. Brian Testo, CEO, President Tel: 780 693 2242 For further information, please visit our website at www.grizzlydiscoveries.com or contact: Chris Beltgens Corporate Development Tel: 604 347 9535 Email: cbeltgens@grizzlydiscoveries.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. Caution concerning forward-looking information This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. This information and statements address future activities, events, plans, developments and projections. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information and statements are frequently identified by words such as "may," "will," "should," "anticipate," "plan," "expect," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and similar terminology, and reflect assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis made by management of Grizzly in light of its experience, current conditions, expectations of future developments and other factors which it believes to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-looking information and statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause Grizzly's actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information and statements and accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed thereon. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary include but are not limited to the availability of financing; fluctuations in commodity prices; changes to and compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including environmental laws and obtaining requisite permits; political, economic and other risks; as well as other risks and uncertainties which are more fully described in our annual and quarterly Management's Discussion and Analysis and in other filings made by us with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available at www.sedar.com. Grizzly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements except as may be required by law. 1 Cobalt's Price Rises Highlight Shift to Battery-Driven Pricing Dynamics, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, November 19th, 2021 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86310 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Spanish Mountain Gold Ltd. (TSXV: SPA) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the completion and filing of the National Instrument 43-101 Independent Technical Report (the "Report") for the Company's Spanish Mountain Gold Project (the "Project") located in British Columbia, Canada. The Report provides detailed information on the Project and affirms the technical and economic results of the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) as announced in a news release dated May 11, 2021. The Report has been filed on SEDAR under the profile of the Company and can be viewed or downloaded at www.sedar.com or the Company's website. In accordance with the guidelines of NI 43-101 and Form 43-101F1 issued by the Canadian Securities Administrators, the Report was prepared by Moose Mountain Technical Services under the direction of Marc Schulte, P. Eng., a Qualified Person, with contributions from a team of expert consultants. Mr. Schulte is independent of the Company and has reviewed and approved this news release. Resource Drilling Results The Company expects to receive all assay results for the latest resource drilling program within the coming weeks and will announce as soon as the tabulation is completed. The drilling program was part of the ongoing campaign to expand the Project's multi-million ounce gold Mineral Resource. A total of 28 holes covering four prospective areas adjacent to the boundary of the current resource were drilled. The results are also expected to provide tangible targets for the next phase of drilling. Environmental Assessment The Company resumed environmental field work in the autumn of 2020 and has intensified the data gathering activities covering both aquatic and terrestrial studies. The exploration camp near Likely was opened in May to facilitate a team of technicians and experts with their extensive field surveys. Management is in the process of preparing comprehensive environmental information for presentation and submission to the First Nations, communities and regulators in the coming months. Project Optimization In addition to demonstrating the Project's potential to be a mining operation with a robust production profile and profitability, the PFS has detailed several tangible optimization targets. The Company intends to conduct a series of programs to quantify these opportunities in order to capture the full benefit in the Definitive Feasibility Study in due course. The timeline for delivering major project milestones is not expected to be affected by these value-added exercises. Management will announce the details once the plans are formalized. About Spanish Mountain Gold Spanish Mountain Gold Ltd. is focused on advancing its 100%-owned Spanish Mountain gold project in southern central British Columbia. The Company is simultaneously pursuing the dual objectives of delivering critical project milestones for the multi-million ounce Mineral Reserve and further expanding the overall Mineral Resource. The Pre-Feasibility Study (2021) demonstrates the Project's potential to be a mining operation with a robust production profile (>150,000 oz per year) and profitability (AISC $801 per oz) over a mine life of 14 years. Details on the Project and the Company are available on www.sedar.com and on the Company's website: www.spanishmountaingold.com. On Behalf of the Board, SPANISH MOUNTAIN GOLD LTD. Larry Yau, Chief Executive Officer Inquiries: SPANISH MOUNTAIN GOLD LTD. Phone: (604) 601-3651 E-mail: info@spanishmountaingold.com Website: www.spanishmountaingold.com FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Certain of the statements and information in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information". Any statements or information that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "estimates", "intends", "targets", "goals", "forecasts", "objectives", "potential" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements or information relate to, among other things, the timing and scope of NI 43-101 technical reports in respect of the Spanish Mountain Gold Project. Forward-looking statements or information are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements or information, including, without limitation, risks relating to: results from infill and exploration drilling, geotechnical studies, metallurgical studies, planning of tailings facilities, access to power supply, fluctuations in the spot and forward price of gold or certain other commodities; timing of receipt of permits and regulatory approvals; the sufficiency of the Company's capital to finance the Company's operations; geological interpretations and potential mineral recovery processes, changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in Canada or other countries in which the Company may carry on business in the future; the uncertainties involved in interpreting geological data; business opportunities that may be presented to, or pursued by, the Company; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining activities; the speculative nature of gold exploration and development, including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits; diminishing quantities or grades of reserves; and contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of gold exploration, development and mining, including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding and gold bullion losses (and the risk of inadequate insurance, or the inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks). This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements or information are statements about the future and are inherently uncertain, and actual achievements of the Company or other future events or conditions may differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements or information due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors, including, without limitation, those referred to in the Company's continuous disclosure documents under the heading "Risk Factors". Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, described or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company's forward-looking statements and information are based on the assumptions, beliefs, expectations and opinions of management as of the date of this press release, and other than as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements and information if circumstances or management's assumptions, beliefs, expectations or opinions should change, or changes in any other events affecting such statements or information. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information. The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept 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/86251 District Scale property of unexplored Balmer Assemblage lithologies similar to those that host the Red Lake Gold Camp Victoria, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - GoldON Resources Ltd. (TSXV: GLD) ("GoldON" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the acquisition via staking of a 100% interest in the McInnes Lake property (the "Property") in northwestern Ontario. Located approximately 100 kilometres (km) east of the Ontario-Manitoba border and 117 km north of the town of Red Lake, the Property is composed of 31 contiguous mining claims (577 cells) totaling approximately 11,424 hectares. The Property is 29 km long and up to 8.5 km wide. Figure 1: Regional Map with location of McInnes Lake Property and GoldON's Other Projects (click to enlarge) To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7436/86267_fd3778e234f028c6_001full.jpg The McInnes Lake Greenstone Belt lies within the North Caribou Terrane of the Superior Province. Deep penetrating seismic studies north from the English River domain through the Uchi domain into the Berens River Complex of the North Caribou Terrane have shown that the gold deposits of the Red Lake camp and gold deposits along the LP Fault, recently discovered by Great Bear Resources, are associated with deep crustal-scale features. According to seismic survey interpretations by Zang and Calvert 2006, the McInnes Lake Greenstone Belt is interpreted to lie along a northern extension of a deep crustal E1 extensional shear zone. This has geological and mineralization implications for fluid and magmatic pathways for various precious and base metal deposit models. Figure 2: Ontario Geological Survey Bedrock Geology (click to enlarge) To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7436/86267_fd3778e234f028c6_002full.jpg The McInnes Lake Greenstone Belt is comprised of a volcanic-sediment package of rocks representing a back-arc environment 'sandwiched' in between two opposing granitic masses. Age-dating of the McInnes Lake Greenstone Belt volcanic rocks are 2.93-2.97 billion years old representing Balmer Assemblage aged lithologies (OGS Map P3589). The Balmer Assemblage is host to most of the current gold resources and historical gold production in the Red Lake Greenstone Belt. "Based on the association of these deep crustal-scale features to the deposits of the Red Lake Camp, we took a more regional approach to find similar structural pronouncements that led us to the McInnes Lake Greenstone Belt," said Mike Romanik president of GoldON. "This gives us a rare opportunity to control an entire belt that has seen very limited exploration; we are proceeding with a detailed compilation of all historical data to plan our initial fieldwork program." Mike Kilbourne, P.Geo., an independent Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release on behalf of the Company. About GoldON Resources Ltd. GoldON is an exploration company focused on discovery-stage properties located in the prolific gold mining belts of northwestern Ontario, Canada. Our current project portfolio includes six properties in the Red Lake Mining Division (West Madsen, Red Lake North, Pipestone Bay, McDonough, McInnes Lake and Pakwash North) and a seventh property in the Patricia Mining Division (Slate Falls). For additional information: please visit our website at goldonresources.com, you can download our latest investor presentation by clicking here and you can follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GoldONResources. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Signed "Michael Romanik" Michael Romanik, President GoldON Resources Ltd. Direct line: (204) 724-0613 Email: info@goldonresources.com 179 - 2945 Jacklin Road, Suite 416 Victoria, BC, V9B 6J9 Forward-Looking Statements: This news release may contain "forward-looking statements" that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that 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 statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this news release 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. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86267 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Great Thunder Gold Corp. (CSE: GTG) (OTC Pink: GTGFF) (FSE: M4KQ) ("Great Thunder" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has entered into an option agreement to acquire 197 claims totaling 4,925 hectares located 45 kilometres ("km") northeast of Gander, NL (Figure 1). The GRUB and Bursey's Properties (the "Property") lie along the GRUB line, a crustal scale structural corridor believed to be one of the major fluid conduits related to the Gander Gold belt and New Found Gold's "Keats Zone" hosting bonanza high-grade gold mineralization. Figure 1. Regional location of the GRUB and Bursey properties. To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7129/86351_60046a90d47489b3_002full.jpg Under the terms of the option agreement, Great Thunder can acquire a 100% interest in the GRUB and Bursey's claim groups from the optionors by paying $15,000 and issuing 592,000 shares immediately and incurring $300,000 of exploration expenditures within two years. Access is deemed excellent through a network of logging roads. GRUB and Bursey's Claim Group The Property lies along the GRUB Fault, a crustal scale fault zone that divides the Gander Zone from the Exploits Subzone and extends over 200 km in a southwest trend. (Figure 2). The GRUB structural corridor and related splay faulting hosts the Appleton Fault and JBP Fault home to the Queensway Gold Project of New Found Gold that reportedly contains 2 gold discoveries, the Keats and Lotto Zones, and an additional 10 high grade gold showings https://newfoundgold.ca/project/queensway-project/. The GRUB and Bursey's Properties are located over and adjacent to a carbonatized ultramafic unit with quartz-carbonate veining known as the Gander River Ultramafic Belt. The spatial relationship of gold mineralization to faults zones with carbonatized ultramafic rocks suggests a comparison to the Mother Lode Belt in California, a general deposit model where the carbonatization of ultramafic rocks and the development of gold veins in and above thrusts, reverse and normal faults has been used as a guide for exploration in these areas. Since the initial phase of exploration in the 1980's no further work has been completed on the claim groups. Figure 2.GRUB and Bursey claim group along the GRUB Fault line. To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7129/86351_60046a90d47489b3_003full.jpg Commentary from the CEO Blair Naughty, CEO of Great Thunder states: "As CEO of GTG it is my duty to our shareholders to get our company positioned into prolific areas with a high opportunity to discover new deposits. We are extremely pleased to bring Great Thunder to Newfoundland. Newfoundland has recently become one of the most exciting mining districts globally thanks a lot to, whom many call the world's greatest gold prospector, Shawn Ryan, and Newfoundland's legendary multi-generational Keat's family. These claims we are acquiring are strategically located along the GRUB Fault structural corridor northeast of New Found Gold's aggressive 200,000 metre drilling campaign. We are very aware of how geological structure plays a prominent role in gold discoveries in Newfoundland which especially excites us about these claims. While we await the drill results from our two campaigns in Quebec, we are looking forward to commence our initial field work in Newfoundland on this well-situated project." Qualified Person Mr. Mike Kilbourne, P. Geo, an independent qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed, and approved the technical contents of this news release on behalf of the Company. The QP has not completed sufficient work to verify the historic information on the Bursey's and GRUB properties particularly regarding historical exploration, neighbouring companies, and government geological work. The information provides an indication of the exploration potential of the Property but may not be representative of expected results. About Great Thunder Gold Great Thunder Gold is a Canadian junior mining exploration company focused on mineral projects located in Quebec & Newfoundland, Canada. On Behalf of the Board of Directors, GREAT THUNDER GOLD CORP. "Blair Naughty" President & CEO Investor Relations Email: info@greatthundergold.com Direct Line: (236) 513-4653 www.greatthundergold.com Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statement This news release may contain certain "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that 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 statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this news release 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. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86351 South Africa: Bribe lands Limpopo traffic officer in hot water A traffic officer has been sentenced to 24 months imprisonment, suspended for five years for accepting a bribe. Isaac Clifford Lubisi was arrested in 2017 as part of Operation Siyabangena, which sought to address traffic officer corruption in Limpopo. Lubisis trial was lengthy and had many postponements but he was eventually found guilty and sentenced. He no longer qualifies to work as a traffic law enforcement officer and his registration will be cancelled, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said on Wednesday. Lubisi was sentenced in the Tzaneen Magistrates Court. Meanwhile, the Johannesburg Magistrates Court has sentenced Olusey Babatunde Ajayi to a R10 000 fine or 12 months imprisonment with half of either sentence suspended for five years for operating as a bogus doctor. Ajayi was arrested as part of Operation Recall by the National Traffic Anti-Corruption Unit [NTACU] and the Health Professional Council of South Africa to address doctors who were irregularly issuing medical certificates to heavy motor vehicle drivers seeking to apply for professional driving permits. A total of 16 bogus doctors were arrested as part of that operation and 14 of them have been convicted, the RTMC said. Ajayis co-accused Adeniyi Adeyemi Ogunsula is expected to appear before the same court for the conclusion of his trial soon. The outcomes of these trials provides for further evidence that the work of our anti-corruption team is bearing fruit. We call on members of the public to assist by reporting suspicions of traffic related corruption to ntacu@rtmc.co.za or on WhatsApp line 0832937989, the RTMC said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2021-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Xi eyes greater development of ties with Dominican Republic Xinhua) 08:55, June 03, 2021 BEIJING, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that China stands ready to work with the Dominican Republic to steer their relationship towards greater development and continuously lift it to higher levels. Xi made the remarks in a telephone conversation with Luis Abinader, president of the Dominican Republic. Noting that since the two countries established diplomatic ties, the Dominican Republic has firmly adhered to the one-China policy and made relations with China a priority in foreign policy, Xi said China highly appreciates that. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries have stood together and supported each other, Xi said, adding that China will continue to provide as much support as it can for the Dominican Republic's fight against the coronavirus. China, he said, is confident that under Abinader's leadership, the Dominican Republic will defeat the pandemic at an early date. Noting that the Communist Party of China (CPC) will soon celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding, Xi stressed that putting people first is the CPC's fundamental political principle, which highly dovetails with the "people first" governing philosophy advocated by the Dominican Republic. China is ready to work with the Dominican Republic to strengthen exchanges on governing philosophies, deepen political mutual trust and promote common development, Xi said. This year marks the first year of China's 14th Five-Year Plan, Xi said, adding that as China is expanding its opening-up at a higher level, it will create more opportunities for bilateral cooperation. He added that China welcomes imports of specialty agro-products from the Dominican Republic, and supports Chinese enterprises in investing and launching business in the Dominican Republic. China, he said, stands ready to step up coordination and cooperation with the Dominican Republic on international and regional issues, and jointly safeguard international fairness and justice as well as the rights and interests of developing countries. Xi also expressed the hope that the Dominican Republic will play a positive role in promoting relations between China and the Caribbean and Central American countries as well as overall cooperation between China and Latin America. For his part, Abinader extended sincere congratulations on the CPC's upcoming centenary. He said his country is genuinely grateful for the medical supplies and vaccines provided by China, which have played a key role in the country's fight against COVID-19. The Dominican Republic, he added, sticks firmly to the one-China policy, and stands ready to enhance exchanges with China and expand bilateral cooperation in economy, trade and other fields. (Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun) Berwyn, Pennsylvania--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Annovis Bio, Inc. (NYSE American: ANVS) ("Annovis" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage drug platform company addressing Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD) and other neurodegenerative diseases, today announced CEO Maria L. Maccecchini will present at the Jefferies Virtual Healthcare Conference 2021 as follows: Date: Friday, June 4, 2021 Time: 8:00 a.m. ET Webcast: https://wsw.com/webcast/jeff174/anvs/1866024 The presentation will be webcast live and archived for 30 days thereafter. About Annovis Bio Inc. Headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, Annovis Bio, Inc. (Annovis) is a clinical-stage, drug platform company addressing neurodegeneration, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's in Down Syndrome (AD-DS). We believe that we are the only company developing a drug for AD, PD and AD-DS that inhibits more than one neurotoxic protein and, thereby, improves the information highway of the nerve cell, known as axonal transport. When this information flow is impaired, the nerve cell gets sick and dies. We expect our treatment to improve memory loss and dementia associated with AD and AD-DS, as well as body and brain function in PD. We have two ongoing Phase 2a studies: one in AD patients and one in both AD and PD patients. For more information on Annovis, please visit the company's website: www.annovisbio.com. Forward-Looking Statements Statements in this press release contain "forward-looking statements" that are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "expect," "believe," "will," "may," "should," "estimate," "project," "outlook," "forecast" or other similar words, and include, without limitation, statements regarding the timing, effectiveness, and anticipated results of ANVS401 clinical trials. Forward-looking statements are based on Annovis Bio, Inc.'s current expectations and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Further, certain forward-looking statements are based on assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. These and other risks and uncertainties are described more fully in the section titled "Risk Factors" in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are made as of this date, and Annovis Bio, Inc. undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law. Investor Relations: Dave Gentry, CEO RedChip Companies Inc. 407-491-4498 Dave@redchip.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86386 Initiative Will Transform Traditional Business Continuity and Risk Programs into Flexible, Robust Ecosystems Fusion Risk Management, Inc. (Fusion), a leading provider of risk management software and services, and Sungard Availability Services (Sungard AS), a leading provider of cloud connected infrastructure solutions, today announced a partnership to deliver enhanced value to the market. The partnership will bring together the Fusion Framework System and Sungard AS' recovery capabilities and consulting services to meet increased customer demand for a comprehensive approach to operational resilience. Fusion and Sungard AS believe the best way to combat disruptions from the growing number of threats is to integrate traditional business continuity, disaster recovery, and crisis management into a modern, software-enabled operational resilience ecosystem. New research from the Open Compliance and Ethics Group (OCEG) shows that 67% of companies across industries plan to or have already started integrating their risk and continuity programs, with early adopters coming from financial services, healthcare, and professional services. This collaboration will allow the two companies to bring additional value to their customers' programs through Fusion's many risk management and analytic capabilities, ensuring their plans remain relevant and current across a changing business and risk landscape. Further, the partnership will provide businesses with solutions and services that enable greater flexibility through increasing levels of sophistication, while breaking down traditional siloed approaches. "Organizations today must navigate a multitude of potential operational disruptions and increased regulatory pressure while weighing costly digital transformation initiatives to respond to these changes," said Michael Campbell, CEO of Fusion Risk Management. "Fusion has always championed a culture of collaboration and cross-industry cooperation to build a more resilient world and ensure organizations can weather any disruption. We're excited to partner with Sungard AS to introduce an innovative and transformative approach to meet today's business resilience challenges and prepare our clients for the future." The joint offering will leverage Fusion's flagship platform, the Fusion Framework System, which eliminates the need for separate modules across the key pillars of risk and continuity management by providing visibility across all parts of the operational resilience ecosystem. Added to that will be Sungard AS' expertise in delivering mission-critical production systems, disaster and data recovery capabilities, and world-class business continuity programs. The total solution grows with customers' needs, giving organizations confidence they can solve for the most significant resilience challenges by providing complete visibility into your organization to spot weaknesses and areas for improvement before a disruption. "The imperative for organizations to continue their business operations in a resource constrained state has never been higher, and our new partnership with Fusion will enable us to better support our customers in achievement of this goal," said Charles Iannuzzelli, Head of Sungard AS' North American Consulting Services Group. "We are excited about this partnership with Fusion and the value it will bring to our customers." Fusion also recently announced that the company was recognized as a Leader in The Forrester Wave for Business Continuity Management Software, Q2 2021. The full report is available here. About Fusion Risk Management, Inc. Fusion Risk Management is a leading industry provider of cloud-based software solutions for business continuity, risk management, IT disaster recovery, and crisis and incident management. Its products and services take organizations beyond legacy solutions and empowers them to make data-driven decisions with a comprehensive and flexible approach through one system. Fusion and its team of experts are dedicated to helping companies achieve greater operational resilience and mitigate risks within their businesses. For more information, visit www.fusionrm.com. About Sungard Availability Services Sungard Availability Services (Sungard AS) is a leading provider of cloud connected infrastructure solutions serving enterprise customers from 75 hardened data centers and workplace recovery facilities in nine countries. Sungard AS has a 40-year track record of delivering resilient and highly available hybrid IT solutions. Backed by high performance networks, Sungard AS modernizes customers' end-to-end IT across connected infrastructure, cloud, recovery and workplace solutions. Working with customers to understand their business objectives, Sungard AS identifies gaps in customers' current environments and tailors a solution to achieve their desired business outcomes. Visit Sungard AS at www.sungardas.com or call 1.888.537.6519. Connect with us on our blog, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005093/en/ Contacts: Media Articulate Communications for Fusion Risk Management fusion@articulatecomms.com 212-255-1198 Nora Hahn Senior Manager, Public Relations, Sungard Availability Services nora.hahn@sungardas.com 281-728-6999 KPM Analytics, a global leader in scientific instrumentation for analyzing critical parameters in the food, agriculture, industrial, and environmental sectors, continues to invest and expand its global footprint and infrastructure to better serve its growing customer base. Today, the company announced a number of facility relocations and upgrades for some of their manufacturing and sales offices around the globe, including a new global headquarters and establishment of North American and European Centers of Excellence. As they continue to grow and partner with customers to help them better manage product quality, protect their brand value, and reduce operational costs, KPM Analytics has outgrown the space in many of their existing locations. Says Brian Mitchell, KPM Analytics CEO, "We are committed to solving our customer's most challenging problems with a broad, robust offering of scientific instrumentation supported by a global network. Our new facilities will allow us to provide these outstanding products as well as technical sales and support for our customers at the local level. They will also provide tangible benefits to our employees, such as collaborative spaces, comfortable work environments, and modern amenities, which really makes our global investment a win-win across the board." Westborough, MA, USA A significant component of the KPM Analytics moves in North America is the establishment of new corporate headquarters from the existing location in Milford, MA, to a brand new facility in Westborough, MA. This new facility will serve as global headquarters for KPM Analytics and it will be the North American Center of Excellence, equipped with the latest meeting and training spaces, to provide demonstration rooms for product education and customer engagement. Product development and manufacturing of Process Sensors, Unity Scientific, and Sensortech brands will all operate from this facility. This expansion includes the consolidation and move of Sensortech Systems operations from Oxnard, CA, to Westborough, MA. This will enable KPM Analytics to provide better manufacturing scale, leverage product synergies, and improve customer responsiveness. Ottawa, ON, Canada - Having outgrown their manufacturing and staff office space due to growth in the market, Sightline Process Control is moving to a new building with more than double the size of their existing location. The new facility will improve efficiencies in production, manufacturing, and shipping, which will allow them to better serve customers. Villeneuve-la-Garenne, France - This location will be the new headquarters for the CHOPIN Technologies product line business. Moving the CHOPIN brand to this facility will also enable KPM Analytics to create a Center of Excellence in Europe, as part of an expansion effort to provide comprehensive sales and service to the EMEA market for all products, with local and regional support. The new site will provide more modern and efficient space and equipment, with the most up-to-date meeting and training areas for customers and partners, also providing access to application labs. Warsaw, Poland The new KPM Analytics facility in Poland is outfitted for meetings for customer engagement, demos, and lab testing. It is fully staffed with personnel trained and integrated to sell, support, and service all KPM brands, providing local language expertise, applications engineering, and factory-trained service technicians. The new location leverages KPM's footprint and resources to increase responsiveness and value to customers and partners. Below are the addresses for the new KPM Analytics locations around the globe: KPM Office New Address Phone KPM Analytics Headquarters United States 8 Technology Drive Westborough, MA 01581 USA +1 774 399 0500 CHOPIN Technologies France 36 avenue Marc Sangnier Building B3 92390 Villeneuve-la-Garenne France +33 1 41 47 50 48 Sightline Process Control Canada 24 Edgewater St Kanata, ON K2L 1V8 Canada 800 768 6821 KPM Analytics Sp. z o.o (Poland) Modlinska 335E 03-151 Warsaw Poland +48 22 6739526 The KPM Analytics facility moves are all expected to be finalized by the end of June 2021. For more information about KPM Analytics and their product brands please visit www.kpmanalytics.com. About KPM Analytics KPM Analytics is a global leader in scientific instrumentation, focused primarily on analyzing critical parameters within the food, agriculture, clinical and environmental sectors. We provide a comprehensive range of products and services to uniquely solve our customers' problems. Our product brands are AMS Alliance, CHOPIN Technologies, Process Sensors, Sightline, Sensortech, and Unity Scientific. Each has a long history of delivering advanced and reliable analysis solutions to ensure product quality and optimize process efficiency, with customer service at the center of everything we do. Visit kpmanalytics.com to learn more. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005144/en/ Contacts: Melanie Scott Email: mscott@kpmanalytics.com Phone: 314.704.0053 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Spey Resources Corp. (CSE: SPEY) (OTC: SPEYF) ("Spey" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that on March 18, 2021 its wholly owned subsidiary, Tech One Lithium Resources Corp. signed a facility fee agreement to have access to utilize the Ekosolve Lithium Solvent Exchange Extraction process that can efficiently manage the processing of the brines to produce lithium carbonate with a grade higher than 99.2% and a recovery of 97%, far exceeding any ion exchange or adsorption process available to date. Ekosolve is licensed to University of Melbourne, Australia. The key advantage of the Ekosolve system is the elevated rate of lithium yield targeting 97% with 95% of the solvent being reclaimed. Other systems such as adsorption may achieve 72-80% yield, fractional crystallization of 50-70%, and ion exchange up to 90%. In adsorption and ion exchange systems, extra processes may be required to manage the magnesium and boron in the brines whereas this is not an issue with the Ekosolve process. Hence the capital expenditure and operating costs are anticipated to be substantially reduced. A significant benefit, evaporation ponds are not required, providing a more eco-friendly solution. Spey Resources chief executive officer and director Nader Vatanchi states, "Having access to the Ekosolve lithium extraction process could potentially save significant capital costs and provides the added benefit of being environmentally friendly. The process has been tested and patented at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and we are looking forward to sending our lithium brine samples there for testing within the next week or two." Qualified Person Phillip Thomas, BSc Geol, MBusM, FAusIMM, MAIG, MAIMVA, (CMV), a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101 regulations, has reviewed the technical information that forms the basis for portions of this news release, and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Thomas is independent of the Company but discloses that he is a shareholder of SPEY. About Spey Resources Corp. Spey Resources is a Canadian mineral exploration company which holds an option to acquire 100% interest in the Candela II lithium brine project located in the Incahuasi Salar, Salta Province, Argentina. Spey also holds an option to acquire a 100% undivided interest in the Silver Basin Project located in the Revelstoke Mining Division of British Columbia as well as an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Kaslo Silver project, west of Kaslo British Columbia. For more information, please visit the Company's public disclosure at www.sedar.com and www.speyresources.ca Contact: Nader Vatanchi CEO, Director 778-881-4631 nader@speyresources.ca www.speyresources.ca ### The Canadian Securities Exchange accepts no responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation. The words "may", "would", "could", "should", "potential", "will", "seek", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions as they relate to the Company, are intended to identify forward-looking information. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking information. Such statements reflect the Company's current views and intentions with respect to future events, and current information available to them, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, without limitation: the potential of the Company's mineral properties; the estimation of capital requirements; the estimation of operating costs; the timing and amount of future business expenditures; and the availability of necessary financing. Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking information to vary from those described herein should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize. Such factors include but are not limited to: changes in economic conditions or financial markets; increases in costs; litigation; legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; and exploration or operational difficulties. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect forward-looking information. These and other factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking information. Should any factor affect the Company in an unexpected manner, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, the actual results or events may differ materially from the results or events predicted. Any such forward- looking information is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Moreover, the Company does not assume responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this press release is made as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, other than as required by applicable law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86356 LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Aon plc (AON) said that it agreed to sell its U.S. retirement business to Aquiline and its Aon Retiree Health Exchange business to Alight for total gross consideration of $1.4 billion. Aon noted that the agreements are intended to address certain questions raised by the U.S. Department of Justice in relation to the combination with respect to the markets in which these businesses are active. Aon and Willis Towers Watson continue to work toward obtaining regulatory approval in all relevant jurisdictions. The U.S. retirement business Aquiline will acquire includes approximately 1000 colleagues and the agreement includes U.S. core retirement consulting, U.S. pension administration and the U.S.-based portion of Aon's international retirement consulting business, along with many solutions and tools. The agreement with Aquiline does not include Aon's non-U.S. actuarial, non-U.S. pension administration or international retirement businesses based outside of the U.S. All of the announced regulatory divestitures are contingent on the completion of the pending Aon and Willis Towers Watson combination, as well as other customary closing conditions. While Aon and WTW are working toward completing the proposed combination as soon as possible in the third quarter of 2021. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Stewart Russell joins as Chief Investment Officer and David Andonian is added to the Board of Directors MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2021 / YieldX, the FinTech reimagining fixed income, today announced two key appointments. Stewart Russell has joined as Chief Investment Officer, and David Andonian has been added to the YieldX Board of Directors. "With Stewart joining the team, and Dave now a YieldX board member, we have added two world-class executives with expertise in scaling technology and investment platforms," said Adam Green, CEO of YieldX. "Stewart brings deep and broad expertise in leading multi-asset investing and portfolio construction with a focus on fixed income. He will be responsible for oversight of the investment process and portfolio activities for our white-label asset management solutions. As a board member, Dave's long career as an operating executive and venture investor, and experience in growing technology-based software and marketing services companies will be invaluable. It's exciting for us to see the caliber of expertise joining YieldX on our mission to reimagine fixed income access, analytics, and experiences in a digital world." Prior to joining YieldX, Stewart was Managing Director, Head of Institutional Solutions and Head of Multi-Asset Portfolios at Barings, a $325 billion asset manager. During his illustrious career, Stewart has served as a portfolio manager at Moore Capital Management, and also as a Partner and Co-Chief Investment Officer at Fischer Francis Trees and Watts, a $40 billion global fixed income manager, which was sold to BNP Paribas during his tenure. Throughout Dave's career, he has worked with more than 40 companies on funding and acquisitions. Furthermore, he has sat on the boards of directors of 28 companies, ranging from start-ups to publicly traded companies. Currently, he is Managing Partner and Founder of the early-stage venture capital firm, Dace Ventures, based in Lexington, MA. Dave currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Templum, Inc., as a board member for Ticket Evolution and Luminoso, and as a board observer for YieldMo. About YieldX YieldX brings fixed income investment to all with a 100% digital, end-to-end platform that eliminates time-consuming, manual processes. The YieldX suite of solutions replaces antiquated technology by deploying AI, machine learning, and APIs, and reimagines the user experience. Powered by advanced risk, optimization, and pushbutton portfolio construction technology, YieldX users build tailored, sophisticated fixed income portfolios across the yield/risk spectrum. As an Open API and SaaS, YieldX offers complete flexibility, with a choice of end-to-end or stand-alone solutions, custom investment universes, and white-labeled offerings, so clients can select the capabilities that best meet their needs. For more information, visit YieldX.app. Media Contact: Lauren Perry Caliber Corporate Advisers Tel: 952-221-4615 Email: lauren@calibercorporateadvisers.com SOURCE: YieldX View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/650199/YieldX-Continues-its-Growth-Trajectory-with-Addition-of-Investment-Veterans-to-Team-and-Board WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Alaska Airlines (ALK) announced Thursday that it is planning to resume their full schedule of 18 daily nonstop departures at Paine Field-Snohomish County Airport by spring 2022 or earlier. His is based on the increasing confidence that air travel is on a steady climb to return to pre-pandemic levels in the coming year. As part of the path to recovery, the airline will have 13 daily departures at Paine Field later this fall, up from the current five, as it brings back more destinations, increase flight frequencies and even add an exciting new route to Tucson, Arizona. Alaska will fly to five destinations from Everett: Las Vegas, Orange County, Phoenix, San Diego and San Francisco from June 17. It will jump to 11 daily departures to seven destinations as its adds two flights a day to both Boise and Spokane, along with second daily flights to both Las Vegas and Phoenix, from September 8. The airline will also bring back its seasonal flight to Palm Springs from October 7 and launch its new seasonal service to Tucson, another popular getaway for wintertime warmth in the desert on November 19. Tickets are available for purchase now for all Paine Field flights on alaskaair.com, including the new service between Everett and Tucson. Horizon Air provides the all-jet service for its flights that serve Paine Field. As flyers begin traveling again, Alaska said it remains committed to Next-Level Care for its guests and employees - from clean planes to clean air in the cabin (with hospital-grade air filtration systems). Alaska also continues to enforce the federally mandated mask policy even for those who are fully vaccinated. 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. DUBAI, U.A.E., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In its latest report, ESOMAR-certified consulting firm Future Market Insights projects a positive outlook for global bag-on-valve laminate market for the forecast period between 2021 and 2031. The market is expected to rise at 5.5% CAGR over the course of the assessment period. Traditional packaging of healthcare products such as nasal spray and wound washes are now being done using bag-on-valve packaging. Increasing application of bag-on-valve laminates in diverse end-use sectors such as personal care, healthcare and home care industry is propelling the market growth. Benefits such as ease of dispensing, maximum utilization of content, and safer packaging option are the factors that are bolstering demand among end users. Growing demand of safe packaging of sterilized products within healthcare industry is providing stimulus to the market. Bag-on-valve laminates sales are gaining momentum in the packaging of veterinary products due to their flexible packaging and ease of dispensing. As per FMI's analysis, increasing demand for safe packaging with no contamination within healthcare industry is spurring the sales of bag-on-valve laminates. Surging demand from food & beverage industry and personal care industry will accelerate the market growth in the upcoming decade. "Increasing popularity of safe packaging for natural and herbal cosmetics is improving the demand for bag-on-valve laminates. This is in turn accelerating the production of bag-on-valve laminates and creating growth opportunities for leading players," says the FMI analyst. For more Insights into the Market, Request a Sample of this Report https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-10864 Key Takeaways from FMI's Bag-on-valve laminates Market Study In terms of packaging format, bag segment is the most top selling segment, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.6% through 2031 Aseptic fill is anticipated to account for a dominant share of 30% in the bag-on-valve laminates market Aluminum laminates are the most preferred type in terms of material owing to its high barrier strengths compared to others Increasing application in healthcare industry will account for over 35% bag-on-valve sales The U.S. is expected to be the leading market for bag-on-valve laminates, surpassing a valuation of US$ 71.2 million by 2031 by 2031 Germany and the U.K. will exhibit high demand for bag-on-valve laminate market within the Europe market and the U.K. will exhibit high demand for bag-on-valve laminate market within the market India's bag-on-valve laminate market estimated to exceed a valuation of US$ 12 million in 2021 bag-on-valve laminate market estimated to exceed a valuation of in 2021 China's expanding manufacturing sector is expected to provide lucrative opportunities for market players, poised to expand at 7.6% CAGR expanding manufacturing sector is expected to provide lucrative opportunities for market players, poised to expand at 7.6% CAGR Countries such as France and Canada will exhibit positive growth throughout the forecast period Competitive Landscape Increasing focus on providing innovative solution with sustainable packaging is the key strategy for the leading player in global bag-on-valve laminates market. Manufacturers are intent on providing new products to expand their global reach and hence are emphasizing on investing heavily on research & development activities. This in turn, is expected to provide lucrative opportunity for market players across the globe. In February 2021, UFlex, a leading packaging company, announced the expansion of its packaging films business in domestic as well as international regions. The expansion was announced on the back of 89% sales within its packaging business in 2020. In May 2020, Doctors Kline and Green launched new bag on valve spray and aerosol foam hand sanitizer solution for an easy to dispense pressurized packaging. In 2018, Lindal Group, a global aerosol packaging technology leader, announced the opening of a new laboratory dedicated to the increasingly popular bag-on-valve technologies. Some of the key players profiled by Future Market Insights include: Aptar Group Amcor plc Precision Valve Corporation TUNAP Group Lindal Group Summit Packaging Systems Gualapack S.p.A. Coster Tecnologie Speciali S.p.A Chicago Aerosol, LLC Wipf Doypak Farrag Packaging KOH-I-NOOR Mlada Vozice A.S. Get Customization on this Report for Specific Country https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-10864 More Insights into the Global Bag-On-Valve Laminates Market In its latest report on global bag-on-valve laminates, FMI provides deeper insights on the key trends of the market, providing historical data for the period of 2016-2020 and forecast statistics for the period of 2021-2031. In order to understand the global market potential, its growth, and scope, the market is segmented on the basis of: Material Polypropylene (PP) Oriented Polypropylene (OPP) Cast Polypropylene (CPP) Aluminum Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Packaging Format Bags Pouches Filling Process Cold Fill Aseptic Fill Ambient Fill Application Home care Personal care Healthcare Others (Chemical) Region North America Latin America Europe East Asia South Asia Middle East and Africa (MEA) and (MEA) Oceania For any Queries Linked with the Report, Ask an Analyst@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-10864 Key Questions Covered in the Report What will be the future outlook for bag-on-valve laminates market? Which region will emerge as the most lucrative market during the forecast period? Which are the key trend that will drive the bag-on-valve laminates market demand? What are the challenges that will affect the growth of bag-on-valve laminates market? Which segment will remain the most lucrative throughout the forecast period? What is the impact of Covid-19 on bag-on-valve laminates market? Explore FMI's Extensive Coverage on the Packaging Domain Metal Aerosol Packaging Market: Future Market Insights (FMI) provides a deeper insights on the new trends of global metal aerosol packaging market while incorporating the impact of ongoing trends, and growth & restraining factors during the forecast period of 2021 to 2031. Market dynamics have been presented on the basis of prominent drivers, trends and opportunities prevailing across key geographies for the aforementioned decade. Aerosol Sprayers Market: ESOMAR-certified market analysis and consulting company Future Market Insights (FMI) provides incisive coverage on the global aerosol sprayers market over the forecast period of 2021 and 2031. Additionally, to find the effect of COVID-19 on the aerosol sprayers market in general, the study monitor global aerosol sprayers' sales in 20+ high-growth markets and addresses their end-user in particular. Aerosol dispensing systems Market: ESOMAR-certified market research and consulting firm Future Market Insights (FMI) offers in-depth insights on key factors of global aerosol dispensing systems market. The study offers detailed study on key trends that influence the demand for aerosol dispensing systems. The report covers global demand in more than 20 high potential markets, in addition to an in-depth analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on the global shell and heat exchangers market 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: Abhishek Budholiya Future Market Insights, 1602-6 Jumeirah Bay X2 Tower, Plot No: JLT-PH2-X2A, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates For Sales Enquiries: sales@futuremarketinsights.com For Media Enquiries: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/bag-on-valve-laminates-market Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1197648/FMI_Logo.jpg STOCKHOLM, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Swedish Tax Agency has pursued a case against Hoist Finance where the Administrative court of appeal ruled in favour of Hoist Finance, as was communicated on 2 December 2019. The case was then appealed by the Swedish Tax Agency to the Supreme Administrative Court (the "SAC"), which also ruled in favour of Hoist Finance. The tax matter concerns a company acquired in 2012, with non-utilised tax losses that were offset against profits during 2012-2014. The Administrative court of appeal concluded - in contrast to the view of the Tax Agency - that Hoist Finance had the right to utilise the tax losses. The value of the tax losses amounted to approximately SEK 30 million. The SAC has today favoured Hoist Finance's view and decided to uphold the decision of the Administrative court of appeal. The ruling will have no impact on the second quarter financial result. This information is information that Hoist Finance AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication by Andreas Lindblom at 03:00 P.M. CEST on 3 June 2021. CONTACT: For further information, please contact: Andreas Lindblom, Head of Investor Relations Telephone: +46 (0) 72 506 14 22 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/hoist-finance/r/the-supreme-administrative-court-has-concluded-a-tax-ruling-re-years-2012-2014,c3359804 The following files are available for download: Dieppe, New Brunswick--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Colibri Resource Corporation (TSXV: CBI) ("Colibri" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that option partner Silver Spruce Resources Inc. ("Silver Spruce") will be starting its planned Phase 1 Reverse Circulation ("RC") drill program on the Companies El Mezquite Au-Ag Property ("El Mezquite") today, June 3, 2021. This is the first-ever drilling at El Mezquite. "Colibri is very excited for this inaugural drilling program at El Mezquite. We feel that this project has potential to build a great deal of shareholder value for both Colibri and our partner. We expect lots of news about progress on several projects in the near term. In addition to our two partners making tremendous strides at our Pilar, El Mezquite, and Jackie gold and silver projects, the 3D Induced program at Evelyn Gold Project is wrapping up this week. Upon receipt of the final reports and models, Colibri will be planning drill targets and moving towards a fully financed drilling campaign at our flagship Evelyn property in the near term," says Ron Goguen, President & CEO of Colibri. Illustration 1: Photo of Dozer and drill rig preparing for work at El Mezquite on June 2, 2021 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4269/86402_835de3dad41a1895_001full.jpg Phase 1 drilling planned by Silver Spruce will consist of a minimum of 2,000 metres ("m") of RC drilling to be completed from 8 drill pads covering an area of approximately 600m x 400m. The area to be tested is contained within a larger area of alteration and anomalous Au and Ag samples collected historically by Colibri and more recently, under the terms of an option agreement, by Silver Spruce. Historical sampling by the Company at El Mezquite has returned a high value of 3.41 grams per tonne ("g/t") Au and 387 g/t Ag. Recent exploration completed by Silver Spruce has continued geological mapping and outcrop sampling on the Property and has also included multi-element geochemistry, hyperspectral analyses, and a LiDAR survey. Collectively, the exploration work to date at El Mezquite has outlined an area of Epithermal Low-Sulphidation type alteration with a footprint of approximately 1,200 m x 600 m. The Phase 1 drill program being executed has been planned to test northeast-southwest trending structures defined by geological mapping and sampling and supplemented by lineament analyses and to test the results of an Induced Polarization survey previously completed by the Company. About El Mezquite Property The El Mezquite Property is located within a belt of Epithermal Au-Au mineralization hosted by the Sierra Madre Occidental Volcanic Complex. Major gold mining operations in the area of El Mezquite include Alamos Golds' Los Mulatos Mine and Agnico Eagles' El India and Pinos Altos Mines. The 180 hectare El Mezquite Property is located approximately 170 km southeast of Sonora state capital Hermosillo and approximately 10 km northwest of the town of Tepoca. The property is accessed directly from Sonora state Highway 16. Mezquite Property Agreement On June 9, 2020 Colibri signed a definitive agreement with Silver Spruce for the Mezquite property. The principal terms to purchase 50% interest in the property include US$210,000 in cash payments over 12 months, specifically US$82,500 by September 1, 2020 (paid), US$127,500 by September 1, 2021 and a promissory note to the Colibri for $500,000 for a debenture due in October 2023. Upon full payment, Colibri and Silver Spruce propose to complete a 50:50 Joint Venture Agreement to own and operate the property. Minimum work expenditures total $600,000 over the four-year term of the Agreement by September 1, 2024, with no specific annual requirements. During the period of the Option, Silver Spruce will be responsible for 100% payment of the surface rights agreements when exploration is active, 50% of the property taxes and 50% of the interest due at 2.5% annually on the debenture. The underlying agreement with the original vendors contains a 1% percent Net Smelter Return royalty which can be purchased by Colibri at any time for $500,000. 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 for 2021. 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/86402 Calverton, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - After more than six months of development, JZZ Technologies, Inc. (OTC Pink: JZZI) is on track with the ability to reach over 30 million seniors (age 55+) through its Active Lifestyle Media direct marketing platform. The Company is offering this platform to marketing partners and third-party advertisers as part of its drive to increase revenues. Figure 1 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6844/86372_0935bd6eb43758b3_001full.jpg Working with network partners, JZZ Technologies Inc. has been cultivating this proprietary database of over 30 million to deliver advertising and create engagement with one of America's largest audience segments. According to published data, U.S. seniors now account for more than 75% of the wealth in America. They are also one of the most sought-after demographics for their specific interests and trackable spending patterns. Interestingly, the 55+ age group is also one of the fastest growing segments of online users following the global pandemic. It appears that adoption of technology by seniors has been driven by a profound need to reach out and connect with family, friends, and new communities online. JZZ Technologies, Inc., has been closely mirroring these trends and developing a platform that will allow its partner companies and third-party advertisers to reach the active seniors group directly. Through its Active Lifestyle Media brand, the Company publishes online and print content, magazines, blogs and is preparing to launch streaming media, as well as free over-the-air TV programs across the US via the EyeOn Television Network. The Company is also able to target certain other verticals such as U.S. based physicians, which Active Lifestyle Media serves with medical content through its medical newsletter and online content/podcasts. The Company encourages content providers and marketers to reach out to its direct marketing group to seek new ways that JZZ Technologies Inc. can offer custom direct marketing channels and/or develop cooperative programs for advertisers. "Through our Active Lifestyles Media brand and cumulative data, we are now reaching the growing active adult audience (age 55+) on an unprecedented scale," says Cardona. "We set out to serve this audience with fresh, new content and access to exclusive products and services. That is now coming into focus as we scale-up the use of our data and share it with our partners and marketers. We expect that we will soon be one of the most compelling offerings for seniors and offer an unmatched opportunity for partners and advertisers who want to connect with Americans age 55 and over." 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+. DISCLAIMER 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/86372 Adds first corporate client for new offering LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2021 / Tego Cyber Inc. (OTCQB:TGCB), an emerging developer of proactive cyber threat intelligence applications and solutions, today announced the commercial launch of its boutique Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) reporting service. Tego Cyber Inc. has also signed its first corporate client for the new offering. CTI reporting provides individuals or enterprises with custom cyber threat intelligence on issues such as social media impersonation, compromised email credentials, look-a-like domains, social media trends and possible DarkWeb presence. Tego has received many requests to leverage the Tego Threat Intelligence Platform (TTIP) in a customized report. Tego has responded to market drivers and developed a carefully crafted threat intelligence product that is aimed at providing real-time data to corporations and individuals. Interest has been expressed by investors, family offices, software companies, private protection groups, international investigation firms, and more to address the growing presence of data on the open, non-indexed, deep and dark web, and social media. CTI reports help individuals and organizations understand the threats that have, will, or are currently targeting them. Tego's CTI reporting service will be provided in real time based on emerging threats and on customized cadences defined by the customer. The cost to the client will depend on the size and complexity of the client's cyber footprint. "The CTI reporting service provides a client with a valuable tool in the continued fight against cyber-crime," stated Shannon Wilkson, CEO of Tego Cyber Inc. "The information contained in the CTI report can be used to prepare for, enable protection against, and counter-act the cyber threats that the individual or enterprise faces. We are especially pleased to announce our first corporate customer for this new offering and look forward to rolling this service out to the market." About Tego Cyber Inc. Tego Cyber Inc. (OTCQB:TGCB, "the Company") was created to capitalize on the emerging cyber threat intelligence market. The Company has developed a cyber threat intelligence application that integrates with top end security platforms to gather, analyze, then proactively identify threats to an enterprise network. The Tego Threat Intelligence Platform (TTIP) takes in vetted and curated threat data and after utilizing a proprietary process, the platform compiles, analyzes, and then delivers that data to an enterprise network in a format that is timely, informative, and relevant. The threat data provides additional context including specific details needed to identify and counteract threats so that security teams can spend less time searching for disparate information. The first version of the TTIP will integrate with the widely accepted SPLUNK platform to provide real-time threat intelligence to macro enterprises using the SPLUNK architecture. The Company plans on developing future versions of the TTIP for integration with other established SIEM systems and platforms including: Elastic, IBM QRadar, AT&T AlienVault, Exabeam, and Google Chronical. For more information, please visit www.tegocyber.com. Forward-Looking Statements The statements contained in this press release, those which are not purely historical or which depend upon future events, may constitute 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. Statements regarding the Company's expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future constitute forward-looking statements. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements because of various factors. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof and the Company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. Prospective investors should also consult the risks factors described from time to time in the Company's Reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K and Annual Reports to Shareholders. Contact: Tego Cyber Inc. 8565 S Eastern Avenue, Suite 150 Las Vegas, Nevada 89123 USA Tel: 855-939-0100 (North America) Tel: 725-726-7840 x 705 (Europe) Email: info@tegocyber.com Web: tegocyber.com Facebook: facebook.com/tegocyber LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/tegocyber Twitter: twitter.com/tegocyber Investor Relations: Crescendo Communications, LLC Tel: 212-671-1020 Email: TGCB@crescendo-ir.com SOURCE: Tego Cyber Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/650282/Tego-Cyber-Inc-Announces-Launch-of-Cyber-Threat-Intelligence-Reporting-Service VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2021 / Margaret Lake Diamonds Inc. ("MLD" or the "Company") (TSXV:DIA) (FKT:M85) (OTC PINK:DDIAF) is pleased to announce the TSXV has reviewed the technical reports of the Old Nick, Nickel-Cobalt (Old Nick) project in Southern British Columbia and the Letain, Nickel-Cobalt (Letain) project in North-Western British Columbia and has found them both to be NI 43-101 compliant. The approval on the acquisition of the properties has not yet been obtained. The completed report is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Old Nick-Nickel Cobalt project The property is a quartzite-hosted stratabound nickel-cobalt deposit (with minor chromite). The mineralization is hosted by Paleozoic Anarchist Group fuchsite-bearing quartzites with disseminated pentlandite/pyrrhotite. The deposit has been defined by 51 drill holes totalling 4,417 meters and 19 trenches totalling 1,533 meters. Laterally, the zones extend for at least 500 meters along strike. Bench scale column leach testing in 1995-1996 and 2004-2005 indicated the potential for economic recovery of nickel and cobalt by acid heap leaching and Solvent Extraction/Electrowinning processes. There is significant potential to expand the deposit both along strike and down the dip of the known mineralization as well as within the same prospective stratigraphy elsewhere on the property. Makepeace (2007) defined an historic Inferred Mineral Resource estimate of 17.24 million tonnes at a grade of 0.1914 %Ni and 0.0095 %Co, with a nickel cut off grade of 0.14 %Ni. This estimate is not current and not to be relied upon. In 1971, a MSc. thesis on the Old Nick deposit outlined 2 generations of pentlandite occurring interstitially within the pyrrhotite. Elevated nickel values are associated with mariposite bands. The dunite and quartzite had similar Ni/Cr values suggesting a common source of metal mineralization. Chromium occurs in mariposite. From 1995-1998 Applied Mine Technologies Ltd. (AMT) completed 6 diamond drill holes into the deposit. Part of the resultant core was used for their bench scale and column leach testing of the Old Nick mineralization. The metallurgical tests indicated that acid heap leaching and selective SX/EW recovery methods could recover the nickel and cobalt. A preliminary scoping study at the time indicated the potential for positive economics based on this new process technology. The economics were based on a 50 million tonne deposit with an anticipated grade of 0.2 % Ni and 0.01 % Co with recoveries of 60 % Ni and 50 % Co. The metal prices used in the calculation were USD 8.20 per kilogram of Ni and USD 41.06 per kilogram of Co. This study is also not current and not to be relied upon. Letain Nickel The Letain Ni claims cover ultramafic rocks that consist of variably deformed and serpentinized peridotite and minor dunite, associated intrusive mafic dykes, and fault-bound volcanic and sedimentary rocks which are part of the ophiolitic Cache Creek Group allochthonous terrain. Several peridotite-hosted zones contain fine and coarse Ni-Fe alloy grains (awaruite), which are exposed as bedrock ridges in the east-central portion of the claim group at 1,700-2,050 m elevation. Disseminated fine to coarser grain awaruite was found in serpentinized ultramafic rocks. In the north portion of the property the peridotite is massive, black in colour with fewer vein-fracture textures, however the change in texture of the peridotite appears to have little or no effect on the Ni-Cr-Co content which appears to be relatively consistent (2,000-3,000 ppm Ni, 1,000-3,000 ppm Cr and 100-150 ppm Co) throughout the ultramafic complex exposed on Tenure #1058958. Samples from the central ridge of the property delineated a 1,100 metre long discontinuous zone of coarse-grained (>100m) awaruite. Rock chip samples (25 in total) in 2018 covered a 1 X 1.3 km area located in the east-central part of the claims, where First Point Minerals discovered fine and coarse-grained awaruite (native Ni-Fe) mineralization in 2010-2011. Awaruite mineralization occurs in 2 different habits, fine Ni-Fe alloys or larger composite grains. Fine awaruite grains (10-100 m) are disseminated in the serpentine matrix. NiFe alloys have a highly reflective white/silver color. Larger composite grains (100-300 m) are a mixture of Ni-Fe alloys and lesser Ni-Fe sulphides. Awaruite (native Ni-Fe) occurrences are the main focus of economic mineralization on the Letain nickel property. Mutual Release and Rescission of Contract with Korid Energy Co. Ltd. Margaret Lake Diamonds announces the mutual release and rescission of contract that was entered into on the 13th day of January 2020 with Korid Energy Co. for circumstances beyond the reasonable control of both parties, which materially and adversely affected contractual performance. The parties have mutually agreed that the agreement between the two companies shall be rescinded, terminated and cancelled. Qualified Person The Qualified Person for this news release is Jo Shearer, an independent economic geologist with extensive experience in mineral exploration throughout North America. A Qualified Person under the provisions of National Instrument 43-101. Contact Information Neil Foran Chief Executive Officer (604) 681-7735 neil@margaretlakediamonds.com Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "potentially" 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. The reader is referred to the Company's public filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects, which may be accessed through the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. SOURCE: Margaret Lake Diamonds Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/650286/Margaret-Lake-Diamonds-Reports-Filing-of-Nickel-Cobalt-Technical-Reports-for-Old-Nick-and-Letain-Projects-British-Columbia Braintale, an innovative French company dedicated to neurological disorders and management of brain injured patients with its portfolio of solutions in neurology and intensive care, announces the appointment of Professor Spyros Artavanis-Tsakonas and doctor Nitza Thomasson to its board of directors. "We welcome both Spyros and Nitza as international recognized leaders in their respective fields who will help us expand our strategic vision and grow Braintale internationally as they deeply understand our science-based approach and the entrepreneur journey" said Julie Rachline, CEO. "We are thrilled to complement our board with such distinguished experts, and we are looking forward to a fruitful collaboration" comments Vincent Perlbarg, president. Professor Spyros Artavanis-Tsakonas, a molecular biologist and developmental geneticist, is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School. He is the founding Director of the Developmental and Regenerative Biology Program at Harvard Medical School. He joined the Yale faculty in 1981 in the Department of Biology and in 1989 was concurrently, Professor at the Department of Cell Biology at the Yale School of Medicine and served as the Director of the Biological Sciences Division at Yale. He was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator from 1987 to 1998 when he left for Harvard, where he was appointed Professor of Cell Biology. In 1999 he was elected Professor at the College de France, in Paris, holding the Chair of Biology and Genetics of Development until 2012 when he became Professeur honoraire. He is the Founding Director of the Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology at Institut Curie, Paris, 2007-2009. From 2012 to March 2017, he served as Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President at Biogen Inc. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an associate member of EMBO, and a corresponding member of the Academy of Athens and a member of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. He is the co- founder and President of Fondation Sante a charitable organization supporting Biomedical research in Greece and a co-founder of the Biotechnology companies Exelixis, Cellzome and Anadys. Dr Nitza Thomasson is the co-founder of Gensight Biologics (Gene therapy for ophthalmologic diseases) and BrainEver (Advanced medicinal products to treat neurodegenerative diseases). After a post doc at Northwestern Rush University (Chicago, USA), she joined the pharma industry to develop medicines for neurologic and psychiatric disorders at Servier. Then she moved to the biotech world, joining Fovea Pharma in 2009, that became Ophthalmology Division of Sanofi. She contributed to the start of Tissium (2014 Head of Development), while co-founding GenSight Biologics (2013 Preclinical and CMC Officer), then BrainEver (2015 Chief Operating Officer). In 2018, Nitza founded NtzConsulting. Nitza is also Venture Partner at OmnesCapital. She is board member to support innovation and growth in the healthcare company portfolio. About Braintale Braintale is an innovative company opening a new era in medicine by providing physicians with clinically validated prognostic solutions for the management of brain injured patients through sensitive and reliable measurements of brain white-matter microstructure alterations. Building on more than 15 years in clinical development, Braintale's products are developed collaboratively to address medical need and fulfill expectations of healthcare professionals and patients alike. Since its inception in 2018, the company has set up a complete quality management system and is now ISO :13485 :2016 certified, with a suite of products available on the European market. For more information, please visit www.braintale.fr View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005591/en/ Contacts: Julie Rachline, CEO julie.rachline@braintale.eu +33662420358 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Goldshore Resources Inc. (TSXV: GHSR) ("Goldshore") is pleased to announce that it will be presenting at the Virtual Investor Day IV ("VID IV") June 8-10, 2021 hosted by IR.INC and FTMIG. Mr. Brett Richards, President and CEO of Goldshore, will provide an in-depth update on the Company at 3:00 p.m. EST, June 9, 2021. VID IV is a completely interactive experience for feature companies and stakeholders. Feature companies will have 30 minutes to outline their investment opportunity, while stakeholders and the audience will be invited to engage via direct Q&A, polls and other interactive tools after and during each presentation. To register for VID IV, please click the link: https://www.bigmarker.com/series/virtual-investor-day-iv/series_summit About Goldshore Resources Inc. Goldshore is an emerging junior gold company, and owns the Moss Lake Gold Project located in Ontario. Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. is currently a strategic shareholder of Goldshore with an approximate 30% equity position in the Company. Well-financed after having completed a C$25 million financing and supported by an industry-leading management group, board of directors and advisory board, Goldshore is positioned to advance the Moss Lake Gold Project through the next stages of exploration. About IR.INC IR.INC Capital Markets Advisory & Services works with its clients to develop and deploy strategic plans and build industry alliances while providing shareholder introductions and solutions. The Company also provides a number of traditional Investor Relations Services. You can find out more about IR.INC here www.irinc.ca. About FTMIG Follow the Money Investor Group is a financial portal that provides content and information needed to navigate the ever-changing capital markets. Our global community of visitors and investors are able to use our platform to discuss and collaborate daily on all facets of their current and potential investments. Our goal is to help retail investors make the right financial decisions that fit their individual needs. You can find out more about FTMIG here www.ftmig.com. Disclaimer Follow the Money Investor ("FTMIG") is an online investor community that connects investors and public companies. Both FTMIG and IR.INC are not registered as a broker, dealer, exempt market dealer, or any other registrant in any securities regulatory jurisdiction and will not be performing any registerable activity as defined by the applicable regulatory bodies. Both FTMIG and IR.INC and their affiliates do not endorse or recommend any securities issued by any companies identified on, or linked through, this conference. Please seek professional advice to evaluate specific securities or other content discussed during this event. Links, if any, to third party sites are for informational purposes only, and not for trading purposes. FTMIG and IR.INC. and their affiliates have not prepared, reviewed or updated any content on third party sites and assume no responsibility for the information posted on them. For further information, please contact: Joanne Jobin, Principal IR.INC | Capital Markets Advisory & Services jjobin@irinc.ca www.irinc.ca Karl Boyd, President Follow the Money Investor Group kboyd@ftmig.com www.ftmig.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86288 DGAP-News: Cryptology Asset Group PLC / Key word(s): Statement/Cryptocurrency / Blockchain Cryptology Asset Group PLC: 03.06.2021 / 16:36 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Corporate News Cryptology Asset Group p.l.c. ("Cryptology") Malta, 03.06.2021 Cryptology's estimated NAV as of 02/06/2021 is 169.16 Cryptology also announced it would be committing USD 100 million to invest globally in crypto-related venture funds over the next 24 months Malta, 03.06.2021. Cryptology Asset Group (ISIN: MT0001770107; Ticker: CAP:GR), a leading European investment firm for crypto assets and blockchain-related business models, announced its most recent estimated Net Asset Value ("NAV") per share of 169.16. The stock closed yesterday at 126.00, roughly 25.5% below NAV. Earlier in the day, Cryptology also announced it would be committing USD 100 million to invest globally in crypto-related venture funds over the next 24 months. Cryptology will take an entrepreneurial approach in building its fund portfolio and will focus on first time funds and emerging managers, globally, including seeding funds and taking stakes in GPs as well. Christian Angermayer, Founder of Cryptology, explains: "We are at the very beginning of the crypto revolution, and we strive to become one of the leading global investors in this very nascent asset class. Our fund investment strategy will focus on emerging talent, taking a global approach, and will encompass both funds investing in equity stakes of crypto- and blockchain related companies as well as funds investing in crypto assets and tokens." Patrick Lowry, CEO of Cryptology, adds: "There is no better asset class to bet on than crypto, in my opinion. Within just three years, Cryptology has grown invested capital of approx. EUR 27 million into an NAV of approx. EUR 450 million, as of June 1, 2021. This results in an estimated IRR of more than 300% per year, which is an impressive testimony to the tectonic shift we are seeing in front of our very eyes. We will work hard to continue this success story in the coming years and decades." Patrick further elaborates: "With regards to our fund investment strategy, our vision is to collaborate closely with our portfolio funds, offering them access to our broad network and experience, as well as to co-invest alongside them into innovative blockchain companies and crypto assets." Cryptology shares currently trade on several German exchanges including Borse Dusseldorf, Gettex and Tradegate. In order to increase trading liquidity and open up to new shareholder groups, Cryptology is currently exploring an international listing. The ticker symbol for Cryptology was recently changed from 4UD to CAP. About Cryptology Asset Group p.l.c. Cryptology is a leading European crypto asset and blockchain-related business model investment company. Founded by Christian Angermayer's family office, Apeiron Investment Group and crypto-legend Mike Novogratz, Cryptology is the largest publicly traded holding company for blockchain- and crypto-based business models in Europe. Noteworthy portfolio companies include crypto-giant and EOSIO software publisher Block.one, leading HPC provider Northern Data, commission-free online neobroker nextmarkets, and crypto asset management group Iconic Holding. Media Contact: Cryptology Asset Group p.l.c. Jefim Gewiet (COO) 66/67, Beatrice, Amery Street, Sliema SLM 1707 Malta E-mail: info@cryptology-ag.com WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - U.S. service sector activity saw record growth in the month of May, according to a report released by the Institute for Supply Management on Thursday. The ISM said its services PMI rose to 64.0 in May from 62.7 in April, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 63.0. With the bigger than expected increase, the services PMI reached another all-time high, surpassing the previous record high of 63.7 in March. 'The rate of expansion is very strong, as businesses have reopened and production capacity has increased,' said Anthony Nieves, Chair of the ISM Services Business Survey Committee. He added, 'However, some capacity constraints, material shortages, weather-related delays, and challenges in logistics and employment resources continue.' The bigger than expected increase by the headline index partly reflected an acceleration in the pace of growth in business activity, with the business activity index jumping to 66.2 in May from 62.7 in April. The new orders index also crept up to 63.9 in May from 63.2 in April, indicating slightly faster growth in new orders. On the other hand, the employment index pointed to a slower pace of job growth in the sector, falling to 55.3 in May from 58.8 in April. The report also showed the supplier deliveries index surged up to 70.4 in May from 66.1 in April, with a reading above 50 indicating slower deliveries. The prices index also jumped to 80.6 in May from 76.8 in April, reaching its highest level since hitting an all-time high of 83.5 in September of 2005. The ISM released a separate report on Tuesday showing manufacturing activity in the U.S. expanded at a slightly faster pace in the month of May. The manufacturing PMI inched up to 61.2 in May from 60.7 in April. The uptick surprised economists, who had expected the index to come in unchanged. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de The Medical Aesthetic company which developed an innovative approach to wrinkle reduction raises $50 million in an initial public offering. TUSTIN, Calif., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On Wednesday, May 26, 2021, Sofwave Medical made its initial public offering (IPO) on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). Sofwave's, rapid market adoption enabled the listing on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The company managed to raise $50 million at a pre-money valuation of ~$200 million. The IPO was led by Barak Capital Underwriters. SofwaveTM is an emerging leader of energy-based non-invasive skin treatment aesthetic medical devices. The company is one of the only companies in the field of aesthetic medicine that is listed on TASE. The company has developed Synchronous Ultrasound Parallel Beam Technology SUPERBTM, which provides a reduction in fine lines and wrinkles and restoration of skin features, and revitalizes collagen. Sofwave's product is FDA cleared and has the EU CE mark with sales across the global markets. Dr. Shimon Eckhouse, CEO, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Co-Founder of Sofwave said: "SofwaveTM has developed groundbreaking technology for non-invasive treatment of fine lines and wrinkle reduction. The field of aesthetic medicine technology is one of the fastest-growing fields in medicine and Israel has become a global center of companies in the field. The IPO on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange creates an opportunity for global investors to participate in the growth potential of this field and will enable Sofwave to continue to grow and establish its position as a world innovation leader in the field." Louis Scafuri, Chief Executive Officer of Sofwave Medical said "Sofwave has seen significant adoption globally since its introduction", adding that "the medical aesthetic market is booming, and one of the key reasons for this growth is an increase in the number of patients seeking non-invasive aesthetic procedures. Our revenue traction and solid growth trajectory have attracted the interest of investors who saw our potential, as seen by the recent IPO. We will utilize certain proceeds from the IPO to expand both our commercial efforts as well indications for use of our novel game-changing technology." ABOUT TEL AVIV STOCK EXCHANGE (TASE) The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange joins the leading companies in Israel and many stock exchanges in the world operating as public companies. This year the number of companies whose shares traded publicly on TASE stands at 455 companies, of these, 52 are dual listings with international exchanges. TASE capital is managed by institutional investors, which amounted to $585B. For more details about TASE click here. ABOUT SOFWAVE MEDICAL LTD. Sofwave Medical Ltd. (TLV: SOFW) has implemented an innovative approach to wrinkle reduction using proprietary breakthrough technology. Synchronous Ultrasound Parallel Beam technology is FDA-cleared to improve facial lines and wrinkles, providing physicians with smart yet simple, effective, and safe aesthetic solutions for their patients. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1224110/Sofwave_Logo.jpg SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2021 / Teddy Bear Korea Foundation announced on the 31st that the 'Teddy Bear Korea Foundation proclamation ceremony' was held on May 25th at the Imperial Palace Hotel Seoul, located in Gangnam-gu. This proclamation ceremony was prepared to open a new chapter in social contribution through Teddy Bear starting from 2022, the 120th anniversary of the Teddy Bear's birth. Phillip Hong, Vice President of the Korean Apparel Industry Association and chairman of the board of directors of Qfora Alliance, said, "We have prepared this event to deliver the original value of teddy bears, love, sharing, and hope, to children who have been hurt in body and mind by burns", stating the purpose of establishment of the foundation. Taehwan Kim, chairman of the Establishment Preparation Committee of Teddy Bear Korea, said, "I hope this Teddy Bear Korea Proclamation Ceremony will serve an opportunity for Teddy Bear, the symbol of kindness and compassion, to have a place in the hearts of people around the world. Jaeho Cho, the representative director of Theline Plastic Surgery, attended the event and said, "We plan to start supporting scar treatment through stem cell therapy for children suffering from chronic wounds". Myung Hee Won, president of the Korea Teddy Bear Association, who has been devoted to doll making for 34 years, said, "Today is a meaningful day for the Korean Teddy Bear culture, to develop one step further. We will do our best to set a good example of corporate social responsibility not only in Korea but also around the world". At the end of the proclamation ceremony, 'Art Teddy Bear Auction: Teddy Bear NFT Auction' was held along with the Teddy Bear NFT Project, and it created an exciting atmosphere. NFT stands for 'Non-Fungible Token' and refers to a token that represents a digital asset with scarcity. NFT utilizes blockchain technology. Unlike existing virtual assets, a separate and unique recognition value is given to digital assets, so they are not interchangeable. Andy Choi, CEO of Qfora Alliance, said, "All revenues from the Art Teddy Bear charity auction through Teddy Bear NFT will be used to treat children with burns". The proclamation ceremony for the establishment of Teddy Bear Korea was a great success with 99 participants from the political, business and academia. The participants agreed, "It was an opportunity to reflect the meaning of teddy bears and to take the first step of social contribution together". Meanwhile, the proclamation ceremony was held by the Teddy Bear Korea Foundation Preparation Committee and organized by Qfora Alliance and Uzurocks. (Photo: Phillip Hong, Vice President of the Korean Association of Apparel Industry and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Qfora Alliance, explained the purpose of establishing the Teddy Bear Korea Foundation.) (Photo: Myung Hee Won, President of the Korea Teddy Bear Association, said. "I will do my best for Teddy Bear Korea to set a good example of corporate social responsibility to the world beyond Korea".) (Photo: Twehwan Kim, chairman of the Establishment Preparation Committee of Teddy Bear Korea, said he hoped that this event would become an opportunity for teddy bears, symbol of love and compassion, to settle in the hearts of many people around the world.) (Photo: Andy Choi, CEO of Qfora Alliance, explained the significance of Teddy Bear NFT and said, "All revenues from the Art Teddy Bear charity auction will be used to treat children with burns".) Company: Qfora Alliance Contact person: Hong Youngmin Contact number: 82 1047886109 E-mail: qforalliance@qforalliance.com Website:www.qfora.co.kr SOURCE: Qfora Alliance View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/650054/Teddy-Bear-Korea-Successfully-Held-a-Proclamation-Ceremony--With-Attendance-of-Political-Business-and-Academic-Circles-May-25th-2021 WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The average daily cases of coronavirus infections in the United States went below 20,000 for the first time since March 2020. At a news conference on his administration's COVID-19 Response and Vaccination Program, President Joe Biden said that the average daily cases are down to 19,000 from 184,000, the level of daily infection recorded when he took office more than four months ago. Average hospitalizations are down from 117,000 to 21,000. Death rates are down over 85 percent, he told reporters. 16974 new coronavirus cases were reported in the United States on Wednesday, taking the national total to 34,154,305. 514 new deaths were reported in the country on the same day. With this, the COVID death toll in the U.S. increased to 611,020. A total of 27,986,511 people have so far recovered from coronavirus infection in the country, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. Laying out his administration's plan for June, Biden announced a month-long effort 'to pull all the stops to free ourselves from this virus and get to 70 percent of adult Americans vaccinated.' Starting next week, many vaccination sites will be offering extended hours during the month of June. Pharmacies will be open 24 hours every Friday this month. The President said that in just four months, incredible progress was made in getting people vaccinated quickly, efficiently, and equitably. Biden said his government built a world-class vaccination program working with cities and states to open more than 80,000 vaccination sites and deploying more than 9,000 federal staff, including 5,100 active-duty troops to help get shots in arms. Fifty-two percent of adults are now fully vaccinated, including seventy-five percent of all seniors. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia have achieved 50 percent of adults being fully vaccinated in their jurisdictions. Earlier this week, OECD had increased their projection for the U.S. economic growth this year to 6.9 percent, the fastest pace in nearly four decades. Biden claimed that the United States is the only major country where global forecasters have actually increased their five-year forecasts for economic growth since January 2020. Businesses like Anheuser-Busch, Kroger, and DoorDash are offering free beer for everyone 21 years or over who get vaccinated on July 4, the chance to win a million dollars, and free meals for people who get vaccinated at community health centers. Through the COVID-19 College Challenge, more than 230 colleges and universities are committing to taking action to get their students and communities vaccinated. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Fort Hood, TX (76544) Today A few clouds early, otherwise mostly sunny. Hot and humid. High around 95F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mostly clear skies. Low 73F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. New Access to Efficient Mobile-Forward Video Content Production in Advance of Launching Hashoff v2.0 for Tiktok, YouTube and SnapChat New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - DGTL Holdings Inc. (TSXV: DGTL) (OTCQB: DGTHF) (FSE: A2QB0L) ("DGTL" or the "Company"), an integrated digital media, marketing, and advertising technologies company, reports a new strategic partnership with Shuttlerock Ltd. As an industry leading technology for the efficient production of mobile-forward video content, Shuttlerock's innovative software platform converts existing multimedia brand graphics (e.g., jpeg, gif, static images, television commercials, etc.) into new high-impact short-form video assets, purpose-built for the leading mobile and social media applications. Shuttlerock also produces futuristic graphic formats for video based web advertisements, such as; Playables, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and 3D, which result in higher engagement and conversion rates on all major social media applications. Shuttlerock's client portfolio includes category leaders, such as Heineken, BMW, Diageo, Toyota, McDonalds, L'Oreal, Capcom, Coors Light, etc. and is an official brand partner with Google, Tiktok, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat and Hulu. "We are thrilled to collaborate with DGTL, and Hashoff," reports Scott Nagy, President of Shuttlerock, North America. "The demand for intelligent and impactful content marketing is greater than ever, and our business models, and products, are highly complementary." DGTL pursued the partnership to provide Hashoff, and its global brand customers, with new access to a cost-effective and time-efficient video-based content production and distribution platform, with no capital expense to the company. In doing so, Shuttlerock will leverage existing graphic content sourced and social media posts distributed by Hashoff content creators, on behalf of is global brand customers, and convert this content into compelling video creative that can be re-distributed as a video-based advertisement on all major social media platforms. The partnership is also an extension of a three-year revenue growth plan for Hashoff solving a need for cost-efficient video production in advance of launching Hashoff version 2.0 for Tiktok, Snapchat, YouTube and presents an opportunity for revenue sharing collaborations within the collective customer base. "DGTL is building an ecosystem of innovative technologies and partnerships that will provide our global brand customers with a full-service digital media platform," reports Chief Strategy Officer, Charles Thomas. "Partnering with Shuttlerock gives our customers new access to a powerful video production resource that can transform any social content creative into commerce driven video assets, both quickly and with great cost efficiency. The result is a highly scalable premium video production and distribution platform designed for both brand awareness and advertising placement across every social channel, especially video-based applications like Tiktok, Snapchat and YouTube." DGTL continues to expand into the video-based social media content market, now a preferred form of paid advertising for all digital media distribution channels, worldwide. The market demand for reliable solutions to convert existing graphic assets into video-based content for mobile and social format has been greatly heightened during the global pandemic. Large agencies face the challenge of limited operations and creative production in-efficiencies, a need that freelance content creators continue to fill. With now over 150 million remote freelance creators on its network, DGTL and wholly owned Hashoff, continue to position their global network of content producers as a disruptive force to the traditional global advertising and marketing industry supply chain. For more information on DGTL Holdings Inc., please visit; https://dgtlinc.com/investors. For more information on Shuttlerock Ltd. please visit www.shuttlerock.com . DGTL Holdings Inc. Email: IR@dgtlinc.com Phone: +1 (877) 879-3485 DGTL HOLDINGS INC. DGTL Holdings Inc. acquires and accelerates transformative digital media, marketing and advertising software technologies, powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). DGTL (i.e. Digital Growth Technologies and Licensing) specializes in developing commercialized enterprise level SaaS (software-as-a-service) companies in high growth subsectors via a unique a blend of M&A (merger and acquisition) and alternative capitalization. DGTL Holdings Inc. is traded on the Toronto Venture Exchange as " DGTL ", the OTCQB exchange as " DGTHF ", and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as " A2QB0L ". For more information, visit https://dgtlinc.com/investors . HASHOFF LLC As a wholly owned subsidiary of DGTL Holdings Inc., Hashoff is an enterprise level self-service CaaS (content-as-a-service) built on proprietary Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI-ML) technology. Hashoff's AI-ML platform functions as a full-service content management system, designed to empower global brands by identifying, optimizing, engaging, managing, and tracking top-ranked digital content publishers for localized brand marketing campaigns. Hashoff serves numerous global brands by providing direct access to the global gig-economy of over 150 million freelance content creators. Hashoff's customer portfolio includes global brands in a range of key growth categories, such as: Beam Suntory, DraftKings, Door Dash, Veritone, Anheuser Busch-InBev, PepsiCo., Nestle, Post Holdings, Danone, Keurig-Dr. Pepper, Dunkin Brands, The Container Store, Ulta Beauty, Pizza Hut, Live Nation, The CW, Scribd, Syneos Health, Novartis, etc.[i] Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86411 Temenos Becomes First Core Banking Software Provider Certified with Huawei infrastructure and Huawei Public Cloud Temenos and Huawei will jointly go-to-market with leading-edge financial services offerings in the cloud to drive scalability, operational efficiency, time-to-market, and innovation Temenos cements its leadership in the cloud delivering its software across all major public cloud providers GENEVA, Switzerland and SHANGHAI, China, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- During Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit 2021, Huawei and Temenos, the banking software company, announced a partnership to offer Temenos' cloud-native core banking solution on the Huawei Public Cloud. Temenos is the first core banking software certified with Huawei infrastructure and Huawei Public Cloud. Geographically, the partnership covers Asia with a specific focus on China and it also includes Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. The partnership brings together the extensive cloud hosting, implementation, and integration strengths of Huawei and the power of Temenos' industry leading banking software. The scope of the partnership covers sales and marketing, implementation and training. Financial institutions will be able to modernize their core banking systems on Huawei Cloud and benefit from elastic scalability, cost and operational efficiencies. Together, Temenos and Huawei will help banks of all sizes to go to market faster, open up new business models, and achieve industry-leading cost/income ratios. The two companies have demonstrated success and have a number of existing customers and successful projects in APAC. The two companies already see significant market traction and have a number of new prospects in the works. Temenos and Huawei will jointly go to market focusing on China and moving to the more regions with aligned marketing and sales processes. Temenos and Huawei have extensive reach into the global financial services market. More than 3,000 banking and financial institutions worldwide, serving the banking needs of 1.2 billion people, rely on Temenos cloud-native, API-first technology. Huawei also works with more than 2,000 financial institutions worldwide, including 47 of the world's top 100 banks. The growing demand for cloud-based models has accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic, as banks require more resilient and agile technology propositions. Cloud has become the established software deployment method for digital-first banks that need to launch fast with minimum IT infrastructure cost. Larger banks increasingly shift to the cloud to incrementally modernize their systems, reduce IT complexity and cost gain greater speed to market. Philip Barnett, President of Strategic Growth, and Member of Executive Committee of Temenos, said: "We are delighted to extend our leadership in the cloud and be the first to certify with Huawei. This joint go-to-market strategy with Huawei will massively accelerate our market penetration in China which represents approximately a USD 6 bn addressable market and we are extending to the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Latin America. Together, we can help digital-first banks as well as large banks in need of core modernization accelerate their move in the cloud. Our API-first, cloud-native core banking solution based on Huawei Cloud will provide flexibility, agility, elasticity, and accelerate time to market for banks. Our certification on Huawei Cloud demonstrates that our cloud-agnostic banking platform enables banks to pursue a multi-cloud strategy and have the highest levels of active-active resilience with the cloud provider of their choice." "Huawei is willing to continue to strengthen cooperation with industry-leading technology solution competent partners such as Temenos. The digital ecosystem is a place where all participants create and share value together. By strengthening partnerships, we can solve problems and create value for customers together, expand the cake, and open up new growth space for the finance industry," said Mr. Ma Yue, Executive Vice President, Huawei Enterprise Business Group (EBG); President, Huawei EBG Global Partner Development and Sales. Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit 2021 was held in Shanghai from Jun 03 to 04. Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit is a global ICT event hosted by Huawei and focused on the financial industry. It was founded in 2013, all participants were the industry elite in the financial industry. For more information about Huawei Global FSI Summit, please visit: https://e.huawei.com/topic/2021-event-fsi-summit/en /index.html Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1525367/Huawei_and_Temenos.jpg Paris, 3 June 2021 - Apax Partners SAS has reached an agreement with CVC Capital Partners to sell its majority stake in BIP. BIP President Nino Lo Bianco, CEOs Carlo Cape and Fabio Troiani as well as the other equity partners will continue to hold significant stakes and to manage the Group. Founded in Italy in 2003, BIP is now a leading multinational consulting firm with a presence in 13 countries. The company employs more than 3,500 people worldwide and generated revenues of 315 million euros in 2020 (an increase of 31% compared to 2019). Apax is selling its majority stake to CVC after having supported BIP's outstanding growth and development since 2018. Under Apax ownership, BIP doubled its revenues and successfully rolled out its consolidation and internationalisation strategy while becoming an international leader in digital transformation and innovation consulting. A successful M&A strategy Apax provides expertise which allowed BIP to structure and strengthen its merger & acquisition capabilities. Over the last 3 years, BIP completed 6 acquisitions domestically and internationally. In 2020, Apax accompanied BIP in its largest acquisition ever, the London-based consultancy Chaucer Consulting. A global footprint In the space of three years, BIP transformed itself from an Italian company into a global player capable of meeting the consulting needs of blue-chip clients around the world. Apax supported BIP's internationalisation strategy by strengthening its positioning and activities in Europe and the Americas. The share of BIP's international revenues increased from 18% at end-2017 to 32% in 2020. Strenghening BIP's leadership in innovation and digital consulting Among the first consulting firms to enter the fast-growing digital consulting market in 2013, BIP has developed one of the strongest digital practices. Today, this practice represents around 30% of its revenue versus 17% in 2017 and this double-digit growth continues. With the full support of the Apax team, BIP established a plan to further accelerate its organic growth by leveraging its strong edge in Digital. In 2019, the company redesigned its vision, mission and brand for a streamlined positioning at the vanguard of the digital revolution with a strong ESG focus on reducing the digital divide. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * About Altamir Altamir is a listed private equity company (Euronext Paris-B, ticker: LTA) founded in 1995 and with a NAV of more than 1.1bn. Its objective is to provide shareholders with long-term capital appreciation and regular dividends by investing in a diversified portfolio of private equity investments. Altamir's investment policy is to invest primarily via and with the funds managed or advised by Apax Partners SAS and Apax Partners LLP, two leading private equity firms that take majority or lead positions in buyouts and growth capital transactions and seek ambitious value creation objectives. In this way, Altamir provides access to a diversified portfolio of fast-growing companies across Apax's sectors of specialisation (Tech & Telco, Consumer, Healthcare, Services) and in complementary market segments (mid-sized companies in continental Europe and larger companies in Europe, North America and key emerging markets). Altamir derives certain tax benefits from its status as a SCR ("Societe de Capital Risque"). As such, Altamir is exempt from corporate tax and the company's investors may benefit from tax exemptions, subject to specific holding-period and dividend-reinvestment conditions. For more information: www.altamir.fr Contact Claire Peyssard Moses Tel.: +33 1 53 65 01 74 / +33 6 34 32 38 97 E-mail: investors@altamir.fr ------------------------ This publication embed "Actusnews SECURITY MASTER ". - SECURITY MASTER Key: m2udZ5lqlZfJy56al8ZummFoa2pjmGjKmmSdmmiaaZzIa2uRxmxmmpeVZm9qmmlv - Check this key: https://www.security-master-key.com. ------------------------ Copyright Actusnews Wire Receive by email the next press releases of the company by registering on www.actusnews.com, it's free Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-69549-cession-bip_ven.pdf Men who received 177Lu-PSMA-617 plus best standard of care had a 38% reduction in risk of death (median OS benefit of 4 months) and a 60% reduction in the risk of radiographic disease progression or death (median rPFS benefit of 5 months) compared to best standard of care alone1 Significant improvement demonstrated in all key secondary endpoints, including time to first symptomatic skeletal event, overall response rate and disease control rate1 VISION study findings to be presented during 2021 ASCO plenary; regulatory submissions to US and EU Health Authorities on track for 2H21; two additional pivotal studies in earlier lines of treatment for metastatic prostate cancer to start 1H21, goal to move into earlier stages of disease Novartis commitment to leadership in radioligand therapy (RLT) further strengthened by recent partnerships and investments; more than 15 ongoing research and discovery programs to identify and accelerate next wave of RLTs for cancer Basel, June 3, 2021 - Novartis today announced that results of the Phase III VISION study evaluating 177Lu-PSMA-617, a targeted radioligand therapy, plus best standard of care (SOC) demonstrated significant improvement in overall survival (OS) compared to SOC alone, in patients with progressive PSMA-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)1. The difference in OS between study arms was statistically significant (one-sided p<0.001), with an estimated 38% reduction in risk of death in the 177Lu-PSMA-617 arm (n=551) compared to the best standard of care only arm (n=280) (hazard ratio: 0.62 with 95% confidence interval (CI): (0.52, 0.74))1. These results will be presented during the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting plenary session on June 6. Patients receiving 177Lu-PSMA-617 also demonstrated a statistically significant (one-sided p<0.001) 60% risk reduction for radiographic progression-free survival or death (rPFS), compared to the best standard of care only arm (hazard ratio: 0.40 with 99.2% CI: (0.29 0.57))1. There was a higher rate of drug-related treatment emergent adverse events reported in the 177Lu-PSMA-617 treatment arm (85.3%) compared to standard of care alone (28.8%)1. Across both arms of the study, rates of treatment discontinuation associated with treatment-emergent adverse events occurred as follows: In the 177Lu-PSMA-617 plus standard of care (SOC) arm, 11.9% of patients discontinued 177Lu-PSMA-617 and 8.5% discontinued SOC; while in the SOC alone arm 7.8% of patients discontinued treatment1. "Patients suffering from metastatic CRPC who have progressed through contemporary hormonal treatments and chemotherapy have few meaningful therapeutic options," said Michael J. Morris, MD, who chaired the study's Scientific Committee and is the Prostate Cancer Section Head, Genitourinary Oncology Service, Division of Solid Tumor Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. "The study demonstrated that 177Lu-PSMA-617 improves disease progression and prolongs survival, which are key measures of clinical benefit in the mCRPC population. I am grateful to be a part of this study that may lead to additional therapeutic options for these patients." "Men with metastatic prostate cancer have an approximately 3 in 10 chance of surviving 5 years2. These data from the first Phase III study of a radioligand therapy in this advanced prostate cancer setting confirm the potential of 177Lu-PSMA-617 targeted therapy to improve clinical outcomes," said John Tsai, Head of Global Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer for Novartis. "Our comprehensive development program for this targeted therapy seeks to reach eligible patients with advanced prostate cancer, who express the PSMA biomarker1,3-6. And, we won't stop with prostate cancer, our team is exploring next generation RLT across a number of tumor types." Two additional studies with 177Lu-PSMA-617 radioligand therapy in earlier lines of treatment for metastatic prostate cancer are planned to start in the first half of 2021, investigating potential clinical utility in the mCRPC pre-taxane setting (PSMAfore) and in the metastatic hormone-sensitive setting (PSMAddition). Additional VISION data Median OS (95% CI) for the 177Lu-PSMA-617 plus best standard of care arm in the VISION study was 15.3 months (14.2, 16.9), compared to 11.3 months (9.8, 13.5) in the best standard of care arm only1. The median rPFS (99.2% CI) was 8.7 months (7.9, 10.8) for the 177Lu-PSMA-617 arm compared to 3.4 months (2.4, 4.0) for the best standard of care only arm1. Key secondary endpoints were also met. The median time to first symptomatic skeletal event was 11.5 months (95% CI: 10.3, 13.2) in 177Lu-PSMA-617 arm compared to 6.8 months (95% CI: 5.2, 8.5) in the best standard of care only arm (hazard ratio: 0.50 (95%CI: 0.40, 0.62)); two-sided p-value: <0.0011. Significant differences were also seen in overall response rate in patients with measurable or non-measurable disease at baseline (29.8% partial or complete response in the 177Lu-PSMA-617 arm compared to 1.7% partial response in the best standard of care only arm (two-sided p-value: <0.001)) and disease control rate (89.0% in 177Lu-PSMA-617 arm compared to 66.7% in the best standard of care only arm (two-sided p-value: <0.001))1. Grade =3 drug-related treatment emergent adverse events occurred in 28.4% of the 177Lu-PSMA-617 arm compared to 3.9% in the best standard of care only arm1. The most common treatment emergent adverse events regardless of drug relatedness (above 2% respectively for the 177Lu-PSMA-617 and best standard of care arm) were anemia (12.9% vs. 4.9%), thrombocytopenia (7.9% vs. 1%), lymphopenia (7.8% vs. 0.5%), fatigue (5.9% vs. 1.5%), urinary tract infection (3.8% vs 0.5%), neutropenia (3.4% vs 0.5%), hypertension (3.2% vs 1.5%), back pain (3.2% vs. 3.4%), acute kidney injury (3.0% vs 2.4%), leukopenia (2.5% vs. 0.5%), bone pain (2.5% vs. 2.4%), hematuria (2.5% vs 0.5%), and spinal cord compression (1.3% vs. 5.4%)1. Serious drug-related treatment emergent adverse events occurred in 9.3% of patients in the 177Lu-PSMA-617 arm compared to 2.4% in the best standard of care only arm1. Visit https://www.hcp.novartis.com/virtual-congress/a-2021/ (https://www.hcp.novartis.com/virtual-congress/a-2021/) for the latest information from Novartis, including our commitment to the Oncology community, and access to our ASCO21 Virtual Scientific Program data presentations (for registered participants). About Advanced Prostate Cancer Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate gland, a small walnut shaped gland in the pelvis of men. In castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), the tumor shows signs of growth, such as rising Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) levels, despite the use of hormone treatments that lower testosterone7. In metastatic CRPC (mCRPC), the tumor spreads to other parts of the body, such as neighboring organs or bones and remains unresponsive to hormone treatment7. The five-year survival rate for patients with metastatic prostate cancer is approximately 30%2. About Phenotypic Precision Medicine in Advanced Prostate Cancer Despite advances in prostate cancer care, there is a high unmet need for new targeted treatment options to improve outcomes for patients with mCRPC. More than 80% of prostate cancer tumors highly express a phenotypic biomarker6 called Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) 3-5,8-9, making it a promising diagnostic (through positron emission tomography (PET) scan imaging) and potential therapeutic target for radioligand therapy10. This differs from 'genotypic' precision medicine which targets specific genetic alterations in cancer cells6. About 177Lu-PSMA-617 177Lu-PSMA-617 is an investigational PSMA-targeted radioligand therapy for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. It is a type of precision cancer treatment combining a targeting compound (ligand) with a therapeutic radioisotope (a radioactive particle)11-13. After administration into the bloodstream, 177Lu-PSMA-617 binds to prostate cancer cells that express PSMA14, a transmembrane protein, with high tumor-to-normal tissue uptake11,15,16. Once bound, emissions from the radioisotope damage tumor cells, disrupting their ability to replicate and/or triggering cell death17-19. The radiation from the radioisotope works over very short distances to limit damage to surrounding cells10,11,15. About VISION VISION is an international, prospective, randomized, open-label, multicenter, phase III study to assess the efficacy and safety of 177Lu-PSMA-617 (7.4 GBq administered by intravenous infusion every 6 weeks for a maximum of 6 cycles) plus investigator-chosen best standard of care in the investigational arm, versus best standard of care in the control arm20. Patients with PSMA PET-scan positive mCRPC, and progression after prior taxane and androgen receptor pathway inhibitors, were randomized in a 2:1 ratio in favor of the investigational arm20. The alternate primary endpoints were rPFS and OS20. The study enrolled 831 patients1. Disclaimer This media update contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "will," "would," "anticipated," "believe," "committed," "commitment," "investigational," "evaluating," "promising," "ambition," "opportunity," "upcoming," "pursuing," "underway," "to ensure," "intend," "to submit," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for 177Lu-PSMA-617, or regarding potential future revenues from 177Lu-PSMA-617. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that 177Lu-PSMA-617 will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that 177Lu-PSMA-617 will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding 177Lu-PSMA-617 could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political, economic and business conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases such as COVID-19; safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this media update as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this media update as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. About Novartis Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world's top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach nearly 800 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 110,000 people of more than 140 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at https://www.novartis.com (https://www.novartis.com). Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at https://twitter.com/novartisnews (https://twitter.com/novartisnews) For Novartis multimedia content, please visithttps://www.novartis.com/news/media-library (https://www.novartis.com/news/media-library) For questions about the site or required registration, please contact media.relations@novartis.com (mailto:media.relations@novartis.com) References Novartis Data on File SEER. Cancer stat facts: prostate cancer April 2021. [https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/prost.html (https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/prost.html)] Hupe MC, Philippi C, Roth D, et al. Expression of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) on biopsies is an independent risk stratifier of prostate cancer patients at time of initial diagnosis. Front Oncol 2018;8:623 Bostwick DG, Pacelli A, Blute M, et al. Prostate specific membrane antigen expression in prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and adenocarcinoma: a study of 184 cases. Cancer 1998;82(11):2256-61 Pomykala KL, Czernin J, Grogan TR, et al. Total-body 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT for bone metastasis detection in prostate cancer patients: potential impact on bone scan guidelines. J Nucl Med 2020;61(3):405-11 Sant GR, Knopf KB, Albala DM. Live-single-cell phenotypic cancer biomarkers-future role in precision oncology? NPJ Precision Oncology 2017;1(1):21 Kirby M, Hirst C, Crawford ED. Characterising the castration-resistant prostate cancer population: a systematic review. Int J Clin Pract 2011;65(11):1180-92 Minner S, Wittmer C, Graefen M, et al. High level PSMA expression is associated with early PSA recurrence in surgically treated prostate cancer. Prostate 2011;71(3):281-8 Hope TA, Aggarwal R, Chee B, et al. Impact of 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET on management in patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer. J Nucl Med 2017;58(12):1956-61 Hofman MS, Violet J, Hicks RJ et al. [177Lu]-PSMA-617 radionuclide treatment in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (LuPSMA trial): a single-centre, single-arm, phase 2 study. Lancet Oncol 2018;19(6):825-33 Kratochwil C, Giesel FL, Stefanova M, et al. PSMA-targeted radionuclide therapy of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer with 177Lu-labeled PSMA-617. J Nucl Med 2016;57(8):1170-6 [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26985056/ (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26985056/)] Eder M, Schafer M, Bauder-Wust U, et al. 68Ga-complex lipophilicity and the targeting property of a urea-based PSMA inhibitor for PET imaging. Bioconjug Chem 2012;23(4):688-97. Benesova M, Schafer M, Bauder-Wust U, et al. Preclinical evaluation of a tailor-made DOTA-conjugated PSMA inhibitor with optimized linker moiety for imaging and endoradiotherapy of prostate cancer. J Nucl Med 2015;56(6):914-20 Haberkorn U, Eder M, Kopka K, et al. New Strategies in Prostate Cancer: Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) Ligands for Diagnosis and Therapy. Clin Cancer Res 22(1):9-15.2016 Violet J, Jackson P, Ferdinandus J et al. Dosimetry of (177)Lu-PSMA-617 in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: correlations between pretherapeutic imaging and whole-body tumor dosimetry with treatment outcomes. J Nucl Med 2019;60(4):517-23 Current K, Meyer C, Magyar CE et al. Investigating PSMA-targeted radioligand therapy efficacy as a function of cellular PSMA levels and intra-tumoral PSMA heterogeneity. Clin Cancer Res 2020;26(12):2946-55. Kassis A. Therapeutic Radionuclides: Biophysical and Radiobiologic Principles. Semin Nucl Med. 2008; 38(5): 358-366 Fendler W, Stuparu A, et al. Establishing 177Lu-PSMA-617 Radioligand Therapy in a Syngeneic Model of Murine Prostate Cancer. J Nucl Med 2017; 58: 1786-1792 Ruigrok E, van Vliet N, et al. Extensive preclinical evaluation of lutetium-177-labeled PSMA-specific tracers for prostate cancer radionuclide therapy. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2020; 48: 1339-1350 Sartor AO, Morris MJ, Krause BJ. VISION: an international, prospective, open-label, multicenter, randomized phase 3 study of 177Lu-PSMA-617 in the treatment of patients with progressive PSMA-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). J Clin Oncol 2019;37(15 suppl):TPS5099 # # # Novartis Media Relations E-mail: media.relations@novartis.com (mailto:media.relations@novartis.com) Anja von Treskow Novartis External Communications +41 79 392 8697 anja.von_treskow@novartis.com (mailto:anja.von_treskow@novartis.com) Julie Masow Novartis US External Engagement +1 862 579 8456 julie.masow@novartis.com (mailto:julie.masow@novartis.com) Rachel Levine Advanced Accelerator Applications, a Novartis Company +1 917 375 2935 rachel.levine@novartis.com (mailto:rachel.levine@novartis.com) Novartis Investor Relations Central investor relations line: +41 61 324 7944 E-mail: investor.relations@novartis.com (mailto:investor.relations@novartis.com) Central North America Samir Shah +41 61 324 7944 Sloan Simpson +1 862 778 5052 Thomas Hungerbuehler +41 61 324 8425 Isabella Zinck +41 61 324 7188 Attachment RIT AND SPIE PARTNER ON 2021 PHOTONICS FOR QUANTUM EVENT The program, now in its third year, focuses on how photonic devices are impacting quantum science, technology, and applications On 12-16 July, SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), will present the 2021 Photonics for Quantum Digital Forum. Previously an RIT initiative, this year marks a new iteration of this event in the form of a partnership between RIT and SPIE. The five-day event will include more than 20 speakers from across international industry and research as well as an interactiveposter session. Discussions and presentations will focus on quantum topics spanning applications, experiments, quantum photonic integrated circuits, materials, integration between dissimilar material systems, devices, and concepts to support a national quantum foundry. Invited speakers include Qunnect's Noel Goddard; the US Air Force Research Laboratory's Michael Fanto; Imperial College London's Ian A. Walmsley; Eleni Diamanti of Sorbonne University's Laboratoire d'Informatique de Paris 6; Laboratoire Materiaux et Phenomenes Quantiques' Sara Ducci; the University of Birmingham's Kai Bongs; and Anton Zeilinger of the University of Vienna and the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information of the Austrian Academy of sciences. The Photonics for Quantum program sessions include: 12 July: Networks and Communication 13 July: Computing and Simulation 14 July: Sensing and Imaging 15 July: Components 16 July: Special events and panels, including Women in Quantum (in conjunction with the SPIE Women in Optics program), global government initiatives and funding, and workforce and education "RIT is thrilled to partner with SPIE to present this year's Photonics for Quantum conference," said Don Figer, director of RIT's Future Photon Initiative. "For the past two years, this event has provided an important forum to discuss the latest breakthroughs in quantum science and technology, as well as how to unlock this growing field's potential. We look forward to expanding the conference by accessing SPIE's worldwide network." "We're very excited to be partnering with RIT on this growing event," said SPIE Director of Industry Development Stephen Anderson. "It's a wonderful opportunity to help showcase the fast-emerging field of quantum technology and the exciting possibilities that exist in it for photonics. With its particular focus on scientific and academic content, covering both fundamental research and in-lab developments, Photonics for Quantum is a terrific complement to the industry-focused SPIE Quantum West and a great addition to the SPIE calendar." Registration for Photonics for Quantum is now open. Visit our website for more information and to register for the event. About RIT Rochester Institute of Technology is home to leading creators, entrepreneurs, innovators, and researchers. Founded in 1829, RIT enrolls 18,600 students in more than 200 career-oriented and professional programs, making it among the largest private universities in the US. The university is internationally recognized and ranked for academic leadership in business, computing, engineering, imaging science, liberal arts, sustainability, and fine and applied arts. RIT also offers unparalleled support services for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The cooperative education program is one of the oldest and largest in the nation. Global partnerships include campuses in China, Croatia, Dubai, and Kosovo. About SPIE SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, an educational not-for-profit organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based science, engineering, and technology. The Society serves more than 258,000 constituents from 184 countries, offering conferences and their published proceedings, continuing education, books, journals, and the SPIE Digital Library. In 2020, SPIE provided over $5 million in community support including scholarships and awards, outreach and advocacy programs, travel grants, public policy, and educational resources. www.spie.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210602005138/en/ Contacts: Daneet Steffens Public Relations Manager daneets@spie.org +1 360 685 5478 @SPIEtweets LONDON, ENGLAND / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2021 / The ADD - Armadillo Dig Deeper system; for searching PEPs (Politically Exposed Person) sanctions and adverse media will bolster innovation and revolutionise the RegTech industry. It uses real-time data on over 420 million companies and 5 billion individuals with full and auditable monitoring functionality, assisting compliance professionals in passing inspections, avoiding massive fines, prosecution and potentially jail. Armadillo, the first online corporate data and onboarding compliance information system on the web, today announced its newest product launch, ADD (Armadillo Dig Deeper), giving customers access to PEPs and sanctions checks on 420 million companies and 5 billion adult individuals. The global offering will be delivered through The Armadillo Group's revolutionary tools for regulated businesses, powered by expert robotic automation and AI analytics. Together with its new modular system, Armadillo is also announcing the launch of its new HUB solution - building towards the Regtech Golden Source. This offers a robust platform that allows regulated businesses to receive exactly the right verification and onboarding data from 'anywhere, to anywhere at any time' and in any language. This gives compliance professionals peace of mind by minimising risk; helping them to avoid prosecution, massive fines, reputational damage and potentially jail. CEO and founder Emmanuel (Manny) Cohen said "The ethos of our company is to assist regulated clients by easing the burden of inspections. This exciting new product sits on our advanced tech HUB which also allows our clients to receive full monitoring functionality that is auditable; so they can meet regulatory requirements with the option of storing the data and audit trails for the regulatory requirement of up to 7 years. This sets us apart from the competition." Clients of The Armadillo Group will be able to leverage new information modules including data sources on companies and individuals including PEPs, sanctions, law enforcement, financial regulators, insolvency, disqualified directors and adverse media. Clients will also be able to leverage KYC and on-boarding expertise and in-depth web monitoring. Armadillo, launched in 1997 also has a trusted worldwide network of verification professionals for Deep Dive due diligence and incorporates a UK law firm and two other regulated entities. The Armadillo Group is trusted by its clients to reliably inform and protect their regulated businesses. The new solutions are uniquely positioned to support firms with their compliance and onboarding challenges in sectors including investment, banking, finance, accountancy and audit, law, property, oil & gas and exchanges. For more information about Armadillo, visit: https://www.armadillo.co.uk/index For more information about Armadillo Dig Deeper, visit: https://www.armadillo.co.uk/dig-deeper ENDS About The Armadillo Group: The Armadillo Group is a group of RegTech companies based in Hitchin near London UK, that combine technology, data and expertise to help clients meet their regulatory requirements through a central compliance system powered by Robotic Processing Automation and AI analysis. Since conception in 1997 near Old Street, Shoreditch, London, The Armadillo Group's mission has been to help clients meet their regulatory requirements and customer lifecycle management to counteract money laundering and terrorist financing. The Armadillo Group delivers Global company information and documents from anywhere, to anywhere, anytime; giving clients the tools to pass regulatory inspections, avoid prosecution and fines and prevent personal liability. For press enquiries, please contact: The Armadillo Group Olivia Cummins E: olivia.cummins@armadillo.co.uk Related Images SOURCE: The Armadillo Group Ltd View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/650310/Armadillo-Launches-Its-ADD-System--Another-New-Innovative-RegTech-Product-on-24th-Anniversary-of-Web-Launch Atlanta Luxury Interior Designer, VPI Design by Dina Varner, discusses how to create the ultimate dining al fresco experience to enjoy outdoor dining year-round. ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2021 / Dining al fresco is all the rage in restaurants. VPI Design explains how to create the right aesthetic for that perfect al fresco experience in the comfort of a home. Luxury home design relies on a delicate balance between overall design and function to create the perfect experience. With the development of new technologies, interior design has been redefined in countless ways, often for the better. One luxury experience that has people talking is the ability to bring dining al fresco into modern home spaces, and not just in areas where the weather is always nice! What is Dining Al Fresco? Dining al fresco means outdoor dining. It is the ability to create a space where a person can enjoy nature, fresh air, and a delicious meal or drink at the same time. Highly coveted in restaurants during summer months, this lovely dining experience has been favored for some time. Using the right tools and furniture, anyone can create a stunning dining al fresco experience in the comfort of their own home. Dina Varner, Founder of VPI Design says, "Dining al fresco used to be seasonally limited for most people. Now, design has evolved to support an al fresco experience whether it is sunny or snowing." Creating an Aesthetically Appealing Space The draw to dining al fresco does not only come from the freedom of being outside. The reason that these spaces are so well-loved is often because of the aesthetic that they bring. Movies often highlight stunning outdoor spaces that bring together a touch of rustic design with subtle lights to create a certain degree of warmth. With the right approach, creating an aesthetically appealing outdoor space is fairly simple. Neutral Colors To make a space that offers that luxurious dining al fresco look, a homeowner must make peace with nature. The idea is not simply to move a dining set into an outdoor space. Rather, it is about finding a blend between a natural space and modern design. Using neutral colors for furniture and design elements can help to keep this balance. Wood Furniture An outdoor dining space that blends well is often created using wood or aesthetic equivalents. Using wood as a design focus makes it easy to maintain that natural look while also making the scene suit the outdoor space. It allows guests to feel like they are a part of nature. Making an Experience Dining al fresco is not simply a place to eat. When done correctly, a well-designed space will offer a completely unique and welcoming experience. The best designs can offer a sense of warmth, tranquility, and freedom. Open Designs The beauty of dining al fresco is often in the freedom of the outdoors. To create this, it is important to focus on open designs that allow guests to enjoy nature without forcing them out into the open. Open walls and keeping plenty of space to move can create this experience. Temperature Regulation The primary issue with eating outside is directly related to the weather. Guests do not want to eat outside in the blistering heat or the chill of autumn. Fortunately, temperature regulation is easy with the right tools. By using umbrellas, lighting, and heat lamps or fires, dining al fresco can be a year-round experience. About VPI Design by Dina Varner Dina Varner is founder and creative director of VPI Design, an Atlanta and Sea Island Interior Design Firm working with both residential and commercial clients. She and her husband have been in the commercial construction industry for many years. Her inspiration comes from over twenty-five years of collecting and selling art and antiques through venues like Sotheby's, Babcock Gallery, and Christie's. This love of art and antiques started as a passion and has evolved into a successful business. Dina's rich southern heritage, in addition to her love of fashion and travel, also act as her creative influence. The VPI Design team work together with a distinct flair for aesthetic insight into unique designs exhibiting elegance and style. They explore the use of light and texture for an organic appealing experience in every timeless interior. Combinations of art deco, vintage, and contemporary styles are combined to create elegance while simultaneously exuding simplicity and comfort in each living space. Her designers enjoy getting to know their clients personally to create a home that suits their individual taste. Dina believes that every aspect of a room should complement one another to tell a unique story. For more information please visit: https://vpi-design.com VPI Design by Dina Varner Luxury Atlanta Interior Design Contact Name: Dina Varner Address: 120 Interstate North Parkway, Suite 154 Atlanta, Georgia 30339 Website: https://vpi-design.com Email: VPIDesign1@gmail.com Phone: (770) 422-2000 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vpidesignatlanta SOURCE: VPI Design View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/650311/Top-Atlanta-Luxury-Interior-Designer-VPI-Design-Advises-on-Dining-Al-Fresco-Options Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Monarch Mining Corporation (TSX: GBAR) (OTCQX: GBARF) ("the Company") is pleased to announce that it will be presenting at the Virtual Investor Day IV ("VID IV") June 8-10, 2021 hosted by IR.INC and FTMIG. Mr. Jean-Marc Lacoste., President and CEO, will provide an in-depth update on the Company at 13:00 EST, June 9, 2021. VID IV is a completely interactive experience for feature companies and stakeholders. Feature companies will have 30 minutes to outline their investment opportunity, while stakeholders and the audience will be invited to engage via direct Q&A, polls and other interactive tools after and during each presentation. To register for VID IV, please click the link: https://www.bigmarker.com/series/virtual-investor-day-iv/series_summit. About The Company: Monarch (TSX: GBAR) (OTCQX: GBARF) is a fully integrated mining company that owns four advanced projects, namely the Beaufor, Croinor Gold, McKenzie Break and Swanson projects, all located near Monarch's wholly owned and fully permitted Beacon 750 tpd mill. Monarch owns more than 287 km2 of mining assets in the prolific Abitibi mining camp, representing a combined portfolio of 588,482 ounces of M&I gold resources, and 329,393 ounces of inferred resources. Monarch Mining was created following the +$200M successful transaction between Yamana Gold and Monarch Gold announced on November 2, 2020. About IR.INC IR.INC Capital Markets Advisory & Services works with its clients to develop and deploy strategic plans and build industry alliances while providing shareholder introductions and solutions. The Company also provides a number of traditional Investor Relations Services. You can find out more about IR.INC here www.irinc.ca. About FTMIG Follow the Money Investor Group is a financial portal that provides content and information needed to navigate the ever-changing capital markets. Our global community of visitors and investors are able to use our platform to discuss and collaborate daily on all facets of their current and potential investments. Our goal is to help retail investors make the right financial decisions that fit their individual needs. You can find out more about FTMIG here www.ftmig.com. Disclaimer Follow the Money Investor ("FTMIG") is an online investor community that connects investors and public companies. Both FTMIG and IR.INC are not registered as a broker, dealer, exempt market dealer, or any other registrant in any securities regulatory jurisdiction and will not be performing any registerable activity as defined by the applicable regulatory bodies. Both FTMIG and IR.INC and their affiliates do not endorse or recommend any securities issued by any companies identified on, or linked through, this conference. Please seek professional advice to evaluate specific securities or other content discussed during this event. Links, if any, to third party sites are for informational purposes only, and not for trading purposes. FTMIG and IR.INC. and their affiliates have not prepared, reviewed or updated any content on third party sites and assume no responsibility for the information posted on them. For further information, please contact: Joanne Jobin, Principal IR.INC | Capital Markets Advisory & Services jjobin@irinc.ca www.irinc.ca Karl Boyd, President Follow the Money Investor Group kboyd@ftmig.com www.ftmig.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86410 Virtual awards ceremony recognizes insurance innovations and innovators leading industry change for an uncertain future Efma, an association of more than 2,550 retail financial services companies in 133 countries, and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) today announced the winners of the sixth annual Innovation in Insurance Awards during a virtual ceremony. The awards competition, which recognizes the best insurance technology innovations, attracted 460 entries from nearly 300 institutions in 55 countries 100 more submissions than received in 2020. This year's entries reflect the intense drive among insurers to innovate to address new risks and meet changing customer needs amid continued COVID-19-related disruption. The winners were selected across seven categories by a panel of 25 judges, including senior executives from insurers worldwide. Each entry was assessed using three criteria: originality; strategic capacity to generate long-term competitive edge and return on investment; and adaptability for use in other markets and countries. Ursuline Foley, a member of the Board of Directors for Provident Financial Services and a judge of the awards, said: "The Efma-Accenture Innovation in Insurance Awards highlight the impressive range of innovative insurance initiatives underway globally. They reflect an industry that is preparing for major change." The winners of the Efma-Accenture Innovation in Insurance Awards 2021 are: AXA XL (USA) received the Connected Insurance Ecosystems 2021 award for the AXA XL Construction Ecosystem, a digital network of innovative products and services focused on advancing technology adoption among construction customers to help them reduce business risk, solve customer issues and improve business results. received the award for the AXA XL Construction Ecosystem, a digital network of innovative products and services focused on advancing technology adoption among construction customers to help them reduce business risk, solve customer issues and improve business results. Discovery (South Africa) won the Core Insurance Transformation 2021 award for AI Quote. Using AI Quote, brokers and clients can upload a PDF or pictures of competitor insurance and investment documents via phone or desktop and receive an equivalent Discovery quote in seconds. won the award for AI Quote. Using AI Quote, brokers and clients can upload a PDF or pictures of competitor insurance and investment documents via phone or desktop and receive an equivalent Discovery quote in seconds. Generali Welion (Italy) - received the Customer Experience 2021 award for its WelionAPP. With COVID-19 putting a strain on the healthcare system in Italy, the WelionAPP helps its users more easily access health services for daily and specialized needs and book a consultation. - received the award for its WelionAPP. With COVID-19 putting a strain on the healthcare system in Italy, the WelionAPP helps its users more easily access health services for daily and specialized needs and book a consultation. HITS, a Generali Group company (Switzerland) - won the Insurtech 2021 award for bAIby, an AI-based baby cry translator that recognizes a baby's five basic needs, co-developed with Zoundream. - won the award for bAIby, an AI-based baby cry translator that recognizes a baby's five basic needs, co-developed with Zoundream. Baloise (Luxembourg) was named the winner of the Product Service Innovation 2021 award for its Drive Electric insurance, which insures electric vehicles and also provides key value-add services to help customers make the switch to electric, including assistance to set up a charging station at home, and granting access to 180,000 recharging stations across Europe. was named the winner of the award for its Drive Electric insurance, which insures electric vehicles and also provides key value-add services to help customers make the switch to electric, including assistance to set up a charging station at home, and granting access to 180,000 recharging stations across Europe. Assicurazioni Generali (Italy) - won the Workforce Transformation 2021 award for the We SHARE App, the first app the insurer has created at the group level to reach employees worldwide. It provides updates on a share plan for group employees, offers a financial literacy program, and provides company news. - won the award for the We SHARE App, the first app the insurer has created at the group level to reach employees worldwide. It provides updates on a share plan for group employees, offers a financial literacy program, and provides company news. Assicurazioni Generali (Italy)- named Global Innovator2021 for its innovation in introducing several products, including its Smart Automation Centre of Excellence, the Vehicle Ownership Lifecycle Digital Management, and its use of AI-augmented underwriting, which uses geospatial data. "With the pandemic, 2020 and 2021 will no doubt stand out in history as being out-of-the-ordinary years," said John Berry, Efma CEO. "Insurance players have had to face many challenges, requiring them to adapt their offerings and distribution models. In this context, I was impressed by both the quality and the relevance of the projects submitted this year. I congratulate the winners and all those who made submissions, demonstrating their agility in finding customer-focused solutions in a fast-evolving world." Daniele Presutti, who leads Accenture's Insurance industry group in Europe, said, "The insurance industry has moved fast to accommodate the massive changes caused by the pandemic. The industry is accelerating the pace of transformation, leveraging cloud, data, and ecosystems to bring innovative services and offerings to market, like risk advice and prevention methods. We had another great round of submissions this year-these companies are leading change, and not just for this sector-they bring new value to customers and the ecosystem." To find out more about the award-winning innovations, visit www.efma.com/innovationininsurance or follow the conversation on Twitter at InsAwards21. About Efma A non-profit organization created in 1971 by leading banks and insurance companies, Efma is celebrating this year its 50th anniversary. Counting now a network of 120 financial groups in 133 countries all around the world, Efma facilitates networking between decision-makers. It provides quality insights to help banks and insurance companies make the right decisions to foster innovation and drive their transformation. Headquartered in Paris. Offices in London, Brussels, Barcelona, Stockholm, Bratislava, Dubai, Milan, Montreal, Istanbul, Beijing, Tokyo and Singapore. Learn more: www.efma.com. About Accenture Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities 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. Accenture's Insurance practice helps P&C insurers, life carriers and reinsurers to redefine their business and operating models, enhance the digital experience for customers, and position themselves for growth in a digital economy. To learn more, visit: www.accenture.com/us-en/industries/insurance-index. Copyright 2021 Accenture. All rights reserved. Accenture and its logo are registered trademarks of Accenture. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005885/en/ Contacts: Victoria Ancell Accenture +44 7446 277 759 v.ancell@accenture.com Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Amex Exploration Inc. ("Amex") or the ("Company") (TSXV: AMX) (FSE: MX0) (OTCQX: AMXEF) is pleased to announce that it will be presenting at the Virtual Investor Day IV ("VID IV") June 8-10, 2021 hosted by IR.INC and FTMIG. Mr. Kelly Malcolm, Vice-President Exploration of Amex, will provide an in-depth update on the Company at 11:00 a.m. EST, June 10, 2021. VID IV is a completely interactive experience for feature companies and stakeholders. Feature companies will have 30 minutes to outline their investment opportunity, while stakeholders and the audience will be invited to engage via direct Q&A, polls and other interactive tools after and during each presentation. To register for VID IV, please click the link: https://www.bigmarker.com/series/virtual-investor-day-iv/series_summit. About Amex Exploration Inc. Amex Exploration Inc. is a junior mining exploration company, focused on its 100% owned Perron gold project located 110 kilometres north of Rouyn Noranda, Quebec, consisting of 116 contiguous claims covering 4,518 hectares. A number of significant gold discoveries have been made at Perron, including the Eastern Gold Zone, the Gratien Gold Zone, the Grey Cat Zone, and the Central Polymetallic Zone. High-grade gold has been identified in each of the zones. A significant portion of the project remains underexplored. In addition to the Perron project, the company holds a portfolio of three other properties focused on gold and base metals in the Abitibi region of Quebec and elsewhere in the province. About IR.INC IR.INC Capital Markets Advisory & Services works with its clients to develop and deploy strategic plans and build industry alliances while providing shareholder introductions and solutions. The Company also provides a number of traditional Investor Relations Services. You can find out more about IR.INC here www.irinc.ca. About FTMIG Follow the Money Investor Group is a financial portal that provides content and information needed to navigate the ever-changing capital markets. Our global community of visitors and investors are able to use our platform to discuss and collaborate daily on all facets of their current and potential investments. Our goal is to help retail investors make the right financial decisions that fit their individual needs. You can find out more about FTMIG here www.ftmig.com. Disclaimer Follow the Money Investor ("FTMIG") is an online investor community that connects investors and public companies. Both FTMIG and IR.INC are not registered as a broker, dealer, exempt market dealer, or any other registrant in any securities regulatory jurisdiction and will not be performing any registerable activity as defined by the applicable regulatory bodies. Both FTMIG and IR.INC and their affiliates do not endorse or recommend any securities issued by any companies identified on, or linked through, this conference. Please seek professional advice to evaluate specific securities or other content discussed during this event. Links, if any, to third party sites are for informational purposes only, and not for trading purposes. FTMIG and IR.INC. and their affiliates have not prepared, reviewed or updated any content on third party sites and assume no responsibility for the information posted on them. For further information, please contact: Joanne Jobin, Principal IR.INC | Capital Markets Advisory & Services jjobin@irinc.ca www.irinc.ca Karl Boyd, President Follow the Money Investor Group kboyd@ftmig.com www.ftmig.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86423 Regulatory News: The SFL (Paris:FLY) Board of Directors has examined the terms of a proposed transaction in two parts: On the one hand, a liquidity offer to the shareholders of SFL through a simplified mixed tender offer, initiated by Colonial, the majority shareholder of the Company, for the shares of SFL not yet held by Colonial and Predica; the terms of the Offer would be 46.66 euros and 5 ordinary Colonial shares 1 for one SFL share tendered into the Offer 2 ; and for one SFL share tendered into the Offer ; and On the other hand, the evolution of the existing partnership between SFL and Predica, consolidating their long term relationship. This part would involve the acquisition by SFL (as part of its buy-back program) followed by the cancellation of part of the SFL shares held by Predica (7.86% of SFL's share capital) and the acquisition by SFL of the stakes held by Predica in the assets Washington Plaza, 106 Haussmann, Galerie des Champs-Elysees and 90 Champs-Elysees3, in exchange for minority stakes in the assets cloud.paris, Cezanne Saint-Honore, 92 Champs-Elysees and 103 Grenelle. The remaining SFL shares held by Predica (5% of SFL's share capital) would be exchanged for Colonial shares at a ratio of 9.66 Colonial shares (ex-coupon) for 1 SFL share (coupon attached). These transactions would be carried out on financial terms based on the EPRA Net Disposal Value ("EPRA NDV") as at 31 December 2020 (adjusted for the dividend distributions in respect of the financial year 2020). The evolution of the partnership with Predica remains subject to customary conditions precedent including waiver by relevant municipal authorities of their pre-emption right, AMF clearance decision with respect to the Offer, approval by the general meeting of Colonial of the issue of Colonial shares in connection with the contribution of the Predica shares and in connection with the Offer and the absence of any significant loss on the assets involved in the exchange transactions. The Offer is subject to the approval by the general meeting of Colonial of the issue of Colonial shares in connection with the Offer. The transaction would simplify the shareholding structure of the Company, by offering liquidity to minority shareholders and the possibility to become shareholders of Inmobiliaria Colonial, by tendering their SFL shares with a significant premium to the stock-market price. As the Offer will not be followed by a squeeze-out, the shareholders who would not wish to tender their shares can remain invested in a company whose financial profile will not be significantly modified and could benefit from an increased dividend as a result of the distribution obligation activated by the capital gains that will be recorded in the context of the transaction. This transaction fits into the Company's strategy and is in line with a logic of continuity. In accordance with the AMF General Regulation and best corporate governance practices, the Board of Directors has set up an ad hoc Committee composed exclusively of the Company's independent directors to examine the proposed transactions in detail and to advise the Board of Directors. Finexsi was appointed by the Board of Directors, upon the recommendation of the ad hoc Committee, as independent expert in order to deliver: (ii) a report on the fairness of the asset swap transactions (as related-party agreement) and on the use of the share buy-back program, in accordance with AMF Position 2012-05 on shareholders general meetings and AMF Position 2017-04 on share buy-backs, and (ii) a report on the financial terms of the Offer in accordance with Article 261-1 of the AMF's General Regulations. The report relating to the asset swap and the use of the share buy-back program, on the basis of the work performed by the expert and of the information provided by the Company, has concluded that these transactions were fair from a financial point of view for SFL shareholders, does not affect the financial situation or the investment capacity of the Company and, as part of a global operation, are consistent with the principle of equal treatment of shareholders. In accordance with stock market regulations, Finexsi will deliver its final report on the terms of the Offer as independent expert, at the end of a minimum fifteen trading day period (starting from the date of filing of the Offer). The ad hoc Committee has issued a favorable opinion on the asset swaps and has recommended that the Board of Directors approves them. Regarding the Offer, the Board of Directors noted after a preliminary review of the main terms of the Offer that it would offer liquidity to the minority shareholders at a significant premium of 45% over the stock-market price on 2 June 2021. On this basis and on the basis of the recommendation of the ad hoc Committee, the Board of Directors has approved the evolution of the partnership, and has favorably welcomed the principle of the Offer and the possibility offered to the minority shareholders to benefit from a liquidity with a significant premium to the stock-market price. The reasoned opinion ("avis motive") of the Board of Directors will be delivered, upon the recommendation of the ad hoc Committee, after receipt of the final report of the independent expert on the terms of the Offer. The Offer should be filed in the coming days. The SFL Board of Directors would consequently be able to meet at the end of June in order to issue its reasoned opinion once it has received the Finexsi report as independent expert for the Offer. The Offer could thus be opened during the month of July subject to the AMF's clearance decision. The ad hoc Committee and the Board of Directors have been advised by Natixis Partners as financial advisor and by Bredin Prat as legal advisor. SFL has been advised by Gide Loyrette Nouel as legal advisor. 1 For Colonial a dividend relating to the 2020 fiscal year of 0.22 euro per share has been declared and paid. 2 For SFL the dividend relating to the 2020 fiscal year of 2.10 euro per share has been paid on 27 April 2021. 3 The companies SCI Washington (representing 34% of the share capital and the voting rights) and Parholding SAS (representing 50% of the share capital and voting rights). About SFL Leader in the prime segment of the Parisian commercial real estate market, Societe Fonciere Lyonnaise stands out for the quality of its property portfolio, which is valued at 7.5 billion and is focused on the Central Business District of Paris (cloud.paris, Edouard VII, Washington Plaza, etc.) and for the quality of its client portfolio, which is composed of prestigious companies in the consulting, media, digital, luxury, finance and insurance sectors. As France's oldest property company, SFL demonstrates year after year an unwavering commitment to its strategy focused on creating a high value in use for users and, ultimately, substantial appraisal values for its properties. Stock market: Euronext Paris Compartment A Euronext Paris ISIN FR0000033409 Bloomberg: FLY FP Reuters: FLYP PA S&P rating: BBB+ stable outlook View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005935/en/ Contacts: SFL Thomas Fareng T +33 (0)1 42 97 27 00 t.fareng@fonciere-lyonnaise.com Evidence Gregoire Silly T +33 (0)6 99 10 78 99 gregoire.silly@evidenceparis.fr www.fonciere-lyonnaise.com Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Moneta Porcupine Mines Inc. (TSX: ME) (OTCQX: MEAUF) (FSE: MOP) ("Moneta") is pleased to announce that it will be presenting at the Virtual Investor Day IV ("VID IV") June 8-10, 2021 hosted by IR.INC and FTMIG. Mr. Gary O'Connor, CEO of Moneta, will provide an in-depth update on the Company at 3:00 p.m. EST, June 9, 2021. VID IV is a completely interactive experience for feature companies and stakeholders. Feature companies will have 30 minutes to outline their investment opportunity, while stakeholders and the audience will be invited to engage via direct Q&A, polls and other interactive tools after and during each presentation. To register for VID IV, please click the link: https://www.bigmarker.com/series/virtual-investor-day-iv/series_summit About Moneta Porcupine Mines Inc. Moneta is a Canadian based gold exploration company focussed on the Timmins Gold Camp in Ontario. The Company's flagship project, covering the Golden Highway and Garrison Gold deposits, is located 100 km east of Timmins and hosts a total indicated resource of 3,967,000 ounces contained gold and a total inferred resource of 4,399,000 ounces contained gold. The project includes a total of 3,335,000 ounces of open pit indicated resources contained within 116.7 Mt @ 0.89 g/t Au and 2,270,000 ounces of open pit inferred resources contained within 79.4 Mt @ 0.89 g/t Au, at a cut-off grade of 0.30 g/t Au. The project also includes 632,000 ounces of indicated underground resources contained within 4.9 Mt @ 4.05 g/t Au and 2,129,000 ounces of inferred underground resources within 15.7 Mt @ 4.21 g/t Au, at a 2.60 g/t Au cut-off grade at South West and 3.00 g/t Au cut-off grade at the other underground deposits. About IR.INC IR.INC Capital Markets Advisory & Services works with its clients to develop and deploy strategic plans and build industry alliances while providing shareholder introductions and solutions. The Company also provides a number of traditional Investor Relations Services. You can find out more about IR.INC here www.irinc.ca About FTMIG Follow the Money Investor Group is a financial portal that provides content and information needed to navigate the ever-changing capital markets. Our global community of visitors and investors are able to use our platform to discuss and collaborate daily on all facets of their current and potential investments. Our goal is to help retail investors make the right financial decisions that fit their individual needs. You can find out more about FTMIG here www.ftmig.com. Disclaimer Follow the Money Investor ("FTMIG") is an online investor community that connects investors and public companies. Both FTMIG and IR.INC are not registered as a broker, dealer, exempt market dealer, or any other registrant in any securities regulatory jurisdiction and will not be performing any registerable activity as defined by the applicable regulatory bodies.Both FTMIG and IR.INC and their affiliates do not endorse or recommend any securities issued by any companies identified on, or linked through, this conference. Please seek professional advice to evaluate specific securities or other content discussed during this event. Links, if any, to third party sites are for informational purposes only, and not for trading purposes. FTMIG and IR.INC. and their affiliates have not prepared, reviewed or updated any content on third party sites and assume no responsibility for the information posted on them. For further information, please contact: Joanne Jobin, Principal IR.INC | Capital Markets Advisory & Services jjobin@irinc.ca www.irinc.ca Karl Boyd, President Follow the Money Investor Group kboyd@ftmig.com www.ftmig.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86424 June 3, 2021 Results show that first-of-its-kind device hasa sustained treatment effect and a positive impact on quality of life Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Royal Philips conference (June 1-4). Across all patients in the TOBA II BTK clinical trial at two years, 73.6% had freedom from clinically driven target lesion revascularization (CD-TLR) and did not require a repeat procedure for the treated artery segment. CD-TLR is a commonly used indicator of treatment efficacy durability. In the more complex CLI patient population, which is typically associated with high rates of amputation and mortality, the data showed 94.7% target limb salvage (freedom from major amputation). "The global endovascular community is diligently working to better understand how to restore blood flow in small limb vessels, promote healing and ultimately preserve limbs for people with CLI, one of the most vulnerable and critical patient populations," said Dr. Adams. "These positive two-year data reiterate the clinical importance of below-the-knee dissection repair and validates the sustained durability of Tack-optimized interventions." The Tack Endovascular System is a unique specialized implantable device to optimize the treatment of dissections in patients with PAD and its more advanced stage, CLI. CLI occurs when an obstruction in an artery severely reduces blood flow, causing painful wounds, debilitating rest pain, recurring ulcers and life-threatening infection. If left untreated, 50% of patients with CLI will undergo an amputation or die within the first year [1]. The two-year TOBA II BTK data also show sustained improvement in patients' quality of life. In a patient questionnaire that assesses activity, pain and overall health, patients report having more control of their health and increased improvement in mobility. "This new data further demonstrates the value of the Tack Endovascular System for repairing dissections and optimizing post-angioplasty outcomes in a challenging patient population," said Chris Landon, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Image Guided Therapy Devices at Philips. "Dissection repair following balloon angioplasty has a positive, long-term value for both clinicians and patients alike. The implant is an important part of our complete procedural solutions to improve existing procedures and expand treatment options for PAD and CLI patients." The Tack Endovascular System is a first-of-its kind dissection repair device that is purpose-built to provide precision treatment of peripheral arterial dissections following balloon angioplasty in either above- or below-the-knee therapeutic interventions. The minimal-metal implant is designed to minimize vessel inflammation, promote healing, improve outcomes, preserve future treatment options for PAD and CLI patients and - ultimately - limbs. The Tack Endovascular System (4F) is the only vascular implant to receive U.S. Food and Drug (FDA) pre-market approval for BTK interventions, and TOBA II BTK is the first BTK investigational device exemption (IDE) study to enroll 100% dissected vessels. The Tack Endovascular System is the most recentaddition to Philips' market-leading peripheral vascular portfolio, which includes advanced interventional imaging systems for precision guidance including VascularSuite onitsImage Guided TherapySystem - Azurion; intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) catheters to assess the location of the disease and lesion morphology and guide and confirm the treatment; peripheral atherectomy devices to remove blockages; and peripheral therapy devices, such as Philips' drug-coated balloon - Stellarex - to treat lesions. The Tack Endovascular System is currently available for sale in the U.S. and some EU countries. Further information, including safety information, is available here. [1] Hirsh AT, Jaskal ZJ, Hertzer , et al. ACC/AHA 2005 guidelines for the management of patients with peripheral arterial disease (lower extremity, renal, mesenteric, and abdominal aortic): executive summary a collaborative report from the American Association for Vascular Surgery/Society for Vascular Surgery, Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology, Society of Interventional Radiology, and the ACC/AHA Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Writing Committee to Develop Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease) endorsed by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Society for Vascular Nursing; TransAtlantic Inter-Society Consensus; and Vascular Disease Foundation. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006 Mar 21;113(11):e463-654. For further information, please contact: Mark Groves Philips Global Press Office Tel: +31 631 639 916 E-mail: mark.groves@philips.com Fabienne van der Feer Philips Image Guided Therapy Tel: + 31 622 698 001 E-mail: fabienne.van.der.feer@philips.com About Royal Philips Royal Philips. Attachments Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Pure Gold Mining Inc. (TSXV: PGM) (LSE: PUR) ("PureGold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it will be presenting at the Virtual Investor Day IV ("VID IV") June 8-10, 2021 hosted by IR.INC and FTMIG. Mr. Darin Labrenz, President & CEO of PureGold, will provide an in-depth update on the Company at 9:00 a.m. EST, June 8, 2021. VID IV is a completely interactive experience for feature companies and stakeholders. Feature companies will have 30 minutes to outline their investment opportunity, while stakeholders and the audience will be invited to engage via direct Q&A, polls and other interactive tools after and during each presentation. To register for VID IV, please click the link: https://www.bigmarker.com/series/virtual-investor-day-iv/series_summit. About Pure Gold Mining Inc. PureGold is a growth company, located in the very heart of Red Lake, Canada. Our objective is pure and simple. To develop a highly-profitable long life gold mining company, becoming Canada's next iconic gold producer. Our plan is very disciplined, very methodical and financially sound. To expand organically, and develop PureGold's multi-million ounce high grade gold asset incrementally, step-by-step, using a phased mining development plan to deliver maximum return. Additional information about the Company and its activities may be found on the Company's website at www.puregoldmining.ca and under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. About IR.INC IR.INC Capital Markets Advisory & Services works with its clients to develop and deploy strategic plans and build industry alliances while providing shareholder introductions and solutions. The Company also provides a number of traditional Investor Relations Services. You can find out more about IR.INC here www.irinc.ca. About FTMIG Follow the Money Investor Group is a financial portal that provides content and information needed to navigate the ever-changing capital markets. Our global community of visitors and investors are able to use our platform to discuss and collaborate daily on all facets of their current and potential investments. Our goal is to help retail investors make the right financial decisions that fit their individual needs. You can find out more about FTMIG here www.ftmig.com. Disclaimer Follow the Money Investor ("FTMIG") is an online investor community that connects investors and public companies. Both FTMIG and IR.INC are not registered as a broker, dealer, exempt market dealer, or any other registrant in any securities regulatory jurisdiction and will not be performing any registerable activity as defined by the applicable regulatory bodies. Both FTMIG and IR.INC and their affiliates do not endorse or recommend any securities issued by any companies identified on, or linked through, this conference. Please seek professional advice to evaluate specific securities or other content discussed during this event. Links, if any, to third party sites are for informational purposes only, and not for trading purposes. FTMIG and IR.INC. and their affiliates have not prepared, reviewed or updated any content on third party sites and assume no responsibility for the information posted on them. For further information, please contact: Joanne Jobin, Principal IR.INC | Capital Markets Advisory & Services jjobin@irinc.ca www.irinc.ca Karl Boyd, President Follow the Money Investor Group kboyd@ftmig.com www.ftmig.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86438 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - VanGold Mining Corp. (TSXV: VGLD) (OTCQX: VGLDF) (the "Company" or "VanGold"), soon changing its name to Guanajuato Silver Company, Ltd (TSXV: GSVR) is pleased to announce that it will be presenting at the Virtual Investor Day IV ("VID IV") June 8-10, 2021 hosted by IR.INC and FTMIG. Mr. James Anderson, Chairman and CEO of VanGold, will provide an in-depth update on the Company at 11:00 a.m. EST, June 9, 2021. VID IV is a completely interactive experience for feature companies and stakeholders. Feature companies will have 30 minutes to outline their investment opportunity, while stakeholders and the audience will be invited to engage via direct Q&A, polls and other interactive tools after and during each presentation. To register for VID IV, please click the link: https://www.bigmarker.com/series/virtual-investor-day-iv/series_summit. About VanGold Mining Corp. VanGold Mining is an exploration and development company engaged in reactivating past producing silver and gold mines near the city of Guanajuato, Mexico. The Company's El Pinguico project is a significant past producer of both silver and gold located just 7 kilometers south of the city. The Company is now focused on the refurbishment of the El Cubo mill, with re-commencement of production from the El Cubo and El Pinguico Combined Operation expected in Q4, 2021, as well as delineating additional silver and gold resources through underground and surface drilling on its projects located in this 480-year-old mining camp. About IR.INC IR.INC Capital Markets Advisory & Services works with its clients to develop and deploy strategic plans and build industry alliances while providing shareholder introductions and solutions. The Company also provides a number of traditional Investor Relations Services. You can find out more about IR.INC here www.irinc.ca. About FTMIG Follow the Money Investor Group is a financial portal that provides content and information needed to navigate the ever-changing capital markets. Our global community of visitors and investors are able to use our platform to discuss and collaborate daily on all facets of their current and potential investments. Our goal is to help retail investors make the right financial decisions that fit their individual needs. You can find out more about FTMIG here www.ftmig.com. Disclaimer Follow the Money Investor ("FTMIG") is an online investor community that connects investors and public companies. Both FTMIG and IR.INC are not registered as a broker, dealer, exempt market dealer, or any other registrant in any securities regulatory jurisdiction and will not be performing any registerable activity as defined by the applicable regulatory bodies. Both FTMIG and IR.INC and their affiliates do not endorse or recommend any securities issued by any companies identified on, or linked through, this conference. Please seek professional advice to evaluate specific securities or other content discussed during this event. Links, if any, to third party sites are for informational purposes only, and not for trading purposes. FTMIG and IR.INC. and their affiliates have not prepared, reviewed or updated any content on third party sites and assume no responsibility for the information posted on them. For further information, please contact: Joanne Jobin, Principal IR.INC | Capital Markets Advisory & Services jjobin@irinc.ca www.irinc.ca Karl Boyd, President Follow the Money Investor Group kboyd@ftmig.com www.ftmig.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86439 MURFREESBORO, TN / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2021 / National Health Investors, Inc. (NYSE:NHI) today provided an update on a deferral agreement with Holiday Retirement ("Holiday"), updated its May and second quarter contractual cash collections, and declared a second quarter dividend. Holiday Deferral Agreement NHI has reached an agreement with Holiday that defers rent of $600,000 per month for May, June, and July of 2021. The Company also agreed to release $600,000 per month to be applied to rent for May, June, and July of 2021 from the Holiday security deposit which totaled $10.6 million prior to this deferral agreement. The remaining monthly base rent of $1.7 million will be paid in cash. Deferred payments under this agreement accrue interest at 8% and are expected to be repaid over 18 months commencing January 1, 2022. NHI continues to evaluate actions to optimize the Holiday portfolio which may include further deferrals, asset sales, and lease restructurings. Collections NHI collected 87.1% of contractual cash due for May. The remaining balance for the month is comprised of the following: 7.5% in deferrals related to Bickford Senior Living ("Bickford"); 2.3% in deferrals related to Holiday; 2.5% in deferrals, either agreed to or pending, related to two tenants; and 0.6% related to lower forecasted revenue from transitioned properties prior to the start of the pandemic. For the second quarter through May 2021, NHI collected 86.2% of contractual cash due which reflects the following: 9.3% in deferrals related to Bickford; 1.1% in deferrals related to Holiday; 2.8% in deferrals, either agreed to or pending, related to three tenants; and 0.6% related to lower forecasted revenue from transitioned properties prior to the start of the pandemic. Please see the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 for more information regarding rent concessions. Dividend NHI has declared a second quarter dividend of $0.90 per share that is payable in cash on August 6, 2021 to common shareholders of record as of June 30, 2021. The second quarter dividend represents an 18.4% reduction from the first quarter dividend of $1.1025 per share. The reduction in the dividend will conserve approximately $28 million in 2021 based on the current share count. "The NHI Board of Directors is committed to preserving a prudent and conservative capital structure that ensures the Company has sufficient flexibility to manage through the impact of the pandemic and as a result declared a second quarter dividend of $0.90 per share. We believe this action puts NHI in a better position to significantly improve the quality of our real estate portfolio through lease restructurings, asset sales, and accretive acquisitions while still being committed to a sustainable dividend to our shareholders," said Eric Mendelsohn, President and CEO. Mr. Mendelsohn concluded, "We have said that we are motivated to use the pandemic to transform NHI into a stronger company. Today's action is another indication that the transformation is underway. We expect that right-sizing our dividend provides sufficient capacity to assist our operators through the business recovery while maintaining our balance sheet strength and ultimately return to growth." About NHI Incorporated in 1991, National Health Investors, Inc. (NYSE: NHI) is a real estate investment trust specializing in sale-leaseback, joint-venture, mortgage and mezzanine financing of need-driven and discretionary senior housing and medical investments. NHI's portfolio consists of independent, assisted and memory care communities, entrance-fee retirement communities, skilled nursing facilities, medical office buildings and specialty hospitals. For more information, visit www.nhireit.com. This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements regarding the Company's, tenants', operators', borrowers' or managers' expected future financial position, results of operations, cash flows, funds from operations, dividend and dividend plans, financing opportunities and plans, capital market transactions, business strategy, budgets, projected costs, operating metrics, capital expenditures, competitive positions, acquisitions, investment opportunities, dispositions, acquisition integration, growth opportunities, expected lease income, continued qualification as a real estate investment trust ("REIT"), plans and objectives of management for future operations, continued performance improvements, ability to service and refinance our debt obligations, ability to finance growth opportunities, and similar statements including, without limitation, those containing words such as "may," "will," "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "estimates," "plans," and other similar expressions are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results in future periods to differ materially from those projected or contemplated in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among other things; the impact of COVID-19 on our tenants, borrowers, economy and the Company; the operating success of our tenants and borrowers for collection of our lease and interest income; the success of property development and construction activities, which may fail to achieve the operating results we expect; the risk that our tenants and borrowers may become subject to bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings; risks related to governmental regulations and payors, principally Medicare and Medicaid, and the effect that lower reimbursement rates would have on our tenants' and borrowers' business; the risk that the cash flows of our tenants and borrowers would be adversely affected by increased liability claims and liability insurance costs; risks related to environmental laws and the costs associated with liabilities related to hazardous substances; the risk that we may not be fully indemnified by our lessees and borrowers against future litigation; the success of our future acquisitions and investments; our ability to reinvest cash in real estate investments in a timely manner and on acceptable terms; the potential need to incur more debt in the future, which may not be available on terms acceptable to us; our ability to meet covenants related to our indebtedness which impose certain operational limitations and a breach of those covenants could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations; the risk that the illiquidity of real estate investments could impede our ability to respond to adverse changes in the performance of our properties; risks associated with our investments in unconsolidated entities, including our lack of sole decision-making authority and our reliance on the financial condition of other interests; our dependence on revenues derived mainly from fixed rate investments in real estate assets, while a portion of our debt bears interest at variable rates; the risk that our assets may be subject to impairment charges; and our dependence on the ability to continue to qualify for taxation as a real estate investment trust. Many of these factors are beyond the control of the Company and its management. The Company assumes no obligation to update any of the foregoing or any other forward looking statements, except as required by law, and these statements speak only as of the date on which they are made. Investors are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by NHI in its periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risk factors and other information disclosed in NHI's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year. Copies of these filings are available at no cost on the SEC's web site at https://www.sec.gov or on NHI's web site at https://www.nhireit.com . Contact: Dana Hambly, Vice President, Investor Relations Phone: (615) 890-9100 SOURCE: National Health Investors View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/650341/NHI-Provides-Business-Update-and-Declares-Second-Quarter-2021-Dividend VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2021 / AMPD Ventures Inc. ("AMPD" or the "Company", CSE:AMPD; FRA:2Q0) is pleased to announce that, further to its news release of May 20, 2021, it has completed the Share Purchase Agreement with Cloud-A Computing Inc. ("Cloud-A") and its shareholders to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Cloud-A (the "Acquisition"). Cloud-A is an established self-service cloud computing infrastructure company, with points of presence in Ontario, Nova Scotia, and British Columbia. The Acquisition is expected to expand AMPD's footprint across Canada, add over 250 customers to AMPD's roster, and accelerate AMPD's technology development roadmap. Cloud-A's senior management and technology team will continue to work with AMPD after the Acquisition. As part of AMPD's mission to migrate client companies from commodity 'one-size-fits-all' cloud to AMPD's purpose-built high-performance computing solutions, the Cloud-A acquisition will bring exclusive technology and tools that streamline the process. "In Cloud-A we identified an experienced team with a robust software stack that will accelerate AMPD's go-to-market plans. We have been working with Cloud-A since we signed the letter of intent, and this acquisition continues to make a huge amount of sense for us," said Anthony Brown, CEO at AMPD. "The fact that Cloud-A brings additional revenue, a national presence, and strong customer base really sealed the deal," says Brown. "On their side, becoming part of AMPD brings their team access to our high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure, access to the public markets, and the ability to finance growth going forward. It's a win/win deal." Founded in 2012 by Jacob Godin, Adam Thurlow, and Brandon Kolybaba, Cloud-A's custom software, built on OpenStack, will allow AMPD to give customers flexibility and performance when decoupling themselves from other services. Hosted across multiple data centres, the Cloud-A system is PIPEDA compliant, resident on Canadian soil, and a compliment to AMPD's HPC infrastructure. "Since we started Cloud-A, we have been committed to developing a meaningful Canadian cloud solution as an alternative to the hyper-scalers." says Godin. "This new chapter for us with the team at AMPD will enable us to develop this ethos further in the realm of high-performance architecture for an even broader range of exciting customers and applications." The purchase price for the Acquisition was CAD $751,246.66 (the "Purchase Consideration"). The Purchase Consideration was satisfied through the issuance of 1,760,001 common shares in the capital of AMPD at a deemed price of $0.25 per share (the "Purchase Shares"), and the payment of a cash consideration of CAD $311,246.66. The Purchase Shares will be subject to contractual resale restrictions for two years from the date of issuance and will be released in instalments every six months following the closing of the Acquisition. About AMPD Ventures Inc. AMPD specializes in providing high-performance and computing solutions for low-latency applications, including video games and eSports, digital animation and visual effects, and big data collection, analysis and visualization. Additional information about us is available on SEDAR and our website at http://ampd.tech. For further information please contact AMPD Investor Relations: Tel: 604-332-3329 ext. 3 ir@ampd.tech http://www.ampd.tech ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS /s/ "Anthony Brown" Anthony Brown CEO & Director AMPD Ventures Inc. Tel: 604-332-3329 The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statement This news release contains statements and information that constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information is based on the rea-sonable assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of our management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Forward looking information in this news release includes statements about our plans to complete our plans to continue working with the Cloud-A management and technical team after this Acquisition, the expected synergies from the Acquisition and the benefits to our technology that we expect from the addition of Cloud-A technology, and any other statements that are not statements of historical fact. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of AMPD to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical, technological and social uncertainties; uncertainties in regard to the development and direction of cloud computing solutions; uncertain capital markets; delay or failure to receive board or shareholder approvals; a party's inability to satisfy a condition precedent to the closing of the Acquisition, and other risks related to the completion of the Acquisition and the inability of a party to perform its obligations under the share purchase agreement. Although the forward-looking information is based on our management's reasonable assumptions at the date such statements are made, there can be no assurance that the Acquisition will complete, or that, if it does complete, that it will be completed on the terms described above, or that the forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. AMPD does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking in-formation, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. All forward looking information contained in this news release is qualified by this cautionary statement. SOURCE: AMPD Ventures Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/650339/AMPD-and-Cloud-A-Computing-Inc-Announce-Completion-of-Share-Purchase-Agreement Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - Le 3 juin/June 2021) - The common shares of Headwater Gold Inc. have been approved for listing on the CSE. Listing and disclosure documents will be available at www.thecse.com on the trading date. Headwater Gold Inc. is a technically-driven junior mineral exploration company focused on exploring for high-grade precious metal deposits in the Western USA. Headwater is actively exploring one of the most well-endowed and mining-friendly jurisdictions in the world with a goal of making world-class precious metal discoveries. Headwater has a large portfolio of epithermal vein exploration projects, and a technical team composed of experienced geologists with diverse capital markets, junior company, and major mining company experience. The Company is well funded and plans an aggressive 2021 exploration season, with the intent to drill several of its 100% owned projects in Nevada, Idaho, and Oregon, including the Company's flagship Katey and Mahogany projects. _________________________________ Les actions ordinaires de Headwater Gold Inc. ont ete approuvees pour inscription au CSE. Les documents d'inscription et de divulgation seront disponibles sur www.thecse.com a la date de negociation. Headwater Gold Inc. est une societe junior d'exploration miniere a vocation technique axee sur l'exploration de gisements de metaux precieux a haute teneur dans l'ouest des Etats-Unis. Headwater explore activement l'une des juridictions les mieux dotees et les plus favorables a l'exploitation miniere au monde dans le but de faire des decouvertes de metaux precieux de classe mondiale. Headwater dispose d'un vaste portefeuille de projets d'exploration de veines epithermales et d'une equipe technique composee de geologues experimentes possedant une experience diversifiee des marches des capitaux, des societes juniors et des grandes societes minieres. La Societe est bien financee et prevoit une saison d'exploration agressive en 2021, avec l'intention de forer plusieurs de ses projets detenus a 100 % dans le Nevada, l'Idaho et l'Oregon, y compris les projets phares de la Societe, Katey et Mahogany. Issuer/Emetteur: Headwater Gold Inc. Security Type/Titre: Common Shares/Actions ordinaires Symbol(s)/Symbole(s): HWG Number of securities issued and outstanding/ Titres emis et en circulation: 49 567 718 Number of Securities reserved for issuance/ Titres reserves pour emission: 3 735 000 CSE Sector/Categorie: Mining/Minier CUSIP: 422107 10 2 ISIN: CA422107 10 2 6 Boardlot/Quotite: 500 Trading Currency/Monnaie de negociation: CDN$/$CDN Trading Date/Date de negociation: le 8 juin/June 2021 Other Exchanges/Autres marches: N/A Fiscal Year end /Cloture de l'exercice financier: le 28 fevrier/February Transfer Agent/Agent des transferts: Endeavor Trust Corporation The Exchange is accepting Market Maker applications for HWG. Please email: Trading@theCSE.com If you have any questions or require further information please contact Listings at (416) 367-7340 or E-mail: Listings@thecse.com Pour toute question, pour obtenir de l'information supplementaire veuillez communiquer avec le service des inscriptions au 416 367-7340 ou par courriel a l'adresse: Listings@thecse.com New Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation will bring together innovative AI, quantum computing and the expertise of STFC Hartree Centre and IBM to benefit UK industry and research communities DARESBURY, United Kingdom, June 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Science Minister Amanda Solloway has unveiled a five-year, 210 million partnership with IBM (NYSE: IBM). Its mission is to support UK businesses and the public sector by reducing the risk of exploring and adopting innovative new digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing, by breaking down practical barriers to innovation such as access to infrastructure or digital skills gaps within their organisation. By advancing the pace at which businesses can take advantage of new digital technologies, the collaboration will enhance productivity, create new skilled jobs and boost regional and national economic growth. Based in Daresbury, an additional 60 new scientists, interns and students will join IBM Research and the Hartree Centre, within the UK Research and Innovation's Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) to establish a joint STFC - IBM programme called the Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation (HNCDI), which will apply AI, high performance computing and data analytics, quantum computing and cloud technologies to accelerate discovery and develop innovative solutions to industry challenges including materials development, life sciences, environmental sustainability and manufacturing. The research is part of IBM's global Discovery Accelerator initiative, which seeks to accelerate discovery and innovation based on a convergence of advanced technologies by establishing research centres, fostering and enabling collaborative communities, and advancing skills and economic growth in large-scale programs. HNCDI will help organisations to navigate four key stages of digital adoption by: Providing accessible training and application-focused skills, equipping staff to take full advantage of digital technologies. Exploring and discovering the technologies businesses need to succeed. Turning ideas into practical digital solutions for industry. Identifying and preparing for emerging technologies needed to futureproof the UK economy. "Artificial intelligence and quantum computing have the potential to revolutionise everything from the way we travel to the way we shop. They are exactly the kind of fields I want the UK to be leading in, and this new centre in the North West is a big step towards that. Thanks to this fantastic new partnership with IBM, British businesses will have access to the kind of infrastructure and expertise that will help them boost innovation and grow the economy - essential as we build back better from the pandemic," Science Minister Amanda Solloway. The HNCDI programme will support several industry projects to accelerate adoption of advanced digital technologies with UK companies of various sizes. "Digitally-enabled innovation to create sustainable materials is an essential part of Unilever's Compass strategy and our ambitions to create renewable and sustainable products across our Beauty and Personal Care and Home Care divisions. It is exciting to see how this work is being accelerated through collaborative research and innovation with the STFC Hartree Centre. This further investment will undoubtedly increase research and innovation on important technology areas and projects for the UK economy and industry," Richard Slater, Chief R&D Officer, Unilever "Support from the STFC's Hartree Centre and IBM has enabled Gexcon to investigate the use of surrogate modelling in our advanced dispersion, explosion, and fire modelling tools. This has enabled us to realise the potential benefits of this approach and make plans for its implementation. We hope to continue this work together in the future to achieve improved validation techniques that will directly allow our customers to improve the safety of their facilities," said Chris Coffey, Global FLACS Product & Strategic Business Development Manager, Gexcon UK. "HNCDI will enable the UK to develop the skills, knowledge and technical capability required to adopt emerging digital technologies, seeding the UK with new ideas and innovative solutions. The programme has transformative potential to generate long-term GVA for the economy by embedding AI solutions across UK industry. We are applying knowledge from the UK's strong fundamental research base to develop tools and techniques that address identified industry and public sector needs, improving economic and societal outcomes," said Professor Mark Thomson, Executive Chair of STFC Hartree Centre. STFC Hartree Centre will join the IBM Quantum Network, in which more than 150 organizations, including bp and UK start-ups Cambridge Quantum Computing and Phasecraft, are provided access to IBM's premium quantum computers and development tools via the IBM Hybrid Cloud to significantly broaden the scope of problems than can be addressed. Quantum scientists at the Centre will help grow the quantum ecosystem with a focus on advancing quantum skills across the UK and support UK industry to realize the potential of quantum computing technologies. In addition to quantum computing, scientists working on HNCDI will have access to a vast portfolio of IBM commercial and emerging AI technologies focused on materials design, scaling and automation, asset management, supply chain and trusted AI. "The world is facing grand challenges which demand a different approach towards science in computing, including AI and quantum computing, to engage a broad community across industry, government, and academia to accelerate discovery in science and business," said Dario Gil, Senior Vice President and Director, IBM Research. "This partnership establishes our first Discovery Accelerator in Europe driven by our two UK-based IBM Research locations in Hursley and Daresbury as they contribute to our global mission of building discovery-driven communities around the world." This announcement builds on a previous collaboration between IBM and the STFC Hartree Centre that started in 2013 and is part of a larger investment by the UK to increase R&D spending to 2.4 percent GDP. About STFC Hartree Centre The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Hartree Centre's mission is to transform UK industry through high performance computing, data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. As part of UK Research and Innovation, the Hartree Centre is home to some of the most advanced computing, data and AI technologies in the UK. From early stage SMEs to international corporations, Hartree Centre experts work with industry and the research community to address real life challenges and accelerate the adoption of high performance technologies, delivering transformative gains in performance, productivity and time to market. About IBM IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider, helping clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Contacts: Science and Technology Facilities Council Michelle Snowden michelle.snowden@stfc.ukri.org +44 7596 888 943 IBM UKI Emma Bennett Emma.Bennett@uk.ibm.com +44 07976 839109 IBM Research Chris Sciacca cia@zurich.ibm.com +41 44 724 8443 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1525338/IBM_Research.jpg Left to right: Erum Hasnain (VP Acquisitions), Yadin Shemmer (Co-founder & CEO), Mike Blank (VP Business Operations) Intrinsic, a NYC-based health & wellness eCommerce company, raised $113m in Series A funding. The round, which brought total raise to $115m, was led by Define Ventures with participation from Link Ventures and others. In conjunction with the funding, Lynne Chou OKeefe, Partner, Define Ventures, joined Intrinsics board of directors. Founded earlier this year in partnership with Redesign Health, a healthcare innovation platform, Intrinsic is an acquisition and growth platform focused on eCommerce native health & wellness brands selling on Amazon and other eCommerce channels. The company focuses on numerous areas of health & wellness, including Pregnancy & Baby, Healthy Aging, Orthopedics, Digestive Health, Immune Support, Eye Health and Skin Care, bringing capital, healthcare marketing expertise, supply chain expertise, and advanced analytics. Led by Yadin Shemmer, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Intrinsic also announced the creation of a medical advisory board to provide counsel on acquisitions and innovation. Founding members include Dr. Theodore Leng, (Ophthalmology), Dr. Laurie Green (Obstetrics/Gynecology), Dr. Dena Bravata (Internal Medicine), Dr. David Suarez (Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation) and Dr. Rachel Walsh (Veterinary Medicine). Intrinsic will be partnering with health and wellness experts, Dr. Mehmet Oz and Tony Robbins, to assist with marketing and strategy. Oz and Robbins are investors in Intrinsic and will serve as strategic advisors to the company. Shemmer is the formerly Chief Executive Officer of Mango Health (sold to TrialCard in 2019) and President of Everyday Healths Consumer Group (sold to Ziff Media Group in 2016 for $467 million). FinSMEs 03/06/2021 Last month realme confirmed that it will launch the realme GT 5G powered by Snapdragon 888 globally starting from Europe from June, after it was introduced in China in March. Today, at the realme 5G summit, the company confirmed that it will launch a new realme GT camera flagship globally in July. Earlier the realme 5G summit page in India display realme GT 5G phone as coming soon, but now it has been removed and is present only in the Europe site, so it is not clear if the phone will launch in India as well this month. In 2020, realme launched 14 5G smartphones in 21 markets, accounting for about 40% of all product models. By 2022, the company expects to the number to be more than 20, accounting for 70% of all product models across 50 markets. It already announced that it will be setting up seven dedicated 5G R&D teams across the globe, and will dedicate 90% of its R&D resources and invest US $300 Million globally in 5G technology research and product development over the next 2 years. Today it said that it will set up R&D centres in China, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, South East Asia, India, Middle East & Africa and Latin America. Over the next 3 years, realme plans to sell 100 million 5G smartphones worldwide. At the end of the event Madhav Sheth, Vice President, realme and CEO, realme India & Europe said that we can expect 5G phones in India priced under Rs. 10,000 next year. Photo by Jordan Crook A look at the preliminary mock-up of the mural on the front of the Hoopeston Swimming Pool that was presented to the Hoopeston City Council Tuesday. (Photo provided by Crawfordsville Fire Department) A community paramedic from Crawfordsville Fire Department gives a Montgomery County school employee a COVID-19 vaccine. The community paramedicine program recently received a grant from Health Resources and Services Administrations Maternal and Child Health Bureau to expand vaccinations to K-12 students. Fairhope, Ala. (WALA)-- A recent Davidson High School graduate had the opportunity of a lifetime today, helping to fly a plane for his first time. Jarrett Davis has had a passion for aviation since he was 12 years old, building airplanes from scratch for hours on end. Upon graduating last month, he decided to take his senior pictures at the Fairhope Airport Authority, and that's when this opportunity fell in his lap: hopping on an airplane and flying it. "It was a great experience, said Davis. The first flight went really well. I had a lot more control over the plane than I thought I would've." Prior to takeoff, Davis was given the full rundown of how the plane operates. Then, he and the pilot, Don Lagarde loaded up. Before long, they were off on their 45 minute journey across the bay. Daviss father John said flying today could open more opportunities for his son. "I felt he would do well, and it may spark his interest in becoming a pilot," he said. Davis is attending Alabama A&M University in the fall, studying mechanical engineering with a specialization in aviation programs. Prior to this flight, he was more interested in the engineering aspect, but afterwards, he may have a career path change. "I still want to focus on building the mechanics, but I definitely want to think about being a pilot in the future, said Davis. And he wasnt the only one who thought the same. "He was a natural, said Lagarde. He didn't have any fear. First thing I asked him once we took off when we got to around 2000 feet was how are you feeling? and he said, I feel fine. For Davis, Lagarde said quite literally, the sky is the limit. Lagarde encourages both men and women who are interested in aviation to visit the Fairhope Airport Authority for more information on this career path. (CNN) -- After the murder of George Floyd and the summer of protests that followed led to greater dialogue among her students, Amy Donofrio decided last fall to hang up a "Black Lives Matter" banner outside her classroom. Most of the students at Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville, Florida -- where she had taught for nine years -- were Black. And Donofrio, who is White, wanted them to feel supported. "I just wanted to make it clear to my students that when they walk into my room, they can feel safe," she told CNN. "They can let out a breath. They can know that they matter." But the flag, as well as Donofrio's outspokenness on racial justice, would come to be a political flash point that reverberated across the state. It was brought up in discussions about whether the school should abandon its Confederate namesake, and cited by Florida's education commissioner as an example of "indoctrination" and "critical race theory" in schools -- even though the discipline was not part of Donofrio's curriculum. Over the course of several months, Donofrio defied requests from school officials to take down the flag and challenged the district on its treatment of Black students and staff, according to a federal complaint filed in April. The situation boiled over in March, leading administrators to have the flag removed. Days later, Donofrio was reassigned to non-teaching duties and the district said it had opened a "human resources matter to review allegations of potential misconduct" against her. Duval County Public Schools declined to answer specific questions regarding those incidents, citing an ongoing internal investigation and open litigation. Now, Donofrio -- with the Southern Poverty Law Center and Scott Wagner and Associates, P.A. representing her -- is suing Duval County Public Schools and its regional high school superintendent, alleging that the district retaliated against her "for her protected speech, her complaints about discrimination, and, more broadly, her support of Black students' lives." Tensions were simmering for a while Even before Donofrio put the Black Lives Matter flag above her classroom door, tensions between her and the school district were brewing, according to the complaint. Donofrio had for several years led a course aimed at empowering Black students through professional development, college preparation and civic engagement. She and her students earned national attention, and the course eventually became the organization known as the EVAC Movement. Despite the course's success, Donofrio accused school administrators of being unsupportive behind the scenes. The complaint says they canceled the class and eventually relegated it to a school activity, citing budget cuts. The complaint also alleges that her students experienced "racial discrimination, harassment, and retaliation" over the years at the hands of the school district. In October 2020, as communities across the nation continued to reckon with systemic racism, Donofrio put up the Black Lives Matter flag above her classroom door. It was one of several similar signs posted in and around her classroom, the complaint said, intended to signal to students that they were in a safe space where they could be open about their experiences and discuss issues of race. An assistant principal asked her at the time to remove the flag over concerns that it potentially violated district policy, the complaint said. When Donofrio asked for specifics, the complaint said, she was pointed to policies concerning student expression and vendors -- because she didn't receive further clarification, she considered the issue dropped. The flag remained for several months. Then she spoke out publicly about racism The flag issue again became a point of contention earlier this year, as the district started holding public meetings on whether Robert E. Lee High School should be renamed. The discussion at those meetings grew increasingly heated, with opponents of the renaming effort making controversial statements such as "Jesus himself was never against slavery" and "You can't cancel history." Donofrio expressed concerns to a school board member in March that the manner in which the district was considering whether to rename Robert E. Lee High School was negatively affecting Black and brown students, while providing White community members a platform to make racist comments, according to the complaint. Soon after, a video she had posted to social media compiling some of the offensive statements made by community members went viral, and one man depicted in the clip contacted the school district to object against the Black Lives Matter flag outside Donofrio's classroom, according to the complaint. School administrators then ordered her again to remove the flag, the complaint said, pointing to a policy from December 2020 that defined Black Lives Matter as a "social movement" and states "employees are not permitted to display flags, banners or other signage representing a particular social cause or movement that may be interpreted as District speech," according to a photo of the policy in the complaint. When Donofrio did not comply, the flag was taken down and she was subsequently reassigned. Duval County Public Schools confirmed that Donofrio had been "reassigned to paid, non-teaching duties" as of March 25, pending a human resources review. "The district has opened a human resources matter to review allegations of potential misconduct under school board policy and the Principles of Professional Conduct for the Education Profession in Florida," Duval County Public Schools said in a statement. "The presumption of innocence applies; however, Ms. Donofrio has been removed from school and classroom duties while the matter is reviewed." But Donofrio's lawyers argue that the school district took her off of teaching duties only after she spoke publicly about the comments made during the school renaming meetings, alleging it was a violation of her First Amendment rights. "The retaliation came after she made comments on her Facebook page about matters of public importance," Bacardi Jackson, managing attorney for children's rights with the Southern Poverty Law Center, told CNN. "That's not something the school is allowed to do, both under federal law and the state law. So, she has been retaliated against both for her speech as well as for complaining about discrimination against Black students." It comes as the GOP is attempting to ban education on race The lawsuit filed by Donofrio comes as Republican officials across the country are attempting to ban "critical race theory" -- which has become a catch-all for any type of education involving race -- in public schools. Similar efforts are taking place in Florida, where Donofrio taught. The state's education commissioner Richard Corcoran recently announced a proposal to prohibit teachers from expressing personal views or attempting to "indoctrinate or persuade students" to perspectives inconsistent with the state's learning standards. Corcoran mentioned the lawsuit filed by Donofrio as an example of how liberal ideas had made their way into curricula and classrooms, falsely stating that she had been fired. "I'm getting sued right now in Duval County, which is in Jacksonville, because there was an entire classroom memorialized to Black Lives Matter," he said at an event in May for Hillsdale College in Michigan. "We made sure she was terminated and now we're being sued by every one of the liberal left groups for freedom of speech issues." The Southern Poverty Law Center fired back in a statement, saying Corcoran's remarks amounted to a violation of Donofrio's free speech rights. "According to Corcoran, a classroom that teaches Black Lives Matter or what Corcoran has labeled 'crazy liberal stuff' justifies censorship and the firing of teachers," the organization said. But for Jackson, the Southern Poverty Law Center attorney, the attacks are unsurprising. "This is history that we have seen repeated over and over again when there becomes a movement to try to stop and quell movements towards freedom," Jackson told CNN. "That's what's been happening with the Black Lives Matter movement, with the statements about race and people trying to understand the systematic and structural barriers. The backlash has been pretty vicious." There are as many as 10 million low-income, childless adults in the United States who are eligible for the federal government's stimulus payment program, but are at risk of missing out on the money, according to tax experts. Kamala Harris will try to deepen the United States' "strategic partnership and bilateral relationship" with Guatemala and Mexico on her first foreign trip as vice president, according to her senior staff members. Yes! I think the restaurants should keep as much outdoor seating as possible now and after the pandemic ends It depends on the setup. I like some outdoor options a lot more than others I always prefer to eat inside the restaurant I dont really care Vote View Results This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices. Keep the conversation about local news & events going by joining us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Recent updates from The News-Post and also from News-Post staff members are compiled below. Have any questions? Please give us a call at 907-352-2250 Dunleavy vows to defend state-owned oil leases in ANWR as Biden threatens suspension; Biden offers an olive branch with approval of NPR-A oil project Galveston, TX (77553) Today Intervals of clouds and sunshine. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 91F. NW winds shifting to SSW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 79F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 574-583-5121 or email cgrace@thehj.com. Snowed In Studios has launched a new division called Scarab Games to help brands create console and PC games. The Ottawa-based company has previously worked with notable clients including Bethesda and Eidos on projects such as Deus Ex: Human Revolution and the Xbox One port of Fallout Shelter. It explained its new Scarab Games division will assist major companies and brands, namely those with a Fortune 500 ranking, develop triple-A quality titles. The fledgling outfit said it has created a proprietary roadmap to help companies from a multitude of sectors "distill their history and brand value into deep, story-driven narratives and gameplay styles." Scarab will also be assembling an outside advisory board featuring a number of high-profile industry veterans to help its clients navigate the triple-A space, and has tapped video game and advertising company Neptune Agency to assist with marketing. "Weve seen famous brands dare to go into console gaming and, years later, find themselves in a position to release blockbuster animated films around those same brands, said Snowed In Studios' senior producer Nigel Franks. "With direct relationships to publishers, we are equipped to make that possible for brands that were outside of the traditional gaming space." Snowed in Studios is owned by international game service provider Keywords Studios, which purchased the company for an undisclosed fee in July 2018. Other policies designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 include groups being limited to eight people or less. Ticketholders will also be assigned specific times to enter the park to discourage throngs of people forming near the entrances. Those who arrive ahead of their scheduled time are encouraged to wait in their vehicles, according to the parks website. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} The park was not only held to a fraction of its normal attendance last year due to COVID-19, it also suffered severe damage from the February ice storms. Falling trees and debris damaged some attractions and the roofs of several structures. Some attractions may still be closed due to the damage and to limit the risk of COVID spread. To help the park weather the uncertainty, individuals from all over Oregon pitched in by donating to a GoFundMe campaign that raised more than $450,000 for the Enchanted Forest. Now, the park's owners are hoping Saturday's reopening will help them bounce back financially. We really want to thank all our supporters for helping us through this, Vaslev said. Were still obviously in debt from everything that happened, but we wouldnt even still be here if we didnt have all this support from our community. Oregon State Universitys TRACE coronavirus testing program returns to the Corvallis community this Friday and Saturday. Field workers will go door to door taking samples from residents in 30 neighborhoods for the Team-based Rapid Assessment of Community-Level Coronavirus Epidemics program. The sampling, the seventh conducted in Corvallis, will follow the same format as the previous six, with one change: In addition to a nasal swab sample used to determine if someone is currently infected, for the first time, TRACE participants will be invited to provide a saliva sample to be tested for COVID-19 antibodies. The saliva testing will show the presence of antibodies and also whether they resulted from a vaccine or from a previous (COVID) infection, said TRACE project leader Ben Dalziel, an assistant professor in the OSU College of Science. By testing for the presence of the two different types of antibodies, well be able to estimate the fraction of Corvallis that has been previously infected, said Roy Haggerty, dean of the OSU College of Science and part of the TRACE leadership team. Get the latest local entertainment news, dining reviews, and more delivered right to your inbox every Thursday. Editors note: Kicks presents 20Q, a feature that introduces readers to people involved in the areas arts and entertainment community. Compiled by kicks Editor Greg Little, each piece will include a short bio, photo and answers to questions that provide insight into not only that persons artistic interests but also his or her unique personality. By Kang Hyun-kyung Actor Jun Ji-hyun, also known as Gianna Jun in English, has denied a rumor that she and her husband have been living apart for six months and that a divorce is imminent. In a press release, her agency, Culture Depot, said "We have found that groundless rumors about the actress have been indiscriminately spreading online. The sources of these malicious rumors about her are YouTube channel Hover Lab, as well as stock traders." It went on to say that none of the rumors concerning the couple's alleged separation or imminent divorce were true, warning of legal action against the rumor-mongers. "We are going to take legal action against the rumormongers who have spread baseless stories about her and her marriage either through news articles or comments," her agency said. Jun's agency issued the statement a day after a YouTuber claimed that she and her husband have been separated for six months. The actor married Choi Joon-hyuk, the grandson of renowned hanbok designer Lee Young-hee, in 2012, and the couple have two sons. Her husband currently runs a private equity fund. By Kwak Yeon-soo K-dramas have a wider audience than ever thanks to the success of global streaming platforms and a rising demand for diversified content. According to data from the Korea Communications Commission, Korea's over-the-top (OTT) market grew by 23 percent in 2020 from the previous year. A boom in OTT services has led to a surge in binge-watching of TV productions, such as tvN's inter-Korean romance "Crash Landing On You," JTBC's coming-of-age drama "Itaewon Class" and OCN's fantasy action series "Uncanny Counter." They were ranked in Netflix's top 10 list, variably across Asia, North America and Europe. According to a report from the Korean Information Society Development Institute, K-drama exports were worth $273.27 million in 2019, up 11 percent from $241.89 million a year earlier. In a nod to the international success of K-dramas, the foreign adaptation business is booming. A string of K-dramas have gotten or are getting foreign adaptions this year. In March, the Philippines started airing a remake of tvN's 2018 romantic drama "Encounter" starring top actors Song Hye-kyo and Park Bo-gum. Another romantic-horror drama "Let's Fight, Ghost" (2016) was successfully remade in Thailand, and has been enjoying a high viewership. In May, JTBC's "Clean with Passion for Now," a romance between a hygiene freak CEO of a cleaning company and a woman not prone to neatness, got a Chinese adaptation with the new title "Use for My Talent." MBC's romantic comedy series "She Was Pretty" and tvN's crime drama "Voice 2" are working their way through Japanese remakes. Both will come out in July. The U.S. is gearing up to embrace more K-drama content. OCN's suspense thriller series "Trap" will be getting an American remake with a Korean lead. Titled "The Club," the adapted series will revolve around a veteran detective (Ma Dong-seok) who investigates a mysterious group of hunters who have attacked a famous news anchor and his family on a camping trip. MBC's supernatural drama "W: Two Worlds Apart," which centers on a heart surgeon's journey into a webtoon world in search of her missing father, is also getting an English-language spin. Experts say K-dramas' riveting plots and characters appeal to diverse audiences around the globe. "Unlike Japanese dramas that are slow-paced and filled with mundane conversations, or Chinese dramas that have loose plots and a lack of continuity, Korean dramas boast dramatic twists and turns that take audiences on a roller coaster of emotions," said Yun Suk-jin, a drama critic and professor of Korean Language and Literature at Chungnam National University. Yun explained that Korean TV productions have made a major leap forward over the last decade. "Overall, K-dramas have evolved a lot. In the past, TV productions have been largely viewed as artistically inferior to films. But now, they're regarded as independent works of art that are as high-quality as a film. Today, we see more diverse stories and high-quality content, driving the market forward," he said. Kim Min-young, vice president of content for Netflix in Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, said Korean content is notable for its strong attention to detail. "I think the biggest strength of Korean content is that they are very good at helping our audiences resonate and relate to the show by being able to describe emotions in a very detailed way," she said during an online press event titled "See What's Next Korea 2021" in February. Although streaming platforms have ensured easy access to K-dramas and original shows, there are ongoing demands to remake K-dramas equipped with unique, complex plots. Although it's difficult to generalize, preferred genres of K-dramas differ per region. "Both Asian and American viewers have shown high preference toward romantic comedies and melodramas. However, Asian viewers have a tendency to look for dramas that arouse heartfelt emotions. By contrast, Western audiences focus more on the progression of events in each episode," the Korea Creative Content Agency said in a report. "Despite the core concept being the same, there are some very culturally specific things that are different. Since there is more than just a change in setting and language for an adaption to work, people have high demands for remakes," said an official at Studio Dragon, a drama production affiliate of media giant CJ ENM. On top of the remake boom, he said more collaborations with foreign TV production companies are likely. Last year, Studio Dragon announced its plan to remake "Hotel del Luna" in partnership with U.S. production company Skydance TV. Earlier this week, the TV production company unveiled a co-production of an original series titled "The Big Door Prize" with Skydance TV and Apple TV+. This marks the first time for a Korean TV production company to produce an American drama series targeting global audiences. "Beyond sales of remake rights, we're aggressively making our next move to put the company name on an opening credit of American TV drama series. We expect a bigger slice of the profit pie in the U.S. market," the official said. AMA announces approval of its registration document by Frances financial markets authority and its proposed IPO on Euronext Growth in Paris A pioneer in assisted reality solutions for frontline workers, AMA is an editor and integrator of B2B software solutions for the smart workplace. Over the past six years, AMA has developed one of the most advanced assisted reality and mobile collaboration solutions on the market, which is now used in over 100 countries. With eight subsidiaries covering Europe, North America and Asia, the Group has built up a portfolio of more than 400 clients, mostly Fortune 1000 companies. To address the very strong growth of its market, AMA is considering an initial public offering ("IPO") on the Euronext Growth market in Paris to raise its profile and strengthen its financial resources. This IPO would allow the Group to accelerate its investments in research and development and expand its international sales teams, with the aim of strengthening its technological and commercial lead and becoming a leader in this vast market for equipping frontline workers with collaborative working solutions. AMA was co-founded by Christian Guillemot and his brothers, entrepreneurs from Brittany in France who are notably the successful founders of Ubisoft. The Guillemot family intends to support the IPO by participating in the related capital increase. AMA CORPORATION (AMA) today announces the approval of its registration document, on 2 June 2021, by Frances financial markets authority (Autorite des marches financiers - AMF) under number I.21-027 (the Registration Document). The approval of the Registration Document is the first step of AMAs projected IPO on the Euronext Growth market in Paris. The projected IPO remains subject to the AMFs approval of the prospectus relating to the offer and admission of AMA's shares and to favourable market conditions. For Christian Guillemot, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of AMA: AMA is now perfectly positioned to take a leading role in the emerging and very high-potential market for secure hands-free and collaboration solutions for the deskless workforce. This market now represents 80% of the world's working population. Enabling collaborative work in the field, bringing closer together physically distant employees, facilitating expertise sharing, planning and managing quality control remotely, speeding up assistance procedures and, more generally, having a precise view of what is happening anywhere in the world, all while limiting travel, are fundamental needs for all companies, today and tomorrow. This is AMAs role, equipping already more than 400 clients, mostly Fortune 1000 companies. This proposed IPO on the Euronext Growth market in Paris will support our growth strong acceleration. A pioneer in smart workplace and assisted reality solutions AMA is an editor and integrator of B2B software solutions that foster collaborative work, and a supplier of advanced remote assistance solutions or assisted reality for connected devices, including smart glasses. AMA is one of the pioneers in its sector, having been awarded the "Glass at Work Certified Partner" label by Google in 2015 under the Google Glass Explorer programme. With the rise of the smart workplace, i.e. the use of new collaboration tools and new working methods that initially contributed to digitalising and connecting work in offices, companies are gradually rethinking their operational strategies and developing the use of connected technologies to make their operations more agile. In this respect, companies and organisations throughout the world are now busy digitalising the workforce in the field. Driven both by structural trends resulting from the increased digitalisation of the economy, and by specific trends as a result of the development of the smart workplace, the assisted reality market is expected to enjoy a very strong growth in the coming years1. Under the XpertEye brand, AMAs assisted reality platform covers a wide range of use cases such as remote diagnostics, inspection, planning, workflow management, remote training and telehealth. AMA's innovative solutions for remote interactive collaboration, connected to a variety of devices, have been rolled out in more than 100 countries. They enable users to improve productivity, maximise uptime, limit travel with its associated costs and carbon footprint, simplify knowledge transfer and speed up resolution time. After initial successes in the connected healthcare sector, AMA gradually extended its activities to the industry and service sectors and expanded its customer base at a steady pace. The Group achieved a consolidated revenue of 6.4 million for the financial year ended 31 December 2020, compared with 1.8 million for the financial year ended 31 December 2019, a rise of 264%. The Group's unaudited consolidated revenue for the first quarter of 2021 amounted to 2.2 million versus 0.5 million for the first quarter of 2020, a growth rate of 297%. A strategy of international roll-out of its innovative software solutions for the digital transformation of frontline workers The first versions of the AMA XpertEye platform were developed to operate in strict and restrictive medical environments while managing sensitive data in accordance with this sectors regulatory requirements. Today, AMA offers its clients solutions that minimise the volume of data processed and collected a key differentiating factor in meeting the challenges of cybersecurity and sovereignty of the large businesses it addresses. These requirements, with respect to the development of XpertEye solutions, allowed AMA to offer generic solutions with a high level of security in a very large number of sectors (industry, transportation, aeronautics, construction, energy, healthcare, hospitals, pharmaceuticals, services, etc.). AMA relies on its entrepreneurial DNA to implement a development strategy based on a strong capacity for innovation and a commercial roll-out on an international scale. In order to provide cutting-edge technological responses adapted to the needs and use cases expressed by its clients, AMA's R&D develops its products and services on a common software platform based on customer feedbacks, collected within structured internal processes. These R&D efforts have also focused on image quality issues, particularly regarding use in areas with poor network coverage. AMA 's solutions focus on optimising key elements of the hardware used and on promoting interoperability with different terminals and devices (smart glasses, smartphones, microscopes, thermal cameras, endoscopes, dermatoscopes, etc.) and operating systems (in particular iOS, Windows or Android depending on the product chosen). With this capacity for innovation focused on the needs of its clients, AMA is in a position to offer more and more added value to its clients, on the one hand, by proposing new offers and, on the other hand, by concentrating its efforts on penetrating a growing number of departments, divisions and subsidiaries of the same customer. AMA's commercial development is directed towards the international market, while ensuring a local presence capable of supporting the digital transition of its international clients and prospects frontline workers. This approach is complemented by the implementation of strategic distribution partnerships to accelerate the dissemination of the XpertEye platform to telecom operators and B2B digital solutions providers. AMA believes that these two pillars of its strategy reinforce its ability to increase its revenue per customer, to convert its test clients (called Explorer Clients)2, who have more than doubled in number between 2019 and 2020, and to capture new prospects in France and abroad. A company in the midst of an acceleration phase positioned in the exponentially growing assisted reality market AMA intends to continue offering solutions at the cutting edge of technological developments, enriched with content and increasingly interoperable, and likely to respond to an ever-increasing number of use cases. AMA seeks to become one of the leaders on its market and to support its growth in the coming years. With this objective, the Group, which launched a major recruitment campaign in the first quarter of 2021, plans to: Strengthen its sales teams and its international commercial roll-out in order to: step up its presence with existing clients by promoting new use cases and increase its penetration; target more and more clients, and expand its geographical coverage within a global market. AMA plans to strengthen its sales teams in its existing subsidiaries and to create new ones or new offices, including in Japan, Spain, Latin America, Singapore, Dubai, Africa, etc.; To this end, AMA expects its sales and marketing team, which had 45 staff members in France and abroad at 31 December 2020, to double by the end of 2021 and comprise some 200 people by the end of 2023. Increase its investments in R&D, in particular to: strengthen AMA's main assets, by continuing to invest in cybersecurity and in the interoperability of its solutions to support the growth of smart glasses and connected devices that can adapt to new demands and new use cases; innovate, in particular with a view to enhancing AMA's range of solutions through artificial intelligence, machine learning, increased data analysis capacities and, building on the deployment of 5G, to integrate new solutions allowing more and more communications between devices thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT). For this, AMA expects its R&D team, which comprised 48 people at 31 December 2020, mainly in France, to grow to around 200 engineers, developers and project managers by the end of 2023. AMA objectives and outlook The Group aims to pursue its organic growth through its strategy of acquiring new clients and expanding the business volumes it generates with existing clients. For the financial years 2021 and 2022, AMA is targeting revenues of more than 15 million (compared with 6.4 million in 2020, i.e. annual growth of 140%) and 32 million (i.e. annual growth of 110% compared with 2021) respectively. With a growth rate of 297% in the first quarter of 20213 compared with the first quarter of 2020, AMA believes that its revenue target for FY 2021 is well on track. In line with the acceleration recorded in 2020 and in the first quarter of 2021, and in keeping in line with its objectives for 2021 and 2022, AMA aims to generate revenue of more than 175 million for the financial year ending 31 December 2025. Thanks principally to the growth in its sales volumes and related improvement in its operating leverage, the development of its product mix towards software, and the continued efforts to keep its operating expenses under control, the Group is targeting a positive adjusted EBITDA4 by 31 December 2023, an adjusted EBITDA exceeding 20% by 31 December 2025 and a positive free cash flow5 by 31 December 2025. Proposed IPO on the Euronext Growth market in Paris As part of its proposed IPO, AMA intends to raise its profile and strengthen its financial resources to accelerate its growth, notably with the aim of pursuing and reinforcing its research and development efforts, and also to develop its sales and marketing staff, in particular by opening new international offices. The Guillemot family, which holds 93.76% of AMA's capital and voting rights as of the date of the Registration Document, intends to support this transaction by participating in the related capital increase. AMA's Registration Document is available on the Company's website (www.amaxperteye.com) and on the AMF website (www.amf-france.org). It is also available free of charge on request from the Company's registered office at 2 Angel Square, London, EC1V 1NY, UK. AMA draws the attention of potential investors to section 3 "Risk factors" of the Registration Document approved by the AMF. About AMA Whereas most collaborative working tools quickly reach their limits once outside the office space, AMA allows experts to work remotely with frontline workers using a secure software platform associated with video tools perfectly tailored to each business. With nearly seven years experience in remote assistance solutions, AMA helps industry and service providers of all sizes, as well as medical establishments, to accelerate their digital transformation. Deployed in more than 100 countries, AMAs assisted reality platform, XpertEye, addresses a wide range of use cases such as remote diagnostics, inspection, planning and workflow management. Its unique solutions for remote interactive collaboration enable companies and institutions to increase productivity, speed up resolution times and maximise uptime. AMA is a fast-growing company with offices in France, Germany, Romania, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and China (including Hong Kong). AMA has a global presence and works across all time zones to forge close relationships with its clients wherever they are. For more information, visit www.amaxperteye.com Press contacts Esther Duval +33 689 182 343 esther.duval@ama.bzh Marie Calleux +33 609 685 538 ama@calyptus.net Legal notice This press release includes summary information only and does not purport to be complete. No warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions contained in this press release. This press release does not contain or constitute an offer to sell securities or an invitation or inducement to invest in securities in France, the United States of America or any other jurisdiction. This press release may not be distributed directly or indirectly in the United States of America, Canada, Australia or Japan. The release of this document may be subject to specific regulations in some countries. Individuals in possession of this document should inform themselves of and observe any local restrictions in place. This press release is for information purposes only. It does not constitute, and shall not under any circumstances be deemed to constitute, an offering to the public of securities, nor a solicitation of the public for an offer of any kind whatsoever in any country, including France. This document constitutes a promotional communication and not a prospectus within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017, as amended, and as transposed into English law by the Official Listing of Securities, Prospectus and Transparency (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, regarding the prospectus to be published in the event of a public offering of securities or for the admission of securities to trading on a regulated market, as amended (the "Prospectus Regulation"). With respect to the Member States of the European Economic Area, no action has been or will be taken to allow a public offering of the securities covered by this press release that would require the publication of a prospectus in a Member State other than France. Accordingly, the securities cannot and will not be offered in any Member State other than France, except in accordance with the exemptions provided for in Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Regulation, if transposed in that Member State, or in other cases not requiring the publication by AMA of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation and/or the regulations applicable in that Member State. In France, a public offering of securities may only be made pursuant to a prospectus that has been approved by the AMF. This press release does not constitute an offering or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities in the United States of America or any other country. The securities mentioned in this press release may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended. AMA does not intend to register the offering in whole or in part in the United States of America or to conduct an initial public offering in the United States of America. This press release does not constitute an offering of securities to the public in the United Kingdom. This announcement is directed only at and intended only for (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom, (ii) investment professionals within the meaning of Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or, (iii) persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) (high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.) of the Order (the persons referred to in paragraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) together being referred to as "Eligible Persons"). Any invitation, offer or contact relating to the subscription, purchase or acquisition of the securities referred to in this press release. Forward-looking statements Certain information included in this press release is not historical data but is forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are based on estimates, forecasts and assumptions including, without limitation to, assumptions about the Group's present and future strategy and the economic environment in which the Group operates, and involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results and performance, or the results of its business industry/sector, to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include those set forth and detailed in chapter 3 "Risk Factors" of the Registration Document. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and the Group expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any updates or revisions to any of the forward-looking statements included in this press release to reflect changes in assumptions, events, conditions or circumstances on which any such forward-looking statements are based. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made for illustrative purposes only. These forward-looking statements and information are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of the Group. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed, implied or projected in the forward-looking information and statements. Finally, this press release may be written in French and English. In the event of any differences between the two texts, the French version shall prevail. 1 Expected to grow at an average annual rate of more than 123% during the 2020-2024 period according to the IDC study "Worldwide Augmented & Virtual Reality Spending" of March 2021. 2 Explorer Clients as opposed to Confirmed Clients, as defined in the Registration Document. 3 Unaudited revenue figures. 4 Adjusted EBITDA is an alternative indicator of performance within the meaning of AMF Position-DOC n2015-12 dated 3 July 2016 and is defined by AMA as the operating result plus amortisation and depreciation of intangible assets and property, plant and equipment, and share-based compensation expenses. 5 Free cash flow is defined as net cash from operating and investing activities, excluding any investments related to potential external growth operations. Attachment Gettysburg, PA (17325) Today Mostly cloudy early with thunderstorms developing later in the day. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 81F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. PLA aircraft training in S.China Sea abide by intl law without entering others airspace Global Times) 09:40, June 03, 2021 A Y-20 large transport aircraft attached to an aviation division under the PLA Western Theater Command flies at a predetermined altitude during a flight training mission on January 4, 2021. (eng.chianmil.com.cn/Photo by Liu Shu) Chinese Air Force planes did not violate the airspace of other countries when the People's Liberation Army (PLA) reportedly dispatched 16 aircraft comprising strategic transport planes to the South China Sea for routine flight training on Monday. Malaysia's claim of the Chinese aircraft being a "serious threat to national sovereignty and flight safety" does not stand, and neither would China do such a thing, as China is looking to jointly maintain regional peace and stability with the friendly neighbor, Chinese experts said on Wednesday. China's strategic airlifters can play important roles in disaster and humanitarian relief in the region, as they did with delivering COVID-19 vaccines and medical supplies, observers said. Malaysia's air force said on Tuesday that it detected 16 Chinese Air Force planes flying within 60 nautical miles off Sarawak state in Malaysian Borneo on Monday, calling it a "suspicious" activity over the South China Sea and a "serious threat to national sovereignty and flight safety," Reuters reported on Wednesday. The aircraft, comprising Ilyushin il-76 and Xian Y-20 strategic transporters, had traveled in an "in-trail" tactical formation at an altitude of between 7,000 and 8,230 meters, Reuters said. In response to the incident, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed at a regular press conference on Wednesday that the Chinese Air Force held a routine training operation in southern Nansha in the South China Sea. It did not target any country, and the Chinese Air Force strictly abided by international law without entering the airspace of other countries, Wang said, noting that China has communicated with Malaysia over the matter. Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the PLA's strategic transport aircraft are no homebodies, and need to make long-distance flights to carry out their duties. The South China Sea is a region where strategic transport aircraft need to cover both military airlift and humanitarian aid tasks, so it is totally normal for them to hold routine exercises there, Song said. Beijing-based military expert Wei Dongxu told the Global Times on Wednesday that if natural disasters or other humanitarian crises occur in the South China Sea, China's strategic transport aircraft will play an important role and send relief personnel and supplies. China's strategic cargo planes have been playing a key role in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, and the PLA's Y-20 airlifters were dispatched to deliver COVID-19 vaccines and other medical supplies to several countries, including those in the South China Sea region. Reuters reported that the foreign ministry of Malaysia on Tuesday said it would summon China's envoy to explain the "intrusion." Song said that since China's aircraft did not enter another country's airspace, accusations of sovereignty violation do not stand. As the PLA develops, training operations may become more frequent, but China will not pose a threat to other countries, analysts stressed. Instead of being a threat, the development of China's military capabilities is a stabilizing and constructive factor for the region, Wei said. "China and Malaysia are friendly neighbors, and China is willing to continue bilateral friendly consultations with Malaysia to jointly maintain regional peace and stability," Reuters quoted a Chinese Embassy spokesperson as saying over the matter. (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun) Actor Lee Jae-hoon recently starred in two series, "Taxi Driver" and "Move To Heaven." Courtesy of PRJ By Lee Gyu-lee Since his breakthrough role as a college student experiencing his first love in "Architecture 101" that won the hearts of women, heartthrob Lee Jae-hoon has been widening his repertoire as a versatile actor by taking on various roles. "I strive to grow in each role and to show a new layer of myself as an actor," Lee said during an interview with The Korea Times, Monday. And his two recent works, the SBS series "Taxi Driver" and Netflix series "Move to Heaven," where he plays two diversely opposite characters a stringent ex-special force officer and a rowdy ex-con prove his point. "As an actor, I always spend time studying and thinking of ways in which I can develop a new character when choosing a project, and through those worthwhile efforts, I was able to deliver meaningful stories through the two works," Lee said. Lee, right, plays ex-con Sang-gu in the series "Move to Heaven." Courtesy of Netflix Despite the differences in characters, both "Taxi Driver" and "Move to Heaven" bring the limelight on people in need, either victims of crimes or underprivileged individuals. The action series "Taxi Driver," which successfully wrapped last Saturday, reaching its highest viewership rating of 16 percent, revolves around a driver, Kim Do-ki (Lee), at a taxi company that takes revenge on behalf of its clients who are victims of injustice or violence. The heartfelt series "Move to Heaven" follows trauma scene cleaners Cho Sang-gu (Lee) and his nephew (Tang Joon-sang) who clean out the possessions of deceased people and deliver their untold stories to their loved ones. The ex-con Sang-gu grows to learn the value of family as he encounters the different complexities of people's lives that involve various social issues such as people dying alone, job insecurity and stalking crimes. Adding that he never stops challenging himself, Lee said the role of Sang-gu was a chance to express himself differently both in terms of appearance and acting. "I've had a thirst for roles that transition from a negative to a positive character and this role was aligning with the need I had in acting," he said. A scene from "Move To Heaven" / Courtesy of Netflix When asked why he chose TV dramas that bring up social issues, he explained that he had grown to take more interest in current events happening around him. "When I take a role, I tend to study and explore the life that character probably had. And because my experiences are limited to my own life, I try to pay close attention to my surroundings like how people live these days, what they are interested in and are crazy about, or what devastates them. I try to take in those stories both directly and indirectly," he said, adding that it widened his scope of perspective. "And this affected how I choose my projects. Now, rather than solely focusing on the character that I'll be playing, I have come to be more interested in the messages a film or series will deliver and how this will resonate with the viewers." "Taxi Driver hit the right notes of my two passions of playing a multidimensional character and a story with a valuable lesson," he said. In the series, Lee's character, Kim Do-ki, has a gloomy past where his mother was murdered by a serial killer, turning him into a loner. But when he carries out revenge plans for his clients, he takes on various roles from a nerdy teacher to a womanizing Chinese smuggler to go undercover and serve justice on the criminals, vigilante-style. "This is the first time I got to play such a colorful character, which worried me at first," he said. "But I eventually had so much fun pushing myself to new limits in acting." Lee plays ex-special forces soldier, Kim Do-ki, in the series "Taxi Driver." Courtesy of SBS The biggest reason he chose this series was the director, he said. The director, Park Joon-woo, had the experience of working on investigative journalism shows including "Unanswered Questions" before directing a TV series. So most of the cases were taken from actual crimes, such as phishing scams, forced labor, peeping Toms, and abuse in the workplace. "Documentaries and journalism programs are necessary, but if the real-life events were reimagined with fiction, I think more people would be interested and watch them not just for fun, but also to be provoked to think about the real crimes again," he said. The taxi company acts as a last resort for the crime victims. With distrust in the legal system, the vigilante group goes into action for justice, oftentimes with illegal acts such as hacking, theft, abduction, and assault. The dark hero story of "fighting evil with evil deeds" was not only cathartic for the viewers, but also for the actor himself. "I think many people were pleased with the story about defeating an evil that preys on the weak, which was cathartic for me too," he said. A scene from "Taxi Driver" / Courtesy of SBS By Yi Whan-woo Hong Jang-pyo, architect of the Moon Jae-in administration's income-led growth policy, was sworn into office as president of the Korea Development Institute (KDI) earlier this week, according to the institute, Thursday. He succeeds Choi Jeong-pyo for a three-year term. Hong emphasized the distribution of wealth during a ceremony for his appointment at the state-run institute in Sejong, stressing "the importance of inclusive growth characterized by cycles of growth and distribution in the post-COVID-19 era." The KDI is a think tank responsible for presenting the government's long-term macroeconomic direction. He promised to enhance the role of the KDI, which operates under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, as "the hub of government policies." To do so, he suggested bolstering joint research with other state-run think tanks on economic and social challenges that must be addressed to improve quality of life. Among the challenges are jobs, income polarization, low birth rate and aging society. "I will endeavor to develop agendas that can back the government's medium- and long-term policies," Hong said. He also vowed to aggressively recruit talented scholars and reward them through "fair, transparent" assessment of their performance. Hong joins other pro-government, liberal-minded scholars who were newly appointed to lead state institutions during President Moon Jae-in's final year in office. Hong was Moon's first senior secretary for economic affairs and chaired the income-led growth committee. He was a professor at Pukyong National University before being named as KDI chief. He earned his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in economics at Seoul National University. You asked. We listened. Your daily crossword, Sudoku and dozens of other puzzles are now available online. Play them or print them here. Play now North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during the sixth Conference of Cell Secretaries of the Workers' Party in Pyongyang, April 6, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap By Kang Seung-woo The latest revisions to North Korea's ruling Workers' Party regulations indicate that its leader Kim Jong-un is cementing his own leadership style in the reclusive state, according to Pyongyang watchers here. The changes discarded the past ideologies of the North's founder Kim Il-sung and his son Kim Jong-il the current leader's father but the creation of a new No. 2 position in the party under Kim Jong-un has little to do with a succession plan to the "Supreme Leader," they added. According to sources, the North Korean regime ratified the amendments at its eighth congress the first in five years held in January, indicating that Kim is trying to step out of his predecessors' shadows and craft his own image among the people "At the seventh party congress in 2016, Kim Jong-un designed his own leadership system and at the eighth congress, he made public his own party-centered ruling style, while the country's ruling Juche ideology and songun policy have been dropped," said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the state-run (South) Korea Institute for National Unification. "Juche," meaning self-reliance, is the state ideology initiated by the country's founder Kim Il-sung, while "songun" was a military-first policy pursued by Kim Jong-il. "Unlike stressing the traditions and succession of the previous regimes in his early years at the helm, the revisions show that Kim Jong-un is seemingly trying to remove some of the old vestiges of his predecessors," Hong noted. Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University, also said the revisions show Kim's determination to impose his own ruling style. However, Park also said it remains to be seen if he has made a clean break from his predecessors in order to display his own power and political grip. "The revised regulations also stipulate that 'Kim Il-sung-Kim Jong-il-ism' is the only ruling ideology," Park said. Officials of the ruling Workers' Party of North Korea hold a meeting during its eighth congress in Pyongyang in this Jan. 12 photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap FILE - In this Feb. 28, 2021, photo, former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Fla. Multiple people who have spoken with Trump and his team in recent weeks say they sense a shift, with the former president increasingly acting and talking like he plans to mount another White House bid. Note: We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email circulation@skagitpublishing.com for help creating one. All drivers have now arrived in Baku and are joining the press conference, which is now underway. Valtteri Bottas however doesn't, as he hasn't arrived in Azerbaijan yet. In fact, he is speaking to the media from Finland as he is being held up. The Mercedes driver could not leave by plane because of a problem. Later today It is expected that Bottas will arrive in Baku later today, so he won't miss too many briefings. He has to rely mainly on the team in terms of preparation, given he more or less misses a whole day, but he's not worried about that: "We are well prepared as a team. Hopefully, I'll be there in the evening." The reason for the delay is in the plane in Finland. He has been waiting for five and a half hours now, as there is said to be a problem with the aircraft. "I am still in Finland. Actually, I should have been in Baku by now," Bottas says when asked from Formel1.de where he is. Meanwhile, he has found a new plane and considering it is only around noon, it is expected that the Finnish driver will arrive in Azerbaijan on time. UPDATE Bottas has arrived in Baku. He made it. Welcome Baku, VB! pic.twitter.com/ea1hIdh6eo Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) June 3, 2021 There has been a lot of talk lately about flexible rear wings in Formula 1. Where several teams are applying it on their cars, Mercedes is mainly targeting Red Bull Racing, which is their biggest competitor. Toto Wolff earlier announced that if it wasn't changed he would protest to the FIA in Azerbaijan, even though it is no longer allowed after the upcoming Grand Prix. Approved Mercedes seem to be scratching their heads back now, because if Lewis Hamilton is to be believed the team will no longer lodge a protest if Red Bull Racing drive the 'flexi-wings' this weekend. At least that is what Lewis Hamilton said when asked about it during the press conference. "It doesn't really matter what I think about it, it is what it is. They're approved based on current testing methods and they're valid this weekend. So we can't do much against it," Hamilton is quoted by Formule1.nl. In short, they can make a protest, but as long as it is allowed it will probably be rejected. The problem in this story is that the FIA seemingly failed in their testing and that will now be changed to the detriment of Red Bull Racing. For this weekend it will make little difference because if it is allowed, it will be used. In that context, Hamilton also expects an advantage for Red Bull Racing, especially on "the long straight". With much debate surrounding the flexi-wing used by Red Bull Racing the focus is certainly now on the rear part of the car in Azerbaijan. It appears that for the Baku Grand Prix the team have brought a new wing that is quite different from the ones we have seen at previous Grands Prix. Not afraid of protest Mercedes have indicated that they would protest against Red Bull Racing's rear wing if it was still 'flexi' in Baku. The team seems to be backtracking on that though and although this new wing may be quickly associated with that, it is not the case. Red Bull seemingly doesn't take much notice of the Mercedes expressions. The main differences in this rear wing are in the wing endplates, which are flat without any of the normal slots. The wing endplate is also a lot simpler than we have seen before. The comparison photos below show the differences as well as the illustration from the side. The main idea is that the track in Baku requires less downforce and this wing should offer the best solution. Whether this is the final rear wing with which the RB16B will be in action this weekend is not yet known. El ala de atras de Red Bull comparada con el resto. Red Bull's rear wing compared to others. pic.twitter.com/6wTb0aDq01 Albert Fabrega (@AlbertFabrega) June 3, 2021 After his disappointing seventh place in Monaco, Lewis Hamilton was not very critical of his team Mercedes. According to the reigning world champion he could not have done better that weekend. In Azerbaijan, the Briton has started to recover a little. Criticism behind closed doors Normally Hamilton is someone who always praises and thanks his team at length. Especially after winning a Grand Prix. That was different in Monaco. There he revealed after the race that he was going to have some tough discussions with his engineers that night. "Certain things were not done that should have been done," the Brit told us. In Azerbaijan Hamilton is backtracking a bit. "In the heat of the moment you don't always say the best things", Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf quotes the press conference. "Constructive criticism is good, but behind closed doors." Win together, lose together In Monaco Hamilton also said he could not have done anything else that weekend, indirectly placing all the blame on the team. He now revisits that too. "There was no one guilty party, I was part of the people who made decisions. We win together, and we lose together. Everyone is so dedicated, that's what makes this such a great team. There's no point in pointing fingers, we have to work together." Formula 1 is getting ready for the Grand Prix in Azerbaijan. While Ferrari were up front during the previous race in Monaco, Carlos Sainz personally does not expect his team to fight between Mercedes and Red Bull Racing again this weekend. Sainz and Charles Leclerc proved to have a good car in Monaco. Mercedes and Red Bull battled for pole position for the first four races, but seemingly had to give it up to the Italian team. However, a collision in qualifying prevented Leclerc from starting, so Max Verstappen was able to start from the front after all. The Spanish driver did end up on the podium. At the press conference Sainz said: "I saw Max on the podium and it was nice to share that experience. He has already taken a few more podiums than me. I also became a better driver because of our year together, in 2015, at Toro Rosso. I saw then what Verstappen could and did and also what I could do better myself." Circuit GP Azerbaijan Although Sainz would love to be on the podium more often, he realises that it won't be easy for Ferrari to compete with Mercedes and Red Bull this weekend. "It's a very different circuit. This track is so tricky, with huge straights. I think we drive two kilometres at full throttle." Yes! No, still holding off on vacation plans No, as I didn't have any plans last summer Vote View Results Nurses wearing masks to hide their identities participate in a press conference organized by the Korea Health and Medical Workers' Union, May 12. The event was held to reveal publicly the struggles of nurses who are frequently forced to take on the duties of doctors, thus conducting illegal medical procedures against their will. Yonhap By Lee Hyo-jin A physician assistant (PA) nurse with 12 years of experience working at a general hospital, who wished to remain anonymous, said he once made an incision in a patient's abdomen to cover for the surgeon who showed up late. He has also performed some surgical procedures requiring the skills of a licensed doctor, such as an abdominal drainage tube insertion and a bowel resection. But these procedures cannot be found in any medical records as they are officially illegal medical practices according to the Medical Law, which prohibits medical personnel from performing procedures beyond the scope of their licenses. The PA's testimony was shared at a press conference organized by the Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union (KHMU), May 12. The event was held to reveal publicly the struggles of nurses who are frequently forced to take on the duties of doctors, thus engaging in illegal medical practices against their will. The union estimates there are around 10,000 PA nurses nationwide. Unlike in other countries, such as the U.S. where PAs refer to medical professionals whose duties include diagnosis of illnesses, development of treatment plans and prescription of medication, such a position is not legally recognized here. In Korea, skilled nurses with several years of experience are appointed by hospitals as PA nurses to assist doctors, but without taking additional training courses or acquiring a professional license. "Although PA nurses have long become an essential human resource in hospitals due to the chronic shortage of doctors, the absence of specific guidelines on what to do and what not to do pushes them to perform tasks that go beyond their authority and trained skills," Song Geum-hee, a senior official at the KMHU, told The Korea Times. A coalition of nurses' groups calls on the government to ensure a better working environment, at a press conference held in downtown Seoul, May 12. Yonhap "Also, their ambiguous position leaves them unprotected in the event of legal disputes involving medical malpractice," she added. The medical union also pointed out that the years-long practice, under which PA nurses have tacitly been allowed to illegally perform medical procedures, poses a serious threat to the safety of patients. A recent survey of PA nurses in 102 hospitals conducted by the union showed that many of them were burdened with tasks that go beyond their authority, such as prescribing medication, handling various medical examinations, writing operative records and even calculating the dose of anti-cancer drugs. The respondents expressed concerns that these situations can lead to fatal incidents of medical malpractice, but at the same time they added that they cannot refuse orders given by doctors in the country's rigid and hierarchical hospital culture. Song said that the survey results are "the tip of the iceberg," noting that the survey was conducted only among union members. "The first step the government can take to resolve this long-pending issue is to launch a full-scale investigation into all medical institutions nationwide," she said. Depending on the results of the nationwide investigation, the medical union asked the government to take appropriate measures, such as clarifying the job responsibility of nurses, by amending the Medical Law if necessary, and step up efforts to resolve the chronic shortage of doctors. The union workers threatened to walk out in September if the government failed to come up with viable measures by then. The Ministry of Health and Welfare responded to the threat by saying that it was well aware of their demands and accepted the necessity of further discussions. But the ministry added that it would take some time before the issue is resolved fully, taking into account other stakeholders involved in the matter, such as doctors' associations. Another option may be shaping up for George Russell's next move in Formula 1. The highly impressive 23-year-old, who almost won his one-off fill-in drive for Lewis Hamilton late last year, has spent the rest of his three-year F1 career so far at the back of the grid with Williams. Strongly supported by Toto Wolff and under contract to Mercedes' development program, Russell is clearly keen to replace Valtteri Bottas at the works team next year. But many suspect his personality may clash with that of his British countryman Lewis Hamilton, raising the prospect that Russell may look elsewhere for 2022 and beyond. "George has been a Mercedes driver for many years and I don't think they will let him go," said Williams CEO Jost Capito. "But we will see." "We've got time to talk about drivers. There is no need to discuss that now." Russell has told a specialist publication this week that he would like clarity about his 2022 seat by the summer break. "If he stays at Williams, he will still be at the back," former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestley is quoted by the Daily Express. "Yes, he'll stay on the grid, but at the back. That has limited appeal," he said. The direction of Russell's career is spearheaded by Wolff, who brokered a deal for another Mercedes-contracted driver - Esteban Ocon - to race for Renault's works team Alpine. Priestley thinks it is possible Russell may also be looking at the Enstone based team - and perhaps not even with Mercedes' backing behind him. "Does George Russell say 'Thank you, but I'm going to break away from Mercedes and try to go alone'?" he said. "At which point Renault probably becomes an option for him." "It's a good option and it moves him slightly further up the grid," added Priestley. (GMM) A vial and syringe are seen in front of a displayed Pfizer logo in this image from Jan. 11. Reuters-Yonhap By Jun Ji-hye With Daegu City having asked the central government to purchase Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines arranged by the city administration, the government said those vaccines are believed to come from an irregular trade path, thus they cannot be supplied to Korea. Sohn Young-rae, spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said Wednesday, "We need to check more details, but we have confirmed that the vaccines cannot be supplied to Korea as they come from an improper path." The comments came after Daegu City and doctors' and medical institutions' associations in the city claimed recently that they had been pushing to obtain Pfizer vaccines for 30 million people through German company BioNTech, which teamed up with Pfizer on its vaccine. They have also sent the health ministry relevant documents showing that those vaccines can be delivered within three weeks. President Moon Jae-in holds phone talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday welcomed South Korea's commitment to playing a role in an upcoming summit of global leaders on COVID-19, climate change and other pending issues, Cheong Wa Dae said. He delivered the message to President Moon Jae-in during their half-hour phone conversation, according to Moon's spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. Johnson is scheduled to host the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, on June 11 to 13. Taking part will be the leaders of other G7 members states: the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Moon has been invited to the session as a guest. Speaking to Johnson, Moon said South Korea would participate actively in the G7's discussions on efforts to resolve such issues as the pandemic, economic recovery and climate, Park said. The prime minister hailed Moon's acceptance of the invitation and expressed hope for his role in "expanding the scope of discussions" in the summit by providing various points of view, she added. Johnson stressed that South Korea is an important partner of his country, as shown in its recent investments there in digital and green projects. He then requested that the South Korean government pay attention to the issues of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and girls' education, in which Britain is particularly interested. Moon said he expects an agreement will be reached in the G7 session on "substantive" ways for overcoming the coronavirus and preparing for future pandemics. "To that end, it is important for all nations to strengthen their healthcare-related capabilities and establish a transparent and sustainable global healthcare governance," Moon was quoted as saying. He thanked Johnson for joining the P4G Seoul Summit on climate and sustainable growth hosted by South Korea earlier this week. Moon reaffirmed that South Korea will play a bridging role between advanced and developing nations in response to climate change. On regional security, Moon said South Korea will continue efforts for the denuclearization of Korea and the establishment of permanent peace. He asked Britain to keep backing Seoul's initiative as a standing member of the U.N. Security Council. Johnson said Britain will explore ways for North Korea to return to dialogue at an early date, the Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson said. The prime minister requested the phone talks for preparatory consultations in advance of the G7 summit. (Yonhap) Jacobs, Peachtree Corners and Qualcomm Technologies announced joint efforts to deploy end-to-end smart solutions in one of the US first smart city environments powered by real-world connected vehicle technology and infrastructure. As a part of the working relationship, Qualcomm Technologies serves as ecosystem enabler by providing technology solutions, while Jacobs manages the installation commission project delivery. The program aims to demonstrate the continued momentum of smart cities and spaces, with Peachtree Corners serving as a model for other municipalities as they look to deploy smart solutions and programs. Peachtree Corners is home to one of the US most advanced smart city ecosystems, with smart connected technologies actively being developed and deployed in real-world conditions. Its Curiosity Lab is home to technology developers and companies enabling the future, while smart connected solutions are being deployed across the community, bringing the region to the forefront in the development of next-generation, Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. Jacobs, Peachtree Corners and Qualcomm Technologies are working together to deploy the companys technology solutions, focusing initially on roadside infrastructure, traffic management and road safety, with the implementation of Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technology. As a part of the program, the city will work with Commsignia to feature roadside units (RSUs) equipped with Qualcomm Technologies C-V2X solution. Utility vehicles equipped with Qualcomm Technologies C-V2X solutions will also be utilized to demonstrate vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) direct communications. The implementation of C-V2X within the smart city environment not only demonstrates the benefits of C-V2X communications in a real-world setting at scale but showcases C-V2Xs safety critical communication capabilities needed to meet the evolving needs of transportation. C-V2X direct communication is designed to serve as a key feature for safety and mobility applications. Additionally, C-V2X aids in enabling cleaner and sustainable mobility alternatives as the technology is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions between 5-20%, according to the 5GAA. C-V2X is globally compatible with 5G networks and complements other Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) sensors, such as cameras, radar and Light Detection and Radar (LIDAR). The C-V2X direct communications is designed to offer vehicles low latency communications for vehicles to broadcast to other vehicles, roadside infrastructure and, in the future and with further optimizations, to pedestrians and other vulnerable road users without the involvement of a cellular network, or cellular network subscription, by operating in globally harmonized 5.9 GHz ITS spectrum. Through the Qualcomm Smart Cities Accelerator Program, Qualcomm Technologies has acted as a catalyst in enabling end-to-end smart deployments and the digital transformation of smart cities and smart connected spaces globally. Peachtree Corners intends to roll out additional smart solutions in the future by collaborating with Qualcomm Technologies smart cities ecosystem and Qualcomm IoT Services Suite verticals. UrbanX Renewables Group of Long Beach, CA, executed a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract with Hyundai Engineering Co., Ltdan essential step for building the states first facility producing ultra-low carbon renewable diesel. The company will produce its XRD renewable diesel from vegetable oil, fats and waste cooking oils through a proprietary process. Its fuel performs better than traditional diesel and can be used without engine or infrastructure modifications. UrbanX renewable diesel can cut lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 85%, according to Bruce Melgar, UrbanX president. Additionally, renewable diesel lowers tailpipe emissions such as particulate matter, carbon monoxide, total hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxide. The facility will be in the Bakersfield area and will refine 5,300 barrels per day, generating more than 75 million gallons per year of renewable diesel. It can also yield a prime sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). UrbanX holds a license for Chevron Lummus Globals patented ISOCONVERSION process which produces the cleaner fuel from waste feedstock, in a joint development with Applied Research Associates. UrbanXs methodology first produces a renewable crude and then refines it into renewable diesel. UrbanX process flow. Also partnering with UrbanX is Total-Western, Paramount, a long-standing industrial contractor who will assist with the construction of the manufacturing plant. Another key player is IQA Solutions of Long Beach, especially skilled in the refining and petrochemical fields, to provide engineering and design services. The company will soon disclose the exact plant location. UrbanX has a history in sustainable technology, from harvesting of greases from wastewater streams to the production of biofuels. The governments of Denmark, Norway, and the United States, along with the Global Maritime Forum and the Mrsk Mc-Kinney Mller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, will lead a new Zero-Emission Shipping Mission as part of Mission Innovation. The Mission aims to accelerate international public-private collaboration to scale and deploy new green maritime solutions, setting international shipping on an ambitious zero-emission course. The Mission will also be supported by the governments of India, Morocco, the UK, Singapore, France, Ghana, and South Korea. Carrying 80-90% of global trade in a less carbon-intensive manner than other freight transport modes, international maritime shipping nonetheless represents about 23% of the worlds total annual greenhouse gas emissions. Without immediate and concerted efforts, emissions from the sector could increase between 50% and 250% by 2050. The three main goals of the Zero-Emission Shipping Mission are: Develop, demonstrate, and deploy zero-emission fuels, ships, and fuel infrastructure in a coordinated fashion along the full value chain. By 2030, ships capable of running on hydrogen-based zero-emission fuelssuch as green hydrogen, green ammonia, green methanol, and biofuelsmake up at least 5% of the global deep-sea fleet measured by fuel consumption. By 2030, at least 200 of these well-to-wake zero-emission fueled ships are in service and utilizing these fuels across their main deep sea shipping routes. Mission Innovation is a global initiative of 24 countries and the European Commission working to accelerate clean energy innovation. The objective is to help move clean energy solutions from lab to market. Mission Innovation was announced at COP21 in November 2015. Support local journalism We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story. In 2012, Daymon Patterson ordered a double bacon cheeseburger and Cajun fries from the Five Guys location in Farmington, across from Tunxis Community College. He settled into the drivers seat of his car and turned on his camera to shoot another fast-food review video for YouTube, like hed been doing for three years prior. There was something different about this one, though. It may have been his trademark exuberance, or the moment when he bit into the bacon, raised his fist and excitedly sang damn, damn, DAMN! The review video went viral, to the tune of nearly 11 million views, and a remixed version, set to music by the Gregory Brothers, garnered nearly four times that many views. Patterson, known as Daym Drops, was an instant star. The Connecticut native, who grew up in Stratford and now lives in New Britain, appeared on national television with Dr. Oz, Jimmy Fallon and Rachael Ray. He hosted his own Travel Channel series, Best Daym Takeout, in 2013, and starred in fast food commercials. And on June 9, he can add Netflix star to his resume, as his new series, Fresh, Fried & Crispy, launches on the streaming service. All of this, since 2009 to now, has been for this very moment, Patterson says, referencing his first forays into YouTube food criticism. The series takes Patterson to cities like St. Louis, San Diego, Denver, Cleveland and Birmingham, Ala. as he seeks out the best fried dishes in each destination, coming from the streets, fancy restaurants, and home kitchens. Patterson said he was approached by production company Ugly Brother Studios to shoot a pilot for the show, and he was thrilled when Netflix picked up the series. As the production team planned out the travel schedule, he gave his input, telling them hed like to focus on locally-owned places revered by those who live there. [It was] three or four locations [in each city] that folks always talk about, they always have to go to, he said. When I finally get there and Im talking to the owners, and then I get the backstory of how they even opened the restaurant, their passion for food, and it was just amazing. I had a job of responsibility at that point, to be able to tell this story in a larger way. Patterson infuses his affable personality into each scene. When presented with a fried bologna sandwich in St. Louis, topped with pimento cheese and fried sunny-side-up egg, he kisses the top of it before taking a bite. In Baltimore, he edits a colossal crab sandwich made with fried soft-shelled crab and a crab cake, whipping off the fresh lettuce and tomato (or in his parlance, crunchy water, and red ring of death) and replacing them with Old Bay potato chips. In Las Vegas, at Slaters 50/50, they present him with the Whale Burger, with a pound of Wagyu beef, truffle cheese, a fried lobster tail, slab bacon and a gold-dusted bun, served with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot. After taking a bite, he hunches over the table, speechless. Me and the burger are having a moment, he tells the manager. Patterson shot the series over two months last year, he said, and he and the crew remained in a bubble to minimize any possible COVID exposure, testing regularly and staying in their hotel rooms when not filming. Thats what you had to do to keep safe...the ultimate goal was to be able to showcase these mom and pops, and we can't possibly do that if we're outside, and individuals are starting to get sick, he said. So we just we kept it a close knit family, for those two months straight, and we made it through. Patterson made digital content creation his full-time career after the viral Five Guys video, leaving his job as a buyer for CarMax in Hartford. Before that, he was an assistant manager at Walmarts Rocky Hill location. Hes also branched out into other ventures: he has an ownership stake in the Windsor location of MofonGo, a Puerto Rican restaurant, and he launched the Daym Drops Diner concession stand in partnership with the Hartford Yard Goats at Dunkin Donuts Park this season, selling his take on ballpark fare. (Hint: Theres a slab of bacon on a stick.) Hes also the marketing director for Impossible Kicks, a sneaker boutique with locations at the Westfarms Mall in Farmington and The Mall at Short Hills in New Jersey. Two more locations are planned for Orlando and Tampa. Patterson hopes the series will inspire others to find as much pleasure discovering these spots as he has. I just want them to say, Listen, I need to go to where Daym Drops went; I have to be there, and I don't care where it is, how far I have to drive... I just need exactly what he had, so I could experience what that man experienced, he said. Because I go through some raw emotions in this show that you've never seen before. On any given food show, I promise you...to the point where you're like, I need to have that exact same experience at that mom and pop location, I need to be there, and I need to be there yesterday. Fresh, Fried & Crispy launches June 9 on Netflix. See more at netflix.com. BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) President Joe Biden's administration has approved Louisianas request for a major disaster declaration after flash flooding in mid-May damaged several thousand homes and left five people dead, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Wednesday. Residents in five parishes Ascension, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, Iberville and Lafayette are now eligible to apply for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Edwards said. A man practices using a digital kiosk during an education program on the use of digital devices for elderly people at a senior center in Eunpyeong District, Seoul, in this March 22 photo. Korea Times photo by Park Seo-kang By Bahk Eun-ji When Lee Sun-hwa, 68, who lives in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, recently took her grandson to his favorite curry restaurant, she was embarrassed when a clerk hurriedly came to her with a bill. This was because Lee, who was not familiar with using a digital kiosk, ordered 14 dishes by mistakenly pushing different buttons on the screen. Fortunately, the clerk at the restaurant noticed something wrong and helped her cancel the order, and she was able to buy food for just two people. But what happened at the restaurant has made her reluctant to go to others that only have "self-service" machines. "Until the clerk came to me and checked my order, I didn't notice I made a mistake because the tiny letters on the menu and numbers were so difficult to read for someone like me with poor eyesight," Lee said. Lee said she knew it was nothing to be ashamed of, but still felt self-conscious and out of touch. "Kiosks are so complicated to use, and they're all different at each shop. But now almost all restaurants and stores have them." Lee is not the only elderly person who has had a hard time getting used to the automated equipment. Kim So-ra, 29, living in Jongno District in Seoul, recently noticed her grandfather, who lives next door, rarely going outside during the day. "My grandfather used to go for walks and drink a cup of coffee at a fast food restaurant on his way back home almost every day, but one day he stopped doing that and I asked him why. His answer almost made me cry," she said. Kim said her grandfather stopped going to the fast food restaurant, because it began to take orders from automated kiosks that only accepted credit or debit card payments. A participant of an education course on using digital devices takes notes on how to use smartphones at a senior citizens center in Eunpyeong District, Seoul, in this March 18 photo. Korea Times photo by Park Seo-kang STAMFORD A New Yorker accused of stealing over $100,000 worth of furs from a Westport department store and trying, within hours, to return them for a refund at a sister store in Greenwich was sentenced to 30 months in prison Thursday. Konis Coleman, 60, was sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree larceny in January 2020 as a part of a plea bargain. Under the deal, there were two options: either pay a $20,000 fine or face 30 months in prison. Originally, Coleman was given until July 2020 to come up with the money, but in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that deadline was pushed nearly another year. Despite the extra time, Coleman was still unable to pay the fine. Coleman has been imprisoned since July 2019 when she was arrested by Greenwich police after she tried returning four high-end furs that were stolen hours earlier from a Mitchells department store in Westport. Westport police were called to Mitchells at 4:24 p.m. on July 6, 2019, on a report of four furs worth $115,545 missing from a display. A review of the surveillance video inside the store showed a customer enter the store, take the furs, walk into the dressing room and conceal the furs, then walk out of the store without buying them. A short time later, Coleman showed up at the Greenwich store with the four furs and tried to get a refund, police said. Greenwich officers were called and stopped Coleman. They searched her and her car and recovered the furs along with numerous items used to fool security measures, according to police. At Colemans sentencing Thursday, her attorney Thomas Gotimer asked she be given a 24-month sentence - a flat two years - instead of 30 months. Coleman, Gotimer argued, was hoping to get out of prison in Connecticut as soon as possible, so she could go back to New York where she faces third-degree grand larceny charges as well. But Judge Gary White said the defense didnt offer up any good reason to depart from the (plea) agreement. I know if the state came in here and asked for more time, Im positive your lawyer would object to that and so would you, and rightfully so. Youre asking for less time, and if I heard something that gave me a good basis to even consider that, I would do that. But all Ive heard is that Ive been in jail for a long time now and if you reduce it, Ill get out sooner, White said. Move over Galaxy A32 5G, Samsung has a new cheapest 5G phone the Galaxy A22 5G will become available in July starting at 230. For comparison, the A32 5G started at 280 and the weird thing is that the A22 5G is the better phone. Not that were complaining. Also, theres a 4G model of the A22 that differs in several key aspects beyond the connectivity. Before we dive into the details, check out these infographics that focus the top features of each model and help highlight the differences: Infographics: Galaxy A22 5G Galaxy A22 Samsung Galaxy A22 5G Samsung doesnt like to talk about chipsets, but its pretty clear that this model is powered by the Dimensity 700. It starts with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage, which allows it to hit that 230 price target. There is also a model with 128 GB storage, that one can have 4GB, 6GB or 8GB of RAM. The 4/128GB option starts at 250. Note that different countries will get different models, e.g. the Netherlands gets the cheaper 4/64GB, while neighbor Belgium gets the pricier 4/128GB version. Samsung Galaxy A22 5G 20 for an extra 64GB sounds reasonable, but the A22 5G has a microSD slot (unlike the A22 4G), so its okay to get the smaller option. The 5G model gets the better screen too (in contrast with the A32 pair). Well, better if you dont insist on an AMOLED panel. What you get is a 6.6 LCD with 1080p+ resolution and 90Hz refresh rate. However, the 5G model doesnt do so well in the camera department. The triple cam on the rear is home to a 48MP main module (no OIS) and a 5MP ultra wide-angle module (plus a depth sensor). The 8MP selfie camera is in a V-shaped notch on the front. Galaxy A22 5G colorways: Gray Mint Violet White Both phones have 5,000mAh batteries and both support 15W fast charging. Also, both have side-mounted fingerprint readers. Again, the Samsung Galaxy A22 5G will be available in select regions starting in July at 230 (or slightly more if the 64 GB version is not available). You can pick between four colorways: Gray, White, Mint, and Violet. Samsung Galaxy A22 LTE The Samsung Galaxy A22 is quite different from its sibling, in fact, the name suggests a far greater familiar connection than exists in reality. For starters, this one is powered by the older Helio G80 chipset. The base memory configuration is 4/64GB, with a 128GB option available, though this time the RAM selection is limited to 4GB and 6GB. And keep in mind that there is no microSD slot on this one. Samsung Galaxy A22 (4G version) The screen is different too, very different. It is a 6.4 Super AMOLED panel with 720p+ resolution. The one spec shared between the two is the 90Hz refresh rate. Even the notch has a different shape. And it holds a different camera too, a 13MP unit. The rear cam features a 48MP sensor in the main module, this time with OIS. And the ultra wide-angle camera gets upgraded to an 8MP sensor. Theres also a 2MP macro cam to keep the depth sensor company. With different screens come different dimensions too. The A22 4G measures 159.3 x 73.6 x 8.4 mm and weighs 186g, the A22 5G is bigger, thicker and heavier at 167.2 x 76.4 x 9.0mm and 203g. Galaxy A22 colorways: Violet White Black Mint We havent seen pricing or availability info for the Galaxy A22 yet. The palette on this one is slightly different, these are the four colors available: Black, White, Mint and Violet. Source 1 | Source 2 (in Dutch) | Source 3 We recently heard about a new Moto G Stylus 5G headed to the US market and now we have some more specs about it. The device has been spotted in several certification listings bearing the XT2131 model number. The Bluetooth SIG revealed the phone will pack Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity. A separate listing on UL Demko revealed the device will pack a 5,000 mAh battery with 10W charging. Bluetooth SIG and UL Demko listings The latest addition is a Geekbench test run which revealed the device is powered by the Snapdragon 480 5G chipset paired with 6GB RAM. It managed 502 points in the single-core test and 1,651 points in the multi-core department. On the software side, the phone boots Android 11. Moto G Stylus 5G Geekbench listing The Moto G Stylus 5G is codenamed Denver and according to TechnikNews will feature a quad camera setup with a 48MP primary shooter, backed by an 8MP ultrawide lens, 5MP macro cam and 2MP depth sensor. The selfie shooter housed in the punch hole cutout on the display will come in at 16MP. The phone is also expected to pack a 6.8-inch LCD with FHD+ resolution. Via 1 Via 2 Via 3 A few days ago, a certification revealed that the Realme GT is headed to Europe, and today the company has confirmed this information to XDA Developers, without giving any sort of launch timeframe. Realme is holding a "Making 5G global" online event on June 3, which may or may not be where the GT gets its European launch details, we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, the images you can see above and below this paragraph have been leaked, showing the European version of the GT (note the obligatory regulatory text spoiling the design of the back, and the RMX2202 model number in the About screen). Aside from the images, a tipster has shared a rough estimate of EU pricing for the GT, and it's shockingly good. Apparently, the phone will start at around 400 with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and go up to around 450 with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Note that these prices may vary by plus or minus 20, in the tipster's words. If this pans out, the Realme GT will definitely be one of the most intriguing 'flagship killer' type devices to launch in 2021 so far, competing with the likes of the Poco F3 while offering better performance because of the newer chipset. All that said, however, the tipster in question has in the meantime deleted his tweets about the GT, and we're not sure what to make of this - does it mean they were accurate enough that they prompted someone at Realme to ask for them to be taken down, or were they wrong enough that the tipster doesn't want any trace of them left up? We'll probably have to wait until the official launch to find out. Via Students sit for a test at a high school in Daegu in this 2020 November file photo. Yonhap By Yoon Ja-young The proportion of students who are failing to solve even basic math problems steeply increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed. According to the Ministry of Education, the proportion of students who perform below the basic level expanded in last year's educational achievement research, where 3 percent of the country's high school eleventh-graders and middle school ninth-graders were evaluated for their Korean language, math and English skills. The evaluation is made each year. The research confirmed for the first time, that learning deficits have been produced during the pandemic, although there already have been many testimonies from parents and teachers regarding such problems. Among the middle school ninth-graders, 13.4 percent failed to solve basic math problems, compared with 11.8 percent before the pandemic. The figure more than doubled when it came to English skills, with 7.1 percent performing below the basic level, while only 3.3 percent did so according to the previous study. The proportion of underperformers in math rose to 13.5 percent from 9 percent among high school eleventh-graders. The increase was especially serious for male students, with 16.3 percent of boys found to be underperforming. In English, 8.6 percent of eleventh-grade boys were seriously falling behind, compared to the 3.6 percent in the previous study. Students were also less happy compared to before pandemic. Among middle school ninth-graders, only 59.5 percent said that their happiness level was high, which is down 4.9 percent from the previous survey. The Ministry of Education explained that it seems students didn't have sufficient chances to learn due to the decreased number of in-person classes, while students also had to adapt themselves to online classes. This transition made students lose self-confidence, interest and motivation in their studies, which pulled down their academic achievement as well, according to the ministry. However, COVID-19 doesn't seem to explain everything since students in rural areas, who had more in-person classes than students in big cities, despite the pandemic, performed notably poorer than their peers in urban areas. The results thus more reflect the fact that private education is covering the learning that schools are supposed to deliver. While city students, who have better access to private academies, have had the chance to make up for the loss in regular public school classes, students in rural areas had fewer places to go to make up for the deficit. The ministry said it plans to expand in-person classes to make up for the learning deficiencies. Romney, WV (26757) Today Scattered thunderstorms in the morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 82F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms before midnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Login or sign up to follow actresses, movies & dramas and get specific updates and news Login Sign Up Email Password Password Username Your E-mail will only be used to retrieve a lost password. Stay logged in Help West Monroe, LA (71291) Today Mostly sunny in the morning then increasing clouds with some scattered thunderstorms later in the day. Hot. High 96F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 74F. Winds light and variable. Some call it a fee, others a tax, but in a matter of weeks it will all be in the past. A Senate panel voted Wednesday to give themselves and their colleagues a big increase in their allowance and do it as soon as possible. You voted: South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Won In-choul claps hands with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief Adm. John C. Aquilino prior to their meeting at the JCS headquarters in Seoul, Thursday. The two agreed to work together to support diplomatic efforts for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Courtesy of Joint Chiefs of Staff Members of Congress, governors, call for anti-trust investigation Montana political leaders are again joining others around the country asking the U.S. Department of Justice to take action on allegations that the stranglehold large meatpackers have over the beef processing market violate U.S. antritrust laws, although some say that is not enough. Montanas Sens. Jon Tester, a Democrat, and Steve Daines, a Republican, and Montanas Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale are signing off on a bipartisan letter members of Congress sent to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland calling for an investigation. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte joined a group of other governors sending a similar letter to Garland last week asking U.S. Department of Justice to continue its investigation into the meatpacking industry started last year. Decades of consolidation in meatpacking has significantly limited the options that producers have to market their cattle and has created a situation where one segment of the beef industry has near total control over the entire market, the governors letter reads. We urge you to continue to investigate this matter with the urgency it calls for. The members of Congress made a similar plea. In the last several years, the price of live cattle in the United States market has plummeted, while the price of boxed beef has significantly increased, raising consumer prices at the grocery store, their letter reads. Concurrently, the major packing companies realized significant profits, while both U.S. beef consumers and independent cattle producers paid the price. These large price disparities are leading independent cattle producers to go broke and causing consumers to pay an unnecessary, over-inflated premium on beef. The letter says the U.S. meatpacking industry is more consolidated today than when the Packers and Stockyards Act was passed in 1921 to assure fair competition and fair trade practices, to safeguard farmers and ranchers to protect consumers and to protect members of the livestock, meat, and poultry industries from unfair, deceptive, unjustly discriminatory and monopolistic practices. The letter says, four companies operate 18 of the top 20 beef slaughter facilities in the country, 94 percent of the countrys capacity. Ironically, the letter adds, two of the four giant domestic processors are foreign-owned. Tester has been pushing on the issue essentially since he was elected to the Senate, co-sponsoring the Captive Supply Reform Act in 2007, and the work has continued since then, with Montana members of Congress repeatedly sending letters to DOJ and U.S. Department of Agriculture asking for investigation and action. Earlier this year, Tester and Daines joined Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and other senators in introducing a bill that would require a minimum of 50 percent of a meat packers weekly volume of beef slaughter be purchased on the open or spot market. That would create price transparency, which critics say meatpackers now can avoid due to loopholes. Tester and Grassley introduced the bill in 2020, but it did not move in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Daines also cosponsored a bill introduced by Sens. Deb Fisher, R-Neb., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., to require the creation and maintenance of a cattle contract library tracking cattle marketing prices. Bill Bullard, CEO of the Billings-based independent cattle producers organization R-CALF USA, praised the call for more investigation and action. Our ranching members greatly appreciate Sen. Testers personal commitment, and his willingness to work with all his congressional colleagues, to fix our broken cattle and beef markets in a way that ensures the next generations will have a competitive U.S. ranching industry, he said. But Montana Cattlemen Association President Gilles Stockton said, while his organization is grateful they wrote the letter, it is not enough. We are concerned that this is a stalling tactic rather than a prelude to action, he said. The cattle market has been studied numerous times and it is totally clear that the beef packers are in flagrant violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act. Rather than wait for a lengthy investigation, these senators should immediately reintroduce the Captive Supply Reform Act that Sens. Grassley, Enzi and Tester wrote in 2007, Stockton said. This act actually corrects the market dysfunction and will immediately restore competition to cattle markets. Brian Olson is assisted at Fresno Reservoir by a Fish, Wildlife and Parks employee cutting cable Feb. 7, 2020. After the ice melts, the former Christmas trees will drop to the bottom of the reservoir and become fish habitat. FWP is stocking Fresno and other local fishing sites this spring. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has begun its annual stocking of fisheries around the area with trout and walleye, and more is expected to be completed in the coming month. "They just yesterday started stocking a lot of the small ponds in Blaine County with catchables and fingerlings," FWP fisheries biologist Cody Nagel said Wednesday. "And I'm assuming there's still some more fish coming over because we stock Faber Reservoir every year, as well." Chouteau Reservoir, North and South Polly reservoirs, Brookie Pond, Kuhr Reservoir, Grasshopper Reservoir and Anderson Reservoir were all stocked with rainbow trout. "For our trout, we plant two different sizes," Nagel said. "There's catchables, and those usually run 6 to 8 inches, and then there's fingerlings and those are usually around 3 to 4 inches." Fresno Reservoir will be stocked with its annual walleye fingerlings in the next couple of weeks, Nagel said. Walleye are also stocked in Beaver Creek Reservoir annually, as well as in Dry Fork and Anita reservoirs north of Chinook in alternating years. "So walleye are a little bit different," he said. "... Those fish are usually 1-1/2 to 2 inches long as fingerlings." Walleye, he added, are raised in shallow one-acre ponds at Fort Peck Reservoir, and when faced with crowded conditions the walleye fingerlings allowed to get much bigger will start feeding on the smaller fish in the enclosure, so they are retrieved from their ponds for stocking earlier than trout. "You gotta get 'em out of their as quickly as possible or else you're just going to end up with a handful of fish that are bigger than everything else and was able to eat everything out of there," he said. "So it's kind of a tricky process. Those guys watch, keep an eye on those fish, and as soon as they get to that 1-1/2, 2 inch size they get them out." Walleye brood stock is harvested in April and early May from Fort Peck Reservoir to artificially spawn the ponds. The trout come from Giant Springs near Great Falls and Big Springs near Lewistown. And rainbows aren't the only trout stocked in the area. Each year, brown trout fingerlings are stocked in Beaver Creek between Bear Paw Lake and Beaver Creek Reservoir, as well as below the reservoir, Nagel said. The brown trout do well in Beaver Creek, and they co-exist well with rainbow, he added. The species live only three to five years, but they have high growth rates during that time. The 3 to 6 inch brown trout stocked in Beaver Creek this time of year will reach lengths up to 14 inches by fall, he said. Fish in general in the Beaver Creek fisheries will live longer because the water levels stay up, but the small ponds and reservoirs are managed as quick-grow tank type fisheries, Nagel said, because the fish can't reproduce in the waters. The fish also experience die-off from low and too-warm water in dry, hot years, as well as, problems from winter weather. Due to differences in the fisheries, walleye fingerlings grow to catchable size fish of 12-14 inches in Fresno in about two years, Nagel said, and in Beaver Creek Reservoir in four to five years. Ultimately, Beaver Creek Reservoir, or First Lake as it is sometimes called, will end up with bigger walleye due to the feeder fish. "On average, we typically see bigger fish in First Lake - 25 to 30 inch walleye is possible in there," he said, "and a lot of that has to do with forage. There's a high abundance of perch out there, and the walleye, when they get to a certain size, they do eat trout, too." Nagel said that once walleye grow to 15 to 17 inches they can eat 5 to 7 inch perch and 6 to 7 inch trout. At that point, if they have access to this food source, they will grow a lot quicker and larger. "Fresno is kind of the reverse of that," he added. Because of the feeder fish habitat in Fresno, walleye grow quickly early, but slow down as they get larger, Nagel said, adding that sometimes catchable perch and crappie are stocked in the reservoir as game fish for anglers. Fish, Wildlife and Parks tries to focus more on Fresno's fish habitat, from a forage perspective, he said, and water level management, as much as is possible. Post-holiday season every winter, FWP and the Fresno Chapter of Walleyes Unlimited collect Christmas trees in the community, and these trees are placed strategically on the ice at Fresno. As the ice melts the trees drop into place at the bottom of the reservoir where they help with spawning and cover. The fish survey at Fresno looked good last fall, Nagel said, but sampling may have been skewed by very low waters. They will know more about the state of the fish population after they complete their 2021 survey in September. Water from St. Mary Diversion was flowing into Fresno again in late fall of 2020, and the current waterline is 4 feet down, which is within the normal range. Fishing in the area is starting to pick up again, Nagel said. Early spring spawners like pike, walleye and perch are done spawning and starting to become more aggressive and susceptible to angling. The pan fish species and bass in smaller ponds in the area are starting to spawn right now so are a little preoccupied. The blue gill, black crappie and large mouth bass, he said, are up near the shallows and cruising for spawning beds and protecting eggs and hatchlings. After being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual North Central Montana Everything Antique show returns this weekend. This years show will take place from Friday, June 4, through Sunday, June 6. The event will last from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Great Northern Fairgrounds. The event includes tractor games, a Volkswagen reunion, which is a new part of the event, blacksmithing and threshing demonstration, and a display featuring the worlds largest tractor, the Big Bud 747. Wally Duchscher, one of the event organizers, said the free antique show has been put on every year, with the exception of 2020, since 2008. Basically it was kind of all kinds of antiques, even though most of what we had was we first started was tractors, old tractors and the old hit-and-miss engines that used to power all your electricity and water and everything back at the turn of the century, and we would get a few old cars and trucks at our show, Duchscher said. Duchscher said the hit-and-miss engines one cylinder, stationary, gasoline engines would pump water, split logs, grind corn and some would even make ice cream. He added that another attraction was a threshing machine demonstration, which will be a part of the antique show again this year. A grain thresher is a machine for separating wheat, peas, soybeans, and other small grain and seed crops from their chaff and straw. We show people how the threshing machine works and how the old stationary (hay bale machines) work and how you would tie those with wire, you had to do everything by hand for the little square bales. Well still be doing that on Saturday and Sunday of this year. Saturday and Sunday morning, well probably be getting going, usually around nine oclock, yet getting the engines started and warmed up. Therell be different activities going on as far as people splitting logs with these old engines and grinding corn. Also, in the afternoon, at one oclock, we have a little parade with the old tractors and cars and stuff like that around just around the midway there, he added. Regarding COVID-19 precautions, Duchscher said, Everybodys on their own as far as what their comfort feeling is. Duchscher said Hill County 4-H will be providing breakfast and lunch each day of the event. 4-H will be accepting free-will donations that will go to the 4-H Foundation. Duchscher added that all vendors are provided a supper Friday and Saturday in the 4-H Chuckwagon in exchange for a free-will donation. He added that its nice to have a feeling of normalcy by being able to put on the show, and hes hoping to attract the interest of local youth. Any of these things that are going on should be drawing more people out just to get out of the house and get out of the yard and go see some people, neighbors that dont live that far away but they havent had an opportunity to go visit with. So this would give everybody the opportunity. Were looking forward to it and hopefully the community is looking forward to it, Duchscher said. For more information, people can visit https://www.facebook.com/NorthCenteralMontanaEverythingAntiqueShow . On May 26, Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles visited Perry County during the Hunger Listening Tour and discussed food insecurity in the region. While in Hazard, Quarles, local leaders and community partners discussed hunger in Kentucky, work being done by Gods Pantry Food Bank, how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted hunger in Hazard and what policies, supports and infrastructures are needed to ensure food security in Hazard and across the state. As we emerge from COVID-19, we know that food insecurity rates are well above national averages so we came to Hazard to listen first then make recommendations about how to address hunger specifically in Eastern Kentucky, said Quarles. Before the pandemic, one in seven Kentuckians were considered food insecure. That number is more about one in five in eastern Kentucky. We also know that food insecurity rates among children are higher due to COVID. Quarles said he and his team believe that, to get back to normal, they know theres a lot of work to do, particularly in the summer months, to make sure that children that have been affected by hunger have access to food. Quarles said among the things discussed to help the area were rules and regulations regarding food, as well as available programs and resources. One of the discussion points we had were what rules and regulations we could change or fix coming out of this pandemic. One of those was called a congregate feeding rule which, before COVID, made it mandatory that when we feed summer meals to school children you actually had to be present throughout the meal, said Quarles. The state, he said, couldnt do that during the pandemic, so it was waived but is now something they will look at changing while coming out of COVID. I think there was concern over a general confusion about federal rules moving forward. Our school systems did a phenomenal job this past year with feeding kids. My hat is off to our food service directors in our public schools who transitioned seemingly overnight from feeding kids in a school cafeteria to delivering meals and having them ready for pick up. That is a lifeline for school children, Quarles said. Another program Quarles spoke about with community members was the Farms to Food Banks Trust Fund. This program, said Quarles, takes food grown by Kentucky farmers and puts it into the Kentucky food bank system allowing good, quality food for everyone. Thats a win-win for Kentucky agriculture, he said. Perry County, he said, has access to several resources including the Perry County Farmers Market, food banks, food pantries and partnerships with leaders and organizations. Other feedback we got was the need for more coordination among anti-hunger groups, said Quarles, stating that there are many resources but they arent always organized. Were particularly thankful for Gods Pantry Food Bank and Feeding Kentucky, said Quarles. We could not do our job without them so were very appreciative of their involvement. The food banks are always looking for three things. Theyre looking for donations of food, donations of money and also donations of time. I encourage people that if they cant donate food or money, they can always donate some time for the local food banks and pantries, said Quarles. During the tour, he said, he saw that food pantries needed more space, so they will work on addressing that need. Quarles said he is also thankful to local leadership as well. Perry County has one of the nicest Farmers Markets in Kentucky. Im excited that local leadership were able to put a plan together to find funds to get it built despite the pandemic, he said, adding that the Farmers Market Pavilion is a beautiful structure that will help serve the area. Quarles said he is aware that many times people who need assistance are struggling with other problems as well, so the state is trying to find ways to work on those as well. Things can be tough. Often, people who need help dont have a vehicle either so its not just about getting food donated, its also about how to get it delivered as well, said Quarles. Another issue Quarles said he wants to address is the negative stigma attached to seeking assistance. We want to make sure that all Kentuckians know that food is available. Theres no lack of food and oftentimes, help is just a phone call away, he said. Often times there is a stigma attached to people needing to reach out for a little extra help but we want to remind them its okay especially during high levels of unemployment and as we emerge from COVID-19. Quarles said the partnership between his team and local partners is ongoing and will continue to address food security needs in the future. We'll keep you connected to all the updated local news and information about what's happening in Hendersonville and Sumner County! Click Here to Subscribe! Free access for current print subscribers As a home delivery subscriber, you get free unlimited digital access to premium content on HenryHerald.com, including local news, local sports, obituaries, legal notices, local features, and the e-edition. All you need is your print subscription account number and your last name. Don't know your subscription number? Email access@henryherald.com with your delivery address. Activate your account now. An Air Force master sergeant identified only by his surname Jang is taken to a general military court in Seoul, Wednesday, for a hearing to review whether to issue an arrest warrant over his alleged sexual assault of a female colleague, which caused her to take her own life in May. The court issued the warrant later that day on charges of sexual assault and inflicting injury. Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense By Jun Ji-hye The military is facing harsh criticism for being morally lax after its bungled responses to a series of sex crimes were made public. An uproar began to emerge following a recent sexual assault case involving the Air Force that ended with the death of the victim. The victim's family claimed the Air Force had systematically tried to cover up the case, rather than carrying out a thorough primary investigation, and protecting the victim Additional revelations about sex crimes at other military units including one in the Marine Corps have followed, intensifying public anger. A female Air Force master sergeant, who was found dead at her residence May 22, accused a male colleague of the same rank, who was identified only by his surname Jang, of sexual assault in early March. The incident occurred inside a car on the way back to their base in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, after a work dinner the suspect coerced her in to attending. Jang is now under arrest after a general military court issued an arrest warrant, Wednesday, on charges of sexual assault and inflicting injury. According to the victim's family, after she reported the case, her superiors did not take appropriate measures as stipulated in manuals, but tried multiple times to persuade her to reach a settlement with the suspect and cover up the case. The victim had secured dashcam video footage that recorded audio of the incident and submitted it to Air Force investigators, but they did not carry out an active investigation despite the evidence, according to the family. Amid growing criticism, the military said Thursday that a joint team, comprised of military prosecutors, military police and the Ministry of National Defense, as well as outside experts, will be formed to investigate the incident. "We will investigate the case from the beginning and summon all people suspected of persuading and threatening the victim and trying to cover up the case," a military official said on condition of anonymity. President Moon Jae-in also ordered military investigators to deal strictly with the incident, stressing the need for "strict investigation and measures" in coping with the case and secondary assault committed by the victim's superiors and colleagues. A revelation from the Military Human Rights Korea, an advocacy group, triggered fresh controversy as it claimed that a male Air Force staff sergeant had been caught in early May for breaking into residences of female soldiers to photograph them illegally. "Ranks of victims are varied," Lim Tae-hoon, the head of the group, said during a press conference, Wednesday. "Military police found plenty of illegal photos saved in the staff sergeant's mobile phone and USB devices." Lim Tae-hoon, right, the head of Military Human Rights Korea, speaks during a press conference in Mapo District, Seoul, Wednesday, revealing that a male Air Force staff sergeant had been caught in early May for breaking into residences of female soldiers to photograph them illegally. Yonhap Huntington, WV (25701) Today Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 88F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Note: We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email customercare@heraldandnews.com for help creating one. Australian party leaders hail CPC as party linked to people Xinhua) 09:43, June 03, 2021 BEIJING, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) is a party linked to the people, said leaders of the Communist Party of Australia (CPA). "It has shown a very good example of how you integrate scientific socialism with the needs of the people," said Andrew Irving, general secretary of the CPA. "Obviously, it is a party linked to the people ... and it has been able to apply the scientific theory to the conditions of China," said Vinnie Molina, national president of the CPA. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC. In separate interviews with Xinhua, Irving and Molina talked about their observation of the Chinese ruling party. The CPC's poverty alleviation achievements impressed them the most. "China has been able to eradicate extreme poverty. That is very impressive in such a vast country with a huge population of 1.4 billion people," said Molina in a video interview. "We can see what is possible to do in a socialist society that puts people first, ahead of profit," he said. "The success of the CPC ... is not only a victory for the Chinese. It's a victory for all Marxists," Irving said. He believes that understanding the better situation the Chinese people are achieving is a challenge to some conservative Western governments. His view was shared by Molina. Although they haven't visited China in person, some of their fellow CPA members have traveled to the Asian country multiple times. Molina said the experiences of people having visited China are in "contrast with what we hear from the mass media here in Australia." "It looks like there is a 'war' or a campaign against China," he said. "So those visits were important, because we are able to tell people the truth and what is happening in China." The CPC has been successful in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, Molina said. "China shows us a way where we could actually have dealt with a pandemic, which is impressive," he said, adding that the availability of Chinese vaccines is much appreciated. On behalf of the CPA, Irving extended his greetings to the CPC on its centenary. "We hope that with the Chinese people, the great advances that they've been able to achieve will continue," he said. "We greatly thank them for their contribution, and we walk with them forward." Molina hopes that after the pandemic, he could have an opportunity to visit China. "Hopefully we can ... send a CPA delegation to strengthen our fraternal relations between our two parties," he said. (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun) Former Vice Justice Minister Lee Yong-gu appears to attack a taxi driver, in this Nov. 6 footage from a dashcam inside the taxi, recently obtained by local broadcaster SBS. Screenshot from SBS News By Jung Da-min Former Vice Justice Minister Lee Yong-gu, who has been embroiled in controversy since his appointment over his alleged assault of a taxi driver, has again been caught up in another accusation, that he tried to cover up the assault by paying the driver off. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has found that Lee paid the driver 10 million won ($8,991) to ask him to delete a video recorded by the dashcam of the taxi, according to media reports, Wednesday. Lee issued a statement through his lawyer Thursday and admitted that he had met the driver two days after the incident. He had handed over the cash as settlement money but it was not meant to be a bribe to ensure the footage was deleted. "I thought it was a lot more than a normal settlement amount, but decided to give that amount of money (to the driver anyway), as I was a lawyer at the time, and was being mentioned as a candidate to be the head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials," Lee said. "However, I never offered any conditions to the driver in our agreement," he said. In the footage disclosed by SBS on Wednesday, Lee fell asleep in the taxi and the driver woke him up when they reached Lee's home in southern Seoul on Nov. 6. Then Lee, who was not wearing a face mask, responded by hurling insults at the driver and grabbed him by the shirt collar. The initial investigation into the assault case had closed on Nov. 12 without charging Lee. Although the driver showed the footage to the police, the officer at the Seocho Police Station ignored it and closed the case. The prosecution is now investigating why a proper police investigation was not initiated at the time. Lee, who was appointed to the vice minister position in December despite the controversy, handed in his resignation late last month as the controversy grew around the allegation of his cover-up attempt. The ministry accepted the resignation on Thursday. Anderson, IN (46016) Today Mostly sunny skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight A mostly clear sky. Low 61F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Uniontown, PA (15401) Today Scattered thunderstorms in the morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 82F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms during the evening, then partly cloudy overnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. President Moon Jae-in speaks during a meeting with first-term lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae By Nam Hyun-woo First-term lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) ended up beating around the bush during their meeting with President Moon Jae-in on Thursday, despite the initial anticipation that they might challenge the President concerning his failed policies, including real estate, economy and a number of fairness issues that resulted in the party's crushing defeat in the April 7 by-elections for the Seoul and Busan mayor positions. According to Cheong Wa Dae, 68 first-term DPK lawmakers visited the presidential office and discussed pending state affairs. The meeting took place upon the lawmakers' earlier request. "During the meeting, Rep. Ko Young-in expressed his gratitude to Moon for accepting the request and acknowledged the positive outcomes of the Korea-U.S. summit last month," presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said after the meeting. "He added that the COVID-19 pandemic has incurred greater pain to socially marginalized people, and said the administration needs to strengthen its efforts to establish a more systematic social safety net, including disaster relief funds." Initially, the meeting had been anticipated to spark a heated debate about former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, who fell into political disgrace following improper investments and an academic fraud scandal involving his family, which is blamed as one of the reasons for declining public support for the administration, as well as the DPK's landslide by-election defeats. Also, bungled policies concerning real estate regulations, the public's livelihood, cryptocurrency and other pending matters, which are also mentioned as the causes of the defeats, were expected to be mentioned, because the lawmakers have been making efforts to listen to public opinion on these issues. After the by-election defeats in April, these first-term lawmakers formed a faction and have been calling for an overhaul within the party. While doing so, the faction has raised opinions contradictory to the party's or Moon's ideas and policies. Last month, more than 40 of them demanded that Moon withdraw his nomination of at least one of three minister nominees who were criticized by opposition parties for ethical lapses. Amid the row, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries nominee Park Jun-young voluntarily withdrew from the nomination process before finishing his National Assembly confirmation hearing. This withdrawal came as a major embarrassment not only for the party's seasoned lawmakers but also for Cheong Wa Dae, because Moon said in an April press conference that the hearing system is "being misused to humiliate nominees, rather than to review whether the candidates are a good fit for the job." Against this backdrop, keen interest has been on the meeting, as some of the participants were expected to criticize Moon's selection of aides and policies, but in fact, they did not touch upon sensitive issues for Moon. A senior official at Cheong Wa Dae said that neither Moon nor the attending lawmakers mentioned former minister Cho, although they made a number of suggestions for Moon's vaccination and energy policies, as well as demands for an expansion of fiscal spending. Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Ko Young-in, who leads a group of first-term lawmakers of the party, speaks regarding the group's meeting with President Moon Jae-in, during a press conference at the National Assembly, Thursday. Yonhap (JTA) - There is a remarkable scene toward the end of the new documentary "Final Account," a collection of eyewitness testimonies of the Nazi regime from elderly Germans and Austrians who remember it (and, to various degrees, were part of it). In the sequence, a former Waffen-SS officer sits down with a group of students in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee - the site of the infamous Wannsee Conference, where Nazi officials met in 1942 to map out the parameters of the Final Solution. The officer, Hans Werk, speaks of the tremendous shame he feels for himself and his country to have orchestrated... It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Elaine Ditchek Finestone, may her memory be for a blessing, on May 21, 2021. Elaine died in Orlando, Florida, surrounded by her children and many of her grandchildren. She was born Jan. 3, 1930, and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., by a large and loving Jewish family, Elaine graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Brooklyn College, the first woman of her family to attend college, where she majored in history. She married Dr. Alvin William Finestone, z"l, in 1950, and for the next few years they lived in many locations as Alvin finished his medical training. In 1961, Elaine and Alvin and their three children moved to Clifton Forge, Virginia, a small town in the Allegheny Mountains. Together they created a rich life of dear friends and community service. Elaine was very active in the local Red Cross, the local library, the community Arts Center, and other local organizations. After getting her master's degree in history from Hollins College in Roanoke, she taught history and Western Civilization at Dabney S. Lancaster Community College for many years. She was a beloved and inspirational teacher to hundreds of students. Elaine and Alvin also traveled to several countries together, including many trips to Israel. After Alvin's death, Elaine moved to Boston, Mass., where she lived for several years. She then moved to Orlando, Florida, where she spent the last three years. Elaine lived life according to a positive and loving philosophy. She taught all who knew her how to be more practical, loving, accepting, and more flexible for all aspects of life. She was a person who kept all parts of the family connected, and everyone sought her wise counsel. She was adored and loved by all. Elaine is survived by her three children, Dr. Doug Finestone, Rabbi Sally Finestone, and Lisa Finestone; their spouses, Rabbi Boaz Heilman and Dr. Robert Dabrow; her grandchildren - Sara and Reid, Anna and Nathan, Leah and Brad, Hannah, Jonathan and Trevor, Rachel, Michelle and Josh, and David; and her two great-grandchildren, Jude and Ethan. The family and all who were blessed to have know Elaine will miss this wise and loving matriarch forever. The family requests any contributions in her memory be made to the tzedakah (charity) of your choice. A Graveside Funeral Service was conducted May 25, 2021, in Temple Emanuel Cemetery, Roanoke, Virginia. Arrangements entrusted to Beth Shalom Memorial Chapel, 640 Lee Road, Orlando FL 32810, 407-599-1180, http://www.bethshalommemorialchapel.com. (JTA) The Biden administration increased its assistance to Palestinians by $38.5 million in the wake of the latest Gaza war and pledged to abide by U.S. laws that would keep the money from going to terrorists. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken outlined the additional funds that the administration plans to steer to the Palestinians. His statement came a day after Blinken concluded his trip to Israel and the Palestinian areas to discuss sustaining the ceasefire that ended the 11-day rocket exchange this month between Israel and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. Blinken s... SKOKIE, Ill. (JTA) After a synagogue in this Chicago suburb was vandalized on May 16 in what police are calling a hate crime, local rabbis could not dwell on the damage: They had to prepare for Shavuot, the two-day Jewish holiday that began that evening. A week later, though, the rabbis were the engine behind a 500-person rally in this heavily Jewish town against antisemitism. Skokie perhaps is best known as the place town where, in 1977, free-speech advocates fought for neo-Nazis to be able to march, only to have the eventual rally be outnumbered by local Jews and their allies. This ti... (JTA) The organization that advises U.S. Jewish communities on security matters said it recorded an 80 percent spike in antisemitic acts in the last month amid Israels 11-day war with Hamas. One of the causes, according to the Secure Community Network, was disinformation spread on social media during and since the exchange of rocket fire. There may be foreign actors spreading information and disinformation, often tied to antisemitic tropes, Michael Masters, its CEO, said Tuesday in an interview. Were seeing a clear rise in the calls for violence against the Jewish communi... (JNS) While the Biden administrations negotiations to reach a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has generally being seen as successful, experts have low expectations that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinkens visit this week to the Middle East will accomplish anything more substantial than to ensure the international community that the United States remains engaged in the region. Dispatched at the request of U.S. President Joe Biden, Blinken met with Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian and Jordanian officials as conversations continue on how to secure a... (JNS) The city council of Cambridge, Mass., rejected a resolution supporting the BDS movement. The resolution, Policy Order #109, was voted down after nearly seven-and-a-half hours of public testimony by more than 300 people late Tuesday. The proposed resolution sought to direct the city manager to review corporate contracts and identify any companies that are in violation of Cambridges policy on discrimination, including (but not limited to) Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Hewlett Packard Incorporated over their role in abetting apartheid in the Middle East. Cambridge, however,... (JTA) As reports of attacks on Jews broke into the news late last week, Democratic lawmakers moved quickly to condemn antisemitism but they didnt stop there. Weve recently seen disturbing antisemitic attacks and a troubling rise in Islamophobia, Bernie Sanders, the Jewish Vermont senator who is a leader of American progressives, tweeted Friday. If you are committed to a future of equality and peaceful coexistence, please stand united against anyone who promotes hatred of any kind. Numerous other progressives soon followed suit, including multiple members of The... By Adam Borowski As an outsider who is considering living and working in Korea, I pay close attention to articles and opinions about the country. The recent news of Korea ranking low on expats' favored nations list has certainly given me food for thought. What do outsiders like me want to know before moving to Korea? I've come up with a list of questions and concerns about living and working in Korea. Imagine the following scenario. I arrive in Korea. My work visa is in perfect order. It's time to sign a contract with my employer. And here my doubts begin. The most important question arises: does the Korean version of the contract take precedence over the English version? I'm assuming that the answer is a resounding yes. Clearly, a lawyer specializing in Korean employment law would need to confirm that both versions of the contract (English and Korean) are identical. I hope my cautious behavior won't be mistaken for rudeness. Polish culture relies on direct communication and I'm acutely aware this isn't the norm in Korea. I will need to soften my communication style to avoid coming off as pushy. Foreigners have trouble settling in if they are ignored. Case in point, my first day in Chengdu (China) was chaotic and unnerving. I was stuck in a hotel room with no way to contact my employer. All sorts of unpleasant scenarios were flashing through my mind. Luckily, I was contacted by the employer several hours later. Then, there's the issue of taxes. I know Poland and Korea have signed a treaty of double taxation avoidance, which is great news for me. Still, I need to read up on the Korean tax system. I'm sure it's easy to set up a bank account in Korea. What are Korean landlords like? What happens if there's a (likely) language barrier present? Do I sign a contract with a landlord? How do I pay for electricity, water and gas? Besides, I can't imagine signing a contract without consulting a Korean colleague first. I'm particularly concerned about the fine dust pollution in Korea. I have no way of knowing if the pollution isn't going to cause serious breathing problems for me. When traveling across the world for work, worst case scenarios must be considered. The drinking culture concerns me as well. While my Korean friends assure me that the drinking culture in Korea is a remnant of the past, current media articles gives me a different impression. There's a dramatic difference between drinking in honor of a superior (employer) and drinking myself into oblivion. Working in Korea offers a fantastic opportunity to explore the country by car. My understanding is that most cars in Korea are automatic. I'm assuming the Korean Police are strict, and that going over the speed limit isn't tolerated even on highways. I like trying out riding the subway systems in major cities across the world (London, Moscow and New York City to date). Seoul clearly has a fantastic subway system, comparable in size to the London subway (or the "Tube,'' as it's called by Londoners). I look forward to living and working in a country with an incredible cultural influence on the world, as YouTube views of the catchy BTS song, "Butter'' demonstrate. Adam Borowski (adam.borowski1985@gmail.com) is a technical Polish-English translator and an international relations aficionado. (JNS) Inna Vernikov remembers what life was like for families in the former Soviet Union when she was a child. I remember standing in very long lines with my grandfatherhed have a ticket so we could get one loaf of bread and one bottle of milk for the entire family, said Vernikov, who was born in Czernovitz, Ukraine, and immigrated with her family to the United States at the age of 12. Memories like this, the desire to effect change on issues related to crime and New Yorks economy, as well as her perception of a parallel between the former Soviet Unions collectivism an... NEW YORK & TEL AVIV The first group of Birthright Israel, the largest educational tourism organization in the world, landed May 21 at Ben Gurion Airport, marking the resumption of activity following a yearlong Covid-19 pause. The participants are vaccinated students from the United States, arriving in Israel today for a 10-day educational tour. Dozens of more trips are expected during May and June, with many more tour groups planned for July, August, and October. The group that arrived today will visit the Golan Heights, Safed, Jerusalem, Masada, the Dead Sea and Tel Aviv, among other... Heritage Florida Jewish News is accepting nominations for the 2021 Heritage Human Service Award, which will be presented at the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando this summer. For more than 30 years, individuals who have made major, voluntary contributions of their talent, time, energy and effort to the Central Florida community have been honored with the selection and presentation of this award, said Jeff Gaeser, editor and publisher of the Heritage. Last years recipient was Hank Katzen. Former recipients have included Sarah Stern (2017), Howard Lefkowitz (... (JNS) - Amid ongoing talks in Vienna regarding a possible U.S. return to the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog warned in an interview published on Tuesday that "you cannot put the genie back in the bottle." International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi told the Financial Times that while most of the measures taken by Iran since the United States unilaterally exited the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018 could be reversed, the level of research and development that has taken place since then is an "issue."... (JNS) The Irish government has endorsed a parliamentary motion condemning the de facto annexation of the West Bank by the Israeli government, becoming the first European Union country to do so. Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney supported the motion and condemned what he said was manifestly unequal treatment of Palestinians. The scale, pace and strategic nature of Israels actions on settlement expansion and the intent behind it have brought us to a point where we need to be honest about what is actually happening on the ground. It is de facto annexation, Coven... (JTA) When actor Mark Ruffalo apologized on Monday for posts that suggested Israel is committing genocide, it wasnt clear what comments of his own he was speaking about. But he drew attention to a loaded word that has leapt into public discourse in the past two weeks, during and after the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Accusations that Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza have flown freely, from seasoned activists to the Palestinian foreign minister to people wading into the Israeli-Palestinian issue for the first time on social media. Tweets wit... Danny Fenster (r) with his brother Bryan at a friend's wedding in Krakow, Poland, in September 2019. It was the last time they saw each other. (Detroit Jewish News via JTA) - On his way home for a surprise visit to see family and friends, Jewish journalist Danny Fenster was detained Monday in Myanmar, where he works for a news site in the country's largest city of Yangon. Fenster is among the many journalists who have been detained, imprisoned or expelled from the country since a military coup took control of its government in February. The 37-year-old Detroit native was detained at Yangon International Airport shortly before boarding a flight to Kuala Lumpur and is being held in Insein Prison, which has a notorious and well-docum... Israelis light candles for the 45 victims who were killed in a stampede at Mount Meron during the Lag B'Omer celebrations, at Rabin Squarein Tel Aviv. May 2, 2021. (Israel Hayom and JNS staff via JNS) - Israel's National Insurance Institute (NII) is proposing compensation in the amount of 100,000 shekels ($30,800) for each of the families who lost loved ones in the Lag B'Omer stampede at Mount Meron. A total of 45 participants in the festivities, including children as young as 9, were killed. The investigation into the Mount Meron disaster is still underway, and a government commission of inquiry has not yet been formed, though Israeli lawmakers on Monday approved the fast-tracking of a bill to establish one. At the request of the Knesset Finance... WASHINGTON (JTA) - President Joe Biden will name Tom Nides, a deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration, to be his ambassador to Israel. The Times of Israel first reported the decision. Multiple sources close to the Biden administration confirmed to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that Nides was the pick for ambassador and would be announced soon. The White House said it had nothing yet to announce. It was down to Nides and Robert Wexler, a former Florida congressman who for years has helmed the Center for Middle East Peace, a group that advocates backchannel diplomacy between Isr... WASHINGTON DC - Hillel International, the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, announced today the 20 members of the 2021-2022 Hillel International Student Cabinet. One of those selected is Lana Kolchinsky, Class of 2022, who will serve on the Hillel International Student Cabinet representing Stetson University. "Lana is the two term president of Hillel, incoming student government president, and the first Stetson student selected for the Hillel cabinet," said Sam Friedman, Stetson Hillel director. The cabinet shares their advice, opinions and perspectives with Hillel Internat... By Rich Manieri Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes. I didn't write that. It was actually Billy Joel in "Say goodbye to Hollywood" from the Turnstiles album. Love that album, which I've always thought was very underrated. The point is he's right and there is, perhaps, no more bittersweet, triumphantly-excruciating, joyfully-heartbreaking goodbye than the one we say to our children. I'm reminded of this now because it's graduation season and our kids are heading out, on their own, for the first time. Whether the independence is actual or perceived, the result is the same. It is interesting that young people, especially those heading to college, though not yet involved in coursework, believe they've suddenly become smarter, for no reason other than the rising of the sun. A teenager who couldn't microwave a burrito a month ago is now an expert on a wide range of topics, from international affairs to home renovation. Moreover we, as parents, become stupider, for no reason other than the rising of the sun. This is a byproduct of what behaviorists, and me, call the "Good riddance affect." This phenomenon is part of the natural order of things, provided by God as a gift to parents so we don't miss our little know-it-alls quite so much. In fact, there have been rare cases in which parents have called university admissions offices to see if they might consider taking their sweet treasure a few weeks early. "But the dorms won't be open." "Can't he just hang out on campus?" Not that I've ever made such a call or imagined how the conversation might go if I phoned, anonymously, and disguised my voice just to test the waters to see, you know, if there was any precedent for such thing. No, no. We'll miss our children terribly. But life does go on, after all. Can't sit around moping all day long. What am I going to do, for example, with two fewer cars in the driveway? I can either look, mournfully, out the window, at the empty spaces or I can do something productive, such as, I don't know, buy a Corvette. I spotted a bright yellow one online. "It's very bold," I told my wife. "It makes a statement." "What's the statement?" she asked. "I'M YELLOW!?" She had a point. How about a Miata? "It's so small," she said. "It looks like someone trying to have a midlife crisis but can't afford it." Touche. I found another place online that sells cars no one really needs. "Supercars." Not the real name but it might as well be. It boasts a healthy inventory of jacked up cars under the tagline, "We specialize in impractical vehicles for middle-aged men." Sign me up! But even Supercars didn't have a car dumb enough for me. So, I dream. The kids meanwhile, unaware of my plans for their parking spaces, or their rooms, continue to plan their exits. That's when they're actually here. When children are getting ready to leave the nest, home turns into a kind of bed and breakfast. For them, not for us. They have business to conduct parties, photos, dinner engagements with associates. Every once in a while, we'll catch a glimpse of someone purported to live here but that might just be the dog. And yet, we anticipate the moment when we say, "Goodbye." For real. We give them our best, last-minute advice, we hug them and drive away. And in that moment, as we peak in the rearview mirror, all of the "firsts" and "lasts" rush passed us the first day of kindergarten, middle school, braces, birthday parties, high school, sports, band concerts, driving, dating. We hope we've done it right. How will be know? How can we? The house will be quiet; quieter than we're used to. The cars will be gone, the rooms empty, save for the reminders; stuffed animals, books, blankets, shoes. They'll be back. But it won't be the same. It can't be. They know it and we know it. Yes, they'll come back but they'll leave again. They'll always leave. I didn't understand this when I left home. I do now. Billy Joel did: "Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes. I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again." Rich Manieri (manieri2@gmail.com) is a Philadelphia-born journalist and author. He is currently a professor of journalism at Asbury University in Kentucky. His article was distributed by Cagle Cartoons Inc. Snir Dayan and Amit Skornik defending themselves after being attacked by pro-Palestinian protesters in New York City, May 2021. (JNS) - Snir Dayan and Amit Skornik were hoping for a quiet bagel breakfast last week on a typical day in New York City. But instead, a group of pro-Palestinian protestors tried to punch some holes in them close to 52nd Street and Third Avenue in Manhattan in front of Ess-a-Bagel. It was one of several recent attacks against Jews in New York City by Palestinians or Palestinian supporters, but this time, it turned out a bit differently. Dayan, 27, and Skornik, 26, were trained in Krav Maga, and both served in the Golani Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces. "New York is the most diverse city... (Jewish Journal via JNS) Words have meaning. And in fraught times, in matters of life and death, it is critically important to use the right words. To resolve our disputes, to solve our problems, we must accurately describe what is happening, so that we can respond to facts, not to rhetoric. Which brings me to the recent fighting between Israel and Hamas. Rep. Rashida Tlaib has said that Israel is practicing ethnic cleansing. The foreign ministry of Qatar put out a statement urging Israel to end the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. In a letter to the editor publishe... How bad is substance use in the Jewish community? Well, it is worse than many people think. And thats probably because substance use whether recreational or prescribed pain medication is so commonplace. Not to mention, getting drunk or getting high on pot or other depressants or stimulants is considered (by many) as fun. What many do not realize is that some of these people are genetically programmed to take the high further. Prescription pain pills can go from needed for the pain to needed. Briut held an excellent meeting, sponsored by the Jewish Federati... Dear Editor: According to members of Congress Israel started the latest Gaza War and Tlaib, Omar and Bernie Sanders are leading the charge to defund Israel just as the left wing governments of many of our cities and states are defunding the police. Much is made of the deaths of Palestinian children in Gaza. Nothing is made of the deaths of Israeli children in Israel. Fox News Geraldo Rivera decried the deaths of the little Palestinian children but didnt utter one mention of the deaths of Israeli children who were the victims of an attack begun by Hamas and not by Israel. All Jews feel... (JNS) Operation Guardian of the Walls may have been the most targeted and accurate precision-bombing campaign ever facilitated by any military, anywhere, in the history of conflict and war. In the 11 days before the ceasefire, more than 4,100 rockets and mortars were launched at Israel from the Gaza Strip by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other groups. In response, the Israel Defense Forces targeted more than 1,000 sites across the Strip with complex surgical strikes that stunned militaries and defense establishments around the world. Many of these strikes were on buildings... Stow - Passed away suddenly on Friday, June 4, 2021. Mary was the loving wife of Donald R. LeBlanc. Born in Haverhill, on May 3, 1942, Mary was the daughter of the late Joseph and Helen (Levis) Bresnahan. Mary was raised and educated in Haverhill, graduating from Saint James High School, Cla Public consensus key to pardoning Samsung chief President Moon Jae-in has touched off a debate over whether to grant a special pardon for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who is serving a prison term after being found guilty of bribery in a corruption scandal surrounding former President Park Geun-hye. The debate started Wednesday, when Moon made remarks insinuating that he might issue a pardon based on the social consensus forming around the issue. The remarks came during a luncheon meeting with the leaders of the country's four largest conglomerates Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK and LG at Cheong Wa Dae. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, concurrently serving as head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), reminded Moon of the business lobby's recommendation of a presidential pardon for Lee. Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam also stressed the need to "grant clemency" to Lee. In response, President Moon was quoted as saying that he "understands the difficulty." He added, "There are many people who sympathize with it." These remarks were interpreted as hinting that he was considering setting Lee free under a presidential grant of amnesty. Some conservative and pro-business media outlets reported on the possibility of Moon pardoning Lee on the occasion of the Aug. 15 National Liberation Day. However, Cheong Wa Dae has tried to downplay this possibility, saying that the President has yet to accept the business leaders' recommendation. Nevertheless, Moon's remarks signaled a change from his previous position that he was skeptical about such a pardon. In a press conference marking the fourth anniversary of his inauguration May 10, he said he would decide on the matter after listening to the voices of the people. In this context, it is difficult to rule out the possibility of a presidential pardon for Lee completely. The KCCI and four other business organizations are strongly lobbying for Lee's release in order to help speed up economic recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic. During the luncheon, Moon expressed his gratitude to the business leaders who accompanied him during his recent trip to Washington, D.C., for his first summit with U.S. President Joe Biden. The CEOs announced plans to invest a combined $39.4 billion (44 trillion won) in the production of semiconductors, electric cars and EV batteries in America, contributing to the successful outcome of the Moon-Biden summit. The business community has argued that Lee, the de facto head of the Samsung Group, should return to work to lead the IT giant amid escalating global competition in the semiconductor industry. Their stance is understandable given the rapidly changing economic and business situation at home and abroad. Yet, President Moon needs to take a cautious approach toward pardoning Lee. A public consensus appears to hold the key to the issue; but unions and civic groups are against such a pardon. Moon could also risk breaking his own amnesty rules, which exclude people imprisoned on convictions of bribery, embezzlement and breaches of trust from presidential pardons. He should not abuse his presidential right and must ensure the rule of law to create a fair and just society. Breaking News Updates Would you like to receive our Breaking News updates? Signup today! Calendar Updates Would you like to receive our weekly Calendar updates? Signup today! Deals Updates Would you like to receive Deals updates? Signup today! The home of Representative Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) in South Carolina was vandalized with far-left slogans like "all politicians are (CENSORED)" and a symbol of the anarcho-communist network Antifa, reported the Epoch Times. This report follows the claim of co-party member Josh Hawley on Twitter that his wife and daughter were threatened at their doorstep, which was mentioned by the Chicago Tribune last January. A tense political environment In a video posted YouTube, Rep. Mace said that vandals spray-painted the walls and sidewalk of her house. She described the experience as "very scary" She added, noted Newsweek, "What upsets me, what infuriates me, is that this is a place where I live with my two children... And my kids aren't even safe on their own front porch. It's wrong. We can disagree about politics, but vandalizing someone's property is wrong and illegal." The markings on her house imply that the vandalism was because Rep. Mace voted against the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. The vandals wrote, "Pass the PRO Act". Critics of the bill say that the PRO Act compels employees to join unions. Last Tuesday, Charleston police officers visited the home to inform the representative of the investigation. No arrests have been made, remarked the department's response to The Epoch Times. Rep. Mace also shared a video of a city worker erasing the graffiti. Read Also: VP Mike Pence Electoral College Count: The Last Stand on January 6 for Democracy Rep. Mace recounts previous harassment According to Rep. Mace, this is the second time she fell victim to a politically charged attack. Last year, Rep. Mace reported that her car was defaced with the words "[expletive] you" scratched on the door. The incident occurred hours before she met her political rival, Joe Cunningham, for a debate. Mace later won over Cunningham in a narrow victory to take back South Carolina's 1st District Seat for Republicans. Her win is seen as part of a wave of Republican gains in the lower chamber in 2020. Last Tuesday, Republican Mace said that those responsible should time out to question the actions. In a statement, she said, "As I've had time to digest what has happened over the last 24 hours, I also wanted to take a moment to urge people to think about their words and their actions. It's not just social media, but our words impact real people and impact real lives. We should take it down a notch." Rep. Mace also stressed that she is working across both sides of the aisle. In an interview with NBC, Rep. Mace said that she spoke out about the incident to give a voice to the Republican Party. Mace is often characterized as moderate, hesitating to join many of her colleagues in challenging election results last Jan. 6 and criticizing former President Donald Trump for his actions leading up to and after a breach. She did, nevertheless, oppose Trump's impeachment. Other GOP members have expressed concern over the vandalism incident. Related Article: The Left: Antifa Terrorists Threaten Senator Josh Hawley, Wife, and Infant Daughter at his Home @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A container ship that caught fire while carrying chemicals has started to sink off the coast of Sri Lanka on Wednesday. It is becoming a source of concern for a potential environmental disaster, stated local officials. The ship, named the MV X-Press Pearl, could create an oil spill emergency as it was carrying almost 350 metric tons of oil. Among the chemicals that the ship was carrying is nitric acid. The Singapore-registered X-Press Pearl had been on fire for nearly two weeks before it was put out this week. Hundreds of tonnes of oil from fuel tanks may leak into the sea. This could devastate nearby marine life. One of the Worst Ecological Disasters in Sri Lanka's History The container ship is sinking, unleashing what could be one of the worst ecological disasters in the country's history. Since May 20, the Sri Lanka Navy and Indian Coast Guard have been making great efforts to attempt to stop that from happening as the blaze engulfed the ship. Sri Lanka's Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) has cautioned the the MV X-Press Pearl that it could create an oil spill emergency, reported CNN. The ship burned for 13 days within sight of the island nation's coast before rescue workers managed to extinguish the blaze on Tuesday. A large amount of plastic debris has already inundated beaches. Authorities fear a greater disaster should the 278 tonnes of bunker oil and 50 tonnes of gas in the ship's fuel tanks leak into the Indian Ocean, reported ABC. Dutch salvage firm SMIT tried to pull the still-smoking wreckage of the 31,600-tonne vessel further into deeper waters on Wednesday. However, the effort stalled, according to navy spokesman Indika de Silva. He remarked the stern had sunk to the bottom at a depth of 22 meters (72 feet), which is six nautical miles (11 kilometres) from the coast of Pamunugama. Read Also: Lethal US Navy Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) Prove Their Worth in the Pacific in Repulsing Chinese Navy According to De Silva, "The bow is still afloat, but the stern is submerged and resting on the sea bed. As a result, the towing of the ship has been stopped," reported Phys Org. The Singaporean operator shifted its focus to mitigating environmental harm as the possibility of a potential oil spill increased. Chemicals from the ship's incinerated containers littered on surrounding waters and plastic pellets washed ashore on sandy beaches near Negombo. Some oil was already visible in nearby beaches of Negombo, which is about 40-km from Colombo, according to an eyewitness. However, it was not made clear if it was from the fire-hit ship. De Silva said the navy helped crew of the SMIT to board the vessel and establish a tow connection following many attempts overnight failing because of the bad weather. According to operators of the X-Press Feeders, the aft portion of the ship is now touching bottom at a depth of 21 meters (70 feet). The company added the forward area remains to be afloat but is spewing smoke. Related Article: New Zealand Vs. Sri Lanka 1st Test Live Stream: Massive Blow To Sri Lanka Ahead Of First Test As Kusal Perera Fails Drug Test (LIVE STREAM, LIVE SCORES) @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Prosecutors are asking for Derek Chauvin to be sentenced for 30 years but his counsel, Eric Nelson, does not agree. Chauvin's lawyer said on Wednesday that they will be contesting the 30-year sentence because there was no impartiality in the case. In an article by the Sun, one of the jurors, Brandon Mitchell, had worn a Black Lives Matter shirt several times, raising the question that the BLM may have undermined the outcome of the trial. Last April, the ex-cop was judged guilty of second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, and third-degree murder for the death of George Floyd in 2020. Chauvin will be sentenced on June 25 in a Minneapolis court, reported the Epoch Times. Chauvin prefers probation because of his age The defendant would prefer probation because of his age of 43, as written in a memorandum of his lawyer's counterargument. Nelson wrote in the 17-page filing, "Police officers have a significantly higher average chance of dying from several diseases compared to males in different professions, and overall life expectancy is generally shorter due to the nature of the job. The accused is already forty-four years old and approaching the prime of his life. He has been tentatively assessed with cardiovascular disease and, like so many ex-police officers, could die at a younger age." Next, Chauvin's lawyer stated facts why the 30-year sentence is not appropriate. One reason is that he will be a definite target for inmates in prison, especially for officer-involved offenses, which makes it dangerous for the defendant. According to Nelson, probation is the proper sentence to avoid a bad situation in prison. Read also: George Floyd Autopsy Shows He Had Coronavirus That May Aggravated His Maltreatment by Police Because of safety concerns, Chauvin has been placed in solitary confinement at Minnesota's only high-security prison, the Oak Park Heights federal prison at Stillwater. Chauvin's lawyer further defended his reason of why his client should get a lighter sentence, saying that compared to worse offenders, Chauvin has not been charged with anything, and he has been cooperative. Another is the case has been the focus of the public, thus it has lost its objectivity. The defense counsel asked Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill for a strict probationary sentence that includes equal time in jail that has been served by the defendant. But, Minnesota prosecutors are adamant about the 30 years in prison. Before the longer sentence is imposed, the factors should be examined if they are valid not because of an unsubstantiated reason to justify jailing Derek Chauvin longer than needed. The officer will only be punished for his most serious crime, second-degree murder, according to Minnesota law. The convict is facing a presumptive sentence of 128 to 180 months in jail. If condemned to prison, the defendant will serve just two-thirds of his sentence in prison before being put on supervised release for the remainder of his sentence, according to the state law. Even if Judge Cahill would allow a longer sentence, Nelson said that nothing can reverse what happened, thus probation is the proper sentence for his client. Related article: Derek Chauvin Conviction in George Floyd Death Certain, Feds Had Backup Plans If Declared Innocent @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A federal appeals court found that the federal government's national eviction moratorium can remain in effect. The eviction moratorium imposed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can remain while the Biden administration appeals a lower-court verdict that reversed the order last month, according to a three-judge panel in Washington. In that case, US District Judge Dabney Friedrich held that the CDC overstepped its bounds when it ordered a sweeping eviction moratorium that applied to all rental houses. Friedrich put her order on hold when the government filed an appeal. Renters' groups worry of the initial decision on eviction moratorium The appeals court upheld the stay on Wednesday, saying the government has made a compelling argument that it is likely to prevail on the merits, as per Bloomberg. The verdict will come as a comfort to renters' groups that worried Friedrich's earlier decision would result in widespread evictions as the United States continues to deal with the aftermath of the pandemic's economic effects. The moratorium, which was initially implemented by President Donald Trump and has since been extended by President Joe Biden, attempts to avoid evictions amid a public health crisis that has seen millions of Americans lose their jobs and go deeply into debt. According to Reuters, the appeals court sustained the stay on Wednesday, saying that the government's argument made a strong showing that it is likely to succeed on the merits of the appeal. The moratorium is expected to end on June 30 and will apply to renters who expect to earn less than $99,000 per year or $198,000 for married couples filing jointly. It also applies to people who did not record any income or who were eligible for and got stimulus money. The eviction moratorium, which was first enacted last year, was implemented in response to concerns that people losing their homes and being forced to live in shelters or share cramped surroundings with family or friends during the pandemic would spread the highly infectious illness even further. The ban's supporters believe that it is essential since the pandemic remains a danger and so many people are facing eviction or foreclosure. According to the Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey, about 4 million people in the United States are facing eviction or foreclosure in the next two months. The National Association of Realtors, one of the moratorium's opponents, welcomed the judge's first decision, saying that the solution was rental assistance, not an eviction prohibition. Read Also: Black Lives Matter Ugly Truth? Founder Rashard Turner Resigns After Explosive Claims, Releases Video The housing group anticipates a "tsunami of evictions" After the state's eviction moratorium ends on June 30, a local housing group predicts a "tsunami of evictions." Nonprofits and local governments are rushing to disseminate information about available options to prevent evictions and homelessness. Solid Ground, a Seattle group with a mission to alleviate poverty, races against the clock to make sure individuals are ready to receive an eviction notice, according to a coordinator. "There's just a lot of concern, a lot of people who need services, and it's been a great load on families all around the county," said Will Toaspern, Solid Ground's government affairs and contracts coordinator, K5 News via MSN reported. Nonprofits and local governments will work together over the next month to disburse federal cash to keep people in their homes. A billion dollars is projected to be available in Washington state to help residents avoid eviction as a result of the pandemic, with $145 million now being disbursed through King County's Rental Assistance Program. However, housing advocate groups are concerned that there will be little time to give funding before the state's eviction moratorium ends. Applications for rental assistance might take weeks to process. According to the US Census Household Pulse Survey, 65,261 families in the Seattle-Tacoma metro region said eviction or foreclosure was very or very likely between April 28 and May 10. Related Article: Judge Strikes Down CDC Eviction Moratorium, Will Many Become Homeless? @YouTube @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The federal government approved the $300 weekly unemployment benefit during the first month of President Joe Biden. The main goal of the financial aid is to make sure that unemployed residents in the country who are qualified to receive the unemployment benefit will be financially supported amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a published report in Reuters, Republican lawmakers attempted to block the bill. They firmly believed that it will just lead to more unemployment since most of the Americans will become dependent on the unemployment benefit and will no longer work. None of the Republican lawmakers voted for this measure when it was proposed both in the House of Congress and Senate. Additionally, the Democratic and Republican lawmakers continue to debate the proposed Infrastructure Bill of Biden. Number of Vaccinated Americans Increased Read Also: Fourth Stimulus Check, If Approved, May Reach Only Fewer Americans: Why and How to Qualify In a recently published article in The Hill, Republican governors made the decision following the announcement that the number of vaccinated Americans and residents in the country continues to increase. The weekly unemployment benefits were lauded as a critical component of the country's response to the epidemic. However, as the vaccine campaign in the United States advances, the payouts have become the focus of a political struggle among politicians on how to lift the country out of its present economic slump, according to a published article in CNET. The most recent state to end the unemployment benefit is Maryland. On Tuesday, Maryland, headed by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, became the 25th state to declare the termination of the weekly $300 COVID-19 unemployment payments. Businesses Support End of Unemployment Benefits A chorus of Republican state officials and corporate lobbying organizations are now suggesting that the checks should be phased out since they are prompting individuals to turn down decent jobs, leaving firms without the workforce required to reopen. However, the Biden administration, Democrats, labor, activists, and a small group of economists disagree with that assessment. They claim that a significant portion of the workforce is still jobless due to a shortage of child care, fear of illness, and poor earnings. Furthermore, White House officials are allegedly worried that terminating the benefits too soon, before widespread vaccination efforts are done, could harm employees and the economy, both of which are still recovering from the pandemic's detrimental consequences. The White House believes there is now a labor shortage in the United States. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday that "It will take time for employees to rebuild trust in the safety of the workplace." Alaska, Iowa, Mississippi, and Missouri will cease sending payments on June 12. Checks will be phased away in the remaining 21 GOP-led states until July 10. Workers may still be eligible for standard state unemployment benefits. However, the requirements differ. According to Department of Labor figures, around 2.8 million individuals are receiving pandemic benefits in the 25 states that are slated to end them on May 8. A recent working paper issued last month by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco stated that the extra $300 in emergency unemployment benefits has little impact on claimants' desire to work. Related Article: Fourth Stimulus Check: Another Round of Direct Payments Depends on Congress; Lawmakers Urge for More @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. An Uber driver was fatally shot in the head in an attempted carjacking in Cicero, Illinois. He was working when the suspects approached his vehicle. The Cicero Police Department said the brutal crime occurred at around 7:30 p.m. on Monday. The victim, 38-year-old Uber driver Joseph Schelstraete, was about to pick up a customer near 23rd Street and 55th Avenue in the Chicago Suburb just before the attack. Authorities said four unidentified men approached the victim's blue Ford Focus shortly before one shot Schelstraete in the head. Police said the suspects quickly fled the scene of the crime after the shooting. Officials said the victim was transported to Loyola University Medical Center to be treated for his injuries. However, Schesltraete's family said he later died on Wednesday due to the gravity of his wounds. Senseless Killing "There are many senseless factors of this tragedy, and that's one of them. They didn't have to kill him. He would have given them anything they wanted. But because of the unfortunate evil and wickedness of this world, they took his life," Kim Bova, the victim's aunt, said, People via MSN reported. During a press conference on Tuesday, Cicero Police Chief Jerry Chlada Jr. said the suspects were able to steal some items during the encounter. He also said a juvenile suspect was arrested two blocks away from the scene of the crime after police set up a perimeter. However, the three other suspects still remain at large. About three weeks ago, a similar carjacking incident occurred in the same area where Schelstraete was attacked. Chlada said police were investigating whether or not the two cases are connected. "He has three young kids and was just out trying to make a dollar. He truly is a victim --- just in the wrong place at the wrong time, unfortunately. By all accounts that we can tell, he's just a hard-working guy," Chlada said. On Wednesday, an Uber spokeswoman expressed their sympathy to the family of the victim and said they are working with law enforcement to bring justice for the victim, ABC reported. Read Also: Dangerous TikTok Fire Challenge Lands Teen Girl in ICU for Severe Burns, Family Says It Was Unreal Fears of Uncertainty The incident caused fear and anxiety among rideshare drivers who said it is now difficult to differentiate calls from actual customers from those with other intentions. Schelstraete's family said the victim experienced another attack just a week before his death. Bova said the father of three had a big bump on his head when he came home and promised not to pick up calls in the area again. While police continued their investigations to identify the other suspects, Schelstraete's family said the ages of the criminals should not play a factor in their prosecution. "These juveniles are so much more callous and misguided --- so much more mature," Bova said. Schelstraete's Uber work was his second job, and his primary source of income was as an employee for a steel company in Northwest Indiana. His family said he used the extra money to help his children with their expenses, CBS Local reported. Related Article: Police Have Cows To Thank for After The Animals Block The Suspect, Ending a Car Chase @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Another incident that signals the ongoing problems in the Indo-Pacific region, centering over the dispute over the South China Sea (SCS) was reported. Malaysian Air Force jets were sent to intercept radar contacts over the SCS. Alarm over the SCS controlled by Malaysia These contacts were Chinese cargo planes called the Xian Y-20, a copy of the America C-17 Globemaster, which the MAF deemed suspicious as they entered Malaysian airspace, reported the BBC. The maneuver was denounced by Malaysia's foreign minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, as a "serious threat to national sovereignty." China, as it often does, claimed their planes were following international law. Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Taiwan, and Vietnam contest China's claims that make most of the South China Sea their territory. Although this has been an issue for decades, tensions have recently increased as China continues to flex its military power. Beijing continues to insist on the "nine-dash line" but has shored up its claim by occupying islands and patrols and increasing its military presence. At the same time, it continues to profess its peaceful intentions. Interception of the Chinese planes The Malaysian air force stated that Chinese aircraft were reportedly "flying in tactical formation" up to 27,000 feet (8.2 kilometers). The planes came within 60 nautical miles (110 kilometers) of Sarawak, a Malaysian province on the island of Borneo. Attempts to communicate with the pilots were ineffective, said one statement. Malaysia blasts Chinese intrusion of their Air Defense Identification Zone, claiming that it has a legitimate complaint on the conduct of China's air force. Read also: China's Plan On How to Claim the Entire South China Sea Revealed Malaysian fighter jets were deployed from Labuan Air Base to execute a "visual identification" operation. Chinese aircraft crossed the country's "maritime zone," according to Foreign Minister Hussein. He said a complaint would be raised with Beijing. One report said the Chinese ambassador was summoned to discuss the "infringement of Malaysian airspace and sovereignty." A statement released by Hussein said, noted ABC," Malaysia's position is clear: having cordial diplomatic relations with any nation does not mean that our national security will be compromised." Chinese military aircraft are granted the right "the freedom of overflight in the relevant airspace," based on a statement from the Chinese embassy in Kuala Lumpur. "The Chinese military aircraft strictly observed relevant international law throughout this training and did not cross the sovereign airspace of any other nation," the spokesman said, cited The Daily Sun. China and Malaysia are generally friendly neighbors, and China is keen to undertake bilateral amicable discussions with Malaysia to maintain peace and security jointly. Problems have occurred in the SCS as a major point of contention as China and other claimants are vying for control over two areas of two largely uninhabited island chains, the Paracels and the Spratlys. Beijing states that its claims over the biggest areas are part of a centuries-old stake, according to Chinese records. The Philippines lodged a protest against China last March, charging that more than 200 Chinese fishing boats had invaded its territorial waters. Philippine officials said the boats are not for fishing but are Chinese maritime militia, which has been involved in several altercations. Malaysia blasts Chinese intrusion of their Air Defense Identification Zone is nothing new as China tends to ignore such protests. Related article: China Calls US Warship in Taiwan Strait a Threat to Peace @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. In a recently published article in Fox News, Google will allow adverts for cryptocurrency exchanges and digital wallets aimed at US customers on its platform beginning August 3. The internet behemoth said in August that it would revise its financial goods and services policy to "clarify the scope and standards to enable the marketing of bitcoin-related business and services." A cryptocurrency wallet is an app that enables users to store and retrieve digital assets from cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase. A user's assets in the digital wallet may then be used to perform transactions. According to a published report in Yahoo News, Coinbase just announced that beginning this week, select users will be able to use the Coinbase Card, a Visa debit card that gives up to 4 percent back in crypto rewards on daily transactions, with digital wallets Apple Pay and Google Pay. Meanwhile, the widely-used Paypal, made the announcement last week that it was working on a withdrawal mechanism that would enable customers to transfer their bitcoins into digital wallets. Read also: Cryptocurrency; The Famous Currency How Advertisers Can Be Certified? The company also went on to specifically describe how advertising may get accredited. To begin, they must be properly registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as a "Money Services Business" and with at least one state as a money transmitter. Advertisers may also be "a federal or state-chartered financial institution," according to a published article in Bitcoin. Meanwhile, Google confirmed that some advertisements are not permitted. Ads for initial coin offers [ICO], Defi trading systems, or otherwise advertising the acquisition, sale, or exchange of cryptocurrencies or associated items fall under this category. Furthermore, ad destinations that combine or compare issuers of cryptocurrencies or similar products are not permitted. Some examples of prohibited advertisements include ICO pre-sales or public offerings, cryptocurrency loans, initial DEX offerings, token liquidity pools, celebrity cryptocurrency endorsements, unhosted wallets, unregulated Dapps, cryptocurrency trading signals, cryptocurrency investment advice, aggregators, or affiliate sites containing related content, or broker reviews. Facebook and Twitter Reverses Its Ban on Cryptocurrency In an effort to combat fraud, Google, Facebook, and Twitter all announced in March 2018 that they will prohibit or limit cryptocurrency-related marketing. This announcement came at a time when cryptocurrency was not yet widely recognized. Later, Facebook said that it was lifting the ban, allowing adverts promoting cryptocurrencies and related content from pre-approved marketers. Google quickly followed suit, stating in October 2018 that licensed cryptocurrency exchanges will be allowed to advertise in the United States and Japan. Google said in a statement that "As a reminder, we expect all advertisers to comply with the local laws for any area that their ads target. This policy will apply globally to all accounts that advertise these financial products." Cryptocurrencies soared on Wednesday, with Bitcoin selling over $37,000 per coin and competitors Ethereum and Dogecoin selling at $2,700 and 40 cents per coin, respectively, according to Coindesk pricing. Related Article: Digital Wallet Coinbase To Include Dogecoin in Transactions Soon, Says CEO @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. By Donald Kirk WASHINGTON A gentle wind on a sunny day created the perfect atmosphere for visiting monuments on the Mall, honoring America's war dead on its Memorial Day, which is the last day of May.Staring at the 58,000 names etched in the shiny black granite of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, as a journalist who covered the war, I looked for those whom I might have known among the 58,000 who died. On the other side of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, wandering past the stainless-steel statues of 19 troops on patrol, I gazed at the mural, also in black granite, portraying U.S. forces against the backdrop of the forbidding terrain over which they fought the Korean War's bloodiest battles.It comes as a shock to realize that the Korean War, having ended in 1953, a dozen years before the first U.S. combat troops landed in Vietnam, was so forgotten that its memorial did not open until 1995, 13 years after the debut of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It was as though Americans had wanted to obliterate from memory the trauma of a conflict in which 36,574 U.S. troops were killed, including 8,177 forever missing. The American losses in both the Vietnam and Korean Wars were far, far less than the millions of Vietnamese and Koreans, military and civilian, who lost their lives, but both wars have been burned into the American psyche as enduring tragedies.Vietnam, judging from the crowds visiting the Memorial Wall, forms the more bitter, ineradicable memory. That's because the war, for the U.S., was a futile crusade on behalf of a regime that would never rule effectively, much less democratically. The realization that all those killed in that war died in vain makes it an enduring stain on the national consciousness. Korea was quite different. The invaders from the North were repulsed, a great society arose in the South, the economy flourished and eventually democracy, however imperfect, won out over dictatorship.The Korean War Veterans Memorial, though, is changing. Construction has just begun on building it all over again. Incredibly, following the example of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the plan is to etch on black granite the names of all the American troops killed in the war.The number, though, will go well beyond those who were in U.S. uniforms. They also will include the names of 7,200 Koreans who served as the Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army, known by the rather awkward acronym, KATUSA. For the first time, those Koreans who died while in U.S. military units, under the command not of Koreans, but of American officers, will be getting the recognition they deserve, having fought as members of the U.S. armed forces.A U.S. park ranger told me that the reconstruction of the Korean War Veterans Memorial will take at least two years. The statues of the soldiers on patrol will have to be cleaned and moved to somewhat different places on the site. The linden trees will be replanted. The list of names of those who died serving in U.S. units, whether American or Korean, is expected to attract many more visitors to a memorial that is often overlooked, forgotten just like the war.But the evolution of the Korean War Veterans Memorial reflects another reality: the fact that the Korean War is becoming less and less forgotten. The survival of a North Korean regime whose leader brandishes nuclear warheads and is ordering construction of the long-range missiles needed to carry them to targets in the U.S. has done much to increase American awareness of Korea.In fact, if the Vietnam and Korean War Veterans Memorials were competing with one another for the award for which one is the best, the Korean War Veterans Memorial would win.The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, after all, consists of a list of names of those who were killed in the war. That concept is original and dramatic, but the Korean War Veterans Memorial is much more complex. The statues, the mural and the surrounding trees swaying in the breeze all contribute to the sense that at last, the memories and lessons of that war are penetrating the minds of those to whom it's otherwise bereft of real meaning.The fact that the Korean story is ongoing, unresolved and volatile, adds to the impact of the memorial as it now stands and as it will look with the roll of the dead etched in stone on the wall beyond the soldiers on patrol. The Korean War, as is often noted, remains unresolved. Talks, and talks about talks, involving North Korea's nuclear program are off and on again and again.The Vietnam War is history. There will be no more names to carve on the wall. The Korean War remains in flux, with the changing memorial being a reminder of a war still without end.Donald Kirk ( www.donaldkirk.com ) writes from Seoul as well as Washington. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now facing a newly-formed governing coalition created by his opponents on Wednesday to oust the longtime political leader from his position. Opposition leader Yair Lapid announced the news with his main coalition partner Naftali Bennett shortly before a midnight deadline. Without the coalition, Israel would have experienced its fifth consecutive election in just over two years. Lapid said the new government coalition will work for the benefit of all residents of Israel, whether or not they voted. He said it will do its best in working to unite the Israeli society and work together moving forward. Opposition Leaders The coalition's leaders, Lapid and Bennett, will split the responsibilities of being prime minister, in a rotation. For the first two years, Bennett will hold the position while Lapid will be the leader in the final two years. The deal also works with the United Arab List, a minor Islamist party, which has made itself known as the first Arab party to be part of a governing coalition, USA Today via MSN reported. The Knesset still needs to approve the agreement before it can proceed with its objectives. Authorities expect the voting for the decision to take place sometime early next week. If the vote is supportive of the coalition, Lapid and several other partners will put to an end Netanyahu's 12-year reign. Many believe that the Israeli Prime Minister will do everything in his power to fend off the coalition while fighting against charges of corruption. Netanyahu has previously pressured opposition to defect and join him as his ally to maintain power. Netanyahu's Likud party member Yariv Levin has the influence to potentially delay the required parliamentary vote on the coalition party. Lapid has urged Levin to immediately convene the Knesset to begin the vote as early as possible. Read Also: Joe Biden Trusts Kamala Harris To Lead Democrats Push On Voting Rights; Slams Republican's New Bills Long-time Political Leader Netanyahu has had the most power in Israeli politics while serving as the country's prime minister since 2009. He was also in the position in a previous term in the late 1990s, HuffPost reported. The newly-created coalition could ease the political impasse that gave Israel an unstable government and no state budget. The agreement is an alliance between eight political parties from different ideologies. Many analysts are expressing their support for the coalition, saying that it represents the breadth and complexity of contemporary society. However, others argue the difference in ideologies cannot last and could crumble much earlier than anticipated. Bennett, the first member of the coalition to hold the position of prime minister if the agreement is approved, would lead until 2023. He has been opposing a Palestinian state and wishes for Israel to annex the majority of the occupied West Bank. On the other hand, Lapid is a former television host characterized as a centrist who represents secular Israelis. He would lead the nation as prime minister until 2025 after Bennett finishes his term, The New York Times reported. Related Article: Joe Biden Ends Trump's 'Remain in Mexico' Policy, Migrants Forced to Stay in Mexico @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. China has accused several large Western brands of selling substandard products that are potentially dangerous to children. A list of 81 items imported by H&M, Zara, and Nike, was published on the country's customs office website. China began targeting foreign clothing companies in March, as worldwide outrage mounts over allegations of human rights violations in the cotton-growing Xinjiang province. The Xinjiang region is home to the predominantly Muslim Uighur minority group. According to BBC, China has imprisoned Uighurs in facilities in Xinjiang's northwestern province, where there have been reports of torture, forced labor, and sexual assault. Several major corporations have voiced alarm over reports that Uighurs are forced to work as slaves, while some Western countries placed sanctions on China earlier this year. The sanctions were imposed in a concerted effort by the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. Beijing has disputed the charges of torture, claiming that the camps are designed to re-educate terrorists. China has retaliated by imposing restrictions on Western legislators, scholars, and institutions. Western products listed in China's customs for containing toxic compounds Items such as children's apparel, shoes, toys, toothbrushes, and baby bottles were cited during inspections from June 2020 to May 2021, according to China's General Administration of Customs. Nine batches of H&M girls' cotton dresses are said to contain "dyes or toxic compounds that may be absorbed by the body through the skin, mouth, etc., and endanger health." The same issue was identified in Zara's imported children's clothing, Nike's boys' t-shirts, and batches of Gap boys' cotton pajamas. The notice is the latest setback for Western apparel labels operating in China. Online stores of certain companies have been disabled, and their locations have been removed from various digital maps. H&M and Nike were first targeted, but the list has now expanded to include brands like Burberry, Adidas, and Converse. While H&M's physical locations in China remain open, customers can no longer use an app to hail a taxi to the store or purchase products online. Instead, China is promoting domestic brands. Read Also: Lawsuit That Accuses Google of Gender Pay Discrimination Granted With Class-Action Status China customs previously accuse H&M and Zara of selling clothes that risk health Chinese consumers are urged by officials to remain cautious while purchasing foreign children's products. Per SCMP, the Chinese social media community reacted positively to Tuesday's customs notice, causing many internet users to urge support for native brands such as Li-Ning and Anta rather than international products. H&M shuttered one of its flagship locations in Shanghai on May 13 as a result of the initial criticism. It came after Inditex, Zara's parent company, revealed earlier this year that all of its Pull&Bear, Bershka, and Stradivarius stores in China will close this year, Newsweek via MSN reported. GAP is also said to be considering selling its China operations. This is not the first time H&M and Zara have been named in a safety alert. Chinese customs accused the two brands of importing children's clothing that pose potential health dangers for children. These brands were also cited in a similar notification on May 30, 2020, based on an inspection from January to May last year. H&M has also suffered other business consequences recently. Chinese celebrities have canceled sponsorship arrangements with the brand, and major Chinese e-commerce sites have withdrawn their products. Related Article: Supreme Court Denies Johnson & Johnson's Appeal To Throw Out $2 Billion Penalty in Talc Baby Powder Cancer Verdict @YouTube @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. According to the plan, about 55 older Hornets will be retired until next year to replace them with the newest model of the F/A-18. One problem is to keep enough fighters in service, which is why the Air Force Fighting Falcons will serve temporarily with the Navy, reported Military. Such a measure will lessen the maintenance cost of its older fleet and keep its adversary capacity. Although the exact number of the F-16s is not mentioned, most of the planes will be transferred from the Air National Guard units, noted Seapower Magazine. Fighting Falcons will serve in aggressor squadrons Capable aircraft must provide Navy pilots with excellent training acting as enemies in all aspects of combat flying. US fighter pilots have the best training available, close to actual aerial combat with using live weapons. The focus is on lessening the USN fighter force and has more Super Hornets, F-35 JSF, and the future F/A-XX as next-generation fighters. An add-on will be using robotic drone wingmen as applied new technology. One argument is whether the future fighter is a crewed plane or a semi-autonomous drone flyer. In addition, the US Navy will get Air Force F-16 fighters as options to fill in the inventory gap. Read also: Sixth-Gen Fighter Jet Preferred by Us Navy Better Than F-35 Top Gun school The Navy had used F-16s, but a total of 26 specialized Navy versions; these were 22-single seaters and four two-seater variants from 1988 and 1998 for aggressor training. When the N models were retired, about 14 F-16s should have been for the Pakistani air force in the 2000s. A Naval Topgun school still uses these planes at the Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada. The number of fighter jets and attack aircraft it maintains will be less. The Air Force says the F-16 has a role in its active squadrons. According to Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote, the Air Force's deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration, and requirements, its most recent upgraded block [F-16s] will continue to fly for some time. Hinote mentioned in an interview earlier this month that the Air Force will evaluate what types of roles or mission sets sound right for the F-16 as a multirole aircraft, including homeland defense, or if the newer aircraft can be upgraded in the long term. The Air Force Magazine said the service would introduce the Multirole Fighter-X, or MR-X, program sometime within this decade. It will be included in the service's inventory mostly in the mid-2030s. What is next? Several things can happen to make the F-16s serve in the MR-X role but if providing upgrades is not cost-effective, that could lead to a ground-up design instead. This design will be for homeland defense and not based on a high-end conflict, 5th generation aircraft, or more. Therefore, it should not feature stealth as a prime characteristic of any advanced technology. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown said it should be better than the Fighting Falcon or the Viper variant for a multi-mission plane. Both Hinote and Brown emphasize the advantages of the plane. It is cheaply maintained and built more efficiently -- from digital design, the blueprint, to actual aircraft. It can also be upgraded over a long period of time in the future. The US Navy will get Air Force F-16 fighters as a temporary measure until the needed planes are ready. Related article: US Air Force Wants a 4.5 or 5th Gen close to F-35, F-21 for India @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The St Petersburg International Economic Forum will start on Thursday, and it will be one of its most significant conferences after last year's lockdowns began. Organizers of the event want a business-as-usual atmosphere. However, the pandemic is still very much present in the travel restrictions, safety concerns, and increased prices compared to the last forum in 2019. As a result, the forum is a more scaled-back event, reported Business Times. Speakers expected at the Russian Forum The schedule on Friday is the main event. Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold court with other world leaders and takes questions from the audience. Other world leaders expected to join the event through a video call are the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. Kurtz is at home and is under investigation for lying to lawmakers. Putin faces criticism Putin is facing growing marginalization as a consequence of some of the worst tensions with the US and Europe since the Cold War. Some of the issues levied against him are cyberassaults, espionage, and Russia's support for Belarus in hijacking a commercial plane to capture a journalist critical of the administration. Putin is also criticized for a sweeping political crackdown against his critics, especially the imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. US President Joe Biden previously stated that on the June 16 summit with Putin in Geneva, he would like to discuss human rights with Putin. Political tensions have crossed over into the economy as years of foreign restrictions reflect in stunted economic growth a decrease in earnings. Despite these challenges, Russia is generally perceived to be mending well from the pandemic's economic impact. Russian President Vladimir Putin hosting the Flagship Investor Forum could give the economy a boost. Read also: US Government Agencies Under Cyber Attack: Russia, China Main Suspects Aside from sanctions and the state of relationships with other countries, another factor that affects Russia's economy is the instability of the ruble, said the Association of European Businesses members to Bloomberg Quint. The high costs of the forum High prices, estimated as much as three times the cost of the previous event, make it prohibitive for some to attend. One of them is Anastasia Tatulova, the owner of a Moscow coffee chain. She said she would be honored to be asked to speak on a panel until she was billed 960,000 roubles (S$17,262) for the privilege, she wrote on Facebook. Tatulova posted on social media last Tuesday that she got a form that permitted her to register for free without any justification or explanation when her story was reported up by the local press. Russia's decision to hold the conference, which is billed as the Kremlin's answer to the World Economic Forum, came regardless of the fact that Russia is one of the countries worst hit by the pandemic. New infections are also on the rise. Russian President Vladimir Putin heading the Flagship Investor forum in an attempt to drum up economic activity to show his country is normal again.. Related article: Russian Intelligence Chief Slams Accusations from the US and UK Saying It Hacked Solar Winds @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan is set to provide relief for struggling Americans. The plan already includes the Homeowners Assistance Fund (HAF). Dubbed a "secret" stimulus, it provides direct financial assistance with $9.961 billion worth of funding to help homeowners in paying mortgages, taxes, utilities, insurance, and homeowners association dues. In addition, growing support for a fourth stimulus check could still come to the pockets of Americans if the federal government decides to include it. More than 70 Democratic lawmakers are now urging the federal government to provide a fourth stimulus check. The demand for another financial support program brings questions of whether or not Biden's American Families Plan proposal includes a one-time stimulus package. Fourth Stimulus Check? The HAF is called a secret stimulus because it prioritizes homeowners who are struggling the most. Its application is broad enough to include costs associated with owning a home, from mortgage to utility bills. Local and national income indicators are used to determine how the HAF can make the most impact. Relief for citizens is starting to come in many forms. North Carolina officials approved a bill that would give $800 to unemployed residents or a boosted $1,500 if they find a new job. The program includes a "signing bonus" given to those who are hired. If residents can get a new job on or before June 1, the bill would give them $1,500 as a bonus distributed in two separate payments. However, if they get a new job on or before July 1, they will get $800. Read Also: Joe Biden Trusts Kamala Harris To Lead Democrats Push on Voting Rights; Slams Republican's New Bills Recently, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said a fourth direct payment would be dependent on Congress' decision. The authority to provide financial support to Americans will not come from the White House or President Biden. "We'll see what members of Congress propose. But those [payments] are not free," she said, The Sun reported. Seven members of the influential House Ways and Means Committee recently wrote a letter urging President Biden to include a fourth stimulus check in his "families plan." An online petition has also collected nearly 2.26 million signatures from Americans asking for a new direct payment program to give $2,000 to adults and $1,000 to children. What Americans Need "Moving forward, Congress needs to make recurring checks automatic if certain triggers are met. No more waiting around for our government to send the help we need," the petition said, which was started by an out-of-work restaurant owner from Denver. However, despite the massive support and demand for a new package, the White House and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have been quiet about their opinions on the possibility of a fourth stimulus check, Yahoo Finance reported. The restaurant owner, Stephanie Bonin, argued that many Americans across the country are still struggling to recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. She said the real unemployment rate is at 20 percent and many citizens are facing massive debts stemming from utilities, rent, and child care since last year. While a fourth stimulus check is still not guaranteed, Biden's American Rescue Plan is set to provide relief. Aside from the HAF secret stimulus, it also includes a child tax credit. This part of the program will hand out $3,600 for every child below the age of six, and $3,000 for every child between the ages of six and 17. The payments will begin distribution on July 15, Silive reported. Related Article: Monthly Stimulus Checks Petition Receives 2.25M Signatures; Democrats Push Relief Payments To Keep Americans 'Out of Poverty' @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Naver's headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province / Korea Times file By Kim Jae-heun Information technology giant Naver may lose valuable points in its environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) evaluation following the suicide of one of its employees on April 25. Naver has been praised for excelling in the "social" and "corporate governance" criteria of ESG principles due to its pursuit of egalitarian corporate culture. A survey by the Korea Corporate Governance Service last year awarded the online platform the highest grade of A+ in corporate governance among the top 10 largest companies in terms of market capitalization. Naver also received an A for its environmental and social criteria, which is one level up from the previous year. The Hong Kong-based brokerage CLSA also ranked Naver second among Asian internet firms in a report evaluating ESG criteria in March. "Naver established a union in 2018 and it implemented strict policies to protect customers' personal information, which helped the company avoid getting embroiled in serious incidents. Naver is appraised as one of the best companies to work for in the country, according to a survey conducted by a local job seeking platform," CLSA said in its report. Naver CEO Han Seong-sook speaks during a meeting at Naver headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on April 15. Courtesy of Naver Naver went even further and set up various communication channels to listen to the complaints and opinions of its staffers, but it could not prevent an employee from committing suicide. CHICAGO, June 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mesirow today announced that Lance Bell has joined Mesirow Investment Banking as Managing Director. Lance will focus primarily on serving clients within the healthcare services sector. Leveraging his industry experience, Lance's contributions will strengthen Mesirow's distinguished middle-market advisory platform. In this Aug. 8, 2018, file photo, the Tesla logo is seen outside of their showroom in Washington, D.C. AFP-Yonhap Tesla has dropped radar sensors from its semi-autonomous driving system, Autopilot, raising concerns over the safety of the camera-only version, Tesla Vision. Tesla aims to make the driver-assist system fully self-driving, and many in that young industry are skeptical that a vision-only system will work, saying such systems face challenges in darkness, sunny glare and poor weather conditions. Safety ratings groups have dropped their labels until they test newly configured cars. Still, Tesla's chief executive, Elon Musk, has surprised the industry before first and foremost by turning the electric vehicle maker into the world's most valuable car company. Here are some questions and answers about Tesla's bet on a camera-based system. How does Tesla's system work, with and without radar? Tesla in May started delivering Model 3 and Model Y with a driver-assist system based on eight cameras mounted around the car and with no radar. The cameras, like eyes, send images to computer networks, like the brain, which recognize and analyze objects. Over the years, Tesla's view of radar has changed. In May 2016, a Tesla car crashed, killing the driver, when Autopilot failed to detect a white semi-truck crossing in front of it. Later that year, Tesla announced a plan to give radar a primary role in navigation while describing a false-alarm problem with some radar systems that needed to be fixed. "Good thing about radar is that, unlike lidar ... it can see through rain, snow, fog and dust," Musk tweeted in 2016. Tesla also said radar "plays an essential role in detecting and responding to forward objects." Tesla does not use a more expensive lidar sensor, which gives more precise shape information of an object than radar. Tesla drivers complained of "phantom braking" when their cars stopped abruptly on highways under an overpass or a bridge. Musk said the new camera-only system will likely be safer than radar because of less "noise" or confusing signals, industry news site Electrek reported. After the May 2016 crash, Tesla had similar accidents of cars crashing into semi-trucks and stationary police cars and fire trucks. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is currently investigating 24 accidents involving Tesla cars. How do other self-driving technologies work? Most automakers and self-driving vehicle companies such as Alphabet's Waymo use three types of sensors: Cameras, radar and lidar. Radar systems, like cameras, are relatively inexpensive. They work in poor weather but lack resolution to accurately determine the shape of objects. Lidar has higher resolution, but is vulnerable to weather conditions. "You need to use all the different kinds of sensors and then combine them," said Raj Rajkumar, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, reflecting a common industry view. Tesla's camera-centric system is "much harder to design, but it is also much cheaper" than Waymo's laser-based lidar approach, enabling the electric car maker to scale up and further improve its technology, Tesla's artificial intelligence director, Andrej Karpathy, said in a "Robot Brains" podcast in March. What does Tesla lose by giving up radar? There is a lot of debate on this issue. The loss of radar degrades driver-support features enough "to render them less usable to unusable in adverse weather conditions," Steven Shladover, a research engineer at Berkeley University of California. "It makes no sense whatsoever technologically only a way of reducing cost of components," he said. Since radar is good at measuring distances accurately, its loss could affect emergency braking to avoid collisions with slowed vehicles, said Ram Machness, chief business officer of advanced radar maker Arbe Robotics. "If you drop radar without proving vision alone does that job as well, then you're compromising safety," Telanon, a developer of a driver support system, said on Twitter. Tesla said some driver-assistant features including its ability to maintain speed at the pace of the car ahead may be temporarily limited or inactive upon delivery. It said it would start restoring the features via software updates in the weeks ahead. Musk told Electrek that the vision system had improved so much that it was better off without radar. Last week, NHTSA withdrew its advanced safety features label for new Model 3 and Model Y vehicles and Consumer Reports dropped its "top pick" label. Both intend to test the vision-only system. Who knows best? Tesla's plan runs counter to most of the self-driving industry, but it is difficult to say who is right. No company has yet deployed a fully functional self-driving system in scale, and the entire industry is years behind initial projections. (Reuters) Thank you! You've reported this item as a violation of our terms of use. This content was contributed by a user of the site. If you believe this content may be in violation of the terms of use, you may report it. SsangYong Motor workers are assembling a car engine at the company's Pyeongtaek plant in Gyeonggi Province, in this file photo. Korea Times file By Kim Yoo-chul The global tech and automotive industries are still reeling from a shortage of semiconductor chips, with demand for automotive chips outstripping supply. This supply-demand mismatch has directly impacted major carmakers. Hyundai Motor Group is not immune to this crisis, as the country's top vehicle manufacturer has lost a considerable amount of production volume, halting production amid the continuing automotive chip shortage. With no end in sight, carmakers will continue to be affected for some time to come. Hyundai Motor is stressing the need for a self-sufficient and vertically integrated structure, from components to finished goods, to avoid further shortages, according to officials and sources involved with the issue, Thursday. "Hyundai Motor is apparently aiming to take supply chain resilience into its own hands. Also, the central point is that Hyundai Motor plans to strengthen its capability to design components and apply technology as a strategy to increase the role of semiconductors in its manufacturing process," a high-ranking industry executive said. Hyundai Mobis, the automotive group's component affiliate, is said to have been involved in selecting local fabless production lines and components designers as an initial step to produce its own automotive semiconductor chips, according to sources. They said Hyundai Mobis signed non-disclosure agreements (NDA) with some companies in which it is interested in order to maintain secrecy. The primary goal set internally by Hyundai Mobis is to develop its own MCU, PMIC and ADAS technologies, which are considered crucial in vehicle infotainment systems. Regarding the possibility of collaboration with local suppliers to internalize automotive chip technology, Hyundai Motor said it's on track to explore the best opportunities. But it didn't specify the names of any local suppliers it is talking with. Such efforts do make sense as any supply chain disruption could gravely impact Hyundai's vehicle pipeline strategies. However, the issue is that its vertical integration initiatives may clash with the group's existing automotive chip clients. "The reason is simple. Because carmakers have long been procuring automotive semiconductors from specialized clients such as Infineon Technologies and NXP Semiconductors, their efforts to reduce their reliance on chip-sourcing by internalizing automotive chip-making technologies could limit access to product development at other companies," another industry executive said. This is similar to the complicated Samsung-Apple relationship. Samsung is Apple's chief competitor, but the South Korean tech behemoth is also one of Apple's important parts suppliers. Apple designs its flagship products and lets its suppliers in Asia provide the necessary components. According to the "2021 Apple Supplier List," Samsung Electronics, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Samsung SDI were its top parts suppliers. In 2011, when Apple sued Samsung arguing that the rival copied the look and feel of the iPhone, Apple insisted Samsung is positioned to share its product development strategies with other business units, helping them access confidential information to release Samsung products in advance. "No global carmakers want to see cracks form in their longtime tie-ups with automotive chip suppliers. However, the continued chip shortage is a good excuse to justify efforts to internalize related technologies. It seems quite risky, but it is one that is worth taking in the long term," the second source said. According to an analysis by Stephen Dyer at AlixPartners in Shanghai, there are up to 1,400 chips in a typical vehicle today. But that number will only increase as the industry continues advancing towards electric vehicles (EVs) and, in the long term, self-driving vehicles. Pipeline 3 June 2021 Paolino Properties has announced the upcoming opening of The Beatrice - a new boutique hotel located in Downtown Providence's bustling historic district, scheduled to open in late summer 2021. Set in the 1887 Exchange Building, the 47-room hotel will introduce a destination for sophisticated travelers within steps of the city's celebrated attractions, along with a world-class culinary hotspot with the debut of Ignazio Cipriani's first Bellini Restaurant and private rooftop Club in the New England region. Developed by Joseph R. Paolino, Jr., Managing Partner of Paolino Properties and former Mayor of Providence, The Beatrice is inspired by his mother and lifelong Rhode Island resident, community leader, and philanthropist, Beatrice Temkin. Beatrice was known for her quick wit and attention to detail. As you walk through the hotel corridor and rooms, Beatrice's impeccable taste is hard to miss for those who knew her well. Even for perfect strangers, The Beatrice is built to feel like home (if only your home was outfitted with Mascioni sheets and a world-renowned restaurant downstairs). Designed by ZDS Architecture & Interiors, The Beatrice's timeless interior showcases the rich character of the property's 19th century bones, complemented by sophisticated decor and tasteful accents. An eye-catching atrium centered around a grand chandelier welcomes guests when they arrive, flooding the lobby with natural light, contrasted by brick stone accents and warm neutral tones. Accommodations provide a stylish city retreat for guests to truly unwind and relax. Rooms and suites range in size from 300-sq.ft. to 805-sq.ft. and are outfitted with deluxe amenities including Mascioni linens and towels crafted in Milan, Dyson hair dryers, organic BeeKind personal care amenities, heated towel racks, Nespresso coffee makers, and more. The hotel features the latest innovations for guests' comfort including contactless check-in, keyless entry and on-demand text request concierge service. The hotel is also equipped with enhanced health and safety measures and offers services for guests including complimentary onsite COVID-19 rapid testing. Appointment 3 June 2021 Hospitality employee safety device leader React Mobile today announced its Board member John Stachowiak, a three-time CEO and four-time CFO, will fill the post in the interim. A search for a permanent React Mobile CEO is underway. Stachowiak is an accomplished senior executive with more than 25 years' experience in finance and strategic management. He has held numerous Board positions, including serving as Chairman of the Board and CEO of STAR 21 Networks AG, and joined the React Mobile Board of Directors in 2019. Appointment 3 June 2021 The Katharine Brasserie & Bar inside the Kimpton Cardinal Hotel in downtown Winston-Salem announces the appointment of Executive Chef Eric Brownlee. An east coast native, Executive Chef Eric Brownlee grew up working on his grandfather's farm in rural Pennsylvania. Family meals were met with the simplicity of quality, home grown ingredients that he took pride in cooking. At age nine he even "opened a restaurant" for his family complete with a menu and pricingan enterprise that was short-lived after his parents, his only "customers," balked at having to pay for food they'd already bought. Always knowing he'd become a professional chef, his culinary passion never subsided. In 1999, Chef Brownlee completed the ACFEF Culinary Apprenticeship Program in York, PA and got his start as a line cook at the James Beard award-winning Accomac Inn. Over the next year, he mentored in classic French cooking with an emphasis on Nouvelle preparation before moving to Charleston, SC to attend Johnson & Wales University. Charleston became home for the next twelve years. He sharpened his skills as a sous chef at Daniel Island Country Club, later as an executive chef at Cork Neighborhood Bistro and became a founding member of the Sustainable Seafood Initiative in partnership with the South Carolina Aquarium. In 2012, Chef Brownlee relocated to North Carolina where he accepted the position as executive chef of String & Splinter Club in High Point for five years before taking over as corporate executive chef for the locally-acclaimed Blue Plat e Restaurant Group. In 2019, The Katharine welcomed Chef Brownlee as the executive sous chef and as executive chef in 2021. Chef Brownlee brings more than 25 years of culinary experience and a passion for French fare crafted with sustainable ingredients to The Katherine's helm. He's a member of the American Culinary Foundation (ACF) and actively supports the Greater High Point Food Alliance (GHPFA) and No Kid Hungry. When he's not in the kitchen, Chef Brownlee can be found paddling, backpacking and spending time with his wife, Morgan, daughter, Breanna, and pup, Warlock. Industry Update Appointment 3 June 2021 Paul Sacco Appointed Chief Development Officer At Mint House in New York - NY, USA With a successful track record on both the brand and owner sides of the hotel industry, Paul Sacco joins Mint House as Chief Development Officer. Sacco, an established leader in the hospitality industry, previously served as Chief Investment Officer at Driftwood Capital, President of Global Development at RLH Corporation, President and Chief Development Officer of TPG Hotels & Resorts, and Head of Development North America for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. While at Starwood, Sacco played a key role in the company's expansion to over 1,000 hotels globally across all brand segments and spearheaded the launch of Aloft Hotels and Element Hotels. Mint House Mint House is a tech-enabled hotel company designed for high-end business travelers providing apartment-style accommodations in downtown areas. Mint House properties offer a unique experience that combines the feel of a high-end hotel with the comforts and conveniences of your own home all packaged and delivered via technology. more information Recent Appointments at Mint House Jess Berkin - Head Of Brand 3 June 2021 Jess Berkin brings 15 years of experience in global brand management, marketing and guest experience leadership to her new role as Mint House's Head of Brand. Most recently, as Chief Marketing Officer for travel e-commerce startup, Porter & Sail, Berkin led brand, marketing and communications -- ultimately culminating in an exit to Luxury Escapes, one of the world's fastest growing travel companies. read more Press Release 3 June 2021 Aimbridge Hospitality, a leading, multinational hospitality company, will assume ownership of Grupo Hotelero Prisma, the largest third-party operator in the Mexico market. With this acquisition, Aimbridge Hospitality will gain Prisma's esteemed team as well as management of 42 properties with over 7,500 rooms throughout the country including Westin Monterrey, JW Marriott Monterrey, JW Marriott Guadalajara, and Tribute Tulum. Advertisements This acquisition comes on the heels of Aimbridge Co-Founder Dave Johnson's transition from CEO to Executive Chairman, where he set out to develop the company's transformational growth. "We are honored to bring in the portfolio of Grupo Hotelero Prisma and its incredibly talented team of like-minded and energetic professionals," said Dave Johnson, executive chairman, Aimbridge Hospitality. "The continued expansion of Aimbridge and its alliances with the world's top hospitality brands has been a priority for us since the early days. This new relationship sets us on a path for a successful expansion in a previously untapped market." Grupo Hotelero Prisma has consistently increased its portfolio through alliances with large hotel groups such as IHG Hotels & Resorts, Wyndham Hotel Group, Marriott International, and Hilton Worldwide. It also maintains a collection of properties operated by national Mexican brands such as Casa Grande and Ex Hacienda San Xavier. "Through the Prisma acquisition, we are very excited to step into an important relationship with FIBRA INN (FINN), the most significant hotel REIT in Mexico. In addition to continuing to operate FINN's prestigious and substantial portfolio through this acquisition, we are pleased to work together to expand our respective presence across a broad spectrum of the Mexican market," said Mike Deitemeyer, president & CEO, Aimbridge Hospitality. Leandro Castillo, president of Prisma Division, will report directly to Deitemeyer, who took over the CEO role during Dave Johnson's transition to Executive Chairman. "We are excited for the opportunity to work alongside the Aimbridge Hospitality team and have our owners benefit from the expanded scale and resources," said Leandro Castillo, president, Prisma Division. "We have made a concerted effort to align with professionals who are strategic, data-driven and analytical, and the Aimbridge team provides our Prisma properties with exactly that." Since its launch 18 years ago, Aimbridge has become a global powerhouse from its original portfolio of just eight properties into the world's dominant hotel operator with a premium portfolio of more than 1,500 branded and independent properties in 20 countries and over 60,000 employees. Press Release 3 June 2021 NexGen Hotels, a hotel development and management company based in Itasca, Illinois, today announced the acquisition of the Four Points by Sheraton Cleveland Airport. Catering to the needs of todays everyday traveler, the recently renovated hotel offers approachable design, stylish comfort and all the brands popular extras including a 24-hour fitness center, a heated indoor swimming pool, fast and free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, and the Best Brews program. Advertisements Located at 4181 West 150th Street, the six-story Four Points by Sheraton Cleveland Airport is just two miles from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and offers guests convenient access to Quicken Loans Arena, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Clinic Medical Center. We are thrilled to add the Four Points by Sheraton Cleveland Airport to our dynamic portfolio, says Chris Patel, President, NexGen Hotels. As the companys newest property, the hotel plays a significant part of our continued growth strategy. The Four Points by Sheraton Cleveland Airport offers 147 spacious guest rooms, 7,500 square feet of meeting space and a business center. Guests will enjoy full-service dining at the onsite restaurant The Hub Bar & Grill, featuring handcrafted cocktails, local brews and a selection of American cuisine. For more information on the Four Points by Sheraton Cleveland Airport or to make reservations, please call 216-252-7700 or visit www.marriott.com/clefp. External Article 3 June 2021 No matter what you think about the travel industry, it will not only be back but it will be bigger than ever. It just wont be exactly be the same. What will be the major changes? Business travel will actually go down but personal, experiential and blended (stay/work/play) travel will rise. If you look at the behavior of Millennials and Gen-Z during the pandemic, while international travel fell off a cliff, local and state travel exploded. Airbnb shifted all their marketing to encourage customers to travel locally and between states in the United States. Well, combine this renewed focus on domestic travel with the pent-up demand for travel internationally, fueled by remote work opportunities, and you will have a travel industry that will be growing exponentially beyond where we were in 2019. In talking with Brian Kidwell recently, cofounder and CEO of Scotts Cheap Flights, he stated that their SaaS platform and email interactions are already back to the 2019 level and growing. Here are five insights that might have you surface a product or service for your next travel company startup. External Article 3 June 2021 The hotel industry last year watched the pandemic wipe out business travel and corporate events that help fill its guest rooms and banquet halls, turning 2020 from a boom year to a historic bust. Advertisements Now, amid signs of an economic rebound as vaccines drive down COVID-19 infections and governments lift restrictions, hotels are eyeing a rebound of their own. To help nurture the recovery, Marriott Hotels is rolling out "learning labs" to give corporations and event planners practical tips on ways to safely host meetings, conferences and trade shows again. Some 400 event planners from Ameriprise Financial, 3M, Medtronic, Target, Ecolab, Boston Scientific, Mayo Clinic, Best Buy, and other Minnesota companies recently toured Marriott's massive Connect with Confidence Learning Lab in downtown Minneapolis. It was the learning lab's first stop in Minnesota and followed similar programs in Denver, Chicago, and several other U.S. cities. The hospitality giant plans a global launch of the program soon. Groups of corporate and event planners recently spent two days visiting 17 staged rooms inside the Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel. The rooms showcased technologies, touchless registration kiosks, rental equipment options and ways for companies to safely screen, separate, host and feed hundreds of conference guests during a waning pandemic. Marriott and the hospitality industry in general saw business crumble in 2020. In Minneapolis alone, corporations cancelled 400 conventions and conferences last year, according to Meet Minneapolis. Now some are slowly trickling back. Press Release 3 June 2021 Airbnb has long been a tool for economic empowerment and the return of travel represents a new opportunity for everyday people to benefit from tourism. New Hosts with only one listing have earned over $1.2 billion since March 2020. Advertisements Today, we are excited to share that we are launching the Airbnb Entrepreneurship Academy, an immersive training program, in the United States to help empower communities and make it easier to host. The expansion builds on learnings from programs in Asia and Africa, where Airbnb partnered with local organizations to support Hosts in underserved or rural areas in creating their own listings or unique Experiences. With travelers increasingly seeking non-urban, rural locations with access to the outdoors, the expansion of the Airbnb Entrepreneurship Academy will initially focus on select rural communities in North Carolina. We will work with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) to design and run an Academy for EBCI community members. Participants will receive hands-on training and access to a variety of tools, including digital skills building, mentorship from existing Hosts, marketing support, and professional photography to help turn their hosting ideas into a success. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is excited to work with Airbnb to offer this training opportunity to members of our community. The Western North Carolina mountains the EBCI calls home serve as the perfect landscape for this venture, offering scenic beauty, natural landscapes, and a wealth of outdoor activities. I look forward to seeing what our community members do with the information provided by this training series and hope to grow our relationship with Airbnb for future endeavors. - Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Principal Chief Richard Sneed. Rural travel now accounts for 28 percent of nights booked on Airbnb in the United States. In total, rural hosts in North Carolina have earned over $170 million sharing their homes since the beginning of the pandemic. On average, the typical rural Host has earned a total of $8,448 total since the start of the pandemic, over $2,000 more than the average from 2019. The Smoky Mountains are a special part of the world and we know more people than ever want to visit I know this from personal experience. Our goal is to make sure as much of the economics generated by this travel stays in the community and has a multiplier effect within the community. Our data shows US guests are seeking rural locations with access to the outdoors and state and national parks, and with their proximity to Great Smoky Mountains Park, the EBCI are uniquely situated to tap into this travel trend and grow the economics from the travel pie. - Airbnb Global Head of Policy and Communications Chris Lehane. We will also collaborate with the NC Rural Center, an organization that works to improve the quality of life of North Carolinas rural people and placeswith a special focus on individuals with low-to-moderate incomes and communities with limited resources, to develop Entrepreneurship Academy training programs, and help guide our efforts as we work to bring the benefits of hosting to communities of color in the state. For more than 30 years, the NC Rural Center has worked to promote entrepreneurship and small-business development in our states rural communities. We believe the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of our states rural people is key to moving our economy forward as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, and we welcome the opportunity to advise Airbnb as they embark on this work. - NC Rural Center President Patrick Woodie. Whats next Later this year, Airbnb plans to work with local organizations to launch Academy programs that include efforts to empower women Hosts as tourism returns to cities. During the pandemic, as a record-setting number of women have left the workforce, new women Hosts have collectively earned more than $600 million on the Airbnb platform, and these Academy programs aim to to encourage more economic opportunity for new female entrepreneurs. For each Academy, Airbnb will partner with local governments, nonprofits, destination marketing and management, and other organizations to design and run tailored programs that provide training and tools to help community members access and succeed on the Airbnb platform. Since 2016, Airbnb has partnered with local organizations to run Academy programs in South Africa, India and Kenya. These programs have trained over 300 people, and their Homes and Experiences received over 1500 five-star guest reviews on Airbnb. In 2020, the World Tourism Alliance recognized the Academy as a Best Practice in Poverty Alleviation Through Tourism. For more information, visit airbnb.com/academy. People work on assembly at the Renault Samsung Motors plant in Busan in this 2019 file photo. Korea Times file By Kim Jae-heun Renault Samsung Motors, the Korean unit of Renault S.A., will reopen its sole plant in Busan, after unionized workers returned to the factory following a month-long strike, and resumed a two-shift workday. The company withdrew its workplace closure Tuesday, a day before the workers returned, as it intends to increase production of XM3 cars, which will be exported from various plants to 24 additional countries. Previously, the vehicle was only exported to France, Germany and Spain starting in March, but Renault sold over 9,000 of the cars, surpassing its original target of 7,250. The unionized workers returned to their jobs after union negotiators failed to find common ground with management after one year. According to the Labor Relations Adjustment Act, if union representatives cannot reach an agreement with the company after more than a year, leaders of other unions can request to negotiate with the firm. The current union started negotiations with Renault Samsung on April 29 last year, and after a year passed, two others at the carmaker demanded they be allowed to start talks. A new negotiating body will be confirmed between the two by July 9. There are four representing workers at Renault Samsung. "Until a new bargaining body is selected, negotiations cannot take place. The current representatives also lost their right to strike so the workers have to return to the assembly line," an industry source said. If another union becomes the new negotiating body and tries to resume the strike, it will have to conduct a vote and get over 50 percent in favor. In February, only 20 percent of the total number of workers voted, of which 57.1 percent cast ballots in support of a strike the lowest such rate in union history, which implied that it was failing to represent the workers. "It looks unlikely that a new negotiating body will win a vote to restart the strike anytime soon," the source said. Opinion Article 3 June 2021 The money minders have been working overtime and offering guiding tips. Advertisements It doesnt sound right to talk about the benefits of COVID-19, but if theres any upside to the pandemic, its that massive disruption to business has forced hotels to find operational efficienciesresulting in lower costswithout damaging the guest experience. Thats critical in this environment, where occupancy is slowly increasing as costs are, too. According to HotStats data for North America, occupancy was 32.1% in the first quarter and hit 39.8% in April, while total overhead costs PAR in Q1 2021 were $32.98 and $36.68 in April. Meanwhile, in China, occupancy was 45.8% in Q1, but climbed to 68.6% in April. Total overhead costs PAR in Q1 hit $27.56 and by April were up to $29.60. Asset Navigation The pandemic has spotlighted the work of asset managers, tasked with steering the ship amid the storm. How, then, did asset managers suppress costs? For starters, they asked service providers to renegotiate contracts, and advise others to do the same. If you never ask, you never know, said Michael Doyle, managing director and EVP for CHMWarnick, a hotel asset management company and owner advisory service, with its main headquarters just outside Boston. Clients arent afraid to ask for lower rates or better services, so put yourself in their position, and if the answer is no, youre where you were when you started. More specifically, he added, Look at your contract terms with third-party providers, like cleaning services, and see where you can negotiate while taking a fair approach. We still have fairly suppressed demand so if you expect your propertys rebound to come in 2023, try backloading the agreement. Dangling contract extensions gets [suppliers] to open their eyes. Thats been very effective for us. Labor Lessons Next, reconsider and make changes to the labor model, suggested Michelle Russo, CEO and Founder of asset manager and advisory firm hotelAVE. Our operational efficiency division built a dynamic staffing model, where occupancy defines staffing, she said. At every five-point increment [in occupancy], we review levels. In the U.S., labor costs per available room in April 2021 were $41.76, up 68.1% over the same time a year ago, when COVID-19 dug in. One area where cuts could easily be made, Russo noted, iswith the aid of technologyin food and beverage staffing. You can have guests order and pay with QR codes and other touchless tools, and then use runners, instead of servers, who take orders, bring food or even drop requested items, like ketchup, she said. Closer examination of labor forces hotels to consider whether they really need full-time managers in an area, such as a small restaurant for 20-30 guests, or if someone else on staff oversee it, Russo said. Alternatively, Doyle is partial to part-time labor. Part-timers can be more loyal and more qualified because you can run into teachers or other professionals looking for more working hours. Its an important strategy long-term, given the cost of benefits, he said. Providing internships is another cost-saving device. Theyre a great source for future employees, if you train them and treat them well, he said. Some other strategies CHMWarnick has deployed include cutting down on the cash banks it sets up for employees, and being conservative on operating inventory. All the handling of money that goes on when the banks have to refill is a real effort, so were trying to minimize work for the reduced staff, Doyle said. People are happy to use their phone or credit card for transactions, or the cash machines weve put in the lobby to break down bills. When it comes to buying back linen, glass and other OS&E, he continued, Hoteliers think they want to build back to full inventory, but if itll be a few years to recovery, we have to be thoughtful about managing those expenses. In the end, the best way to re-open hotels while managing costs can be summed up in two words: use caution. I would rather be way more conservative about how Im reintroducing cost, said Russo, versus overdoing it. A team of engineers and a cardiologist fashion valves for childrens hearts, aiming to change the lives of babies born with congenital heart disease. A custom furniture maker uses lasers to cut steel for a one-of-a-kind design. The arm of a 3D printer busily moves back and forth, secreting plastic into the form of a decorative tentacle doubling as a phone holder. Inside the East End Maker Hub, which officially opened Thursday morning, nearly 30 manufacturers have begun working in the new, 306,000-square-foot facility. The former warehouse space is located in Second Ward on Navigation Boulevard, tucked between a tire manufacturer, a CenterPoint service center, a portion of Buffalo Bayou known as the Houston Ship Channel and a row of townhomes. Veronica Chapa Gorczynski, president of the local economic development group East End District, calls the project the largest makers hub in Texas. As such, the hub has grand ambitions: costing $38 million and spanning 21 acres, the project aims to transform the surrounding neighborhood a largely Hispanic community where the median-earning household makes $39,900, 59 percent of the regions median income. The median household income (in this area) is under $40,000, explained Patrick Ezzell, president of Urban Partnerships Community Development Corp., the nonprofit developer that spearheaded the project along with TXRX Labs. As an economic developer, you ask: What can you do? Manufacturing remains one of the industries where an individual without a college degree can make really good money. Prime Property: Get Houston real estate news sent directly to your inbox Roughly $37 million in government funds and tax credits were poured into the project with the expectation it would prove a model for bringing high-paying jobs to low-income communities. East End Maker Hub aims to turn the neighborhood, which has roots in the manufacturing industry due to its proximity to the ship channel and port, into a national manufacturing hub once more. I truly believe that while we can be successful entrepreneurs, innovators and developers, we can also work on and solve the economic challenges of our time, said Roland von Kurnatowski, president of TXRX Labs, the incubator anchoring the hub. On Thursday morning, roughly 300 guests including architects, city council members, Mayor Sylvester Turner and U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia gathered outside to mark the occasion. Turner compared the opening to that of the Ion, a technology hub that recently debuted in Midtown. Let me say, the East End Maker Hub is just as big as the Ion, he said. And the focus is just as strong when it comes to innovation. Like the Ion, the hub is designed to function as an ecosystem Houston Independent School District students will be invited to learn in the maker hubs four classrooms; labs and workshops will be available to startups for as little as $585 a month; TXRX Labs will make specialized equipment available to small manufacturers who could not afford to buy it themselves; and large companies, such as the Fortune 500 corporation Waste Management, will have a presence in the building. Turner estimated the hub would bring 400 jobs to the area. Texas Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox The development began four and a half years ago, when von Kurnatowski realized he was losing the building where TXRX Labs was renting space at the time. He called Ezzell, whom he knew from Ezzells work as a consultant for the East End Management District. Ezzell had a background in development and recommended von Kurnatowski buy his own building. He said, How do we do that? Ezzell recalled. And I said, I dont know, but well figure it out. Ezzell created the nonprofit development company UP CDC to take on the project and began looking for financing. He said it took three years to line up funding, which included $8 million in federal tax credits meant to draw private investment into low-income communities, $24 million from the city of Houston through Community Development Block Grants and Section 108 loans, $5 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and $1 million from TXRX Labs. The property it turned into the East End Maker Hub was once a Baker Hughes facility that manufactured oil and gas equipment. To convert it to the desired use, the space had to be subdivided for smaller tenants. Now, the outside is painted a white with octagons of gray, gold and various shades of blue painted. Inside, a lobby features a coffee bar where people of different companies will be encouraged to interact. So far, 65 percent of the space has been leased, according to Mike Pittman, who is overseeing leasing as the vice president of real estate for UP CDC. Traditional manufacturers, hardware companies, fabricators and biomanufacturing and medical device companies began moving in in May. The hub has space for as many as 100 startups, according its leasing department; roughly three quarters of the project has been developed, with a final phase slated to begin in a few years. Current tenants say they were drawn to the space by the community and resources TXRX Labs at assembled. They have all the tools you need, and also the people, said Jeremy Peaches, who builds aquaponic farms (think towers of lettuce perched above fish tanks) with Revolutionary Sustainable Technologies. We want to be around that, because you never know how at some point it may intersect. Ben Baron, principal of the furniture company HTX Made, said he was excited about the applications some of TXRXs equipment may have for his designs. They have some machines that you simply couldnt afford unless you used it every day, he explained. Ezzell hopes the resulting community will act as an economic engine for the neighborhood. He said all tenants had committed to doing their best to hire local. Pittman, the vice president of real estate, explained they they had put that intention down in writing. All the tenants, in their lease, they have committed to make a best-faith effort to hire people who live within a three mile radius who come through TXRXs training, he said. Tenants of the hub are allowed to send employees through TXRXs trainings, which teach different manufacturing skills, free of charge. rebecca.schuetz@chron.com; twitter.com/raschuetz A group of experts has released a report that includes several proposed improvements to the Texas power grid to prevent the kinds of weather-driven blackouts that devastated Texas during the historic February winter storm. "Never Again: How to Prevent Another Major Texas Electricity Failure," by five former Public Utility Commission commissioners offers 20 recommendations that build on legislation passed by the Texas legislature this year such as Senate Bill 3. SB3 would mandate the weatherization of power plants; create a statewide emergency alert system; shore up communication among industry participants; and designate key gas facilities as critical so their power wouldnt be unintentionally turned off during crises. RENEWABLES: BP to buy $220 million of solar projects, expanding renewables footprint Improvements laid out in the report include: Weatherization Mandatory weatherization to minimum standards for natural gas production and pipelines, with meaningful enforcement. This would require power plants and natural gas systems to insulate outdoor equipment to withstand temperatures in the single digits. Backup power Require all critical facilities to have two days worth of backup power, which would help critical facilities ride through a brief grid outage or outage management failure. That includes a combination of solar, battery, and low-emissions propane or diesel generation power so grid managers arent so reliant on the weather when power demand gets high. Housing efficiency Increase energy efficiency retrofits for low-income and multi-family housing across Texas. Making low-income homes, heaters, and air conditioners more energy efficient will reduce peak demand for all of the state grid, reduce those customers energy bills, and improve their health and comfort. Strengthen PUC Increase PUC funding and headcount to enable the PUC to hire more expert staff and consultants and improve the ongoing education of staff and commissioners about pressing market and oversight issues. Release investigative findings to the public Gov. Greg Abbott governor should direct Texas agencies to release all investigation findings on the February outages, with minimal protection of private company's commercial information. Clearly define price gouging for natural gas under emergency conditions The state should cap how high market participants can raise natural gas prices in emergency conditions. The reports authors were Pat Wood III, PUC chairman, 1995-2001, and chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 2001-2005; Robert W. Gee, PUC chairman and commissioner, 1991-1997; Judy Walsh PUC commissioner, 1995-200; Brett Perlman, PUC commissioner, 1999-2003; Becky Klein PUC commissioner and chairman, 2001-2004) and Alison Silverstein, PUC adviser, 1995-2001, and FERC adviser 2001-2004. This story will be updated. TEHRAN, Iran (AP) A massive fire that broke out at an oil refinery near Irans capital and sent a huge plume of black smoke into the sky over Tehran was extinguished on Thursday, after more than 20 hours, a news agency reported. The semi-official ISNA agency quoted the countrys deputy oil minister, Alireza Sadeghabadi as saying the blaze was first fully contained and then finally put out. The courageous actions by firefighters ... led to the complete extinguishing of the fire and prevented the flames from spreading to other nearby tanks, said Sadeghabadi, thanking the fire department. The fire erupted at the state-owned Tondgooyan Petrochemical Co. to the south of Tehran on Wednesday night. The Oil Ministrys SHANA news agency said it was caused by a leak in two waste tanks at the facility. Authorities initially suggested the flames affected a liquified petroleum gas pipeline at the refinery. Jalal Maleki, spokesman for the Tehran Fire Department, told state TV that 10 fire department stations, including 60 heavy operating vehicles and more than 180 firefighters, took part in the operation to battle the blaze. The head of Tehrans emergency medical services, Payman Saberian, said 11 people were injured, with four in hospitals, ISNA reported. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh visited the scene overnight. While seeking to assure the public the fire wouldnt affect production, Iranians queued up for gasoline on Thursday morning, the start of the weekend in the Islamic Republic. Earlier, SHANA also quoted refinery spokesman Shaker Khafaei as saying authorities hoped the fire would extinguish itself after running out of fuel in the coming hours. Temperatures in Tehran reached nearly 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday. Hot summer weather in Iran has caused fires in the past. The blaze came the same day a fire struck the largest warship in the Iranian navy, which later sank in the Gulf of Oman. Marvin Blackman stood on Third Ward land owned for decades by the National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees, a union founded in 1913 by Houstons Henry Mims to combat discrimination in federal workplaces. God, man, he said, nodding at a sign on the lot across the street that advertised a gated community of single-family townhomes starting at $320ks coming soon. The area has changed quite a lot. Blackman, the unions president, had an opportunity to participate in that change. But rather than selling the union property to a developer, he opted instead to strike a deal with the newly created Third Ward Real Estate Council. The redevelopment group is one of a small but growing list of Houston investors that believe social impact should be considered alongside profit when developing property. We live here, said Jason T. Hyman, a real estate broker who helped found the Third Ward Real Estate Council. So theres a different kind of capital I always like to talk about social profit. On HoustonChronicle.com: These are my people: Investor buys Fifth Ward block to seek preservation, not gentrification In a Third Ward that has seen rising property values - and taxes - the Council is readying the site to become a park with food trucks, an outdoor market and a public art display. The corner lot, at the intersection of Emancipation Avenue and Eagle Street, is its first development, part of a mission to give Third Ward residents a say in the development that unfolds there. NAPFEs Houston chapter had seen dues decline - and its property taxes rise - as membership plunged to just 22 members from more than 150 in the past decade. It received notice from the Harris County Appraisal District that its property had been referred to a law firm specializing in collecting delinquent taxes, the first step toward foreclosure. Blackman could guess how the story would unfold. He imagined an investor snapping up the property at auction and putting townhomes in its place, something happening across the neighborhood. In addition to working for more than a century to combat discrimination in federal workplaces, the postal union had also served as a social space in Third Ward Blackman hated to imagine what would become of it after an auction. So, when the Third Ward Real Estate Council approached him about buying the property and using it for something neighbors could enjoy, Blackman and the rest of the unions executive board agreed to the deal. Similar efforts have played out east of downtown. In Fifth Ward, developer Christopher Senegal purchased a group of 18 homes in 2020 with the promise not to raise their rents. And Midway purchased 150 acres along the Buffalo Bayou and committed to making 15 percent of the apartments on that site available at below-market rates (although some are calling for even greater affordability). On a recent Saturday, Blackman seemed heartened by the two dozen people who took time out of their weekends to clear away the outdoor deck and wooden benches in preparation of the sites next life. Its time to let someone else do something good with it. Land without controls Townhomes, said Kevin Riles, interim director of Prairie View A&M Universitys masters program in community development, have come to be seen as monuments of gentrification. Its not anything to do with the people who live in the properties, he was quick to explain. Its just that theres no restrictions preventing them. In Houston, where there is no zoning, neighborhoods can only control how development unfolds if there is a community-wide agreement dictating how land can be used. These deed restrictions usually protect against lots being subdivided into townhouses, which can quickly drive up the value of land. But nearly all communities protected by deed restrictions in the early 20th century also excluded minorities, pushing Black and Hispanic residents into neighborhoods without restrictions that placed controls on development. On HoustonChronicle.com: Its so damn offensive: More Houston neighborhoods push to remove racist deed language As a result, said Riles, theres a desire from people living in such neighborhoods to enter what he called informal deed restrictions, such as the postal unions. At the end of the day, real estate is still a transaction, and you still have to make money, he said. But if you can find a way to work with the community, thats important. A big incubator While volunteers cleaned up what will become a food truck park, Chrystal Beasley stood nearby, talking to passersby about the project and passing out small live oaks and elms for them to take home. Beasley is president of the local neighborhood club, Washington Terrace Civic Association, and said she supported the decision to turn the postal unions headquarters into a park for food trucks and vendors. As an environmental engineer, she was worried about the impact of turning land into townhomes, which take up more of a lots footprint with concrete and tend to displace full-grown trees. She also believed in giving more businesses a chance to participate in the areas economic growth. I think were headed in the right direction, she said. Behind her, helping move the remnants of a discarded art project into a dumpster, was Hyman, who helped found the Third Ward Real Estate Council. Before starting the council, he helped the City of Houston budget for and build affordable housing while pursuing a masters in urban planning at Texas Southern University, then worked for Bank of America as a portfolio manager underwriting loans for energy companies. During it all, he daydreamed and journaled about what Third Ward, which reminded him of where he grew up in Chicago, could look like an empty lot that could be a car wash, a spot where a restaurant could bring in fresh food. On HoustonChronicle.com: Massive Fifth Ward project takes shape, and may reshape the community Eventually, he quit his job at Bank of America to found a brokerage and began outlining a vision for the neighborhood with urban planners at Texas Southern and the University of Texas. He invited neighbors to an interest meeting about the plan, and formed the nonprofit Third Ward Real Estate Council out of the core group of local residents, including an architect and the owner of a construction company, interested in carrying it out. The park fit into their plan, Hyman explained, because it created economic opportunity for a wide range of people the food and merchandise companies getting their start, as well as their employees. As more retail opportunities open up along Emancipation Avenue, the businesses may have room to grow into brick-and-mortars. I look at this project as pretty much a big incubator, he said. Community benefit But one of the problems of developing real estate with the community in mind is not everyone in the community agrees. Charles and Nedra Siverane, who have lived across the street from the former postal union for 21 years, stood in their front yard, listening to the rumble of the generator powering Rosalyns Hot Chicken, which was providing free meals to the volunteers. They were concerned about the traffic and parking issues that could come with businesses A few blocks away, on the other side of Texas 288, Turkey Leg Huts success has drawn fans from across the state, as well as complaints from neighbors. At least if you had townhomes, there wouldnt be as much traffic, Nedra Siverane said. Upon hearing the concern, Hyman sighed. Were thinking about all those things, he said, adding that hes talking with the Southeast Management District about their plans for parking along Emancipation Avenue and the food trucks would by closed by 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. to alleviate noise concerns. He said he knew the project may not please everybody, but pointed out that the councils longterm success depended on how favorably its work was received by the community. Blackman entrusted Third Ward Real Estate Council with his nonprofits land because he thought it would create opportunities for new business owners. In the future, property owners will be able to judge the projects impact on the community when weighing whether they should sell to the council. These things come back around, Hyman said. rebecca.schuetz@chron.com; twitter.com/raschuetz WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) A major University of North Carolina donor said Wednesday that he sent emails to university officials questioning the hiring of Nikole Hannah-Jones after he became concerned about how much research went into the selection of the investigative journalist, whose award-winning work on slavery he called highly contentious and highly controversial." The emails from newspaper publisher Walter Hussman Jr., whose name is on UNC's journalism school, were sent to university leaders in the weeks before Hannah-Jones' submission for tenure was halted in January. She was instead offered a contract position, despite the fact that her predecessors were given tenure when appointed. Hussman, publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, told The Associated Press that he sent the series of emails because he wanted to share his concerns with UNC-Chapel Hill Vice Chancellor for University Development David Routh, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and journalism school Dean Susan King. In 2019, Hussman pledged $25 million to whats now known as the Hussman School of Journalism and Media. I wonder how much research she did into Nikole Hannah-Jones like I'd just done," Hussman said, referring to King. Moreover, I wonder how much the chancellor's done. I wonder how much the vice chancellor's done. Maybe I should share these concerns with them, too. The university's failure to offer Hannah-Jones tenure has prompted outcry by dozens of members of the journalism school's faculty, who have demanded an explanation. Her lawyers argue the move is part of a conservative backlash against scholars telling the truth about the history of racism in the U.S. Hussman, 74, said that instead of sending one lengthy email, he sent separate emails, based on arguments from other historians, challenging assertions by Hannah-Jones that the American Revolution was fought to protect slavery, that the fight for freedom and equality for Blacks was fought by Blacks alone, and about reparations. The news website The Assembly first obtained the emails and reported on their content. Hussman said he showed his emails to one trustee, who suggested he show them to the other board members, but he said he decided to go no further. He declined to say which trustee he reached out to. I don't think that's my role as a donor. It would be perceived as lobbying the board to not hire, he said. I've made it known to one of the trustees; if they want to share it with others, they can. If they don't want to share it with others, that's their discretion. In response to an email seeking comment from Routh, King or Guskiewicz, University spokesman Joel Curran said in a statement that while the school can't comment specifically on Hussman's concerns, he said donors aren't included in personnel matters. Private support is the margin of excellence for a university like UNC-Chapel Hill. We have long relationships with our donors, and we listen to their input on a wide variety of matters," Curran said. "But when a gift is made, our development team makes it clear that donors should have no expectation of influencing curriculum or personnel decisions. Hannah-Jones, whose work on The 1619 Project for the New York Times Magazine won a Pulitzer Prize, accepted a five-year contract to join the journalism school's faculty as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism earlier this year. A trustee who vets submissions for tenure postponed consideration of Hannah-Jones application in January because of questions about her non-academic background, the head of the board of trustees said last month. The submission never came before the full board of trustees for a vote. Since then, the foundation that endows the Knight chair also encouraged the trustees to reconsider. Last week, Hannah-Jones issued a statement saying she had retained attorneys from the NAACP legal defense fund as she considers legal action against the school. Hussman said he called King and told her his research of Hannah-Jones and her writings had raised concerns with him. "This 1619 Project is highly contentious and highly controversial, Hussman said of his conversation with King. He said he told her that hiring Hannah-Jones would mean those controversies would follow her to the journalism school and university and overshadow the teaching and core values at the school. King countered with the fact that Hannah-Jones had won a Pulitzer Prize, but Hussman said that didn't allay his concerns. He said their conversation ended with their agreeing to disagree. Hussman said King had offered to set up a Zoom meeting between him and Hannah-Jones, but the controversy was beginning to roil and the meeting never occurred, although he added that he would like to meet her and discuss her work and her goals. Until then, Hussman said he feels he did what he set out to do. I've done some due diligence here, and I think it's the right thing to do that," he said. DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) The Democratic leader in the Iowa House said Wednesday he would leave the position after three legislative sessions. Rep. Todd Prichard said he decided to step aside after conversations with his family. HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) A federal investigation of a hot steam accident that killed two workers at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Connecticut found workplace safety violations and concluded the deaths were preventable, according to a report released Wednesday by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The workers had just finished repairing a steam pipe in a maintenance building on the West Haven VA campus on Nov. 13 when a fixture broke off the pipe, flooding the work area rapidly with steam, OSHA officials said. The accident happened as workers were refilling the pipe with steam, authorities said. Killed were VA maintenance worker Euel Sims, 60, a Navy Veteran from Milford, and private contractor Joseph O'Donnell, 36, of Danbury. Three other workers were injured. The OSHA investigation found nine workplace safety violations by the West Haven VA, including failing to have procedures and safety measures in place to protect workers from such a rapid release of steam. OSHA said it cannot fine another federal agency, but said it would have proposed a $621,218 penalty if the VA was a private employer. OSHA also is proposing more than $38,000 in fines against Mulvaney Mechanical Inc., of Danbury, for four serious violations, including failing to adequately train employees on methods necessary to control energy releases. ODonnell worked for Mulvaney. These fatalities could have been prevented if the employer had complied with safety standards that are designed to prevent the uncontrolled release of steam, said Steven Biasi, OSHA's area director in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Tragically, these well-known protective measures were not in place and two workers needlessly lost their lives. The VA said in a statement Wednesday that a VA board of inquiry investigated the accident and made recommendations for improvements, many of which have already been put in place. VA Connecticut will continue to work closely with OSHA and all relevant VA entities to address the issues identified in the report, the VA said. The entire VA health care system also has put in place principles that make safety the responsibility of all employees and empower employees at every level to immediately raise safety concerns, the VA said. An employee of Mulvaney Mechanical, who declined to give his name, said the company had no comment on the report. The VA and Mulvaney Mechanical have 15 days from receiving the violation notices to correct the violations, request a conference with OSHA officials or appeal the notices. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, said OSHA's report also highlights how the aging infrastructure at the West Haven VA is failing and needs urgent renovations and rebuilding. He said the failures have included burst pipes, insect infestations and other signs of infrastructure collapse. He said many VA facilities around the country have similar problems. Ultimately patching them with short-term fixes is more expensive than starting over, he said in a statement. "My hope is Congress will come together in a positive and proactive bipartisan response to build back better at the VA. The father of a missing 6-year-old is shocked and devastated at the turn of events that left his son presumably dead in a Jasper hotel room and his girlfriend charged with tampering with evidence in the case, his attorney said Thursday. Dalton Olson and his family at first believed girlfriend Theresa Balboas account leading up to young Samuels disappearance - that on May 27, the childs mother and a man in a uniform showed up at her house and told her she would go to jail if she didnt let him take the boy, police said. It wasnt until days later he realized something was amiss with Balboa, 29. Its been a rollercoaster, attorney Samuel Veenstra said. He had no reason to suspect something was off with Theresa, assuming Theresa did this. DEAD FOR WEEKS? Samuel Olson could have died weeks before police discovered his body, documents reveal And as Samuel Olsons mother has blamed the death on not only on Balboa but on her soon-to-be ex-husband,Veenstra further denied that the father had anything to do with the disappearance or apparent death. Hes been nothing but devastated through this whole situation, he said. To put blame on Dalton, as having responsibility for the death of his son, its just absurd. On Tuesday, the Jasper Police Department received an anonymous tip that Balboa was at a hotel in the city more than 140 miles from where she lived in Houston. Police found Balboa in the hotel room with the body of a child investigators believe to be Olson, Houston police said, adding that the department must wait for the medical examiners office to confirm his identity. Dalton Olsons attorney on Thursday spoke with the support of the fathers family, saying they were all struggling with what occurred. The father had been engaged in a custody battle with his wife, Sarah Olson, who was divorcing him, and he believed he had primary custody over their child, Veenstra said. Dalton and Sarah, the estranged couple, spent almost two years attempting to negotiate Samuels care. The father was proactive in fighting for custody, Veenstra said, and by the end, he misunderstood that the mother should have had more access to her son than she did. They had separated and entered a custody order in April 2019, splitting time with Samuel, Veenstra said. Concern over Sams wellbeing caused Dalton to file another order in January 2020 and hire an attorney, he said. Sarah filed for divorce days later. Dalton was under the impression that the orders had been modified to make him the custodial parent, and Sarah had little to no access to her son starting January 2020, Veenstra said. That order had actually never been put in place. The relationship between Sarah and Sam has been real rocky to say the least, the fathers attorney said. Were not trying to throw Sarah under the bus by any stretch. Its a young couple that had issues. They couldnt get along. MORE: Woman charged in disappearance of Houston boy believed to be found dead in Jasper hotel room That history led Daltons family to believe Balboas account of Sarah coming to pick up her child, Veenstra said. Balboa spent the whole weekend looking for Samuel, he said. But while handing out flyers Monday, Dalton went in one direction and Balboa went another. And when it came time to meet up again, Balboa was nowhere to be found, according to the attorney. Thats when the reality of the situation started being processed, Hold on we may have been wrong about her, Veenstra said. The family only had positive things to say about how Balboa interacted with Samuel, and had no inclination she would ever do anything to harm him, Veenstra said. Balboa, 29, remained in Jasper County Jail on Thursday without bail, according to jail officials. She was accused last year of assaulting Dalton Olson, according to court records. She was arrested and charged on Nov. 29, 2020, with assault of a family member - impeding breathing and let out on $5,000 bond the next day. A protective order filed in the case prohibits Balboa from directly communicating with him. The story pointing at Samuels mother fell apart when when some of Balboas statements conflicted with information she provided earlier in the probe, police said. Olsons mother said the child was not with her, and evidence showed that she was home Thursday morning, according to police. Officers have also learned that the last time Samuel had been seen at school was April 30, said Houston police Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite. samantha.ketterer@chron.com Susana, a 35-year-old from El Salvador desperate to come to the U.S., had heard stories of migrants being raped and murdered. So she paid a hefty $10,000 early this year for a VIP package: It came with a promise to smuggle her to Houston with guaranteed security, rides, food, lodging and no long walks. Susana made it to Houston in February, but only after a harrowing, month-long journey and another $2,000 payment at the end of the trip. Though the VIP or all included packages often fall short of the guarantees, they are becoming more common as migrant smugglers adapt to increased restrictions at the border and greater demand from Central Americans seeking to get to the U.S. Federal immigration agents caught roughly 179,000 people trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border in April, the largest figure in decades. Ignoring stringent immigration policies implemented during the Trump administration or obstacles imposed during the pandemic, smugglers have adapted with more expensive end-to-end packages. They carry large groups, often in big rigs, through an elaborate network of foot guides, safe houses and drivers. The busy Laredo North Station checkpoint on Interstate 35 has seen a 135 percent increase in the number of people smuggled in trucks over the previous year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said. Migrants who make it through such checkpoints often end up in Houston, where they can find themselves confined to stash houses, while captors demand further payments from relatives. Since late last year there have been at least five stash houses busted in Houston, including one on Wednesday. The federal government announced in April a new enforcement program to disrupt smugglers south and north of the border. Some migrants venture on their own and pay smugglers as they go for specific legs of the trip, but Susana was worried about her journey and was sold when the viajero, as smugglers are called, promised a secure trip. Susana did not want her last name identified because she is an immigrant in the country illegally and said she feared for her safety. After a year of unemployment from the COVID-19 pandemic and watching her family go without food, she didnt hesitate. She took loans from friends in the U.S. to pay for the all-included trip. Its a miracle of God that I am alive, said Susana. After crossing the Rio Grande, you think that you made it, she said. But thats when the worst began for me. Olivia P. Tallet / staff How smuggling changed The business of smuggling migrants grew more sophisticated during the Trump administration, which hardened policies for legal immigration and toughened enforcement against illegal entries. Illegal crossings of migrants coming on their own to the U.S. have largely disappeared, according to a 2018 study by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. Migrants now routinely rely on smugglers who are linked to gangs that control territory in Mexico. Rather than retreating from governmental obstacles, human smugglers run flexible enterprises that adapt to geopolitical and socioeconomic changes, according to a 2018 report on the topic from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). Migrants accounts, studies and Latin American media reports suggest that prices for smugglers services to come to America rose more than 40 percent in 2017, the first year of the Trump presidency. A trip like Susanas went from $7,000 to $10,000 that year, according to El Faro, an investigative media outlet in El Salvador, and other reports. We have been seeing more and more people coming to Houston using VIP packages during the last couple of years, said Elmer Romero, an executive with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network in Hoston. Now, with the Biden administration, human smugglers are exploiting desperate migrants with the false idea of a new president in the White House who has opened the border, making them think they can stay in the U.S. once they cross. Economic factors drive the growing demand for smugglers services, said Teodoro Aguiluz, director of the Central American Resources Center in Houston. Massive job losses during the pandemic and two hurricanes last year that devastated the Central American region are among them. Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Susanas journey begins The smugglers are very well organized, said Susana. She said she and other migrants coming with her had to wear a wristband while in Mexico that identified which cartel or smuggling organization was handling them. The colored plastic wristband, sometimes with written notes, is more visible and unmistakable than traditional verbal codes. U.S. border officials say it is a growing trend among powerful smuggling operations to track people paying to cross illegally. Numerous migrants told the Chronicle that smuggling enterprises south of the U.S. border often operate with impunity. They often function with the complicity of local law enforcement agents who look the other way in exchange for a bribe. After traversing the Rio Grande into the U.S., migrants go through what is known as the second crossing: checkpoints located miles from the international boundaries but still inside border states. Texas has 18 of them, including one of the busiest in the country, the Laredo North Station on Interstate 35. From the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1 through the end of May, more than 5,000 migrants have been found smuggled inside tractor-trailers at the Laredo checkpoint, a 135 percent increase from the previous year, said Jaime Fierro, the Customs and Border Protection officer in charge of the station. On May 21 alone, officers discovered two tractor-trailers filled with migrants in cargo boxes without ventilation and enduring high temperatures. However, tractor-trailer apprehensions make up only around 7 percent of all apprehensions in the Laredo sector. Many smuggling operators unload migrants from vehicles before crossing a checkpoint, typically with one person guiding them on foot to circumvent the stop point. After walking for hours through the inhospitable arid lands of South Texas they are picked up, usually by another truck, many miles ahead en route to their final destinations. In Texas, it usually means Houston, a major hub for smuggling distributions to eastern and northern cities in the country. Susanas nightmare Laredo is favored by smugglers because it connects to more freeways than others in the border region. The nearby small town of Roma, in the CBP Laredo sector, is now one of the busiest spots for illegal border crossings. The otherwise tranquil area has become a sort of Rio Grande port for smugglers to drop off migrants brought nightly in inflatable boats. Thats where Susana entered illegally and was immediately taken by smugglers to a stash house in the same town. She said her nightmare began the moment she was picked up from the stash house in Roma by two smugglers speaking English and moved to another stash house in nearby Zapata with about 20 migrants inside. It was the week of the February freeze in Texas, when much of the state suffered power outages. The smugglers look like normal people, a little tattooed, but with very heavy weapons, said Susana. She and her companions went without food until two days later, she said, and then she and seven others were stuffed inside a truck, which sped away. Weve been discovering a lot of stash houses here in the Laredo sector, said Sara Melendez, CBP spokesperson in the region. CBP data shows that during this fiscal year until the end of March, the agency has disrupted more than 430 stash houses with more than 6,300 smuggled migrants in the sectors of Rio Grande Valley, Laredo, Del Rio, Big Bend and El Paso. It just keeps going every single day by the hundreds Its a very busy time here for our officers, said Melendez. Godofredo A. Vasquez, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer A crash in the night during the winter freeze Less than an hour after the truck carrying Susana and other migrants left, the driver lost control of the vehicle, which rolled over in the middle of nowhere in the dark, Susana said. She suffered a sharp pain that might have been a rib fracture, she said. The other woman in the truck was badly cut and lost consciousness. Eventually a different group of smugglers arrived and rescued Susana and the other woman. She said she doesnt know what happened to the other migrants involved in the accident, all of whom were men. Susana said she has just pieces of memories from the next few days: The young woman who was with her in the accident regaining consciousness, hugging her and repeating, God is great. Walking for more than five hours to circumvent a checkpoint, feeling she was a few breaths away from becoming the next unidentified dead body found in the desolate lands of the Rio Grande Valley. A ride in another truck and a run-down motel in San Antonio. Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Houston Migrants are sometimes extorted before being handed over to relatives or friends in the U.S. Many end up in stash houses, where they are stripped of their belongings, including identification and clothing, so they cannot escape. The smugglers call relatives demanding more than what was initially agreed upon. Desperate families try to comply. They rarely report the extortion to authorities for fear of retaliation from smugglers. They invariably ask for more money to let you go, Susana said. She said she negotiated and agreed to pay another $2,000 in exchange for being brought to a public point in Houston instead of another stash house. ICE didnt provide requested information about stash houses or smuggling operations in Houston. But an officer from the Department of Homeland Security said the recent discovery of a stash house with 97 migrants inside in southwest Houston is a significant example of an enterprise that thrives in this city. On Wednesday another stash house in southwest Houston was found with 10 people being held; two men were arrested, Houston police said. Houston is ideally situated to be a hub it is close to the border and has exceptional connectivity to highways and a seaport; and it is large and diverse, making it easier for smugglers and their human cargo to blend in. Houston police did not give information on stash house investigations. Stash houses in Houston are not necessarily rundown properties of the kind commonly found in pictures of smuggling operations closer to the border. Its unbelievable that we had this happening right here, next to us, and we didnt have a clue! said Flor Anderson, a neighbor of a house on Chessington Drive in southwest Houston, where migrants were found April 30 huddled together, nearly naked and hungry. This is a middle-class neighborhood! We dont expect (to have) this kind of crime here. Godofredo A. Vasquez, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Fighting back The increase in bigger and more sophisticated smuggling operations prompted the Biden administration to try to counter the enterprises. In April officials announced Operation Sentinel to crack down on smuggling migrants. Transnational criminal organizations put profit over human life, with devastating consequences, said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. He said his department aims to cut access to the smugglers profits by denying these criminals the ability to engage in travel, trade, and finance in the U.S. We intend to disrupt every facet of the logistical network that these organizations use to succeed, he said. Tony Barker, U.S. Border Patrols chief of operations, said recent smuggling cases in Houston and other regions in Texas are examples of the type of criminal activities that Operation Sentinel is aiming to disrupt. He said the program targets money paid for human smuggling in the U.S. and going back to the networks in Mexico and other countries to freeze those assets. He said it includes cartels and organizations that could otherwise be doing legitimate businesses but are entangled with these criminal enterprises. These transnational criminal organizations (sell) migrants false hopes and false dreams, Barker said. olivia.tallet@chron.com Twitter.com/oliviaptallet Decades on, devotion of Chinese experts still commemorated in Tanzania Xinhua) 09:48, June 03, 2021 DAR ES SALAAM, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Tucked in the lush greens of the western suburbs in Tanzania's largest city Dar es Salaam, the Chinese Experts Cemetery houses the graves of 70 Chinese experts, technicians and workers, who lost their lives while assisting Tanzania in its national construction. Among them, 47 died while building the Tanzania-Zambia Railway. In the 1970s, some 50,000 Chinese joined the Tanzanian and Zambian people in its construction. Facing challenges including food shortage, hot weather, diseases, and lack of medicines, the Chinese engineers and technicians worked side by side with their African brothers and sisters in the African continent. Hailed as the Freedom Railway, the Tanzania-Zambia Railway was constructed as a turnkey project between 1970 and 1975 through an interest-free loan from China. With commercial operations starting in July 1976, the railway covers 1,860 kilometers from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia. "These graves always remind me of my friends who devoted their lives to us, " 69-year-old Juma Khalfan Said told Xinhua. "These graves are a memory that will last forever because these people were supposed to be buried in their country but they were rested here because they chose to help us in the construction," said Said, who worked at the railway for over 30 years. In 1972, Said was selected to study in China and majored in railway management. He was assigned to work at the Dar es Salaam Station after completion of his study in Beijing in 1975. Recalling the times of building the Tanzania-Zambia Railway, Said said working in the wilderness entails wild animals and accidents. "The danger is everywhere. When wading through the river, you may be attacked by crocodiles. And rocks fall during construction of tunnels," he added. "Our Chinese friends never gave up. They told me they would finish the construction no matter what happened and they made it, " Said told Xinhua. Said visits the cemetery every year after his retirement in 2007. "They were far away from their country and relatives, and were not able to be buried in their homeland. I feel I'm obliged to visit them, " he said. "In the 1970s, I worked at Dar es Salaam station with the Chinese experts rendering technical assistance and cooperation here and they were so meticulous when they taught me how to plan routing and scheduling," Said said, adding that the memory of those years still lingers on till now. "What they have taught me benefits me for my whole working career, " he said. According to official statistics, the Tanzania-Zambia Railway has transported more than 30 million tonnes of cargo and more than 40 million passengers since the operation began. The Tanzania-Zambia railway not only greatly improves the transportation in the two countries, but also provided an affordable and reliable way of transportation for the public, he said. (Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun) President Moon Jae-in, third from left, taks with leaders of four conglomerate at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday. The leaders are, from left, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Samsung Electronics Vice Chiarman Kim Ki-nam and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun. Yonhap By Baek Byung-yeul With President Moon Jae-in hinting that he could be considering releasing imprisoned Samsung leader Lee Jae-yong, attention is being drawn as to whether Lee will receive a special pardon or be paroled. President Moon had a luncheon meeting with leaders of the country's top-four conglomerates at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday, in recognition of their efforts that made his visit to the United States and summit with U.S. President Joe Biden a success. While the chairmen of SK, Hyundai Motor and LG attended the meeting, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam was there in lieu of the Samsung leader who is serving a two-and-a-half year prison term after being found guilty of bribery in a corruption trial involving impeached and jailed former President Park Geun-hye. During the meeting, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won indirectly referred to the Samsung leader, asking President Moon to "please consider what the heads of five business organizations have said," according to Cheong Wa Dae officials. Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam also stressed the need for Lee to return to the semiconductor giant, saying, "It is important in the semiconductor business to make decisions on large scale investments and these decisions can only be made rapidly with a leader." In response, Moon didn't directly mention pardoning Lee, but said: "I understand that the economic situation is developing differently than before and that a bold role by companies is required." Industry officials said it was worth noting that President Moon's comments have of late turned positive. "Including Wednesday's meeting, it appears that President Moon is paying attention to requests to pardon the Samsung chief. Though nothing has been decided yet, it is a pretty encouraging sign," an industry official said. The change in direction was first seen in the President's May 10 speech and press question and answer session, when he responded to a question about Lee by saying, "It is clear that we need to increase our competitiveness in the semiconductor sector further as the competition is intensifying globally. I will listen to the public consensus and make a decision." Observers said Moon has begun showing a positive attitude toward a presidential pardon for Lee because the race for leadership in the semiconductor industry is getting fiercer. If a pardon is granted, they postulate that Lee will be released on the August 15 Liberation Day, given there have been many examples of previous presidents issuing special pardons on that day. Another possibility is that the Samsung leader will be granted parole, the possibility of which recently rose when Justice Minister Park Beom-kye approved of a plan to ease the criteria for the screening of this last month. The minister may begin approving parole for inmates who have served 60 percent of their sentence after suitable screening starting from July. Despite the law allowing prisoners who have serve more than a third of their time to be eligible for parole, the justice ministry's internal rules only grant parole to prisoners who have served more than 80 percent. While the two scenarios are currently being reviewed by Cheong Wa Dae and ruling party officials, the country's business and political circles are pushing more for a presidential pardon. "If a pardon is granted, then Lee will be positioned to contribute more to the country's economy. If, however, he is freed on parole, then that will leave him facing a lot of legal restrictions including on making a business trips overseas," an official said. Jet lagged travelers have tried sleeping pills and eye masks. Theyve avoided naps and, well, at least contemplated the recommendation to forgo coffee. Some have even calculated their light exposure prior to departure, voyaging into the sun or staying hidden inside based on how far theyre flying and if theyre headed east or west. But in the not-too-distant future, these tactics could be replaced by a medical device. More Rice news: Rice University will require all students to be fully vaccinated against COVID Researchers at Rice University are creating an almond-size silicone implant that would be put into a persons arm or abdomen. This device would have millions of biologically engineered cells that, once activated, create chemicals the body naturally makes to help regulate sleep cycles. Its expected to cut in half the time spent recovering from jet lag. This project is being funded by the Department of Defense, and its initially envisioned for troops who need to be alert and well rested. The technology could also benefit pilots, first responders and shift workers who switch between nights and days. But in the future, researchers hope this technology could replace certain shots and pills. Someone with diabetes, for instance, could replace insulin shots with a device that makes insulin as his or her body needs it. When we typically think about medicine, we think about taking a drug. And its difficult to control how that drug is released and how long it lasts in our body, said Jacob Robinson, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rice University. With electronics we can turn things on and off very quickly. On demand. Multiple times a day. Multiple times a minute. Its like a living pharmacy that can be controlled by electronics, tailoring drug production to each persons needs. The Rice researchers are part of a nationwide team being led by Northwestern University. They are receiving $33 million from the DODs Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. DARPA invests in breakthrough technologies for national security. In conjunction with this project, it also announced funding for an implantable device that produces and releases melatonin and a swallowed device that produces compounds to kill foodborne pathogens. While jet lag and traveler's diarrhea are inconveniences for an average traveler, they are critical challenges to operational readiness for a warfighter, DARPA said in its description of the funding opportunity, and can be the difference between mission success or failure. Decades in the making DARPA announced its selected researchers last month. But Robinson and Omid Veiseh, an assistant professor of bioengineering at Rice, had previously spent a decade on research related to their project. Robinson is leading the team creating the devices electronics. Veiseh is leading the team creating the engineered cells. Jet lag occurs when someone quickly travels across multiple time zones, for instance flying from Houston to London. This causes the bodys internal clock, its circadian rhythms that tell the body when to stay awake and when to sleep, to not match the new time zone. A person experiencing jet lag might have trouble falling asleep. They might wake up earlier than desired and could be drowsy during the day. They might also experience stomach issues, such as a reduced appetite or constipation. The medical device could help alleviate these symptoms. Heres how it works: The implant has tiny blue and orange lights, and the cells are programmed to be turned on when the blue light is on and to be turned off when the orange light is on. When the cells are on, they create natural chemicals that turn on hormones to help regulate the bodys circadian rhythm. Higher levels of the orexin A hormone, for instance, generally occur as someone is waking up. Higher levels of GLP-1, on the other hand, reduce appetite and hunger around the time someone is preparing for bed. Overcoming jet lag generally requires one day for every hour the clock is shifted. Traveling from Houston to London is a six-hour time difference, so it would take a Houstonian six days to acclimate to London time. With this new device activating hormones and helping the body recognize the appropriate time of day, a Houstonian in London could feel acclimated in just three days. Overcoming salt water But first, the device must survive inside the human body. Its electronics need to be protected from the bodys salt water. But the biologically engineered cells require nutrients from the body to survive, so they cant be in the same enclosed housing. As such, the cells are surrounded by a plastic mesh that allows nutrients to enter this part of the device. This mesh also keeps out immune cells that might try to attack the bioengineered cells, and it allows the chemicals created by these cells to exit the device and move throughout the body. Another obstacle presented by the body's salt water is that it blocks radio waves that would normally be used for communication. Its the same reason why submarines have to surface before transmitting messages. More local research: Houston researchers have been checking your poop during COVID To remedy this, Robinson's lab and Rice University electrical engineer Kaiyuan Yang have developed a method that uses a wearable device, such as an arm band, to create magnetic fields that turn the implant on and send or retrieve data. This system would send a message to the user's smartphone asking if the person wants it to deliver the recommended dose pressing yes would tell the armband to turn on the cells. The implanted device does not have a battery, so the armband will be required to provide power. And because the implant can only receive signals from a few centimeters away, a hacker would need to be literally on top of the wearer (and have their own armband-like transmitter) to talk to the device. The implant can also be permanently deactivated by sending a signal for the engineered cells to kill themselves. Implantable pharmacy Researchers at Carnegie Mellon and Northwestern universities are working on the external control systems that would tell the device when to turn on and off. They are also working on electrical techniques that would provide extra oxygen for the engineered cells. Its like an implantable pharmacy on a chip that never runs out, Northwestern Engineerings Jonathan Rivnay, principal investigator of the project, said in a news release. No need to carry drugs, no need to inject therapeutics and depending on how long we can make the device last no need to refill the device. Ultimately, Veiseh credited DARPAs funding and logistical resources for coordinating activities across different teams and disciplines. Animal testing should begin next year, and human clinical trials could start in roughly three years. We can actually take something like this that might sound science fiction, he said, and really turn it into reality just so much faster. andrea.leinfelder@chron.com twitter.com/a_leinfelder Missing 6-year-old Samuel Olson could have died at least as early as May 10, when a witness said he saw the boy dead in his fathers girlfriends custody, according to charging documents against the woman. Three pages of initial court documents reveal the most detail to date about what might have happened to the child, who was reported missing May 27. Police recovered the body Tuesday and charged the girlfriend, Theresa Balboa, with tampering with evidence, records show. The boys father, Dalton Olson, first contacted Houston police on May 27 to say his child was missing. Balboa had care, custody and control of the boy from April 30 on the last time he was seen at school, according to the documents. 'SHOCKED AND DEVASTATED': Father of Samuel Olson denies involvement in son's apparent death as girlfriend faces charges Balboa called Olson a week ago Thursday to report that Samuels mother arrived with a person presenting themselves as a police officer and took him from her home without consent, the father told police. The mother later denied picking up her child and provided surveillance footage showing that she was in fact at her residence. Balboa told police in a subsequent interview that she couldnt explain the discrepancy with the footage and reaffirmed that the mother took Samuel, documents show. Detectives interviewed Balboas roommate and learned that he came home that Thursday and saw Balboa and her mother sleeping, but she left and arrived at a separate home where Balboa reported Sam taken. The roommate told police that on May 10, Balboa called him and told him Samuel was dead, authorities said. He saw the boy, bruised, on the bed, and they put him in a bathtub where he remained for two days, according to police. On May 13, the roommate got duct tape and a plastic tote at Wal-Mart, he told police. They wrapped the boy in a plastic sheet, placed him in a plastic tote in her car, and took it to a storage unit in Webster, he said. Jasper police found the decomposing body weeks later, when on June 1 a Crime Stoppers tip came through related to the missing persons case out of Houston. A woman was at a Best Western motel in Jasper, possibly in possession of a missing child, the caller said. Jasper police arrived and made entry to the room with a spare key, detecting an odor immediately recognized as one consistent with human remains, according to charging documents. Balboa was in the bathroom, and police asked her where Samuel was. She said he was in the box, police reported. Police found a black tote with a yellow lid on the floor, secured with zip ties. A sergeant pried open the lid, peered inside with a flashlight, and smelled a strong odor, court documents show. He saw what seemed to be a childs body in a black plastic bag, secured with duct tape. Balboa was detained and taken to the Jasper Police Department. She remains in custody at the county jail, awaiting extradition back to Harris County. The man who purchased the room for Balboa at the Best Western was the person who called Crime Stoppers, police said. Balboa called him on May 31, asking for help after she got in an altercation, he told police. They met at a Wal Mart parking lot in Cleveland, and he drove her to the Webster storage unit, he said. They picked up a container with a foul odor, drove to Jasper, and checked Balboa into a hotel, he said. Surveillance footage shows a man and woman going into the room, after which the man got a tote from a truck and dragged it inside. He then called Crime Stoppers. A convicted rapist and kidnapper who authorities say confessed to abducting and killing four young women in separate attacks in 1997 in Texas and Oklahoma was sentenced to death this week in one of the cases the murder of a teenage girl. William Lewis Reece, 61, was convicted in Oklahoma City of first-degree murder and kidnapping in the death of 19-year old Tiffany Johnston, who in 1997 vanished from the Sunshine Car Wash in Bethany, Okla. Prosecutors said Johnston was the daughter of his mothers best friend and that Reece may have been stalking her, according to news reports. The jury deliberated for nearly two hours Wednesday before reaching their decision on the death penalty, which prosecutors had been pushing for. Reeces attorney, public defender Jacob Benedict, had argued that Reece only confessed to the crime because a Texas Ranger told him that the death penalty would be off the table. Reeces conviction and sentencing in Oklahoma will have ripple effects for two outstanding murder charges of Jessica Cain in Galveston County and Kelli Cox in Brazoria County. He has admitted to abducting and killing them in 1997. Reece was charged in those cases after leading authorities to their remains in 2016. Jimmy Harmon, an assistant district attorney in Oklahoma County who prosecuted the Reece case, said he has not had any contact with prosecutors in Texas as to whether the guilty verdict and death sentence in Oklahoma would impact those cases. I dont know that they will try to extradite him back (to Texas) for any proceedings, Harmon said. I havent had this type of situation present itself and, frankly, none of us really get a whole lot of serial killers. Texas officials tasked with overseeing Reeces pending murder trials said they would soon discuss whether to prosecute them. Jack Roady, the Galveston County district attorney, said on Tuesday he would consult with authorities in Oklahoma, as well as the victims families, after the sentencing to decide whether to proceed with a trial. Tom Selleck, the Brazoria County district attorney, said he would wait and see whether Reece will appeal the guilty verdict and death sentence before deciding on prosecuting him for the Cox murder. Mr. Reece may go through the first round of appeals and just be done with his case and choose not to pursue other avenues (for appeal). We just dont know yet, Selleck said. Investigators in 2016 began to zero in on Reece as a possible suspect in multiple decades-old cases after advances in DNA testing connected him to Johnstons murder. But his acts of violence toward young women and girls date back more than 30 years. Harmon credited Texas Ranger James Holland for extracting the confession from Reece for killing four different women in 1997, including Johnston. Holland had a partial DNA profile that he presented to Reece while he was serving a 60-year prison sentence for the aggravated kidnapping of one female victim in 1998. Having the confession, I can't predict what would have happened without it, Harmon said. Holland testified at a hearing in 2017 that Reece told detectives about pulling into the Sunshine Car Wash after his oil filter came loose and sprayed oil on his horse trailer. While washing his trailer, Reece got Johnston wet, starting an argument, Holland testified. Reece said he hit Johnston, grabbed her and threw her in his trailer, then sexually assaulted her, Holland testified. Afterward, Johnston hit Reece in the head with a horseshoe, Holland said, and then Reece choked her until she was dead with a rope in the trailer. Reeces confession led police to sites in southeast Houston and Brazoria County where the remains of Cain, a 17-year old from Tiki Island, and Cox, a 20-year old from Denton, were found. Cox, who had a young child, disappeared during a college field trip to a local jail. He also admitted to the kidnap-murder of 12-year-old Laura Smither, who vanished while jogging on April 3, 1997, in her quiet Friendswood neighborhood not far off Interstate 45. Smithers mother, Gay Smither, traveled from Friendswood to Oklahoma City to watch the trial. Smither said the trial was brutal, particularly when the prosecutors played a tape of Reeces confession, in which he recounted details of each murder. Listening and seeing the video of all of that was reliving the nightmare that 1997 was and remains for all the families who deal with it every day, Smither said. Reece expressed no emotion during the trial, Smither said, sitting stone-faced during the entirety of the proceedings. There was one point where he looked directly at me and I looked at him and we just looked at each other. No expression past his face, she said. Smither told the Houston Chronicle in 2016 she hoped to have a face-to-face meeting with Reece to give him an opportunity to come forward with the truth. But after sitting through the trial, she now believes Reece is incapable of reflecting on his many crimes. I would like to think that one day he would tell the truth, and I dont know if hes even capable of doing that, Smither said. Smither hopes the district attorneys in Galveston and Brazoria counties keep the door open to prosecuting Reece for those crimes, noting he had a rape sentence reduced by five years, allowing him to walk free in 1996 and later kill four women. (Reece served 10 years in an Oklahoma prison for the 1987 kidnap-rape of a college freshman and the rape of another young woman while out on bond awaiting trial in that state). Smither added while she does not support the death penalty, she feels Reeces sentence was appropriate. I really am wrestling with it, because I dont support the death penalty, I just dont think two wrongs make a right, she said. But I think the jury did the right thing. nick.powell@chron.com In late May, the Texas General Land Office announced how it would distribute $1 billion in federal flood mitigation dollars to local communities. Houston and Harris County leaders were surprised and disappointed their governments would receive $0, despite Hurricane Harvey killing more residents and flooding more homes here than any other county eligible for the aid. Local politicians blamed the snub on criteria the GLO developed, while Land Commissioner George P. Bush said his office was required to follow guidance from the federal government. Meanwhile, Bush said he will ask the feds to give $750 million directly to Harris County. Confused yet? Flooding and tropical storms are among the gravest threats facing the Texas Gulf Coast. Rules for spending federal money on flood protection are incredibly complicated. We asked Harris County reporter Zach Despart to explain this current fight in Texas over how this aid should be spent. How did this federal money even get here? Zach Despart: Lets start from the beginning. Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Southeast Texas in August 2017. It dumped more rain than any other recorded U.S. storm and caused significant flooding from Rockport to Beaumont. Only Hurricane Katrina caused more property damage, measured in dollars. Congress in February 2018 awarded Texas $4.3 billion in Housing and Urban Development funding to help the state recover from the storm and provide better flood protection for future ones. As is often the case with money states receive from Washington, there are strings attached. HUD required $2.1 billion to flow directly to the 20 hardest-hit counties, including Harris. Texas later added additional counties to bring this total to 49. The federal agency also required the nine states who received funding through the same appropriation to submit plans for spending it according to HUD guidelines. These included a requirement that low-income areas install adequate controls against waste and abuse. Gov. Greg Abbott decided the General Land Office would manage the funds. Since the need for flood mitigation projects often exceeded the available funding, Texas and other states held competitions where local governments applications were scored using a set of criteria. That seems fair. So how come Houston and Harris County got shut out? ZD: The short answer: None of the 13 city or county projects scored high enough on the GLO scoring system. The long answer: Local leaders complained the criteria stacked the deck against populous areas which the city of Houston warned GLO about in a January 2020 letter. We got the scoring data from GLO and investigated this. We found that for some criteria, this was true. For instance, each Houston or Harris County proposal received five of a maximum 10 points in the social vulnerability category that identifies an areas wealth using 14 social factors, including poverty, access to transportation and education levels. The criterion, however, considers the city or county as a whole rather than the area being served by a particular project. Houston recommended in the citys letter that state officials amend the metric to focus on the social vulnerability of the area being served rather than the entire city or county went unheeded. Alan Black of the Harris County Flood Control District said had this approach been used, proposals for the Halls, Greens and Sims bayou watersheds, which traverse some of the countys lowest-income communities, likely would have scored much higher. A similar 10-point category for per capita property value, for which all local projects received two points, suffered from the same flaw, Black said. Though the local governments proposed no projects on Houstons west side, which has some of the most expensive neighborhoods in Texas, property values in River Oaks and Memorial counted against those in Sunnyside and Fifth Ward, where the city had proposed projects. The most problematic, he said, was a 10-point category that divided the number of people a project would benefit by the total population of the applying entity. This meant that even a proposed Brays Bayou project that would benefit 774,000 residents more people than even live in any other eligible county would score less than 1 point. We ran the numbers and found that if this metric alone were excluded, Harris Countys projects would have scored high enough to secure $300 to $400 million. Houstons scores would have improved as well, though not enough to win an award. But Commissioner Bushs team said rules from HUD were to blame for the GLO criteria? ZD: This is false. We read the HUD guidance (boring, but knock yourself out). Not only does the federal government grant states significant discretion to decide how to spend their funds, but other states took a more tailored approach in an attempt to ensure mitigation dollars flowed to the best applicants. For example, South Carolina measured the number of low-income residents in a projects service area, rather than the entire jurisdiction. Missouri allowed exceptions to the maximum award amount. Louisiana awarded the most points to the projects that protected the greatest number of structures. Only Texas used a criterion that considered what percentage of an applicants residents would benefit from a project. Okay. But Bush has since said he wants $750 million to go directly to Harris County, so that is good for local residents, right? ZD: Yes*. The asterisk is for quite a few caveats we need to add here. After heavy criticism from Houston-area Republicans and Democrats, Bush said he would ask HUD to send $750 million to Harris County. But he hasnt specified where this money would come from. And on a conference call last week, HUD officials said they cant comment on Bushs request until he formally makes it. The second issue is under the speediest circumstances, months would likely pass before any of this aid reaches Harris County. GLO could propose changing its HUD-approved plan for spending its allocation to take the $750 million out of the $1.1 billion it plans to distribute later this year. But the federal rulemaking system for spending money from Congress is best understood as an aircraft carrier: powerful, complex and not designed to change course quickly. HUD officials explained to us that any substantial changes to the Texas plan would require a formal review process and a public comment period that is set by law. So what is GLOs current plan for spending that next $1.1 billion? ZD: GLO has said it plans to hold a second competition for these funds in 2021, but has to provide details. It has not committed to changing any scoring criteria. This is really complicated. Why should I care? ZD: Harris County voters have consistently ranked flooding as one of their top concerns, and this is understandable. The region has suffered four major floods in the past six years and remains vulnerable to future ones. Engineers peg the full cost at protecting Harris County from 100-year storms - those that have a 1 percent chance of occurring any given year - at well above $30 billion. So far, the county has barely made a dent in that. The $2.5 billion bond voters passed in 2018, Harris Countys largest-ever investment in flood protection, was a critical first step. But this is where this current tussle with the GLO is relevant: When county leaders pitched the idea to voters, they said bond dollars would help secure up to $2 billion in matching funds from the federal government. The GLO snub in May on HUD money left the county bond program with a funding gap of about $700 million. This leaves Commissioners Court with two undesirable options: find more funds through raising taxes, proposing a new bond or raiding other parts of the budget; or scaling back projects that have already been announced. Neither option will likely be popular with voters. This is a particularly tricky issue for county leaders, who know even if this bond program is a success, future bonds will probably be needed to provide adequate long-term flood protection. zach.despart@chron.com If there were any legislative session when Texas lawmakers eschewed politics for serious policy, when class clowns got serious about life-or-death issues, when personal agendas took a backseat to the needs of ordinary Texans, it should have been this one. After all, it isnt often that a worldwide health emergency, a historic racial reckoning and Mother Nature tee up a trifecta of urgent, looming crises crying out for strong leadership. But if the past five months were some kind of credentialing exam for Texas lawmakers, a great many would have failed most especially those who boasted goals of The Most Conservative Session Ever and couldnt meet a minimal standard of competence. Going in, most Texans, regardless of ideology, knew the biggest issues lawmakers and our agenda-setting governor had to tackle stemmed from the epic failure of state leaders to keep the lights and heat on during a historic freeze that crippled our vulnerable power grid and killed nearly 200 men, women and children and by some estimates, many more. Texans expected reforms that fixed the problems and assured theyd never happen again. Other major priorities for most Texans involved improving access to health care amid a global pandemic and police reform in the wake of the tragic murder of George Floyd. In the session that ended Monday, we got almost none of that. Maybe because those important issues were never really the priority of Gov. Greg Abbott or the slew of lawmakers more concerned with pleasing a small base of Republican primary voters than the best interests of 30 million Texans. Abbotts stated list of priorities for emergency action read like a check list for how to shore up his Republican primary bona fides, rather than a blueprint for making Texas a better place to live, work, raise a family or go to school. Although Abbott promised in his State of the State address to expand heath care access easy to say he refused to do the sensible thing: expand Medicaid as so many other states have. He called for bail reform, though by that he meant making it harder for some defendants and not just the dangerous ones to post bail rather than seeking to end the poverty jailing that has led to reforms in Harris and Dallas counties. A year ago in Houston, Abbott seemed to embrace calls for a George Floyd Act in Texas, in an apparent nod to a summer full of street protests demanding that Black lives be respected and protected just as other lives are. Instead, he urged lawmakers to fast-track bills such as one cracking down on cities that reallocate funding for police departments, which passed. Among his other priorities were bills to shield businesses from COVID-19 related lawsuits, which passed, and expanding even further Texans near limitless right to own and keep guns, which also passed. In February, he added to his priorities, after Winter Storm Uri knocked out power for millions and left the state within minutes of a months-long collapse of its electric grid. His promises werent worth much in the end. Abbott did fire or force out most of the people hed appointed to oversee the grid, but the sweeping structural reforms needed to shore up the grid and remove a perverse incentive for producers to profit off disaster never materialized. Instead, the Legislature made do changing up the membership of ERCOT, the nonprofit that oversees the grid, and the PUC, the state board that oversees ERCOT, and with a plan that will require some power plants to winterize, on the public dime although no funding was appropriated, large swaths of the natural gas industry were exempted and penalties for noncompliance are minimal. Abbotts leadership failures werent mitigated by the leaders of the House or Senate. The latter, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, championed the harshest version of the voter-suppression legislation Senate Bill 7, which the House did try later to ameliorate. He helped lead the push against transgender kids and their families, though those bills mercifully did not become law. Even when Patrick stepped out of character and demanded positive change that ERCOT reverse billions in erroneous energy pricing during the winter storm he couldnt be counted on to deliver. In the House, Speaker Dade Phelan was a different case. He mostly avoided piling on the rhetoric to match Patricks and Abbotts conservative saber-rattling. Phelan quietly oversaw a steady dilution of the bill to restrict voter rights, working with or through House Elections Committee chairman Rep. Briscoe Cain. By the time the House was ready to consider SB 7, it looked a lot less like the Jim Crow 2.0 Patrick had sent over from the Senate and was a bill even some opponents, including this editorial board, could live with. The bill ended up being hastily rewritten over in the Senate, with some of the worst provisions restored and even some outrageous new ones introduced, but we give Phelan credit for acknowledging House Democrats right to walk out in protest in a brazen move that killed the bill for this session, at least. Of course, one bill that Phelan, Abbott and Patrick all agreed on was one of the most extreme: the fetal heartbeat bill that many are calling the nations most restrictive. Its near complete ban on abortions after six weeks is almost certainly unconstitutional. Passing bills that arent legal is one of the clearest signs of incompetence and partisan pandering. Those arent the credentials of an effective Legislature. And they arent reassuring as lawmakers prepare to return for a special session on redistricting and a possible one to take up the failed voting bill. Perhaps its true that you get what you pay for: Texas lawmakers are among the lowest-paid in the nation. But another truth is that Texans pay for lawmakers failures in ways that go far beyond the monetary. Some of us as weve seen in the past year during the pandemic, the winter storm and the police assaults on Black bodies have even paid with their lives. Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced Wednesday evening that he would challenge the states embattled attorney general, Ken Paxton, setting up a high-profile Republican primary fight between the heir to the Bush political legacy and a conservative firebrand with a growing list of legal entanglements. A fierce face-off between a Republican incumbent and primary challenger has not been seen in Texas for nearly a decade the last time being in 2014, when Dan Patrick, then a state senator, took down Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in a landslide. In kicking off his campaign in Austin, Bush took aim at Paxtons legal troubles, which include a pending felony securities fraud indictment and corruption accusations by former aides the latter of which is the subject of an FBI investigation. Paxton, 58, who is seeking a third term, has denied any wrongdoing. READ MORE: Austin investor Nate Paul at center of allegations against Texas AG Ken Paxton Enough is enough, Ken, Bush said onstage from Bufords Backyard Beer Garden. Youve brought way too much scandal and too little integrity to this office. As a career politician of 20 years, its time for you to go. We need an attorney general thats above reproach, not under criminal indictment for securities fraud and under FBI investigation for bribery and corruption. Bush, 45, a second-term land commissioner and grandson of the late President George H.W. Bush, made the case that Paxton is too much of a vulnerability for Republicans in 2022, saying that Democrats are all in on the attorney general race. They see that Ken Paxton is our weak link, he said. They know that if he was the lowest vote-getter statewide in the last election cycle, and they know that if he is our nominee again, they have their first statewide elected office in close to 30 years. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Texans deserve better. George P. Bush considers primary challenge to AG Ken Paxton Paxtons campaign, in a statement Wednesday night following the announcement, defended his conservative credentials but didnt respond to Bushs comments on any of the controversy. Texans know Attorney General Paxtons rock-solid conservative record, spokesman Ian Prior said. From defeating Joe Bidens dangerous executive order halting deportations of illegal aliens, to his willingness to stand up for secure elections, Ken Paxton has been and will continue to be the tip of the spear in protecting President Trumps America First principles. Prior also pointed to Paxtons fight to shut down Backpage, a classified ads website that was tied to child sex trafficking. The Texas attorney general serves as the states top chief lawyer and law enforcement officer, defending state officials and agencies in lawsuits in court. Paxtons time in office has been marked by a decidedly political bent, zeroing in on border security, religious freedom and voter fraud as top priorities. Bush said his experience running the land office had prepared him to take on the Biden administrations executive orders related to energy and natural resources. And, he argued, Paxton has not won enough of the court cases taken on by the attorney generals office including the case Paxton took to the U.S. Supreme Court on then-President Donald Trumps behalf in December seeking to overturn the election. It was a little too little, too late, Bush said, though he told reporters he does believe Joe Biden won the presidential election. A real lawyer wouldve gotten on a plane and gone to one of the battleground states and challenged the legal standard under those relevant state laws. Political analysts say a key question is whether the election will be a referendum on Paxtons tenure, including a string of controversies. Paxton has, however, built a following on the right with his use of his office to push conservative causes and strong allegiance to Trump. Is this race a referendum of Ken Paxton and his time in office? Because thats one kind of race, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. Is this a race about what the Republican Partys future is in terms of approaching the federal government or border security or other issues? Or is this a race simply about the policy decisions the attorney general makes? Bush has also experienced controversies, which Paxtons campaign will likely wield against him. Hes been criticized by fellow Republicans for his planned $450 million restoration of the Alamo. Some of the blowback stemmed from inaccurate reports that Bush had planned to place a statue of Mexican general Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna on the Alamo grounds, though Bushs plan to move the Alamo Cenotaph also has received a cool reception from some grassroots Republicans. More recently, Republican officials in Houston joined Democrats in condemning Bush for his offices decision not to award Harris County a single penny of $1 billion in flood control funding. The Land Office, which he oversees, was responsible for doling out the federal funds, most of which was tied to Hurricane Harvey. Trump figures to play a role in the race. Both Bush and Paxton have backed Trump, who carries significant sway with members of the party, underscoring the importance of an endorsement. Trump has said that he will be choosing a candidate to stand behind. Trump on Tuesday endorsed Gov. Greg Abbott in his first serious primary challenge, against former state Sen. Don Huffines, who had previously labeled himself as the Trump candidate. George P. Bush earned favor with Trump after he broke with his famous political family and backed the real estate magnate and reality TV star in the 2016 general election, even after Trump had openly mocked Bushs father, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, during the Republican presidential primaries. Bush said Wednesday his family will be helping out wherever they can with his campaign. Paxton, meanwhile, showed the lengths he was willing to go with his support when he carried the Supreme Court suit seeking to overturn the 2020 election an effort that was immediately rejected by the high court. In addition to Trump, Bush said he had spoken about his campaign with Abbott and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. They have said theyve generally maintained that Republicans ought to stay out of Paxtons scandals, but he said they were very concerned and gave him great advice, Bush said. A TRUMP CARD?: Trump says hell endorse in 2022 Texas attorney general Republican primary In his first primary for attorney general, in 2014, Paxton easily beat former state Rep. Dan Branch by about 11 percentage points. In 2018, Paxton went unchallenged in the Republican primary. But in the general election that year, Democrat Justin Nelson, who focused his campaign on Paxtons legal troubles, came within 3.6 percentage points of unseating him. AWKWARD COINCIDENCE: Just as Paxton vs. Bush GOP primary matchup takes shape, theyre co-defendants in civil court Paxton has tried to cast Bush as a political climber and minimized his attacks on his integrity as out-of-touch. Hes kind of got this mentality that hes going to be president someday and hes got to get started, Paxton said on Dallas radio. Naming border security as his top priority, Bush said he would be traveling down to the Rio Grande Valley the day after the announcement. taylor.goldenstein@chron.com A free chance to win $1 million or more in lottery Free tickets to sporting events A paid day off work I'm anti-vax and think incentives are a distraction Vote View Results The foundation, which once bred the animals and farmed them out for movies and commercial purposes, has seven chimps now. A Samsung banner stands alongside a Korean flag at the company's building in central Seoul in this undated photo. The Fair Trade Commission rejected Samsung's plan, Thursday, to correct the alleged awarding of lucrative contracts to its in-house cafeteria arm in violation of the anti-trust law. Korea Times file By Yi Whan-woo The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) on Thursday rejected Samsung's suggested remedies to correct the alleged awarding of lucrative contracts to its in-house cafeteria arm in violation of Korea's anti-trust law, hinting at the possibility of the conglomerate facing heavy punishment. The FTC has been investigating Samsung Electronics and other Samsung affiliates since 2018 over allegations that they unfairly supported the conglomerate's food service affiliate by allowing it to run their lucrative in-house cafeteria business. The commission said the corrective measures suggested by the country's No. 1 business group is insufficient to address the unfair market practice of giving favors to affiliates at the expense of other companies. Four of the group affiliates_ Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung SDI _ were accused of hiring Samsung Welstory, the country's largest catering service provider, to run their respective in-house dining services for years. The five targeted affiliates accordingly submitted a set of measures, May 12, to redeem the alleged illicit business practice. Under the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act, companies that are accused of antitrust activities are allowed to present corrective measures. Should the FTC view the suggested measures as reasonable, pending cases can be closed without punitive measures. Samsung's measures included opening up their catering business at more than 50 in-house cafeterias to outside players, with small and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) being the first to take into consideration. The measures also included spending more than 150 billion won ($134.6 million) for the SMEs to borrow, develop menu items and enhance workplace safety. The FTC held two meetings _ May 26 and June 2 _ to review Samsung's corrective plan before Thursday's decision. FTC Chairwoman Joh Sung-wook presided over the meeting. Possible punishment, such as a fine, will be decided shortly, according to the commission. The in-house cafeteria market has been divided based on size, with large distributors being in charge of cafeterias at large companies and smaller operators working with smaller businesses. The fundamental difference caused small food distributors to struggle to scale up their service. Taking this into account, the FTC ordered eight conglomerates in April to select in-house cafeteria operators based on competitive bidding. The eight were Samsung, Hyundai Motor, LG, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Shinsegae, CJ, LS, and Hyundai Department Store. The in-house cafeteria market in Korea was scaled at 4.3 trillion won in 2019 and the eight accounted for 1.2 trillion won of the market. Samsung Welstory is among five major catering companies. Others are Our Home, Hyundai Green Food, CJ Freshway and Shinsegae Food, which are all chaebol affiliates. Meanwhile, selection of in-house cafeteria operators through bidding led to concerns from conglomerates' employees over the quality of meals offered. Some complained about the government's intervention in private business affairs. Larger companies have capitalized on self-remedial action to avoid possible punishment. In February, Apple Korea ended a years-long anti-trust dispute after the FTC accepted its corrective plan to spend some 100 billion won to support consumers and small businesses. The tech giant had been the subject of a probe over allegations that it pushed the country's three mobile carriers _ SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus _ to bear the expenses for iPhone's television advertisements and warranty services. Rep. Nick Schroer of St. Charles County before speaking at a news conference Wednesday at the St. Louis Police Officers Association hall. Behind him are fellow Republican Reps. (from left) Dottie Bailey of Eureka, Aaron Griesheimer of Washington, Mo., and Sara Walsh of Ashland, Mayor Jim Bowlin of Wildwood and Rep. Richard West, R-New Melle. (Photo by Mark Schlinkmann of the Post-Dispatch staff) In this Feb. 2, 2020, file photo, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's destroyer Takanami leaves its base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo. Tokyo would step up militarily to defend Taiwan if Beijing moved to reunify the island with mainland China by force, former deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger said in a panel discussion on June 1 with other top Trump administration officials. AP-Yonhap Hudson, NY (12534) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 81F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Low 61F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Ex-Spotify exec on the communications that people consider most important One economist/Spotify alumnus set about ranking which communication activities people feel are the most important, with some undeniably surprising results. Guest post by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0 There are so many ways to communicate these days. Social, radio, television, CDs, streaming, telephone, and direct messaging are just a few. All told there are actually 25 modern communication activities that were exposed to every day. But which ones do we consider important? And which ones do we pay the most attention to? Thats some of the issues that economist Will Page discusses in his book Tarzan Economics. If you recognize the name, thats because Will used to be the chief economist for Spotify. The book is a fantastic look at what he calls the eight principles of pivoting through disruption, but what I found fascinating was a list of communication activities that we experience, and even better, the ones we find the most important. Ready? Here we go. In order of importance: Phone calls Text messaging Emails Books Websites and apps Recorded TV Live TV Live Radio Social Networking Personal digital audio CD/vinyl Streamed music On-demand radio Music videos Online video clips Whats shocking here is that some of the legacy communication formats like phone, email, books, television and radio we consider more important than the ones that get the most hype, like social networking, streaming and online video. Theres also another way to look at this though. We can look at what communication activities get most of our attention. Again, the legacy formats come out looking pretty good. In order of what gets our greatest attention: Phone calls Books Emailing Online shopping Video calls Texting Websites, recorded TV, newspapers, video games, magazines, free on-demand, DVD/Bluray, Paid on-demand (tied) Instant messaging, online video clips (tied) Photo or video messaging Social networking Live TV, on-demand radio (tied) Personal digital audio, music videos (tied) Live radio, CD/vinyl (tied) Streaming audio Whats particularly shocking on both lists is that music is pretty much last in attention and importance to most people. Things that we take for granted, yet feel are somewhat dated like phone calls, books and email are at the top. The lesson here is that we cant take the legacy communication activities for granted, and we shouldnt overemphasize what many consider the modern ways of doing things. When it comes to fully capturing someones attention, the good old phone is still the best. Share on: Michael Huppe of SoundExchange: All players in the industry, creators or platforms, have to rethink how they work together Here SoundExchange CEO Michael Huppe weighs in on what a post-pandemic music industry is shaping up to look like, and why creators and platforms alike will need to rethink what their relationship looks like moving forward. Guest post by Emmanuel Legrand of the Legrand Network Michael Huppe, CEO of US neighbouring rights society SoundExchange, has warned the music industry to prepare for a world that will not be the same after the pandemic. In his keynote address at the virtual Canadian Music Week conference, Huppe said that in the past 15 months, the industry has been navigating the crisis that is the pandemic, but there are now glimpses of what life will look like past the pandemic. New artists, new business models, new styles are already emerging, he explained. The transformation to a fully digital music ecosystem, already underway in recent years, has accelerated over the past 15 months. That will continue and by 2025, the US music industry is projected to reach and exceed the historic height of the CD era. An industry reinventing itself For Huppe, the growth will come from an industry that is constantly reinventing itself, seemingly week to week, from live streaming on Twitch to virtual concerts in the Metaverse on Fortnite to real-time, multi-continent collaboration over Splice, or even watching fitness instructors become the newest music influencers, the way we discover and experience music is transforming before our eyes. He also believes that as new technologies are shattering barriers to entry for creators to record, produce, and play their music, this will be driving a surge in the growth of independent creators in all aspects of the business. He added: These innovations and growth are exciting, but they also add to the complexity of an industry that can be difficult for creators to navigate. Make order out of chaos He also noted that change has to happen, not least in the way the industry operates. To make order out of chaos, we have to confront the reality that the industry is plagued by fractured and outdated systems and incomplete information, all of which hinders the accurate and efficient payment to creators, said Huppe. Think about it. In what other industry would it be acceptable that hundreds of millions of dollars is lost or squandered because the money doesnt make it to the rightful recipient? That has to change. Huppe offered a few suggestions that would improve the functioning of the industry: 1: Making the business of music easier and more simple to navigate by ensuring that there are systems in place that remove friction, by making it easy to identify those who are due royalties, directing payments in an accurate and efficient manner, and making transparency a core principle so that everyone can trust the process. As the industry grows, both in the number of players, volume of recordings, and scope of revenues, the need to simplify the business will be even more critical, said Huppe. 2: Tackling fairness, equity and social justice. The industry must also be about fundamental fairness and respect for the hundreds of thousands of people who create the music that we listen to and love. This is the case when it comes to achieving social justice by taking a hard look at the music industry and ensure that we are part of the solution. For Huppe, it is also about ensuring that creators are respected and paid, fully and fairly, for their work, which contributes so much to our culture. 3: Developing data and tools to empower the music community. This will allow to more effectively manage and monetise their space in the value chain. He added: We also have to anticipate an explosion of new creators, artists and songwriters, studio producers, labels and publishers, who, due to tech innovations, can easily produce and distribute their work. 4: Resolving long-standing inequities over remuneration for creators. For Huppe, this includes making sure that in the United States AM/FM radio stations start paying for the use of sound recordings. Stuck in a stalemate For decades, the broadcast radio industry has raked in hundreds of billions of dollars in advertising by playing music it doesnt pay for, said Huppe. Its not fair. He added: As an industry, we cannot remain stuck in a stalemate over fair pay for artists because the long-term health of music is at stake. We need to find a way to break through this log jam. He recognises that increasingly broadcasters are shying away from the label radio as they face their own digital transition, which is leading them to new forms of content and new distribution platforms for listeners like streaming apps, podcasts, and other on- demand and live digital audio and more. The broadcast industry, just as much as the creative community, must adapt to the new social experience of music, analysed Huppe. Notwithstanding our differences, we should not shy away from opportunities where we can achieve a win-win outcome that ensures a bright future for both creators and broadcasters. We are, after all, all in this together. Recognising national treatment Huppe also addressed the issue of fairness and respect for US artists outside of the US. He noted that many countries, like the UK, deny creators royalties solely based on where they born. The answer, according to Huppe, is to end this outrageously unfair by recognising what is called national treatment for US artists, so that they can be paid when their recordings are played. In recent months, SoundExchange has taken the lead in a campaign to obtain national treatment for US artists. Countries, mostly in the European Union, do not recognise neighbouring rights for American artists because the US has not ratified the Convention of Rome and does not have performance royalties for sound recordings for FM and AM radio. All countries should provide national treatment, which means paying all creators fairly for their work and not favoring one group over another, said Huppe. Doubling the size of SoundExchanges community Within that framework, SoundExchange, which collected over $1 billion in 2020, has the ambition to be a key player in the renewed industry, said Huppe, who pledge to build the systems and services to scale that growth. Looking at what the future looks like for SoundExchange, Huppe said he is expecting the non-profit society to service nearly double the size of its current community, from nearly 250,000 creators today to approximately 400,000 by 2025. That will have a huge impact on SoundExchange and our tech assets, said Huppe. Strategic efforts He added that SoundExchange will embark on four strategic efforts: > Streamlining the identification of royalty payments to ensure that all participants in music are paid, which includes upgrading music data exchange application, which facilitates the exchange of sound recording and publishing ownership data. > Expanding the use of music identifiers to ensure all creators are paid accurately and efficiently. We are one of the world leaders in ISRCs, which confirms specific recordings, the critical first step, in almost all usage reporting, said Huppe. They are an important tool to help lessen some of the chaos. > Developing data analytics tools so all music industry players can better understand their works usage, all with an eye towards more effectiveness and transparency. > Enhancing systems to make it easier for all of those who play music to report and pay digital royalties to creators. For Huppe, that includes building out new services for publishers and DSPs to simplify data collection and payments. Leveraging data to build a better industry As an industry, we are far from fully leveraging the data to build a better music industry that is more simple, efficient, and fair, said Huppe. He invited the industry to confront these challenges of complexity and scale, and bring some order to what we all know can be a chaotic business. He concluded: We are in a pivotal time. These next five years will offer equal doses of opportunity and challenge and those opportunities and challenges, demand that all the players in the industry, whether creators or platforms, rethink how they work together. In the next five years, the music industry will be bigger than ever, both in participants and financial scope. He continued: If there is a lesson to be learned from the pandemic, it is that our world can shift incredibly quickly. We know the challenges we collectively face as an industry. The only thing that can stop us from overcoming them is outdated thinking. In order to succeed, we, those who are the stewards of the business side of music, have to be just as creative in finding solutions as the remarkable artists who create the music we all love. Share on: Kelan O'Brien, chair of Berkshire Pride, speaks about Jahaira DeAlto at the Pride flag-raising event at City Hall on Wednesday. Pride Month in the city was dedicated to the murdered transgender activist. Members of the district attorney's office pose at the event. PreviousNext Pittsfield Raises Pride Flag, Dedicates Pride Month to Jahaira DeAlto Mayor Linda Tyer proclaims Pride Month. PITTSFIELD, Mass. Pride Month in Pittsfield has been dedicated to former city resident and transgender activist Jahaira DeAlto, who was murdered a month ago in Boston. "Jahaira was an original founder of pride, she helped start the first Transgender Day of Remembrance here in the Berkshires and she helped set the foundation for the LGBTQ-plus community to organize here for the first time," said Kelan O'Brien, chair of Berkshire Pride, at the Pride flag-raising event at City Hall on Wednesday. "We have always been here. She provided that foundation." The city of Pittsfield in partnership with Berkshire Pride raised the LGBTQ-plus flag in honor of Pride Month with a large photo of DeAlto, who worked with local victims of abuse, prominently displayed at the podium on the steps of City Hall. A crowd of local and state officials and residents cheered while the flag was raised to "I'm Coming Out" by Diana Ross. This has been a yearly tradition since 2017. Mayor Linda Tyer delivered the proclamation for Pride Month in Pittsfield. "This image of Jahaira right here is so powerful, I know we are all deeply saddened and grieving for what she has left us. The legacy that she has left us but the image of her in this photograph is powerful. And I feel her presence with us today just by looking at this image here in front of the podium," she said. "[The city] honors the LGBTQ-plus community's courage, compassion, creativity, recognizing the social, economic, and cultural contributions they make to our community, including advocating for the equal rights of all people speaking out against intolerance and discrimination and helping to break down the walls and fear and prejudice within the city." Berkshire County resident Najwa Squailia spoke on the hypocrisy of "pride capitalism" and the many elements that encompass pride. "More anti-trans bills have become law in this country, young trans people are being denied life-saving medical care and yet, in that same moment those same children can walk into Target or into a local craft supply store and find a vast altar of rainbow covered accessories and appeasement perhaps that they accept gratefully what little protections the culture has to offer," she said. "But an invitation to joy and celebration is an empty gesture unless it is paired with the most basic human rights." State Rep. Tricia Farley Bouvier, representatives from the District Attorney's Office, Ward 1 Councilor Helen Moon, and Councilor at Large Pete White were in attendance at the mid-day celebration among other officials. OBrien said there will be no Pride Festival in the city in June but the organization will be supporting Berkshire NAACP on Juneteenth holiday -- June 19 -- which is the day the festival would typically be hosted. Berkshire Pride reportedly will be holding a rally on June 26, the day that Supreme Court in 2015 held that states may not deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The organization is exploring festival options for later in the summer or closer to National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11. Hillcrest Educational Centers received $4800 from Haddad Subaru Haddad Subaru General Manager, Chris Kramek, and President, George Haddad, selected Hillcrest Educational Centers as one of their hometown choices. Of all the purchases made during this time, Berkshire customers predominantly chose to support their hometown charities. PITTSFIELD, Mass. Hillcrest Educational Centers received $4800 from Haddad Subaru and Subaru of New England as a part of Subaru of America's (SOA) annual Share the Love campaign. From Nov. 19, 2020 to Jan. 4, 2021, with every new Subaru purchased or leased, Subaru donated $250 to each customer's choice of charities, both national and local. For 2020, SOA selected the four national charities: ASPCA, Make-A-Wish, Meals on Wheels America and National Park Foundation. Fishermen in Malaysia's Sabah need confirmation letter to fish during COVID lockdown by NEIL BRIAN JOSEPH June 02,2021 | Source: Borneo Post The government of the Malaysian state of Sabah has advised fishermen to apply for a confirmation letter from the Fisheries Department if they wish to fish during the ongoing total lockdown. Sabahs official Covid-19 spokesman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said those fishermen who are planning to carry out their fishing activities on the coast are advised to obtain the said letter. Roadside stalls that sell vegetables, fish and fruits are allowed to operate. This will enable the farmers and fishermen to sell their products, said Masidi in a statement on Wednesday. He further disclosed that a total of 58 factories in Sabah have been given the green light to operate 24 a day during the lockdown. Masidi said that these factories are from various sectors, namely the refinery, crude palm oil, biodiesel, chemical fertiliser, Spent Bleaching Earth (SBT), steel billets and steel bars and cement sectors. Only 60 per cent of the staff are allowed to work in the factory, he said. Separately, Masidi disclosed that essential workers are not required to obtain an approval letter from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry for them to go for inter-district travel. Meanwhile, in light of the worsening Covid-19 situation in Tawau and Kalabakan, Masidi revealed that the police would be tightening roadblocks in the two areas. Sabah recorded 254 new Covid-19 cases along with two new Covid-19 fatalities on Wednesday. 2010-2021 The Borneo Post Sdn Bhd. All Rights Reserved Theme(s): Fishing Craft, Gear and Fishing Methods. Chinese state firms wetland destruction shows mangrove habitat still under threat by Echo Xie June 03,2021 | Source: SCMP A large state-owned port company in southern China was responsible for extensive destruction of wetland mangroves and repeatedly ignored orders from local government to rectify it, according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. A port construction project in the Beibu Gulf in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, operated by Beibu Gulf Port Group, had killed almost 38,000 mangrove plants covering 257 mu (17 hectares, 42 acres) of shoreline as of May last year, the ministry said in a statement last month. Environmental inspectors also found that the construction company had actively removed 168 mangrove trees, breaking local regulations protecting them. The incident highlighted an urgent need for mangrove protection in China, and the importance of environmental inspections, experts said. According to the environment ministry, a subsidiary of Beibu Gulf Port Group discharged a large amount of waste water containing high concentrations of kaolinite, a clay mineral, into the mangrove area in Beihai. The kaolinite attacked the mangrove roots, killing the plants. The firm was warned by the ministry in 2016 to properly treat its waste water after it filed the construction proposal, but the company ignored the order. After construction began in 2017, when there was 8.25 mu of damaged mangroves, the damage expanded each year. Local authorities issued five suspension orders between December 2019 and April 2020, before construction was halted in May 2020 and the company was reprimanded. Beibu Gulf Port Group said in a statement on May 17 that it had sacked the subsidiarys chairman and general manager, held 16 staff members accountable, and would inspect all of its construction projects. Mangroves are hardy trees and shrubs that grow in the intertidal zone along tropical and subtropical coasts. They are one of the most biodiverse and productive marine ecosystems on Earth, according to Xiamen University professor Li Zhenji. It has a variety of ecological functions, such as to withstand typhoons, protect the coast, maintain biodiversity and store carbon, he said. Because of these functions, mangrove forests are often hailed as coastguards. China has 37 kinds of mangrove plants, distributed mainly in coastal provinces and regions such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and Zhejiang. Guangxi has the second-largest area of mangrove forests but the southern island of Hainan has the most species of the plants. Li said mangrove ecosystems had come under threat from human activity in recent decades. As a result of human factors including reclamation, infrastructure construction and aquaculture, mangrove areas in China shrank 55 per cent from nearly 50,000 hectares in the early 1950s to about 22,000 hectares in 2000, according to a joint report last year by the Paulson Institute, Lao Niu Foundation and Shenzhen Mangrove Wetland Conservation Foundation. The Chinese government has stepped up protection and restoration of mangroves since 2000 and arrested the sharp decline of mangrove areas, which by 2019 had grown to 30,000 hectares. With an annual area growth rate of 1.8 per cent, China became one of few countries with a net increase, the report said. The environment ministrys statement contrasted sharply with its own report released last week, which described Chinas marine ecosystems as stable and the coverage of mangroves, coral reefs and seagrass as increasing. Li suggested that protection and restoration of mangrove forests should focus on improving the entire mangrove wetland ecosystem, including restoring the habitats of birds, fish and other wild animals. However, an expert in Beijing said destruction of mangrove forests in Guangxi highlighted the importance of effective inspections. Zhou Ke, a professor of environmental law at Renmin University, said local governments should be made accountable for failing to stop polluters. If the company broke the law and refused to mend its ways, then the relevant departments should be held responsible for malfeasance, he said. Zhou said local prosecutors should be given powers to pursue polluting companies and government departments. We should use such powers to ensure environmental inspections are effective, he said. 2021 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Theme(s): Others. In this photo provided by NASA, Administrator Bill Nelson speaks during his first major address to employees at the agency's headquarters in the Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington, June 2. AP-Yonhap NASA announced two new missions to Venus on Wednesday that will launch at the end of the decade and are aimed at learning how Earth's nearest planetary neighbor became a hellscape while our own thrived. "These two sister missions both aim to understand how Venus became an inferno-like world, capable of melting lead at the surface," said Bill Nelson, the agency's newly-confirmed administrator. "They will offer the entire science community the chance to investigate a planet we haven't been to in more than 30 years." The missions have been awarded about $500 million under NASA's Discovery Program, and each is expected to launch in the 2028-2030 timeframe. Both missions were picked from a competitive, peer-reviewed process based on their scientific value and feasibility of their plans. DAVINCI+, which stands for Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging, will gather more detail on the composition of Venus' primarily carbon dioxide atmosphere, to learn how it formed and evolved. The mission also seeks to determine whether the planet once had an ocean.A descent sphere will plunge through the dense atmosphere which is laced with sulfuric acid clouds. It will precisely measure the levels of noble gases and other elements to learn what gave rise to the runaway greenhouse effect we see today. DAVINCI+ will also beam back the first high resolution images of the planet's "tesserae," geological features roughly comparable with Earth's continents whose existence suggests Venus has plate tectonics. The results could reshape scientists' understanding of terrestrial planet formation. The other mission is called VERITAS, an acronym for Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy. This will aim to map the Venusian surface from orbit and delve into the planet's geologic history. Using a form of radar that is used to create three-dimensional constructions, it will chart surface elevations and confirm whether volcanoes and earthquakes are still happening on the planet. It will also use infrared scanning to determine rock type, which is largely unknown, and whether active volcanoes are releasing water vapor into the atmosphere. While the mission is NASA led, the German Aerospace Center will provide the infrared mapper, while the Italian Space Agency and France's Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales will contribute to the radar and other parts of the mission. "It is astounding how little we know about Venus, but the combined results of these missions will tell us about the planet from the clouds in its sky through the volcanoes on its surface all the way down to its very core," said Tom Wagner, NASA's Discovery Program scientist. "It will be as if we have rediscovered the planet." NASA's last Venus orbiter was Magellan, which arrived in 1990, but other vessels have made fly-bys since then. (AFP) We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email circulation@idahopress.com for help creating one. Community Information If you would like to submit an upcoming event or community announcement, please contact our staff at 208-232-4161 or send an email to cjohnson@journalnet.com. We will also accept news from local clubs and engagement, wedding and anniversary announcements. You can post your community or club events on our calendar. Obituaries Submit an obituary/notice All obituaries must be placed by your mortuary or onlineDeadline is 3 p.m. for publication the next day. The ISJ is not responsible for spelling, grammar, or basic mistakes. Note: We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email circulation2@journalnet.com for help creating one. A giant sinkhole that was expanding by dozens of meters each day has alarmed residents in a rural area of central Mexico where it was threatening to swallow a house. When the Sanchez family heard a loud crash on Saturday they first thought that it was a lightning strike. But they soon discovered that the ground had collapsed just meters from their home in a field in Santa Maria Zacatepec in the state of Puebla. The hole, which is full of water, was about 30 meters (nearly 100 feet) wide by Sunday. It rapidly grew to 60 meters on Monday and around 80 meters on Tuesday, the authorities said, coming perilously close to the house of the Sanchez family, who fear they will be left homeless. "We have nothing. We're not from here. We have no relatives. We're alone," Heriberto Sanchez, originally from the southeastern state of Veracruz, told the media. Scientists and the authorities were considering hypotheses including a geological fault or variations in the soil's water content as the possible causes. As the sinkhole has grown, large chunks of earth continually have broken away from the rim, scaring off onlookers approaching a security cordon set up by the authorities. In a video posted on social media, two men were seen approaching the hole shortly before it expanded suddenly, forcing them to run to safety. "It will grow until nature decides, when the water stops exerting pressure," Puebla state governor Miguel Barbosa said. "The important thing now is public safety," he said, adding that the authorities would compensate those affected. (AFP) This is a contributed article by Dominik Angerer, CEO and co-founder of Storyblok. Heres a question you might have been asking yourself - why is it that technology is getting faster, sleaker, more intuitive but many websites seem to be going in the opposite direction? Youre not imagining it. A lot of recent research has tracked growing consumer dissatisfaction at website loading speeds and functionality. Given that websites are a critical channel for many businesses, this fall in performance represents a threat that needs to be looked at seriously. Why are websites falling behind? So what is the cause of this fall in website performance? In most cases, its a combination of creeping website functionality leading to bloated designs that have been built on inadequate or inappropriate tech infrastructure. Put another way, websites are expected to do a huge amount more, in terms of functionality, communication and data transfer, but the design and development methods, alongside the infrastructure that powers them, has simply not kept up. As martech continues to advance and consumer expectations rise, this is a problem that will impact more and more companies. When it comes to tackling this issue, businesses do have a number of options. Seemingly, the most obvious approach is rebuilding their website with an updated tech stack and all the modern functionality designed in from day one. However, this can be an expensive and time-consuming project, which if undertaken solely for the KPI of a better website, can have limited appeal. Similarly, although its a more immediate fix, it can end up simply kicking the can down the road. An alternative is to look at rethinking the actual mechanics of how your website is built, updated and maintained, and how this can be incorporated into a wider cloud native play. To this end, it is worth considering the Jamstack. What is Jamstack? If youre familiar with GitOps, DevSecOps and the many other development terms that are being bandied about nowadays - Jamstack is going to be quick to get to grips with. Like these other terms, it describes a process rather than a technology. The JAM stands for the architecture it is based on - JavaScript, APIs and Markup. Its a term coined by Netlify and its purpose is to bring web development up to speed with modern technology and enable faster, and easier website builds and integrations. The idea is to not generate the pages every single time an end user is accessing it but only once during a build step when content changes and then serve that finished page without the need of processing it again. This finished page can then be enhanced by dynamic content using further APIs and client-side rendering which can be used in combination with pre-rendering. Implemented correctly and the speed, functionality and stability of a website will improve markedly. Jamstack also opens the door to implementing serverless databases, using headless CMS, reactive search, and multi-platform notifications. Essentially, it supports a lot of modern marketing infrastructure and techniques. Should I consider Jamstack? With any new approach to development its important not to get carried away with the hype. Jamstack is not going to be an appropriate solution for every business nor is it something that you can implement tomorrow. You need to consider your websites requirements in the broader context of your marketing, sales and general communication needs. Generally, for businesses that use their website for little more than a shop front, Jamstack will be completely unnecessary. Functionality and speed improvements can be secured through basic optimisation and design tweaks. On the other hand, if your website deals with a lot of dynamic and personalised content, it is integrated into your data science or business intelligence function, or, critically, you are undergoing or plan to undergo a transformation towards a severless model, then Jamstack may be the only adequate, futureproofing solution. Jamstack requires an upskilled team, new protocols, infrastructure and, ideally, close integration of development and marketing teams. This doesnt exclude SMEs - indeed, realistically it is the largest businesses which will potentially struggle the most with this transition - however, it does mean that a balance has to be struck between relatively heavy upfront costs and potential disruption, versus long term gains. My view would be that Jamstack is most appropriate for SMEs if they fall into the category of startups with ambitious global growth models and those in retail and ecommerce. Generally speaking, the best approach to qualify Jamstack is to look at your long-term goals. A business model that will increasingly rely on martech solutions to acquire and retain customers is going to be more effective and cheaper to execute using Jamstack. What are my first steps? Although there is no one size fits all approach, you can get a good overview of the costs involved and the tools with some simple research into some of the systems that support Jamstack. I strongly recommend kicking off your investigation into Jamstack by looking into using microservices. As Jamstack is technology agnostic, you can plug a whole host of different solutions into it. Nevertheless, a strong preference should be made for API-first tools and integrations as this will make life a lot easier and get you up and running faster. The various solutions you will need to look at include, authentication, static site generators, frontend frameworks and CMS systems. Next, consider the most appropriate cloud hosters. Nearly every service will work, for example, Vercel, AWS, Azure or Github pages, however, bear in mind that cloud hosting costs are notoriously opaque. Do be careful to consider all the cost implications for your provider, as low up front costs can mask higher charges as you scale. For making the switch to Jamstack itself, there are plenty of sources that cover best practice. However, as a quick checklist look closely at CDN, Atomic Deploys, Cache invalidation and version control. Quincy Middle School to do remote-only learning on Thursday as police investigate threats to school The International Federation of Journalists has called for the urgent reinstatement of Nasser Abu Bakr, the head of the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate following his victimisation by French news agency, AFP. Abu Bakr, who has worked for Agence France Press (AFP) for more than 20 years, was sacked without valid reason, in what the IFJs leading body called a clear case of victimization for his trade union activities, in contravention of the law and international standards. The dismissal came following the agencys concerns over his strong public defence of the rights of Palestinian journalists in his role as President of the PJS. Abu Bakr, who is an elected member of the IFJs Executive Committee, had been instrumental in filing complaints about the systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists by Israeli forces to the United Nations Special Rapporteurs and in documenting and exposing attacks on Palestinian journalists and media. The IFJ will launch a global campaign to demand justice for Nasser. Already support has flowed in from public bodies in Palestine, from unions around the world and from the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions. Journalists in Palestine have staged protests outside the offices of AFP. Unions representing staff at AFPs headquarters and other offices around the world have pledged their support. The IFJ has already been in contact with AFP management in Paris. IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: The dismissal of Nasser, an elected trade union leader, for nothing more than giving a voice to Palestinian journalists under threat and facing daily attacks is totally unacceptable. He must be reinstated. For interview requests, please contact: In French: IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger anthony.bellanger@ifj.org / +32 471 23 61 27 In English: IFJ Deputy General Secretary, Jeremy Dear jeremy.dear@ifj.org Yemeni journalist Adnan Al -rajhi working for Belqees TV, a Yemeni media organization based in Turkey, was subjected to violence and forced into confession during his detention in Turkey in January 2020. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins the Yemen Journalists Syndicate (YJS) in calling for an investigation of his treatment while in detention and calls on his employer to pay him appropriate compensation and cover the costs of his medical treatment. Update June 4: On June 4, the YJS and Balqees TV reached an agreement that the TV will pay an appropriate compensation for Al-rajhi, the union and the IFJ thanked the management for their cooperation and announced that the case has been settled. Turkey authorities did not respond to the call to investigate the violence and forced confession the journalist faced while in detention. Al-rajhi worked for Belqees TV, owned by the Yemeni Nobel Peace Laureate Tawakkol Karman, in the Yemeni capital Sana until 2015, when the TV offices were ransacked by the Houthis during their violent takeover of the city that year. He fled with the rest of the team to Istanbul, where they established the TV headquarters. According to the YJS, Al-rajhi was subjected to physical violence during his detention in Turkey in January 2020. The journalist told the union that he was beaten and forced by security forces to confess in front of a camera that he was collaborating with the authorities of Saudi Arabia and the UAE and sending them information about the Moslem Brotherhood in Turkey. He was held for 15 days in three different police and security facilities in Istanbul. Al-rajhi has been living in Egypt since February 2020 and hes receiving medical treatment. The YJS said it has been in contact with the management of Belqees TV for over a year seeking compensation for the journalist for his services to the organization and his physical injuries and financial losses resulting from his work for them. All these efforts were in vain. Belqees TV claimed that they paid the journalist his end of service allowance following his voluntary resignation. However, the YJS says that this payment was calculated following the Yemeni law, a condition that does not apply to Al-rajhis case as hes forced to live in exile and cant return to his home in Yemen. IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: We are calling on the authorities in Turkey to investigate the serious violations of our colleagues rights and hold accountable those responsible for his mistreatment. We also condemn the employers failure to pay him appropriate compensation, including the coverage of medical costs. It must take action urgently. realme, the world's fastest-growing smartphone brand, today announced at its inaugural virtual 5G summit that it would enable 100 million young consumers to use and access 5G smartphones within the next three years. Held in partnership with tech powerhouses GSMA, Counterpoint Research and Qualcomm, realme also revealed that new models in its GT series, realme 5G performance and camera flagships, will be launched globally in June and July 2021, respectively, among several other corporate initiatives to promote 5G adoption globally. With the theme Making 5G Global: Accessibility for All, realmes virtual 5G summit brought together leaders from industry associations, research institutions, and component vendors and device manufacturers to share their insights on several 5G topics, particularly the current global 5G connectivity. This includes the driving forces behind it, the technical aspect to 5G evolution, the unique relationship between 5G and the younger generation, and how to further facilitate 5G accessibility in the future. At the summit, realme reaffirmed its commitment to becoming a key player in 5G and shared its latest pledge to advance the adoption of 5G in global markets as it aims to bring the technology to more users worldwide. In 2020, realme launched 14 5G devices in 21 markets, accounting for around 40% of all its products. By 2022, the company aims to increase the number of its 5G offerings to over 20, upping the ratio to 70% across 50 markets. realme also plans to take the industry lead with the launch of more affordable 5G devices in the next few years, a move that is set to further accelerate 5G adoption, especially across the rapidly emerging economies. Starting with our first 5G model, the realme X50, we have been exploring new design concepts and technical innovations to bring users more slimline and design-rich 5G phones that have a powerful performance. We believe that in the 5G era, helping to accelerate the adoption of this new technology is a crucial mission for realme, said realme VP and CEO for India and Europe Madhav Sheth. We will work hard to help popularize 5G by listening more to consumers needs, pushing forward product innovation, and helping to build the broader 5G ecosystem with our industry partners. the realme regional executive added. In the Philippines, the realme X50 was launched as the brands first 5G offering in December 2020. As the virtual 5G summit indicated, the brands Filipino squad can look forward to realme revolutionizing the local market once again as it gears up to lead the #LeapTo5G. Making 5G accessible to todays youth True to its advocacy for youth empowerment, realme pushes for full access and integration to cater to diverse needs of todays youth. realme believes that 5G is for the younger generation - internet natives who are looking for ways to connect and express themselves beyond the physical world. As a brand thats dedicated to young consumers, realme tries to listen carefully to what they expect from 5G technology and get them more involved in the process of creating a better 5G user experience. By empowering the young, we hope they can, in turn, become the forerunners of 5G adoption and help lead more people into the 5G era, added realme Brand Director Johnny Chen. In 2021, realme plans to set up more than ten 5G pop-up stores around the world allowing young people to create exclusive spaces where they can enjoy 5G experiences through cloud gaming, ultra-clear AR, live broadcasting and other popular 5G applications. Counterpoint Research VP and Co-founder Peter Richardson agreed that the growth of 5G has been impressive and the rapid reduction in smartphone prices has been one of the main drivers. By the end of last year, we saw some highly competitive 5G products offered at affordable prices in China, with realme being the most aggressive with its V3 5G selling at around US$145. realme is helping to popularize the technology across many other countries with a series of compelling products with great specifications at surprisingly affordable prices, Richardson noted. Aside from increasing affordability and access, 5G technology is also improving at a very fast pace. The upgrade to 5G chipsets pushes platform processing performance to remarkable levels, allowing us to maximize the step change improvements we are seeing in todays smartphone components and hardware. Just as important, we are delivering 5G to all tiers, ensuring it is accessible to broad segments across developed and emerging markets alike. said Qualcomm India & SAARC VP and President Rajen Vagadia. To support the global adoption of 5G products, realme will establish seven R&D centers around the world in 2021, dedicated to exploring innovative 5G technologies and products. At present, 90% of realmes R&D resources have been converted to 5G technology and products. In the next two years, realme will invest US$300 million globally in 5G technology research and product development, as well as in promoting global 5G popularization. Jennifer Garner says two of her three children will soon receive the Covid vaccine, now that it has become available for people aged 12 and older in the US. The actor, who grew up in West Virginia, accompanied Dr Jill Biden during a visit in the state on Thursday. Both spoke at a clinic located at Capital High School in Charleston. Garner and Dr Bidens visit came as the CDC eased its guidance for fully vaccinated people, stating those who have received the vaccine can stop wearing masks in most outdoor and indoor settings, unless required by local laws and regulations (including business and workplace guidance). We are so thrilled to be getting back to normal, Garner said in her address. Its so exciting. I kind of cant believe that Im standing here without a mask on, looking at maskless faces. And we owe that to President Biden, and we owe that in large part to [West Virginia Governor Jim Justice]. President Biden said he would get us vaccinated, and boy did he mean it. Jennifer Garner greets Dr Jill Biden in Charleston, West Virginia on 13 May 2021 (OLIVER CONTRERAS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) She then broached the topic of vaccine hesitancy, stressing the need for people to get vaccinated in order for the pandemic to end. I am thrilled to be vaccinating two of my three kids on Tuesday, she told the crowd. I dont even know if they know it yet, but they know it now. Its happening. I cannot wait. It couldnt happen any sooner. I wish they were here right now. Garner has three children with her ex-husband Ben Affleck: Violet, 15, Seraphina, 12, and Samuel, nine. On Wednesday, the CDC joined the FDA in clearing the use of the Pfizer vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds. The CDC is now recommending that everyone in the US aged 12 and older get vaccinated against Covid-19. Anyone who wanted to understand the Gulf yesterday not just the Arabian Peninsula but the psychological canyon that divides Muslim East from Christian West had only to read how the world reacted to the slaughter of Palestinians by armed Israeli police in Jerusalem. Arab newspapers spoke of a massacre but Western newspapers spoke of killings and James Baker, the US Secretary of State, referred to them as a tragedy as if the deaths were caused by some natural disaster such as an earthquake or a flood. If soldiers of an Arab nation had shot dead 19 Jewish demonstrators on Monday, wounding another 140, the positions would, of course, have been reversed. The American news agencies that recorded the killings of the Palestinians would have been referring to a massacre while the Arabs would have been reduced to pleading, pathetically, for restraint the very same inappropriateness of response that President Bush demonstrated towards the dreadful events at the Mosque of Al-Aqsa. Until these double standards can be abandoned, how can there be a settlement in the Middle East? For in just a few minutes on Monday, those Israeli police officers firing their live rounds into the crowd of stone-throwing Palestinians handed Saddam Hussein his greatest victory since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August. A quarter of a million young Americans and 8,000 Britons are preparing to fight the Iraqis in the Gulf in a war that may, if it breaks out, cost tens of thousands of lives. And at the very moment when those Western armies desperately need to maintain a broad measure of Arab support for their stand against president Saddam, the Israelis have done more to damage this new alliance than all the radical Arab leaders combined. The St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russias primary investor event, opened on Thursday to the usual fanfare of overweight executives, siliconed escorts, and exotic-sounding breakout sessions. The worlds largest post-pandemic meeting offered a flavour to suit every suit: from Russian investment unicorns to Fighting Covid and Connecting Our Brains to Computers. But starting it all was a session devoted to the Kremlins controversial new media policies, hosted by the Russian foreign ministrys Maria Zakharova. The assertive spokesperson, hardly known for subtlety, titled her session right on brand: "Foreign Media Agents in Russia. MAMAMOO is back with a new mini-album, "WAW," which has swept iTunes charts around the world. Additionally, all the songs from the album landed on domestic music charts, proving their popularity in South Korea and overseas. MAMAMOO's 'WAW' Takes No. 1 Spot on iTunes Charts all over the World On June 2, MAMAMOO dropped their eleventh mini-album, "WAW," alongside the music video for "Where Are We Now," the album's title track. As the title implies, MAMAMOO's new song asks the question "Where are we now?" while we stand in an unfamiliar location without coordinates. It expresses gratitude toward fans and listeners, with whom they have shared precious moments and spent many happy and sad situations. Meanwhile, MAMAMOO's "WAW" reflects on the past seven years of the group's music career, when they always worked hard to reach where they are today. This is the quartet's first time to release an album containing songs that are all ballad, which demonstrate their potential as a vocal group. As of 11 a.m. KST on June 3, the "WAW" album topped the iTunes charts in a total of 21 countries across the globe. Particularly, it ranked first on iTunes Top Album charts in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Malaysia, Turkey, the Philippines, and more. MAMAMOO's "WAW" even rose to No. 1 on the Worldwide iTunes Top Album chart, becoming the quartet's third consecutive album to do so, following "Reality in Black" and "Travel." MAMAMOO now joins BLACKPINK, Red Velvet, and LOONA as the only girl group to debut at No. 1 on the worldwide iTunes Top Album chart three times. In addition, MAMAMOO's "WAW" currently sits at No. 1 on the iTunes Top 100 K-pop Albums chart for June 3. The album also claimed the No. 4 spot on the iTunes Top 100 Albums chart. All songs from the "WAW" album also managed to land on the worldwide iTunes Top Song chart. "Where Are We Now" entered at No. 10, "Another Day" at No. 44, "Destiny Part.2" at No. 49, and "A Memory of Life" at No. 50. MAMAMOO's All Songs from Their "WAW" Album Enter Domestic Music Charts Apart from their global success, MAMAMOO also received support from their home country. The title track "Where Are We Now," as well as the B-side tracks "A Memory for Life," "Destiny Part. 2," and "Another Day," debuted on several domestic music charts as soon as they were released. MAMAMOO's "Where Are We Now" debuted at No. 4 on Bugs and No. 6 on Genie. While "Another Day" entered at No. 8 on Bugs and No. 17 on Genie, "A Memory for Life" landed at No. 12 on Bugs and No. 19 on Genie. Meanwhile, "Destiny Part. 2" debuted at No. 13 on Bugs and No. 20 on Genie. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: MAMAMOO Hwasa Receives First Platinum Certification From Gaon Chart With 'Maria' Moreover, "Where Are We Now" by MAMAMOO entered the Top 50 of the MelOn 24Hits chart. As of 5 p.m. KST on June 3, the song sits at No. 20 on Bugs, No. 31 on Genie, No. 47 on MelOn (a new peak), and No. 92 on FLO. MAMAMOO is set to make their first comeback stage with "Where Are We Now" today, June 3 on Mnet's "M Countdown." Watch the music video for MAMAMOO's "Where Are We Now" below! For more news updates about other K-Pop news, always keep your tabs open here at Kpopstarz. Owned by Kpopstarz. Written by Mhaliya Scott Tesla has had to recall nearly 6000 vehicles in the United States due to loose brake calliper bolts that could cause low pressure in the tyres. The recall, as reported by Reuters, affects Model 3 vehicles from between 2019 and 2021, and Model Y vehicles from between 2020 and 2021. Teslas filings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration apparently stated that there were no reports of crashes or injuries from the problem. It said it would inspect, tighten, or replace the boats as required. The electric vehicle company said that the loose bolts could allow the brake calliper to come into contact with the wheel rim, although emphasis in quotes provided to Reuters that the event was unlikely or in very rare circumstances. Tesla was apparently made aware in December 2020 of an incident with a 2021 Model Y where a fastener was missing on the driver-side rear brake calliper. The company has apparently taken measures to prevent loose bolds in the assembly process. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent before time of publication. The safety of Teslas vehicles has come into question again recently, after a consumer group said that the companys self-driving technology could be easily tricked to turn on when nobody is sitting in the driving seat, as well as calls from Senate Democrats for a federal investigation into a Tesla crash that killed two men where it was reported that no one in the drivers seat. Tesla has been found to have throttled charging speed and battery capacity via a software update to its electric cars, a Norway court has ruled. A new mutation of the so-called Indian coronavirus variant has been detected in the UK, the government has confirmed. Public Health England (PHE) is investigating both the Indian variant, known as Delta, and the mutation, which is believed to have originated in Nepal. Scientists are hoping to better understand whether it could be more transmissible and less effectively tackled by vaccines, it said. On Thursday, transport secretary Grant Shapps said rising cases and a new coronavirus mutation were behind the news that Portugal will be removed from the green travel list and added to the amber list. I want to be straight with people, its actually a difficult decision to make, but in the end weve seen two things really which caused concern, he said. One is the positivity rate has nearly doubled since the last review in Portugal and the other is theres a sort of Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant which has been detected and we just dont know the potential for that to be vaccine-defeating mutation and simply dont want to take the risk as we come up to 21 June and the review of the fourth stage of the unlock. Health workers in Kathmandu carry a Covid patient from a helicopter to an ambulance after being airlifted due to health complications (REUTERS) It is thought the new strain is a version of the Indian variant which has acquired new mutations. A PHE spokesperson said: [The] Nepal variant is Delta with a K417N mutation. Dr Jeff Barrett, director of the Covid-19 Genomics Initiative at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said scientists had observed 91 sequences of the Indian variant with a K417N mutation so far and that that distinction was also present in the strain of Covid-19 first detected in South Africa. He said: This mutation is present in [the South African-origin variant] and is believed to be part of why that variant is less well neutralised by vaccines. Because of this possibility, and because Delta appears more transmissible than Beta, scientists are monitoring it carefully. This Delta+K417N has been seen in numerous countries, including the UK, Portugal, the USA, and India. It has also been observed once in Nepal, which does very little sequencing, and 14 times in Japan, of which 13 are samples from airport quarantine from travellers from Nepal. Previously it had been reported that evidence of a new variant originating from the Himalayan South Asian nation was so far lacking. On Thursday morning, the World Health Organisation said it was not aware of any new variant of SARS-CoV-2 being detected in Nepal. The confirmed variants in circulation are: Alpha (B.1.1.7), Delta (B.1.617.2) and Kappa (B.1.617.1). The predominant variant currently in circulation in Nepal is Delta (B.1.617.2), the WHO said, referring to three mutations one linked to Kent, two to India by their new Greek alphabet titles. Professor Peter Openshaw of Imperial College London, who is also a member of the governments Nervtag group, told The Independent earlier that there had been talk of a possible new variant from Nepal since last week but so far nothing to back that up in genomic sequencing databases. Inevitably the virus is going to continue to evolve and in remote parts of the world where we have little access to samples or data it will be difficult to get information in the early stages of a variant evolving, he said. This really just emphasises how vital it is to get vaccines rolled out as soon as possible and as widely around the world as we can. A spokesperson for Nepals Ministry of Health and Population said: So far, no new variant has been detected. We have confirmed three variants only. Many variants of Sars-CoV-2 the virus that causes Covid-19 have been identified around the world. They include B.1.1.7, known in the UK as the Kent variant and around the world as the UK variant but now labelled by the WHO as Alpha. The B.1.617.2 variant, often known as the Indian variant, has been labelled Delta, while B.1.351, often referred to as the South African variant, has been named Beta. The B.1.617.1 variant, also linked to India, has been designated as Kappa while the P.1 Brazilian variant has been labelled Gamma. Nepal is currently battling a surge in Covid-19 cases with the Himalayan nation neighbouring India, which is facing a deadly second wave. Six in 10 nurses in the UK have been subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace, according to a new study. The UKs biggest union, which polled more than 2,000 nurses, called for measures to be introduced to safeguard nurses against sex pests. The research, carried out by Unison and the Nursing Times, discovered around one in ten nurses said they frequently suffered sexual harassment, while a fifth said they only endured misconduct occasionally. Almost four in ten said they experienced unwanted physical advances such as patients groping them while receiving treatment, unwelcome touching, hugging or kissing, and having their personal space intruded on. While over half of nurses said they had been forced to endure inappropriate jokes, remarks about the way they look, had been asked out on a date or probed about their personal life. Around nine out of ten nurses in the UK are women. A community nurse, who participated in the poll, said: Sexual harassment needs to be viewed as a more serious offence than it currently is. The response I got from my manager and colleagues was, well, thats just part of the job. It isnt. Its offensive and abusive and makes you feel scared to go to work. The research found nurses are harassed by a combination of their own work colleagues, patients themselves, and the loved ones of the people they are looking after. A nurse, who was polled, said: The public think nurses are fair game, with comments about uniforms. This makes it hard to address, as these are our patients and visitors. But trusts need to do more and we need to change the publics perception from the Carry On film image of nursing. Only approximately a quarter of nurses who had suffered sexual harassment decided to inform their employers, while a third said there was a dearth of measures in place to safeguard nurses from such treatment in their jobs. Josie Irwin, the national womens officer at Unison, said: Harassment of any form is simply wrong. Staff working in the NHS must be able to do their jobs without fear of unwanted attention, lewd remarks or being made to feel uncomfortable. Employers must do their utmost to protect nurses against sex pests, regardless of whether the culprit is a patient or colleague. This survey shows theres still much more to do. Steve Ford, the Nursing Times editor, warned the findings of the poll are deeply worrying as he called for the research to the starting point of change and argued: Enough is enough. He added: Sexual harassment in health and care settings fails to get the attention it deserves. The concern is it has become normalised something that nurses have to endure as part of their everyday working lives. It comes after previous research by Unison found NHS workers including nurses and cleaners have experienced serious sexual harassment which includes upskirting, groping and rape in the workplace. The union, which polled 8,000 healthcare workers, warned some victims had contemplated suicide and explained sexual harassment was perpetrated by fellow workers, patients or contractors. While a recent major study, carried out by the University of Sheffield, discovered nurses and females healthcare workers are the most likely to suffer mental distress amid the pandemic. Researchers, who also looked at workers responses to other infectious diseases such as SARS, Bird Flu, Swine Flu and Ebola, found psychological torment for health professionals can go on for up to three years after the pandemic first broke out. Boris Johnson is facing the prospect of a damaging Commons defeat over the governments multi-billion pound cut to overseas aid, as a group of Conservative backbenchers launched a surprise rebellion. Led by the former Tory cabinet minister and chief whip Andrew Mitchell, who has been rallying against the cuts, the rebel MPs said they were confident of having the numbers to overturn the prime ministers healthy Commons majority. An amendment seeking to reinstate the funds is now backed by 30 Conservative MPs, including former prime minister Theresa May, ex-ministers David Davis, Jeremy Hunt, Damian Green, Caroline Nokes and Johnny Mercer. It comes amid intense criticism of the governments decision last year to flout the Conservative general election manifesto pledge and move to slash overseas aid spending from 0.7 per cent of national income to 0.5 per cent. Ministers have insisted the cut estimated to be around 4bn is only a temporary measure due to the economic fallout of the Covid pandemic, but have refused to test support in a Commons vote, or outline any timeframe for the budget to be restored. The risk of an embarrassing defeat for the government over its decision to cut aid for some of the poorest and unstable areas of the globe could come just days before the prime minister hosts leaders from the G7 nations, including US president Joe Biden. Mr Mitchell has tabled an amendment to the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria) Bill, a piece of legislation that establishes a new high-risk, high-reward research agency backed with 800m of taxpayers cash to explore new ideas. The explanatory note of the amendment says: This new clause is intended to reaffirm the duty in the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015 for UK official development assistance (ODA) to amount to 0.7 per cent of gross national income each year. It will require Aria to make up any shortfall in that proportion from January 2022. It will be up to speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to decide whether the amendment is selected for consideration when the bill returns to the Commons for further consideration on 7 June. Mr Mitchell said: More and more of my colleagues in the House of Commons are supporting this move to stand by our manifesto promise. With our economy returning to growth, there is no justification for balancing the books on the backs of the worlds poor. With G7 leaders coming to Britain next week, there is an opportunity for us to reclaim our rightful place on the global stage. Britains national interest is not being served by the devastating impact these cuts are already having on the ground and the unnecessary loss of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. We urge the government to think again. (Statista for The Independent) Tobias Ellwood the Conservative chair of the Commons Defence Committee who has signed the amendment described the governments cut as devastating on BBC Radio 4s Today programme. Asked about the size of the rebellion, he said: We need the number 45 [to defeat the government] and at the moment Im confident quietly, cautiously confident that were going to get that number. So I do hope the government will recognise where we want to go and why we want to do this. Opposition parties, including Labour and the Liberal Democrats, have severely criticised the cut in funding for overseas aid and are almost certain to back the amendment, if it is selected next week. Lisa Nandy, the shadow foreign secretary, told The Independent: As the eyes of the world turn to Britain ahead of next weeks G7 Summit in Cornwall, the government faces defeat over its short-sighted and self-defeating decision to cut foreign aid. At the very moment our international partners are stepping up to lead the global response to the pandemic, the Tories are in retreat. Parliament is ready to do the right thing and vote to reverse these ill-judged cuts will the government do the same? Caroline Nokes another former Tory minister backing the amendment told ITVs Peston programme: Its taken quite a lot of manoeuvring to find an opportunity to actually have a vote on this. I feel really strongly that we legislated for the 0.7 per cent commitment and the cuts are affecting women and girls. Women will die because of these cuts to family planning so I have joined forces with colleagues to make sure we can have a vote on it and I will be voting to keep that 0.7 per cent. Boris Johnsons government is open minded about extending the furlough scheme, a senior member of the cabinet has claimed. Scotlands first minister Nicola Sturgeon will use a four-nations summit with the prime minister on Thursday to push for the job retention scheme to continue beyond its current September expiry date. Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has now indicated it could be continued. Asked about the possibility of an extension, he said: We are open minded, yes. Mr Gove said the furlough initiative which sees the taxpayer pay cash towards workers wages had been a huge success that was only possible thanks to the broad shoulders of the UK Treasury. Earlier on Thursday, Scotlands deputy first minister John Swinney said he believed that it should be possible to have additional, targeted furlough support for the hard-hit arts sector. Speaking to BBC Radio Scotlands Good Morning Scotland programme, Mr Gove responded: We will certainly look at the case that was made by John [Swinney] and reflect on it. Ms Sturgeon said she would use todays summit to call on the UK government to extend the furlough scheme for as long as it is needed to protect businesses and people who have been required to stop working to protect others. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in March that the furlough scheme, which pays 80 per cent of employees wages, would be extended until the end of September. Employers will be expected to pay 10 per cent towards the payments for hours staff do not work in July rising to 20 per cent in August and September as more businesses reopen. Ms Sturgeon and her team has voiced concerns about a possible return to austerity from the Tory government in the autumn, but Mr Gove insisted: Well be spending more. The cabinet minister claimed: Extra funding for everyone will continue, and it is important we all learn from each other about how that money should be spent. Scottish first minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon (PA) Thursdays rearranged meeting was due to take place last week but was postponed after the first ministers of Wales and Scotland pulled out because they wanted it to be a meaningful discussion with substantive outcomes. Ms Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford subsequently wrote to Mr Johnson asking for more substance and clarity about the summit. Ive been given assurances that this will be a meaningful discussion, and it must be, said the SNP leader. Working to recover from Covid cannot be a PR exercise it must be a collaborative process. She added: The Scottish government requires certainty over funding. Without it, people across Scotland who have had to endure so much these past 14 months would lack the reassurance that their jobs are protected. Ms Sturgeon also called for meaningful discussion on the negotiation of post-Brexit trade deals, and to respect the devolved parliaments by not diverting money to be spent by UK ministers. The SNP has rejected UK government claims that a freed trade deal with Australia could offer a big boost to the Scotch whisky industry. Britain is seeking to remove a 5 per cent tariff on exports of Scotch whisky to Australia in an upcoming trade deal, trade minister Liz Truss said on Thursday. But the SNPs trade spokesperson Drew Hendry MP responded: People will not be fooled by the Tory governments Brexit rhetoric, given its record on selling out our vital sectors in pursuit of deals. The virtual summit is due to be attended by the Mr Johnson, first ministers and deputy first ministers, as well as Mr Gove, Mr Sunak and the secretaries of state for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A scandal-hit banker gifted the Tories half a million pounds after Boris Johnson gave him a seat in the House of Lords against official advice, it has emerged. Three days after he was introduced in the Lords as a Tory peer Peter Cruddas handed 500,000 to Conservative central office, according to newly released Electoral Commission records. Lord Cruddas, a former Tory treasurer, had been subject to objections from the Lords sleaze watchdog because of his role in a previous cash-for-access scandal. In 2012 had stepped down from the role after the Sunday Times alleged that he had offered undercover reporters access to then prime minister David Cameron in exchange for 250,000 donations. While he successfully sued the newspaper for libel, an appeal court found that the central allegations around cash for access was supported by the facts. Judges described the former Treasurer's actions as "unacceptable, inappropriate and wrong". Lord Cruddas, a financier who was once named the richest man in the City of London, was estimated last year to be worth 860m and had previously given more than 3.5m to the party. Labour's party chair Anneliese Dodds said: "The Conservative Party that brought us allegations of cash for access when Peter Cruddas was Treasurer seems to have turned its attention to peerages. "Whether its handing out taxpayers money to their mates or giving peerages to disgraced donors, there is always one rule for the Conservatives and their chums and another for the rest of us." House of Lords Appointments Commission said in December last year that it was unable to support Mr Johnson's appointment of the financier. Despite a letter from the commission, the prime minister said the concerns about the former Tory official and banker were "historic", assuring the committee "that I see this case as a clear and rare exception". UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 9 June 2021 Adam Chamberlain, 45, general manager of Big Tree pub in Sheffield, has put up over 500 flags, taking 36 hours, in preparation for Euro 2020, which kicks off this weekend Tom Maddick / SWNS UK news in pictures 8 June 2021 REUTERS UK news in pictures 7 June 2021 A pedestrian wearing a face covering walks over Westminster Bridge near the Houses of Parliament in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 6 June 2021 Isobel Salamon, founder of the Edinburgh Cinema Club, poses alongside the Leith Trainspotting murals in Quality Yard, Leith, Edinburgh, for the programme launch of the Cinescapes Festival which starts on July 4 with a Trainspotting 1 and 2 double bill PA UK news in pictures 5 June 2021 A long exposure photograph captures the rotation of the earth as the stars blur into circles over Knowlton church ruins in Dorset Nick Lucas/SWNS UK news in pictures 4 June 2021 Balloonists take flight during the opening of the Midlands Air Festival in Alcester, Warwickshire PA UK news in pictures 3 June 2021 Members of the Household Cavalry during the Major General's annual inspection of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in Hyde Park, London PA UK news in pictures 2 June 2021 Hannah Vitos of the Blenheim Art Foundation, poses for a photograph next to artist Ai Weiwei's Gilded Cage (2017) sculpture in the grounds of Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 1 June 2021 People swim in the Sky Pool, a transparent swimming pool bridge across two exclusive residential blocks standing next to the US Embassy in Nine Elms, in London, Tuesday, June 1, 2021 AP UK news in pictures 31 May 2021 People enjoy the hot weather at Brighton beach Reuters UK news in pictures 30 May 2021 People venture into the sea as they enjoy themselves during a hot day on Brighton Beach AP UK news in pictures 29 May 2021 Swimmers at the Stonehaven Open Air Pool in Aberdeenshire, which reopens after lockdown restrictions were eased PA UK news in pictures 28 May 2021 Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he meets Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at Downing Street in London REUTERS UK news in pictures 27 May 2021 White Pelicans in the sunshine in St James's Park, London PA UK news in pictures 26 May 2021 Boats are seen at Southsea Moorings in Portsmouth Reuters UK news in pictures 25 May 2021 York Glaziers Trust employees Kieran Muir (left) and Emily Price (right) remove a stained glass window panel at the start of a new five year, 5m project to conserve York Minsters South East Transept and its medieval St Cuthbert Window PA UK news in pictures 24 May 2021 Dark rain clouds above an oast house at Bewl Water reservoir near Lamberhurst in Kent during one of the rainiest Mays on record, with the UK seeing 131 per cent of the usual months rainfall already PA UK news in pictures 23 May 2021 The Premier League trophy with the Manchester City club colour ribbons on, at Etihad Stadium, prior to the last Premier League match of the season. City will finally pick up the trophy after they won the league on 11 May Getty UK news in pictures 22 May 2021 Gary Kenny lifts the Buildbase FA Vase Trophy after Warrington Rylands won the FA Vase Final against Binfield at Wembley Stadium Getty UK news in pictures 21 May 2021 A family buffeted by the wind whilst crossing the the Millennium Bridge in London, with wind and rain forecast to ravage the UK on the first Friday that people have been allowed to meet in large groups outside in England PA UK news in pictures 20 May 2021 Devon And Cornwall Police Demonstrate Their Skills For Policing The G7 Summit Getty Images UK news in pictures 18 May 2021 An employee stands before a costume for the Queen of Hearts by Bob Crowley on display at the Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London PA UK news in pictures 17 May 2021 Passengers prepare to board an easyJet flight to Faro, Portugal, at Gatwick Airport after the ban on international leisure travel for people in England was lifted following the further easing of lockdown restrictions in England PA UK news in pictures 16 May 2021 Emergency workers at the scene of a suspected gas explosion, in which a young child was killed and two people were seriously injured, on Mallowdale Ave Heysham which caused 2 houses to collapse and badly damaged another PA UK news in pictures 15 May 2021 Pro-Palestinian activists and supporters let off smoke flares, wave flags and carry placards during a demonstration in support of the Palestinian cause as violence escalates in the ongoing conflict with Israel, in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 14 May 2021 Member of staffs tighten screws and paint a Marlin skeleton, before it goes on display at the Natural History Museum in London, as the museum prepares to reopen to the public on 17 May, following the further easing of lockdown restrictions in England PA UK news in pictures 13 May 2021 A worshipper at the Baitul Futuh Mosque in Mordon, south London, ahead of Eid al-Fitr. The celebration marks the end of the Muslim month of fasting, called Ramadan. PA UK news in pictures 12 May 2021 A couple have wedding photos taken in Westminster, London Getty UK news in pictures 11 May 2021 The sun rises on Coquet Island, off Amble on the Northumberland coast, where as many as 35000 seabirds cram onto this tiny island to breed PA UK news in pictures 10 May 2021 Newly elected for a second term Mayor of London Sadiq Khan during his signing in ceremony at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre on Londons Southbank PA UK news in pictures 9 May 2021 People mill around St. Michael's tower on top of Glastonbury Tor as it is seen through blooming yellow rapeseed on a day of mixed weather in Glastonbury, Somerset PA UK news in pictures 8 May 2021 Wales First Minister Mark Drakeford elbow bumps newly elected MS Labour candidates Elizabeth Buffy Williams, Rhondda, left, and Sarah Murphy, Bridgend & Porthcawl Labour, right, as they meet in Porthcawl, Wales PA UK news in pictures 6 May 2021 A group of five Sisters from Carmelite Monastery in Dysart cast their vote in the Scottish Parliamentary election at Dysart Community Hall, West Port, Dysart PA UK news in pictures 5 May 2021 Leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer (centre) with West Midlands Metro Mayor candidate Liam Byrne (far right) and Labour Deputy Leader, Angela Rayner (far left) during a visit to Birmingham, whilst on the election campaign trail PA UK news in pictures 4 May 2021 Artists Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey stand within 100 oak saplings which form part of a living art installation entitled Beuys' Acorns by the UK-based artist duo, outside the Tate Modern in London PA UK news in pictures 3 May 2021 Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie feeds the Gentoo penguins during a visit to Edinburgh Zoo on the campaign trail for the forthcoming Scottish Parliamentary Election on May 6 PA UK news in pictures 2 May 2021 Chelsea players celebrate their fourth goal during the Womens Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich, at Kingsmeadow Stadium in south west London. The Blues won the game 4-1, (and the tie 5-3 on aggregate) sending them through to their first Champions League final AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 1 May 2020 Demonstrators during a march through London during a 'Kill the Bill' protest Angela Christofilou UK news in pictures 30 April 2021 Shoppers queue outside Primark in Belfast as shops reopen and hospitality is able to open outdoors in Northern Ireland where lockdown restrictions have begun to gradually ease PA UK news in pictures 29 April 2021 Specialist operators at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, near Telford, Shropshire, clean the Hawker Hunter aircraft displayed within the museum's National Cold War Exhibition, during annual high-level aircraft cleaning and maintenance PA UK news in pictures 28 April 2021 Millions of tulips in flower near Kings Lynn in Norfolk, as Belmont Nurseries, the UK's largest commercial grower of outdoor tulips, offers socially-distanced visits to its tulip fields at Hillington to raise funds for local charity The Norfolk Hospice Tapping House PA UK news in pictures 27 April 2021 Paula Laughton checks one of the newly installed Lego models in the new Lego Mythica land at Legoland Windsor Resort PA UK news in pictures 26 April 2021 A red panda rests on a tree at Manor Wildlife park, which reopened its doors as lockdown restrictions continue to ease, in Tenby, Wales Reuters UK news in pictures 25 April 2021 Sheep climb the hillside as flames from a moor fire are seen on Marsden moor, near Huddersfield AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 24 April 2021 Supporters protest against Manchester United's owners, outside English Premier League club Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium in Manchester AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 23 April 2021 People enjoy the warm weather at City Hall near Tower Bridge in central London PA UK news in pictures 22 April 2021 Uyghurs during a demonstration in Parliament Square, London, which is being held ahead of a House of Commons debate, bought by backbench MP Nus Ghani, on whether Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang province are suffering crimes against humanity and genocide PA UK news in pictures 21 April 2021 People walk at the Taihaku Cherry Orchard in Alnwick REUTERS UK news in pictures 20 April 2021 People stand in front of anti Super League banners outside Anfield as twelve of Europe's top football clubs, including Liverpool, launch a breakaway league Reuters UK news in pictures 19 April 2021 Women enjoy sunny weather in Greenwich, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in London, Britain, Reuters It represented the first time the commission's advice had not been followed by a PM. Mr Johnson wrote: "The most serious accusations levelled at the time were found to be untrue and libellous. In order to avoid any ongoing concern, Mr Cruddas resigned from his post, and offered an apology for any impression of impropriety, and reflecting his particular concern for integrity in public life. "An internal Conservative Party investigation subsequently found that there had been no intentional wrongdoing on Mr Cruddas's part." The discovery of the remains of 215 children at a former residential school in Canada has reopened wounds for survivors of the system, they said, as the government pledged to spend previously promised money to search for more unmarked graves. The Tkemlups te Secwepemc indigenous nation in British Columbia announced last week it had found the remains of 215 children, some as young as three, buried at the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School, once Canadas largest such school. Between 1831 and 1996, Canadas residential school system forcibly separated about 150,000 children from their homes and subjected them to abuse, rape and malnutrition at schools across the country in what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015 called cultural genocide. Run by the government and church groups, the schools stated aim was to assimilate indigenous children. Saa Hiil Thut, who spent his teenage years at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, remembers the hunger, the loneliness and the fear. My life became hateful to me, the 72-year-old said. He was sexually abused by one of the staff, he said, and remembers lying in bed in the silent dormitory, weeping. I couldnt help but think its monsters that done this, to put bodies in an unmarked grave site. Amid growing outrage, the federal government said on Wednesday it will urgently disburse money promised two years ago to indigenous communities that want to search former school sites for the remains of children. In 2019, the government promised C$33.8 million (19.7 million) over three years to support, among other things, locating the bodies of children who attended the schools. Of that, C$27.1 million (15.9 million) has yet to be spent. Elizabeth Prosser, the youngest of 13, was the only one of her siblings not to attend Kamloops Indian Residential School. But the now-55-year-old felt the schools ripple effects. Two of her older brothers, subjected to verbal, physical and sexual abuse at the school, turned that treatment on her, she said. It just tore us apart. When do we get compensated for stuff like that? ... It destroyed my life. Marta Hurtado, spokeswoman for the UN Human Rights Office, called the school discovery shocking and called on the Canadian government to redouble efforts to find the whereabouts of missing children, including by searching unmarked graves. She also called for a legal entity to protect and manage burial sites. The Catholic Church ran many of the schools, and the Vatican has not apologised. On Wednesday, Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller said on Twitter The Church was unquestionably wrong and his archdiocese would be transparent with its archives and records regarding residential schools. Judy Wilson, Chief of the Neskonlith Indian Band, said her father was five years old, out fishing for trout with his older sister, when the local Indian agent grabbed them, put them in a cattle cart and took them to Kamloops. He was separated from his sister, shaved, deloused, and beaten for speaking his own language. Ms Wilson said she wants to see an independent investigation of this burial site and others, possibly involving the United Nations. This is a larger story beyond residential schools. They broke down our family structures, our governance, our nations, our communities. Its a travesty that our children bore the brunt of that genocide, she said. Our villages were like ghost villages, with no children. Reuters Anthony Fauci has come under attack from Chinese state media for saying he was in favour of investigating the origins of Covid in Wuhan, China. According to two recent articles in the Global Times, a state-run media outlet, Dr Fauci was called degenerate for calling for further investigations into the origins of Covid in Wuhan. US elites degenerate further in morality, and Fauci is one of them, an op-ed by Global Times editor-in-chief, Hu Xijin, was titled in recent days, CNN reported. In another article, the US chief medical adviser and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), was accused of betraying Chinese scientists in Wuhan. It follows comments from Dr Fauci in front of a congressional committee on 11 May, and interviews with US media outlets, in which he said he favoured further investigations into Covid and Wuhans institute of virology. On 11 May, Dr Fauci forcefully denied allegations from Republican senators that US federal agencies funded dangerous research at the virology institute in Wuhan claims that are at the centre of a theory about Covid originating in the lab. I do not have any accounting of what the Chinese may have done, and Im fully in favour of any further investigation of what went on in China, Dr Fauci told senators Rand Paul and Roger Marshall. And in an interview with PolitiFact managing editor Katie Sanders on 11 May, the NIAID director went on to say that he favoured investigating the Wuhan Institute of Virology "to find out to the best of our ability what happened. "Certainly, the people who investigated it say it likely was the emergence from an animal reservoir that then infected individuals, Dr Fauci said at a fact checking conference, but it could have been something else, and we need to find that out. So, you know, that's the reason why I said I'm perfectly in favour of any investigation that looks into the origin of the virus." Dr Fauci also told CBS News correspondent Weijia Jiang in recent days that he continued to believe it "highly likely that Covid was from natural origins and not a lab. According to US officials, staff at the institute became ill in November 2019 with symptoms consistent with both Covid-19 and common seasonal illness, weeks before China informed the World Health Organisation (WHO) of Covid. Following that initial inquiry by the Trump administration, the US state department said on Tuesday it was closing an inquiry into Wuhans virology institute and the origins of Covid, although it was continuing to look into the Covid origins issue, reported CNN. In Americas never-ending culture wars, a new phrase has begun popping up with ever-increasing frequency: critical race theory . Senators have spoken out against it. Parents have fought their school boards over it. Fox News mentions it so often that it sometimes refers to it just by its initials, CRT. One such headline concerned Nicole Solas, a mother in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. Ms Solas, who says her young daughter just started school, suspected that it was teaching her the dreaded CRT. She demanded to see the curriculum. After meeting resistance, Ms Solas filed over 160 public records requests, according to local reports . Exasperated, the school board met to consider suing her to stop. The drama earned her an interview on Fox & Friends. I have a lot of questions, Ms Solas told the hosts . Theyre teaching something that theyre trying to hide from you Theyre being opaque about it. What is that something? What school of thought could be so heinous that American parents and the TV stations they watch are up in arms over it? The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines critical race theory as an intellectual movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of colour. Officially organised in 1989, the theory essentially acknowledges what modern progressives call systemic racism discrimination thats not just acted out by individuals, but baked into our societys institutions. Critical race theorists hold that the law and legal institutions in the United States are inherently racist, the encyclopaedia goes on, insofar as they function to create and maintain social, economic, and political inequalities between whites and nonwhites, especially African Americans. Republicans from the House Freedom Caucus unveil legislation to stop the teaching of critical race theory (CSPAN) Republican pundits and politicians, however, present it differently. When conservatives complain about critical race theory, they often say it accuses people not institutions of inherent racism. Critical race theory asserts that people with white skin are inherently racist, not because of their actions, words or what they actually believe in their heart but by virtue of the colour of their skin, Rep Ralph Norman, South Carolinas Republican congressman, said at a press conference earlier this month. He was flanked by several other members of the House GOPs Freedom Caucus, including the conservative firebrand Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene , as they unveiled a bill to stop the teaching of CRT. Rep Lauren Boebert of Colorado put it more simply. Democrats want to teach our children to hate each other, she said. Experts say this misrepresents critical race theory, whether or not its on purpose. Im not really sure that the conservatives right now know what it is or know its history, Andrew Hartman, a history professor at Illinois State University, told NPR . But that might be beside the point. What critical race theory represents to conservatives, Mr Hartman says, is a threat to the idea that America has already solved its racism problem. Conservatives, since the 1960s, have increasingly defined American society as a colourblind society, in the sense that maybe there were some problems in the past but American society corrected itself and now we have these laws and institutions that are meritocratic and anybody, regardless of race, can achieve the American dream, the professor said. Critical race theory gets in the way of that idea, so according to Republican leaders, it must be stopped. Families did not ask for this divisive nonsense, Senate Republicans wrote in a scathing letter to the US Department of Education. Voters did not vote for it. Americans never decided our children should be taught that our country is inherently evil. Theres also another, simpler reason for opposing the theory: its a way to get votes. Christine Matthews, president of Bellwether Research, says President Bidens popularity polls consistently show more than 50 per cent of Americans support him means Republicans have to look elsewhere for reasons voters should turn on Democrats. In lieu of a polarising president, the GOP needs an issue as extreme and threatening to white culture as possible. A plot to indoctrinate children with anti-American ideology appears to fit that bill nicely. I think its just one more addition to the culture war that the Republicans really want to fight and its what they want to make the 2022 midterms about, Ms Matthews told NPR . So as the 2022 elections get closer, expect to hear the phrase critical race theory more than ever. The Biden administration defended its top coronavirus adviser, Dr Anthony Fauci, on Thursday as the infectious disease experts private emails were revealed to the press. Hes been an undeniable asset in our countrys pandemic response, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. But its obviously not that advantageous for me to re-litigate the substance of emails from 17 months ago. Thousands of the doctors emails from the spring of 2020 were released this week through Freedom of Information requests by The Washington Post and Buzzfeed. Critics argue that some of those emails show an overly collaborative relationship between Dr Fauci and Chinese authorities, and that one message in particular though its heavily redacted shows he considered the Wuhan lab leak theory of Covids origins more seriously than he let on in public. Ms Psaki said she was not aware of whether President Biden had been briefed on the emails. The president and the administration feel that Dr Fauci has played an incredible role in getting the pandemic under control, being a voice to the public throughout the course of this pandemic, and again I would reiterate a lot of these emails are from 17 months ago or more, certainly predating this administration, she said. Dr Fauci has defended himself in light of the emails, which he says can easily be misunderstood. The only trouble is they are really ripe to be taken out of context where someone can snip out a sentence in an email without showing the other emails and say, based on an email from Dr Fauci, he said such-and-such, where you dont really have the full context, he told NewsNation. With regard to the lab leak email, the doctor told CNN he still finds it unlikely that a Wuhan laboratory released the virus. I don't remember what's in that redacted [email], but the idea I think is quite far-fetched that the Chinese deliberately engineered something so that they could kill themselves as well as other people, he said. I think that's a bit far out. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has unloaded on his former coronavirus adviser as he claimed that he made the greatest bet in history to order vaccines before we even knew it even worked, despite years of research on coronavirus vaccines predating the pandemic, and clinical trials underway before Mr Trumps Operation Warp Speed was launched. The former president also claimed that Dr Fauci did not emphasise the speed of vaccine production because he expressed some scepticism that a vaccine would be available within months, not years, after drugmakers being awarded billions of dollars to develop them. He also repeated his false claim that Dr Fauci was totally against masks despite the former president spending months publicly downplaying their effectiveness, refusing to be photographed with one, and mocking his rival Joe Biden for wearing them as the public health crisis took thousands of American lives and infected millions of people in the US while he was in office. Alex Woodward and David Taintor contributed to this report Busser/Service Attendant - FT/PT - $1000 SIGN ON BONUS Job Category: Food and Beverage Requisition Number: BUSSE02510 Posting Details Posted: May 24, 2021 Full-Time LocationsShowing 1 location Park City-Stein Eriksen Lodge, UT, USA +1 more Job Details Description Six months experience preferred in a full service fine dining establishment. Desired applicant has good communication, organization and concentration skills. Must be able to complete tasks as assigned and to lift 50 lbs. 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It was there on 25 May 2020 that Mr Floyd was murdered by then-Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin, who keeled on the Black mans neck for more than nine minutes. Chauvin awaits sentencing after being convicted of murder. The Minneapolis police department was not involved in the removal of the barriers. The intersection became famous for its memorial of Mr Floyd known informally as George Floyd Square and was among a number of streets and public squares renamed in his memory. A spokesperson for the city of Minneapolis told KSTVP on Thursday that the removal of the barriers was an effort by the community group, Agape, who have provided security for the area. Officials are said to be working with the Floyd family on a permanent solution to the memorial. Items including flowers and artworks will be replanted and removed as part of the changes, with the effort beginning on Thursday, KSTVP reported. A metal fist at the centre of the memorial is thought to be the centre of a roundabout. Flowers are being replanted around it. The mayor of Minneapolis was allegedly not informed by the citys public works department of the plans in advance. Councillors were thought to be against approving the removal of the barriers from the intersection of the memorial, when asked by reporters from KSTVP last week. In a statement, Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey, city council vice president Andrea Jenkins and city councillor Alondra Cano said they were collectively committed to establishing a permanent memorial at the intersection, preserving the artwork, and making the area an enduring space for racial healing. Alongside city leadership, we have met on a regular basis with community members to discuss both the short-term path toward reconnecting this area and the long-term plan for the neighbourhood with sustained investments to help restore and heal the community. A press conference is planned for later on Thursday. A new study by Amnesty International has found that the New York Police Department (NYPD) can track people across three of the citys five boroughs using facial recognition technology combined with a staggering number of surveillance cameras. The NGO said the scale and power of the police departments systems give it an Orwellian ability to track people across the city with particularly severe implications for those already targeted by discriminatory policing practices. At the start of May, Amnesty recruited thousands of volunteers to tag surveillance cameras at intersections across Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx using images from Google Street View. They have so far identified 15,280 cameras across the three boroughs, with certain neighbourhoods particularly heavily surveilled. Denmark has sparked "fundamental concerns" among NGOs, charities and the European Union after its parliament passed a law that would allow the Nordic country to deport asylum seekers outside of Europe. On Thursday, lawmakers in Copenhagen voted overwhelmingly in favour of legislation that will enable it to send asylum seekers to partner states outside the continent while their applications are processed. Rasmus Stoklund, an immigration spokesman for the Social Democrats, said he wanted the move to send a message to asylum seekers that they aren't welcome in Denmark. "If you apply for asylum in Denmark, you know that you will be sent back to a country outside Europe, and therefore we hope that people will stop seeking asylum in Denmark," he told local media on Thursday. The EU expressed alarm after the bill was passed. "External processing of asylum claims raises fundamental questions about both the access to asylum procedures and effective access to protection," Adalbert Jahnz, a spokesman for the EU Commission, said. "It is not possible under existing EU rules or proposals under the new pact for migration and asylum," he said, adding that the right to claim asylum was a fundamental one in the bloc. The move to pass the bill, with lawmakers voting 70-24 in favour, is an apparent break with the EU's efforts to overhaul Europe's broken migration and asylum rules, an extremely divisive subject within the bloc. It allows Denmark to move refugees arriving on Danish soil to asylum centres in a partner country, potentially outside Europe, where asylum seekers would have their asylum cases reviewed and possibly obtain protection in that country. Denmark has yet to reach an agreement with a partner country, but Mr Stoklund said it was negotiating with several candidate countries. Critics worry the plan will undermine the safety and welfare of refugees and compromise their human rights as well as allow Denmark to duck its obligations within the EU. The United Nations Refugee Agency last month called on Denmark not to pass the bill, which it says could catalyse a "race to the bottom" if other European countries begin mimicking Denmark's policy. "UNHCR remains firmly opposed to externalization initiatives that forcibly transfer asylum seekers to other countries," UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner Gillian Triggs said in May. "Such practices undermine the rights of those seeking safety and protection, demonize and punish them and may put their lives at risk," Ms Triggs added. Additional reporting by Reuters The owner of a small sunflower oil factory in Bulgaria has accused American soldiers of illegally storming his business facility during a NATO military exercise last month. Marin Dimitrov told reporters Wednesday that he had filed a lawsuit against those responsible for the May 11 incident. On May 11, the soldiers entered and cleared a building next to the airfield that they thought was part of the training area, a US Army statement said. The building was occupied by Bulgarian civilians running a private business. No weapons were fired at any time during the interaction, the Army statement said. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said it was absolutely unacceptable to have the life and calm of Bulgarian citizens put at risk by military units, be they part of the Bulgarian or foreign armed forces. Exercises in Bulgarian territory involving our Allies should boost the sense of security and trust in collective defense, instead of causing tension among Bulgarians, Radev said. The US Embassy in Bulgaria apologised to the business and its employees. The embassy said in a statement that they are fully investigating the cause of this mistake. We will implement rigorous procedures to clearly define our training areas and prevent this type of incident in the future, the statement added. Swift Response 2021 was a US Army-led multinational exercise held across Estonia, Bulgaria and Romania and involving more than 7,000 paratroopers from 10 NATO countries. Strikes by Portuguese immigration officers, which start on Monday, could scupper holiday plans for Britons hoping to escape to the sun. The holiday hotspot is in high demand with UK travellers thanks to its status as the only mainstream tourism destination on the UKs green list. Next week, which is half term, is expected to see thousands of families from Britain fly out to the Atlantic nation. Arrivals into Portugal need to present a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours, and take two further Covid tests upon returning to the UK one before flying back, and one within two days of landing. The strikes, by Portuguese border agency SEF, begin on 31 May and will last until 28 June. Travellers through Lisbon and Faro, the main airport for the popular Algarve region, will be affected, as well as those flying into Madeira, which is administered by Portugal and also on the green list. The Algarve tourism board urged the union to reconsider the strikes, saying it will impact the recently restarted tourism industry. Since the first half of June is a pivotal period, which precedes the peak of tourist demand in July and August in the region, this strike warning may tarnish the international image of the destination and negatively mark the tourist operation of the whole summer, said Antonio Pina, president of the Algarve Intermunicipal Community and Joao Fernandes, the president of Algarve Tourism. The UKs Foreign Office (FCDO) warns that Portuguese airport strikes may cause delays. Days and times of strikes vary according to airport location. If you are travelling during this period, check with your airline whether you will be affected and allow more time to clear border control when entering and exiting Portugal. Indiana, PA (15701) Today Scattered thunderstorms in the morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High near 80F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Thunderstorms during the evening, then skies turning partly cloudy overnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 58F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. remaining of Thank you for Reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Acumen Research and Consulting, a global provider of market research studies, has recently published a report titled Live Attenuated Vaccines Market Global Industry Analysis, Market Size, Opportunities and Forecast, 2021 - 2030 offers detailed insights of the market entailing insights on its different market segments. LOS ANGELES, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Live-attenuated vaccines are very effective vaccines used in the prevention of a variety of diseases including influenza, chickenpox, measles, polio and TB. Live-attenuated vaccines can be produced by reverse genetics including RNAi Market Dynamics The worldwide Live Attenuated Vaccines Market is improving because of several factors, for example, expanding financing from the public authority for inoculation programs, rising predominance of irresistible sicknesses, and developing mindfulness towards irresistible illnesses. The expanding pervasiveness of irresistible illnesses is driving the interest for live lessened antibodies worldwide. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2017, the yearly pestilences in occasional flu universally assessed that 3-5 million instances of extreme disease and around 290,000-600,000 respiratory deaths are noticed. As indicated by the Center for Disease Control And Prevention (CDC), in 2016, there were around 360 complete instances of meningococcal infection revealed and most among the youngsters under one year old, trailed by grown-ups. DOWNLOAD SAMPLE PAGES OF THIS REPORT@ https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/request-sample/2653 Likewise, expanding financing from the public authority for inoculation programs drives the development of the live lessened immunizations market. The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) is a public-private worldwide wellbeing organization expecting to build admittance to inoculation in non-industrial nations. In 2018, the omnibus bill, a solitary record acknowledged in a solitary vote by the assembly, included 100 million financial assets to the National Institute of Health (NIH) for the high level improvement of widespread flu antibody. Live constricted antibodies additionally have a few impediments. For example, they contain a modest quantity of the debilitated live infection, and they can't be utilized in nations with restricted admittance to fridges. The lone dengue immunization accessible is CYDTDV (Dengvaxia), a live lessened (recombinant) tetravalent antibody. This antibody isn't regularly suggested for the vaccination of voyagers from non-endemic nations to endemic nations. In July 2019, Valneva SE, a biotechnology organization situated in Norway and France, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) declared another cooperating consent to give up to 23.4 million dollars for immunization producing and late-stage clinical advancement of VLA1553, which is a solitary portion, live-lessened Chikungunya infection antibody. VIEW TABLE OF CONTENT OF THIS REPORT@ https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/live-attenuated-vaccines-market In September 2017, Merck dispatched INNOVAX-ND-IBD, the principal live antibody made with biotechnology that ensures against three profoundly irresistible illnesses in poultry Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD), Newcastle Disease (ND), and Marek's sickness (MD). At the point when given to chickens either in ovo or subcutaneously in the incubation facility, it gives long lasting insurance to ND, IBD and MD at the same time. In October 2017, MedImmune, a biotechnology organization creating advanced remedial antibodies focusing on AMHR2 for the therapy of malignancy, gone into a permitting arrangement under which GamaMabs will utilize MedImmune's exclusive pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD) poison and linker innovation to research and deliver a neutralizer drug form (ADC) as potential disease treatment. In July 2017, Emergent BioSolutions Inc., as authorized a concurrence with Valneva SE for worldwide selective rights to Valneva's Zika antibody innovation, ZIKV. This will assist the organization with procuring income creating items and advance items to line up with accomplices, for example, Valneva to foster inventive items that could serve the requirements of both government clients and the business market. Market Segment Analysis The global live attenuated vaccines market is segmented into product type, development, indications, route of administration, distribution channel, and end use. The product type segment is divided into bacterial and viral. Among product type the viral segment is expected to witness faster growth in the target market. Some of the viral live attenuated vaccines are oral polio vaccine (OPV), vaccinia (smallpox) vaccine, Adenovirus Oral Vaccine (Military), Yellow Fever Vaccine, Varicella (Chickenpox) Vaccine, Influenza Vaccine (Nasal Spray), FluMist, Rotavirus Vaccine, among others. Browse Upcoming Market Research Reports@ https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/forthcoming-reports Regional Analysis The market in North America is relied upon to represent significant income share in the worldwide live weakened antibodies market because of rising number of patients experiencing irresistible infections. Expanding government spending on improvement of medical care framework and expanding clinical preliminaries by significant drug producers are factors expected to support the development of target market. What's more, expanding securing exercises by significant parts to improve the business and increment the income share are factors expected to increase the development of live constricted antibodies local market. Competitive Landscape The worldwide live weakened antibodies market is exceptionally aggressive because of quality of enormous number of players and inventive item contributions. Also, business extension exercises through associations and arrangements are factors expected to additional increment the contest. The live attenuated vaccines market is highly competitive with the presence of a large number of existing major players and small vendors. Some of the major players in the global live attenuated vaccines market include Merck & Co., Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, Pfizer Inc., Sanofi, Astellas Pharma, CSL Limited, Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd., BioDiem, AstraZeneca, Emergent BioSolutions Inc., Vivaldi Biosciences Inc., among others. INQUIRY BEFORE BUYING@ https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/inquiry-before-buying/2653 BUY THIS PREMIUM RESEARCH REPORT - https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/buy-now/0/2653 Would like to place an order or any question, please feel free to contact at sales@acumenresearchandconsulting.com | +1 407 915 4157 For Latest Update Follow Us: https://twitter.com/AcumenRC https://www.facebook.com/acumenresearchandconsulting https://www.linkedin.com/company/acumen-research-and-consulting Via GlobeNewswire RSS Feed https://ift.tt/3jYjx2z The Supreme Court gave two weeks time to the CBSE and CICSE to place on record objective criteria for assessment of marks in two weeks following the cancellation of the Class 12 board exam. The SC said that it is happy to note that the government has taken a decision to cancel the class 12 board exams, but wanted to know the objective criteria for assessment of marks. afp We are happy to note that government has taken decision to cancel class 12 board exams but we want that the objective criteria fixed for assessment of marks be placed before us, the bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari said. Attorney General KK Venugopal who was representing ICSE board counsel sought four weeks' time to place the objective criteria on record. The bench however made it clear that it will not give more time for placement of objective criteria as many students will be taking admissions in colleges in India and abroad. BCCL 2 weeks given Declining to give four weeks to both CBSE and ICSE, the bench said: "If you want you can do overnight, but we are giving you two weeks. All interactions are happening online, do it in two weeks. You should act overnight." Justice Maheshwari said, "Last year they have taken the decision, why they are asking for more time." The bench said the decision in the matter has to be taken early, as there are many students who want to take admission in foreign universities. Declining to give four weeks' time, the bench reiterated, "it will delay, urgent decision should be taken." The top court said that it will go through the objective parameters for assessment of marks, so that if any one has any objections it can be dealt with. TOI This is equally important as the relief sought by the petitioners seeking cancellation of board exams, the bench observed. The petition filed by advocate Mamta Sharma urged the top court to issue directions to the boards to cancel the Class XII examinations, instead devise an objective methodology to declare the result within a specific time-frame. "The Covid-19 situation is more severe in comparison to last year and require the respondents to adopt the same criteria of assessing the grading/marks of class XII students as done in the last year", said the plea. File The plea contended that notifications issued by CBSE and ICSE deferring the exams to an unspecified date should be quashed, adding that students cannot be subjected to suffer uncertainty amid unprecedented public health crisis. The government on Tuesday decided to cancel the CBSE Class 12 board exams amid the COVID-19 pandemic with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that the decision has been taken in the interest of students and that the anxiety among students, parents and teachers must be put to an end. An application has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions to ensure that proper treatment is provided to them and their family members. The intervention application was filed in the Suo Moto COVID case before the Supreme Court by Kota Neelima, who is the Director of the Institute of Perception Studies and its media initiative Rate the Debate. BCCL The application said that since April last year, the institute has been conducting research into the deaths of journalists due to COVID-19 and has found stark data on the lack of medical facilities for scribes. There have been 253 deaths of journalists due to COVID-19 which have been verified and 93 death which are unverified between April 1, 2020 to May 19, 2021. The said list is not exhaustive. On an average, four deaths of journalists have taken place between April 1, 2020 to May 19, 2021, said the application, settled by senior advocate Salman Khurshid. BCCL The application has sought the apex court's direction to the government to provide free treatment to journalists in private as well as government hospitals during the pandemic and also for reimbursement of their bills. In April, the Federation of All India Medical Association wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged him to declare media professionals as frontline workers. "Journalists cannot work from home, and have put their lives and health at risk on a daily basis to cover both the Covid-19 pandemic and other matters of public concern, including matters critical to health and safety of the public, and critical to our democracy," read the associations letter. AFP Several states have already declared journalists and media persons as frontline workers during COVID-19 and have prioritised them in vaccine rollout. The plea in the SC said that the special drive under the Central government's Journalist Welfare Scheme (JWS) as it does not cover non-accredited journalists. It is thus violate the right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution of India, the plea said. The Serum Institute of India, (SII) the Pune-based manufacturer of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine which is marketed in India as Covishield has reportedly sought protection against liabilities over any adverse effects from the vaccine. The development came after reports that the government is discussing possible legal protection to foreign vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna over their COVID-19 jabs in India. AFP What SII wants If foreign vaccine makers are given indemnity protection, then all vaccine firms in the country, not just the SII, must be given the same. We are hoping the same rules apply to everyone," an SII source told ANI. Earlier, Pfizer which agreed to start supply COVID-19 vaccines to India as early as July had sought an indemnity bond that will exempt it from legal claims in case there are any adverse effects from the vaccine. File Another COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna, which is still in the early stage of negotiations has also sought similar protection against liabilities from the Indian government. SII CEO Adar Poonawala had last year advocated for indemnity for all vaccine manufacturers. "We need to have the government indemnify manufacturers, especially vaccine manufacturers, against all lawsuits... Frivolous claims come up and you see in the media something being blown out of proportion. The government needs to step in with the right messaging," he had said. What government says NITI Aayog Member (Health) Dr VK Paul had said on May 27 that the government is still examining the American pharma company's request for indemnity. BCCL "We are examining this request and will make a decision in the larger interest of people and on merit. This is under discussion and there is no decision as of now," he had said. No company in India's vaccination history has ever paid indemnity and the government, which is the biggest user of vaccines, has also not done it, Dr Nirmal K Ganguly, former ICMR chief had said on Wednesday. In fact liability protection has been a major issue for foreign vaccine makers to supply the doses to India. AFP Earlier, when states were trying to import COVID-19 vaccines on their own, Pfizer, Moderna refused to sell Covid vaccines directly to them as the companies said they will only deal with the central government. Along with the payment, liability protection was one the reasons for this decision as states can't guarantee this. Legal challenges Recently, a man from Lucknow had filed a case against SII alleging that no antibodies were formed in his body after receiving the first dose of Covishield. AFP The complainant, Pratap Chandra, stated that after listening to a press briefing of ICMR where it was mentioned that antibodies in sufficient quantities are formed in the body against the virus after taking the first dose, he got an antibody test to determine the level of antibodies formed in his body. Chandra was administered the first dose on April 8 and got the test done on May 25. While this was a one-off case, in the early stages of clinical trials there was a more serious incident. In November 2020, a Chennai man who was a participant in the Covishield vaccine trials had sought Rs. 5 crore compensation for allegedly suffering from serious 'neurological' side-effects after taking the experimental doses. Kannadigas of our nation have gotten mad at Google after search research for the ugliest language in the world listed Kannada in the search results. Google Search Dear @GoogleIndia, Google search engine is all about crawling, indexing & serving search results. But sometimes, Google ranking systems show wrong results. Kindly remove this result as soon as possible. No language is ugly in India. pic.twitter.com/ikA2vtWmPE Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) June 3, 2021 Also Read: Indian School Had Wrong Heisenberg Pic As Scientist, And Why Google Search Is To Blame People online, especially the Kannada-speaking crowd have gone to Twitter, seeking an apology for this gruesome disrespect for their mother tongue. Many have shared quotes and sayings that have referred to Kannada as the Queen of languages, whereas many have shared how several languages of the nation wouldnt have come to existence without the existence of Kannada. If Kannada is now called ugliest language in India, it is merely an attempt by @Google to insult this pride of Kannadigas. Demand apology from @Google ASAP to Kannada, Kannadigas. Legal action will be taken against @Google for maligning the image of our beautiful language! 2/2 Aravind Limbavali (@ArvindLBJP) June 3, 2021 Kannada & Culture Minister Aravind Limbavali has announced that he would be issuing a notice to Google surrounding this. In a tweet, he shared, "Kannada language has a history of its own, having come into existence as many as 2,500 years ago! It has been the pride of Kannadigas all through these two-and-a-half millennia. If Kannada is now called the ugliest language in India, it is merely an attempt by Google to insult this pride of Kannadigas. AP Is Google really responsible for this? Not exactly. Google Search only shows what its algorithm tracks, based on keywords for websites and their content online. In fact, this isnt quite different from how Google Search would show former POTUS Donald Trumps name when searching for the word idiot. Also Read: Sundar Pichai Explains Why Trump's Photo Comes Up When You Google 'Idiot', And It's Hilarious Sundar Pichai, in a congress hearing with US Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren explained to her how all this is based on google search indexes, webpages, images on them as well as keywords and the search results arent displayed due to human intervention on Googles part. At the time of writing the article, Google search for the worlds ugliest language no longer displayed Kannada, instead, it showed news coverage surrounding this controversy and tweets by individuals. The website being shown in the screenshots has also seemed to be pulled down. Google Search The real culprit here is the website that wrote such content and used those keywords in the first place, not Google. To test out the search, we decided to search for the most beautiful language in India, which listed Telugu, linking back to an article on a website dubbed IndiatheDestiny. You can check out the search result here. This only goes to show how Google Search gets influenced by the content a website holds and its not Google who is stating these things on its own. Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, wrote to President Joe Biden June 1 to ask him to allocate to India a large portion of the 80 million doses of Covid vaccine the U.S. is donating to the world. Schumers letter came a day after he met with Indian Ambassador to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu (right), who tweeted: Good conversation with Majority Leader Senator Schumer on the strategic partnership, especially in QUAD, vaccines and healthcareworking together in innovation as well as emerging technologies and thanked him for his longstanding support for India and the Indian American community." (Twitter photo/Taranjit Singh Sandhu) Real-time social media posts from local businesses and organizations across Northern Virginia, powered by Friends2Follow. To add your business to the stream, email cfields@insidenova.com or click on the green button below. Mary Kadera is the Democratic endorsee for School Board in the 2021 race to fill the seat of Monique O'Grady, who is not seeking a second term. This post is part of a series sponsored by Zywave. Over the past year, the entire world has experienced rapid change unlike anything weve ever seen, causing all of us to re-evaluate the way in which we live, work, communicate and serve others. All of these changes have resulted in more and new expectations being placed on insurance agents and brokers. The pandemic has created an increased sense of urgency for more efficient and effective digital tools to help boost productivity, enhance communication and better serve your clientsno matter your location. Taking a Look at Your Tech Stack Take a moment to consider how well your various business solutions work together today. Is there overlap between different solutions? Are you still using certain programs or workflows that no longer make sense? Is there a gap in your tech stack that you still havent addressed? During the course of my professional career, Ive had the opportunity to work with hundreds of agencies. And through these conversations, Ive identified six core business solutions that the most successful insurance organizations are leveraging in todays marketplace. These areas are vital in shaping both your companys strategy and long-term successand having them all work together to support your team is critical. 1. Account Management System Every company has some type of system of record for their clients to keep track of their activities, invoicing, billing, the products they sign up for as well as any support your employees do for them. Compiling all of this data in a centralized location, an account management system (AMS), enables better organization and operational efficiencies, freeing up time for your staff to focus on more strategic or revenue-generating activities. 2. Customer Relationship Management System The AMS is usually where your account managers and office staff live and spend all their time. On the flip side, your sellers and producers live in a customer relationship management system (CRM), which is all about top-of-the-funnel activities and the accounts youre trying to win. CRMs are vital to the success of your business, as this is the centralized location housing vital sales activities. A few of the big names out there in this area are Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics. 3. Marketing Automation System Next on the list of critical business solutions is an automated marketing system. The days of pushing one-off emails to clients and customers are gone; there is too much margin of error and time spent on customization. Email marketing automation systems can help you quickly push out communications to prospects and clients and also help you track results. There are many great email marketing systems available to brokers today that can help you tailor your messages and deliver them to the right audience at the right time. 4. Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) Another thing every insurance agency needs to think about is what we call the concept of Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ). Software and technology providers have long embraced the idea of an end-to-end, automated CPQ process, but this acronym is new to most in the insurance space. All agencies have the need to put together a proposal for a client at the right time, which includes accurate pricing, product information, etc. The most successful agencies have a specific, automated process in place for their CPQ workflow to make the sales and renewal process run seamlessly. Consider your process for putting together a proposal today. What inefficiencies exist and what could make it easier? 5. Client Software Lastly, is client software, which can include a lot of different offerings. Many companies have software that they provide their customers. This can be any type of tool or software that your clients use, with their own usernames and passwords, that they log into to help them complete a task. A few examples are an online enrollment system, resource portal or online training classes. Typically, these are software solutions you provide that help make your clients lives easier and satisfy the self-service options they are seeking. 6. Content Management System (CMS) Another thing all organizations need to think about is content. Content is the backbone of any businessit represents your brand and gives you a voice. From your customer service teams and how they manage their books of business, new revenue prospecting, your website and social media, all of these mediums need high-quality content that represents your agency, brand, service and professionalism. Beyond content, though, is the idea of content management. Equally as important as the content itself is how you organize, access and maintain all the content you create, purchase and distribute. Start Small, But Start Somewhere When you think about these six core business solutions, in order for them to be most efficient and effective, they need to be integratedmeaning they need to talk to each other. For example, in an ideal world, your automated marketing solution would be directly connected to your CMS, which would then connect to your AMS. This means youd be able to easily locate relevant content and efficiently deliver it to a specific contact or group of contacts all in one seamless workflow. Not every agency needs to implement all these solutions today or all at once, but whats most important is being aware of what core solutions and technology are needed to run a competitive business in todays market and all the success you can achieve as a result. Topics InsurTech Tech Venerable Holdings Inc. has completed its acquisition of Corporate Solutions Life Reinsurance Company (CS Life Re), a Delaware domiciled and New York licensed reinsurance company, from Equitable Holdings Inc. With the close of this transaction, Venerables pro forma assets under management and reinsurance increase to approximately $70 billion. On a pro forma basis, Venerable has more than doubled its general account assets from $9 billion to $19 billion, in addition to more than $51 billion in separate account reinsured. The transaction includes reinsurance of a legacy variable annuity block from Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company with the combined deal representing $36.5 billion of underlying account value and general account assets. Venerable has also reinsured its existing business into CS Life Re. Equitable Holdings will take a noncontrolling 9.09% equity stake in Venerables parent holding company, VA Capital Company LLC. Pending regulatory approval, a member of Equitable Holdings management team will be appointed to the VA Capital Company LLC board. A small team supporting CS Life Re has transitioned from Equitable Holdings to Venerable. AllianceBernstein L.P. has been retained as the preferred investment manager for most of the general account assets associated with this transaction, and Voya Investment Management will continue to be the preferred asset manager for the majority of Venerables existing book of business. Barclays served as financial advisor, and Sidley Austin LLP served as legal counsel to Venerable in connection with this transaction. Venerable is a privately held company with business operations based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and Des Moines, Iowa. It owns and manages legacy variable annuity business acquired from other entities. Source: Venerable Holdings Inc. Topics Mergers Reinsurance New Yorks Greene & Associates Hires Rapini as Chief Financial Officer Greene & Associates Inc., based in East Aurora, New York, has hired Phil Rapini as its new chief financial officer. Rapini will be responsible for overseeing the financial operations of the specialty insurance brokerage firm, as well as developing future revenue models for the company. He previously served as CFO at LoVullo Associates Inc. for 17 years. Rapini created and managed Superior Payment Plan LLC, a specialty insurance premium finance lending company. His appointment comes as long-time CFO Terry Greene will be retiring later this year. Source: Greene & Associates Merchants Insurance Group Promotes Behrent to Vice President of National Distribution Merchants Insurance Group has promoted Scott Behrent to vice president of National Distribution. He will be working out of his residence in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Behrent joined Merchants in 2015 as its regional vice president for the companys New England regional office in Bedford, New Hampshire. He has more than 30 years of property/casualty insurance claims, operations and underwriting experience. In this new position, he will be responsible for managing and developing strategic relationships with key agency partners who represent Merchants across multiple operating territories. Behrent will work closely with Merchants regional offices to develop and coordinate the execution of strategic business plans and will oversee agency contracts and licensing, as well as agency mergers and acquisitions. Merchants Insurance Group is composed of Merchants Mutual Insurance Company, Merchants Preferred Insurance Company and Merchants National Insurance Company. The companies offer personal and commercial insurance through a network of more than 1,000 independent insurance agents throughout the Northeast and North Central U.S., with corporate headquarters and regional operations located in Buffalo, and Hauppauge, New York, Mount Laurel, New Jersey, and Bedford, New Hampshire. Source: Merchants Insurance Group Maryland Insurance Administration Names Boban as Chief Actuary Maryland Insurance Commissioner Kathleen A. Birrane has named Bradley B. Boban as chief actuary for the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA). Boban has served as senior actuary for the MIA since 2017. He has nearly two decades of experience in actuarial science. He will lead the 10-person Office of the Chief Actuary. The primary responsibilities of the office include reviewing rate requests and appropriate supporting data for compliance with Maryland laws and regulations governing health insurance, which includes long-term care, major medical and disability coverage. He will also be responsible for the annual valuation and certification of the reserves held by life insurance companies domiciled in Maryland to pay future benefits, as well as tracking and analyzing various industry trends. Prior to joining the MIA, Boban was assistant actuary at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, where he managed a three-person team in charge of pricing the individual health insurance marketplace in three states. He began his career at CareFirst in 2002 as an actuarial analyst. Source: Maryland Insurance Administration SANTIAGO Mining group BHP will spend up to $93 million in environmental repairs and reparations after a Chilean court brokered an agreement in a lawsuit from the state over water use and related damage to a sensitive salt flat in the north of the country. The lawsuit related to BHPs Escondida copper mine, the worlds biggest, and the agreement involves the payment of compensation for environmental damage due to overdrawing water from the Punta Negra salt flat. The lawsuit had been brought last year by the Chilean state which claimed Escondida had between 1990 and 2017 caused a severe decline in levels of the salt flats aquifer, partially or totally caused the loss of wetlands and vegetation and compromised the survival of its fauna. The First Environmental Court, based in the northern Chilean city of Antofagasta, said on Wednesday it had rubber-stamped what it described as an unprecedented agreement that included a total of 19 measures to be taken by the miner. These measures including technical studies of the salt flat and the drawing up of a management plan to repair damage that will require fresh approval from the environment ministry. The plan should include measures to restore and maintain the fragile ecosystems of the salt flat, 170 kilometers southeast of Antofagasta, the court said, and protection of microorganisms capable of living in the dry, hot conditions. The court said the eventual price tag for BHP of the measures would amount to up to $93 million. BHP said a joint monitoring group would be put together to oversee the implementation of the plan, made up of state, company and community representatives. Water is a hot topic in drought-hit Chile, with both copper and lithium miners having faced legal challenges from local communities over their thirsty operations. The Escondida mine now draws 100% of its water from the sea and passes it through a desalination plant. (Reporting by Fabian Cambero and Aislinn Laing; editing by David Holmes) Topics Pollution Hub International Ltd., the Chicago-based insurance broker, announced it has acquired Global Credit Risk Management Inc. (GCRM). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. With a national presence and offices located in Ontario and Alberta, GCRM is an independent broker of accounts receivable and political risk insurance. It provides accounts receivable insurance and advisory services to businesses, including manufacturers, commodity traders, the services sector, finance professionals, and to Canadas leading banks and other financial intermediaries. GCRM supports Hubs Specialty Practices, which includes financial institutions, by complementing and strengthening Hubs offering to all industries, banks, lending institutions and investment firms. The principals of GCRM, John Middleton, Athan Bardis and Eric Pilon, and their team will join Hub Ontario and report to the Ontario leadership team. Employing more than 13,000 in officed throughout North America, Hub International Ltd. is a full-service global insurance broker that provides risk management, insurance, employee benefits, retirement and wealth management products and services. Source: Hub International Topics Mergers Canada Risk Management Police Civil Service Commission Notice of July 31, 2021 Testing Competitive Examination and Certified List of Eligibility to Probationary Police Officer in the Martinsburg Police Department Notice is hereby given pursuant to the West Virginia Code 8-14-13, that position(s) for the rank of Probationary Police Officer exist in the Martinsburg Police Department and will be filled by appointment by the City Manager from a list of eligibles certified by the Martinsburg Police Civil Service Commission. In order to be placed on the list of eligibles, an interested party must: Be between the ages of 18 and 40 at the time of application. Secure, from the City Recorders office or online at www.cityofmartinsburg.org, an application for employment for the position of probationary Police Officer. The correct Application MUST be completed, verified and returned to the City Recorder no later than 5 PM on Friday, July 23, 2021. Applicants must undergo and achieve a passing score on a competitive written exam, on Saturday, July 31 at 8 AM. On the date of exam, successful applicants will achieve a passing score on a physical agility screening test for WV state and local law enforcement officers. Certification of a physician will be required prior to participating in any physical testing and must be presented on the day of the exam. Undergo a complete medical examination testing the applicants general physical condition in a manner prescribed by the Commission. Undergo a complete psychiatric examination testing the applicants mental stability for appointment in a manner prescribed by the Commission. Submit to and cooperate with authorities in a background investigation as to the applicants suitability for the position. Appear for scheduled oral interviews. Submit to any additional examinations as to the applicants suitability for the position in a manner prescribed by the Commission. Probationary Police Officer is paygrade 19, beginning at $45,924. Employees of the City of Martinsburg are provided a range of fringe benefits including vacation leave, sick leave, personal leave, health/life/dental and vision insurance, longevity pay, police pension and modified take home vehicle policy. Applicants with a current WV Law Enforcement Certification will receive a $3,000.00 sign on bonus, if hired. West Virginia residency is NOT required, however, officers must live within 25 air miles of the Town Square within 90 days of employment. The City of Martinsburg reserves the right to amend date and/or location to remain in compliance with any COVID-19 guidelines in effect at the time of testing. Anyone not meeting the above requirements, as set by the Commission, will NOT be placed on the list of eligibles. The City of Martinsburg is an equal opportunity employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. Martinsburg Police Civil Service Commission. A former Independence, Missouri, police officer was not protected by qualified immunity after he seriously injured a teenager with a Taser and by dropping him face down on the pavement, a federal appeals court has ruled. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a $6.5 million jury verdict against former officer Timothy Runnels over the confrontation with Bryce Masters during a traffic stop in 2014, KCUR reported. The court ruled Runnels had violated Masters rights by using a Taser on him for up to 20 seconds after Masters, who was 17 at the time, refused to get out of his car. Runnels dragged the unconscious teenager several feet before dropping him on the pavement. Masters suffered a convulsion and cardiac arrest from the prolonged Taser use, and four fractured teeth from being dropped on the pavement. First responders revived him, but he suffered oxygen deficiency to the brain. Masters sued Runnels in 2016 for violating his civil rights. A jury awarded him $6.5 million in December 2018. Runnels argued in his appeal that he was entitled to qualified immunity, which generally shields government officials from liability for actions that dont violate clearly established law. The trial judge denied Runnels motion, and the 8th Circuit upheld that finding. An officer may not continue to tase a person who is no longer resisting, threatening or fleeing, Circuit Judge Jane L. Kelly wrote for the three-judge appeals court panel. That is so whether the tasing comes in the form of multiple, separate deployments or, as in this case, a single, continuous deployment that lasts for an extended period of time. Kirk Presley, Masters attorney, said the courts ruling relied on established precedent that excessive force is always unconstitutional. In fact, the jury found that defendant Runnels continued Taser trigger pull was intentional and malicious, Presley said in an email. So the record clearly supported a denial of qualified immunity. Runnels also was indicted on charges of depriving Masters of his civil rights under color of law and obstruction of justice. He was fired from the Independence Police Department after the encounter. He was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading in 2015 to one count of deprivation of rights. Federal prison records show he was released on Dec. 27, 2019. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Law Enforcement Missouri The former CEO of Make-A-Wish Iowa has pleaded guilty to charges of embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from the charity that supports sick children and their families. Jennifer Woodley admitted in a written guilty plea last week that she made unauthorized charges on a foundation credit card, gave herself an unapproved bonus and salary increases and made false entries into foundation records related to those expenses. Woodley, 40, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree theft and one count of fraudulent practices, all felonies. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend a sentence of five years of probation, along with fines and restitution. A charging document alleges that Woodleys embezzlement totaled nearly $41,000, but restitution has not yet been set. Judge Scott Beattie accepted the guilty pleas on June 1 and scheduled a sentencing hearing for July 20. Woodleys attorney, Nicholas Sarcone, said that he would ask for a deferred judgment at sentencing. If granted, that means the case would be expunged from her record, as long as Woodley completes her probation and the other parts of her sentence. Based in the Des Moines suburb of Urbandale, the Iowa group is one of 60 chapters of Make-A-Wish America, which provides support and memorable experiences for children with critical illnesses and their families. The theft began shortly after Woodley became the groups president and CEO in 2019 and continued until the group discovered financial irregularities during an internal compliance review last summer. Thats when the organization fired Woodley and sought a criminal investigation. Woodley turned herself in to face the charges in January and has been free on bond. Jail records listed her new address as Winston Salem, North Carolina. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Iowa New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) Superintendent Linda Lacewell spoke with Elizabeth Blosfield during the most recent episode of the Insuring Cyber Podcast about how she has always seen New York as a leader in cybersecurity and innovation. After being confirmed to her post as DFS Superintendent in 2019, this is a legacy she aims to further. When I came into DFSit quickly became apparent to me that the waves of innovation are crashing on the shores of everything that we regulate, she says, adding that she believes cybersecurity is the biggest risk for government and industry bar none. Lacewell says she saw this as an opportunity to continue elevating cybersecurity and innovation as matters of focus during her time at DFS, establishing its first cybersecurity division in May of 2019, and just two months later, establishing a new office of innovation at DFS. Even before Lacewells time as superintendent, DFS was placing a greater focus on cybersecurity with its implementation of a first-of-its-kind cybersecurity regulation in March 2017 under the leadership of former DFS Superintendent Maria Vullo. I think this was a tsunami through the world of financial services, says Peter Halprin, partner in law firm Pasichs New York office, earlier in the podcast episode. What it did, I think most importantly, and this was its design, was kind of forced the issue and forced the notion that companies need to pay attention to privacy and data at the highest levels, expressly senior management. In fact, DFS filed its first charges under the regulation in September of last year, serving a notice of charges to First American Title Insurance Company after alleging it exposed millions of documents containing consumers personal information. Halprin says this action was important as it demonstrated how New Yorks cybersecurity regulation will be enforced moving forward. I think that this is an octopus, he says. Its got a lot of arms and a lot of tentacles, and its going to go in a lot of different directions in terms of how it implicates coverage. But the First American action gives us all, I think, a moment to pause, reflect and think about what may come and what we should expect in the U.S. and perhaps elsewhere. Later in the year, DFS issued a report following its investigation into a cybersecurity incident involving social media company Twitter, in which verified accounts of public figures were hacked to tweet links pushing a bitcoin scam. Twitter released a public statement on July 15, the day of the attack, saying that it immediately locked down the affected accounts and removed Tweets posted by the attackers when it became aware of the hack. It shared in a September 24, 2020, blog post that it plans to continue to prioritize and accelerate its efforts to increase the security of the platform and its teams. Protecting peoples privacy and security is a top priority for Twitter, and it is not a responsibility we take lightly, a Twitter spokesperson told Insurance Journal in an email. We have been continuously investing in improvements to our teams and our technology that enable people to use Twitter securely. This work is constant and always evolving. However, Lacewell has called for increased regulation of social media companies in the future. The social media companies have become gigantic, she says. We as a society allowed it to happen. They got way out ahead of us, without regulation. The digital transformative changes have been happening alongside, generating the risks to cybersecurity. Government did not adapt, and that was a failure of the federal government because these systemically important companies now present, I believe, systemic risks and nobody is addressing them. For more insight into how New York is shaking up the world of cybersecurity and state cyber regulation, check out the rest of this episode and be sure to tune in for new episodes of the Insuring Cyber Podcast every other Wednesday. Topics Legislation Cyber New York Leadership Two prominent transportation advocacy groups on Wednesday challenged the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) November decision to shift much of a key spectrum block set aside for auto safety to accommodate the burgeoning number of wireless devices. The Intelligent Transportation Society of America and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials brought a legal challenge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia seeking to reverse the FCCs reallocation of 60% of the 5.9 GHz band spectrum block. Last year, the U.S. Transportation Department said the FCC plan was a particularly dangerous regulatory approach when public safety is at stake. The spectrum block was reserved in 1999 for automakers to develop technology to allow vehicles to talk to each other to avoid crashes but has so far gone largely unused. The FCC, which did not immediately comment, voted to shift 30 megahertz of the 75 megahertz reserved for Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) to a different automotive communications technology called Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything, or C-V2X, while moving the other 45 megahertz to Wi-Fi use. Automakers oppose the split on safety grounds, while major cable, telecom and content companies say the spectrum is essential to support growing Wi-Fi use. DSRC was previously offered on just one General Motors Co vehicle. Government studies have suggested the technology, if widely adopted among U.S. vehicles, could prevent at least 600,000 crashes annually. Talking cars and trucks would use dedicated short-range communications to transmit data up to 300 meters, such as location, direction and speed, to nearby vehicles. That data would be updated and broadcast up to 10 times per second to nearby vehicles, which can identify risks and provide warnings to drivers to avoid imminent crashes. In December 2016 the Obama administration proposed requiring all new cars and trucks to eventually include DSRC, but the Trump administration never finalized the rules. (Reporting by David Shepardson Editing by Chris Reese and Steve Orlofsky) Topics Auto The Senates top Republican on Tuesday linked Democrats efforts to make it easier to sue police officers to problems many law enforcement agencies are having recruiting and retaining personnel, drawing a hard line on the thorniest divide between bargainers seeking compromise on legislation revamping police procedures. The remarks by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., suggested it would be difficult to win crucial Republican votes for a deal erasing the protection that individual officers generally have from civil lawsuits. The Democratic-run House approved legislation earlier this year ending that shield, and many Democrats and social justice groups want its elimination included in any agreement. Speaking to a group that included police officers at an event in Owensboro, Kentucky, McConnell said their job often involves physical confrontations like breaking up fights. If every single one of these incidents becomes a potential personal lawsuit, Im not going to ask for a show of hands but Im not sure any of you guys are going to want to do what you do. I mean, how could you recruit? he said. McConnell made similar comments in early May, an assertion that some experts have supported but other say is unfounded or one of many factors. But Tuesdays remarks came days after South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the chief Republican bargainer, indicated he wants to strike a deal this month with Democrats on the effort or halt talks, suggesting time is running out. Just the discussion of this issue, as youve seen in some of the major cities across the country, police retirements are up, recruitment is down, McConnell said of officers legal protections. He called Scott a very credible spokesman for this issue, and Im confident that if we can get a bipartisan agreement, hell be the author. Scott has proposed retaining the legal shield, called qualified immunity, for individual officers but making it easier to sue departments. An aide to McConnell provided news articles in which officials and union leaders cited problems attracting and retaining officers in cities including Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Louisville, Kentucky. Some of those quoted said efforts to strip officers immunity contributed to the problems. Some cited other problems as well, including the outcry against fatal shootings by police of Black people around the country, especially last years killing of George Floyd by a now-former Minneapolis officer whos been convicted in the death. James Burch, president of the National Police Foundation, said theres a lack of national data on recruitment and retention and that many groups besides police face hiring problems. Burch, whose group is a nonpartisan research organization, rejected the assertion that congressional negotiations over qualified immunity was a significant factor. In the absence of any clear path or actual change to qualified immunity at the federal or national level, it seems implausible that officers would be retiring early due to the debate over or even threats to qualified immunity, he said in a written statement. Wed be more confident pointing to job conditions and impacts, low pay, long hours and negative sentiment as possible causes. Aides to Scott, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democratic bargainers Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and California Rep. Karen Bass did not provide comments on McConnells remarks. The negotiators are also discussing provisions that could curb chokeholds and no-knock warrants, boost reporting requirements on the use of force and check the transfer of military equipment to police. In a Senate divided 50-50 along partisan lines, Democrats would need support from at least 10 Republicans to overcome GOP procedural delays aimed at killing an agreement. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Law Enforcement Politics Legislation to provide farmers with tools to help New York efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change is making its way through state Legislature. The Soil Health and Climate Resiliency Act passed the Assembly unanimously last week, and was sent to the Senate. The act establishes a Soil Health Initiative, a Climate Resilient Farming Initiative and a Research Initiative through the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets. The initiatives are intended to scale sustainable soil health practices to increase carbon sequestration and help the state meet climate goals while improving water quality and promoting resilience. Among the acts proponents are state Sen. Michelle Hinchey and Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo. Hinchey, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, said the bill will codify soil health and climate-resilient farming practices to safeguard our food supply, water, and air quality for generations to come. The bill charges the New York Department of Agriculture with creating voluntary science-based standards for soil health and enable farmers to take advantage of private, state, and federal funding to implement farm management practices that promote soil health. Climate Change Specialists Cities across the U.S. have launched new programs focused on dealing with extreme weather, reflecting the growing impacts of climate change on local communities, according to a Reuters article in Insurance Journal. Since 2019 at least 30 U.S. cities have taken actions like hiring specialists to combat the impact of extreme weather, including Phoenix, Houston, Louisville, Nashville and Oakland. Many of those cities have created posts and initiatives to deal with heat waves, wildfires or flooding, the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center, based at Washington D.C.s Atlantic Council think tank, told Reuters. Tucson has hired a climate change advisor and a city forestry advisor to supervise the planting of 1 million trees around the Arizona desert city by 2030, Miami named a heat officer, and Los Angeles appointed a climate emergency mobilization director. Local government officials have to respond to it, said Kathy Baughman McLeod, the head of the Resilience Center, which promotes solutions to climate impacts, told Reuters. Insurer Climate Ratings Most of the worlds largest insurers arent adequately addressing systemic risks such as climate change and biodiversity loss, according to report published by nonprofit ShareAction. ShareAction gives the lowest mark an E to 46% of 70 of the worlds largest property/casualty and life and health insurers for their sustainability practices. The report looks even worse for U.S. insurers, ranking them lowest, according to an article by Insurance Journal International Editor L.S. Howard. Nationwide, Genworth Financial, American International Group, Allstate, and Chubb appeared in the bottom 10 of the ranking. European insurers AXA, Allianz and Aviva lead the ranking of P/C insurers, each receiving an A rating. All three have climate policies that cover their underwriting activity, as well as restrictions on financing coal companies and those in breach of human rights, explained ShareAction. Nine of the top 10 P/C insurers were European-based companies: AXA, Allianz, Aviva (all with A ratings); NN Group (BB rating); Canadas Desjardins Insurance (B); Generali (B); Zurich Insurance (CCC); Swiss Re (CC); Munich Re (CC); and Achmea (CC). Other reports in the past have called out U.S. insurers for lagging on climate change initiatives compared to their European counterparts. Miami Seawall The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has proposed building a massive seawall up to 20 feet high to protect the South Florida coast from storm surge. The Corps proposed the wall in a first draft of a study thats now under review. It calls for building six miles of wall mostly inland, which would run parallel to the coast through neighborhoods, the Seattle Times reported. The article this week noted that the $6 billion proposal remains tentative and is at least five years off. The Corps focused on storm surge made worse lately by stronger hurricanes and higher sea levels. Other parts of the draft plan include surge barriers, fortifying sewer plants and fire and police stations, elevating or flood-proofing thousands of businesses and homes, and planting some mangroves to provide a first line of defense against flooding and erosion, the Seattle Times reported. Miami Beach last year began exploring a way to help residents cover the cost of floodproofing their properties from heavy rains and high tides made even higher by sea level rise Past columns: Topics Carriers USA A proposal to place new limits on police officers broad immunity from civil lawsuits has rejected by Louisiana state senators, stalling a key recommendation from a task force created to suggest policy changes addressing police misconduct. A Senate judiciary committee voted 4-2 against the measure from Rep. Edmond Jordan, a Baton Rouge area Democrat, to put new restraints on the qualified immunity defense available to law enforcement officers against damage claims for wrongful death or injury. Jordans bill, which narrowly received House approval earlier this session, would have barred the use of qualified immunity if a court determines the police officers conduct to be unreasonable. It also would have expanded whats considered malfeasance for an officer. Republicans voted against the proposal, while Democrats supported it. This is the second year efforts from Black lawmakers to change Louisianas qualified immunity law failed in the Legislature. But this second rejection came even after compromise language was hammered out by a task force that included lawmakers, advocacy groups and law enforcement organization leaders. The Louisiana Sheriffs Association backed the bill as it moved through the House and Senate. Other police organizations such as the state Fraternal Order of Police and the states police chiefs association worked to defeat the proposal, even though they had representatives on the task force who didnt object to the recommendation when it received the panels backing. Supporters of the proposal said the qualified immunity law makes it nearly impossible to hold officers accountable for excessive force when prosecutors refuse to bring criminal charges. Opponents said legal avenues exist to prosecute police for inappropriate behavior, and they argued the changes could harm police recruitment. Voting for the bill were Democratic Sens. Joe Bouie of New Orleans and Greg Tarver of Shreveport. Voting against the bill were Republican Sens. Cameron Henry of Metairie, Ronnie Johns of Lake Charles, Mike Reese of Leesville and Kirk Talbot of River Ridge. Other task force proposals have fared better with lawmakers. A 36-0 Senate vote gave final passage to a bill by Democratic Sen. Cleo Fields, of Baton Rouge, to place new restrictions on the use of chokeholds and no-knock warrants. The measure also will require detailed policies for when body cameras and dash cameras must be turned on by officers who have them. In addition, legislation by Republican Rep. Tony Bacala, of Prairieville, calling for police agencies to design policies aimed at increasing minority recruitment and to require anti-bias training for state grant eligibility is headed to the governors desk. It also will require suspension or revocation of a police officers state certification if the officer committed misconduct a provision aimed at keeping officers fired from one police agency from moving to another. Bacalas bill won final passage with a 97-0 vote of the House. Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, is expected to sign both bills. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Louisiana Law Enforcement Politics President Joe Biden has approved a major disaster declaration for Louisiana following the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that hit the state May 17-21, 2021, As a result, federal disaster assistance has been made available to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the severe and destructive weather, FEMA reported. The Presidents action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Ascension, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, Iberville and Lafayette parishes. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster. Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide. John E. Long has been named the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected areas. Additional designations may be made at a later date if warranted by the results of damage assessments. Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance by registering online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621- 3362 or 1-800-462-7585 TTY. Topics Louisiana FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A fiery 2019 Florida interstate crash that killed five children from a Louisiana church headed to Walt Disney World was caused by a truck driver who hid his long medical history becoming incapacitated and losing control of his semi, investigators said in a report released Thursday. The National Transportation Safety Board said Steve Holland, 59, had heart disease and other medical conditions when his truck slammed through the center divider on Interstate 75 near Gainesville on Jan. 3, 2019, and into the church van, but for years had failed to report them when he received the health certificate needed to renew his license. The report said Hollands medical history probably would not have prevented him from getting his certificate, but it probably would have been for less than the maximum two years that he received. In the month before the crash, Holland had been treated by doctors for a persistent cough and weakness and had told another driver he had been suffering from chest pains, but he kept driving, the report said. His autopsy said heart disease was a contributing factor to his death, but the report says it is uncertain what medical issue caused him to lose control. Holland was heading north, carrying mail from South Florida to Georgia for Eagle Express when he lost control about 3:40 p.m. on a clear, dry highway. His truck veered to the left, smashing into a car and pushing both through the center guardrail. The truck then smashed into a southbound van carrying 12 adults and children from the Avoyelles House of Mercy, a Pentecostal church in Marksville, Louisiana. The children were on winter break and were less than two hours from Disney World. Hollands truck then smashed head on into another truck, also killing that driver. Several children and Holland were thrown from their vehicles, with the trucks erupting in flames. A fifth car, unable to avoid the chaos, sped through and hit people who were thrown from the van, the highway patrol said. In addition to the seven deaths, at least eight others were injured, some seriously. Authorities identified the dead children as Joel Cloud and Jeremiah Warren, both 14; Cara Descant, 13; Briena Descant, 10; and Cierra Bordelan, 9. Church officials did not immediately respond late Thursday to a call and Facebook message seeking comment. The report says Holland had suffered a heart attack and had undergone bypass surgery in 2010, had high blood pressure and numerous other conditions. But after receiving only one-year certificates in 2012 and 2013 because of his mounting health issues, Holland in 2014 began falsifying that information on the questionnaire drivers fill out during their health examinations, answering no to specific questions about those conditions, investigators said. He also started seeing different doctors who were not familiar with his history. His last examination was 11 months before the crash. Investigators said there were no mechanical defects to his truck, a 2016 Freightliner, that would have caused the crash. Eagle Express is a division of 10 Roads Express. The Carter Lake, Iowa, company did not immediately respond to an email message late Thursday. Court records show Holland received numerous tickets between 2000 and 2014 in Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Virginia for violations such as speeding, driving an unsafe vehicle, driving an overloaded vehicle and not carrying proof of insurance. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Auto Personal Auto Legislation that would spend $220 million in part to shore up highways, rivers and coastal areas prone to flooding so that North Carolina can better withstand the next big storm cleared a House committee on Tuesday. Some environmental groups also gave their support to the proposed Disaster Relief and Mitigation Act, pushed in part by Majority Leader John Bell, a Wayne County Republican. Historic flooding during Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Florence in 2018 destroyed homes and businesses near swollen rivers and wrecked dams and lakes. This is one of the largest proactive statewide investments to flood mitigation that North Carolinas ever made, Bell told the House Environment Committee before the panel recommended the measure without opposition. It will help us get out of the costly cycle of spending after disasters We know that every dollar spent on pre-disaster mitigation saves dollars in the future. The bill includes close to $70 million for improvements along the Lumber and Neuse rivers and for some private land buyouts. The bill earmarks some of these funds to help certain communities harmed by these recent storms even some whose very survival was threatened. For example, there would be $3.5 million to build a levee in Fair Bluff, which was overrun by the Lumber River during Matthew and Florence. With $5.2 million, a levee also would be built to protect Seven Springs, whose recent flooding history along the Neuse River goes back to Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Bell said these and other communities are still worth saving, even as homeowners and businesses in other flood-prone areas have decided to leave for good. There are new opportunities to rebuild in a smarter way, Bell told reporters. You cant give up on home. The bill also contains $14 million for dam repair in Boiling Spring Lakes and $5 million to address waterfront storm damage in Southport. Both are in Brunswick County. The state Office of Recovery and Resiliency, created in late 2018 and designed to distribute long-term federal recovery dollars following those storms, would take on expanded duties if the legislation became law. Bell said the bill would allow the Division of Emergency Management to focus fully on handling preparations for approaching storms and to respond to their immediate aftermaths. Both agencies are within Democratic Gov. Roy Coopers administration. The Recovery and Resiliency office would become the states lead agency to address flooding prevention and mitigation efforts. The office also would be directed to come up with a statewide flood resilience blueprint for major watersheds. Bell said the bill reflects input from leaders in North Carolina communities that have taken the brunt of recent storms. The measure has support from the Environmental Defense Fund and state leaders from other conservation groups _ a rare occurrence since Republicans took over the General Assembly a decade ago. We are glad to see this bills forward-looking and coordinated approach to resilience, Will Robinson with The Nature Conservancy in North Carolina told the committee. We appreciate the sponsors commitment to natural solutions as one tool in the tool box to make our state more prepared for floods. The measure, which now heads to another committee locates $30 million for coastal storm mitigation and $20 million for grants to restore flood plains and wetlands. Another $20 million also would go to grants for state and local governments and nonprofits to shore up roads and assess their risks to disasters. Tuesdays committee debate didnt address reasons for increasing coastal and riverside flooding from both hurricanes and smaller storms, such as climate change. Bell said doing so would have turned the discussion into a political and an ideological battle. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Legislation North Carolina China, Solomon Islands to enhance parliamentary cooperation Xinhua) 10:57, June 03, 2021 Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, holds talks with Solomon Islands' parliament speaker John Patteson Oti via video link at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, June 2, 2021. (Xinhua/Ding Lin) BEIJING, June 2 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Li Zhanshu held talks on Wednesday with Solomon Islands' parliament speaker John Patteson Oti via video link, agreeing to enhance exchanges and cooperation between their two legislative bodies. Li, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said that China believes in the equality of all countries regardless of size. "China respects the Solomon Islands' choice of a development path suited to its national conditions, and supports the Solomon Islands in developing the economy and improving people's livelihoods," he said. China appreciates the Solomon Islands' adherence to the one-China principle and its firm support for China's core interests and major concerns, such as Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong, Li added. Noting that China is willing to maintain exchanges at all levels with the Solomon Islands and to strengthen mutual political support, Li said the two sides should continue to unite in fighting the epidemic, expand pragmatic cooperation, deepen cooperation on infrastructure, agriculture, forestry and fishing on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The two countries should expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges, while strengthening exchanges on education, culture, and the sub-national and youth areas, so as to consolidate the foundation of long-term bilateral friendship, Li said, adding that they should strengthen multilateral coordination and cooperation, uphold multilateralism and jointly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries. The two sides can promote exchanges among special committees through flexible means, said Li. The two sides should timely approve and revise legal documents conducive to the development of bilateral relations, while providing legal guarantees for the joint construction of the BRI and practical cooperation in various fields, he said. The two sides should learn from each other's experience on legislation, supervision and governance to help achieve their respective economic and social development goals, Li added. For his part, Oti congratulated the Communist Party of China on its 100th anniversary. Noting that the Solomon Islands attaches great importance to developing friendly relations with China and firmly adheres to the one-China principle, Oti thanked China for its important support in fighting the epidemic. He said the National Parliament of Solomon Islands is willing to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the NPC, and make contributions to pushing forward pragmatic cooperation and promoting friendship between the two peoples. (Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun) Public Safety Reporter The Poughkeepsie Journal is looking for a reporter to build upon a bold experiment in journalism in our coverage of public safety. Over the past year, we have reinvented our coverage of public safety in New Yorks Hudson Valley, moving away from a focus on crime and police-blotter reporting that provoked distrust and tension, toward more people-focused reporting in our regions neighborhoods rich and poor. If you value, as we do, making journalism more diverse, equitable and inclusive, and are passionate, as we are, about flexing your reporting and writing muscles to help us reinvent the way media covers public safety, this is a role for you. In this beat, the reporter: Serves the needs of the communities most affected by crime and by the impact of policing tactics. Becomes more trusted and more reflective of the affected communities through inclusion of neighborhood voices and through authenticity in storytelling. Examines the effectiveness of policing approaches and acknowledges and explores the racially disparate impacts that often result. Highlights neighborhood efforts to address crime and its impact. Acts as a public ambassador through community outreach and connect with influencers and engaged readers through social media. Works with investigative and storytelling editors and audience analysts to shape reporting and storytelling to meet audience needs and interests on every platform. Determines the best digital platforms and methods of presentation to inform underserved communities. Points to solutions where present or possible, including how readers can protect themselves. Delivers data-based insights into public safety trends. Overall is less reactive to information put out by police and more enterprising and more embracing of needs, concerns and solutions in our cities and towns. The public safety reporter works with a team that covers a seven-county area: primarily Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Westchester and Rockland, with some reporting out of Sullivan and Ulster. The reporter can be based anywhere in our primary coverage area. Qualifications: Undergraduate degree in journalism At least 1 year of relevant newsroom experience This role requires a valid driver's license, reliable transportation, and the minimum liability insurance required by state law. Preferred Qualifications: Bilingual: Spanish/English #content West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice confirmed on Tuesday that he is personally liable for $700 million in loans taken by his coal companies from a lender in the United Kingdom that went bankrupt. The Republican governor took shots at the bankrupt Greensill Capital U.K. and said it is a burden on our family beyond belief. The Wall Street Journal first reported Justices debt on Monday. Justices businesses face several other woes, including penalties totaling $3.2 million from the federal government and lawsuits over claims his companies failed to deliver coal. Greensill sold the loans to investment funds managed by Credit Suisse Group AG, which froze the funds in March and is in talks with Justices Bluestone Resources Inc. and other borrowers to get paid, the Journal reported. Justice said at his regularly-scheduled pandemic news conference that the loans were acquired to rebuild Bluestone after a period of decline. The Roanoke, Virginia-based company is involved in mining metallurgical grade coal used for steel making. Bluestone sued Greensill, a supply chain finance firm, after it went under in March over allegations of fraud. The Financial Conduct Authority, Britains financial regulatory body, has announced a formal investigation into Greensills collapse after receiving allegations that it said were potentially criminal in nature. If you knew all the details youd know that evidently Greensill is a bad, bad actor, and you know almost in partnership with the Credit Suisse people, Justice told reporters. He said he had not read the story in the Journal. Our companies are good and theyve done the right stuff, he added. Its very unfortunate and truly its a pain, thats all there is to it. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Virginia Uk West Virginia Hawaii is creating an emergency evacuation plan for the Big Island in preparation for the next eruption of the largest active volcano on Earth. A state Senate resolution adopted in March asks the states emergency management division to develop evacuation plans for impact zones around Mauna Loa volcano, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported Monday. That includes most of the Big Island, which is home to several active volcanos including Kilauea, which erupted in 2018 and displaced thousands of residents. While the resolution is not legally binding, lawmakers hope a completed plan will be codified into law next year. Kona state Sen. Dru Kanuha, who introducted the resolution, said they will follow up with the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency throughout the year. Kanuha said there was no codified evacuation plan during the 2018 Kilauea eruption. There is not a master plan that exists currently for this kind of disaster, Kanuha said. Volcano officials say there is no immediate threat of a Mauna Loa eruption. The USGS Volcano Alert-Level System lists Mauna Loa under advisory status, the second-lowest of four tiers. Puna Sen. Joy San Buenaventura, who co-introduced the resolution with Kanuha, said the response to the 2018 Kilauea eruption highlighted the need for a plan. They were constantly making these last-minute plans as the eruption went on, San Buenaventura said. So, on a personal level, I see the need for a master plan, especially if (an eruption) is going to be bigger. Kanuha said he is concerned about the area of South Kona and Ka`u where steep Mauna Loa slopes could lead to rapid lava flows and precious little time to evacuate residents and visitors. Mauna Loa eruptions have reached many regions of the Big Island, including the islands most populous city, Hilo. Kanuha said the evacuation plan will be presented to the state before the start of the 2022 legislative session. Mauna Loa last erupted in 1984. U.S. Geological Survey officials have reported changes in seismicity on the volcano for years. The summit has been inflating since 2014 and there has been an uptick in earthquakes under the volcanos west flank this year. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 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Emails must be tied to the submitted guest column or it will not be accepted or published. Pseudonyms are prohibited and the writer will be banned from submissions. Read our full Opinion Policies here. Updated on 10/7/2020 Interview Karen Rebel Leader Warns Myanmar Regime of More Fighting The leader of the DKBA splinter group Brig-Gen Saw Kyaw Thet. Fresh clashes have erupted in Myawaddy District in Karen State with seven armed groups involved in the fighting. The military regime and Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) are fighting five groups the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) splinter group, Peoples Defense Force (PDF), Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council (KNU/KNLA-PC), Karen National Defence Organization (KNDO) and a BGF splinter group. The clash broke out on Tuesday in Phlu village after the DKBA splinter group reportedly detained three policemen, including the police chief of Waw Lay town, and a firefighter. The fighting has forced over 400 residents into Mae Sot across the Thai border. The DKBA splinter group chief Brigadier General Saw Kyaw Thet recently told The Irrawaddy about the fighting. How was the fighting? The fighting was intense on Tuesday and Wednesday. The enemy has deployed more troops. Clashes took place because they trespassed on our territory. They use numerous 120mm artillery rounds. Tensions remain high. We heard that your group raided a police station in Waw Lay and detained construction workers. Was it the case? Waw Lay is in KNU territory. The fighting took place with the group led by Major General Nar Damya. We dont know much about the Waw Lay case. But in Phlu village, it is our group that is fighting the regime. Which other groups are joining your group in the fighting in Phlu? The DKBA is not fighting there alone. Four other groups including the PDF, KNU/KNLA (PC), KNDO and the splinter group from the BGF, which consists of over 50 troops, are fighting with us. Who leads the BGF splinter group? When did they join your group? It is still early to reveal his name. They have taken weapons and ammunition along with them when they left the BGF. They will fight the military council. They left because they oppose the regime. They joined us around 10 days before the fighting. Under which agreement are the five groups cooperating? Are they only cooperating around Phlu? We are working together based on trust as an alliance. We are not just cooperating in Phlu, but also in Kawkareik and across Karen State. We are present in almost all parts of Karen State. We have teamed up and we stand by the people and are working in Karen State. If the military council stands down, we will not do anything. But if they dont, fighting will continue until it gives power to the elected government. We heard helicopters were seen in the west of the Dawna mountain range on June 1. The military has used airstrikes. Are your groups defended from airstrikes? Airstrikes are not a problem for us. What about military tensions in Phlu? There wont be peace in the area. Military tensions will only grow higher. Military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing recently visited Hpa-an and talked about continuing work on the Hat Gyi dam. What is your view on it? Is DKBA active in Myaing Gyi Ngu where the dam will be built? The entire Karen population oppose the dam. Peace has gone in the area now. If the hydropower project is to be implemented, only our people will suffer. I oppose the project. Our troops are active in Myaing Gyi Ngu. If the military council continues the dam project, conflict will be inevitable. If they insist on continuing the project, it could start more fighting. You may also like these stories: Rakhines Children Attend School, Ignoring Myanmars Boycott Myanmar Junta Locks Down Kalaymyo as COVID-19 Cases Spike Myanmar School Attacks Unacceptable Says UNICEF Burma Myanmar Daily Post-Coup Update: June 2 Anti-regime protesters in Dawei To keep you updated on what happened in Myanmar in the last 24 hours, here are the main events of the day more than four months after the putsch. In Kayah State, locals burned the bodies of junta troops killed in a clash with resistance fighters in Demoso on May 31 as the regime did not collect them. In Sagaing Regions Taze, military-appointed ward administrator U Ye Tun, who had been accused of being a junta informant, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen. Local resistance fighters claimed responsibility for his death. A bomb exploded at a basic education school in Yinmarbin. Junta forces arrested National League for Democracy member and lawyer U Mya Thein at his house in Sagaing. In Myeik of Tanintharyi Region, Ko Aung Kyaw of DVB and Ko Zaw Zaw, a Mizzima News freelancer, were sentenced to two years in prison for incitement under Article 505(a) of the Penal Code after being arrested in March and April respectively. The US deputy secretary of state and New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists have called for the duos immediate release. The military regime has detained more than 80 journalists since the coup, and 51 remain in detention. In Magwe Region, bombs exploded at three schools in Taungdwingyi. In Shan State, two civilians were injuredone of them criticallyin a random shooting by junta forces in Moe Bye Township, according to the Moe Bye Peoples Defense Force. A bomb exploded outside the state-owned Myanma Economic Bank in Tangyan Township. In Kachin State, the wall of a basic education high school in Mohnyin Township was damaged in a blast. In Namti, local people staged a protest against the military regime. In Myitkyina, lawyer U Thet Tun Oo, who was acting for detained anti-regime protesters, was detained by junta forces. In Mandalay Region, the chief of a Mogoke police station was stabbed by unknown attackers. A bomb exploded at the house of a non-striking teacher, and a stun grenade explosion was also reported at the electricity office in Mogoke. A building at a basic education school in Meiktila caught fire. In Yangon Region, a bomb exploded at the house of a ward administrator in Hlaing Tharyar, where the military has imposed martial law. A bomb explosion was also reported at a village school in Twante. Anti-regime protests took place in different forms at different locations across Myanmar as well as in Tokyo, Japan. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Schools Open, But Classrooms Are Empty as Students Boycott Myanmar Regime Jails Journalists for Incitement Myanmar Coup Leaves more than 500,000 Construction Workers Redundant Description Req #16275 Tuesday, June 1, 2021 Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is a subscription-led and digitally focused media and marketing solutions company committed to empowering communities to thrive. With an unmatched reach at the national and local level, Gannett touches the lives of millions with our Pulitzer-Prize winning content, consumer experiences and benefits, and advertiser products and services. Our current portfolio of media assets includes USA TODAY, local media organizations in 46 states in the U.S., and Newsquest, a wholly owned subsidiary operating in the United Kingdom with more than 120 local news media brands. Gannett also owns the digital marketing services companies ReachLocal, Inc., UpCurve, Inc., and WordStream, Inc., which are marketed under the LOCALiQ brand, and runs the largest media-owned events business in the U.S., USA TODAY NETWORK Ventures. To connect with us, visit www.gannett.com. Operations Coordinator - Part Time Gannett Publishing Services, located in Novi, MI is recruiting for a part-time, Operations Coordinator for our Newspaper Distribution Centers working up to 29 hours per week. This individual provides general support for a Distribution center performing a variety of tasks and responsibilities within home delivery including delivery of newspapers. Position requires flexibility to work varied days and hours including weekends and holidays as needed. Distribution and handling of daily and non-daily products to carriers, haulers, retailers and consumers. Unload and load trucks containing various print publications. Open the Distribution Center and prepare for the independent contractor arrival by printing, preparing and distributing specified reports and paperwork. Utilize industry specific software to handle required reporting for center General housekeeping of distribution center Complete required documentation and reports for center as needed. Assist with delivering newspapers, Respond to and resolve subscriber service issues Maintain and repair news racks throughout the designated distribution area. Assist with training Product Handlers or Product Coordinators as needed. Requirements: Valid drivers license, satisfactory motor vehicle record, dependable automobile, and liability insurance required. Strong organizational and communication skills required for a fast-paced environment. Good computer skills including Microsoft office. Good time management skills. Good verbal and written communication skills. Must be able to push and pull carts loaded with newspapers weighing up to 500 pounds with assistance and repetitively lift newspaper bundles weighing up to 25 pounds. Education: GED/High School Diploma Related Experience: Previous newspaper or distribution/warehouse experience preferred. Gannett Co., Inc.is a proud equal opportunity employer. We are a drug free, EEO employer committed to a diverse workforce. We will consider all qualified candidates regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity, family responsibilities, disability, education, political affiliation, or veteran status. Job Family Operations Job Function Marketing Solutions Pay Type Hourly Other details recblid gm2jry3434o1r80ga0hmxuec8otw38 Requirements None Burma Myanmar School Attacks Unacceptable Says UNICEF A middle school building in Taungphila ward, Kalaymyo, burned down in the early morning of May 16. / Cincds The United Nations has spoken out about the wave of attacks on schools and education staff, a day after the junta reopened public schools, saying such violence is unacceptable and a violation of childrens rights. The United Nations Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in Myanmar called on all parties to keep schools safe. Violence in or around schools is never acceptable. Schools and other education facilities must be protected from conflict and unrest, UNICEF said in a statement issued Wednesday. Attacks on places of learning and education personnel and the occupation of education facilities are violations of childrens rights, the agency added, calling on all parties to prioritize keeping places of learning safe at all times. At least 54 attacks against schools and school personnel were reported from Feb. 1 to May 31, as well as 141 incidents of military use of education facilities, UNICEF said. 39 of those 54 attacks occurred in May. Since March, cities and town across Myanmar have seen bomb and arson attacks on local administrative offices, police stations and government schools, which were closed until back-to-school day on June 1 and occupied by regime forces as temporary camps. The blasts have become more frequent over the last month. The junta has claimed that the attacks are being carried out by civilian resistance fighters who have taken up arms in response to the juntas deadly crackdowns on protesters and to protect civilians from the security forces. But several peoples defense forces (PDFs) have blamed the attacks on newly-formed Pyu Saw Htee groups made up of pro-junta supporters who are reportedly trained and armed with weapons. The PDFs claim that the Pyu Saw Htee groups are launching attacks on school buildings and private property in order to blacken the name of the civilian resistance fighters. The PDFs have said that they will never harm schools or the lives and property of ordinary people, and that they only target regime forces. Yangon PDFs jointly announced on Thursday that they will never do anything that could harm local residents, students and children as it is their priority to protect civilians. Recent explosions and attacks that have harmed civilians are not being carried out by the civilian resistance groups, the PDFs said. On Tuesday, the military regime insisted on opening schools despite the majority of teachers and students boycotting education in protest at junta rule. Soldiers could be seen standing guard both outside and inside schools, joining school buses and patrolling around school buildings. The junta claims that the military presence is to provide security, but it has prompted concerns on the part of parents that their children might be subject to arrest or worse. More than 90% of students didnt turn up for the first day of school on Tuesday, according to education sources. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Daily Post-Coup Update: June 2 Myanmar Schools Open, But Classrooms Are Empty as Students Boycott Myanmar Regime Jails Journalists for Incitement Burma Rakhines Children Attend School, Ignoring Myanmars Boycott Students in Rakhine States capital, Sittwe, on June 1. / The Irrawaddy Nearly 360,000 children went to school as basic education primary, middle and high schools reopened in Rakhine State on June 1, the annual back-to-school day in Myanmar, according to Dr. Tun Tun Thein, deputy director of the state education office. A total of 358,931 pupils attended when schools reopened yesterday. Almost 100 percent of students went to school, he told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. Schools were reopened amid fears over another wave of COVID-19 following the daily jumps in cases over the past week. Dr. Tun Tun Thein said COVID-19 regulations had been issued by the health and education ministries before the reopening. A middle-school teacher from Myebon said students barely follow COVID-19 regulations. As the weather is very hot, both students and teachers do not wear masks. COVID-19 regulations are in place, but people are not afraid of COVID and they dont care, said the teacher. Meanwhile, Rakhine parents sending their children to school has drawn criticism on social media as many parents elsewhere in the country have refused to send their children to school as part of the civil disobedience movement against the military regime. Daw Htay Htay San, a mother in Sittwe, the state capital, said children have lost access to schooling due to fighting and COVID-19 in the state. Schools were closed nationwide last year due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We have sympathy for the people from the other parts of the country facing instability. We understand their feelings, but they should also understand us and should not blame our children for going to school, she told the Rakhine media on Tuesday. Due to the fighting between Myanmars military and the Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine from late 2018 to November 2020, students lost access to schooling. Even though schools have reopened in Rakhine, parents are concerned that COVID-19 and violence could break out any time in the state, leading to further school closures. A mother from Pyay in Bago Region said she would not send her children to school because she has no trust in the education system provided by the military regime. Because they kill people for no reason and arrest teachers under various charges. Under such circumstances, we stand with parents from across the country. Wed rather let our children skip school for a year, but will not send them to school under military rule, she said. The military regime has arrested and filed incitement charges against striking education staff as it puts pressure on educators to return to classrooms. While many teachers have joined the civil disobedience movement, only six teachers four from Taungup and two from Gwa have joined the strike in Rakhine, according to the states education office. In April, the AA chief, Major General Tun Myat Naing, who has great influence over the Rakhine population, said he did not want the CDM and street protests spreading to Rakhine, saying they will disrupt the armed groups attempt to secure greater autonomy. There are 3,309 basic education schools in Rakhine and 128 of them can no longer operate as villagers fled their homes in the fighting between the military and AA. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Junta Locks Down Kalaymyo as COVID-19 Cases Spike Myanmar School Attacks Unacceptable Says UNICEF Myanmar Daily Post-Coup Update: June 2 The 2022 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro looks like a beast that can take on any off-road trail you decide to go. "Taking the trail less traveled isn't suited for amateurs," as Toyota stated in its press release. The Toyota Racing Development team got its hands on the new Tacoma and made it Pro. The Japanese car company said it is their next step to evolution. Here's what you should be expecting for this next-level truck: 2022 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro Suspension Lift The next generation of the Tacoma will be 1.5 inches taller in the front and 0.5 inches taller in the back, Jalopnik noted. Toyota is employing their TRD-tuned Fox internal bypass shocks. Those are designed to deliver "exceptional on- and off-road performance" and that is what gives the Tacoma its taller suspension lift. The new suspension lift will allow the truck to trail through off-road courses with more ease. It has a 36.4-degree approach angle, a 24.7-degree departure angle, and a 26.60-degree breakover angle which allows it to pretty much go through any rough terrain. Look at those upper control arms on the 2022 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro! The embossed badging is new too. #toyota #tacoma #trdpro pic.twitter.com/uOW6uSWEZi Ed Kim (@ekimap) June 2, 2021 The Tacoma's new machine-forged TRD upper control arms allow the Fox shocks to adjust to the angle of the ball-joint mount, making the shocks use the additional rebound stroke given by the lift. Read Also: 2022 Toyota GR 86 US Release Date, Price: Complete Power Specs, Interior Design and More Features 2022 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro Colors The 2022 Tacoma TRD Pro is getting an exclusive color called Electric Lime Metallic. The color really is what it says it is, with its bright hue that stands out but doesn't look offensive to the eyes. Other colors buyers can choose from include Super White, Magnetic Gray metallic, and Midnight Black Metallic. The styling also gets some new upgrades. Toyota says: "Tacoma TRD Pro will still greet the world with a heritage-inspired front grille with color-keyed surround. Available new hood graphics complement the blacked-out hood scoop. TRD Pro will also feature a color-keyed rear bumper, door handles and power outside mirrors with turn signal indicators, while black overfenders will marry the dual-color styling theme." The @Toyota Tacoma TRD Pros new color is just the best. It needs to proliferate to things like the GR 86. @therealautoblog pic.twitter.com/uGeeIvCHFQ Joel Stocksdale (@GeekyGearhead99) June 2, 2021 The blacked-out tires is also just a lovely touch that just makes the truck look even more large and incharge. The stamping at the rear panel of the truck look very satisfying as well. The words "TRD" and "Pro" are put in a sleek manner. The badges are also updated. Toyota has scrapped the TRD Pro door badge and a "Tacoma" badge has been added to the front door. The finish of the badges are still black. Other 2022 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro Specs The "fan-favorite," as Toyota called it, has 6-speed manual transmission. The "ever-popular" 6-speed automatic will be available for the Tacoma TRD Pro. If you're a fan of the lovely growl cars make, you get more of that with the TRD-tuned cat-back exhaust. The truck will be housing the standard 3.5-liter V6 engine, with Toyota's innovative VVT-iW technology and Atkinson-cycle combustion for maximum efficiency. You also get the D-4S fuel injection that employs both direct injection and port injectors. All of this will give you an impressive output of 278 horsepower and 265 lb-ft of peak torque. The new Tacoma is fitted with FOX 2.5-inch internal bypass shocks. The TRD pro aluminum front skid plate provides additional trail protection while sporting the lovely TRD letters in red. Even the LED headlights on the new Tacoma are updated with sequential turn signals that have the TRD Pro inserts. Fog up in the rocky mountains will be no problem with Rigid Industry LED fog lights. To up the Pro-ness of the Tacoma TRD Pro, it also comes equipped with a Multi Terrain Monitor that allows you to display what the front, rear, and side cameras are picking up on an 8-inch multimedia touchscreen. 2022 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro, Trail Edition get more off-road goodness: pic.twitter.com/gyKVdfvUO3 Autoblog (@therealautoblog) June 3, 2021 That touch screen supports Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Amazon Alexa, so you'll never lose the jam while you're out off-roading. Inside, black-leather-trimmed heated front seats await the driver and the passenger. TRD Pro logos are smattered modestly on the headrests, the shift knob, and the all-weather floor mats, just in case you forget you're in a Pro. A power moonroof comes standard, Toyota said. And if you get the automatic transmission models, your Tacoma TRD Pro gets fitted with JBL Premium Audio. With all of these new bells and whistles, of course safety is still very important and Toyota goes into great detail in their press release about their compliance to safety standards. Pricing has not been released yet but Jalopnik says it can be expected to hit the $44,325 price range. That's the starting price for Tacomas currently. Related Article: 2022 Toyota Land Cruiser J300 Power Specs Leaked-Bigger Dimensions Also Teased! Huawei just released the second iteration of their in-house developed operating system, Harmony OS 2.0. This is just how the Chinese telecommunications giant is responding as it continues to detach itself from Google's Android OS since the "Huawei Ban." Huawei on the US Blacklist The telecom manufacturer found itself in hot waters when the Trump administration released a laundry list of companies of what they called an "Entity List" in May of 2019. The Entity List served as a blacklist of companies that couldn't export to or trade in the United States with the Department of Commerce. Huawei wasn't the only Chinese company on the list, as other software and manufacturing companies were also included--only adding fuel to the fire that is the tensions between Washington and Beijing. The ban affected all of Huawei's mobile line-ups carrying Google apps. Models that were meant for the Chinese market that didn't run on the Google Android OS could still be released and sold, but the global market was ultimately shut off for the telecom company. Huawei has since tried to bring up its hold on the Chinese mobile industry while finding and making solutions to enter the global market once again, independent from any American ties. Huawei recently did this by selling their mid-range mobile line called HONOR in hopes to save the sub-brand and reintroduce it to the global market. Read Also: Honor, Formerly Owned By Huawei, Sells V40 Phone for the First Time Huawei Launched them own HarmonyOS 2.0 pic.twitter.com/FBVssqQx8r Sourav Paul (Super Gadge) (@SuperGadge) June 2, 2021 Harmony OS 2.0 vs. Android 10 The second version of Huawei's Harmony OS was just finally released after teasing it earlier this year. Ron Amadeo of Ars Technica, who was able to sign-up and test the beta version of the OS, reported that Huawei's press releases claim that their OS isn't a copy of Google Android or the Apple iOS. Its position, naturally, is to become a rival to its former OS. Ars Technica, however, criticized the beta version for being a copy of the Android 10, or a fork of Android. A fork of Android simply means the company cannot use the Android brand name, but basically uses the same system, with some minor adjustments. Amadeo pointed out how legally, Huawei doesn't need to stop using Android because the U.S. has no jurisdiction over the distribution of software outside the american market, but it does add to the "independence" narrative Huawei wants to develop. Harmony OS 2.0 on the MatePad Tablets Huawei's OS is first seen by the public market on the MatePad, the company's tablet line. Android Authority noted some similar visuals and features to that of the Android 10 (Q) and even noted that the Android Q easter egg app is installed in the tablet. Android Authority asked the manufacturer about the similarities; however, they reiterated that the tablet was running on their Harmony OS 2.0. Their email response read: "While ensuring all applicable open-source rules are strictly adhered to, Harmony OS has taken advantage of a large number of third-party open-source resources, including Linux, to accelerate the development of a comprehensive architecture." Huawei Launched them own HarmonyOS 2.0 pic.twitter.com/FBVssqQx8r Sourav Paul (Super Gadge) (@SuperGadge) June 2, 2021 In spite of this, there are some interesting features on this new platform. Android Authority highlighted the Super Device Functionality. It allows easier device pairing. The UI is circular and the host device is in the middle, surrounded by other Huawei smart devices around it. To pair smart devices to the host device, simply swipe the bubble of the smart device to the host. This is part of Huawei's plan to create an ecosystem, similar to what Apple has created. It isn't only just an ecosystem of devices though, but it is also an ecosystem for the applications inside the devices themselves. The cross-device functionality can be found in action when apps can be viewed and used on both your tablet and smartphone on one device's recent apps menu, Android Authority said. "Collaborative authentication" is also a feature Huawei is boasting and it allows the user to use data from two devices to unlock the user's phone. Huawei is really banking on its open-source OS to bring in a new market. The website invites developers to create apps and devices with the company and its OS. The studio can be downloaded through their website. Related Article: Huawei HONOR 50 Leaks New Colors, May Run Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G On Friday, officials with the Walker County Hospital District board announced that they have finalized a $7.8 million purchase of Huntsville Memorial Hospital. Do you feel like this is a good use of tax dollars, and is this the right direction for the struggling health care facility? You voted: Ithaca, NY (14850) Today Partly cloudy early with thunderstorms becoming likely during the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 81F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Thunderstorms in the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies overnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. umlaut, partner of connect, a test magazine for consumers, has run a security test on warning apps warning apps from Germany, Great Britain, New York, South Africa, Canada, and Australia. umlauts findings: all tested apps offer very high data security and received the connect rating good or very good. The German Corona Warning app bested the other apps and stood out with 940 out of 1,000 points and received a grade of very good. The focus of the tests was on security, which plays a central role in the acceptance of the population. umlaut examined this with its test procedure for app security. It scrutinised four areas: Data Privacy, Traffic Protection including encryption, measures against impersonation attacks such as loss of integrity and rights expansion, and Secure Code practices, the security measures around the app source code. umlaut says aspects such as functional scope and ease of use were not evaluated and compared because the COVID-19 warning apps can only be used in their target region and are generally offered there without direct competition. The Corona Warning app, which has been available in Germany since June 2020, leads the connect ranking with 940 points and impresses in particular with its full score for personal data protection. Today, the app, developed by Deutsche Telekom and SAP with the support of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), counts 28 million users. Since late 2020 (version 1.10), it offers a contact diary in which, for example, meetings with family and friends can be registered. Since March 2021 (version 1.13), voluntary donations of data for scientific research have been possible, and since April (version 2.0), event registration was added. This allows organisers to generate a QR code for their events in the app and publish it, for example, on a poster. Participants can then scan it via app. Since May (version 2.1), the results of rapid tests can be noted in the app and by the end of June, the digital vaccination certificate currently under development will be integrated. In contrast to the intense criticism in its home country, the COVID Safe Australia app achieved an excellent second place with 912 points and a very good rating. After its launch around a year ago, however, the number of users has stagnated at around seven million. Centralised data management and misunderstandings at launch time obviously caused lasting damage to the image of the Australian app. Third place in the connect ranking goes to the NHS COVID-19 app from the United Kingdom with the grade "very good" and 896 points. After an app with centralised data storage first appeared in May 2020, the National Health Service (NHS) switched to a privacy-friendly version following strong criticism. According to connect, this second British Covid app gets a lot of things right and convinces with additional functions. Today, the app counts around 22 million users and thus a similar penetration as the Corona Warning app in Germany. The US app COVID Alert NY ranks fourth with 876 points and received very good rating. Because a US-wide app was hardly feasible, New York developed its own solution. But acceptance remains low despite very good security. Besides the contact notification built into iOS and Android, its only features it has is a private symptom diary. The COVID Alert South Africa App is close behind with 848 points and was graded "good". There is little to criticise about the security of the South African app, nevertheless, it did not achieve a high penetration rate until today. The functionality of the Covid Alert South Africa app is moderate, but there are no major security flaws. Last is COVID Alert Canada app with 816 points and was also graded good. With Blackberry and Shopify, big names are involved in the development of Canada's Corona app. After extensive privacy discussions, the Canadian app limits itself to its core function. A look at apps around the world proves that once a COVID app has suffered a damage to its image due to data protection problems or due to the central data storage criticised by security experts, this is at the expense of a high level of penetration. umlauts security tests also confirm that the German Corona Warning app, which is often questioned in its country, stands up very well in an international comparison with its strong focus on data protection. Hakan Ekmen, umlaut CEO telecommunications, notes: We can certify the Corona warning apps to offer a good or partly even very good level of security and data protection. App providers from many countries achieve convincing results. Still, German app users can rely on the best security rating in our comparison. Hannes Rugheimer, author at connect, summarises the conclusion as follows: "Telekom and SAP have done a lot right with the German app, and not just in terms of data protection. Even if the hope is growing that we will need its functionality increasingly lessanyone who is still undecided should give the Corona Warning App a chance in view of our results." Registered Nurse (ECEAP) Salary: $34.47 - $41.91 Hourly Location: Everett, WA Job Type: Part-Time Department: Human Services Job Number: 2021-00201 Division: Developmental Disabilities and Early Learning Closing: 6/13/2021 11:59 PM Pacific Description Join our Snohomish County Human Services Team! We have one part-time (20 hours per week) vacant Registered Nurse position available in our Early Learning and Developmental Disabilities Division. The Human Services Department Mission is to help all persons meet their basic needs and develop their potential by providing timely, effective human services and building community. The Human Services Department includes 230 diverse, friendly and dedicated employees who benefit from outstanding benefits and competitive wages. Employees are appreciated and have the opportunity to make a real difference in our community. Snohomish County is thriving and is a great place to live, work, play, and raise a family. We strive to not only provide a meaningful job, but a life-long career at Snohomish County. SPECIFIC FUNCTION The part-time RN will partner with the existing Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) Health Team in the pursuit of improved health outcomes for children and families. Responsibilities include providing training and guidance to ECEAP site staff, performing annual health screenings of children at ECEAP sites, following up with site staff regarding child and family health needs based on screening results, and documenting notes and outcomes in the program database. The part-time RN may also support the Early Head Start (EHS) program performing mother/baby newborn visits, providing nursing support to the EHS staff, and attending trainings in support of EHS topics. BASIC FUNCTION To provide Nursing Services in the Human Services Case Manager, Long Term Care and Early Learning Programs. Nursing Service RNs offer clients, providers, and case managers health-related assessment and consultation in order to enhance the development and implementation of the client's care plan. Responsibilities include file reviews, consultations, and home visits. Nursing Service RNs do not provide direct care requiring physician orders and supervision. Job Duties STATEMENT OF ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES Assesses medical, psychosocial, and physical needs of clients; conducts home visits with clients, care providers, families and other involved parties to review client needs and resolve concerns. Makes joint home visits with non RN staff to provide information from a medical point of view. Provides health-related education and training to groups. Provides task-specific training and instruction from a medical perspective to care providers and clients, and/or makes appropriate referrals for training, as needed. WHEN ASSIGNED TO CASE MANAGEMENT AND LONG-TERM CARE PROGRAMS: Provides consultation to non RN Case Managers regarding clients with unstable medical conditions at risk of residential placement or hospitalization due to unstable health. Develops and implements individualized plan of services for clients with medically intensive issues with a goal of maintaining the client's independence; monitors services provided to these clients to determine adequacy of service provision; reassesses and revises service plans as needed; documents client progress. Responds to referrals from non RN Case Managers by providing file reviews of the CARE assessment, other client related care plans, and medical information; office consultation or staffing with case managers regarding client specific disease processes, diagnoses, & medications; telephone consultation with clients, providers, or case managers; and home visits to clients. RNs complete documentation related to file reviews, consultations, and home visits. Provides care coordination for clients through consultation and coordination with all pertinent members of a client's care team and facilitates health-related referrals to other services and programs as needed. The RNs provide education regarding available community resources and programs related to the health care needs of the clients. Assists clients with medically complex care needs to hire personal care providers that are able to provide care according to the client's individualized care plan. Facilitates completion of contracting procedures; provides training information to care providers. Responds to client crises by providing timely assessment of in home care needs; offers services within program parameters, or refers as needed; coordinates with DSHS field staff to facilitate transition of clients between residential and in-home care settings. WHEN ASSIGNED TO EARLY LEARNING PROGRAMS: Reviews medical reports (health history and well child exams) and develops health care plans, if needed. Assists Staff in reviewing children's immunization records. Provides staff support to Health Advisory Committee. Completes site reviews to document compliance with ECEAP Performance Standards. STATEMENT OF OTHER JOB DUTIES Performs related duties as required and/or when assigned Minimum Qualifications MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS Graduation from an accredited school of professional nursing; AND two (2) years of paid on-the-job nursing. Must pass job related tests. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS A Bachelor's degree in nursing. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS A current Washington State Registered Nurse License. A valid Washington State Driver's License, unrestricted except as to vision, will be required prior to employment. A pre-employment physical examination may be required for employment. Additional Information KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES Knowledge of: professional nursing principles, practices and concepts medications and expected action and side effects psychological, physiological and anatomical issues and systems related to children, disabled and geriatric populations social, financial and health problems confronting low-income, elderly and/or disabled, persons available community resources; interviewing, assessment and counseling techniques computers and software programs Ability to: establish and maintain effective working relationships, rapport and coordination with disabled or elderly clients, their families, social services providers, community agencies, other county employees and the public interpret a variety of medical, social and psychological data communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with people regardless of age, sex, social, economic, cultural or ethnic background, or sexual orientation instruct and train care providers; respond effectively to crisis or emergency situations use computer maintain detailed records and prepare clear, concise written reports function independently in client home situations coordinate a large volume of telephone contacts facilitate groups and meetings SUPERVISION This position receives direction from a programmatic supervisor, a division administrator or the Director of Human Services, as assigned. The work is performed with limited supervision and is reviewed through meetings, reports and results obtained. WORKING CONDITIONS Snohomish County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. Accommodations for individuals with disabilities are provided upon request. EEO policy and ADA notice Agency Snohomish County Address 3000 Rockefeller Ave M/S 503 Everett, Washington, 98201 Phone (425) 388-3411 Website http://www.snohomishcountywa.gov/2553 Positions in this class typically require work being performed in a variety of settings including client homes, adult family homes, congregate care facilities, hospitals, nursing homes and the usual office environment. Employees are required to travel to client's place of residence & need to drive a motor vehicle on public roads. Positions in this class may typically experience exposure to unpleasant odors, smoke and unsafe or unsanitary conditions in clients' homes. recblid lz7j09n0qcpn5wjjqmi9eyu11tcudu A small advanced nuclear power reactor, designed by TerraPower, a company owned by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and PacifiCorp, will be built in Wyoming, the company says. Details of the Natrium reactor were outlined in a Netflix documentary titled Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates released in 2019. Plans were afoot to build the reactor in China, but just as work was about to start, Donald Trump launched his trade war on China. And hence it had to be put on the shelf. In a joint statement on Wednesday with Wyoming governor Mark Gordon, TerraPower and PacifiCorp said several potential locations were being evaluated. The plan will take about seven years to be completed. Together with PacifiCorp, were creating the energy grid of the future where advanced nuclear technologies provide good-paying jobs and clean energy for years to come, said Chris Levesque, president and chief executive of TerraPower. The Natrium technology was designed to solve a challenge utilities face as they work to enhance grid reliability and stability while meeting decarbonisation and emissions-reduction goals. Gary Hoogeveen, president and chief executive of Rocky Mountain Power, a division of PacifiCorp, said: This project is an exciting economic opportunity for Wyoming. Siting a Natrium advanced reactor at a retiring Wyoming coal plant could ensure that a formerly productive coal generation site continues to produce reliable power for our customers. We are currently conducting joint due diligence to ensure this opportunity is cost-effective for our customers and a great fit for Wyoming and the communities we serve. The travelling wave reactor was planned under the aegis of TerraPower which was set up by Gates in 2011. It has drawn in the top available technical talent and the building of a prototype was set to start when Trump threw a spanner in the works. As nuclear technology was involved, there was a country-to-country agreement and either the US or China had the option of cancelling the deal which was what Trump did, sending up Gates' dreams in smoke. One of the plus points of the reactor it that it uses depleted uranium fuel and would thus consume some of the 700,000 tonnes of waste that are stored in the US. A 345 MW sodium-cooled fast reactor with a molten salt-based energy storage system will be used to build the plant. The storage technology can boost the systems output to 500 MW of power for more than 5 hours when needed, which is equivalent to the energy required to power around 400,000 homes. This addition allows a Natrium plant to integrate with renewable resources and could lead to faster, more cost-effective decarbonisation of electricity generation. In addition, the technologys novel architecture is claimed to separates and simplifies major structures, reducing complexity, cost and construction schedule, while delivering safe and reliable electricity. Capterra has revealed the results of a study that more than 1,000 respondents, over half of them had used telemedicine, and most (92%) admitted they first used it after COVID-19 hit. Almost 4 out of 5 Aussies said they would use it again, with 15% actually saying they would now only use telemedicine regardless of the pandemic. Respondents benefitted in saving time waiting for appointments (27%), lowering contagion risks (25%), and being able to access diagnosis and prescriptions from anywhere (15%). Others reported positively on saving time on distance and travel and being able to consult with a doctor from another state. While COVID-19 plays an important role in boosting the use of telehealth, saving time are arguments to suggest that virtual doctors appointments are here to stay. Survey participants used teleconsulting for a range of medical appointment types, but the most common was to consult with their GP (43%). The large majority (72%) reported their medical problem was solved via teleconsultation. Only 12% needed an in-person appointment for a physical examination. During the start of the pandemic, a shift of in-person to virtual consultations helped relieve pressure on the Australian healthcare system. While the majority stated they would continue using telehealth (79%), a considerable number of respondents did not want to continue using it (21%). The respondents cited they feel that face-to-face appointments were more comfortable (47%), or they require a physical examination (41%). Some respondents faced technical problems on either their side or the doctors due to the device or a poor internet connection (16%). Additional challenges mentioned include data security concerns (8%), a lack of privacy in shared households (7%), and the health professional not being prepared for remote consultations (7%). Most Aussies (79%) spoke to their doctor via phone call, whereas only 13% reported using a medical video conference app. Capterra suggests that video conferencing apps could help doctors walk their patients through self-examination and further improve patients telehealth experience. Laura Burgess, Capterra Australia content analyst, notes: Since the beginning of the pandemic, the use of telemedicine has increased in Australia. Telemedicine can have many advantages for patients who do not want to go into the hospital or practice. In fact, telemedicine has been around for a while, but the lockdown and social distancing rules made it the preferred solution for many patients during this time. 79% of respondents state they would continue using it after COVID-19. However, Burgess points out there are still a number of people who are not willing to use it. The fact is that almost 1 in 5 respondents in Australia who had already used telemedicine before would not want to use it after the pandemic, the main reason cited as not being able to receive a physical examination, Burgess says. She concludes: Whilst mobile and phone consultations are the most popular forms of communication, looking at incorporating more tools to help patients (like video services for doctors to talk patients through self-examination) could help establish telemedicine as an equally effective way to diagnose and treat patients. After talking tough about cutting off functionality to users if they refuse to accept new changes to privacy from 15 May, WhatsApp has backed down and now says this will not be implemented. In January, WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, said it was effecting a change whereby communications which users sent to businesses using the app would be visible to the owner. WhatsApp has a huge user base around the world, due to its offering end-to-end encrypted messaging. The number of users in India is the highest of any country. These changes were expected to be put in place in January itself, but a backlash from users, many of whom switched to Signal and Telegram, led to a delay in implementation. But the company still said that those who did not accept the new policy would have to cope with reduced functionality, with the app finally ceasing to function. Then, early in May, WhatsApp backed down further, saying that accounts would not be deleted and the app would not become unusable even if users did not accept the new policy. India stepped up pressure on WhatsApp on 20 May, giving the company a week to drop its proposed new privacy policy or face punitive action. New Delhi pointed out that WhatsApp was not enforcing the new privacy policy in European Union countries. WhatsApp has now gone into reverse gear. In a statement to The Verge, a spokesperson said: "Given recent discussions with various authorities and privacy experts, we want to make clear that we will not limit the functionality of how WhatsApp works for those who have not yet accepted the update." This plan would stay in place indefinitely, the spokesperson added. We will continue to remind users from time to time and let them accept the update, including when they choose to use relevant optional features like communicating with a business that is receiving support from Facebook, WhatsApp said. We hope this approach reinforces the choice that all users have whether or not they want to interact with a business. 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. MiMi-Sandra of Fort Worth, born 7 September 1945 in Jacksonville to Joe Selman Gore and Jeffie Gwendolyn (Lazenby) Gore. Preceded by her parents and five siblings. Survived by her husband, daughters, four siblings, nieces and nephews. Register with JOC.com and receive 5 free pieces of content for the first thirty days. After thirty days, you will receive 3 pieces of content and after sixty days you will receive 1 piece of content. To receive full access, Subscribe Today . You can also subscribe to our daily newsletter. Register Description Marketing Aid - Creative Design Salary: $16.26 - $19.05 Hourly Location: City Hall, 1001 Schroeder Creek Blvd. Wentzville Job Type: Part-time Department: PARKS & RECREATION Job Number: 00536 Summary Wentzville Parks and Recreation is seeking an organized, creative and energetic individual to work as a part of the Marketing and Communications Division. The position assists in developing and implementing marketing plans and strategies for the Wentzville Parks and Recreation brand. In this role they will support the Marketing and Communications Supervisor by developing sales strategies, marketing campaigns, social media campaigns and collecting and interpreting marketing analytics. They are also expected to help identify marketing trends and opportunities for growth, as well as create marketing materials such as flyers, brochures and social media posts. Effective written and verbal communication skills and a high level of attention to detail are important keys to success in this role. This work is critical to the smooth operation of the division and the attainment of its goals, as well as for the long-term growth of the Parks and Recreation Department. Works to achieve and communicate the City's vision and goals through the application of various design or media occupations, including photography, graphic design, graphic art, or web page design support and artistic services. Develops and designs two dimensional or photographic images for use in a variety of internal and external communication materials or for web pages in a positive, creative manner using computer software, computer programming skills, digital photography, or other media. Advises internal customers on graphic design options and makes recommendations to meet desired outcomes within budgetary and deadline constraints. Starting pay is based on experience and qualifications. This is a part-time position not to exceed 29 hours per week. This position is not eligible for insurance benefits. This posting will remain open until a sufficient number of qualified applicants are received. Essential & Ancillary Job Duties Essential Job Duties Work with the Department to provide graphic design and marketing materials for addressing issues and promoting programs, services, or events. Provide artistic direction for internal and external communication materials including brochures, newsletters, displays, presentations, advertisements, logos, and other materials. Develop and coordinate graphic concepts and conduct research to determine the priority, method, and materials to be used; prepare preliminary layouts and conceptual schematic studies related to departmental goals. Provide graphic design support for the Department's web site and social media sites, which can include assisting with design of site styles, page layouts, information architecture, navigation schema, online graphics, advertisements, multimedia, and related materials. Collaborate with web team and internal customers in developing site designs. Develop custom text and graphic content and adapt existing content to a web-friendly format. Create graphics, page layouts, and design templates for City websites in order to enhance and maintain the City's web presence and online marketing efforts. Schedules social media posts. Photograph City events and members in a positive, creative manner for city, local, state, and regional publications. Perform all aspects of photographic production from initial concept through final production. Assign and direct volunteers to help photograph events; coordinate and schedule photo shoots. Stay current with new algorithms added to social media sites in order to increase the impact of each social media post. Ancillary Job Duties Relieve superiors of routine administrative tasks. Performs other duties as deemed necessary or assigned. Job Qualifications & Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Job Qualifications Education, experience and training that are required or desirable in order to effectively perform the job at the time of hire. An equivalent combination of education, training and experience will be considered. Additional requirements and/or substitutions may be requested and require the approval of HR. Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Graphic Design, Graphic Art, Web Page Design, Marketing, or a related field desired. Minimum of one year of related, professional experience required. Experience with social media marketing is required. Experience in a public sector/government environment is desired. Valid driver's license required. Must have professional presentation skills; experience operating audio/video equipment is desired. Must be highly proficient with Microsoft Office Suite, graphic design software, and web content management applications such as: Adobe Creative Suite, Photoshop, Illustrator, ImageReady, InDesign, Acrobat Pro, Macromedia Flash, Fireworks, Dreamweaver, HTML, XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities May be representative, but not all-inclusive, of those knowledge, skills and abilities commonly associated with this position. Knowledge of the principles and practices of marketing, photography, graphic, and web design. Knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat Pro. Must be proficient in use of basic business software (word processing, spreadsheets, email, presentations) and basic office equipment. Knowledge of artistic principles, graphic design industry standards, and print production processes in order to manage all aspects of print production in the development of communication materials. Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing. Ability to effectively organize and prioritize work as well as concentrate on multiple tasks simultaneously. Regular attendance is a necessary and essential job duty. Work Environment & Physical Abilities Education, experience and training that are required or desirable in order to effectively perform the job at the time of hire. An equivalent combination of education, training and experience will be considered. Additional requirements and/or substitutions may be requested and require the approval of HR.May be representative, but not all-inclusive, of those knowledge, skills and abilities commonly associated with this position. Work Environment Environmental or atmospheric conditions commonly associated with the performance of the duties of this job. Indoor and outdoor work environment. Occasionally required to work in inclement weather conditions, rain, and heat. Occasionally required to work around hazardous traffic conditions during events Exposed to moderate noise levels. Physical Abilities The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential duties of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential duties. Must be able to sit for extended periods of time. Must be able to stand and walk occasionally. Must be able to speak and hear clearly. Must be able to perform repetitive wrist, hand, and/or finger movement. Must have finger dexterity and hand-eye coordination. Must be able to lift up to 30 pounds. Must have clarity of vision and the ability to adjust focus. Agency: City of Wentzville Address: 1001 Schroeder Creek Blvd, Wentzville, Missouri, 63385 Phone: 636-639-2190, 636-639-2007 Website: http://www.wentzvillemo.org The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential duties of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential duties.The City of Wentzville is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The City does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, or any other legally protected status. The City of Wentzville makes every effort to fully comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer. The City of Wentzville is a drug and alcohol free work place. A pre-employment drug screen is required for all positions. The City of Wentzville participates in E-Verify. recblid 1l70thhjkilb92jld3w4t5pz0kvlu4 Requirements None Della A. (Kinkade) McGuire, 85, passed away at 12:15 a.m. on Thursday, June 10th, 2021 at the Presbyterian Manor in Parsons, KS, where she had lived for almost three years. On July 28, 1953, Della married Max E. McGuire. He preceded her in death on January 21, 1999. Della is survived by her Signs set up along Garrison Avenue in Carthages Central Park announce that the Carthage Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Business Expo and Home Show at the park instead of the usual auditorium, and to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Also new this year will be a job fair. GLOBE | JOHN HACKER Sales Operations Specialist Company Profile Benjamin Moore is proud to be a part of Berkshire Hathaway, which was recognized by Fortune magazine as the world's fourth most admired company. And for more than 135 years we've been a respected leader in the architectural coatings and home decor landscape; creating the products and tools that enrich and beautify thousands of communities each day. We recognize that our associates are the driving force behind our success and we strive to provide a work environment where hard work, creativity and purposeful collaboration are fostered and encouraged. Join a company where innovation is constantly recognized as we look for individuals who produce world-class products, best-in-class services and customer experiences, design pioneering paints using the latest technologies and deliver unparalleled value and brand experiences for our customers and retail network. Job Summary: This is a great opportunity to work in sales operations providing support to our Field Sales team, retailers, and end-users. The Sales Operations Specialist will work with cross-functional teams to support the National Account systems & processes throughout North America. Key Responsibilities: Assist with the day-to-day operational duties to support a team of Strategic National Account Managers i.e. Account set-up & review, credit applications, on-boarding, customer calls Work collaboratively with Customer Service, Pricing and Credit Departments to maintain smooth order, pricing, and billing processes Create, modify, and oversee program reports, as well as execute ad hoc program reports in response to business requests Communicate internally and externally with clients, vendors, and other teams related to program support issues Participate in onboarding to help drive system engagement & user adoption Identify, recommend, and implement process/program improvements for the National Account Program Assist and attend trade shows & sales meetings as needed Complete administrative duties as necessary Required Skills & Desired Experience: Preferred experience with SAP, Hybris, Hybris (Back Office) & the Retailer Gateway (B2B/B2C) 1-3 years experience in a B2B sales environment or program management role Ability to establish effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders Full working knowledge of MS Office and Smartsheet Preferred experience working with a CRM Proactive problem solver with the ability to anticipate and overcome challenges through creative thinking and strong collaboration Ability to convey a positive attitude through various lines of communication Strong ability to prioritize multiple tasks & detail oriented College degree or equivalent industry business experience a plus Company Profile The color of pride: Benjamin Moore is proud to be a part of Berkshire Hathaway, which was recognized by Fortune magazine as the world's fourth most admired company. And for more than 130 years we've been a respected leader in the architectural coatings and home decor landscape; creating the products and tools that enrich and beautify thousands of communities each day. We recognize that our associates are the driving force behind our success and we strive to provide a work environment where hard work, creativity and purposeful collaboration are fostered and encouraged. Join a company where innovation is constantly recognized as we look for individuals who produce world-class products, best-in-class services and customer experiences, design pioneering paints using the latest technologies and deliver unparalleled value and brand experiences for our customers and retail network. Safety At Benjamin Moore, our people are the heart of the company and our number one asset. We are committed to providing safe working conditions at all of our locations and have invested heavily in measures aimed at keeping employees healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. With safety as one of our core company values, weve modified facilities and work schedules to support social distancing, established enhanced cleaning and sanitization protocols, and regularly provide personal protective equipment to all employeesincluding masks, gloves and hand sanitizer. Ensuring the well-being of our team members is a top priority. BIRTH CERTIFICATE LAW WHEN: Goes into effect July 1. WHAT: Adult adoptees, their children, and their grandchildren will be able to access copies of their original birth certificates through their municipalities. WHY: Under the previous law, access was limited to those whose adoptions were finalized on or before Oct. 1, 1983. WHO: Sen. Stephen T. Cassano, D-Manchester, has been pushing for the legislation for the previous five years. Rep. Thomas Delnicki, R-South Windsor, who was adopted by his maternal grandparents, said the issue is one of civil rights. Town Reporter Adam joined the JI in November 2020. He graduated in 2019 from the University of Connecticut. He enjoys reading, playing soccer and basketball, as well as piano and drums. He is a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates. The CPA credential can open a door to diverse opportunities, even beyond the traditional career paths in tax, audit, or financial reporting. Some CPAs have shifted their careers to work with regulatory agencies such as the PCAOB, the SEC, or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), where the emphasis on financial analysis makes them natural professional destinations for CPAs. Regulatory agencies are popular employers for CPAs looking to use their analytical ability and financial know-how to ensure the integrity of financial reporting and auditing, protect consumers and investors, and maintain the fairness of financial markets. For CPAs looking to make a difference, upholding accounting standards by working as a regulator can prove a rewarding career option. Getting your foot in the door Job openings at regulatory agencies are competitive. Cultivating the following skills and experiences can help set CPAs apart from the rest of the applicant pool: Get audit experience. Denise Muschett Wray, CPA, began her career as an auditor for KPMG Jamaica and Watson Rice LLP. She later joined Deloitte, where she audited private equity companies such as KKR & Co. and The Blackstone Group. She also worked on a project to revamp Deloitte's entire audit content. In 2011, seeking a break from the demands of client service, Muschett Wray applied for an inspections role with the PCAOB. She was offered a position with the Office of the Chief Auditor. "I believe my experience as an auditor, especially my extensive audit content work at Deloitte, was my ticket to my role at the PCAOB," she said. Jason Williams, CPA, also credits his audit experience with landing him a job at the PCAOB. When the bank in Jamaica where Williams worked met financial difficulties, he accepted an audit role with PwC, then joined accounting research firm Glass Lewis & Co. When his department was eliminated during the financial crisis that started in 2008, Williams joined one of Glass Lewis's clients the PCAOB. "My audit work provided me the accounting foundation I needed to succeed at the PCAOB," said Williams, who now runs his own accounting analysis firm. "Auditing work is the best background a prospective PCAOB employee can attain." Joy Sy, CPA, a supervising project manager at FASB, credits her breadth of experience with landing her a role at FASB. Sy also started in audit; she worked at Deloitte as an auditor before moving to an accounting policy role with a global investment bank. After implementing accounting standards, she transitioned to an advisory role at Ernst & Young before she was recruited by FASB. "My hybrid accounting experience taught me the language of business and the financial reporting supply chain," said Sy. "It helped me land my job at FASB." Learn to communicate orally and on paper. Kimberly Earle, CPA, was working as an auditor with EY when she answered an ad in the JofA and shifted to a job in the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance. There, she reviewed disclosure documents, wrote reports, and conducted site visits. Earle, who recently retired from the SEC after a 28-year career, quickly found that the ability to communicate effectively was key to succeeding there. "Strong writing skills are essential," said Earle. "CPAs at the SEC need to be able to accurately relay very complex information to team members." She was required to regularly collaborate with SEC attorneys and other enforcement professionals as part of her responsibilities, which required clear communication, she said. Williams also stressed the importance of written and verbal communication skills. At the PCAOB, he worked at the Office of Research and Analysis, conducting accounting risk analyses of public companies. He was tasked with presenting his findings to the inspections division. "My reports had to be very detailed and airtight," Williams said. "The inspectors used this information to decide which companies to investigate, so the stakes were quite high." Sy advised that CPAs should be comfortable working in a highly collaborative environment. "We speak with many stakeholders, be they Big Four accounting firms, investment analysts, regulatory agencies, or other standard setting organizations," she said. "To be successful, it is imperative that CPAs nurture their ability to work creatively as a team." Demonstrate passion. Earle often served as a mentor to SEC interns and advised that the SEC looks for employees who display plenty of energy and enthusiasm. "We like to hire people who have a real passion for public service," she said. N. Tien Pham, CPA, interned at the SEC before going to work as a regulatory analyst for FINRA, a self-regulatory organization that establishes and enforces rules and industry standards for broker-dealers. Her career path was motivated by wanting to make a difference: She joined FINRA following the multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Bernie Madoff. According to Pham, FINRA looks to hire people committed to the investor protection mission. "The best employees in this field are those who find this type of work meaningful," she said. Pham, who now works as a data privacy consultant and adjunct professor of fraud detection and deterrence, found meaning in the level of responsibility her work with FINRA carried. "My job was to prevent financial fraud and market manipulation," she said. "It's a big responsibility but protecting the vulnerable from losing their hard-earned life savings in a trading fraud scheme is a very rewarding occupation." Sy, too, finds her job at FASB rewarding and engaging. "While every day is unique, we have a strong focus on our mission" she reported. She spoke to the variety of tasks her role entails, including conducting interviews and roundtables, researching legacy accounting standards, and reviewing financial statements of publicly traded companies. "My role directly contributes to the financial information provided to the capital markets," Sy said. "It is an honor to be part of the standard setting process and accounting history." 'No two days were the same' "The best part of the job was the variety of the work," Earle said about her time at the SEC. "No two days were the same." Earle recalled reviewing blank-check shell companies, conducting risk assessments, and mentoring young professionals. Williams echoed the sentiment. "My work at the PCAOB was really quite interesting," he reported. In addition to conducting deep-dive analyses of various companies, he wrote reports on macro themes like Chinese reverse mergers in the United States and also conducted a couple of inspections each year. Williams emphasized the importance of developing an extensive understanding of his research subjects. Inspectors often challenged his conclusions, so he had to ensure that his technical accounting and analysis skills remained sharp. This was the part of the job Williams liked best. "I really enjoyed delving into companies' financial statements and developing a thorough understanding of their operations," he said. He likened the role to working as an analyst on Wall Street. Muschett Wray, who now works as an accounting consultant in private industry, appreciated the deep regulatory analysis that her role at the PCAOB entailed. "I relished taking the engine apart, if you will," she said. She found this aspect of the work resonated with her nature as an evidenced-based problem-solver. "I am a strong believer in the power of a well-designed regulatory framework for sustained quality, fairness, efficiency, and effectiveness, and diving under the hood of audit practice helped to build that framework." Earle, for her part, appreciated the level of responsibility that came with her role at the SEC right off the bat. She contrasted it with working at a public accounting firm, where associates are assigned pieces of a project while the bulk of the responsibility lies with the partner. "At the SEC, I enjoyed having opportunities to take the ball and run with it." Visit the Global Career Hub from AICPA & CIMA for help with finding a job or recruiting. Joshua Wiesenfeld, CPA, is a financial investigator at Labaton Sucharow LLP. To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Chris Baysden, a JofA associate director, at Chris.Baysden@aicpa-cima.com. Since it has started its public sessions in September 2019, the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission (TRNUC) in Seychelles has had the task of determining the validity of some of the complaints presented to them in relation to the 1977 coup detat and various human rights violations under the 1977-1992 one-party system. So far the TRNUC has managed to plough through the 499 complaints that have been submitted to it before the deadline of 9 February 2020. It has determined that 379 were prima facie admissible and 40 inadmissible. 34 cases have been retracted by complainants while 46 cases are awaiting admissibility determinations due to the complainants having failed to provide sufficient information for that determination to be made. The number of cases may seem insignificant when compared to the caseload of other such commissions, but the Seychelles population stands at less than a 100,000 people today, and was only 60,000 in 1977 when France-Albert Rene took power through a coup and imposed a one-party system. Last April, the TRNUC resumed its public hearings after halting them for three months because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year it already had to take a three- month break as a result of health restrictions imposed on most of the institutions in the small island state to help contain the spread of the coronavirus. These delays are hampering the efforts of the Commission to complete its work within its three-year mandate. But another uncertainty relates to how the complainants will be paid compensations for the wrongs they have suffered. Locked-up for anti-government propaganda On May 21, Joseph Leon was called as a witness in the Andre Barallon case, where arrests were made in 1985 for the publication and distribution of anti-government leaflets. Leon has been living in exile in the United Kingdom since his hasty exit from the country in the mid-1980s. Back then, like Barallon, he had been one of the men involved in the distribution of the said leaflets. He explained that when they saw a police and army roadblock from a distance they hurriedly dumped all the incriminating publication. When the officers searched their vehicles, they found nothing. What I know is that the papers that we threw around in the Anse Aux Pins area had pictures of Albert Rene with his bottom half being drawn as a mermaid and they were against the government, but I later found out that an officer had seen us dump the evidence, he said. Leon testified that although law enforcement officers did not catch them with the leaflets, all six men involved were then arrested and locked up at the army camps at Pointe Larue later transferred to the prison facilities on Ile Longue. Ile Longue was hard, we were given food that sometimes had slugs in them in addition to our privileges to going out in the sun also being taken, the witness explained via Skype. Fifteen days after his release, Leon landed at Londons Gatwick airport, dressed in summer clothes in the middle of winter. I am happy to be giving evidence before you today, not really for compensation, but [because] I feel I should clear the air about what really happened to us back then, Leon concluded. People should be made to pay! Leon may have shown some magnanimity. But other complainants have different expectations. Jimmy Tirant said he had served as an army officer between 1989 to 1993, but was later victimised due to his political beliefs as a Democratic Party supporter. His tale is one of numerous detentions in cells on Mahe, the main island of the Seychelles archipelago. On May 18 Tirant told the Commission he had been tortured at the Grand Police facility a facility that has been described as an unofficial prison where people were taken to be detained and tortured by soldiers. Tirant said he had been pulled up and down an avocado tree by his handcuff. It was around six when they tied my feet to the avocado tree. Mirabeau took a hose and hit me hard, three times under my feet. They beat me as from 6pm to 6.45pm. I was there from Saturday and I was released on Monday. At Grand Police, if someone was being beaten, its almost like ants and sugar, the person is not visible but the army is on them like ants, Tirant testified. I am happy that the Seychellois people are finally seeing the previous regime for what it really was, and I believe these people should be made to pay! They cannot go around thinking that they can do what they want to people and get away with it, Tirant concluded. McIntyre calls for a government trust fund for victims It was not clear on how Tirant wanted to be compensated, but it is clear to the Commission that most of its complainants want reparations for the human rights violations they suffered, explained the TRNUC chairperson, Australian international lawyer Gabrielle McIntyre in a written statement to Justice Info. It is not the role of the Commission to do any more than make recommendations to the government on reparations, which it considers should be awarded in its final report. In that respect, it is not the mandate of the Commission to ensure that reparations can be awarded to complainants. That is the responsibility of the government of Seychelles should it agree to implement any or all of the recommendations made by the Commission, she continued. The Commission nonetheless believes that the implementation of the Commissions recommendations on reparations to victims is an important part of the reconciliation process. This is even the more so in a context where the Commission is mandated to grant amnesty to perpetrators following a full and frank disclosure of their involvement in human rights violations and a sincere apology to victims. The Commission anticipates commencing the first of its Amnesty proceedings by July 2021. Given the fact that the Commission is likely to grant amnesty in the near future, it would like to see the government make some commitment now through the establishment of a trust fund and the adoption of measures to generate income for that fund so that victims will be assured that reparations will be made, said MacIntyre. Chad has sent men and material to reinforce the border with the Central African Republic despite agreeing to jointly investigate a CAR attack that left six Chadian soldiers dead, a provincial governor said Thursday. Ive come from the area and we have reinforced our positions with men and material, army general Moussa Haroun Tirgo, governor of southern Chads Eastern Logone province,told AFP. Nothing will be like before, he vowed, noting five of the six dead had been kidnapped and executed. The military have strengthened the security arrangements on the border, confirmed Julien Tawonya, mayor of Bitoye town where the attack occurred. The bodies of the executed soldiers have not been moved, and are still in CAR, he said. Chad has blamed the CAR army for Sundays attack, which it labelled a war crime that would not go unpunished. CAR has put the blame on rebels it said its forces had been pursuing. Tensions appeared to have eased after the two countries foreign ministers met Tuesday. The two parties underlined the urgency of clarifying the circumstances in which this attack took place and agreed to set up an independent international commission of inquiry. They also agreed to work together to strengthen security along the border. The inquiry was to involve the United Nations, the African Union and the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC). The CEEAC holds a summit in Brazzaville on Friday focusing on Chad where Mahamat Idriss Deby has taken over from his president father who died fighting rebels after 30 years in power. The border incident has placed the spotlight on the occasionally fraught relations between Chad ruled by a junta that took power just weeks ago and the CAR, an unstable country battling powerful armed groups. CAR regularly accuses its northern neighbour of supporting armed rebel groups from inside Chad. After Donald Trump took office for four years, American companies looking forward to new approaches to international trade policy asked the Biden administration a question: What will happen to the tariffs he imposed on China? The unbalanced trade balance with China, the largest source of U.S. imports, has become a fixed factor in Donald Trumps trade policy. He imposed tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese goods including clothes, shoes and food, which disappointed the business groups that had supported him in tax cuts and deregulation. However, under Joe Bidens leadership, most of the tariffs still exist, and some American business groups have become anxious. Jon Gold, vice president of the National Retail Federation, said: Our new government has been in office for five months, and we still dont know what Chinas trade policy is. This has had a significant impact on the company. Many companies are trying to survive Covid and bear the burden of additional tariffs. Although Biden cooperates with allies against China, his overall policy toward Beijing is closer to Trumps approach than experts expected. At the same time, the cost of tariffs imposed by the United States on companies purchasing from China has increased. A mechanism that allows companies to apply to exclude the so-called Section 301 tariffs imposed on Chinese imports expired at the end of last year and has not yet been restored. The Office of the United States Trade Representative has never publicly made any detailed rulings on Chinas performance. .. We should listen to whether China is still worthy of love More than 3,500 US companies, including Coca-Cola, Disney and Ford, and smaller US manufacturers filed lawsuits over the Trump administrations tariffs against China, setting a record for the number of lawsuits filed in the US Court of International Trade. new York. The hearing is scheduled to be held this year. Tariffs are very unpopular among American consumers and companies that bear the cost, said Doug Barry, a spokesman for the US-China Business Council, a trade agency. Many tariffs still exist, but there is no indication when or if they will be removed. So far, the Biden administration has avoided the issue of tariffs, saying that it is conducting a top-down review of tariffs. China Trade PolicyThe White House stated that addressing forced labor, promoting workers rights, and protecting the environment are its top trade priorities. Politically, the rush to remove tariffs may prove to be risky before the mid-term congressional elections in 2022, when any signs of weakness towards China may weaken the Democratic Partys strength in the ballot box. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai (Katherine Tai) is facing pressure from Chinas trade policy.The chief trade negotiator of the Biden administration started diplomatic calls with foreign counterparts immediately after joining the White House in March, but she did not Talk to China Until last week. American lawmakers have repeatedly questioned Taian about Chinas tariffs on the grounds that they have caused damage to local industries. The senators tried to restore the exclusion process and allow some Chinese imports to avoid punitive additional tariffs. Respected When Trump hit his The first stageA trade agreement in which Beijing promised to buy US$200 billion in goods and services from the United States within two years through 2021. So far, the Biden administration has hardly stated its views on Chinas compliance with the agreement, nor has it hinted whether this will happen. Do. Plan to start the second phase negotiation. Scott Kennedy, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said: The Office of the United States Trade Representative has never publicly made any detailed rulings on Chinas performance. This should be evaluated regularly We should know whether China is. Still worthy of love. Dai said in the statement that her goal is to promote a worker-centered trade policy. The government recently took action against a Chinese fishing fleet that allegedly used forced labor on its vessels to prevent the import of tuna and swordfish from the company. A former government official with ties to the American business community said: Within the government, their discussions on human rights and labor rights seem to be much more advanced than those on the economic and commercial agenda. It is increasingly felt that these experienced people dont know how to deal with China. Although they are frustrated with Trump, they did not make a plan when they took office. They just spent a lot of money domestically to improve their competitiveness. And now I just want to buy time through countless internal reviews and research, the person said. Low wages, 24-hour shifts, and severe shortages of staff and protective equipment have put many doctors on the frontline of the brutal epidemic in India on the verge of collapse and fear for their lives. Since the beginning of April, in this vast South Asian country (which has some of the most densely populated cities in the world), the coronavirus infection has caused at least 165,000 deaths. Although Indias recent COVID-19 surge has recently eased, about 3,000 people still die every day, and the chronically underfunded healthcare system is still under tremendous pressure. Radha Jain, a doctor in the capital of New Delhi, told AFP: We are overworked, stressed and very scared. The Indian Medical Association stated that since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 1,200 doctors have died of COVID-19, including more than 500 doctors in the past two months. Deependra Garg, a doctor working on the outskirts of New Delhi, knows directly how dire the situation has become. His 48-year-old wife, Anubha, is also a doctor herself, and she contracted COVID-19 in April. They started receiving treatment at home, but as her condition worsened, he, like many other families, had difficulty finding a bed. He finally found one near 200 kilometers (120 miles) from their home. But Anuba, who was fully vaccinated, died within two weeks, leaving behind their 12-year-old daughter. We are on the front line 24/7. We are facing a large number of viruses, but we must continue to overcome all difficulties because we have chosen this career, Gag said. We have no choice. Insufficient funds and excessive strain The pandemic has exposed the structural weaknesses of Indias healthcare system, especially in state-run hospitals with outdated equipment. As the latest outbreak spreads, there have been reports from understaffed hospitals that patients are lying on the floor and sharing beds in crowded wards because family members protected only by cotton masks are taking care of their loved ones. A doctor helps a coronavirus patient with black fungus, a rare fungal infection, in a hospital in Jabalpur, India [File: Uma Shankar Mishra/AFP] Government spending on health care is less than 2% of the gross domestic product (GDP), one of the lowest rates in the world. According to data from the World Bank, there were only 0.8 doctors per 1,000 people in India in 2017-about the same level as in Iraq. The two other countries hardest hit by the coronavirus, Brazil and the United States, were 2.2 and 2.6, respectively. A report by the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy in the United States before the pandemic estimated that India would need to add another 600,000 doctors and 2 million nurses to meet its healthcare needs. Dr. Shekhar Kumar, who works in a private hospital in northern Uttar Pradesh, said that junior staff and medical students in the last year sometimes have to work in 24-hour shifts. Compared with last year, this time the patient needs a longer hospital stay, which increases the burden on the staff, Kumar said. He added that when their colleagues contracted the virus, they were even more nervous. In Ahmedabad, India, a doctor takes care of a patient in an ambulance waiting to enter a COVID-19 hospital [File: Amit Dave/Reuters] The doctors said that due to insufficient supplies of drugs and oxygen, they were forced to choose which patients to save first, which brought them trauma. Ravikant Singh, the founder of the charity that helped build the COVID-19 field hospital, said he had trouble sleeping at night. This is a life-changing situation for doctors, Singh told AFP. The worst thing isWe cannot save many lives due to lack of oxygen. Even after completing their punitive shifts, the doctors said they were worried about infecting family members at home. Kumar said that he will continue to think about how the virus lurks anywhere. If doctors cant save their (own) life, how will they save the lives of others? he said. After decades of exploring other worlds, NASA is returning to the hottest Venus, our nearest but perhaps most overlooked neighbor. The new director of the space agency, Bill Nelson, announced two new robotic missions to the hottest planets in the solar system in his first important speech to employees on Wednesday. Both sister missions are aimed at understanding how Venus became a hellish world capable of melting lead on the surface, Nelson said. A mission called DaVinci Plus will analyze the thick, cloudy atmosphere of Venus to determine whether the planet has ever had an ocean and may be habitable. A small spacecraft will pass through the atmosphere to measure gas. This will be the first Venus atmospheric mission led by the United States since 1978. Another mission called Veritas will search for geological history by mapping the surfaces of rocky planets. Amazing amount of learning NASA scientist Tom Wagner said in a statement: Its shocking that we dont know much about Venus, but the new mission will provide a new perspective on the atmosphere of Venus, which is mainly composed of carbon dioxide. To the core. Its as if we rediscovered this planet. NASAs top scientific officer Thomas Zurbuchen called it the new decade of Venus. Each missionlaunched sometime between 2028 and 2030will receive $500 million for the development of NASAs exploration program. These missions defeated two other proposed projects, namely Jupiters moon Io and Neptunes ice moon Triton. The United States and the former Soviet Union launched multiple spacecraft to Venus in the early days of space exploration. NASAs Mariner 2 successfully flew for the first time in 1962, and the Soviet Unions Venus 7 successfully landed for the first time in 1970. In 1989, NASA used the space shuttle to send its Magellan spacecraft into orbit around Venus. The European Space Agency placed a spacecraft around Venus in 2006. The police raided the home of journalist and potential presidential candidate Christiana Chamorro on money laundering charges. Nicaragua The police raided the home of opposition leader and potential presidential candidate Christiana Chamorro, escalating a political battle before the election later this year. Her brother, Carlos Fernando Chamorro, head of the independent news media Confidencial, confirmed the raid on Twitter on Wednesday and said his sister had been ordered to be detained. Social media and local TV stations broadcast live images of police entering and surrounding Chamorros home in the capital Managua. You can see the police using force to expel reporters who came to report on the scene. Earlier this week, Nicaraguan prosecutors demanded that Chamorro be arrested for money laundering and other crimes, including fewer references to false statements. The 67-year-old journalist does not belong to any political party and was considered a serious challenger to President Daniel Ortega in the November presidential election, although he has not yet confirmed that he will seek a fourth term. The Nicaraguan police took the reporter from the entrance to the residence of the opposition leader Christiana Chamorro in Managua, Nicaragua [Carlos Herrera/Reuters] A statement from the judicial authorities stated that a judge in the capital Managua issued an arrest warrant at the request of the Minister of Justice. Due to the criminal investigation of Chamorro, the Attorney General also formally requested that Chamorro be disqualified from holding public office on Tuesday. Chamorro denied these allegations, calling them a farce aimed at preventing her from running for president. Reuters could not immediately reach Chamorro and her representatives for comment. Most of the Oppose Al Jazeeras Lucia Newman reported in Santiago, Chile after the police raid that he believed it was a way to try to eliminate all the most prominent opposition leaders before this years presidential election. Newman said: She will be the third imprisoned presidential candidate, he added, The two opposition parties have now been declared illegal. Efforts to disqualify Chamorro people for election have been criticized by the United States, the Organization of American States (OAS) and other organizations. The Organization of American States stated in a statement on Wednesday that systematic and repeated violations of the rule of law and fundamental freedoms are an attack on democracy. Statement by the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States on requesting the disqualification of Nicaragua Cristiana Chamorrohttps://t.co/l8Aj7MNt1v pic.twitter.com/dUBTdFjj1g -Organization of American States (@OAS_official) June 2 2021 US Secretary of State Anthony Brinken also stated on Twitter that preventing the Chamorro from participating in the election reflects Ortegas fear of free and fair elections. The head of UN human rights has accused the Attorney Generals office of fabricating false accusations against Ortegas critics. The Chamorro has recently become a potential solidarity candidate, and he may be able to unite the divided opposition in the November 7 vote to defeat Ortega. On Tuesday, she announced that she would seek nomination from the opposition. She is the daughter of Violeta Chamorro, who became President of Nicaragua in the 1990 elections and ousted him after Ortega took power for the first time. Air passengers entering Canada who refuse to be quarantined at designated hotels will soon be fined $5,000. Federal government Already announced Beginning Friday, international airline passengers who refuse to be tested for COVID-19 when they arrive in Canada or refuse to stay in quarantined hotels may be fined $5,000 for each violation an increase of $2,000 from the current fine. February 22, The government says Air passengers entering Canada must undergo a COVID-19 test upon arrival and be quarantined at a government-approved hotel for up to three days to wait for their test results. Passengers must pay for their accommodation, which can cost as much as $2,000. The fines are increased as follows Report of the Government Advisory Group released last week It said that Ottawa should cancel the hotel quarantine requirement and let people arrange quarantine by themselves. The team stated that the hotel quarantine was flawed for a variety of reasons, including some travelers choosing to pay the current fine of up to US$3,000. Between April 14 and May 24, more than 1,000 travelers were fined for refusing to go to the quarantined hotel. Another 134 people were fined for refusing to be tested for COVID-19 on arrival. According to the government. Watch | The expert group recommends the cancellation of hotel quarantine: A new report says the federal government should end its policy of compulsory isolation of air passengers returning to Canada for three days in designated facilities to support people in developing their own isolation plans. 4:16 go home directly But the increased fines may not prevent some people from violating hotel quarantine requirements, depending on their determination or where they landed. Kent Saunders, a dual citizen of Canada and the United States living in Las Vegas, flew to Vancouver in April and said he notified a health officer at the airport that he would go directly to a friends house Isolate. The official issued a fine to him at a price of US$3,450 (US$3,000 plus additional fees). Sanders told CBC News that he had no intention of paying the fine. You took $3,450 from me? You are dreaming, he said. In addition, Ottawa has not shown any signs that any international passengers arriving in Calgary have been fined. During the epidemic, international flights to Canada can only land at airports in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. Last month, Calgary police told CBC News that Alberta has never adopted a federal Violation of the law Allow the police to issue tickets to people for federal violations If someone makes a complaint, the Calgary Police can only investigate the person who refuses to be isolated at the hotel. Snowbird Allen Prout in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. After returning to Canada, Prout refused to quarantine in the hotel and said that he had not yet received a fine. (Submitted by Alan Prout) Alan Prout, who flew from Puerto Vallarta to Calgarys Yorkton, Sask, on April 26, said he refused to be isolated at the hotel and has not yet received a fine. Im very happy, he said. I mean, if I am fined, I will be very sad. Prout said he refused to stay in an isolated hotel because he felt safer to be isolated at home than in a busy hotel. Go straight home and isolate yourself. The current hotel quarantine restrictions will expire on June 21, but the government has not yet indicated whether it will follow the advice of the advisory group and cancel the requirement. American student Paxton Smith canceled the graduation speech approved by her school administrators and instead issued a call for abortion rights in a message that went viral on social media. Smith is the 2021 farewell speaker at Lake Heights High School in Texas, USA. He presented to school officials a speech on the influence of the media on the thinking of young people. However, when she spoke at the graduation ceremony on Sunday, she talked about her so-called body and the power battle of other girls and women in a heartbeat way. Bill, signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott at the end of last month. When there is a war between my body and my rights, I cannot give up this platform to promote complacency and peace. A war on the rights of your mother, a war on the rights of your sisters, a war on the rights of your daughters. We cant. Keep silent, she told her class. The new law prohibits any abortion being detected after the first heartbeat, but there are no exceptions. This may appear as early as six weeks after conception, when many women may not know that they are pregnant. The law also allows anyone to sue abortion providers in Texas or anyone who helps abortions for up to $10,000. The law will go into effect on September 1, but Federal Court Mainly to prevent states from implementing similar measures. Abortion rights advocates are expected to challenge the law, arguing that the measure is actually a total ban on abortion. Abortion rights activists rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. [File: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters] I have dreams, hopes and ambitions, and every girl who graduates today has them, Smith said. We have been working for our future all our lives. Without our input and our consent, our control over the future will be deprived. Although the bill provides for exceptions to medical emergencies, it does not exempt pregnancy caused by rape or incest. I am afraid. If my contraceptive measures fail, I am afraid that if I am raped, then my hopes, wishes, dreams and efforts for the future will no longer be important, Smith said. I hope you can feel how painful it is, she said, I hope you can feel how dehumanizing it is to be deprived of your bodys autonomy. Paxton, thank you for your courage to hold firm beliefs and to inspire Texas with your refusal to accept injustice as the price of participating in civic life. May we all use our position in this democratic country to fight for what we think is right, and follow your example! https://t.co/PS3ZR80Gl7 -BetoORourke (@BetoORourke) June 2, 2021 Smith, who plans to study music business at the University of Texas at Austin, said on Wednesday that she had submitted her original speech to school officials and was trying to complete a year-end project in the schools music room. Decided to cancel that speech. I cant focus on this project. My mind has been wandering about the heartbeat bill and its meaning. So, I started to take some notes, she told the Associated Press. Smith said she wanted her microphone to be cut off or her diploma withheld-neither happened. She also said that she was shocked by the response to the information. I thought it would die there, she said. But she saw the audience burst into tears halfway through the speech. This requires courage. Thank you for not keeping silent, Paxton. https://t.co/DlwEgmMRGN -Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 2, 2021 In the following days, her video posted on social media and widely reposted won praise from comedian Sarah Silverman and former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton , The latter wrote on Twitter: This is so courageous. Thank you for not keeping silent, Paxton. Former Congressman Beto ORourke from Texas wrote on Twitter: Paxton, thank you for bravely holding on to your beliefs and for encouraging you to refuse to accept injustice as the price of participating in civic life. Texas. The Richardson Independent School District, where Highland Lake is located, is less enthusiastic. In a statement, it stated that it will review student speech agreements before next years graduation ceremony. The information content of each student speaker is the private and voluntary expression of an individual student and does not reflect the endorsement, sponsorship, position or expression of the school district or its staff, it said. Colombo, Sri Lanka For more than a week, daily life on Pamunogama Beach in the western province of Sri Lanka, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the capital Colombo, has not changed. On May 20, after a fire broke out on a chemical cargo ship, Sri Lankan naval officers arrived in protective clothing and began to collect fish-eye-like plastic particles, which washed ashore. After the Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl sank on the west coast of the island nation, the authorities are now preparing to deal with the possibility of an oil spill, the worst man-made environmental disaster in history. On the order of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (Gotabaya Rajapaksa), the rescue team tried to tow the ship out of Sri Lankan waters. But after the ship started sinking on Wednesday afternoon, the crew gave up the task. On Thursday, part of this ship can be seen on the water. This cargo ship carries 1,486 containers, including 25 tons of nitric acid and other hazardous chemicals. Hazardous waste on the beach By Wednesday afternoon, naval officers collected hundreds of bags full of toxic waste from multiple locations along the beach and took them away. Kasun Milinda was severely affected by the decline in fish sales and worried that the oil spill might make the situation worse [Aanya Wipulasena/Al Jazeera] There is a short stretch of beach in front of the 44-year-old Anton Chandanas house. In the beginning, there was a huge pile of these little beads. The pile was even taller than me, Chandana told Al Jazeera as he stood on the beach and watched the smoke rising from the boat on Wednesday morning. At the same time, plastic particles continue to wash up on the beach endlessly. Chandana said that no matter how much was collected and taken away, the beach was again covered in white. The Marine Environmental Protection Agency of Sri Lanka (MEPA) and the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) are analyzing the impact of the shipwreck on the island. When contacted by Al Jazeera, an expert who studied the incident stated that it is too early to draw conclusions. But experts such as Dr. Kamal Ranatunga, a marine ecologist, said that this impact may be multifaceted. This ship contains hazardous chemicals. Their impact may be significant, but it is also short-term. In most cases, the fish eggs in this area may have died, he told Al Jazeera. Fear of oil spills But Rana Tonga said he was worried about a possible oil spill. He said that if this happens, the impact could be long-term and very lasting. We must do our best to recover from the oil spill, he warned. Peliyagoda fish market where COVID-19 broke out last year [Aanya Wipulasena/Al Jazeera] The Sri Lankan Navy and other national agencies, as well as the coast guard of neighboring India, are anticipating this disaster and are taking necessary precautions, including the use of offshore oil booms. The Navy has deployed a nine-man diving team to study the shipwreck. At a press conference on Thursday, Captain Nirmal Silva, the head of the port, said that the authorities believed that most of the oil on board had been burned out. He said that the National Oil Spill Emergency Plan (NOSCOP) and MEPA and other agencies have been on standby in case of an oil spill. Now 36 hours have passed since the ship sank. So far, we have not seen an oil spill, Silva said. Rana Tonga said the disaster will affect the livelihoods of communities living in the area that depend on marine resources, especially fishermen. Residents worried about chemical pollution have reduced fish consumption. According to Douglas Devananda, Sri Lankas Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development, there are approximately 12,000 fishermen and 3,993 people in the area dependent on the fishery trade. We have banned fishing in the area. We plan to study this issue for another 10 days before deciding to end or continue the ban, he said. The government has decided to provide 5,000 Sri Lankan rupees (68 US dollars) in subsidies to members of the affected communities. I dont want to make it worse For fishermen such as 36-year-old WKS Tharanga from Ouattara, Western Province, this tragedy is a double whammy. Tharanga is sitting at his fish stand in Peliyagoda [Aanya Wipulasena/Al Jazeera] Last year, after the outbreak of COVID-19 at the fish market in Peliagorda, one of the countrys main fishing grounds, fish sales across the island declined. Tharanga is the father of two children and used to sell fish at the Peliyagoda market. He said he is still struggling with the low demand for fish. I come here to sell fish at 2 am every day. We even lowered the price, but there are no buyers. If this situation continues, it will be difficult for us to support our family, he said. The 23-year-old Kasun Milinda, another fisherman in the area, has the same story. My entire family is dependent on my fishing income. But we are not allowed to go fishing these days. If this situation continues, I dont know what will happen to us. Milinda said that he hopes that the ship will not have an oil spill because it will make consumers more afraid. Most residents near the coast also worry that they might get sick from the smoke from burning ships. Sometimes when it rains, I can smell plastic burning. Its very scary, Kumari Disanayak, 50, the mother of two children from Pamunugama, told Al Jazeera. She said that she hadnt bought fish for several days. The situation is bad. Plastic is polluting this beach. We dont want the situation to get worse, Dissanayake said. The President of the United States seeks to restore the United States global leadership through a series of summits and diplomacy. The White House announced on Thursday that US President Joe Bidens first overseas visit starting next week will include a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a meeting with Queen Elizabeth. Starting on June 10, Biden plans to travel to Europe to participate in the summits of the Group of Seven, NATO and the European Union. Biden will have a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva on June 16 to conclude his first overseas trip. The White House stated that Biden will meet with Erdogan during the NATO summit in Brussels on June 14. NATO leaders plan to discuss future threats and burden sharing, as well as plans for the United States and NATO troops to withdraw from Afghanistan. According to the White House, Biden and Erdogan are expected to discuss a full range of bilateral and regional issues. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement: This visit will highlight Americas commitment to restoring our alliance, reviving transatlantic relations, and working closely with our allies and multilateral partners to respond to global challenges and better Protect the interests of the United States. After former President Donald Trump withdrew from the world stage and established relations with Trumps estranged European allies, this visit will work in many ways to restore the United States global leadership. The meeting between Biden and Putin was designated by the White House to build a stable and predictable Relations with RussiaDuring his presidency, Biden renewed an important strategic nuclear weapons treaty with Russia and warned Russia against cyber attacks and election interference in a telephone call with Putin on April 13. White House officials are particularly concerned about Russias assembly of combat troops along its border with Ukraine. Biden said that after the attempted poisoning and imprisonment of Russian opposition figures, he will put pressure on Putin on human rights issues. Alexei Navalny. Biden officially admitted in April that the Armenian genocide had caused Exchange harsh words Erdogan, but the United States and Turkey NATO members face a series of overwhelming security challenges in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Turkey has stated that it hopes to establish better relations with Washington under the leadership of Bidens new administration and seeks to end US support for the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Force (YPG). During his stay in Brussels, Biden will attend the US-EU summit on June 15. The leaders of the summit will seek to ensure global health and safety, stimulate global economic recovery, address climate change, strengthen digital and trade cooperation, strengthen democracy, and resolve mutual conflicts. Foreign policy issues, the White House said. While in Brussels, Biden plans to meet with King Philip of Belgium and Prime Minister Alexander De Crowe. Queen Elizabeth of England recently celebrated her 95th birthday [Steve Parsons/Pool via Reuters] Biden will meet with first lady Jill Biden Recently widowed Queen Elizabeth II will pay her respect at Windsor Castle, her royal residence on the outskirts of London, on June 13. Biden will meet with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on June 10 before the G7 summit in Cornwall, England, from June 11th to 13th. The meeting with the Queen will be a summit where Biden will promote continued cooperation in combating the coronavirus pandemic, promoting global economic recovery, and shifting the multilateral agenda of the G7 to address climate change. Russia was excluded from the G7 after annexing Crimea and infiltrating eastern Ukraine with Russian troops in 2014, which prompted the United States and the European Union to impose economic sanctions on Moscow. European countries reacted cautiously American threat US$2 billion in tariffs will be imposed on six countries in response to their new digital tax, which was carried out before Fridays austerity talks on the issue. On Wednesday, Washington increased pressure on other countries by announcing retaliatory taxation, demanding it reach an agreement on a global agreement to tax multinational companies, which was suspended for six months to allow time for an international agreement. Tariffs will target Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom. For the same reason, the United States has imposed but suspended tariffs on France. Meetings between the finance ministers of the Group of Seven in London on Friday and Saturday will determine whether the worlds major economies can reach a consensus on the form of a global corporate tax system. This may affect the ongoing negotiations of the Paris OECD and the G20 meetings this summer and fall. Paris made it clear on Thursday that it will not withdraw its digital tax until the United States agrees and implements a new global tax on multinational companies. We should withdraw [national] A French official said that taxes are levied when there are new taxes to avoid tax interruption. Technology companies benefit from the epidemic. [pandemic] crisis. .. We want to take [their] Excess profits will be shared between the country where the company is located and the country where it operates. The UK has repeatedly insisted that it will not sign any agreement that does not give it the right to tax digital companies in other countries. But officials from the Spanish budget department emphasized common ground with Washington, not the threat of tariffs. The fact that the United States has suspended tariff increases reflects its willingness to reach an agreement on international taxation, the ministry official said. London and Paris, which host the G7 negotiations, worry that the Biden administration will not be able to reach any agreement through Congress that gives other countries the right to tax a portion of the US technology giants global profits. This presents a subtle sequencing challenge for the negotiators: until the new international system is in place, countries are unwilling to withdraw their taxes. The proposed system will create a new right to tax the profits of the largest multinational companies based on their sales locations and set the global minimum effective corporate tax rate to 15%, which will raise a lot of money in the United States. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Wednesday that the imposition of new tariffs and a six-month moratorium would give more time for international tax negotiations to continue and give Washington an opportunity to maintain the option to impose tariffs. If there is a guarantee in the future. A person familiar with the negotiations told the Financial Times that U.S. ambassadors around the world were told to win support for Washingtons plan, and they emphasized that President Biden regarded it as a first issue.The representative of the United States told the opposing countries, This is not a tax issue; this is about our [countries] relationship. The person said that although the deal seems to be about to be concluded, there are still some tensions in the forum where the agreement is formally reached; Britain is strongly pushing to reach an agreement at the G7 summit in Cornwall next week. However, other G7 members, including the United States, Italy, and Japan, are unwilling to further announce their common position, because the G20 is officially responsible for negotiations, and any transaction should not be considered to be resolved by large economies alone. The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors are scheduled to meet in Venice in early July and may approve a global agreement at that time. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire called on the G7 summit to support a global agreement and said that the agreement is at your fingertips. This is a question of fiscal justice and economic efficiency, he said. Reported by Chris Giles in London, Emma Agyemang in Copenhagen, Aime Williams in Washington, Daniel Dombey in Madrid and Victor Mallet in Paris A rapper was destroyed by a breakup the night before alleged suicide. His mother called the police after finding his body. Policemen Confirm Law loading, Dashaun Robertson, Was discovered by a family member with obvious gunshot wounds to the head. Read our Lil Loaded Live Blog Get the latest news and updates 6 Robertson will appear in court one day after his death Image source: Dallas County Sheriffs Department 6 The cause of death of the rapper has been revealed 6 The late rapper was only 20 years old Credit: Instagram/lil_loaded According to reports, when the police arrived at the house, the rappers mother was crying on the front porch after calling the police. TMZ. According to reports, she found her son in the corridor on the second floor. According to reports, his mother also told the police that Loaded was emotional on Sunday night, crying and frustrated at how much he loved his ex-girlfriend. The motive has not been proven, However, the loading friend claimed that he had ended his life After a relationship problem occurs. The 20-year-old Robertson was originally scheduled to appear in court on June 1 to hold a hearing on the death of his best friend, 18-year-old Khalil Walker. Last October 25th, the rapper was arrested on suspicion of murdering Walker with a rifle in Texas. Earlier this year, he was indicted for manslaughter. 6 The death of the rapper shocked those who worked with him Credit: Instagram/lil_loaded 6 The Dallas rapper thanked God for the people in his life who kept him down to earth Credit: lil_loaded/Instagram 6 The rapper uploaded a mysterious message to his Instagram page before he died Image source: Instagram/Lil Loaded However, Robertsons lawyer Ashkan Mehryari stated that he had not seen his clients imminent death. Although a pending accusation as serious as Mr. Robertson may bring great pressure, and it certainly may have contributed to this tragic result, I believe he is in a state of mind regarding the accusation and our upcoming court date, Merry Yari said the statement Dallas News. Before his death, the rapper posted one last message on Instagram, saying that he was ready to join God wholeheartedly. He wrote: Dear Supreme, please forgive my shortcomings, I have not been able to make you proud, and thank you for the blessings in my life (sic). Dallas Rapper Then continue to thank God for all those who made him down to earth and humble in his life. The death of the rapper Rapper Lil Loaded died at the age of 20 after being arrested for shooting by an 18-year-old friend exclusive Pistol puzzle The gun fired by the socialite in the police killing has a safety lever to stop the accident Date of death The policeman was shot to death by a socialite who telled a friend that he was going on a mysterious date exclusive Torture hell American businessman jailed for 47 years on hunger strike in Dubai exclusive Shock Samuel Olsens stepmothers family was arrested after the body was found Troublesome attack The 6-year-old boys stepmother worries about suffocating his father before the child goes missing He said: I request to enter your kingdom through all my mistakes. I know you love all your children, and I am ready to join you wholeheartedly. If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 800-273-TALK (8255) or send an SMS crisis text hotline 741741. A woman in Atlantic City said she was beaten by three people after she asked a child to stop splashing water in a childrens exhibit at the Franklin Institute last month. On May 1, 44-year-old Danielle Vincent and her 4-year-old nephew were visiting a museum for a family outing and said that she had asked a little girl not to splash water in the exhibition. NJ.com report. Then she met a woman she thought was the childs mother, with another woman and a man next to her. She said,How dare you discipline my child,' Vincent says. Then, the man allegedly grabbed Vincent in a bear hug and hit her on the head when two women attacked her. When the police arrived at the scene to report the crime, the attacker had already left the area. No one has been arrested yet, but the Philadelphia police said they are investigating the incident. According to reports, the incident was captured by a security camera in the building. Vincent told NJ.com that she believed she had suffered a concussion. After the incident, she vomited at night, had big bumps on her head, and had pain for at least a week. She said she remembered someone trying to help her, even though most adults tried to get their children away to keep them safe. A spokeswoman for the Franklin Institute said in a statement to PhillyVoice that the museum was aware of a dispute. Public Relations Director Stephanie Santo said: We communicated with the Philadelphia police on the day of the incident and passed them all the details and information related to the situation. This column is the opinion of Peter L. Biro, the founder of the Section1.ca Democracy and Civic Education Advocacy Organization, a member of the Royal Society of Arts and the Honorary Chairman of the Global Jane Goodall Institute.He is a lawyer, business executive and editor Constitutional Democracy under Pressure: The Age of Heroic Citizens. For more information CBCs opinion section, See FAQ. Canada is not yet in the Night of Long KnivesNovember 1981, and Mitch Lake with Charlottetown Respectively in 1987 and 1992.The cause of national unity certainly promotes correcting this historical error Quebec Act 96 Language Act seek Amend the Canadian Constitution, We now have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to correct two constitutional errors at the same time instead of one. We can realize Quebecs desire for French monolingual status and its requirements for the status of nation in the constitution. We can cancel Article 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms at the same time, which is notorious and abominable despite the clause, which was invoked by the Quebec government in Act 96 to protect it from the ensuing The inevitable constitutional challenge. The reason for this grand event in constitutional salvation is that at least one aspect of Bill 96, the Constitutional Amendment to make French Quebec the only official language, requires the consent of the House of Commons and the Senate. There are constitutional scholars, such as Benoit Pelletier of the University of Ottawa, debate Quebec can unilaterally make these constitutional amendments because they only affect Quebec on the surface, and they will not affect other parts of Canada. However, others, such as Bruce Rider of Osgoode Hall School of Law, are stubborn The Constitution clearly stipulates that, in accordance with Article 43 of the Constitution, changing the status of Quebecs French and English requires the consent of the Quebec National Assembly and Parliament. Others insist that the language amendment requires not only the support of the parliament, but also the support of seven provinces that represent at least 50% of the countrys population. As Ryder recently Tell the Globe and MailThis is not just a symbolic gesture. The language rights of English and French concern the entire country. This means that unless Bill 96 is challenged in the Supreme Court of Canada, Pelletiers interpretation of the law will prevail. Otherwise, Quebecs constitutional amendments will be gone without real compromise. Quebec, Canada, is likely to return. There are six other provinces. Watch | Quebec lists new French law: The Quebec government hopes to pass a comprehensive new bill to promote the use of French in the province, which will affect many people, including students, businesses and new immigrants. 2:04 Bill 96 is the second time that the governor of Francois Legault and his government has invoked the despite clause. In 2019, it passed Act No. 21, Act to Respect National Freedom aims to eliminate religious symbols in most public sectors. In Act 96, Quebec is now seeking to add a clause to the Canadian Constitution, stating that Quebec is a country whose official and common language is French. The bill also made major changes to the application of its legal grammar (Act 101) and the application of a wide range of language, workplace, and education policies. In order to protect the legislation from judicial struggles over whether it undermines freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and equal rights, the Quebec government resorted to Article 33 of the Charter. Canadian democracy has always been considered resilient and can well withstand the danger of democratic regression seen by other liberal democracies around the world. However, Article 33 of the Charter is a feature of the Canadian Constitution, which undermines this rather smug assessment and allows Parliament and the legislature to temporarily suspend the implementation of fundamental charter rights and freedoms. Whether our leaders are willing to invoke the albeit clause has aroused concern in liberal constitutional democracies. Although reliance on Article 33 does not violate the rule of law, it poisons the wells of freedom and democracy for free citizens to draw water. It undermines the elegant and well-designed accountability system stipulated in Section 1 of the Charter, which stipulates the restrictions on rights and freedoms of the Parliament and the provinces, but for Section 33, these rights and freedoms are protected and guaranteed. In other words, the constitution already provides a mechanism under which the government can justify the restriction in a way that is consistent with the overall respect for freedom and democracy, and can restrict rights and freedoms. In a truly free and democratic society, we do not require and should not tolerate the use or existence of Article 33, which does not require the government to invoke provable reasons for its application. The despite clause should be repealed. It was the current Prime Minister of Canadait was the prime ministers son who reluctantly accepted the inclusion of Article 33 in the charter in 1981 as the cost of the provincial approval of the entire repatriation planhe should submit the proposal to the Canadian government. Table as a condition for Canadas consent to the constitutional amendment sought in Act 96. However, to date, Justin Trudeau has recklessly participated Uncritical cheerleaders For Quebec law. Watch: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to questions about Quebecs rewrite of the constitution: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with reporters at the regular pandemic briefing on Tuesday. 1:25 Speaking on behalf of Canada, the Prime Minister should call on the Governor Legault to amend Act No. 96 to remove its reliance on the provisions of the despite clause, and insist that any part of Act No. 96 will not pass the Article 1 test in any future court challenges. Modify accordingly or give up completely. This, and Quebecs agreement to completely repeal Article 33, should be the price of Canadas sincere support for Act 96. This will not necessarily undermine or frustrate Quebecs extensive legislative projects that serve its national, cultural and linguistic aspirations. Some legal experts, including Benoit Pelletier, believe that any specific measure in the law does not require the protection of Article 33 in order to survive the constitutional challenge. However, even if the Supreme Court does abolish part of the law in accordance with Section 1, there are good reasons to believe that only moderate adjustments can bring the law into a good position in the constitution without violence against the broad purpose of the initiative. In particular If Canada supports the revised Act No. 96, the premise of the Act is to reach a consensus that the language and national status provisions have survival significance for Quebecs cultural identity and desires. Next, the Prime Minister should develop a two-pronged strategy aimed at generating broad public consensus on the plan in Canada. A strategy that could lead to a national referendum on the repeal of Article 33, and a simultaneous strategy that won the support of the governor, eventually led to the first ministers constitutional convention on the entire amendment. Yes, Quebec, there is no doubt that some other provincial capitals oppose the proposal to repeal Article 33; but the Canadian government has certain bargaining power in this regard. Regardless of whether there are other provinces, Canada can oppose Quebecs unilateral efforts to amend the constitution. The repeal of Article 33 certainly requires the consent of two-thirds of the provinces representing at least 50% of the population of the country. After Charlottetown, a consultative referendum may have to be held before the amendment is submitted to the provincial legislature. But this is a nation-building thing! Therefore, Prime Minister Trudeau can express broad support for Quebecs national and language aspirations, and at the same time initiate the amendment process on Article 33 as part of the effort to update and strengthen the Federation. Quebec needs to join the constitutional family with dignitythat is, in its own way. But, as the Prime Minister should argue, these provisions never have to depend on resorting to constitutional means that would deprive its citizens of the protections provided by the Charter, thereby making Quebec a non-liberal democracy in Canada. Sadly, by eager to show his support for Bill 96 in its current form, without any conditions or conditions, the prime minister has already conflicted his partys upcoming election in Quebec with Canadas national interests. It is not too late to change direction. If he has the courage and determination to lead the country in efforts to strengthen, rather than betray, our freedom, constitutionalism and democracy, he can do both. In just five days last month, China injected 100 million COVID-19 vaccines. After a slow start, it is now doing what almost no other country in the world can do: using its one-party system and mature domestic vaccine industry power and all-encompassing influence to inject injections at an alarming rate. The promotion effort is far from perfect, including uneven distribution, but Chinese public health leaders now say that they hope to vaccinate 80% of the 1.4 billion population by the end of this year. As of Tuesday, China has received more than 680 million doses of vaccinesnearly half in May alone. According to the online research site Our World in Data, the total number of photos in China accounts for about one-third of the 1.9 billion photos in the world. The call for vaccination comes from all corners of society. The company provides injection opportunities to their employees, and the school urges their students and staff, as well as local government staff, to inspect their residents. This pressure not only emphasizes the strength of the system, which makes it possible to even consider vaccinating more than 1 billion people this year, but also emphasizes the risks faced by civil liberties-a problem that the world is paying attention to, but it is particularly serious in China. Because China has almost no protective measures. Communists go to every village and every neighborhood, said Ray Yip, a former director of the Gates Foundation China and a public health expert. This is the harsh part of the system, but it also provides a very powerful mobilization. On Wednesday, June 2, 2021, Beijing residents lined up to receive the Sinopharm vaccine [Andy Wong/ AP] According to the 7-day rolling average of Our World in Data, China now averages about 19 million shots per day. This means that every person in Italy is given a dose approximately every three days. The United States, which has about a quarter of Chinas population, reached about 3.4 million daily shots at full speed in April. It is not clear how many people in China are fully vaccinated-which may mean one to three doses of vaccine-because the government has not publicly released these data. Zhong Nanshan, the leader of the National Health Commissions expert team and a well-known government doctor, said on Sunday that 40% of the population had been vaccinated at least once, and the goal was to get this percentage to be fully vaccinated. The end of the month. In the capital, Beijing, 87% of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine. Getting vaccinated is as easy as walking into one of the hundreds of vaccination sites spread across the city. Vaccination buses stop in high-traffic areas, including downtowns and shopping centers. But Beijings abundance is not shared with other parts of the country. Reports from local media and complaints on social media indicate that it is difficult to make appointments elsewhere. I started queuing at 9 in the morning until 6 in the afternoon, and then I got the shot. I was so tired, Zhou Hongxia, a resident of Lanzhou in northwestern Gansu Province, recently explained. When I left, there were still people waiting. Mr. Zhous husband is not so lucky and has not been shot yet. When they called the local hotline, they were told to just wait. Before the campaign was launched in recent weeks, many people were not in a hurry to get vaccinated, because China used strict border controls and compulsory measures in the past year to shut out the virus that was first detected in its central city, Wuhan. quarantine area. It faces small-scale infections from time to time and is currently under management in the southern city of Guangzhou. Central government officials said on Monday that they are working to ensure a more even supply. Analysts and industry insiders said that although there are distribution problems, Chinese manufacturers are unlikely to have scale problems. Huaxing and Sinopharm distribute most of the vaccines in China, and they are both actively increasing production, building brand new factories, and reusing existing factories for COVID-19. Huaxings vaccine and one of Sinopharms two vaccines have received emergency use authorization from the World Health Organization, but these companies, especially Sinopharm, have been criticized for the lack of transparency in sharing data. In terms of architecture, what place in the world can compare with China? How long did it take to build our temporary hospital? asked Li Mengyuan, who is in charge of drug research at the financial company Western Securities. China established a field hospital in just a few days at the beginning of the pandemic. Huaxing said its production capacity has doubled to 2 billion doses per year, while Sinopharm said it can produce up to 3 billion doses per year. However, Sinopharm has not disclosed the latest data on the actual dose it produced, and a company spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. The company said on Friday that as of the end of May, Sinovac had produced 540 million doses of vaccine this year. Government support is vital to every step of vaccine developersjust like in other countriesbut, like everything, the scope and scale of China is different. Yang Xiaoming, chairman of Sinopharm China National Biotechnology Group, recently told state media about the companys initial need to borrow laboratory space from government research centers when developing vaccines. We sent the samples, there is no need to discuss money, thats what we did, he said. Chinese vaccine companies basically do not rely on imported products in the production process. This is a huge benefit when many countries are vying for the same material, which means that China may be able to avoid what happened to the Indian Serum Institute, whose production is in trouble due to the dependence on the United States for certain ingredients. But as the supply of vaccines increases, so does the pressure to take it. In Beijing, a researcher at a university said that the schools Communist Party team would call him once a month, ask him if he was vaccinated, and offer to make an appointment for him. So far, he has refused to get the vaccine because he prefers the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, saying he believes its data. He declined to be named because he fears that his work at a government university may be affected by publicly questioning the Chinese vaccine. China has not yet approved the use of Pfizer-BioNTech, and researchers are not sure how long he can last-although the government has now warned against direct compulsory vaccination. They dont have to say it is mandatory, said Ye, a public health expert. They wont announce the need for vaccinations, but they can put pressure on you. According to reports, a man accused of hacking the flower seller to death was the son of the victims former lover-he was found dead two months ago. On Saturday, 55-year-old Tony Eastlake was stabbed to death by his stall in Islington, north London, in broad daylight. 4 James Pepyatt appeared in Highbury Point District Court today and was charged with murder Credit: Facebook 4 55-year-old Tony Eastlake was hacked to death at a flower stand in Islington Credit: PA 21-year-old James Peppiatt appeared in Highbury Point District Court today and was charged with murder. According to reports, Pepyat is the son of Mr. Eastlakes ex-girlfriend. Online mail. According to reports, Mr. Eastlake dated Pepyats mother earlier this year. She was found dead at another address in Islington on April 1. It is not clear how the woman died, but according to reports, their condition is not suspicious. When the defendant supported him in the public gallery in the court today, he blinked and smiled at his family. A man, known to be Pepyats father, also chanted Stay strong, boy at the end of the brief hearing. Pepyat was remanded in custody awaiting trial, and the next time he will appear in old Bailey on June 7. The police said earlier that they believed the victim knew the suspect and confirmed that they had ruled out the motive for the robbery. Second arrest The police arrested a 48-year-old woman on suspicion of assisting criminals and obstructing justice. In mid-June, she was released on bail and returned to the police station in North London. Detective Chief Inspector Vicky Tunstall, who is in charge of the investigation, said: This is a major development and our dedicated team of police officers will continue to work hard to bring justice to the victim Tony and his family. I continue to call for any information and witnesses of the incident, especially when some cyclists and a motorcycle crossed Ecclesbourne Road when the attack occurred. I urge these people to come forward because the information they have may be crucial. Tragic ending Tony is affectionately referred to as The Flowerman of Islington and died of a knife wound after being attacked on Essex Road before 5:30 pm on Saturday. A vigil to commemorate this respected man was held on Monday. His heartbroken daughter Paige paid tribute to her best friend in emotional activities. She said: Not only my father, but also my twins, and my best friend. Thats what made me get through this difficult situation-you are all here today. Im speechless, thank you everyone. From the age of 14, this popular florist has been operating at a stall next to Essex Road Station for 39 years. His family said in a statement: Without such a very special person, our hearts will be broken forever. Isolation fear As Portugal is removed from the green list, the British will scramble to go home before Tuesday Brothers pain 21-year-old woman was bitten to death by a dog after her brother bought her to raise her disclose No! Portugal has been removed from the green list in following the blow of Nepals new pressure on the British The missing riddle The 19-year-old boy who disappeared with his friend was charged with murder after the body was found exclusive Red alert 7 countries including Egypt, Sri Lanka and Costa Rica are included in the holiday red list exclusive Chopped down Heartbreaking moment OnlyFans model was thrown into the air by drunk driving A person loved by everyone in the Islington community is remembered as a kind, caring and always laughing person, but most importantly, a father who has left a destroyed family, Lisa, Pauline, as well as his only daughter and best friend Paige, he admired. Tony has been working at the flower stall on Essex Road since he was 14 years old, rain or shine, and for many of us, he is a smiling and friendly face. Over the years, all those who know and love him have received hundreds of messages supporting him. 4 Tonys daughter Paige (left) pays tribute to her father in the vigil Credit: Nigel Howard The Pentagon stated that most civilian deaths occurred in Afghanistan because it admitted that more civilians died in previous years. The U.S. military has admitted responsibility for the unintentional killing of 23 civilians in foreign theaters in 2020, far below the figure compiled by non-governmental organizations. But it also admitted that more civilians died in previous years. According to the Pentagons report, the statistics include civilian deaths in operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen and Nigeria. The document stated that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) assessed that in 2020, approximately 23 civilians were killed and approximately 10 civilians were injured due to U.S. military operations, which is part of the annual report required by Congress since 2018 , Although part of it is still a secret. Most civilian casualties occurred in AfghanistanAccording to the public part of the report, the Pentagon said it was responsible for the deaths of 20 people. One civilian was killed in Somalia in February 2020, and another civilian was killed in Iraq in March. The published documents did not specify when and where the 23rd victim was killed. The document stated that although Congress allocated $3 million to the Pentagon in 2020 to provide financial compensation to the families of civilian victims, such compensation has not yet been paid. NGO counts higher Regularly released by NGOs The civilian death toll is much higher In areas where the U.S. military is active all over the world. Airwars, a non-governmental organization that lists civilian victims of air strikes, said their most conservative estimates indicate that 102 civilians were killed in U.S. operations around the world, five times higher than the official Pentagon figure. According to Airwars, the United Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) statistics show that 89 people were killed and 31 were injured in operations led by the United States. The NGO said that in Somalia, where only one civilian was confirmed dead at the Pentagon, Airwars and other NGOs estimated the death toll at seven, while in Syria and Iraq, local sources said six people died. It is clear that the investigation and recognition of civilian injuries by the Department of Defense is still seriously insufficient, said Hina Shamsi of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Afghans protested in Kabul, condemning the large number of civilian casualties caused by Western forces in the country [File: Ahmad Masood/Reuters] Shamsey, head of the National Security Program of the American Civil Liberties Union, said: It is surprising that in 2020, despite the funding provided by Congress, the Department of Defense did not provide or pay any compensation to affected civilians and families. The report also acknowledged that 12 other incidents in 2017 and 2018 have been unintentionally reported in the past, resulting in at least 50 civilian deaths and 22 injuries. An air strike in al-Zira, Iraq on January 6, 2017 killed 16 civilians, and another air strike in Mosul on January 12, 2017 killed 12 civilians. On August 13, 2017, an airstrike in Raqqa, Syria, killed 12 civilians and injured 6 others. At the time, the United States and its allies were fighting ISIL (ISIS). In addition to the previously unreported 50 civilian deaths, the Pentagon also stated that on January 29, 2017, 12 civilians were killed in al-Bayda, Yemen. In the past few years, the Department of Defense has been improving its practices and procedures for reviewing reports of civilian casualties. India-controlled Kashmir Srinagar -UN experts expressed concern about the repressive measures and the broader pattern of systematic violations of fundamental rights in the Indian-controlled Kashmir region, and asked the Indian government to respond to allegations of human rights violations in the disputed area. In a letter to the Indian government at the end of March and published on Monday, five UN experts sought New Delhis response to three major allegations: Naseer Ahmad Wani was enforced disappeared and extrajudicial executions from the Shopian district of southern Kashmir. Arbitrary detention by Irfan Ahmad Dar in Sopore in northern Kashmir and by the pro-Indian leader Waheed-Ur-Rehman Para from Pulwama. In November last year, the letter stated that Pala was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of India for terrorism allegations and was allegedly subjected to abusive and abusive interrogations every day for 10 to 12 hours. The letter said: He was kept in a dark underground cell below freezing, deprived of sleep, kicked, slapped, beaten with a club, stripped naked and hung upside down. Para was checked three times by the government doctor the psychiatrist checked three times. He requested medication for insomnia and anxiety, it added. An Indian policeman detained a demonstrator during a protest in Srinagar after Friday prayers [File: Danish Ismail/Reuters] Kashmir is divided by India and Pakistan. India and Pakistan rule a part of Kashmir, but have ownership of all territories in the Himalayas. These two nuclear-weapon states have fought two of the three wars in the region. In the early 1990s, India formed an armed rebellion against Indian rule. This conflict has caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people, mainly civilians. The insurgents demanded an independent country or merged with neighboring Pakistan. There is also a small group of pro-Indian politicians and political parties in the region who participate in national and regional elections. The UN experts letter stated that Pala, a young leader from one of the pro-Indian political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was arrested after a virtual meeting with members of the UN Security Council in July last year. He condemned human rights violations in the Indian-controlled Kashmir region. . A letter from the Spl rapporteur claiming that Waheed Para was retaliated by NIA officials for making comments to the UN Security Council ambassador. pic.twitter.com/0vf2xqRhen Suhasini Haydar (@suhasinih) June 1, 2021 The UN expert said in the letter that during the meeting with UN Security Council members, Palla warned Indias actions in Jammu and Kashmir, the treatment of Muslim minorities, and the recent border tensions with China. After this contact, Parra received threats from NIA officials stating that his involvement in such incidents was causing trouble. They gave him an ultimatum that if he does not stop talking about the government, action will be taken against him, the letter said. . Parra was arrested a few days after submitting the nomination documents for local elections in his hometown of Pulwama. Although he was granted bail in a terrorism case, in another case, he was arrested again by counter-insurgency forces in the area. Para made an example PDP Chairman Mehbooba Mufti, who was also the last chief minister elected in the region, told Al Jazeera that Pala believes in democracy and peace. It is very unfortunate that a person who believes in democracy and is a torchbearer who brings youth into the mainstream is treated this way. When we said in Kashmir that we wanted to attract young people into the mainstream, Wahid (Pala) was very negative. Set an example, she said. On March 5, 2021, Srinagar, during a protest after Friday prayers, an Indian policeman aimed a bullet gun at a demonstrator [File: Danish Ismail/Reuters] What kind of impression does it give people? If this happens to someone who is a mainstream advocate of democracy and peace, what will happen to others, and what will their future be like? A family member of Palla, who did not want to be named, told Al Jazeera that he was punished for associating with Kashmiris. He is innocent and becomes weak in prison. When the Bharatiya Janata Party leader used to come to Kashmir, he wanted him to reconcile with the people (mainly young people) and get in touch with them. He did it, and now suddenly becomes his Crime, the relative said. When visiting Muslim-majority areas in 2018, Rajnath Singh, then Federal Minister of the Interior, praised Pala for organizing an event full of young people. He even dealt with Shiki and tried to bring them into the mainstream. That time, he was praised for doing so. We dont know how long he can be held in custody, but he still believes that the judiciary will come out, Parra said. Relatives told Al Jazeera. Irfan Dahl and Nasir Varney Another case raised by the UN expert is Irfan Ahmad Dar, a 23-year-old shopkeeper from Sopole District in northern Kashmir, who was arrested on September 15 by officials who arrived at his shop in plain clothes. Dahl was detained at the Sopore police station without an arrest warrant, the letter said. The next morning, according to this letter, Dahls family was told that he was dead. Police claimed that Dahl was killed while trying to escape their custody. However, during the final ritual on his body, it was discovered that his facial bones had been fractured, his front teeth had been broken, and his head appeared to have bruises from blunt trauma. Before the burial, his family was allowed to see his body for about 10 minutes, the expert wrote. They added, In response to the protest against the killings, the regional government ordered an investigation. During the investigation, two police officers were suspended for negligence to allow him to escape, but no one was responsible for his killing. The UN experts also sought the Indian governments response to the case of 19-year-old Naseer Ahmad Wani from Doompora village in the southern part of Shopian, who was enforced disappeared from his residence after a paramilitary attack. On November 29, 2019, a team of 44 Rashtriya Rifles (44 RR) raided his home where he lived with his family, allegedly claiming that his mobile phone was used by militants, their letter said, adding They searched every corner and destroyed property. When searching the house, the army personnel put the two children by their side and used them as human shields. The two were also beaten. The army personnel gathered all the women in one room, asked their names, and took pictures. They took pictures of them and asked everyone to hand over their phones. They were threatened that if they did not comply, they would be stripped naked, the letter said. It went on to say, Five soldiers entered Varneys room and locked the door from inside. For more than half an hour, the family in the next room heard him cry when he was beaten. The soldiers then took him away. Modes of gross violation of rights The UN expert wrote that on November 30, 2019, the family reported to the police, who took them to the barracks and they were turned away. Later that night, the same officers visited Vanneys house. The army major told his family that there was no need to return to the police station or initiate any legal proceedings because they had released Vanney, the letter said. But Vani did not go home. The next night, on December 1, the major and some personnel returned to Varneys house. He gathered all the family members in one room, pointed a gun at the neck of a family member, and threatened them not to do it anymore. Any inquiry or legal action, the letter said. The letter mentioned that the police submitted a missing person report on December 2, 2019 at the request of the family. However, Wanis fate and whereabouts are still unknown, it said. Although we do not wish to prejudge the accuracy of these allegations, we express our serious concern that if these allegations are confirmed, they will constitute arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and ill-treatment, and enforced disappearance. UN experts stated that these allegations are part of a continuing pattern of serious violations of human rights by the police, military, security agencies, and judiciary in Jammu and Kashmir. They said that these allegations are part of what they consider to be a serious human rights violation model, we believe this deserves the most serious attention from the highest authorities and they may publicly express their concerns about human rights. Near future. [We] I believe the wider public should be informed of the impact of these allegations on their exercise and enjoyment of human rights, they said. In July 2019, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a 43-page report recommending the establishment of an investigation committee to conduct a comprehensive, independent and international investigation into allegations of human rights violations in Kashmir. The Commission of Inquiry is one of the highest level of UN investigations and is usually used for important global crises. The Indian government often refutes allegations of human rights violations in the region as false. Human Rights Watch South Asia director Minakshi Ganguli told Al Jazeera that UN experts raised some extremely serious concerns and she said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had also raised these concerns. Waheed Para may be arrested in retaliation to testify to the UN Security Council. This is particularly worrying and violates Indias international obligations, she said. The Indian authorities should order an independent investigation of these allegations and hold them accountable. Since February, a growing list of local police departments are warning their communities about an increase in overdoses and overdose deaths caused by drugs laced with fentanyl. Police say they are seeing an increase in overdoses among teens and young adults. Doug has been selling his personal property to get some money. He struggles to feed himself and his cats. Hes worried hell lose his house while waiting for the mess to get cleared up. He knows whats next: "In the ditch, living in my truck." North Kansas City-based health care IT firm Cerner Corp. says they are currently going through a reduction of their workforce. Reporters divulged on a recent YouTube live stream that Jun Ji Hyun's marriage is on the rocks after her husband was involved in an affair. What Sparked the Divorce Rumors Involving Actress Jun Ji Hyun? Divorce news broke last June 2, when Garo Sero Institute YouTube channel had a live broadcast and the hosts mentioned that actress Jun Ji Hyun and her husband Choi Joon Hyuk have been separated since the last month of 2020. Adding, they said that the K-drama star refused to proceed with the divorce. Meanwhile, Choi Joon Hyuk is said to have left their house already. The two male reporters on the live stream revealed that Jun Ji Hyun doesn't want to divorce as it will affect her career, specifically her various and major brand advertisements. Her husband is rumored to have requested a divorce, while Jun Ji Hyun is considering migrating abroad. The male hosts stated that Choi Joon Hyuk might be asking for a divorce because he is having an affair. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Ju Ji Hoon Teases Fans about the Possible Romance with Jun Ji Hyun in 'Mount Jiri' Jun Ji Hyun Alleged to be Avoiding Divorce With her numerous record-breaking projects from movies to dramas, Jun Ji Hyun is known as one of the A-list and respected actresses in South Korea. Aside from acting projects, the "My Love from the Star" lead is involved in various brand campaigns. Since the 39-year-old female star could possibly pay fines for bringing a negative image to the brands, it is one of the said reasons why Jun Ji Hyun is avoiding the divorce. Most of all, the reporters said that the actress is avoiding divorce because of her two children, who are just 3 and 5 years of age. Jun Ji Hyun was married to Choi Joon Hyuk in April of 2012. Her husband is a banker and is said to come from a wealthy family - he is the grandson of the famous hanbok designer Lee Young Hee and the son of Lee Jung Woo, who is also a known fashion designer. Watch Garo Sero Institute's full live stream here. Jun Ji Hyun Trends on Twitter Shortly after the cat was out of the bag, Jun Ji Hyun's fans delivered their support to the actress, with some expressing their displeasure to the unconfirmed affair. I cant believe someone would cheat on her! Jun Ji Hyun fighting! #JunJiHyun pic.twitter.com/bAjGvkN6Pa KIMMY (@kimclngsn) June 2, 2021 The audacity of her husband to have an affair and file divorce against Jun Ji Hyun. She and her children doesnt deserve this. pic.twitter.com/VB3BlpSf5l Ross (@hyunsiksmermaid) June 2, 2021 Jun Ji Hyun's agency Culture Depot has not yet released a statement about the issue. Meanwhile, "The Legend of The Blue Sea" actress will be returning on the small screen with "Mount Jiri" and "Kingdom: Ashin of the North." IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Check Out These 5 Highest Paid K-Drama Celebrities of 2021 What can you say about actress Jun Ji Hyun's divorce rumors? Don't forget to share your thoughts with us in the comments! For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news and updates, keep your tabs open here at Kdramastars. Kdramastars owns this article. Written by Shai Collins "Law School" episode 14, starring Kim Myung Min, Kim Bum, and Ryu Hye Young, gave viewers an intense and thrilling scene as the professors and students uncover the person the Hankuk University murder. In the latest episode of the JTBC drama, Assemblyman Ko was caught up in a tough situation after all the evidence pointed at him. "Law School" Episode 14: Lee Man Ho's Death Lee Man Ho (Jo Jae Ryong) was left in a critical state after being attacked in prison. At the hospital, Professor Yang Jong Hoon (Kim Kyung Min) is eager to save the convicted criminal and even offers to donate his blood. Unfortunately, he did not make it. This prompted the prosecutor turned professor to know who ordered the killing of Lee Man Ho. Following his death, the police officers revealed to professor Professor Yang that it was Ki Du-Seong who stabbed him; however, he claims it was Lee Man Ho who attacked first, and what he did was self-defense. To recall, Ki Du-Seong was the man who stabbed Professor Yang while in prison. Yang Jong Hoon believes that someone ordered him to kill Lee Man Ho, and in this case, he went to visit Ki Du-Seong at the hospital to get his statement. At the time, he mentioned that Lee Man Ho tried to kill him because he ratted out Lee Man Ho and revealed that it was him who Killed Professor Seo. Despite giving out his statement, Professor Yang is still not satisfied with his claims. "Law School" episode 14 showed that Lee Man Ho's death is a pivotal moment to figure out who was behind Professor Seo's death. Han Joon Hwi and Kang Sol A's Instinct Upon learning of Lee Man Ho's death, Han Joon Hwi (Kim Bum) was not convinced that Lee Man Ho attacked Ki Du-Seong. The law student mentioned that the convicted criminal wouldn't cause any trouble inside the prison since he wanted to see his son. Interestingly, Joon Hwi shares the same hunch as Professor Yang and thinks that all these are related to Professor Seo's hit and run case. While talking to Professor Yang, Kang Sol A (Ryu Hye Young) was also sharing the same thought with Professor Kim Eun Sook (Lee Jung Eun.) In a split-screen, both Joon Hwi and Sol A raised that Professor Seo was not alone in the car and there might be someone in the passenger seat that urged him to abandon the victim. Professor Yang Meets Assemblyman Ko With the student's instinct, Professor Yang confronted Assemblyman Ko regarding the death of Professor Seo. He said that someone was with him in the car during the night of the incident. Upon hearing this, the politician just laughed it off but deep inside, this angered him, and he thinks that Professor Yang is suspicious of him. In "Law School" episode 14, it showed that the feisty Professor knew that Assemblyman Ko was behind the incident; however, he just needed evidence to prove it. The Truth Behind the Hit and Run Accident The current episode also featured the flashback during the hit and run incident. At the time, Professor Seo insisted on having a different driver since both he and Assemblyman Ko were drunk. However, the influential politician ignored this, adding that he will be late for his next appointment. Moreover, he also reminds the Professor that there are no cameras on the street, and he'll deal with it if they get caught. Unfortunately, a devastating accident happened as Professor Seo bumped an individual who was crossing the street. As the driver attempted to turn around and check on the victim, he was instructed by Assemblyman Ko to just drive off and think about his family if he gets imprisoned. Who is the New Witness? With just two episodes away from the finale, "Law School" episode 14 is slowly unraveling the culprit behind the disturbance that rocked Hankuk University. At his home, Professor Yang pulled out a curtain, and behind it was a wall featuring the different cases since Professor Seo's death. The evidence and people involved all have a connection to Assemblyman Ko. Moreover, he believes that Lee Man Ho's son was the answer to the puzzle. On the other hand, Kang Sol A posted a social media video exposing the misconduct of the politician - this includes proposing a bill to abolish the law on defamation and even bribing the whistleblower to drop the truth. Seo Ji Oh (David Lee) was also featured in the video as he tells the truth behind his father's death. In the trial for constitutional review raised by Prosecutor Jin, the law students were surprised upon seeing Professor Yang sitting beside the prosecutor. In his argument, the law professor cited that the law is dead. Moreover, he asked the court to allow him to make a video call to state as the witness. During the video call, a woman named Erica Shin appeared on the screen. The spectators, including the Hankuk University law students, were shocked since the new witness looked exactly like Kang Sol A. KDramastars owns this article. Written by Geca Wills MEDFORD, Ore. The suspect in a local child pornography case who was arrested out-of-state last October has been sentenced to almost three years in prison, according to the Jackson County District Attorney's office. According to the DA's office, the investigation into David Levi Watters began in April of 2020 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children notified local law enforcement of a Snapchat account used to upload images of child exploitation. Watters became the suspect after a number of search warrants confirmed his IP address, physical address, and allowed for a search of his home in Talent to seize digital devices. But when officers went to serve the warrant on Watters' address, they found that he had moved out of the area. Detectives tracked Watters north to Albany, where the Albany Police Department helped local investigators seize the man's electronic devices. Those items were delivered to the Southern Oregon High Tech Crimes Task Force for analysis in July. By August, investigators had confirmed the presence of child pornography, including the original image reported by NCMEC. In September of last year, a grand jury indicted Watters on eight counts of Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse in the First Degree and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Once again Watters had left the area, and he was located in Montana before being brought back to the Jackson County Jail. This week, Watters pled guilty to three of the counts, and Judge Timothy Barnack sentenced him to 35 months in prison to be followed by three years of post-prison supervision. Watters will have to register as a sex offender for life. SALEM, Ore. Saturday and Sunday mark Oregon's next "Free Fishing Weekend," allowing anglers of all ages to fish, clam, or crab for free. During a Free Fishing Weekend, no fishing licenses or tags (including a Combined Angling Tag, Columbia River Basin Endorsement or Two-Rod Validation) are required by Oregon residents or non-residents. Other fishing regulations do apply, including area closures, bag limits, and size restrictions. People are asked to check for any in-season regulation changes particularly for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, and marine fishing at their destination. "With Oregon facing a serious drought this summer, warmwater fishing is a good choice for Free Fishing Weekend and throughout the summer," the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife said. Several ponds in the Willamette Valley will be stocked for the last time this season, and stocked trout are a good option for beginners. People near Portland, Bend, Medford, Roseburg or in Lane County, have a number of nearby options. Currently, razor clamming is closed on popular Clatsop beaches due to toxin levels, but is open from the south jetty of the Siuslaw River, in Florence, to the California border. Oregon will have one more Free Fishing Weekend in 2021 the two days after Thanksgiving, November 26 and 27. MEDFORD, Ore. The U.S. Forest Service indicated Thursday that it is in the midst renovations of the Medford Airtanker Base ramp apron, the area where firefighting aircraft are parked and loaded, as fire season begins in southern Oregon. According to a statement from the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, the agency received omnibus grant funding to upgrade the ramp apron in 2019. Over the past eight months, forestry officials have been working with the Jackson County Airport Authority to incorporate the rehabilitation project into a new 20-year lease. Photo by Justin Bohannan / courtesy U.S. Forest Service (Facebook) Photo by Justin Bohannan / courtesy U.S. Forest Service (Facebook) The ramp has had issues with cracking and degradation in areas over the past two decades, RRSNF said, requiring intermittent patchwork to repair it. Those issues have raised aircraft safety concerns. Were pleased to receive this funding so the aircraft can navigate the ramp more easily, said Tanker Base manager Justin Bohannan. Work on the ramp will prohibit use of the area at the outset of fire season, but RRSNF officials said that a number of factors went into the timing taking into account the need for good weather, increasing material costs, and the current availability of the Klamath Falls Airtanker Base to serve as a stand-in while repairs are underway. Officials decided to move forward with the deadline of completion by July 1. These repairs will give us continuous airtanker loading capabilities and coverage for Southern Oregon and Northern California and allow us to get these safety issues corrected before the height of our fire season, said Amanda Lucas, Unit Aviation Officer for RRSNF and the BLM Medford District. If the ramp is needed for firefighting efforts while repairs are underway, tankers will have several contingencies using the Klamath Falls Airtanker Base during the early season, and transitioning to the use of a mobile retardant base that is expected to be ready on the east cargo ramp by June 20. Construction began on May 27, and is expected to wrap up at the end of four weeks. The Very Large Airtanker (VLAT) ramp is also supposed to be up and running on June 21, and officials say there will be "no break in the availability of retardant with the ramp work." We really appreciate the cooperation of Jackson County Airport Authority to work with us to make this happen, as we could not have gotten this project completed without them. Working in partnership with them helped keep the cost down and get the work completed in the needed timeframe, said Lucas. ASHLAND, Ore. A semi-truck on fire along I-5 south of Ashland has prompted authorities to shut down the northbound lanes, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation. Firefighters and traffic crews responded to reports of the truck fire shortly before 6 p.m. ODOT said that traffic crews and Oregon State Police closed the northbound lanes of I-5 at milepost 1, near the California border, to halt traffic headed toward the fire. The truck fire itself was near Exit 11, close to Emigrant Lake. The truck was believed to be full of paper products, ODOT said. Pictures from the scene show that the truck and trailer were completely destroyed by the flames. Natalie Weber with the Oregon Department of Forestry said that fire crews from both ODF and Fire District 5 are on the scene, and the wildland portion of the fire has been knocked down. ODF later confirmed that embers from the fire ignited roughly an acre of surrounding brush along the side of the freeway. The grass fire is considered contained, and fire crews are working on mop-up. ODOT estimates that one lane of I-5 northbound will be open by 7:30 p.m. as crews work to clear the burning debris. It may take some time for the traffic backup to clear. This is a developing story and will be updated with more details as they emerge. Alex Van Bruksvoort has been named the new chief of Westside Fire Rescue, which serves communities at the far northwest side of Okanagan Lake. The department's two interim deputy chiefs vacationed in Mexico last winter despite the pandemic. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel attends an event for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., in Clawson, Mich., March 18, 2019. Lawyers for the state of Michigan say the dispute over the Line 5 pipeline belongs in state court, countering efforts by Canada and others to have it heard by a federal judge. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Paul Sancya File Editors note: Because COVID-19 concerns can cause last-minute changes, please make sure to double check with the band or venue before heading out. Stay safe. So some of you may have heard that the Anna Fermins Trigger Gospel show Friday at Public Craft is sold out. Yes and no. The 8 p.m. show is sold out. The brewery, however, has added a 6 p.m. Happy Hour show. Thats not sold out. Born in the Philippines, the Americana star was raised as a young child right here in Kenosha before moving to Chicago. Arguably one of the more successful Southport music artists, Anna Fermins Trigger Gospel has toured for more than 20 years, releasing six critically acclaimed albums. Their travels have taken them back and forth across the U.S. and Europe many times, including Kenosha. Over the years, the group has shared stages with the likes of Johnny Cash, Steve Earle, Joe Ely, Robbie Fulks, David Crosby, Neko Case, Delbert McClinton and ... well, you get the picture. Theyre good. Expect country, folk, pop and a lot more. Welcome a home girl back. Tickets are $10 and are available at eventbrite.com; search Anna Fermin Just added Happy Hour show. Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) great benefits, locations near you, specialties youll love ** $1,000 SIGN-ON BONUS FOR FULL TIME CMA POSITIONS ** Are you looking for a rewarding career with family-friendly hours and top-notch benefits? Were looking for qualified Certified Medical Assistants like you to join our Texas Health family. Texas Health Physicians Group (THPG) is a not-for-profit physician organization with more than 250 locations and 800 physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants dedicated to providing quality care in clinics and medical offices throughout North Texas. Position Qualifications High School Diploma or equivalent (required) Current Medical Assistant Certification (required) ACLS or BLS (preferred) Position Salary and Sign-on Salary range: $14.80 - $21.47 per hour (based on relevant experience) $1,000 sign-on bonus for eligible CMAs (eligible upon hire with a signed retention agreement) Position Responsibilities THPG Certified Medical Assistants are responsible for the delivery of patient care that promotes the safety and well-being of all patients, demonstrating excellent customer service while rooming patients, obtaining chief complaint and vitals, handling of specimens, charting visit information and performing injections as needed. You may also be responsible for some administrative tasks on an as-needed basis. In addition to the required qualifications, a successful CMA will have the ability to perform EKGs, draw blood and administer injections as needed be able to effectively communicate with both staff and patients and have thorough knowledge of the meaning and use of medical terminology and abbreviations demonstrate sound judgement in emergency situations, as well as take appropriate action in urgent circumstances maintain a positive, customer-focused attitude toward patients possess a strong work ethic and always display a high level of professionalism have basic computer skills using Medical management application systems Why Texas Health As a Texas Health CMA youll enjoy top-notch benefits including 401(k) with match, paid time off, competitive health insurance choices, healthcare and dependent care spending account options, wellness programs to keep you and your family healthy, tuition reimbursement, a student loan repayment program and more. At Texas Health, our people make this a great place to work every day. Our inclusive, supportive, people-first, excellence-driven culture make THPG a great place to work. Here are a few of our recent awards: 2021 FORTUNE Magazines 100 Best Companies to Work For (7 th year in a row) year in a row) Becker's Healthcare "150 Great Places to Work in Healthcare" Americas Best Employers for Diversity list by Forbes A 100 Best Workplaces for Millennials" by Fortune and Great Place to Work Additional perks of being a THPG Certified Medical Assistant Gain a sense of accomplishment by contributing in a teamwork environment Positively impact patients quality of life Receive excellent mentorship, comprehensive training and dedicated clinical leadership resources Enjoy opportunities for growth Apply online today! http://adtrk.tw/tp/rj6-YDEg9-e_K recblid 6drbqah16gk1acm7md0x3aivvkhowl Ransomware hacks are everywhere if you look for them. These are just the ones we know about: Add those to the previously known hacks that targeted US and state government agencies, cities and school districts. Either tied to China, like the subway hack, or Russia, hackers finding support or safe haven in autocratic countries pillaging the West. Eyes on Russia. The White House has its eyes on Russia for enabling both the Colonial Pipeline and JBS meat processing hacks. Read CNN's full report on the JBS attack here. "Harboring criminal entities that are intending to do harm, that are doing harm to the critical infrastructure in the United States is not acceptable. We're not going to stand by that, we will raise that, and we are not going to take options off the table," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday. President Joe Biden will meet with Putin in Geneva this month and can raise the issue of the hacks. Asked Wednesday afternoon whether the US would retaliate against Russia for the attack, he told reporters, "We're looking closely at that issue." As to whether he thought Putin was testing him, the President plainly said: "No." This is a business model. But this is larger than a standoff between countries as these criminal hackers target the US. Everything on the internet is at risk. "Ransomware right now, this is a business model," Lior Div, CEO of the security firm Cybereason told CNN's Richard Quest. "They are in it for the money and they are trying to generate as much revenue as possible for themselves. So as long as people are going to pay, they're going to keep operating in order to generate this massive amount of revenue that they are generating every year." That people are paying, then, means this phenomenon is going to get worse before it gets better. "I think the takeaway is that if you are a corporate executive or a local government head and you thought that you would be spared, guess what? They went after your gas, they went after your hotdogs, no one is out of bounds here. Everyone is in play in every single corporation," Christopher Krebs, former director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, on recent ransomware attacks, told NBC's Today show. Cyber hygiene is necessary. Every US company and organization needs to protect itself, said Eric Goldstein, the current assistant director at CISA, in a statement. "Regardless of the ransomware actor or strain, good cyber hygiene is highly effective in reducing the impacts of an intrusion. Our joint advisory released after the Colonial Pipeline attack provides critical guidance for all organizations." The hack of the world's largest meat producer, JBS, a Brazilian company whose subsidiaries control a quarter of US beef processing and a large portion of pork processing, was disclosed Tuesday by the White House, which promised to re-focus on the issue and to raise it with Russia, the government thought to be harboring hackers. You figure if nine meat plants hadn't gone dark in Arizona, Texas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wisconsin, Utah, Michigan and Pennsylvania, it seems very plausible we likely would never have heard. The US JBS headquarters is based in Greeley, Colorado, and it employs more than 66,000 people. Read about the fallout for them, from CNN's Brian Fung. The current discussion in Washington over how to define infrastructure -- is it more than bridges and roads the government should be funding? -- seems small when you consider the prospect of food, fuel and transportation shortages, although the JBS hack is not currently expected to lead to price hikes or shortages, according to industry experts in CNN's reports. It's not clear, of course, if the company is paying the ransom. If they're getting back online this quickly, you've certainly got to assume they could have. The FBI on Thursday attributed the JBS cyberattack to REvil and Sodinokibi ransomware and praised the meat company for quickly responding to the hack. "We have attributed the JBS attack to REvil and Sodinokibi and are working diligently to bring the threat actors to justice. We continue to focus our efforts on imposing risk and consequences and holding the responsible cyber actors accountable," the FBI said in a statement. "A cyber attack on one is an attack on us all." But there are so many hacks we don't hear about. The FBI issued an alert in May, for instance, which was published by the American Hospital Association, that a ransomware variant known as Conti had targeted "US healthcare and first responder networks, including law enforcement agencies, emergency medical services, 9-1-1 dispatch centers, and municipalities within the last year." The FBI has identified 16 Conti attacks in the US this year, which are among 400 total known Conti attacks, 290 of which are in the US. Ireland's national health service has completely shut its IT system and refuses to pay the ransom, which it said in May has disrupted everything from its Covid vaccine rollout to community health services. EUGENE, Ore. -- The Olympic Trials are coming back to Tracktown at the end of the month, and that means you might need to run and get a special parking permit. The South University Neighborhood Association (SUNA) and the City of Eugene teamed up for a proposed event parking district to be set up during the 2021 Olympic Trials, which will be held from June 18-27. This plan is similar to one that was proposed last year. This plan includes a temporary parking district that goes from 18th Avenue to 23rd Avenue and Hilyard to Agate streets. Permit parking is available only from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. An event parking permit will cost $20 per day. Some local businesses in the area say they aren't worried about the possible influx of parking may bring. Co-owner of Beppe & Giannis restaurant John Gianni Barofsky said the restaurants regular customers might not want to come in and might be worried about finding parking. But to be honest with you, with the two-hour parking regulations, they may have to park a block or so away rather than right in front of the business, so were hoping that it wont affect those people that much, said Barofsky. Two-hour parking is normal for this area, and current residential and guest parking permits would still be valid. Taylor Wayland, an employee at Sweet Life Petite, said she isnt worried about the proposal. Weve got a really good business here and the way that we do things is pretty quick and pretty efficient, and I think were gonna be able to serve everybody and get everybody some good cake and good coffee and whatnot, said Wayland. If youre looking for more information regarding this parking proposal, you can visit https://www.eugene-or.gov/776/Parking. EUGENE, Ore. Police have identified the officer and driver involved in a crash in downtown Eugene Tuesday afternoon. The motorcycle officer was Rodney Thrower, 54, police said. He has been an officer with the department for 19 years. He was taken to a hospital following the crash, which happened at 10th Avenue and Jefferson Street at about 2:30 p.m. However, his injuries were minor and he was released. RELATED: MOTORCYCLE OFFICER HIT BY CAR IN DOWNTOWN EUGENE Police identified the driver who hit Thrower as Kelly Sparrow, 59, of Eugene. After the crash, police reported that the involved driver had hit the officer while making a lane change as both headed south on Jefferson Street. Sparrow was reportedly not injured. The case has been forwarded to the Eugene Municipal Court for review and possible charges, police said. RAINBOW, Ore. After the devastating Holiday Farm Fire ripped through the McKenzie River area last September, many families are still looking for a place to stay thats closer to home. Soon, 17 trailers will spring up in Rainbow to provide temporary housing to survivors. Jamee Savidge is a community organizer with the McKenzie Community Development Corporation. She has been working for months to secure the temporary housing. "One of the hurdles that we've faced here is that we don't have the space," Savidge said. "There's not big large areas of space, public or private." RELATED: MOBILE HOMES STAGED IN GARDINER TO BE USED BY WILDFIRE VICTIMS KEZI 9 News talked to Paul Corah, spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management, who said the families are excited to be able to be closer to their schools, jobs and community when the trailers are ready to go. "The temporary housing will last for 18 months from the start of the disaster, so if they get in within June they could stay in that housing until at least March." The trailers include one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom housing options depending on a familys needs. Theres also the option of trailers that are accessible for people with disabilities. And while they are provided rent free, residents will have to pay utilities. The site is just behind the US Basketball Academy, and FEMA said it's one of the only locations in the area where it's possible to fit the trailers. "It's the only place that's big enough to house these folks," said Matt O'Neil, who runs the US Basketball Academy. "A lot of times when they do these land leases they just get a big open field and they put these units on it, but it's not a community." But that's not what O'Neil and Jim Schmit who also runs the facility want to happen. They're planning to provide resources to make their new guests feel welcome in their temporary home. "We have services for the families that come in, in addition to having a nice place to live, and a beautiful view," Schmit said. "They're going to have all the facilities you would normally have in a resort." READ ON: FEMA DENIES REQUEST FOR SOME TEMPORARY HOUSING OPTIONS FOR WILDFIRE SURVIVORS Corah said construction will take roughly 20 days, and theyve been on time at previously constructed sites in Oregon. The families that will be moving in have already been selected through an application process. In March, FEMA will evaluate the situation and decide whether to extend the 18-month temporary housing allowance. Corah said more than a hundred Oregon families are waiting to be placed into temporary housing due to the wildfires. Savidge says this is just the beginning of the rebuilding process. "There's a real big misconception that almost nine months after the fire, that we're a lot farther along with our clean up and rebuild than we are and the truth is it's a very slow process and it's going to take years." By Damali Mukhaye & Ritah Kemigisa As Uganda commemorates Uganda Martyrs, President Museveni has prayed for Gods intervention for solutions that can change the COVID-19 story. According to Museveni, economies, across the globe, have been affected by the pandemic, lives have been lost and yet the second wave is stronger and aggressive. Museveni however says people should not lose hope but rather be committed in observing Covid-19 prevention guidelines that are already in place, be informed, and avoid social media misinformation about the pandemic and the vaccines. In a speech represented by the head of civil service John Mitala, at the Anglican Shrine at Namugongo, the president has said the Uganda martyrs are celebrated for their display of courage, boldness and unshaken determination to stand up for their faith even in the face of persecution and death. President Museveni has also decried the growing defiance and corruption among Ugandans, warning that his government will not tolerate it. He said that such evils change the image of the nation, asking religious leaders to discourage Ugandans from endorsing them. By Elizabeth Kamurungi More by this Author Brenda Nantongo, the slain daughter of outgoing Works minister Gen Katumba Wamala, will be buried today in Kikandwa village, off Mukono-Kayunga road, dressed in a wedding gown, the family said yesterday. The 32-year-old died in a staccato of bullets alongside driver Haruna Kayondo when masked gunmen riding on a motorcycle attempted to assassinate Gen Katumba in Kisaasi, a Kampala suburb, on Tuesday. Brendas mother, Ms Christine Katumba, said they decided to bury their daughter in a gown because she looked forward to a wedding and they had broached up the subject of marriage multiple times during informal conversations. Read more: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/brenda-to-be-buried-in-wedding-gown-3423980 By Ivan Ssenabulya Masaka Diocese Bishop Severus Jjumba has asked Christians to stay strong amid the numerous challenges, especially those resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. While leading prayers at the Catholic Martyrs Shrine in Namugongo, he said the people of God need to intercede through the Uganda Martyrs. This years Martyrs Day celebrations have been led by Masaka Diocese under the theme; Dont lose heart. Meanwhile, the Popes representative in Uganda has prayed for the victims of the COVID-19 pandemic and asked Christians to continuously pray for not just Uganda but the entire world to recover from the devastation caused by the virus. Speaking during the mass to celebrate the Uganda Martyrs in Namugongo, the Papal Nuncio Archbishop Bianco Luigi said many people have died, asking God to heal the sick and help end this suffering. This was the second time the Martyrs Day celebrations were held without pilgrims due to the pandemic. Only 200 invited celebrants attended the event. BY OPIO SAM CALEB In the Eastern district of Kamuli, Martyrs Day celebrations in Kamuli were held with calls on believers to emulate the courage of the martyrs. In his homily, Rev Fr Richard Kizito Okao, the Kamuli Catholic Parish Priest has implored faithful to stand for their faith, remain steadfast in what is just without compromise and emulate the courage, determination and resilience of the martyrs in all the challenges they face especially Covid pandemic. Fr Kizito said conducting only an early mass has enabled them to observe the Covid-19 SOPs. However, most of the faithful regretted failing to go to Namugongo pilgrimage to renew their faith and identify with the martyrs physically. At Kamuli Nurses and Midwifery training School the Chaplain Rev Fr Anthony Semadali urged the student Nurses to exercise high values in life and uphold Christian values of Love, Care and humility in serving the people of God. BY DAMALI MUKHAYE The archbishop of the church of Uganda, his Grace Dr Samuel Kazimba has tasked the 11th parliament to investigate all the killings that have been committed on various Ugandans in the country. A section of the newly elected members of the 11th parliament led by their speaker Jacob Oulanya was attending martyrs day celebrations at the Anglican side. While praying for the team, Kazimba said that the 11th August house should ensure that they investigate all the killings and present the reports to the public for accountability. He said that the 11th Parliament should work by the will of God and humanize this country in whatever they do. By Malik Fahad Police in Lyantonde are investigating circumstances under which a man beheaded his wife over infidelity claims. The shocking incident occurred at Kyewanula village in Lyantonde District when a man who is currently on the run killed his wife and locked him inside the house for two days. The deceased has been identified as Nuliat Namata, a wife to Jamadah Ssengoba. The southern regional police spokesperson Muhamad Nsubuga has confirmed the incident saying that police has taken the deceaseds body to hospital for postmortem. BY DAMALI MUKHAYE The speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanya has pledged to contribute Shs100 million towards the Church House debt. This followed the archbishop of the church of Uganda, Samuel Kazimba encouraging Ugandans to contribute towards the contribution of the church house debt. While speaking during the martyrs day celebrations in Namugongo, Kazimba retaliated his earlier calls that if at least 1 million Ugandans contribute 60,000 shillings, they will be able to raise Shs 60billion to save the church house. While making his speech, Oulanyah said that the amount the church is asking Ugandans to contribute is less than what the Ugandan martyrs endured when they were burnt to ashes, hence all Ugandans should contribute to this general course. He said that for the next six months, he will contribute Shs100 million and will also contribute more next year. By Monitor Team Haruna Kayondo, the late driver of Gen Edward Katumba Wamala, the outgoing Works and Transport minister, first worked as a taxi driver before joining the army. The revelation was made to Daily Monitor yesterday by Ms Madina Nakibuule, an elder sister of the deceased. Haruna had incredible driving skills and was a taxi driver operating on the Bukomansimbi-Masaka route. He later abandoned the taxi business and joined the army in 2006, Ms Nakibuule said. Born in Lugando Village, Bigasa Sub-county in Bukomansimbi District, Kayondo died at the age of 38 behind the wheel on Tuesday morning after succumbing to gunshot wounds during a shooting incident that occurred on Kisota road, a narrow road before the Northern Bypass at the Kisaasi-Ntinda junction in Kampala. In the same vehicle was also Brenda Nantongo, a daughter of Gen Wamala who died on spot. Gen Wamala on the other hand sustained injuries and was later hospitalised at Medipal International Hospital in Kampala. He was discharged yesterday. Artillery troops launch UAV for flight training China Military Online) 11:00, June 03, 2021 An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is launched for a flight training exercise conducted by an artillery brigade under the PLA 71st Group Army on May 31, 2021. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Wu Zhaobing) (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun) ImOn Communications is the LOCAL choice for cable TV, high-speed Internet and phone service. We value the relationships we have with colleagues, customers, and members of our community and look forward to serving Eastern Iowa for many years to come. As we expand our service availability we are looking for a Business Construction Technician to be a part of the ImOn Difference! Our employees share a passion for Creating Connections One Person at a Time and fostering a fun and rewarding work environment. This Business Construction Technician will perform tasks necessary to build a service order and build activity associated with network facilities (copper, coax, and fiber). Focuses on the overall operations of the network, including network performance, installation, and/or maintenance. Conducts routine network operations activities, including translations and other duties involved with the preparation needed prior to installation or the tracking and analysis of network elements. Outside plant construction pathways are either aerial, underground, conduit, direct buried and can be used in any combination depending on the job requirements. Essential Job Responsibilities for Primary Functional Area of Accountability Builds, repairs and maintains major cable system and structures such as broken lashing, replacing or re-sagging aerial strand, pole transfers, down-guys, aerial to underground conversion, substructure repairs and cable replacements related to system outages, maintenance, rebuilds and emergencies or hazards. Turn up hard line splicing, phone, fiber, pole transfers, and relocation network projects by completing the following tasks with supervision. Do the prep work for Loose Tube, Mid-Sheath, and Splitting Ribbon Buffer Tube. Fiber optic cable. Splicing Fiber optic cable (loose tube, Ribbon, Multi-mode) fiber together, customer and company termination panels. Ability to Operate Optical Time Domain Reflector meters to test fiber use of visual fault light and power meter loss and readings. Complete a building entrance for services Aerial Telecommunications Construction Construct aerial network fiber (FTTX) Pole frames Strand Lashing Gigging cable Reads and interprets work orders, specifications, and engineering drawings. Fiber Documentation read and understand the following: Maps for FTTX- new fiber to the X or subscriber Maps for HFC and Phone Fiber Splice documentation Termination Assignments Performs construction work such as digging holes, climbing telephone poles, placing and removing anchors, pulling and stringing wire/cable from pole to pole, laying cable and conduit in the ground. Operates power equipment such as generators, blowers and hydraulic aerial lifts mounted on trucks. Uses test equipment to check for gas in manholes; may be required to empty water and other debris from manholes. Dismantles, moves, and removes aerial, underground or building wire, cable associated equipment, and hardware. Connects wires and cables to terminals and attaches/detaches various kinds of hardware to wires, cables, buildings, or poles. Responds to and participates in emergency and outage situations that require heavy construction capabilities. Ensures that all work considers the safety of the customer and general public and compliance with all governmental orders. Able and willing to work outdoors and in inclement weather conditions. Some travel involved, occasionally overnight All other duties as assigned Requirements Required Experience, Training, and Special Qualifications 1+ year(s) experience in one or combination of equipment installation, cable splicing, line work, installation and repair. Must accommodate after-hours work as required. High School Diploma or equivalent. Valid Iowa Driver License with the ability to obtain an Iowa CDL Class DII Driver License for bucket trucks and a driving record that allows employee to be insured by ImOns insurance carrier. Aerial only work will require DOT Class B License with an air brake endorsement as well as the ability to gaff and climb poles. Essential Physical Abilities * Requires the following with or without reasonable accommodation: Sufficient clarity of speech and hearing which permits the employee to communicate effectively. Vision ability: close vision, peripheral vision, and ability to adjust focus Must have a valid drivers license and satisfactory driving record Must accommodate various working conditions such as: Poorly ventilated areas such as attics during extreme heat, dust, dirt, noise, insects, cleaning solutions Work outdoors in all kinds of weather and at all times of the day or night Work near power lines and electricity Work and travel in inclement weather Ability to work while standing 50 - 70% of the time Ability to use the following hand tools: electric drills, hammers, wrenches, and screwdrivers. Ability to perform job from high places (i.e. poles and roofs) Ability to make cable connections in tight spaces by bending, reaching, twisting Ability to walk over all types of terrain in all kinds of weather while carrying tools and equipment, including gaffs, ladders, and fully loaded tool belts Ability to carry, climb and operate extension ladder, (approx. 28 ft high and 75+ pounds) Ability to climb poles using gaffs, hooks and climbing belt as needed Employees must be able to use required personal protective equipment to adhere to safety requirements. Employees in this position must weigh within the safety weight requirements (250lbs without tools) to safely operate company ladders and bucket trucks which are essential to this position. ImOn also offers competitive pay, health and dental insurance, 401(k), discounted Cable, Internet & Phone services, and additional perks such as FREE vision insurance, FREE life insurance and FREE short term/long term disability, as well as vacation & holiday pay, and community volunteer opportunities. If you are interested in being a part of the ImOn Difference apply today! recblid qs0eo8weg7vmttkv0o7lza8232qevj Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he speaks during a briefing to ambassadors to Israel at the Hakirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner, Pool) A classroom extension at Urlingford National School has been awarded approval to proceed to tender, according to local TD John Paul Phelan. The project includes two mainstream classrooms, including an ensuite, and one Special Educational Teacher (SET) room with user-assisted WC. Deputy Phelan said the extension, to be funded under the Department of Education and Skills Additional School Accommodation Scheme, will have a major impact on the provision of education at Urlingford NS. Todays announcement is great news for the Urlingford NS school community, bringing it one step closer to the provision of this much-needed extension," he said. "The development will significantly increase the overall size of the school and, most importantly, help the wonderful teaching staff to cope with demand in the local community and enhance the Special Educational facilities available at the school. I look forward to visiting the school and seeing the new developments progress." In the market for a "forever home" or a holiday hideaway? Check out this detached four-bedroom dormer bungalow in the wilds of Donegal. It goes under the hammer at the BidX1 auction on June 25 with a guide price of just 68,000. The property is located approximately 4km from Glenties town centre and has stunning views of woodland and mountains. The bungalow is on a generous site of three-quarters of an acre. Local amenities in the area include the Highlands Hotel, Glenties Health Centre and Scoil Mhuire National School together with a range of shops, bars and restaurants available in Glenties town centre and nearby Donegal town. Transport links include regular bus routes (991, 492), the R250 and N56 national road. Charles City's Todd Prichard announced Wednesday that he is stepping down as the Iowa House Minority Leader. Its been a great honor to serve as leader of the Iowa House Democrats the last three years. After conversations with my family, its time for me to step aside and allow a new member of our caucus to lead. I know my caucus will continue to hold Governor Reynolds and Republican lawmakers accountable and fight for common sense, progressive values at the Statehouse, said Prichard. Prichard was elected to his fifth term in the Iowa House last year and will continue to serve out that term. Stock Market News USA Market Wrap - Stocks, futures slip as traders weigh China, Fed: markets wrap 03-06-2021 01:11 Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.uk GOODHUE, Minn. An engineering company is committing $500,000 over 10 years to some southeast Minnesota school districts to build awareness of trade, STEM, and construction careers. We hear it over and over; kids dont want to take the four-year college track and are not aware of the other career paths available, says Karl von Knobelsdorff, CEO and President of Knobelsdorff (KE). By working with these seven local school districts to communicate the benefits of a career in the trades is not only a benefit to the students, but educators and parents as well. Were excited to continue to expand this program into more communities and encourage local companies to participate. Operation Trades Awareness will involve school districts in Goodhue, Red Wing, Lake City, Cannon Falls, Zumbrota, Pine Island and Kenyon/Wanamingo, with hopes to expand to other schools in the future. Participating schools will receive tool kits for all graduating seniors, a field trip to a local KE solar site for eighth-graders, the book Build It and STEM activity bin for kindergartners and OSHA-10 certification sponsorships for high school students interested in the trades. Knobelsdorff is an electrical, engineering, automation and renewable energy company with offices in Goodhue and the Twin Cities. IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) A boy who vanished from a rural Iowa trailer park days before his 11th birthday is still missing a week later, as state and federal investigators continue to look into what happened to him. Detectives are considering several possibilities in the disappearance of Xavior Harrelson, including that he was abducted, that he suffered an accident or that he ran away. Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation assistant director Mitch Mortvedt said says that every moment that goes by, the case gets more suspicious and more concerning. He says the case has been a heart-wrenching one for investigators, including many who participated in the nearby 2018 search for slain University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. ROCHESTER, Minn. - Mayo Clinic is providing its employees with new resources this week to help combat hostility and bias. It's all in an effort to continue to improve patient care. The "Supporting Victims of Racism Convokit" provides brief, three-minute learning experiences that can be accessed right at the tips of employee's fingers all by scanning a QR code with their phone. Once downloaded the Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity says the Convokits will provide tips about how to have conversations on challenging issues such as hostility and bias when interacting with patients. Department director Andre Koen says the issues may include derogatory or discriminatory behaviors based on age, race, gender, national origin, or other personal attributes. Koen explained, "It is our hope to recognize that these 'ConvoKits' give people the skills, the ability, and the language to mitigate a number of these conflicts. At Mayo Clinic our primary goal is to make sure the needs of the patient come first. If racism is in the way then the needs of the patient can't come first." Currently, the Convokits are only available to Mayo Clinic employees but Koen says he's hopeful the knowledge may be shared with those who are interested in the future. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Hundreds gathered to pay respects to one of the youngest victims of gun violence in Minneapolis. A memorial service was held Wednesday for 6-year-old Aniya Allen at Shiloh Temple International Ministries. Speakers urged the community to come together to take a stand against the violence that has also recently taken the lives of 9-year-old Trinity Ottoson-Smith and 10-year-old Ladavionne Garrett Jr. Police say Aniya and her mother had just left a McDonalds on the night of May 17 when they were caught in the crossfire of two rival gang members. Aniya was shot in the head while sitting in the back seat of her mothers car. ALBERT LEA, Minn. No charges will be filed against the police officers involved in a November 2020 shooting in Albert Lea. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has finished its investigation of the incident and sent its report to Freeborn County Attorney David Walker, who has announced that the evidence does not support the prosecution of any of the officers involved in the shooting of Devin Matthew Weiland on November 29, 2020. Weiland was shot during an eight-hour standoff with law enforcement at the Shady Oaks apartment complex. Weiland is accused of firing between 70 and 95 shots, wounding a police officer and two others, before he was arrested. The BCA investigation states that the standoff began after Albert Lea police responded to a report of gunfire or fireworks at Shady Oaks. An officer arrived and was shot and injured. That led to the apartments being surrounded by authorities and continued gunfire that wounded two other people. The BCA says Weiland was identified as the shooter and located in a 3rd floor apartment. A chemical agent was used to try and force Weiland out of the apartment but investigators say he instead fired multiple shots at the SWAT vehicle truck that deployed the agent, striking it several times. The BCA says State Trooper Steven Quern saw Weiland pointing his gun out the window and believed he was going to shoot at other officers. Authorities say Quern then fired his weapon at Weiland as Weiland was also shooting. The BCA says Weiland suffered a non-life threatening head wound and quickly surrendered. The Freeborn County Attorneys Office says, based on the information available to Trooper Quern at the time he fired the round at Weiland, a reasonable officer in Trooper Querns position would have concluded that deadly force was necessary to protect the officer or another person from apparent death or great bodily harm. ROCHESTER, Minn. - The past year brought on many canceled events and social gatherings, but this summer is going to be the opposite. Informed and alert communities play a critical role in keeping our area safe. So, that's why public safety leaders are reminding everyone that if you see something, say something. Joe Kelly with Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management, explained there are three main things you need to be aware of when going out in large crowds again. One is something out of the norm. If there's a daily routine you're used to and something doesn't fit that schedule, keep an eye on it. The second thing is be cautious of unoccupied bags or boxes. And lastly, pay attention to people taking videos or pictures of you or the area you're in. Kelly said at the end of the day, if you don't have a good feeling about something, report it because it's better to be safe than sorry. "We don't want to look silly and we don't want to be wrong or we don't want to bother the police or something," he explained. "But if you see something suspicious, what's the worst thing that can happen? And you report it to local law enforcement, what's the worst thing that happens? You were wrong and they look into it and see that it was nothing." It's important to note that if you do see something suspicious, like a box or someone acting a little off, do not approach it yourself. Always call law enforcement first. "You can take these things too far. You don't want to be hyper-vigilant or paranoid, but you don't want to be oblivious," explained Kelly. "I think for ourselves, we have our own personal responsibility to keep ourselves straight." Kelly said it's not just about paying attention in public spaces outdoors, you should also report something suspicious you might see on social media. If you're in a situation where you don't feel comfortable calling 911, you can always text 911 with what's going on and your exact location. ROCHESTER, Minn. - Members of the Olmsted County Fair's executive board met Wednesday to discuss the future of an upcoming event some community members are calling to be canceled. Rapper Prof is scheduled to perform at the fairgrounds the week before the Olmsted County Fair. The musician's former record label cut ties with him last year, citing misogyny in its decision. While the event is being produced by a third-party promoter, the fair board did sign off on the performance. Fair Board Member Brandon Helgeson says he and his counterparts were not aware of this aspect of Prof's background at the time, and while the rapper has not been accused of a crime, acknowledges more due diligence should have taken place. "Absolutely. We should own up to when we make mistakes," Helgeson said. "We should have looked at him closer. When we looked at him, when he was presented to us, we looked at the fact that he's a Minnesota-based rapper. The only reason I knew the name was because he had played in Rochester several times, multiple times, multiple different places." OCF will receive a portion of the revenue generated by the pre-fair event, a new way the organization is leveraging its multi-week lease of the fairgrounds. Helgeson says in the wake of a devastating year, the independent nonprofit has been forced to find additional sources of revenue to make ends meet. "It's vital that we have things like this happening to make it so that we can even financially survive." Helgeson continued, "like every agricultural fair, even though we're a bigger one, we struggle financially every year to make sure we can do it, and coming out of a pandemic, that's even tougher." Helgeson tells KIMT given the fair's current financial status, he believes the show will likely go on as planned. "We have a contractual obligation to these promoters that we need to take into consideration, because these local promoters, local guys, hired a local production company. They now have responsibilities, they have signed contracts and deposits out. So what happens to the fair if we, as a fair, go and say, 'you can't do the show?' We're going to end up having to pay that bill, and quite simply, we can't." Helgeson also refuted any notion he would financially benefit from the concert. The board member says while he is involved in many Rochester events in different capacities, he answers to boards and committees who oversee decisions. Helgeson says OCF will likely be issuing a statement about the concert before the end of the week, and adds he will be issuing his own persona statement in the near future. MASON CITY, Iowa A man arrested almost 10 months after a Clear Lake burglary waits less than a month before pleading guilty. Curtis Patrick Carr, 48 of Sioux City, was arrested in early May and charged with second-degree burglary and criminal mischief. Law enforcement says Carr and another person broke into a business in the 500 block of Highway 18 E in June 2020, cutting a hole in the wall between the office and the bathroom. Investigators say Carr injured himself and left his blood behind at the scene. Hes now pleaded guilty to third-degree burglary and been sentenced to up to five years in prison. Carr must also pay the business he broke into $400 in damages. ROCHESTER, Minn. - June is Pride Month and a chance for LGBTQ communities around the world to come together to celebrate the freedom to be themselves. Since most in-person events were canceled last year, due to the pandemic, local organizations are ready to welcome the members back face-to-face. Rochester Pride is ready to dust off the rainbow flag and re-connect with the community. Chair Jennifer Winter says theres a Pride in the Park clean-up event this weekend as a way to give back to the community. Winter also says in partnership with Out Rochester there are several events going on this month including some virtual educational events with Planned Parenthood every Wednesday in June. Due to the pandemic this past year, Winter says its been very isolating for everyone, and that definitely includes LGBTQ people, which is why having visibility this month is so important. It's been a very isolating year for a lot of people so I think this Pride Month especially is important for people to be able to get out and be with their community and feel like they belong again, said Winter. Rochester Prides primary event is on September 25 and everyone within the LGBTQ community or outside of it is welcome to celebrate. ST. PAUL, Minn. A Rochester woman is among four sentenced Thursday for being part of a Twin Cities drug dealing conspiracy. Katherine Byrd Campbell, 33 of Rochester, was given time served and five years of supervised release for her role in a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking ring that was operating in March and April 2020. Federal investigators say meth was transported from Phoenix, Arizona, to the Twin Cities for distribution. The investigation led to searches on April 14, 2020, that found 23 pounds of methamphetamine, three handguns, more than $100,000 in U.S. currency, and assorted drug paraphernalia. Also sentenced Thursday for their part in the conspiracy: Brandon Earl Swanson, 41 of Crystal, was sentenced to 144 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Jared William Merta, 40 of Montrose, was sentenced to 170 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Wayde Salem Salwei, 46 of Minnetonka, was sentenced to 132 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Co-defendants Lucas Jay Madison and Mark Oren Schorn were previously sentenced to 235 and 180 months in prison, respectively. This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Anoka Hennepin Drug Task Force, the Cannon River Drug & Violent Offender Task Force, the Southeast Minnesota Gang and Drug Task Force, the Wright County Sheriffs Office, the Rice County Sheriffs Office, the Anoka County Sheriffs Office, the Minnesota State Patrol, and the Edina Police Department. AUSTIN, Minn. Robbing an Austin bar is sending a Twin Cities man to prison. Jeffrey Joseph Krieger, 49 of St. Paul, pleaded guilty to theft and was sentenced Thursday to one year and 11 months behind bars. Krieger was credited for 504 days already served and must also pay $5,432.71 in restitution. Investigators say Krieger robbed the Hiawatha Bar on 10th Street NE sometime between 2:20 and 4 am on July 22, 2018. Police say Krieger was identified on security video as one of the men removing a safe from the bar. The safe was recovered later that same day in a ditch near Taopi. The Mower County Sheriffs Office says the safe had been pried open and was empty. Court documents state Krieger was a suspect in similar burglaries in three other Minnesota counties. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Prosecutors are seeking a 30-year sentence for the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murder in George Floyd's death, but a defense attorney is asking that Derek Chauvin be sentenced to probation and time already served, according to court documents filed Wednesday. Chauvin is scheduled to be sentenced June 25 following his conviction on murder and manslaughter charges. Judge Peter Cahill previously ruled there were aggravating factors in Floyds death, which gives him the discretion to sentence Chauvin above the range recommended by state guidelines. Prosecutors said Chauvin's actions were egregious and a sentence of 30 years would properly account for the profound impact of Defendant's conduct on the victim, the victim's family, and the community. They said that Chauvin's actions shocked the Nation's conscience. No sentence can undo Mr. Floyds death, and no sentence can undo the trauma Defendants actions have inflicted. But the sentence the Court imposes must show that no one is above the law, and no one is below it," prosecutors wrote. Defendants sentence must hold him fully accountable for his reprehensible conduct. Defense attorney Eric Nelson cited Chauvin's age, lack of a criminal record, and support from family and friends in requesting a sentence of probation and time served. He said Chauvin was the product of a broken system. Chauvin was convicted in April of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for pressing his knee against Floyds neck for about 9 1/2 minutes as the Black man said he couldnt breathe and went motionless. Floyds death, captured on widely seen bystander video, set off demonstrations around the United States and beyond as protesters demanded changes in policing. Even though Chauvin was found guilty of three counts, he'll only be sentenced on the most serious one second-degree murder. Under Minnesota sentencing guidelines, with no criminal record he faces a presumptive sentence of 12 1/2 years on that count. Cahill can sentence him to as little as 10 years and eight months or as much as 15 years and stay within the guideline range. But prosecutors asked for what is known as an upward departure, saying there were several aggravating factors that warranted a higher sentence. Cahill agreed, finding Chauvin treated Floyd with particular cruelty, abused his position of authority as a police officer, committed his crime as part of a group of three or more people, and that he pinned Floyd down in the presence of children. Prosecutors said that even one of those factors would warrant the higher sentence. Nelson wrote that while this incident painted Chauvin as a dangerous man, he has served his community as an officer and has a loving family and close friends. He also disputed the court's finding that aggravating factors existed, saying there is no evidence that Chauvin's assault on Floyd included gratuitous infliction of pain or cruelty. Here, Mr. Chauvin was unaware that he was even committing a crime. In fact, in his mind, he was simply performing his lawful duty in assisting other officers in the arrest of George Floyd, Nelson wrote, adding: Mr. Chauvins offense is best described as an error made in good faith reliance his own experience as a police officer and the training he had received not intentional commission of an illegal act. Nelson added: In spite of the notoriety surrounding this case, the Court must look to the facts. They all point to the single most important fact: Mr. Chauvin did not intend to cause George Floyds death. He believed he was doing his job. No matter what sentence Chauvin gets, in Minnesota its presumed that a defendant with good behavior will serve two-thirds of the penalty in prison and the rest on supervised release, commonly known as parole. Chauvin has also been indicted on federal charges alleging he violated Floyds civil rights, as well as the civil rights of a 14-year-old he restrained in a 2017 arrest. The three other former officers involved in Floyds death were also charged with federal civil rights violations; they await trial in state court on aiding and abetting counts. A federal trial date has not been set. Federal prosecutors are asking for more time to prepare for trial. In court filings, federal prosecutors said the case is complex because of the sheer volume of evidence and the separate but coordinated state and federal investigations. MITCHELL COUNTY, Iowa - Farmers have long been known as stewards of the land. As one key initiative under the Biden administration is protecting the environment, farmers are playing a role in that. As part of her tour across Iowa's 1st District, U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson toured Wayne Fredericks' farm just outside of Osage Wednesday. She got a first hand look at how conservation practices can improve sustainability and profitability on the farm. These included buffer strips can help with pollinator habitats, as well as a bioreactor to help reduce nitrogen output, and how cover crops can help soil growth and structure, and protect some of the crops from last week's frost. Hinson recently introduced the PRECISE Act, which aims to expand access to precision agriculture practices and technology, including an expansion of broadband internet connectivity. "I think there are a lot of things that we can do, not only in precision agriculture, but in conservation practices, to meet that need of being a good steward of the environment while also increasing yield and making sure our farmers keep making money at the same time." The bill has strong bi-partisan support. "It's smart for Iowa, but it's smart for precision agriculture across the country. We're starting to see people sign on from other states, not only in the Midwest, but all over the country because they understand how important precision agriculture is. It's not a bi-partisan issue." As part of her district wide tour, Hinson met with Fringe and Lace by Brittany in Northwood for an update on issues impacting small businesses. Two Easy Ways To Subscribe! The Kodiak Daily Mirror offers full-service, five-day a week subscriptions with home delivery in addition to unlimited access to our online services (including our e-Edition). Online-access-only subscriptions include unlimited access to the Mirror's online services without delivery of the printed newspaper. (Note: New users: You must register and login before purchasing a subscription. BILLINGS - A man who pleaded guilty to deliberate homicide was sentenced in Yellowstone County Wednesday to serve 75 years in prison. Colby Allen Clark, 22, pleaded guilty in the April 26, 2020 death of Micah Myron. Clark was connected to the crime when he was arrested while driving a vehicle of interest in a separate assault case in Butte, which happened on April 30, four days after the homicide. Last week, he was sentenced in Butte-Silver Bow County to serve 30 years in prison on the assault charge. On Wednesday, a judge sentenced Clark to serve 75 years at the Montana State Prison for deliberate homicide. Clark is set to serve both sentences concurrently. CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) A Wyoming sheriff's corporal who is facing a wrongful death lawsuit in the killing of an unarmed mentally ill man in 2018 has resigned. Derek Colling left his job Wednesday, the Albany County Sheriff's Office said in a release Thursday. No other information about the personnel matter would be provided, the release said. Colling had no listed phone number and couldn't be reached for comment. Colling was a patrol deputy when he shot and killed Robert Robbie Ramirez, 39, after a traffic stop in Laramie in 2018. Ramirez drove off during the stop, and police car video shows that Colling followed him to his apartment, where he shot him with a Taser then his gun. The lawsuit says the video shows Colling aggressively charge Ramirez in the apartment parking lot even though Ramirez's hands were in plain sight and Colling knew Ramirez was unarmed. In court documents, Colling denies those allegations and others, though he acknowledges shooting Ramirez. Colling's attorney, Stephenson Emery, didn't immediately return a phone message Thursday. A grand jury later found Colling didn't commit involuntary manslaughter. The shooting nonetheless raised questions about why the sheriff's office hired Colling as a jail deputy in 2012 after he'd been fired from the Las Vegas police department. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court by Ramirezs mother, Debra Hinkel, says Colling fatally shot two people in the line of duty in Las Vegas and assaulted and illegally arrested a man who settled a personal injury lawsuit against the city. Hinkel's lawsuit against Colling, the Albany County Commission and former Sheriff David O'Malley seeks a jury trial and yet-to-be-determined damages. Colling grew up in Laramie and knew Ramirez from school. Ramirez was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder which relatives say led to run-ins with and fear of law enforcement officers. An advocacy group formed in response to Ramirez's death praised Colling's resignation. Derek Colling turning in his badge and gun is because of the efforts made by this community that fought for justice for Robbie Ramirez. Collings resignation is accountability, but it is not justice, Karlee Provenza, executive director of Albany County for Proper Policing and a Democratic state legislator, said in a statement. O'Malley hired Colling and promoted him from patrol deputy to patrol corporal after the shooting. O'Malley retired in 2020, leading to the appointment of Aaron Appelhans, a University of Wyoming Police Department sergeant, as Wyoming's first Black sheriff. Appelhans reassigned Colling to jail corporal in March. Follow Mead Gruver at https://twitter.com/meadgruver BILLINGS, Mont. - A 32-year-old man is in the hospital with life-threatening injuries after being shot multiple times according to the Billings Police Department. Sgt. Peterson with the Billings Police Department said on Twitter the shooting happened at 1:48 a.m. in the 1400 block of Eldorado Drive. The suspect is unknown at this time. Detectives are investigating. A man who abandoned a motorcycle following a chase was shot and killed near Hot Springs on Wednesday by an Arkansas State Trooper. Support Local Journalism The Malibu community needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please help keep us in print by making a contribution. ROME, JUN 3 - The kidnappers of Giovanni 'Vanni' Cali, an Italian engineer taken captive two days ago in Haiti, are reportedly demanding a ransom of $500,000 for his release. The 74-year-old from Catania was working for a company, Bonifica Spa, on the construction of a road in the Caribbean country. He was formerly the province of Catania's executive councillor for public works. (ANSA). CATANZARO, JUN 3 - A motorway maintenance worker was run over and killed on the A2 motorway in Calabria on Thursday, local sources said. The accident happened at Francavilla Angitola, near the Pizzo Calabro turnoff near Vibo Valentia. Southbound traffic has been halted. A medical helicopter intervened but the worker died of his injuries. Italy is in the middle of a spate of workplace accident deaths which has spurred calls to up workplace safety. The death of the 22-year-old mother of a five-year-old boy, Luana D'Orazio, in a textile mill accident near Prato on May 3, placed the issue at the centre of public debate once again. Another five people died at work in the first week of May, in accidents. Premier Mario Draghi said that more must be done on workplace safety. Over 2,000 additional workplace safety inspectors will be hired adding to the 4,500 now on duty, he said. In the most recent incident, A 38-year-old factory worker was crushed to death by a forklift truck in an aluminium-working factory near Pordenone on Tuesday. Before that, two factory workers died Friday after a steam pipe broke in the plant they were working in near Pavia and they were hit by a stream of ammonium. (ANSA). By Alessandra Briganti BRUSSELS, JUN 3 - There is a piece missing from the complex puzzle of the recovery from the economic earthquake caused by COVID-19, according to a study by the EU ESPON programme, which is specialized in regional policies. That piece regards metropolitan cities, the driving force of the EU's economic and social development, which have, up to now, been on the side-lines of the National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRP) that will change the face of Europe. This is a 'must-win' match and it is one which urban agglomerations, where at least 70% of European GDP is produced, want to have a say in, the study highlights. "It is a real institutional emergency," Piera Petruzzi, the coordinator of the METRO project that is part of the ESPON programme and researched the phenomenon of metropolitan cities in Europe, explained to ANSA. According to Petruzzi it is necessary "to anchor NRRPs to the urban dimension" to make "more efficient and effective management of resources" possible. The problem is anything but new, the researchers explained, and it stems mainly from the absence of a univocal definition of a metropolitan city at European level, and of clear ways to channel funds. So, during the pandemic, metropolitan cities were badly hit by the socio-economic and health crisis but found themselves lacking the instruments and funds to handle and cope with this emergency. During the planning phase of the NRRPs, States, which were under no obligation to involve local authorities in the process, moved in a random way. Italy is mentioned among the good examples in the study, since, as the researchers wrote, big cities "participated indirectly in the planning process by providing, through flagship projects, a significant contribution for metropolitan areas". For example, Turin, which participated with Florence in the ESPON METRO project, has proposed a "relatively large number of projects on green transition, digital public administration, cohesion, sustainability, inclusion, mobility". And yet things did not work out this way everywhere and now metropolitan cities would like to institutionalize their involvement during the crucial phase of the realization of the NRRP, as the European Metropolitan Authorities, a platform that brings together more than 40 big European cities, has also already requested. Urban agglomerations are "in the best position when it comes to setting out strategies and integrated projects to accomplish the green and digital transition", explained Claudia Fassero, who is responsible for Turin's EU projects. "Better impact and spending capacity, knowledge of the territory and, above all, inclusion of the most peripheral municipalities, which would otherwise be excluded from the transition, make metropolitan cities a potential driver of change, and a guarantee that no one will be left behind", concluded Fassero. (ANSA). ROME, JUN 3 - Former premier Silvio Berlusconi is on the mend after suffering a bout of severe 'long COVID' symptoms, the no.2 in his centre-right Forza Italia (FI) party, ex-European Parliament president Antonio Tajani, said Thursday. An interview to his Il Giornale newspaper Wednesday in which he "broached all the major pending issues" showed the media mogul-turned-politician was feeling better and was as ever essential to the centre right, Tajani said. Berlusconi, 84, who had a heart valve replaced in 2016, said his experience with COVID last September was "the worst and most frightening in my life". The three-time former premier and media mogul caught the virus in Sardinia from his friend and fellow billionaire businessman, ex-Benetton and Renault F1 boss Flavio Briatore. The Mediaset empire owner spent a week in hospital last month with a fever due to a COVID vaccination and the lingering effects of his bout of the virus, and has been reported as still being seriously ill even after he left the Milan clinic. Milan prosecutors have requested that Berlusconi's case in the so-called Ruby Ter and bunga bunga perjury trial be separated from those of other defendants because the ex-premier is "seriously ill". But last week a Milan judge turned down the bid despite appeals from both the defence and prosecution. All defendants will go forward together, the judge ruled, with the next hearing being on September 8. The defence said that the ex-PM's health conditions continued to be "severe" and he faced "a not brief prognosis" due to long COVID. The prosecution also said the media mogul had "pluri-pathologies", was in a "chronic" state, and was suffering psychiatric and neurological symptoms that merited "attention" from the court. But Tajani told journalists Thursday: "As you have seen, he is better, yesterday he g ave a wide-ranging interview where the put Forza Italia back at the centre of the political debate. He is slowly recovering, he still has to be looked after at home for a few days, but he has restarted his political activity". (ANSA). ROME, JUN 3 - Bolton Food, the Food Business Unit of the Bolton Group, has pledged to take action to combat the overfishing of tuna and other unregulated practices that threaten the health of the Indian Ocean, winning praise from environmental NGO WWF. According to the new "Bolton Food Tuna Sourcing Policy", the European leader in the production of canned tuna will gradually reduce in its use of yellowfin tuna caught in the Indian Ocean in a big way, cutting it by at least 20% in 2024 compared to its average for the 2017-2019 period. Bolton Food, whose brands include the Rio Mare range of tuna products, has also said it will source yellowfin tuna caught in the Indian Ocean exclusively from vessels whose flag State commits to implementing the catch limits decided at the next Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) meeting in June. So it will not source from IOTC CPC vessels whose flag State is, or will be, 100% exempted from any catch reduction. "As a market leader, we feel it is our duty to be the first to concretely change our practices, to set a good example for all players in the sector to follow," said Luciano Pirovano, Global Sustainable Development Director of the Food Business Unit of the Bolton Group. "Therefore, we are committed to buying tuna from stocks that are healthy and support fishing activities that minimize their environmental impacts. "This means rethinking our sourcing when necessary and demanding stronger regulations on fisheries management to allow for tuna stock rebuilding and recovery, such as in the case of the Indian Ocean. "All our efforts are projected into the future, our desire is to give future generations a healthy ocean and a world where sustainability is the norm, not just a trend". Umair Shaid, the Indian Ocean Regional Tuna Manager of WWF, said Bolton Food's new policy was a positive step. "The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission and its members failed to achieve consensus and adoption of a rebuilding plan for the overfished yellowfin tuna during the special session last March," Shaid said. "WWF welcomes that Bolton Food's commitments are now loud and clear in supporting ambitious conservation and management measures that are an important reminder to the IOTC to act urgently to save the yellowfin tuna stocks from collapsing". (ANSA). This promotional subscription includes access to all online news and pages for a 90-day period as well as daily news delivered to your email inbox. Please allow 24-36 hours for the online account to activate as part of this subscription selection. EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was amended June 9 to correct the date of an upcoming Elkhorn Antique Flea Market and to clarify the details on ticket sales for the June 23 Pork Chop Cookout. ELKHORN So many people were at the first Elkhorn Antique Flea Market of 2021 that some of them had to find parking a mile away from the Walworth County Fairgrounds. According to one fairgrounds official, the ingredients are right for a massive summer at the nearly 100-acre site. Some of the most popular fairground events are returning this year, while several new ones will be making their debut. Were going to have the biggest season the fairgrounds ever had, said Larry Gaffey, general manager of the fairgrounds. The May 16 start to the flea markets 2021 season may be a glimpse of things to come. Gaffey believes the market was so well attended because of developments with the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 13, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that COVID-vaccinated people do not have to wear masks or practice social distancing in various situations. Today is Tuesday, June 1, 2021. Let's get caught up. These headlines are in the news this morning: President Biden will visit Tulsa today to honor the victims of the race massacre that destroyed a Black community 100 years ago; the Vatican is criminalizing the abuse of adults by priests and laity; police are still looking for 3 gunmen in a mass shooting in Miami over the weekend that killed two and injured 21. Read on for these stories, other top headlines, celebrity birthdays and more. TOP STORIES Biden to honor forgotten victims of Tulsa race massacre WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden will take part in a remembrance of one of the nations darkest and largely forgotten moments of racial violence when he helps commemorate the 100th anniversary of the destruction of a thriving Black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Bidens visit Tuesday, in which he will grieve for the hundreds of Black people killed by a white mob a century ago, comes amid a national reckoning on racial justice. And it will stand in stark contrast to the most recent visit to Tulsa by a president, which took place last year. WASHINGTON (AP) Jill Biden is getting a day at the beach for her 70th birthday. President Joe Biden and his wife were heading to their Delaware beach house Wednesday evening to help the first lady celebrate that personal milestone on Thursday. The trip makes for a rare midweek getaway from the White House by a president. It will also be the president's first visit to the couple's Rehoboth Beach home since he took office in January. The Bidens were expected to be back at the White House on Friday. Jill Biden, a longtime community college English professor, recently finished virtually teaching a course for Northern Virginia Community College. She also won't be teaching over the summer. Biden often speaks about how proud he is of his wife of nearly 44 years. "Teaching is not what Jill does. Teaching is who she is," Biden said last week, echoing his wife's own description of herself. "And she's done it her, her whole adult life, and she's still doing it." Biden said his wife had pledged she would continue to teach as first lady. Election Johnson said he thinks Republicans have accepted President Joe Bidens win last November even as Republicans in Wisconsin and across the nation continue to investigate what they consider irregularities, despite a lack of evidence to any widespread fraud. I think we have (accepted Bidens win), Johnson said. What is there left to accept? In January, Johnson voted to certify Bidens win, unlike U.S. Reps. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, and Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua. Still, Johnson said he supports the efforts of Republicans across the nation and in Wisconsin to look into the November election through audits and other means. Why should anybody fear that? Johnson said. If youre thoroughly convinced there was not a level of fraud that would overturn the election, you ought to be doing everything in your power to assist those forensic audits to assure people that it was a legitimate result. As for the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection, which Johnson has previously downplayed, he said he blames the agitators, and not Trump. I actually blame the perpetrators of the crime, I blame the agitators, provocateurs, Johnson said. I think our hyperpartisan politics is driving all of this. On Globes: My late uncle was a successful business man and world traveler. He kept this globe on his office desk. I was always fascinated by it as a child, because it could be turned on to light up and show the countries of the world. When he died recently, he left the globe to me. It is 11 inches high by 10 inches in diameter, and is mounted on an oak stand. I plan to keep it as a family heirloom and would like to know more facts about it, its value and the globes history. A. D., Des Moines, Iowa Answer: You have an illuminated Terrestrial globe, made in the 1950s by the Repogle Globe Co., in the Chicago area. Historically, the oldest-surviving Terrestrial globe was made in 1492 by Martin Behaim (1459-1507) a German mapmaker, navigator and merchant. Innovations in globe making began with Luther I. Repogle, in his Chicago apartment in the 1930s. His big break came when Marshall Field & Co. commissioned him to produce a globe for the Chicago Century of Progress Worlds Fair in 1933. Your globe could sell for $400 or more in a retail setting. Small Table Worth Anything?: I found this small table at a garage sale. It is just what I was looking for, for my new home office. It is plastic and goes with my vintage-style decor. It is 13 inches by 16 inches. I paid $25 for it, and it is stamped Kartell. What can you tell me about it, and is it worth more than I paid? D.L., Kansas City, Kansas Answer: You have a vintage table, part of a set of nesting tables. It was made in 1967, designed by Giotto Stoppino for the Kartell Co. of Italy. It is made of plastic. The company was founded in 1949 by Giulio Castelli and continues today, selling vintage-style, designer plastic furniture around the world. In a retail setting, your table could be priced at $150. The Value of Currier and Ives: My family owned a farm in Illinois for decades. We recently sold it when I moved to Florida and most of the possessions were sold. This old Currier and Ives print was overlooked. It is titled The Old Farm House. It offers a bit of nostalgia and I would like to keep it for my children. It has some foxing, but is otherwise in good shape. Do you know its value? T.M., Coral Gables, Florida Answer: This is a great family heirloom. Your photo shows it was published by Currier and Ives at 25 Nassau St., New York, in 1871. It is a hand-colored lithograph. Many reproductions of Currier and Ives prints have been reproduced ever since. Your lithograph could sell in a retail setting for as much as $1,500. Senator Ted Cruz used a clip from the film "Monty Python" as he mocked Vice President Kamala Harris on how she addresses the border crisis on his social media post Wednesday, June 2. It is not the first time Vice President Kamala Harris was mocked by her colleagues and even the people online. Harris was also placed under fire when she tweeted with her picture and encouraged everyone to "enjoy the long weekend," without mentioning Memorial Day, which is scheduled to take place on Monday. Many were disappointed about what she did but there are still some who defended the vice president. READ NEXT: Kamala Harris Taps Microsoft, Mastercard and Other Private Firms to Promote Economic Opportunity in Central America Senator Ted Cruz Mocks VP Kamala Harris Using "Monty Python" Clip Regarding Border Crisis On the border crisis, Kamala invokes an old leadership style....https://t.co/Y24fcvapkl pic.twitter.com/QUy5Jlv4W7 Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 2, 2021 In a clip Senator Ted Cruz posted on his Twitter account, knights were dropping their weapons and running away from a cave while a text pops out "Run away! Run away!" The Senator captioned the gif derived from a clip in "Monty Python" saying that Harris is invoking an old "leadership style" regarding the border crisis. Well said Ted Clarence (@honesthkcitizen) June 2, 2021 What bills have you introduced to fix the immigration problem? Jason Oldman (@ArtistOldman) June 2, 2021 The gif posted by the senator garnered different sympathies from people online. Some users applauded Cruz's movement while some of them were not pleased and questioned what the senator did to fix the immigration problem. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris' staff, who was not identified, told New York Post that the vice president is focused on the "root causes" or the conditions in Central America that are forcing people to migrate from the region. Unaccompanied migrant children continue to plunge into the U.S. borders. Recently, a five-year-old was reported left by smugglers at the border near El Paso, Texas. The child held a teddy bear as he screamed and pleaded with the smugglers not to abandon him. Meanwhile, nearly 500 unaccompanied migrant children since December were placed under temporary care in Chicago-area shelters. Newsweek reported that the number of unaccompanied children is the highest since 2014. Most of the children were from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Kamala Harris to Visit Guatemala and Mexico It can be remembered that Kamala Harris previewed her visit to Mexico and Guatemala scheduled for next week. People reported that Harris' visit marks her first international official trip. "I'm here to listen as much as I am to share perspective," said Harris. Harris added that her visit will also be about "the need to have very frank and honest discussions" regarding corruption, crime, violence, which are particular against "the most vulnerable populations in that country." Furthermore, Harris noted that she planned to urge Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammettei to support the people who need help when it comes to hunger, economic development piece, and extreme weather. The three factors of mass migration are often mentioned by experts. Although mocked by Senator Cruz using a "Monty Python" clip, People noted that Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to travel to Guatemala on Sunday and then fly to Mexico that night. READ MORE: Kamala Harris Virtually Meets With Guatemala's President as U.S. Sanctions Other Officials From the Country WATCH: Ted Cruz Tells Media What They Should Ask VP Kamala Harris About Border "Crisis" - from Forbes Breaking News A Florida sheriff called for juvenile justice reform after two foster children got involved in a recent shooting incident with deputies in Volusia County. Orlando Sentinel reported that Florida sheriff Mike Chitwood called for reform as he blamed the tragic incident on the state legislators and a broken juvenile justice system. The shooting incident between deputies and the foster children happened on Tuesday, June 1. It added to the recent series of shooting incidents in the United States. It can be remembered that a firefighter dies in Santa Clarita, Los Angeles after being shot by an off-duty colleague on Tuesday, June 1. READ NEXT: Ohio Mass Shooting at an Apartment Complex Leaves 5 People Dead Florida Sheriff Blames Juvenile Justice System for the Shooting Incident Involving the Foster Children A day following the incident, Volusia County sheriff Mike Chitwood blamed the incident on the broken juvenile justice system of Florida that allows young, violent criminals to be released without enforcing measures dedicated to reformation. Orlando Sentinel reported that Chitwood called for legislators to take violent juvenile crimes seriously. Chitwood also challenged the legislators to "get on the streets" and engage in a conversation with the victims of juvenile crimes and hopefully make legislation that will allow deputies to treat such crimes as seriously as those committed by adults. "The juvenile justice system is broken. People need to face facts," said Chitwood, adding that the Department of Juvenile Justice wanted to put violent teenagers in places that can't contain them. Florida Foster Children Utilized Stolen Firearms as they Opened Fire to Cops The Florida sheriff's call for juvenile justice reform came as two foster children, aged 12 and 14, broke into a home and used stolen firearms as they opened fire to the officers. The foster children ran away from the Florida United Methodist Children's Home in Enterprise and were reported missing at around 5 p.m. According to Newsweek, authorities said a passerby reported hearing a glass break at 1050 Enterprise in Osteen Road at about 7:30 p.m. In a statement, authorities noted that they contacted the homeowner and found that there was no one home. The homeowner also said there was a handgun, a shotgun, and an AK-47, with nearly 200 rounds of ammunition inside their home. Orlando Sentinel reported that the 14-year-old girl fired the first shot to the police from the back patio of the home at around 8:30 p.m. The two children fired at the authorities on four different occasions. The girl was shot and wounded by the police after she came out of the garage. She was initially brought to Central Florida Regional Hospital with fatal injuries before she was transferred to a different hospital. Police said she was in stable condition after the surgery. Meanwhile, the 12-year-old boy was unharmed during the shooting incident. However, he was also transported to Central Florida Regional Hospital to be treated for diabetes. "Deputies did everything they could tonight to de-escalate, and they almost lost their lives to a 12-year-old and a 14-year-old," said Chitwood. Reports said the 14-year-old girl had a criminal record of stealing dogs and was sentenced to a halfway house that she burned down on April 10. The 12-year-old boy has no criminal history, but he was reprimanded for threatening a school administrator and another student this spring. READ MORE: Miami Mass Shooting: 2 Dead, More Than 20 Hurt; $125,000 Reward Offered to Find Killers WATCH: Sheriff Chitwood Criticizes Children's Home Where Shooting Suspects Escaped - From WKMG News 6 ClickOrlando Former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin was recently convicted for George Floyd's death when he pressed his knee to the Black man's neck in May 2020. On Wednesday, June 2, his defense attorney argued that Derek Chauvin should receive no prison time or less than the maximum sentence partly because the former Minneapolis cop is the product of a "broken system," USA Today reported. Eric Nelson, Chauvin's attorney, said the defendant is in solitary confinement at a high-security prison since it is likely he would be targeted by other prisoners. Prosecutors argued that Chauvin's actions had cause trauma to George Floyd's family and bystanders who watched him die. They added that the former Minneapolis cop "shocked the nation's conscience." Derek Chauvin is convicted of second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in George Floyd's death that enraged the public, spurring mass protests. RELATED ARTICLE: Derek Chauvin Trial Witness Compared His Kneel to Martial Arts 'Kill Choke' Derek Chauvin's Prison Sentence Minnesota prosecutors are seeking a 30-year sentence for the former Minneapolis cop, Voice of America News reported. But Chauvin's defense has instead appealed for a sentence of probation and time served. Judge Peter Cahill ruled that there were "aggravating circumstances" in George Floyd's murder, which gives him the discretion to sentence the former cop to a term longer than regular state guidelines. Twelve and a half years is the average sentence for a first-offense case in Minnesota like Derek Chauvin. Prosecutors said that 30 years would more properly account for the deep impact of the defendant's conduct on the victim, Floyd's family, and the community. Derek Chauvin was also convicted for second-degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of 40 years. His sentencing is set to take place on June 25. Chauvin has been in jail since April 20. George Floyd's Murder Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd's neck for nine and a half minutes that was captured in a video by a 17-year-old bystander. The bystander had testified in Chauvin's trial. NBC News reported that legal experts argued that Chauvin is unlikely to get more than 30 years. Aside from the George Floyd case, Chauvin was also charged by the Justice Department when he deprived a 14-year-old boy of his civil rights during an encounter in September 2017. The former Minneapolis cop was accused of holding the boy by the throat and striking the boy's head multiple times with a flashlight. The incident between Derek Chauvin and George Floyd started when a shop assistant called the police after believing that the Black man had used a counterfeit $20 to pay for a pack of cigarettes. Officers arrived and handcuffed Floyd and tried to put him into the squad car. A struggle ensued, putting Floyd face down on the street, BBC News reported. Expert witnesses on behalf of the state testified that Floyd died from a lack of oxygen due to the manner of restraint that was used by Chauvin and his colleagues. Several eyewitnesses watched the incident footage and described the feeling of "helpless" as the struggle continued. Three other former police officers, who were also involved in the incident, were J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao. They are scheduled to stand trial together beginning March 2022. READ MORE: George Floyd's Family Agrees to 'Historic' $27 Million Settlement With Minneapolis WATCH: How Long Will Derek Chauvin Go to Prison for George Floyd's Murder? - From CBS 8 San Diego California has agreed to pay more than $2 million in legal fees in a settlement with churches that questioned the state's COVID closure orders as a violation of religious freedom. Religious Freedom Challenged in California Aside from the monetary settlement, California also agreed not to impose stricter coronavirus restrictions on church gatherings compared to retail establishments. According to U.S. News, lawyers for a San Diego-area Pentecostal church took their challenge regarding pandemic closure against the state to the U.S. Supreme Court. The $2 million deal was approved Tuesday, June 1, by a federal judge after the lawyers of the religious group delivered the challenge against the state to the Supreme Court three times and won. Attorney Paul Jonna noted that the settlement includes a permanent injunction in line with Supreme Court rulings that found restrictions on churches cannot exceed those on retail business. Jonna also questioned why the state could not allow churches to have 50 percent capacity on worships while allowing Costco to 50 percent capacity. Jonna noted that it is questionable why California allowed other establishments to open and continue their operations but ordered to shut down churches completely. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is poised to lift all restrictions on June 15. Gavin Newsom's decision came after the case rate of COVID in the state has plummeted since a deadly winter surge that forced people to stay at their homes and rise in the vaccination rates. Newsom's office issued a statement emphasizing that the governor put the health of Californians first when he imposed closure orders, Centre Daily reported. The statement also noted that the settlements provide clarity on how public health standards can be applicable also to churches. READ NEXT: Democrat Melanie Stansbury Wins U.S. House Election Race in New Mexico, Now Filling Interior Secretary Haaland's Seat California Gavin Newsom is the First Governor to Issue a Statewide Stay-Home Order California Governor Gavin Newsom was the first governor who issued a statewide stay-home order during the start of the COVID pandemic in March 2020. But a number of his closure orders and modifications that allowed certain businesses to open at different capacities were challenged not only in the state but also in federal courts. The orders in maintaining the safety of the public were generally upheld until religious groups won a string of victories. The victories came after the makeup in Supreme Court last year when liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away and was replaced by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Associated Press reported. Jonna shared that while the settlements only apply to restrictions issued for the ongoing pandemic, he does not believe that the state of California would impose harsher restrictions on churches in the future. He said it is because of the recent Supreme Court rulings. Meanwhile, the settlements also involved federal lawsuits brought by South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista. A Catholic priest in Bakersfield, Father Trevor Burfitt also filed a lawsuit in Kern County Superior Court. California will be paying lawyers for the Thomas More Society, which is a conservative public interest law firm, $1.6 million in legal fees in the South Bay case, while the other $550,000 is intended for the Burfitt case. READ MORE: U.S. Pres. Joe Biden Offers New COVID Vaccine Incentives, Including Free Beer, Among Others WATCH: Pasadena Church Wins Lawsuit from California Shutdown - From TCT Network New racism allegations have once again confronted Buckingham Palace, with documentation to back up the said claims. The said allegations of racism involve Queen Elizabeth II's top courtier, who was said to ban "colored immigrants or foreigners" from serving in clerical roles in the royal household until at least the late 1960s, according to a USA Today report. Documents from 1968 allegedly reveal how the Queen's chief financial manager informed civil servants that it was not the practice to appoint colored immigrants or foreigners to clerical roles in the royal household, although they were permitted to work as domestic servants. The papers were discovered at the National Archives as part of The Guardian's ongoing investigation into the royal family's use of the parliamentary procedure, according to The Guardian report. The said procedure was also known as the Queen's consent, which was reportedly used to secretly influence the content of British laws. However, it was not clear when the practice ended. Buckingham Palace had also refused to answer questions about the ban on colored immigrants and when it was put out of practice. The top positions advising the monarch were mostly of white descent, upper-class or aristocratic males. Many were Oxbridge grads and/or served in high-ranking positions in the military. READ MORE: Royal Family Snubs Prince Harry, Meghan Markle's Offer To Help Search for 'Diversity Czar' Royal Exemptions Meanwhile, the Queen has remained personally exempted from equality laws for more than four decades after government ministers sought to instate a law that would make it illegal to refuse to employ an individual on the grounds of their race or ethnicity. The exemption has made it impossible for people from ethnic minorities working for the royal household to complain to courts if they believe they had been discriminated against, according to an Aljazeera report. Buckingham Palace had said that it has a separate process for hearing complaints regarding discrimination claims. However, it did not add any further details. The official documents show that government officials in the 1970s coordinated with Queen Elizabeth II's advisers on the wording of the laws. Racism Issues In March, Buckingham Palace had allegations of racism raised by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after their interview with Oprah Winfrey. Buckingham Palace at the time said that they would address the matter privately, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Markle had been candid during the Winfrey interview, saying that she was feeling suicidal while working in the palace. In addition, she noted that a member of the royal family had echoed concerns about how dark her unborn child's skin would be. Buckingham Palace released a statement, saying that they will be addressed by the family privately and that they will be much-loved family members. The racism claims have been one of the issues pushing the House of Windsor to change toward a new generation. Prime Minister Boris Johnson had declined to be part of the issue, while Prince Charles had remained mum on the matter. He was seen on his first public outing since the interview, visiting a vaccination center to help encourage vaccinations among people of color. He was asked about his thoughts on the matter, wherein he responded by walking away. Meanwhile, the Queen said that she was unaware of the problems Markle had experienced. READ NEXT: Buckingham Palace Breaks Silence on Prince Harry, Meghan Claims WATCH: How the Queen and the Royal Family Are Handling Allegations of Racism After Oprah Interview - from Entertainment Tonight Police discovered the decomposing body of a 79-year-old Colombian woman said to be partially eaten by her pet cats after neighbors contacted them, believing that she died from COVID inside her apartment in Spain. According to a Daily Mail report, a neighbor reportedly raised the alarm as there was a strong smell from her flat and seeing many flies. Police got firefighters to force entry to the Colombian woman's apartment in the northern Madrid neighborhood of Fuencarral in Spain on Monday, May 31. Inside the apartment, they found the dead Colombian woman in one of the rooms, with the upper part of her body partially eaten by her cats. The Colombian woman, identified as Clara Ines Tobon, was living alone in the flat since 1996. She was found in her apartment filled with trash and animal feces. Police said five of the seven cats were also found dead. Authorities believe that the Colombian woman had been dead for at least three months. READ NEXT: Scott Peterson Is off Death Row and Laci Peterson's Family Is Devastated Colombian Woman Partially Eaten by Cats Police believed that some of the cats or all of them ate their owner's flesh before dying from starvation, New York Daily News reported. The two other live cats were in poor condition and were taken to an animal protection facility for treatment. The Colombian woman's cause of death has yet to be determined. However, her neighbors suspected that she had been infected with COVID as she had been ill for some time. The neighbors added that they believe the Colombian woman may have suffered from Diogenes syndrome, a behavior disorder characterized by domestic squalor, hoarding, and extreme self-neglect. For several weeks some of Tobon's neighbors were very worried about her. The neighbors said they did not see the Colombian woman even though she used to go out daily to feed stray cats and collecting food from trash cans around Madrid, El Mundo reported. When her friends had rung her doorbell, the Colombian woman will not answer. Her mobile phone was also turned off, and the letters no longer fit in her mailbox. In the absence of news from Tobon, the neighbors initially thought she was admitted to a nearby hospital. The neighbors were alarmed when one tenant reported a strange smell and was beginning to see many flies. The neighbors initially told the police that she could have been dead for a month, adding that the Colombian woman did not have any relatives in Spain. Currently, the door of Tobon's apartment is already sealed, and no one has entered it since the police retrieved her remains. COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain Meanwhile, the mayor of Madrid, Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, earlier called for people to remember COVID-19 restrictions after scenes of drinking and partying without masks were reported. Martinez-Almeida said that freedom does not involve having drinking parties in the street as those are not allowed in Madrid. According to The Guardian, Spain has been facing a fourth wave of the pandemic, with 3,567,408 infections and a death toll of 79,000. As of now, more than 13.2 million people of Spain's 47 million population have already received at least one dose of their vaccine, while almost six million have already completed their vaccinations. Travel between regions is once again allowed that make people go on holiday or visit friends and relatives across Spain. READ MORE: Jasmine Hartin, Daughter-in-Law of British Billionaire Lord Michael Ashcroft, Set To Be Charged Over the Death of Belize Cop WATCH: Spain Lets Loose as COVID Curfew and Travel Ban Are Lifted - From DW News A Brazilian comedian dressed as "Superman" was hit by a bus while he was pretending to stop the moving vehicle with his hand to show off his strength. The Brazilian wannabe superhero was unexpectedly hit by the vehicle on May 30 in the municipality of Barra dos Coqueiros when his stunt went wrong, Daily Mail reported. Luiz Ribeiro de Andrade, the comedian who goes by the name "Superman," was wearing the Man of Steel's costume, including the classic red cape and boots, when the unexpected turn of events happened. READ NEXT: 'Blue Beetle' Will Be the First Latino Superhero Movie From DC Films Brazilian 'Superman' Stunt Gone Wrong The Brazilian Superman's video has surfaced and gained traction on various social media sites. The premise of the video was that the Brazilian comedian would show off his strength by halting the moving vehicle with one hand. However, the footage revealed that Andrade's stunt was an epic failure. Footage shows that Andrade stood in the middle of the road while holding his camera and microphone when suddenly the bus he was pretending to stop hit him. Fortunately, the Brazilian comedian did not suffer any serious injuries. Following the collision, he was seen calmly walking down the road, away from the bus, and quipped, "Now I've seen I really am made of steel," Lad Bible reported. He also said in another part of the video: "I'll make a complaint about this vehicle's brakes. They're not working." The Brazilian Superman told F5 News the next day that rather than simply halting the bus with his hand, he miscalculated his distance and ended up being hit by the vehicle. He said the accident was his fault, and there was no problem with the vehicles' brakes, as he told in his video. "I take responsibility for everything," said Andrade, adding that he went to the bus company so that the driver could not get in trouble for what he did. The Brazilian Superman also said that "a miracle of God" took place at that time and protected him. Andrade further noted that he did not feel anything with the "knock." "It wasn't serious because the hand of God was there," the Brazilian comedian said. Meanwhile, the bus company issued a statement and emphasized the importance of attention to traffic. Getting to Know Superman Famous for his out-of-this-world strengths and abilities, Superman is an American comic strip superhero created for DC Comics. He first appeared in 1938. Also known as the "Man of Steel," he fought in DC comics for truth and justice. Superman's powers and abilities include superhuman strength, heat vision, x-ray vision, freeze breath, healing factor, enhanced hearing, and powers of flight. To live with humans and protect fictional American city of Metropolis and the rest of the world, Superman went by the name of Clark Kent, a reporter. Superman is the last survivor of the planet Krypton and was raised by his human family in Smallville. DC noted that Superman is the most recognizable beloved hero of the DC universe of all time. READ MORE: First Case of H10N3 Bird Flu in Human Confirmed in China WATCH: Brazilian Dressed as Superman Hit by a Bus - From Mail Online After the former United States President struggled in finding ways to influence news coverage since he left office, Donald Trump shut down his month-old blog called 'From the Desk of Donald J. Trump.' The decision of former President Trump to remove himself from the internet on Wednesday, June 2, was the first time he intentionally stopped his online activity. On previous occasions, it was social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter that shut down and banned the accounts of Trump. According to The New York Times, a person familiar with the former President's thinking shared that Trump becomes frustrated after he heard from his friends that his blog site was getting little traffic. Trump's friends also said that the blog made him look small and irrelevant. Meanwhile, the site where Trump posted his blog in the past month was put together for him by a company run by Brad Parscale, his former campaign manager. It cost Parscale a few thousand dollars and its purpose is to serve as an online hub for Trump supporters. It is where they issued statements of the former president. The site also served as a platform to communicate directly to Trump. Last month, the site uploaded a video introducing the platform, stating, "in times of silence and lies, a beacon of freedom arises." It also mentioned that the platform was a place to speak freely and safely. ALSO READ: U.S. Pres. Joe Biden Offers New COVID Vaccine Incentives, Including Free Beer, Among Others Will Trump Return to Social Media? According to a report by The Washington Post last month, Trump's blog was not gaining an audience or readership. Trump himself downplayed the purpose of his blog, stating that it was only a filler until he is able to figure out what is next to come. In a statement, Trump stressed that the blog is his way of getting his idea out to the public without it being subject to "fake news spin." He also added that it is his temporary way of communicating until he is able to establish a platform to do so. Meanwhile, Trump's advisers have varying views regarding the shutting down of his blog. On Wednesday, several of them expressed frustration by Trump's decision to close down the blog, while others tried to view it with a positive spin. In a tweet, one of Trump's advisers, Jason Miller, stated that Trump's decision may be a sign that the former president is ready to join another social media platform. When asked about the possibility, Miller stated that people should stay tuned to Trump's return to social media in another form. It can be recalled that Trump was banned by Twitter early in January following the riot in the Capitol Building. Twitter stated that they permanently banned Trump's account to prevent further incitement of violence, CBS News reported. Moreover, Facebook also barred Trump from using his accounts both on Facebook and Instagram, following the incident in the Capitol. The social media giant stated that it was also preventing the risks of allowing Trump to continue to be on its platform. Following the decisions of the media giants, Trump called out Twitter, Facebook, and Google, calling them an embarrassment to the country. RELATED ARTICLE: Pres. Joe Biden Starts Tulsa Massacre Speech by Making Sure 2 Girls Get Ice Cream WATCH: Trump shuts down his blog after less than a month - Local News 8 The real China as I see it: Raz Galor (People's Daily App) 13:15, June 03, 2021 In a new column, "CPC at 100: Views from Expats", the People's Daily invites Raz Galor, an Israeli Internet celebrity on Chinese social media, to share his 12-year experience of living in China. As a foreigner who has studied and now works in China, Galor finds the world has plenty of misunderstandings and misconceptions about China, its traditions, its history and its future. To get to know the authentic China, Galor believes people need to gain a better understanding of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC), which shaped today's China. Through past interactions with CPC members, he got to know how the Party contributed to China's developments and growth as well. Galor delivered a speech recalling stories about three CPC members he met before. The first one is a young village official in Southwest China's Guizhou, who harnessed his knowledge and expertise in Internet and e-commerce to help raise the village out of poverty and increase the income of local farmers. The second one is a technology specialist appointed by the CPC in the mountainous area in Wuyishan to help the locals grow tea, research tea, sell tea and promote it around the country. The third one is a 90-year-old veteran of the Chinese army who served the country in its most turbulent times all the way to todays modernization. His dream has always been to go to Tian'anmen Square to witness the grand flag-rising ceremony. Galor's experiences of meeting such CPC members and seeing their efforts devoted to the great cause of the people help him understand more about the Party's role in the past century. "I felt that the CPC is involving people from all parts of society in order to make life better for their citizens," he said. Click the video for more details about these three touching stories. (Produced by Liang Peiyu, Han Xiaomeng, Chen Lidan, Yan Yiqiao and Zhao Dantong) (Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun) The MV Mauritius Trochetia, owned by the Mauritius Shipping Corporation Ltd (MSCL), left Mauritius on 12 April 2021 for it drydocking and reached Colombo, Sri Lanka on 20 April 2021 with 28 crew members on board (4 Foreigners and 24 Mauritians. On the day of arrival, that is on 20 April 2021, a PCR test was administered to all crew members on board. On 21 April 2021, MSCL received all test results which were negative following which MV Trochetia obtain its Port Health Clearance on 22 April 2021 from Sri Lanka Health Authority. According to the Health Protocol of the dockyard, crew members were not allowed shore leave. Our first initial interaction with the dockyard and our crew members were on 22 April 2021. On 23 April 2021 to 06 May 2021 the dockyard started repairs while the vessel was afloat on the Shipyards Repair berth. On 06 May 2021, the MV Trochetia was dried docked and as at date the vessel is berthed alongside the wharf of the dockyard for further repairs. As per our daily temperature recording and monitoring, on 02 June 2021, it was communicated by the Master of the vessel to MSCL that 3 crew members including the Master, had high temperature and in the afternoon 2 additional crew members had also high temperature. These 5 crew members were requested to self-isolate themselves in individual cabins. Subsequently, instruction was given by MSCL to conduct PCR test to all the crew members. At 07h26 of 03 June 2021, MSCL received all the test results whereby 14 crew members (4 Foreigners and 10 Mauritians) were detected of Covid-19 (positive) and the remaining crew members on Board MV Trochetia was put in self isolation on the vessel. At 09h00, a crisis committee was held this morning at the office of MSCL to take stock of the situation and to take corrective measures. A private hospital has been identified for the transfer of the 14 crew members after getting all necessary clearances. Since the morning of 03 June 2021, the Officer-in-Charge of the MSCL was in contact with Mr Dharam Yas Deo Dhunny, the Honorary Consul of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in Mauritius, the Master of MV Mauritius Trochetia and the General Manager of the dockyard, Mr. M.M.P. Cooray. The Director of Shipping, Mr Alain Donat has also been informed. MSCL has contacted the next of kin of the crew members over the phone whereby they were informd about the situation. MSCL would provide regular health update to the families of these crew members. The MSCL is monitoring the situation and Captain Babooa, the Designated Person Ashore of MSCL may be contacted on 5840-9100/ 5941-5936 by the family members who wishes to have an update about the situation. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Ahead of the June Bank Holiday weekend, and to celebrate the continued reopening of the tourism and hospitality sectors, an eye-catching piece of sand artwork illustrating the many discoveries that can be made when holidaying at home this year has been released by Failte Ireland. Measuring wider than the height of Dublins Liberty Hall, at 120ft in height and 200 ft wide, the unique piece of art, by environmental artist Sean Corcoran, was created by hand on Kilmurrin Cove in Co. Waterford to rally the nation to get out and explore all that Ireland has to offer as part of Failte Irelands Keep Discovering campaign. After a long period of lockdown, business closures and restriction on peoples movements, the art was created to draw a literal line in the sand on the past number of months, welcome the summer, and encourage people to get out and remember the joy of exploring Ireland this summer. Artist Sean Corcoran said after completing the sand art; That was so much fun. Ive been creating environmental artwork for many years, but after such a long time under restrictions it was wonderful to get out on my local beach again and do what I love. I had my own little self-discovery today creating this very integrated piece, discovering different locations across the country as I drew them. We started by going up the east coast and going across to the Wild Atlantic Way, creating the outline of the country and then crafting the iconic images one associates with Ireland. While it was nice to visit them in my head, I cant wait to get out and experience all that Ireland has to offer in person this summer. Caoimhe Ni Dhuibhinn, Acting Head of Marketing, Failte Ireland commented; We wanted to mark the next stage of the reopening of the tourism and hospitality sectors and Seans sand art is a fantastic expression of how much there is to discover in Ireland. Failte Irelands Keep Discovering campaign will run until the end of the year to encourage people to take a break in Ireland this year. We have lots of activity planned over the next number of months to remind more Irish people to discover the joy of holidaying in Ireland as they begin to reconnect with each other." Failte Irelands Keep Discovering campaign aims to drive domestic holidays for the remainder of the year and help to reboot and rebuild Irelands tourism industry. Visit DiscoverIreland.ie to be inspired and plan their own staycation. The Keep Discovering sand art was created entirely by hand by environmental artist Sean Corcoran on Kilmurrin Cobh, Co. Waterford. The creation was made by hand and measured by the artists eye and outlined with bamboo sticks. The beach sand had to be dried after several days of heavy rain by using a complex system of manmade drains to release water from the beach sand and redirect ground water out to sea. This was done using a V shaped agricultural tool used for planting potatoes and other crops. The process took an hour to reduce ground water and create the perfect conditions for the sand art. Taking six hours to create, the map of Ireland with symbolic iconography and Keep Discovering wording measures an impressive 120 feet in height and 200 feet wide. Thats equivalent to: o 11 stories in height o Measuring 200 feet wide, the sand art is wider than Dublins Liberty Hall is tall https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Liberty_Hall To capture the size and scale of the creation, two teams of photographers and videographers used a series of cameras to document the process. Airspace clearance had to be granted for drones to fly 400 feet above the beach to capture the art in all its majesty. The Barrow Blueway from Lowtown, through Rathangan, Monasterevin and Athy is on target to be completed by the end of next year. Senator Mark Wall raised the issue in the Seanad. He acknowledged there had been some delays due to Covid, but welcomed the response to his parliamentary question from the Minister for State for Local Government, Malcom Noonan. The project is getting a lot of attention locally and is in great use by so many people where it is currently opened. I am currently dealing with a lot of interested parties who want to invest and are investing along the route of the this Blueway. It is a very exciting project for Kildare and Laois and there is no doubt that the potential is there with this project to create employment and a social project that can benefit all those who live in the area," said Senator Wall. Planning approval for the development of the 46km stretch along the Barrow Blueway from Lowtown to Athy was received in March 2019. The project involves the upgrading of surfaces along the waterways to achieve Accredited Blueway status for the route. The project is being delivered through the partnership of Waterways Ireland, Kildare County Council and Laois County Council for a total project cost of 6.75 million. Surfacing works are complete from Castlemitchell, Athy to Vicarstown, Co. Laois and also from Lowtown near Robertstown to Glenaree, Rathangan. A special Blueway committee has also been set up in Rathangan to make the most of the amenity for both visitors, the local community and the economy. Two people arrested at a County Kildare rail station had no face coverings, Naas District Court heard this afternoon. They were detained by gardai who received a complaint about them from an inspector as they travelled on a train between Carlow and Athy. Kenneth Donnelly, 52, whose address was given as Crossneen, Carlow and Bridget Scanlon, 47, whose address was given as 14 Dolmen Heights, Carlow face allegations of facing to comply with the direction of a garda and failing to provide a name and address at the train station, Church Road, Athy. Neither wore a face covering in court. Read more County Kildare news The court was cleared for the hearing except for prosecuting gardai, legal representatives and reporters and the courtroom was sanitised before the regular court sitting resumed. Gda Dooley told of arresting Ms Scanlon shortly after 4.30pm on June 2. The court heard that Ms Dooley refused to give her name and address at the station and she was identified from a PPS card found after she was searched. In response to being charged it was claimed the defendant raised her middle finger. The gardai were contacted by the train inspector who alleged the woman was aggressive and abusive and refused to leave the train in an orderly manner and she was arrested under the Public Order Act. Gda Dooley said its believed they were travelling to a demonstration in Dublin. They are travelling to demonstrations on the train and have caused difficulty, said the garda. The garda added there was consent to bail provided that she sign on at Carlow garda station twice weekly. Gda Eamonn McGinley said he arrested Mr Donnelly, whose reply to being charged was Im innocent; Im a victim of the State. In court Mr Donnelly denied using the words the State. Mr Donnelly also said that Ms Scanlon had been waiting for 13 and a half hours to see a doctor. Asked about the link between the defendants Gda McGinley said they have a similar cause as regards the health regulations. Barrister Aisling Murphy for Mr Donnelly said that he is a freelance journalist producing video and travels a lot for work. Ms Murphy said he is exempt from wearing a mask and a medical report corroborating this was handed into court. Mr Donnelly told the court that face shields are not mandatory. He too was granted bail and is to sign on at the same garda station twice weekly. Judge Desmond Zaidan adjourned the case to November 18. While the total number of vaccinations being given has fallen, there also has been a shift in who is giving the shots. The emphasis had been on mass vaccinations sites and drive-thru clinics. The federal government is now emphasizing neighborhood pharmacies to make it more convenient for people to get vaccinated close to where they live or work, sometimes even having vaccination clinics at the workplace. A former psychic turned financier who is serving a seven and a half year jail term has lost his appeal against his conviction for a range of offences including money laundering of 1.6m. The Court of Appeal dismissed all 12 grounds of appeal by Simon Gold which claimed the trial judge had erred in law in his handling of the jury trial which convicted the appellant two years ago. Gold (56) of Augharan, Aughavas, Co Leitrim, was found guilty of 20 charges including money laundering, deception and control of and using false instruments following a 28-day trial which concluded at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in June 2019. The offences took place on dates between January 1, 2010 and October 22, 2012. The president of the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice George Birmingham, said it was a feature of Golds appeal that he sought to stay as far away as possible from any issue as to his guilt, although he noted that the appellant had made extensive and unrestrained admissions when interviewed by gardai. Mr Justice Birmingham presiding with Mr Justice John Edwards and Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy said it was a constant theme of Golds defence that there had been an over-eagerness or over-enthusiasm on the part of the prosecution which had resulted in an unfair and unsatisfactory trial. Evidence during the trial revealed that Gold had used a number of different aliases including Simon Gould, Simon P Magnier and Niall ODonoghue as well as operating a number of companies with similar sounding names to Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide, although he had no connection with such entities. Among his victims were a quarry owner, dairy farmer and a wealthy Danish businessman. The trial court heard that Gold offered millions in loans to three Irish victims in return for deposits ranging from 10,000 to 30,000. The Danish businessman transferred 1.6m into an Ulster bank account controlled by Gold in two tranches of 800,000 for what he believed was an investment opportunity. Counsel for Gold had argued that the trial judge, Judge Martin Nolan had erred in law by refusing his application for separate trials in relation to certain offences. They claimed the effect of trying all matters together painted a general picture of dishonesty which made the task of the jury more difficult when considering each count on its individual merits. However, the Court of Appeal said matters being tried together meant the jury was presented with a fuller picture that showed how Gold had been operating a number of false names. The three-judge court said it had not been persuaded by the appellant on any of the grounds of appeal that the trial judge had erred over matters where he had discretion. At a sentencing hearing last July, Judge Nolan described Gold as a very intelligent man who had committed devious and well thought-out crimes. The judge said two of Golds Irish victims were desperate men who were at the end of their tether and to whom he had caused distress and embarrassment. While Gold was a man of enterprise and intelligence, he said the defendants crimes had involved gross dishonesty. During the trial, a Garda witness said Gold seemed to prey on people who were in severe financial difficulty. Gold also had 17 previous convictions, including 12 which related to offences in the UK, for a range of crimes including burglary, theft, larceny and escaping from lawful custody over a period of 20 years. A father-of-two who threatened his partner with a knife in their home and was apprehended by an off-duty garda has received a fully suspended sentence. Franck Lamour (53) was diagnosed with bi-polar depression approximately 15 years ago and was unable to access the medication he had been taking during the Covid-19 lockdown last April. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that this was an isolated incident which stemmed from Lamour's mental disorder and the restrictions on his life caused by the global pandemic. Lamour of Bird Avenue, Clonskeagh, pleaded guilty to production of a knife and threat to kill or cause serious harm at his address on April 7, 2020. He has no previous convictions. Passing sentence on Wednesday, Judge Pauline Codd said the offences were very serious. She said the use of a knife and threat to kill were the most significant aggravating factors, as well as the physical violence meted out. He effectively held her under siege for a period of time. She obviously took the threats seriously. In the course of this lengthy incident he used controlling and possessive language and expressed jealous sentiments. Judge Codd said some allowance had to be made for his medicine being held up, but that Lamours drinking had been a factor too and that was his choice. She said the headline sentence for the offences would be eight years in prison, but took into account the accused's guilty plea, mental health history, and prior clean record. This was not conduct he had ever engaged in before. It does appear to be an aberration, she said. Judge Codd accepted he had been engaging with the HSE to secure the treatment he needs. She sentenced Lamour to five years prison, but suspended the sentence in its entirety on condition he keep the peace, engage with the Probation Service for the next two years, and attend psychiatric appointments in this jurisdiction as long as he resides in the country. At a previous sentencing hearing, Detective Garda Alan Conlon told Diana Stuart BL, prosecuting, that Lamour and his partner of 25 years Cecille Doussinault and their two sons moved here from France in September 2019. Det Gda Conlon said Lamour does not speak English and that after two months in the country he began self-medicating with alcohol, though he stopped drinking after seeing a doctor. He began drinking again a week prior to the offence. On the day of the incident he had being drinking for approximately 12 hours. Ms Doussinault woke up to find him in the living room still under the influence of alcohol. He told Ms Doussinault that it was her fault for bringing him here, took her phone away from her and told her not to leave the room. He asked her to buy him vodka, but when she declined he said they would go together. Lamour got a knife from the kitchen and told her not to shout for help. Ms Doussinault attempted to wake one of her sons by opening his bedroom door, but Lamour brought the knife close and told her not to wake him up or it would not be good for you. The accused effectively walked her down to the shops with the knife in his jacket pocket, the court heard. When Ms Doussinault refused to go into the shop, Lamour began running back to their home, followed quickly by Ms Doussinault who was fearful for her sons. Garda Martin O'Rourke was in the area off-duty and noticed the two running back to their home. He decided to follow them, went to the back of their house and saw through the window the accused with a knife in his hand. Gda O'Rourke entered the house, told Lamour to drop the knife and restrained him. He then contacted gardai who soon arrived and arrested the accused. Det Gda Conlon agreed with Barry Ward BL, defending that while this was obviously terrifying for the victim, it was an isolated incident. He agreed that Lamour has followed all conditions of his bail and not had any contact with his former partner. The garda agreed with counsel that Lamour is not a domestic abuser in the traditional sense, saying the offences appear to have stemmed from the circumstances of his mental disorder and the restrictions on his life caused by the global pandemic. Mr Ward said that the medication his client used to treat his Type-2 bi-polar disorder is not prescribed in Ireland and his client would travel to France to collect it. He said his client was prevented from travelling to France by the lockdown that came into effect in March 2020. Counsel said a psychiatrist has stated in a report before the court that his client has 79% disability as a result of his condition. He said his client is now managing his condition and it is extremely unlikely an incident such as this will recur. There has been a lot of talk in recent years about ESG Investing, but what exactly does it mean? ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) investing refers to a type of investing that is also known as sustainable investing. It involves putting your money to work with companies that strive to make the world a better place. ESG Investors tend to look at more than just the financial performance of a business, ESG investing involves an assessment of non-financial performance indicators such as sustainable, ethical and corporate governance issues, managing a companys carbon footprint and ensuring there are systems in place to ensure accountability. Lets take a closer look at the three criteria used to evaluate companies for ESG investing: E is for Environmental: What kind of impact does a company have on the environment? This can include a companys carbon footprint, toxic chemicals involved in its manufacturing processes and sustainability efforts that make up its supply chain. Environmental positive outcomes include avoiding or minimizing environmental liabilities, lowering costs and increasing profitability through energy and other efficiencies, and reducing regulatory, litigation and reputational risk. S is for Social, this refers to the companys impact on society. It consists of people-related elements, like company culture and issues that impact employees, health and safety, Human Rights, integrity, customers, consumers, suppliers, the local community, and society at large. Socially positive outcomes include increasing productivity and morale, reducing turnover and absenteeism, and improving brand loyalty. Socially minded investors can keep track via annual rankings and lists of best companies to work for etc. G is for Governance, more specifically Corporate Governance. This relates to a companys Board of Directors and their ability to drive positive change. It also includes issues such as Executive pay, diversity in leadership, Shareholder relations. Any potential Corporate governance issues generally come to the fore every year during Shareholder AGMs, shareholders have the power to vote on a variety of issues, such as executives pay, director appointments etc. What are the origins of ESG Investing? ESG Investing which can also be referred to as Impact investing or socially responsible investing (SRI) has a rich history dating back thousands of years but it really gathered momentum in the 1960 during the Vietnam war. Protestors demanded that University endowment funds no longer invest in defence contractors or weapons manufacturers. Two decades later repercussions from Chernobyl and the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster spawned anxiety over the environment and climate change. Then, Apartheid in South Africa became an impetus to force corporations to divest from South Africa, as a result $625 billion in investments was redirected from South Africa by 1993. Modern ESG investing has its root in 2006 when the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) was released. Is ESG Investing just a Fad or is it here to stay? It certainly seems like ESG is here to stay, it has been gathering significant momentum in recent years. In Sept 2020 the World Economic Form drafted a list of ESG Goals. The list includes obligations to report on Greenhouse gas emissions, Water usage, Employment diversity, pay equality etc. So far over 60 of the world largest companies have signed up to Follow the pledge. Another great example is in the US where Jo Biden took steps to re-join the Paris climate agreement on his very 1st day in office. He also pledged to set the US on a path to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 with an interim target of decarbonizing the U.S. power sector by 2035. In the beginning, socially responsible investing was primarily focused on eliminating investments in products that conflicted with personal belief systems or social, moral, or ethical values (for example weapons, alcohol, tobacco, gambling). Now it has evolved into an investing strategy that proactively makes investments in companies that are creating a positive impact. Inflows into ESG Assets and Investments during 2020 were 96% higher than 2019. ESG investing is definitely here to stay and it offers us the opportunity to do something positive while achieving long term sustainable growth. Barry Kerr BBS QFA CFP is the Founder of Wealthwise Financial Planning with offices in Carrick on Shannon, Co Leitrim & Oranmore Co Galway, www.wealthwise.ie All details and views contained within this article are for informational purposes only and does not constitute advice. Wealthwise Financial Planning makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness or suitability of any information and will not be liable for any errors, omissions or any losses arising from its use. Wealthwise Financial Ltd T/A Wealthwise Financial Planning is Regulated by the central Bank of Ireland.#CI66141 Last week, Transition Year students at Ballinamore Community School and Carrigallen Vocational School were presented with the countys first Young Historian of the Year awards. The programme was initiated by Fiona Slevin and Natalie Fryde. Fiona has researched and written about the history of Lough Rynn and Mohill; Natalie was Professor of History at Darmstadt University before coming to live in the Mohill area five years ago. We wanted to work with schools to encourage students to engage with their personal and local history, said Fiona, but we would have got nowhere without the enthusiastic and practical support of Leitrim County Librarian, Pauline Brennan and Local Studies Librarian, Mary Conefrey at Leitrim County Library. A pilot programme was designed, and two schools and history teachers signed up: Seamus Mullen at Ballinamore Community School and Norma Comyns at Carrigallen Vocational School. A treasure trove of past people and events Students were asked to address the theme of History on Your Doorstep and to pick a project and format that followed their skills and interests. Notwithstanding pandemic restrictions, Mary Conefrey worked hard to provide guidance on sources and to make library materials available. In a year in which classes were mostly virtual and restricted socially, the students and teachers deserve huge credit for nurturing thirty projects to completion, said Fiona. While most projects were Leitrim-based, for some doorstep meant Cavan and Spain. The range of topics was impressive, ranging from 1916 and the War of Independence, to emigration, the Famine, local heritage sites, key events and sport. For Seamus Mullen, the programme was an avenue to a treasure trove of past people and events. He thought that students were more engaged and enthusiastic than normal, and were pleasantly surprised and excited by their findings. Natalie Fryde noted the quality of some students research: they uncovered fascinating new information through interviews with family members and local people. Some projects included images that brought their story to life, like old family photographs, historic posters and remarkable illustrations. Winners After reviewing all of the submissions, seven projects stood out for the judges. Last week, the winners were announced and certificates presented to all participants. Overall Winner, Best in School and Social History category winner: Letizia Sheridan-Seery, Carrigallen VS, for Cavan Orphanage Fire 1943. Best in School and Contemporary History category winner: Anya Stringer, Ballinamore CS for Leitrims Part in Making History at the Eurovision. Category winners Folklore Killian Maguire, Ballinamore CS, for Haymaking in Leitrim in the 1930s. Built heritage Lucy Keegan, Carrigallen VS, for The History of Fenagh Abbey; Memoir Emma Geoghegan, Ballinamore CS, for 'How my grand-aunt ended up working for one of the wealthiest families in America'; Family History Marc Gannon, Ballinamore CS, for 'How I Got Here!'; Political History Dylan Cole, Carrigallen VS, for 'Sean MacDiarmada (1883-1916)'; All the winners received cash vouchers, and the overall and school winners were presented with engraved plaques all sponsored by Leitrim County Library. The team is especially grateful to Ken Cunningham at Leitrim Crystal and Tommy McCormack at Lyric for producing the awards so quickly. Next years programme Given the success of the pilot, the team has been thinking about the next school year. They plan to publish some of the projects during the summer and hope to get more schools on board. There is a Young Scientist of the Year, I think a Young Historian of the Year programme is just as important, said Fiona Slevin. We had two goals: one was to encourage students to connect with their history and sense of place; the other was to help students develop the skills of history, like researching, asking questions, distinguishing fact from fiction and opinion, and storytelling. A recent OECD study indicates that just 15% of Irish 15-year-olds can distinguish fact from opinion in a reliable way, so learning the skills of history is a great way to address this. This competition really brought the past to life for the students in Carrigallen Vocational School, said Norma Comyns, we hope to be involved in it for many years to come. For more information on the Young Historian project, contact Fiona Slevin at fiona@loughrynn.net. Des Keaney is gradually losing his sight. He was born and raised in Manorhamilton, but spent his working life in and around Dublin. He returned to live on the Barr Road in Rossinver and it was around his time he noted worrying changes in his eye sight. The Leitrim Observer recently featured his story on how this has affected him and how he is coping with such a traumatic experience (see https://www.leitrimobserver.ie/news/manorhamilton/628005/a-leitrim-s-man-journey-into-dusk.html). As part of his story he stated In aid of the wonderful Irish Guide Dogs, Ill be walking 100km in May alongside Sonja and Paige (his guide dog). Our local walk, while only being about 3km, does have a hill of 80m. Thats about 2500m over the month which should shift some of the lockdown weight! If youd like to make a donation, no matter how small, please see our fundraising page at https://guide-dog-day-2021. raisely.com/sonja-keaney I hope this gives you a better understanding of sight loss. And Des has certainly been stepping it out in recent weeks. In an update Sonja Keaney outlined that he is now going to walk further than intended. She told the paper, We completed the 100km a few days ago, so Des thought he'd change the goal posts and set us on a target for 100 miles, which is approximately 160 kilometres. We've got ourselves into quite a rhythm mostly heading out in the evenings. Our Tabby cat Buster trails along the road after us and several times has walked the full 6km with us! We've had a taste of all weathers, but we've also been treated to some amazing sunsets over Lough Melvin. How lucky we are to have such a wonderful walk right on our doorstep. We got some lovely comments on our fundraising page from people who read Des's article in the Leitrim Observer (Sonja and Des Keaney 100km for GDD in May (raisely.com). The response has been overwhelming. It has also been great when people have approached Des when they recognise him with Paige, and they say hello Des and then they tell him their name. The article has helped people understand how to approach someone with vision loss. We are so very grateful that you helped in spreading the word. You can read more about Des' story and how he is coping with losing his sight HERE CONFIRMATIONS and First Holy Communions planned from Thursday, July 1 to Sunday, July 4 in Limerick will have to be rescheduled, the Bishop of Limerick has confirmed. Bishop Brendan Leahy "regrettably" emailed all the priests in the diocese to inform them of the directive on Wednesday evening. "I deeply regret that, as a result of government guidelines, we have been advised by the Taoiseachs office that that no First Holy Communions or Confirmations should take place until after July 5 onwards," he told the Limerick Leader. "I fully appreciate this will come as a great disappointment and inconvenience for the parishes impacted, particularly of course the children, parents, teachers and clergy nut I believe we have no option but to follow this public health advice," added Bishop Leahy. July 1 to July 5 were very popular dates for the already postponed sacraments as it coincided with the end of the primary school year. Some parishes had planned both Confirmations and Holy Communions in that timeframe and the postponements will have a bigger impact on rearranging Confirmations as the majority of pupils will be going to new schools in September. Schools impacted by the decision are expected to inform pupils and their parents in the coming days before making alternative arrangements. LINES are being cleaned, kegs are being delivered, and outdoor seating areas are being dusted down. It comes as publicans across Limerick gear up for one of the most significant Bank Holiday Mondays in recent memory. Thats because after a very tough 18 months due to lockdowns, bars will resume trading to outdoor customers only. Next month, they are expected to be allowed trade indoors. While some pubs, mainly in the city, have sold take-away beers, for most pubs, Monday will be the first time pints have been poured since Christmas Eve. However, a note of caution has been sounded, with a particular spike in Limerick cases in the last week including 261 between Friday and Monday and a Public Health Mid-West spokesperson warning of the sharpest increase in numbers since the third lockdown. Hotels and guesthouses across Limerick opened to non-essential guests this Wednesday, with Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) president and Limerick hotelier Elaina Fitzgerald Kane from Adare saying: No-one can afford to drop their guard, suggesting another closure amid a fresh wave would be a hammer blow. Across Limerick, publicans have been investing tens of thousands of euro in order to ensure their premises are ready to welcome customers outdoors. Padraig and Margaret Power, who run Bradshaws in Castleconnell said Monday cant come quick enough. Padraig said: We have over 20 tables booked already. Were advising people to book. The Powers have poured 35,000 into the business since last July on Perspex dividers, outdoor seating, covered areas, free-standing sanitising stations, PPE, outdoor lighting and staff training among other measures. One thing that has also changed from the last time pubs were allowed to re-open is the need to purchase a 9 meal. Ger Callanan of the Glen Tavern is hoping to be able to seat 25 to 30 people in Theatre Lane outside his bar, after council gave him the go-ahead to close the thoroughfare off after 6pm. Everything is a bonus now, he admits, But the Irish summer does depend on us having indoor available. They can complement each other in that respect. It will be lovely to start seeing the regular faces back in again. There will also be some new faces at the popular pub, because many of Gers older staff have found other jobs over lockdown. Joe Lee, who runs his family bar in Newcastle West says Monday will be a big day. Itll just be so good to get back to some kind of normality. It isnt too bad at this time of year because Id be involved with the GAA teams and I can get out and about. But youd miss your regulars. Once I can tip away and meet people, Id be happy, he added. While many pubs do have outdoor facilities, others across Limerick do not, and Mary Cronin, the Co Limerick Vintners representative said its important these publicans are kept in mind. Meanwhile, Ms Kane believes hoteliers nationwide would have spent on average 1,000 on each room to put in place safety measures and training. Hotels now really have to step up to the mark, she added: The public has been really good already. At the end of the day, we have to give people a good time too. Its not just about donning the green jersey. We need to deliver great days and a great experience for people. LIMERICK TD Willie ODea has warned Formation Homes may go elsewhere now after he quit as its non-executive chairman. The former Defence Minister stepped down from his role at the firm after criticism of the fact he objected to a development on the Condell Road, opposite to where Formation was involved in a social housing project. Speaking to the Leader, Mr ODea said the company is ticked off at all the controversy and believes were it not for his chairmanship of the firm, this social housing project may not have been on the cards for Limerick. It did help the case, he said, The irony is, if someone else had been the chairman, an unknown, there wouldnt have been a word said about this. Mr ODea decided over the weekend he would step down to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest and said he would also sell his shares in the company. He said the timing of the coverage was very unfortunate as it clashed with news of the sale of a private development in Dublin to an international fund. This deal had the effect of blocking first-time buyers from buying houses in the estate, in favour of so-called cuckoo funds which would then put the homes out for rent. Its a practice condemned by Taoiseach Micheal Martin. Mr ODea said Formation is not bulk-buying the homes in Limerick, nor selling them off to an investor, but an approved housing body instead. As we speak, developers from all over the country are doing deals with housing associations to provide social housing. Most social housing is coming in this way, he said. He said he had not felt pressure from within Fianna Fail to step down from the role. For my own sake, I just decided enough was enough. All the negative publicity. People who do not like me blew it up on social media. But Ive done nothing wrong. In fact, Ive lost out financially, Mr ODea added. I am [disappointed] he told the Limerick Leader this week, I need to resign for this even though Ive done nothing wrong and gained nothing. GARDAI have arrested and charged a man in relation to a burglary in Limerick city last Saturday. At around 11pm on May 29, gardai in Henry Street received a report of a man attempting to throw a TV over a wall near Garryowen Road. Gardai arrived at the scene and located the TV but a suspect was not located. It later transpired that the TV had been stolen from a business in the area. Following the review of CCTV from the area, a possible suspect was identified and arrested on Wednesday. The man, aged in his 20s, was detained at Henry Street Garda Station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 and has since been charged. He is due to appear before Limerick City District Court this Thursday morning. PROVISIONAL data for Wednesday, June 2, shows there were 103 new COVID-19 cases in Limerick - the highest daily figure since January 19. The Mid-West Major Emergency Management Group is asking people in Limerick, Clare, and North Tipperary to enjoy the Bank Holiday Weekend safely and responsibly to halt the spread of COVID-19 in the community. In the two weeks leading up to June 2, there has been an increase of more than 800 cases in Limerick, 48 cases in Clare, and 32 cases in North Tipperary. The provisional data released this Thursday lunchtime shows that while there were 103 new COVID-19 cases in Limerick, there were seven cases in Clare, and fewer than five cases in North Tipperary. While the Covid-19 situation remains stable in Clare and North Tipperary, weekends and occasions with increased activity have led to significant increases in infection levels due to intensified social mixing and organised social gatherings. The vast majority of new Covid-19 cases in the past two weeks have been associated with indoor gatherings, house parties, household visits, family gatherings, and largely indoor activity. With the current high incidence rate in the Mid-West, indoor gatherings outside Public Health guidelines are considered high-risk and have had significant knock-on effects in the community, including in workplaces and schools. As Leaving Certificate exams commence next Wednesday, June 9, health experts are asking the public to be extra conscious of their activity, as students who become new confirmed cases or new close contacts will miss a number of scheduled exams. The HSE self-referral walk-in and drive-through Covid-19 test centre at St Joseph's Health Campus, Mulgrave Street will continue to operate until next Wednesday, June 9. This free service is led by the National Ambulance Service, with the support of HSE Mid-West Community Healthcare and Public Health Mid-West. Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Cllr Michael Collins said: As the summer well and truly begins, my hope is that everyone can enjoy their bank holiday weekend as safely as possible. We have sacrificed so much as a society over the past year or so, that we need to remain resilient and continue to guard against Covid." He added: "I know its difficult and can be challenging for some, but we cannot give an inch especially since we are so close to getting back to some semblance of normality. We need to stay strong and continue to follow the health guidance, but I want to enjoy the holidays at the same time. Dr Mai Mannix, Director of Public Health Mid-West, said: We are cognisant of the fact that many people will be looking forward to enjoying the long weekend, especially as the hospitality sector starts to reopen. However, I would like to appeal everyone to continue following Public Health guidelines when meeting with friends and family; to stay outdoors, wear masks, socially distance, limit your contacts, and avoid crowded or congested areas to reduce your risk of catching Covid-19." Dr Mannix added she and her colleagues are currently going through a period of active case finding, allowing us to track, trace, and follow the disease in the region. "Things will get worse before they get better, but we are hopeful we will overcome this outbreak with the help of the public availing of walk-in testing and adhering to Public Health guidelines, she said. Supporting the appeal, Colette Cowan, CEO, UL Hospitals Group, said: We are making great progress with the vaccination programme but a significant proportion of the population does not have that protection. People in all age groups are at risk of becoming severely ill due to Covid-19. A sustained high incidence in Covid-19 transmission across the Mid-West has the potential to cause severe disruption in our hospitals when they are attempting to recover from a devastating cyber attack that has already resulted in significant cancellations and delays for patients. HSE Mid West Community Healthcare Chief Officer, Maria Bridgeman said: "I want to thank the people of Limerick, Clare and Tipperary for their continued efforts in suppressing Covid-19. While we hope that as many people as possible will enjoy themselves this weekend, it is important that all of us remain mindful of the public health advice. Covid testing is continuing throughout the weekend, with no appointment needed for those attending our sites in Limerick, Ennis and Nenagh. I would encourage anyone who feels that they may need a test to avail of this service without delay." Chief Superintendent Gerry Roche, head of the Limerick Garda Division, is also appealing to people to abide by the public guidelines over the bank holiday weekend. Gardai understand that people want to and are allowed to meet up outdoors but it must be in line with public health guidelines. If you find yourself in a crowded outdoor area, leave that area and spread out somewhere else. It is not the sole responsibility of an Garda Siochana to control crowds and encourage people to follow the guidelines, we are all responsible for our own actions. Dr Pat Daly, Chief Executive of Limerick City and County Council said: "We want everyone to enjoy the upcoming bank holiday weekend. It has been such a long time since we have been able to enjoy the holidays. It will be lovely to meet with friends and family again but we have to do so in a responsible way. The vaccination programme is working and is a very bright ray of hope. However, he is appealing to people to take personal responsibility if meeting up with other people. "We must still remain vigilant and continue to follow the health guidelines, so that our society and economy can open up even further in the weeks and months to come. This re-opening is dependent on every one of us being careful and following the rules. We all have a choice to make. We have seen the impact the various lockdowns have had, and while we dont want to return to these, it is our actions now which will determine if we do. State Rep. Steve Samuelson, D-Bethlehem, said there are several bills in the state Legislature that would help address the threat posed by lead. He said House Bill 813 would set up a lead abatement grant program and a lead abatement assistance fund. He added HB 969 would require health care practitioners to inform parents about the dangers of lead, encourages blood testing for lead in children and require the Pennsylvania Department of Health to maintain a database of these blood tests. HB 332 would require testing and abatement of lead on playgrounds, he said. STUDENTS across Limerick are celebrating after scooping a number of prizes at the annual Smedia awards. The annual ceremony recognises the best of student journalism. Mostafa Darwish of the University of Limerick (UL) picked up the student journalist of the year title for the second straight year. He was joined on the podium by fellow UL students Ivan Smyth who won sportswriter of the year and Christine Costelloe of Castletroy who picked up an award for the layout and design of Limerick Voice. In total, UL received 22 nominations across a wide variety of categories, while there was a win for Limerick College of Further Education (LCFE) photography student Mark Collins. And Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) film production student Alyssa Fleming was also in the winner's enclosure for her film, The Daily Grind. Its the second year in a row Egyptian-born Mostafa, 31, has taken home the top prize. . I am glad to win Irelands Student Journalist of the Year for the second year in a row, huge thanks to my colleagues and lecturers at @UL@TheSmedias pic.twitter.com/QeIA6yF5xu Mostafa Darwish (@eldarwish90) June 2, 2021 He said: "I am so happy that my stories which tell the stories of asylum seekers have had such an impact and have already effected some much needed change for this vulnerable community across Europe. I also am so proud that some of these were the stories were recognised for this top award. I only spent two years living in Limerick and studying in UL but Limerick has a huge place in my heart. The University helped me a lot to write in a language that is not my native language. And ULs green campus helped me to have a peaceful time that I really needed after some tough years." Mostafa was one of the first people to report Marchs party outside College Court in Castletroy, which sparked widespread controversy. Many people had gathered outside his home, and a 30-second video he posted on Twitter was viewed almost 330,000 times. This is just by my home in Casteltroy, Limerick! pic.twitter.com/ftqQEEMzph Mostafa Darwish (@eldarwish90) March 2, 2021 The course director of journalism at UL Kathryn Hayes said: "I am so happy for all of the students who picked up awards and incredibly proud to see a record number of nominations for UL students who worked on Limerick Voice multimedia news project, Prodigy Magazine, An Focal and ULFM. Its a fantastic achievement for students to have their work recognised by key industry leaders and a real testament to their hard work and talent, after what has been a challenging period for all third level students." Over at LCFE, photography student Mark was celebrating after winning the news photographer of the year title. It brings to 10 the number of awards won by LCFE photography students over the last 12 years. One of Marks images depicted a fellow student, Isaac wearing a mask, with a number of other face-coverings depicting slogans from the racial equality struggle in the background. Its lovely to win. Im super grateful. Its not really registered yet to be honest, said Mark, I liked the look of the picture, and its very topical. There are under-represented people in Ireland and we need to shine a light on them. Ireland is made up of a lot of different things these days. LIT student Alyssa won the peoples choice award at the Smedia awards with her film The Daily Grind, which charts the efforts of coffee shop staff to keep the business going through lockdown. The Daily Grind (Short Film) from alyssamfleming on Vimeo. So... I won the public choice award in the @TheSmedias Thank you to everyone that voted! This is very cool thank you. pic.twitter.com/YL7Ao2cq48 Alyssa Fleming (@alyssamfleming) June 2, 2021 Her win drew praise from the president of LIT Dr Vincent Cunnane, who said: Winning a National Student Media Award or Smedia in any year is a great achievement, but to create an award-winning film during a time when our movements were limited due to a global pandemic is particularly significant. Alyssa and her fellow students have shown great determination, creativity and resolve to create such excellent work despite the Covid-19 restrictions. SEVERE spot flooding has been reported on the Ennis Road this Thursday afternoon. Local man, Sean Ryan, kindly sent in this photograph as he was stuck in traffic. "Manholes are lifting from the pressure of the rainfall," he said. Met Eireann has issued a Status Yellow - Thunderstorm warning for Limerick, Clare Galway and Mayo. Read also: Met Eireann issues weather warning for Limerick Pictured above is an ominous sky in Dooradoyle, also sent in by a Leader reader. THE chief medical officer at the Department of Health, Dr Tony Holohan, and the health minister, Stephen Donnolly, are to host a virtual meeting with Limericks elected members this Friday following a spike in Covid-19 cases locally. RTE News and Virgin Media News are reporting this Thursday evening that the meeting has been confirmed for Friday afternoon. The development follows an appeal which was made by Dr Tony Holohan this Thursday evening directly to the people of Limerick to adhere to the public health advice after a significant increase in cases. In a series of tweets, Dr Tony Holohan said the majority of new cases in the city and county over the past fortnight occurred as a result of indoor gatherings. Today we are reporting a significant increase in cases in Limerick with incidence increasing sharply to 411/100,000, Dr Holohan pointed out. There have been more than 800 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Limerick in the past fortnight, the majority of which occurred as a result of indoor gatherings. Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Niall Collins TD, tweeted this Thursday evening that he asked both the health minister and CMO "to brief all Limerick TDs and Senators tomorrow on the situation". "Asking everybody to please observe good practice and get the numbers down again," he continued. There are 103 new Covid-19 cases in Limerick, latest figures this Thursday reveal. This figure accounts for the situation over a 24-hour period up to midnight on Wednesday, June 2. This is the highest number of cases across the city and county since January 19 when 121 cases were reported that day. Nationally there are 465 new cases reported today. The Niti Aayog on Thursday submitted the finalised names of the state-owned banks to be privatized in the current fiscal year to the Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment. The government think tank has been entrusted with the task of selection of names of two public sector banks and one general insurance company for the privatization as in the Union Budget 2021. "We have submitted the names (of PSU banks) to the Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment," a Niti Aayog official said. Following the clearance from the Core Group of Secretaries, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, the finalised names will go to Alternative Mechanism (AM) for its approval and eventually to the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister for the final nod, the official added. Changes on the regulatory side to facilitate privatisation would start after the Cabinet approval. The members of the Core Group of Secretaries include economic affairs secretary, revenue secretary, expenditure secretary, corporate affairs secretary, legal affairs secretary, Department of Public Enterprises secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) secretary and an administrative department secretary. Recently, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "Interests of workers of banks which are likely to be privatised will absolutely be protected whether their salaries or scale or pension all will be taken care of". Explaining the rationale behind the privatisation, Sitharaman had said that banks in the country needed to be bigger, just like the State Bank of India (SBI). "We need banks which are going to be able to scale up... We want banks that are going to be able to meet the aspirational needs of this country," Sitharaman had said, adding that a lot of thought had gone behind the intention to privatise some public sector banks. The government has budgeted 1.75 lakh crore from stake sale in public sector companies and financial institutions, including two PSU banks and one insurance company, during the current financial year. The amount is lower than the record budgeted 2.10 lakh crore to be raised from CPSE disinvestment in the last fiscal. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. New Delhi: India and Germany on Thursday held bilateral consultation during which both sides agreed to continue their engagement on key issues on the UN agenda. According to a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs, the discussion took place virtually, wherein both sides discussed a wide range of issues on the UN agenda. The German delegation was led by Antje Leendertse, State Secretary for Germany with officials from International Order and the United Nations Desks of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the German Embassy at New Delhi. T Shri Vikas Swarup, Secretary (West) led the Indian delegation along with officials from the UN and Europe West Divisions of MEA and the Embassy of India in Berlin. "The Indian delegation briefed the German side on India's priorities during its UNSC tenure. Both sides agreed to continue their engagement on key issues on the UN agenda," the statement read. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. SAINT JOHN'S (ANTIGUA) : Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne on Wednesday said that his administration stands by its request for Dominica to extradite Indian-born fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi directly back to India, "where he is still a citizen." "Instead of subjecting himself to an inquiry as required by law, he (Mehul Choksi) used the courts to stay the revocation of his citizenship," Antigua PM told ANI. "My administration stands by its request to Dominica to extradite Mehul Choksi directly back to India where he is still a citizen," he added. The Antigua Prime Minister told ANI that Mehul Choksi "changed his lawyer to a well-known member of the UPP who had promised him protection, for campaign funding". "That's why they want that he shouldn't be deported to India, but back to Antigua where he could continue to hide behind constitutional protections," Browne said. The Antigua Prime Minister also shared a notice of October 14, 2019 in which he had proposed depriving Choksi of his citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda "As Minister with responsibility for Citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda, I hereby propose to make an order pursuant to section 8 of the Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship Act, Cap. 22 to deprive you of Antigua and Barbuda citizenship on the grounds of wilful concealment of material facts and/or false representation to support your application for citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda," said the notice signed by Browne and sent to Mehul Choksi. He was required to respond to it in a month. Earlier today, Associates Times citing sources had reported that Mehul Choksi's brother, who is also a bank defaulter, allegedly promised election funding to Dominica's Leader of the Opposition Lennox Linton in exchange for pushing Mehul Choksi's abduction theory. The sources said Chetan Chinu Bhai Choksi had met Linton on May 30, where they discussed several aspects related to Mehul Choksi's arrest and agreed on the commitment that in exchange for token money and promise of election donation, the opposition leader will press the matter in Parliament. They also told Associates Times that Chetan disclosed during the conversation that Mehul had reached Dominica on his own, but they require the assistance of the opposition to tackle the matter in court and against the Dominica government to make them believe that he was abducted by Antiguan and Indian police. Sources cited by Associates Times also said Chetan gave Linton token money of USD 200,000 and promised him more than a million-dollar of financial assistance in the upcoming general elections and in exchange Linton would issue statements favouring Mehul Choksi. It reported that Linton, who had remained mum on the matter, has now aggressively initiated his attacks on the government after the meeting with Mehul Choksi's brother. It also reported that the Dominican Leader of Opposition has a long history of taking money from people for delivering unauthorized promises. Al Jazeera reported that in 2019 Linton had promised a diplomatic passport to some investor in exchange for election funds amounting to about USD 200,000. In October 2017, Linton also allegedly supported the separation propaganda of Brahim Ghali, who is facing critical criminal charges in the National Court of Spain. This image of the leader has raised questions on his instant stand in favour of Mehul Choksi, who is wanted for fraud charges in India. However, in an exclusive interview with ANI, Linton denied the allegations, claiming that he has never known or met Chetan Choksi. "I don't know Chetan Choksi, I have never seen Chetan Choksi. I've never spoken to or with Chetan Choksi, I think there is an online story coming from a publication called Something times, I've never seen this website. I think this publication must be associated with passport selling friends of some of these governments in the region," he told ANI. He also said the report was a "total lie"' and there was absolutely no truth to it, adding that he had no private residence in Marigot, as it was blown away by a hurricane and that he was not even present in Marigot on May 30, as suggested by Associates Times. "I have not received any money from anybody in exchange for favours or as a result of things that have done or not done or promised to do or not do," he said. Calling the report an "absolute garbage", Linton said the political opposition in Dominica had no contacts with Mehul Choksi, his agents or his associates. "We have not met with Mehul Choksi and his associate and not even his family members. We don't know them. There is absolutely no arrangement for them to for any funding for the campaigning or anything there is no such arrangement. This is absolutely false..," he said. Meanwhile, a team from India has arrived in Dominica, ahead of a Caribbean court hearing that will decide on whether fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi will be deported to India. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Israel's health ministry announced Wednesday that children aged 12-15 would be able to receive coronavirus vaccinations, despite "a possible link" between Pfizer/BioNTech inoculations and myocarditis among young men. On Tuesday, Israel lifted nearly all Covid restrictions after a nationwide vaccination campaign for people aged 16 and up. There were just four new positive cases of the virus recorded in the country that day. The health ministry also on Tuesday announced the findings of an investigation into a possible link between myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle, and the coronavirus vaccinations administerd in Israel. An observation of 275 myocarditis cases recorded between December 2020 and May 2021 among more than five million vaccinated people found that 148 of them "occurred around the time of vaccination" -- 27 after the first dose, and 121 after the second. "There is some probability for a possible link between the second vaccine dose and the onset of myocarditis among young men aged 16 to 30," the ministry said, with the link "found to be stronger among the younger age group, 16 to 19". The ministry noted that 95 percent of the people with myocarditis were "considered to be mild cases." On Wednesday, the ministry issued its stance on vaccinations for youths, in which it encouraged vaccinations for those at-risk -- despite the myocarditis findings, while stopping short of recommending vaccinations for all children aged 12-15. "It was decided to recommend imminent vaccinations to at-risk groups, including teens at medical risk of developing a serious case of coronavirus, teens living with at-risk family members, and families planning overseas travel," a statement said. "Beyond the at-risk groups, anyone else interested will be able to" receive jabs, the ministry said, adding that vaccinations for teens aged 12-15 would begin next week. Noting its report on myocarditis, the ministry stressed that the risks of coronavirus complications were "much higher than the risks of receiving a vaccination". "The vaccine is effective and safe," it said. "Even the myocarditis observed among males aged 16-19 was in low numbers, and in most cases passed without complications," the ministry said. At the peak of the epidemic in early 2021, Israel saw 10,000 new cases a day and 88,000 active cases, but a rapid campaign using the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccination brought those numbers down. There were less than 340 active Covid cases in Israel on Wednesday. Indoor mask requirements and travel restrictions are the last virus restrictions in place in Israel. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Last week, China and the US drew closer to another confrontation, with President Joe Biden ordering a detailed intelligence review on the origins of the covid pandemic. As the debate on the subject took on a serious turn in recent days with new intelligence details emerging about several researchers at Chinas Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) falling ill in November 2019 and being hospitalized, Biden has asked the US intelligence community to prepare a report on their most up-to-date analysis of the origins of covid-19, including whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident." This is a follow-up to a report he had asked the US intelligence to prepare in March on the same question. In his statement, Biden underlined that the U.S. Intelligence Community has coalesced around two likely scenarios but has not reached a definitive conclusion on this question. Here is their current position: While two elements in the [intelligence community] lean toward the former scenario and one leans more toward the lattereach with low or moderate confidencethe majority of elements do not believe there is sufficient information to assess one to be more likely than the other." And so the need for a new assessment. China has repeatedly and vehemently refuted the suggestion that the Sars-CoV-2 virus came from its lab in Wuhan, but the circumstantial evidence that the virus could have leaked out has been growing. Around a year ago, former US president Donald Trump had started talking of the possibility that this virus could have escaped from a lab in Wuhan and concerns were expressed about biosecurity at the lab by US embassy officials. But these suggestions were dismissed as a fringe conspiracy theory. Today, as these views are becoming mainstream, with everyone from Dr Anthony Fauci to President Biden acknowledging that there might be some merit in the lab-accident hypothesis, there is a renewed sense of investigative urgency. Pressure is mounting, with media reports emerging of new evidence and previous sceptics revising their views. The US Congress is also stepping up its role, demanding more categorical answers from US intelligence agencies and calling for the declassification of any intelligence related to links between the WIV and the origins of the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic. After fudging the issue of holding China accountable initially, the World Health Organization (WHO) conducted an investigation into the origins of the pandemic earlier this year and dismissed the possibility of an accidental leak from the Wuhan Institute as extremely low." This report underlined that there was no reporting of covid-19 compatible respiratory illness during the weeks/months prior to December 2019, and no serological evidence of infection in workers through SARS-CoV-2-specific serology-screening." This failed to generate global confidence, with several nations critical of the way in which this exercise was conducted. Not only did the WHO investigators have little or no access to some very critical data and samples, its reliance on Chinese authorities for the evidentiary basis of its claims led to its dismissal as a non-serious work. In fact, Chinas misuse of the WHO from the very beginning of the covid crisis has led to a credibility crisis for the wider institution. China, of course, is unlikely to become more transparent on this issue and provide much-needed crucial information for other countries to reach reasonable conclusions. After Bidens announcement, the Chinese foreign ministry reacted strongly, arguing the US doesnt care about facts or truth at all, neither is it interested in a serious scientific study on the origins. Its only aim is to use the pandemic for stigmatization and political manipulation to shift the blame." China has desperately been trying to link Fort Detrick, a US Army biomedical research laboratory in Maryland, to the emergence of the virus without much success. After more than a year-and-a-half since the virus first emerged, there is hardly any clarity on its origins, despite it having spread around the world and killed almost 3.5 million people, by official counts. Perhaps there never will be any clarity, given the state of play and Chinas reluctance to play ball. But it is imperative for the world to push for a transparent investigation, given the high stakes. This is not a bilateral matter between China and the US, though Bidens recent decision may have opened up another front in an already challenging US-China relationship. Unless we know the origin of this pandemic, it would be very difficult to respond adequately and protect us from future such events. In the absence of an effective response the whole edifice of global governance, already under enormous stress, might just crumble. Biden has suggested that the US will keep working with like-minded partners across the world to press China to participate in a full, transparent, evidence-based international investigation." New Delhi has supported global calls for a comprehensive investigation by the WHO into the origins of covid. It needs to do much moreby not only partnering with other countries, but also undertaking its own intelligence assessment of the case. Given the worsening of Sino-India ties, this should be a priority for New Delhi. Harsh V. Pant is professor of international relations, Kings College London Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. At least one autonomous drone operated by artificial intelligence (AI) may have killed people for the first time last year in Libya, without any humans consulted prior to the attack, according to a U.N. report. According to a March report from the U.N. Panel of Experts on Libya , lethal autonomous aircraft may have "hunted down and remotely engaged" soldiers and convoys fighting for Libyan general Khalifa Haftar. It's not clear who exactly deployed these killer robots, though remnants of one such machine found in Libya came from the Kargu-2 drone, which is made by Turkish military contractor STM. "Autonomous weapons as a concept are not all that new. Landmines are essentially simple autonomous weapons you step on them and they blow up," Zachary Kallenborn, a research affiliate with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland, College Park, told Live Science. "What's potentially new here are autonomous weapons incorporating artificial intelligence," added Kallenborn, who is with the consortium's unconventional weapons and technology division. Related: The 22 weirdest military weapons These attacks may have taken place in March 2020, during a time when the U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord drove Haftar's forces from Libya's capital, Tripoli. "The lethal autonomous weapons systems were programmed to attack targets without requiring data connectivity between the operator and the munition: in effect, a true 'fire, forget and find' capability," the report noted. The Kargu-2 is a four-rotor drone that STM describes as a "loitering munition system." Once its AI software has identified targets, it can autonomously fly at them at a maximum speed of about 45 mph (72 km/h) and explode with either an armor-piercing warhead or one meant to kill non-armor-wearing personnel. Though the drones were programmed to attack if they lost connection to a human operator, the report doesn't explicitly say that this happened. It's also not clear whether Turkey directly operated the drone or just sold it to the Government of National Accord, but either way, it defies a U.N. arms embargo , which prevents all member states, such as Turkey, and their citizens from supplying weapons to Libya, the report added. The weapons ban was imposed after Libya's violent crackdown on protesters in 2011, which sparked a civil war and the country's ongoing crisis. Haftar's forces "were neither trained nor motivated to defend against the effective use of this new technology and usually retreated in disarray," the report noted. "Once in retreat, they were subject to continual harassment from the unmanned combat aerial vehicles and lethal autonomous weapons systems." Though the report does not unequivocally state that these autonomous drones killed anyone in Libya, it does strongly imply it, Kallenborn wrote in a report in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists . For example, the U.N. noted that lethal autonomous weapons systems contributed to "significant casualties" among the crews of Haftar's forces' surface-to-air missile systems, he wrote. Although many, including Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk, have called for bans on autonomous weapons, "such campaigns have typically assumed these weapons are still in the future," Kallenborn said. "If they're on the battlefield now, that means discussions about bans and ethical concerns need to focus on the present." "I'm not surprised this has happened now at all," Kallenborn added. "The reality is that creating autonomous weapons nowadays is not all that complicated." As dangerous as these weapons are, "they are not like the movie 'Terminator,'" Kallenborn said. "They have nowhere near that level of sophistication, which might be decades away." Still, the fears over autonomous weapons are part of larger concerns that scientists and others have raised over the field of AI. "Current AIs are typically heavily dependent on what data they are trained on," Kallenborn said. "A machine usually doesn't know what a cat or dog is unless it's fed images of cats and dogs and you tell it which ones are cats and dogs. So there's a significant risk of error in those situations if that training data is incomplete, or things are not as simple as they seem. A soldier might wear camo, or a farmer a rake, but a farmer might wear camo too, and a soldier might use a rake to knock over a gun turret." AI software also often lacks what humans would think of as common sense. For instance, computer scientists have found that changing a single pixel on an image can lead an AI program to conclude it was a completely different image, Kallenborn said. "If it's that easy to mess these systems up, what happens on a battlefield when people are moving around in a complex environment?" he said. Kallenborn noted that there are at least nine key questions when it comes to analyzing the risks autonomous weapons might pose. How does an autonomous weapon decide who to kill? The decision-making processes of AI programs are often a mystery, Kallenborn said. What role do humans have? In situations where people monitor what decisions a drone makes, they can make corrections before potentially lethal mistakes happen. However, human operators may ultimately trust these machines to the point of catastrophe, as several accidents with autonomous cars have demonstrated, Kallenborn said. What payload does an autonomous weapon have? The risks these weapons pose escalate with the number of people they can kill. What is the weapon targeting? AI can err when it comes to recognizing potential targets. How many autonomous weapons are being used? More autonomous weapons means more opportunities for failure, and militaries are increasingly exploring the possibility of deploying swarms of drones on the battlefield. "The Indian army has announced it is developing a 1,000-drone swarm, working completely autonomously," Kallenborn said. Where are autonomous weapons being used? The risk that drones pose rises with the population of the area in which they are deployed and the confusing clutter in which they travel. Weather can make a difference, too one study found that an AI system used to detect obstacles on roads was 92% accurate in clear weather but 58% accurate in foggy weather, Kallenborn said. How well-tested is the weapon? An autonomous weapon tested in a rainy climate such as Seattle might fare differently in the heat of Saudi Arabia, Kallenborn noted. How have adversaries adapted? For example, AI company OpenAI developed a system that could classify an apple as a Granny Smith with 85.6% confidence, but if someone taped a piece of paper that said "iPod" on the fruit, it concluded with 99.7% confidence that the apple was an iPod, Kallenborn said. Adversaries may find similar ways to fool autonomous weapons. How widely available are autonomous weapons? If widely available, they may be deployed where they should not be as the U.N. report noted, Turkey should not have brought the Kargu-2 drone into Libya. "What I find most significant about the future of autonomous weapons are the risks that come with swarms. In my view, autonomous drone swarms that can kill people are potentially weapons of mass destruction," Kallenborn said. All in all, "the reality is, what happened in Libya is just the start," Kallenborn said. "The potential for proliferation of these weapons is quite significant." Originally published on Live Science. One of the two red deer stags carved into the underside of the capstone covering the burial chamber in Dunchraigaig Cairn. An amateur archaeologist has uncovered the earliest example of animal carvings in Scotland. The carvings were hiding in plain sight in a Bronze Age burial site. Two red deer (Cervus elaphus) sporting fully grown antlers as well as three smaller quadrupeds (four-footed animals), two of which are also likely to be deer decorate the underside of an 11.5-foot (3.5 meters) capstone covering a burial chamber inside the Dunchraigaig Cairn monument, according to Historic Environment Scotland (HES). Ancient people built this cairn a stack of stones used as a monument to the tombs beneath in Kilmartin Glen, an area with a high concentration of Neolithic and Bronze Age remains, according to HES. The carvings, which were etched between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago, are also the earliest examples of deer carvings discovered anywhere in the U.K., according to HES. Related: The 10 biggest archaeology discoveries of 2020 "It was previously thought that prehistoric animal carvings of this date didn't exist in Scotland," Tertia Barnett, principal investigator for Scotland's Rock Art Project at HES, said in a statement . "So it is very exciting that they have now been discovered here for the first time in the historic Kilmartin Glen." An unexpected find Archaeologists first discovered the 98-foot (30 m) burial chamber in the 1860s and found the cremated remains of around 10 people, as well as artifacts, including a sharpening stone, ax and flint knife, according to HES. But during this excavation, the archaeologists missed the animal carvings on the underside of the capstone covering the underground tomb. Hamish Fenton, who does aerial archaeology surveys using a kite, recently discovered the carvings while visiting the area. "I was passing Dunchraigaig Cairn at dusk when I noticed the burial chamber in the side of the cairn and decided to slide inside with my torch," Fenton, who received an archaeology undergraduate degree from Bournemouth University in England, said in the statement. "As I shone the torch around, I noticed a pattern on the underside of the roof slab which didn't appear to be natural markings in the rock." The carvings are fairly faint, which is likely why archaeologists initially missed the animal imprints during the tomb's excavation, but Fenton was able to make them out. "As I shone the light around further, I could see that I was looking at a deer stag upside down," Fenton said in the statement. "As I continued looking around, more animals appeared on the rock." Archaeologists have now created 3D models of the rock slab that reveal the intricate details of these carvings, according to HES. "While there are a few prehistoric carvings of deer in the U.K., the only other ones created in the early Bronze Age are very schematic," Barnett said in the statement. "It is remarkable that these carvings in Dunchraigaig Cairn show such great anatomical detail and there is no doubt about which animal species they represent." There are more than 3,000 prehistoric rock carvings in Scotland, a vast majority of which are cup and ring markings abstract motifs created by striking the rock surface with a stone tool. These marks normally consist of a central circle, or cup, surrounded by concentric rings. Kilmartin Glen is home to a number of these cup and ring markings, which date to around the same time as the new carvings. "Until now, we did not know of any area in Britain with both types of carvings," Barnett said in the statement, "which poses questions about the relationship between them and their significance to the people that created them." Originally published on Live Science. Candidates could still invest as much of their own money as they want, and anyone could spend an unlimited amount on individual expenditures such as mailers or billboard advertisements advocating for or against a certain candidate. Crucially, though, they would have to report all such expenditures exceeding $100 to City Hall, enabling the public to identify everybody involved in a given race. There's trouble brewing at the edge of the Milky Way: New measurements suggest that a peculiar distortion of the galactic disk is hardly moving, contradicting earlier reports. As yet, nobody knows which finding will end up being correct. At stake are some key details in the structure and formation of spiral galaxies throughout the universe. Astronomers describe the Milky Way as a flat disk-shaped, double-armed spiral galaxy twirling and twinkling with stars. Yet since the mid-20th century, astronomers have known that this picture is partially wrong. Related: 11 fascinating facts about our Milky Way galaxy Observations in the radio part of the electromagnetic spectrum first revealed that our galaxy's farthest borders are warped, with some parts drooping down and other parts bending upward, like a vinyl record left on a hot plate. Subsequent data have shown that this feature, known as a galactic warp, is common for spiral galaxies, Zofia Chrobakova, an astrophysics doctoral candidate at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC) in Spain, told Live Science. Different explanations have been offered for the warp's formation, such as the possibility that it arises from surrounding material falling onto the galactic disk, Chrobakova said. In that case, the distortion would likely be static or moving extremely slowly. But other theories have posited that warps are fashioned through more dynamic mechanisms, such as interactions with dark matter at the edge of a galaxy, or smaller galaxies orbiting their larger brethren, tugging on them gravitationally and generating ripples. These ideas would lead to an active warp that might be spinning around like a top, a movement known as precession. "If we know how fast or if the warp rotates, it could be like a piece of a puzzle," Chrobakova said. "It tells us a lot of information about how the warp was created." Last year, a team writing in the journal Nature Astronomy used information from the European Space Agency's Gaia satellite which provides ultraprecise measurements of the location of the Milky Way's stars to deduce that our galaxy's warp was spinning. A second paper, published in December in The Astrophysical Journal , corroborated these results, suggesting that the warp was zipping along rather quickly, orbiting with a period of around 600 million to 700 million years. If that were the case, the procession would be nearly 10 times faster than previous models had predicted, Chrobakova said. But in a new study, she and her co-author Martin Lopez-Corredoira, also of IAC, put the brakes on the prior measurements. By looking at the same Gaia data but modeling the details differently, Chrobakova and Lopez-Corredoira found that the warp is moving about 3.4 times more slowly than the results announced last year suggested. Their findings appeared May 13 in the The Astrophysical Journal . "My research puts down this new breakthrough and says we are back to where we started," Chrobakova said. "We call it an anti-discovery." Yet the error bars on Chrobakova's measurements are large enough to leave the matter unsettled, said Ronald Drimmel, an astronomer at the University of Turin in Italy who was part of the team that first measured a precessing warp. "It might be indicating that there's no motion, or that it has a large motion," he told Live Science. "There's quite a bit of uncertainty." Much of the disagreement comes down to the precise shape of the warp itself, which neither team has a perfect handle on, Drimmel said. "Making such measurements is hard. We're right in the disk of the galaxy, and dust clouds limit how far we can see." Chrobakova agreed that additional data will be necessary to solve this conundrum. Next year, Gaia is expected to release a new catalog that could provide additional information for this dust-up. That's good, because other galaxies are likely too far away to be able to settle the debate. "The Milky Way is the galaxy we have the best chance of exploring in such detail," Chrobakova said. Some 19 million years ago, a mystery event nearly drove the world's entire population of sharks to extinction, according to a new study. About 90% of sharks disappeared from the oceans in less than 100,000 years, but it's unknown why and whether they died off in a single day, weeks, years or even thousands of years. This extinction event significantly altered the ancient marine environment, and sharks never recovered from the die-off, according to the study, which was published Thursday (June 3) in the journal Science . "Sharks have been around for 400 million years; they've weathered a lot of mass extinctions," some of which wiped out almost all life, said co-author Elizabeth Sibert, a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University's Institute for Biospheric Studies (who was a junior fellow at Harvard University at the start of the research). Yet during the early Miocene epoch, something "clearly happened to almost wipe this group off of the face of this Earth ." Related: In photos: Seeing sharks up close This story was hidden inside a largely ignored group of ichthyoliths, which are microscopic fossils of shark scales (called denticles) and fish teeth buried deep inside sediments on the ocean floor. Ichthyoliths are found in most types of sediments, but they are tiny and relatively rare compared with some other microfossils that are better studied, Sibert said. In fact, though some scientists studied ichthyoliths in the 1970s and '80s, few researchers had examined them in the decades since, until Sibert investigated them for her doctorate, which she completed in 2016. "A lot of what I've done in my early career as a scientist was figuring out how to work with these fossils, what kinds of questions we can ask about them," Sibert told Live Science. Ichthyoliths are found inside deep sediment cores, or sediments that have been stacked on the ocean floor over millions of years. The deeper the sediment, the older it is, with some sediment cores dating back 300 million years, Sibert said. These sediment cores allow researchers to create a time series: A certain number of inches down the core equals a certain number of years in history. Sibert and another group of researchers previously discovered that the number of shark ichthyoliths in such cores greatly declined 19 million years ago, but it wasn't clear if this drop represented an extinction event. In this new study, Sibert and co-author Leah Rubin, who was an undergraduate student at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine at the time of the research, analyzed sediment cores taken many years ago by deep-sea drilling projects at two different sites: one in the middle of the North Pacific, and one in the middle of the South Pacific. "We picked those sites particularly because they are far away from land and they're far away from any influences of changing ocean circulation or ocean currents," Sibert said. In other words, they wanted to make sure that the changes in ichthyoliths they saw weren't due to other variables, such as the migration of sediments across the ocean. Related: How long do species last before they go extinct? However, only the South Pacific site had data from 19 million years ago. The other sediment core had data from 22 million to 35 million years ago and from 11 million to 12 million years ago, but nothing in between. (These earlier and later cores still helped the researchers understand what fossils were present long before and long after that time period.) After extracting the ichthyoliths from the sediment cores, the researchers examined two specific metrics: abundance and diversity of shark fossils. Extreme decline By looking at before-and-after snapshots in the sediment cores, the researchers found that open-ocean shark fossil numbers dropped by 90% around 19 million years ago. But to understand whether this was truly an extinction, the researchers wanted to understand if diversity the number of different shark species also declined. To measure diversity, they classified 798 denticles from the South Pacific and 465 from the North Pacific into 80 different morphologies, or shapes and structures. They found that around that time, about 70% of denticle types disappeared. The researchers also put together a catalog of modern shark denticles and found that another 20% of those pre-extinction event morphologies were present in modern sharks but not in the fossil record. In other words, this lost extinction event wiped out between 70% and 90% of shark species and 90% of individual sharks. Related: The 5 mass extinction events that shaped the history of Earth "Frankly, we're shocked that this time period had such a dramatic event," Sibert said. The disappearance of sharks greatly altered the marine communities, disrupting 45 million years of stability, she added. In fact, the last time the marine vertebrate community had such a shake-up was 66 million years ago, in the late Cretaceous period , when an asteroid wiped out the nonavian dinosaurs. "I think what has been the most surprising is just how extreme" the decline in shark diversity and abundance truly was during this time period, Rubin, who is now an incoming doctoral student at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, told Live Science in an email. The "million dollar question" is, what caused it? No clear environmental driver, such as a major change in climate, accounts for this significant decline in sharks. And predators probably didn't drive sharks to extinction, as this die-off occurred several million years before tuna, billfish, seabirds, beaked whales and even migratory sharks exploded in numbers. "We really, truly don't know" what caused the extinction, Sibert said. "This paper is just the very beginning of what I hope is going to be a really interesting next decade trying to figure out more about what happened at this time." Missing fossils Romain Vullo, a paleontologist with the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) at the Geosciences Rennes, in France, who was not part of the study, said the findings were surprising. They can't be explained by a known global climate event at the time, and the extinction isn't seen in the global fossil record of sharks, he told Live Science in an email. Still, "further data from other regions in the world would be required to confirm the interpretation of the authors," he added. Though two sites were analyzed, only the sediment core from the South Pacific specifically pointed to this 19-million-year-old extinction event and decline in abundance. It's possible that the data may reflect local changes and not a global extinction event, he said. Sibert said it's possible but unlikely that it would be a local change. "While we don't have good data from this very specific time interval all over the world, we do have a lot of 'before' extinction snapshots and 'after' extinction snapshots from all over the world," she said. "Before the extinction, there are lots of shark scales, and after, there are not." If this were a local phenomenon, a lot of shark fossils would be found in sediments that date back younger than 19 million years old, but they aren't, she said. "They're missing pretty much everywhere that we have looked," Sibert said. However, "it is possible that this extinction was strongest in the open ocean environment, and not in the coastal environment," she added. The next steps are to figure out if species along the coasts, as well as other groups or ecosystems, were also greatly affected, she said. Modern sharks, ancient lessons One reason this shark tale wasn't told until today is that this time period, from 18 million to 20 million years ago, is mostly missing in sediment cores. It's not clear why this time period is hard to come across in the sediment record. It could have something to do with the extinction event, or it could just be "random happenstance," Sibert said. Related: 6 extinct animals that could be brought back to life It's puzzling that "this event in the early Miocene seems to have been hiding in an interval of geologic time that was previously unremarkable," Catalina Pimiento, a vertebrate paleontology researcher at the University of Zurich and Swansea University in the U.K. and Nicholas D. Pyenson, a research geologist at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and affiliate curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Burke museum in Seattle, Washington, wrote in an accompanying perspective piece published in the journal Science . Neither of them were involved in the study. "Our view of the ancient oceans is constrained by the environments recorded in the rock record, which are often limited to shallow-water deposits that provide little insight into the oceanwide history of pelagic [oceanic] faunas," they wrote. And, it turns out, this ancient story has modern parallels. In the past 50 years, shark numbers have declined by more than 70%, due to overfishing and other human pressures, including climate change warming the oceans. One-quarter of shark species that exist today are currently threatened with extinction, according to the perspective piece. "The parallels between this ongoing crisis and the extinction of pelagic sharks more than 19 million years ago thus feels like deja vu, except that this time, we know that the decline of sharks is happening at a faster rate than at any other in the history of the planet," Pimiento and Pyenson wrote. Sharks and other marine predators play an invaluable role in keeping the ocean ecosystem balanced. "These big changes in large marine organism populations and diversity can have knock-on effects that can really change the ecosystem forever," Sibert said. The Miocene extinction event "fundamentally changed and really disrupted the whole ocean ecosystem and caused it to flip into an entirely new state," Sibert said. Sharks have not recovered in diversity or number from this major extinction event that seemed to have occurred 19 million years ago. Now, Sibert said, we're once again at a "tipping point." Originally published on Live Science. Editors Note: This article was updated to correct a sentence about shark species numbers. One quarter of all shark species are currently threatened with extinction, and there's a "substantial risk status increase" for the 31 species of oceanic sharks, according to the perspective. After a months-long investigation, the Pentagon is poised to produce a report addressing sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) more commonly known as "unidentified flying objects," or UFOs . But don't expect a big reveal about secret alien technology and extraterrestrial spaceships. The aim of the report is to establish standards for recording sightings of mysterious objects and to determine if those objects pose a threat to national security. In 2020, the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee called for an inquiry into UAPs in the Intelligence Authorization Act for the Fiscal Year 2021 . According to the document, committee members were concerned that "there is no unified, comprehensive process within the Federal Government for collecting and analyzing intelligence on unidentified aerial phenomena, despite the potential threat." After the bill was enacted on Dec. 21, 2020, the director of national intelligence and the secretary of defense then had 180 days to produce a report for the committee, "submitted in unclassified form," on the current status of UAP sightings and protocols, Live Science previously reported and that six-month deadline expires this month. Related: 7 things most often mistaken for UFOs Florida Sen. Marco Rubio served as the Intelligence Committee's acting chair when the act was drafted and enacted, and he ordered the investigation of UAPs because he saw them as a critical national security issue, Rubio told journalist Bill Whitaker on CBS's "60 Minutes" in May. "Anything that enters an airspace that's not supposed to be there is a threat," Rubio said. "I want us to take it seriously and have a process to take it seriously. I want us to have a process to analyze the data every time it comes in." In April 2020, the U.S. Navy released three videos of UFO sightings from 2004 and 2015; the clips were nicknamed "FLIR," "GOFAST" and "GIMBAL," and they showed what appeared to be spacecraft traveling at hypersonic speeds with no visible means of propulsion, Live Science reported. (The three videos had previously been posted online in 2017 and 2018 by the UFO research group To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science.) "There's footage and records of objects in the skies that we don't know exactly what they are we can't explain how they moved, their trajectory. They did not have an easily explainable pattern," former president Barack Obama said in May, in an appearance on CBS's "The Late Late Show with James Corden." So, what might be included in the report? Not everything in the document will be publicly available while the report will be unclassified, it "may include a classified annex," the Intelligence Committee wrote. The committee requested a detailed analysis of UAP data and intelligence, including information gathered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) about UFOs. The committee also requested that the report outline a process for sharing information between agencies, to help identify unfamiliar technologies and to detect patterns in UFO appearances that could imply hostile intentions. "I want us to have a process to analyze the data every time it comes in. That there be a place where this is cataloged and constantly analyzed, until we get some answers," Rubio said. "Maybe it has a very simple answer. Maybe it doesn't," Rubio told Whitaker. "We're gonna find out when we get that report." Originally published on Live Science. Click here to read the full article. All products and services featured by Variety are independently selected by Variety editors. However, Variety may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Amazon Prime Day isnt technically until June 21 but Audible is sneaking in deals for Prime members as early as June 2. The Amazon-owned podcast and audiobook service is offering their Premium Plus package for $6.95 per month (versus its regular cost of $14.95 per month) for the first four months. The deal runs from June 2 to June 30. Like all of Amazons deals this month, which they already began announcing June 1, Amazons Audible discount is exclusive for Prime members. So if youre interested in saving some money this month, you can sign up to be a member today and get a 30-day free trial. Audible is perfect for people who want to squeeze even more book-binging into their day. Plus, there are some books simply meant to be listened to versus read on the page. David Sedaris jokes are even funnier alongside the humorists genius comedic timing in his bestselling collection of essays Me Talk Pretty One Day, for example, and it feels unlawful to listen to Matthew McConaugheys pithy wisdom and life experiences, which he recounts in his memoir Greenlights, in any other voice than the actors distinct southern drawl. So, in celebration of Audibles huge Prime month deal, we rounded up six books on tape you should listen to this month. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey At 50 years old, the Academy Award-winning actor took to the desert to write this memoir based on the lessons, advice and wisdom hes recounted through years of journaling. The main thesis of the unconventional book (and his general approach to living) is something he calls catching greenlights: enjoying lifes successes while having the faith that the yellows and reds will turn green at some point, too. McConaughey narrates the intimate audiobook, leading listeners through his own successes, failures, realizations, lessons and vivid memories from his life. Buy: Greenlights $24.50 Me: Elton John Official Autobiography In the first-ever autobiography of Elton John, the music icon narrates his remarkable life, from a young shy boy (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight) in a small London suburb, to the legendary artist who ended up changing the music world forever with his songs. Aside from his rise to success and extravagant lifestyle, all things shown in the bio-pic Rocketman, John also recounts his experience with the AIDs crisis and writes candidly about getting clean from addiction. Somebodys Daughter by Ashley Ford With words written in The Guardian, ELLE, Buzzfeed, The Cut and The New York Times, Ashley Ford is considered a powerful voice of her generation. Her debut memoir, which is already a best-seller after coming out June 1, explores growing up in poverty, all while dealing with a fraught relationship with her mom and an incarcerated father. Yearbook by Seth Rogan Everyones favorite comedian and producer puts together a hilarious collection of personal essays in his first book, in which he writes about his foray into comedy as a teenager, his Jewish upbringing and some wild Hollywood stories through the lens of a far-from-typical A-lister. You wont want to miss the audiobook version, which features a star-studded cast with cameos by Rogens mom and dad, Nick Kroll, Jay Pharoah, Jason Segel, Dan Aykroyd, Ike Barinholtz, Simon Helberg, Tommy Chong, Billy Idol and many more. Heads Will Roll by Kate McKinnon and Emily Lynne Less of a book and more of an audio comedy, Audible Originals Heads Will Roll is a 10-episode series created by Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon and co-creator/star (and sister!) Emily Lynne. The story follows Queen Mortuana of the Night Realm (McKinnon) and her ditsy sister JoJo (Lynne) who work together to hilariously put down an impending peasant rebellion that threatens their throne. The star-studded satire features performances by Meryl Streep, Tim Gunn, Peter Dinklage and Queer Eyes Fab Five. Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow Pulitzer Prize winner Ronan Farrow exposes a Russian doll of explosive stories in this real-life account of how he broke the Harvey Weinstein story for The New Yorker in 2017. In this tell-all book, which he narrates himself for the audio version, he recounts the shadowy operatives and war-hardened spies that surveilled him for months as he bravely uncovered the truth about one of Hollywoods most powerful producers. He also writes about the process of getting Weinsteins victims to tell their stories, which ended up sparking an explosive reckoning within Hollywood, and an entire movement around the world. If youre really interested in the subject, you can couple it with Jodi Kantor and Megan Twoheys audiobook She Said, in which they explain how they investigated the same story for The New York Times. Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes by Tony Kushner The audio version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, which stars the cast of the 2018 Broadway revival, explores the themes of identity, justice, community and redemption as New Yorkers grapple with the devastating AIDS crisis throughout the 1980s. Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane, in addition to the rest of cast, recreate their acclaimed performances for the immersive theatrical experience. Buy: Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes $30.63 Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris Sedariss distinct and lovable high-pitched voice carries readers through hilarious and whacky stories from his eccentric upbringing. From course-correcting his lisp through speech therapy lessons in elementary school, to moving to Paris with no grasp on the French language, to a short-lived stint as a writing teacher that he was woefully under qualified for, Sedaris has no shortage of real-life stories that double as comedy bits. In fact, more of his entertaining short essays can be found in his other popular books Calypso, Naked and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Cannes president Pierre Lescure gave some reassurance to international industry executives, talent and journos who have been holding their breath since earlier this week when the French government announced some tighter measures for visitors from the U.K. Lescure said he expects the government to unveil special instructions for those accredited for the festival within the next 36 hours. The festivals president also mentioned countries will be classified by color either green or red by the ministry of foreign affairs according to their health situation, and the color will determine what rules will apply to each countrys visitors when they enter France. All the countries in the green zone will have their nationals carry a European health pass. These people will be able to access the festival without any problem, said Lescure. He added that the festival was also in the process of obtaining exemptions for international travellers, including those coming from the U.K. and some European or French declarations should be made in the hours to come. As for the U.S., Lescure, said, the issue at stake isnt to allow people in, as U.S. visitors will be able to enter France without any problem. But as of now, non U.S. citizens, especially French citizens, who will be coming from the U.S. will not be able to return home after the festival. Lescure said U.S. President Joe Bidens visit in 10 days should help to find a solution to facilitate travels from France to the U.S. As for countries classified as red, which number 16 at present, Lescure said the festival is discussing with the office of the French Prime Minister and the ministry of foreign affairs to allow journalists to come to Cannes with conditions that are acceptable and without too much quarantine. We will have a difficult time to avoid (the quarantine), I dont want to speak too much because the services of the Prime Minister will certainly within the next 24-to-48 hours make some very precise announcement which will help, said Lescure. What will be announced will address all of the population but will also speak about the festival which is the biggest cultural festival in the world and welcomes a lot of people in France, Lescure added. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Lil Nas X has already logged record consumption numbers for his debut single Old Town Road (14-times platinum in the U.S. alone and counting), proving hes about as big an artist as it gets. And as of Thursday, June 3, and in time for the start of Pride Month, the out LGBTQ icon got an extra-large visual tribute in the form of a three-story-tall mural in the Gayborhood area of downtown Philadelphia. Lil Nas X has received critical applause for his daring dance with the devil in both the music video and his Saturday Night Live performance of his latest single, Montero (Call Me By Your Name). Based on several of the characters in the Montero video, the deep blue 36-by-36 feet mural, located on the wall of the Writers Block Rehab bar on the 1300 block of Cypress Street, was executed by South Philadelphia muralist Ash Ryan and was commissioned by the bars owner, Ram Krishnan. Three years back, we painted a mural on one side of the bar featuring Alan Rock, the great Harlem Renaissance leader, who also happened to be queer, Krishnan tells Variety. One hundred years after Rocks time, I wanted another mural of someone who had made an equal name for himself in Black gay culture someone who meant something to our community. As we looked at characters in todays media with similar import, Lil Nas X revealed himself as that artist, one who is living his best self, was also an innovator, and an artist who best represented Black culture and queer culture. Besides, I love that video, as it tells a story of both gay culture and that of People of Culture. Starting on June 1, Lil Nas X sent out his own tweet celebrating Pride Month; first by teasingly promising I will be having sex with 100 lucky fans to celebrate, then, on a more serious note asking those who support the gay community, For pride month if you have friends who are part of the lgbtq+ community let them know that they are loved. Give them all of your money. Check out pictures and video below of the mural in progress. Philadelphia, known as the City of Brotherly Love, is a mural-rich city due to benefactors like the not-for-profit Mural Arts Philadelphia organization and the Ellen Powell Tiberino Family Museum along with individual local painters looking to make their mark in broad public portraiture. Of the over 3,600 murals that pepper Philly are many local music icons including jazz saxophonist John Coltrane; The Twist inventor Chubby Checker; 1950s and 1960s heartthrobs Frankie Avalon and Fabian; radio jock Jerry Blavat; and hip-hop group The Roots. Among the out-of-towners featured in Philadelphia murals are such crooners as Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra with his Rat Pack. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Netflix is in the works on an adaptation of former Vanity Fair journalist William Langewiesches acclaimed non-fiction book The Atomic Bazaar, which centers on the world of nuclear trafficking. Published in 2007, The Atomic Bazaar: Dispatches from the Underground World of Nuclear Trafficking looks at the global trade in nuclear weapons production and state-sponsored nuclear activities. Langewiesche who was Vanity Fairs international correspondent and is now an editor-at-large with New York Times Magazine spoke to the technicians, smugglers, spies and scientists involved in the illicit nuclear weapons business. The scripted project, which is in development as a series at the streaming giant, marks the latest premium TV project from Gangs of London producers Pulse Films. The project is set up with 71 writer Gregory Burke attached to pen the script. He will executive produce alongside director Edward Berger, who is also helming the Netflix adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front out of Germany. For Pulse Films, executive producers include Thomas Benski and Moss Barclay. Sam Hoyle is executive producing for Netflix. Variety first reported on Pulses plans for Atomic Bazaar in 2017. At the time, the Vice Media Group-backed outfit said the series would span the compounds of wealthy drug lords to secret CIA and MI6 bases, and feature the spooks, mercenaries, smugglers and other criminals involved. Since the project was first announced, Sky and HBOs nuclear drama Chernobyl has premiered to widespread acclaim and numerous accolades, revealing global interest in nuclear disasters and the underpinning industry and politics. Japanese public broadcaster NHK is also preparing a nuclear drama titled Gift of Fire, which is shot in 8K. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Warner Music Group is expanding its mainland China hip-hop imprint JUUICE to the Greater China region of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, the firm said Thursday. Rapper Bohan Phoenix, one of the few bilingual, bicultural artists to find crossover success on both sides of the Pacific, has signed to the expanded imprint. Bohan Phoenix said he was thrilled to join JUUICE. I cant wait to continue my work building bridges between East and West through music in the months and years to come, he said. The Hubei-born artist grew up in the U.S., attended New York University, and then moved back to Chengdu, where he has been instrumental in building up the local hip-hop scene and collaborated with top local names like Higher Brothers and Vava. Jonathan Serbin, Warner Music Asias CEO of Greater China called him a true original [with] one of the most exciting voices of the Chinese diaspora. He brings to the art his experiences from both the East and the West, capturing the dichotomy of his multi-cultural, bilingual upbringing. It is a great privilege to be able to work with him as he prepares to launch and showcase his music to the world, he said. Of the imprint expansion, Serbin said: We are now leveraging the resources of our other affiliates, Hong Kong and Taiwan, to fuel JUUICEs ability to promote its roster across a wider network in Asia. Warner Musics president of international and recorded music Simon Robson stated that hip-hop and rap are among the fastest growing segments in the Asian music markets. JUUICE is already a respected and credible label in China. Now we want to support the best talent throughout Greater China, as well as Chinese-speaking artists from around the world, and raise their profile globally. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. A special board of trustees meeting was held on Wednesday night as Laredo College was expected to choose a new interim president to replace their outgoing leader Ricardo Solis. However, the nearly three-hour meeting concluded with no decision made. The LC Special Board of Trustees meeting was held at the Samuel A. Meuer Board Room located at Elpha Lee West Building Room 105 at the LC Fort McIntosh Campus. The meeting comes after Solis was announced last week as the lone remaining finalist to take over as president at South Texas College in the Rio Grande Valley, which he will be instated in the coming weeks. He takes over after STC Founding President Shirley Reed retired following more than two decades in that position. The board did speak for over an hour behind closed doors in executive session. The LC Board of Trustees continues progressing through the college president transition process, said board president Lupita Zepeda. During tonights meeting, the board approved the process involving a national search for a new Laredo College president to include a request for proposals to retain an executive search firm. Additionally, the board will begin the process of accepting internal letters of interest for the position of interim president. As the transition process must occur in proper sequence, no additional action was taken in this regard at tonights meeting. While no plans were made for the interim leader at LC, it was announced that people interested in the position can send in their credentials for the spot. I have a motion to accept letters of interest with a resume for the interim president position to be submitted to the chair of the board to be considered for 2021, Laredo College District Board of Trustees Position 8 Jackie Leven-Ramos said. The motion carried after some debate of whether the issue should be internal or external. The board ultimately opted for the college to not seek anyone outside the college. However, there was some dissent from board on that topic. The reason why we are voting against it is because we have to open it to everybody, not just those in the college, said board member Karina "Kari" Elizondo, who voted against it along with Mercurio Martinez Jr. Additionally, there was also no action taken on another item on the agenda including the formation of an Ad Hoc Executive Search Committee in accordance with the Texas Higher Education Code Section 51.913. However, the college did approve the request for proposal to retain an executive search firm. After meeting in executive session, the board did mention that the process to get a new president, and possibly even a new interim president, was going to be a long one. The matter of changing the current language for employment practices and how the input of the board could factor into the situation of new hirees was discussed, such as those applying for dean and other high positions within the college amid the lack of a president. We realized it might be lengthy the time we will be without a president and so we have yet not decided on what we will do as far as an interim president, Leven-Ramos said. And so I come to the board and to my colleagues to ask what is their opinion on this, because we would like to have that full opportunity to discuss any new hirees ... until we have a new president. Though no formal decision on the official change of language was made, the board did say they would discuss the change of language and put it to a vote in their next meeting. Elizondo was the only board member who wanted to make a decision that night on the issue instead of waiting for any new possible president or interim president being chosen. Despite the contentiousness of the issue, all board members felt they should change the language of how the president and/or interim president of the college could hire and how the board can form a part of that process, as the interim president could refer to them for advice on any potential hire. However, the new language would be considered for further debate in the next meeting. Some other issues discussed during the meeting were the presentation and discussion of The Coves at Winfield Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, which would actually be the construction of a northern campus site for LC along Loop 20 in north Laredo. That would serve as an extension to the college. In the next budgetary meeting, the issue will be debated to see if the college approves the funding for the project. LCs next meeting dates will be on June 15 for a budget workshop and June 23 for the regular board meeting. jorge.vela@lmtonline.com Two drive aisles and four rows of parking is something that works based on the project in front of you, so if thats something you and your fellow council members would consider, we would be in favor of that, said Duane Wagner, director of land development and planning for the property owners. A woman tried to smuggle half a million dollars in cocaine through the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge, according to an arrest affidavit. Alessandra Olivares, a U.S. citizen, was arrested and charged with import, attempt to import and conspire to import the cocaine. At about 10:15 p.m. on May 30, a white Jeep Compass driven by Olivares arrived at the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge. Olivares stated she was returning to San Antonio after visiting family in Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. She stated she was the owner of the Jeep. A K-9 unit allegedly alerted to possible contraband in the drivers side undercarriage. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer referred the vehicle to secondary inspection, where a second K-9 inspection yielded another positive alert for the presence of narcotics. An X-ray inspection of the vehicle resulted in anomalies discovered in the trunk and left side door area of the vehicle. The CBP officer drilled the suspected area, which resulted in a white powdery substance. CBP officers recovered 15 bundles of cocaine from the trunk area of the vehicle, states the affidavit. The contraband weighed 37.12 pounds and had an estimated street value of $505,200. Homeland Security Investigations special agents took over the investigation. Olivares allegedly agreed to provide a post-arrest statement. She stated she resides in San Antonio and travels on a regular basis to Sabinas Hidalgo to sell clothes and visit family. Olivares claimed (that) for approximately three months, individuals had been attempting to recruit her to transport stuff through the U.S.-Mexico Border, states the affidavit. Olivares explained approximately two weeks ago, she provided her vehicle to an individual to take measurements of it, in order to do the thing. She stated she received instructions to take the vehicle to Sabinas Hidalgo. She departed from San Antonio on May 27. Once she arrived in Sabinas Hidalgo, her vehicle was picked up and returned about 1 1/2 days later. Olivares was instructed to transport the vehicle across the border and to await further instructions upon reaching San Antonio. Olivares was given $7,000 as payment to deliver the vehicle to San Antonio. Olivares stated she knew something had been placed in her vehicle, but did not know the exact quantity, states the affidavit. As Woody Harrelson was graduating high school in small town Ohio and working a summer job at an amusement park before launching his Academy Award-winning acting career, his estranged father was taking a hit man job to kill U.S. District Judge John H. Wood Jr. in San Antonio. On May 29, 1979, a single shot rang out in an Alamo Heights neighborhood, echoing through the city and beyond. The killing marked the first time a federal judge had been assassinated in the U.S. and is "still etched in the city's lore," as San Antonio Express-News archives describe. The federal building on Cesar Chavez Boulevard now bears the judge's name. Wood was known as "Maximum John" for the tough punishments he gave drug traffickers, according to San Antonio Express-News archives. The actor's dad was hired by Jamiel "Jimmy" Chagra for $250,000 to assassinate Wood, who was scheduled to preside over the drug lord's trial. The elder Harrelson assumed the alias "Bill Bannister" and carried through with his fatal plan, shooting the judge with rifle outside his Alamo Heights townhome while Wood was heading out for work. "It was the crime of the century, in San Antonio for sure," local defense lawyer Alan Brown told the San Antonio Express-News in 2017. "It was the first time someone assassinated a sitting federal judge. It was such an iconoclastic case, because it was believed a federal judge could not be touched." READ MORE FROM MADALYN: A Beverly Hills socialite was entombed in her Ferrari in San Antonio 44 years ago The FBI spent "thousands of man hours" and more than $11 million in the search for Wood's killer. Charles Harrelson was eventually convicted in 1982 and sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus 5 years for the slaying. In 1988, Woody Harrelson told People magazine that his father left his mother in 1968, when the actor was 8. He noted the conviction as a "travesty," but said he did not feel Charles Harrelson was "much" of a parent. "I don't feel he was much a father," Woody Harrelson said in the People interview "He took no valid part in my upbringing." The "Kingpin" actor did say that the two had grown closer since Charles Harrelson started his prison sentence. He stood in for his dad when he was married by proxy, but told People that was still trying to figure out if he saw his father more as a friend or a parent. He offered another favor in 1997 when he bankrolled his father's unsuccessful appeal and attended the federal proceedings with his brothers in Texas and Colorado. Charles Harrelson died in a Colorado prison in 2007; he was 68. Officials from the City of Laredo and Webb County issued their second weekly COVID-19 update on Thursday since going to the new format last week. And in it they confirmed 50 positive cases and two new deaths from the previous seven days. Overall, Laredo has recorded 44,229 positives and 843 deaths since the emergence of the pandemic locally in March 2020. The two deaths are the first reported fatalities due to the virus since May 19. The city has not been identifying how many positive cases and deaths from these weekly updates correspond to each day, thus its impossible to compare some of their past statistics with current ones, such as how many cases and deaths the area had during May. As of the last report on May 27, Laredo had 337 positives and seven deaths with four more days to go in the month. However, even if all 50 positives and two deaths from the most recent update were attributed to May, the month would still finish with the fourth-fewest positives and deaths of any other previous month during the pandemic. Of the two deaths announced Thursday, both were females. One death a woman in her 80s was backdated to Jan. 14 while the other a woman in her 50s occurred last week on May 26. Laredo went down to these weekly updates due to its own Level of Communications criteria. It is currently at Level I, which it defines as having more than 50 active cases and a hospitalization and positivity rate above 2.5%. The city has never addressed what would happen if it dipped below these totals, but it may need to soon. With Thursdays update, 41 people are estimated to be actively infected with the virus. Thats the lowest single-day total the area has reported since having only 38 on March 31. Only the previous 16 days of the pandemic locally have a lower total of active cases. Laredos rolling test positivity rate has fallen to 3%, down from 3.1% in the latest update. Thats also the lowest total in a day since dipping below 3% to 2.8% on April 16 of this year. Finally, 12 persons are hospitalized down one from the last report with three under intensive care. And according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, the COVID-19 hospitalization rate currently stands at 3.3% based on data from Wednesday. The hospitalization rate has not exceeded 4% in the Laredo region since May 2, DSHS data shows. A total of 347,433 tests have been administered in the Laredo area during the pandemic, and 43,345 have recovered from a previous infection. The metrics all show the city's continuing progress against the virus. Thats a big win for an area that according to the New York Times ranks as the No. 6 hardest hit area in the nation with 159.5 cases per 1,000 population, behind only Eagle Pass (178); Yuma, Arizona (174); Gallup, New Mexico (172.7); Bismarck, North Dakota (165); and El Paso (161.6). "We have cleared the hardest parts of this pandemic with good community protection," Laredo Health Authority Dr. Victor Trevino said. Trevino attributed most of the city's progress to Laredo's success with its vaccination efforts. As of the update, 76.7% of the eligible population over the age of 12 has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. In the population over the age of 65, a total of 89.9% of the eligible group has received at least one dose. In comparison, 60.4% of the citys eligible population is fully vaccinated. Still, Trevino advised citizens that the area is still quite far from herd immunity point. An estimated 70% rate many have indicated may be the point for herd immunity is a measure of the entire population, not just those eligible for the vaccine. According to the health authority, Laredo's youth under the age of 12 still not eligible for any vaccine is a significant portion of the total population in Webb County. With no pediatric intensive care unit currently in the city, Laredo officials are currently building plans to deal with a surge in positives in the youth . Though trials for those under the age of 12 are currently underway, full approval is seemingly far away. zdavis@lmtonline.com lsanmiguel@lmtonline.com Courtesy photo /U.S. Customs and Border Protection Federal and local authorities busted two stash houses in south Laredo, according to the U.S. Border Patrol. The incident occurred on Tuesday evening, when agents and Laredo police officers set up surveillance on two suspected stash houses in south Laredo. Agents and officers then conducted a consensual search of both houses resulted in the apprehension of 17 individuals from Mexico who had crossed the border illegally. This included three unaccompanied children. A U.S. citizen was taken into custody for further investigation. Multiple reports of shots fired prompted the U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico to ask its personnel to shelter in place. Consular officials issued the message on Facebook. The U.S. Consulate is tracking reports of gunfire in several locations in Nuevo Laredo. U.S. government personnel are advised to shelter in place until 6 a.m., Wednesday, June 2, 2021, the social media post reads. Multiple reports indicated the gunfire occurred near the consulate in Colonia Madero. But Mexican authorities did not confirm the number of people injured or dead, if any. MIAMI (AP) Professional python hunters and amateurs alike have a chance to win prizes in Florida's annual hunt for the biggest snakes the Burmese pythons that are ravaging the state's native species. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the state's annual contest on Thursday: It will run from July 9 to 18 and include prizes for both pros and novices. In both categories, there will be a $2,500 prize for catching the most pythons and $1,500 for the longest. The new White House science adviser wants to have a vaccine ready to fight the next pandemic in just about 100 days after recognizing a potential viral outbreak. In his first interview after being sworn in Wednesday, Eric Lander painted a rosy near future where a renewed American emphasis on science not only better prepares the world for the next pandemic with plug-and-play vaccines, but also changes how medicine fights disease and treats patients, curbs climate change and further explores space. He even threw in a Star Trek reference. This is a moment in so many ways, not just health, that we can rethink fundamental assumptions about whats possible and thats true of climate and energy and many areas, Lander told The Associated Press. Lander took his oath of office on a 500-year-old fragment of the Mishnah, an ancient Jewish text documenting oral traditions and laws. He is the first director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to be promoted to Cabinet level. Lander said President Joe Bidens elevation of the science post is a symbolic show that science should have a seat at the table but also allows him to have higher-level talks with different agency chiefs about making policy. Lander is a mathematician and geneticist by training who was part of the human genome mapping project and directed the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard. He said he is particularly focused not so much on this pandemic, but the lessons learned from this one to prepare for the next one. It was amazing at one level that we were able to produce highly effective vaccines in less than a year, but from another point of view youd say, Boy, a years a long time, even though in the past it would take three years or four years, Lander said. To really make a difference we want to get this done in 100 days. And so a lot of us have been talking about a 100-day target from the recognition from a virus with pandemic potential. It would mean that we would have had a vaccine in early April if that had happened this time, early April of 2020, Lander said. It makes you gulp for a second, but its totally feasible to do that. Scientists were working on so-called all-purpose ready-to-go platform technologies for vaccines long before the pandemic. Theyre considered plug-and-play. Instead of using the germ itself to make a vaccine, they use messenger RNA and add the genetic code for the germ. Thats what happened with the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 shots. Beyond being optimistic about confronting future pandemics, Lander wonders about the implications for preventing cancer. "Maybe the same sort of experience about moving so much faster than we thought is applicable to cancer, said Lander, who during the Obama administration was co-chair of the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. A company already has been working on that. For that matter, the pandemic and telehealth brought the doctor to patients in some ways. Lander said he is reimagining a world where we rearrange a lot of things to get more patient-centered health care, including community health workers checking up every few weeks on people about their blood pressure, blood sugar and other chronic problems. Two of Landers predecessor praised him. Neal Lane, President Bill Clintons science adviser, said Lander is perfect for the pandemic because of the need for a strategy and international agreements. Obama's science chief, John Holden, called him a Renaissance man. Lander's nomination had been delayed for months as senators sought more information about meetings he had with the late Jeffrey Epstein, a financier who was charged with sex trafficking before his apparent suicide. Lander said he only met with Epstein twice, in 2012, and never requested or received funds from Epstein or his foundation. At his confirmation hearing, Lander also apologized for a 2016 article he wrote that downplayed the work of two Nobel Prize-winning female scientists. Lander, who has visited Greenland on a balmy 72-degree day, told the AP he sees climate change as an incredibly serious threat to this planet in many, many ways. Still, Lander said he was more optimistic now than he and others were a decade ago because I see a path to doing something about it. Lander pointed to a drop of about in 90% in solar and energy wind costs, making them now as cheap as fossil fuels that cause climate change. But he said whats also needed is an explosion of ideas to improve battery life and provide carbon-free energy that is not weather-dependent. Those innovations need federal incentives that are part of Bidens jobs package, he said. Reducing methane is key to fighting climate change, Lander added, but first improvements are needed in technology to determine where methane is leaking from. As for space, Lander said he was too new to comment on whether heading to the moon or Mars should be the goal. The Obama administration redirected NASA away from the Bush-era plan to send astronauts back to the moon and was more aimed for Mars or an asteroid. The Trump administration not only focused back on the moon but set a 2024 goal for a new moon landing. Are we going to go to the moon and are we going to go to Mars and are we going to moons of Jupiter? Sure. The exact order I think is great to think about or great to talk about, Lander said. He quoted Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, when Captain James T. Kirks love interest asked if he was from outer space. He responded: Im from Iowa, I only work in outer space. Adds Lander: That was a fun line in Star Trek IV, but folks in Iowa are really going to say that." __ AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard contributed to this report. __ Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. A man was arrested north of San Ygnacio for transporting migrants from Roma to Laredo, according to an arrest affidavit. Brandon Alexander de la Garza was arrested and charged with transport, attempt to transport, conspire to transport migrants On May 26, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper requested assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol with a traffic stop about 10 miles north of San Ygnacio. The trooper stated he had pulled a blue Pontiac Sunfire due to a defective tail lamp. An agent then conducted an immigration inspection on the three passengers of the vehicle. All were individuals who had crossed the border illegally. The agent then checked the trunk and discovered two more individuals who were also in the country illegally. Authorities identified the driver as de la Garza, a U.S. citizen. He was cited for no drivers license and given a warning for the defective lamp. Agents took them to the Zapata Station for further processing. De la Garza allegedly agreed to provide a post-arrest statement. He added that someone he knew called him telling him to go to a gas station in Rio Grande City, where he met a man and followed him to a house in Roma. He was told to pick five migrants from the six who were at the home. De la Garza stated he was to be paid $200 per migrant smuggled for transporting them to a Walmart in Laredo. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is continuing to forcefully push back against accusations of bribery made by a group of former senior aides who reported him to federal and state law enforcement agencies because they claimed he improperly helped a political donor in exchange for personal favors. Paxton had fired the four former aides last year, saying they had gone rogue, and have made unsubstantiated claims. against him. The aides then filed a whistleblower lawsuit arguing Paxton fired them as retaliation for reporting his alleged behavior to federal and state law enforcement agencies. TEXAS ELECTION: Trump says he'll endorse in likely primary battle for Texas AG between Ken Paxton and George P. Bush In an 85-page brief filed Tuesday with the 3rd Court of Appeals, Paxtons lawyers argue that under state law, a whistleblower must believe someone has broken the law, but the aides only reported that they expected laws might be violated. This appellate brief was made public hours before Texas Land Commissioner George P Bush is expected to announce at an event that he will run against Paxton for attorney general. Bush has made the allegations of Paxtons former aides and separate felony securities fraud charges against Paxton a line of attack as he prepares to announce his run. In particular, the brief states that at a March 1 hearing on the case, one of the plaintiffs, former First Assistant Attorney General Jim Mateer, would not specifically state that he saw Paxton commit a crime. Instead, he explained he had potential concerns, and that he and his colleagues concluded that had they gone down this path, would be in a position to assist and/or cover up with what . . . would be a crime, the brief states. ... Speculative concerns about potential future illegal activity do not fall within the [Whistleblower] Acts narrow scope, it states. Mateer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A lawyer for one of the plaintiffs said they expect to release a response to the brief later on Wednesday. Paxtons lawyers are asking the court to reverse a trial court decision denying the Office of Attorney Generals plea to dismiss because the court doesnt have the jurisdiction to hear the case. The lawyers have repeatedly argued Paxton cannot be sued under the Whistleblower Act because he is not a public employee. Paxton also argues the aides were unsatisfied that he overruled their decision not to get involved in a particular lawsuit between Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, his friend who gave $25,000 to Paxtons 2018 reelection campaign, and the Roy R. and Joann Cole Mitte Foundation. Paxton directed the agency to intervene and took a deep personal interest in the case, according to the whistleblower lawsuit. RELATED: Ken Paxton's criminal case to be heard in Collin County, appeals court rules The effort, according to the whistleblowers and an attorney for the charity, was intended to help Pauls interests at the expense of the philanthropic group. The brief argues the plaintiffs have not provided specific proof of a bribe by Paxton or Paul, but only speculated they might have had business dealings. None of these allegations of perfectly lawful conduct come close to making out a claim for bribery, the brief states. In February, the four aides had alleged in a court filing that Paul helped Paxton remodel his house and gave a job to a woman with whom Paxton allegedly had an affair. In return, the aides allege, Paxton used his office to help Pauls business interests, investigate Pauls adversaries and help settle a lawsuit. The filing in February was the most detailed explanation as to what the former aides believe Paxtons motivations were in what they describe as a bizarre, obsessive use of power. The allegations have reportedly sparked an FBI investigation. Home renovations are part of the criminal investigation, according to the Associated Press. The AP reported in February that an Austin contractor had been summoned to testify before a grand jury and provide records related to the work on Paxtons home. The brief filed this week by Paxtons lawyers does not specifically address any of the allegations made by the former aides. It also argues the plaintiffs don't have a viable claim under the Texas Whistleblower Act and did not all properly make a report of the alleged violations. The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans and engages with them about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. And I didnt see any other trees, and I didnt hear anybody, he said. And so, Im thinking, gosh, maybe this is just the very last flickering of what might have been a much larger population. I think its something that, if theyre not seeing any, it may be just because theyve been wiped out. With that said, I think it makes conservation of our forests and thinking about how we take care of our property even more important. Descendants of the library founders. Photo, Jenny Enderby. Leigh resident Jo Evans made a convincing Charles Septimus Clarke, regarded as the librarys founder. Library volunteer Averil Lovegrove and Clarke family descendant Val Stern at the commemorative board. Some of Leighs founding families shared stories from their family histories at celebrations marking Leigh Librarys 150th anniversary on May 22. The event drew more than 200 people with many coming from as far away as Canterbury and Wellington. The library is understood to be the second oldest* community library in New Zealand and has been run by volunteers since it opened in 1871. The mornings events paid tribute to library founder Charles Septimus Clarke, who surprisingly made an appearance in person and gave a first-hand account of his life in Leigh. Descendants Vern Smith (Clarke family), Jackie Atkins (Wyatt), Val Stern (Matheson), Julie Greenwood (Greenwood) and Ian Bradman (Witten) also spoke. Library president Sheryl Corbett recounted the librarys beginnings and thanked the legion of volunteers who had supported the library over the decades. Organisers were overwhelmed by the response from the large number of family descendants who attended, as well as the Leigh community. Library secretary Wendy Brown said the occasion had also drawn praise from new residents in Leigh, who had appreciated learning something about the villages history. A special thanks was reserved for the Mahurangi Community Trading Post for its generous donation, which had made the celebrations possible. The anniversary concluded with lunch at the Leigh Hall, where a local history display generated many memories for those who grew up in the area. The library today houses around 4000 books and has 565 adult and 187 child members. The librarian is Tracey Lawton. *The oldest is Leithfield Library in the South Island. Lockport, NY (14094) Today Some sunshine with a thunderstorm or two possible this afternoon. High 79F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight A few clouds. Low 58F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. The beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks! Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics. The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc. The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics. The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates. Access to college recruiters and advisors its harder to line up higher education. Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family. Vote View Results Logan, WV (25601) Today Scattered clouds with the possibility of an isolated thunderstorm developing during the afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 88F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Scattered showers and thunderstorms, especially before midnight. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. Organisers of the Oliver Goldsmith International Literary Festival have decided to go fully virtual to celebrate its 37th year. This June Bank Holiday weekend, the festival, founded in 1984, will salute the iconic Longford/Westmeath novelist, playwright and poet with a special focus on his literary connection to farming and rural life. The three-day event themed The Deserted Village as Rural virtues leave the land: The Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability of Irish Agriculture will feature a line-up of distinguished virtual contributors and a host of presentations, discussions, readings, dramatic performances and musical medleys for all ages. To find out more about the festival programme and how to register for the event check out olivergoldsmithfestival.com. Regardless of what steps are taken, local officials agreed there simply arent enough resources available to make serious inroads with the Lehigh Valleys addiction crisis. With approximately 700,000 people living in the Lehigh Valley, officials estimate that 50,000 people in the two counties are in need of drug rehabilitation. However, just seven residential detox beds exist in the region. Lehigh Valley Health Network created a program for eight patients to receive ICU-level detox treatment, and those filled up almost immediately, an official said. Ensure you get a print copy of the Loudoun Times-Mirror delivered weekly to your home or business! Complete online access is included with all print subscriptions purchased online. Plus, up to four other members of your household can share online access through this subscription with their own, individual linked accounts at no additional charge. (Are you a current advertiser? Ask your sales rep for our special advertiser rate code!) (Alliance News) - Advanced Oncotherapy PLC on Thursday said that Saba Partners SA plans to pay USD107 million to install three rooms of its Light proton therapy system in a Swiss clinic. The London-based medical company has entered into a non-binding agreement with the Geneva-based investment advisory & asset management firm to install its Light therapy system at a proton therapy centre in Glion, Switzerland. The Light system is a modular radiotherapy device used to treat cancer. The transaction includes the purchase of the systems, installation and long-term maintenance by Advanced Oncotherapy along with a warranty agreement between the two firms. Payments will be made once both companies enter a binding agreement, which will occur by at least March 31, 2022. Before this, Advanced Oncotherapy said it must attain CE marking clearances for its Light system. CE markings indicate that a device meets the EU's standards for health, safety and environmental protection. Advanced Oncotherapy previously partnered with DiaMedCare AG in January, to offer the Light system to customers across the United States and Europe. DiaMedCare acquired the Light systems to lease them back to Advanced Oncotherapy's customers. The partnership was used to bridge manufacturing costs until the Light system was received by customers. Advanced Oncotherapy plans to enter an exclusivity agreement with Saba Partners to provide its Light system to members of the Gulf Cooperation Council - including Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates - where Saba Partners has a "strong presence" in the medical industry. The company is also making progress on installing the Light system in the UK, seeking certification for its first commercial Light system in Daresbury, Cheshire. The Science and Technology Facilities Council website noted its agreement with Advanced Oncotherapy to "build a mass assembly and testing centre" at its Daresbury Laboratory. Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Oncotherapy, Nicolas Serandour, said: "Today's announcement represents another key milestone for Advanced Oncotherapy and demonstrates the significant potential market for the Light system where we estimate that 4,000 proton therapy centres are required worldwide while only 95 facilities currently exist." Advanced Oncotherapy shares were trading up 9.1% at 36.55 pence each in London on Thursday afternoon. By Scarlett Butler; scarlettbutler@alliancenews.com Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Thursday and not separately reported by Alliance News: HSBC Holdings PLC - bank - Issues HKD1.50 billion - about GBP137 million - 1.55% senior unsecured notes due 2027 under its debt issuance programme. discoverIE Group PLC - supplier of customised electronics - Reports revenue decline of 3% in the year to the end of March to GBP454.3 million, with pretax profit falling by 13% to GBP17.0 million. Despite that, the company hikes its annual payout to 10.15 pence from 2.97p. discoverIE also reports record year end order book, up 11% organically to GBP181 million. "The new financial year has started well with organic sales growth ahead of last year and the year before and continuing strong orders running ahead of sales across all territories," says Chief Executive Nick Jefferies. 4basebio UK Societas - spun out of 4basebio AG, German biotechnology company - Reports revenue growth in 2020 to GBP462,000 from GBP202,000 the year before. Pretax loss for the year, however, widens to GBP716,000 from GBP529,000 year-on-year due to jump in administrative expenses to GBP516,000 from GBP237,000 in 2019. Research & non-capitalised development expenses also rose during the year to GBP343,000 from GBP254,000. Startup Giants PLC - company which invests in UK tech startups - Undertakes consultancy work for and provides support services to early-stage entrepreneurs, generating revenue of GBP87,461 for 2020 compared to GBP45,256 the year prior. A sharp rise in administrative costs to GBP234,477 from GBP130,807 year-on-year was largely composed of costs associated with gearing-up the support able to be provided to endorsee entrepreneurs. The operating loss coupled, with a one-off investment impairment charge and a small financing charge, resulted in an overall loss of GBP188,099 for the year versus GBP85,551 in 2019. Braemar Shipping Services PLC - shipbroker - Reports revenue of GBP111.8 million for the year to the end of February, up from GBP117.6 million the year prior. Reported continuing pretax profit, meanwhile, grew to GBP9.5 million from GBP6.3 million year-on-year, reflecting the profit on the sale of shares held in AqualisBraemar. The company declared a dividend of 5 pence a share for the year. The outlook for Braemar for the next few years is positive. In a separate statement, the company says it agreed on a rescheduling of deferred consideration amounts owed by Braemar in relation to its acquisition of Braemar Naves in 2017. The company also says it intends to integrate its Financial division, which was created by the acquisition, into its Shipbroking division. The restructuring will see over EUR2.9 million, which was previously due for repayment before the end of December 2022, being deferred to be paid no earlier than September 2025. In addition, a further EUR750,000 will be satisfied by the issue of new shares in three tranches between September 2021 and December 2022. "The restructuring will enable us to improve client service by developing and enhancing our specialist expertise in shipping investment and corporate finance, and will also help to further strengthen our balance sheet, positioning the group even more strongly for future growth," says Chief Executive James Gundy. Camellia PLC - agricultural company - Reports a very strong financial position and says it believes that over the long-term demand for its agricultural produce will continue to rise. Also reports that very dry conditions across northern India and Bangladesh to date have resulted in reduced production but higher prices over the same period last year. Meanwhile, Camellia says non-agriculture businesses in the UK have had a difficult start to the year with the continuing restrictions hitting retail and food service. Worldwide Healthcare Trust PLC - investment firm - Reports increase in net asset value per share to 3,703.0p as at the end of March compared to 2,868.9p the year before. The company's net asset value per share total return was 30% and the share price total return was 27%, significantly outperforming the company's benchmark, the MSCI World Health Care Index on a net total return, sterling adjusted basis, which rose by 16% during the year. However, the company cuts dividend to 22.0p per share versus 25.0p paid the year prior. Triple Point Energy Efficiency Infrastructure Co PLC - investment firm - Declares a dividend of 2.0 pence per share in respect of the period from admission in October 2020 to the end of March 2021. "Since launch we have been busy implementing our strategy by identifying, investigating, and investing in Energy Efficiency Projects in the UK," says Chair John Roberts. The company reports net asset value per share as at March 31 of 97.49p. JPMorgan European Investment Trust PLC - investment firm - Reports the dividend paid per growth share for the year to the end of March was 4.45p, lower than 8.85p a year ago. Share price at the financial year-end stood at 326.0p, representing a yield of 1.4%. The reduction of the growth share dividend reflects the decline in dividend income, the company explains. The dividend paid per Income share was unchanged at 6.70p. Net asset value per Income share was 167.1p at the end of March, up from 126.5p the year before. Net asset value per Growth share grew to 379.2p from 274.3p year-on-year. Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust PLC - investment firm - Says, over the six months to April 30, its net asset value per share increased by 25% while the comparative index increased by 30%. Net asset value per share rose to 349.49p from 279.90p year-on-year. No dividend was recommended. Adriatic Metals PLC - mineral exploration company - Receives the urban planning permit for the Rupice underground deposit from the Bosnian Federal Ministry of Spatial Planning. Receipt of the Rupice deposit urban planning permit is a major milestone towards completing the Vares project's permitting requirements, the company notes. JKX Oil & Gas PLC - exploration and production company - Says IG149, a new well drilled in the Ignativske field in Ukraine, started production on May 21. The well has averaged 777 barrels per day of oil and 80 million cubic meters daily of gas with a wellhead pressure of 1,139 psi over the first ten days of testing. The company says further testing will be carried out to determine the optimum choke setting to maximise oil recovery. Contango Holdings PLC - natural resource development company - Reports recent work undertaken at the Garalo-Ntiela gold project area in southern Mali. The work programme was designed to assist in the company's focus of fast tracking the project into production by the end of 2021. The company notes that most of the exploration activities have centred on the Garalo permit, which has demonstrated potential for a 2 million ounces resource. However, work on the more recently acquired Ntiela concession, has also continued to yield encouraging results with the intersection of two major structures. Kavango Resources PLC - exploration company - Reports that extensive copper/silver targets have been identified on prospecting licences 082/2018 and 083/2018 in the Kalahari copper belt. The two licences are held in a joint venture farm-in with LVR GeoExplorers Ltd. Kavango says drilling expected in the third quarter, on award of environmental management plan. Tertiary Minerals PLC - mineral exploration and development company - Says assay results from a recent trenching programme show a thick zone of open-ended silver mineralisation in Trench No1 at the North Ruth soil anomaly on the Pyramid gold-silver project in Nevada, US. "This is a very exciting discovery, and the result of systematic exploration undertaken over the past 12 months. It is now clear that the North Ruth soil anomaly reflects the presence of a wide zone of good grade in situ silver mineralisation which is at surface and within which there may be significant widths of higher grade," says Executive Chair Patrick Cheetham. Kazera Global PLC - investment company - Says focus on securing a long-term financing solution for the company remains ongoing. Meanwhile, operational activity continues across the portfolio, with new end-users signalling interest in off-take from Tantalite Valley mine in southern Namibia. In addition, the company says Dennis Edmonds, the director responsible for Alexander Bay activities, has been appointed as joint chief executive effective from Thursday. Quarto Group Inc - illustrated book publishing company - Says Chief Operating Officer Ken Fund has given notice of his decision to retire with effect from December 1. Fund joined Quarto in 1999 as president & CEO of subsidiary Rockport Publishers before heading up the company's US division for many years. He was appointed COO in 2016 and joined the board as an executive director in 2018. IG Group Holdings PLC - online trading firm - Says Non-Executive Director Lisa Pollina intends to step down on September 1. Angus Energy PLC - oil and gas development company - Says the full GBP12 million facility required for the re-development of the Saltfleetby gas field and the drilling of the side-track well is now fully available. The company says GBP5.8 million has currently been drawn down with the balance to be drawn over the coming weeks. Premier African Minerals Ltd - miner - Launches placing to raise GBP1.0 million before expenses at a price of 0.16 pence per new share for the definitive feasibility study at Zulu lithium project in Zimbabwe. The company said it will issue 625 million shares. "It is worth noting that this placement today represents a nominal dilution of 3.5% and is a small price to pay for retention of 100% of Zulu and the potential upside from the exclusive prospecting order," says CEO George Roach. Cora Gold Ltd - West African focused gold exploration company - Raises GBP3.1 million before expenses through a subscription of 40.4 million new shares at a price of 7.75p each. The funds raised will principally be used for further drilling, related exploration activities and ongoing study work focussed on growing resources at the company's flagship Sanankoro gold project in southern Mali. CyanConnode Holdings PLC - Cambridge-based developer of radio frequency mesh networks - Proposes to raise GBP3.2 million, before expenses, via a placing and subscription at a price of 9.5p a share. The issue orice represents a premium of 2.2% to the closing price on Wednesday. The net proceeds of the placing and the subscription will be used to strengthen the company's balance sheet, to increase working capital, to allow the company to continue to take advantage of its significant growth opportunities and to execute the company's growing order book and pipeline. Mattioli Woods PLC - wealth management and employee benefit services provider - Says the broker option has been fully exercised in respect of 303,030 new shares, raising additional gross proceeds of GBP2.0 million. The broker option shares will be issued at a price of 660 pence per new share. Thor Mining PLC - exploration and development company - Reports application of the Molyhil project as part of round 14 geophysics & drilling collaborations program. Thor Mining says it secured AUD110,000 - about GBP59,717 - from the Northern Territory Government as part of this program. Thor Mining's Molyhil project was one of eighteen successful projects to receive funding in round 14 of the exploration initiative. These funds will be applied towards drill testing recently identified magnetic targets adjacent to the mineralisation at Molyhil tungsten-molybdenum deposit. Diamond drilling program to commence in September quarter, the company says. Pembridge Resources PLC - copper ores company - Issues convertible loan notes to a value of USD3 million to fund potential future investment opportunities. The loan notes may be converted into shares in the company at any time from June 2022 until the end of May 2023 at an exercise price of USD0.113. BrandShield Systems PLC - cybersecurity company - Partners with audio brand Bang & Olufsen, and says it achieved removal of thousands of counterfeit listings and brand infringements from the internet. "We're thrilled to have partnered with a leading company like Bang & Olufsen to ensure its brand is protected online, safeguarding its customers and employees both now and well into the future," says BrandShield CEO & Co-Founder Yoav Keren. Novacyt SA - clinical diagnostics company - Launches two new polymerase chain reaction assays, expanding its genesig CovidD-19 and SNPsig SARS-CoV-2 variant detection portfolios. "The addition of both of these new assays ensures that Novacyt's COVID-19 solutions remain robust and that pragmatic options are available to support both public health and private sector testing alike," says Chief Executive Graham Mullis. Redx Pharma PLC - drug discovery and development company - Says the first subject has been dosed in a phase 1 study in healthy volunteers evaluating the company's lead fibrosis drug candidate RXC007. The primary objective of this first-in-human study is to evaluate the safety profile of this orally bioavailable, small molecule. Results from the study are expected to be available in the first half of 2022. Renalytix AI PLC - diagnostics company - Reports results from a new utility study. The study confirmed the importance of risk assessment testing in addressing treatment ambiguity in the early stages of diabetic kidney disease and improving patient engagement and adherence. In clinical studies, KidneyIntelX has shown to accurately predict progression of diabetic kidney disease, suggesting that KidneyIntelX risk assessment could support primary care physicians in making appropriate treatment decisions and slowing or preventing diabetic kidney disease progression. Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy - biopharmaceutical company - Reports publication of research supporting the immunotherapeutic blockade of Clever-1 to activate anti-tumour immune responses in advanced cancer patients. The research, published in Clinical Cancer Research, analyses the mode of action of bexmarilimab, both in vitro and in heavily pre-treated metastatic cancer patients from part I of Faron's ongoing phase I/II Matins study. The researchers conclude that the therapeutic blockade of Clever-1 reveals a pathway linking the innate and adaptive immune system and that targeting macrophages can promote an immune switch, converting immunologically ignorant tumours to an immune activated state, supporting further exploration of Clever-1 as an immunotherapeutic drug target. Amryt Pharma PLC - company focussed on commercialisation of medicines - Says the US Food & Drug Administration has granted priority review for new drug application for Oleogel-S10 for the treatment of epidermolysis bullosa. Oleogel-S10 is a potential treatment for the cutaneous manifestations of junctional and dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, a rare and distressing genetic skin disorder affecting young children and adults. Metal Tiger PLC - investor in mining sector - Subscribes for 12.5 million new shares in Artemis Resources Ltd at an issue price of AUD0.06 per share for a total consideration of AUD750,000, about GBP409,653. The investment forms part of a capital raise by Artemis of AUD7.0 million. The placement was met with strong demand from institutional investors. The use of the proceeds from the capital raising will be to fund exploration drilling at the Paterson and Carlow Castle gold-copper projects in the Pilbara, Western Australia, as well as for general working capital purposes. Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust PLC - investment firm - Agrees to acquire the rights to construct the Cumberhead wind farm, a 50 megawatts onshore wind farm located in South Lanarkshire, Scotland from RDC Partners LLP. Completion of the acquisition is conditional upon achieving ready-to-build status which is expected in August. The total consideration for the acquisition and the subsequent construction costs are expected to be up to GBP75 million. Construction will start shortly after completion with the wind farm expecting to be fully operational in the final quarter of 2022. Home REIT PLC - investment trust - Acquires a further 14 separate portfolios of properties located across England for GBP47.1 million, including acquisition costs. Each of the properties is immediately income producing, the company says, and the blended net initial yield of the company's portfolio following the acquisition of the properties is ahead of expectations. SIMEC Atlantis Energy Ltd - energy generation company - Agrees with Remediiate UK Ltd, a developer of patented technologies that utilise waste gases to deliver algae products, to decarbonise the emissions from the Uskmouth conversion project and create an economic product. Using patented technology, Remediiate's algae plants convert CO2, alongside other damaging greenhouse gasses, and use them to produce algae. The algae produced can then be used as feedstock for food and feed production. The initial focus of the partnership is working on the development of a facility to be co-located with SIMEC's Uskmouth power station. RA International Group PLC - remote site services provider - Secures integrated facilities management contract with the US government to provide comprehensive life support and maintenance services for the US Agency for International Developmentin one of their compounds in East Africa. These services will also be provided to the US Embassy. The contract is for an initial two-year base period, with the option for two one-year extensions. The contract value, including the option years and incentives, is USD21.5 million and will commence in June. 7digital Group PLC - music company - Says its eMusic Live joint venture will become the first music livestream platform to offer artist non-fungible tokens alongside ticketed events running on the platform. "We expect this new offer to attract other artists and bands who wish to do the same," says CEO Paul Langworthy. Powerhouse Energy Group PLC - technology company - Orders the critical key alloy material to be used in the manufacture for the DMG advanced thermal conversion technology process. It is to be installed at the first plastic to hydrogen facility which will be located at Peel NRE's a part of Peel L&P a strategic energy and resource hub Protos in Ellesmere Port. The alloy material has the necessary high temperature corrosion resistance whilst providing the strength and lifetime durability necessary for application in the thermal conversion chamber, the company explains. Fuller, Smith & Turner PLC - pub and hotel operator - Amends the terms of the consent solicitation by agreeing to offer a fee to all eligible stockholders of 0.15% of the principal amount of the stock. The move follows announcement in mid-May when the company launched a consent solicitation in respect of the GBP6 million 11% first mortgage debenture stock due 2023 and the GBP20 million 6.9% debenture stock due 2028. Argo Blockchain PLC - cryptocurrency miner - Says it mined 166 bitcoin compared to 163 bitcoin in April. This brings the total amount of bitcoin mined year-to-date to 716 bitcoin. Based on daily foreign exchange rates and cryptocurrency prices during the month, mining revenue in May amounted to GBP5.5 million, down from GBP6.70 million in April. At the end of May, the company held 1,108 bitcoin. In addition, Argo says it has executed a grid interconnection agreement with the Wind Energy Transmission of Texas and American Electric Power for 200 megawatts at their Helios site in the Panhandle of Texas for its Texas mining facility. The facility is expected to connect to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas grid in the first quarter of 2022. Argo has also purchased two 90 megavolt amperes 345 kilovolt transformers from Pennsylvania Transformer Technology. Also, Argo makes an investment of GBP146,000 in WonderFi Technologies Inc, a technology company. As part of the investment, Argo CEO Peter Wall has been appointed as an unpaid advisor to WonderFi. By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Clarifying that financial half-year ended April 30 and correcting that dividend comparison was to previous interim payout.) (Alliance News) - Chemring Group PLC on Thursday increased its interim dividend after reporting a rise in both profit and revenue in the first half of its financial year. The Hampshire-based defence contractor also said it plans to acquire Cubica Group for an undisclosed sum drawn from Chemring's current banking facilities. Cubica is a Surrey-based research and development company specialising in machine learning and artificial intelligence and comprised of Cubica Technology Limited and Q6 Holdings Limited. The company plans to add Cubica to its Roke technology and engineering advisory business, using Cubica's machine learning expertise to accelerate Roke. The company plans to invest GBP1 million in Cubica and Vigil AI Ltd, the latter of which provides technology for detecting online images of child sexual exploitation. A constituent part of Cubica, Q6, is the majority shareholder of Vigil AI. On Thursday, Chemring said that, for the six months ended April 30, pretax profit rose 28% to GBP24.3 million from GBP19.0 million a year prior. Revenue also increased, growing 3.9% year-on-year to GBP198.5 million from GBP191.0 million. The group declared an interim dividend of 1.6 pence, up 23% from 1.3p a year before. Chemring said its expectations for the full-year remain unchanged. The company said that it has booked orders accounting for 92% of expected revenue in the second half of its current financial year. As of April, Chemring had booked GBP450 million worth of orders, with GBP199 million scheduled for the second half. However, Chemring's mid-year order book total has dropped by 11% compared to the previous year, when GBP504 million worth of orders were recorded by the end of April. Chemring said this was primarily due to the delivery of a significant portion of a two-ear project worth AUD107 million by its Australian business. "Chemring's positive first-half performance again demonstrates the progress that we continue to make in building a higher quality technology-based group. With strong order cover for the full year the group remains on track to deliver year on year growth, and the board's expectations for the full year remain unchanged," said Chief Executive Michael Ord. "Whilst there may be some macro-economic uncertainty surrounding the level and timing of defence spending as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, our multiple market leading positions and investment in high technology niches, provide attractive growth opportunities. Chemring's long-term prospects remain strong," Ord added. Chemring shares were trading up 5.1% at 322.17 pence each in London on Thursday afternoon, the biggest gainer in the FTSE 250 index of mid-cap stocks. By Scarlett Butler; scarlettbutler@alliancenews.com Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Arecor Therapeutics PLC - Saffron Walden, England-based biopharmaceutical - Raises GBP20.0 million gross in initial public offering on AIM in London. Panmure Gordon places 8.8 million Arecor shares at 226 pence, giving the company a GBP62.5 million market capitalisation on admission. Arecor aims to improve patient care by enhancing existing therapeutic products. Its current focus of internal proprietary product development can be divided into two product classes: diabetes and specialty hospital care. "The group's strategy is to develop an internal portfolio of enhanced proprietary products to a defined value inflexion point prior to partnering with major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies under a revenue-generating licence model with the potential for the group to receive royalties and significant milestone payments," it said last week in announcing its listing plans. Current stock price: 244p, up 8.0% from IPO price By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Lekoil Ltd - oil and gas explorer and producer in Nigeria and elsewhere in West Africa - Fires Olalekan Akinyanmi as chief executive officer, effective immediately, due to an unspecified "corporate governance breach". Lekoil says it will start proceedings to recover the USD1.5 million outstanding balance of a loan to Akinyanmi. Anthony Hawkins will be interim executive chair while Lekoil searches for a new CEO. The termination of Akinyanmi's contract continues the turmoil at Lekoil. Hawkins became interim non-executive chair only in April, after Michael Ajukwu resigned, himself only having been in the chair since January. In resigning, Lekoil said that Ajukwu noted "a fundamental misalignment of objectives amongst the shareholders of Lekoil Nigeria" and said he believes new directors are required to address the issue. Current stock price: 1.45p, down 7.9% on Thursday Year-to-date change: down 17% By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - There is growing speculation that popular holiday islands could be added to the UK government's travel green list on Thursday. Spanish and Greek islands plus Malta are among the destinations which experts believe may be given green status. That would mean people visiting those locations from the UK will no longer be required to quarantine on their return. Robert Boyle, former director of strategy at British Airways' parent company International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, predicted that a number of summer hotspots will be added to the green tier. He wrote in a blog post: "It still seems very likely that whilst Spain and Greece will not make it onto the green list, many of their islands will, due to lower case rates and higher vaccinations than on the mainland." Boyle added: "Malta, Finland and Slovakia are fairly safe bets, based on high testing rates and low reported cases." Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy PC Agency, said a number of popular holiday destinations "really deserve" to be moved to the low-risk tier. He expects additions to the green list to include the Greek islands of Zante, Rhodes and Kos, the Caribbean islands of Grenada and Antigua, plus Malta and Finland. But he said he would be "surprised" if Spain's Balearic Islands a including Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca a were added on Thursday. "They're hugely popular, and I'm not sure the government is ready to encourage so much travel at the moment," he told the PA news agency. Portugal is the only viable major tourist destination currently on the green list, but there have been reports it could be downgraded to amber. The government has urged people to avoid non-essential travel to amber and red countries. Travellers returning from amber list locations a which include popular hotspots such as Spain, France, Italy and Greece a must quarantine at home for 10 days and take two post-arrival tests. Several additions to the red list are expected on Thursday. Boyle explained that Bahrain, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago and Kuwait "ought to be on the list" due to "very high infection rates", whereas Charles warned that Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia could be added as there are "signs of increased infection in many parts of Asia". People returning to the UK from a red country are required to spend 11 nights in a quarantine hotel, at a cost of GBP1,750 for solo travellers. Assessments of travel lists are based on a range of factors, including the proportion of a population that has been vaccinated, rates of infection, emerging new variants, and access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing. Home Office minister Victoria Atkins said the public should "exercise their common sense" about travelling abroad. She told Times Radio: "We all want to get back to normality, pre-pandemic normality. "But I think [we] all understand we've got to take careful steps to do that." On Wednesday, Boris Johnson warned the government will have "no hesitation" over moving countries off the green list if necessary, and said it will "wait and see" what the recommendations of the Joint Biosecurity Centre are before announcing changes to the lists. Johnson has insisted there is "nothing in the data at the moment" to prevent ending domestic Covid-19 restrictions on June 21, although he and his ministerial colleagues have urged caution. Debate is continuing over whether the final stages of unlocking restrictions in England can go ahead on that date, due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus variant first identified in India. The Daily Mail reported ministers have also been alerted to a variant first thought to have originated in Nepal, suggesting this could have an impact on holidays. But the World Health Organisation said it is "not aware" of a new variant being detected in the Himalayan nation. The vaccination programme is seen as key in the bid to reopen the UK and beyond. It was confirmed on Wednesday that 75% of UK adults across the UK had now had their first coronavirus jab, and 50% of adults in England had received both doses. The UK could hit another major milestone on Thursday, passing the point of half of all UK adults receiving both doses of a coronavirus vaccine. Latest figures suggest 49.5% of the UK population aged 18 and over have had two jabs. UK government figures, based on people who died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, said a further 12 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Wednesday, bringing the UK total to 127,794. The government also said that, as of 9am on Wednesday, there had been a further 4,330 lab-confirmed cases in the UK. It comes after zero Covid-19 deaths were reported in the UK on Tuesday. Elsewhere, health ministers from the G7 nations will meet in Oxford on Thursday in a bid to reach agreement to help reduce the risk of global pandemics and emerging health threats. They are expected to agree to share information on how to detect such threats and the causes. By Neil Lancefield, PA Transport Correspondent source: PA Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - UK holidaymakers are bracing themselves for changes to the government's travel list, amid concerns over the impact of Covid-19 variants on summer plans. Ministers are predicted to update the traffic light destination system on Thursday, which could see countries moving between the green, amber and red lists. On Wednesday, Boris Johnson warned the government will have "no hesitation" over moving countries off the green list if necessary, and said it will "wait and see" what the recommendations of the Joint Biosecurity Centre are before announcing changes to the travel lists. People returning to the UK from green locations are not required to self-isolate, and only need to take one post-arrival coronavirus test. Travellers returning from amber list locations a which includes popular hotspots such as Spain, France, Italy and Greece a must quarantine at home for 10 days and take two post-arrival tests, while there is a travel ban to red list countries. The prime minister said: "We are going to try and allow people to travel as I know many people want to, but we've got to be cautious. "We've got to continue to put countries on the red list, on the amber list, when that is necessary. "We will have no hesitation in moving countries from the green list to the amber list to the red list if we have to do so. "The priority is to continue the vaccine rollout to protect the people of this country." Johnson has insisted there is "nothing in the data at the moment" to prevent ending domestic Covid-19 restrictions on June 21, although he and his ministerial colleagues have urged caution. Debate is continuing over whether the final stages of unlocking restrictions in England can go ahead on June 21, due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus variant first identified in India. The Daily Mail reported ministers also have been alerted to a variant first thought to have originated in Nepal, suggesting this could have an impact on holidays. Ahead of any announcements, one industry expert said several Greek islands, Malta and parts of the Caribbean could be added to the green travel list on Thursday. Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said a number of popular holiday destinations "really deserve" to be moved to the low-risk tier. Charles told the PA news agency he expects additions to the list to include the Greek islands of Zante, Rhodes and Kos, the Caribbean islands of Grenada and Antigua, plus Malta and Finland. The transition of those locations to green status would be "a boost" to the struggling travel industry, he said. Assessments are based on a range of factors, including the proportion of a population that has been vaccinated, rates of infection, emerging new variants, and access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing. Portugal is the only viable major tourist destination currently on the green list, but there have been reports that it could be downgraded in the future. Charles said he would be "surprised" if Spain's Balearic Islands a including Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca a are added in Thursday's update. "They're hugely popular and I'm not sure the government is ready to encourage so much travel at the moment." The vaccination programme is seen as key in the bid to reopen the country and beyond. It was confirmed on Wednesday that 75% of UK adults across the UK had now had their first coronavirus jab, and 50% of adults in England had received both doses. The UK could hit another major milestone on Thursday, passing the point of half of all UK adults receiving both doses of a coronavirus vaccine. Latest figures suggest 49.5% of the UK population aged 18 and over have had two jabs. Government figures, based on people who died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, said a further 12 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Wednesday, bringing the UK total to 127,794. The government also said that, as of 9am on Wednesday, there had been a further 4,330 lab-confirmed cases in the UK. It comes after zero Covid-19 deaths were reported in the UK on Tuesday. Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi, pressed about the dropping of domestic restrictions on June 21, told ITV's Peston: "At the moment there's nothing in the data to suggest that we need to move the road map. "We've been straight with people, as both the prime minister and the Health Secretary have said, on June 14 we will share with the nation all the data that we'd have gathered. "The next 12 days are going to be really important to see what the virus is doing. We've got a very large-scale surveillance infrastructure in place in terms of waste water surveillance and large-scale testing." Elsewhere, health ministers from the G7 nations will meet in Oxford on Thursday in a bid to reach agreement to help reduce the risk of global pandemics and emerging health threats. They are expected to agree to share information on how to detect such threats and the causes. source: PA Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - Portugal will be removed from England's so-called green travel list allowing quarantine-free travel between the two countries, the UK government said Thursday, in a move slammed by Britain's tourism sector. The move could prove highly disruptive to thousands of British holidaymakers, after Portugal was the only European nation placed on the green list when it was first unveiled last month. A popular summer destination for Britons, from Tuesday at 4 am (0300 GMT) Portugal will be on the amber list, which requires travellers to quarantine at home for 10 days on their return and take several Covid-19 tests. It joins other EU countries on the list, with no nations added to the green section.A The government advises against travel to amber-listed countries unless for a limited number of exceptional reasons, which does not include holidays. Meanwhile seven countries a Afghanistan, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Trinidad & Tobago a will be added to England's red list from Tuesday, requiring 10 days costly quarantine in a hotel on return. A Shapps said he ordered the change to Portugal's status because its infection rate had nearly doubled since the last review in mid-May, when Britain lifted a ban on non-essential international travel. Shapps also cited instances of a mutation of the Delta variant, first identified in India and fast becoming the dominant strain in Britain a where cases are on the rise again after weeks of decline. "We just don't know the potential for that to be (a) vaccine-defeating mutation and simply don't want to take the risk as we come up to June 21," Shapps said.A Britain is set to ease the last of its lockdown measures on that date. The government is facing calls to delay lifting the remaining measures a which include social distancing, wearing face masks and a work from home recommendation a as infections rise once again. But ministers are putting their faith in the country's successful vaccine drive. Over half of British adults have now had both doses of the authorised two-shot Covid-19 inoculations, while more than three-quarters have received at least a single dose.A Thursday's updates to the travel list, which will be reviewed in three weeks, were heavily criticised by airlines, airports and tour operators. easyJet PLC Chief Executive Johan Lundgren called Portugal's designation a "shock decision" that "simply isn't justified by the science", while Virgin Atlantic boss Shai Weiss branded the government's approach "overly cautious". "We are yet to see clear and transparent guidance on the methodology and data the government is basing these decisions on," Weiss added.A Paul Charles, chief executive of The PC Agency travel consultancy, called the moves a "terrible decision". "They are basically putting at risk tens of thousands of jobs across aviation and the travel sector, and not showing any signs of helping the sector to recover." source: AFP Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Today Partly cloudy early. Scattered thunderstorms developing in the afternoon. Hot. High 94F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 74F. Winds light and variable. Tomorrow Partly cloudy with afternoon showers or thunderstorms. High 93F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. Take a few minutes and scroll through some of the local news from the past week: As a current print subscriber, you receive 24/7 access to our website and online e-edition at no additional charge. All you have to do is activate your access. To activate digital access, you will need your account number. You can find your account number on any recent subscription notice or bill. The Center Line Independence Festival got underway Thursday night with a carnival and midway courtesy of T.J. Schmidt & Co. The carnival w Held across 3 days and 4 unique stages. Payment options are available, pay off tickets over 12 weeks. Earn back your ticket by simply inviting your friends at checkout. Now in its 11th year, Rhythm & Alps is happening once again in the stunning Cardrona Valley, in the mighty Southern Alps of New Zealand. Make sure you get your ticket to the three-day music festival & amazing camping experience and enjoy the Kiwi summer with this stellar lineup. The 2021 festival features; soulful sounds from the globetrotting Rhythm Section head-honcho BRADLEY ZERO, joyous dancefloor jams courtesy of CC: DISCO! Aotearoa's own de-colonisers of the dancefloors with the QTBIPOC club night FILTH, feat BBYFACEKILLA, DIESEL, HALFQUEEN & ZEKI. One of Aotearoa's hottest acts right now, L.A.B and their eclectic mix of reggae, electronic, blues & funk and LEE MVTTHEWS with their infectious tunes with colourful melodies and bass-driven drops. These world-class acts will be joined in Cardrona Valley for the New Years celebration by bass boss MONTELL209's genre-bending force, daring frequencies, and dizzying, club-ready dynamics., silky n smooth hypnotic pop sensation MUROKI and SCRIBE & P-MONEY with The Harmony and Rhythm Band. Plus, PAIGE JULIA delivering the worlds up-front bass music, and DJ/Producer TEXTURE with her unique take on dance music. Rhythm & Alps couldn't be more stoked to welcome to Aotearoa one of hip hops brightest young stars SAMPA THE GREAT and UK drum'n'bass and jungle icons DJ/Producer & MC SHYFX and STAMINA MC. With more acts to be announced. Exton, PA (19341) Today Showers early, then cloudy in the afternoon. High 77F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. Manchester Center, VT (05254) Today Generally sunny despite a few afternoon clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 78F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early. Scattered thunderstorms developing later at night. Low 59F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. Real Madrid have confirmed that Lucas Vazquez has put pen to paper on a new contract until June 30, 2024, bringing to an end months of speculation about his future. Lucas endeared himself to the club and the supporters last year after putting in some stellar displays at right-back in the absence of the injured Dani Carvajal and Alvaro Odriozola. Unfortunately, the 29-year-old's season came to a premature end during the Clasico, as he suffered a serious knee injury after a collision with Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets. That injury, however, was a turning point in the negotiations between Lucas and Real Madrid, as they had previously been far apart in discussions. Real Madrid decided to raise their offer to the Galician in order to compete with some of the offers he had received from abroad, with Bayern Munich in pole position to secure his signature if he decided to leave the Spanish capital. There were offers from Italy, too. He was keen to stay at Real Madrid Yet, Lucas always prioritised staying at Real Madrid and once he received an offer that showed the club's faith in him, an agreement was reached not long after. After joining Real Madrid as a 16-year-old in 2007, Lucas came through the club's youth system and became a regular for Castilla before he joined Espanyol on a season-long loan deal in the 2014/15 campaign. He impressed in Catalonia so much that Real Madrid deemed him good enough to come back and be a member of the first-team squad. Lucas has made a total of 240 appearances for the Real Madrid first team, in which he has scored 26 goals and provided 54 assists. Iran's legitimate concerns should be properly addressed: Chinese envoy Xinhua) 15:13, June 03, 2021 Photo taken on June 2, 2021 shows a meeting of the Joint Commission on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna, Austria. Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, said Wednesday that Iran's legitimate concerns should be properly addressed in the ongoing negotiations to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. (EU Delegation Vienna/Handout via Xinhua) VIENNA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy said Wednesday that Iran's legitimate concerns should be properly addressed in the ongoing negotiations to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, made the remarks after the latest meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission, chaired by European Union official Enrique Mora and attended by representatives from China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and Iran. Important progress has been made in the ongoing negotiations, but there are some key differences on issues related to the lifting of sanctions, Wang said. The fact that the primary issue of sanction removal has not been settled in talks that have dragged on for more than two months shows that the issue of right and wrong has not yet been fundamentally resolved, he said. It is the United States that unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA and exerted "maximum pressure" on Iran, which is the root cause of the Iranian nuclear crisis, said the Chinese diplomat. For the United States and Iran to resume full compliance with the JCPOA, illegal U.S. sanctions against Iran should be "fully, cleanly and completely" lifted in the first place, including "long-arm jurisdiction" against third-party entities and individuals, Wang noted. All other sanction measures imposed by the United States during the withdrawal period that are inconsistent with the JCPOA and relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council should also be completely lifted, he said. At the same time, practical measures should be taken to prevent the relevant parties from arbitrarily withdrawing from the JCPOA again, Wang said. He added that China also supports the proper settlement of Iran's legitimate concerns in other areas. "It is time to make a political decision on this," Wang noted. The envoy stressed that China has always upheld an impartial position on the Iran nuclear issue and is willing to keep working with all parties involved to push forward the negotiations. He added that China will also continue safeguarding its own legitimate rights and interests in the lifting of sanctions and other aspects. The U.S. administration under former President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and unilaterally reimposed sanctions on Iran. In response to the U.S. moves, Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its JCPOA commitments from May 2019. The JCPOA Joint Commission began to meet in offline format on April 6 in Vienna to continue previous discussions in view of a possible return of the United States to the JCPOA and on how to ensure the full and effective implementation of the JCPOA. (Web editor: Shi Xi, Hongyu) McAlester, OK (74501) Today Sunshine along with some cloudy intervals. Hot and humid. High 94F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. An alarm went off at a warehouse containing Fulton County election ballots recently, but none of them were stolen or compromised, officials said. Sangha Systems signs a Letter of Intent with AEP OnSite Partners to bring the first behind-the-meter solar development to a cryptocurrency mining campus in North America, will use Sunified sensors Submit A Press Release $25.00 / for 2 days Ensure your press release runs prominently on our website and in our E-mail Newsletter. Gauranteed placement on these platforms is $25. Note: All submissions will go through our editorial approval process before being posted. Some Fulton County residents and officials have called into question the countys use of temp agencies to provide workers for its elections. Bob Barr represented Georgias Seventh District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003. He served as the United States Attorney in Atlanta from 1986 to 1990 and was an official with the CIA in the 1970s. He now practices law in Atlanta, Georgia and serves as head of Liberty Guard. Sayre, PA (18840) Today Scattered thunderstorms in the morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 79F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Thunderstorms in the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies overnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Meadville, PA (16335) Today Mixed clouds and sun with scattered thunderstorms. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High around 80F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low 57F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Meadville, PA (16335) Today Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 81F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Mostly clear. Low 57F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Interventions addressing the partners' substance use may help reduce pregnant women's substance use, too, while improving their relationship satisfaction, protecting against depression, and boosting infant development. says lead author Carson Kautz-Turnbull, a third-year graduate student in the Rochester Department of Psychology whose interests lie in FASD intervention work and reaching underserved populations, including racial minorities, rural populations, and low-income groups.Kautz-Turnbull says.The team followed 246 pregnant women at two sites in western Ukraine over time as part of CIFASD, an international consortium of researchers that researchers at the University's Mt. Hope Family Center are members of, which is funded by the NIH's National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.The team found that higher use of alcohol and tobacco by partners as well as pregnant women's lower relationship satisfaction increased the likelihood of their babies' prenatal alcohol exposure. Conversely, women who felt supported by their partners reported lower rates of depressive symptoms and were less likely to drink during pregnancy.All study participants had a partner; most were married. In their first trimesters, the women reported on their relationship satisfaction, including frequency of quarreling, happiness with the relationship, and the ease of talking to their partners, their partners' substance use, and their socioeconomic status.In the third trimester, the participants were surveyed about their own drinking habits and depressive symptoms. Subsequently, the researchers assessed the infants' mental and psychomotor development around the age of six months.According to the team's analysis, pregnant women's depressive symptoms and drinking directly correlated with their relationships with their partners and to their partners' substance use. (The researchers asked about alcohol and tobacco use only).Positive partner influences resulted in women's lower alcohol use in late pregnancy and fewer depressive symptoms.The findings applied even when socioeconomic status, which is generally linked to depression and drinking, was taken into account. Higher prenatal alcohol exposure resulted in poorer mental and psychomotor development in the infants, though a mother's prenatal depression did not affect babies the way drinking did.That's why maternal health and pregnancy interventions are likely to be more effective when partners are included, with benefits for both mothers and babies, the team concludes. Interventions addressing the partners' substance use may help reduce pregnant women's substance use, too, while improving their relationship satisfaction, protecting against depression, and boosting infant development.Besides Kautz-Turnbull, the study was coauthored by Rochester's Christie Petrenko and Elizabeth Handley, Emory University's Claire Coles and Julie Kable, University of South Alabama's Wladimir Wertelecki, Lyubov Yevtushok of Omni-Net Centers in Ukraine, Natalya Zymak-Zakutnya of the OMNI-Net for Children International Charitable Fund in Ukraine, Christina Chambers of the University of California, San Diego, and CIFASD.Source: Eurekalert Selfie campaign was launched on the social media by the families who were vaccinated to spread the awareness about the importance of vaccination in Bhopal, India on the lines of 'Mera Parivar Corona Mukt' campaign of the Madhya Pradesh government. District Panchayat Chief Executive Officer, Vikas Mishra, in a meeting with various departments said, the process of unlocking the state has begun from Tuesday. At present, there has been a decline in cases of Covid-19 infections. In order to further reduce Covid cases, it is necessary to follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour such as consistent and proper wearing of face masks, maintaining social distancing and strictly following hygiene norms. Appropriate Covid-19 measures should be taken, such as wearing proper face masks, maintaining social distancing and strictly following hygiene norms can help lower Covid-19 infections. ASHA and Anganwadi workers along with self-help groups in Bhopal district have been working continuously in this direction and efforts are on to seek the help of those working in non-governmental organisations to raise awareness through selfies. Source: IANS According to Health department's plan, vaccination of people belonging to the high risk group is to be done on a priority basis. People from high risk groups such as housewives, vegetable vendors, cylinder suppliers, grocery stores workers, hawkers, milk vendors, hotel restaurant staff, hair salon workers, drivers, security guards, etc have to be vaccinated on a war footing basis.ASHA and Anganwadi workers along with self-help groups in Bhopal district have been working continuously in this direction and efforts are on to seek the help of those working in non-governmental organisations to raise awareness through selfies.Source: IANS Vaccine is currently the easiest way to protect an individual against Covid-19. People who have been vaccinated should serve as role models and motivate others to get vaccinated. Therefore, families who have got vaccinated have shared their photographs on social media on the lines of 'Mera Parivar Corona Mukt' campaign so that other people also get inspired and get themselves vaccinated. Sports Copa America: Brazils president Bolsonaro defends decision to host BRASILIA, JUN 2 (AGENCIES) | Publish Date: 6/2/2021 1:10:23 PM IST Brazils president has defended its hosting of the Copa America tournament despite the raging Covid pandemic. There has been widespread criticism after the South American Football Association (Conmebol) announced on Monday that Brazil would be hosting the event, due to start next week. A Supreme Court judge has ordered President Jair Bolsonaro to provide more information on the decision.Brazil has been hit hard by the pandemic, with nearly 463,000 deaths. Bolsonaro said the decision was not up for discussion and that the tournament, which involves players across South America, did not pose a health risk. He said on Tuesday that he had spoken with the health minister and they had agreed to host the event. As far as it is up to me, and all the ministers, including the health minister, it is all decided, Bolsonaro told his supporters in Brasilia. From the beginning I have said about the pandemic: I regret the deaths, but we have to live, he added. But the decision has been criticised by a number of lawmakers in the country. The Supreme Court has given Bolsonaro five days to submit information on the governments decision to host the tournament after the opposition Workers Party filed a suit objecting to the tournament. Bolsonaro has announced that four states including Rio de Janeiro will host the matches however fans will not be able to attend. At least six states said they would not be hosting matches due to the pandemic, AFP news agency reports. The Copa America was originally set to be co-hosted by Argentina and Colombia in 2020 but the tournament was pushed back a year due to the pandemic. Colombia were removed as hosts last month amid widespread protests against the government, with Argentina later stripped of the role too due to rising Covid-19 cases. Wide shoulders, bulging biceps, chiselled jawline and over six feet tall--superheroes are built that way. Or should we say, they have been portrayed that way for longer than we can remember. Instagram/Avengers Physical traits like a great body and strong muscles are synonymous with superhumans who we read about in comic books as kids. But how sensible it is to show a man in movies and films with these unrealistic body standards? Netizens recently argued about it when Chris Hemsworth posted a photo from Thor: Love and Thunders last day of shoot where his arms were unbelievably bulked up. Instagram/Avengers Fans rubbed their eyes in disbelief when they noticed and said his biceps look massive, even for someone playing Thor. The photo ended up sparking a debate about how superheroes and celebrities who play these roles promote the unrealistic male body image, intentionally or unintentionally. As a red-blooded, heterosexual male who has gone to the gym for over 20 years.......I feel like a complete failure ....... and I would love him to cuddle me with those big guns. Matt Thorpe (@Thorpeedo) June 2, 2021 While some said its sad how celebrities fuel these body expectations, others argued he is just playing the part where he needs to look that big. Here is what they had to say. man...the bodily expectations for male stars is...kinda sad. https://t.co/EXwuZTr7ar Angelica Jade (@angelicabastien) June 2, 2021 Looking at High Jackman's body change as he played Wolverine was kinda scary. By the end he looked ridiculous just to keep up with changing expectations. What we thought a superhero body was at the time of XMen 1 was markedly different. pic.twitter.com/JJeExgyhQp Myles (@Kylometres) June 2, 2021 Hemsworth got JACKED he's way bigger than he was in the previous Thor films Brian Alexis (@BAM_boozler88) June 1, 2021 Here are some tweets backing up the actor: He's not playing Spider-Man dude, you do know Thor is supposed to be massive right? Matthew McGonigal (@PersonaNonJoker) June 1, 2021 He's playing Thor A GOD associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of mankind... it comes with a set of standards which is definitely not him looking like a scrawny femboy in skinny pants Agravier (@Agravier_K) June 3, 2021 We get that these actors are simply trying to look like the comic book heroes we idolize but somewhere it perpetuates unrealistic standards and leads to negative body image in men. Marvels Avenger series has given the world a bevvy of superheroes who have their own unique powers but the one thing common is the perfect male physique. Instagram/Chris Hemsworth Actors who play the role have to obviously fit in the character in the best possible ways and work hard to get a body like that. We will let you in on a dirty secret. Sometimes, it also involves going on steroids to build superficially huge muscles. They get them super dehydrated so the muscles stand out and then shoot. It's really hard on their bodies and it's just ridiculous. Ari (they/them) (@AttilaTheHippie) June 2, 2021 I recall reading that Christian Bale has heart issues due to the massive bulk up for Batman, then massive drop for the machinist, then bulk again etc. its not worth their lives. As a woman who has struggled immensely with body issues/expectations - I really feel for them. Oniontime (@oniontimee) June 2, 2021 So, basically, it isnt healthy for the actor nor is it doing any good to the society by fueling such expectations of looking muscular in order to show yourself powerful and manly. Instagram/Avengers Maybe it looked better in the comics back in the day but we would like to see some superheroes who look like...real men. The ongoing pandemic has altered life and changed the meaning of what a normal life means to most of us. The crucial part about Coronavirus, that a lot of people still dont understand, is that it literally doesnt care about gender, celebrity status, wealth or what you do in life. It is a contagious virus that will attack you if you dont take care, as simple as that. Now, with most states running in lockdown and some relaxations for the general public, some people continue to flout norms and irk the law keepers. Twitter Today, Bollywood actors and rumoured couple Tiger Shroff and Disha Patani were booked by the Mumbai Police for roaming around near the Bandra area post the allowed lockdown timings. Since the punny side of the Mumbai Polices social media is known for calling out wrongdoers through savage tweets, it was natural that they couldnt let this information slip by without making it 'filmy'. The official tweet has actually left people laughing and hailing the Twitter account's witty side even more. In the ongoing War against the virus, going Malang on the streets of Bandra cost dearly to two actors who have been booked under sections 188, 34 IPC by Bandra PStn . We request all Mumbaikars to avoid unnecessary Heropanti which can compromise on safety against #COVID19 Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) June 3, 2021 Good job! What these guys are doing is an insult to millions of us who are stuck in our homes, deprived of fresh and natural air, and postponing important work for months, all in a bid to end this pandemic. John Wise (@JohnWis13727848) June 3, 2021 "Student of Year" has done a very big Mistake. When "Bharat" is fighting "War" against Virus then why to be "Malang" & show "Heropanti" outside. Stay Home and practice "Kung-fu-Yoga". It'll set up Example for All other "Munna & Michael" who thinks that Virus can't affect them. SHUBHAM GUHA (@SHUBHAMGUHA1998) June 3, 2021 And, of course, there were memes as well: #DishaPatani and #TigerShroff after breaking rules of covid-19... @DishPatani says #SalmanKhan bhoii se hi sikha he rules break krna Le selmon bahi: pic.twitter.com/0C74dFJAvz Sanket Makar (@SanketMakar) June 3, 2021 Later, Tigers mother, Ayesha Shroff, however, tried to clear the air that the two of them were in fact returning home after some work and were not flouting norms. Anyway, Tweeple ended up having a field day, regardless. There have been some important changes since many of us were told that offices would be closing down owing to the outbreak of the Coronavirus. iStock While healthcare workers and other essential workers are still required to physically go out to carry out their duties, a lot of us have adapted to remote work or working from home. iStock Fast forward to the present time and work from home really works like a charm for a lot of us. Not only are we able to get the daily chores done but are also sometimes able to enjoy a quick walk or a workout session while still achieving our daily work targets, something that wouldn't have been possible in a conventional work environment. iStock However, with more vaccinations against the virus, many companies across the world are now calling employees back to offices, something that has not gone down well with many people who have embraced working from home as the new normal. iStock Surprisingly, many are even choosing to quit workplaces rather than going back to offices, with Portia Twidt, research compliance specialist, being one of the people leaving her workplace. iStock Twidt says that some bosses, unfamiliar with remote work, want people to come back so that they are able to regain control over their employees. "They feel like we're not working if they can't see us. It's a boomer power-play," said Twidt. According to a study, as things start getting back to normal, employees may prefer different options for themselves, something that is certainly influenced by the generation gap between people. iStock As per a May survey of 1,000 adults in the United States, around 39% would consider quitting if their employers weren't flexible about remote work, with that figure rising to 49% amongst millennials and Gen Z. Sara Sutton, the CEO of FlexJobs, a job-service platform that focuses on flexible employment, is in agreement with the changing trend. "High-five to them. Remote work and hybrid are here to stay," said Sara. Another example of an employee who quit his job after his office started calling back employees, is Jimme Hendrix, a 30-year-old software developer in the Netherlands. "During Covid, I really started to see how much I enjoyed working from home," said Hendrix. Hendrix, who now does freelance work and helps his girlfriend grow her art business, said he had to travel almost two hours for work. However, the couple is now planning to sell their car and instead rely on bikes. iStock "I can just do whatever I want around the house like a quick chore didn't have to wait until like 8 p.m. anymore, or I can go for a quick walk," said Hendrix. If it wasn't just Twitter that had a spat with India recently, now American tech giant Google has come under fire in the country after its search engine showed South Indian language Kannada as the 'ugliest language in India'. Istock Recently, it came to light that if one searched about the ugliest language in India, the search result displayed, "The answer is Kannada, a language spoken by around 40 million people in south India." Twitter/PCMohanMP It is now reported that Google acted quickly in removing the search response from its engine. Following the incident, the Karnataka government on Thursday (June 3) said it will take legal action against Google with Kannada & Culture Minister Aravind Limbavali stating that a notice will soon be issued to the tech giant. Istock However, before facing any legal action, the search engine must now face the uproar that has been caused in the country, with angry citizens taking to Twitter to share their reactions. Hi @GoogleIndia what is this bullshit? More than over 5 crore people speak this beautiful language. KANNADA IS NOT UGLY. pic.twitter.com/GAIFOniP09 Wali (@netaji_bond) June 3, 2021 @GoogleIndia @googlearts @sundarpichai what nonsense is this. Hoe can you call Kannada as ugly... It's one of the oldest and very closely connected with Sanskrit https://t.co/K47gf2XTmH Prashy (@TravelerPrash) June 3, 2021 Kannada ha a very high proportion Sanskrit works. Indias Renaissance last mid millennium was due to the Vijayanagara Dynasty founded with the blessing of the Sringeri Shankaracharya. We Indians are proud of this contribution and hence only foreign barbarians will be so crude Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) June 3, 2021 Dear Raja, who are the dolts who called Kannada as an ugly language?@CMofKarnataka , Sir, please take action against people who are insulting Kannada.@Tejasvi_Surya Moudgalya (@BMoudgalya) June 3, 2021 Dear @GoogleIndia, Google search engine is all about crawling, indexing & serving search results. But sometimes, Google ranking systems show wrong results. Kindly remove this result as soon as possible. No language is ugly in India. pic.twitter.com/ikA2vtWmPE Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) June 3, 2021 Dear@GoogleIndia This is the disrespect to the oldest language of the country #Kannada, it's not ugly, it's the #queenoflanguages Every language has got its own respect, Love all Try to set a proper indexing where things can be verified.@sundarpichai @karnatakacom pic.twitter.com/Wi7ndPFBli Sandesh S Hegde (@SandeshSHegde4) June 3, 2021 I'm proud and some nonsense site are triggering the feeling of KANNADIGAS to weaken them but no matter what they try to do or fool us by rumouring false state calling KANNADA ugly we KANNADIGAS knows the whole world knows about the History of #Kannada pic.twitter.com/rbYLRbgIqZ Monisha Gowda (@Monisha_Gowda_) June 3, 2021 Seems like Google must now swiftly start searching for answers for itself or else risk facing some serious action. In one of the most baffling and uninformed lawsuits this year, actress Juhi Chawla filed a case against 5G technology deployment in India. She was later blasted by the Delhi High Court for filing a lawsuit without giving any representation to the government on her concerns related to the technology. Instagram/Juhi Chawla Juhi Chawlas plea claims that 5G wireless technology can threaten to provoke serious, irreversible effects on humans and permanent damage to the Earth's ecosystems. The suit by Juhi Chawla, Veeresh Malik and Teena Vachani claimed that due to 5G technology "no person, animal, bird, insect and plant on Earth will be able to avoid exposure, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to levels of RF radiation that are 10x to 100x times greater than what exists today." The court heard arguments of various parties and asked as to why as many as 33 parties were added to the plaintiff and said it is not permitted under the law. It is not the sweet will of the plaintiff to join as many parties and cause of action. Please see the memo of parties. Tell me how you have joined them. Every party cannot be arrayed in the suit, the judge said. Unsplash/julian-tilgenkamp The court further said, It is a defective plaint. This suit has been filed only for media publicity and nothing more than that. It is very shocking. Did you approach the government with a representation? If yes, is there any denial?, the court asked to which the plaintiffs counsel replied in negative. Plaintiff has no personal knowledge of the plaint. I am surprised. How can it be? Is the suit permissible when the plaintiff has no personal knowledge of the averment? I have not seen a suit where a person says I dont know, please conduct an inquiry, the judge said. Reuters The court also questioned the knowledge of plaintiffs on the facts and warned them to prosecute for filing a suit based on false claims. Solicitor General Tushar Mehra appeared for the Central government and argued that the suit was frivolous and barred under Section 9 of the Code. "The suit really is frivolous. These are rare instances where power under Section 9 may be exercised. There is no cause of action," Mehta said. He added, the plaintiffs needed to show how the technology is wrongful and termed the suit as an ill-conceived litigation. Advocate Deepak Khosla, representing the plaintiffs, said the 5G technology trials involving the human population have been done and added that these are not "pigs and rats. 5G network operates at a frequency that enables high-speed internet wirelessly. Nodes emit radio frequencies that are 10 to 100 times higher than what we operate smartphones on, however this level of radiation is already present around in from natural and artificial sources. This radiation scatters rather quickly and does not affect humans, animals or plants. 5G networks run at various microwaves such as 600 to 850 megahertz (low band), 2.5 to 3.7 gigahertz and 25 to 39 gigahertz (high band). Services for Bonita Deweese will be held on Monday, June 14, 2021, at 15th Avenue Baptist Church, at 10:30 am. Visitation will be Sunday, 4-6 p.m., at Webb Funeral Home. View the obituary at www.jamesfwebb.com. Northern Minnesota counties could be on the hook for millions after states latest move in Enbridge property tax saga Click here to log in and see all of our other subscription options for the Mesabi Tribune, including online only & auto-renewal subscriptions. Regional COVID-19 toll in Meghalaya breaches 600-mark Shillong, June 2 | Publish Date: 6/2/2021 12:59:20 PM IST Meghalayas COVID-19 death toll on Wednesday breached the 600 mark with 24 more patients succumbing to the viral infection mounting up the total fatality count in the state to 616. The fatality rate has now gone up to 1.68 per cent, while the positivity rate currently stands at 17.49 per cent with the detection of 532 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the number of active cases up to 6,043 as on Wednesday. On the other hand, 711 more patients have recovered from the viral infection, mounting the number of recoveries up to 29,578 with a recovery rate of 80.82 per cent of the 36,597 total confirmed COVID-19 cases detected as on date. Meanwhile, of the swab samples of 5, 83,183 persons tested since the onset of the pandemic till date, 5, 46, 586 were tested negative for the virus. On the other hand, 29,769 healthcare workers received the first dose of Covishield and 19,565 received the second dose, 87,565 frontline workers got the first shot and 26, 507 got the second jab of the vaccine against COVID-19, while 2, 75,758 persons from among the general public were inoculated with the first dose and 28,288 persons were fully vaccinated with the second dose, War said. (Correspondent) Existing demand at key outlets and long lead times will prevent prices from following the Chinese export price in the near term, Fastmarkets has learned. Domestic and export flat steel prices mostly increased in Turkey during the week ended Friday May 28.Meanwhile, Fastmarkets weekly price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $1,035-1,065 per tonne on June 1, down from $1,085-1,125 per tonne a week earlier and falling for the first time since mid-February , when the recent uptrend started. Despite the slight price drop, one flat steel exporter from the CIS said it is unlikely that HRC export prices fob Black Sea will reduce... Ceke Port - located in Alashan League, a division of Chinas Inner Mongolia autonomous region - is a major port of entry on the countrys border with Mongolia.There were 1,143 new cases of Covid-19 in Mongolia on June 1, which took the total number of confirmed cases to 60,372, Mongolias health ministry said on Wednesday. A total of 2.26 million tonnes of Mongolian coal entered China through Ceke Port in the first quarter... On June 3, 2021, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Peoples Republic of China Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Mohammad Haneef Atmar, and Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Shah Mahmood Qureshi held the Fourth China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers Dialogue via video link. They had a comprehensive and in-depth exchange of views on Afghanistans peace and reconciliation process and reached the following consensus: The three sides underscored that as insecurity in Afghanistan will directly impact the stability and economic prosperity of the entire region, there is a need for joint efforts and response to eliminate the current challenges in our region. The three sides noted the start of withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, and believed that while this move has complex impacts on Afghanistan peace and reconciliation process, it will also provide opportunities for the Afghanistan and the region to truly take the future of their countries and nations into their own hands. The three sides called for responsible and orderly withdrawal of foreign troops to avoid deterioration of the security situation in the region or giving terrorist forces the opportunity to re-emerge and grow. All relevant parties should earnestly fulfill their anti-terrorism commitments and agreed not to allow any terrorist to operate from their respective territories against each others interests. The three sides underlined the importance of a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Afghanistan and called on all parties in Afghanistan for an early declaration of a comprehensive ceasefire and an end to the senseless violence, in order to create the conditions needed for negotiation between the Islamic republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban. The three sides believed that the UNSC resolution 2513 must be observed, while looking forward to and welcoming the early return of the Taliban to the political mainstream of Afghanistan. The three sides reiterated that they do not support the establishment of any government imposed by force in Afghanistan. The three sides supported Afghanistan to be an independent, sovereign and democratic state that enjoys security and stability, achieves development and prosperity, and lives in harmony with its neighbors. The three sides maintained that resolution of the Afghan issue should fully reflect the Afghan-led, Afghan-owned principle. The Afghan government could play a leading role in Afghanistans peace and reconciliation process to draw up a plan jointly with all parties that reflects extensiveness and inclusiveness. The three sides support all multilateral efforts that are conducive to building political consensus in Afghanistan, and the international community and to promoting Afghanistans peace and reconciliation process. They support the international community, particularly the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, in making positive contribution to advancing the peace and reconciliation process. They believed that Afghanistans neighboring countries, as the most direct stakeholders in relation to Afghanistans domestic situation, should play a more important, constructive role in this regard. China and Afghanistan recognized that Pakistan has continued to host with dignity and honor millions of Afghan refugees for decades as a consequence of the protracted Afghan conflict. They emphasized that a time-bound and well-resourced return of Afghan refugees to their homeland and their re-integration in the Afghan society should be part of the comprehensive peace agreement. China and Pakistan reaffirmed their firm support for the peaceful reconstruction of Afghanistan and readiness to expand economic and trade ties with Afghanistan, support Afghanistan in enhancing its capacity for independent development. On Deepening Trilateral Cooperation On June 3, 2021, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Peoples Republic of China Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Mohammad Haneef Atmar, and Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Shah Mahmood Qureshi held the Fourth China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers Dialogue via video link. The three sides commended the progress in trilateral cooperation since the Third Dialogue held in Islamabad on September 7, 2019, and underscored their readiness to further deepen and expand their cooperation in the peace, political, economic, connectivity, security, counter-terrorism and other areas, and jointly promote peace, stability and development of the three countries and the region. The three sides reaffirmed their commitments to strengthening political mutual trust, enhancing exchanges and communication, and forging closer-good neighborly relations and partnership. China emphasized its readiness to continue to play a constructive role in facilitating the improvement of relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The three sides reaffirmed that they will deepen cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, Regional Economic Cooperation Conference (RECCA), Heart of Asia Istanbul Process(HoA/IP) and other regional economic initiatives. The three sides commended the progress made by Afghanistan in the area of connectivity and in carrying out trades through Gwadar Port, and other seaports in the region, and expressed readiness to further tap cooperation potential to raise the level of connectivity among the three countries and in the region. The three sides agreed to advance practical cooperation in a flexible way alongside routine COVID control, implement the refrigeration storage and other livelihood facility projects in Afghanistan and Pakistan at an early date, expand cooperation among the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of the three countries, and carry out exchange and training programs in the fields of public health, connectivity, agricultural disaster reduction, youth exchanges, cultural relics and archaeology. They agreed that as a long-term objective, and as the next logical progression in the trilateral cooperation, larger-scale projects in infrastructure and development including railway will also be considered at an opportune time. The three sides also agreed to continue to strengthen cooperation and jointly tackle COVID-19. The three sides reaffirmed that they will jointly fight terrorism in all its forms and underscored that it is important to reject double standards in counter-terrorism, not let any terrorist organization or individual use their respective territories for activities against other countries, and redouble joint efforts against the ETIM, TTP and Daesh and any other terrorist group. The three sides welcomed the positive progress made in the first batch of projects under the trilateral MOU on Cooperation in Counter-terrorism, and will continue to advance the related work. The three sides agreed to follow up on the consensus of this Dialogue through the trilateral Vice-Ministerial Strategic Dialogue, the Vice-Ministerial Consultation on Counter-Terrorism and Security, and the Director-General Level Practical Cooperation Dialogue. The Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan thanked China for its efforts in successfully holding the Fourth China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers Dialogue via video link. The three sides agreed to hold an in-person trilateral Foreign Ministers Dialogue at an early date when the COVID situation permits. International Indonesia calls on ASEAN to appoint envoy for Myanmar Jakarta, Jun 2 (AP) | Publish Date: 6/2/2021 1:06:55 PM IST Indonesias foreign minister on Wednesday urged the Association of Southeast Asia Nations to immediately appoint a special envoy on Myanmar following a coup, and reiterated a call for the safety of civilians as the ruling junta cracks down on opposition. After holding talks with EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell in the capital, Jakarta, Retno Marsudi said that Indonesia is continuing to communicate with the chair and other ASEAN member countries following their demand for an immediate end to killings and the release of political detainees in Myanmar. ASEAN leaders met in April in Jakarta with Myanmars coup leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. They also demanded that dialogue between parties in Myanmar should immediately start, with the help of the ASEAN envoy. The special envoy appointment must be completed immediately, Marsudi said. The safety and well-being of the Myanmar people must continue to be a priority. An Indonesian diplomat familiar with the Myanmar issue said Wednesday that Brunei, which currently holds ASEANs rotating presidency, will send Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof to meet the junta on Saturday. The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media on the issue, said the visit is aimed to seek Myanmars approval of the ASEAN envoy. Myanmar is a member, and traditionally the bloc has refrained from interfering in each others affairs amid criticism its divisions and alignments with either the US or China are weakening its position. Marsudi said that naming the envoy involves both sides in Myanmar, making progress in the process slow. According to Myanmars Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which has kept a detailed tally of arrests and deaths since the February military takeover, 818 protesters and bystanders have been killed by security personnel since the coup. More than 4,300 people are in detention, including 104 who have already been sentenced. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the junta chief, said in an interview last week with Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television that the death toll had been exaggerated and was actually about 300, and that 47 police had been killed and more than 200 injured. Cristina Alcalde Miami University President Gregory Crawford announced that the university has selected M. Cristina Alcalde as its new vice president for institutional diversity and inclusion, effective July 1. In this role, Alcalde will provide vision and leadership for university-wide diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, advancement and enhancement. Alongside the universitys DEI task force, she will work across the university to fully integrate and advance DEI efforts, impacting students, faculty, staff and the Miami community. Alcalde will also hold a tenured appointment as full professor in the Department of Global and Intercultural Studies. She is currently professor of gender and women's studies and the Marie Rich Endowed Professor at the University of Kentucky, where she also serves as associate dean of inclusion and internationalization in the College of Arts and Sciences and the director of the Online Graduate Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion. We are honored to welcome a scholar and innovator like Cristina to lead our diversity and inclusion efforts at Miami University, said Miami University President Gregory Crawford. Her commitment to creating an equitable and inclusive environment for all community members will keep our inclusive excellence mission at the forefront of everything we accomplish. Cristina will be instrumental in elevating Miamis diversity and inclusion culture and making it a blueprint for national and global DEI initiatives. Alcalde has traveled the world to conduct research on topics including gender violence, migration, exclusion, and race and racialization. Her most recent book, Peruvian Lives across Borders: Power, Exclusion, and Home (2018, University of Illinois Press) is based on multi-sited research in Peru, the U.S., Canada, and Germany. Living internationally has demonstrated to me that institutions, no matter where they are, reflect the richness of their students, staff, faculty, and alumni, Alcalde said. With Oxford and Miami, I know that I can actively be part of a welcoming and vibrant community intent on centering diversity, equity, and inclusion and transformation. Miami is a place where we continue to actively learn from and contribute to broader conversations that are happening everywhere about belonging, inclusion, racism and anti-racism, and global inequities and interconnections. At Miami, Alcalde said she is looking forward to strategically focusing on long-term, sustainable structural change to move every part of Miami forward. She will take the helm from Anthony James, who has served as interim vice president for institutional diversity since September 2020, having succeeded longtime leader Ronald Scott. During Jamess tenure, the universitys Presidential DEI implementation group examined and began implementing the 44 recommendations set forth by the Presidents DEI task force. Anthony James has provided invaluable leadership and discovery the past year, said Crawford. We have made tremendous strides to advance our diversity, equity, and inclusion at Miami University and we owe a lot of gratitude to Anthony for his leadership and contributions to advancing Miamis longstanding commitment to equality and justice and his shared leadership of the DEI task force. Alcalde said Miamis intentional and consistent trajectory of transformation to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion across all areas such as the DEI Task Force Implementation Plan and MiamiRISE drew her to Miami. She said she is especially looking forward to meeting with stakeholders across the university and broader community to holistically incorporate and build on strengths of existing approaches, and to identify additional paths forward for the benefit of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the broader Miami community. I am thrilled to be joining Miamis leadership team, because I consider my own values, commitments, and experiences to be deeply aligned with Miamis very intentional focus on diversity, inclusivity, and engagement both within units and more structurally, Alcalde said. I am honored to have the opportunity to build on the work of so many and to work with amazing colleagues and partners to continue the momentum towards inclusive excellence, to ensure Miami is a welcoming community for all and a model for innovation and inclusive excellence. At the University of Kentucky, Alcalde is also the director of the Online Graduate Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion. In addition to her research and teaching responsibilities, she worked with a faculty committee to support the development of a new Race and Ethnicity undergraduate course requirement for the College of Arts and Sciences. It was an effort that responded to student demands and drew on the expertise of faculty and the knowledge of advisors, ultimately ensuring that students have critical skills by the time they graduate. I am especially proud of collaborative efforts such as that, because they honor shared governance and also bring together multiple stakeholders, whether focusing on recruitment and retention, professional development, curriculum, community-building, strategic planning, or another area, Alcalde said. At UK, Alcalde has been instrumental in leading diversity and internationalization efforts for the College of Arts and Sciences. She developed a college-wide DEI Strategic Plan; designed and ran new initiatives focused on inclusivity and under-represented faculty, staff and students; designed and directed an online graduate certificate on inclusion and diversity; developed the College Diversity and Inclusivity Committee; developed a Faculty Inclusion Fellows Program; among other responsibilities. Alcalde earned her doctorate in anthropology and her masters in Latin American studies at Indiana University and her bachelor of arts in anthropology at the University of Louisville. Miami, FL (33127) Today Partly cloudy early with thunderstorms becoming likely during the afternoon. High 91F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Some clouds and possibly an isolated thunderstorm after midnight. Low 77F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. AG Nessel Prevails in Southfield Clerk's Attempt to Dismiss Felony Charges AG Nessel Prevails in Southfield Clerk's Attempt to Dismiss Felony Charges Lynsey Mukomel 517-599-2746 Attorney General June 3, 2021 LANSING - An Oakland County judge has denied the Southfield City Clerk's motion to drop two felony charges against her connected to the Nov. 2018 election. Last year, Sherikia Hawkins was ordered to stand trial on the following six charges: one count of violating election law by falsifying returns or records, a five-year felony and/or $1,000 fine; one count of forgery of a public record, a 14-year felony; one count of misconduct in office, a five-year felony and/or $10,000 fine; one count of using a computer to commit a crime connected to violating election law by falsifying returns or records, a seven-year felony and/or $5,000 fine; one count of using a computer to commit a crime connected to forgery of a public record, a 10-year felony and/or $10,000 fine; and one count of using a computer to commit a crime connected to misconduct in office, a seven-year felony and/or $5,000 fine. The complaint alleges that Hawkins fraudulently altered or modified the Qualified Voter File after the 2018 general election to falsely reflect that previously logged absentee ballots were void due to arriving in envelopes that were not signed by the voter. After being sent to trial, Hawkins filed a motion to quash before Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Leo Bowman, which was granted on four of the charges but denied on the following two charges: misconduct in office, a five-year felony and/or $10,000 fine; and using a computer to commit a crime connected to misconduct in office, a seven-year felony and/or $5,000 fine. In response, the Department appealed the dismissal of the four counts to the Michigan Court of Appeals. That appeal is currently pending. Additionally, Hawkins - who is running for re-election - filed another motion seeking to dismiss the two remaining charges upheld by Judge Bowman. Wednesday morning, Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Edward Sosnick heard oral arguments related to Hawkins' latest motion and ultimately sided with the Department. Judge Sosnick's denial means Hawkins continues to face the following charges: one count of misconduct in office, a five-year felony and/or $10,000 fine; and one count of using a computer to commit a crime connected to misconduct in office, a seven-year felony and/or $5,000 fine. "I remain committed to ensuring voters of our state can have confidence in our election process," Nessel said. "Election officials, regardless of political party, must uphold the integrity of their position. Those who abuse that commitment undermine the very foundation of our democracy." Currently, a jury trial is set to begin in the Oakland County Circuit Court on Oct. 28, 2021. ### Celebrate Michigan's water resources during Great Lakes and Fresh Water Week June 5-13 Celebrate Michigan's water resources during Great Lakes and Fresh Water Week June 5-13 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 3, 2021 Nick Assendelft, Public Information Officer, AssendelftN@Michigan.gov, 517-388-3135 Emily Finnell, Office of the Great Lakes, FinnellE@Michigan.gov, 517-599-1330 Gov. Whitmer issues proclamation marking annual event Michiganders are drawn to the water, whether it's the Great Lakes, one of the state's more than 11,000 inland lakes and ponds or 36,000 miles of rivers and streams. To raise awareness of Michigan's water resources, Great Lakes and Fresh Water Week - June 5-13 - will celebrate our lakes and rivers around the themes of "Appreciate, Educate and Recreate." "From Saugatuck to Saginaw and from Kalamazoo to the Keweenaw, Michiganders treasure their water resources. Great Lakes and Fresh Water Week is a timely opportunity to raise awareness of how much we rely on and treasure this resource that impacts Michiganders in so many ways," Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said. "Our MI Clean Water Plan will invest $500 million in water infrastructure from source to tap, and make improvements in wastewater systems to prevent sewage from getting into our lakes and rivers. We are also targeting $80 million to address climate change as we see increasing impacts on the Great Lakes and other water resources around the state, especially in coastal communities." Gov. Whitmer also signed a proclamation that highlights the impact lakes and rivers have on the lives of Michiganders. Throughout Great Lakes and Fresh Water Week, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), along with its partners the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) and the MiSTEM Network at the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO), will offer Michiganders an opportunity to show their appreciation of our state's lakes and rivers, highlight programs that educate residents to become lifelong water stewards, and provide information about how to recreate responsibly on or near lakes and rivers. "We all can appreciate the unique resource that we have here in Michigan. Swimming, fishing, boating or just lounging on the beach are treasured pastimes for all Michiganders," EGLE Director Liesl Clark said. "With that comes the responsibility to be good stewards of our lakes and rivers and to educate future generations about the importance of caring for our water resources." Here are ways that you can participate in Great Lakes and Fresh Water Week: Post photos on social media of your favorite lake, river or water experience and use the hashtag #MiGreatLakesWeek. Try your hand at Great Lakes trivia, posted to the DNR's Mi Nature Facebook page and at EGLE's Twitter feed. Watch and share themed videos throughout the week: Appreciate our water resources, educate residents about stewardship and recreate responsibly. Fish for free June 12-13. On these two days, the DNR will waive the need for a fishing license, as well as off-road vehicle license, trail permit and the Recreation Passport requirement for state parks and boating access sites. Take your blanket to the beach and read the 2020 State of the Great Lakes report. Check out the Great Lakes and Fresh Water Week webpage at Michigan.gov/GreatLakesWeek, where you'll find links to local events, education resources, videos, MiCorps volunteer sign-up, invasive species identification and how to properly dispose of old medications. Open the From Students to Stewards toolkit, which is full of place-based educational resources for teachers that will instill in youth a desire to learn about water resources and how to be protective of lakes and streams. As you decide how to enjoy the outdoors, follow these tips to recreating responsibly on the water, in the water and while fishing, as well as resources to consult regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. On Monday, June 7, SEMCOG will host a public Great Lakes and Fresh Water Week webinar from 1:30-3 p.m. as part of its One Water Summer Webinar Series. Monday's webinar features presentations from SEMCOG, EGLE's Office of the Great Lakes and the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA). Speakers will talk about Southeast Michigan's drinking water, the state of the Great Lakes and the One Water campaign. You can register ahead of time or watch the presentation live Monday on SEMCOG's Facebook page. "Great Lakes and Fresh Water Week is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the Great Lakes and all of Michigan's freshwater resources," said Amy O'Leary, executive director of SEMCOG. "It is also an opportunity to celebrate many partners, such as the Great Lakes Water Authority, local watershed organizations, county water resource commissioners, and more for their tireless efforts to protect and improve water resources while also empowering residents to be good water stewards." "The Department of Natural Resources is proud to be a partner with EGLE on this celebration of Michigan's abundant water resources," said DNR Director Daniel Eichinger. "We are dedicated to protecting and managing the lakes and streams of Michigan so everyone has safe recreational opportunities to enjoy the greatest freshwater resource in the world." # # # Governor Gretchen Whitmer and LARA Announce Adopted Training Requirement to Improve Equity Across Michigan's Health Care System Governor Gretchen Whitmer and LARA Announce Adopted Training Requirement to Improve Equity Across Michigan's Health Care System FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 1, 2021 Media Contact: press@michigan.gov Governor Gretchen Whitmer and LARA Announce Adopted Training Requirement to Improve Equity Across Michigan's Health Care System LANSING, Mich. -Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) took an important step to address health care disparities and improve equity in the delivery of healthcare to all Michigan residents. LARA has adopted new administrative rules that require implicit bias training as part of the knowledge and skills necessary for the licensure or registration of health care professionals in Michigan. Michigan is a national leader in recognizing and addressing disparities that affect the equitable provision of health care. Last year, upon recommendation by the Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities, Governor Whitmer issued Executive Directive 2020-07 which directed LARA to begin promulgating rules that incorporated an implicit bias training requirement. Today's announcement caps nearly 11 months of collaboration and engagement with licensees, insurance providers, hospitals, health care associations, legislators, state agencies, higher education, and community and advocacy groups. "Today's new training guidelines will help us mitigate the impacts of implicit bias and ensure every patient in Michigan receives the best possible care," said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. "These rules will save lives and improve health outcomes for generations of Michiganders, especially those who have been historically and systemically discriminated against. They will make Michigan safer, healthier, and more just." "Implicit, unconscious bias exists within each of us, and as public servants we have a duty to understand and address how our biases can impact the lives of others," said Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist. "The health disparities highlighted during the pandemic made it clear that there is more work to do to ensure that bias does not prevent people of color from experiencing the same access to quality, equitable of health care as everyone else. Today's new rules, which were a key recommendation of the Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities, are additional building blocks that will help us create a culture of responsive inclusion that will make make state government and the practice of medical professions in Michigan a national model for equality, understanding, and fairness. I sincerely thank the task force members, partners, and supporters for their work on this important effort." New applicants for licensure or registration will need to complete a minimum of 2 hours of training, and applicants for renewal will need to complete a minimum of 1 hour of training each year. The annual training curriculum can cover a variety of topics related to implicit bias but must incorporate strategies to reduce disparities including the administration of self-assessments. "LARA is proud to support our health care professionals in delivering the highest quality of care to all patients," said LARA Director Orlene Hawks. "While technical knowledge and clinical skills should always be held to a high standard, it is equally important that health professionals understand the ways in which they view and interact with the communities they serve. As a result of this new training requirement, we anticipate improvements in the delivery of care, stronger relationships with communities, and ultimately better health outcomes." Michigan currently licenses over 400,000 health care professionals. The new rules, signed by LARA Director Orlene Hawks, require that health care professionals receive annual training to recognize and mitigate implicit bias. These rules aim to reduce disparities and improve equity in the delivery of health care to Michigan residents through practical education of new and renewing licensed health care professionals. "As a member of the Racial Disparities Task Force, I am proud to see Governor Whitmer and the state of Michigan adopt our implicit bias recommendation," said Renee Canady, CEO of Michigan Public Health Institute. "Thanks to LARA's swift action and implementation, health care professionals will now be trained to recognize and correct their own biases towards the Michiganders they serve. This new rule is a huge first step in our work to create a health care system that equitably serves everyone in our state." "Ensuring health care workers receive implicit bias training is a major, positive step toward improving health outcomes for Black and Brown Michiganders," said Democratic Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, Rep. Kyra Harris Bolden. "I'm grateful to have worked with Governor Whitmer on this important policy priority for the past year, during the coronavirus pandemic, which has laid bare the disparities in health outcomes facing communities of color." The new requirement will be effective June 1, 2022, which will allow training sponsors time to develop courses and applicants an opportunity to take training prior to their next renewal date. Implicit bias training may be sponsored by a nationally or state recognized health-related organization, an accredited college or university, a state or federal agency, a continuing education program approved by a state licensing board, or an organization specializing in diversity, equity, and inclusion issues. Several health care providers already offer implicit bias training and various health associations are currently developing training for their members. The new requirements are included in sections R 338.7001 - 338.7005 of the Public Health Code - General Rules. ### Michigan Takes Next Step Back to Normal under updated Vacc to Normal Plan Michigan Takes Next Step Back to Normal under updated Vacc to Normal Plan FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 1, 2021 Contact: Press@Michigan.gov Michigan Takes Next Step Back to Normal under updated Vacc to Normal Plan LANSING, Mich. - Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced Michigan has reached the next step in the Vacc to Normal plan. As of June 1, capacity limits are lifted for outdoor events and residential gatherings. Additionally, indoor capacity limits will increase to 50%, allowing indoor social gatherings such as weddings and funerals to move closer to normalcy. Face masks will only be required for individuals who are not yet fully vaccinated indoors. "Because so many Michiganders did their part and stepped up to get vaccinated, we are able to return to normal more quickly," said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. "Our state is closer and closer to being back to normal. Now, Michiganders may celebrate safely with family and friends, with less worry of getting COVID-19. We have all been working hard for this moment for over the past year, and I am thankful for every Michigander who has gotten vaccinated to keep themselves, their family, and our communities safe. Thanks to them, we can take these final steps towards a return to the normalcy and build our economy back stronger than ever. If you haven't gotten your vaccine yet, I encourage you to make an appointment so you can safely do the activities you want to do." "This pandemic has been so difficult for so many Michiganders. We've made incredible sacrifices for the good of public health and the safety of our friends, family, and communities," said Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist. "This vaccine is helping our small businesses reopen their doors. It's allowing our economy to come back stronger than ever and allows for a sense of normalcy to return for families across our state. I hope that this news is an added incentive for those on the fence about getting a vaccine. I will remain focused on encouraging every Michigander to make a vaccine appointment if they haven't already. This is how we move forward, together." ### Gov. Whitmer Announces Economic Development Grants Supporting 304 New Jobs in St. Clair County, 44 New Jobs in Marquette County Gov. Whitmer Announces Economic Development Grants Supporting 304 New Jobs in St. Clair County, 44 New Jobs in Marquette County FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 26, 2021 CONTACT: AchtenbergK@Michigan.org Gov. Whitmer Announces Economic Development Grants Supporting 304 New Jobs in St. Clair County, 44 New Jobs in Marquette County LANSING, Mich. -- Governor Gretchen Whitmer today announced economic development grants for Superior Extrusion, Inc (SEI) to support the company's expansion and creation of 44 new jobs at its location at Sawyer International Airport in Forsyth Township (Marquette County) and a Transportation Economic Development (TEDF) grant that will support 304 new jobs announced earlier this year at Magna Electric Vehicle Structures - Michigan's (MEVSM) new manufacturing facility in the St. Clair Industrial Park in St. Clair County. "As we put Michigan back to work, these grants demonstrate the collaborative efforts around economic development and infrastructure we are taking here in the state," said Governor Whitmer. "We continue to move forward with creating good jobs for Michiganders while ensuring safe roads for drivers, which will help our state emerge from the pandemic stronger than before. Let's get it done." Superior Extrusion, Inc. expansion in Marquette County SEI is a national leader in extruded aluminum products, producing and shipping more than 3,200 custom and standard profiles from its location in the Upper Peninsula. The company uses multiple hydraulic presses to create the aluminum shapes needed to make vehicle parts, docks, trailers, boats, and many other products. In 2020, SEI shipped more than 35 million pounds of extruded aluminum to customers across the county and currently has 160 employees on the site. The company's increased business demands require them to expand their facilities; however, the only option is to the south on land currently occupied by 11th Street, the main route into the airport. "Superior Extrusion, Inc. has grown tremendously over the past 23 years and expects continued growth in the future due to increasing demands of current customers as well as the addition of new customers and the production of electric vehicles," said SEI Chairman of the Board George LaBlonde III. "We sincerely appreciate our partnership with our local partners, the State of Michigan and the Federal Aviation Administration for their ongoing support as our company continues to grow at Sawyer International Airport and the increased safety and efficient traffic flow that will result in the current expansion." The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has awarded a state TEDF grant in the amount of $660,000 to help fund infrastructure improvements associated with the expansion pending all relevant federal approvals. This TEDF grant will help support work performed by the Marquette County Road Commission (MCRC), including relocating 11th Street, building a new roundabout and road from the existing 11th Street south to 10th Street, resurfacing and adding turn lanes on Kelly Johnson Memorial Drive and 10th Street, and other associated road improvements. MCRC is contributing $482,811 to the project. "The road commission is pleased and excited that we were able work with MDOT and SEI to secure a Category A grant that will help SEI in their expansion efforts," said James M. Iwanicki, P.E., MCRC engineer manager. "The relocation of 11th Street along with the improvements to Kelly Johnson Memorial Drive and 10th Street will greatly improve the road system for the traveling public." The Michigan Strategic Fund has also authorized an amendment increasing the company's existing Michigan Business Development Program (MBDP) grant to $422,000 to help secure an additional $20.4 million in investment by SEI in Michigan over competing sites in Iowa and Ohio. The company originally received a $150,000 MBDP grant in 2017 for the creation of 30 jobs. Prior to this amendment, SEI had met the first jobs and investment milestones required. "It has been exciting to see Superior Extrusion's growth over the years. Their new expansion is not only providing investment to the Sawyer area but also additional family sustaining jobs," said Lake Superior Community Partnership Director of Business Development Mary Myers. "We're very fortunate to have them in Marquette County." The project will provide competitive wages that align with a strategic focus of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. in supporting manufacturing industry growth in the state. The project will represent one of the largest manufacturing expansions in the U.P. in years. Magna Electric Vehicle Structures - Michigan, Inc. in St. Clair County MDOT has also awarded a state TEDF grant that will support infrastructure improvements related to Magna's Magna Electric Vehicle Structures - Michigan's (MEVSM) division, a new manufacturing facility in the St. Clair Industrial Park. That project, and the 304 new jobs in St. Clair County it will support, was announced by Gov. Whitmer in February following approval of a $1.5 million MBDP grant approved by the Michigan Strategic Fund. "Improving the surrounding transportation infrastructure is key to the long-term success of our new manufacturing operation in St. Clair," said Chris Hinman, general manager of MEVSM. "We appreciate all of the work done by the City of St. Clair and MDOT to make this project happen." The expansion will support Magna's contract with General Motors (GM) to provide battery enclosures for the soon-to-be manufactured EV Hummer at GM's Factory Zero, located on the site of the former Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly Plant, also a TEDF grant recipient earlier this year. A key route connecting the site to I-94, Carney Drive is in poor condition and its continued decline would impact the company's ability to ship their finished products. The City of St. Clair committed to rebuild Carney Drive and improve its intersections at Vine Street and Clinton Avenue, which gave the company confidence to move forward with their proposed development at the industrial park. This TEDF Category A grant combined with additional City of St. Clair funds will be used to complete the road improvements. The total project cost is $1,306,150, including $864,218 in Category A funds and $441,932 from the City of St. Clair. "Through the partnership and joint investment of MDOT and Magna, the City of St. Clair will improve our main trucking route," said Warren Rothe, city superintendent for the City of St. Clair. "MDOT's TEDF program has been instrumental in supporting the enhancement of our transportation infrastructure. The city welcomes these public-private partnerships that drive economic development throughout our city and state as a whole." About TEDF Enacted in 1987 and reauthorized in 1993, the TEDF helps finance highway, road and street projects that are critical to the movement of people and products, and getting workers to their jobs, materials to growers and manufacturers, and finished goods to consumers. TEDF "Category A" or "Targeted Industries Program" grants provide state funding for public roadway improvements that allow road agencies to respond quickly to the transportation needs of expanding companies and eliminate inadequate roadways as an obstacle to private investment and job creation. Eligible road agencies include MDOT, county road commissions, cities and villages. More information about the program is available online at www.Michigan.gov/TEDF. ### Gov. Whitmer Lowers Flags to Honor Victims of the Shooting in San Jose, California Gov. Whitmer Lowers Flags to Honor Victims of the Shooting in San Jose, California FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 26, 2021 Contact: Press@michigan.gov Gov. Whitmer Lowers Flags to Honor Victims of the Shooting in San Jose, California LANSING, Mich. - Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, in accordance with a proclamation issued by President Biden, has ordered U.S. and Michigan flags within the State Capitol Complex and upon all public buildings and grounds across the State of Michigan to be lowered to half-staff immediately on Wednesday, May 26 through Sunday, May 30 to honor and remember the eight victims of the shooting in San Jose, California. "My heart is with the friends and families of each of the victims, as well as the entire San Jose community," Whitmer said. "Gun violence is a public health crisis that continues to take the lives of Americans every day. Our hearts break for the innocent lives lost, and we must do more as a nation to prevent these horrific tragedies from happening again. Our state grieves alongside the loved ones of the victims and the entire San Jose, California community. " On Wednesday, a gunman opened fire at a public transit rail yard in San Jose, California, killing eight people and wounding several others. Officials have not yet released the names of those killed in the shooting. The State of Michigan remembers the victims and stands in solidarity with residents of the State of California by lowering flags to half-staff. Michigan residents, businesses, schools, local governments and other organizations also are encouraged to display the flag at half-staff. To lower flags to half-staff, flags should be hoisted first to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. The process is reversed before the flag is lowered for the day. In observance of Memorial Day, flags should remain lowered until noon on Monday, May 31, 2021. ### DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) For Iranian-American Maz Jobrani, a stand-up show in Dubai marked the first time he's been in front of a major live audience overseas since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and he feels it. Doing stand-up comedy is kind of like going to the gym you have to get up on stage five, 10 times a week," said Jobrani, sitting in a Dubai hotel overlooking Burj Khalifa, the worlds tallest building. "You have to keep going or the muscles are going to be rusty. Jobrani had a calm demeanor during a recent interview with The Associated Press. It was a far cry from the exaggerated expressions and dancing he's known for in his performance. Taking to the stage at the recent Dubai Comedy Festival, Jobrani broke into an Iranian dance routine to one of Dua Lipas hit pop songs, drawing laughter from an audience eager to be out as the coronavirus pandemic still rages across much of the world. The United Arab Emirates has one of the worlds highest per-capita vaccination rates and its economy largely has reopened. Being on stage has become a luxury for comedians, Jobrani said, with some not being able to perform for over a year. After venues shut down last year, extra creativity was required. First, Jobrani started doing shows on Instagram, updating his fans on what he did daily during the lockdown, or doing workouts using random objects. Then he tried drive-in shows, which posed the same problem for stand-up comedy as online video calls: You dont hear their laughter," he said. "You need to remind them: If you like what Im saying, if you like the joke, please honk, he recounted. So people would honk at you, you tell a joke (and) they would honk at you. In some U.S. states, he performed at outdoor venues to a limited capacity audience. At others he performed indoors. In Arizona and Florida he performed in comedy clubs, where he said he felt nervous because it was before the vaccine was rolled out. Comedians need interaction were best in a room, with an audience, laughing, talking," he said. And this remote world took that away from us but again I think we adapted, a lot of people adapted. Jobrani, originally from Iran, moved to California at age 6 with his family. Like many Iranians they had fled the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution. He grew up in the San Francisco area. His acting credits begin just after the Sept. 11 attacks with a major role in the American action series 24, in which he played a member of an Afghan militant group hoping to detonate a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles. Later he stopped taking such roles, but still played with the theme, setting up the Axis of Evil comedy tour. He wrote a book entitled Im Not a Terrorist, But Ive Played One On TV. His comedy is largely fueled by that and his background. During Donald Trump's term in office, he focused on the U.S. president. You know in the past four years, I was very political, constantly with the Trump stuff, Trump, Trump, Trump," he said. You know the Muslim ban, you know kids in cages, you know the mishandling of coronavirus. Jobrani's visit to Dubai came at an edgy moment for the wider Middle East. Tensions still remain high between his native Iran and the U.S. as negotiations continue over Tehran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers as a hard-liner appears poised to take the presidency. The day of his set, Israel and the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers agreed to a truce after an 11-day war killed more than 250 people, mostly Palestinians in Gaza, and caused heavy destruction in the impoverished coastal territory. While Jobrani discussed the conflict and the region's politics in an interview with the AP, he didn't mention it in his set. Its interesting because what you do as a comedian, you know, your job is to make people laugh, Jobrani said. If I lived here and if ... I felt there was some injustice and I really wanted to speak up about it, Id probably find the right way to do that within this society. The UAE only last year reached a diplomatic recognition deal with Israel and signed the accords at the White House with Trump but Jobrani thinks Trump shouldn't be praised for the accord. There had not been a will to solve that problem, the Israeli-Palestinian" issue, he said. I feel again maybe governments, especially America, did not prioritize it, even under Obama and then especially under Trump. It was laughable that a lot of conservatives in America were like, Well, Trump made peace in the Middle East," he said. "I go: They werent at war, what are you talking about? Life doesnt seem to be slowing down for the comedian. He is continuing to tour, creating his podcast Back To School With Maz Jobrani, spending time with his wife and two kids and taking care of a dog they adopted during the pandemic. But even as his jokes touch on politics, he says he feels whiplash from what he described as all the material and chaos of the Trump presidency. I will say Im almost exhausted from it, its almost were suffering a PTSD from the past four years, Jobrani said. "But the problem is, what I feel is injustice in the world has not stopped, it continues. So sometimes Im like, Oh God, Ive got to get back on that roller coaster. ___ Follow Malak Harb on Twitter at www.twitter.com/malakharb. The 2020-21 school year was unprecedented, marked by schools having to socially distance students, constant classroom cleaning, and virtual learning for students who had to quarantine. At Harbor Beach Community Schools, superintendent Shawn Bishop said he felt the district did a good job given the constantly changing health demands and backdrop COVID presented it. I think we did an extremely good job of going the best we could, Bishop said. With the ability to stay in person for the amount of time we did, were very fortunate. Since the Harbor Beach area was one of the worst affected portions of Huron County during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bishop said the number of students and staff members affected were a reflection of what was happening in the community. Harbor Beach Community Schools did keep an internal document over the course of the year keeping track of the number of quarantine days the district had, the number of students who were in quarantine, and positive cases. Bishop said the district was well into the triple-digits worth of days where it had students either quarantined for a single-day, presumed positive, or were positive, which had a significant impact on the students education. Both of our kindergarten teachers had students who were impacted, so they had to stay home because they were giving care to their own children, Bishop said, adding that approximately a dozen staff members over the course of the year either tested positive or were presumed positive, and a number of staff members were impacted for other reasons, such as a child needing to quarantine. The entire district only had to go to virtual learning twice over the year, once during a state-mandated closure of schools in December and another time where the district had a spike after Christmas break and was in danger of not making the 75% in-person attendance mark. For most of the year, the district had individual classrooms or whole grade levels going virtual because someone got impacted by COVID-19. Over the course of the year, there were a few days where the preschool was closed and had to go virtual, Bishop said. There were a few days for kindergarten. The elementary school had a handful of times where a grade level had to go virtual, but not the whole school. Bishop said the district did a good job in keeping students safe, spreading the kids out during lunch, whenever they would play outside, and cleaning the facilities. Some kids in the district may not have loved wearing masks while others were very mask compliant. I had zero staff arguments about masking, not one of them challenged it, Bishop said. They were very good about wearing masks. As to what the upcoming school year will look like, Bishop said the district would be following whatever the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services guidelines are at the time, whether they include students still having to wear masks or be three feet apart in classrooms. He also did not want to try and predict what their situation would be like in the fall because of how far away it is and how fast the situation can change. One thing this year has taught us is trying to predict anything related to COVID is almost a waste of time, Bishop said. You can try to predict a couple of days or weeks ahead, but past that is extremely difficult. Interview: Former Syrian diplomat says CPC represents mixture of principles, flexibility Xinhua) 15:21, June 03, 2021 DAMASCUS, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) represents "a mixture of principles and flexibility," former Syrian Ambassador to China Khalaf al-Jarad told Xinhua here in a recent interview. The CPC sticks to the fundamental principles and at the same time has great flexibility in implementing such principles in accordance with socialism with Chinese characteristics, said al-Jarad, who is now a researcher and writer. The former diplomat praised the CPC members as "the most tender, most credible, and most sacrificial group." The secret of the CPC's success lies in its commitment to the Chinese people and its willingness to be the first to make sacrifices, he said. Led by the CPC's policies, "China is rising in all fields," he said, adding that the CPC is already a model for every liberation party in the Arab countries and in developing countries as a whole. Syria can benefit from the experience of China as a friendly country, he said. "We can take a lot from the experience of the Communist Party of China, especially in the field of implementing socialism with national characteristics," he said. Noting that the CPC has been very successful in laying out and implementing successive five-year plans for economic reform and social development, al-Jarad said he is confident in the recently published 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025). "We can be absolutely certain that the People's Republic of China will follow the lead of this plan and implement it completely, because all the past plans have been implemented with great precision, and have often exceeded them for the better," he added. (Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun) International Malaysia to summon China over military jets intrusion Kuala Lumpur, Jun 2 (AP) | Publish Date: 6/2/2021 1:07:46 PM IST Malaysias government will issue a diplomatic protest against an intrusion by 16 Chinese military aircraft into its airspace, the foreign minister said. Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said late Tuesday that he will summon the Chinese ambassador to explain this breach of the Malaysian airspace and sovereignty. Malaysias air force said its radar picked up the Chinese aircraft Monday near Malaysian-administered Luconia Shoals, a rich fishing ground in the disputed South China Sea. The Chinese planes then moved nearly 60 nautical miles (110 kilometers) off the coast of Sarawak on Borneo island. After attempts to contact the aircraft failed, the air force sent its fighter planes to identify them. It said they were Ilyushin Il-76 and Xian Y-20 strategic transporters, flying at between 23,000-27,000 feet (7,000-8,000 meters) altitude typically used by commercial flights. Malaysia called the incident a serious threat to national sovereignty and flight safety. Malaysias stand is clear having friendly diplomatic relations with any countries does not mean that we will compromise our national security, Hishammuddin said in a statement. He said he will relay Malaysias serious concern on the matter to his Chinese counterpart. There was no reaction from Beijing. China claims almost the entire South China Sea on historic grounds. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have overlapping claims, and tensions have ramped up since China built several man-made islands and turned them into military outposts. The strategically important area straddles some of the worlds busiest sea lanes and is also rich in fisheries and may hold underground oil and natural gas reserves. Malaysia says Chinese coast guard and navy ships intruded into its waters in the South China Sea 89 times between 2016 and 2019. Malaysia has filed six diplomatic protests to China, including one in 2017 in response to a Chinese note asserting its claim to the South Luconia Shoals. The case against Justen Watkins and Alfred Gorman in 14A-1 District Court in Washtenaw County was again delayed June 3. Watkins, a self-proclaimed leader of The Base, who was living in Bad Axe when he was arrested, was scheduled for a probable cause conference and a bond hearing June 3. The case against Watkins has been delayed several times, including recently when it was delayed so Gormans attorney had time to review more than 12,000 pages of information related to the case. Watkins had previously been out on bond, but had his bond revoked in May when the court learned he was charged with home invasion for breaking into the Bad Axe home where he previously resided. He allegedly broke into the residence when he was out on bond. During Watkins bond hearing May 17, FBI Special Agent Jeremy Jaskulski gave testimony regarding the incident. Jaskulski said on May 5, 2021, the FBI executed a search warrant at Huron County motel room where Watkins and another man where living. The man was reportedly also a member of The Base and had lived with Watkins prior to his arrest in October 2020. The FBI seized several items including a black mask with a white skull, and a cell phone. Jaskulski said the FBI was still processing the device but there were text messages between Watkins and the former Base associate and items open on the browser on a blog describing activities of The Base. Jaskulski said the device also had a document with details of using two prescribed drugs to circumvent anabolic steroid use which Watkins was previously charged with possessing in Huron County. The cases against Watkins and Gorman stem from alleged activities related to their involvement in The Base. Watkins and his co-defendant Alfred Gorman were charged in Washtenaw County by Attorney General Dana Nessel for events that reportedly occurred in Dexter, Michigan. The suspects are linked to a December 2019 incident in Dexter, in which a family was terrorized at their home after the men allegedly used intimidation tactics on the premises and posted messages to other The Base members targeting the home, an attorney general press release reads. According to the release, on Dec. 11, 2019 around 11:30 p.m. the victims reportedly witnessed Watkins and Gorman around their home, shining a light and taking photos from the front porch of the home. The photos were then uploaded to The Bases channel on the social media platform Telegram with the caption: The Base sends greetings to Daniel Harper of the Antifa podcast I Dont Speak German, the release reads. According to the release, Watkins and Gorman intended to threaten and intimidate Harper, but mistakenly believed he resided at the victims home. The Base is reportedly a white supremacy organization that openly advocates for violence, according to the attorney generals office. Gorman is reportedly an associate of Watkins and The Base, and is claimed to have assisted Watkins in the alleged crimes. Because of such, the court have linked the two cases together. Watkins was reportedly using a Bad Axe home as a recruiting location for The Base. He has since moved and was recently reportedly residing with an another person associated with The Base, which was another source of contention brought up during his bond hearing in May. Both men are scheduled to appear before Washtenaw County Judge Cedric Simpson June 17 for another probable cause conference. ATLANTA (AP) Georgias education board on Thursday approved a resolution that says the U.S. and Georgia are not racist and students should not be taught that racism or slavery are anything but deviations from the country's authentic founding principles. The measure approved by an 11-2 vote was introduced amid a national reckoning with race that has prompted legislatures in Republican-controlled states across the country to try to define what race-related ideas can be taught in public schools and colleges. It also came on the heels of a letter that the Georgia governor who appoints the board members sent last month encouraging them to take such action. The resolution is symbolic and does not impose restrictions on school districts or teachers, though it could lead to binding rules in the future. This resolution does not prohibit anybody from teaching anything, board chair Scott Sweeney said during the meeting, which was held over the phone. This is a belief statement more so than anything else or an affirmation. Additional provisions the board endorsed say teachers should not inculcate the idea that people's race makes them inherently oppressive, either consciously or unconsciously, or responsible for past actions by other members of the same race. It also says instructors should not be forced to teach currently controversial issues of public policy or social affairs. Board member Kenneth Mason, who is Black, said the resolution encouraged people to be silent about any racism they've experienced. He said the statement "when I read it made me feel like I didnt belong," because it excused racism that he and his family have faced. Helen Rice, another board member, said the goal was not to divide people by race, but encourage teachers to give students facts and not indoctrinate them. We're not excluding anyone, she said. In his letter last month, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp urged the board to take immediate steps to ensure that Critical Race Theory and its dangerous ideology do not take root in our state standards or curriculum. Critical race theory seeks to highlight how historical inequities and racism continue to shape public policy and social conditions today. Republicans say that it promotes a distorted view of American history and vilifies white Americans. There is little evidence that the theory is currently being taught to any of Georgias 1.7 million public school students. The resolution approved on Thursday also contains more anodyne statements condemning teaching that one race is superior to another or that race-based discrimination is OK. But much of the discussion focused on the first line, which states that the board believes the United States of America is not a racist country, and that the state of Georgia is not a racist state. Sweeney said while there is racism in the country, he doesn't agree the entire country is racist. The resolution is aimed at any type of divisive teaching, including white supremacy, he said. Board member Tracey Pendley agreed that calling the entire state racist was wrong, but she said it was equally problematic to categorically state that Georgia is not racist. She urged board members to learn about systemic racial barriers in the country, including in housing and law enforcement. TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus opponents pushed Thursday for a quick parliament vote to formally end his lengthy rule, hoping to head off any last-minute attempts to derail their newly announced coalition government. The latest political maneuvering began just hours after opposition leader Yair Lapid and his main coalition partner, Naftali Bennett, declared they had reached a deal to form a new government and muster a majority in the 120-member Knesset, or parliament. The coalition consists of eight parties from across the political spectrum with little in common except the shared goal of toppling Netanyahu after his record-setting 12 years in power. The alliance includes hard-liners previously allied with Netanyahu, as well as center-left parties and even an Arab faction a first in Israeli politics. But the fragile coalition still faces a tough road ahead it was not able to unseat the parliament speaker, a Netanyahu ally, later on Thursday and it remained unclear how events would play out over the next few days. Netanyahu lashed out at his foes on Thursday, signaling that he will continue to exert pressure on former allies who joined the coalition. All members of Knesset who were elected with right-wing votes need to oppose this dangerous leftist government," he wrote on Twitter. Bennett, who is slated to become prime minister, has come under heavy pressure from Israeli hard-liners who accuse him of betrayal. He heads Yamina, a small right-wing party that appeals to religious, nationalist voters. But he has also said that all members of the emerging coalition will have to be flexible and pragmatic. In a televised interview, Bennett said he would never agree to freeze construction in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, which is seen by the Palestinians and much of the international community as a major obstacle to peace. There will be no freezes, he said, acknowledging the international community will push for one. "Look, there will be pressures. We will have to manage, he told Channel 12 TV. My attitude on this topic is to minimize the conflict. We will not solve it, he said, adding that it was more realistic to improve business ties and the quality of life for Palestinians. Israel's political drama has riveted Israelis at a time when tumult has not been in short supply: four inconclusive elections in two years followed by an 11-day war in the Gaza Strip last month that was accompanied by mob violence between Jews and Arabs in cities across the country. The country also is emerging from the coronavirus crisis that caused deep economic damage and exposed tensions between the secular majority and the ultra-Orthodox minority. Yet the political debate has focused squarely on Netanyahu, who is facing corruption charges and whether he should stay or go. We never had a coalition like this," said Hillel Bar Sadeh at a coffee shop in Jerusalem. We like to have a new spirit, we like to have some unity. The owner of the coffee shop, Yosi Zarifi, said he trusts that Netanyahu will return to power and distrusts the coalition. "Everybody is clear that this trick will not last, there wont be any glue (to keep it together) here, he said. The anti-Netanyahu bloc announced the coalition deal just before a deadline at midnight Wednesday. The agreement triggered a complex process that is likely to stretch over the next week. The coalition has a razor-thin majority of 61 votes in parliament. On Thursday, it attempted to replace parliament speaker Yariv Levin, in order to speed up the vote on the new government. But the effort failed after Nir Orbach, a lawmaker from Yamina, refused to sign on, underscoring the fragility of the alliance. Levin can now use his position to delay the vote and give Netanyahu more time to sabotage the coalition. As the coalition was coming together in recent days, Netanyahu and his supporters ramped up a pressure campaign against former hawkish allies, including Bennett and his No. 2 in the Yamina party, Ayelet Shaked. Netanyahu accused them of betraying their values. His supporters launched vicious social media campaigns and staged noisy protests outside Shaked's home. The prime minister's Likud party also called for a demonstration Thursday night outside the home of Orbach, urging him to quit the coalition. That's a taste of the pressure to be expected for lawmakers on the right. There will be a lot of pressure, especially on right-wingers, especially for religious right-wingers, said Gideon Rahat, a political science professor at Hebrew University. They will go to the synagogue and people will pressure them. It will be a nightmare for some of them. Under the coalition agreement, Lapid and Bennett will split the job of prime minister in a rotation. Bennett, a former ally of Netanyahu, is to serve the first two years, while Lapid is to serve the final two years though it is far from certain their fragile coalition will last that long. The historic deal also includes a small Islamist party, the United Arab List, which would make it the first Arab party ever to be part of a governing coalition. News about the police killing of George Floyd was everywhere. Officials at the Berkeley, Calif., school, where Perfecta Oxholms son attended kindergarten last year, decided not to talk directly about the death with the students. That didnt stop the children from asking questions. Over the next year, an anti-racism group started by Oxholm delved into ways parents could answer those questions and discuss race with their children. The mother of two also turned to EmbraceRace. The Amherst, Mass., nonprofit was founded in 2016 by a couple who believe it is never too early to start conversations with children of all races about racism. Andrew Grant-Thomas, who is Black, and Melissa Giraud, who is multiracial, started the nonprofit when they found few resources to help them talk with their young daughters about race. The nonprofits approach, Grant-Thomas says, can be summed up in a simple mantra: Start young, and keep going. That approach invited a gush of money from corporations and other funding groups that wanted to curb racism in the wake of Floyds murder. With about $3 million in new grants last year, the nonprofits revenues grew nearly 10-fold. Now the founders hope the money that flowed in wasnt a one-time occurrence. Grant-Thomas says they would like to take time and be deliberate about using the money to design programs that will have the greatest impact. He knows there is no guarantee that the surge of interest among donors will last. Theres this pressure to move quickly through that window of opportunity, he says. But some of the things we want to do actually require more thought and time. An initial grant of $50,000 from the Gap generated social-media attention. That helped draw larger grants from the Rite Aid Foundation, which gave $1 million, the LEGO Group, which declined to say how much it gave, and dozens of other corporate philanthropies. Money also came from private foundations and more than 2,500 individuals. Some philanthropies said they were attracted to EmbraceRace because its trying to prevent racist attitudes from forming rather than responding to the damage caused by hate. The nonprofit produces webinars and conversation guides and shares videos of first-person stories about race. The goal is to make sure the next generation grows up with a healthy awareness of race in a world free of stigma and stereotypes in the books they read, the video games they play, and the conversations they have. If teachers, parents, and health-care providers can initiate discussions about racial identity with children ahead of middle school, they may be able to help before negative views associated with race have begun to calcify, according to Grant-Thomas. One of the most effective ways to equip children to deal with racism is to help them recognize it before they are victims or commit a hateful act, says Adiaha Spinks-Franklin a developmental-behavioral pediatrician at Texas Childrens Hospital in Houston. If children are prepared and develop what she calls cross-cultural empathy, they are less likely to internalize racist messages that one group is superior to another, says Spinks-Franklin. She founded a group called Race and Children Education Collaborative of Anti-Racist Developmental Professionals, or Race Card, that has helped EmbraceRace develop teaching materials. EmbraceRace has solid reason to think its approach is needed. According to research published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences, children as young as age 3 can recognize race and show a tendency to attach negative associations with being Black. Part of the nonprofits focus in the coming months will be developing new ways to stop those negative biases. EmbraceRace is using the money it received in 2020 to develop a plan for how it can grow well into the future. This year it wants to hire its first three staffers, who will build new programs, expand the groups online community, conduct research, and, perhaps most important, raise additional funds. The group has procured new software to manage its transactions with vendors and donors using 2020 grant money. Last year it nearly doubled the number of webinars it produced to 23 and began translating them into Spanish, a result of some of the new money that came in. It is also working on a video game that introduces structural racism to young students by having them role play to learn how the impact of Covid was spread unevenly. A key part of EmbraceRaces approach is using storytelling to connect with children, particularly those who have been made to feel different because of their race. The nonprofit has used some of the new money to pay storytelling trainers to help more than a dozen people share personal reflections, such as what it means to to be biracial, a descendant of people who enslaved others, or the parent of an adopted child of a different race. The use of stories, Grant-Thomas says, is a potent way to move away from a colorblind approach to race, which pretends that all people are treated the same, to one that encourages rigorous conversations about racial identity. We use those stories as sort of a seedbed for community building, he says. However, as the United States moves beyond the first anniversary of Floyds murder, Grant-Thomas worries that much of the attention donors have paid to anti-racism efforts will not last. About a dozen prospective donors are ready to give EmbraceRace a serious hearing, but they might not be a year from now, according to Grant-Thomas. Some people will probably be in it for the long haul, he says, but the attention is likely to ebb. The Rite Aid Foundation was attracted to EmbraceRace because one of the drugstore chains key philanthropic priorities is early-childhood development. The grant was part of a commitment to reduce inequity prompted by Floyds murder and the fact that people of color were harder hit by the coronavirus, says Matthew DeCamara, the foundations executive director. DeCamara stopped short of promising additional money for the nonprofit. He said EmbraceRace was poised to build an effective network of anti-racist educators and parents and that Rite Aid was committed to the journey to reduce societal inequities. This isnt just an initiative, he says. This is who weve become. Like Rite Aid, the LEGO Group sees its support of anti-racist work as more than a one-year grant, a time horizon favored by many corporate philanthropies that adjust their total giving from year to year based on their financial performance. LEGO hasnt committed to another grant, but it gave EmbraceRace more time to spend its grant money than it usually does. If the nonprofit can improve and add to the resources it shares with parents and other caregivers and make EmbraceRace show up more readily in internet searches on race and childhood, other philanthropies may take notice, according to Skip Kodak, regional president for the Americas at the LEGO Group. Our hope is by stepping in at this particular moment with some money that seeded additional activity, theyll be able to build a bigger platform and therefore get on the radar screen of other benefactors, Kodak says. In California, Oxholm, who started the anti-racism group at her sons school, says she has discovered that many moms and dads have no idea where to begin in speaking with their kids about race something she could identify with from her own experience. Oxholm says her father, who was born in Mexico, was not a full-time presence, and her mother, who is white, adopted a colorblind approach: Race was never discussed. By introducing both of her sons to the concept of race in an open, positive way early on, as EmbraceRace advocates, Oxholm wants to provide them something she says her mother couldnt give her. She had no language or vocabulary to use to talk to me about race, Oxholm says. But I needed those conversations. I needed to understand why people were treating me differently. ___ This article was provided to The Associated Press by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Alex Daniels is a senior reporter at the Chronicle. Email: alex.daniels@philanthropy.com. The AP and the Chronicle receive support from the Lilly Endowment for coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits. The AP and the Chronicle are solely responsible for all content. For all of APs philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy. The process of finding the next superintendent for the Unionville-Sebewaing Area School District started with a special board of education meeting Monday. The meeting was because USA Superintendent George Rierson will be leaving to take the position of superintendent of the Caro Community School District. The Caro School Districts board of education selected Rierson during a special meeting on May 24. Our special meeting was to discuss goals for the leadership team of the board and superintendent and identify a focus area for the superintendent evaluation cycle, explained Rierson. The team agreed to work on expanding opportunities for students, parents, and community member engagement through the rest of the calendar year. The regular board meeting that was to have been in June was pushed back a week later to June 14 at 7 p.m. Rierson, who has a Master of Arts Degree, is very familiar with the Caro School District. He worked in the district as a teacher for 10 years, and then assistant principal before being hired by the USA School District. Rierson was hired as USAs superintendent in 2011. Before that, he served as the district's middle and high school principal from 2007 until he became superintendent. Rierson will replace Peter Newman as superintendent in Caro. Caros board of education voted in March not to keep Newman in that position. No explanation was given for that decision. In the meantime, the Caro School Board is in the process of drafting an employment contract, and is scheduled to make Riersons selection official during the board's June 14 meeting. That is scheduled for 7 p.m. MIDDLETOWN Middlesex Community College recognized graduates from the class of 2021 with a three-day, in-person cap-and-gown celebration on the Middletown campus, which culminated in an online ceremony May 28. In total, 364 students earned 408 associate degrees and certificates, with 36 students receiving multiple diplomas, according to the college. Among the class of 2021 are 14 military veterans and 17 international students. The youngest graduate is 17 years old, while the oldest is 63. One graduate began taking classes in 1992 and completed the necessary requirements to graduate this year, according to a press release. The class also includes five groups of siblings. The Center for Prison Education is a unique partnership among Middlesex Community College, Wesleyan University and the Connecticut Department of Correction. Four graduates completed their degrees while incarcerated at Cheshire Correctional Institution, and one while at York Correctional Institution. They will receive their degrees later at separate ceremonies inside those prisons, the news release said. Another two graduates began their college study while in the Center for Prison Education program, finished their sentences, and then completed their studies at MxCC after coming home. One of these students was accepted to the Access to Law School Program at Yale Law School, an innovative pipeline program for students pursuing a legal career, according to the college. Riley McConnell, a communication studies major from Middletown, gave the class of 2021 student address. She has served as a legislative intern at the state Capitol and as a member of the MxCC Foundation Board, CEO search committee, Student Senate, Honors Program and Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. Young people carry within them the energy and idealism that will regenerate human life on this planet. We are a generation of game changers. We are empathetic and radical and brave and young, said McConnell, as she spoke of the five lessons she learned during her time as an Middlesex student. The world needs us, but with this, please remember that we are all in this together, and when there is no more room at the table, get more chairs. State Rep. Quentin Phipps, D-Middletown, delivered the commencement address. He told the graduates, I encourage you and reward you to strive to fail, as he listed a series of his own career and educational failures that ultimately led to his achievements. In all those chances of being able to do better, to dream better, to work harder, thats what continues to drive all of our success, Phipps said during the ceremony. I salute you, because without failure, there is no progress, without strife there is no hope, and you have found that progress and that success, and theres more to come. This years valedictorian, a 4.00 GPA political science major from Cromwell, wishes to be remain anonymous, the college said. The individual earned the highest grade point average and completed at least 50 percent of coursework at MxCC. Kendyl Ortiz of Haddam, who majored in business administration; Matthew Ryan (New Hartford, computer information technology), Brian Schramm (West Hartford, radiologic technology), Thomas Laskowski (Wallingford, psychology studies) and the valedictorian each earned the Award for Academic Excellence. It is given to graduating students who have achieved a cumulative 4.0 GPA in an associate degree program, and who have completed 50 percent of their requirements at Middlesex, according to the news release. BRIDGEPORT Fifteen out of 750 staffers at Jewish Senior Services resigned last week after refusing to get vaccinated for the coronavirus. And while that number represents just about 2 percent of his staff, Andrew Banoff, JSSs president, said it was still difficult to see them go. I still think its the right decision and feel strongly it was the right thing to do, but its hard, Banoff said in an interview Wednesday. The Park Avenue-based provider of long-term care, assisted living and other aid to the elderly was one of the first employers in Connecticut to mandate employees get inoculated or lose their jobs. His decision remains in the minority for now. Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media Generally speaking, most employers are not requiring it yet, said Diane Mokriski, employment law and human resources counsel for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association in Hartford. But its becoming a more and more common question. In February, Banoff announced that COVID-19 vaccinations would become a condition of employment for direct and indirect caregivers, effective May 1. That date was pushed back to last week because of the brief period that one of the three available shots the Johnson and Johnson vaccine was taken out of circulation for further study of a rare blood clot side effect. Banoff said those who resigned were a combination of long term and short term, of part time, full time and per diem employees. Asked what reasons, if any, were provided for refusing to be vaccinated, Banoff said, I think its a combination of all of the issues that have been talked about pretty widely. Some of the crazy things put out there on social media. Some of it is just pure concern about vaccinations in general. Some of it is concern about reactions. He said 12 other workers who remain on staff were allowed to refuse shots based on medical accommodations. You can fire people for not getting a vaccine with two exceptions, Mokriski said having a sincerely held religious belief or a disability. And, of course, the disability has to relate to the vaccine, she continued. You cant just say, Im in a wheelchair, therefore Im not getting a vaccine. Its got to be, I have a disability that prevents me from getting a vaccine. Mokriski added that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission just last week further clarified its guidance on the matter. Ive been telling people for a while now they can mandate the vaccine, she said. What that agency said was ... there is no anti-discrimination law that would prevent an employer from requiring a vaccine. ... Its not that they said, Hey, all employers, we hereby grant you permission to require the vaccine. ... Its more like, There is no law that someone could sue you under because you required the vaccine. She said she is not aware of any lawsuits in Connecticut or nationwide over a vaccine requirement for employment, but added, I have no doubt they will come. But, Mokriski said, given the EEOCs announcement, any such challenges will be tough to win. Banoff said so far, Jewish Senior Services has not been threatened with any legal action. I would not be shocked if somebody did, Banoff said. From a legal perspective, we have every right to make this decision. With the shots so readily available in Connecticut, Mokriski said she anticipates more and more employers outside of the healthcare industry will be considering requiring inoculation. Maybe by the fall or end of the year, well have a better sense, she said. What it comes down to is whether the employer really is comfortable letting people go because theyre not gonna agree, and thats a tough (decision). She said currently many bosses and companies are instead trying to provide incentives like paid days off to get the shots and recover from any side effects, gift cards, lunches and perks through health insurance plans. They really want these employees to be vaccinated because thats how businesses are going to reopen, she said. The sooner the most possible people as possible can get vaccinated, the better. During the worst of the pandemic, which struck Connecticut in March 2020, more than 100 of JSSs residents were infected. Some 22 died that spring, and nine this past winter. But with tenants and his staff inoculated, Banoff said that for several weeks, there has been a slow but steady return to normal. In fact, Gov. Ned Lamont, who visited JSS in May 2020, came back last month to celebrate the facilitys and states re-emergence from the health crisis. (There are) more and more resident activities. ... Were doing barbecues next week, Banoff said. We had a very, very difficult year. Lost a lot of sleep over a lot of things. And clearly the stress level is less. Its better. The future remains a question, he said. Im cautious enough to recognize we dont know what happens next. We're just going slow, he said. We work very closely with the Department of Public Health. And were gonna take it as it comes. President Joe Biden is trying to break a logjam with Republicans on how to pay for infrastructure improvements, proposing a 15% minimum tax on corporations and the possibility of revenues from increased IRS enforcement as a possible compromise. The offer was made Wednesday to Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia as part of the bipartisan negotiations and did not reflect a change in Biden's overall vision for funding infrastructure. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden examined possible tax code changes from his plans that Republicans might support. The president concluded that a minimum corporate tax could provide some common ground. He looked to see what could be a path forward with his Republican colleagues on this specific negotiation, Psaki told reporters at a Thursday briefing. This is a component of what hes proposed for a pay-for that hes lifting up as a question as to whether they could agree to that. Biden has proposed increasing the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21% to help fund his plans for roads, bridges, electric vehicles and broadband internet, and that remains one of his preferred approaches. But the rate hike is a nonstarter with Republicans because it would undo the 2017 tax cuts signed into law by President Donald Trump. By floating an alternative there is no minimum corporate tax now on profits Biden was trying to give Republicans a way to back infrastructure without violating their own red line of keeping corporate tax rates at their current level. The Washington Post first reported the offer. On Thursday, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said he spoke with Capito after the session and is still hoping to reach a deal with the administration. But he prefers the GOP approach that is eyeing a scaled-down package, paid for by tapping unspent COVID-19 relief funds, rather than taxes. Lets reach an agreement on infrastructure thats smaller but still significant, and fully paid for, he said in Paducah, Kentucky. The president is essentially staking out the principle that profitable corporations should pay income taxes. Many companies can avoid taxes or minimize their bills through a series of credits, deductions and other ways of structuring their income and expenses. The president has insisted that the middle class should not bear the cost of greater infrastructure spending. Yet a chasm exists in negotiations because Republicans say that corporate tax increases will hinder economic growth. The idea of imposing a minimum corporate tax is not new for Biden, who proposed the policy during the presidential campaign last year, and that could turn off some Republicans. The center-right Tax Foundation estimated that a minimum tax would subtract 0.21% from long-run U.S. gross domestic product. Hes been pushing it since the primaries over a year ago, said George Callas, managing director of government affairs for the law firm Steptoe and a former tax counsel to House Republicans. Callas said that the minimum tax would mostly hit firms such as electric utilities and telecoms that make substantial capital investments as well as companies that rely on paying their employees with stock. At the same time, both Democrats and Republicans have eyed revenues that could come from stepped-up IRS enforcement of unpaid taxes. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has suggested it could amount to some $1 trillion, but others say the estimate is far lower. Biden is seeking roughly $1 trillion in infrastructure spending, down from an initial pitch of $2.3 trillion. Republicans, so far, have countered with only $257 billion in additional spending on infrastructure as part of a $928 billion package. The GOP's new spending on infrastructure would be a fraction of what the president says is necessary to compete globally and boost economic growth. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said during a Thursday visit to Memphis, Tennessee, that both sides appeared to embrace the principle that something on the order of $1 trillion around the transportation side of things was appropriate. Talks over Bidens top legislative priority have been moving slowly, a daunting undertaking given the massive infrastructure investment, and time for a deal is running out. The administration has set a Monday deadline to see clear direction and signs of progress. Biden and Capito are set to meet again on Friday, though it's not clear if the meeting will be in-person. ___ Associated Press writers Bruce Schreiner in Frankfort, Ky., and Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tenn., contributed to this report. IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) A boy who vanished from a rural Iowa trailer park days before his 11th birthday is still missing a week later, as state and federal investigators continued Thursday to look into what happened to him. Detectives are considering several possibilities in the disappearance of Xavior Harrelson, including that he was abducted, that he suffered some kind of accident or that he ran away, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation assistant director Mitch Mortvedt said. Every moment that goes by, its obviously more and more suspicious, and concerning, he said. Its so, so sad. Its heart-wrenching. Police are confident that they have searched and cleared the areas where the boy could have gone on his own, including a large nearby county park with woods and a lake, Mortvedt said. They have asked homeowners or businesses with surveillance footage from the day he disappeared to come forward, along with any tips or information that might be of assistance. The FBI said earlier this week that it has joined the investigation and offered every resource available to state and county departments leading the case. Harrelson lived with his mother in the Spruce Village trailer park in Montezuma, Iowa, a town of 1,300 people that is 70 miles east of Des Moines. He disappeared after leaving home around 11 a.m. on May 27. A friend's mother later called authorities to report the boy missing after speaking with Xavior's worried mother. The disappearance came during closing arguments of a murder trial of the farmhand charged with killing 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, who vanished about 15 miles away in the same county in 2018 while out for a run in her hometown of Brooklyn. Several Poweshiek County officers who were at the trial left before last weeks guilty verdict to go look for Xavior, Mortvedt said, and have since employed similar search techniques as they did in searching for Tibbetts. In that case, police used surveillance video to develop a suspect, who eventually showed investigators where to find Tibbetts body in a cornfield a month after her disappearance. Among those helping blanket the area with missing person buttons and flyers featuring Xavior's face has been Mollie's Movement, an organization that does community service in Tibbetts' name and pledged to move mountains to find him. Xavior completed his fourth grade year at Montezuma Elementary School on May 21 and was off for summer break. He was known for riding his bike around the trailer park. Xavior is a happy kid who gets along well with his peers and wants to please his teachers, said one of his teachers, Marie Boulton. He's always willing to help you out, engage in a conversation, and offers a smile to everyone he sees. His 11th birthday arrived on Sunday, as hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement officials fanned out to search the nearby Diamond Lake County Park and other areas for any sign of him. Hundreds attended a vigil for him outside the county courthouse Monday, praying for his safe return. Mortvedt said that Xaviors family, including his mother and his father who lives in another Iowa city, have been cooperative. He said police do not have any suspects or persons of interest. NEWTON, N.C. (AP) A man and a young accomplice stole large quantities of Pop-Tarts, milk cartons and other items from a North Carolina elementary school, authorities said. Jacob Gherret Hamrick and an unidentified juvenile partner-in-crime who deputies are calling PopTart Bandits entered through an unsecured door of Blackburn Elementary School in Newton, Capt. Aaron Turk from the Catawba County Sheriffs Office said in a statement. Regional Meghalaya police registers case against rape accused legislator Correspondent SHILLONG, JUN 2 | Publish Date: 6/2/2021 12:58:47 PM IST The Meghalaya police on Wednesday registered a case against ruling National Peoples Party (NPP) legislator, Thomas A Sangma, based on a womans complaint that he had allegedly raped her multiple times over a year on the pretext of marriage. A case is registered against the legislator based on the complaint lodged by the woman. He has been booked under IPC section 376 for rape, 506 for criminal intimidation, Superintendent of Police, East Khasi Hills district, Sylvester Nongtnger said Meanwhile, opposition Congress legislator and chairperson of the Assembly Committee for Empowerment of Women, Mazel Ampareen Lyngdoh has urged Assembly Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh to remove Sangma who has been accused of rape from all assembly committees pending legal procedures. On Tuesday, the woman had lodged an FIR against Thomas Sangma, who is also the advisor to chief minister Conrad Sangma, accusing that he had been allegedly raping her on the pretext of getting married from January 2020 till 17 April 2021. In a letter to the Assembly Speaker, Ampareen said, When a serious accusation of this nature arises against a member of this Assembly, it shocks the conscience of our society and puts a huge expectation on us as representatives of the people to ensure that principles of accountability are held in utmost regard. I hate to raise a sensitive topic, but Im worried about our government, especially since they lied to us for so many years about UFOs. Can we believe anything they tell us? My trust was shattered after I watched that History Channel series, Project Blue Book about the work of Dr. Allen Hynek, who investigated cases of UFOs where aliens practically landed on the White House lawn, looking for photo opportunities in the Lincoln Bedroom ... and all the government would say, to paraphrase Sgt. Schultz, was We see nothing. We hear nothing. We know nothing. And dont you find it suspicious that the series was canceled after two seasons? For years, only the Weekly World News was courageous enough to report on UFOs, but now theres coverage everywhere, from the New Yorker to 60 Minutes. Pretty soon, Andrew Lloyd Webber will be producing a musical a la Cats and call it Aliens. As an investigative humorist, I have an ethical, professional and capitalistic responsibility to find out whats going on and write some fake news about this national security issue. After the government denied this stuff for decades, suddenly theres a Pentagon report, Congressional hearings, declassified memos and footage of flying saucers buzzing the USS Omaha off San Diego. Pretty soon, theyll be swarming Hollywood so they can take selfies with The Rock and have an interview with Oprah. President Barack Obama, on The Late Late Show with James Corden, said: What is true, and Im actually being serious here, is that there is footage and records of objects in the skies that we dont know exactly what they are. (FYI. The politically correct term is unidentified aerial phenomenon.) Are they Amazon drones or the real thing ... or a well-orchestrated government deception to incite UFO hysteria and take our minds off everything thats going wrong? Since the Russian collusion has been resolved and the COVID pandemic is past, the new crisis du jour will be The aliens are coming! The aliens are coming! If you saw the documentary The Day the Earth Stood Still, you know that 70 years ago we were visited by Klaatu and his giant robot Gort, who traveled 250 million miles to give us earthlings a warning: Your choice is simple. Join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We shall be waiting for your answer. Well, they got our answer. Were a lot more violent and hateful than we were in 1951, so the future doesnt look promising. To prepare for what could happen, I advise you to watch the documentary, Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Aliens are probably here already. Its not easy to spot an extraterrestrial in disguise. They could be in Congress, CNN, Buckingham Palace or Hollywood. In fact, Klaatu looked just like the actor Michael Rennie. You can tell by their eyes and hair. Look at Joe Bidens eyes and Donald Trumps hair, not to mention Nancy Pelosis eyes and hair. Then you decide. We must be cautious. I dont want to end up like those simpleton scientists who rush out to meet flying saucers, yelling, Lets be BFFs! Heres my cell number! Well do lunch. Ill like you on Facebook! And then get vaporized. Gullible earthlings such as Steven Spielberg believe cuddly extraterrestrials are coming to save us. They claim aliens are our ancestors and will usher in an era of peace that will provide Social Security, Medicare and Popeyes spicy wings for everyone. They also believe the aliens will reduce the national debt, solve climate change and help the Yankees win the pennant. However, a skeptical minority insist the aliens have more sinister intentions. Theyre coming to eat us. Did you see that Twilight Zone episode where the kind aliens arrived and said their goal was to serve man? People of the world, including Nikita Khrushchev, were delighted until they realized the aliens wanted to serve man on a platter. Who knows what they planned to do with women. If aliens really want to help, they should shut down the internet and stop social media before it destroys the world. Then, we can live in peace the way Klaatu intended. Dear aliens, if you can read this, forgive any typos. I urge you to subscribe to this newspaper. Buy subscriptions for everyone on your planet. And please do NOT turn me into a pod person. There are already too many of them. Besides, my wife wouldnt like that ... or maybe she would. Joe Pisani can be reached at joefpisani@yahoo.com. OLD LYME Students and staff will not be required to wear masks in Lyme and Old Lyme public schools this coming school year. Superintendent Ian Neviaser made the announcement Thursday evening at the Board of Education meeting while discussing the districts reopening plan for the 2021-22 school year. The plan is a requirement of the American Rescue Plan, which provides funds needed to safely reopen kindergarten- to eighth-grade schools. There is a caveat to the plan, however if the pandemic takes a turn for the worse, it would have to be reevaluated. The intention, really, is to open school as normal next year, Neviaser said, according to the meeting recording. He added that the district will continue to monitor COVID numbers and health metrics. Decisions will also be made based on information from the health director and medical director. Both Lyme and Old Lyme have higher vaccination rates than the state of Connecticut, which reports only 50 percent of the population was fully vaccinated as of May 26. As of that same date, 71 percent of Lymes population and 62 percent of Old Lymes population was vaccinated. According to the Connecticut Department of Health, as of May 13, 53,000 children age 12 to 15, and 225,000 people 16 to 24, have received their first vaccine dose. As a town, weve been very fortunate to lead the state of Connecticut with our vaccination rate, and theres no question its played into our ability to function as we have, Board of Education member Rick Goulding said during the meeting. He also said higher vaccination rates mean lower infection rates. The district must be cautious moving forward, and local guidelines must be followed, even though the administration wants children to have as normal a year as possible, Goulding said, adding they cannot make promises that might put students and staff at risk. If the state Department of Education puts a mask mandate in effect, Neviaser said, the district would have to comply. Students and staff can continue to wear masks if they want, he said. To comment or provide feedback about the reopening plan, email Neviaser at lolreopening@region18.org. christine.derosa@hearstmediact.com Middletown-based Liberty Bank will join a growing number of Connecticut financial institutions later this year when it closes a half dozen branches around the state. Bank officials notified Connecticut Banking Department officials last week that the branches will be closing by Oct. 1. The closings represent about 10 percent of Liberty Banks network of branches in Connecticut. The branches being closed are: 127 S. Main St., Beacon Falls. 774 Farmington Ave., Bristol. 7 Main St., Essex. 61 Bank St., New London. 1570 Southford Road, Southbury. 1232 Farmington Ave., West Hartford. Of the six branches closing, only the West Hartford location has another Liberty Bank branch nearby. Adam Jeamel, Liberty Banks corporate communications manager, said the decision to close the branches was made following an evaluation of all aspects our business, including our branch network and ways to reinvest in the bank. As part of our evaluation, we consider a number of factors including branch profitability, growth of households and deposits, deposit mix, transaction volume and market penetration, Jeamel said. In addition, we always monitor and respond to our customers changing banking habits, advancements in technology and the presence of competitor banks in our markets. Customers who bank with us at one of these branches will continue to benefit from a first-class banking experience at other nearby Liberty Bank branches. Bank officials are making every effort to relocate employees who work at the branches that are closing to other locations, he said. John Carusone, president of the Bank Analysis Center, a Hartford-based industry consultant, called Liberty Bank one of the finest banking branches left in the state of Connecticut. A variety of factors could be behind the closing, Carsone said. Its likely this is one of those instances where a bank is becoming increasingly sensitive to their bottom line, he said. A branch needs to generate about $30 million in deposits in order to break even, if the location in not generating significant loan activity. But that break even point is highly dependent on the operating expenses of the branch. Another possibility, according to Carusone, is that Liberty Bank officials will take the savings from the branch closings and invest in another part of the Connecticut banking marketplace. Finally, Carusone said, the closings could signal Liberty Bank is doing some kind of window dressing, to make the bank look more attractive to a potential acquirer. Carusone said in February that Connecticut banks were closing branches at more than twice the national rate. luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com The word marginal has several meanings, and artist Lucia Hierro ably mines them to examine 21st century capitalism and equity in her debut solo exhibition, Marginal Costs, at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, on view June 7 through Jan. 2, 2022. Hierro, a Dominican-American artist who was born in 1987 and grew up in Washington Heights, said her work was influenced by her multicultural upbringing, walking around her New York City neighborhood and seeing the effects the pandemic have had on her community. I was thinking about Covid and its actual cost of life, especially to those living within marginalized communities, she said. My studio happens to be in the South Bronx, which is the poorest congressional district in the country. As a conceptual artist, her practice includes sculpture, digital media and installation; this exhibition harnesses a wealth of imagery across art history and Heirros community, from local businesses that closed during the pandemic to street vendors who are thriving as they are able to serve the communities they inhabit. Her art often surveys themes of power, individuality and how opportunities are made available. Marginal Costs includes recent and new sculptures from the Mercado (Market) series (2014-present) as well as the debut of The Gates (2021) and a large and ambitious site-specific wall mural titled Marginal Costs. The latter two were commissioned by the Aldrich. Courtesy of Lucia Hierro Scale figures heavily in the exhibition. The Mercado sculptures are made of fabrics, felt and hard-celled foam, sewn with the help of the artists mother. Transparent and life-sized, they are a stand-in for the omnipresent shopping bags that permeate todays culture. Hierro has stuffed these bags with digitally printed objects, ranging from popular Dominican foods, popular merchandise and collectibles, so that each tells a story that intersects race, class and gender. Scale is something that I play with a lot, she said. I think it references the different spaces that we move through. We are so tied to our phones in such a funny way that it almost seems like there is a whole other world inside our phones versus the one we actually move in and walk through. Hierro thought about scale shifts and what that does to ones perspective and if one interacts with objects that are larger-than-life or smaller than life how the relationship within that object changes. Hierros newest mural, which will debut at the Aldrich, is her largest to date. She worked within the dimensions of the gallery space; on the painted wall, she placed giant vinyl decals of images taken in her New York City community over the last year. I think it was mostly seeing what were the things affected by this, she said. The street vendors that were used to selling things on the sidewalk from produce to jewelry were doing all right, because their model was already one that was about servicing the community that they inhabit very directly. An image of a for lease sign in The Gates, however, which evokes wrought iron gates widely seen in New York, speaks to how certain communities have been impacted and marginalized during the pandemic; gates bisect the gallery, physically confronting the rooms architecture and corralling visitors. Jammed with supermarket circulars bygone markers of human necessity the gates personify the collective wake of escalating gentrification. Courtesy of Lucia Hierro In between the two museum galleries containing her art is an alcove space, where Hierro has created a mural in the vein of street memorials. It serves as a sort of bridge between the two gallery rooms where I am showing and is a moment of contemplation for the viewer to take a moment and acknowledge loss, she said. The differences between the communities depicted and the community where the exhibit has been mounted is not lost on Hierro. I always take into consideration the context of where Im showing my work, she said. I decided to go full-fledged in showing a little snippet of where I come from and not only because its my first big museum exhibition. I wanted to have it very much be me but also to highlight a community that was very affected by Covid within a community that might not have been affected the same way, and to such a large scale. Timed-entry tickets are required to view the exhibit. For information, the aldrich.org or 203-438-4519. Andrea Valluzzo is a freelance writer. HARTFORD Pandemic-era tailgate parties in the legislative garage and slurred speeches on the House floor prompted Speaker of the House Matt Ritter on Wednesday to warn lawmakers on both sides of the aisle that excessive drinking is discouraged in the waning days of the legislative session. While the need for social distancing has allowed senators and House members to avoid the state Capitol and remain in the nearby Legislative Office Building to vote on bills, the social distancing has allowed for a little creative partying among rank-and-file members who are not needed for hours at a time during debates. Lawmakers sometimes set up folding chairs on the third floor of the parking garage, then scurry back into the Legislative Office Building to vote. Ritter, speaking to reporters before the Wednesday House session, warned that caucus members could lose committee assignments if they overindulge. Im not going to downplay this, Ritter said, acknowledging the behind-the-scenes partying. I have on multiple occasions had to talk to the caucus or individuals in my office. There are lines you cannot cross and if somebody ever left this building and injured somebody or themselves, I cant even begin to think about what those consequences would be, and I dont want them to happen on our watches in leadership. To say that this is being taken seriously is an understatement. Both Ritter, D-Hartford and House Majority Leader Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford, have admonished members. I think the incidents are a little more isolated, maybe not as widespread as some might think but there is no question that we expect people to be adults, to understand the consequences of their decisions. I have been very clear with people that if it happens again there will be significant consequences associated with it, Ritter said. By mid-afternoon Wednesday, state Rep. Robin Comey, D-Branford, in a statement, apologized for an incident last Thursday in which she participated in a debate on an early childhood bill, losing her place and forgetting her chain of thought. I suddenly and unexpectedly began to feel unwell, Comey said. This was due to several factors, including anxiety, exhaustion, and, regrettably, the wine I had with dinner. In an abundance of caution, I did not drive home and remained in Hartford until the following morning. This type of behavior is not typical for me. I take full responsibility for my error in judgment. She apologized to her constituents. Ritter said excessive partying seems to be a bipartisan phenomenon. I have spoken to the people that I believe I need to speak to, Ritter said. They need to answer to their constituents with their responses to these questions. Ritter described the variety of enforcement actions could range from the removal of individual committee assignments. I would just say there are a lot of different ways in which members could be disciplined for their actions, he said. I dont think well get there. Ritter noted that with the building closed to the public in the pandemic and the ability of lawmakers to vote from their offices, the temptations to party could be exacerbated. Rojas concurred. I know all my colleagues regardless of party affiliation take this job really seriously and they understand the responsibility we have to each other, to the institution and to the public, Rojas said. I think its important to clarify that these are the exceptions and not any kind of norm. Just because they are exceptions doesnt make it any more acceptable, but I dont want the public to think that this is whats happening on any kind of regular basis in the Capitol. Gov. Ned Lamont, commenting on the issue later on Wednesday, warned lawmakers about the dangers of excess. Yeah, be careful, Lamont told reporters after a news conference on federal funding. Be careful. Youre in the publics house. Youre in the peoples house. Respect that. But he acknowledged traditions of adult beverages in offices and late-night tippling while the House and Senate focus on individual pieces of legislation. Lamont accepted the reality and put it in context with a quip. If it helps us get to a budget a little faster and get an honestly balanced budget signed on time so we can get this state moving forward, Ill wink at it, Lamont said. KABUL, Afghanistan -- The Afghan air force pilot who had been promised refuge in America last fall, only to be rejected at the last minute, finally arrived on U.S. soil Wednesday with his family. Mohammed Naiem Asadi, his wife Rahima, and their daughter Zainab, 5, have been conditionally approved for parole, a temporary status for noncitizens to come to America, U.S. immigration services said in a letter to the family. "This is a real recognition that this man's life is in significant danger in Afghanistan," said the family's lawyer, Kimberly Motley, who came to Kabul to escort the family to America. The family passed through immigration and plans to file for asylum in the U.S., Motley said in an interview Monday. Asadi, a helicopter pilot reputed to have killed more insurgents than anyone else in the Afghan air force, received a rare endorsement by the Pentagon last fall to move to the U.S. with his family because he was in "imminent danger of being killed by the Taliban." But the Defense Department later withdrew its approval, saying that senior officials had not been consulted. The decision angered former advisers who vouched for Asadi's bid to come to America. As a major in the Afghan air force, Asadi protected the life of a downed U.S. pilot last year and, by one former chief warrant officer's estimate, had been in the cockpit for 70% of all missions in southern Afghanistan in recent years. "It's shameful what happened on that last day, that someone changed their mind in the DOD," said Andy Miller, a retired Army chief warrant officer who helped train Asadi. "At the last minute, the rug was yanked out from under them." Asadi and his family received death threats from the Taliban that were determined credible by U.S. investigators last fall. The Taliban have launched attacks all over the country as U.S. and NATO troops withdraw from Afghanistan, with assassinations killing politicians, journalists and military personnel. The continuing violence has raised calls for the U.S. to protect or evacuate Afghans under threat for working with them. However, a Pentagon spokesman told The Wall Street Journal last year that so many military personnel are under threat that letting them all seek refuge in America would "absolutely gut the Afghan security forces." Some advisers who supported Asadi's bid to come to America acknowledged that helping one of the country's few elite pilots leave the country weakens its ability to stave off the Taliban. But in addition to threats from the Taliban, Asadi feared retribution from the Afghan military for trying to leave the country with his family. Pilots who report threats against them often receive little sympathy and may be threatened with punishment or imprisonment, said Niloofar Rahmani, Afghanistan's first female fixed-wing pilot and also a client of Motley. She was granted asylum in America in 2018 after receiving numerous death threats. After the U.S. military withdrew its endorsement, Asadi and his family went into hiding, first at Bagram Airfield and then in a house on the outskirts of Kabul while he reapplied for refuge in America. With the family's departure from Afghanistan, supporters of the family hope to greet the Asadi family in person soon. Among these is Capt. Laurie Witherspoon, an Army chaplain who met the family as they hid at Bagram last fall. She said she began visiting the family regularly, giving stuffed animals and coloring books to their daughter. The chaplain said she spoke with the family almost daily over the last six months. "Lots of emotional highs and lows," Witherspoon said in a text message. "Asadi's faith, humility and courage has strengthened the roots of our international friendship." Once the family comes to America, Witherspoon said she plans to help give English lessons to Rahima, in exchange for Afghan cooking classes. The family's supporters in America have set up a charity drive, at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-asadi-family, to help with their living expenses. As the family prepared to leave Afghanistan on Tuesday, Zainab played with a rose and said "goodbye" to people in English as her parents loaded their luggage into a car bound for the airport. While in the air Wednesday on the way to the family's new home, the former pilot Asadi reflected on his life growing up in a small rural village, and then flying in the skies in the war ravaging his country. He recalled the friends he lost, and thanked those who helped him come to America. He wrote that he hoped for peace one day in Afghanistan. He remained hopeful for a life without fear in America. Before landing on U.S. soil, he wrote: "I am glad that today it was proved once again that humanity knows no boundaries and human beings can embrace each other with love in all their differences." Zubair Babakarkhail contributed to this report. When an active shooter started spraying bullets at random from an AR-15 rifle at the Westgate mall in Glendale, Arizona, last May, Tech. Sgt. Michael Walker, an aviation resource manager for the 309th Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, was maybe a dozen feet away. Walker, who was having dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant, heard the shots ring out and saw people scattering to find places to hide in the outdoor mall. He ran to the front of the restaurant to barricade the door and saw the shooter straight ahead, with his back turned toward him. The assailant's proximity didn't scare him, he said. "All I could think about was locking the doors and getting people safely inside," Walker said in a news release published last week. Read Next: Sergeant Major of the Army Wants Soldiers to Consider Getting Out of Uniform for 3 Years The tech sergeant is credited with saving the lives of 28 people during the attack. For his actions, he was presented the 2021 Air Force Sergeants Association William H. Pitsenbarger Heroism Award on March 17, the release states. Recalling the events of that night, Walker, who has four deployments under his belt and has taken part in multiple active-shooter training exercises, said he told restaurant patrons and staff to hide in the kitchen, barricading the door in such a way that it could be opened only from the inside. Walker grabbed the restaurant keys from the manager, walked out and locked the doors behind him. He closed three more garage-style doors to thwart the shooter -- risking himself as he stood outside the restaurant. "You could still hear people yelling and running," Walker said in the release. "I didn't really think about me; I thought about saving others. In that moment, you have to decide: Flight or fight. I chose fight." "It was not a surprise that he jumped into action in the midst of a dangerous [and] deadly situation to help others," Master Sgt. Ashley McGee, 310th Fighter Squadron superintendent and Walker's previous supervisor, said in the release. "He was not thinking of his life when he exposed himself outside where the shooter was located; he only thought about the safety of the people around him." The alleged shooter, Armando Hernandez Jr., told investigators he carried out the attack because of his distrust for the government and society as a whole, according to The Arizona Republic. Three people were shot, but all survived. Walker said he used his experiences in the Air Force to safeguard those around him during the chaotic and vulnerable situation. "I signed up [for the military] for a reason," he said. "I know why I put this uniform on every day. I didn't think that my mom could have lost a son and my brother could have lost a brother; I thought about saving others. I wouldn't have done it any other way." -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. Related: Air Force PJ Earns Heroism Award for Treating 7 Teammates After Explosion in Afghanistan Retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. Thomas Edward Caldwell allegedly forced past barricades and climbed up to a balcony on the west side of the U.S. Capitol building in the Jan. 6 riot that injured almost 140 police officers and left five people dead, including Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick. "We are surging forward. Doors breached," Caldwell appears to have said in a Facebook message at 2:48 p.m. Jan. 6. Caldwell, of Virginia, is allegedly associated with the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia group that recruits military and law enforcement members. He's accused of being an organizer of the Capitol attack. He and 15 Oath Keepers-linked co-defendants appeared Tuesday before District Judge Amit Mehta for a status conference. "I accept that assignment! I swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic," Caldwell allegedly wrote in a Jan. 1 Facebook comment. "We must smite them now and drive them down." He was charged with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States; obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting others to do the same; knowingly entering and remaining in a restricted building; and tampering with documents or proceedings. Caldwell has previously pleaded not guilty to all charges. During the status hearing, Mehta said that previous charges of destruction of government property and an aiding and abetting charge from the original indictment have been dropped against Caldwell. Several of the defendants were arraigned on new charges during the hearing, including civil disorder and aiding and abetting others to do the same, and tampering with evidence. Another defendant was newly charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding police officers acting in their official duty. All defendants who responded to new charges pleaded not guilty. Jon Ryan Shaffer, a founding member of the Oath Keepers, pleaded guilty to related charges on April 16, a move that some believe may lead others to take plea deals. Prosecutors said Tuesday that they have begun "informal plea negotiations with most of the defendants." All 16 defendants in United States v. Caldwell et al. have been charged with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, specifically "to corruptly obstruct, influence, and impede an official proceeding, that is, the Certification of the Electoral College vote." Obstruction of official proceedings by destruction of evidence is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. As prosecutors work to isolate footage of the 16 defendants on Jan. 6, they have combed through at least one terabyte of data, including 680 gigabytes from cell phone extractions alone, officials said Tuesday. Prosecutors added that they still "need to complete [their] review" of footage from law enforcement officers' body cameras. Several members of counsel, including Caldwells lawyer, David Fischer, requested that Caldwells home confinement conditions be loosened to a curfew instead. I dont believe hes a danger, Fischer said Tuesday. We are concerned about stepping him down to a level where he has only a curfew and that he has unfettered movements throughout his area, the prosecution responded. We dont think that its safe for the community for him to be allowed to go wherever he wants whenever he wants. The next court appearance is scheduled for July 1. MOSCOW The Russian parliament's upper house voted Wednesday to withdraw from an international treaty allowing surveillance flights over military facilities following the U.S. exit from the treaty. The vote comes after U.S. officials told Moscow last month that President Joe Biden's administration had decided not to reenter the Open Skies Treaty, which had allowed surveillance flights over military facilities before President Donald Trump withdrew from the pact. As a presidential candidate, Biden had criticized Trumps withdrawal as short-sighted. Moscow has signaled its readiness to reverse the withdrawal procedure and stay in the 1992 treaty if the United States returns to the agreement. After the Russian upper house voted to leave the treaty, it would now come to Russian President Vladimir Putin for signing. If Putin endorses the exit, it would take effect in six months. Putin and Biden are to have a summit in Geneva on June 16. The meeting comes as Russia-U.S. ties have sunk to the lowest levels since the Cold War times after Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, the accusations of Moscow's interference in U.S. elections, hacking attacks and other irritants. The Open Skies Treaty was intended to build trust between Russia and the West by allowing the accords more than three dozen signatories to conduct reconnaissance flights over each others territories to collect information about military forces and activities. More than 1,500 flights have been conducted under the treaty since it took effect in 2002, aimed at fostering transparency and allowing for the monitoring of arms control and other agreements. Trump pulled out of the pact last year, arguing that Russian violations made it untenable for Washington to remain a party. Washington completed its withdrawal from the treaty in November. Moscow has deplored the U.S. withdrawal, warning that it will erode global security by making it more difficult for governments to interpret the intentions of other nations, particularly amid heightened Russia-West tensions. The European Union has urged the U.S. to reconsider its exit and called on Russia to stay in the pact and lift flight restrictions, notably over its westernmost Kaliningrad region, which lies between NATO allies Lithuania and Poland. Russia has insisted the restrictions on observation flights it imposed in the past were permissible under the treaty and noted that the U.S. imposed more sweeping restrictions on observation flights over Alaska. As a condition for staying in the pact after the U.S. pullout, Moscow has unsuccessfully pushed for guarantees from NATO allies that they wouldnt hand over the data collected during their observation flights over Russia to the U.S. Sports Osaka should be applauded for prioritising mental health: Stephens Naomi Osaka TOKYO, JUN 2 (AGENCIES) | Publish Date: 6/2/2021 1:10:07 PM IST Naomi Osaka should be supported and applauded for her decision to withdraw from the French Open to focus on her mental health, former U.S. Open champion and WTA Players Council member Sloane Stephens said on Tuesday. Japans Osaka left the claycourt Grand Slam on Monday after refusing to attend the mandatory post-match press conferences and revealing she had been suffering from bouts of depression for three years. Having to take a step back and say, Hey, I need to do this for me, we should support her and applaud her, because a lot of people wouldnt do that, Stephens said after her first round victory. A lot of people play through being miserable and being upset and not being able to speak out and say those things. Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion who was elected to the Players Council in August 2019, said she hopes the four-time major winner will come back stronger after her time away from the tour. We should be more accepting and allow her to take the time she needs to work on herself and better herself so she can be in a better position to play tennis and be happy and enjoy her tennis, she said. But I think there definitely needs to be more open dialogue on what not only her but everyone on tour goes through. I think we dont talk about it enough, she said, adding that she hopes Osakas decision will inspire others to speak out when they are struggling with their mental health. Feelings are real and were all human, so I hope she takes the time she needs. I hope she feels better and I hope she gets back to winning. Coco Gauff, who shared an emotional on-court interview with Osaka after falling to her at the 2019 U.S. Open, echoed Stephens comments. Obviously I have some great moments with her on court and off court, Gauff said after her first round victory. Its unfortunate that shes going through what shes going through. I can only lend out a hand for support. Tour isnt the easiest. I talk to other players and they have gone through similar things in the past, she said. I hope that she can beat that and come out better and stronger. The opinions expressed here do not represent those of the U.S. Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any part of the U.S. government. Air Force Lt. Col. William M. Danyluk is currently assigned to the Pacific Air Forces headquarters at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. He is the strategy branch chief in the A5/8 Directorate of Strategy, Plans and Programs. He is a certified Foreign Area Officer with a focus on South Asia and speaks Urdu, Hindi and Spanish. It wouldn't make sense to ask a maintainer to fly a fighter jet, so why is the U.S. military relying on service members with little to no security cooperation training to develop strategy and plan operations that require close coordination and cooperation with foreign allies and partners? The National Defense Strategy's No. 2 line of effort, "Strengthening alliances as we attract new partners," is a major shift in strategic security priorities. To successfully execute this new strategy, the Defense Department must change the way it organizes, trains and equips. The DoD and services must adjust their organizational priorities and cultures, from the headquarters staff down to operational units, to address the NDS' new focus on security cooperation. To effectively strengthen alliances as we attract new partners, Foreign Area Officers, or FAOs, need to hold influential positions at every level of command in every facet of the DoD. The shift to a focus on allies and partners is similar in scale and scope to the, still unfinished, shift to jointness in the DoD. Although the U.S. military had recognized the importance of joint planning and operations for a long time, it took the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 to force drastic organizational shifts, leading to an authentic joint military culture. Similarly, the new security cooperation priority levied by the 2018 NDS requires significant organizational and operational changes within the DoD. Some will wonder whether this new emphasis on allies and partners should be the role of the Department of State. While the State Department and its cadre of professional foreign service officers are responsible for the overall nation-to-nation relationship, military members maintain the responsibility for executing the military-to-military relationship. The military has always had some level of security cooperation activity, and the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq highlighted the need for specialists in the field. While it is true that military leadership has acknowledged the need for cooperation with our international partners, the prevailing sense until recently was that, while partners were good for votes in the United Nations or legitimizing a war, the U.S. military was better off going it alone. By highlighting international partners, the 2018 NDS acknowledges the realities of the changing global landscape, where the United States no longer maintains uncontested military dominance. With a weakened position, the NDS recognizes the United States must depend on cooperation with our increasingly capable partners to achieve core security objectives. The reality is that international partners are ready and willing to collaborate with the U.S. military. It is also true that this kind of collaboration is difficult because of language, culture and bureaucratic barriers. FAOs are trained and equipped to overcome these barriers. Because of these inherent challenges and the DoD's suboptimal security cooperation organization, we are leaving hundreds if not thousands of strategic opportunities on the table. The demand signal is there; the DoD needs to reorganize and put FAOs in the appropriate positions to meet the demand and seize the initiative. Unlike other major shifts in military strategy where a new mission set often requires developing advanced technology or acquiring expensive weapons systems, security cooperation is executed mostly by individuals. It is not enough to simply have a few FAOs in each embassy or a political adviser to the commander. To achieve success in the 21st century, nearly every mission will need to be conducted in collaboration or at least in coordination with our international partners. To do that effectively, we need to have experts at the leading edge of planning and execution. Starting at the top with the National Security Council, FAOs are uniquely suited to provide military options to the president vis-a-vis our international partners. Similarly, on the multitude of headquarters staffs throughout the DoD, FAOs need to have direct access to commanders in order to provide advice and options when working with partners. To provide options, FAOs need to be aligned with the staff sections under the commander as each function develops their own strategies and plans working with partners. The operational units that receive direction from the staffs need to have embedded FAOs because they are the organizations tasked to deal directly with partners. Just like a commander would not task a mechanic to drive a tank, commanders cannot task a standard unit planner to coordinate with international partners. Planning and communicating with international partners requires a special skill set that takes years of schooling and experience to become proficient. The FAOs with these skills and experience need to be the ones crafting policy, developing strategy, and assisting units to successfully execute the mission. In an ideal world with limitless budget and human resources, we would provide FAO training to every military member because, at some point, all service members who serve more than 10 years will deal directly or indirectly with international partners. The language, cultural orientation and master's level specialized education requirements make it unrealistic to provide the roughly two-year FAO training to all. However, every service member needs a basic level of security cooperation training, along with recurring training that builds throughout their careers. Finally, to achieve the recommendations laid out above, we must have a robust security cooperation enterprise that develops a strategic vision, advocates for resources, influences policy, attracts talent, and trains security cooperation professionals. These actions will grow the FAO talent pool required to ensure FAOs and civilian security cooperation specialists with the right training and experience are placed appropriately at all levels and across all DoD functions to achieve the 2018 National Defense Strategy directive of strengthening alliances as we attract new partners. -- The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration. In the wake of the initial Normandy landings on D-Day, a strange vehicle hit the beaches: converted London buses driven by three female volunteers from the Red Cross. Their mission was to bring a taste of home to the soldiers fighting World War II. Their weapon of choice was the doughnut. While their early food truck might have been a new contraption -- 100 GMC trucks dubbed Clubmobiles were created for the D-Day invasion -- the baked goods they were bringing to Hitlers Fortress Europe was not. This was their second world war, too. During World War I, some 250 female volunteers from the Salvation Army spent their days along the front lines near No Mans Land to give Americans in France the same fresh-baked support they would give U.S. troops in later years. The Doughnut Lassies risked their lives to fry doughnuts for the Doughboys, because life in the trenches could be pretty miserable. Doughnut Lassies had considerably less to work with than the Clubmobile volunteers of World War II. They rolled dough out with spent artillery shell casings and cut the doughnuts out with their baking powder cans. World War I "Doughnut Lassies" serving U.S. Army soldiers in a trench. (Courtesy of Salvation Army West) In 1938, Congress established the first Friday in June as National Doughnut Day as a way to honor the Doughnut Lassies and the way they risked their lives for American soldiers. Its a good thing they did because these brave women were far from finished. They would return to join U.S. troops in every major war for nearly 40 years. By World War II, life for the invading female volunteers got a little better. The Clubmobiles had everything they needed for their D-Day deployment, including the doughnut and coffee-making gear that would take down Nazi Germany. The Doughnut Dollies (as they now were called) had sleeping bunks in the truck, a mini-kitchen and a lounge area with a record player for the GIs. The U.S. Army landed 10 groups of eight Clubmobiles and three Doughnut Dollies each at Normandy that June. They fanned out throughout Europe in the days and weeks after D-Day, either working in the rear echelons or driving from military post to military post, serving doughnuts and coffee to the soldiers there. They followed the Army deeper into France, then Belgium and into Germany, every step of the way. Even after Nazi Germany fell to the Allies on May 8,1945, the women and their Clubmobiles were there. They stayed with the Allied occupation army until 1946. In 1945, Red Cross clubmobile workers Juanita Morrow and Wilhemina Barrow traveled 100 miles to deliver snacks to troops during WWII. (American Red Cross/Twitter) When the Korean War broke out in 1950, the Doughnut Dollies again went to the front. This time, they ran clubs, canteens and mobile vehicles to deliver the baked (or fried) goods to the GIs in Korea. They werent exactly the Clubmobiles of Normandy, but they had everything needed to keep spirits high, not only for the U.S. military, but all the United Nations forces fighting on the peninsula -- even while they were in combat. The Doughnut Dollies soon got an official name from the Defense Department, the Supplemental Recreational Activities Overseas. Once officially supported by the United States and the Red Cross, they were capable of making up to 20,000 doughnuts a day for troops arriving in Korea. By the time the United States entered the Vietnam War in force, the female volunteers of the Supplemental Recreational Activities Overseas were there, too, and their old nickname came with them. GIs in Vietnam also knew them as the Doughnut Dollies. They werent limited to clubs, mess halls or hospitals. The Doughnut Dollies of Vietnam could be found on Hueys or alongside tanks headed into the bush. They were also there when some units came back with fewer men than had left. Red Cross worker Christine Foerster and Sgt. Thomas L. Micka investigate the contents of his ditty bag at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Vietnam in 1970. Sgt. Micka was on guard along the Tan Son Nhut air base perimeter in an armored personnel carrier. (John E. Hendrickson/American Red Cross) This June 4, take a moment to think of the Doughnut Dollies who were willing to risk their lives on D-Day or at Da Nang just to do their part for the United States. Or take a few hours and make the original recipe, as published by the National World War I Museum and Memorial. Ingredients for four dozen doughnuts 5 cups flour 2 cups sugar 5 tsp. baking powder 1 tbsp. salt 2 eggs 1 cup milk 1 tub of lard Powdered sugar Combine all ingredients (except for lard) to make dough. Thoroughly knead dough, roll smooth and cut into rings less than a quarter-inch thick Heat the lard, drop rings into hot lard, turning occasionally When browned, removed doughnuts and allow excess fat to drip off Dash with powdered sugar, let cool and enjoy. -- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook. Want to Learn More About Military Life? Whether you're thinking of joining the military, looking for post-military careers or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to Military.com to have military news, updates and resources delivered directly to your inbox. Civilians have a lot of thoughts about military personnel. Some of these thoughts are positive, others are negative and still many may be based on years of news media, movies and television shows taking creative license with veteran characters. Those same sources give military members some pretty strong misconceptions about the civilian working world, too. These misguided views of a business or industry may be keeping veterans from even considering them. In Military Veteran Employment: A Guide for the Data-Driven Leader, authors Nathan Ainspan and Kristin Saboe wrote and compiled chapters designed to help show employers why hiring veterans is in their best interest. A chapter written by Eric Eversole, a vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and president of Hiring Our Heroes, talks about who makes up the U.S. military and how employers can work to attract vets while dispelling veteran misconceptions. 1. Sell Your Industry to Veterans Theres a good chance that young veterans may not know much about what your business or industry does. Moreover, they probably dont know what a future career in your industry could mean for them or what opportunities exist in the field. Many service members come from a middle-class, middle-income background. Many joined at a relatively young age with little experience in the working civilian world. Its important to reach out to this untapped talent pool to ensure they understand what your area of the job market can offer. 2. Train People to Understand the Military A lot of civilians have had little to no contact with the military. Even when they have experience with the military-veteran community, its hard to tell how much they know or understand about the lifestyle, culture or anything else that comes with military life. Recruiters and hiring managers would be well-served by learning certain things about military culture, rank and the structure of the military (which is also laid out in the book, Military Veteran Employment: A Guide for the Data-Driven Leader). Bridging that knowledge gap can affect the ability to hire and retain veterans significantly, Eversole writes. 3. Provide Mentoring and Networking Opportunities The most successful and veteran-friendly companies will give hired vets the chance to learn from knowledgeable sources within their company or industry. This is critical in the development of the veteran, not just for their duration at the company, but for the rest of their career. A mentor can help newly separated veterans understand what their near- and long-term opportunities are at any given point in their career. Networking opportunities allow veterans to grow within a group and give them a sense of the community they need to thrive. 4. Manage Veteran Expectations Just as the military would not take a 20-year corporate executive into the military as a full-bird colonel, separating veterans entering the civilian world should not expect to jump right into their new lives at the same level they worked in the military. It does happen, however, and more often, veterans will decline a good position thinking they should be hired at that level. Companies, Eversole writes, should be honest with potential veteran employees about why they should be hired at the level for which theyre being considered. At the same time, the company can create realistic expectations about promotion opportunities and tell vets how they can succeed in the business. 5. Dont Forget Non-Veteran Employees When your company shifts its focus to attracting veteran talent and accommodating that talent to best foster its abilities in the future, non-veteran employees may start to see undeserved preferential treatment. A little communication is all thats needed in this situation. Companies should take time to explain to their entire workforce about their plan to hire and retain veterans and why the plan is good for the company as a whole. Military Veteran Employment: A Guide for the Data-Driven Leader is available wherever books are sold, in digital and print formats. -- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook. Want to Know More About Veteran Jobs? Be sure to get the latest news about post-military careers as well as critical info about veteran jobs and all the benefits of service. Subscribe to Military.com and receive customized updates delivered straight to your inbox. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS William P Lawrence (DDG 110) docks in Dry Dock #4, March 9, completing one of the first major milestones in the ships docking selected restricted availability. Sign up now Get our free Military News and Weekend Access newsletters delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up Listen to article Hiplife legend Okomfour Kwadee is set to release two tracks on Friday, 4th June, 2021 which happens to be his birthday. According to his management, the birthday bash will also give the opportunity to the media to interact with the musician. In an interview with this reporter, the head of Kwadees Etua Te Dom Media Gang, Hammer Kofi Nti, who doubles as Chief Executive Officer of Hammer Productions and Host of Hammer Time on Kumasis Pure FM added that Kwadee who is working on an album will be releasing one song each month after his birthday. Already, there is a poster of one of the songs set to be released in the media titled Chese Game features KGenius and Ohemaa Woyeje mid-morning show host of Angel FM Accra. The other song which is unknown to the public yet is also said to be a great tune and rhythm with high anticipation to be embraced by music fans. The leader of Western Sahara's independence movement returned to Algeria Wednesday after six weeks of medical treatment in Spain that unleashed a tetchy diplomatic standoff between Rabat and Madrid. Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali flew out of Pamplona airport in northern Spain overnight, with a Spanish government source telling AFP on Wednesday morning he was "in Algeria". Ghali arrived in Algiers at around 3:00 am (0200 GMT), where he will continue his recovery from a severe case of Covid-19, top Polisario official Abdelkader Taleb Omar told Algeria's APS news agency. He added that Ghali's improving health meant he no longer needed hospitalisation in Spain. However Ghali was nonetheless immediately admitted to a military hospital in Algiers, where he was visited by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and army chief of staff Said Chengriha, Algerian public television showed. Tebboune described the visit as "his duty" and reaffirmed his support for Ghali's cause, APS reported. The Algerian president also thanked Spain for welcoming Ghali and for the "delicate" care he had received. Algeria is the main supporter of the Polisario Front, which has for decades fought Morocco for the independence of Western Sahara, a desert region bigger than Britain which was a Spanish colony until 1975. Ghali's imminent departure had been announced late Tuesday by Spain's foreign ministry -- who had informed their Moroccan counterparts -- without saying where he was going. His departure came hours after he was quizzed by a Spanish judge over allegations of torture and genocide, which he denied, in a video hearing from a hospital in the northern town of Logrono. Map of Western Sahara. By (AFP) During the hearing, the judge declined to issue any precautionary measures such as seizing Ghali's passport or holding him in preventative custody, saying there were no "clear indications of his involvement" in the alleged crimes. Critically ill, Ghali secretly landed in Spain on April 18 aboard a medicalised Algerian government plane, sparking a diplomatic standoff with Morocco. From 'blackmail' to 'respectful ties' The incident triggered a string of terse exchanges which sharpened after up to 10,000 migrants surged into Spain's North African enclave Ceuta, as guards in neighbouring Morocco looked the other way. The Socialist government of Pedro Sanchez accusing Rabat of "blackmail" and "aggression" over the influx. It was not immediately clear how Ghali's departure from Spain would affect the tension -- although Madrid appeared to be easing its tone on Wednesday, with Sanchez's deputy Carmen Calvo speaking of "respectful and constructive relations" and "common interests". Ghali spent six weeks in a hospital in northern Spain recovering from Covid-19. By ANDER GILLENEA (AFP) Rabat remained silent, although it too had sought to step back from the crisis on Tuesday, with King Mohammed VI saying Morocco wanted to "settle definitively" the situation of the unaccompanied minors still in Ceuta. However, on Monday it had said the crisis between the two countries "would not be resolved with (Ghali's) departure" because it was linked to Spain's position on Western Sahara which was "a sacred issue for the Moroccan people". Speaking to AFP, a diplomatic source said the Moroccans had been "threatening to break off diplomatic relations with Spain for a few days now. "But the question is whether they will go that far, and if not, what options are on the table after the rhetorical outburst of the last few days." Strategic resources Isaias Barrenada, an expert on international relations at Madrid's Complutense University, said Ghali's departure meant Morocco had nothing left to complain about. Ghali's presence in Spain "was just an easy pretext... to put pressure on Madrid and its position on the Sahara," he told AFP. Morocco's authorities have long wanted Spain to acknowledge their authority over Western Sahara, as Washington did in December under former president Donald Trump. But Spain says a solution to the status of the disputed territory can only come from a United Nations-brokered agreement. Considered a war criminal by Morocco, Ghali has headed the Polisario Front since 2016 and is president of the Sahrawi Democratic Arab Republic, a self-declared state in an almost-landlocked area flanking Mauritania's border. It covers around a fifth of Western Sahara, while the rest is run by Morocco. Rabat has offered Western Sahara autonomy but insists that the territory, which is rich in phosphates and offshore fishing, is part of the Moroccan kingdom. MTN Wednesday said it will in the next three years invest US$25 million to enhance the development of the country's digital ecosystem. It will also commit US$150 million towards improving the network and IT systems, to connect the remaining 15 per cent of Ghanaians across the country who are in the remotest communities and increase capacity and experience for its customers. Mr Selorm Adadevoh, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN, announced this at the launch of the company's 25th Anniversary Celebration, in Accra. We are also committing as part of our 25th Anniversary a US$25 million fund over three years, to support Government in its digital agenda. One of the legacy projects we have already committed to is the building of an ICT hub in Ghana, he added. He said the company had always seen Ghana as a market to invest because of its governance and political stability, policy predictability and consistent economic growth over the years. In the next three years, it would, therefore, work with Government through the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization, to support the development of the digital ecosystem to promote business development. Mr Adadevoh said since the inception of the company, it had invested more than US$6 billion in infrastructure development and had taken various commercial risks, such as sustaining investments in mobile money, as well as investing in 3G. The CEO said the company had repositioned its strategy from BRIGHT to Ambition 2025, aimed at building the largest and most valuable platform business with a focus on Africa. This, he said, was anchored on five pillars: Fintech Solutions, Digital and Ayoba, Enterprise, Network as a Service, and an API Marketplace. Our vision is to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world to our customers and this underpins our sustained investment in the MTN Ghana business in the areas of rural connectivity and in implementing digital platforms to give the opportunity to our customers to live a modern connected life, he explained. He commended the Government, policy makers and regulators for their contributions in advancing policy frameworks from deregulation to creating the enabling environment towards making the dream of a digital Ghana possible. He expressed gratitude to its customers, for their loyalty, feedback and commitment to the brand and ensuring the success of the company. Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister of Communication and Digitisation, commended management of MTN for the investments made and playing a lead role in bringing innovation and transformation to the sector. She assured them of a stronger collaboration between government and MTN to move Ghana's telecom market into the forefront of the Africa continent. She said that government would continue to create an enabling environment, as well as provide incentives for the development of the Fintech industry. The company currently serves about 25 million subscribers and employs over 2,500 Ghanaians. It has created over half a million jobs, including hundreds of thousands of airtime resellers, mobile money agents and mobile money merchants). ---GNA MTN Ghana as part of its 25th anniversary celebration has announced that all customers will be rewarded with amazing goodies with as many as 25 cars set to be given out. This was disclosed on Wednesday during the official launch of the 25th-anniversary celebrations in Accra. The guest speaker, President Akufo-Addo applauded the successes chalked by MTN Ghana in the past two and a half decades. According to the President, the telecommunications company deserves commendation for the feat en route to commanding the largest number of network subscribers in the country. President Akufo-Addo said your slogan Everywhere You Go' says it all, while congratulating MTN Ghana and its workers for the good work they continue to do. My heartfelt congratulations go to all staff of the organization, policymakers, regulators, service providers, and MTN subscribers past and present. Government appreciates your hard work and continuous contribution to the telecommunication sector and the country as a whole, the President noted. He added, We are confident that many more Organisations will be inspired by your 25-year journey and successfully emulate your achievements. Calling on MTN Ghana and other industry players to continuously collaborate with the government to roll out further initiatives to deepen digitization in a more sustainable way, President Akufo-Addo charged the 25-year-old telecom company to strive to serve Ghanaians with better and reliable network service. Mounting the podium to speak at the launch, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Ghana, Mr. Selorm Adadevoh extending appreciation to the ruling government as well as past governments for the support throughout the 25-year journey. He continued, I will also like to recognize the role the people of Ghana have played in MTNs business successes. Firstly, for giving us the opportunity to serve you and secondly, for your patronage, feedback, and loyalty over the past 25 years. Mr. Adadevoh noted that beyond the successes achieved in his outfits 25-year journey, they are committed to making more investments to play a pivotal role in Ghanas digital development. We are also committing as part of our 25th anniversary a 25 million US dollar fund over 3 years, to work with Government through the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization to support the development of Ghanas digital ecosystem. One of the legacy projects we have already committed to is the building of an ICT hub in Ghana, the MTN Ghana CEO also revealed. Engaging the media on the sidelines of the launch, Chief Marketing Officer of MTN Ghana, Noel Kojo-Ganson revealed that as part of the celebrations, several activities have been lined up to reward every single customer. We have got loads of plans earmarked for the 25th anniversary but first of all, it is a year-long activity and celebration so its not just this one-off occasion. There are a lot of events that are going to happen hereafter, he noted. From making the first call of every day free for customers throughout the month of June, the giant telecom company is set to give out 25 brand new cars to lucky customers as part of the anniversary celebrations. Besides the free calls and cars, MTN Ghana will also be giving out other goodies in the form of voice calls, data, mobile phones, as well as others throughout the rest of the year. All customers are to note that MTN will only contact winners of prizes with the number 0244300000. Customers are urged to take note that MTN will NOT ask winners to pay to redeem any rewards in case selected for the prizes up for grabs. France is to start offering Covid-19 vaccinations to everyone between 12 and 18 on June 15, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday. The move is the latest expansion in the vaccination drive that has gathered pace considerably in recent weeks. Vaccine supplies have increased and the government is keen to extend coverage quickly to try to slow the spread of any variants that might cause problems. All adults in France have been eligible for a jab since Monday - several weeks ahead of the scheduled date. 50 percent of French adults have now received at least one Covid vaccine dose, Macron said on a visit to southern France, calling it "truly a turning point" in the country's inoculation drive. He announced on Monday that he and his wife Brigitte have now been vaccinated. 'Remain vigilant' France is emerging from its third nationwide lockdown, with restaurants and cafes now allowed to serve clients outside, and indoor dining scheduled to start again on June 9. Pressure on hospitals has eased, with the number of Covid patients in intensive care falling steadily in recent weeks, with 2,825 serious cases as of Tuesday, down from around 6,000 in April. However, speaking in a the village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie in southern France, Macron also urged people to remain "extremely careful and vigilant. He said wearing face masks outdoors would still be required in several regions for the time being. The president was in the picturesque village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie to launch a nationwide tour to talk to people around the country. If you haven't heard about the 2002 volcanic eruption in the Congo, you probably haven't heard about Mount Nyiragongo. Mount Nyiragongo is located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and part of the Virunga volcanic chain. Some say its geographical location on the highly active segment of the African Great rift is quite rare and a major reason why it was considered dangerous for communities in and around Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The volcano's current location sustains rise of magma from about 100 km beneath the Earth's surface, and the lava is so condensed that it flows extremely fast and impossible to outrun. The sudden opening of the rift on 2002 caused a disastrous eruption, killing around 100 people and damaging thousands of homes and buildings in the town of Goma and villages near the upper volcano flanks. Rifting and volcanic activity in the region After the 2002 eruption, Mount Nyiragongo garnered international attention and several studies because of its uniqueness. Apparently, the political situation at the time was hostile due to complex relationship between the national government in Kinshasa and a local government. The warning which was excellently imposed by the Goma Volcano Observatory was disregarded because of the feud which led to thousands of homeless people across the borders of Congo and Rwanda. The inconsistent monitoring of Mount Nyiragongo and its geological complexities pose a significant threat in the region. Its existence in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo features a continuous pool of lava fizzling within its summit crater. Geohazards expert say it is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in Africa. Nyiragongo lava is remarkably fluid and can move up to 40 miles per hour. Eruptions can also emit large amounts of lethal carbon dioxide gas to the atmosphere, harming millions of people in its shadow. Experts say many people die from the volumes of gas in the air produced by the carbon dioxide-rich magma. Also read: PHOTOS: Tourists Flock as Dormant Volcano Finally Erupts in Iceland After 6000 Years! The rifting process can't be controlled but the risks can be reduced The 2002 crisis which had gone out of control due to the difficult social and political conditions in Eastern Congo, and couldn't have been managed without the aid of United Nations. A group of international scientists were sent to the site to conduct a year-long program along with the Congolese volcanologists to reach those affected by lava flows from Mount Nyiragongo. Despite the warning that cities should be relocated and not rebuilt in the region, the advice was not followed and even expanded the area up to four times. However, the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Pisa, Italy, designed a program of hazard evaluation and risk mitigation as a measure to protect the city of Goma against future lava flows. Experts in the field simulated the 2002 lava flow event to characterize and create the best possible artificial barrier to shield the town from future unforeseen event such as the 2002 shenanigan. It cannot be stressed enough that these efforts might be put to waste once more if local and national governments don't learn the risks and provide resources for sectors such as the Goma observatory to fully operate. Also read: World's Largest Volcano 'Mauna Loa' is Waking Up, Scientists Caution People to Prepare for Eruption Listen to article Once upon a time, leadership was believed to be a trait from birth, and was only ascribed to tall, handsome and well-connected individuals. Obviously, that was an utter misconception. The fact of the matter is that leadership skills can be acquired through schematic tutorials or routine training. Take, for example, the most recent research interest has been focusing on relationships between leaders and followers, with some experts on the topic stressing the need to study followership. This has been argued over as useful, not so much because all leaders are also followers, but because modern notions of leadership place considerable emphasis on the power and importance of followers in legitimised leadership. What is leadership? Leadership can be considered to be the personal qualities, behaviours, styles and decisions adopted by the leader. In other words, it concerns how the leader carries out his/her role. Hence while the role of leader can be described in a job description, leadership is not so easily pinned down (Waldman and Yammarino (1999). Waldman and Yammarino observed that early investigations, which focused on the personal characteristics or the behaviours of individuals who emerge as leaders, were followed by those that considered the influence of situational factors of leadership behaviour. The all-important question then is: with so many people purporting to be leaders these days, how do we distinguish between a true leader and a demagogue? To be able to do justice to the preceding question, we must pause, reflect summarily and ask: what is it that a leader is actually trying to achieve? A true leader wants nothing more than to make people independent, as leaders in their own rights. And instead of trying to inebriate us with his or her rhetoric, a true leader reflects our own light back to us. More importantly, a true leader always comes up with pragmatic ideas with the view to transforming the lives of his/her subordinates. Biblically, Moses was a true leader. We read in Exodus that he was a shepherd - a rather unpretentious beginning for the man who would speak to God. He kept watching as thousands of sheep grazed the fields. Moses noticed that one sheep was missing and went off to look for it, finding it at a distant apart. When the sheep had finished drinking, Moses lifted it onto his shoulders and carried it back to the flock. When Jehovah God saw this, he became aware that Moses was a man of reason, empathy and selfless devotion, a man truly worthy to lead His people; a man who would put his empathetic qualities at the disposal of the needs of his subordinates. After all, no one was keeping an eye on Moses; Moses could easily have thought to himself, why be concerned with one sheep when there are thousands? The all-important question we should be asking then is: how can Ghana be fixed when we keep backing the losing horses? Somewhere in 2015, I rang my mother to find out how she was getting on with life in Ghana. However, our conversation inadvertently stretched into Ghanas political landscape. Our telephone conversation went like this: Kwaku: Hello Mum, how are you doing? Mum: Hmmm, I am not feeling good at all this morning. My body is really aching. Kwaku: Have my sympathy Mum; I think you are feeling the intrinsic effects of aging. Mum: Many thanks for sympathising with me my son. Kwaku: What about life in general then Mum? Mum: Eiiiiii, Kwaku, it has become extremely hard ooooo! The dumsor is not going away, prices of goods are on the high and your brothers and sisters businesses are collapsing as a result of the unspeakable dumsor. Kwaku: I know Mum. I noticed all the hardships when I visited Ghana in March 2014. Have my sympathy once again. Mum: Many thanks for showing concern, Kwaku. Are you also experiencing hardships as a result of bad governance amid dumsor over there in London? Kwaku: Dumsor? No Mum. I have not witnessed a single dumsor since I have been in the United Kingdom. Mum: Really? Do you mean for the last three decades youve been in the United Kingdom there has not been a single dumsor? Kwaku: Yes Mum. We do not have dumsor time table here. Mum: Your President is doing well then. Do you normally vote for him? Kwaku: Yes Mum, our Prime Minister is performing alright. And to answer your follow up question, I do not normally vote for the Conservatives because I do not subscribe to their ideology and campaign messages. Mum: But your Prime Minister is doing fantastically well, so what all the farce about campaign messages? Kwaku: Mum, you dont vote for the sake of voting; you weigh all the campaign promises before giving away your mandate. Let me tell you Mum, I did not even vote for my MP (Kwesi Kwarteng), the Conservative Party parliamentary representative, who has Ghanaian parents. Let me tell you once again Mum, although I am one of the king makers in the Labour Partys leadership contest by virtue of my Trade Union membership, I voted for the then Conservative candidate, Theresa May in the 2016 general elections because of her compelling campaign messages back then. Mum: Really? As for me I chose that tall and handsome guy in 2012. Kwaku: Do you mean President Mahama? Mum: Yes, I voted for him because of his handsome looks. Kwaku: Hmm, Mum, why did you then mourn over the hardships back then? Didnt you choose handsome looks over competence? Mum: But I also chose handsome President Kufuor over Atta Mills. Kwaku: Well, Mum, competence does not reside in ones stature. Mum: But President Kufuor was tall, handsome and extremely competent. Kwaku: You are right Mum. But you are also aware that we have useless tall and handsome individuals around. Take, for example, the biblical Goliath was also tall and handsome, but was useless, for it took the midget, competent and intelligent David to floor him. Mum: Well, Kwaku, so what is your point now? Kwaku: Mum, my point is that we dont vote for handsome looks, we rather vote for competence, integrity and realistic campaign messages, for handsome looks wont solve the existential problems. Mum: Well, Kwaku, Ive got your message. Kwaku: Mum, am glad youve embraced the message. Please dont keep it to your chest. Pass it on. Mum: Kwaku, Ill do. Kwaku: Mum, remember to always choose competence and integrity over handsome looks. Mum: Many thanks Kwaku for your illumination. Kwaku: Thats alright Mum. I am duty bound as a bona fide citizen to highlight the truth at all times regardless. How glad I was; I managed to get the real message to my Mum, who will in turn, pass on the message to her dependents and other associates. In sum, Ghana can advance meaningfully if we do away with tribal and narrow political coloration and rather vote base on the candidates competence, integrity and realistic campaign messages. K. Badu, UK. [email protected] As gunfire crackled outside, Genet Webea huddled with her husband and seven-year-old daughter, praying they would be spared in the latest bout of ethnic strife to rock central Ethiopia. But that morning in April, around a dozen gunmen broke down the front door and, ignoring Genet's pleas for mercy, fatally shot her husband in the chest and stomach. He was one of more than 100 civilians to die in a recent flare-up of violence in the town of Ataye that also saw the assailants torch more than 1,500 buildings, leaving once-bustling streets lined with charred and twisted metal. The destruction continues a pattern of unrest that has blighted the tenure of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, and now threatens to disrupt elections in which he'll seek a new term. Destroyed properties in Ataye, Ethiopia after the recent flare-up of violence. By EDUARDO SOTERAS (AFP) Ethiopia's polls are scheduled for June 21, but officials say insecurity and logistical challenges make voting impossible -- at least for now -- in at least 26 constituencies across the country. That includes Ataye, where Abiy's vision of unity for Ethiopia's diverse population of 110 million can seem like a distant dream. Since Abiy became prime minister in 2018, the town has endured at least six rounds of ethnic killings, and ties between members of the country's two largest groups, the Oromos and Amharas, have visibly frayed, said mayor Agagenew Mekete. Genet, an ethnic Amhara, told AFP that since the April attack she blanches when she hears the language of her husband's ethnic Oromo killers, saying it conjures the painful image of him bleeding out on their kitchen floor. "I don't want to see or hear them," she told AFP. 'It was a war' A lowland farming town 270 kilometres (167 miles) northeast of Addis Ababa, Ataye's population of 70,000 is majority Amhara, but it borders Oromo settlements in three directions. For Agagenew, the mayor, the relentless violence reflects tensions over lush land used to grow wheat, sorghum and maize. Shops in Ataye were looted at best. By EDUARDO SOTERAS (AFP) Ethiopia is Africa's second most-populous country, with different ethnic groups living cheek by jowl in some areas, straining ties as they jostle for land and resources. In recent years tensions have worsened in parts of the country, leading to deadly violence and displacing millions. Abiy took office vowing to put an end to the government's iron-fisted rule, yet this has created space for violent ethno-nationalists to wreak havoc, Agagenew said. "There has been a looseness after Abiy came to office, in the name of widening the democracy," he said. "There is looseness in enforcing the rule of law." Like Genet, he blames the killings partly on the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), a rebel group that lawmakers last month designated a terrorist organisation. But the OLA denies any presence in the area and says officials falsely invoke the rebels to justify "ethnic cleansing" against ordinary Oromos. Boru, who gave only his first name for safety reasons, is one of several Oromo residents of Ataye who said the OLA were not involved. Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, but the Ataye destruction continues a pattern of unrest that has blighted the tenure. By Amanuel Sileshi (AFP) Instead, he said, the carnage was set off when Amhara security forces shot dead an Oromo imam outside a mosque, then prevented mourners from retrieving the body. "It did not come out of the blue," he said. "It was a war. Each side was attacking the other." This jibes with accounts from officials in nearby Oromo communities, who note that the violence extended beyond Ataye and claimed many Oromo victims. Ethiopia's chief ombudsman, Endale Haile, told AFP more than 400 were killed in total and more than 400,000 displaced, declining to provide an ethnic breakdown. Election apathy Whoever bears responsibility, there is no disputing the killings have left Ataye resembling a ghost town. The hospital and police station were both ransacked, and demolished storefronts offer only scattered clues -- burnt shoeboxes, the ripped sign of a beauty salon -- to what they once contained. Most residents have fled the town, with crowds gathering only when officials hand out sacks of wheat as food aid. . By EDUARDO SOTERAS (AFP) Most residents have fled, with crowds gathering only when officials hand out sacks of wheat as food aid. Ethiopia's electoral board insists voting will take place in Ataye and other violence-wracked constituencies before a new parliamentary session opens in October. But no preparations are under way and residents have little enthusiasm. "Why would we vote in elections? We have no interest in elections," said 19-year-old Hawa Seid. "We've lost our homes." 'Politicised' deaths The Ataye violence spurred days of protests in cities across the Amhara region, where the bloodshed could shape the election. "For people whose basic existence is questioned and being violated, I think the security of Amharas all over Ethiopia will determine how people vote," said Dessalegn Chanie, senior member of the National Movement for Amhara, an opposition party. The Amhara Association of America, a Washington-based lobbying firm, says more than 2,000 Amharas have been killed in dozens of massacres going back to last July. The regional spokesman, Gizachew Muluneh, accused rival parties of "trying to politicise the killings and get something from the deaths of others," adding, "It is not morally good." Genet, whose husband was shot dead in their kitchen, participated in the protests herself. "I was happy to be there because I wanted to show how much they are hurting us and to ask the government to stop the Amhara genocide," she said. But she hasn't given up on the idea that Amharas and Oromos could one day live together in harmony. She noted that after her husband was killed, Oromo neighbours briefly housed her and her daughter until it was safe to leave. It was a gesture of kindness that reminded her of a more peaceful era she would like to return to. "Once," she said, "we all lived together like a family." Listen to article A group calling itself Concerned Drivers Association of Ghana has rejected the 13 percent increment in transport fares announced by the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU). The group says it expecting a 20 percent increment, and has therefore given government a two-day ultimatum to review the decision or else it will do the increment itself. Drivers who belong to the association say they will implement the 20 percent increment on Saturday if the government fails to grant their request. We wish to state that, the 13% increment cannot in any way sustain our businesses considering the rate of increment in spare parts and fuel on recent times. Without mincing words, we shall implement the 20% increment starting from Saturday should government fail to grant us what we are seeking, it said in a statement. On Wednesday, the GPRTU, which is the officially known association for drivers in the country, announced the 13 percent upward adjustment effective Saturday, June 5, 2021. The fares will cover intercity (tro-tro), intercity (long-distance) and shared taxis. The decision, according to the union, is to accommodate predominantly the recent increase in fuel prices. It however said the government has assured that it will continue with efforts to prevent a steep rise in input cost. Below is the full statement by the Concerned Drivers The Concerned Drivers Association of Ghana(C-DAG) is by this statement rejecting the 13% increment of public transport fares by the Ministry of Transport. We wish to state that, the 13% increment cannot help in any way to sustain our businesses considering the rate of increment in spare parts and fuel commodities in recent times. If we agree to the proposal made by the government, we stand a greater risk of kicking ourselves out of business. In view of this, we wish to categorically state that, the actual increment in terms of percentage according to our calculations should have been 20%. We are thus giving the government up to two days to review the proposal. Without mincing words, we shall implement the 20% increment starting from Saturday should government fail to grant for us what we are seeking for. It is a matter of knowledge to all Ghanaians of the vehicular traffic situations drivers encounter on our main routes. In recent times, it has taken drivers more than 10hours to drive from Accra to Kumasi. Those crossing the Adomi bridge have also encountered similar situations, whilst those plying the Kasoa-Cape Coast stretch have also not been spared. It must be noted that such traffic situations cause more consumption of fuel. It must be considered that the combined situations are causing our inability to render sales to our vehicle owners. This situation is sending us to our early graves gradually as we face continuous intimidation by our car owners. We would like to mention that, we the members of C-DAG and our colleagues with the GPRTU, Cooperative and PROTOA shall not countenance any form of intimidation of any driver by anyone from the National Security or any other state security agency. We shall not hesitate to invoke curses with schnapps and a black dog on anyone who dares to intimidate us after our 20% increment. We however call on Ghanaians to rally behind us since they would not be happy to see our businesses collapse. Long Live Ghana, Long Live C-DAG citinewsroom Descendants of victims of massacres committed by German colonisers -- recently recognised as a genocide -- have scoffed at the agreement between the Namibian government and the southern African country's former rulers. "It's a slap in the face," lamented Namibian economist Salomo Hei, whose forefathers were murdered in the early 20th century. Many Namibians have rejected the outcome of more than five years of negotiations between their government and Germany over events in territory held by Berlin from 1884 to 1915. "It was handled in a very clumsy manner," Hei told AFP in the capital Windhoek. "There was no regard for the human lives lost." Germany acknowledged last Friday that the settlers had carried out a "genocide" against indigenous Herero and Nama people between 1904 and 1908. Namibia. By (AFP) The official use of the word was part of a landmark agreement with the Namibian government after years of talks over the massacres, which some historians have labelled the first genocide of the 20th century. Germany also offered what it called "development" funds -- pointedly avoiding the word "reparations" -- of 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) to be paid over the next 30 years. But the terms and wording of the proposed "reconciliation" deal, which requires parliamentary approval, have raised ire among Herero and Nama representatives, who claim they were never invited to the negotiation table. "We heard the announcement over the radio and newspapers," said Esther Muinjangue, former head of the Ovaherero Genocide Foundation. "It was never discussed with us," said Muinjangue, who is also deputy health minister, criticising Germany for not directly compensating affected groups. Rape, slaughter German imperial troops descended on Herero and Nama people after they rebelled against colonial rule. In August 1904, soldiers chased around 80,000 Herero into what is now known as the Kalahari Desert, raping women and slaughtering their captives. Months later, the German military commander, general Lothar von Trotha, ordered troops to exterminate both groups. At least 60,000 Herero and around 10,000 Nama were killed between 1904 and 1908. By Handout (NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF NAMIBIA/AFP/File) At least 60,000 Herero and around 10,000 Nama were killed. Thousands more were sent to deadly concentration camps. Descendants of the victims want Germany held accountable for the ripple effects of the genocide, which uprooted communities and destroyed livelihoods. "When I drive back to my village I drive through hectares of commercial farms (no longer) owned by Herero people," said Hei, noting longstanding "income disparities" between the Nama, the Herero and the rest of Namibians. Nama activist Sima Goeieman said the agreement was "disrespectful" and "dug the knife deeper" into historical wounds. "Social projects are not going to do anything about the trauma," she said. "You want to tell me that 1.1 billion (euros) in development aid is a way of showing remorse?" Muinjangue, an opposition politician whose grandfather was the result of a rape by a German soldier, questioned the settlement. "How did they quantify the loss of lives, the loss of cattle and land?" she asked. 'Too little, too late' Herero and Nama activists staged a protest in Windhoek hours after the agreement, which the government hailed as "step in the right direction", was announced. They denounced the lack of transparency around the negotiations and accused Germany of arm-twisting their cash-strapped government into accepting a meagre settlement. "Sellout!!!" said a handwritten protest sign. "Leave us alone," read another. A body representing Herero and Nama people has rejected the "insulting amount" and called on the government to renegotiate the deal, which will be discussed in parliament next week. The process "must be opened up so that ordinary Namibians can make an input", Herero Windhoek resident Clementine Katjingisiua said. In 2018, Germany returned the bones of members of the Herero and Nama tribes to Namibia. By John MACDOUGALL (AFP) Activists have also accused Germany of deliberately shirking "reparations" -- which would submit the country to a series of financial obligations under international human rights law. "That is why people are so outraged," said John Nakuta, a law professor at the University of Namibia. "Development assistance has no legal obligations," he noted. "Germany got away lightly." German-Namibian analyst Henning Melber felt the agreement posed a "dilemma" for advocates of post-colonial justice. "The deal makes inroads... in a long overdue debate," said Melber, a researcher with the Nordic Africa Institute. "One should welcome that, (but) it's done in a way that causes so much frustration." "It's too little too late," he added. "Given all the pitfalls... it flops." Member of Parliament (MP) for New Edubiase in the Ashanti Region, Adams Abdul Salam has stated that there is a need for an improvement in Ghanas ambulance service. According to him, the state of the ambulance service in Ghana is appalling and needs to be looked at. There have been a lot of complaints about the response times of ambulances to emergencies in the country and the overall state of the service. Recently, a seemingly new ambulance, with registration number GY 537-20, was seen being loaded with bags of cement by some young men, with footage going viral on social media. The development sparked a huge debate online, with many criticising the government for failing to ensure that the ambulances for what they were purchased for. Speaking on Eyewitness News, the New Edubiase MP narrated his experiences with the ambulance service in his constituency, stating that some deaths could have been avoided if the services responses had been swifter. I think if you become a Member of Parliament, one of the things that that come to you are issues of healthcare. When I was sworn in I was struggling a bit with the things to prioritise but about a month into my tenure, by default, healthcare issues became a priority for us. Usually, when people are involved in an accident, they even come to the MP before they get to the hospital. So issues of emergencies, healthcare, and all that come to our attention very often, he said. There was one that really struck a nerve across the constituency, which involved a headteacher who was going to his community for work and was involved in an accident. Friends of the victim reached out to the ambulance service, only to be told that they could not render any services because the driver of the ambulance was indisposed and that they could not move the vehicle if the designated driver was not there. So when that happened, they had to reach out to Adansi Asokwa, which is the nearby constituency that we share a boundary with, and it took over five hours for them to get there. By which time, the victim had succumbed to the injuries that he sustained. So I thought that was pretty serious and could have been avoided. The second one was when the police commander in our district was found unconscious in the house. We reached out to the ambulance [service] and it was pretty late. It became a tussle between the [officials of] the ambulance service and some police officers as to how he should be transported and whether or not they would be able to transport him in the night. Apparently, for some security reasons, they could not render any services at night. So I thought that day we didnt have to wait for another victim and or for someone else to suffer the same fate so we needed to bring this to the attention of the authorities and for all of us as a country to see where we are winning without ambulance services. Mr. Abdul Salam further stated that it was important for the government to not only provide improved ambulance services but also to ensure that they operate smoothly to protect and preserve life. I worked closely, at my former job, with people who needed ambulance services frequently and I could count the number of times that people would have died if responses were not swift and I see the situation in the country to be very bizarre when it comes to responses and its just not good enough. I think what goes into it, what goes into their services and the services they actually render, especially when it comes to responding to emergencies, is actually critical to what the ambulance service does. citinewsroom The French National Assembly has voted in favour of a bill intended to reinforce anti-terrorist and intelligence-gathering legislation, by incorporating emergency regulations into regular law. The bill will now be examined by the upper house, the Senate. There were 87 votes in favour, 10 against, and four abstentions. The government has welcomed the outcome, saying the proposed legislation strengthens the legal arsenal against terrorism, while protecting individual rights and freedoms. Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti says "terrorism is changing like some foul virus. It's to be expected that the law will adapt to those changes." The opposition right-wing Republicans, who had called for tougher measures during this week's debate on the bill, finally voted in favour "in a spirit of responsibility". One of their MPs, Eric Ciotti, nonetheless regretted that "a chance has been missed". On the political left, the hard-line France Unbowed party tried to have the final vote abandoned, claiming that the legislations is "part of a gradual slide towards an ever more authoritarian regime". Socialist deputies questioned the usefulness of the proposed law, but party members were given no instructions on how to vote. Emergency rules to become common law If finally passed and approved by the Constitutional Court, the ant-terrorism provisions will include four emergency regulations as full parts of common law. The measures concern the establishment of security zones, the closure of religious establishments, the supervision of former prisoners freed after serving full terms for terrorist crimes, and the right of the police to enter private homes. All have been in effect since the state of emergency was declared in France following a series of terrorist attacks in November 2015. Critics suggest that the legislation is unfair in the treatment proposed for those released after serving sentences for terrorist crimes. The French Constitutional Court, which ensures that legislation does not infringe the republican constitution, has already rejected an earlier bill because of the unfair treatment reserved for some categories of prisoners. The latest bill proposes that former terrorists will be subject to special conditions of police supervision for 24 months after their release. Such individuals would, for example, be forbidden from attending events at which the risk of terrorism was considered to be high. Several deputies questioned the legality of imposing such restrictions on people who have committed no crime. Eric Ciotti criticised the legislation as weak in the face of the threat posed, claiming that "human bombs would be unleashed form the prisons". He has called for a change to the French constitution to enable the adoption of tougher rules for former terrorists. OneGhana Movement is pushing to have victims of the June 3 disaster compensated. The civil group also want officials found culpable punished in accordance with the law. On June 3, 2015, torrential rainfall which heavily flooded most parts of the capital resulted in the death of 154 people in the capital. One notable event was the explosion the GOIL filling station at Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra where over 100 persons died in the fire. A report of the Ministerial Committee that investigated the disaster cited poor safety practices at the GOIL filling station. One Ghana Movement launched a campaign; Justice for June 3rd Victims Campaign (J4J3) to seek justice for victims of the disaster. After exactly six years the disaster occurred, the Civil Society Organisation has through a statement stressed that they are keen on continuously working with lawyers of the victims to attain justice. Marking the day with surviving victims who are suffering permanent physical disabilities OneGhana Movement is insisting that victims and families of deceased persons should be adequately compensated. Not only is the group seeking compensation for victims, but it also wants to see to it that officials found guilty of not playing their roles resulting in the fire explosion are punished. While the court case continues, it is our expectation that the pursuit of justice will not only result in fair compensations to victims and their families but will, in the end, punish officials found culpable. Even more importantly, it will drive the sense of accountability and responsibility on the part of citizens, corporate Ghana, and public officials, part of a statement from OneGhana Movement dated June 2, 2021, has said. It continues, In so doing, the citizens shall be emboldened not to allow their rights and privileges to be trampled upon. Public servants and politicians alike shall also realize that they will be held accountable for their actions or inactions. Below is the full statement from OneGhana Movement: A state government in central Nigeria confirmed on Thursday that gunmen seized 136 children from an Islamic seminary at the weekend, the latest in a string of mass kidnappings in the country. Criminal gangs have targeted schools in remote areas, where pupils live in dormitories with little security protection, before hauling their victims into nearby forests to negotiate ransoms. Police said gunmen attacked Tegina town in Niger state on Sunday, arriving on motorbikes and shooting indiscriminately. Niger state police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun said the criminals killed one resident, injured another before kidnapping an unknown number of children from the Salihu Tanko Islamic school. Late on Wednesday, Niger state confirmed 136 students had been taken. "A total of 136 students were abducted," deputy governor Alh Ahmed Mohammed Ketso said, in a video posted on Twitter. President Muhammadu Buhari ordered security forces and intelligence agencies to step up efforts to rescue the children. Buhari "condemned as unfortunate" the kidnapping of children, according to a statement from his spokesman Garba Shehu, and urged all those involved in the rescue operation to do their utmost in securing their immediate release. Kesto said that security agencies were "doing their best but don't have enough logistics," adding that more help was needed to equip them to confront the criminals. The attackers did release 11 of the pupils who were "too small and couldn't walk" very far, the authorities previously said. Niger's deputy governor said the government did not pay ransoms, adding that security agencies were "being careful in the pursuit of bandits to avoid collateral damage." The authorities say 136 children were kidnapped at a school in Tegina. By (AFP) "We are trying to negotiate to see how we can bring them back safely", Ketso said. Relatives of the kidnapped schoolchildren appealed to the government to help free them. "My appeal to the government is that they should try to protect our people first and our children first," Sa'idu Umar, whose child was among those abducted, told AFP. "We are hoping that they are going to try harder to bring back our children successfully." Mothers and other relatives crouched, weeping and waiting for the missing children outside the school on Tuesday. Armed gangs are terrorising inhabitants in northwest and central Nigeria by looting villages, stealing cattle, and taking people hostage. More than 700 children and students have already been kidnapped by gunmen for ransom since December. Mass kidnappings in northwest and central Nigeria are complicating challenges facing Buhari's security forces, who are also battling a more than decade-long jihadist insurgency in the northeast of the country. The European Commission has issued a warning or yellow card to Ghana, saying that, it risks being identified as a non-cooperating country in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. This decision, according to the Commission, is based on various shortcomings in Ghanas ability to comply with its duties under international law as flag, port, coastal or market State. The Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries at the EU, Virginijus Sinkevicius in the warning statement stated that said: The Commission stands for zero tolerance for IUU fishing. Ghana plays an important role in fisheries governance in West Africa. Therefore, we stand ready to work with Ghana to address the threats IUU fishing poses to the sustainability of fish stocks, coastal communities, food security and the profits of those fishermen and women who follow the rules. Sustainable fisheries is key to better ocean governance. The identified shortcomings to warrant this warning by the European Union include illegal transshipments at sea of large quantities of undersized juvenile pelagic species between industrial trawl vessels and canoes in Ghanaian waters. The Commission also made mention of deficiencies in the monitoring, control and surveillance of the fleet and a legal framework that is not aligned with the relevant international obligations Ghana has signed up to. Also, the sanctions imposed by Ghana to vessels engaging in or supporting IUU fishing activities are not effective and not an adequate deterrent. The Commission noted that, Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is jeopardising the very foundation of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the EU's international efforts to promote better ocean governance. Under the European Green Deal and pursuing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal for conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, sea and marine resources, the Commission has committed to a zero-tolerance approach to IUU fishing. The Strategy for Africa highlights the fight against IUU fishing as one of the key issues to address with our African partners. Ghana in November 2013 received a yellow card, but was lifted in October 2015, after the country addressed the shortcomings in the fishing industry. Effect of the yellow card The yellow card is a warning and offers Ghana the opportunity to react and take measures to rectify the situation within a reasonable time. At this stage, the decision does not entail any measures affecting trade. However, in cases of prolonged and continued non-compliance countries can ultimately face a procedure of identification (a so-called red card), which entails sanctions such as the prohibition to export their fishery products to the EU market. Effective monitoring the way to go According to the Commission, Ghana should ensure effective monitoring and control of the activities of its fishing vessels and an adequate implementation of its enforcement and sanctioning system. It should also ensure a sound fisheries management system in order to prevent fish stemming from IUU fishing activities from reaching its market or others, including the European one. Background The EU is the world's biggest importer of fisheries products. The global value of IUU fishing is estimated at 10-20 billion euros per year. Between 11 and 26 million tonnes of fish are caught illegally every year, corresponding to at least 15% of world catches. The Commissions decision is based on the EU's 'IUU Regulation', which entered into force in 2010. One of the pillars of this Regulation is the catch certification scheme that ensures that only legally caught fisheries products can access the EU market. The Regulation also provides for specific dialogue mechanisms with the countries that are not complying with their obligations as flag, coastal, port and market State under international law. While failure to cooperate in the framework of the dialogue can lead to an identification of the country (a so-called red card), the IUU dialogues are based on cooperation and support to countries and are an important step in tackling IUU fishing, with sanctions, including trade prohibition being only a last resort measure. Since November 2012, the Commission entered in formal dialogues with 27 third countries, that is, officially warned them of the need to take effective action to fight IUU fishing. In most cases, significant progress was observed and therefore the Commission could satisfactorily close the formal dialogue phase and lift the yellow card. Only a few countries have not shown the necessary commitment to reforms until now. The EU according to the statement is working to support Ghanaian population on the ground with several capacity building projects. ---ghenvironment.org Senior aides to Queen Elizabeth II barred the hiring of "coloured immigrants or foreigners" in office roles at Buckingham Palace until at least the late 1960s, a media report said Thursday. The Queen and Britain's royal household also negotiated an exemption from 1970s-era laws on race and sex discrimination that still exists today, The Guardian reported. Citing historical papers it unearthed at the National Archives, the newspaper said that in 1968, the Queen's chief financial manager told government officials of the hiring policy towards ethnic minorities. "It was not, in fact, the practice to appoint coloured immigrants or foreigners" to clerical and other office posts, one document quoted the royal courtier as having stated. "Coloured applicants" were considered only for "ordinary domestic posts", it added. It is unclear when the policy ended, but Buckingham Palace has said its records show people from ethnic minority backgrounds being employed in the 1990s, The Guardian noted. The palace added it did not keep records on the racial backgrounds of employees prior to that, according to the paper. A palace spokeswoman said in a statement: "Claims based on a second-hand account of conversations from over 50 years ago should not be used to draw or infer conclusions about modern-day events or operations." She added the royal household complied with the provisions of the 2010 Equality Act "in principle and in practice". "Any complaints that might be raised under the Act follow a formal process that provides a means of hearing and remedying any complaint," the spokeswoman said. The revelations are the latest in an ongoing investigation by The Guardian into the royal family's use of an arcane parliamentary procedure -- known as Queen's consent -- to influence British legislation. The official documents show senior aides to Britain's longest-serving monarch coordinated with government officials on the wording of new racial and sexual equalities laws in the 1970s. The exemption secured for the royal household meant a government board, rather than the courts, has since dealt with allegations of discrimination within the royal household. The disclosures are likely to renew focus on allegations of historical and more recent racism with the British royal family. In a bombshell interview earlier this year, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle revealed a family member had expressed concern about their expected child's skin colour. Shock at the claim prompted Prince William, second-in-line to the throne and Harry's elder brother, to tell reporters in March that the family was "very much not" racist. Scientists have figured out the physics behind the various ways in which elephants use their trunks to lift objects, eat, and drink, an advance that could aid in building new kinds of robots. Elephant's Trunk According to the research released in the Journal of Royal Society Interface, the size of elephant's nostril and their lung capacity makes them capable of using their nearly 100kg trunks to grab objects with "similar pressures as the human lung." Co-author of the study from Georgia Tech College of Engineering in the US, David Hu, explained in a statement: "An elephant makes use of its trunk like a Swiss Army knife. It can perceive scents and grab things. Other times it blows things away like a leaf blower or sniffs them in just like a vacuum." In the study, the scientists used techniques like mathematical modelling and ultrasonic imaging to assess the muscles of their trunk at work when elephants feed on various foods like vegetable cubes and tortilla chips.The scientists discovered that while feeding on rutabaga cubes the elephants sucked smaller cubes up, and made a noisy vacuuming sound - like the one a person slurping noodles makes - before moving the vegetables to its mouth. Also Read: Understanding an Elephant's Playful Side The Discovery They then gave elephants a tortilla chip and took a measurement of the suction force. The elephant either pressed down on the chip and breathed it in, or applied suction from afar, taking the chip to the ending of its trunk, according to the scientist. Assessing how the elephants drank water, the researchers discovered that in just 1.5 seconds, the trunk took in 3.7 litres - equal to 20 toilets flushing at the same time. By contracting the inner muscles of the trunk, the animal widens its nostrils up to 30 per cent, reducing the thickness of the walls and increasing the nasal volume by 64 per cent, they added. The scientists wrote in the study that based on the pressures applied, they made an estimation that the elephants can inhale at speeds of over 150 m/s, almost 30 times the speed of a human sneeze. Mechanics and Physics Surrounding Trunk Muscle Movements The researchers say this speed can be compared to Japan's 480 kmph bullet trains. Leader of the study, Andrew Schulz said in a statement: "It didn't make sense at first: the nasal passage of an elephant is relatively small and it was taking in more water than it should. Schulz added it wasn't until they viewed the ultrasonographic images and observed the nostrils expand that they realised how the elephants did it. Air makes the walls open, and the elephant can stockpile far more water than researchers originally estimated. The scientists are convinced that understanding the mechanics and physics surrounding trunk muscle movements (combinations of suction and grasping) - have applications in soft robotics like the type used in rescue operations. Related Article: Gym Owner Does Pull-Ups on an Elephant's Tusks Gets Viral For more news, updates about elephants and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News! Listen to article Some nine miners trapped in a pit at the Gbane mining area of the Talensi District of the Upper East Region have died. The bodies were retrieved two days after a rescue mission by a joint security team together with officials of the National Disaster Management Organization, (NADMO). Police say the deceased were miners trapped in a pit at the Moabok mining site following a downpour on the night of Monday, May 31, 2021. The rescue mission started two days ago, but yesterday [Wednesday], we were able to retrieve nine of the miners who were trapped after the heavy rains. With the retrieval of the bodies, the police are able to confirm that they have died. The Municipal medical office came in to examine the bodies, and he pronounced them dead Upper East Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), ASP David Fianko-Okyere said. He added that the search is still ongoing and that the police have assured of maximum security in the mining area. We are doing everything possible to ensure that we exhaust all means that there is no other person is still trapped dead or alive. In the meantime, the police say no arrest has been made. This is not the first time, a pit in the area has caved in killing miners. In March 2020, an illegal mining pit at Yamsok a suburb of Yameriga also in the Talensi District killed one person and injured another . The deceased Pii-Naab Joel, age 20 and a native of Yamsok was mining in an illegal mining pit with his colleagues when the pit caved in. Other collapsed mining pits This is not the first time a mining pit had caved on miners in Ghana. In November 2020 , an illegal small-scale mining pit in the outskirts of Ayanfuri in the Central Region collapsed and trapped eight persons between the ages of 24 and 35 years. The illegal miners were rescued by residents and rushed to the Dunkwa on Offin Government Hospital where they were pronounced dead on arrival. A similar situation was recorded in October 2020 , where five persons died when they were trapped in a mining pit at Ayamfuri in the Upper Denkyira West District of the Central region. 15 others who were also trapped in the cave sustained varied injuries after the incident. Obuasi: One feared dead after Anglogold Ashanti mining pit caved in One person died recently after an underground mining pit which is part of the concession of Anglogold Ashanti Obuasi Mine, caved in and trapped some workers. The incident reportedly occurred on Monday, May 17, 2021. According to the mining workers who spoke to Citi News on condition of anonymity, four persons working for Underground Mining Alliance, UMA, a company contracted by Anglogold Ashanti Obuasi mine, were trapped underground. A Nigerian state government said it was negotiating with gunmen who seized 136 children from an Islamic seminary at the weekend, the latest in a string of mass kidnappings in the country. Criminal gangs have often targeted schools in remote areas, where pupils live in dormitories with little security protection, before hauling their victims into nearby forests to negotiate ransoms. Police said gunmen attacked Tegina town in Niger state on Sunday, arriving on motorbikes and shooting indiscriminately. Niger state police said the criminals killed one resident, injured another before kidnapping children from the Salihu Tanko Islamic school. "We are in touch with the kidnappers to find a way to secure the release of the children. We are negotiating to see how we can arrive at an agreement," deputy governor Ahmed Mohammed Ketso told reporters on Wednesday. "We are also in contact with the parents. We call on them to be patient, government is making all efforts to secure the release of the children." Ketso also confirmed 136 students had been taken. President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered security forces and intelligence agencies to step up efforts to rescue the children. Buhari "condemned as unfortunate" the kidnapping of children, according to a statement from his spokesman Garba Shehu, and urged all those involved in the rescue operation to do their utmost in securing their immediate release. The attackers did release 11 of the pupils who were "too small and couldn't walk" very far, the authorities previously said. Niger's deputy governor said the government did not pay ransoms, adding that security agencies were "being careful in the pursuit of bandits to avoid collateral damage." Relatives of the kidnapped schoolchildren appealed to the government to help free them. "My appeal to the government is that they should try to protect our people first and our children first," Sa'idu Umar, whose child was among those abducted, told AFP. "We are hoping that they are going to try harder to bring back our children successfully." Mothers and other relatives crouched, weeping and waiting for the missing children outside the school on Tuesday. Armed gangs are terrorising inhabitants in northwest and central Nigeria by looting villages, stealing cattle, and taking people hostage. More than 700 children and students have already been kidnapped by gunmen for ransom since December. Mass kidnappings in northwest and central Nigeria are complicating challenges facing Buhari's security forces, who are also battling a more than decade-long jihadist insurgency in the northeast of the country. Journalists and others outside the inky fraternity both have a role in upholding the freedom of expression and for that matter democracy. As a shared responsibility it behooves all to contribute towards this standard of good governance and civility. Ghana, we can bet, has never experienced so much expressive freedom. So unfettered is the freedom of expression that the traits of irresponsibility on the part of some journalists is glaringly worrying. When therefore, there are occasional references to a so-called culture of silence in the country by some political actors there is cause to wonder whether the motive is not mischief-driven. All too soon we have forgotten how the media ambience was like before the repealing of the obnoxious colonial period Criminal Libel Law. Amnesia is a quality in some persons and so when they exude it by living in a fantasy world of a culture of silence and express same all we can do is take note of the shortcoming and just move on. They do not think that it is the unfettered freedom which makes them talk so loosely and irresponsibly boisterous. The repeated ranting about a so-called gagging of the media is nothing but a calculated attempt at giving government a bad name and hanging it on the public space for electoral mileage. President Akufo-Addo is best primed to talk about how far we have come in our press freedom journey his yeoman task in pushing for the repealing of the century old Criminal Libel Law standing prominently in our statute books. His preference for a boisterous, reckless media to as he put it to a supine one has not spared the President the harsh references by those with an insincere mission. In Ghana there is a certain belief by some that journalists are beyond reproach. Criticising their work will surely attract a reprehensible reaction by some. That is inappropriate because holding the stance that all can be critiqued but journalists does not meet the standard of fairness. Journalists are as fallible as other members of society their work in particular not exempted from public scrutiny. The public searchlight should not exempt anybody if we want to derive maximum dividends from democracy and ensure decency and good governance. Stifling the truth is what emanates from one-sided stories which some journalists prefer churning out in contemporary times. Including the rising incidence of fake news in their regimens only worsens the output of some journalists. For us therefore, criticizing the poor quality reportage by some journalists cannot represent an asphyxiation of the freedom of expression in the country. Unfortunately this is what some would want to force down the throat of Ghanaians. Relations between Russia's sphere of influence in the "East" and its old European and American rivals in the "West" returned to the spotlight recently, after a flight from Athens to Vilnius was diverted to Minsk on the orders of Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko. In this edition of Paris Perspective we look at the wider issue of post-Cold War power play and France's potential role in mediating between the two blocs. The recent interception of a flight from Greece to Lithuania by a Belorussian fighter jet over claims there was a bomb on board, led to an international outcry when it was revealed the plane was actually diverted to Minsk to arrest opposition journalist Roman Protassevitch and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega. Western powers reacted swiftly, increasing targeted sanctions on Belarussian businesses in a bid to warn President Alexander Lukashenko that the hijacking of the Ryanair flight to Vilnius was tantamount to state piracy, in violation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation's Chicago Convention, which protects the sovereignty of nations' airspace. Russia's President Vladimir Putin moved fast to condemn EU and US over reaction to Lukashenko's move, summoning his Belarussian counterpart to a summit in Sochi, where both leaders doubled-down on their mutual opposition to dissent, presenting a united front by slamming "Western interference in local affairs. Last month's debacle, however, has highlighted the differences that remain between the old Eastern and Western blocs, and have seen the rhetoric between Moscow and Nato ratcheted up a few notches. Russia is set to deploy 20 new military units to its western border and undertake joint military exercises with Belarus to counter perceived aggression from Nato maritime patrols, military drills and US surveillance flights over what was traditionally Soviet Russia's zone of influence. Enter the 'Great White Knight'? Since his election in 2017, many have speculated that French President Emmanuel Macron would fast become Europe's White Knight when dealing with international spats between old rivals, finding common ground with adversaries while extolling the virtues of a united Europe. Anglea Merkel's power is waning, as she prepares to step down as Chancellor of Germany after 15 years at the helm this September. Meanwhile the European Union has been distracted by Brexit and Covid-19. So is it a given that Macron is first in line to fill the power vacuum? Not so fast, says Oleg Kobtzeff, Associate Professor of Politics & History at the American University of Paris: "He has certain assets, but 'Great White Knight'? Probably not." Kobtzeff continues: The opportunity is there because Angela Merkel is on her way out, and she was the great buffer between Russia and the rest of the EU and the West. She was the great conciliator, the great mediator with a very strong and strategic role, says Kobtzeff, reminding us that as an East German - born during the Cold War - Merkel speaks fluent Russian, while Putin - as former head of the KGB - in turn, speaks fluent German. The future of German power is uncertain. So that's asset number one for Macron. There's a throne there that is going to be empty very soon. The second asset for Macron is the Quai d'Orsay - the French institutions of foreign policy and foreign affairs, which, says Kobtzeff, have been the symbol of France's soft power worldwide for decades. Conciliatory relations In recent years, France's diplomatic relations with Russia have been more conciliatory than other Western powers, especially during the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which led to the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014. The move by Moscow was viewed with incredulity by Western governments, who were quick to underline that it set a dangerous precedent reminiscent of Nazi expansionism in the 1930s. Macron was part of Francois Hollande's government, says Kobtzeff, and Hollande did a lot more for East-West relations when the Ukrainian crisis began - much more than Angela Merkel by advancing the Minsk agreements. Western double-standards The latest bout of Western outrage at Protassevich's arrest was scoffed at by Moscow, which was quick to call-out the double-standards of the European Union and United States. This referred to an incident in 2013 - during the Obama administration - when Bolivian President Evo Morales' plane was denied clearance over European airspace following a visit to Moscow, as it was thought US whistleblower Edward Snowden was on board. The plane was forced to land in Austria. To Russia, forcing a head of state's plane to land is more egregious than Lukashenko's scrambling of a Mig-29 fighter jet to apprehend a journalist he believes is a dissident and national security threat. So does the Kremlin have a point when it says double-standards are in play? Unfortunately, yes, says the politics and history professor, but the issue of Putin supporting Lukashenko is essentially a Muscovite Minsk affair. For him, this is all part of a wider strategy to make Lukashenko more dependent on Moscow. Following last year's mass protests against the re-election of Europe's last dictator, Moscow viewed the situation as completely out of control and dangerous. Russia was actually preparing to replace Lukashenko with more reasonable candidates. He has been a troublemaker for Moscow since at least 2014, so this was an excellent opportunity to rein him back into the fold, Kobtzeff asserts: He's done something extremely dangerous and stupid. With Moscow defending him, he becomes a vassal of the Kremlin. If anything, Lukashenko's act of piracy has shown him to be incompetent, an amateur in global affairs and extremely dangerous - despite clinging onto power for over 27 years. Common conflict of interest For the fresh-faced Macron who's finishing up his first five-year mandate as president, has Putin done him a favour by pulling Lukashenko back in step with Russia's interests? Despite his youth, Macron is no amateur, says Kobtzeff: He's an excellent politician for the internal politics of France. A kid in his 30s could not have come through the ranks to become president without extremely strong back-up, including the whole apparatus of people in power - that certainly includes the Quai d'Orsay. If Macron wins a second mandate in 2022, he will be looked to for guidance when dealing with Putin and will have to build on the common ground Paris and Moscow share on an international level. France has 15billion worth of investment in Russia - so trade has its place. And even in the early 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, Paris and Moscow have cooperated in industry especially the space sector. But one particular flash-point between Russia and France, is resurgent Russian influence on the African continent. While Moscow cannot abide foreign interference in its traditional spheres of influence - be it Ukraine or Georgia - how has Russia's intervention in the Central African Republic been viewed by former colonial power, France? Kobtzeff believes many French specialists in foreign and African policy particularly those within the Francafrique neo-colonial power dynamic feel threatened: Russian presence [in the CAR in 2021] is just as threatening to them as East German troops deployed in Mozambique or Angola during the Cold War. He adds that French foreign policy institutions would also be wary of the Russians and Chinese encroaching on their back yard. To conclude, Kobtzeff says: The Quai d'Orsay would certainly perceive the situation as threatening. Watch full video here Written, produced & presented by David Coffey Recorded by Julien Leng & Cecile Pompeani Edited & mixed by Thibault Baduel & Vincent Pora Oleg Kobtzeff is an Associate Professor of Politics & History at the American University of Paris. The Eastern Regional First Vice Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party [NPP], Alhaji Umar Bodinga has stated that the debate over the admission of two students with dreadlocks to Achimota Senior High School would not have been an issue to land in court if Rastafarian was a recognised religion in Ghana. Umar Bodinga stated that, the misunderstanding between the management of the school and parents of the students would not have been the case if they were Muslims. "Rastafarianism is not a recognize religion in Ghana, their ethics and values must not be accepted in our schools,Alhaji Umar Bodinga exclusively told Kwaku Dawuro on Anopa Nkomo on Accra-based Kingdom FM 107.7 He said, this was the case because Islam was a recognised religion in Ghana, whereas Rastafarianism was not. Alhaji Umar Bodinga, therefore, advocated for the GES and its stakeholders to come out with standard rules for secondary schools in order to avert future occurrences. Listen to article The Member of Parliament for the Lambussie Constituency, Hon.Dr Bright Bakye Baligi, calls for fairness in the allocation of forest resources in his Constituency. He made this known when presenting a speech on the floor of Parliament. Read the details below RESOLVING RESOURCE GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT CONFLICTS AMONG STAKEHOLDERS OF KAMBA TRIBUTORY AND BANWON BAWO FOREST RESERVES IN THE LAMBUSSIE CONSTITUENCY BY BAKYE YELVIEL BALIGI (NPP-MP) LAMBUSSIE. Mr. Speaker I am sincerely grateful for this opportunity to make my maiden statement on a critical issue of natural resource governance and management conflicts, as its borders on the livelihood, subsistence and survival of the inhabitants of seven communities namely: Samoah, Suke, Sina, Kongo, Nabaala, Billaw, and Banwon, all of the Lambussie constituency. Mr. Speaker, natural resource management and governance comprises multiple actors of which, community members are part. Mr. Speaker, Graham et al., (2003) defined natural resource governance to include how resource decisions are taken, and how citizens or other stakeholders have their say in relation to the natural resource in question and how these resource decisions affect the quality of life for both the present and future generations. Mr. Speaker, the Kamba Tributary Forest Reserve and the Banwon Bawo Forest Reserves, both in the Lambussie constituency, were established in 1948 and 1956 respectively, following the enactment of the first forest policy in 1948. This policy, which sought to regulate commercialization of timber trees, was fundamentally protective and preservative, thus, witnessed a massive, centralized, and forceful demarcation and reservation of forest reserves in Ghana, undermining the ownership and user rights of indigenous people. Mr. Speaker, it is an undisputable fact that forests and forest resources, besides their socio-economic and cultural benefits, also present enormous environmental and ecosystem/ecological dividends and wellbeing, most especially, in the wake of climate change and variability. Mr. Speaker, since there was no consultation and agreement of a sort in the creation of these forests, people whose homes and farms were captured were forcefully evicted and prohibited, without compensation, from farming, settlement, animal grazing or collection of any resources in the forest. Mr. Speaker, the Forestry Commission, which is the agency tasked with the administration of forests and forest resources abandoned affected communities and directly affected individuals to their own destiny. Mr. Speaker, to add insults to injuries, some community members were arrested and detained, resulting in their consequent abscondment from the communities. It is an incontrovertible fact Mr. speaker, that, agriculture is the main source of livelihood for most rural households as mine, thus, the confiscation of farmlands and consequent prohibition of access to the appropriation of Non Timber Forest Products from same, without compensation, or alternative livelihoods amid growing population, violates the fundamental human rights and freedoms of forest fringe communities. Mr. Speaker, Article 20 clause 3 of the 1992 constitution provides; Mr. Speaker with your indulgence I quote where a compulsory acquisition or possession of land effected by the state in accordance with clause (1) of this article involves displacement of any inhabitants, the state shall resettle the displaced inhabitants on suitable alternative land with due regard for their economic wellbeing and social and cultural values. Mr. speaker, alternative to this form of centralized way of governing the natural resources is the Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) which seeks to encourage the participation of communities and other users of natural resources in the governing and decision-making process. Mr. Speaker, for local communities to engage in natural resource governance, they need to be aware of their rights as defined in laws and regulations. It is quite unfortunate that many local communities as mine, are often not aware of these rights or have same taken away by other actors. The Conservation Initiative on Human Rights (CIHR) (2010) came out with stepwise approach for rights-based conservation which enforces the rights and culture of communities in natural resource governance. Mr. Speaker, Ghana ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights in 1989 which enjoins member states to safeguard the human rights and freedoms of their citizenry by adopting legislative and regulatory measures to give effect to the rights recognized by the Charter. Article 22 of this Charter, defines right of people to include their socio-economic and socio-cultural development and compels states to enforce it in a free and equal manner. The African Commission has indicated that benefit sharing and the rights of indigenous people to their allocation, is a part of this right to development. Mr. Speaker, since the creation of the forest department in 1908, there have been series of forest and natural resources governance policies and persistent reviews of same, in accordance with emerging trends and best practices. In this regard, the 1994 Forest and Wildlife Policy got amended in 2012 with a major aim of promoting and developing mechanisms for transparent governance, equity sharing and peoples participation in forest and wildlife resources management Mr. Speaker, Article 267 (6) of the 1992 Constitution outlines the benefit sharing formula in relation to Stool and Skin lands, where it indicates that, ten percent (10%) of all revenue accruing from these lands must be paid to the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands (OASL) to cover administrative expenses. The remaining revenues are to be disbursed among the following constitutional beneficiaries: stool/skin (25%), traditional authority (20%), and district assembly (55%). Besides, the Timber Resource Management Act, 1998, (Act 547) as amended by Act 617, (2002) and its implementing Regulations (LI 1649, 1998 as amended by LI 1721, 2003) imbeds into the Timber Utilization Contract (TUC), many specific timber related benefits from both natural forests and plantations, and how these benefits must be allocated. Mr. Speaker, also imperative in the rules of procedure for acquiring TUC (logging rights) includes the Social Responsibility Agreements (SRAs): which must be signed between the local communities and the logging companies. The SRA mandates timber contractors to provide certain amenities, services or benefits to assist the communities and inhabitants of the traditional paramountcy, at a cost of no less than 5% of the value of the stumpage fee of timber that is harvested. Mr. Speaker, Denial of the inherent and undisputable community rights and privileges to these traditional lands and natural resources violates their rights and consequently generates conflicts. Mr. Speaker, tension is currently on the rise in the affected communities as inhabitants strongly feel excluded or cheated by FC for a very long time. The major source of conflict, Mr. Speaker, has to do with how land owners were evicted from their lands, without compensation and prohibited from accessing NTFPs such as shea fruits and nuts, termites for chicks, herbs, other wild fruits from same, which are very fundamental to their survival. This is contrary to the provisions of article 267 (6) of the 1992 constitution. Mr. Speaker, the communities have also been neglected by the FC in the management of the reserves. Mr. Speaker, in 2014 for instance, the Forestry Commission, which is the agency responsible for the management and administration of forest and forest resources in Ghana, issued licenses to timber contractors who harvested rose wood from these reserves without compensation to the affected communities and persons. Mr. Speaker, also, Springer et al., (2011) contend that, in situations where issues surrounding human rights and wellbeing are not fully understood or addressed, governing and conservation actions by authorities, could result in conflicts. This led to farmers encroaching on the reserve leading to its depletion and consequent seizure. Another trigger, Mr. Speaker, is the name of the forest. The Kamba Tributary Forest Reserve, which is in the Lambussie District is named after a tributary of the Kamba river in the Lawra district, when, in effect, there are equally renowned rivers, mountains, sacred grooves etc. that could name the reserve. Communities fringing the Kamba Tributary Forest Reserve therefore contend that the name does not imply their ownership of the reserve. Mr. Speaker, the exclusion of forest fringe community members from the Modified Taungya System (MTS):, a system where farmers are permitted to plant food crops on reforested lands during the first few years of plantation establishment until the forest canopy cover closes. Farmers are entitled to 100% of the benefits accruing from intercropping and 40% of planted tree products. Mr. Speaker, project participants on this scheme were drawn from different communities to farm in the forest without regards to the landowners. The case got worst as the noncommunity members the FC brought to farm in the reserves are now restricting landowners and community members from harvesting NTFPs in the reserves. This cannot be right Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Rents and royalties must be distributed according to the formula included in the 1992 Constitution. The part that is specific to the SRA (equivalent to 5% of value of the stumpage fee) is entirely destined for the communities concerned by the SRA. Recommendations Mr. Speaker, all around the world, natural resources (forest and wildlife) policies advocate for collaborative, participatory and community resource management. Our resource management agencies in this country would have to ensure transparent governance and equitable distribution of benefits accruing from these resources in order to guarantee their sustainability. Mr. Speaker, may l suggest that the FC and other stakeholders to engage the communities in a dialogue to either re-establish/re-demarcate the forest since there was no consultation during establishment. Mr. Speaker, the FC would also have to clearly define, and give to affected communities and individuals, their compensation entitlements or allow them access to the land to till and feed their families since they have no alternative source of livelihood. There must be clear definition of ownership rights and stringent application of benefit sharing agreements. Besides Mr. Speaker, landowners and community members should be the people farming on the land under the MTS project. Another alternative would be to practice rotational forestry where portions of the forest will be given out for farming while other portions are protected/reserved at every point in time. Conclusion Community resource (forestry) ownership and management is the way to go. According to the communities, without addressing the above recommendations amicably will result in the aggressive encroachment of the forest to permanently claim their lands that were ceased without compensation. I therefore call upon this august house to initiate the necessary actions to safeguard our environment while securing the livelihoods of forest fringe communities. As a result, prevailing conflicts over arable land, ownership, compensation, and benefit rights exist in all the communities. The communities and individuals are seeking regard for their human rights, access to arable land and access to their lawful benefits that accrue from the forest on their land. Thank you. Botswana authorities should immediately drop the criminal charges against two journalists and three media workers at the Moeladilotlhoko News Boiler and cease harassing members of the press and seizing their devices, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The five are expected in court this month in connection to a case dating from January. On January 28, police in Phitshane outside Botswanas capital Gaborone arrested Tshepo Sethibe and Michelle Teise, two reporters with Moeladilotlhoko, a privately-owned news outlet that publishes on Facebook, and four media workers with the company media security specialist Gosego Phofusetso, then-security guard Tumelo Modise, and then-staff photographer Kenanao Karele, according to Sethibe, who also serves as Moeladilotlhokos director, and Obonetse Jonas, the companys lawyer, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app. Jonas said that all five Moeladilotlhoko employees were released 10 days later on February 7 after being charged with two counts of criminal trespass for entering two houses on January 25 and January 27 in search of Obakeng Badubi, a man who had disappeared earlier that month, according to a Botswana government notice posted on Facebook. Jonas said the employees had entered the house as part of a news investigation into Badubis disappearance; the outlet publishes stories on people who have disappeared. Criminal trespass is punishable with up to one year in prison, according to Botswanas pena l code . Jonas told CPJ that the Moeladilotlhoko staff were last in court on April 15 and their next appearance was expected in June, but a specific date had not been set. Botswana police should drop all charges against the Moeladilotlhoko News Boiler staff and stop seizing devices from journalists, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator in New York. Authorities in Botswana should respect journalists privacy and allow them to do their work without fear of prosecution or other harassment. Between March 26 and 30, police again arrested Sethibe, Teise, and Phohusetso, as well as Moeladilotlhoko graphic designer Denis Khwinana and the outlets driver Tshireletso Badubi, Sethibe told CPJ. Teise and Badubi were arrested together in the southern Mmopane village while on assignment investigating Badubis disappearance; Gosego was arrested in in the residential Phase 2 area of Gaborone; Dennis was arrested at his home in the southern Tlokweng village; and Sethibe was arrested at the magistrates court in the southern Kanye village, he said. Sethibe said the police detained the group in police cells in Gaborone and seized their computers and mobile phones; the crew was granted bail on April 10 after being previously denied on April 1. All five were charged with one count of seditious offenses and six counts of criminal trespass for activities related to their continued investigation of Badubis disappearance, according to Sethibe and the charge sheet, which CPJ reviewed. The seditious offenses charges, which are punishable with up to three years in prison according to the penal code , specifically related to the teams creation of T-shirts with Bring back Obakeng printed on the front, Sethibe said. The charges from the March arrests were withdrawn in mid-April, according to Jonas and reports by the government-funded Daily News and the privately-owned The Voice newspapers. Jonas told CPJ that during the March arrests police demanded the passcodes to their mobile phones, which they gave them, and that all of the devices were returned after their release except for two phones which were kept as evidence. According to Sethibe, after the crew told police the passcodes to their devices, a police inspector who identified himself as Arron threatened to delete the Moeladilotlhoko News Boiler Facebook page, but Jonas convinced him not to do so. Sethibe also told CPJ that while he was in custody he saw officers answer phone calls and read messages on their devices. CPJ previously documented how Botswana police used digital forensics technology to extract information from a journalists phone. Sethibe and his co-accused in the March case told The Voice that they would continue their investigations into disappeared people without fear. CPJ tried to contact Botswana police spokesperson Dipheko Motube via messaging app and email but the requests went unanswered. Allianz Life Insurance and Societe Generale Bank have launched a bancassurance partnership to allow the general public purchase insurance policies via the banks outlets. Two insurance products, Sound Eduflex Plan and Sound Funeral Plan, were also unveiled at the event held at the head office of Societe Generale Bank in Accra. Speaking at the launch, the Managing Director of Societe Generale Ghana, Hakim Ouzzani, stated that the partnership with Allianz Life Insurance will enable a lot more people to have access to a wide range of insurance policies. Commenting on the essence of insurance especially in the aftermath of the pandemic, Mr. Ouzzani said buying the right insurance product is one of the essential ways people can mitigate the difficult environment left in the pandemics wake. According to the CEO of Allianz Life Insurance Ghana, Gideon Ataraire, over the years the company has mastered the art of creating insurance policies that are sensitive to the needs of people. He added that in partnering with Societe Generale, the two companies are able to leverage their expertise to service the needs of the insurance needs of the general public. Explaining how the two products work, Dzifa Fiati, Group Head, Corporate Business at Allianz Life, said the Sound Eduflex Plan is a plan that helps parents to save towards their childs education while insuring their own life as well as the childs. This product, among others, ensures a childs education continues no matter what happens to the parent. In the unfortunate case of the parent passing on through natural means or illness the child receives 100% of the sum assured, she stated. The Sound Funeral Plan, Ms. Fiati stated, is an insurance plan that one can take out on their loved ones. It has a minimum sum assured of GHS5,000 and a maximum of GHS80,000 and gives the policyholder a lumpsum to give their loved ones a befitting send-off without having to dig into their savings or take out a loan. Timely intervention Ismail Adam, Assistant Director of the Banking Supervision Department of the Bank of Ghana who also spoke at the event said the introduction of the two products were timely as the pandemic has eroded some from financial inclusion, He added that partnerships such as the one established between Allianz Life Insurance and Societe Generale Bank will help to drive financial intermediation and also complement governments efforts of promoting financial inclusion. Zimbabwe authorities should not contest journalist Jeffrey Moyos appeal of a recent ruling denying him bail, and should drop the criminal case against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On May 31, a court in the city of Bulawayo denied Moyos bail request, and ordered him to remain in custody until June 10, according to news reports . Magistrate Rachel Mukanga said in court that Moyo was a flight risk, and agreed with prosecutors that the journalist was a threat to national security and that the countrys sovereignty was undermined because foreign journalists interviewed Zimbabweans, according to the journalists lawyer, Doug Coltart, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app. Authorities arrested Moyo in the capital, Harare, on May 26 and charged him with violating Section 36 of Zimbabwes Immigration Act by allegedly helping two New York Times journalists, Christina Goldbaum and Joao Silva, obtain false media accreditations, according to Coltart and a report by the Times. If convicted, Moyo could face up to 10 years in jail, according to those reports. Coltart said Moyos defense team planned to appeal to the High Court in Harare. Zimbabwean authorities should recognize that New York Times freelancer Jeffrey Moyo has not threatened the countrys national security, and should not contest his appeal for bail, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator, in New York. It is only because of Zimbabwean authorities paranoia about international media coverage that Moyo is facing up to a decade in jail on spurious charges. In an emailed statement to CPJ, New York Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha said the paper was deeply disappointed by the magistrates decision and urged the High Court to grant Moyo bail. Authorities allege that Moyo falsely told immigration officials at Bulawayos Joshua Nkomo International Airport on May 5 that Goldbaum and Silva possessed accreditations issued by the Zimbabwe Media Commission, the countrys statutory media regulator, according to a Bulawayo police document requesting his detention, which CPJ reviewed. The document alleges that Moyo procured fake accreditations for the New York Times journalists, who then received business visas on arrival at the airport on May 5 to work in the country for seven days. On May 8, police located Goldbaum and Silva in their Harare hotel and expelled them to South Africa after information was received that they were in Zimbabwe with fake accreditation, the police document states. Authorities have also arrested Thabang Manhika, a registrar at the Zimbabwe Media Commission, for allegedly violating Section 36 of the Immigration Act, according to that police document. In a statement posted on Facebook, the Zimbabwe Media Commission wrote that two journalists had been deported for carrying forged accreditation cards and receipts which had been obtained by a local reporter with the alleged collusion of a ZMC [Zimbabwe Media Commission] member of staff. The commission alleged that the Times reporters had applied for clearance from authorities to work in Zimbabwe, had been denied, and had proceeded to come to the country anyway. It also stated that their names were not included on the media commissions register of accredited journalists. Moyo denies the states allegations, his lawyer told CPJ. In a separate statement emailed to CPJ, New York Times spokesperson Nicole Taylor said that Moyos detention raises troubling questions about the state of press freedom in Zimbabwe. Coltart said Moyo was being held in appalling conditions in the overcrowded Bulawayo Central Prison, and said that his wife had been denied prison visits and that Moyo was only able to obtain his own blanket after his lawyers donated one to the prison. He also said that a nurse had slapped Moyo in the face while giving him a test for COVID-19 in detention. Njabulo Ncube, national coordinator of the Zimbabwean National Editors Forum, a local trade group, told CPJ by phone that Moyos arrest and the expulsion of the two Times journalists was political and flies in the face of President Emmerson Mnangagwas mantra that Zimbabwe is open for business. Information Secretary Nick Mangwana did not respond to text messages from CPJ requesting comment. On May 29, he was quoted in local media as saying, If a Zimbabwean journalist gets involved in people smuggling and or the corrupting of officials through payment of bribery & they are arrested, there are no Press Freedom issues there. Moyo works as a freelancer for the New York Times, Globe and Mail, Inter Press Service, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, and other international outlets, according to his Twitter account . The Zimbabwe Media Commission replied to CPJs emailed request for comment by forwarding the statement published on its Facebook page. Listen to article The Judicial Secretary has filed a petition at the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council against Bolgatanga East MP Dominic Ayine over some comments he allegedly made about the 2020 election petition during an academic discussion. The lawmaker is reported to have said the Supreme Court failed to apply the rules of procedure during the trial. He is also believed to have raised concerns over the regular dismissal of the petitioners applications during the case. Mr Ayine is reported to have made the comments at an event organised by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) and the KNUST. The petition urged the GLC to probe the lawmaker and apply the necessary sanctions. Reacting to the petition, the Executive Director of the CDD Professor Kwasi Prempeh said the move is dangerous to free expression by lawyers. So, now members of the Ghana Bar cannot offer a personal unflattering opinion of the judiciary on an academic, a civil society or other public discussion platfrom, even after a case has been decided, without risking being hauled before the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council? Really? On the same platform where this lawyer expressed the opinion that has earned him an invitation to appear before the Disciplinary Committee of the legal professions regulator, other panelists, including other lawyers, strongly disagreed with him in his opinion of the judiciary regarding the case under discussion, with some praising the courts handling of the matter. In other words, the platform on which the lawyer spoke was a veritable marketplace of ideas and opinion, with panelists debating each other in frank, open dialogue. This, incidentally, was a webinar discussion organized by CDD-Ghana, in collaboration with the KNUST law faculty, as part of a new Judicial Review series (a partnership between CDD and two law faculties in Ghana) that aims to review and examine decisions of the courts for their impact on democracy and good governance. This particular panel, which examined the recent Ghana election petition through a comparative lens, featured two foreign participants (from Kenya and Zimbabwe), four Ghanaian lawyers, and me, he wrote. Below are details of Professor Kwesi Prempehs write up on Facebook So, now members of the Ghana Bar cannot offer a personal unflattering opinion of the judiciary on an academic, a civil society or other public discussion platfrom, even after a case has been decided, without risking being hauled before the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council? Really? On the same platform where this lawyer expressed the opinion that has earned him an invitation to appear before the Disciplinary Committee of the legal professions regulator, other panelists, including other lawyers, strongly disagreed with him in his opinion of the judiciary regarding the case under discussion, with some praising the courts handling of the matter. In other words, the platform on which the lawyer spoke was a veritable marketplace of ideas and opinion, with panelists debating each other in frank, open dialogue. This, incidentally, was a webinar discussion organized by CDD-Ghana, in collaboration with the KNUST law faculty, as part of a new Judicial Review series (a partnership between CDD and two law faculties in Ghana) that aims to review and examine decisions of the courts for their impact on democracy and good governance. This particular panel, which examined the recent Ghana election petition through a comparative lens, featured two foreign participants (from Kenya and Zimbabwe), four Ghanaian lawyers, and me. That an opinion expressed at such a forum, to contestation from other participants, would cause anyone to lodge a formal complaint with the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council is unprecedented, bizarre, and ill-advised. Not only is this bound to have a chilling effect on the free speech rights of lawyers, it will also impact negatively on both academic freedom and the freedom and ability of civil society to promote judicial accountability, including through projects like the Judicial Review series. I find no justification whatsoever for the Disciplinary Committee of the GLC to be brought into this matter or to investigate Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine for the opinion he expressed on the panel. It cannot be ok for a lawyer to praise a court for its handling of a matter but an act of professional misconductor contempt of courtfor another lawyer to express a contrary view of the same court about the same matter. ---starrfm According to a draft study acquired by the Visalia Times-Delta, a California wildfire that scorched the southern Sierra Nevada last year resulted in the destruction of a tenth of the world's adult giant sequoias. Burning Sequoia The Times-Delta analysis utilized satellite photos and modeling from prior fires to determine that between 10% and 14% of the world's adult giant sequoia population was wiped off. "I can't express how incredible this is for all of us. These trees have been there for millennia. They've previously been through scores of wildfires. "The Associated Press spoke with Christy Brigham, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks' chief of resources management and science. Negative Consequences Forest officials stated that the destruction of the trees will have a long-term negative influence on the ecosystem. Redwoods are among the most effective natural carbon dioxide scrubbers in the world, absorbing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They also safeguard the watershed for farms and villages on the San Joaquin Valley floor, providing vital habitat for animals. The data are preliminary, according to Brigham, the study's primary author, and the research article has not yet been peer-reviewed. Nevertheless, for the first time since the ashes settled, teams of experts will walk to the groves that suffered the heaviest fire damage beginning next week. "I have a naive optimism that once we go down on the ground, things will improve, but that's wishful thinking - not science," she added. Related Article: Why Should We Start Planting More Sequoia Trees? Degree of Destruction The degree of the destruction to one of the world's most valuable trees is significant, according to the newspaper, because sequoias are extraordinarily well adapted to fire. Fire is needed to break the pine cones of old-growth trees, which can be more than 2,000 years old and reach heights of 250 feet (76 meters). "A century of fire control, combined with climate change-driven harsher droughts, has altered the way flames burn in the southern Sierra, and that shift has proved very detrimental for a sequoia," Brigham said. Since the 1960s, Sequoia and Kings Canyon have done controlled fires on an average of a thousand acres every year. To restore the forest to a healthy state, Brigham predicts that the park will need to burn about 30 times that amount. A burst of lightning strikes sparked the Castle Fire on Aug. 19 in the Golden Trout Wilderness. Shortly after, the Shotgun Fire, a much smaller conflagration nearby, was found, and the two were nicknamed the Sequoia Complex. Great Sequoia Fire of 2020 Scientists have uncovered a huge smoking sequoia in California's Sequoia national forest months after flames ravaged the region. Researchers discovered the burnt but still standing tree this week in the lowest area of the national forest. Sequoia's fire ecology and research team member noticed a column of smoke in the ravine below while turning down a hairpin switchback on the route. The crew followed the smoke to an enormous solitary sequoia standing in the burn area from last year's Castle fire, using a long camera lens. In the heart of the darkened forest, the big tree, which had undoubtedly stood for hundreds if not thousands of years, seemed like a chimney spewing smoke. Also Read: Scorching Earth: 5 Hottest Places on the Planet For similar news updates,don't forget to follow Nature World News Lawyers of Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni, Seidu Agongo and Agricult Ghana Limited have filed two separate applications with one of them asking the judge to recuse himself. Justice Clemence Honyenuga, Justice of the Supreme is the presiding judge of the case in which Dr Opuni and two others are standing trial for causing financial loss to the state to the tune of GHc217M. He has ordered Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni to open his defence today, June 3, and answer to the 27 charges levelled against them. However, in court on Thursday, when the case was called for Dr Opuni to open his defence, the judge said, he has seen two applications from the accused persons. Justice Honyenuga said, in view of the filing of an application to recuse me from hearing this matter and also the pendency of a repeat application, this case is adjourned to June 9, 2021, for the hearing of the motion. This was after the prosecution led by Director of Public Prosecution Mrs Yvonne Atakorah Oboubisah and lawyer for Dr Opuni, Lawyer Samuel Codjoe all took turns to address the court. The court after hearing the parties fixed June 9 to hearing of the application against the judge. The National Communications Director of the National Democratic Congress Sammy Gyamfi who addressed the media after the court sitting said, certain comments from the judge has resulted in the latest action. Apart from the application asking the judge to recuse himself, the accused persons have also filed a repeat application for a stay of proceedings pending the determination of an appeal against the judges decision asking them to open their defence. This is the second time the accused persons are asking the judge to recuse himself from the trial. Some NDC officers Betty Mould Iddrisu, a national vice-Chair of NDC, Godwin Ako Gunn, John Dumelo and other officers were in court to lend support to Dr Opuni and the two others. ---starrfm A former Chairman of the Peoples National Convention (PNC) has disputed President Nana Akufo-Addos assertion that there have not been any midnight knocks at the homes of anyone who has criticised his government or had critical views of his administration. Speaking recently at the University of Cape Coast after receiving an honorary doctorate degree (Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership), President Akufo-Addo parried criticisms that he was superintending a culture of silence, saying it cannot be that everyone has a right of reply except members of the government and officialdom. Nor can it be that challenging an opinion expressed by a journalist constitutes an attack on press freedom. What I believe may be lacking sorely in our society today, is the need to listen to each other more. Knowledge has never been a gift granted exclusively to one group. We must listen, and hear each other more. And, for me, personally, I find it ironic that the Presidency of a man who has been and continues to be the most vilified political figure of his generation can be accused of presiding over a culture of silence. There is no midnight knock on the door in Ghana for authors of dissenting views, nor will there be during my presidency, Mr Akufo-Addo noted. Reacting to the Presidents comments, Mr Mornah told Kwabena Bobie Ansah on The Citizen Show on Wednesday, 2 June 2021 that: And who told the president there are no midnight knocks? Mensah Thompson had midnight knocks. Bernard Mornah had midnight knocks at home and in my office. Many other citizens will attest to it. David Tamakloe, too. Why? And the president is oblivious of these things? Concerning the presidents claim that he is not hindering free speech in Ghana, Mr Mornah said: Honestly, this is not the president of Ghana, this is a president for another country. Because a president of Ghana who doesnt know what Ghanaans are going through is the one who is speaking but the president of Ghana who knows what Ghanaians are going through under his regime, will be remorseful, will be apologetic, will be sympathetic toward those who have suffered the inglorious treatment of his national security operatives. Will be sympathetic and remorseful to those whose kith and kin have died as a result of the actions of his operatives whether from Ayawaso west to Techiman or Ahmed Suale and many others whose lives were lost as a result of the actions of his. Anybody who is the president of Ghana and is in control doesnt need anybody to tell him that, indeed, things have gone wrong, so, when you have the president speaking this way, and listen to President Akufo-Addo, hes talking about a spirited defence of the Free SHS and that is an attack on press freedom? Really? Is the president part of this game? Who is more an assault on free SHS than he the president and his own appointees? Is it not Ken Ofori-Atta that said that they have assessed the thing and that it is time for those who can pay to pay and that he can pay for his children to go to school and so why should his children enjoy free SHS? Who is an assault and attack on free SHS? Not Ken Ofori-Atta? Dr Adutwum? A Minister of Education who said they we should give room to those who want to pay, they should pay so the school should calculate. Am I ken Ofori-Atta, am I Dr Adutwum? Am I Dr Kufuor? Mr Mornah wondered. So, if your own party people are telling you that your free SHS agye gon, and you have to come and defend it, you are attacking your own people in that score that has got nothing to do with press freedom and free speech. So, obviously, the president has been deluded into thinking that when they are talking about free speech, it is about free SHS. No. ---classfm Edward Akufo-Addo, the biological brother of President Akufo-Addo has filed a Ghc10 million defamation suit against the Class Media Group. He filed the suit in a High Court in Accra. In his statement of claim, he demanded Ghc 10 million in damages for alleged defamation contained in the publication by defendants on 29/05/21 and more particularized in paragraph 9 of this statement of claim. He also demanded and apology and retraction of the words complained of particularly in paragraph 9 of the statement of claim with same prominence as the impugned publication. He also demanded perpetual injunction restraining the defendants whether by themselves, their servants, agents or assigns from repeating same or other similar words of and concerning him. The defendants are Kwabena Bobie Ansah; Listowell Nana Kusi-Poku; Mensah Thompson and Class Media Group. ---DGN online President Akufo-Addo, has led a delegation of Government officials and activists of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), to pay their last respect to the late Mr. Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, popularly known as 'Sir John'. The delegation included; the Vice-President, Alhaji Dr. Mahammudu Bawumia, the Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, Ministers of State and Members of Parliament (MPs). Representatives of the various political parties, including; the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which is the largest opposition party, were also present to commiserate with the relatives and bereaved family of the deceased. Popularly known as 'Sir John', Mr. Owusu Afriyie, a legal practitioner, until his death, was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forestry Commission (FC). Born in 1952, 'Sir John', former General-Secretary of the NPP, died at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, on July 1, 2020, after testing positive for COVID-19. President Nana Akufo-Addo, paying a glowing tribute to the late 'Sir John', whose mortal remains were laid in state at the Sakora Wonoo Junior High School (JHS) Park, described the deceased as a true friend. He eulogized him for his resilience, commitment and tenacity of purpose, especially in the discharge of his duties, and prayed for his soul. My wife and I extend our deepest condolences to his entire family. Sakora Wonoo has lost a valiant son. May the Good Lord bless him and give him a peaceful place in his abode and bosom, the President stated. Tributes were also said by the NPP, describing the late 'Sir John' as a brother, friend and patriot. The NPP, in particular, will miss you dearly, Mr. John Boadu, General-Secretary of the governing Party, lamented. A programme of activities for the final funeral rites, a copy made available to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), indicated that all the rites would be performed at Sakora Wonoo, hometown of the late 'Sir John'. Per the programme, there will be a family gathering on Friday, June 4, at the Sakora Wonoo JHS Park, following his burial on Thursday, June 3. A thanksgiving service in honour of the deceased will be held on Saturday, June 5, at the Sakora Wonoo Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Some of the mourners, in an interview with the GNA, said they would miss the late 'Sir John' for his eloquence, sense of humour and humility. ---GNA Minister of Health, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, has attributed the delayed reconstruction of the La General Hospital to requests by the contractors to do additional works on the bare land before starting the project itself. After the sod-cutting, they decided to [do] some extra work on the place and they still decided that we need to do some more extra work. This is not the only site where we are seeing this, I can refer you to Komfo Anokye Hospital, Mr Agyeman-Manu said when he appeared before Parliament to respond to a question posed by the MP for La Dade Kotopon, Ms Rita Naa Odoley Sowah about the delayed project. He continued: The little problem we have at the ministry is that not until some issues with the insurance cover is done, they cannot move to site. Finance Ministry has been informed and they are engaging that the problem would soon be resolved. He said since his ministry does not control that activity, it would be difficult for me to tell when that project would be done but all I can say is that it would be done soon. The president cut the sod for the commencement of the La General Hospital Redevelopment Project on Tuesday, 10 August 2020. At the ceremony, the president indicated that the redevelopment project has been occasioned by a report from the Ghana Health Service, which indicated that the five-storey structure had developed gaping cracks, which made the facility unfit for use. Furthermore, the unplanned nature of the entire hospital campus required that it be re-organised so that it can function efficiently as a 21st-century hospital, which will serve the needs of residents of La and its adjoining communities. This facility, in so many ways, complements the Greater Accra Regional Hospital at Ridge, and its upgrading will serve most people from Osu through La and Teshie, as well as residents living along the coastal corridor of Accra, he said. President Akufo-Addo continued: Indeed, with admissions to this hospital arising from maternal health and other related complications increasing from 20.5% in 2008 to 30% in 2017, and with pregnancy and related conditions for the first time in the history of the life of this hospital being the number one cause of admission, there was the need to improve, rapidly, the facilities of this hospital. The project is being financed by a credit facility from Standard Chartered Bank of the United Kingdom, with an export credit guarantee from Sinosure of the Peoples Republic of China, to the tune 68 million, with an insurance cover of 3,860,349.18. The project will be undertaken by the Chinese company Poly Changda, which has wide-ranging experience in China and other parts of Africa in the construction of healthcare facilities. Upon completion, it will be transformed into a 160-bed facility and it will be fitted with an outpatient department, inpatient wards, maternity and neonatal services; surgical unit with 4 theatres, accident and emergency department; public health department, pharmacy unit, laboratory, administration, imaging area with CT Scan, X-ray room, ultrasound, fluoroscopy, mammography units, physiotherapy unit and a mortuary To the chiefs gathered at the ceremony, the president assured them that this project is a sign of greater things to come for La, and, indeed, for the whole nation, adding that: The governments commitment to the total development of Ghana is absolute and I expect that all of us gathered here will be present, again, God-willing, for the commissioning of this project once it is completed. ---classfm The Indian government has said it is considering a major concession for US pharma giants Pfizer and Moderna by granting them indemnity from liability for their coronavirus vaccines, in order to speed approvals. Facing an acute shortage of Covid-19 vaccines, India is likely to grant indemnity against legal proceedings to Pfizer and Moderna a clause no other vaccine maker in India enjoys. "Pfizer continues to remain engaged with the government of India towards making its Covid-19 vaccine available for use in the immunisation programme... We are unable to share any additional details at this time," said a Pfizer spokesperson. The pharmaceutical multinational said it will export to India only if the transaction is with the central government and the company will be protected from legal cases. If the government grants the concession, other vaccine makers, both domestic and foreign, are expected to make the same demand. Pfizer has indemnity in all the countries it has exported its vaccines. India is in need of vaccines now. Considering that it wants to vaccinate its population by December 2021, it can extend indemnity on the lines of what other countries did, a senior health ministry official told RFI. Pfizer has said it is ready to provide 50 million doses to India between July and October. Moderna won't be able to supply vaccines to India this year, even if an agreement is reached, as it does not have surplus stock. "We are engaged with Pfizer and they have indicated the availability of a certain amount of vaccine in the coming months, possibly starting in July," said VK Paul, the head of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration. "They have requested indemnity to all the nations including the country of origin. We are examining this request and will take a decision in the larger interest of people and on merits." India's Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) also pointed out that vaccines which have been approved by the appropriate agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan will not require "bridging trials" in India. Bridging trials are localised clinical trials that bridge the gap between studies conducted in several regions, generating data in an India-specific context a key factor since certain pharmaceutical products react differently to Indian genetic makeup than they might in American or European populations. Since India relaxed its laws governing drugs trials in 2005, foreign drug companies have conducted several trials on populations across the country. On account of all clinical trials conducted by various pharmaceutical companies, nearly 2,800 patients are said to have died between 2005 and 2012 in India. A parliamentary panel report then had found all parties involved of gross ethical violations the health ministry, DGCI, Indian Council of Medical Research and those who conducted the clinical trials. The Obuasi East District Director of NCCE Madam Jennifer Ofori has explained the purpose of this years edition of Citizenship week. She said the purpose of the celebration is to inculcate unto the youth and Ghanaians in general a sense of patriotism and loyalty to the state. The NCCE Director was speaking at a Press briefing after series of Sensitization programmes at selected schools in the District to wind up this years edition of Citizenship week. Touching on the theme for this year's celebration; "We are One, Ghana First", Miss Ofori said the theme was carefully chosen by NCCE to inculcate unto the Ghanaian a sense of patriotism, national unity, cohesion, loyalty to the state and hard work as a shared positive values which will engender good character development among the people. Giving the history behind the citizenship week celebrations, she said the Citizenship week was introduced in 2012 as part of the Annual Constitution Week celebration introduced in 2001. She again revealed that this years Citizenship Week Celebration targeted basic schools. She added its a reminder to pupils to embrace their roles and responsibilities and the role they can play to build a strong, resilient, vibrant and democratic Ghana". She called on the youth not to shirk their responsibilities in contributing their quota to the development of the country. As enshrined in Article 35 (5) of the 1992 Constitution, Madam Jennifer Ofori again posited that the Citizenship week was carefully crafted to instill unto the youth of the country a sense of patriotism which will enable them to prioritize the interest of the country above other interests or considerations. It is our expectation that by the end of this program, pupils will embrace the sense of responsibility, Patriotism, hard work and a sense of unity which are needed to ensure development. This is what NCCE stands for", she stressed. The Obuasi East NCCE visited Abusco Royals International, Independence, Bryant Mission Grammer, St. Josephs, Adansi High, Pomposo D.A. Primary, Kwabenakwa-Domeabra, and other schools in the District and schooled them in areas such as Patriotism, Respect for national symbols, hard work, Communal spirit ,decency and the use of decorum language. The Chief Executive Officer of Messiah Organics Chain, Nana Dwomoh-Doyen Benjamin has admonished farmers in Ghana and other African countries to as a matter of urgency desist from killing the insect pollinator population in the country. According to him these pollinators are gradually becoming an endangered species due to the wrong usage of chemicals by local farmers. In a radio talk show program on Obuoba FM monitored by the New Crusading Guide, Nana Dwomoh-Doyen; who is a passionate environmentalist, entreated farmers in the country to respect the role certain insects especially bees and butterflies play to ensure food security. Not all the insects you see in your farms are harmful to your crops, some insects are pests that feed off your crops, while some insects are pollinators whose activities in your farms helps the flowers to turn into fruits. If you apply chemical pesticides at the time that your crops are flowering, you end up killing most of the pollinators whose role is to ensure that pollen grains can move from the anther to the stigma of flowers, he said. According to him, the Ghana Cocoa Board has recently introduced hand pollination due to the inability of insect pollinators to effectively pollinate the cocoa trees. Manual pollination is good. If done right, its able to increase crop yield by more than a hundred percent. Manual pollination however is a very herculean and sensitive task which the older cocoa farmers cannot handle. Whiles we are trying to train more young people into hand pollination service, we should equally look at improving the effectiveness of the natural pollination agents, thus the insects in the environment especially bees. This is the reason why Messiah Organics Chain is actively educating farmers to switch to organic farming practices and inputs, or at worse educate them on the right usage of chemical pesticides, he stated. Nana Dwomoh emphasized the need to rely on verified research in the areas of pesticides usage and its effect on insect life. Adding that most crops are pollinator-dependent, hence a decrease in pollinator agents due to human activities can drastically affect food security. He mentioned other historic antecedents from other parts of the world and encouraged government and institutions to critically look into the matter In 1989 thereabout, after the devastating Hurricane Hugo, huge aerial applications for mosquitoes were done in South Carolina in the US. The year after, watermelon growers who did not have beehives in their fields, observed the fruit begin to develop, then abort, or develop into small deformed fruits. There were entire fields that never yielded a single usable melon. Some growers went out of business; others began to seriously manage pollination from that point. This is an available research for everyone to verify. Are we going to kill all the insect pollinators so that human beings will completely do the work of insects?, he quizzed. The findings of this paper confirmed that pollinator declines could translate directly into decreased yields for most of the crops grown in Ghana. As part of his advice, he encouraged farmers to spray pesticides very early in the morning when pollinators such as bees and butterflies have not moved into their farms in search of nectar or completely switch to sustainable organic farming practices. Messiah Organics Chain is an agribusiness organization mainly engaged in the commercial production of organic foods through a chain of organized out-growers using internationally certified organic farming protocols, training and other related services to make organic farming processes less cumbersome and cheaper for all stakeholders. They provide a turnkey organic farming support services encapsulating the complete value chain of organic farming to facilitate easy group organic certification audits. Listen to article London, 3 June 2021 H.E. Mahamadou Issoufou, the former President of Niger, was honoured today as the recipient of the 2020 Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership in a special Leadership Ceremony held during the 2021 Ibrahim Governance Weekend. Speaking from Niamey to a global audience via MIF.Live, President Issoufou said: "I was moved and proud to be chosen by the Ibrahim Prize Committee. Through me, all the Nigerien people have been honoured. I thank President Festus Mogae and the members of the Prize Committee for choosing my modest person. I salute and congratulate Mo Ibrahim and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation for the comprehensive support they provide to the development of our continent. The Ibrahim Prize is a US$ 5 million award that recognises and celebrates excellence in African leadership. It ensures that the African continent benefits from the experience and wisdom of exceptional leaders once they have left national office, by enabling them to continue to contribute in other civic roles. Outlining the decision to make President Issoufou an Ibrahim Prize Laureate, H.E. Festus Mogae, Chair of the independent Prize Committee and former President of Botswana, said: President Issoufou made history in Niger. He paved the way for Nigers first-ever democratic transition of power. His example shows that those who lead, whatever the challenges, can do so with the greatest reverence for both the citizens they serve and the rule of law. President Issoufou was congratulated by leaders from around the world. H.E. Mohamed Bazoum, President of Niger said: During his ten years in office, President Issoufou remarkably stabilised the institutions of our Republic, strengthened the foundations of our economy, brought about a reduction in poverty, and provided real opportunities for the future of his country. I would like to say to the members of the Ibrahim Prize Committee that, in addition to the qualities that you have identified through his governance and leadership, President Issoufous moral and human qualities also make him an exceptional man. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations said: The awarding of this prestigious Prize to President Issoufou is a testament to his efforts as a champion of sustainable development, democratic consolidation, peace, stability, human rights and gender equality. Nigers growing role in the international community, as a valued partner of the United Nations, was built on President Issoufous commitment to regional and international cooperation and consensus building. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission said: President Issoufou addressed head-on the complex challenges the region faces. He has been a long-standing friend and valued partner of the European Union. I want to commend President Issoufou specifically on what he has done for gender equality and womens empowerment. This is a priority for both the European Union and Africa, and an agenda close to my heart. H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission said: Mahamadou Issoufous commitment to the development and well-being of his compatriots is known to all. We will remember his relentless fight against terrorism, for peace and stability in the Sahel. We were all impressed by his strong advocacy as a champion for the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area. Mo Ibrahim, Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation said: I am proud to see President Issoufou recognised as an example of exceptional leadership and I hope his legacy will inspire generations of African leaders to come. President Issoufou, I offer you my heartfelt congratulations and a warm welcome to the Foundation family. The Leadership Ceremony is part of the 2021 Ibrahim Governance Weekend, which is usually held in a different African country each year but is being held virtually in 2021 due to COVID restrictions. At the heart of the weekend is the Ibrahim Forum, which brings together a powerful coalition of African and global leaders to discuss an issue that is critical to the continents future. The 2021 Ibrahim Forum is discussing COVID-19 in Africa One Year On: Impact and Prospects, a new report from the Mo Ibrahim Foundation analysing the health, economic, social and political impacts of the pandemic, and highlighting key avenues for the continent's recovery. Ransford Antwi, the Board Chairman of Twene Amanfo Senior High/Technical School (TASTECH) in Sunyani has urged students to desist from indulging in the use of abusive words and offensive languages to express their displeasure about situations. He expressed worry that using impolite words and expressions on social media by some young people to inform authorities about their dissatisfaction was becoming the order of the day but that was contrary to the Ghanaian child upbringing. Mr Antwi, also the Chief Executive Officer for Suncity Radio, a local FM Station gave the advice when he was addressing first-year students at a day's orientation programme organised by the TASTEC old students association in collaboration with the School's Board of Directors and Management in Sunyani. The program dubbed "SHS One Time with Past Students" enabled the old students to share their life experiences with the newly-admitted students to positively shape their attitudes towards learning and lifestyle generally whilst in the school. It was also to welcome the students to the TASTEC 'Adehyee Abusua' (Royals' Family) and to inculcate in them virtues of self-discipline, patriotism, respect for authority, socially acceptable and unacceptable practices to transform and reform them to become law-abiding citizens and responsible future leaders. Mr. Antwi said though one had the freedom to express one's concern about a situation that did not mean one could insult the elderly because the Ghanaian cultural, traditional norms, and values did not permit such behaviour. He, therefore, urged the students to avoid engaging in all forms of indiscipline and other social vices and be highly focused on academic work as the primary goal of their enrolment in the school. "The individual is responsible for his/her own decisions, so the choice of friends you make should tell you where you are heading towards in your academic journey and life", Mr. Antwi stated. He further advised the students to see the teaching and non-teaching staff as their parents, guardians, big brothers, and advisors and willingly share the challenges with them for solutions to make use of the counseling unit of the school. "Learn to embrace people from other backgrounds, respect and tolerate others view, be modest but not fake and be kind to each other because your classmate today may become your employer one day", Mr. Antwi added. Lawyer Ansah Ankomah, a Board member and Sunyani-based private legal practitioner entreated the teaching staff in particular not to discourage the students in any way but to guide and help them to make them better people in the future. ---GNA The government of communist Cuba has given the green light for small and medium enterprises to start operating on the island, a measure long-awaited by the private sector that is ever-more present in the local economy. The measure was adopted in principle by Cubas council of ministers, its highest executive body, but has to be written into law and will be limited to certain economic sectors, according to the official newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, Granma. It follows Cubas move earlier this year to authorize private enterprise in a bid to boost its economy and create jobs, though that was limited to individual entrepreneurs, not businesses. Some 600,000 people on the island of 11.2 million people work in the private sector -- some 13 per cent of the workforce. Most work in hotels, restaurants, transportation and tourist accommodation. Millions of people work for the government, but the exact number is not known. Cuba began timidly opening up to private capital in the 1990s before fuller authorization in 2010, followed by a boom after the historic warming of ties with Cold War rival the United States under then-president Barack Obama. The country is battling its worst economic crisis in 30 years, fueled by toughened sanctions under the administration of Donald Trump and the fallout from the coronavirus crisis which has hit its crucial tourism sector hard. With this decision, we approve the way to organize economic actors, far beyond the simple recognition of some of them, Granma on Wednesday quoted President Miguel Diaz-Canel as saying. Prime Minister Manuel Marrero added the expansion of activities of the private sector does not lead to a process of privatization because there are limits not to be exceeded. Some activities will remain off-limits for SMEs, such as computer programmer, accountant, translator and interpreter, veterinarian, designers and certain types of consulting firms, he added. John Kavulich, president of the US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, said the latest move expands the engagement landscape for the Biden Administration... to authorizing individuals and companies in the United States to deliver direct investment and direct loans to the re-emerging private sectors located throughout the Republic of Cuba. The Cuban government, he added in a press statement, has delivered a significant decision which can rekindle the interest in the Republic of Cuba by United States companies. The reforms represent a major ideological shift in a country where the government and its affiliate companies have monopolized most of the economy since 1961. The European Commission has called on Ghana to take the necessary actions to abide by its international obligations in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the sea. The Commission said it had identified various shortcomings in Ghana's ability to comply with its duties under international law as flag, port, coastal or market state and if not heeded, the nation risked identified as a non-cooperating country in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. According to the Commission: The sanctions imposed by Ghana to vessels engaging in or supporting IUU fishing activities are not effective and not an adequate deterrent. In a statement issued by the Commission on June 02, 2021 and obtained by the Ghana News Agency at Tema on Thursday, it said: Ghana has therefore been issued with the yellow card, which is fundamental warning offering Ghana the opportunity to react and take measures to rectify the situation within a reasonable time. At this stage, the decision does not entail any measures affecting trade. However, in cases of prolonged and continued non-compliance the country can ultimately face a procedure of identification as red card, which entails sanctions such as the prohibition to export fishery products to the EU market, the statement stated. The Commission, said it was working to support Ghanaian population on the ground with several capacity building. Identified shortcomings included; illegal transshipments at sea of large quantities of undersized juvenile pelagic species between industrial trawl vessels and canoes in Ghanaian waters, deficiencies in the monitoring, control and surveillance of the fleet, and a legal framework that is not aligned with the relevant international obligations Ghana had signed up to. The Commission has therefore advised Ghana to ensure effective monitoring and control of the activities of its fishing vessels and an adequate implementation of its enforcement and sanctioning system. It should also ensure a sound fisheries management system in order to prevent fish stemming from IUU fishing activities from reaching its market or others, including; the European one. The Commission said illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing was jeopardizing the foundation of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), and the EU's international efforts to promote better ocean governance. Under the European Green Deal and pursuing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal for conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, sea and marine resources, the Commission has committed to a zero-tolerance approach to IUU fishing. The fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is also an important aspect of the EU Biodiversity Strategy's objective to protect the marine environment. The EU, the statement indicated was the world's biggest importer of fisheries products, stating that the global value of IUU fishing is estimated at 10-20 billion euros per year. Between 11 and 26 million tonnes of fish are caught illegally every year, corresponding to at least 15 per cent of world catches. It said since November 2012, the Commission entered in formal dialogues with 27 third countries, officially warned them of the need to take effective action to fight IUU fishing. In most cases, significant progress was observed and therefore the Commission could satisfactorily close the formal dialogue phase and lift the yellow card. Only a few countries have not shown the necessary commitment to reforms until now. According to EU, Ghana received a yellow card in November 2013, which was then lifted in October 2015, after the government addressed the shortcomings. The Commission Decision is based on the EU's 'IUU Regulation', which entered into force in 2010. One of the pillars of this Regulation is the catch certification scheme that ensures that only legally caught fisheries products can access the EU market. The Regulation also provides for specific dialogue mechanisms with the countries that are not complying with their obligations as flag, coastal, port and market State under international law, the statement explained. ---GNA The President, Nana Akufo-Addo, has eulogized the former CEO of the Forestry Commission, and onetime General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie for his service to the party and Ghanaian politics in general. According to him, the late Owusu Afriyie was the first person to believe in him after he lost the 2012 election petition. He thus described him as one of his loyalists. President Akufo-Addo, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, and other leading members of the NPP and the NDC, joined family members and sympathizers on Thursday, June 3, 2021, to mourn Mr. Owusu Afriyie, popularly known as Sir John. The former Forestry Commission CEO died on 1st July 2020. Speaking at the funeral grounds, President Akufo-Addo described Sir John as a loyal friend and a true Akufo-Addo loyalist. Make no mistake, Nana will lead NPP even if he is in a wheelchair. On the 1st of September 2013, Kojo Owusu Afriyie was in the studios of Hello FM, a Kumasi-based radio station making this famous statement with such utter conviction. Many were those who wondered why Sir John as he was referred to by all made these comments, three days after the Supreme Court handed down its controversial 5:4 verdict in the Election Petition of 2013. Indeed, while few and the NPP could believe in me again, he had over-declared me as presidential candidate for the party for the 2016 elections three clear years ahead of time. Perhaps he had seen something others have not. For me, that statement in 2013 reinforced my belief that I can always count on Sir John affectionately known as such as the only knight in Ghanaian Politics, as a true and true Akufo-Addo loyalist and someone I could call a good friend. The late Sir John was laid to rest in his hometown at Sakra Wonoo in the Ashanti Region on Thursday, June 3, 2021. Angry residents of Ndowukope, a farming community in the Akatsi North District of the Volta region together with their Assembly member, have burnt a shrine and other houses belonging to a fetish priest and his accomplices in the area for suspected ritual murder. They accused fetish priest of masterminding the kidnapping of one Nicolas Doe Negble, a 12 year old pupil of Keyime DA basic school for alleged ritual purposes. Mr Reuben Dogbey, uncle to the deceased, in an interaction with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said the deceased, who resides with his grandmother, Mary Amewonu at Noanyikpo, a village within the Agotime Ziope District of the Volta region got missing during a funeral programme on May 21, this year, and attempts to trace him had yielded no positive result. He narrated that, Torgbui Dzisah IV, the 'Dufia' of Noanyikpo, was later informed about the missing boy so that they could expedite action on searching for him. Efforts by a member of the community who suspected one Senanu Attipoe, Uncle in-law to the deceased, who was heard on call concerning grabbing of an animal at the funeral ground, forced the chief to invite the suspect for questioning. Mr Dogbey said the suspect was hesitant in answering the accusations levelled against him which further compelled the elders to report the matter to the Police at Ziope. Senanu Attipoe was later arrested by the Police at Ziope for further interrogation after, which he confessed to have had a knowledge of the killing of the pupil. Mr Dogbey said the suspect after interrogation, mentioned Anani, Morris, and Ando Kofi as those who have masterminded the killing of the deceased for ritual purposes at Ative Nudowukope after he captured the deceased for them. The suspect, the GNA gathered, led a team of policemen to Nudowukope where the remains of the deceased ws being kept at a shrine belonging to Ando Kofi, the key suspect currently at large together with his other accomplices. "The suspects however, fled the village after hearing the Police was chasing them," Mr Dogbey said. The Police after a failed attempt to arrest the other suspects, secured a court order and broke into the rooms of the suspects where they later discovered the decomposed remains of the deceased, with parts of the body removed and his head cut off and buried in a room belonging to Ando Kofi. Mr Agbesi Nudowu, the Assembly member for the area who led the police team to the area, also disclosed that they discovered other human skeletons apart from the decomposing body of the deceased. "We destroyed the entire shrine and set the houses ablaze in the process," an angry assembly member. The remains of the deceased was later sent to the Police Hospital in Accra for autopsy and later handed over to the family for burial at Have-Glime on Tuesday June 1. The Police has since confirmed the incident to the GNA. The Police has mounted a manhunt for 'hunor' Ando Kofi, prime suspect, Anani, Moris and others, who are currently at large, whilst three other suspects have been apprehended by the Police including Senanu Attipoe to assist in investigations. GNA The Progressive Old Students Association of the Akropong School for the Blind has called on the Ministry of Education, the First Lady and other stakeholders to treat as urgent issues raised by the students concerning the misconduct of the headmistress. The Old Students Association says they will petition the Economic and Organized Crime Office, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the National Investigation Bureau (Formerly BNI) to get involved in the ongoing investigations concerning Madam Mahela Narh, Headmistress of the school. Mr Bismark Amoh, Secretary of the Progressive Old Students Association at a press conference to expatiate on the issues concerning Madam Narh said: We do not believe that any independent and fair investigations can be done, explaining that the alleged receivers of gifts from Madam Narh are those conducting the investigations. We understand that some bank accounts of the school which we alluded to earlier have been closed even though investigations are yet to be concluded, Mr Amoh said. He mentioned that another issue of great concern was the attempt to transfer some teachers from the school for the reason that they have been in the school for more than four years. Mr Amoh said being blind does not mean their brains were not working and pointed out that no teacher was behind the demonstration by the students. If the Ghana Education Service want to transfer teachers who have been in the school for more than four years, they should first transfer the headmistress who has been in the school for 12 years, he said, pointing out that the teachers who were being transferred were only being victimized because they did not side with the headmistress. Mr James Aryee- Mensah, a Member of the Progressive Old Students Association, expressed worry that some media houses have trivialized the issue, asking questions like how can blind students know when someone was misconducting themselves. Students of the Akropong School for the Blind embarked on a demonstration on Friday, the 14th of May, 2021 to demand the removal of the headmistress of the school Madam Mahela Narh. The students said the headmistress has been abusing them and diverting items donated to the school to some high profile persons with the Ghana Education service. Nana Ogyedom Tsetsewal, Mankrado of Gomoa Oguan, on Thursday described as unacceptable where cultural troupes engaged to perform at an event to dance and solicit money from the audience. She said the dancers especially the ladies with the connivance of the drummers danced to tunes that would enable them to make gestures to appeal for money. If the target failed to respond to the initial appeal from a distance, the dancers would now aggressively dance to the target and sit on the laps of the person whilst dancing signifying that the target has been taken captive and must pay for freedom, she said. Nana Testsewal said the dancers while on the laps of the person would continue making gesture suggesting to the target who has now become a victim to give money for his or her freedom, and until you pay they may not get up. Speaking with Ghana News Agency at Tema on the emerging trend at public events, Nana Tsetsewa1 disclosed that traditional dances convey special messages and therefore there was the need to be cautious of how, where, and when to perform it. She explained that in the southern sector and among many traditions in Ghana, anyone in the audience moved by the performance would step forward and shower money on the dancers. She explained that, all traditional dance was a form of communication, how you throw your hands, legs and how you even twist your body and head are all forms of communication. Therefore, dancing to take captive of a target through sitting on his or her laps for money whilst dancing was not part of the traditional norms and ethics of dance of most tribes in the southern sector of the country, it should therefore not be encouraged at all, she said. Nana Tsetsewa added that aside it not being culturally accepted, it also causes embarrassment and inconvenience to the temporal captive; "Traditional dance carries a message, so what message are you sending across if you should go and sit on someone's laps for money whilst dancing". She explained that if it had to do with choreography then one is free to do anything but not when it has a connotation with tradition such as enstoolment, naming, marriage or funeral ceremonies, and public event where traditional drumming is being performed. "We should not forget that our little children are following whatever we do, so there is the need to do the right thing for them to follow and not to mislead them," she said. She therefore called on event organisers to educate the traditional drummer troupe they engaged to perform at their function to desist from the act of dancing to take captives. ---GNA The Rebecca Foundation has donated some equipment made up of mobility items, teaching aids and electronics, to the New Horizon school in Accra. The equipment is to assist children with cerebral palsy and aid in teaching and learning. Presenting the items on behalf of The Rebecca Foundation, Mrs. Shirley Laryea, an Officer with the Rebecca Foundation, expressed the Foundation's readiness to continue to support institutions like the New Horizon School. "Our aim is to offer these children with different abilities the equal opportunities to learn, thrive and grow as part of our community and country", she said. Mrs. Laryea also called on philanthropists and corporate institutions, to help support people with cerebral palsy, saying, "I wish to urge everyone to help support our brothers and sisters in this situation for a better Ghana." Madam Salome Francois, Founder of the School, expressed gratitude to the Foundation for the gesture. ---GNA Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), which manufactures Covishield, has also sought indemnity from liability, expressing the hope that rules would be the same for everyone, said sources. This comes as the Centre is favourably considering granting indemnity against legal proceedings to foreign vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna prior to their rollout in India. "All vaccine makers, whether Indian or foreign, should be granted the same protection," the Adar Poonawalla-led company has reportedly told the government. "Not just Serum Institute of India (SII), all the vaccine companies should get indemnity protection against liabilities if foreign companies are granted it," it further said. It is learnt that Serum is hoping that rules should be same for everyone. The Serum Institute produces Covishield (the Indian name for the AstraZeneca-Oxford jab) and is involved in trials for three new anti-Covid vaccines. Besides Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield vaccine and Novovax's Covovax, the SII has also applied to the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to manufacture the Russian 'Sputnik V' Covid-19 vaccine in India. 'Sputnik V' is currently being imported by Dr Reddy's Laboratories. According to reports, the Centre is apparently considering granting indemnity to vaccine manufacturing companies if they applied for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA). Till date, no Indian vaccine company has ever paid indemnity and neither has the Central government, the biggest vaccine user, done so. Advanced trials are on for Covovax being developed in collaboration with the pharma company Novovax. Codagenix, a single-dose nasal vaccine, is in phase 1/2 trials in the UK. The third, SpyBiotech, is a novel virus-like particle vaccine, which is also in trials. The government has so far not given any manufacturer indemnity or protection against legal action for any severe side effects. This is a key condition put forth by foreign vaccine-makers Pfizer and Moderna for supplying to India. Countries like the US have granted indemnity from liability to Covid vaccine manufacturing companies for the possibility of something going wrong with their vaccines. They cannot be sued for compensation if there are any adverse effects from the shot. Dr V.K. Paul, the head of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration, had said last month that the government is engaged with Pfizer and they have indicated the availability of a certain amount of vaccine in the coming months, possibly starting in July. "We are looking at what their expectations from the government are and they are looking at what our expectations from them are," Paul said, adding they have requested indemnity to all the nations including the country of origin. The NITI Ayog member (Health) also said that the government is also examining the request and will take a decision in the larger interest of people and on merits. Disclaimer: Information, facts or opinions expressed in this news article are presented as sourced from IANS and do not reflect views of Moneylife and hence Moneylife is not responsible or liable for the same. As a source and news provider, IANS is responsible for accuracy, completeness, suitability and validity of any information in this article. GREAT FALLS, Mont. - 19-year-old, Brian Chaon is facing charges after police say he was driving drunk with a child in the vehicle. Court documents say Chaon was pulled over after highway patrol received reports of his truck speeding up and slamming on the brakes and driving on/over the center line. The MHP trooper said they could immediately smell alcohol as they walked up to Chaon's truck. There were two men, two women, and a 5-year-old child in the truck. Chaon said he didn't drink but admitted to smoking marijuana an hour before he started driving. He is being charged with criminal child endangerment, DUI, and possession of or unlawful attempt to purchase intoxicating substance. GREAT FALLS, Mont. - Feedback is being sought regarding crime and safety in the Great Falls Community. According to the Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce, the city put together a Crime Task Force and has asked them to represent the business community. We would like your feedback to our brief survey in regards to crime and safety in our community and how it may or may not affect you as a business owner, manager, or employee, the Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce release reads. People are asked to fill out the survey based on their own experiences and thoughts. You are asked to not fill it out based on what you have heard from others or feel may or may not be going on. You can take the survey here. RENO, Nev. (AP) An extremely rare wildflower that grows only in Nevadas high desert where an Australian mining company wants to dig for lithium should be protected under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Thursday. The agency outlined its intention to propose listing Tiehms buckwheat as a threatened or endangered species as part of its review of a listing petition conservationists filed in 2019. A federal judge said last month the finding was six months overdue and ordered the agency to render a decision by May 31. The conclusion that federal protection is warranted could jeopardize Ioneer Ltd.s plans to build the mine halfway between Reno and Las Vegas. It also ups the ante in an early test of the Biden administrations ability to make good on promises to protect public lands and their native species while at the same time pursuing an ambitious clean energy agenda that includes bolstering production of lithium needed for electric car batteries. Environmentalists say the delicate, 6-inch (15-centimeter) tall wildflower with yellow blooms is on the brink of extinction with fewer than 30,000 individual plants remaining. Ioneer acknowledges Tiehms buckwheat hasnt been documented anywhere else in the world but insists it can co-exist with the mine. Nevertheless, the looming listing presents the biggest regulatory hurdle to date for what would be only the second large-scale lithium mine operating in the United States. The Center for Biological Diversity first petitioned for federal listing in October 2019 and weeks later filed suit against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to block construction of the mine at Rhyolite Ridge west of Tonopah in the Silver Peak Range about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of the California line and 200 miles (322 km) southeast of Reno where Tesla Motors largest lithium battery factory is located. Tiehm's buckwheat shouldn't be wiped off the face of the earth by an open-pit mine, Patrick Donnelly, the center's Nevada director, said Thursday. The service stepping in to save the plant from extinction is the right call. Ioneer Managing Director Bernard Rowe said Thursday they expected the warranted finding and share the Fish and Wildlife Services commitment to protect and preserve Tiehms buckwheat in its habitat. This process will provide greater certainty around our schedule and diminishes the prospect of future litigation, he said. We remain confident that the science strongly supports the coexistence of our vital lithium operation and Tiehms buckwheat. The tiny population of Tiehms buckwheat is found on 21 acres (8 hectares) spread across 3 square miles (7.8 square kilometers) at the mine site. Scientists say the plant plays an integral role in the desert ecosystem by stabilizing soils, dispersing seeds and creating a sort of oasis that provides rare food and moisture for bees and other pollinators. The service said a 2019 survey estimated the plant's global population totaled 43,921 all at the mine site. But it said in Thursday's finding that an unprecedented rodent attack during severe drought last summer damaged or destroyed more than half the plants. It said that herbivory combined with the potential impact from the mining project would reduce the flower's population by an estimated 70% to 88% or from 43,921 individuals to roughly 5,289-8,696 individuals. Ioneer is proposing to salvage most of the remaining plants by transplanting them to another location, the service said. However, we are uncertain whether the salvage operation will succeed because current research indicates that Tiehm's buckwheat is a soil specialist, that adjacent unoccupied sites are not suitable for all early life-history stages, and there has been no testing and multiyear monitoring on the feasibility of successfully transplanting the species, the agency said. Other threats to the plant include road-building, off-road travel, livestock grazing and climate change, the service said. Ioneer says the mine would create 400 to 500 construction jobs and 300 to 400 operational jobs, and is expected to produce 22,000 tons (19,958 metric tons) of lithium enough to power hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles annually. Demand for lithium worldwide is expected to double by 2025. Much of the worlds lithium supply currently comes from Australia and South America, where Chinese firms are heavily invested. Boosting domestic production could potentially lower the price tag on a key component of President Joe Bidens $2 trillion climate plan: offering rebates to consumers to trade in gas-powered for electric cars. The only large-scale lithium mine currently operating in the U.S. is also in Nevada, only about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from where Ioneer proposes its mine. The North Carolina-based Albemarles Silver Peak Mine has been in operation since the 1960s. A third lithium mine proposed in north-central Nevada near the Oregon line at the largest known lithium deposit in the U.S. also is facing legal challenges. This story corrects an early version that said the plant is 2-foot (0.6 meters) tall. It is 6 inches (15 centimeters) tall. Berlin Reporter City Council discusses abatement applications by Tara Giles Sports reporter - Coos County Democrat and Berlin Reporter Sports reporter - Coos County Democrat and Berlin Reporter write the author BERLIN On May 17, the Berlin City Council held a work session where the first topic of discussion was in regard to property value abatements. City Manager James Wheeler discussed the property abatement recommendations received from Monica Hurley, Assessing Agent from Corcoran Consulting Associates, who was present via Zoom to answer any questions. Hurley said, "Taxpayers must reference one out of the following three criteria's in order to merit an abatement application. The three criteria are data, comparable market sales and level of assessment. If the citizen's concerns are interior, they will schedule an interior inspection." Councilor Lucy Remillard asked if the property owner states his property is assessed too high, how they would re-assess. To that, Hurley said, "We would look at the market analysis based on active sales, not conditional." Mayor Paul Grenier asked Hurley if Hurley was looking for approval right away on the thirty one property abatement recommendations submitted. Hurley said, "Not necessarily, but I would like to point out to Council that interest is ticking and my suggestion is to approve the abatements now, clear this up and send the taxpayers their refunds plus interest earlier rather than later. The city technically has until July 1, 2021." Grenier said, "Most of the abatements recommendations presented reflects the City having to pay taxpayers back so I agree with acting on this sooner rather than later." Hurley relayed that the majority of the abatements were interior related and there had not been any interior inspections on these properties for many years. Remillard asked for more time to review the abatement recommendations. Grenier stated that the Council could meet the following Monday to discuss the issue further. Hurley noted that she had 15 more abatements that will be forthcoming. Grenier requested those 15 by May 19. Hurley said that the 109 abatement applications represents 1.5 percent of properties in Berlin. In other business, City Manager James Wheeler presented the bid review Letter from HEB in regards to the one bid received from R.M. Piper, Inc. that was much higher than anticipated. Wheeler said, "HEB had estimated the project to be about $282,974.50, but the bid came in at $564,385. Prior to receiving this higher bid, my suggestion was to use leftover funds from the construction loan which represented about $206,000.000 and was appropriating $150,000 in the FY22 budget which would have covered the original estimated project cost. HEB did look to see if any items could be taken out of the project to reduce the cost." He went on to say, "They did reflect removing painting from the project which would reduce the bid amount by $60,000. With this increase, the requested amount in the FY22 budget would increase from $150,000 to $350,000. One of the critical components is the bridge seal that they need to order soon in order to start the project in September as planned." Councilor Remillard noted that HEB had projected a cost of $4,400 for maintenance of traffic compared to R.M.Piper's bid which reflected $45,000.00 for maintenance of traffic. She asked if this is something the City could do themselves. To that, Wheeler said, "Maybe. R.M. Piper is likely charging a premium which is inserted into a variety of items included in the bid and I feel like this item most probably reflects a premium." Wheeler noted that this is the third time this project went to bid. The first two times, no bids were received. Wheeler then discussed a sink hole issue on the Behren's Paper Mill property. Wheeler said, "This is due to a storm drain line failure. The drain line runs from Cascade Hill and drains to the Androscoggin River just south of the current Vintage Junky store. The sink hole is approximately 10' from the river's edge. The drain line also crosses mill process water, natural gas and landfill gas lines before exiting to the river. I'm currently looking at assessing the situation and coming up with an interim solution to eventually find a longterm solution. All sewer line drain funds have been allocated to High Street in the FY22 proposed budget." BERLIN On May 17, the Berlin City Council held a work session where the first topic of discussion was in regard to property value abatements.City Manager James Wheeler discussed the property abatement recommendations received from Monica Hurley, Assessing Agent from Corcoran Consulting Associates, who was present via Zoom to answer any questions.Hurley said, "Taxpayers must reference one out of the following three criteria's in order to merit an abatement application. The three criteria are data, comparable market sales and level of assessment. If the citizen's concerns are interior, they will schedule an interior inspection."Councilor Lucy Remillard asked if the property owner states his property is assessed too high, how they would re-assess.To that, Hurley said, "We would look at the market analysis based on active sales, not conditional."Mayor Paul Grenier asked Hurley if Hurley was looking for approval right away on the thirty one property abatement recommendations submitted.Hurley said, "Not necessarily, but I would like to point out to Council that interest is ticking and my suggestion is to approve the abatements now, clear this up and send the taxpayers their refunds plus interest earlier rather than later. The city technically has until July 1, 2021."Grenier said, "Most of the abatements recommendations presented reflects the City having to pay taxpayers back so I agree with acting on this sooner rather than later."Hurley relayed that the majority of the abatements were interior related and there had not been any interior inspections on these properties for many years.Remillard asked for more time to review the abatement recommendations. Grenier stated that the Council could meet the following Monday to discuss the issue further. Hurley noted that she had 15 more abatements that will be forthcoming. Grenier requested those 15 by May 19. Hurley said that the 109 abatement applications represents 1.5 percent of properties in Berlin.In other business, City Manager James Wheeler presented the bid review Letter from HEB in regards to the one bid received from R.M. Piper, Inc. that was much higher than anticipated.Wheeler said, "HEB had estimated the project to be about $282,974.50, but the bid came in at $564,385. Prior to receiving this higher bid, my suggestion was to use leftover funds from the construction loan which represented about $206,000.000 and was appropriating $150,000 in the FY22 budget which would have covered the original estimated project cost. HEB did look to see if any items could be taken out of the project to reduce the cost."He went on to say, "They did reflect removing painting from the project which would reduce the bid amount by $60,000. With this increase, the requested amount in the FY22 budget would increase from $150,000 to $350,000. One of the critical components is the bridge seal that they need to order soon in order to start the project in September as planned."Councilor Remillard noted that HEB had projected a cost of $4,400 for maintenance of traffic compared to R.M.Piper's bid which reflected $45,000.00 for maintenance of traffic. She asked if this is something the City could do themselves.To that, Wheeler said, "Maybe. R.M. Piper is likely charging a premium which is inserted into a variety of items included in the bid and I feel like this item most probably reflects a premium."Wheeler noted that this is the third time this project went to bid. The first two times, no bids were received.Wheeler then discussed a sink hole issue on the Behren's Paper Mill property. Wheeler said, "This is due to a storm drain line failure. The drain line runs from Cascade Hill and drains to the Androscoggin River just south of the current Vintage Junky store. The sink hole is approximately 10' from the river's edge. The drain line also crosses mill process water, natural gas and landfill gas lines before exiting to the river. I'm currently looking at assessing the situation and coming up with an interim solution to eventually find a longterm solution. All sewer line drain funds have been allocated to High Street in the FY22 proposed budget." Berlin Reporter City Council discusses spending request Berlin softball rallies, but Belmont gets the win Recent Tara Giles City Council discusses spending request 2021-Jun-10 More than 100 locals vaccinated at Lancaster Fairgrounds 2021-Jun-03 Friedman takes Division III pole vault title 2021-Jun-03 City Council discusses proposed budget 2021-May-20 Jury delivers verdict in Woodburn trial 2021-May-20 More... Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.com ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) A 14-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy fled from a Florida juvenile home and broke into a house, where they found a small arsenal a shotgun, an AK-47 and plenty of ammunition. When confronted by sheriff's deputies, the pair opened fire, sparking a gunbattle. The gunfire ceased only after deputies wounded the girl, who was in critical but stable condition Wednesday, a day after the violence unfolded near Deltona, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Orlando. The boy then surrendered. The juveniles fired at deputies from the house multiple times over 45 minutes, a visibly angry Sheriff Mike Chitwood told a news conference Tuesday evening. They were traversing the length of that house and opening fire on deputies from different angles, Chitwood said. They were out on the pool deck. They shot from the bedroom window. They shot from the garage door. Deputies tried to calm the situation and eventually returned fire. The sheriff said it was unlike anything he had seen in 35 years in policing. Deputies did everything they could tonight to de-escalate, and they almost lost their lives to a 12-year-old and a 14-year-old, the sheriff said. If it wasnt for their training and their supervision somebody would have ended up dead. Charges were pending against both juveniles. The sheriffs office released their names, but The Associated Press is not using the names because of their age. The deputies involved were put on administrative leave pending a review, the Volusia County Sheriffs Office said. Staff members at the juvenile home in Deltona reported the pair missing, telling authorities the boy is diabetic and needed insulin every four hours. They said the girl hit a staff member with a stick before running away, a sheriffs news release said. As deputies were searching the area around 7:30 p.m., a passerby flagged them down and reported hearing glass breaking at a nearby house. Deputies saw the pair inside the home and contacted its owner, who said no one was supposed to be at the home. The owner also advised authorities that the guns and 200 rounds of ammunition were inside the home, which the juveniles ransacked, Chitwood said. Deputies surrounded the house and began talking to the pair. At one point, Chitwood said, a deputy went close enough to the home to toss a cellphone inside to try to talk to them. The girl eventually came out of the garage with the shotgun and pointed it at deputies. They repeatedly asked her to drop the weapon, Chitwood said. She walked back into the garage. She comes back a second time, and thats when deputies open fire and she takes multiple rounds, Chitwood said. Chitwood said the 12-year-old boy, had told investigators that they had planned to roll like it's GTA," referring to the videogame series Grand Theft Auto. The often violent videogame series tracks characters as they rise through a criminal underworld. In body camera video released Wednesday, a deputy can be seen yelling, Put the gun down now! as shots are fired at him repeatedly while he takes cover behind a tree in the yard. A commander over the radio tells deputies not to challenge them. Lets not engage them, the commander said. Lets just hang out here. But several minutes later, a barrage of shots echoes across the lawn. Theyre shooting at me, the deputy says in the video. A little bit later, deputies report that the 14-year-old girl is down. Then the 12-year-old boy, who authorities said had been armed with the AK-47, comes outside with his hands raised. Chitwood said the girl had been in trouble various times over the past year. She was accused of stealing puppies and was put in a halfway home. He said she set fires on half a dozen vacant lots where the flames came close to homes earlier this year and was sent back to Volusia County. He also cited a history of problems at the juvenile home the pair fled. The AP left a message seeking comment at the juvenile home. Associated Press Writer Freida Frisaro in Miami contributed to this report. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Prosecutors are seeking a 30-year sentence for the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murder in George Floyd's death, but a defense attorney is asking that Derek Chauvin be sentenced to probation and time already served, according to court documents filed Wednesday. Chauvin is scheduled to be sentenced June 25 following his conviction on murder and manslaughter charges. Judge Peter Cahill previously ruled there were aggravating factors in Floyds death. That gives him the discretion to sentence Chauvin above the range recommended by state guidelines, which top out at 15 years. Prosecutors said Chauvin's actions were egregious and a sentence of 30 years would properly account for the profound impact of Defendant's conduct on the victim, the victim's family, and the community. They said that Chauvin's actions shocked the Nation's conscience. No sentence can undo Mr. Floyds death, and no sentence can undo the trauma Defendants actions have inflicted. But the sentence the Court imposes must show that no one is above the law, and no one is below it," prosecutors wrote. Defendants sentence must hold him fully accountable for his reprehensible conduct. Defense attorney Eric Nelson cited Chauvin's age, lack of a criminal record, and support from family and friends in requesting a sentence of probation and time served. He said Chauvin, 45, was the product of a broken system. Mark Osler, a former federal prosecutor and now a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, said it's not unusual for attorneys to make these kinds of requests as a sort of opening offer." He said there is zero chance that Chauvin will get probation, and prosecutors are also unlikely to get the 30 years they are requesting. He said Nelson's attempts to paint Chauvin as a good fit for probation and a law-abiding citizen will probably face ferocious push-back from the government," given Chauvin is also charged with tax evasion. He added that Nelson's reference to Chauvin being the product of a broken system is fascinating most Americans seem to think that Chauvin embodies what is broken about our system of criminal justice. Chauvin was convicted in April of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for pressing his knee against Floyds neck for about 9 1/2 minutes as the Black man said he couldnt breathe and went motionless. Floyds death, captured on widely seen bystander video, set off demonstrations around the United States and beyond as protesters demanded changes in policing. Even though Chauvin was found guilty of three counts, he'll only be sentenced on the most serious one second-degree murder. Under Minnesota sentencing guidelines, with no criminal record he faces a presumptive sentence of 12 1/2 years on that count. Cahill can sentence him to as little as 10 years and eight months or as much as 15 years and stay within the guideline range. But prosecutors asked for what is known as an upward departure, saying there were several aggravating factors that warranted a higher sentence. Cahill agreed, finding Chauvin treated Floyd with particular cruelty, abused his position of authority as a police officer, committed his crime as part of a group of three or more people, and that he pinned Floyd down in the presence of children. Prosecutors said that even one of those factors would warrant the higher sentence. Nelson wrote that while this incident painted Chauvin as a dangerous man, he has served his community as an officer and has a loving family and close friends. He also disputed the court's finding that aggravating factors existed, saying there is no evidence that Chauvin's assault on Floyd included gratuitous infliction of pain or cruelty. Here, Mr. Chauvin was unaware that he was even committing a crime. In fact, in his mind, he was simply performing his lawful duty in assisting other officers in the arrest of George Floyd, Nelson wrote, adding that Chauvin's offense can be best described as an error made in good faith based on his experience and the training he received and was not the intentional commission of a crime. In spite of the notoriety surrounding this case, the Court must look to the facts. They all point to the single most important fact: Mr. Chauvin did not intend to cause George Floyds death. He believed he was doing his job," he wrote. No matter what sentence Chauvin gets, in Minnesota its presumed that a defendant with good behavior will serve two-thirds of the penalty in prison and the rest on supervised release, commonly known as parole. Nelson is also seeking a new trial for Chauvin which is a fairly routine request after a conviction. He argued extensive pretrial publicity tainted the jury pool and denied Chauvin his right to a fair trial. He also said Cahill also abused his authority when he declined defense requests to move the trial out of Minneapolis and sequester the jury. And, he said the state committed prosecutorial misconduct. Nelson is also asking for a hearing to investigate whether there was juror misconduct. Nelson alleged that an alternate juror who made public comments indicated she felt pressured to render a guilty verdict, and another juror who deliberated did not follow jury instructions and was not candid during jury selection. That juror, Brandon Mitchell, did not mention that he had participated in an Aug. 28 march in Washington, D.C., to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Nelson alleged that Mitchell made comments to the media that indicated he based his verdict on outside influence. Prosecutors have a week to submit a written response to those arguments. Chauvin has also been indicted on federal charges alleging he violated Floyds civil rights, as well as the civil rights of a 14-year-old he restrained in a 2017 arrest. The three other former officers involved in Floyds death were also charged with federal civil rights violations; they await trial in state court on aiding and abetting counts. A federal trial date has not been set. Federal prosecutors are asking for more time to prepare for trial, saying the case is complex because of the sheer volume of evidence and the separate but coordinated state and federal investigations. Find APs full coverage of the death of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd BILLINGS - Tumbleweed, a local organization focused on supporting and serving youth in the community, received a special Community Builder grant totaling $20,000. The community Builder Program is a unique initiative designed to support charitable organizations and nonprofits that RDO team members are passionate about and serve the greater good in their communities, Tumbleweed Executive Director Georgia Cady wrote in a release. The grant came from the Offutt Family Foundation, which originally awarded Tumbleweed $10,000. That was then matched by the R.D. Offutt Company. This year, RDO team members were invited to apply for grants to support mental health nonprofits, specifically those addressing youth depression, anxiety and suicide prevention. They believe this theme speaks to a need in the community that has drastically been on the rise, especially throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Cady said the grant will go towards the Drop-In Center, which recently reopened in March of 2021, to help serve the most vulnerable youth in the community. This money will provide them with basic needs, get them access to caring adults, and change the trajectory of their lives. HELENA, Mont. -- The Holter Museum of Art has unveiled a new exhibit showing art made in partnership with St. Peter's Health. The exhibit is helping to provide patients in St. Peter's Behavioral Health Unit with an outlet to express themselves creatively. The exhibit is free of charge, for those who want to come see it. The museum began providing art classes to patients last June and after a year of collaboration, decided to unveil some of the work in this exhibit. Heather Myers is a recreation therapist for the unit at St. Peters and helps oversee the classes, and spoke about what has stood out to her while watching patients put the art together. "They're connecting with someone besides someone that works here, you know? Myers said. So really being able to see them connect with another person in the community, and especially if art is something that really speaks to them, really seeing them open up." Myers says patients find themselves more at ease while also finding they were overjoyed to learn their work would be in a museum. The hospital is excited to provide the outlet, and they said other community partnerships are something they will consider in the near future. More information about the exhibit and when you can visit is available here. HELENA, Mont. - A man led law enforcement on a high-speed chase, reaching speeds upwards of 90 miles per hour after reportedly stealing a car Monday. Court documents claim that on May 31, the complainant, also identified as the victim, said they saw what they believed to be two men drive away in their car. The victim gave law enforcement a description of the car and the direction of travel, and law enforcement located it in the north valley. After attempting to make a traffic stop, the car reportedly accelerated and led law enforcement on a short pursuit. During the pursuit, documents say the driver did not yield to other drivers and went through a four-way intersection at Montana Ave. and Lincoln Rd. before driving 70 to 75 miles per hour in a posted 55 miles per hour zone then. The driver then turned north on Green Meadow Dr. and reached speeds of about 90 miles per hour in a posted 30 mile per hour zone, following extremely close to other vehicles, causing other drivers to quickly pull off the road to avoid being hit. According to court documents, the car came to a stop at a house on the 8600 block of Green Meadow Dr. and the driver and passenger got out and fled on foot. Both men were captured and put under arrest. The driver, later identified as Toby Pittman, was searched and paraphernalia was found on his person which corresponded with other dangerous drugs located in the other mans possession. It was also determined Pittmans drivers license was suspended. Toby Evan Pittman has been accused of theft, fleeing from or eluding a peace officer, stop sign violation, speeding, reckless driving, driving a motor vehicle while privilege to do so is suspended and/or revoked. HELENA, Mont. - A victim reported her fiance had assaulted her and that at one point he picked her up and slammed her on the ground. Court documents say that on May 28 around 10:27 pm a deputy was dispatched to the 3000 block of Montana Ave. to talk with a woman, identified as the victim. The victim told dispatch she was assaulted by her fiance, Alfredo Hernandez in the area of York Rd. and Devils Elbow Campground. According to the woman, Hernandez bit her on the cheek while she was in the car with him. When the victim got out of the car, Hernandez also got out and chased her before picking her up and slamming her to the ground. The victim said she was injured on her right temple as well as on her right shoulder/neck area. While the victim was on the ground, Hernandez reportedly got on top of her and squeezed both sides of her neck/shoulder. The victim said she was in fear for her life. Documents say the deputy saw the victim was shaking and had been weeping during part of his investigation with her. The deputy located Hernandez who stated he was unsure of why the deputy had to speak with him. Hernandez reportedly said he was dropped off at a gas station by the victim who left him there and did not have a reason as to why she would leave him. Hernandez admitted to being in the area of Devils Elbow Campground but said he only had a verbal argument with the victim and would not give any further information regarding the incident. The deputy placed Hernandez under arrest for partner or family member assault and transported him to the Lewis and Clark County Detention Center. While on the booking floor, Hernandez reportedly stated the victim punched him but not provide the deputy any more information. Documents note a review of Hernandezs criminal history showed two prior convictions of domestic violence and that he has a pending partner or family member assault charge where the victim is also his fiancee. Alfredo Hernandez is accused of partner or family member assault, third or subsequent offense. SUPPORT THIS INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM The article youre about to read is from our reporters doing their important work investigating, researching, and writing their stories. We want to provide informative and inspirational stories that connect you to the people, issues and opportunities within our community. Journalism takes a lot of resources. Today, our business model has been interrupted by the pandemic; the vast majority of our advertisers businesses have been impacted. Thats why the Weekly is now turning to you for financial support. Learn more about our new Insiders program here. Thank you. JOIN NOW Granite State News Legion, Scouts join together for Memorial Day ceremony American Legionnaires of Harriman-Hale Post 18 and Boy Scout Troop 165 stand at attention in salute to the flag by the Wolfeboro Town Docks on Memorial Day. (Photo by Elissa Paquette) (click for larger version) WOLFEBORO On Memorial Day, May 31, Harriman-Hale American Legion Post 18, with assistance from the Wolfeboro Boy Scout Troop 165, conducted a ceremony at Dockside in Wolfeboro honoring those who gave their lives in service to the Nation. The Ceremony began at approximately 10 a.m. with the Boy Scouts lowering the American flag at Dockside to half-staff. The Boy Scouts along with those assembled then said the Pledge of Allegiance. The Commander of Post 18, Thomas Southern, then addressed the crowd of about seventy-five people reminding everyone of the purpose of Memorial Day to honor those killed in service to the nation. Then the Ladies Auxiliary of Post 18 accompanied by several veterans placed flower petals into Lake Winnipesaukee, at which point Post 18 First-Vice Commander Harold Chamberlin fired three shots in honor of those killed. Then two buglers from Boy Scout Troop 165 played Taps. At this point the ceremony came to an official end. People milled about for a while. Many no doubt keeping thoughts of loved ones and friends who died in the Service. POC for this action is Paul H. Vivian at 798-8979 or paulhv@aol.com. WOLFEBORO On Memorial Day, May 31, Harriman-Hale American Legion Post 18, with assistance from the Wolfeboro Boy Scout Troop 165, conducted a ceremony at Dockside in Wolfeboro honoring those who gave their lives in service to the Nation.The Ceremony began at approximately 10 a.m. with the Boy Scouts lowering the American flag at Dockside to half-staff. The Boy Scouts along with those assembled then said the Pledge of Allegiance.The Commander of Post 18, Thomas Southern, then addressed the crowd of about seventy-five people reminding everyone of the purpose of Memorial Day to honor those killed in service to the nation.Then the Ladies Auxiliary of Post 18 accompanied by several veterans placed flower petals into Lake Winnipesaukee, at which point Post 18 First-Vice Commander Harold Chamberlin fired three shots in honor of those killed. Then two buglers from Boy Scout Troop 165 played Taps. At this point the ceremony came to an official end.People milled about for a while. Many no doubt keeping thoughts of loved ones and friends who died in the Service.POC for this action is Paul H. Vivian at 798-8979 or paulhv@aol.com. Granite State News Brewster Class of '21 graduates Graniteman Triathlon suspended until 2022 Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.com June 03, 2021 Switzerland Cancels Putin-Biden Summit Not really. Russia is doing away with the U.S. dollar. Russia plans to fully abandon the US greenback in the structure of the National Wealth Fund (NWF) and reduce the share of the British pound within a month, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov revealed on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Thursday, adding that the share of euro and yuan will rise, gold will be added, but the portfolio of Japanese yen will remain unchanged in the NWF. "We, just like the Central Bank, have decided to reduce the funds of the NWF invested in dollar assets. Todays structure has around 35% of the NWFs funds invested in dollars. We have decided to fully withdraw from dollar assets, replacing investments in dollars by an increase in the euro, in gold," he said, adding that the shift to a new structure of the NWF is expected within a month. "[Investments] in dollars will equal 0%; in euro theyll come to 40%; in yuan theyll amount to 30%; in gold - 20%; and in pounds and yuan - 5% each. We have substituted dollars with an increase of 5% in euro, gold and yuan," the finance chief explained. Russia's national wealth fund has a total value of some $120 billion. The Central Bank of Russia has likewise decreased its U.S. dollar reserves. It has also created an alternative to the SWIFT interbank transfer system that will be used should U.S. sanctions make SWIFT transfers impossible: If the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) is shut down in Russia, the countrys banking system will not crash, according to Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina. Russia has a substitute. "There were threats that we can be disconnected from SWIFT. We have finished working on our own payment system, and if something happens, all operations in SWIFT format will work inside the country. We have created an alternative," Nabiullina said at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. She also added that 90 percent of ATMs in Russia are ready to accept the Mir payment system, a domestic version of Visa and MasterCard. Russia is clearly expecting that its relations with the U.S. will get worse. It is protecting itself from new U.S. sanctions. This comes two weeks before Biden-Putin summit in Geneva If that summit happens at all: If you think that this is a joke, don't: Switzerland will not accept certificates on COVID-19 vaccination with Sputnik V for the media accreditation at the upcoming Russia-US summit in Geneva, Pierre-Alain Eltschinger, a spokesman for the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, told Sputnik on Wednesday Here is (in Russian) Russian official version from Ria. Considering the fact that Vladimir Putin and Russian delegation to summit in Geneva are all vaccinated with Sputnik V, Russians finally have their excuse to cancel a generally useless summit and not attend it. The announcement today is a signal to Biden. It says: Your mighty dollar has no power over us. You can not beat us down with Russiagate blabber and sanction nonsense. Take us seriously or we will simply stop talking with you. It is the deep state which runs the U.S. Russia policies and it would probably be okay with that state: So far as one can make out, nasty events pointing to Russian malfeasance reliably occur prior to those occasions decisions must be made as to the nature of U.S. policy toward Russia. This is especially so when there is even a hint that bilateral relations might stand even a minimal chance of improving. While Bountygate and the Navalny silliness proved flops, on the broader question of U.S. policy toward Russia one must conclude this pattern has been effective. This implies something awful: We must ask whether better relations with the Russian Federation have effectively been rendered impossible. One understands that the expression Deep State is a touch outre. But given the record since 2016, we surely must conclude that there is something behind our garish political spectacles that has a very great deal to say on matters that are supposed to rest with our electorate but dont. A distinction, in conclusion. During Trumps time, the pattern of events I describe was preventive: Trumps policy on Russia was clear, admirably so, and had to be subverted. In Bidens case, it seems to work in inverse fashion. Biden being a Russophobe from way back, he now needs merely justification to maintain tensions at the highest possible level while professing to do his damnest to repair our devastated ties. Let us watch as Geneva approaches, and watch again as this potentially momentous summit in all likelihood turns out to be other than. Posted by b on June 3, 2021 at 16:16 UTC | Permalink Comments Its official, Robert Pattinson has been named THE Most Beautiful Man in the World according to brand new scientific research. New scientific reports claim that Twilight star Robert Pattinson is more handsome than Idris Elba, Henry Cavill and even Brad Pitt according to the Golden Ratio of Beauty. Every year reports come forward claiming which celebrities are more attractive than the rest, and they all seem to have some form of scientific backing. Last year, The Daily Mail consulted a facial cosmetic surgeon to use a scientific equation called the Golden Ratio of Beauty Phi to find out who the Most Beautiful Woman in the World is. The results came in, and Gigi Hadid was graced with the title. Now, the focus has been turned onto the men of Hollywood. Dr Julian De Silva has used the same scientific equation to decipher who the Most Beautiful Man in the World is and of course, its Robert Pattinson. Robert got the top rating, meanwhile Henry Cavil came in second, Bradley Cooper in third and Brad Pitt at number four. The Golden Ratio of Beauty Phi was used by artists and architects in the Renaissance period to determine beauty. To use it, the length and width of someones face is measured and the results are divided. The equation, apparently, is based on symmetry. It argues that the closer the ratios of a face or body are to the number 1.618 (Phi), the more beautiful someone is. Its safe to assume that this method of measurement should be taken with a pinch of salt, but we cant argue that Rob Pattinson is up there on our list of most handsome celebs unlike Prince William who was wrongfully crowned as The Sexiest Bald Man earlier this year which we will ACTIVELY dispute. Robert Pattinson is a different story however and we isnt mad about it! featured Lorain The 530 Shop owner proud to see improvements on Broadway Meredith News Memorial Day observed in Meredith by Erin Plummer American Legion Post 33 Commander Bob O'Neil conducts a wreath laying ceremony at the Meredith Public Library joined by Jack Dever III, John Curran, and Kari Jackman. (Photo by Erin Plummer) (click for larger version) MEREDITH Community members gathered to commemorate Memorial Day and honor those who died in the service of their country, from those who came home to those who are still unaccounted for. American Legion Post 33 hosted a series of Memorial Day observances around town ending with a special guest speaker at Hesky Park. Members the post did a wreathe laying ceremony at Meredith Village Cemetery, the memorial at the Meredith Public Library, Lang Street Cemetery, and at the POW/MIA memorial in Hesky Park. "We recognize all of those whose lives were taken from them in service to this country and everyone in this country," said Bob Jones of the Northeast POW/MIA Network at Hesky Park. Jones said he usually avoids the term "given their lives" when referring to those who have died in the military. "Their lives were taken, and we owe them many thanks for their lives," Jones said. Guest speaker Deborah Crosby talked about her family's decades-long struggle to get her father's remains brought back home after he was killed in Vietnam. Lt. Cmdr. Frederick Peter Crosby was a US Navy pilot who was shot down over North Vietnam on June 1, 1965. Deborah Crosby said she remembers the day her and her brother were taken out of school by people they didn't know, thinking they were being kidnapped. They were taken home, where a line of unfamiliar cars were parked down the street. They learned their father was missing in action. "My mom was devastated," she said. Crosby said her mom put together a binder or articles and information where the kids could learn about their father. In the 1990's her grandmother talked about the possibility of Frederick being found, saying they knew the exact location where he was shot down. Crosby tried to call the Department of Navy about locating her father, but was told they couldn't get this information. She dug into declassified files in the Library of Congress. By 2005 the family had a DNA sample in Hawaii. In 2015 villagers excavated the site of Frederick's crash. "The whole village helped empty the fish pond with buckets," Crosby said. They found a part of his uniform, his remains, and a lighter. In 2017, they were finally able to bring their father home and he was buried with full military honors. She said she likes telling this story to other families who have been waiting on news of their loved one. "We didn't think that this would happen," Crosby said. "My mom really felt like there was nothing to find." She said her mother told her not to go to military groups because they would prey on their emotions. She said she found this wasn't true and so many veterans groups helped them out. Jones said remembering those who died isn't a once a year thing for the soldiers' families and the families of soldiers who are POW/MIA's. He said families go through this every day and there is no full healing from this. Jones also talked about 1st Lt. Michael Blassie, who was killed in Vietnam and his remains were identified only as X26 in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Jones said it was known from the beginning that X26 was Michael Blassie but his remains stayed in the tomb. He said with veterans' organizations working with his family, his remains were identified using DNA and he was finally laid taken out of the tomb and laid to rest. Jones said this is the reason why they continue to have vigils. MEREDITH Community members gathered to commemorate Memorial Day and honor those who died in the service of their country, from those who came home to those who are still unaccounted for.American Legion Post 33 hosted a series of Memorial Day observances around town ending with a special guest speaker at Hesky Park.Members the post did a wreathe laying ceremony at Meredith Village Cemetery, the memorial at the Meredith Public Library, Lang Street Cemetery, and at the POW/MIA memorial in Hesky Park."We recognize all of those whose lives were taken from them in service to this country and everyone in this country," said Bob Jones of the Northeast POW/MIA Network at Hesky Park.Jones said he usually avoids the term "given their lives" when referring to those who have died in the military."Their lives were taken, and we owe them many thanks for their lives," Jones said.Guest speaker Deborah Crosby talked about her family's decades-long struggle to get her father's remains brought back home after he was killed in Vietnam.Lt. Cmdr. Frederick Peter Crosby was a US Navy pilot who was shot down over North Vietnam on June 1, 1965. Deborah Crosby said she remembers the day her and her brother were taken out of school by people they didn't know, thinking they were being kidnapped. They were taken home, where a line of unfamiliar cars were parked down the street. They learned their father was missing in action."My mom was devastated," she said.Crosby said her mom put together a binder or articles and information where the kids could learn about their father.In the 1990's her grandmother talked about the possibility of Frederick being found, saying they knew the exact location where he was shot down.Crosby tried to call the Department of Navy about locating her father, but was told they couldn't get this information. She dug into declassified files in the Library of Congress.By 2005 the family had a DNA sample in Hawaii.In 2015 villagers excavated the site of Frederick's crash."The whole village helped empty the fish pond with buckets," Crosby said.They found a part of his uniform, his remains, and a lighter. In 2017, they were finally able to bring their father home and he was buried with full military honors.She said she likes telling this story to other families who have been waiting on news of their loved one."We didn't think that this would happen," Crosby said. "My mom really felt like there was nothing to find."She said her mother told her not to go to military groups because they would prey on their emotions. She said she found this wasn't true and so many veterans groups helped them out.Jones said remembering those who died isn't a once a year thing for the soldiers' families and the families of soldiers who are POW/MIA's. He said families go through this every day and there is no full healing from this.Jones also talked about 1st Lt. Michael Blassie, who was killed in Vietnam and his remains were identified only as X26 in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Jones said it was known from the beginning that X26 was Michael Blassie but his remains stayed in the tomb. He said with veterans' organizations working with his family, his remains were identified using DNA and he was finally laid taken out of the tomb and laid to rest. Jones said this is the reason why they continue to have vigils. Meredith News Laverack Trail celebrates one-year anniversary MA seniors awarded scholarships Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.com Courts Lorain man with history of violence sentenced to 15 years for possession of ammunition The Avon School Board approved the appointment June 1 of Matt Canning to serve on the board, according to a news release. Lorain High School juniors use spray paint to cover the new spirit rock set outside the school during the juniors' May 14, 2021, project to spruce up the campus as a preview to Lorain Pride Day 2021, scheduled for May 15. Itll be good to take a full-scale audit and take a look at it and see what it reality looks like. But this is one of those ticking time bomb issues that eventually were going to have to take a really hard look at and this is certainly one of the first steps in the process." Lorain County Commissioner Matt Lundy Pull Quote 'I thought I was going to die right there' Claims of "steady progress on vaccinations" mask wide-spread hesitancy across Europe Xinhua) 15:40, June 03, 2021 COPENHAGEN, June 2 (Xinhua) -- President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said that the European Union (EU) is making "steady progress on vaccinations" against COVID-19 as the bloc is on track to deliver enough doses to vaccinate 70 percent of its adult population by the end of July. In contrast to the optimism about vaccine take-up, the prevailing attitude across the whole region has actually been characterized by a certain hesitancy about the vaccine. TOWARD "HERD IMMUNITY" Confidence in "herd immunity" is backed by 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines received by the EU and 245 million doses administered since the onset of the pandemic, which, as Von der Leyen estimated last week, would provide at least one dose to 170 million adults up until May 30, or about 46 percent of the EU's adult population. "If we continue like this, we have confidence that we will be able to safely reopen our societies," she told journalists after a special EU summit in Brussels on May 25. Malta, with a half million population, has seen a greater vaccine take-up than other EU countries. More than 300,000 Maltese have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while over 180,000 people are now fully vaccinated, according to the latest data issued by Malta's health authorities. "Malta is the first country in Europe to achieve herd immunity," said Malta's Health Minister Chris Fearne on May 24. Britain has seen a greater willingness to be vaccinated, which has resulted in a phenomenal reduction in hospitalizations and deaths related to COVID-19. The latest data from Public Health England's real-world study revealed that vaccinations had contributed to saving more than 13,200 lives and prevented more than 39,700 hospitalizations up to May 13. WILLINGNESS GAP ON VACCINATION However, according to a survey published on May 10 by Eurofound, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, over a quarter of adults in the EU said they were "very unlikely" or "rather unlikely" to get vaccinated. The survey also found that the main reason for the "vaccine hesitancy" was a lack of trust in the safety of vaccines. In addition, the survey found indications of an east-west divide across the EU, with the willingness to be vaccinated standing at over 60 percent in western EU member states, except Austria and France, but much lower in eastern EU countries. Noting there is "a need for clear political and scientific communication about vaccine safety," the survey said, "an unclear political stance about vaccines and a less than straightforward communication over their safety may have a detrimental effect on public trust in vaccines." In France, which is experiencing a "third wave" of the pandemic, vaccinations are marked by fears of side affects and general indifference. French authorities have been accelerating a non-compulsory vaccination campaign for weeks. President Emmanuel Macron on Monday spearheaded the drive by announcing that he has been vaccinated. France expects to vaccinate 30 million citizens with the first dose by mid-June. In Sweden, a discernible apathy towards the vaccine has also made the country lag far behind the EU's vaccination objective. Immigrant population's unwillingness to be vaccinated is especially a matter of concern in Sweden. However, Swedish authorities hoped that everyone will be offered a jab by Sept. 5. It is a different story in neighboring Finland, where the take-up of vaccinations has been less hindered by speculation, with over 40 percent of the population having received at least one dose. Meanwhile, in the east of the EU, Romania had expected to vaccinate 5 million, or 30 percent of the population, by June 1. However, official data on Sunday showed the country only managed to administer 4,299,481 doses, equivalent to 26.8 percent of the population. Resistance and lingering doubts about the vaccine were only partly to blame, as Romanian health authorities attributed the main reason for the slowdown of the vaccination program to the considerable number of people in the country who have developed antibodies after being infected and consequently are temporarily not in need of a vaccine. Poland has offered an innovative solution comprised of a lottery with prizes in an effort to dispel fears and encourage vaccinations. The Polish vaccine lottery will cost the government 140 million zloty (38 million U.S. dollars). Other prizes include hybrid cars, electric scooters and vouchers. CHINESE VACCINES HELP WITH RECOVERY On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) validated CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac for emergency use. CoronaVac is the second Chinese vaccine in the WHO Emergency Use Listing after the previous one developed by another Chinese manufacturer Sinopharm. China's timely delivery of COVID-19 vaccines for Hungary, the first EU member to recognize and use Chinese vaccines, has protected lives of Hungarian people. The Hungarian foreign ministry said in May that many lives were saved and the country "gained a month and a half" in vaccinations thanks to the vaccines from China as well as Russia. "Without the Eastern vaccines, the number of vaccinated Hungarians would not have reached 4 million by last Friday, only in mid-June," said Tamas Menczer, state secretary from Hungary's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in a Facebook video. In the Mediterranean, the island nation of Cyprus announced on May 20 that it was also adding the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine to its list of approved vaccines accepted for free entry of vaccinated people into the country. In Serbia, Chinese vaccines were praised for playing an indispensable role in fighting the pandemic in the country. As the final batch of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine arrived at Belgrade airport last week, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic expressed gratitude for the reliability that "no one could have expected in difficult times and circumstances." Despite the effectiveness of vaccines in the fight against COVID-19, the WHO still issued a message of caution from its European office in Copenhagen in May. "Right now, in the face of a continued threat and new uncertainty, we need to continue to exercise caution, and rethink or avoid international travel," said Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe. "Vaccines may be a light at the end of the tunnel -- but we cannot be blinded by that light," said Kluge. (Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun) Meredith News Celebrating a legacy and a new canine companion Local family presents diabetic alert dog to young girl by Erin Plummer Norah with her puppy Luna, who she has been training with to help her manage her diabetes. (Photo by Erin Plummer) (click for larger version) MEREDITH A young girl with diabetes now has a medical support dog thanks to the efforts of a local family in memory of their loved one whose life was improved by her own canine companion. The family of Mandy Grier has been working to raise money to get a child a diabetic alert dog and was able to achieve that goal much earlier than expected thanks to the generosity of many people. On Saturday Mandy's family celebrated this milestone with an event at the Meredith town docks that formally presented a golden retriever puppy named Luna to Norah Boissonnault of Strafford. Mandy Grier was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 7-years-old and she struggled with it her whole life. About eight years ago her family raised money to get her a diabetes alert dog named Mylo. Diabetic alert dogs are trained to recognize when their handler is having low or high blood sugar and is able to alert them so they can take and actions before their blood sugar gets to dangerous levels. Mylo was trained to trained to recognize when Mandy's blood sugar level went below 80, and she would alert her before she even knew something was going on. Her family said Mylo gave Mandy a healthier and more independent life without as many trips to the hospital. "We knew from the beginning Mylo just changed her life," said Mandy's sister Kelly McAllister. "Mylo was about to add a lot of independence for Mandy that she didn't have. She changed her life in ways that we never could." Mandy died on Feb. 22, 2019 from complications with diabetes at the age of 42. The family wanted other people to have this opportunity Mandy had. The family started an endeavor to raise money to provide children with diabetic alert dogs. Mandy's dad Kevin Morris bought a boat and started M&M Island Cruises, that will offer charter cruises around the lake with money going to a dog for a child. Kevin said they thought it would take two or three years to get enough money to get a child a dog. Mandy's sister Anne Grier started a GoFundMe that so far has raised $22,885 and was able to get a dog now for a child. Kevin was put in contact with Gilford's Golden Guardians Service Animal Training, a Gilford-based company founded by Kaarla Westin to train golden retrievers to be medical alert animals, service animals for people with autism, and emotional support animals. Kevin said he learned Weston already knew a lot of the answers he was looking for, including connections to different hospital's endocrinology departments and contact with five different breeders around New England. Soon he was in contact with a dog breeder and the endocrinology department at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover. "This is really truly in honor of Mandy," Weston said. "We're delighted that we can support Kevin and his dream." The endocrinology department found the perfect candidate with Norah. Norah was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes just before her fourth birthday. "It was a big adjustment period all of us," said Norah's dad Aaron Boissonnault. "That was sort of a scary period of time." Norah goes to Children's Hospital at Dartmouth (CHaD) at Wentworth-Douglass. Her mom Amanda Boissonnault said the doctor's office called and said they had the opportunity to get the dog. "We were shocked and beyond excited about the opportunity," Amanda said. Norah said her mom told her she was getting a dog, saying she was really excited hearing the news. As the process went on, the name Mandy became prevalent. Luna's mom's name is Mandy and Norah's mom is Amanda. "It just came full circle with this incredible story," Weston said. She said the family is grateful to get Luna. "It's been an incredible honor to come and meet these folks and be the beneficiary," Aaron said. He said they're looking forward to how this is going to help Norah and the whole family. Norah started working with Luna before Saturday's presentation. Luna started her training at 8-weeks-old. The training requires a lot of work for both Luna and Norah, taking about an hour and a half a day over a 10-month period. Luna is being trained to recognize when Norah's blood sugar gets under a certain level and she will nudge her and circle around to alert her. Anne said this is a dream come true and something every family who lost someone would love to do for another. Kelly said so many pieces came together for this to happen. "It's really kind of unreal," Kevin said. He said they received a lot of generosity from friends, family, friends of family, and so many local businesses. Some businesses that helped out were Red's Shoe Barn of Dover, Alec's Shoe Store of Nashua, and Lahout's Summit Shop of Littleton. "We couldn't have even dreamt of doing it without everyone helping here," Kelly said. MEREDITH A young girl with diabetes now has a medical support dog thanks to the efforts of a local family in memory of their loved one whose life was improved by her own canine companion.The family of Mandy Grier has been working to raise money to get a child a diabetic alert dog and was able to achieve that goal much earlier than expected thanks to the generosity of many people. On Saturday Mandy's family celebrated this milestone with an event at the Meredith town docks that formally presented a golden retriever puppy named Luna to Norah Boissonnault of Strafford.Mandy Grier was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 7-years-old and she struggled with it her whole life. About eight years ago her family raised money to get her a diabetes alert dog named Mylo.Diabetic alert dogs are trained to recognize when their handler is having low or high blood sugar and is able to alert them so they can take and actions before their blood sugar gets to dangerous levels. Mylo was trained to trained to recognize when Mandy's blood sugar level went below 80, and she would alert her before she even knew something was going on. Her family said Mylo gave Mandy a healthier and more independent life without as many trips to the hospital."We knew from the beginning Mylo just changed her life," said Mandy's sister Kelly McAllister. "Mylo was about to add a lot of independence for Mandy that she didn't have. She changed her life in ways that we never could."Mandy died on Feb. 22, 2019 from complications with diabetes at the age of 42. The family wanted other people to have this opportunity Mandy had.The family started an endeavor to raise money to provide children with diabetic alert dogs. Mandy's dad Kevin Morris bought a boat and started M&M Island Cruises, that will offer charter cruises around the lake with money going to a dog for a child.Kevin said they thought it would take two or three years to get enough money to get a child a dog. Mandy's sister Anne Grier started a GoFundMe that so far has raised $22,885 and was able to get a dog now for a child.Kevin was put in contact with Gilford's Golden Guardians Service Animal Training, a Gilford-based company founded by Kaarla Westin to train golden retrievers to be medical alert animals, service animals for people with autism, and emotional support animals. Kevin said he learned Weston already knew a lot of the answers he was looking for, including connections to different hospital's endocrinology departments and contact with five different breeders around New England. Soon he was in contact with a dog breeder and the endocrinology department at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover."This is really truly in honor of Mandy," Weston said. "We're delighted that we can support Kevin and his dream."The endocrinology department found the perfect candidate with Norah.Norah was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes just before her fourth birthday."It was a big adjustment period all of us," said Norah's dad Aaron Boissonnault. "That was sort of a scary period of time."Norah goes to Children's Hospital at Dartmouth (CHaD) at Wentworth-Douglass. Her mom Amanda Boissonnault said the doctor's office called and said they had the opportunity to get the dog."We were shocked and beyond excited about the opportunity," Amanda said.Norah said her mom told her she was getting a dog, saying she was really excited hearing the news.As the process went on, the name Mandy became prevalent. Luna's mom's name is Mandy and Norah's mom is Amanda."It just came full circle with this incredible story," Weston said.She said the family is grateful to get Luna."It's been an incredible honor to come and meet these folks and be the beneficiary," Aaron said.He said they're looking forward to how this is going to help Norah and the whole family.Norah started working with Luna before Saturday's presentation. Luna started her training at 8-weeks-old. The training requires a lot of work for both Luna and Norah, taking about an hour and a half a day over a 10-month period. Luna is being trained to recognize when Norah's blood sugar gets under a certain level and she will nudge her and circle around to alert her.Anne said this is a dream come true and something every family who lost someone would love to do for another.Kelly said so many pieces came together for this to happen."It's really kind of unreal," Kevin said.He said they received a lot of generosity from friends, family, friends of family, and so many local businesses. Some businesses that helped out were Red's Shoe Barn of Dover, Alec's Shoe Store of Nashua, and Lahout's Summit Shop of Littleton."We couldn't have even dreamt of doing it without everyone helping here," Kelly said. Meredith News Laverack Trail celebrates one-year anniversary MA seniors awarded scholarships Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.com Its the kind of place where perhaps you dont expect someone who has served in Congress as a Democrat to show up, former U.S. Rep. Beto ORourke said of Midland before his visit Thursday to kick off a series of conversations about voting rights and promote the federal For the People Act. In an interview with the Reporter-Telegram, ORourke said he had fond memories of visiting Midland while he was campaigning for the U.S. Senate, and he found residents to be warm and welcoming. There are folks Ive met along the way (in Midland) who I may not agree with or who may not agree with me, but we can do so civilly, he said. We can show that even at this deeply divided moment, we can still be good to each other, and I think theres something very special about West Texas that hopefully provides some of the answers for our country right now, given how polarized America is. ORourke will be visiting 23 Texas cities in three weeks to bring awareness to and build pressure for the For the People Act, a bill introduced by the U.S. House that would expand voting rights, change campaign finance laws and limit gerrymandering. The tour comes after Texas Democratic lawmakers walked off the House floor last Sunday to prevent voting on Texas Senate Bill 7, which would limit early voting hours, require a drivers license or social security number to vote by mail and close some polling locations. Democrats have argued these measures would disproportionately impact people of color. ORourke said discussion of SB 7 will be fair game during his visit to Midland, as will the February power grid failure and any other issues that arose during the last session of the Texas Legislature. Well be talking about all of it and really be talking about what people want to talk about, he said. It doesnt matter if theyre Republican or Democrat or Independent, or they dont care about political parties and have never voted in their lives. Its really whatevers most important to people about how their government works or how their government doesnt work. He said he hopes to address concerns about voter fraud by listening to those who believe the 2020 presidential election was stolen and understanding why they believe that. He blamed fear stoked by former President Donald Trump for the prevalence of anxiety about the security of U.S. elections. In Texas, you are more likely to be struck by lightning than you are to encounter voter fraud, ORourke said, noting that only 16 cases of false addresses on registration forms were discovered out of 11 million votes in 2020. However, he said 16 cases is 16 too many and he hopes Texans might suggest solutions outside of what has been proposed by Republican lawmakers during his upcoming community forums. When asked about Republican politicians who have continued to speculate that the 2020 election was illegitimate, including Congressman August Pfluger, whose district includes Midland and Odessa, ORourke said, I guess the logical conclusion of that argument is if the presidential election was illegitimate because of fraud, then perhaps his election was illegitimate because of fraud. I lost a relatively close election to Ted Cruz in 2018 and even before all the votes were counted, when I understood that it was highly improbable that I would win, as close as it was, I didnt contest it, he said. I didnt claim that there had been voter fraud. I didnt do anything other than call Sen. Cruz and congratulate him on his victory. Thats what we do in America. Thats what distinguishes us from the rest of the world. We believe in the rule of law. ORourke will hold a public discussion 6 p.m. Thursday at Washington Park in Midland. ROME (AP) The release from prison of one of Italys most notorious mobsters-turned-informants generated more indignation Thursday, even after he was shown in an old jailhouse interview apologizing to his many victims for his role in this factory of death. Giovanni Brusca, 64, got out of prison this week after serving 25 years of a life term for some of Cosa Nostras most heinous crimes. They include the 1992 car bomb slaying of Italys leading anti-Mafia prosecutor, his wife and three bodyguards and the 1996 kidnapping and murder of the 11-year-old son of a Mafia turncoat. The boy's strangled body was dissolved in a vat of acid. Brusca reportedly admitted to participating in some 150 homicides as the right-hand man to Cosa Nostras boss of bosses, Salvatore Toto Riina, who died in prison in 2017. Given the gravity of Bruscas crimes, his early release repulsed many Italians and prompted calls to reform laws that allow for reduced sentences for mafiosi who break the omerta, or wall of silence, and cooperate with investigators. But others, including the slain prosecutors sister, defended it as a necessary way to entice mafiosi to collaborate with the justice system. Italys Corriere della Sera newspaper aired what it said were never-before-seen excerpts of a Jan. 10, 2016 jailhouse interview that Brusca gave to a French documentary filmmaker, Mosco Levi Boucault, in which he apologized for his crimes. With his head covered, wearing dark glasses and gloves to disguise himself, Brusca said he agreed to the interview because he wanted to ask forgiveness from all the relatives of the victims to whom I caused so much pain and sadness. I tried to give my contribution as much as possible and a minimum of explanation to all those who are looking for truth and justice, he said. Brusca said his family had paid a price for his decision to become an informant, but said it was the right moral, legal and human thing to do. Because it allows me to put an end to this. I call Cosa Nostra a chain of death, a factory of death. Nothing more, nothing less, he said. The interview and Bruscas release reopened old wounds for families of mob victims, who said he still hasnt come completely clean about the details of the killings. Claudio Fava, a Sicilian politician whose father was killed by Cosa Nostra in 1984, said Bruscas release isnt what galls him, since the law allows for it. What isnt normal is that after 30 years, the truth about the massacres is still held hostage by reticence, cowardice and lies, Fava wrote on Facebook. It wasnt immediately clear why Bruscas apology wasnt aired before. Levi Boucaults film Corleone came out in 2019. Brusca is now in a witness protection program and is due to serve four years of supervised release, Italian news reports said. He claimed in the interview that he wanted to show his face" to make his apology, but couldn't for his own safety. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) Workers at a South Dakota meatpacking plant that became a coronavirus hotspot last year are considering a strike after contract negotiations between Smithfield Foods and the union have stalled, the union said Wednesday. The Sioux Falls chapter of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union threatened to move for a walkout and work stoppage if the Virginia-based company does not resume negotiations on a new four-year contract. The dispute has centered on the wages for meatpacking employees, health care costs and break times. The union said workers have risked their health and lives throughout the pandemic, arguing the company should do more for its employees. The plant became an early indicator of just how vulnerable meatpacking plants were to the pandemic when a surge of infections surfaced among workers in April last year. Four plant workers died from COVID-19 and nearly 1,300 were infected. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Smithfield Foods for failing to protect employees from exposure to the coronavirus at the plant. It is stunning that Smithfield still refuses to work together with UFCW Local 304A to reach an agreement that recognizes the incredible service of these dedicated South Dakotan workers," the local union president B.J. Motley said in a statement. Union members will vote this week on the company's current contract offer. According to the union, the proposed contract starts employees off at $18 an hour and cuts a 15-minute break period. The union is pressing to start employees at $19 an hour, as well as avoid increases to employees health insurance premiums and allow more time for medical leave. Smithfield Chief Administrative Officer Keira Lombardo said in a statement that the unions comments were inaccurate. The company said that if union members rejected an offer scheduled for a vote Thursday, there were discussions about scheduling more meetings next week. It is unfortunate that the union has issued a statement that is, unquestionably, inaccurate, Lombardo said. Such tactics during an active and ongoing contract negotiation are a disservice to our many hard-working employees. If the contract is not approved, union members could then vote to consider striking, but that would not become an option until June 7, when a contract extension deadline expires. Smithfield CEO Kenneth Sullivan has aggressively defended how the company handled the virus outbreak. Local union leaders have said that after the meatpacking plant shut down for several weeks last year amid the outbreak, the company implemented most of the measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But it has maintained that workers are still at risk to the virus as they work shoulder-to-shoulder on butchering lines. While vaccinations are increasing in South Dakota, the COVID risks these frontline workers face are still here and Smithfield must recognize this reality," Motley said. Meredith News Project lets virtual learning students reflect on pandemic by Erin Plummer REGION Inter-Lakes students learning remotely are putting the finishing touches on a project documenting the pandemic, helping them process everything that has gone on in the past year. A number of students in grades K-12 are still taking part in remote learning as part of the district's Virtual Pathway program with four teachers. Steve Watson from Sandwich Central School is one of the virtual teachers this year, working with fourth and fifth graders across the district. He said classrooms take place over Google Meets, they all have a morning meeting, and the assignments are given out online. He has 12 students in his virtual class, most of which are from Inter-Lakes Elementary School with a few from SCS. The students are wrapping up a multimedia project documenting the pandemic called "Pieces of the Pandemic." "It's given them an opportunity to kind of reflect on everything that's happened in their lives for the past year," Watson said. The project is a slideshow with slides contributed by each student showing a variety of perspectives and talents. Students wrote a personal narrative about their experiences including a piece of poetry and artwork created over the past year. Other elements of the project include interviewing family members about how the pandemic has impacted their lives. Another is a playlist of songs that have helped students cope. Another slide is a "bucket list" of things students are looking forward to doing when the pandemic is over. Students wrapped up the project last week and they will get together virtually to make their presentations. "I'd like to think it's given them the opportunity to reflect on how their lives have changed and the opportunity to kind of begin to process everything that's happened," Watson said. "Their lives have changed so dramatically over the course of the past year. I feel like they've really embraced the project. In a lot of cases some of the kids have gone above and beyond what the expectations are." REGION Inter-Lakes students learning remotely are putting the finishing touches on a project documenting the pandemic, helping them process everything that has gone on in the past year.A number of students in grades K-12 are still taking part in remote learning as part of the district's Virtual Pathway program with four teachers.Steve Watson from Sandwich Central School is one of the virtual teachers this year, working with fourth and fifth graders across the district. He said classrooms take place over Google Meets, they all have a morning meeting, and the assignments are given out online. He has 12 students in his virtual class, most of which are from Inter-Lakes Elementary School with a few from SCS.The students are wrapping up a multimedia project documenting the pandemic called "Pieces of the Pandemic.""It's given them an opportunity to kind of reflect on everything that's happened in their lives for the past year," Watson said.The project is a slideshow with slides contributed by each student showing a variety of perspectives and talents. Students wrote a personal narrative about their experiences including a piece of poetry and artwork created over the past year.Other elements of the project include interviewing family members about how the pandemic has impacted their lives. Another is a playlist of songs that have helped students cope. Another slide is a "bucket list" of things students are looking forward to doing when the pandemic is over.Students wrapped up the project last week and they will get together virtually to make their presentations."I'd like to think it's given them the opportunity to reflect on how their lives have changed and the opportunity to kind of begin to process everything that's happened," Watson said. "Their lives have changed so dramatically over the course of the past year. I feel like they've really embraced the project. In a lot of cases some of the kids have gone above and beyond what the expectations are." Meredith News Laverack Trail celebrates one-year anniversary MA seniors awarded scholarships Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.com Discuss this article with your neighbors or join the community conversation. Click here to get access Facebook on Friday announced that it may allow former President Donald Trumps Facebook and Instagram accounts to be reinstated in January 2023. At that time, the social media company will re-evaluate whether the risk to public safety of allowing Trump back onto its services has receded. This two-year suspension will prevent Trump from using Facebook or Instagram to broadcast to his followers until after the 2022 U.S. midterm elections. Do you think tech giants like Facebook are using their power to censor political speech and manipulate U.S. politics? Choices are: You voted: Plymouth Record Enterprise Ashland teen wins Congressional Art Competition ASHLAND Rep. Annie Kuster (NH-02) has announced that Matthew Jolin of Ashland a student at Plymouth Regional High School is this year's winner of the 2021 Congressional Art Competition in New Hampshire's Second Congressional District for his digital illustration titled, "Adulations of Aberrant Green." Young artists from schools across New Hampshire's Second Congressional District submitted original artwork to be considered for this year's competition. Matthew's winning artwork will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol, and he will be invited to attend a reception in Washington, D.C. to view the display in person when it is safe to do so. "I want to sincerely congratulate Matthew on the selection of his wonderful work of art to be displayed in the U.S. Capitol," said Kuster. "I'm grateful to our judges, who evaluated more than 20 incredible pieces of art for this year's Second Congressional District Art Competition. Thank you to all of the students who submitted their original and creative artwork, and I look forward to admiring Matthew's piece in the Capitol." "I love art. As a person that struggles quite a lot with general communication and making connections with people, I like to put my thoughts, feelings, and struggles into art," said Matthew Jolin. "This piece is nothing short of an errant expedition, motivated solely by my own penchant for nature in this particular case: barn owls. Each owl seen in this piece is meant to represent a certain individual in my life, and the colors and patterns are meant to contribute symbolically to said, individual. The depths of meaning in this piece are nothing that I could explicate in the brevity of a summary, so I leave it up to the viewer's imagination to discern my intentions." This year's winner was chosen by a panel of judges from New England College. The Congressional Art Competition began in 1982 to provide Members of Congress with an opportunity to encourage and recognize the artistic talents of their young constituents. Kuster has participated in the Congressional Art Competition annually since taking office in 2013. ASHLAND Rep. Annie Kuster (NH-02) has announced that Matthew Jolin of Ashland a student at Plymouth Regional High School is this year's winner of the 2021 Congressional Art Competition in New Hampshire's Second Congressional District for his digital illustration titled, "Adulations of Aberrant Green."Young artists from schools across New Hampshire's Second Congressional District submitted original artwork to be considered for this year's competition. Matthew's winning artwork will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol, and he will be invited to attend a reception in Washington, D.C. to view the display in person when it is safe to do so."I want to sincerely congratulate Matthew on the selection of his wonderful work of art to be displayed in the U.S. Capitol," said Kuster. "I'm grateful to our judges, who evaluated more than 20 incredible pieces of art for this year's Second Congressional District Art Competition. Thank you to all of the students who submitted their original and creative artwork, and I look forward to admiring Matthew's piece in the Capitol.""I love art. As a person that struggles quite a lot with general communication and making connections with people, I like to put my thoughts, feelings, and struggles into art," said Matthew Jolin. "This piece is nothing short of an errant expedition, motivated solely by my own penchant for nature in this particular case: barn owls. Each owl seen in this piece is meant to represent a certain individual in my life, and the colors and patterns are meant to contribute symbolically to said, individual. The depths of meaning in this piece are nothing that I could explicate in the brevity of a summary, so I leave it up to the viewer's imagination to discern my intentions."This year's winner was chosen by a panel of judges from New England College. The Congressional Art Competition began in 1982 to provide Members of Congress with an opportunity to encourage and recognize the artistic talents of their young constituents. Kuster has participated in the Congressional Art Competition annually since taking office in 2013. Plymouth Record Enterprise Bobcat lax boys battle their way to Division III semifinals Ashland selectmen decide against moving police station Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.com There will be music again this summer in Jacksonvilles Central Park. The Jacksonville Main Street Downtown Concert Series kicks off Friday with a performance by Chicago-area disco cover band The Shagadelics. It was of high importance for Jacksonville Main Street to get the community involved again as pandemic restrictions ease, Main Street events coordinator Melissa Zoerner said. People have said all along that this was the most important (of our events) to bring back. When organizers decided it would be safe to resume the concert series this summer after the pandemic canceled last years season, it was important that they get it right, Zoerner said. Looking at (The Shagadelics) picture, how theyre dressed they all had their wigs on and looked like theyd be so much fun, she said. I really just want them to kick us off and get us all excited for the series. Along with music, the evening will offer other reasons to join in the fun, Zoerner said. The Jacksonville Public Schools Foundation will have the drawing for its Believe in Education $10,000 grand prize, and there also will be several contests, including a 70s costume contest, she said. They can dress up and show up however they want, Zoerner said. Some people nowadays have all they need bell-bottoms are back in, sunglasses, wigs. Whatever they choose to do, were just happy to see people showing up and participating. If sponsorships are any indication, the community is glad to have the series back, too, she said. I dont know whats going on this year, Zoerner said. But our community has stepped up. We have so many sponsors who have never sponsored before a long list of like 50 which is amazing. Food trucks, including the Jacksonville Dream Center Foundation truck, and beer wagons will open at 6 p.m. with the music running from 7 to 9 p.m. An after-party will follow at KJBs. The free concert series got its start in 2016 when a grant funded a weekly summer concert series featuring up-and-coming artists who played original music. It proved a hit and a grant also funded the 2017 season. Main Street found its own funding starting in 2018, after the original grant provider said we were doing too well with our concert series, Zoerner said. Their point is to build up communities, she said. We took it and ran with it. The concert series was scheduled during 2020, but it was canceled because of the pandemic. We started (2020) canceling our Easter egg hunt, Zoerner said, noting that it was turned into a virtual event to keep small businesses in customers minds. From there, everything else got canceled. Main Street came into this season with backup plans and safety plans, she said. I wasnt sure until about a month ago that it was really going to happen, Zoerner said. We will still be encouraging masks if it makes (people) feel more comfortable. But typically, at our concerts, people spread out in the groups they came with. And if larger groups want to include the concert series in their groups events, thats fine by Jacksonville Main Street. Anyone having a class reunion, the concert series is definitely a perfect spot for that, she said. Its family-friendly, but they can also get a cold drink if they want one. Admission is free. Those attending are welcome to bring lawn chairs or blankets. After Fridays concert by The Shagadelics, the concert series will feature: June 11 Nick Schnebelen Band (rock), after-party site to be announced; June 18 Phil Vandel (country), after-party at Dons Place; June 25 Ernest James (zydeco), after-party at AmVets; July 16 Statesboro Revue (Southern rock), after-party site TBA; July 23 Tyler McCollum (country), after-party at Dons Place; July 30 Watermelon Slim (blues), after-party at KJBs; and Aug. 6 The Harmons (bluegrass), after-party at AmVets. WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden announced Thursday the U.S. will swiftly donate an initial allotment of 25 million doses of surplus vaccine overseas through the United Nations-backed COVAX program, promising infusions for South and Central America, Asia, Africa and others at a time of glaring shortages abroad and more than ample supplies at home. The doses mark a substantial and immediate boost to the lagging COVAX effort, which to date has shared just 76 million doses with needy countries. The announcement came just hours after World Health Organization officials in Africa made a new plea for vaccine sharing because of an alarming situation on the continent, where shipments have ground to a near halt while virus cases have spiked over the past two weeks. Overall, the White House has announced plans to share 80 million doses globally by the end of June, most through COVAX. Officials say a quarter of the nations excess will be kept in reserve for emergencies and for the U.S. to share directly with allies and partners. Of the first 19 million donated through COVAX, approximately 6 million doses will go to South and Central America, 7 million to Asia and 5 million to Africa. As long as this pandemic is raging anywhere in the world, the American people will still be vulnerable, Biden said in a statement. And the United States is committed to bringing the same urgency to international vaccination efforts that we have demonstrated at home. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the U.S. will retain the say on where doses distributed through COVAX ultimately go. But he also said: Were not seeking to extract concessions, were not extorting, were not imposing conditions the way that other countries who are providing doses are doing. ... These are doses that are being given, donated free and clear to these countries, for the sole purpose of improving the public health situation and helping end the pandemic. The remaining 6 million in the initial distribution of 25 million will be directed by the White House to U.S. allies and partners, including Mexico, Canada, South Korea, West Bank and Gaza, India, Ukraine, Kosovo, Haiti, Georgia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Yemen, as well as for United Nations frontline workers. The White House did not say when the doses would begin shipping overseas, but press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration hoped to send them "as quickly as we can logistically get those out the door." Vice President Kamala Harris informed some U.S. partners they will begin receiving doses, in separate calls with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, President Alejandro Giammattei of Guatemala, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago. Harris is to visit Guatemala and Mexico in the coming week. The long-awaited vaccine sharing plan comes as demand for shots in the U.S. has dropped significantly more than 63% of adults have received at least one dose and as global inequities in supply have become more pronounced. Scores of countries have requested doses from the United States, but to date only Mexico and Canada have received a combined 4.5 million doses. The U.S. also has announced plans to share enough shots with South Korea to vaccinate its 550,000 troops who serve alongside American service members on the peninsula. White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said that 1 million Johnson & Johnson doses were being shipped to South Korea Thursday. The U.S. has committed more than $4 billion to COVAX, but with vaccine supplies short and wealthy nations locking up most of them the greater need than funding has been immediate access to actual doses, to overcome what health officials have long decried as unequal access to the vaccines. The U.S. action means frontline workers and at-risk populations will receive potentially life-saving vaccinations and bring the world "a step closer to ending the acute phase of the pandemic, said Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, which is leading the COVAX alliance. However, Tom Hart the acting CEO of The ONE Campaign, said that while Thursday's announcement was a welcome step, the Biden administration needs to commit to sharing more doses. The world is looking to the U.S. for global leadership, and more ambition is needed," he said. Biden has committed to providing other nations with all 60 million U.S.-produced doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has yet to be authorized for use in America but is widely approved around the world. The AstraZeneca doses have been held up for export by a weeks-long safety review by the Food and Drug Administration, and without them Biden will be hard pressed to meet his sharing goal. The White House says the initial 25 million doses announced Thursday will be shipped from existing federal stockpiles of Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. More doses are expected to be made available to share in the months ahead. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said via Twitter that Harris had informed him before the White House announcement of the decision to send 1 million doses of the single jab Johnson & Johnson vaccine. I expressed to her our appreciation in the name of the people of Mexico, he wrote. Guatemalas Giammattei said Harris told him the U.S. government would send his country 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine. As part of its purchase agreements with drug manufacturers, the U.S. controlled the initial production by its domestic manufacturers. Pfizer and Moderna are only now starting to export vaccines produced in the U.S. to overseas customers. The U.S. has hundreds of millions more doses on order, both of authorized and in-development vaccines. The White House also announced that U.S. producers of vaccine materials and ingredients will no longer have to prioritize orders from three drugmakers working on COVID-19 shots that haven't received U.S. approval Sanofi, Novavax and AstraZeneca clearing the way for more materials to be shipped overseas to help production there. ___ AP writers Christopher Sherman in Mexico City, Gerald Imray in Cape Town, South Africa, and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed. Jacksonville Police ACCIDENTS A 16-year-old girl was cited on charges of improper lane use, improper use of an electronic communication device and having an unlawful number of passengers with a Graduated Drivers License after the car she was driving hit a car parked in the 300 block of Locust Street at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday. The driver suffered a minor scrape, according to police, but none of the five passengers was injured. Sheila A. Bodecker, 63, of Jacksonville was cited on a charge of failing to yield after the car she was driving and one being driven by Carter Y. Lockman, 19, of Jacksonville collided at 1:33 p.m. Wednesday in the 300 block of West State Street. The Morgan County Health Department is suspending its COVID-19 testing services after Friday. The health department said there has been a significant slowdown in those needing tested. Those who feel ill are being encouraged to stay home and contact their primary care provider. Those without a provider can call the SIU School of Medicines COVID Hotline at 217-545-5100. For a list of alternate COVID-19 testing sites, go to dph.illinois.gov/testing. Provided Luke Overton of Jacksonville, a 2017 graduate of Routt Catholic High School, has graduated cum laude from Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana, with a bachelor of arts degree in social studies education. Overton was among four Anderson University graduates honored by the Department of Teacher Education with the Indiana Association of Colleges for Teacher Education Outstanding Future Educator Award. Awards are given in recognition of academic excellence and outstanding dedication and commitment during student teaching. Israel's visiting defense minister said Thursday that it will stay engaged as the U.S. tries to return to a nuclear deal with Iran, sidestepping what's long been an area of open disagreement between the United States and the now-jeopardized government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Benny Gantz told reporters before a meeting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that Iran's nuclear program and other actions were an existential threat to Israel. Stopping Iran is certainly a shared strategic need of the United States," Israel and other countries, Gantz said. But on a visit that came as an opposition coalition back home tries to end Netanyahu's 12 years in power, Gantz unlike Netanyahu stopped short of openly opposing the Biden administration's efforts to get the United States back into a deal limiting Iran's nuclear program, in exchange for relief from sanctions. Sitting across a table from his U.S. counterpart at the Pentagon, Gantz said, Our dialogue is so important to ensuring that any deal effectively meets its goal of keeping Iran away from nuclear weapons. Of course, given the scope of the threat, Israel must always make sure that it has the ability to protect itself, Gantz added. The Israeli official made clear the change in tone was purposeful. We will continue this important strategic dialogue in private discussion ... only, not in the media in a provoking way, he said, calling for open dialogue behind closed doors." It echoed Biden's own embrace of what the administration has called quiet diplomacy when dealing with Israel. Netanyahu's years-long fight to torpedo the Iran nuclear deal struck during the Obama administration in 2015, but rejected by President Donald Trump after his election included Netanyahu denouncing it to a 2015 joint session of the U.S. Congress as a very bad deal. Netanyahu has continued that open opposition in recent days, saying a deal paves the way for Iran to have an arsenal of nuclear weapons with international legitimacy and that the fight against that was worth any friction with our great friend the United States. Biden has pressed for a return to the nuclear deal as the best way to keep Iran from building up what it says is a civilian nuclear program, and to calm a flashpoint in the Middle East. European negotiators expressed some optimism this week as they closed the latest round of talks in Vienna on getting the U.S. and Iran back in the deal. Gantz also met with national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Gantz is part of the coalition pushing to unseat Netanyahu, and he is expected to remain in his post as defense minister if the government changes. His meetings Thursday underscored U.S. security commitments to Israel as that country weathers its greatest domestic political upheaval in years and the aftermath of last month's war with Hamas militants in Gaza. Gantz said he would lay out for administration officials a complete plan for a diplomatic end to hostilities with the Palestinians. He gave no details. A key aim of Gantz's visit to Washington was believed to be securing U.S. funding to help restock Israel's Iron Dome, a sophisticated missile defense system that smacked down many of the rockets Hamas militants fired toward Israel last month. More than 260 people were killed, the vast majority Palestinians, in an 11-day war in which Israel struck targets in Hamas-ruled Gaza with hundreds of airstrikes while Hamas fired more than 4,000 rockets at Israel. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, touring Israel this week in a show of support after the latest Gaza war, said he expected Israelis to seek up to $1 billion from the U.S. for Iron Dome, including for restocking the systems interception missiles. U.S. officials made no immediate announcements on funding. Austin noted Biden "has expressed his full support for replenishing Israels Iron Dome missile defense system, which saved so many lives. We are committed to maintaining Israels qualitative military edge and ensuring that Israel can defend itself," Austin added. The U.S. partnership in Israels Iron Dome has wide bipartisan support in Congress, as does overall U.S. support for Israels defense, a tenet of U.S. foreign policy for decades. Last months war, however the fiercest Israeli-Palestinian fighting since 2014 has exposed a rift in Bidens Democratic Party. Progressives and some others demanded a cease-fire by Israel as well as Hamas as Palestinian deaths grew in the crowded Gaza Strip. Blinken told reporters before meeting with Gantz that Americans also were talking to him about getting aid in to Gaza to help rebuild housing and services damaged and destroyed in the fighting, in addition to discussing Israeli security. A Waverly man charged with first-degree murder and intentional homicide of an unborn child is awaiting sentencing in the Illinois Department of Human Services after being found not guilty by reason of mental insanity. Nathan A. Henson, 36, was charged in connection with the 2017 death of his pregnant wife, Jessie. He initially was found in October 2019 to be neither fit nor not guilty by reason of mental insanity. Henson appealed that decision and a states expert concurred with a defense expert that Henson was not guilty by reason of mental insanity, States Attorney Gray Noll said. After the states experts report was submitted, the judge overturned his original ruling and in April found Henson not guilty by reason of mental insanity. Though IDHS did not submit a formal report, they also indicated to me that he was not guilty by reason of mental insanity, Noll said. We are waiting on a report from the Illinois Department of Human Services for a treatment plan. Usually, in cases like these, a defendant will be sentenced to a secure facility within the department for a period of time for treatment. Henson has been held at a Department of Human Services facility and the court had been receiving regular fitness-evaluation updates since he first was found in October 2017 to be unable to aid in his own defense. He was arrested Sept. 5, 2017, after emergency medical personnel arrived at an East Elm Street house in Waverly and performed CPR on Jessie Henson. She had suffered blunt-force trauma and stab wounds, and court records showed she was stabbed with a knife and beaten with a bat. She was pronounced dead at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield a little more than an hour after being found. Henson will appear in court at 2:30 p.m. June 22 for sentencing. The past few years have been incredibly difficult for hog farmers like me. After more than two years of trade retaliation that limited our ability to compete effectively around the globe, the pandemic unleashed unprecedented challenges for the entire food supply chain. Now, just as we are returning to normality, another looming disaster threatens my livelihood and the prosperity of many hog farmers like me if not quickly addressed. It will also erode industry competition by placing more market power in the hands of pork packing plant operators. Recently, a federal court decision struck down a provision of the U.S. Department of Agricultures New Swine Inspection System, which allows for pork processing facilities to operate at a faster rate. NSIS, initiated during the Clinton administration and evaluated at five pilot plants over 20 years, was approved for industry-wide adoption in 2019. Unless reversed by June 29, the federal court ruling will result in a 2.5% loss in pork packing plant capacity nationwide, and $82.3 million in reduced income for hog farmers, according to Dr. Dermot Hayes, an economist with Iowa State University. Although the court claimed USDA failed to consider worker safety concerns, there is no evidence that eliminating line speed limits poses a risk to worker safety. In fact, the evidence shows the opposite; during the 20-year NSIS pilot program, the elimination of line speed limits did not lead to injuries. According to FSIS, a comparison of worker safety data from 2002 to 2010 shows that the five plants in the NSIS pilot program had lower mean injury rates compared to 24 traditionally inspected, high-volume plants for which the agency had data. While the court decision will affect all U.S. hog farmers, smaller producers will disproportionately bear the brunt, especially those located near affected processing facilities. I am a third-generation hog farmer from Raymond. If the line speed is reduced at a near-by packing plant, where we ship most of our hogs, we will need to find a new home for 1,000 pigs a week and will lose $10 per head just on transportation costs alone. Even before the pandemic, we went eighteen months without getting all our pigs in our agreements with the processing plant. Once the pandemic came, that only got worse. Consumers and farmers alike cannot afford to have less animals being processed and ultimately, less protein on the shelves. Ironically, many lawmakers on Capitol Hill have called for an increase in federally inspected meatpacking capacity. Some have suggested bringing smaller, state packing plants up to federal inspection standards as a solution. Unfortunately, these state packing plants represent less than 1% of overall pork harvest facility capacity. The court ruling will affect Illinois 2,153 pork producers and trickle down throughout the entire economy. The states hog production generates more than 57,000 jobs, contributing more than $13.8 billion to the states economy per year. All of this could be in jeopardy if this damaging court ruling stands. If small hog farmers are forced out of business, we will see a more consolidated pork industry. This could reduce competition, drive industry consolidation, and concentrate more power in the hands of pork processorsall with the stroke of a judges pen. Reduced competition will have a dramatic impact on our income and our way of life. We can avoid these damaging outcomes. We need USDA to stand up for Illinois hog farmers and producers across the country by both appealing the federal court decision and seeking a stay, halting the ruling from being enacted at the end of next month. This will help preserve our states highly competitive pork production system, and the significant economic benefits it provides to our communities around the country. Phil Borgic is a third-generation pig farmer from Raymond. Plymouth Record Enterprise Vintage Fret Shop re-opens to the public Owner David Colburn recently began welcoming customers back to the Vintage Fret Shop. (Courtesy Photo) (click for larger version) ASHLAND David Colburn's Vintage Fret Shop at 30 Riverside Dr. in Ashland is a 50-year institution for music-lovers from all over New England and beyond. Like many community cornerstones, the Fret Shop closed to the public during much of the pandemic but has reopened for business Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Fridays by appointment. Even if you've never played an instrument, much less a string instrument, the Vintage Fret Shop is worthy of a visit. As you enter, the door welcomes you with an old guitar above your head that plays "about an F sharp" as you walk in. From there your eyes will take in rows of new and used mandolins, banjos, guitars, lutes and more lining the ceiling, walls and floors in addition to strings, picks, repair kits, open mic posters, music lesson flyers, and every manner of fret knickknack. It is part museum, part rehearsal studio, part repair shop, and a tribute to the love of music. Owner and operator David Colburn first opened his vintage shop in a one-car garage "hole in the wall" across from Annie's Overflow on the Holderness side of the bridge between Holderness and Plymouth. "I grew up in that neighborhood and always thought I lived in Plymouth. It was some time before I learned it was actually Holderness," he recalled. After his first shop was flooded in 1972, he moved the shop to Ashland in two different locations before settling into his place on Squam River in Ashland in 1983. "As a young musician, I was dissatisfied with music stores I could get to. The closest were in Manchester or over in Vermont. I decided if I was going to have access to a store with what I needed I'd pretty much have to do it myself," says Colburn. The Vintage Fret Shop's Ashland location was a blacksmith shop that didn't have much to the structure when Colburn acquired it other than a roof, four walls and a fireplace. But his conversion of the place along the Squam River suits Dave and his string emporium well. According to Colburn, "I think what this store has that others don't is an eclectic mix of instruments that are hard to sell. So, not very prosperous but fun for me. I do it as a hobby, for the fun of it. If I had kids to put through college or a big mortgage, I probably wouldn't be doing this." The iconic Vintage Fret Shop in Ashland is happy to be welcoming back customers and guests to experience first-hand Dave's knowledge and history, repair services, stringed instruments of every shape and size, friendly conversation, and a whole lot of magic. For Friday appointments, call 968-3346 or stop in Saturdays between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m....an F-sharp will greet you ASHLAND David Colburn's Vintage Fret Shop at 30 Riverside Dr. in Ashland is a 50-year institution for music-lovers from all over New England and beyond.Like many community cornerstones, the Fret Shop closed to the public during much of the pandemic but has reopened for business Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Fridays by appointment. Even if you've never played an instrument, much less a string instrument, the Vintage Fret Shop is worthy of a visit. As you enter, the door welcomes you with an old guitar above your head that plays "about an F sharp" as you walk in. From there your eyes will take in rows of new and used mandolins, banjos, guitars, lutes and more lining the ceiling, walls and floors in addition to strings, picks, repair kits, open mic posters, music lesson flyers, and every manner of fret knickknack. It is part museum, part rehearsal studio, part repair shop, and a tribute to the love of music.Owner and operator David Colburn first opened his vintage shop in a one-car garage "hole in the wall" across from Annie's Overflow on the Holderness side of the bridge between Holderness and Plymouth."I grew up in that neighborhood and always thought I lived in Plymouth. It was some time before I learned it was actually Holderness," he recalled.After his first shop was flooded in 1972, he moved the shop to Ashland in two different locations before settling into his place on Squam River in Ashland in 1983."As a young musician, I was dissatisfied with music stores I could get to. The closest were in Manchester or over in Vermont. I decided if I was going to have access to a store with what I needed I'd pretty much have to do it myself," says Colburn.The Vintage Fret Shop's Ashland location was a blacksmith shop that didn't have much to the structure when Colburn acquired it other than a roof, four walls and a fireplace. But his conversion of the place along the Squam River suits Dave and his string emporium well.According to Colburn, "I think what this store has that others don't is an eclectic mix of instruments that are hard to sell. So, not very prosperous but fun for me. I do it as a hobby, for the fun of it. If I had kids to put through college or a big mortgage, I probably wouldn't be doing this."The iconic Vintage Fret Shop in Ashland is happy to be welcoming back customers and guests to experience first-hand Dave's knowledge and history, repair services, stringed instruments of every shape and size, friendly conversation, and a whole lot of magic. For Friday appointments, call 968-3346 or stop in Saturdays between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m....an F-sharp will greet you Plymouth Record Enterprise Bobcat lax boys battle their way to Division III semifinals Ashland selectmen decide against moving police station Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.com Slow to start, China now vaccinating at a staggering pace View Photo TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) In the span of just five days last month, China gave out 100 million shots of its COVID-19 vaccines. After a slow start, China is now doing what virtually no other country in the world can: leveraging the power and all-encompassing reach of its one-party system and a maturing domestic vaccine industry to administer shots at a staggering pace. The rollout is far from perfect, including uneven distribution, but Chinese public health leaders now say theyre hoping to inoculate 80% of the population of 1.4 billion by the end of the year. As of Wednesday, China had given out more than 704 million doses with nearly half of those in May alone. Chinas total is roughly a third of the 1.9 billion shots distributed globally, according to Our World in Data, an online research site. The call to get vaccinated comes from every corner of society. Companies offer shots to their employees, schools urge their students and staffers, and local government workers check on their residents. That pressure underscores both the systems strength, which makes it possible to even consider vaccinating more than a billion people this year, but also the risks to civil liberties a concern the world over but one that is particularly acute in China, where there are few protections. The Communist Party has people all the way down to every village, every neighborhood, said Ray Yip, former country director for the Gates Foundation in China and a public health expert. Thats the draconian part of the system, but it also gives very powerful mobilization. China is now averaging about 19 million shots per day, according to Our World in Datas rolling seven-day average. That would mean a dose for everyone in Italy about every three days. The United States, with about one-quarter of Chinas population, reached around 3.4 million shots per day in April when its drive was at full tilt. Its still unclear how many people in China are fully vaccinated which can mean anywhere from one to three doses of the vaccines in use as the government does not publicly release that data. Zhong Nanshan, the head of a group of experts attached to the National Health Commission and a prominent government doctor, said on Sunday that 40% of the population has received at least one dose, and the aim was to get that percentage fully vaccinated by the end of the month. In Beijing, the capital, 87% of the population has received at least one dose. Getting a shot is as easy as walking into one of hundreds of vaccination points found all across the city. Vaccination buses are parked in high foot-traffic areas, including in the city center and at malls. But Beijings abundance is not shared with the rest of the country, and local media reports and complaints on social media show the difficulty of getting an appointment elsewhere. I started lining up that day at 9 in the morning, until 6 p.m., only then did I get the shot. It was exhausting, Zhou Hongxia, a resident of Lanzhou, in northwestern Gansu province, explained recently. When I left, there were still people waiting. Zhous husband hasnt been so lucky and has yet to get a shot. When they call the local hotlines, they are told simply to wait. Central government officials on Monday said theyre working to ensure supply is more evenly distributed. China has even focused on vaccinating its citizens abroad, donating vaccine s to Thailand, some of which were used to inoculate its nationals before most Thais received their doses. Globally, it has vaccinated more than 500,000 overseas citizens under what it calls the Spring Sprout program. Before the domestic campaign ramped up in recent weeks, many people were not in a rush to get vaccinated as China has kept the virus, which first flared in the country, at bay in the past year with strict border controls and mandatory quarantines. It has faced small clusters of infections from time to time, and is currently managing one in the southern city of Guangzhou. Although there are distribution issues, it is unlikely that Chinese manufacturers will have problems with scale, according to analysts and those who have worked in the industry. Sinovac and Sinopharm, which make the majority of the vaccines being distributed in China, have both aggressively ramped up production, building brand new factories and repurposing existing ones for COVID-19. Sinovacs vaccine and one of the two Sinpharm makes have received an emergency authorization for use from the World Health Organization, but the companies, particularly Sinopharm, have faced criticism for their lack of transparency in sharing their data. What place in the world can compare with China on construction? How long did it take our temporary hospitals to be built? asked Li Mengyuan, who leads pharmaceutical research at Western Securities, a financial firm. China built field hospitals at the beginning of the pandemic in just days. Sinovac has said it has doubled its production capacity to 2 billion doses a year, while Sinopharm has said it can make up to 3 billion doses a year. But Sinopharm has not disclosed recent numbers of how many doses it actually has made, and a spokesman for the company did not respond to a request for comment. Sinovac has produced 540 million doses this year as of late May, the company said on Friday. Government support has been crucial for vaccine developers every step of the way as it has in other countries but, as with everything, the scope and scale in China is different. Yang Xiaoming, chairman of Sinopharms China National Biotec Group, recounted to state media recently how the company initially needed to borrow lab space from a government research center while it was working on a vaccine. We sent our samples over, there was no need to discuss money, we just did it, he said. Chinese vaccine companies also largely do not rely on imported products in the manufacturing process. Thats an enormous benefit at a time when many countries are scrambling for the same materials and means China can likely avoid what happened to the Serum Institute of India, whose production was hobbled because of dependence on imports from the U.S. for certain ingredients. But as the availability of the vaccine increases so, too, can the pressure to take it. In Beijing, one researcher at a university said the schools Communist Party cell calls him once a month to ask him if he has gotten vaccinated yet, and offers to help him make an appointment. He has so far declined to get a shot because he would prefer the Pfizer vaccine, saying he trusts its data. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns he could face repercussions at his job at a government university for publicly questioning the Chinese vaccines. China has not yet approved Pfizer for use, and the researcher is not sure how long he can hold out although the government has, for now, cautioned against making vaccines mandatory outright. They dont have to say it is mandatory, Yip, the public health expert, said. Theyre not going to announce that its required to have the vaccine, but they can put pressure on you. ___ Associated Press video producer Olivia Zhang in Beijing and researcher Chen Si in Shanghai contributed to this report. By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press China defends Cambodia relations after US expresses concern View Photo BEIJING (AP) China said Thursday its relationship with Cambodia has made positive contributions to regional peace and stability, after the U.S. expressed concerns about the presence of the Chinese military in the Southeast Asian nation. In a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman focused on Chinas construction of new facilities at Ream Naval Base. She sought clarification about the demolition of two U.S.-funded buildings at Ream without notification or explanation, and observed that a (Chinese) military base in Cambodia would undermine its sovereignty, threaten regional security, and negatively impact U.S.-Cambodia relations, according to the State Department. In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said China and Cambodia enjoyed a traditional friendship and were comprehensive strategic and cooperative partners. The two sides have carried out fruitful cooperation in various fields, which has brought tangible benefits to the two peoples and made positive contributions to regional peace and stability, Wang told reporters at a daily briefing. The State Department said Sherman urged Cambodias leadership to maintain an independent and balanced foreign policy, in the best interests of the Cambodian people. Sherman raised the issue again during a visit to Thailand on Wednesday, saying that she had candid conversations with Hun Sen about the direction the country is headed, including Chinas presence at Ream and Cambodias human rights and anti-democratic record. Ream faces the Gulf of Thailand that lies adjacent to the South China Sea, where China has aggressively asserted its claim to virtually the entire strategic waterway. The U.S. has refused to recognize Chinas sweeping claims, and the Navys 7th Fleet routinely sails past Chinese-held islands in what it terms freedom of navigation operations. China was the chief backer of the murderous regime of Pol Pot in Cambodia and has long maintained strong relations with Hun Sen, who has ruled for more than 30 years and grown increasingly repressive. Cambodia has also reliably blocked criticism of China within the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Top European court faults Germany for high air pollution View Photo BERLIN (AP) The European Unions top court ruled Thursday that Germany systematically and persistently exceeded limits on nitrogen dioxide, a harmful gas produced by diesel engines, in many regions between 2010 and 2016. The European Court of Justice faulted Germany for exceeding annual limits on NO2 in 26 out of 89 areas assessed including the Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Duesseldorf, Munich and Stuttgart areas. It found that hourly limits also were exceeded in Stuttgart and the Rhine-Main area, which includes Frankfurt. The court, which was acting on a suit filed by the EUs executive Commission in 2018, also said Germany failed to ensure that air quality plans provided for measures to keep the periods in which the NO2 limits were exceeded as short as possible. More recently, many German cities have introduced piecemeal bans on older diesel cars in areas or even individual streets where emissions are particularly high. It wasnt immediately clear whether Thursdays ruling would have practical consequences, though it could in principle lead to more such restrictions on diesel cars. Official figures, however, show that air quality in Germany has improved since 2016. A study released by Germanys Federal Office for the Environment three years ago found that almost 6,000 people died prematurely in 2014 from illnesses that are known to be caused or aggravated by NO2. It compared deaths from diabetes, asthma and other diseases with emissions records in cities and the countryside. __ Follow all AP stories on the environment and climate change issues at https://apnews.com/hub/climate. Bennett, Netanyahus former protege, poised to succeed him View Photo TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) For months, Naftali Bennett vexed Israels political establishment by refusing to say whether he and his Yamina party would get behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Now the 49-year-old tech millionaire and former Netanyahu protege is poised to become his successor. His rise to Israels top job is a historic turn for the 73-year-old nation after four inconclusive elections and a brutal 11-day war with Hamas militant rulers in the Gaza Strip. As a fragile truce held into its second week, Bennett finally announced his party would join with allies of centrist Yair Lapid to form a government. They completed the deal late Wednesday, just a half hour before a midnight deadline, paving the way to formally oust Netanyahu in the coming days. The change coalition reflects a pragmatic streak in the 49-year-old father of four who built his career on becoming the pro-settlement, anti-Palestinian statehood leader of the new Israeli right. It also reflects Israels mercurial politics. Less than two months ago, Bennett signed a pledge on national television. I wont let Lapid become prime minister, with or without a rotation, because Im a man of the right and for me values are important, he said. Yet thats exactly what will happen under Lapid and Bennetts deal to serve as premier in two-year shifts. Bennett was more circumspect when he announced the deal this week. No one will be asked to give up their ideology, but everyone will have to postpone the realization of some of their dreams, he said. We will focus on what can be done, instead of arguing over what is impossible. Bennett is a modern Orthodox Jew and lives in the upscale Tel Aviv suburb of Raanana, rather than the settlements he champions. The mistake, Bennett told The Associated Press in 2012, is to categorize me as extreme. Bennett began life with his American-born parents in Haifa, then bounced with his family between North America and Israel, military service, law school and the private sector. Throughout, hes curated a persona thats at once modern, religious and nationalist. After serving in the elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit, Bennett went to law school at Hebrew University and made a fortune in the largely secular world of technology. In 1999, he co-founded Cyota, an anti-fraud software company that he sold in 2005 to U.S.-based RSA Security for $145 million. Bennett has said the bitter experience of Israels 2006 war against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah drove him to politics. The monthlong war ended inconclusively, and Israels military and political leadership at the time was widely criticized as bungling the campaign. Bennett made his debut as Netanyahus chief of staff for two years. They parted ways after a mysterious falling out that Israeli media linked to Netanyahus wife, Sara, who wields great influence over her husbands inner circle. The two clashed again when Bennett fiercely opposed Netanyahus decision in late 2009 to slow settlement construction in a U.S.-led effort to encourage Palestinians to renew peace talks. Bennett briefly served as head of the West Bank settlers council, Yesha. He marched into national politics in his own right in 2013, remaking a party of pro-settlement advocates and later serving as cabinet minister of diaspora affairs, education and defense in various governments. Then came a series of inconclusive Israeli elections and corruption charges against Netanyahu. Before the latest election on March 23, he refused to say whether he would sit as part of a Netanyahu-led coalition. Like the other elections, the March contest failed to produce a governing majority. Netanyahu failed to form a coalition of 61 votes in the Knesset. Then it was Lapids turn. On Sunday night, Bennett announced he would form a government with my friend, Lapid. The alternative, he said, was to force the country into more elections. Or we can halt this insanity, he said. By LAURIE KELLMAN Associated Press Bomb rips through minivan in Afghan capital, at least 4 dead View Photo KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) A bomb ripped through a minivan in a mostly Shiite neighborhood of the Afghan capital on Thursday, killing at least four people, a police spokesman said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The police spokesman, Ferdaws Faramarz, said the attack happened in western Kabul. The area is largely populated by the minority Hazara ethnic group who are mostly Shiite Muslims. The Islamic State group has carried out similar bombings in the area, including an attack on two minivans on Tuesday that killed at least 10 people. Shiites are a minority in mostly Sunni Afghanistan, and the local Islamic State affiliate has declared war against them. In a statement late on Wednesday, IS said they had also bombed an electrical grid station on Tuesday, leaving much of Kabul in darkness. Violence and chaos continues to escalate in Afghanistan as the U.S. and NATO continue their final withdrawal of the remaining 2,500-3,500 American soldiers and 7,000 allied forces. The last of the troops will be gone by Sept. 11 at the latest. Barriers removed, new ones go up, at George Floyd Square View Photo MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Crews on Thursday removed the concrete barriers that blocked traffic at a Minneapolis intersection where a memorial to George Floyd was assembled after his death last year, but community activists quickly put up makeshift barriers and resumed chanting the name of the Black man whose killing galvanized the racial justice movement. It took the crews less than four hours to clear the barriers, artwork, flowers and other items from 38th Street and Chicago Avenue where Floyd was killed, informally known as George Floyd Square. City spokeswoman Sarah McKenzie said a fist sculpture, which stands several feet tall, will remain. The city said the effort was led by a community group known as Agape and several city departments were involved. The intersection had been closed to traffic since Floyds death in police custody on May 25, 2020, but some residents and businesses expressed frustration that it had been closed for so long. Traffic briefly flowed through the intersection Thursday morning after the concrete barriers were removed, but community members quickly erected new makeshift barriers. Dozens of people gathered near the intersection, singing, chanting Floyds name and giving speeches expressing frustration and urging people to continue organizing. Police were not seen at the intersection on Thursday morning and there was no visible police presence later in the day. Mayor Jacob Frey said avoiding clashes between activists and police was of utmost concern, and going forward, the police will patrol the area just like any other neighborhood in the city. Frey said a phased reopening of the intersection was necessary to promote healing, restore area businesses, and provide social and city services that have been lacking for a year. He said artwork from the memorial will be preserved, and that the city wants to ensure the location where Floyd died never has tires run over it again. This intersection will forever be changed and we need to be investing in that transformation, Frey said at a news conference. This can be a critical location of gathering, not just for our city but the entire world. City Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins said she has talked with residents and business owners who have struggled with the loss of revenue and sleep, and some who feel trapped in their homes. Its time for us to begin a process of rebuilding this community, she said. Frey acknowledged the reopening would not happen all at once and declined to say when the intersection would fully reopen to traffic. The square sprang up organically in the days after Floyds death. As people gathered to express their grief and anger, community members set up makeshift barricades to block traffic, which the city eventually replaced with concrete ones. Frey and other city leaders pledged to reopen the intersection, but activist leaders said they wouldnt step aside unless the city met their 24 demands. Among them: recall the county prosecutor, fire the head of the states criminal investigative agency, and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on programs to create jobs, combat racism and support affordable housing. Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the removal of the memorial was an attack on Floyds legacy. This space is a space that has now become a national memorial, a national memorial for victims of police violence all over this world, Hussein said during a news conference. We will not give up this space, he said. We will save it for George Floyd. Violent crime at the intersection and the blocks immediately surrounding it rose dramatically in 2020, though crime also increased citywide. There were 19 nonfatal and fatal shootings in the area in 2020, including 14 from May 1 through Aug. 31. Thats compared with three shootings in all of 2019 and none during the summer months. Shots were fired in the area last week, just hours before an event to mark the anniversary of Floyds death. One person was injured. McKenzie said Agape has a contract with Agape to reopen the intersection. The contract, which will have a maximum cost of $359,000 and runs from June to the fall, includes community building and health and safety services associated with the reopening. Most of the cost of the contract covers the hourly rate for Agape personnel. Several city departments are involved and coordinating with Agape, she said. Steve Floyd, one of Agapes founders, said he admires the demonstrators efforts to maintain the square but that they had to engage the city in that process instead of letting them come in here with bulldozers. As far as controlling this and maintaining it, thats a noble job. We dont disrespect the protesters, everything can stay the same, said Floyd, who isnt related to George Floyd. They can still do it. But we just let them in here to fix what we have and develop it. Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted in April of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for pressing his knee against Floyds neck for about 9 1/2 minutes as he pleaded for air. Chauvin has also been indicted on federal charges alleging he violated Floyds civil rights, as well as the civil rights of a 14-year-old he restrained in a 2017 arrest. The three other former Minneapolis officers involved in Floyds arrest and death were also charged with federal civil rights violations. They await trial in state court on aiding and abetting counts. ___ Find APs full coverage of the death of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd ___ Mohamed Ibrahim is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. By MOHAMED IBRAHIM Associated Press/Report for America Hunt is on for Burmese pythons, Florida natives arch-enemy View Photo MIAMI (AP) Professional python hunters and amateurs alike have a chance to win prizes in Floridas annual hunt for the biggest snakes the Burmese pythons that are ravaging the states native species. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the states annual contest on Thursday: It will run from July 9 to 18 and include prizes for both pros and novices. In both categories, there will be a $2,500 prize for catching the most pythons and $1,500 for the longest. The pythons, which can grow to 20 feet (6.10 meters) and 200 pounds (90 kilograms), are descended from pets released starting five decades ago. The big serpents are overrunning the Everglades and have been devouring native mammal and bird populations. Each adult female lays between 60 and 100 eggs per year. Once the snakes reach adulthood in about five years they have no Florida predators besides armed humans and the occasional sawgrass death match with an adult alligator. CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) COVID-19 vaccine shipments have ground to a near halt in Africa while virus cases have spiked 20% over the last two weeks, the World Health Organization said Thursday, a bleak scenario for the continent on both those critical fronts. South Africa alone saw a more than 60% rise in new cases last week as the country with the highest coronavirus caseload in Africa continued to face delays in its effort to roll out the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. More than 1 million J&J doses that should have already been put to use remain on hold at a pharmaceuticals plant in South Africa because of contamination concerns at a U.S. factory. The head of the Africa CDC said he expects an update in the coming days from U.S. federal regulators on those and other doses of J&J, which he called an essential vaccine for Africa because it's a one-dose shot and doesn't need the ultra-cold storage facilities required by others. The threat of a third wave in Africa is real and rising," WHO Africa director Dr. Matshidiso Moeti said. "Our priority is clear. Its crucial that we swiftly get vaccines into the arms of Africans at high risk of falling seriously ill and dying of COVID-19. While many countries outside Africa have now vaccinated their high-priority groups and are able to even consider vaccinating their children, African countries are unable to even follow up with second doses for high-risk groups." Moeti repeated Africa's ongoing plea that richer countries that have reached significant vaccination coverage" now release their remaining doses. Africa has administered vaccine doses to 31 million people out of its population of 1.3 billion. But only 7 million of those have received both doses. Moeti's plea came hours before President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. would share some of its vaccines. Sub-Saharan Africa has on average administered only one vaccine dose per 100 people, Moeti said, compared to a global average of 23 doses per 100 people. Some higher income countries have even reached 62 doses per 100 people, she added. The issue with contamination of Johnson & Johnson doses at a U.S. facility is a tiny part of the problem, but it's a crucial one right now for South Africa, which has more than 1.6 million virus cases and more than 56,000 deaths, the most in Africa by far. South Africa has seen a positivity rate of around 11-12% among people tested for the virus in recent days, well above the 5% threshold that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said marks a cause for concern." Meanwhile, the country's vaccine rollout has faced a number of hurdles. The country ultimately rejected the first vaccine available over concerns about whether AstraZeneca showed enough efficacy against the variant first detected in South Africa now referred to by WHO as the beta variant. Now the contamination problems at the Emergent BioSolutions plant in Baltimore earlier this year have directly impacted South Africa's already lagging rollout. South Africa's health department was due to receive 1.1 million J&J doses in May. Another 900,000 were then meant to be delivered at the start of June, according to the government's schedule. Both batches are in South Africa but remain frustratingly on hold after the US. Food and Drug Administration shut down the Emergent plant in mid-April and put a lockdown on any doses that might be linked to it across the world. South Africa has vaccinated only 1.1 million of its 60 million people, and more than half of them have only received one dose of a two-dose vaccine. Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director John Nkengasong said he was in contact earlier Thursday with J&J officials and they told him an announcement by the FDA was expected Friday or early next week. South Africa wasn't the only country affected by the contamination in Baltimore, Nkengasong said. Also at stake is the African Union's 220 million dose deal with Johnson & Johnson set for delivery later this year, which could eventually rise to 400 million doses total. Our entire strategy is underpinned by the J&J agreement, Nkengasong said of Africa. On Tuesday, the FDA declined to comment on when it might resolve the concerns over Emergents factory, which included poorly trained workers and dirty walls and floors, and led to the immediate discarding of 15 million J&J doses connected to the factory. Johnson & Johnson said that it was working with the FDA and Emergent toward resolving the situation as soon as possible but didn't comment on any specifics of the FDA investigation. ___ AP Medical Writer Linda A. Johnson in Fairless Hills, Pa., contributed to this report. WASHINGTON (AP) In April, the Biden administration announced plans to share millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses with the world by the end of June. Five weeks later, nations around the globe are still waiting with growing impatience to learn where the vaccines will go and how they will be distributed. To President Joe Biden, the doses represent a modern-day arsenal of democracy, serving as the ultimate carrot for Americas partners abroad, but also as a necessary tool for global health, capable of saving millions of lives and returning a semblance of normalcy to friends and foes alike. The central question for Biden: What share of doses should be provided to those who need it most, and how many should be reserved for U.S. partners? The answer, so far at least, appears to be that the administration will provide the bulk of the doses to COVAX, the U.N.-backed global vaccine sharing program meant to meet the needs of lower income countries. While the percentage is not yet finalized, it would mark a substantial and immediate boost to the lagging COVAX effort, which to date has shared just 76 million doses with needy countries. The Biden administration is considering reserving about a fourth of the doses for the U.S. to dispense directly to individual nations of its choice. The growing U.S. stockpile of COVID-19 vaccines is seen not only as a testament to American ingenuity, but also its global privilege. More than 50% of Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and more than 135 million are fully vaccinated, helping bring the rate of cases and deaths in the U.S. to the lowest level since the earliest days of the pandemic. Scores of countries have requested doses from the United States, but to date only Mexico and Canada have received a combined 4.5 million doses. The U.S. also has announced plans to share enough shots with South Korea to vaccinate its 550,000 troops who serve alongside American service members on the peninsula. The broader U.S. sharing plan is still being finalized, a White House official said, having been the subject of policy debate inside the White House and across the federal government, and also involving COVAX and other outside stakeholders like drug manufacturers and logistics experts. Our nations going to be the arsenal of vaccines for the rest of the world, Biden said on May 17, when he announced the U.S. pledge to share more doses. He added that, compared to other countries like Russia and China that have sought to leverage their domestically produced doses, we will not use our vaccines to secure favors from other countries. Still, the partnership with the South Korean military points to the ability of the U.S. to use its vaccine stockpile to benefit some of its better-off allies. It was not clear whether South Korea would pay for its doses from the U.S. Most of the other doses were expected to be donated. Samantha Power, the new USAID administrator, provided the first indication of the likely allocation last week in testimony on Capitol Hill. She told the Senate Appropriations Committee that "75% of the doses we share will likely be shared through COVAX. Twenty-five percent of whatever our excess supply is that we are donating will be reserved to be able to deploy bilaterally. Administration officials cautioned that Biden had not yet signed off on the precise split and that it could still change.. The White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans, said the administration would be working in coming days to synchronize its supplies with the global vaccine sharing organizations. Biden has committed to providing other nations with all 60 million domestically produced doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. That vaccine has yet to be authorized for use in the U.S. but is widely approved around the world. The U.S.-produced doses will be available to ship as soon as they clear a safety review by the Food and Drug Administration. The president also has promised to share 20 million doses from existing production of Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccine stocks. Even more doses are expected to be made available to share in the months ahead. As part of its purchase agreements with drug manufacturers, the U.S. controlled the initial production by its domestic manufacturers. Pfizer and Moderna are only now starting to export vaccines produced in the U.S. to overseas customers. The U.S. has hundreds of millions more doses on order, both of authorized and in-development vaccines. Its obviously challenging because so many countries face this need right now, Power said, calling the decision of where to send doses an urgent question. The decision, she continued, hinges on some combination of "the relationship we have with the countries, the public health and epidemiological scientific trajectory of the disease, and a sense of where the vaccines can do the most good, the infrastructure and readiness of countries to receive vaccines. The U.S. under Biden also has pledged $4 billion to COVAX, led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and the World Health Organization, to help it procure and distribute vaccines. COVAX has committed to sharing the doses with more than 90 countries, including many with which the U.S. has tumultuous relations. Leaving it to COVAX to decide how the bulk of the U.S.-provided doses are distributed is seen by the administration as the most equitable way to determine who benefits. It also could allow the U.S. to avoid any political fallout that might come from sharing the vaccine directly with adversaries. Its not only a symbol of American values it's smart global health policy, said Tom Hart, acting CEO of the ONE Campaign, which has pressed the Biden administration to move faster to develop its global sharing plan. An outbreak in North Korea or Iran or somewhere else where we might have tensions, viruses travel no matter where theyre flourishing, and I dont want a variant cooking up in some remote part of the world, anywhere in the world, which then might get around the current vaccines that weve got. Even if the bulk of the U.S.-shared doses are distributed through COVAX, Power told senators, It will be very clear where those doses are coming from. "People will be very clear that these are American doses coming as a result of American ingenuity and the generosity of the American people, she added. Globally, more than 3.5 million people are confirmed to have died from the coronavirus. The U.S. has seen the largest confirmed loss of life from COVID-19, at more than 594,000 people. Click here to read the full article. A little less than two months ago, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott held a hastily called press conference outside an emergency shelter in San Antonio, where he delivered a blistering indictment of the federal governments failure to properly care for the migrant children held there. This facility, Abbott said, is a health and safety nightmare. He called for the Freeman Coliseum shelter to be shut down immediately, and for the children housed inside to be moved to other federally operated facilities, presumably those run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, where, Abbott said, the federal government has the space, personnel and resources to ensure their safety. But on Monday, Abbott did an about-face, formally ordering officials who work for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to pull the state licenses accrediting those O.R.R. facilities a move that would effectively force the roughly 4,000 migrant kids currently housed in federal facilities in Texas back to the over-crowded, under-resourced emergency shelters Abbott decried in April. Its a serious form of hypocrisy, and certainly political showmanship, says Hope Frye, a longtime immigration attorney and the executive director of Project Lifeline, a nonprofit that supports the legal and medical needs of migrant children. The order is tucked inside a two-page proclamation officially declaring the ongoing surge of migrants crossing the Texas-Mexico border a disaster. In the document, Abbott blasts the Biden administrations unwillingness, ambivalence, or inability to fix the situation at the border. Abbott has a long, storied history of grandstanding against Democratic administrations he sued the Obama administration 44 times and this latest declaration comes as the Texas governors approval rating has fallen underwater for the first time since he was elected in 2015. Fifty-two of the Office of Refugee Resettlements roughly 200 shelters are located in Texas; under Abbotts order, all 52 locations would be forced to wind down their operations within 90 days. Some of those facilities have been subject to previous complaints, like the Shiloh Treatment Center in Manvel, Texas, where children accused the operators of abuse, neglect, and forcibly administering psychotropic drugs to control them. One of the things thats so troubling about Abbotts order, Frye says, is that those O.R.R. facilities have dramatically more oversight than the emergency shelters where the kids will be moved if Abbotts order is ultimately enacted. (Advocates plan to sue Abbott to keep it from going into effect.) Emergency intake sites are not designed to hold children. They are makeshift, Frye says. In the O.R.R. shelters, Theyre taking care of the children while they process them for release in an orderly manner with case managers who are trained, who are part of the system. In the emergency shelters, you have a hodgepodge of people hired on an emergency basis to do case management who have no training Youre going to take a system that is more functional, that is safe, and more protective for children, and youre going to make it dysfunctional, and further burden an already dysfunctional system. Abbott, she says, could be helping the system to improve itself instead of creating a chaotic mess if he wanted to. As dangerous as Abbotts order is, it highlights a problem facing the Biden administration, which has already said it expects more migrants will attempt to cross the border this year than at any point in the last 20 years. The administration does not have a solution for how to handle the increasing volume of asylum seekers and unaccompanied children who have a legal standing to stay. In April, Rep. Pramilla Jayapal (D-WA) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-WA) suggested one possible solution: the Freedom for Families Act would overhaul the current system, replacing detention centers with appropriate community-based non-detention programs. Whether or not the legislation will gain any traction this session remains to be seen. But it doesnt appear that there is much appetite in the Biden administration to make immigration a central issue. Even Vice President Kamala Harris, who Biden tasked with taking charge of the situation at the border, is according to one report, trying to get out of the gig. FORMER Bulawayo deputy mayor Tinashe Kambarami caused a scene yesterday when he barged into a full council meeting demanding to be reinstated. Kambarami was removed as ward 3 councillor and deputy mayor in 2019 following a High Court ruling, which noted that his election was in violation of section 119(2)(e) of the Electoral Act since he had a previous conviction for theft. The court ruled that Kambaramis failure to notify the MDC and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) of his conviction for theft was an act of dishonesty and an illegality, rendering his election a nullity. The ruling came after pressure group 1893 Mthwakazi Restoration Movement Trust approached the courts seeking the nullification of Kambaramis selection as ward 3 councillor and deputy mayor citing a previous conviction. In October 2019, MDC directed Bulawayo mayor Solomon Mguni to reinstate Kambarami despite a High Court ruling that his election was an illegality. Yesterday, Kambarami reportedly verbally abused council officials who advised him to leave council chambers. He said council should reinstate him as per the Supreme Court ruling, sparking commotion as security personnel ejected him. Kambarami said Supreme Court judge Justice Nicholas Mathonsi ruled that he should be reinstated after his removal was set aside by the High Court. You want to touch me touch me, we are going to fight. You want to fight me, you have been given a directive and you have lost. You must reinstate me, Kambarami shouted at council security personnel before his ejection. MDC Alliance Bulawayo provincial spokesperson Swithern Chirowodza said Kambarami had approached authorities demanding reinstatement. Town clerk Christopher Dube, mayor Mguni and his deputy Mlandu Ncube were not reachable for comment. Newsday Texans, free fishing day is coming up. On Saturday, anglers across the Lone Star State can fish for free and without a fishing license in any public waterbody, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. READ ALSO: See prehistoric beasts stand tall at the Houston Zoo Craig Bonds, TPWD Inland Fisheries Director, stated in a release the free fishing day is a great opportunity for anglers to share their knowledge, skills, equipment and love for fishing with a new participant. "We hope those trying fishing on this special day will also learn that purchasing a license is an act of conservation," Bonds added in the release. "A fishing license purchase is one of the simplest and most effective ways people can support fisheries science and management." To help celebrate the day, TPWD offers multiple resources to provide fun, high-quality fishing opportunities to anglers of all skill levels and all ages. The following are some tips: Courtesy, Southwest Airlines In mid-May, a Southwest passenger decided to take advantage of the airline's no-fee bag policy and check a pool noodle on a flight from Columbus, Ohio, to Tampa. (Also, her family bet her $20 she wouldn't have the guts to do it.) In this age of social media, the passenger, Sydney, naturally documented her pool noodle's journey from check-in to baggage claim, creating a delightful TikTok video that's racked up nearly 2 million likes. Brandon Romero A San Antonio graduate celebrated the end of his K-12 education and beginning of his college career in one of the most emotional photo shoots a zoomer (young ones from Generation Z) can have. Though the first "Toy Story" was released years before he was born, Josiah Robles says he and his mother had the idea to take a graduation photo inspired by the movie franchise. Robles told MySA that his mother had seen a Facebook post in which a graduate posed with his childhood toys. They said the photos inspired them to recreate (spoiler alert!) one of the last scenes of "Toy Story 3," when Andy says goodbye to Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the rest of the gang. Courtesy, Robert Guerrero, Strategic Communications Coordinator Just in time for Pride Month, San Antonio College (SAC) has been recognized as an LGBTQ-friendly higher learning institution by the Campus Pride Index, an organization that produces a national ranking of colleges and universities, according to a press release. Considering policies and programs to see if they cultivate a safe and inclusive environment for LGBTQ students, SAC earned a 4.5 stars in the 5-star rating system, earning "Premiere" status from the index. West Siders, recreational opportunities could be coming your way as part of President Joe Biden's $6 trillion budget. On Wednesday, the San Antonio River Authority announced that $2.34 million in Biden's budget was allocated to the Westside Creeks Ecosystem Restoration Project. The final funding amount for Fiscal Year 22 needs approval from Congress. However, if passed, it would support design and engineering work for the Westside Creeks project, which aims to restore aquatic ecosystems and bring recreational areas along the 11 miles of Alazan, Apache, Martinez, and San Pedro creeks. "The Westside Creeks Ecosystem Restoration Project is a critical investment for the community," Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar, who's also a senior member of the Committee on Appropriations, said. "I have been working to secure funding for this project for several years. I am pleased to see that this is also a priority for the Administration and will continue to work with my colleagues to make sure that it is funded." READ ALSO: Abbott's disaster declaration along Texas border receives backlash The project aims to reconstruct the creeks into more natural channels while also maintaining the present level of flood protection. The River Authority said it will provide significant environmental justice and community benefits, such as improving environmental and water quality conditions in a densely populated urban area and providing access to outdoor recreation activities on the West Side. It also leaves room for residents to reconnect with the urban creekway systems through an outdoor living classroom for students of all ages to explore and learn about a restored urban ecosystem. In 2008, the River Authority launched a community-based creek restoration effort to bring back the creekways that were channelized as part of a 1954 federal flood control project, known as the San Antonio Channel Improvement Project. Over the past 13 years, the River Authority has worked closely with Bexar County, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the City of San Antonio, and the two co-chairs and representatives of 20 local community organizations that comprise the Westside Creeks Restoration Oversight Committee. Other leaders involved in the charge to support the creek are Congressmen Joaquin Castro, Lloyd Doggett, and Tony Gonzales. "For generations, the West Side of San Antonio has not benefited from significant infrastructure investment in flood control and basic transportation opportunities like bike lanes and sidewalks, and I welcome this progress for our community," Castro said in a release. "San Antonio's historic westside creeks Alazan, Apache, Martinez, San Pedro, and Zarzamora will be a source of city pride and family enjoyment." Why a Failing New Jersey Deli Is Valued at $100 Million: A Theory New York Magazine Hacker Lexicon: What Is a Supply Chain Attack? Wired Capacity prices down 64% in PJMs first auction in three years S&P Global. Renewable energy resources, nuclear units and new natural gas-fired generators saw the greatest increases in cleared capacity, while coal units saw the largest decrease, PJM said in a statement. Andrew Bailey: Tackling climate for real the role of central banks (PDF) Bank of International Settlements #COVID19 Las Vegas Poised For Full Reopening As First Major Convention Looms Deadline Why TikToks chaotic kickbacks took off with young people starved for company CNN. Extroverts are gonna kill us all. China? Australia has a devastating secret weapon against China Macrobusiness US confident in Aseans plan for post-coup Myanmar. Others, not so much South China Morning Post Decentering Asean in the Quads Indo-Pacific Strategy 9Dashline Myanmar Sharp rise in Covid-19 cases in border districts Daily Star. Bangladesh. Next, I assume, Myanmar. India South Korea South Koreas elderly conservatives turn to YouTube, and conspiracy theories Rest of World The future of manicures: Would you get your nails done by an AI robot? Channel News Asia Syraqistan UK/EU New Cold War Mexico turns to private sector to develop lithium mining Mexico Daily News See the horrifying place where your old clothes go to die Carib Report Biden Administration Big Brother Is Watching You Watch The New Domestic War on Terror Has Already Begun Even Without the New Laws Biden Wants Glenn Greenwald Imperial Collapse Watch The Brazilianization of the World American Affairs Guillotine Watch Inmates sent home during COVID-19 got jobs, started school. Now, they face possible return to prison USA Today (dk). Class Warfare The Great Reset Barry Ritholtz Antidote du jour (via): Bonus antidote: A herd of wild Asian elephants has been wandering through cities in southwest China Authorities are baffled as to why they have travelled so far from home https://t.co/C9fh99Yl9t pic.twitter.com/ePpk4KY4nP BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) June 1, 2021 This is an elephant epic. I hope they arrive at their destination safely. See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. Yves here. Lack of interest in political upheaval south of the border is all too common in the US press, as the uprisings in Colombia confirm. And even then, whether a story gets covered too often depends on the US having perceived stakes, aka meddling. On the Twitterverse, theres remarkably little on the Colombia upheaval in English, and not even that much in Spanish, but here are some tweets that link to additional coverage: To find out what is happening in Colombia, @ZoPepperC & I interviewed @RodrigoGFARC of @ComunesCoL. We traverse the 1970s to the present and to the presidential campaign of @petrogustavo: https://t.co/8mricxxDok. Vijay Prashad (@vijayprashad) June 3, 2021 In the majority-Black city of Buenaventura, Colombia protesters are demanding the governments protection, and say they wont stop marching until they see change, drawing inspiration from the #BLM movement (via @UCIrvine) https://t.co/UcyIrs5oiM pic.twitter.com/RbF5328omT The Conversation U.S. (@ConversationUS) June 3, 2021 The city of #Cali, once dubbed a branch of heaven, in a popular salsa song, has spent a month in hell as it became the epicentre of social unrest in #Colombia. A story from @AmnistiaOnline and @ConnectasOrg https://t.co/uE6UU5pwR5 amnestypress (@amnestypress) June 3, 2021 By Sandra Borda, Politologa de la Universidad de Los Andes, MA Relaciones Internacionales la Universidad de Chicago, MA Ciencia Politica, y PhD CPol de la Universidad de Minesota. Originally published at openDemocracy Spiralling poverty and unemployment in the wake of the pandemic lie behind the widespread protests in Colombia that began on 28 April. Young people have been particularly badly affected, even though their generation has been largely excluded from the governments negotiations with protest leaders one half of an official response that has mixed dialogue with violent repression. As presidential elections approach next year, the situation is eroding peoples trust in political institutions. Economic Devastation In the last year, an estimated 3.6 million people have fallen into poverty, while 2.78 million are now classed as living in extreme poverty. The result is that 42.5% of Colombias population now live below the poverty line, up from 35.7% in 2019. A decade of anti-poverty measures appear to have been reversed, at least in part. The figures mean that more than 21 million people are currently being forced to subsist on the equivalent of less than $88 per day, with 7.47 million people living on less than $39 per day. Big cities have suffered the most from the economic impact of the pandemic, and the social distancing policies that followed. In Bogota, Colombias capital city, 3.3 million people (of a total population of 7.1 million) are living in poverty. Other major cities, such as Medellin and Cali, also have large numbers of people below the poverty line. Women are among the hardest hit, with 46.7% of women (compared to 40.1% of men) living in poverty. This has a knock-on effect for many families: according to the director of the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), the gender gap increased during the pandemic and this necessarily affects the incidence of poverty in households where women are heads of households. For young people, meanwhile, unemployment has risen to 23.9%, up from 20.5% in the first quarter of 2020, in the 14-28 age category. Young people are also being forced out of education, because of the high cost of private universities, and a lack of capacity in the public system. Last year, an estimated 243,000 students dropped out of various forms of education. People Take to the Streets The trigger for the protests that began in April was a proposal to reform the tax system, although demands quickly expanded to a rejection of reforms to the healthcare system, too. For many people, the pandemic has exacerbated a situation that already sparked mass protests in 2019, adding unemployment and a lack of education opportunities to the mix. Poor neighbourhoods of large cities face a range of discontents, including the presence of illegal groups (from guerillas to drug trafficking networks) who try to recruit young people. These neighbourhoods also play host to families displaced by Colombias decades-long armed conflict, who give up everything they own to seek safety in the anonymity of the city. This uprooting is compounded by the lack of opportunities that young members of these families face when they arrive. As if the above werent enough, peoples daily relationship with the police is one of constant tension, with routine instances of sieges, illegal detention and abuse. This endemic problem has been made worse by the additional powers the government has given to the security forces to enforce social distancing measures. With many people impoverished and confined to their homes in a situation where there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel, the police were increasingly coming to dominate public space. When the frustration of young people in particular could no longer be contained, the resulting clashes showed a brutality that was unprecedented in Colombias recent history. Public DistrustThe Backlash In the meantime, the government led by Colombias president, Ivan Duque Marquez, has bet heavily on a public order strategy to try and contain the protests. It portrays the protesters as criminals and focuses on material damage caused by the mobilisation, which takes away the agency and voices of those who protest. Given the governments role in creating the conditions that led people to protest, and its lack of criticism of police violence, the government itself must be seen as an aggravating factor. A major obstacle to progress is the Duque administrations immense weakness. The tax reform proposal that triggered the protests was not even supported by Duques own party and the government lacks the authority to lead a concerted dialogue on solutions to the crisis. Its only way out, therefore, is very little carrot and a large dose of stick. Further police violence is likely, and the government has been put on the defensive by international criticism of human rights violations. In an unprecedented decision, Colombia rejected a request by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to make a fact-finding trip to the country. (The government later relented, saying yes, but not for now.) What Comes Next Each day that passes is a day lost for implementing measures that would help alleviate the desperation of so many impoverished families. The delay further undermines public confidence in Colombias ailing institutions, and oversight bodies that should exist to ensure respect for citizens rights have been co-opted by the government. They are failing to act as watchdogs that monitor the behaviour of the security forces. Yet Colombias political class seems to be in a deep slumber, with its attention mainly focused on next years elections. The parliamentary left wants to avoid being blamed for the chaos and excesses of the protests. The right is biding its time, because it knows that a discredited and worn-out protest movement will be a useful target for a revived attack on castrochavistas (a red-baiting discourse that accuses opponents of wanting to turn Colombia into Cuba or Venezuela), and a further wave of repression. The centre, meanwhile, has chosen this moment to lose its backbone entirely. As a way out looks remote, Colombias political leadership seems to have little imagination left. I began my journalism career in Nashville in 1990, with my current position with Nashville Post having evolved since October 2000 (when I was with the now-defunct The City Paper, a sister publication of the Post starting in 2008). Follow William Williams Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today A COUPLE stands accused of duping their church member of more than US$11 000. Elvis Chigazira and his wife Tafadzwa Chibare are alleged to have duped their fellow church member Pervia Chigwida of US$11700 in deal to import cement from a neighbouring country. Chigwida and her brother Talent Lungu posted the couples wedding photograph on social media and UFI church group appealing for anyone who may have knowledge of where they could be found. The two were further alleged to have changed their contact numbers and have been ignoring Chigwidas calls. Chibare confirmed to H-Metro her differences with Chigwida over money saying the latter has been their business partner, who is now blackmailing them and their company. Pervia and her brother Talent are blackmailing us on social media and misinforming people about the correct facts, said Chibare. Pervia has been our business partner and is now based in Botswana. She is posting falsehoods on social media that we are not answering calls and nowhere to be found in her effort to blackmail my husband and I. We are not in hiding or not answering calls as alleged. Pervia was aware of our deal to import cement from a neighbouring country and the agent of that country failed to supply our full order. We lodged a police report against the agent and docket was opened at Chirundu Border Post and Pervia is aware of that. We have both been duped by the agent who failed to supply all our orders not what Chigwida wants people to believe. Pervias money is US$5000 not US$11700 she posted on social media. Her reason to tarnish our image is best known to her and her brother and we have no option other than taking a legal action against them. Our lawyer is now working on the matter and we will be guided accordingly, said Chibare. Contacted for comment Lungu said he had been receiving several calls from individuals and some claiming to be journalists over his post. I am no longer comfortable to answer questions because I have been receiving calls from several people among them claiming to be journalists, said Lungu. I have decided not to respond to any of the questions pertaining to the matter posted on social media until I meet each one of the people concerned and claiming to be journalists, said Lungu. Lungu posted a message appealing to anyone who may have information about the couples whereabouts. Chigwida could not be reached for comment. However, her message on social media also appeals for information that may lead to location of the couple. H Metro (Natural News) When the ban on controversial gain of function research was lifted back in 2017, Anthony Fauci of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) failed to notify senior White House officials in the Trump administration, new reports reveal. Instead of doing the job he is paid to do by American taxpayers, Fauci kept quiet about the change, which provided cover for Fauci to continue funneling money to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in China, where the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) is believed to have originated. Since Fauci has been talking about the benefits of gain of function research since at least 2012, the implication is that it has been going on all throughout this time, including when it was illegal during the Barack Obama years. So, even if the ban was lifted in 2017, the gain of function research that was taking place prior was still illegal. This means that Fauci still needs to be held accountable for his involvement in sending American taxpayer dollars to China to create the Wuhan Flu. In 2012, Fauci admitted that there was strong potential for bioterrorism to emerge from gain of function research. He admitted that a pandemic could emerge, but that it would be worth the risk because gain of function research is important to him. Scientists working in this field might say as indeed I have said that the benefits of such experiments and the resulting knowledge outweigh the risks, Fauci said at the time. It is more likely that a pandemic would occur in nature, and the need to stay ahead of such a threat is a primary reason for performing an experiment that might appear to be risky. Fauci was conducting illegal gain of function research long before ban was lifted After long blaming nature for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19), Fauci now agrees that the Chinese Virus may have originated at a Chinese lab. He still insists, however, that no money was ever funneled from the NIAID to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) to conduct gain of function research. We now know this to be a lie, of course, since multiple scientific papers openly disclose that the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which oversees the NIAID, has sent numerous grants to the WIV to conduct said research. As for Trumps awareness about all that was going on, it would appear as though Fauci kept it all a secret for as long as possible. It kind of just got rammed through, one Trump administration official told The Australian, which published an in-depth report on Faucis newly uncovered schemes. I think theres truth in the narrative that the (National Security Council) staff, the president, the White House chief-of-staff, those people were in the dark that [Fauci] was switching back on the research. Over the course of six years, we now know, EcoHealth Alliance was caught distributing $600,000 from the NIH to the WIV to conduct research on the risk of the future emergence of coronaviruses from bats. The NIH awarded the grant to EcoHealth in 2014, before the ban on gain of function research had been lifted. The WIV project the group funded with this money was renewed in 2019, only to be canceled in 2020 when the Chinese Virus made its sudden appearance. EcoHealth ultimately received $3.7 million over six years from the NIH and distributed nearly $600,000 of that total to Chinas Wuhan Institute of Virology, a collaborator on the project, pre-approved by NIH, reports explain. It is interesting the public media tours and exposure Fauci gave himself during this crisis, one Daily Wire commenter noted. Did he think the media would protect him from alleged past actions and comments? More news about Fauci, gain of function research, and deadly pandemics can be found at Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: DailyWire.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) A mysterious neurological ailment dubbed the Havana syndrome may be more widespread among U.S. diplomats, soldiers and spies than previously thought. The ailment was first reported five years ago by employees working at the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba, giving it its name. Now, more than 130 people, far more than previously known, have reportedly suffered from the ailment according to current and former officials. More cases of Havana syndrome uncovered The number of cases of Havana syndrome within the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Department of State and the Department of Defense spurred broad concern in the Biden administration. Initially, there were only around 60 publicly confirmed cases, concentrated in China and Cuba. This did not include a group of injured CIA officers, whose total isnt public. The new total now includes cases from Europe as well as elsewhere in Asia. The expanded number reflects the administrations efforts to more thoroughly review other incidents amid concern over a spate of them in recent months. At least three CIA officers have reported serious health effects from episodes overseas since December, including one that happened within the past few weeks. All have been required to undergo outpatient treatment at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center or other facilities. In one particular case from 2019 that had not previously been reported, a military officer serving overseas was overcome by nausea and headaches while pulling his vehicle into an intersection. The officers 2-year old son, sitting in the back seat, also started crying. But after he pulled away from the intersection, his nausea stopped and his son stopped crying. Meanwhile, officials are also investigating two separate incidents that occurred near the White House shortly after the 2020 presidential election. Here, two members of the National Security Council reported symptoms that struck near the entrances to the grounds on separate occasions, weeks apart. Havana syndrome most likely caused by microwave attack A report released back in December by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine states that the incidents were most likely caused by a microwave weapon. Written by a committee of 19 experts in medicine and other fields, it cited directed, pulsed radiofrequency energy as the most plausible culprit to explain Havana syndrome. That said, the committee stated that they could not rule out other possible causes and that secondary factors may have contributed to the symptoms. Commissioned by the State Department, the report provides the most definitive explanation yet of the illness. The report also reveals strong evidence carefully couched in scientific language that the incidents were the result of malicious attacks. It attributes the syndrome to directed and pulsed rather than continuous energy. This implies that the victims exposure was targeted not simply the result of more common sources of microwave energy, such as cellular phones. The report also stated that the committee found that the symptoms reported by patients seemed to come from a specific direction, or occurred in a specific spot in a room. These, the report stated, were more consistent with a directed attack of radiofrequency energy. The report has led some government officials to suspect that Russias military intelligence agency may be behind the incidents. But the U.S. government itself is not yet ready to assign blame. As of now, we have no definitive information about the cause of these incidents, and it is premature and irresponsible to speculate, Amanda J. Schoch, the spokeswoman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, told the New York Times. At the same time, Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement. To get to the truth behind the attacks, the National Security Council has begun an intelligence review. This review is aimed at discovering whether additional unreported incidents fit the pattern. We are bringing the U.S. governments resources to bear to get to the bottom of this, stated Emily J. Horne, a spokeswoman for the council. The CIA is also getting into the act. The agency has formed a new targeting cell to try to gather more information about the episodes, how they occurred and who is responsible. The cell is stated to be operating with a similar rigor and intensity to the group that the agency expanded after the Sept. 11 attacks to hunt Osama Bin Laden. CIA director William J. Burns has moved aggressively to improve the agencys response, according to both current and former officials. Under his watch, the agency has cut the average wait time for injured officers at Walter Reed from eight weeks at the end of last year, down to less than two. Follow NationalSecurity.news for more updates on these mysterious attacks. Sources include: LiveScience.com NYtimes.com 1 CNN.com NYTimes.com 2 (Natural News) Dr. K. K. Aggarwal, former president of the Indian Medical Association, has died one month after receiving his second dose of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine. Aggarwal was beloved by many in India. In 2010 the government awarded him with Indias fourth-highest civilian award for contributions to medicine. He was unanimously elected to serve as the president of the Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania for 2019 to 2020. The countrys mainstream media networks have been showering the recently deceased physician with praise. The Indian Express reported that he was a doctor who put patients first till the very end. The doctors popularity grew rapidly during the coronavirus pandemic because he frequently posted videos on his social media platforms in which he would answer coronavirus-related questions and concerns from people. He also held live streams regarding aspects of the coronavirus and how to manage it. But mainstream Indian media is ignoring the fact that Aggarwal was fully vaccinated when he died. He received his second dose of the coronavirus vaccine on Feb. 22. Two months later, he tested positive for COVID-19 and immediately began sharing his experiences online. I have taken three masks and a face shield. I will go now to get my CT scan done. All of you know that I have received two doses of the vaccine and I have got a classical breakthrough COVID, said Aggarwal during one of his last live streams on April 27. My CT scan is normal. Dont be afraid of vaccination. It will ultimately prevent you against severe COVID. On May 7, Aggarwals team took over management of his social media accounts and announced that he was admitted to a healthcare facility in Delhi. (Related: Healthcare workers in Delhi hospital ATTACKED by grieving family members after coronavirus patient dies waiting for ICU bed.) Dr. K. K. Aggarwal is being ably looked after by the doctors, wrote his team in a post on his Twitter account. His condition is stable and we are positive that he will recover soon. But on May 18, his team released a statement on his Twitter account announcing that Aggarwal had succumbed to his disease. I have COVID pneumonia, which is progressive, he said on one of his last videos. But even then, remember Raj Kapoors words: The show must go on.' Fully vaccinated doctors in India still passing away from coronavirus Aggarwal is not the only fully vaccinated doctor in India who died because of COVID-19. Dr. Rajendra Kapila, an infectious disease specialist and professor at Rutgers University, died of COVID-19 on April 28. He passed away nearly three weeks after he initially tested positive for the coronavirus. He was fully vaccinated as well. In a statement, Rutgers called Kapila a genuine giant in the field of infectious diseases and said that he was recognized worldwide and sought out for his legendary knowledge and extraordinary clinical acumen in diagnosing and treating the most complex infectious diseases. Kapila, a resident of New Jersey, received both doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine before he boarded a plane bound for the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. He went to India to take care of his family. Kapilas wife told Hindustan Times that she and her husband had been working at a COVID-19 lab in New Jersey since the start of the pandemic and had ensured a safe environment at home. It is ironic that we came to India for two weeks and he contracted it here, she added. Back in Delhi, another doctor passed away on May 8 despite also being fully vaccinated. Dr. Anil Kumar Rawat was a surgeon with the Saroj Hospital in Delhi. He has worked in that hospital since the 1990s and has been described as a jovial colleague and a thorough gentleman by his peers. He received his second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine at the beginning of March. He contracted the coronavirus in late April. Rawat was initially placed in home isolation but had to be admitted to the Saroj Hospital and put on a ventilator when his oxygen levels dipped below normal. Before he was put on the ventilator, Rawat told his colleague: I will come out of this. I have been fully vaccinated, I will come out. While on the ventilator, he developed severe pneumonia, leading to respiratory failure. He was dead in two days. Aside from passing mentions of their vaccination statuses, no mainstream media outlet in India has attempted to investigate whether the coronavirus vaccine is as effective as purported, especially since many of the countrys leading physicians are contracting and passing away from the virus it is supposed to protect people against. Learn more about the supposed effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccines, and the many fully vaccinated individuals around the world who are still succumbing to the virus by reading the latest articles at Vaccines.news. Sources include: GreatGameIndia.com IndianExpress.com 1 IBTimes.com IndianExpress.com 2 (Natural News) Researchers discovered what appeared to be shallow glaciers beneath the Martian surface. These features might be rich in water ice and are situated in the northern lowlands beneath a flat region called Arcadia Planitia. The researchers said that this region could serve as a landing site for future crewed missions to Mars while the glaciers could provide a water source to astronauts. The researchers detailed their findings in a paper, which was published May 1 in the journal Icarus. What I think makes Arcadia Planitia a good destination for future human space flight and resource utilization is its flat topography for safe landing along with an abundance of near-surface ice at relatively low latitudes for human use, said Shannon Hibbard, a doctoral candidate at the University of Western Ontario in Canada and the lead author of the study. Peculiar features on Mars resemble ice streams on Antarctica Arcadia Planitia is located in the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere of Mars. Numerous data taken using Mars orbiters suggest that the ground in the region is rich in hydrogen. Since water is made of hydrogen and oxygen molecules, there could be water right beneath the surface. But water aside, Arcadia Planitia nabbed the researchers attention due to the sinuous patterns found there. These patterns look similar to glaciers flowing through valleys on Earth, suggesting that they were made by ice flow. But the terrain is not steep enough to explain why and how the ice could have moved. We have not seen anything quite like this on Mars, so we look to Earth where streams of ice within ice sheets can exist with no obvious control from surface topography, Hibbard said. The researchers found that the features are indeed glacial in origin and are likely buried debris-covered glaciers that formed relatively recently. They look similar to other glacier-like features associated with slow-flowing material seen on Mars, but most closely resemble ice streams in Antarctica, which are fast-moving flows of ice within ice sheets. Ice streams are perfect examples of ice flowing in fairly flat terrain. They are not well-understood yet but most ice streams on Earth require at least a thin layer of liquid water at their base to lubricate and set off their flow. It is possible that, at some point, subglacial water was present at this location on Mars, but it is unclear how much and for how long, Hibbard said. If subglacial water were indeed present on the planet before, it would have major implications for future Mars missions. For one, astronauts could readily access and utilize water in its solid form for drinking water, fuel and irrigation. (Related: NASA scientists discuss the feasibility of humans colonizing Mars.) Engineers are always showing us that they can do the impossible, Hibbard said. They are currently coming up with multiple ways to access buried water ice for multi-use purposes. Wherever NASA and SpaceX decide to land, we know they will be able to find a way to access the ice. Both NASA and Elon Musks aerospace company SpaceX expressed a desire to launch a manned mission to the Red Planet. NASA is currently preparing for that mission through its Mars 2020 mission and lunar Artemis Program. Meanwhile, SpaceX is working on a spacecraft called Starship that is designed to carry passengers to Mars. Musk said he wants to build a permanent Mars colony and make humanity a multi-planetary species. The researchers concluded that Arcadia Planitia could be an excellent a landing site for future Mars missions due to the presence of the glacier-like, sinuous features lying right beneath the surface. They also recommended studying the region up-close since it has never been examined except from orbit. Follow Space.news for more fascinating studies about Mars. Sources include: MarsDaily.com LiveScience.com ScienceDirect.com BBC.com CNBC.com (Natural News) Seresto, a popular flea and tick collar for pets, has been linked to almost 1,700 pet deaths, according to a recent report from the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. The collar has also been tied to tens of thousands of injured animals, as well as hundreds of harmed humans. It was named in approximately 75,000 incident reports with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Reports about the Seresto collars started coming in in 2012 just after the collars were first approved for sale. In most of the incidents, pets had allergic reactions in the spot where the collar touched their fur or skin. Some animals had seizures. In severe cases, owners lost their pets just weeks after fitting them with the collar. Meanwhile, in the over 900 incidents that involved humans, rashes were the most commonly reported effect of exposure to the collar. In one particularly severe case, a 12-year-old boy was hospitalized with seizures and vomiting after sleeping beside his dog. The dog had been wearing a Seresto collar. Top-selling flea collar linked to seizures, deaths Seresto, developed by German pharmaceutical company Bayer AG, releases pesticides onto the animal over the course of eight months. As a pesticide-containing product, Seresto is regulated by the EPA. However, the EPA has yet to issue an official warning about the apparent risks of the collars. The EPA appears to be turning a blind eye to this problem, said Karen McCormack, a former pesticide researcher and policy analyst at the EPA. She said the collars have the most incidents of any pesticide pet product shes seen. I think this is a significant problem that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later, she added. The EPA declined to say how Seresto compares to other pesticide-containing pet products. However, an agency spokesperson told the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting in an email that the two pesticides in Seresto have been found eligible for continued registration based on the best available science. The spokesperson added that some pets, like humans, might just be more sensitive than others to the collar. As such, some pets might experience adverse reactions to the collar. Seresto remains the top-selling flea collar for pets on Amazon. Many customers have already complained about the product, with some detailing significant issues like skin rashes or neurological problems in their pets. Despite the numerous complaints, however, Amazon has not removed Seresto from its platform. Furthermore, some experts fear that the thousands of incident reports are only an undercount. Nathan Donley, a scientist specializing in pesticide policy at the nonprofit organization Center for Biological Diversity, said that the number of reported incidents for Seresto so far is just the tip of the iceberg. Most of the time, people are not going to make the connection or theyre not going to take an hour or so out of the day and figure out how to call and spend time on hold, explained Donley. Therefore, the collar could be linked to tens of thousands more cases of seizures in pets, pet deaths and adverse reactions in humans. Serestos pesticides toxic alone, more toxic together The collar releases two pesticides: imidacloprid and flumethrin. Imidacloprid belongs to a group of insecticides designed to mimic nicotine, called neonicotinoids or neonics. Neonics are notorious for killing beneficial insects like bees, as well as some birds and even mammals like deer. Meanwhile, flumethrin is an active ingredient in one product alone, that is, Seresto. Scientists know little about flumethrin, and what few studies are available on this pesticide have been conducted by Bayer AG. (Related: Bayer strikes $2 billion deal over future Roundup cancer claims.) According to one of those studies, imidacloprid and flumethrin work synergistically, meaning they are far more toxic when used together. This may explain why the collars cause adverse reactions in pets. Donley said he wasnt sure why the two chemicals combined were likely to cause harm. However, it is clear that something is wrong with the collar. For whatever reason, this combination is just really nasty. Donley also pointed out that the inactive ingredients in the collar may be reacting with either or both pesticides and causing adverse reactions. Go to PetHealthDaily.com to learn more about the dangers of pesticide-containing pet flea collars. Sources include: USAToday.com BeyondPesticides.org (Natural News) Dr Faucis emails have been released via a Freedom of Information Act request, and there is some pretty interesting stuff in them, particularly one email where a researcher who funded the Wuhan Institute of Virology thanks Fauci for publicly dismissing the lab leak theory early on during the pandemic. (Article by Steve Watson republished from Summit.news) The email from Dr. Peter Daszak, President of the EcoHealth Alliance, a group that has extensive ties to the Wuhan lab gain of function research, sent the email to Fauci on April 18, 2020, roughly six weeks after the outbreak had taken hold. The email states: As the Pl of the ROl grant publicly targeted by Fox News reporters at the Presidential press briefing last night, I just wanted to say a personal thank you on behalf of our staff and collaborators, for publicly standing up and stating that the scientific evidence supports a natural origin for COVID-19 from a bat-to-human spillover, not a lab release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. From my perspective, your comments are brave, and coming from your trusted voice, will help dispel the myths being spun around the virus origins. Once this pandemics over I look forward thanking you in person and let you know how important your comments are to us all. Fauci responded to the email the day after, writing Peter: Many thanks for your kind note. Best Regards, Tony Daszak, who also works for the World Health Organization, is on record admitting that he was involved with manipulating coronaviruses. Here is a video of him talking in DECEMBER 2019 about how good the viruses are for messing around with in a lab: Daszak notes that coronaviruses are pretty good you can manipulate them in the lab pretty easily the spiked proteins drive a lot about what happens. You can get the sequence, you can build the protein, we work with Ralph Baric at UNC to do this, insert into the backbone of another virus and do some work in a lab. Elsewhere, the emails show that Fauci also knew very early on, before the WHO even declared a pandemic, that researchers suspected the virus had been potentially engineered in a lab, as this exchange with Kristian G. Andersen of the Scripps Research Institute from January 2020 shows: At the very minimum, this shows lab leak (or worse) was taken exceedingly seriously and was never a conspiracy theory. At the maximum, it opens up questions of an unprecedented global cover up. Either way establishment politicians and corporate media look worse than ever. pic.twitter.com/R4UOA5M3gg Raheem J. Kassam (@RaheemKassam) June 2, 2021 The emails with Fauci show that Daszak had already dismissed the lab leak notion nearly a year before that investigation began, and despite other researchers saying it looked potentially engineered. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this is that Daszak was one of the lead investigators on the WHO panel tasked with looking into the origins of the pandemic. Is it any surprise that this guy, whose organisation has shovelled at least $600,000 to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the past few years to play around with coronaviruses inside the lab, determined within 3 hours of visiting the lab in February 2021 that there was nothing to see here? Daszak, like Fauci, has also since denied that there was any gain of function research being conducted at the Wuhan lab, and that it wasnt being funded by EcoHealth Alliance or via the NIH with US tax dollars. These are blatant lies, as there is mountains of evidence that confirms this was exactly the case. Why would they deny it when it can be so easily proven the research was being conducted? Another interesting factoid about Daszak is that he was employed as an expert fact checker by Facebook when it was monitoring and removing misinformation about the origins COVID on its platform. If all of that doesnt scream coverup then what does? Read more at: Summit.news and Deception.news. (Natural News) Hu Xijin, a top Chinese propagandist, declared recently that China should prepare for a nuclear showdown with the United States after President Joe Biden affirmed continued investigations into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Article by Chris Enloe republished from TheBlaze.com) What did Biden say? Once decried as a conspiracy theory despite a lack of evidence disproving the possibility the Wuhan lab leak theory as the origin of the pandemic has gained significant footing in recent weeks, with high-profile scientists saying the possibility demands increased investigation. Biden responded to growing confidence in the theory last week by calling on American intelligence officials to conduct more investigation into the pandemics origin, including the possibility that COVID-19 leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The United States will also keep working with like-minded partners around the world to press China to participate in a full, transparent, evidence-based international investigation and to provide access to all relevant data and evidence, Biden said in a statement. What did Hu say? The Chinese propagandist, who edits the Beijing-controlled Global Times newspaper, responded to Bidens statement by saying China must prepare for a high-intensity showdown after citing Chinas nuclear armament. According to Australias Daily Telegraph, Hus message was published to [Sina Weibo], Chinas Twitter-like social media platform. The message, translated by Chinese human rights activist Jennifer Zeng, read, in part: Given the intensifying US strategic containment of China, I would like to remind once again that we have many urgent tasks, but one of the most important is to keep rapidly increasing the number of nuclear warheads and strategic missiles like the Dongfeng 41 with extremely long-range and high survival capabilities. This is the cornerstone of Chinas strategic resilience against the United States. We must be prepared for a high-intensity showdown between the US and China, at which point a large number of DF-41 and JL-2 and JL-3 will be the backbone of our strategic will. Our nuclear missiles must be so numerous that the US elite will tremble at the thought of military confrontation with China at that time. The comments are particularly eyebrow-raising because Hu claims to speak for government officials who cannot speak publicly. In fact, Hu explained in 2016 that he pals around with Chinese government officials and admitted, They cant speak willfully, but I can, a suggestion that he broadcasts the sentiments of communist officials. Hu similarly told CNN in 2019 that his newspaper and opinions reflect the views of the Chinese people. We say things out loud, Hu said. You could call us radical or nationalistic, but we reflect true sentiments of Chinese society. You could learn the truth better through us. Anything else? China has vehemently denied that COVID-19 leaked from the Wuhan bio lab. Beijing has claimed the pandemic originated in a wet market in Wuhan where the virus jumped from an infected animal to humans. The communist government has also suggested the pandemic originated in America, their direct response to former President Donald Trump and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo having claimed publicly that COVID-19 leaked from the Wuhan lab. Beijing has interpreted all suggestions that COVID-19 did not emerge naturally as acts of aggression. Read more at: TheBlaze.com and CommunistChina.news. THERE was drama yesterday after one of the three judges designated to hear an application seeking the arrest of Chief Justice Luke Malaba recused himself after confirming that he had met with the head of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) secretariat, but government sought to reverse his decision. Justice Webster Chinamhora recused himself from the three-judge panel in the morning after lawyers representing Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum executive director Musa Kika, who is the applicant in the matter, asked for his recusal following revelations that he met with JSC secretary Walter Chikwana ahead of the hearing of the case. Critics say the meeting was meant to pressure the judges to make a ruling in favour of Chief Justice Malaba which would seriously compromise their independence. Justice Chinamhora then recused himself, confirming that he had, indeed, met with Chikwana. The remaining two judges, Justices Amy Tsanga and Sylvia Chirawu-Mugomba then consulted the JSC, which ruled that they could proceed and hear the matter as a two-judge panel. The case against Chief Justice Malaba came after his term of office as Chief Justice ended a fortnight ago, with the High Court ruling that he ceased to be the countrys top judicial officer on May 15 when he turned 70 and that a recent constitutional amendment allowing the President to extend his term did not apply to him. Last week, Chief Justice Malaba returned to office under the belief that the High Court ruling had been suspended by an appeal filed by Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi and Attorney-General Prince Machaya. However, Kika, who challenged the extension of Chief Justice Malabas term in the initial case, argued that an appeal against the declarator suspends the operation of the judgment and has asked the High Court to find Chief Justice Malaba in contempt and jail him for six months. The matter was adjourned to the afternoon, but before it could be heard, Chief Justice Malabas lawyer Advocate Lewis Uriri, together with Ziyambis lawyer Thembinkosi Magwaliba, and JSC lawyer Addington Chinake immediately made an application for leave of appeal against Justice Chinamhoras recusal. Uriri represented President Emmerson Mnangagwa when opposition MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa challenged the Zanu PF leaders victory in the July 30, 2018 presidential election. Chief Justice Malaba presided over the case and ruled in Mnangagwas favour. The lawyers argued that a decision had already been made by the appointing authority to the effect that a three-judge panel should hear the matter. The proceedings of the chambers are not part of the hearing. They are just incidental proceedings which do not have an effect because they are not substantial proceedings. The appeal had prospects of success, Uriri said. Magwaliba also argued that the recusal of Chinamhora would affect the rights of his client, Ziyambi, as a litigant if the judge does not return to the bench to constitute a three-judge panel, which would form a quorum before the matter was heard. However, Kikas lawyer Thabani Mpofu argued that there was no prejudice to Chief Justice Malaba, Ziyambi or the JSC if the matter was heard by two judges given that ordinarily, such matters could be heard by a single judge. This is a piecemeal appeal. Piecemeal appeals ought to be dismissed by the court. One member of the High Court is properly constituted. There is no merit in the application. Its prospects for success are zero. This is a properly constituted court. This application is vexatious and meant to waste time, he said. There is a tendency of forum shopping and I urge the court to frown on that. Regrettably, it gives the impression that the Executive is protecting the first respondent (Chief Justice Malaba). In her ruling, Justice Tsanga in concurrence with Justice Chirawu-Mugomba dismissed the appeal saying it had no prospects of success. She said they had consulted the appointing authority, JSC, which gave them the go-ahead to hear the matter as a two-judge panel. The process of approaching a judge in the chambers cant be divorced from the hearing of the application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. The recusal of the judge (Chinamhora) from the panel is part of the proceedings. We have come to the decision that the application for leave of appeal to the Supreme Court is dismissed because it has no prospects of success and it is hereby dismissed, Justice Tsanga said. During the court proceedings before the two-judge panel, Kikas lawyer Mpofu argued that Chief Justice Malaba was in contempt of court because the order which was granted by High Court judges, Justices Happias Zhou, Edith Mushore and Jester Helena Charehwa, three weeks ago, was a declarator which could not be suspended by the noting of an appeal by Ziyambi and Machaya. The declarator barred the first respondent (Chief Justice Malaba) to exercise the duties of a Chief Justice as he had ceased to be one when he turned 70 years. He complied with the order for the first 10 days, but what he has done after the 10 days is in contempt of court, Mpofu submitted. He said Ziyambis appeal filed on May 27 did not solve the matter. If the ministers appeal had solved anything, he couldnt have filed an appeal. I submit that by seeking shelter under the ministers appeal, he was in contempt of court, Mpofu added. In his submissions, Uriri said Chief Justice Malaba did not commit any offence as the declaratur had been suspended by the noting of appeal by Ziyambi. He noted his own appeal because the full judgment was only availed on May 27 with all the reasons. Thats why he had to file his own appeal after seeing the reasons. The declarator is not a declarator because it can only be a declarator if its pure, he said. Justice Tsanga then quizzed him in relation to his assertion that the declarator was impure. Sorry, I dont like to use this example, but I want clarity. Are you saying cocaine is not cocaine unless its pure? she asked. Chinake argued that the declarator had not taken away the right of Chief Justice Malaba to be heard. He has an absolute right to be heard through an appeal and an appeal suspends the declarator order. So, the first respondent (Malaba) didnt commit any contempt of court crime, Chinake said. The proceedings dragged on up to 5:45pm when the two judges then reserved judgment to next week. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza yesterday swore in six former High Court judges as Supreme Court judges. The six are Justices George Chiweshe, Alpheus Chitakunye, Samuel Kudya, Felistas Chatukuta, Joseph Musakwa and Hlekani Mwayera. Justice ministry secretary Virginia Mabhiza said among other duties, the newly sworn-in judges would play a pivotal role in assisting the justice system in the country to clear outstanding cases at the Supreme Court. This is a very important event in the Judiciary calendar and this is a constitutional requirement. The newly-appointed judges will help in clearing cases at the Supreme Court and make sure that cases are heard on time, she said. Newsday (Natural News) The governing body in charge of all things medicine in Australia is planning to start referring all anti-vaccine social media posts to the police for prosecution under the countrys criminal code. According to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), making false claims about Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) injections on Facebook or Twitter should be illegal because some unvaccinated people might read them and decide to not get jabbed, which would upset Anthony Fauci and other medical fascists. The TGA is particularly offended that some social media users are warning others that Chinese Virus needles could kill them, this is based on data cited in the official government database. According to the TGA, only one person has died from the vaccine, and even that death does not count because the medical deep state has declared that all vaccines are safe and effective, which automatically makes it true. Apart from the single Australian case in which death was linked to TTS [Thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome or blood clots], COVID-19 vaccines have not been found to cause death, the TGA maintains. To claim otherwise is particularly concerning to the TGA because it says it wants to keep everyone safe against Chinese Germs, which means threatening fines or jail time for offenders who refuse to stop the spread through chemical injection. If the TGA gets its way, those who say anything other than positive things about Wuhan Flu shots online could face a maximum penalty of up to two years in prison, assuming the Australian Federal Police (AFP) force goes along with the proposal. The risk of such misinformation, in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, poses an unacceptable threat to Australians, the TGA claims. People considering the very real risks associated with Wuhan Flu shots is worrying, downright dangerous and crazy stuff, says pro-vaccine politician Labor lawmaker Julian Hill is credited with making this egregious proposal, which threatens to ruin far more lives than the invisible dead horse virus about which he and other deep state politicians cannot stop fearmongering. We need to make sure theyre [Australians are] getting proper information from credible sources be that the Health Department or their doctor, Hill is quoted as saying, noting that many social media comments from Australians are incredibly worrying and contain downright dangerous and crazy stuff such as scientific data showing tens of thousands of injuries and deaths associated with Chinese Virus injections. Not believing stuff that is fake but actually looks real that is the real concern, he added. That people who are cautious and who are trying to work out what is right for them may actually believe this crazy stuff, which is being spread, which looks official. Facebook is, of course, complying with Hills demand that all skepticism about Chinese Virus injections be removed from the platform so as to prevent it from discouraging others from getting vaccinated. Facebook agrees that healthy skepticism about the jabs violates its misinformation policy. Weve removed more than 18 million pieces of harmful COVID-19 misinformation and added warning labels to more than 167 million pieces of additional COVID-19 content, Facebook proudly announced in a follow-up statement. Any user, including a whistleblower, who presents science, news stories, or other content that in any way suggests that Wuhan Flu shots might be unsafe is now being tagged by Facebook as promoting vaccine hesitancy. Such users are having their posts either downranked or censored. Back in February, more than 20 percent of people in Australia told a poll that they either probably or definitely will not be getting injected for the Chinese Virus. More recently, that figure jumped to more than one-third. More of the latest news about Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) injections and the medical fascists who are trying to force them on everyone can be found at ChemicalViolence.com. Sources for this article include: Breitbart.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) A teen boy from Pittsburgh is having to be hospitalized after the second Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) injection from Pfizer caused him to develop severe myocarditis. The parents of 17-year-old Alex Franks say he was perfectly healthy prior to getting vaccinated for the Chinese Virus, but that everything went downhill after he got jabbed at warp speed in accordance with Donald Trumps mass injection program. It was the middle of the night, Franks told local media about when he first started to develop severe adverse effects from the injection. I was walking upstairs from the basement when I got a sudden constricting feeling in my chest. Franks parents immediately rushed their son to the hospital where it was determined that he had serious inflammation around his heart. Doctors refused to link the condition to the injection, but Franks parents have come to that conclusion all on their own. Thats when things became eye-opening for us because it became much more serious very, very fast, Karen Franks stated. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is supposedly looking into the matter to determine whether or not the Operation Warp Speed injection is linked to the boys serious health condition. You can watch a news segment about the incident below: Young boys, men most damaged by Pfizers mRNA injection It is apparently more common than many people realize for young people, and especially young men, to develop heart inflammation after being injected with Pfizers mRNA injection for the Chinese Virus. Serious symptoms usually emerge after the second shot, though the medical establishment is claiming that the jabs are unrelated and that this sudden emergence in new cases of myocarditis is a mystery. It can occur at any age for a number of reasons, said John Williams of UPMC Childrens Hospital in a canned statement. We see myocarditis in otherwise healthy children with common viruses, he added. Right now, its not clear that these cases are more than what we would normally see. While Franks is reportedly feeling a little bit better, he still has to undergo another MRI to verify that no lasting damage was caused by the Pfizer injection. And, of course, his family still supports the vaccine and wants others to line right up and get it, just like their son did. Its helpful to know all of the side effects so you can react quickly, Karen Franks says. It is a shame that parents like the Franks are choosing to bury their heads in the sand concerning the dangers and ineffectiveness of these injections. As they watch their children suffer, and in some cases die, all of them as quoted by the mainstream media seem to still be supportive of this obvious eugenics operation. I cant believe the parents still support the vaccine, wrote one commenter at Citizen Free Press. Their child could have died. Other children may die because of their support for the vaccine. Sick. Another wrote that he will not be participating in this experimental gene therapy operation because he has chosen to be a part of the unvaccinated control group, thus allowing him to remain non-GMO. There have been 5,100 deaths from the vaccine and counting, wrote another. This isnt as rare as they claim. No one should get this vaccine. Its a medical experiment. They are pushing for FDA approval so they can charge for it. Yet another suggested that people with certain blood types are reacting more to the injections than others, which could point to targeted depopulation based on bloodline. More related news stories about how Trumps Chinese Virus injections are harming and killing Americans can be found at ChemicalViolence.com. Sources for this article include: citizenfreepress.com wpxi.com NaturalNews.com naturalnews.com (Natural News) Todays Situation Update presents two bombshell stories, both pointing to the increasingly irrefutable fact that we are living in a state of war right now, and America is being relentlessly attacked by communist China via multiple vectors (bioweapons, cyber war, etc.). Today we have the bizarre story about a highly customized stealth drone spotted over the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, AZ. This drone is invisible to air traffic control radar and couldnt even be seen with night vision goggles, reportedly. It was somehow spotted by a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) helicopter, which was joined by a Tucson Police helicopter to try to chase down the drone. It evaded them both with high speed maneuvers, climbing to 14,000 feet, then vanishing. Before fleeing the area, the quadcopter drone described as 5 feet in length and 3 feet wide was monitoring critical US energy infrastructure as well as Air Force Base operations, including fighter jet runways. This was all covered in an article published by TheDrive.com. From that article: the unusual drone was first spotted near a complex of fuel tanks just west of Runway 12 at the U.S. Air Forces Davis-Monthan Air Force Base The description of the drones initial observed location would appear to match the location of a terminal owned by Kinder Morgan, an energy company that operates fuel pipelines and other energy infrastructure. this incident would add to the growing number of recent drone incursions which have worryingly occurred in military-controlled airspace or near sensitive installations. I reached out to several of my contacts who are current or former military, and I was told that they believe this drone is a communist China stealth surveillance drone. It appears to be capable of long-range flight with high speed maneuvers, and it carries a thermal camera to see through fog and clouds while conducting secret observation missions on US strategic assets (such as pipelines, oil refineries, military bases, etc.). Importantly, these drones can be outfitted with several hundred pounds of high explosives and transformed into kamikazee drones that are essentially armed cruise missiles. Since they avoid any radar signature, they can slam right into any intended target, and the U.S. military has zero defense against these kamikazee drones. They can also be launched from Mexico, then flown into U.S. airspace and activated there. My contacts believe there are hundreds of such drones operating right now in U.S. air space, and they feed images and thermal video streams to communist Chinese satellites, which then relay it back to servers in China. This allows China to acquire videos and imagery that are not possible to acquire via satellite. For one, these drones can look horizontally and see inside open aircraft hangars, for example, to obtain counts of U.S. military aircraft. Since they are also much closer to the ground than satellites, they produce far more detailed images and videos. Sadly, the woke Pentagon is now focused entirely on turning the military into a soy boy transgender festival of libtardia rather than defending America against its enemies. Thus, the Pentagon has proven to be utterly incapable of doing anything useful to counter this obvious and powerful threat to national security. Instead of getting communist China out of U.S. air space, our U.S. Secretary of Defense (Austin) wants to get patriots out of the military. This is all covered in todays Situation Update podcast, which also takes a look at the Fauci email bombshell story thats now breaking: Brighteon.com/af7a1ecc-2b0e-41bb-8152-32c14e5cc07e Find a new podcast each day at: https://www.brighteon.com/channels/hrreport (Natural News) Many cities in America are now restoring funding to their police departments if not proposing bigger budgets for them. The sudden rise in crime has called for cities to inject much-needed funding for law enforcements. This new trend is a complete 180-degree turn from last years calls to defund police departments during Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests across the country. Most of these Democrat-led cities gave in to BLM protesters demands to defund law enforcement. The call came after George Floyd died at the hands of law enforcement in Minneapolis in May last year. Anti-police activists have used the term defund in a number of ways such as shrinking the size of current police forces and shifting money allocated for law enforcement to social services. In New York City, Mayor Bill De Blasio said he would reinstate $92 million to build the 116th Precinct Station in Queens after scrapping it last summer. Initially, the mayor and the city council voted to rescind the project alongside an operating budget reduction at the New York Police Department (NYPD). The NYPDs budget went from about $5.6 billion to $5.3 billion with the money saved going to youth programs and other social services. But according to data from Jan. 1 until May 23, the Big Apple saw 531 shootings. This was almost double the number of shooting incidents from last year, which only saw 295. De Blasio said during an April 2021 news conference that the initial cuts were a result of his response to the environment at that moment. He added that because of the federal stimulus package, he can now put forward a plan to restore about half of the 2020 budget cuts. Meanwhile, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott proposed a $27 million increase in the police budget. His proposal is an entirely different tune compared to his stance before taking office. Back in 2020, Scott was successful in pushing for a $22.4 million reduction to the police budget. The money saved was also redirected to social services something he and other council members wanted. In an interview, Scott cited three main reasons why the $27 million should be allocated toward law enforcement. According to the Baltimore mayor, rising police pensions and health insurance costs necessitated the larger budget. He added that a mandate for the Baltimore Police Department to overhaul its policies and training made any budget cut difficult. The mandate came as a result of a 2017 agreement with the Department of Justice following the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody two years prior. A sudden spike in crime prompted cities to restore funding for their respective police departments Just like New York City and Baltimore, the city of Oakland in California reallocated funds meant for law enforcement to social services. Last summer, it slashed $14 million from the Oakland Police Department (Oakland PD) to fund a mental health hotline and shift some police functions to other departments. In December 2020, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf asked the Oakland PD for an additional $15 million cut due to a budget crunch. Following pleas by the police chief and complaints from Oakland residents about crime, the city council unanimously voted to restore some of the previous cuts. Last April 12, the city council agreed to bring back $3.3 million of the $29 million total amount slashed from the Oakland PDs budget. Schaaf also proposed that the police departments budget be increased by $24 million. With murder rates rising by double digits in many cities, officials have found it difficult to abide by the defund mantra. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations Quarterly Uniform Crime Report, homicides rose by 32.2 percent in cities with a population of at least one million during the last three months of 2020. Criminologists and law enforcement officials attributed this rise to pandemic stress and police pullback during protests in early 2020. BLMs call to defund law enforcement coincided with COVID-19 shutdowns accompanied by smaller tax revenue. But with an economic revival and federal stimulus funding, many cities now have enough budgets to funnel back into law enforcement. Some city and police officials expressed concern that changes to reform policing may be costly to implement. Meanwhile, neighborhood groups warned that police budget cuts would undermine crime response. Former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said: Its hard to have a serious conversation with folks about cutting a police departments budget when crime is up. Police Executive Research Forum Executive Director Chuck Wexler shared Nutter sentiments. The head of the law enforcement think tank said: If you want to fix policing you have to hire cops, train them differently and hold them accountable. The notion that taking away resources is going to improve policing is ridiculous. Visit Shootings.news to read more reports about the effects of defunding law enforcement. Sources include: WSJ.com NaturalNews.com 1 NaturalNews.com 2 (Natural News) Conservatives and even independent-minded people who support the free flow of information are well aware of the censorship of certain news and content that the social media giants deem to be outside the lines of accepted narratives on many issues. They know that the censorship has been building for years but this year it is so blatant that its crossed the line into blatant election interference amounting to in-kind donations to left-wing Democrats including the partys presidential nominee, Joe Biden. Now, one person is fighting back against these behemoths, and it just so happens to be someone who knows them well: Zach Vorhies, otherwise known as the Google Whistleblower. Vorhies is organizing a GoFundMe campaign around California attorney Cris Armenta, whom the former Google engineer says has the strongest knowledge about how to defeat his former employer. I worked at Google for 8.5 years as a senior software engineer. The last three years of which was spent at Google-owned YouTube, Vorhies writes at GoFundMe. With much regret, my former employer YouTube has now become a direct threat to the United States of America and the Republic for which it stands. YouTube is engaging in reckless censorship by doing a mass purge of content creators it deems brand unsafe, he continued. The engineer also made it plain why the tech behemoth is censoring conservative and pro-Trump content. Why would Google take actions that seemingly squash the clear exchange of ideas and differing points of view? Doesnt that seem to interfere with free speech? The election? In fact, this is EXACTLY the case. Google is deliberately attempting to influence the election by preventing certain opinions from being shared, he wrote. The GoFundMe post also includes screenshots of accounts blacklisted or otherwise targeted for reduced distribution. Some are independent media accounts while others are personalities that the platform wants to restrict. People may think that the phrase election coup is too strong or maybe even hyperbole. Google wouldnt ACTUALLY want to do a coupwould they? Vorhies wrote. Of course, it would. In February 2017, just a month after President Donald Trumps inauguration, Natural News founder Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, reported: In a Communist China-style crackdown on free speech, Google has launched a PURGE to take down sites supportive of President Trump. Yesterday, the entire NaturalNews.com website was delisted by Google, removing 140,000+ pages of content covering disease prevention, nutritional therapies, scientific investigations into environmental contamination, dangers of prescription medications and more. The internet is in an uproar over the obvious assault on free speech, with Natural News coverage of the Google censorship going wildly viral on social media, radio interviews and article coverage across the independent media. And now, four years later, the platforms de-platforming of voices loyal to America and respectful of President Trump continue to suffer what many believe to be unlawful and unconstitutional censorship. (Related: Censoring the Biden story: How social media becomes state media.) Hence, Vorhies effort. I know because I saw it with my own eyes. It took me several years of watching Google build this election-rigging machine before I came to the conclusion that Google would certainly try to steal the 2020 election, he wrote. This was not something they tried to hide. Instead, they carefully documented it as a huge project named Machine Learning Fairness which I downloaded and disclosed to the public in August of 2019. Dont just take my word for it, Jen Gennai, a current high level Google director, admitted last year to an undercover journalist that only something the size of Google could prevent the next Trump situation, he added. https://twitter.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1158783328096522242 He notes that this fight is classic David vs. Goliath, but its one that has to be fought. The only thing that terrifies me more than dying and my family being targeted is the world that Google is building for all of us. This is really our last stand. This is more than a coup on the US election, if Google wins it will be a coup on humanity. Why? Because Google sees YOU as a programmable unit; programmable via its control of the information they return to you when you use Google search, Vorhies wrote. If you would like to support him, click here. Sources include: NaturalNews.com Trump.news (Natural News) Wearing face masks could cause catastrophic lung problems, especially if they are the kind coated with graphene. This is despite the fact that advocates of masks and mask mandates believe that wearing them is essential to preventing the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) from spreading. The latest evidence proving the dangers of wearing face masks comes from Health Canada, the countrys national public health agency. It warned Canadians to not use face masks that contain graphene because people could inhale graphene particles. Graphene is a nanomaterial that supposedly has antiviral and antibacterial properties. Manufacturers have been coating face masks with graphene and selling them as miracle cures for COVID-19. According to the proponents of graphene-coated face masks, there are three main ways these masks supposedly damage viruses and harmful cells. First, microscopic graphene particles have sharp edges that allegedly mechanically damage viruses and cells as they pass through them. Second, graphene is negatively charged with electrons. These electrons supposedly electrostatically trap and inactivate viruses. Third, graphene allegedly damages cells by impairing their metabolism. Research shows graphene can cause significant lung injuries Research clearly shows that graphene is dangerous, and if inhaled it could lead to disastrous respiratory conditions. One study found that binding human cells to graphene damaged the cells. An animal experiment from 2016 found that mice with graphene in their lungs experienced localized lung tissue damage, inflammation and the eventual formation of granulomas. These formed because their bodies attempted to fend off the graphene by walling it off. The researchers also found persistent lung injury similar to what happens when humans inhale asbestos. (Related: BOMBSHELL: Disposable blue face masks found to contain toxic, asbestos-like substance that destroys lungs.) Another study from March 2020 developed biological models that simulated the impact of high concentrations of aerosolized graphene on industrial workers. Their study found that long-term industrial exposure to graphene induced inflammation and weakened the protective barriers of the lungs. These three studies show the health impacts of breathing in microscopic graphene in large doses, which is what will inevitably happen due to the requirements of many local, state and national governments around the world for masks to be worn at all times. Health Canadas own preliminary assessment of the research has identified that inhaled graphene particles have the potential to cause early lung toxicity. This potential health risk was enough for the agency to warn people against using face masks labeled to contain either graphene or biomass graphene graphene made from biomass waste. The agency has asked mask manufacturers to assess the potential health risks of their graphene-coated masks. Health Canada is focusing on two specific manufacturers of face masks with graphene and is in the process of determining the safety and effectiveness of their products. It said in its statement: Until the Department completes a thorough scientific assessment and has established the safety and effectiveness of graphene-containing face masks, it is taking the precautionary approach of removing them from the market while continuing to gather and assess information. Health Canada has directed all known distributors, importers and manufacturers to stop selling and to recall the affected products. While the federal agency has no power over the decisions of Canadian provinces, it has written to their provincial health departments advising them to cease the distribution and use of masks containing graphene. In a separate statement, Health Canada told CTV News that the health risks associated with masks with graphene or biomass graphene are unacceptable. Unless the manufacturers of these masks can provide substantial evidence to support the safe and effective use of graphene-coated masks, Health Canada considers the risk of these medical devices to be unacceptable. Learn the latest information regarding the use of face masks in Canada, the United States and the rest of the world at Pandemic.news. Sources include: WakingTimes.com HealthyCanadians.GC.ca TheConversation.com CTVNews.ca (Natural News) Facebook has had no reservations about censoring conservative accounts. Yet, it allows accounts of state-controlled propaganda outlets from the genocidal regime of China to flourish. Forty accounts on Facebook, amassing over 751 million followers, are managed by Chinese state-controlled media outlets. For comparison, 751 million is over six times (6.39x) more followers than CNN, Fox News, The New York Times, ABC News, NBC News, The Washington Post and CBS News have combined (roughly 117,500,000) on Facebook. (Article by Alec Schemmel republished from NewsBusters.org) Facebook has taken down disinformation networks tied to Iranian state-controlled media and removed accounts belonging to Russian state-controlled media. It has even removed media accounts not labeled state-controlled media albeit not very many purportedly linked to Chinas government and to China-based hackers. But Facebook has given Chinese state-controlled media a pass to push propaganda no matter how outlandish the claims made in their posts. Thirty-seven of the 40 Facebook accounts identified by the Media Research Center as belonging to Chinese state-controlled media have corresponding accounts on Twitter. There they were labeled state-affiliated media. The MRC identified only 23 out of the 40 accounts that Facebook labeled state-affiliated accounts on its platform a blatant violation of its policy on identifying accounts run by state-controlled media outlets. A seven-month long investigation by the Associated Press and Oxford Internet Institute found Chinas rise in influence on Twitter and Facebook has been propelled by inauthentic and manufactured user engagement. Facebook has allowed Chinese state-controlled media to push inaccurate and dubious claims with little to no repercussions. China has used its arm of state-controlled media agencies to curate Facebook posts that dispute Western criticisms against the genocidal regime. Frequently, China has also used its posts to stir discord in American politics. China has used its state-controlled media presence on Facebook to rationalize, justify and legitimize its human rights violations against various religious and political minorities. A large portion of these posts are devoted to rebuking accusations of egregious human rights violations against the countrys Muslim minority Uyghurs living in Chinas Northwest Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Facebook has also allowed China to used its state-controlled media presence on the platform to push propaganda aimed at Hong Kongs pro-democracy protesters and activists. A number of posts have also been used to build support around Chinas authoritarian crackdown in Hong Kong. China Uses Facebook to Gaslight the World The U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom have all called evidence of Chinas human rights violations and abuses against Uyghur Muslims overwhelming. But Facebook accounts run by China tell a different story. Chinese state-controlled media have pushed a narrative on Facebook justifying its regimes genocidal actions toward Uyghurs, who are predominantly Muslim. Chinese state-controlled media used Facebook to gaslight the world on its crimes against humanity, which include arbitrary imprisonment, mass surveilance, torture, forced sterilization, coerced abortions, forced labor and persecution of Uyghurs and members of other religious, ethnic and political minority groups. #Chinas de-extremism measures have pulled many people back from the brink of terrorism, read a post from Chinese propaganda outlet Global Times. The post accused the U.S.-led West of killing terrorists without taking any effective measures to save them, insinuating that China does more to protect human rights than its accusers. Another post, this one from China Global TV Network (CGTN), rationalized Chinas genocidal actions: Yes, What Xinjiang did to fight terrorism does not conform to Western values, but it worked. Even Facebooks own employees have voiced concerns that the company has been used as a conduit for Chinese propaganda, The Wall Street Journal reported. That problem centered on Facebook advertisements from Chinese accounts that purport to show the economic success and happiness of Uyghurs living in Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. China Uses Facebook to Push Disinformation About Human Rights Abuses Facebooks employees were incensed Over Chinas Ads Portraying Happy Muslims in Xinjiang. A worker at Facebook declared in an internal company message board: Its time our platform takes action to fight misinformation on the Uighur genocide, according to The Journal. Facebook accounts run by Chinese state-controlled media have used videos, images and commentary about Uyghurs to construct a narrative of happiness and economic achievement. China has also used its state medias presence on Facebook to justify its arbitrary detentions and other genocidal actions on Facebook by framing them as help. A post from China Plus Culture retold the alleged story of a young Uyghur woman who walked away from a life of violence and extremism thanks to one of Chinas vocational education and training centers. A video embedded in another post from China Plus Culture chronicled a young Uyghur womans time in one of Chinas so-called vocational training centers. The woman remarked in the video that throughout her time in the camp, during which she was forced to perfect her Mandarin speaking skills and learn about Chinese law, her thinking has improved. China Daily, another state-controlled media outlet on Facebook, curated a post celebrating the purported success of Chinas vocational education and training centers in Xinjiang. The outlet claimed in its post that the centers have been effective in eliminating conditions that foster terrorism and religious extremism, according to an unnamed white paper. In a different post another one of Chinas mouthpieces, CGTN, attempted to justify the genocidal nations arbitrary detention, and deflect accusations of forced sterilization. After graduating from a vocational training center in Kashgar, northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Tudigul Nur landed a job in her native village. She had a daughter after graduating, who will soon turn a year old, claimed CGTN in the post. Facebook posts from accounts run by Chinese state-controlled media have been used to discredit accusations that China is using techniques of forced sterilization to keep the Uyghur population low. Other posts aim to discredit and deflect accusations that China is forcing Uyghurs into abusive labor programs and forcibly separating Uyghur children from their families. Chinese state-controlled media has also tried legitimizing its crackdown on Uyghurs by depicting them as terrorists, and attempting to portray communist China as the saving grace that rescues the minority from lives of poverty and Muslim extremism. Even children have to learn violence from terrorists in Xinjiang, said a Facebook post from Chinese mouthpiece China Global Television Network America (CGTN-America). The post appeared to show a man allegedly a member of the Uyghur separatist group known as the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) teaching a child how to shoot a sidearm. Omer Kanat, the Executive Director of the Washington-based Uyghur Human Rights Project, called Chinas exploitation of the imagined ETIM a real threat that has led to 20 years of state terror directed at Uighurs, according to The Journal. Other posts from Chinese propaganda accounts on Facebook claim ETIM is [t]raining child terrorists on Chinas frontier. China Uses Facebook to Promote Authoritarian Crackdown on Hong Kong China has also used its massive following on Facebook to attempt to paint its authoritarian crackdown on Hong Kong in a positive light. It is totally untrue and biased to say that the Hong Kong National Security Law has had a chilling effect on the exercise of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, alleged China Daily in a story linked to a Facebook post. The post rebuked European criticisms of Chinas authoritarian crackdown against Hong Kong. However, [m]ore than 50 of Hong Kongs most prominent pro-democracy activists were arrested for attempting to run an unofficial primary election to pick opposition candidates for Hong Kongs 2020 elections, according to the BBC. China claimed the activists were attempting to overthrow the government, the BBC reported. A post from Chinese propaganda outlet CGTN said the accused had committed conspiracy to commit subversion for simply attempting to pick opposition candidates to run against Beijings candidates. Chinese propaganda accounts also created posts meant to frame the democracy protesters in a poor light. Hong Kong protesters threw objects from an overpass, requiring police officers to fire tear gas, even though children and the elderly were present, read a post. Read more at: NewsBusters.org and Propaganda.news (Natural News) In an update on a lawsuit against tech giant Google, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich says that the tech giant continues to collect location data even after users turn off tracking on their smartphones and other devices. Documents recently submitted in court by Brnovichs office revealed that Google engineers sent emails expressing concerns about the companys location data collection efforts. In their emails, the engineers suggested that the Associated Press report on the matter in 2018 was correct. So there is no way to give a third-party app your location and not Google? This doesnt sound like something we would want on the front page of the [New York Times], one employee allegedly stated in a newly unredacted section. I agree with the article. Location off should mean location off, not except for this case or that case, stated another Google employee. (Related: Google engineers BLOW THE WHISTLE on Googles massive criminal conspiracy.) Google hid privacy settings as more customers started using them Talking to Fox News, Brnovich said the documents suggest that Google knew it was collecting users information and that such a revelation would upset customers. What weve uncovered so far, I believe, shows that Google themselves understand and appreciate that what they are doing is something that is sneaky and something that would piss off consumers if they knew about it, he said. So the fact they are trying to hide what they are doing, they are being sneaky about it, and using every trick in the arsenal to stop this from seeing the light of day is all consumers need to know about Googles intentions. Brnovich filed his lawsuit against Google last year. He accused the firm of pressuring smartphone manufacturers, such as LG, into hiding privacy settings that users often use. The new court documents show that Google was troubled that consumers started to use privacy settings more frequently after it tested versions of Android that made them easier to find. Google then buried the privacy features within the settings menu. We allege when consumers try to opt out of Google collecting location data, the company is continuing to find misleading ways to obtain that information and then use it for their financial advantage, Brnovich said in an interview with FOX Business. Google claims Brnovich and Arizona acting on behalf of Oracle In response to the suit, Google claimed that both Brnovich and the state of Arizona were looking to misconstrue what the company does. It also stated that the lawsuit was encouraged by Oracle which fought with Google in court over the rights to software code used in its Android operating system. The Attorney General and our competitors driving this lawsuit have gone out of their way to mischaracterize our services, said Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda to news outlets after the release of the new documents. We have always built privacy features into our products and provided robust controls for location data. We look forward to setting the record straight. But Brnovich is sticking to his guns. He said the emails indicate that Googles own employees are aware that what the company is doing will upset customers. As for his next steps, Brnovich told FOX Business that the state of Arizona will continue to issue depositions to Google employees about the case, with another periodic status update next month. Brnovich believes the case will likely go to trial sometime next year. Follow EvilGoogle.news for more on the ongoing lawsuit against the tech giant. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com APNews.com AZAG.gov 1[PDF] AZAG.gov 2 FOXBusiness.com (Natural News) States across the country have reported multiple cases of heart inflammation occurring shortly after taking the COVID-19 vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is currently investigating whether the vaccine caused the condition. But research from other countries suggests that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine may increase young mens risk of heart inflammation. Utah, Wyoming and Rhode Island each recorded one case while Arizona and Illinois had two apiece, The Epoch Times reported. Texas is aware of 10 cases while Idaho recorded three. Last week, Connecticut reported 18 instances of myocarditis, or the inflammation of the heart muscle, occurring in teens and young adults shortly after vaccination. Washington reported more than a dozen similar cases while Oregon received an undisclosed number of similar case reports. The total number of cases was at least 57, according to The Epoch Times. But there were indications that the number could be higher. As of May 28, 155 case reports were submitted to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), a federal database that accepts reports of post-vaccination adverse events. Critics say that VAERS is a passive database that allows anybody to submit a report. But the actual number of case reports is still likely higher than the reported figure since some patients do not submit reports or have reports submitted on their behalf, according to previous statements about the database. VAERS is not designed to determine if a vaccine caused a health problem, but is especially useful for detecting unusual or unexpected patterns of adverse event reporting that might indicate a possible safety problem with a vaccine, a statement posted on the database read. The CDC recently announced that it was investigating cases of myocarditis in recipients of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. The cases predominantly occurred among male adolescents and young adults within four days of taking the second dose. The CDC did not specify the total number of cases but claimed that they were relatively few and mild. Health officials said that at least 25 of the cases required hospitalization. One myocarditis-related death in Texas was reported to VAERS. When The Epoch Times asked for details, the Texas Department of State Health Services said that the agency could not address individual VAERS reports since they could contain incomplete or coincidental information. Myocarditis is usually caused by a virus but could also occur due to a reaction to a drug. Symptoms of the condition include chest pain, rapid or abnormal heart rhythm, shortness of breath, fatigue and fluid retention accompanied by the swelling of the lower extremities. Severe myocarditis could lead to heart failure, heart attack, stroke or sudden cardiac death. The condition is among the serious safety problems identified after taking the COVID-19 vaccine. Other post-vaccination adverse events include anaphylaxis (severe allergic reaction) and blood clots accompanied by low blood platelet levels. (Related: More than 80% of children who received Pfizers covid injection suffered side effects.) Israel links heart inflammation to Pfizer coronavirus vaccine The Ministry of Health of Israel said on Tuesday, June 2, that the myocarditis cases it observed among young vaccine recipients in the country were likely linked to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. A study commissioned by the ministry found a probable link between receiving the second dose (of the Pfizer) vaccine and the appearance of myocarditis among men aged 16 to 30, the ministry said in a statement. The link was more pronounced among men aged 16 to 19 than in other age groups. The ministry received 275 case reports of myocarditis between December 2020 and May 2021 among more than 5 million vaccinated people. Most of the patients who had the condition were hospitalized. This came as the ministry mulled vaccinating children between the age of 12 to 15. Israeli news outlets reported that a decision on the matter could come as early as this coming Sunday. Learn more about the dangers of the unproven COVID-19 vaccines by reading articles at VaccineInjuryNews.com. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com Healthline.com News.ABS-CBN.com (Natural News) Mainstream media and Big Tech effectively admitted that they were wrong to dismiss the lab-leak theory of the Wuhan coronaviruss (COVID-19) origin with their sudden change of narrative to fit with the Biden administrations stance. New York Times reporter David Leonhardt said on CNN that he thinks people leapt to dismiss the theory too quickly because it was being endorsed by then-President Trump. Meanwhile, Jon Karl of ABC News told Martha Raddatz Sunday morning, May 30, that a lot of people have egg on their face for changing their narrative on the lab-leak theory. Social media giant Facebook is also now open to claims that COVID-19 is man-made, changing its policy on the same day President Joe Biden ordered his intelligence agencies to launch a probe into whether SARS-CoV-2 the virus that causes COVID-19 leaked from a Wuhan lab. In April last year, Facebook announced that it was imposing limits on harmful misinformation about COVID-19. In February, the company announced that it was expanding its crackdown to include claims that the virus was man-made. But on May 26, the day Biden ordered a probe on the lab-leak theory, Facebook announced the lifting of the ban in a blog post. In light of ongoing investigations into the origin of COVID-19 and in consultation with public health experts, we will no longer remove the claim that COVID-19 is man-made or manufactured from our apps, Facebook stated. Mainstream media reporters slammed over change of narrative In a series of tweets on Saturday, May 31, Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin slammed journalists for suddenly changing their narrative. (Related: Left-wing media conveniently forget they claimed lab origin theory for covid-19 was debunked.) Most MSM reporters didnt ignore the lab leak theory, they actively crapped all over it for over a year while pretending to be objective out of a toxic mix of confirmation bias, source bias (their scientist sources lied to them), group think, TDS [Trump Derangement Syndrome] and general incompetence, Rogin tweeted. Replying on his initial tweet, Rogin noted that the lab-leak theory didnt change. It didnt suddenly become credible. It didnt jump from crazy to reasonable, he wrote. The theory has always been the same. The people who got it wrong changed their minds. They are writing about themselves, with zero self awareness. In another reply to his original tweet, Rogin wrote: All these reporters scrambling to defend their own records on the lab leak theory are exposing their own hypocrisy and ignoring their basic error. Just report the facts. Dont act like its your job to tell us whats OK to think or talk about. Own up to it when you fail your readers. That thread was re-tweeted more than 1,000 times, garnering several thousand likes. Mainstream media doesnt mind losing credibility just to contradict Trump Mainstream media outlets have made it a habit to contradict Trumps view, losing their credibility and looking downright foolish in the process. On April 10 last year, NPR published a story headlined COVID-19 Patients Given Unproven Drug In Texas Nursing Home In Disconcerting Move. The news came out as Trump brought up hydroxychloroquine as a promising potential treatment for COVID-19. President Trump has been an enthusiastic champion of hydroxychloroquine, calling it a game-changer. But some of the nations most respected health officials have said there is insufficient evidence showing that the 80-year-old drug, which is typically used to stave off malaria or treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, is a viable treatment in battling the new virus, the NPR reported. If Trump liked it, then it had to be bad. Fox News host Laura Ingraham recently revisited the story and showed how it should be delivered. It wasnt a horror story with an evil doctor at the center. It was, in fact, a story of heroism. It was about Dr. Robin Armstrong from the Galveston area saving the lives of elderly people living in a nursing home in the middle of a COVID-19 outbreak. The disease took thousands of lives in nursing homes across the country. But Armstrong wasnt going to let anyone die under his watch. He treated his patients with hydroxychloroquine in a last-ditch effort to save them and he made the right call. His informed judgment saved the lives of a building full of nursing home patients, and no one reported bad side effects. Big Tech, Democrats censor those who share Trumps views Doctors who advocated for hydroxychloroquine, such as Dr. Stella Immanuel, who treated 350 patients with it and saved all of them, were censored on social media platforms. YouTube, Twitter and Facebook removed all evidence of their testimony from their sites, effectively silencing them. (Related: Minnesota doctor decries censorship, says he is under investigation for COVID-19 opinions.) The Democrats have also done their part, censoring their own for taking hydroxychloroquine and remembering and thanking Trump. Michigan Democratic State Rep. Karen Whitsett survived COVID-19 last year with the help of hydroxychloroquine. But instead of supporting her, Detroit Democrats unanimously passed a resolution to censure Whitsett for crediting Trump with advocating for the drug that cured her of COVID-19. This is something that I did not expect. I started out with a simple thank you to the man that is the president of the United States. Its a thank you. I didnt know that thank you had a political line. I didnt know thank you belongs to one political party over another, and that if youre in one party you cannot say thank you to another person. I had no idea, Whitsett said at the time. Follow Censorship.news for more news and information related to mainstream media and Big Tech censorship. Sources include: LifeSiteNews.com BBC.com DailyMail.co.uk NPR.org DetroitNews.com Two Cameroonians who illegally entered the country using forged visa approval letters have been fined $10 000 each while a Zimbabwean, accused of generating the letters, was remanded in custody pending trial. Arnold Gadzikwa will be back at the Harare Magistrates Court on June 21. Meanwhile, the pair, Nzingnia Arnaud (42) and Nguimfack Zebaze Vitrylaine (34), are detained at Chikurubi Female Prison pending deportation. In a statement, the Department of Immigrations spokesperson Assistant Regional Immigration Officer Memory Mugwagwa said the two were arrested at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport on May 26. Nzingnia Arnaud and Nguimfack Zebaze Vitrylaine arrived in Zimbabwe aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight on 26 May 2021 whereupon they presented themselves before the Immigration Department at the airport for entry clearance. It was during checks on their documentation that it was discovered that there were anomalies on the visa letters they had tendered for the process. The letters, in terms of the law, are issued by the Department of Immigration to facilitate entry into the country of those nationals who are in the Category C of the Zimbabwe visa regime, reads the statement. Verifications made with the Department of Immigration headquarters confirmed that the letters were not generated from its system. There was no trace of the letters in the Immigration Departments database. Further investigations established that Vitrylaine had submitted an online application for the visa which was turned down by the department on 12 April 2021 while Arnaud also made an attempt to apply for the visa but never completed the process. In a desperate bid to travel, the two then sought the services of Gadzikwa, who allegedly produced the fake letters. Herald (Natural News) Each sunspot cycle has been getting less intense. This means temperature drops And right now, the weather is following this trend. (Article republished from StrangeSounds.org) Comparison between solar maximum and solar minimum. Picture: NASAJust a few days ago, I discussed the space weather forecast of several scientists for solar cycle 25. While some very big solar storms have already taken place, the new cycle is week in overall. Meanwhile, dozens of cold records were broken or shattered on Saturday across Northeast US. As shown in previous articles, freezing cold temperatures in April and May 2021 were responsible for damage or total destruction of crops, fruits and vegetables as well as harvest delays in Europe. So is our star falling asleep? Solar activity refers to the state of the suns magnetic field and associated phenomena: sunspots, flares, solar wind and coronal ejections. During periods of minimal solar activity, such events are often uncommon and weak. During solar maximum, theyre at their strongest and most frequent. Magnetic field fluctuations on the sun can happen on drastically different timescales, ranging from seconds all the way to billions of years. When astronomers speak of a slowdown or a period of quiescence in the suns activity, it doesnt mean the sun will stop shining, but that theres a slowdown in activity. The sun has one particular rhythm, lasting approximately 11 years, in which its polar magnetic field flips polarity. Sunspots serve as an indicator of this change. Indeed, its often known as the sunspot cycle. Although sunspots themselves were first observed in detail by Galileo, Christoph Scheiner and others from 1609 onwards, according to the British Library, the cyclical nature of their appearance and disappearance was first noted in 1775 by Danish astronomer Christian Horrebow. It was then rediscovered in 1843 by Heinrich Schwabe. In 1848, Swiss astronomer Rudolf Wolf used Schwabe and others results, as well as performing his own observations, to calculate the 11-year cycle and a mathematical method to count the number of sunspots. This so-called Wolf number remains in use today, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Many other astronomers at the time either independently observed this cycle or were inspired by the results of others. Wolfs own calculation of the 1755 to 1766 sunspot cycle was labeled as the first, and each sunspot cycle since then has been progressively numbered as such. We are now in Cycle 25. But sometimes the spots dont appear at all. This was the case for 80 days of the first six months of the current solar cycle, which started in December 2019. It was greater still for the same period in Cycle 24, where there were 281 spot-free days. The period from 1645 to 1715 saw a near-total crash in sunspot numbers, where they could literally be counted on two hands. Wolf struggled to piece together solar cycles before the mid-1700s because of this dearth of information, but it didnt mean sunspots werent being observed. Many distinguished astronomers of the age, such as Giovanni Cassini, continued to make observations. This 70-year solar lull was later noted by German astronomer Gustav Sporer, which then later inspired the British-Irish husband and wife team Edward and Annie Maunder. The period has since been named the Maunder minimum, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. There have been other lulls before and since, such as the Sporer and Dalton minima. However, Madhulika Guhathakurta, a heliophysicist at NASA, speaking in a personal capacity, questioned how the technology available then affected observations. During the Maunder minimum, when we couldnt detect any sunspots, the question remains how well could we detect very faint sunspots then or even now? she told All About Space. We dont know and have no measure of that. The uncertainty associated with detecting no sunspots is much harder than counting them during solar maximum. In 2020 Cycle 25 had 80% more sunspots overall than the equivalent period for Cycle 24, suggesting that the current cycle may in fact be stronger, rather than weaker. The international Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel said in September 2020 that they expect Cycle 25 to be about as strong as Cycle 24. Has the consensus changed since then, or is it still the same? The consensus has not changed, panel co-chair Doug Biesecker told All About Space. The consensus is still that the current cycle will be much like Cycle 24. We have not seen anything that differs significantly in the early stages of this cycle that varies from the panel prediction of a peak of 115 [sunspots] in July 2025. The predictions are based on the 13-month smoothed sunspot number a statistical method for calculating sunspots. And you have to be patient when studying the sun. As Biesecker said: It can take up to three years after the cycle begins before we can say with confidence whether the prediction is still valid. Guhathakurta believes this cycle is not out of the ordinary. Looking at sunspots as a non-physical index of solar activity, I think this solar cycle isnt unusual, especially in the context of the prior cycle. This cycles sort of mimicking that. Even in the early 1800s and 1900s, you see cycles of this magnitude. Successfully predicting solar weather is certainly essential when testing scientific theories about how the sun works. But theres a more pressing practical reason for doing so. Strong solar flare events and coronal mass ejections most likely to occur around the time of solar maxima can disrupt modern technology. The flux of high-energy particles can damage spacecraft, satellites and even ground-based power systems. The latter are particularly vulnerable, as solar radiation easily disturbs Earths magnetic field, inducing currents in long power lines. Such a geomagnetic storm destroyed large grid transformers and shut down the whole of Quebec, Canada, in March 1989, NASA reported. And this was just history repeating itself. In September 1859 a geomagnetic storm, dubbed the Carrington event, caused interesting problems with the telegraph system. Telegraph operators noticed that they could disconnect their batteries and work with just the induced currents from the storm sometimes with improved results! To this day it is the most powerful coronal mass ejection on record. If a Carrington-level event were to happen now, it would cause widespread damage and disruption to power systems and satellites. As well as decimating electronics, any astronauts venturing beyond the protective blanket of Earths geomagnetic field such as to the moon or Mars would be in danger, something that NASAs upcoming Artemis lunar program needs to keep in mind. Considering the stakes, coupled with the fact that the sun is such a complex system, there must be another way to glean information about its future behavior besides sunspots. Other tried-and-trusted methods exist, but there may well be another arrow in the quiver. A U.S.-U.K. team led by Scott McIntosh of the High Altitude Observatory at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, has looked at a phenomenon related to sunspot activity. Using data from sources such as NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory, the team looked at extreme ultraviolet and X-ray flashes in the solar corona. These so-called bright points in the suns atmosphere correlate with large areas of material flowing in the suns interior, which rotates faster than surface plasma, similar to rates seen for sunspots. Robert Leamon of the University of Maryland likened it to helium balloons being dragged along by weights attached to the bottom. Such a study is potentially more useful than the sunspot cycle as it shows magnetic polarity. In the 19th century, Richard Carrington and Sporer both discovered sunspots appearing at different latitudes during different points in the solar cycle, starting at mid-latitudes and migrating towards the equator at the end. Plotted against time, this leads to a distinctive butterfly diagram. But in the early 20th century, American astronomer George Ellery Hale proved the importance of solar magnetism by showing how a complete polar flip actually spans two sunspot cycles: a flip, then a flip back, according to NASA. This 22-year Hale cycle is what McIntoshs team looks at. The bright points are markers of Hale cycle magnetic bands. This begs the question of why the wider solar scientific community doesnt make more use of such observations in this way. Folks have in the past calling them ephemeral active regions but predominantly they are locked into the big white whales of solar activity: sunspots, McIntosh said. Just like sunspots, the magnetic bands travel the latitudes of the sun to meet at the equator, annihilating in what McIntosh calls termination events. His team uses these termination events to identify complete 22-year magnetic cycles, as well as the 11-year sunspot cycles of the past. Using these alongside predictions made for a 2020 terminator event, the team predicts that Solar Cycle 25 will, in fact, be strong. In marked contrast to scientific consensus, they say it will be among the strongest ever recorded. Biesecker is supportive of the teams approach: The work from McIntosh et al is very intriguing. It would be very exciting to have their prediction come true, as it would help teach us about how to better predict future solar cycles. But he does have a caveat. The McIntosh technique has yet to make a true prediction. That is, one for which there is no knowledge of the future. Its very difficult for a panel to give much weight to a technique that is new, which has never made a prediction that can be tested. He says other, more traditional methods continue to be used, as they have been successful in the past and are better known. If McIntoshs study is right, however, what could it say about the solar interior? That the magnetic systems inside the sun are much stronger than we anticipate and that they interact strongly to shape the production of spots, McIntosh said. The pressure of the magnetic field band relative to the surroundings is important: My sense is that the sun really wants to be balanced, and what we see in terms of sunspots is the result of imbalance in that pressure globally, locally and longitudinally. This means they think theyre only seeing the tip of the iceberg where the magnetic field is concerned. McIntosh also said that the recurrence of 55-degree latitude bands in their analysis, which can be traced back through the entire observational and photographic record, is very overlooked. It suggests structural or geometric features that play a significant role in forming and aggregating the magnetic field in the suns interior. There are still many open questions. But is the teams approach bearing out for space weather forecasting? As Leamon said: Its too early to tell, but so far the observed sunspot number and other measures, such as F10.7 solar radio flux [10.7 centimeter-wavelength radio waves] are tracking closer to our higher predictions rather than the lower panel consensus. Whatever happens with the sunspot level, there will be some big storms, and our technological society will be impacted in some way or another during Solar Cycle 25. McIntosh concurred: Indications are that its on track to be bigger than 24, and likely 23 too. But we really need the termination event to happen to get real fidelity on the forecast. Hes still convinced that itll be a larger-than-average cycle, perhaps even in the top 10 of every one on record. But until that event happens, we wont know for sure. Bieseckers looking further ahead. The relevance of the Hale cycle, as detailed in McIntosh et al, will be something for the Solar Cycle 26 Panel to consider. He points out that looking at the 22-year Hale cycle isnt new to forecasting, and that scientists have looked at the effects of odd and even cycles in the past, although with less skill than looking at precursors of the next immediate cycle. Expect the McIntosh technique to be a big part of the conversation when the panel to forecast Solar Cycle 26 convenes, he tantalisingly concluded. Future technology could also pave the way for a better understanding of solar activity, according to Guhathakurta. I spent the last four years at NASA Ames Research Center shaping a program called Frontier Development Lab and got fascinated by artificial intelligence and how we might utilize our data and the tools of AI to infer patterns that can better guide physics outcomes, she told All About Space. Machine learning and AI could be critical for understanding solar variability and climate with huge amounts of data. [Space] Read more at: StrangeSounds.org and Cosmic.news (Natural News) Social media platform Twitter refused to say if it would censor posts that propose the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) leaking from a laboratory. The sites silence followed social media site Facebook overturning its earlier censorship of the theory after political pressure. Previously dismissed as false or misleading, the lab leak theory recently gained ground after President Joe Biden ordered an investigation on the matter. The Daily Mail contacted Twitter on May 27 to clarify its stance on the matter, asking if it would allow debate on the lab leak theory on the platform. A spokesman for the Jack Dorsey-helmed social media site reiterated Twitters policy of taking action against false or misleading claims [that posed] a significant risk of harm. The same spokesman did not provide a yes or no answer when asked if the lab-leak theory fell under the false or misleading claims category. According to the social media sites guidelines, it would also take action against users suggesting malicious or powerful forces are responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The news outlets exchange with Twitter happened a day after British members of parliament (MPs) decried Facebooks censorship of the theory. MP Peter Bone said: It does seem to me that Facebook is not an open platform for people to put their views on. [Rather], it is an open platform for people to put their views on as long as they agree with [the site.] [Its] decisions are based on politics, not on principle. Meanwhile, MP Bob Seely dubbed Facebooks behavior as contemptible. He said: I think [Facebooks censorship of the lab leak theory] is absolutely contemptible and [its] commitment to democracy is an incredibly thin veneer over [its] commercial interests. So many Big Tech firms are showing their true and really ugly colors. Seely called on Facebook to re-embrace freedom of speech instead of trying to ingratiate [itself] with China. Facebook recently announced it would no longer censor content concerning the lab-leak theory. In light of ongoing investigations into the origin of COVID-19 and in consultation with public health experts, we will no longer remove the claim that COVID-19 is man-made or manufactured, Facebook stated in a blog post. Biden administration calls for investigation of lab-leak theory Following worldwide pressure on China to be more open about the pandemics origins, Biden called for a new investigation on the matter. In a May 26 White House statement, he said that he asked the U.S. intelligence community to redouble [its] efforts to collect and analyze information toward a definitive conclusion within 90 days. Earlier, his administration shut down a probe led by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the lab-leak theory. (Related: CNN blasts Biden for shutting down probe in to Covids Chinese origins.) China did not take too kindly to Bidens calls for a new investigation. It accused him of politicizing the issue and even called for U.S. laboratories to be scrutinized instead. (Related: Covid-19 is just the beginning as communist China plots new killer viruses.) Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Zhao Lijian accused the U.S. of attempting to shift blame away from its own COVID-19 cases and deaths. He suggested that security services may be involved in a cover-up, a sentiment shared by the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. A statement in the Chinese embassys website accused Biden of being fixated on political manipulation and [the] blame game. State-run paper Global Times editor Hu Xijin also accused Biden of trying to discredit an investigation by the World Health Organization (WHO) early this year. The global health bodys February 2021 investigation focused on three theories on COVID-19s origins all involving animals but not the lab-leak theory. WHO fact-finding team leader Dr. Peter Ben Embarek dismissed the lab-leak theory as very unlikely. He said that it was not in the hypotheses that we will suggest for future studies. White House Senior COVID-19 Adviser Andy Slavitt said on May 22 that the world needs to get to the bottom of the coronaviruss origins whatever the answer may be. He said: We need a completely transparent process from China, [and] we need the WHO to assist in that matter. We dont feel like we have that now. Visit TechGiants.news to read more about Big Tech censorship of the COVID-19 lab-leak theory. Sources include: DailyMail.co.uk WhiteHouse.gov BBC.com Sign up to get breaking news, weather forecasts, and more in your email inbox. Sign Up Now BEIJING Fifteen more COVID-19 cases have been reported in the southern Chinese province of Guangzhou, with a report saying the coronavirus variant in the latest outbreak is more transmissible than in previous clusters in the country. The city of Guangdong has locked down neighborhoods and requires anyone wishing to leave the province to show a negative virus test taken within the past 72 hours. Respected business magazine Caixin quotes the chief infectious disease specialist at the hospital in Guangzhou where the latest cases are being treated as saying the patients are carrying a heavier viral load than in past, making it easier to pass the virus to others. Guangdong, which borders on Hong Kong, has reported around 50 cases as of Thursday. ___ MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK: Japan gives $800M to UN-backed COVID-19 vaccine program AstraZeneca starts deliveries of Thailand-made vaccines EU eyes revamp of ID check-free zone to improve travel flow Sinovac vaccine restores one Brazilian city to near normal ___ Follow more of APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine ___ HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING: LOS ANGELES The state of California has agreed to pay more than $2 million in legal fees in a settlement with churches that challenged pandemic closure orders. Church lawyers who successfully took their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court said Wednesday that the state has agreed not to impose restrictions on houses of worship that are more stringent than those for retail businesses. Several churches challenged Gov. Gavin Newsoms restrictions as violations of their First Amendment right to worship. Newsoms office says the governor put the health of Californians first and the settlements provide clarity on how public health standards can be applied to churches. ___ UNITED NATIONS The International Labor Organization says the COVID-19 pandemic has created an unparalleled global labor market crisis that will affect the job market for years. The U.N. agency said in a report Wednesday an estimated 8.8% of total working hours were lost last year. It says that is the equivalent of the hours worked in one year by 255 million full-time workers. The Geneva-based agency estimates that if there had not been a pandemic, the world would have created 30 million new jobs in 2020. It says that this year, working hours lost corresponded to 140 million full-time jobs in the first quarter and 127 million in the current quarter. The agency projects that an uneven economic recovery expected to begin in the second half of 2021 will create 100 million jobs this year and an additional 80 million in 2022. It says that is still short of pre-pandemic levels. ___ DENVER -- Colorado will give $50,000 scholarships to 25 students who have received coronavirus vaccinations in another incentive to get as many state residents vaccinated as possible. Gov. Jared Polis said Wednesday that Colorado resident students ages 12 to 17 who have received at least one vaccine dose are eligible. The Denver Post reports that those chosen in random drawings starting Monday can use their scholarships in the post-secondary educational institution of their choice, both inside and outside Colorado. Polis previously unveiled a lottery to reward a total of five vaccinated residents $1 million each to promote coronavirus vaccinations. Money for the scholarship and lottery programs comes from federal coronavirus relief funds. Several U.S. states, including Maryland, Ohio, New York and Oregon, have introduced vaccine-incentive lotteries. ___ NEW YORK The worlds leading COVID-19 vaccines may offer lasting protection that diminishes the need for frequent booster shots. Thats according to scientists, who are finding clues in how the body remembers viruses. But they say more research is needed and that virus mutations are still a wild card. Critical studies are underway, and evidence is mounting that immunity from the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna doesnt depend exclusively on antibodies that dwindle over time. The body has overlapping layers of protection that offer backup. Scientists do not yet know whats called the correlate of protection, the level below which antibodies cannot fend off the coronavirus without additional help. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. governments leading infectious disease expert, told a Senate subcommittee last week that vaccine protection would not be infinite. Pfizer and Moderna officials have said people might need yearly shots, just like with flu vaccinations. The companies plan to have some candidates ready this fall. But companies wont decide when boosters get used. Thats up to health authorities in each country. Some experts say boosters may be needed only every few years. ___ SANTA FE, N.M. -- Each of New Mexicos 33 counties is now operating in the least-restrictive category when it comes to pandemic-related health mandates. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued a new statewide public health order Wednesday as state officials pointed to a decreased risk of spreading COVID-19. Absent the order, five counties would have slipped back into the more restrictive yellow category. Health officials reported an average of fewer than 100 cases each day over the long holiday weekend. Lujan Grisham plans to end the states color-coded risk system at the end of the month as long as 60% of residents are fully vaccinated. - TORONTO Canadas most populous province says schools will not reopen for in-person learning for the rest of the academic year. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says returning kids to schools will lead to thousands of news cases. He says schools will keep teaching students online this month. Schools across the province moved learning online in mid-April amid an escalating third wave of the coronavirus. Cases have since declined and the province recently unveiled a reopening plan set to take effect in mid-June, but schools werent part of it. The provinces top doctor, along with the vast majority of his regional counterparts and other experts, have said students should return to classrooms for their well-being. Ford sought advice on the matter last week and has spent the past few days coming up with his decision. ___ CHELSEA, Mass. -- Getting a coronavirus shot in Massachusetts could save residents a few dollars off their grocery bills, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Wednesday. Starting Thursday, shoppers who get their vaccine at clinics set up outside one of a select few Market Basket supermarkets in the state will get a $25 store gift card, the Republican governor said at a news conference in Chelsea. We know these are convenient community locations. Theyre very heavily traveled, as anybody whos ever been to one knows, Baker said. The mobile vaccine clinics will be set up at Market Basket stores in Chelsea, Fall River, Lawrence, Lynn and Revere, some of the communities that suffered most during the pandemic. No appointments are necessary. Shots will be available Thursday, Friday and Saturday and again on June 10 to 12. ___ PARIS French President Emmanuel Macron is moving up the COVID-19 vaccination schedule, saying youth ages 12 to 18 can get inoculations starting June 15. The announcement came just three days after 18-year-olds began getting vaccinated. Frances vaccination campaign got off to a slow start but is moving full speed ahead. More than 40% of the population has received at least one injection. Numbers of COVID-19 cases have fallen dramatically in recent weeks, along with deaths, leading to what Macron called reasonable optimism for the future as the nation reopens in phases. Outdoor cafe terraces opened last month and a nightly curfew was moved from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. In one week, the curfew will start at 11 p.m., when restaurants can seat clients indoors, with limits. ___ MADRID -- Spains government and regional authorities have agreed to allow some bars and night clubs to reopen, 10 months after they closed nationwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Authorities want coordinated national rules for easing lockdown restrictions over the summer. The new rules on re-openings hinge on regions coronavirus case rate per 100,000 population over 14 days and the number of available beds in local hospitals. Health Minister Carolina Darias says low-risk regions could open their bars until 2 a.m. with 50% of indoor capacity. Patrons can consume food and drink only when seated, and bar owners must note the contact details of patrons in case of a later outbreak. In higher risk regions, bars must remain closed. Currently, about half of Spains 17 regions meet the criteria for reopening bars and discotheques. Spains virus incidence rate per 100,000 population over 14 days a key pandemic metric is 118. Darias says one in five Spaniards have had both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. New deaths reported Wednesday took the countrys total to just over 80,000. ___ MINNEAPOLIS Both Minneapolis and St. Paul are ending coronavirus mask requirements as vaccination rates improve. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey imposed the indoor mask mandate last spring, two months before Gov. Tim Walz issued a similar statewide mask order. Frey says the mandate was lifted because more than 78% of city residents age 15 and older have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. St. Paul officially ends its mandate Wednesday. The statewide mask mandate ended May 14 shortly after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that fully vaccinated people no longer needed to wear masks. ___ LONDON British health officials say three-quarters of the U.K.s adult population has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. Figures released Wednesday show 75.2% of all people 18 and over have received a shot, and 49.5% have received both doses. Britain is racing to vaccinate all adults and curb a possibly more contagious variant that was first identified in India and is spreading across the U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock says reaching the milestone less than six months after the first shot given in the U.K. on Dec. 8, was an incredible step forward. Speaking as the U.K. hosted an international meeting to encourage vaccination, Hancock says a key to the high level of vaccine acceptance in the U.K. was ensuring the process was fair, by giving vaccines first to the elderly and those at most risk. He says, We Brits love queuing and theres nothing more upsetting than someone jumping the queue. ___ LISBON, Portugal Portugals government is urging everyone to get tested regularly for the coronavirus, even if they have no symptoms. Prime Minister Antonio Costa says a requirement to wear masks indoors, and outdoors if a sufficient distance between people isnt possible, will remain in place because there is no certainty that vaccinated people dont transmit the coronavirus. Although Portugal has significantly eased its limits on movements and gatherings after the pandemic ebbed, authorities are wary of possible new surges. Health experts say last months large street celebrations in the capital of Lisbon after a local soccer team won the national championship and the arrival of thousands of British tourists in the southern Algarve vacation region could trigger new surges. Costa says the government still recommends working from home. Bars and night clubs will remain closed until at least the end of August. Portugals coronavirus incidence rate per 100,000 population over 14 days a key pandemic measure stands at 64. Nearly 40% of the population of 10.3 million has received a first vaccine and almost 20% has been fully vaccinated. ___ WASHINGTON Free beer is the latest White House-backed incentive for Americans to get vaccinated for COVID-19. President Joe Biden is expected to announce a month of action on Wednesday to get more shots into arms before the July 4 holiday. Biden is set to update the nation the vaccination roll-out and his plans to get 70% of adults partially vaccinated by Independence Day. Thats key to his goal of returning the nation to a pre-pandemic sense of normalcy this summer. The latest vaccine incentive, provided by Anheuser-Busch, builds on others such as cash giveaways and sports tickets to keep up the pace of Americans getting shots. To date 62.8% of the adult U.S. population have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 133.6 million are full vaccinated. The rate of new vaccinations has slowed again to an average below 600,000 per day. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) George P. Bush on Wednesday launched his next political move: a run for Texas attorney general in 2022 that puts the scion of a Republican dynasty against a GOP incumbent shadowed by securities fraud charges and an FBI investigation. Bush, who has served as Texas' land commissioner since 2015, is the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the nephew and grandson of two former presidents. He is the last of the Bush family still in public office and was the first to break with them over supporting former President Donald Trump, who has mocked the family that was once the face of the Republican Party. He is now launching the first major challenge against embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has spent six years in office under felony indictment over accusations of defrauding investors, and more recently was accused of bribery by his own former top aides. Here in Texas, we have a scandal that is plaguing one of our highest offices. And I believe conservatives should have a choice, Bush said at a campaign kickoff rally in Austin. Bush, 45, said he spoke with Texas' two previous attorneys general prior to Paxton Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn after the latest accusations surfaced but would not go into details. There's concern there, and that's why Im willing to go out there and offer myself because everybody else has been quiet and afraid to tell the truth about this guy," Bush said. Paxton's campaign responded with a statement that made no mention of the accusations against him. Texans know Attorney General Paxton's rock-solid conservative record, Paxton spokesman Ian Prior said. Bush's bid to move up Texas' political ladder sets up a potentially bruising primary that will test GOP voters appetite for the Bush name, and the durability of a two-term attorney general who is embroiled in legal trouble, but was embraced by conservatives last November after bringing a failed lawsuit to the Supreme Court that sought to overturn President Joe Bidens victory. Asked if he supported Paxton's efforts to overturn Biden's win, Bush faulted Paxton's legal strategy and claimed there were irregularities, but acknowledged Biden's victory. No widespread corruption was found, and Trumps allegations of massive voting fraud also have been dismissed by a succession of judges and refuted by state election officials. On Tuesday, Trump endorsed Abbott for a third term but has not weighed in on Texas' attorney general race, which Bush had signaled for months he would enter. Hours ahead of Bush's announcement, Paxton's office publicized a court brief that denies claims of impropriety leveled by top-level deputies who were fired after taking part in an extraordinary revolt against Paxton last fall. Eight staffers accused Paxton of abusing his office in the service of a wealthy donor, which is now the target of an FBI investigation. Paxton called the accusations an unsubstantiated smear campaign" and has separately pleaded not guilty in his securities fraud case that has languished since 2015. He has also used his office in ways that have benefited allies and other donors. Bush, meanwhile, enters the race at a moment of intense scrutiny and bipartisan outrage in Houston over his General Land Office announcing the city wouldn't get a cent of the initial $1 billion in federal funding that was promised to Texas following Hurricane Harvey. He has also angered conservative activists over a renovation plan for the Alamo, the revered Texas shrine. The race is pivotal for Bush's political future in Texas, where he has aligned himself with Trump unlike his famous relatives. Bush has carefully sidestepped Trump's antagonism toward his family, which included taunting his father as low energy during the 2016 presidential campaign. His late grandfather, George H.W. Bush, had said he voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, while George W. Bush said he voted for none of the above. During a visit to Texas in 2019, Trump called George P. Bush the only Bush that likes me. ___ Associated Press writer Jake Bleiberg in Dallas contributed to this report. NEW CANAAN Two years after Jennifer Dulos went missing, the Lifetime Network will release a one-hour documentary Saturday night examining her disappearance and the arrest of her estranged husband. Beyond the Headlines: The Jennifer Dulos Story will follow the premiere of a Lifetime movie on the case, Gone Mom: The Disappearance of Jennifer Dulos. The documentary begins by reflecting on the New Canaan mothers life before meeting Fotis Dulos, before turning to her swift marriage to the high-end homebuilder and then examining her disappearance and the criminal investigation that followed. It ends by acknowledging legislation crafted after Jennifer Dulos disappearance called Jennifers Law meant to reform the family court system. The documentary includes interviews with friends of Jennifer Dulos, including Carrie Luft, who has been the familys spokesperson since the May 2019 disappearance, along with journalists, Fotis Dulos former divorce attorney and state police Sgt. Ken Ventresca, who supervised the investigation. Wendy Metcalfe, Hearst Connecticut Media Groups vice president of content and editor-in-chief, was among those interviewed for the documentary. HCMG news photographs of key moments in the case, taken during months of coverage, are also featured in the documentary. Beyond the Headlines: The Jennifer Dulos Story is the story of a seemingly picture-perfect, wealthy Connecticut family whose lives get torn apart when the beloved and beautiful mother of five suddenly goes missing with the police pointing the finger at the most likely suspect: her husband, Lifetime said of the documentary. Jennifer Dulos was last seen shortly after dropping off her five children at school the morning of May 24, 2019. According to arrest warrants in the case, police believe her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, was lying in wait and attacked her in the garage of her New Canaan home. Jennifer and Fotis Dulos were involved in a contentious two-year divorce and custody dispute at the time of the disappearance. While the 50-year-olds remains have never been found, police said she is presumed dead based on the blood and other evidence found in her garage. Fotis Dulos died by suicide in January 2020 while facing murder, kidnapping and other charges in the case. His former girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution charges. His longtime friend and former attorney, Kent Mawhinney, has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder. The documentary will air at 10 p.m. Saturday, following the 8 p.m. airing of the movie Gone Mom: The Disappearance of Jennifer Dulos. The film stars Annabeth Gish as Jennifer Dulos and Warren Christie as Fotis Dulos. A+E Networks, Lifetimes parent company, is a joint venture between Hearst and The Walt Disney Company. New Castle, PA (16103) Today Scattered thunderstorms this morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 81F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Mostly clear. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 56F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. ZIMBABWE yesterday officially opened its first female open prison in Marondera, a development described as a milestone for the country in terms of improving the conditions of female inmates. First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa who presided over the ground-breaking ceremony, hailed the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) for modernising its prisons. The First Lady is also the Zimbabwe Female Open Prison Foundation Trust patron. I give credit to the government of Zimbabwe for approving the establishment of the female open prison. It is meant to meet the special needs of female inmates as well as serving as a vehicle for their rehabilitation, reintegration and empowerment to enhance their livelihoods after imprisonment. ZPCS has moved from the punitive way to a correctional thrust, a correctional approach, a dismissal from punishment. This signifies the observance of rights of inmates as well as empowering them with knowledge and life skills which are focused on helping them prepare for a decent life upon discharge, she said. The open prison system allows prisoners to complete their sentences with minimal supervision in a fenced environment, and are often not locked up in cells. They can also take up employment while serving their terms. Zimbabwe approved the concept of an prison open system in 1996 with the late former President Canaan Banana being the first inmate to occupy the Connemara Open Prison in Kwekwe in 2000. The Marondera Open Prison was funded by well-wishers, among them politicians and corporates. ZPCS Commissioner-General Moses Chihobvu said the new facility needed more assistance. To those who are yet to join hands with us, I also appeal to you to provoke your thoughts to play your part and make a difference in the lives of this disadvantaged group. Indeed together we can realise their potential and assist them to desist from their criminal behaviours, Chihobvu said. He said there were about 20 000 inmates across the countrys prisons, of which only 500 were females. Newsday Norwich cathedral fraudster must pay back 1 Norwich cathedral fraudster must pay back 1 A former treasurer of St John the Baptist Catholic Cathedral in Norwich, who is in jail for defrauding the cathedral of 235,000, has been ordered to pay back just 1 because he has no assets. Former volunteer treasurer Rene Mugenzi is currently serving 27 months in jail for the Fraud by Abuse of Position, which spread over a two-year period from April 2016 to May 2018. Today (June 2) at a short Proceeds of Crime hearing at Norwich Crown Court, the prosecution and his defence team agreed that there was no money left and Mugenzi had no assets. Judge Maureen Bacon QC said that of the 235,500 taken, Mugenzi would have to pay 1. He was given seven days to pay. Bishop Alan Hopes said he was disappointed with the ruling which he said was "not proportionate to the scale of the theft from the Cathedral parish." He added: "It is in stark contrast to the support and generosity of so many parishioners at the Cathedral and across the Diocese when they learnt of the theft. We continue to be very grateful for this support. Mugenzi blamed his gambling addiction for his crime. His barrister said the 45-year old had used gambling like a drug to deal with mental health issues. Canon David Paul, the Cathedral Dean, said: The Diocese and the Cathedral Parish Finance Committee have now put more robust measures in place to ensure, as far as possible, it will not happen again. We have fully reimbursed all third-party charities, where some of the money given to us in second collections was intended to go. All the losses are now against cathedral funds. Fortunately, we have been able to recover some of the funds from our insurers to help mitigate the losses. A full investigation has been carried out by the Vicar for Finance, Deacon James Hurst. On top of actions already implemented by Director of Finance and Resources, Matthew Fernandez-Graham, James made far-reaching recommendations for every parish in the Diocese. Article extracts from EDP24 Pictured above, St Johns Cathedral in Norwich. Picture by Brian Lafferty, ec-drones.uk Keith Morris, 03/06/2021 Hampton - Douglas M. LaPorte, 63, of Hampton, passed away on Sunday, June 6, 2021 at his home. He was born in Albany, NY on October 6, 1957 a son of Earl LaPorte and Rosemary (Pomakoy) Snyder. Doug was a volunteer firefighter in NY in his younger years and went on to work for various Walmart By IANS SAN FRANCISCO: Apple CEO Tim Cook has asked employees to return to office three days a week starting early September, as the tech giant begins to reopen its headquarters and other offices globally. Cook said that most workers will be asked to come in to the office on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, with the option of working remotely on Wednesdays and Fridays. Apple teams that need to work in-person will join office for four-five days a week, The Verge reported on Wednesday. "For all that we've been able to achieve while many of us have been separated, the truth is that there has been something essential missing from this past year: each other," Cook said in an email sent to employees. "Video conference calling has narrowed the distance between us, to be sure, but there are things it simply cannot replicate," he added. Apple employees also have the chance to work remotely for up to two weeks a year, "to be closer to family and loved ones, find a change of scenery, manage unexpected travel, or a different reason all your own". Cook also encouraged all employees to get vaccinated. Microsoft in April announced to delay the reopening of its offices till September, after it stated to slowly reopen Redmond, Washington-based headquarters and nearby campuses from March 29 with a six-stage hybrid workplace strategy. Microsoft, along with other tech giants like Apple, Facebook and Google, allowed its employees to work from home last year as the novel coronavirus pandemic spread in countries around the world. Google had said that employees who prefer to work remotely will also be able to do so until September 2021. PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa is today expected to swear in six judges of the Supreme Court from the High Court bench who will be expected to preside over the governments appeal against a ruling by the lower court nullifying the extension of Chief Justice Luke Malabas term of office. The judges to be sworn in include Judge President George Chiweshe and Justices Alphas Chitakunye, Samuel Kudya, Felistas Chatukuta, Joseph Musakwa and Hlekani Mwayera. The move is seen as a ploy by Mnangagwa to use the carrot and stick strategy on judges to secure a favourable judgment on Malabas appeal. The swearing in will also take place a day before High Court judge Justice Tawanda Chitapi hears an appeal by Chamunorwa Chingwe interdicting the Judicial Service Commission, Mnangagwa and Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi from appointing Supreme Court judges. In his application, Chingwe, who is represented by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, sought a relief that the respondents in the matter should adhere to section 180(4) of the Constitution before the appointment of the Supreme Court judges to enable persons who are not sitting judges of other courts to be considered for such appointments. The second respondent (Mnangagwa) recently appointed five judges of the Supreme Court to the Constitutional Court and in the process created at least five vacancies to the Supreme Court, Chingwe stated. I am also aware of a former judge of the Supreme Court, who was also dismissed and in the process creating an additional vacancy there. Therefore, I have a well-grounded apprehension that the respondents are in the process of appointing candidates for the Supreme Court to the exclusion of a whole class of persons who qualify for such appointment. He argued that there was no hurry to appoint Supreme Court judges as the country is endowed with capable acting judges sitting in the court. If any appointment is made prior to the granting of either the interim relief I seek or the final relief, I believe I have also made out a case that such would not render this matter fait accompli (presumably irreversible) and the appointments will be null and void, with the court being entitled to set them aside on these papers. There is, however, no warrant for the court to allow a clear illegality to proceed without being arrested. Justice Chitapi will hear the matter tomorrow at 1pm after directing parties to file their pleadings yesterday afternoon. But Mnangagwa is proceeding to appoint the judges before Justice Chitapi rules on Chingwes application. Most of the High Court judges were not cited when Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum executive director Musa Kika won an order to stop the extension of Malabas term of office by five years. Mnangagwas move has raised suspicion that he wants his preferred bench to deal with the Malaba case. Malabas matter has nearly paralysed the countrys judicial system as he wants to have his term extended based on Constitutional Amendment No 2 Act. However, the High Court led by Justice Happias Zhou last month ruled that the extension of the term of office of the countrys top judge by five years was illegal. Malabas term of office ended a fortnight ago after the High Court ruled that he had ceased to be the countrys top judicial officer on May 15, the day he turned 70. Justice Zhou ruled that the recent constitutional amendments did not apply to Malaba. Last week, Malaba resumed his duties on the belief that the High Court ruling had been suspended by an appeal filed by Attorney-General Prince Machaya and Ziyambi. However, Kika, who challenged the extension of Malabas term in the initial case, disputed that an appeal against a declarator suspended the operation of a judgment. He then asked the courts to find Malaba in contempt and to jail him for six months. Malaba filed his response on Tuesday, saying he legally resumed his duties following the appeal filed at the Supreme Court by Ziyambi and Machaya against the initial ruling.The Chief Justice said Kika failed to interpret the law, adding that the rights lawyers application was not based on a good cause as the process that led to his appointment by Mnangagwa was not set aside. Newsday By PTI HYDERABAD: Bharat Biotech on Thursday said the company and Ocugen Inc, its US partner for COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin, have agreed to expand their agreement to commercialise the jab in Canada also. Bharat Biotech on February 2 said it and Ocugen Inc a US-based biopharmaceutical company have entered into a definitive agreement to co-develop, supply, and commercialise, the India vaccine makers Covaxin for the USA market. Ocugen, which is working towards the submission of the emergency use application in the US, will simultaneously seek authorisation under interim order for emergency use in Canada Shankar Musunuri, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-founder of Ocugen said in a press release. "This amendment to expand our rights to commercialize Covaxin into Canada speaks of our strong relationship with Bharat Biotech and our joint dedication to bring this unique yet traditional vaccine to additional countries," Musunuri said. As the consideration for Bharat Biotechs grant of the rights to commercialise Covaxin in Canada, Ocugen will make an upfront payment and milestone payment upon first commercial sale in Canada to the Indian vaccine maker, in addition to sharing the profit from sales of the vaccine in that country. Similar to the US profit share arrangement, Ocugen will retain 45 per cent of the profits from sales of Covaxin in Canada, the release said. Krishna Ella, Chairman & Managing Director of Bharat Biotech said Covaxin has demonstrated an excellent safety record in human clinical trials and in vaccine administration under emergency use in India. "We are diligently working with Ocugen to bring Covaxin to the US market and now to the Canadian market," Ella said. With its potential effectiveness against multiple existing and emerging variants, Bharat Biotech believes that Covaxin is an important vaccine for everyone, including children, based on its unique yet traditional vaccine platform, he further said. By PTI BENGALURU: Kannada as answer to a query in Google on ugliest language in India sparked an outrage on Thursday and the Karnataka government said it would issue a legal notice to the tech leader, while that reply appeared to be a gaffe. With people expressing their indignation and leaders cutting across party lines slamming Google, it quickly removed Kannada "as the ugliest language in India" and apologised to the people saying the search result did not reflect its opinion. Karnataka Minister for Kannada, Culture and Forest, Aravind Limbavali told reporters that a legal notice would be served to Google for showing such an answer to that question. Later, he took to Twitter to express his outrage and demanded an apology from Google to Kannada and Kannadigas. Kannada language has a history of its own, having come into existence as many as 2,500 years ago, the minister said and added that the language has been the pride of Kannadigas through the ages. Showing Kannada in poor light "...is merely an attempt by Google to insult this pride of Kannadigas. I demand an apology from @Google ASAP to Kannada, Kannadigas. Legal action will be taken against Google for maligning the image of our beautiful language!" Limbavali tweeted. When contacted, a Google spokesperson said, "search isn't always perfect. Sometimes, the way content is described on the internet can yield surprising results to specific queries." "We know this is not ideal, but we take swift corrective action when we are made aware of an issue and are continually working to improve our algorithms. Naturally, these are not reflective of the opinions of Google, and we apologise for the misunderstanding and hurting any sentiments." Former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy denounced Google in a series of tweets for the outrageous answer to the language question. He sought to know why Google "behaves in an irresponsible manner" in terms of language. Others including the BJP's Bengaluru Central MP, P C Mohan slammed Google and asked it to apologise. Sharing the screenshot of the search on his Twitter handle, Mohan said Karnataka is home to the great Vijayanagara empire and the Kannada language has a rich heritage, a glorious legacy and a unique culture. "One of the worlds oldest languages, Kannada had great scholars who wrote epics much before Geoffrey Chaucer was born in the 14th century. Apologise @GoogleIndia." Bismah Malik By Express News Service BENGALURU: Two executives of IT major Infosys Pranshu Bhutra, Senior Corporate Counsel and Venkata Subramaniam VV, Senior Principal, Corporate Accounting Group may face suspension if allegations that they shared unpublished price sensitive information are proven, legal experts told this publication. On May 31, SEBI barred both the Infosys employees, as well as six other entities, from trading after finding prima facie that they had helped traders earn profits worth Rs 3 crore from June-July,2020. In August 2020, Infosys had fined its independent director Bobby Parikh for inadvertent trading by his wifes portfolio company, which violated the companys policies. Earlier, the company had also been challenged by a whistleblower letter accusing CEO Salil Parekh of manipulating accounts to influence financial results. Parekh, was eventually found not guilty by the companys investigation committee. Meanwhile, SEBIs May 31 order says that entities including Tesora Capital and Capital One Partners were found involved in multiple instances of future and option trading, especially during the time when quarterly financial results were announced. SEBI said that it is in possession of multiple email exchanges, phone recordings and transactions which establish that they violated market regulations. There is definitely complacency at the top executive level, especially among those who were in possession of price sensitive information and passed it on. The companys insider trading policies may even warrant the suspension of those involved... This will dent the firms corporate governance standards, Neeraj Dubey, Partner Singh& Associates said. By Express News Service Chattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has termed the non-inclusion of members from Congress-ruled states in the Group of Ministers for GST cut on Covid-19 healthcare items an attempt to undermine "the spirit of cooperative federalism". The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has constituted an eight-member panel of ministers, which does not include any member from Congress-ruled states, for exemption from tax on essential goods related to Corona. The Chhattisgarh CM has said that ministers from Congress-ruled states, who are part of the GST Council, should be included in the GoM (Group of Ministers) constituted to discuss the GST rates on COVID relief material. "It is unfortunate not to include any members of Congress-ruled states and is against the spirit of cooperative federalism," he said in a statement. ALSO READ | Deliberate bid to keep Congress out of GoM formed after GST meet: Ashok Gehlot In the GST Council meeting, the ministers of Congress-ruled states had proposed a relaxation of GST in this regard to 0.1 per cent rate instead of 5 per cent. An eight-member committee was constituted by the chairman of the GST Council to look into the matter when no consensus was achieved in the council. Baghel said that not a single Congress-ruled state's minister has been made a member in the committee deliberately so that this demand is not considered. Bhupesh Baghel had also raised the issue in the video conference with the Prime Minister, urging him for exemption in GST in goods related to Covid-19. Ashwini M Sripad By Express News Service BENGALURU: With Covid exposing the failing health infrastructure of the city with patients facing a shortage of beds and ICUs, MLAs from Bengaluru, including ministers, are proposing one or two government hospitals in their constituency. In the next two to three years, Bengaluru is expected to get at least 20 government hospitals with a minimum 100-bed capacity. The state government is keen on constructing one government hospital at every constituency, as people cant always afford to go to one of the plenty private hospitals in the city. At present, some government hospitals in Bengaluru come under BBMP, while some fall under the medical education and some under health department. This apart, there are more than 140 primary health centres. Now, MLAs and ministers are looking for land to construct one government hospital in each of the 27 constituencies. Recently, Minister Aravind Limbavali, who is also an MLA from Mahadevapura constituency, announced that a 250-bed hospital will start at his constituency. Dasarahalli MLA Manjunath announced a 100-bed hospital at his. Speaking to The New Indian Express, Minister V Somanna, who is also Govindarajanagars MLA, said that for the time being, they have converted Unani Hospital and Dialysis Centre to a Covid Care Centre. However, as a long-term measure, we want to start two more hospitals, including a 200-bed hospital at MC Layout and 100-bed one at Pantharapalya. Both hospitals are expected to be complete in next few months, he added. Dr KV Thrilok Chandra, Commissioner of Karnataka Health, Family Welfare and Ayush Services, said that they want to construct one hospital at every assembly constituency. Depending on the land availability, they will be constructed and will be government-funded. By Express News Service BHUBANESWAR: Dip in oxygen saturation level among Covid-19 patients is the biggest concern in the second wave of the virus. In a bid to address the crisis, the Odisha Society of Americas in association with actor-philanthropist Sabyasachi Mishras volunteer group Smile Force and Sparsh Hospitals on Wednesday has set up an oxygen shelter at Patia here. The oxygen shelter, inaugurated on Wednesday, has been set up at a banquet hall having capacity of 30 beds. Several Covid-19 patients from across Odisha are coming to Bhubaneswar for treatment and many of them with low oxygen level are unable to get hospital beds instantly, Mishra told The New Indian Express. The attendants of such patients can contact the oxygen shelter officials on 7894433829 and 8093822322 as a stop gap arrangement. Mishra said necessary permission has already been taken from Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to run the shelter which is equipped with 60 oxygen cylinders. Though no treatment will be offered to the patients apart from providing them oxygen support, dedicated doctors and staff will remain present at the facility to advise the attendants whether the patients should be immediately rushed to a dedicated Covid-19 facility, said Mishra. The patients will be allowed to stay in the shelter for about two hours. If the patients attendants find it tough to get a hospital bed, either BMC will look into the matter or they will be shifted to Sparsh Hospital. Mishra said the shelter will provide free food to the patients and their attendants during their stay. It also has seven ambulances to shift the patients to hospitals in the city. All our services are free of cost and will continue for at least two months, said Mishra. T Muruganandham And Omjasvin MD By Express News Service CHENNAI: The State government on Thursday announced that it would establish a new Rs 250-crore worth multi-purpose super speciality hospital for south Chennai at the King Institute of Preventive Medicine & Research, Guindy, to mark the birth anniversary of former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi. According to official sources at the health department, the King Institute is currently functioning as an exclusive Covid hospital. Only after the cases decrease, steps may be taken to add additional departments and specialities. It is a long process. After Covid cases reduce, we will get a clarity on how this will take shape as a multi-speciality hospital, said sources. Presently, an exclusive 525-bed Covid facility is functioning out of the campus. Apart from this, the institute also processes RT-PCR test samples. The facility was established by former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami during the first wave of the pandemic. The move has however, given rise to speculation in some quarters that the super speciality hospital at Government Omandurar Estate, located in the northern part of the city, may be restored to its original status as the State Assembly cum Secretariat complex. However, senior officials in the State government said so far, there is no hint about this and that it is unlikely in the present situation. When asked about the possibility of restoring the Assembly hall and secretariat complex at the Omandurar estate, a senior official told Express, As of now, there is no hint on this proposal. Since the new Assembly hall cum secretariat complex is a pet project of late CM M Karunanidhi, who took extraordinary interest in its building, it would remain a historical place for the present ruling party. So, perhaps after the pandemic subsides and after steps for building the new super speciality hospital at Guindy gains momentum, the issue may come up. The complex was built in 2010 to mark Karunanidhis completion of 50 years as a legislator. The former CM had taken personal interest in the construction of this complex and got it inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on March 13, 2010. Shifting was done for admin convenience However, 17 months later in 2011, the AIADMK government, led by J Jayalalithaa, converted the set of buildings that housed the Assembly and the secretariat departments into a super speciality hospital. On May 20 that year, Jayalalithaa justified her governments decision to bring back the Assembly hall and secretariat to Fort St George and denied allegations that she had effected this out of political animosity against the previous regime. The shifting was done mainly for administrative convenience, Jayalalithaa had said and observed that it was the DMK which stalled all the efforts taken by her previous government to construct a new Assembly complex. Three months later, on August 19, 2011, Jayalalithaa announced that the new Secretariat complex, now kept unused, will house a super multi-speciality hospital on par with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), to cater to medical needs of the poor and downtrodden, and for running a new medical college. Changes Jayalalithaa announced that the new Secretariat complex, now kept unused, will house a super multi-speciality hospital on par with AIIMS, to cater to medical needs of the poor Other announcements By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Taking note of vaccine beneficiaries not getting their second dose in stipulated time, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday said if the Delhi government could not ensure that people get both the doses of Covaxin within the scheduled time, then it should not have started so many vaccination centres with much pomp and splendour. Justice Rekha Palli issued notice to the Delhi government asking it whether it can provide the second dose of Covaxin to those who got the first jab, before expiry of the interval of six weeks between the two doses. The court also issued notice to the Centre on two pleas to make the second dose of both Covaxin and Covishield available in the national capital. Why did you (Delhi government) start it (vaccination) if you were not sure you can provide the second dose also? You should have stopped. Maharashtra stopped when it found it cannot provide second dose. You opened so many vaccination centres everywhere with so much pomp and splendour and now you say you dont know when the second dose stock would be available, the court said while hearing the two petitions. During the hearing, Delhi government additional standing counsel Anuj Aggarwal told the court that matter of getting stocks was presently between the state and the manufacturer. He said even he is yet to receive his second dose and added that there is scarcity of Covaxin. Aggarwal said he will seek instructions on by when the stock of Covaxin would be available. By Express News Service KOCHI: The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Kerala Police on Wednesday brought gangster Ravi Pujari to Kochi from Bengaluru as part of the probe into the beauty parlour shooting case of 2018. After landing in the Kochi airport by 8.50pm, the officials took him to the ATS office in Nedumbassery, where he will be interrogated till June 8. The sleuths will try to ferret out information from Pujari about the people tasked with recruiting the two youths who fired at the salon owned by model-actor Leena Maria Paul in December 2018. He will also be questioned about a few cases registered in Kasaragod in which his role is suspected. On Monday, the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Kochi granted ATS custody of Pujari, who was lodged at a jail in Bengaluru, till June 8. Due to logistical issues, the team couldnt bring Poojari to Kochi on Tuesday. Kerala Police had been pursuing the extradition of Pujari relentlessly after he was intercepted following an Interpol request in 2019. After he was extradited to India in 2020, Keralas Crime Branch tried to get him in custody. He had hundreds of cases registered against him in Karnataka and Maharashtra, compared to two cases in Kerala. So, it took more than one year for us to get his custody. However, we were the first to submit the documents to the Interpol for his extradition, a former Crime Branch officer said. Last year, the case was handed over to the ATS. The case pertains to the incident on December 15, 2018, when two assailants on a motorcycle fired at the beauty parlour owned by actor Leena Maria Paul at Panampilly Nagar. Later, Pujari called a TV channel and claimed the attack was carried out by him. He had sought money from the actor a month before the incident. The police could arrest three persons including two youths who had fired the bullets at the salon. Politician P C George had also claimed that he had received death threats from Pujari. By PTI KOLKATA: A bus was turned into a COVID vaccination centre, which will travel to different markets of Kolkata to vaccinate priority groups, including vegetable and fish sellers, who cannot go for inoculation leaving their businesses for hours. The 'vaccination on wheels' initiative was launched by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) on Thursday in cooperation with the Health and Transport departments of the West Bengal government, minister Firhad Hakim said. An air-conditioned bus was provided by the Transport Department for vaccinating priority groups at the different markets. "Since these people cannot go to a vaccination centre leaving their business for several hours, we decided to bring the facility to their doorsteps," Hakim told reporters after the inauguration of the programme at Posta Bazaar, the largest wholesale market of vegetables and groceries in the city. He said that the number of buses used for the purpose will be increased soon. "There are several buses available and using these, we can vaccinate the people at the markets itself," he said. Minister for Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Shashi Panja said that the Posta Bazar Merchants' Association, transporters and porters had written to her, seeking vaccination of these people. "I am happy that the vaccination on wheels programme in the state was inaugurated from here," she said. Transport Secretary Rajesh Sinha, Municipal Commissioner Binod Kumar and WBTC Managing Director Rajanvir Singh Kapur were present at the programme. ALSO WATCH: South Africa: Report clears Eskom CEO of wrongdoing Eskom Group Chief Executive (GCE) Andre de Ruyter has been cleared of allegations of racism by an independent inquiry. The inquiry, led by Advocate Ishmael Semenya, was established by the Eskom Board to probe a series of allegations made by Eskoms former Chief Procurement Officer (CPO), Solly Tshitangano, against De Ruyter. The allegations included the abuse of power, racial discrimination, poor governance, irregular recruitment, irregular staff appointments, and unlawful procurement. According to a statement released on Wednesday, Tshitangano even wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa about the Eskom GCE. Advocate Semenya reported that he interviewed witnesses and considered 1 107 pages of documents, Eskom explained. Tshitangano alleged that De Ruyter was guilty of racism and preferred a white company above another that is black-owned on racial grounds. Advocate Semenya reports that Mr Tshitangano denied making these allegations. Despite knowing that these allegations of racism were wrong, egregious, false, baseless, and lacking any substantiation the CPO did not publicly deny them, the statement read. Semenya also found that there was no substantiation for alleging that the GCE has conducted himself in any manner that would amount to racist practice. He also said there was no proof of poor governance on the part of the GCE or Eskom. Advocate Semenya found in regard to this allegation that, nothing can be more bizarre. On the allegations regarding recruitment, the report stated that the claims were wild and highly irresponsible, particularly because it lacks any substantiation. This is after Tshitangano purported that the GCE was responsible for non-compliance with the Eskom internal recruitment processes and that the State-owned entity tolerates a culture of corruption, nepotism, and patronage. De Ruyter was also cleared on claims that procurement processes were unlawful after he found the accusations to be without merit. I, accordingly, cannot find in Eskom, anyone guilty of any wrongdoing and would be making no recommendation to that effect, Semenya added. The Eskom Board has since considered Semenyas report and said it had no hesitation in accepting it in its entirety. "The board also noted that in a separate disciplinary hearing concerning poor performance chaired by Advocate Cassim SC, that Tshitangano had been found guilty and dismissed. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2021-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. U.S. only brings harms by making COVID-19 origin sourcing a thing of CIA 17:26, June 03, 2021 By Zhong Sheng ( People's Daily The White House recently released a so-called statement on the investigation into the origins of COVID-19. In the statement, which is a little more than 300 words, "Intelligence Community" (IC) is mentioned six times, but no trace of "science" is found. Tourists are seen near the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, May 14, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) The so-called statement signaled one point that the U.S. is trying to make origin tracing of COVID-19 a thing of the CIA. Some U.S. politicians are disappointed as the so-called "lab leak theory" has been denied by the WHO and the international science community. That's why they are placing their hope on the intelligence community, trying to answer a science question with political means, so that they can continue blaming China. They'd rather believe the so-called intelligence report which is neither professional nor transparent, than trust authoritative and objective research results. How absurd it is! It was not the first time for the U.S. intelligence community to make a lie. In 2003, the CIA accused Iraq of creating weapons of mass destruction and ignited flames of war in the innocent country. What followed were numerous deaths of civilians and collapses of families. However, facts proved that the so-called intelligence was cooked by the U.S., and the so-called evidence was merely a bottle of detergent. Besides, Washington also launched air strikes on Syria, saying relevant intelligence showed that the Syrian government had employed chemical weapons. But the fact was that the Syria Civil Defence, sponsored by the U.S. and the West, faked a video of Syria launching a chemical attack. U.S. intelligence organizations are totally immoral. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who once served as the director of the CIA, once revealed the inside story of American intelligence agencies, saying "We lied, we cheated, we stoleWe had entire training courses. It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment." Today, by making origin tracing of COVID-19 a thing of the CIA, some U.S. politicians are just trying to trap other countries. They believe such brainwashing could make people buy the so-called "lab leak theory" and stigmatize China, but they underestimated people's intelligence. Financial Times, citing multiple incumbent and former U.S. officials, noted that the U.S. intelligence community is far from reaching anything that is called even a halfway firm conclusion. As a matter of fact, a "definitive conclusion" is still far off, but some politicians in the U.S. Congress just can't wait to see China being held accountable for the pandemic. Origin tracing shall be done by scientists, not intelligence agents; it shall adhere to justice, not a presumption of guilt; it shall pursue cooperation, not confrontation. The U.S., ordering its intelligence community to investigate into the origin of the virus out of political targets, will only hurt international cooperation on COVID-19 origin tracing, which is exactly a practice that needs to be investigated into. (Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People's Daily to express its views on foreign policy.) (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) The Prosecutor General Mr Kumbirai Hodzi yesterday got the green light to contest a recent High Court judgment clearing fugitive ex-Cabinet minister Walter Mzembi and three others of grabbing four vehicles donated to the Government ahead of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) conference held in Zimbabwe eight years ago. The High Court in March this year dismissed the PGs application for forfeiture of the vehicles, three Ford Ranger T6 double cab vehicles and a Tata Xenon. The vehicles were bought from funds donated by the corporate world ahead of the UNTWO conference. But the PG contends that he was never advised of the judgment day, hence his office failed to appeal within the permissible time frame. He had to seek condonation to file the appeal out of time, an application that was granted by the Supreme Court yesterday. Mzembi, who was Tourism Minister, ex-permanent secretary Margaret Sangarwe and two hired UNTWO consultants Sussana Makombe Kuhudzai and Dzingira Mushore allegedly retained the vehicles after the conference against an agreement that the vehicles were to be handed over to Government. Although the criminal case against the suspects was still pending at the magistrates court, Justice David Mangota went on to clear Mzembi, Margaret Sangarwe and the two consultants of any wrongdoing saying, Their hands remain as white as snow. Supreme Court judge, Justice Nicholas Mathonsi yesterday granted the PGs application to contest the decision. Acting Deputy Prosecutor General Mr Justin Uladi yesterday said the case was not yet over and the PG will now file an appeal. He clarified that the High Court had only been asked to rule on whether or not the vehicles should be forfeited, saying the criminal case was still to be determined by the magistrates court. The judgment which came out on March 12 was about forfeiture of motor vehicles and it had nothing to do with criminal charges they are facing. Further, we are appealing the decision and we have just been granted condonation to appeal out of time by Justice Mathonsi this afternoon. We could not appeal within the time frame provided by the rules as we had not been advised of the date for handing down the judgment, said Mr Uladi. On appeal, the State will argue that the vehicles belong to Government and they must be forfeited. It is submitted that vis, the first ground of appeal, the funds which purchased the disputed vehicles were donated to Government as per Professional Organiser Contract between the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality and the fundraising consultants who were to be remunerated 2-3 percent of the success fee. Consequently, the decision by the respondents to petition property whose beneficial owner was Government of Zimbabwe constituted an act of unlawful conversion to own use, which renders the said vehicles proceeds of crime . . . The State also argues that the person who purchased one of the vehicles could have verified its ownership before parting with money. The vehicle, according to the registration book, belonged to UNTWO and failure to verify ownership resulted in the unlawful sale. In his application for a civil forfeiture order, Mr Hodzi says: In 2011, Zimbabwe and Zambia won the bid to co-host the 20th United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Conference in August 2013. Government assigned Mzembi to come up with various ways to raise money for hosting the conference. Mzembi engaged Kuhudzayi and Mushore as consultants to carry out fund-raising activities on behalf of the ministry. Mr Hodzi said the ministrys mandate was to fund-raise with local and international corporate companies, donors and financiers. This led to the signing of a professional conference organiser (PCO) contract on May 15, 2012, between the ministry and the contractor valid for 24 months. Kuhudzayi and Mushore were signatories to the PCO contract. Remuneration for consultants was based on a success fee between two to three percent depending on the value raised. Kuhudzayi and Mushore formed a consultancy company called Conventions Africa and Mzembi, using a Government letterhead, wrote letters requesting donations, read the application. Corporates responded positively and Mbada Diamonds donated US$815 000. Using the money, the pair bought two Ford Ranger T6 double cabs for US$52 493,00 and US$53 683 and a Ford Ranger double cab for US$44 534. The vehicles were to be used before and during the hosting of the UNWTO and they were registered in a UNWTO trust which was not registered with the Registrar of Deeds. Sangarwe took possession of a Ford Ranger T6 (registration number ACU 6801) and did not surrender it after the conference. The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) investigated the matter, the vehicle was recovered and Sangarwe charged. Kuhudzayi took the other Ford Ranger T6 (ACU 3707) contrary to Government procedures. She sold the vehicle to Grey Hama and was later arrested. Mzembi took a Ford Ranger (ACU 7946). In March 2013, Mzembi approached Mimosa Mine through its chairman, Mr Winston Chitando, who donated a Tata Xenon double cab (ACX 5409) for use at the conference, read the application. Mushore took possession of the vehicle. Herald By PTI MUMBAI: BJP MP and actor Kirron Kher has expressed her gratitude to fans for their love and support as she battles multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. In April, her actor-husband Anupam Kher released a statement informing that Kirron Kher was undergoing treatment in Mumbai and was on her path to recovery. In her maiden video appearance since her diagnosis, Kirron Kher, 68, greeted her fans during her son, actor Sikandar Kher's Instagram live on late Wednesday evening. Sikandar Kher began the live session with a glimpse of his mother's feet as she rested on a couch and asked her to say hello to her fans. "Thank you for constantly asking me about her. She is doing a lot better," Sikandar Kher said. Kirron Kher interrupted him, saying she wanted to show her face and speak to her well wishers directly. "Hello. Thank you everybody for your good wishes and love. Thank you very much," the veteran, who looked slightly frail, said with a smile. A sling could also be seen on her left arm. The actor, known for films like "Devdas", "Khamosh Paani", "Veer Zaara" and "Dostana", took her second dose of COVID vaccine last month. By ANI MUMBAI: Known for imparting awareness on the COVID-19 pandemic through quirky posts on social media, the Mumbai Police has once again urged citizens to remain indoors by taking a dig at actors and rumoured couple Tiger Shroff and Disha Patani. For the unversed, Tiger and Disha were booked for allegedly violating COVID-19 restrictions on Wednesday. According to the police, the two were found roaming at Bandstand Promenade and could not give a valid reason to the police for being out of their homes after 2 pm. A day later, the Mumbai Police on Thursday, used the names of the actors' films to take a dig at them via a tweet. "In the ongoing 'War' against the virus, going 'Malang' on the streets of Bandra cost dearly to two actors who have been booked under sections 188, 34 IPC by Bandra Police Station. We request all Mumbaikars to avoid unnecessary 'Heropanti' which can compromise on safety against #COVID19," the tweet read. In the ongoing War against the virus, going Malang on the streets of Bandra cost dearly to two actors who have been booked under sections 188, 34 IPC by Bandra PStn . We request all Mumbaikars to avoid unnecessary Heropanti which can compromise on safety against #COVID19 Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) June 3, 2021 Here 'War' and 'Heropanti' are being referred to as Tiger's movies while 'Malang' is Disha's film. However, Tiger and Disha were not directly named. "The way @MumbaiPolice tweet on Twitter regarding every matter is unique and amazing. Awareness in sarcastic way is key of @MumbaiPolice," a user responded to the Mumbai Police's tweet on Disha and Tiger. "Please keep an eye on them as they could turn out to be a Baghi," another user quipped. Tiger and Disha have been rumoured to be in a relationship, although they maintain that they are just good friends. The duo starred together in the 2018 film 'Baaghi 2'. She also featured in a special song, 'Do You Love Me', in Tiger's last release, 'Baaghi 3'. The Maharashtra government on Sunday extended the lockdown-like restrictions till 15 June but also stated that relaxations will be granted depending on the COVID-19 positivity rate and availability of oxygen beds and other supplies. In Mumbai, some restrictions were relaxed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) after the city recorded a decline in COVID-19 cases. The civic body has so far allowed non-essential shops to operate between 7 am to 2 pm on alternate days from Monday to Friday for the next 15 days. By Express News Service Actor Yash has announced to donate Rs 1.5 Crore as a relief to the Kannada film industry workers who have been affected by COVID-19 induced lockdown. The actor has taken a unique strategy of dividing the donation amount into 3000 parts so that each family will be getting Rs 5000 in their bank account. Film workers from 21 crafts of the Kannada industry will be benefited through Yashs initiative. He announced the news on his Twitter handle in both Kannada and English. Yash wrote, "COVID-19 has proved to be an invisible enemy that has dismantled the lives of innumerable people across our country. My own Kannada film fraternity has been badly affected as well." He also added that this donation might not serve as a solution to the loss, but as a ray of hope to the workers. "While I am very well aware that this may not serve as a solution to the loss and the pains caused by the situation we are in, it is a ray of hope," he added. Earlier actors of Sandalwood like Upendra, Shivarajkumar, Darshan, Puneeth Rajkumar, Sudeep and Duniya Vijay, Sriimurali, Bhuvan Ponanna, extended helping hands to the people by donating money, distributing food and buying oxygen concentrators. Female actors Harshika Poonacha, and Pranitha Subhash, Ragini Dwivedi and Sanjjanaa Galrani among others did their part to the ones in need of help. Actor and politician Sumalatha Ambareesh, and producer Rockline Venkatesh are conducting a free vaccination drive from June 1 with an aim to vaccinate the entire workers of the industry. CYNTHIA CHANDRAN By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Local girl Ann Andrews is earning rave reviews with her education startup Techfunic. The Ed-Tech startup based in the US enables children on the American mainland to be tutored in Maths and Technology by students. ACET (College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram) alumna, most of Anns tutors are currently students of CET. Ann, who is back home right now, is working with the Kerala Technological University (KTU) to scale this up by sourcing student tutors via colleges as a merit internship. Ann had left for the US in 2006 after she passed out from CET in Computer Science. It was in Covid-19s wake in 2020 that her daughter, Tessa, a ninth grader, was figuring out how to go about the online classes, especially learning math. Ann decided to reach out to her Alma mater-- third year engineering students at CET. At first it was hardly easy, but eventually Ann found the right online tutor. Since then, things have been on a roll, which set her thinking about launching a startup company. Thus Techfunic, which provides personalised tutoring for children aged 8-15 in Mathematics and Technology, was founded. Until then, Ann was working as Technology Programme Manager with Bank of New York Mellon, an investment banking services holding company. Through word of mouth among Indian American communities, especially the Malayali diaspora, the startup became an instant hit. So the children there used to get up early and learn Math for an hour or else, they will sleep until afternoon. The various Indian communities asked me, since I am already taking the trouble to teach my children Math, whether their wards could also be brought in. Then another request came in the form of online tutoring in Malayalam, I was game for it as I had a love for my mother tongue, said Ann, who was the state topper in Malayalam in Class X. Thus Bhashafunic took shape. In Bhashafunic, three to five students learn spoken Malayalam, which for them was until then what they heard their parents chitchat at home, through online tutors like Shalin Mathew. The 25-year-old Shalin from Enathu in Adoor had been on the lookout for a job when the principal of her college sounded out her on Anns startup. Now, it is almost a year since I have started giving online Malayalam tutorials or American students. My approach has always been to have a cool -chill vibe with my students. I feel that it is a sort of a cultural exchange programme I am doing, Shalin told TNIE. Though Anns online tutors are mostly female students, she has also managed to get on board several male students of CET, which helps them earn while they learn. Ann sees to it that her online tutors are paid really well, twice as much as the existing rates. Abhishek Jayachandran, a third year electrical engineering student from Ernakulam, is one such online tutor. Initially, I was nervous, not knowing about the teaching mode for American students. But soon, I fell into the groove and have become a professional over the past year and come up with a storyline about the subject, he said. Rajesh Kumar Thakur By Express News Service PATNA: Bihar will soon have the multi-purpose 130 MW Hydroelectric project executed over the Kosi river in Supaul district at Dagmara. Recently, the Bihar Cabinet approved this project giving a major impetus towards its works. Commonly called as the Dagmara Multipurpose Hydroelectric Project, it is coming up in Bhaptiyahi block of Supaul district over Koshi River, about 31 km downstream from Koshi barrage. Secretary of Bihars energy department, Sanjeev Hans, said that the project will have the total capacity of generating 130 MW energy, in which 17 units of 7.65 MW will be installed with the availability of 5.87 meters-head for power generation. In this project, concrete barrage, earth dam and power house are to be constructed whose length would be 945 meters, 5750 meters and 283.20 meters respectively. The estimated cost of construction of this project is at Rs.2478.24 crore and the National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) will construct this project. A bilateral agreement was signed between the NHPC and the Bihar State Hydroelectric Power Corporation for next 40 years, he added. Hans, who is himself monitoring the progress of this project under the directions of both CM Nitish Kumar and Power Minister Bijendra Yadav, said that the state government has approved to grant Rs 700 crore for next five years to this project. Khawja Jamal, Senior Protocol Officer of Bihar State Power Holding Company Ltd said that the Bihar State Jal Vidyut Nigam has invited two-stage tender for preparation of detailed project report of Dagmara project. After necessary approval of the state government, work was allotted to the selected agency M/s Roddick Consultant, New Delhi for Rs.11.68 crore in July 2019, Khawja Jamal said. He further stated that the detail project report after obtaining all clearances from the Central Electricity Authority, Central Water Commission, Geological Survey of India, Central Soil and Material Research Station, Water Resources under Ministry of Jal Shakti, River and Ganga Rejuvenation Department and the Inland Waterways Authority of India has been submitted to the Central Electricity Authority on 27 May 2021 for technical approval. Rajesh Kumar Thakur By Express News Service PATNA: Bihar is all set to be the first state in the country to give quota for girls in admission to both medical and engineering colleges. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday directed officials to reserve one-third of all seats in medical and engineering colleges for girls. A decision was made during a review meeting with officials from the departments of health, and science and technology on the proposed bills on opening new medical and engineering colleges in the state. The more engineering college and medical college will be better managed with the establishment of engineering university and medical university in the state. And also, studying in colleges will also be good, Kumar said. Kumar told the officers that this move to reserve the seats for girls will increase the number of girl students in both medical and engineering colleges. This would be a unique thing. With this, girls in the state will be more motivated for higher and technical education, he said, adding that many engineering and medical colleges are being opened in districts across the state. Our aim is that boys and girls of Bihar do not have to go out (of state) to study engineering and medical, Kumar said. Manish Anand By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The BJPs central leadership on Wednesday backed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, quelling rumours about an impending leadership change in the state, ahead of the next years Assembly elections. However, the partys central leadership will seek to iron out the rough edges in the relationship between the UP government and the state unit of the saffron party. Sources say a rejig of the party organisation and the induction of a few new faces in the state council of ministers can be expected. There were rumours that the BJPs national leadership is planning a major rejig in Uttar Pradesh that may see Chief Minister Adityanath removed. The BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh and party vice president Radha Mohan Singh, also the party in charge of Uttar Pradesh, has been meeting senior party leaders and ministers in the state. They will soon submit a report to the partys national president J P Nadda. Based on the report, Amit Shah and Nadda are likely to chart out the next course of action in the state. Sources say during these meetings, party leaders expressed their disappointment with the government over the handling of the Covid pandemic and well as a growing disconnect between party leaders and the government. Sources say the central leadership of the party will also consider changing the president of the partys state unit Swatantra Dev Singh, despite strong resistance from a section within the state unit that says its too late to make a leadership change, with polls just eight months away. Sources say while the Central leadership wants A K Sharma, a former senior official in the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) drafted in the state Cabinet with a key portfolio, the chief minister continues to oppose the idea and wants Sharma to continue his works in the eastern part of the state. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to senior journalist Tarun Tejpal on the appeal filed by the Goa government against his recent acquittal in the 2013 rape case. The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court orally observed that the sessions courts judgment acquitting journalist Tarun Tejpal was like a manual for rape victims as it goes into how a victim should respond in such cases. The judge observed that there is a prima facie case made out against Tejpal in the appeal and asked for all records from the trial court to be sent to the high court and slated the hearing for June 24. In its appeal challenging the acquittal of Tejpal, the Goa government has said that it was a fit case for retrial, citing the trial courts lack of understanding of a victims post-trauma behaviour and censuring of her character. The Goa government has said the trial court considered the evidence given by defence witnesses as gospel truth, but at the same time discredited without any finding the evidence given by the victim and the prosecution witnesses. It also claimed that the trial court completely ignored the most telling piece of evidence in the case (the apology e-mail) which established the guilt of the accused beyond a shadow of doubt. On May 21, sessions judge Kshama Joshi acquitted Tejpal in the case where he was accused of sexually assaulting his then woman colleague in a lift of a five-star hotel in Goa in November 2013 when they were attending an event. The trial court had questioned the womans conduct, noting she did not exhibit any kind of normative behaviour such as trauma and shock which a victim of sexual assault might plausibly show. Subsequently, the Goa government filed an appeal before the high Court calling for the setting aside of the acquittal order and seeking a retrial. By PTI NEW DELHI: A seizure of more than 56 kg of heroin, the highest-ever quantity recovered along the India-Pakistan border in Rajasthan, was effected by the BSF after it thwarted an alleged narcotics-smuggling bid by Pakistani operatives, officials said on Thursday. "The incident took place on the intervening night of June 2-3 when troops sensed suspicious movement at the border. A BSF sentry opened fire, forcing the smugglers to run," a spokesperson of the Border Security Force (BSF) said. Officials said the incident was reported from the Bandli border post of Bikaner sector in the desert area of the border state. During a search, 54 packets of suspected heroin, weighing 56.63 kg, were recovered, the BSF spokesperson said. This was the highest-ever recovery of drugs during an anti-smuggling operation in the Rajasthan sector, he added. BSF DIG Pushpendra Rathore said the narcotic substance was being smuggled in pieces of PVC pipes. The spokesperson said the force "foiled attempts by Pakistani smugglers to push contraband substances into India". Sana Shakil By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to file an affidavit explaining how it will achieve its target of vaccinating a substantial number of people by the year-end when the existing production of vaccines suggests otherwise. A special bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, L N Rao and S Ravindra Bhat cited the current rate of vaccine manufacturing to question the Centres claim that it would fully vaccinate 100 crore people by the year-end and said statistics indicate it would take 12 months to vaccinate the population between 18-44 years of age. Doubting the basis of the Centres preparedness, the court said the government seemed to have based its projections based on many vaccines, which are still under production, clearing the necessary trials. Such an approach, the court said, would be misguided. There is material to suggest that the augmentation of vaccine production will be inadequate to vaccinate the population between 18-44 years of age, the court said. The order read: The total population of this age group is 59 crore, which would require around 122 crore doses. Based on reports, the existing manufacturers (Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech India Limited) will be able to produce less than 10 crore doses per month. Optimistically, around 15-20 crore doses of Sputnik V will be available per month. At this rate, it would take around 12 months for the population in this age group to be inoculated, by which time the virus may have mutated, causing further waves of the pandemic. Appearing for the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had told the court that the government is expected to vaccinate Indias entire population by the end of this year. Terming the approach as being misguided, the court observed that the efficacy of vaccines that are currently in the stage of clinical trials is uncertain and cant be guaranteed. About 80 people have so far registered as voters in Matabeleland South with officials raising concerns the province risks having fewer constituencies and wards when the delimitation exercise is completed. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) resumed voter registration exercise on April 1. The delimitation process involves coming up with a minimum threshold of registered voters to make the countrys 210 National Assembly constituencies and is conducted using the number of registered voters in an administrative jurisdiction. In Matabeleland South, only four of the 13 constituencies meet the minimum threshold plus or minus 20 percent of 26 308 voters per constituency. Speaking to CITE, Provincial Elections Officer (PEO) Rabson Nyoni said only 82 people have registered so far. Very few people are tricking in, our offices are not busy yet, said Nyoni. AIf the members of the public come to register in large numbers the target can be achieved, especially if people respond to the national exercise. During the anticipated voter registration exercise we will open registration centres at the ward level and operate within the communities. By so doing the uptake will improve as people will not incur any travelling costs. Nyoni urged potential voters to take advantage of the current window to register as voters. Statistics of registered voters in Mat South are shocking. I, therefore, urge everyone who is eligible to vote to come and register since our offices are open. People must not wait for the last minute rush, he said adding that diaspora based Zimbabweans must come and have their names in the voters roll regardless of them taking part in the real election. Currently, Beitbridge East constituency has 34 733 registered voters, Gwanda Central 27 592, UMzingwane 25 473 and Insiza North 25 858. If the remaining constituencies fail to meet the threshold chances of them being merging are very high. Bulilima East and West could be merged as they currently have 17 977 and 15 966 voters respectively while Matobo South and North have 15 824 and 19 103 voters respectively. Mangwe has 18 486 voters, Insiza South 14 664 voters, Gwanda South 15 523 voters, North 16 173 and Beitbridge West has 16 427 voters. Cite.org.zw By PTI NEW DELHI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said a decision on holding the class 12 exams in the state will be taken after the CBSE announces modalities for marking the students. Addressing a press conference on his first visit to the national capital as chief minister, he also said that all willing residents of Assam will be vaccinated by the end of December as more COVID-19 vaccines will be arriving in the state from this month onwards. Asked whether the class 12 exams conducted by the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council will be cancelled, Sarma said a decision in this regard will be taken after consultation with all stakeholders as it is a question of a students' future. The Union government on Tuesday decided to cancel the CBSE Class 12 board exams amid the COVID-19 pandemic with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that the decision has been taken in the interest of students and that the anxiety among students, parents and teachers must be put to an end. "We welcome the decision taken by the prime minister. We will wait till the CBSE announces the modalities for marking the students. "We will have to take a practical decision as a guardian and take into consideration the students who aspire to pursue medical or engineering courses and what will be the admission criteria for them," he said. ALSO READ | Uttar Pradesh Board cancels class 12 exams due to Covid-19 pandemic On the issue of peace talks with insurgent groups, the chief minister said a peace treaty will be signed with an insurgent group of Karbi Anglong district next week. Asked about the possibility of holding peace talks with major militant group ULFA, he said as elected public representatives, the ministers take oath to protect the sovereignty of India and it cannot be compromised. "The ULFA wants sovereignty. So, we will have to find out a way on how to start the peace process and as a chief minister I will contribute in whatever way I can to create a conducive atmosphere," he said. On the issue of COVID-19 vaccination in Assam, Sarma said 13 lakh vaccines were received by the state in May while 19 lakh vaccines will be received in June and 35 lakh in July. "I am sure we will vaccinate all willing residents of Assam by the end of December," he said. On the recent attack on a doctor engaged in COVID-19 duty, the chief minister said all those who were involved in the assault of the doctor were arrested and he has directed the police that investigation in the case should be completed in 15 days, charge sheet should be filed within a month and conviction should be ensured in three to six months. "I want to tell everyone that there is zero tolerance to such inhuman acts. We will hit back and there will be a bigger reaction to such action," he said. Sarma said during his four-day visit to Delhi, he met Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman among others. "The prime minister advised me that I should visit every district and stay two nights there to gauge the problems of that district instead of going for a day-long visit in a helicopter. I will follow this advice and visit every district one by one every seven to 10 days," he said. Sarma also said the prime minister has advised him to give responsibility to every minister and to talk to a group of eight MLAs, both ruling and opposition parties, every week and place their issues before the cabinet for resolution. By PTI NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed a sedition case against veteran scribe Vinod Dua for his alleged comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his YouTube show last year, saying a 1962 verdict entitles every journalist to protection. A bench comprising Justices U U Lalit and Vineet Saran, however, declined the prayer of Dua that no FIR should be registered against any media personnel with 10 years' experience unless cleared by a committee, saying it would amount to an encroachment into the domain of the executive. On the issue of protection of freedom of speech and expression of media personnel, it said, "Every journalist is entitled to protection under the Kedar Nath Singh judgment (the famous verdict of 1962 on the scope and ambit of offence of sedition in the IPC)."" While upholding validity of section 124A (sedition) of the IPC, the top court in 1962 had ruled the sedition charges could not be invoked against a citizen for criticism of government actions as it would be in conformity with the freedom of speech and expression. The bench on October 6 last year had reserved the verdict on the petition after hearing arguments for Dua, the Himachal Pradesh government and the complainant, a local BJP leader, in the case. On July 20 last year, the top court had extended till further orders the protection granted to Dua from any coercive action in the case. SC quashes sedition FIR against Vinod Dua registered in Himachal Pradesh @NewIndianXpress kanupsarda (@sardakanu_TNIE) June 3, 2021 The top court had earlier said that Dua need not answer any other supplementary questions asked by the Himachal Pradesh police in connection with the case. An FIR against Dua under provisions of the Indian Penal Code for alleged offences of sedition, public nuisance, printing defamatory materials and public mischief was lodged by BJP leader Shyam at Kumarsain police station in Shimla district on May 6 last year and the journalist was asked to join the probe. Shyam has alleged that Dua, in his YouTube show, had made certain allegations against the prime minister. Earlier, in an unprecedented hearing conducted on a Sunday on June 14 last year, the top court had granted protection from arrest to Dua till further orders. However, it had refused to stay the ongoing probe against him. Besides seeking quashing of the FIR, Dua, in the plea, has sought "exemplary damages" for "harassment". He has also sought direction from the apex court that "henceforth FIRs against persons belonging to the media with at least 10 years' standing be not registered unless cleared by a committee to be constituted by every state government, the composition of which should comprise of the Chief Justice of the High Court or a judge designated by him, the leader of the Opposition and the Home Minister of the State." Dua has said freedom of the press is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. The plea has said the top court has been "emphasising for distancing the police from the ruling party in the state" but "none of the major political parties which are in power in various states are ready to give up their control over the police". "There is a recent trend against the media where state governments which do not find a particular telecast to be in sync with their political ideologies register FIRs against persons of the media primarily to harass them and to intimidate them so that they succumb to the line of the state or else face the music at the hands of the police," the plea has claimed. It claimed there is a concerted approach of authorities "to silence the media which is not palatable to them". It alleged that the FIR registered against Dua is "politically motivated" and is "purely to settle scores for critically evaluating the functioning of the central government at the present time of Covid". Kanu Sarda By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Coming down heavily on the Centre for its arbitrary vaccination policy, the Supreme Court has asked the government to clarify how the sum of Rs 35,000 crore marked in the Union Budget for procuring vaccines has been spent so far. It also asked why these funds cannot be used for giving free shots to those between 18 and 44. The Budget had earmarked Rs 35,000 crores for procuring vaccines. In light of the Liberalized Vaccination Policy, the Central Government is directed to clarify how these funds have been spent so far and why they cannot be utilised for vaccinating persons aged 18-44 years, read the 32-page order passed by a bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, L Nageswara Rao and Ravindra Bhatt. Raising questions on the competitive pricing of vaccines, the judges said: The justification for this policy has been adduced in a bid to spur competition which would attract more private manufacturers that could eventually drive down prices. Prima facie, the only room for negotiation with the two vaccine manufacturers was on price and quantity, both of which have been pre-fixed by the Central Government. This casts serious doubts on Centres justification for enabling higher prices as a competitive measure. Furthermore, the Central Government justifying its lower prices on account of its ability to place large purchase orders for vaccines raises the issue as to why this rationale is not being employed for acquiring 100 per cent of the monthly CDL doses. If the Central Governments unique monopolistic buyer position is the only reason for it receiving vaccines at a much lower rate from manufacturers, it is important for us to examine the rationality of the existing Liberalized Vaccination Policy against Article 14 of the Constitution, since it could place severe burdens, particularly on States/UTs suffering from financial distress. The Supreme Court further directed the Union government to respond to the observations made by the three-judge bench by filing a fresh affidavit with all relevant documents and file notings reflecting the thinking of the Centre on the vaccination policy. Sumi Sukanya dutta By Express News Service MUMBAI: Mumbai based Haffkine Biopharma may not be in position to contribute to the Centres ambitious projection of nearly 55 crore doses of Covaxin between August-December as it has emerged that the Maharashtra government undertaking could start manufacturing the vaccine only from February next year. The works have now begun at the facility to set up an advanced lab with a capacity to manufacture 22.8 crore doses of Covaxin, Indias first and only indigenously developed Covid19 vaccine jointly developed by Bharat Biotech and the National Institute of Virology-ICMR, every year. Bharat Biotech, facilitated by the Union government, has signed pacts with three companies--the two being central undertakings BIBCOL and Indian Immunologicals, apart from Haffkine to scale up Covaxin production. Government sources told The New Indian Express that a formal MoU between Bharat Biotech and Haffkine, which has received a 64 crore grant from the Centre and 94 crore from Maharashtra, however is still in the process of being signed. A statement by the government said that the production will take place at the Parel complex of the company, adding that works have started on war footing to set up a biosafety level 3 lab, required for making a vaccine like Covaxin which is based on inactivated virus. Sandeep Rathod, managing director of Haffkine BioPharma said the company plans to produce nearly 2 crore vaccine doses a month, adding that the company is looking at a timeline of eight months and the work is being executed on a war footing. The vaccine production process involves two stages drug substance and final drug product, the official explained. He added that for production of drug substance the firm needs a sophisticated lab, while Haffkine, an offshoot of the 122-year-old Haffkine Institute- one of the oldest biomedical research institutes in the country- already has the fill-finish facility. Bharat Biotech which as of now has a production capacity of about 2 crore doses per month for Covaxin, has been able to supply only about 90 lakh doses in May and the same quantity is expected in June. The company however has said that it is roping its wholly-owned subsidiary Chiron Behring in Gujarat for quick ramp of the production of Covaxin, by an additional 20 crore doses per year. The plant however will be in position to start producing the vaccine only September onwards. Though it is not clear what exactly will be the production capacity of the other two government PSUs, roped in for Covaxin production but given that setting up of BSL 3 level lab alone could take 6-8 months, experts have raised doubts that 55 crore Covaxin doses can be available during the last 5 months of this year. ALSO WATCH | Is highly infectious B.1.617 variant spreading at a frightening speed? By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Infighting in the state Congress units, mistakes in candidate selection and the choice of alliances were behind the Congress defeat in the recently-held Assembly elections in five states, according to a report by a panel constituted by party chief Sonia Gandhi. The panel, whose members included former Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan, Salman Khurshid, Manish Tewari, Vincent Pala and Jothi Mani, submitted its report to Sonia. The report said factionalism or infighting was present in all the states that went to polls, and it has caused the party dearly. The panel has also made recommendations for the upcoming Assembly elections. In Kerala, differences between groups led by Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala hurt the partys prospects Fielding several new faces also did not help. The Left front government made a history by winning a second consecutive term. In Assam, the panel blamed the partys alliance with AIUDF as the main reason for defeat. Also, some party leaders blamed AICC in-charge Jitendra Singh for bypassing the state leadership in deciding on campaigning and alliance strategies. The party leadership was also accused of ignoring issues faced by people in upper Assam. In West Bengal, the party leaders said the polarisation between the BJP and the TMC impacted the partys fortunes. Some leaders also pointed at the role of state chief, alleging he acted without consultations. Fayaz Wani By Express News Service SRINAGAR: Army Chief General MM Naravane on Thursday said responsibility and onus on continuity of border ceasefire and removal of mistrust with India lie solely with Pakistan. The border ceasefire is holding. The onus to ensure that ceasefire lies with Pakistan. We are willing to observe the ceasefire as long as they do so, General Naravane told media persons during his second-day visit to the Valley. Asked whether Army has lowered guard along the LoC, he said while a ceasefire is on, militant infrastructure, militant camps and militants continue to be on the other side of LoC. Therefore there can be no slackening in our preparedness and alertness. Asked whether the ceasefire has reduced mistrust between India and Pakistan, Army chief said, Trust is a very difficult thing to come by. It takes a very long time to develop. There have been decades of mistrust in India and Pakistan and obviously, the situation on that score cannot change overnight. However, if the ceasefire continues and they (Pakistan) continues to observe ceasefire in letter and spirit and stop and desist from pushing militants across and foment trouble in India, then all small steps will definitely go incrementally in building trust between two countries. The onus is entirely on Pakistan to build upon whatever has been achieved so far. On the thinning of troops, he said, We cannot reduce alertness and preparedness. We have a counter-infiltration grid to prevent any movement from across LoC. We also have a counter militancy grid in the hinterland. All these deployments are dynamic and they depend on situation and threat perception. However, we keep reviewing deployments and if situation permits, then we pull out some troops from active deployment to the rare areas so that they get time for rest and relief. General Naravane said Armys role in J&K is to bring the level of violence to an extent, where civil administration and local security forces can then play their role in the development of the region. Armys role is to work with local administration and other forces. Our ultimate aim is to bring level of violence so that peace and development can take place in J&K, he said. Asked how he sees the security situation in J&K, Army chief said, All security parameters have seen great improvement. There have been very few militants initiated incidents, hardly any cases of stone pelting and no IED attacks in the recent past. All these are indicators or return of sense of normalcy. In response to a question on Amarnath yatra, he said, We are prepared and taken all necessary steps for smooth conduct of Amarnath yatra. The decision to conduct the yatra lies with the civil administration. But we are ready from our side. The 56-day Amarnath yatra is scheduled to start from 28 June. However, due to the outbreak of the second Covid-19 wave, it is not known whether J&K government would allow the yatra or not. Asking youth to shun the path of violence, General Naravane said, Violence does not get you anywhere. The youth should embrace the future and world over the future lies in shunning violence. And if you do that, it will only hasten the process of ushering in a new era of development and prosperity in J&K. Earlier, the Army chief visited the formations and units along the LoC and was briefed by the local commanders about the existing security situation and measures taken to foil infiltration by militants from across the LoC. While interacting with troops, he cautioned all commanders and troops to not let their guard down and remain prepared to meet any emerging security challenges effectively. Ejaz Kaiser By Express News Service RAIPUR: Escalating their investigation in the toolkit case, the Chhattisgarh police have sent a team to Bengaluru to probe Rajeev Gowda, chairman of Congress Research Cell on Thursday. Led by additional SP (Raipur, rural), a three-member team has left for Bengaluru to interrogate Gowda about the toolkit, police said. The Raipur police had earlier registered an FIR against BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh under IPC Sections 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 505 (1b,c) (publishing or circulating statements or rumours conducing to public mischief), 469 (commits forgery) and 188 (for flouting orders under Epidemic Diseases Act 1897). Even as Patra failed to appear for questioning despite Raipur police serving him notice twice, Raman Singh has given his written response to the queries raised by the cops. Patra has sent an email through his counsel to the Raipur police seeking a weeks time. Fresh notices will be served to them as we are examining their responses and mail, said Ajay Yadav, Raipur senior superintendent of police. The cases were registered following the separate written complaints lodged by the state Youth Congress and the Congress students wing NSUI at the Civil Lines police station in Raipur. By PTI NEW DELHI: More than 185 intellectuals, including noted historians Romila Thapar and Irfan Habib and economist Kaushik Basu, have written an open letter to the opposition parties suggesting them to use their influence to ensure the central and state governments prepare for a possible third wave of the coronavirus. Noting that the visuals of deceased lying on roads during the second wave and bodies floating in rivers have pricked the world's collective conscience, they said it was heartwarming that amidst the pandemic, most political parties are "willing to work in a non-partisan manner in the peoples' interest". "Yet, despite the offer to cooperate and work with the union government, it is shocking that the government of India has neither welcomed the suggestions, nor created a truly national task force comprising all parties, state governments, experts and civil society to tackle the unprecedented situation India is facing," it said. The letter said millions of Indians are scrambling to access basic healthcare services such as hospital beds, ventilators, oxygen, essential medicines, ambulances, etc. "The visuals of the deceased lying on roads, floating in rivers and riverbeds has pricked the world's collective conscience," the letter said. The signatories to the letter include Magsaysay awardee and activist Wilson Bezwada, former Amnesty International Secretary General Salil Shetty, former UGC Chairman Sukhadeo Thorat, former UPSC member Purshottam Aggarwal, and several academicians from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New York University, University of Siena (Italy), University of Sao Paulo, University of Pennsylvania, and Princeton University among others. "It is very distressing that, despite a history of successful mass-vaccination campaigns in the past 70 years, the government has outsourced the procurement of vaccines to severely stretched state governments, at differential and exorbitant rates. Likewise, expert advice is repeatedly ignored, while obscurantist, unproven remedies are encouraged. "Large rallies and religious congregations were organised, and there was no preparation to enhance the availability of oxygen, vaccines, and beds," it said. The letter suggested the parties to consider a series of measures. "There is a need to immediately reach out to, and support, the efforts of these citizen and civil society groups. Since these are already acting as aggregators of requests from citizens in need, progressive parties can support them by securing help for them or connecting them to the right authorities and systems," it said. Parties must also support and sponsor citizen/civil society initiatives, "which are hamstrung because of restrictive policies regarding fund-raising imposed by the government", it said. The letter also suggested the parties to use their influence to urge the union and state governments to prepare in advance for the imminent third wave. "Just to cite one example, children (who may also be impacted by the third wave) will need different oxygen masks, which hospitals don't have in adequate quantities. Parties can work with citizen groups to map demand, and try to secure their supply," it said. It urged the parties to leverage their connections to stock on oxygen refills, food etc which might be needed during the third wave. "Parties must leverage their connections to stock these in advance, and work with citizen groups to disburse them as and when they are needed. The more we prepare in advance, the more lives we can save," it said. Prosenjit Datta By The latest CSO estimate that the Indian economy shrank by 7.3% in FY21 caused many economists to heave a sigh of relief. It could have been worsethe CSO had earlier estimated that the GDP would fall by 8%. The discussion now is about how the economy will do in the current financial year. The optimism at the beginning of the year has given way to a more cautious outlook because of the havoc wreaked by the second wave of the virus. Most observers are now resigned to the fact that the GDP will grow in single digitsand not in double digits as had been predicted earlier. That too, if no fresh crisis erupts. The bigger worry is the nature of the recovery. It seems very likely that India will exit the pandemic with a sharp increase in the number of poor and a much higher wealth disparity. A minuscule slice of the population would increase their net worth while many in the middle class will be pushed into the ranks of the poor. The already poor would slip further down. This will have ramifications for society and Indias economic growth over the medium term. Not everything should be blamed on the pandemicthe economy began slowing and unemployment started rising a good two years before the virus came visiting. By the middle of 2020, it was already clear that the pandemic had increased inequality. A handful of big, well-capitalised firms were doing better than ever even though the market had shrunk. They gained market share, cut costs and squeezed out smaller rivals. In a strong economy, there are often opportunities even for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to do well. In a contracting economy, the financially strong eat the lunch of the weaker firms. A study by a newspaper showed that the combined net profit of the listed firms was up 57.6% in FY21the corporate profit share in Indias gross domestic product (GDP) hit a 10-year high of 2.63%. The stock markets have cheered this by rising to new highs despite the overall economic gloom. This has increased the wealth of promoters and smart investors. But SMEs are suffering. A survey of over 6,000 SMEs and start-ups by a social media platform found that many of them were scaling down. Over 40% of the entrepreneurs surveyed said that they were running out of cash. Rising inequality could also be seen in the simultaneous rise in the number of billionaires as well as the unemployed. Half-a-dozen billionaires have joined the ranks of those already perched on the top of the wealth ladder. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed has been rising relentlessly in both the formal and informal sectors. Once economic activity resumed last year after the lockdown ended, not all jobs that had been lost came back. In 2020, Covid pushed nearly 23 crore people into poverty, a study by Azim Premji University had estimated. In the second wave, things have been worse. CMIE estimates that over 10 million jobs vanished in this round and 97% households saw their incomes drop. Many of these jobs will not return soon either. Both big and small companies are managing with fewer employees. The smaller ones are doing this because they are cash-strapped while the richer ones are simply fattening their profit margins. The saving grace of the first wave of the pandemic last year was that rural areas were left largely unscathed and there were fewer deaths. The second wave has left a trail of death and debt in both urban and rural India. Officially, deaths due to Covid total around 3,35,000. Unofficially, it has been estimated at anywhere between 5 and 10 times the official figure. The second wave has also resulted in deaths of younger people, often sole breadwinners of their households. Households have also been pushed into deep debt by the pandemic. Some of this pain will not be easily captured by government statistics though the story can be derived from other data. For example, gold loans have shot up as more households pawn their ornaments to get cash for immediate needs. This happens only during the worst of times. Also, many who had pawned gold in the first round are failing to redeem it. Delinquencies in the microfinance sector tell a similar story. Personal debt, both through formal as well as informal means, have risen sharply. And this in turn is showing up in the way households are spending less. In normal times, private consumption is a big driver of the Indian economy. But it was slowing even before the pandemic struck. And though it showed a marginal uptick when the lockdown was removed, it is slowing again. The governments ability to spend is not infinite despite increased borrowings and asset sales. Private investment into new fixed assets has been sluggish and with capacity utilisation around 60%, it is not going to improve quickly unless private demand increases. And that in turn wont happen unless jobs and incomes grow once again. The government may console itself that big companies are still making big profits and the stock markets are still rising. But that does not solve the basic problems facing the economy. Prosenjit Datta Senior business journalist (prosaicview@gmail.com) Vinay Sahasrabuddhe By The reluctance of social media intermediaries to abide by the new government regulations is inexplicable in the first place. Looking at the recent developments and the recalcitrant approach of social media platforms, allowing this slugfest to continue would prove to be detrimental to their credibility. One can only hope that these platforms would not eat into their own vitals like Bhasmasura, the mythological character known for unwittingly causing self-destruction. To start with, what exactly compelled the government to propose some regulations and give a window of three months to the platforms to abide by them? The fact remains that social media saw phenomenal increase in the number of users, especially in the last five years. There were 448 million social media users in India in January 2021.These figures have seen an increase by 78 million (21%) within just one year, between 2020 and 2021. According to some unofficial estimates, about 32% Indians today are using social media. Despite their growing popularity, the conduct on and by most social media platforms had become a cause of concern practically for all. In January 2019, Natasha Tusikov, a criminology expert and academic, wrote in a co-authored article that Facebook stands accused by a United Nations agency of contributing to a genocide in Myanmar by failing to effectively police hate speech on its platform. Others have noted how radio played a similar role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Facebook is only the most obviously awful of the social media platforms that have become so central to our social, economic and political lives. All of the major (for-profit, American) social media platforms have been tainted by scandals, from Instagrams link to Russias 2016 US Presidential Operation to YouTubes algorithmic propensity to serve up neo-Nazi propaganda, and Twitters ongoing failure to police white supremacists on its platform. Whether or not these allegations stand scrutiny, the platforms need to come clean for sure. Obviously, then, an urgent need to regulate the way they function was felt in India too. Hence the government issued a set of guidelines/regulations in February last, giving a clear three-month window to implement them. Social media intermediaries may have some issues with these guidelines and regulations, but how can disregarding or rejecting them be in anybodys interest? It is a fact that many political parties exploited social media platforms to the hilt during election campaigns. It was the failure of the mainstream media, both print and electronic, that created a space for social media. Democratisation of the public opinion space was the most attractive feature of the social media intermediaries. It gave commoners their own forum where they were able to express their views, share ideas, criticise others and engage in a debate at their own will. Except for adhering to the word limit on platforms like Twitter, people could roam freely on these anytime and from anywhere. No wonder, since its inception in the 90s, social media has managed to enter the lives of more than half of the 7.7 billion people in the world. From 970 million in 2010, the number of users has touched more than 3.87 billion today. However, having lured crores of people all over the world, at least some of the social media platforms have started showing their real colours. There are at least three issues involved in the ongoing debate that merit response from the platforms. It starts with their opacity. The decision-making process of these public media organisations has neither any room for stakeholder participation nor any structured and well-defined grievance redressal mechanism. Nobody knows as to how their algorithms operate. The Twitterati have some lingering doubts about sudden changes in their number of followers, retweets, etc. All this smacks of complete disregard for the principle of transparency and public accountability on the part of platforms. Even in the face of the latest row over labelling tweets as manipulated media, there is absolutely no clarity as to how Twitter has come to this conclusion. And how can any platform sit in judgement as per its whims and fancies? Besides, it is also noteworthy that no social media intermediary has come forward arguing about the robustness of the technology or algorithms used, disallowing any suspected mischief or manipulation. All this naturally calls for a transparent oversight mechanism for social media in the larger interest of democracy. The second contentious point is, why did some of the platforms choose to disregard the new regulations for such a long time? Is it their contempt towards the law of the land? If they are okay with similar regulations in other countries, why are they seemingly refusing to abide by the ones framed by a democratically elected government? The third and the most important issue is whether the social media intermediaries are just platforms or if they are into publishing like a journal, as they are using a kind of editorial prerogative in deciding the content to be published. In that case, should the platforms not come under the purview of acts that govern other established media publishing houses? As recently as the end of last year, Ms Meenakshi Lekhi, Chairperson of the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Personal Data Protection Bill, had observed that the intermediaries themselves are the platforms, sellers and news agencies. And Google itself has the control button to which information will come first and which will come later So how can it be a neutral platform? Social media intermediaries must understand that open access, truly democratic nature and non-partisan character made them stand apart. Understandably, their refusal to protect these unique features creates strong suspicion about their intent. All in all, they must appreciate that like any agencygovernment or otherwisethey too cant have their own liberty protected while denying transparency and accountability to their stakeholders. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe President, ICCR, and BJP Rajya Sabha MP (vinays57@gmail.com) CONSTITUTIONAL law expert Lovemore Madhuku has expressed scepticism over the success of legal challenges to amendments to the countrys charter, saying that the only way to stop the amendments would be for people to take to the streets in protests. Madhuku said this on Wednesday during a virtual public discussion facilitated by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network. Zimbabwe recently effected two controversial amendments to the Constitution. The Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No 1 Act seeks to alter the way the Chief Justice, the deputy Chief Justice and the Judge President of the High Court are appointed. These key appointments will now be made by the President in consultation with the Judicial Service Commission. Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No 2 Act makes provisions for the President to handpick his running mates, while it also extends the retirement age of judges to 75 years, and stipulates that the womens quota system will end in 2033, among other provisions. There are two remedies to challenge the two constitutional amendments. There is the political remedy, which is always the best. Citizens would say no to the amendments and organise a political action to challenge them. The matters are going to be heard at the courts. Obviously, there will be difficulties in getting the matters into the courts as they would have to decide the matters on the basis of the overall political framework. We might end up clearly not getting any successful legal action and end up adopting the changes that have taken place, Madhuku said. He bemoaned lack of citizen participation in politics, which has resulted in failure to challenge constitutional infringements. There is no sufficient political activity in Zimbabwe at the moment, which explains why we are opting to go to the courts. In a normal framework where there is political activity, we would not have been having these discussions in a small corner, with few individuals who have always been vocal on those matters, he said. Another law expert Alex Magaisa said although he concurred with Madhuku on the issue that the political remedy was the best way to challenge the amendments, he still believed that legal action was necessary.Challe nging the matter was necessary to make the Judiciary and the Executive accountable. But the outcome is probably known in advance. Given the events that have been happening in the judicial system, there is no illusion that there will be a miracle to have the amendments overturned. We are aware that if the situation in Zimbabwe was in some societies, we could have seen people flocking to the streets thousands of them, challenging the amendments. That is the weakness of our Zimbabwean society. Politics is about courage in facing and challenging injustices, Magaisa said.Constitutional experts said challenging constitutional amendments through the courts of law would be a mammoth task due to lack of independence of the judicial system in the country. Newsday After its plans for expansion in the South flopped both in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and with the prospects not so bright in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana offers the only ray of hope for the Bharatiya Janata Party. The hope, too, stems from the absolute misery the Congress faces even in states where it was once a powerful political player. Telangana is one of the few states where those dissatisfied with the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi, which is into its second term, practically have no alternative to look at other than the BJP. Despite successive defeats at the hustings, both in the state elections in 2018 and the string of bypolls later, the Congress has not even settled its leadership question, though the incumbent sent in his resignation multiple times. No political party that wants to be relevant can push itself so deep into the pit that coming out of it would become almost impossible. Viewed in this context, the choice that former minister in the KCR government, Eatala Rajender, appears to have made is not surprising. Dismissed from the Cabinet and official agencies sent after him to hurt his financial interests, Rajender perhaps found no other way except taking a flight to Delhi to meet top BJP leaders seeking shelter; his formal joining is slated to happen sooner than later. At least getting associated with the party in power at the Centre will make him less vulnerable, or so he seems to think. For the BJP, it has nothing to lose, even if there are no immediate gains. After the impressive performance in the Hyderabad corporation elections, the saffron party couldnt put up even a decent show in the other polls that followed. Its local leaders, though, lose no opportunity to project that the BJP is the only alternative to TRS in 2023. A more arduous path for the once Marxist-Leninist Rajender could have been to float another regional formation and seek to emerge as the cohesive force for all nonTRS entities. But that requires a lot of hard work and risk-taking. When financial interests dictate political decision-making, there arent too many choices. Amrutha Kosuru By Express News Service VISAKHAPATNAM: On most days, especially when alone, I was scared to the bones. I couldnt sleep sometimes. I made a mistake and didnt know how to correct it. I just kept telling myself that I should have listened to my mother and not boarded that train. I should have known that the foot journey was impossible. After spending four years in a Pakistan jail for entering the country without valid documents, Prasanth Vadinam is finally back home with his family and friends in Visakhapatnam. Prasanth now wants to start writing a blog describing all his nightmares and experiences. The happiness in his father Babu Raos eyes knew no boundaries after seeing him for the first time in years, all the while when Prasanth kept wondering if his return was ever possible. Speaking to TNIE, Prasanth said the only thing that kept him sane and going was turning to spirituality. I religiously prayed every day. On how he crossed the border, he said he took a train to Bikaner, Rajasthan from where he had planned to go Switzerland via Pakistan by road. When I first entered Pakistan, I felt safe. The first 24 hours passed by smoothly, without any issue. He walked 40 kms through a desert and was arrested by the local police after reaching a highway. The moment I stepped into the jail, I felt like I would never be able to come out again. I knew then that I had committed the biggest mistake of my life, he recalled. Narrating his life in Bahawalpur Central Jail, Prasanth said: I realised that there were five-six individuals who were stuck just like me. They had no cases against them, and even completed their jail terms. But they were yet to get a clearance from the Embassy. I gave the names of those Indians to the Embassy... With no access to the Internet or television, Prashant kept himself occupied with books. The Pakistan authorities initially thought he was a spy, according to Prasanth. I kept telling them otherwise. I provided them all my identifications and phone numbers of friends and relatives so that they can verify that I am only an IT employee, he said. They did verify that I wasnt a spy, but that was after two years and 4 months, Prashant added. I am thankful to the Indian Embassy and the government for putting in efforts and helping me reach back home, Prasanth said and hoped for a normal life, and wished that he could go back to work again. Iffath Fathima By Express News Service BENGALURU: With the number of daily discharges of Covid-19 patients seeing an increase, the States recovery rate too has been improving, touching 87.47 per cent on Wednesday. Five districts - Bidar, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Yadgir and Bagalkot - have done better than the state average, registering more than 92 per cent recovery rate. According to the State War Room data, Bidar has the highest recovery rate of 96.95 per cent followed by Kalaburagi (95.75 per cent), Vijayapura (92.91 per cent), Yadgir and Bagalkot (93.29 per cent each). This is a significant jump from what was recorded in the first week of May. On May 8, Bidars recovery rate was 78.22 per cent, Bagalkot (74.62 per cent), Vijayapura (84.58 per cent), Yadgir (72.51 per cent) and Kalaburagi (72.35 per cent). Meanwhile, Kodagu 90.09 per cent and Mandya (90.04 per cent) are the two other districts with a high recovery rate.When we started seeing more cases, we decided to take up a door-to-door survey. When the health officials noticed people with symptoms during the survey, they tested them immediately and provided them with home isolation kits, which had medicines like Ivermectin, calcium and zinc tablets along with paracetamol. We advised the patients to start with the medication even before their Covid-19 test results came out. With these measures, we noticed that many patients recovered faster. this helped in increasing the recovery rate, reasoned Bagalkot District Health Officer Dr Ananth Desai. The authorities concerned also ensured that there was no shortage of oxygen or drugs. Giving the right kind of treatment at the right time helped in early recoveries, he added. Kalaburagi DHO Dr Sharama Basappa Ganajalakhed said that earlier, while the district saw cases in urban areas, it started to rise in the hinterland in the second wave. We roped in ASHA workers to identify and test cases in rural areas. We constituted a village task force to keep a tab on Covid-positive patients. Those in serious condition were sent to hospitals. Also, a team was set up to check on those in home isolation. Doctors would call patients in home isolation and check on their status. Also, the lockdown helped in controlling the spread of infection. We also identified villages with high positivity rate and increased testing. Tests were also conducted in villages with zero cases, he said. Death toll crosses 30,000-mark Karnataka on Wednesday crossed the grim milestone of 30,000 deaths with 463 more people succumbing to Covid-19 taking the total death tally to 30,017. Meanwhile, the state recorded 16,387 fresh Covid-19 cases and 21,199 discharges. With this the total Covid-19 cases in the state since the beginning of the pandemic stands at 26,35,122 and the total discharges at 23,12,060. There are 2,93,024 active cases as on Wednesday. Unnikrishnan S By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the Covid second wave showing gradual decline in the state, health experts have demanded lifting the lockdown and protecting the livelihoods of people who have suffered in the past one month due to the restrictions. Though the government, they said, offered piecemeal relaxations while extending the lockdown till June 9, the restrictions have impacted a majority of people. The peak of the second wave was identified around mid-May and since then, there has been a visible drop in the test positivity rate, new cases and more importantly, in the number of people under treatment in hospitals. All the factors have called for a relook into the lockdown strategy. The lockdown will not have any effect beyond June 9. The declining trend will continue even if it is lifted. Daily cases will drop to 500 per day by the end of June. However, a continuation of lockdown will affect livelihoods, said Dr SS Santhoshkumar, deputy superintendent, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram. Various organisations of workers, small-scale merchants as well as service and manufacturing units have voiced their opposition to continuing with the restrictions. The lockdown imposed on May 8, closer to the peak of the second wave, attracted criticism from various quarters. While doctors organisations in the public and private sectors were critical of the delay in imposing it, they also wanted the economy to be unlocked gradually. We delayed the lockdown by at least two weeks. Had we not, we could have reduced the number of patients and deaths. Still, we can now have more relaxations after assessing various parameters, said state secretary of Indian Medical Association, Dr Gopikumar P. Even after the lockdown is lifted, life should not become similar to the pre-lockdown period, caution experts. Restrictions on mass gatherings should continue for some time if we want the desired results. Coronavirus variants, especially B.1.617 variant (named Delta), spreads fast. People should be allowed to go to work and shops should be permitted to open, but strict social distancing should be followed. The conditions for a fast spread of the infection will stay the same even after the lockdown is lifted, said Dr K P Aravindan, a leading pathologist and member of the expert panel on Covid. Dr Santhoshkumar demanded legal measures to restrict all mass gatherings, including marriages and religious functions. According to Dr Arun N M, a public health expert, though active cases are on the decline, the demand for ICU beds in major hospitals remains high. He said the Covid Jagratha portal of the health department often gives inaccurate information on bed occupancy. Experts suggest Open all shops, allow people to go to work Restrict all mass gatherings Ensure social distancing after lockdown too 99,651 single-day recoveries on May 17, the highest in state Lets talk numbers Barring a few days, the TPR in the state has been on the decline since May 12. However, after dropping to 13% on May 31, it jumped 2 percentage points in June. Since May 16, active cases too have seen a drop. By Express News Service KOCHI: The India Meteorological Department has announced the onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala on Thursday. As per a statement issued by the IMD, the "Southwest monsoon has advanced into some parts of south Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep area, south Kerala, south Tamil Nadu and parts of Comorin on Thursday." However, meteorologists say the monsoon winds have not advanced much into the land and are actually bypassing through coastal areas. More than 60 percent of the 14 rainfall monitoring stations reported rainfall above 2.5 mm during the past two days consecutively. Also, the spatial distribution of rainfall over Kerala remained to be fairly widespread during these days. Fulfilling the criteria, the westerly winds have gained strength in the lower levels and the wind has attained a speed of 20 knots. Satellite-derived data suggests that 15-20 knots westerly winds prevail up to a height of 6,000 m. There is persistent cloudiness indicated by outgoing longwave radiation values. An east-west shear zone runs from the south Arabian Sea to the southeast Bay of Bengal across the southernmost parts of peninsular India in the mid-tropospheric levels. An offshore trough at mean sea level runs off the Karnataka Kerala coasts. The monsoon is likely to advance into the remaining parts of the south Arabian Sea, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal and south interior Karnataka and Rayalaseema during the next two days. Debjani Dutta By Express News Service PUDUCHERRY: A month after the declaration of election results in Puducherry, NDA partners BJP and AINRC have finally reached a consensus on sharing of ministers and posts such as Speaker, paving the way for induction of ministers in the N Rangasamy cabinet. The ministers induction could happen next week. We have reached an understanding on sharing of Speaker, ministers and other posts, State BJP President V Saminathan told a press conference along with A Namassivayam, Leader of BJP Legislature party and other MLAs at the party office on Wednesday. The Speaker will be from BJP, while the five ministers will be shared, he said without revealing the numbers for BJP. It has been decided through discussions between Central BJP leaders and the CM. BJP observers will meet the CM and it will be jointly announced later this week, he said. When asked about BJPs demand for the Deputy CM post, he said that the CM will send a proposal to the Union Home Ministry and the Central government will process it. There is no confusion in the NDA and discussions have concluded on other posts including Deputy Speaker, Parliamentary Secretary to CM and Government Whip, said Saminathan. Sources said that the Deputy Speaker and Government Whip will be from AINRC, while Parliamentary Secretary to CM will be from BJP. The other posts as well as NDA candidate for the Rajya Sabha will be decided later, sources said. There is no confusion in the alliance and the Opposition had taken advantage of the CM being indisposed due to Covid earlier, said Saminathan. BJP MLAs, including the three nominated ones and independents, have adopted a resolution empowering the Central leadership to take a decision regarding the selection of MLAs for the posts of ministers, Speaker and others. Rangasamy was sworn in as Chief Minister on May 7 and was hospitalised with Covid infection on May 9. He resumed office on May 26, but had remained silent on induction of ministers, understandably because he was not in agreement with the BJPs demand. By Express News Service CHENNAI: DMK Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson on Tuesday urged Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan to not insist on CoWin registration and Aadhaar for vulnerable people like the homeless and the elderly in shelters, for vaccination. In his letter to the union minister, Wilson said that two vaccines-- Covishield and Covaxin--are being administered to the public upon registration on CoWin portal managed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and that the registration on the portal has been made mandatory. This requirement has become an obstacle for many sections of the public, particularly those living in rural areas, people from lower economic strata, slum and pavement dwellers, and the homeless. They do not have access to smartphones or internet and, as such, unable to register themselves for vaccination. Hence, he demanded that the Centre suitably amend the vaccination policy such that registration on CoWin portal is not mandatory, nor is possession of Aadhaar. Vaccination should be permitted on production of any government Id. As for the destitute or the homeless, a copy of registration either with police or local authorities should suffice. By Express News Service SIDDIPET: Finance Minister T Harish Rao, on Wednesday, announced that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will inaugurate the newly constructed integrated collectorate complex and police commissionerate office in the district during the second week of June. He made this announcement after unfurling the national flag at the temporary collectorate building in Siddipet, on the occasion of State Formation Day. Later, the Minister also unfurled the national flag at the new collectorate complex constructed on the suburbs of the town. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister directed the officials concerned to expedite all remaining works on the integrated Collectorate complex and police commissionerate office within the stipulated time. He also stated that the people will start receiving the benefits of Mallannasagar project from this monsoon itself. Meanwhile, the Finance Minister urged the district farmers to cooperate with the officials so that they can expedite the construction of the main canals as soon as possible. On behalf of the people of the district, Harish thanked KCR for his support and blessings in making Siddipet an ideal district. Collector P Venkatram Reddy, Commissioner of Police (CP) Joel Davis and Forest Development Corporation Chairman V Pratap Reddy were present. By Express News Service HYDERABAD: It was a dream come true moment for local cloth merchant Kukudala Suresh, 35, who has been promoting handloom cloth masks, which he named 'KTR masks', when MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao appreciated his efforts for promoting handloom products. The Minister, replying to a tweet, also agreed to meet him in person post the pandemic. Marking the occasion of State Formation Day, Suresh started selling "KTR Masks", which were specially made with handloom fabric. With profound affection towards his favourite politician, Suresh designed a poster on his own and displayed it on the main entrance to his Sai Hamsa Boutique. Speaking to The New Indian Express, Suresh said: "KTR has been changing the face of the State with his innovative ideas. While adopting technology to give TS a facelift, he remains a down-to-earth person." Earlier in the day, Rama Rao had responded to a netizens tweet mentioning Sureshs desire to meet his favourite politico. Rama Rao, in a tweet, said: "Surely. Will meet Suresh after the lockdown. Thank him from my side for promoting handloom products [sic]." By PTI WASHINGTON: A bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the US House of Representatives to eliminate the per country cap on employment-based Green Card, a move which is likely to benefit Indian IT professionals languishing over decades of waiting for the Permanent Resident Card. The legislation was introduced by Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren and Congressman John Curtis. The Equal Access to green cards for Legal Employment (EAGLE) Act, 2021 needs to be passed by the Senate before it can be sent to the White House for the president to sign it into a law. A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently. Indian IT professionals, most of whom are highly skilled and come to the US mainly on the H-1B work visas, are the worst sufferers of the current immigration system which imposes a seven per cent per country quota on allotment of the coveted Green Card or permanent legal residency. The bill phases out the seven per cent per-country limit on employment-based immigrant visas. The bill also raises the seven per cent per-country limit on family-sponsored visas to 15 per cent. Its predecessor, the Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act, was passed in the House in the 116th Congress with a resounding bipartisan vote of 365 to 65. "We all know that our immigration system is severely broken and it has been broken for decades," said Lofgren, Chair of the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship on Wednesday. The basic framework for allocating immigrant visas dates back to the middle of the 20th century and was last seriously updated in 1990, when the Congress established the worldwide numerical limits on visas and the seven per cent per-country cap that still exists today, the Democractic Party lawmaker said. Over time, these limitations have led to backlogs that were unimaginable in 1990. The effect has been that countries with relatively small populations are allocated the same number of visas as a relatively large population country. "The result? A person from a large-population country with extraordinary qualifications who could contribute greatly to our economy and create jobs waits behind a person with lesser qualifications from a smaller country," she added. "It makes no sense. Because of this, we are now seeing recruiters from outside America luring those with the highest skills away from the US. That hurts our economy. The bipartisan EAGLE Act moves our country toward a system that de-emphasises birthplace and better serves America. Simply put, it will allow US companies to focus on what they do best - hiring smart people to create products and services, which creates jobs in our districts," Lofgren said. Congressman Curtis said the 2020 census showed that Utah has the fastest-growing state in the nation due to major growth and innovation in the technology sector, bringing thousands of new jobs to the state. At the same time, Utah is tied for the lowest unemployment rate in the country, leaving many companies to rely on foreign workers and navigate our complicated immigration system when there is a shortage of American's seeking these positions. "The bipartisan EAGLE Act will create a more fair employment-based visa system by eliminating per-country limitations and creating a first-come, first-served system focused on merit instead of country of origin, making it easier for Utah's businesses to expand and compete globally," Curtis, a Republican, said. Meanwhile, Immigration Voice, a national non-profit organisation that advocates for the alleviation of restrictions on employment, travel, and working conditions faced by more than 1.2 million legal high-skilled immigrants in the US has welcomed the bipartisan legislation in the House. The EAGLE Act is one of the first bipartisan immigration bills that members of the House have introduced this year, it noted. "This ends the discriminatory quota system based on country of birth, which has pushed over 1 million Indian high-skilled immigrant workers in the US into a 200-year wait for Green Cards while individuals from other countries face no wait time at all, simply due to their country of birth. Additionally, changes were also made to strengthen the bill to encourage the hiring of American workers and to ensure that people from all countries retain fair access to employment-based green cards," the Immigration Voice said in a statement. "The EAGLE Act is a win-win for the American people. Every member of Congress now agrees that it is morally and legally indefensible to have a discriminatory per-country-based allocation system for employment-based Green Cards that bans talented Indian immigrants from receiving green cards during their lifetime if they apply today," Aman Kapoor, the Co-Founder and President of Immigration Voice said. The bill transitions the allocation of employment-based Green Cards to a first-come, first-served application while also safeguarding the concerns of foreign nationals from countries that were accustomed to special treatment and having no wait time at all to receive green cards due to discriminatory per-country limits, Kapoor added. Looking ahead, Biden has committed to providing other nations with all 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine produced so far in the U.S., once the company receives emergency authorization from federal regulators. The AstraZeneca shot has already received approval for usage in countries around the world. By Associated Press WASHINGTON: Do I need to get tested for COVID-19 if I'm vaccinated? No, you can skip routine testing, with some exceptions. The latest guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says you don't need to be tested or to quarantine if you're fully vaccinated, even if youve been exposed to someone who was sick. An exception is if you develop COVID-19 symptoms such as fever, cough and fatigue. The updated guidance reflects recent studies showing vaccinated people face very little risk of serious disease. Even if you get an infection, you'll be less likely to spread it to others and any symptoms will likely be milder. As a result, the CDC says vaccinated people can also be excluded from routine workplace screening, though many companies aren't tracking employees' vaccination status. Screening is still recommended for people working or living in homeless shelters or prisons, due to the higher risk of outbreaks. The relaxed guidelines also don't apply to doctors, nurses and other health care workers, whose employers might still require testing. Guidance may vary by country. U.S. citizens returning from abroad also still have to present a negative COVID-19 test before boarding their flights home, regardless of their vaccination status. Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 should still isolate for 10 days, the CDC says. As vaccinations increase, many experts expect the CDC to further relax testing guidelines, even for vaccinated people with symptoms. Many common colds and viruses can cause symptoms resembling COVID-19, experts say, which could lead to a wave of unnecessary testing in the fall. As we race to open back up, a whole variety of infections that we dont routinely test for are going to cause those same symptoms, said Dr. Rebecca Wurtz of the University of Minnesota. You should wash your hands and stay home from work, but theres no need to run out to be tested. By PTI WASHINGTON: Donald Trump has permanently closed his blog, a webpage where the former US president shared his fiery speeches and statements after being banned by social media giants, including Facebook and Twitter. The page titled "From the Desk of Donald J.Trump" has been removed from Trump's website after going live less than a month earlier, his spokesperson Jason Miller told CNBC news on Wednesday. "It was just auxiliary to the broader efforts we have and are working on," Miller said, adding that the webpage "will not be returning". "Hoping to have more information on the broader efforts soon, but I do not have a precise awareness of timing," Miller said. Asked later whether the move was a "precursor" to 74-year-old Trump, a Republican, joining "another social media platform," Miller said: "Yes, actually, it is. Stay tuned!" The former president, who left office on January 20 indicating to run for the White House again in 2024, has long accused social media giants, including Facebook and Twitter where he had tens of millions of followers, of nursing a political bias and censoring conservatives. Facebook, Instagram and other social media outlets also banned his account, alleging that his postings incite violence after a violent mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6. Trump, who lost to his Democractic Party rival, Joe Biden in the November 4 presidential election, was accused of inciting riots in the US Capitol on January 6 which left five people, including a police officer, dead. The short-lived blog, unveiled last month, was dubbed as a new "communications platform" at the time of its launch. Miller had said that the "Desk" page was "a great resource" to find Trump's statements, "but this is not a new social media platform." Trump's blog struggled to engage with the people on a large scale, NBC News reported a week after its launch, citing data compiled with BuzzSumo. After being banned by Twitter in January in an unprecedented move, Trump slammed the California-based microblogging site, vowing that he and his support base would not be silenced. At the time of permanent suspension, Trump, who is now based in his resort in Florida, had 88.7 million followers and followed 51 people. By PTI WASHINGTON: Noted Indian economist Kalpana Kochhar, who heads the Human Resources Department of the IMF, is retiring next month after serving for over three decades with the organisation to join the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Kochhar, who served in various senior positions during her three decades at the International Monetary Fund, will retire on July 30, and will join as Director of Development Policy and Finance, at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the IMF announced on Wednesday. "In her 33 years at the Fund, Kalpana provided a shining example of strong leadership and dedication to the Fund's mission. She brought a keen intellect and remarkable passion to her work and always focused her efforts on helping those we serve. Her work helped to shape the Fund and, while we wish her the very best in her new role, she will be sorely missed," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said. As Director of Human Resources, Kochhar oversaw the IMF's HR policies and the recruitment and retention of more than 4,000 IMF employees from nearly 150 countries based in Washington, DC, and in overseas offices. In the past five years, she led the successful review and modernisation of the IMF's compensation and benefits programme, as well as the successful implementation of a large and complex human capital management IT system which helped to simplify, streamline and modernise HR at the Fund. "From start to finish, Kalpana provided the management team and the Executive Board with sound advice and displayed excellent judgment in all HR-related matters," Georgieva said. "Throughout her career, Kalpana has pioneered change in the institution, particularly on gender and emerging market issues, while always exhibiting a positive and caring management style," she added. Georgieva said Kochar's caring spirit was especially evident during the current health crisis. "This caring spirit was especially evident during the current health crisis when, spurred on by her compassion, HRD worked hard to effect policy and other interventions to ensure that staff continued to feel a sense of belonging and connectedness. She leaves a distinguished legacy, and opened an admirable pathway for others to follow," Georgieva said. As Deputy Director in the Asia and Pacific Department (APD), she was responsible for setting up and executing the IMF's strategy for Asia, including guiding analytical work and policy advice to a number of Asian countries to help promote economic growth, financial stability, and gender equality. As Deputy Director in the Strategy, Policy, and Review Department (SPR), she led research and policy formulation on gender equity, income inequality, jobs and growth, and structural reforms. In SPR, she also oversaw a comprehensive review of the IMF's surveillance policy and practices aimed at enhancing engagement with the member countries. Before these roles, Kochhar was Assistant Director and Senior Personnel Manager in the Research Department. In between her Fund positions, Kochhar was seconded to the World Bank on a two-year stint as Chief Economist for the South Asia Region, lending her vast knowledge and experience on Asia to the Bank's work in the region. There, she pioneered work on trade and financial integration in South Asia, and established a high-level advisory group of economists and foreign policy specialists from the region to assist the Bank in these areas, a media release said. Kochhar started at the IMF as an Economist in 1988. Over the years, she built on her expertise in Asian regional matters with desk economist positions on Sri Lanka and the Philippines, and by leading work on Korea and Malaysia during the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Prior to joining the Fund, she was an Assistant Professor at George Washington University in Washington DC. Kochhar is also an accomplished author, and her research on Asia, gender, and a variety of development issues has appeared in numerous IMF working papers, Staff Discussion Notes, books, blogs, and publications including the widely circulated Finance and Development magazine, IMF said in a media release. By Associated Press LAGOS: Authorities have confirmed that 136 students were abducted by gunmen in northern Nigeria earlier this week, including some as young as 5 years old, the school's owner said Thursday. Gunmen on motorcycles targeted Salihu Tanko Islamic School on Sunday, killing one person and abducting three teachers as well, school owner Umar Idris told The Associated Press. After days of uncertainty of how many students were taken, Niger state government issued a statement Thursday putting the toll at 136 pupils missing. Idris said the number still could be rise, though, because school officials have not been able to reach all of the parents to confirm whether their children are back home. We have sent out a message asking parents who have not yet reported to the school to do so, Idris said, adding that three teachers also were kidnapped. Ashiru Adamu Idrisa told reporters his three daughters were among those taken by gunmen, the youngest just 5 years old. What I saw was horrifying," he said. Right in front of my eyes my children were taken out. Other preschoolers were left behind as they could not keep pace when the gunmen hurriedly moved those abducted into the forest. The 11 children were mainly aged between 3 and 4 and they lacked the stamina to keep pace with the gunmen, so they were abandoned on the way Idris said, adding that the preschoolers were found hours after the attack. The school's pupils range in age between 3 and 14, and parents are concerned that some of the youngest kidnapping victims may be unable to survive in the forest. Earlier this week, parents of the abducted children criticized the government's response to the crisis, and pleaded for the return of their sons and daughters. Honestly, I will say that we dont have a government, because even before this incident happened you heard people shouting that they were coming, then when it happened, and you go to the police station, no action is taken, said Rabiu Garkuwa, parent of two of the kidnapped children. Gunmen have abducted hundreds of students in northern Nigeria this year, and the government has been unable to halt the spate of abductions for ransom. As a result, many schools have been forced to close due to the concerns about the kidnapping risk. Earlier this week, 14 students and staff from Greenfield University in Kaduna state were released after spending more than a month in captivity. The gunmen who demanded hundreds of thousands of dollars in ransom had earlier killed five other students to compel the students' parents to raise the money. By AFP WASHINGTON: A pick-up truck, a hunting license or a rifle: the US state of West Virginia is launching a lottery for vaccinated people to boost its flagging COVID-19 immunization campaign. After a strong start, COVID-19 vaccination rates stagnated in the rural state in the heart of the Appalachian mountains in the eastern United States, where only 41 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. To get a jab into still hesitant residents, the state will run a lottery every week between June 20 and August 4, with prizes for residents who have received at least one vaccine dose, the state's Republican governor Jim Justice announced on Tuesday. Among the prizes to be won on June 20, then every following Wednesday, are two pick-up trucks, five lifetime fishing and hunting licenses, ten hunting rifles, and 25 weekend stays in the state's natural parks. There will also be a USD 1 million money pot, and for people between the ages of 12 and 25, two full four-year scholarships at a state university. "We still have a substantial part of our state that has not chosen to be vaccinated," said Clay Marsh, chief health officer at West Virginia University. In recent months the state has already offered people between the ages of 16 and 35 -- the age group most reluctant to vaccination -- USD 100 savings certificates or gift certificates, if they got vaccinated. Started by the state of Ohio, lotteries with million of dollars at stake for people who get vaccinated are being used to revive vaccination campaigns in the United States. Other states also trying to attract vaccine holdouts by offering beer, pizza, or tickets to sporting events. US President Joe Biden wants 70 percent of US adults to have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose by US independence day on July 4. The 50 percent milestone was crossed on May 25. By PTI WASHINGTON: US Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday made her first phone call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inform him the decision of the Biden Administration to send tens of thousands of doses of life-saving COVID-19 vaccines to India. Vice President Harris spoke this morning to Prime Minister Modi, Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei and Prime Minister Keith Rowley, Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). "In four separate calls, the Vice President notified each of the leaders that the Biden-Harris Administration will begin sharing the first 25 million doses of COVID vaccines to their respective countries and others, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration's framework for sharing at least 80 million vaccines globally by the end of June, her Senior Advisor and Chief Spokesperson Symone Sanders said. The Vice President reiterated that the Administration's efforts are focused on achieving broad global coverage, responding to surges and other urgent situations and public health needs, and helping as many countries as possible who requested vaccines, the spokesperson said. The four leaders thanked her, and they agreed to continue working together to address COVID-19 and advance our mutual interests around the world, Sanders added. Earlier, President Joe Biden announced that the US will allocate 75 per cent - nearly 1.9 crore of the first tranche of 2.5 crore doses - of unused COVID-19 vaccines from its stockpile through the UN-backed COVAX global vaccine sharing programme to countries in South and Southeast Asia as well as Africa as part of his administration's framework for sharing 80 million (8 crore) vaccines globally by the end of June. According to a White House fact sheet, nearly 19 million vaccines will be shared through COVAX. Of these approximately six million for South and Central America to the following countries: Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Bolivia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Haiti, and other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, as well as the Dominican Republic. Approximately seven million for Asia to the following countries: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, and the Pacific Islands, it said. Approximately five million for Africa to be shared with countries that will be selected in coordination with the African Union. The White House said approximately six million will be targeted toward regional priorities and partner recipients, including Mexico, Canada, and the Republic of Korea, West Bank and Gaza, Ukraine, Kosovo, Haiti, Georgia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Yemen, as well as for United Nations frontline workers. The country-wise allocation of the vaccine doses was not made public. According to the White House, the sharing of millions of US vaccines with other countries signals a major commitment by the US government. "Just like in the United States, we will move as expeditiously as possible, while abiding by US and host country regulatory and legal requirements, to facilitate the safe and secure transport of vaccines across international borders, it said. "This will take time, but the President has directed the Administration to use all the levers of the US government to protect individuals from this virus as quickly as possible. The specific vaccines and amounts will be determined and shared as the Administration works through the logistical, regulatory and other parameters particular to each region and country," said the White House. Help support your local hometown newspaper/website. Independent local news reporting matters. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription, for as little as $3, so we can continue to provide independent local reporting on our communities. 3 1 of 3 H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Contributed Photo / contributed Show More Show Less 3 of 3 DANBURY Community members are encouraged to decorate the city in blue and orange to celebrate Danbury High Schools Class of 2021. The Parent Teacher Organization has announced a week-long celebration of the Class of 2021 that will begin this Thursday and end next Thursday, June 10, when the seniors will graduate. Given the trauma that so many students have experienced over the past year and a half, it is more critical than ever that the DOE invest in public health alternatives to police interventions and 911 calls, said Dawn Yuster, Director of Advocates for Childrens School Justice Project. BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (AP) The town of Brattleboro is ending its pandemic-related mask mandate starting on Friday. The select board voted 4-1 on Tuesday to lift the mandate requiring masks inside establishments. Board member Jessica Gelter voted against the move, saying she had concerns about immunocompromised community members and children who cannot be vaccinated yet, the Brattleboro Reformer reported. Vermont ended its mask mandate for fully vaccinated people on May 14 following federal guidance. Unvaccinated people are still urged to wear face coverings and municipalities and establishments can keep their own mask rules. I think the best way we can act to help the retail community is to rescind the order, allowing people to wear masks if they choose and allowing us to come back and strike up the order again if theres some sort of threat in the community that we think requires our action, said Brattleboro Select Board Chairwoman Elizabeth McLoughlin. OLD SAYBROOK With a gross salary of $222,813 in 2020, Chief of Police Michael Spera topped the list of nearly 20 municipal employees whose earnings exceeded $100,000 last year, according to information supplied by the town. More than a quarter of Speras 2020 income came from pay earned on top of his $160,413 base pay, the data shows. He was one of nine members of the Old Saybrook Department of Police Services who earned six-figure salaries. The data reflects salary information for fiscal year 2020, which ended June 30. In Connecticut, its not uncommon for police officers to be among the highest-paid employees, because of their ability to sign up for overtime work, as well as private duty assignments. Contractors reimburse the department for the officers time. While Spera did not report earnings as part of the $149,059 the police department spent on private duty last year, 25 of the departments 36 officers did. Spera did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Hearst Connecticut Media requested salary information from Old Saybrook under the states Freedom of Information Act, but Finance Director Lee Ann Palladino said the town did not have the requested information. Instead, Palladino sent a copy of the annual town report, which includes salary data published to the municipal website. The three highest paid public employees in town were Spera, followed by Superintendent of Schools Jan Perruccio ($188,006) and police Sgt. Christopher DeMarco ($170,583), according to the report. Of the 10 highest-paid workers, eight are employees of Old Saybrook Public Schools, including three principals and an assistant principal. Most full-time general government employees are represented by two units of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, while police officers are represented by Connecticut Organization of Public Safety, and dispatchers by the United Public Service Employees, the data shows. School district employees are represented by the Old Saybrook Education Association. john.moritz@hearstmediact.com Free access for current print subscribers As a home delivery subscriber, you get free unlimited digital access to news-daily.com including stories, photos, obituaries, e-edition and more on your computer, tablet or phone. All you need is your print subscription account number and your last name. Don't know your subscription number? Email access@news-daily.com with your delivery address. Activate your account now. One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021 He was always very extreme in everything he did, and wouldnt hold back in life, she explained. Everything he would do was hard; he would always take the job. He would always sit there and move and do what he had to do to become better at what he did, and to grow. They came from Texas, New York, Oklahoma and all across Illinois to honor Christopher Oberheim on Tuesday. "We want the families to know that they have a ton of support across the country," said police officer Larry Bankston, who made the long trip to Decatur from Dallas. Passed on for the governor's signature: bills to allow for college sports betting and phase out school isolation practices. Failed: a bill to reclassify small amounts of drug possession, including heroin and cocaine, from a low-level felony to a misdemeanor. 'While I know I have not compromised my dignity or violated anyone elses, on May 29, 2021, I was asked to take my folding chair to another table,' Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) wrote in a Friday open letter to constituents. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading. To subscribe, click here. Already a subscriber? Click here. Vaccination efforts against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the pathogen behind the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, have rolled out in many countries. Europe and Israel were among the first to vaccinate residents. Now, researchers at Aix Marseille University and consultancy group Creativ-Ceutical aimed to determine if these vaccination campaigns have effectively reduced deaths in Europe and Israel. The study, which appeared on the pre-print server, medRxiv*, confirms the potent efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination based on real-life public data in terms of protection against death. Vaccination efforts against COVID-19 The coronavirus pandemic first emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan City, China. From there, it has spread to 192 countries and territories. To date, over 171 million people have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, and of these, more than 3.68 million people have died. Due to the severity of the outbreak, researchers and vaccine manufacturers worked tirelessly to develop effective and safe vaccines. However, during the second half of 2020, new variants of concern emerged, threatening the effectiveness of these vaccines. One of the first variants reported was the B.1.1.7 variant (Alpha) that occurred in the United Kingdom in September 2020. At the same time, the B.1.351 variant (Beta) called the South African variant emerged, followed by the Brazilian variant, also known as P.1 (Gamma). Recently, India reported skyrocketing number of cases tied to the emergence of a new variant called the B.1.617 variant (Delta) or the Indian variant. The B.1.1.7 variant showed increased transmissibility and hospitalization. Some studies have shown that the variant may increase the risk of death tied to COVID-19. The B.1.351 variant was found to have increased transmissibility and immune escape, making some vaccines less effective. The worldwide vaccination campaign started in December 2020, which aims to provide herd immunity across societies. Scientists placed the threshold for COVID-19 herd immunity between 60 and 70 percent of the population. However, despite widespread vaccinations, some people are still hesitant to receive the vaccine. Scientists warned that vaccine hesitancy and the spread of new variants might hinder the population from attaining herd immunity. Israel is leading in the vaccination campaign against COVID-19, as it went far ahead of other countries in terms of the proportion of vaccinated residents, surpassing 62 percent at the end of April 2021. The U.K. and the U.S. have reached 50 percent and 42 percent, respectively. The vaccines that received an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) include the Pfizer-BioNTech, with 95 percent efficacy at preventing symptomatic COVID-19, Moderna vaccine with a 94.1 percent efficacy, Oxford-AstraZeneca with a 70.4 percent efficacy, Johnson & Johnson with 66.5 percent efficacy, and Novavax, with 96.4 percent efficacy. The study In the current study, the researchers aimed to estimate the real-life impact of vaccination on COVID-19 mortality based on publicly available data from Europe and Israel. The team utilized time series analysis with non-linear mixed regression models. Cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths per 1 million inhabitants across countries The study, which involved 32 countries across Europe, including Israel primarily focused on evaluating COVID-19 deaths on a daily basis. In addition, the team also looked at the percentage of vaccinated residents and the proportions of SARS-CoV-2 variants across strains. Based on real-life public data, the study confirms the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination, although at a lower level than expected from clinical trials. Thus, there is no indirect protection for non-vaccinated individuals. In addition, vaccination effectiveness against mortality associated with variant B.1.1.7 appears to be somewhat lower than for other variants. Mean SARS-CoV-2 variants proportions across countries, between January 2020 and April 2021 Finally, this analysis confirms that reducing mobility, as well as mobility between countries, is an effective way to reduce COVID-19 mortality and that seasonal variations in COVID-19 incidence may exist. *Important Notice medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. The number of specialty behavioral health establishments, their workforce and their wages have increased steadily between 2011 and 2019, according to a new study by Indiana University and University of Michigan researchers. The largest increases were found in the number of outpatient establishments and the size of their workforce, as well as an increase in the average wage at residential health establishments. Researchers say while these increases are important in closing the gaps in needed treatment, more work needs to be done to increase behavioral health workforce deficits, especially in areas with an elevated drug overdose mortality rate. At the county-level, they found that the growth of residential specialty behavioral health establishments was positively and significantly associated with the county's drug mortality rate. They did not observe a similar positive association in other settings, including outpatient clinics and hospitals. "The good news is that this new data resource we've assembled documents a growth in the number of establishments and in the workforce, meaning an increase in treatment capacity," said Kosali Simon, co-author of the study and a Herman B. Wells Endowed Professor in IU's O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. "However, the growth in the need for treatment still outpaces available resources, as the number of overdose deaths continues to rise." The study was published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. It is the first study to examine recent changes in the specialty behavioral health workforce and the job characteristics, specifically wages, for individuals working in these settings. Limited availability of specialty behavioral health providers is often reported as a key barrier to filling treatment gaps. Through our study, we found increases in the number of establishments, employees and average wages in the treatment sector in recent years, which may indicate that the specialty behavioral health workforce is responding to the increased need for treatment." Thuy Nguyen, Study Lead Author and Research Assistant Professor, University of Michigan School of Public Health According to the study, the number of specialty behavioral health establishments has increased 34 percent from 2011, with the largest increase in outpatient establishments (46 percent) compared to 29 percent for hospitals and 22 percent for residential establishments. Within each type of specialty behavioral health establishment setting, the study found the number of employees also increased considerably: 33 percent in outpatient establishments, 23 percent in residential and 5 percent in hospitals. By comparison, the increase in the total employment in the health care sector was 20 percent. Using a longitudinal dataset from the U.S. Census Bureau, the study quantified national and county-level changes in specialty behavioral health workforce outcomes and assessed associations between these measures and age-adjusted drug mortality rate. The study described specialty behavioral health workforce outcomes in 3,130 U.S. counties between 2011 and 2019. The study stratified workforce outcomes, including the number of establishments, likelihood of having establishments, mean number of workers and average wage of workers per county by service settings: outpatient, residential, and hospital. IU research IU's world-class researchers have driven innovation and creative initiatives that matter for 200 years. From curing testicular cancer to collaborating with NASA to search for life on Mars, IU has earned its reputation as a world-class research institution. Supported by $854 million last year from federal, foundation, and other external support, IU researchers are building collaborations and uncovering new solutions that improve lives in Indiana and around the globe. We won critical rulings along the way that have already made a world of difference, said Michael Hiller, attorney for the homeless men. The temporary restraining order and stay we obtained from the courts made it possible for approximately 100 men to find homes ... So while we may have lost this battle, we are winning the war. One-quarter of people who take the drug methotrexate for common immune system disorders -- from rheumatoid arthritis to multiple sclerosis -- mount a weaker immune response to a COVID-19 vaccine, a new study shows. Published (online May 25) recently in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, the study addressed disorders that result when the immune system, meant to fight disease and drive healing, is triggered abnormally. This in turn causes inflammation, the pain and swelling that come as immune cells rush into damaged or infected tissue, but often in the wrong amount or context. Called immune-mediated inflammatory disorders, they are typically treated with drugs that reduce inflammation, including methotrexate. Led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the new study looked specifically at patients' responses to the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, which they measured by looking at the antibodies produced in each patient by the vaccine. Once injected into the body, vaccine ingredients are meant to trigger the production of antibodies, immune proteins that specifically glom onto this viral target protein, disabling it and tagging it for removal from the body. The lower antibody response in patients who take methotrexate does not necessarily mean that these patients are not protected against COVID-19, cautions co-first study author Rebecca Haberman, MD, clinical instructor in the Department of Medicine at NYU Langone Health. It is most important to state that patients should not be concerned about our study findings as the majority of patients with immune system disorders are responding well to the mRNA vaccines. It is also possible that methotrexate is delaying, rather than preventing, an adequate immune response against COVID-19." Dr. Rebecca Haberman, MD, Clinical Instructor, Department of Medicine, NYU Langone Health Researchers have known that rheumatoid arthritis patients who take methotrexate have a reduced response to seasonal flu vaccines. Because mRNA vaccines use a new mechanism of action that patients with these common immune disorders have not seen before, the researchers wanted to determine how well these patients are protected. The research was conducted at NYU Langone and at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen Nuremberg in Germany and enrolled healthy people and patients treated for common immune-mediated disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis. Study participants received two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. The researchers analyzed blood samples to determine the amount of antibodies patients produced after receiving the vaccine and measured the activation of key immune system cells, including CD8 killer T cells, which are generated as part of the body's immune response. The researchers found that over 90 percent of healthy subjects and patients taking drugs other than methotrexate to control inflammation in both the New York and German study groups mounted strong antibody responses. Patients with immune-mediated inflammatory disorders who were taking methotrexate achieved an adequate response in only 62 percent of cases. Similarly, while healthy patients and those with common immune disorders who were taking anti-inflammatory drugs other than methotrexate produced CD8 T cells, patients taking methotrexate did not show an increase in CD8 T cell activation after vaccination. "More research is needed to understand why such a significant proportion of people with common immune disorders who take methotrexate have deficiencies in mounting an antibody and cellular response," says study co-senior author Jose U. Scher, MD, an associate professor in the Department of Medicine at NYU Langone. "This may not necessarily mean that the vaccine is not efficacious, but that alternate vaccine strategies need to be investigated." These alternate vaccine strategies include potentially discontinuing methotrexate during the time these patients receive the vaccine, changing the dosage of methotrexate or possibly administering a booster shot to the vaccine, says Dr. Scher, who is also director of the Psoriatic Arthritis Center at NYU Langone. The research team is currently leading studies to determine the best course of action for these patients. Researchers from Sinai Health have published a study providing an ultra-detailed look at the organization of a living human cell, providing a new tool that can help scientists around the world better understand what happens during disease. The new study, out today in the journal Nature, was conducted in the laboratory of Dr. Anne-Claude Gingras, a senior investigator at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute (LTRI) and professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto. Co-first authors Christopher Go and Dr. James Knight surveyed the human cell landscape using 192 markers for proteins known to reside in specific organelles that can "tag" neighbouring proteins in the same compartment. The Human Cell Map was able to predict the localization of 4,000 proteins across all compartments in living human cells. We sampled all the major organelles of the human cell and used innovative analysis to create the highest resolution map to date, with high accuracy in predicting novel localizations for many unmapped proteins." Christopher Go, Co-First Author The human body is composed of trillions of cells that are each further separated into different compartments with dedicated functions, much like a house has different rooms for sleeping or preparing food. These compartments, called organelles, each contain different proteins that perform specific activities associated with the compartment. The mitochondria, the so-called powerhouse of the cell, is one example of an organelle. The scientists said knowing which proteins are residing in which organelles is an important first step towards understanding the role of each cellular protein. Earlier approaches often used methods that first kill the cells before trying to separate the organelles from one another. "Previously, it was like taking the house apart to isolate each of the individual rooms," said Go. "These approaches tend to provide only crude views of the organization of a cell." The Gingras lab develops tools to detect proteins using instruments known as mass spectrometers. In the new research, they purified the proteins that are "tagged" by organelle markers and identified each of them by mass spectrometry. The team then used Computational tools to reconstruct the human cell. "Through our research, we have shown that we can precisely localize thousands of proteins at a time with relatively little effort," said Dr. Knight, a bioinformatician in the Gingras Lab at the LTRI. "Previous methods for localizing a protein required each protein to be investigated individually, or required a limited focus." Given the expansive nature of the Human Cell Map, the team also created an analysis portal to allow researchers around the world to delve deeper into the data. Users can scan each of the 192 markers in detail and compare their own data on protein localization to predictions made in the Human Cell Map. Knight said while this work provides a greater understanding of the organization within the human cell, it also can be leveraged to better understand what happens during disease. "Human diseases are typically characterized at the molecular level by proteins with aberrant behaviour that cause the cell to behave in pathological ways. In these situations, proteins will often change where they reside in the cell," said Dr. Knight. "Our research is a first step in addressing this challenge in normal cells and we can use it for comparisons against altered cell states, such as disease conditions, to identify proteins with unexpected localizations that may help us understand a diseased cell better." The team said the map will now be used in a variety of projects to help shed additional light on protein localization in human cells. Future efforts will include using chemical, viral and disease conditions to better characterize how cells adapt structurally to these stressors. This can inform future research efforts towards a mechanistic understanding of diseased states and the development of future therapeutics. This work was made possible by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant, as well as funding to the Network Biology Collaborative Centre at the LTRI, a facility supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation funding, the Ontario Government, Genome Canada and Ontario Genomics. Funding for the analysis portal was provided by Compute Canada. Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland have uncovered potential mechanisms by which microRNAs (miRNA) drive atherogenesis in a cell-type-specific manner. Published in the Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology journal, the study provides novel insight into the miRNA profiles of the main cell types involved in atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the underlying cause of most cardiovascular diseases and one of the leading causes of mortality in the world. During atherosclerosis, arteries become progressively narrow and thick due to the formation of plaques containing cholesterol deposits, calcium and cells, among other components. Although the role and contribution to atherosclerosis of endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells and macrophages - the main cell types associated with disease progression in the vascular wall - has been previously described, the molecular mechanisms leading to gene expression changes during atherosclerosis in these cell types remain unknown. In particular, the cell-type specific expression and regulation of miRNAs in the disease context has remained unexplored. MiRNAs represent one class of small non-coding RNAs that regulate the protein production by binding to messenger RNAs of protein encoding genes and this way affect cell function and disease progression. In this study, by integrating different next generation sequencing techniques, the researchers have provided a deeper understanding of the miRNA changes in primary human endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells and macrophages under various pro-atherogenic stimuli, and discovered that the precursor forms of the miRNA (primary miRNAs) were highly expressed in a cell-type specific manner, suggesting distinct regulatory mechanisms on transcriptional level. In contrast, the large majority of mature miRNAs were common to all cell types and dominated by 2-5 abundant miRNA species. Moreover, the researchers uncovered microRNA-messenger RNA networks through which miRNAs could drive cell-type-specific responses. Given that miRNAs play an essential role in maintaining tissue homeostasis and can be dysregulated in pathological states, miRNA therapeutics that manipulate cellular miRNA levels are essential and have already entered clinical trials. Thus, these results are fundamental for the atherosclerosis research community and could serve as the basis for future development of cell-targeted therapeutics. This study was performed in Associate Professor Minna Kaikkonen-Maatta's research group, and it was funded by the Academy of Finland, Emil Aaltonen Foundation, the Finnish Foundation for Cardiovascular Research, Maud Kuistila Memorial Foundation, Orion Research Foundation, Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, Sigrid Juselius Foundation, Ella and Georg Ehrnrooth Foundation and the European Research Council (ERC). The first person to receive a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine outside a clinical trial did so within 250 days of the first case of COVID-19 being reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) in late 2019. Mass vaccination efforts are now a key strategy for controlling the pandemic. Several vaccines have been approved, including the mRNA-based BNT162b2 (Comirnaty, BioNTech/Pfizer) and the adenovirus-based ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (Vaxzevria, AstraZeneca). Both these vaccines induce humoral and cellular immune responses and showed high efficacy in clinical trials and significant protection from COVID-19 in the real world. However, the occurrence of rare clotting events as an adverse reaction to the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine due to the generation of auto-platelet factor 4 antibodies led to a halt in administering second doses of the vaccine in many countries. As a result of this, many public health agencies recommend the second dose or boost vaccination to be carried out using an mRNA vaccine in a heterologous regimen for these individuals. Analyzing immune response and T cell reactivity after heterologous ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and BNT162b2 vaccination in a German cohort Although heterologous prime-boost vector- and mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines have already been administered in some people, the immunological responses to these vaccines and their level of protection are not fully understood. Researchers from Germany recently analyzed a cohort of 26 individuals in the age range of 25 to 46 (median 30.5) years who had received a ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 prime vaccine followed by a BNT162b2 boost vaccine after a 56-day interval due to changing vaccine recommendations in Germany. There were 16 females and 10 males in the cohort, and they were assessed for immune responses, reactogenicity, and T cell reactivity. This study is published on the medRxiv* preprint server. Results show significant increase in strong neutralization antibody titers over time The results show that self-reported adverse reactions after ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 prime agree with previously reported symptoms and were less severe after the BNT162b2 boost vaccine. There was a significant increase in antibody titers over time which led to strong neutralization titers 2 weeks after the boost vaccine. Neutralizing activity against the B.1.1.7 strain in individuals receiving heterologous vaccination was 3.9-fold greater than that in individuals receiving homologous BNT162b2 vaccination. Neutralizing activity was 2-fold reduced for the B.1.351 variant of concern and was similar for the B.1.617 variant. Moreover, CD4+ and CD8+ T 44 cells had reactivity to SARS-CoV-2 spike peptide stimulus 2 weeks after the prime-boost vaccination. This shows that T cell responses after heterologous vaccination are as effective as the responses after heterologous vaccination. Findings show heterologous vaccination is effective against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern To summarize, the heterologous ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 / BNT162b2 prime-boost vaccination regimen did not cause serious adverse events and elicited a potent humoral immune response and T cell reactivity. The B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and B.1.617 variants of concern were all potently neutralized by the sera of all participants in the study cohort. These findings suggest that a heterologous prime-boost vaccination regimen is at least as immunogenic and efficacious as homologous vaccination regimens. According to the authors, these observations are in line with previous results and confirms that heterologous vaccination regimen was safe and effective in participants of median age 30 years. This finding offers flexibility for future vaccination strategies and may help maintain vaccination rates during shortages. It is still unclear if heterologous vaccination regimens are superior to homologous regimens and if they should be used as a strategy to induce particularly strong immune responses in highly exposed individuals. Similarly, it remains to be seen if other vector- or mRNA-based vaccine combinations will be similarly effective in heterologous combination vaccines and future studies need to address this. The researchers conclude: Our immunological data suggest that a heterologous vector-based/mRNA prime-boost schedule is highly effective in preventing COVID-19, as neutralizing antibody levels correlate with immune protection from symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and CD8+ T cell responses have been associated with a mild disease course. *Important Notice medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. The U.S. is the only industrialized nation in which the maternal death rate has been rising. Each year, about 700 deaths are due to pregnancy, childbirth or subsequent complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When someone dies while pregnant or within a year of childbirth in Illinois, thats considered a maternal death. Karen Tabb Dina is a maternal health researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who serves on a state-level committee thats trying to figure out whats killing these mothers. The groups most recent analysis found that about 75 women in Illinois die from pregnancy-related causes each year. Consistent with national trends, Black women are at greater risk than white women, and most of the deaths were preventable. Its cause for alarm, Tabb Dina said. Our country is in a crisis in terms of unnecessary maternal deaths. In recent years, Illinois Maternal Mortality Review Committee has urged policy changes that would remove barriers to health care for pregnant and postpartum women. At the top of the list: Make sure low-income moms dont lose Medicaid coverage after a baby is born. Some women lose coverage as soon as two months after giving birth. In April, Illinois became the first state to be approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to extend Medicaid up to a full year after a pregnancy. This is tremendous, Tabb Dina said. One of the greatest risk factors for maternal deaths is lack of access to care: not being able to access the right providers and to be seen in a timely manner. Medicaid, the state and federal program mainly for low-income Americans, covers people with higher incomes during pregnancy but most states kick these women off the rolls 60 days after they give birth. As a result, hundreds of thousands of women whove recently had a baby end up uninsured each year. Disruptions in Medicaid coverage results in higher costs and worse health outcomes, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a press briefing in April, citing a federal report on the consequences of Medicaid churning. More than half of pregnant women in Medicaid experienced a coverage gap in the first six months of postpartum care. With the extension of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, mothers in Illinois with incomes up to about double the federal poverty level can keep their coverage for a year postpartum. Several other states including New Jersey, Georgia and Virginia are taking similar steps. Although the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan was passed to stimulate the economy amid the covid-19 pandemic, it also contains a less-noticed provision addressing the postpartum coverage. For the 12 states that never expanded Medicaid under the ACA, the law provides new financial incentives for them to make Medicaid available to adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level ($12,880 for an individual, $21,960 for a family of three). In addition, the stimulus package offers all states an easier option for extending postpartum Medicaid coverage beyond the 138% income limit. Starting in April 2022, states can file a state plan amendment to their Medicaid program a process that has fewer roadblocks to federal approval than the traditional route of applying for a federal waiver. Maternal health experts say extending Medicaid coverage to a full year postpartum makes sense because pregnancy-related complications physical and mental arent limited to the first few months. Many [postpartum] health issues and health problems extend beyond the 60-day period that Medicaid is currently covering, said Dr. Rachel Bervell, an obstetrician in Seattle and co-founder of the Black OBGYN Project, which aims to raise awareness about racial injustices in maternal health care. A report based on data from nine states found nearly 20% of pregnancy-associated deaths happen between 43 days and one year postpartum. Bervell clearly recalls learning about that statistic. It was just so jarring, she said. It makes you worried about the 1 in 5 individuals we may be missing. Medicaid is the largest payer for maternity care in the United States. Black women are overrepresented in the Medicaid population and are also overrepresented among those who get kicked off their plan after 60 days. Chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension are more prevalent and less well-controlled among Black women, putting them at higher risk of pregnancy-related complications. There are also structural barriers to health care, such as inadequate housing, transportation and child care. Many of these barriers stem from racist and discriminatory policies, like redlining, linked to worse health outcomes. Black mothers are also more likely to be denied medication for postpartum pain. Racial disparities in maternal health outcomes are caused by racism, not race. So the problem cant be solved, Bervell said, without addressing systemic racism in medicine and the broader society. U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) said the racial disparities are unacceptable. She championed the states Medicaid change and is working on other policies to improve maternal health data collection and establish national obstetric emergency protocols. When you look at educated Black women with money, they still die more than less-educated, less-wealthy white women, she said. Kelly said she first became aware of the issue several years ago, when she met the family of Kira Johnson, a Black mother who died after the birth of her second child from obstetrical bleeding one of the most common causes of maternal death in the U.S. Ill never forget, her [older] son walked in and saw a picture of his mother on the screen. And he said, Theres Mommy. And that just got to me, Kelly said. What a heartbreak." As the rate of maternal deaths in the U.S. has ticked upward, so has the incidence of severe maternal morbidity, according to the CDC. Each year, an estimated 50,000 women experience dangerous, even life-threatening health complications. Jessica Davenport-Williams, a mother in Chicago, said that, after giving birth the first time, she hemorrhaged severely and had to receive blood transfusions. She was pregnant with her second daughter around the time Serena Williams and Beyonce were in the news because of their own serious childbirth complications. So she advocated for herself before her next delivery. I wanted to make sure that every physician was well aware of my history, that they documented information in my file that would be transferred to the hospital. And I was met with resistance," she said. They didnt feel that it was necessary. I had to push for several appointments for that to happen. After her second daughter was born via cesarean section, Davenport-Williams hemorrhaged again. It became an emergency situation, she said. It just reminded me that I could have been one of those cases that I [almost] didnt make it. Davenport-Williams said her experience compelled her to become an advocate for maternal health. I dont know if I will see the change for myself, in my lifetime, she said. But I definitely dont want my daughters to have the same story or experiences that many before them have had. While extending Medicaid coverage is an important first step, efforts to prevent maternal death can't stop there, Tabb Dina said. Health care providers need to be educated about racial inequities in medicine, she said. Screening all pregnant and postpartum women for mental illness and making sure they get treatment will also help save lives. And more patients with experience need a seat at the table in policy discussions, she said. We need to understand the real lived stories of our near misses,' Tabb Dina said. What were their barriers? What were their complications?" And then ask: What more needs to change so no child has to grow up without a mother whose death could have been prevented? This story comes from a reporting partnership with Illinois Public Media, NPR and Kaiser Health News. A team of Colorado State University scientists, led by veterinary postdoctoral fellow Dr. Anna Fagre, has detected Zika virus RNA in free-ranging African bats. RNA, or ribonucleic acid, is a molecule that plays a central role in the function of genes. According to Fagre, the new research is a first-ever in science. It also marks the first time scientists have published a study on the detection of Zika virus RNA in any free-ranging bat. The findings have ecological implications and raise questions about how bats are exposed to Zika virus in nature. The study was recently published in Scientific Reports, a journal published by Nature Research. Fagre, a researcher at CSU's Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, said while other studies have shown that bats are susceptible to Zika virus in controlled experimental settings, detection of nucleic acid in bats in the wild indicates that they are naturally infected or exposed through the bite of infected mosquitoes. This provides more information about the ecology of flaviviruses and suggests that there is still a lot left to learn surrounding the host range of flaviviruses, like Zika virus. Flaviviruses include viruses such as West Nile and dengue and cause several diseases in humans." Dr Anna Fagre, Researcher, Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Calorado State University CSU Assistant Professor Rebekah Kading, senior author of the study, said she, Fagre and the research team aimed to learn more about potential reservoirs of Zika virus through the project. The team used 198 samples from bats gathered in the Zika Forest and surrounding areas in Uganda and confirmed Zika virus in four bats representing three species. Samples used in the study date back to 2009 from different parts of Uganda, years prior to the large outbreaks of Zika virus in 2015 to 2017 in North and South Americas. "We knew that flaviviruses were circulating in bats, and we had serological evidence for that," said Kading. "We wondered: Were bats exposed to the virus or could they have some involvement in transmission of Zika virus?" The virus detected by the team in the bats was most closely related to the Asian lineage Zika virus, the strain that caused the epidemic in the Americas following outbreaks in Micronesia and French Polynesia. The first detection of the Asian lineage Zika virus in Africa was in late 2016 in Angola and Cape Verde. "Our positive samples, which are most closely related to the Asian lineage Zika virus, came from bats sampled from 2009 to 2013," said Fagre. "This could mean that the Asian lineage strain of the virus has been present on the African continent longer than we originally thought, or it could mean that there was a fair amount of viral evolution and genomic changes that occurred in African lineage Zika virus that we were not previously aware of." Fagre said the relatively low prevalence of Zika virus in the bat samples indicates that bats may be incidental hosts of Zika virus infection, rather than amplifying hosts or reservoir hosts. "Given that these results are from a single cross-sectional study, it would be risky and premature to draw any conclusions about the ecology and epidemiology of this pathogen, based on our study," she said. "Studies like this only tell one part of the story." The research team also created a unique assay for the study, focusing on a specific molecular component that flaviviruses possess called subgenomic flavivirus RNA, sfRNA. Most scientists that search for evidence of Zika virus infection in humans or animals use PCR, polymerase chain reaction, to identify bits of genomic RNA, the nucleic acid that results in the production of protein, said Fagre. Kading said her team will continue their research to try and learn more about how long these RNA fragments persist in tissues, which will allow them to approximate when these bats were infected with Zika virus. "There is always a concern about zoonotic viruses," she said. "The potential for another outbreak is there and it could go quiet for a while. We know that in the Zika forest, where the virus was first found, the virus is in non-human primates. There are still some questions with that as well. I don't think Zika virus has gone away forever." CRISPR-based technologies offer enormous potential to benefit human health and safety, from disease eradication to fortified food supplies. As one example, CRISPR-based gene drives, which are engineered to spread specific traits through targeted populations, are being developed to stop the transmission of devastating diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. But many scientists and ethicists have raised concerns over the unchecked spread of gene drives. Once deployed in the wild, how can scientists prevent gene drives from uncontrollably spreading across populations like wildfire? Now, scientists at the University of California San Diego and their colleagues have developed a gene drive with a built-in genetic barrier that is designed to keep the drive under control. Led by molecular geneticist Omar Akbari's lab, the researchers engineered synthetic fly species that, upon release in sufficient numbers, act as gene drives that can spread locally and be reversed if desired. The scientists describe their SPECIES (Synthetic Postzygotic barriers Exploiting CRISPR-based Incompatibilities for Engineering Species) development as a proof-of-concept innovation that could be portable to other species such as insect disease vectors. Spreading gene drives that limit pests that feast on valuable food crops is another example of a potential SPECIES application. "Gene drives can potentially spread beyond intended borders and be hard to control. SPECIES offers a way to control populations in a very safe and reversible manner," said Akbari, a UC San Diego Division of Biological Sciences associate professor and senior author of the paper, which is published in the journal Nature Communications. The idea behind the creation of SPECIES is reflective of the formation of new species in nature. As members of a single species separate over time, due to, for example, a new land formation, earthquake separation or other geological event, a new species eventually can evolve from the physical disconnection. If the new species eventually returns to mate with the original species, they could produce unviable offspring due to biological changes following the separation through a natural phenomenon known as reproductive isolation. Working in the fly species Drosophila melanogaster, UC San Diego researchers and their colleagues at the California Institute of Technology, UC Berkeley and the Innovative Genomics Institute used CRISPR genetic-editing technologies to develop flies encoding SPECIES systems that are reproductively incompatible with wild versions of D. melanogaster. Even though speciation happens consistently in nature, creating a new artificial species is actually a pretty big bioengineering challenge. The beauty of the SPECIES approach is that it simplifies the process, giving us a defined set of tools we need in any organism to elegantly bring about speciation." Anna Buchman, Study Lead Author, University of California San Diego Conceptually, when SPECIES are deployed in the wild in sufficient numbers, they can controllably drive through a population and replace all of their wild counterparts as they spread. Using malaria as an example, SPECIES mosquitoes could be developed with a genetic element that makes them incapable of transmitting malaria. "You can spread an anti-malaria SPECIES into a target population in a confinable and controllable way," said Akbari. "Since SPECIES are incompatible with wild-type mosquitoes, their populations can be controlled and reversed by limiting their threshold population below 50 percent. This gives you the ability to confine and reverse its spread if desired." As the SPECIES barrier completes its role in temporarily replacing wildtype populations, their numbers can be reduced with the reintroduction of wild type populations. "This essentially allows us to harness all of the power of gene drives--like disease elimination or crop protection--without the high risk of uncontrollable spread," said Akbari. Oncotarget published "Molecular characterization of lung squamous cell carcinoma tumors reveals therapeutically relevant alterations" which reported that unlike lung adenocarcinoma patients, there is no FDA-approved targeted-therapy likely to benefit lung squamous cell carcinoma patients. The authors performed survival analyses of lung squamous cell carcinoma patients harboring therapeutically relevant alterations identified by whole exome sequencing and mass spectrometry-based validation across 430 lung squamous tumors. They report a mean of 11.6 mutations/Mb with a characteristic smoking signature along with mutations in TP53, CDKN2A, NFE2L2, FAT1, KMT2C, LRP1B, FGFR1, PTEN and PREX2 among lung squamous cell carcinoma patients of Indian descent. In overall, the data suggests 13.5% lung squamous patients harboring druggable mutations have lower median overall survival, and 19% patients with a mutation in at least one gene, known to be associated with cancer, result in significantly shorter median overall survival compared to those without mutations. They present the first comprehensive landscape of genetic alterations underlying Indian lung squamous cell carcinoma patients and identify EGFR, PIK3CA, KRAS and FGFR1 as potentially important therapeutic and prognostic target. Dr. Amit Dutt and Dr. Kumar Prabhash said, "Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths across the globe with more than 1.7 million deaths annually." Non-small cell lung cancer, a more common type of lung cancer, accounts for 85% of all lung cancers comprising two major histological subtypes, adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. The adenocarcinoma of the lung arises mostly in patients with no previous significant tobacco exposure, while the squamous subtype is found almost exclusively in former or current smokers with relatively higher overall mutational load. However, no approved targeted therapy regimens are available for lung squamous patients in spite of distinct genetic alterations identified in the tumor type, including alterations in TP53, PIK3CA, CDKN2A, MLL2, PTEN, KEAP1, NFE2L2,DDR2, FGFR1, PDGFRA, SOX2, and CCND1. Moreover, most of the reported studies describe Caucasian, Chinese, Korean and Japanese population, with sparse information on the molecular profile of lung squamous patients of Indian origin that accounts for about 30% of Indian lung cancer disease. In this study, the authors sought to describe the first genetic landscape of alterations underlying 430 Indian lung squamous genomes and uncover the prevalence of known targetable somatic alterations using next generation sequencing followed by validation using mass spectrometry. The Dutt/Prabhash Research Team concluded in their Oncotarget Research Output, "we present a striking variation of genetic heterogeneity among lung squamous cell carcinoma patients of Indian descent. The findings from this study extend the scope of the ongoing umbrella clinical trials such as the Lung-MAP master protocol that aims to evaluate multiple targeted therapeutic strategies in lung squamous cell carcinoma patients and the AACR Project GENIE database collaborative project [29, 39]. A systematic exploration of these target genes in lung squamous cell carcinoma patients and variability across ethnicity could further extend our insights into the etiology of lung squamous cancer." Shortage of hematologists or specialists to treat blood disorders in Africa requires urgent action, experts say. The acute shortage of hematologists in Sub-Saharan Africa has given rise to an urgent need for training to help address increasing cases of blood disorders, scientists say. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends one clinical hematologist per 100,000 people in every country to diagnose and treat patients with diseases of the blood and bone marrow. But African countries fall well below this target, according to Vernon Louw, head of the Division of Hematology at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and Groote Schuur Hospital, South Africa. "Clinical hematologists have been needed for a very long time [in Africa] but there are very few training centers and training positions," Louw tells SciDev.Net. "Several medical schools do not have a single clinical hematologist." South Africa, with a population of almost 60 million people, needs about 600 hematologists to meet the WHO target, but the country currently has fewer than 30 hematologists, according to a press statement by the UCT last month. According to Louw, there is an urgent need to train hematologists on the continent. "Angola, Botswana and Namibia do not have a single clinical hematologist while Malawi and Zimbabwe have just one each," he says. Louw explains that hematologists treat a very wide range of disorders and conditions, including cancers of the blood and bone marrow such as myeloma, lymphoma, leukemia, anemia and thrombosis, which are very common conditions. "In the past five to ten years, eight clinical hematologists have completed training at the [Division of Hematology at the UCTand there are another four currently in training," he tells SciDev.Net. The goal, he explains, is to train African clinical hematologists and increase the alarmingly low number of specialists on the continent who are equipped to help treat and manage blood disorders. There is a massive population of patients out there with treatable and oftentimes curable cancers and diseases. If they are not seen and treated by an appropriately trained person, these conditions are often fatal." Vernon Louw, Head of the Division of Hematology, University of Cape Town (UCT) and Groote Schuur Hospital, South Africa He tells SciDev.Net that the greatest challenge is inadequate funding for trainees, adding that in the past, his institution organized some outreach programmes in African countries to help train hematologists but it was not successful. He calls on policymakers to consider the selection of centers to train clinical hematologists in Africa by subregions including Southern, East and West Africa. Walter Mwanda, professor of hematology and blood transfusion at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, says that one of the main reasons for this shortage is because there are no clear training paths for hematologists. "Hematologists ideally belong to any of the following disciplines: internal medicine, obstetrics, pediatrics and general medicine," Mwanda says. He adds that currently after postgraduation, most clinical students tend to stick to subspecialties such as internal medicine, and are reluctant to specialize in hematology which would require further intensive training. "This situation can be improved by stating the pathways of becoming a clinical hematologist, what work is involved and upward movement," explains Mwanda, adding that there should also be sponsored programmes to incentivize trainees and trainers. Donna M. Seifried, 78, passed away on Friday, June 11, 2021, at her home surrounded by family. She was a receptionist at Price Waterhouse Coopers, a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and a native of Salina, KS. She is survived by her husband William "Bill" Seifried of Jeffersonville, I The United States District Court, Eastern District of New York will decide in the next few weeks whether the changes will become retroactive to April 2020. The decision would open the door for families to sue care facilities for alleged malpractice, negligence or reckless misconduct early in the pandemic, with health care lawyers and academics agreeing the pre-pandemic legal standard was sufficient even with the COVID-19 explosion. (Newser) The University of Oklahoma never disputed the fact that a Pissarro painting it's displayed since 2000 was stolen from a Jewish family in France by Nazis during World War II. But when Leone Meyer tracked down Shepherdess Bringing in Sheep in 2012, the university wouldn't give the painting up, citing rules, the statute of limitations, and evidence that the family that donated the artwork had bought it at a New York gallery and acted in good faith. Meyer, whose parents owned the impressionist painting until it was seized in 1941 during the German occupation, and the university have been negotiating and wrangling in court since, the New York Times reports. One settlement fell apart when Meyer didn't keep up her end of the deal. On Tuesday, the university and the family announced a revised settlement, a day ahead of a Paris court's scheduled ruling in the case. story continues below Meyer, an 82-year-old Holocaust survivor who's a former pediatrician, wanted ownership to go to the Musee d'Orsay in Paris and the painting to move between the two countries for display. The university supported a rotation, but the two sides couldn't agree on all the costs and provisions. Now, Meyer will abandon any claim to the painting, which the university will rotate every three years between France and its Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. In the meantime, Oklahoma will work toward turning over ownership to a French public institution or the US Art in Embassies program. A plaque will be displayed with the artwork, explaining the Camille Pissarro painting's history with Meyer's family, per the BBC. Meyer, who said she was "heard but not listened to" during the dispute, said she fully accepts the settlement, though she knows it won't please everyone. "But the students of the University of Oklahoma will remember that this work belonged to Yvonne and Raoul Meyer and that it was pillaged by the Nazis in France in 1941," she said in a statement. (Read more art museum stories.) (Newser) After a second test on his Kentucky Derby winner came back positive for a banned steroid, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has been suspended by Churchill Downs. The punishment will last till the end of the 2023 spring meet, the Washington Post reports. "Substance violations that jeopardize the safety of our equine and human athletes or compromise the integrity of our sport are not acceptable," chief executive Bill Carstanjen said in a statement Wednesday. "Mr. Baffert's record of testing failures threatens public confidence in thoroughbred racing and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby." The suspension followed the announcement that a sample tested from Medina Spirit found a prohibited level of betamethasone. Five of Baffert's horses have failed drug tests this year, per CNBC. story continues below Under the terms of the punishment, no horse trained by Baffert or Bob Baffert Racing Stables can compete at any track that Churchill Downs owns. That covers the Kentucky Derby, which Medina Sprit won on May 1 before testing positive for betamethasone. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has not yet announced whether it will disqualify Medina Spirit in that race. Use of the drug is legal in Kentucky, but if any trace shows up on race day, the horse can be disqualified, per CNBC, provided a second test confirms the result. A lawyer for Medina Spirit's owner said another lab will check a third sample from the horse, adding that "this is an infinitesimal amount that could not have affected the race." Marty Irby of Animal Wellness Action urged Churchill Downs to make Barrert's suspension permanent. "It's time to end the cheating and medication abuse," Irby said. (Read more Bob Baffert stories.) (Newser) Los Angeles County Fire Chief Darly Osby has worked at Fire Station 81, one of 172 small stations in the county, and he describes it as a "small, hometown-type fire station" where people generally have an excellent working relationship. But Osby says something clearly went very wrong Tuesday, when an off-duty firefighter shot two colleagues, killing one, before taking his own life. Sources tell the Los Angeles Times that there was an ongoing dispute between the gunman and slain firefighter Tory Carlon, 44. The sources say Carlon and the shooter had argued in the past over multiple issues, including how the Agua Dulce station 45 miles north of Los Angeles was maintained. Authorities say Carlon and the gunman worked different 24-hour shifts at the station. story continues below Police say after the Tuesday morning shooting, the gunman fled to his home 10 miles away and set it on fire before apparently shooting himself. Records show that the burned home belongs to Jonathan Tatone, a county firefighter since at least 2012. Los Angeles County sheriffs Lt. Brandon Dean said Wednesday that interviews suggest a "workplace beef" was involved, the AP reports. He said it's not clear whether a 54-year-old fire captain critically injured in the shooting was targeted by the gunman or shot as he tried to intervene. Carlon, a 20-year veteran of the department and the father of three daughters, was honored with a vigil and a procession of fire and police vehicles Tuesday evening, CBS2 reports. A GoFundMe campaign has been started for his family. (Read more Los Angeles County stories.) (Newser) The commencement speech that Lake Highlands High School valedictorian Paxton Smith planned to giveand that administrators approvedhad to do with media and content consumption. But in light of the "heartbeat" abortion bill her home state of Texas just signed into law, which will essentially ban all abortions after the six-week mark after it takes effect in September, she changed her topic without notifying administrators. "I have dreams, hopes, and ambitions," she said when addressing the graduating class Sunday, per D Magazine. "Every girl here does. We have spent our whole lives working towards our futures, and without our consent or input, our control over our futures has been stripped away from us." story continues below The 18-year-old called the legislation "gut-wrenching," especially considering it offers no exceptions for rape or incest. "I refuse to give up this platform to promote complacency and peace, when there is a war on my body and a war on my rights. A war on the rights of your sisters, a war on the rights of your mothers, a war on the rights of your daughters," she concluded. "We cannot stay silent." The speech got some high-profile shout-outs, including one from Hillary Clinton. A district spokesperson tells the Dallas News speech protocols will be reviewed ahead of next year's graduation ceremony. Smith, who is headed for UT Austin, says she's heard from some administrators that her diploma may be held as a result, but nothing has yet happened on that front. (Read more heartbeat abortion bill stories.) (Newser) The Justice Department has informed another one of former President Trump's least favorite media outlets that it secretly seized its reporters' phone records during his administration. The New York Times says it was told by the Biden administration Wednesday that records for four reportersMatt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eric Lichtblau, and Michael S. Schmidt were seized as part of a leak investigation. The records cover a four-month period in early 2017 and the Times believes the reporters were investigated in connection with an April 2017 story about former FBI director James Comey's role in the 2016 election. Investigators also sought the journalists' non-content email records. story continues below "Seizing the phone records of journalists profoundly undermines press freedom" and "threatens to silence the sources we depend on to provide the public with essential information," Times executive editor Dean Baquet said in a statement. Last month, the Justice Department disclosed that it had secretly obtained phone records from CNN and the Washington Post. Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said upcoming reports for 2019 and 2020 will show that "members of the news media have now been notified in every instance in this period in which their records were sought or obtained in such circumstances," the AP reports. President Biden has said he will no longer allow the Justice Department to obtain reporters' phone records, which also occurred during the Obama administration. (Read more New York Times stories.) (Newser) George P. Bush on Wednesday launched his next political move: a run for Texas attorney general in 2022 that puts the scion of a Republican dynasty against a GOP incumbent shadowed by securities fraud charges and an FBI investigation. Bush, who has served as Texas' land commissioner since 2015, is the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the nephew and grandson of two former presidents. He is the last of the Bush family still in public officeand was the first to break with them over supporting former President Trump, who has mocked the family that was once the face of the Republican Party, the AP reports. During a visit to Texas in 2019, Trump called George P. Bush "the only Bush that likes me." story continues below Bush is now launching the first major challenge against embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has spent six years in office under felony indictment over accusations of defrauding investors, and more recently was accused of bribery by his own former top aides. "Here in Texas, we have a scandal that is plaguing one of our highest offices. And I believe conservatives should have a choice," Bush said at a campaign kickoff rally in Austin. The 45-year-old said he is stepping up because "everybody else has been quiet and afraid to tell the truth about this guy." Paxton's campaign responded with a statement that made no mention of the accusations against him. "Texans know Attorney General Paxton's rock-solid conservative record," Paxton spokesman Ian Prior said. (Read more Texas stories.) (Newser) We're all eager for summer to get started, but two little girls from West Jordan, Utah, simply couldn't wait a single minute more. NBC News reports that police responding to an early morning accident in West Valley City on Wednesday got quite a shock when they found out who was in the car that slammed into a tractor-trailer on an off-ramp to Utah State Route 201. A bodycam video released by WVC Police shows one responding officer showing up at the accident scene just after 5am, only to find another officer tending to two little girls in the car: a 4-year-old and her 9-year-old sister, the driver. "She's driving?" the incredulous cop says to his colleague. The girls told police they'd taken their parents' car to go on a trip to California to "swim in the ocean." Thankfully, no one was hurt, police say, adding that was likely because the girls remembered to wear their seat belts. The family car, however, suffered "serious damage," police note, adding: "Even the semi had to be towed!" story continues below Detective Scott List of the West Jordan Police Department tells KUTV that the parents were still snoozing when cops showed up at the house to inform them of the accident. The parents say the girls were able to slip out of the house at around 3am through a basement door, the only one without a latch, after somehow swiping the keys from a place "not normally accessible by children," per List. It took the sisters another hour and a half to figure out how to operate the car and leave the driveway, he tells FOX 13. The crash took place about 10 miles from their home. Apparently the girls had been talking openly for some time about their dreams of heading to the Golden State to swim with the dolphins. "This is a motivated kid," List says. "To do what she did is impressive. Scary, but impressive." There's one thing police are keeping from the young joyriders. "I don't know that we'll tell them they were going the wrong way," Lt. Sean McCarthy of the WVC Police adds. (Read more car crash stories.) (Newser) Federal prosecutors have dropped the criminal case against a New York man who was accused of participating in the Capitol riot, in what appears to be the first such move by the Justice Department in its sprawling Jan. 6 prosecution. The dismissal of the case against Christopher M. Kelly was disclosed on Wednesday, the same day prosecutors secured a second guilty plea by one of the more than 450 Capitol riot defendants. US Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui agreed to dismiss the case against Kelly after prosecutors said in a court filing on Tuesday that they discussed the merits of the case with Kelly's lawyer and decided that ending the prosecution "serves the interests of justice" based on "the facts currently known to the government," the AP reports. story continues below Faruqui agreed to dismiss the charges "without prejudice," which means the Justice Department could attempt to revive the case. Kelly was arrested in New York on Jan. 20 and faced charges of obstructing an official proceeding, aiding and abetting, violent entry and disorderly conduct, and unlawful entry to restricted buildings or grounds. In an affidavit, an FBI agent said it appeared that Kelly used a Facebook account to inform "associates" that he had breached the Capitol and was inside the building. Two days before the attack, he told another Facebook user that he planned to be in Washington "with ex NYPD and some proud boys," the agent said. But the only known photos of Kelly from the day of the riot show him outside the building, with no evidence he was inside, NBC New York reports. (Read more Capitol attack stories.) In a letter requesting a special prosecutor, the DAs office wrote that Chambers made a series of false, misleading and inconsistent statements about the facts of this case and about collateral or unrelated matters. Most troubling, she made some false statements under oath. We have had to confront (her) many times about these statements. (Newser) The owners of a bottled water company in Nevada are barred from producing any food or beverage without first notifying the FDA after one person who drank the water died. The Southern Nevada Health District has identified 16 probable cases of acute non-viral hepatitis tied to consumption of the bottled alkaline water branded as Real Water, including one affecting a woman in her 60s with underlying conditions, who later died. Five children also came down with acute non-viral hepatitis, which can cause liver failure, while others reported vomiting, per the New York Times. The FDA warned people not to "drink, cook with, sell, or serve" the water back in March. Federal prosecutors have since faulted father and son Brent and Blain Jones of Real Water and AffinityLifestyles.com for distributing Las Vegas-area tap water processed with various chemicals, per the Guardian. story continues below The products, said to have detoxifying properties, were reportedly processed with lye, magnesium chloride, and potassium bicarbonate and distributed from facilities in Henderson, Nev., and Mesa, Ariz., "in violation of current good manufacturing practices, relevant food safety standards and hazard prevention measures," according to the Justice Department. "We count on bottled water companies to take appropriate measures in ensuring their water doesn't make our families sick, particularly children," said Acting US Attorney for the District of Nevada Christopher Chiou. The companies, which had to show they'd stopped processing and distributing "water or any other type of food," are barred from resuming production in the future without FDA inspections. They must also destroy all bottled water products in their possession. (Read more hepatitis stories.) (Newser) Retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter had an inspiring 11-minute speech planned as the keynote speaker at a Memorial Day event in Hudson, Ohio, including a bit about the history of the holiday. Partway through his address at a local cemetery, however, the microphone cut out for about two minutes. Per the Hill, Kemter could be seen motioning to someone off camera that there was a problem with his mic. "I assumed it was a technical glitch," he tells the Washington Post. Now, however, it appears the sound fail on Monday wasn't an accidentand that it happened as Kemter, 77, talked about the role Black Americans played in establishing Memorial Day. Cindy Suchan, one of the ceremony's organizers and the head of the holiday's parade committee and Hudson's American Legion Auxiliary, tells the Akron Beacon Journal that the mic was purposely turned down as Kemter started talking about freed Black slaves paying tribute to dead soldiers soon after the Civil War ended. story continues below Suchan, who says she'd asked Kemter to remove certain parts of the speech in the days before the ceremony, notes the "theme of the day was honoring Hudson veterans," and that the portion of Kemter's speech that was muted "was not relevant to our program." Kemter, meanwhile, confirms he received an email from an organizer (he wouldn't say who) three days beforehand asking him to remove a section about Black Americans' role in the early setup of the holiday, but that the instructions on what to remove were vague and were never clarified. Suchan wouldn't say whether it was she or another organizer, Jim Garrison, who'd turned down the mic. It definitely wasn't the event's audio engineer, AJ Stokes, who says he was "very upset" about what had transpired. As for Kemter, he notes: "I find it interesting that [the American Legion] ... would take it upon themselves to censor my speech. ... This is not the same country I fought for." The Ohio American Legion is investigating. (Read more Memorial Day stories.) (Newser) Florida officials have likened two suspects who allegedly opened fire on deputies on Tuesday to Bonnie and Clyde. The key difference is that they're 14 and 12 years old. Deputies who responded to an Enterprise home to find a burglary in process ended up shooting a 14-year-old female, who was in critical but stable condition on Wednesday, per the Daytona Beach News-Journal. Per the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, the girl and a 12-year-old boy had run away from a group home before ransacking the residence, where they found an AK-47, shotgun, and pistol, which they used to fire on deputies multiple times from various locations, including a bedroom, garage, and pool deck. Deputies initially held off on returning fire, opting to throw a sergeant's personal cellphone into the house for communication, per ABC News. But the suspects "were coming out to kill cops," Sheriff Mike Chitwood said. story continues below "This is like Bonnie and Clyde," he added. He said deputies ultimately fired 60 rounds, hitting the female as she pointed the shotgun at deputies. The boy carrying the AK-47 then surrendered, saying the girl had planned to take on law enforcement as though she were in the video game Grand Theft Auto, Chitwood noted. The girl had been charged with setting six fires in April and while living at another group home, per the News-Journal. Chitwood said she was processed through juvenile court but didn't comply with her sentence. She and the boynow charged with attempted first-degree murder and armed burglaryhad been staying at Florida United Methodist Children's Home, where a 14-year-old boy was accused of fatally beating a security officer earlier this year. The home has suspended its program providing temporary shelter to high-risk children. (Read more police shooting stories.) We use cookies. By Clicking "OK" or any content on this site, you agree to allow cookies to be placed. Read more in our privacy policy (Newser) Derek Chauvin will be sentenced June 25 on murder and manslaughter charges in the death of George Floyd, but prosecutors and defense attorneys are still a long way aparta full 30 years, according to a sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday. Prosecutors have requested a 30-year sentence for the former Minneapolis police officer, double the maximum recommended under state sentencing guidelines, the Wall Street Journal reports. For someone with no criminal history, guidelines recommend a 12.5-year sentence on the most serious charge, second-degree unintentional murder. But while the state attorney general's office called for an "upward departure" from the guidelines, defense attorney Eric Nelson filed a memorandum calling for a downward departureeither release on probation or a sentence below state guidelines. story continues below The attorney general's office argued that a longer sentence would reflect the "profound impact of Defendant's conduct on the victim, the victim's family, and the community." Prosecutors cited aggravating factors such as abuse of authority and the "particular cruelty" of the crime, per the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Judge Peter Cahill ruled last month that four aggravating factors had been proven at Chauvin's trial. Nelsonwho also filed a request for a new trial Wednesdayargued that Chauvin led a "hardworking, law-abiding life" and "still has the ability to positively impact his family and his community." He added that Chauvin, 45, has been diagnosed with heart disease that could end his life early, "like many ex-law enforcement officers." Chauvin had his first hearing on federal charges Tuesday and is now officially in federal custody, but he'll stay in the state prison, per the AP. (Read more Derek Chauvin stories.) (Newser) The US will donate 75% of its unused COVID-19 vaccines to the UN-backed COVAX global vaccine-sharing program, President Biden said Thursday, per the AP. The White House unveiled the allocation for sharing a first 25 million doses with the world, part of its plans to share 80 million globally by the end of June. The administration says 25% will be kept in reserve for emergencies and for the US to share directly with allies and partners. Of the first tranche of 25 million doses, the White House says about 19 million will go to COVAX, with approximately 6 million for South and Central America, 7 million for Asia, and 5 million for Africa. The doses mark a substantialand immediateboost to the lagging COVAX effort, which to date has shared just 76 million doses with needy countries. story continues below The remaining 6 million will be directed by the White House to US allies and partners, including Mexico, Canada, South Korea, West Bank and Gaza, India, Ukraine, Kosovo, Haiti, Georgia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Yemen, as well as for United Nations frontline workers. As long as this pandemic is raging anywhere in the world, the American people will still be vulnerable, Biden said in a statement. And the United States is committed to bringing the same urgency to international vaccination efforts that we have demonstrated at home. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the US will retain the say in terms of where" the doses distributed through COVAX ultimately go. But "were not seeking to extract concessions, were not extorting, were not imposing conditions the way that other countries who are providing doses are doing." (Read more coronavirus vaccine stories.) (Newser) Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a major Republican fundraiser before being appointed to his government job, is under investigation for possible campaign violations. The FBI has questioned current and former employees of DeJoy and his former business, New Breed Logistics, the Washington Post reports. He's also been subpoenaed for information. A DeJoy spokesman confirmed the investigation and said the postmaster general is cooperating. "He has always been scrupulous in his adherence to the campaign contribution laws and has never knowingly violated them," Mark Corallo said. The Postal Service, FBI, and Justice Department had no comment. DeJoy was the longtime chief executive of New Breed Logistics until its sale in 2014, per the Wall Street Journal. He contributed more than $1 million toward former President Trump's reelection and to the Republican Party. story continues below Five employees at the company said they were pressured to donate to GOP candidates or to attend fundraising events, the Post reported last fall. The employees said they were repaid with bonuses. Federal law prohibits "straw-donor schemes," per NBC, which are a way to get around political contribution limits. A spokesman said DeJoy didn't realize employees felt pressured, and Trump said he'd back an investigation of DeJoy, who took office last June. DeJoy's 10-year makeover of the Postal Service has been attacked by Democrats as a way to intentionally slow delivery service to please Trumpwho was critical of mail-in voting. DeJoy denied that was his goal at the time. "We will do everything in our power and structure to deliver the ballots on time," he said. DeJoy has not been charged with any crime. (Read more Louis DeJoy stories.) (Newser) President Biden and Republicans continue to haggle over the scope of the president's massive infrastructure proposal, and new reports say Biden is willing to make a key concession. The Washington Post says the president is willing to forgo his demand that the top corporate tax rate rise from 21% to 28% to pay for the plan. Biden made the offer in person to the GOP's top negotiator, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, on Wednesday, per USA Today. The two meet again on Friday. Republicans have insisted on keeping the 2017 tax cuts enacted by former President Trump in place, and Biden's concession would seem to meet that demand. However, the Wall Street Journal notes that the president floated a different tax option instead, one that would require the biggest US companies to pay a minimum corporate tax of 15%. story continues below The latter "wouldn't directly reverse the 2017 law," notes the Journal. In part, it would require closing tax loopholes that currently allow some companies to pay no tax whatsoever, per USA Today. Biden, meanwhile, is reportedly demanding $1 trillion in new spending on infrastructure, though that remains a sticking point in negotiations. And don't hold your breath waiting for a resolution. "The gap between the two sides is massive at the momentBiden and Republicans arent even counting the size of the bill the same way and are approximately $750 billion apart," per Politico. The gap is so wide that two GOP sources tell the outlet that it seems impossible to bridge at the moment. (Mitch McConnell has vowed to fight Biden's plan "every step of the way.) (Newser) A statue of a 17th-century slave trader that was toppled during anti-racism protests in the English city of Bristol is being displayed in a museum, where visitors will be asked to help decide its fate, per the AP. The bronze likeness of Edward Colston was pulled from its pedestal and dumped in Bristol harbor a year ago, sparking a nationwide debate about which historical figures deserve commemoration and about Britains slave-trading history. City workers hauled the statue out of the water and have kept it in storage ever since. The battered, paint-splattered statue is going on public display Friday at Bristols M Shed museum alongside placards from the June 7, 2020, protest. It will be on show until Sept. 5, and visitors will be asked to complete a survey about what happened that day and what you think should happen next, the museum said. story continues below Responses will go to the We Are Bristol History Commission, which was set up after the protest. Options include removing the statue from public view, creating a museum or exhibition about the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and restoring the statue to its plinth in the center of the city. Some Bristolians have criticized toppling the statue as an act of historical vandalism, while others welcomed the removal of what they see as a stain on their community. Colston was a 17th-century trader who made a fortune transporting enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas on Bristol-based ships. His money funded schools and charities in Bristol, and his name adorned streets, schools, and major buildings in the city 120 miles southwest of London. Many have been either renamed or made the subject of ongoing debate. (Read more statues stories.) The man is scheduled to appear in Tauranga District Court on Thursday, June 10. The arrest comes just a day after Te Pati Maori lodged an official complaint to the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA), accusing police of double-standards when dealing with death threats made against Pakeha and Maori. The party was unhappy with how police had dealt with the video, which was posted by an alleged white supremacist and included threats to kill Maori and target marae, RNZ reports. Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said she had been left "more than disappointed" by the police response to the party's complaint. "Communication and response time was inadequate, the police have continued to minimise the nature of the threat against us and our people," she said. University of Auckland Maori studies Professor Margaret Mutu told Newshub white supremacy is "very, very normalised" in New Zealand, with Maori forced to endure it "on a day-to-day basis". "Often when Maori say that white supremacy or racism is affecting them, we're not believed," she tells Newshub. "These days, there is a heightened sense of sensitivity in the Pakeha world to the fact that racism exists, and I think this situation may have arisen because of the Black Lives Matter campaign in the United States." In terms of the attack the Maori Party has laid a complaint over, Mutu has seen similar onslaughts before - but says the media and police don't pick them up. "Maori are basically told 'it's just the way it is, ignore it, it's nothing'. Well, it is something, and I'm pleased now that the media is taking it seriously." Me and my three daughters ran to the firehouse, said St. Louis, 29, whose dog ran off May 24 while he was taking out the trash at his Brownsville home. Suddenly everyones face changed. They were just staring at us. Someone came from the back and said the owner came for the dog yesterday. Two leading epidemiologists say it's not good enough. When it comes to getting vaccinated against the virus, the public messaging has been clear: we're exceeding Government goals and doing well. "Our plan to vaccinate New Zealanders is on track," Dr Ayesha Verrall, the Associate Health Minister, told reporters on Wednesday. But Newshub has obtained Ministry of Health data that tells a different story when it comes to some of our highest-risk groups. "I think we've seen a lot of self-congratulatory talk by the Government," said Otago University public health professor Nick Wilson. "We should be really pushing the vaccination programme at a much faster rate." An estimated 50,000 people have been categorised in Group 1B - these are household members of border and MIQ workers. Ministry figures show around 50 percent have not even had their first shot. "That is unfortunately way too low," Prof Wilson says. His colleague, Otago University Professor Michael Baker, agrees. "It is a problem. I mean the reason that we've prioritised border workers and their families is that this adds to New Zealand's defences against the pandemic." Dr Ashley Bloomfield says the COVID-19 pandemic is "probably not even halfway through" and warns Kiwis not to get complacent. At the 1pm COVID-19 update on Wednesday with Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall, the Director-General of Health explained that the possibility of Aotearoa opening its borders next year is slim. "It depends, and the reason I'm saying that is, it is quite clear that this pandemic is probably not even halfway through," he said in response to a question on borders opening. It's possible, he added, that New Zealand "might be at the end of the beginning" but COVID-19 is a "tricky" virus. "We can see new variants emerging all the time, countries that previously were keeping the virus out are now challenged by that. We can see outbreaks emerging in countries like India recently that are extremely extensive." Palmerston North Airport has closed and all flights have been cancelled as police respond to reports of a threat. A police spokesperson told Newshub a threat was made at around 2:15pm and officers are currently working to establish the circumstances. Emergency services, including the New Zealand Defence Force's Explosive Ordnance Disposal team, are in attendance. The closure is a precautionary measure as an investigation into the threat continues, the spokesperson added. The airport's website says all arrivals and departures for Thursday evening have been cancelled. In response, both hotels stopped accommodating new returnees and a review into the facilities was launched. The reports into both were released on Thursday and found that while it was not possible to absolutely conclude where and how transmission occurred, "aerosol transmission is regarded as the most plausible pathway". "We, along with the Ministry of Health, have taken a really close look at what went on with these cases in March and April, not least to see how we can strengthen the wider MIQ system," said the Joint Head of Managed Isolation and Quarantine Brigadier Jim Bliss. "Each of the reports includes a number of recommendations for improvements, which are either complete or underway." He said this includes emptying out both facilities and "completing full, on-site assessments of the ventilation at these sites". Both will remain unoccupied until such work is finished. "A programme of extensive reviews and remediation of ventilation systems across all managed isolation facilities is underway. Remediation work at the Grand Mercure is almost complete. An extensive assessment of the Grand Millenniums ventilation system has been done and a remediation plan is being developed." At the Grand Millennium, the report found the virus most likely spread from the index case to Case A via aerosol transmission in a hallway and between Case B and C by direct exposure from two workers on the same shift. It emerged at the time that Case B hadn't been tested for serval months, leading to recommendations of improving barriers to staff testing and vaccination and continuing to improve data management systems. A KPMG assessment of that incident found Case B provided inaccurate information to their employer. First Security, stating they had undergone each of their required tests. "KPMG noted that First Security developed systems and processes to keep and maintain records of border workforce testing and ensured resources were in place to operate the system. "The system and processes were aligned to the relevant duties in the Required Testing Order and duties under Health and Safety at Work Act to protect workers from harm." It suggested making the Border Working Testing Register mandatory, which was done so in April. In regard to the Grand Mercure incidents, the review found that while aerosol transmission via a fresh air supply cavity "seems unlikely", it is "nonetheless the most plausible transmission pathway between the index and secondary case.". "The risk of downward airflow between rooms via the mechanism outlined by the ventilation experts, appears to be unique to the Grand Mercure Auckland. However, considering the range of IPC measures and mitigations in place, the overall risk of transmission to the returnees that were accommodated at the Grand Mercure, was low. "The review also found that a breach in bus protocols and non-compliance with the Standard Operating Procedures for the managed isolation walks programme led to the 14 returnees, classified as close contacts of the secondary case, staying an additional 14-day period in managed isolation. A breach in normal procedure resulted in the secondary cases blue wrist band not being removed in error and this returnee attended a managed isolation walk when they should not have, later to return a positive COVID-19 test." The Director-General of Health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, is reassuring returnees that they can feel confident in the MIQ system, which more than 140,000 people have moved through over the last year. "I want to reassure the New Zealand public that the overall risks to returnees of contracting COVID-19 within one of our managed isolation or quarantine facilities and taking it into the community has been, and continues to be, assessed by public health experts as very low." He said there are "multiple layers of defence" at the border and inside MIQ to create safeguards to protect returnees as well as workers and the wider community. "Thats why so many people have been able to go through MIQ, with only a very small number of incidents such as these," he said. "Where ever they occur, we investigate and make any required changes. As part of this process, the Ministry of Health undertakes regular infection prevention and control audits of the MIQ facilities, and any recommendations are actioned." University of Auckland Maori studies Professor Margaret Mutu says white supremacy has been in New Zealand since 1769 when English navigator Captain James Cook arrived. "Maori are very used to white supremacy and we experience it on a day-to-day basis. It's very, very normalised in this country, and often when Maori say that white supremacy or racism is affecting them, we're not believed," she tells Newshub. "These days, there is a heightened sense of sensitivity in the Pakeha world to the fact that racism exists, and I think this situation may have arisen because of the Black Lives Matter campaign in the United States." But white supremacy is something New Zealanders need to understand, she says. "New Zealand, in particular, has to understand it because it has become so normalised. White supremacy is not something that should ever be normalised." In terms of the attack the Maori Party has laid a complaint over, Mutu says she's seen similar onslaughts before but the media and police don't pick them up. "Maori are basically told 'it's just the way it is, ignore it, it's nothing'. Well, it is something, and I'm pleased now that the media is taking it seriously." Mutu explains that white supremacy came out of Europe, where in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Vatican permitted Christian explorers to lay claim to territories uninhabited by Christians. If lands were vacant, explorers could 'discover' and claim them in the name of their king or queen. Non-Christians, particularly indigenous people, on these 'discovered' lands were considered non-human and the land was empty or terra nullius. She says the rest of Europe picked up on this idea and that is how the British Empire formed. "These days, that is known as the doctrine of discovery. Basically, a white Christian could go into a non-white, non-Christian country, plant a stick in the ground with a bit of coloured rag on it, and claim the land on the right of discovery." Calling for repudiation The United Nations has spent the last decade urging countries to repudiate the doctrine of discovery since it was "used for centuries to justify seizure of indigenous land" and "subjugate people". "New Zealand is an outstanding case of a country that will not recognise, one, that the doctrine of discovery has been in place for 500 years, and two, how damaging it is to indigenous people in particular, but basically people who are non-white who suffer horrifically from the mentality, the cultural acceptance of the notion of white supremacy," Mutu says. "The United Nations has criticised New Zealand on many occasions in the last decade for not addressing this. So I'm really pleased that finally we have a conversation about white supremacy and racism happening in this country. It's way past time when this should've happened." Protestant churches, through the World Council of Churches, and the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States are among those that have repudiated the doctrine of discovery. The Vatican, however, has refused, and Mutu says many indigenous people, including some from New Zealand, have asked the Pope to repudiate it. In 2019, Maori Council executive director Matthew Tukaki wrote to Pope Francis calling for "an accounting of the trauma" the Vatican has caused and a repudiation of the doctrine of discovery. He said it had "fueled white supremacy" and supported the "dehumanisation, dispossession, murder, and forced assimilation" of those indigenous peoples. The race-based death threats the white supremacist made against Maori recently is "very, very concerning" to Mutu, but says Maori are constantly on alert that they could be the target. "What happened in Christchurch with the Christchurch massacre was something that was just not unexpected for Maori, it's just we weren't the target that time," she says, referring to the 2019 Christchurch shootings where 51 Muslims were killed during Friday prayers. "We had huge sympathy for the Muslim community, but we are in exactly the same position as they are." Following the Maori Party's official complaint to the IPCA, co-leaders Debbie Ngawera-Packer and Rawiri Waititi have since called for the establishment of a joint task force to investigate anti-Maori hate speech from white supremacists. Lakes in New Zealand and around the world are rapidly losing oxygen, scientists say, putting biodiversity and access to fresh drinking water at risk. Since 1980, oxygen levels deep in 400 different lakes in temperate regions around the world - including Taupo, Tarawera and Brunner - have dropped significantly, according to new research published in Nature. At the surface, they have on average 5.6 percent less than 40 years ago. In deep water, there's 18.6 percent less oxygen. And in the few lakes where oxygen concentrations have risen, it's been accompanied by blooms of toxin-releasing cyanobacteria. "All complex life depends on oxygen. It's the support system for aquatic food webs," said Kevin Rose, freshwater ecologist at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. "This has been a difficult decision and it will be incredibly tough to leave him, but Rachel and our family, have found comfort and are at peace that he has found his resting place where he loved to be the most, and what a beautiful spot he chose." Brittain went on to thank the thousands who had been involved in the search for her brother. "We are so grateful and will never be able to thank you enough." Earlier this week, a Givealittle page set up to raise funds for the search operation raised $50,615 in just 23 hours. Brittain said these donations would be given to volunteer organisations. "Thanks to all of Jordans family and friends for all your messages and support. Stradbroke Island will forever be a special place for us all." On Tuesday, Brisbane Water Police's Acting Senior Sergeant Mitch Gray told ABC Kelly and McDonald had planned to remain close to shore, but "something's taken a turn". He said McDonald was "doing it tough" in the aftermath of his friend's disappearance. "Being there all the way to the end and then having to make that decision to paddle back to land - I can't imagine what that would feel like." Shamokin, PA (17872) Today Rain showers in the morning with numerous thunderstorms developing in the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 74F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Fairbanks, AK (99707) Today A shower or two possible this evening with partly cloudy skies overnight. Low 52F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight A shower or two possible this evening with partly cloudy skies overnight. Low 52F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%. The success of Geneva Watch Days 2020 has encouraged its founding and associated brands to organise the event again in 2021 with a very similar format: phygital, global, decentralised, self-managed and open to the public. Scheduled on approximately the same dates as last year from August 30th to September 3 rd it will bring together a group of some 20 brandsrepresenting the art of horology in various hotels, manufactures and boutiques in the worlds watchmaking capital. While each of the Maisons will present its new products to the press and to customers in its own space whether in a boutique, manufacture or hotel this initiative will constitute one of the major multi-brand in-person watchmaking event in Switzerland. A common area set up at the Rotonde du Mont-Blanc be the rallying point. The show will be both physical and digital, enabling customers and media still facing travel restrictions related to public health constraints in certain countries to discover the latest models in real time thanks to video-conferencing technologies, making it global in scope and reach. In addition to the respective exhibitions during the day, Geneva Watch Days will also celebrate this four-day eventin the evening with some festive moments organised exclusively forthe media and the associated brands customers, in strict compliance with prevailing public health measures, including social distancing. This will in no way dampen the convivial atmosphere, particularly because the vaccination campaigns will by then have been carried out on a massive scale, particularly in Switzerland. This initiative was launched by a pool of Founding Benefactor Brands including Bvlgari, Breitling, De Bethune, Gerald Genta, Girard-Perregaux, H. Moser & Cie., MB&F, Ulysse Nardin and Urwerk, which have formed a non-profit association alongside Associated Brands: Arnold & Son, Czapek, Doxa, Ferdinand Berthoud, Frederique Constant Group, Maurice Lacroix, Oris and Reuge. A few additional Maisons are still under discussion to join the event, which, of course, remains open to any brand wishing to be associated with it. Just as in 2020, Geneva Watch Days 2021 will benefit from the official support of the State and the City of Geneva. She touched a lot of lives, said Karen Pearl, the current CEO of Gods Love. A lot of people are missing her already. So much of what Ganga put in place remains our foundation, which is pretty amazing: Food is love, act with urgency, no bureaucracy. If youre sick and you cant wait, were going to get you your meals. Fairbanks, AK (99707) Today Rain showers this evening with clearing overnight. Low 52F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with clearing overnight. Low 52F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574. Community Perspective Send Community Perspective submissions by mail (P.O. Box 70710, Fairbanks AK 99707) or via email (letters@newsminer.com). Submissions must be 500 to 750 words. Columns are welcome on a wide range of issues and should be well-written and well-researched with attribution of sources. Include a full name, email address, daytime telephone number and headshot photograph suitable for publication (email jpg or tiff files at 150 dpi.) You may also schedule a photo to be taken at the News-Miner office. The News-Miner reserves the right to edit submissions or to reject those of poor quality or taste without consulting the writer. Letters to the editor Send letters to the editor by mail (P.O. Box 70710, Fairbanks AK 99707), by fax (907-452-7917) or via email (letters@newsminer.com). Writers are limited to one letter every two weeks (14 days.) All letters must contain no more than 350 words and include a full name (no abbreviation), daytime and evening phone numbers and physical address. (If no phone, then provide a mailing address or email address.) The Daily News-Miner reserves the right to edit or reject letters without consulting the writer. Two parents from King City, Missouri, are charged with first-degree child endangerment and neglect. According to court documents, Sharon Reynolds and Jeremy Holland are alleged to have left two children home alone on May 30. The officer who responded to a call of unattended children said he could see a small child approximately 3 years of age inside the home, according to a probable cause statement. The officer could not get an adult to come to the door, the court document said. The parents were contacted by phone by the officer, and it was discovered that they were on their way to see another child at Childrens Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, the probable cause statement said. After the officer spoke with Reynolds and Holland on the phone, they returned to King City. A search of the home revealed an overwhelming smell of urine and animal feces, according to the court documents. Both Reynolds and Holland made an initial appearance in court Wednesday. NEW YORK (AP) After decades of photographing rock stars, movie stars and heads of state, Annie Leibovitz has added a business leader to her portfolio: Former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi. Leibovitz's shot of a stylish but relatively casual Nooyi, wearing a dark sweater and pants, will appear on the cover of Nooyi's memoir My Life in Full, scheduled to come out Sept. 28. Nooyi is expected to write about her childhood in India, her experiences as an immigrant at Yale University's business school and how she became the rare woman and person of color to reach the highest levels of corporate power. She worked at PepsiCo for 24 years, 12 of them as CEO, before stepping down in 2018. It is not so much that Indra is a CEO but it is who she is," Leibovitz said in a statement Wednesday. "I have always been interested in what someone does. Indra has paved the way for so many women in business. As a mother, I would like my three daughters to read her memoir. BOONE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ) Deputies are working to return stolen property found Wednesday night. According to a Facebook post from the Boone County Sheriff's Office, deputies found what appeared to be a temporary storage place for stolen items in the 6000 block of Creasy Springs Road. Deputies found two stolen cargo trailers and a boat trailer. The sheriff's office said there were also several other items believed to be stolen. Deputies are trying to find the owners of those items. Some of the trailers appear to have been painted. Deputies posted pictures of the items to Facebook. People who may recognize the items in the photos are asked to contact the sheriff's office at 573-442-6131 or 311. Captain Brian Leer said the department was able to return several of the stolen items, including one that was taken from a local church. Leer said there have not been any arrests in the case yet. He said the property owner is not involved and discovered the items had been stored on their property. On May 25, Sister Maria Larkin passed away at the age of 93. You may not think you knew her, but theres a good chance you do if you travel around downtown Atchison. She was the tall, stately woman you saw walking briskly over one of the downtown overpasses or headed up the hill towards the courthouse, often with an umbrella to shield her from the summer sun. Almost every day, she went to the local jail to minister to the incarcerated. For decades, she led a life that was in some ways typical of the Benedictine sisters here, but in other ways quite extraordinary. She was typical in that she spent most of her career teaching, first in grade schools, then in high schools, especially the Mount Academy, and finally at Benedictine College. In those early years, she was known as Sister Vincent. In the 1960s, many of the sisters went back to their baptismal names, which helped them in legal matters such as passports. This would have been of special benefit for Sister Maria as her passport got a lot of use. As a teacher of French and Spanish, she had many grants and opportunities to practice her language skills, studying in France, Canada, Switzerland, Mexico, Brazil and Colombia. She also spent three years as a missionary in Peru and did some shorter-term teaching in Quebec and Taiwan. After her retirement, though, she found an even more extraordinary way to be a missionary right here in Atchison. It began when she assisted Spanish-speaking immigration detainees, but she soon realized they needed more than practical communication. She began to take religious materials not only to them, but to the English-speaking prisoners who were attracted to her gentle presence and her concern for each of them. Many of them stayed in touch with her long after their release for her support and inspiration. Even in her 90s, she continued to do what she could at the jail (although the sisters insisted on driving her there by then). She could be seen every day at the monastery making copies of religious materials or selecting just the right greeting card for one of her many correspondents. At her death, the community received notes of condolence from a broad range of former students, prisoners and jail personnel. Jesus specifically mentions visits to prisoners in the list of things on which we will be judged at the end of our lives. I was a prisoner and you visited me. In the 25th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus describes the last judgment in such terms. He doesnt say, You came to church every Sunday or You were financially successful or You made a good impression on people. He says simply and directly, Whatever you did for the least ones, you did for me. A short time before she died, Sister Maria confided to me that she was somewhat concerned about her own judgment time and felt that she had been too self-centered too often. If she thought she was selfish, then I must be barely clawing my way back from the gates of hell. Jesus own description of the checklist for eternal salvation is her assurance. Recently, two of our sisters have been to the Mexican border; others have gone before or will be going soon. Also on Jesus list are welcoming the stranger, taking in the homeless and feeding the hungry. We may not all be able to do these things in heroic ways, but there is no one who doesnt have some opportunity to serve God in Gods human images whom we meet every day. The works of mercy are criteria for salvation, not suggestions. CLAY COUNTY Through joint efforts with the Clay County Sheriffs Office and Missouri Attorney General Office, Christopher Meagher, proprietor of Metro Restoration, was arrested on consumer fraud charges filed in 2019 by the Missouri Attorney General in Clay, Jackson and Platte counties. Meagher was extradited to Missouri to stand trial for these charges. The Clay County Sheriffs Office worked diligently with the Attorney Generals Office and the U.S. Marshals to find Meagher, who ran to California, and extradite him to Missouri, states a release from the AGs office. The charges allege Meagher falsely promised consumers he would provide home repair services in exchange for upfront payment. Three victims of this fraud were elderly, states the release. Furthermore, the charges allege that Meagher forged the endorsements of consumers respective banks on insurance checks to more quickly access the funds with no oversight from the consumers mortgage holders. State lawmakers didnt have any trouble listing success stories from this years legislative session. Prescription drug monitoring, a gasoline tax for highway improvements and an online sales tax all crossed the finish line in 2021, after years of attempts in the Missouri Capitol. Even the state budget withstood the headwinds of the COVID-19 pandemic, something state Sen. Dan Hegeman, chairman of the appropriations committee, attributed to the governors more flexible approach that left most decisions on business closings and shutdowns to local communities. But at Wednesday mornings St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce public affairs event, the elephant in the room (and these were all Republicans on the stage) was once again Medicaid. Not Medicaid expansion, the issue that tied the legislature into knots and now heads to the courts. The more pressing problem with Medicaid, one that should lead to a special legislative session, involves $2.3 billion in funding for the program that helps pay health-care expenses for low-income Missourians and the disabled. If you havent yet heard of FRA, you probably will between now and Sept. 30. The federal reimbursement allowance is a tax on hospitals, pharmacies, ambulance systems and nursing homes that provides more than $2 billion for Medicaid and allows the state to draw down federal matching funds. An FRA extension usually sails through the legislature, but this year it got bogged down in abortion politics and didnt pass before adjournment. No funding source for Missouris largest government program leaves no good options. Either reduce services, which the federal government might not allow, or divert money from other state needs. That means critical funding for other local priorities, from schools to colleges to the Air Guard, could get diverted to cover the $2.3 billion budget hole. We will not be able to wait, said Hegeman, who attended the chamber event along with Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer and Reps. Brenda Shields and Dean Van Schoiack. We will need a special session. Thats how we pay for Medicaid, as it is today, without expansion. Gov. Mike Parson, not eager to see the legislature spin its wheels at taxpayer expense, said a special session is not a guarantee. He told Missourinet that he wouldnt call one unless he gets some sort of signal that the House and Senate are on the cusp of working out differences. Regardless of your stance on Medicaid expansion, all Missourians should hope that a deal is reached on FRA. Failure to do so would undermine much of the good work that elected leaders accomplished this year in Jefferson City. The Easton-Redding-Region 9 school board approved a diversity, equity and inclusion survey for students, parents and staff amid some controversy between community members. The optional survey is intended to help the school board gauge how safe, represented and included students and staff feel on campus and diagnose gaps in the curriculum that might hinder their ability to provide all students an education that is equitable and free from bias. This will really give us an opportunity to get a better picture of our students experiences and to give them an opportunity to share with us in ways that will help us support them going forward, school Superintendent Rydell Harrison said at the meeting. After months spent crafting and discussing the survey, the majority of board members voted to adopt it during a tri-district board meeting Tuesday evening. Board member Karen OBrien said she might have been on the fence about the survey coming into the meeting, but found a clarifying presentation given by Harrison and Assistant Superintendent Stephanie Pierson Ugol to be helpful. With the presentation tonight, its clear that parents have complete control over whether or not their child can participate, OBrien said, noting that parents can decide what their child is exposed to and that all of the angst the survey summoned will lead to better outcomes for students. Though members Jeff Parker, Randy Hicks and Mike Hoffman voted down the survey, and Todd Johnston abstained. I feel that theres a line between what is a school responsibility and what is a parent responsibility and as board members I feel we need to be cognizant of them and do our best not to cross it, Hoffman said. I think surveying our 11-year-old students about gender identification and sexual orientation crosses that line, crosses it hard, he added, underlining that he as well would not be supporting it. Several other board members, including Heather Whaley and Chris Hocker, spoke about the need for this survey that will be an opportunity to make voices heard. This isnt just a way that we can have a metric for success that we can measure ourselves against, but its also giving marginalized people the opportunity to tell their stories in a safe and inclusive manner and bring them in from the margins, Whaley said. Its so important to the people its important for and for the people that its not, they dont have to take them, she added. Now that it is approved, the board plans on sending the survey out before the school year ends to give them the summer to analyze the data work on developing a theory of action, according to Harrison. The survey will be distributed to students at the middle and high school levels, as well as to staff and parents on an opt-in basis, meaning students will only be able to take it after parents have given their consent. Theyll be able to take the survey at their leisure but within a specific time frame. Ugol explained parents will receive a description of the survey and the entire survey to review via email. From there, parents can choose whether or not their children will participate. Only when consent is provided will a link be sent to the student with an introduction, in addition to a parent survey all of which she emphasized is completely optional. She also said the data collected will be owned and safeguarded by the tri-board, noting there is no identifying information contained in the survey, and any information that could potentially be identifiable would be redacted. Harrison indicated none of the data will be used in isolation nor to determine a majority. Rather, he said the information will help the school board measure progress and make informed decisions about professional learning. Board members were originally going to cast a vote on the survey at a May 25 meeting but decided against doing so after an hours-long public commentary ensued during which some community members raised concerns. Those opposed to the survey argued multiple points stating that the survey broaches private subjects such as sexual orientation, which are discussions meant to be talked about at home instead of at school. Similar concerns resurfaced during the Tuesday meeting but were addressed by board members who encouraged community members to respect opposing views. A couple of weeks ago when I got the first round of comments I thought, this isnt Armageddon, this is a survey. Its a tool, Hocker said. It is going to hopefully give us information that can be used in some sort of fashion to make kids lives better. Its not perfect, its not going to solve all the problems of the world. If you look at it as a tool and part of a process, theres really no need for that. But more than two decades later, the case came under scrutiny by defense attorneys for the trio as well as by Katzs newly formed Conviction Integrity Unit, which found that key evidence of another crews involvement in the crime was withheld, as were the mental-health issues of a star witness in the case. DANBURY Following strong public opposition, the nonprofit looking to turn the Super 8 Motel into a permanent homeless shelter has withdrawn its zoning proposal, but the plan is still alive. Its still moving forward, Mayor Joe Cavo said. Its still a go. Attorney Ward Mazzucco, who represents the Stamford-based Pacific House, said the nonprofit may not submit another application for zoning approval because he argued it didnt need to. Shelters are not permitted in the zone this Lake Avenue Extension property is in, but hotels are allowed, and hotels and shelters are similar in use because guests are transient in both cases, he said. Dont forget that the building is approved as a hotel, he said. The use by short-term residents is the essence of being a hotel, so we dont see any inconsistency between the hotel approval and the current use of the property. The citys planning director had argued similarly in its report on the original application to the Zoning Board of Appeals, saying that a shelter at that site would not be inconsistent with property designations outlined in the Plan of Conservation and Development. But these similarities may not allow the nonprofit to get out of zoning approval. City zoning regulations have different definitions for hotels and shelters. Its a different use, said Sharon Calitro, the citys planning director. She said the attorney has not told the city its plans. We would have to evaluate where that would put them if that were to be the case, said Calitro of Mazzuccos idea. They havent indicated that that is their intent. Other options the nonprofit could take include applying for a zoning change or amendment, as well as reapplying for a use variance, she said. Public opposition Mark Nolan, a property owner and opponent of the shelter, said the applicants should go through the land use boards, just like any other developer. Hotels and shelters are different because the former guests pay and the latter guests dont, he said. Plus, the plan called for a number of permanent beds, he noted. Its just preposterous, said Nolan, who owns affordable housing in the area and had chaired the Danbury Housing Partnership, which was created as part of the former mayors 10-year plan to end homelessness. The nonprofit initially sought a use variance through the Zoning Board of Appeals, an approach community members criticized during an hours-long public hearing in mid-May. To get a use variance, applicants must prove a hardship, with the nonprofit arguing concerns about the transmission of COVID-19 and the governors executive orders related to shelters during the pandemic constituted as one. Residents had scoffed at this, with at least one saying COVID is over, adding that the pandemic affected everyone and was not unique to this property. When I saw there was a lot of resistance to the variance approach, I considered other options and determined the current approval of the building was fine for our uses, Mazzucco said. He said he emailed the city over the weekend to withdraw the application. As of Thursday morning, the Zoning Board of Appeals posted a cancellation notice for its June 10 meeting, when the public hearing on the proposal was meant to continue. We work closely with the folks at City Hall and it may be that another approach arises, but this is all recent developments, so well see what happens, Mazzucco said. The withdrawal of the application was a sign to resident Ernesto Rodriguez of the proposals flaws. This application has a lot of holes, he said. It has no merit. Mazzuccos plan reminded Rodriguez of Dorothy Day Hospitality House, a shelter that operated on Spring Street without the proper permits. Rodriguez lived near the shelter and helped lead efforts against it, with the nonprofit losing its appeal this winter of a city shutdown order. Im confident it (the Super 8) will not be a legal shelter, based on the citys history of allowing shelters without permits to operate, he said. Residents have said they are worried about the effect the shelter would have on their neighborhoods, businesses and crime. A new model The state and Pacific House worked together to purchase the Super 8, where homeless individuals have been staying since early into the coronavirus pandemic. The state provided nearly $4.63 million in federal coronavirus relief funds for the nonprofit to purchase the motel for what is seen as a better way to serve homeless individuals. Im appalled the state of Connecticut would have released ($4.63 million) for something that did not have a proper use of our taxpayer dollars, Nolan said. These resources should go to local nonprofits that support homeless individuals and offer transitional housing, he said. Pacific House already provides services to the individuals staying at the motel and has found permanent housing for more than 100 people. Clients may stay in the shelter all day, unlike the traditional shelters that operated prior to COVID. It will actually take people off the streets, which is not only better for health purposes, but it also reduces the street interactions that some residents were apprehensive about, Mazzucco said. The shelter is operating legally currently under the governors executive order providing non-congregate housing for homeless individuals. That order is in effect through July 20, but Cavo said the governor could extend it again. The state really wants to see this non-congregate housing model work here in the state of Connecticut, he said. They are firmly entrenched in seeing that this succeeds. RIDGEFIELD While town officials have decided to resume its annual fireworks display, residents will have more to choose from to celebrate the Fourth of July weekend in Ridgefield. In addition to the July 5 fireworks, First Selectman Rudy Marconi said there will be a concert on July 4 at Ballard Park featuring Broadway star Debbie Gravitte and her band. The show kicks off at 4 p.m. Following the holiday, the town will light up the night sky from Tiger Hollow Stadium on July 5. The gates are scheduled to open between 6 and 6:30 p.m. Were in the organizing part of it because we were expecting that we would not be having fireworks, but given the good progress Connecticut has made in our community and surrounding areas, we feel comfortable hosting a fireworks display, Marconi said. (It) promises to be a good show, hopefully. The town is not implementing social distancing for the event but does ask anyone who has not been vaccinated or is concerned about other people being contagious to wear a mask. We could have 4,000 people there, (so) to control social distancing is a bit of a task and we dont have the manpower for that, Marconi explained. If that was a requirement we wouldnt be doing the fireworks, but were not looking at any guidelines or protocols its time to start living again. Therell be lights both in the sky and on the ground as glow sticks will be made available, Marconi noted. I am going to be lit, he joked. The Ridgefield Chamber of Commerce is helping to organize food trucks and vendors for the fireworks that will be placed at the schools entrance. Residents will be charged $20 per car, which will go towards funding the fireworks. According to Marconi, the fireworks alone cost the town about $26,000. Tacking on police and fire overtime for the event boosts the cost to nearly $50,000. While the town is looking to raise most of the money through sponsors, Marconi hopes parking passes will make up the rest. If the revenue from parking passes and donations from sponsors does not cover the cost, the town wont pick up the tab. Marconi has asked anyone who might have a few extra dollars to spare and wants to contribute to do so. LONDON (AP) Britain said Thursday that it is removing Portugal from its list of COVID-safe travel destinations, meaning thousands of U.K. residents currently on vacation there face the prospect of 10 days' quarantine on return. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the difficult decision was prompted by rising infection rates in Portugal and worries about new versions of the coronavirus that could prove resistant to vaccines. He said a mutation of the delta variant first identified in India was causing particular concern. He said theres a sort of Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant which has been detected and we just dont know the potential for that to be a vaccine-defeating mutation and simply dont want to take the risk as we come up to June 21 the date the U.K. government hopes to lift remaining coronavirus restrictions. The change will take effect at 4 a.m. (0300GMT) on Tuesday. Territories including Iceland, Israel and the Falkland Islands remain on the U.K. green list. Also starting Tuesday, Britain is adding seven countries Afghanistan, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Trinidad and Tobago to its red list of places with severe COVID-19 outbreaks. All but essential travel to red list countries is barred, and U.K. residents returning from any of them must spend 10 days in a government-approved quarantine hotel. The U.K. has recorded almost 128,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest toll in Europe. A mass vaccination campaign that started in December has given two doses of vaccine to more than half the adult population and brought new infections and deaths down sharply. But case numbers are once again rising as the more transmissible delta variant spreads across the U.K. Public Health England said that strain was now dominant in the U.K, displacing a variant first identified last year in southeast England and dubbed alpha by the World Health Organization. The agency said early evidence suggests there may be an increased risk of hospital admission from the delta variant. Portugal is a major destination for sun-seeking Britons, and was the only large tourism destination on the U.K. governments green list, announced last month, of places that can be visited without the need to self-isolate on return. Tourism, by mainly British visitors, is a mainstay of the southern European countrys economy, accounting for around 15% of annual gross domestic product. Portugals foreign ministry said it cant understand the logic" behind the British decision. Portugal is continuing its easing of its lockdown, prudently and gradually, with clear rules for the safety of those who reside here or visit us, it said in a tweet. The travel industry reacted with dismay to the U.K. announcement. Ministers spent last month hailing the restart of international travel, only to close it down three weeks later, all but guaranteeing another lost summer for the travel sector," Heathrow Airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye said. Andrew Flintham, managing director of travel company TUI UK, said moving Portugal off the green list will do untold damage to customer confidence. We were reassured that a green watch list would be created and a weeks notice would be given so travelers wouldnt have to rush back home," he said. They have failed on this promise. Along with the nations designated red or green, the British government has classified dozens of amber list countries, including the United States. Travelers from amber countries must complete a 10-day quarantine at home. ___ Follow all of APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) Former FBI Director Robert Mueller will participate in a University of Virginia School of Law course examining his investigation into ties between Russia and Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign. The six-session course called The Mueller Report and the Role of the Special Counsel will be offered during the fall semester, the university said in a news release Wednesday. JERUSALEM (AP) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus opponents announced Wednesday that they have reached a deal to form a new governing coalition, paving the way for the ouster of the longtime Israeli leader. The dramatic announcement by opposition leader Yair Lapid and his main coalition partner, Naftali Bennett, came shortly before a midnight deadline and prevented what could have been Israel's fifth consecutive election in just over two years. This government will work for all the citizens of Israel, those that voted for it and those that didnt. It will do everything to unite Israeli society, Lapid said. The agreement still needs to be approved by the Knesset, or parliament, in a vote that is expected to take place early next week. If it goes through, Lapid and a diverse array of partners that span the Israeli political spectrum will end Netanyahus record-setting but divisive 12-year rule. Netanyahu, desperate to remain in office while he fights corruption charges, is expected to do everything possible in the coming days to prevent the new coalition from taking power. If he fails, he will be pushed into the opposition. Oded Balilty/AP The deal comes at a tumultuous time for Israel, which fought an 11-day war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip last month while also experiencing mob violence between Jews and Arabs in cities across the country. The country also is emerging from a coronavirus crisis that caused deep economic damage and exposed tensions between the secular majority and the ultra-Orthodox minority. Under the agreement, Lapid and Bennett will split the job of prime minister in a rotation. Bennett, a former ally of Netanyahu, is to serve the first two years, while Lapid is to serve the final two years though it is far from certain their fragile coalition will last that long. The historic deal also includes a small Islamist party, the United Arab List, which would make it the first Arab party ever to be part of a governing coalition. In the coming days, Netanyahu is expected to continue to put pressure on hard-liners in the emerging coalition to defect and join his religious and nationalist allies. Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin, a member of Netanyahu's Likud party, may also use his influence to delay the required parliamentary vote. There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu or Likud. Lapid called on Levin to convene the Knesset for the vote as soon as possible. Netanyahu has been the most dominant player in Israeli politics over the past three decades serving as prime minister since 2009 in addition to an earlier term in the late 1990s. Despite a long list of achievements, including last years groundbreaking diplomatic agreements with four Arab countries, he has become a polarizing figure since he was indicted on charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in 2019. Each of the past four elections was seen as a referendum on Netanyahus fitness to rule. And each ended in deadlock, with both Netanyahus supporters as well as his secular, Arab and dovish opponents falling short of a majority. A unity government formed with his main rival last year collapsed after just six months. The new deal required a reshuffling of the Israeli political constellation. Three of the parties are led by hard-line former Netanyahu allies who had personal feuds with him, while the United Arab List made history as a kingmaker, using its leverage to seek benefits for the country's Arab minority. This is the first time an Arab party is a partner in the formation of a government, said the party's leader, Mansour Abbas. This agreement has a lot of things for the benefit of Arab society, and Israeli society in general. Among the concessions secured by Abbas were agreements for legal recognition of Bedouin villages in southern Israel, an economic plan for investing 30 billion shekels ($9.2 billion) in Arab towns and cities, and a five-year plan for combating violent crime in Arab communities, according to Army Radio. Lapid, 57, entered parliament in 2013 after a successful career as a newspaper columnist, TV anchor and author. His new Yesh Atid party ran a successful rookie campaign, landing Lapid the powerful post of finance minister. But he and Netanyahu did not get along, and the coalition quickly crumbled. Yesh Atid has been in the opposition since 2015 elections. The party is popular with secular, middle-class voters and has been critical of Netanyahus close ties with ultra-Orthodox parties and said the prime minister should step down while on trial for corruption charges. The ultra-Orthodox parties have long used their outsize political power to secure generous budgets for their religious institutions and exemptions from compulsory military service. The refusal of many ultra-Orthodox Jews to obey coronavirus safety restrictions last year added to widespread resentment against them. Bennett, 49, is a former top aide to Netanyahu whose small Yamina party caters to religious and nationalist hard-liners. Bennett was a successful high-tech entrepreneur and leader of the West Bank settler movement before entering politics. In order to secure the required parliamentary majority, Lapid had to bring together eight parties that have little in common. Their partners include a pair of dovish, left-wing parties that support Palestinian independence and three hard-line parties that oppose major concessions to the Palestinians and support West Bank settlements. Lapid's Yesh Atid and Blue and White, a centrist party headed by Defense Minister Benny Gantz, and the United Arab List are the remaining members. The coalition members hope their shared animosity toward Netanyahu will provide enough incentive to find some common ground. Today, we succeeded. We made history, said Merav Michaeli, leader of the dovish Labor Party. The negotiations went down to the wire, with Labor and Yamina feuding over the makeup of a parliamentary committee. Earlier this week, when Bennett said he would join the coalition talks, he said that everyone would have to compromise and give up parts of their dreams. In order to form a government, a party leader must secure the support of a 61-seat majority in the 120-seat parliament. Because no single party controls a majority on its own, coalitions are usually built with smaller partners. Thirteen parties of various sizes are in the current parliament. As leader of the largest party, Netanyahu was given the first opportunity by the countrys figurehead president to form a coalition. But he was unable to secure a majority with his traditional religious and nationalist allies. After Netanyahus failure to form a government, Lapid was then given four weeks to cobble together a coalition. That window was set to expire at midnight. Lapid already faced a difficult challenge bringing together such a disparate group of partners. But then war broke out with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip on May 10. The fighting, along with the eruption of Arab-Jewish mob violence in Israeli cities during the war, put the coalition talks on hold. But after a cease-fire was reached on May 21, the negotiations resumed, and Lapid raced to sew up a deal. He reached a breakthrough on Sunday when Bennett agreed to join the opposition coalition. ___ Associated Press Writer Ilan Ben Zion contributed to this report. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) A move by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to shutter more than 50 shelters housing about 4,000 migrant children could seriously disrupt a national program that already faces strained capacity to properly care for minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border alone. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which cares for migrant children, said Wednesday that it did not intend to close any facilities but that it was assessing the Republican governor's late Tuesday disaster declaration. The proclamation directs a state agency to deny or discontinue within 90 days licenses for child care facilities sheltering migrant children. Groups that represent migrant children and reunite them with their families said the order could be harmful because it may mean more minors are sent to mass-scale, unlicensed facilities that attorneys and advocates say endanger their health and safety. Abbott argues that the federal government cant force Texas to keep issuing state licenses in response to a federal problem. The U.S. government funds 56 shelters in Texas, out of about 200 licensed shelters in the country. The last census taken on May 19 showed 4,223 children in 52 of those state-licensed shelters, according to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. The agency was directed to remove the licenses and sent a notice to providers Wednesday telling them to wind down operations by Aug. 30. After that date, it says, if you are still providing care for individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States under a contract with the federal government, HHSC will take necessary steps to comply with the proclamation. The highly unusual move to order a disaster declaration usually reserved for natural disasters or health crises comes amid Abbott's criticism of record numbers of border crossings in recent months. He has increased the presence of the Texas Department of Public Safety and National Guard in south Texas. Abbott also has been critical of emergency facilities that lack state licenses, which may end up taking in more children if his order succeeds in shuttering smaller shelters. In April, Texas officials announced they were investigating three reports alleging abuse and neglect at a San Antonio coliseum holding more than 1,600 migrant teens. There also have been abuse or neglect investigations at state-licensed facilities, and Texas lists 18 total citations between April and May. Some critics worry the disaster declaration could set a precedent for other Republican governors to thwart efforts by the Biden administration to increase capacity in a network of licensed shelters. Governors in Iowa and Nebraska have rejected federal requests to house migrant children, saying they oppose President Joe Bidens stance on caring for minors before they are reunited with family in the U.S. This is a transparent and troubling ploy to politicize a humanitarian crisis," Krish OMara Vignarajah, head of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, said in a statement. Because Texas-based shelters comprise a significant portion of U.S. capacity, this order could do real damage, and to the serious detriment of childrens well-being. The increasing arrival of migrant children has tested the Biden administration, with the U.S. government picking up nearly 19,000 children traveling alone across the Mexican border in March and more than 17,000 in April. The record-setting numbers come as the administration decided to exempt unaccompanied children from federal pandemic-related powers to immediately expel most migrants from the country without giving them an opportunity to seek asylum. The pandemic also has meant less capacity at small and medium-size shelters that care for minors. The program lost thousands of beds due to COVID-19 restrictions, bringing down the tally to about 7,100 by February. With fewer beds in smaller shelters and growing numbers of children crowding U.S. Border Patrol stations, the Biden administration awarded huge contracts to private companies to set up unlicensed emergency facilities at convention centers, military bases and other large venues in March. These venues resemble hurricane evacuation shelters with little space to play and no privacy, and critics say the contractors are not equipped to adequately care for the minors. Health and Human Services has refused access to news media once children are at the facilities, citing the pandemic and privacy restrictions. Advocates and lawmakers who have been allowed to visit have expressed concerns about children's mental health at the sites where hundreds can sleep in cots in large tents. These facilities require fewer youth care workers and clinicians per child and no traditional legal oversight, skirting state regulations. The Biden administration has maintained that the sites provide lifesaving services for children, with officials assuring lawmakers that minors would be kept in large-scale settings no more than two weeks, then placed with family in the U.S. or sent to a permanent licensed facility. But some children have been at the large venues much longer. Doing away with more state-licensed shelters is a wrongheaded approach, said Wendy Young, president of Kids in Need of Defense, which provides legal services to immigrant children. At a time when the United States needs far more licensed placement settings for unaccompanied migrant children, the order threatens to leave the nation with far less," Young said. ___ Gomez Licon reported from Miami. Coronado is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. If the government wants to bring closure to this case, it can do so tomorrow and assure that Mr. Saipov never ever leaves a prison in his life. If they do not pursue the death penalty, that is what will happen, Patton said. HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) Former mixed martial arts fighter Tito Ortiz has quit his post on the City Council of Huntington Beach, California after spending about six months in politics for the first time and attracting harsh criticism for his anti-mask views and for filing for unemployment benefits while serving on the council. Ortiz, who was the city's mayor pro tem, announced his resignation Tuesday night during the first in-person council meeting held this year. This job isnt working for me, Ortiz said. In a 6-0 vote Wednesday, the City Council chose Councilwoman Barbara Delgleize as the new mayor pro tem. She will hold the post until December. Meanwhile, the council will begin discussing the appointment of someone to fill Ortiz's vacated seat, according to a city statement. Ortiz said he made the decision to resign on behalf of his family after being subjected to what he labeled as attacks by the media, the Orange County Register reported. Ortiz did not specify what media reports he considered attacks, but his two sons recently made national news when they were sent home from school after arriving without required face masks. As of recent, the attacks against me have moved into involving my family, Ortiz said. When my childrens safety becomes a matter, Im a father and Im going to protect my children. Ortiz, the former UFC light heavyweight champion and a local celebrity, was elected in November 2020. His tenure was rocky after he refused to wear a mask at city events and referred to coronavirus safety measures as a conspiracy. Then in February, Ortiz filed an unemployment claim against the city with the California Employment Development Department despite the fact he continued to earn his council member stipend and expense allowance. The unemployment filing became public in April. Ortiz has denied that his unemployment claim was improper, saying the allegations were politically motivated. In his parting comments, Ortiz said he thought he was was up to this job. "Im sorry to let down many of my supportive constituents and I pray theyll understand," he added. SELF LOVE CRISIS: 34% percent of LGBTQ2+ people in Canada rank in the lowest quartile of self love. TORONTO, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ - The Body Shop Canada has released data that reveals 34% of LGBTQ2+ people in Canada rank in the lowest quartile of self love. The figures are the latest to be shared from the company's worldwide research conducted by Ipsos - The Body Shop Self Love Index* . Recognising this index result may come from a range of factors such as discrimination, rejection and homophobia, The Body Shop is pledging to not only celebrate self-expression this World Pride Month, but to also fight for LGBTQ2+ equality. This Pride, The Body Shop invites members of the public to join them as they fight against labels that inhibit self-love, drawing on the power of collective action, allyship and celebration of diversity and community. Hilary Lloyd, VP Marketing & Values, North America said: "The Body Shop supports the All Blood is Equal Coalition to end the discriminatory blood donation ban that some from the LGBTQ2+ community face. In Canada, each year thousands of willing blood donors are turned away because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Prospective donors who are gay, bisexual, two-spirit, queer men and trans women face an arbitrary, discriminatory 3-month period of abstinence before they can donate blood." Starting today, The Body Shop Canada is encouraging consumers to visit its Pride Hub online and sign the All Blood is Equal Coalition petition, or visit its stores across Canada to do the same. The Body Shop is matching each signature by donating $1 to the All Blood is Equal Coalition, up to $10,000. "When we rely on sexual orientation or gender identity for blood donation criteria, it's inherently discriminatory." Osmel Maynes, Executive Director Capital Pride, founding member of the All Blood is Equal coalition. "Rather than eliminate potential donors based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, Canada should shift towards a behaviour and risk-based screening process." In addition to its Pride initiative, The Body Shop has made a deeper commitment to its LGBTQ2+ family of colleagues reviewing and enhancing its internal policies to ensure transgender employees are supported. "We are proud to support The Body Shop's LGBTQ2+ family of colleagues and customers to live their lives to their fullest," Lloyd said. "We seek to empower all our colleagues and customers to be allies, including shining a light on LGBTQ2+ equality this Pride season." Tommy Dorfman, Actor and one of The Body Shop's North American 'Leading Lights' added: "For our community, finding strength within yourself and believing you are 'enough' as you are can be an act of social and political resistance. Just walking out the door is an act of strength and pride. But the fight isn't over. We have an incredible amount of adversity and violence to overcome and we must come together, with the mass support of our allies, to continue shaping a better future for ourselves; a world in which all members of our community -- especially trans folks -- are held safely and free to exist authentically. Liberation for all comes from the liberation of the most disenfranchised. You all have a responsibility to both stand and take actions in solidarity with the LGBTQ2+ community by listening, supporting, educating yourself, and engaging in acts of service to our freedoms." The Body Shop is calling on LGBTQ2+ people to focus on self-love during Pride season, and is encouraging anyone outside the LGBTQ2+ community to become a better ally. SELF LOVE MEANING *Self-love is many things, but it starts with the recognition and appreciation of our inner worth and value. ONE MILLION ACTS OF SELF LOVE Through the Pride campaign, petitioning, sharing ways to become a better ally and amplifying voices in the LGBTQ2+ community are all acts of self-love. It doesn't matter how big or small, every act can lead to big change. With this understanding, the one million acts movement highlights that self-love involves an action, and that action is at the heart of any change personal or global. TBS TOGETHER LGBTQ2+ NETWORK The Body Shop's internal employee LGBTQ2+ Network, TBS Together has been the foundation of their external Pride activity. The network acts as consultants on all Pride messaging, to ensure it always authentically represents the challenges faced by the LGBTQ2+ community. ABOUT THE ALL BLOOD IS EQUAL COALITION GROUP All Blood is Equal is a national coalition of Canadian organizations committed to ending Canada's discriminatory blood donation ban. WHAT IS THE BLOOD DONATION BAN? The policy has evolved over time, from a lifetime ban to the current 3-month abstinence period, but is based on archaic, harmful assumptions that do not reflect the scientific realities, nor the values of our community. It is discriminatory to rely on sexual orientation and gender expression or identity to determine eligibility criteria for blood donation. The petition calls for a shift towards an evaluation that examines behaviour and risk instead of sexual orientation or gender identity to keep blood supplies safe. Such a policy that has been endorsed by scientists, medical professionals, and the Canadian Medical Association. METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH The study, devised by The Body Shop and leading market research firm Ipsos, ran between November and December 2020 with over 22,000 people, including 1,487 from the LGBTQ2+ community, surveyed across 21 different countries. The Self Love Index comprises a number of academic measures of self-worth, wellbeing, and happiness, and reveals how age, gender, country, and living standards impact how people feel about themselves. The survey was fielded for an average of 9 days in each country and took about 16 minutes to complete. Certain demographic questions were not asked in some countries due to sensitivities around cultural norms. Respondents included adults aged 18 and older. ABOUT THE BODY SHOP INTERNATIONAL Founded in 1976 in Brighton, England, by Dame Anita Roddick, The Body Shop is a global beauty brand and a certified B Corp. The Body Shop seeks to make positive change in the world by offering high-quality, naturally-inspired skincare, body care, hair care and make-up produced ethically and sustainably. Having pioneered the philosophy that business can be a force for good, this ethos is still the brand's driving force. The Body Shop operates about 3,000 retail locations in more than 70 countries. Along with Aesop, Avon and Natura, The Body Shop is part of Natura &Co, a global, multi-channel and multi-brand cosmetics group that is committed to generating positive economic, social and environmental impact. The four companies that form the group are committed to generating positive economic, social and environmental impact. SOURCE The Body Shop For further information: or to schedule an interview with Hilary Lloyd, VP of Marketing and Corporate Responsibility North America at The Body Shop Canada please contact Grayson Klimek, Senior Account Executive, [email protected] VANCOUVER, BC, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ - Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd. (the "Company" or "ReconAfrica") (TSXV: RECO) (OTCQX: RECAF) (Frankfurt: 0XD) announces the Company has set intermediate casing and is pleased to report geologic results in the first section of this second well (6-1), which again confirms a working petroleum system in the Kavango Sedimentary Basin. As well, the Company is strengthening its Environment, Social & Governance ("ESG") standard and committing a minimum of Canadian $10mm (Namibian $112mm) of ESG expenditures to the Kavango region in which it operates. Drilling Operations In keeping with its commitment to the Namibian government, on May 5, 2021 the Company commenced drilling operations of its second well (6-1), of an initial three well program to continue the evaluation of working conventional hydrocarbon systems confirmed in the first well (6-2) in the Kavango Sedimentary Basin. Having set and cemented 17 " surface casing at 150m, earlier this month, ReconAfrica has reached the intermediate casing point, set 12 " steel casing and has completed the cementing operation. Steel casing and cementing are key elements of all oil well drilling to protect natural aquifers. This work has been completed in accordance with international standards and best practices. Based on initial analysis of this first section, ReconAfrica is pleased to report 134m (440 feet) of light oil and gas shows from the 6-1 well. The shows are similar in character to those seen in the 6-2 well, 16 km to the south. This second well (6-1), like the first well (6-2), is in the same sub-basin, shows clear evidence of a working conventional petroleum system. ReconAfrica director Dr Jim Granath stated: "In these first two wells, the many oil and gas shows, with such variety, is certainly remarkable. It is highly encouraging to see clastic and thick carbonate sections which appear to have similar reservoir characteristics as observed in many other petroleum provinces." With the completion of the intermediate casing operation, the Company is drilling ahead on schedule to finish drilling operations of the 6-1 well by the end of June, 2021. Data Analysis ReconAfrica is again using industry leaders to provide analysis of this critical well, including Schlumberger, Geomark Research (Houston, Texas) and Netherland Sewell and Associates (Dallas, Texas). Due to the success of the 6-2 well, ReconAfrica has added additional scientific analysis to the already robust program of data capture and analysis for the 6-1 well, including capture of natural gas samples using IsoTubes technology to enable analysis of natural gas composition. In the first well (6-2), over 150 sidewall cores were taken and Core Labs (Houston, Texas), the industry leader in reservoir analysis, has begun a detailed scientific analysis program. In the first section of the 6-1 well currently drilling, 37 sidewall cores have been taken and are in transit to Core Labs. The results of this program will be used to finalize analysis of the 6-2 well, and to inform the initial analysis of the 6-1 well. Complete analysis of these two wells is expected to be completed by the end of July. The 6-1 and 6-2 wells are in the same sub-basin, one of five major sub-basins of the larger, more laterally extensive Kavango Sedimentary Basin. The upcoming 2D seismic survey will tie in the data from these two wells and provide the first regional interpretation of the overall basin. Environment, Social and Governance Progress Timeline "As ReconAfrica moves further into its early-stage exploration program, we are strengthening our Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) performance standards. Our goal in expanding our ESG program is to not only meet, but exceed regulatory compliance as we continue to implement measures to protect the environment, implement a net-zero carbon program and enhance the livelihoods of the people of Namibia," said Scot Evans, Chief Executive Officer of ReconAfrica. ReconAfrica is committed to building a successful exploration company while also being committed to building an ESG mandate globally for the next decade. ReconAfrica and its growing Reconnaissance Energy Namibia Pty. Ltd. (REN) team have structured an ESG plan to go hand in hand with its exploration mandate. For well over a year, the Company has met a number of important ESG and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) objectives and commitments. ReconAfrica has also engaged in a range of initiatives and activities which have improved the lives of people in their operating areas - including providing much-needed COVID-19 pandemic-response support and clean drinking water. The Company plans to outline a comprehensive plan and investments with milestones around its long term global ESG mandate within the next 60 days, however given the significant milestones it has already hit, it is important to update the market with the following: ReconAfrica's ESG framework provides a basis for measuring its performance against the highest global standards. Environment ReconAfrica has conducted comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessments to fully understand and protect the Kavango East and West regions, under the Namibian regulatory framework. The Company is working with all levels of government, Traditional Authorities and other stakeholders to protect Namibia's water, with three key goals to support its water management protection measures including: aquifer protection surface water and drainage management sustained protection of self-imposed project no-go zones ReconAfrica has a wildlife survey specialist as part of its ESG team to develop, implement and monitor rigorous wildlife-protection measures, in collaboration with the tourism industry, business organizations, governments, Traditional Authorities and multi-national conservation groups. Social ReconAfrica has completed extensive consultation and engagement initiatives with impacted and interested local, regional and national stakeholders; its engagement efforts include indigenous communities, at the invitation of San (Kwe) tribal leaders; this engagement is provided in local languages, with issues and concerns carefully tracked and addressed at follow-up sessions. The Company is using its drilling expertise to provide new potable water from the region's considerable aquifer systems; to date, the Company has drilled four solar-powered community water wells, with plans to drill and donate another six water wells as soon as permits are provided. ReconAfrica is working with local, regional and national suppliers and service providers to foster economic development; to date, ReconAfrica has employed more than 200 Namibian residents on its stratigraphic drilling project. ReconAfrica is working with Namibian educational institutions to enhance training programs in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). Governance ReconAfrica is committed to operating in compliance with its Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and other relevant policies to reinforce the sustainability of the Company's operations. Read more about our governance program here: https://reconafrica.com/about/corporate/ For a more comprehensive perspective, please see ReconAfrica's ESG Progress Timeline here: ESG Progress Timeline The Company is engaged in discussions with the Kavango East and West Regional Councils and Governors to identify social investment priorities. Among the initiatives under consideration are investments by ReconAfrica in farmland irrigation, educational scholarships, infrastructure and transportation funding, and health care delivery, among other potential social improvement initiatives. The Company's ESG indicators will be tracked and measured on an ongoing basis and will continue to evolve as the Company expands its activities in Namibia and Botswana. These indicators will be influenced by both operational developments and feedback from a range of Namibian, Botswanan and international stakeholders and ESG experts. As part of its ESG goals, ReconAfrica is also developing plans to address international Net Zero carbon emissions targets. While still at the earliest stage of stratigraphic exploration, with a limited emissions profile, the Company is prepared to set aggressive targets of its own to align with the global Net Zero roadmap. Future goals are also likely to be shaped by carbon-reduction commitments established by various levels of governments in the Company's operating regions. ReconAfrica plans to issue regular ESG and Technical Updates, reporting on measured indicators and progress toward its goals, commitments, and operational development plans. "ReconAfrica anticipates moving forward with Namibia and Botswana as these nations seek to explore their energy potential. We will continue to work collaboratively with a full commitment to the land, water, wildlife, and people of these two countries that have invited us, in good faith, to explore possibilities to achieve the energy sovereignty and independence that many other nations enjoy. We are also taking a fully global perspective as we advance, which means aligning ourselves in practical but determined ways to meet the challenges all countries face in addressing climate change," said Jay Park QC, Chairman of ReconAfrica. Ultimately, the people of Namibia and Botswana, through their traditional authorities, elected governments and regulatory agencies, will determine how the countries will manage their natural resources. About ReconAfrica ReconAfrica is a Canadian oil and gas company engaged in the opening of the newly discovered deep Kavango Sedimentary Basin, in the Kalahari Desert of northeastern Namibia and northwestern Botswana, where the Company holds petroleum licenses comprising approximately 8.5 million contiguous acres. In all aspects of its operations, ReconAfrica is committed to minimal disturbances in line with international best standards and will implement environmental and social best practices in all of its project areas. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information under applicable Canadian, United States and other applicable securities laws, rules and regulations, including, without limitation, statements with respect to data from the first section of the 6-1 well confirming a working conventional petroleum system in the Kavango Basin, the interpretation and analysis of data, results and samples from the 6-1 and 6-2 wells, the Company finishing drilling operations of the 6-1 well by the end of June 2021, the Company's expectation that the analysis of the two wells will be completed by the end of July 2021, the Company's proposed exploration activities and timelines and the anticipated results related thereto, including the upcoming 2D seismic survey tying in the data from the two wells and providing the first regional interpretation of the overall basin, the Company strengthening its ESG standards and committing a minimum of Canadian $10 million with the goal of exceeding regulatory compliance as the Company continues to implement measures to protect the environment, implement a net-zero carbon program and enhance the livelihoods of the people of Namibia, the goals of the Company's ESG program and framework and the plans and investments related thereto, the timing for the development of the Company's comprehensive ESG plan, the impact of the Company's ESG and CSR activities, the Company's plans to track and measure its ESG indicators and issue regular ESG and technical updates, the Company's implementation of environmental and social best practices and the Company's engagement with national, state and local authorities and communities 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 ReconAfrica's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as the Company's actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of the factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section in the Company's amended and restated annual information form dated May 19, 2021 available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Actual future results may differ materially. Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to ReconAfrica. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and ReconAfrica undertakes no 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 laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein. SOURCE Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd. For further information: RECONNAISSANCE ENERGY AFRICA LTD., Tel: 1-877-631-1160 | www.reconafrica.com, Email: [email protected]; IR Inquiries Email: [email protected]; Media Inquiries Email: [email protected] Related Links https://reconafrica.com/ LIMERICK, Ireland, June 2, 2021 /CNW/ - kneat.com, inc. (TSXV: KSI) ("Kneat") is pleased to announce that it has signed a three-year Master Services Agreement with one of the world's leading engineering, consultancy and design firms to digitize Commissioning, Qualification and Validation services to both their food and life sciences clients. This European-headquartered company employs over fifteen thousand people and delivers large capital engineering projects to multiple industry verticals, across more than ninety countries. After an extensive evaluation process, they selected Kneat as their corporate e-Validation platform. The Master Services Agreement, which is effective immediately, allows the company to scale Kneat across all operations. The customer's initial focus on capital project delivery to food and life sciences verticals represents a substantial opportunity for expansion of Kneat's software over the coming years. Implementation will commence in mid-June 2021 with an expected go-live date in September 2021. "We are pleased to be trusted as the solution of choice for this leading engineering firm", said Eddie Ryan, Chief Executive Officer of Kneat. "This win adds to our growing list of top tier customers in the life sciences supply chain and further validates the significant benefits our platform provides to this market segment." Kneat continues to expand its customer base and will report on further significant developments as they occur. About Kneat Kneat, a Canadian company with operational headquarters in Limerick, Ireland, develops and markets the next generation Kneat Gx SaaS platform. Multiple business work processes can be configured on the platform from equipment to computer system validation, through to quality document management. Kneat's software allows users to author, review, approve, execute testing online, manage any exceptions and post approve final deliverables in a controlled FDA 21 CFR Part 11/ Eudralex Annex 11 compliant platform. Macro and micro report dashboards enable powerful oversight into all systems, projects and processes globally. Customer case studies are reporting productivity improvements in excess of 100% and a higher data integrity and compliance standard. For more information visit www.kneat.com Cautionary and Forward-Looking Statements Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, certain information presented constitutes "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Such forward-looking information, includes, but is not limited to, the relationship between Kneat and the customer, Kneat's business development activities, the use and implementation timelines of Kneat's software within the customer's validation processes, the ability and intent of the customer to scale the use of Kneat's software within the customer's organization and the compliance of Kneat's platform under regulatory audit and inspection. While such forward-looking statements are expressed by Kneat, as stated in this release, in good faith and believed by Kneat to have a reasonable basis, they are subject to important risks and uncertainties. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, the events predicted in these forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results or events. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, given that they involve risks and uncertainties. Kneat does not undertake any obligation to release publicly revisions to any forward-looking statement, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Investors should not assume that any lack of update to a previously issued forward-looking statement constitutes a reaffirmation of that statement. Continued reliance on forward-looking statements is at an investors' own risk. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE kneat.com, inc. For further information: Hugh Kavanagh, Chief Financial Officer, kneat.com, inc., Kneat Solutions, Unit 7 Castletroy Business Park, Castletroy, Limerick, V94 KW28, Ireland T: +353 61 203826, E: [email protected] Related Links https://www.kneat.com/ CUMBERLAND - COLCHESTER, NS, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ - COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on persons with disabilities and has shed light on the number of Canadians that continue to face barriers to being fully included in their communities and workplaces. One of the many ways the Government of Canada is taking action to break down those barriers is through funding programs like the Enabling Accessibility Fund (EAF). Today, in celebration of National AccessAbility Week (NAAW) 2021, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Irek Kusmierczyk, and the Member of Parliament for CumberlandColchester, Lenore Zann, on behalf of the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough, hosted a virtual event to highlight four projects led by organizations in Cumberland-Colchester that received over $317,000 in EAF funding. Funding through the Small projects components of the Enabling Accessibility Fund (EAF) will support Factory 58 Holdings Inc., the Village of Bible Hill, Rath Eastlink Community Centre, and the Municipality of the County of Colchester. The EAF is a federal grants and contributions program that supports construction projects across Canada that improve the accessibility, safety and inclusion of persons with disabilities in our communities. The program helps provide vital accessible infrastructure such as ramps, automatic doors and accessible washrooms. It directly supports organizations so they can offer programs, services and employment opportunities to persons with disabilities. The projects announced today involve renovations of all sizes, from making two floors fully wheelchair accessible for the Municipality of the County of Colchester to installing a lift allowing access to another floor at Factory 58 Holdings. These projects are excellent examples of how, by working with organizations, the Government of Canada is helping to break down barriers to accessibility and disability inclusion. PS Kusmierczky and MP Zann also highlighted the upcoming launch, on Friday June 4, 2021, of two calls for proposals under the EAF Mid-sized projects and Youth Innovation components. The Mid-sized projects component of the EAF provides contributions of up to $1 million to support larger retrofit, renovation or construction projects in facilities that house programs and services that help to increase social participation and labour market opportunities for persons with disabilities in Canada. The Youth Innovation component seeks to engage and challenge youth between 15 and 30 years of age, to volunteer and collaborate with local organizations in their communities to secure funding of up to $10,000 for accessibility projects. More information will be available on June 4 at Funding - Canada.ca. Quotes "When barriers to accessibility and inclusion are removed, Canadians with disabilities can participate fully, helping our communities thrive and our economy prosper. This is why I am so excited to see so many organizations working to help improve accessibility and further disability inclusion in the Cumberland-Colchester region. In many ways the projects supported by the Enabling Accessibility Fund make a world of difference to persons with disabilities, and help us move forward together towards a more disability inclusive Canada." - Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough "Building a more inclusive Canada takes work, and we are committed to getting the job done. Thanks to the Enabling Accessibility Fund, the Government of Canada has been able to support organizations in the Cumberland-Colchester region that are working hard to make their community more accessible for persons with disabilities. Improving accessibility and promoting inclusion benefits all Canadians." - Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Irek Kusmierczyk "It's wonderful to see so many local organizations working to improve inclusion and accessibility in our community. The Enabling Accessibility Fund's Small projects component is helping us build a stronger and more accessible Canada today as we all grow older as well as for future generations. Together, we are working hard to make Cumberland-Colchester a more accessible place for persons with disabilities." Lenore Zann, Member of Parliament for CumberlandColchester Quick Facts May 30 to June 5, 2021 , is National AccessAbility Week (NAAW), a time when accessibility and inclusion are promoted across Canada . It is an opportunity to highlight the contributions of Canadians with disabilities and recognize all efforts to remove barriers and ensure persons with disabilities participate fully in all aspects of Canadian society. , is National AccessAbility Week (NAAW), a time when accessibility and inclusion are promoted across . It is an opportunity to highlight the contributions of Canadians with disabilities and recognize all efforts to remove barriers and ensure persons with disabilities participate fully in all aspects of Canadian society. The Government of Canada has funded over 4,700 projects, since the establishment of the Enabling Accessibility Fund (EAF) in 2007, helping thousands of Canadians gain access to their communities' programs, services and employment opportunities. has funded over 4,700 projects, since the establishment of the Enabling Accessibility Fund (EAF) in 2007, helping thousands of Canadians gain access to their communities' programs, services and employment opportunities. The Small projects component of the EAF funds projects that may enable a child with a visual impairment to participate in community activities, or make it possible for a person who uses a wheelchair to access his or her place of work. Two new EAF calls for proposals will be launched on Friday, June 4 . . Under the 2021 Mid-sized component, organizations will be able to submit project proposals for funding from $350,000 up to $1 million . The call for proposals will remain open until July 29, 2021 . up to . The call for proposals will remain open until . Under the 2021 Youth Innovation component, expressions of interest from youth will be accepted until October 29, 2021 . The deadline for organizations working with youth to submit their proposals will be November 30, 2021 . . The deadline for organizations working with youth to submit their proposals will be . Budget 2021 committed $100 million over two years, starting in 2021-22, to triple funding for the EAF and support small and mid-sized projects with not-for-profit organizations, women's shelters, municipalities, Indigenous organizations, territorial governments, and businesses of all sizes. An additional $29.2 million was committed over two years to help children with disabilities by supporting childcare centres to make physical upgrades to improve the accessibility of their facilities. Related product: Backgrounder: Enabling Accessibility Fund - Cumberland and Colchester projects Associated Links Enabling Accessibly Fund Hiring persons with disabilities Making an accessible Canada for persons with disabilities Follow us on Twitter SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada For further information: Marielle Hossack, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough, [email protected]; Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected] Related Links www.hrsdc-rhdsc.gc.ca With the addition of new practice leads and an expanded footprint, Haag Canada has reached an operational critical mass, providing a vital, independent and reliable resource for its growing roster of top insurance and legal clients across the country. "Haag has enlisted Canada's best of the best as part of our mission to build an independent and world-class resource for large, complex loss," says Chris Giffin B.A.Sc., CEO, Haag Canada. "In just eight short months, we have rapidly grown to a substantive group of multi-disciplinary forensic engineering experts capable of managing any sizeable failure." Having engaged in a strategic recruitment drive since its launch in September 2020, Haag Canada most recently appointed Mark Cammisuli P.Eng., CEM to head up its Mechanical group and Ken J. Huber P.Eng., SIEE to lead its Electrical (Mining and Energy) practice, rounding out the company's initial core areas of expertise. Haag Canada's current suite of forensic engineering services and expertise, includes: Services Expertise "In addition to our growing group of professionals in Canada," adds Giffin, "we also have access to an extended network of over 100 experts in the US, making Haag Canada the most qualified, independent forensic engineering resource in the large, complex loss sector." The company has more growth planned in the coming months, including the addition of Geotechnical and Materials engineering expertise. Haag Canada's newly hired Mechanical Practice Lead, Mark Cammisuli P.Eng., CEM, has extensive experience in mechanical system design and the application of complex equipment. He spent over two decades providing design instruction to engineers and architects. Cammisuli has considerable field experience delivering action-based specification and design consultation in specialty mechanical systems, central utilities, energy management and water quality, among others. In his new role, he will work out of Haag Canada's Toronto head office. Based in Calgary and named Electrical (Mining & Energy) Practice Lead, Ken Huber brings with him over 30 years of experience in electrical engineering, specializing in electrical rotating equipment, automation, transformers, power products, starting systems, design, manufacturing, investigation, project management, project engineering, and factory inspections. Huber crafts personalized, bespoke services that lead to time and cost-saving solutions for his clients. To learn more about Haag Canada's service offering and experts, visit HaagCanada.ca. About Haag Canada Haag Canada is a leading, independent forensic engineering firm that completes objective and systematic investigations to determine cause, quantum and mitigation actions of large, complex loss. Its team of experts provide clients with unbiased reporting to facilitate the accurate determination of liability. The firm prides itself on maintaining an impartial stance throughout all stages of litigation and dispute proceedings and communicates findings with complete clarity and authority. Haag Canada is a subsidiary of Haag Global, Inc., an employee-owned, multi-faceted forensic engineering and consulting company with a 97+ year history of engineering and consulting excellence. Follow us on LinkedIn. SOURCE Haag Canada For further information: Media Contact - Gage Knox, [email protected], 647-537-7017 Responses Suggest Economic, Health and Societal Costs with Consequences on Health Sector and Labour Force VANCOUVER, BC and MONTREAL, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ - A pan-Canadian survey of more than 1,000 COVID long-haulers, individuals with COVID-19 symptoms that last weeks or months, reveals the impact of Long COVID on brain health. From coast to coast, cognitive impairment or "brain fog" was among the top reported symptoms, along with fatigue and shortness of breath. Additional brain-related symptoms included headaches, dizziness, and anxiety. Over 80% of respondents experienced symptoms for more than three months, and almost 50% experienced symptoms for 11 months or more. While vaccines and physical distancing are important to prevent and mitigate COVID-19, the survey suggests the impact of COVID-19 on brain health will last beyond the pandemic. A detailed report on the survey is forthcoming and will be available on the website of the alliance members listed below. Survey results are consistent with other scientific findings, including that Long COVID is disproportionately impacting women in their middle years. This is the largest publicly available survey of people living with Long COVID in Canada to date. "It is our hope that the data collected from this survey will highlight the implications of Long COVID on brain health. Creating awareness through lived experiences and patient collaboration will magnify the urgency to act on funding for research and rehabilitation of long-haulers," said COVID Long-Haulers Support Group Canada Founder Susie Goulding. The survey is the result of an alliance between Viral Neuro Exploration (VINEx), COVID Long Haulers Support Group Canada, and Neurological Health Charities Canada (NHCC) to build awareness and increase funding for research and care on Long COVID. The alliance leverages science, clinical research, and lived experiences from patient groups, and is reaching out to other organizations with an interest in the lasting and long-term impacts of COVID-19. "The survey underlines earlier observations that COVID-19 can cause neurological damage which persists months after the initial infection. It clearly indicates that Canada needs action on brain health in COVID and post-COVID contexts," said Neurological Health Charities Canada Manager Deanna Groetzinger. According to the survey, nearly half of respondents received care for long-lasting symptoms in a healthcare clinic more than five times. Nearly a third received care more than 10 times. Six out of 10 had to take leave from work as a consequence of living with Long COVID, for weeks or months at a time, sometimes leading to early retirement. The responses suggest ongoing economic, health and societal costs with ripple effects into the public health sector and labour force. "We must make the study of viral impacts on the brain a priority, beginning with COVID-19 survivors who need answers. One or more clinical trials of sufficient scale, with patients followed over time, would generate data needed to better understand Long COVID and the neurological and psychological consequences of this infection. What we learn from more research on Long COVID will also accelerate our understanding of how viruses and future pandemics may affect brain health, including as possible triggers for neurodegenerative diseases," said VINEx Global Director Inez Jabalpurwala. In addition to its alliance with COVID Long Haulers Support Group Canada and NHCC, VINEx has become an international member of the Long COVID Alliance in the United States. This alliance, led by SOLVE M.E., was central to the bipartisan legislation introduced on May 27th to provide nearly 100 million USD in Long COVID funding for research and education initiatives. It is currently estimated that 25-35% of COVID-19 patients are experiencing the long-term effects of the virus. The COVID-19 count in Canada as of June 2nd is 1,383,214, which means that anywhere from 345,803 to 484,125 people may have been or are currently living with Long COVID in this country. The Survey in Numbers The survey ran from May 5 th to May 26 th 2021 and reached 1,048 respondents with Long COVID from all ten provinces and three territories. to 2021 and reached respondents with Long COVID from all ten provinces and three territories. Participants ranged in age from under 18 to over 90 . Nearly 60% were aged 40 to 59 . to over . Nearly were aged to . More than 87% of respondents identified as women. Members of cultural minorities represented 9% of participants*. of respondents identified as women. Members of cultural minorities represented of participants*. Before having COVID-19, nearly 63% of respondents did not have a long-term health condition. of respondents did have a long-term health condition. 57% of participants received a positive COVID-19 test. It should be noted that respondents may not have had access to COVID-19 tests at the times of their initial infection. of participants received a positive COVID-19 test. It should be noted that respondents may not have had access to COVID-19 tests at the times of their initial infection. More than 85% of participants were not admitted to hospital during their initial infection. of participants were admitted to hospital during their initial infection. Nearly 70% of respondents had to take leave from work. More than half had to reduce working hours, with 74% reducing their working hours by 50% or more. *We recognise that the percentage of cultural minority respondents may be undercounted given the survey sample. The survey might not have reached cultural minorities in a proportion comparable to their shares of the Canadian population. About In April 2020, Rocket Science Health, a private brain-health focused medical device company, launched Viral Neuro Exploration (VINEx) as an initiative aimed at raising attention to, and investment in, how viruses affect the central nervous system and brain health. VINEx was incorporated as an independent non-profit in November 2020. While the COVID-19 crisis creates urgency and is the initial focus, VINEx's vision has a longer time horizon, and will involve other known and unknown coronaviruses, and other viruses. To achieve its vision, VINEx is bringing together thought leadership from the research community to drive actionable projects where collaboration, co-ordination and investment are needed. The Covid Long Haulers Support Group Canada is creating awareness of the effects COVID-19 has on long-haulers, symptomatically, financially and economically. They lobby for recognition from government officials and the public and want it to be understood that long-haulers are not recovered. There is still robust, longitudinal research and rehabilitation targeted for long-haulers that need to be funded. Through their efforts of sharing lived experiences with media and creating momentum, they hope to create change. Neurological Health Charities Canada (NHCC) is a coalition of organizations that represent people with brain diseases, disorders and injuries in Canada. NHCC provides leadership in evaluating and advancing new opportunities for collaboration specific to advocacy, education and research to improve the quality of life for people affected by brain conditions. NHCC is open to charities and non-profit organizations with a specific interest in brain conditions. SOURCE VINEx For further information: For general media enquires, please contact: VINEx, Sandy Blackwood, Longview Communications & Public Affairs, 647-985-5511, [email protected]; Covid Long Haulers Support Group Canada, Susie Goulding, 416-721-7850, [email protected]; Neurological Health Charities Canada, Deanna Groetzinger, [email protected] The campaign launch video features a wide array of Indigenous talent, including two new collaborators: Montreal-based proud Inuk throat singer, Shina Novalinga, and Winnipeg-based Nehinaw content creator and changemaker, Michelle Chubb. These new Indigenous collaborators' voices are featured in two additional videos dedicated to their stories. All campaign video content will be showcased across Sephora Canada's digital platforms with images of Novalinga and Chubb also appearing across the retailer's full fleet of over 80 stores. "Sephora Canada is committed to using our platform to amplify the voices of Indigenous Peoples across Canada," says Deborah Neff, SVP Marketing, Sephora Canada. "Through this campaign, we want to showcase the stories of these Indigenous collaborators to let all Indigenous communities across the nation know that they are beautiful and belong in our Sephora Canada stores, in our offices, and in the beauty community." To authentically represent Indigenous Peoples, Sephora Canada leaned on the support of Indigenous partners, not just in front of the camera, but behind the scenes as well. From wardrobe and styling to the campaign videographer and campaign photographer, Sephora Canada exclusively partnered with Indigenous talent for the production of this campaign. Anishinaabekwe Artist, Activist and previous Sephora Canada collaborator, Sarain Fox, not only narrates the campaign launch video but also stepped into a new integral role as Campaign Advisor, consulting the retailer throughout the creative process. "Sephora Canada stepped aside to let Indigenous people lead the development of this campaign. They allowed us to tell our own stories and gave us a platform and the support to do it our way," says Sarain Fox. "We had a strong circle of Indigenous creative energy throughout this process and the Sephora Canada team formed a larger circle around us, reinforcing that we belong". To ensure the development and end result of the campaign remained true to the Indigenous experience, an Internal Advisory Circle of Indigenous Sephora Canada Beauty Advisors supported the campaign, with an Indigenous Beauty Advisor working as makeup artist for the shoots. Before starting work on the campaign, Sephora Canada also engaged prior Beauty Insider Charity Rewards partner, Indspire, to provide a Truth and Reconciliation Workshop for all Sephora Canada employees working on the campaign, members of Sephora Canada's executive team, and the leaders of its recently established Diversity and Inclusion Council. "Through our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, Sephora Canada is committed to creating meaningful impact amongst our clients, communities, and employees," says Debbie McDowell, Director of Communications & Social Impact, Sephora Canada. "We have a responsibility to elevate diverse voices and stories in recognition of National Indigenous History Month; with the determination to drive change and contribute long-term beyond this month." In line with this goal, Sephora Canada is matching donations up to $25,000 for its June Charity Rewards partner, 2-Spirited People of 1st Nations. To support employees, Sephora Canada created an Indigenous Learning and Land Acknowledgement Guide for its Head Office and Store Leadership teams, while providing additional educational tools and resources to foster learning and cultural competency for store employees. Sephora Canada is also proud to announce that local Indigenous beauty brand, Cheekbone Beauty, will be launching on Sephora.ca in the next year. This announcement comes shortly after the retailer made a new Canadian commitment to the Fifteen Percent Pledge to dedicate 25 per cent of its brand offering to BIPOC-owned brands by 2026. Canadians are invited to follow @SephoraCanada to see additional Indigenous stories unfold throughout the month of June. Further details about Sephora Canada's ongoing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion journey are available at Sephora.ca/diversity-and-inclusion. Sephora Canada National Indigenous History Month Campaign Credits On-Set Production Team: Campaign Advisor: Sarain Fox Photographer: Billie Chiasson Videographer: Sean Stiller Wardrobe Stylist: Scott Wabano Wardrobe Assistant: Claudia Skunk Makeup Artist: Jessica Solorzano-Vincent Hair Stylists: Deandra Wells Israel Garcia Music: A Tribe Called Red Cris Derksen Featured Indigenous Talent: Michelle Chubb @indigenous_baddie @indigenous_baddie Shina Novalinga @shinanova Sarain Fox @sarainfox @sarainfox James Jones @notoriouscree @notoriouscree Shayla Stonechild @shayla0h @shayla0h Tia Wood @tiamiscihk @tiamiscihk Delainee Tootoosis @delantoinetootoosis Lesley Hampton @lesley_hampton With gratitude to: The Sephora Canada Internal Indigenous Advisory Circle Dr. Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, Author and Facilitator, Indspire Ali Darnay , Program Resource Officer, Indspire Sephora Canada's National Indigenous History Month campaign has been in the making for several months. The decision to proceed with releasing it, given the tragic news coming out of Kamloops, British Columbia, was made in consultation with Indigenous partners who worked on the campaign who felt it was important these stories be heard and celebrated. About Sephora Americas Since its debut in North America over 20 years ago, Sephora has been a leader in prestige omni-retail with the purpose of creating an inviting beauty shopping experience and inspiring fearlessness in our community. With the goal of delivering unbiased shopping support and a personalized experience, Sephora invites clients to explore 25,000 products from over 400 carefully curated brands, and safely engage with expertly trained beauty advisors in over 80 stores across Canada. Clients can also visit Sephora online and through our mobile app, access the free-to-join Beauty Insider program and digital community, which together enhance the experience of Sephora's passionate clients. Sephora has been an industry-leading champion of diversity, inclusivity, and empowerment, guided by our longstanding company values. In 2019, Sephora announced a new tagline and manifesto, "We Belong to Something Beautiful," to reinforce its dedication to fostering belonging amongst all clients and employees and to publicly strive for a more inclusive vision for retail in North America. Sephora continues to give back to our communities and advance inclusion in our industry through our Sephora Stands social impact programs. For more information, visit https://www.sephora.ca/about-us and @SephoraCanada on social media. SOURCE Sephora For further information: For more information and interview requests, please contact: Emmalee Dunn, The Colony Project, [email protected], 647-526-3426; Laura Linden, The Colony Project, [email protected], 647-207-6608 OTTAWA, ON, June 2, 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. This week is National AccessAbility Week (NAAW) and this year's theme, Disability Inclusion 2021: Leaving No One Behind celebrates the valuable contributions of people with disabilities to Canadian society and the economy. This week also recognizes the people, communities and workplaces actively taking steps to remove barriers, and to promote accessibility and a culture of inclusion. While COVID-19 has affected all of our lives, it has had a disproportionate impact on some populations, including people with disabilities and has heightened the persistent social inequities they face. As well, people with disabilities may be more vulnerable to the health consequences of COVID-19, for example related to the nature of their disability or their living environment (eg. living in a group setting). We can all help by making a conscious effort to respect and incorporate the concerns and needs of people with disabilities into our pandemic response at all levels. I encourage everyone to participate in NAAW by posting and tweeting stories, photos and videos of disability inclusion using the hashtag #AccessibleCanada. You can also highlight organizations in your communities that demonstrate a commitment to enabling people with disabilities to realize their full potential. Throughout the pandemic, we have seen what we can accomplish when we work together. The more accessible and inclusive Canada is, the better off we all will be. 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 1,383,214 cases of COVID-19 and 25,556 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 large majority of Canadians remain susceptible to COVID-19. However, as vaccination programs expand at an accelerated pace, there is increasing optimism that widespread and lasting immunity can be achieved through COVID-19 vaccination over the coming weeks and months. As immunity is still building up across the population, public health measures and individual precautions are crucial for COVID-19 control. Thanks to measures in place in heavily affected areas, the strong and steady declines in disease trends continues. The latest national-level data show a continued downward trend in disease activity with an average of 2,529 cases reported daily during the latest 7 day period (May 26-June 1*), down 35% compared to the week prior. Until vaccine coverage is sufficiently high to impact disease transmission more broadly in the community, we must sustain a high degree of caution to drive infection rates down to a low, manageable levels, and not ease restrictions too soon or too quickly where infection rates are high. With the considerable decline in infection rates nationally, the overall number of people experiencing severe and critical illness has also declined. Provincial and territorial data indicate that an average of 2,541 people with COVID-19 were being treated in Canadian hospitals each day during the most recent 7-day period (May 26-June 1*), which is 16.5% fewer than last week. This includes, on average 1,065 people who were being treated in intensive care units (ICU), 11.5% fewer than last week. Likewise, the latest 7-day average of 35 deaths reported daily (May 26-June 1*) is declining, showing a 20% decrease compared to the week prior. We are continuing to monitor and assess genetic variants of the virus and their impacts in the Canadian context. Overall, variants of concern (VOCs) represent the majority of recently reported COVID-19 cases across the country. While all four VOCs (B.1.1.7, B.1.351, P.1 and B.1.617) have been detected in most provinces and territories, the B.1.1.7 variant continues to account for the majority of genetically sequenced VOCs in Canada. All of these VOCs are more contagious, and evidence demonstrates that the B.1.1.7 and B.1.617 variants are at least 50% more transmissible. The P.1, B.1.351, and B.1.671 variants all have mutations in common, which may have an impact on vaccine effectiveness, although the evidence is limited at this time. While the impact of all VOCs continues to be monitored in Canada, we know that vaccination, in combination with public health and individual measures, are working to reduce spread of COVID-19. As vaccine eligibility expands, Canadians are urged to get vaccinated and support others to get vaccinated as vaccines become available to them. However, regardless of our vaccination status, Canadians are urged to remain vigilant, continue following local public health advice, and consistently maintain individual practices that keep us and our families safer, even as we're beginning to see the positive impacts of COVID-19 vaccines: 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). For more information regarding the risks and benefits of vaccination, I encourage Canadians to reach out to your local public health authorities, healthcare provider, or other trusted and credible sources, such as Canada.ca and Immunize.ca. Working together, Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, Canada's Chief Medical Officers of Health and other health professionals across the country are closely monitoring vaccine safety, effectiveness and optimal use to adapt approaches. As the science and situation evolves, we are committed to providing clear and evidence-informed guidance in order to keep everyone in Canada safe and healthy. 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. 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. *A previous version of this statement misstated the date range for the collected data as being from June 1-7, it was meant to say May 26-June 1. SOURCE Public Health Agency of Canada For further information: Media Relations, Public Health Agency of Canada, 613-957-2983, [email protected] Evidence showed that Edwards was concerned that the Treasury Department was improperly collecting information on U.S. citizens and that her office lacked access to an important intelligence database, among other issues. While pursuing her complaints internally she became frustrated and contacted BuzzFeed, starting a reporter-source relationship that snowballed. Apparent propaganda aimed at improving Chinas image is being set up by President Xi Jinping. Xi has instructed Chinas media to revamp countrys image on a global level and create a trustworthy, loveable and respectable image for the country. This is alarming as China continues with its attempts at refuting proven claims of atrocities, massacres and genocides committed by it, and, it continues to re-write history in its favour. The General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and thus, the President of China Xi Jinping instructed officials of the Chinese administration to work towards creating a trustworthy, lovable and respectable reputation of the country in front of the world. China has many times, in the past, sworn to maintain world peace and order, but its expansionist actions tends to speak otherwise. Thus statement was given at a strategy meeting of the CCP. If this publicly known pledge were to be carried out in earnest, then Chinas diplomatic arm would have to work hard in clearing Chinas tainted name. At the meeting, Xi also pointed how critical it was for China to improve its capabilities in making its voice heard throughout the globe. He said that this voice was necessary for keeping up with its national strength and global status. He added that the CCP also needed to let the world better understand its true purpose and intentions. This was possibly mentioned because the party is associated with dictatorship and tyranny, given the single-party rule it set up in China. In an interesting revelation, Xi is apparently fed up with his countrys diplomats media organisations whom he sees as too aggressive. He said that China needed to train proper professionals while using appropriate communication tactics for the foreign corps and state media. However, this is likely empty rhetoric once again as chinese warplanes were recently spotted violating the airspace of Malaysia, part of Chinas policy regarding the South China Sea wherein it threatens the countries around the sea with military maneuvers. International media has been increasingly criticising the Chinese government over expansionism, Uighur genocide, limited freedoms of the press and people etc. In response, China has diverted the efforts of its state-owned news agencies including Global Times to calling out foreign news outlets and journalists over bias and spreading misinformation. Earlier, China had also banned the broadcast of BBC World News because of its coverage on the Uighur genocide and the origins of coronavirus. Supreme Court has recently become curious on the Centres vaccine policy. The Court has asked the Centre to submit a detailed report on how the entire population will be included under the vaccination policy. The Supreme Court has recently become curious on the Centres vaccine policy. The Court has asked the Centre to submit a detailed report on how the entire population will be included under the vaccination policy. The court has also asked the Centre to submit a detailed report on the purchase of vaccines so far including orders placed with manufacturers. On the other hand, after the global vaccine manufacturers confirmation to deal only with the Union Govt, the states are now seeking Centre to take the responsibility of vaccines for all without any delay. This increasing pressure has put the NDA led government in a critical condition to become more accountable towards the vaccination process. It is expected that the Union External Minister S Jaishankar would be able to tackle the vaccine procurement at his meeting with vaccine manufacturers in the US. In such a situation of vaccine crisis, the Governments decision to provide extra protection for foreign vaccine manufacturers has affected the mind-set of domestic vaccine companies. Indian vaccine industries like Serum Institute of India sought indemnity from the government as talks are on Govt may extend the legal protection to the foreign vaccine companies like Pfizer, Moderna etc. Not just Serum Institute of India, all the vaccine companies should get indemnity protection against liabilities if foreign companies are granted the same, sources told ANI. Mehul Choksi, the fugitive businessman and the most wanted in the 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case, has been denied bail by a Dominican Court today. Choksi pleaded not guilty in front of court for the alleged crime . Mehul Choksi, the fugitive businessman and the most wanted in the 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case, has been denied bail by a Dominican Court today. The fugitive trader, who appeared before Magistrate court in a wheelchair wearing a blue T-shirt and a black shorts, is facing charges of illegally entering the Caribbean Island Nation from Antigua. Choksi pleaded not guilty in front of court for the alleged crime and stated that he was allegedly kidnapped into the Island. His lawyer argued that Choksi was abducted from Antigua on May 23 and brought to the neighbouring country where he was tortured. Various non-nationals in Dominica are on bail for similar matters, so we are of the view that bail can be granted to our client. Let stringent conditions be added to the bail condition, including a bail sum of $ 10,000 double the maximum penalty, for illegal entry, Choksis lawyer added in the court. The Dominican Government contended against Choksis bail considering him as a flying risk.Choksi has no ties in Dominica hence it would serve him no purpose not to flee the island if bail is granted. Choksi has an Interpol Red Notice against him as he is facing charges for 11 offences in India, added by Dominica countering Choksis lawyer. Considering the arguments of both the sides the Magistrate today refused bail plea of Mehul Choksi. A CBI team has also reached Dominica to bring Choksi back to India, if the court clears his deportation. The Indian government argues that Choksi is still an Indian citizen. Notable is, Choksi had taken up Antiguan citizenship who has been living there since 2018 and is rumoured to be with his girlfriend on a romantic trip. The issue has become a political hot potato in the Carribean with opposition in both Antigua and Dominica slamming their governments over handling the issue. NEW YORK (AP) Epic Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernard Madoff is dead. But the effort to untangle his web of deceit lives on. More than 12 years after Madoff confessed to running one of the biggest financial fraud in Wall Street history, a team of lawyers is still at work on a sprawling effort to recover money for the thousands of victims of his scam. Their labors, which have already secured $14.5 billion of the estimated $17.5 billion investors put into Madoff's sham investment business, didn't cease with the financier's death in prison in April. Ongoing litigation by Irving Picard, a court-appointed trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, and his chief counsel, David Sheehan, could potentially pull in billions of dollars more. You dont like to see anyone die. But in this case, it wasnt going to have any impact on what were doing, Picard told The Associated Press. Our work goes on. ___ WHERE IT STARTED The painstaking process of trying to unwind Madoff's fraud began not long after the money manager's arrest in December 2008. His downfall came as a result of a national financial crisis in which banks that had made reckless bets on mortgage-backed securities collapsed and investors scrambled to pull money out of the stock market. Spooked investors started making withdrawals from Madoff's investment fund, too, but he ran out of money to give them. While his books said his fund was worth $60 billion, most of that money didn't exist. He'd never actually invested the cash clients gave him. When clients cashed out fictitious profits, Madoff simply stole from other clients to cover withdrawals. Picard was given the task of separating the net losers Madoff clients who didnt cash out of their accounts from those who did. Over time, net losers with approved claims have quietly seen an average of 70% of their investments returned. Net winners were subjected to so-called clawbacks." Not only did they lose money they thought they had in their accounts, they had to pay back profits they had withdrawn over the years. Those people felt as though, and rightfully so, that they had been damaged twice -- first by Madoff and then by this trustee saying give me your profit, Sheehan said. The process was difficult for everyone. Some Madoff investors had retired early. Some had bought nice homes in expensive locales. Some had made large charitable donations, confident their nest egg was secure. ___ THE PAIN HITS HOME Gordon Bennett, thinking his account with Madoff was worth $3 million, did heavy renovations on a home in Marin County north of San Francisco. When he learned Madoff was arrested, he told his wife, Kate, we just lost the house. The financial shock worsened months later when he learned that 25 years of annual withdrawals of up to 10% meant hed taken out more than hed put in. Picards collectors wanted his profits. Suddenly, Bennett was in danger of being added to the bucket of wealthy individuals and institutions the trustee was suing, claiming they knew or should have known their returns were fraudulent. That was quite scary, he said. We eventually worked out an arrangement with the trustee and we sent him all our documents and said: Look, you know, we dont have any money. So he eventually said: OK, Ill go after bigger fish. And Picard did, with some help from federal prosecutors. The biggest single chunk came in late 2010 when the widow of a Florida philanthropist agreed to return a staggering $7.2 billion that her husband, businessman Jeffry Picower, had pocketed. Months later, another $1 billion was secured from one of the many feeder funds that the trustee accused of ignoring red flags about Madoff. These days, Bennett, 74, finds solace in the same home after a friend bought it and rented it back to him. So we dont have $3 million dollars now, but you know what, we dont need $3 million dollars, he said. Some victims contacted by The AP said that the news that Madoff had died at age 83 while serving a 150-year prison term served only as a sad reminder of crimes that altered their lives. Richard Shapiro, 68, of Hidden Hills, California, said he lost a very significant amount of his net worth. In a panic, he briefly put his house up for sale and un-retired to earn money again as a commercial real estate development manager. Picards quick success at recovering some money spawned a mini-industry of firms offering Madoff victims immediate cash in return for their rights to whatever the trustee recovered. Shapiro pounced on that opportunity, selling one of his Madoff funds for much less than it was worth, and another for closer to what Picard might eventually fetch, enabling him to save his home and start rebuilding his life. I do have my life back together now, he said. And Im sure thats the case with every Madoff victim. I dont think anybody walked away from it unscathed. Another victim who lost money, 59-year-old Charles Gevirtz, recalled feeling the payout formula was a raw deal. I was kind of angry at the trustee, said Gervitz, an engineer from Detroit. He didnt even try to come up with a more reasonable settlement. Still, Gervitz found a larger lesson to the pain: You dont get something for no nothing. Basically, if its too good to be true, it is. ___ LOOKING BACK AND AHEAD Picard and Sheehan carry their own memories of the Madoff saga. Sheehan recalled how there was one person who didnt offer any help over the years: a delusional Madoff. He actually would complain to me that the people who got the false profits were making money, so why were they complaining? He was doing them a favor, Sheehan said in describing his interactions with the disgraced financier, including prison visits. It was stolen money. It wasnt much of a favor. Then there was the artwork recovered from Madoffs office and sold at auction, including an infamous 4-foot sculpture depicting a screw titled The Soft Screw -- and bull lithographs by Roy Lichtenstein. All brought in more cash through auctions. There were lots of assets we could sell that you wouldnt find in the typical case, Picard said. Here they had other peoples money to spend, and they did. Asked whether the recovery effort was winding down, the lawyers predicted it will go on at least another two to three years something theyve been saying for a decade. The trustee still has the financial backing of the non-profit Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) to keep global litigation going against the remaining clawback holdouts including feeder funds and other sophisticated money managers who failed to detect the fraud. But Picard assured, Someday it will come to an end. NEWTOWN A Texas-based conspiracy extremist being sued for defamation by a group of Sandy Hook families in Connecticut has three weeks to give families long-overdue pretrial documents or face possible sanctions including a default judgment against him. The threat by state Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis is not the first time she has warned Alex Jones about sanctions if he did not comply with her orders. But it is the first time that Bellis has threatened to enter a default judgment against the host of Infowars before the trial has started in what has become one of the highest-profile defamation lawsuits in the country. With respect to the timeframe for compliance, the outstanding discovery responses were due over two years ago, Bellis wrote in an order on Wednesday about the pretrial documents Jones is yet to turn over to the families. [C]omplete, final supplemental compliance must be made by June 28, 2021, with compliance to begin immediately on a rolling basis. Failure to comply with this order may result in sanctions including but not limited to a default. Bellis was ruling in response to an emergency appeal by Jones attorney for more time to comply with the request for Infowars marketing and business records by six families who lost loved ones in the Sandy Hook shooting. The families are suing Jones for calling the 2012 murder of 26 first-graders and educators staged, synthetic, manufactured, a giant hoax, and completely fake with actors. Jones in court papers says he no longer believes the worst crime in Connecticut history was a hoax. Jones attorney argued the families were not entitled to the marketing records because they had failed to show that the content of broadcasts (about Sandy Hook) was selected out of economic motivation. In fact, (Jones) records show that, at most, they made $342.55 in sales from article and video page referrals that contained the term Sandy Hook out of a total of $10.6 million in overall sales generated from site traffic, wrote Jones attorney Jay Wolman. Undertaking a review of 300,000 documents for a theory that lacks any empirical support is grossly disproportionate to the needs of this case and further evidences the weaponization of litigation. Bellis on Wednesday denied Jones more time to comply and threatened him with sanctions. Bellis is the same judge who sanctioned Jones in 2019 after his blood on the streets rant against an attorney representing the families. Jones appeal of that sanction to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied in April. Jones faces a handful of defamation lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas filed by families who lost loved ones in 2012. Bellis latest order sets the stage for June 28 showdown, when all of the documents must be handed over to the families. The families attorneys declined to comment. Jones attorney did not return a call seeking comment on Thursday. rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342 NEW HAVEN Kieren Leif Dykstra, 18, thinks in English unless there is a test coming up in Spanish. Then I force myself to think in Spanish, said Dykstra, a Sound School senior. To see how it feels. The technique paid off. Dykstra is one of at least 116 seniors in the school district to receive a Seal of Biliteracy that will be affixed to their diploma and noted on their transcripts. The number could rise as the pandemic has delayed the return of some testing results. To get the seal means students have met all district English requirements and proved proficiency in a language other than English, officials said. Bilingualism is a beautiful thing, said Jessica Haxhi, the districts supervisor of world languages, during a recent virtual ceremony to honor recipients of the seal. Bilingualism is your super power. With it you can go anywhere, Haxhi said. Some students were native speakers of the second language, but not all. Dykstra said he learned Spanish in high school. Contributed photo Mabel Rivadeneira, 17, another Sound student, grew up speaking Spanish, but took four years of Italian in high school and earned bilingual certificates in both languages. Spanish helped me with the Italian, but it was hard, Rivadeneira said. Connecticut is one of 41 states that now award seals of biliteracy to graduating seniors. Signed into law in 2017, guidelines were established and data is self-reported annually to the state. This years data is still being collected. In 2020, 2,384 seals were awarded statewide out of 3,485 attempts made across 48 districts. Ten districts, New Haven among them, had more than 100 recipients. Others topping 100 were Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk, Stamford, Wilton, Glastonbury, Hartford and Southington. Among recipients, 395 were current or former English learners, suggesting students maintained their native language(s) while mastering English. Kiana Flores, 17, a senior at Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School, said she grew up speaking Spanish at home, but not in the way she learned the ins and outs of English at school. Definitely not the same level as my English, so this pushed me to pursue a greater level of Spanish literacy, said Flores, who didnt stop there. Throughout high school she also took Chinese. It was a challenge at first, but said she ended up loving it. Then came the seal test. I got through the reading and listening (part of the test) but didnt pass the writing or speaking, said Flores. That was very difficult. Contributed photo Rather than become discouraged, Flores said she was inspired to continue studying Chinese when she attends Yale University in the fall. Her probable major is political science. Its a different type of academic stimulation, Flores said. When it comes to languages its more than acquiring knowledge of language, its connecting with the culture, as well. In New Haven, seals were earned by students from all nine district high schools and in 12 languages. Not only Spanish, French and Italian, but Latin, Turkish, Swahili, German, Arabic, Korean, Napali, Twi (a language spoken in Ghana) and Wolof (a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania). In all, 71 languages are spoken in the district, according to Pedro Mendia, director of the districts multilingual learners department. Most participants demonstrated mastery in listening, speaking, writing and reading by taking online tests. For a few, the Yale Center for Language Study and Yale Outreach stepped in to help find testers where commercial language tests were not available. Dykstra said he found the speaking part of the test the most challenging. You needed to respond in 20 seconds, he said. You needed to make sure what you said was well organized and conjugated correctly. Make it as polished as possible. With New Haven holding classes remotely for much of the year, Dykstra said there were fewer opportunities to practice the language with peers and teachers. Dykstra was born in Colorado, but had family who came from Friesland in the Netherlands. His grandfather spoke Frisian. He grew up in a family used to incorporating tidbits of different languages into everyday conversation. I appreciate learning other languages and cultures, Dykstra said. Next year at Brown, he said, he also hopes to learn some German and Dutch as he studies conservation biology and computer science. Contributed photo Rivadeneira also was born in the U.S. but spent several years in Ecuador before returning at age nine. English, she said, came easily. With Italian it was like a fresh page, a blank page, Rivadeneira said. She plans to take her multilingualism with her into the Marine Corps. basic training starts in November. For New Haven students planning to attend Southern Connecticut State University, the bilingual seal can translate to nine world language college credits. Resha Cardone, who leads Southerns Department of World Languages and Literature, encouraged some of the certificate recipients to consider becoming a world language teacher. Board of Education President Yesenia Rivera, who is bilingual in English and Spanish, called it a passport to employability. Job opportunities will never be lacking, she said. This will open a lot of doors for you, Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey told the seal recipients. It is an incredible accomplishment. A man who oversaw a suburban Philadelphia nursing home pleaded no contest Wednesday to endangering three residents who before dying suffered health complications because of inadequate staffing levels, prosecutors said. The defendant, Chaim Charlie Steg, 40, of Lakewood, New Jersey, had been regional operations director for the St. Francis Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare in Darby. He pleaded no contest to misdemeanor reckless endangerment. The case involves patients who died in 2017 of a massive colon infection and dehydration; severe dehydration and septic shock; and severe late-stage pressure wounds and a bacterial infection. One staffing coordinator told investigators she reported employee shortages 40 times, said Attorney General Josh Shapiro. But Steg did absolutely nothing, Shapiro said, noting that St. Francis was highly profitable under his leadership. It wasn't a financial collapse that led to the staffing crisis, Shapiro said. The nursing home has agreed to maintain a sufficient number of employees and to be audited every three months for a year by the state Health Department, the attorney general's office said. A message was left for Arthur Donato, Steg's defense attorney. The attorney general's office said it was called in to investigate in August 2017, when local police and the state Health Department notified it about issues at the facility. Staff at Mercy Catholic Medical Center had told the Delaware County aging office that several residents from St. Francis arrived there in poor health. Investigators concluded there had been systemic failure, mostly tied to inadequate staffing, the attorney general's office said. A former nursing director told investigators she sometimes disobeyed Steg's orders and hired agency nurses just so she could sleep at night, the attorney general's office said. Steg's plea deal calls for a sentence of 6 to 23 months of house arrest and three years of probation, along with a $15,000 fine and restitution. He will be barred for five years from overseeing nursing, clinical or medical services of a skilled nursing facility. Sentencing was set for October. The company that operates the 273-bed facility, 1412 Lansdowne Operating LLC, and Catholic Facilities Operating LLC, which paid Steg's salary, have agreed to pay $600,000 into an account to care for St. Francis' residents and $100,000 to a nonprofit organization, the Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly. More than a half-million dollars have also been paid to state and federal regulators. A message seeking comment was left for Thomas M. Gallagher, a lawyer for Lansdowne Operating and Catholic Facilities Operating. Shapiro said at the news conference that his office also has several criminal investigations pending of how nursing homes responded to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, and said he expects to make announcements relatively shortly. SCOTTSBURG, Ind. (AP) Health officials blasted a southern Indiana county commission's decision to end the state's first needle exchange program, which was established six years ago to help quell an HIV outbreak. Dozens of supporters of the exchange packed a meeting Wednesday where Scott County commissioners voted 2-1 to end the program by the end of this year. Scott Countys needle exchange began in 2015 after then-Gov. Mike Pence authorized Indianas first-ever effort to provide drug addicts with clean needles. At the time, the rural county was at the center of an HIV outbreak driven by illegal intravenous drug use that eventually infected more than 200 people. Health officials credit the program, which is meant to discourage needle-sharing, with helping drive down the countys number of new HIV cases to fewer than five last year. But County Commissioner Mike Jones, who voted to end the program, said he thinks the exchange could be contributing to drug abuse, overdoses and discarded needles. He cited the county's 74 overdose deaths since 2017. Dr. Jerome Adams, who was Indianas health commissioner during the HIV outbreak and later served as the U.S. surgeon general under President Donald Trump, wrote on Twitter that he was heartbroken by the commissioners' decision. Ive shared toil and tears with the many harm reduction advocates in this community, Adams wrote. Weve got to keep working to win over hearts and minds. Indianas health commissioner, Dr. Kristina Box, warned last month that ending the exchange would inevitably lead to a rise in HIV and hepatitis C cases. Dr. Will Cooke, who during the HIV outbreak was the only physician practicing in the Scott County town of Austin, the community at the center of the outbreak, said during Wednesday's meeting that the exchange had helped direct addicts into treatment. Weve had people tell us that the first time theyve ever felt cared for in their entire life was when they walked into the clinic or when theyve walked into the Syringe Service Program, he said. And that's when they start caring about themselves, when they feel cared for." Rick Williams was among several people who said during the meeting that they were once addicted but got treatment through the exchange as they got clean needles. It kept me clean, Williams said. And it directed me to recovery. Kelly Hans, an HIV prevention outreach coordinator with the Scott County Health Department who runs the exchange, said she felt as though community members voices werent heard. Im sad. Im angry. Im hurt, she said in a statement after the vote. God doesnt put people in situations they cant handle, said the driver, who asked that his name not be used. To be honest, Im not afraid of anything. We all have the same blood in us, we all walk on the same concrete. I just need to have my eyes open more. OMAHA, Neb. (AP) Only two years after historic flooding along the Missouri River ravaged parts of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, officials are now dealing with whats shaping up to be one of rivers driest years. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday that the forecast from last month hasnt changed: Significantly less water is expected to flow into the river this year because conditions remain so dry and snowpack is below normal levels. NEW HAVEN As the city grapples with a rise in shootings and homicides, law enforcement agencies came together with the Board of Alders public safety committee to share their plans to help. Alder Gerald Antunes, D-12, set the stage for the discussion, noting negative comments about the violence and the efforts of law enforcement were not always criticism, but instead a way of recognizing the issue, and bringing it to light, and imploring those with the knowledge, training and authority to resolve it. Acting Police Chief Renee Dominguez said the department and associated staff have done 108 custom notifications so far this year, meeting with individuals with potential for committing violence or being victims of violence, as a type of pre-intervention. Thats more than they do in a typical year, she said. After a spike of violence two weeks ago, which included three homicides and seven shootings, Dominguez said police and partner agencies met with 18 people, which she credited for quelling the bloodshed. Knock on wood I hate to say the words we have seen a drastic reduction, just comparing two weeks ago to the past two weeks, said Dominguez. Dominguez noted that the state judicial branch was resuming court trials Tuesday, which likely will lead to more sentencings and decrease the number of potential violent offenders in New Haven. Project Longevity, which works with gang and group members, and Project Safe Neighborhoods, which works with individuals at risk of violence, have held call-ins in recent days as well, she said. The workshop was the second on the issue held by the alders committee this year, which has seen 42 shootings and 13 homicides, up from 31 shootings and four homicides at the same point in 2020, according to police. Among other plans, Dominguez said the department is hoping to expand the ShotSpotter system to the Quinnipiac Avenue area and has stepped up walking beats in recent days. The walking officers will be deployed primarily in hopes of preventing crime, rather than reacting to it, and building relationships with residents, Dominguez said. Assistant Chief Karl Jacobson said the department also made multiple arrests in the wake of the late May violence and seized several weapons, as well as having performed custom notifications. So far this year, the department has taken 70 firearms off the street and arrested 17 people in connection with past shootings, he said. The work were doing is paying dividends, he said. We just have to make sure we get that long-term effect. Jacobson noted there has been less violence in the city than in 2011, considered the recent high for such crime in New Haven. At this point in that year, there had been 59 shootings and 15 homicides, he said. There were 34 homicides in the city in 2011. Jacobson also said the department now has access to a kiosk through its Gun Crime Intel Center that allows officers to submit shell casings and potentially link them to other associated offenses within days. The department also is striving to expand its shooting task force, although memorandums of understanding with other agencies were still in the works, he said. Were making progress with these cases. I feel like were getting more information from the community. I feel like the communitys tired of the violence, as well, said Jacobson. With the adoption of the walking beats that the chief talked about, well get out there and start talking to more people and start getting more positive results. Representatives of several other law enforcement agencies pledged their support to the city, including Al Vasquez, a former assistant chief in New Haven who now works as an inspector with the state attorneys office in New Haven; Joseph Altimari, supervisory special agent with the FBI; Matthew Duffy of the U.S. Marshals; and Ronnell Higgins, chief of the Yale Police Department. Among other efforts, Higgins said two Yale officers now are working for the New Haven Police Department as part of its shooting task force. State Rep. Al Paolillo, D-New Haven, noted that a bill funding Project Longevity had been passed by the state House of Representatives. We know that, along with traditional policing strategies, we have to offer support and tools. Project Longevity has benefited the city in the past, and we certainly need to be behind that now, said Paolillo. Stacy Spell, project manager for Project Longevity, said its efforts, along with those of police, to combat violence can always improve, but have been helpful in the past. We are always looking to improve. We are open to criticism, said Spell. Its about being about it, not talking about it. In response to the testimony, among other remarks by alders, Alder Jose Crespo, D-16, praised the collaborative effort, saying his constituents were asking for more police and resources, which would be smoothed if law enforcement agencies get along. Alder Abby Roth, D-7, asked whether crime in New Haven had been linked to that in other communities, such as Bridgeport and Hartford, and whether those cities were analyzing ballistics in the same way. Jacobson said Bridgeport recently modernized its system for looking at shell casings, which prompted some more hits. But crime usually is isolated if there are five firearms linked to crimes in the three cities in a month, he said, thats a lot. Roth asked about the departments plans to adjust to the creation of Community Crisis Response teams, which are expected to devote social workers and other staff to some health-related calls, freeing up police resources. Dominguez said there will be an adjustment period as the teams adjust to the needs of the city, but officers likely will be able to devote more time to traffic enforcement and walking beats. The chance to be freed up from some calls likely will be welcomed, Dominguez said. Roth also asked which agencies would be part of the shooting task force. Dominguez and Jacobson listed Yale, federal agencies such as the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as resources from Madison, West Haven, Meriden, East Haven and Hamden. Alder Honda Smith, D-30, said teenagers in the city had been involved in violence and asked what was being done. She also called for more support for families struggling with young people engaged in such activities. Dominguez said there was a small group of young people creating violence in New Haven, many of whom also are facing familial needs and problems at home. These young people and their families are receiving services through a series of programs, including the Connecticut Violence Intervention Program, she said. Jacobson said the court system had been more receptive to the information shared by the department recently. Were hoping to get that pause (for these young people). Were hoping to enact these services and get them out of the violent situations theyre in, said Jacobson. Antunes asked about the rate at which young women were being affected by crime, which included the death of Mariyah Inthirath. Jacobson noted the department had seen a spike in domestic violence during the pandemic. Antunes also asked about the number of officers on task forces; Jacobson said nine had been devoted to such efforts at this time, and federal agencies, partnering with police, were conducting some crime suppression shifts in the city. Dominguez said the forces were a multiplier for the department, bringing more resources to bear in the city. william.lambert@hearstmediact.com NEW HAVEN Police have identified a man shot and killed on Sherman Parkway last week. The man, Adrian Barwise, 34, was a New Haven resident, Officer Scott Shumway said in an email. Police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding Barwises death, Shumway said. Officers were called to Sherman Parkway near its intersection with Munson Street at approximately 8:26 p.m. May 26, Shumway said. Multiple 911 callers reported a man had been shot. Responding officers located a 34-year-old, West Haven man, who was fatally shot. New Haven Fire and American Medical Response were on the scene where they pronounced the man deceased, Shumway said. A 28-year-old New Haven man remained on the scene and identified himself as being involved in the incident. Those close to Barwise have started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for his loved ones. He was the father of two girls, organizer Shelly-Ann White wrote on the page for the fundraiser. He leaves behind his 2 daughters whom he loved unconditionally. So many family and friends from New York, New Haven, Jamaica, and the list goes on. He leaves behind his sister, brother, mother, grandmother, aunties, and uncles. Adrian was a loyal friend if he called you his sis or brother just know he would be there for you no matter the obstacles, White wrote. Adrian was always eager to jump to his friends and family defense he was finally on the right track just for his life to be cut short. Hell never see his girls graduate high school, college, have boyfriends or even get married. These girls were robbed of their father his only sister robbed of her brother a mother robbed of her son. Adrian you were loved by many and will truly be missed by all, she said. On behalf of the department, Shumway asked any witnesses who have not yet spoken with the department to contact the New Haven Police Department Investigative Services Division at 203-946-6304. He noted that callers may remain anonymous or submit tips anonymously by calling 1-866-888-TIPS(8477), or texting NHPD plus your message to 274637 (CRIMES). Barwise is one of 13 homicide victims this year in New Haven. Before Barwise, Alfreda Youmans, Jeffery Dotson, Jorge Osorio-Caballero, Marquis Winfrey, Joseph Mattei, Kevin Jiang, Angel Rodriguez, Dwaneia Turner, Alessia Mesquita, Jack Hopeton, Tashawn Brown and Mariyah Inthirath had been killed in the city to date in 2021. william.lambert@hearstmediact.com NEW HAVEN The name Pink Primus wont be found in history books. No trace of her was even at the historic Pardee-Morris House, where she lived her life enslaved. Until now. Students from Foote School and others gathered to install a Witness Stone at the entryway to the Revolutionary-era home. Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media Her stone will share the space with a twin concrete and bronze marker, inscribed with the name of her husband, Stepna Primus. Before her stone was dedicated, one was laid for her husband by Cold Spring School in New Haven. They got no recognition in their lives or precious little, said state Rep. Pat Wilson Pheanious, D-New Haven, there to speak as the stones were placed. This validates their existence. It validates their humanity. It acknowledges they were here. Three years in the making, the event this week represents the first time the Guilford-based Witness Stones Project has come to New Haven. Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media Dennis Culliton, a local historian and teacher who founded the project, said the idea is to allow the stones to bear witness to those who lived, worked and prayed in the community who are all but forgotten. It is modeled after the Stolperstein in Berlin, Germany, which memorializes victims of the Holocaust. Since it began, the Witness Stones Project has worked with 25 schools and historical institutions in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey. Khalil Quotap, director of education at the New Haven Museum, said this is a chance to focus light on everyday people, not just the milestones. The school had hoped to become involved for some time. COVID got in the way. For several months now, however, aided in their research by New Haven Museum and the Witness Stones Project, students have pieced together what they could about the lives of Pink and Stepna Primus, using church records, vital statistics and deeds. Foote Head of School Alewa Cooper said the effort was about studying untold history. Slavery is the darkest part of American history, Cooper said. We need to shine light in all dark places. The students research will be published in a commemorative pamphlet and archived on the Witness Stones website. Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media Much of what the students uncovered surprised them, particularly about Connecticut. Annie Cady, a seventh-grader from Wallingford, said it was surprising to learn the North was not much better than the South when it came to slavery. No one said how bad it was, said Eve Mena, a student from Branford. Connecticut, as it turns out, stood out for having had the most enslaved people in New England at one point because it was home to the largest New World distilleries of molasses, used in the rum industry. The Pardee-Morris house, built in 1750 by Capt. Amos Morris, a salt merchant, was burned by the British, then rebuilt in 1779. Now located on a corner lot, the land once extended to Lighthouse Point. Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media Pink Primus, born around 1775, had no birth certificate as far as the students could tell. She most likely worked indoors, the students research determined. She married Stepna in 1791, and got permission to do so in a church. There are church records to prove it. It was surmised that Stepna worked the land or in the salt works. There was much students could not verify, as those enslaved were not always identified by name on census forms, in news clippings, wills or property records. In many cases, they were the property. It is known the couple had a daughter, Chloe. Student researchers dont know what happened to her. They know Stepna Primus was emancipated in 1796, his wife four years later. They would own property. There are three property transactions with her name on it. Stepna Primus died in 1818. Eventually, Pink would end up in an alms house before dying around 1850. Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media Among the many questions left unanswered is how Pink got her name. That also puzzled Frederick Douglass Knowles, Hartfords poet laureate, who was asked to write a poem focused on Pink Primus for the Witness Stone ceremony. Knowles admits he struggled at first to find inspiration. The research students did on her didnt help. Neither did a visit to the Pardee-Morris House. It came down to her name, he said. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Ohio lawmakers are taking another crack at a fireworks bill aimed at closing one of the most ignored loopholes in state law. Current law allows consumers to legally buy fireworks in Ohio, but requires they be taken out of the state within 48 hours of purchase and can't be set off in the state. Critics of the law and virtually any Ohio resident have noted for years that the ban is widely ignored. Southington Police / Contributed SOUTHINGTON A driver died after hitting a fence along the side of the road and colliding with a commercial building, according to police. John Walsh, 78, was identified by police on Thursday as the lone occupant of the vehicle. CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) After two officers shot and wounded a Black man who authorities said was wielding a knife in April, the police chief of West Virginias capital city has outlined how his department will improve de-escalation tactics and use fewer lethal weapons. Charleston Police Chief James Tyke Hunt shared an action plan in a letter sent to Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin on Tuesday, news outlets reported. Goodwin had requested the report from the department a few days after Denaul Dickerson, 33, was shot multiple times on April 30. A review of body camera video and reports determined the officers didnt commit any crimes, according to Kanawha County First Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Don Morris. Dickerson was treated at a hospital and was charged with attempted malicious assault of a police officer. Following the shooting, the department is revising its stun gun policy, increasing the number of officers wearing body cameras and will no longer allow officers to carry shotguns that have lethal rounds. Officers will instead only be allowed to use shotguns that have less-lethal rounds, Hunt wrote in his letter. The chief said Tasers are an excellent less-lethal option but arent a single solution, pointing to the ineffective deployment during the officers confrontation with Dickerson. He recommended that the Tasers in the departments inventory be upgraded to the current model over five years. Each officer issued one will be mandated to carry it while working in a uniformed capacity. More body cameras are also being requested so each member of the department has one. Under the current policy, only officers who hold the rank of sergeant or under are required to wear them. The chief said officers will continue attending trainings related to decision-making, implicit bias and de-escalation. Ten officers will be sent later this summer to a course that addresses an officers handling of mental health related calls for service. Hunt said he plans to work with the mayors office and city managers office to come up with a plan to fund the new initiatives. Goodwin said she was happy with the plan, according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail. While we can always do better, and will continue to do better, the steps outlined in the Chiefs plan will provide more officers with the equipment and training needed to keep everyone safe, the mayor said in a statement. Ken Dixon / Hearst Connecticut Media A 74-year-old man suspected of firing bullets at the state Capitol was officially charged Thursday in two other shooting incidents that occurred last weekend in Southington, officials said. Floyd D. Gollnick, faces charges of attempted first-degree assault, unlawful discharge of a firearm, criminal use of a firearm, first-degree reckless endangerment and first-degree criminal mischief for firing multiple rounds into an occupied home North Star Drive home in Southington on Sunday, according to officials. Suspect Amar Faisal, 21, was ordered held on $300,000 bond when he was arraigned in Bronx Criminal Court late Wednesday. His arraignment was delayed more than a week while he recovered from being shot in the face with his own weapon by Vera during the robbery-gone wrong. JERUSALEM (AP) Thousands of people marched through Jerusalem on Thursday in the annual Pride parade, celebrating LGBTQ rights in the conservative city amid heavy police security. Pride events in Jerusalem, which is home to a large ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, tend to be less raucous than those in more liberal Tel Aviv. A radical ultra-Orthodox Jew stabbed a 16-year-old girl to death at a Pride event in 2015, an attack that was condemned across the political spectrum. Only a few dozen people turned out to protest the parade this year, and were largely drowned out by the blaring music. I think we are getting better and better, said one of the marchers, Fabio Abulafiya, while acknowledging that more needed to be done. "It is very important to come to parades like this, not only to party... but also to protest for our rights. An alliance of far-right parties including openly homophobic candidates made a surprisingly strong showing in parliamentary elections in March and were set to be a key component in a new government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But his efforts to form a majority coalition failed, in part because the far-right parties refused to join with a small Arab party that emerged as a kingmaker of sorts. A coalition opposed to Netanyahu is now on the verge of ending his record-setting 12 years in office. Jerusalem saw weeks of protests and clashes linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that triggered an 11-day war in Gaza last month. The situation has been mostly calm since a cease-fire went into effect in Gaza on May 21. United Airlines aims to bring back supersonic travel before the decade is over with a plane that is currently just an artist's drawing even the prototype hasn't flown yet. The airline said Thursday that it plans to buy 15 jets from Boom Supersonic with an option for 35 more once the start-up company designs a plane that flies faster than the speed of sound while meeting safety and environmental standards. United hopes to carry passengers on the plane in 2029. The airline said the plane will reduce flights between London and the New York area to just 3 1/2 hours and make Tokyo only six hours from San Francisco. United declined to discuss financial terms, but Boom CEO Blake Scholl said the deal was worth $3 billion, or $200 million per plane with none of the discounting that is typical in the aircraft business. It has been nearly two decades since the last flight of the supersonic Concorde, which British Airways and Air France began using in 1976 to zip passengers in luxury across the Atlantic. The last one was retired in 2003, three years after an Air France Concorde crashed into a hotel shortly after takeoff from Paris, killing everyone on board and four people on the ground. Several companies are working to come up with new supersonic jets that would be more economical on fuel and create fewer climate-changing emissions than the Concorde. Boom is working to develop an 88-seat plane it calls Overture, which it says will be the first supersonic airliner to fly on so-called sustainable fuel. Scholl said that a one-third sized prototype will make its first test flight later this year or early in 2022. The Denver company said the plane will be capable of speeds up to 1.7 times the speed of sound, or about 1,300 mph. That is slower than the Concorde but more than twice as fast as many current airliners. The endorsement from United is a huge lift for Boom. Another supersonic contender, Aerion, said last month that it was running short of money to get its plane, the AS2, into production. Supersonic jets are often banned over populated areas because of the sonic booms they create. That eliminates many potential overland routes because the planes would have to fly at less efficient subsonic speeds. Chicago-based United believes that its coastal hubs in San Francisco and Newark, New Jersey, and its corporate-traveler clientele make it better suited than its rivals to offer supersonic service. Mike Leskinen, Uniteds vice president of corporate development and a former aerospace analyst, said United hopes to offer both premium and economy seating but that no final decisions have been made on cabin layout. United is sensitive about the high fares that helped doom the Concorde, and is trusting that the cost to operate the Boom plane will come down over time as it has for other jets. The Concorde was the pride of British and French aircraft companies, and it ushered in a new era of rapid travel over long distances. The plane had a distinctive delta-wing design that made it easily recognizable as it streaked overhead on its way to New York or Dulles Airport outside Washington. Despite its cachet, the plane never caught on widely. The sonic booms limited its routes over land, and its high costs and relatively small size compared with other jets made tickets too expensive for anyone other than the wealthy or well-connected. Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst for Atmosphere Research, said the Boom jet appears targeted at business flyers, but corporations are trying to cut travel spending and might resist putting employees on supersonic flights if the fares are too high. Scholl said the Boom jet will be 75% cheaper to operate than the Concorde thanks to decades of advancements in engines and lighter fuselages. This is going to be a ticket that's affordable to way more people than supersonic ever has been before, Scholl said. He predicted that the speed of supersonic flight will revolutionize air travel the way that jets replaced most large propeller-driven planes. Not everyone who follows aviation is convinced, noting that developing a new plane costs many billions of dollars. Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst at Teal Group, said he believes that if there were a profitable market for supersonic airliners, Boeing and Airbus would be building them. It tells you that the enormous, established players don't see it, he said. There is no reason they couldn't do this. There is no secret sauce that Boom keeps in a safe somewhere. Niagara Falls, NY (14301) Today Some clouds and possibly an isolated thunderstorm this afternoon. High 82F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 60F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Reno Omokri, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, has described President Muhammadu Buhari as the greatest threat to Nigerias... Reno Omokri, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, has described President Muhammadu Buhari as the greatest threat to Nigerias unity. According to Omokri, neither Nnamdi Kanu of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) nor Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, champion of the Yoruba nation agitation, threats to one Nigeria. He pointed out that Buharis leadership style, especially the way he makes his appointments and the manner he handles the issues of herdsmen attacks across the country have created a huge division among Nigerians. Omokris tweet on Wednesday may not be unconnected to President Buharis latest threats to deal with individuals and groups attempting to destroy his government. Buhari, after receiving reports of destruction of facilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), had issued a stern warning to fight back. But Omokri believes that, The greatest threats to One Nigeria are not Sunday Igboho or Nnamdi Kanu. Both of them are symptoms. The disease is @MBuhari. If appointments are balanced. If development is even. If herdsmen and bandits kill us and are punished, who would talk of Oodua and Biafra? The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim, has revealed that corps members were a great so... The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim, has revealed that corps members were a great source of inspiration to him in his childhood. The DG made this known on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television. Ibrahim made this revelation amid calls for the NYSC scheme to be scrapped. It was earlier reported that the House of Representatives considered a bill for the discontinuation of the NYSC scheme. However, according to the DG, the NYSC is a source of inspiration to many, as he stated that the scheme also inspired him as a child. He said, When I was a student I schooled in Benin we looked up to corps members. We look at the way they dress in their crested vests. They served as an inspiration to us because we always wanted to wear those vests. My course of study, history, was influenced by a corps member who taught us. Not just me, but about five of us chose history because of the corps members who taught us the subject. He was very good. He is from Niger State and served in the then Bendel State. So people look up to NYSC as a source of inspiration, stating they want to be graduates, round up their studies, and serve. Despite its forceful reopening by some Yoruba nation agitators on Saturday, the popular Idiroko border has remained closed. There was pandem... Despite its forceful reopening by some Yoruba nation agitators on Saturday, the popular Idiroko border has remained closed. There was pandemonium in Idiroko, Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State last weekend when some youths, who claimed to be heroes of Oduduwa Republic stormed the border, which was closed by the Federal Government in 2019, and dismantled the barricades. The invaders also snatched a gun from an immigration officer on duty, daring soldiers and other security agents to come out and engage them in a gun duel. However, the said border has since been shut by security agents immediately after the agitators left. As at the time of filing this report, security agents have returned to their duty posts to prevent the influx of contrabands and illegal migrants through the border. Immediately the Yoruba nation agitators left on Saturday, the border was closed again. Nobody can move in any illegal goods. The border is not what can be opened like that, a resident of the border community told newsmen anonymously. Also, a trader, who identified herself simply as Tutu, said the efforts of the agitators yielded no result, saying nothing has changed at Idiroko border. In an interview with our correspondent, the Spokesman of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ogun 1 Area Command, Hammed Oloyede, said men of the service are at their various duty posts as of Thursday. There is no problem at Idiroko border. Everywhere is calm. The border is closed, our officers are on duty. They are all at their duty posts. The border is closed. Everything is in place, he said. Oloyede corrected the erroneous belief that the Idiroko border had been reopened by the Federal Government in December 2020, saying it was only immigration activities that have been going on, not the importation of goods. One thing people need to understand is this, initially when the Federal Government gave directives for the reopening of borders, it started with four borders and it has remained like that ever since then. It is only immigration operations that have been effective, Oloyede clarified. Meanwhile, the Ogun State Police Command has commenced investigations into Saturdays forceful reopening of the border. The command maintained that it is working with other security agencies to keep hoodlums away from the nations frontier with Benin Republic. We heard of the incident and we have been able to fortify security around that place. We are working with men of the customs service and immigration to make sure those hoodlums are kept away from that axis, Oyeyemi stated. He added that security agents are working hard to retrieve the gun that was snatched from the immigration officer on Saturday. The All Progressives Congress has said plots by unpatriotic Nigerians to bring down the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu B... The All Progressives Congress has said plots by unpatriotic Nigerians to bring down the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), are bound to fail. National Secretary of the Caretaker/Extra-Ordinary National Convention Planning Committee of the APC, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, said this at an event organised by the APC Professionals Forum, at the APC National Secretariat, in Abuja, on Thursday. He said, Plans to bring down the government of President Muhammadu Buhari will fail, some disgruntled elements are trying to blackmail and discredit this government with the aim of bringing it down. President Muhammadu Buhari will be judged by security and other achievements. We should not analyse the achievements of this government based on blackmail. Those who are heating up the polity so that people will believe there is insecurity are organising to bring down the government of the APC. We will bring them to book Insha Allah. According to him, in spite of the challenges the party met on the ground, the President has succeeded in recording huge successes in the areas of infrastructural development, the fight against corruption and the reduction of poverty among Nigerians. Akpanudoedehe noted that the positive effects of the social intervention programmes among Nigerias poor and vulnerable was being under reported because most of the beneficiaries were neither party members nor did they share in the administrations vision. He also explained that despite misgivings in certain quarters, the benefit accruing to the nation through efforts being made by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy was visible. The party secretary maintained that the sim card registration which has drastically reduced the number of pre-registered cards available for use for criminal purposes has gone a long way in improving the nations economy. Seven persons, including police officers and civilians, were killed in attacks by gunmen on two commercial banks and a police station in O... Seven persons, including police officers and civilians, were killed in attacks by gunmen on two commercial banks and a police station in Osun state. The gunmen numbering about 35, on Wednesday, invaded Ikire town in Irewole LGA and Apomu town in Isokan LGA around 5pm and launched the attacks on Access Bank, First Bank and Ikire divisional police station simultaneously. The gunmen were said to have entered the two towns through Ikoyi and divided themselves into groups to launch the attacks. They were said to have killed a police guard and shot a bank official in the leg at the bank in Apomu. According to the police, security operatives were mobilised to the areas and there was a gun duel. Yemisis Opatola, spokesperson of the police, said the gunmen fled into the bush during the gun duel and abandoned two of their operational vehicles. Opatola said the gunmen did not succeed in robbing any of the banks, but seven persons were killed during the attacks. The armed robbers numbering about Thirty-five(35) came in about Five(5) Vehicles, Simultaneously attacked Ikire Divisional Police HQ and the Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) pinned down at Ikoyi-Osun, police spokesperson said. With several explosive devices and several guns firing in a bid to subdue the capacity of the police while attempting to Rob First bank Ikire and Access bank Apomu respectively. It is unfortunate that ASP Osho Oluranti, Inspector Lekan Olalere, Two (2) Special Constabularies; namely Oladeni Olalekan, and Oyedeji Muyideen were shot dead in the process. On sighting the overwhelming Policemen Comprising: Prompt response Response Unit (PRU), CPs Surveillance team, IRT Operatives, STS, 39 PMF, JTF, along with the local Security outfits, who swiftly engaged them in a fierce gun duel. The robbers began to flee. While escaping, they shot sporadically, and regrettably three (3) civilians were shot namely; Toheeb Oyebola, Temilorun Adebiyi and one other, (whose identity is not yet known), all male. They did not succeed in robbing any of the banks. Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has threatened to kill members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and bury them like vultures.... Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has threatened to kill members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and bury them like vultures. Wike said this on Tuesday during the commissioning of construction work at the Ahoada Campus of the Rivers State University and the dualisation of the Ahoada-Omoku Road in Ahoada Town. Addressing the crowd, the Governor warned the youths to repent and shun all forms of criminality, threatening that his administration will kill those that fail to repent and bury them without the knowledge of their families. So, when people say, IPOB, theyre carrying Juju, I say no problem. Whats happening, are they not dying? Let nobody deceive you with that juju. Dont ever you! So, today, those of you criminals that are hereall of you criminals that are here, say today, 2nd May, 2021, I repent. If you dont repent, your funeral has come. Youll die, your parents will not bury you. Well bury you like vultures. Either your hands will be cut off or well blow your head off. You parents will not even know that youre dead. Well not even tell your parents that youre dead. No armed robber has parents. Nobody should because of what you are doing in Ahoada, challenging people, killing them, you go on the water, bonkeries killing people and you think youll go free? Youll never ever go free. So all of you looking at me as if you are my supporter, carry your support and go! Bahadorans lawyer, Earl Ward, argues the police should have known Bahadoran was unarmed at that point because he was in such close proximity to Suarez, and because Brown saw him drop the knife in the store. Osagie Ehanire, minister of health, says the federal government wants to get the actual price of COVID vaccine before submitting a supplem... Osagie Ehanire, minister of health, says the federal government wants to get the actual price of COVID vaccine before submitting a supplementary budget to the national assembly. In December, Ehanire had said the federal government will need about N400 billion to vaccinate 70 percent of Nigerias estimated 200 million population, at $8 per person. He added that N156 billion will be needed in 2021 while N200 billion will be used for vaccination in 2022. But speaking during a press briefing organised by the presidential communications team in Abuja on Thursday, Ehanire said the actual price for the COVID-19 vaccine is still in rough stages. There are different prices of the vaccines, and we dont really know exactly the one were getting. And we also know that the ones were getting from COVAX are at no cost to us. So what were doing is that the additional ones that were going to get will take care of 50 million Nigerians, COVAX will take care of 20 million, they are even offering to take care of more than that, maybe up to 30 million, Ehanire said. The prices vary. Some vaccines are in the neighbourhood of $20 or $30, and others are $5 or $6. So to really make a budget, we are working on rough sketch, some money have been earmarked. But Mr. President has also announced that there will be a supplementary budget. But we want to get a clearer picture first before you actually submit a budget. So, we only have rough figures, and as soon as those figures are there, we can continue. We are also looking for perhaps, as I said, if we have to make the payments, we can find some money to do that. But when that budget time comes, we need some precise information. Nigeria had received about 4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. In March, it received 3.9 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine via the United Nations-led COVAX facility. It also received another 100,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine donated by India in April. Newsfrom Japan A Thai court recently imposed fines on three Myanmar journalists and their two associates who illegally crossed into Thailand to escape a military crackdown and censorship. The five, including three employees of independent broadcasting station Democratic Voice of Burma, were fined 4,000 baht (US$128) each by a court in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, after pleading guilty to the immigration offense. They potentially face seven months imprisonment if they violate the terms of their one-year probation. After being fined and sentenced, the five were taken into custody by immigration authorities i... Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death. Submit Borough Park is the safest neighborhood in New York City. We have two community patrols. Nobody can come in here and get away with this, Tischler said. The guy has the nerve to think hes a terrorist to come to our neighborhood and try to kill me. Watertown, NY (13601) Today Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Widely scattered showers or a thunderstorm early. Then partly cloudy. Low 61F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Andrew Giuliani, governor candidate and son of Donald Trumps former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, speaks to the press outside his fathers apartment building in New York on April 28. Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images/TNS Co-workers, friends remember him as guys guy who loved to help out, especially with fixing cars Kelly Fields, a longtime New Orleans pastry chef who found acclaim for her way with Southern flavors, has departed Willa Jean, the bakery cafe she built with local restaurant group BRG Hospitality. Fields announced the news in a social media post today (June 3). I am grateful to have had the pleasure of serving so many of yall, but nothing compares to the gratitude I have for each and every person who I had the pleasure of working with over the past 6 years, Fields post reads. I look forward to sharing new projects and collaborations with yall soon. She could not immediately be reached for further comment. Shannon White, the CEO of BRG, said Willa Jean will continue in its current format, serving breakfast and lunch daily. She said a collaborative approach between the company and the chef through the years leaves the bakery cafe in good shape to maintain its operation now. Willa Jean patrons should expect a seamless transition, White said. Fields opened Willa Jean in 2015 with BRG (then called Besh Restaurant Group). Fellow pastry chef Lisa White was a partner in the beginning too, though she departed for Nashville in 2017. In 2019, Fields won the national James Beard Foundation award for outstanding pastry chef for her work at Willa Jean. Her first cookbook, The Good Book of Southern Baking, was published last fall. 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 Willa Jean is named for Fields grandmother, and it pairs modern design with a menu that can feel as cozy as a creaking back porch. Its a spot for cornbread with cane syrup, biscuits with fried chicken and sausage gravy, fresh breads and pastries and a fantastic salt-speckled chocolate chip cookie that can change the course of a busy day all on its own. Willa Jean has become a hub of activity in the CBD. It's common to see locals having breakfast meetings along its dining bar while visitors start the day with boozy brunches and neighbors duck in for coffee. Since downtown New Orleans has begun reviving from the pandemic, it's once again common to find people waiting outside for tables in the mornings. +5 With bagels and crusty loaves, Leo's Bread opens bakery cafe by Bayou Road Last weekend, New Orleans baker Kate Heller opened the doors to a new bakery cafe right across the street from where she got her start selling Fields grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, and got her start in New Orleans working for chef Susan Spicer. She later became pastry chef at Restaurant August. She lived and worked in cities around the world after Hurricane Katrina. She returned to New Orleans in 2010 and became executive pastry chef for BRG. In 2017, she created a foundation called Yes Maam to inspire women in the hospitality business. Willa Jean 611 OKeefe Ave., 504-509-7334 Daily 7 a.m.-3 p.m. The mansion at the corner of Prytania Street and Jackson Avenue is flanked by white columns, framed by twisting oaks, fronted by a staircase big enough for the whole bridal party and dripping with a steamboats load of cast iron. As a vignette of old Southern grandeur, its classic. However, on the lower level of the stately property, the new Italian restaurant Altamura is aiming for a different type of classic. In the kitchen, that means red sauce and ricotta, clams casino and lobster fra diavlo, mozzarella and Marsala, and zuppa de pesce over linguini. Across Altamura, it also means a lounge with a baby grand piano in the corner, tufted vinyl panels on the walls, a pair of dining rooms under low ceilings and the twilight vibe of a den. This is a restaurant that pitches a wink and nod to old-school Italian style, all wrapped up in an antebellum package. The restaurant officially opens for dinner this Saturday, Aug. 20. Its everything proprietor Jack Petronella pictured for the restaurant he has for years hoped to open. And yet, now that it's finally come together, its part of something he never would have imagined. Upstairs, downstairs The full name of this new Uptown restaurant is Altamura at Magnolia Mansion, and its an unlikely upstairs-downstairs story. Magnolia Mansion itself dates to 1857, and in the past few years, it saw a multimillion dollar renovation as a 15-room hotel and event facility. The owner, Fouad Fred Zeton, was a professional boxer who was known in the ring as the Syrian Destroyer. Back in the day, he was a sparing partner for Evander "the Real Deal" Holyfield. Later, he started a house-painting business, and he now runs Dantes Pizza and the gyro joint Ali Baba in the French Quarter. Petronella and his chef, Coleman Jernigan, operate ManhattanJack, a cafe, bakery and dessert emporium about 2 miles up Prytania Street. Theyd been scouting locations for Altamura for a few years. They thought they had one picked out in a Magazine Street bungalow last year but then shelved those plans. Eventually, a real estate lead brought them to the door of Magnolia Mansion. We saw the address, looked up at this mansion and said this has to be the wrong place, said Petronella. But not only was the ground-floor restaurant space for lease, Zeton put the entire 13,000-square-foot building on the table. So, from plans to open a trattoria in a cottage, Petronella is now in charge of a hotel, event space and restaurant across an antebellum property on the edge of the citys most prominent neighborhood. In another chapter of his life, Petronella managed resorts and a country club back in New York and his native New Jersey. He sized up the potential here and saw a home for Altamura and something significantly more. 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 felt like everything Ive ever done in my career has led me to this moment, he said, clearly giddy with the prospects of what hes embarked on. Petronella is leasing the Magnolia Mansion property, and its a lease-to-own deal, he explained. He describes the debut of Altamura as the first phase in his redevelopment plans for the sprawling property. I want to make this the most spectacular, chic, hip boutique hotel in New Orleans, he said. Tradition and tributes But first Altamura will get cooking. And while the setting is vastly different from the cottage address Petronella previously had planned, the menu has remained the same all along. The food is proudly American Italian, Petronella said. It belongs to the niche that's the standard in the Northeast, across a stretch from New Jersey to Boston. In fact, some dishes are direct tributes to a restaurant that was Petronellas own family go-to when he was growing up, the Archers, a long-since-closed restaurant in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Theres fried mozzarella spiedini, rolled with bread and skewered and served with anchovy lemon caper sauce; tortellini en brodo; chicken and veal prepared a la picatta or Marsala or saltimbocca style; and osso bucco and broiled veal chops. Theres Gulf seafood, but also Italian seafood specialties from the Northeast, like clams casino (broiled on the half shell), Nantucket scallops over risotto and Maine lobster in spicy red sauce (that fra diavlo or brother devil). Its not cheap, with pasta dishes starting at $18 and those marquee meat and seafood dishes in the high $30 range. Magnolia Mansion upstairs is palatial, with soaring ceilings, elaborate cast-iron molding rimming the edges, bronze statues and Venetian chandeliers. The restaurant downstairs is at ground level, which any New Orleanian will tell you is the basement. Its a large space, but the lower ceilings and the many foundation columns running across its floor plan (now paneled) give it more of a cloistered feel. Altamuras bar opens at 4 p.m., an hour before dinner service. As the restaurant gets rolling, Petronella hopes to cultivate a cocktail scene on the high veranda overlooking Prytania Street and down on the back patio, just off the dining room. Altamura at Magnolia Mansion 2127 Prytania St., 504-265-8101 Dinner: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, 5 p.m.-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5 p.m.-11 p.m., Brunch and "Italian dinner:" Sunday 11 p.m.-5 p.m. Reservations for six or more only. Ruston law enforcement took Michael Ausbun into custody Wednesday in connection to an ongoing police investigation into a sexual assault allegation that occurred at the Louisiana Center for the Blind. Deputy Chief Chad Hamlin told Gambit Thursday morning that Ausbun, 25, had been arrested for the charge of "molestation of a juvenile or a person with a physical or mental disability." "We went to Mr. Ausbun's residence where he was taken into custody without any kind of incident," said Hamlin, a spokesman for the Ruston Police Department. The survivor, whose name Gambit is withholding to preserve her anonymity, also confirmed to Gambit that the arrest was related to alleged abuse she reported by Ausbun to Ruston police back in January. The alleged abuse occurred in 2018. At the time, Ausbun, who is also blind, was an employee at the Louisiana Center for the Blinds summer program for high school students. The survivor was a student attending the program and a minor at the time. Hamlin told Gambit on April 8 that the department was in the early stages of an investigation into the womans reports of alleged abuse. He said since then, the case investigator interviewed the woman via Zoom, several witnesses and LCB Director Pam Allen. He said LCB cooperated with the investigator and that staff had previously known about at least some of the allegations. Hamlin said from there, police attempted to speak with Ausbun but he referred the investigator to his attorney, who never arranged a time to speak with police. "They were supposed to set up something, and that never happened," Hamlin said. "We were left with just going ahead and giving it to the DA's office, who referred the investigator to go ahead and seek a warrant, and that led us to yesterday." According to online records, Ausbun is being held at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center. Ausbun had not given a statement to police as of Thursday morning, which Hamlin said was not unusual for a suspect who had already obtained a lawyer. He said investigators have turned the case over to the Third Judicial District Attorneys Office, who will work to determine a court date. "As of right now, everything from this point on is strictly in their hands," he said. Hamlin said if Ausbun decided later to give a statement to police or if an additional witness came forward, Ruston PD would take the statement and interview the witness "but everything would also be pushed back up to the DA's office." +12 Former students allege 'toxic culture' of racism, abuse and assault at Louisiana Center for the Blind The Louisiana Center for the Blind was supposed to help blind people learn vital life skills. But many students say there was a 'toxic culture' of abuse, racism and assault. Many former attendees of LCB have also come forward since December with their own stories of alleged sexual and verbal abuse by then-employee and students at the center. Their stories are part of a larger movement in the blindness community against sexual misconduct, and many survivors' stories take place at both training centers, like LCB, and events affiliated with the National Federation of the Blind, the largest and oldest blindness organization in the country. But Hamlin said in April the department was not investigating LCB and that the department would only expand the scope of its investigation to the center itself if they found evidence of staff mishandling abuse claims in this case. He told Gambit Thursday that to his knowledge, the investigator had not found reason to investigate the center. "The Louisiana Center for the Blind is deeply committed to a safe and healthy environment in all programs," Allen said in a statement. "We are cooperating with law enforcement in this matter. We cannot comment on specific details out of respect for confidentiality." In line with previous statements, Allen reiterated that NFB has been partnering with RAINN, an anti-sexual violence organization, since January to train students and staff and make policy recommendations. In addition to working at LCB, Ausbun was previously certified by the National Blindness Professional Certification Board in Ruston to teach blind people how to travel using a cane. He was also an active member of NFB and once served as the first vice president of its National Association of Blind Students board. In documents on NFB's website, Ausbun said he was working toward getting a masters degree at Louisiana Tech University in counseling and guidance. He received a graduate certificate from Louisiana Tech in the fall of 2018, according to the university's website. Louisiana Tech has a partnership with LCB through its Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness, where students learn about, and are certified in, teaching blindness skills. Between 2014-2019, the university paid LCB more than $230,000 as part of its immersion program, during which university students sit in on LCB programs. In April, a Louisiana Tech spokeswoman Tonya Oaks Smith said the university was "reviewing" the terms of its relationship with LCB. On Friday, Smith said the university was "still in the review process" and declined to comment on Ausbun's arrest. "As Mr. Ausbun is no longer a student at Louisiana Tech, we are not able to comment," she said. Ed. Note: This story was updated on June 3 with new information from the Ruston Police Department and again June 4 with statements from LCB and Louisiana Tech. Ruston blind professional group reviewing sexual assault reporting rules following complaints A Louisiana-based group responsible for certifying people to work with blind children and adults is reportedly re-examining its internal scree The apparent beating death of an infant girl in New Orleans Milan neighborhood over the Memorial Day weekend has led to the arrest of the babys mother, according to authorities. Loretta Norman, 31, was initially jailed Tuesday on a count of second-degree cruelty to a juvenile, two days after her 4-month-old daughter died with bruises, scratches, a broken arm and other injuries on her body. A law enforcement source said Thursday that police had since obtained a warrant to book Norman with first-degree murder. Norman came under detectives scrutiny after her daughter, whose name hasnt been released, was found unresponsive at her home in the 2900 block of General Taylor Street about 7:55 a.m. Sunday, police wrote in records filed at Orleans Parish Criminal District Court. The baby was later pronounced dead, and investigators noted bruises above her eye and across her forehead, along with scratches on both sides of her face that were healing, according to the documents. An autopsy revealed that the girl had a broken arm and dried blood coming from her nose, the court records show. Police said they obtained a statement from a witness who described seeing Norman hit her daughter multiple times on multiple parts of her body with her hand. When they questioned Norman about what had happened she first tried to deny she had ever hurt her daughter. But then, police allege in the court records, Norman reversed course, admitting she had hurt the infants arm and caused the bruising on her face. According to detectives, Norman claimed the arm injury happened as she tried to dress her daughter while the child moved around. Norman also allegedly said that she had accidentally dropped her daughter to the floor after strapping her into a childs car seat and trying to carry the seat with the girl as she moved around in it. The girls mother said she didnt seek medical help after either alleged mishap, police wrote in the court filings. 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 Detectives booked Norman on Tuesday with cruelty to a juvenile as well as an unrelated warrant accusing her of trying to hit her boyfriend when he told her he wanted to break up with her on March 24 in the St. Claude neighborhood. Orleans Parish Magistrate Court Commissioner Robert Blackburn set her bail at $100,000 on Wednesday. Norman had not posted it and was still in custody when police obtained the warrant to book her with first-degree murder. One of Louisiana laws definitions for first-degree murder is intentionally killing a child younger than 12. It can carry life imprisonment or the death penalty, though it has become rare for prosecutors to seek the latter punishment. Normans daughter was one of two slain children reported in New Orleans on Sunday. About 10:30 p.m. the same day, Todriana Peters, 12, was killed in a drive-by shooting that erupted outside a graduation party on Delery Street in the Lower 9th Ward. Todriana had been at the scene for mere minutes, accompanying an older cousin who had gone to the party to pick up a cellphone charger. Dozens of families affected by violence in New Orleans are planning a rally on Saturday morning that they have dubbed the Let Me Live march. Organizers intend to march from the Walgreens at 11297 Lake Forest Blvd. where 14-year-old Jamere Alfred was shot to death in the parking lot on Christmas Day to Joe Brown Park at 5601 Read Blvd. beginning at 10 a.m., calling on the community to do more to prevent youth killings. Tuesdays attack was the latest in recent string of assaults on subway riders and transit workers, many of them committed by New Yorkers in need of mental health services. A 33-year-old Texas woman was killed early Thursday after her vehicle ran off Interstate 12 near its intersection with Interstate 10 in Slidell, State Police said. Megan Smith of Houston was driving eastbound when her vehicle went off the left side of the roadway and down an embankment around 1:30 a.m., State Police Troop L said. The vehicle struck the westbound I-10 guardrail and rolled over before coming to rest in the westbound lanes of I-10. She was pronounced dead on the scene by the St. Tammany Parish Coroners Office. The crash is under investigation. Smith was properly restrained and impairment is not suspected to be a factor, according to the news release. Wellsboro, Pa. - Kevin Coolidge, owner of From My Shelf Books and Gifts at 7 East Avenue, Wellsboro, is publishing a Wellsboro-focused book featuring the poem "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod" this month. The book was inspired by the Wynken, Blynken, and Nod statue that serves as the centerpiece of The Green, a park in the heart of downtown Wellsboro. "Dutch Lullaby" was the original title of the popular poem for children, written by American writer and poet Eugene Field and published on March 9, 1889. "'Wynken, Blynken and Nod' has been a perennial bestseller at the bookstore for 15 years and is adored by locals and visitors alike," said Coolidge. "Unfortunately, the pandemic changed that. The book is published by North South Press. Demand for it had been strong in Wellsboro, but with increasing cases of COVID-19 and state requirements, sales plummeted." "Wellsboro had fewer visitors and sales were low enough that the current publisher decided to print fewer copies of it," said Coolidge. Since the poem is in the public domain, he decided to do a new version. "My goal with 'Wynken, Blynken and Nod' is to keep the poem and its relationship to Wellsboro alive," Coolidge said. "Because I write books, I formed my own publishing house called From My Shelf Books & Gifts Press," he said. "Wynken, Blynken, & Nod" will be the first book that Coolidge's business will publish that he didn't actually write. The book will be illustrated by Chris Jones, who also illustrates Coolidge's Totally Ninja Raccoons series and his most recent book, Rebecca, White House Raccoon. Jones is a graduate of New Covenant Academy in Mansfield and a former resident of Wellsboro. He now lives in Florida, but maintains his Wellsboro connections with family and friends and by illustrating Coolidge's books under the pen name Jubal Lee, because "few things make him happier than art." The cover illustration will be of the statue and The Green. Included in "Wynken, Blynken & Nod" will be the poem and information about the poem's author and the history of the statue on The Green. Coolidge plans to debut the new Wellsboro version of "Wynken, Blynken & Nod" during the town's annual Laurel Festival, which runs from June 12 through 20. "I'm already scheduled to have my booth on The Green and will be there with the books in my Totally Ninja Raccoons series, too," said Coolidge. "My booth will be next to the statue." To pre-order the new Wellsboro version of "Wynken, Blynken, & Nod" at From My Shelf Books & Gifts in Wellsboro, stop by or call (570) 724-5793. Washington, DC - U.S. Rep. Fred Keller (R-PA 12) and the Bureau of Prisons Reform Caucus met with the U.S. Government Accountability Office to receive updates from the agencys 2021 report entitled, Opportunities Exist to Better Analyze Staffing Data and Improve Employee Wellness Programs. The findings of the GAO report showed clear inconsistencies within the BOPs data collection systems and an inability to use this data to improve agency policies and operations. Specifically, the report outlined flaws with BOPs staffing methodology, its plan for identifying staffing shortages, and agency retention issues. Throughout the pandemic, we saw BOP leadership make questionable decisions when mitigating the risk of spreading COVID-19, addressing staffing shortages, and taking care of their inmates and correctional officers, Keller said during the meeting. BOPs leadership needs to understand the decisions they make in Washington affect the daily lives of families and communities. Keller went on to outline three major areas where BOP can improve, including: Increased transparency and work with Congress Better preparation for future emergency situations More comprehensive data collection efforts The recommendations and insights provided by the GAO today gives the BOP Reform Caucus an important look into the serious management challenges that the Bureau of Prisons faces. We have heard from correctional officers across Pennsylvania and the country about systemic issues like staffing shortages, lacking internal data collection, and ineffective response strategies during COVID-19," Keller said in a statement. "Moving forward, the BOP Reform Caucus must ensure that the BOP is transparent in meeting the standards it sets while also working with agency leadership to develop higher standards in the future," he continued. Keller formed the Bureau of Prison Reform Caucus in August of 2020 after experiencing repeated issues with the BOP, including a lack of response from the agency and the continued movement of inmates across BOP facilities nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the serious need to halt movement and transfers to protect correctional officers, other inmates, and surrounding communities. Members of the Bureau of Prison Reform Caucus include U.S. Reps. Glenn GT Thompson (PA-15), Congressman Matt Cartwright (PA-08), Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (NY-21), Congressman Rodney Davis (IL-13), Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03), Congressman Mike Bost (IL-12), Congressman Pete Stauber (MN-08), Congressman Larry Bucshon (IN-08), Congressman Glenn Grothman (WI-06), and Congressman Randy Weber (TX-14). Tillamook, OR (97141) Today Cloudy with periods of rain. High 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch.. Tonight Showers early becoming less numerous late. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. Calhoun, GA (30701) Today A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 91F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight A few clouds. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by subscribing. I heard two shots, said Pablo Delgado, 26, who moved to the neighborhood about six months ago. I was actually about to go to the store there to buy groceries. So I walked out, and everyone was standing around him. Rome, GA (30161) Today Sun and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 93F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low 71F. Winds light and variable. Rome, GA (30161) Today Intervals of clouds and sunshine. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 92F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Projects and concepts are Yvan Arpas trademark, When he joined Sector, Arpa laid the founda- tions of the No Limits ethos thats now synonymous with the brand itself. He later moved to Baume & Mercier, part of the Richemont group. That was a real challenge a brand still in search of its identity. In 2002, his phone rang. It was Carlo Crocco, founder of Hublot. Hes very much a mans man and as such, I was won over by him. He wanted his watches to become icons, and that looked like being quite a job... So, in his own words, Yvan Arpa awakened his right brain: the hemisphere of creativity, which as a maths teacher hed never had occasion to use to its full potential. Yvan Arpa ArtyA The first result was the Hublot Big Bang, which he helped launch into orbit, together with a certain Jean-Claude Biver. Then, with RJ (as in Romain Jerome), there was the DNA series, not least the timepiece containing rust from the Titanic. That was much more than a product launch: Yvan Arpa implemented the idea that when enriched by material with its own special story, a watch becomes identified with that story. After a short time as COO for Jacob & Co., Yvan Arpa created his own brand: Black Belt watches for actual black belts, he himself being a 7th Dan in karate. The project was a success, but Yvan yearned for even more freedom. This was to come in the form of ArtyA, which he founded in 2009. The brand knows no boundaries. Yvan Arpa focuses almost exclusively on unique-piece watches and very lim- ited editions, at reasonable prices. ArtyA also develops knives, jewellery, accessories, leather goods, motorcycle customisation, Grand Complication models, and more. Other people have cottoned on to the idea now, and its become more widespread, even though only a few brands know how to do it properly, claims Yvan Arpa. He came into the spotlight in 2016 when he unveiled the Samsung Gear S3. They wanted to broaden the appeal of connected watches beyond the geek community, he recalls. I agreed, provided I could have free rein. And not have to move to Seoul! For Yvan, the period between 2000 and 2020 is one of realised ambitions: gaining freedom, creating a niche generalist brand, and swimming against the tide of traditional watchmaking. ArtyA has its diehard fans and its outspoken opponents many of whom also derive their inspiration from it, without missing a beat. *On the occasion of GMT Magazine and WorldTempus' 20th anniversary, we have embarked on the ambitious project of summarising the last 20 years in watchmaking in The Millennium Watch Book, a big, beautifully laid out coffee table book. This article is an extract. The Millennium Watch Book is available on www.the-watch-book.com, in French and English, with a 10% discount if you use the following code: WT2021. Order now What at first seemed to be a technical snag turned out to be very purposeful. The organizers later told the Beacon Journal that the mic had been muted because that account did not pertain directly to the ceremony at hand, which was supposed to focus on honoring military from Hudson, Ohio. Its thanks to decades of activism by the people we honored today, as well as many other LGBTQ+ orgs across our city, that I am able to serve as Chicagos first openly gay mayor and for that, I owe you a debt of gratitude, she wrote in a following tweet. The video, shared by a failed U.S. congressional candidate, shows the establishments owner yanking the device from the drone and causing the craft to fall from the sky. At that point, a young man runs up to the stage and attempts to grab the sex toy and drone, but is quickly subdued by security. A Chicago-area man walked away from his 2-year-old son for just a second, but that was enough for the young boy to grab a gun and fatally shoot himself in the head. You didnt have any access to anything else, really. As mainstream society started to accept gay people more and more, you didnt need to just go to a lesbian bar, and you just take it for granted, not realizing that its something you have to support. In April, after another incident with racist slurs, James spoke with a manager again who said they would handle it. The next day, at the end of her shift, James ordered a to-go salad. When she started eating it at home, she bit into a sharp metal object that resembled a razor blade. Authorities said the man ignored orders and pulled a gun, so officers responded by fatally shooting him, the Star Tribune reported. A woman was also in the car. She was injured by shattered glass and treated at the scene, according to the marshals. News featured Federal bill would help repair bridges WASHINGTON, D.C. Infrastructure continues to be a hot topic among federal legislators and Ohios senators are working together to try to get funding for bridges. Ohio has more than 3,200 bridges that need to be repaired or replaced to make them safer and reduce congestion, said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, last week. He has introduced the Bridge Investment Act recently, with U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, signing on, along with several other senators from both parties. However, the legislation likely would do little to help Henry County bridges, as officials have been maintaining them in good order. Henry County Engineer Tim Schumm said his office is responsible for 295 bridges in the county, which are inspected on an annual basis. Of these, 144 are rated good, 142 are rated fair, five are rated poor and four bridges are closed, Schumm said. These four bridges have been closed for almost 35 years. They are in locations with mainly farm traffic and have not been scheduled for replacement. He added of the five poorly rated bridges, three are scheduled to be replaced this year and the other two will be replaced within the next two years. City of Napoleon Public Works Director Chad Lulfs said the city does not have any of its bridges that are currently under a load limit, but there is one located in the city, on Woodlawn Avenue near Clairmont Avenue, that is owned by the county and is under a load limit. Browns legislation would provide $3.3 billion in funding for the nations bridges, but would also set money aside to help with major bridge projects around the country, including the Brent Spence Bridge in Cincinnati. Brown said the bill would help reduce the backlog of projects, which he stated is at $2.4 billion in Ohio alone, not counting the massive Brent Spence project, which is estimated at $2.6 billion. Jill Meyer, president and CEO of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce, said the Brent Spence bridge was built for 80,000 vehicles per day, but is actually handling 160,000 vehicles per day. She added that 3% of the nations gross domestic product (GDP) crosses it every year. Thats to the tune of $417 billion worth of goods crossing that bridge every year, Meyer said. The legislation would also require U.S. iron and steel to be used on projects. Brown said local funding would also be needed on the projects to go along with the federal money. Brown said the Bridge Investment Act could be included in the larger infrastructure package being debated. Napoleon, OH (43545) Today Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High 86F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight A few clouds overnight. Low near 60F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. NREL Inventiveness Sets New Record for Patent Activity June 3, 2021 Greg Glatzmaier tests the high-temperature thermal/mechanical stability of sealants that are being used in equipment installed at the Nevada Solar One power plant. The process reduces trace levels of hydrogen in the power plant and maintains its original design efficiency and power production. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL For Greg Glatzmaier, the road between innovation and implementation runs along a dusty stretch of highway about a dozen miles south of Boulder City, Nevada, where his patented idea could solve an industry problem. The destination for his idea is Nevada Solar One, an outpost in the desert where 186,000 parabolic shaped mirrors tilt to capture the suns rays. When the plant first opened, there was nothing around it but open desert with mountains to the west and east, said Glatzmaier, a senior engineer in the Thermal Energy Science and Technologies group at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The only other landscape feature is a dry lakebed north of the plant. Since Nevada Solar One began operations in the summer of 2007, other utility-scale solar power plants have opened in that lakebed. Nevada Solar One is the only concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in the region, however, and the technology faces a unique set of challenges. The CSP facility uses concentrated beams of sunlight to heat a fluid flowing through 20,000 tubes to as high as 752 degrees Fahrenheit. The process creates steam to spin a turbine that powers a generator and produces electricity. Over time, however, the heat transfer fluid begins to break down and form hydrogen, which reduces the effectiveness of the process. Tiny metal pellets in the tubes absorb the hydrogen, but after about seven years they become saturated and cannot be removed and replaced. Glatzmaier developed a method to address the hydrogen problem. To try to go in individually and address the situation for each tube is not really practical, Glatzmaier said. So, the method that I've developed, and what's in that patent, and what this project has been all about, is to reduce and control the level of hydrogen that's in the heat transfer fluid. NREL applied for a patent on Glatzmaiers invention in the fall of 2017. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last May granted patent protection to what is simply called Hydrogen sensing and separation. Laboratory Filed 188 Patent Applications Glatzmaiers patent was merely one of the 40 U.S. patents issued to NREL during fiscal 2020, a bump from the 32 issued during the prior fiscal year. Of the 269 disclosures filed with the laboratorys Technology Transfer Office as the first step toward either patent or copyright protection, 153 fell in the category of a record of invention and 116 in the area of software. Anne Miller, director of NREL's Technology Transfer Office, speaks to laboratory employees at a 2019 event. Photo by Werner Slocum, NREL We continue to see strong engagement from researchers who submit their ideas for evaluation, with especially strong growth in software, said Anne Miller, director of NRELs Technology Transfer Office. Its great to see such growth because it tells us that the outreach to the lab to get people to report their innovations and work with us in getting them protected and deployed means that its working, that people know who to contact. Hopefully, it means that they have some confidence in our ability to be helpful and steer them in the right direction. NREL filed 188 patent applications in FY20, up from 124 the year before. Lance Wheeler, a research scientist at NREL, has about a dozen patent applications in the pipeline tied to the discovery several years ago of a way to turn windows into solar cells. The technology relies on perovskite solar cells that enable the glass to darken and generate electricity, and also switch back to a clear pane. The most recent patent approved, for Energy-harvesting chromogenic devices, was granted in November, or almost four years after the provisional application was filed. Its much different than writing a paper because you can write a paper and get it published within months, said Wheeler, who shares credit on the patent with colleagues Joey Luther, Jeffrey Christians, and Joe Berry. Youll never get a patent awarded in months. Its usually at least a year, and three is not crazy. Buildings across the United States account for nearly two-thirds of energy used, so the notion of using these smart windows to take advantage of sunlight could bring that energy consumption down. NREL researcher Lance Wheeler holds a perovskite window prototype, which demonstrates the variety of colors that can be obtained. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL The patents issued so far for Wheelers dynamic photovoltaic windows cover foundational aspects of the technology and sprang from the initial research. A series of patent applications followed. When you write the first patent application, you dont know everything, Wheeler said. As you learn more and especially for very particular market needs, or what a product might look like, you learn whats important and you continue to protect the things that are working. Then you make more discoveries, and you patent more things, but theyre all aligned in the same area. Perovskite Composition Earns Patent Protection Alignment, as it turns out, is a key part of making perovskites most effective in capturing the suns energy. Unlike widely used silicon, which is a naturally occurring mineral, perovskites used in solar cells are grown through chemistry. The crystalline structure of perovskites has proven exceptionally efficient at converting sunlight to electricity. NREL researchers have explored possible combinations for perovskite formulas to find the best. That work resulted in a patent issued in April 2020 for Oriented perovskite crystals and methods for making the same. The process begins with a small crystal thats attached to another crystal and then another and on and on. The crystals are also oriented in the same direction. Kai Zhu, a senior scientist and one of the inventors, uses bricklaying as an analogy. You lay one layer down, you put one next to another, you align them perfectly, he said. You have to do this in order to build a very large wall. But if you have some randomness in it, your wall will collapse. The patent, which covers the composition of the perovskite, was issued to Zhu, Berry, and Donghoe Kim of NREL and to a scientist in Japan. NREL filed the patent application in 2017. Compared to a perovskite solar cell made of crystals allowed to grow randomly instead of in a specific orientation, the NREL-developed composition has been proven to have fewer defects and able to move charge carriers quickly. The result is a perovskite solar cell capable of reaching the highest efficiency. This represents the current best performing perovskite composition for the single-junction solar cell, Zhu said. Software Filings Reach New Record NRELs Technology Transfer Office received 116 software record (SWR) disclosures in fiscal 2020, establishing a new record and marking a big increase from 72 the prior year. The growth in submittals is partly due to more software being developed and authorized for free open-source release. One software record approved for closed-source licensing last year and now available for commercial users is the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Projection tool, or EVI-Pro. A simplified, open-source version, known as EVI-Pro Lite, also has been released. The core of EVI-Pro allows users to forecast the demand for electric vehicle charging infrastructure in a particular area. The predictive nature of the software also enables users to determine in advance how an influx of electric vehicles might affect the grid and energy demand. EVI-Pro relies on real-world information. Eric Wood, the NREL researcher who oversaw the development of EVI-Pro, said it is not enough to simply consider how many charging stations were installed in an area previously and make an educated guess based on that information. That misses some key points, he said. The vehicle technology is evolving. The charging technology is evolving. And the behavior of individuals that own these vehicles is evolving. Early adopters of electric vehicles could charge them at home, in their garage. As the market expands, Wood said, people living in apartments or who have to park on the street need to have a place to plug in. The role of public charging infrastructure is going to continue to elevate as the market grows, he said. Continuing to develop the software with an eye on reflecting the latest situation in the market is one of the challenges that we face, so keeping EVI-Pro relevant and current is important. From the Laboratory to the Outside World For Glatzmaier, the journey to see how well his invention could perform at isolating and removing hydrogen from the concentrating solar power plant was not a quick one. Grounded from flying because of the pandemic, last year he made four trips to the Nevada site by car. Each trip took about 13 hours one way. Scientists typically keep close to their laboratory space, with companies able to license ideas that sprang from the inventive minds at NREL. Often, with license in hand, a company will conduct research using its own people. In Glatzmaiers case, Nevada Solar One signed cooperative research and development agreements that have kept the scientist and company working closely together since 2015. Glatzmaier initially planned to address the hydrogen buildup using two processes: one to measure the amount of the gas, and a second to extract it. Laboratory-scale tests showed his ideas would work, but he still expected some hesitation from company executives when it came time to trying out the devices on a much larger scale. I was thinking, they're going to be very reluctant because companies tend to not want to make changes to their power plants once they are up and running, he said. So he proposed installing the mechanism to only measure hydrogen buildup. Instead, the company wanted him to move ahead and tackle both problems at once. From the initial idea to installation has been a long road, but it does not end in Nevada. Glatzmaier said 80 concentrating solar power plants exist around the world, and talks are in their final stages to license the technology for its use in these plants. Learn more about licensing NREL-developed technologies. Wayne Hicks John Howald, 44, is accused of firing a gun into the victims house because of that persons sexual orientation, shouting anti-gay slurs and saying he wanted to get rid of lesbians (and) gays, according to prosecutors. Following a lengthy investigation into the March 2020 incident, a federal grand jury returned an indictment on May 20 charging him with hate crime and firearm violations. Roseburg, OR (97470) Today Cloudy with occasional rain showers. High 73F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Cloudy with occasional rain showers. Low 57F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. Horizon Bank is hiring and offering $500 sign-on bonuses in a tight labor market in which employers are hurting for staff. The Michigan City-based bank, one of the largest headquartered in northern Indiana, is looking to hire for a full range of open positions, including personal bankers, customer service representatives and tellers at a time when "now hiring" signs litter the Northwest Indiana landscape and the unemployment rate statewide is just 3.9%. Horizon Bank will host open interviews from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. June 9 at its branch at 3631 Franklin St. in Michigan City. New hires can get a $500 signing bonus for most positions after 90 days of employment. We offer many great benefits for our advisers like comprehensive health and wellness plans, tuition reimbursement and career development. Horizon also values a work-life balance, which is really important, recruiter Allison Michna said. Founded in 1873, Horizon Bank has more than $6.1 billion in assets and 74 branches, and is in the process of acquiring 14 more TCF National Bank branches in Michigan. The river, which is near the city of Venice on Floridas Gulf Coast, is like a boneyard of fossils that include many shark teeth, Heim said. But Sundays dive may have been his last time there, he told Fox 13. The auction on the debt for Southlake Mall in Hobart has been delayed a second time as its future ownership hangs in the balance. Christopher McGlone, the managing director of capital markets and national loan portfolio sales for Cushman & Wakefield, a Chicago-based commercial real estate firm that's handling the sale of the Southlake Mall's debt, said the public auction has been pushed back again to June 17. He declined to comment further. Debt on the mall, which is in foreclosure, was originally supposed to take place on May 13 and then on May 27. Commercial real estate experts said that the market was weak for regional malls in the current retail environment and that such delays often took place so there would be more time to market the property and bring in bids the seller would find acceptable. Delays can occur for other reasons, such as to buy more time to restructure loans or work out legal issues or because anticipated good news would result in a higher price. Traditional brick-and-mortar retail has been struggling, with more than 12,000 stores closing nationwide over the last decade during the so-called retail apocalypse as more consumers make more purchases online. Green Street Advisors estimates shopping malls could lose up to 60% of department store anchors by the end of the year. "People have to remember that this was before television, (not to mention social media as we know it). He was an influencer before social media." Winchell had over 30 million readers and listeners during his career. Potempa said he did his research for the play by reading many of Winchell's columns and finding out what his take on things were via Winchell's broadcasts. He devoured all the interesting information while writing the play. "I find it fascinating that a newspaper columnist had that type of influence on people and events," Potempa said. "He could make someone a star or he could ruin their careers." Winchell had some famous feuds over time. Feuds that were notable were those with Ed Sullivan and Jack Paar. Winchell even spilled the beans to his readers and listeners that Sullivan was diagnosed with the big "C" word. "And he told the world that Lucille Ball was going to have a baby," Potempa said - even before Ball's doctor had told her she was pregnant. "Winchell: On the Air" is 70 minutes long. It will also include images of Winchell and Hollywood's big celebrities at the time. An exhibit on Winchell will also be on display and will include Winchell's personal letters and correspondence, cuff links and his hat, which is all owned by Potempa. "As you hike the trail, rangers will share the true story of this remarkable woman known as Diana of the Dunes. Her real name was Alice Mabel Gray, and she lived in a shack in the dunes for nine years, beginning in 1915, and spawned many legends and ghost stories," the National Park Service said in a press release. "The facts about Alice Gray are even more interesting than the legends as she was a well-educated mathematics scholar who became disillusioned with her life in Chicago and took a train to the dunes in 1915 and never moved back to the city." The returns raised the suspicions of government investigators because they all involved people claiming to be professional household helpers, including the improbable coincidence of 17 area "hair stylists" each earning exactly $15,489. Although Hall never signed those returns as the tax preparer, all the refunds ended up in Halls bank account. Hall knew he was under investigation around 2012 when he was interrogated by IRS agents. He pleaded guilty to tax evasion and identity theft in 2016. He assured the IRS, at that time, he had gotten out of tax preparations and moved into the music business. But he admitted this month, in his plea agreement, he wasnt completely honest. I lied to those IRS agents, telling them I no longer prepared taxes ... Instead, he changed his email address, opened new bank accounts and generated only more waves of phony tax returns 180 in 2014, 120 in 2015 and 22 in 2016, before going off to prison that year. His new guilty plea admits those hundreds of tax returns contain false income amounts from undocumented gig work and education tax credits for customers who werent in college. Two more Northwest Indiana residents were reported dead from COVID-19, updated data provided Thursday showed. They were included among 20 more reported statewide. A total of 13,239 Hoosiers have died from the respiratory disease to date, according to statistics from the Indiana State Department of Health. New deaths were reported between January 22 and Wednesday. Local death totals include 999 in Lake County, 296 in Porter County, 219 in LaPorte County, 53 in Jasper County and 35 in Newton County, following corrections to the previous day's totals, statistics from ISDH and the Porter County Health Department showed. Positive case totals included 55,050 in Lake County, up 17; 19,022 in Porter County, up 10; 12,320 in LaPorte County, up 10; 3,822 in Jasper County, up six; and 1,114 in Newton County, up one. A total of 91,328 Hoosiers in Northwest Indiana have tested positive for the respiratory disease to date. Across Indiana there were 418 new cases, pushing the state's overall total to 745,690. New cases were reported Wednesday. All data was provisional and subject to change as more information is reported to the state. HOBART Three men were arrested after a patrolling officer saw them allegedly trying to rob a Citgo gas station, one of them armed with an AR-15 rifle, and a SWAT team responded to the scene. Members of the Northwest Regional SWAT Team were called to the gas station early Thursday when the armed man and one other were inside the business with a clerk and refused to come out, said Hobart police Capt. Garrett Ciszewski. It started about 2:15 a.m. at the Citgo at 4575 W. 37th Ave. A Hobart officer was patrolling the area when he noticed a black Dodge Journey, which matched the description of one involved in a recent carjacking in other local towns, parked at a gas pump. While driving past, he saw the men, all dressed in black, one carrying a rifle and another wearing a face mask, walking toward the store, Ciszewski said. The officer believed the men were attempting a robbery, so he called for additional officers while two men entered and one remained outside. The one outside was arrested without incident when other officers arrived, but the other two, still inside with a clerk, failed to comply with commands, Ciszewski said. VALPARAISO Yet another delay has been granted in the trial of Curtis Jones, a one-time Porter County police officer accused of beating his infant son and leaving the boy disabled and with a much shorter life expectancy. The defense was granted a delay in the start of the 9-day trial from July 12 to Jan. 4, which will be 5 1/2 years from the date Jones is accused of injuring his then-7-month-old son. The delay was sought by defense attorneys John Vouga and Nicholas Barnes, who said they just took over the case Jan. 4 from one attorney who died in 2019 and another who was disbarred just last year. The earlier attorneys never hired or even consulted expert witnesses and no preparations were made for trial, according to the defense request. "The most that was accomplished was the filing of a single motion," the defense said. Vouga and Barnes said since taking over in January, they have been reviewing 2,800 pages of medical records in the case and hired two experts and are awaiting their findings. Jones lost $10,00 to a prior attorney for work never performed and he had to recoup the money last month from the Indiana State Bar Association Clients' Financial Assistance Fund, the defense said. The surveillance video played for jurors showed Silva and Kerner walking the halls at the high school together following the third period of the day and then exiting the school toward the student parking lot, Coolman said. He said Silva had been absent 50 full days and another eight or nine half-days during the 2018-19 school year. Defense attorney John Cantrell had portrayed Silva during opening arguments Wednesday as "a kid who was trying to graduate and he's scared" after discovering he had been unknowingly drawn into the grisly double slaying. Police say Silva knowingly joined Kerner in the robbery turned deadly at Kerner's maternal grandparents' home in Boone Township. Silva was reportedly in the basement of the home when Kerner shot Grill and Lanham in the garage above and then summoned Silva to help clean up while Kerner finished the killing of Grill by beating him with a pipe wrench. Kerner loaded the bodies of Grill and Lanham in the trunk of a Honda Civic following their slayings, along with various containers of flammable liquids, and set the vehicle on fire, police said. He was not able to follow through on plans to haul away and dispose the charred remains of the vehicle and bodies. SOUTH HOLLAND The Centers for Disease Control and Fresenius Kidney Care are hosting a free COVID-19 vaccine clinic for Illinois residents. The drive will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday at Fresenius Medical Care South Holland at 17225 S. Paxton Avenue. The vaccine clinic is open to those in the greater South Holland area and is free of cost. Appointments are not required and vaccines will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis. Those getting vaccinated must be 16 years or older and those under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CROWN POINT A 57-year-old man pleaded guilty Wednesday to intentionally setting a fire last year at his estranged wife's Hammond home while several people were inside, including the wife's four grandchildren. Erwin Ausley, who was listed as homeless, admitted to arson, a level 4 felony, in connection with the fire April 28, 2020, at a home in the 5500 block of Claude Avenue. If Lake Criminal Court Judge Samuel Cappas accepts his plea agreement, Ausley would face a sentence of two to eight years in prison. Lake County Deputy Prosecutor Infiniti Westberg and defense attorney Matthew LaTulip will argue the length of his sentence, the plea agreement states. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a felony stalking charge and refrain from filing a habitual offender enhancement against Ausley. According to court records, Ausley's daughter-in-law told police she smelled smoke, gathered her children and ran out of the home. She saw Ausley, who was wearing a white T-shirt, walking out of the backyard through an open gate, records state. The woman's mother told police she had been married to Ausley for two years, but recently asked him to move out because of marital problems. I am terrified that if my contraceptives fail, I am terrified that if I am raped, then my hopes and aspirations and dreams and efforts for my future will no longer matter. I hope that you can feel how gut-wrenching that is. I hope you can feel how dehumanizing it is to have the autonomy over your own body taken from you, she said. When the worker left, Rodriguez returned to the home and kicked her out, she said. When she threatened to tell Rodriguez's wife about their relationship, Rodriguez attempted to force her to perform oral sex on him, she said. They fought, and he began banging her head into a wall, she said. Though she had experienced domestic abuse before, the attack was the first time she wasn't sure if she would survive, she said. "Josh wanted to cause me as much pain in anyway possible, because I didn't take his instructions," she said. The father of Rodriguez's wife testified he changed his life around over and over, because of crises caused by Rodriguez's abuse of his daughter and their children. At one point, he had to leave his wife who had terminal cancer in the care of relatives to ensure his grandchild was safe, he said. "The public must be protected from this violent sexual predator," he said. Mom: 'He's not an animal' Defense attorney Casey McCloskey called Rodriguez's mother, Pamela Ratcliff, to the stand. CROWN POINT A man charged with murder in the 1980 slaying of an off-duty Hammond police officer was sent home to await trial after Lake County prosecutors agreed to his release. Pierre Catlett, 66, of Harvey, Illinois, was released Friday from the Lake County Jail, fitted with a GPS-equipped ankle bracelet at county expense and granted permission to live in Illinois, Lake Criminal Court records show. Catlett's co-defendant, James Hill Jr., 58, recently was released from prison after Judge Salvador Vasquez set aside his murder conviction because prosecutors didn't turn over evidence to Hill's defense before his trial more than two years ago. Hill and Catlett were each charged in June 2012 in connection with the homicide of Officer Lawrence J. "Larry" Pucalik on Nov. 14, 1980, during a robbery at the Holiday Inn-Southeast, formerly at the intersection of Cline Avenue and Interstate 80/94. In a joint motion, Hill's attorneys Scott King and Russell Brown and Lake County First Assistant Deputy Prosecutor Peter Villarreal asked Vasquez to release Hill from prison on his own recognizance pending a resolution of the case. CROWN POINT The city has inked an agreement with Buckeye Pipeline to continue work along 109th Avenue. During a Wednesday meeting, the Board of Works unanimously approved the 109th Avenue-Buckeye Pipeline agreement pending legal review. Crown Point Mayor David Uran said the agreement allows the city to proceed with its 109th Avenue project, which coincides with a Community Crossing Matching Grant the city has, as well as a private partnership held by the Crown Point Redevelopment Commission. Uran later told The Times the Buckeye pipeline has to be moved so 109th can be widened. "The ditch over there, where it's currently sitting, won't allow it. That's why it looks like it's throttled down. That's the portion that we have to have done," Uran said. "The next phase, when we come off the Community Crossing to Delaware and then our portion to over the ditch is what's being done this summer. That's all through the redevelopment and the public-to-private partnership they've got going for that portion." Uran said the project will then pick up from Delaware Parkway east to Interstate 65 to the corporate boundary limits, where the Indiana Department of Transportation's I-65 interchange project will pick up. HIGHLAND The Disabled American Veterans Chapter No. 17 is set to host its annual walk Saturday. The Hammond-based group expects more people will participate in Saturday's walk than in years past, DAV Cmdr. Bob Carnagey told The Times Tuesday. Carnagey said he anticipates about 250-300 people to attend, as 190 have already RSVP'd. The DAV is "usually lucky (if) we have that many people total," he said. "I honestly believe it is because of COVID. People feel that they can now go out and participate in the things that they wanted to and have pent up energy," Carnagey said, noting the opportunity to support veterans presents a "double whammy." The walk was canceled last year. It will be $20 for adults and $10 for students or children to participate in the event; a T-shirt is included. Check in and T-shirt pick up will begin at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Wicker Memorial Park in Highland. Step off will be at 10 a.m., Carnagey said. All proceeds from the walk will go directly to help local disabled veterans, the DAV said in a news release. Mrvan said the federal government aims to emphasize infrastructure, as well as a city on the move and in progress, later noting the completed project enables the east side of the city "for growth and progress and economic development." "What today emphasizes is that sewer capacity, even though it may not be romantic, is essential for growth," Mrvan said. "It's essential for Northwest Indiana and Crown Point, to be able to add to the progress that you have, to be able to have economic development. "And as you mentioned, mayor, to be able to utilize local dollars for local advancement in economic development." Al Stong, president of Commonwealth Engineers, Inc., said the project will allow the city to remain in compliance with it's long-term control plan. "This project, we had two pipes coming into a manhole and one pipe coming out. The pipe coming out was smaller than the two pipes coming in," Stong said. "So when we had very large rainfall events, all the wastewater backed up and went to the low point. So it would either come out the top of the manholes or into the basins or wherever." Water projects continue "I know everyone here will march to the Capitol to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard." And as President Trump spoke those words to the assembled crowd on Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C., the left-wing thugs of Antifa and BLM had already broken into the Capitol building, the warnings of which Congressional leaders and the D.C. police ignored. The heated responses from Highland and Schererville to my recent Times letter are straight out of the Democrat playbook. The insidious plan goes something like this: Trump supposedly incited his followers to violence by claiming the 2020 election was stolen. Now, any individual or organization who dares to present the evidence and there's a mountain of it of last November's well-coordinated and documented election fraud is also inciting violence and must be silenced. One of the letters even seeks to intimidate the Times for presenting information that helps "debunk" (a favorite leftist term) the Democrat narrative. The good news is that for the first time in four years, the mayors caucuses came out in a press conference and demanded that the governor restore all of this back to 10%, Pekau said at a May 3 board meeting. When I first arrived, we were at 5.4%, and they were all thrilled that we got it back to 6. I said they took away an entire loaf of bread and gave back two slices. Its like being a prisoner of war, and they are just trying to make you happy. Orland trustee William Healy is equally adamant. This is unfair, and its been unfair for years, he said. This causes a loss of faith in government. The causes behind the problems that we see with a mass exodus (of people from the state) is because of dishonest Illinois bargaining. Its not just the governor, its the whole group. Pekau sent an email to residents blaming state government for its financial mess and expecting local government and taxpayers to bail it out. The state continues to try to fill its budget holes on the backs of residents, businesses and local municipalities, he wrote. Many of our neighbors are not as fortunate as up to 20% of their budget relies on this funding, he wrote. In turn, many have been forced to eliminate police, fire and other services. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The first hour of the debate, co-hosted by WABC-TV, aired on broadcast television and may have been the biggest stage yet for the mayoral candidates, though the station pre-empted the second hour with a game show, Press Your Luck, forcing viewers to switch to another channel or an online stream. After months of staid online forums, the debate on Wednesday took on the trappings of a prize fight, with fans of the candidates holding rallies outside the Upper West Side television studio, waving signs, blaring music and mixing with the contenders. Inside, several of the candidates appeared eager for confrontation. In the tense exchanges between Mr. Yang and Mr. Adams, Mr. Yang suggested that Mr. Adamss advice about confronting others over the use of illicit fireworks led to a womans death, and Mr. Adams said at another point that people of color are wrongly accused often in this country and called on Mr. Yang to apologize for his insinuations on corruption. Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller who maintained a low profile in the first debate, issued bitter denunciations of several of his rivals. As your consultants have told you time and time again, they admit you are an empty vessel, Mr. Stringer said to Mr. Yang, peering over his podium to address the former presidential candidate directly. I actually dont think you are an empty vessel. I think you are a Republican who continues to focus on the issues that will not bring back the economy. Mr. Stringer, who is casting himself as a progressive with deep government experience, also ripped Maya Wiley, the former counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio, claiming she had been a rubber stamp for the Police Benevolent Association when she chaired the Civilian Complaint Review Board. And he suggested that Mr. Adams and others believe the only solution to preventing crime is going back to the Giuliani days with stop-and-frisk and a Republican agenda that put a lot of kids in our criminal justice system. Ms. Wiley, who defended her tenure, slammed Mr. Yangs record leading Venture for America, the nonprofit he ran before running for president, over its record of job creation and how, records show, he failed to recruit many participants of color. And in one of the most revealing exchanges of the night, she and Mr. Adams had an extended back-and-forth over remarks he made about guns. The first major clash of the debate came early, after the candidates were asked to discuss their views on how to combat an increase in violent crime and the police budget. For weeks, Maya Wiley who oversaw the citys police watchdog, the Civilian Complaint Review Board and Eric Adams, a former police officer and the Brooklyn borough president, have sparred over Mr. Adamss views on stop and frisk, a controversial policing strategy that disproportionately ensnared Black and Latino men. But it was Scott Stringer, the city comptroller, who lobbed the first attack over policing, accusing Ms. Wiley of being ineffective at curbing police misconduct in her at time at the review board and likening Mr. Adamss approach to policing to former Mayor Rudy Giulianis aggressive policing tactics. When Maya Wiley was there she was a rubber stamp for the P.B.A., Mr. Stringer said, referring to the Police Benevolent Association, a police union that represents tens of thousands of New York City police officers. The document showed that a smoke grenade was detonated inside the chamber to make sure that it was airtight, and that the fan and exhaust functions were also tested. A candle was held up to sealed areas, like doors and windows, at the facility. No deflection of the flame was observed, the report said. Overall, there were no functionality issues detected, and the vessel is operationally ready, the document said. The Guardian, which obtained redacted state documents and invoices through public records requests, also reported that Arizona in December purchased the components to make the hydrogen cyanide gas. The Department of Corrections declined to comment, and it was not immediately clear where the agency bought the chemicals. Arizonas state Constitution says that inmates can choose either lethal injection or lethal gas if they committed their offense before Nov. 23, 1992. A short supply of lethal drugs has framed the lines of debate over the death penalty in the United States, and pushed several states to seek alternatives, as in South Carolina, where lawmakers have proposed either the electric chair or firing squad. Robert Dunham, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said on Wednesday that Arizonas protocol designates sodium cyanide as the lethal gas to be used for executions. The documents, he said, suggest that if the state cant get lethal injection drugs, then we are prepared to carry out executions with cyanide gas. Asked about Arizonas reported purchase of supplies to make hydrogen cyanide, he said, There are no assurances that just because it violates their protocol that they are not going to do it. Photo taken on Jan. 6, 2021 shows the packing line for inactivated COVID-19 vaccine of Sinovac Biotech, a Chinese biopharmaceutical company, in Beijing, capital of China.(Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) The approval of the two Chinese vaccines, at a time when the world is still struggling to contain the virus with many countries and regions in dire need of vaccines, will help China make greater contribution to the global fight against the pandemic, said experts. by Xinhua writers Chen Wenxian, Fu Yiming and Zuo Wei The World Health Organization (WHO) validated on Tuesday the CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac for emergency use, which made it the second Chinese vaccine included in the WHO Emergency Use Listing after the previous one developed by another Chinese manufacturer Sinopharm. Experts believe the approval of the two Chinese vaccines, at a time when the world is still struggling to contain the virus with many countries and regions in dire need of vaccines, will help China make greater contribution to the global fight against the pandemic. BROADER PORTFOLIO OF VACCINES According to the WHO, 352,685 new cases were reported on June 1 across the world, bringing the global tally to 170,426,245, while COVID-19 deaths worldwide reached 3,548,628. As of May 31, a total of 1,579,416,705 vaccine doses had been administered. The WHO's announcement on Tuesday about the validation of the Sinovac vaccine is good news for the whole world, especially for countries that are in serious shortage of vaccines. Earlier last month, the Sinopharm vaccine, an inactivated vaccine, was validated by the WHO for emergency use. "The Sinovac-CoronaVac product is an inactivated vaccine. Its easy storage requirements make it very manageable and particularly suitable for low-resource settings," said a statement issued by the WHO. A nurse prepares the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac in Bangkok, Thailand, May 31, 2021. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak) "The world desperately needs multiple COVID-19 vaccines to address the huge access inequity across the globe," WHO Assistant Director-General for Access to Medicines and Health Products Mariangela Simao said in the statement. "We urge manufacturers to participate in the COVAX Facility, share their knowhow and data and contribute to bringing the pandemic under control." Delegates who attended the just-concluded 74th World Health Assembly (WHA) also called for increasing vaccine supply and ensuring fair access to vaccines for countries around the world, especially low-income countries. Following the WHO's announcement of the validation of the Sinovac vaccine, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted that the vaccine is widely used in Turkey, and "we will continue to bring every vaccine with proven safety and effectiveness to our citizens." Turkey began its vaccination drive with China's Sinovac vaccine on Jan. 14, with priority given to healthcare professionals and the elderly. Until the beginning of April, the country had solely used Sinovac's jabs. The WHO's authorization of the Sinovac vaccine for emergency use is "very positive," Lu Mengji, professor at the Institute of Virology of the University Hospital of Essen in Germany, told Xinhua. "It will play an important role in the global fight against the pandemic." WIDER UTILIZATION The Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines, which have already been used in many countries and regions across the world, are playing an important role in the global anti-pandemic fight. China has provided COVID-19 vaccines as public goods by offering medical assistance to 80 countries, exporting vaccines to 43 countries and supplying 300 million doses of vaccines worldwide, said Chinese delegate Yang Feng at the WHA. Airport staff members unload the first batch of Chinese Sinovac vaccine raw materials from a plane at the Cairo International Airport in Cairo, Egypt, May 21, 2021.(Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic expressed her gratitude for the delivery of millions of doses "in the shortest possible time" when her country welcomed the eighth flight carrying Chinese vaccines last week, a huge boost to the Balkan country's vaccination campaign. "We are very grateful to China and the Chinese people for enormous support and help, for the vast quantity of vaccines that we received," said Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic when he received the second dose of the Sinopharm vaccine on April 27. Hungary, the first European Union (EU) member state to buy and authorize the use of Chinese vaccines, has a leading vaccination rate among EU countries thanks to Chinese and Russian COVID-19 vaccines, Zoltan Kovacs, international spokesman for the Hungarian government and secretary of state for international communication and relations, told Xinhua. This is extremely valuable at a time when every dose of vaccine is eagerly awaited not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) but all over the world, said BiH's Minister of Civil Affairs Ankica Gudeljevic when receiving a batch of China-donated Sinopharm vaccine in late April. China has also shown great concern about the epidemic situation in Africa, and has already donated vaccines to many countries on the continent. At a recent United Nations Security Council meeting, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China has been a staunch supporter of Africa in the COVID-19 fight. China has been, and is, providing vaccines to more than 30 African countries on the basis of their urgent need, said Wang. GREATER CONTRIBUTION In his speech at the 74th WHA opening, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged countries worldwide to share vaccine doses now and fast to COVAX, the WHO-led initiative for equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the world. China has already decided to offer 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to COVAX, a concrete step to deliver on its promise to make vaccines a global public good. It has also called for a rejection of vaccine nationalism to make vaccines more accessible to and affordable for developing countries. For example, China has recently agreed with Egypt on establishing a Chinese vaccine production line in the country. The first batch of the raw materials to manufacture the Sinovac vaccine arrived at the Cairo International Airport on May 21. It is believed that the WHO's validation of China's two vaccines will further help the global fight against the pandemic, and boost confidence in defeating the virus through international cooperation. For countries with limited resources of medical technology, inactivated vaccines like the Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines have a great advantage when it comes to putting into use, said Lu, the professor in Germany. "The higher the trust in the vaccines available on the market, the quicker the world can advance to its goal of a high global protection against the COVID-19 pandemic," said Neville Calleja, head of the Department of Public Health at the University of Malta. "The quicker this is achieved, the less the time available for the virus to mutate ... As for the variants that occur, it is increasingly clear that collaboration between manufacturers is key for the creation of boosters later on," Calleja told Xinhua. Enditem (Xinhua reporters Chen Junxia in Geneva, Zhang Xiuzhi in Sarajevo, Shi Zhongyu in Belgrade, Yuan Liang in Budapest, Zhang Jiawei in London, and Lin Jing in Copenhagen also contributed to the story.) In a plea deal with prosecutors, the armed carjacking charge as well as several others will be dropped. If she is sentenced to a maximum sentence by a judge, the girl will be released from prison by the time she turns 21. She is expected to be sentenced on July 6. NASHVILLE After an R.V. packed with explosives detonated in downtown Nashville on Christmas morning, law enforcement officials assured the public that they had repeatedly attempted to follow up on a 2019 tip that the perpetrator, Anthony Q. Warner, had been building bombs in a vehicle parked outside his house. Legally, there was nothing else that could have been done, the Nashville police chief, John Drake, told reporters after the explosion. But a report released on Wednesday found no documentation of any attempts to reach Mr. Warner after officers knocked on his door and got no response. The report added that the police should have acted more aggressively, keeping closer tabs on Mr. Warner and trying to establish the probable cause needed to search his home. Instead, the case sat open for months, as Mr. Warner stewed in conspiracy theories and plotted the attack. The report emerged from an inquiry into the police investigation conducted by a panel that included senior officials from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department and others from outside the agency. The panel concluded that there was no way to know for sure if the suicide bombing on December 25, 2020, could have been prevented. Yet it identified ways in which the Police Department had failed to conduct a robust investigation into the earlier warning. WASHINGTON Nearing a self-imposed deadline for a bipartisan infrastructure deal, President Biden met again on Wednesday with the lead Republican negotiator to try to resolve major differences over the size, structure and financing of an expansive public-works plan. The roughly hourlong meeting in the Oval Office between Mr. Biden and Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Republican of West Virginia, did not end with any public breakthroughs, but they agreed to continue their discussions on Friday. The two were pressing to find a compromise before Congress returns next week, when Democratic leaders and administration officials have suggested they want to see clear movement toward a bipartisan deal, or they may begin pursuing their own plan without Republicans. The latest talks came days after Ms. Capito and other Republicans proposed an overall $928 billion infrastructure package that would include about $257 billion in new funding for roads, bridges and other physical projects, compared with Mr. Bidens latest plan for $1.7 trillion in new spending. Republicans have said that the presidents version is far too large and rejected his approach of raising taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals to pay for it; the White House has called the G.O.P. plan far too limited and ruled out the idea of using unspent coronavirus relief funds and increased user fees for drivers to finance it. White House officials would not divulge details of the meeting on Wednesday. But it came at a critical time, as Mr. Bidens team and Democrats on Capitol Hill are assessing whether a bipartisan deal is possible and how long to spend pursuing one before moving ahead to try to muscle through legislation on their own. Whoever wins the race to become the next Manhattan district attorney will take over one of the most contentious, highest-profile criminal investigations in the offices history: the inquiry into former President Donald J. Trump and his business. Two of the leading candidates in the Democratic primary field, Alvin Bragg and Tali Farhadian Weinstein, have had past contacts with Mr. Trumps administration dealings that could become an issue if one of them is the next district attorney. Mr. Bragg, a former official with the New York attorney generals office, reminds voters frequently that in his former job, he sued Mr. Trumps administration more than a hundred times. Ms. Farhadian Weinstein, who once served as general counsel to the Brooklyn district attorney, has been less vocal about Mr. Trump. She only occasionally notes her involvement in a successful lawsuit against the Trump administration. And she has not spoken publicly about interviewing with Trump administration officials for a federal judgeship early in his term. The document has been described as a memo or email written by a Democratic operative who expressed confidence that the attorney general at the time, Loretta Lynch, would keep the Clinton investigation from going too far. Russian hackers had obtained the document, but it is apparently not among those that Russia sent to WikiLeaks, intelligence officials concluded. Mr. Comey was said to be worried that if Ms. Lynch were to be the one who announced a decision not to charge Mrs. Clinton, and Russia then made the document public, it would be used to raise doubts about the independence of the investigation and the legitimacy of the outcome. The Times reported in January 2020 that Trump-era investigators had pursued a leak investigation into whether Mr. Comey had been the source of the unauthorized disclosure in that 2017 article. Mr. Comey had been under scrutiny since 2017, after Mr. Trump fired him as the director of the F.B.I. After his dismissal, Mr. Comey engineered through his friend Daniel Richman, a Columbia University law professor the disclosure to The Times of accounts of several of his conversations with the president related to the Russia investigation. The inquiry into Mr. Comey, according to three people briefed on that investigation, was eventually code-named Arctic Haze. Its focus was said to evolve over time, as investigators shifted from scrutinizing whether they could charge Mr. Comey with a crime for disclosing his conversations with Mr. Trump, to whether he had anything to do with the disclosure of the existence of the document. As part of that effort, law enforcement officials had seized Mr. Richmans phone and computer, according to a person familiar with the matter. They are said to have initially searched them for material about Mr. Comeys conversations with Mr. Trump, and later obtained a courts permission to search them again, apparently about the Russia document matter. Separately, according to a person briefed on the investigation, the F.B.I. is also said to have subpoenaed Google in 2020, seeking information relevant to any emails between Mr. Richman and The Times. A spokesman for Google did not respond to a request for comment. JERUSALEM Israeli opposition parties announced on Wednesday that they had reached a coalition agreement to form a government and oust Benjamin Netanyahu, the longest-serving prime minister in Israeli history and a dominant figure who has pushed his nations politics to the right. The announcement could lead to the easing of a political impasse that has produced four elections in two years and left Israel without a stable government or a state budget. If Parliament ratifies the fragile agreement in a confidence vote in the coming days, it will also bring down the curtain, if only for an intermission, on the premiership of a leader who has defined contemporary Israel more than any other. The new coalition is an unusual and awkward alliance between eight political parties from a diverse array of ideologies, from the left to the far right. While some analysts have hailed it as a reflection of the breadth and complexity of contemporary society, others say its members are too incompatible for their compact to last, and consider it the embodiment of Israels political dysfunction. The alliance would be led until 2023 by Naftali Bennett, a former settler leader and standard-bearer for religious nationalists, who opposes a Palestinian state and wants Israel to annex the majority of the occupied West Bank. He is a former ally of Mr. Netanyahu often described as more right wing than the prime minister. With its relentless, almost abstract violence and fragmented, elliptical storytelling, this bleak zombie drama offers a postmodern post-apocalypse. It didnt really need a second season, but here it is, with more sprinting, remorseless undead and unapologetic human slaughter. (Netflix, June 17) Evil The producers Michelle and Robert King are the creators of two of the summers most anticipated returning shows, with the fifth season of The Good Fight (Paramount+, June 24) and the second season of this authentically scary, weirdly funny drama about a team of occult investigators working, more or less, for the Roman Catholic Church. (Paramount+, June 20) Rick and Morty Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland continue to download the contents of their pop-culture-saturated minds, and theyre doing it more quickly; Season 5 of their animated, interdimensional carnival of cartoonishly violent space adventure and mordant family dysfunction arrives just 13 months after the end of the previous season, the shows shortest turnaround ever. (Adult Swim, June 20) David Makes Man Tarell Alvin McCraneys dreamlike series about the life of a Southern Black teenager jumps ahead in time for its second season: David is now a businessman played by Kwame Patterson, though the first seasons star, Akili McDowell, will still appear as the younger David. (OWN, June 22) Bosch The most satisfyingly old-school cop show of the last decade carries its 1970s Quinn Martin-style charms into its seventh and final season, drawn from the Michael Connelly novel The Burning Room. Although, is it really the final season when a spinoff series featuring several of the main cast members, including Titus Welliver as the detective Harry Bosch and Madison Lintz as Boschs daughter, has already been announced? (Amazon Prime Video, June 25) The chef and restaurateur, whose new book is We Are What We Eat, was heavily influenced by Elizabeth Davids book French Country Cooking: All I wanted to do was live like the French. What books are on your night stand? Next to my bed right now I have Toni Morrison and Motherhood: A Politics of the Heart, by Andrea OReilly; All the Little Live Things, by Wallace Stegner; Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community, by Wendell Berry; a book of quotes from Gandhi; Self-Reliance, by Ralph Waldo Emerson; Devotion, by Patti Smith; and a Laphams Quarterly on memory. Theres also Douglas Brinkleys The Wilderness Warrior, Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer, and a copy of My Old Home, by Orville Schell. And Christopher Hitchenss Thomas Jefferson biography. And Mary Olivers Upstream. And Beloved, by Toni Morrison, which Im trying to read right now. Oh! And From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death, by Caitlin Doughty. That last one is another one Im reading now, and its really fascinating. Thats a lot of books! There are stacks here waiting to be read, its really bad. Whats the last great book you read? I loved We Are the Weather, by Jonathan Safran Foer. I can really identify with what hes saying like hes talking to me in person, trying to get down to very basic questions about why we eat what we eat. Theres an intimacy and directness and honesty to his writing. I also recently read For a Delicious Revolution, by Olivier Roellinger. Its a memoir, very easy to read, but beautifully written and heartfelt. He grew up in France and talks about food there, and he echoes everything we know about the degradation of our culture in the United States after the advent of fast food. I bought 50 copies to give to people, and Im down to only four now! Im also listening to the audiobook of The Water Dancer, by Ta-Nehisi Coates. He is an amazing writer; I feel like Im right there in it with him. I want to feel that way the moment I open a book, that I need to go to the next page. If I dont feel that, I put it aside, even if I love the writer. I might go back to it later, though Im not a linear reader. But then, Im not a linear thinker either. Describe your ideal reading experience (when, where, what, how). Im really more of a film person, and not a good reader. But I have roomfuls of books in my house, because I might read some short passage and it will fascinate me; and then I need to have that book in my library. When I look at all these books, I dont think Ive read a tenth of them cover to cover. But theyre so valuable to me, because theyre my friends. This is my ideal reading experience: wandering through the rooms of my house, pulling out one book or another as it speaks to me. I might see Carlo Petrinis book, pull it out, read a passage, put it back. Or I might pick up one of Maria Montessoris books and read a few lines. Books are a huge reference tool for me. And what people wrote back in the 1960s and 1970s about food and art and politics and agriculture are so important to what Im thinking about right now. All I need is a sentence and it all comes back to me. What is going on? Todays newsletter sets out to answer that question, with help from our Times colleagues in Israel. Like Mitch and A.O.C. The McConnell-Trump analogy turns out to be quite useful for understanding Israeli politics. Netanyahu like Trump, his ally in global affairs is the subject of serious allegations of abuse of government. Prosecutors indicted Netanyahu on corruption charges in 2019, and the trial has been delayed partly because of Covid-19 restrictions. The indictment accuses him of altering policies to benefit businessmen, in exchange for a combination of favorable media coverage and nearly $300,000 in gifts. He has denied the charges and called them an attempt by unelected bureaucrats to force him from office. His attempts to fend off the charges and remain in power have left many Israelis worried about a collapse in judicial independence and the rule of law, much as Democrats were anxious about Trumps norm-breaking, as David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy explained to me. But there is also a big difference: While Republicans have overwhelmingly stood by Trump, a meaningful number of Netanyahus ideological allies have chosen to break with him. Yifat Shasha-Biton, whose conservative New Hope party is in the coalition that is set to take power, recently said that Netanyahu told lies without blinking and was setting Israel on the path to one-man rule. Isabel Kershner, a Times correspondent who has been covering Israel since 1990, said many right-wing politicians see Netanyahu as no longer fit to rule. Another factor is that many on the political right feel more secure about Israels approach to Palestinian issues than in the past. They no longer fear that major compromises to achieve a two-state solution are imminent. They can afford to step back, Makovsky said. The era of supersonic commercial flights came to an end when the Concorde completed its last trip between New York and London in 2003, but the allure of ultrafast air travel never quite died out. President Biden mused about supersonic flights when discussing his infrastructure plan in April. And on Thursday, United Airlines said it was ordering 15 jets that can travel faster than the speed of sound from Boom Supersonic, a start-up in Denver. The airline said it had an option to increase its order by up to 35 planes. Boom, which has raised $270 million from venture capital firms and other investors, said it planned to introduce aircraft in 2025 and start flight tests in 2026. It expects the plane, which it calls the Overture, to carry passengers before the end of the decade. But the start-ups plans have already slipped at least once, and it will have to overcome many obstacles, including securing approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and regulators in other countries. Even established manufacturers have stumbled when introducing new or redesigned planes. Boeings 737 Max was grounded for nearly two years after two crashes. General Motors said Thursday that it expected to increase shipments of pickup trucks and other vehicles to dealers over the next several weeks, a sign that the global shortage of computer chips is beginning to ease. G.M.s financial results in the first half of the year would be significantly better than it had previously forecast, the automaker said in a statement. The company had previously indicated that its profit would fall to about $500 million in the second quarter, from more than $3 billion in the first quarter. The company had blamed the chip shortage for forcing it to idle several plants for weeks at a time. The global semiconductor shortage remains complex and very fluid, Phil Kienle, G.M.s vice president for North America manufacturing and labor relations, said in the statement. Customer demand continues to be very strong, and G.M.s engineering, supply chain and manufacturing teams have done a remarkable job maximizing production of high-demand and capacity-constrained vehicles. G.M. said it planned to increase production of its heavy-duty pickups at a plant in Flint, Mich., next month. It said output would rise by about 1,000 trucks per month. Other factories will forego usual vacation closures this summer to make up for some of the production lost earlier this year. Meningitis itself isnt a disease, just a description meaning that the tissues around the brain and spinal cord have become inflamed. In the United States, bacterial infections can cause meningitis, as can enteroviruses, mumps and herpes simplex. But a high proportion of cases have, as doctors say, no known etiology: No one knows why the patients brain and spinal tissues are swelling. This was the case with the Dhaka outbreak. C.H.R.F. is one of the premier microbiology labs in Southeast Asia and is in charge of tracking meningitis in the country for the World Health Organization. Every meningitis case that comes in, we culture, Saha told me. We do antigen tests for pneumococcus, Neisseria meningitidis, Hemophilus influenzae and G.B.S., or Group B streptococcus the four infections most likely to cause meningitis. Then we do a much more sensitive and specific test for Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria, since that causes the highest proportion of cases. And then we also do real-time P.C.R. looking for fragments of DNA from any of these pathogens. When the outbreak began, it was assumed that the cause would again be bacterial, but none of the tests could pinpoint a pathogen. Over the next year, Saha worked to solve the mystery, at times in collaboration with other labs. One partnership, with an organization in China, fell apart when the group wasnt willing to share its techniques. Another set of researchers, in Canada, ran their own tests on the meningitis samples, but couldnt figure out the cause either. Not long after, Saha attended a conference at the British Museum, where she gave a presentation titled The Dark Side of Meningitis. It was a negative talk, Saha recalls. Like: Why does everybody talk only about the successful cases? We need to talk about the thousands of cases every year where we have no idea whats causing the disease. Before meeting DeRisi, Saha was skeptical about yet another collaboration. But the two instantly hit it off. Though DeRisi could be impatient, Saha liked that he was direct, and appreciated that his ethics are very strong. In his head, hes like: This is right; this is wrong; this is what Im going to do. Still, she proceeded carefully. Because IDseq was new, and because I am very meticulous, I included a lot of controls, she told me. Of the 97 samples of cerebrospinal fluid, only 25 were from actual mystery-meningitis cases. The rest were either from cases for which Sahas lab had already identified the cause, or werent meningitis at all. Several were simply water. The idea was that all of these would be tested, and the process would be blinded, Saha says. Because I had to see whether the platform worked or not. When Saha and her team ran the mystery meningitis samples through IDseq, though, the result was surprising. Rather than revealing a bacterial cause, as expected, a third of the samples showed signs of the chikungunya virus specifically, a neuroinvasive strain that was thought to be extremely rare. At first we thought, It cannot be true! Saha recalls. But the moment Joe and I realized it was chikungunya, I went back and looked at the other 200 samples that we had collected around the same time. And we found the virus in some of those samples as well. Until recently, chikungunya was a comparatively rare disease, present mostly in parts of Central and East Africa. Then it just exploded through the Caribbean and Africa and across Southeast Asia into India and Bangladesh, DeRisi told me. In 2011, there were zero cases of chikungunya reported in Latin America. By 2014, there were a million. Ordinary chikungunya can cause lasting neurological damage and lifelong joint pain. DeRisi called the disease hugely devastating and noted that chikungunya, in the Kimakonde language, spoken in Tanzania, means to become contorted. But a neuroinvasive version that caused brain damage and primarily affected children and infants was especially alarming. There are not a lot of 7-year-olds who are getting snagged in some egregious criminal charge, said Mr. Perry, who expects the law to pass this legislative session. If something egregious does not draw the attention to the need to update or change the law, it will hang around, as improper as it is. But other states have begun to make changes to their laws: In 2018, Massachusetts raised its minimum age from 7 to 12. California and Utah also set 12 as the minimum age. Recently, Mississippi enacted a law raising its age at which children can be committed to juvenile facilities from 10 to 12. Similar legislation is being considered in over half a dozen states. Still, more than half of American states have no minimum age at all. Of those that do, only North Carolina, at age 6, has a lower minimum than New York. Earlier this year in North Carolina, a 6-year-old boy was arrested and taken to court after he picked a tulip while waiting at a bus stop, according to a report in the Herald-Sun in Durham, N.C. The case was dismissed but set off a furor. Should a child that believes in Santa Claus, the Easter bunny and the Tooth Fairy be making life-altering decisions? J. H. Corpening, the Chief District Court judge of New Hanover County, asked, expressing his belief that such young children are unaware of the consequences of behavior that could be considered criminal. North Carolina is also considering a change to its law. The proposal in New York to direct children younger than 12 who are accused of serious crimes to social service agencies would in a sense codify what experts say often occurs already. Across New York State in 2019, for example, of the hundreds of children 12 and younger who were arrested, just 121 cases went through Family Court proceedings, according to records obtained by the Childrens Defense Fund-New York, the New York office of the national policy advocacy group. That dynamic was on show last night, as the eight major Democratic candidates attacked one another in more personal terms during their first in-person debate. The contenders jousted over several areas of concern for New Yorkers, with matters of crime, justice and policing dominating the night once again. Still, the face-to-face format was often more chaotic than substantive: Deep policy discussions were sometimes replaced by animated attacks. [Read more about the standout moments and catch up on who the candidates are.] Here are three things to know: Eric Adams was attacked like a front-runner. At one point, each of the eight candidates was given a chance to ask a question of an opponent. Mr. Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, was targeted four times. Later, Andrew Yang, the former presidential candidate and another leading contender, landed the sharpest critique, pointing to the times in Mr. Adamss career when he has been subject to investigation. At the beginning of the next Congress in 1979, Mr. Byrd and the minority leader, Howard Baker, created a bipartisan group that worked out a major revision of the rules to curb the use of postcloture filibusters. In the 1980s, Mr. Byrd orchestrated a series of parliamentary rulings to further restrict the filibuster. Filibusters used to be real but rare, reserved for truly major issues. The constant use of the filibuster as a partisan weapon is a product of the past two decades, particularly the last 12 years, correlating with the Senates downward spiral into bitterness and gridlock. When the Senate was at its best from the 1960s through the 1980s it regularly had intensive debates and passed major legislation without filibusters. The Senate often approved landmark legislation with fewer than 60 votes, including the loan guarantees needed to rescue New York City in 1978 and the Chrysler Corporation in 1979. Each passed with 53 votes, because the senators were satisfied that the issues had been debated fully. It is fundamental to the distinctive nature of the Senate that the minority party must have its rights protected. But the best way to do that is through regular order a legislative process that involves public hearings, committee work in which bipartisan understanding of issues develops and principled compromise occurs, and a vigorous amendment process and serious debate on the Senate floor, leading to a final vote, with the majority prevailing. Moreover, there is no convincing rationale for establishing two classes of legislative action. It should be unacceptable that the $2.1 trillion tax cut in 2017 or the effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act could be done by majority vote (through reconciliation) but that 60 votes are required before helping the Dreamers, requiring background checks for guns, combating climate change or protecting the right to vote. A Senate that operates by majority vote empowers Mr. Manchin and other dealmakers from both parties because their votes become decisive. A minimum 60-vote requirement empowers obstructionists, particularly one named Mitch McConnell, who has turned the Senate into a partisan instrument to block Democratic presidents from governing. This year, Mr. McConnell disabused any naive observers who thought his long relationship with President Biden would change his behavior, getting every Senate Republican to oppose the presidents popular American Rescue Plan. Mr. McConnell more recently stated that he was 100 percent focused on stopping the Biden administration. He deserves to be taken at his word but not permitted to hold the Senate, and our country, hostage. Todays Senate includes many able public servants on both sides of the aisle. They should give themselves the opportunity to work with the Biden administration to hammer out the laws that America needs rather than lock themselves into preordained paralysis and failure. Ira Shapiro, a former Senate staffer, is the author of The Last Great Senate: Courage and Statesmanship in Times of Crisis and Broken: Can the Senate Save Itself and the Country? To the Editor: While many in the United States are choosing to reject or defer vaccination, U.S. citizens living overseas are desperately waiting to be included in President Bidens promise to vaccinate all Americans. We need no special inducements. Many Americans live in countries where infections are rapidly escalating and no F.D.A.-approved vaccines are available, or where local governments prioritize their own citizens. My husband, now 86, has underlying health conditions. Following a recent accident he can hardly walk. Flying to the United States for vaccination is not an option, even if the cost were not already prohibitive for a retiree living on Social Security. As has already been done for State Department staff and dependents, I urge the Biden administration to quickly make F.D.A.-approved vaccines available to all Americans overseas. We remain subject to the U.S. tax code and we vote in federal elections, but are excluded from the protection offered Americans at home. We dont deserve to be forgotten. Loran Davidson Huay Yai, Thailand The writer is chair of the Pattaya chapter of Democrats Abroad Thailand. But digital audio has done more than alter how music is paid for. Along with two other innovations smartphones and wireless headphones technology has also expanded the frontiers of audio. By allowing access to more sounds in more places during more of our days, it has broadened what music is for and deepened the role audio plays in our lives. For me, the clearest way that streaming has altered my relationship to music is in its steady blurring of the boundaries between genres. I have always been a lover of pop music, but in high school and college, I was a serial rabbit holer Id get hooked on an artist (Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Ani DiFranco) and then spend months obsessing over that artists work, listening more or less constantly to the same tunes over and over. A lot of this was by necessity: Even if you were a Mr. Moneybags who owned dozens of CDs, only a small amount of music was accessible at any moment. The beloved, beat-up Discman that got me through college could hold only a single CD of music; I played OK Computer every day for a semester mostly because I couldnt get enough Radiohead, but a little because I kept forgetting to switch out the disc. I still fall into rabbit holes (I spent about two months last year listening to one album on repeat, Jenny Lewiss On The Line), but in the streaming era my tastes have grown far more capacious. Streaming has turned me into a musical butterfly, flitting between moods and genres in whatever way my tastes happen to lean. Indeed, in the last half decade I have explored more kinds of music than in the decades before and I keep finding more stuff I like, because thanks to endless choice, theres never nothing to listen to. For instance, I turned 40 a few years ago and became, as required, a Dylanologist one of those insufferable types who regales bored friends and family with factoids about bootlegs and alternative lyrics in certain legendary Dylan recording sessions. In years past, pursuing such an interest would have been a time-consuming side hustle; now I can pull up much of Bob Dylans catalog, bootlegs and all, on any road trip just as easily as I can play the latest hits, as my very annoyed children never tire of complaining. Or: I used to know next to nothing about hip-hop; thanks to Spotify, I can walk you through much of it, and my wife and I may have been the middle-aged fans you noticed at a Migos concert I dragged her to in 2017. Or: Im ethnically Indian but Id long known little about Bollywood. Then Spotify recommended a song by Shreya Ghoshal, a queen of Indian cinema playback singing, and my 8-year-old daughter and I became devoted to pop from the subcontinent. I am not alone in experiencing a musical reawakening through digital music. In a note to investors last summer, Spotify said that its service was pushing wider diversification in tastes. The number of artists in the services most-played 10 percent of streams keeps growing that is, there are many more artists at the top. Gone are the days of Top 40, its now the Top 43,000, Spotify crowed. [MUSIC PLAYING] ezra klein Im Ezra Klein, and this is The Ezra Klein Show. [MUSIC PLAYING] So in preparation for this episode, I have spent the last few weeks very deep in the mind of Barack Obama. I read the first volume of his presidential memoirs, A Promised Land. But Ive also been listening to his podcast and other interviews hes given, and reading interviews hes given. And spending a lot of time there, there were a few things I noticed that really became the core of this conversation and that Ive actually just been struggling with myself since. The first is Obamas many mindedness. Its almost pathological how much he tries, in his memoirs, to grant the points of his critics and even the really unfair points of some of his attackers, how much he doubts his own motivations and righteousness. There are times when it almost feels self-lacerating, like when you want to take him aside and say, look, you won the presidency. You passed the Affordable Care Act. You dont need to keep wondering if you should have gotten into politics at all. But that personal tendency or maybe its almost better described as a personal discipline, I came to think it really contributes to something deep in what made his presidency possible. Barack Hussein Obama understood, in his bones at that time, that the odds were not good that majority white electorates in the age of the War on Terror were going to vote for him. And he didnt approach that fact resentfully, as a flaw that other people needed to fix in their politics. He saw comforting their fears as his work to do, the work of his politics. He saw, also, avoiding the issues, and sometimes even the truths that would awaken their suspicions, as just part of the job. And so you can see in the book that hes not just trying to convince them to vote for him as he is. Hes also trying to turn himself, through what he says, and then very importantly, what he doesnt say into the kind of candidate and even person they want to vote for. Thats an important difference. Its subtle in a way, but its important. And its a whole style of politics that I think is really contested now. Anyway, so as you can hear in this conversation, for him, it came with a cost, both psychic and eventually, in some ways, political. That is the paradox of his book, and of his career, and to me his presidency. He puts everything into this project of persuasion, of trying to convince America to do something it has never done before. And he so profoundly succeeds and fails. His win, it simultaneously proves this politics he believes in is possible, which was not obvious then. And at the same time, his win and his presidency begin reshaping the Republican Party into a much more direct antithesis of that politics. It turns into something that more powerfully threatens his vision of America. Obama is this triumph of political persuasion and compromise. And then he also leaves behind, certainly a less persuadable Republican Party and a more fractured and polarized political system. And Im not saying thats his fault. But it is part of the whole thing, in this really, I think, difficult way that is shaping our politics now. That, to me, is a question his career and his book sets up. I think a lot of people have more or less given up on the kinds of politics Obama pursued. On the right, of course, thats true with Donald Trump and everything that he has made the Republican Party into. But on the left, in a different way, I do think theres a move towards a politics more of confrontation, of forcing people to face hard truths and saying that, if you dont see where history is going, and you will not admit where our history has been, then you are the problem, that its our job to beat you not accommodate you. And so when I sat with Obama this week, I wanted to see how he reflected on both the successes and the failures of his approach to politics, how he held the contradictions of his own career together, and where he thought Democrats had something to learn from what he did right, and then also, from what he did wrong. And so thats where we began. As always, my email is ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com. Here is President Barack Obama. [MUSIC PLAYING] So something I noticed again and again in the book is this very particular approach to persuasion that you have. I think the normal way most of us think about it youre winning an argument with someone. And you seem to approach it with this first step of making yourself a person the other person will feel able to listen to, which means sympathizing with their argument, sanding off some of the edges of your own. Tell me a bit about how you think about that. barack obama No, thats interesting. I forget whether it was Clarence Darrow, or Abraham Lincoln, or some apocryphal figure in the past who said, look, the best way to win an argument is to first be able to make the other persons argument better than they can. And for me, what that meant was that I had to understand their world view. And I couldnt expect them to understand mine if I wasnt extending myself to understand theirs. Now, why that is the way I think about things generally partly is temperament. Partly its biographical. As Ive written not just in this recent book but in past books, if youre a kid whose parents are from Kansas and Kenya, and youre born in Hawaii, and you live in Indonesia, you are naturally having to figure out, well, how did all these pieces fit together? How do all these perspectives, cultures, blind spots, biases, how do you reconcile them to approximate something true? And I think that carries over into my adulthood, and into my politics, and how I approach the world generally. It presumes that none of us have a monopoly on truth. It admits doubt, in terms of our own perspectives. But if you practice it long enough, at least for me, it actually allows you then to maybe not always persuade others but at least have some solid ground that you can stand on, that you can with confidence say, you know what? I know what I think, and I know what I believe. It actually gives me more conviction rather than less if I listen to somebody elses argument. ezra klein One of the things that strikes me about it, though, is that you see in the book sometimes it means not calling out arguments that I think you think are really wrong, in the same way that you might normally. So in a section about the Tea Party, you mull over whether the reaction they had to you was racist. And clear you think it, at least partly, was. And then you say quote, whatever my instincts might tell me, whatever truth the history books might suggest, I knew I wasnt going to win over any voters by labeling my opponents racist. How do you decide when the cost of that kind of truth outweighs the value of it? barack obama Well, now youre describing something a little bit different, which is, how do you move large segments of the population politically towards an outcome you want, whether its universal health care, or lets do something about climate change? Versus how I might persuade somebody one on one, right? The premise of persuading somebody who you can build some trust with, and have a history with and relationship, then there might be times where you say, you know what? Youre just full of it. And let me tell you why. And you can be very logical and incisive about how you want to dismantle their arguments. Although I should add, by the way, do not try that at home. Because thats not a recipe for winning arguments with Michelle. But look, when youre dealing at the macro level, when youre dealing with 300 million people with enormous regional, and racial, and religious, and cultural differences, then now you are having to make some calculations. So lets take the example you used. And I write extensively about the emergence of the Tea Party. And we could see that happening with Sarah Palin. She was sort of a prototype for the politics that led to the Tea Party, that in turn, ultimately led to Donald Trump, and that were still seeing today. There were times where calling it out would have given me great satisfaction personally. But it wouldnt have necessarily won the political day in terms of me getting a bill passed. And I think every president has to deal with this. It may have been more noticeable with me, in part because, as the first African American president, there was a presumption, not incorrect, that there were times where I was biting my tongue. Thats why the skit that Key and Peele did with the anger translator, Luther, was funny. Because people assumed, you know Baracks thinking something other than what hes saying in certain circumstances. I think that, a lot of times, one of the ways I would measure it would be: is it more important for me to tell a basic historical truth, lets say, about racism in America right now? Or is it more important for me to get a bill passed that provides a lot of people with health care that didnt have it before? And theres a psychic cost to not always just telling the truth, as I think I describe in the book, using your prophetic voice as opposed to your coalition building political voice. And I think there were times where supporters of mine would get frustrated if I wasnt being as forthright about certain things as I might otherwise be. And then there are also just institutional constraints that I think every president has to follow on some of these issues. And it was sort of on a case by case basis, where you try to make decisions. Sometimes, youd get sufficiently disappointed. Lets say for example, with gun safety issues after Newtown, for example, and Congresss complete unwillingness to do anything about the slaughter of children. There were times, where I would just go off. Because I felt that deeply about how wrongheaded we were in a basic fundamental way. But that was, lets face it, after I had exhausted every other possibility of trying to get Congress to move on those issues. ezra klein I set up that kind of persuasion and pluralism tension, because something that really struck me about the book is how much it lives in paradoxes, how much its comfortable with the idea, that youre comfortable with the idea that something and its opposite are true at the same time. And I think of a politics of persuasion as being the central paradox of your presidency. So you accomplished this massive act of persuasion, winning the presidency twice, as a Black man with the middle name Hussein. And now that, in retrospect, its like, oh yeah, of course, Barack Obama was president. barack obama Yeah, no. I think its fair to say that wasnt a given. ezra klein It wasnt as obvious at the time. barack obama Yeah. ezra klein But at the same time, your presidency made the Republican Party less persuadable. It opened the door, in certain ways, to Donald Trump. And it further closed the door on the kind of pluralistic politics that you try to practice. And Im curious how you hold both of those outcomes together. barack obama Look, thats been the history of America. Right? There is abolition and the Civil War. And then theres backlash and the rise of the KKK. And the Reconstruction ends, and Jim Crow arises. And then you have a civil rights movement, a modern civil rights movement and desegregation. And that, in turn, leads to pushback and, ultimately, Nixons Southern strategy. And what I take comfort from is that in the traditional two steps forward, one step back, as long as youre getting the two steps, then the one step back is the price of doing business. In my case, lets say, I get elected. We have a spurt of activity that gets things done. Even after we lose Congress, during the course of those eight years, we manage the government, restore some sense of that it can work on behalf of people. We regain credibility internationally, but youre right. It unleashes and helps to precipitate a shift in the Republican Party that was already there but probably accelerates it. And were still playing out how this works to this day. On the other hand, during that period, youve got an entire generation thats growing up and taking for granted, as you just described, that youve got a Black family in the White House, taking for granted that that administration can be competent, and have integrity, and not be wrought with scandal. And it serves as a marker. Its planted a flag from which then the next generation builds. And by the way, the next generation can then look back and say, yeah, we do take that for granted. We can do a lot better than that and go even further. And that is, I wouldnt say, an inevitable progression. Sometimes, the backlash can last a very long time, and you can take three steps back after two steps forward. But it does seem to be in the nature of things that any significant movement of social progress, particularly those aspects of social progress that relate to identity, race, gender, all the stuff that is not just dollars and cents and transactional. That, invariably, will release some energy on the other side by folks who feel threatened by change. ezra klein But one lesson Ive seen a lot of folks on the left take, I think particularly in the aftermath in the Trump years, is that theres just some core of this you cant do through persuasion, that you cant do through pluralism. And I think some of the rise of shaming and social pressure, what I think people call cancel culture, ends up partly as a reaction to this. But also, just some of the move towards a politics of, I would say, more confrontation, that theres not a virtue in letting some things lie unsaid, to both the coalition. That you really do have to confront the country. You really do have to confront others with the ugliest pieces of it. So that light can come in, and it can heal. And Im curious if you think they have a point, or thats the wrong lesson to take. barack obama No. I dont think its well, lets take, since were on the topic of race, what we saw after George Floyds murder was a useful bit of truth telling that young people led. And I think, opened peoples eyes to a renewed way of thinking about how incomplete the process of reckoning has been in this country when it comes to race. But even after, I think, a shift in perspective around George Floyd, were still back into the trenches of how do we get different district attorneys elected? And how do we actually reform police departments? And now, were back in the world of politics. And as soon as we get back into the world of politics, its a numbers game. And you have to persuade, and you have to create coalitions. So I dont think its an either/or proposition. I think there are times, where theres what we might describe as a teachable moment. And George Floyds tragic death was an example of that, in very stark terms. In some ways on the economic front, part of what happens as a result of the pandemic is theres a teachable moment about hey, maybe this whole deficit hawk thing of the federal government just being nervous about our debt 30 years from now, while millions of people are suffering, maybe thats not a smart way to think about our economics. Again, a teachable moment. So there are times where, when thats presented, I think you try to drive it home as much as possible and get a reorientation of the body politic. But at some point, in this country, in our democracy, you still have to cobble together majorities to get things done. And that is particularly true at the federal level, where although reconciliation has now presented a narrow window to do some pretty big things, the filibuster apparently, if it does not get reformed, still means that maybe 30 percent of the population potentially controls the majority of Senate seats. So if you say that that 30 percent of the country is irreconcilably wrong, then its going to be hard to govern. ezra klein Theres a pretty fundamental asymmetry that brings out. So I think, at the presidential level, you have about a three and a half point advantage for Republicans in the electoral college. At the Senate level, its now about five points, and the House level, its about two points. So you have this real difference now between the parties, where Democrats need to win right of center voters to win national power. But Republicans do not need to win left of center voters to win national power. And thats really changed the strategic picture for both of them. barack obama Its enormous. And this is part of what I write about in the book. Its one of those things thats in the background of folks in Washington and people who follow politics closely. But the average American, understandably, isnt spending a lot of time thinking about Senate rules, and gerrymandering, and you know ezra klein How dare you? [LAUGHTER] barack obama Im sorry, Ezra, but youre on the nerd side of the spectrum on this stuff, as am I. So people dont understand, well, if the Democrats win the presidency, or if theyre in control of the Senate, why arent all these things that they promised happening? Or why are they trimming their sails on single payer plan health care plans, or what have you? And the answer is, well, the game is tilted in a way that partly arises out of very intentional desire for Southern states, for example, to maintain power and reduce the power of the federal government. Some of it has to do with demographic patterns and where populations distributed that its not surprising that the progressive party, the Democratic party, is more of an urban party. Because, by necessity, you got more different kinds of people, immigrants flooding urban areas and settling, and having a different perspective than folks who are in more rural, more homogeneous areas. And once you get Wyoming having the same number of senators as California, youve got a problem. That does mean Democratic politics is going to be different than Republican politics. Now, look, the good news is I also think that has made the Democratic Party more empathetic, more thoughtful, wiser. By necessity we have to think about a broader array of interests and people. And thats my vision for how America ultimately works best and perfects its union. We dont have the luxury of just consigning a group of people to say, youre not real Americans. We cant do that. But it does make our job harder, when it comes to just trying to get a bill passed or trying to win an election. ezra klein One of the ways this has reoriented, even just since your presidency, is around education. So for reasons that are complicated to explain here, when educational polarization becomes bigger, the Democratic disadvantage in the electoral college gets a lot worse. barack obama Right. ezra klein But you did something unusual in 2008 and 2012. And you bucked a kind of international trend here, and educational polarization went down. In 2012, you won non-college whites making less than $27,000 a year. But Donald Trump then wins them by more than 20 points in 2016. He keeps them in 2020. So what advice do you have to Democrats to bring educational polarization back down? barack obama I actually think Joe Bidens got good instincts on this. And the current administrations pursuing policies that speak to the concerns and interests of folks who, if youre 45 and working in a blue collar job, and somebody is lecturing you about becoming a computer programmer, that feels abstract. That feels like something got spit out of some think tank, as opposed to how my real life is lived. And I think, when you start talking about minimum wages, and when you start talking about union power, you are not soft pedaling social issues. I mean, the interesting thing is people knew I was left on issues like race, or gender equality, and LGBTQ issues, and so forth. But I think, maybe the reason I was successful campaigning in downstate Illinois, or Iowa, or places like that is they never felt as if I was condemning them for not having gotten to the politically correct answer quick enough. Or that somehow they were morally suspect, because they had grown up with and believed more traditional values. And I think Joe has that same capacity, partly because of his biography and where he comes from. The challenge I have, and I know youve written about this, is when I started running in 2007, 2008, it was still possible for me to go into a small town, in a disproportionately white conservative town in rural America, and get a fair hearing. Because people just they hadnt heard of me. Now, they might say, what kind of name is that? And they might look at me and have a set of assumptions. But the filter just wasnt that thick. Because rather than getting all their news from Fox News or Rush Limbaugh, they were the way Id describe it, the prototypical that I show up in a small town in Southern Illinois, which is closer to the South than it is to Chicago, both culturally as well as geographically. And usually, the local paper was owned by a modestly conservative, maybe even quite conservative usually guy. Hed call me in. Wed have a cup of coffee. Wed have a conversation about tax policy, or trade, or whatever else he cared about. Or he might have a small editorial board of two or three writers. And at the end of it, usually, I could expect some sort of story in the paper saying, well, we met with Obama. He seems like an intelligent young man. We dont agree with him on much. Hes kind of liberal for our taste but had some interesting ideas, and that was it. And so then I could go to the fish fry, or the VFW hall, or all these other venues and just talk to people and have a conversation. And they didnt have any preconceptions about what I believe. They could just take me at face value. If I went into those same places now, or if any Democrat whos campaigning goes in those places now, almost all news is from either Fox News, Sinclairs news stations, talk radio, or some Facebook page. And trying to penetrate that is really difficult. And its not that the people in these communities have changed. Its that if thats what you are being fed day in day out, then youre going to come to every conversation with a certain set of predispositions that are really hard to break through. And that is one of the biggest challenges I think we face. Because at the end of the day, I actually have found that, and this still sounds naive, I think a lot of people would still question this. But Ive seen it. Most folks actually are persuadable in the sense of they kind of want the same things. They want a good job. They want to be able to support a family. They want safe neighborhoods. And even on historically difficult issues like race, people arent going around thinking, man, how can we do terrible things to people who dont look like us? Thats not peoples perspective. What they are concerned about is not being taken advantage of, or is their way of life and traditions slipping away from them? Or is their status being undermined by changes in society? And if you have a conversation with folks, you can usually assuage those fears. But they have to be able to hear you. And you have to be able to get into the room. And I still could do that back in 2007, 2008. I think Joe, by virtue of biography and generationally, I think he can still reach some of those folks. But it starts getting harder, particularly for newcomers who are coming up. [MUSIC PLAYING] ezra klein We had a conversation in 2015 about polarization. barack obama Yeah. ezra klein And how it had gone up during your presidency, and something you said to me is something I wrestled a lot with my own book, which is that, look, people are pretty polarized when you start talking about national politics. But then you talk to them a bit more, and theyre soccer coaches. They go to church. They got a business. Their friend down the street doesnt think like them or doesnt look like them. And I found that persuasive at the time and hopeful at the time. And one of the things barack obama Things changed. ezra klein I began to think since is politics has become that much more nationalized. Our political identities become that much stronger. And this idea that these other identities are deeper seems less and less true. That like, when the political cue comes, you really know what side youre on. Do you think Americans have just become less persuadable? barack obama What you just identified, in part because of the media infrastructure I described, and the siloing of media, in part because of, then, the Trump presidency and the way both sides went to their respective fortresses, absolutely. I think its real. I think its worse. Im not the original in this. I think polling shows it. Anecdote shows it. Thanksgiving becomes a lot more difficult. What were seeing right now, with respect to vaccines. I mean, I think its fair to say that the difference in how George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama administration wouldve approached the basic issue of a pandemic and vaccines, there might be differences in terms of efficacy, or how well programs were run, et cetera. But its hard to imagine a previous Republican administration completely ignoring science. Right? ezra klein Yeah. I thought a lot about if this were second term Mitt Romney. How would that have gone? barack obama Yeah, exactly. And so that is a fundamental shift. And I think peoples identities have become far more invested as a result in which side are you on politically? It spills over into everyday life and even small issues, what previously were not considered even political issues. And so if youre a soccer coach now, there might be a conversation about, why are all the refs white? Suddenly, theres a long argument. And youve got each side immediately tweeting about it. And it becomes fraught with all sorts of political stuff. And then Fox News might grab the story and run with it in the most sensational way. And next thing you know, Joe Bidens being asked about a soccer game in Maryland. And we see that pattern playing itself out in our daily lives in a way thats unhealthy. Some people have remarked, and I think theres some merit to this, that the decline of other mediating institutions that provided us a sense of place and who we are, whether it was the church, or union, or neighborhood, those used to be part of a multiple set of building blocks to how we thought about ourselves. And the way the national conversation evolves, suddenly, theres a right answer across all those lines, which is part of the reason why you dont get ticket splitting these days. Being a moderate Republican, and I write about this in Promised Land, you could see it happening even when I first came in. What was striking was the degree to which the conservative Democrat, or the pro-choice Republican, they were getting winnowed out of each respective party. And whats interesting is how it filtered. Rather than the public saying, we dont like that. Lets try something else. In some ways, the publics come to see themselves individually in those terms as well. ezra klein Well, also, the choices get starker for them. Something I was thinking about while you were talking was this idea that I think about sometimes that I call ricochet polarization. And Im not asserting symmetry between two sides. I dont want to barack obama Good. ezra klein Get flack on that. barack obama Yeah, well. I would jump on you in a second. Dont worry. ezra klein But theres a dynamic here. You were saying a couple of minutes ago that you thought people knew you were pretty left on social issues, on LGBTQ issues, on a bunch of issues. But they thought you respected them. But you, also, because its either what you believed, or also because, and the Democratic Party broadly, thought folks who are movable. You were restrained on a lot of these issues. You ran in 2008, and you were opposed to gay marriage. Im not saying that wasnt true to you, but publicly, that was the position. You talk in the book about how Axelrod and Plouffe were very careful about avoiding issues that would exacerbate racial conflict. And you guys focused a lot on economics. But then as people feel that stuff not working as the other they see the worst of the outside coming at them. Theres a dynamic that happens. And I see it among Democrats too, where its like, well, you know what? Then heres what I really believe. And heres what I really believe about you. And the parties become a little more each day less restrained, because the benefits of restraint seem lower. Like, if theyre still going to say Im a socialist, then, well, maybe I am a socialist. barack obama Yeah. ezra klein Theyre still going to say I want to raise taxes on middle class people, then, maybe I do, actually. barack obama As you said though, it is first of all, and you already offered this caveat. But I want to reemphasize its not symmetrical. Because Joe Manchins still a Democrat in our party. And I think a lot of people look and say, the guys got to run in West Virginia, a state that Joe Biden lost by 30 percent. And we understand that his politics are not going to be the same as Nancy Pelosis. So just by virtue of the fact that we have to earn votes from a lot of different places means ezra klein Meeting center right voters. barack obama And meeting center right voters means that, look, the challenge we have is that the other side just did not function that way. And thats not because there arent people in the Republican Party who thought that way. You mentioned Mitt Romney earlier. Well, Mitt Romney was the governor of Massachusetts. And when he was, he made all kinds of sensible compromises. He didnt approach things the way I would approach things. But there was some sense of, listen, what the other side thinks matters. Hes the governor of a Democratic state. Ive got to recognize that Im probably more conservative than most people in this state, which means I have to make some accommodations. But as soon as he started running for the presidency, suddenly, hes got to pretend that hes this hard right gun toting varmint killing guy. ezra klein Severely conservative. barack obama Severely conservative. Well, why is that? Its because a dynamic has been created. And that dynamic, in part, has to do with public officials being lazy and just saying, look, this is the easiest way for us to get our folks riled up is to suggest that Obama is a Muslim socialist whos going to take away your guns. But some of it is a media infrastructure that persuaded a large portion of that base that they had something to fear and fed on that fear and resentment, that politics of fear resentment, in a way that, ironically, ended up being a straitjacket for the Republican officials themselves. And some of them got gobbled up by the monster that had been created and suddenly found themselves retiring. And they couldnt function, because they werent angry or resentful enough for the base they had stoked. ezra klein I think its fair to say, in the book, youre critical of the media at points. How much do you feel the media reflects politics? And how much do you feel it shapes politics? barack obama Well, look, there are certain bad habits that the media cultivated and it had to, then, reexamine during the Trump era. The classic being the what constitutes objectivity? as I joke about. President Obama, today, was savagely attacked by the Republicans for suggesting that the earth is round. Republicans suggested that theres some hidden documents showing the earth is, in fact, flat. In response, Obama said, well and then it goes on. But its presented as if he said, they said, and thats reporting. And youd have some vague corner of the press room engaged in fact checking after the fact. But thats not what appeared on the nightly news. And it taught somebody like a Mitch McConnell that there is no downside for misstating facts, making stuff up, engaging in out and out obstruction, reversing positions that you held just a few minutes ago. Because now, its politically expedient to do so. That never reached the public in a way where the public could make a judgment about whos acting responsibly and who isnt. And that, I think, was not driven by the politics of the moment. I mean, I think that the media was complicit in creating that dynamic in a way that is difficult. Because as we discovered during the Trump administration, if an administration is just misstating facts all the time, it starts looking like, gosh, the medias anti-Trump. And this becomes more evidence of a left wing conspiracy, and liberal elites trying to gang up on the guy. ezra klein Yeah. Theres the objectivity critique, which is in there. And I actually think in many ways, the media got better at. But theres another one laced through. And its interesting, because I think you both benefited from it and then become wary of it, which is that, I will say, in the media, one of our central biases is towards exciting candidates. You were an exciting candidate in 2008, but later on, thats also something that Donald Trump activates barack obama Yes. ezra klein In a different way. You have a big set piece at the White House Correspondents Dinner, where The Washington Post invites Donald Trump after a year of birtherism to sit at their table. barack obama Thats how my book ends. ezra klein I dont want to spoil the ending. People may not know that happened. barack obama Yeah. ezra klein But even in a broader sense, exciting candidates are usually, one, they shape perceptions of parties. But two, on the right, they tend to be quite extreme. They definitely tend to be in both directions, either more liberal or more conservative. But part of the dynamic, I think, youre talking about and then the media is pressured by social media, where barack obama Yeah, very much so now. ezra klein You look out there, and you look around, like whos up there on Facebook and on Reddit. And conflict sells. barack obama Yeah. ezra klein And thats a way in which I think the perceptions of the parties are changing for people. Because whoever is chair of the House Ways and Means Committee barack obama Whos considered the voice of the party? ezra klein Exactly. Who becomes the voice? How do you reflect on that? You came up. Social media is great for you. It seems to me youve got some different views on it now. How do you think about that trade off between excitement and then some of the other qualities that are a little bit more nuanced that you worry people are losing sight of? barack obama Yeah. Look, I think it is entirely fair, and youre right. Even during my campaign, I got wary of it. What my political advisor, David consultant called David Axelrod called the ezra klein I like David consultant though. barack obama Yeah, David consultant, right. Generic. What Axelrod called the Obama icon. You got the posters. And you got the crowds and very much focused on me as this comet bursting onto the scene. But I have to tell you that theres a difference between the issue of excitement, charisma, versus rewarding people for saying the most outrageous things. I dont think anybody would accuse me of having trafficked in just popping off and creating controversy just for the sake of it. The excitement I brought was trying to tell a story about America, where we might all start working together and overcome some of our tragic past, and move forward, and build a broader sense of community. And it turns out that those virtues actually did excite people. So I dont agree that thats the only way that you can get people to read newspapers or click on a site. It requires more imagination and maybe more effort. And it requires some restraint to not feed the outrage, inflammatory approach to politics. And I think that folks didnt do it. And look, as I note towards the end of the book, the birther thing, which was just a taste of things to come, started in the right wing media ecosystem. But a whole bunch of mainstream folks, who later got very exercised about Donald Trump, they booked him all the time. Because he boosted ratings. But that wasnt something that was compelled. It was convenient for them to do. Because it was a lot easier to book Donald Trump to let him claim that I wasnt born in this country than it was to how do I actually create an interesting story that people will want to watch about income inequality. Thats a harder thing to come up with. ezra klein Let me get at that piece of it too. So I covered the Affordable Care Act pretty closely. I think its fair to say, and Ive thought a lot about its political afterlife. It survived the Republican attempts to gut it. It did become popular. barack obama Yeah. ezra klein And barack obama I thought it was going to happen a little bit quicker, but it didnt ezra klein Well, thats essentially what I want to get at here, which is that, at the same time, the thing that is striking to me is it didnt convert many voters over to the Democratic side, including Republican voters. Sarah Kliff did great piece on this at Vox at one point, including Republican voters who relied on it who would have lost it if the folks they were voting for got their way. Do you think, given how intense political identities are now, that policy can persuade people to vote differently? Or is partisanship now almost immune to the material consequences of governance? barack obama I think, over time, it does. I think its not as immediate. And look, I think its important to remember that, when we came into office, the economy was in a freefall. We had to scramble and do a bunch of stuff, some of which was inherited, some of which we initiated to stabilize the financial system. People hated it. I describe in the book, its hard to underscore how much the bank bailouts just angered everyone, including me. And then you have this long, slow recovery. And although the economy recovers technically quickly, its another five years before were really back to people feeling like OK, the economy is moving and working for me. And the truth is that if Donald Trump doesnt get elected, lets say, a Joe Biden or the person who was running, Hillary Clinton, had immediately succeeded me, and the economy suddenly has three percent unemployment, I think we would have consolidated the sense that, oh, actually, these policies that Obama put in place worked. The fact that Trump interrupts, essentially, the continuation of our policies but still benefits from the economic stability and growth that we had initiated means people arent sure. Well, gosh, unemployments three and a half percent under Donald Trump. Now, I would argue, and I think a lot of economists that you know and I know would suggest that, mostly, that had nothing to do with Donald Trumps policies. And mostly had to do with we had put the economy on a footing, where he essentially just continued the longest peacetime recovery in American history and sustained job growth in American history. But if youre the average voter, youre thinking, well, it looks like Republican policies are working for me to some degree, which probably explains why Trump was able to make some inroads, modest, overstated but real inroads among non-white voters feeling like, you know what? Im working and making decent money, and things feel pretty good. So that clouds what I think would have been a more impactful shift in political views towards Democrats as a result of my presidency. And I think that what were seeing now is Joe Biden and the administration are essentially finishing the job, and I think itll be an interesting test. 90 percent of the folks who are there were there in my administration. They are continuing and building on the policies we talked about, whether its the Affordable Care Act, or our climate change agenda, and the Paris Peace Accords, and figuring out how do we improve the ladders to mobility through things like community colleges. And if, as I think they will be, theyre successful over the next four years, I think that will have an impact. Does it override the identity politics that has come to dominate Twitter and the media, and that has seeped into how people think about politics? Probably not completely, but at the margins, look, if youre changing in five percent of the electorate, that makes a difference. Most importantly, I think it does have an impact for young people as they are forming their ideas about politics and who they are. And I was both a manifestation of the more progressive views that young people brought to politics in 2008, and 2009, 2010. And I think my presidency helped to solidify a huge tilt in the direction of progressive politics among young people that is now continuing into their 30s. As millennials and even the Gen Z-ers are starting to marry and have families, that their political identity has been shaped and changed in pretty significant ways. [MUSIC PLAYING] ezra klein One thing that youre more optimistic than me on in the book is that better political communication can really change the way people receive policy. And I think more about how could you do policy design, so the policy itself could speak more clearly? barack obama I actually think we agree on that. You hear in the book arguments that we would have about thered be a bunch of bad reporting around the economy. And Id get on grumpy, and Id call in my advisors. Id say, I need to do more press conferences. Or I need to give another speech. And they actually were pretty clear to me. Theyre all like, look, as long as unemployment still at nine percent, it doesnt matter how many speeches you give. Its not going to change things. On the other hand, I used an example, which I think reinforces your point, and a point I know you made in your book, which was when people ask me what would I do differently, a lot of times, Ill give broad generalizations. Because I dont want to get too deep in the weeds. But youll appreciate this, being a policy nerd, the Making Work Pay tax cut that was part of our stimulus, where Larry Summers talks me into the idea that we should spread out the tax cut in peoples weekly paychecks in the drip, drip, drip fashion. Because the social science shows that theyre more likely to spend it. But if they get a big lump sum, then they might just pay down debt. And we needed more stimulus. And I thought, well, that makes sense. But of course, as a result, nobody thought Id cut taxes. Everybody was confident that I had raised their taxes, even Democrats thought I had, to pay for all the other stuff I was doing like health care. And thats an example of a policy design where we were too stubborn I think initially around, yeah, well just get the policy right, and the politics will take care of itself. And I should have done a deeper dive into FDR in recognizing that you know what? Youve got to sell the sizzle as well as the steak. Because that creates the political coalition to continue it. The New Deal had all kinds of policies that actually didnt work as well as they should have. We get political phrases like pork barrel and logrolling. A lot of that comes out of the mismanagement of the federal programs, but you know what? People saw it, and they felt it. And they associated their lives getting better or some concrete help with those policies, and thats important. And I think a fair critique of us, when I look back, is the fact that I was, sometimes, too stubborn about, no, were going to just play it straight. And lets not worry about how the policy sells. If it works, then thats what we should do. ezra klein Are there other design ideas that you would advise people to take seriously? I think a lot about, and I realize some of the technical reasons has happened, but how the Affordable Care Act took four years to begin delivering the bulk of health insurance benefits. barack obama Its a good example. And so, look, I think that theres no doubt that the team that is now in the Biden administration and thinking about, whether its the Covid stimulus package, or how do you build off the Affordable Care Act, theyre mindful of these lessons. And theyre saying to themselves, all right. Weve got to sell this. So on health care in particular: how do we make this simple and stupid? So that its easily explained. Its easily understood. The expansion of Medicaid, for example, was probably the part of the Affordable Care Act that had the biggest impact, quickly, easy to administer, didnt have a lot of moving parts. Because it was building off an existing program. And look, there are times where it is important, in fact, to go ahead and plant some seeds, even if it doesnt yield quick political benefits. I use the example in our stimulus of the $90 billion we invested in the green economy. Politically, that wasnt a winner for us. We knew that we were going to get some Solyndras, for example, the famous example that the Republicans beat us over the head with, where wed given a loan to a solar company that goes belly up. But the truth is that the reason now were seeing such enormous breakthroughs in terms of everything from electric cars, to solar efficiency, to wind power all those things that we can now build on in pursuit of future climate policy a lot of that relied on those programs we started that didnt have a lot of political benefit. Part of what I try to make clear in the book is, and sometimes my friends in the Democratic Party who criticize us on the left misapprehend this idea that we had some ideological aversion to pushing the envelope on policy. Thats not the case. We had just political constraints we had to deal with, and we had an emergency we had to deal with. But one thing I was pretty clear about early on, and I showed that with the Affordable Care Act, was, given we were in a hole economically anyway, there was no point in us trying to go small bore. Bill Clinton was able, in his second term, to politically go small. Because the economy was humming and people were feeling good. We were dealing with what, at that point, was the worst recession since the Great Depression. Politically, we were going to get clobbered in the midterms. It really didnt matter what we did. And so we just tried to do as much as we could within the political constraints that we had. And I think that the environment now is such, partly because Republicans spent $2 trillion of their own stimulus, and shockingly, werent concerned when they were in power about deficits, partly because of the urgency of Covid and the pandemic and people recognizing they just need immediate relief and help now, I think were now in an environment, where if we just get some big pieces in place building on what we did before, people will notice. And it will have a political impact. It doesnt override all the deep, subterranean political dynamics of our culture, race obviously, being at the top of that list, but changing gender roles, and those who still are engaged in organized religion feeling attacked by an atheist culture. And those are things that are deep. Theyve always been here. Theyre not going away anytime soon. But I guess what I am still confident about is: if we can get some stuff done that works, and we give people the benefit of the doubt, and we continue to reach out, as opposed to yell, that we get better outcomes rather than worse outcomes. And its not going to solve all our problems. ezra klein I hard you say the other day that youd like to know what those UFO objects are too. barack obama Absolutely. ezra klein If it came out that they were alien, if we got undeniable proof of that, how would that change your politics, or your theory about where humanity should be going? barack obama That is an interesting question. ezra klein Thank you. barack obama Well, first of all, it depends on if we have we made contact with them? ezra klein No, just drones. They just barack obama We just know that ezra klein We just know theyre from afar. barack obama These probes have been sent. ezra klein Yeah. barack obama But we have no way of reaching out to them. ezra klein We cant get in touch. We just know were not alone, and somethings been here. barack obama Its interesting. It wouldnt change my politics at all. Because my entire politics is premised on the fact that we are these tiny organisms on this little speck floating in the middle of space. The analogy I always used to use when we were going through tough political times, and Id try to cheer my staff up, then Id tell them a statistic that John Holdren, my science advisor, told me, which was that there are more stars in the known universe than there are grains of sand on the planet Earth. ezra klein Your staff must have loved that. barack obama Well, sometimes it cheered them up. Sometimes theyd just roll their eyes and say, oh, there he goes again. But the point is, I guess, that my politics has always been premised on the notion that the differences we have on this planet are real. Theyre profound, and they cause enormous tragedy as well as joy. But were just a bunch of humans with doubts and confusion. We do the best we can. And the best thing we can do is treat each other better, because were all we got. And I would hope that the knowledge that there were aliens out there would solidify peoples sense that what we have in common is a little more important. But no doubt, there would be immediate arguments about, well, we need to spend a lot more money on weapons systems to defend ourselves. And new religions would pop up, and who knows what kind of arguments wed get into. Were good at manufacturing arguments for each other. ezra klein Heres another long view question. What are we doing now, humanity, that well be judged for most harshly in 100 years? barack obama Well, if we dont get a handle on climate change, then if theres anybody around to judge us, theyll judge us pretty harshly on it. Because the datas here. We know it. One thing that I think maybe the pandemic has done is to start getting people to think in scale. You can actually put a dollar figure to what it would take to transition to a clean economy. Its in the trillions of dollars a year globally. But when you think about how much was spent and how much was lost in one year, as a result of the pandemic, suddenly, making investments, obviously, in public health systems immediately says, oh, thats a pretty good investment. Similarly, maybe it opens up peoples imaginations to say, we can actually afford to make this transition. There are some sacrifices involved, but we can do it. ezra klein And then finally, what are three books youd recommend to the audience? barack obama Three books, a book I just read, The Overstory by Richard Powers, its about trees and the relationship of humans to trees. And its not something I would have immediately thought of, but a friend gave it to me. And I started reading it, and it changed how I thought about the earth. And it changed how I see things, and thats always, for me, a mark of a book worth reading. Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey, its a memoir, just a tragic story. Her mothers former husband, or her former stepfather, murders her mother. And its a meditation on race, and class, and grief, uplifting surprisingly, at the end of it but just wrenching. And then this one is easier to remember. I actually caught up on some past readings of Mark Twain. Theres something about Twain that I wanted to revisit, because he speaks a little bit of hes that most essential of American writers. And theres his satiric eye and his actual outrage that sometimes gets buried under the comedy I thought was useful to revisit. ezra klein President Barack Obama, thank you very much. barack obama Great to talk to you. Thank you, Ezra. [MUSIC PLAYING] ezra klein Yes, housing prices are up, and yes, there is a shortage of home listings. Its simple supply and demand anyone looking to buy a home in the U.S. will tell you its been a tough year. But as the pandemic has begun to recede, theres been some improvement, according to a report on the April 2021 housing market by Realtor.com: The number of newly listed homes increased by about 33 percent over last April, and by 43 percent in large metropolitan areas. Thats still not nearly enough to meet demand, in part because homes have been selling so quickly. In April, a U.S. home typically sat on the market for 43 days before being bought, whereas a year ago it took about 63 days, and in the three years before that it took about 61 days. As a result, the total inventory of listings in April was still down 53 percent year over year, helping to raise the median list price of U.S. homes to a record $375,000, according to Realtor.com. Of course, not every city or region has seen similar buyer behavior. So where did inventory shrink the most, and how did that affect listing prices in those areas? Among the 50 largest U.S. metro areas, the decline in April listings over a year was greatest in Austin, Texas, where a 73 percent drop in listings pushed the median listing price up to $515,000, a roughly 41 percent increase. The median home took just 18 days to sell in Austin, second only to Denver (15 days) and Columbus, Ohio (16 days). Dominique Williamson, 23, never had trouble making friends. I have never been in a position where I didnt have any girlfriends, to hang out with at least, she said. But Ms. Williamson, who is a vegan chef and sells cookbooks, moved to Atlanta from New York City just before the pandemic. When things were still open, she would dine alone and introduce herself to anyone else sitting alone at the bar. But once Covid-19 hit, that option dried up. The few friends she had from growing up in Atlanta all moved away for jobs, graduate school or because of the pandemic. I am a creative. I work from home, how do I make friends? she said. For most of last year, no one was doing anything fun. But now that cities are reopening and vaccines are widespread, she wanted to reclaim a social life. So three weeks ago she Googled Making friends in Atlanta. On schools, Stringer who has backing from the citys union of public educators repeated promises to put two teachers in every elementary classroom. Garcia said she would lift the citys limit on the number of charter schools that can operate, while putting public schools first. Yang called for hiring 10,000 tutors to help make up for learning loss during the pandemic. Mr. Law, 27, said he and other activists had set up the site from outside Hong Kong. A New York Times check on the digital route taken by traffic to the site showed that it was hosted by servers in the United States. Mr. Law said he had gone back and forth with a representative at Wix since Monday, when the site first disappeared. At the time, the company told him that there was a legal takedown request and that the site was in violation of the companys terms of service. Later, the company sent Mr. Law the letter from the Hong Kong police, which said the site was a threat to national security. The site contains a letter, addressed to Hong Kongers who have fled the city, that calls for them to unite in striving for democracy in the city. It also calls for the repeal of the national security law, urges the reform of policing in Hong Kong and criticizes the authoritarian rule of China by the Chinese Communist Party. We strive for Hong Kongs democratic transformation, to realize the freedom, autonomy and democracy that were promised to Hong Kong, reads a part of the letter. Visitors to the site can sign onto the document, called the 2021 Hong Kong Charter. Mr. Law said the website did not encourage violence. It does not do anything that would be considered illegitimate in liberal countries, but the government can always quote the national security law to rule that a site is illegal, he said. So yes indeed, we will face more similar events in the future, he added. In January, Hong Kongs biggest mobile telecom companies severed access to a local Hong Kong website that listed the personal information of police officers. The move heightened long-held fears that censorship rules as strict as Chinas could be ushered into Hong Kong in the coming years. This week, authorities said they would soon require residents to use their real identity when purchasing cellular services. A similar system in China helped regulators end online anonymity and empowered a force of internet police officers who question and sometimes jail the most outspoken. SAN FRANCISCO When Indias government ordered Facebook and other tech companies to take down posts critical of its handling of the coronavirus pandemic in April, the social network complied on some posts. But once it did, its employees flocked to online chat rooms to ask why Facebook had helped Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India stifle dissent. In one internal post, which was reviewed by The New York Times, an employee with family in India accused Facebook of being afraid that Mr. Modi would ban the company from doing business in the country. We cant act or make decisions out of fear, he wrote. Weeks later, when clashes broke out in Israel between Israelis and Palestinians, Facebook removed posts from prominent Palestinian activists and briefly banned hashtags related to the violence. Facebook employees again took to the message boards to ask why their company now appeared to be censoring pro-Palestinian content. It just feels like, once again, we are erring on the side of a populist government and making decisions due to politics, not policies, one worker wrote in an internal message that was reviewed by The Times. Dear Tripped Up, I know that Europe will soon open to fully vaccinated Americans, but are there any cities or communities in the United States that are encouraging vaccinated people to visit? I would like to travel again, but Im not ready for a long flight. And Id also like to support domestic tourism-reliant communities especially those encouraging vaccinations. Hetal Dear Hetal, In a May survey of 1,200 U.S. adults from the tourism market research firm Destination Analysts, nearly 59 percent of respondents said they were unlikely to travel outside the country until the pandemic is resolved. Thats a big difference from a year ago when that figure was around 75 percent but the data suggests the vast majority of trips this summer will be domestic. As for the key question Where to, first? there are plenty of tourism-reliant domestic destinations that are encouraging visitation and vaccines in ways large and small. Los Angeles, which drew 43 million domestic visitors in 2019 and is projecting 35 million this year and where more than half of residents ages 16 and over are fully vaccinated has a slew of new initiatives to jump-start tourism. As part of its new #StartYourComeback campaign, Los Angeles Tourism has assembled dozens of deals on hotels, spas and other local businesses, and partnered with CLEAR, the biometric technology most commonly seen at airports: Soon, attendees at local events and large meetings may be screened upon entry by CLEARs Health Pass, which can store Covid test results and vaccination records. The situation is particularly challenging for students in India, which sends approximately 200,000 international students to American colleges every year, the second most after China. The subcontinent is emerging from the grips of one of the most severe waves of the pandemic, when burial grounds were running out of space and funeral pyres were nearly constantly burning. Vaccine shortages are so acute that only 3 percent of the population is fully immunized, and getting an appointment is a taxing affair. In some parts of India, students planning on attending American universities have turned to the black market, paying hundreds of dollars to be vaccinated. Others have hired people to spend up to 12 hours online trying to line up a vaccination slot. It is hard enough just to get an appointment, but even more so to secure one for a vaccine that will be accepted by American campuses. Every day, we get 10 to 15 messages and inquiries, saying What does this mean? How does this impact me? said Sudhanshu Kaushik, 26, who dropped out of his M.B.A. program at New York University last year to run the North American Association of Indian Students, which is working to help fellow students. Among the questions flooding Mr. Kaushiks inbox: What happens if I cannot get my vaccine in time? Will I still be allowed to matriculate in the fall? What should I do if the vaccine I can get locally is not approved by my college? Im not against affirmative action. But theres a tendency to associate with it immediate problems and say, lets remedy this, without saying, We denied folks the opportunity for this. Or, Look what happened when we stole the land from these folks. Look how we benefited from it because we took their land, look how we benefited from the rules and regulations that forbade them from doing something. Paying what you owe, thats a totally different thing. I want to ask you now about your new(ish) job as secretary of state. You have spoken about what it means to you to have this role, especially given the fact that your parents, your grandparents were kept from voting. What do you make of the efforts in other states to restrict voting? This is a unique time in the national history. Were in a fragile situation. Everything we thought was important the balance of power is fragile. Who would have ever thought our Congress would not want to investigate an attack on them? Who would have thought we would not say this is unacceptable, this is un-American? There needs to be a voice for secretaries of state across the nation. California can do that as so many of our colleagues in Arizona and across the nation are under attack. Im very unafraid to raise my voice to assist other states when we can, and we have to keep reminding people what happens in a nation when theyre denied the right to vote. In California, I want to keep pushing the envelope. People said we should be dancing in the street because we got 70 percent of eligible voters, with no evidence of fraud. Weve got to get 100 percent. Mr. Frey said the city was investing in Black-owned businesses in the area and that reopening the streets to traffic was just one part of creating an accessible and prosperous neighborhood. We will be putting our money where our mouth is, he said. But others said it was too soon to clear the area, and that doing so with little warning early in the morning was not consistent with city officials repeated promises of transparency following Mr. Floyds death. I think its wrong, said D.J. Hooker, a community activist who arrived early on Thursday after hearing that the memorial was being taken down. This is not what they should be doing while people are trying to still heal. As protesters were at the intersection on Thursday afternoon, they got word that police officers had fatally shot a man at a parking garage elsewhere in the city. A spokesman for the Hennepin County Sheriffs Office sent a statement from the U.S. Marshals Service, a federal agency, that said its task force members had killed a man who was sitting in a parked car after he showed a handgun. The statement said the task force members, which are often made up of local police officers, were trying to arrest the man on a warrant related to a gun charge, but the agency did not identify the man or the officers who fired. Jeremy Zoss, the spokesman for the Sheriffs Office, would not say whether sheriffs deputies were the ones who shot the man. A spokesman for the Minneapolis Police Department said its officers were not involved. In clearing George Floyd Square, the city partnered with the Agape Movement, an organization that has provided security in the neighborhood since Mr. Floyds death and has worked to improve the relationship between the police and residents. It has several contracts with the city, including one for up to $359,000 for help with revitalizing the intersection, said Sarah McKenzie, a city spokeswoman. Some people argued that even so, it was impossible to ignore the identity of the victims. Those who insist the shooting was solely an Islamic terror attack try to erase the L.G.B.T. community from the narrative, causing only more pain by invalidating their experiences in this ordeal, wrote an editor at USA Today. In the end, the evidence strongly suggested that the gunman had not intended to target L.G.B.T.Q. people, and the shooting was investigated as a terrorism case, an F.B.I. spokeswoman in Tampa, Fla., said. In Georgia, the Atlanta shootings could soon serve as a test of what kind of evidence might persuade jurors that a hate crime was committed, and how credible they will find the defendants own explanations of his actions. The state did not have a hate crime statute until last year, when legislators passed one after the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. It has been invoked for the first time in the Atlanta shootings. The bias charges will have no practical effect on any sentence for the suspect, since he would already face a severe one if convicted. But Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, said they still send an important message to her constituents: We have to make sure that all people are treated the same and all people are acknowledged as having value. She expressed confidence that she could prove racial animus even if the suspect denied it. If we just relied on what defendants said, we wouldnt convict anyone, she said. The new executive order is another case in which the Biden administration is building on a Trump-era China initiative. Mr. Biden has also kept tariffs on Chinese goods in place, as leverage in negotiations. In this case, Biden administration officials say they were acting partly to fix the executive order issued by President Donald J. Trump last November, which has been challenged, successfully, in American courts because it did not clearly lay out the factual basis for banning investments in Chinese firms linked to the defense industry. The list of Chinese firms affected by the new order was put together by the Treasury Department, which has deep experience in issuing sanctions, rather than by the Pentagon. That is partly an effort to make clear the reasons for each companys designations, officials say, in the hope that the bans will hold up in court. Administration officials say the number of Chinese firms targeted by the ban is likely to grow. The order targets several giants of the Chinese telecommunications industry, some of which still operate inside the United States or partner with American companies. It is a signal that scrutiny of Chinese influence over the global technology space has not abated in Washington despite the shift to Democratic control in the White House. Among the firms Mr. Biden listed on Thursday was Huawei, Chinas national champion in telecommunications, and the centerpiece of its effort to export 5G networks around the world. For years the Trump administration tried to marginalize the company, banning the sale of most of its technologies inside the U.S., urging allies to reject them, and attempting to starve the firms of needed chips. For a while, Mike Pompeo, the former secretary of state, and other American officials were threatening to bar allies from sharing in American intelligence briefings if they used Huawei in their networks. That backfired, but the allies have increasingly come to limit Huaweis role. Huawei is not publicly held, however, so the order would essentially ban Americans from helping to underwrite its debt offerings. Huawei had no comment on Thursdays ban. The order also listed three carriers China Unicom, China Telecom, and China Mobile that have been increasingly in the cross hairs of American lawmakers and regulators. In 2019, lawmakers urged the Federal Communications Commission to review China Unicoms and China Telecoms licenses to operate in the United States. The agency moved in March to consider restricting China Unicoms operations. All have been under scrutiny over whether they are diverting phone or internet traffic back to China, for the benefit of Chinese intelligence services. China Telecom declined to comment on the new order. In 2019, the Federal Communications Commission also blocked China Mobiles application to support calls between the United States and other countries, citing risks that the Chinese government could use its control over the company to spy on Americans calls. But the issue is complicated by the firms ties to American companies. China Mobile has been supporting iPhones in China since 2014, a deal that was crucial to Apples growth in the Chinese market. Apple has enormous respect for China Mobile and we are excited to begin working together, Apples chief executive, Tim Cook, said in a news release. At the time, China Mobile was the worlds largest cellular network, with 763 million customers. Biden Expands Trump-Era Ban on Investment in Chinese Firms Linked to Military The new order includes firms engaged in making and deploying the surveillance technology used against Muslim minorities and dissidents around the globe. George P. Bush, son of Jeb, is running for Texas attorney general. Follow the latest news on President Biden. Biden issues an order banning U.S. investment in firms that aid surveillance and repression. President Joe Biden arrived to speak at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington on Wednesday. Credit... Oliver Contreras for The New York Times President Biden issued a new executive order on Thursday barring Americans from investing in Chinese firms linked to the countrys military or engaged in selling surveillance technology both inside and outside of China used to repress dissent or religious minorities. The new order, which initially lists 59 Chinese firms, substantially expands an order issued in November by President Donald J. Trump. By rewriting that earlier order to include firms engaged in making and deploying the surveillance technology used against Muslim minorities like the Uyghurs and dissidents in Hong Kong and in the Chinese diaspora around the globe it intensifies a commercial and ideological battle between Beijing and Washington, one that Mr. Biden has termed the struggle between autocracy and democracy. The move comes at a moment when China is both ramping up its ability to spy on its nearly 1.4 billion people, using a mix of facial-recognition cameras and software, phone-scanners and a range of other tools, and exporting that technology to nations around the world. It is often sold abroad as part of a package of communications equipment provided by companies like Huawei, or as part of Chinas Belt-and-Road initiative, which aims to expand the countrys trade ties. Mr. Bidens aides said the move was justified by a new American commitment not to facilitate Chinese repression and human rights abuses. But China regularly decries such moves as interference in its domestic affairs, and in the past has sought to retaliate with bans on American companies, leading to fears of broad economic decoupling between the worlds two largest economies. And the Chinese will likely argue that the United States and other countries use some of the same technologies and techniques to track terrorists and drug lords. It is unclear how effective Mr. Bidens order will be at stopping the spread of Chinese espionage technology. To make the investment ban truly effective, he would have to convince the European allies, Japan and South Korea, among others, to join in the effort. That effort may begin next week. How to handle China is expected to be a major subject when Mr. Biden goes to the Group of 7 summit in Britain next week, followed by a meeting of NATO allies. It will be his first foreign trip as president. But in the preparations for the meeting, he is already running into resistance from nations that, like Germany and South Korea, rely on China as one of their biggest export markets for luxury cars, software and electronics. As described by senior administration officials on Thursday, the new order will prohibit American companies and companies based in the United States from investing in the stock of publicly listed Chinese companies on the list or in debt issued by those firms. The ban will extend to investing in funds that, in turn, invest in those companies. Those funds will have a year to unwind their investments. The new executive order is another example of a case in which the Biden administration is building on a Trump-era China initiative. Mr. Biden has also kept tariffs on Chinese goods in place, as leverage in negotiations. In this case, Biden administration officials say they were acting in part to fix the executive order issued last November, which they say was badly written and has been challenged, successfully, in American courts because it did not clearly lay out the factual basis for banning investments in Chinese firms linked to the defense industry. Under the new executive order, the list of Chinese firms affected by the ban will be put together by the Treasury Department, which has long experience in issuing sanctions, rather than by the Pentagon. Harriss new role protecting voting rights could be her most politically delicate engagement yet. Vice President Kamala Harris has not yet announced a formal strategy for her work on protecting voting rights, but her advisers say she will take a wide-ranging approach. Credit... Oliver Contreras for The New York Times Vice President Kamala Harris did not come to her role with a list of demands. She wanted to be a generalist, in large part to learn the political rhythms of a president she was still getting to know. But on the matter of protecting voting rights, an issue critically important to President Bidens legacy, Ms. Harris took a rare step. In a meeting with the president over a month ago, she told him that she wanted to take the lead on the issue. Mr. Biden agreed, two people familiar with the discussions said, and his advisers decided to time the announcement of Ms. Harriss new role to a speech he delivered on Tuesday in Tulsa, Okla. In his remarks, the president declared the efforts of Republican-led statehouses around the country to make it harder to vote as an assault on our democracy, and said Ms. Harris could help lead the charge against them. Her involvement in the issue stands to become her most politically delicate engagement yet. Her new role comes as the Senate enters a crucial month in the Democratic drive to enact the farthest-reaching elections overhaul in a generation, including a landmark expansion of voting rights that is faltering in the Senate. Her office has not yet announced its plans, aside from calls Ms. Harris held with civil rights activists, including Derrick Johnson, the president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and a few scheduled meetings with prominent voting rights groups. Her advisers say she will take a wide-ranging approach to the issue. Michael Waldman, the president of the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, said that the decision to elevate Ms. Harris as the face of the administrations work on the issue was a pivotal moment for the Biden White House given the number of voter suppression efforts that were moving forward 389 bills in 48 states and counting, according to a tracker maintained the Brennan Center. It has been decades since a Democratic White House has made voting rights and democracy reform a central goal, Mr. Waldman said, but he added, the clock is ticking. Katie Rogers and Advertisement Continue reading the main story Biden asks Capito to embrace at least $1 trillion in new infrastructure spending but suggests narrowing tax proposals. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito spoke about the Republican counteroffer to President Bidens infrastructure plan last week at the Capitol in Washington. Credit... J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press President Biden told the lead Republican negotiator on an infrastructure package on Wednesday that her party must embrace $1 trillion in new spending as part of any bipartisan deal but indicated he would be willing to narrow his corporate tax proposals to win Republican support, according to people familiar with the discussions. Mr. Biden, who has proposed raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent from 21 percent, suggested a willingness to forego that increase in order to secure bipartisan agreement for an infrastructure bill though Democrats would still attempt to raise the rate beyond 21 percent in separate legislation that could proceed without Republican support. The president suggested the bipartisan bill could instead raise revenue without touching the 2017 tax cuts that passed during the Trump administration with just Republican support. That package which cut the corporate rate to 21 percent and lowered individual tax rates for all earners has been a red line for Republicans, who have refused to roll it back. The bipartisan infrastructure package could instead be financed in part through Mr. Bidens other tax proposals, including beefing up the Internal Revenue Service so that it can crack down on tax cheats and requiring companies that are profitable but have no federal income tax liability like Amazon still pay a 15 percent tax on their profits. The offer is an acknowledgment by Mr. Biden that, if he wants Republican support for an infrastructure bill, he will have to drop his insistence that it include a corporate tax increase to pay for it. But the new proposal is still likely to face significant opposition from Republicans who have criticized Mr. Bidens plan to boost I.R.S. funding by $80 billion, saying the agency will use its enforcement powers for political purposes to try and crack down on conservative-leaning individuals and groups. Even if Republicans could get on board with Mr. Bidens plans for how to pay for the bill, a wide gulf remains in terms of how much new money should go toward an infrastructure package. The figure that Mr. Biden gave Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia at their meeting represents nearly four times the $257 billion in new spending that Republicans included in their latest infrastructure counteroffer. Mr. Biden said any new spending should be on top of $400 billion he wants to maintain for existing programs over the next five years, according to a person familiar with ongoing discussions. Politico first reported details of the new offer. Republicans have rejected the idea of raising taxes to finance an infrastructure measure, and while Mr. Bidens latest proposal would amount to nearly $1 trillion less than he initially requested for the package, it is far larger than G.O.P. lawmakers have been willing to consider. A group led by Ms. Capito last week proposed a $928 billion plan, the vast majority of which would be money from existing programs, paid for by increases in user fees for drivers and unspent pandemic relief money. It was unclear if Ms. Capito and the five Republican senators who have been involved in the talks would assemble another counterproposal before Ms. Capito is scheduled to speak to Mr. Biden on Friday. Administration officials and Democratic congressional leaders have suggested they will decide as early as next week whether there is a bipartisan compromise to be had on infrastructure or they must proceed on their own. Some Democrats have pushed for party leaders to abandon the search for a deal with Republicans and instead muscle Mr. Bidens plan through Congress using the fast-track budget reconciliation process, which circumvents a filibuster and would require only Democratic votes. But moderate Democrats have warned against abandoning the bipartisan talks, and are quietly discussing possible alternatives with some of their Republican colleagues. Jim Tankersley and Postmaster General DeJoy is under investigation by the Justice Department, his spokesman says. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, left, after testifying before the House Oversight and Reform Committee in February. Credit... Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times The Justice Department is investigating the postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, over possible violations of campaign finance laws while he was running a company and building a reputation as a top Republican donor, his spokesman said on Thursday. The investigation focuses on campaign contributions made by people employed by New Breed Logistics, the company in North Carolina that Mr. DeJoy led from 1983 to 2014, before he was appointed postmaster general a little over a year ago during the administration of President Donald J. Trump. Mr. DeJoy was a leading donor to Mr. Trump in the 2016 campaign. Mr. DeJoy has learned that the Department of Justice is investigating campaign contributions made by employees who worked for him when he was in the private sector, said the spokesman, Mark Corallo. He has always been scrupulous in his adherence to the campaign contribution laws and has never knowingly violated them, Mr. Corallo said. He added that Mr. DeJoy was cooperating with the inquiry. Mr. DeJoy has received a grand-jury subpoena for information connected to the investigation, according to a person familiar with the inquiry who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose details related to the grand jury. Spokesmen for the Postal Service, the Justice Department and the F.B.I. declined to comment. The Washington Post, which reported the existence of the federal investigation into Mr. DeJoy on Thursday, reported last year that some New Breed Logistics employees believed that Mr. DeJoy and others close to him had pressured them to contribute to Republican candidates. In a speech to a New Hampshire G.O.P. group, Pence calls systemic racism a left-wing myth. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:06 - 0:00 transcript Pence Says He May Never See Trump Eye to Eye on Capitol Riot Former Vice President Mike Pences speech illustrated the careful balance he is aiming to strike in squaring the rhetoric of the Republican Party under former President Donald J. Trump while standing by his opposition to Mr. Trumps attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. You know, weve all been through a lot over the past year. Global pandemic, civil unrest. A divisive election. And tragedy at our nations Capitol. As I said that day, Jan. 6 was a dark day in the history of the United States Capitol. But thanks to the swift action of the Capitol Police and federal law enforcement, violence was quelled. The Capitol was secured. And that same day, we reconvene the Congress and did our duty under the Constitution and the laws of the United States. You know, President Trump and I have spoken many times since we left office. And I dont know if well ever see eye to eye on that day. But I will always be proud of what we accomplished for the American people over the last four years. Former Vice President Mike Pences speech illustrated the careful balance he is aiming to strike in squaring the rhetoric of the Republican Party under former President Donald J. Trump while standing by his opposition to Mr. Trumps attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Credit Credit... Elise Amendola/Associated Press Former Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday described systemic racism as a left-wing myth during a speech hosted by a Republican group in New Hampshire, adopting the racial politics of his former boss, President Donald J. Trump. But Mr. Pence, a potential candidate for a 2024 presidential run, also distanced himself from the former president, describing the Jan. 6 attack as a dark day in the history of the United States Capitol. President Trump and Ive spoken many times since we left office, Mr. Pence said. I dont know if well ever see eye-to-eye on that day. The speech illustrated the careful balance Mr. Pence is aiming to strike in squaring the rhetoric of the Republican Party under Mr. Trump while standing by his opposition to Mr. Trumps attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. After focusing much of his speech on touting the achievements of the Trump administration, Mr. Pence took aim at critical race theory, a graduate school framework that has found its way into K-12 public education, asserting that young children are being taught to be ashamed of their skin color. It is past time for America to discard the left-wing myth of systemic racism, Mr. Pence said at the annual Lincoln Reagan Dinner hosted by the Hillsborough County Republicans in Manchester, N.H. America is not a racist country, Mr. Pence said to raucous applause, two days after President Biden commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Republicans have launched an energetic campaign in recent months aiming to dictate how historical and modern racism in America is taught in schools, and Mr. Pence indicated his support of efforts to ban critical race theory through legislation advanced in Republican-led states. Mr. Pence had previously targeted critical race theory in tweets and in his first speech in April after leaving office. Mr. Pences appeal to racial politics went beyond education. Discussing efforts to defund law enforcement agencies, the former vice president said Black lives are not endangered by police, Black lives are saved by police, co-opting the language of Black Lives Matter a movement he had shunned in office. Advertisement Continue reading the main story George P. Bush is running for attorney general in Texas by courting Trump. George P. Bush, the Texas land commissioner, arrived for a kickoff rally on Wednesday with his wife, Amanda, announcing his plans to run for Texas attorney general. Credit... Eric Gay/Associated Press George P. Bush son of Jeb Bush, nephew of George W. Bush and grandson of George H.W. Bush is running for attorney general in Texas, and away from the legacy of antipathy to former President Donald J. Trump embodied by his own last name. The new campaign beer cozies handed out to supporters this week featured the Lone Star flag on the front, and, on the flip side, a quote from Mr. Trump who relentlessly mocked Mr. Bushs father in 2016 that read: This is the only Bush that likes me! This is the Bush that got it right. I like him. The younger Mr. Bush, who currently serves as commissioner of the Texas land office, a statewide post with a wide range of development and education functions, is taking on Ken Paxton, the ferociously pro-Trump incumbent who filed an unsuccessful lawsuit contesting election results in four states that the former president lost last November. The Bush swag tells the story of a Republican primary challenger treading a narrow and perhaps unforgiving path between Mr. Trump and a center-right family philosophy now far out of step with the partys base. The primary takes place in March, followed by the general election in November. Two Democrats Lee Merritt, a civil rights attorney from Dallas, and Joe Jaworski, the former mayor of Galveston have said they will run. In 2018, Mr. Paxton defeated the Democrat Justin Nelson by around three points. At his Wednesday kickoff at a beer garden in Austin, Mr. Bush accused Mr. Paxton of corruption while emphasizing his own support for Mr. Trump. The attorney general was indicted on securities fraud charges five years ago; he has repeatedly denied the charges and claimed the case is politically motivated. In a follow-up interview with Fox News on Thursday, Mr. Bush praised the Trump days, and criticized President Biden for reversing many of the previous administrations policies at the border. He went out of his way to describe the details of a chat he initiated with Mr. Trump, seeking his support. We had a great conversation a few days ago, he sent me his best he had great words of encouragement, Mr. Bush said of the man who delighted in taunting his father as low energy. Mr. Trump, who commands the overwhelming support of Republicans in Texas but who won the state by only five points, has basked in the empowering glow of the candidates praise. I like them both very much, he told CNN earlier this week. Ill be making my endorsement and recommendation to the great people of Texas in the not-so-distant future. The low-key Mr. Bush, a Florida native whose mother is Mexican-American, has also been adopting an increasingly confrontational posture with local Democrats. Last week, Mr. Bushs land office which has broad discretion in doling out federal aid to localities denied disaster mitigation aid to several cities with large minority populations, including Houston. He reversed course a few days later under pressure from the states congressional delegation, announcing he would release about $750 million in funds allocated in the wake of Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Yellen will push for a global minimum tax on corporations at the G7. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet with other top economic officials at a Group of 7 summit this week. Credit... Erin Scott for The New York Times Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen will try to secure international support for a broad agreement that aims to put an end to global tax havens at the Group of 7 finance ministers summit in Britain this week. Such a pact has been elusive for years, as countries like Ireland sought to keep taxes as low as possible in order to attract global investment. But the Biden administration has made securing a global minimum tax a priority as it looks to raise corporate taxes to help pay for a sweeping expansion of the nations infrastructure. Such an agreement is critical to Mr. Bidens goal of raising the corporate tax rate in the United States to 28 percent from 21 percent. Having a global standard that companies pay regardless of where their headquarters are would help discourage American businesses from simply offshoring their operations or intellectual property to countries with lower tax rates, administration officials contend. Ms. Yellen has said the effort is aimed at ending a race to the bottom in which countries cut their tax rates in order to entice companies to move headquarters and profits across borders. Whether she can succeed remains unclear. The Group of 7 finance ministers will gather on Friday and Saturday in London, and they are expected to produce a joint statement on the status of their negotiations at the conclusion of the meeting. Alan Rappeport and Queen Elizabeth will meet Biden at her castle later this month. Queen Elizabeth visited the H.M.S. Queen Elizabeth ahead of the ships maiden deployment last month. Credit... Steve Parsons/Reuters Queen Elizabeth II will meet President Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, later this month at the royal residence of Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday. It would be the first meeting between the two leaders since Mr. Bidens election. No further details were given about the June 13 meeting, part of President Bidens first presidential trip abroad, which will include stops at the Group of 7 summit in England, a meeting with the European Union in Brussels and a face-to-face with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Later on Thursday, the White House confirmed the Bidens visit with the queen. The British monarch last hosted an American president in June 2019, when Donald J. Trump visited the country on a lavish state visit, which he later characterized as a great time. But the event stirred controversy, given only a handful of American presidents have received the honor of an official state visit. Some British citizens and lawmakers protested against the visit. And on a previous visit in 2018, Mr. Trump famously made headlines by walking in front of Elizabeth, 95, during an inspection of the royal guard a breach of protocol. The worlds longest reigning monarch, Elizabeth has met with every American president since Harry S. Truman except Lyndon B. Johnson. She will celebrate her 70th year on the throne next year. Advertisement Continue reading the main story A bill to overhaul how the military prosecutes sexual assault cases has the support to pass. A bipartisan group of senators including Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Ted Cruz of Texas spoke at a news conference about military sexual assault legislation in April. Credit... Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images Over nearly a decade, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has painstakingly cobbled together a bipartisan Senate majority for legislation that would overhaul the way the military handles sexual assault and other serious crimes, a shift that many experts say is long overdue. Ms. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, has won backing from President Biden and numerous other colleagues. If it could get to the Senate floor, her bill would easily clear the 60-vote filibuster threshold that stymies many other pieces of legislation. But now she is running up against a final hurdle: opposition from the leaders of her chambers Armed Services Committee, Senators Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, and James M. Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma. Hardly a political sweater set, the two men, both Army veterans who arrived in the Senate in the mid-1990s, nonetheless often coordinate like one on military matters. Mr. Reed, 71, and Mr. Inhofe, 86, have combined to push back against Ms. Gillibrands legislation and delay any move toward a swift vote, a stance that many of the bills backers say shows far more deference to military commanders and committee protocols than justified given the decades of failure in protecting victims in the armed forces. Ms. Gillibrands bill would cut out the military chain of command from decisions over prosecutions of service members for sexual assault, as well as many other serious crimes, which would be a sea change for the military justice system. They are both against my bill, and they would like to kill it in committee, Ms. Gillibrand said in an interview on Friday. They have such a deep respect for the chain of command that they are often overly deferential to it. To many backers of the legislation, the reluctance being displayed toward it in varying degrees by Mr. Reed and Mr. Inhofe threatens the will of the majority of the Senate, which has grown weary of inaction by military leaders to lower the number of assaults and provide victims a fairer way to seek justice. Biden is spending the day at the beach for Jill Bidens 70th birthday. Visitors walked on the sand in Rehoboth Beach, Del., on Wednesday. President Biden will be in Rehoboth Beach on Thursday for Jill Bidens birthday celebration. Credit... Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times President Biden often commutes from the White House to his home state. He just usually waits until the end of the week. On Thursday, Mr. Biden cleared his schedule to spend the day at his familys beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Del., to celebrate the 70th birthday of Jill Biden, the first lady. Anyone who knows the first lady knows how much she enjoys her time in Rehoboth, Michael LaRosa, her spokesman, said. She will spend her birthday there with the president. The pair, who are rooted in their habits and not enamored with life at the White House Mr. Biden has described it as living in a gilded cage are planning a low-key celebration at home, with a cake but without the usual clutch of children and grandchildren, before returning to Washington for a rare weekend in the Executive Mansion. Convention suggests that presidents should stay close to Washington and be judicious with taxpayer-funded travel, but that concept was tested to its limit with Mr. Bidens predecessor, Donald J. Trump. Mr. Trump spent over 417 days at one of his properties, a habit that blurred the line between his family business and presidential duties. He continues to charge the Secret Service for the cost of a room at Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach, Fla., resort, according to The Washington Post. Mr. Biden, by contrast, is essentially a president who commutes, continuing a routine into his presidency by swapping Amtrak for Air Force One. During his 36 years in the Senate, Mr. Biden made it a point to travel back to Wilmington, Del., to spend most evenings with his family, a habit so ingrained that he still speaks lovingly of the train service that brought him home. Mr. Biden has also spent at least five weekends at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, according to a review of his public schedule. This trip is the first time this year that the president has traveled to the family beach house, a property he purchased in the summer of 2017 for $2.7 million. At the time, Mr. Biden said in a statement that Jill and I have dreamed of being able to buy a place at the beach. Wage growth gives Democrats a bragging point, but raises risk of inflation. Sharon McCown, a Target employee in Louisville, Ky., received hazard pay as well as a raise, which helped her to save more money than she otherwise would have been able to. Credit... Luke Sharrett for The New York Times Workers in retail, hospitality and other service industries bore the brunt of last years mass layoffs. But unlike low-wage workers in past recessions, whose earnings power eroded, many of those who held on to their jobs saw their wages rise even during the worst months of the pandemic. Now, as the economy bounces back and employers need to find staff, workers have the kind of leverage that is more typical of a prolonged boom than the aftermath of a devastating recession. Average earnings for nonmanagers in leisure and hospitality hit $15 an hour in February for the first time on record; in April, they rose to $15.70, a rise of more than 4.5 percent in just two months. President Bidens administration is embracing those gains and hoping they shift power away from employers and back toward workers. And Federal Reserve officials have indicated that they would like to see employment and pay rising, because those would be signs that they were making progress toward their goals of full employment and stable prices. The stage is set for an economic experiment, one that tests whether the economy can lift laborers steadily without igniting much-faster price increases that eat away at the gains. Instead of workers competing with each other for jobs that are scarce, we want employers to compete with each other to attract workers, Mr. Biden said in Cleveland last week. When American workers have more money to spend, American businesses benefit. We all benefit. Jeanna Smialek and Advertisement Continue reading the main story The sordid saga, which has never been reported before and stretches over almost two decades, is outlined in court papers, which show that after obtaining the mortgage, another sibling, Jerry Tischler sued in 2011 to void the transfer of the home to Heshy. That led to the title of the home being restored to Esther. But Mr. Inhofe remains opposed to removing the militarys chain of command from the prosecutions of service members for sexual assaults. Those of us in the military have very strong feelings about the role of the commander, he said, referring to his past life as a private first class. In an email later, he added, Unfortunately, this bill frankly has a lot of other deficiencies that will make it difficult and time-consuming to implement, which will create an unstable justice system, even creating the potential that convictions made during this transition could be overturned. Mr. Reed has said he is now open to changes in the way sexual assault is adjudicated after years of resisting any such move but does not want other crimes included in the bill. He prefers the suggestions of a panel appointed by Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, who made addressing this issue among his first priorities. That commission has yet to release its final recommendations, but has signaled that independent military lawyers reporting to a special victims prosecutor should take over the role that commanders currently play in deciding whether to court-martial those accused of sexual assault, sexual harassment or domestic violence. Ms. Gillibrands measure covers a broader array of serious crimes. I think that I support the efforts to move sexually related crimes, Mr. Reed said in an interview last week. I think that its important to have a very robust and vigorous debate on the other provisions, he added, which are just general products and not related to sexual content. (Proponents of Ms. Gillibrands proposal argue that anyone in the military accused of major crimes should be tried by a trained military prosecutor outside of the immediate chain of command of the accused or the accuser.) Mr. Austin has given all of the service secretaries a few weeks to read over the commissions recommendations. According to people who were briefed on their responses but were unauthorized to discuss them publicly, Army and Marine leaders have balked while some Air Force and Navy brass have been more open to considering at least some version of the proposed changes. I think that Vice President Harris herself personifies the need for voting rights to be extended, the Rev. Al Sharpton, who attended the speech in Tulsa, said in an interview. When shes on the phone or walks into an office, were looking at the reason we need voting rights. Michael Waldman, the president of the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, said that the decision to elevate Ms. Harris as the face of the administrations work on the issue was a pivotal moment for the Biden White House given the number of voter suppression efforts that were moving forward 389 bills in 48 states and counting, according to a tracker maintained the Brennan Center. It has been decades since a Democratic White House has made voting rights and democracy reform a central goal, Mr. Waldman said, but he added, the clock is ticking. Ms. Harriss impact on the hand-to-hand politics of the Senate is expected to be limited, but she often drew attention to voting rights during her four years as a senator. During her last year in the Senate, Ms. Harris introduced legislation that would expand election security measures, require each state to have early in-person voting periods and allow for an expansion of mail-in absentee ballots. In 2020, Ms. Harris was also a co-sponsor of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would restore a piece of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that relied on a formula to identify states with a history of discrimination and require that those jurisdictions clear any changes to their voting processes with the federal government. The protections were eliminated by the Supreme Court in 2013. Still, Ms. Harris, who spent a chunk of her time in the Senate running for president, was not known for building especially close relationships with colleagues, and Mr. Manchin and Ms. Sinema are no exceptions. Several Democratic aides who work closely with the senators scoffed on Wednesday at the idea that Ms. Harris, known as a staunch liberal, would be the one to persuade either moderate lawmaker to change the filibuster rule. Nor is Ms. Harris a likely candidate to broker the kind of compromise on the substance of the bill needed to persuade Mr. Manchin, the only Democrat who has not sponsored it, to back it. Queen Elizabeth II will meet President Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, later this month at the royal residence of Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday. It would be the first meeting between the two leaders since Mr. Bidens election. No further details were given about the June 13 meeting, part of President Bidens first presidential trip abroad, which will include stops at the Group of 7 summit in England, a meeting with the European Union in Brussels and a face-to-face with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Later on Thursday, the White House confirmed the Bidens visit with the queen. The British monarch last hosted an American president in June 2019, when Donald J. Trump visited the country on a lavish state visit, which he later characterized as a great time. But the event stirred controversy, given only a handful of American presidents have received the honor of an official state visit. Some British citizens and lawmakers protested against the visit. And on a previous visit in 2018, Mr. Trump famously made headlines by walking in front of Elizabeth, 95, during an inspection of the royal guard a breach of protocol. Some African nations have less than 1 percent of their populations partly vaccinated, according to data from the Our World in Data project at the University of Oxford, and the percentages of vaccinated people in Honduras and Guatemala are around 3 percent of the population. Mr. Sullivan said the administration had decided to give priority to neighbors of the United States, including countries like Guatemala and Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, while also working with existing regional networks like the African Union to allow local authorities to allocate the vaccines as they see fit. Mr. Biden came into office vowing to restore Americas position as a leader in global health, and he has been under increasing pressure from activists, as well as some business leaders, to do more to address the global vaccine shortage. This year, he said he was reluctant to give away vaccine doses until the United States had enough for its own population, though he promised in March to send a total of four million doses of AstraZenecas vaccine to Mexico and Canada. Those doses, it turned out, were made at a Baltimore facility owned by Emergent BioSolutions, where production has since been put on hold after an incident of contamination. Mr. Bidens pledge to donate 80 million doses this month involves vaccines made by four manufacturers. Besides AstraZeneca, they are Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, the last three of which have received U.S. emergency authorization for their vaccines. The president has made several announcements to help reach his goal. He said last month that his administration would send 20 million doses of the authorized vaccines overseas in June the first time he had pledged to give away doses that could be used in the United States. Officials said Thursday that the number rose to 25 million because more authorized doses have become available. Mr. Biden also announced last month that he would send one million doses of Johnson & Johnsons vaccine to South Korea; a plane carrying those doses was expected to take off Thursday evening, Mr. Zients said. Covid Updates: Africa Faces Third Wave as Vaccine Rollout Sputters The U.S. detailed plans to send 25 million doses of the vaccine abroad. And the death toll in long-term care facilities has dropped sharply, from a peak of 5,000 a week to fewer than 300. Follow our Covid-19 coverage. The coronavirus surges across Africa as vaccine programs flounder. South African retirees waiting to receive doses of Covid vaccine at a clinic near Johannesburg, South Africa, last week. Credit... Themba Hadebe/Associated Press A sudden, sharp rise in coronavirus cases in many parts of Africa could amount to a continental third wave, the World Health Organization warned on Thursday, a portent of deeper trouble for a continent whose immunization drives have been crippled by shortfalls in funding and vaccine doses. The W.H.O., an arm of the United Nations, said test positivity had risen in 14 African countries over the last seven days, with eight reporting a surge of over 30 percent in new cases. Infections are steadily climbing in South Africa, where four of nine provinces are battling a third wave. There has also been a sharp increase in cases in Uganda, with hospitals overwhelmed with Covid patients and the authorities mulling a lockdown. The W.H.O. attributed the rise to loose compliance with social restrictions, and increasing travel along with the arrival of the winter season in southern Africa. Experts also believe the spread of new coronavirus variants like those first identified in Britain, India and South Africa is contributing to the surge and the ensuing rise in deaths. While Africa has reported less than 3 percent of global coronavirus cases, the W.H.O. said the continent accounted for 3.7 percent of total deaths. And that is almost certainly a severe undercount, since in the vast majority of countries on the African continent, most deaths are never formally registered. The threat of a third wave in Africa is real and rising, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the W.H.O. regional director for Africa, said in a statement. Its crucial that we swiftly get vaccines into the arms of Africans at high risk of falling seriously ill and dying of Covid-19. While many wealthier countries have vigorous vaccination campaigns and some are on track to fully reopen, many of Africas poorer countries face a huge challenge in accessing vaccines. Out of a continental population of 1.3 billion people, only 31 million have received at least one dose, Dr. Moeti said. Seven million are fully vaccinated. In Kenya, one of Africas biggest economies, with more than 50 million people, only 1,386 have received two doses of a vaccine. Countries like Ghana and Rwanda have run through their first deliveries of vaccines through Covax, the global facility working to ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines. Vaccine hesitancy has afflicted the rollout in nations like Malawi, while concerns over rare blood clots and limitations in inoculation capacity pushed the Democratic Republic of Congo to donate millions of doses to other African states before they expired. The rising cases, the W.H.O. warned, could overwhelm already creaky health care systems that are struggling with limited intensive care beds, oxygen and ventilators. To forestall a full-blown crisis, Dr. Moeti urged countries that have reached a significant vaccination coverage to release doses and keep the most vulnerable Africans out of critical care. The U.S. outlines a plan for how it will distribute an initial 25 million doses around the world. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:00 - 0:00 transcript U.S. to Distribute an Initial 25 Million Vaccine Doses Worldwide The White House announced on Thursday that it would distribute the coronavirus vaccines as part of the 80 million doses President Biden pledged to send overseas by the end of June. Today, were outlining our framework for sharing with the world the first 25 million doses. To be clear, our approach is to ensure vaccines are delivered in a way that is equitable. It follows the latest science and public health data. Across the coming weeks, the administration will move as expeditiously as possible, and work through regulatory requirements, logistical details to ensure safe and secure delivery of doses. First, our goal in sharing our vaccines is in service of ending the pandemic globally. Our overarching aim is to get as many safe and effective vaccines to as many people as fast as possible. Its as simple as that. We want to save lives and thwart variants that place all of us at risk. But perhaps most important, this is just the right thing to do. Thanks to the ingenuity of American scientists and the resilience and commitment of the American people, were in a position to help others, so we will help others. The White House announced on Thursday that it would distribute the coronavirus vaccines as part of the 80 million doses President Biden pledged to send overseas by the end of June. Credit Credit... Dibyangshu Sarkar/Agence France-Presse Getty Images The White House, besieged with requests from other nations to share its supply of coronavirus vaccine, announced Thursday that it would distribute an initial 25 million doses this month across a wide range of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa, as well as the Palestinian territories, war-ravaged Gaza and the West Bank. The doses are the first of a total 80 million that President Biden has pledged to send overseas by the end of this month. Three-quarters of the initial batch will be given to the international vaccine effort known as Covax, officials said at a White House briefing on the pandemic, though administration officials are helping decide where to send them. The rest will be reserved for immediate needs and to help with surges around the world and regions dealing with urgent, present crises, said Jake Sullivan, the presidents national security adviser, including in India, Ukraine and Iraq as well as the West Bank and Gaza. But the donation is nowhere close to enough. About 11 billion doses are needed to vaccinate 70 percent of the worlds population against the coronavirus, according to estimates from researchers at Duke University. As of last month, the analytics firm Airfinity estimated that 1.7 billion doses had been produced. Thursdays announcement comes a week before Mr. Biden leaves for Cornwall, England, to meet with the heads of state of the Group of 7 industrialized nations, where the global vaccine supply is certain to be a topic of discussion. Officials said the Biden administration would donate additional doses throughout the summer as they become available. This is just the beginning, said Jeffrey Zients, Mr. Bidens coronavirus response coordinator. Expect a regular cadence of shipments around the world, across the next several weeks. While China and Russia have used vaccine donations as an instrument of diplomacy in an effort to extract favors from other nations, Mr. Biden has insisted the United States will not do that a point that Mr. Sullivan emphasized on Thursday in describing the White House strategy. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults have had at least one shot of a coronavirus vaccine, and the rate of new cases and deaths has plummeted, contributing to an overall picture across the country that is encouraging and uplifting, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Thursday. But the picture around the world, especially in poorer nations in Africa and Central and South America, where vaccination rates are much lower, is bleak. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia and Paraguay are all awash in new cases; in Colombia, nearly 500 people a day have died of the coronavirus over the past several weeks. A sudden, sharp rise in coronavirus cases in many parts of Africa could amount to a continental third wave, the World Health Organization warned on Thursday. Abdi Latif Dahir contributed reporting. Correction : June 3, 2021 An earlier version of this item misspelled the name of a vaccine maker. It is Novavax, not Novovax. Advertisement Continue reading the main story U.S. nursing home deaths fall sharply as older people are vaccinated. A woman visiting her aunt at a nursing home for the first time since May 2020, in Worthington, Pa., in March. Credit... Kristian Thacker for The New York Times Nearly a year ago, more than 43 percent of coronavirus deaths in the United States were tied to long-term-care facilities. Now, the deaths of people connected to such facilities has dropped to 31 percent, according to a New York Times database, revealing an improving picture for the oldest Americans. Throughout the pandemic, The Times has tracked Covid-19 cases and deaths in nursing homes, assisted-living centers, memory care units and other long-term facilities for older people, and has identified more than 1.38 million infections among residents and employees of the facilities, as well as more than 184,000 deaths. The virus has spread easily in these facilities, and has been particularly lethal for unvaccinated adults in their 60s or older. Coronavirus highlighted some of the needs of both the residents themselves and the facilities, said Cindy Prins, an epidemiologist at the University of Florida, citing a need for more oversight, greater examination of infection controls and better training for staff members. She said the pandemic had also forced many people to re-evaluate their views on long-term care. Im sure there are people who are feeling like, Could I have cared for them at home? Could I have a different outcome? Dr. Prins said. Since vaccines have arrived, deaths in nursing homes, in particular, have fallen significantly. According to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, nursing homes across the United States reported more than 5,000 deaths per week from early December through mid-January. Since late March, the homes have reported fewer than 300 deaths a week. Still, deaths slowly continue to mount. Though health care workers were among the first group to become eligible for inoculation, vaccination hesitancy has remained a challenge at long-term care facilities. With reports of infections occurring among vaccinated people in long-term-care facilities in Chicago and Kentucky, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have stressed that inoculating workers and residents is essential to preventing further spread of the virus. The federal government is requiring nursing homes to report the vaccination status of their residents and staff members in order to examine the impact of the vaccines. More than 4.9 million residents and employees in long-term-care facilities have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine through a federal program, according to the C.D.C. Others have been vaccinated through state and local efforts. Reporting vaccination rates is critical to facilitating in-person visitations in nursing homes, said Dr. David Gifford, the chief medical officer for the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living, a trade group that represents more than 14,000 U.S. nursing homes and long-term care facilities. He added: It is important that we not judge facilities with low vaccination rates but instead seek to understand whether additional resources or outreach can be done to encourage more staff and residents to get the vaccine, or help facilities acquire additional vaccines for new patients and hires. Brillian Bao and A rapid antigen test is highly sensitive in young children but prone to false positives, a new study finds. A parent administered a rapid antigen test to a child at an elementary school in Prague, Czech Republic, in April. Credit... David W Cerny/Reuters A widely available rapid antigen coronavirus test is highly sensitive in young children with symptoms of Covid-19, according to a small new study. Among children younger than 7, the test detected 100 percent of cases, researchers reported in a forthcoming paper in the journal Pediatrics. The test was somewhat less sensitive in older children and did generate a substantial number of false positives in children of all ages, however. Among children who did not have the virus, 8 percent to 10 percent of them tested positive on the antigen test, the researchers found. One hundred percent sensitivity in children less than seven years is excellent outstanding, said Dr. Alejandro Hoberman, a pediatrician at the Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh and the senior author of the study. The problem was the false positives. The new findings suggest that while the test could help schools and day cares operate more safely, it may be more useful for ruling infections out than at definitively detecting them. Rapid antigen tests are generally cheaper and faster but less sensitive than P.C.R. tests, considered the gold standard for Covid diagnosis. But there has been relatively little research on their performance in children. The results do not mean that there is no role for rapid antigen testing or that every test will perform similarly, Dr. Hoberman said. I would like to see other folks replicate our findings and do this in pediatrics and see how it behaves. Although children who are 12 or older are now eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, there are no shots authorized for use in younger children. Young children are roughly half as likely to catch the virus as adults, but some who do contract it can become very ill. A number of studies have also suggested that they may also be about half as likely to transmit the virus to others, but the precise risk, which appears to increase with age, remains unclear. The new study, led by researchers at the Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh, enrolled 199 children and young adults, who ranged in age from 2 months to 20 years old. All participants had at least one symptom of Covid-19 and had been symptomatic for less than a week. The researchers took two nasal swabs from each participant one from each nostril. They sent one swab from each child for a P.C.R. test and analyzed the other with Abbotts BinaxNOW, a common rapid antigen test. In total, 39 participants tested positive for the virus on the P.C.R. test. Overall, the antigen test accurately detected 85 percent of those cases, which is a reasonable level of sensitivity for the test, Dr. Hoberman said. The test was even more sensitive among children under 7, detecting 100 percent of cases in that group. This enhanced sensitivity may stem from the fact that children infected with the coronavirus could have more of the virus in their upper respiratory tracts than adults do. In general, young children tend to have high viral loads compared to adults, Dr. Hoberman said. Across the board, however, there were a significant number of false positives. Among children under 7, 8 percent with a negative P.C.R. result tested positive on the antigen test, the researchers found; that figure rose to 10 percent among participants 7 or older. This relatively high proportion of false positives means that positive test results should be confirmed by P.C.R. analysis, the researchers say. Repeated antigen testing may also reduce the problem posed by false positives. GLOBAL ROUNDUP Coronavirus rates spike in Afghanistan, and other news from around the world. People waiting to receive doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine at a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, last month. Credit... Rahmat Gul/Associated Press Afghan and American health officials issued urgent health warnings on Thursday describing alarming spikes in reported cases of coronavirus in Afghanistan, where the health ministry recently declared a third wave of the pandemic since the virus first struck in early 2020. Hospitals are rapidly filling up with Covid-19 patients, the health ministry reported. Some hospitals said they were running out of oxygen, and the U.S. Embassy said some Americans had reported being denied hospital admittance because of a lack of beds. The U.S. Embassy strongly suggests that U.S. citizens make plans to leave Afghanistan as soon as possible, the American mission said in a statement Thursday. The embassy noted that Afghanistan remained at Level 4, the highest category, of a Travel Health Notice issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The country is also under a State Department Level 4 Travel Advisory that warns Americans not to travel to Afghanistan because of high security and health risks. Few Afghans wear masks or practice social distancing. Bazaars, shops, restaurants and buses are crowded with customers jammed shoulder-to-shoulder, with limited public access to soap and clean water for hand-washing. In its daily coronavirus report, the countrys health ministry said the rate of positive tests had risen sharply on Wednesday to 34 percent one of Afghanistans highest daily rates since the pandemic began. Four of the countrys 34 provinces reported positivity rates of 50 percent or higher. The reported figures reflect only a fraction of the countrys total number of actual infections and deaths. Testing is severely limited and Afghanistans struggling health system is chronically underfunded and overwhelmed by high rates of disease, poverty and malnutrition. Still, the numbers offer a sense of scale. The 1,500 positive cases reported nationwide for Wednesday, and the 34 coronavirus deaths reported the same day, were among the highest daily totals since the pandemic began, the health ministry said. In other news around the world: In Hong Kong , experts warn that the incentives offered by businesses and the government may not be enough to overcome vaccine hesitancy and reach a goal of herd immunity. They warned that other solutions are urgently needed before the territory faces a fifth wave. About 10,000 of the 80,000 volunteers who had stepped forward to help with the Olympics in Tokyo have quit. The chief executive of the Games organizing committee, Toshiro Muto, said on Wednesday that there were still enough volunteers to assist with the Olympics and Paralympics, and that operations for both events would not be affected. A church is the center of an outbreak in Vietnams largest city. The husband and wife who founded the church were stalwarts of their community for more than 20 years. Now, they have been blamed by the authorities for a major coronavirus outbreak, are facing a criminal investigation and have been held accountable on social media for a lockdown in their neighborhood and a ban on religious services nationwide. As India s Covid-19 vaccination drive falters, the countrys Supreme Court has demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modis government explain how it plans to meet its target of inoculating about 900 million adults by the end of the year. Facing vaccine shortages, Canadas immunization advisory body said on Tuesday that people who had received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine could be given either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines as their second dose. Reporting was contributed by Ian Austen , Suhasini Raj , Mujib Mashal , Richard C. Paddock , Chau Doan , Jennifer Jett , Joy Dong , Hisako Ueno David Zucchino and Advertisement Continue reading the main story Some states are falling behind Bidens vaccination goals. The East Baton Rouge Council on Aging held a vaccine event at the Lotus Center in Baton Rouge, La., in March. Credit... Abdul Aziz for The New York Times The United States is roughly on track to meet President Bidens goal of getting every adult at least one shot of a Covid-19 vaccine by July 4 if the current vaccination pace holds. But much of the country has seen a significant slowdown in recent weeks, and the positive national trend hides deeply uneven progress among the states. A handful of states are unlikely to reach 70 percent of their adult residents before the end of the year. You reach a certain rate nationally, which looks excellent and would really suggest that you are in a place to reduce the likelihood of infectious spread, but that can be misleading, said Dr. Marcus Plescia, the chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, which represents state health agencies. You still have these significant pockets and states where the rates of immunity are much lower, he added. So we could have another wave pop up. In many states in the Deep South and Mountain West, vaccinations have leveled off because of limited access and shot hesitancy. Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Wyoming have vaccinated fewer than half of their adult residents, and projections show that they are unlikely to reach much more than half by early July. Travelers returning to the U.K. from Portugal must quarantine starting Tuesday, officials say. Tourists at the Santa Luzia Viewpoint in Lisbon last week. Credit... Ana Brigida for The New York Times Travelers returning to Britain from Portugal and its island territories of Madeira and the Azores will no longer be able to avoid quarantining as of Tuesday, British officials said on Thursday, complicating the plans of people hoping for easy getaways this summer. Last month, Britain had put Portugal and 12 other countries and territories with low coronavirus caseloads on a green list, allowing visitors coming from Britain to avoid a quarantine period upon returning from those locations. Britons fatigued by a miserable winter and a four-month national lockdown had begun flocking to Portugal, because most of the other green-listed places were either not accepting tourists or were not already favored destinations. The process still involved several forms and P.C.R. virus tests, whose costs can total hundreds of dollars. The decision to move the country off the green list was a safety first approach Grant Shapps, Britains transportation secretary, told the BBC on Thursday. Portugal had remained on Britains green list even as the rate of positive coronavirus cases there rose 37 percent over the past two weeks. British fans poured into the city of Porto to see two of Englands top soccer teams, Chelsea and Manchester City, face off in the Champions League final last Saturday. (Chelsea won.) Portugal has seen the spread of the virus variant first identified in India, now known as Delta, Mr. Shapps said in a public statement released on Thursday. Officials did not add any new countries to the green list a decision that also dealt a blow to Spain, particularly for its two tourism-dependent archipelagos, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, which had seen improvement in their virus numbers. British travelers are the largest international contingent of visitors to Spain, accounting for 18 million of the almost 84 million who came to the country in 2019, before the pandemic. The announcements caused disappointment for British visitors who had booked trips already or hoped that wider travel in Europe was on the rebound. It also caused dismay for the travel industry, which has been hit hard by the pandemic. In Portugal, vendors had been excited to welcome back tourists, although some in the country had grumbled about foreign visitors not following local restrictions, which include mask wearing outdoors and a 10:30 p.m. curfew. The move by British officials comes as cases remain generally low in Britain, though officials have been working to contain surges of the Delta variant. Correction : June 4, 2021 An earlier version of this item incorrectly identified the team that competed against Chelsea in the Champions League final in Porto. It was Manchester City, not Manchester United. Isabella Kwai and Italian doctors say that migrants are being left behind. Demonstrators hold a banner reading vaccine common good last month in Rome. Many undocumented migrants and homeless people in Italy have been overlooked in receiving a vaccine a risk not only for them, doctors say, but for the whole country. Credit... Alessandra Tarantino/Associated Press While the Italian government has said that people have a right to get vaccinated no matter their legal status, in practice, many undocumented migrants and homeless people have been overlooked a risk not only for them, doctors say, but for the whole country. The official explanation in many cases is bureaucracy. Most Italian regions require a social security number to book an appointment on their online platforms, but only three of 20 regions in the country accept the temporary numbers given to hundreds of thousands of migrants. And in a nation where immigration is a hot-button issue, some have also been asking whether Italians should remain the priority, at least until more shots are available. The system forgot about these people, said Marco Mazzetti, a doctor and the president of the Italian Society of Migration Medicine, but they are the most fragile. Dr. Mazzetti also points out that migrants are often domestic workers. If we dont control the virus circulation among these people who come inside our homes to help us, Dr. Mazzetti said, we dont control the virus circulation in the country. Constant Meheut and Christopher F. Schuetze contributed reporting. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Fifteen men were charged in connection with the alcohol-poisoning death of a Washington State University student, prosecutors said on Wednesday, after a yearlong police investigation into a fraternity pledging case from 2019. The men were members of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity when the student, a freshman named Samuel Martinez, died in 2019, according to Denis Tracy, the prosecutor for Whitman County. The men, now ages 20 to 23, were each charged with supplying liquor to minors, Mr. Tracy said in a statement. The charges relate to an investigation by the Pullman Police Department into the death of Mr. Martinez, who was 19 when he pledged to join the fraternity. Mr. Martinez died of alcohol poisoning on Nov. 12, 2019, after he took part in a fraternity event, according to the prosecutors office. The family of Mr. Martinez said in a statement: While the charges may lead to some level of accountability, this is not justice. It does not bring us closure. Officials have said that the flooding could exacerbate the spread of the coronavirus and lead to other health problems if residents cant find clean food and water. The destruction of crops, homes and livestock could also lead to economic devastation for some families in the hard-hit regions of the country, one of South Americas poorest. Bordering the Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela, Guyana is home to about 790,000 residents. Forecasts suggest that the heavier-than-normal rainy season which has already been blamed for the severe flooding could continue into July. From the governments side, we recognize this as a disaster because several communities are affected across the country, Mark Phillips, the prime minister, said in a statement on Sunday. In Kwakwani, it is really bad. Narendra Itwaru, a rice farmer in Mora Point, told News Room, a Guyanese news outlet, that he had lost 210 bags of rice as well as a refrigerator, a wardrobe, cupboards and a number of electrical items. Government officials said they had distributed 15,000 bags of food and sanitary supplies and had opened shelters to accommodate families that had been forced from their homes. Five of the eight government shelters were occupied as of Wednesday, officials said. When spooky things appear in the sky, witnesses have often been reluctant to report them for fear of mockery by others, especially in the halls of government. These days, fewer people are laughing. Unidentified flying objects, or unidentified aerial phenomena as the government calls them, have been taken more seriously by U.S. officials in recent years, starting in 2007 with a small, secretly funded program that investigated reports of military encounters. The program, whose existence was first reported by The New York Times in December 2017, was revived by the Defense Department last summer as the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force. The department said the task forces mission was to detect, analyze and catalog sightings of strange objects in the sky that could potentially pose a threat to U.S. national security. Service members were newly encouraged to speak up if they saw something, with the idea being that removing the stigma behind reporting something weird would provide the authorities with a better idea of whats out there. Then, late last year, President Donald J. Trump signed a $2.3 trillion appropriations package that included a provision inserted by lawmakers: They asked the secretary of defense and director of national intelligence to submit an unclassified report on what the government knows about U.F.O.s. An unclassified version of that report is due to be released this month. (Senior administration officials briefed on the reports findings told The Times the report will present few firm conclusions, but that it found no evidence the aerial sightings were alien spacecraft. Read more about that here.) A sudden, sharp rise in coronavirus cases in many parts of Africa could amount to a continental third wave, the World Health Organization warned on Thursday, a portent of deeper trouble for a continent whose immunization drives have been crippled by shortfalls in funding and vaccine doses. The W.H.O., an arm of the United Nations, said test positivity had risen in 14 African countries over the last seven days, with eight reporting a surge of over 30 percent in new cases. Infections are steadily climbing in South Africa, where four of nine provinces are battling a third wave. There has also been a sharp increase in cases in Uganda, with hospitals overwhelmed with Covid patients and the authorities mulling a lockdown. The W.H.O. attributed the rise to loose compliance with social restrictions, and increasing travel along with the arrival of the winter season in southern Africa. Experts also believe the spread of new coronavirus variants like those first identified in Britain, India and South Africa is contributing to the surge and the ensuing rise in deaths. While Africa has reported less than 3 percent of global coronavirus cases, the W.H.O. said the continent accounted for 3.7 percent of total deaths. And that is almost certainly a severe undercount, since in the vast majority of countries on the African continent, most deaths are never formally registered. Zachary Kallenborn, who studies drone warfare, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction at the University of Maryland, said the report suggested that for the first time, a weapons systems with artificial intelligence capability operated autonomously to find and attack humans. Whats clear is this drone was used in the conflict, said Mr. Kallenborn, who wrote about the report in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Whats not clear is whether the drone was allowed to select its target autonomously and whether the drone, while acting autonomously, harmed anyone. The U.N. report heavily implies, but does not state, that it did. But Ulrike Franke, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said that the report does not say how independently the drone acted, how much human oversight or control there was over it, and what specific impact it had in the conflict. Should we talk more about autonomy in weapon systems? Definitely, Ms. Franke said in an email. Does this instance in Libya appear to be a groundbreaking, novel moment in this discussion? Not really. She noted that the report stated the Kargu-2 and other loitering munitions attacked convoys and retreating fighters. Loitering munitions, which are simpler autonomous weapons that are designed to hover on their own in an area before crashing into a target, have been used in several other conflicts, Ms. Franke said. What is not new is the presence of loitering munition, she said. What is also not new is the observation that these systems are quite autonomous. How autonomous is difficult to ascertain and autonomy is ill-defined anyway but we know that several manufacturers of loitering munition claim that their systems can act autonomously. The report indicates that the race to regulate these weapons is being lost, a potentially catastrophic development, said James Dawes, a professor at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., who has written about autonomous weapons. But the former Democratic presidential candidate pushed back against the suggestion that he could turn out to be anything like former President Trump, that other self-obsessed wealthy New York Republican. The following report compiles all significant security incidents confirmed by New York Times reporters throughout Afghanistan for the month. It is necessarily incomplete as many local officials refuse to confirm casualty information. The report includes government claims of insurgent casualty figures, but in most cases these cannot be independently verified by The Times. Similarly, the reports do not include Taliban claims for their attacks on the government unless they can be verified. Both sides routinely inflate casualty totals for their opponents. Analysis in previous reports refers to pro-government forces in order to include casualties for U.S. and coalition forces. Because American and NATO are withdrawing, The Times has stopped using this phrasing. It will continue to identify militias aligned with the security forces as pro-government to differentiate them from independent militias operating in Afghanistan. June 4-10, 2021 At least 263 Afghan security forces and 56 civilians were killed in Afghanistan the past week in a dramatic escalation of attacks by the Taliban against the military and police, as well as civilians around the country. At least 11 districts were captured by the Taliban. The deadliest attack took place in Faryab Province, where 15 police officers, four soldiers and nine pro-government militia members were killed when a Taliban car bomb exploded followed by a complex attack against a police headquarters in Qaisar district. The district police chief was among the victims. The district fell to the Taliban, and 121 security forces were abducted. In Baghlan Province, at least 10 people were killed and 16 others were injured in an armed attack on staff members of HALO Trust, a British-American charity that has been clearing land mines in the country for decades. The Islamic State took responsibility for the attack, which occurred in Baghlan-e-Marzaki district. [Read the Afghan War Casualty Report from previous weeks.] June 10 Badghis Province: six soldiers killed A Humvee was hit by a roadside bomb in Qadis district, killing six soldiers and wounding one more. June 10 Kabul Province: one civilian killed A health worker was shot and killed in Qarabagh district by unknown gunmen while he was traveling from Parwan to Kabul Province. KABUL, Afghanistan The Asadi family was up before dawn Tuesday after a fitful nights sleep. They dressed quickly in new clothes bought the day before and tucked a few precious belongings into two suitcases and two backpacks. Maj. Naiem Asadi was about to make the move of a lifetime one that would separate his family from their loved ones and the only country theyve ever known. As he and his wife, Rahima, zipped their luggage, they worried that unforeseen obstacles would block the path to their final destination. The decorated Afghan Air Force helicopter pilot had been in hiding with his wife and daughter, Zainab, 5, for seven months. The Taliban had threatened his life, posting Major Asadis photo online with the instructions Find him and kill him, he said. On top of being a pilot, he is Hazara, a member of an ethnic minority that has been repeatedly attacked by the Taliban and the Islamic State in Afghanistan. Major Asadi said even air force commanders often discriminated against him because of his ethnicity. LONDON During a contentious meeting over proposed climate regulations last fall, a Saudi diplomat to the obscure but powerful International Maritime Organization switched on his microphone to make an angry complaint: One of his colleagues was revealing the proceedings on Twitter as they happened. It was a breach of the secrecy at the heart of the I.M.O., a clubby United Nations agency on the banks of the Thames that regulates international shipping and is charged with reducing emissions in an industry that burns an oil so thick it might otherwise be turned into asphalt. Shipping produces as much carbon dioxide as all of Americas coal plants combined. Internal documents, recordings and dozens of interviews reveal what has gone on for years behind closed doors: The organization has repeatedly delayed and watered down climate regulations, even as emissions from commercial shipping continue to rise, a trend that threatens to undermine the goals of the 2016 Paris climate accord. One reason for the lack of progress is that the I.M.O. is a regulatory body that is run in concert with the industry it regulates. Shipbuilders, oil companies, miners, chemical manufacturers and others with huge financial stakes in commercial shipping are among the delegates appointed by many member nations. They sometimes even speak on behalf of governments, knowing that public records are sparse, and that even when the organization allows journalists into its meetings, it typically prohibits them from quoting people by name. LONDON The Parliament of Denmark passed a law on Thursday that allows the nation to relocate asylum seekers outside of Europe to have their refugee claims assessed, despite criticism from rights groups and the United Nations. The law is the latest in a series of hard-line immigration measures that have been introduced in the Nordic nation in recent years particularly after the 2015 migration crisis in Europe to discourage asylum seekers. Those moves have been widely criticized by rights groups, and some have warned that the new measure could threaten the internationally established rights of refugees to protection. The law would allow Denmark to move people out of the country to asylum centers in an undetermined partner country for case reviews, and they could possibly remain there as refugees. Denmark has not yet reached an agreement with any country to accept its asylum seekers, but a potential deal could include successful asylum seekers receiving protections in the partner country. The bill, an amendment to Denmarks Aliens Act, passed with wide support from lawmakers, tightens policies already seen as the most stringent in Europe. The law aims to allow in only the number of refugees Denmark has committed to resettle under a United Nations quota system and no more. ROME Every week for the past three months, a 63-year-old homeless immigrant from Croatia has walked to a medical clinic by Romes Termini train station, hoping for news about getting a coronavirus vaccination. And every time, doctors tell him that despite his multiple heart attacks and a raft of underlying health conditions, they are not able to book him for a shot. My heart is so weak that if I get Covid it will take me away for sure, said the man, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Vlado, for fear of repercussions. I am scared. While the Italian government has said that people have a right to get vaccinated no matter their legal status, in practice, many undocumented migrants and homeless people have been overlooked a risk not only for them, doctors say, but for the whole country. The official explanation in many cases is bureaucracy. Most Italian regions require a social security number to book an appointment on their online platforms, but only three of 20 regions in the country accept the temporary numbers given to hundreds of thousands of migrants. JERUSALEM Naftali Bennett, the leader of a hard-right political party, stood before television cameras and pledged never to share power with Yair Lapid, a centrist, and Mansour Abbas, an Islamist. It was March 22, the day before Israels fourth election in two years. Yet late Wednesday night, just 72 days later, there was Mr. Bennett, sitting down beside both Mr. Abbas and Mr. Lapid and signing a deal that, pending a confidence vote in Parliament later this month, would see all three unite in the first government since 2009 that wont be led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Through three consecutive elections between April 2019 and March 2020, Mr. Netanyahu had kept them all at bay. He may have failed to win an overall majority himself, but he clung to power by exacerbating divisions within Israels ideologically diffuse opposition, ensuring that they, too, would fail to build a majority coalition. The question of what changed since a fourth inconclusive election in March and why has several answers, both systemic and circumstantial. Could the next big advancement in women's healthcare be as simple as making sure their voices are heard? A new global womens healthcare company launches commitment to women around the world to listen to health needs. The statistics about womens health needs speak for themselves. And its often not positive news. For instance, globally, more than 1 billion women have a need for family planning, but for 270 million of them, that need is unmet. Therefore, unintended pregnancies remain a significant public health issue.1,2 Today, health disparities still exist, particularly in underrepresented communities.3 At Organon, we believe that the distinction between womens and mens healthcare needs havent always been recognized. Weve already heard from many women who report that they face different healthcare challenges than men, while feeling like their perspectives and concerns havent always been heard. Now, Organon, a new global womens healthcare company, is taking this challenge head on because it believes that listening to women around the world about their healthcare is the first and, perhaps, most important step towards addressing gaps and unmet needs. As part of its commitment to listen to women, the new company is also helping to amplify womens voices. To coincide with the companys official launch, it is providing an online outlet, HereForHerHealth.com, for women to symbolically pass the microphone, bringing together voices from around the world to share their hopes and desires for the future of womens healthcare. Wouldnt it be wonderful if womens voices were heard when it came to their health and even better if their collective concerns translated into a step change in female healthcare? said Edwina Dunn, CEO and Founder of The Female Lead. By focusing on what women are truly worried about, the industry might find a new and vital perspective on what care is most wanted and valued. New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy said, "Most people are shocked to learn that globally, the United States is ranked 55th for maternal deaths and that New Jersey is sadly ranked 47th out of all 50 states in the nation. Welcoming a new baby into the world is such a joyful time, but we need to recognize the risks associated with pregnancy and delivery, especially for our mothers and babies of color. Through our Nurture NJ initiative, we are working hard to transform a system that due to institutional racism and inequity has long failed generations of mothers and their families. Ultimately, we hope to not only create the gold standard of maternal care, but to make New Jersey the safest and most equitable place in the nation to deliver and raise a baby and to share our model with the nation and world." When it comes to womens healthcare, there is no need that is truly too small. Organon believes that women's health needs have the potential to impact families, communities and entire societies. Stephanie Lozano of Panama views womens healthcare through the context of the current global pandemic. One of the most important challenges that we are experiencing today in terms of womens health is maintaining essential services for the care of women in these times that we are living in a pandemic." These voices and others represent why the company is striving to put women at the center of everything it does. Women across the globe are encouraged to take the mic and share their story at HereForHerHealth.com. 1 Kantorova V, Wheldon MC, Ueffing P, Dasgupta ANZ (2020) Estimating progress towards meeting womens contraceptive needs in 185 countries: A Bayesian hierarchical modelling study. PLoS Med 17(2): e1003026. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003026 2 Rodriguez J, Abutouk M, Roque K, Sridhar A. Personalized contraceptive counseling: helping women make the right choice. Open Access J Contracept. 2016;7:89-96. Published 2016 May 11. doi:10.2147/OAJC.S81546 3 Paradies Y. A systematic review of empirical research on self-reported racism and health. Int J Epidemiol. 2006; 35(4):888901. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyl056 Copyright Organon group of companies. All rights reserved. Today A mix of clouds and sun. High around 70F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low near 65F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow Showers early then scattered thunderstorms developing later in the day. High around 75F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. A Thai doctor recently took to Facebook to share photos of a rather unusual patient a cockroach that someone spotted on the side of the road after being stepped on. Last week, Thanu Limpapattanawanich, a veterinarian from Krathum Baen, in Thailand, found himself having to save the life of a very special patient. A person came in one day with an injured cockroach that they had witnessed being accidentally stepped on by someone else. Unable to let the insect die on the side of the road, the person took it in the palm of their hand and brought it to the Sai Rak Animal Hospital. Instead of laughing at the person who brought in the bug, Dr. Limpapattanawanich took the case and treated the cockroach for free. Emergency case last night Someone stepped on a cockroach lying on the side of the road. Just then, a kind man walked past and saw it, so he rushed to take him to the veterinary hospital urgently. Survival chances are now 50/50, the veterinarian wrote. This is not a joke. This indicates compassion and pity towards every creature Every life is precious I wish there were more people like this in the worldKindness supports the world. The kindhearted doctor admitted that this was the first time someone brought in a cockroach, but he rose to the challenge. Unfortunately, there wasnt much he could do other than place the insect in an oxygenated container to increase its chances of survival. I allowed the man to bring the cockroach back to take care of it. No treatment fee was charged at all, Dr. Limpapattanawanich said. No word on whether the cockroach survived or not, but the simple gesture of trying to save it melted the hearts of many on social media and the vets Facebook post went viral. This news reminded me of another heartwarming story we featured a while back, when an Israeli woman accidentally stepped on a snail and took it to a vet clinic to have its cracked shell fixed. Ruth Sarfaty Ruth Sarfaty, who previously led the New York office of Clarity PR, is coming on board at Rally Point Public Relations as managing director, global technology and media. At Clarity, she also served as head of client services for North America. Before joining Clarity, she was New York managing director at Sparkpr and executive VP, head of media strategies at MWWPR. Sarfaty joins the agency as it works to broaden its B2B client base from fintech, digital assets and financial services to include such areas as media, marketing & advertising, thought leadership and crisis leadership. I spent the last decade working with dynamic, high growth companies and look forward to bringing all I know to Rally Point, she said. Rally Point has also brought on Monica Van Horn as managing director, global fintech and crypto/digital assets. Van Horn comes to the agency from Forefront Communications, where she was senior vice president. Before that, she founded fintech marketing and PR boutique Catalyst Communications. That particular Y has become part of urban lore because of Mayor de Blasios habits while hes been in office, Yang said, referencing the gym where the mayor often toiled on the elliptical during his two terms. So we just thought it would be a great way to provide a contrast with politics as usual. AS with 2020, Shakefest like many other events, had to do so online due to ongoing Covid restrictions. Zoom workshops such as Moesha Kays AfroPop, Beluga Theatres Dramanimals! and Mariel Sitkas Golden Age of Bellydance were designed to be shorter and more introductory, to suit a wide audience and age range, as well as providing two fifteen minute pre-recorded abstract Paint Pouring tutorials for kids by Artscapades on the Shakefest Facebook page that can be called upon at any time, including on a rainy day! Shivam Yoga Dublin has always travelled to Charleville Castle each year to conduct complimentary Yoga sessions on the grounds of Charleville Castle as an idyllic location to practice. Shakefest usually hosts an exciting array of international art, dance and musical acts in the Charleville Castle Ballroom on the Saturday of the festival at 7pm each year. The Shakefest Virtual Hafla was again not to be so as a physical event, but the committee decided to create another online video of various performances and art exhibitions to equally entertain. Despite having to swim upstream as an online event during such a newly unrestricted and gorgeous weekend of May 29th and 30th, Shakefest succeeded in keeping their willing participants moving and shaking. The Shakefest Virtual Hafla is still available on the www.shakefest.net homepage, on the Shakefest Youtube Channel and as well as on the Shakefest Facebook page for anyone to continue to view and enjoy. The members of Shakefest would like to thank their Instructors and Performers again this year for sharing the love for their creative mediums online and in order to deliver an equally fantastic quality programme and video show. Shakefest would also like to thank all of their supporters, past and present as well as their fundraiser donors and artists who helped in providing some expense recovery for the celebration of cultural dance, art and music festival during this time. The Committee are very much looking forward to the return to Charleville Castle, Tullamore, Co. Offaly next year for Shakefest 2022, perhaps with the introduction of a few online Zoom activities or Live Streaming as added bonuses to include more international participants from afar so easily lets embrace new opportunities! Shakefest was supported by the Offaly County Council Arts Office. What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 716-372-3121 or email nfinnerty@oleantimesherald.com. From left to right: New York State Sen. Joseph Griffo, state Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon, and state Assemblyman John Salka announce the passage of legislation in the assembly and the senate to assist Vernon Downs. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced he will attend in person the G7 Leaders' Summit from June 11 to 13 and the NATO Summit on June 14 followed by the Canada-European Union Summit in Brussels. Melbourne-born Russell Moore, who has died in Florida, was jailed for life in 1991 for murder. His birth mother spent years campaigning for him to be returned to Australia. Following Bidens meeting with Europes oldest and longest-reigning monarch, the U.S. president will travel to Brussels, Belgium, where he will participate in the NATO summit on June 14 and also meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues. 2008-2021 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. The decision to curb US diplomatic staff and tighten visa procedures comes comes after Washington imposed sanctions against companies in Belarus. The UN is gathering video of state-sponsored violence in Myanmar to use as evidence in future trials. Bleacher Report AOL 03 Jun 2021 A coalition of Israeli political parties announced they had agreed to a deal to form a new government, paving the way for the.. The State has finally shown its cards on how long they want Chauvin to serve. Upworthy 02 Jun 2021 An Indigenous man who is partially paralyzed filed a complaint with St. Michael's Hospital after he says he was kicked out of the ER for swearing and left outside in the cold in a wheelchair he couldn't operate. The move comes amid revelations this week that Denmark helped the US National Security Agency spy on political leaders in Europe, including German Chancellor Merkel. Forthcoming annual public reports from the Department covering 2019 and 2020 will indicate that members of the news media have now been notified in every instance in this period in which their records were sought or obtained in such circumstances, Coley said. The Norwegian government summoned the US embassy over a bombshell report accusing America of having spied on allies with Denmark's assistance. Officials have confirmed the number of children taken by gunmen from a school in northern Nigeria. The state government is in contact with the kidnappers. Farmers in the Riverina region of New South Wales are celebrating a bumper rice harvest. But a mouse plague is raising fears about the regions long-awaited revival. Pennsylvania Republicans visiting the ongoing audit in Arizona of ballots from the 2020 election are calling for their state to hold a similar review. "Forty-seven percent of the people in this country don't have faith... Hong Kongers are seeking innovative ways to commemorate the victims of Chinas deadly Tiananmen Square crackdown after authorities banned an annual vigil and vowed to stamp out any protests come Fridays anniversary. Discussion of tanks and troops quelling peaceful democracy protesters in Beijing on June 4, 1989 is all but forbidden in the mainland and [] France said Thursday it will suspend joint military operations with Malian forces after the countrys second coup in nine months, awaiting guarantees that civilians will return to positions of power. The decision comes after Malis military strongman Assimi Goita, who led last years coup, ousted the country civilian transitional president and prime minister last week [] Education Secretary Gavin Williamson is under pressure to resign after the schools catch-up tsar quit with a stinging condemnation of the Governments 1.4 billion education recovery fund. Travellers to Portugal must self-isolate for 10 days on their return to NI from 04:00 BST on Tuesday. A central Florida sheriff says his deputies did everything they could to de-escalate after a 14-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy broke into a home, found weapons and repeatedly fired at officers. (June 2) For nearly a year, I have been clear that Postmaster General DeJoy would not be in his job if he worked for any other company, Maloney said. If these allegations are true and Postmaster General DeJoy violated campaign finance laws, he must resign immediately. Nets hats outside of Barclays before the game. It was Tuesday, day transitioning into night, a time for prophecy. I think its over, Almonte said. I think we wrap it up tonight." [ more ] Here's the latest for Thursday June 3rd: Israeli politicians form coalition to take on Netanyahu; New York City Democratic candidates for mayor debate; 3 police officers shot in Delaware; Cyberattack slows Massachusetts ferry service. A California high school is facing criticism after publishing a spread in its student yearbook that appears to bash former President Trump while praising President Biden. More than 400 troops were forced to jump for their lives on Wednesday when an Iranian warship burst into flames and sank to the bottom of the Gulf of Oman. Hours later a massive fire broke out after an explosion at the oil refinery serving Tehran, sending thick plumes of black smoke over the Iranian capital. Authorities at... The Next Web 03 Jun 2021 NASA is returning to Venus for the first time in over 30 years to study how Earths sister planet became uninhabitable. The space.. KTXL 18 May 2021 When Olivia Millentree refused to change out of a crop top she wore to school, she found herself in handcuffs, accused of.. For years, China has quashed any discussion on the mainland of its bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, nearly erasing what happened from the collective consciousness. Now it may be Hong... It feels wrong to talk about anything but what is currently affecting me and millions of other women in this state, Paxton.. Upworthy 03 Jun 2021 (The Center Square) Republicans in the New York Senate on Tuesday announced a series of bills that counter proposals offered by Democrats in Albany to reform the states parole system. In a news conference to highlight the package, senators in the chambers minority party called Democrats plans would endanger more New Yorkers and usurp a criminal justice system that put dangerous criminals away for long sentences. The Republicans said previous laws passed by the Legislature, such as the 2019 bail reform measure that ended cash bail for several misdemeanor and nonviolent felony charges, have already hurt the state. You always hear, weve got to lead the nation, be the most progressive, Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, told reporters. I dont think its good when youre leading the nation in out-migration. When youre leading the nation in crime, leading the nation on these kinds of policies. Ortt said the slate of eight GOP-backed bills are common sense measures meant to ensure victims, their families and communities would be protected and heard. Among the measures unveiled Tuesday was Senate Bill S2046, a bill sponsored by state Sen. Jim Tedisco, R-Glenville. It would require the video recording of all victim impact statements and mandate that parole board members review relevant statements before a hearing. Senate Bill S6249, a proposal by state Sen. Daphne Jordan, R-Halfmoon, would require parole boards to unanimously agree before granting an inmate parole. State Sen. Anthony Palumbo, R-New Suffolk, filed Senate Bill S5175, which seeks to extend the reconsideration period for parole from every two years to every five years. Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Contribute Republicans said, citing data from the Police Benevolent Association of New York, the parole board has granted a release to at least 20 individuals who killed a police officer. We need top-to-bottom reform of New Yorks broken Parole Board that will tip the scales of justice back in favor of the victims, law enforcement and society, Jordan said. A Democratic bill Ortt and his caucus focused on during the news conference was one sponsored by state Sen. Brad Hoylman, D-Manhattan. Senate Bill S2144 would require the Parole Board to review all inmates age 55 or older who have served at least 15 years in prison. Republicans said if that bill passes, it could lead to the release of notorious criminals like David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam killer, and Mark David Chapman, who murdered John Lennon. Hoylmans bill, though, states the board does not have to automatically release everyone at age 55. It just allows the state to make a determination if the inmate should be released. Hoylman, in his bill memo, noted that the states prison population thats age 50 and older has increased by 81 percent over the last two decades. That is forcing prison officials to spend more resources on providing geriatric care as well as treatment for inmates afflicted with diabetes, heart disease and other long-term health issues. In an op-ed piece last month for amNY, he wrote that the national recidivism rate the rate that people return to prison is only 2 percent for people older than 50. They keep people languishing in jail cells for decades after theyve been rehabilitated, he wrote. On top of that, continuing to incarcerate rehabilitated elders and cover their medical costs exhausts resources that could actually help us address harm and violence in our communities. After the hearing, Hartins attorney, Godfrey Smith said that the judge had voiced his disapproval of the kind of media publicity that the case has garnered and that the judge said he has no intention of contributing to that. Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: TA Associates closed two funds, both at their hard caps, after six months of fundraising: the $12.5 billion TA XIV and $1.5 billion TA Select Opportunities Fund II. The Boston private equity firm said in a press release that TA XIV was launched in January 2021 and quickly became significantly oversubscribed, with demand exceeding its original $10.5 billion target. The sum raised is about 47% larger than a predecessor fund, which closed two years ago at $8.5 billion. TA XIV will aim to invest $100 million to $600 million per company. TA Select Opportunities Fund II will invest in TA portfolio companies that the TA Associates executives believe offer significant growth prospects. TA focuses on technology, health care, financial services, consumer, and business services. Brian Conway, Chairman of TA. "Many of TA's investors have been our partners for decades, and we are extraordinarily grateful for their long-term support. We are pleased to have earned our investors' continued commitment to TA's unique approach to growth private equity. The entire TA team is energized by the opportunity, and deeply respectful of the responsibility to invest and work for our limited partners." Investors in TA XIV include Washington State Investment Board, Olympia; Ohio State Teachers Retirement System, Columbus; Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund, Tigard; Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association, Pasadena; Tennessee Consolidated Retireme...................... To view our full article Click here Bangkok, Thailand (June 2, 2021) - Jonathan Wigley, CEO of the Absolute Hotel Services (AHS) Group, has announced new expansion plans, with the launch of the Eastin Estates brand, a luxury long-stay residential brand in the assisted living segment. Eastin Estates provides a residential community experience to meet the growing needs of the active senior market, with services and facilities for residents that encourage health and social connections. AHS Group UK Change the Change, a startup company helping ageing women cope with the effects of menopause, will launch its 6-week online course that talks about everything a woman should learn and do during menopause. The target release date is June 8, and those who will sign up will get the chance to chat with the companys owners Andie, Carol, Fran, and Karen. Change the Change is an online startup offering education Menphys, a charity supporting Children and Young People with Disabilities across Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland has been honoured with The Queens Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK. For over 50 years, Menphys has been providing a range of holistic, impartial, and specialist services to families, funded through our own resources and in partnership with statutory authorities and other voluntary sector groups. Jennifer, FILE - In this Wednesday, March 31, 2021 file photo, Cole Smith receives a Moderna variant vaccine shot from clinical research nurse Tigisty Girmay at Emory University's Hope Clinic in Decatur, Ga. As of June 2021, scientists have found clues that the worlds leading COVID-19 vaccines offer lasting protection that could diminish the need for frequent booster shots, but they caution that more research is needed and that virus mutations are still a wild card. AGENCY [mdash]MaryAnn Wanner, 75, of Agency, died at 4:45 a.m. June 9, 2021 at Ridgewood Specialty Care. She was born February 18, 1946 in Lake City, IA to Lubbert and Erma DeVries. She married Martin Joseph Wanner and he preceded her in death on March 18, 2021. MaryAnn had worked as a beaut WASHINGTON (AP) The Trump Justice Department secretly obtained the phone records of four New York Times reporters as part of a leak investigation, the newspaper reported Wednesday. It is the third instance over the last month in which a news media organization has disclosed that federal authorities seized the records of its journalists in an effort to identify sources for national security stories published during President Donald Trump's administration. President Joe Biden has said he would not allow the Justice Department to continue the practice of obtaining reporters' records, calling it simply, simply wrong. Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said the department notified the four reporters on Wednesday that it had obtained their phone toll records last year and that it had sought to obtain non-content email records as part of a criminal investigation into the unauthorized disclosure of classified information. The newspaper said the records that were seized covered a nearly four-month period in 2017 and belonged to reporters Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eric Lichtblau and Michael S. Schmidt. Lichtblau has since left the newspaper. The journalists are neither the subjects nor the targets of the investigation, Coley said. Forthcoming annual public reports from the Department covering 2019 and 2020 will indicate that members of the news media have now been notified in every instance in this period in which their records were sought or obtained in such circumstances, Coley said. The Justice Department did not disclose which article it was investigating, according to the newspaper. But the period covered by the phone record seizure encompasses an April 2017 story from the four journalists that described the decision-making of then-FBI Director James Comey during the conclusion of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, and that referenced a classified document obtained by Russian hackers. Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The Times, said in a statement published by the newspaper that seizing reporters' phone records "profoundly undermines press freedom. It threatens to silence the sources we depend on to provide the public with essential information about what the government is doing, Baquet said. The Washington Post disclosed last month that the Justice Department had last year obtained phone records belonging to three of its journalists who covered the investigation into 2016 Russian election interference. CNN later revealed that the department had seized phone records of its Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. After those disclosures, Biden told a reporter he would not allow the Justice Department to persist in obtaining reporter phone records. That would mark a break from Democratic and Republican predecessors alike, whose administrations have seized reporter call logs in an effort to identify sources of classified information. The Justice Department under former Attorney General Eric Holder announced revised guidelines for leak investigations, requiring additional levels of review before a journalist could be subpoenaed though it did not end the practice. Jeff Sessions, who served as Trump's first attorney general, announced in 2017 an aggressive government crackdown on leaks. _____ Follow Eric Tucker on http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP Creative 360 is hosting its first annual ArtSpeaks Spoken Word Festival competition this Saturday and Sunday, June 5-6, at its outdoor pavilion at 1517 Bayliss St. in Midland. The event features the written work of 23 Michigan poets and playwrights. ArtSpeaks is a celebration of creativity both the writing process and the performance, remarked Laura Brigham, creator and organizer of the event. We are truly excited to be able to share these original works with our community. Submission categories included poetry, 10 minute plays, one act plays and full length plays. Submissions were read by group of highly qualified jurists who determined the award winning pieces. Laura worked hard to ensure that we had top notch experts to judge these works, stated Director Laura Vosejpka in a news release. In addition, she was able to engage a number of excellent directors and actors for the performances. It is really going to be a high level event. Jurists for the poetry submissions are Grace Carras, a spoken word poet from Michigan and a cofounder of The Poetry Room reading series in Lansing; Larry Levy, author of three published collections of poetry; and Donny Winter, author of Carbon Footprint, a full length collection that debuted at #1 on Amazons LGBTQ+ Poetry List. Jurists for the plays are Erich Goldstein, an actor, produce , stage manager and playwright whose most recent play, FU Aristotle, was produced in a socially distant fashion in July 2020; Scott C. Sickles, five time Writers Guild of America Award winner, eight time Emmy nominee and head writer for PRIDE: The Series (Season 3); John Tanner, a retired local educator and playwright who has worked with many local community theater groups; and Catherine Zudak, who has produced an annual new play festival in Ann Arbor for over ten years and whose one-act play, Mortal Fools, was featured in Theater Novas Play of the Month Series via Zoom. The idea for the festival came from Brigham, who was looking for a way to engage the theater community during a time when live theater was on hiatus due to the pandemic. She decided then that the Midland Art Festival weekend needed some performance art in the mix. Creative 360 is partnering with the Midland Center for the Arts Summer Art Fair, the Art Seen Mural Festival, and Mural Blast for this big public arts festival. There are so many opportunities to participate in the visual arts, why not offer live theater as well? said Brigham. You can do both at Creative 360 this weekend, you can come and paint our community mural wall and attend some really fantastic live theater performances. Because the Art Speaks Festival is part of the public art festival weekend, there is no charge for admission to any of the events. The schedule for the festival is as follows: on Saturday, the one act plays start at 2 p.m., the awards ceremony and poetry readings are at 6 p.m., and the winning full length play will be performed starting at 7 p.m. On Sunday, the 10-minute plays will begin at 2 p.m. Sponsors for the Art Speaks event are Staples, Live Oak Coffeehouse and Leopard Print Books, Gifts and Curiosities. Support for the Community Mural Project comes from the Midland Area Community Foundation and PPG Paints. Guests are invited to bring their own lawn chairs or blankets or they can use the ones on the Creative 360 site. Those interested in painting the community mural can do so Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. For more information, call Creative 360 at 989-837-1885. Photo provided Local farmer Melvin Garrett recently directed a $2,500 Bayer Fund Americas Farmers Grow Communities donation to the Bullock Creek High School. They will use the funds towards the high school's band. The Americas Farmers Grow Communities program, sponsored by Bayer Fund, partners with farmers to provide grants to local nonprofits to help their communities. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) Danish lawmakers voted Thursday in favor of Denmark establishing a refugee reception center in a third country that is likely to be in Africa, a move that could be a first step toward moving the country's asylum screening process outside of Europe. Legislation approved on a 70-24 vote with no abstentions and 85 lawmakers absent authorizes the Danish government to, when a deal in in place, transfer asylum-seekers "to the third country in question for the purpose of substantive processing of asylum applications and any subsequent protection in compliance with Denmarks international obligations. The United Nations high commissioner for refugees, the European Union and and several international organizations have criticized the plan, saying it would undermine international cooperation and lacks details on how human rights would be protected. Immigration Minister Mattias Tesfaye has said the Danish government needed a legal framework for a new asylum system before details could be presented. The center-right opposition has been backing the Social Democratic minority government and voted in favor of the law approved Thursday. This is insane, this is absurd, Michala C. Bendixen, a spokesperson for advocacy and legal aid organization Refugees Welcome, told The Associated Press. What its all about is that Denmark wants to get rid of refugees. The plan is to scare people away from seeking asylum in Denmark. The European Union's executive commission expressed concern about the vote and its implications, saying that any move to outsource asylum claims is not compatible with the laws of the 27-nation bloc. Denmark is an EU member. External processing of asylum claims raises fundamental questions about both the access to asylum procedures and effective access to protection. It is not possible under existing EU rules, European Commission spokesperson Adalbert Jahnz said. He said such an approach was not part of the commissions proposals for reforming the EU's asylum system, which was overwhelmed by the arrival into Europe of more than 1 million people in 2015, many of them from Syria. The Social Democrats have for a few years floated the idea of basing a refugee refugee center abroad. In January, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen reiterated an election campaign vision of having zero asylum-seekers. The Social Democrats argue their approach would prevent people from attempting the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe and undermine migrant traffickers who exploit desperate asylum-seekers. Since 2014, more than 20,000 migrants and refugees have died while trying to cross the sea. When people realize they will be sent out of Europe, they will stop going to Denmark, and that will mean that they will stop putting themselves in a dangerous situation on the Mediterranean Sea and they will stop wasting a lot of money paying like they pay to these smugglers, Rasmus Stoklund, a Social Democratic lawmaker and member of Parliaments Immigration and Integration Committee, told The Associated Press. Bendixen of Refugees Welcome said the government's argument is nonsense because asylum-seekers still would have to get to Denmark. Under the government's plan, they would not be able to apply directly at a reception center outside the country since that only can be done at a Danish border. Instead, those who reach Denmark would be sent to a third country while their applications are processed. In April, the Danish government said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Rwanda. The government has kept a low profile with the memorandum, which is not legally binding and sets the framework for future negotiations and cooperation between the two countries. Danish daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten reported that Denmark also has been in dialogue with Tunisia, Ethiopia and Egypt. Tesfaye has promised lawmakers that any agreement with another country will be presented to parliament before the government can "adopt a model or send someone to a reception center, legislator Mads Fuglede of the opposition Liberal Party told Jyllands-Posten. The immigration stance of the Social Democratic government resembles the positions that right-wing nationalists took when mass migration to Europe peaked in 2015. Denmark recently made headlines for declaring parts of Syria safe and revoking the residency permits of some Syrian refugees. In 2016, the Social Democrats supported a law that allowed Danish authorities to seize jewelry and other assets from refugees to help finance their housing and other services. Human rights groups denounced the law, proposed by the center-right government leading Denmark at the time, though in practice it has been implemented only a handful of times. The Social Democrats also voted to put rejected asylum-seekers and foreigners convicted of crimes on a tiny island that formerly housed facilities for researching contagious animal diseases. That plan was eventually dropped. ___ David Keyton in Stockholm contributed to this report. ___ Follow APs global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration President has talks with Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Dominican Republic leaders China and Kazakhstan should foster new growth engines in bilateral cooperation in fields such as green energy, artificial intelligence, e-commerce and digital finance to jointly promote the high-quality building of the Belt and Road, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday. Xi made the remark in a phone conversation with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. He also spoke on the phone on Wednesday with Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, and Luis Abinader, the president of the Dominican Republic. The friendship between China and Kazakhstan, as permanent comprehensive strategic partners, is built on a deep foundation and powered with strong impetus, Xi said. In promoting the high-quality building of the Belt and Road, Xi said the two sides should scale up cooperation in production capacity, trade, agriculture and infrastructure and keep improving their level of connectivity. The two nations should jointly build a green Silk Road, a health Silk Road and a digital Silk Road, adding that Beijing is willing to deepen cooperation in areas such as telemedicine and traditional medicine, he said. China will continue to offer help and support to Kazakhstan in its fight against COVID-19, and the two sides should work more closely in law enforcement, security and defense affairs to jointly safeguard regional peace and security, he said. Tokayev hailed China's historic achievements under Xi's leadership, saying that the COVID-19 pandemic has further exemplified the importance and necessity of China's proposal to build a community with a shared future for mankind. The two nations are genuine permanent comprehensive strategic partners, and Kazakhstan would never do anything that harms China's interests under any circumstances, he said. In his talks with Aliyev, Xi said China and Azerbaijan have supported each other in the face of the raging pandemic, which truly embodies their friendship. The two sides should amplify their traditional friendship, deepen win-win cooperation, enhance mutual support and use the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties next year to work toward greater progress in bilateral relations and more benefits for the two peoples, he said. China sees Azerbaijan as an important partner in the joint building of the Belt and Road, and the two sides should share opportunities, jointly plan development and ensure the sound planning and progress of Belt and Road cooperation, he said. China will import more high-quality produce from Azerbaijan and support more of its businesses to invest and start new businesses in the nation, Xi said. He highlighted the need for the two nations to step up cooperation in international transportation and logistics, promote the building of a Eurasian transportation corridor and improve regional connectivity, adding that China will continue to offer aid to help the nation fight COVID-19. Aliyev said Azerbaijan welcomes investment by more Chinese businesses, and the nation stands ready to step up communication and cooperation with China on regional affairs. China is a true partner of Azerbaijan, and the nation has supported China's position, and will continue to do so, on issues regarding Taiwan, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. While speaking with Abinader, Xi said China highly appreciates the Dominican Republic's firm adherence to the one-China policy and its regarding ties with China as a priority in its foreign relations. China will continue to do its best to help the Dominican Republic fight the pandemic and is willing to make joint efforts to bring bilateral relations to a higher level, he said. Abinader expressed sincere appreciation for China sending medical supplies and vaccines to the Dominican Republic to assist its fight against COVID-19, saying that the nation firmly adheres to the one-China policy and would like to expand bilateral cooperation in trade and economics. It was not clear when the racist practice ended, but the Guardian also learned that the queen and her household are exempt from laws preventing race and sex discrimination. The palace secured that exemption in the 1970s using an arcane parliamentary mechanism known as crown consent, which allows the royal family to secretly influence how British laws affect them, according to the report. LANSING, Mich. (AP) Senate Republicans voted Wednesday to require the lieutenant governor to make a good-faith effort to notify legislative leaders when the governor has left Michigan and he or she has assumed gubernatorial powers and duties. The legislation, which appears destined for a veto from Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer if it advances, goes to the GOP-led House for consideration. Under the state constitution, the governor temporarily relinquishes power when departing the state. The bill would force the governor to inform the lieutenant governor, or whoever is next in the line of succession, before leaving and when returning. That official would then have to try to give written notice to legislative leaders within 12 hours of taking over and include the governor's expected length of absence. The sponsor, Republican Sen. Tom Barrett of Charlotte, said lawmakers should know who is acting as governor, particularly because he or she can declare emergencies. I don't think that's too much to ask," he said. If we don't know who that is, we're not able to react as quickly. Legislators do not want to know the governors specific out-of-state location, Barrett said. Democrats voted against the measure, which was introduced and passed after Whitmer's March flight to see her ailing father in Florida. One called it silly. Another said Republicans had no concern about being alerted when former Gov. Rick Snyder traveled outside the state. I didn't hear a peep out of anybody here, said Sen. Erika Geiss, of Taylor. The governor's office accused GOP lawmakers of wasting time taking political potshots and said they could be allocating federal COVID-19 funding. Budget negotiations are ongoing. It would behoove the Legislature to read the Michigan Constitution, which clearly outlines a process to ensure that there is always an acting governor available to continue the functions of the state in case of an emergency, spokesman Bobby Leddy said. ___ Follow David Eggert at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00 As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposes further closing the funding gap among school districts throughout Michigan, Midland Public Schools Superintendent Michael Sharrow advocates also equalizing the funding to districts for helping at-risk students. Whitmer wants the state to capitalize on its rare surplus of funding for the next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1, by reducing the gap between the highest-funded and lowest-funded districts to $336 per pupil. (The gap is currently $418 per pupil.) But Sharrow noted the state funding allocated to Midland Public Schools for students who are considered at-risk is only 33% of what some other districts receive. "If you've got extra money to (close the funding gap), why wouldnt you make the at-risk funding equal?" Sharrow said. "The argument (from the state) has always been, 'When theres a surplus, we'll catch you up.' Well, there's a surplus, time to catch us up.'" Part of Whitmer's specific proposal is to allocate $203 million to increase base per-pupil funding to $8,275 for districts at the minimum funding level ($164 per-pupil increase) and to $8,611 for districts at the maximum funding level ($82 per-pupil increase), reducing the gap between the highest and lowest funded districts to $336 per pupil. "I like (seeing) more money going into education," Sharrow said. "But theres 31 districts like ourselves (that get lower funding for at-risk students). They're catching up the other districts (on base per-pupil funding), but not catching us up on the at-risk funding. So it seems a bit unfair." The next fiscal year for MPS begins on July 1, so the board of education will have to approve the 2021-22 budget at its Monday, June 21 meeting. "The Senate and House sent their budget proposals to committees and theyll come out soon with their proposals," Sharrow said. "They claim they may get us (a proposed budget) before the end of (June). But that hasn't happened the last two years. Well adopt a budget probably guessing what the legislature and governor will say." State Sen. Jim Stamas, R-Midland, said following the annual consensus revenue estimating conference on May 21 that the surplus funding must be used "wisely and effectively." We will have an historic amount of funding available this year, and along with that comes a responsibility to Michigan families to use that money in a fiscally responsible manner," Stamas said. As we continue the process of finalizing a balanced budget on time and using federal relief funds this year, we must wisely and effectively use this once-in-a-lifetime funding for purposeful and lasting projects that improve our state for every Michigan family." He was not available for comment for this article. What schools will look like in the fall Meanwhile, in terms of what learning will look like next fall, Sharrow hopes it will look "as normal as possible" as COVID-19 case numbers continue to decrease and more people get vaccinated. "As the (public health) picture gets clearer, we hope to move to as normal as possible," he said. "We are hoping to go to school (in the fall) with no masks, no temperatures, and no desk shields." But some other health-related measures implemented in response to COVID will likely stay in place, Sharrow said. "I imagine fogging machines (for buses) and air filtration will continue," he said. Aside from the health protocols, Sharrow expects that students in grades K-8 will all be back to in-person instruction, with possibly a few exceptions. Virtual learning options for grades 9-12 have been in place since well before the pandemic and will continue. "We surveyed every parent who has a child presently in remote learning. The interest (in continuing remote learning) was very, very low low enough that weve been able to call and talk to each one of those parents," Sharrow said. "For those few exceptions, well work with them on that. But our normal operations, where students go to school to learn, will be back in place at this time." Remediation in summer and beyond Sharrow said the upcoming extensive summer school programs are just the start of remediation available for students who have fallen behind during the pandemic. "It's probably a couple-year process to make up for what learning has not occurred," he said. " ... Well analyze our data and continue to offer interventions (during the school year). Those will be particularly targeted at middle school and elementary school students that have had missed learning opportunities." JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) A Utah man was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison in the beating death of his wife on an Alaska cruise in 2017, with a federal judge describing the crime as violent and brutal. Prosecutors had sought life in prison for Kenneth Manzanares, who pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Kristy Manzanares. His attorneys requested 7 1/2 years. Kenneth Manzanares looked back briefly, toward where two of his daughters sat in the courtroom, before being led out after U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Burgess announced his decision. Manzanares' attorneys, in a court filing, said he had brain abnormalities that a defense expert deemed consistent with injuries caused by playing contact sports. This, combined with what was at the time an undiagnosed bipolar disorder and a problematic combination of prescribed medication and alcohol resulted in an aberrant episode of violence, the filing states. But Burgess said there was competing evidence offered about Manzanares' culpability and that experts had failed to show what factors led to the crime. Prosecutors had disputed the defenses medical claims and in court documents described Manzanares actions as intentional, triggered by his wife telling him she wanted him to leave the cruise ship and that she wanted a divorce. Prosecutors said Kristy Manzanares told her husband that she wanted a divorce during an argument about his behavior on the night of her death. Prosecutors said Kenneth Manzanares had issues with anger and that he had acknowledged restraining his wife in the past and punching holes in walls. Defense attorneys said the couple had a long and happy marriage, and Jamie McGrady, a federal public defender representing Manzanares, accused prosecutors of selectively parsing details from statements Manzanares made to try to paint him as someone who was abusive. Burgess said Kristy Manzanares life was viciously ended by her husband, in an attack partly witnessed by two of the couples children. Kristy Manzanares brothers and father, who also were on the cruise, responded to and witnessed the scene afterward, according to prosecution documents. The plea agreement Manzanares signed allows for an appeal of the reasonableness of the sentence. McGrady told The Associated Press an appeal would be filed. She called the sentence a tragedy and said the judge ignored scientific evidence. Manzanares attorneys, in a court filing last month, asked Burgess to consider the wishes of the Manzanares children, who they said hold their father responsible but also understand that his impairments played a major factor in the events that occurred, and they have already lost one parent. Two daughters who gave statements during the emotional first day of the sentencing hearing on Wednesday spoke about their father but did not speak to a specific sentence. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Schmidt said Manzanares was held accountable. While it wasnt the sentence prosecutors sought, hopefully the healing process can begin for the family, he said. A statement released by Kristy Manzanares' family said the ruling brings us neither joy nor anger. Rather, simply a sense of resolution. We believe that the court made a fair and just determination. However, the legal system does not and is not intended to fill the emotional void of our loss. While this marks the end of another chapter of this unimaginable ordeal, the fact is that Kristys three girls are still without both of their parents, and our focus now is to support them as best we can, the statement says. Paducah, KY (42003) Today Sunny along with a few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 90F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A mostly clear sky. Low near 65F. Winds light and variable. Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - The European Union funded project 'Support the public health and socioeconomic systems to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in The Gambi', on Thursday received two fully- equipped ambulances and other vehicles LISBON, Portugal (AP) Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is putting on the biggest show of his career, and he is doing it in a place hes fallen in love with: Portugal. The world-renowned visual artists new exhibition, Rapture, opens in the Portuguese capital Lisbon on Friday. Ai arrived in Portugal almost two years ago and says he has no plans to return to Germany or England, where he has also lived since leaving China in 2015. I have a great feeling about Portugal, the artist said Thursday. This is a place Im staying. Ais show in Sao Paulo in 2018 covered twice the area of the Lisbon exhibit but had fewer works on display. Rapture is being presented in a long, low, riverside building that housed Portugals national rope factory starting in the 18th century and now hosts temporary art exhibitions. Ais show runs until Nov. 28. The 85 pieces include some of Ais iconic works, as well as new ones produced exclusively in Portugal. Forever Bicycles, from 2015, a giant sculpture using 960 stainless steel bicycles as building blocks, stands at the entrance to the building. Ai's 16-meter-long (52-foot-long) black inflatable boat with human figures, which alludes to the migration crisis, is also in Lisbon, as are some other of his well-known installations, sculptures, videos and photographs. Please log in to keep reading. {{featured_button_text}} Enjoy unlimited articles at one of our lowest prices ever. Ai notes, however, that most of the works have never met each other and are appearing in the same place for the first time. Ai was arrested at Beijings airport in April 2011 and held for 81 days without explanation during a wider crackdown on dissent. He moved to Europe after Chinese authorities returned his passport. He has traveled across Portugal visiting craftspeople and manufacturers who use traditional Portuguese methods and materials such as marble, textiles, hand-painted tiles and cork. His experimentation has yielded a self-portrait sculpture in cork, a cut-out world map in fabric that stands about 1.5 meters (5 feet) high, a 40-meter-long (130-feet-long) rug, and a marble cylinder almost 2 meters (6.5 feet) high. Marcello Dantas, the shows Brazilian curator, says that Ai arrived in Portugal for the first time in 2019 on a flight that landed at 8 a.m. By lunchtime, he had bought a house near the farming town of Montemor-o-Novo, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Lisbon I always make decisions by my personal instinct, Ai said. I feel comfortable here. The artist ticks off what appeals to him about the country: the relatively slow pace of life, the very open people, the very acceptable food and the abundant sunshine. Ai says the limits on movement during the COVID-19 pandemic furnished him with a most productive time. Over the past year or so, he made three feature-length films in addition to art pieces. He has a book coming out later this year and another exhibition planned for this summer in the northern Portuguese city of Porto. Remaining in Portugal was probably the best decision I ever made, he says. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 It was a tough call for our family, Surabhis uncle Ajab Singh told News 18. One daughter lay dead in one room and the wedding of another daughter was being solemnized in the other room. We have never witnessed such mixed emotions. The grief over her death and the happiness of the wedding has yet to sink in. NORMAL Illinois State University and Heartland Community College officials are pleased to have level higher education funding from the state for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The budget approved by the General Assembly in the wee hours Tuesday appropriates $69.6 million in general operating funds for ISU, the same as the current fiscal year. Were certainly grateful, ISU spokesman Eric Jome said Thursday. Thats what we were expecting. Thats what the governor had in his budget. About 14.4% of ISUs operating budget revenue comes from state appropriations. Tuition and fees account for 46% of operating funds. Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to sign the budget. Having a budget in place before the start of the fiscal year provides a level of certainty, said Jome. A budget impasse in Springfield resulted in the state not having a complete budget in fiscal years 2016 and 2017 and portions of 2018. The budget includes about $478 million overall for community colleges, but Heartland Community College does not yet know what its individual appropriation will be. The current years state appropriation is just over $3 million. Although we are awaiting the final district allocation amounts, we appreciate the governors ongoing commitment to higher education and, in particular, community colleges, said Heartland spokesman Steve Fast. Please log in to keep reading. {{featured_button_text}} Enjoy unlimited articles at one of our lowest prices ever. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} A flat budget sustains existing state support, yet that support provides less than 10% of Heartland Community College funding. Under the original funding parameters of community colleges, the states contribution was to be one-third of funding, said Fast. Tuition and fees account for nearly 44% of revenue for Heartlands operating fund. He said money from the Governors Emergency Education Relief Fund has been vital for our students as we have provided more resources to overcome the challenges presented by COVID-19. The budget also includes an increase of an increase of about 6% to funding for the Monetary Award Program, a needs-based financial aid grant, and flat funding for the AIM HIGH program, the Aspirational Institutional Match Helping Illinois Grow Higher Education program aimed at encouraging high-achieving Illinois students to attend an in-state university. The budget calls for $479.6 million in MAP funding, up from $451.3 and holds AIM HIGH funding at $35 million. Jome said ISU is very happy to see continued support for MAP funding and AIM HIGH. They are both very important financial aid packages that a number of our students take advantage of. Fast said, The overall increase in MAP grant funding will help keep up with demand, but this is only an incremental step in the right direction. Community college officials have been calling for changes in the MAP program for years. Community college students tend to apply later than those going to four-year institutions and sometimes the money has fun out by the time they apply. MAP eligibility rules require students to be enrolled in a degree or certificate program. Current MAP eligibility leaves out many students seeking workforce training, explained Fast. As Illinoisans face the financial recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, we urge the usage of MAP funding for, and set aside funds to support, short-term community college certificate and training programs of less than 16 credit hours focused on workforce development and readiness efforts, he said. Contact Lenore Sobota at (309) 820-3240. Follow her on Twitter: @Pg_Sobota Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. HUDSON, Ohio (AP) Organizers of a Memorial Day ceremony turned off a speaker's microphone when the former U.S. Army officer began talking about how freed Black slaves had honored fallen soldiers soon after the Civil War. Retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter said he included the story in his speech because he wanted to share the history of how Memorial Day originated. But organizers of the ceremony in Hudson, Ohio, said that part of the speech was not relevant to the program's theme of honoring the city's veterans. Kemter's speech starts at the 47-minute mark of the following video: Please log in to keep reading. {{featured_button_text}} Enjoy unlimited articles at one of our lowest prices ever. Cindy Suchan, chair of the Memorial Day parade committee and president of the Hudson American Legion Auxiliary, said it was either her or Jim Garrison, adjutant of the American Legion Post 464, who turned down the audio, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. The Ohio American Legion said Wednesday that it was investigating. "The American Legion deplores racism and reveres the Constitution," the organization's national commander, James W. "Bill" Oxford, said in a statement. "We salute LTC Kemter's service and his moving remarks about the history of Memorial Day and the important role played by Black Americans in honoring our fallen heroes. We regret any actions taken that detracts from this important message." In the days before the ceremony, Suchan said she reviewed the speech and asked Kemter to remove certain portions. Kemter said he didn't see the suggested changes in time to rewrite the speech and talked with a Hudson public official who told him not to change it. Kemter said he was disappointed that the organizers silenced two minutes of his 11-minute speech, during which he talked about how former slaves and freed Black men exhumed the remains of more than 200 Union soldiers from a mass grave in Charleston, South Carolina, and gave them a proper burial. "This is not the same country I fought for," said Kemter, who spent 30 years in the Army and served in the Persian Gulf War. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions Abossey Okai Spare Parts dealers have clarified that the intended relocation of their centre was as a result of a demand made by the association to government. Plans are underway for the relocation of all spare parts dealers from Abossey Okai in Accra to Afienya. According to the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Henry Quartey, who has initiated a campaign to Make Accra work again, the government has identified a land in Afienya and was working towards allocating it to the spare parts dealers. Meanwhile, the Abossey Okai Spare Parts Dealers in a reaction have denied claims that they are forcibly being removed from the enclave by the Regional Minister. Our attention has been drawn to a lot of misinformation being banded around in the press that the Gt. Accra Regional Minister, Hon. Henry Quartey is ejecting us from our present location to Afienya. We want to refute this allegation and set the records straight: That the relocation was part of our request put before the President when he visited us as part of his Gt. Accra Regional tour in November, 2020 in the round up to the election, the association said in a statement on Wednesday. Source: kasapafmonline.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 The Director-General of State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), Stephen Asamoah Boateng under the auspices of the Ministry of Public Enterprises has begun pitching the successes of the specified entities. According to him, the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) as part of its mandate given by President Akufo-Addo to ensure that the State-Owned Enterprises, Joint Venture Companies and Other State Entities yield positive returns to the citizens, the Authority has created a platform for them to tell Ghanaians their successful stories. Speaking to the media at the maiden edition of SIGA media engagement which featured BOST and Ghana Gas, Stephen Asamoah Boateng explained that the Authority intends to make the specified entities render accounts of their stewardship to Ghanaians as the government continues to invest in their operations. He added that such an engagement with the specified entities will give the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) the opportunity to ascertain the performance of the governments investment in the public enterprises and also convince the government to invest more in their operations. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Gas, Dr Ben KD Asante in his presentation to tell the success of the company said that the company in March 2017 replaced Chinese Operators with Ghanaian Operators. Dr KD Asante noted that the indigenization of their operation has saved $3.5 million [20 million Ghc] a month in operating cost; thus, it took Trinidad 40 years to fully indigenize, Nigeria 50 years but Ghana Gas took less than 3 years to indigenize. He stressed that Ghana Gas has built solid intellectual capital with their men and women engineers and technicians to handle the operations of the company without any support from any foreign national. Ghana Gas, according to the CEO has ensured power supply with increased gas flow from 2017 with 85MMscfd to 100MMscfd in 2021 from the Jubilee/TEN Gas. He added that from the Sankofa Gas, in 2017, there was an increment of 85MMscfd but it reduced to 50 in 2018, increase to 70 in 2019 and in 2020 and 2021, the gas flow increased to 140MMscfd and 180MMscfd respectively. Touching on the LPG, Dr Ben KD Asante revealed that Ghana Gas in 2017 increased the flow of gas to 311 tonnes a day in 2017 as against 221 tonnes in 2016 a day. He scored that LPG flow has increased from 322 tonnes a day in 2018 to 385 tonnes a day in 2021. The Managing Director of Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) Company Limited, Mr Edwin Provencal in his presentation indicated that the company has cleared its legacy trade debt of $568 million and also cleared Ghs58.4 million GCB loan as well as $20 million UBA loan. He again mentioned that BOST has managed to clear StanChart loan which was negotiated from Ghs137million to Ghs100 million and then UMB loan of about $10 million has been cleared. He added that BOST has reduced from $36 million to $10 million BDC claims from 2009 to 2014. Mr Edwin Provencal indicated in his presentation that BOST has repaired 6 tanks at APD, Buipe and Bolga and rehabilitated 6 Tema-Akosombo Petroleum Pipeline and many other things that hindered operations of BOST. The Managing Director of BOST, however, noted that the management performance of the company has made a profit of GHS31 million; thus, it has turned out its debt and started making a profit. In his closing remark, Stephen Asamoah Boateng indicated that the presentations of BOST and Ghana Gas are the maiden edition of pitching the successes of the specified entities to Ghanaians; thus, other state-owned companies will be given the opportunity once every week to share their successes from now to the end of the year. Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video It is certain that the two Rastafarian boys can now begin their schooling at the Achimota Senior High School pending the determination of an appeal of the Accra High Court decision last Monday which ordered Achimota School to accept them. This follows consultations among the Attorney-General (A-G) and Minister of Justice, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, the Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Board and management of the Achimota School. The A-G during the consultations Wednesday [June 2, 2021] advised Achimota School to withdraw the stay of execution application, which it filed on Wednesday. Achimota School has consequently decided to withdraw the application for stay of execution. However, the school is committed to appealing the ruling of the Accra High Court, which the A-G has also endorsed and is even considering advising the government to also join in the appeal. In the meantime, the two students can continue with their education at Achimota School until the final determination of the appeal. The Board Chairman of Achimota School, Osei Kwame Agyeman in a revised signed statement dated June 2, 2021 (copy attached below) confirmed the decision to withdraw the stay of execution application and rather pursue the appeal. The Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court on Monday ordered Achimota Senior High School to admit the Rastafarian students, Tyron Iras Marhguy and Oheneba Nkrabea. The two students had gained admission to Achimota School but they could not start classes because of their dreadlocks, which the school said ought to be cut in conformity with school rules and regulations. The students however, insisted they will not cut their hair since they were wearing them on religious grounds - Rastafarianism. In a ruling Monday afternoon [May 31, 2021], the Human Rights Court One, presided over by Justice Gifty Adjei Addo, held that failure to admit the two students because of their dreadlocks, which is a manifestation of their religious right is a violation of their human rights, right to education and dignity. The court, in separate judgments ordered Achimota School to admit the students to continue their education. Marhguy, filed the suit through his father at the Human Right Division of the Accra High Court on March 31 this year to seek the enforcement and declaration of his right to education. The suit had the board of governors of the Achimota School and the Attorney-General as first and second respondents respectively. The Attorney General had argued previously in court that the applicant had no cause of action because nothing within the scope of his right to education and religion had been infringed upon. A-G's interview with Joy FM But in a radio interview monitored by Graphic Online on Accra based Joy FM on Wednesday evening [June 2, 2021], the A-G, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame said his advise to Achimota School in the meantime is to allow the students to go to school. "The students ought to go to school...that is my advise, they [Achimota] ought to comply." He said that is not the end of the matter and that a case of this nature ought to go through the judicial architecture, from the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court to test the "soundness" of the decision. "We ought to have a more definitive pronouncement on the merits of the matter, by a higher court in the superior court of judicature architecture" to the extent to which certain matters claimed to be religious ought to be accepted." Mr Yeboah Dame explained that Wednesday's engagement between his office and Achimota School came to the conclusion that the students ought to be allowed to attend school. No justification for stay of execution "An appeal is proper [for] either a refinement of this ruling or a statement of its unsoundness, with all respect by the superior court. Secondly, I think that even when the soundness or correctness of the decision is being tested in an appeal, there is no justification for a stay of execution to be filed. So it has come to my knowledge... so I told the Minister of Education that the stay of execution should be withdrawn." He said Achimota may still pursue the appeal. Mr Yeboah Dame argued that the government's policy is to ensure that all persons who are worthy of secondary education attain it, "so the President [Akufo-Addo] will be concerned by any action which will prevent people from going to school so the students ought to go to school. The school ought to open its doors to them." "Secondly, an appeal can be contested without a stay of execution... the school can pursue its appeal, the government may even consider after studying the ruling whether it will also file an appeal." He said the consequence of it is that, "if we succeed in our appeal, there will only be a reversion to the situation prevailing before." Explaining that the students can go to school wearing their dreadlocks, Mr Yeboah Dame said: "In the meantime, I think that not so much harm will be caused if say within six months, nine months or a year, the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court makes a determination in favour of Achimota School and we vary them to keep their hair low, nothing will be lost and the hair ought to be kept low, otherwise they can be suspended. They can face the necessary punishments set out in the school rules and regulations. If your headmaster says you should do this and you don't do it, what is the consequence, you can be expelled or you can be suspended according to the school rules." 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 An Obstetrician and Gynaecologist (OB/GYN), Dr John Kwamina Bosomtwe, has cautioned against using hand sanitiser as disinfectants on the vagina explaining that the composition of hand sanitiser could cause chemical irritations. He said the vulva and vagina were very sensitive areas and applying hand sanitiser which were made mainly from isopropyl alcohol, glycerine and other harsh compounds could cause burning and irritation. Dr Bosomtwe was responding to a question by one of the teenage girls who had gathered for a menstrual hygiene talk organised by the Touching The Lives Of Girls Foundation International (TTLGFI) at the Obuasi Senior Technical last Tuesday. The girls asked if it was appropriate to use hand sanitiser to clean the vagina during menstruation since sanitiser consisted of germs and bacteria-killing properties. Cleaning vagina during menstruation Dr Bosomtwe, who is also the Medical Director of the TTLGFI, said to get rid of any blood or vaginal discharge during menstruation, the girls should simply use clean water to wash the vagina thoroughly from front to back. Cleaning it from front to back, he explained will ensure that no germs were passed into the vagina area. He said harsh substances such as sanitiser, soap, shower gels and antiseptics could cause dryness, itchiness and extra vaginal discharges, as they caused an imbalance in the vagina's pH levels. He said that during menstruation, it was important to maintain proper hygiene habits to reduce the risk of infections. "Such habits include changing sanitary pads regularly, using cotton underwear and cleaning the vagina." Breaking myth and silence on menstruation Nana Ama Adutwumwaa, the president of the TTLGFI, a non-governmental organisation which focuses on creating awareness of menstrual hygiene and girl empowerment, said although menstruation was a natural occurrence, there were still many myths surrounding it which made it difficult for girls to freely talk about it. She said in some cultures, menstruation was regarded as a bad omen and so menstruating women were seen as impure. These taboos and societal beliefs, she explained, had negative impacts on females. She said most girls were shy to discuss their menstrual issues with their parents and teachers and resorted to different means which were not safe. Ms Adutwumwaa lamented that some did not have access to clean sanitary products and private spaces to change their menstrual cloths, pads and to wash their hands during menstruation. She said for such girls, their only option was to stay out of school and other public gatherings during their monthly cycle and this affected their academic progress and confidence. She, therefore, called on parents, teachers, traditional and opinion leaders in the communities to create platforms where young girls could be taught how to properly take care of themselves during menstruation. The District Director of Education of Obuasi East, Mrs Leticia Obeng, added that she was excited that such an opportunity had been created for young girls to know and understand their monthly cycles. She said although menstruation was a natural occurrence that should dignify women and girls, it had been a topic of shame for a long period. Menstrual Hygiene Day On Friday, May 28, Ghana joined the rest of the world to mark this years International Menstrual Hygiene Day. The day which is a global advocacy platform started in 2014 and is observed annually to bring together the voices and actions of non-profits, government agencies, individuals, the private sector and the media to promote good menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) for all women and girls. At the health talk in Obuasi last Tuesday, the TTLGFI distributed sanitary pads to over 400 schoolgirls in some selected basic and senior high schools in Obuasi. 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 Government has begun prosecution of persons suspected to have engaged in illegal mining activities otherwise known as galamsey in the country. Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah who disclosed this at the government's press briefing on illegal mining in Accra on Wednesday, June 2, 2021, said so far, there are 5 separate cases facing different levels of state prosecution in court. He said these cases are not exhaustive and the Attorney Generals office is readying documents for more state-level prosecution of persons who have flouted the countrys mining laws. However, providing details on the ongoing court cases, the Minister said the first is the Republic versus George Asante and 31 others. In this case, the earlier report that came out was that some National Security operatives have been arrested engaging in illegal mining elsewhere. It turns out that these persons are not National Security operatives. The accused persons on 11th May 2021 were arraigned before the Koforidua Circuit Court B on provisional charges namely 2 counts of conspiracy to commit a crime that is reconnaissance for mines minerals and reconnaissance for mines minerals without lawful authority. The accused persons were arrested by the town folks if you remember, he added. The second case, the Minister said is the Republic versus Yang Maoji, a Chinese national who was arrested for mining illegally in the Pra River. He was arrested by the Operation Halt team wiles on routine patrol. The third is the Republic versus Wei Gan and another. This case involves two Chinese nationals arrested in Atieku near Tarkwa in the Amenfi West district. Another case before the court he said is the Republic versus Xue Linhua and 2 others. This case involves 2 Chinese nationals and a Ghanaian who were illegally mining in forest reserves. These illegal miners were arrested in Enchie in the Western Region and are facing prosecution. The last case, Mr Nkrumah said is the Republic versus Xue Linhua and 5 others. This case involves 6 Chinese nationals who were arrested in Asankragua by National Security operatives. They have been arraigned before the Kaneshie District Court on provisional charges including 6 counts of possession of firearms without lawful excuse. Meanwhile, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has begun phase 4 of its Operation Halt 2 that focuses on removing all persons and logistics involved in mining from the Ankobra River, its tributaries and forest reserves. Providing updates on the operation, Minister for Defense, Dominic Nitiwul said government has deployed 401 men of all ranks from the GAF and other sister security apparatus to rid the country's forest reserves and water bodies of illegal mining activities. 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 While lake oxygenation has been studied before, this seems to be the first study to look specifically at lakes, AP said. And they turn out to have lost two to nine times as much oxygen as oceans, the new studys authors said. Its also the first to look at oxygen concentrations at both the surface and depths of lakes. Chief Executive Officer of NIMED Capital Limited, Abena Buachiwaa Brigidi has disclosed how giving birth to her children made her relationship with God a stronger one. Talking about how motherhood and childbirth have impacted her life she made it known that, For me, childbirth and motherhood really drew me closer to God. In an interview with Rev Erskine on Y107.9 FMs Leaderboard Series, she shared, When I look at how a child is born, the way the child grows, Im not able to contain the magnitude of God. Im not able to see how He works. She noted that seeing the stages and growth of childbirth makes her believe and know that God is great and indeed a super God. Because seeing the baby cry, talk, shout and start running, all shows that its got to be one big God doing that; its not about me so for me, childbirth really drew me closer to God she revealed. She went on to say that the whole journey was an eye-opener for her to see how big God was and everything he was capable of doing because The mountains didnt do anything to me, I didnt really appreciate the rivers that people spoke about and how great God was by just looking at a mountain but how kids grow, and how they are able to even transition taught me a lot. Not wanting to go into details, Abena believes that childbearing taught her that there was a bigger God somewhere whom she needed to always relate to. 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 Former Central Regional Minister, Kwamena Duncan has slammed the Ghana Education Service (GES) over recent happenings in the eduation sector between schools and their students. It could be recalled that the Wesley Girls school recently refused a Muslim student from embarking on a fast on their campus. The Muslim student was supposed to join the Islamic fasting period strictly observed by Muslims worldwide but the school disallowed the student on grounds of health complications. There was also another battle between some Rastafarian parents and the Achimota school after their students were told they would only be enrolled into the school unless they shaved their dreadlocks. The Rasta parents took the matter to the Human Rights Division of the High Court and won the court case with the Judge ordering the Achimota school to admit the students. Assessing the turn of events in the education sector, Kwamena Duncan has called on the GES to sit up and take steps to address all issues affecting the sector. According to him, the GES must review the rules and regulations governing the various schools to ensure no student's fundamental human rights are trampled on by school authorities. Quoting Article 28 (clause 4) of Ghana's constitution which states ''no child shall be deprived by any other person of medical treatment, education or any other social or economic benefit by reason only of religious or other beliefs'', the former Minister said; ''There must not be another issue for us to be like get directionless and what happened at Wesley Girls quickly comes to mind in which a very minute, in my view, issue which rather that, as major [major] stakeholders in the building of this country that this minute issue virtually succeeded in crashing that people became passionate and forgot that this is our one country, one people and one destiny''. "Ghana Education Service must move quickly," he stressed, adding the GES must not let these situations repeat themselves. 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 Seasoned Journalist, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako, has advised the management of the Achimota School not to seek appeal over the High Court ruling that two Rastafarian students must be admitted into the school. The Rasta students were asked to shave their dreadlocks before they gain enrollment but they sued the school, asking the court to declare that the failure and or refusal of the 1st Respondent (Achimota School Board of Governors) to admit or enroll the Applicant on the basis of his Rastafarian religious inclination, beliefs and culture characterized by his keeping of Rasta, is a violation of his fundamental human rights and freedoms guaranteed under the 1992 constitution particularly Articles 12(1), 23, 21(1)(b)(c). They further prayed the court for ''an order directed at [Achimota School] to immediately admit or enroll the applicant to continue with his education unhindered'' and also sought compensation for the ''inconvenience, embarrassment, waste of time, and violation of his fundamental human rights and freedoms''. The Human Rights Division of the High Court, on Monday, June 1, ruled that the students should be admitted into the Achimota school. But the Achimota school Board says they disagree with the court ruling and has therefore ''directed its lawyers to appeal against the ruling''. "The Governing Board of Achimota School . . . has learned of the outcome of the case brought against it by two persons who had earlier applied to be admitted in the school. The school board disagrees with the ruling of the court," the school further said in a press statement copied to Peacefmonline.com. To Kweku Baako, the Achimota school and Rastafarian students' brouhaha is a non-issue. "I thought this whole thing was overblown. I didn't get the point. If they have the Rasta and they come to misbehave, yes, then you take action. But the mere fact that they have dreadlocks and so they will inspire other students to do same or something else, I was finding it very difficult to appreciate the logic behind the school's position that their rules and regulations, some of which do not allow for you to grow your hair that way," he told host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo''. He therefore asked the school Board to drop their appeal. ''To be honest with you, left for me, they should forget the appeal for us to move on.'' 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 Puma Energy Distribution Ghana Limited one of Ghanas leading Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) has launched its latest retail site in East Legon, on the Adjiringano Road. The East Legon branch adds to the growing nationwide rollout of Puma Energy and in keeping with the companys promise of moving closer to their consumers. The latest addition also sits with its brand purpose of Energizing Communities to life by tapping into an expansion strategy that has the customer at its heart. Henry Osei, Managing Director of Puma Energy Ghana Distribution Limited underscored the companys commitment to building a resolute brand that puts the customer first. This new offering of ours is central to what we represent as a brand. We want to ensure that as many people as possible can experience the unique Puma Energy brand. He adds that The East Legon branch shall continue in the same Puma Energy tradition by upholding our strong values and business ethos. At most, we want to be able to support communities in a unique way by offering quality and affordable fuels and lubricants. This is very dear to us at Puma Energy. The launch of the branch will see some customers being rewarded with souvenirs and other attractive prices all week. Puma Energy Ghana started its operations in Ghana in 2016 and has 84 retail service stations and counting across the country. Puma Energy Distribution Ghana Limited is part of a global oil and gas conglomerate operating in 47 countries. 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 Ghana has joined two international organisations, the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE) and the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), to promote and strengthen capacity building and incident response through international collaboration. This feat stems from the governments commitment to developing the countrys cyberspace to be secure and resilient for Ghanas sustained digital transformation. The GFCE, which was officially launched during the Global Conference on Cyberspace 2015, currently comprises more than One Hundred and Fifteen (115) members and partners from all regions of the world. It is a platform that promotes the implementation of priority and strategic capacity building activities and initiatives underpinned by effective multi-stakeholder engagement and participation involving civil society, the private sector, and other non-state actors, among others. Ghana officially joined the GFCE in March 2021, after going through the necessary accreditation process. FIRST is a premier organisation established in 1990 by five (5) security teams and currently boasts of a membership of Five Hundred and Seventy-Five (575) teams comprising government bodies, universities, corporations, and other institutions across several countries. FIRST facilitates information-sharing, incident response and prevention, vulnerability analysis, computer security, management and policy issues, and research towards the prevention of cyber-attacks on worldwide platforms and systems such as the recent supply chain-based attacks (Hafnium and SolarWinds attacks) which affected a myriad of institutions worldwide. The National CERT (CERT-GH) at the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) officially joined FIRST in May 2021 after a rigorous assessment conducted by FIRST-affiliate experts. Commenting on these two developments, the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Hon Ursula Owusu-Ekuful highlighted the importance of international collaboration for effective implementation of the recently passed Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038), Ghanas domestic cyber resilience is very much dependent on strong international collaboration arrangements and our membership of these industry-led global institutions is timely as we begin the implementation of the Cybersecurity Act, 2020. As a member of these international bodies, the NCSC is expected to benefit from joint capacity building programmes, information sharing and technical tools to effectively detect and prevent cybersecurity incidents. The Ministry, under the leadership of Hon Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, led efforts for the passage of the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038) by Parliament on November 6, 2020. The Act was subsequently assented to law by President H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on December 29, 2020. With the passage of Act 1038, the NCSC is expected to transition into a Cyber Security Authority (CSA) before the end of the year. The Act makes provision for the protection of critical information infrastructures, capacity building efforts, incident response and reporting procedures, among others. Ghanas membership of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE) and the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), is part of efforts to improve the countrys cybersecurity. Security Governance Initiative (SGI), a cybersecurity collaboration between the government of the United States and the government of Ghana, provided technical support and assistance for Ghanas membership of the FIRST. 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 The Ghana Committed Drivers Association has rejected the new transport fare announced by the Ghana Private Roads Transport Union (GPRTU). The Chairman of the group, Charles Danso described his mother union as criminals who are strategically stealing from the poor masses. The 13% they have announced is not true. I have documents available saying otherwise. They are stealing with percentage, he said in an interview with NEAT FMs morning show Ghana Montie. Listen to interview From Saturday, June 5, road transport fares will be increased by 13%. The new prices will affect all forms of transport including Inter-city (trotro), Intercity (long distance) and shared taxis. GPRTU in a statement said the increase is to accommodate the increase in fuel prices announced in May 2021, after long negotiations with stakeholders. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/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 Governance expert, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah says he fully supports the Achimota school to appeal the High Court ruling that the two Rastafarian students who were refused enrollment should be admitted into the school. According to the school's Headmistress, the Rasta students would only be accepted on condition that they shave their dreadlocks but they insisted to keep their hair, hence dragging the school, the Minister of Education, Ghana Education Service and the Attorney General to court. A couple of days ago, the Human Rights Division of the High Court delivered a ruling on the legal battle between the Rastafarian students and Board of the Achimota school. The parents of the students prayed the court to ''declare that the failure and or refusal of the 1st Respondent (Achimota School Board of Governors) to admit or enroll the Applicant on the basis of his Rastafarian religious inclination, beliefs and culture characterized by his keeping of Rasta, is a violation of his fundamental human rights and freedoms guaranteed under the 1992 constitution'' and further sought for an ''order directed at [Achimota School] to immediately admit or enrol the applicant to continue with his education unhindered'' The court on Monday ruled that the students should be admitted into the school. Nonetheless, the Achimota school's Board says it will take the issue to the Court of Appeal because they disagree with the court. ''The Governing Board of Achimota School...has learned of the outcome of the case brought against it by two persons who had earlier applied to be admitted in the school. The school board disagrees with the ruling of the court. The school has therefore directed its lawyers to appeal against the ruling," a statement by the Board read. Speaking on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'', Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah stated emphatically that he supports the ''school today, yesterday and even tomorrow that they should go for an appeal''. He argued that, if care is not taken, the court order will empower other students who will also decide to wear any clothing to school whether or not it violates the rules, all in the name of religion and other fundamental human rights. To him, he expected that the court would have ''allowed the school to apply its rules for us all to have a common agenda''. Dr. Otchere-Ankrah however advised the management of the school to admit the students while they go on an appeal. 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 Dean of the School of Performing Arts of the University of Ghana, Professor Kofi Agyekum has expressed disagreement with the court ruling that the Rastafarian students, who were refused enrollment into the Achimota school, should be admitted. The management of the Achimota School, in March this year, refused to admit two Rastafarian students, Tyron Iras Marhguy and Oheneba Kwaku Nkrabea, because they have dreadlocks. Parents of the students sued the Achimota school, the Minister of Education, Ghana Education Service and the Attorney General. They prayed the court to declare that the failure and or refusal of the 1st Respondent (Achimota School Board of Governors) to admit or enroll the Applicant on the basis of his Rastafarian religious inclination, beliefs and culture characterized by his keeping of Rasta, is a violation of his fundamental human rights and freedoms guaranteed under the 1992 constitution particularly Articles 12(1), 23, 21(1)(b)(c). They also asked for ''an order directed at [Achimota School] to immediately admit or enrol the applicant to continue with his education unhindered'' and further sought compensation for the ''inconvenience, embarrassment, waste of time, and violation of his fundamental human rights and freedoms''. The Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court presided by Justice Gifty Agyei Addo, giving verdict on the case on Monday, May 31, on grounds that the students' fundamental human rights cannot be limited by the rules, ordered the Achimota School to admit them. Reacting during Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' programme, Professor Kofi Agyekum, popularly known as Opanyin Agyekum believed the court ruling has opened the floodgate for students to flout school rules. He feared there may be future repercussions which may damage the moral fabric and encourage indiscipline in schools. To him, the Achimota school should have been left to apply their rules. "The ruling shouldn't have gone in that manner. We should have allowed the Achimota school to apply their rules. So, we have our school and these are our procedures. If you want to come to this school, just follow the procedures but if you think you're not comfortable, find a different school." "It's not like we're dragging the matter but rather we're opening the floodgate," he asserted. 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 Seven people are feared dead in a flooded mining pit at Moabok, a mining community near Gbane in the Talensi District in the Upper East Region. They were suspected to have been trapped inside the pit since last Monday after torrential rains rendered the pit unsafe when it flooded and subsequently closed in on them. Six others, who were part of the small scale mining group at the site, however, managed to escape from the pit before the disaster struck. A joint operation by personnel of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the Ghana National Fire Service and the Ghana Police Service began an operation last Tuesday to either retrieve dead bodies or rescue survivors. Incident The Public Affairs Officer of the Upper East Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) David Fianko-Okyere, told the media in Bolgatanga Wednesday that a complaint to the police on Monday night and a follow-up interaction by the Regional Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Dr Sayibu Pabi Gariba, with about 500 young men who claimed to be engaged in small scale mining at the Moabok mining site revealed the magnitude of the incident. He said the young men told the police that they had seen some 13 young men mining at a particular spot but saw only six of them emerge from the pit when it started raining. Relatives and friends of the small- scale miners, apparently alarmed when the miners did not return home from work, reported the incident to the police, who then followed up early the next morning. Operation ASP Fianko-Okyere explained that the police also prompted the Regional Fire Service and the NADMO who teamed up to rescue the trapped miners. Currently, the team has deployed various methods to draw water from the flooded area in order to have access to the pit. The team was, however, yet to find any of the trapped miners as of the time of filing this report. ASP Fianko-Okyere said it was still unclear what happened and how many people were actually trapped in the pit. He said the police were seeking further information from the six survivors to assist in investigations towards the rescue mission. The Regional Minister, Mr Stephen Yakubu, also visited the scene yesterday to assess the situation. Meanwhile, members of the Upper East Region branch of the Ghana National Small-Scale Miners Association have urged the security agencies and other state institutions to work with swiftness in the rescue operation. 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 Former Cote dIvoire president Laurent Gbagbo plans to return home on June 17 following his acquittal on charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC), his party said on Monday. Gbagbos return could be complicated by an outstanding 20-year sentence given to him in absentia in November 2019 by an Ivorian court for misappropriating funds from the regional central bank. In April, President Alassane Ouattara said Gbagbo was free to return from The Hague but did not say whether Gbagbo had been pardoned. Assoa Adou, the leader of a pro-Gbagbo party, announced the date of the former presidents home-coming in front of a crowd that had come to celebrate Gbagbos birthday in Abidjan. Gbagbo, who turned 76 on Monday (31 May), served as president from 2000 until his arrest in 2011, after his refusal to concede electoral defeat to Ouattara. Post-election violence spiralled into a civil war that claimed the lives of 3,000 people. On 31 March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) upheld a 2019 decision which ruled prosecutors had failed to present enough evidence to prove their case against Gbagbo and Charles Ble Goude, a former youth leader and one of his aides. He is a son of the Ivory Coast who is coming back after ten years spent outside in unfair conditions, said Leon Emmanuel Monnet, who heads a committee organising his return. We will do everything possible to ensure that the return of President Gbagbo is done in peace and for reconciliation. 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 commenters account dates back to at least 2019 and contains several pictures of a man who looks exactly like the man in the police photo. Its location is also given as Dubbo, New South Wales, the same city cops said Bradford is known to frequent. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the president, says a vibrant and unfettered media is the most effective way to hold government and society to the highest standards of honesty, self-discipline and delivery. According to President Akufo-Addo, a historic victory was won in the struggle of the Ghanaian people for liberty and, especially, for freedom of expression by the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law, which brought to an end more than a century-old regime of colonial laws repressive of free expression. I am proud of the modest role I played in the process of the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law. As the Attorney-General, who piloted the repeal through Parliament, I was also responsible for the discontinuation of the then pending prosecutions, under the Criminal Libel Law, of notable Ghanaian journalists Tommy Thompson, Kofi Coomson and Eben Quarcoo for publications against personalities of the then government, Akufo-Addo said. Positive impact on the development He noted that the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law has had a very positive impact on the development of the Ghanaian media, freeing it from unnecessary self-censorship, and promoting a robust and critical media culture. In the process, (the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law) has contributed to the growth of a vibrant media that has won Ghana the reputation of having one of the most media friendly and liberal climates on the continent. It has also contributed significantly to the deepening of democracy in our country, enhancing public accountability as a strategic goal of public policy, he said. President Akufo-Addo made this known on Tuesday 1 June 2021, when he delivered the keynote address at the Africa Journalists Leadership Conference, organised by the Federation of African Journalists, at the Alisa Hotel, in Accra. As President of the Republic, the President told the gathering that he has seen to the passage of the Right to Information Act, which is meant to give effect to Article 21(1)(f) of the Constitution of the Republic. Dynamic media The culmination of all of these, he said, have meant that the Ghanaian citizen, through the presence of a dynamic media, is able to give boldly and freely his or her feedback on policies and programmes of government. Civil society groups, President Akufo-Addo added, are able to interrogate fearlessly government actions and positions, compare them to global best practices, and offer views and critiques aimed at complementing the efforts of government; and the political opposition is able to raise dissent openly, canvass for alternate view points, and, by so doing, offer our citizens alternatives to consider on all key issues of our national discourse. Even as one of the public figures most persistently vilified in sections of the Ghanaian media, who, ironically, was a principal actor in the repeal of the law, I continue to insist that its repeal was necessary in the public interest in our emerging democracy. I maintain that I prefer a boisterous, reckless media, to a supine one, he added. 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 founder of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), Mr Percival Kofi Akpaloo, has urged the government to use its sanitation drive to create more jobs for the unemployed. He said engaging more hands in the sanitation campaign would help it to achieve its objectives of keeping the country and especially the capital clean. Sharing the partys perspective on keeping Ghana clean in an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Akpaloo said stakeholders must also come in handy to provide waste bins at vantage points to encourage people to drop in their waste. He thus commended the Graphic Communications Group Limited and Zoomlion Ghana Limited sanitation campaign as an exercise that would instil awareness among Ghanaians. He, however, said the exercise should not be left in the hands of only the two organisations since the sanitation problem in the country was big. Slums In line with the partys vision of keeping the country clean, Mr Akpaloo said the LPG would be seeking to build affordable single rooms to encourage slum dwellers to relocate to such areas. He said residents would be paying affordable monthly rents without the pressure of paying two-year rents, which keep most of them at the slums. In such a situation, he said, all the slums would be demolished to help maintain the sanctity and beauty of such places. Uncompleted buildings The LPG leader said there was also the need to identify owners of all uncompleted buildings and other structures and support them to complete them under an agreement where the facilities could be rented at an affordable price. That, he explained, was necessary to prevent Ghanaians from making such places their abode. He pointed out that people in such uncompleted buildings and containers often did not have the facilities to dispose of their waste and thereby end up littering their environment. Constant clean-up Mr Akpaloo also called for the institution of clean-up days and engaging personnel who would go round to ensure those who littered their environment face the law. He said it was also important that the government undertook a deliberate exercise to cover all drains to prevent people from throwing the waste into the drains. 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 President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has presented letters of credence to 21 appointed envoys, urging them to champion the Government of Ghanas post-COVID-19 recovery agenda. The 15 Ambassadors and six High Commissioners comprise political appointees and careers diplomats. They are Papa Owusu-Ankomah, High Commissioner to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Hajia Alima Mahama, Ambassador to the United States of America; Ms Khadija Iddrisu, High Commissioner to the Republic of Zambia; Mr Kwabena Okubi-Appiah, Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia; Oheneba Dr Lesley Akyaa Opoku-Ware, Ambassador to the Russian Federation; Lieutenant General Obed Boamah Akwa (Rtd), Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt; Mr Charles Asuako Owiredu, High Commissioner to the Republic of South Africa; and Mr Francis Danti Kotia, Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The others are Mrs Francisca Ashietey-Odunton, Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey; Alhaji Ahmed Ramadan, Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates; Mr Napoleon Abdulai, Ambassador to the Republic of Mali; Mrs Sylvia Naa Adaawa Annoh, Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark; Madam Barbara Akuorkor Benisa, High Commissioner to the Republic of Malta; Mr Yakubu Alhassan, High Commissioner to the Republic of Namibia; and Mr Samuel Yaw Nsiah, Ambassador to the Republic of Cuba. The rest are Madam Christine Churcher, Ambassador to the Republic of Benin; Mr Damptey Bediako Asare, High Commissioner to the Republic of Kenya; Alhaji Mohammad Habibu Tijani, Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Mrs Charis Obestebi-Lamptey-Zwennes, Ambassador to the Republic of Korea; Mr Michael Ofori-Atta, Ambassador-at-Large, and Mr Emmanuel Kwame Asiedu Antwi, Ambassador In Situ (Chief of Protocol). At a short ceremony at the Jubilee House, Accra, where the President administered the Oaths of Office, Allegiance and Secrecy to the envoys, he asked them to prioritise Ghana's post-COVID-19 recovery agenda at their duty post. He said their selection and appointment came at a time when the entire world was reeling from and trying to recover from the devastation of the Coronavirus pandemic. President Akufo-Addo stressed that the recovery of the nation should be the burden of all members of government, including the Ambassadors and High Commissioners. He told them that his administrations unprecedented flagship initiative, the Ghc100 billion post-COVID-19 Ghana CARES Obaatanpa Programme geared to stabilise, revitalise and transform Ghanas economy, must be the pivot around which they engaged the rest of the world. "Ambassadors and High Commissioners, you have to familiarise yourselves with these objectives, which are at the core of my second term mandate as they represent our surest way out of the pandemic, and which will thrust Ghana back to the path of progress and prosperity," he stated. Each one of you must help and contribute to the success of this programme by facilitating as much foreign investment into the country as you can," the President entreated the envoys. The High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, on behalf of his colleagues, pledged that they would work hard to justify the confidence reposed in them. He said they would capitalize on their experiences, and work earnestly to help the recovery process of the country from the impact of COVID-19, and pledged to find innovative ways to promote goods made in Ghana. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A complaint of assault has been reported to the police at East Legon against dancehall artiste, Shatta Wale. The road contractor whose project manager, Kennedy Acquah was reportedly assaulted by Shatta Wale at Adjiringanor in Accra has given a 24-hour ultimatum for Shatta Wale to to apologize publicly. He says a failure to apologize publicly will result in the artiste facing his wrath till the case is pursued to its logical conclusion. Shatta Wale is also to report himself to the East Legon police in 24 hours or face arrest. Giving details of what happened, Kennedy Acquah said Shatta Wale and his team stormed the Adjiringanor project site and assaulted him because he wanted an extension of the road to his SM secretariat. According to him, he referred Shatta Wale and his team to the Urban Roads Department since they were working based on the contract the Urban Roads had given them. But Shatta Wale and his team refused to understand and assaulted him, he alleged. Speaking in an interview with Graphic Showbiz, the businessman [name withheld] said he has reported the case to the East Legon Police station and if Shatta Wale fails to publicly apologise to his worker then he should be ready to face all the consequences. Shatta Wale is not above the law and he cannot just do anything he wants. I am not letting the issue rest until he comes out publicly to apologise to my project manager or be ready to face me in court. When the incident happened I personally went to his house and ask that he comes to apologize to my project manager which he did but that alone is not enough I want him to do a live video and apologize for his misconduct he said. The Divisional Commander at the East Legon Police Station, Mr Kwame Gyasi has confirmed to Graphic Showbiz that the case has been reported at the police station indicating that Shatta Wale is to report to the police station in 24 hours. If he fails to do so, he will be arrested, he said. Shatta Wale reported to East Legon police for assault https://t.co/dczudFxsC6 pic.twitter.com/LnDJJIGeZI GraphicOnline (@Graphicgh) June 1, 2021 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 Dancehall artiste and founder of Shatta Movement Empire, Shatta Wale, has advised his colleague musicians to take their craft seriously. Shatta Wale, who recently returned from the United States after taking vacation from the music scene, touched down in Ghana with a passionate desire to guide Ghanaian musicians to better their lives. Delivering his 'State of the Nation Address' on Wednesday, June 2, the vociferous dancehall artiste expressed worry over the unseriousness of his fellow musicians in gaining wealth out of their music craft. He therefore pleads with the ''musicians in Ghana to pay some more attention to the business side of the craft''. He reiterated; "One thing that I have long campaigned for is for the artiste to take and see their talent as a career and as a business entity.' Shatta Wale urged the musicians to "learn to make money with our talents. Let's invest in educating ourselves about how we can add value to ourselves and our craft and make a living out of it. We should be able to still make money from music even when we're no more in the studio. This I believe is a sure way to keep the industry alive and aloud". The dancehall artiste also seized the opportunity to announce to music investors and corporate Ghana that he is open for business. Listen to his full address below: View this post on Instagram A post shared by TrendznTrendy (@trendzntrendy) 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 Kamloops Indian Residential School survivor Garry Gottfriedson pauses during an interview at Paul Lake near Kamloops, B.C., on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. A First Nation says the remains of 215 children have been discovered buried near the former school. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck Ayelet Shaked, left, and Naftali Bennett, parliament members from Yamina party, chat during a special session of the Knesset, whereby Israeli lawmakers elect a new president, at the plenum in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool Photo via AP) In this Wednesday, May 19, 2021 file photo, Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses are prepared for members of the community 12 years and up, at a clinic held by Community of Hope, outside the Washington School for Girls in southeast Washington. The World Health Organizations top vaccines expert says that immunizing children against the coronavirus is not a high priority given the extremely limited global supply of doses. During a social media session on Thursday, June 3 Dr. Kate OBrien said that vaccinating children is not a priority from a WHO perspective, even as increasing numbers of rich countries authorize their COVID-19 shots for teenagers and children. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) People play soccer at Andy Livingstone Field in Vancouver, B.C., Tuesday, May 25, 2021. British Columbia health officials are calling on people to join in the resumption of normal life as the province begins to reopen at a pace that works for them. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck Thank you for reading the Philadelphia Tribune. You have exhausted your free article views for this month. Please press the "subscribe" button below and see our introductory price of $0.25 per week for 13 weeks. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you next month. Opening Day 2021: Male 76.85% Female 23.15% Opening Day 2020: Male 74.23% Female 25.77% Opening Day 2019: Male 79.44% Female 20.56% Opening Day 2018: Male 79% Female 21% Wheel Size Opening Day 2021: 27.5 inch 67.36% 29 inch 27.37% 26 inch 2.11% Mullet 29/27.5 2.11% Mullet 27.5/26 1.05% Wheel Size Opening Day 2020: 27.5 inch 55.91% 29 inch 26.88% 26 inch 12.90% 20 inch 3.23% Mullet 1.08% DH Wheel Size Opening Day 2019: 27.5 inch 67.92% 29 inch 26.42% 26 inch 5.66% DH Wheel Size Opening Day 2018: 27.5 inch 49.00% 26 inch 44.83% 29 inch 6.00% 24 inch 0.17% Opening Day 2021: Clipless 15.79% Flats 84.21% Opening Day 2020: Clipless 34.18% Flats 65.82% Opening Day 2019: Clipless 21.5% Flats 78.5% Opening Day 2018: Clipless 23% Flats 77% Frames Opening Day 2021 Giant Reign 6.32% Norco Range 6.32% Norco Aurum 5.26% Commencal Furious 4.21% Commencal Supreme 4.21% GT Fury Commencal Supreme 4.21% Kona Process 4.21% Rocky Mountain Slayer 4.21% Commencal Meta 3.16% Giant Glory 3.16% GT Force Commencal Meta 3.16% Santa Cruz V10 3.16% Specialized Stumpjumper 3.16% Trek Remedy 3.16% Trek Session 3.16% Commencal Clash 2.11% Devinci Wilson 2.11% Knolly Warden 2.11% Kona Operator 2.11% Liv Hail 2.11% Santa Cruz Nomad 2.11% Scott Gambler 2.11% Specialized Enduro 2.11% Trek Slash 2.11% YT Tues 2.11% Zerode G2 2.11% Canyon Sender 1.05% Giant Trance 1.05% Juliana Strega 1.05% Norco Shore 1.05% Norco Sight 1.05% Pivot Mach 6 1.05% Rocky Mountain Altitude 1.05% Santa Cruz Bronson 1.05% Specialized Demo 1.05% Specialized Status 1.05% Transition Spur 1.05% Transition TR500 1.05% Yeti SB150 1.05% Yeti SB165 1.05% YT Capra 1.05% Frames Opening Day 2020 Specialized Demo 9.77% GT Fury 6.02% Giant Glory 4.14% Trek Remedy 3.38% YT Tues 3.01% Commencal Supreme 3.01% Norco Range 3.01% Rocky Mountain Slayer 3.01% Santa Cruz Nomad 3.01% Commencal Meta 3.01% Santa Cruz V10 2.63% Rocky Mountain Maiden 2.63% Trek Session 2.26% Norco Aurum 2.26% Specialized Enduro 2.26% Commencal Furious 2.26% Giant Reign 2.26% Norco HSP 2.26% YT Capra 2.26% Transition Patrol 1.88% Devinci Wilson 1.88% Rocky Mountain Altitude 1.88% Rocky Mountain Flatline 1.88% Intense M16 1.50% Trek Slash 1.50% Kona Operator 1.50% Scott Gambler 1.50% Canyon Sender 1.50% Liv Hail 1.50% Norco Sight 1.50% Specialized Stumpjumper 1.13% Commencal Meta AM 1.13% Yeti SB 150 1.13% Yeti SB5 1.13% Devinci Spartan 0.75% Pivot Pheonix 0.75% Transition Sentinel 0.75% Yeti SB 165 0.75% Scott Ransom 0.75% GT Force 0.75% Santacruz Megatower 0.75% Santacruz 5010 0.75% Transition TR 500 0.75% Kona Process 0.75% Cube Stereo 0.75% Pivot Firebird 0.75% Giant Trance 0.38% GT Sanction 0.38% Knolly Podium 0.38% Transition TR 450 0.38% Cove STD 0.38% Orbea 0.38% Knolly Delerium 0.38% Nuke Proof 0.38% Knolly Warden 0.38% Yeti SB6 0.38% RAAW Madonna 0.38% Scott Spark 0.38% Rocky Mountain Element 0.38% Scott Genius 0.38% Intense Tracer 0.38% Banchee Scream 0.38% Frames Opening Day 2019 Specialized Demo 7.08% YT Tues 6.19% GT Fury 6.19% Giant glory 5.31% Santa Cruz V10 5.31% Transition Patrol 3.54% Trek Session 3.54% Devinci Wilson 2.65% Intense m16 2.65% Norco Aurum 2.65% Trek Slash 2.65% Commencal Supreme 1.77% Devinci Spartan 1.77% Kona Operator 1.77% Norco Range 1.77% Pivot Phoenix 1.77% Rocky Mountain Altitude 1.77% Rocky Mountain Flatline 1.77% Santa Cruz Nomad 1.77% Scott Gambler 1.77% Specialized Enduro 1.77% Specialized Stumpjumper 1.77% Transition Sentinel 1.77% YT Capra 1.77% Banshee Legend 0.88% Cannondale Jekyl 0.88% Comencal Furious 0.88% Commencal Meta 0.88% Commencal Meta AM 0.88% Evil wreckoning 0.88% Evolve Alpha 0.88% Evolve Sky Pilot 0.88% Giant Reign 0.88% Giant Trance 0.88% GT Force 0.88% GT Sanction 0.88% Knolly Podium 0.88% Knolly Warden 0.88% NS Define 0.88% Pivot Firebird 0.88% Rocky Mountain Slayer 0.88% Santa Cruz Megatower 0.88% Scott Ransom 0.88% Transition tr 11 0.88% Transition TR 450 0.88% Transition TR 500 0.88% Trek Remedy 0.88% Yeti SB 130 0.88% Yeti SB 150 0.88% Zerode G2 0.88% Frames Opening Day 2018 Specialized Demo 8.33% Norco Aurum 8.00% Devinci Wilson 7.67% Santa Cruz V10 7.33% Giant Glory 6.33% Trek Session 6.00% GT Fury 4.67% Rocky Mountain Maiden 3.67% Devinci Spartan 2.67% Knolly Podium 2.67% Julianna Strega 2.67% Giant Reign 2.33% Santa Cruz Nomad 2.33% Specialized Stumpjumper 2.33% Transition TR250 2.33% Rocky Mountain Flatline 2.33% Intense 951 2.00% Scott Gambler 2.00% Hardtail 2.00% Commencal Supreme 2.00% Trek Slash 1.67% Norco Fluid 1.33% YT Tues 1.33% Norco Range 1.00% Banshee Rune 1.00% Ghost Riot 1.00% Kona Operator 1.00% Rocky Mountain Slayer 1.00% Santa Cruz Bronson 1.00% Banshee Legend 0.67% Canfield Jedi 0.67% Commencal Meta 0.67% Evil Following 0.67% Pivot Phoenix 0.67% Polygon Collosus DH 0.67% Transition TR450 0.67% Yeti SB6 0.67% Evil Undead 0.33% Intense M16 0.33% Intense M9 0.33% Kona Process 0.33% Norco Vixa 0.33% Norco Sight 0.33% NS Fuzz 0.33% Rocky Mountain Altitude 0.33% Trek Remedy 0.33% Yeti 303 0.33% Cove Shocker 0.33% Cannondale Judge 0.33% Cannondale Jekyl 0.33% Specialized Big Hit 0.33% Forks Opening Day 2021: RockShox Boxxer 25.26% RockShox Lyrik 17.89% Fox 36 16.84% Fox 40 14.74% RockShox Yari 8.42% Fox 38 6.32% RockShox Pike 3.16% Marzocchi Bomber 2.11% RockShox Zeb 2.11% Fox 34 1.05% RockShox SID 1.05% RockShox Totem 1.05% Forks Opening Day 2020: RockShox Boxxer 19.80% RockShox Lyrik 17.82% Fox 36 16.83% RockShox Pike 6.93% Fox 40 6.93% Fox 34 4.95% RockShox Yari 3.96% Marzocchi 58 2.97% Fox 49 1.98% Fox 38 1.98% DVO Diamond 1.98% Marzocchi Z1 1.98% Marzocchi Monster T 1.98% SR Suntour 1.98% X Fusion 1.98% RockShox Totem 0.99% RockShox Sektor 0.99% DVO Emereld 0.99% DVO Onyx 0.99% Manitou Dorado 0.99% Marzocchi 66 0.99% Forks Opening Day 2019: RockShox BoXXer 36.07% Fox 40 15.57% Fox 36 14.75% RockShox Lyrik 12.30% RockShox Pike 3.28% RockShox BoXXer w/ Ohlins 0.82% DVO Diamond 0.82% DVO Onyx 0.82% Fox 34 0.82% Manitou Dorado 0.82% Marzocchi 66 0.82% Yari 0.82% Forks Opening Day 2018: RockShox Boxxer (all) 34.00% Fox 40 (all) 28.33% Fox 36 10.00% RockShox Pike 9.00% RockShox Lyrik 6.00% Fox 34 3.00% Marzocchi 888 2.33% Ohlins 2.00% Marzocchi 55/66 1.33% X Fusion Sweep 1.33% DVO Diamond 1.33% DVO Emerald 1.00% Cannondale Lefty 0.33% Shocks Opening Day 2021: RockShox Super Deluxe 22.11% Fox DHX2 17.89% RockShox Vivid Coil 13.68% Fox Float X2 7.37% RockShox Deluxe 6.32% RockShox Super Deluxe Coil 6.32% Fox X2 3.16% DVO Jade 2.11% Fox Float 2.11% Marzocchi Bomber CR 2.11% RockShox Monarch 2.11% RockShox Monarch Plus 2.11% RockShox Vivid Air 2.11% Cane Creek DB Air 1.05% Float X2 1.05% Fox DHX 1.05% Fox Float X 1.05% Fox RC2 1.05% Fox Van RC 1.05% Marzocchi MOTO C2R 1.05% Ohlins TTX22 Coil 1.05% Rock Shox Kage RC Coil 1.05% RockShox SidLuxe 1.05% Shocks Opening Day 2020: Fox DHX2 12.68% Fox Float X2 9.86% RockShox Monarch Plus 8.45% RockShox Vivid Coil 8.45% RockShox Super Deluxe 8.45% RockShox Monarch 5.63% Fox Van RC 5.63% Fox Float 5.63% X Fusion Air 5.63% RockShox Deluxe 4.23% RockShox Vivid Air 2.82% RockShox Super Deluxe Coil 2.82% Fox RC2 2.82% Fox DPX2 2.82% DVO Air 2.82% BOS 2.82% Fox Nude 1.41% Ohlins TTX22M 1.41% Marzocchi Coil 1.41% DVO Coil 1.41% X Fusion Coil 1.41% Cane Creek DB 1.41% Shocks Opening Day 2019: RockShox Vivid Coil 22.88% Fox DH X2 Coil 9.32% Fox DH X2 Coil 9.32% RockShox Super Deluxe 8.47% Fox X2 Float 6.78% Fox DPX2 5.93% RockShox Monarch Plus 5.93% Fox Van Coil 4.24% Ohlins Coil 3.39% Fox / Trek Thru Shaft 3.39% Fox Float X2 Air 1.69% Fox X2 Coil 1.69% RockShox Deluxe 0.85% DVO Jade 0.85% DVO Topaz 0.85% Fox DH RC2 0.85% Fox DH X2 0.85% Fox DH X2 Air 0.85% Fox DHX 0.85% Fox DHX Coil 0.85% Fox DHX RC4 0.85% Fox DHX X2 Coil 0.85% Fox DHX2 Air 0.85% Fox DP X2 Air 0.85% Fox Float CTD 0.85% Fox Float X 0.85% Fox Nude 0.85% RockShox Lyrik Coil 0.85% Marzocchi Coil 0.85% Ohlins Air 0.85% RockShox Super Deluxe Coil 0.85% RockShox Vivid Air 0.85% Shocks Opening Day 2018: Fox DHX (inc X2) 21.33% RockShox Vivid Coil 20.33% Cane Creek DB Coil 9.33% Rockshox Vivid Air 8.67% Cane Creek DB Air 6.00% Fox Float X (Inc X2) 5.33% RockShox Monarch Plus 5.00% Ohlins 5.00% RockShox Monarch 4.00% Fox Float 2.33% Xfusion Vector 2.00% Hard Tail 2.00% Marzocchi Rocco 1.67% DVO Jade Coil 1.67% RockShox Kage 1.00% Cane Creek Inline 1.00% BOS Stoy 1.00% Push 1.00% Fox Van 0.67% DVO Topaz 0.67% Brakes Opening Day 2021: SRAM Code 31.91% SRAM Guide 21.28% Shimano Saint 12.77% Shimano Non Series 7.45% Shimano Zee 7.45% TRP 4.23% Shimano SLX 3.19% Shimano XT 3.19% Formula Cura 4 2.13% Hope Tech 2.13% Shimano XTR 1.06% Avid Code 1.06% Avid Elixir 1.06% SRAM G2 1.06% Brakes Opening Day 2020: SRAM Code 26.14% SRAM Guide 22.73% Shimano Saint 10.23% Shimano XT 9.09% Shimano Non Series 7.95% Shimano SLX 6.82% Shimano Zee 3.41% Shimano XTR 3.41% Hope 3.41% TRP 3.41% Avid Juicy 2.27% Magura 1.14% Brakes Opening Day 2019: SRAM Code 42.06% SRAM Guide 32.71% Shimano Saint 12.15% Shimano XT 4.67% Shimano SLX 3.74% SRAM GX 0.93% Hope 0.93% TRP G spec 0.93% SRAM X01 0.93% Shimano Zee 0.93% Brakes Opening Day 2018: SRAM Guide (all) 32.67% Shimano Saint 17.67% SRAM Code (all) 11.67% Shimano Zee 10.33% SRAM Elixir (all) 8.67% Shimano XT 5.33% Shimano Deore 2.67% SRAM XO 2.33% Shimano SLX 2.00% SRAM Juicy 2.00% Formula R0R 1.33% Shimano XTR 1.00% Hope 1.00% Magura 0.67% TRP 0.67% Derailleurs Opening Day 2021: SRAM GX 40% SRAM XO 9.47% Shimano XT 8.42% SRAM XO1 6.32% Shimano SLX 5.26% Singlespeed 5.26% SRAM NX 5.26% Shimano Zee 4.21% Shimano Deore 3.16% Shimano Saint 2.11% SRAM X7 2.11% SRAM X9 2.11% SRAM XX1 2.11% Shimano XTR 1.05% SRAM N9 1.05% SRAM SX 1.05% SRAM X5 1.05% Derailleurs Opening Day 2020: SRAM GX 35.85% SRAM NX 11.32% SRAM X0 11.32% Shimano Zee 7.55% SRAM X01 6.60% Shimano Saint 5.66% Shimano XT 4.72% Shimano Deore 3.77% SRAM X7 2.83% Single Speed 2.83% SRAM X9 1.89% Shimano SLX 1.89% SRAM X5 0.94% Shimano XTR 0.94% Black Box 0.94% Box One 0.94% Derailleurs Opening Day 2019: SRAM GX 29.25% SRAM XO 22.64% SRAM XO1 14.15% Shimano Zee 7.55% Shimano Saint 6.60% SRAM X9 4.72% Shimano XTR 4.72% Shimano XT 3.77% SRAM NX 1.89% SRAM G2 0.94% SRAM X7 0.94% SRAM XX 0.94% Derailleurs Opening Day 2018: SRAM XO 17.33% SRAM GX 14.33% Shimano Zee 14.00% Shimano Saint 12.67% SRAM X9 7.67% SRAM X7 5.33% Shimano SLX 4.67% SRAM XO1 4.33% SRAM NX 4.00% Shimano Deore 3.67% Shimano XT 3.33% SRAM X5 2.33% Shimano XTR 2.00% SRAM X11 2.00% Single Speed 1.33% Shimano Altus 1.00% Rims Opening Day 2021: DT Swiss 25.26% ethirteen 16.32% Giant 9.47% Race Face 8.95% Bontrager 8.42% Spank 5.79% Roval 5.26% Stans 3.68% Chromag 3.16% Sunringle 3.16% We Are One 3.16% WTB 2.11% Easton 1.05% Alex 1.05% Hope 1.05% NOBL 1.05% NOX 1.05% Rims Opening Day 2020: DT Swiss 26.32% WTB 10.53% E13 7.89% Race Face 6.58% Mavic 6.58% Specialized Roval 5.26% Spank 5.26% Stans 5.26% Sun Ringle 3.95% Bontrager 2.63% Easton 2.63% Alex Rims 2.63% We Are One 2.63% Reynolds 2.63% Chromag 2.63% Santa Cruz 1.32% Syncros 1.32% Zipp 1.32% Crank Brothers 1.32% Industry Nine 1.32% Rims Opening Day 2019: DT Swiss 25.23% Race Face 12.15% e13 9.35% Sun Ringle 9.35% WTB 7.48% Specialized Roval 6.54% Spank 6.54% Bontrager 4.67% Mavic 3.74% Easton 2.80% Stans 2.80% ENVE 1.87% Santa Cruz 1.87% Syncros 1.87% Alex Rims 0.93% Atomlab 0.93% Hope 0.93% SRAM 0.93% Rims Opening Day 2018: DT Swiss 22.67% Sun Ringle 11.67% E*thirteen 9.33% Spank 7.33% Stan's 7.00% Mavic 6.00% Specialized Roval 5.33% Giant 4.67% WTB 4.67% Raceface 4.00% NOBL 2.67% Bontrager 2.33% Alex Rims 2.00% ENVE 1.83% Easton 1.50% Santa Cruz 1.33% SRAM 1.33% Hope 1.00% Industry 9 0.67% Shimano 0.67% Syncros 0.67% NOVATEC 0.67% FSA 0.67% Tires Opening Day 2021: Maxxis Assegai 22.63% Maxxis Minion DHF 17.37% Maxxis Minion DHRII 17.89% Schwalbe Magic Mary 8.42% Specialized Butcher 5.79% Maxxis Minion DHR 4.21% Bontrager G5 3.16% Maxxis High Roller II 3.16% Continental Der Kaiser 2.11% ethirteen LG1 2.11% Maxxis High Roller 2.11% Bontrager G4 1.58% Bontrager SE5 1.05% Bontrager XR5 1.05% Maxxis Dissector 1.05% Michelin DH22 1.05% Michelin Wild Enduro 1.05% Bontrager SE4 0.53% Maxxis Aggressor 0.53% Maxxis Shorty 0.53% Schwalbe Big Betty 0.53% Schwalbe Dirty Dan 0.53% Specialized Eliminator 0.53% Vee Tire Gravity Co 0.53% WTB Vigilante 0.53% Front Tires Opening Day 2020: Maxxis Minion DHF 46.60% Maxxis Assegai 18.45% Schwalbe Magic Mary 4.85% Specialized Butcher 4.85% Maxxis Minion DHR2 2.91% Continental 2.91% Michelin 2.91% Maxxis High Roller 2 1.94% Schwalbe Hans Dampf 1.94% Schwalbe Nobby Nic 1.94% E13 LG1 1.94% Bontrager G5 1.94% Bontrager G4 1.94% WTB 1.94% Onza 1.94% Schwalbe Black Jack 0.97% Rear Tires Opening Day 2020: Maxxis Minion DHR2 32.56% Maxxis Minion DHF 16.28% Maxxis High Roller 2 9.30% Schwalbe Magic Mary 6.98% Maxxis Minion DHR 4.65% Specialized Butcher 4.65% Maxxis Assegai 3.49% Vee Tyre Co 3.49% Schwalbe Muddy Mary 2.33% Schwalbe Hans Dampf 2.33% Bontrager SE4 2.33% E13 LG1 2.33% Kenda 2.33% Maxxis Disector 1.16% Schwalbe Nobby Nic 1.16% Bontrager G4 1.16% Onza 1.16% Goodyear Escape 1.16% Continental 1.16% Front Tires Opening Day 2019: Maxxis Minion DHF 38.61% Maxxis Assegai 9.90% Schwalbe Magic Mary 8.91% Specialized Butcher 6.93% Maxxis High Roller 2 5.94% Onza Aquilla 4.95% Maxxis DHF 3.96% Specialized 2.97% Bontrager G5 2.97% e13 LG1 2.97% Schwalbe Hans Dampf 2.97% Maxxis HighRoller 1.98% WTB 1.98% Bontrager G4 0.99% Bontrager SE4 0.99% Continental Der Kaiser 0.99% Schwalbe Nobby Nic 0.99% Rear Tires Opening Day 2019: Maxxis Minion DHR II 29.41% Maxxis Minion DHF 11.76% Specialized Butcher 6.86% Schwalbe Magic Mary 5.88% Maxxis High Roller 2 4.90% Schwalbe Hans Dampf 4.90% Maxxis Aggressor 3.92% Maxxis High Roller 3.92% Onza Aquilla 3.92% Bontrager G5 2.94% Maxxis DHR II 2.94% Maxxis DHR II 2.94% E 13 LG1 1.96% Maxxis Assegai 1.96% WTB 1.96% Bontrager 0.98% Bontrager G4 0.98% Bontrager SE4 0.98% Continental Baron 0.98% Maxxis DHR 0.98% Maxxis Minion DHR 0.98% Schwalbe Muddy Mary 0.98% Schwalbe Nobby Nic 0.98% Specialized 0.98% Specialized Slaughter 0.98% Tires Opening Day 2018: Maxxis Minion DHF 34.33% Maxxis Minion DHR 16.67% Schwalbe Magic Mary 15.00% Maxxis High Roller 2 7.33% Maxxis Minion DHR 2 4.17% Bontrager G4 4.00% Schwalbe Hans Dampf 2.67% Specialized Butcher 2.50% Maxxis High Roller 2.50% Continental Baron 1.33% Schwalbe Muddy Marry 1.17% Specialized Slaughter 1.00% Schwalbe Nobby Nick 1.00% Continental Trail King 1.00% Kenda Nevegal 0.83% Maxxis Ardent 0.67% Maxxis Shorty 0.67% Bontrager XR3 0.67% Kenda Honey Badger 0.67% Schwalbe Wickid Will 0.67% Maxxis Icon 0.67% WTB Vigilante 0.17% Continental Mountain King 0.17% Schwalbe Racing Ralph 0.17% Tire Setup Opening Day 2021: Tubeless 54.74% Tubes 33.68% Half & half 11.58% Tire Setup Opening Day 2020: Tubeless 33.93% Tubes 66.07% Tire Setup Opening Day 2019: Tubeless 50.93% Tubes 49.07% Tire Setup Opening Day 2018: Tube 55.00% Tubeless 39.67% Insert 5.33% Helmets Opening Day 2021: TLD 26.32% Fox 23.16% 100% 10.53% IXS 6.32% POC 6.32% Smith 6.32% Bell 5.26% Kali 3.16% 661 2.11% Giro 2.11% Leatt 2.11% Specialized 2.11% Protec 1.05% Scott 1.05% Suomy 1.05% Urge 1.05% Helmets Opening Day 2020: Troy Lee Designs 33.33% Fox 16.67% Bell 12.22% Poc 8.89% Giro 7.78% 100% 7.78% IXS 4.44% Specialized 3.33% 661 1.11% Leatt 1.11% ONE 1.11% 7IDP 1.11% Blue Grass 1.11% Helmets Opening Day 2019: TLD 28.04% Fox 19.63% Bell 13.08% IXS 13.08% Giro 5.61% POC 4.67% 661 2.80% Kali 2.80% Specialized 2.80% Leatt 1.87% 6D 0.93% Lazer 0.93% MET 0.93% ONE 0.93% Shoei 0.93% Urge 0.93% Helmets Opening Day 2018: Troy Lee Designs 26.33% Fox 22.33% Bell 10.33% Giro 9.00% IXS 5.33% 661 5.33% Kali 4.33% Other 4.33% POC 3.67% Specialized 3.00% 100% 2.67% urge 1.33% One 0.67% O'Neil 0.67% MET 0.33% 6D 0.33% Neck Braces Opening Day 2021 No 88.42% Yes 11.58% Neck Braces Opening Day 2020 No 78.57% Yes 21.43% Neck Braces Opening Day 2019 No 89.72% Yes 10.28% Neck Braces Opening Day 2018 No Brace 82.33% Yes 17.67% Pads and protections Opening Day 2021: Fox 22.35% POC 16.47% Race Face 12.94% Dakine 9.41% Chromag 8.24% TLD 3.53% Ion 2.35% IXS 14.12% 7idp 2.35% NF 2.35% 661 1.18% Dainese 1.18% G-Form 1.18% Leatt 1.18% Sweet Protection 1.18% Pads and protections Opening Day 2020: Fox 27.78% ISX 13.89% Race Face 13.89% Troy Lee Designs 11.11% Leatt 8.33% None 8.33% POC 5.56% 661 5.56% Dakine 2.78% G-Form 2.78% Pads and protections Opening Day 2019: TLD 20.00% Fox 16.67% IXS 14.44% Race Face 12.22% Dakine 8.89% POC 7.78% 661 5.56% Dainese 3.33% G Form 2.22% Leatt 2.22% O'neal 2.22% Fly 1.11% ION 1.11% None 1.11% TSG 1.11% Pads and protections Opening Day 2018: TLD 19.00% Fox 14.00% Race Face 14.00% N/A 13.00% IXS 10.67% POC 10.33% 661 4.67% Dakine 2.67% Dainese 2.33% Alpine Stars 1.33% GForm 1.33% Fly 1.00% Kali 1.00% O/Neal 1.00% Seven 1.00% AsterISK 0.67% Leatt 0.67% Nukeproof 0.67% Lizard Skins 0.33% TSG 0.33% More from Opening Day: Previous "What People are Riding" surveys: Slightly later than usual, but still a month before last year, the Whistler Bike Park opened on Monday, May 31. The lift lines were long, but the weather was perfect and the ideal trail conditions made the wait more than worth it. We once again had our eyes out to assess the statistics of the opening day, and to compare them to the previous years.Flats pedals and 27.5" wheels reigned supreme with a record-breaking 84.21% of riders on flats and 67.36% sporting the smaller wheels. Despite an increase in the number of brands released mullet bikes, we saw just 2.11% of riders rocking a 29er up front and a 27.5" wheel in the back, which is the same percentage of riders that were on 26" bikes.Trail bikes reigned supreme this year, with the Giant Reign taking top honours ahead of the Norco Range. However, the most popular fork was the RockShox Boxxer, meaning there were still lots of downhill bikes out, with the Norco Aurum, Commencal Furious and Commencal Supreme being the most popular. The second-most popular fork was the RockShox Lyrik with the Fox 36 close on its heels. RockShox were also the most popular rear shock out there with the Super Deluxe followed closely by the Fox DHX2. SRAM were once again the most popular in the braking and drivetrain department with the Codes and GX derailleur.DT Swiss had a commanding share of the rims on show once again, with Maxxis being the go-to tire brand with its Assegai, Minion DHF and Minion DHRII taking the top three spots. Tubeless tires were the favoured tire setup over a tube option, although several riders said that they were running a half and half set-up after being unable to seat a tire due to too many dings to the rim.Here's a look at all the statistics from this year's opening day compared to the previous three. All New Yorkers have a right to live free from fear of being targeted because of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender or religion. But right now, many of our Asian-American neighbors walk with trepidation, if not terror. The numbers do not lie: Between the start of this year and May 23, there were 86 reported anti-Asian hate crimes, a more than 350% increase from the 19 reported in all of 2020. And that almost surely understates the problem. "GoldHand2077" Wins 888poker XL Spring $30K PKO; Vivian Saliba Finishes Seventh June 03, 2021 Jason Glatzer The $1 million guaranteed XL Spring Series had another exciting day at 888poker on Wednesday, June 2 with three action-packed progressive knockout (PKO) events. 888poker Ambassador Vivian "Vivi.888." Saliba advanced to the final table in the XL Spring #11 - $30,000 PKO before bowing out in seventh place. Brazil's "GoldHand2077" won the event for $6,553 to capture the biggest single prize in the XL Spring Series on Wednesday. Check out the results from the first day of the XL Spring Series at 888poker. Play in the XL Spring Series at 888poker! Satellites to the XL Spring Series now running at 888poker Get a $88 FREE bonus XL Spring #11 - $30,000 PKO Buy-in Date Entries Prize pool $109 June 2 376 $37,600 The XL Spring #11 - $30,000 PKO attracted 376 entries for a $37,600 prize pool to smash the $30,000 guarantee. All eyes were on 888poker Ambassador Vivian "Vivi.888." Saliba after she advanced to the final table. Saliba witnessed Saymon "9saymon" Nascimento (eighth - $559) and "Pikkumyy77" (ninth - $547) hit the rail before she joined them after exiting the event in seventh place for $974. "SmartestCat", who was on two XL Spring Series final tables the previous day, was back at it again last night before bowing out in sixth place for $767. "NeverBluff07" (third - $2,827), "Came2click" (fourth - $1,899), and "bellovinci" (fifth - $1,712) were all eliminated shortly after leaving two Brazilians in "GoldHand2077" and "mywifesT7i" heads-up for the title. Each player had $3,282 in prize money locked up with a big bounty to be played for at the end. "GoldHand2077" won the heads-up battle to win $6,553 while their countrymate "mywifesT7i" settled for $4,716 for finishing in second place. Related: Vivian Saliba Freeroll Strategy Tips at 888poker XL Spring #11 - $30,000 PKO Final Table Results Place Player Country Prize KO Total 1 GoldHand2077 Brazil $3,282 $3,271 $6,553 2 mywifesT7i Brazil $3,282 $1,434 $4,716 3 NeverBluff07 Malta $2,002 $825 $2,827 4 Came2click United Kingdom $1,449 $450 $1,899 5 bellovinci Germany $1,051 $661 $1,712 6 SmartestCat Belarus $767 $0 $767 7 Vivian "Vivi.888." Saliba Unknown $560 $414 $974 8 Saymon "9saymon" Nascimento Brazil $412 $147 $559 9 Pikkumyy77 Finland $303 $244 $547 XL Spring #12 - $15,000 Mini PKO Buy-in Date Entries Prize pool $16.50 June 2 1,159 $17,385 The XL Spring #12 - $15,000 Mini PKO crushed its $15,000 guarantee with 1,159 entries generating a $17,385 prize pool. The event was one of the longer ones lasting nearly 10 hours from start to finish before Russia's "ZDimitryS" claimed the title for $2,389 including $1,224 in bounties. United Kingdom's "wacko90" was the only other player to collect a four-figure haul in this event after he lost the heads-up battle to collect $1,410 including $246 in bounties. XL Spring #12 - $15,000 Mini PKO Final Table Results Place Player Country Prize KO Total 1 ZDmitryS Russia $1,165 $1,224 $2,389 2 wacko90 United Kingdom $1,164 $246 $1,410 3 ftragueta Brazil $721 $70 $791 4 Marisak1888 Cyprus $535 $44 $578 5 Kq4eva United Kingdom $396 $161 $556 6 Sidisdis Unknown $296 $111 $406 7 Rohood Argentina $222 $62 $284 8 kfkain Belarus $169 $87 $256 9 DrLogica Argentina $129 $129 $257 XL Spring #12 - $15,000 Mini PKO Buy-in Date Entries Prize pool $16.50 June 2 1,159 $17,385 The XL Spring #12 - $15,000 Mini PKO crushed its $15,000 guarantee with 1,159 entries generating a $17,385 prize pool. The event was one of the longer ones lasting nearly 10 hours from start to finish before Russia's "ZDimitryS" claimed the title for $2,389 including $1,224 in bounties. United Kingdom's "wacko90" was the only other player to collect a four-figure haul in this event after he lost the heads-up battle to collect $1,410 including $246 in bounties. XL Spring #12 - $15,000 Mini PKO Final Table Results Place Player Country Prize KO Total 1 ZDmitryS Russia $1,165 $1,224 $2,389 2 wacko90 United Kingdom $1,164 $246 $1,410 3 ftragueta Brazil $721 $70 $791 4 Marisak1888 Cyprus $535 $44 $578 5 Kq4eva United Kingdom $396 $161 $556 6 Sidisdis Unknown $296 $111 $406 7 Rohood Argentina $222 $62 $284 8 kfkain Belarus $169 $87 $256 9 DrLogica Argentina $129 $129 $257 XL Spring #13 - $10,000 Late PKO Buy-in Date Entries Prize pool $33 June 3 418 $12,540 The XL Spring #13 - $10,000 Late PKO was the final event of the day. Like the previous two events, this one also beat its $10,000 guarantee with 418 entries generating a $12,540 prize pool. Ukraine's "Nzol888" was crowned the champion to collect $2,133 including $1,090 in bounties after defeating "Sickovic" (second - $1,296) in heads-up play. Canada's "Jimbo1234" also finished on the podium in third place for $978 after a pair of players waving the Union Jack flag hit the rail in "Gumbo121" (fourth - $551) and "quinn_g1" (fifth - $485). XL Spring #13 - $10,000 Late PKO Final Table Results Place Player Country Prize KO Total 1 Nzol888 Ukraine $1,043 $1,090 $2,133 2 Sickovic Unknown $1,043 $253 $1,296 3 Jimbo1234 Canada $637 $341 $978 4 Gumbo121 United Kingdom $461 $90 $551 5 quinn_g1 United Kingdom $336 $149 $485 6 ktt4ever Brazil $248 $90 $338 7 PlzHold1Time Germany $182 $195 $377 8 MCKGAO Brazil $135 $160 $295 9 Invented21st United Kingdom $100 $131 $231 2021 888poker XL Spring Schedule Date Time (GMT) Event Buy-in Guarantee May 30 6 p.m. XL Spring #1 - $50,000 Opening Event $55 $50,000 6 p.m. XL Spring #2 - $25,000 Mini Opening $16.50 $25,000 6:30 p.m. XL Spring #3 - $10,000 Micro Opening $5.50 $10,000 8 p.m. XL Spring #4 - $15,000 Late Opening $33 $15,000 May 31 6 p.m. XL Spring #5 - $20,000 R&A Event $33 $20,000 6 p.m. XL Spring #6 - $8,000 Mini R&A $5.50 $8,000 8 p.m. XL Spring #7 - $8,000 Late R&A $11 $8,000 June 1 6 p.m. XL Spring #8 - $50,000 High Roller $320 $50,000 6 p.m. XL Spring #9 - $25,000 Mini High Roller $55 $25,000 8 p.m. XL Spring #10 - $20,000 Late High Roller $109 $20,000 June 2 6 p.m. XL Spring #11 - $30,000 PKO $109 $30,000 6 p.m. XL Spring #12 - $15,000 Mini PKO $16.50 $15,000 8 p.m. XL Spring #13 - $10,000 Late PKO $33 $10,000 June 3 6 p.m. XL Spring #14 - $40,000 PKO 8-Max $160 $40,000 6 p.m. XL Spring #15 - $15,000 Mini PKO 8-Max $22 $15,000 8 p.m. XL Spring #16 - $15,000 Late PKO 8-Max $55 $15,000 June 4 5 p.m. XL Spring #17 - $30,000 DeepStack $55 $30,000 5 p.m. XL Spring #18 - $15,000 Mini DeepStack $16.50 $15,000 7 p.m. XL Spring #19 - $10,000 Late DeepStack $33 $10,000 June 5 6 p.m. XL Spring #20 - $30,000 6-Max $109 $30,000 6 p.m. XL Spring #21 - $15,000 Mini 6-Max $16.50 $15,000 8 p.m. XL Spring #22 - $15,000 Late 6-Max $55 $15,000 June 6 5 p.m. XL Spring #23 - $500,000 Main Event $250 $500,000 5:30 p.m. XL Spring #24 - $50,000 Mini Main Event $33 $50,000 6 p.m. XL Spring #25 - $15,000 Micro Main Event $5.50 $15,000 Claim Your $888 Welcome Bonus Today Head to 888poker between May 30 to June 6 if you want to get your teeth into the XL Spring events. If you dont have an account simply download 888poker through PokerNews and you will be awarded an $88 bonus (20 in the UK) without making a deposit. Once you are ready to make your first deposit, it will be matched in the form of a bonus of up to $888, or more than twice as much advertised on the site. PokerNews Podcast: Farewell to Mo Nuwwarah After 8 Years; Online Poker in Connecticut June 02, 2021 Chad Holloway On the latest special episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Sarah Herring, Jeff Platt, and Chad Holloway break down the latest stories and winners, including Connecticut legalizing online poker, Alex Foxen and Anatoly Filatov winning high rollers, and a look ahead to the US Poker Open. They also welcome friend and colleague Mo Nuwwarah to the show as this week's featured guest. That's because, after eight years of working for PokerNews, Nuwwarah is leaving to pursue another opportunity. The longtime reporter chats with Chad about his favorite memories, poker stops, and articles. Take a trip down memory lane with a truePokerNews legends. Big thanks to the special sponsor this week in Elite Chip Care, which you can learn more about here. Time Stamps Tell us who you want to hear from. Let us know what you think of the show tweet about the podcast using #PNPod, and be sure to follow Sarah Herring, Jeff Platt and Chad Holloway on Twitter. Subscribe to the PokerNews Podcast on Apple Podcasts here! Check Out Past Episodes of the PN Podcast Here! A federal judge late last month dismissed an employment discrimination lawsuit filed against Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, the top contractor at the Savannah River Site. U.S. District Judge Joseph Anderson Jr. on May 27 terminated the case and all its claims, documents show, after adopting earlier recommendations and legal analysis provided by a magistrate judge. Christopher Fail, a white man, in late 2019 sued SRNS, alleging the management-and-operations team at the site treated him unfairly because of his race, unjustly ended his employment there and ignored repeated attacks from his coworkers. Fail, who was fired in 2018, sought punitive damages and reimbursement of legal fees, among other things. Savannah River Nuclear Solutions had previously said it thoroughly investigated Fails claims several times and found no evidence to substantiate them. Stuart MacVean, the president and CEO of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, was deposed in November 2020. The Fluor-led contractor had asked for summary judgment, a quick ruling without a full trial. That was ultimately granted. Would you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier? Sign up to receive news and updates from this site directly to your desktop. Breaking News Columbia Breaking News Greenville Breaking News Myrtle Beach Breaking News Aiken Breaking News Click on the bell icon to manage your notifications at any time. Success! Please click the 'Allow' button in the 'Show Notifcations' alert in your browser if one is available. Thank you for signing up! Please enable notifications in your browser and reload the page. Peeking into the window of the blue brick building alongside downtown North Augusta, the wide open space with a small couch and desk might not look like much. But for the members of the Collective, it's the place to kickstart their business opportunities. Located at 523 Georgia Ave., Collective was created as a place for creatives and entrepreneurs to rent a workspace outside of their home on an as needed basis for $40 an hour. The idea came out of necessity during the pandemic and as being a parent sustaining a business. I had been home for six years and dont know many people. You are just out of the work realm and in mom mode, so I started messaging people on Instagram, Kari Rehnlund, one of the permanent Collective members and a graphic designer out of North Augusta, said. I know that theres a lot of photographers in this area and they might need a space to rent so I started messaging and started asking if they wanted to share a space. Whenever I wanted to go anywhere, I had to go to a coffee shop and that isnt always the easiest, especially with COVID, most of them arent open, Megan Hutchins, another permanent Collective member and a Graniteville photographer, added. Rehnlund also found Rebecca Evans and Sarah Tau through social media and were interested into turning the idea into reality. The space opened to the public last month and word of mouths well as social media has helped link their work to clients. The city of North Augusta is so tight knit and we kind of feed off each other, Hutchins said. We have the Third Thursday and stuff so I think that being able to connect with other businesses and small businesses and other woman business owners I think is something that I really look forward to. One such example is the Collective's partnership with Carolynn Collins of Honey Dripp Co., a female business that will be hosting a pop-up boutique for the brand Rio to Rome. The brand features bold colors and vivid patterns and plans on renting out the space three days a week as a storefront. Its been nice to see even my name being connected with Collective, Collins said. A lot of who they know and who theyve partnered with and now have come followed me and partnered with me. The women, all mothers, also try to foster a welcoming environment for their businesses and future clients. Theres enough work for everyone and I think that its nice to see community over competition, Rehnlund said. "I love to see women supporting women and not being in competition and I love that Im seeing that more and more, Collins added. I love the people aspect of it and I love getting to know different people and different things and I think I have met so many new people in a short amount of time. COLUMBIA South Carolina lawmakers are poised to buy a 23-acre property on James Island that has operated as a Catholic convent for decades, saying it's a rare chance to preserve a pristine plot right on Charleston Harbor. The House Ways and Means Committee advanced a budget proposal June 2 that includes $23.25 million to buy waterfront property owned by the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy an isolated plot nestled between the water and surrounding suburban housing. The land includes 750 feet of coastline, a chapel and dorms for the nuns, said Rep. Phillip Lowe, R-Florence, who made the proposal as subcommittee chairman for the Department of Natural Resources' budget. "There are 23 acres of pristine land, the most beautiful scenery there, with trees overlooking the harbor," said Lowe, who toured the property last month. "This is good news for South Carolina," he added. "As fast as were growing, we need to preserve things in Charleston and those heavy-growth areas, and this is the last place I could find on the harbor." Legislators envision the property on a bluff being an ideal place for weddings, educational field trips, conferences and residents just looking to enjoy the scenery on walking and bicycle trails. The land would be purchased by DNR, which already owns adjoining research site property where the pre-Revolutionary Fort Johnson once stood. The state's parks and tourism agency would manage the public access and rent the buildings for events, legislators said. "The sisters, unfortunately, were elderly and put it on the market for development," House Ways and Means Chairman Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, told his committee. "We've saved it from development and have a pristine piece of property for South Carolinians to own," he added. The property went out for bid several weeks ago, and many developers had already shown interest before legislators got involved, Smith said. It's far from a done deal as the proposal must make it to the final state budget that's being ironed out this month in advance of the July 1 start of the new fiscal year. In the meantime, the land remains on the market. "We're competing with others," said state Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Isle of Palms. "If we dont acquire this, it will end up being developed pretty intensively. And God's not making any more coastal real estate." Campsen made his colleagues aware of the buying opportunity. Combining the 23 acres with other property owned by DNR at Fort Johnson used for marine labs will make more than 4,000 feet of peninsula shoreline available to the public for posterity, he said. A phone message left with the sisters on June 2 was not immediately returned. But legislative leaders said the 192-year-old religious congregation, which moved to the property after World War II, would prefer the land be preserved rather than developed. That will include conserving buildings that developers would likely want to demolish and telling visitors about the nuns' work. "They've done amazing things," Campsen said, noting the sisters' legacy includes operating an orphanage, caring for Confederate and Union troops during the Civil War, and founding in 1882 what eventually became Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital. Smith said he will push for the state to take advantage of any other similar preservation opportunities that might arise. "I think its very important we preserve land for the average South Carolinian to be able to enjoy those resources," he said. "Unfortunately, now as beach property and rental property go up, its tough for people to go and vacation at the beach like we once did 20, 30, 40 years ago. "This will be here for centuries of South Carolinians to enjoy the beauty this state has," he continued. The House's budget-writing committee unanimously approved including the purchase in its $10.7 billion spending package, which the full House will debate next week. Legislators are holding several short, limited sessions this month to wrap up work on the state budget. Other differences with the Senate's version include a 3 percent cost-of-living raise for state employees. Senators provided a 2 percent raise across all agencies in the plan it advanced five weeks ago. Moncks Corner, SC (29461) Today Partly to mostly cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms. High near 80F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Considerable cloudiness. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. Mount Pleasant Towne Centre soon will see a new restaurant and new stores as other shops relocate in the East Cooper retail center. On the food front, the same team that brought Pakistani food offering Ma'am Saab to Charleston, is opening a new canteen-style venue called Malika at 1333 Theatre Drive in the space formerly occupied by Qdoba Mexican Grill, which closed during the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020. Malika refers to "queen" in the Urdu language spoken in Pakistan. "Street food is an essential part of everyday life in Pakistan," said Maryam Ghaznavi, chef and co-owner of Malika and Maam Saab. "Whether its a quick lunch with a friend, a midday tea ... or a quick snack to cool off after a summer shopping spree, we all turn to the ever-creative, never-disappointing foods sold by hard-working vendors along the busy streetsides." Ghaznavi and her husband and restaurant co-owner, Raheel Gauba, live in Mount Pleasant, but they say South Asian food is not represented in their town. "The best place in Mount Pleasant to have Pakistani food has been at our dinner table," Gauba said half-jokingly. "But that changes now. Were so excited to extend our dining room to our guests here in Mount Pleasant." Ghaznavi promises to curate dishes that deliver on the complex flavors from the streets and canteens of Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and other Pakistani areas. Customers can expect classic canteen dishes such as curried lentils with basmati rice and a selection of hot and cold drinks, including homemade lemonade. Ghaznavi and Gauba plan to transform the former Jestine's Kitchen space on Meeting Street into Ma'am Saab by July or August after the Workshop incubator where the restaurant started closed in May. Also at Towne Centre, Ivy & Leo, a womens clothing and accessories boutique, will open by mid-June at 1620 Palmetto Grande Drive between Hairy Winston and Pandora. It will be Ivy & Leo's third location in South Carolina. Other stores are in Myrtle Beach and Columbia. Also in the apparel line, a new children's boutique will be announced by mid-June in the shopping center. Meanwhile, two shops have changed locations at Towne Centre. Las Olas, which offers swimwear, activewear and loungewear, has relocated and expanded into a larger site at 1612 Palmetto Grande Drive, where Apricot Lane operated before closing in April. Also, locally owned women's shop Millie Lynn Boutique can now be found at 1608 Palmetto Grande Drive in the former Las Olas space. New scent A new retail store is on the way to downtown Charleston. Tijon perfume, cologne and accessories shop, plans to host a grand opening July 1 in a 1,100-square-foot space at 344 King St., according to Carolina One Real Estate's commercial division, which represented the tenant. The franchise operation was originally established in 2007 with a location in St. Martin. It also will offer a variety of classes to teach customers how to create their own custom fragrance that they bottle and take home. Nailed down A new downtown Charleston place to get pampered will celebrate its grand opening 11 a.m.-2 p.m. June 5. The Nail Place at 243 Calhoun St. will offer raffle prizes, live music, light bites and refreshments as part of its official launch. Offering manicures and pedicures along with spray tans and facials, it's open by appointment 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. With more than 30 years of experience and 14 of owning her own salon, owner Ann Le said the spa features a pedicure wall fitted with comfortable chairs, offering privacy with half-wall separations on a raised platform. Each station comes with phone chargers. Sign up for our real estate newsletter! Get the best of the Post and Courier's Real Estate news, handpicked and delivered to your inbox each Saturday. Email Sign Up! Parallel to the pedicure area are two manicure nail bars. Customers also can reserve a private VIP pedicure area at no additional charge. Flagship furnisher A Daniel Island-based home furnishings firm that started as a wholesale operation in 2016 is opening its flagship brick-and-mortar shop on the island. Imagine Home will launch its grand opening June 7 at 297 Seven Farms Drive. The 1,250-square-foot shop will emphasize handcrafted materials from marginalized communities around the world, offering upholstery, lighting, artwork and other items, according to Ryan Lantz, director of marketing. His wife, Staci Lantz, is the CEO and owner. Its products can be found with national online retailers such as One Kings Lane and Wayfair. A new e-commerce website will be offered later in June. Oil check A sixth Take 5 Oil Change shop is on the way to the Charleston region. The Louisiana-based company plans to build a new store at 470 U.S. Highway 52 in Moncks Corner, across from Walmart Supercenter and Tractor Supply and adjacent to the new Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, according to Will Sherrod of the commercial real estate firm NAI Charleston, who handled the transaction. Sherrod also represented the developer on the land purchase of the Take 5 site under construction at 217 St. James Ave. in Goose Creek. It's set to open in June. He also handled the ground lease for the Myrtle Beach area's second Take 5 at U.S. Highway 17 Bypass and Inlet Square Drive in Murrells Inlet. New leases The commercial real estate firm Avison Young recently announced several new retail leases throughout the Charleston area. Arthur Murray Dance Studio leased 3,720 square feet in The Shoppes at Bacons Bridge at 850 Bacons Bridge Road, Suites B & C in Summerville. Nikita Hair leased 1,250 square feet at Grand Oaks Retail at 41 Grand Oaks Blvd., Suite B, in West Ashley. Lizzie's Cafe leased 1,000 square feet in the Food Lion-anchored Johns Island Shopping Center at 2770 Maybank Highway, Suite G. Getting fit An Atlanta-based fitness brand is opening a second Charleston-area site. SweatHouz plans to open in September at 835 Savannah Highway in West Ashley. The fitness facility offers customers a chance to sweat out toxins, slim down and relieve stress in private infrared saunas. "If youve never been before, the SweatHouz experience is unmatched if you want to relax, recover, rejuvenate and enjoy the most benefits in an upscale, luxurious environment with top-notch service," said Jamie Weeks, founder and CEO of Legacy Franchise Partners, owner of SweatHouz. The region's first location opened at 1701 Shoremeade Road in Indigo Square Shopping Center in Mount Pleasant in 2020. Charleston poet laureate Marcus Amaker is among 23 wordsmiths from across the county named a 2021 fellow by the Academy of American Poets. The group members will lead public programs in their respective communities in the year ahead. Each will receive $50,000. The Academy also will provide more than $100,000 to 14 local nonprofits that have agreed to support the fellows proposed projects. As we begin emerging from COVID-19 restrictions, poetry, which has provided such comfort these past 15 months, will continue to be a source of insight, said Jennifer Benka, president and executive director of the Academy of American Poets. Poets will most certainly help guide us forward. The Academy has become the largest financial supporter of poets in the nation. The fellowship program is made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which in January 2020 provided $4.5 million to fund the initiative. Elizabeth Alexander, poet and president of the Mellon Foundation, said the fellows represent urban and rural areas throughout the United States. We are delighted to support them as they create their own poems, collaborate with other artists and center poetry in their engagement with communities across our vast country, she said. South Carolina has been well represented in the program. Last year, Angelo Geter, poet laureate of Rock Hill, was among the fellows. Columbias poet laureate, Ed Madden, was part of the 2019 cohort. Amaker said he was delighted to learn last month that his application was approved and now plans to do three things: revel a little in the good news, release a new childrens book and start a Poets in Schools initiative. It is a wonderful thing to be able to be reassured that being an artist is a viable thing, and being a writer is a viable thing, he said. Schools and society dont always encourage that. Instead, poets too often are told to get a real job and to practice their craft on the side, despite their clear public value, Amaker said. 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! People need what poets do, he said. They might not know it because it isnt a tangible thing, but people do need this. Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg, affirming that sentiment, declared June 3, 2021, "Marcus Amaker Day" in honor of the poet laureate's contributions. Amaker's childrens book will be about Black music, he said. It should be ready in August in time to distribute free to every school in Charleston County at the onset of the new academic year. The Poets in Schools project will begin as a citywide experiment that Amaker hopes can eventually expand well beyond Charleston, he said. He will engage local and national poets to lead workshops and inspire students to write. At the end of the school year, those poems will be curated and assembled in book form. Perhaps the effort can be sustained over time, with a new anthology produced each year containing the work of young writers and edited by established poets, Amaker said. He is looking to the past, when a local nonprofit launched a similar project at Burke High School, in order to create a model for the future. Im hoping to get this statewide at some point, he said. The Academy of American Poets fellowship adds to Amakers established duties. He continues to offer workshops in schools near and far. He will serve as Charlestons poet laureate until June 2022. This is a good thing for me to go out on, he said. According to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, Donald Trump has been telling a number of people hes in contact with that he expects he will get reinstated [as president] by August, as he follows the ins and outs of the obscene Arizona election audit and other malicious revisionism. He may be exiled from Twitter and Facebook and the plug may have just been pulled on his personal blog, but hell soon enough be back peddling poison on some platform or another. Georgetown, SC (29440) Today Scattered thunderstorms this morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. High 81F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, then cloudy skies after midnight. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. GREENVILLE On the same day a 13th Circuit judge questioned the constitutionality of what he called a vague Greenville County land development rule and urged County Council to find a suitable replacement, the council chairman formed an ad hoc committee to work on replacement options. Chairman Willis Meadows plan to simply repeal the controversial Article 3.1 was dealt a blow by the councils committee of the whole on June 1, which voted to hold the repeal proposal at the committee level instead of passing it along for a vote by the council. Some members of the council called Meadows' new committee a waste of time since replacement options have already been drafted and submitted. County staff is combining the proposals into one draft document for the council to consider, possibly as soon as its June 14 planning and development committee meeting. Meanwhile, lawsuits against the county continue to pile up as resident groups sue to stop subdivisions they view as incompatible with the rule. Article 3.1 requires that adequate infrastructure and environmental factors exist to develop projects, and that the density of new developments fits the character of the area. South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edward Ned Miller heard arguments June 1 in the case of Fews Crossing subdivision, a proposed 24-home subdivision on rural Fews Chapel Road in northern Greenville County. After the county planning commission approved the subdivision in June 2020 by a 5-4 vote, a group of nearby landowners appealed the decision in court. In court, Michael Martinez of the South Carolina Environmental Law Project, the landowners attorney, said the planning commission didnt take the requirements of Article 3.1 into full consideration when they approved the subdivision. He pointed to potential flooding risks and said the subdivision plan wasnt compatible with surrounding land-use density. The landowners want the plan sent back to the planning commission for review, taking into account either Article 3.1 or any replacement the county approves. Christopher Antley, representing the county, said Greenville Countys position is that Article 3.1 only applies to zoned areas of the county and Fews Crossing was proposed in an unzoned location. Miller, who has presided over at least four hearings on Article 3.1 appeals, said he previously held off ruling on the appeals to give the county an opportunity to fix the rule. Months have passed since that last hearing in October 2020 when Miller instructed the county to redo the rule. Our County Councils got to take some initiative here and get this under control, Miller said. Miller raised the question of constitutionality and said it may be up to the court to examine the rule, though neither the county or the landowners sought to overturn the rule as unconstitutional. Miller said he knew he could light a fire under the council to fix the rule for the largest county in the state, and one of its most beautiful. I just want to make sure that when I strike the match, that its appropriate, he said. Miller didnt issue an immediate ruling on the landowners' appeal but said he would consider the case and make a decision in the near future. Antley told Miller the County Council was trying to fix the rule, as it has been battered by both residents and developers. Meadows wants to get rid of the rule altogether even as some members of the council seek a replacement to protect the rural character of the unzoned areas in the northern and southern portions of the county. Article 3.1 repeal stalls Meadows plan for a straight repeal came before the councils committee of the whole later on June 1. He said those who want development and those seeking to stop it have used the rule to veto projects by making appeals to decisions they dont like. Sign up for our Greenville development newsletter. Get all the latest updates on the Upstate real estate market, more openings and closings, exclusive development news and more in your inbox each week. Email Sign Up! Councilman Dan Tripp, who supported Meadows in the vote for chairman earlier this year, has become a vocal critic of Meadows leadership in recent weeks. He said Meadows' move to create an ad hoc committee was a masterful Machiavellian swipe at both Councilman Joe Dill and at (Councilman) Chris Harrison. Thats the word on the street is that youre going after them because they havent been part of your coalition. Repealing Article 3.1 without a replacement ready could delay any rules for months, which would allow development to run rampant without the protection the rule offered to existing residents, Tripp said. Tripp motioned to hold the repeal at the committee level. Tripp, along with council members Dill, Harrison, Butch Kirven, Liz Seman, Lynn Ballard and Steve Shaw voted to hold the motion to repeal. Council members Meadows, Mike Barnes, Ennis Fant, Xanthene Norris and Stan Tzouvelekas voted against holding the repeal at the committee level. Meadows announced he would form a new ad-hoc committee to evaluate options and bring a replacement rule back to the rest of the council. He put Councilman Lynn Ballard in charge, and named Dill, Shaw, Barnes and Kirven to the committee since they each represent swaths of unzoned property in their districts. Harrison said he was frustrated by Meadows tactics and, as a former member of the planning commission, said he had developed his own proposal and had it vetted by staff on his own because the council suffered under a lack of direction on the issue. Weeks after the council considered an ad-hoc committee, Meadows finally suggested one, but it was late in the process and Harrison said it now only served to delay the matter further. He called it a stall tactic by Meadows. Meadows called it an effort to speed this along in order to level the playing field between pro-growth and slow-growth members of the community. He said some members of council have been filled in on Harrisons efforts while others have had very little communication as to what youve been doing. Afterward, Harrison said he had sent his plans to the entire council for input. Harrison said staff is still finalizing a draft of a replacement plan that may incorporate ideas from proposals made by numerous stakeholders. It would still address infrastructure, the environment and density issues in different ways, he said. The proposal, which hasnt been released publicly, would include aspects of conservation subdivisions to encourage developments that would keep some land set aside in perpetuity, he said. Harrison vowed to bring a recommendation to the countys planning and development committee on June 14, regardless of the work of the new ad hoc committee. Legal cases piling up As the council works toward a resolution, legal challenges are continuing to exacerbate the issue. There are at least five challenges being mounted in court by residents upset at approved developments, and by developers whose projects were rejected based on Article 3.1. Besides Fews Crossing, residents have filed challenges to planning commission approvals over the 36-home proposed Oakvale subdivision on Highway 14 north of Greer. Landowners have also appealed approval of two neighboring subdivisions Cottonwood Ridge and Cloverdale Hills proposed by Mark III Properties and approved along Bessie Road in Piedmont in February. Near Pebble Creek, landowner Jo Ellen Johnson sued the planning commission for its rejection of the Roberts Farm subdivision. The county cited inadequate transportation facilities in its rejection letter to the developer, citing Article 3.1. In addition, the county recently settled with developer Niemitalo Inc. over a prior rejection of a development in northern Greenville that also cited Article 3.1. That development will now be allowed to proceed. Kingstree, SC (29556) Today Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 81F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Considerable cloudiness. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. MYRTLE BEACH Former Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride announced his intention on June 3 to run for the congressional seat held by Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Rice. After serving two terms as the mayor of Myrtle Beach and earning a reputation for putting the safety of the citys citizens first, Im excited to continue my public service in the United States Congress, McBride said in a release about his intention to seek the GOP nomination in 2022. Tom Rice failed the people of South Carolinas 7th District with his unconstitutional vote to impeach President Donald Trump, whom they overwhelmingly voted to reelect in 2020," he added. Rice has been the only congressman to represent South Carolina's 7th congressional district which includes Myrtle Beach, the Grand Strand, Florence, Cheraw and Darlington since it was created after the 2010 Census. Rice was one of 10 Republicans in the House who voted in favor of impeaching Trump after he was accused of inciting the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. How can you be an attorney, a licensed attorney in South Carolina, and vote for impeachment without seeing anything? You hadnt heard anything, McBride said Thursday night of Rices timing of his impeachment announcement. He wouldnt want that done as an attorney to him by a judge. I believe he embarrassed his profession. "Then to double down and do it again to vote for a commission. He said nothing about a commission for the 700 riots that have taken place all over the country Now Im not excusing it and Im not saying its right and the people who did wrong should be charged. But at the end of the day, if its a trespassing charge and youve held people, and in these major cities theyve beaten cops and theyve burned buildings and torched cars, and they got their bail paid and everything dismissed? Its a double standard. Youve got to treat everybody the same. When McBride ran for U.S. Senate in 2004, he ran on immigration and recalls receiving ovations when he exclaimed to build a wall at the border. Ive been in the discussions and Ive argued these national issues before, he said. Its actually the same thing Trump ran on. I sat there for four years and said, Hes saying the same thing I said and he became President. McBride served a colorful eight years, from 1998 to 2006, as mayor of Myrtle Beach, taking pride in stirring the pot along the Grand Strand. He led a team of Grand Strand leaders to a meeting with the city of Atlanta officials about how they manage crowds during Freaknik, an annual spring break festival that draws students from mostly Black colleges. After the meeting, with a letter of support from downtown Myrtle Beach business owners, McBride requested assistance from the National Guard during Black Bike Week, which was unheard of at the time. He also opposed a gay bar from opening in downtown Myrtle Beach. To his credit, McBride implemented and oversaw the creation of the Downtown Redevelopment Corporation. However, toward the end of his run as mayor, he didnt please everyone. He wasnt in support of building an international trade center behind the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, which later became a gym. He voted against the local incentives to build roads and install water drainage to the 50-acre Ripken Experience baseball site because I didnt think the taxpayers should be giving to a private, for-profit enterprise where they could never use the facilities. He also fought to keep the beloved Pavilion, which closed in 2006 and is now used for a zipline business and to host major outdoor events. McBride was ultimately defeated by then-political newcomer John Rhodes for the mayors seat. It wasn't until 2018 13 years removed from office that McBride's picture was hung on the Wall of Mayors inside the Ted C. Collins Law Enforcement Center. McBride said although he may not have garnered local support for the Senate in 2004, the mayor's seat in 2017 or the most recent election for the District 107 state House seat, there are bigger issues than public safety in the city something he's championed his entire political career. Were going to lose the whole country if we dont do something in Washington, McBride said Thursday night. Were not going to have to worry about Myrtle Beach if we lose the whole country. Ken Richardson, Horry County Schools chairman, has also announced his intention to run challenge Rice in the Republican primary. MONCKS CORNER Students in the Berkeley County School District will participate in traditional in-person learning starting in August. District officials recently announced the return to pre-pandemic conditions for the next school year, winding down the safety measures attributed to COVID-19. "The best place to ignite the passion of learners is within a school setting, with all of its supports in place," a district news release said. "Rarely can one argue against that." The first day of classes is Aug. 16. The announcement means the district will not be offering virtual learning options specifically for students or families concerned about the pandemic. Instead, students or families who worry about returning to school in person will have to meet pre-pandemic criteria to take virtual classes. That means high schoolers are able to take online courses that are not offered at the district or conflict with their schedule. The district also offers online learning to students who are medically homebound, need a course for credit recovery or to qualify for graduation, as well as students that have been removed from the regular school environment and need accelerated learning. The district also allows students to participate in VirtualSC, a state-sponsored online learning program for students in grades seven through 12. The district requires that students have a principal's permission to enroll in the program. The announcement veers from what the district had previously planned. In a March 9 school board meeting, district officials presented a potential virtual learning option for the 2021-22 school year. In that meeting, the district's virtual learning coordinator, Jenna Wells, said a March survey showed that 2,211 families in third through 12th grade wanted a virtual option. Throughout the school year, the district has had over 1,700 students in one of the district's two virtual learning options. Since then, vaccines have opened up to people age 12 and older as masks have become optional in schools across the state. At the most recent school board meeting on May 26, Superintendent Eddie Ingram reported a total of 34 cases among staff and students in the week prior to the meeting. "That's pretty remarkable considering we have over 25,000 students back face-to-face and 5,000 employees," Ingram said. "It's all very, very low." Other Lowcountry districts plan to still offer online learning. The Charleston County School District has around 400 students signed up for its virtual academy. Dorchester District 2 also plans to offer a virtual option for sixth through 12th graders. The announcement didn't come as a surprise to Kat Low, a Berkeley County teacher who serves as the area representative for SC for Ed and also is the president of Berkeley County's chapter of the South Carolina Education Association. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the district has been more liberal in its approach to COVID-19 precautions than others in the state. The district was the only one in S.C. to never issue a mask requirement. Instead, individual school principals were able to implement their own mask rules. It also offered in-person learning with a virtual option for the entire 2020-21 school year. "I don't think we're really looking at that much of a change," Low said. Gregory Yee covers breaking news and public safety. He's a native Angeleno and previously covered crime and courts for the Press-Telegram in Long Beach, CA. He studied journalism and Spanish literature at the University of California, Irvine. South Carolina had one of its most violent years on record in 2020, according to preliminary statistics released by the State Law Enforcement Division on June 3. The rate of homicides was of particular concern to SLED Chief Mark Keel, who was joined by dozens of law enforcement officials from across the Palmetto State for a news conference in Columbia. "I never dreamed I'd be up here talking about a 25 percent increase in murders in one year," Keel said. "I mean, that's unbelievable to me. 25 percent. And thankfully it's not like in some of our nation's cities. I just saw a report the other night where they have a 50 percent increase in murders. One had a 123 percent increase. I want to say that we can make a difference, but again, we can't do it without everybody's help." The number of murders statewide increased from 457 in 2019 to 571 in 2020, according to SLED's preliminary statistics. Keel also said the 571 murders recorded in 2020 were the most on record stretching back to 1960. "As I said last year, I am extremely concerned by the increasing amount of violence in our state, including the number of murders and assaults," Keel said. "I am particularly troubled at the steady increase in the number of murders taking place." The rate of murders increased 51 percent over the past five years in South Carolina, the chief said. He attributes much of that increase to gang activity, drugs and criminals' easy access to guns. "Our communities themselves are victims of drugs being brought into their neighborhoods," Keel said. "No family who's lost a loved one can be told that there are no victims in drug crimes. I'm so sick of hearing that drug crimes are victimless crimes. We need legislative support to improve community involvement and keep our streets safe." The statistics released on June 3 also showed a 9 percent jump in the number of aggravated assaults 19,469 in 2019 to 21,272 in 2020. The overall violent crime rate increased 5 percent over the same period, and jumped by 11 percent compared with 2015. Also of concern was an increase in the number of arson cases, which jumped about 21 percent, from 571 in 2019 to 694 in 2020, despite steadily declining in 2018 and 2019, according to SLED. For law enforcement officials like Keel and community advocates working to curb violent crime, a significant part of the solution is forming strong connections with residents who distrust authorities. Pastor Thomas Ravenell began a conflict resolution program at North Charleston High School in 2018. The program has since expanded to Morningside Middle School and the pastor said he hopes to build on the success he's seen in reaching at-risk boys and teens in the North Charleston area. "I think we all can agree that things are bad, but the flip side of that is how do we make things better," Ravenell said. "One word I'm not hearing enough is mentoring. We have to begin to mentor. We have to begin to teach." It's not enough to tell a young boy to teenager to put a gun down, you have to show him that his actions impact his family, his loved ones, the pastor said. "When you pick up this gun, remember, there's consequences that come with it," Ravenell said. "Are you ready to trade you life for a jail cell? It's so important that we reach back to this generation. Most of the boys we come into contact with are looking for somebody to show them some love, somebody to say, 'guide me.'" Continued success will depend on the community as a whole, he said. Residents have stayed silent about crime in their communities for too long, allowing the killing to continue. "What I say to parents is, don't wait 'till it knocks on your door," Ravenell said. "It's going to take the community, everybody who's interested." If people get involved, it will have a deterrent effect on crime, he said. Criminals will think twice before pulling out a gun because they know residents are watching and will not hesitate to report what they see to authorities. Ravenell pointed to arrests announced by North Charleston police in a mass shooting in late May that left a 14-year-old girl dead and others injured. Someone in the community stepped forward to give police the information they needed to make those arrests, the pastor said. "This is how we help clean up the streets," Ravenell said. "If we don't get involved, it's going to continue to happen." Despite the increases in some crime categories, SLED's data showed signs of hope. The property crime rate dropped 6 percent from 2019 to 2020, the sixth consecutive year of decreases, according to SLED. The number of robberies and sexual battery cases also fell. But those positive trends are outweighed by the increases in murders and aggravated assaults, Keel said. "Each one of these statistics is a member of our community," he said. "These are our loved ones, our neighbors, our friends, these are South Carolinians." And the chief said his agency's analysis shows 2021 could be an even more violent year than 2020 if the current trend holds. "Now's the time to work together to improve law enforcement's efforts and capabilities," Keel said. "We must work every day to show the public that we are worthy. The reality is we cannot do it alone. This is not an issue where we can arrest our way out of it. We need communities who can help." Speaking after the news conference, Charleston Police Chief Luther Reynolds told The Post and Courier he echoed Keel's message. "I think he hit all the main issues," Reynolds said. "It's a shared responsibility. We have to do it as partners. We have to collaborate. It's not any one entity. It's not just the courts. It's not just the prosecutors. It's not just the state side or the federal side." Much of the violent crime problem is being driven by a small number of repeat offenders, career criminals who peddle drugs and bring bloodshed to communities in Charleston and across the state, the chief said. Reynolds said his department works together with area law enforcement as well as with statewide authorities and federal partners like the FBI, U.S. Attorney's Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration to not only arrest these repeat offenders, but make strong cases against them that ensure they receive appropriate sentences. "Those people need to go to jail and they need to stay there," he said. "We need to make sure that they're out of our communities and that they're no longer victimizing people." Amending state laws around unlawful carrying of firearms is essential, Reynolds said. As the law stands now, there are no enhanced penalties for someone who's repeatedly convicted of illegally possessing a gun. The chief compared that lack of punishment to enhancements for petty theft or simple possession of narcotics, offenses that significantly ramp up the punishment each time someone reoffends. When it comes to criminals who carry guns despite not being allowed to, they know they face essentially no punishment for doing so, Reynolds said. "What motivates me most is saving lives," he said. "We have a serious problem. It's going to take serious solutions to change the trajectory of this trend." What SLED's full report for 2020 will show remains to be seen. State police are analyzing all the data and expect to release a final report by the end of summer. Adam Benson in Columbia contributed to this report. 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. Correctly understood, the controversy about the 1619 Project is not about whether some topics should be taught and some should not. An honest reading of the historians and public intellectuals who criticized the project reveals a concern that it lacks the context and subtlety of good history, fostering a simple, identitarian view of the past where slavery was a uniquely American institution and where slavery and racism explain too much: everything from the Revolution to capitalism, from modern health care to rush-hour traffic. If, in the words of lead writer Nikole Hannah-Jones, anti-Black racism runs in the very DNA of this country, why would we expect otherwise? What can any people do about their DNA? The question is one that propelled a lengthy reporting process and led a pair of journalists from South Carolina across the Atlantic Ocean to Senegal: Who was Omar ibn Said, really? When two Post and Courier journalists started pursuing that question, they knew Omar was a Muslim scholar who, at age 37, was captured from his home in Futa Toro and forced onto a slave ship bound for Charleston. Omar had lived the rest of his life enslaved, first in South Carolina and then North Carolina. Throughout that time, Omar wrote at least 15 surviving texts in Arabic, including the only known surviving autobiography written in Arabic by someone still enslaved in America. When that autobiography was bought by the Library of Congress, digitized and made available to the public, Omars story sprang from obscurity. While Omar's writing gave insight into his life, his past and his faith, it also raised questions. He provided little detail about where he was from. That mystery of what place Omar had called home became key to The Post and Courier's Pulitzer Center-supported project. This week, the journalists behind that project, writer Jennifer Berry Hawes and photographer Gavin McIntyre, share details from their reporting process, the challenges they ran into along the way and what their days in Senegal taught them about who Omar really was. While some of the questions they sought out to answer didn't have a definitive resolution, their quest with the help of translators, imams, historians and others uncovered new revelations about Omar's life. 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: Bernard Joel Meno Muna, the defendant in a crowbar attack at a Merizo residence, will be the first person placed under electronic monitoring while on probation in the local court system. The electronic monitoring program, which the Judiciary of Guam launched nearly two years ago, has only been approved for defendants in the pretrial phase of their case. Muna, 35, was scheduled to plead guilty in the Superior Court of Guam on Thursday to two counts of criminal mischief as a third-degree felony and family violence as a misdemeanor. However, Judge Maria Cenzon made some changes to the conditions of his plea deal and gave the parties more time to review it. The agreement calls for a five-year prison sentence but only six months will be served behind bars. It was said in court that Muna would immediately be released and placed on probation. Muna would also be ordered to have no contact and stay away from the victims, the agreement states. On Thursday, one victim testified that she remains in fear of Muna. "Your honor, I just want to let you know this is very scary," the victim said, as she questioned why the original agreement would not include Muna wearing an "ankle monitor." "I just wanted to let the judge know I'm scared." "If there was a stay-away order in the probation period without the electronic monitoring where he would stay 1,000 feet away from you, would that make you feel safer?" said Judge Cenzon. "No," the victim said, as she recalled two other incidents where she said the defendant barged into her residence with a knife. "To me, it's not going to stop, and I just don't know how to express how scared I am of him," she said. "I don't think I will be able to defend myself if he comes to my house again. I don't think he cares about the rules. It's not going to stop him." Assistant Attorney General Renaida San Nicolas told the court that the terms in the agreement serve as a deterrent, adding that if Muna violates the stay-away order, he may have to serve the full five-year sentence. "That is a significant hammer above my client's head to make sure he complies," said defense attorney Zachary Taimanglo. "We agreed to a stay-away and that he shouldn't be making any contact with the victims. We agreed to restitution to make the victims feel whole again. ... We think it's a fair resolution to both parties." Cenzon said she would require that Muna be placed under electronic monitoring for up to six months after the court accepts the plea agreement and he begins serving his probation. "It'll be a test of the system," Cenzon said. Muna is scheduled to appear back in court on June 7. Attack in Merizo According to court documents, officers responded to a Merizo home in December 2020 after the windows and windshield of two cars had been damaged. A neighbor told police that Muna was recently released from prison and came to her home demanding to use one of the cars, but she refused, documents state. Officers were called back later that day after Muna became upset and attacked the victim with a crowbar, documents state. A man accused in a crowbar attack in Merizo last December is expected to admit to the criminal charges filed against in the Superior Court of Guam today. Bernard Joel Meno Muna, 35, appeared before Judge Maria Cenzon on Wednesday to plead guilty to two counts of criminal mischief as a third-degree felony and family violence as a third-degree felony. However, the judge continued the hearing for today to allow the victims an opportunity to address the court. It was said in court that the plea agreement would allow for the special allegation of possession or use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony to be dismissed. He faces a six-month prison term, according to the agreement. Muna would also be ordered to have no contact with the victims. According to court documents, officers responded to a Merizo home in December 2020 after the windows and windshield of two cars had been damaged. A neighbor told police the suspect was recently released from prison and came to her home, demanding to use one of the cars, but she refused, documents state. Officers were called back to Merizo later that same day after the suspect became upset and attacked the victim with a crowbar, documents state. Note: We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email circulation@postregister.com for help creating one. This blighted twin on King Street will be torn down and replaced with a structure to expand services from the YWCA TriCounty Area. Commentary: Students need to learn about racism in order to combat it The Bronx and its vibrant, diverse communities have made countless contributions to the cultural and economic fabric of New York City. Yet as a result of decades of underinvestment in the borough, it has experienced some of the worst economic and health ramifications from the pandemic. In order to come out of the COVID crisis stronger, the Bronx will require investments from the city in both the short and long term in three key areas housing, employment and food justice. We hope to see the current and next city administration make a commitment to the people of the Bronx. Thousands of emails to and from Dr. Anthony Fauci have become public through a FOIA request by the Washington Post. Reaction to the emails has generally been partisan: Democrats have hailed them as validating their view of Fauci as a secular saint, while conservatives have found confirmation of their suspicions of the life-long bureaucrat, who went to work for the NIH during the Nixon administration and has been rising through the bureaucracy, as opposed to treating patients, ever since. I havent yet had time to read the emails, and you cant competently comment on them until you have read them. That rules out the large majority of what you will see online. If you want to read them for yourself and draw your own conclusions, they are here. Despite that caution, here are some thoughts. Yahoo News, a pro-Democrat outlet, headlines: What conservatives see in the Fauci emails. But the story, while modest, is relatively fair. Dr. Anthony Faucis emails, released through a Freedom of Information Act request, are a Rorschach test. To Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), they revealed the nations top infectious expert and his frequent sparring partner to be a liar. Told you, Paul said. Cant wait to see the media try to spin the Fauci FOIA emails. On cue, CNN tweeted, Thousands of emails from and to Dr. Fauci reveal the weight that came from his role as a rare source of frank honesty within the Trump administrations COVID-19 task force. Thats not how most conservatives view the email exchanges about masks or theories about the virus origins. Where liberals see a beleaguered official, conservatives see in the emails private counsel that is more equivocal than Faucis public pronouncements, when not diametrically opposed. A good example of how some conservatives see the Fauci emails comes from Legal Insurrection. What are the flash points of controversy? So far, I have seen at least two. One is the fact that Faucis emails show that the possible origin of the Wuhan virus in the CCPs virology lab has been on the radar from the beginning, with some scientists suggesting that the viruss DNA is most consistent with a laboratory origin. I have not seen a Fauci email that takes a position on how the Wuhan virus arose. If he ever wrote that he thought that the virus came from a Chinese laba lab that he himself helped to finance!that would be a bombshell. But I havent seen such an email, and my guess is that Fauci is too much the bureaucrat to commit himself on that question, especially given the friendly relationship with Chinese scientists documented in these communications. We can say, though, that Fauci stood by while Republicans like Tom Cotton and Donald Trump were being excoriated in the press for saying that a possible link to the Wuhan Institute of Virology should be investigated. As best I can recall, Fauci said nothing in their defense and kept the intimations he received from others to himself. Knowing that the viruss origin was a legitimate question, if Fauci was silent his conduct was consistent with loyalty to the Democratic Party, and not consistent with his duties as a public servant. The second controversy of which I am aware relates to Faucis statements that masks are useless to combat covid-19. But this is no surprise. The emails that were just released date to February and March of 2020. At that time, CDCs official position was that masks were of no use. Later, for whatever reason, CDC changed its mind. But statements by Fauci consistent with the earlier guidance are not news. I personally think that CDCs original guidance was closer to the truth, but its 180 degree reversal has long been part of the public record. More will emerge in due course, and if I have time to read the Fauci emails I will report further on what I find. But for now, this is how it looks to me. I have posted four previous editions of footnotes to our coverage of the trial of Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd. My purpose here is to provide background on the legal issues in the case for those who seek to understand them. Readers who think they know all they need to know about the case are invited to pass them by. I post these footnotes in the form of bullet points and differentiate facts and law from (my) opinion. I posted my fourth set on May 9 with previous editions (May 5, May 2 and April 25) appended. Today I want to add 10 footnotes in the same form: The court has set up a page here devoted to public filings in the case. It is indispensable for anyone seeking to follow the course of the case. The court has set up similar pages in the related cases, each of which is accessible on the Chauvin page. Filings yesterday (June 2) address sentencing, which is scheduled for June 25 and will be televised. Prosecutors seek a sentence of 30 years. Chauvin seeks probation with a sentence of time served. The presumed sentence under state sentencing guidelines is 12-and-a- half years. I infer from the courts previous finding the existence of aggravating factors that the sentence will track that the prosecutors suggestion more closely than that of Chauvins. I have reported Judge Schiltzs investigation of grand jury leaks in the federal civil rights case brought against Chauvin and his former colleagues. The leak I have followed most closely is the one to the Star Tribunes Andy Mannix. Yesterday I noted the extension sought by the United States to respond to Judge Schiltzs order. The Star Tribune has nothing today on the motion filed by the United States. Yesterday the United States filed a motion in the federal case seeking to have it declared complex under the Speedy Trial Act and thus free from the timeline set forth in the act (requiring trial within 70 days). Defendants do not oppose the motion. Chauvin has already been tried for murder in state court. The related state cases against the other three other officers were and scheduled for consolidated trial before Judge Cahill this August. In light of the federal case, Judge Cahill has rescheduled trial to next March. Despite the temptation to which the Biden Justice succumbed the temptation to pile on and stoke the racial flames, consistent with the dominant themes of the administration perhaps federal prosecutors should have stood aside and let the state cases proceed as scheduled. We have yet to be entrusted with a rationale supporting the federal case. Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson previously filed a new trial motion, but without a supporting memorandum setting forth the legal argument supporting it. Yesterday Nelson filed his 53-page memorandum supporting Chauvins new trial motion. I urge readers interested in the case to take it in with their own eyes. Nelsons memorandum opens with argument on the issue of pretrial publicity/change of venue and pursues it at several points in passing. In my opinion it is strong. Judge Cahill has addressed each element of the argument adversely to Chauvin before and during trial; he wont change his mind now. However, I think he has erred several times over. If Judge Cahill were to change his mind and grant Chauvin the requested relief, the Twin Cities would go down in flames yet again. There is no way Judge Cahill can escape the thought. It is illustrative of the fair trial issues he has botched. I am afraid that the same applies to the state appellate court judges sitting in St. Paul who will have to take up the issues in turn. The Star Tribune devotes one sentence to Chauvins post-trial motions in Chauvin attorney argues for probation instead of prison time for George Floyd murder; prosecutors ask for 30 years. If you get your news from the Star Tribune, this is all you would learn: On Wednesday, Nelson also filed a 64-page memorandum seeking a new trial in a new location on several grounds, including prosecutorial misconduct and juror bias. Buckhead is a well-to-do district in Atlanta with around 86,000 residents. It has not been exempt from Atlantas crime wave (homicides in Atlanta are up 59 percent from this time last year, when the city ended up with its highest total in two decades). One new Buckhead resident was victimized by break-ins to her vehicles twice within a period of a few weeks. Then, there was a shootout on her street. In response to this crime surge, some residents and business leaders are pushing for Buckhead to become its own municipality. This would enable residents to use their tax dollars to take effective crime prevention measures, something the city is failing to do. Indeed, residents have good reason to believe that the city is partly responsible for the crime wave. The current Atlanta mayor has pushed policies to keep low-level offenders out of jail and has eliminated cash bail for some crimes. She illegally fired a police officer who killed a man who had attacked the officer and pointed a taser gun at him. Naturally, as the Washington Post reports: Morale in the department plummeted, accelerating retirements and leaving Atlanta with 400 fewer officers than the departments authorized force of 2,046. According to data collected by the city auditor, 341 officers left the force last year, while the city was able to hire just 116. The Buckhead Exploratory Committee, which has raised more than $600,000 is asking the state for permission to allow its residents to vote on the issue of forming a municipality. Its chairman says: The mayor and the city council have been making bad decisions, so at what point does anyone with a brain say, Enough? If crime is out of control, and you are doing nothing about it, you are finished as a city. Some Georgia Republicans are backing the effort to detach Buckhead from Atlanta, but Blacks in other parts of Atlanta arent amused. (The Post quotes a black Buckhead resident who supports secession because he is tired of hearing gunfire.) Their objection, though, as least as reported by the Post, isnt that secession per se is a bad idea; its that their neighborhoods dont have enough money to escape. Says one resident: It makes me angry because the crime they are seeing in Buckhead is the same crime we on the Southside have been dealing with for years. We on the Southside, because of our demographics, we cant pay our way out. Right. But they could at least stop backing liberal politicians who fail to take measures to curtail crime. The Post says the movement to detach Buckhead from Atlanta faces an uphill battle. I suspect thats true. But if crime does not abate, and soon, movements like the one in Buckhead will proliferate and probably become more difficult to resist. David Ignatius of the Washington Post thinks the U.S. could take a lesson from whats happening in Israel namely the formation of a coalition government comprised of leaders holding opposite views on key issues. My view is that if theres a lesson here, its not the one Ignatius draws. The Israeli coalition government has aptly been described as a car with four different wheels, and every wheel is going in a different direction. The two main wheels are Naftali Bennett, who is to the right of Benjamin Netanyahu (he favors annexing the West Bank), and Yair Lapid, whom Ignatius describes as a centrist, but is probably a creature of the center-left. In American terms, think of a coalition government headed by Ted Cruz and Kyrsten Sinema. Sound ridiculous? It does to me. Thats not to say I wouldnt prefer such a regime (with Cruz and Sinema taking turns in the top spot) to four years of Joe Biden. But the Democrats wouldnt stand for this, nor would I have wanted it when Donald Trump was president. But the absurdity of the new Israeli coalition doesnt stop with the odd coupling of Bennett and Lapid. The government also includes the Arab party, United Arab List. In fact, according to this report, the Arab partys head, Mansour Abbas, is expected to be the chair of the Knesset Interior Committee. This committee is in charge of security, internal security, planning, and building. In American terms, imagine a coalition not just of Cruz Republicans and Sinema Democrats, but also Ocasio-Cortez/Omar/Tlaib Dems. Talk about wheels going in different directions. This is not what America needs. Why has Israel opted for such a bizarre coalition? Ignatius says its down to a shared desire to oust Netanyahu, whom he analogizes to Donald Trump. Actually, I think the coalition is the result of raw opportunism, especially by Bennett. But the stated rationale is Netanyahu fatigue and a desire to break the cycle of endless elections. Im no expert on Israeli politics. However, I doubt that a coalition this unstable will last long enough to break that cycle. As one observer says, The only thing [the partners] agree upon is the need to get rid of Netanyahu. This objective will be achieved in the first minute of this government. Ignatius believes the coalition will reinforce. . .the need for people to unite even when they disagree bitterly over policy. I believe it will reinforce the foolishness of opportunistically pretending to do so. With Bidens proposed $6 trillion budget, were back to full-blown Keynesianism, which fits with our full-blown liberal crime wave. So lets start with this pair. Speaking of race, I know I had these two charts a few days ago, but they bear repeating: Incentives matter: Ohio vs. the US: The rot in higher education: Is this good news or bad news? One of my favorite energy analysts is John Kemp, an energy trader based in London. He does nice chart books from time to time. This first one is fun, as it shows that Californias electricity rates have been steadily rising over the last 10 years, while rates in Texas, Florida, and Louisiana (in other words, sensible places) have held steady. New York and Illinois also look good, but population loss might explain some of that? Next, notice how Japan dumped its nuclear power after Fukushima, but is now starting to bring it back. Heres one reason they are bringing back nukes: Japan has made very little progress in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, and they gave us the Kyoto Protocol ferchrissaakes! And finally. . . Yes, no matter what Yes, but it depends on variety No, for medical reasons, uncertainty No, principle Vote View Results Amidst concerns over the intensification of Africas ecosystem degradation driven by development activities of the rapidly expanding population, advocates championing Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) courses have identified common agricultural practices driving land degradation in the continent. The environmentalists shared their thoughts and experiences while speaking on how small-scale farmers and local communities can get involved in drylands restoration campaigns at the ongoing first-ever digital Global Landscape Forum (GLF) conference on Wednesday. The conference, which spans two days, June 2 and 3, features speakers, the latest science, concerts, film screenings, virtual tours, networking, and unexpected discoveries. It is focused on Africas drylands and how integrative restoration practices can see them flourish once again. During her presentation, Agnes Kalibata, president, Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), said the biggest driver of land degradation in the continent from the agriculture perspective is tillage. The official mentioned that other factors such as overgrazing, poor access to alternative livelihoods and agro ecological challenges are also significant drivers of and degradation. All these are becoming detrimental to biodiversity, driving about 80 per cent of biodiversity loss leading to climate change and malnutrition, she said. Mrs Kalibata highlights that essential nutrients such as zinc, calcium and iron are increasingly becoming less available from plants due to impacts of land degradation and that they have to be supplemented in meals we consume. Proactive measures In her remarks, Inger Anderson, Under-Secretary-General, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), explained that in order to reverse the damages that humanity has caused to the natural world, there is an urgent need to mobilise and make a social movement. The UNEP official called for a mass movement, a youth movement, a finance movement and a science movement to speed up Africas dryland restoration efforts. It is a great opportunity to start delivering on sustainable development goals so that we can create that world of prosperity, equality and of peace, she said. She described Africas drylands as critical ecosystems that harbours one-third of the worlds biodiversity hotspots, a third of the worlds livestock, and produces 44 per cent of the crops in the world. The land is home to about 40 per cent of the worlds population. Healthy dryland is not an option, theyre a must, Mrs Anderson added, continuing that restoring dryland will help slow climate change, bring back biodiversity and produce productive jobs. She explained that restoration can help vulnerable communities adapt to climate change, noting that when dryland is restored, it will build peace and reduce false migration. When asked what private sectors are doing to make land restoration viable for local communities, Sahel Consulting managing partner, Ndidi Nwuneli, a Nigerian agriculture and nutrition expert, said they have been promoting land restoration through dairy development in Nigerias northern region. She said they are advancing local dairy development using a Nigerian private project driven approach to engage processors who source for milk in the region. It makes business sense to source locally. It makes business sense to invest in communities and to respect and restore the environment, she said. According to her, historically, many of these processors used to import milk powder from Europe, now they are actually sourcing milk locally. By investing and supporting rural communities and pastoralists, teaching them how to milk hygienically, providing a whole feed and fodder industries and ensuring that they have solar powered bore holes, not only would they be milking, but their livelihood will improve, while respecting and restoring the environment, she said. ADVERTISEMENT Key recommendations Mrs Anderson explained further that about 115 countries have put forward restoration targets covering 1 billion hectares and that African forest landscape for green initiative is aiming to restore 100 million hectares of drylands by 2030. These commitments are welcome. But like I say to everyone who signed the Paris agreement; land degradation promises dont put trees and grasses in the ground, promises dont build ecosystems, action does, she said. While it is important to act with speed and purpose, Mrs Anderson said we need to get the finance flowing, we need to get the incentives right; investment and nature based solutions needs to triple by 2030 and increase five times by 2050, in order to meet our goals for climate, for biodiversity and for land. According to her, there are many ways to make the money move and make shifts, she said we can adopt inclusive wealth models that value nature and prompt investment, We can legislate to change prevailing agricultural practices that favours ecosystem destruction and allocate funds to restoration in the COVID-19 recovery funds, she recommended. ADVERTISEMENT Mike Adenuga-chaired Conoil Plc earned 63 per cent more in after-tax profit from January to March compared to the same period of 2020. But the companys turnover fell by over N5 billion as the energy firm gained relief after paying up N4.3 billion damages in installments to a trading partner in a legal wrangle that has dragged out for 14 years. The company is in litigation with Nimex Petrochemical Nigeria Limited (Nimex), one of its former suppliers of products. In 2007, Nimex sued the company for US$3,316,702.71 and US$127,060.62 being demurrage and interest incurred for various supplies of petroleum products, Lagos-based Conoil said in its unaudited earnings report seen by PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday. The current value of the judgment sum which is N4.3 billion has been fully provided for in these financial statements to mitigate any possible future loss. Profit after tax for Q1 2020 leapt to N423.931 million from N260.382 million on the back of payment of the final installment of the claim last year. Conoil agreed to pay the judgement sum in the form of scheduled payment commencing around 2015, when it first disclosed details of the lawsuit in its earnings report. Ruling in favour of Nimex, the Federal High Court ordered Conoil to pay $13.757 million, comprising the claim and interest at 21 per cent pending the decision of the case. It also granted a stay of execution with a condition that the judgment sum be paid into the court. Conoil has approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja in hopes of overturning the lower courts decision. Earlier, the Federal High Court issued a garnishee order mandating First Bank to pay Conoils money with the bank to the court. Mr Adenuga, Nigerias second richest man, holds 74.4 per cent stake in Conoil via Conpetro Limited, and is said to be in contention to own the majority interest in First Bank. ADVERTISEMENT The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission says it has remitted a total of N5.36 billion into the consolidated revenue fund from 2016 to the first quarter of 2021. This represents 46 percent of its total revenue for the period. Asides from monitoring all investment promotion activities in the country, the commission also assists incoming and existing investors by providing support services. Part of these services is the pioneer incentive status which was aimed at encouraging investors. According to the commissions financial summary, it spent N6.16 billion and reserved N1.09 billion. The law allows the NIPC to apply fees charged for services rendered by it towards the discharge of its functions. In the past five years, the commission has generated more in 2018 (N5.6 billion) and in 2020 (N3 billion). In 2019, it generated N1.6 billion; 2016, N425 million; and 2017, N409 million. In a previous interview with PREMIUM TIMES, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Yewande Sadiku, said the investment inflow to Nigeria has been under pressure for a few years, even prior to COVID-19. Looking at FDI flows to Nigeria in the last 20 years, we had a peak around 2011-2012 when the country recorded FDI of about $8.9billion. That was about the time the government sold oil assets to indigenous companies, she said. Since then, FDI has been under serious pressure. There might have been a spike in one of the years. But, the trend has been downwards since then. When FDI in Nigeria was high, what we see is because the government policies or economic reforms stimulated the flow of the FDIs. So, when banking reforms, which required higher capital raising, led to consolidation, and when the reforms of the telecoms industry were done, and GSM licenses were issued, not only did the government sell licenses to make some money, those who bought those licenses created a completely new investment ecosystem, with a ripple effect in many sectors of the economy. Meanwhile, Harrison said in a March appearance on Good Morning America that he intends on returning to the franchise, but did not make it clear when exactly that would be. ADVERTISEMENT Olumuyiwa Adejobi, spokesperson for the Lagos police command on Thursday said the alleged crime involving the actor is a very sensitive matter and as such would be treated in accordance with the law. Olarewaju Omiyinka aka Baba Ijesha, enmeshed in an alleged rape mess would be prosecuted once the striking judiciary workers resume. Mr Adejobi, in an interview with City People TV on Thursday said the actor would soon be arraigned. He has a case to answer based on the DPP report and he is going to be prosecuted accordingly when the courts resume, he is going to be charged to court and he will face his charges, he said. Baba Ijesha is currently under investigation and in police custody in Panti for more than one month. He was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Mr Adejobi said social media users have been attacking the police for keeping the embattled actor unnecessarily despite him being granted bail. He, however, said the police is not responsible for holding the actor, the offence Baba Ijesha committed is not a bailable offence based on the report from DPP, so, police cannot give him administrative bail, except the court does so. He explained that Baba Ijesha is still in their custody because he was yet to perfect his bail conditions. When he got to Panti, granted him bail, the case is still on, but he has not met his bail conditions. And if you are on bail and you have not met your bail conditions, I think that is where the problem is, people just are just attacking the police, that we are keeping Baba Ijesha unnecessarily. He said the Lagos police wont be bothered about the attacks on social media. It is not a personal thing; it is an institutional thing. It is a very sensitive matter, it is a case of sexual assault whether rape, anything that has to do with such, we take such a case with seriousness. And we are not personalising it, he was arrested and people just attacking us that we dont want him to go on bail. Despite the fact that there are many attacks against the police on social media, we are not bothered, we are focused on doing what we should do. Mr Adejobi also debunked the rumour that the survivor is an adult. He said the child cannot be more than 14-year-old as claimed by the mother. Bail update Mr Olabiran had told PREMIUM TIMES that the bail condition includes two relatives of Baba Ijesha, one civil servant of grade 16 and a refundable sum of N500,000 to be paid into the Lagos High court account. He said they were still looking for a civil servant to stand as a surety for the actor. The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has denied advising President Muhammadu Buhari to suspend the Nigerian constitution to be able to tackle the escalating insecurity in the country more effectively. The Peoples Gazette reported on Wednesday that Mr Malami had written a legal advice to Mr Buhari to consider declaring nationwide state of emergency and suspend the constitution to widen the governments latitude in dealing with the worsening security situation in the country without any legal impediment. According to the newspaper, Mr Malami specifically urged the president to suspend the fundamental rights of all Nigerians as guaranteed under Chapter IV of the Constitution. It said Mr Malami, in the eight-page secret memo dated May 4, 2021, told Mr Buhari that insecurity across Nigeria had reached a level that could no longer be checked by existing democratic techniques, saying only a state of emergency promulgated by the president can help return the country to tranquillity. The essence of declaration is to allow for suspension of constitutional and legal bureaucratic bottlenecks pertaining to matters of National Security with particular regards to fundamental rights guaranteed under Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution and processes and procedures relating to procurements, among others, the reported quoted Mr Malami as writing in part. Mr Malami, according to the report, said the president should issue instruments of emergency and publish them in the federal gazette. Denial But denying the report late Tuesday, Mr Malami, through a statement issued by his spokesperson, Umar Gwandu, urged the members of the public to disregard the media report as fabrications of anti-constitutional democratic stability in Nigeria. Mr Malami described himself as a true democrat who believes in rules of law and tenant of democracy and constitutional order. He added, The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice is a constitutionally recognised one with its role and responsibilities embedded in the constitution. It is antithetical to common sense to think that the holder of such coveted Office as the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice will stoop to what was printed by the media. The government does not operate in secrecy as it is not a clandestine operation. Hence, Malami discharges his constitutionally recognised mandates in compliance with principles of transparency, openness and accountability. Nigeria has the history of suspension of the constitution only during the many years of military dictatorship when the country was governed by decree. Mr Buhari himself led the country between 1984 and 1985 as a military dictator during which the constitution was put on suspension. The closest to it that Nigeria has seen since the return to democratic rule in 1999 was during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo when democratic institutions were suspended in some states where state of emergency was declared in response to security concerns. But former President Goodluck Jonathan resisted to take such controversial decision when he declared a state of emergency in some states during his administration. Read AGF Malamis Statement in full. *I am Pro-Constitutional Democracy- Malami* The attention of the Office of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has been drawn to a false and fictitious report alleging that there was a secret memo emanating from the Office to the Presidency. ADVERTISEMENT General publics are hereby asked to disregard the media report as fabrications of anti-constitutional democratic stability in Nigeria. Malami remains a true democrat who believes in rules of law and tenant of democracy and Constitutional order. The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice is a constitutionally recognised one with its role and responsibilities embedded in the constitution. It is antithetical to common sense to think that the holder of such coveted Office as the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice will stoop to what was printed by the media. The Government does not operate in secrecy as it is not a clandestine operation. Hence, Malami discharges his constitutionally recognized mandates in compliance with principles of transparency, openness and accountability. *Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu* (Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice) ADVERTISEMENT The Nigerian Army successfully repelled a terrorist attack on Damboa, a Borno community, killing over 50 attackers in the process, an official has said. Army spokesperson Mohammed Yerima said the terrorists came in an armoured personnel carrier and 12 gun trucks all mounted with Anti Aircraft Guns, as well as Locally Fabricated Armoured-plated Vehicles loaded with explosives and motorcycles. He said the terrorists, members of the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), were defeated so much that they had to abort their suicide mission. The latest feat comes barely a week after at least seven soldiers of the Nigerian Army were killed by an improvised explosive device planted by Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State. It also comes about a week after the appointment of a new Chief of Army Staff, Farouk Yahaya, a major general. ISWAP, a breakaway faction of Boko Haram, has become the dominant terrorist faction in Northeast Nigeria after its fighters fought and defeated Boko Haram, killing the latters leader, Abubakar Shekau. Elated by the latest victory over ISWAP, Mr Yahaya asked the troops to sustain the ongoing offensive in order to put an end to insurgency in the region. Read the full statement by the army below. ISWAP TERRORISTS DECIMATED IN DAMBOA, ABANDONED SUICIDE MISSION Nigerian Army troops operating as part of Operation Hadin Kai in conjunction with Air Component of the Operation have today Wednesday 2 June 2021 inflicted heavy casualty on Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) Terrorists group who launched a futile attack on Damboa LGA of Borno State. The terrorists attacked the town in multiple waves with Armoured Personnel Carriers and 12 Gun Trucks all mounted with Anti Aircraft Guns, as well as Locally Fabricated Armoured-plated Vehicles loaded with explosives and motorcycles. The gallant troops successfully defeated the attack, destroyed the locally fabricated armoured-plated vehicles and neutralised over 50 ISWAP terrorists forcing the survivors to run in disarray under heavy gun fire from the resilient troops and Nigerian Air Force attack platforms. The so-called suicide bombers had to abandon their vehicles primed with explosives as they could not withstand the overwhelming fire power from the highly motivated troops. Several weapons and ammunitions were recovered from the depleted terrorists. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Major General Faruk Yahaya congratulated the troops including the Air Component for this great achievement. The COAS restated the commitment of the Nigerian Army under his leadership to ending terrorism and other violent crimes in the North East and the rest of the country. He further enjoined the troops to sustain the ongoing offensive under Operation Tura Takaibango until this noble goal is attained. MOHAMMED YERIMA Brigadier General Director Army Public Relations 2 June 2021 ADVERTISEMENT No fewer than seven people including police officers were shot dead in Osun State on Wednesday evening as armed robbers attacked two banks and a police station. Sources who witnessed the incident told PREMIUM TIMES that the operations were carried out at a First Bank in Ikire and Access Bank in Apomu around 6:00 p.m. The robbers who also attacked Ikire Divisional Police headquarters killed four police officers and three residents. I know of two people who died in the incident. They were at the ATM points where they were hit by stray bullets, a witness who pleaded anonymity because of fear of attack told our correspondent. The police spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola, confirmed the incident in an interview with our correspondent on Thursday morning. She said the armed robbers were about 35 and they came in five vehicles to carry out the operations. They attacked Ikire Divisional Police HQ and the Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) pinned down at Ikoyi-Osun with several explosive devices and several gun firing in a bid to subdue the capacity of the Police while attempting to Rob First Bank Ikire and Access Bank Apomu respectively. It is unfortunate that ASP Osho Oluranti, Inspector Lekan Olalere, Two (2) Special Constabularies; namely Oladeni Olalekan, and Oyedeji Muyideen were shot dead in the process. On sighting the overwhelming Policemen Comprising: Prompt response Response Unit (PRU), CPs Surveillance team, IRT Operatives, STS, 39 PMF, JTF, along with the local Security outfits, who swiftly engaged them in a fierce gun duel, the Robbers began to flee. While escaping, they shot sporadically, and regrettably three (3) Civilians were shot namely; Toheeb Oyebola, Temilorun Adebiyi and one other, (whose identity is not yet known), all male. Mrs Opalola said the robbers, however, did not succeed in robbing any of the banks as they fled to the bush with gunshot wounds, abandoning two of the operational vehicles they came with. PREMIUM TIMES reports that Nigeria is currently going through one of its roughest patches yet with mounting insecurity, bloodletting and violence in most parts of the nation. The security outfits also appear overwhelmed having become victims of attacks themselves particularly in the South-east and South-south regions. ADVERTISEMENT The Plateau police command says Christopher Dega, the security adviser to Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, was trailed and killed in an isolated restaurant. The commands Public Relations Officer, Gabriel Ubah, said Mr Dega, who was also a retired Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of police, was shot in a restaurant at Bukuru in Jos, Plateau State capital. Investigations so far appeared that he was trailed and shot, Mr Ubah first said on Radio Nigeria on Wednesday and confirmed same to PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday morning. He also announced that some suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder as an investigation is ongoing. Mr Dega was killed in Jos, the Plateau State capital, this newspaper earlier reported. Benue and Plateau are neighbouring states in North-central Nigeria. Before his retirement from the police, Mr Dega had served as commissioner of police in Borno and Edo states. Bereaved Mr Ortom, in his reaction, described the assassination of Mr Dega as a huge blow to his administration and the entire state. Retired AIG Dega served with me here and this is someone who has retired but is not tired and was very active. So for him to have been murdered in the manner they did, a retired AIG gunned down. This is very sad, the Governor stated. He stressed that insecurity had bedevilled the country and called on security agencies to find the killers of his aide. Meanwhile, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Terver Akase, told PREMIUM TIMES the remains of the deceased is expected to be transported to the state by Thursday. Mr Degas killing occurred few days after the murder of a former political adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, Ahmed Gulak. Mr Gulak, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was shot dead on Saturday night by some gunmen in Owerri, Imo State. The nation continues to battle with mounting bloodletting, violence and spiking crimes despite all the efforts of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired military general, to stem the disturbing trend. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested a Nigerian, Charles Onus, for his alleged involvement in diverting $800,000 into prepaid debit cards. The amount translates to about N320 million at the current official rate of N410 per dollar. This comes less than a month after Abidemi Rufai, an aide to Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, was arrested for fraud in the United States. According to a statement on the United State Department of Justice website, Mr Onus was arrested and detained on April 14, in San Francisco. He was presented before the Manhattan federal court on Wednesday. The prosecution accused him of hacking over 5,500 company user accounts. He allegedly participated in a scheme that stole nearly $1 million by hacking into a payroll processing companys system to access user accounts and divert payroll to prepaid debit cards he controlled. As alleged, Onus did this as effectively as someone who commits bank burglary, but with no need for a blowtorch or bolt-cutters. Thanks to the FBI and IRS-CI, Onus is in custody and facing serious federal charges, the statement read in part. In the indictments filed against him in court, Mr Onus allegedly participated in the scheme between July 2017 through about 2018, obtaining over 5,500 company user accounts through a cyber-intrusion technique referred to as credential stuffing. After Onus successfully gained unauthorised access to a company user account, he changed the bank account information designated by the user of the account so that Onus would receive the users payroll to a prepaid debit card that was under Onus control. From at least in or about July 2017 through at least in or about 2018, at least approximately 5,500 company user accounts were compromised and more than approximately $800,000 in payroll funds were fraudulently diverted to prepaid debit cards, including those under the control of Onus, the statement partly read. Charges He was charged with one count of computer fraud for causing damage to a protected computer, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. One count of computer fraud for unauthorised access to a protected computer to further intended fraud, and one count of receipt of stolen money, each of which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison to be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed, the statement further read. PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Rufai, an aide to Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun was arrested for $350,000 fraud in the U.S. last month. He was arrested while trying to board Royal Dutch Airlines flight KL644 at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK Airport) in Queens, New York, to Amsterdam, with a final destination of Lagos, Nigeria. He is to be arraigned on fraud charges before a United States Courthouse, in Tacoma, Washington, on June 8, 2021. Mr Onus arrest adds to the growing list of Nigerians arrested for cybercrimes abroad. Some of the common allegations many some of the Nigerian suspects have been accused of include bank verification number scams, fraudulent emails, hacking, cyber harassment, spamming, ATM spoofing, social media hi-jacking etcetera), and exploits vulnerabilities of both electronic devices and their users. This act destroys the reputation of a country, making the business environment difficult for start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises, while discouraging investment in the economy by foreign companies. ADVERTISEMENT The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) has called for the publication of asset declared by public and civil servants by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). The chairman of the commission, Bolaji Owasanoye, said the step would help to curb corruption in the public sector. A statement issued on Thursday by the commissions spokesperson, Azuka Ogugua, said Mr Owasanoye made the call during a meeting with the chairman and board members of CCB. The ICPC boss said the secrecy surrounding the declaration of assets by public and civil servants was aiding corruption. Publicising asset declaration will assist the whistle-blowing policy and our work. We have not been able to take full advantage of asset declaration because of the opacity around it. If somebody lied about his or her assets, he or she can be found out by just the opening of the page where it has been published. I want to encourage the bureau to push for that because the public will help us to do our work. They will tell us who owns what assets and whether it is proportionate to their earnings, Mr Owasanoye, a professor of law, said. The Nigerian constitution and the CCB/Code of Conduct Tribunal Act make it mandatory for public officers and civil servants across the levels of government to periodically declare their assets. The CCB generally denies requests by Nigerians to have access to the details of assets declared by public officers. The bureau recently explained that it refuses to honour citizens requests for such information because the National Assembly had yet to give the guidelines for such public disclosure. But Mr Owasanoye said the opacity surrounding asset declarations had added to the problem of insecurity and underdevelopment facing the nation. Digitising assets declaration He encouraged the bureau to review and revise the Assets Declaration Form to include information that could help to track information such as the Banking Verification Number (BVN), and new forms of investments such as cryptocurrency. Mr Owasanoye also urged the bureau to start digital declaration of assets as against the old manual declaration method, saying that it would help in the easy tracing and analysis of assets as well as enable CCB to furnish government with information on the lifestyles of both public and civil servants. According to him, If you digitise asset declaration, it will help you to reach everybody under your cover. It is easily analytical and help you to know what asset the public servant owes. It will enable you to inform the government about the status of public servants, whether they are doing badly or not. The ICPC boss, while offering the forensic platforms of the commission to the CCB, added that ICPC was willing to assist the bureau with capacity building programmes for its staff. He also expressed the hope that CCB would be active in asset recovery as an enforcement measure. He added that public servants who lived beyond their legitimate income must have their illegally acquired assets taken away from them. CCB chair speaks Earlier, the Chairman of CCB, Muhammad Isah, also a professor of law, called for synergy between the anti-corruption agencies, noting that the problem of corruption cannot be successfully tackled by one agency. The synergy, according to him, should extend to not dabbling into the investigation of any petition that is already being handled by any other anti-corruption agencies. ADVERTISEMENT In the areas of overlapping function, who starts the investigation of a petition first should be allowed to conclude. The others should stop investigating the same matter to avoid wastage of resources. There is no need to over-engage ourselves by doing the same thing, he said. Mr Isah also maintained that CCB was willing to share information on assets declaration with ICPC to aid its investigations. The bureau chairman while speaking on the tracking of executive and constituency projects by ICPC said it was a laudable initiative that has taken out corruption and brought development closer to Nigerians. The CEPTG is proactive in nature rather than reactive and it is helping the people. We look forward to copying from you, he said. Abidemi Rufai, a suspended aide of Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, has asked a U.S. Court to restore the suspended bail earlier granted him in the pending $350,000 fraud charges instituted against him. Mr Rufai has remained in detention since his arrest by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on May 14. He was granted bail by a District Court of Eastern New York on May 21 but the release order was stayed by the District Court of Western Washington at Tacoma on May 25, following the prosecutions appeal for a review. The U.S. authorities asked for a total reversal of the release order in their appeal. They argued he was not deserving of being released on bail. But responding to the appeal, Mr Rufais lawyer, Lance Hester, told the court in Tacoma that his clients case was not one designated for mandatory detention as it is not a crime of violence. Mr Rufais case is not one of presumed detention. Mr Rufai is charged with wire fraud. District Courts across this County have held that wire fraud is not the type of crime designated for mandatory detention because, Wire Fraud is not a crime of violence. It is not a crime that concerns a controlled substance, and is not a crime that involves minors, Mr Hester argued in his court filing obtained by PREMIUM TIMES Thursday. The reply was filed on June 1, 2021. Entitled to pretrial release According to the defence lawyer, a judge must order the pretrial release of a person on personal recognisance or the execution of an unsecured appearance bond, subject to conditions set by the court. He added that the only exception that prohibits the release of such defendants is when the judge determines that the persons pretrial release will not reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required or will endanger the safety of any other person or the community. While the lawyer agreed that the government is entitled to counter his clients release, it (the government) must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant, if released, presents an actual risk of flight. Mr Hester added, Because the government does not appear to be addressing dangerousness related to Mr Rufai, the defence does not, at this time, find it necessary to fully address the issue, except to mention, if somehow it becomes an issue, the government must prove. Moreover, with respect to economic crimes such as those charged against Mr Rufai, the government must proffer more than the fact of a serious economic crime that generated great sums of ill-gotten gains. Merely having access to significant funds is not enough. It is respectfully submitted that the government has failed to carry out its dual burden in establishing, (i) that Mr Rufai is a flight risk or a danger and, (ii) most importantly, that there are no conditions which will ensure his future appearance in court. The nature and circumstances of Mr Rufais alleged offense favor his release. The Federal Bail Reform Statute suggests that a defendant presents a greater risk of flight if he is indicted for crimes of violence, terrorism, and those that involve a minor victim, a controlled substance, firearms, explosives, or other destructive devices. Mr Rufai is not accused of any such offenses. Rather, Mr. Rufai allegedly submitted fraudulent FEMA disaster relief claims and fraudulent submissions to the IRS. Such a crime, while serious, is not indicative of a disrespect for judicial authority or a cavalier attitude towards the reach of law enforcement such that Mr Rufai cannot be trusted to appear. Defendants history Mr Hester also argued that the governments position that Mr Rufau has a negative past does not hold water. This accusation, upon scrutiny, does not merit pretrial detention. There is no evidence that Mr Rufai was seeking to exit the county to avoid arrest. In fact, the government concedes Mr Rufai prepared to board a flight before he knew he faced federal felony charges. Thus, there is absolutely no correlation between the Indictment and Mr Rufais decision to leave the country to return home to his wife and two young children. Nor was Mr Rufai under any obligation to inform the government of his intent to travel back to Nigeria at the time he was arrested. ADVERTISEMENT In sum, the governments claim that Mr Rufai was seeking to board a plane when he was apprehended for the crimes alleged in the criminal prosecution fails to clear the statutory hurdle requiring the government to show, by a preponderance of the evidence, both that Mr Rufai is a flight risk, and that there are no conditions of release under which Mr. Rufai will appear before this Court. Restated, Mr Rufais conduct in boarding a flight years after he allegedly first began committing a crime in the United States in 2017 is not indicative, as the government would ask this Court to believe, of a predisposition to flee the country. If anything, it demonstrates that he desired to return home to see his family. The defence lawyer said it was stated in the Pretrial Services Report that a criminal record check conducted through the National Crime Information Center state and local records revealed no criminal history for the defendant. Once again, militating in favor of pretrial release. It is further submitted that Mr Rufais status as Nigerian National should not weigh heavily in favor of pretrial detention but rather, militate in favor of pretrial release. As the government concedes, Mr. Rufai holds a distinguished Governmental position in his home. It goes without saying that only an individual of high moral character and integrity could achieve such a distinguished governmental appointment, the lawyer said. Mr Rufais lawyer concluded that the government has failed to establish the necessary elements to warrant pretrial detention, particularly, that there are no conditions or combination of conditions which will ensure his appearance in court. Both electronic monitoring, a specific residence, and reporting are all conditions that will ensure his whereabouts and movements are both restricted and known to the government at all times. As such, it is respectfully requested that Mr. Rufais request for release be granted upon the conditions outlined in the pretrial services report and upon any additional conditions which this Court deems just and appropriate. Genesis Mr Rufai was nabbed at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York while heading to Nigeria on May 14. He was said to have used the identities of more than 100 Washington residents to steal more than $350,000 in unemployment benefits from the Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) during the COVID-19 pandemic last year. At the end of a detention hearing held on May 19, 2021, the Magistrate Judge (an assistant of a district judge) of the District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Ramon Reyes, agreed with the government that Mr Rufai posed a serious flight risk, but found that the risk could be addressed by conditions of release, including a $300,000 bond. The magistrate judge went on to issue an order releasing Mr Rufai based on the bond in which Mr Rufais brother, who is licensed as an attorney in New York, was proposed as surety. Knots He was not released because his brother did not sign the bail bond. The suspect was then remanded pending when he would provide an alternate surety. Following the refusal of Mr Rufais brother to stand as a surety, the defendants lawyer, Michael Barrows, on May 21, presented Nekpen Soyemi, a registered nurse, whose family comes from Nigeria. The U.S. later exposed her as a suspect in an investigation into an email impersonation scheme. Her husband, Idris Soyemi, is also said to have been convicted for wire fraud in 2014. While Mr Rufai was struggling to produce a surety, the U.S. government on May 24 filed an emergency motion of stay release order before the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington at Tacoma. On May 25, the judge, Benjamin Settle, granted the governments motion to stay order for the release of Mr Rufai, even as the U.S.government uncovered more criminal activities involving the suspect. Arraignment A federal grand jury ratified the charges involving conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. A grand jury in the U.S. is a group of citizens empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. This newspaper reported that nine counts of wire fraud and five counts of aggravated identity theft were ratified by the grand jury against Mr Rufai. He is to be arraigned on fraud charges before a United States Courthouse, in Tacoma, Washington, on June 8, 2021. ADVERTISEMENT A 300 level student of the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Blessing Olajide, has been raped and killed, the police said on Thursday. The spokesperson of the police in the state, Ajayi Okasanmi, said Ms Olajide, who they believe was first raped, was killed at her residence at Tanke area of Ilorin. The deceased, who was living with her elder sister, was a student of Agricultural Science Department of the school. Mr Okasanmi in his statement on Thursday noted that the deceased was lying dead on the floor when neighbours entered her apartment and saw her with her two hands tied to the back, and mouth gagged. She was naked and had bruises on her private part, the police said. Also a note, said to have been written on a piece of paper was placed on her chest containing a message, Unilorin doesnt forgive. The people later informed the police at F Division Police Station, who discovered the dead body, snapped the picture, and took the corpse to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) for autopsy, the police said. The police publicist also disclosed that the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mohammed Bagega, has directed immediate investigation and arrest of the perpetrators. Disturbing trend In May, 2020, PREMIUM TIMES reported the rape and subsequent killing of a University of Benin (UNIBEN) undergraduate, Vera Omozuwa. Last month, Oyeronke Otunla, a graduate of the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA), was found dead in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) after being raped, the police said. Ms Otunlas death is being investigated by the FCT police, according to its spokesperson, Mariam Yusuf. In April, 26-year-old Iniubong Umoren was raped and killed by Uduak Akpan, who invited her for a job interview at Oron, located in the outskirts of Uyo, the Akwa-Ibom State capital. Mr Akpan, who later confessed to being a serial rapist, said he had raped six women by playing the same tricks on them in the past. The police said he will be charged to court when judiciary workers call off their nationwide strike. ADVERTISEMENT Officials of the Kogi Chapter of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), has said the group wants scholarships for Fulanis. The ethnic group traditionally consists mainly of nomads and herders from the northern parts of the country. Scattered across Northern states, they are believed to be marginalised in terms of education and are listed amongst Educationally Less Developed States (ELDS). The cattle breeders group demanded that the Fulanis be considered for scholarships from primary to tertiary education levels. The Chairman of Kogi MACBAN and the assistant secretary, Wakili Damina and Hamza Bello respectively, spoke to PREMIUM TIMES after their presentation at the North Central zonal public hearing for constitution review in Lokoja, Kogi State capital, on Wednesday. Messrs Damina and Bello said the exercise did not address matters that will help Fulanis. Mr Bello told our correspondent that they did not get proper information about the event until Tuesday. Reeling off the demands of the group, Mr Bello said; We need primary institutions in Fulani settlements everywhere. We need government to bring Fulani closer. We want youth empowerment and government should give them scholarships to attend primary, secondary school and tertiary institutions. On open-grazing of cattle, which has generated controversies in recent times nationwide, the MACBAN official explained the need for grazing reserves. Pertaining to grazing reserves, Fulanis are very large in population. We want the government to help Fulanis have grazing reserves. We need grazing routes. Most of the farmers block grazing routes. Before, they were plenty but now, they have blocked all of them, Mr Bello said. READ ALSO: The two-day event organised by the House of Representatives special Committee on Constitutional Review, started on Tuesday and ended Wednesday across the country. Over 15 presentations were made by political leaders, traditional rulers, pressure groups and individuals from different parts of the North Central region. The Chairman of the Lokoja Centre and a member of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, promised that this edition of the constitution review will be different from the ones held in the past. I can assure you that it will be a fruitful one, the lawmaker said. Media workers, officials and researchers from China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have called for greater efforts on the media front to promote cooperation between the two sides. The call was made at the 2021 ASEAN-China Media Cooperation Forum, which was held both online and offline on Wednesday and was sponsored by the China International Publishing Group (CIPG) and the ASEAN-China Centre. Noting that media exchanges and cooperation between the two sides have great potential, Du Zhanyuan, president of the CIPG, expressed the hope that such cooperation could be further deepened and expanded to contribute more to the development of bilateral relations and the building of a China-ASEAN community with a shared future. Lauding the people-to-people exchanges and media cooperation between China and the ASEAN over the past 30 years, Tang Heng, deputy secretary general of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that media outlets from the two sides have played an important role in enhancing mutual understanding and promoting friendship. Kung Phoak, deputy secretary-general of the ASEAN, said the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge in internet traffic, bringing more opportunities for media cooperation, especially in the area of new media. Strengthening media cooperation will help the two sides make new and greater progress in the future, he said. Subjects such as regional economic and trade cooperation and new media trends were also discussed during the forum. They might need time, he said. I will also understand if (his mom) is not inclined to have that conversation. Everything we have done and said has been done and said while keeping in mind the great respect we have for the victim and the victims family, Darden said. The revival of Ajaokuta Steel Company in Ajaokuta, Kogi State, made the list of top concerns discussed at the North Central zonal public hearing for constitution review in Lokoja. For over two decades, plans and committees set up to look into the moribund steel mill, whose revival promises economic breakthrough, have yielded no results. The most recent of the governments interventions is the constitution of a presidential project implementation team for the Ajaokuta Steel Mill in 2020. According to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, the Ajaokuta steel project would be resuscitated with funding from Afrexim Bank and the Russian Export Centre. The Russian government and Afreximbank would provide up to US$1.46 billion to fund the resuscitation of the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited, with US$1 billion coming from African Export-Import Bank and US$460 million from the Russian Export Centre. While many have advised that the government should sell-off the facility to private investors, some others believe that it can be revived with the right partnership. However, at the public hearing held on Tuesday and Wednesday, traditional rulers, socio-cultural groups and pressure groups lamented the neglect of the viable company and suggested how the constitution review can help salvage its situation. For Simon Ujah, a traditional leader, the steel mill was abandoned because of its location in the North Central region, a region disadvantaged by the 1999 Constitution. The abandoned Ajaoluka is abandoned because of the location. Because it is in the north-central. Ajaoluka has over 25 mills and workshops. It was commissioned by General Ibrahim Babangida, who is from Niger State. Others couldnt continue because of the location. Mr Ujah suggested that the state be given powers to legislate on matters like the steel company, saying that the Presidential Committee set-up has not achieved anything. The company, if revived, according to the monarch, will create over 45,000 jobs. Also, a member of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Kogi state chapter, Mahmud Ismaila, while presenting the groups memorandum, said the unemployment rate in the country would have been less if moribund companies like the steel mill were revived. He also recommended that the management of railways be ceded to the state government in his presentation. On Wednesday, a socio-cultural group canvassing the creation of Ajaokuta East local government, led by Abdulmumin Ogejah, called for the early resuscitation of the mill. We join millions of Nigerians calling for the early resuscitation and completion of Ajaokuta Steel Company to take the country out of her economic doldrums in addition to the employment opportunity it will offer to the teeming youth of the country to avert youth restiveness as experienced recently. In this case, all administrative bottle-necks usually associated with ministries be removed and if possible, the steel company should be put directly under the presidency, for effective monitoring of the project, Mr Ogejah said. However, in an interview with journalists on Wednesday, the Chairman of the Lokoja Centre of the constitution review exercise and member of the federal House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, said the 9th assembly was determined to look into all the yearnings of people. He promised that the exercise will not end on paper as previous reviews carried out under past administrations. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Religious leaders have advised that the enforcement of human rights should be prioritised in the ongoing review of the 1999 constitution. Leaders of Christian and Muslim groups stated this in their presentation at the North Central zonal public hearing in Lokoja, Kogi State capital, on Wednesday. The two-day event, organised by the House of Representatives special Committee on Constitutional Review, started on Tuesday and ended Wednesday across the country. Over 15 presentations were made by political leaders, traditional rulers, pressure groups and individuals from different parts of the region. Speaking on behalf of the Muslim Congress, a religious organisation, Quasim Opakunle, advocated gender equality in the constitution. We considered section 42 of the fundamental human rights. We looked at all these rights and we realised that, particularly, the female gender (is) being disadvantaged and its basically due to the nature of our society. We have a society which is misogynistic. Misogynistic in the sense that we believe that women do not have equal rights as men. Whereas, Allah that created all of us, gave us (the) same senses, same physiology Most of the females are even more intelligent than we male. Mr Opakunle further said females are marginalised when it comes to decision-making and policy drafting. Females should be given rights and it will not be given to them until the state itself reviews it constitution, he prayed. In a similar vein, the Kogi State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), John Ibenu, emphasised that no Nigerian should be treated differently as it borders on human rights. We want to address the equality of all persons before the law. We are all equal before God. The constitution is for every Nigerian. There should be no sacred cows or someone treated differently. He said the Christian group is asking for institutional provision for the enforcement of fundamental human rights. However, in his reaction, the Chairman of the Lokoja Centre and a member of the federal House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, promised that this edition of the constitution review will be different from the ones held in the past. I can assure you that it will be a fruitful one, the lawmaker said. ADVERTISEMENT Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege says the Senate Committee on Review of 1999 Constitution will apply ethical standards, best legislative practices, integrity and open mindedness in reviewing the constitution. Mr Omo-Agege said this on Thursday in Abuja at the public hearing of the committee, which also had the Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, some heads of parastatals and prominent Nigerians in attendance. According to him, the committee conducted zonal public hearings in 12 locations across the six geo-political zones of the country, where members heard the views of many Nigerians and memoranda submitted. He said the committee had also received a broad range of issues about the review of the constitution, studied them and engaged a selected group of competent consultants to further examine the recommendations from the report of the 2014 national conference. Mr Omo-Agege said the committee had also revisited some of the bills in the past constitution amendment exercises which did not pass the hurdles of concurrence with the House of Representatives, ratification by state houses of assembly and presidential assent. We have painstakingly re-examined those bills and reintroduced some of the proposals deemed beneficiary to our people. We are looking at them to determine at what stage of the process they fell off the list and reasons thereof, with a view to improving on them to suit the demands of our time and ensure that they do not suffer the same fate, he said. He further said some people had advocated a new constitution rather than amending the one on ground, adding that all opinions toward the constitution would be respected. He explained that the constitution review would be conducted in accordance with extant legal order provided by the 1999 Constitution, specifically with the provision of Section 9. He, therefore, urged Nigerians present at the public hearing to abide by the standards, irrespective of political affiliation while making their contributions. The Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Muhammad Bello, urged Nigerians present at the public hearing of the constitution review to be guided by the principle of national unity. Mr Bello urged them to make the best opportunity to strengthen the nations common values. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that areas which the committee is specifically looking at are gender equity/increased participation of women and vulnerable groups in governance. Others are the federal structure in governance, devolution of power, local government administration and local government autonomy. Public revenue, fiscal federalism, revenue allocation, constitutional provision for establishment of state police and judicial reform are also some of the areas the committee is looking at. (NAN) A member of the House of Representatives, Bede Eke, has said men of the Nigerian Army and the police are carrying out extrajudicial killings and displacement of people in Imo State following the recent killing of a former presidential aide, Ahmed Gulak. Mr Gulak, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was killed by unknown gunmen on May 30 while on his way to Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri, en route Abuja. According to the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, Mr Gulak was consulting for the Senate Committee on Constitutional Review, which he (Omo-Agege) heads. The police said Mr Gulaks killers were subsequently killed in a gun battle. Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Thursday, Mr Eke, who represents Mbaise/Ngor-Okpala Federal Constituency of Imo State, alleged that the military and police were targeting communities around the Sam Mbakwe Airport. The airport is located in the constituency. Mr Eke gave the military 14 days to react to the killings allegedly perpetrated by its men. We have had casualties in my constituency. Some of my constituents have been killed, and we expect the military, police to unravel these killings. These are innocent people. I am aware that the family of this constituent of mine has written a petition to the Nigerian Army, he said. We lost a young man, until his death, he owned a Shawarma shop to make ends meet. He was shot by the army, the reason that he could not obey orders at the checkpoint. The family has written to the army. We the people of Mbaise, we are not happy with it. As the representative of my people, we are waiting for the outcome of that petition, I am giving the army 14 days to respond to the killing of that gentleman, who left a pregnant mother behind. Why are you after my people, what crime have we committed? That the man was killed close to the airport, we host the airport, does that mean we are the killers of Gulak? The answer is no, we are not killers, but if anything happens on our land, the police should take their time to investigate and to unravel the perpetrators of these crimes. Mr Eke said he was in possession of the pictures and videos of members of his constituency that were killed, adding that they had asked him to take the matter up. He said those alive could no longer sleep in their houses because the security agents have been unleashing mayhem on them. He said, I have pictures, I have videos of people being killed. Our people can no longer sleep in their houses. People in my constituency called me from the bush, to say honourable, speak for us. The world should hold the security agents responsible if my people are killed. There is nothing wrong if people are arrested. There is nothing wrong with the investigation. There is nothing wrong with unravelling the killers or the sponsors of this heinous crime. The issue is, let innocent people be free. It is enshrined in the constitution. I have pictures where the military went to my constituency, destroyed shops owned by Nigerians, owned by my constituents, and carted away their goods. What have we done? What crime have we committed? Gulak left Owerri, if you want to start an arrest, start from Owerri. If you have killed some people as a result of this, why are you still hunting my people? These people are not allowed to sleep in their houses. On President Muhammadu Buharis threat against those fomenting trouble in the south-east, the lawmaker urged the president to direct the military to go after the criminals, not innocent people. Attacks in South-east There has been an increase in attacks against government assets and security installations in the region. PREMIUM TIMES recently reported a timeline of attacks against assets of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the country. ADVERTISEMENT Also, gunmen suspected to be members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN), the militant arm of pro-secessionist group, IPOB, have carried out attacks against correctional facilities in the region. The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu (PDP, Delta), has said the ongoing Constitution alteration will not entertain debate on unity of Nigeria. The lawmaker, who represents Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency of Delta State, said the House will rather focus on devolution of powers and restructuring. He stated this at the South-south zonal public hearing on the review of the 1999 constitution in Asaba, Delta State, on Thursday. There have been increasing agitations by some parts of Nigeria to secede from the country. In the South-east, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has been demanding a referendum on breakaway. The group, which has been proscribed by the federal government, has already established a militant wing known as the Eastern Security Network (ESN) to further its agitation. In the South-west, the call for the creation of Oduduwa Country is currently being championed by Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho. No debate on secession Mr Elumelu said the legislature would not consider any proposal on the unity and corporate existence of the country. It is however imperative to state that nothing in this exercise gives room for any question on the unity and corporate existence of Nigeria as one indivisible nation, the lawmaker said. The public hearing and desired amendments, rather than detract from our national cohesiveness, are aimed at consolidating our national unity by ensuring a stronger federal system with greater participation of citizens in governance at all levels. I, therefore, urge all stakeholders and participants to come up with progressive submissions and recommendations that will engender stronger national unity and greater productivity. The minority leader said the public hearing would welcome suggestions on restructuring and devolution of powers and other issues that enhance good governance and development of the country. He said, We desire suggestions that will bring clarity to the concept of restructuring as being demanded. What items should be devolved from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent List? What is acceptable resource control and revenue sharing prescription with regard to the agitations of sub-national units under a fiscal federalism? Are there items that should be under the exclusive control of the state and even local government? What provisions are more appropriate for resource producing communities? On elections; what type of decentralised electoral system is desirable in a federal system like ours. Which elections should be under the state and which should be under federal purview? What is the role of the armed forces in our elections? Furthermore, what are the practical modalities for state creation, acceptable state policing, civil service system, land use, control and ownership; judiciary jurisdiction, taxation and other subjects of agitation among sub-national units? What statutory recognition can be accorded to the traditional institutions and what appropriate roles can be prescribed for traditional rulers? These and many more are serious issues that require concerted consideration. The House Special Committee on Constitution Review is conducting zonal public hearing across the country ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The Kaduna State Government has insisted that it will not reverse its recent increase in tuition fees for the state-owned university (KASU). The Deputy Governor of the state, Hadiza Balarabe, stated this at a meeting with the representatives of the university students with government officials at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna, on Thursday. The students had on May 26, 2021, staged a peaceful protest at the university campus, barricading the Tafawa Balewa Way, insisting many parents cannot afford the over 500 per cent increase in tuition fees. During the meeting, representatives of the students complained that the 500 per cent increase in the tuition fees is high and many parents cannot afford it. We are not asking for total reversal but the tuition fees should be reduced at least by 50 per cent. That is why we request for this meeting with the government, so something can be done. However, after listening to the students demand, the Secretary to the State Government, Balarabe Lawal, who first respondend to the students, said the governmet was careful before announcing the new rates. We understand the pain; we are also pained but sometimes, some decisions are taken for the betterment of the generality of the people. There are primary schools in the Kaduna that charge N100,000 as school fees. There are also secondary schools that also charge as high as N500,000, and you dont expect university education to cost N27,000? It doesnt make sense. For a long time, we have been deceiving ourselves. The earlier we wake up and come to term with the realization that we need to do something about university education in the state and in the country as a whole, the better. Meanwhile, the Deputy governor appealed to the students to return to their colleagues and inform them that the new rates are for their own good and the state at large. We want you to be proud that you went to one of the best schools. We want Kaduna State students to hold their heads high wherever they might be and be proud to represent the state. The government also said indigenes of the state can access the state scholarship scheme which is readily available for them and also student loans, if necessary. According to the new rates, students paying N26, 000, will henceforth pay up to N200,000 for social science undergraduates, and about N500 000 naira for medical science students who are not indigenes of the state. ADVERTISEMENT The laws surrounding campaign financing and the road to its implementation will be the theme of the upcoming webinar of the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), which is being executed through its Media in Nigerian Election (MiNE) Project. Mboho Eno, programme manager in charge of advocacy and accountability at PTCIJ, said with the current push to reform the electoral act of Nigeria, there is no time more important than this to discuss campaign financing in Nigeria. There is an imperative to have those conversations that would aid create a system which would allow all parties have a level playing ground to compete in preparation for the 2023 elections. With the electoral laws not being strictly adhered to, some political parties have exploited the loopholes in the law, creating an environment where moneybags have overrun the political atmosphere, and ideology and performance no longer hold sway in the elections Issues like how the electoral law failed to put a limit on the amount of money organisations can donate thus creating a loophole for political parties to exploit, and what the law needs to do to strengthen the stakeholders ability to enforce accountability will top the discussion. The panellists on this webinar include Regina Omo-Agege, a retired INEC director in charge of political party monitoring and liaison; Sidi Ali, National Public Secretary of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), and Sani Zorro, former president of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and West African Journalist Association (WAJA). Moderated by media icon Dapo Olorunyomi, the debate promises to be a conversation you would not want to miss. The webinar is set to hold on June 3, 2021 from 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Click on this link to register for the webinar: http://bit.ly/MiNEwebinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. ADVERTISEMENT Opposition parties in Israel confirmed on Wednesday they had come to an agreement to form a ruling coalition and replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr Netanyahu will be ousted out after ruling Israel for 12 consecutive years in addition to a stint from 1996-1999. The power-sharing agreement, which was reported to and confirmed by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, is made up of a slew of parties from across the political spectrum. In accordance with paragraph 13(b) of Basic Law: The Government (2001), Chairperson of Yesh Atid MK @yairlapid has informed the President of Israel that he has been able to form a government, Mr Rilvin wrote on Twitter. The Israeli parliament is expected to hold a confidence vote in the coming days to confirm the coalitions status as the ruling government. Mr Rilvin congratulated Yair Lapid, the leader of the center-left Yesh Atid Party, who cobbled together the ideologically diverse groups to form the coalition. According to CNN, he clinched a coalition that could control a narrow majority of 61 seats in the 120-seat Israeli parliament known as the Knesset after forming an agreement with Naftali Bennett, the right-wing leader of the Yamina party. The terms of the deal include Bennett serving the first two years of a four-year term as prime minister, and Lapid serving the remaining two years. The coalition is made up of a hodgepodge of eight parties in total, ranging from Yamina to a small Arab party called Raam, marking the first time in Israeli history that an Arab group is part of a right-leaning coalition, the CNN report said. This government will work for all the citizens of Israel, those that voted for it and those that didnt. It will do everything to unite Israeli society, Mr Lapid said on Twitter just as the deal was being announced. The coalitions formation marks a stunning defeat for Mr Netanyahu, who failed four times to form a coalition that would have kept him in power even after he once tried to secure the support of an Arab party, an attempt that was thwarted by a small ultranationalist part, according to Associated Press. Mr Netanyahus potential removal comes less than one month after Israel and Hamas, the political militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, spent 11 days exchanging fiercest fire. The fighting followed weeks of unrest between Israelis and Palestinians in and around Jerusalem and other parts of the West Bank and Israel. The Niger State Government has confirmed the number of students abducted by bandits at an Islamic school to be 136. The state deputy governor, Ahmed Ketso, confirmed the number Wednesday while giving an update on the situation at the Government House, Minna. He assured the parents of the abducted children that the government was doing its best for the safe return of the students and reiterated the readiness of the government to give continued support to the security agencies. Mr Ketso also disclosed that the state government has so far provided support to the security agencies including distribution of various operational vehicles. We have so far given 89 operational vehicles, 283 operational motorcycles, 30 bicycles, 4 Tri-cycles in addition to funding the various security operations in the state that include: Karamin Goro, Sharan Daji, Girgizan Daji, Gama Aiki, Ayem Akpatuma I & II, Puff Adder I & II, he said. He added that 70 Nissan vehicles and 2,300 motorcycles as mobility support have been provided to the vigilante corps in the state. He said that the security agencies were doing their best but do not have enough logistics, saying intervention from the federal government was needed to equip them so that they confront the bandits. Ban on commercial motorcycles The state government has also announced the total ban of commercial motorcycles popularly known as okada in Minna, the state capital. Mr Ketso said the ban which will take effect from June 3 was to ensure that the state capital is safe. He, however, said that private motorcycles are allowed to operate but with restriction from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. According to him, the okada riders association has been informed and the ban will be implemented to the latter. The deputy governor also directed all the emirs, district heads and village heads to liaise with local government chairpersons so as to profile all new residents in their domains and to be security sensitive. PREMIUM TIMES had reported how armed bandits on Sunday abducted many pupils of the Islamic school in Tegina, a densely populated town in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State. The bandits reportedly attacked the police station in the town and went round the town shooting sporadically into the air to scare residents before breaking into a private school where they abducted children attending Islamic lectures. The school, which consists of nursery and primary schools, also hosts Islamiyya students in the evening and at weekends. The mass abduction of the Islamic school students was the second to be perpetrated in Rafi local government in six months. Dozens of students were kidnapped at Government Science College (GSC) Kagara but were later released after negotiation with the state government. Asides the attack on schools, thousands of residents across different local government areas of the state have been displaced after the invasion of bandits. Niger is one of the Northern states in Nigeria most affected by bandits attacks. Other states include Kaduna, Zamfara and Katsina. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Nigerias former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, says the security operatives, should apprehend the killers of the Benue Governors security aide and a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Christopher Dega. I commiserate with Governor Ortom on his loss of a personal aide. This blood-letting in our country with scant disregard to the sanctity of human life is worrisome. I urge for a calming of frayed nerves across all divides in the country and call on security operatives to fish out perpetrators of this and other cruel acts, Mr Atiku in short statement shared on social media on Wednesday. Mr Dega was killed in Jos, the Plateau State capital, this newspaper earlier reported. Benue and Plateau are neighbouring states in North-central Nigeria. Before his retirement from the police, Mr Dega had served as commissioner of police in Borno and Edo states. Mr Ortom, in his reaction, has described the assassination of Mr Dega as a huge blow to his administration and the entire state. Retired AIG Dega served with me here and this is someone who has retired but is not tired and was very active. So for him to have been murdered in the manner they did, a retired AIG gunned down. This is very sad, the governor stated. He stressed that insecurity had bedevilled the nation and called on security agencies to find killers of his aide. Mr Degas killing occurred few days after the murder of a former political adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, Ahmed Gulak. Mr Gulak, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was shot dead on Saturday night by some gunmen in Owerri, Imo State. Throughout the year, Her Majesty and members of the Royal Family will travel around the country to undertake a variety of engagements to mark this historic occasion culminating with the focal point of the Platinum Jubilee Weekend in June, reads the announcement on the Royal website. The 2021 annual Legislative Summit on Health may have come and gone but the three-day high-level meeting made significant contributions towards addressing innovative policies and funding alternatives for Nigerias quest for Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Held at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, Nigerias capital, this years summit witnessed unarguably the biggest gathering of law and policy makers, health advocates and government officials. About the Summit The quest of achieving UHC by 2030 which forms the central target of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3.8. birthed the Legislative Network for Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria. The idea was initiated by a coalition of lawmakers, health advocates and health ministries with support from developmental partners. The network held the first summit in 2017 and brought together, for the first time, legislators from the countrys 36 states, state houses of assembly speakers, clerks, chairs of health and appropriation committees in the National Assembly, to negotiate better funding, policies and laws to drive UHC. The summit had since then become an annual ritual except in 2020 when it could not hold due to the dreaded coronavirus pandemic. This year, the approach to ensure that health security is prioritised and the pursuit of UHC is unhindered, formed the focus of the gathering. Held between May 23 and 25, this years theme aptly describes the purpose: Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Health Security (HS): Two Sides of a Coin for an Efficient Health System. The journey so far The summit, which kicked off with an opening session, had the Chairman, Senate Committee on Health (Secondary & Tertiary), Ibrahim Oloriegbe, setting the tone for the conversation. Mr Oloriegbe, who doubles as the chairman of the Legislative Network for UHC (LNU), presented a paper titled; The Objectives of the Legislative Network for UHC How Have We Fared? He said the overall objective of the summit is to effectively leverage statutory functions of the legislature for improved health financing, toward effective and efficient utilisation of the resources for UHC. Mr Oloriegbe in his presentation reviewed the progress made with the work-plan developed at the 3rd summit in 2019 as well as the achievements and challenges since the launch of the first LNU in July 2017. He highlighted seven achievements from the summit to include: Implementation of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) guideline in line with the National Health Act; Earmarking the BHCPF from Service-wide vote to first line charge, and increased budgetary allocation through the intervention of legislators. The senator said about 34 of 36 states have enacted legal frameworks providing financial risk protection on healthcare as a result of LNU engagements. He said the network helped in building the capacity of legislators nationally to harness and align their statutory functions to achieve UHC goals and nutrition objectives. However, the setbacks, he said, include insecurity, scarce resources, COVID-19 restrictions and global economic downturn, which he noted brought about a grossly declining donor funding. Juliana Abude-Aribo of the Legislative Initiative for Sustainable Development (LISDEL) gave an overview on how subsequent summits can be funded and sustained. COVID-19 challenge Participants were confronted with the reality of the challenge COVID-19 contributes to the setback towards achieving the UHC, especially when the senate president, Ahmed Lawan, on Monday, gave his remark at the opening ceremony. ADVERTISEMENT Mr Lawan was represented by the deputy chief whip of the senate, Aliyu Abdullahi. While the COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria appears to be deescalating, concerns have long shifted to the economic downturn, plummeting oil and commodity prices and an imploding tourism sector occasioned by the several restrictions that had been put in place to contain the disease. The latest global resurgence of infections in India and some European countries is currently threatening vaccination efforts across the globe and further exposed inequalities in the distribution of vaccines in developing countries like Nigeria. The Senate president said the summit is another opportunity to review the condition of our health system especially as the facilities were inadequate to cope with the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. He said the summit will open new frontiers for improvement and resources putting UHC back on track by tackling the impact of COVID-19 on health service delivery. In his own opinion, Mr Abdullahi called for a constitutional amendment to give autonomy to local governments. The local government system is dead and this is why most Primary Health Centres (PHCs) are non-functional, the deputy chief whip said, noting that it is high time we gave life back to the LGAs. Health security Participants the summit called on national leaders and actors to urgently consider strategies to rebuild resilience to such crises as pandemic preparedness and health security, especially by raising the bar for health security financing and accountability mechanisms for coordinated, well-planned responses. With a tropical climate, population density, socioeconomic realities, and high cross-border movement, Nigeria is particularly a hotbed for infectious diseases. Speaking, the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, emphasised the importance of setting aside special funds for public health emergencies. Represented by the Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora, Mr Osinbajo said the COVID-19 pandemic had exposed the vulnerability of the countrys health system and the importance of preparedness, diagnosis and response mechanism. He noted that public health security requires proactive and reactive measures to minimise the danger and impact of acute public health events. One of such proactive steps was to ensure that there are funds set aside always and which can be made available whenever there was a public health emergency, he said. Mr Osinbajo said the legislature must ensure that adequate budgetary allocation is made for preparedness activities. He noted that reactive and response activities must include ensuring the continuity of routine services such as immunisation, family planning and keeping sight on other diseases like malaria. Chike Ihekweazu, the Director General of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) in his presentation said the country should leverage on lessons from COVID-19 to improve health security. The legislature must be seen as champions for health security and must represent the interests of Nigerians, Vivienne Ihekweazu, director of Nigerian Health Watch said People do not want disruptions to their lives, however we remain at continued risk from the current and future pandemics. Raising funds The technical sessions at the three-day event focused on identifying possible funding channels for health. Olumide Okunola of the World bank moderated a session on raising funds through pro-health taxes. Pro-health taxes are imposed on products that have a negative public health impact (e.g., taxes on tobacco, alcohol, sugar-sweetened beverages, fossil fuels). According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), these taxes result in healthier populations and generate revenues for the budget. Experts said taxation on alcohol could either be ad valorem or specific. While ad valorem is a percentage of the price of the good and is more complicated to administer, specific taxes on the other hand are levied as a flat amount per physical unit of the good. They added that specific rates are less demanding and efficient. Mark Abani, member of a committee advising the government on raising tax, urged pressure groups to liaise with the legislature to finetune laws and policies for generating pro-health taxes. Mr Oloriegbe agreed that pro-health taxes would likely boost UHC targets. The following were proposed during the session: Money realised from these taxations should go into the UHC system; leakages against healthcare services should be blocked; there should be open and transparent spending of funds meant for healthcare; aside alcohol, sugar and tobacco, other areas such as mining were identified. On its part, a secretary of the Ministerial Committee on Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) who was identified simply as Chris, gave an overview of the BHCPFs benefits. He said BHCPF is aimed at providing adequate care and services at the PHC level, mostly for the vulnerable populations, so as to reduce out-of-pocket expenses. He added that the National Health Act 2014 created three gateways for disbursement of the BHCPF, which according to him, include; the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) which receives 50 per cent of the fund; the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) which takes 45 per cent, and the Health Ministry to receive five per cent for outbreaks and emergency responses. But according to him, in 2018, out of the N55.1bn allocated, only 50 per cent was released. The director of NPHCDA, Faisal Shuaib, and Mohammed Sambo of the NHIS, explained how the funds were being utilised through the gateways. The chairman, Senate Committee on Primary Healthcare and Communicable Diseases, Chukwuka Utazi, appealed to lawmakers to move a motion for an increment of the BHCPF from one to two per cent. Quest for UHC The chairman, House Committee on Health Care Services, Tanko Sununu, highlighted some impediments to achieving UHC in Nigeria. He said lack of implementation, accountability, transparency and corruption are some of the major factors. The chairman, Nigeria Commissioners for Health Forum, said funds appropriated to the health sector have not been transparently utilised. The country director of PharmAccess Foundation, Njide Ndili, noted that the private sector has a major role to play. Mr Ndili explained how Nigeria can leverage on innovative technology to boost UHC. ADVERTISEMENT The Defence Headquarters has said speculations that there is mass retirement of some generals in the Nigerian Army following the appointment of Farouk Yahaya as Chief of Army Staff (COAS), is not true. The Acting Director, Defence Media Operations, Bernard Onyeuko, a brigadier general, stated this while briefing journalists on Thursday in Abuja. Mr Yahaya, a major general, was appointed as 22nd COAS on May 27, following the death of Ibrahim Attahiru, a lieutenant general, in a plane crash in Kaduna on May 21. He is a member of the 37th Regular Course. There were speculations that no fewer than 30 generals, who are Mr Yahayas seniors, would be retired from service. The affected officers belong to Regular Course 35 and 36. Some of them are the Chief of Policy and Plan, Ben Ahanotu, Chief of Operation and former Force Commander Multinational Joint Task Force, Ibrahim Yusuf, and A.M. Aliyu. There were media reports that, in line with military tradition, the affected generals cannot serve under a junior officer to them and must mandatorily go home. But Mr Onyeuko said the retirement of senior officers from the military was always voluntary, adding that the military high command has yet to authorise the retirement of any officer. At this point, you are all aware of the appointment of the new Chief of Army Staff, Maj.-Gen. Farouk Yahaya. This has stirred up a lot of rumours in the media about mass retirements in the military. I wish to use this medium to dispel such unfounded rumours as retirement is only on a voluntary basis for senior officers who desire to do so. At this point, no retirements have been authorised by the military high command, he said. (NAN) The Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures in Nigeria has sought an amendment to impeachment procedures of Speakers of State Houses of Assembly. The Speaker of Niger State House of Assembly, Abdullahi Wuse, made the call in Abuja on Thursday at the ongoing national public hearing on review of the 1999 Constitution. Mr Abdullahi, who spoke on behalf of the body, said there was a need to strengthen legislative procedures of removing a speaker. He said the process of removing a speaker of a house of assembly without fair hearing was an embarrassing situation that had always played out in Nigeria. The conference is proposing an amendment to section 92(c) of the constitution. The speakers deserve fair hearing and not for those members to come up and remove the speaker without hearing from the speaker. So, we are calling for the procedure where the speaker should be heard and the allegation properly investigated and, if found indicted, then a speaker can be removed. He also said the current standard on the issue of financial autonomy had brought untold hardship to people, hence, the proposed amendment to section 123(3) to reflect implementation of financial autonomy. We have inserted the issue of the allocation committee for each state. We also provided how the accounts of the judiciary and state assemblies can be run. This essentially is the amendment that is sought for in section 123(4) by the conference of speakers, it is essentially to strengthen that institution. In addition to that, we have also called for amendment of part 2 of the third schedule of the constitution where you have state executive bodies. Because the state Houses of Assembly Service Commission cannot be included in view of the need to have autonomy in the state assemblies. The State Houses of Assembly Service Commission needs to be included in that schedule where you have state executive bodies. We have also proposed an amendment to chapter 1 part 2, section 5 of the Constitution calling for state police. He also said the conference was proposing devolution of power to state and local governments on issues relating to mineral resources, mining, geological survey and aviation, among others. According to him, the conference believes that there is a need to strengthen the local government administration. This, he said, would enhance service delivery at the grassroots. A former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, in her presentation, called for a single issue amendment to the constitution to allow for a referendum by Nigerians for a deliberation of a new constitution. ADVERTISEMENT We need to centre the citizens in our democracy, we need to call for a deep sense of conversation, Mrs Ezekwesili said. An uninformed observer could mistake the just concluded public hearing on constitution review in Lokoja, Kogi State, as the affair of a single state instead of the entire North-central zone as stated by the House of Representatives. The two-day event started on Tuesday and ended on Wednesday nationwide. The Lokoja centre was supposed to host interested groups from three North-central states, Kwara, Kogi and Niger but only the host state was well represented while the other two were not visible. This newspaper understands that the same occurred at Minna, Niger State capital, during the Senate version of the same exercise. Majority of the presentations and memoranda submitted came from Niger State, the host state, while Kwara and Kogi States had the least representations. Advocates of participatory democracy and groups have attributed this to the insecurity ravaging the country which made interstate travels a risky adventure. Also, many blamed the trust deficit in the process, saying Nigerians have lost confidence in the exercise that had been done virtually by different administrations in the past without tangible results to show for it. Lokoja experience The exercise, monitored by PREMIUM TIMES, welcomed presentations from traditional rulers, pressure groups, political office holders and concerned individuals. Major subjects touched include creation of more states and local government areas, devolution of power, judicial autonomy and gender equality, amongst others. Meanwhile, out of more than 20 presentations entertained in the two days, only one came from outside Kogi state. It was a memorandum suggesting the creation of Edu State from parts of Niger and Kwara States. According to Manzuma Mammah, a community chief from Kwara State, the creation of the state will help advance the cause of the Nupe ethnic group. Edu is a Local Government Area in Kwara State and a Nupe-speaking area with the headquarters in Lafiagi. Aside from Mr Mammahs presentation, there was none else from Niger or Kwara States. Speaking to our reporter, Daniel Makolo, a Lagos-based legal practitioner present at the event, said the same scenario played out at the Senate version in Minna. Likewise, Kogi was not represented (in Minna). There was apathy too from Kogi. He complained that the duplication of the event was not necessary, blaming it on the worsening security situation occasioned by incessant kidnappings and killings across the country. ADVERTISEMENT And many of us complained to the committee, why are you doing a double public hearing with the security situation in the land? Nobody is safe to travel. My family had to go on fasting and prayer for me to go to Minna, come back and go to Kogi, then come back to Abuja with a fear that if anything happens to me on the way Im on my own. This is supposed to be public interest issues. Olorunfemi Adeyeye, the spokesperson of the African Action Congress (AAC), lamented the level of distrust. So, aside the level of insecurity in the country, the apathy seen in participation of Nigerians in the exercise could be attributed to the level of distrust in the whole system. Very expected, he said. An aide to the Kwara State Governor, Bashir Adigun, said the state government only attended the Minna version, when contacted by PREMIUM TIMES while Niger state Governors spokesperson, Mary Noel-Berje, did not return calls seeking her reaction. Reacting to these concerns on Wednesday, the chairman of the Lokoja Centre and member of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, said citizens absent had probably attended the Senate version. Although I cannot speak for them, there is every possibility that Niger State and perhaps even Kwara decided to attend the one organised by the Senate. That may account for why we did not see much of their presence in this particular secretariat. Mr Abbas, who admitted that Nigerians had lost trust in the constitution review process owing to the fruitlessness of previous editions, assured that the one done by the ninth assembly would be different. We are very determined and I want to assure you that all the recommendations made count. Need to go digital Abideen Olasupo, the founder of YVote Naija, an organisation advocating against political apathy, advised that the process should be digitised to enhance popular participation. Of course, the challenges of insecurity have really contributed to it. But there is a need, especially for the National Assembly, to digitize it and make it possible for people to contribute remotely, he told PREMIUM TIMES. He said the cost of logistics also prevented some organisations from participating in the exercise. You know, you have to consider that even when we deploy our volunteers across different states, we need to cater for transportation, get hotel reservations, pay for feeding and all. Theres no point in you asking for people to print out 10 copies of the document, he said. Mr Olasupo said the circumstance wasa challenge to his organisation and others to continue sensitising citizens on the essence of contributing to public discourses. ADVERTISEMENT Four Nigerian airports will be handed over to private operators who will run them for at least 20 to 30 years, the Federal Ministry of Aviation has said. The concessions will affect the Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Kano airports. This plan is contained in a document sent to PREMIUM TIMES by the ministrys spokesperson, James Odaudu, on Thursday. Infrastructure concessions of this nature come with a significant financial obligation which any responsible concessionaire will no doubt be keen to recoup, it said. To this end, we envisage a minimum of 20) to 30 years for the programme, which may be extended depending on performance and Nigerias best interests. That said, the duration is not set in stone and will be subject to negotiation and then final approval by the Federal Executive Council. Despite having huge potential, the aviation ministry said these airports are currently operating at a sub-optimal level. The document noted that the government was starting with the most important assets because the profitable delivery of this concession programme would give all investors the confidence required to consider other possibilities in the sector. The concession will cover only non-aeronautic assets of the airports located in the passenger and cargo terminals, the document explained. This consists of assets from the entry door of the airport to the point of embarking and disembarking from an aircraft to the exit doors. This space commonly referred to as the passenger terminal comprises retail spaces, waiting and seating areas, airport, and airline lounges, baggage collection, check-in counters as well as administrative offices. The document did not explain the financial implications of the proposed arrangement, especially as it concerns what amount will go to the government. Some experts and politicians have canvassed the resolution of loopholes surrounding campaign financing, if Nigerians are to enjoy the benefits of democracy. They spoke at a webinar held by the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) on Thursday. The experts include a retired INEC Director in charge of political party monitoring and liaison; Regina Omo-Agege, the National Public Secretary of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Sidi Ali, and a former member of the House of Representative member and former President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Sani Zorro. The trio were members of a panel that discussed campaign financing and election expenses in Nigeria at the webinar. They agreed that if the nations party system must work and if elections would matter, the loopholes around campaign financing must be resolved to enable Nigerians enjoy the dividends of democracy. Ms Omo-Agege, in her opening remarks, provided a landscape of campaign expenses as all monies spent by political parties on campaigns. This excludes election expenses which are all monies political parties spend immediately after INEC announces poll. She reiterated the constitutional rights of political parties to spend money in an election but berated the reluctance of parties to disclose their expenses due to inability to account for revenue generated. In his characterisation of the current regime of campaign finances, Mr Ali hinged the cause of the loopholes on the weakness of the law guiding the spending of political parties as well as the vacuum in moral ideology driving political parties in the country. We have laws but the punitive measures are supposed to be taken by the National Assembly. When you exceed the Electoral Act, it is the National Assembly that stipulates what measures should be taken. In the last Electoral Act, there is a specification for punitive measures of mere N100 thousand for someone who has exceeded his (campaign finance) limit with over N100 million. In this sense, it is more profitable for somebody to exceed or break the law than staying within the law, he said. He said the Nigeria political space had grown so large in the negativity of overriding laws without adequate punishments because the lawmakers who should make the laws effective attained the seat by committing the same offences or to protect the interest of their sponsors. If the ideology is missing and the laws are there, even if the parties are to work within the conference of the law, if these parties have missing ideologies, there is no umpire that can regulate these parties to work in proper terms, Mr Ali noted, lamenting the debasing system of money politics rather than good ideology. Mr Zorro admitted to the vulnerability of Nigerias parliament and reflected on the complexity of law-making, a factor that he opined affects electoral act amendments. The former lawmaker disclosed that a lot of manipulations and interests converged when the subject of law-making was concerned. He said, In our attempts to amend the Electoral Acts in 2018 to pave a way for the 2019 general elections, the executive arm of government had apparent interest. For instance, in the order of election proposed earlier, the National Assembly wanted to revert to the other elections held in 1999, at the beginning of the First Republic, so that election will start with the National Assembly elections, then presidential election. But I can tell you that the executive arm of government uses all its powers, including under the table (bribery) and ensures it doesnt happen, just as President Obasanjo turned the table in 2003 to ensure that the presidential election came first. ADVERTISEMENT Mr Zorro fingered other stakeholders in a widespread conspiracy against Nigeria democratic processes. He lamented the age-long decadence at the countrys National Assembly which paved ways for sorts of unpatriotic outcomes Nigerians received from committees set up to look into citizens concerns. Members of the panel, in their recommendations, identified politicians and electorates as the first line of way out of the loopholes found around the countrys campaign financing and solicited the unbundling of Nigerias electoral body, INEC, to ensure effective monitoring of the spending of political parties. I agreed 100 per cent that INEC should be unbundled. I am sure the commission itself wants to be unbundled because the work burden on them is too much, Ms Omo-Agege said. For more than 10 years now, we have been talking about an agency that will be responsible for registration and monitoring of political parties. She also raised concerns over non-governmental organisations tasked with the job of monitoring political parties excesses forming affiliation with some of the parties. Having agreed with other members, Mr Zorro recommended total independence of media space from political ownership or stakeholders. This, he said, would enrich the countrys democratic process. The Nigerian presidency has accused a U.S.-based magazine, Foreign Affairs, of spreading fake news. Garba Shehu, the spokesperson of President Muhammadu Buhari, said the latest article on Nigeria in Foreign Affairs titled The Giant of Africa is Failing is unfair both to a magazine with such an esteemed pedigree and to its readers. Mr Shehus position came 24 hours after the Nigerian government accused Twitter of having a hidden agenda about Nigeria after the social media giant deleted a controversial tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari. The mission of Twitter in Nigeria is very very suspect. Has Twitter deleted the violent tweets that Nnamdi Kanu has been sending? Has it?, Nigerias information minister, Lai Mohammed, told journalists in Abuja Wednesday. Many Nigerians had criticised Mr Buhari for the Wednesday tweet which appeared to be targeted at Igbos. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand, the president wrote. The latest Foreign affairs article which infuriated the Nigerian government was co-authored by a former American ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, and another researcher, Robert Rotberg. Nigeria is in big trouble. If a states first obligation to those it governs is to provide for their security and maintain a monopoly on the use of violence, then Nigeria has failed, even if some other aspects of the state still function, the authors wrote. Read Mr Shehus full reaction to the article below. The latest article on Nigeria in Foreign Affairs titled The Giant of Africa is Failing is unfair both to a magazine with such an esteemed pedigree and to its readers. Ambassador Campbell has been predicting the collapse of Nigeria for several years. He is of course entitled to his opinions, even where events consistently prove him wrong. But facts should not be bent to support distorted opinions. Let me give you one example. The authors write: At an April meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Buhari reportedly requested that the headquarters of the U.S. Africa Command be moved from Germany to Nigeria so that it would be closer to the fight against jihadi groups in the countrys north. President Buhari did not request that AFRICOM move to Nigeria. The transcript of the call with Secretary Blinken is available on the State Departments own website. Its not just a question of the invented addition of to Nigeria with regard to AFRICOM. It sums up a piece that attempts subtly but revealingly to shift facts to suit an argument. Nigeria faces multiple challenges, not least of which is the dissemination of fake news and prejudiced opinion. This is something we have come to expect from partisan blogs and politically motivated lobbies. It is still a surprise, and a disappointment, to see them joined by Foreign Affairs. ADVERTISEMENT Yours sincerely, Garba Shehu Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity) The current strategy that treats the South-East as hostile territory, deploying gross, indiscriminate and heavy-handed force, would only lead to further alienation in the region. Nnamdi Kanus goal may be to secure a territory, but he wont get one, because Biafra is not a tangible space its an idea, a heartfelt cry for justice, equity and fairness. Nigeria has been struggling with insecurity for over a decade. Against reasonable expectations six years ago when President Muhammadu Buhari was voted in, things have worsened. Compared with a number of other hotspots around the world in December 2020, however, Nigeria was not even among the three riskiest places. According to global medical and security specialists, International SOS, Libya, Syria and Afghanistan were the deadliest places to be. The group also projected that these places would retain the record by the end of 2021. It seemed so. In April, for example, the United Nations reported that in the first quarter of the year in Afghanistan, extremist attacks caused close to 1,800 casualties, including 573 deaths, a 29 per cent increase in comparison with the same period last year. Syria, Libya and Yemen, too, are also haunted by a legacy of sectarian violence that appears to have exhausted the worlds care and attention. But the picture in Nigeria has changed dramatically in six months. Nigeria, with nearly four times the populations of Syria, Libya and Yemen combined, appears to have joined the race to the bottom. Events since January could force a reassessment of the global insecurity map, with Africas most populous country firmly in contention for the bloodiest title. The Council on Foreign Relations reported that in the last five months of this year, 3,915 persons have been killed in violent attacks across Nigeria, mostly in herder-farmer clashes and what, quite frankly, now appears to be killing for sport. The Northern states of Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Borno, Yobe, Zamfara and Benue have recorded staggering casualties. No part of the country has been spared. While a common thread of insecurity runs through, each of the three main regions appears to have its own peculiar franchise: banditry, farmer-herder clashes and kidnapping for ransom in the North; kidnapping and deadly herder-farmer clashes in the South-West; and in the South-East, random killings and systematic attacks on police stations, personnel and state institutions, including courts and electoral commission offices. The situation in the South-East, also the hotbed of resurgent separatist agitations in the last few years, has deteriorated so sharply that the five states in the region, home to Nigerias third largest ethnic nationality, have virtually become a war zone. Only this week, a former presidential adviser and Northern politician, Ahmed Gulak, who was visiting the East, was murdered in daylight, raising ethnic tensions. The murder has also lengthened the list of unresolved violent murders in a region where at least 127 police and security personnel have been killed this year and extra-judicial killings of innocent civilians have become rampant. For the elite, the endgame is to exploit the violence in the South-East to secure a place in the next election cycle. For politicians, being who they are, crisis is the currency of relevance. And they wont waste this one. The problem is that they cant be too sure that the flame from the current blaze wont catch the hem of their pants before they have had time to escape the crime scene. Two states, Imo and Anambra (the most populous states in the region), have witnessed the most brazen and extraordinary assaults by unknown gunmen, the latest official description for violent criminals who have overwhelmed the security forces. The dangerous anti-North rhetoric by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has inflamed passions and inspired the brutal murders of innocent residents from the North. Yet, even indigenes have not been spared. One widely circulated and verified video last week showed gunmen in Enugu State dragging a man out of his car in daylight at a road junction in the city centre. They gunned him down with automatic weapons and then casually drove off. The man whose life was so casually and bestially taken, was a retired judge of the Enugu High Court, Justice Stanley Nnaji. The unknown gunmen are still at large and unknown. A cross-section of the elite in the region has blamed the rising violence on three major factors: (a) the ascendancy of illegitimate politicians installed by hook and crook, (b) the tone-deafness of Buharis administration and his politics of spite and, (c) the irresponsible conduct of leaders from the region, who have mismanaged the resourcefulness and energy of the teeming youths. Its difficult to say which factor has been the most telling. When the leadership of the political parties, especially the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was selling party positions to the highest bidders before the last general elections, most sensible people feared there would be consequences but didnt know when or how. The cohorts bought party tickets and wherever they could not buy votes during the election, bullied or suborned their way to office. Now, the fruit of their corrupt harvest is keeping the regions teeth on edge. Also, the boys used as electoral fodder by politicians have not only become men; they have become monsters. Buharis tone-deafness and insensitivity have not helped matters. He has mismanaged the countrys ethnic diversity so badly that however loudly other nationalities may complain, none has been treated as shabbily, unfairly and disdainfully as the Igbo. ADVERTISEMENT Its been argued in some quarters that the Igbo have no reason to complain because Nigeria gave them extraordinary opportunities before the civil war. Thats nonsense. The Igbo earned what they got before the war on merit and bona fides. After the war, they fought to re-establish themselves by the straps of their own shoes. They are not asking for quota or preferential treatment, but justice and equity. Yet, whether its a minor communal clash, some misguided youths waving the Biafra flag or Nnamdi Kanu sharing his mad fantasy about the so-called Buhari double from Sudan, this governments response has been fairly standard: It deploys a venom of force and language that suggests that whatever his claim to the contrary, Buhari still holds the Igbo in scorn and suspicion 51 years after the civil war. Of course, the President insists that he has nothing against Igbos and invokes his governments infrastructure record as witness. Yet what he does by soft power like passing over the Igbo man who is the next most qualified General after the death of the former army chief or his recent tweet which evokes unpleasant memories of the civil war makes it difficult to believe him. And IPOB? Its actually sold on the delusion that the South-East can secede with Nnamdi Kanu as president-in-waiting. For the last four years or so, IPOB has been working closely with a fairly well-funded separatist movement in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon, which has the ambition of a breakaway Ambazonia. To make matters worse, Buhari does not seem to make a distinction between extremists and their sympathisers on the one hand, and on the other, South-Easterners genuinely alarmed and repulsed by the mayhem being unleashed on the region. The regions elite have not helped matters. They have preyed on the youth with their politics of opportunism and mismanaged the legacy of enterprise and industry inherited from their past. They have squandered state resources on a scale that defies belief. Perhaps the icon of this madness was former Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, who built a statue to every known god of profligacy. Nnamdi Kanu has only cynically exploited the catastrophic gaps in the failure of leadership at the national and state levels. What is the endgame? It depends. For Buharis government, its obviously to crush and bury opposition and whip the remnant in line. But that would only produce the peace of the graveyard. For the elite, the endgame is to exploit the violence in the South-East to secure a place in the next election cycle. For politicians, being who they are, crisis is the currency of relevance. And they wont waste this one. The problem is that they cant be too sure that the flame from the current blaze wont catch the hem of their pants before they have had time to escape the crime scene. And IPOB? Its actually sold on the delusion that the South-East can secede with Nnamdi Kanu as president-in-waiting. For the last four years or so, IPOB has been working closely with a fairly well-funded separatist movement in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon, which has the ambition of a breakaway Ambazonia. In April, Foreign Policy reported that Nnamdi Kanu and Ambazonian leader, Cho Ayaba, held a live-streamed joint conference to join forces, an indication that theyre taking themselves seriously. Thats a clear and present danger, but it would take more than one live-streamed fantasy to secure a separatist homeland. Catalonia is an example of how long it could take; and South Sudan, a nearby example of how to be careful what you wish for. The current strategy that treats the South-East as hostile territory, deploying gross, indiscriminate and heavy-handed force, would only lead to further alienation in the region. Nnamdi Kanus goal may be to secure a territory, but he wont get one, because Biafra is not a tangible space its an idea, a heartfelt cry for justice, equity and fairness. That, quite frankly, should be the endgame. Azu Ishiekwene editor-in-chief of LEADERSHIP. The Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya, has flagged off the states contributory healthcare scheme (GoHealth) with renewed commitment to ensure all residents have access to quality health service at an affordable cost without suffering financial hardship. The ceremony took place at the banquet hall of the Government House, Gombe. In his remark, Mr Yahaya said his administration had constituted the governing board and posted appropriate and competent staff to the new agency to ensure successful implementation of the scheme. He recalled that during the electioneering campaigns, he promised the people of the state that his administration would take bold steps to holistically address the numerous challenges facing healthcare delivery in the state. Following our historic success at the polls, we set up a needs assessment team that toured over 400 communities across the the state to identify and prioritize the needs of our people. Access to quality health care came top as the most pressing problem bedeviling our people, he said. Mr Yahaya said a survey had revealed that there was extensive decay in the health system following years of neglect by the immediate past administration, stating that the sector in the past was in shambles, without essential drugs and lacking equipment and human resource. He said, Our health indices were among the worst in the country. Yet, the system was being overstretched due to influx of IDPs from our neighbouring states. However, upon assuming office in May 2019, we declared a state of emergency in the health sector and set an ambitious agenda to transform the system as set out in our health sector response plan 2019-2023. We adopted a holistic approach to address the challenges so as to improve both physical as well as financial accessibility to basic health services. The governor explained that at the primary health care level, his administration had commenced immediate revitalisation of at least one fully functional PHC in each of the 114 political wards of the state in collaboration with the World Bank-supported Nigeria State Health Investment Project (NSHIP), which saw the injection of over N600 million as counterpart funds. Today, I am proud to say we have at least 1 PHC in every ward of the state that is fully revitalized and open 24-hours a day in order to provide basic health services to our people at the grassroots, he said. Similarly, Mr Yahaya revealed that at the secondary health care level, his administration was able to thoroughly renovate and upgrade the Specialist Hospital Gombe, thus expanding its capacity to meet the increasing demand for specialised health care service by the growing population in the state. He said the Gombe State Government under his leadership had also commenced works to upgrade one general hospital to a befitting status in each senatorial district, which includes General Hospitals of Bajoga, Kumo and Kaltungo. In addition, we shall equally renovate all other secondary health facilities in the state before the end of our four years mandate InshaAllah. We have also established a Hospital Services Management Board to particularly ensure effective management of our secondary health facilities, he said. He said in order to improve the human resource for health in the state, his administration completed the internship quarters in the Specialist Hospital which was abandoned for more than 20 years thus meeting a critical requirement for accreditation by the MDCN for internship training of young doctors. He added that his administration was working to improve the training capacity of the college of nursing and midwifery. While we are working assiduously towards improving physical access to quality healthcare services, we are also mindful of the significant hardship that individuals and families face because of paying for basic health care services out-of-pocket at the point of service utilisation, the governor stated. He noted that available data shows that in the North-east region of Nigeria, more than 60 per cent of this kind of out-of-pocket expenditure for health services pushes individuals and families into poverty, saying that was why his administration was working tirelessly with the Gombe State House of Assembly to enact the enabling law that established the Gombe State Contributory Healthcare Scheme (GoHealth) following the decentralisation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). ADVERTISEMENT Also speaking at the occasion, the Commissioner for Health, Habu Dahiru, said the establishment of GoHealth was a deliberate effort by the current administration to achieve universal health coverage for the people of the state. We are all aware of the comprehensive approach this administration is adopting to address the inherited challenges in the health sector by improving both physical as well as financial accessibility to basic health services. The state has witnessed a revolutionary turnaround at both the primary and secondary health facilities levels over the last two years, he said. Mr Dahiru said introducing such a scheme will no doubt protect individuals and families from financial difficulties should they have the cause to visit the hospital for medical attention. The chairman of GoHealth governing council, Mohammed Isa-Umar, commended Mr Yahaya for exhibiting a rare courage and political will towards the establishment of the scheme. He said within six months of its establishment, the scheme had rolled out two important programmes to include basic health care programme for 25,000 Poor and Vulnerable Households PVHHs in the state and that for civil servants otherwise known as GoHealth. He assured the government and people of the state that the scheme will provide quality health care services to the citizens of the state. ADVERTISEMENT The governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, has urged the National Assembly to incorporate a clause in the 1999 constitution which will allow the creation of a brand new constitution. He said getting a brand new constitution will not be possible now until section 9 of the 1999 Constitution is amended with a clause to allow the writing of a brand new constitution. Mr Okowa said this at the zonal constitution review public hearing in Asaba, Delta State. Section 9 of the constitution provides the process for alteration of the constitution. He also made a case for the creation of state police, while also advocating allocation of more resources to the sub-nationals. Is it possible to have a brand new constitution when there is one existing? As the constitution is at the moment there is no provision to allow that. But I believe that if we have a deep thought and look at Section 9 of the constitution it would be possible to add a clause and when that clause must have been approved and has become law, it would now be possible under such a condition for the National Assembly to rewrite an entire constitution which would come into effect after all the process have been done, the governor said. There is a need for devolution of power. We believe that the exclusive list is too burdensome for the Federal government to handle. It is not about this administration. It is about all the administrations at the Federal level. When you take too much for yourself, you find it difficult to be as efficient as you would have been ordinarily. There is a need for the establishment of state police not because we believe that the federal police are inefficient, but we believe that it would be difficult for them to have enough personnel with such a command structure that will be functional enough to handle the level of insecurity in the land today. We are not asking for a scrapping of the federal police, but there is a need for the creation of state police. Nigeria would not be the first nation to have that and it can be worked out in a manner that would correlate with each other. Mr Okowa also lamented that there has not been a review of the revenue sharing formula since 1999. He canvassed increment of derivation to oil-producing states from the current 13 per cent, noting that the oil-producing states are not getting the entire derivation. We also believe that on the issue of derivation, the oil communities are not well treated. We know that the provision of the constitution is that derivation shall be at least 13 per cent, but from all our workings, with all; that goes out, the oil-producing states do not get up to 13 per cent, the governor said. The Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the House of Representatives Constitution Review Committee, Idris Wase (APC, Plateau), said the views from the exercise will be put into consideration when the committee makes recommendations to the House. Phone carriers and other companies are assigned numbers in blocks of 10,000. From there, an office might request a couple thousand for business lines, but then not wind up using them all. But those numbers can still be given to other users as long as theyre in the same area. ADVERTISEMENT Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on Wednesday inaugurated the Annual State Farmers Support Programme through which 20,000 small-holder farmers received improved seedlings, farm implements and fertilisers. The programme was initiated in conjunction with the State COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (CARES,) a World Bank-supported intervention. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the programme, which is part of the activities marking the second anniversary of the Makindes administration, held at the Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, Igboora, in Oke-Ogun area of the state. In his remarks, the governor recalled that similar support programme was carried out at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, where about 10,000 small scale farmers were empowered. He described the small-holder farmers as vital in the efforts of the state government to boost food production. The governor promised to do more in assisting genuine farmers across the state to enhance food security. The Commissioner for Agriculture, Jacob Ojekunle, said the programme would ensure that small-holder farmers were able to create wealth. Mr Ojekunle said the Makinde administration had undertaken several interventions in the agriculture sector for the expansion of the states economy and mitigation of hunger. He admonished beneficiaries of the programme to maximise the opportunities availed them. On his part, the Director-General, Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency, Debo Akande, appreciated the governor for touching all areas in agriculture development. He noted that the government had implemented the Start Them Early Project (STEP) to encourage students in agribusiness and rolled out the Youths Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Programme. Mr Akande said the launch of the programme which started in 2020 would play vital roles in expanding the states economy through agribusiness. NAN reports that the governor also attended a townhall meeting held in Eruwa town, where he promised the people of Ibarapa zone that his administration would do more to address the insecurity in the area and the state as a whole. Mr Makinde added that his government had put in place several measures, including the creation of a Base for Operation Burst in the area and deployment of more Amotekun corps in the zone He further pledged to continue to deliver excellent services to the people of the state and urged them to continue supporting his administration. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has applauded the management of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, for the recent disciplinary action taken against two of its academic staff indicted in a sexual harassment scandal that rocked the school in 2019. Mr Sanwo-Olu, in a statement signed by his chief press secretary, Gboyega Akosile, said the sanction would not only serve as a deterrent to members of the school that may have similar tendencies, but also redeem the reputation of the university. PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday reported how two lecturers of the university who were involved in the scandal, Boniface Igbeneghu and Samuel Oladipo, were dismissed by the institution. The universitys governing council took the decision on Monday during its second meeting since its inauguration in April. This decision was taken almost two years after the two lecturers were exposed in a 52-minute documentary by BBC Africa where a reporter, disguised as a 17-year-old admission seeker, to expose the randy lecturers. Endorsement The governor, who spoke in his office on Thursday while receiving members of the federal governments visitation panel to the university, hailed the institutions management for entrenching the culture of discipline and sustaining the schools academic excellence. He said; It is a thing of joy to see a reputable citadel of learning managing its affairs properly and sustaining the culture of academic excellence. The school has maintained high discipline, as seen in the media reports about two days ago where lecturers who wanted to bring down the image and name of the school were properly disciplined. The management of the school has been firm in ensuring that nobody is above the law. These are parts of the commendable steps which the school management has taken to ensure the standards are sustained. He reiterated his administrations commitment to raising standards of education and academic research in the state. Visitation panel In January, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the composition of visitation panels for the 38 federal government owned universities. In April, a seven-member panel led by a retired army general, Martin Agwai. The panel has other members: Femi Agunbiade, Agele Alufohai, Abubakar Maikafi, Mrs. Ogochukwu Onuorah, Umar Yahaya (ACA), and Ashafa Ladan, who was appointed as secretary. The panels are saddled with the responsibility to evaluate the leadership quality of the vice-chancellors and councils as well as performance of the institutions in terms of financial management and overall condition of teaching, research and community service. The Dearborn and Dearborn Heights communities continued to show their patriotism and appreciation for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country (as well as for the loved ones they left behind) during last weekends Memorial Day Ceremonies. Led by Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council Commander, U.S. Marine Veteran (and Dearborn Heights Mayor) Bill Bazzi, along with fellow members of the DAWVC, the group participated in two weekend events on the grounds of Dearborns Centennial Library which were attended by several Dearborn and Dearborn Heights Veterans, elected officials and residents representing both communities. - Advertisement - In addition to honoring our military heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our great country, Commander Bazzi also extended his gratitude for the sacrifice of todays first responders, medical professionals and others who serve on the front lines in the fight to help keep us safe during the current pandemic. Sign up for our daily morning newsletter Click here and then look to the right side for the sign up to the morning newsletter for The News Herald, and you can get the top headlines de Thief rips open package left in mailbox A mailbox attached to a house in the 4600 block of Mayfair Street in Dearborn Heights was rifled through the evening of May 24, with a thief r Buick Verano impounded, driver ticketed during traffic stop While on routine patrol in the area of Ford Road and Schaefer, police observed an alleged reckless driver at about 5 p.m. May 26. Sterling Heights, MI (48312) Today Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High 84F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Mostly clear skies early followed by increasing clouds and a few showers later at night. Low 61F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. White Bear Lake, MN (55110) Today Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. Hot. High 94F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight A mostly clear sky. Low 59F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. PLATTSBURGH [mdash] Anthony Tarricone, 94, of Plattsburgh, passed away Monday in his home with his loving wife by his side and under the care of hospice. He was born in Yonkers on Aug. 13, 1926, the son of George and Nancy Tarricone. He graduated Horton High School in Yonkers. He also gradua Southbury, CT (06488) Today Sunny to partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 80F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 61F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. Vaccines are being given at cruise ports such as Port of Miami and Port Everglades and local airports. The Facebook group South Florida COVID-19 Vaccination Info is filled with posts by people from Brazil, Peru, Argentina and Colombia interested in coming to Miami or Fort Lauderdale to get vaccinated and inquiring where to go. Most say to register by giving the address of family or friends in Florida. LONDON, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- There are hundreds and thousands of Pakistani students who travel abroad each year to attain higher education. According to a Lahore-based education consultancy, those with dual citizenship have "brighter chances" to be granted study visas abroad. Currently, Pakistani citizens can travel to a small handful of destinations visa-free or visa-on-arrival, resulting in extensive paperwork and time and money costs when applying for study permits in North America or Europe. In 2016, a British ranking agency recorded Pakistan as the weakest higher education system out of 50 examined nations while the US and UK topped the list. Pakistani students are increasingly interested in pursuing higher education from abroad because of the better quality education, career growth, and future opportunities available in different countries said Dr Syed Shujaat Ali Shah from FES Higher Education Consultants. For Pakistani students, the most favoured destinations to continue a higher education include the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, and Ireland. Micha Emmett, the CEO of a London-based second citizenship firm CS Global Partners, says that many Pakistani applicants look to citizenship by investment (CBI) programmes to ensure their child can access the world's most esteemed schools. "Parents want to give their children the tools to succeed in learning and life, and attaining second citizenship through investment is the fastest and easiest route to make that happen," she said. Second citizenship from St Kitts and Nevis increases the mobility of Pakistani students and parents needing to travel to international education hubs, she said. "With citizenship of a European or Commonwealth nation like the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis, you can enrol in some of the world's oldest and most prestigious universities, perhaps to complete the Masters' degree you've always wanted to pursue." With CBI, new citizens can also take advantage of St Kitts and Nevis' many internationally-recognised universities like the University of Medicine and Health Sciences (UMHS), which confers upon its graduates the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree. Since March 2011, students at UMHS have participated in residency matches every year by being placed into various specialities across the US and Canada. The institution is recognised by the Accreditation Commission on Colleges of Medicine, an international body listed by the National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation, part of the US Department of Education. Through CBI programmes, vetted applicants can legally acquire a second nationality in return for an investment in the host country. St Kitts and Nevis is known as the 'Platinum Standard' in the industry for its longest-standing offering globally. It acknowledges the growing importance to investors to obtain citizenship for their families too, which is why, for a limited time, families of up to four can get citizenship for US$150,000 instead of US$195,000 through the fund option. Moreover, St Kitts and Nevis allows future generations of successful applicants to inherit citizenship as well. pr@csglobalpartners.com, www.csglobalpartners.com SOURCE CS Global Partners The Financial Industry Needs to Adapt and Accelerate the Pace of Transformation Peng Zhongyang, Member of the Board, President of the Enterprise Business Group, Huawei, in his opening speech made the point that as industries upgrade and converge, the financial services sector will transform to have their operations based on cloud through a more connected device ecosystem built for all scenarios. He added that Huawei is currently collaborating with its customers and partners to enable them to become more sustainable, resilient digital ecosystem-based enterprises, through the co-creation of technology, scenarios, and sustainability. In the keynote speech on "Global Economic Recovery: Certainty and Uncertainty", Dr. Fan Gang, Professor of Economics, Peking University; Vice President, China Society of Economic Reform, said, "The global pandemic is far from over. As the new engine of economic recovery, the most important component of the digital economy is not the production of digital equipment and digital technology itself, but the application of new information technology to transform various industries. Digital finance is the driving force of the development of the digital economy. It is therefore necessary to accelerate financial technology innovation, as FinTech will play a leading role in upgrading the digital transformation of thousands of industries." Cao Tong, President of HDFH and First President of WeBank; Hou Weirong, General Manager, Transaction Banking Department, China Merchants Bank; Chen Kunte Chief Digital Transformation Officer of Global Financial Services Business Unit, Enterprise BG, Huawei and Ye Tan, Well-Known Financial Critic joined the Panel: Intelligent Finance Transformation. "The world is going through a digital revolution, which is closely related to finance and affects us all. Traditional banks are expanding their boundaries. I'm looking forward to the day when bankers and experts in technology can customize asset packages for users based on their age, wealth, and family structure." Said by Ye Tan. Huawei Announces Three Strategic Initiatives to Turn Financial Institutions into Better Digital Ecosystem-based Enterprises Huawei announced three strategic initiatives it would develop in the financial sector to help financial institutions become better digital ecosystem-based enterprises. These included: (1) Encouraging institutions to fully embrace cloud native, innovative technologies that provide optimal infrastructure to accelerate digital and intelligent convergence and create an agile platform. (2) Deepening digitalization across all industry scenarios to enhance safe and secure data transfer, unlock the potential value of big data, and build out financial inclusion. (3) Aggregating different SaaS products to build an open ecosystem for all scenarios, and enable scenario-based financial services. Jason Cao, President of the Global Financial Services Business Enterprise BG, Huawei, said in his speech, "Huawei has been working with the global financial industry for 10 years and has become an important partner in digital transformation for the industry. Huawei will continue to work with this industry to drive cloud-native computing to ensure financial institutions benefit from a modern and dynamic digital ecosystem that can be continually updated and developed, making use of the latest innovations. Huawei's ethos is to help financial institutions grow into better digital ecosystem-based enterprises and develop fully connected, intelligent, and ecosystem-based finance together". Shi Jilin, Vice President of HUAWEI CLOUD BU and President of Global Marketing and Sales Service, said in her keynote speech that the financial industry has always been at the forefront of digital transformation, and is at the stage of developing to digital finance, from a single scene to a multi-scenario. She said, "Huawei and the financial industry grow together to build multi-purpose and intelligent FinTech solutions. We put forward four proposals: first, fully embrace cloudification, solve the core problems of enterprise cloud access, and guide digital transformation on the right path; second, full-scenario intelligent connection, create "finance+X " to serve all kinds of industries; third, to carry out intelligence to the end, AI will enter the finance core production system and main business processes; fourth, build a financial ecosystem around scenarios and create an ecological financial industry. " Realizing New Value in the Financial Industry with Global Banking Customers to Build a New Financial Future Together Various banking executives shared their stories and achievements of digital transformation of Chinese financial enterprises at the meeting today. Huawei has been working closely with DBS Bank to enable their digital transformation to meet their evolving needs. In 2020, Huawei was awarded by DBS the 2020 Most Valuable Technology Partner Award from a selection of 64 other global technology vendors. Tan Choon Boon, Head of Cloud Engineering and Services at DBS Singapore, said: "DBS has developed a strategy focusing on five key elements for digital transformation: driving comprehensive organizational change, including business success-oriented organizations; moving from 'projects to platforms; taking onboard modern system design; building excellent agile teams; and moving towards complete automation. In the future, the two sides will continue to strengthen cooperation in cloud, artificial intelligence, and IoT. We have been working closely with Huawei to meet the bank's evolving requirements and drive digital transformation." The financial industry varies greatly across regions around the world, there are still many people as well as small and medium-sized enterprises that cannot access basic financial services. Financial institutions in many countries have taken rapid steps to build digital platforms such as mobile wallets and mobile payments with partners such as Huawei. These platforms are used to build a super app ecosystem, such as Kenya NCBA, to help these financial institutions achieve significant progress in enhancing their service offerings. Added keynote1 to the customer's speech. During the summit, Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, CEO, M-PESA Africa said, "We've seen the power of M-PESA and mobile money in Africa in transforming how we can make an impact in terms into society .Today we have over 350,000 businesses and over 5 million micro SMEs that use our services. On the other side, we have 58 million customers who use our various products and services. At the core of this is our technology and partners such as Huawei play a key role in ensuring that our technology architecture addresses the needs of our business and customers." Huawei Launches the Financial Partner Go Global Program (FPGGP) During the summit, Huawei announced the official launch of the Financial Partner Go Global Program (FPGGP). The company will work with partners in the financial services industry to leverage Huawei's deep experience and technological innovation capabilities in financial digital transformation. The initial FPGGP has 25 members, including seven on the board of directors from Huawei, Sunline, Tongdun Technology, Netis, Wallyt, Sinosoft, and Chinasoft International. Huawei's vision is to build a multi-purpose open ecosystem and enable global financial institutions to serve users in various industries. During the summit, Huawei explores additional cooperation agreements with financial institutions such as Temenos, and plans 15 joint solutions to be released covering a diverse set of use cases. For more information, please visit:https://e.huawei.com/topic/2021-event-fsi-summit/en/index.html Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1525302/1.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1525305/2.jpg Related Links www.huawei.com/cn SOURCE Huawei STOCKHOLM, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Zinzino is very proud to announce the launch of its business in Malaysia on June 3, 2021 as a strategic part of the company's global expansion strategy. After several years of preparing the launch of the Malaysian market and having carried out multiple country establishment processes in recent years, Zinzino has learned the importance of ensuring thorough preparatory work and adapting to the local conditions in each market. Profitable growth is an important business strategy for the e-commerce-based health tech company Zinzino. During 2020 the company sales target was exceeded showing excellent sales growth and a strong EBITA performance. Overall sales grew to 1.139 billion SEK from 771 million in 2019. "Strong growth provides economies of scale and increased profitability. This launch is a logical next step that creates great expectations for continued good profits going forward. Malaysia is a very interesting entrepreneurial market with one of Southeast Asia's most vibrant economies that offers a high growth potential for us", says CEO Dag Bergheim Pettersen. Malaysia is currently ranked as one of the top 10 most relevant markets for direct sales making this a very strategic launch for Zinzino; a global, direct selling company within test-based, scientifically proven nutrition. The company has high growth ambitions and is expecting to reach 1 million customers by the year 2025 and 20 million by 2035. With the launch in Malaysia, Zinzino will be operating on 98 markets while keeping its focus on global expansion. For more information: Dag Bergheim Pettersen CEO Zinzino +47 (0) 932 25 700, zinzino.com Fredrik Nielsen CFO Zinzino +46 707 900 174, fredrik.nielsen@zinzino.com Pictures for publication free of charge: Marcus Tollbom +46 (0) 70 190 03 12, marcus.tollblom@zinzino.com Certified Adviser: Erik Penser Bank Aktiebolag, +46 (0) 8 463 83 00, email: certifiedadviser@penser.se This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/zinzino/r/zinzino-ab--publ--zinzino-announces-the-launch-of-malaysia-as-next-step-in-their-global-expansion,c3360093 The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Main/10976/3360093/1427129.pdf Pressrelease-Soft-launch-Malaysia https://news.cision.com/zinzino/i/ceo---dag-bergheim-pettersen,c2921190 CEO - Dag Bergheim Pettersen SOURCE Zinzino MADRID, June 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Algorand and Bnext join forces to revolutionize the remittances market in Europe and Latam. During 2020, Latam received more than 100bn USD and Spain sent more than 18bn USD, with Latin America receiving most of the remittances sent by Spain. Bnext will take advantage of Algorand's high performing and cost effective blockchain infrastructure to make transactions extremely convenient and accessible, even compared to other fintech services. The offering is based on more efficient and secure remittances, as all the operations are made possible on Algorand's public blockchain and carried out by Bnext and its commercial partners This includes Bitso, who will provide all the regulatory and exchange requirements so that the user experience for those sending and receiving funds is simple and instant. The money will be transferred between Bnext users, even if they are in different countries, and will be faster and more secure than it is today to send money between Bnext users in Spain or in Latin America. Bnext is the most powerful Marketplace of financial services in Spain and one of the most prominent in Latin America, with more that 700,000 users and a rapidly accelerating user base. Algorand is a blockchain company that builds technology that accelerates the convergence between decentralized and traditional finance by enabling the simple creation of next generation financial products, protocols and exchange of value. With more than 500 global companies using their technology, 4.5 million assets issued on chain, and over 11 million accounts, the market cap of the Algo, the native currency of the platform, is over 3bn USD. Working together, Algorand and Bnext anticipate processing more than 100m USD of remittances in the next 12 months, in an initial phase, prior to formally launching the product throughout Latam and Europe. "This alliance is the first step to expand inclusive financial product offerings that are convenient and recurrent to immigrants that have been exploited by traditional remittance companies. Bnext and Algorand will provide an opportunity for this segment that goes beyond sending and receiving money," said Cristian Huertas, Head of Latam of Bnext. "Bnext is completely disrupting the banking sector in the Spanish-speaking world by providing a more modern and simple way for users to globally transact and manage their finances. Their vision to provide accessible, inclusive alternatives is aligned with Algorand's own vision for the future of finance," said W. Sean Ford, COO of Algorand. "Both Bnext and Algorand have experienced rapid adoption and we are truly excited to be empowering them to more effectively server their growing user base." About Bnext Bnext is one of the first Spanish fintech companies, with prsence in Latam and a pioneer as an alternative to traditional banking, which makes it easier for people to control their money in order to live it more freely, simply and intelligently. For more information, visit https://bnext.es . About Algorand Algorand is building the technology to power the Future of Finance (FutureFi), the convergence of traditional and decentralized models into a unified system that is inclusive, frictionless, and secure. Founded by Turing Award-winning cryptographerSilvio Micali, Algorand developed a blockchain infrastructure that offers the interoperability and capacity to handle the volume of transactions needed for defi, financial institutions and governments to smoothly transition into FutureFi. The technology of choice for more than 500 global organizations, Algorand is enabling the simple creation of next generation financial products, protocols and exchange of value. For more information, visit www.algorand.com . Contact: [email protected] Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1229493/Algorand_Logo.jpg SOURCE Algorand ST. LOUIS, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AGBT, the not-for-profit convener of three of the world's preeminent life-sciences and biotech events, is delighted to announce its sixth annual Precision Health Meeting (September 9-11, 2021). Participants have the option to attend the meeting in person in at the Loews Coronado Resort on Coronado Island (San Diego), or virtually. Speakers this year include Sir Rory Collins, Principal Investigator and Chief Executive of the UK Biobank; Joyce Tung, Vice President of Research at 23andMe; Josh Denny, CEO of the National Institutes of Health's All of Us Research Program; and Stephen Kingsmore, President and CEO of Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine. (The full list of speakers can be found here.) "AGBT Precision Health is the meeting of the year to connect and learn about the transformation of medicine by genome information. I hope to see you on beautiful Coronado Island!" said Dr. Kingsmore, who also serves on the AGBT Precision Health Scientific Organizing Committee. Registration and Call for Abstracts for the 2021 AGBT Precision Health meeting is now open. On June 15, California will be lifting all of its COVID-19 restrictions. "This meeting is renowned for highlighting innovative technologies and their impact in clinical diagnostics and therapeutic development," said Wendy Chung, Director of the Clinical Genetics Program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and Co-Chair of AGBT Precision Health. "We are excited to emerge from the global pandemic and once again gather, whether in-person or virtually." The Precision Health Meeting offers the opportunity for leading luminaries and change-makers to share information about the latest technologies, implementation, and research breakthroughs. It brings together leaders of national healthcare systems, genomics institutes, international biobank initiatives, transformative diagnostic approaches, and hospital-based implementation and reimbursement. For more information about the AGBT Precision Health Meeting, please visit www.agbt.org/events/precision-health/. Media Contact: [email protected] SOURCE AGBT Related Links http://www.agbt.org SAN FRANCISCO, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Architect Capital, an asset-based lender to early-stage technology businesses, announced that it has launched with over $100 million to provide non-dilutive or less-dilutive financing solutions to high-growth and technology-enabled businesses. With a focus on FinTech, E-Commerce, and SaaS companies in Latin America and the United States, Architect Capital's mission is to support innovative founders across the globe by structuring and delivering unique asset-based products complementary to traditional venture capital. James Sagan "The global technology and startup industry is evolving quickly, and new forms of financing to fund novel and underappreciated assets are a necessary part of that evolution," says James Sagan, Founder and CEO at Architect Capital. "We're excited to launch Architect Capital to help disruptive, asset-rich technology companies scale quickly." Proliferation of information combined with a shift in consumer behavior has led to the disruption of traditionally asset-heavy industries, such as financial services, real estate, and retail. A growing number of venture-backed businesses have been founded to provide financial products to a variety of these spaces. While traditional forms of equity and debt financing in the venture ecosystem are still very much integral to the growth of these companies, traditional financing is not engineered to support the growth of a company's underlying financial products. Venture capital, for example, is highly dilutive and venture debt does not scale with assets. Architect Capital was established with the goal of providing tailored and less dilutive funding to support the emergence of these novel, esoteric, and tech-enabled assets. While Architect Capital has a global investment mandate, the firm is most active in Latin America, with a focus on supporting technology companies that are modernizing financial services, enabling E-Commerce growth, or disrupting other traditional industries in the region. Sagan notes that, "while I have been investing in companies in Latin America over the last six years, we are still in the early stages of the area's FinTech story. At Architect Capital, we are thrilled to be at the forefront of firms investing in the region as we approach an inevitable period of exponential growth." Architect Capital has invested in six companies since inception, including PayJoy, a company that delivers consumer financing and smartphone technology to customers in emerging markets. "Architect has been an excellent partner for our capital needs. They bring an excellent balance of rigor and flexibility; an important combination for scaling in emerging markets," said Brad Pennington, President of Financial Products at PayJoy. The firm has also invested in Forum Brands, a U.S.-based E-Commerce marketplace aggregator and ADDI, a FinTech company that gives Colombian consumers access to fair and affordable credit through point-of-sale-financing. "I've known James for years, and he's my absolute first call whenever a startup asks me about debt financing," said Santiago Suarez, Founder and CEO of ADDI. "He has perfected the balance between scalability, simplicity, and structure needed when you are raising your first $10 million to $40 million in debt funding. James knows very well what will make a deal work - for the fund and the company - and he both delivers that and focuses on it. As an added bonus, he genuinely cares and therefore contributes to improving operations and reaching scale." About Architect Capital Architect Capital is a San Francisco-based asset manager that supports innovative founders by lending against assets generated by technology companies worldwide, especially in the FinTech, E-Commerce, and SaaS spaces. The team at Architect Capital brings deep expertise in executing cross-border transactions, generating unique in-market insights, making long-lasting connections across the tech ecosystem, and working with early stage businesses across the globe. By providing less dilutive capital that is complementary to equity capital, along with an array of other benefits, Architect Capital helps companies grow their impact and financial returns. For more information, visit: https://www.architectcap.io/ SOURCE Architect Capital Related Links https://www.architectcap.io NEW YORK, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Buy less, but better. These words succinctly sum up designer Pablo Erroz's manifesto, as well as the Blue Bite Circularity solution that digitalizes the garments in his most recent collection. Both launched at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Madrid and 080 Barcelona Fashion. Pablo Erroz Blue Bite Case Study The latest collection from Pablo Erroz, the eponymous brand of the Spanish designer, is sustainable and circular pieces were digitalized with embedded NFC tags that launch Blue Bite Circularity Experiences when scanned with a phone. Every garment in the Non-Seasonal 2022 collection the designer stopped designing "seasons" three years ago to emphasize the timeless nature of the garments is made with upcycled or recycled materials. "We need a real commitment from brands to put sustainability over short-term profit," said Erroz. "We need increased transparency to speak a common language customers understand so we can invite them to make changes together." Getting consumers involved is where Blue Bite Circularity comes in. When a consumer scans the NFC tag, they get a digitalized version of the piece identified by a unique digital ID that tells its full story, from the manufacturing process to a look into the future of the garment. "We're happy to partner with Pablo Erroz to launch Blue Bite Circularity, which allows consumers to explore the origin story of the garment," said Mikhail Damiani, CEO & Co-Founder of Blue Bite. "The circle continues as consumers authenticate the item, and, later in the product's lifecycle, get location-based information on how to resell or upcycle the garment to keep it out of a landfill." The Pablo Erroz and Blue Bite partnership illustrates the importance of creating products that enter the circular economy to ensure sustainability efforts continue to grow. About Pablo Erroz (pabloerroz.com) Pablo Erroz is a clothing brand created in 2012 by the designer, who names and imbues it with life. Nicknamed by Vogue as a worthy "heir of the New Yorker cool," the brand has several recognitions, such as the Onda Cero awards for Design (2014), Barcelona Designers Collective (2015) - commissioned by Georgina Chapman (Marchesa) and Collin McDowell (Vogue USA) - as well as the best Spanish male designer at the prestigious Woolmark Prize (2017). Believing from the onset in the importance of joining synergies, Pablo Erroz also actively works with other national and international brands. About Blue Bite (bluebite.com) Since 2007, Blue Bite has improved lives by connecting people and information through the physical world. The patented platform empowers creators to build dynamic digital experiences and channel them through physical items using technologies like NFC and QR. This helps brands solve some of their most pressing challenges including product authentication, delivering personalized consumer experiences, enabling circularity, storytelling and driving additional sales. Blue Bite has enabled tens of millions of products for leading brands worldwide, including adidas, Samsung, BVLGARI, Google and many more. Media Contact David Rogers [email protected] Related Images pablo-erroz-blue-bite-case-study.jpg Pablo Erroz Blue Bite Case Study Pablo Erroz Blue Bite Case Study SOURCE Blue Bite SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With California recently declared by the Los Angeles Times as "the de-facto policy think tank of the Biden-Harris Administration," the Pacific Research Institute California's leading free-market think tank today launched a "Been There, Done That" campaign to educate Americans about the negative consequences facing them if the California progressive agenda spreads nationwide. Click here to watch a video previewing PRI's "Been There, Done That" campaign "While liberals in Sacramento and Washington cheer the Golden State's progressive experiment, the real-life results betray that California has become one of the least appealing places to raise a family, start a business, or call home," said Sally Pipes, PRI President, CEO, and Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care Policy. Founded in San Francisco in 1979 and calling California home for more than forty years, the Pacific Research Institute has had a front row seat as Sacramento has shifted away from free markets and toward more government control. PRI scholars have researched and written extensively on these misguided policies, including limits on worker freedom, expensive renewable energy mandates, costly government-run health care schemes, and restrictive policy regimes that are reducing innovation in technology and health care. "The Biden administration and other states are taking notice of what's going on in the once-Golden State. Unfortunately, they're being inspired by California's policy mistakes to advance these policies nationally," said Pipes. "Our 'Been There, Done That' campaign will warn Americans what they could face if these misguided ideas are enacted by Congress or other states higher costs, higher taxes, fewer choices, more restrictions and less freedom." The campaign launched today with a new microsite www.pacificresearch.org/BeenThereDoneThat - which will be a one-stop resource featuring PRI's research and real-life examples of how Americans would be negatively impacted if progressive agenda proposals that originated in California are enacted. PRI will also release regular updates offering its research and analysis to the debate over Biden policies influenced by California. Click here to read the first update, which shows that California's renewable energy mandates which the Biden administration wants to emulate have raised energy costs, aren't as effective in lowering emissions, and threaten power blackouts for the second year in a row. The "Been There, Done That" campaign will leverage PRI's years of California policy research to fill a void in the national debate real life examples of how these ideas being exported to Washington have negatively impacted Californians. The Pacific Research Institute (www.pacificresearch.org) champions freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility by advancing free-market policy ideas. Follow PRI on Facebook , Twitter, and LinkedIn. MEDIA CONTACT Madeline Auerbach 202-471-4228 ext. 101 [email protected] SOURCE Pacific Research Institute Related Links http://www.pacificresearch.org CHICAGO, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), a market operator and global trading solutions provider, today reported May monthly trading volume statistics across its global business lines. The data sheet "Cboe Global Markets Monthly Volume & RPC/Net Revenue Capture Report" contains an overview of certain May trading statistics and market share by business segment, volume in select index products, and RPC/net capture, which is reported on a one-month lag, across business lines. Trading Volume for Current Month Year-To-Date May May % April % % 2021 2020 Chg 2021 Chg 2021 2020 Chg OPTIONS VOLUME (contracts, thousands) Year-To-Date Trading Days 20 20 21 102 103 Total Volume 220,065 191,428 15.0% 214,473 2.6% 1,208,060 1,057,599 14.2% Total ADV 11,003 9,571 15.0% 10,213 7.7% 11,844 10,268 15.3% FUTURES VOLUME (contracts, thousands) Year-To-Date Trading Days 20 20 21 102 103 Total Volume 5,328 2,675 99.2% 4,178 27.5% 25,118 25,532 -1.6% Total ADV 266 134 99.2% 199 33.9% 246 248 -0.7% U.S. EQUITIES EXCHANGE MATCHED VOLUME (shares, millions) Year-To-Date Trading Days 20 20 21 102 103 Total Volume 31,166 37,944 -17.9% 30,779 1.3% 196,193 194,368 0.9% Total ADV 1,558 1,897 -17.9% 1,466 6.3% 1,923 1,887 1.9% U.S. EQUITIES OFF-EXCHANGE MATCHED VOLUME (shares, millions)1 Year-To-Date Trading Days 20 20 21 102 103 Total Volume 1,626 N/A 1,480 9.9% 9,178 N/A Total ADV 81 N/A 70 15.4% 90 N/A CANADIAN EQUITIES MATCHED VOLUME (shares, thousands)2 Year-To-Date Trading Days 20 N/A 21 103 N/A Total Volume 986,015 N/A 1,081,784 -8.9% 6,492,074 N/A Total ADV 49,301 N/A 51,514 -4.3% 63,030 N/A EUROPEAN EQUITIES ( millions) Year-To-Date Trading Days 21 21 20 104 105 Total Notional Value 151,546 118,132 28.3% 153,872 -1.5% 778,721 823,481 -5.4% Total ADNV 7,216 5,625 28.3% 7,694 -6.2% 7,488 7,843 -4.5% EUROCCP (thousands)3 Year-To-Date Cleared Trades 102,684 N/A 96,909 6.0% 497,816 N/A Net Settlements 772 N/A 771 0.1% 3,967 N/A GLOBAL FX ($ millions)4 Year-To-Date Trading Days 21 21 22 106 107 Total Notional Value $688,812 $658,664 4.6% $681,941 1.0% $3,706,431 $4,076,013 -9.1% Total ADNV 32,801 31,365 4.6% 30,997 5.8% 34,966 38,094 -8.2% 1U.S. Equities Off-Exchange data reflects Cboe's acquisition of BIDS Trading effective on December 31, 2020. ADV= average daily volume 2Canadian Equities data reflects Cboe's acquisition of MATCHNow effective on August 4, 2020. ADNV= average daily notional value 3EuroCCP data reflects Cboe's acquisition of EuroCCP effective on July 1, 2020. 4Global FX metrics continue to include Spot and as of January 2021 include SEF products. May Trading Volume Highlights Options Average daily volume (ADV) in index options was 2 million contracts, up 14 percent from April 2021 and up 33 percent from May 2020 . and up 33 percent from . ADV in multiply-listed options was 9 million contracts, up 6 percent from April 2021 and up 12 percent from May 2020 . and up 12 percent from . ADV in S&P 500 Index (SPX) options was 1.32 million contracts, up 13 percent from April 2021 and up 22 percent from May 2020 . and up 22 percent from . ADV in Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) options was 613,595 contracts, up 21 percent from April 2021 and up 74 percent from May 2020 . Futures ADV in VIX futures (VX) was 245,727 contracts, up 32 percent from April 2021 and up 86 percent from May 2020 . and up 86 percent from . ADV in Mini VIX futures (VXM) was 18,224 contracts, up 78 percent from April 2021 . . ADV in Cboe iBoxx iShares $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index (IBIG) futures reached a new high of 1,122 contracts traded, up 46 percent from April 2021 , representing more than $3.3 billion in notional value. European Equities Cboe's market share in Swiss securities increased from 13.4 percent to 14.5 percent in May over April 2021 . . Cboe LIS, Cboe Europe's block trading platform, had a market share of 25.8 percent1 during May its highest on record. Global FX Cboe SEF NDF trading saw its highest monthly ADV with $271 million notional traded, up 30 percent from its prior record set in April 2021 and up 29% from May 2020 . About Cboe Global Markets, Inc. Cboe Global Markets (Cboe: CBOE) provides cutting-edge trading and investment solutions to market participants around the world. The company is committed to defining markets through product innovation, leading edge technology and seamless trading solutions. The company offers trading across a diverse range of products in multiple asset classes and geographies, including options, futures, U.S., Canadian and European equities, exchange-traded products (ETPs), global foreign exchange (FX) and volatility products based on the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX Index), recognized as the world's premier gauge of U.S. equity market volatility. Cboe's subsidiaries include the largest options exchange and the third largest stock exchange operator in the U.S. In addition, the company operates one of the largest stock exchanges by value traded in Europe, and owns EuroCCP, a leading pan-European equities clearing house. Cboe also is a leading market globally for ETP listings and trading. The company is headquartered in Chicago with a network of domestic and global offices across the Americas, Europe and Asia, including main hubs in New York, London, Kansas City and Amsterdam. For more information, visit www.cboe.com. CBOE-V Cboe, Cboe Global Markets, Cboe Volatility Index, CFE, and VIX are registered trademarks and Cboe Futures ExchangeSM and Mini VIXSM are service marks of Cboe Exchange, Inc. or its affiliates. S&P 500 and SPX are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services, LLC and has been licensed for use by Cboe Exchange, Inc. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. Any products that have the S&P Index or Indexes as their underlying interest are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Standard & Poor's or Cboe and neither Standard & Poor's nor Cboe make any representations or recommendations concerning the advisability of investing in products that have S&P indexes as their underlying interests. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and its affiliates do not recommend or make any representation as to possible benefits from any securities, futures or investments, or third-party products or services. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. is not affiliated with MSCI, S&P, Russell, iShares or IHS Markit. Investors should undertake their own due diligence regarding their securities, futures, and investment practices. This press release speaks only as of this date. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. disclaims any duty to update the information herein. Nothing in this announcement should be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell any securities or futures in any jurisdiction where the offer or solicitation would be unlawful under the laws of such jurisdiction. Nothing contained in this communication constitutes tax, legal or investment advice. Investors must consult their tax adviser or legal counsel for advice and information concerning their particular situation. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and its affiliates make no warranty, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, any warranties as of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, completeness or timeliness, the results to be obtained by recipients of the products and services described herein, or as to the ability of the indices referenced in this press release to track the performance of their respective securities, generally, or the performance of the indices referenced in this press release or any subset of their respective securities, and shall not in any way be liable for any inaccuracies, errors. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and its affiliates have not calculated, composed or determined the constituents or weightings of the securities that comprise the third-party indices referenced in this press release and shall not in any way be liable for any inaccuracies or errors in any of the indices referenced in this press release. Options involve risk and are not suitable for all market participants. Prior to buying or selling an option, a person should review the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options (ODD), which is required to be provided to all such persons. Copies of the ODD are available from your broker or from The Options Clearing Corporation, 125 S. Franklin Street, Suite 1200, Chicago, IL 60606. Futures trading is not suitable for all investors and involves the risk of loss. That risk of loss can be substantial and can exceed the amount of money deposited for a futures position. You should, therefore, carefully consider whether futures trading is suitable for you in light of your circumstances and financial resources. You should put at risk only funds that you can afford to lose without affecting your lifestyle. For additional information regarding futures trading risks, see the Risk Disclosure Statement set forth in Appendix A to CFTC Regulation 1.55(c) and the Risk Disclosure Statement for Security Futures Contracts. The iBoxx iShares $ High Yield Corporate Bond Index and the iBoxx iShares $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index (the "Indexes") referenced herein are the property of Markit Indices Limited ("Index Sponsor") and have been licensed for use in connection with Cboe iBoxx iShares $ High Yield Corporate Bond Index Futures and Cboe iBoxx iShares $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index Futures. Each party to a Cboe iBoxx iShares $ High Yield Corporate Bond Index Futures or Cboe iBoxx iShares $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index Futures transaction acknowledges and agrees that the transaction is not sponsored, endorsed or promoted by the Index Sponsor. The Index Sponsor makes no representation whatsoever, whether express or implied, and hereby expressly disclaims all warranties (including, without limitation, those of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use), with respect to the Indexes or any data included therein or relating thereto, and in particular disclaims any warranty either as to the quality, accuracy and/or completeness of the Indexes or any data included therein, the results obtained from the use of the Indexes and/or the composition of the Indexes at any particular time on any particular date or otherwise and/or the creditworthiness of any entity, or the likelihood of the occurrence of a credit event or similar event (however defined) with respect to an obligation, in the Indexes at any particular time on any particular date or otherwise. The Index Sponsor shall not be liable (whether in negligence or otherwise) to the parties or any other person for any error in the Indexes, and the Index Sponsor is under no obligation to advise the parties or any person of any error therein. The Index Sponsor makes no representation whatsoever, whether express or implied, as to the advisability of purchasing or selling Cboe iBoxx iShares $ High Yield Corporate Bond Index Futures and Cboe iBoxx iShares $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index Futures, the ability of the Indexes to track relevant markets' performances, or otherwise relating to the Indexes or any transaction or product with respect thereto, or of assuming any risks in connection therewith. The Index Sponsor has no obligation to take the needs of any party into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Indexes. No party purchasing or selling Cboe iBoxx iShares $ High Yield Corporate Bond Index Futures or Cboe iBoxx iShares $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index Futures, nor the Index Sponsor, shall have any liability to any party for any act or failure to act by the Index Sponsor in connection with the determination, adjustment, calculation or maintenance of the Indexes. iBoxx is a service mark of IHS Markit Limited. The iBoxx iShares $ High Yield Corporate Bond Index and the iBoxx iShares $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index (the "Indexes") and futures contracts on the Indexes ("Contracts") are not sponsored by, or sold by BlackRock, Inc. or any of its affiliates (collectively, " BlackRock"). BlackRock makes no representation or warranty, express or implied to any person regarding the advisability of investing in securities, generally, or in the Contracts in particular. Nor does BlackRock make any representation or warranty as to the ability of the Index to track the performance of the fixed income securities market, generally, or the performance of HYG, LQD or any subset of fixed income securities. BlackRock has not calculated, composed or determined the constituents or weightings of the fixed income securities that comprise the Indexes ("Underlying Data"). BlackRock is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the prices and amounts of the Contracts, or the timing of the issuance or sale of such Contracts or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Contracts are to be converted into cash (if applicable). BlackRock has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration or trading of the Contracts. BlackRock does not guarantee the accuracy or the completeness of the Underlying Data and any data included therein and BlackRock shall have no liability for any errors, omissions or interruptions related thereto. BlackRock makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by Markit or its affiliates, the parties to the Contracts or any other person with respect to the use of the Underlying Data or any data included therein. BlackRock makes no express or implied warranties and expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use with respect to the Underlying Data or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall BlackRock have any liability for any special, punitive, direct, indirect or consequential damages (including lost profits) resulting from the use of the Underlying Data or any data included therein, even if notified of the possibility of such damages. iShares is a registered trademark of BlackRock Fund Advisors and its affiliates. 1 According to data from big xyt SOURCE Cboe Global Markets, Inc. Related Links http://www.cboe.com CHICAGO, June 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Century Aluminum, America's largest primary aluminum producer, will host a ceremonial restart and jobs announcement at its Mt. Holly, South Carolina smelter with Governor Henry McMaster and VIP guests. With a significant capital investment, the Mt. Holly smelter is in the process of increasing production capacity and creating a substantial number of high paying jobs. Please join South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, and Century CEO Michael Bless for the ceremonial restart on Thursday, June 3, at 1.30pm ET. WHAT: Century Aluminum's Ceremonial Smelter Restart with South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster WHEN: Thursday, June 3, 2021 1.15pm ET for Media Set Up Roundtable with Governor McMaster - 1.30pm ET Official remarks - 1.40pm ET WHERE: Century Aluminum Mt. Holly 3575 U.S. Highway 52 Goose Creek, SC 29445 The event can also be viewed virtually here: https://youtu.be/l5VIvAkhuQw WHO: The Honorable Henry McMaster, Governor of South Carolina House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (virtual remarks) Century CEO Michael Bless Incoming Century CEO Jesse Gary CONTACT: Mark Duffy, E: [email protected] T: 202-841-7725 SOURCE Century Aluminum Related Links http://www.centuryaluminum.com We feel like we have no choice. We have to try, we have to try to convince the governor that this is the wrong move, Rich Templin, legislative policy director for the Florida AFL-CIO, said during a videoconference. And whether we convince him that its the wrong move politically, whether we convince him that its the wrong move economically, or whether we convince him that it is the wrong move morally, there are a lot of people out there who need help and need saving. SAN FRANCISCO, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CityHealth, the leading provider of Urgent Care in the San Francisco Bay area and Trusted Testing Partner for the State of Hawaii, announced today a new testing option for Hawaii-bound travelers, the Hawaii Drop-Off Test Kit. Visit Hawaii safely - and with one less lineup - with the CityHealth Hawaii Drop Off Test Kit. The Hawaii Drop-Off Test allows travelers the opportunity to collect their own nasal swab sample at home, under the supervision of a certified CityHealth clinician, via a secure telemedicine visit. Patients can drop off their sample at participating CityHealth COVID-19 testing centers. Kits include a Molecular PCR test performed by a CLIA certified laboratory and result documentation required by the State of Hawaii. "We noticed we were consistently fully booked for Hawaii travel testing, in many cases weeks in advance. So we decided to put in an 'express lane' so people can enjoy a safe Hawaiian vacation or visit family and friends sooner," says Sean Parkin, CityHealth CEO. "Our mission has always been to make world-class healthcare more accessible. The new Hawaii Drop-Off kit helps us do just that, as well as helping stimulate economic recovery for the State of Hawaii, whom we are pleased to partner with." Available for just $40 (shipping included), the Hawaii Drop-Off test kit is shipped directly to the patient's home. Seventy-two hours before departure, patients have a private telemedicine appointment to activate the kit and have a CityHealth clinician guide them through sample collection. Once the sample is collected, patients can drop off the test kit at any participating CityHealth location, including CityHealth Oakland, Dublin, El Cerrito, Livermore, Oakland (Northfield), Sacramento, San Francisco, and San Jose. Patients receive results via a secure email or text message within 30 hours of sample drop-off. Results are ready to be uploaded to the Hawaii Safe Travels system, a service provided by the Government of Hawaii that allows approved travelers to skip the mandatory 10 day quarantine period. Travelers must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result from a Trusted Testing Partner taken within 72 hours of departure and successfully pass a health questionnaire for approval. Hawaii Drop-Off kits can be purchased at https://covidtesting.cityhealthuc.com/hawaii-kit. Kits are $40, which includes shipping and approved travel documentation. About CityHealth: The leading provider of Urgent Care in the San Francisco Bay area, CityHealth's mission is to make world-class urgent medical care more accessible. CityHealth operates two urgent care clinics, nine COVID-19 testing centers, and two Mobile Health Units dispatched to underserved areas, events, or anywhere accessible care is needed. Visit https://www.cityhealthuc.com for more information or https://covidtesting.cityhealthuc.com/hawaii-covid19-testing for more details about COVID testing for Hawaii travel. Press Contact: Sean Parkin 510-984-2489 [email protected] Related Images hawaii-coastline.png Hawaii Coastline Visit Hawaii safely - and with one less lineup - with the CityHealth Hawaii Drop Off Test Kit. SOURCE CityHealth WASHINGTON, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- An ambitious and first of its kind effort to increase vaccine usage among rural Americans against COVID-19 was announced today that draws from all sectors of small-town America in a coordinated push. Representing one of the largest public vaccine education efforts in rural America, the COVID Collaborative, Health Action Alliance, Ad Council, American Farm Bureau Federation, Center for Rural Strategies, Rural America Chamber of Commerce, National League of Cities, the Daily Yonder, National Rural Health Association, and the Helmsley Charitable Trust are joining forces to roll out the concentrated education effort. The initiative comes as the White House, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, states and local governments prioritize the next 30 days to reach a national goal of 70% of adults receiving at least one vaccine dose by Independence Day. The "Month of Action" will be supported by these efforts to reach rural Americans. While 56% of rural residents report having received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, rural America still lags the rest of the country in the proportion of eligible residents vaccinated, according to recent data from the Kaiser Family Foundation . A key goal is to support rural community leaders and businesses as they engage with their residents in vaccine conversations. The effort includes the development of a resource library for rural vaccine uptake information, led by the National Rural Health Association, including conversation starter resources, and public service announcements developed in partnership with the Ad Council. These new resources will help rural employers , small business owners and public sector employers share vaccine facts and improve access to vaccinations for employees and their families. The resources will be announced today at a National Rural Business Summit on COVID-19 vaccines, focused on the unique needs and opportunities in rural areas and small cities to drive vaccination rates. The event will feature keynote remarks from U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, White House Vaccinations Coordinator Dr. Bachara Choucair and former Governor and U.S. Senator Dirk Kempthorne, Co-Chair of the COVID Collaborative. The event will be produced by Health Action Alliance, a joint initiative of the Ad Council, the Business Roundtable, the CDC Foundation, the de Beaumont Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundationin partnership with Meteorite. Also to be announced is a new partnership with Small Business Majority to expand outreach to and education for small business owners across the rural south and midwest, led by the Health Action Alliance and COVID Collaborative. And, in partnership with The Daily Yonder, the Health Action Alliance will launch today a new reporting partnership to expand on-the-ground coverage of COVID-19 and vaccines, with perspectives from rural businesses. Rural America is not homogenous, and these organizations have the diverse and necessary expertise to develop and disseminate the right messages to rural communities to move the needle on vaccination rates. Combined efforts aim to reach audiences through the healthcare and medical community, the faith-based community, the agricultural community, and the business community. This overall strategic work is being supported by The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The six-month grant from Helmsley's Rural Healthcare Program, made to COVID Collaborative as a key convener of these efforts, will work toward putting the U.S. on a path to full vaccination for COVID-19 by developing targeted messaging to increase vaccine education, public trust and enthusiasm for vaccinations in areas where challenges remain. "Helmsley is proud to support the COVID Collaborative as it undertakes this critically important initiative," said Walter Panzirer, a Helmsley Trustee. "We share a common goal to improve the health outcomes of families who live in rural America, especially during this challenging time." ### About the COVID Collaborative COVID Collaborative is a national assembly of experts, leaders and institutions in health, education and the economy and associations representing the diversity of the country to turn the tide on the pandemic by supporting federal, state and local COVID-19 response efforts. To learn more, visit www.CovidCollaborative.us , and follow the COVID Collaborative on Twitter and LinkedIn . "We're thrilled to help mobilize so many key organizations to ramp up their efforts to reach more Americans in rural areas," said John Bridgeland, CEO of COVID Collaborative. "Our goal is to help Americans in rural areas make informed decisions about the vaccine with quality information from the sources they trust." About the Health Action Alliance The Health Action Alliance is a joint initiative of the Ad Council, the Business Roundtable, the CDC Foundation, the de Beaumont Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundationin partnership with Meteorite. Together, we work to strengthen and accelerate the business community's response to COVID-19, advance health equity and help rebuild public health. Learn more at healthaction.org . "In the fight against COVID-19, the path to stronger immunity for all Americans runs right through rural communities. Throughout the pandemic, rural business and agricultural leaders have been trusted voices and key partners in the response sharing facts, prioritizing safety and improving health access across many communities," said Stephen Massey, Managing Director of the Health Action Alliance. About the National Rural Health Association The National Rural Health Association is a national nonprofit membership organization with more than 21,000 members. The association's mission is to provide leadership on rural health issues through advocacy, communications, education and research. "This is an important time for rural Americans to come together to keep our towns safe and open for business." said Alan Morgan, CEO, The National Rural Health Association. About the Center for Rural Strategies, Rural Assembly and Daily Yonder Center for Rural Strategies seeks to improve economic and social conditions for communities in the countryside and around the world through the creative and innovative use of media and communications. Its Rural Assembly, a movement of rural people and organizations from all fifty states, works at local, regional, and national levels to build more opportunity and better policy for rural communities across the country. It also publishes the Daily Yonder, a digital news platform that covers rural news for a national audience of rural residents, advocates, policymakers, and journalists. "As people across rural America's towns, small cities and Tribal Nations make their decisions about vaccination, having accurate information and access to vaccines is vital," says Whitney Kimball Coe, director of national programs at the Center for Rural Strategies. "We're proud to share the stories of rural business owners and other leaders who are supporting employees and community members, and to offer Health Action Alliance resources to support dialogue in the workplace and beyond." About the National League of Cities The National League of Cities (NLC) is the voice of America's cities, towns and villages, representing more than 200 million people. NLC works to strengthen local leadership, influence federal policy and drive innovative solutions. "Local elected officials still remain the most trusted level of government and many mayors and council members take this trust seriously and have been communicating honestly and transparently with their residents about the importance of vaccination. NLC is proud to provide the resources and information that local leaders need to help their communities and their workforces recover and rebuild," said NLC CEO and Executive Director Clarence E. Anthony. About the American Farm Bureau Federation The American Farm Bureau Federation is working with Farm Bureau organizations in the 50 states and Puerto Rico to connect farmers, ranchers and other rural Americans with reliable and trusted information about COVID-19 precautions, the safety of vaccinations and where to get them. "I have been so encouraged by how our state and county Farm Bureaus have stepped up to help provide answers and resources to address the questions and concerns shared by many throughout the pandemic. Farmers and ranchers are again demonstrating that they are community leaders who care about the health and safety of their employees," said Zippy Duvall, president, American Farm Bureau Federation. About The Helmsley Charitable Trust The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust aspires to improve lives by supporting exceptional efforts in the U.S. and around the world in health and select place-based initiatives. Since beginning active grantmaking in 2008, Helmsley has committed more than $3 billion for a wide range of charitable purposes. Helmsley's Rural Healthcare Program funds innovative projects that use information technologies to connect rural patients to emergency medical care, bring the latest medical therapies to patients in remote areas, and provide state-of-the-art training for rural hospitals and EMS personnel. To date, this program has awarded more than $500 million to organizations and initiatives in the upper Midwest states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Minnesota, Iowa, and Montana. Learn more at helmsleytrust.org . About the Rural America Chamber of Commerce The Rural America Chamber of Commerce is a national, member-based organization that is committed to supporting, promoting, and empowering entrepreneurs who are based in rural communities throughout the USA. The Chamber achieves its mission via direct member services and advocacy rooted in both public policy and social policy. About the Ad Council The Ad Council has a long history of creating life-saving public service communications in times of national crisis. To learn more, visit AdCouncil.org , follow the Ad Council's communities on Facebook and Twitter . CONTACT: Angela Landers, 314-982-6225, [email protected] SOURCE COVID Collaborative Related Links http://www.covidcollaborative.us/ SAN DIEGO, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Concurrent, a partnership of elite independent advisors affiliated with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. (RJFS) (member FINRA/SIPC), has had a robust start to its 2021 growth strategy with the addition of 10 new advisor partner teams entrusted with more than $1 billion in client assets. "Even in the face of a global pandemic and disruption to the American economy, we had a dynamic year for growth in 2020 and this year is even stronger," said Kevin McFarland, Founding Partner, Concurrent. "As advisors have adapted to new ways of doing business, our network has become a destination of choice for top performing entrepreneurial-minded advisors." The latest advisors to join the Concurrent network include: Zach Yaklin, CFA with AUM of $213 million; formerly with Wells Fargo Bank and based in San Diego and Traverse, MI. Michael Grover, CFP, Managing Partner, Grover Financial Group with AUM of $311 million; an existing Raymond James Financial Services advisor and based in Modesto, CA. The six-person team also includes Financial Advisors Robert Powell, Justin Grover, Eric Taylor, with support from Jan Constable and Linda Carranza. Thad Ortez, CFP, AWMA, also an existing Raymond James advisor in the Modesto, CA area, with AUM of $65 million. Randy Sauer, CRPC, Sauer Wealth Management with AUM $191.8 million; formerly with Wells Fargo Advisors and based in Pittsburg, KS, supported by Kallee Tucker. This is the first Kansas-based team to join the Concurrent network. Vikki Ciotti with AUM of $65.6 million; formerly with Wells Fargo Advisors, based in Sarasota, FL, and supported by Rona Powers. Clint Tighe and Rob Broome with AUM of $90 million; both formerly with Wells Fargo Advisors have joined Winter Park Wealth Group based in Winter Park, FL. Jason Fernandez, with AUM of $56.5 million and formerly with Wells Fargo Advisors joined Wealth Partners Alliance in Dallas, TX. Warren Bowman in St. Petersburg, FL joins from Wells Fargo Advisors with $80 million in AUM. Michael Cox and Nic Manns, who join from Wells Fargo Advisors with AUM of $100 million, will be operating as the Cox Private Wealth Management Group in New Port Ritchey, FL. George Hoos, formerly with Morgan Stanley is a solo advisor in Sarasota, FL with $90 million in AUM. "It is extremely gratifying that so many outstanding advisors have chosen our business model, which combines independence with the operational support and extensive resources of a larger network," Mike Hlavek, Founding Partner, Concurrent added. "We look forward to working with all of our new partners to grow their businesses and our network, and helping them give their clients the best service possible." About Concurrent Concurrent (concurrentadvisors.com) is an advisor-owned partnership of elite independent organizations working together to realize a common vision of creating a superior client experience while growing their own practices. Headquartered in San Diego, Concurrent was founded in 2016 and currently serves 125 advisors in 55 offices with over $11.5 billion in assets under management (AUM) and approximately $12 billion under advisement (as of 5/15/2021). Drawing upon their individual and unified strengths, our financial advisors leverage their collective scale to provide an attractive value proposition to both clients and other independent-minded advisors in a highly competitive and constantly evolving wealth management landscape. Concurrent and its network of advisor teams are not registered broker/dealers or registered investment advisers. Concurrent's network of financial advisors are registered representatives of Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. About Raymond James Financial Services Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. is a financial services firm supporting independent financial advisors nationwide. Since 1974, Raymond James Financial Services Inc., member FINRA/SIPC, has provided a wide range of investment and wealth planning related services through its affiliate, Raymond James & Associates, Inc., member New York Stock Exchange/SIPC. Both broker/dealers are wholly owned subsidiaries of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE-RJF) a leading diversified financial services company with approximately 8,300 financial advisors throughout the United States, Canada and overseas. Total client assets are $1.09 trillion. Investment advisory services offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc. CONTACT: Lisa Aldape JConnelly 973 525 6550 [email protected] SOURCE Concurrent Related Links http://concurrentadvisors.com PLANO, Texas, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CRITICALSTART, a leading provider of Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services, today announced Jordan Mauriello has been promoted to the newly initiated role of Chief Security Officer (CSO) and also the appointment of Ron Demers as the company's new Vice President, Sales Operations (VPSO). This supplement to the leadership bench builds on CRITICALSTART's momentum and recent growth experience in addition to the team's commitment to customers as well as channel partners and strategic alliances. Building upon the company's growth of bookings by 67% year-over-year and plans to double the employee base over the next 12 months, these appointments also put CRITICALSTART at a clear advantage as the company looks to expand internationally into EMEA in the second half of 2021, with other geographies planned for the coming years. Mauriello has been with CRITICALSTART for more than seven years, most recently as the Senior Vice President of Managed Security. His new role as CSO encompasses not just managed security, but all aspects of security including threat intel and continuous security monitoring (CSM). As CSO, Mauriello will look to expand the company with more senior executives as well as building out the customer care organization for all managed services customers. "The addition of the CSO role is CRITICALSTART's next step as we continue on our rapid growth journey and mission to better show the strategic importance of MDR businesses," said Mauriello. "I'm pleased to expand my position on the leadership team as we work to continue to build the organization." Mauriello brings almost 20 years of global security expertise to his newly initiated role at CRITICALSTART. Previous to his years at the company, Mauriello was CTO at Advanced Threat Analytics and also Senior Manager of Global Security Operations for Experian where he led the vision and direction for the organization. "These two new appointments to the CRITICALSTART leadership bench bring outstanding global experience and a true understanding of the vital need to deliver a solid experience for both our customers and partners," said Rob Davis, founder and CEO of CRITICALSTART. "Jordan's move to CSO gives us the best opportunity to fight the industry's evolving threat landscape and Ron's background and sales leadership will be invaluable as we look to continue our rapid growth across industries and geographies." In his VPSO role, Demers will continue to bring scalability to CRITICALSTART's go-to-market channel model in an effort to solidify its vision to provide the best MDR to the channel. Demers will also be responsible for the overall productivity and effectiveness of the sales organization in addition to the management of the team's continued expansion both nationally and internationally. As VPSO, he will work closely with stakeholders to ensure efficient operations and success along with contributing to CRITICALSTART's business and marketing strategies. Demers will also direct the company's support investments in the sales force and enabling technologies to ensure overall organizational success. "CRITICALSTART is a leader in the MDR space and is constantly evolving alongside both their customers and the threat actors, making them a force to be reckoned with," said Demers. "I could not be prouder to join the team as we continue to expand our services and locations." Before joining CRITICALSTART, Demers held a global operations role at Siemens Industry Software where he successfully helped to increase revenue and the number of partners by four times. Prior to his Siemens role, Ron held various global and Americas' sales operations roles supporting enterprise and channel sales organizations at Invensys Operations Management (acquired by Schneider Electric) and Nokia Enterprise Solutions. ABOUT CRITICALSTART CRITICALSTART is the only MDR provider committed to eliminating acceptable risk and leaving nothing to chance. We believe that companies should never have to settle for "good enough." Our award-winning portfolio includes end-to-end Professional Services and Managed Detection and Response (MDR). Our MDR puts a stop to alert fatigue by leveraging our ZTAP platform plus industry-leading Trusted Behavior Registry, which eliminates false positives at scale by resolving known-good behaviors. Driven by 24x7x365 human-led, end-to-end monitoring, investigation and remediation of alerts, our on-the-go threat detection and response capabilities are enabled via a fully interactive MOBILESOC. Follow CRITICALSTART: Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. SOURCE CRITICALSTART Related Links https://www.criticalstart.com/ THONOTOSASSA, Fla., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Medicine-On-Time, a CSS Health company, announced today the introduction of several new blister cards, medication compliance package types designed to work with the pharmacy industry's leading packaging automation platforms, including Synergy Medical. For more information or to request samples go to www.medicineontime.com/synmed. "The new SynMed Single Dose card adds to a long list of compliance packaging solutions offered by CSS Health, Pharmacy Services Division (MOT). Synergy Medical's highly efficient packaging equipment coupled with this intuitive compliance packaging, increases pharmacy efficiency and patient adherence, improves productivity and pharmacy profitability, positioning pharmacies to focus on a care-based model that prioritizes improved patient outcomes via medication adherence, and patient retention", says Jim Clair, Chief Executive Officer of CSS Health. "Automated packaging machinery plays a valuable role in assembling, organizing, and packaging medications for residents of our communities and those residing in any inpatient or outpatient care program such as Assisted Living, Alternative Care, and Skilled Nursing Facilities", says Perry Larson, Chief Operating Officer for CSS Health's Pharmacy Services unit (MOT). CSS Health's new SynMed Single Dose blister cards are designed to work in any Synergy Medical automated packaging machine that includes positioning trays designed for Single Dose blister Cards. CSS Health also supplies multi-dose packaging for Synergy Medical's automation. Also, released today is the new 'Recover Blister Card', allowing pharmacies to recover unused medications, contained in the originally packaged blisters for re-assembly into a new package, when and where regulatory or procedural requirements allow. This uniquely designed card meets the needs of pharmacies required to process returns and credits for unused medications when serving patients in nursing homes under Medicare Part A reimbursement. Finally, CSS Health will introduce MTMPack, a multi-dose medication blister card designed for use by pharmacies serving community care patients receiving medication adherence services as part of their dispensing pharmacy's medication management program. "Compliance Packaging is an essential piece of the Medication Therapy Management (MTM) services provided by CSS Health's Advanced Practice Network (APN) pharmacies", states James Notaro, Chief Clinical Officer of CSS Health. Manufactured in our state-of-the-art facility in Tampa, Florida these cards are designed to meet the highest quality standards in the industry. They are available in 28, 30, and 31 cycle fill variations including Medium, Large and XL Blisters. About CSS Health CSS Health provides a comprehensive Medical Therapy Management (MTM), adherence and compliance drug packaging solution for health plans, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), pharmacies, facilities, and patients. Our dedicated leadership team has deep and broad experience in payer and pharmacy services. CSS Health brings together Medicine-on-Time, an innovator in multi-dose and single dose compliance packaging and prescription management software for more than 30 years, and Clinical Support Services, a leader in MTM clinical software and services, in an end-to-end medication management solution. For more information about CSS Health, visit www.csshealth.com. About CSS Health Pharmacy Services (Medicine-On-Time) Medicine-On-Time is a comprehensive medication adherence partner that helps pharmacists grow their business through increased medication adherence and improved patient care. They support and empower pharmacists with the products, know-how, and assistance to better serve their business goalsespecially as they relate to medication adherence and compliance packaging. With compliance packaging to fit every patient need and every pharmacy price point, technology solutions to streamline workflow, and a marketing and support team available at every turn, Medicine-On-Time helps pharmacists realize bigger opportunities through better patient care. www.medicineontime.com About 424 Capital 424 Capital makes control equity investments in lower middle market companies within B2B Tech-Enabled Services. 424 Capital works in partnership with founders and management teams to accelerate and scale for long-term growth. Focusing primarily on investments in North America in the healthcare and renewable energy spaces, we invest in companies that are profitable, growing, and that align with our values of honesty, integrity and impact. For more information about 424 Capital, please visit 424capital.com. www.424capital.com About HealthEdge Investment Partners HealthEdge Investment Partners, LLC is an operationally oriented private equity firm founded in 2005 that focuses exclusively on the healthcare industry. HealthEdge seeks to achieve superior returns by investing in businesses that benefit from the knowledge, experience, and network of relationships of its partners. HealthEdge's partners have more than 100 years of combined operating experience in healthcare as CEOs and investors. For more information on HealthEdge, visit www.healthedgepartners.com . www.healthedgepartners.com Media contact: Perry Larson, [email protected] SOURCE Medicine-On-Time Related Links http://www.medicineontime.com TORONTO, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Eco Depot Inc. (OTC Pink: ECDP), a Nevada company, updating shareholders and market stakeholders of recent activities and their impact on the company. This Q2 2021 market update is communicated in the spirit of transparency and gratitude to Eco Depot, Inc. stakeholders. The Company is pleased to announce in the second quarter of 2021, Bronya Canada Group has prepared the groundwork for and the launch of its Bronya Climate Shield products on a global scale. The Company's wholly owned subsidiary Bronya Canada Group, Inc. as previously announced has presented its product as a global solution in the battle on climate change with the presentation of it's Bronya Climate Shield Thermal Paint coating at the United Nations World Tourism Organization, (FITUR )Conference in Madrid, Spain on May 20 th, 2021. As a result of the UNWTO FITUR Conference in Madrid Spain, Bronya Climate Shield was invited to demonstrate its Bronya Climate Shield Thermal Paint Coating to the Advisory Council of the Federation of Latin American Cities, Municipal Associations (FLACMA) office in Madrid on May 21st, 2021. The Latin American Federation of Cities, Municipalities and Municipal Associations (FLACMA) is a proactive organization of free adherence representing the 16,132 municipalities, cities and local government associations, networks, and unions municipalities of Latin America and the Caribbean. It is an international body that adheres to and promotes world and regional conventions signed by the national states of the Region. It is the official representation in the Region of the Union of Cities and Local Governments, UCLG, a world organization. It represents Mayors, Intendants, Prefects, Municipal Presidents, Local Governments, Cities and Associations of Local Governments and manages relationships with International Institutions and programs like the United Nations SDGs Program, UN Habitat, Cities Alliance, amongst others. It addresses Climate change and the importance of the sustainable development of cities as a topic of debate that has been constantly defended in the main forums and global agendas, and regional and international organizations. Likewise, it represents the interests and demands of local municipal management, promoting better societies. FLACMA will hold an international technical summit for the: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY forum at the Dubai UAE expo center from September 29th to October 9th Visit: www.flacma.com Bronya Climate Shield is currently in discussions with the Advisory Council of FLACMA to present its Bronya Climate Shield Thermal Paint as a solution to municipal programs to comply with the United Nations 2030 agenda for its 17 Social Development Goals (in Spanish ODS, Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible). We are confident that Bronya Climate Shield will address a number of the 17 SDGs respond to climate imperatives in line with Climate Action, Sustainable Cities, Responsible Consumption and Production, Affordable and Clean Energy, supporting investments in energy efficiency and usage of renewable energy resources and technologies. We believe Bronya Climate Shield Thermal Paint will help the municipal governments respond to the challenges of climate change, and it is thereby necessary that we attend the Economic Development Resilience and Sustainability Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The FLACMA Advisory Council Members present during the demonstration were very impressed with our Bronya Climate Shield Thermal Paint considering its a cost-effective solution to reduce the municipal carbon emissions via energy conservation and energy savings, as demonstrated at the ARNAIZ INSTITUTE and head office of the Advisory Council of FLACMA, said Daniel Gosselin, President of Bronya Canada Group. The company is also currently testing in accordance with the European Commission, Joint Research Center, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, to establish Tradable Certificates for Energy Savings, known as (White Certificates) and in discussions with VCS in the North America Market. Market-based Instruments (MBI's) aim to bring sustainability to the energy sector from renewable energy sources and cut harmful emissions, widely known as tradable CO2 allowances. These results will be published shortly, as well. The UN, governments, International Energy Agency are calling for corporate support to meet clean energy 2030 SDG initiatives. Bronya Climate Shield instantly delivers up to 40% efficiency in energy consumption and flow, industrially, commercially, and domestically, minimizing global carbon production by reducing energy consumption, via simple, affordable application. Bronya Climate Shield incentivizes corporate support in 2030 SDG initiatives by lowering overall production costs, improving working conditions for workers, improving equipment functionality and safety. Empowering organizations to meet global and national energy consumption goals requires recognized benefit to their health and success. About Bronya Climate Shield products: Bronya Classic: Bronya Classic is our baseline thermal formulation, designed for a wide range of applications. It has strong adhesion to wood, concrete, metals, and other construction materials. Our primary objective when developing Bronya Classic was to create a temperature-resistant, weather-protective, and rust-inhibiting coating that is durable enough to withstand extreme conditions. Bronya Classic is extremely insulating and, when applied sufficiently, can reduce energy costs inside of most structures by up to 40%. Bronya Facade: Bronya Facade is our toughest formulation. It is uniquely developed for the thermal insulation of vertical surfaces. A single 1mm coat applied on the interior and exterior of a wall forms a single, joint-less surface, which helps maintain and insulate the interior climate. Bronya Facade reflects up to 80% of the visible solar and infra-red radiation spectrum. It significantly reduces indoor heat in the summertime, resulting in lower air conditioning expenditures. In cold climates, it can reduce heating costs by up to 40%. It is like the classic, but more effective for exterior use. Ensures thermal insulation of both interior and exterior walls. Does not increase the structural load. Significantly reduces energy consumption. Reduces material expenses and labor costs. Uses significantly less space than standard insulation. It can be applied to brick, concrete, wood, vinyl, and metal walls. Bronya Aquablock: Bronya Aquablock is uniquely formulated to prevent water damage. It can be applied to roofing, foundations, bathroom floors, electrical cables, and more. The surface of Bronya AquaBlock has no seams, which prevents any water from escaping or leaking. Due to its high adhesion, it is not affected by sunlight, humidity, or temperature changes. It is easy to apply by brush, roller, or spray gun. After curing, Bronya AquaBlock turns into a strong and durable coating that is not degraded by atmospheric or other environmental conditions. It is durable, extremely elastic, and maintains its characteristics in the most extreme conditions. The fireproof version is available. Elasticity reaches 220%. Bronya Fire Retardant: Bronya Fire Retardant can be found in various ratings of R45, R60, R90, R120. It is used to improve the fire safety of enclosing structures. Bronya Fire Retardant: Thin application to paper, wood, metal, and plastic will result in a very effective fire protective coating. Surface maintains the same physical and mechanical characteristics as was prior to application. Liquid Coated Thermal Insulation Material (LCTIM) does not impair its thermo-physical properties and allows the product to maintain its fire-retardant rating. Unlike its rivals, Bronya Fire Retardant can be colored. This has no impact on its efficacy. More cost-effective than the competition. Easy application for reduced labor costs. A single coat (without additional life-prolonging layers) is designed to maintain protection inside buildings up to 30 years. ABOUT ECO DEPOT Eco Depot, Inc. acquires, manages, and develops eco-friendly real estate assets and consumer brand products. Their focus is to provide investments, funding, and support for acquisitions, start-ups, entrepreneurs, and green companies dedicated to protecting the environment. Eco Depot is a development stage distributor of eco-friendly consumer brand products and is publicly traded Over the Counter at OTCMKTS: ECDP. ABOUT BRONYA CANADA GROUP Bronya Coatings Group, Inc. ("the Company") is based in Montreal and intends to commercialize a Multi-Purpose liquid thermal insulation paint Bronya Climate Shield product line in North America. The Company's mission is to establish third-party production facilities globally to reduce the costs associated with the business' supply chain. The Company also has established relationships with major home improvement stores on a worldwide basis. ABOUT BRONYA CLIMATE SHIELD Bronya Climate Shield increases energy efficiency, energy savings, and reduces carbon emissions through energy conservation. Product website: www.bronyaclimateshield.com Safe Harbor Statement This Press Release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company has tried, whenever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements using words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "potential" and similar expressions. These statements reflect the Company's current beliefs and are based upon information currently available to it. Accordingly, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the Company's actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or advise in the event of any change, addition, or alteration to the information catered in this Press Release, including such forward-looking statements. CONTACT: Eco-Depot Inc 2300 West Sahara Avenue Suite 800 Las Vegas, NV 89102 Tel: 1 (800) 323-7006 WEBSITE: www.ecdp.co [email protected] PRODUCT INQUIRIES: +1-(844)-427-6692 [email protected] SOURCE Eco Depot Inc. LONDON, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- EY today announced a collaboration with SAP on the innovation of industry cloud solutions, including insurance, banking, life sciences and energy and resources, to help drive clients' digital transformation. Insurance will be the first available to clients in late June 2021. These EY solutions for SAP's industry cloud combine EY experience and knowledge in these four industries with EY industry-specific IP and integrated technology solutions. Implemented by EY teams in collaboration with SAP, the new industry solutions will help clients address key business challenges, accelerate transformation, manage business disruption, and optimize time to value. Built on SAP Business Technology Platform, organizations can leverage the industry solutions in their SAP S/4HANA Cloud implementations. Tim Fuller, EY Global SAP Go-to-Market Leader, says: "Collaborating with SAP on the development of industry solutions provides EY clients in these four sectors with the customized solutions, knowledge and guidance they need to innovate, and cost-effectively move their businesses forward. Integrating an industry-specific approach is essential to help organizations advance with today's rapidly evolving market and prioritize their cloud journeys." The new industry solutions will help organizations adopt and implement SAP-supported solutions efficiently while managing costs. The solutions will help mitigate the risks of cost escalations for major IT system implementations that organizations can experience when adopting cloud technologies. Designed with the insights of these industries in mind, the new EY industry solutions will help clients across insurance, banking, life sciences and energy and resources, effectively integrate a cloud strategy for their SAP solutions. Isabelle Santenac, EY Global Insurance Leader, says: "Insurance solutions built on SAP Business Technology Platform will be the first available to clients later in 2021. The EY insurance industry solutions will help provide ready-to-deploy assets, such as packaged financial reporting on SAP Analytics Cloud. The assets will help accelerate innovation and improvement of finance modernization in insurance. This collaboration will contribute to further expand the EY insurance digital platform, which offers access to the most advanced technologies in the insurance industry." Robert Cummings, Global Head of Financial Services, SAP, says: "SAP's industry cloud portfolio helps organizations focus on their digital transformation by using the tools, technologies and support catered to the needs of their specific markets. We're excited to be working with EY to further support clients across the insurance industry, as they innovate and scale their business transformation efforts." For more information, visit ey.com/sap. Joanna Hardy EY Global Media Relations +1 212 773 4473 [email protected] SOURCE EY Related Links http://www.ey.com SAN FRANCISCO, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Beans , a financial technology startup built for America's Caring Class, today announced $2 million in funding, led by Precursor Ventures with participation from Relay Ventures, One Planet VC, Swing Ventures, Oxford Angel Fund, and a group of notable angel investors. The Beans's mission is to simplify the path to financial success so that Carers can enjoy their hard earned money. The financial wellness company automates financial planning and keeps members on track through proactive behavioral nudges. "I'm thrilled to announce our funding, which enables us to double down on our mission to simplify the path to financial success," said CEO and Founder Melissa Pancoast who previously founded Comet Labs VC, a venture capital fund that invests in AI companies like Ripcord, IronOx, and airmap. "So far, personal finance solutions have somehow made people feel worse about their choices or lack thereof rather than better, and they've also fought against our brain's natural wiring. The Beans works because we take a different approach, we focus on how people think and feel about their money, because how we think and feel drives our behavior. I'm excited to put this capital to work to reach many more people." Though personal finance tools were part of the first wave of fintech, in recent years following a handful of notable acquisitions that consolidated the space there has been little innovation focused on improving people's relationships with money. The Beans was founded by Melissa Pancoast, a former researcher in the University of Oxford's Centre for Evidence-Based Interventions. There she developed the Economic Strengthening program that has been proven effective in reducing financial stress and abuse in families and rolled out by the CDC, World Health Organization, and the United Nations to 77 million families around the world as part of the emergency response to Covid-19. Before Oxford, Pancoast started her career in the classroom, where she saw the impact of financial stress on her community. She also saw firsthand the most effective ways to enhance learning. To bring these and other scientific advances to market, the company has an unusual focus on data. Unlike others who use the labels supplied by financial data aggregators, The Beans has created their own machine learning models for this market that are engineered for behavior change. The Beans is especially focused on meeting the financial needs of the group of middle-income workers the company calls "America's Caring Class," people with steady income streams who serve in caring professions. The pandemic put essential workers in caring professionsfrom teachers to nurses to social workerson the brink of crisis, and this coupled with the long-simmering stress of their financial situations has pushed many to the breaking point. Nearly 50 percent of US households have lost some source of supplemental income over the past year. With the economic recovery looming, there has never been a more important time to provide caring professionals with the tools they need to achieve financial wellness. "The Beans has solved what I previously thought was an unsolvable problemhow to get people to change their behavior around how they manage and relate to their money," said Charles Hudson, Managing Director at Precursor Ventures. "Looking at how my Beans were arranged made it clear that I needed to do some things differently with my finances," shared Adrian Sloan, a math teacher in Atlanta, GA. ABOUT THE BEANS The Beans is a financial technology company that builds simple, visual, financial plans that empower America's Caring Class to stress less about money and focus on what they love. The Beans app is available for iOS through the App Store and delivers the world's first Visual Financial Plan with proactive, positive support. Founded by a former math teacher turned University of Oxford researcher from Miami, Florida, The Beans has employees in San Francisco and Atlanta. MEDIA CONTACT Chelsea Allison CMAND.CO for The Beans [email protected] 3127752856 SOURCE The Beans "We are honored to have the support of two outstanding Americans who played a critical role in the aftermath of 9/11," said Donna Gibson, president, Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial. "Senator Daschle and Governor Ridge helped to unite all Americans in those difficult days. Like us, they know the importance of making certain the story of Flight 93 is remembered forever. And so, we thank them for their personal support of the Flight 93 Heroes Award. We also thank Governor Ridge for his years of service as honorary co-chair of the fundraising effort that led to the construction of Flight 93 National Memorial." On the morning of September 11, 2001, Senator Daschle was working in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, one of four targets of terrorists who took control of four airplanes. Later that day, then-Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge would arrive at the crash site of Flight 93, a witness to the extraordinary heroism of the passengers and crew members who refused to allow the terrorists to reach the nation's capital by fighting back to regain control of the cockpit. Senator Daschle and Governor Ridge recounted that day in new 30-second videos that encourage nominations for the Flight 93 Heroes Award. "On September 11th, 2001, I was among those working in the U.S. Capitol when terrorists hijacked four airplanes," Senator Daschle says in his video message here. "One of them, United Flight 93, was heading for the Capitol. The truly heroic actions of 40 passengers and crew members on board that plane saved countless lives. If you know a hometown hero who embodies that same selfless spirit, nominate them today for the Flight 93 Heroes Award." Inspired by the approaching 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, and in memory of the heroism displayed by the passengers and crew members of Flight 93 in the skies over Shanksville, Pa., the Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial is inviting nominations for the First Annual Flight 93 Heroes Award. This national award will be presented each year to individuals who have demonstrated remarkable acts of selfless courage in their community, anywhere in the United States. The award will be announced around September 11. Gibson added that the award is important because more than 75 million people have been born since September 11, 2001 and have no memory of the incredible acts of heroism by the Flight 93 passengers and crew members. "There are heroes everywhere. People who risk their safety and lives to help others, just like the passengers and crew on Flight 93," Governor Ridge recounts in his video message here. "I was at the crash site in Pennsylvania that tragic day. The hijacked plane was headed for the U.S. Capitol. Instead, it crashed in a field. Why? Because of the brave actions of those on board. Countless lives were saved as a result of their heroism. So, I invite you to nominate a hometown hero who embodies the same spirit and same courage." Nominations are being accepted through July 4 by visiting www.Flight93Friends.org. Eligibility criteria and nominating rules are also available. ABOUT THE FRIENDS OF FLIGHT 93 NATIONAL MEMORIAL Established in 2009, the Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial is the official nonprofit partner of Flight 93 National Memorial. The Friends focus on awareness, education, volunteer support, preservation and stewardship to ensure that Flight 93 National Memorial will remain accessible, relevant and inspirational to present and future generations. To learn more about the Friends, or make a donation to support the Friends, visit www.Flight93Friends.org. SOURCE Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial, Inc. Related Links www.Flight93Friends.org FACTS AT A GLANCE Edition: 8; Released: April 2021 Executive Engagements: 9498 Companies: 123 Players covered include Altec Air; Atlas Copco; BOGE Kompressoren ; Donaldson Company; ELGI Equipments LTD; Ingersoll-Rand; Kaeser Kompressoren; Mann+Hummel; Parker-Hannifin; SPX Flow; Sullair; Sullivan-Palatek; Van Air Systems; Walker Filtration; Zeks Compressed Air Solutions and Others. Coverage: All major geographies and key segments Segments: Product (Compressed Air Dryers, Air Compressor Filters); End-Use (Automotive, Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Power Generation, Food & Beverage, Metals & Machinery, Pharmaceuticals, Electronics, Other End-Uses) Geographies: World; United States; Canada; Japan; China; Europe (France; Germany; Italy; United Kingdom; Spain; Russia; and Rest of Europe); Asia-Pacific (Australia; India; South Korea; and Rest of Asia-Pacific); Latin America (Argentina; Brazil; Mexico; and Rest of Latin America); Middle East (Iran; Israel; Saudi Arabia; United Arab Emirates; and Rest of Middle East); and Africa. Complimentary Project Preview - This is an ongoing global program. Preview our research program before you make a purchase decision. We are offering a complimentary access to qualified executives driving strategy, business development, sales & marketing, and product management roles at featured companies. Previews provide deep insider access to business trends; competitive brands; domain expert profiles; and market data templates and much more. You may also build your own bespoke report using our MarketGlass Platform which offers thousands of data bytes without an obligation to purchase our report. Preview Registry ABSTRACT- Global Air Compressor Filters and Compressed Air Dryers Market to Reach $6.7 Billion by 2026 Air Compressor Filters and Compressed Air Dryers are the most ubiquitous electromechanical workhorse equipment used widely in homes, commercial establishments, and industries such as heavy machinery, general manufacturing, engineering, water pumping, process industries, mining energy generation, oil and gas exploration and distribution, power plants, petrochemicals, automobile service centers, textiles and chemical industry, among others. In the current era of machine-based manufacturing and industrialization, they represent ubiquitous and indispensable equipment. The compressed air contains kinetic energy which can be used for a variety of purposes such as operating pneumatic equipment like gantry cranes etc., cooling atmospheric air, for controlling robotic machines in assembly line plants, to vaporize paints, for blasting and cleaning operations, among others. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Air Compressor Filters and Compressed Air Dryers estimated at US$5 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$6.7 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 5.3% over the period. Compressed Air Dryers, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to record 5% CAGR and reach US$4.8 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Air Compressor Filters segment is readjusted to a revised 5.9% CAGR for the next 7-year period. The U.S. Market is Estimated at $1.6 Billion in 2021, While China is Forecast to Reach $738.1 Million by 2026 The Air Compressor Filters and Compressed Air Dryers market in the U.S. is estimated at US$1.6 Billion in the year 2021. China, the world`s second largest economy, is forecast to reach a projected market size of US$738.1 Million by the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 7.2% over the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 3.7% and 4.7% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 4.5% CAGR. Food & Beverage End-Use Segment to Reach $816.3 Million by 2026 The food industry is a major end-use market as compressors draw in huge amounts of atmospheric air for compression and therefore there is high risk of contaminants such as water vapor, atmospheric dirt, oil vapor, and microorganisms. Given the growing concerns over the quality of compressed air as the often overlooked cause of contamination in the food industry, there is growing demand for clean air solutions in food processing. Demand is therefore forecast to be strong for compressors with anti-bacterial filters that filter out microorganisms. Especially poised to benefit are oil-free compressors as these compressors eliminate the risk of delivering oil into the air stream thus significantly reducing the risk of food and beverage contamination. Global market for Food & Beverage End-Use segment is estimated at US$555.3 Million in 2020, and is projected to reach US$816.3 Million by 2026 reflecting a compounded annual growth rate of 6.8% over the analysis period. United States constitutes the largest regional market for Food & Beverage segment, accounting for 32.7% of the global sales in 2020. China is poised to register the fastest compounded annual growth rate of 9.5% over the analysis period, to reach US$87 Million by the close of the analysis period. More MarketGlass Platform Our MarketGlass Platform is a free full-stack knowledge center that is custom configurable to today's busy business executive's intelligence needs! This influencer driven interactive research platform is at the core of our primary research engagements and draws from unique perspectives of participating executives worldwide. Features include - enterprise-wide peer-to-peer collaborations; research program previews relevant to your company; 3.4 million domain expert profiles; competitive company profiles; interactive research modules; bespoke report generation; monitor market trends; competitive brands; create & publish blogs & podcasts using our primary and secondary content; track domain events worldwide; and much more. Client companies will have complete insider access to the project data stacks. Currently in use by 67,000+ domain experts worldwide. Our platform is free for qualified executives and is accessible from our website www.StrategyR.com or via our just released mobile application on iOS or Android About Global Industry Analysts, Inc. & StrategyR Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (www.strategyr.com) is a renowned market research publisher the world's only influencer driven market research company. Proudly serving more than 42,000 clients from 36 countries, GIA is recognized for accurate forecasting of markets and industries for over 33 years. CONTACTS: Zak Ali Director, Corporate Communications Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Phone: 1-408-528-9966 www.StrategyR.com Email: [email protected] LINKS Get Full Report Details https://www.strategyr.com/market-report-air-compressor-filters-and-compressed-air-dryers-forecasts-global-industry-analysts-inc.asp Join Our Expert Panel https://www.strategyr.com/Panelist.asp Connect With Us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/global-industry-analysts-inc./ Follow Us on Twitter https://twitter.com/marketbytes Journalists & Media [email protected] SOURCE Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Related Links http://www.strategyr.com Del ambiente y Alianza realizaran un evento el 4 de junio a las 7 p.m. para honrar a lideres de la comunidad LGBTQ+ y conmemorar a las victimas de Pulse a 5 anos del tiroteo. (Del Ambiente / Suministrada) FACTS AT A GLANCE Edition: 7; Released: April 2021 Executive Engagements: 3953 Companies: 49 - Players covered include Aspen Avionics, Inc.; Avidyne Corporation; Esterline Technologies Corporation; FreeFlight Systems; Garmin Ltd.; Harris Corporation; Honeywell International, Inc.; Indra Sistemas SA; L3 Technologies, Inc.; Rockwell Collins, Inc.; Thales Group; Trig Avionics Ltd. and Others. Coverage: All major geographies and key segments Segments: Type (ADS-B Out, ADS-B In, ADS-B Ground Stations); Component (Transponder, Receiver, Antenna, ADS-B Ground Receivers, Other Components); Application (Terminal Maneuvering Area (TMA) Surveillance, Airborne Surveillance) Geographies: World; United States; Canada; Japan; China; Europe (France; Germany; Italy; United Kingdom; and Rest of Europe); Asia-Pacific; Rest of World. Complimentary Project Preview - This is an ongoing global program. Preview our research program before you make a purchase decision. We are offering a complimentary access to qualified executives driving strategy, business development, sales & marketing, and product management roles at featured companies. Previews provide deep insider access to business trends; competitive brands; domain expert profiles; and market data templates and much more. You may also build your own bespoke report using our MarketGlass Platform which offers thousands of data bytes without an obligation to purchase our report. Preview Registry ABSTRACT- Global Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) Market to Reach $1.4 Billion by the Year 2026 ADS-B is an advanced surveillance technology that allows pilots to determine aircraft position by leveraging satellite navigation. The surveillance technique enables users to broadcast data related to aircraft identify and position as well as other information received from onboard systems like Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The ADS-B market is poised to be driven by increasing demand for advanced surveillance technology for aircraft tracking and safety. The FAA requires all aircraft operators in the US to equip their fleet with ADS-B systems. All aircraft operating within the US airspace are required to transfer specific information by using ADS-B OUT avionics. Similar mandates across countries such as Australia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the UAE and India are expected to fuel global demand for ADS-B systems. ADS-B systems are anticipated to receive a major boost from rising number of aircraft related deliveries and orders coupled with increasing investments to upgrade commercial airports with sophisticated technologies and facilities. The market growth is also contributed by launch of portable ADS-B systems intended to reduce manufacturing cost along with integration of standard ADS-B. The market expansion is also facilitated by increasing number of UAVs, creating the requirement to integrate these vehicles with advanced air traffic control systems. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) estimated at US$579.8 Million in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$1.4 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 16.8% over the analysis period. ADS-B Out, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at a 16.7% CAGR to reach US$743.7 Million by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the ADS-B In segment is readjusted to a revised 17.7% CAGR for the next 7-year period. This segment currently accounts for a 29% share of the global Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) market. ADS-B In and ADS-B Out are the two types of services offered under ADS-B. Both the services can substitute radar for primary surveillance, for aircraft control across the world. ADS-B Out broadcasts information such as altitude, ground speed, GPS location and such other data to both ground station and other aircraft, every second. The ability to receive such information constitutes the functionality of ADS-B In. Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) systems are anticipated to report massive gains from the European Commission's mandate that requires all aircraft with a takeoff weight of up to 5,700 kg and cruise velocity exceeding 250 ktas to implement ADS-B Out technology. Favored by the mandate, Europe is witnessing a notable uptick in upgrades related to ADS-B Out systems, with Boeing 747-400, 757-200, and 757-300 models being at the forefront of adoption. The U.S. Market is Estimated at $254.5 Million in 2021, While China is Forecast to Reach $173.5 Million by 2026 The Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) market in the U.S. is estimated at US$254.5 Million in the year 2021. The country currently accounts for a 40.6% share in the global market. China, the world's second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$173.5 Million in the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 15.3% through the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 11.7% and 17.2% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 16.6% CAGR while Rest of European market (as defined in the study) will reach US$259.3 Million by the end of the analysis period. Developed regions including the US and Europe constitute the largest revenue contributors to the global ADS-B market. Established aviation industry and sustained emphasis on aircraft safety and solving airport congestion, have a major bearing on widespread adoption of ADS-B systems in developed world. Developing economies are poised to drive long term growth in the ADS-B market. Increased aviation activity in these markets in the form of increased air travel, as a result of years of positive economic development, has been generating strong demand for ATC equipment market including ADS-B systems. ADS-B Ground Stations Segment to Reach $381.5 Million by 2026 In the global ADS-B Ground Stations segment, USA, Canada, Japan, China and Europe will drive the 16.6% CAGR estimated for this segment. These regional markets accounting for a combined market size of US$130.3 Million in the year 2020 will reach a projected size of US$382.8 Million by the close of the analysis period. China will remain among the fastest growing in this cluster of regional markets. Led by countries such as Australia, India, and South Korea, the market in Asia-Pacific is forecast to reach US$41.4 Million by the year 2026. More MarketGlass Platform Our MarketGlass Platform is a free full-stack knowledge center that is custom configurable to today`s busy business executive`s intelligence needs! This influencer driven interactive research platform is at the core of our primary research engagements and draws from unique perspectives of participating executives worldwide. Features include - enterprise-wide peer-to-peer collaborations; research program previews relevant to your company; 3.4 million domain expert profiles; competitive company profiles; interactive research modules; bespoke report generation; monitor market trends; competitive brands; create & publish blogs & podcasts using our primary and secondary content; track domain events worldwide; and much more. Client companies will have complete insider access to the project data stacks. Currently in use by 67,000+ domain experts worldwide. Our platform is free for qualified executives and is accessible from our website www.StrategyR.com or via our just released mobile application on iOS or Android About Global Industry Analysts, Inc. & StrategyR Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (www.strategyr.com) is a renowned market research publisher the world`s only influencer driven market research company. Proudly serving more than 42,000 clients from 36 countries, GIA is recognized for accurate forecasting of markets and industries for over 33 years. CONTACTS: Zak Ali Director, Corporate Communications Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Phone: 1-408-528-9966 www.StrategyR.com Email: [email protected] LINKS Join Our Expert Panel https://www.strategyr.com/Panelist.asp Connect With Us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/global-industry-analysts-inc./ Follow Us on Twitter https://twitter.com/marketbytes Journalists & Media [email protected] SOURCE Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Related Links http://www.strategyr.com FACTS AT A GLANCE Edition: 19; Released: March 2021 Executive Engagements: 399 Companies: 84 - Players covered include Arnold Clark Automobiles Limited; Asbury Automotive Group, Inc.; Ashland Automotive, Inc.; Belron International Ltd; Carmax Autocare Center; Driven Brands, Inc.; Firestone Complete Auto Care; Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, The; Halfords Group plc; Jiffy Lube International, Inc. and Others. Coverage: All major geographies and key segments Segments: Parts (Tires, Wear & Tear Parts, Collision Body, Batteries, Other Parts); Application (Passenger Cars, Commercial Vehicles) Geographies: World; United States; Canada; Japan; China; Europe (France; Germany; Italy; United Kingdom; Spain; Russia; and Rest of Europe); Asia-Pacific (Australia; India; South Korea; and Rest of Asia-Pacific); Latin America (Argentina; Brazil; Mexico; and Rest of Latin America); Middle East (Iran; Israel; Saudi Arabia; United Arab Emirates; and Rest of Middle East); and Africa. Complimentary Project Preview - This is an ongoing global program. Preview our research program before you make a purchase decision. We are offering a complimentary access to qualified executives driving strategy, business development, sales & marketing, and product management roles at featured companies. Previews provide deep insider access to business trends; competitive brands; domain expert profiles; and market data templates and much more. You may also build your own bespoke report using our MarketGlass Platform which offers thousands of data bytes without an obligation to purchase our report. Preview Registry ABSTRACT- Global Automotive Repair and Maintenance Services Market to Reach $678.4 Billion by 2026 Automotive repair & maintenance services signify keeping all features and systems of the vehicle functional in close resemblance to the original design of the manufacturer. Repair and maintenance services also ensure a fixed level of vehicular reliability. All vehicle maintenance programs intend to return maximum performance, service life, and reliability. A vehicle needs a range of repair and maintenance services during its life span. The pandemic has changed the way customers engage with businesses across industries, a trend also seen in auto dealerships which are now adapting to how consumers buy cars and get repairs. As economic uncertainty looms large over car owners, consumers are preferring to repair their existing vehicles in order to boost their life and trade-in value. Despite fewer people traveling to offices or schools in the pandemic, people are still driving cars to avoid mass transit and public transport by sticking to road vehicles. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Automotive Repair and Maintenance Services estimated at US$565 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$678.4 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 3.1% over the analysis period. Tires, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at a 3.6% CAGR to reach US$211.1 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Wear & Tear Parts segment is readjusted to a revised 2.7% CAGR for the next 7-year period. This segment currently accounts for a 23.1% share of the global Automotive Repair and Maintenance Services market. The U.S. Market is Estimated at $93.6 Billion in 2021, While China is Forecast to Reach $154 Billion by 2026 The Automotive Repair and Maintenance Services market in the U.S. is estimated at US$93.6 Billion in the year 2021. The country currently accounts for a 16.33% share in the global market. China, the world second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$154 Billion in the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 4% through the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 2.2% and 2.7% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 2.4% CAGR while Rest of European market (as defined in the study) will reach US$158.9 Billion by the end of the analysis period. Asia commands a sizable presence in the market globally, supported by the strong presence of several automotive hubs. High passenger vehicle consumption along with increased production of these vehicles in the region are likely to further augment growth in the market. Lack of good roads and infrastructure deficit in emerging countries in the region like India will fuel growth in tire, chassis and suspension maintenance. North America will remain a key market due to growing automobile sales combined with strict US regulations regarding vehicle servicing and maintenance. Collision Body Segment to Reach $138.6 Billion by 2026 Under the stay-at-home mandates that lowered vehicle density, most cities registered a drop in collision rates. For example, collision rates in San Francisco plunged almost 60% and around 50% in Seattle after the state announced a slew of measures to prevent the virus from spreading. Cities in Europe also witnessed a similar trend. This is a rather positive development as fewer collisions mean fewer deaths and injuries. Revenue planning must account for lesser collision repair jobs in terms of aftermarket. In the global Collision Body segment, USA, Canada, Japan, China and Europe will drive the 2.7% CAGR estimated for this segment. These regional markets accounting for a combined market size of US$83.4 Billion in the year 2020 will reach a projected size of US$100.7 Billion by the close of the analysis period. China will remain among the fastest growing in this cluster of regional markets. Led by countries such as Australia, India, and South Korea, the market in Asia-Pacific is forecast to reach US$23.8 Billion by the year 2026, while Latin America will expand at a 3.2% CAGR through the analysis period. More MarketGlass Platform Our MarketGlass Platform is a free full-stack knowledge center that is custom configurable to today`s busy business executive`s intelligence needs! This influencer driven interactive research platform is at the core of our primary research engagements and draws from unique perspectives of participating executives worldwide. Features include - enterprise-wide peer-to-peer collaborations; research program previews relevant to your company; 3.4 million domain expert profiles; competitive company profiles; interactive research modules; bespoke report generation; monitor market trends; competitive brands; create & publish blogs & podcasts using our primary and secondary content; track domain events worldwide; and much more. Client companies will have complete insider access to the project data stacks. Currently in use by 67,000+ domain experts worldwide. Our platform is free for qualified executives and is accessible from our website www.StrategyR.com or via our just released mobile application on iOS or Android About Global Industry Analysts, Inc. & StrategyR Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (www.strategyr.com) is a renowned market research publisher the world`s only influencer driven market research company. Proudly serving more than 42,000 clients from 36 countries, GIA is recognized for accurate forecasting of markets and industries for over 33 years. CONTACTS: Zak Ali Director, Corporate Communications Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Phone: 1-408-528-9966 www.StrategyR.com Email: [email protected] LINKS Join Our Expert Panel https://www.strategyr.com/Panelist.asp Connect With Us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/global-industry-analysts-inc./ Follow Us on Twitter https://twitter.com/marketbytes Journalists & Media [email protected] SOURCE Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Related Links http://www.strategyr.com FACTS AT A GLANCE Edition: 16; Released: February 2021 Executive Engagements: 23661 Companies: 161 - Players covered include Avery Dennison Corporation; Cardinal Health, Inc.; Dolphin RFID Pvt. Ltd.; GAO RFID, Inc.; Grifols, S.A; International Business Machines (IBM) Corp.; Impinj, Inc.; LogiTag Ltd.; metraTec GmbH; Mobile Aspects Inc.; STANLEY Healthcare; Terso Solutions, Inc.; TOSHIBA TEC CORPORATION; Zebra Technologies Corporation and Others. Coverage: All major geographies and key segments Segments: Type (Tags, Readers, Software, Other Types); Application (Pharmaceutical Tracking, Patient Tracking, Asset Tracking, Other Applications) Geographies: World; USA; Canada; Japan; China; Europe; France; Germany; Italy; UK; Spain; Russia; Rest of Europe; Asia-Pacific; Australia; India; South Korea; Rest of Asia-Pacific; Latin America; Argentina; Brazil; Mexico; Rest of Latin America; Middle East; Iran; Israel; Saudi Arabia; UAE; Rest of Middle East; Africa. Complimentary Project Preview - This is an ongoing global program. Preview our research program before you make a purchase decision. We are offering a complimentary access to qualified executives driving strategy, business development, sales & marketing, and product management roles at featured companies. Previews provide deep insider access to business trends; competitive brands; domain expert profiles; and market data templates and much more. You may also build your own bespoke report using our MarketGlass Platform which offers thousands of data bytes without an obligation to purchase our report. Preview Registry ABSTRACT- Global RFID in Healthcare Market to Reach $9.1 Billion by 2026 Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) refers to a wireless identification technology that employs radiofrequency waves. Healthcare and pharmaceuticals industry is emerging as a lucrative end-use market for RFID technology. Relevant applications for RFID in healthcare and pharmaceuticals sectors include patient tracking; call up records, waste management, asset/document/record tracking, medicine disposals, and real-time location systems. RFID chips and readers installed at hospitals regularly monitor temperature, blood products, drugs and even other clinical trials. The usage of RFID technology is also growing at a rapid pace in pharmaceuticals industry to avoid counterfeiting of various prescription drugs with added supply chain and operational benefits. Ongoing technological advancements in data analytics and RFID technology are enabling manufacturers to accurately analyze consumption as well as inventory data. Regulatory demands such as implementation of e-Pedigree in supply chain, as mandated by California Board of Pharmacy will also generate substantial demand for RFID in the pharmaceutical sector. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for RFID in Healthcare estimated at US$4.2 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$9.1 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 13.8% over the analysis period. Tags, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to record a 15.4% CAGR and reach US$5.4 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Readers segment is readjusted to a revised 11.7% CAGR for the next 7-year period. RFID tags, also called RFID transponders, are tiny RF identification devices. Growth in the segment will be especially driven by the growing adoption of low cost tags. Passive RFID tags have managed to dominate the RFID tags market, particularly due to their cost-effectiveness over active tags. The U.S. Market is Estimated at $1.3 Billion in 2021, While China is Forecast to Reach $2 Billion by 2026 The RFID in Healthcare market in the U.S. is estimated at US$1.3 Billion in the year 2021. China, the world`s second largest economy, is forecast to reach a projected market size of US$2 Billion by the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 17.5% over the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 10.6% and 12.7% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 12.3% CAGR. The deployment rate of RFID technology in the pharmaceuticals and healthcare sector is high in North America region. Software Segment to Reach $1.2 Billion by 2026 RFID software solution is the key enabler of RFID systems allowing tags and readers to be deployed in a range of applications. The software is designed to enable the system store and manage RFID tag data and integrate the same with other systems. In the global Software segment, USA, Canada, Japan, China and Europe will drive the 13.8% CAGR estimated for this segment. These regional markets accounting for a combined market size of US$405.6 Million in the year 2020 will reach a projected size of US$1 Billion by the close of the analysis period. China will remain among the fastest growing in this cluster of regional markets. Led by countries such as Australia, India, and South Korea, the market in Asia-Pacific is forecast to reach US$200 Million by the year 2026, while Latin America will expand at a 14.8% CAGR through the analysis period. More MarketGlass Platform Our MarketGlass Platform is a free full-stack knowledge center that is custom configurable to today`s busy business executive`s intelligence needs! This influencer driven interactive research platform is at the core of our primary research engagements and draws from unique perspectives of participating executives worldwide. Features include - enterprise-wide peer-to-peer collaborations; research program previews relevant to your company; 3.4 million domain expert profiles; competitive company profiles; interactive research modules; bespoke report generation; monitor market trends; competitive brands; create & publish blogs & podcasts using our primary and secondary content; track domain events worldwide; and much more. Client companies will have complete insider access to the project data stacks. Currently in use by 67,000+ domain experts worldwide. Our platform is free for qualified executives and is accessible from our website www.StrategyR.com or via our just released mobile application on iOS or Android About Global Industry Analysts, Inc. & StrategyR Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (www.strategyr.com) is a renowned market research publisher the world`s only influencer driven market research company. Proudly serving more than 42,000 clients from 36 countries, GIA is recognized for accurate forecasting of markets and industries for over 33 years. CONTACTS: Zak Ali Director, Corporate Communications Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Phone: 1-408-528-9966 www.StrategyR.com Email: [email protected] LINKS Join Our Expert Panel https://www.strategyr.com/Panelist.asp Connect With Us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/global-industry-analysts-inc./ Follow Us on Twitter https://twitter.com/marketbytes Journalists & Media [email protected] SOURCE Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Related Links http://www.strategyr.com The stamp was dedicated during a virtual ceremony and is now being sold at Post Office locations nationwide and online at usps.com/shopstamps . News of the stamp is being shared with the hashtags #GoForBroke and #GoForBrokestamp . "As a military veteran, I have the greatest appreciation for the more than 33,000 nisei, or second-generation Japanese Americans, that served our nation during World War II," said Donald L. Moak, a member of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors, who served as the dedicating official for the ceremony. "Today, with this stamp, the Postal Service recognizes the contributions that Japanese American soldiers made while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II." Joining Moak to dedicate the stamp were retired Army Gen. David A. Bramlett; World War II veterans Shinye Gima, Don S. Miyada and Yoshio Nakamura; and attorney Staci Toji. The stamp was designed by Antonio Alcala and is based on a photograph of a member of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The photograph was taken in 1944 at a railroad station in France. The stamp was printed in the intaglio print method. The color scheme of the stamp is patriotic, and the type runs up the side in manner suggestive of the vertical style in which Japanese text was traditionally written. Background For a time after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, second-generation Japanese Americans were subjected to increased scrutiny and prejudice because of their heritage. Known as nisei, these second-generation Japanese Americans eventually formed what became one of the most distinguished American fighting units of World War II: the all-Japanese American 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team, whose motto was "Go for Broke." The Army also turned to nisei to serve as translators, interpreters and interrogators in the Pacific theater for the Military Intelligence Service. Nearly a thousand nisei served in the 1399th Engineering Construction Battalion and more than 100 nisei women joined the Women's Army Corp. Altogether, some 33,000 Japanese Americans served in the U.S. Army during World War II. A pictorial postmark of the designated first-day-of-issue city, Los Angeles, is available at usps.com/shopstamps. Postal Products Customers may purchase Forever stamps and other philatelic products through the Postal Store or by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic, or at Post Office locations nationwide. Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1ounce price. A video of the virtual ceremony will be available on facebook.com/usps. Information for ordering first-day-of-issue postmarks and covers is at usps.com/shop. The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. Please Note: For U.S. Postal Service media resources, including broadcast-quality video and audio and photo stills, visit the USPS Newsroom. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the USPS YouTube channel, like us on Facebook and enjoy our Postal Posts blog. For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and facts.usps.com. Contact: David P. Coleman c: 202-425-1476 [email protected] usps.com/news SOURCE U.S. Postal Service Related Links http://www.usps.com PALO ALTO, Calif., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Anycart , a software technology company that recently launched its online grocery shopping engine, welcomes James McCann as its newest addition to the board of directors. McCann is the Chairman and CEO of Food Retail Ventures, which is an investor in several of the most exciting early stage companies in the food retail space, and is also an investor in Anycart's last two rounds. Prior to founding Food Retail Ventures, McCann was the CEO of businesses in Europe and Asia for Tesco, CEO of Carrefour's French business and latterly CEO of Ahold's U.S. business leading it through the merger with Delhaize America. "I am thrilled to be joining Anycart's board of directors at such an important time for both the company and the e-grocery sector as a whole," said McCann. "Anycart has done an outstanding job of building a unique grocery shopping engine that is both inspiring and affordable for consumers whilst being fully transparent with its retail partners." During a year with heightened unpredictability, consumer demands began to shift. In a recent survey, nearly one fifth of shoppers shared that delivery surcharges are one of the biggest challenges they face while online grocery shopping.[1] Anycart aims to bridge the gap between accessible and affordable online grocery shopping with the introduction of its platform where consumers can search and shop any item from their local grocery stores without price markups, subscriptions or delivery fees. Anycart created its platform with retailers in mind. With a scalable and robust platform, Anycart can onboard retailers seamlessly. Due to Anycart's unique business model, retailers also retain all customer data on each order, similar to if a customer were to order directly through the retailer. Finally Anycart allows retail partners to meet their customers where they are - beyond their own website. "We aim to act as a helping hand to both our retail partners and consumers by offering an online grocery shopping experience that delights customers and showcases the retailers' capabilities," said Rafael Sanches, Co-Founder and CEO of Anycart. "We are excited that James is joining our board because his knowledge will be crucial in helping Anycart create real value for both consumers and our retail partners to continue our amazing growth." About Anycart Anycart is building the world's first grocery shopping engine to make shopping and meal planning easy and affordable for everyone. The platform allows consumers to shop any item from local stores, as well as 1000+ step-by-step video recipes. With Anycart, customers never pay price markups, subscriptions, or delivery fees, making it accessible to all. Anycart partners with 13 national retailers with a footprint covering 4,000 store locations in 3,400 cities nationwide and plans to add more stores in 2021. Save time, save money, and make life easier with Anycart. It's a better way to grocery shop. Anycart was founded in 2019 through the Amazon Alexa Accelerator program, is backed by lead investors Menlo Ventures and Greycroft, and is based in the heart of Silicon Valley in Palo Alto, Calif. For more information or to start shopping, visit anycart.com or download the Anycart mobile app . [1] IN-STORE SHOPPING WILL MAKE A COMEBACK IN 2021 ACCORDING TO NEW INMAR INTELLIGENCE SURVEY. (2021, April 27). INMAR Intelligence. https://www.inmar.com/blog/press/store-shopping-will-make-comeback-2021-according-new-inmar-intelligence-survey Press Contact: Austin McClelland Spool Marketing & Communications [email protected] SOURCE Anycart NEW YORK, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The global renewable energy market, which was estimated at $980 billion in 2017, is expected to reach a stunning $1.5 trillion by 2025 . The demand for sustainable and clean energy sources fueled by environmental concerns regarding rapid urbanization, fossil fuels and economic growth in emerging regions is driving the growth seen in recent years within the market. This demand has also fueled the development of innovative and sustainable solutions like energy-efficient batteries, energy storage solutions, and particularly, electric vehicles (EVs), which grew to a value of $246.7 billion in 2020. Companies such as Nano One Materials Corp (TSXV:NNO) (OTCPK:NNOMF) (FF:LBMB), NIO Inc. (NYSE:NIO), General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), ChargePoint Holdings (NYSE: CHPT), and Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) are at the forefront in developing clean energy solutions that also meet ESG principles. Nano One Makes Battery Breakthrough Nano One Materials Corp (TSXV:NNO) (OTC:NNOMF) (FF:LBMB) is a Canadian clean technology company that has developed a patented low carbon intensity process to produce low-cost, high-performance cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. The company has continued to make breakthroughs in battery longevity through durability tests on their Lithium Nickel Manganese battery and have found that its high-voltage cobalt-free battery is stable at elevated operating temperatures, similar to those found in power tools, automotive, and energy storage applications. The breakthrough Nano One made opened up opportunities for collaboration with players in the EV and battery market. In a recent announcement, Nano One has revealed a joint development agreement with Johnson Matthey where the companies will apply Nano One's patented One-Pot process for the development of Johnson Matthey's eLNO family of nickel-rich advanced cathode materials. The companies will focus on materials, production methods, and a commercialization study for pre-pilot, pilot, and scaled-up manufacturing in the collaboration. "Johnson Matthey is a global leader in advanced lithium-ion cathode materials," said Nano One CEO Dan Blondal, "and we are proud to be working with them in the pursuit of high performance, long life cycles, low-carbon footprint, and environmentally sustainable solutions. We share a common vision to develop and commercialize a highly differentiated and value-added cathode materials business and we are delighted to be introducing Johnson Matthey as a trusted partner,and collaborating on process innovations for a new generation of lithium-ion battery materials. Our business is primed for such opportunities and we look forward to advancing this partnership and its joint development program" Nano One's One-Pot process and the recently launched M2CAM technology have been developed in response to a growing need to reduce waste, carbon footprint, cost, and energy in the Lithium-ion supply chain and meet growing ESG imperatives. The joint development agreement is one of the collaborations Nano One has engaged in since its successful technical reviews and preliminary evaluations that began in Q2 2020. Following the closing of a bought deal offering for gross proceeds of approximately $28.9 million, Nano One has the funds to support ongoing research and development, strategic partnerships and collaboration and a pilot plant expansion. Companies Across the EV and Batteries Space Take Steps towards More Sustainable Energy Solutions Chinese premium electric vehicle company NIO Inc. (NYSE:NIO) launched its Battery-as-a-Service subscription model, which will allow users to purchase electric vehicles. "The BaaS model has long been planned with our unique battery swap technologies; the successful launch of the BaaS model will enable NIO users to benefit from the lower initial purchase of our products, flexible battery upgrade options, and assurance of battery performance." ChargePoint Holdings (NYSE:CHPT), a market leader in electric vehicle charging committed to facilitating an easier transition to electric mobility by providing charging networks. ChargePoint Holdings currently has the largest charging network in North America and is gradually expanding its products and solutions to Europe. ChargePoint is also enhancing the EV driver experience with its recent Android Auto integration to allow drivers to access their vehicle's charging information from the infotainment system. Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SK Innovation to produce about 60GWh annually in traction battery cells and array modules in a joint venture they are calling BlueOvalSK. The MoU comes as part of Ford's commitment to invest in electric vehicles. Shortly after Ford unveiled the new all-electric 2022 F-150 Lightning Pro purpose built for commercial customers. "F-150 Lightning Pro represents so much more than an electric workhorse it's made for commercial customer inside and out, it gets better over time, and it's totally plugged into always-on services that can help business productivity," said Jim Farley, President and CEO, Ford Motor Company. Registrations for the vehicle are currently on-going. Meanwhile, global car company General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) has vowed on "advancing an all-electric future" with the help of its Ultium battery platform. In fact, GM is even looking to bring electric vehicles to the moon through a partnership with Lockhead Martin to develop a next-generation Lunar Rover for NASA's Artemis program. Companies in the electric vehicle sector such as Nano One are developing powerful alternative energy solutions to meet the growing demand for environment-friendly products. For more information about Nano One, click here. Disclaimer: Microsmallcap.com (MSC) is the source of the Article and content set forth above. MSC owns and operates StreetSignals.com. References to any issuer other than the profiled issuer are intended solely to identify industry participants and do not constitute an endorsement of any issuer and do not constitute a comparison to the profiled issuer. FN Media Group (FNM) is a third-party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated with MSC or any company mentioned herein. 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Media Contact: FN Media Group, LLC [email protected] +1(561)325-8757 SOURCE Microsmallcap.com ARLINGTON, Va., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Halfaker and Associates, LLC (Halfaker), a technology solutions provider within the Federal Government's health, intelligence, defense, and security sectors, announced today that the company has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Science Applications International Corp. (NYSE: SAIC). With advanced end-to-end digital solutions designed to transform government mission delivery and optimize customer decision-making, Halfaker is a leader in value-based software delivery using modern implementation practices like DevSecOps, automation, and product line management. Halfaker is also a Top 5 IT provider on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology Next Generation (T4NG) acquisition program, with experience leading large-scale technical Agile development initiatives across multiple task orders at VA as well as the Department of Defense (DoD), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and other Federal agencies. "I am excited to embark on this next chapter of Halfaker's mission to continue to serve," said Halfaker President and CEO Dawn Halfaker. "The alignment of SAIC's culture and values with this important mission has been critical in making the decision to join forces and successfully bolster the services we provide our customers with even greater digital transformation capacity and scalability. This acquisition enables our delivery teams to maintain our customer-centric focus while exponentially increasing our ability to provide the technical depth and top technical talent needed to meet the government's most pressing challenges." "The addition of Halfaker's proven team and capabilities reinforces SAIC's commitment to supporting the government healthcare mission, including our strong support for the health and wellbeing of Veterans," said SAIC CEO Nazzic Keene. "This acquisition enhances our ability to support our customers' digital transformation needs and continue to be the innovative technology solutions provider our customers expect." Advisors Robert W. Baird & Co. acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Halfaker and Associates on this transaction, and Crowell & Moring LLP served as legal counsel. King & Spalding LLP served as legal counsel to SAIC. About Halfaker At Halfaker, we design, create, modernize, integrate, and secure mission critical systems and business applications for government organizations to improve the health, security, and well-being of all Americans. We are proud to be a service-disabled Veteran-owned, woman-owned, small business. To learn more about Halfaker, please visit www.halfaker.com. About SAIC SAIC is a premier Fortune 500 technology integrator driving the nation's technology transformation. Driven by mission, united by purpose, and inspired by opportunities, SAIC's offerings span the defense, space, civilian, and intelligence markets with a portfolio that includes secure high-end solutions in engineering, digital, artificial intelligence, and mission solutions. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, SAIC is home to more than 26,000 employees and realizes annual revenues of approximately $7.2 billion. To learn more about SAIC, please visit www.saic.com. SOURCE Halfaker and Associates, LLC Related Links www.halfaker.com "We are thrilled to welcome Cassiopeia's forward-thinking team to Hibob," says Hibob Co-founder and CEO, Ronni Zehavi. "As we plan to leverage Cassiopeia's technology and embed it into our people analytics capabilities, we are giving our platform an advantage over other HR technologies, and helping our existing and future customers improve communication, collaboration, and work-life balance for their hybrid and remote teams." According to a recent Cassiopeia survey about work from home, 77% of managers felt it was harder to manage their team remotely than it was in person. In the last year, most companies chose to transition to a remote or hybrid work model, creating new challenges for team leaders and managers in ensuring employees are engaged and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. With the use of Cassiopeia's technology, companies are given the tools to generate actionable data-backed insights and customized best practices at scale in order to improve team dynamics, collaboration, and work-life wellness, in accordance with applicable data privacy regulation. By using relationship analytics with Cassiopeia's technology, bob will provide insights into improving 1:1 communications, making meetings more efficient, improving collaboration within and between teams, tracking time spent on meetings vs. flow time, and much more. This feature will ultimately help companies in the US and globally, strengthen their culture while growing their business in the digital workplace. "This past year has shown us that many companies lack the tools and insights needed to make sure everyone is engaged and feeling supported," says Cassiopeia Co-founder and CEO, Shiran Yaroslavsky. "HR technology is rapidly configuring to suit the needs of the modern workplace -- where people analytics is now crucial in supporting both strategic company decisions and relationship-building among dispersed, flexible teams," claims Yaroslavsky. "On behalf of the full Cassiopeia team, we're very excited to join Hibob and give thousands of companies the tools they need to maximize the employee experience in our increasingly digital world." Cassiopeia's co-founders, Tomer Laszlo, Maayan Lahav, and Shiran Yaroslavsky will join Hibob. Shiran will join Hibob as VP of Product in the United States, and will be based in California to lead Hibob's product management in North America. For more information, please visit Hibob.com/blog/cassiopeia-joins-hibob About Hibob Hibob was founded to modernize HR tech. Hibob's intuitive and data-driven platform, bob, was built for the way people work today: globally, remotely, and collaboratively. Since its launch in late 2015, Hibob has achieved consecutive triple-digit year-over-year revenue growth, and become the HRIS of choice for more than 1,300 modern, midsize fast-growing and multinational companies who understand that a powerful, agile HR tech suite is mission critical and a key driver of organizational success. Fast-growing companies across the globe such as Monzo, Etoro, Happy Socks, Gong, Fiverr, and VaynerMedia rely upon bob to help HR and managers connect, engage, develop and retain top talent. Learn more at www.hibob.com . About Cassiopeia With U.S. headquarters in San-Francisco, CA, Cassiopeia has helped managers lead teams effectively with data, providing actionable insights to improve team dynamics, communication, and work-life wellness. By connecting to team communication channels (Slack, Calendar, Zoom, Email, etc.), Cassiopeia's technology analyzes metadata and team relationship patterns to deliver insights. Cassiopeia's customers are primarily located in the US, UK, and Israel, and the company is backed by Techstars. In 2019, the company was announced as one of the most promising startups at Web Summit, the largest tech global conference. SOURCE Hibob Related Links https://www.hibob.com DALLAS, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Jacobs (NYSE:J) has been awarded two rail contracts by KiwiRail, New Zealand's rail network owner and operator as part of KiwiRail's Auckland Metro Rail Programme to modernize Auckland's rail network. The Programme delivers vital upgrades to the existing rail network ahead of the opening of Auckland's largest ever transport infrastructure project, the City Rail Link. Jacobs has been appointed as lead designer for the Wiri to Quay Park project, providing multidiscipline engineering and architectural professional services. When complete, the additional track between South and Central Auckland will help ease congestion on the rail network. "An upgraded rail network is critical to alleviating congestion and unlocking growth in the region," said Jacobs Executive Vice President Patrick Hill. "These appointments create opportunity for Jacobs to deliver lasting benefits for commuters and New Zealand's economy, while supporting future mobility growth in Auckland." In addition, Jacobs, in partnership with John Holland, McConnell Dowell and Novare, will deliver design and construction services for the Papakura to Pukekohe Rail Electrification project. The project includes the electrification of 11.8 miles (19 kilometers) of track and the construction of two additional platforms at Pukekohe station. Jacobs will deliver detailed design services and management, surveillance and quality assurance (MSQA) services during the construction phase. Electrifying the line will allow passengers getting on in Pukekohe south of Auckland, to travel direct to the city, rather than transferring trains at Papakura. "The network enables people to make 21.4 million trips a year and, once the City Rail Link projects are finished, we expect another jump in commuter numbers as people recognize the benefits of rail commuting," says KiwiRail Chief Operating Officer Capital Projects David Gordon. "The government is investing heavily in the Auckland network and we're making good progress to ensure this investment delivers as quickly as possible for Aucklanders, propelling Auckland's rail commuter services into the future." 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 April 2, 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 With nearly 20 years in the restaurant industry, Gilliam's vast experience leading operations, innovation and brand management for large-scale restaurant brands across domestic and international footprints will undoubtedly be instrumental as Yoshinoya expands its U.S. locations and fanbase, further strengthening its position as the go-to restaurant for freshly prepared, customizable bowls. Under his direction, the brand is already testing a new kitchen layout to increase throughput and enhance the guest experience. Gilliam joins from Moe's Southwest Grill, where he served as Vice President of Operations and Retail Technology. There he spearheaded modernization initiatives, driving innovation across technology, design, training and operations. Prior to Moe's, Gilliam's successful track record includes leadership roles at Jamba, SusieCakes Bakery and Starbucks. "Yoshinoya is a strong brand with a devoted fanbase and mouth-watering menu items, made from high-quality ingredients and cooked with care in our kitchens daily. Building on the company's rebranding initiative and establishment of off-premise sales channels, I look forward to leading it's continued evolution, while staying true to our rich Japanese heritage." said Gilliam. "I'm excited to join the Yoshinoya team and look forward to guiding the company to new heights." About Yoshinoya Japanese Kitchen Fresh, wholesome Japanese-style cuisine is the essence of Yoshinoya Japanese Kitchen. Dating back to 1899 with the opening of its first restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, Yoshinoya is among the oldest quick-service restaurant chains in operation. Throughout its century of experience, Yoshinoya continues to grow aggressively while operating or franchising more than 2,000 restaurants in Japan, Mainland China, Shanghai, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines and the United States, including over 100 locations in California. Guests can customize their bowl from a variety of insanely craveable menu options, including the original Beef Bowl that started it all. For more information, visit the company's website. Yoshinoya Japanese Kitchen Media Relations 213.479.4001 [email protected] Beef Bowl is a registered trademark of Yoshinoya. SOURCE Yoshinoya America Related Links http://www.yoshinoyaamerica.com Zhan, who works at Spicy Girl, too, is from the Sichuan city of Chongqing, so there was motivation to learn for loves sake, too. Wang laughs. I learn from everybody! And I learned Sichuan in China, too. I like spicy food, thats why I love to cook it, but its not what I grew up with. China is such a big country with so many foods. You can find all the styles everywhere. CHICAGO, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Children's Hospital today announced the completion of its media agency search contracting and named Kelly Scott Madison as its media agency of record. As one of the highest-ranked and largest children and women's hospitals in the U.S., Texas Children's is looking to Kelly Scott Madison's Health & Wellness division for new approaches to patient, physician and community outreach efforts. The main Campus of Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas (Photo credit: Allen S. Kramer/Texas Children's Hospital). According to a hospital spokesperson, the healthcare industry has undergone seismic shifts in the last few years in terms of how it services the public, and the pandemic only accelerated those trends. That's why Texas Children's embarked on a renewed push to overhaul its outreach efforts across all channelsparticularly in digital and social environments. "The prospect of working with a partner like Kelly Scott Madison that understands how to go beyond topline metrics was critical in our decision-making process. They plan to deliver predictive modeling, precise audience targeting and measurement to ensure we maintain an optimal media mix, and connect with our communities in meaningful moments," the spokesperson said. Kelly Scott Madison's Executive Vice President of Client Engagement Sy Chaba, who heads up the agency's Health & Wellness division, also shared his thoughts on the partnership: "The entire Texas Children's Hospital network has done an excellent job adjusting to the latest healthcare dynamics, and bringing its communities the best possible level of care, education and research. It's truly inspiring to partner with their forward-thinking team to continue reimagining the ways that hospitals can connect with and serve the public. We're confident our service-line-driven approaches and privacy-compliance expertise will build additional opt-in engagement for Texas Children's, and keep their hospital network at the forefront position among competing care providers." The appointment is effective immediately, with Kelly Scott Madison's Health & Wellness divisiona business unit devoted entirely to servicing healthcare providers, pharmaceuticals, insurers, wellness products, medical device manufacturers, and the likehandling all media strategy, investment and analytics duties for Texas Children's. About Kelly Scott Madison Business first. Media always. Powered by Data Truths. These ideas drive business growth for our brand partners. Our staff of media and marketing experts uncover truths through a relentless focus on data quality and meaningnot just data quantity. These truths fuel differentiating strategies and connect people with brands in remarkable ways. That's how we accelerate businesses for today and tomorrow. To learn more, visit www.ksmmedia.com or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. About Texas Children's Hospital Texas Children's Hospital, a not-for-profit healthcare organization, is committed to creating a healthier future for children and women throughout the global community by leading in patient care, education and research. Consistently ranked as the best children's hospital in Texas, and among the top in the nation, Texas Children's has garnered widespread recognition for its expertise and breakthroughs in pediatric and women's health. The hospital includes the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute; the Feigin Tower for pediatric research; Texas Children's Pavilion for Women, a comprehensive obstetrics/gynecology facility focusing on high-risk births; Texas Children's Hospital West Campus, a community hospital in suburban West Houston; and Texas Children's Hospital The Woodlands, the first hospital devoted to children's care for communities north of Houston. The organization also created Texas Children's Health Plan, the nation's first HMO for children; has the largest pediatric primary care network in the country, Texas Children's Pediatrics; Texas Children's Urgent Care clinics that specialize in after-hours care tailored specifically for children; and a global health program that's channeling care to children and women all over the world. Texas Children's Hospital is affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine. For more information, go to www.texaschildrens.org. Get the latest news by visiting the online newsroom and Twitter at twitter.com/texaschildrens. Media Contacts: Jon Christens Director, Marketing & Communications Kelly Scott Madison [email protected] 312.621.9378 Lindsey Fox Manager, Public Relations Texas Children's Hospital [email protected] 832.824.2040 Related Images texas-childrens-hospital.jpg Texas Children's Hospital The main Campus of Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas (Photo credit: Allen S. Kramer/Texas Children's Hospital). SOURCE Kelly Scott Madison MEBANE, N.C., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On Saturday, June 5, North Carolina-based Kidde a leading manufacturer of residential smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, fire extinguishers, and safety accessories and The Home Depot will join North Carolina Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Mike Causey in celebrating "Smoke Alarm Saturday." The annual event, held each year on the first Saturday in June, unites fire departments and fire safety partners across North Carolina in raising awareness of the importance of working smoke alarms and quality fire safety education. Kidde is a part of Carrier Global Corporation (NYSE: CARR), the leading global provider of healthy, safe and sustainable building and cold chain solutions. The U.S. Fire Administration reports North Carolina has experienced more than 30 home fire deaths to date in 2021. Last year, the North Carolina Office of the State Fire Marshal reported that only three out of five homes in the state were equipped with working smoke alarms, and the state saw more than 100 home fire deaths that year alone. In response, Commissioner Causey sought to help reduce the number of fire deaths within the state through life-saving educational initiatives and resources like Smoke Alarm Saturday in partnership with companies like Kidde and The Home Depot. In support of Smoke Alarm Saturday, Kidde is also activating its long-standing charitable donation program, Operation Save A Life, a public safety initiative designed to educate consumers on the dangers of fire and CO poisoning. On June 4, the day before Smoke Alarm Saturday, Kidde will donate more than 500 10-year smoke alarms to fire stations throughout the Piedmont Triad region, including High Point, Winston-Salem, Burlington, Jamestown and Mebane in collaboration with The Home Depot. Local fire stations will then distribute and install the alarms within communities in need. To further support Smoke Alarm Saturday, every The Home Depot store in North Carolina will run a promotion on Kidde i9010 10-year smoke alarms ($14.88; regular price $19.97) from June 4-6. "Kidde is a leader in the fire safety products industry and we recognize the importance of working in our communities to provide greater access to quality, working smoke alarms to help alert residents in the event of an emergency," said Sharon Cooksey, Fire Safety Educator for Kidde. "We are thrilled to support Smoke Alarm Saturday alongside The Home Depot and provide our fellow North Carolinians with the resources they need to stay safe year-round." Kidde shares the following advice to help protect North Carolina residents from the dangers of smoke and fire: Alarm Placement: Smoke alarms should be installed on every level of the home, including the basement, as well as inside and outside of each sleeping area. Smoke alarms should be installed on every level of the home, including the basement, as well as inside and outside of each sleeping area. Alarm Maintenance: Working smoke alarms can reduce the chance of a fatal home fire by 50%. Smoke alarms must be replaced after 10 years; CO alarms should be replaced every 7-10 years, depending on the model. In addition to testing alarms once each week, check the manufacturing date on your smoke and CO alarms to make sure they are under 10 years of age. If they are older than that, it is time to replace them. Working smoke alarms can reduce the chance of a fatal home fire by 50%. Smoke alarms must be replaced after 10 years; CO alarms should be replaced every 7-10 years, depending on the model. In addition to testing alarms once each week, check the manufacturing date on your smoke and CO alarms to make sure they are under 10 years of age. If they are older than that, it is time to replace them. Consider Interconnected Alarms: Interconnected alarms if one alarm sounds, all alarms throughout the home sound in unison can help alert individuals to a fire incident more quickly. Interconnected alarms if one alarm sounds, all alarms throughout the home sound in unison can help alert individuals to a fire incident more quickly. Opt for Alarms with 10-Year Sealed Batteries: Alarms with a 10-year sealed battery smoke alarm eliminates the need for frequent battery replacement, providing a decade of protection for homeowners. Alarms with a 10-year sealed battery smoke alarm eliminates the need for frequent battery replacement, providing a decade of protection for homeowners. Fire Escape Planning: People have far less time than they used to have to evacuate a home 2-3 minutes now, compared to 17-18 minutes 30 years ago due to the increased prevalence of synthetic-based furnishing materials in modern homes. Always know two ways out of every room and practice your fire escape plan with your whole family including pets! at least twice a year. For more smoke and CO safety tips, visit kidde.com . About Kidde Kidde, a leading manufacturer of residential smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, fire extinguishers, and safety accessories, has been keeping the world a safer place for over 100 years. Kidde produced the first integrated smoke detection system a century ago and continues its legacy today by delivering advanced fire-safety technology. Kidde is a part of Carrier Global Corporation, the leading global provider of healthy, safe and sustainable building and cold chain solutions. For more information, visit kidde.com or follow @KiddeSafety, and on Facebook and Instagram . SOURCE Kidde Related Links http://kidde.com MIAMI, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN and LEN.B), one of the nation's largest homebuilders, announced today that the Company will release earnings for the second quarter ended May 31, 2021 after the market closes on June 16, 2021. Additionally, the Company will hold a conference call on June 17, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The call will be broadcast live on the Internet and can be accessed through Lennar's website at www.lennar.com. If you are unable to participate during the live webcast, the call will be archived at www.lennar.com for 90 days. In order to listen to the live event, a participant must have a multimedia computer with speakers and Windows Media Player. To download the software prior to the event, please visit www.lennar.com, click the conference call link on the home page and follow the pre-event instructions. Lennar Corporation, founded in 1954, is one of the nation's leading builders of quality homes for all generations. Lennar builds affordable, move-up and active adult homes primarily under the Lennar brand name. Lennar's Financial Services segment provides mortgage financing, title and closing services primarily for buyers of Lennar's homes and, through LMF Commercial, originates mortgage loans secured primarily by commercial real estate properties throughout the United States. Lennar's Multifamily segment is a nationwide developer of high-quality multifamily rental properties. LENX drives Lennar's technology, innovation and strategic investments. For more information about Lennar, please visit www.lennar.com. SOURCE Lennar Corporation Related Links www.lennar.com As part of this partnership, during the month of June, Samuel Adams and New Belgium will donate 100% of the purchase price of the co-brewed Love Conquers Ale directly to GLAAD, a leading nonprofit organization working to accelerate acceptance and advance equality for the LGBTQ+ community. From brewing better beer, to building a better community and bettering each other, Samuel Adams and New Belgium know that by working together they can make a greater impact. "We knew we had to do something powerful this year to bring the meaning behind Love Conquers Ale to life," says Carissa Sweigart, Leader of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at The Boston Beer Company. "We couldn't think of a better brewer to share such a personal and special recipe with than New Belgium Brewing - a team with a long standing history supporting the LGBTQ community. By co-brewing Love Conquers Ale together, we hope to spread unity, love and togetherness to even more people. And we're proud to continue to support the important work of our partners at GLAAD, who are at the forefront of change, as we celebrate our peers as members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community." "Beer is universal, represented across countries, cultures, and people. Our ongoing work is to make sure that beer represents and celebrates everyone, both inside and outside our industry," says Patrice M. Palmer, New Belgium's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Specialist. "New Belgium was the first craft brewery recognized by the Human Rights Campaign as one of the Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality, and our "Brewed for All'' mentality informs our efforts to support and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. We're happy to join Samuel Adams in co-brewing Love Conquers Ale this year to support GLAAD's important work to increase awareness, visibility, and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community all year round." BEHIND THE BEER: LOVE CONQUERS ALE First brewed in 2017, Love Conquers Ale has always intended to do what beer does best: bring people together. Samuel Adams Boston Brewery coworkers first concepted the Blackberry Basil Lime Gose for a Pride celebration at the brewery. Love Conquers Ale, brewed by and for the LGBTQ+ community, is meant to represent the spirit of Pride and brings unique ingredients together harmoniously to create a beautiful beer. The bright fruit notes, refreshingly light body and pink hues make it the perfect brew to celebrate love. To grow the reach and impact of this special beer, in 2021 Samuel Adams connected with New Belgium Brewing Company to share the love, based on New Belgium's leadership on LGBTQ+ equity and advocacy. During the month of June, Love Conquers Ale will be available for drinkers to purchase at the following locations: Samuel Adams Boston Brewery and Tap Room Samuel Adams Cincinnati Tap Room New Belgium's San Francisco Tap Room San Francisco Tap Room New Belgium's Denver Pilot Brewery and Fort Collins Tasting Room More information can be found at the following links: Samuel Adams | New Belgium Love Conquers Ale will be available in 4-pack 16oz cans and Samuel Adams and New Belgium will donate 100% of the purchase price of every 4-pack to GLAAD during the month of June.* BRINGING MORE INCLUSIVITY TO THE BEER INDUSTRY AT QUEER BEER FEST Samuel Adams and New Belgium will also celebrate their shared commitment to the LGBTQ+ community through beer at Hop Culture's Queer Beer Fest , which will be held virtually on Saturday, June 5th. The event aims to capture the unique, vibrant and diverse voices of the queer community and build a stronger culture of inclusivity in the beer industry. ABOUT SAMUEL ADAMS Samuel Adams is a leading independent, American craft brewer that helped to launch the craft beer revolution. The brewery began in 1984 when Founder and Brewer Jim Koch used a generations-old family recipe to brew beer in his kitchen. Inspired and unafraid to challenge conventional thinking about beer, Jim brought the recipe to life with hopes drinkers would appreciate the complex, full-flavor and started sampling the beer in Boston. He named the flagship brew Samuel Adams Boston Lager in recognition of one of our nation's founding fathers, a revolutionary man of independent and pioneering spirit. Today, Samuel Adams is one of the world's most awarded breweries and remains focused on crafting the highest quality beers through innovation and experimentation in the relentless pursuit of better. Samuel Adams remains dedicated to elevating and growing the American craft beer industry overall, including providing education and support for entrepreneurs and fellow brewers through its philanthropic program, Brewing the American Dream, which helps others pursue their American Dream. For more information, visit www.SamuelAdams.com . ABOUT NEW BELGIUM BREWING New Belgium Brewing is recognized as a leader in sustainability and social responsibility. Founded in 1991 in Fort Collins, Colorado, the company expanded to Asheville, North Carolina in 2016, Denver, Colorado in 2018, and San Francisco, California in 2021, and is now the 4th largest craft brewery in the U.S. Dedicated to proving that business can be a force for good, New Belgium is a Certified B Corp and was the first brewery to join 1% for the Planet. The brewery has donated over $29 million to charitable causes since 1991. New Belgium is famous for its flagship beer, Fat Tire Amber Ale, along with year-round favorites like Voodoo Ranger IPA, Sour IPA, and La Folie Sour Brown Ale; as well as an award-winning wood-aged sour program and innovative limited release beers. To learn more about the full product lineup and New Belgium's Human Powered Business model, visit NewBelgium.com. *The Boston Beer Company, Inc. will donate $16 for every 4-pack of Love Conquers Ale 16oz cans sold at participating locations to GLAAD. For more information on GLAAD, please visit https://www.glaad.org/ . Maximum donation is $50,000. Offer only valid at participating Sam Adams locations between June 1 - June 30, 2021. *New Belgium Brewing Company will donate 100% of the purchase price of each Love Conquers Ale 16oz can sold at participating locations to GLAAD. For more information on GLAAD, please visit https://www.glaad.org/ . Maximum donation is $10,000. Offer only valid at participating New Belgium locations between June 1 - June 30, 2021. SOURCE Samuel Adams THORNTON, Colo., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- McStain Neighborhoods broke ground yesterday on Arras Park, its 46-acre signature community in Thornton, Colo., exclusively offering "BeWell Houses of the Future." "Arras Park checks the boxes for what Colorado homebuyers are looking for today," says Danielle Davis, vice president of sales and marketing for McStain. "Among the healthier features of our BeWell Houses, the community's location in Thornton is unbeatable. It's far enough yet close enough to have that quiet, residential feel with easy access to the city; and for growing families, school is next door." Arras Park is located two miles east of I-25 on 104th Avenue in Thornton and will offer 292 total residential units including 135 townhomes, and 157 single-family homes in two collections. The community is tied together with a network of trails, pocket parks, a large central park and linear park cutting through the neighborhood. Adjacent the community on its west side is Mapleton School District's brand-new Explore Elementary PK-8. "What really makes Arras Park stand out among other master-planned communities in the area is that every house built here is a BeWell House," says Rick Lambert, vice president of operations for McStain. "They all come with a 20-year pre-paid solar agreement with solar pre-installed, high-efficiency everything, and building materials that are healthier all around." Each BeWell House comes standard with components and a host of features that make McStain a DOE Zero Energy Ready Home Builder. BeWell House exclusively by McStain comes standard with the following features: Fresh air, inside and out with a fresh air system and exhaust fans that remove odors and bring in fresh, filtered air. High-capture filtration and low-to-no VOC materials without harmful toxins, and that help block moisture, dust, pollen and pests. High-performance windows, insulation, tankless water heaters and appliances. Dual-pane windows filled with argon gas to regulate temperature inside. Appliances that are all ENERGY STAR and WaterSense certified. Interior moisture control and airtight draft protection. Solar activated with pre-installed solar panels, wiring, components and a 20-year pre-paid agreement. McStain Neighborhoods is a premier, boutique Colorado homebuilder with roots in Boulder County since 1966. As an innovator in new home construction and marketing, McStain is one of the first homebuilders to offer a seamless Build Your Home Online tool, and is the exclusive builder of BeWell House. Learn more at www.McStain.com. SOURCE McStain Neighborhoods - Arras Park Related Links https://mcstain.com/ LIMA, Peru, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Minsur S.A. announced today that US$256,672,000 aggregate principal amount, or approximately 57.04% (the "Tendered Notes"), of its outstanding 6.250% Senior Notes due 2024 (the "Notes") were validly tendered and not withdrawn by 5:00 p.m., New York City time (4:00 p.m., Lima time), on June 2, 2021 (the "Early Tender Deadline") in accordance with Minsur's Offer to Purchase dated May 19, 2021 (the "Offer to Purchase") pursuant to which the tender offer is being made. Holders that validly tendered prior to the Early Tender Deadline, and whose Notes are accepted, will be eligible to receive a total consideration of US$1,085 per US$1,000 principal amount of Tendered Notes, which includes an early tender premium of US$50 per US$1,000 principal amount of Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest up to, but not including, the settlement date, which is expected to be on June 21, 2021 (the "Settlement Date"). Minsur's obligation to accept for purchase and to pay for the Tendered Notes is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions, which are more fully described in the Offer to Purchase, including Minsur having obtained sufficient gross proceeds from a debt financing. Subject to applicable law, Minsur may amend, extend or terminate the tender offer in its sole discretion. The tender offer is being made solely pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase which sets forth a more detailed description of the tender offer. Holders of the Notes are urged to carefully read the Offer to Purchase before making any decision with respect to the tender offer. The tender offer will expire at 8:00 a.m., New York City time (7:00 a.m., Lima time), on June 17, 2021, unless extended, or earlier expired or terminated by Minsur (such time and date, as the same may be extended, or earlier expired or terminated by Minsur in its sole discretion, the "Expiration Date"). Tendered Notes may not be withdrawn after the Early Tender Deadline, except as provided for in the Offer to Purchase or required by applicable law. Holders who validly tender their Notes after the Early Tender Deadline and at or prior to the Expiration Date will be eligible to receive only the tender consideration of US$1,035 per US$1,000 principal amount of Tendered Notes. Accrued and unpaid interest will be paid on all Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase from the last interest payment date up to, but not including, the Settlement Date. Minsur will purchase all Notes that have been validly tendered and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Expiration Date, for an aggregate purchase price, including accrued interest, up to US$300 million (the principal amount of Notes that does not cause such amount to be exceeded, subject to increase, decrease or elimination, the "Aggregate Maximum Tender Cap"), and all conditions to the tender offer having been satisfied or waived by Minsur, promptly following the Expiration Date, on the Settlement Date. If purchasing all of the validly tendered and not validly withdrawn Notes on the Settlement Date would cause the Aggregate Maximum Tender Cap to be exceeded on the Settlement Date, Minsur will accept for purchase the Notes on a pro rata basis, so as to not exceed the Aggregate Maximum Tender Cap (with adjustments to avoid the purchase of Notes in a principal amount other than in integral multiples of US$1,000). Tenders of Notes submitted after the Expiration Date will not be valid. Minsur has retained BofA Securities, Inc. and Santander Investment Securities Inc. as Dealer Managers for the tender offer. D.F. King & Co., Inc. is the Tender and Information Agent for the tender offer. For additional information regarding the terms of the tender offer, please contact BofA Securities, Inc. collect at +1 (646) 855-8988 or toll free at +1 (888) 292-0070, or Santander Investment Securities Inc. collect at +1 (212) 940-1442 or toll free +1 (855) 404-3636. Requests for copies of the Offer to Purchase and questions regarding the tendering of Notes may be directed to D.F. King & Co., Inc. at +1 (212) 269-5550 (banks and brokers), at +1 (800) 714-3305 (all others, toll free) or at [email protected]. This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to purchase securities or a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities or an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase any securities nor does it constitute an offer or solicitation in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful. None of Minsur, the Tender and Information Agent, the Dealer Managers or the Trustee for the Notes (nor any of their respective directors, officers, employees or affiliates) make any recommendation as to whether holders should tender their Notes pursuant to the tender offer, and no one has been authorized by any of them to make such a recommendation. Holders must make their own decisions as to whether to tender their Notes, and, if so, the principal amount of Notes to tender. Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements represent Minsur's expectations or beliefs concerning future events, and it is possible that the results described in this press release will not be achieved. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of Minsur's control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and, except as required by law, Minsur does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. New factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors. No assurance can be given that the transactions described in this press release will be consummated or as to the ultimate terms of any such transactions. Contacts: Minsur S.A., Jr. Bernini 149, 501-A San Borja Lima Peru +(511) 215-8330 SOURCE Minsur S.A. RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- For the last five years, The Shower of Hope has provided unhoused residents in Southern California a sense of dignity through the health and cleanliness benefits of a shower. The Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization has partnered with Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) and Path of Life Ministries to provide weekly showers for more than 200 I.E. residents. Through partnership and collaboration, Shower of Hope, IEHP and Path of Life Ministries have provided weekly showers for more than 200 I.E. residents. "We're so happy to support our friends and neighbors experiencing homelessness in the Inland Empire with the blessing of a shower," said Mel Tillekeratne, Shower of Hope co-founder and executive director. "Our service is more than just an opportunity to bathe. It restores dignity and hope for those in need, and often is the first step to seeking out other much-needed support services." Through a weekly shower pop-up event located at Trinity Lutheran Church on Brockton Avenue in Riverside, homeless residents will have the opportunity to receive a free shower, a meal and hygiene items every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. "The Shower of Hope team truly understands the importance of access to running, warm water, and how the ability to bathe is essential to a person's overall physical and emotional wellbeing," said Cesar Armendariz, IEHP senior director of community outreach. "This ongoing effort greatly supports the health and wellbeing of our entire community and is a collective stride to heal and inspire the human spirit. This is just one critical piece to that puzzle, and we are thrilled to be a part of it!" In addition to mobile showers, The Shower of Hope works closely with local community partners to provide access to meals, clothing, hygiene items and case management resources to help residents get back on their feet. "We have seen relationships between neighbors without homes and social service partners develop during the short period of time Showers of Hope has operated in our community. Their notion of providing a basic need to the least, last and lost in our community creates a bridge of trust where Path of Life Ministries and others can continue filling gaps in the homeless population's need for even more significant services like mental health, substance abuse treatment and employment services," said Rusty Bailey, Path of Life Ministries' CEO. "Thank God for nonprofits like Shower of Hope and health care providers like IEHP who understand what it takes to get human beings off the street and moving toward a healthier and more self-sufficient lifestyle." "Having a roof over your head is a fundamental element of health. Without stable housing, individuals experience higher levels of illness which are impossible to manage well under their life circumstances," said Dr. Karen Hansberger, IEHP chief medical officer. "The Shower of Hope embraces the fundamental principle that every life is precious and is part of our community fabric. When even one of us is lost we are all diminished. Providing our homeless neighbors the ability to bathe and access needed resources on a regular basis supports their worth and sends the message that they are not alone. This is a pivotal shift to improve physical and mental health. What a blessing to have an organization serving our community whose driving purpose is the preservation of human dignity!" To learn more about the Shower of Hope and where they will be next, visit www.facebook.com/theshowerofhope/. To learn more about Path of Life Ministries and their services, visit www.thepathoflife.com About IEHP IEHP, Inland Empire Health Plan, is one of the top 10 largest Medicaid health plans and the largest not-for-profit Medicare-Medicaid plan in the country. With a network of more than 6,400 providers and 2,300 employees, IEHP serves over 1.4 million residents in Riverside and San Bernardino counties who are enrolled in Medicaid or Cal MediConnect Plan (Medicare-Medicaid Plan). Through a dynamic partnership with Providers and community, award-winning service and innovative products, IEHP is fully committed to advocating for our Members and providing them with quality, accessible and wellness-based health care services. For more information, visit www.iehp.org. SOURCE Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) Related Links http://www.iehp.org SYRACUSE, N.Y., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Molecules in the saliva may hold promise as a means to track the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). According to a recently published study, specific RNA molecules in saliva were found to be strongly associated with autistic behaviors in older individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and also change as early as three months in association with changes in behavioral scores in participants engaged in early intervention services. These findings were published in the journal Research in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Researchers from SUNY Upstate Medical University, Penn State Medical Center, and Quadrant Biosciences discovered that performance in behavioral measures were associated with the expression of microRNA molecules in the saliva of children with autism engaged in early intervention services, and that these molecules may potentially be used to track treatment effectiveness and provide prognosis. The results of this research was published in a paper titled "Longitudinal Stability of Salivary MicroRNA Biomarkers in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder." The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder has been consistently on the rise over the past few decades. Most recently, it's estimated that 1 in 54 children are diagnosed with ASD. Despite a better understanding of the developmental disorder, health care providers currently have no biological way to monitor and track the effects of popular intervention therapies such as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). The present study looked at 127 participants between the ages of one and 23 years old, broken into two sub groups. The first group included older participants, with an average age of almost 11 years old (48 ASD, 48 Non-ASD). The second group consisted of 31 children, averaging just over four years old (22 ASD, 9 Non-ASD developmental delay). They were assessed twice, and all participants were diagnosed by trained clinicians using the DSM-5 criteria. The researchers focused on specific RNA molecules in saliva that had been identified in an earlier study (Hicks, Rajan et al., 2018), with the ability to differentiate children with ASD from peers with typical development or developmental delay. In the older group, seven RNAs showed a significant correlation to the scores on behavioral assessments, such as the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales and the Behavior Assessment System for Children. Moreover, among the younger group of participants, 12 RNAs displayed significant differences between the initial visit and a follow-up visit three to ten months later. Notably, these RNA changes were observed among the 22 children with ASD, but not among the 9 children with non-ASD developmental delays. Of particular interest, four of these RNAs changed in association with changes in behavioral scores, with the participants engaged in early intervention services. These findings suggest that several ASD-associated salivary RNAs may change with early intervention services, and these changes may reflect reductions in autistic behavior. Consequently, these salivary RNAs could have significant clinical value as objective, biologic measures for providing accurate prognoses and tracking behavioral improvement in children with ASD who are receiving therapeutic interventions. "These are intriguing findings," said Dr. Steve Hicks, MD PhD, Associate professor at Penn State Hershey College and one of the authors of the research paper. "Although preliminary, further validation of these findings in a larger cohort could pave the way for a simple, non-invasive saliva test that might help families and physicians determine the effectiveness of therapies for children diagnosed with autism." Quadrant Biosciences, a molecular diagnostics company based in Syracuse, New York, provided funding and partnered in the research. Quadrant's David Levitskiy, a co-author on the study, pointed out the importance of this work from the company's perspective. "These findings are a great complement to the ongoing NIH-funded research at Quadrant Biosciences, where one of the primary goals is to re-assess the salivary RNA profile of children 12 months after the primary visit. This novel approach in tracking RNA changes longitudinally in response to treatment can be another tool at the disposal of clinicians." Quadrant Biosciences is a life science company developing molecular diagnostic solutions for large-scale health issues. The company has entered into collaborative research relationships with a number of institutions including SUNY Upstate Medical University and Penn State University to explore and develop novel biomarker technologies with a focus on Autism Spectrum Disorder, concussion, and Parkinson's disease. Recently, it has leveraged its expertise in RNA analysis to address the Covid-19 pandemic. Quadrant participates in the Start-up NY program, a New York State economic development program. For more information about Quadrant, please visit www.quadrantbiosciences.com. SOURCE Quadrant Biosciences Inc. Related Links quadrantbiosciences.com PORTLAND, Ore., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research recently published a report, titled, "Network Security Market By Component (Solution and Services), Solution (Firewall, Antivirus, Network Access Control, Data Loss Prevention, IDS/IPS, Secure Web Gateways, DDoS Mitigation, Unified Threat Management and Others), Services (Professional Services and Managed Services), Deployment (On-Premise and Cloud), Organization Size (Small & Medium Enterprise and Large Enterprise) and Industry Vertical (Aerospace And Defense, Government, Banking, Financial Services, And Insurance (BFSI) ,Information Technology (IT) And Telecommunication, Healthcare, Retail, Manufacturing, Energy & Utilities and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis And Industry Forecast, 20202027". As per the report, the global network security industry was pegged at $18.48 billion in 2019, and is estimated to reach $63.39 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 16.7% from 2020 to 2027. Download Sample Report: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/10971 Drivers, restraints, and opportunities Rise in level of cybercrimes, higher economic losses, and increase in data safety and privacy concerns drive the growth of the global network security market. However, high setup costs hinder the market growth. On the contrary, increase cyber-attacks during the Covid-19 pandemic and growth in digitalization trends across the globe are expected to open lucrative opportunities for the market players in the future. Impact of Covid-19 on Network Security Market: Due to strict regulations of lockdown, the majority of companies adopted work from home culture, which has increased the risk of cyber threats and cybercrime. This increased the demand for network security. During the pandemic, more and more companies have been investing in cybersecurity and network security to offer remote workforce support. The demand for network security from the healthcare sector increased due to Covid-19 pandemic as the network traffic from hospitals increased exponentially. Get detailed COVID-19 impact analysis on the Network Security Market: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/10971?reqfor=covid The solution segment held the lion's share By component, the solution segment dominated the market in 2019, accounting for more than three-fifths of the global network security market, as network security solution monitors user activity, creates access limitation, trains and educates users, provides detailed information of log activities, creates plans for data breach response, compliance management, data encryption, and web application management. However, the service segment is estimated to register the highest CAGR of 17.4% from 2020 to 2027. This is owing to rise in need for security in any network as network security issues grow. The unified threat management segment to manifest the highest CAGR through 2027 By solution type, the unified threat management segment is projected to portray the highest CAGR of 24.3% during the forecast period, due to surge in the importance of cybersecurity and the increase in cyber-attacks. However, the firewall segment held the lion's share in 2019, contributing to around one-fourth of the global network security market, owing to emergence of cloud-based technology. For Purchase Inquiry: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/10971 North America dominated the market By region, the market across North America held the largest share in 2019, accounted for nearly two-fifths of the market, due to increase in the number of cyberattacks in the U.S. and rapid increase in number of connected devices in the region. However, the global network security market across Asia-Pacific is projected to register the highest CAGR of 18.3% during the forecast period, owing to rise in the number of cyber-attacks. Major market players Cisco Systems Solarwinds IBM Trend Micro FireMon Symantec FireEye GFI Software Avast Software Juniper Networks Official Press Release: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/press-release/network-security-market.html Similar Research Reports for Information, Communication and Technology: Email Encryption Market Expected to Reach $3,186 Million, Globally, by 2023 Neural Network Market worth $38,719 Million Globally by 2023 Security Information& Event Management Market to Reach $3,720 Million Globally by 2023 Application Container Market Predicted to Reach $8,202 Million by 2025 Network Traffic Analytics Market Expected to Reach $3.11 Billion by 2026 Function-as-a-Service Market Expected to Reach $24,007.00 Million by 2026 AVENUE- A Subscription-Based Library (Premium on-demand, subscription-based pricing model): AMR introduces its online premium subscription-based library Avenue, designed specifically to offer cost-effective, one-stop solution for enterprises, investors, and universities. With Avenue, subscribers can avail an entire repository of reports on more than 2,000 niche industries and more than 12,000 company profiles. Moreover, users can get an online access to quantitative and qualitative data in PDF and Excel formats along with analyst support, customization, and updated versions of reports. Get an access to the library of reports at any time from any device and anywhere. For more details, follow the link: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access About Allied Market Research: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domains. AMR offers its services across 11 industry verticals including Life Sciences, Consumer Goods, Materials & Chemicals, Construction & Manufacturing, Food & Beverages, Energy & Power, Semiconductor & Electronics, Automotive & Transportation, ICT & Media, Aerospace & Defense, and BFSI. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-855-550-5975 [email protected] Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Follow Us on: LinkedIn Twitter SOURCE Allied Market Research OMAHA, Neb., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Mutual, a leading financial security company, announced today the appointment of Jennifer Brase to serve as managing partner of its Omaha, Nebraska office. As managing partner, Brase will oversee the firm's sales, operations, recruitment, development and growth, and spearhead strategic initiatives. "I am honored and excited to take on this leadership role in Nebraska and continue to drive our firm's long-term vision for growth," said Brase. "I'm looking forward to the opportunities my new role will provide me to work alongside our financial advisor teams and provide our clients with industry-leading products and exceptional experiences, as well as advocate for advancement opportunities that make it possible for women and other diverse advisors to join, stay and grow within our firm." Brase joined Northwestern Mutual in 1990, where she has served in a variety of leadership roles throughout her more than 30 years with the company. From her role as chief development officer in Indianapolis to managing partner in Kansas City, she has established leading development programs for financial representatives at all stages of their careers. Brase has also served in leadership positions at the company's headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her previous roles include regional vice president, where she was accountable for the supervision and performance of the company's central region, and vice president of diversity and inclusion, where she led the company's strategies and practices to support a diverse workplace. Brase is a graduate of University of Nebraska Lincoln and holds her chartered life underwriter (CLU) professional designation. She currently resides in Nebraska with her husband and two children. She is also an active supporter of the fight against cancer, currently serving as a board member with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Nebraska chapter. About Northwestern Mutual Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 160 years. Through a holistic planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of its financial professionals with a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to help its clients plan for what's most important. With $308.8 billion in total assets, $31.1 billion in revenues, and $2 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than 4.75 million people with life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, and brokerage and advisory services. The company manages more than $200 billion of investments owned by its clients and held or managed through its wealth management and investment services businesses. Northwestern Mutual ranks 90 on the 2021 FORTUNE 500 and is recognized by FORTUNE as one of the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2021. Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (securities), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC) (fiduciary and fee-based financial planning services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance). SOURCE Northwestern Mutual Related Links https://www.northwesternmutual.com Jones, 42, was arrested in September 2019 on three counts of unlawful sexual activity by a person older than 24 with a person 16 or 17 years of age, days after he had dropped his candidacy for a seat on the Seminole County judicial bench. Jones was accused of engaging in multiple sexual acts with the teen girl, then buying her the Plan B contraceptive pill the next day, according to his original arrest warrant. NEW YORK, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Meredith Corporation's (NYSE: MDP) PARENTS released this year's Best Skin Care for Kids, a selection of the 30 most gentle and effective products. The list comprises everyday creams, bath and hair, skin repair, diaper-area treatment, outdoor skin care, and hand care. PARENTS' Best Skin Care for Kids 2021 is available on Parents.com/Skincare and in the July issue of PARENTS magazine, available now. "With summer around the corner, it is imperative to protect your skin from head-to-toe," said PARENTS Editor-in-Chief Julia Edelstein. "Our team at PARENTS compiled the top products that are safe for kids just in time for the warmer months ahead." PARENTS experts thoroughly tested nearly 300 formulas of parent recommendations, brand best-sellers, and new releases for skin and hair with 55 families. A total of 30 products that are all dye-, paraben-, and oxybenzone-free and approved by PARENTS advisor and dermatologist Jody Alpert Levine, M.D., made PARENTS' Best Skin Care for Kids 2021 list. The full list of PARENTS' Best Skin Care for Kids 2021 is shown below by category and on Parents.com/Skincare. EVERY DAY CREAMS Best Cream : Tubby Todd Bath Co Dream Cream Best Multiuse Balm : Baby Bum Natural Monoi Coconut Balm Best Daily Lotion : Bella B Silk & Honey Daily Moisturizing Lotion Best Eczema Fighter : Eucerin Baby Eczema Relief Cream *Fragrance-free Best Baby Lotion : Baby Magic Gentle Baby Lotion BATH AND HAIR Best 2-in-1 for Babies : Johnson's CottonTouch Newborn Wash & Shampoo Best 3-in-1 for Kids : Suave Kids 3 in 1 Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash With 100% Natural Lavender Best Skin Tool for Babies : Fridababy DermaFrida The SkinSoother Best Wash for Eczema : Mustela Stelatopia Cleansing Gel *Fragrance-free Best Bubble Bath : Alafia Kids Bubble Bath Lemon Lavender. Best Detangling Spray : Tots by Babyganics Detangling Spray Best Cradle Cap Shampoo : Dr. Eddie's Happy Cappy Medicated Shampoo & Body Wash *Fragrance-free Best Black Hair Care : Natural Bunch Hair Care for Kids Squeaky Clean Moroccan Shampoo; Natural Bunch Hair Care for Kids Knots Out Moroccan Conditioner; Tip-to-Top Green Detangling Brush SKIN REPAIR Best for Those Itchy Areas : EmBeba Don't Be Rash Diaper Balm + Skin Protectant*Fragrance-free Best Baby Face Balm : Earth Mama Organic Baby Face Nose & Cheek Balm Best Moisture Stick : Pipette Balm Stick *Fragrance-free Best Lip Care : Evereden Baby Lip Balm DIAPER-AREA TREATMENTS Best Diaper Creams : Made Of Organic Diaper Rash Cream; Badger Zinc Oxide Diaper Cream Best Diaper Spray : Boogie Bottoms No-Rub Diaper Rash Spray *Fragrance-free OUTDOOR SKINCARE Best Sunscreen Spray : Banana Boat Kids Mineral Enriched SPF 50+ Best Big Wipes : WaterWipes XL Bathing Wipes Best Bug Spray : Green Goo Bugs Be Gone Best Baby Wipes : Hello Bello Plant-Based Baby Wipes *Fragrance-free Best Sunscreen Lotion : CeraVe Baby Hydrating Sunscreen SPF 45 *Fragrance-free HAND CARE Best Hand Soap : Baby Dove Care & Protect Hypoallergenic Foaming Hand Wash *Fragrance-free Best Scented Hand-Sanitizer Spray : Earth Mama Organics Lavender Hand Sanitizer Best Unscented Hand-Sanitizer Spray : Murphy's Naturals Hand Sanitizer *Fragrance-free The full list of PARENTS' Best Skin Care for Kids 2021 is available on Parents.com/Skincare and in the July issue of PARENTS magazine, available now. ABOUT PARENTS PARENTS, the leading source for busy, millennial moms, reaches 8.3 million readers monthly through an award-winning magazine and over 19 million readers on its digital and social platforms. With an understanding that raising good people is the most important job, PARENTS serves up trusted advice that empowers moms and dads to care for their kids with confidence and find ways to enjoy the ride. PARENTS is produced by Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP). SOURCE Meredith Corporation Related Links https://www.meredith.com Tapping into a network of renowned chefs and beautiful locations, Peroni and Secret Supper's dinner series will feature three, one-of-a-kind al fresco dining events in Miami (June 26), Los Angeles (July 31) and New York City (Aug. 21). Each will include a curated, five-course meal with Peroni infused throughout - from a key ingredient in dishes to birra. Outdoor locations and decor for each experience will be thoughtfully chosen and meticulously styled to channel the essence of Italy's ancient cities, coastlines, and other iconic locales. "It's no secret Italy is one of the world's go-to summer destinations and this season, we're excited to bring a taste of Peroni's home country to our fans across the U.S., especially now that the Italian borders have reopened to international travelers," said Cara Lauritzen, Senior Marketing Manager for Peroni at Molson Coors Beverage Company. "No matter your travel plans, we look forward to channeling la dolce vita stateside this summer, whether it be through a bespoke dinner hosted with our partners at Secret Supper or the chance for one lucky fan to cross that dream Italian getaway off their bucket list later this year." Through digital marketing and social media content, Peroni's partnership with Secret Supper aims to elevate the summer season and seamlessly complements the Summer of Aperitivo, Peroni's upcoming retail campaign focused on perfecting the Italian-inspired happy hour at home in three easy steps. "We are so excited to work with Peroni to help bring A Taste of Italy to the U.S." said Danielle Firle, Founder of Secret Supper. "Our Suppers are about bringing people together through great food and conversation, and with the help of Peroni and its chic and elevated Italian style, we're able to bring fans of our experiences even more chances to make those connections." 'A Taste of Italy with Peroni' Secret Supper events will be hosted on the below dates. Events will be safe and follow local COVID-19 protocols. Fans can sign up to receive ticket information and early access to purchase via Secret Supper's email list at secretsupper.co/peroni and stay up to date via @peroniusa and @secret_supper social handles. Saturday, June 26 : Miami, Fla. : Saturday, July 31 : Los Angeles, Calif. : Saturday, Aug. 21 : New York, N.Y. For those looking to make their next trip overseas, Peroni will also be offering fans a chance to win a $20,000 upgrade toward their next getaway to Italy inclusive of a luxury luggage set and Italian designer wardrobe, which will be awarded in the form of a cash payment and two gift cards. To enter the sweepstakes, visit www.peroniupgrade.com About Peroni Nastro Azzurro As Italy's premier beer, Peroni Nastro Azzurro is a timeless classic that embodies the best in Italian craftsmanship and sophistication. Born in 1963 during a trailblazing era that brought Italian style and creativity to the global stage, Peroni is a pale, golden lager with a crisp, refreshing taste, balanced aroma and notes of citrus and spice. Arriving in the United States in 2005, and enjoyed across six continents today, the iconic Italian birra has consistently won over tastemakers and trendsetters looking for a fresh, clean beer to complement their style. Follow along on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @PeroniUSA. About Secret Supper Founded in 2015, Secret Supper began with a dream to bring people together around a table filled with earthy food, great wine, and endless conversation. Through meaningful culinary and travel experiences we seek to inspire intentional living as we unearth and celebrate the common threads among us all. To learn more, visit secretsupper.co or follow us on social @secret_supper . 2021 IMPORTED BY BIRRA PERONI INTERNAZIONALE, WASHINGTON, DC BEER SOURCE Peroni WASHINGTON, June 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Press Club and the National Press Club Journalism Institute urged the junta in Myanmar to promptly release from prison all journalists jailed there, including at least two Americans. Danny Fenster and Nathan Maung are the American journalists known to be detained in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, which has been wracked by unrest since a February coup. The National Press Club President Lisa Nicole Matthews and NPC Journalism Institute President Angela Greiling Keane issued the following statement: "We call on the government of Myanmar to release all wrongly imprisoned people, including journalists Danny Fenster and Nathan Maung, two Americans who have done nothing wrong. Journalism is not a crime." Fenster, a native of the Detroit area, is the managing editor of Frontier Magazine in Myanmar. He was detained May 24 at Yangon International Airport just minutes before boarding a flight to Kuala Lumpur to start a planned trip back to the United States to surprise his parents, who had not seen him in three years. Fenster is being held at Yangon prison, a detention facility known for rampant human rights abuses. He has not been charged with any crime and has not been granted access to legal representation. Fenster's family has since launched a social media campaign for his immediate release: #BringDannyHome. Maung and Myanmar national Hanthar Nyein, co-founders of the Myanmar news website Kamayut Media, were arrested on March 9, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Maung and Hanthar were physically abused during interrogations when they were first detained, CPJ said. Approximately 90 journalists have been arrested since the coup, according to Myanmar's Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. More than half of those journalists are still in jail, and an estimated 33 are in hiding, the group says. The jailed journalists are among more than 4,400 people imprisoned since the coup, the association estimates. The association also calculates that more than 820 people have been killed in Myanmar amid the unrest, and some 5,400 others have been arrested. Founded in 1908, The National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. The Club has 3,000 members representing nearly every major news organization and is a leading voice for press freedom in the United States and around the world. The National Press Club Journalism Institute, the Club's non-profit affiliate, promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire civic engagement. Contact: John Donnelly, NPC Press Freedom Team Chairman: [email protected] 202-650-6738. SOURCE National Press Club Related Links http://press.org SAN FRANCISCO, June 03, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP is investigating a data breach potentially impacting the confidential health information of nearly 1.5 million employees and pharmacy customers of the Kroger family of companies. The Kroger family of companies includes 30 different grocery chains located all around the United States. In California, Kroger operates stores under the Ralphs, Foods Co, and Food 4 Less brands. According to recent disclosures made to the California Attorney General and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nearly 1.5 million individuals were impacted by a data breach linked to Kroger's use of the Accellion file sharing program. The breach may have included individuals' names, contact information, dates of birth, and benefits information from the Kroger Employee Health Plan as well as the confidential information of certain pharmacy and health clinic customers. Kroger will be notifying impacted individuals directly. If you received notification of this data breach, are an employee of a Kroger-affiliated company, or were a customer of a Kroger-affiliated pharmacy or health clinic and wish to obtain additional information about your legal rights, please contact us today or visit our website at https://www.classactionlawyers.com/blog/kroger. About Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe represents shareholders, employees, and consumers in class actions against corporate defendants, as well as shareholders in derivative actions against their officers and directors. The firm is based in San Francisco, and with the help of co-counsel, litigates cases nationwide. Contact Alexandra K. Green Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP [email protected] Tel: 415-788-4220 SOURCE: Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP SOURCE Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP Related Links http://schubertlawfirm.com SUZHOU, China, June 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In order to boost the continuous innovation and development of China's medical device industry, deepen the cooperation among the medical device industry, universities, research institutions, users, capital sector and regulators in all aspects, and stimulate the innovative vitality of enterprises and medical and nursing staff, the China Medical Devices Design & Entrepreneurship Competition (hereinafter referred to as "the Competition") has been successfully held for three times under the initiative and guidance of Ministry of Science and Technology. A total of 283, 607 and 665 on-going medical device innovation projects have been collected domestically and internationally and a total of more than 1,200 enterprises and innovation service providers and institutional investors have participated in the Competition and related activities. More than 30,000 visitors have presented on site, and many heads of ministries, academicians and experts from regulatory and industrial authorities have given their valuable guidance and comments. A total of 167 projects have been awarded the first prize, the second prize and the third prize, which, according to the follow-up statistics within 6 months after competitions, have raised over 4.2 billion of investments cumulatively, while some projects have also received funding from governments at ministerial, provincial and municipal levels and from the development zone, as well as other awards. The Competition has effectively promoted the transformation of medical device achievements and has received wide appreciation. The Competition this year continues to be held by National Strategic Alliance for Technological Innovation of Medical Device Industry and is now open for registration. Themed "supporting the international research collaboration and the achievement transformation and highlighting technological innovations and innovation services in light of actual needs", the Competition is divided into the following categories: In vitro diagnostic (IVD) products (reagents and devices, pathology, etc.); Medical dressings, infusion and care products; Surgical and minimally invasive instruments (surgical instruments, endoscopes and consumables, etc.); High-value consumables and implantation and intervention products; Large and medium-sized diagnosis and treatment equipment (imaging, radiotherapy, and ablation products); First aid and life support (first aid, monitoring, inhalation anesthesia, dialysis, etc.) products; Artificial intelligence and medical software; Mobile and telemedicine; Household, TCM, rehabilitation physiotherapy and fitness and health equipment; and Anti-epidemic, infection control and disinfection products. The above categories are further divided into the startup group (with registration certificates not obtained at the time of registration) and the growth group (with registration certificates obtained for the first time). The above categories may be appropriately changed at the discretion of the organizer according to the registration; and special sessions are set up according to the industrial needs for the convenience of industrial cooperation and synergetic development. According to the schedule of the Competition, the registration (online) and preliminary (online review), intermediary (on-site presentation) and final contests (on-site presentation) are arranged, and the deadline for registration is to be extended to June 20, 2021 according to the actual situation. Applicants may visit the website for registration at http://www.cmddec.cn/. Applicants may be a company or a team and may register for one project or product or more; projects or products that have been registered for in previous competitions are allowed in this competition; all projects and products should meet relevant national laws, regulations and policies. No contestant shall be charged any fee throughout the Competition. In order to encourage the participation in the innovation, the projects that win the first prize, the second prize and the third prize in startup group in the final of each category will be awarded tens of thousands of Chinese Yuan, and the projects that win the excellence prize will receive valuable awards. For projects that participate in the on-site presentation in intermediary, final and special contests, contestants (2 persons per project) will be provided with free room and board and travel allowance (limited for bearer) for corresponding contest. Overseas participants (including those from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions) are welcome to register directly to participate in various categories of the Competition. The schedule of the Competition will be subject to changes by the organizer from time to time according to the requirements for epidemic prevention and control and for entering China. Participants may take part in the special session for overseas projects (including those of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions) in the form of videos. CONTACT: Tracey +86-18962464034 [email protected] SOURCE China Strategic Alliance of Medical Device InnovationCSAMDI This landmark deal signals a shift in how cryptocurrency miners will be developing their energy resources going forward, and is the realization of Sangha Systems' goal since beginning the Hennepin project in 2018. The company has been trying to steer cryptocurrency mining towards renewable energy from its inception and, having proven its business model and reliability in the industry over three years, is now poised to pioneer the first project of its kind in North America. "We founded Sangha Systems in late 2017 while working in renewable energy law, development and public policy because we recognized that cryptocurrency mining presents a one-of-a-kind energy profile that could expedite the mainstreaming of renewable energy," said Spencer Marr, President and Co-Founder of Sangha Systems. With its high load factor and significant interruptibility, cryptocurrency mining enables renewable energy project developers, financiers, and off-takers to structure deals that capture maximum financial returns for all stakeholders. "We have worked for three years to build a track record of excellence and establish the business profile that would enable us to get a solar deal done in Hennepin. As market analysts and the general public have recently woken up to the energy consumption of mining and the possibility of turning all that demand for electricity into clean energy, we think our thesis has been validated. This is just the start for us." Leon Gerard Vandenberg, whose company Sunified has developed a blockchain-controlled sensor that allows grid and energy systems operators to track the "proof or origin" for all electricity generated by a solar array, believes "blockchain mining is an ideal behind-the-meter synthetic load. It provides a dynamic offtake that can balance revenue upside when suboptimal net metering conditions occur." Further, "using our UNITY chip sensors & platform, mining can be a key catalyst to lay down the infrastructure to simplify green signalling, shed light on greenwashing, and bring the renewable energy credit (REC) market into the 21st century." Contact details Spencer Marr, President, Sangha Systems email: [email protected] AEP Corporate Communications email: [email protected] Leon Gerard Vandenberg, CEO/CTO, Sunified - email: [email protected] About Sangha Systems "Sangha" is a Sanskrit word meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community." Sangha Systems, established in 2017, guides burgeoning and disruptive industries with high-energy needs toward a more sustainable and profitable future. Through dynamic infrastructure development, deep energy expertise, and a creative team, they harness the Sangha mentality to create both profitability and sustainability. Their flagship project, 82 River North, is centered on the redevelopment of an old steel mill with an 82 megawatt electrical substation in the Central Illinois Valley that allows Sangha Systems to reimagine the relationship between energy generation, consumption, transmission, distribution, and monetization. Sangha Systems is inspired to build the physical infrastructure to power the digital future. SOURCE Sangha Systems Related Links http://www.sanghasystems.com ST. LOUIS, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Barwick Consulting Services, a financial services company in Saint Louis, is combining holistic financial planning, red-carpet service and creatively customized tax, retirement and investment solutions under one roof. The goal: empower clients and businesses with the most dependable and comprehensive financial planning services in the country. With 20 percent of Americans saving none or little of their annual income, according to CNBC, and more than 40 percent with less than $10,000 tucked away for retirement, according to GoBankingRates, i there is a great need for a true concierge-style financial service that can better secure individuals' financial futures. "Financial planning can be a formidable task for a lot of people. We seek to alleviate that stress," says Kurt Barwick, founder of Barwick Consulting Services. "Our team of financial advisors are very capable at harmonizing all areas of your financial portfolio. We make certain no element is forgotten or unaccounted for and that all arms are working in synergy with one another." By specializing in "holistic financial planning," Barwick Consulting Services ensures coordination of all aspects of clients' portfolios. This includes tax planning, retirement planning, estate & legal planning, risk management & insurance solutions, mortgage & real estate solutions, corporate executive planning and business consulting. Furthermore, Barwick Consulting Services works exclusively with the most reputable and stable financial firms in the country to provide clients financial products they can depend on for a lifetime. Barwick Consulting Services, Inc was established to provide our clients long-term, value-added financial counsel and investment performance with exceptional service. We believe in taking a holistic approach to financial planning for our clients. Barwick Consulting Services will work alongside our clients in articulating establishing and achieving their financial life goals. Barwick Consulting Services believes that although peace of mind is not for sale, it can be achieved with efforts and planning for a comfortable and secure retirement. The key is to build trustworthy relationships with professionals who educate you about retirement options while offering proven real-world solutions that work for your individual retirement needs and concerns. "We believe the best financial advisors are not only highly knowledgeable but also intensely creative," says Barwick. "At Barwick Consulting Services, each and every portfolio is analyzed independently, and solutions are custom-tailored to fit each client's distinct needs. We then build portfolios using an unlimited number of options that leverage both traditional and out-of-the-box strategies to target optimal results. It's actually a bit of an art." For more information, please visit https://www.barwickconsultingservices.com. ABOUT BARWICK CONSULTING SERVICES Based in Saint Louis, Missouri, Barwick Consulting Services was founded with the goal of assisting our clients in every aspect of their financial lives. We have provided the most personal service available, thus earning a reputation for excellence in our industry. For each of our clients we strive to help create financial stability and security to provide financial independence. i www.cnbc.com, 65% of Americans Save Little or Nothing - and Half Could End Up Struggling in Retirement, March 15, 2018 https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/15/bankrate-65-percent-of-americans-save-little-or-nothing.html Barwick Consulting Services. Insurance products and services are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents in all appropriate jurisdictions under Barwick Consulting Services. Investment Advisory Services are offered through Virtue Capital Management (VCM), and SEC Registered Investment advisor. Barwick Consulting Services, Inc. & VCM independent of each other. For a complete description of investment risks, fees and services, review the Virtue Capital Management firm brochure (ADV Part 2A) which is available from your Investment Advisor Representative or by contacting Virtue Capital Management. Media Contact Sal Velazquez 213-347-9353 [email protected] SOURCE Barwick Consulting Services NEW YORK, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Harry Potter fans from across the world were welcomed into Harry Potter New York as the flagship store opened its doors to the public for the first time. Greeted by a 220lb model of Fawkes the Phoenix, fans discovered a host of magical creatures and hand-made props throughout the immersive retail experience including Voldemort's horcrux, Nagini, bursting through the ceiling in an area inspired by the Dark Arts. The Worlds Only Harry Potter Flagship Store Welcomes Customers Through The Doors For The First Time With 15 themed areas and thousands of products, every aspiring witch and wizard will find something magical to add to their collection. Fans explored areas inspired by Honeydukes to find Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and Chocolate Frogs before stopping under the Dirigible Plum tree to find their favourite creature soft toy. Customers were invited to step into Hagrid's boots to see how they measure up and duel other customers at the store's interactive wand table. ''We're delighted to be welcoming fans to Harry Potter New York for a completely new shopping experience," said Sarah Roots, EVP Warner Bros. Worldwide Tours and Retail. "Not only will visitors find the largest range of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts products under one roof, they will also get to discover up-close some of the hand-crafted props that were seen in the films, use our unique photo opportunities and experience the incredible theming throughout the store.'' Harry Potter New York has a virtual queueing system in place. When customers visit the store, they will scan a QR code to join a virtual queue and return when notified. Harry Potter New York is open from 10am 9pm Mon-Sat and 11am-7pm on Sundays. Fans can keep up to date by following Harry Potter New York's social channels or signing up to our newsletter. Facebook.com/HarryPotterNewYork Twitter.com/HarryPotterNY Instagram.com/HarryPotterNY Notes to Editors COVID-19 For the safety of customers and colleagues, masks are required when visiting Harry Potter New York. The store is operating with a reduced capacity to ensure physical distancing is maintained. About Wizarding World More than two decades ago, a young Harry Potter was whisked onto Platform 9 at King's Cross Station, and readers everywhere were swept along with him into a magical universe, created by J.K. Rowling. In the years since, the seven Harry Potter bestsellers have inspired eight blockbuster movies, an award-winning stage play, and, more recently, the start of the Fantastic Beasts five-film series. People of all ages have been enthralled by these extraordinary adventures, set within an expanding universe, inspired by the vision of J.K. Rowling. For today's growing worldwide fan community, and for generations to come, the Wizarding World welcomes everyone to explore more of this magical universe past, present and future. The Wizarding World also provides fans with an instant, trusted kite-mark of quality and authenticity. Harry Potter New York will be part of an expanding portfolio of Warner Bros. owned Wizarding World experiences that include Warner Bros. Studio Tour London The Making of Harry Potter, Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo and the Platform 9 retail shops. Sign up to receive more information at HarryPotterStore.com #HarryPotterNY SOURCE Harry Potter New York Related Links http://HarryPotterStore.com SAN FRANCISCO, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Zephyr Project , an open source project at the Linux Foundation that builds a safe, secure and flexible real-time operating system (RTOS) for resource-constrained devices, continues to gain momentum with its 5th anniversary this year. To celebrate the milestone, the Zephyr Project is hosting its inaugural Zephyr Developer Summit on June 8-10. The virtual event, which is free to attend, features several Zephyr leaders presenting real-world use cases, best practices, tutorials and more. Happy 5th Anniversary Launched in 2016 by the Linux Foundation , the Zephyr Project has continued to grow its technical community each year. Today, almost 1,000 contributors have helped the project surpass 50,000 commits building advanced support for multiple architectures such as ARC, Arm, Intel, Nios, RISC-V, SPARC and Tensilica and more than 250 boards. The first-ever Zephyr Developer Summit will offer community members a chance to learn more about the fastest growing RTOS in an informal educational environment. "We are kicking off our first Developer Summit with an impressive line-up of Zephyr thought leaders and ambassadors for the growing Zephyr community of contributors and users," said Joel Stapleton, Chair of the Zephyr Project Governing Board and Principal Engineer Manager at Nordic Semiconductor. "The strength of engagement the project has with its members and IoT solution providers reflects the importance of open source efforts to build secure and safe embedded technologies for increasingly connected applications in industrial, smart home, wearables and energy; and for computing platforms integrating microcontrollers with ever-increasing capabilities and functions." Sample summit sessions include power management, USB support, motor control; user presentations that showcase Zephyr with Renode and TensorFlow Lite and RISC-V and contributor spotlights for securing MCUBoot, using OPC UA, energy-efficient device testing and developing hardware. Proposals were reviewed by the Programming Committee, which includes Anas Nashif, Intel; Carles Cufi, Nordic Semiconductor; Jonathan Beri, Golioth; Keith Short, Google; Maureen Helm, NXP; and Olof Johansson, Facebook. To see the complete schedule, click here . The registration deadline is June 4, click here to register. The U.S. Executive Order on Cybersecurity Less than a month ago, the United States White House released an Executive Order on Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity that addressed the malicious cyber attacks that have become more frequent in the last few years. In a blog , the Linux Foundation responded how Zephyr RTOS, along with several other projects, has already built some of the support needed for a more secure future. Zephyr is able to generate Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs) automatically during the build and this capability will be available in the upcoming 2.6 release. It is one of the few open source projects that is a CVE Numbering Authority(CNA) and has an active Project Security Incident Response Team(PSIRT) that manages responsible disclosure of vulnerabilities to product makers. Product creators using zephyr can sign up for free to be notified of vulnerabilities . "SBOMs can communicate details about a software package's contents, being able to understand exactly which source files are included in a resource constrained software image is key to understanding if it may be vulnerable to an exploit," said Kate Stewart, Vice President of Dependable Embedded Systems at the Linux Foundation. "SBOMs created by manual processes can often be incomplete, incorrect or out-of-date as a software package advances. By being able to generate the SBOM during the build, and take it to the source file level, not just the component level, better diagnosis and detection of vulnerable states is possible and addresses some of the best practices mentioned in the EO. Zephyr is being used today in thousands of wearables and other products with constrained environments. By automatically creating SBOMs during builds, the development process becomes easier, more efficient and improves maintainability in field." Zephyr's Growing Ecosystem Today, the Zephyr Project also welcomes AVSystem, Golioth, Pat-Eta Electronics, RISC-V and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden to its global RTOS ecosystem. These new members join Adafruit, Antmicro, BayLibre, Eclipse Foundation, Facebook, Fiware, Foundries.io, Google, Intel, Laird Connectivity, Linaro, Memfault, Nordic Semiconductor, NXP, Oticon, Parasoft, SiFive, Synopsys and teenage engineering, among others. "We see amazing opportunities for IoT deployments involving resource-constrained devices operating in cellular LPWA networks," said Marcin Nagy, Product Director for IoT, AVSystem . "We are sure that combining the Zephyr RTOS with our expertise in the Lightweight M2M standard will contribute to the acceleration of secure and standards-based IoT launches." "We can speak at length about the technical merits of Zephyr - the kernel design, native networking, scalable board support model and so on - but the largest differentiator is the community," says Jonathan Beri, CEO of Golioth . "From chipset vendors to ecosystem players, it feels like we're rising the tide for everyone to make the most secure & reliable open source RTOS in the market and we couldn't be more excited to contribute to the project and community." "We are happy to be part of the Zephyr Project and hope to bring it more into the academic environment, especially within STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)," said Sanyaade Adekoya, Developer, Programmer and Lecturer at Pat-Eta Electronics. "It has been challenging to bring RTOSes within the academic research sector and getting them in the hands of undergraduate learners. Our research extends the use of Zephyr RTOS in IoT, Edge Computing, Robotics, Smart and Wearable devices. The Zephyr Project will be a driving platform for our students that will make it easier for them to create ideas, projects, innovations and more. We look forward to showcasing our students' Zephyr-related projects." "RISC-V and Zephyr were both designed to drive innovation in the hardware space with open source technologies that are accessible to everyone," said Mark Himelstein, CTO of RISC-V . "Many of our members are already taking advantage of the flexibility of RISC-V and Zephyr to design end-to-end open source solutions for resource-constrained devices. We look forward to collaborating with the Zephyr Project to offer even more opportunities for the open source community to innovate." "Zephyr RTOS enables us to rapidly prototype Thread wireless networks and is an excellent research platform for our work in IoT security," said Samuel Lindemer, Research Engineer at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden . "The interactive shell and configuration menu make it intuitive for new users, and the open-source community support is unparalleled." To learn more about Zephyr RTOS, visit the Zephyr website and blog . About the Zephyr Project The Zephyr Project is a small, scalable real-time operating system for use on resource-constrained systems supporting multiple architectures. To learn more, please visit www.zephyrproject.org . About the Linux Foundation Founded in 2000, the Linux Foundation is supported by more than 1,000 members and is the world's leading home for collaboration on open source software, open standards, open data, and open hardware. Linux Foundation's projects are critical to the world's infrastructure including Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js, and more. The Linux Foundation's methodology focuses on leveraging best practices and addressing the needs of contributors, users and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org . Media Contact: Maemalynn Meanor [email protected] SOURCE The Zephyr Project COLLEGE PARK, Md., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Maryland has named Samuel Graham, Jr. dean of the A. James Clark School of Engineering, effective October 1, 2021. As dean, Graham will provide leadership and vision for the Clark School, while sharing the school's mission with students, faculty, staff, alumni, public agencies, and supporters, and fostering an environment of excellence in teaching and learning. "I am honored to be appointed dean of Maryland's A. James Clark School of Engineering, a research powerhouse and home to world-class faculty, staff and students," said Graham. "I look forward to contributing to its legacy of excellence and leading the next generation of diverse Terrapin engineers poised to improve our world through innovations in technology." Appointed in 2018, Graham currently serves as the Eugene C. Gwaltney, Jr. Chair of the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He also holds a courtesy appointment in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech and a joint appointment with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He joined the George W. Woodruff School in 2003 and was promoted to professor in 2013. "Please join me in congratulating Dr. Samuel Graham, Jr. as the new dean of the A. James Clark School of Engineering and welcoming him to the University of Maryland. He brings an outstanding record of success in academic leadership and engineering research and aligns with our vision for excellence and an unwavering commitment to a multicultural campus," said UMD's Interim Senior Vice President and Provost Ann G. Wylie. "I have every confidence that Dr. Graham is the best person to lead our Clark School of Engineering students, faculty and staff into the future." Graham's research centers on the development of electronics made from wide bandgap semiconductors for a range of applications in communications, power electronics and neuromorphic computing. His research is focused on engineering the electrothermal response of the devices in order to enhance heat dissipation and improve device reliability. In addition, he is creating physics-based models and unique experimental tools for verification that will enable the optimization and digital engineering of these electronics. Through his work with DOE National Laboratories, he is also developing thermal storage materials for use in building energy systems. Prior to joining the faculty at Georgia Tech, Graham was a Senior Member of Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratory in Livermore, California. Over the years, he has served as a member of the Defense Science Study Group, a member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and was the recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award. Presently, he serves on the Advisory Board of the Engineering Science Research Foundation of Sandia National Laboratories and the Emerging Technologies Technical Advisory Committee of the U.S. Department of Commerce. He is also a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. To fill this critical position, a national search was launched after the school's former dean Darryll J. Pines was appointed the 34th President of the University of Maryland. Robert Briber has since served and provided excellent leadership as interim dean of the Clark School. Graham earned his B.S. from Florida State University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech. About the University of Maryland The University of Maryland is the state's flagship university and one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and innovation, the university is home to more than 40,000 students,10,000 faculty and staff, and 300 academic programs. As one of the nation's top producers of Fulbright scholars, its faculty includes two Nobel laureates, three Pulitzer Prize winners and 59 members of the national academies. The institution has a $2.2 billion operating budget and secures more than $1 billion annually in research funding together with the University of Maryland, Baltimore. For more information about the University of Maryland, visit www.umd.edu. SOURCE University of Maryland The injured agent, who Scarp declined to name at the request of FDLE, has was since been released. Arrellano-Resendiz was booked into the Osceola County Jail on Wednesday where hes being held without bond, records show. The other three suspects, who are facing criminal conspiracy charges, among others, are also at the Osceola County Jail without bond. "Superior technology is critical to USSOCOM's mission and we are proud to support them through Bronco II," said Gerry Fasano, Leidos Defense Group president. "This advanced aircraft is designed to usher SOCOM into the next generation of tactical warfare and deliver mission-critical tools to the warfighter. The Leidos team is excited to enter Phase III of the competition and proud to support SOCOM as it defends our nation across the world." USSOCOM recently selected Leidos as the prime contractor to compete for the final phase of the Armed Overwatch contract. The contract requires demonstrating a new prototype system evaluated against well-defined criteria. Bronco II is a rugged, affordable and sustainable multi-mission aircraft built to meet the specific needs of special operations forces. Designed to "roll-on, roll-off" standards, it can be rapidly disassembled, transported and reassembled in the field by a small crew. Its modular missions systems enable rapid system changes, updates, additions, integration and removal. The Bronco II aircraft will be manufactured in Crestview, Florida. Leidos teamed with Paramount Group USA and Vertex Aerospace last year to pursue the Armed Overwatch program. The team combines decades of experience both integrating and manufacturing cutting-edge airborne solutions for the warfighter. For more information visit www.bronco-usa.com About Paramount Group USA Headquartered in Dallas-Ft. Worth, Paramount Group US Inc. is the U.S. entity of the Paramount Group, the global aerospace and technology company, providing fully integrated and turn-key air, maritime, and land solutions. Paramount Group USA is also the parent company of Paramount Aerospace Systems USA, its wholly-owned US subsidiary. Since its inception in 1994, Paramount Group has built strong relationships with governments in more than 30 countries around the world. It is a leading innovator in the design and development of state-of-the-art technologies that it manufactures in locations globally. Please visit paramountgroup.com/usa or follow us on Twitter. About Vertex Vertex Aerospace offers a global capability and complete solution for aftermarket aerospace services for government and commercial customers. The Company's international presence and vast range of services has distinguished itself from competitors for over 45 years. The Mississippi-based company operates in over 100 locations worldwide and is proud to have a 50 percent veteran employee rate. Information about Vertex can be found at vtxaero.com. About Leidos Leidos is a Fortune 500 information technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets. The company's 40,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Va., Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $12.30 billion for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2021. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com. Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended January 1, 2021, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Contact: Melissa Duenas (571) 526-6850 [email protected] Thomas Doheny (571) 474-4735 [email protected] Jalen Drummond (571) 992-5046 [email protected] SOURCE Leidos Holdings, Inc. LONDON and HELSINKI, June 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OneWeb, the global communications network powered from Space, invited representatives from across the Finnish Government agencies to observe a demonstration of OneWeb's Global Connectivity service for the first time. Run in partnership with Finland's state-run security network provider, Erillisverkot Group, the event demonstrated how OneWeb's constellation of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites is suited to supporting the operational requirements of multiple government agencies in the High North and Arctic Circle. Antti Kauppinen, Chief Technology Officer, Erillisverkot Group said: "Erillisverkot wants to present new space technology solutions with partners such as OneWeb to Finnish public safety organisations. Erillisverkot and Finland are one of the global front runners when it comes to co-operation with public safety organisations. To achieve that they must have the state of the art solutions to work with. OneWeb LEO-service certainly meets those requirements." Finnish government agencies require assured and seamless levels in connectivity to maximise levels in situation awareness across northern Europe in order to support the full breadth of mission sets including search and rescue; disaster relief; intelligence-gathering; and crisis response. Dylan Browne, President OneWeb Government said: "OneWeb is delighted to present the capability of LEO satellite communications to enhance the connectivity of government agencies and enable sustainable, scalable connectivity where its most needed and it is our ambition to meet these requirements and provide a high-quality customer experience." OneWeb's new Service Demonstration Centre at Westcott Venture Park's Innovation Centre in Buckinghamshire, Great Britain, hosted the event which illustrated how OneWeb's network will provide secure, resilient, high speed and low latency Broadband Internet connectivity. OneWeb is an ecosystem comprising a constellation of 648 LEO satellites, ground gateways and user terminals which provide uninterrupted coverage to multi-domain platforms on land, in the air and at sea. Service starts in November 2021 above 50 degrees North in the Nordics, Arctic and will be rolled out globally during 2022. Finnish representatives witnessed how OneWeb will support data throughput up to 195mbps and roundtrip latency levels as low as 70ms. The demonstration also illustrated the seamless hand-over of signals from satellite to satellite and gateway to gateway. Supported by the UK Government, Eutelsat and Indian telecommunications provider, Bharti Global, OneWeb offers Government customers and enterprise partners solutions for all their defense and emergency response needs. About OneWeb OneWeb will enable connectivity for governments, businesses, and communities. It is implementing a constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites with a network of global gateway stations and a range of user terminals to provide an affordable, fast, high-bandwidth and low-latency communications service, connected to the IoT future and a pathway to 5G for everyone, everywhere. Find out more at http://www.oneweb.world/government About Erillisverkot Erillisverkot Group enables secure critical operations and communications in all circumstances. Erillisverkot provides the organizations responsible for the security and functionality of the society with mission critical services, software services for situational awareness and services securing critical infrastructure and communication. Erillisverkot is a wholly state-owned special-purpose company. For further information: www.erillisverkot.fi, social media @erillisverkot. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1475016/OneWeb_Logo.jpg Liknande lankar https://www.oneweb.net/ SOURCE OneWeb DUBLIN, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Commercial Radars Global Market Report 2021: COVID-19 Impact and Recovery to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report provides strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the global commercial radars market as it emerges from the COVID-19 shut down. The global commercial radars market is expected to grow from $9 billion in 2020 to $9.44 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.9%. The growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $11.26 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 4.5%. Reasons to Purchase Gain a truly global perspective with the most comprehensive report available on this market covering 12+ geographies. Understand how the market is being affected by the coronavirus and how it is likely to emerge and grow as the impact of the virus abates. Create regional and country strategies on the basis of local data and analysis. Identify growth segments for investment. Outperform competitors using forecast data and the drivers and trends shaping the market. Understand customers based on the latest market research findings. Benchmark performance against key competitors. Utilize the relationships between key data sets for superior strategizing. Suitable for supporting your internal and external presentations with reliable high quality data and analysis Where is the largest and fastest growing market for the commercial radars ? How does the market relate to the overall economy, demography and other similar markets? What forces will shape the market going forward? The Commercial Radar market global report answers all these questions and many more. The report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market's historic and forecast market growth by geography. It places the market within the context of the wider commercial radars market, and compares it with other markets. The market characteristics section of the report defines and explains the market. The market size section gives the market size ($b) covering both the historic growth of the market, the impact of the COVID-19 virus and forecasting its recovery. Market segmentations break down market into sub markets. The regional and country breakdowns section gives an analysis of the market in each geography and the size of the market by geography and compares their historic and forecast growth. It covers the impact and recovery trajectory of COVID-19 for all regions, key developed countries and major emerging markets. Competitive landscape gives a description of the competitive nature of the market, market shares, and a description of the leading companies. Key financial deals which have shaped the market in recent years are identified. The trends and strategies section analyses the shape of the market as it emerges from the crisis and suggests how companies can grow as the market recovers. The commercial radars market section of the report gives context. It compares the commercial radars market with other segments of the commercial radars market by size and growth, historic and forecast. Major players in the commercial radars market are TERMA, Hensoldt Inc., Detect Inc., Raytheon Technologies Corporation, NEC Corporation, Thales Group, Indra Sistemas SA, Easat Radar Systems Limited, Leonardo SpA, and Honeywell International Inc. The commercial radars market consists of sales of commercial radars by entities (organizations, sole traders or partnerships) that produce commercial radars. A commercial radar is a detection system used to detect presence, direction, distance, and speed of the aircrafts. The market includes maintenance services provided by aerospace support and auxiliary equipment manufacturers during the equipment's warranty period. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included. Technological advancements and innovations in surface movement and air surveillance radars are major opportunities for the commercial radars market in the aerospace sector. Improved safety is provided by surface movement radars as they monitor the movement of aircraft and vehicles, provide advice and assistance for the safe and efficient movement of aircraft and vehicles on the maneuvring area. In 2019, Terma introduced an enhanced surface movement radar (eSMR) with features that detect and classify various moving targets such as birds within and above the aerodrome manoeuvring area. In December 2019, ENAIRE installed a new air surveillance radar which is equipped with digital receivers, Mode S technology, and automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) redundant station, that provides information on aircraft altitude, air traffic, system malfunctioning in an aircraft, and other parameters in adverse weather conditions as well thereby making it easier to locate traffic within the range and enhancing safety. Thus technological advancements and innovations in surface movement and air surveillance radars that keep track of vehicular traffic, human movement are major opportunities for the commercial radars market. The commercial radars market covered in this report is segmented by type into commercial aircraft radars, commercial helicopters radars, business jets radars, UAV radars, by technology into quantum radar, conventional radar, software defined radar (SDR), by dimension into 2D, 3D, 4D, by application into surveillance radars, surface movement radars, precision approach radars, weather radars, others. In 2020, Raytheon Technologies Corporation, a US-based aerospace and defence company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide, merged with United Technologies for an undisclosed amount. The merger is expected to introduce breakthrough technologies at an accelerated pace across areas such as hypersonics, directed energy, avionics and cybersecurity. This would also create a giant, one-stop-shop with products that range from Tomahawk missiles and radar systems to jet engines and passenger planes. United Technologies, was a US-based multinational conglomerate. Increasing demand for drone detection systems (DDS) at airports is expected to drive the growth of the commercial radars market. Drones are dangerous for aircraft as they pose hazardous risks such as physical collision, and radio frequency interference which could lead to losing control over plane resulting in a crash. The cancellation, diversions and delaying of flights due to drones near airports pose a huge financial impact. In December 2018, due to multiple sightings of drones, within 30 hours, around 1000 flights were cancelled and delayed at Gatwick Airport. In 2019, Muscat International Airport has approved Aaronia's AARTOS DDS for drone detection in cooperation with R and N Khimji LLC which consists of RF, radar, camera and software. In 2020, Heathrow International Airport in the UK installed the AARTOS DDS which use the Aaronia's latest 3D model for the complete airport area (including buildings, bridges, towers, etc.). ASEAN international airports are also utilizing drone detection system. Thus the ever-increasing risks posed by drones to the aviation industry is increasing the demand for drone detection system which is expected to boost the market growth. Runway incursions pose a major challenge to the safety of aircraft and humans, which is expected to hinder the market growth of commercial radars during the forecast period. Runway incursions include incorrect placement of aircraft, vehicle, human, and any other objects near the area of landing or taking off of the aircraft. To increase the safety and reduce the damage caused by runway incursions, aviation authorities across the globe are focused to restrict the runway incursions through infrastructure improvements such as lighting, signage, marking, and configuration changes. In 2018, there were a total of 1832 runway incursions and in 2019, a total of 1760 runway incursions in the USA. In 2017, according to directors General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), there was a drastic increase in bird hit and animal strikes with aircraft in India with a total of 1125 incidents and a further increase in 2018 to 1244 incidents. Thus the decreased safety and increased damage caused by the runway incursions are expected to hinder the market growth during the forecast period. Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. Commercial Radars Market Characteristics 3. Commercial Radars Market Trends and Strategies 4. Impact of COVID-19 on Commercial Radars 5. Commercial Radars Market Size and Growth 6. Commercial Radars Market Segmentation 7. Commercial Radars Market Regional and Country Analysis 7.1. Global Commercial Radars Market, Split by Region, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion 7.2. Global Commercial Radars Market, Split by Country, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion 8. Asia-Pacific Commercial Radars Market 9. China Commercial Radars Market 10. India Commercial Radars Market 11. Japan Commercial Radars Market 12. Australia Commercial Radars Market 13. Indonesia Commercial Radars Market 14. South Korea Commercial Radars Market 15. Western Europe Commercial Radars Market 16. UK Commercial Radars Market 17. Germany Commercial Radars Market 18. France Commercial Radars Market 19. Eastern Europe Commercial Radars Market 20. Russia Commercial Radars Market 21. North America Commercial Radars Market 22. USA Commercial Radars Market 23. South America Commercial Radars Market 24. Brazil Commercial Radars Market 25. Middle East Commercial Radars Market 26. Africa Commercial Radars Market 27. Commercial Radars Market Competitive Landscape and Company Profiles 27.1. Commercial Radars Market Competitive Landscape 27.2. Commercial Radars Market Company Profiles 27.2.1. TERMA 27.2.1.1. Overview 27.2.1.2. Products and Services 27.2.1.3. Strategy 27.2.1.4. Financial Performance 27.2.2. Hensoldt Inc. 27.2.2.1. Overview 27.2.2.2. Products and Services 27.2.2.3. Strategy 27.2.2.4. Financial Performance 27.2.3. Detect Inc. 27.2.3.1. Overview 27.2.3.2. Products and Services 27.2.3.3. Strategy 27.2.3.4. Financial Performance 27.2.4. Raytheon Technologies Corporation 27.2.4.1. Overview 27.2.4.2. Products and Services 27.2.4.3. Strategy 27.2.4.4. Financial Performance 27.2.5. NEC Corporation 27.2.5.1. Overview 27.2.5.2. Products and Services 27.2.5.3. Strategy 27.2.5.4. Financial Performance 29. Key Mergers and Acquisitions in the Commercial Radars Market 29. Commercial Radars Market Future Outlook and Potential Analysis 30. Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/8tiujo Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com PODGORICA, Montenegro, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the license granted by the Montenegro Security Exchange Commission to provide investment services and perform investing activities, Adriatic Bank has announced the anticipated opening of its investment banking division. Among the services offered in the new division: investment consulting, transferring of funds to a varied range of investment venues, executing trading orders on markets, investment portfolio management, and more. "We are thrilled to announce this new venture we have set upon," commented Adriatic Bank's CEO, Mr. Djordje Lukic. "We have spent months recruiting the most trusted names in the field, to ensure our clients get nothing but top-notch service. We invite all of our clients to set up a meeting with one of our experts, to see how our team of professionals can help them take their investment portfolio to the next level." Investing with a trustworthy bank In compliance with article 26 of the Capital Market Law, Adriatic Bank has been granted full permission to deliver the services above effective immediately. Furthermore, the bank has also been authorized to provide additional related services, such as granting loans and credit for investment purposes, foreign currency business services linked to investments, holding and handling financial instruments on behalf of its clients, and more. "Not only can I promise our partner clients that they will receive the highest standard of investment services, they will also get it for the most competitive rates in the market today'', added Mr. Lukic. "Our belief as a financial institution has always been that our development process must be a direct result of our clients being able to fulfill themselves. That's the path we've walked upon from the day of our establishment, and that is not going to change in the future. Once again, I would like to thank our clients for choosing to work with us." About Adriatic Bank Established in 2016, Adriatic Bank continues to strive towards being one of the leading financial institutions in Montenegro, providing a full specter of services to its clients. As a universal commercial bank, Adriatic Bank provides a wide range of retail and corporate banking products and services. All clients can perform actions at the bank's branch in Podgorica, as well as through the bank's website and its unique mobile app . Among the services offered: Credit and debit card distribution, housing and car loans, savings accounts and money exchange services. SOURCE Adriatic Bank PHOENIX, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Advisor Group, the nation's largest network of independent wealth management firms, today announced that Securities America veteran Janine Wertheim will retire on July 30, 2021, after more than 37 years with the company. Most recently, Ms. Wertheim has served as President of Securities America Advisors, one of two registered investment adviser (RIA) entities within Securities America, the other being Arbor Point Advisors. Securities America is a subsidiary of Advisor Group, which also includes FSC Securities, Royal Alliance Associates, SagePoint Financial, Triad Advisors and Woodbury Financial Services. Ms. Wertheim, whose responsibilities will be transitioned to other members of the Advisor Group and Securities America leadership teams, joined Securities America in 1984. In the subsequent decades, she served in an array of leadership roles across the firm, championing the interests of independent financial professionals and passionately advocating for women in the wealth management industry throughout her career. Jim Nagengast, Chief Executive Officer and President of Securities America, said, "Janine's decision to retire from our firm and the industry marks the conclusion of a successful career as a valued member of the Securities America leadership team. She has been a terrific partner to me and a tireless advocate for the independent financial professionals we're privileged to serve. We admire her passion for empowering greater diversity across the industry and her many contributions to the growth of Securities America over the years, including her contributions following our merger with Advisor Group as part of its acquisition of Ladenburg Thalmann. We wish Janine all the best in her well-earned retirement." Ms. Wertheim said, "I am proud to have helped build one of the largest and most visible firms in the independent wealth management industry. It has been my privilege to take this incredible professional journey in partnership with the amazing people at our home office and the thousands of independent financial professionals who count on us to support their business success and drive an exceptional service experience for their clients. I'd like to say thank you to my colleagues at Securities America and Advisor Group, as well as our financial professionals across the country. Going forward, I have every confidence that Advisor Group, Securities America and the rest of the network firms are well positioned for continued growth and industry leadership." Jamie Price, President and Chief Executive Officer of Advisor Group, said, "We thank Janine for her decades of service to Securities America and her hard work in helping to build Securities America into the exceptional firm it is today. Notably, she helped found one of the first dual-registered RIAs in the independent wealth management industry and has performed almost every role at our broker-dealer and at Securities America Advisors. Janine will leave a long legacy, and we appreciate everything that she has accomplished for the broader network of Advisor Group firms, as well as for the entire wealth management industry through her efforts to support female executives and financial professionals. She is retiring from our organization with our deepest gratitude and best wishes." About Securities America Securities America is part of Advisor Group, the nation's largest networks of independent wealth management firms. Headquartered in Omaha and founded in 1984, Securities America supports approximately 3,200 independent financial professionals with innovative technology and wealth management platforms, practice management and business growth tools and a personalized service culture. The firm's flexible, multi-custodial approach supports a range of business models including Super OSJs, independent RIAs, RIA-only advisors, hybrid advisors and financial institutions. For more information visit https://www.securitiesamerica.com/. Securities offered through Securities America, Inc., member FINRA / SIPC. Advisory Services offered through Securities America Advisors, Inc. and Arbor Point Advisors, LLC. About Advisor Group Advisor Group, Inc. is the nation's largest network of independent wealth management firms, serving approximately 10,100 financial professionals and overseeing over $475 billion in client assets. The firm is mission-driven to support the strategic role that advisors can play in the lives of their clients. Cultivating a spirit of entrepreneurship and independence, Advisor Group champions the enduring value of financial professionals and is committed to being in their corner every step of the way. For more information visit https://www.advisorgroup.com. Securities and investment advisory services are offered through the firms: FSC Securities Corporation, Royal Alliance Associates, Inc., SagePoint Financial, Inc., Triad Advisors, LLC, and Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, and members of FINRA and SIPC. Securities are offered through Securities America, Inc., a broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. Advisory services are offered through Arbor Point Advisors, LLC, Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management, Inc., Securities America Advisors, Inc., and Triad Hybrid Solutions, LLC, registered investment advisers. Advisory programs offered by FSC Securities Corporation, Royal Alliance Associates, Inc., SagePoint Financial, Inc., and Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., are sponsored by VISION2020 Wealth Management Corp., an affiliated registered investment adviser. Advisor Group, Inc. is an affiliate of these firms. 20 E. Thomas Rd., Ste. 2000, Phoenix, AZ, 85012. 866.481.0379. Media Inquiries Joseph Kuo / Chris Clemens Haven Tower Group 424 317 4851 or 424 317 4854 [email protected] or [email protected] SOURCE Advisor Group Related Links http://www.advisorgroup.com The findings from the Survey launched today to mark World Environment Day 2021 (5 June) also revealed globally that overtourism, and pollution of beaches and waterways are the top two concerns of the impact of tourism, with deforestation and energy inefficiencies (including overconsumption of electricity/water) ranking joint third. Governments considered most responsible for making changes to make travel more sustainable Globally, the public considers Governments most accountable for making positive environmental changes around travel, followed by tourism authorities and individuals themselves. When it came to holding governments most accountable, those in Indonesia and UK were most likely to do so (36%), Mainland China followed not too far behind at 33%, with Australia and Malaysia in fourth and fifth spot (28% and 27% respectively). The markets most likely to cite themselves or individuals as most responsible for making changes to traveling sustainably were Thailand (30%), Japan (29%) and the US (28%). Meanwhile, Mainland China (11%), the UK (13%), and Vietnam (14%) were least likely to attribute responsibility to the individual. When asked what they would pledge to do better in a post COVID travel scenario, the top responses globally were #1 manage their waste including using less single-use plastics, #2 switch off the air con and lights when leaving their accommodation, and #3 always look for eco-friendly accommodation. Interestingly, despite overtourism being the biggest concern, going to lesser-known destinations only ranked seventh of out of 10 as a pledge to do better. No 'one size fits all for' sustainability The top practices most associated with environmentally friendly or sustainable travel are #1 renewable energy and resources like solar, wind, hydroelectric and water, #2 no single-use plastics, joint number #3 animal conservation and creating a smaller carbon footprint. Other energy saving solutions such as key cards or motion sensors, using natural cleaning products are the other key practices. Interestingly, buying locally sourced products, reusing bedding or towels during holiday stays and visiting off-the-beaten track destinations are the bottom three practices out of 10 associated with sustainable travel. "We can see from the Agoda Sustainable Travel Trends Survey that the messages of taking simple steps such as switching off lights and air conditioning when leaving the room or reducing waste by minimizing use of single-use plastics are being embraced by the public across the globe. What is also clear is that while globally the message is Governments need to take the lead on managing sustainable travel, there is recognition that some responsibility lies with people's own behavior," explains John Brown, CEO Agoda. "While there are different interpretations of what practices are eco-friendly or sustainable, most of the public are keen to be able to do their part, by actively pledging to choose eco-friendly properties or make smarter environmental choices when traveling. One of the easiest ways to counter concerns about overtourism is to consider traveling to off the beaten track destinations. This past year at Agoda, we have seen a shift in travel patterns as people, limited to domestic travel, explore lesser-known areas. If managed well, not only does this help support independent hoteliers and accommodation providers that rely economically on the tourist dollar, it can help lessen the environmental burden on overcrowded areas. "As an industry, we need to continue to find ways to help individuals achieve these goals be it making it easier to search and find sustainable properties on Agoda or supporting and encouraging more partners to use key cards for power, use renewable energy sources or offering carbon-offsetting options for travel products." continued Brown. COVID negatively impacts attitudes to sustainable travel The increase in desire to travel more sustainably was most prevalent among respondents from South Korea, India and Taiwan, 35%, 31% and 31% respectively. However, looking at the figures globally, while 25% have an increased desire to travel more sustainably this compares with 35% whose desire to do so decreased. The markets reporting the biggest proportional decrease were Indonesia (56%), Thailand (51%) and the Philippines (50%). "It's concerning that many people see sustainable travel as less important today than they did before COVID-19, but I hope that is just a short-term effect, driven by people's thirst to get back out there and travel any way they can," John Brown concluded. US More Americans are most concerned about polluted beaches, followed by overtoursim, and energy inefficiencies. Americans take complete accountability, with 28% claiming they themselves are responsible for making changes around tourism to make traveling more sustainable, followed by both tourism authorities and Governments tied at 16% US top pledges to travel more sustainably post-Covid are #1 switch off air conditioner and lights when leaving their hotel room, #2 reuse hotel amenities such as towels or bedding and joint #3 shopping local or independent businesses and managing their waste #3 shopping local or independent businesses and managing their waste Practices that are considered most helpful to travel sustainably by Americans are accommodations using renewable energy or water source, key cards to power electricity in an accommodation, and destinations that are not high-density tourist spots What do they associate with sustainable travel? Use of renewable energy 36%, energy saving 26%, no single use plastics and buying local both tie at 25% Use of renewable energy 36%, energy saving 26%, no single use plastics and buying local both tie at 25% The additional measures to help make travel more sustainable according to Americans are easy identification of eco-friendly travel options, limiting use of single-use plastic in airlines or accommodations, and financial incentives to accommodation providers who maximize energy efficiency Diving deep into the data On additional measures: While making it compulsory for travelers to pay a sum for carbon off-setting is selected by the least as a measure that could be implemented to make travel more sustainable, respondents in India were most likely to support this concept, versus Mainland China which is the market least likely to do so, followed by US and Taiwan markets. were most likely to support this concept, versus which is the market least likely to do so, followed by US and markets. Taiwan , Singapore , Thailand , Mainland China and Australia are the markets most likely to suggest financial incentives for accommodation providers who maximize energy efficiency , , , and are the markets most likely to suggest financial incentives for accommodation providers who maximize energy efficiency Japan is the market least likely to recommend more protected areas to limit tourist numbers followed by South Korea and the US. Meanwhile, the Philippines , Indonesia and Malaysia markets are most likely to is the market least likely to recommend more protected areas to limit tourist numbers followed by and the US. Meanwhile, , and markets are most likely to UK tops the list as the market most likely to support limiting use of single-use plastics in airlines or accommodation, closely followed by Australia , Indonesia , and the Philippines . Mainland China , Taiwan , the US and Japan are least likely to suggest this measure , , and . , , the US and are least likely to suggest this measure Malaysian, Filipinos and Indonesians are most favorable for easy identification of sustainable or eco-friendly travel options, such as flagging with an environmental tag on a digital travel platform. While still their number one measure overall, US and Japan are the bottom two markets for such identification are the bottom two markets for such identification Removal of single-use bathroom amenities is most favored by Taiwan , Japan and UK On responsibility for change to make travel more sustainable: All generations selected governments as the top response for who is most responsible except for the Silent Gen (those born before 1946), who has the largest proportion which consider individuals as most responsible Men are marginally more likely to cite governments as most responsible (28%), followed by tourism authorities (21%) and Themselves (20%). An equal portion of women hold government and tourism authorities as most responsible (25%), followed by themselves, (19%). On Pledges for more sustainable travel Global Top Ten pledges to travel more sustainably Manage my waste during my travel period (e.g., use less single-use plastics) Switch the air conditioner and lights off when I leave my room Always look for eco-friendly accommodation Try to manage my carbon footprint (e.g., taking most journeys by bus, train or boat, or paying for a carbon offset) Do my part to reuse hotel amenities such as towels or bedding Shop local/choose independent businesses Going to lesser-known destinations Pick up litter when I visit the beach Requesting for no toiletries in the room as I can bring my own Use reef-friendly products on beach trips Philippines , Malaysia and India are most likely of all markets to pledge to look for eco-friendly accommodation , and are most likely of all markets to pledge to look for eco-friendly accommodation Singapore , UK and Australia are the markets most likely to pledge to reuse hotel amenities such as towels and bedding, compared to Indonesia , Philippines , Mainland China and Thailand which are the least likely to , UK and are the markets most likely to pledge to reuse hotel amenities such as towels and bedding, compared to , , and which are the least likely to Indonesia , Philippines and Malaysia most likely to pledge to go to lesser-known destinations to travel more sustainably, with Japan , UK and Taiwan least likely to , and most likely to pledge to go to lesser-known destinations to travel more sustainably, with , UK and least likely to While managing waste including using less single-use plastics is a top three pledge for all markets, South Korea , Thailand and Philippines are the markets most likely to pledge this , and are the markets most likely to pledge this Despite pollution of waterways being cited as the number two concern for the impact of travel, picking up litter off beaches ranks only #8 out of 10 in pledges to travel more sustainably, with only 18% pledging to do so Vietnam , Thailand , Indonesia , Philippines and Mainland China are top markets to pledge to pick up litter when visiting the beach. Respondents in Singapore , Taiwan and Japan are least likely to , , , and are top markets to pledge to pick up litter when visiting the beach. Respondents in , and are least likely to Shopping local is at #6 in the pledges with Australia (35%), UK (31%) and US (28%) most likely to pledge this, and Japan (5%), Mainland China (9%) and Taiwan (11%) least likely to (35%), UK (31%) and US (28%) most likely to pledge this, and (5%), (9%) and (11%) least likely to Higher percentage of women pledge to manage waste (44% versus 40%) and switched off aircon/lights (44% versus 36%) than men Bottom five pledges globally from last - using reef friendly products on beach trips (14%), requesting no toiletries as can bring my own (17%), picking up litter when visiting the beach (18%) going to lesser-known destinations (19%), and shopping local (21%) While both women and men's top three pledges are the same, women's top four is rounded out by a pledge to reuse hotel amenities, versus men who pledge bigger actions such as trying to manage carbon footprint in their fourth spot Singaporeans are more likely to pledge to switch off aircon and lights when they leave the room and reuse amenities, compared to other markets Philippines (49%), Malaysia (43%) and India (42%) are most likely to always look for eco-friendly accommodation when they travel post COVID-19 (49%), (43%) and (42%) are most likely to always look for eco-friendly accommodation when they travel post COVID-19 Conversely, public in the UK (14%), Mainland China (17%), US (17%), Japan (18%) and South Korea (18%) are least likely to look for eco-friendly accommodation as a pledge SOURCE Agoda Related Links https://www.agoda.com/ STAMFORD, Conn., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Aircastle Limited ("Aircastle") announced today the pricing of its offering of 400,000 depositary shares, each representing a 1/1,000th interest in a share of its 5.250% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preference Shares, par value $0.01 per share and $1,000,000 liquidation preference per share (equivalent to $1,000 per depositary share) (the "Series A Preference Shares"). Aircastle plans to use the net proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes, which may include the repayment, refinancing or redemption of its existing indebtedness. The offering is expected to close on June 8, 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The depositary shares were offered in the United States to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and outside the United States pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act. The depositary shares have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act and may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Series A Preference Shares or depositary shares nor does it constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. About Aircastle Limited Aircastle Limited acquires, leases and sells commercial jet aircraft to airlines throughout the world. As of February 28, 2021, Aircastle owned and managed on behalf of its joint ventures 261 aircraft leased to 75 customers located in 43 countries. Safe Harbor Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, our intention to consummate the offering and issue the Series A Preference Shares and depositary shares, our expectations regarding the number of depositary shares to be sold and the expected closing date of the offering, and the intended use of proceeds of the offering. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "believes," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "seeks," "estimates" and variations on these words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. The consummation of the offering is subject to market conditions and other factors that are beyond our control. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that the offering will be completed on the contemplated terms or at all and you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements contained in this press release. For a discussion of some of the risks and important factors that could affect such forward-looking statements, see Aircastle's filings with the SEC and previously disclosed under "Risk Factors" in Aircastle's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended February 28, 2021. In addition, new risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for Aircastle to predict or assess the impact of every factor that may cause its actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Aircastle expressly disclaims any obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement to reflect future events or circumstances. Contacts: Aircastle Advisor LLC Frank Constantinople, SVP Investor Relations Tel: +1-203-504-1063 [email protected] SOURCE Aircastle Limited Related Links http://www.aircastle.com CALABASAS, Calif., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) (the "Company"), a leading provider of high-quality single-family homes for rent, today announced that members of the Company's management team will participate in a roundtable discussion during Nareit's REITweek: 2021 Virtual Investor Conference on Wednesday, June 9, 2021 at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time. After market close on June 7, 2021, the Company will post an updated investor presentation to its website, www.ah4r.com, in the Investor Relations section. About American Homes 4 Rent American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) is a leader in the single-family home rental industry and "American Homes 4 Rent" is fast becoming a nationally recognized brand for rental homes, known for high-quality, good value and tenant satisfaction. We are an internally managed Maryland real estate investment trust, or REIT, focused on acquiring, developing, renovating, leasing, and operating attractive, single-family homes as rental properties. As of March 31, 2021, we owned 53,984 single-family properties in selected submarkets in 22 states. Additional information about American Homes 4 Rent is available on our website at www.americanhomes4rent.com. Contacts: American Homes 4 Rent Investor Relations Phone: (855) 794-2447 Email: [email protected] American Homes 4 Rent Media Relations Phone: (805) 413-5088 Email: [email protected] SOURCE American Homes 4 Rent Related Links https://www.americanhomes4rent.com LIEGE, Belgium, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Amyl Therapeutics ('Amyl'), a preclinical stage biotechnology company developing its amyloid fibrils specific technology platform named ClariTY for the treatment of all forms of Amyloidosis, today announced that it has successfully closed a 18.3 million Series A financing. The funding round comprises 8.6 million in equity led by Noshaq - a regional Belgian private-public fund - with support from Merieux Participations, Sambrinvest and other private investors; and 9.7 million in non-dilutive funding from the DG06 a key policy-design and implementing body for research and innovation policy in the Walloon region of Belgium. Dr. Pierre Vandepapeliere, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Medical Officer (CMO), and Dr. Karine Goraj, Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), both veterans in the field of pharmaceutical development, will lead the team. Amyl will use the funds to progress the discovery and preclinical development of therapeutic candidates that are able to target multiple misfolded proteins implicated in both progressive peripheral and neurodegenerative rare diseases. With the funds raised Amyl Therapeutics expects to generate strong preclinical proof of concept for its lead therapeutic candidates and to set up a production process as part of its clinical readiness. Amyloidosis is a group of diseases characterized by an endogenous production of misfolded proteins that aggregate as insoluble amyloid fibrils and form deposits in various organs and tissues, resulting in organ dysfunction, serious morbidity and even death. More than 30 of such proteins have been identified as amyloid precursors in humans. These are grouped into localized forms, and systemic ones with the most common types of systemic amyloidosis being: "light chain" (AL) amyloidosis, hereditary and old age transthyretin (ATTR) amyloidosis and inflammatory amyloidosis with protein A (AA). There are currently between 30,000 and 45,000 patients suffering from AL amyloidosis in the USA and Europe, which is the most common form of the disease, affecting about 70% of all patients diagnosed with systemic amyloidosis. At present, there is no effective treatment for established amyloidosis diseases. Dr. Pierre Vandepapeliere, Co-Founder, CEO and CMO of Amyl Therapeutics, said "We are excited to have raised this Series A financing from a syndicate of high-quality and international investors. The ClariTY platform offers the unique opportunity to generate therapeutic candidates able to target all amyloid fibril deposits, a key cause of amyloidosis. We believe novel therapies with this profile will represent a major advance in the treatment of diseases caused by amyloid fibrils and will have a significant competitive advantage." Dr. Karine Goraj, CSO of Amyl Therapeutics, said "The ClariTY platform provides a unique and powerful tool for treating amyloidosis, for which treatment options are very limited today. By developing therapeutic solutions that could not only stop progression but also remove existing amyloid deposits in organs, we hope to be part of the solution to treat a large populations of Amyloidosis patients." Gaetan Servais, CEO of Noshaq, added "Our equity investment in Amyl represents a significant opportunity to participate in the development of what we believe is an exciting technology for the treatment of Amyloidosis. We are pleased to welcome the Company to set up its operations in Liege with the objective of fostering collaborations with other players in the region." Dr. Valerie Calenda, Managing Partner at Merieux Equity Partners, commented "We are pleased to support such a great team and to get the opportunity to bring new drug candidates against these diseases into clinical development." "Investing in Amyl Therapeutics alongside Noshaq and other partner funds was a no brainer. We have faith in the management and their team to find effective treatments to tackle all forms of Amyloidosis," adds Helena Pozios, Head of Biotech at Sambrinvest. Following the closing of the financing, Dr. Pierre Vandepapeliere (Amyl's Co-Founder, CEO and CMO), Florent Gros (Amyl's Co-Founder and Chairman), Dr. Valerie Calenda (Managing Partner at Merieux Equity Partners), Kenneth Buckfire (President of Miller Buckfire & Co.) and Amel Tounsi (Investment Manager at Noshaq) have joined the Board of Directors. About Amyl Therapeutics - www.AmylTx.com Amyl Therapeutics uses a novel mechanism to bind to the amyloid fold of toxic protein aggregates of various types, including antibody light chain (AL) or transthyretin (TTR) aggregates, which accumulate in peripheral organs to cause systemic amyloidosis diseases, but also amyloid- (A), Tau, and -synuclein aggregates, which accumulate in the brain to cause Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Therapies based on the ClariTY technology platform are designed to prevent the further accumulation of aggregates and clear existing aggregates from the peripheral organs and the brain, while also blocking further cell-to-cell spread of misfolded proteins. These therapies may offer a breakthrough approach to treat protein misfolding diseases. Headquartered in Liege, Belgium, Amyl Therapeutics was founded in November 2020 by Drs. Florent Gros and Pierre Vandepapeliere. Founding investors are Noshaq, Merieux Participations, Smedvig Funds, Ifoghas investments, JFG Life Science Foundation, Mr. Kenneth Buckfire and 6K Venture Capital. About Noshaq - www.noshaq.be Noshaq is a Belgian investment fund and project developer with a portfolio of 464 companies and 600 million euros of resources. Noshaq is the reference financial partner for the creation and development of SMEs in the Liege Region (Wallonia). Over the years, Noshaq has developed a range of financing vehicles in line with the needs and trends of the market and its strategy. Each service offered by Noshaq (capital - loan - leasing) is always determined according to the demand and needs of the owner-investor. The objective is always to have a leverage effect on the company's development. About Sambrinvest - www.sambrinvest.be With over 35 years of experience working alongside companies and entrepreneurs, more than 280 portfolio companies and 170 million euros in assets under management, Sambrinvest is a major venture capital player in Wallonia. More than an investment fund, Sambrinvest is also a catalyst for the development of local ecosystems, such as biotech, digital and engineering. About Merieux Equity Partners - www.merieux-partners.com Merieux Participations is managed by Merieux Equity Partners ("MxEP"). MxEP is a management company accredited by the French Financial Markets Authority and dedicated to equity investments in the health and nutrition sector. MxEP actively supports entrepreneurs and companies with differentiated products and services, giving them privileged access to its sector expertise and international network. MxEP currently manages over 1 billion in assets and has just launched its fifth vehicle, dedicated to growth capital/LBO investments, with a target size of 500 million. Contacts: Amyl Therapeutics Dr Pierre Vandepapeliere, CEO E: [email protected] Citigate Dewe Rogerson Sylvie Berrebi, Nathaniel Dahan PhD E: [email protected] T: +44 (0)7714 306525 SOURCE Amyl Therapeutics CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2021 APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (APWG eCrime 2021), convenes on December 1-3 this year, coming after a historic pandemic that brought with it a cybercrime wave that tested the skills of responders and cyber forensicists across the globe, an unprecedented onslaught of criminality that APWG believes will inspire keystone new research at eCrime 2021. Bringing fresh eyes to the unfolding advance of cybercrime in this landmark year is a vital, new management team for APWG eCrime 2021. Alice Hutchings, a University Lecturer in the Security Group at the Computer Laboratory, a Fellow of King's College and Deputy-Director of the Cambridge Cybercrime Centre. APWG has appointed University of Cambridge's Alice Hutchings, a University Lecturer in the Security Group at the Computer Laboratory, a Fellow of King's College and Deputy-Director of the Cambridge Cybercrime Centre, as the General Chair of the symposium. University of Ottawa's Guy-Vincent Jourdan, a full professor and program coordinator for cybersecurity at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and an inaugurating research fellow of the APWG Crypto Currency Working Group, will assist in the development of the symposium this year as Program Chair. Dr. Jourdan, considering the focus of this year's symposium, said, "The last 12 months have been unprecedented in cybercrime activities, arising from the COVID pandemic and increased activities in extremist communities. We anticipate that these will be some of the themes of this year's eCrime papers. "We also anticipate to witness ever-increasing sophistication in research using machine learning for classifying and detecting cybercrimes. Of course, cryptocurrencies - cryptocurrency-based crimes - are also in everyone's mind, so we expect to see some good communications on that topic as well," Dr Jourdan said. This, the 16th Symposium on Electronic Crime Research, consists of a three-day virtual program (teleconferencing details TBA) composed of keynote presentations, technical and practical sessions, and interactive panels. An overarching goal of these meetings is bringing together academic researchers, industry security practitioners, and law enforcement to discuss and exchange ideas, experiences and lessons learned combating cybercrime. Submission topics include but are not limited to: Detecting and/or mitigating eCrime (e.g. online fraud, malware, phishing, ransomware, etc.) Measuring and modeling of eCrime Economics of online crime eCrime delivery strategies and countermeasures (e.g. spam, mobile apps, social engineering, etc.) Security assessments of mobile devices Behavioral aspects of cybercrime victimization and prevention Public Policy and Law for online crime Papers should be submitted at: https://ecrime2021.hotcrp.com/ Instructions for authors are available on the conference webpage, see: https://apwg.org/eCrime2021/#cfp Accepted papers will be published in proceedings with IEEE. In addition, cash awards will be given for the best paper overall and the best student co-authored paper. We anticipate the conference will be held online this year. Symposium notes: https://apwg.org/ecrime2021/ Important Dates: Full Papers registration and submission due: September 10, 2021 Conference: December 1-3, 2021 Organizing Committee General Chair: Alice Hutchings, University of Cambridge https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~ah793/ Program Chair: Guy-Vincent Jourdan, University of Ottawa https://www.site.uottawa.ca/~gvj/ Program Committee: Adam Oest, PayPal Anshul Rege, Temple University Daniel R. Thomas, University of Strathclyde Enrico Mariconti, University College London Federico Maggi, Trend Micro Hossein Siadati, Google Inc. Jonathan Clough, Monash University Qian Cui, Amazon AWS Lisa Sugiura, University of Portsmouth Luca Allodi, Eindhoven University of Technology Marianne Junger, University of Twente Markus Jakobsson, ZapFraud Moury Bidgoli, Pennsylvania State University Nektarios Leontiadis, Facebook Platon Kotzias, NortonLifeLock Research Group Rebekah Overdorf, EPFL Sergio Pastrana, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid Shuang Hao, UT Dallas Timothy Barron, Yale University Tyler Moore, University of Tulsa Yun Shen, NortonLifeLock Research Group Zhibo Sun, Arizona State University Media Contacts: Foy Shiver, 404-434-7282, [email protected] (conference development) and; Peter Cassidy, 617-669-1123 (research development) About the APWG Symposium on Electronic Crime Research and the APWG The Symposium on Electronic Crime Research (APWG eCrime), founded in 2006 as the eCrime Researchers Summit, is an annual peer-reviewed conference featuring a comprehensive venue to present basic and applied research into electronic crime and engaging every aspect of its evolution - as well as technologies and techniques for eCrime detection, related forensics and prevention. Since then, what had been an initially technology-focused conference has incrementally expanded its focus to cover behavioral, social, economic, and legal / policy dimensions as well as technical aspects of cybercrime, following the interests of our correspondent investigators, the symposium's managers as well as the guidance of APWG's own directors and steering committee members. Scores of papers exploring these dimensions of cybercrime at APWG eCrime have been published by the IEEE as well as by Taylor & Francis and the Association of Computing Machinery (in the very earliest years of this conference). With its multi-disciplinary approach, APWG eCrime every year brings together the most heterogeneous community of counter-eCrime researchers and industrial stakeholders to confer over the latest research and to foster collaborations between the leading investigators in this still-nascent field of cybercrime studies. The founding of APWG eCrime stemmed from the directors' early interaction with the researchers who turned to cybercrime problem spaces as a vector for rigorous scientific inquiry, many of whom needed event data to fortify and inform their research regimes. Founded in 2003, the Anti-Phishing Working Group, (APWG) is the global industry, law enforcement, and government coalition focused on unifying the global response to electronic crime. Membership is open to qualified financial institutions, online retailers, ISPs, ESPs, domain name registrars and registries, and telcos, the law enforcement community, solutions providers, security services providers, multi-lateral treaty organizations, research centers, trade associations and government agencies. There are more than 2,000 companies, government agencies and NGOs participating in APWG worldwide. APWG's www.apwg.org and education.apwg.org websites offer the public, industry and government agencies practical information about phishing and electronically mediated fraud as well as pointers to pragmatic technical solutions that provide immediate protection. The APWG is co-founder and co-manager of the STOP. THINK. CONNECT. Messaging Convention, the global online safety public awareness collaborative and founder/curator of the Symposium on Electronic Crime Research, the world's only peer-reviewed conference dedicated specifically to electronic crime studies. APWG advises hemispheric and global trade groups and multilateral treaty organizations such as the European Commission, the G8 High Technology Crime Subgroup, Council of Europe's Convention on Cybercrime, United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Europol EC3 and the Organization of American States. APWG is a founding member of the steering group of the Commonwealth Cybercrime Initiative at the Commonwealth of Nations. Among APWG's corporate sponsors are: Acronis, Afilias, AGARI, AhnLab, AT&T, Allure Security, AREA 1, AIT, Avast, Awayr AI, AXUR, Bolster, ByteDance, CaixaBank, Check Point, Cisco, CLARO, Cloudflare, CLOUDMARK, COFENSE, Coinbase, Comcast, CSC, CSIRT BANELCO, CSIS, CYREN, Cyxtera, CZ.NIC, DigiCert, DNS Belgium, DomianTools, Entrust Datacard, ESET, Facebook, FirstRand, Fortinet, FraudWatch, GetResponse, GMS Securidad, GoDaddy Registry, Group-IB, Hitachi Systems, ICANN, Infoblox, Ingressum, IQ Global, iThreat, Kaspersky, KnowBe4, Lenos Software, LINE, Looking Glass, LSEC, Mailshell, McAfee, Microsoft, Mimecast, NAVER, Netcraft, NetSTAR, Noblis, Nominet, Opera, OpSec Security, Palo Alto Networks, PANDI, PayPal, Phishlabs, Proofpoint, Rakuten, Red Sift, REDIRIS, RiskIQ, RSA, Salesforce, Secutec, SIDN, SlashNext, Sopos, SWITCH, Symantec, Thomsen Trampedach, ThreatSTOP, TNO, TrendMicro, Trustwave, Twilio, Vade, Verisign, Viettel Cyber Security, Webroot, workday, zeroFox, ZibaSec, ZIX, ZVELO. Related Images alice-hutchings-university-of.jpg Alice Hutchings, University of Cambridge Lecturer in the Security Group at the Computer Laboratory Alice Hutchings, a University Lecturer in the Security Group at the Computer Laboratory, a Fellow of King's College and Deputy-Director of the Cambridge Cybercrime Centre. university-of-ottawas-guy-vincent.jpg University of Ottawa's Guy-Vincent Jourdan Guy-Vincent Jourdan, professor and program coordinator for cybersecurity at University of Ottawa's School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and an inaugurating research fellow of the APWG Crypto Currency Working Group ecrime-2021-is-the-16th-annual.png eCrime 2021 is the 16th annual edition of the global cybercrime research symposium eCrime 2021 is the 16th annual edition of the global cybercrime research symposium SOURCE APWG Although the gator bit him as soon as Heim resurfaced, he said the gator lost interest and he was able to swim back to the shore. PHOENIX, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Assisted Living Locators, a nationwide senior placement and referral service, annually "goes purple" to support Alzheimer's & Brain Awareness Month. The company 140 franchisees across the U.S. join the movement by taking the Purple Pledge and this year, will participate as a Walk To End Alzheimer's National Team to raise funds to fight Alzheimer's. The color purple has been chosen to help raise Alzheimer's awareness as The Alzheimer's Association encourages people to "Go Purple with a Purpose" throughout June. Fundraising efforts take place on the longest day of the year, June 21. The event shines light on the 5.7 million Americans living with Alzheimer's disease and the more than 16 million family members and friends providing care and support. "In support of the Alzheimer's care and research, Assisted Living Locators franchisees are recruiting community members to participate in their upcoming local Walk days and expect to raise thousands of dollars in their fundraising events," said Angela Olea, Assisted Living Locators CEO RN. "Our senior care advisors are on the front lines, providing much-needed support services to individuals living with Alzheimer's and educating their caregivers. We see the impact this disease has on families and are dedicated to Alzheimer's care, support and research." Olea noted that her company is the first nationwide senior placement service to achieve system-wide dementia care-certification to help families affected by Alzheimer's find at no cost, independent living, assisted living, and memory care options. "We are making a positive difference every day by finding facilities that are best suited for these individuals," she added. During Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month, Assisted Living Locators will also show the power of purple by changing its company logo to purple on its corporate website and franchisee social media channels to show solidarity for those with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. The company's senior care advisors wear purple and share photos on social media, as well as participate in Longest Day fund-raising and dementia care education events. To join Assisted Living Locators' Walk to End Alzheimer's team, visit www.alz.org/assistedlivinglocators. If have questions about dementia care, speak to an Assisted Living Locators Senior Care Advisor at 877-266-7788 or visit www.assistedlivinglocators.com. SOURCE Assisted Living Locators Related Links http://www.assistedlivinglocators.com LOS ANGELES, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- B2B International, the leading global B2B market research firm and part of Merkle B2B, is leveraging tenured expertise to support the company's US growth ambitions with the promotion of Matthew Powell. Powell, who previously served as managing director of B2B International's London office, has been promoted to the role of vice president and executive director, North America, leading B2B International's Los Angeles office. In this new role, he will be responsible for spearheading growth in the West Coast market while overseeing the B2B International research team in LA. Julia Doheny, president, B2B International North America, said, "The West Coast accounts for a substantial proportion of our revenue with many key finance and tech clients in the region. We're delighted to have Matthew's wealth of experience and expertise to help drive continued growth and success for our clients here in the US." Powell commented; "I'm thrilled to be joining our North America business and look forward to the opportunity to work closely with our clients in the West Coast market." He added, "It is an exciting time in the B2B space with many companies seeking to strengthen their brand, differentiate the customer experience, or create products and solutions based around a human need. Our strategic insights lie at the intersection of these decisions." Powell has been at B2B International for 17 years. He started at the company as a member of the in-house fieldwork team in Greater Manchester, UK. From there, he took on various management roles within B2B International's UK and China locations, before rising to managing director of B2B International, London, to expand the company's client portfolio in the UK capital and join the company's global leadership team. Powell's experience in B2B market research spans global segmentation programs, brand health trackers, customer journey and customer experience (CX) studies, and research to inform B2B thought leadership. He has worked with many large global brands including Digital Realty, JLL, Zebra Technologies, and Tetra Pak. In his new role, Powell will continue to support the biggest names in the B2B sector, as well as develop new business opportunities. Powell has dedicated his career to helping clients create ultimate B2B experiences through tailored research programs. Through the years, he has also been essential in positioning B2B International as a thought leader in the B2B arena. Some of his authored pieces include "New Horizons: B2B CMO Guide to Navigating Complexity" and "The Generational Differences in B2B Decision-Making." To learn more about B2B International, please visit https://www.b2binternational.com/. About Merkle Merkle is a leading data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company that specializes in the delivery of unique, personalized customer experiences across platforms and devices. For more than 30 years, Fortune 1000 companies and leading nonprofit organizations have partnered with Merkle to maximize the value of their customer portfolios. The company's heritage in data, technology, and analytics forms the foundation for its unmatched skills in understanding consumer insights that drive hyper-personalized marketing strategies. Its combined strengths in performance media, customer experience, customer relationship management, loyalty, and enterprise marketing technology drive improved marketing results and competitive advantage. With 12,000 employees, Merkle is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, with 50+ additional offices throughout the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. Merkle is a dentsu company. For more information, contact Merkle at 1-877-9-Merkle or visit www.merkleinc.com. SOURCE B2B International Related Links https://www.b2binternational.com ZUG, Switzerland, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bitcoin Association, the Switzerland-based global industry organisation that works to advance business with the Bitcoin SV (BSV) blockchain, today announces that it has for the first time appointed Bitcoin Association Ambassadors for Switzerland and the United Kingdom as part of its global ambassador programme. Bernhard Muller has been appointed as a Bitcoin Association Ambassador for Switzerland and Michael Hudson appointed as an Ambassador for the United Kingdom. Bitcoin Association Ambassadors are experienced professionals from the BSV ecosystem who work to raise awareness and improve understanding of the BSV blockchain and digital currency, as well as the power of the original Bitcoin protocol to support a massively scaled distributed data network for both peer-to-peer electronic cash payments and enterprise blockchain applications. With today's additions, there are now 24 Bitcoin Association Ambassadors representing 25 different countries and territories. Bernhard Muller is the founder and chairman of Centi AG, a BSV payments processor offering solutions that enable merchants to accept digital currency payments through existing Point of Sale (POS) infrastructure. Prior to founding Centi, Muller held senior engineering and development roles for a major multinational pharmaceuticals conglomerate, as well as a management position with a leading fintech firm. Michael Hudson is the founder and CEO of Bitstocks, the City of London's first Bitcoin market advisory and digital asset investment firm. Founded in 2014, Bitstocks now boasts a team of 30 market-leading professionals operating from its central London headquarters. As part of its journey to demystify Bitcoin for everyday people, Bitstocks has created Gravity, a digital ecosystem of everyday financial products and services built using the BSV blockchain. Gravity allows users to easily buy, sell and store BSV (and other digital assets), with more services coming as part of a mission to give users more financial sovereignty and support the evolution of human sustainability. Speaking on today's announcement, Bitcoin Association Founding President Jimmy Nguyen, commented: "The BSV growth story continues to develop all around the globe, necessitating the addition of two new Bitcoin Association Ambassadors to our international team. Both Bernhard and Michael have demonstrated a deep understanding of the power of Bitcoin when it is allowed to scale as Satoshi Nakamoto envisioned - to be world's most efficient digital payment system and data protocol. They are both highly professional voices who speak from personal experience building innovative businesses using the BSV blockchain. But beyond the success they have enjoyed in their business lives, they have been excellent advocates for BSV in both the blockchain and broader business communities, experience that will make them excellent Bitcoin Association Ambassadors." Speaking on his appointment as a Bitcoin Association Ambassador for Switzerland, Bernhard Muller, said: "In my own way, I have been an ambassador for Bitcoin's true vision since the day I first learned about it; becoming a Bitcoin Association Ambassador for Switzerland is a natural continuation of the many, many hours I have already spent consulting, discussing and evangelising Bitcoin now best realized by BSV. It is with pleasure that I accept this opportunity to join a leading global organisation in Bitcoin Association and the ranks of the fantastic ambassadors that represent it." Speaking on his appointment as a Bitcoin Association Ambassador for the United Kingdom, Michael Hudson, said: "It is truly an honour to be selected as the first Bitcoin Association Ambassador for the United Kingdom. At Bitstocks, we've been forging ahead with our mission for seven years and will continue to educate, empower & evolve the fintech industry, as the world continues to understand the power and benefits of Satoshi's Vision. I look forward to working together with Bitcoin Association to further this aim." About Bitcoin Association Bitcoin Association is the Switzerland-based global industry organization that works to advance business on the Bitcoin SV blockchain. It brings together essential components of the Bitcoin SV ecosystem enterprises, start-up ventures, developers, merchants, exchanges, service providers, blockchain transaction processors (miners), and others working alongside them, as well as in a representative capacity, to drive further use of the Bitcoin SV blockchain and uptake of the BSV digital currency. The Association works to build a regulation-friendly ecosystem that fosters lawful conduct while facilitating innovation using all aspects of Bitcoin technology. More than a digital currency and blockchain, Bitcoin is also a network protocol; just like Internet protocol, it is the foundational rule set for an entire data network. The Association supports use of the original Bitcoin protocol to operate the world's single blockchain on Bitcoin SV. SOURCE Bitcoin Association ATLANTA, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bondurant Mixson & Elmore is pleased to announce that Chambers USA has again recognized it as one the top law firms in Georgia and individually recognized six partners as leading practitioners. Bondurant earned top litigation ranks as Chambers recognized it as one of the top three firms for Litigation: General Commercial in Georgia. Bondurant also earned recognitions and rankings in the categories of Antitrust in Georgia and Litigation: White Collar Crime & Government Investigations. Comments about the firm's excellent work include: "They are top-quality litigators and some of the best writers in the business." "The firm provides top-level quality legal services." "The team is great. The internal discussion, the review of work product and everything they do is top notch." "They think steps ahead and predict how things will work out." "Notable boutique with experience acting for high-profile individuals and companies in class action and multidistrict antitrust litigation." "Regularly defends against civil claims and criminal investigations and has represented clients in a huge range of industries." "If a difficult or complex issue needs to be litigated, the team has the ability, intelligence, and wisdom to guide a client through that process." Chambers recognized Bondurant lawyers Emmet Bondurant, Mickey Mixson, John Floyd, Michael Terry, Frank Lowrey, and Kamal Ghali as "notable practitioners." According to the rankings: Emmet Bondurant is a highly praised litigator, leading the practice at his firm. He continues to be a prominent name in the litigation field, with over 50 years of experience in the area. "Emmet is an icon in our space." "He has an impeccable reputation and is well recognized in Atlanta." Mickey Mixson is an accomplished trial lawyer who acts for both individuals and companies in commercial disputes. His work covers a broad range of areas, including corporate governance, accountant liability and securities litigation. "He is universally thought of as very impressive." Michael Terry is known for representing clients in complex commercial matters, including class actions. He is highlighted for his impressive experience as an appellate lawyer. "Mike is a fantastic lawyer." "He is highly regarded and experienced for representing plaintiffs in class actions." "He is an extraordinary appellate lawyer." John Floyd is well versed in defending RICO litigation. He also handles False Claims Act claims as well as conducting internal investigations for corporate clients. "He is one of the smartest lawyers I have ever met and he has significant experience handling RICO matters." Frank Lowrey dedicates his practice to complex litigation, including class actions and appeals. He is adept at representing clients in state and federal trials. "He is a really talented lawyer. If I was conflicted for an important matter I would give it to him." Kamal Ghali is noted in the market for his impressive white-collar criminal defense practice. Clients may benefit from his prior experience as a prosecutor and he has particular expertise in matters concerning cybercrime. "Kamal is an excellent trial lawyer and has a fantastic ability to explain complex legal and technology-related topics." Chambers and Partners is an independent research company operating across 200 jurisdictions delivering detailed rankings and insight into the world's leading lawyers. About Bondurant Mixson and Elmore, LLP Bondurant Mixson & Elmore, LLP is a litigation firm located in Atlanta, Georgia. The firm has a 40-year track record of successfully litigating and trying some of the toughest and most complex business cases in the United States. The firm is widely recognized as a litigation powerhouse. It has been rated one of the top 10 litigation boutiques in the country by National Law Journal and consistently receives the highest rankings from Chambers USA as one of the top litigation firms in Georgia. For more information about Bondurant Mixson & Elmore, LLP, please visit www.bmelaw.com SOURCE Bondurant Mixson & Elmore LLP Related Links https://www.bmelaw.com PHILADELPHIA, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Braskem (B3: BRKM3, BRKM5 and BRKM6;NYSE: BAK; LATIBEX: XBRK) ("Company"), the largest polyolefins producer in the Americas and leading producer of biopolymers in the world, announces it has been named a multiple 2021 Responsible Care awardee by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) for the Company's Outstanding COVID-19 Response Efforts and excellent Facility Safety performance. Responsible Care awards recognize outstanding and innovative work among chemical companies on their journey towards safe chemicals management and performance excellence. Five Braskem production facility sites throughout the U.S. received Facility Safety Award Certificates of Excellence including; Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, Neal, West Virginia., Seadrift and Oyster Creek, Texas, as well as the Company's Innovation & Technology Center located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "Braskem is honored to be a Responsible Care Facility Safety Award recipient as this is a true testament to our team's continuous commitment to health, safety, and the environment," says Susan Gluodenis, Braskem Global Quality Leader. "I am proud to be a part of an organization that holds these principles at the utmost importance and I look forward to continuing improvements in operations and enhancing our safety efforts." "Being honored with both awards demonstrates Braskem's willingness to push the limit of what's possible to protect our team, surrounding communities, and the environment, especially while presented with the unprecedented challenges associated with successfully navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. We are immensely grateful the ACC has recognized Braskem, for the tremendous efforts of our teams across the U.S.," says Brian Hughes, Braskem U.S. Quality Assurance and Responsible Care Coordinator. ACC Outstanding COVID-19 Response Efforts Award In 2021, the ACC developed its new Outstanding COVID-19 Response Efforts Award recognizing exemplary efforts from ACC members and Responsible Care Partner companies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fifteen ACC member companies and four Responsible Care Partner companies received this award. Braskem deployed a range of measures across its manufacturing plants in Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia to secure the supply of essential grades of polypropylene polymers for the production of respiratory masks, protective medical gowns, and other protective material. In parallel, Braskem positioned 'live-in' manufacturing teams in both West Virginia and Pennsylvania operating in isolation for 28-days to help ensure the health and safety of its team members who were working as an essential service throughout this crisis to keep these key supply lines running. ACC Facility Safety Award The ACC awards member companies with significant achievements in employee health and safety performance. Braskem and 50 companies received 2021 Facility Safety Award Certificates. Braskem aims to operate in a responsible way to achieve quality product and results. Responsible Care has helped Braskem enhance performance and improve the health and safety, and it is our intention to continue achieving our goals of meeting these expectations. The ACC awards recognize ACC members and partners on an annual basis. The ACC announced the awards at its virtual 2021 Responsible Care & Sustainability Conference & Expo. To learn more about Responsible Care, visit https://responsiblecare.americanchemistry.com/. ABOUT BRASKEM With a global vision of the future oriented towards people and sustainability, Braskem is committed to contributing to the value chain for strengthening the Circular Economy. The petrochemical company's almost 8,000 team members dedicate themselves every day to improve people's lives through sustainable chemicals and plastics solutions. Braskem has an innovative DNA and a comprehensive portfolio of plastic resins and chemical products for diverse segments, such as food packaging, construction, manufacturing, automotive, agribusiness, healthcare and hygiene, among others. With 41 industrial units in Brazil, the United States, Mexico and Germany, and net revenue of R$52.3 billion (US$13.2 billion), Braskem exports its products to clients in more than 100 countries. Braskem America is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Braskem S.A. headquartered in Philadelphia. The company is the leading producer of polypropylene in the United States, with six production plants located in Texas, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, an Innovation and Technology Center in Pittsburgh, and operations in Boston focused on leveraging groundbreaking developments in biotechnology and advanced materials. For more information, visit www.braskem.com/usa. Braskem on English social media: www.facebook.com/BraskemGlobal www.linkedin.com/company/braskem www.twitter.com/BraskemSA SOURCE Braskem Related Links http://www.braskem.com GURNEE, Ill., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BrightStar Care, a national private duty home care and medical staffing franchise with over 340 locally owned and operated locations nationwide, was awarded The Joint Commission's 2021 Enterprise Champion for Quality Award, reinforcing the brand's devotion to the highest standards of quality and safety in in-home care. BrightStar Care is the only organization to achieve the title nine years in a row, with more than 95 percent of its franchisees accredited by The Joint Commission, the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Additionally, BrightStar Care is one of only two franchisors to receive this title since the award's inception in 2013. Receiving the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission means that health care organizations have completed a comprehensive on-site review and follow the policies and procedures established by their organization. To achieve accreditation, organizations must incorporate Joint Commission standards and requirements into their policies, procedures and training materials, as well as conduct consistent mock evaluations. Joint Commission accreditation helps organizations improve safety procedures, which became even more important amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "Since its inception, it has been BrightStar Care's utmost objective to deliver the gold standard of high-quality in-home care for our patients to stay comfortable and safe in their homes and we are thrilled that The Joint Commission recognizes our efforts by awarding us with its Enterprise Champion for Quality Award for the ninth time in a row," said Shelly Sun, founder and CEO of BrightStar Care. "This past year illustrated the growing importance of having access to a quality home care for home-bound patients and we will continue collaborating with our franchisees to ensure that our patients receive the high-quality care they deserve." "It's a privilege to be awarded The Joint Commission's Enterprise Champion for Quality Award for the ninth year in a row as we're dedicated to continuously improving the quality of care BrightStar Care provides," said Josie Rhoades, vice president of Clinical Operations at BrightStar Care. "We take great pride in providing a higher standard of care and making sure franchisees are equipped with the right training and resources to remain a recipient of the prestigious honor." "We are pleased to recognize BrightStar Care for the ninth consecutive year with the Enterprise Champion for Quality Award," said Gary Bachrach, executive director, Home Care Accreditation Program, The Joint Commission. "We applaud the BrightStar Care organization for its commitment and effort to work closely with its franchisees to help improve quality and safety for the many individuals and families it serves within the home care setting across the country." Joint Commission accreditation is a known quality indicator within the industry as it is the same organization that accredits and certifies more than 22,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. Joint Commission accreditation has allowed BrightStar Care to help its clients continue living safely in their homes and help prevent hospital re-admission." BrightStar Care provides the full continuum of home care services comprised of companionship, personal care, dementia care, transportation, medication assistance, skilled nursing and more to improve clients' health and quality of life. For more information on BrightStar Care, please visit www.brightstarcare.com. For more information on The Joint Commission, please visit www.jointcommission.org. About BrightStar Care Based in Chicago, BrightStar Care is a national private duty home care and medical staffing franchise with over 340 locations which provide medical and non-medical services to clients within their homes, as well as supplemental care staff to corporate clients. BrightStar Care franchise locations across the country employ over 16,000 caregivers and over 5,700 nurses who play a unique role in overseeing the care for each individual client. BrightStar Care has a strong leadership, with its CEO & Founder Shelly Sun being named one of the top 25 highest rated CEOs during the COVID crisis by Glassdoor, along with one of the Top 100 Female Founders by Inc. Magazine. BrightStar Care has also ranked on Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 list for ten consecutive years. In addition, BrightStar Care is the only national home care franchise to receive The Joint Commission's Enterprise Champion for Quality award every year since the award's inception. For more information on BrightStar Care please visit www.brightstarcare.com. MEDIA CONTACT: Stephanie Jerome [email protected] 626-733-6397 SOURCE BrightStar Care Related Links http://www.brightstarcare.com CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jun 03, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Diagnostics (UDX), a bioinformatics and multi-omics company on a mission to transform cancer into a curable disease, today announced the results of an international multicenter observational cohort study: Colorectal cancer detection at 92% sensitivity and 97% specificity was achieved using single targeted sequencing analysis of multi-omics markers, advanced computational biology and machine learning algorithms. The company's approach also demonstrates high levels of accurate detection of early-stage (I, II) colorectal cancer at 89% sensitivity and 97% specificity. Universal DX is specially focused on identifying cancer in its earliest stages, so that the disease can be cured, and even in its pre-cancerous stage, when cancer can be prevented. The company leverages proprietary, state-of-the-art computational biology tools combined with targeted next generation sequencing (NGS) assay platform for highly sensitive cancer signal scoring of cell-free DNA regions linked to cancer of interest. The company is developing "Signal-X," a platform to detect multiple types of cancer; its first product, "Signal-C," detects early-stage colorectal cancer and adenomatous polyps. "We have built a test that can 'read' cancer's tissue-specific signal in blood on a fragment level," said Christian Hense, managing director at Universal DX. "We know that if we can detect cancer early, or identify pre-cancer stage patients before they develop cancer, the survival rates increase exponentially. In order to do that, we need to develop new screening methods that are simple, non-invasive, accurate, and more accessible and affordable than what's available today. At Universal DX, we are driven by the belief that cancer can be a curable disease, and continue to work tirelessly to develop blood-based tools that can make that a reality." Multi-omics + Computational Biology + Machine Learning (ML) Unlike other liquid biopsy-based screening approaches in the market today, Universal DX uses a targeted sequencing approach, which allows the company to look for the specific biomarkers established to have a biological link to cancer development and progression in tissue. Universal DX has previously identified those biomarkers by combining tissue, buffy coat and plasma whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) analysis with a proprietary marker-filtering approach and a pattern-based cancer signal threshold calculation. Given this direct tissue-confirmed link to cancer, Universal DX is able to zero in to the most relevant marker regions when they analyze a blood sample, decreasing the complexity of the data, which in return increases biological signal-to-noise ratio and assures robustness, which is necessary for blood-based analyses. This combined approach multi-omics + computational biology + machine learning has led to early study results, which will be presented at ASCO, showing effective and highly accurate performance for detecting early-stage colorectal cancer. "Colorectal is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer globally, and the people at risk are getting younger," said Michael H. A. Roehrl, MD, PhD, Attending Pathologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of UDX. "Today, we see patients with later-stage and harder-to-treat disease because they don't get regular screenings. We need to come up with a better, more accessible approach if we want to alter the course of cancer to something we can prevent and cure." Universal DX is focused on finding cancer in its earliest (and pre-cancerous) stages in order to prevent or facilitate more effective treatment of this complex disease. Having worked since its founding in 2012 towards making this a reality, the company brings unique value propositions to the growing liquid biopsy industry: Tissue-first : Tissue, buffy coat and plasma WGBS profiling combined with proprietary computational biology tools facilitates the discovery of the most informative marker regions and patterns for each individual cancer type; : Tissue, buffy coat and plasma WGBS profiling combined with proprietary computational biology tools facilitates the discovery of the most informative marker regions and patterns for each individual cancer type; Multi-omics : Methylomics and Fragmentomics analyze multiple layers of cancer signal and allow to identify pre-cancer and early-stage cancers; : Methylomics and Fragmentomics analyze multiple layers of cancer signal and allow to identify pre-cancer and early-stage cancers; Combination of proprietary fragment-level cancer-signal scoring algorithms with machine learning achieve high accuracy in early and pre-cancer detection; achieve high accuracy in early and pre-cancer detection; Computational biology : Proprietary novel tools and approaches manage large genomic data with high quality to discover the most relevant biomarker regions and identify cancer and tissue-of-origin-specific signal patterns in tissue and cfDNA; : Proprietary novel tools and approaches manage large genomic data with high quality to discover the most relevant biomarker regions and identify cancer and tissue-of-origin-specific signal patterns in tissue and cfDNA; Targeted NGS platform captures and "reads" hundreds of marker regions with high accuracy and fits seamlessly and economically into any clinical lab; captures and "reads" hundreds of marker regions with high accuracy and fits seamlessly and economically into any clinical lab; Multi-cancer : "Signal-X" detects various types of high-burden cancers with high sensitivity and tissue-of-origin specificity; : "Signal-X" detects various types of high-burden cancers with high sensitivity and tissue-of-origin specificity; Strong focus on early detection (stages I and II) and prevention (pre-cancerous stage). Hense continued: "Our blood contains so many signals that, if we don't know what we're looking for, it's easy to become distracted by all the noise. So, we started by analyzing cancer cells in tissue and established patterns, which we call cancer signals, that we can identify in plasma cell-free DNA. Through this process, we say that we learned to speak the language of cancer, to read its signal. We hope that by doing so, we can detect its signal in a person's body in order to get to a future where cancer is a curable disease." The company will be presenting at ASCO on Friday, June 4; abstract here. About Universal Diagnostics Universal DX is on a mission to transform cancer into a curable disease. With its multi-omics + computational biology + machine learning approach, it is cracking the code to "true" early cancer detection, having identified the specific cfDNA sequence regions that capture cancer's earliest signal with +90% accuracy. Its first single-draw blood test, Signal-C, accurately detects colorectal cancer with a sensitivity rate of 92% and specificity rate of 97%, with extraordinary accuracy for earlier stages (89%/97%). The company's multi-cancer platform seeks to identify the unique DNA sequence regions associated with high-burden cancers, such as pancreatic, liver and stomach, with high sensitivity and tissue-of-origin specificity. For more information about the company, visit https://www.universaldx.com/. Dr. Roehrl has provided advisory services to Universal Diagnostics. For media inquiries, please contact: Kristin Faulder (on behalf of Universal DX) (586) 419.4652 [email protected] Related Images image1.png SOURCE Universal DX MIAMI, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cano Health, Inc. ("Cano Health," the "Company," "we," "our" or "us"), a leading value-based primary care provider for seniors and underserved communities, today announced it has completed its business combination with Jaws Acquisition Corp. ("Jaws") (NYSE: JWS). The business combination, which was approved by Jaws' stockholders at its special meeting held on June 2, 2021, will enable Cano Health to achieve its vision of becoming America's leader in primary care and accelerate the Company's growth. Beginning June 4, 2021, Cano Health's shares of Class A common stock will trade on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") under the symbol "CANO." "This is an important milestone for Cano Health and for underserved patients, as it will allow us to expand our brand of high quality and cost-effective primary care throughout the country," said Dr. Marlow Hernandez, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Cano Health. "Our calling is to fundamentally improve how healthcare is delivered so that patients can live longer and fuller lives. We believe our strategy of building, buying, and managing primary care centers, with a focus on the senior population, strongly positions Cano Health for future growth. As we enter new markets, we lead with our brand promise of putting our members first, delivering best-in-class outcomes, and maintaining strong ties with all stakeholders." "Cano is a great American success story, a story of passionate people, committed to serving the underserved communities in which it operates, providing better health care, at lower cost, with superior outcomes," said Barry Sternlicht, Founder and Chairman of Jaws Acquisition Corp. "It is led by equally passionate leaders, in Drs. Marlow Hernandez and Richard Aguilar. This is a story of a company that does well, and will surely grow, while doing good. We are delighted to join them in this journey." Dr. Marlow Hernandez will continue to lead Cano Health as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors, alongside the Company's highly experienced executive team. Members of the team include Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Richard Aguilar, Chief Financial Officer Brian Koppy, Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel David Armstrong, Chief Strategy Officer Dr. John McGoohan, Chief Population Health Officer Pedro Cordero, Chief People Officer Jennifer Hevia, President of Cano Medical Centers Gina Portilla, President of Healthy Partners Bob Camerlinck, SVP of Acquisitions Joel Lago, and Chief Brand Officer Barbara Ferreiro. As a result of the business combination, Cano Health received approximately $1.49 billion of gross proceeds, including approximately $690 million of cash held in Jaws' trust account and $800 million from private placement (PIPE) investors including Barry Sternlicht and funds affiliated with Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC as well as funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Third Point and Maverick Capital. Advisors Moelis & Company acted as financial advisor to Cano Health. Credit Suisse served as financial advisor and exclusive capital markets advisor to Cano Health. Credit Suisse also served as exclusive placement agent on the private offering. Goodwin Procter LLP served as legal counsel to Cano Health. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Jaws Acquisition Corp. Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP served as counsel to certain Cano Health shareholders, including members of Company management. About Cano Health Cano Health operates value-based primary care centers and supports affiliated medical practices that specialize in primary care for seniors in Florida, Texas, Nevada, and Puerto Rico, with additional markets in development. As part of its care coordination strategy, Cano Health provides sophisticated, high-touch population health management programs including telehealth, prescription home delivery, wellness programs, transition of care, and high-risk and complex care management. The Company's personalized patient care and proactive approach to wellness and preventive care sets it apart from competitors. Cano Health has consistently improved clinical outcomes while reducing costs, affording patients the opportunity to lead longer and healthier lives. Cano serves a predominantly minority population (80% of its patients are Latino or African American) and low-income population (50% of its patients are dual eligible for Medicare and Medicaid). For more information visit www.canohealth.com or www.canohealth.com/investors/. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding our future growth and strategy. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "budget," "contemplate," "continue," "could," "envision," "estimate," "expect," "guidance," "indicate," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "possibly," "potential," "predict," "probably," "pro-forma," "project," "seek," "should," "target," or "will," or the negative or other variations thereof, and similar words or phrases or comparable terminology, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results, and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside the Company's control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Important risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in forward-looking statements include, among others, changes in market or industry conditions, regulatory environment, competitive conditions, and receptivity to our services; our ability to continue our growth; changes in laws and regulations applicable to our business; our ability to maintain our relationships with health plans and other key payers; the impact of COVID-19 or another pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of infectious disease on our business and results of operation; and our ability to recruit and retain qualified team members and independent physicians. For a detailed discussion of the risk factors that could affect our actual results, please refer to the risk factors identified in the definitive Proxy Statement/Prospectus filed by Jaws Acquisition Corp. with the SEC on May 7, 2021 and in our subsequent reports filed with the SEC. All information provided in this press release is as of the date hereof, and we undertake no duty to update or revise this information unless required by law. Contacts Cano Health Investor Relations Bob East Westwicke ICR [email protected] Media Relations Patricia Graue Brunswick Group (212) 333-3810 [email protected] Jaws Acquisition Corp. Tom Johnson / Dan Scorpio Abernathy MacGregor [email protected] / [email protected] SOURCE Cano Health, LLC Related Links http://www.canohealth.com "To comprehensively govern the Party with strict discipline, we must not only focus on standardizing punishment, but also strictly maintaining the bottom line of discipline," Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said at the sixth plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) in January 2016. "More importantly, we need to guide people to do better and give full play to the guiding role of ideals, beliefs and moralities," Xi added. Xi, also Chinese president, quoted a poem by Chinese thinker Gong Zizhen (1792-1841) to highlight the message: "If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self and achieve nothing." Original aspiration To help CPC officials conquer themselves and make them "do not want to be corrupt," the Party leadership has repeatedly urged them to stay true to the CPC's original aspiration and founding mission namely, to seek happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. In June 2019, a nationwide educational campaign themed "staying true to our founding mission" was launched to reinforce the message among the 90 million CPC members. Alessandro Teixeira, a Brazilian economist and professor of public policy at Tsinghua University, underscored the importance of education in fighting corruption in a recent interview with CGTN. Teixeira said punishment and deterrence are not enough for preventing corruption. "I think you need to have an educational process in that," he said. "You need to educate the society." "I think that's also what the Chinese have been trying to do, to have moral education, not only on the Party officials, but on all of the people," he added. Public awareness enhanced Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party leadership has stressed a number of well-known concepts related to fighting corruption, indicating the leadership's resolve to tackle the deep-rooted problem and foster a social consensus against corruption. "It takes a good blacksmith to make good steel," Xi said, quoting a popular Chinese adage to explain the importance of Party building, when he met the press on November 15, 2012 after being elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee. It means that only by conducting oneself honorably can one expect others to do the same. This adage then became an iconic slogan to urge Party officials to stay clean. Other anti-corruption concepts include addressing "the four forms of decadence" formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance; taking decisive actions to improve the conduct of Party and government officials (known as the CPC Central Committee's "eight-point decision"); striking the "tigers" (high-ranking corrupt officials) and swatting the "flies" (low-ranking corrupt officials) at the same time; and taking a zero-tolerance stance against corruption. These concepts, along with media reports about anti-corruption investigations, have greatly raised public awareness of the issue. Three-pronged formula Education is an important aspect of China's three-pronged formula to tackle corruption, together with strict punishment and system building. In 2020, disciplinary inspection and supervisory organs across the country investigated about 618,000 corruption cases, leading to the punishment of 604,000 people, a report by China's top anti-graft body said. China has also been strengthening system building in the fight against corruption to "confine the exercise of power in an institutional cage." A key move was the reform of the national supervision system, which saw the establishment of supervisory commissions at the national, provincial, city and county levels. The commissions are able to supervise everyone working in the public sector who exercises public power, including those who are not members of the CPC and those not working in the government. All these efforts have secured a sweeping victory against corruption. "More measures in education, research in terms of the nature of corruption, together with international cooperation" are gradually making China "one of the leading countries" in fighting corruption, Teixeira said. https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-06-03/Education-a-key-factor-behind-China-s-anti-corruption-drive-10LyjtKLuy4/index.html SOURCE CGTN Related Links www.cgtn.com QUEENS, N.Y., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- George Bell, Rohan Bolt and Gary Johnson, who were wrongfully convicted of a double murder in Queens and incarcerated for more than 24 years, were notified today that Queens District Attorney ("DA") Melinda Katz has agreed to drop all charges and vacate their convictions on the grounds that newly discovered evidence probably would have led to their acquittal. Today's announcement follows a 90-day investigation into the cases by the Queens DA's Office and a previous 11-month investigation by the Queens DA's Conviction Integrity Unit ("CIU"). On March 5, 2021, Queens Supreme Court Justice Joseph A. Zayas vacated the convictions of Bell, Bolt and Johnson and released the men on their own recognizance following a joint motion to vacate the convictions made by Queens DA Katz and defense counsel for the three men. The joint motion followed the revelation that prosecutors wrongfully withheld exculpatory evidence from the Court and the defense lawyers for the three men over 24 years ago. Commentary from Bell, Bolt and Johnson George Bell said, "I am grateful that justice has finally prevailed after 24 years. I thank everyone that believed in my innocence and fought vigorously for me. I am committed to fighting for others who have been wrongfully convicted so that they may see freedom and justice as well." Rohan Bolt said, "I have maintained my innocence for the past 24 years. I will never get that time back, but I will make the most of every day I have now. This miscarriage of justice is far too common, and the decision today hopefully sheds hope for others who have been wrongfully convicted." Gary Johnson said, "After spending more than two decades in prison for a crime I did not commit, I finally receive some sense of closure today. The burden that has been sitting on my shoulders for the past 24 years has been lifted and I am excited to be able to start my life again." Commentary from Defense Attorneys for Bell, Bolt and Johnson Rita Dave Esq., attorney for Bolt and Johnson, said, "Gary, Rohan and George deserve the justice they are getting today. They get to walk out of the courthouse that took away their liberty and took them away from their families for 24 years, for a crime they did not commit. We would not be here today but for the extraordinary work of DA Katz, Conviction Integrity Unit head Bryce Benjet and Executive ADA Pishoy Yacoub. Their commitment to seeking justice and their willingness to painstakingly review the files, conduct a new investigation and work closely with defense counsel led to these three men's freedom." Marc Wolinsky, Partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and attorney for Bell, said, "In the history of New York State, this is one of the most abusive violations of constitutional rights that I can imagine has ever taken place. It is only through a miracle that the evidence proving the innocence of these three men came to light. Queens DA Katz, her Conviction Integrity Unit head Bryce Benjet and Executive ADA Pishoy deserve huge credit for righting the terrible wrong once this evidence was brought to their attention." Scott Stevenson, Senior Vice President at Aon plc and attorney for Bell, said, "Today, George, Rohan, and Gary finally receive the justice they deserve, and regain lives they have been fighting for over the past 24 years. Though we are happy with today's result, it does not erase their pain. There is an undeniable pattern of misconduct by prosecutors in the previous Queens DA's office and justice will not prevail until all of the wrongfully convicted walk free." David Crow Esq., Associate Appellate Counsel at Legal Aid Society and attorney for Bell, said, "Unfortunately, this case is not unique. It is critical that we recognize and understand the civic consequences of wrongful conviction and work to rectify the harm that has already been done to so many individuals like George, Gary and Rohan. The consequences of a broken criminal justice system extend well beyond those directly touched." Background Bell, Bolt and Johnson's wrongful convictions resulted from egregious prosecutorial misconduct by the former Queens District Attorney's Office, coercive and violent interrogations by the NYPD and political pressure by then New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Queens Assistant District Attorneys Charles Testagrossa and Brad Leventhal wrongfully withheld exculpatory evidence specifically requested by the defense that established that the Speedstick gang, a gang that the NYPD and prosecutors knew were on a crime spree in Queens at the time, was involved in the crime that Bell, Bolt and Johnson were charged with. The former Queens DA's office also failed to disclose medical records that demonstrated that a key witness was suffering hallucinations and accepted knowingly perjured testimony at trial, among other misconduct. Bell and Johnson were 19 and 22 years old at the time of their arrests. They had never met Bolt, a 34-year-old married father of four and restaurant owner. None of the men had criminal histories and no physical evidence connected any of them to the crime at the time of their arrests or at any time since. For the last 24 years, Bell, Bolt and Johnson have maintained their innocence. GoFundMe Supporting Bell, Bolt and Johnson's Reentry into Society Representatives for Bell, Bolt and Johnson have set up a fund to help support Bell, Bolt and Johnson in their reintroduction to society. More information about the fund and how to make a donation can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/exoneration-george-bell-rohan-bolt-gary-johnson. Gary Johnson and Rohan Bolt are represented by Rita Dave, Esq. George Bell is represented by Marc Wolinsky, Anna Schwarz and Amanda Lee of Wachtell, Lipton Rosen & Katz; Scott Stevenson, Esq. of Aon plc; and David Crow, The Legal Aid Society. The investigators working on the case were Luke Brindle-Khym and Charles Linehan of QRI (Quest Research and Investigations) and Kevin Hinkson. Media inquiries should be referred to Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher: SOURCE Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher Related Links www.joelefrank.com China on Monday unveiled 100 tourist routes to help people know more about the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC), including seven ones in East Chinas Anhui province. Among the seven routes, five focus on the CPCs struggles over the revolutionary years, one features the countrys sci-tech progress and the remaining one impresses tourists with the countrys achievements in poverty alleviation and rural vitalization. The seven routes cover more than 30 scenic spots around the province, such as Shuangduiji Martyrs' Cemetery in Suixi county, the Military Headquarters of the New Fourth Army in Jingxian county, the Hefei Memorial of the Crossing-Yangtze-River Battle, the Memorial of All-Round Contract System in Xiaogang village and the Anhui Innovation Center in Hefei. The routes were co-selected by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee, and the National Development and Reform Commission, as part of the efforts to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC. The young girl and her mother originally planned to be part of the Marine Raider Foundations Five for a Hero Challenge 5K, but later decided to run seven miles for each of the seven Marines who died in the crash, News Journal reported. Makenzie and Jenna split the run up, running four miles Sunday and three miles Monday, News Journal reported. SHANGHAI, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MicuRx Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (MicuRx), a leading biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of antibacterial agents against drug-resistant bacterial infection, announced that China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has approved its new drug application for contezolid as the treatment of complicated skin and soft tissue infection. Contezolid, designed and developed by MicuRx's China and US R&D team, is the next-generation oxazolidinone agent against multi-drug resistant (MDR) Gram-positive bacterial infection. Contezolid is the exciting product resulting from the company's 12 years' effort, which represents a major breakthrough for the new drug discovery to combat infectious diseases in China. By leveraging the proprietary technology platform built for drug discovery and screening, MicuRx R&D team discovered the next-generation oxazolidinone candidate contezolid (formerly named MRX-I) for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria (including multidrug-resistant bacteria) in 2008. Backed by a massive amount of data, the team has confirmed that contezolid has great efficacy in treating infections caused by MDR Gram-positive bacteria, in the meantime significantly reducing the side effects associated with myelosuppression frequently encountered with the type of antibiotics and the tendency to induce drug resistance. MicuRx has successfully completed nine clinical trials of contezolid both in and outside of China. The approval from NMPA is based on the efficacy and safety result obtained from a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy Phase III clinical trial involving 719 patients with complicated skin and soft tissue infections. Contezolid is the first approved novel drug developed by MicuRx. "This approval recognizes our team's over-a-decade commitment in infectious disease. We thank all patients and investigators who participated in the clinical trials for their dedication and contributions. In addition, we are grateful to the priority review and support for the approval of contezolid from various branches affiliated with NMPA," Founder and CEO of MicuRx Dr. Zhengyu Yuan commented, "Contezolid provides Chinese patients with a new therapeutic choice for the unmet medical needs in fighting against infection caused by MDR bacteria. With the approval of the company's first novel drug, we plan to accelerate the commercialization of contezolid to benefit Chinese patients as early as possible. Additionally, we will continue to make every effort to combat the global challenge of drug-resistant bacteria by creating more superior drugs." MicuRx will launch contezolid first in China, which is expected to lead a new journey of novel anti-infective drugs in China. Meanwhile, the company has successfully completed the Phase II clinical trial of contezolid for acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSIs) in the US, and contezolid has earned the Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) and Fast Track designation from the US FDA. The company plans to initiate an international multi-center phase III clinical trial to accelerate the approval for contezolid globally. About MicuRx MicuRx is a novel drug R&D company entering the commercialization stage with a focus on the therapies related to infectious diseases. In addition to the approval of its first new drug, the company is also preparing for the Phase III clinical trial of its second clinical candidate MRX-4 for MDR Gram-positive bacterial infection, and advancing Phase I clinical trial of its third candidate MRX-8 for MDR Gram-negative bacterial infection. SOURCE MicuRx Pharmaceutical SINGAPORE, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- China Yuchai International Limited (NYSE: CYD) ("China Yuchai" or the "Company") announced today that Dr. Thomas Phung Khong Fock resigned as Chief Financial Officer of the Company with effect from June 1, 2021. He also resigned as a director of Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Company Limited ("GYMCL"). Mr. Loo Choon Sen has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer of China Yuchai effective June 3, 2021. Mr. Loo has over 23 years of experience as a leader in financial operations. Since April 2016, he was the Director of Finance for Schlumberger Limited's Cameron Product Lines for Asia Pacific Middle East and his last job was with TechnipFMC covering the Asia Pacific region for Surface International. Mr. Loo joined Cameron International Corporation in 2001 and had held various positions within the group including the positions as Director of Financial for Canada and Director of Financial Services for Asia Pacific Middle East. In 2016, Schlumberger Limited acquired Cameron International Corporation. Mr. Loo started his career as an auditor at Baker Tilly Malaysia and he was the Financial Controller for a subsidiary of a listed Company in KLSE based out of Papua New Guinea in his early career. Mr. Loo holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Finance and Accounting from Curtin University of Technology, Australia and is a CPA in Australia. He has also completed additional professional training in finance, operations, tax and sales. The China Yuchai Board of Directors thanks Dr. Phung for his contributions since he joined the Company in 2016 and it welcomes Mr. Loo on board the Company. About China Yuchai International China Yuchai International Limited, through its subsidiary, GYMCL, engages in the manufacture, assembly, and sale of a wide variety of light-, medium- and heavy-duty engines for trucks, buses, passenger vehicles, construction equipment, marine and agriculture applications in China. GYMCL also produces diesel power generators. The engines produced by GYMCL range from diesel to natural gas and hybrid engines. Through its regional sales offices and authorized customer service centers, GYMCL distributes its engines directly to auto OEMs and retailers and provides maintenance and retrofitting services throughout China. Founded in 1951, GYMCL has established a reputable brand name, strong research and development team and significant market share in China with high-quality products and reliable after-sales support. In 2020, GYMCL sold 430,320 engines and is recognized as a leading manufacturer and distributor of engines in China. For more information, please visit http://www.cyilimited.com. Safe Harbor Statement: This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "project", "targets", "optimistic", "confident that", "continue to", "predict", "intend", "aim", "will" or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that may be deemed forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements concerning China Yuchai's and the joint venture's operations, financial performance and condition are based on current expectations, beliefs and assumptions which are subject to change at any time. China Yuchai cautions that these statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of important factors such as government and stock exchange regulations, competition, political, economic and social conditions around the world and in China including those discussed in China Yuchai's Form 20-Fs under the headings "Risk Factors", "Results of Operations" and "Business Overview" and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Among others, if the COVID-19 pandemic is not effectively and timely controlled, our business operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected due to a deteriorating market for automotive sales, an economic slowdown in China and abroad, a potential weakening of the financial condition of our customers, or other factors that we cannot foresee. All forward-looking statements are applicable only as of the date it is made and China Yuchai specifically disclaims any obligation to maintain or update the forward-looking information, whether of the nature contained in this release or otherwise, in the future. For more information: Investor Relations Kevin Theiss Tel: +1-212-521-4050 Email: [email protected] SOURCE China Yuchai International Limited Related Links http://www.cyilimited.com BEIJING, June 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from Science and Technology Daily: "At present, our country is prosperous, the people's lives are improving and the social economy is developing. The demand for scientific and technological innovation has never been so strong, and the understanding of scientific and technological innovation has never been so consistent from the CPC Central Committee to the general public, from scientists to engineers and technicians to ordinary citizens," Wu Weiren, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering said with an emotion that could not be concealed during a scientific meeting. The meeting was held on May 28, 2021, conflating the general assemblies of the members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the national congress of the China Association for Science and Technology at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, addressed the meeting. President Xi emphasized to fully promote the building of a sci-tech strengthening China with a high level of self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology, which needs to strengthen the tackling of original and pioneering sci-tech problems and resolutely win the tough battles in core technologies in key fields. President Xi also pointed out that the innovative potential of various talents should be stimulated in order to build a global center of talent. He suggested that a sci-tech powerhouse must attract, retain, and make good use of high-end talents worldwide. In order to achieve higher levels of self-reliance and strength in science and technology, high-level innovative talents are needed to provide support. Seeking breakthroughs in original innovation Strengthening original innovation based on their own fields to achieve sci-tech self-reliance and self-strengthening is the heartfelt wish of academicians and experts. "President Xi Jinping has said many times that key technologies cannot be bought, nor can they be exchanged with the market. Other countries suppress China when we were not able to develop the key technologies. However, they will contain the development of these technologies that China possesses. That has never changed," said Lu Xicheng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Qiao Jie, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and President of Peking University Third Hospital, said President Xi's speech was quite inspiring and instructive. "Being a powerful tool to contain COVID-19, science and technology play a crucial role in every stage of the fight against the pandemic, such as the treatment of critical diseases, vaccine development, drug research, stem cell exploration and so on," Qiao added. Li Jiabiao, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, stressed that President Xi Jinping once again profoundly highlighted the core position of basic scientific research in the whole innovation chain. The core of so-called original innovation is to conduct the source innovation. "The C919 model is currently undergoing flight tests across the country. In the short term, we still have to rely on imports regarding large aircraft and some of the key equipment. We will bring President Xi Jinping's instruction home to motivate continued efforts to overcome difficulties. More importantly, we will build an self-dependent and controllable industrial and supply chain in order to win the battle of key and core technologies, and achieve the goal that China's large passenger aircraft soar in the sky," said Wu Guanghui, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chief designer of C919. Wu also pointed out that science has no borders. However, scientists should have the motherland in their minds and seek happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. Self-dependent innovation and the cultivation of innovative talents "The cultivation of talents is closely related to the achievement of sci-tech self-reliance and self-strengthening at higher levels. Sci-tech innovation ultimately relies on talents, thus we must cultivate talents on our own if we were to achieve a high-level self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology." said Wang Chi, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Director of National Space Science Center, CAS. He pointed out that the Chinese education system focuses on the input of knowledge whereas the American education system emphasizes on the cultivation of capabilities. Therefore, he noted that "we need to accelerate the pace of reform to the education system if we were to cultivate innovative sci-tech talents for real". However, he also suggested that " the 'self-dependent' cultivation of talents should not be done behind closed doors but with a global perspective as high-level talents are international for sure". You Zheng, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Vice President of Tsinghua University, shared his memories of President Xi Jinping's visit to Tsinghua University on April 19. "He praised China's higher education and pointed out that we need to have confidence in our education system and we can cultivate grandmaster-level talents," said You, "as the first resource, education and talents are complementary to science and technology, the first drive of development." May 30 is the fifth National Science and Technology Workers' Day. President Xi greeted science and technology workers all over China on the meeting. He hoped that the academicians could be models for all other workers in terms of keeping the nation in heart while serving the people, pursuing the truth in spite of difficulties, sticking to academic ethics and regulations and promoting others, especially juniors willingly. SOURCE Science and Technology Daily LOS ANGELES, June 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Preparing young people for workforce and career opportunities today is challenging. Schools across the country are under the microscope to ensure students are ready for work as a result of their commitment and investment in education. Now, thanks to generous state and federal funding, career readiness may begin in middle school. "Once in high school, these kids will have dual enrollment in community college, earning and learning their way through high school," says Dr. James Smith, PhD. President of Youth Employment Solutions (YES). "Let's get these kids excited, pump up their energy, and enable them to graduate faster from college with advanced degrees and guide them along self-sustaining career pathways." Illuminating a path for middle grade students to pursue their passions and talents through education and setting up a trajectory for lifelong success is the goal of The City School partnership, funded by the K12 Strong Workforce program. The City School, operated by City Charter Schools, and Exploring Your Potential (EYP) announce their collaboration in launching a program to bridge education to workforce in middle schools. "We want to help students know themselves, understand the possibilities in their lives, feel excited and engaged by the school program, form a strong sense of community, and do what they love," says Valerie Braimah, Executive Director for City Charter Schools. "Between outside speakers, career pathway courses, internships, and the Exploring Your Potential curriculum, we know our kids will emerge from 8th grade with big dreams, a clear sense of focus, and the ability to reach their most ambitious goals." Students have already getting a taste of what's possible for their futures in a webinar series called Love What You Do! Guest speakers cover topics from entrepreneurship, fashion, sports, art, and music. "Exploring the broadest range of possibilities is so important for students to maintain their motivation, especially as they form their sense of personal identity," says Jennifer Kushell, global thought leader on youth employment and entrepreneurship and founder and CEO of EYP Ventures, creators of Exploring Your Potential. "Connecting the dots between their interests and abilities and real workplace opportunities, opens up so many options and builds self-efficacy so students become more excited about their futures, confident in their directions, and thus are more likely to stay in school, focused on goals that reach far beyond education." For more information, please visit: https://citycharterschools.org or EYP. SOURCE Exploring Your Potential Related Links https://citycharterschools.org OAKLAND, Calif., June 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Clorox Company (NYSE: CLX) announced today that its board of directors has declared a 5% increase in the quarterly dividend, from $1.11 to $1.16 per share on the company's common stock. The dividend is payable Aug. 13, 2021, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on July 28, 2021. Clorox has a long history of providing value to its stockholders through regular dividends. The company has increased its dividend for nearly 20 consecutive years and has paid an annual dividend for more than 50 consecutive years ever since it became independent again following a decade of outside ownership. The Clorox Company The Clorox Company (NYSE: CLX) is a leading multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products with about 8,800 employees worldwide and fiscal year 2020 sales of $6.7 billion. Clorox markets some of the most trusted and recognized consumer brand names, including its namesake bleach and cleaning products; Pine-Sol cleaners; Liquid-Plumr clog removers; Poett home care products; Fresh Step cat litter; Glad bags and wraps; Kingsford grilling products; Hidden Valley dressings and sauces; Brita water-filtration products; Burt's Bees natural personal care products; and RenewLife, Rainbow Light, Natural Vitality Calm, NeoCell and Stop Aging Now vitamins, minerals and supplements. The company also markets industry-leading products and technologies for professional customers, including those sold under the CloroxPro and Clorox Healthcare brand names. More than 80% of the company's sales are generated from brands that hold the No. 1 or No. 2 market share positions in their categories. Clorox is a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. The company has been broadly recognized for its corporate responsibility efforts, listed No. 1 on the 2020 Axios Harris Poll 100 reputation rankings and included on the Barron's 2021 100 Most Sustainable Companies list, 2021 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and the Human Rights Campaign's 2021 Corporate Equality Index, among others. In support of its communities, The Clorox Company and its foundations contributed more than $25 million in combined cash grants, product donations and cause marketing in fiscal year 2020. For more information, visit TheCloroxCompany.com, including the Good Growth blog, and follow the company on Twitter at @CloroxCo. CLX-F SOURCE The Clorox Company CARMEL, Ind., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CNO) today announced it has taken the Indy Racial Equity Pledge, joining a coalition of corporate and civic organizations that are committed to making Indianapolis and neighboring communities a racially equitable place to live and work. By signing the pledge, organizations agree to take significant steps to address issues of racial equity in Central Indiana. The commitments focus on four key areas health, prosperity, education, and criminal justice where African Americans face systemic disparities in outcomes. As a signatory, CNO shares its community pledge: "At CNO, our purpose is to secure the future of middle-income America. We embrace diversity, actively pursue equity, and foster an inclusive environment. CNO pledges to use our voice to condemn injustice and violence, and use our platform to stand against systemic racism, bias and discrimination. Diversity, equity and inclusion is one of our corporate values. We remain committed to standing up for these principles to positively impact our company and the communities where we live and work." CNO commits to advancing racial equity within the organization and in the communities in three primary areas: Education and Awareness in the Workplace: CNO pledges to continuously engage its workforce with education to raise awareness on the social, racial, and systemic challenges that impact its associates and communities of color. CNO pledges to continuously engage its workforce with education to raise awareness on the social, racial, and systemic challenges that impact its associates and communities of color. Associate Development: CNO commits to expanding leadership development and mentorship programs for all CNO associates, focusing on people of color and women. CNO commits to expanding leadership development and mentorship programs for all CNO associates, focusing on people of color and women. Recruitment and Selection: CNO commits to improving diverse workforce representation by broadening our candidate pool selection processes. "At CNO, we believe that by developing a culture that supports and fosters diversity, equity and inclusion, we can better serve our associates, customers and communities," said Yvonne Franzese, chief human resources officer. "We are proud to have signed the Indy Racial Equity Pledge and are committed to using our voice to condemn racial inequity and to standing up for a just society." The Indy Racial Equity Pledge was started in October 2020 by a coalition of corporate and civic organizations in Central Indiana as a way for organizations to commit to advancing racial equity in Indianapolis and neighboring communities. Each pledging organization reports progress of their commitment through the organization's website at IndyRacialEquityPledge.com. To learn more about CNO's diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, please visit our 2020 Corporate Social Responsibility Report. About CNO Financial Group CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CNO) secures the future of middle-income America. CNO provides life and health insurance, annuities, financial services, and workforce benefits solutions through our family of brands, including Bankers Life, Colonial Penn and Washington National. Our customers work hard to save for the future, and we help protect their health, income and retirement needs with 3.2 million policies and $35 billion in total assets. Our 3,400 associates, 5,000 exclusive agents and 4,000 independent partner agents guide individuals, families and businesses through a lifetime of financial decisions. For more information, visit CNOinc.com. SOURCE CNO Financial Group, Inc. Related Links http://www.cnoinc.com COLUMBIA, S.C., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The co-founder of Extraordinary Headhunters, LLC, Kiara Streater, is pleased to announce she has recently received two incredible honors a front page cover on Sheen Magazine and induction in the Marquis Who's Who. Kiara Streater Celebrity Magazine Cover Shot 5/17/2021 Kiara Streater is an accomplished leader with 15 years of experience in the professional services industry, currently acting as President and CEO of Extraordinary Headhunters LLC. Through her work, Kiara has consistently demonstrated her ability to improve business performance of multi-billion-dollar businesses, and strong record of consistent, above-market revenue and profit growth. Skilled at creating market opportunity and growth through innovative business strategy, process/technology transformation, and implementing complex technology and research-based solutions, Kiara is an extraordinary woman who leads by example, lives on purpose, and inspires others to be more and do more. Recently, Kiara is celebrating two incredible milestones that celebrate her success as a modern-day hero, game-changer, and role model who leads by example a front page cover and interview in the renowned Sheen Magazine and induction in the esteemed Marquis Who's Who. "For many years, I've been quoted as being "South Carolina's Most Tenacious Businesswoman," and I'm starting to think it may be true," says Kiara laughingly. "To balance being a mom, to serve on so many committees continuing to go nonstop during the pandemic, I'd like to say that I'm a philanthropist because I really care about the community and seeing people work hard to accomplish their goals and live their dreams. To be recognized for this work by two reputable organizations is really quite humbling and I'm so grateful." A result of her tremendous work, Kiara has been recognized among the Best and Brightest Under 35 and by her local Better Business Bureau for exceptional service. Kiara serves on the Board of Directors for several companies nationwide and is the brains behind "Working Wednesday," an ABC TV segment geared towards assisting those with limited resources with job research. She also serves on the Forbes Business Council committee, SC Chamber of Commerce business committee, Columbia Chamber of Commerce Business Council and is a member of the United Way's Young Leaders Society and Women in Philanthropy. Additionally, Kiara founded her own non-profit, Women Inspiring Girls, to support young girls and teens as they become professionals and leaders. For more information about Kiara, please visit https://linktr.ee/kiarastreater. About Kiara Streater With courage, confidence, commitment, and integrity, Kiara Streater inspires others to go further and make a ripple effect locally, nationally, and globally to experience profit growth. Through her global expertise, Kiara attracts, develops, and leads top talent, fosters diversity, and building high-performance cultures for 6,000+ person organizations in addition to being a role model for countless women, rising talent, and other entrepreneurs from around the world. Contact Information Samantha Summers 8037241273 [email protected] https://www.extraordinaryheadhuntersllc.com/ SOURCE Kiara Streater Related Links https://linktr.ee/kiarastreater "Coloradans understand and value that nonprofits are the bedrock of vibrant and thriving communities. They prove that year after year by showing up and supporting their favorite nonprofits on Colorado Gives Day," said Kelly Dunkin, president and CEO of Community First Foundation. "This year, we are calling on businesses, foundations and other organizations to join the movement and show support for the Colorado nonprofits that make our state so special." The Colorado Gives Day $1 Million+ Incentive Fund boosts every donation made on Colorado Gives Day and is one of the largest Gives Day incentive funds in the nation. Community First Foundation and FirstBank seed the Incentive Fund with $1 million and are excited to work with community partners on growing that to $2.5 million for the 2021 Colorado Gives Day. "FirstBank has been involved with Colorado Gives Day since its inception because we believe in its resonating impact on local nonprofits, and uplifting our communities is what FirstBank represents," said Kelly Kaminskas, President of Retail and Digital Banking at FirstBank. "We also recognize the success of Colorado Gives Day is supported by its incentive fund as it can boost nonprofits' donation totals. As this online giving movement continues to gain momentum, we welcome additional sponsors to the incentive fund, which will allow them to help thousands of nonprofits across the state." Colorado Gives Day is the second largest 24-hour giving days in the nation. Last year Coloradans gave an astonishing $50 million to Colorado nonprofits. Since its inception in 2010, Colorado Gives Day has raised more than $300 million for Colorado nonprofits. "Every nonprofit raising money on Colorado Gives Day gets a percentage of the Incentive Fund," explained Ghazal Vaghedi, vice president of business development and community engagement. "So, the bigger the fund, the more nonprofits receive. This is the perfect way for a business or even a family foundation to convert last year's gains into meaningful and wide-spread community support. I don't know of any other fundraising event that allows this degree of community support coupled with exposure." Sponsorships to the Colorado Gives Day Incentive Fund are 100% tax deductible. Current sponsors include Delta Dental of Colorado, Amazon, Daniels Fund, Gary Community Investments, Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pascoe, and T-Mobile for Business. For more information, visit ColoradoGives.org/Incentive. About Community First Foundation Community First Foundation has been connecting donors and innovative Colorado nonprofits since 1975. As the community foundation serving Jefferson County, we are committed to activating ideas, people and resources so that all Jeffco communities have the opportunity to thrive. We help donors with philanthropic planning, support nonprofits with grants and resources, and together, build resilient and connected communities. Our work is rooted in radical listening and a commitment to equity and inclusion. Beth McConkey, 720.898.5900 [email protected] SOURCE Community First Foundation Related Links http://www.communityfirstfoundation.org GENOA, Italy, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the restart of its ships in the Mediterranean, Costa Cruises is continuing with its program to resume operations, announcing important updates for the 2022 season, which will also involve the final part of the current season. The main changes concern the Italian company's three most innovative ships: Costa Firenze, Costa Toscana and Costa Smeralda. Costa Firenze, the latest ship to join Costa fleet and dedicated to the Florentine Renaissance, will enter service this July 4 from Savona and will operate in the Mediterranean until the end of November 2021. In winter 2021-22 the ship will sail from Dubai for cruises in the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar, including visits to "Expo 2020 Dubai". From April 2022 Costa Firenze will return to offer week-long cruises in Italy, France and Spain. Costa's presence in the Mediterranean will be further strengthened by Costa Toscana, a new "green" ship currently under construction that will be powered by liquefied natural gas and will debut in December 2021. Throughout 2022, Costa Toscana will be dedicated to seven-day cruises in the Western Mediterranean, which will enable visits on the same vacation to two fascinating Spanish destinations -- Barcelona and Valencia in spring, or Ibiza and Valencia in summer. In winter 2021-2022, the current flagship Costa Smeralda will replace her sister ship Costa Toscana in South America, before returning to the Mediterranean for cruises in Italy, France and Spain. "Costa's offer for the remainder of this year and all of next year is rich and solid. As a result of positive feedback and requests we received after the opening of sales, we have made improvements and additions to our programs, continuing our plan for a gradual, phased-in restart in a still-evolving situation. With this approach, we offer guests a great holiday with state-of-the-art ships, world-class service, dining and spas, and a strong presence in all the regions in which we operate. In the Mediterranean, from May 2022, we will for the first time deploy our three most innovative ships for a truly unique cruise vacation" - said Mario Zanetti, President of Costa Cruises. Costa's programs for winter 2021-22 will be complemented by four additional ships. Costa Diadema will depart on September 26 from Savona, offering long cruises in Turkey and Greece or Spain and Portugal. From December she will be deployed in the Caribbean, with three different itineraries to discover several beautiful Caribbean islands. Costa Fascinosa will be back in service on September 23, again from Savona, for 10-day cruises to Lisbon, while during winter she will offer cruises in South America. Costa Deliziosa will continue with her program of cruises in the Eastern Mediterranean until January 8, 2022, when she will depart for the Around the World cruise. Costa Luminosa, currently operating in the Eastern Mediterranean, will sail two-week cruises to the Canary Islands or Israel. During the 2022 season, in addition to Costa Firenze, Costa Smeralda and Costa Toscana cruising in the Western Mediterranean, three ships - Costa Deliziosa, Costa Luminosa and Costa Pacifica - will be available in the eastern part of the Mediterranean. Four additional ships - Costa Diadema, Costa Fascinosa, Costa Favolosa and Costa Fortuna - will operate in Northern Europe, offering cruises to Baltic cities and Norwegian fjords. All updates to Costa's programs will be gradually available in the coming weeks on Costa's reservation systems. The company will contact guests and travel agents affected by the changes as soon as possible to provide them with details. SOURCE Costa Cruises CVC announces the completion of an investment in A Bathing Ape ("BAPE") after the brand became an independent company. Tweet this CVC plans to support the expansion of the business both online and geographically. BAPE will pursue the growth of its presence in overseas markets such as China, the United States and Europe, as well as evolving its online offering to enhance the customer experience and optimizing its marketing and sales channels through increased digitalization. Yann Jiang, Director at CVC, said: "BAPE is an iconic brand with a loyal fan base that has defined the fashion industry with its premium streetwear designs. We are looking forward to bringing this exciting brand to more markets and new customers around the world." CVC has a twenty-year track record of expanding businesses in Asia, and will leverage its respective experience in internationalization, commercial expansion and digitalization, as well as the strength of its existing portfolio of global brands to support BAPE's growth ambitions. Sham Kar Wai, Chairman, CEO and co-founder of I.T Limited, said: "I take great pride in the success of the brand to date, which has been thanks to the commitment of our leadership and staff. CVC is the right partner to support the transformation of BAPE as we focus on our long-term growth." "CVC is very pleased to partner with Chairman Sham and the BAPE team, which has developed and expanded BAPE's position as a leading global streetwear brand. We will work closely together and drive the continued success of the business." added Yann Jiang. The completion of the investment follows I.T Limited's shareholder meetings on 16 April 2021, where disinterested shareholders holding over 99.99% of shares voted in favor of the Scheme of Arrangement. About CVC CVC is a leading private equity and investment advisory firm with a network of 23 offices throughout Europe, Asia and the US, with approximately US$118 billion of assets under management. Since its founding in 1981, CVC has secured commitments in excess of US$160 billion from some of the world's leading institutional investors across its private equity and credit strategies. Funds managed or advised by CVC are invested in over 90 companies worldwide, which have combined annual sales of approximately US$100 billion and employ more than 450,000 people. CVC Asia has one of the largest and longest-established pan-regional office networks of any private equity business in Asia and has been active in the region since 1999. CVC's Asia private equity strategy is focused on control and partnership investments in high quality businesses, typically with enterprise values between $250 million and $1.5 billion. For further information about CVC's Asia Pacific funds please visit: www.cvc.com/private-equity/asia. About A Bathing Ape (BAPE) Since the brand's establishment in 1993, BAPE has remained as a symbol of street fashion for more than 28 years. The brand has created globally iconic designs and street fashion trends since its founding, including designs such as "APE HEAD", "BAPE CAMO", "BAPE STA", "SHARK HOODIE" and "BABY MILO". BAPE has also developed successful collaborations with global brands and artists. The brand is committed to providing a customer experience that blends premium fashion apparel with an entire lifestyle. BAPE's apparel and brands are carried throughout stores in Japan, the US, Europe, China and various markets in Asia. SOURCE CVC Related Links https://www.cvc.com/ There has been an outpouring of support for the teens from teachers, friends and family in the days since the accident claimed five lives. The mother of one of Rivas friends said she started the fundraiser to help the grieving family. By Wednesday, they had raised $22,420. DeepMap is announcing RoadMemory in response to demand from vehicle makers seeking large-scale, high-performance, and economical mapping capabilities to support increased autonomy for upcoming production vehicles. Improved autonomy includes driver support features such as highway assist, intelligent braking, and traffic jam pilot. RoadMemory will automatically build maps using crowdsourced data collected from on-car sensors such as cameras, radars, and newly-available automotive-grade LiDARs. RoadMemory is sensor-agnostic, providing a high degree of flexibility to automakers who require an open system and a choice of sensors to meet their needs. RoadMemory will work hand-in-hand with DeepMap HDR (High-Definition Reference), DeepMap's highest-fidelity mapping offering. RoadMemory enables automakers to augment HDR's market-leading fidelity and ground truth accuracy with the scalable coverage, low latency, and superior economics of crowdsourcing. James Wu, Co-Founder and CEO of DeepMap, said: "RoadMemory addresses the immediate autonomy needs of near-term production vehicles while providing a natural roadmap for future higher levels of autonomy. DeepMap is offering a future-proof 'best of both worlds' approach which leverages the sensor capabilities available in cars today while increasing the fidelity of maps over time as cars become more capable." Mark Wheeler, Co-Founder and CTO of DeepMap, said: "Automated driver assistance and Level 2+ through Level 3 capabilities have become a critical battleground for automakers. Camera and LiDAR sensors are starting to ramp and proliferate for near-term production models. In tandem, automakers are evaluating and choosing their map source. DeepMap is providing a future-proof mapping solution for crowdsourced data that will enable more advanced functionality over time as the vehicle sensors improve and coverage expands." Wheeler added: "Building maps has been a large and expensive undertaking until now. DeepMap leverages state-of-the-art AI and mapping technologies built from the ground up for machines, by those same machines. Now it is possible to create the large-scale, fresh, accurate, open, and economical maps the transportation industry needs to advance to higher levels of autonomy." About DeepMap DeepMap is accelerating safe autonomy by providing the world's best autonomous mapping and localization solutions. DeepMap delivers the technology necessary for self-driving vehicles to navigate in a complex and unpredictable environment. The company addresses three important elements: precise high-definition (HD) mapping, ultra-accurate real-time localization, and the serving infrastructure to support massive global scaling. DeepMap was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., with offices in Beijing and Guangzhou, China. Investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, GSR Ventures, Generation, Goldman Sachs, NVIDIA, and Robert Bosch Venture Capital. For more information, see www.deepmap.ai. Media Contact: Calisa Cole [email protected] SOURCE DeepMap Related Links www.deepmap.ai DUBAI, UAE, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ESOMAR-certified consulting firm Future Market Insights' report projects a significantly positive outlook for waterless cosmetics market through 2021. According to the report, the market is expected to surpass nearly US$ 8.9 billion. Rising demand for chemical-free cosmetics, especially among women, is primarily underpinning the expansion prospects. Furthermore, FMI projects the market to register a CAGR of over 13.3% between 2021 and 2031. With increasing reach of social media, beauty bloggers, and influencers, the demand for waterless cosmetics has ballooned owing to their skincare benefits. Sustainability concerns and increased demand for waterless skin care products have increased the manufacturing of waterless cosmetics, bolstering the market growth. To address the growing concerns regarding plastic waste and water wastage in the industry, beauty influencers are heavily promoting waterless beauty products. Also, the rising demand for cruelty free, non-toxic and eco-friendly products are providing lucrative growth opportunities for the market players. Use of organic and natural ingredients has become a major trend across the globe, especially in skincare products, which is accelerating the demand of waterless cosmetics across the U.S., the U.K., and India. "Increasing demand for sustainable & eco-friendly skincare products among millennials and baby boomers has been creating opportunities for sales of waterless cosmetics. This is also encouraging the market players to focus on product launches," says the FMI analyst. For more Insights into the Market, Request a Sample of this Report https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-12748 Key Takeaways from FMI's Waterless cosmetics Market Study In terms of product type, skincare segments holds a major chuck of market share, registering a CAGR of over 11.4% through 2021 Women segment in consumer's orientation is expected to account for 38.4% sales in global waterless cosmetics market Penetration of social media and increasing brand promotion by beauty bloggers are pushing the sales of waterless cosmetics across the U.S. The global waterless cosmetics market in UK is poised to expand at 4.6% CAGR through 2031 India's waterless cosmetics market is accounted to hold over 1/4th of market share in South Asia waterless cosmetics market is accounted to hold over 1/4th of market share in Brazil will emerge as one the most lucrative market exhibiting a CAGR of 13.5% during the forecast period Competitive Landscape Leading players in the waterless cosmetics market are currently focusing on expanding their product portfolios to include a wider range of products in cosmetics. Key players are actively collaborating with beauty bloggers and influencers to generate revenues through e-commerce platforms. Increased penetration of online platforms has provided new platform for the manufacturers to promote their brands and products. In March 2021, Waterless beauty brand OWA hair care announced the re-launch of its brand Susteau, coupled with the launch of its new powder-to-liquid Moondust Hair Conditioner. In January 2021, Everist Inc., a new clean, zero-waste beauty company, launched its first high-performance beauty products in the hair care category. Some of the key players profiled by Future Market Insights include: Unilever PLC The Waterless Beauty Company L'Oreal SA Kao Corporation The Procter & Gamble Company Loli Clensta Ruby's Organics Carter + Jane Taiki USA Ktein Niconi True Botanicals Allies Group Pvt. Ltd. Lavedo Cosmetics No Cosmetics May Coop Azafran Innovacion Get Customization on this Report for Specific Country https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/customization-available/rep-gb-12748 More Insights into the Global Waterless Cosmetics Market In its latest report, FMI offers a detailed segmentation on the global waterless cosmetic market, providing historical data for the period of 2016-2020 and forecast statistics for the period of 2021-2031. In order to understand the global market potential, its growth, and scope, the market is segmented on the basis of: Product Type Skincare Hair Care Cosmetics Others Consumer Orientation Men Women Unisex Sales Channel Wholesalers/Distributors Hypermarkets/Supermarkets Convenience Stores Specialty Stores Departmental Stores Online Retail Other Retail Formats Price Range Economy (Below US$30 ) ) Mid-Range ( US$30 to US$60 ) to ) Premium (Above US$60 ) Region North America Latin America Europe East Asia South Asia Middle East and Africa (MEA) and (MEA) Oceania For any Queries Linked with the Report, Ask an [email protected] https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-12748 Key Questions Covered in the Report What will be the future outlook for waterless cosmetics market? Which region will emerge as the most lucrative market during the forecast period? Which are the key trend that will drive the waterless cosmetics market demand? What are the challenges that will affect the growth of waterless cosmetics market? Which segment will remain the most lucrative throughout the forecast period? What is the impact of Covid-19 on waterless cosmetics market? Explore FMI's Extensive Coverage on the Consumer Product Domain ASEAN Organic Cosmetics Market: In its new study, ESOMAR-certified market research and consulting firm Future Market Insights (FMI) offers insights about key factors driving demand for ASEAN organic cosmetics. The report tracks the global sales of ASEAN organic cosmetics in 20+ high-growth markets, along with analyzing the impact COVID-19 has had on cosmetics industry in general, and organic cosmetics in particular. Male Color Cosmetics Market: The global male color cosmetics market report by FMI sheds light on the important growth dynamics expected to prevail across the 2021-2031 assessment period. Statistics of key segments have been provided across prominent geographies, along with a detailed mapping of the global competitive landscape, rendering this insight a highly effectual one. Cosmeceutical Ingredients Market: In its new report, the Future Market Insights (FMI) offers an exhaustive overview of the global cosmeceutical ingredients market with focus on the key market dynamics, including drivers, trends, opportunities, restraints, and detailed information about the global cosmeceutical ingredients market structure. The market study presents exclusive information about how the market will grow during the forecast period of 2021 to 2031. 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: Abhishek Budholiya Future Market Insights, 1602-6 Jumeirah Bay X2 Tower, Plot No: JLT-PH2-X2A, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates For Sales Enquiries: [email protected] For Media Enquiries: [email protected] Website: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/waterless-cosmetic-market Press Release Source: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/press-release/waterless-cosmetic-market SOURCE Future Market Insights As organizations bring on new technologies and solutions such as artificial intelligence (AI) and IoT at scale, the explosive growth of digital business is posing new challenges, as data takes on its own gravity, becoming heavier, denser, and more expensive to move. The new AWS Direct Connect 100Gbps is tailored to providing easy access to larger data sets, enabling high availability, reliability and lower latency. As a result, customers will be able to move bandwidth-heavy workloads seamlessly and break through the barriers posed by data gravity. Customers gain access to strategic IT infrastructure that can aggregate and maintain data with less design time and spend, enabling access to AWS with one of the fastest and highest quality AWS network connections available. As an AWS Outposts Ready Partner, Digital Realty's global platform is optimized to support the needs of data-intensive, secure hybrid IT deployments. Digital Realty supports AWS Outposts deployments by enabling access to more than 40 AWS Direct Connect locations globally to address local processing, compliance, and storage requirements, while optimizing cost and performance. When coupled with the availability of AWS Direct Connect 100Gbps connections, the Westin Building Exchange and Interxion Dublin campuses become ideal meeting places for customers to tackle data gravity challenges and unlock new opportunities with their AWS Outposts deployments. "As emerging technologies such as AI, VR and blockchain move from the margins to the mainstream, enterprises need new levels of performance from their hybrid solutions," said Tom Sly, General Manager, AWS Direct Connect. "Deploying AWS Direct Connect at 100Gbps at Digital Realty facilities in Seattle and Dublin is critical to our strategy of helping customers build more sophisticated applications with increased flexibility, scalability and reliability. We're excited to see the value Digital Realty's PlatformDIGITAL delivers for our mutual customers." The Westin Building Exchange serves as a primary interconnection hub for the Pacific Northwest, linking Canada, Alaska and Asia along the Pacific Rim. The building is one of the most densely interconnected facilities in North America , and is home to leading global cloud, content and interconnection providers, housing over 150 carriers and more than 10,000 cross-connects, giving Amazon customers low-latency access to the largest companies and services representing the digital economy. The 34-story tower is adjacent to Amazon's existing 4.1 million square foot campus in Seattle. Digital Realty offers six colocation data centers in the Irish capital, which forms a strategic bridge between Europe and the U.S. Ireland has particular significance as a global trading hub and provides the headquarters location for several global multinationals within the software, finance and life science industries. Multiple transatlantic cables also land in Ireland before continuing to the UK or continental Europe, making Interxion Dublin a prime location for the new AWS Direct Connect 100Gbps at the heart of a vibrant connected data community. "Today's announcement of the opening of AWS Direct Connect 100Gbps on-ramps significantly expands opportunities for customers to scale their digital transformation through our global PlatformDIGITAL," added Digital Realty Chief Technology Officer Chris Sharp. "AWS serves some of the world's most innovative and demanding customers, from start-up to enterprise, that are looking to drive the digital economy forward. Our platform expands the coverage, capacity, and next-generation connectivity that AWS customers need to extend workloads to the cloud rapidly. We are honored to open up next-generation access in collaboration with AWS and specifically at the heart of the rich digital communities at the Westin Building Exchange and on our Interxion Dublin campus." The new deployments create centers of data exchange in Network Hubs deployed on PlatformDIGITAL, enabling distributed workflows to be rapidly scaled and securely interconnected reducing operating costs, enhancing visibility, saving time and improving compliance. The new capability also gives AWS customers instant access to a growing list of powerful AWS services such as Blockchain, Machine Learning, IoT and countless others all over a direct, private connection optimized for high performance and security. AIB, Inc., a leading data exchange and management firm with a software as a service platform deployed at over 1,600 automotive industry customers, recognized the value of deploying a physical Network Hub on PlatformDIGITAL coupled with a virtual direct interconnection to AWS to enable flexibility in its hybrid IT environment. "Our Texas-based operations required new cloud zone diversity solutions for our cloud native national vision. Digital Realty provided an innovative and comprehensive solution for AWS cloud access through PlatformDIGITAL," said Kellen Dunham, CTO, AIB, Inc. Digital Realty's global platform enables low-latency access to both the nearest AWS Region as well as a wide array of options to connect edge deployments or devices. Customers can securely connect to their desired AWS Region using both physical and virtual connectivity options. Globally, PlatformDIGITAL offers access to more than 40 AWS Direct Connect locations, including 11 in EMEA, providing secure, high-performance access to numerous AWS Outposts-Ready data centers around the world. In addition, the Digital Realty Internet Exchange ( DRIX ) supports AWS Direct Peering capabilities and dedicated access to multiple third-party Internet Exchanges on PlatformDIGITAL, providing a direct path from on-premise networks to AWS. The solution is part of PlatformDIGITAL's robust and expanding partner community that solves hybrid IT challenges for the enterprise. Additional Resources: For more information on locations and availability please visit www.digitalrealty.com/cloud/aws-direct-connect Learn about Digital Realty's Data Hub featuring AWS Outposts solution for data localization and compliance on PlatformDIGITAL solution for data localization and compliance on PlatformDIGITAL Explore global coverage options on PlatformDIGITAL options on PlatformDIGITAL Read the AIB case study on deploying hybrid IT flexibly with Digital Realty and AWS About Digital Realty Digital Realty supports the world's leading enterprises and service providers by delivering the full spectrum of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions. PlatformDIGITAL, the company's global data center platform, provides customers a trusted foundation and proven Pervasive Datacenter Architecture (PDx) solution methodology for scaling digital business and efficiently managing data gravity challenges. Digital Realty's global data center footprint gives customers access to the connected communities that matter to them with 290 facilities in 47 metros across 24 countries on six continents. To learn more about Digital Realty, please visit digitalrealty.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter . Media & Industry Analyst Relations Marc Musgrove Digital Realty +1 (415) 508-2812 [email protected] Investor Relations John J. Stewart / Jim Huseby Digital Realty +1 (415) 738-6500 [email protected] Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains 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, including statements related to AWS Direct Connection, our expectations of the benefits of AWS Direct Connect 100Gbps, the Seattle and Dublin market and our facilities located therein, PlatformDIGITAL, and data exchange. For a list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the reports and other filings by the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 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. SOURCE Digital Realty Related Links https://www.digitalrealty.com/ Dynata partners with Ecosia on innovative global tree-planting program Tweet this "Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges facing the world today, and businesses around the world must unite to combat effectively the threats of climate change," said Michel Guidi, Managing Director, International for Dynata. "Our own research shows that 77% of consumers expect businesses to take urgent action in response to climate change. Reforestation is cited by environmentalists and scientists alike as one of the best ways to do fight climate change and in doing so, work with local communities around the world to fight poverty. Partnering with Ecosia gives us a partner with expertise and worldwide reach to launch a tree-planting program at Dynata, along with the opportunity to become one of the first companies to partner in their new 'Ecosia Trees' program. We're excited to help launch this important program and we encourage other companies to join us as tree-planting organizations." Added Christian Kroll, CEO, Ecosia, "We're excited to have Dynata on board as we kick off our new tree planting service. For Ecosia Trees we're seeking partners that have a global mindset and a true interest in tackling climate change, as well as an understanding of the importance of planting, monitoring, and protecting trees the right way where they are needed most. Dynata's global footprint and approach, engaging not only their employees but also customers, positions them as a key partner for us to be able to continue to grow and expand our tree-planting efforts around the world." Reforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands that have been depleted, either through deforestation, clearcutting or natural occurrences. It is frequently used to remedy the effects of deforestation, rebuilding ecosystems, improving air quality and mitigating global warming, and is cited by environmentalists and scientists alike as one of the best ways to combat climate change and in doing so work with local communities around the world to fight poverty. Since its founding in 2009, Ecosia has gone on to become the world's largest not-for-profit search engine and has planted more than 125 million trees in over 30 countries. Over the past 10 years, its team of reforestation experts has built up a diversified and highly effective tree-planting portfolio that restores and protects most of the world's biodiversity hotspots and holistically affects multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Trees are monitored for at least three years using innovative satellite and geo-tagging technology, to ensure they not only grow, but survive and thrive. All Ecosia Trees partners will receive comprehensive quarterly reports so they can track their positive impact. Companies can apply to become an Ecosia Trees partner at trees.ecosia.org, or contact the team directly via [email protected]. Each applicant will be considered depending on their motivations for partnering and other commitments. Ecosia has a policy where it will not plant trees for companies in industries including fossil fuels, weapons, industrial agriculture, mining, or airlines. About Dynata Dynata is the world's largest first-party data platform for insights, activation and measurement. With a reach that encompasses over 62 million consumers and business professionals globally, and an extensive library of individual profile attributes collected through surveys, Dynata is the cornerstone for precise, trustworthy quality data. The company has built innovative data services and solutions around its robust first-party data offering to bring the voice of the customer to the entire marketing continuum from strategy, innovation, and branding to advertising, measurement, and optimization. Dynata serves more than 6,000 market research, media and advertising agencies, publishers, consulting and investment firms and corporate customers in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Learn more at www.dynata.com About Ecosia Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, Ecosia is the world's largest not-for-profit search engine. It has planted more than 125 million trees in more than 30 countries worldwide. In 2014 Ecosia was accredited as a B Corporation and in 2017 it built the first of its four solar plants to ensure it is 100% renewable, reaching 200% renewable in July 2020. In 2018 Ecosia gave away its shares to the Purpose Foundation, to assure that it can never be sold and that no one, including the founder, can profit or receive dividends from the company. Ecosia was founded by Christian Kroll in 2009. Visit info.ecosia.org to learn more. SOURCE Dynata Related Links http://www.dynata.com HUNTSVILLE, Ala., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Dynetics Technical Solutions (DTS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Dynetics, now operates the largest electron-beam welding system in the Western Hemisphere. Pro-Beam, a global leader in electron beam and laser technology, recently delivered the 22-feet-long by 22-feet-wide by 22-feet-high system from Germany following an agreement between the two companies. The system is capable of supporting government and commercial programs at both the unclassified and classified levels. "This system is an incredible addition to our precision machining and welding capabilities," said Ronnie Chronister, senior vice president of Weapons Technology and Manufacturing at Dynetics. "Electron-beam welding provides advanced opportunities that will significantly improve our manufacturing and bring about new capabilities. We're proud to enter this new phase and support this vital mission." With classified capabilities starting at the secret level and spanning to top secret, the welding facility can support a variety of sensitive customer work. The technology will reinforce the Virginia and Columbia class submarine hardware. Division-wide welding capabilities will include metal inert gas welding and tungsten inert gas welding. These tools support several programs including, the U.S. Army's Long Range Hypersonic Weapons (LRHW). In 2019, DTS also acquired a smaller 20-foot-long by 7-foot-wide by 7-foot-high system of equal beam power from Pro-Beam. Both systems aid the company's welding facility and have established north Alabama as a U.S. leader in advanced electron-beam welding for the aerospace, defense and commercial sectors. Additional machining capabilities within the company's facilities include the Onsrud Gantry and over 30 CNC machines. These technologies support large structural hardware machining and post-weld machining in a classified environment. The electron beam capability was enabled by a $15 million contract with the Department of Defense's (DoD) Office of Industrial Policy to support the office's Industrial Base Analysis & Sustainment (IBAS) program. The mission of the IBAS program is to help modernize the defense industrial base to ensure the U.S. maintains cutting edge capabilities. "The new domestic electron beam capability serves as a national asset," said Jessie Salazar, deputy assistant secretary of defense for DOD's Office of Industrial Policy. "It gives our defense industrial base the cutting-edge equipment it needs to deliver on-time and can help advance our commercial aerospace community as well." For the U.S. to build back its manufacturing capacity, compete globally and maintain readiness, it must possess the best equipment. Recently the IBAS Program awarded a contract to DTS to build a new electron beam capability to produce large scale parts more quickly and at higher quality. "DTS has been a great partner standing up this new capability," said Adele Ratcliff, program director for IBAS. "The team worked very hard to stay on track throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Our defense industrial base is better today thanks to their determination and dedication to the mission." About Dynetics Technical Solutions Headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, Dynetics Technical Solutions, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dynetics, Inc. formed in 2010. Dynetics Technical Solutions has autonomous management, operational and support staff with an emphasis on providing high quality mechanical manufacturing, engineering and technology services and solutions to customers. About Dynetics Dynetics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leidos, provides responsive, cost-effective engineering, scientific, IT solutions to the national security, cybersecurity, space, and critical infrastructure sectors. Our portfolio features highly specialized technical services and a range of software and hardware products, including components, subsystems, and complex end-to-end systems. The company of more than 3,000 employees is based in Huntsville, Ala., and has offices throughout the U.S. For more information, visit www.dynetics.com. About the Department of Defense's Office of Industrial Policy: The Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Industrial Policy supports the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment by providing detailed analyses and in-depth understanding of the increasingly global, commercial, and financially complex industrial supply chain essential to our national defense. Learn more about Industrial Policy by visiting https://www.businessdefense.gov/. About Leidos Leidos is a Fortune 500 information technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets. The company's 40,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $12.30 billion for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2021. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com. Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended January 1, 2021 and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. SOURCE Dynetics Related Links https://www.dynetics.com WASHINGTON, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Eaglebrook Advisors (Eaglebrook) has partnered with Alto Solutions, Inc. (AltoIRA) to give independent financial advisors the ability to seamlessly invest in bitcoin and other digital assets through tax-advantaged accounts. Eaglebrook is the first secure and compliant1 SMA platform that specializes in bitcoin and digital assets and is specifically designed for Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs). With Eaglebrook's addition of the streamlined IRA onboarding workflow, financial advisors can now quickly and cost-effectively allocate client assets to bitcoin and digital assets in retirement accounts. "We are thrilled to join forces with AltoIRA to simplify and optimize the process of investing retirement assets in bitcoin and digital assets using customizable, tax-advantaged accounts," said Christopher King, CEO of Eaglebrook Advisors. "It only takes a few minutes for a financial advisor to open a self-directed IRA and transfer assets with AltoIRA. Eaglebrook takes care of everything elseincluding trade execution, portfolio management, compliance, and reporting. Our partnership with AltoIRA offers IRA investors secure, compliant, and streamlined access to bitcoin and digital assets at a time when market trends are making this asset class particularly attractive." Demand for bitcoin and digital asset exposure from advisors and their clients has accelerated over the past few months. RIAs and financial advisors have become better educated on the emerging asset class and its asymmetric upside. Eaglebrook's SMA platform is fully integrated with the major portfolio management and reporting systems enabling advisors to model, bill, and advise on their clients' bitcoin and digital asset holdings within a secure, unified system. Investment in Eaglebrook SMAs give investors direct ownership of their digital assets, which are held in an offline, institutional-grade custody account at a qualified custodian. To learn more, please visit https://www.eaglebrookadvisors.com . "We've seen investor interest in bitcoin and cryptocurrencies more broadly explode in recent years, along with interest in using tax-advantaged self-directed IRAs to invest," said Eric Satz, Founder and CEO of Alto Solutions. "We are proud to work with Eaglebrook to make it easy for advisors to securely incorporate digital asset investment strategies into any type of self-directed IRA on behalf of their clients." About Eaglebrook Eaglebrook Advisors provides independent financial advisors with streamlined, secure, and compliant access to cryptocurrency and digital assets. The firm has created the first bitcoin and digital asset separately managed accounts (SMAs), which are designed to seamlessly integrate with an advisor's current portfolio management and reporting systems and workflows. Eaglebrook's investment products allow advisors to directly add bitcoin and other digital assets to model portfolios, and include this asset class in their overall asset allocation strategies and in clients' financial plans. For more information, please visit www.eaglebrookadvisors.com and follow us on LinkedIn . About Alto Alto is a Nashville-based financial technology company that launched its next-generation self-directed IRA platform in 2018 to make it easy for individuals to access and invest in alternative assets using their retirement funds. The first of its kind, Alto's platform streamlines the process for investors, investment funding portals, and investment sponsors alike. Among Alto's current investment partners include AngelList, Coinbase, EquityZen, Masterworks, Republic, and Wefunder, as well as financial advisors, fund sponsors, and other direct issuers. Alto is not a registered broker-dealer or investment advisor. For more information, please visit www.AltoIRA.com or follow Alto on LinkedIn , Twitter , and Facebook . 1 Digital assets held in Eaglebrook's SMAs are secured in an offline, institutional-grade custody account at Gemini Trust Company, FBO AltoIRA accounts as applicable. Gemini Trust Company is a fiduciary and qualified custodian under New York Banking Law and is licensed by the State of New York to custody digital assets. Media Contacts: Max Blakesberg Eaglebrook Advisors 561.613.7796 [email protected] Kyle Kappmeier JConnelly for Eaglebrook Advisors 973.975.7827 [email protected] Lauren McKirgan FINN Partners for AltoIRA 615.512.8621 [email protected] SOURCE Eaglebrook Advisors; Alto Related Links http://www.AltoIRA.com CHANDLER, Ariz., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- An all-electric Ford F-150 is coming soon, and it is defying expectations in terms of the expected price and the expected horsepower. The official announcement was made at Ford World Headquarters in Detroit. This surprising development places Ford at the forefront of electric commercial vehicles. It will now have an E-Transit electric van and the revolutionary 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Pro. Earnhardt Auto Centers "At Earnhardt Ford, we love trucks," said General Manager John Nissen. "So we had the same worry that everyone has had. When would we get an electric F150? And would it be as good as the gas and diesel F150s? We are thrilled to say that Ford engineers have created a truck that can be released by next year. Furthermore, that truck will be as strong or stronger than the mid-tier F150s today." While the range was once a difficult subject for electric cars, the Lightning Pro can promise a standard range of 230 miles. A battery upgrade allows for a 300-mile range. Online registrations have already started at Earnhardt Ford, one of 2,300 EV-certified Ford dealers. Earnhardt Ford is already building for the future with its current remodel plans. This will make it better to serve its Phoenix Metro Ford shoppers. Unlike some electric vehicles, the Lightning will have more horsepower than many of its counterparts. The projected capacity of the dual-motor system is 426 horsepower and 775 pound-feet of torque. The introductory price is expected to be just under $40,000, and it will come with a 32-amp Ford Mobile Charger. An expected federal tax break should bring the price down even more. With the stronger battery, its capability is projected to be 563 horsepower. It is expected to tow up to 10,000 pounds while the standard Lightning is expected to tow up to 7,500 pounds. Payload is expected to top out at 2,000 pounds. "Businesses will appreciate that maintenance costs are expected to drop by 40 percent over eight years and 100,000 miles," said Nissen. "Furthermore, operational costs should be reduced through a big drop in fuel costs." The first Lightning will have a 5.5-foot rear cargo bed, the spacious, two-row SuperCab, and the truck's first trunk in place of the gas engine. This Mega Power Frunk is a secure 14.1 cubic-foot hold that can tote up to 400 pounds. Ford already introduced a 3.5-liter PowerBoost Full Hybrid V6 engine for the 2021 model year. This combines gas and electric power to produce 430 horsepower and 570 pound-feet of torque. Furthermore, the F150 is offered in Ecoboost, V6, and V8 engines. Capability starts at 290 horsepower with the 3.3-liter V6. Media Contact: Earnhardt Marketing Email: [email protected] Related Images image1.jpg SOURCE Earnhardt Auto Centers NEW YORK, June 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- WHY: New York, N.Y., June 2, 2021. Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces the filing of a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) between October 26, 2019 and April 30, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"). A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than July 27, 2021. SO WHAT: If you purchased Virgin Galactic securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Virgin Galactic class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2087.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than July 27, 2021. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience or resources. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020 founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) for accounting purposes, Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp.'s ("SCH") warrants were required to be treated as liabilities rather than equities; (2) Virgin Galactic had deficient disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting; (3) as a result, the Company improperly accounted for SCH warrants that were outstanding at the time of the business confirmation of SCH, a special purpose acquisition company ("SPAC"), and the Company's then-private predecessor; and (4) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. To join the Virgin Galactic class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2087.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.rosenlegal.com SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A. Related Links www.rosenlegal.com Xuyi crawfish are bright red, clean, tender, and revered for their fresh and sweet taste but shoddy imitations are often sold by illegal vendors around the country. Now, thanks to Suning.com, consumers everywhere can enjoy fresh agricultural products at a more accessible price. The Xuyi crawfish story is a shining example of Suning.com's e-commerce solution helping farmers to get their products from farm to table. Earlier this year, Suning.com held a training course to cultivate the use of the internet as a way to bring agricultural products from China's villages where they are produced to more customers in metropolitan areas. More than 300 small and micro e-commerce merchants from Xuyi County participated in the event, where they learned the difference between food and agriculture, and gained insights into how to market Xuyi County's unique agricultural products online. Trainees also learned foundational steps to run an e-commerce business, including how to use new media to open stores and promote products. "Suning.com taught us all the components needed to effectively run an online business, from operational planning to online system operations. In addition to training, there will be teams providing us with professional guidance along the way. This allows us to communicate and solve problems as a group in real-time," said Qian Haiwen, General Manager of Xuyi Lobster Supply Chain Co., Ltd. Suning.com has also established a 5,000sqm base in Xuyi County to enable authentic sales and delivery of Xuyi crawfish directly from the source. Qian Haiwen has high expectations and is already looking forward to expanding his business in anticipation of a growing market. Suning.com has a history of supporting counties and villages to promote their agricultural products. In the mountainous Yuegou Village of central China's Henan Province, agricultural treasures are abundant, including the village's native eggs. However, its geographical location and topographical conditions mean the village cannot easily ship products, which has led to the depletion of local jobs. To improve the situation, Yuegou county leaders called on villagers to join Suning.com's rural revitalization program, where they can get help to sell the village's eggs and improve their income. With policy support from the county and assistance from Suning.com, Yuegou Village has built a complete egg supply chain with a record of 100,000 orders per day and a monthly turnover of RMB20 million. Suning.com has also established an inaugural batch of listed purchasing villages as the sources of high-quality agricultural products, including Liangjia, Qing'an County, Suihua City in Heilongjiang Province and Kedeng Village, Yanyuan County, Daliang Mountains in Sichuan Province that span across China. Furthermore, the company has developed a Chinese style online pavilion to promote Chinese agricultural brands and enhance the visibility of agricultural products. In addition to immediate sales, the increased popularity and distribution of agricultural products also helped strengthen regional industrial chains and cultivate a more sustainable business model. In turn, these create long-term benefits, from strengthening the local labor market to attracting young talent to return to their hometowns. To date, Suning.com has established 120 purchasing villages, 71 factories, and 68 industrial clusters. With its brand-new supply chain, the company is cutting out the middleman to obtain products from the source, support manufacturing and promote marketing. Through these joint efforts, Suning.com is bolstering the agricultural farming economy, allowing villages to reap more profits, and delivering affordable prices to consumers. About Suning Group Founded in 1990, Suning Group has two listed subsidiaries at home and abroad and more than 300,000 employees around the world, ranking the third in the Chinese private sector. Being committed to its mission of Leading the Industrial Advancements in Creating a Higher Quality of Life for All, it provides quality products and services to more than 700 million customers worldwide and has its business scope covering three main sectors: Retail, Real Estate, and Financial Service. Suning.com, the main subsidiary is a leading O2O smart retail service provider in China. In 2020, Suning.com maintained its position among the Fortune Global 500 and topped the 2020 List of China's 500 Most Valuable Brands with a brand value of RMB 296.815 billion. SOURCE Suning.com NUTLEY, N.J., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Eighteen students from the first class of the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine will graduate this evening and start their medical careers. The medical students, who began working toward their degrees in 2018, will have graduated in an accelerated three-year program after tonight's commencement at the School of Medicine campus. All will start residencies across the Hackensack Meridian Health network. "This is the fulfillment of a dream to improve our health system, from its very foundations," said Robert C. Garrett, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health. "Leading progressive and positive change in medicine starts with training the professionals who treat patients. This school is now shaping a better future for our state and beyond." "We are achieving our vision," said Bonita Stanton, M.D., the School's founding dean. "These 18 students have already contributed to the communities they serve, and their careers bring so much promise into our future. This is a proud day." The students will begin their residencies in a variety of disciplines including anesthesiology, internal medicine, psychiatry, pediatrics, emergency medicine, and neurology at Hackensack University Medical Center, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Ocean Medical Center, and JFK University Medical Center. The students were informed of their residencies in a virtual "Match Day" held in March a first for the institution. Hackensack Meridian Health partnered with Seton Hall University and opened the school on the Nutley-Clifton campus on Route 3 three years ago. The agreement was restructured in 2018, and the School achieved independent accreditation in July 2020. The School of Medicine's inaugural class in 2018 included 60 students; the other students from that class have opted for the traditional four-year track and will have their graduation next spring. Enrollment and admissions have increased since its founding. The class incoming in 2019 admitted 90 students. Another 122 students made up the 2020 cohort, as selected from more than 5,000 applicants. The latest incoming class will number more than 150, admitted from more than 6,000 candidates. The school also aims to diversify New Jersey's next generation of physicians. Nearly half of the class admitted in 2020 is female, and students speak 33 different languages. Half of the class identifies as persons of color (other than white), and a quarter are from groups categorized as under-represented in medicine (URIM). The school's innovative approach includes several distinctive features. Students have the opportunity for a three-year path to residency, or an optional fourth year which offers combined master's degree or graduate certificate programs, intense clinical immersion, or focused research. Inter-disciplinary learning adds to a curriculum that is mission-based, and designed to create physicians who are humanistic, socially responsible and collaborative across the health care system. The goal is to train professionals who are equally adept at biomedical intricacies, as they are at the behavioral, social, and health system sciences used to treat people. Classes on anatomy, molecular and cellular principles, and neuroscience and behavior, are required like they are at other schools. But at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, the basic science is always placed in its clinical context. The Human Dimension Course is a distinctive way to place the students in this clinical context. From the first day of the degree program, this immersive community-based experience links pairs of students to families in the community, with a focus on four domains of health: social, environmental, psychological, and medical. Throughout their pursuit of the degree, students in the Human Dimension follow the health trajectories of individuals and families, in locations including Hackensack, Garfield, Paterson, Passaic, Bloomfield, Clifton, Nutley, Union City, and West New York. Through experiences in the family's home, community, and health care settings, students come to understand the role of community and context in health and well-being, as well as the role of the physician in maintaining health. "This School is at the vanguard of the medical education needed in the 21st century," said Jeffrey Boscamp, M.D., vice dean of the medical school and a professor of pediatrics. "In just a few short years, we have made this School a reality and it is already making a difference." The commencement also marks another milestone toward full accreditation by agencies like that of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). The School received "provisional" accreditation from the LCME earlier this year. ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, the first private medical school in New Jersey in more than 50 years, welcomed its first class of students in 2018 to its On3 campus in Nutley and Clifton. Hackensack Meridian Health assumed its independent operation in July 2020. The school's vision is that each person in New Jersey, and in the United States, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, will enjoy the highest levels of wellness in an economically and behaviorally sustainable fashion. The School's unique curriculum focuses on linking the basic science with clinical relevance, through an integrated curriculum in a team-oriented, collaborative environment. The school prides itself on outreach, through programs like the Human Dimension, which is active in communities across New Jersey. ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care. Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 17 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes three academic medical centers Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, JFK Medical Center in Edison; two children's hospitals - Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital in Neptune; nine community hospitals Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, and Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin; a behavioral health hospital Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead; and two rehabilitation hospitals - JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Shore Rehabilitation Institute in Brick. Additionally, the network has more than 500 patient care locations throughout the state which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness centers, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers and physician practice locations. Hackensack Meridian Health has more than 36,000 team members, and over 7,000 physicians and is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy, committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves. The network's notable distinctions include having four hospitals among the top in New Jersey by U.S. News and World Report. Other honors include consistently achieving Magnet recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and being named to Becker's Healthcare's "150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare/2019" list. The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine opened in 2018, the first private medical school in New Jersey in more than 50 years, welcomed its third class of students in 2020 to its On3 campus in Nutley and Clifton. Additionally, the network partnered with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to find more cures for cancer faster while ensuring that patients have access to the highest quality, most individualized cancer care when and where they need it. Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies. For additional information, please visit https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/. SOURCE Hackensack Meridian Health Related Links https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org Christopher Velez, 40, cut them off in traffic, threw a cup and hit one of the girls in the eye, then forced them into a parking lot and tried to drag them out of their car, the Cape Coral Police Department said, according to an NBC2 report. Results of a Financial Survival survey commissioned by Friends Provident International (FPIL), a global provider of protection, savings and investment solutions operating out of the UAE, Isle of Man and across Asia, reveals that 57% percent of the UAE workforce are insufficiently financially prepared to survive three months in the event of contracting a critical illness requiring them to leave their jobs. Startlingly, over a quarter of respondents report that they would not even survive a month. The survey which received responses from over 1,000 UAE employees from across gender, age, income, nationality, Emirate, and relationship status segments, "shines a light on the average UAE employees' unpreparedness for critical illness especially the impact that debilitating illness can have on earnings and financial survival," says Stuart Shilcock, Head of Sales, Middle East at Friends Provident International. Why worry about critical illness? Statistically, employees are more likely to be diagnosed with a critical illness than die during their working life. A non-smoking man aged 40 is over four times more likely to be diagnosed with a critical illness than he is to die before the age of 65 (Source: Pacific Life Re March 2018). A life-changing illness significantly impacts the ability to work, reducing or stopping altogether the ability to earn. And, as FPIL survey results shows, "all employees in the UAE are woefully unprepared to survive financially if they can't work," says Shilcock. While women were marginally more confident than men that they could survive financially for three months in the event of becoming seriously ill and losing their jobs, only 12% of men and 14% of women believed they could survive a full 12 months. Somewhat counterintuitively, older employees, in the 45+ age group, "whom one would expect to be better financially prepared or at least have more savings, were less confident of surviving the first six months than younger employees," observes Shilcock. That said, older employees made up the largest group, 17%, of those who believed they could survive up to 12 months. This indicates "a slightly higher level of financial preparedness amongst a nonetheless still very small segment of older employees," says Shilcock. However one looks at the data, the vast majority of employees of all ages remained unprepared for critical illness. Over two thirds of Emirati, Arab Expat and Asian workers didn't believe they could survive financially for three months if they fell ill and lost their jobs. Western employees were even less confident of surviving financially "with a full 71% believing that they could not last three months if they became ill and couldn't work," says Shilcock. These numbers are particularly worrying when one considers that expats in the UAE don't have the same statutory benefits that exist in many of their home countries. In Dubai, for example, there is very little statutory sick pay and no free schooling. Cut across other demographics, the picture painted by the FPIL survey doesn't improve. Single people were more confident that they could survive financially for three months compared with either married employees, or employees married with kids. Though more confident than other groups, since a full 66% of single people believed that they could not survive for three months financially if they fell ill and lost their jobs shows "the high level of financial unpreparedness even amongst single people with few dependents," says Shilcock. The overwhelming message from this data is that regardless of gender, age, income, nationality, Emirate or relationship status, "critical illness cover is the responsible thing to do if you live and work in the UAE, especially in these very uncertain times," advises Shilcock. Only available through regulated financial advisory firms Following the recent introduction of the UAE Insurance Authority's BOD-49 regulations, promoting fee and product transparency "FPIL recently re-launched its critical illness cover to be fully BOD49 compliant," reports Shilcock, who further added: "Our critical illness plan is available to expats across the GCC, as it's an advice led solution it is only available through regulated financial advisers." What is critical illness cover? Offered as part of a protection product, critical illness cover promises a financial pay-out in the event of being diagnosed with a critical illness during the term of the product. This means you can concentrate on recovering, rather than worrying about whether you can pay your bills. In fact, unlike medical cover, critical illness cover is specifically designed to cover things like rent, mortgage payments, utility bills, loans and debt, food, school fees, home modifications (addition of stairlift, ramps etc) and many other daily living expenses not covered by either medical or life policies. What critical illness cover does, however, share with life insurance is that a very small premium buys a lot of income replacement cover in the event falling ill means having to give up your job. Notes to editor Friends Provident International Limited (FPIL) is part of International Financial Group Limited (IFGL), which provides investment, savings and protection solutions to international investors based around the world. IFGL comprises RL360, RL360 Services, Ardan International and Friends Provident International. The group employs 650 staff and administers assets of USD24 billion across 210,000 policies (all figures as at 31 December 2020). This press release is not a consumer advertisement and is only intended for use by journalists and financial intermediaries. Infographic - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1525110/FPIL_Critical_Illness_Survey_Infographic.jpg SOURCE Friends Provident International Related Links https://www.fpinternational.com MINNEAPOLIS, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Eyesafe Inc, a global leader in low blue light solutions for consumer electronics, today announced that GIGABYTE Technology, one of the world's leading manufacturers of computer hardware, has successfully certified five gaming monitors that meet the Eyesafe Display Standards. The five GIGABYTE Eyesafe Certified models are the AORUS FI32Q, M28U, M32Q, G24F, and the forthcoming AORUS FI32U. These models will mark GIGABYTE's first-ever monitors that are designed to meet the certification requirements for the TUV Rheinland Eyesafe Display Standards, the globally-recognized and most advanced set of requirements for blue light management and color performance in the consumer electronics industry. The Eyesafe Standards were developed in conjunction with leading ophthalmologists, optometrists, and engineers who have serious concerns about potential risks from excess exposure to high-energy blue light. "GIGABYTE's move to put health at the center of product design demonstrates tremendous foresight." -Justin Barrett, CEO Tweet this GIGABYTE's Eyesafe Certified gaming monitors are optimized for ultimate performance and now include always-on low blue light technology to help promote eye comfort. "Health and safety are of paramount concern at GIGABYTE," remarked Ming-Hsiung Liu, the Vice Chairman at GIGABYTE. "Our company is proud to introduce Eyesafe Certified gaming monitors, helping to reduce the risk of blue light and promote eye comfort for gamers. GIGABYTE is committed to the health and well-being of our consumers." "I want to welcome GIGABYTE to the Eyesafe family," said Justin Barrett, CEO of Eyesafe, the healthcare research, technology, and advocacy firm responsible for developing the Eyesafe Standards. "Eyesafe is the globally recognized brand for low blue light and screen time solutions, and we believe GIGABYTE's move to put health at the center of its product design demonstrates tremendous foresight; GIGABYTE sees where the gaming industry is headed." Dr. Mitchell Jackson, a leading US-based ophthalmologist and member of the Eyesafe Vision Health Advisory Board, congratulated GIGABYTE for taking this bold step in the name of consumer health and safety: "As an eye doctor and a father I have two sons who are professional gamers I know first-hand the importance of eye safety and comfort in gaming. GIGABYTE is to be commended for its leadership on this important health issue." The Eyesafe Display Standards are the leading set of blue light and color performance requirements for the consumer electronics industry. The GIGABYTE products that meet the Eyesafe Display Standards will receive an AK Certificate (Certificate of Conformance) issued by TUV Rheinland, including the test report. Consumers can obtain information on certified products on the TUV Rheinland certificate database Certipedia, which helps facilitate consumers' understanding of a product and enhance confidence in the purchase. With receipt of the TUV Rheinland AK Certificate, GIGABYTE can now begin using the Eyesafe Certified brand mark on its marketing, packaging, and brand communications. To learn more about GIGABYTE's Eyesafe Certified gaming monitors, visit eyesafe.com/GIGABYTE About Eyesafe Eyesafe provides industry leading solutions to reduce high-energy blue light without color compromise, helping to re-design consumer electronics displays for human health. Eyesafe technology and standards were developed by a world-class team of eye doctors, engineers, and scientists, with decades of experience in electronics, display materials, and light management. https://eyesafe.com About GIGABYTE GIGABYTE offers a comprehensive product lineup encompassing consumer, business, gaming, and cloud systems. GIGABYTE established its reputation as a leader in the industry with award-winning products including motherboards, graphics cards, laptops, mini PCs, and other PC components and accessories. https://www.gigabyte.com Media Contact for Eyesafe Arick Wierson [email protected] 952-999-1741 SOURCE Eyesafe Related Links eyesafe.com DUBLIN, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Vision Care Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis - by Product Type ( Eye Glasses, Contact Lens, Intraocular Lens, Others ); Distribution Channel ( Retail Stores, E-Commerce, Clinics, Hospitals )" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Vision Care market was valued at US$ 66,934.51 million in 2019 and is projected to reach US$ 93,817.82 million by 2027; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.31% from 2019 to 2027. The growth of the market is mainly attributed to factors such Growing prevalence of eye diseases and rising funds for eye care research are driving the growth of the vision care market. However, the disadvantages associated with contact lens can impede the market growth. Further, the increasing awareness about vision care offer significant opportunities for the growth of the global vision care market. Extensive eye diseases research across the world to identify new treatments for the eye diseases is likely to favor the market growth. For instance, India-US Collaborative Vision Research Program 2020, would advance science and technology, which is important to understand, prevent, and treat blinding eye diseases, visual disorders, and their associated complications. Both the Indian Department of Biotechnology and the US National Eye Institute (NEI) would fund the research program. The National Eye Institute (NEI) supports vision research through around 1,500 research grants and training awards made to researchers at over 250 medical centers, hospitals, and universities across 44 states in the US and around the world. The institute also funds trials to develop cutting edge therapies for blinding diseases. In 2017, NEI launched a 3D Retina Organoid Challenge Competition (3D-ROC) to develop functioning mini-retinas from human stem cells. The US$ 1.1 million prize would be distributed to team with the best replication of retina structure and function. Similarly, the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, offers grants to promote research on eye diseases. In 2020, the institute announced SEK 50,000-150,000 (US$ 5912.88-17738.64) per person funding for new research projects on eye diseases. Thus, such increasing funds for eye care research are likely to enhance the growth of the market. Based on product type, the global vision care market is segmented into eye glasses, contact lens, intraocular lens, and others. The eye glasses segment held a larger share of the market in 2019 and is expected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period. Based on distribution channel, the global vision care market is segmented into retail stores, e-commerce, clinics, and hospitals. The retail stores segment held a larger share of the market in 2019, and it is further expected to report a higher CAGR in the market during the forecast period. The Food Safety and Inspection Service, Food and Drug Administration, National Institute of Health, and European Medical Association are a few of the major secondary sources referred to while preparing this report. Key Topics Covered: 1. Introduction 2. Vision Care Market - Key Takeaways 3. Research Methodology 4. Vision Care- Market Landscape 4.1 Overview 4.2 PEST Analysis 4.3 Expert Opinions 5. Vision Care Market - Key Market Dynamics 5.1 Market Drivers 5.1.1 Growing Prevalence of Eye Diseases 5.1.2 Rising Funds for Eye Care Research 5.2 Market Restraints 5.2.1 Disadvantages Associated with Contact Lens 5.3 Market Opportunities 5.3.1 Increasing Awareness About Vision Care 5.4 Future Trends 5.4.1 Development of Innovative Products 5.5 Impact analysis 6. Vision Care Market - Global Analysis 6.1 Global Vision Care Market Revenue Forecast And Analysis 6.2 Global Vision Care Market, By Geography - Forecast And Analysis 6.3 Market Positioning of Key Players 7. Vision Care Market Analysis - By Product Type 7.1 Overview 7.2 Vision Care Market Revenue Share, by Type (2019 and 2027) 7.3 Eye Glasses 7.4 Contact Lens 7.5 Intraocular Lens 8. Vision Care Market Analysis - By Distribution Channel 8.1 Overview 8.2 Vision Care Market Share, by Distribution Channel, 2019 and 2027 8.3 Hospitals 8.4 Retail Stores 8.5 E-Commerce 8.6 Clinics 9. Global Vision Care Market - Geographic Analysis 10. Impact Of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Vision Care Market 11. Industry Landscape 11.1 Overview 11.2 Growth Strategies Done by the Companies in the Market, (%) 11.3 Organic Developments 11.3.1 Overview 11.4 Inorganic Developments 11.4.1 Overview 12. Company Profiles Alcon Inc Bausch Health Companies Inc Carl Zeiss AG Cooper Companies Inc Essilorluxottica SA Johnson And Johnson Services Inc. Hoya Corporation Rodenstock Gmbh Menicon Co. Ltd Rayner Intraocular Lenses Limited For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/vrpkc3 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 DUBLIN, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Port Automated Driving Report, 2021" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. A combination of factors including soaring demand for goods boosted by global fiscal and monetary stimulus, saturated ports, and shortage of ship and dock workers and truck drivers trigger the increase in shipping costs. Port operators are keen on higher operation efficiency and solutions to labor shortage. Globally, foreign countries made an early start on straddle carrier and AGV, having won a place in the market. Yet it is hard for them to accelerate port container turnover and lower operating cost in a short time, due to rising international shipping costs, too long time taken to deploy AGVs, and larger space needed for autonomous straddle carriers. While, autonomous container trucks cost less than other solutions, its rapid deployment only requires introduction of intelligent roadside facilities to existing smart terminals. It is predicted that large container ports worldwide will work to deploy autonomous container trucks from 2021 onwards. 5G-based network communication (5G Port Private Network+MEC+V2X): "port automated driving" requires low latency, large bandwidth, high reliability communication connections; communication systems for large special operation equipment for automated terminals need to afford efficient and reliable transmission of control, multi-channel video and other information. 5G V2X is a new engine for the construction of "smart ports". In September 2020, Beijing Trunk Technology Co., Ltd.'s autonomous container trucks packed 5G V2X technology, a solution to ultra-long truck queues in port logistics hubs. 5G V2X enables autonomous container trucks to perceive more widely for better interconnection with other production equipment and systems in port areas. Moreover, based on low-latency, high-bandwidth 5G networks, the cloud computing and remote monitoring services enable real-time system optimization, intelligent scheduling control and remote driving. Electrified/hydrogen fuel-powered: transport vehicles in autonomous ports feature electric drive, quicker response, direct power supply to the autonomous driving system, and higher efficiency than fuel-powered vehicles. Electric vehicles for autonomous ports hold the trend. Among current autonomous container trucks operated in ports, 8 models, or 61.5% of the total are electric drive. SAIC-Iveco Hongyan Commercial Vehicle Co., Ltd. has introduced intelligent hydrogen fuel cell heavy trucks, giving full support to construction of green ports and green transportation systems. In April 2020, Shenzhen Center Power Tech. Co., Ltd. made a strategic investment in Westwell Lab, aiming at co-developing port hydrogen-powered autonomous vehicles and building a port AI + hydrogen energy ecosystem in an age of 5G+AIoT. Top-level design: through the lens of digitalization in the whole industry, port scenario lags behind others in such as digital concept and new technology application. Greater effort should be made on new digital technology development and top-level design, and data flow + business flow development plan on the basis of other technologies. Top-level design brings a shake-up to existing port information and intelligent construction resources. In January, 2021, Beijing Trunk Technology Co., Ltd. and Huawei signed a cooperative agreement in Tianjin Port. With its 5G technology, Huawei provides "Car Cloud"-"Roadside"-"Car End" port intelligent driving solutions. In August 2020, Alibaba Cloud won the bidding of Shandong Port Group (China's first smart port owning 4 port companies: Qingdao Port, Rizhao Port, Yantai Port and Bohai Bay Port) for top-level design schemes. Platooning/CVIS: in the closed port environment with multiple scenarios, autonomous container trucks need to communicate with other container trucks, other types of vehicles, port equipment and containers. Fleet operation and CVIS is a trend for port automated driving. In November 2020, the platooning of 13 autonomous container trucks independently developed and delivered by Beijing Trunk Technology Co., Ltd. was carried out in Ningbo Zhoushan Port. This is another delivered mass-production project of the company following the commercial order for 25 autonomous container trucks from Tianjin Port. Key Topics Covered: 1 Overview of Automated Driving for Autonomous Ports 1.1 Introduction to Autonomous Ports and Automated Driving 1.2 Classification of Port Automated Driving 1.2.1 Three Automation Solutions for Port Automated Driving 1.2.2 Comparison of Advantages and Disadvantages between Automation Solutions for Port Automated Driving 1.2.3 Port Container Straddle Carrier 1.2.4 Competitive Landscape of Port Container Straddle Carrier Industry 1.2.5 AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) 1.2.6 AGV Application 1.2.7 Port Autonomous Container Trucks 1.3 Advantages of Port Automated Driving (1) 1.4 Advantages of Port Automated Driving (2) 1.5 Port Automated Driving Industry Chain 1.6 Development Trends of Port Automated Driving 2 Status Quo of Port Automated Driving Market and Forecast 2.1 Standards and Policies Concerning Port Automated Driving Industry 2.2 Status Quo of Port Industry 2.3 Port Automated Driving Market Size 2.4 Port Automated Driving Industry Chain and Business Models 2.5 Competitive Landscape and Financing of Port Automated Driving 2.6 Classification of Port Autonomous Vehicles 2.7 Problems and Challenges in Development of Port Automated Driving 3 Port Automated Driving Solutions and Development Trends 3.1 Solution Framework 3.1.1 Classification of Solutions 3.1.2 Solutions-Westwell Lab Automated Driving Solution 3.1.3 Main Application Technologies 3.1.4 Homemade AI Chips to be Applied to Port Automated Driving 3.1.5 Heading Data Intelligent Provides HD Maps for Shanghai Yangshan Port Terminal 3.1.6 DeepMotion Provides Vision-based HD Map Solutions for Shanghai Yangshan Port 4 Port Automated Driving Application Cases 4.1 Summary of Port Automated Driving Scenario Applications 4.2 Automated Driving in Tianjin Port 4.2.1 Demonstration Zone 4.2.2 5G Remote Control and Whole Loading and Unloading Process 4.2.3 Ship Container Loading and Unloading Operation 4.3 Phase IV Autonomous Terminal of Shanghai Yangshan Port 4.3.1 AGV 4.3.2 5G Intelligent Heavy Duty Truck 4.4 Operation of Autonomous Container Trucks at Xiamen Ocean Gate Terminal of COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited 4.5 Mawan Smart Port 5G+ Automated Driving Project 4.6 New Explorations of Autonomous Ports 5 Main Port Automated Driving Players Westwell Lab Beijing Trunk Technology Fabu.Ai Plusgo HiRain Technologies SENiOR Deeproute.Ai TuSimple Yunshan Technologies MoonX.AI ZPMC Sany Marine Heavy Industry For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/yc249x About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com DUBLIN, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Biotechnology Services Global Market Report 2021: COVID-19 Impact and Recovery to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Major players in the biotechnology services market are Novartis, Fisher BioService, Pfizer, Novo Nordisk, BioAlps, Precision for Medicine, Sartorius, and Aldevron. The global biotechnology services market is expected to grow from $150.37 billion in 2020 to $163.92 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9%. The growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $265.1 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 12.8%. Collaborations and partnerships between industry players are a growing trend in the field of biotech services. In Dec 2019, Interpace Pharma, a subsidiary of Interpace Biosciences, dealing in pharmacogenomics testing, genotyping and biorepository services, collaborated with Genecast Biotechnology Co. Ltd for jointly developing, promoting, and offering translational studies and clinical trial solutions to the industry. This partnership is expected to benefit pharmaceutical and biotech companies to accelerate their biomarker-driven drug development and precision medicine. Genecast is a Chinese company providing a wide range of diagnostic services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies. In May 2018, Illumina, a US-based biotechnology company serving in research, clinical and applied markets, acquired Edico Genome for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition is expected to reduce sequencing data acquisition. Edico Genome's Bio-IT platform DRAGEN uses field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technology with software algorithms and helps in reducing data footprint and time for results. The DRAGEN platform complements Illumina's sequencing portfolio and helps the customer in reducing investment in IT infrastructure and improve overall efficiency. Edico Genome is an American company dealing in the field of genomics. The increasing pervasiveness of conditions like hepatitis B, diabetes and cancer is driving the research in biotechnology. Biotechnology uses research tools from biology and chemistry to study the genetic material of bacteria and viruses to check the disease-producing agent. Oncology research is most prominent among biopharma companies. Stem cell treatment, using a monoclonal antibody for therapy and genome sequencing is progressing in medical applications. The sales of global biotech drugs are expected to reach $284 billion in 2020. According to Data-Driven Investor, all sectors of biotech companies together spend 20% of their budget on research and development, accounting for nearly $750 billion in 2018. Therefore, the rising pervasiveness of diseases and huge expenses on R&D is predicted to contribute to the growth of the biotechnology services market. The risk related to genetic data is anticipated to limit the growth of the biotechnology services market. The biotechnological approach of transferring specially created genes for modification in characteristics to create genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has always been considered a threat to human and environmental health. According to the report of the World Conservation Union, there are numerous environmental risks likely to occur by the use of GMOs, which include interbreeding, antibiotic resistance, impact on the ecosystem, creation of new or worse viruses, competition with natural species, unpredictable and unintended effects and ethical concerns. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also set guidelines for manufacturers of GMO food. The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard has been implemented in the USA from January 2020 making it mandatory to label all foods containing genetically engineered items to be labeled as "bioengineered". Thus, the risk associated with genetically modified items is negatively impacting the growth of the biotechnology services market. Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. Biotechnology Services Market Characteristics 3. Biotechnology Services Market Trends and Strategies 4. Impact of COVID-19 on Biotechnology Services 5. Biotechnology Services Market Size and Growth 5.1. Global Biotechnology Services Historic Market, 2015-2020, $ Billion 5.1.1. Drivers of the Market 5.1.2. Restraints on the Market 5.2. Global Biotechnology Services Forecast Market, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion 5.2.1. Drivers of the Market 5.2.2. Restraints on the Market 6. Biotechnology Services Market Segmentation 6.1. Global Biotechnology Services Market, Segmentation by Service, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion Prevention and Disease Control Public Engagement Activities Health Education and Research Food Biotechnology Services Donor Recruitment Tissue Collection Cell Processing and Isolation Research and Development 6.2. Global Biotechnology Services Market, Segmentation by Industry, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion Clinical Research Organizations (CROs) Contract Manufacturers Organizations(CMOs) Contract Research and Manufacturing Services (CRAMS) 6.3. Global Biotechnology Services Market, Segmentation by Area of Application, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion Pharmaceutical Biotechnological Academic Clinical Trial Healthcare Sectors 7. Biotechnology Services Market Regional and Country Analysis 7.1. Global Biotechnology Services Market, Split by Region, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion 7.2. Global Biotechnology Services Market, Split by Country, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion Companies Mentioned Novartis Fisher BioService Pfizer Novo Nordisk BioAlps Precision for Medicine Sartorius Aldevron For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/l4bht4 Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com DUBLIN, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Construction Machinery Global Market Report 2021: COVID-19 Impact and Recovery to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report provides strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the global construction machinery market as it emerges from the COVID-19 shut down. The global construction machinery market is expected to grow from $204.24 billion in 2020 to $226.97 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.1%. The growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $321.21 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 9.1%. Reasons to Purchase Gain a truly global perspective with the most comprehensive report available on this market covering 12+ geographies. Understand how the market is being affected by the coronavirus and how it is likely to emerge and grow as the impact of the virus abates. Create regional and country strategies on the basis of local data and analysis. Identify growth segments for investment. Outperform competitors using forecast data and the drivers and trends shaping the market. Understand customers based on the latest market research findings. Benchmark performance against key competitors. Utilize the relationships between key data sets for superior strategizing. Suitable for supporting your internal and external presentations with reliable high quality data and analysis Where is the largest and fastest growing market for the construction machinery ? How does the market relate to the overall economy, demography and other similar markets? What forces will shape the market going forward? The Construction Machiner market global report answers all these questions and many more. The report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market's historic and forecast market growth by geography. It places the market within the context of the wider construction machinery market, and compares it with other markets. The market characteristics section of the report defines and explains the market. The market size section gives the market size ($b) covering both the historic growth of the market, the impact of the COVID-19 virus and forecasting its recovery. Market segmentations break down market into sub markets. The regional and country breakdowns section gives an analysis of the market in each geography and the size of the market by geography and compares their historic and forecast growth. It covers the impact and recovery trajectory of COVID-19 for all regions, key developed countries and major emerging markets. Competitive landscape gives a description of the competitive nature of the market, market shares, and a description of the leading companies. Key financial deals which have shaped the market in recent years are identified. The trends and strategies section analyses the shape of the market as it emerges from the crisis and suggests how companies can grow as the market recovers. The construction machinery market section of the report gives context. It compares the construction machinery market with other segments of the construction machinery market by size and growth, historic and forecast. Major players in the construction machinery market are Caterpillar Inc.; Komatsu; Hitachi Construction Machinery Co Ltd; Liebherr; Volvo Construction Equipment; Deere & Company; Zoomlion Heavy Industry Sci & Tch Co Ltd; Terex Corporation, Sany Heavy Industry Co. LTD; and XCMG Construction Machinery Co Ltd. The construction machinery market consists of sales of construction machinery, surface mining machinery, and logging equipment by entities (organizations, sole traders, or partnerships) that produce construction machinery, including backhoes, bulldozers, construction and surface mining-type rock drill bits, construction-type tractors, and attachments, off-highway trucks, pile-driving equipment, portable crushing, pulverizing and screening machinery, powered post hole diggers, road graders and surface mining machinery (except drilling). The construction machinery market is segmented into earthmoving; material handling; and building & road construction equipment. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included. The construction machinery market has been observing multiple strategic initiatives such as partnerships and innovative product launches over recent years. Major companies in the market are continuously focusing on collaborating with other companies to expand their product portfolio and geographical presence. For instance, in July 2018, Caterpillar Inc, US-based construction machinery and equipment manufacturer announced the partnership agreement with Newmont Mining, a US-based gold producer to develop underground vehicle automation technology. The companies together plan to focus on Caterpillar's semi-autonomous system for underground loaders and improving existing technology. Similarly, in July 2018, Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. collaborated with Whitehaven Coal to design an Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) to support the company's mining operations in North West New South Wales. The construction machinery market covered in the report is segmented by product into earthmoving; material handling; building & road construction equipment; autonomous construction equipment and by application into excavation & mining; lifting & material handling; earth moving; transportation; others. In April 2019, The Toro Company, a US-based company that designs, manufactures, and sells construction equipment acquired The Charles Machine Works, Inc. Oklahoma Corporation and parent company of Ditch Witch for $700 million. The acquisition is expected to bring together the leading brands of The Toro Company's with The Charles Machine Works, Inc.'s product portfolio to better serve the needs of end-use customers of the company. The Charles Machine Works, Inc. is a US-based company engaged in the manufacturing and distribution of underground construction machinery and equipment. Increasing investment in infrastructure is anticipated to contribute to the construction machinery's market growth. According to the World Economic Forum, the investment in infrastructure worldwide is projected to reach $79 trillion by 2040. According to Acuris, financial news and data firm in January 2020, the investment in infrastructure in India increased by 25% to $28.74 billion in 2019. The surge in investments in infrastructure is likely to generate higher demand for construction machinery and equipment, thereby driving the growth of the construction machinery market. The COVID19 outbreak acted as a major restraint on the construction machinery market during 2020. The rapid surge in the number of people suffering from coronavirus forced the government to impose lockdowns resulting in the temporary closure of many businesses. Large infrastructure building projects were kept on hold due to social distancing practices imposed worldwide. This led to decreased demand for construction machinery and companies in the market had to halt or slow down the production that impacted the revenues of the market. For instance, Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., a Japan-based construction company engaged in manufacturing and sales of construction and transportation machinery announced the halt of production at many sites including Russia, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia during COVID19 lockdowns. Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. Construction Machinery Market Characteristics 3. Construction Machinery Market Trends and Strategies 4. Impact of COVID-19 on Construction Machinery 5. Construction Machinery Market Size and Growth 5.1. Global Construction Machinery Historic Market, 2015-2020, $ Billion 5.1.1. Drivers of the Market 5.1.2. Restraints on the Market 5.2. Global Construction Machinery Forecast Market, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion 5.2.1. Drivers of the Market 5.2.2. Restraints on the Market 6. Construction Machinery Market Segmentation 7. Construction Machinery Market Regional and Country Analysis 7.1. Global Construction Machinery Market, Split by Region, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion 7.2. Global Construction Machinery Market, Split by Country, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion 8. Asia-Pacific Construction Machinery Market 9. China Construction Machinery Market 10. India Construction Machinery Market 11. Japan Construction Machinery Market 12. Australia Construction Machinery Market 13. Indonesia Construction Machinery Market 14. South Korea Construction Machinery Market 15. Western Europe Construction Machinery Market 16. UK Construction Machinery Market 17. Germany Construction Machinery Market 18. France Construction Machinery Market 19. Eastern Europe Construction Machinery Market 20. Russia Construction Machinery Market 21. North America Construction Machinery Market 22. USA Construction Machinery Market 23. South America Construction Machinery Market 24. Brazil Construction Machinery Market 25. Middle East Construction Machinery Market 26. Africa Construction Machinery Market 27. Construction Machinery Market Competitive Landscape and Company Profiles 27.1. Construction Machinery Market Competitive Landscape 27.2. Construction Machinery Market Company Profiles 27.2.1. Caterpillar Inc. 27.2.1.1. Overview 27.2.1.2. Products and Services 27.2.1.3. Strategy 27.2.1.4. Financial Performance 27.2.2. Komatsu 27.2.2.1. Overview 27.2.2.2. Products and Services 27.2.2.3. Strategy 27.2.2.4. Financial Performance 27.2.3. Hitachi Construction Machinery Co Ltd 27.2.3.1. Overview 27.2.3.2. Products and Services 27.2.3.3. Strategy 27.2.3.4. Financial Performance 27.2.4. Liebherr 27.2.4.1. Overview 27.2.4.2. Products and Services 27.2.4.3. Strategy 27.2.4.4. Financial Performance 27.2.5. Volvo Construction Equipment 27.2.5.1. Overview 27.2.5.2. Products and Services 27.2.5.3. Strategy 27.2.5.4. Financial Performance 29. Key Mergers and Acquisitions in the Construction Machinery Market 29. Construction Machinery Market Future Outlook and Potential Analysis 30. Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/f6we4g Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com FACTS AT A GLANCE Edition: 18; Released: February 2021 Executive Engagements: 1618 Companies: 231 - Players covered include Agnisys, Inc.; Aldec, Inc.; Altium Limited; ANSYS Inc.; Autodesk Inc.; AutoTRAX; Baum; Cadence Design Systems Inc.; Dolphin Design SAS; EasyEDA; Eremex, Ltd.; Ferrochip; Intercept Technology; Keysight Technologies Inc.; Labcenter Electronics Ltd.; Mirabilis Design Inc.; National Instruments Corporation; Pulsonix; Schindler & Schill GmbH; Siemens EDA; Sigasi; Synopsys Inc.; Zuken Inc. and Others. Coverage: All major geographies and key segments Segments: Type (Semiconductor Intellectual Property (SIP), Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE), IC Physical Design & Verification, Printed Circuit Board & Multi-Chip Module (PCB & MCM), Services); Application (Consumer Electronics, Communications, Industrial, Medical, Automotive, Other Applications) Geographies: World; USA; Canada; Japan; China; Europe; France; Germany; Italy; UK; Rest of Europe; Asia-Pacific; South Korea; Taiwan; Rest of Asia-Pacific; Rest of World. Complimentary Project Preview - This is an ongoing global program. Preview our research program before you make a purchase decision. We are offering a complimentary access to qualified executives driving strategy, business development, sales & marketing, and product management roles at featured companies. Previews provide deep insider access to business trends; competitive brands; domain expert profiles; and market data templates and much more. You may also build your own bespoke report using our MarketGlass Platform which offers thousands of data bytes without an obligation to purchase our report. Preview Registry ABSTRACT- Global EDA Tools Market to Reach $14.9 Billion by 2026 Electronic Design Automation (EDA) is a sophisticated approach that allows design engineers to streamline and transform design flows associated with modern electronic systems. The growth of the global market is set to be driven by strong performance of the semiconductor industry and increasing adoption across diverse industry verticals. Intended to streamline design flows, EDA tools are finding increasing acceptance at the expense of manual approaches for designing of semiconductors and circuit boards. The market is poised to gain from increasing demand for these tools across different industries such as automotive, medical, communications, electronics, machinery and aerospace & defense. While the market received a major setback from the impact of COVID-19 on the semiconductor industry, it is anticipated to regain momentum due to consistent demand for chips and printed circuit boards along with strong focus of players on simulation of system-level designs. The market is slated to benefit from emergence of advanced chip architectures and AI applications. The increasing acceptance of FinFET architecture to develop and design sophisticated processors, adoption of emerging technologies like VR, AI and IoT, and rising popularity of SoC technology are anticipated to present new growth opportunities for EDA tools. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for EDA Tools estimated at US$9.1 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$14.9 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 8.7% over the analysis period. Semiconductor Intellectual Property (SIP), one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at a 9.2% CAGR to reach US$6.4 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) segment is readjusted to a revised 7.7% CAGR for the next 7-year period. This segment currently accounts for a 29.9% share of the global EDA Tools market. Semiconductor IP (SIP) refers to reusable design aspects including chip layout, and cell among other components used in manufacturing advanced Integrated Circuits (IC). The concept of computer-aided engineering (CAE) involves the use of computer software tools for performing analysis tasks, like computational fluid dynamics, finite element analysis, and multi-body dynamics. The U.S. Market is Estimated at $1.8 Billion in 2021, While China is Forecast to Reach $2.8 Billion by 2026 The EDA Tools market in the U.S. is estimated at US$1.8 Billion in the year 2021. The country currently accounts for a 19.53% share in the global market. China, the world's second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$2.8 Billion in the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 9.8% through the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 7.3% and 7.9% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 7.8% CAGR while Rest of European market (as defined in the study) will reach US$3.1 Billion by the end of the analysis period. North America is a dominant market on account of extensive adoption of electronic devices and the presence of key players in the region. The region has been witnessing consistent surge in semiconductor sales over the last few years. The trend along with continuous expansion of major end-use industries like automotive, communications and medical is expected to offer significant opportunities. The increasing demand for EDA tools in the Asia-Pacific region is credited to technological advances in sophisticated electronic devices and equipment. IC Physical Design & Verification Segment to Reach $3.3 Billion by 2026 The IC Physical Design & Verification segment's growth is credited to increasing sophistication of IC designs along with rising focus on precision and accuracy of semiconductor devices. IC design and verification EDA tools are finding increasing acceptance across various industries for automatically performing routing and placement of circuits on ICs and application-specific integrated circuits. In the global IC Physical Design & Verification segment, USA, Canada, Japan, China and Europe will drive the 9.5% CAGR estimated for this segment. These regional markets accounting for a combined market size of US$1.3 Billion in the year 2020 will reach a projected size of US$2.4 Billion by the close of the analysis period. China will remain among the fastest growing in this cluster of regional markets. Led by countries such as Australia, India, and South Korea, the market in Asia-Pacific is forecast to reach US$774.6 Million by the year 2026. More MarketGlass Platform Our MarketGlass Platform is a free full-stack knowledge center that is custom configurable to today`s busy business executive`s intelligence needs! This influencer driven interactive research platform is at the core of our primary research engagements and draws from unique perspectives of participating executives worldwide. Features include - enterprise-wide peer-to-peer collaborations; research program previews relevant to your company; 3.4 million domain expert profiles; competitive company profiles; interactive research modules; bespoke report generation; monitor market trends; competitive brands; create & publish blogs & podcasts using our primary and secondary content; track domain events worldwide; and much more. Client companies will have complete insider access to the project data stacks. Currently in use by 67,000+ domain experts worldwide. Our platform is free for qualified executives and is accessible from our website www.StrategyR.com or via our just released mobile application on iOS or Android About Global Industry Analysts, Inc. & StrategyR Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (www.strategyr.com) is a renowned market research publisher the world`s only influencer driven market research company. Proudly serving more than 42,000 clients from 36 countries, GIA is recognized for accurate forecasting of markets and industries for over 33 years. CONTACTS: Zak Ali Director, Corporate Communications Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Phone: 1-408-528-9966 www.StrategyR.com Email: [email protected] LINKS Join Our Expert Panel https://www.strategyr.com/Panelist.asp Connect With Us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/global-industry-analysts-inc./ Follow Us on Twitter https://twitter.com/marketbytes Journalists & Media [email protected] SOURCE Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Related Links http://www.strategyr.com DUBLIN, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Plasticizers Global Market Report 2021: COVID-19 Impact and Recovery to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Major players in the plasticizers market are Arkema S.A., BASF SE, Dow Chemical Company, LG CHEM LTD., Evonik Industries Ag, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Eastman Chemical Company, Ineos Group, UPC GROUP and Bluesail. The global plasticizers market is expected to grow from $78.91 billion in 2020 to $87.81 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.3%. The growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $93.77 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 2%. Rising demand for flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) contributing to the growth of the plasticizers market. Flexible PVC is softer than unplasticized polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) due to the addition of plasticizers. Increasing demand for flexible PVC material in various end-use industries, drives the demand for plasticizers. Flexible packaging provides a long-lasting safety, lightweight and compactness while maintaining a low carbon footprint, therefore rising demand of PVC from the packaging industry. The strict regulations on using phthalates plasticizers is limiting the growth of the plasticizers market. Phthalates plasticizers are the most commonly used plasticizers due to easy availability and low cost. Several companies are moving away from phthalate plasticizers as the number of studies reveal the health effects caused due to the use of plasticizers. However, non-governmental organizations such as the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) promotes the use of non-phthalate plasticizers because of their environment friendly nature. The applications of certain phthalates in many consumer products are prohibited in various countries. Directives such as EEC Directive and other regulations in Europe ban the use of phthalates plasticizers in some applications. The European parliament forbids the use of phthalates plasticizers such as DEHP, DBP, and BBP in toys and childcare products. Therefore, strict regulations on using phthalates plasticizers have a negative impact on the plasticizers market growth. The plasticizers market covered in this report is segmented by type into phthalates plasticizers, DOP, DINP/DIDP/DPHP, others, non-phthalates plasticizers, DOTP, adipates, trimellitates, epoxies, benzoates. It is also segmented by application into flooring & wall, film & sheet coverings, wires & cables, coated fabrics, consumer goods, others. Eco-friendly plasticizers are increasingly being used to prevent harmful phthalates plasticizers such as DOP, DBP, BBP, and DEP. Eco-friendly plasticizers have various properties such as waterproof with good electrical resistivity, weather resistance, better mechanical strength, and good heat stability. Due to these factors, phthalates plasticizers are being replaced with eco-friendly plasticizers. Eco-friendly plasticizers are polymer additives that improve a material's plasticity. The global eco-friendly plasticizers market is growing rapidly due to increased demand of eco-friendly plasticizers to keep human health and environment safe. These plasticizers come with low toxicity and good compatibility and are used in various applications, mainly in films and cable manufacturing and is driving the growth of the plasticizers market. Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. Plasticizers Market Characteristics 3. Plasticizers Market Trends and Strategies 4. Impact of COVID-19 on Plasticizers 5. Plasticizers Market Size and Growth 5.1. Global Plasticizers Historic Market, 2015-2020, $ Billion 5.2. Global Plasticizers Forecast Market, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion 6. Plasticizers Market Segmentation 6.1. Global Plasticizers Market, Segmentation by Product Type, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion Phthalates Plasticizers DOP DINP/DIDP/DPHP Others Non-Phthalates Plasticizers DOTP Adipates Trimellitates Epoxies Benzoates 6.2. Global Plasticizers Market, Segmentation by Application, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion Flooring & Wall Film & Sheet Coverings Wires & Cables Coated Fabrics Consumer Goods Others 6.3. Global Plasticizers Market, Segmentation by Distribution Channel, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion Online Offline 7. Plasticizers Market Regional and Country Analysis 7.1. Global Plasticizers Market, Split by Region, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion 7.2. Global Plasticizers Market, Split by Country, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion Companies Mentioned Arkema S.A. BASF SE Dow Chemical Company LG Chem Ltd. Evonik Industries Ag Exxon Mobil Corporation Eastman Chemical Company Ineos Group UPC GROUP Bluesail Nan Ya Plastics Aekyung Petrochemical Shandong Hongxin Chemicals Shangdong Qilo Plasticizers Clariant International Adeka Kao Corporation Lanxess AG For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/bk96fy Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com PALO ALTO, Calif., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Gong, the revenue intelligence leader leveraging artificial intelligence to transform revenue teams, has raised $250 million in Series E funding. The round is being led by Franklin Templeton, bringing Gong's total funding to $584 million. Existing Gong investors also participated in the round including Coatue, Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia, Thrive Capital, and Tiger Global. Today, business leaders use static reports, anecdotal evidence and self-reported information to see what is happening in their business but lack understanding of why certain outcomes are achieved and how to adapt accordingly. With its patented Revenue Intelligence Platform, Gong captures the full range of a company's customer interactions, surfaces insights about markets, deals and employee skills, and recommends the next best steps to progress deals, ensure customer success, and win markets. This enables customer-facing professionals to make proactive decisions informed by unfiltered business reality instead of opinions. According to Gartner, "By 2025, 60% of B2B sales organizations will transition from experience- and intuition-based selling to data-driven selling, merging their sales process, sales applications, sales data and sales analytics into a single operational practice." Additionally, it is stated, "By 2025, 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers will occur in digital channels." As a result, traditional sales approaches will be less reliable and innovative sales leaders will transform their approach by investing in virtual and hybrid selling capabilities. Gong is central to this transformation, providing revenue leaders with data-driven insights that increase revenue, reduce churn, and drive increased productivity. "Technologies aimed at optimizing productivity and customer satisfaction became more important than ever in the past year as the business world transitioned to a predominantly remote work model," said Ryan Biggs at Franklin Templeton. "Once businesses experience Gong's revenue intelligence, its value is undeniable. We believe this product has become a fundamental requirement for professionals looking to drive sales based on the true needs of customers." This funding comes on the heels of Gong's August 2020 Series D funding, highlighting the growing demand for its product and solutions. Key facts showcasing Gong's rapid market growth and leadership include: Increased ARR 2.3X between Q1 of 2020 and Q1 of 2021 Reached 2,000+ customers including three Fortune 20 companies that recently joined Gong Grew to 550+ global employees focused on product innovation, customer success, and market growth Analyzed over half a billion customer interactions since its founding "Just as we predicted in 2015 when Gong began leveraging AI to understand the needs of customers, we experienced massive growth in the past year, proving revenue intelligence is a game changer for companies" said CEO Amit Bendov. "As professionals across the globe were forced to connect with customers remotely for the first time, they became even more reliant on data and insights to win the hearts and minds of their customers. Gong was no longer a luxury, but a necessity, and it's become clear that our product, which makes recommendations based on reality, has the potential to change the way we all do business." Additional Resources: Hear directly from customers about why they selected Gong and the impact revenue intelligence has had on their business. about why they selected Gong and the impact revenue intelligence has had on their business. See the power of Gong's Revenue Intelligence Platform first-hand and sign up for a personalized demo . . Gong is hiring for go-to-market, technical, customer success, and G&A roles based in San Francisco , Atlanta , Tel Aviv , and remotely. Apply to join Gong today. *Source: Gartner: The Future of Sales in 2025: A Gartner Trend Insight Report About Gong Gong enables revenue teams to realize their fullest potential by unveiling their customer reality. The patented Gong Revenue Intelligence Platform captures and understands every customer interaction, then delivers insights at scale, empowering revenue teams to make decisions based on data instead of opinions. Over 2,000 innovative companies like LinkedIn, MuleSoft, Paychex, PayPal, Shopify, Slack, Sprout Social, Twilio, and Zillow trust Gong to power their customer reality. With Gong, customers experience improved win rates, increased deal sizes, and accelerated employee ramp-times. Gong is a private company headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information, visit www.gong.io or follow us on LinkedIn . SOURCE Gong Related Links http://www.gong.io "We are delighted to conclude this merger, and in doing so create Africa's first truly seed-to-sale offering," says Warren Schewitz, Founder and CEO of Goodleaf. "It's always been our intention to create a world-class global brand, and as we scale, access to high-quality supply is essential, which Highlands affords." "This transaction brings together two of the biggest cannabis players in Africa," says Jody Aufrichtig, Founder - Highlands Investments. "Highlands is the first ISO 22000 grade cannabis producer in Africa, the quality of our product is world-class, this combined offering will enable us to make significant inroads globally, because we can compete both on quality and price." Goodleaf, a premium CBD brand, has commercialized a portfolio of 30 products in multiple categories, and has well established distribution lines through retail stores, online, wholesale, and coffee shops in South Africa. Goodleaf's products will soon be exported to retailers in Asia and Europe. "Consumers are demanding quality products with a known origin," says Schewitz. "Lesotho's pristine growing environment, combined with Highlands commitment to GACP ("Good Agricultural and Collection Practices") and ISO 22000 standards, ensures access to a reliable, certified high-quality supply." Highlands has a track record of producing premium CBD flower. In April 2021 it concluded its fourth harvest in Lesotho, the outdoor harvest yielded almost six tonnes of premium cannabis; a significant portion is destined for the European medical cannabis market. Highlands will continue to supply bulk CBD and THC flower, distillate and isolate to global medical and wellness markets. "This is a transformational transaction for Goodleaf as we have diversified our business into a fully seed-to-sale offering, strengthening our leadership position in the South African cannabis market. It provides a low cost production base for our product range as we expand into global markets," Schewitz concludes. Under terms of the transaction, Highlands' shareholders will have 35% shareholding in the merged entity, with Goodleaf being the majority shareholder at 65%. The merged entity will continue to trade as Goodleaf and Highlands Investments. www.goodleaf.co.za www.highlands-investments.com Contact: Amy Wentzel [email protected] +27 (0)63 333 1989 SOURCE Goodleaf Related Links http://www.goodleaf.co.za There have been many encouraging developments since we editorialized on this topic three weeks ago, calling for the repeal of the states new law banning vaccine passports. The home port of Royal Caribbeans new 4,284-passenger Odyssey of the Seas will be Port Everglades the worlds third-busiest seaport. Royal Caribbean is working to start test cruises after the ship arrives next week. On June 26, Celebrity Edge will make the first revenue cruise from the port since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the industry. SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Governor Gavin Newsom today launched " Vax for the Win ," a new multi-faceted vaccine incentive program designed to motivate Californians to get their vaccination leading up to the state's reopening on June 15. The incentives aim to give an extra nudge to those who still need to get vaccinated against COVID-19, especially those in hard-to-reach communities, while also thanking everyone who has already been vaccinated. "Getting every eligible Californian vaccinated is how we bring our state roaring back from this pandemic," said Governor Newsom. "California has already made incredible progress in the fight against COVID-19, with the lowest case rates in the country, while administering millions more vaccines than any other state. But we aren't stopping there, we're doing everything it takes to get Californians vaccinated as we approach June 15 to help us fully reopen safely." More than 62.8 percent of Californians aged 12+ are at least partially vaccinated, but an estimated 12 million people who are eligible still have not gotten a vaccine to protect their health and the well-being of their communities. "Some Californians weren't ready to get their COVID-19 vaccine on day one, and that's okay. This program is designed to encourage those who need extra support to get vaccinated and help keep California safe," said Dr. Tomas J. Aragon, California Department of Public Health Director and State Public Health Officer. "The State will work closely with our partners at local health departments and community-based organizations to ensure the program reaches families living in communities with the lowest vaccination rates, who might face language barriers and other obstacles." All Californians aged 12+ who are at least partially vaccinated are automatically eligible for the cash prize drawings taking place in June. Thirty winners in total will be selected for the "$50,000 Fridays" cash prize drawings on June 4 and June 11, totaling $1.5 million. On June 15, $1.5 million will be awarded to 10 lucky Californians for a grand total of $15 million in cash prizes. Winners must complete their vaccination in order to claim their prize. If someone under 18 wins, the cash will be put in a savings account for them until they turn 18. Beginning on May 27, the next two million people who begin and complete their COVID-19 vaccination will automatically be eligible to receive a $50 prepaid or grocery card, worth a total of $100 million. It gives them the option to select from a $50 Virtual Prepaid Card (which can be spent online, in-store where major debit cards are accepted, or added to a mobile wallet to be used to shop in stores that accept mobile wallets), or a $50 grocery gift card from Kroger (which includes Ralphs, Food 4 Less and Foods Co.) or Albertsons (which includes Safeway, Albertsons, Vons, Pavilions and Andronico's Community Markets), while supplies last. Californians will receive a text message with an electronic prepaid card redemption code sent to their mobile phone or email address 7-10 days after their two-dose series of Pfizer or Moderna, or single dose of Johnson and Johnson. An incentive card will be held for those who start their vaccination at the launch of the program. Those who do not have a mobile phone or email address can receive a physical card by calling 1-833-993-3873, 7-10 days after receiving their final dose. Those without a permanent address can also call to coordinate delivery. For more information, visit COVID19.ca.gov/vax-for-the-win . To schedule an appointment to be vaccinated, visit MyTurn.ca.gov or call the CA COVID-19 Hotline at 1-833-422-4255. SOURCE Office of Governor Gavin Newsom BURNSVILLE, Minn., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Guns.com announced today that they've partnered with Credova Financial to provide financing options to customers. Now, you'll be able to apply online in seconds and get a near instant approval decision without any impact to your credit score. By selecting Credova, approved customers can make their purchase today, but pay over time instead of all upfront. Credova doesn't use any hard inquiries, so customers can get approval to finance their gun and gear without hurting their credit. Offering deals as good as 90-day interest-free for select buyers, it's protection now, payment later which adds just another reason why Guns.com is your easy, one-stop shop for online gun buying. "Guns.com has one of the largest selections of firearms and gear available online, and our goal is to give customers a level of service they would expect from top ecommerce sites in any industry. Credova has given us one more way to help Americans exercise their 2A rights without breaking the bank," says Greg Minkler, Guns.com's Chief Executive Officer. "And because the vast majority of what Guns.com sells is from local gun stores across the country, it's another great way to help out small local businesses in your area." "Credova is very excited to roll out our partnership with one of the most recognizable websites at the forefront of the industry, Guns.com , and offer the leading 2A friendly, tech forward Buy Now, Pay Later solution that's built to help their customers efficiently pay for their next firearm and accessory purchase with small, monthly payments," says Kamron Davis, VP Revenue for Credova. See all the details of Guns.com's partnership with Credova by visiting their financing page. About Guns.com Founded in 2011, Guns.com is the best place to shop for and buy guns, ammo, and gear online. It is also the premier news, content, and lifestyle destination for gun owners and enthusiasts. Guns.com believes in promoting local gun store sales, serving their customers, and responsible gun ownership. About Credova: Credova Financial is the leading outdoor sporting goods point-of-sale financing platform providing buy now, pay later solutions to merchants operating both brick and mortar retail locations as well as through an integrated API eCommerce solution. Through the Credova platform and integrated API solution, consumers gain access to multiple financing solutions for their purchases, allowing them to buy now and pay over time. SOURCE Guns.com Related Links http://www.guns.com SAN FRANCISCO, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- HumanFirst , the company leading advancements in decentralized clinical trials and distributed, virtual healthcare, was selected to work with the Digital Medicine Society (DiMe) , as well as the industry's most innovative health companies and organizations, as part of the Digital Health Measurement Collaborative Community (DATAcc) , an effort to develop best practices and streamline the field's approaches to measuring health using digital technologies. DATAcc comprises leaders from across the government, non-profit, and private sectors, including healthcare systems, medical technology companies, patient advocates, biopharma, and policy organizations. The collaborative will use interdisciplinary expertise, data, and use cases to address complex medical device challenges, from increasing digital health literacy to integrating data from consumer fitness-trackers into electronic health records. DATAcc members met for the first time on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, marking the launch of this collaborative community dedicated to realizing the full potential of digital health measurement as a powerful new tool to drive improvements in health outcomes, health economics, and health equity. Activities will be action-oriented, ranging from the development of best practices, models, and frameworks to conducting pilots, and will be driven by the diverse membership of DATAcc. The need to address these challenges has become more salient as long-standing disparities in access and outcomes have been further exacerbated by COVID-19. In the U.S., federal data show that minority populations have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in terms of both incidence and mortality rates. "As technologies enable a greater shift to the home, clinical trials and care systems are adopting more digital measures. At HumanFirst, we've been tackling open questions around validation, usability, security, and data rights," says Andy Coravos, CEO of HumanFirst. "Adopting digital tools successfully will require a collaborative approach to addressing these questions across tech companies, pharma, providers, and regulators. DATAcc community is the first of its kind initiative to convene such a group." Participating members of the DATAcc include representatives from: ActiGraph Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) Aetion AliveCor American Telemedicine Association Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) Connected Health Initiative Consumer Technology Association Duke University , Big Ideas Lab , Big Ideas Lab eHealth Initiative Evidation Health FDA, Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) HHS, Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) HumanFirst (fka Elektra Labs ) ) Institute for eHealth Equity Johns Hopkins Medicine, Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality MindMed National Patient Advocate Foundation Open mHealth Pfizer Philips Savvy Cooperative Teladoc Health UC San Diego, ReCODE Health University of Louisville , Office of Research and Innovation , Office of Research and Innovation University of Rochester Medical Center, Center for Health + Technology Medical Center, Center for Health + Technology Xealth Together, on a continuing basis, the collaborative community will explore six priority areas that include data governance, data rights, digital inclusion, reimbursement, commercial models, and the standardization of elements of digital sensing products and the data they produce. About HumanFirst: HumanFirst enables safe, effective, and equitable healthcare operations at home. Previously known as Elektra Labs, HumanFirst acts as a command center with an API-based infrastructure, enabling decentralized trials and distributed care that are as trustworthy as those within hospitals and research sites. HumanFirst was founded in 2017, has been featured in dozens of publications and medical journals, and has received funding from several prominent health, bioscience and tech investors as well as the National Science Foundation and the Harvard Business School Rock Center for Entrepreneurship, and more than 30 angel investors. For more information on HumanFirst, visit GoHumanFirst.com or follow HumanFirst on Twitter , LinkedIn , Medium and Facebook . About DATAcc: Hosted by the Digital Medicine Society (DiMe), the Digital Health Measurement Collaborative Community is a pre-competitive collaboration comprised of the broad and inclusive range of stakeholders necessary to modernize the way we measure and define health and disease using digital approaches and technologies. Together, this collaborative will develop and demonstrate best practices and advance harmonized approaches to speed the fit-for-purpose use of digital health measurement to improve lives and minimize harm. About the Digital Medicine Society: At DiMe, our commitment to fully integrating experts from all of the disciplines comprising digital medicine is unwavering. From regulators to white-hat hackers, ethicists to engineers, and clinicians to citizen scientists, we are proud to welcome all experts committed to ensuring that digital medicine realizes its full potential to improve human health. Join us ! Media Contact: Jamie Gray 310-699-3163 [email protected] SOURCE HumanFirst CHICAGO, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "HVAC Linesets Market by Material Type (Copper, Low Carbon), End-Use (Residential, Commercial, Industrial), Implementation (New Construction, Retrofit), and Region (APAC, North America, Europe, MEA, South America) - Global Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global HVAC Linesets Market size is projected to reach USD 11.4 billion by 2026 at a CAGR of 10.0% from USD 7.1 billion in 2021. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=209588791 Browse in-depth TOC on "HVAC Linesets Market" 186 Tables 67 Figures 231 Pages View Detailed Table of Content Here: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/hvac-linesets-market-209588791.html A line set is simply a pair of copper tubes that connects a condenser to an evaporator. In the case of a mini-split system, the line set connects the indoor and outdoor units together, where the outdoor unit (condenser) supplies the indoor unit (evaporator) with refrigerant. Copper line sets, complete with copper pipes and copper fittings, are the most popular option for air conditioners because of their dependability and their ability to keep refrigerant at the correct temperature. The other material types used are low carbon, aluminum, brass, and yoga tube. In terms of value, the carbon segment is projected to account for the largest share of the HVAC lineset market, by material type, during the forecast period. Copper is the most preferred material among the lineset manufacturers, for application in the HVAC industry. Some of the primary advantages of copper lineset for application in heating and cooling installations in all kinds of residential and commercial buildings are its malleability, ease to join, durability, and 100% recyclability. The copper material type is forecasted to dominate the HVAC market, due to the rising residential construction in the US, China, India, and Indonesia. Also, due to the COVID-19, the sales of split ACs increased in the US, as more and more people were operating in the work from homes scenario for which they needed a comfortable temperature environment in their homes. Commercial to be the largest End user during the forecast period. In the commercial end-use industry, cooling solutions like air conditioners are primarily demanded by offices, the hospitality sector, supermarkets & hypermarkets, banks, and data centers. The commercial end-use segment primarily uses low carbon steel-based line sets and requires very high volumes of the same. The total volume of the HVAC line sets is much higher in the case of the commercial end-use industry, as compared to the residential one. This is due to the greater building area in commercial buildings, more free space to cool, and a greater number of connections of line sets. Retrofit is projected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Retrofit projects are designed to integrate new components into existing HVAC networks. Retrofitting provides a more cost-effective way to improve system performance without the need to replace the entire system. The green building initiative and steps taken to reduce the adverse effects on the environment caused by old HVAC systems is boosting the adoption of new HVAC lineset in retrofits. When a major component in either the outdoor or indoor unit of a traditional heat pump system or air conditioner fails, both units should be replaced because newer equipment is carefully matched for optimal efficiency and operating pressures. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=209588791 The APAC region leads the HVAC lineset market in terms of volume. APAC is the fastest-growing region for the HVAC lineset market. The growth in demand for HVAC lineset in the region can be largely attributed to factors such as high population, increasing industrial growth, and stringent environmental norms. Moreover, the rising number of end-use industries in the region is also leading to innovations and developments in the field of HVAC lineset, thereby fueling the growth of the APAC HVAC lineset market. Major players operating in the global HVAC Linesets Market include Daikin (Japan), Halcor (Greece), Hydro (Norway), KME SE (Italy), Mueller Streamline Co. (US), Cerro Flow Products LLC (US), JMF Company (US), Zhejiang Ice Loong Environmental Sci-Tech Co., Ltd (China), Feinrohren S.p.A. (Italy), DiversiTech Corporation (US), Foshan Shunde Lecong Hengxin Copper Tube Factory (China), Zhejiang Hailiang Co., Ltd. (China), Linesets Inc. (US), Cambridge-Lee Industries LLC (US), HMAX (US), ICool USA, Inc. (US), PDM US (US), MM Kembla (Australia), Mandev Tubes (India), Uniflow Copper Tubes (India), Kobelco & Materials Copper Tube Co., Ltd. (Japan), Mehta Tubes Limited (India), and Klima Industries (South Korea). Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=209588791 Browse Adjacent Markets: Chemical Market Research Reports &Consulting Related Reports: Antimicrobial Coatings Market by Type (Silver, Copper, Titanium dioxide), Application (Medical & Healthcare, Foods & Beverages, Building & Construction, HVAC system, Protective Clothing, Transportation), & Region - Global Forecast to 2025 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/antimicrobial-coatings-market-1297.html Glass Insulation Market by Type (Insulating Glass Unit, Glass Wool, Cellular Glass), Application (Non-Residential Construction, Residential Construction, Industrial, HVAC), and Region - Global Forecast to 2021 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/glass-insulation-market-41122796.html HVAC Insulation Market by Type (Glass Wool, Stone Wool, Phenolic Foam, Elastomeric Foam and Others), Application (Residential, Commercial, Industrial) & by Region - Global Trends and Forecast to 2021 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/hvac-insulation-market-75521260.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Research Insight:https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/hvac-linesets-market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Content Source:https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/hvac-linesets.asp SOURCE MarketsandMarkets Two institutional shareholders who represent in aggregate approximately 5.46% of the total issued and outstanding Supreme shares on a non-diluted basis have entered into voting support agreements Shareholders are reminded to vote "FOR" the arrangement resolution ahead of the voting deadline on June 8, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. ( Toronto time) the arrangement resolution ahead of the voting deadline on at ( time) Don't delay. Vote today: For assistance with voting contact Kingsdale Advisors 1-877-659-1819 or [email protected] TORONTO, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - The Supreme Cannabis Company, Inc. ("Supreme", the "Company" or "we") (TSX: FIRE) (OTCQX: SPRWF) (FRA: 53S1) is pleased to announce that Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. ("ISS") and Glass, Lewis & Co., LLC ("Glass Lewis"), leading independent proxy advisory firms, have each recommended that Supreme shareholders vote "FOR" the resolution approving the plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement") involving Canopy Growth Corporation ("Canopy") at Supreme's special meeting of shareholders (the "Meeting") on Thursday June 10, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. (Toronto time). In reaching its recommendation, ISS stated the following: "The Arrangement makes strategic sense as the combined entity is anticipated to capture approximately $30 million in cost synergies within two years of closing across COGS and G&A expenses, with current FIRE shareholders able to participate in the upside potential represented by the new larger scale cannabis entity." The recommendation from ISS follows the report from Glass Lewis, who also recommended that shareholders vote "FOR" the Arrangement, noting that: "Supreme shareholders will also benefit from an increase in trading liquidity and participation in a company with enhanced capital markets presence and a broader shareholder group, with strengthened access to growth capital in the form of both debt and equity." Voting and Support Agreements Supreme is also pleased to announce that two institutional shareholders holding in aggregate approximately 5.46% of the total issued and outstanding Supreme shares on a non-diluted basis have entered into voting support agreements (the "Support Agreements") with Canopy. Pursuant to the Support Agreements, the two institutional shareholders have agreed, among other things and subject to the terms contained therein, to vote all of the Supreme shares owned by such shareholders in favour of the Arrangement. The Arrangement Under the terms of the Arrangement, Supreme shareholders will receive 0.01165872 of a Canopy common share and $0.0001 in cash in exchange for each Supreme share held (the "Consideration"). The Consideration represented a premium per Supreme share of approximately 66% based on the closing prices of the Supreme shares and Canopy shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX") on April 7, 2021, being the date Supreme and Canopy entered into the definitive agreement in respect of the Arrangement. VOTING IS FAST AND EASY Even if a Supreme shareholder has never voted before, every vote will count no matter how many shares such shareholder owns. Holders of Supreme shares eligible to vote at the Meeting must vote their proxies before 10:00 a.m. (Toronto time) on June 8, 2021. FOR SUPREME SHAREHOLDERS WITH QUESTIONS OR REQUIRING HELP VOTING: If you have any questions or require more information with respect to the procedures for voting, please contact our strategic shareholder advisor and proxy solicitation agent, Kingsdale Advisors, by telephone at 1-877-659-1819 (416-867-2272 for collect calls outside of North America) or by email at [email protected]. ADDITIONAL DETAILS Due to restrictions relating to the global COVID-19 pandemic, and to mitigate risks to the health and safety of our communities, Supreme shareholders, employees and other stakeholders, Supreme is holding the Meeting as a completely virtual meeting, where all Supreme shareholders, regardless of geographic location and equity ownership, will have an equal opportunity to participate and engage with Supreme as well as other Supreme shareholders. Supreme's management information circular dated May 11, 2021 (the "Information Circular") provides important and detailed instructions about how to participate at the Meeting. Supreme encourages Supreme shareholders to read the Meeting materials in detail. A copy of the Information Circular and related proxy materials are available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) under Supreme's issuer profile and on Supreme's website at https://www.supreme.ca/canopy-growth-acquisition. ABOUT SUPREME CANNABIS The Supreme Cannabis Company, Inc., (TSX: FIRE) (OTCQX: SPRWF) (FRA: 53S1), is a global diversified portfolio of distinct cannabis companies, products and brands. Since 2014, the Company has emerged as one of the world's most premium producers of recreational, wholesale and medical cannabis products. Supreme's portfolio of brands caters to diverse consumer and patient experiences, with brands and products that address recreational, wellness, medical and new consumer preferences. The Company's recreational brand portfolio includes, 7ACRES, 7ACRES Craft Collective, Blissco, sugarleaf, and Hiway. Supreme addresses national and international medical cannabis opportunities through its premium Truverra brand. Supreme's brands are backed by a focused suite of world-class operating assets that serve key functions in the value chain, including, scaled cultivation, value-add processing, automated packaging and product testing and R&D. Follow the Company on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. We simply grow better. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "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 statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Supreme or its respective subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release. Examples of such statements include statements with respect to the timing and outcome of the anticipated benefits of the Arrangement as described by ISS and Glass Lewis; the anticipated timing of the Meeting and the closing of the Arrangement. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including assumptions as to the ability of the parties to receive, in a timely manner and on satisfactory terms, the necessary regulatory, court and shareholder approvals; the ability of the parties to satisfy, in a timely manner, the other conditions to the completion of the Arrangement; risks related to the value of the Canopy common shares to be issued pursuant to the Arrangement; regulatory and licensing risks; changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial and stock markets; risks related to infectious diseases, including the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic; legal and regulatory risks inherent in the cannabis industry, including the global regulatory landscape and enforcement related to cannabis, political risks and risks relating to regulatory change; risks relating to anti-money laundering laws; compliance with extensive government regulation and the interpretation of various laws regulations and policies; public opinion and perception of the cannabis industry; and such other risks contained in the public filings of Supreme filed with Canadian securities regulators and available under Supreme's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, including the Information Circular and Supreme's annual information form for the year ended June 30, 2020. Although Supreme believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information or forward-looking statements in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Should one or more of the foregoing risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although Supreme has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and Supreme does not undertake any obligation to publicly update such forward-looking information or forward-looking information to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities laws. SOURCE The Supreme Cannabis Company, Inc. Related Links https://www.supreme.ca/ NEW YORK, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Intrinsic, an emerging leader in the health & wellness eCommerce space, has closed $113 million in Series A funding led by Define Ventures with participation from Link Ventures and others. Intrinsic was founded earlier this year in partnership with Redesign Health, a leading healthcare innovation platform, and the new round brings the company's total raise to $115 million. Left to right: Erum Hasnain (VP Acquisitions), Yadin Shemmer (Co-founder & CEO), Mike Blank (VP Business Operations) Intrinsic also announced the creation of a medical advisory board to provide counsel on acquisitions and innovation. Founding members include Dr. Theodore Leng, (Ophthalmology), Dr. Laurie Green (Obstetrics/Gynecology), Dr. Dena Bravata (Internal Medicine), Dr. David Suarez (Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation) and Dr. Rachel Walsh (Veterinary Medicine). With total U.S. eCommerce sales reaching $795 billion in 2020, Intrinsic focuses exclusively on the health & wellness category, which accounted for $62 billion of that spend . Intrinsic scouts and buys fast-growing health & wellness brands selling on Amazon and helps them realize their full potential. By bringing capital, healthcare marketing expertise, supply chain expertise, and advanced analytics to its acquired brands, Intrinsic accelerates growth and reach. Intrinsic focuses on numerous areas of health & wellness, including Pregnancy & Baby, Healthy Aging, Orthopedics, Digestive Health, Immune Support, Eye Health and Skin Care. "Intrinsic is building the consumer health products business of tomorrow by acquiring and accelerating eCommerce native brands. Health & wellness eCommerce is immense and growing at a breakneck pace as consumers move their spending online. Intrinsic is purpose-built to meet this opportunity and address the unique needs of consumers and founders in the category," said Yadin Shemmer, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Intrinsic. "However, we see commerce as just the beginning of a relationship with health consumers. By aggregating a large population of consumers around their chosen solutions, we are building a bridge from commerce to care that will transcend retail products and impact the lives of people around the world." "Consumer health products are frequently used to manage and maintain an individual's health," said Lynne Chou O'Keefe, Partner, Define Ventures, who joins Intrinsic's board of directors. "Intrinsic is not only rewriting the rules of consumer health products, but it is also building a platform for global health centered around eCommerce." Intrinsic will be partnering with health and wellness experts, Dr. Mehmet Oz and Tony Robbins, to assist with marketing and strategy. Oz and Robbins are investors in Intrinsic and will serve as strategic advisors to the company. Intrinsic is led by Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Yadin Shemmer, formerly Chief Executive Officer of Mango Health (sold to TrialCard in 2019) and President of Everyday Health's Consumer Group (sold to Ziff Media Group in 2016 for $467 million). About Intrinsic Intrinsic is an acquisition and growth platform uniquely focused on eCommerce native health & wellness brands. Intrinsic acquires and accelerates health & wellness brands selling on Amazon and other eCommerce channels. The company is based in New York, NY, and its investors include Define Ventures, Link Ventures, and others. For more information, please visit www.intrinsic.us . Media Contacts: Amanda Duckworth [email protected] SOURCE Intrinsic Related Links www.intrinsic.us NEW YORK and DENVER, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kimmeridge Energy Management Company, LLC ("Kimmeridge"), a private equity firm focused on upstream energy, with an investment philosophy underpinned by fundamental research, today published a white paper entitled: "Why the Energy Industry Needs a Carbon Offset Exchange." Contrary to popular belief, little has happened in the past year to quell the world's thirst for oil. With global lockdowns and limited vapor trails overhead, in 2020 oil demand declined just 9% versus 2019. As global demand for fossil fuels is expected to remain robust over the next decade (and likely longer), reducing the carbon intensity of the oil and gas industry is essential and the industry is already starting to make progress. Market participants are increasingly measuring their carbon emissions and managing their operations more sustainably as part of a broader push to embed ESG principles into the E&P business model. However, even with these positive developments, there are two main impediments to the industry's momentum: Lack of uniformity in E&P companies' goals / plans. Absence of explicit economic incentive for such companies to reduce their GHG emissions. Despite their central role in the environmental debate, E&Ps have no way of generating offsets from reducing emissions, or even from keeping hydrocarbons permanently in the ground. The current rules governing offset projects are too cumbersome, bureaucratic and academic, and hinder the potential for meaningful emissions reductions from the industry. Within its paper, Kimmeridge describes these obstacles in detail and presents practical, industry-wide solutions to facilitate the goal of net-zero, namely: E&Ps must commit to an independently verified reduction in the carbon intensity of their production of 50% by 2030. The creation of an O&G industry-wide offset exchange to facilitate carbon trading. Ben Dell, Founder and Managing Partner of Kimmeridge, said, "We believe that an industry incentivized to get to net zero through its own actions, and not just through planting trees, is the right and necessary path forward for E&Ps. At present, there is no compelling incentive structure that encourages oil & gas companies to actively reduce emissions and no platform that points them in the direction of a clean energy future. The industry must therefore take emissions reduction targets and the ability to offset emissions into its own hands. As Kimmeridge and many others have witnessed in recent years, the principles articulated in our white papers continue to be acknowledged and endorsed by those seeking to adopt a new E&P business model that would make the sector investable now and well into the future. Without critical reforms like these, the industry will remain mired in quicksand, struggling to attract capital and unprepared for the future of energy." Kimmeridge has seen first-hand, through the firm's own investments, that genuine commitments to measurable emissions reductions are indeed feasible for the industry. A clear example is Civitas Resources, a leading E&P in Colorado's DJ Basin, which is slated to begin life as a public company later this year as the state's first net-zero oil & gas producer (on a scope 1 and 2 basis). As presented in this paper, where there is a will, there is a way. Kimmeridge's Research and Writings This most recent paper builds on Kimmeridge's prior research, including its well-received research on "Charting a Path to Net Zero Emissions for Oil & Gas Production," which lays out the five key principles the E&P sector must adopt to address its environmental deficiencies and become investable over the long-term. To view more of Kimmeridge's research and thought leadership, please visit http://kimmeridge.com/research-archive/. About Kimmeridge Founded in 2012 by Ben Dell, Dr. Neil McMahon and Henry Makansi, Kimmeridge is a private equity firm focused on making direct investments in unconventional oil and gas assets in the U.S. The Firm is differentiated by its direct investment approach, deep technical knowledge, active portfolio management and proprietary research and data gathering. In addition to its New York headquarters, Kimmeridge maintains a fully-staffed, in-house operating and geology team in Denver, with experience across all major upstream functions and disciplines. For additional information on Kimmeridge and its proprietary research, please visit www.kimmeridge.com. Media Contact: Daniel Yunger / Simone Leung / Hallie Wolff Kekst CNC 212.521.4800 [email protected] SOURCE Kimmeridge Energy Management Company, LLC PARIS and BOSTON, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Shift Technology , a provider of AI-driven decision automation and optimization solutions for the global insurance industry, today announced that Aema Groupe, a longtime client of Shift (via the affiliate La Macif), is extending its collaboration with the company. Aema Groupe is increasing its use of InsurTech and AI to standardize the mechanisms it uses to counter fraud, money laundering and the financing of terrorism across all its business lines. The overall aim of the partnership is to centralize all Aema Groupe's processes and data to enhance the performance of the AML/CFT mechanism. A group approach to compliance with AML/CFT regulations In keeping with its values as a mutual insurance company, in 2018 La Macif implemented a comprehensive strategy to uncover and fight fraud in its core Property and Casualty (P&C) business. Working with Shift, Aema Groupe is extending these efforts to its health and contingency lines of business. Since AML/CFT strategies are highly regulated and call for detailed, uniform customer knowledge on the part of the different business units, Aema Groupe bolstered by its already successful collaboration in P&C selected Shift. "The success of the actions undertaken in the area of automobile insurance, and subsequently in home insurance, as well as the need to centralize all of our processes and automate the AML/CFT processes, led us to turn to Shift once again," explained Christophe Raballand, Internal Audit and Compliance Manager of Aema Groupe. "The Shift solution places AI and data science at the service of automation." An agile solution based on AI, designed to unify data, and facilitate decision making. Aema Groupe wanted to implement an automated solution unified to deliver a global vision of its activity. Sharing and processing the data of customers with several different contracts (P&C, life, health, and contingency) within a single tool will allow the group to be much more efficient because it will no longer need to process and analyze all the data manually, and duplicate activities can be avoided. This strategy also expedites the exchange of information between teams. Shift's innovative AI-based technology enables the group to automate all commercial practices and processes, rationalize the extensive data relating to customer knowledge and improve its operational efficiency. "Aema Groupe is convinced of the value of our solutions, and as such has already used Shift to combat fraud for several years. We are proud to now be able to support the group in resolving other problems in all of its business lines. Our Shift Insurance Suite allows Aema Groupe to create a close bond with those it insures," said Benoit Legros, vice president, Customer Success, Shift Technology. As well as using technology, Aema Groupe also relies on the skills and market experience of Shift's teams to continue evolving its organization in this field. About Shift Technology Shift Technology delivers the only AI-native decision automation and optimization solutions built specifically for the global insurance industry. Addressing several critical processes across the insurance policy lifecycle, the Shift Insurance Suite helps insurers achieve faster, more accurate claims and policy resolutions. Shift has analyzed billions of insurance transactions to date and was presented Frost & Sullivan's 2020 Global Claims Solutions for Insurance Market Leadership Award. For more information, please visit www.shift-technology.com . Contacts: Rob Morton Corporate Communications Shift Technology +1.617.416.9216 [email protected] SOURCE Shift Technology Related Links https://www.shift-technology.com "With these new locations, we're continuing to make it easier for our customers to receive quality products and services closer to home," said Jeff Beck, CEO and President of Leaf Home Solutions. "Within the first six months of 2021, we've added nearly 40 offices across brands. I'm extremely proud of our team and all their hard work to make that happen." LeafFilter Opens in Columbia, Missouri LeafFilter has added a new office in Columbia, Missouriits 118th location overall and fourth location in the state. The centralized location allows for even more customers in the Show Me State to experience clog-free gutters from the largest gutter protection company in North America. LeafFilter Gutter Protection empowers homeowners to eliminate gutter cleaning hassle with its award-winning and patented technology, scientifically designed to keep everything out of the gutters except water. See if LeafFilter serves your neighborhood and schedule a free estimate today. Leaf Home Water Solutions Expands Ohio Presence Leaf Home Water Solutions has added its second Ohio office to its growing business, settling in the state capital of Columbus. With its recent addition in Cleveland and more offices on the horizon, Leaf Home Water Solutions continuing its mission to provide peace of mind through healthy, purified water. Leaf Home Water Solutions pairs homeowners with the ideal whole-home water filtration system for their needs by testing tap water with free cutting-edge digital water tests. The product line tackles both city and well water's unique demands, with a team of industry experts with an intense dedication to customer service. To schedule a free water test for your home, visit the Leaf Home Water Solutions website. About Leaf Home Solutions Leaf Home Solutions is North America's leading tech-enabled direct-to-consumer provider of branded home solutions. Our innovative products enhance the safety, enjoyment, and comfort of homeowners and their families and protect the condition and enhance the appearance and value of their homes. Customers value our quality products and the exceptional service we deliver through our end-to-end DTC sales and service model. Our proprietary data-driven platforms for marketing, customer service, field services, and talent management driven by our "Today-Not-Tomorrow" culture underpin our competitive advantage and high, sustained growth. Learn more about Leaf Home Solutions at www.leafhomesolutions.com. For more information, contact: [email protected]. SOURCE Leaf Home Solutions With its recent acquisition of Hampton Forge and now the Oneida tabletop brand, Lenox is a market leader of brands. Tweet this "All of these great brands have served as industry leaders in their respective categories, reaching a broad consumer base," said Bob Burbank, CEO of Lenox Corporation. "As one family, our products are sold to thousands of retailers including specialty and department stores, mass merchants, warehouse clubs and grocery stores across the U.S., Canada and international markets worldwide. This new combination of brands and array of products will create unprecedented growth opportunities within our existing customer base, and open new distribution world-wide. We are delighted to welcome Oneida and its array of flatware, dinnerware and cutlery products into the Lenox family." "I believe the combination of these two iconic brands creates a truly dynamic consumer product company," states Mark Eichhorn, CEO of The Oneida Group. "With the brand management expertise and product and supply chain knowledge that Lenox possesses combined with their commitment to reenergize and grow the beloved Oneida brand, I believe that Lenox is the ideal steward for the Oneida brand." About Lenox Corporation Lenox, an American company and market leader in tableware & giftware, was founded in 1889, with a singular vision to set the highest standards for quality, artistry & beauty. The company markets its products under the Lenox, Hampton Forge and Reed & Barton brands. In addition to its core brands, Lenox creates and distributes the Kate Spade New York tabletop collection. Lenox products are sold through major e-commerce retailers, department stores, gift and specialty retailers, as well as through the company's own websites. Over its 130-year history, Lenox has been the recipient of numerous design awards and has the distinction of being the first American dinnerware used in the White House. Lenox is headquartered in Bristol, PA. For more information on Lenox, please visit www.Lenox.com . About Oneida In 1848, Oneida was founded in upstate New York as an attempt at utopia. To support the community, members began making silverware and when they premiered stainless steel flatware in the 1960's, the whole world could suddenly access fine, durable flatware at an affordable price. Today, Oneida is a leading global marketer of tabletop products for the consumer market and they enhance the culinary experience. For more information on Oneida, please visit www.Oneida.com . SOURCE Lenox Corporation Related Links lenox.com To set the stage for Lowrys descent into QAnon hell, the preacher told the congregation that some 500,000 children go missing each year. He then added that less than 5% of those were attributable to kids being taken by family members. That part is fairly true, according to FBI statistics. Findings from the report include: Copyright filings peaked in 2015 and 2018 due to large numbers of file sharing cases. There was a drop-off in filings between 2019 and 2020, likely due to the pandemic, as well as a drop-off in case filings by the Liebowitz Law Firm. The top two copyright plaintiffs, Strike 3 Holdings, LLC and Malibu Media, LLC are adult film companies accusing defendants of pirating their content. The most active plaintiffs' law firm in copyright cases was Fox Rothschild with 1,993 cases, due to a large number of file sharing cases filed on behalf of Strike 3 Holdings, LLC in 2018. The most active defendants' law firm in copyright cases was David Wright Tremaine , which defended 208 copyright lawsuits in the last three years. , which defended 208 copyright lawsuits in the last three years. While trademark case filings generally held steady between 2017 and 2019, they had the lowest number of filings of the last decade in 2020 with 3,778 cases (a 14% decrease from the year before). As policies and strategies have changed, federal dilution claims have dropped 59% in the last decade and cybersquatting claims have dropped 50%. The Northern District of Illinois , with 1,475 cases, was the most active district for trademark cases due to the large number of mass counterfeiting cases filed there. , with 1,475 cases, was the most active district for trademark cases due to the large number of mass counterfeiting cases filed there. The top two trademark plaintiffs were Sream Inc. and Roor International BV, which are often co-plaintiffs in lawsuits alleging infringement of their ROOR brand glass water pipes. The most active plaintiffs' law firm in trademark cases was Greer, Burns & Crain with 578 cases, which filed a large number of mass counterfeiting cases in the Northern District of Illinois . The most active defendants' law firm in trademark cases was Covington Burling with 129 cases, because it was the defense counsel in the opioid cases in the Northern District of Ohio . . The most active defendants' law firm in trademark cases was with 129 cases, because it was the defense counsel in the opioid cases in the Northern District of . Copyright cases terminated with a settlement 82% of the time, one of the largest proportions of settlements in any Lex Machina practice area. On the other hand, trademark cases only resolved with a settlement 56% of the time due to the high number of default judgments (15% of cases resolved with a default judgment). practice area. On the other hand, trademark cases only resolved with a settlement 56% of the time due to the high number of default judgments (15% of cases resolved with a default judgment). Findings and damages on default are extremely common in these practice areas. In the last three years, nearly $2.3 billion in statutory damages under the Copyright Act and $4.9 billion in statutory damages under the Lanham act were awarded on default. Lex Machina's reports and software enable practitioners to devise data-driven litigation strategies. The metrics in this report may help readers decide who to pursue as clients, whether to pursue a particular motion, or when to settle. This research supplements traditional legal research and anecdotal data for a competitive edge in litigation. Register here for a copy of the report: https://pages.lexmachina.com/2021-Copyright-Trademark-Report_LP.html Copyright and Trademark Report Webcast Lex Machina is hosting a webcast to discuss the report on June 3, 2021 at noon ET/9am PT with Doug Panzer, Partner at Caesar Rivise, and Patrick Arnold, Shareholder at McAndrews, in conversation with report author Rachel Bailey and host Neil Magenheim. Register for the event or view a recording: https://pages.lexmachina.com/Copyright-and-Trademark-Litigation-Report-Webcast-2021_LP.html About LexisNexis Legal & Professional LexisNexis Legal & Professional is a leading global provider of legal, regulatory and business information and analytics that help customers increase productivity, improve decision-making and outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis and Nexis services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 160 countries with 10,400 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. About Lex Machina Lex Machina fundamentally changes how companies and law firms compete in the business and practice of law. The company provides strategic insights on judges, lawyers, law firms, parties, and other critical information across 17 federal practice areas and a rapidly growing number of state courts. Lex Machina allows law firms and companies to predict the behaviors and outcomes that different legal strategies will produce, enabling them to win cases and close business. Lex Machina was named "2021 Legal Technology Trailblazer" (National Law Journal Trailblazer Awards, 2021), Winner of the "Media Excellence" Award for Analytics/Big Data (13th Annual Media Excellence Award, 2021), "Best Decision Management Solution" (AI Breakthrough Awards, 2019), and "Disruptor of the Year" (Changing Lawyer Awards, 2019). Based in Silicon Valley, Lex Machina is part of LexisNexis, a leading global provider of legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics. For more information, please visit www.lexmachina.com. SOURCE Lex Machina Related Links http://www.lexmachina.com VANCOUVER, BC and ATLANTA, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Liberty Defense Holdings Ltd. ("Liberty" or the "Company") (TSXV: SCAN) (OTCQB: LDDFF) (FRANKFURT: LD2), a leading concealed weapons and threat detection solutions company, is pleased to announce that it will be presenting virtually at the upcoming LD Micro Invitational XI event at 1:00 PM ET on Tuesday, June 8, 2021. Liberty's CEO Bill Frain will present and share Liberty's plans for developing next generation walk-through weapons screening and threat detection solutions, as well as Company developments that include recent licensing agreements and funding. The 2021 LD Micro Invitational will be held on the Sequire Virtual Events platform, and participants can register for the event here: https://ldmicrojune2021.mysequire.com. The Company is also pleased to announce that it has engaged Native Ads, Inc., of New York, New York to perform strategic digital media services, marketing and data analytics services including, but not limited to, content development, video production and editing, website development, media buying and distribution, and campaign reporting and optimization. This campaign is set to begin in June 2021 and will continue until USD$225,000 of services are rendered. 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 walk-through 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 technology portfolio. 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 NEW YORK, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of a freshly re-designed luxuryportfolio.com, Luxury Portfolio International (LPI) is welcoming its visitors with an exclusive quiz that identifies top second home locations based on vacation and home preferences. The quiz itself is a symbol of the content richness to be expected of the revamped website, which features the latest research reports, including the newly released "International Luxury Buyer Trends and Demand," a library of Luxury Portfolio digital magazines, the video series "Connected Conversations" and a reinvigorated blog, showcasing daily articles within four categories Design, Travel, Lifestyle and Real Estate. For over a decade, LPI has been a hub of top-tier listings compiled from over 200 of the highest performing brokerages globally. The updated site improves this navigation with enhanced search capabilities that allow users to filter by architectural style, neighborhood, as displayed in a newly added geo-map, and home specialty, with options that include waterfront homes, substantial acreage, under construction and more. Upon searching, visitors click off to detail-oriented listing pages, complete with an instant gallery of page-filling images, the home's most important features and a snapshot of the surrounding neighborhood. The new website furthermore reflects the network's ongoing growth, punctuated by the rollout of a multitude of new initiatives under the direction of President Mickey Alam Khan. "Luxury Portfolio International has long been a leader in the luxury real estate sphere," says Alam Khan, "During the past few months, we have reinforced this notion through the refresh of our assets, across the board, and our new, state-of-the-art website, complete with compelling content and attractive listings." Content is available in six, seamlessly translated languages and an extensive list of currencies, furthering LPI's already exemplary global reach. Visit luxuryportfolio.com to discover the latest LPI has to offer. ABOUT LUXURY PORTFOLIO INTERNATIONAL (LPI) LPI (luxuryportfolio.com) is the luxury marketing division of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, the largest global network of premier locally branded firms dominated by many of the world's most powerful, independent luxury brands. LPI attracts a global audience of visitors from over 200 countries/territories every month and markets more than 50,000 luxury homes annually. Well Connected. Contact: [email protected] SOURCE Luxury Portfolio International Related Links luxuryportfolio.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Martin's Famous Pastry Shoppe, Inc. Martin's Famous Potato Rolls and Bread announces their Sponsorship of "Beyond the Plate" podcast Season 6 hosted by Andrew "Kappy" Kaplan. "Beyond the Plate" explores the culinary journeys of the world's top chefs and culinary leaders, highlighting their positive social impacts and inspiring inside tales of today's hospitality industry. Since its premier in 2017, "Beyond the Plate" has rapidly gained popularity in the podcast world as Kaplan sat down for in-person interviews with the world's culinary elite. Renowned chefs and culinary personalities like Jacques Pepin, Andrew Zimmern, Rachael Ray, and Michael Symon have recounted their journeys and shared what drives their passion for giving back in previous seasons. "Beyond the Plate" has been featured on notable news outlets and in magazines such as NBC, Rachael Ray In Season Magazine, and People Magazine. Season 6 will continue to share insights from exciting interviews with famous chefs and premiere guests like Wolfgang Puck, Geoffrey Zakarian, and more. Each episode will feature inspirational stories of how these icons became culinary industry titans, and how they give back to communities today. "The stories shared through Beyond the Plate bring these incredibly famous people to a human level for listeners. Hearing these celebrities passionately tell their stories creates a new level of connection and even a bit of relatability for fans," says Wendy Cowan, marketing manager for Martin's Famous Potato Rolls and Bread. "It goes without saying that the most remarkable part of this podcast is hearing how these icons choose to give back, pay it forward, and strive to change the lives of people around the world for the better. This resonates with us as an organization because Martin's continuously endeavors to better serve the world around us." Kaplan is the Vice President of Culinary Operations for Rachael Ray and the Co-Founder and Director of Rachael Ray's cooking and kids charity, Yum-o! He is also the Founder and CEO of Culinary Advisors LLC, a strategic culinary advisory service. "The main reason we do this podcast is to share the inspiring stories that listeners may not be aware of. Everyone knows these chefs from the food in their restaurant or from a show on TV. We love being able to share the ups and downs, the 'behind the scenes,' and, sometimes, never heard before stories as well as how these incredible humans give back to their community beyond the plate." You can find Beyond the Plate episodes on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Stitcher, or on the Beyond the Plate website. Follow along on social at @btplatepodcast, @onkappysplate or go to www.beyondtheplatepodcast.com. Martin's Famous Pastry Shoppe, Inc. is an all-American family owned and operated consumer goods company headquartered in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, focused on baking high-quality bread and roll products using high-quality ingredients. They are rigorously dedicated to extraordinary taste, quality, and customer service that proudly represents their legacy of cherished eating experiences and truly sets them apart from their competitors. Since the 1950s, the business has expanded from a home garage business into two commercial baking plants and continues to grow and flourish in areas of established distribution. Martin's mission encompasses more than just baking the best bread and providing good American jobs. They also believe in giving back to their community and the world around them. Through volunteering time and donating resources, they support many charitable organizations, such as food banks, afterschool programs, disaster relief, and others that provide sustenance and comfort to people in need, both close to their baking facilities and abroad. For more information, visit: www.potatorolls.com. SOURCE Martin's Famous Pastry Shoppe, Inc. Related Links http://www.potatorolls.com NEW YORK, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE: MFA) announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Laurie Goodman as non-executive Chair of the Board, effective immediately. Ms. Goodman assumes the role of Board Chair from George H. Krauss, who retired from the Board after 24 years of service as a director of MFA following the company's annual meeting of stockholders held earlier in June. Ms. Goodman has been a director of MFA since 2014 and has been a member of the Board's Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Audit Committee since joining the Board, and she has been Chair of the Audit Committee since 2017. MFA Financial, Inc. is a real estate investment trust primarily engaged in the business of investing, on a leveraged basis, in residential mortgage assets, including residential whole loans and residential mortgage-backed securities. SOURCE MFA Financial, Inc. Related Links http://www.mfafinancial.com WASHINGTON, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Financial services law firm Murphy & McGonigle continues the momentum of its Banking & Financial Services Practice with the addition of Lisa Weingarten Richards, an 11-year veteran of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Ms. Richards, who joins as a partner in Washington, DC, previously served as a Senior Attorney in the Chief Counsel's Office of the OCC. The addition of Ms. Richards follows banking industry leader Stephen T. Gannon joining recently from Citizens Financial Group to lead the Firm's Banking & Financial Services Practice. Gannon previously served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer at Citizens. In addition to the Banking & Financial Services Practice, Ms. Richards will be a member of the Firm's Securities & Complex Commercial Litigation Practice. "We are delighted to welcome Lisa to Murphy & McGonigle," said Mr. Gannon. "Her deep experience at the OCC with both consumer protection- and FinTech-related issues adds further depth to our Banking & Financial Services Practice and enhances our ability to serve an even broader array of clients as they grapple with the rapid changes impacting the industry." While at the OCC, the principal banking regulator in the U.S., Ms. Richards' experience included providing analysis and counsel relating to consumer protection issues such as unfair deceptive and abusive conduct; high to low posting of debt transactions; lending discrimination; predatory lending; the "ability to repay"/qualified mortgage rule; the Truth in Lending mortgage appraisal rules; as well as the OCC's authority under Title X of the Dodd Frank Act. Ms. Richards also participated in the interagency rulemaking processes for appraisal management company oversight. In addition, she provided counsel regarding a first-of-its-kind application by a FinTech institution for a new banking charter. "After 11 years working for the government, I am very happy to join Murphy & McGonigle and excited to utilize my experience to directly benefit our clients," said Ms. Richards. "I am impressed with the Firm's recent accolades and its rapid expansion. I look forward to being able to work in this fast-evolving field and being a part of the team." Ms. Richards began her legal career in the Office of the New York State Attorney General, where she served in the Litigation and Investor Protection Bureaus as a legal intern. A graduate of Columbia University, she earned her J.D. from New York University School of Law. The addition of Ms. Richards further strengthens the government experience and perspective Murphy & McGonigle brings to client engagements. Fifteen of the firm's lawyers previously served at the SEC, five at the Department of Justice, and three at the CFTC. About Murphy & McGonigle Murphy & McGonigle serves the regulatory counseling, enforcement defense and high-stakes litigation needs of clients across the full spectrum of the financial services industry from investment banks and commercial banks, broker-dealers, investment advisers, and hedge funds, to national and international securities markets and exchanges as well as digital asset trading platforms and Fintech innovators. Many of the firm's partners formerly served in senior positions at the U.S. Department of Justice, SEC, FINRA, and the CFTC, and several served in senior executive positions in major financial institutions on Wall Street. The Firm was recognized as "Law Firm of the Year" for Securities Regulation in 2021 by U.S. News Best Lawyers. Murphy & McGonigle operates in New York, Washington, DC, Virginia, Chicago and San Francisco. Contact Mark S. Curran Email: [email protected] Direct: 212.880.3989 Facsimile: 212.880.3998 SOURCE Murphy & McGonigle, P.C. Related Links www.murphymcgonigle.com HONOLULU, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Travel nurse and war veteran, Grover Nicodemus Street, chases the COVID surge sharing his pandemic experience of traveling to hard hit places suffering the most. Chasing the Surge: Life as a Travel Nurse in a Global Pandemic Grover Nicodemus Street JMFdeA Press is proud to announce the launch of Chasing the Surge powerfully shows the devastating conditions of patients and health care workers in COVID-19 filled hospitals. Street's book captures the pain of a difficult moment in American history, with heart-wrenching and heart-filled stories. He has traveled to coronavirus hotspots in the US since the beginning of the pandemic to help others and also to keep his wife, who is a cancer survivor, safe from this deadly virus. Even though he tried as hard as he could to keep COVID away from his wife, it was not possible. Grover Nicodemus Street takes readers on a spellbinding journey through coronavirus hotspots in the US, including New Jersey, Colorado, New York, Florida, and California. It also captures the author's experience of American historical moments of the Black Lives Matter movement in New York, storms in Florida, and wildfires in California. "Chasing the Surge captures the pain of a difficult moment in American history, and the author does an impeccable job with stories that portray the suffering and hardship of people while providing insights into dealing with the pandemic. The book is superbly written, the prose illuminating, and Grover Nicodemus Street R.N. meticulously analyzes the reaction of the public to the pandemic." Reader's Favorite Portion of the proceeds of Chasing the Surge will help underserved communities with educational material and access to vaccines. Chasing the Surge: Life as a Travel Nurse in a Global Pandemic is the story of a travel nurse, a tale of courage and sacrifice, which also explores the humanity of frontline medics, fighting to save lives and at times in the goriest of situations. "Chasing the Surge is detailed, written in beautiful prose, and celebrating the courage of nurses. Grover Nicodemus Street R.N. provides strong insights into what it means to serve one's country in a time of deepest need. The writing is filled with historical elements and the depressing experience of the Covid-19 pandemic is captured with ingenuity and, at times, grim humor. This book is the best thing I have read about the pandemic; a story that should be shared." Reader's Favorite "A sublime, personal account about the frightening Covid-19 surge." Kirkus Reviews Chasing the Surge is 280 pages and is now available in e-book and print versions at jmfdeapress.com, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and other on-line booksellers. For media enquiries, contact Ja-ne de Abreu, JMFdeA Press, [email protected], 808-372-6363 SOURCE JMFdeA Press SAN FRANCISCO, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Nextdoor announced Free Finds , a new product enabling neighbors who haven't yet signed up for Nextdoor to easily find and browse the wealth of free items in their neighborhood. Since the beginning of 2020, Nextdoor has seen an 80% increase in monthly listings to its buy, sell, and give away product, with 25% of items listed as free. Free Finds makes it easier than ever to find free items nearby by browsing listings in the area on Nextdoor. Neighbors not yet on the platform can then contact the giver simply by signing up for a free Nextdoor account. "Free Finds is an extension of a product loved by neighbors around the world," said Rhett Angold, Product Lead at Nextdoor. "It's your trusted neighborhood treasure map to live sustainably, save money, build connections, and of course find items for your everyday needs." Additionally, Nextdoor revamped its popular For Sale & Free product which will now be called Nextdoor Finds. This redesign took what neighbors loved most about the product and made it a more tailored experience. Nextdoor Finds better serves neighbors with personalized recommendations, Free Finds, unique categories such as "Neighbor Made" and "Neighbor Services," and more. "Using Nextdoor Finds, I've been able to get most of my household items for 90-100% less than what they would cost otherwise," said Murdoc, a Nextdoor neighbor in Denver, CO. "I also appreciate that I am consuming less materials and helping others generate less waste." Free Finds and Nextdoor Finds are both free to use and available in all countries Nextdoor operates in at nextdoor.com/freefinds or by visiting the Nextdoor Finds section in the Nextdoor app. About Nextdoor, Inc. Nextdoor is the app where you plug into the neighborhoods that matter to you. Our purpose is to cultivate a kinder world where everyone has a neighborhood they can rely on. Neighbors turn to Nextdoor daily to receive trusted information, give and get help, and build real-world connections with those nearby neighbors, local businesses, and public agencies. We believe connecting with others is a universal human need. That truth, and the reality that neighborhoods are among the most important communities in our lives, have been guiding principles for Nextdoor since the beginning. Today, neighbors rely on Nextdoor in 276,000 neighborhoods around the world, including the United States (nearly 1 in 3 U.S. households), the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, and Canada, with many more to come. Nextdoor is a privately held company based in San Francisco with backing from prominent investors including Benchmark, Shasta Ventures, Greylock Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Riverwood Capital, Bond, Axel Springer, Comcast Ventures, and others. For additional information and images: nextdoor.com/newsroom. SOURCE Nextdoor, Inc. Related Links www.nextdoor.com ARLINGTON, Texas, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The North Central Texas Emergency Communications District (NCT9-1-1) celebrates its 30-year anniversary today. Since its creation in 1991, NCT9-1-1 has established itself as a district committed to furthering innovation within the emergency number industry and in promoting its core values of heart, courage, and attitude. "When I went to work for this 9-1-1 entity over thirty years ago, I knew I would have the opportunity to help people through our work," said Director of 9-1-1 Christy Williams. "I couldn't have dreamed of the amazing team who are passionate and dedicated to saving lives and making a difference! I am honored to be a part of something great." The district began as the North Central Texas Council of Governments 9-1-1 Program and transitioned to a regional emergency communications district in December 2018. This transition allowed for more local control, including the establishment of a Board of Managers made up of elected officials. Today, the district serves over 1.7 million people across 13 North Texas counties and 40 plus Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), or 9-1-1 call centers. In celebration of its anniversary, the district is looking back at the key milestones it has achieved since its establishment in 1991 when its first 9-1-1 call was made in Collin County. Some of those milestones include implementing Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping into the region, which allows for more precise location services; being the first in Texas and fifth in the nation to launch text-to-9-1-1; committing to Next Generation 9-1-1 services, which allows call takers to receive additional data and the opportunity for future implementation of photos and videos in 9-1-1 centers; and more. NCT9-1-1 continues to further innovation within the industry by providing resources and guidance as an early adopter to other 9-1-1 agencies and authorities looking to improve 9-1-1 services. The full timeline of the history of NCT9-1-1 can be found at NCT911.org/30th-anniversary/. Contact: Amelia Mueller, 321-626-3953, [email protected] SOURCE North Central Texas Emergency Communications District DUBLIN, Ohio, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Four years after the approval of the first CAR-T cell therapies, oncologists are referring more patients for treatment and becoming more comfortable with the cost. However, payer approvals and cumbersome administrative processes are still key barriers, according to new research published from Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions. CAR-T cell therapy uses the body's own immune system to fight cancer. It works by taking blood from patients and separating out the T cells, then genetically engineering them to produce chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) on their surface, which can target and kill cancer cells. Today, there are five CAR-T products approved in the United States (U.S.) for seven different indications including various lymphomas and multiple myeloma. The perceptions and current use of CAR-T therapy by oncologists are explored in the latest edition of Oncology Insights, a biannual research-based report series authored by Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH), analyzing surveys of more than 300 U.S. oncologists. The surveys were conducted between February - April 2021, culminating in the report's publication today. "The innovative science behind cell therapies like CAR-T is transforming the long-term outlook for many cancer patients. Our latest research shows that, despite some barriers to access, oncologists are embracing these new therapies and are optimistic about their continued use in the future of oncology care," said Heidi Hunter, President of Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions. The study finds 60% of participating oncologists say that CAR-T therapy costs are either "reasonable" or "not inappropriate" versus just 39% of respondents in a similar 2017 study1. In addition, 91% of oncologists have referred at least one patient for CAR-T therapy over the past 12 months, up from 54% and 71% in surveys2 conducted in 2019. In addition to assessing views about CAR-T, the report also explores the continued impact of COVID-19 on oncology and discusses performance in value-based care. These key findings identified: About two-thirds of participating oncologists report delays in routine cancer screening due to the COVID-19 pandemic; 89% of participants expect to continue using telemedicine after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic; and Nearly four in 10 participants said it is difficult or very difficult to perform well under value-based care models, and just one in four participating oncologists agree that current technologies support success in value-based care. About Oncology Insights Oncology Insights is a biannual research-based report series authored by Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH). The findings are based on web-based surveys conducted between February - April 2021. This ninth edition report survey included participation from more than 300 U.S oncologists, representing a diverse mix of community and hospital-based practices, as well as viewpoints from Cardinal Health leaders Chief Medical Officer Bruce Feinberg, DO; Vice President, Senior Medical Director Ajeet Gajra, MD, MBBS, FACP; and Amy Valley, PharmD, Vice President, Clinical Strategy and Technology Solutions. About Cardinal Health Cardinal Health is a distributor of pharmaceuticals, a global manufacturer and distributor of medical and laboratory products, and a provider of performance and data solutions for health care facilities. With 50 years in business, operations in more than 40 countries and approximately 48,000 employees globally, Cardinal Health is essential to care. Information about Cardinal Health is available at cardinalhealth.com. Contacts Media: to request a copy of the report, please contact Marcia Frederick, [email protected] and (614) 757-9968; Investors: Kevin Moran, [email protected] and (614) 757-7942. Oncology Insights, Cardinal Health, Dec 2017 Gajra A, Jeune-Smith Y, Kish J, Yeh TC, Hime S, Feinberg B. Perceptions of community hematologists/oncologists on barriers to chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy for the treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Immunotherapy. 2020 Jul;12(10):725-732. doi: 10.2217/imt-2020-0118. Epub 2020 Jun 18. PMID: 32552151. SOURCE Cardinal Health Related Links http://www.cardinalhealth.com Greenberg told prosecutors he would invite the minor and others to meet and have sex at hotels around Central Florida and supply the girl and other attendees with ecstasy. Greenberg had sex at least seven times with the girl while she was still a minor and also introduced her to adult men who had sex with her, his plea agreement said. MIAMI, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Paradigm Hotels today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire At Mine Hospitality in a transaction valued at over $8.4 million. Paradigm plans to commit additional capital to grow the pipeline of properties over the next year, across four markets. The transaction marks a renewed focus by Paradigm on acquiring and operating Airbnb-hotels. Paradigm, the technology powered hospitality company whose mission it is to make renting a hotel room more effortless for everyone, leverages the Airbnb platform to offer guests a seamless travel experience that blurs the line between hotel and Airbnb. Brian Ehrlich, Co-Founder of Paradigm Hotels said, "My co-founder Ben Hoffman and I are pleased to announce this transaction, bringing together the Airbnb and boutique hotel experiences. Our properties are imaginative and alluring: they capture the charm of an Airbnb, while offering boutique hotel accommodations updated for the digital age. At Paradigm, we hate waiting in line. We reject the idea of check-outs. We encourage the client to text when they need something, anything we won't make you download a silly app. We meet the customer where he or she communicates. And by cutting out the offerings that don't matter to today's consumers, we are able to pass on considerable savings to the guest. The acquisition couldn't be more perfect." At Mine is a Miami-based hotel management company founded by Samuel Raccah and Matteo Soldatini, focused on the boutique hotel space. That business helped At Mine achieve a 90% occupancy rate throughout the height of the pandemic when the average occupancy rate across all U.S. hotels was 44%, according to hotel data tracking firm Smith Travel Research. Furthermore, the company's use of proprietary revenue management software to optimize bookings has enabled it to achieve double digit growth over the past year and to reach sales nearly 50% higher than the company's competitive set. Since its founding in 2020, At Mine has thus far hosted more than 5,000 guests. Paradigm believes the line between hotels and short-term rentals has converged and that its services directly leverage the seamless experience guests now demand: text-based (immediate!) communication instead of wonky apps, high-quality real estate, ease of entry and exit through self-check in (no check outs), and WiFi enabled locks. The Company focuses on optimization by merging the Airbnb platform with speedy, witty, personalized communication and customer service. The Company prioritizes the selection of properties that meet the guest's quest for adventurous experiences that one only finds on the Airbnb platform. The At Mine executive team will also join the Paradigm Hotels team with the aim of expanding the Paradigm Hotels portfolio to 1000 units by 2023. Paradigm Co-Founder Ben Hoffman said: "We're very excited to have the At Mine operational team join us to bring our unique boutique hotel experience into the future. Their passion for delivering best-in-class hospitality at charming real estate assets aligns with our mission to make renting a hotel room more seamless." Matteo Soldatini, At Mine Co-Founder commented, "Just as online retailers have perfected distribution in this day and age, we are obsessed with service, especially as it relates to the expectations of the Airbnb guest. We believe our expertise puts us in a unique position to add long-term value as we scale." Samuel Raccah, At Mine Co-Founder, added, "this new configuration has demonstrated resilience over the past year despite persistent challenges due to lockdowns and travel restrictions. We are excited about this growth opportunity as we join forces with Brian Ehrlich and Ben Hoffman." "Together, we have more than 50 years of hospitality and real estate expertise and we're ecstatic to be co-founders in this new venture" said Ben Hoffman, Co-Founder of Paradigm Hotels. "In the rapidly evolving industry we operate in at the intersection of technology, real estate, and hospitality we have found the best people to execute on this global expansion." About Paradigm Hotels Paradigm Hotels is on a mission to make renting a hotel room more effortless for everyone via the Airbnb platform. As a real estate company, we acquire assets that enhance an Airbnb traveler's experience. We also provide real estate owners with strong lease terms through streamlined operations. To learn more about Paradigm, visit paradigm01.com Press Contact: Brian Ehrlich 3057338870 https://paradigm01.com SOURCE Paradigm Hotels Related Links https://paradigm01.com MONTREAL, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - At a conference hosted by the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie francaise au Canada (CCIFC), Boralex President and CEO Patrick Decostre outlined the company's first milestones in the implementation of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy. He also announced that Boralex has received a silver medal rating from EcoVadis's evaluation on sustainability. Already working at the heart of the transition to renewable energy, Boralex has chosen to develop an ambitious CSR strategy. "We're at the beginning of an extraordinary phase in renewable energy development, but this development will be in vain if it is not in line with the goal of preserving the planet, and respecting the living," said Patrick Decostre. For Boralex, CSR is a critical component for both new opportunitiesespecially for companies that have made carbon neutral commitmentsand new expectations, because consumers are now looking for responsible energy suppliers whose commitments go beyond the production of renewable energy production. Together, these elements make CSR an obvious development to Boralex. The company has developed a three-pronged strategy that groups a total of 10 issues outlined in Boralex's first CSR report, Beyond Renewable Energy, released in February. These issues cover not only the environmental aspects specific to the company's primary activities, but also the social, societal and corporate governance impacts of the organization's actions. First concrete actions Boralex has already begun to take concrete actions resulting from the adoption of this strategy, including hiring a Director of CSR, Mihaela Stefanov, who reports directly to the President and CEO. The company also signed the Solar Energy Industry Association Pledge, an effort against forced labor practices in the solar industry. This Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) initiative has brought together hundreds of companies and organizations from the solar sector to learn about and oppose these practices. "These first steps create expectations and motivation for hard work ahead, but also bolster a commitment among our investors, current and future employees, stakeholders, partners and clients to keep our CSR goals at the forefront," said Patrick Decostre. He also noted that the CSR strategy will be an integral part of the company's business strategy in the update of its strategic plan, which will be released on June 17. "Even though these CSR values were already instinctively conveyed across all teams, I can now proudly saybacked up by our objectives and resultsthat CSR at Boralex is intrinsically linked to all of our activities," said Patrick Decostre. EcoVadis awards Boralex silver medal rating for sustainability Patrick Decostre also took the opportunity to highlight the fact that Boralex received a silver medal rating in EcoVadis's sustainability evaluation platform, which measures companies' CSR performance. Boralex's result places the company in the 92nd percentile in its industry. Boralex was selected for this evaluation as part of an agreement with Orange, in France. "This silver medal rating confirms our CSR strategy is not just about being a good corporate citizen. Our new customers have more and more expectations for us to keep focused on this work This is an encouraging signal for us to see we're on the right trackand for our investors it shows the seriousness and credibility of our approach," said Patrick Decostre. "The EcoVadis evaluation also includes areas for improvement that we can quickly incorporate into our action plan," concluded Mr. Decostre. About Boralex Boralex develops, builds and operates renewable energy power facilities in Canada, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. A leader in the Canadian market and France's first independent onshore wind power producer, the Corporation is recognized for its solid experience in optimizing its asset base in four power generation types wind, hydroelectric, thermal and solar. Boralex ensures sustainable growth by leveraging the expertise and diversification developed for 30 years. Boralex's shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BLX. More information is available at www.boralex.com or www.sedar.com. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. SOURCE Boralex Inc. Related Links www.boralex.com The powerships market will witness a negative impact during the forecast period owing to the widespread growth of the COVID-19 pandemic. As per Technavio's pandemic-focused market research, market growth is likely to increase in 2021 as compared to 2020. With the continuing spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, organizations across the globe are gradually flattening their recessionary curve by leveraging technology. Many businesses will go through response, recovery, and renew phases. Building business resilience and enabling agility will aid organizations to move forward in their journey out of the COVID-19 crisis towards the Next Normal. This post-pandemic business planning research will aid clients to: Adjust their strategic planning to move ahead once business stability kicks in. to move ahead once business stability kicks in. Build Resilience by making effective resource and investment choices for individual business units, products, and service lines. making effective resource and investment choices for individual business units, products, and service lines. Conceptualize scenario-based planning to mitigate future crisis situations. Download the Post-Pandemic Business Planning Structure Key Considerations for Market Forecast: Impact of lockdowns, supply chain disruptions, demand destruction, and change in customer behavior Optimistic, probable, and pessimistic scenarios for all markets as the impact of pandemic unfolds Pre- as well as post-COVID-19 market estimates Quarterly impact analysis and updates on market estimates Major Three Powerships Market Participants: ABB Ltd. ABB Ltd. supplies high voltage synchronous generators for the gensets on powerships. Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor AS Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor AS offers a proven power barge design based on its vast experience in engine-based power plants. GAS Entec Co. Ltd. GAS Entec Co. Ltd. offers LNG regasification systems for powerships. If you purchase a report that is updated in the next 60 days, we will send you the new edition and data extract FREE! Get report snapshot here to get detailed market share analysis of market participants during COVID-19 lockdown: https://www.technavio.com/report/powerships-market-industry-analysis Powerships Market 2021-2025: Segmentation Powerships market is segmented as below: Type Oil-fired Gas-fired Geography MEA ROW The powerships market is driven by the rising global energy demand. In addition, the development of the LNG-to-powership market is expected to trigger the powerships market toward witnessing a CAGR of almost 23% during the forecast period. Get more insights about the global trends impacting the future of powerships market, Request Free Sample @ https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR70049 Related Report on Energy Include: Global Oil and Gas Pipeline Market- The oil and gas pipeline market is segmented by type (gas and oil), application (offshore and onshore), geography (North America, APAC, Europe, MEA, and South America), and key vendors. Download FREE Sample Report Global Offshore Supply Vessel Market- The offshore supply vessel market is segmented by Type (AHTS, PSV, FSIV, MPSV, and Others) and Geography (APAC, Europe, North America, MEA, and South America). Download FREE Sample Report Market Drivers Rising global energy demand Favorable government support Benefits of using powerships Market Trends Competition from renewable energy sources Fluctuations in oil and gas prices World bank ceasing funding for E&P activities Vendor Landscape Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Competitive scenario About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ Report Page: https://www.technavio.com/report/powerships-market-industry-analysis SOURCE Technavio Related Links https://www.technavio.com/report/powerships-market-industry-analysis?utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pressrelease&utm_campaign=vendor-v2_wk23_005&utm_content=IRTNTR70049 LONG BEACH, Calif., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Readability Tutor , an AI-powered reading and comprehension app designed for readers K-5, recently named Virginia Wallace as the winner of its Aspiring Writers Scholarship competition. As the sole winner of this competition, Virginia will receive a $1,000 scholarship and have her story illustrated and published exclusively on the Readability app. Reading Tutor Reading Tutor Readability is an award-winning reading app designed to help struggling readers improve their decoding, fluency and reading and comprehension skills using guided oral reading. The app listens to a child read aloud, prompts, assesses, corrects and encourages a child as they learn to read. Mastering these skills at an early age can set children up for a lifetime of academic and professional success. Part of Readability's mission is to help children develop a love for reading, which may inspire them to grow up and become writers in the future. This scholarship competition was established to support and encourage aspiring writers to continue following their dreams and pursuing their passions. The Aspiring Writers Scholarship competition began last year and was open to all students currently enrolled at an accredited college or university. Students must have had a 3.0 GPA or higher in order to qualify for the scholarship. To apply, students were asked to submit an original 750-word children's story that was fiction, non-fiction, or poetry. All applicants were also asked to briefly explain why they should be selected for the scholarship. The winning submission, written by Virginia Wallace, was a children's poem entitled "The Magic is Working." The poem, which is written as a series of rhyming couplets, centers around an old, wise wizard who was known for helping people reach their goals. In the story, an aspiring baker, artist, and athlete all traveled to the wizard to seek his help in turning their dreams into a reality. The wizard gave each of the three characters similar advice. The baker was told to start baking, the artist was told to start painting, and the athlete was told to start practicing. According to the wizard, the magic would start to kick in if they followed this simple advice. To their surprise, the baker, artist, and athlete all found success in their respective fields. They quickly realized that the wizard didn't actually have magical powers, it was encouragement all alongthey were able to make their dreams come true through effort, work, and time. Virginia's work demonstrates how children's story writers can entertain while also communicating valuable life lessons to their young readers. Her story teaches children about the value of hard work. It helps children understand that they don't need a magic potion or wand to reach their goals. All they need is dedication and drive to succeed. As part of the scholarship prize, Readability brought Virginia's story to life with colorful illustrations depicting the wizard, baker, and artist. Now, kids using Readability will be able to visualize the fantastical world that Virginia has created while they read along and learn this important life lesson. For media inquiries or more information about Readability or the Aspiring Writers Scholarship competition, please contact Ameeta Jain (888) 850-3997, [email protected] SOURCE Readability Tutor Deal Will Bring Nearly 19,000 Agents and Over 1,100 RE/MAX Offices into Company-Owned Regions Additionally, Nick Bailey, former Chief Customer Officer, Has Been Promoted to President, RE/MAX, LLC DENVER, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. (the "Company" or "RE/MAX Holdings") (NYSE: RMAX), today announced that RE/MAX, LLC, one of the world's leading franchisors of real estate brokerage services, has entered into an agreement to acquire the North America regions of RE/MAX INTEGRA. Once completed, the acquisition will bring nearly 19,000 agents (approximately 12,000 in Canada and 7,000 in the U.S.) and more than 1,100 independently owned and operated RE/MAX offices under the RE/MAX, LLC Company-Owned Region (COR) umbrella. Acquiring independent RE/MAX regional franchises has long been a key pillar of the Company's growth strategy and a capital allocation priority. "We are thrilled to announce this regional acquisition, which is by far the most significant in the history of our company in terms of the size of territory and number of agents," said Adam Contos, RE/MAX Holdings CEO. "The addition of these strategic and geographically desirable regions enhances our ability to continue to scale, brings many attractive growth opportunities and simplifies our operational structure by creating greater efficiencies. I wish to thank RE/MAX INTEGRA co-founders Frank Polzler and Walter Schneider and their amazing families for their dedication and passion in growing the RE/MAX brand over the 40-year tenure with our network. Their RE/MAX story moves forward with INTEGRA's RE/MAX Europe region, where they'll continue to have a positive impact on region owners, franchisees, sales associates and consumers." The North America regions being acquired by RE/MAX, LLC include five Canadian provinces (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island) and nine U.S. states (the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, plus Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin). "Frank and I knew RE/MAX was special from the very beginning in 1980," said Walter Schneider, RE/MAX INTEGRA President and Co-Founder. "We were excited about taking an incredibly solid concept that we could help build from the ground up. It's been a wonderful journey and the friendships we've made along the way will last a lifetime. We are confident in the leadership of Adam Contos, Nick Bailey and the entire RE/MAX, LLC team, as well as in their ability to facilitate a smooth transition and ensure a bright future for our Affiliates in North America. We thank RE/MAX Co-Founders Dave and Gail Liniger for their vision, partnership, and friendship during these past four decades, and we look forward to continuing to represent the RE/MAX brand in Europe." "Helping grow RE/MAX into the industry's premier brand and network has been the experience of a lifetime," said Frank Polzler, RE/MAX INTEGRA Chairman and Co-Founder. "Our North American regions will be in excellent hands and I have no doubt that this new leadership will build on our foundation and take these regions to even greater heights." Nick Bailey Promoted to President With this acquisition, Nick Bailey, who has served as Chief Customer Officer since September 2019, has been promoted to President, RE/MAX, LLC effective immediately. As President, Bailey will lead all aspects of the RE/MAX brand and business globally, focusing on the growth and success of its membership. Prior to rejoining RE/MAX in 2019, Bailey served as President and CEO of Century 21 Real Estate LLC, a subsidiary of Realogy, and as a Vice President at Trulia/Zillow. Earlier in his career, he spent over a decade at RE/MAX, LLC, where he led the growth and development for numerous regions. With more than 25 years of experience within the real estate industry, Bailey has worn many hats, including those of real estate agent and broker. "Adding almost 19,000 agents to our Company-owned regions gives us the opportunity to scale faster than we have been able to in the past. It means more agents on the same systems, using the same products, combining resources, and delivering a more consistent customer experience," Bailey said. "This, coupled with our revamped technology stack, which is just beginning to gain traction, creates the perfect time to bring our biggest client back under the tent so that even more RE/MAX agents will have unfettered access to our tools, training and technology." Strategic Rationale Execution of Strategy - Acquiring Independent Regions has been a key component of the Company's long-term growth strategy. The acquisition of INTEGRA's North American businesses is the biggest manifestation of that strategy. - Acquiring Independent Regions has been a key component of the Company's long-term growth strategy. The acquisition of INTEGRA's North American businesses is the biggest manifestation of that strategy. Growth - The acquisition of these Independent Regions brings additional growth opportunities with more brokers actively recruiting agents to the COR network. - The acquisition of these Independent Regions brings additional growth opportunities with more brokers actively recruiting agents to the COR network. Prudent Allocation of Capital - The acquisition of Independent Regions has long been a capital allocation priority given the inherent attractive economics unique to the Company as the acquirer. The acquisition is expected to be accretive in the first year and to materially increase the Company's revenue, profit, and free cash flow. - The acquisition of Independent Regions has long been a capital allocation priority given the inherent attractive economics unique to the Company as the acquirer. The acquisition is expected to be accretive in the first year and to materially increase the Company's revenue, profit, and free cash flow. Efficiency and Scale - The similarity of the Company's and INTEGRA'S North American operations will further simplify and scale the Company's operations through identified cost and operational synergies. Transaction Details The RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. Board of Directors has unanimously approved the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including antitrust review. RE/MAX, LLC is acquiring RE/MAX INTEGRA's North American operations for approximately $235 million in cash. RE/MAX has secured commitments of $235 million in aggregate additional debt financing to fund the purchase price. The closing of the transaction is contingent on completion of the financing. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter. Webcast and Conference Call RE/MAX Holdings will provide further details on the transaction during a conference call to be held on Friday, June 4, 2021, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Interested parties can access the conference call using the link below: http://www.directeventreg.com/registration/event/1581748 Interested parties can access a live webcast through the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at http://investors.remax.com. Please join the webcast 10 minutes before the start of the conference call. An archive of the webcast will be available on the Company's website for a limited time as well. History of Regional Acquisitions RE/MAX, LLC has purchased formerly Independent Regions covering 12 states, two partial states (Northern Illinois, Southern Ohio) and the District of Columbia since its 2013 Initial Public Offering (IPO). The moves are an important aspect of the RE/MAX growth strategy and a common approach in the franchising industry. Acquisitions since the IPO include: Northern Illinois (2017); Alaska, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Southern Ohio, and Tennessee (2016); and Arizona, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Virginia, Washington DC, and West Virginia (2013). RE/MAX has a worldwide network of nearly 140,000 agents in more than 110 countries and territories, a global footprint larger than any of its competitors. RE/MAX, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of RMCO, LLC, which is controlled and managed by RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. About RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: RMAX) is one of the world's leading franchisors in the real estate industry, franchising real estate brokerages globally under the RE/MAX brand, and mortgage brokerages within the U.S. under the Motto Mortgage brand. RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger, with an innovative, entrepreneurial culture affording its agents and franchisees the flexibility to operate their businesses with great independence. Now with nearly 140,000 agents across over 110 countries and territories, nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX, as measured by total residential transaction sides. Dedicated to innovation and change in the real estate industry, RE/MAX Holdings launched Motto Franchising, LLC, a ground-breaking mortgage brokerage franchisor, in 2016. Motto Mortgage has grown to over 150 offices in almost 40 states. Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of words such as "believe," "intend," "expect," "estimate," "plan," "outlook," "project," "anticipate," "may," "will," "would" and other similar words and expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends that are not statements of historical matters. Forward-looking statements include statements related to the anticipated timing of the closing of the acquisition; the potential benefits of the acquisition, including the expectations that the acquisition will enhance the Company's ability to continue to scale, bring many attractive growth opportunities and simplify the Company's operational structure by creating greater efficiencies and cost and operational synergies; the ability of the Company to facilitate a smooth transition for the regions; the expectation that the acquisition will be accretive in the first year and to materially increase the Company's revenue, profit, and free cash flow; and the Company's strategy of reacquiring independent regions generally. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily accurately indicate the times at which such performance or results may be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time those statements are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include (1) pending acquisition may not be consummated on the terms described herein, if at all; (2) the Company's ability to successfully close the anticipated acquisition and to integrate the acquired regions into its business, (3) the intended benefits of the acquisition may not be realized, (4) the global COVID-19 pandemic, which has impacted the Company and continues to pose significant and widespread risks to the Company's business, (5) changes in the real estate market or interest rates and availability of financing, (6) changes in business and economic activity in general, (7) the Company's ability to attract and retain quality franchisees, (8) the Company's franchisees' ability to recruit and retain real estate agents and mortgage loan originators, (9) changes in laws and regulations, (10) the Company's ability to enhance, market, and protect the RE/MAX and Motto Mortgage brands, 11) the Company's ability to implement its technology initiatives, and (12) fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, and those risks and uncertainties described in the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and similar disclosures in subsequent periodic and current reports filed with the SEC, which are available on the investor relations page of the Company's website at www.remax.com and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend, and undertakes no obligation, to update this information to reflect future events or circumstances. SOURCE RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. Rritual's Mushroom Superfood Powders Launch on www.riteaid.com VANCOUVER, BC, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Rritual Superfoods Inc. ("Rritual" or the "Company") (CSE: RSF) (FSE: 0RW) (OTC: RRSFF) is excited to announce the Company's premium brand of functional superfoods have launched online with Rite Aid, expanding the Company's distribution and growing consumer awareness throughout the USA. "Rritual's launch on the Rite Aid ecommerce platform is a significant step in the Company's growth and strategic focus to grow rapidly with national retail exposure," said Mr. David Kerbel, Rritual CEO. "Response from retail buyers to the Rritual brand, and our innovative product line continues to strengthen our mission and putting Rritual products within arm's reach of consumers across the country." Rite Aid's online platform features the following Rritual Superfood Powders: Chaga IMMUNE with adaptogens Eleuthero Root and Astragalus to support healthy immune function and well-being all year round. with adaptogens Eleuthero Root and Astragalus to support healthy immune function and well-being all year round. Lion's Mane FOCUS with adaptogens Rhodiola Rosea Root and Bacopa to support brain health and cognitive function. with adaptogens Rhodiola Rosea Root and Bacopa to support brain health and cognitive function. Reishi RELAX with adaptogen Ashwagandha and cacao to help the body adapt to stress. Rritual has been pleased with the initial response and observed all three products listed as trending on the homepage. Find Rritual's products at: https://www.riteaid.com/shop/catalogsearch/result/?q=rritual Rritual product offerings are all USDA-certified organic and are a caffeine-free option that can be mixed with other beverages or enjoyed by itself. Rritual's proprietary Immune-Synergy Six Mushroom Blend is the only functional health product on the market that contains a daily prebiotic blend which nourishes a healthy gut microbiome and facilitates balanced digestive function. About Rite Aid Corporation Rite Aid Corporation is on the front lines of delivering healthcare services and retail products to more than 1.6 million Americans daily. Our pharmacists are uniquely positioned to engage with customers and improve their health outcomes. We provide an array of whole being health products and services for the entire family through over 2,400 retail pharmacy locations across 17 states. Through Elixir, we provide pharmacy benefits and services to approximately 4 million members nationwide. For more information, www.riteaid.com. About Rritual Rritual is a functional superfood company that creates plant-based elixirs, which support immunity, focus and relaxation. The company is poised to dominate a segment where demand and sales are growing exponentially. Under the executive leadership with over 100 years of CPG pedigree, Rritual is launching in North America in Q2 2021 as the company positions itself as a leader in the functional health and wellness industry. Rritual's superfood elixirs can be found online at www.rritual.com. Follow Rritual on Twitter , LinkedIn , Facebook , and Instagram . Functional Foods Market According to Grandview Research*, it is estimated that the global functional food market is projected to reach $275 billion by 2025, growing at 7.9% each year with consumers putting more emphasis on health and wellness. *https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-functional-foods-market Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements") that relate to Rritual's current expectations and views of future events. Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, through the use of words or phrases such as "will likely result", "are expected to", "expects", "will continue", "is anticipated", "anticipates", "believes", "estimated", "intends", "plans", "forecast", "projection", "strategy", "objective" and "outlook") are not historical facts and may be forward-looking statements and may involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. No assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. In particular and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the Company's plans to leverage third party manufacturing and logistics, the Company's broader retail distribution plans and the Company's other plans, focus and objectives. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Rritual's control, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the impact and progression of the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors set forth under "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the final long form prospectus of the Company dated February 26, 2021 and available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Rritual undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for Rritual to predict all of them or assess the impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Any forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. SOURCE Rritual Superfoods Inc. WASHINGTON, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The latest SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station after launching at 1:29 p.m. EDT Thursday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, bearing more than 7,300 pounds of science experiments, new solar arrays, and other cargo. The spacecraft launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy. It is scheduled to autonomously dock at the space station around 5 a.m. Saturday, June 5, and remain at the station for about a month. Coverage of arrival will begin at 3:30 a.m. on NASA Television, the agency's website, and the NASA app. This 22nd contracted resupply mission for SpaceX will deliver the new ISS Roll-out Solar Arrays (iROSA) to the space station in the trunk of the Dragon spacecraft. After the Dragon docks to the space station's Harmony module, the robotic Canadarm2 will extract the arrays and astronauts will install them during spacewalks planned for June 16 and 20. Among the science experiments Dragon is delivering to the space station are: Symbiotic squid and microbes The Understanding of Microgravity on Animal-Microbe Interactions (UMAMI) study uses bobtail squid and bacteria to examine the effects of spaceflight on interactions between beneficial microbes and their animal hosts. This type of relationship is known as symbiosis. Beneficial microbes play a significant role in the normal development of animal tissues and in maintaining human health, but gravity's role in shaping these interactions is not well understood. This experiment could support the development of measures to preserve astronaut health and identify ways to protect and enhance these relationships for applications on Earth. Producing tougher cotton Cotton is used in many products, but its production uses significant amounts of water and agricultural chemicals. The Targeting Improved Cotton Through On-orbit Cultivation (TICTOC) study focuses on improving cotton's resilience, water-use, and carbon storage. On Earth, root growth depends upon gravity. TICTOC could help define which environmental factors and genes control root development in microgravity. Scientists could use what they learn to develop cotton varieties that require less water and pesticide use. Water bears take on space Tardigrades, also known as water bears for their appearance when viewed under a microscope, are creatures that can tolerate extreme environments. The Cell Science-04 experiment aims to identify the genes involved in water bear adaptation and survival in these high-stress environments. The results could advance scientists' understanding of the stress factors that affect humans in space. On-the-spot ultrasound The handheld, commercial Butterfly IQ Ultrasound device could provide critical medical capabilities to crews on long-term spaceflights where immediate ground support is not an option. This study will demonstrate the use of an ultrasound unit alongside a mobile computing device in microgravity. Its results have potential applications for medical care in remote and isolated settings on Earth. Developing better robot drivers An ESA (European Space Agency) investigation, Pilote, test the effectiveness of remotely operating robotic arms and space vehicles using virtual reality and haptic interfaces. Pilote studies existing and new technologies in microgravity by comparing those recently developed for teleoperation to those used to pilot the Canadarm2 and Soyuz spacecraft. The study also compares astronaut performance in using the interfaces on the ground and during spaceflight. Results could help optimize workstations on the space station and future space vehicles for missions to the Moon and Mars. Bonus power New solar panels headed to station are made up of compact sections that roll open like a long rug. The ISS Roll-out Solar Arrays (iROSA) are based on a previous demonstration of roll-out panels performed on station. They are expected to provide an increase in energy available for research and station activities. NASA plans a total of six new arrays to augment the station's power supply with the first pair launching on this flight. The Expedition 65 crew is scheduled to begin preparations for spacewalks to supplement the station's existing rigid panels this summer. The same solar array technology is planned to power NASA's Gateway, part of the Artemis program. These are just a few of the hundreds of investigations currently being conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory in the areas of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. Advances in these areas will help keep astronauts healthy during long-duration space travel and demonstrate technologies for future human and robotic exploration beyond low-Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars through NASA's Artemis program. Learn more about SpaceX's mission for NASA at: https://www.nasa.gov/spacex Get breaking news, images and features from the space station on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. SOURCE NASA Related Links http://www.nasa.gov HAMILTON, Bermuda, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Seadrill Limited ("Seadrill" or the "Company") (OSE:SDRL, OTCPK:SDRLF) announces that Seadrill New Finance Limited (the "Issuer"), a subsidiary of the Company, has agreed to further extend the existing forbearance agreement announced on 19 April 2021, and extended on 17 May 2021 and 27 May 2021, with respect to the 12.0% senior secured notes due 2025 (the "Notes") with certain holders of the Notes (the "Note Holders"). Pursuant to the forbearance agreement, as extended, the consenting Note Holders have agreed not to exercise any enforcement rights with respect to the Issuer and any subsidiary of the Issuer which is an obligor under the Notes to, or otherwise take actions in respect of, certain events of default that may arise under the Notes as a result of, amongst other things, the Issuer not making the semi-annual 4% cash interest payment due to the senior secured noteholders on 15 January 2021 in respect of their Notes and the filing of Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas by the Company and certain of its consolidated subsidiaries (excluding the Issuer and its consolidated subsidiaries) until and including the earlier of 18 June 2021 and any termination of the forbearance agreement. The purpose of the forbearance agreement is to allow the Issuer and its stakeholders more time to negotiate on the heads of terms of a comprehensive restructuring of its balance sheet. Such a restructuring may involve the use of a court-supervised process. About Seadrill Seadrill is a leading offshore drilling contractor utilizing advanced technology to unlock oil and gas resources for clients across harsh and benign locations across the globe. Seadrill's high quality, technologically advanced fleet spans all asset classes allowing its experienced crews to conduct its operations from shallow to ultra-deep-water environments. The company operates 43 rigs, which includes drillships, jack-ups and semi-submersibles. Seadrill is listed on the Oslo Brs and OTCPK. For more information, visit https://www.seadrill.com/ FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release includes forward looking statements. Such statements are generally not historical in nature, and specifically include statements about the Company's plans, strategies, business prospects, changes and trends in its business, the markets in which it operates and its restructuring efforts. These statements are made based upon management's current plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs concerning future events impacting the Company and therefore involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risks described from time to time in the Company's regulatory filings and periodical reporting. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all of these factors. Further, the Company cannot assess the impact of each such factor on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to be materially different from those contained in any forward looking statement. This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. CONTACT: [email protected] 020 3745 4960 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com SOURCE Seadrill Limited Related Links https://www.seadrill.com NEW YORK, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc. ("Protalix" or the "Company") (NYSE: PLX). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether Protalix and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On June 2, 2021, pre-market, Protalix provided an update regarding the Company's clinical development of pegunigalsidase alfa (PRX102) for the proposed treatment of Fabry disease. Specifically, the Company stated in a press release that "the initial top-line results show that the lower boundary of the confidence interval for the mean difference between the two treatments was below the non-inferiority margin pre-specified for this interim analysis in the ITT analysis set and above such limit in the PP analysis set. At the time of this analysis, two patients discontinued participation due to treatment emergent adverse events (TEAEs). Of these two patients, one discontinued participation due to a related adverse event." On this news, Protalix's stock price fell $0.51 per share, or 17.44%, to close at $2.46 per share on June 2, 2021. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com. CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP Related Links www.pomerantzlaw.com NEW YORK, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of RenovaCare, Inc. ("RenovaCare" or the "Company") (OTCMKTS: RCAR). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether RenovaCare and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On May 28, 2021, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission published a litigation release indicating the RenovaCare was being charged with securities fraud. Specifically, the complaint referenced in the litigation release, filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York, alleges that in July 2017, Harmel S. Rayat, RenovaCare's controlling shareholder, arranged, and caused RenovaCare to pay for, a promotional campaign designed to increase the company's stock price." The complaint alleges that "Rayat was closely involved in directing the promotion and editing promotional materials, and arranged to funnel payments to the publisher through consultants to conceal RenovaCare's involvement in the campaign" and according to the complaint, "in January 2018, OTC Markets Group, Inc. requested RenovaCare issue a press release to explain its relationship to the promotion." Finally, the complaint alleges that "Rayat and RenovaCare then drafted and issued a press release and a Form 8-K that contained material misrepresentations and omissions denying Rayat's and the company's involvement in the promotion" and charges Rayat and RenovaCare with "violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and also charges Rayat with aiding and abetting the company's violations of those provisions." The complaint also charges RenovaCare with violating the reporting provisions of Exchange Act Section 15(d) and Rules 15d-11 and 12b-20 thereunder. On this news, RenovaCare's stock price fell $0.22 per share, or 9.09%, to close at $2.20 per share on June 1, 2021. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP [email protected] SOURCE Pomerantz LLP Related Links www.pomerantzlaw.com Politicos report, attributed to two unnamed sources, said it was unclear what was said in the call, but noted that the witness had subsequently spoken with prosecutors. The witness was described as having entered Gaetzs orbit through Joel Greenberg, the disgraced former Seminole County tax collector who recently pleaded guilty to six federal charges. U.S.-based company Sparo has been selected to join WorldStartup's Altitude program to scale its trademark Purchase with Tweet this Sparo plans to grow its core development team within the Netherlands to service future online partners across Europe. Earlier this year, Sparo was selected to join the Microsoft for Startups program. Rob Sobhani, Ph.D., Sparo's founder and CEO, stated: "We are honored and delighted to have been chosen by WorldStartup for its prestigious Altitude program." Sparo's Purchase with a Purpose platform leverages corporate social responsibility into higher online sales for merchants by marrying e-commerce and charity at the checkout. This addresses a significant challenge facing online retailers, namely cart abandonment which terminates an average of 68% of online shopping journeys. Dan Katz, Sparo's Chief Marketing Officer, explained: "Sparo's plugin can be embedded into the checkout page of any merchant anywhere in the world, including the Netherlands." Rama Ayman, Sparo's co-founder and CFO, added: "We are very enthusiastic about joining the great ecosystem of The Hague as the global capital of peace and justice and a fast-growing center of venture philanthropy." Diana Eggleston of The Hague Business Agency says: "We're delighted to welcome Sparo to ImpactCity The Hague. Their trademark Purchase with a Purpose is perfectly aligned with ImpactCity's motto 'doing good and doing business'. We are privileged to support their mission to democratize charitable giving by empowering shoppers to select their favorite charity at the checkout page." Hub Jongen, Startup Support Director at WorldStartup, is thrilled to have Sparo on board. "We are excited to be part of this great team's purposeful journey and to support them with everything we and The Hague's ecosystem have to offer." About Sparo Corporation Sparo Corporation was founded in 2018 by noted author and foreign policy expert Rob Sobhani, Ph.D. to democratize global charitable giving. Through its patented e-commerce giving platform, Sparo aims to make it fun and easy to donate to worthy not-for-profits. Sparo operates globally and is based in the Washington, DC Metro area and The Hague, Netherlands. Media Contacts: Rob Sobhani CEO & Founder [email protected] SOURCE Sparo Corporation Related Links http://www.sparo.com springbig's latest retail integration with WM Store is designed to drive new loyalty program enrollment and increase dispensary brand loyalty among returning customers. Those that order through branded retailer menus powered by WM Store will be able to conveniently view and redeem any available rewards and offers on their Weedmaps account, and can opt into retailer's text marketing and loyalty programs at checkout. "Consumers, brands and dispensaries alike will benefit from our latest loyalty integration with Weedmaps as cannabis purchases increasingly shift to digital platforms," said Jeffrey Harris, CEO of springbig. "We are constantly seeking out new inroads for cannabis businesses to find and retain new customers, and we believe this agreement will allow retailers to stay competitive in this rapidly evolving market." WM Store brings the Weedmaps platform directly to cannabis retailers' branded websites, providing business owners with the ability to customize product menus and create a more seamless digital order experience, which will now include access to loyalty wallets and offers powered by springbig. This integration not only streamlines the shopping experience for cannabis products but also allows retailers to gain more comprehensive insights into their customers' preferences and behaviors. "As a leading technology and online listings platform in the cannabis industry, we are committed not only to helping consumers discover and find the best deals available, but also to supporting retailers in reaching and retaining these customers," said Justin Dean, chief technology officer of Weedmaps. "Our WM Store integration with springbig is an exciting step forward as we work with retailers to develop tech solutions that further incentivize customer loyalty." springbig and Weedmaps will host a free webinar and demo on Tuesday, June 29 at 2 p.m. ET to share how the WM Store integration can help retailers create a streamlined ordering experience that drives customer loyalty. The session is open to cannabis retailers and industry professionals interested in learning how integrating loyalty programs can provide returning customers a simple way to redeem special offers and rewards. Click here to register here . About springbig springbig is a leading provider in customer-loyalty and communications solutions for dispensaries and cannabis retailers. Founded in 2017, springbig offers state of the art CRM programs that capture key customer data and seamlessly integrates with existing dispensary POS systems. The platform also develops custom cannabis loyalty software embedded with advanced marketing tools to retain customers and sends targeted and personalized SMS campaigns based on customer interest with a 99% open rate. springbig is helping dispensaries & cannabis retailers keep their clientele connected and engaged while allowing the store owners to track their inevitable success and ROI in real-time. About WM Business WM Business is WM Holding Company, LLC's ("WMH") B2B platform. The cloud-based SaaS solutions from WM Business include WM Orders, WM Store, WM Retail, WM Ads and WM Exchange. WM Business tools provide an end-to-end operating system for cannabis retailers and they support compliance with the complex, disparate, and constantly evolving regulations applicable to the cannabis industry. Founded in 2008, WMH is a leading technology and software infrastructure provider to the cannabis industry, comprising B2C platform, Weedmaps, and B2B software, WM Business. Headquartered in Irvine, California, WMH employs approximately 430 professionals around the world. WMH supports remote work for all eligible employees and has hubs in Denver, Colorado; Los Angeles, California; and Kitchener, Ontario. Visit us at www.weedmaps.com . Media Contacts MATTIO Communications for springbig Mark Sinclair [email protected] Weedmaps Laura-may Keohane [email protected] SOURCE springbig DUBAI, UAE, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nitin Michael and Hasnaa Descuns, co-Founders of SynProNize, Dubai-based content distribution and production company, announced that it licensed ATV's award-winning historical drama series, The Ottoman to GEO TV in Pakistan. Left: Series photo for ATV's "The Ottoman: (Kurulus Osman)" L-R top right: Hasnaa Descuns and Nitin Michael, co-founders of SynProNize; Bottom right: Muge Akar, Content Sales Deputy Manager of ATV Turkey SynProNize Logo One of the most ambitious premium Turkish series to-date, and starring internationally renowned actor Burak Ozcivit, the 185+ episode season is now broadcast in over 36 countries. The program was chosen by The Wit at MIPCOM 2019 as one of its "fresh" dramas, and the series reached a 30% share average for its entire first season in Turkey. Produced by Bozdag Film, The Ottoman (Kurulus Osman) reveals Osman Gazi's internal and external struggles to establish and control the mighty Ottoman Empire, encountering enemies, traitors, and romance along his journey. Nitin Michael stated: "SynProNize is proud to represent ATV's award-winning drama series The Ottoman and be a part of the global reach of this fantastic historical program. We found the perfect partner in Pakistan -- GEO TV - to give the show its proper attention. SynProNize continues to connect great content to great platforms." ATV's Muge Akar, Content Sales Deputy Manager, stated "We are thrilled that our partner SynProNize was able to pair ATV's The Ottoman with Pakistani viewers. The series is now airing in over 36 countries and is our most popular program to-date. GEO TV is a wonderful platform for The Ottoman, and we are confident that their audiences will enjoy the series as so many others have done around the world." About SynProNize Launched in early 2020 and based in Dubai (UAE), this creative film and television production and distribution agency is partnering with the best digital platforms and linear broadcasters in South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The mission of SynProNize is to optimally produce premium content for, and from, the region, efficiently monetizing programming through syndication and other innovative avenues. Led by experienced media industry professionals with a successful track record of partnering with content producers and rights owners, SynProNize aims to demonstrate what the next generation distribution and production company can become. www.SynProNize.com SynProNize Media Contact: (Ms.) MJ Sorenson, CEO - MJ Global Communications LLC [email protected] T: +1-646-225-6590 USA SOURCE SynProNize NEW YORK, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), a non-profit business organization dedicated to forging relationships and promoting dialogue between business and government leaders across the globe, announced today that it has elected James E. Nevels as a director and as Chair of the Board. "I feel incredibly privileged to take over this role at a pivotal time in our society, and I am honored to help foster mutually beneficial relationships between leaders all around the world," said Nevels. "The BCIU member network enables growth opportunities by facilitating connections and offering strategic expertise that will undoubtedly transform the next era of international trade and investment, and I'm excited to be a part of that." In addition to electing Mr. Nevels as a director and Chair, the board also appointed Ambassador Susan C. Schwab, Jeffery B. Kratz, and Kara Carscaden as new directors. "Jim has an established track record as an effective leader and advisor proven by the successful management of his firm, The Swarthmore Group, which has grown to be the oldest active minority-owned registered investment advisor headquartered in Pennsylvania, along with his years of service on the boards of notable organizations," said BCIU Vice Chair Nelson Cunningham. "He is a visionary who leads with intent and values: loyalty, integrity, and diversity. Jim's wealth of experience makes him the right person to continue to position BCIU as a trustworthy partner in helping entities solve the world's most pressing challenges. Additionally, the board and I are thrilled to welcome Ambassador Susan Schwab, whose global credibility, policy leadership and reputation will be an enormous asset." In his new role as Chair, Nevels will join a seasoned group of professionals with global knowledge and expertise across a range of geographies and industrial sectors. He will leverage his securities and investment knowledge and network of contacts to continue to foster and strengthen relationships between business and government leaders, facilitating dialogue and initiatives that expand international commerce, and encourage economic development worldwide. James E. Nevels has more than three decades of experience in the securities and investment industry and in senior corporate board positions. He is CEO and Chairman of The Swarthmore Group, an investment advisory firm that he founded in 1991, and he currently sits on the Board of Directors for Alcoa Corporation and WestRock. Mr. Nevels also served as Chairman (2009-2015) and Lead Independent Director (2015-2017) of The Hershey Company. In addition to being honored with multiple awards throughout his career, he was also appointed by President George W. Bush to the Advisory Committee to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation serving a three-year term starting in 2004. Ambassador Susan C. Schwab served as U.S. Trade Representative and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative from 2005-2009, and serves on the corporate boards of Marriott International, Inc., FedEx Corporation, and Caterpillar Inc., and recently completed board service at The Boeing Company. She is a Strategic Advisor at Mayer Brown and Professor Emerita at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy where she had previously served as Dean and President of the University System of Maryland Foundation. Ms. Kara Carscaden serves as the Vice President, Global Affairs at The Estee Lauder Companies, where she oversees the global team and brings to the board a breath of knowledge from her experience in public relations, consulting, political and government positions. Mr. Jeffrey Kratz serves as the Vice President, Global Public Affairs at Amazon Web Services, where he applies his industry leadership to engage government leaders on the use of cloud technologies. "Jim is the ideal leader to chair BCIU, and Susan's unique global stature will elevate the organization further. Kara and Jeff bring smart thinking and continue the important tradition of Estee Lauder's and AWS's board leadership at BCIU, and we thank Nelson for steering us through one of the most consequential periods in our 65 year history," said CEO Peter Tichansky. About BCIU The Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) is a nonprofit organization of experts, educators, and advisors working to expand international trade and commerce for businesses and governments around the world. BCIU is deeply connected and trusted by 200 member companies, including many global multinationals, and maintains an unparalleled network of government relationships in every corner of the world. For sixty-five years, they have believed in progress and shaping the future by addressing some of the most complex global challenges, from global health to cybersecurity to agricultural sustainability. Through bespoke, transformative services, BCIU provides ways for its partners to deepen economic cooperation and enhance global growth across markets. Contact: Pete Nonis The Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) +1.917.459.6140 [email protected] SOURCE The Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) The Classroom Door launches with 1,500 expert tutors from Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Oxford and more offering tutoring & college advising starting at $15/hr. Tweet this "The pandemic-caused disruption in education is devastating, and I am committed to mitigating the academic impact on students of all ages and all socio-economic groups," Geula says. "I established TCD to fill a void for affordable, quality tutoring, transparent college counseling, and customized content and educational consulting. My commitment is to make expertise, typically reserved for just privileged students, available to all." For every 100 hours of tutoring booked, TCD's scholarship program will provide an hour free to an underserved student. TCD, an entirely woman-owned company, benefits from both Geula's leadership, and that of her director of educational content, Dan Scolnic, a Hubble and KICP Fellow at The Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics at The University of Chicago and a professor of astrophysics at Duke University. COLLEGE COUNSELING GUIDE In an era when there is a need for greater transparency in the college counseling process, Geula and her team have developed 30 proprietary subscription lessons focused entirely on the college application process. TCD's self-guided lessons cover all aspects of the college admissions process, including how to write the perfect essay, applying for financial aid, building a college list, and determining which standardized tests students should take. TCD offers insider tips on what college admissions teams are looking for, and specific insights about getting into Ivy League schools, HBCUs, and women's colleges. Typically, college counseling packages with top advisors can cost upwards of tens of thousands of dollars. TCD offers a $29.99 monthly subscription or $189.00 annually. In addition to one-on-one tutoring and academic advising, The Classroom Door will offer a machine learning program called: 10,000 Questions designed by Scolnic, to help students fill gaps in their math/STEM education. TCD plans to launch virtual group classes as well as a Global Lecture Hall Series where thought leaders will live stream lectures on cutting edge topics. One-on-one tutoring and group classes range from kindergarten enrichment to standardized test prep (SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, MCAT, etc.), ESL and other language learning, STEM, and academic subject tutoring from pre-K through graduate school. For more information, to book a tutor/advisor/certified teacher, or to sign up for college counseling lessons visit The Classroom Door (TCD) | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn Media Contacts: Jessica Aufiero | Daria Coppack The Classroom Door [email protected] | [email protected] T. 917.353.0202 | 917.826.4460 www.theclassroomdoor.com @the_classroom_door SOURCE TheClassroomDoor.com Related Links https://theclassroomdoor.com Established in 2014, The Robert. H. N. Ho Family Foundation Program in Buddhist Studies has had a core mission of promoting the study of Buddhism through competitions for fellowships and grants for scholars around the world, and through the nurturing of networks by annual symposia for early career fellows. The program has also provided seed funding to establish eight new professorships in Buddhist studies at universities in France, Hungary, Mexico, and the United States. "The Buddhist Studies competition is truly global, open to scholars anywhere in the world and working in any language." The grant extension will support the program through 2024, enabling ACLS to systematically reach out to Asian scholars, universities, and monastic institutions in order to increase and diversify applicant pools to better reflect the communities of scholars of Buddhism worldwide. The program will launch a Buddhist Studies Public Scholars initiative, to place emerging scholars in professional positions at museums and publications. Research on all Buddhist traditions, in all periods, regions, and languages, will continue to be promoted through fellowships for dissertation completion and advanced research, support for translations and publicly accessible writing, and grants for New Professorships. "ACLS is extraordinarily proud to build on our partnership with The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation in continuing the growth of this singular program," said ACLS President Joy Connolly. "The competition is open to scholars proposing work from anywhere in the world and in any language they choose, making it a truly global endeavor. We are excited to work with the Foundation in further expanding its reach, community, and potential outcomes for significant and innovative research and contributions in scholarship and society." "On behalf of The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation," noted CEO Phillip Henderson, "I thank ACLS for its remarkable success in sustaining the study of Buddhist traditions, ideas, and insights. We look forward to three more years of expanding to new vistas and reaching ever wider audiences." The next round of fellowship and grant competitions for this program will open in August 2021. Learn more at bit.ly/ACLSBuddhistStudies. Formed in 1919, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a nonprofit federation of 78 scholarly organizations. As the preeminent representative of American scholarship in the humanities and related social sciences, ACLS holds a core belief that knowledge is a public good. As such, ACLS strives to promote the circulation of humanistic knowledge throughout society. In addition to stewarding and representing its member organizations, ACLS employs its $140 million endowment and $35 million annual operating budget to support scholarship in the humanities and social sciences and to advocate for the centrality of the humanities in the modern world. Inspired and informed by the concept of interconnectedness, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation vitalizes the areas of arts and culture and Buddhism, and funds initiatives that enhance the wellbeing of humanity and the environment. SOURCE American Council of Learned Societies Related Links acls.org The new products launched under the Verse Originals line include BC God Bud Flower, Dreamweaver Pre-Rolls and Amp Pre-Roll, in addition to the Double Chocolate Brownie one of the first confectionery products of its kind to hit the Canadian recreational market. Additionally, the newly launched Killer Kush Live Terp Vape Cartridge and Hash will be available as part of the Verse Concentrates offering. The launch of these new products marks Valens' entry into the flower and pre-roll categories, an offering expansion at the request of its customer base which is represented by many leading cannabis companies in the country. Additionally, the Company has expanded its concentrates product offering in the market to include hash and live terp vape cartridges. "With these new additions to the Verse Originals and Verse Concentrates lines, Valens now has products across all cannabis categories in the Canadian recreational market," said Tyler Robson, Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder and Chair of The Valens Company. "With our proven ability to create innovative products across all categories, we have not only increased our total addressable market in Canada, but now hold the capability to increase partnership opportunities with our enhanced product offering, reach more consumers with our expanded distribution network, and elevate both the quality and value of products in the Canadian market today." Verse Originals Verse Originals dried cannabis products are formulated using premium BC grown bud, available at an attractive price point without sacrificing quality. BC God Bud Flower Offered in a 28g pouch, the indica-dominant flower originates from the Purple Kush lineage and features tropical fruit flavours with undertones of berry, lavender and pine. BC God Bud Flower is expected to be available in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick in the coming weeks, and Ontario in the third quarter of 2021. BC Dreamweaver Pre-Rolls Housed in a recyclable metal tin, the 10-pack indica-dominant 0.35g pre-rolls are flavoured with hints of citrus and tastes of fresh, earth berries from the OG Kush lineage. The BC Dreamweaver Pre-Rolls are expected to be available in the coming weeks in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, and coming to Ontario in the third quarter of 2021. Amp Pre-Roll Carefully milled, mixed and packed for an enjoyable steady burn, the 1g Amp Pre-Roll contains a uniquely curated blend of complementary strains with an energetic, intense and vibrant flavouring. Each pre-roll is machine slim-rolled using proprietary technology containing moisture sensors and a weight system to ensure product consistency, size and shape within the manufacturing process. Packaged in a convenient, reusable flip top single package, the Amp Pre-Roll is expected to be available in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan in the coming weeks and coming to Manitoba in the third quarter of 2021. Double Chocolate Brownie Following the success of the Baked Apple and Sour Medley Soft Chews introduced to the market in the first quarter of 2021, Verse Cannabis has launched its third edible product under the Verse Originals line, the Double Chocolate Brownie. Infused with a decadent chocolate ganache and expertly crafted by the team at LYF Food Technologies, the 1-unit x 10mg Double Chocolate Brownie is one of the first confectionery products of its kind to be available in the Canadian recreational market. The Double Chocolate Brownie is expected to be available in Ontario in the third quarter of 2021 as part of a growing selection of soft chews and confectionery products from Verse Cannabis. Verse Concentrates The Verse Concentrates premium line of solventless concentrates continues to expand to include two new formats created with traditional techniques to ensure exceptional quality and remarkable consistency in the manufacturing process. Killer Kush Live Terp Vape Cartridge The first to launch in a series of Live Terp products from Verse Concentrates, the Killer Kush Live Terp Vape Cartridge is curated using a specialized method of CO2 extraction to carefully remove the complete terpene rich profile of fresh, flash-frozen ultra-premium and BC sun grown Killer Kush cannabis. Through this process, the fresh live terpene and cannabis profile of the strain is maximized, translating the essence of the living plant into an extract comprised of exotic notes and deep profiles. Now available in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, the Killer Kush Live Terp Vape Cartridge is expected to be coming soon to Ontario, Manitoba and New Brunswick. Hash With a dense but pliable consistency, Verse Hash contains a unique mix of terpenes that deliver a bold nose of earthy, pine with light peppery undernotes. Verse Hash is offered in a convenient 2g format packaged in a resealable pouch for freshness, and is expected to be available in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan in the coming weeks. At Valens, it's Personal. About The Valens Company The Valens Company is a leading manufacturer of cannabis products with a mission to bring the benefits of cannabis to the world. The Company provides proprietary cannabis processing services across five core technologies, in addition to best-in-class product development, formulation and manufacturing of cannabis consumer packaged goods. The Valens Company's high-quality products are exclusively formulated for the medical, therapeutic, health and wellness, and recreational consumer segments, and are offered across numerous product formats, including oils, vapes, concentrates, edibles and topicals, as well as pre-rolls, with a focus on next-generation product development and innovation. Its breakthrough patented emulsification technology, SoRSE by Valens, converts cannabis oil into water-soluble emulsions for seamless integration into a variety of product formats, allowing for near-perfect dosing, stability, and taste. In partnership with brand houses, consumer packaged goods companies and licensed cannabis producers around the globe, the Company continues to grow its diverse product portfolio in alignment with evolving cannabis consumer preferences in key markets. Through its wholly owned subsidiary Valens Labs Ltd., the Company is setting the standard in cannabis testing and research and development with Canada's only ISO17025 accredited analytical services lab, named The Centre of Excellence in Plant-Based Science by partner and scientific world leader Thermo Fisher Scientific. Discover more on The Valens Company and its subsidiaries at https://thevalenscompany.com. Notice regarding Forward Looking Statements All information included in this press release, including any information as to the future financial or operating performance and other statements of The Valens Company that express management's expectations or estimates of future performance, other than statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking information or forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as of the date hereof. Forward-looking statements are included for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Wherever possible, words such as "plans", "expects", "scheduled", "trends", "forecasts", "future", "indications", "potential", "estimates", "predicts", "anticipate", "to establish", "believe", "intend", "ability to", or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "should", "could", "would", "might", "will", or are "likely" to be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of these words or other variations thereof, have been used to identify such forward-looking information. Specific forward-looking statements include, without limitation, all disclosure regarding future results of operations, future outcomes of transactions, economic conditions, and anticipated courses of action. Investors and other parties are advised that there is not necessarily any correlation between the number of SKUs manufactured and shipped and revenue and profit, and undue reliance should not be placed on such information. The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements include, among others, Canadian regulatory risk, Australian regulatory risk, U.S. regulatory risk, U.S. border crossing and travel bans, the uncertainties, effects of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, reliance on licenses, expansion of facilities, competition, dependence on supply of cannabis and reliance on other key inputs, dependence on senior management and key personnel, general business risk and liability, regulation of the cannabis industry, change in laws, regulations and guidelines, compliance with laws, limited operating history, vulnerability to rising energy costs, unfavourable publicity or consumer perception, product liability, risks related to intellectual property, product recalls, difficulties with forecasts, management of growth and litigation, many of which are beyond the control of The Valens Company. For a more comprehensive discussion of the risks faced by The Valens Company, and which may cause the actual financial results, performance or achievements of The Valens Company to be materially different from estimated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking information or forward-looking statements, please refer to The Valens Company's latest Annual Information Form filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com or on The Valens Company's website at www.thevalenscompany.com. The risks described in such Annual Information Form are hereby incorporated by reference herein. Although the forward-looking statements contained herein reflect management's current beliefs and reasonable assumptions based upon information available to management as of the date hereof, The Valens Company cannot be certain that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information. The Valens Company cautions you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. The Valens Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Nothing herein should be construed as either an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy or sell securities of The Valens Company. SOURCE The Valens Company Inc. Related Links https://thevalenscompany.com/ BERWYN, Pa., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Triumph Group [NYSE: TGI] announced that it has signed a repair and overhaul services agreement with Boeing for engine driven pumps on the AH-64 Apache. The long-term agreement supports the Boeing Vertical Lift Sustainment (VLS) Depot Program, which provides the U.S. Army with lifecycle support of the Apache combat helicopter. "As the supplier of the Apache engine driven pump, Triumph's participation in the VLS Depot Repair Program helps improve operational readiness of the fleet while also reducing total ownership cost," said Scott Ledbetter, President of Triumph Actuation Products & Services operating company. "Triumph is a natural choice for customers who seek world class engineering expertise combined with in-house maintenance and repair capabilities. This agreement reflects a long-term commitment to our customer, and we are pleased that Boeing recognizes the continued value we can provide throughout the product lifecycle." The engine driven pumps that were designed and manufactured by Triumph supply hydraulic power to critical flight controls and utility functions on the aircraft. Triumph's in-house MRO business works hand-in-hand with the engineers who designed the pumps, providing the most reliable and cost-effective aftermarket support. The contract extends through 2024. Triumph Group, Inc., headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, designs, engineers, manufactures, repairs and overhauls a broad portfolio of aerospace and defense systems, components and structures. The company serves the global aviation industry, including original equipment manufacturers and the full spectrum of military and commercial aircraft operators. More information about Triumph can be found on the company's website at www.triumphgroup.com. SOURCE Triumph Group Related Links www.triumphgroup.com BLUE BELL, Pa. and BELLEVUE, Wash., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS), a global IT solutions company, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Unify Square, the leading experience management provider for secure collaboration and communications platforms, for $152.5 million on a cash-free, debt-free basis. Unisys is funding the transaction with cash on hand. The transaction, which is expected to close today, will enable Unisys to leverage Unify Square's Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) offerings to help advance its experience-focused digital workplace services solution set. "The acquisition of Unify Square will enhance Unisys' digital workplace services business to drive increased revenue growth and improved profitability and cash flow," said Peter Altabef, chair and CEO of Unisys. "The UCaaS market, in which Unify Square operates, is expected to be among the fastest-growing segments of the digital workplace services market. Unify Square's capabilities will enable Unisys to deliver higher-value solutions to its clients that enhance their productivity and employee satisfaction. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to adjusted EBITDA margin and adjusted free cash flow by 2023, with a de minimis impact initially." "Unisys and Unify Square hold a shared vision for how businesses can more easily adapt to the new reality of a hybrid workforce," said John Case, CEO, Unify Square. "Unify Square's goal is to empower our enterprise clients with a complete set of software and services that allows them to provide seamless, secure experiences to employees. Together with Unisys, we will have a unique opportunity to help more enterprises thrive in this new digital workplace environment." A Powerful Solution for Seamless, Rapid, Enterprise-wide Collaboration The integration of Unisys' and Unify Square's digital workplace services capabilities will help clients achieve seamless collaboration and experience parity through excellent employee experiences and agile ways of working that enable innovation any time, anywhere and on any device. Unisys and Unify Square will now be able to help clients achieve outcomes through: Accelerating transformation. Companies can now accelerate their digital workplace journeys, quickly and seamlessly moving from legacy on-prem communications platforms to modern cloud-based collaboration applications with less disruption and with immediate benefits. Proactively assessing experience through real-time analytics. Companies can now actively assess, analyze and improve employee experience across multiple platforms while enhancing IT operational performance with real-time analytics. Enabling comprehensive governance and management. Through built-in compliance and security capabilities, Unify Square solutions provide a policy framework and robust functionality to create policies to simultaneously cover all collaboration platform security and lifecycle management scenarios. "As we continue to navigate through uncertain times and new ways of working, the most successful organizations will be the ones that cultivate agile, dynamic worker experiences and work environments," said Amy Loomis, research director for IDC's Future of Work Agenda practice. "Leaders must work across functions to develop the workplace infrastructure, support, policies and procedures that will enable employees to securely access the people, tools and data they need any time, anywhere and from any device. The acquisition of Unify Square by Unisys provides the software, services and support leaders will need to support hybrid work models of the future." Unisys Digital Workplace Services Unisys Digital Workplace Services deliver advanced workplace solutions to help clients transform their digital workplaces and create exceptional end-user experiences. Unisys InteliServe incorporates change-management capabilities and a user-centric design to deliver a frictionless employee experience that easily plugs into human resources, finance and business applications. In February 2021, for the third consecutive year, Gartner positioned Unisys as a Leader in its Magic Quadrant for Managed Workplace Services, North America report. The purchase price is subject to customary adjustments based on closing cash, indebtedness and working capital. For disclosures and definitions related to any Unisys financial metrics referenced in the attached, including adjusted EBITDA and adjusted free cash flow, please see the Unisys 1Q21 earnings release, available on the company's website. Clearsight Advisors, Inc. acted as an exclusive financial advisor to Unify Square. About Unisys Unisys is a global IT solutions company that delivers successful outcomes for the most demanding businesses and governments. Unisys offerings include digital workplace services, cloud and infrastructure services, software operating environments for high-intensity enterprise computing, business process solutions and application development services. Unisys integrates security into all of its solutions. For more information on how Unisys delivers for its clients across the government, financial services and commercial markets, visit www.unisys.com. Follow Unisys on Twitter and LinkedIn. About Unify Square Unify Square's software and services optimize and enhance the world's largest collaboration and communication deployments, helping businesses manage and secure their meetings, chats and calls. The company's PowerSuite software creates a unified dashboard to surface actionable insights and help manage collaboration platforms optimizing and transforming performance health and user effectiveness. Unify Square is a global elite partner for Microsoft and Zoom. Unify Square's solutions have delivered value to more than 6 million collaboration seats, in over 275 enterprises across more than 50 countries, and in most major industry verticals. Headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., Unify Square also has offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, India, Australia and Lithuania. Forward-Looking Statements Any statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are usually identified by or are associated with such words as "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "anticipate" and similar terminology. Such forward-looking statements include those that address activities, events or developments that Unisys or its management believes or anticipates may occur in the future, including earnings enhancements, synergies and other benefits from the Unify Square acquisition. All forward-looking statements are based upon Unisys' current expectations, various assumptions and data available from third parties. Unisys' expectations and assumptions are expressed in good faith, and Unisys believes there is a reasonable basis for them. However, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will materialize or prove to be correct as forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual future results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the future results, performance or achievements expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those set out in the forward-looking statements, including: the risk that Unisys may be unable to successfully integrate Unify Square or that integration costs exceed Unisys' expectations; the risk that Unisys may not realize the benefits expected from the acquisition, including earnings enhancements and synergies; potential adverse reactions or changes to business or employee relationships, including those resulting from the announcement of the acquisition; the risk that Unisys may not attract, motivate and retain experienced personnel in key positions; the risk that Unisys may not effectively anticipate and respond to volatility and rapid technological innovation; the risk of adverse developments on Unisys' ability to grow revenue and expand margin in its Digital Workplace Services and Cloud and Infrastructure businesses; the risks of doing business internationally, particularly when a significant portion of Unisys' revenue is derived from international operations; the risk of cybersecurity breaches, which could result in significant costs and harm Unisys' business and reputation; and the other factors discussed in the Item 1A, "Risk Factors" sections in Unisys' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 and in Unisys' Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, and in Unisys' other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission which are available at http://sec.gov. For any forward-looking statements contained in this or any other document, Unisys claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Unisys assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events except as required by law. RELEASE NO.: 0603/9389 Unisys and other Unisys products and services mentioned herein, as well as their respective logos, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Unisys Corporation. Any other brand or product referenced herein is acknowledged to be a trademark or registered trademark of its respective holder. UIS-C SOURCE Unisys Corporation Related Links https://www.unisys.com WURZBURG, Germany, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- vasopharm GmbH, a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focusing on novel therapeutics for the treatment of cerebrovascular diseases, today announces that the NOSTRA III traumatic brain injury (TBI) Phase III clinical trial of ronopterin (VAS203) did not meet the pre-specified primary endpoint of improvement in extended Glasgow Outcome Scale (eGOS) at six months after trauma. Importantly, hypothesis driven post-hoc analysis reveals a statistically significant and clinically meaningful increase in eGOS over time in patients with moderate and severe TBI when ronopterin is infused within 12 hours after trauma. The NOSTRA III trial (NO Synthase in TRAumatic Brain Injury; clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT02794168) is a pivotal European trial assessing the efficacy and safety of ronopterin for the treatment of patients with moderate and severe TBI. Current therapeutic approaches to acute TBI are predominantly supportive measures, initiated reactively, to decrease elevated intracranial pressure with the aim of reducing mortality and morbidity. To date, no specific pharmacologic intervention has been demonstrated to improve long-term physical and cognitive recovery. The NOSTRA III trial is a placebo-controlled, randomised, double-blind, multi-centre study in five countries at 29 investigational sites in Austria, France, Germany, Spain and the UK. In total 224 eligible patients were enrolled. Ronopterin is the first drug which simultaneously targets blood vessels and tissue of the injured brain by reducing the excessive production of nitric oxide via upregulated inducible NO synthase (iNOS). Professor Dr John Stover, Chief Medical Officer of vasopharm, explained: "While NOSTRA III did not achieve statistical significance in the pre-specified primary endpoint of eGOS at six months after trauma, we performed a detailed hypothesis driven post-hoc analysis guided by pathophysiology combined with biochemistry and pharmacology. This analysis clearly reveals the potential of ronopterin to benefit patients when infused within the initial 12 hours after TBI. Ronopterin was associated with a higher median eGOS at 3 and 6 months vs placebo (3 months: eGOS 5 vs 4; 6 months: eGOS 6 vs 5, respectively), a larger proportion of patients with good recovery, i.e. eGOS 7 and 8 at 6 months (37% vs 23%), and a significantly higher odds ratio in patients with an increase in eGOS from 3 to 6 months (2.98; p=0.039). The Number Needed to Treat is calculated at 7 for patients with a good recovery (eGOS 7 and 8) and 4 for patients with an increase in eGOS over time. These post-hoc results of the NOSTRA III trial corroborate the positive results of the dose-finding NOSTRA II study. This efficacy, in the opinion of the Data Monitoring Committee, clearly outweighs the known adverse event profile, resulting in a positive benefit-risk assessment. We consider these results robust and clinically relevant, and vasopharm will seek scientific advice from Competent Authorities on the further regulatory pathway for ronopterin." Frank Tegtmeier, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of vasopharm, commented: "We are pleased that we have identified a clinically coherent explanation for the results of the pre-specified analysis and that we can provide a clear rationale for the beneficial use of ronopterin in patients with moderate and severe TBI. The early infusion and trajectory of improvement over time are supported by recent publications of observational studies and randomised controlled Phase III trials." Prof. Dr. Erich Schmutzhard, Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria and Chief Investigator for the NOSTRA III trial, said: "The demanding complexity of traumatic brain injury is well known, every injury is different. Experience shows us that not all patients will benefit from interventions and treatment approaches we deem helpful. In this difficult clinical context, it is remarkable that ronopterin resulted in a significantly higher number of patients with signs of improved recovery. Ronopterin is the first drug to potentially offer a new and advanced treatment option to patients with acute moderate and severe TBI. The early infusion will be easy to integrate in our daily emergency and intensive care routine." NOSTRA III's primary endpoint is the extended Glasgow Outcome Scale (eGOS) at six months post trauma; the eGOS at three months after TBI is one of the secondary endpoints. The combination of these primary and secondary endpoints allows evaluation of the trajectory of neurologic recovery during the first six months after TBI, reflecting a clinically important measure and timeframe. About Traumatic Brain Injury Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when a sudden trauma, such as a road traffic accident, or a fall, causes damage to the brain. Every year, over 2.5 million patients sustain a traumatic brain injury in Europe, 1 million are admitted to hospital, and 75,000 of these patients will die, with a further 100,000 being left disabled. TBI is the leading cause of death and disability in young adults. TBI results in more lost working years than cancers, stroke and HIV/AIDS combined. On a global scale, the number of life-years lost due to TBI is four times that of diabetes-related loss. Moderate and severe head injury are associated with a 2.3 and 4.5 times increased risk of Alzheimer's disease, respectively. See www.center-tbi.eu/ for more information. About Ronopterin Ronopterin is an analogue of the natural co-factor, tetrahydrobiopterin involved in the generation of nitric oxide by the Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS) family of enzymes. The mechanism of action of ronopterin is believed to confer selective inhibition of inducible NOS (iNOS) without significantly inhibiting the function of other NOS enzymes. It is believed that iNOS has a significant involvement in the cascade of damaging sequelae following a traumatic brain injury. SOURCE vasopharm Oswego, NY (13126) Today Intervals of clouds and sunshine in the morning with more clouds for later in the day. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 77F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 61F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. PHILADELPHIA, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- LegalBillReview.com announced today the addition of Virginia Griffith, JD as VP of Business Development. In this role, Griffith will be responsible for assisting corporate legal departments in managing their outside counsel spend and expanding partner relationships. "We are always looking to add uniquely qualified contributors to our team, and we are excited to have Virginia in this role," said Ryan Loro, President of LegalBillReview.com. "She brings a deep understanding of legal operations which is important to us and our clients." Griffith is an experienced business development professional with more than 20 years in the legal profession, having previously worked with ALM Media, LLC and Thomson Reuters. In her 11 years at Thomson Reuters, she held a variety of roles primarily focusing on the research and knowledge management needs of in-house counsel. In addition, Griffith also spent time in the "Big Four" working closely with corporate legal departments in support of their legal operations and regulatory programs. Stephanie Corey, Co-Founder and General Partner of UpLevel Ops and LegalBillReview.com partner, said "Virginia will add value to LegalBillReview.com's clients and partners with her knowledge of the industry and key players in the legal operations space." "I look forward to joining LegalBillReview.com in my new role as VP of Business Development," Griffith said. "With my previous experience in the legal industry I will be able to work closely with our clients to help them in managing their outside counsel while maintaining their longstanding relationships." For more information about LegalBillReview.com please visit https://www.LegalBillReview.com About LegalBillReview.com LegalBillReview.com helps in-house legal teams save time, reduce legal expenses, and improve attorney relationships. LegalBillReview.com's team of experienced attorneys identifies excessive charges and billing errors, then cooperatively works with outside counsel to correct the bill. Contact: Jordan Rogers for LegalBillReview.com [email protected] 913-602-8531 SOURCE LegalBillReview.com Related Links https://www.LegalBillReview.com AVON, Conn., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The pandemic challenged 2020 voluntary sales industry-wide, posting a decline of 15.5% compared to 2019 with sales totaling close to $7.5 billion, according to Eastbridge Consulting Group's annual U.S. Voluntary/Worksite Sales Report. "Out of the 14 large companies ($150+ million in voluntary sales) in our survey, only four were able to achieve positive sales growth in 2020," says Nick Rockwell, president of Eastbridge. "The Hartford, Prudential, Sun Life and Voya Financial achieved growth, but Voya Financial was the only company that was also able to outpace industry growth in 2019 and 2018 as well. Voya Financial is the fastest growing company, based on 2020 voluntary sales, garnering a 19% increase over 2019 results for total voluntary sales of $202 million. In the ultracompetitive large-carrier market space, sustaining growth in a pandemic year and beating the industry average for the prior two years is especially impressive. We commend Voya Financial for this outstanding achievement," adds Rockwell. "Voya Financial is incredibly proud to have earned this distinction from Eastbridge Consulting Group as the fastest growing company based on voluntary sales in the large-carrier category for a second consecutive year. Given the challenges caused by the pandemic, this year's recognition is especially meaningful, since it directly speaks to the dedication and commitment of our Voya employees," said Rob Grubka, CEO of Health Solutions, Voya Financial. "The health and wealth needs of Americans are connected like never before, which the pandemic has only magnified. As employees turn to the workplace for help to advance the financial well-being of their household, employers are increasingly looking for supplemental insurance offerings that they can easily integrate into their workplace benefits and financial wellness programs that their employees will value. At Voya, we continue to focus on helping Americans balance between living for today, while preparing for the future." Carriers participating in Eastbridge's annual U.S. Voluntary/Worksite Sales Report that have a minimum of $10 million in annual sales are eligible for the Voluntary Sales Growth Leader recognition. This year, a company must also have achieved positive sales growth in 2020 and exceeded the overall industry growth rate in 2019 and 2018 and lead in sales growth for the current year. The category parameters can change from year to year as the market grows. For the current year, small companies are those generating over $10 million but under $50 million in new business sales, while mid-size companies are those with new business annualized premium (NBAP) of $50 million to $149.9 million and large companies those with NBAP of $150 million or more. All carriers participating in the voluntary/worksite sales survey receive a free copy of the survey findings, including company-specific results. If you are a carrier that is not participating and would like to be included in next year's survey, please email the company at [email protected] or call (803) 782-0560. Eastbridge Consulting Group, Inc. is a marketing advisory firm serving companies focused on the voluntary/worksite benefits market in the United States and Canada. About Voya Financial Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), provides health, wealth and investment solutions that enable its approximately 14.8 million individual, workplace and institutional clients to achieve their financial wellness goals with confidence. With a vision to be America's Retirement Company, Voya's products, solutions and digital capabilities help create a better financial future for all. Voya is a Fortune 500 company that had $7.6 billion in revenue in 2020 and $729 billion in total assets under management and administration as of March 31, 2021. Certified as a "Great Place to Work" by the Great Place to Work Institute, Voya is equally committed to conducting business in a way that is socially, environmentally, economically and ethically responsible. Voya has earned recognition as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute; as the No. 1-ranked financial services firm among Barron's 100 Most Sustainable Companies for three consecutive years; as a member of the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index; and as a "Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion" on the Disability Equality Index. For more information, visit voya.com. Follow Voya Financial on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter @Voya. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Erin Marino [email protected] SOURCE Eastbridge Consulting Group Related Links eastbridge.com DUBLIN, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Waterborne Coatings Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global waterborne coatings market by revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 5% during 2020-2026. The market is expected to witness traction in 2021 after the decline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The market has been highly affected by the coronavirus breakout due to variations in construction businesses and raw material pricing, production of raw materials, and implementation of lockdowns. Increasing pricing pressures and shortage of labor in many countries impacted construction and infrastructure development activities. However, the effects are expected to short-term in nature. The APAC market is likely to observe the highest growth due to increasing construction and infrastructure activities during the forecast period. In terms of value, China expects to be the largest contributor due to increased investment in construction, marine, and oil & gas industries, rapid industrialization, and foreign investments. The industry is shifting toward environmental friendliness with water-borne paint and industrial coating products containing water as the solvent to dissolve resins, making them sustainable and easy-to-apply solutions. Moreover, advances in coating technology and stringent regulations toward VOCs have fueled the adoption of water-borne coatings products. Global Waterborne Coatings Market Segmentation The global acrylic waterborne coatings market is likely to grow at a CAGR of approx. 6% during 2020-2026. Stringency in government regulations and environment protection laws expect to increase demand for waterborne acrylic resins. As these resins offer excellent performance and environmental protection, the demand is likely to grow in residential and non-residential applications worldwide. Moreover, recent developments in acrylic resins are likely to boost the application of acrylic water-borne coatings solutions. The global epoxy-based water-borne coating market is expected to reach over USD 18 billion in 2026. The demand for epoxy-based coatings is likely to come from the industrial and automotive sectors during the forecast period. Epoxy resins witness high application in end-users such as aerospace, race cars, and marine. They provide excellent strength with weight reduction, durability, and chemical resistance. The growth of epoxy coating solutions in the APAC region is likely to boost as several manufacturers are shifting their operations to the region due to cheap labor and easy raw material availability. The architectural coatings segment accounts for over 55% of the global water-borne coatings market. Increased investments in infrastructure projects and construction and renovation of residential and commercial buildings are the significant factors driving the demand for architectural coating solutions. Developing countries are expected to lead the growth, with the APAC region expecting to witness the highest investment during the forecast period. Due to the growing population and rapid urbanization, the demand for new houses is growing, driving the market for waterborne coatings. The global automotive water-borne coating solutions market is expected to reach over USD 9 billion by 2026. The demand for water-borne protective coating solutions from the automotive sector is growing due to their ability to protect vehicles against acid rains, severe weather, and UV radiation. The global wood-based water-borne coatings market expects to reach over USD 4 billion by 2026. The increased production of wooden artifacts and decorative items triggers the demand for wood coatings. Water-borne wood coatings have several advantages such as robustness, stain resistance, corrosion resistance, and flexibility. Insights by Geography APAC dominated the global waterborne coatings market and accounted for approx. USD 31 billion in 2020. China, India, and Japan are the largest contributors in the region. The APAC region's growth is driven by foreign investments and a booming manufacturing sector due to low labor costs and easily accessible raw materials. The growing middle-class population and improving living standards in the region expect to increase the demand for architectural coatings. The rise in environmental friendliness and government investment initiatives toward infrastructure and industrial sectors in India and China are likely to act as the major drivers for the market's growth. In emerging economies such as India and China, the rapidly growing population also boosts the residential construction sector, influencing the market. Increased foreign direct investments are also anticipated to enhance the market growth. All these factors are driving the growth of the APAC water-borne coatings market. Insights by Vendors AkzoNobel, PPG Industries, Sherwin- Williams, Axalta, RPM International, and Nippon Paints are major global players. The market is fragmented and characterized by the presence of a significant number of global and domestic players across geographies. Most prominent players are trying to expand their businesses through a profitable partnership or acquiring small or mid-sized active vendors in that particular region, whereas domestic vendors are capitalizing with product portfolios based on the requirement of that specific region. There have been mergers and acquisitions among many companies over the past decade. Mergers and acquisitions benefit companies in purchasing raw materials and developing the distribution network. KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED: How big is the waterborne coatings market? What are the emerging applications of waterborne coatings? Can waterborne technology be used as a protective coating? Who are the key players in the water-borne coatings industry? What are the key driving factors for the growth of the Waterborne Coatings Market? Market Dynamics Industry Expert View on Market Market Opportunities & Trends Environmental Regulations Boosting The Demand For VOC-FREE Coatings Construction and Infrastructure Development Increasing Automotive Production Rising Home Improvement Activities Market Growth Enablers High Growth Potential In Emerging Economies Growing Demand From Construction Industry Market Restraints Flow And Viscosity Control Problems High Cost Of Raw Materials Prominent Vendors AkzoNobel PPG Industries Inc. Sherwin Williams RPM International Inc. Axalta Coating Systems Other Prominent Vendors Asian Paints Limited Nippon Paint Holdings Limited Masco Corporation Diamond Vogel Sacal Paints DSM DAW SE Berger Paints India Ltd Cabot Corporation Clariant AG Eastman Chemical Company Tikkurila Group Cromology SAS Nuplex Industries Limited SK Kaken Company Limited BASF Coating Benjamin Moore Dunn Edwards Dulux Group H.B. Fuller Teknos Hempel A/S Arkema SA Jotun Tnemec Company Inc. Wacker Chemie AG Kansai Paint KCC Corporation NOROO Paint & Coatings Premium Coatings and Chemicals Fujikura Kasei Company Limited Carpoly Chemical Group Brillux Gmbh For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/c18pr7 Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com MINNEAPOLIS, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Wealth Enhancement Group, an independent wealth management firm, today announced that it has acquired Hoover Financial Advisors (HFA), an independent hybrid registered investment adviser (RIA) based in Malvern, Pa. that has $1.46 billion in total client assets. Upon closing of the transaction, Wealth Enhancement Group's total client assets are expected to exceed $34.6 billion.* Jeff Dekko, Chief Executive Officer of Wealth Enhancement Group, said, "We are thrilled to welcome Hoover Financial Advisors to our platform. Pete Hoover and the team at HFA have built an impressive firm with a strong track record for growth. HFA's holistic approach to addressing clients' long-term planning needs with a particular focus on financial planning serves as a powerful example of the right way to foster meaningful, lifelong client relationships. We look forward to working with the talented team from HFA to accelerate their growth by leveraging our centralized wealth management, back office and technology platforms." Mr. Dekko continued, "We are also pleased to enjoy the continued, enthusiastic support of our capital partner, TA Associates, as we seek to accelerate the acquisition-focused element of our overall growth strategy. With consolidation continuing across the RIA sector, TA's partnership and commitment will be powerful assets in positioning Wealth Enhancement Group to lead and shape the landscape of our industry as we continue to establish ourselves as a national wealth management and financial planning brand." Launched in 2005 by Founder and Chief Executive Officer Peter K. Hoover, CFP, HFA provides comprehensive financial planning services, investment management and insurance solutions to retirees, pre-retirees and other clients. Now partnering with President William B. Mullin, CFP, Mr. Hoover and the HFA team specialize in establishing strategic and executable financial plans for clients, enabling them to transition smoothly from their working years to a comfortable and sustainable retirement. The team also provides education planning, income tax strategy planning, cash flow management, group benefits and tax preparation services. Upon closing of the transaction, the entire HFA team of 26 individuals, including nine financial advisors and four seasonal tax consultants, will join Wealth Enhancement Group, building upon the firm's long-term approach of building scale in key local markets through strategic acquisitions that support national growth. Peter K. Hoover said, "We are excited to join such a strong and client-focused organization as Wealth Enhancement Group. Our team sought a strategic partnership that would expand our services and enable our professionals to spend more time with our growing client base, and with Wealth Enhancement Group's robust centralized back office and portfolio management resources this new relationship puts us in the perfect position to do just that. This transaction allows us to move forward in a business-as-usual manner, while significantly enhancing our technological capabilities and expanding our team-based approach to client service." Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close on July 1. About Wealth Enhancement Group Wealth Enhancement Group is a Greater Minneapolis-based independent wealth management firm offering comprehensive and customized financial planning and investment management services. Founded in 1997, Wealth Enhancement Group serves clients nationwide. Wealth Enhancement Group specializes in providing retail clients with the team-based knowledge and resources they need to simplify their financial life. For more information, please visit www.wealthenhancement.com. Advisory services offered through Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, LLC (WEAS), a registered investment advisor. Certain, but not all, investment advisor representatives (IARs) of WEAS are also registered representatives of and offer securities through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. Wealth Enhancement Group and Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services are separate entities from LPL Financial. Wealth Enhancement Group is a registered trademark of Wealth Enhancement Group, LLC. *Wealth Enhancement Group and its Registered Investment Advisor, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, had $31.58 billion in client brokerage and advisory assets as of 4/30/2021. With the previously announced addition of Pillar Pacific Capital Management ($1.6 billion) on 6/1/2021 and with the expected closing on 7/1/2021 of Hoover Financial Advisors ($1.46 billion), Wealth Enhancement Group plans to have $34.64 billion in client brokerage, advisory and trust assets as of 7/1/2021. Media Contacts Joseph Kuo / Chris Clemens Haven Tower Group 424 317 4851 or 424 317 4854 [email protected] or [email protected] SOURCE Wealth Enhancement Group Related Links http://www.wealthenhancement.com NEW YORK, June 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces the filing of a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Washington Prime Group Inc. (NYSE: WPG) between November 5, 2020 and March 4, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"). A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than July 23, 2021. SO WHAT: If you purchased Washington Prime Group securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Washington Prime Group class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2102.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than July 23, 2021. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience or resources. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Washington Prime Group's financial condition was deteriorating substantially; (2) as a result, there was substantial uncertainty about the Company's ability to meet its capital structure obligations as they became due; and (3) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. To join the Washington Prime Group class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2102.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.rosenlegal.com SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A. Related Links www.rosenlegal.com PHILADELPHIA, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Zoom Drain, a leading operator and franchisor of drain and sewer services, announced today a strategic investment from MPK Equity Partners. The new funding will support Zoom Drain's efforts to further expand and support its franchisee base, build out additional corporate locations, and strengthen its position as the leading provider of drain and sewer services in Philadelphia through both continued market share growth and acquisitions. Additional details of the investment were not made public. Zoom Drain's services are largely non-discretionary, focused on everything "below the drain", making it a unique and compelling opportunity for motivated franchisees across the United States. Despite headwinds from COVID-19, the Zoom Drain system experienced meaningful growth in 2020 over 2019. "Our entire management team and I view this partnership with MPK as an important milestone in the evolution and growth of our company, and we are very excited to welcome them to the Zoom Drain family," said Jim Criniti, CEO of Zoom Drain. "With the additional resources MPK provides, we are even better positioned to support our franchisees and deliver quality results for our customers." Zoom Drain has steadily grown since its founding in 1995; however, over the past few years, its growth has accelerated as it refined its business model and began franchising with the help of industry veterans, Ellen Rohr and Al Levi. Concurrent with this transaction, Ellen Rohr has been promoted to President of Zoom Drain. "We believe Zoom Drain is extremely well-positioned in both the home services sector and franchising in general," said Patrick K. McGee, managing partner of MPK. "Not only are we delighted to be partnering with world-class operators in Jim Criniti and Ellen Rohr, but we are excited to support the growth of a market-leading franchise with a clearly differentiated offering in an attractive, recession resistant industry. Most of all, we are excited to support the incredible work that the Zoom Drain franchisees are doing to impact their communities and delight their customers." About Zoom Drain Zoom Drain is an operator and franchisor of drain and sewer services. Zoom Drain focuses on repair, maintenance, and installation everything "below the drain. Zoom Drain provides trained specialists to respond to both emergency service and planned maintenance. Zoom Drain technicians clean more drains in a year than most plumbers will clean in their career. Zoom Drain is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operates two corporate units: one in Philadelphia and the surrounding area and another in Charlotte, North Carolina. Zoom Drain has 14 franchisees operating across the country. To learn more about Zoom Drain, visit www.zoomdrain.com or www.zoomdrainfranchise.com. About MPK Equity Partners MPK Equity Partners is a Dallas, Texas-based private investment firm, which invests in growing, profitable, founder-owned businesses. MPK's patient and flexible approach allows for control, non-control, and growth equity investments, and unlike a traditional private equity sponsor, is not constrained by institutional fundraising cycles. Zoom Drain marks MPK's 8th investment in a founder-owned business. To learn more about MPK Equity Partners, visit www.mpkequitypartners.com. SOURCE MPK Equity Partners The pair are also planning to enter into an exclusivity agreement to provide proton therapy services in the Gulf Cooperation Council ( ) said it signed a letter of intent with Saba Partners for the proposed purchase of a three-treatment room LIGHT system for a total contract value of up to US$107mln (75.5mln). The AIM-listed firm is a developer of next-generation proton therapy systems for cancer treatment, called LIGHT systems, while Saba is an investment advisory and asset management firm based in Geneva with decades of experience in healthcare services and healthcare real estate. The contract value reflects the purchase of the LIGHT equipment, its installation and an extended long-term maintenance and warranty agreement, said the healthcare group. The system will be installed in a proton therapy centre in Glion, Switzerland, where Saba plans to start building a medical centre. This potential partnership follows the company's announcement in January 2021 with DiaMedCare AG to offer its customers in Europe and the US easier access to its LIGHT system through a flexible financing solution that reduces the need for large initial upfront payments from customers. The firm said it intends to enter into an exclusivity agreement with Saba Partners for the provision of proton therapy services in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Under the agreement, Advanced Oncotherapy will benefit from Saba Partners' presence in the Saudi Arabian hospital sector in order to make the LIGHT system available to countries within the GCC region consisting of Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. The letter of intent is non-binding and both parties have agreed to sign a binding deal by 31 March 2022, while Advanced Oncotherapy will not receive money before obtaining the relevant CE marking clearances. Saba Partners' choice of Advanced Oncotherapy demonstrates our position to help medical providers meet a significant unmet medical need, said AVO chief executive Nicolas Serandour. "Today's announcement represents another key milestone for Advanced Oncotherapy and demonstrates the significant potential market for the LIGHT system where we estimate that 4,000 proton therapy centres are required worldwide while only 95 facilities currently exist. A reported 300,000 people have travelled on holiday to amber-rated countries such as Greece and Spain Portugal is one of the few place Britons can visit without having to quarantine A possibility of Portugal being removed from the UKs green list later of safe places to visit today unsettled airlines. Several countries are expected to be added in the review, including the Canary Islands, Malta and Finland, with some Greek and Caribbean locations also possible additions. Others, including countries in Asia such as Vietnam and Malaysia, might be downgraded to either an amber or red rating. Portugal is also at risk due to a rise in the number of infections recently. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said today that he would have no hesitation in reclassifying countries if the assessment of risk by the Joint Biosecurity Centre changes. We're going to try to allow people to travel, as I know that many people want to, but we've got to be cautious and we've got to continue to put countries on the red list, on the amber list, when that is necessary. Visitors to an amber-rated country have to quarantine for ten days on their return and take tests after two and eight days while those returning from red-rated countries have to quarantine in a hotel for two weeks. Airline operators have been pleading for the government to relax restrictions surrounding air travel and changes to the status of a destination such as Portugal where holidays have resumed would be a major setback. Michael OLeary, Ryanair PLCs ( ) chief executive said yesterday that it was absolutely imperative that big tourist destinations are added to the green list. "The restrictions should be lifted, we should be allowing British families to travel to the US and Europe, and also to return without having to complete useless PCR forms for people who've already been vaccinated," he told Sky News. IAG, the owner of British Airways and Iberia, has also called for the US to be granted green list status given the importance of business travel. Luis Gallego, IAGs chief executive, said the US should be on the UKs green list of countries due to its high rate of vaccinations. Labour has already called for the traffic light system to be scrapped altogether due to the confusion. A reported 300,000 people have travelled on holiday to amber-rated countries such as Greece and Spain even though official advice to visit only if it is essential. Shares in IAG slipped to 3% to 203.4p, Ryanair 2% to 16.82 and Easyjet 2.3% to 987p. New Delhi, June 3 : Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi has been produced before a local Magistrate in Dominica to answer charges of his illegal entry into the island country following a court order. Choksi appeared before the magistrate on a wheelchair. Earlier on Wednesday, the Dominica High Court ruled that Choksi, who is wanted in India in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, must be brought before a local magistrate on Wednesday afternoon to face charges of illegal entry. According to people familiar with the matter, Justice Bernie Stephenson ruled that Choksi is to face charges of illegal entry into Dominica. Meanwhile, Antigua News Room, a media outlet based in the Carribean nation, reported that the matter was brought before the court on Monday and after deliberations for just over three hours, the judge ruled that the application of habeas corpus be adjourned until 9 a.m. on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Dominican Public Prosecution Service has told the court that Choksi should be deported to India as his plea is not maintainable. Opposing the Dominican Public Prosecution, Choksi's legal team contended that he is not a citizen of India as Article 9 of the Indian Constitution states that any person who acquires a citizenship of a foreign country will automatically cease to be an Indian citizen, and he cannot be directly repatriated to India. The court will be hearing the matter once again on Thursday. Choski is undergoing treatment at the China friendship hospital since last week. Earlier in the day, Stephenson started hearing submissions from lawyers representing Choksi and the police in Dominica. Meanwhile, Choksi's lawyer in India, Vijay Agarwal told IANS: "Only question before the court is that whether he entered Dominica illegally or not, whether he is liable to be detained, whether Dominican police have the right to keep him in custody." Agarwal also contended that how shall he be deported is not a question before the court. Choksi had gone missing from Antigua and Barbuda on May 23 sparking a massive manhunt. He was captured in Dominica on May 26. Earlier in the day, Choksi had told an Indian news outlet that he was abducted by Indian agents and was given shock with a Taser gun whenever he resisted. He also alleged that he was beaten up by the officials. In a statement to Business Standard newspaper, Choksi said that he was abducted from the Carribean island of Antigua on the night of May 23 from where he was forcibly taken on a boat to the island of Dominica. On May 27, first pictures of Choksi emerged online, showing several signs of bruises on his arms and a swollen eye. "Choksi was forced to get into a vessel from Antigua and was taken to Dominica," Agarwal had told IANS. He also claimed that there were marks on Choksi's body, implying the use of force. "There is something fishy and I guess it was a strategy to take him to another place so that there are chances of sending him back to India. So I don't know what forces are operating. The time will tell," he had said. However, Antigua Police Commissioner Atlee Rodney has dismissed the claims of Choksi's counsel and said that they have no information on him being forcefully removed. An eight-member team of Indian officials has also landed in Dominica on a private jet for the extradition of Choksi. A Dominican court has restrained the extradition of Choksi till further orders by hearing the haebus corpus plea filed by his lawyers. Choksi is wanted in India by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case. He had shifted to Antigua in January 2018, days before the CBI registered a case. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Lucknow /Agra : , June 3 (IANS) In a heart-warming gesture, the acid attack survivors of the now closed Sheroes Hangout Cafe in Agra have started a free food service for the poor from the donations they got to restart the eatery. The 30-odd acid attack survivors who worked at the cafe, are now busy preparing food and distributing it to the poor on the streets. Their initiative began last month when the 'Sheroes' of Agra and Lucknow cafes came together to help the underprivileged. The survivors have divided their duties - some go to buy vegetables, others cook the food while some do the packing and the rest are involved in distribution. Each member takes care of hygiene standards, wears mask, gloves and caps. "We reach out to at least 100 people a day. We are preparing to increase that number. We want the food to taste good and ensure a variation in the menu. We want them to like our food," said Rupa, manager of Sheroes Cafe Agra and an acid attack survivor. The survivors do not know if they can revive the Sheroes Cafe now. "Shutting down Sheroes Cafe was very painful. After the pandemic struck, we tried online delivery for a while but got few orders. Both cafes in Agra and Lucknow incurred heavy losses with about 80 per cent drop in total revenues. We were left with no other option," said Ashish Shukla, founder of Sheroes Cafe and director of Chhanv Foundation, the non-profit organisation that backs the initiative. "The idea to provide food to the homeless came from the cafe members. They wanted to help those in need. We are getting immense support for this from a Spanish NGO, Bekoz Neko." In Lucknow, acid attack survivor Kunti is leading the food distribution programme. "The thought behind this was that we received a lot of love and support from people over the years. We had to do our bit for the people in need," she said. The Chhanv Foundation has secured funding to see the 30 survivors through for 12 months with a Rs 10,000 monthly salary. In addition, some of the money is being used to pay for the treatment and rehabilitation of 70 other acid attack survivors. Shukla further said that "the survivors (who run Sheroes Cafe) want to expand the food distribution initiative and keep it going. They want to do more." Another survivor in Lucknow said: "We may not be able to run the cafe in these circumstances but we are thinking of changing the business-maybe tiffin services for homes and offices or even catering for small get togethers." New York, US (PANA) - The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has signed a long-term agreement with Moderna for the supply of COVID-19 vaccine on behalf of the COVAX Facility June 03 : To contain the covid surge, the Maharashtra government has imposed curfew-like restrictions on the movement of people post 2 pm. As per the rules, no person is allowed to be in a public place without a valid reason. An FIR has been lodged against Tiger Shroff and Disha Patani as they were found to violate the pandemic norms. On Wednesday, an FIR was registered against Tiger Shroff and Disha Patani for allegedly violating the pandemic norms by roaming at a public place without a valid reason post the 2 pm deadline. They both were found roaming in the Bandstand area of the city in the evening. Reportedly, a case has been filed under section 188 of the IPC. As it is a bailable offence, no arrest has been made. The actor and his team are still to react on the report of the case. "A police team spotted Shroff roaming in the Bandstand area in the evening. When questioned, he couldn't give a satisfactory reply to why he was roaming outside. Police took down his details and registered a case under section 188 (Disobeying the order of public servant) of the IPC," the official said. Meanwhile, on the workfront, Tiger will next be seen in the sequel of his debut film 'Heropanti'. He will be seen with Tara Sutaria in 'Heropanti 2'. He will also be seen in an action thriller 'Ganapath: Part 1' which is directed by Vikas Bahl. Kriti Sanon will be his lady love in the film. While, Disha who was recently seen in 'Radhe' will be seen in Mohit Suri's 'Ek Villain Returns'. The film also stars Arjun Kapoor, John Abraham and Tara Sutaria alongside her. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Lucknow, June 3 : Almost 17 days after a family in Imalia village lost eight family members -- seven to Covid -- the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) has decided to extend help to two-and-a-half-year-old Ananya, who lost her father Satya Prakash Yadav. CWC member, Lucknow, Sangeeta Sharma said, "We will help the family avail benefits of government schemes. Since Ananya's father died of Covid, she will be provided monetary help as announced by the government. We will also try to get funds for the education of Nirankar's son Abhishek through a central scheme." At the peak of second wave of Covid pandemic in April end, the Yadav family lost eight members in less than a fortnight. The victims included Ruprani (82), Mithilesh Kumari (54), Kamla Devi (80), Nirankar (48), Vinod Kumar (60), Vijay Kumar (58), Shail Kumari (52), and Satya Prakash (34). Kamla Devi's son Omkar Yadav said, "In the fourth week of April, three members of my family, including my mother, died on the same day. Even after three deaths, no government team visited us for RT-PCR test. Five more family members succumbed within the next 10 days. I have lost my four brothers and have to shoulder huge responsibilities. I have to take care of my sisters-in-law and their children." Omkar is a Group C employee in the railways in Alambagh. Omkar said that his elder brother Vijay and younger sibling Nirankar were farmers, while Vinod was a retired Group D employee in the railway. Satya Prakash was a Group D employee in wagon department of Northern Railway and is survived by daughter Ananya and wife Poonam. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Washington, June 3 : The US announced that it will impose tariffs on certain goods from Austria, Britain, India, Italy, Spain and Turkey over disputes on Digital Service Taxes (DSTs), while noting that it will suspend tariffs for six months for multilateral negotiations. US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai said in a statement on Wednesday that the final determination in the one-year Section 301 investigations of DSTs adopted by the six countries is to impose additional tariffs on certain goods from these countries, reports Xinhua news agency. Tai, however, noted that the US will suspend the tariffs for up to 180 days to provide "additional time" to complete the ongoing multilateral negotiations on international taxation. "The US remains committed to reaching a consensus on international tax issues through the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) and G20 processes," Tai said. "Today's actions provide time for those negotiations to continue to make progress while maintaining the option of imposing tariffs under Section 301 if warranted in the future," said the USTR. In July 2019, the US launched a Section 301 investigation into France's planned tax on digital services, accusing the French government of "unfairly targeting the tax at certain US-based technology companies". French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, however, argued that the tax is necessary to make big internet companies pay their fair share of taxes. In June 2020, the US initiated Section 301 investigations into DSTs considered by 10 American trading partners, including the European Union, Brazil and India. In January this year, the USTR decided to suspend proposed additional 25 per cent tariffs on about $1.3 billion worth of French products amid DSTs dispute, "in light of the ongoing investigation of similar DSTs adopted or under consideration in ten other jurisdictions". Also in January, USTR determined that the DSTs adopted by Austria, Britain, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey discriminated against US digital companies, were inconsistent with principles of international taxation, and burdened the firms. In March, USTR announced proposed trade actions in these six investigations, and undertook a public notice and comment process. It also terminated the remaining four investigations (of Brazil, the Czech Republic, the European Union, and Indonesia) "because those jurisdictions had not implemented the DSTs under consideration". Chennai, June 3 : Hoping to become the Amazon for the Indian healthcare sector, city based IdeaRx Services, a group buying organisation, plans to get into the hospital equipment segment, acquire pharma distributors apart from geographical expansion, said a top company official. The four year old company aggregates the various drugs and consumable requirements of hospitals, sources them from manufacturers and supplies to about 50 hospitals at lesser rates. "We have the data about the various equipment needs of hospitals. We intend to have our own private label for such items and get them contract manufactured,a Saravanan Vivekanandan, Co-Founder, IdeaRx told IANS. He said the company's plan is to invest about Rs.15 crore in its expansion. Following the food or mobility aggregator model, IdeaRx gathers the drug and consumable needs of hospitals and sources them directly from manufacturers and supplies to hospitals. "Small hospitals will not get the volume discount. As an aggregator we are able to get better discount rates from the manufacturers and pass it on to the hospitals," Vivekanandan said. Inventory costs for a hospital will be high and managing that is important. "At an average a 100 bed hospital with about 10 speciality divisions will have to hold about 5,000 shop keeping units (SKU)," Vivekanandan said. Simply put, SKUs are the items held for sale in a shop or in other organisations. A standalone hospital will not be able to command volume discounts as enjoyed by hospital chains which paved the way for players like IdeaRx. Further during the Covid-19 pandemic many small hospitals did not know what to stock. "With our algorithm we can predict the likely demand for various items and accordingly place the orders. For example, each Covid-19 patient needs about 50 items. Thirteen of our client hospitals admitted Covid-19 patients and none of them ran out of stock," Vivekanandan said. While multi-speciality hospitals can get volume discounts, what about standalone speciality hospitals like eyecare? Responding to that he said, with our software and from the inputs from the hospital, the demand could be projected. Based on that, orders will be placed with the manufacturers and secure volume discounts. A combination of expertise technology, supply chain and healthcare act as an entry barrier for this segment. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Kanpur : , June 3 (IANS) A wanted history-sheeter was forcibly taken away by a group of men while he was being taken to the Naubasta police station in a police jeep. The policemen had initially managed to arrest the accused, Manoj Singh, on Wednesday and put him in the jeep but just as they were about to leave, a group of men arrived near the vehicle and took him away. A video of the incident that went viral showed that the group surrounded the jeep and took away the criminal. Manoj Singh (33), has a long criminal history and was wanted in a case of murderous assault. Kanpur's Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) Akash Kulhari said that Singh had gone to a private guest house situated at Hamirpur road in Naubasta area to attend a birthday party of a city office bearer belonging to the ruling BJP. On a tip-off, Naubasta police team reached the spot and arrested the criminal, who was immediately taken to a police jeep. Before the cops could leave, eight persons arrived at the spot and fled with Singh. The identities of all eight miscreants have been established with the help of video footage, the ACP said, while adding that a case under relevant sections of IPC has been registered with the Naubasta police. Several police teams have been formed to arrest those who took away the wanted man from custody. Additional DCP (South) Deepak Bhuker confirmed that the birthday party of a BJP city office bearer was organised at the guest house but claimed neither the BJP leader was present there nor was he involved in the incident. Thiruvananthapuram, June 3 : If anyone is asked what's the scourge of the Congress party in Kerala, the answer is a weak party high command trying to get the better of top Congress leaders in Kerala. Comparisons are now being made in the manner in which the ruling CPI-M, first decided to keep out more than two dozen sitting legislators and even five top ranked State Ministers from contesting the April 6 polls. And after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan successfully led the Left to a historic win bettering the 2016 performance, in one shot, decided not to include a single Minister, including the high flying State Health Minister K.K. Shailaja in his second outing, bringing in new faces from his party into the cabinet. Close to 30 sitting legislators, which included some who had just one term besides five Ministers were not given a seat to contest, the Congress could only keep out just one and that too because K.C. Joseph was turning 75 and had won eight successive victories and a section of the party is trying their best to get him the state party president's post. A media critic on condition of anonymity said, can anyone ever believe the way the Left handled its candidature and Ministers can ever happen in the Congress party? "Just look the way Vijayan finalised his cabinet and compare the way the Congress took so long to find an opposition leader in the assembly. And now look, the way the party just cannot find a new party state president. The grand old party has become a subject of ridicule and what they fail to understand is, people are observing everything. Just see, was there even a whimper of protest from any quarter when Vijayan conducted massive changes?" said the critic. "Also just see the way Rahul Gandhi, is behaving. On the one hand he is unwilling to take up the post of national president of the party and on the other hand, everyone knows, it's his call, which decides the affairs of the party and his antipathy towards veteran seasoned top leaders like Oommen Chandy and others, has now become clear, as the party high command does not take the views of such leaders seriously," added the critic. Incidentally, just the other day, the Kerala Assembly was a witness to this when big mouthed, senior CPI-M legislator and former State Minister M.M. Mani went hammer and tongs on the party high command and ridiculed the present situation of the party. The latest news that has now surfaced about the new president of the state unit is --AICC general secretary in charge of Kerala, Tariq Anwar is expected to arrive in the state soon to discuss about it as at the moment there are quite a number of hopefuls which includes present Lok Sabha members K. Sudhakaran, Kodikunnnil Suresh, Benny Behanan and legislators P.T. Thomas. Expressing his displeasure was Chandy when asked about it, "the party high command has not asked me anything about who should be the new president and if they ask me, I will tell my choice". So all eyes are on who will be the new president and equally watched would be the reaction to the new appointment, as the Congress party in Kerala, just cannot remain a disciplined one. Berlin, June 3 : Germany will lift its vaccination prioritization scheme on June 7, making all citizens older than 12 years eligible to receive a Covid-19 jab, Minister of Health Jens Spahn announced. The vaccination campaign in Germany "gained enormous speed" and the prioritisation would be lifted in order to "keep the momentum", Xinhua news agency quoted Spahn as saying at a press conference here on Wednesday. So far, appointments for Covid-19 vaccinations in Germany were assigned in prioritisation groups, which were primarily based on citizens' age, previous illnesses and occupation. Last week, the BioNTech-Pfizer Covid jab received the first authorisation in the European Union (EU) for adolescents and the German government decided that children over the age of 12 years could sign up for vaccination. Starting next week, company doctors will be more involved in Germany's vaccination campaign and provided with around 700,000 doses of BioNTech/Pfizer in the first week alone, according to Spahn. More than 15.6 million people in Germany have been fully vaccinated till date, bringing the country's vaccination rate to 18.8 per cent, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Almost 36.5 million Germans have already received at least one dose of a vaccine. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) New Delhi, June 3 : Congress leader and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday accused the central government of needlessly delaying approval to Coronavirus vaccines in the country for many months except in the case of Covaxin, Covishield and Sputnik V. "Our suspicion that the government had not approved any vaccine other than Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik V, has been proved correct," Chidambaram said. "Why did government go through the charade of negotiating quantities with Pfizer and Moderna without first giving Emergency Use Approval (EUA) to their vaccines? "Why has it taken 8-9 months for the government to decide to give approval when the US and other countries had granted approval? "Remember, Dr Manmohan Singh had made this specific suggestion in his letter which got a rude reply from the Union Health Minister!" he added. In mid-April, Singh's letter to the Centre suggested ramping up the vaccination drive as key to battling the pandemic, asking the government to "resist the temptation to look at the absolute numbers being vaccinated, and focus instead on the percentage of the population vaccinated". The former Prime Minister had also added that India currently has vaccinated only a small fraction of its population, adding that with the right policy design, "We can do much better and very quickly." Experts from the National Institute of Malaria Research and the Indian Council of Medical Research, on Wednesday, slammed the government for poor planning of the home-grown vaccine production and deployment, as a result of which "India doesn't have enough vaccines to go around with", they said. While there are plans to significantly ramp up production of the Covaxin and Covishield vaccines, the target to vaccinate around one billion people may still not be reached in 2021, the experts said in a commentary published in the online journal BMJ Global Health. Only around 3 per cent of the population has been inoculated till now. The experts urged the government to expedite the approval of foreign vaccines already deployed elsewhere around the globe. The Centre on Wednesday took steps to accelerate domestic vaccine production. Mumbai-based Haffkine Biopharma will produce 22.8 crore doses per annum of Covaxin under technology transfer arrangement with Bharat Biotech. With the aim of vaccinating the entire eligible population at the earliest, domestic vaccine production is being steadily ramped up in the country with the help from the Centre. Three public enterprises were being supported by the Department of Biotechnology under Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 Mission 'Covid Suraksha'. Apart from Haffkine Biopharmaceutical Corporation Ltd, Mumbai, these enterprises are the Indian Immunologicals Ltd, Hyderabad and Bharat Immunologicals & Biologicals Ltd, Bulandshahr, in Uttar Pradesh. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text New Delhi, June 3 : Facebook has announced that Messenger API (application programming interface) for Instagram is now available to all developers. The social network launched the Messenger Platform as open APIs at its F8 developer conference in 2016. "Today, we are excited to open up the Messenger API for Instagram to all developers, allowing brands to offer messaging experiences on Instagram," said Konstantinos Papmiltiadis, VP Platform Partnerships at Facebook. With these new features, businesses can integrate Instagram messaging with their preferred applications and workflows, driving meaningful conversations that increase customer satisfaction and grow sales, Papmiltiadis said during the virtual 'F8' 2021 on Wednesday. The company said that with the Facebook Login Connect with Messenger, customers will now be able to opt into messaging with businesses directly from the Facebook Login flow. Last year, the company introduced the Facebook Business Suite -- an all-in-one platform for businesses to manage their activity on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger using its first-party tools. "Now, we are introducing Business Apps. We will be adding third party tools -- built by developers -- into Facebook Business Suite," the company announced. Facebook said that it making PyTorch, an open source machine learning framework, the default framework for building all of its AI and machine learning models. "PyTorch not only makes our research and engineering work more effective, collaborative, and efficient, it also allows us to share our work as open-source PyTorch libraries and learn from the advances made by the thousands of PyTorch developers all over the world," Facebook said. Every day, more than 175 million people message a WhatsApp Business account to discuss products and get customer support. "As more people turn to WhatsApp to connect with businesses, we're announcing new updates that will make it easier for businesses to get started using the WhatsApp Business API and for people to easily chat with these businesses," the company announced. The company also donated $250,000 to Girls in Tech, a global nonprofit organisation. June 03 : While the Covid-19 cases very slowly decreasing in the country, states are still under lockdown and hoping for normalcy to come back soon. Amidst the current situation, Bollywood celebs, who were away from social media activities and personal posts, were mostly amplifying Covid-19 related resources for the people in need. For the last couple of days, Ananya Panday has been sharing some candid pictures and lighting up the internet. Taking to her Instagram handle, the Pati Patni Aur Woh actress shared three pictures, flaunting her new denim hat. The actress can be seen posing for the camera with a vibrant smile, spreading positivity around as she treated her fans with some hope. "I love my new hat," she captioned her post. In the first picture, Ananya can be seen flashing a smile for the camera, wearing her new hat as she kept her hair open. The message on her T-shirt read, "Love each other, Love the Earth." In the second picture, the Khaali Peeli actress displayed her nail paint that she had matched with her hat. Finally, in the last picture, the actress can be seen making a goofy face as she poses for the click. Ananya, who has a fan following of 18.7 million on Instagram, seems to be quite popular on social media as within hours of her pictures were posted, it garnered more than 8 lakh likes. Fans took to the comments section and complimented her beauty as well as her hat. A fan wrote, "So cute! Btw I have the same T-shirt." Another commented, Hello sunshine." Yet another said, "Super." Meanwhile, on the work front, Ananya has the pan-India movie Liger alongside Vijay Deverakonda in her kitty. Helmed by Puri Jagganadh, the film is backed by Karan Johars Dharma Production. Apart from Liger, Ananya will also be seen in Shakun Batra's next directorial, alongside Deepika Padukone and Siddhant Chaturvedi. The actress also has Zoya Akhtars production venture along with Siddhant Chaturvedi, and Adarsh Gourav of The White Tiger fame. New York, US (PANA) - The effects of corruption are detrimental to all of society, the President of the UN General Assembly said on Wednesday during the first day of a special session convened to galvanise political will to fight the scourge June 03 : Veteran Bollywood actors Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoors ancestral homes in Pakistan will soon become museums. News of preserving these two houses and turning them into museums were been on for years. But recently, after the approval of the government, it seems that the plan of action will finally get materialized. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government of Pakistan has reportedly approved the purchase of the ancestral homes of Bollywood legends Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar on June 1. The houses will now turn into museums. While the current owners of the houses had raised objections to the government decision, the Peshawar district commissioner Captain (retd). Khalid Mehmud had eventually rejected the objection. Reportedly, Dilip Kumar's ancestral haveli was priced at Rs. 80,56,000 and Raj Kapoor's house at Rs. 1,50,00,000. The land (homes of Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor) will vest in the name of acquiring Department i.e. Director Archaeology and Museums, a notification issued by the Deputy Commissioners office said. Dilip Kumars wife Saira Banu, confirmed the news and said in an interview, "My heart fills up with joy each time I receive the news about the ancestral home of Yousuf Saheb in Peshawar in Northwest Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) which the provincial government has been repeatedly trying to turn into a monument for posterity." Haji Lal Muhammad purchased Dilip Kumar's ancestral haveli in 2005 for Rs. 51 lakh. He was reportedly disappointed as the government valued the property at Rs. 80.56 lakhs after 16 years. Raj Kapoor's ancestral home, Kapoor Haveli, is situated in Qissa Khwani Bazar. The property was built between 1918 and 1922. Late Raj Kapoor was born in the house. Dilip Kumar's ancestral house is also located in the same locality. Earlier, the owners of the buildings made several attempts to demolish the properties and construct commercial malls as they are situated in prime locations. However, their attempts were stopped as the archaeology department wanted to turn them into historic monuments. Tel Aviv, June 3 : Israel's opposition leader Yair Lapid has announced that a deal was reached to form a coalition government that would end the 12-year rule of Benjamin Netanyahu, the country's longest serving Prime Minister. The statement by centrist Lapid and his main partner, nationalist hardliner Naftali Bennett, came about 30 minutes before a Wednesday midnight deadline to put together a new governing coalition following the March 23 elections, reports Xinhua news agency. An official statement issued by President Reuven Rivlin's office said that Lapid informed the President that "he has been able to form a government". Under the coalition deal, Lapid, leader of the centrist party of Yesh Atid, and Bennett, leader of the nationalist party of Yamina, will rotate the premiership. Bennett, also a former Defence Minister and Netanyahu's one-time ally, will serve first as Prime Minister, according to the statement. The new coalition also includes Ra'am, an Islamist party headed by Mansour Abbas, marking the first time for an Arab party to be part of a coalition in Israel. The coalition would comprise a diverse coalition of additional small parties, including the centrist Blue and White party, headed by current Defence Minister Benny Gantz that partnered with Netanyahu to form the outgoing government; the right-wing parties of Israel Our Home and New Hope; the centrist-left Labor party; and the leftist Meretz party. The President congratulated Lapid and other heads of the parties on the government. He said that he expects the Knesset (Parliament) "will convene as soon as possible to ratify the government, as required". Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper reported that the Knesset is expected to be convened for a confidence vote for the new government by June 9. Early Thursday morning, Lapid wrote on Twitter that the new government "will work in the service of all Israeli citizens, those who voted for it and those who did not". "It will respect its opponents and do everything in its power to unite and connect all parts of Israeli society." The move comes amid a series of inconclusive elections and a lingering political deadlock. The deal paves the way to the end of the rule of Netanyahu, who has been facing a criminal trial over corruption charges in three separate cases. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed New Delhi, June 3 : Delhi Police has arrested three cyber criminals and a juvenile from Bihar's Nalanda and Sheikhpura districts, for cheating people in the pretext of providing oxygen cylinders amid the second wave of the Covid pandemic. The arrested accused have been identified as Balender Chaudhary, Gopal, Kameshwar Prasad and a juvenile. This is the second such arrest from Bihar's Nalanda in recent days. Earlier, the Crime Branch of Delhi Police had arrested several members of Chotte Chaudhqry gang. The arrests were made by the cyber cell police of South District of Delhi Police. Police recovered 15 mobile phones, 13 fake SIM cards, three ATM cards, four fake Aadhaar cards, two fake PAN cards, five bank passbooks and one post office saving passbook. The arrest was made on the complaint of Harleen Kaur, who had approached the police stating that her father tested positive for Covid and she needed an oxygen cylinder. In her complaint, Kaur alleged that she got a mobile number via social media. She called the number and one person who disclosed his name as Pankaj promised that he can provide the oxygen gas cylinder on advance payment of Rs 7,500 for each cylinder and also provided a bank account number for transferring the payment. Following that she transferred Rs 15,000 as advance payment in the bank account for two oxygen cylinders but she did not receive any and the accused stopped receiving the phone calls of the complainant thereafter. A case was registered at Greater Kailash police station and several similar complaints were also received. The official said that a joint team of Greater Kailash police station and Cyber cell of Chitranjan park was constituted to identify and nab the culprits. The police official said that the team conducted technical investigation and details of alleged cheats were obtained and analyzed. "Location of calling mobile number was found in Nalanda, Bihar and the account of accused was also from Nalanda," the official said. "The joint team rushed to Nalanda. The information was further developed and shared with local sources following which four suspects were identified. Accordingly, with the help of technical support and local police stations, raids were conducted and four accused persons were arrested. Explaining the modus operandi of the cheaters, the police official said that all the accused persons are members of an organised syndicate, who cheat those who are in need of oxygen cylinders. He said that each person plays his role in this syndicate. DCP South Atul Kumar Thakur said that the juvenile used to arrange the bank ATM cards of poor persons, who require the money and sold it to accused Gopal for Rs 10,000. Kameshwar sold his bank account and ATM card to Rahul for Rs 2,000. While Balender used to call the persons who required oxygen cylinders, Thakur said. Thakur also said that Gopal used to arrange the fake SIM cards for calling and withdrawal of the money by the ATM card. With the arrest of three accused and a juvenile, the police has worked out three cases registered in South district district Delhi. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) New Delhi, June 3 : FinTech lending startup KreditBee on Thursday said it has raised Rs 60 crore (nearly $8 million) in equity and debt from India SME Investments, an investment arm of the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). The Bengaluru-headquartered KreditBee in February concluded its Series C equity round worth $75 million (about Rs 545 crore) from Premji Invest, Mirae Asset Naver Asia Growth Fund, Alpine Capital and Arkam Ventures consisting of both primary and secondary investment. KreditBee is focused on providing financial inclusion in India via digital lending solutions in the form of personal loans. The company said in a statement that it looks to expand its lending portfolio by introducing financial services like BNPL (buy-now-pay-later) and insurance, among others. The new funding round is a follow-up tranche of investment from India SME after investing Rs 28.4 crore in September 2019 as debt in Krazybee Services Private Limited, which is a part of the holding company of KreditBee. Registered in March 2016, the group entity also holds Krazybee Services Private Limited -- a non-deposit taking non-banking financial company (NBFC-ND-SI). The group launched its flagship brand KreditBee in May 2018, focused on full-stack digital lending for young professionals. The platform specialises in providing digital personal loans and consumer durable loans to both salaried and self-employed. The loan amount disbursed can go as high as Rs 2 lakh while the tenures range from two months to 15 months. India SME Investments focuses on investing in early-growth companies, primarily based out of or operating in tier 2/3 cities, targeting the lower/middle-class segment and benefiting from changing consumer preferences. Its other investments include Citykart (largest value retailer in UP and Bihar), Kushal's (fashion jewellery brand) and snacking company Priniti. India SME has been associated with KreditBee for more than 24 months. Rome, June 3 : People across Italy marked the country's 75th national day with scaled-back celebrations due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the government scrapping the traditional military parades and public speeches. But Rome's streets on Wednesday were still filled with people venturing out amid the newly eased coronavirus restrictions, Xinhua news agency reported. On June 2, 1946, a national referendum created the first Italian Republic, which removed the monarchy that had officially ruled the country since it was unified in 1861. One of the most recognisable traditions of the day remained unchanged for this year's celebration: a formation of nine fighter jets trailing green, white, and red smoke -- the colours of the Italian flag -- soared over the Altar of the Fatherland, the over-sized monument standing over Rome's main square, Piazza Venezia. But other traditions including a military parade along the city's Via dei Fori Imperiali and speeches by political and military leaders were scrapped for the second consecutive year. Addressing the nation on TV, President Sergio Mattarella stressed the need for Italy and the European Union to be united during difficult times. "The conception of a common good, more important than any idea since, has led us to be a dedicated part of the European Union, which is an essential element of its own national identity," he said. "This terrible experience of the pandemic ... has made evident the profound interdependence of the destiny of our people and has shown that the only effective forms of coordination have proved able to defeat it." Earlier in the day, Mattarella laid a wreath at the Altar of the Fatherland at Italy's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The scaled-back celebrations marking the anniversary did not reduce the number of people on the streets of the capital. "This is a holiday about the new Italy after World War II and this time it also has the feeling about a new Italy after the worst of the pandemic," said Leo Esposito, a municipal government worker enjoying ice cream with his wife and two young children. "We are all hoping things will continue getting better for us." Annalisa Bettin, a university student out in Rome's Trastevere neighbourhood with two classmates, agreed. "We all spend most of the last year or more inside social distancing," Bettin said. "We need to get out and to take a step back toward normal. The situation is improving. Using the June 2 holiday as an excuse to get outside and do some things and relax a little makes good sense to me." New Delhi, June 3 : The Southwest monsoon will hit Kerala on Thurday later, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said considering the favourable conditions for its onset that has already been delayed by a few days. Fairly widespread to widespread rainfall and thunderstorms with heavy rainfall has been predicted at isolated places over Northeast India from June 8 to June 10. Scattered rainfall and thunderstorms with isolated heavy falls likely over south Peninsular India and Islands, as well as over Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and East, Central and West India. Weather likely to be dry over remaining parts of the country, said the IMD in its early morning report. Sharing inputs about monsoon circumstances, the weather office said, the northern limit of southwest monsoon continues to pass through 5 degree North and 72 degree East. "Condition are favourable for onset of southwest monsoon over Kerala today, June 3, 2021," said the IMD. The Western Disturbance as a trough in mid and upper tropospheric westerlies with its axis at 5.8 km above mean sea level roughly along longitude 80 degree east to the north of latitude 25 degree north persists, it said. The weather office also mentioned that the trough with its axis at 3.1 km above mean sea level roughly along longitude 90 degree east to the north of latitude 22 degree north persists. The cyclonic circulation over central Pakistan and neighbourhood, the IMD said, is also extending up to 1.5 km above mean sea level. It also said that similar weather conditions also persist over south Chhattisgarh and neighbourhood at 0.9 km above mean sea level. "The trough from Sub-Himalayan West Bengal to the cyclonic circulation over south Chhattisgarh and neighbourhood at 0.9 km above mean sea level persists." As per the weather office, cyclonic circulation also persists over east central Arabian Sea and neighbourhood between 3.1 km and 4.5 km above mean sea level. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text New Delhi, June 3 : In another landmark move in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic, the Central government has booked 30 crore doses of another Made-in-India vaccine to be manufactured by Hyderabad-based Biological-E's Covid vaccine, which is still in final phase of clinical trials. Biological-E's vaccine is currently in Phase-3 clinical trials after showing promising results in Phase 1 and 2, and it is likely to be available in the market in next few months, said a Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) statement. The Ministry is learnt to have made an advance payment of Rs 1,500 crore to the firm -- the second made-in-India vaccine manufacturer after Bharat Biotech's Covaxin. "The doses will be manufactured and stockpiled by Biological-E from August to December and is likely to be available "in the next few months," the Ministry said. The move is expected to be a sigh of relief for the Centre facing wide criticism amid shortage of Covid vaccine during the second wave of the pandemic. Biological-E's shot, the Ministry said, was given Rs 100 crore in financial assistance by the Department of Biotechnology, which also partnered with the company to conduct various studies. This is part of the government's mission to support five or six new COVID-19 vaccine candidates, said the statement. Biological-E's indigenous vaccine was recommended for approval by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 or National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19. Biological-E also has a separate deal to produce about 600 million doses of Johnson and Johnson's Covid-19 shot annually. The company said on Tuesday it entered into a licensing agreement with Providence Therapeutics Holdings to manufacture mRNA Covid-19 vaccines in India. Besides Covaxin and Serum Institute of India's Covishield, Russia's Sputnik V will soon be used to vaccinate people as the government races towards a target of one crore vaccinations a day by August. It is also in talks with foreign makers like Pfizer and Moderna, who have insisted on an indemnity clause. The new vaccine arrangement is "part of the wider endeavour of the government to encourage indigenous vaccine manufacturers" by providing them support in research and development and costs, the Centre said. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text United Nations, June 3 : Yemen's Houthi militia have appeared to reject pleas to guarantee the safety of a UN team to inspect the rusting, abandoned tanker Safer, which is threatening to leak 1.1 million barrels of oil, an official said. Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said on Wednesday from the rebels is disappointing because "it would seem to confirm that Ansar Allah is not ready to provide the assurances the UN needs to deploy a UN mission to the Safer tanker", reports Xinhua news agency. The Houthis are also known as Ansar Allah. The world body seeks to inspect the 362-meter tanker, formerly known as Esso Japan, serving as a floating storage tank, off Hodeidah, on Yemen's West Coast. The team would assess the ship's condition and carry out emergency repairs to prevent leaking of its cargo. Dujarric said the Houthis' focus in negotiations appears to be thorough maintenance of the 45-year old vessel. "We have explained many times that this cannot be undertaken without an impartial assessment in hand," he told reporters during a regular briefing. "The tanker is a dangerous site, and we need to understand exactly what we're dealing with before undertaking any major works. "We've had very intensive discussions on this with Ansar Allah over the last 10 days trying to bridge the gaps in objectives and understandings," the spokesman added. Member states of the UN have also stepped in to speak directly with the rebels in control of the tanker in hopes of reaching an agreement, he said, adding that while it was helpful, "we're not there yet, which is very unfortunate". An oil spill would have a devastating effect on the Red Sea region, said Dujarric. The issues related to the tanker will be discussed by the Security Council on Thursday. Beirut, June 3 : Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abdel Karim Ali urged authorities in Beirut to coordinate with Damascus on the return of refugees to their homeland. "We understand the critical situation of Lebanon and we are aware that the presence of Syrian refugees is a burden that is way above the country's capacity. We wish upon the Lebanese government to coordinate with Syria on this matter," Xinhua news agency quoted Ali as saying on Wednesday. The Ambassador assured that Syria has also welcomed its nationals who have lost their identification documents. "We are in great need for the return of our people to their homeland to assist in reconstructing Syria," Ali added. According to the UN Refugee Agency, Lebanon remains the country hosting the largest number of refugees per capita. There are, an estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees, and some 16,000 refugees of Ethiopian, Iraqi, Sudanese and other origins, in addition to over 200,000 Palestinian refugees. An estimated 88 per cent of Syrian refugees in Lebanon are living below the extreme poverty line. San Francisco, June 3 : A hiker fell to his death about 500 feet from a summit ridge in California's Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, while another person was injured while trying to grab the man, the media reported. In a statement on Wednesday, the National Park Service said the accident occurred on Monday when the 56-year-old man was hiking along the summit ridge of Mount Russell with two other people, and lost his balance, Xinhua news agency. One of his hiking partners, a 45-year-old woman from Milpitas, California, fell at the same time, but was able to self-arrest approximately 30 feet down. The third member of the party used a satellite device emergency locator beacon to declare an emergency, and then called 911 from his phone. When the accident took place, the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks' helicopter and other rescuers were engaged in rescuing another injured hiker in another recreation place, so the search and rescue team from neighbouring Yosemite National Park responded to the emergency. About 480 km north of Los Angeles, the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks is the consolidated management structure for Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park in California. After Covid-19 lockdown orders were removed, similar accidents have occurred in national parks. Last week, the body of a 20-year-old hiker was found in Joshua Tree National Park, 300 km east of Los Angeles, after a week-long search and rescue operation. In February and March, two hikers fell to their death from almost the same location while hiking at Zion National Park in southern Utah. JAKARTA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia has ended its efforts to lift the KRI Nanggala-402 submarine that sank in Bali waters, a navy officer said on Wednesday. The Indonesian Navy thanked and extended highest appreciation to the navies of various countries that have assisted in the search and rescue operations, including the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy which sent three ships. "We express our highest gratitude to the ships that have tried to lift the submarine from the seabed," said First Admiral I Gung Putu Alit Jaya, head of the Marine Security Forces of the Second Fleet Command, in a press release. Jaya said that in the KRI Nanggala-402 salvage operation at a depth of 839 meters, the team had made 20 dives and succeeded in lifting important materials. The collaboration between the Indonesian Navy and the Chinese PLA Navy in the salvage of KRI Nanggala-402 is clear proof of the strong friendship between the two countries' seamen brotherhood, said the Indonesian Navy. The Indonesian Navy expressed gratitude to the efforts to salvage the ill-fated submarine at a meeting here on Wednesday, which was attended by representatives of the Indonesian Navy and the Chinese PLA Navy. Defense attache of the Chinese Embassy to Indonesia Chen Yongjing said that in the operation the two sides had worked well together to collect photos, video documentation and lifted part of KRI Nanggala-402, and then handed them over to Indonesia. The operation has great significance in the development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and in cooperation and mutual trust between the two militaries, Chen said. KRI Nanggala-402 with 53 crew members on board sank in Bali waters during a torpedo firing exercise on April 21. News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism. New Delhi, June 3 : The Supreme Court on Thursday said, it is happy that the board exams have been cancelled and emphasized that the interest of students will be protected, as it asked the Centre to submit the objective criteria to assess Class XII students in two weeks. At the beginning of the hearing, the Attorney General K.K. Venugopal submitted he had circulated a letter by the government in the matter. A bench comprising Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari told the AG, "We are happy with the Centre's decision to cancel the board exam (CBSE and ICSE boards). But what is the objective standard principle you will apply? The criteria have not been given in the letter." The AG replied to the bench that the objective criteria will be determined by CBSE and sought time to place it on record before the court. The AG submitted the petition seeking cancellation of board exams may be disposed and an application could be filed in the matter. The bench replied that it will only dispose of the matter after the objective criteria is placed on record. The ICSE board counsel sought four weeks' time to place the objective criteria on record. Declining to give four weeks to both CBSE and ICSE, the bench said: "If you want you can do overnight, but we are giving you two weeks. All interactions are happening online, do it in two weeks. You should act overnight." Justice Maheshwari said: "Last year they have taken the decision, why they are asking for more time." The bench said the decision in the matter has to be taken early, as there are many students who want to take admission in foreign universities. Declining to give four weeks' time, the bench reiterated: "it will delay, urgent decision should be taken." Petitioner advocate Mamta Sharma pointed out that some state boards are still going ahead with the exams. Asking the lawyer to be patient, the bench replied: "We have interest of the students in our minds, irrespective of the board. Let this be resolved first and then we will consider the other state board exams." Ottawa, June 3 : The Canadian government has announced a C$27 million funding to assist indigenous communities to locate more indigenous children who died at residential schools in the country. At a press conference here on Wednesday, Canadian Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett said the government earmarked some C$33 million in its 2019 budget to implement the burial-related recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, reports Xinhua news agency. Little of that money has been spent so far, with C$27 million still available to help Indigenous communities find and commemorate lost children. Bennett said the money will be distributed on an urgent basis in partnership with Canada's National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and Indigenous communities. Last week, the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc First Nation in Kamloops city announced that it had discovered the remains of 215 children buried at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. Following the discovery, indigenous leaders, residential school survivors, and opposition parties have called for the government to fund the research and excavation of all sites of former residential schools for unmarked graves in the country. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier pledged his government's support to help in preserving gravesites and uncovering potentially more unmarked burial grounds at other former residential schools. But he stressed the need for Indigenous communities to decide for themselves how they want to proceed. The UN Human Rights Office urged Canada on Wednesday to do all it can to find the Indigenous children that died at residential schools, calling for an "exhaustive investigation" to uncover the remains of former students that may have been left in unmarked graves. Marta Hurtado, a spokesperson for the UN body, said the Canadian government must "redouble its efforts to find the whereabouts of missing children" in the wake of a preliminary investigation at the former Kamloops Residential School that revealed 215 children were buried on the grounds. "Remains should be identified and forensic studies carried out to ensure proper identification of remains. Without this, healing is not possible," Hurtado said in a statement. The UN said the shocking and painful Kamloops discovery should inspire Canada to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action, which included a section on missing children and burial information. In their landmark 2015 report, the Commission called for the establishment of a student death registry and an online registry of residential school cemeteries, among other recommendations to help communities document lost loved ones. Hurtado said Canada must improve its residential school-related record-keeping to give families and Indigenous communities better access to documents relating to missing and deceased family members. In 2015, the final report issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on residential schools concluded that what happened constituted a cultural genocide. The comprehensive and extensive findings detail the inhumane mistreatment inflicted on Indigenous children who were taken from their families and sent to one of the more than 130 institutions across the country. The last school closed in 1996. The commission's register of confirmed deaths identified 3,200 students but work is still ongoing to uncover what are believed to be thousands more deaths that went undocumented. United Nations, June 3 : President of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), Volkan Bozkir said that the effects of corruption are "detrimental to all of society" and it should not be allowed to continue unchecked. "We cannot pretend that there were no issues before the Covid-19 pandemic," Bozkir said on Wednesday during the first day of a special session convened to galvanise political will to fight the scourge. "Transnational financial crime and corruption are unfortunately commonplace in our interconnected, interdependent world." The UNGA President said that corruption affects decision-making processes and "remains one of the most critical challenges for states, institutions, and communities", reports Xinhua news agency. "We cannot allow corruption to continue. We will not," he added. Bozkir, also highlighted the need to build upon existing progress, including through the UN Conventions against Transnational Organized Crime and Corruption; the international conferences on financing for development, which resulted in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda; and the High-Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity, for Achieving the 2030 Agenda (FACTI Panel). The UNGASS Political Declaration to tackle corruption builds upon existing architecture to provide the international community with "a roadmap for the future", he said. "It will guide member states in their work to fight corruption and money laundering, as well as critical efforts to recover assets and prevent illicit financial flows," which derail SDGs progress. "Corruption thrives in a crisis," Bozkir stated, noting that corrupt actors have exploited the unprecedented strain that the COVID-19 pandemic has put on supply chains, infrastructure and systems around the world. Amid a complex global vaccine roll-out effort, he urged policymakers to "leverage this special session" to take concrete measures to prevent and address corruption by closing loopholes and putting safeguards in place. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) New Delhi, June 3 : Educationalists across the sector have welcomed the announcement that Class XII examinations for 2021 were being cancelled. Praveen Raju, Co-Chair, FICCI ARISE and Founder, Suchitra Academy, said: "Given the current situation, it is the right decision to cancel the CBSE 12th Board exams. There is no way we could have held exams without compromising the safety of children. While we welcome the decision, we hope the modalities would be worked out quickly in consultation with stakeholders. Since 12th marks are an important factor affecting students' careers, we expect CBSE to ensure students don't get affected by the methodology of awarding marks." Charu Wahi, Principal, Nirmal Bhartia School, said: "This is a decision taken in the best interest of the children. However, the next step is equally critical and crucial in deciding the process and criteria based on which the children's performance will be judged. This should be done keeping in mind that many of them make that extra effort during the last mile and should be given due advantage." Another challenge that requires immediate resolution on the part of the education ministry is the compilation of the results for Class 12 students. The government is yet to devise well-defined criteria for this. Various stakeholders have urged the authorities to opt for more comprehensive measures, which justifies students' academic record and performance. Adding to the concern, Shishir Jaipuria, Chairman of Seth Anandram Jaipuria Group of Educational Institutions, said: "The decision to cancel Class XII Board exams is taken in the interest of the health and safety of students and teachers. Many students and their parents will heave a sigh of relief. The uncertainty over the Class XII Board Exams happening during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic had many of them anxious and nervous. But now, we move on to the next challenge, which is to come up with a fair and reliable criterion for assessing the academic performance of these students. Deserving students must be allocated grades or marks on the basis of their yearly performance. It's a challenge that will require a great deal of meticulous thinking for arriving at a just criterion for academic assessment. I'm sure the schools and boards will rise to the challenge and deliver what is best for the students." Furthermore, Vishnu Karthik, CEO, The Heritage Schools, highlighted the need for a new grading system accepted by both schools and universities. "The decision to cancel the board exams has provided some clarity and assuaged stress levels among students and parents. It wouldn't have been an easy decision given the criticality of grade 12 exams on university admissions. The government did not have much choice as the health of students is paramount. The challenge now is for CBSE to arrive at alternative criteria to determine grade 12 marks. Any delay or any confusion on the new grading criteria will lead to more confusion and stress among students. Clear directions should also be provided to Indian universities to modify their admissions criteria so that meritocracy and fairness are not compromised." Various universities and high education institutes have not only accepted the verdict on cancellation of the Class 12 examinations but are also committed to extending cooperation towards the students in their step ahead towards higher education. With the delay in exams and results in the making, universities have adopted many student-friendly policies, including re-adjusting of their admission cycles to prevent students' careers and study plans from being jeopardised. Expressing his openness towards the decision, Kunal Vasudeva, COO, Indian School of Hospitality, said: "We welcome the government's decision to cancel 12th class board exams. It is a well-thought decision and rightly reflects India's progressive stance about education at the policy level. Student safety is at the centre of all we are doing right now, and this move will certainly help reduce anxieties among both students and parents. This was the right call to take, and we are happy to adapt our admission cycle as per the new guidelines." Niranjan Hiranandani, Provost, HSNC University, lauded the Prime Minister's declaration, mentioning that this decision will save from affecting millions of lives. "The announcement repressed the uncertainty that would have otherwise affected the youth and also met the trending #cancelboardexams2021 demand of students and industry bodies while ascertaining that the academic calendar will not be affected further. The results will be compiled as per well-defined criteria by CBSE and will terminate the anxiety of stakeholders. I am happy that this decision is made in favour of India's future, ensuring their health is not at stake." Hiranandani further added that now the universities should align with the well-defined assessment criteria to ensure a seamless admission procedure and welcome the upcoming cohort taking into account the current circumstances the pandemic has put us into. Prof Milind Padalkar, Pro-Chancellor (Designate), The NorthCap University, also welcomed the decision and extended sympathetic support towards the students and families who endured emotional and financial hardship induced by the pandemic. "Many have suffered the loss of their near and dear ones, and their grief is unimaginable. The disruption in the educational activity has been acute, and we cannot expect the students to be in a fit frame of mind to study and be prepared for the examinations. The Government needs to be complimented for having taken a compassionate view of the situation and reducing further health risks. We hope that CBSE quickly implements alternative mechanisms to assess the students reasonably so that their prospects for higher education are not impeded." The education sector has shown solidarity towards the decision and hopes for the concerned authorities to devise and implement a progressive and inclusive assessment system. Moreover, the industry leaders and educationists are visualizing the current crisis as a blessing in disguise, leading to more student-friendly education reforms that focus on boosting their future study plans and career ahead. Jaipur, June 3 : The much-talked about discord in Rajasthan government came to the fore once again when two of the ministers from the Gehlot government clashed during the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and threatened to see each other while coming out of the meeting. The clash erupted between state education minister and PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasara and state minister for urban development and housing Shanti Dhariwal. The CM had to turn off the camera in between. In fact, fellow ministers had to intervene looking at the growing confrontation and fierce debate between the two ministers. As the cabinet meeting was held to decide the status of board exams for class X and XII at the CMR with Gehlot being virtually connected, Dotasara discussed the vaccination topic at the end of the meeting and said that the Congress launched a social media campaign demanding free vaccination, now a memorandum should be submitted to the collector at every district level. Dhariwal immediately intervened and said, what is the need of this, the work of the ministers is not to submit the memorandum. Dotasara objected to this interference and Dhariwal was left agitated. The matter escalated when both of them indulged in war of words and state ministers had to intervene to calm them down. Dotasara told the CM that action should be taken against such behaviour of the minister who did not allow the party president to speak and was about to leave the meeting but the CM pacified him and asked him to complete his talk. The Chief Minister asked both of them to remain calm but the dispute started again when Dhariwal told Dotasara that he has seen many party presidents and he can do whatever he wants. The Chief Minister turned off the camera after seeing the heated argument between the two ministers. Even after the cabinet meeting was over, Dhariwal and Dotasara clashed outside in a louder tone. Seeing the ministers fighting openly, the security personnel and staff of the CM residence present there were also shocked. The fellow ministers got the two separated, otherwise there could have been a scuffle. Dhariwal openly told Dotasra that he was not bound to obey his orders while Dotasara said that he will have to obey orders as he is the party president. Dotasara told Dhariwal - Being party in charge of Jaipur, you have not even taken a meeting till date in the last two and a half years. This attitude of yours is not good for the party, I will report it to Sonia Gandhi. Dhariwal again retaliated and questioned, "Will you threaten me? As both ministers started coming close, folding their sleeves, the fellow ministers separated the two. Lisbon, June 3 : The Portuguese government announced its decision to move the country to the final phase of "de-confinement" to ease additional Covid-19 restrictions. The decision was made after 93 per cent of those aged 60 or above, an age group with the highest Covid-19 mortality rate in Portugal, received at least a dose of vaccine, Xinhua news agency quoted Prime Minister Antonio Costa as saying on Wednesday. The government will keep current pandemic level of "calamity situation" in place till June 13. Costa again appealed to all, especially the younger population, to get tested, regardless of symptoms. Starting June 14, stores can return to normal hours, and tele-working will no longer be mandatory. Meanwhile, cultural and sport events will resume under 33 per cent maximum capacity, and restaurants, cafes, and patisseries can serve clients until midnight. More restrictions will be lifted on June 28. Public transport can operate up to full capacity, and public services will allow walk-in. The country's Health Ministry said on Wednesday that about 20 per cent of people in Portugal have already been fully vaccinated. "Almost 5.7 million vaccines have been administered, allowing almost 3.8 million people to receive at least one dose of vaccine, of which more than 2 million already have been fully inoculated," said Health Minister Marta Temido. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Kolkata, June 3 : Madhusudhan Das, more popularly 'Madhu Da' of 'Office Para in the Dalhousie area -- the traditional hub for different offices in Central Kolkata -- came to Kolkata with his father when he was just eight years old. His father used to run a tea-stall just opposite Bankshall Court and he started working as a helper. After more than 50 years, the 62-year-old man from East Midnapore decided to shut down the tea-stall, now transformed into a roadside restaurant. In what will be seen as a huge loss to the community among others, Kolkata's food history is changing forever due to Covid-19. Many small, historic "Eating Houses" in the city's old business districts have started shutting down permanently, after a century or more of feeding delicious, affordable, home-style meals to office-goers and daily labourers. "This restaurant is more than 100 years old and I have been running it for the last 54 years. Here many people used to come to have my tea. I have seen many judges, Postmaster General and even Secretaries of different departments who used to come here for tea," Das said sitting on his make-shift square bench where he has prepared "Chaa" for the last five decades. "We suffered primarily when the government decided to shift the state secretariat from Writers' Building to Nabanna because it took away the flavour of Dalhousie and then the Lockdown has finished us," he said. Das' son who works in an IT company prefers to spend more time in the virtual world than serve tea and food to the people. "My daughter is married and my son works in an IT company in Rajarhat. He is not interested in our family business that my grandfather once started. We have been in this Dalhousie para (neighbourhood) for more than 100 years. "I am growing old and cannot work for the whole day. Moreover, due to lockdown there are hardly any customers. I am thinking of shifting to my home area and starting a business there," Das said. Das is not alone, there are hundreds of such small makeshift eatery owners who had to switch over to different professions due to frequent lockdowns in the last one year. From veg-thali at Rs 25 to Biryani @85 -- the roadside eateries that were once the landmark of the city, where not only daily office goers but from students to tourists loved tasting the authentic Kolkata dishes, are fast fading away from the city skyline owing to the pandemic and the consequent lockdowns. The 75-year-old 'Siddheswhari Hotel' in Central Kolkata that was famous for serving Bengali cuisine had kept all their operations suspended for the last one year owing to the dearth of labours and cooks. Its hotels like these that at one point were even the stuff of popular sitcoms on Bengali TV channels in earlty 1980s. "We have most of our cooks from Bankura. Birbhum and East Midnapore and due to lockdown, they are not able to come. Naturally we had to close our operations for a year. "We don't know when we will be able to start the hotel again. Initially we started home-delivery but that is also not working because of staff shortage," Jagannath Mondal, the manager of the hotel said. The street food carts that fed the thousands of office goers, students and men and women who were part of the complex and vast services sector across the city have gone. There is no food on the street. Kolkata is without its phuchka wallas, its jhaal muri and papri chaat wallas. There are no chops, no fish fry or chilli chicken being sold on the street. No one is frying samosas, steaming up plates of momo and thukpa, frying up hundreds of kilos of "Chinese" chowmein, rolling out parathas for rolls filled with mutton, chicken, eggs or paneer. The food business is not suffering alone but it was related to other ancillary businesses that have also been closed or slowed down. A city with around 2.75 lakh street vendors has shut down. It means that the food vendors, about 50% cent from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, have either gone back or are stranded in Kolkata, with no income and nothing to send home. The streets of Ballygunge Station, Jaan Bazar, Lake Market, Beleghata, Ultadanga -- where vegetables and fruits and some food grains, spices and even utensils were sold every day by hundreds of vendors are shockingly deserted of the men and women who encroached the carriageways. It means that the farmers who produced the vegetables and grew the fruits are stranded with rotting piles of fresh food and no buyers. The supply chain has been cut - even though there is demand. Netizens have urged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee: "These are historic setups which need govermens to step in to support. Preserving history is part of an elected government's sacred duty to protect. Kindly help them @MamataOfficial @derekobrienmp." Canberra, June 3 : The Australian government on Thursday announced a new disaster payment scheme for workers affected by the coronavirus lockdown. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud said in a press conference that people aged 17 and over who lose work as a result of lockdown will receive the "temporary Covid disaster payment" made on a week-by-week basis, reports Xinhua news agency. In order to be eligible, people must prove that they have lost income because of a lockdown, have used all of their pandemic sick leave and that they have less than A$10,000 ($7,742) in "liquid assets". Eligible recipients who work more than 20 hours per week will receive A$500 or A$325 if they work less. "We are talking about somebody getting through the next week," Morrison told reporters in Canberra. "Someone who would normally be in an economic situation where every dollar counts. What matters is that businesses get the support they need and households get the support they need." It comes after the Victoria state government called for federal financial aid after extending the restrictions for the Melbourne area by a further seven days. Victoria, Australia's second-most populous state, has been the hardest-hit state by the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) New Delhi, June 3 : Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), which manufactures Covishield, has also sought indemnity from liability, expressing the hope that rules would be the same for everyone, said sources. This comes as the Centre is favourably considering granting indemnity against legal proceedings to foreign vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna prior to their rollout in India. "All vaccine makers, whether Indian or foreign, should be granted the same protection," the Adar Poonawalla-led company has reportedly told the government. "Not just Serum Institute of India (SII), all the vaccine companies should get indemnity protection against liabilities if foreign companies are granted it," it further said. It is learnt that Serum is hoping that rules should be same for everyone. The Serum Institute produces Covishield (the Indian name for the AstraZeneca-Oxford jab) and is involved in trials for three new anti-Covid vaccines. Besides Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield vaccine and Novovax's Covovax, the SII has also applied to the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to manufacture the Russian 'Sputnik V' Covid-19 vaccine in India. 'Sputnik V' is currently being imported by Dr Reddy's Laboratories. According to reports, the Centre is apparently considering granting indemnity to vaccine manufacturing companies if they applied for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA). Till date, no Indian vaccine company has ever paid indemnity and neither has the Central government, the biggest vaccine user, done so. Advanced trials are on for Covovax being developed in collaboration with the pharma company Novovax. Codagenix, a single-dose nasal vaccine, is in phase 1/2 trials in the UK. The third, SpyBiotech, is a novel virus-like particle vaccine, which is also in trials. The government has so far not given any manufacturer indemnity or protection against legal action for any severe side effects. This is a key condition put forth by foreign vaccine-makers Pfizer and Moderna for supplying to India. Countries like the US have granted indemnity from liability to Covid vaccine manufacturing companies for the possibility of something going wrong with their vaccines. They cannot be sued for compensation if there are any adverse effects from the shot. Dr V.K. Paul, the head of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration, had said last month that the government is engaged with Pfizer and they have indicated the availability of a certain amount of vaccine in the coming months, possibly starting in July. "We are looking at what their expectations from the government are and they are looking at what our expectations from them are," Paul said, adding they have requested indemnity to all the nations including the country of origin. The NITI Ayog member (Health) also said that the government is also examining the request and will take a decision in the larger interest of people and on merits. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Kolkata, June 3 : Five years after the collapse of Vivekananda flyover popularly known as 'Posta flyover' on March 31, 2016, where 28 people died, the state government - after much consultation - finally decided to pull down the flyover. The demolition work will start from June 5. Firhad Hakim who is the Chairman of Board of Administrators of Kolkata Municipal Corporation held a meeting with Posta Bazar Merchant's Association in presence of Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) and Kolkata Municipal Development Authority (KMDA) officials and announced the decision of demolition of the flyover. RITES will be the executing agency for dismantling of the flyover. "The Kolkata Traffic Police will make necessary traffic diversion to ensure smooth flow of traffic while the work for pulling down will be executed. The first phase of the demolition will take 45 days," Hakim said. On March 31, 2016, a 150 metre (490 ft) steel span of the under-construction Vivekananda Road flyover in North Kolkata collapsed killing 28 people and leaving more than 90 others injured in the accident. The flyover was in the centre of controversy from the beginning. The construction for the 2.2-kilometre (1.4 mile) Vivekananda Road flyover was contracted in 2008 by the then Left Front government and began in 2009. IVRCL, a construction firm based in Hyderabad, won the bid for the project. The construction was scheduled to be completed in 2010 but overshot the deadline multiple times. After Mamata Banerjee came to power in 2011, IVRCL was given an 18-month deadline by the Chief Minister to complete the flyover by February 2016 and allocated a budget of nearly Rs 165 crore. After that the state government formed several expert committees to decide the future of the flyover. Anandapran Gupta, former head of the department of civil engineering at IIT KGP stated that his investigating committee found defects in multiple aspects of the flyover construction including design, construction, raw materials and supervision. Biranchi Acharya, an experienced construction professional, claimed that the main cause was the failure of a pier cap which brought down two spans supported over it. Some flaws either in joints of the pier cap or unwanted eccentric loading may have been responsible. Finally, the state government formed high-powered committee to decide on the fate of the Posta flyover. Noted bridge expert V.K. Raina made a detailed health audit of the flyover and suggested that it should be demolished. A senior official of KMDA said that all precautionary measures will be taken so that there is no damage to the buildings adjacent to the flyover when the dismantling work will be on. The state government is yet to decide whether it will come up with a new flyover after the bridge is razed completely. Petroleumworld's Opinion Forum Viewpoints on Energy, Geopolitics, and Civilization PW Days View Mac Margolis /Bloomberg: Brazil: No water, no lights Itapu Dam, Brazil by Jonas de Carvalho / Flick Brazil Needs More Than Green Energy to Thrive Latin America's biggest economy needs a more resilient and diverse energy grid to spark a real economic recovery. Record joblessness (14.7%) and underemployment? Deepening poverty and a recrudescent pandemic that has already killed 465,000? No worries, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his Panglossian loyalists see no way but up. Could they be on to something? Indeed, Brazil's economy is stirring, thanks to booming agribusiness and surging prices for oil and minerals . Several banks have revamped their numbers, forecasting at least a 4% expansion of gross domestic product this year. The economy will reelect Bolsonaro, Fernando Bezerra, Bolsonaro's leading man in the Senate said. But don't be fooled. It doesn't take much for Brazil to grow by 3% or 4%, especially after a sharp fall, said Evandro Buccini, an economist at Rio Bravo, an asset management house. A sustained recovery is another matter: For that, Brazil will need less hubris and a mighty helping of divine intervention. A severe dry snap has curtailed the flow of rivers and depleted reservoirs. In Brazil, this is not just a matter of inclement weather. Hydroelectric plants generate around two-thirds of the nation's electricity, providing a renewable and mostly clean power source that has kept the economy humming and the grid clean, giving Brazil bragging rights in a world anxious to decarbonize. Yet with dam reservoirs at near 100-year lows, and the peak rainy season already gone, the specter of a country running on empty is back. Barring unlikely downpours, Brazil's vaunted post-pandemic restart could evaporate as well. The coming crunch also challenges some cherished shibboleths of energy sustainability in an economy mortgaged to St. Peter, Brazil's patron saint of weather. This year's drought like the two before it in 2013-2014 and 2001 lays bare the nation's need for a reliable mix of power generation. That means a grid less indentured to hydro, wind and solar (around 73% of electricity) and more on natural gas (9%), biofuels and waste (9%) and, yes, even nuclear energy (3%). That blend of brown and green power may disappoint environmentalists, who correctly push for a clean energy slate, but it offers an important backstop amid growing climate uncertainty. A more diversified matrix could also spare the country from resorting to enterprise-killing fixes including soaring light bills, importing dirty diesel, and electricity rationing just to keep the lights on. Brazilians have taken some giant green steps. Thanks largely to legacy hydro, ethanol distilled from sugarcane, surging wind and solar power, Brazil's overall energy matrix boasts four times the renewable energy mix of nations that belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. That's also the problem. Brazil displays the woes and virtues of a power matrix based on clean energy, said Bloomberg Economics analyst Adriana Dupita. We rely heavily on the rain and the wind, which by their nature are unreliable sources. The severe 2001 drought shrank hydroelectric reservoirs to critical levels, leaving the country in the dark. In response, Brasilia imposed scorching light bills. When that didn't work, it ordered select energy cuts. After seven months of rationing, gross domestic product growth fell from 4.4% to 1.4% by 2002; it didn't rebound until 2008. Don't curse the skies. Brazil's energy squeeze has many makers, but most of them are the result of unforced errors and populist short-circuitry. The timeline for the current crisis begins with Provisional Law 579, handed down in 2012, when then-President Dilma Rousseff, the left-wing Workers Party incumbent who was eyeing reelection, promised a 20% reduction in light bills. That worked about as well as Brasilia's many other adventures in fiscal dirigisme, discouraging conservation and further draining the nation's workhorse hydroelectric reservoirs. They have yet to be replenished. The result was havoc in energy pricing and a stunted economy . The economic brownout staggered Brazil but helped power Bolsonaro to office on a promise to let the free markets do their magic. Instead, seeing his popularity melt before rising gasoline prices, Bolsonaro abruptly sacked the head of Petrobras, the government-owned but publicly traded oil major. He also warned that other interventions were likely, including in the electricity sector . Little has been done to fix the problem since. Instead of leveraging his considerable early political capital to privatize Eletrobras, the cash-starved government owned energy company, Bolsonaro dithered. Belatedly, congress is debating a bill to capitalize Eletrobras, selling off the state company's stock while retaining a controlling golden share. Yet with Bolsonaro's approval rates dimming, his allies wired the bill to light up his legislative base first and the grid second including the extension of costly subsidies for renewables, even though they are already competitive with dirtier energy, and the greenlighting of thermoelectric plants in regions with no gas pipelines but plenty of votes to tap. Brazil must walk a narrow line between honoring its international commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 43% below 2005 levels by 2030, a commitment on which it is falling short while also energizing economic recovery. But simply doubling down on fickle renewables and stringing up ever vaster skeins of transmission lines to send current from power-rich regions to energy-poor ones won't work. Distasteful as it sounds in a greening age, Brazil needs more and better thermoelectric plants to hedge for unseasonable droughts, preferably those powered by newer, cheaper and cleaner burning natural gas instead of dirty diesel. That the same oeuvre also serves pork for palace friends eager to cut ribbons is the collateral damage. Currently, Brazil squanders much of its natural gas by pumping it back into deep sea oil wells, creating a seller's market for outdated diesel-guzzling electrical generators who seize on every emergency to sell sky-fouling fossil fuels at scalper's prices. Sadly, what has kept Brazilian growth from flickering out until now is not resilient enterprise but an underachieving economy, which has clocked another lost decade . Indeed, without Covid-19 and its devastating fallout, the country might already be heading for a reprise of 2001, when both homes and industry paid hefty utility bills and went dark anyway. Brazil could conceivably avoid the worst-case scenario, but only by going all in on emergency brown energy as renewables falter. The tradeoff will be fouler skies and red hot utility rates, which are already clobbering high-demand industries such as steel and petrochemicals, which may have to decide whether to keep producing or reselling their surplus power on the lucrative open market. But as things now stand, Brazil will feel the blow; Buccini of Rio Bravo reckons growth could fall by as much as 0.5% of GDP, enough to blunt the recovery. Energy expert Adriano Pires, at the Brazilian Center for Infrastructure, warns that the hit be could be worse: Not even thermal plants running full blast can compensate for the rapidly desiccating hydroelectric reservoirs. If we don't get more rain, Brazil will likely need rationing anyway, he told me. The economy is going to hit the energy wall, just as it did in 2001. And remember, back then the reservoirs were fuller than they are today. Cue the prayers to the miracle-maker du jour, St. Peter or Dr. Pangloss. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Mac Margolis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Latin and South America. He was a reporter for Newsweek and is the author of The Last New World: The Conquest of the Amazon Frontier. Petroleumworld, do not reflect either for or against the opinion expressed in the comment as an endorsement of Petroleumworld. Editor's Note: This article was originally published by Bloomberg Opinion, on June 02, 2021. All comments posted and published on Petroleumworld, do not reflect either for or against the opinion expressed in the comment as an endorsement of Petroleumworld. Original article Use Notice: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of issues of environmental and humanitarian significance. 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The funds were pledged by wealthier countries, foundations and private companies after a virtual summit hosted by the Japanese government and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance on Wednesday, the New York Times reported. Belgium, Denmark, Japan, Spain and Sweden also announced plans to share a total of 54 million doses from their domestic supplies with countries in need. Japan has pledged $800 million. It has also committed to share 30 million doses of locally produced vaccines. The US has already committed $4 billion in the last two years in support for Covax. Other Countries include Australia, France, Kuwait, Mauritius, Mexico, Switzerland and Vietnam. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mastercard and the Visa Foundation were among institutions committing funds, and the European Investment Bank announced additional financing to support cost-sharing with African Union countries, the report said. Led by Gavi, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Covax was launched last year to promote equity in the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. It has so far raised $9.6 billion and shipped more than 77 million doses to 127 countries. Only 0.4 per cent of all Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in low-income countries. And in many countries, even the most vulnerable adults and health care workers have not received vaccinations, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was quoted as saying at the summit. The new funds will help nations that are least able to afford them to buy additional vaccine doses as well as to invest in new vaccine candidates, the report said. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text New Delhi, June 3 : A pan-India survey by Ipsos has revealed that headache is the top common ailment among urban Indians, with at least 1 in 2 claiming to be suffering from it. Moreover, to mitigate the impact of the ailment, consumers prefer over-the-counter pills over balms. The Ipsos Consumer Health Monitor: OTC Quotient of Urban India, covered 34 cities and 15,133 households. The survey cited fever, bodyache, common cold, and nose block among other top ailments. "Notably for fever, consumers chose doctor visit over self-medication whereas for headache, cough and cold, more respondents seemed to self-medicate and rely on chemists. Further, gastric conditions were found to be more prevalent among geriatrics. "Interestingly, Eno has emerged the top OTC brand choice for gastric conditions with at least 7 in 10 urban Indians preferring it. Zandu Balm was the top choice among balms for headaches," says a statement by Ipsos. The survey monitored 15,133 households in 34 towns across four zones. The survey captured 50 common ailments and conditions and includes the categories of analgesics and antipyretics, oral care, cough and cold, antacids and digestives, anti-spasmodics, anti diarrhoeal, skin injuries/ailments, hair problems, sleep loss, etc. actions taken (home remedies, self-medication, doctors visit), brand awareness and usage. It also included understanding the penetration of some common OTC categories including ORS, vitamins, minerals and supplements, artificial sweeteners etc, treatment management of common ailment and conditions (home remedies, self-medication, doctors visit). The survey further checked the prevalence of chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, asthma, thyroid etc and penetration of medical devices viz. Blood glucose monitor, Thermometer, BP monitor etc, in the household and a module on Covid-led behavior change. Monica Gangwani, Country Service Line Leader, Ipsos Healthcare says, "Several observations compelled us to conduct this pan India study. One, we found there is a surge in self-medication due to paucity of time, increased literacy levels and high doctor fee. Secondly, mushrooming of new categories like cosmeceuticals, health supplements and wearable devices and thirdly erstwhile ethical pharma companies taking their popular brands from Rx to OTC and strong promotion of OTC brands. So technically, there have been a surfeit of ethical brands taking the OTC plunge and there was a complete lack of a credible study tying up various elements of the OTC aspects - consumers, brands, behavior and need gaps." Covid Impact Unlike popular perception, the study found no significant change in medicine stocking behaviour of consumers during the Covid lockdown phase vs pre-Covid. 55 per cent respondents did not specifically stock medicines during lockdown. This behaviour was no different to the pre-Covid phase with 54 per cent of the respondents claiming not stocking medicines even during normal times. Only 7 per cent of the respondents mentioned consulting a doctor during the covid lockdown phase. 88 per cent of those consultations were for common conditions viz. cough, cold, fever, acidity, indigestion etc, while 31 per cent were for regular check-ups for conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, asthma etc. (Siddhi Jain can be contacted at siddhi.j@ians.in) New Delhi, June 3: The 21st century is India's century, Deloitte's global CEO Punit Renjen said in April just before the severe second Covid 19 wave that hit the country. Did his opinion change after the harsh second wave? Apparently not. In a recent interview to CNBC, Renjen said that tackling Covid is the only way to get back to growth path. "On the longer term, I believe that this could be India's century, India has all the ingredients-talent to demographics to consumer base," Renjen said adding that despite the severe Covid 19 second wave, India was still capable of posting a double-digit growth for the current financial year. As New Delhi now shifts its focus on embarking on an aggressive vaccination drive - the aim is to vaccinate one crore people daily by July-August and carving out a stringent mechanism to contain a possible third Covid 19 wave, economy watchers said that India is set to become the favourite alternative investment destination to China. "We need to have a single-minded focus on the vaccination drive across the country. Only when people are vaccinated, can we be fully prepared to deal with the infection and a possible third wave," D.K. Srivastava, chief policy adviser, EY India told India Narrative. Another analyst said that it is important to vaccinate people in the rural areas on priority basis as their access to healthcare is limited. A report by EY India also said that while there has been some damage to economic growth in the first quarter due to the second wave, the overall impact could be contained by the pace of vaccination. "Global investors are betting that the worst of India's catastrophic second coronavirus wave has passed, helping to push the country's stocks to record highs," the Financial Times said. It also added that though India's second wave overwhelmed health systems and caused acute shortages of oxygen and drugs and hit the economy, infections are now falling in much of the country, including in the capital New Delhi and financial hub Mumbai. Healthcare interlinked with economy With the rapidly changing geo-economic contours, several companies have quietly started de-risking and de-coupling their supply sources but to ensure that India does not lose out on this opportunity, the thrust on vaccination, overall healthcare and its deliverables will only increase in the coming months. "By mid-July or August, we will have enough doses to vaccinate 1 crore people per day. We are confident of vaccinating the whole population by December," ICMR chief Balram Bhargava said at a press briefing. Sources added that the country is also leaving no stones unturned this time in preparation to combat another Coronavirus wave to ensure that the economy is no more dented. "We are now focusing on vaccinations and overall healthcare facilities. From ease of doing business, it is now ease of healthcare accessibility," one of them said. While vaccination is one of the main ways that could blunt the severity of the third wave, states and district level authorities have also been asked to start taking the necessary steps to be prepared with Covid related medical care, which includes oxygen cylinders and critical antibiotics. Investors are closely watching India's moves and the measures being taken to deal with the infection. The rapidly changing global geo-politics has in turn changed the geo-economic landscape pushing investors to look at India. The rising tension between China and several other countries including the US, Australia and European Union is also playing its part. "Countries like Vietnam did emerge as an alternative investment destination to China but they have the geographical limitation of size-in terms of geography as well as labour and market," a senior executive engaged with a multinational company told India Narrative. Sources said that notwithstanding the severe second wave of Coronavirus, several foreign investors are in "advanced" talks with Indian authorities. In fact, a group of South Korean investors even paid a visit to Sikkim just two months ago to explore opportunities in sectors such as pharmaceutical, energy, organic farming, food processing, and tourism."Korean companies tend to be bold and try to be pre-emptive, so Sikkim can be one of the favorable destinations considering its various potentials," Moon Young Kim, Managing Director, KOTRA South Asia Region said. A recent Hindustan Times report said that when external affairs minister S Jaishankar met US corporate icons on May 27, many showed keen interest to invest in India, overriding immediate concerns related to the pandemic. The production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, put in place last year, has also driven investors. Meanwhile, the country's total foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2020-21 stood at a record $81.72 billion compared to 2019-20. (This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative/ Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Prague, June 3 : The government of embattled Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis will face a vote of no confidence on Thursday after representatives of five opposition conservative and liberal parties announced earlier in the week that they planned to bring the motion. Babis is accused of having a conflict of interest as a politician and founder of a business conglomerate, and he has been threatened with prosecution for fraud relating to EU subsidies, reports dpa news agency. He is also accused of failure in the fight against the coronavirus. A simple majority of all 200 members of parliament is required for a successful vote of no confidence. The five parties together have 68 MPs, and additional votes are expected from right-wing MPs. There has only been one successful no-confidence vote in Czech history. Regardless of the outcome of the vote, President Milos Zeman has announced that the Cabinet would remain in office until parliamentary elections in October. According to a recent poll by the Median agency, Babis' ANO party would only come second in an election, with 23 per cent of the vote. The strongest grouping would be the electoral alliance of the Pirate Party and the Mayors and Independents party with 24 per cent. Lucknow, June 3 : BJP MLC Umesh Dwiwedi has written to UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, seeking help for Khushi Dubey, widow of Bikru massacre accused Amar Dubey. In his letter, the MLC has said that Khushi was arrested days after her wedding when the Bikru massacre took place on July 3, 2020. He further said that though the widow who is a minor, has been languishing in jail for the past 10 months, the police have not yet filed a charge sheet against her. He further pointed out that Khushi was critically ill and was undergoing treatment in a Lucknow hospital. He has urged the chief minister to ensure proper treatment of the girl and also ensure her release from jail. Umesh Dwiwedi, who is also the president of the All India Brahminothan Mahasabha, had sent a letter to the chief minister in March this year, alleging that Deep Prakash Dubey, brother of Vikas Dubey, and his wife Anjali Dubey, were being implicated in false cases by the police. The MLC had urged the chief minister to order an inquiry into the cases against the family members and ensure justice to them. Vikas Dubey was killed in a police encounter in Kanpur on July 10 last year, a week after he and his men killed eight policemen in an ambush in Bikru village. The police had launched extensive investigations against his family members and associates to unearth his financial dealings. Tehran, June 3 : Iran has dampened hopes of an early agreement in its dispute with the US over the 2015 nuclear deal. "We have come closer, but we are still far from an agreement," Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday. He did not want to confirm speculation that the nuclear negotiations in Vienna would enter the final round next week, reports dpa news agency. Before that, Araghchi said, the US and other parties would have to make "some difficult decisions". Iran's final decision would also definitely not be made in Vienna, but in Tehran, the Deputy Minister and head of Iran's delegation in Vienna said. A new problem in the Vienna negotiations is the imminent change of political power in Iran. The top favourite in the presidential election is the arch-conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi, who had always sharply criticised the 2015 Vienna nuclear agreement. Whether he will continue President Hassan Rouhani's moderate course is questionable, according to observers. It is also unclear at present who will soon be appointed as chief nuclear negotiator and lead the negotiations on behalf of Iran. According to European diplomats, the negotiations to save the nuclear agreement with Iran are heading for the most delicate phase. Representatives from Germany, France and Britain have been trying since early April, together with Russia and China, to mediate between Iran and the US. At stake are the difficult questions which of the many Iran sanctions Washington is willing to lift and how to permanently prevent Iranian nuclear facilities from being used for military purposes. Under the leadership of the previous president Donald Trump, Washington had unilaterally left the nuclear pact in 2018 and again imposed economically painful sanctions on Tehran. The Islamic Republic then gradually expanded its nuclear activities in contravention of the agreements and restricted international nuclear inspections. Most recently, Iran began producing uranium that is just below the purity level suitable for nuclear weapons. New Delhi, June 3 : As several states begin to relax lockdown restrictions, the Retailers Association of India (RAI) has suggested state governments to reopen the formal retail sector including malls and shopping centres. In a statement, the industry body noted that the opening up of the formal retail sector across states would ensure revival of the economy. Speaking on relaxations announced by various state governments, Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO of RAI said: "We believe that formal retail spaces like malls have the ability to operate as controlled environment." Appreciating the Haryana government's decision to open malls with restricted time, he said: "We hope other states will also follow the same method when opening up and support the economy." Formal retail spaces such as malls and shopping centres play an extremely important role to play in the economy due to their contribution to the exchequer in the form of taxes and the people they employ, as per the retailers' body. RAI in its statement observed that economic revival is intertwined with the revival of retail businesses especially large formal retail spaces, which are the drivers of consumption. The only way of getting rid of the economic impact of pandemic and saving livelihoods is by everybody participating in sharing of the cost burden and acting to revive retail business activity, it said. Patna, June 3 : The disciplinary committee of Bihar BJP unit on Thursday issued show cause notice to MLC Tunna Ji Pandey for comments against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The disciplinary committee has asked Pandey to submit the reply within 10 days. Pandey, in a tweet had said that Nitish Kumar is an circumstantial CM. The people of Bihar had given mandate to Tejashwi Yadav. He had stolen the mandate during the assembly elections and became chief minister of Bihar. Pandey's comments triggered a huge political row in Bihar. The JDU immediately responded sharply. Sanjay Singh, JDU's chief spokesperson openly warned the BJP saying that they have crossed the limit. "We will not listen to anything against our leader Nitish Kumar. We are silent but it does not mean that we are weak. We can also speak and speak louder than them. If anyone points finger at our leaders we will strongly respond against them," Singh said. "Tunna Ji Pandey was a liquor trader in Bihar. He is angry with Nitish Kumar and making irresponsible statements against him," Singh said. Earlier Upendra Kushwaha, the president of JDU parliamentary board and Hindustani Awam Morcha (CAM) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi also slammed BJP for statements against Nitish Kumar on Wednesday. "If any JDU leader would have given such a statement against top leadership of the BJP in state or at Centre, they would make an issue out of it," Kushwaha said while addressing BJP state president Sanjay Jaiswal. Kushwaha hinted that such a statement was deliberately given by the leaders on the direction of BJP top leadership sitting in Delhi. Manjhi said that Nitish Kumar is the only face of NDA in Bihar. "He is a chief minister and we cannot tolerate any objectionable statements against him," Manjhi said. New Delhi, June 3 : The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government on Thursday signed a $2.5 million project readiness financing (PRF) loan to support project preparation and design activities to upgrade major district roads in Sikkim. The project will help improve connectivity to important towns, rural areas, and pilgrimage and tourist destinations in the northeastern state. The signatories to the PRF for the proposed Sikkim Major District Road Upgradation Project were Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance, who signed for the government, and Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB's India Resident Mission who signed for ADB. After signing the loan agreement, Mishra said that the PRF will support the state government's priority in improving road connectivity in the hill state through planning and designing of major district and other roads and bridges that will help boost the state's economy and improve accessibility for people in remote villages. "The PRF project aims to ensure implementation readiness through feasibility studies, preparing detailed engineering designs of selected subprojects and building capacity of state agencies so that the ensuing project gets completed in a timely manner," said Konishi. "It will also help incorporate elements of road safety, maintenance, and climate adaptation and mitigation in the ensuing project for long-term sustainability of created assets," Konishi added. Sikkim's road network requires upgradation to all-weather roads as frequent landslides and erosion damage roads and disrupt intra-state connectivity. The PRF will help the state upgrade identified major district and other roads to improve linkages to the national and state highway network connecting important towns and commercial centres. Some of the priority roads identified for upgradation are included in the state's master plan for transport management that was formulated with ADB technical assistance in 2012. The ADB-funded North Eastern State Roads Investment Program launched in 2011 had earlier supported road improvements in Sikkim. Tel Aviv, June 3 : Israel's new coalition government is pushing to be sworn in by Parliament as early as June 7, according to media reports on Thursday. The reports said the factions around the leader of the Yesh Atid (Future) party, Yair Lapid, are also trying to replace parliamentary speaker Yariv Levin, dpa news agency. According to the reports, the reason behind the move are efforts by long-time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's camp to prevent the planned coalition of eight parties. A spokesperson for Lapid did not initially comment on the matter. On Wednesday evening, the former opposition leader Lapid informed President Reuven Rivlin that he formed a coalition with eight parties from all political camps. The coalition has a slim majority of 61 out of 120 seats in the Knesset. Initially, it was said that the necessary vote and swearing-in ceremony in Parliament would probably take place on June 14. Among others, the ultra-right Yamina (Rightwards) party of former Defence Minister Naftali Bennett is part of the coalition. The new coalition also includes Ra'am, an Islamist party headed by Mansour Abbas, marking the first time for an Arab party to be part of a coalition in Israel. According to a rotation agreement, Bennett will initially become premier and be replaced by Lapid two years later. This would be the first time in 12 years that a government has been formed without the right-wing conservative head of government Netanyahu. For the unusual coalition to begin its work, a simple majority of the 120 legislators must vote in favour of it. It is expected that Netanyahu's supporters will try to derail the shaky alliance of Lapid and Bennett before the swearing-in ceremony. Even after the signing of the coalition agreement, there are reports of at least one possible defection in the ranks of the Yamina party. Early Thursday morning, Lapid wrote on Twitter that the new government "will work in the service of all Israeli citizens, those who voted for it and those who did not". "It will respect its opponents and do everything in its power to unite and connect all parts of Israeli society." The move comes amid a series of inconclusive elections and a lingering political deadlock. The deal paves the way to the end of the rule of Netanyahu, who has been facing a criminal trial over corruption charges in three separate cases. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text ( ) said it signed a letter of intent with Saba Partners for the proposed purchase of a three-treatment room LIGHT system for a total contract value of up to US$107mln (75.5mln). The AIM-listed firm is a developer of next-generation proton therapy systems for cancer treatment, called LIGHT systems, while Saba is an investment advisory and asset management firm based in Geneva with decades of experience in healthcare services and healthcare real estate. The contract value reflects the purchase of the LIGHT equipment, its installation and an extended long-term maintenance and warranty agreement, said the healthcare group. The system will be installed in a proton therapy centre in Glion, Switzerland, where Saba plans to start building a medical centre. Nay Pyi Taw, June 3 : A court of the military junta in Myanmar has sentenced two journalists to two years in jail each after reporting on the anti-military protests. The court in the southern city of Myeik found both reporters guilty of sedition based on a criminal law dating back to colonial times, dpa news agency reported on Thursday. Aung Kyaw, a reported for broadcaster Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), and Zaw Zaw, a freelance reporter for online portal Mizzima News, had been reporting on the protests against the military coup until they were arrested a few weeks ago, the media outlets and human rights organisations said late on Wednesday. The US Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which fights for freedom of the press worldwide, called for the immediate release of the journalists. "Reporting the news is not a crime. Myanmar's junta must stop jailing and sentencing journalists on fabricated charges, and should allow the press to work freely," said Shawn Crispin, CPJ South-East Asia representative. On May 12, journalist Min Nyo of the Democratic Voice of Burma was sentenced for the first time under article 505a in Myanmar to three years in jail. On May 25, authorities in Myanmar detained Danny Fenster, an American journalist working at a local English-language publication, at the Yangon airport shortly before boarding a flight back home. The charges against Fenster are however, unknown. The military leaders of Myanmar have cracked down hard on anyone they view as an opponent ever since the February 1 coup. There have been reports of more than 5,400 detentions since the start of their rules, including of many journalists. Many reporters have already fled the country, though foreign correspondents had been viewed as enjoying a degree of protection. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Lucknow, June 3 : Uttar Pradesh IAS officer Heera Lal has earned praise from Niti Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar for his efforts to turn backward rural areas into model villages through public participation. Heera Lal, as district magistrate of Banda, had carried out projects on water conservation with public participation. He said that he was thrilled to have the work of NGO 'Model Gaon' recognised. In a tweet on Wednesday, Rajiv Kumar said: "IAS officer Heera Lal's endeavour to convert rural and downtrodden villages of Uttar Pradesh into 'Model Villages' through active public participation is a tremendous step. Ground work like this is important for India's holistic development. Great work!" Lal, who is an advisor to Model Gaon concept, said, "The project was conceptualised by Munish Gangwar, retired chief general manager of NABARD. We started the project in January this year and already, 1,500 village manifestos, outlining how the locals would like to develop their village and what facilities they would like to have there, have been made. We are approaching newly elected pradhans, farmer producer organisations, Nehru Yuva Kendra members and asking them to join the effort Lal said that his work in Banda while he was district magistrate, inspired Gangwar to take up the project at a macro level. His programmes like organizing learning tours for rural entrepreneurs proved revolutionary. A team of village heads (Gram Pradhans) were sent to 'Ralegan-Siddhi' (model village of Shri Anna Hazare) and 'Hivade Bazar' village ( Padam Shri Popat Rao's model village) to acquire practical know-how from changemakers' work. Through this tour, agricultural and village management administrative knowledge of villagers increased. In Banda, he said, his administration followed a bottom-up approach in implementing water conservation schemes, increasing crop productivity etc, through direct involvement of residents in these projects. "We have an example of a village pradhan from Gorakhpur who won the recent panchayat elections on the basis of a model village manifesto. We are now in the process of collaborating with him to help in the implementation of the manifesto which will see villagers come together for water conservation, creation of farmer producer companies to protect interest of farmers etc," he said. Meerut : , June 3 (IANS) After UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Yoga Guru Ramdev becoming a part of curriculum, the Meerut university has now decided to include the works of renowned poet Bashir Badr in the curriculum for Urdu undergraduate students. The Board of Studies of Chaudhary Charan Singh University announced the decision to include Badr and other prominent poets from western UP - Ismail Meeruthi, Vishnu Prabhakar, Kunwar Bechain and Sudama Pandey, among others - in the curriculum for Urdu. "Under the New Education Policy, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has come up with a new syllabus which was sent to us," said Prof Aslam Jamshedpuri, head of the department of Urdu. He said, "The directions we got are that 70 per cent of the syllabus will be determined by the UGC while 30 per cent will be framed by the university." Pro vice chancellor of the university, Prof Y. Vimla, said, "While exercising the discretion to decide what makes up 30 per cent of the syllabus, keeping regional significance in mind, we decided to include these poets." Bashir Badr belongs to Meerut and ironically, his house was burnt down in communal riots in 1987. His famous poem, "Log toot jaate hain ek ghar banane mein/Tum taras nahin khaate, bastiyan jalane mein (They break themselves in their effort to build a home, you show no mercy in burning their villages"), was a testimony to the incident. Badr is 86 now, has dementia and does not recognise anyone. He lives in Bhopal now. His daughter Saba Khan, 54, who lives in Meerut, said, "This initiative will preserve his legacy. His poetry will be taught at the university and he will live on in the hearts of people. His ghazals and couplets written with the 1987 riots in mind, have become immortal." -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Singapore, June 3 : Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) on Thursday announced that it aims to launch a probe into the burnt X Press Pearl container in the waters off the coast of Sri Lanka, as it threatens of a environmental disaster. The MPA said that it "has been in constant communication with the Sri Lankan authorities" about the Singapore-flagged MV X-Press Pearl, which caught fire on May 20 close to the Colombo Port, dpa news agency reported. The ship was carrying 1,486 containers with 25 tonnes of Nitric Acid and several other chemicals and cosmetics from the port of Hazira, India on May 15. An attempt to tow the MV X-Press Pearl into deeper waters away from the main port at Colombo failed on Wednesday as part of the vessel became submerged, causing concerns that oil and chemicals could leak from the ship into the sea. The ship's owners, X-Press Feeders, said on Thursday that the the "aft portion is sitting on the seabed at a depth of about 21 metres" and there were "no signs of debris and no reports of oil pollution". The MPA said it was working with Sri Lankan officials to "put in place measures to reduce the extent of environmental impact". The MV X-Press Pearl "had been delivered from the shipyard in February 2021 with the full set of applicable class and statutory certificates," the MPA said, citing "a stringent criteria and oversight programme". The Sri Lankan government has said a large amount of marine life had been killed as a result of the pollution from the ship. The island nation's Marine Environment Protection Authority said that the burning of the X Press Pearl vessel had caused a massive environmental disaster as beaches from the south coast to the western coast had been damaged due to the debris which was washed ashore. Tokyo, June 3 : A US military helicopter made an emergency off-base landing on a small island in Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, authorities said on Thursday. The incident, which occurred at around 11 p.m. on Wednesday, involved a UH-1 helicopter with five crew members aboard landing in a field on Tsuken Island due to engine trouble, the US military told the Okinawa prefectural police. No hazardous material was being carried by the chopper and none of the crew were injured in the incident, Xinhua news agency reported. The emergency landing did not damage the helicopter, which was made just 120 metre away from a house on the island. The island is home to just 380 people and located off the main island of Okinawa. The five crew members belonged to the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, local police official confirmed. Following the incident, the Japanese government set up a task force team on Thursday involving officials from the Foreign Ministry, the Defence Ministry and the Cabinet Secretariat to investigate the matter. Residents and officials in Okinawa have long been perturbed by numerous incidents of US military aircraft accidents and mishaps. Okinawa hosts the bulk of US military facilities in Japan, yet the tiny sub-tropical island accounts for just a small fraction of Japan's total landmass. Along with a steady flow of accidents and mishaps involving US military aircraft, Okinawa residents have also long-suffered from environmental and noise pollution. There have also been numerous cases of local citizens being victims of US base-linked workers' criminal activities. In addition, the planned relocation of the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from the densely populated city of Ginowan to a coastal region also in Okinawa, has deeply upset and angered locals and officials. They have long-called for their US base-hosting burdens to be lifted and for the Futenma base to be relocated out of Okinawa or Japan altogether. Aurangabad : , June 3 (IANS) In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court has said that it would be the responsibility of the Centre in case any faulty ventilators supplied by a Gujarat company through the PM CARES Fund cause deaths of Covid-19 patients. In its verdict on Wednesday, a division bench comprising Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice B.U. Debadwar said that they would "not permit experimentation of ventilators which have undergone major repairs in treating the patients, since this would be causing a risk/health hazard to the patients, and unfortunately, the use of such ventilators may cause loss of life, which must be averted". After a submission by the Additional Solicitor-General of India Anil Singh, that a team of expert doctors from New Delhi - one each from Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Safdarjung Hospital - would visit the Government Medical College & Hospital, Aurangabad (GMCH) on Thursday to inspect the defective ventilators, the court has posted the matter for further hearing on June 7. The matter pertains to 150 ventilators provided to the GMCH in April under the PM CARES Fund which were supplied by Rajkot-based Jyoti CNC, of which around 133 were found to be defective or malfunctional. (IANS Report-May 18). A GMCH committee had submitted a report on the ventilators which suffered continuous breakdowns even after repairs, and hence the machines were not being used as a precautionary measure with the Maharashtra Congress Spokesperson Sachin Sawant raising the issue in a big way. Patna, June 3 : Some villagers in Bihar Araria's district brutally assaulted a newly married couple and the groom's family after the two got married secretly. The incident occurred in Ram Ghat village under Narpatganj police station. The police said that the accused, identified as Munna Yadav, Amrendra Yadav, Kishan Yadav, Ganesh Yadav, Arun Yadav and Bechan Yadav imposed a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh and dinner for the entire village for the secret marriage of Suman Kumar and Usha. As per the statement of Suman, he was a labourer in Punjab's Amritsar city where he came in contact with Usha who had two children. They fell in love with each other. During the second wave of the coronavirus, Suman returned to his native village Ram Ghat. Usha also came to Suman's house in Ram Ghat. With the permission of Suman's family, the couple got married in a local temple. The marriage of Suman and Usha irked some of the assailants. They then imposed a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh and dinner for all the villagers. When Suman's father Sitaram Yadav expressed his inability to bear the expenses, around 15 persons entered his house and brutally assaulted the family. Suman managed to inform the local police which immediately came to the village and managed to rescue Sitaram Yadav. "We have received a written complaint against some strong men of the village. They have also mentioned the name of the alleged assalants. Efforts are on to nab them," said MM Haidari, SHO of Narpatganj police station. Washington, June 3 : High-ranking government representatives of the US and the Germany held discussions over the disputed German-Russian gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2. US President Joe Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met German Chancellor Angela Merkel's foreign policy advisor Jan Hecker on Wednesday, the National Security Council in Washington announced. Their talks also focused on US concerns about the impact of the pipeline on Ukraine and European energy security, dpa news agency reported. Other topics included the upcoming summits of the G7 and NATO countries, the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and cybersecurity. The German Chancellor's Office did not want to comment on possible results of the meeting when asked on Thursday. A spokesperson merely referred to the statement made the day before by deputy government spokesperson Martina Fietz, according to which such meetings were part of the normality of US-German cooperation. In May, the US government had deliberately refrained from imposing sanctions on the company operating the pipeline. In a report from the State Department to the US Congress, it was stated that not imposing sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG in Zug, Switzerland, its German managing director Matthias Warnig and four other employees was in the "national interest". The justification given was that such sanctions would have negatively affected US relations with Germany, the EU and other European allies and partners. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, however, had stressed that the US remained strictly opposed to Nord Stream 2. Mumbai, June 3 : On the occasion of his 48th marriage anniversary on Thursday, Amitabh Bachchan shared pictures from his wedding with actress-politician Jaya Bachchan on social media. Big B posted a picture on Instagram from the day of his wedding. As caption, he wrote: "June 3, 1973... Thank you all for your greetings on our Anniversary." The thespian took to his blog and thanked his fans, whom he fondly refers to as his EF or extended family. "Thank you all with immense gratitude for the wishes for Jaya and me on our Wedding Anniversary. June 3, 1973... now 48 years!! Your wishes and your gracious words have been most moving and filled with love for us.. and we truly appreciate them... For today and now.." he wrote on his blog. The couple's romance began on the sets of "Guddi". The two have worked together in several successful films such as "Zanjeer", "Abhimaan", "Silsila", "Chupke Chupke", "Mili", "Sholay" and "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham." -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed San Francisco, June 3 : Social networking giant Facebook has partnered with the Asia Foundation and launched the Resiliency Initiative website, to combat hate and intolerance online. The Resiliency initiative is community-centered and aims to promote tolerance, strengthen interfaith and inter-ethnic understanding, and counter violent extremism in Asia Pacific, Facebook shared in a post on Tuesday. "The Resiliency Initiative website provides civil society organisations with a suite of tools and resources to help them harness social media to build stronger communities -- particularly in areas affected by violent conflict. It includes guidance on getting started on social media, creating effective online content, managing their presence on social media, measuring impact, and combating misinformation, as well as case studies with insights from communities across the region," said Adam Burke, Regional Director, The Asia Foundation, in a statement. "At Facebook, we aim to identify and remove harmful content from our platforms as quickly as possible -- and we've made good progress in this area. But this is just one part of the solution. It's equally important to enable constructive dialogue and encourage counter speech in order to promote social cohesion and counter offline harm. We are pleased to have launched The Resiliency Initiative in partnership with The Asia Foundation as one of our flagship programmes to address hate and violent extremism," added Nawab Osman, Head of Counterterrorism and Dangerous Organisations (APAC), Facebook. Currently available only in English, the website is also being launched in Bengali, Thai and Urdu in the coming weeks. More languages will follow in the future. In the second half of this year, the initiative will work with civil society organisations in Asia Pacific to build social resilience campaigns to combat hate online, and expand the reach of the programme into new communities in the region. Facebook is also partnering with experts on a digital storytelling training programme. Started by the non-profit Asia Foundation, the initiative began with online workshops for 60 organisations from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Pakistan and the Philippines. The UK regulator said it has extended the registration deadline for crypto asset firms until next March, however it said a significantly high number of businesses were not meeting the required standards A large number of crypto asset firms are still falling short of compliance with the UKs anti-money laundering regulations, according to the countrys financial regulator. On Thursday, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it is extending the end date of a registration scheme for crypto asset businesses to March 31, 2022, from 9 July 2021 to allow more firms to register with the watchdog while continuing to trade. However, the FCA said a significantly high number of businesses were not meeting the required standards under money laundering regulations, and as a result, an unprecedented number were deciding to withdraw their registration applications. The FCAs extension of its timeline marks another step in the ongoing push by financial regulators to play catch-up with the still largely unmonitored crypto sector, with concerns over cryptos use on the black market and illegal payments having increased following a recent spate of cyberattacks that resulted in ransoms being paid in Bitcoin. Anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing legislation are aimed at protecting against enabling the transfer and disguise of funds from criminal activity, or funding of terrorist groups. While this is not the only element that the FCA will assess in relation to an applicant, the FCA will only register firms where it is confident that processes are in place to identify and prevent this activity, the FCA said in a statement. The regulator also reiterated previous warnings that many crypto assets are highly speculative and can therefore lose value quickly, highlighting that it does not have consumer protection powers to cover crypto asset activities of businesses. Cryptoassets are considered very high risk, speculative investments. If consumers invest in crypto assets, they should be prepared to lose all their money, the FCA said. The main cryptocurrencies seemed unphased by the FCAs announcement, with Bitcoin up 5.7% in the last 24 hours at US$39,409 in late morning trading, while Ethereum rose 6.6% to US$2,879. June 03 : Actor-politician Kirron Kher, who is battling cancer and has been currently undergoing treatment, has appeared in her son Sikandar Khers live video on Instagram. On Wednesday night, Sikandar gave a glimpse of his mother Kirron Kher, who was seen relaxing on the couch. Dad Anupam Kher was also seen in the video. In the live session on Instagram, Sikandar was heard saying, I am sitting with my parents and you can get a nice glimpse of Mrs Khers feet. He turned the camera towards her feet and asked her to say 'hi' with her feet. Kirron can be heard saying, 'hello in her cheerful voice. Kirron was also heard telling Sikander to get married soon as hell be 41 in a few months. Earlier, Anupam Kher had informed on Twitter that his wife Kirron Kher has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. Sharing the live video, Sikandar wrote, KherSaab and Kirron Maam This one is short and sweet .. a hello from the family with tit bits from me as well .. thank you all for the love you send my mother #KherSaab #KirronMaam. In the video, Sikander was further heard thanking the well-wishers as he said, Sitting with the parents now. I will catch up with you all in a bit. Lots of love and thank you for all the love that you give my mother, now you saw her feet. Thank you for constantly asking about her, she should hear this because otherwise, I am not around you all when you ask, and she is here. Thank you so much, she is doing a lot better. While Sikander was about to conclude the video, Kirron asked him to show her face in the video, and with a vibrant smile, she said, Hello! Thank you everybody for your good wishes and love, thank you very much. Kirron was seen wearing an arm sling in the video. Chennai, June 3 : The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday announced the construction of a multi-specialty hospital, a library, an award for writers as well as a house for those who get prestigious awards in the memory of late Chief Minister Karunanidhi. Marking the 97th birth anniversary of Karunanidhi the government also announced the construction of a paddy warehouse in Tiruvarur at an outlay of Rs 30 crore and free rides for transgenders and differently abled persons in city buses. In a statement issued here, the government said a 500 bed multi-specialty hospital at a cost of Rs 250 crore will be built in South Madras inside the Kings Institute complex. The government said a mega library measuring about 2 lakh sq.ft. at an outlay of Rs 70 crore will be built in Madurai. For writers, the government has instituted a new award called 'Illakiya Mamani'. The award carries a citation and a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh and will be conferred on three writers annually. For those writers from Tamil Nadu who are awarded national or international awards, the government said it will offer a house in a district of their choice. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Aurangabad : , June 3 (IANS) In a significant ruling the Bombay High Court has said that it will be the responsibility of the Centre in case any faulty ventilators supplied by a Gujarat-based company through the PMCares Fund, cause deaths of Covid-19 patients. In its verdict on Wednesday, a Division Bench comprising Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice B.U. Debadwar said that they would "not permit experimentation of ventilators which have undergone major repairs in treating the patients, since this would be causing a risk/health hazard to the patients, and unfortunately, the use of such ventilators may cause loss of life, which must be averted". After a submission by the Additional Solicitor-General of India Anil Singh, that a team expert doctors from New Delhi - one each from Ram Manohar Lohiya Hospital and Safdarjung Hospital - would visit the Government Medical College & Hospital, Aurangabad (GMCH) today to inspect the defective ventilators, the court has posted the matter for further hearing on June 7. The matter pertains to 150 ventilators provided to the GMCH in April under the PM Care Fund which were supplied by Rajkot-based Jyoti CNC, of which around 133 were found to be defective or malfunctional. (IANS - May18). A GMCH committee had submitted a report on the ventilators which suffered continuous breakdowns even after repairs, and hence the machines were not being used as a precautionary measure with the Maharashtra Congress Spokesperson Sachin Sawant raising the issue in a big way. In their suo moto criminal PIL filed at the Aurangabad Bench, the judges said: "If the ventilators are found to be dysfunctional even after inspection/repairs, the manufacturer would be held liable and the Union of India shall press for replacement of such defective ventilators keeping in view that there exists a one-year manufacturer's warranty in relation to each of such ventilator." To this, Singh hastily added that no casualty would occur since these ventilators will not be made operational in the treatment of the patients until the team of the doctors visiting GMCH Aurangabad (today) and representatives of the manufacturer ensure that the ventilators are upto desirable operational standards. Chief Public Prosecutor D. R. Kale informed the court that since it would be extremely risky to use these defective ventilators, the GMCH Aurangabad and Ambejogai (Beed) would not use them till they are fully convinced that the machines are perfectly functional and could deliver the desired results while treating the patients. CPP Kale made it clear that the GMCH does not "want to be blamed for a casualty, if it occurs on account of use of such ventilators" and since the GMCH does not have a service center in Aurangabad or Beed, the manufacturer (Jyoti CNC, Rajkot) should take them to its own repairing centers. Justice Ghuge and Justice Debadwar said they expected the Centre to be firm with the manufacturer for supplying such defective ventilators, and if necessary, the court would order their return. "In such a situation, it would be the responsibility of the Union of India to ensure that the defective ventilators are replaced with new functional ventilators. Manufacturing defects call for replacement under the warranty scheme," the court said. After the Congress and Sawant raised the issue in April, on May 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had ordered an audit of the installation and operation of all ventilators supplied around the country through the PMCF. Of the 150 ventilators supplied by Jyoti CNC, Rajkot, to Maharashtra under the PMCF, 58 were installed but all are lying unused despite repairs, the company did install another 37, while the balance 55 were distributed to hospitals in Beed, Parbhani, Osmanabad and Hingoli, as er the GMCH Report last month. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Mumbai, June 3 : Actor Tahir Raj Bhasin cant wait to travel to Delhi, where he will finally meet his parents after over a year. "The past year has been a very difficult trade-off between working on film sets in Mumbai and restricting one's travel to spend time at home. The thought of endangering friends and family has been a constant constraint," Tahir said. He added: "This week I will go home to Delhi after over a year to meet with my parents. It will be an emotional reunion, something I'm looking forward to." Tahir was working all through the pandemic as he announced three projects. He will be seen in "Looop Lapeta", "Bulbul Tarang" and "Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein". Given the fact that he was on sets, Tahir didn't want to put his parents at risk, and stayed away from home. The actor cannot wait to meet his parents. "It has been way too long and I immensely look forward to some down time, long chats and homecooked food. The kind of months we have lived through has made me value them even more, miss them dearly and care about their health and safety more than ever before," he said. Tahir says he wants to switch off his phone and just be with them. The actor added: "As a family, we share everything, even the tiniest details about each other, with each other. So, we have a lot to catch up on." Tahir will also be seen in the Ranveer Singh-starrer "83", directed by Kabir Khan. He plays legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar in the film. Srinagar, June 3 : The chief of army staff (COAS), General M. M. Naravane said on Thursday that the army is ready for this year's Amarnath Yatra, but the decision to hold the Yatra lies with the civil administration. Addressing the media here on Thursday the COAS said, "We are ready for the Amarnath Yatra. We have taken all the necessary steps although the final decision to hold the Yatra lies with the civil administration". The Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), which organises the annual Yatra, announced on April 22 the temporary suspension of the registration of pilgrims for the Yatra. The SASB had started online registration of pilgrims from April 15 for the Baltal and Pahalgam routes, which lead to the cave shrine. The 56-day yatra, pending any further decision, is scheduled to start from June 28. General Naravane said the situation along the LoC as well as in the hinterland has greatly improved even as he urged the people of J&K to shun the path of violence as it will not take them anywhere. "After being briefed by the commanders on the situation, both on LoC and hinterland, I am glad to say that all the parameters we judge normalcy by, have seen great improvement. There have been few militant initiated incidents. "There have been hardly any cases of stone pelting, any cases or no case of IEDs in the recent past and all these are indicators of return of a sense of normalcy," he said. These, he stressed, are all indicators that the people want the same and that is a very good sign. "After such a long time we have reached a situation where peace and tranquility prevail, where people are able to perceive their dreams and aspirations. My message to all, not only youth, would be that when there is peace and tranquility can there be development and when there is development, we will all prosper", the army chief said on the conclusion of his two-day visit to Kashmir. "See how the world outside has moved on how India has moved on and therefore embrace the future and future lies in shunning violence and if you do that it will hasten the process of ushering in the new era of development and prosperity in the state. "Peace in Jammu and Kashmir is a 'whole of government approach'. "It involves political sphere, local government and security forces. in this overall gamut, army's role is to bring down levels of violence to an extent where civil administration and local security forces can play their role in the development of region and J&K. "Army's role is to work in sync. The ultimate aim is to bring the level of violence down so that peace and development can take place." Regarding Operation 'Sadbhavna', he said it was undertaken two decades ago when the situation in J&K was bad and the local government was not able to reach out to the people. "We have been doing Sadbhavna for more than twenty years. 20 years ago when the situation was bad when local administration could not reach out to far flung areas to carry out developmental activities. "At that time the Sadbhavna projects by the army and other security forces helped a lot to ameliorate the sufferings and pay attention to the needs of the local population. "Army goodwill schools were established when there were no schools in far flung areas. "Obviously local youth and children were suffering and that is why we stepped in to fill the breach. "As the situation has now improved and as the administration is now being able to reach out into these areas, we will now recalibrate Sadbhavna activities in sync with the local administration so that we do not duplicate efforts and we carry out those activities which are synergized and which will bring relief and succour to those who need it." Regarding COVID-19, he said the entire establishment was now better prepared to tackle a third wave which may or may not happen. "COVID is another kind of war which is fought by the country. There is not a single family which has not been affected by COVID. It is our responsibility as armed forces of the nation in this hour of need to do whatever we can do for the help of our citizens. "We have left no stone unturned and spared no resources in helping out in this hour of grief. "I am happy to say that overall number of cases in the country has now seen a downturn and we are now beating the second wave and as a result of the capacities we have built in month and half, we are much better prepared to tackle the 3rd wave which may or may not come", he said. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Kochi, June 3 : The Kerala Police's Crime Branch, which has got custody of gangster Ravi Pujari, on Thursday began questioning him in the case of a firing at a beauty parlour, owned by an actress, here in December 2018. The police had got custody of Pujari, who was in a jail in Bengaluru, on Wednesday and brought him here late last night amid tight security. On Thursday, the police began questioning him at the office of the Anti-Terror Squad with a huge security contingent posted outside. The beauty parlour belonged to actress Leena Maria Paul and two people who came on a bike opened fire, but did not hurt anyone. A month before the shooting episode, a person, purporting to be on behalf of Pujari, called up the actress and threatened to finish her off if she does not pay Rs 25 crore. Later as the incident became big news and Pujari himself appeared live on a leading Malayalam TV channel and confirmed that it was he who was behind the attack. Following this, two people were arrested by the police. Last year, a Crime Branch team reached the Bengaluru jail to question Pujari, and it was after that it was decided to bring him into the place where it took place. Pujari will be taken to the beauty parlour as part of evidence collection. The Crime Branch police have Pujari's custody till Monday when he has to be returned to the Bengaluru jail. Mumbai, June 3 : In a significant move, the Maharashtra government has decided to lift all lockdown restrictions in half of the state's 36 districts from Friday, state Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Vijay Wadettiwar said here on Thursday. However, important centres like Mumbai and Pune are not included in the list and shall continue with the existing restrictions. Unveiling a much-anticipated 'five-level unlockdown plan', Wadettiwar said that it will be based on the weekly positivity rate of Covid cases and the status of oxygen-bed occupancy in the state that is currently grappling with the second wave of the pandemic. In the first phase, all lockdown curbs shall be eased in 18 districts with less than 5 per cent positivity rate and oxygen-bed occupancy of 25 per cent, the minister said. The districts where the positivity rate is around 5 per cent and oxygen-bed occupancy is within 25 per cent are Thane, Aurangabad, Nashik, Jalgaon, Dhule, Nagpur, Latur, Nanded, Jalna, Parbhani, Buldhana, Bhandara, Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Gondia, Wardha, Washim and Yavatmal. 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 Chandigarh, June 3 : Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal on Thursday demanded a high court monitored probe into the manner in which the Congress government in Punjab was playing with the people's lives by creating an artificial shortage of vaccines by selling vaccine doses at a hefty profit to private hospitals. The SAD president told the media here that a case should be registered against Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu for diverting vaccines meant for the common man to private institutions even as he averred that the issue had the makings of a major scam. He said the scandal had also exposed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who had recently demanded free vaccines for all. "Rahul Gandhi should say if he supports the Punjab government's move to force the common man to pay Rs 1,560 per dose." Badal condemned Chief Secretary Vinni Mahajan for taking on the role of a marketing director of private institutions by tweeting that people should get themselves vaccinated at two private institutions at inflated rates. Demanding that the Congress government stop this discrimination immediately, he said if this corporatization of vaccine distribution is not stopped the SAD would be forced to approach the courts for justice. He also announced that once a SAD-led government was formed it would probe the entire issue and ensure exemplary punishment to those who had endangered the well being of the poor and underprivileged. Badal said a Covaxin dose costing the state Rs 400 was being sold to private institutions at Rs 1,060. The private hospitals were further selling the dose at Rs 1,560. "This amounts to a cost of Rs 6,000 to Rs 9,000 per family for a single dose." He said in Mohali alone 35,000 doses were sold to private institutions to earn a profit of nearly Rs 2 crore in a single day. Stating that it was immoral for the Congress government to make a profit from the sale of vaccines, the SAD president said the government was also punishing the people by forcing them to cough up Rs 1,560 per dose during a time of economic slowdown. New Delhi, June 3 : Indian Naval ship Sandhayak, the first of the indigenously designed and built hydrographic survey ships of the Indian Navy, will be decommissioned on Friday after serving the nation for 40 years. The decommissioning ceremony of INS Sandhayak will be held at the Visakhapatnam Naval Dockyard. It will be a low-key event to be attended only by in-station officers and sailors with strict observance of Covid protocols. Sandhayak was conceptualised by then chief hydrographer to the government, Rear Admiral F.L. Fraser, a Padma Shri awardee who had a strong desire for indigenously designed and built hydrographic survey vessels in India. The design was finalised by the Naval Headquarters and the construction of the ship began at GRSE Kolkata (then Calcutta) by laying the keel in 1978. The ship was commissioned to the Indian Navy on February 26, 1981 by Vice Admiral M.K. Roy, then Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command (ENC). Since commissioning, the ship has been the alma mater nurturing the hydrographers of the Indian Navy, thereby laying the foundation for complete hydrographic coverage of the peninsular waters. Also, the success of her design paved the way for all the survey ships of the Indian Navy in various modifications till recently. The ship, during her commissioned service, has undertaken approximately 200 major hydrographic surveys and numerous minor surveys in both East and West coasts of the country, the Andaman seas as well as the neighbouring countries. Apart from survey missions, the ship has been an active participant in many significant operations such as Op Pawan -- assisting the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka in 1987 -- Op Sarong, Op Rainbow, rendering humanitarian assistance post the Tsunami in 2004 and participation in the maiden joint INDO-US HADR Exercise 'Tiger-Triumph'. In its glorious 40 years, the ship saw 22 Commanding Officers at the helm, with the last Commanding Officer taking charge of the ship on June 17, 2019. With the sunset on Friday, the Naval Ensign and the Commissioning Pennant will be hauled down for the last time onboard INS Sandhayak, in the presence of Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief ENC, symbolising the decommissioning. New Delhi, June 3 : As print media houses struggle to sustain in the digital news era, a Google-led study has revealed that the decline of newspaper revenue is not happening because of Search or social advertising but from the loss of newspaper classifieds to specialist online players. Some critics have argued that if Google and Facebook didn't exist, much of the revenue from print newspapers would have stayed with news publishers - that these tech platforms directly disrupted the newspaper business model. According to Eero Korhonen, Head of News and Publisher Partnerships, Google, Europe, Middle East and Africa, new research looks at the facts which disprove that theory. The analysis from economists at Accenture, commissioned by Google, looks at the revenues of newspapers in Western Europe over nearly two decades to reveal exactly what broke the old business model for newspapers. "The data is clear: Almost half of the overall decline of newspaper revenue has come not from Search or social advertising, but from the loss of newspaper classifieds to specialist online players," Korhonen said in a blog post on Wednesday. While digital reader revenues are growing at a promising rate, there is no doubt that the publishers' business model has been challenged over the past several decades. Today, four out of five of consumers now access news online. As a result, many publishers are using the latest technologies, including artificial intelligence, to reach readers and grow subscriptions. While many readers are not in the habit of paying for access to news, between 2013 and 2018, digital circulation volumes increased by 307 per cent to reach 31.5 million paying subscribers in the Western Europe region, more than offsetting the decline in paid print subscriptions. "Since 2018, the pace of publishers launching digital subscription models has accelerated further, which is a promising sign," the Google-led research pointed out. However, the growth in online revenue has not been enough to offset the loss from newspaper print advertising. As people move online, regular display advertising in newspapers became less popular, with revenue in this segment decreasing from 13.8 billion euros to 8 billion euros between 2003 and 2019. The majority of advertising in newspapers was made of classifieds like selling cars and homes, or listing jobs, and births and deaths notices. These advertisements, or "classifieds," contributed 9.9 billion euros -- almost a quarter -- of newspaper revenues, and newspapers collected 93 per cent of all classified advertising in 2003. "However, by 2019, only 32 per cent of that revenue was going to newspapers, generating just 2.8 billion euros, with the drop accounting for 44 per cent of newspapers' total revenue decline over the period," the research noted. Over the same period, there has been transformative development of search and social media platforms. In turn, the value of online advertising has grown significantly, from 2.2 billion euros in 2003 to 50.5 billion euros in 2019, along with growth in all advertising sectors. "But this did not come at the expense of newspaper revenues. In fact, the research shows that Internet advertising as a whole has grown predominantly from new opportunities," the study argued. However, there are green shoots of growth amid traditional newspapers, too, with paywall strategies to convert readers to paid subscribers. "Google is significantly contributing to that growth. Over the past 20 years, Google has collaborated closely with the news industry and is one of the world's biggest financial supporters of journalism, providing billions of dollars to support the creation of quality journalism in the digital age," the company said. Market estimates suggest over 50% of Bitcoin is mined in China Uncertainty around Bitcoin mining in China might provide a boost to ( ) according to broker finnCap. Market estimates suggest over 50% of Bitcoin is mined in China, and the Chinese governments May announcement that it will crackdown on mining the cryptocurrency could materially reduce mining difficulty and benefit Argo. The companys transformational new facility in Texas also highlights that it is making strong progress towards differentiating by mining with very low cost, renewable power, said the broker. FinnCap has updated its forecasts after todays trading update due to the fall in the Bitcoin price and mining difficulty with forecast revenues this year and next reduced by 13% and 17% respectively. The brokers target price is 220p compared with 162.5p, up 1% today. New Delhi, June 3: The ancestral homes in Peshawar of Bollywood legends Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor are now owned by the Pakistans local government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, and will be converted into museums. According to Pakistani media, ownership of both properties has been transferred to the director of KP's archaeology and museum department, the Peshawar deputy commissioner announced. Raj Kapoor's home was constructed by Deewan Basheswarnath, the actor's grandfather, between 1918-1922. He was a police officer in British India. Though from today's Faisalabad in Pakistan, he remained posted in Peshawar for quite some time. Prithviraj Kapoor, Basheswarnath's son, was one of Hindi cinema's first big stars. After making a name for himself in local plays, he moved on to Mumbai in the late 1920s for greener pastures. Raj Kapoor was born on 14 December 1924 in the same house. Shakeel Waheedullah, head of the Cultural Heritage Council of Peshawar, said the family of the legendary actor returned to the house a few times before partition to sell it. Dilip Kumar was born Muhammed Yusuf Khan in 1911. His house was built by his father, who was a fruit merchant. Waheedullah said that financial losses forced his father to migrate to Mumbai where the family looked to accomplish more. Kumar's father sold his house in Peshawar in 1930 for a sum of Rs. 5,000. Since then, it has been sold various times and is currently being used as a warehouse. Last year, the veteran actor had expressed his gratitude in a tweet to a Pakistani journalist, asking his fans in Pakistan to send him pictures of his ancestral home. His tweet said: "Thank you for sharing this. Requesting all in #Peshawar to share photos of my ancestral house." The KP Archaeology and Museums Director Abdul Samad said that the government would start restoration and rehabilitation of both badly damaged properties, before turning them into museums. He added that the directorate would also contact members of both families regarding the restoration work. "In the past, only announcements were made but no practical steps were taken but the current government took possession of the houses after completing all legal procedures," Samad told the told The News. He added that the next step is to restore the two houses to their original condition and convert them into museums for which funds are available. According to the government, Dilip Kumar's house was valued at Rs8.56 million in Pakistani currency while Raj Kapoor's home was valued at Rs10.5 million. But Haji Lal Mohammad, the owner of Dilip Kumar's ancestral house, had refused to sell the house for Rs 8 million. He had demanded a minimum value of Rs 250 million for the property. Similarly, the owner of Raj Kapoor's ancestral mansion had also refused to sell the house for Rs 10 million fixed by the local administration. Ali Qadir had demanded Rs. 2 billion for the historic mansion. (This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative/ New Delhi, June 3 : The Delhi government on Thursday blamed the Centre for not providing it the required amount of Covid-19 vaccines despite its preparedness and facilities to inoculate people. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain called on Central government to rethink its current vaccination policy because when a state is ready to vaccinate and to buy vaccines, then it should get the required number of vaccines. "Delhi government is fully prepared and has the best facility to vaccinate the entire population, but we are not getting the required number of vaccines from the Central government," he said. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said that the Delhi government wants to vaccinate more and more people because it wants to save the lives of the citizens. "I understand that many people who have taken the first jab of Covaxin are not getting the scheduled second jab in Delhi. The situation has become like this because of the mismanagement on the behalf of the Central government. "They have changed the schedule of vaccination. If the Central government had given us the required number of vaccines, then there should have been no problem. "But they are not providing vaccines. We are hopeful that people who are waiting for the Covaxin second dose will get it as early as possible," he said. Noting that the Central government earlier told them to vaccinate more and more people, Jain noted that according to the Central government, 50 per cent of the vaccines will go to it, 25 per cent will be given to the states and 25 per cent will be given to the private partners. "I think it is high time to rethink this policy and rework it. When a state is ready to vaccinate its citizens, then that state must get the required number of vaccines. "The Delhi government is fully prepared to vaccinate the entire population, but we are not getting it (vaccines). We are buying these vaccines and giving them for free to the citizens but due to the policy of the Central government, we are not getting the required number of vaccines," he contended. The whole control over the vaccines and the price of the vaccines are with the Central government, Jain said, adding "the cost of the vaccines in the private hospitals is also monitored by the Central government". About black fungus, he said 1,044 such cases were there in Delhi till Wednesday. "Out of these 1,044 cases, 92 patients have recovered fully and 89 people have lost their lives due to black fungus." The Minister said for the past three days, Delhi has been reporting a positivity rate below one per cent which is a good sign, but still appealed to every citizen to follow Covid protocols. "Delhi reported 576 positive Covid-19 cases and the positivity rate was 0.78 per cent. "In this phase of the Covid pandemic, Delhi even witnessed over 28,000 cases in 24 hours but now the number of Covid cases is coming down which is a good sign, he said. "Before this second phase of the pandemic in Delhi, day to day cases used to stay within 200. My appeal to every citizen is that please maintain social distancing, wear a mask all the time and wash your hand from time to time." Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) New Delhi, June 3 : Italian luxury fashion brand Gucci has been on a role over the past few years, being in the top five list of most valuable luxury brands globally in 2020. It is only fourth to fashion houses Chanel, Louis Vuitton and HermAs. It is said that the brand has been valued at about 27.2 billion US dollars in 2020 and has become the largest brand owned by parent company, Kering Group. An ensemble available by the brand on its international website described as a "floral embroidery organic linen kaftan" labelled at 3500 US dollars (Rupees 2,52,000) has caught the attention of Indians on Twitter. Whether it was the price or the design, many desis had something to say about the ensemble, who started trolling the global fashion house on Twitter. One user wrote, "You'll literally get fifty kurtas like this in wholesale for less than 1.5k", while another said, "Sarojini Nagar se 250rs Mai milega dost (you can buy it in Sarojini Nagar for Rs 250 apprxo 4 US dollars)". The price of the kaftans from the brand range from USD $2,100 -$3,500, which converts to Rs 1.5 to 2.5 lakh in Indian currency. This kaftan on its website, has been described as, "Crafted from organic linen, this kaftan is enriched with floral embroidery and self-tile tassels. First introduced as part of Gucci's 1996 collection, the kaftan continues to be an integral part of the House aesthetic while evolving in new materials and modern details. Unexpected layering with tracksuit pieces define a whole new way to interpret the garment, giving it a surprising twist." Indians who were trolling the brand on Twitter believe the fashion house has been inspired by Indian sensibilities and this range of kaftans have a striking resemblance with traditional Indian embroidered kurtas that are commonplace through out the country and the exorbitant price didn't sit well with its Indian audience. The outfit made of linen and silk fabric with floral embroidery, prints and tassels as per Gucci was originally part of its 1996 collection. The haute fashion label is been known for its innovation and popularity, its designs appeal to a global audience and as such is is only inevitable that elements from various cultures feature in its repertoire. The fashion house offers everything from accessories, handbags, footwear and clothes to make-up and fragrances that are high-quality and timeless to markets that span continents. Whether its a case of cultural appropriation or commonplace inspiration which is but natural in design, the Indian tweeple are making it a point to air their views on the social media platform. (Puja Gupta can be contacted at puja.g@ians.in) Bengaluru/Chitradurga, June 3 : Karnataka's fight against the Covid pandemic got another boost with the commissioning of a Covid field hospital at Chitradurga on Thursday. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa inaugurated, in virtual mode, a 100-bed facility which is Vedanta's first state-of-the-art Covid field hospital in the state. The hospital in Chitradurga is equipped with best-in-class medical infrastructure including oxygen and ventilators for critical patients, a Vedanta statement read. Appreciating their endeavour to join hands with the Government of Karnataka to counter the second wave of Covid-19, the Chief Minister thanked the Vedanta Group for setting up the facility. Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal said, "I am anguished to see the impact of the second wave of Covid-19 and loss of precious lives. Vedanta is committed to beef up the medical infrastructure and is working closely with government bodies and local administration to strengthen the country's fight against Covid-19. The Vedanta Cares field hospital in Chitradurga is a testimony to our commitment to serving communities through state-of-the-art medical facilities." Vedanta is also setting up a second Covid Field Hospital at Hubli in Karnataka with 100 beds which is in the final stages of completion. The two Vedanta Cares hospitals in Karnataka with a total of 200 Covid care beds are in line with Vedanta's commitment to set-up 1,000 Covid Care beds across India to support the Government in combating Covid-19, company officials said. During the first wave of Covid-19 last year, Vedanta Iron Ore Karnataka had supported the people of the state and frontline warriors by contributing to the CM relief fund, providing masks, sanitizers and supplying groceries during the lockdown. Apart from working on several initiatives to support the fight against the second wave, the Vedanta group has supplied 8.26 lakh litres of medical oxygen and set up three oxygen plants. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Mumbai, June 3 : On expected lines, the Maharashtra government on Thursday too decided to cancel the HSC (Class 12) board exams for 2021 in view of the Covid-19 pandemic second wave, Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad announced. The move came a day after a cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, in which all ministers of the ruling Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress unanimously spoke in favour of cancelling the exams. Gaikwad said in a statement that the decision has been taken to safeguard students' physical wellbeing and mental health in view of the pandemic. The latest development came nearly two months after the Maha Vikas Aghadi government had cancelled the SSC (Class 10) board examinations on April 20, conducted by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Education, on similar grounds. Washington, June 3 : Education ministers from across the globe are being urged to prioritise quality climate education as a major outcome at the next UN Climate Conference when they meet in Italy as part of the Group of 20 (G20) round of meetings. An international alliance of labour and teachers' unions, green groups, youth and parents' organisations, research institutes, and international organisations issued a statement on Thursday underlining the importance of climate literate citizens in combating climate change. The groups involved, representing millions of people across the globe, also see quality climate education linked to strong civic engagement as key to better decision-making by governments, green jobs, and building a new, stronger, and more sustainable 21st century economy. The Joint Civil Society Statement on Climate Education Ambition, focusing on the G20 meeting in Sicily on June 22, argues technological shifts and innovations in areas such as clean energy and electric mobility will be crucial towards achieving the goals of the landmark Paris Climate Change Agreement. But it also states that without the behavioral change made possible through climate and environmental literacy, the long-term goal of 'net zero' by 2050, to which increasing numbers of nations aspire as the safety line, will be tough to realise, if not impossible. Research suggests that individual behavior changes around food and waste, agriculture, transport, and heating can reduce 20-37 per cent of emissions -- this is vital for the world to keep climate change in check and within science-based safety limits, the statement argues. Rebecca Winthrop, Co-Director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, said: "Early studies also suggest that students who learn about climate action influence not just their own choices, but their families' and communities' as well. Education systems should urgently empower young people with the knowledge, skills, and mindset to act on climate in their families and communities." Kathleen Rogers, President of EARTHDAY.ORG, said: "We wanted to issue this collective statement to let the Italian G20 Presidency and the G20 Education Ministers know that a strong outcome on climate education would have strong backing worldwide -- citizens, labour, teachers, youth, parents, development organizations, academics, and green groups are right behind them." Since its official launch in September 2020, EARTHDAY.ORG's Climate and Environmental Literacy Campaign now has over 550 signatories from organizations in over 100 countries representing hundreds of millions of professionals from the environmental, education, faith, justice, and labour sectors. David Edwards, General Secretary of Education International, which represents nearly 33 million unionised teachers in close to 180 countries, said: "2021 needs to be the year where climate education moves from being a nice to have to being a core in every child's educational life. It also needs to be the year when governments agree that teachers are supported to deliver this." "It is fitting that the crucial meeting of G20 Education ministers is happening under the presidency of Italy, one country that has already announced its commitment and its understanding of the urgent need for quality, compulsory, climate education," he added. Chandigarh, June 3 : Amid Covid patients struggling for hospitals and many others succumbing to the deadly virus as they couldn't afford to buy the life-saving drugs and oxygen from the black market, a ray of hope has come from Vedanta Ltd which is setting up fully equipped field hospitals. The facilities provide vaccinations and increased insurance cover for its employees and business partners, among others. Makeshift air-conditioned hospitals with a bed capacity of 1,000 under the company's 'Vedanta Cares Field Hospital Project' are coming up shortly in Odisha, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu. Two 100-bed state-of-the-art facilities, each in Gurugram and Chhattisgarh, have been commissioned last week. The professionally managed field hospitals, which are attached to recognized and reputed hospitals in the vicinity, are part of an initiative of the business conglomerate that has pledged Rs 150 crore to help the country fight the deadlier second wave that spread at an unprecedented pace. Vedanta's aluminium business, for instance, is already supporting over 550 beds in Covid Care Centres at Jharsuguda and Lanjigarh in Odisha and Balco in Korba in Chhattisgarh and quarantine centres for isolation and post-treatment recovery. As the country has been going through a massive crisis for oxygen, Vedanta's aluminium business has made provision of over 2,000 oxygen cylinders in Odisha, besides making provision of 20 ICU beds, 20 ventilators, 200 oxygen flowmeters and 2,000 N95 masks to aid the local administration. Commenting on the Covid relief measures, Rahul Sharma, Deputy CEO (Aluminum Business), Vedanta Ltd, told IANS: "We stand by the country during the challenging times. We are committed to extending full support to state administrations in their efforts to keep our communities safe, as we work on all fronts to safeguard our employees, business partners, their families, and extended communities against the disease. "We have augmented our Covid care facilities, accelerated vaccination drives and intensified community awareness on Covid appropriate behaviour, at and beyond our operations. We hope to emerge out of this crisis stronger and more united." As the country accelerates its vaccination drive, the company has come forward to vaccinate 100 per cent of its employees at all its offices and plant locations, including Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd (TSPL) in Punjab's Bathinda district. Expressing gratitude, TSPL official Khirod Kumar Barik told IANS over phone, "I feel very safe that the company has got me, my family and 100 per cent of our employees, including our business partners, vaccinated." "This has created a secure environment for all of us to work," he said. Lopamudra Panigrahi, an employee at the Jharsuguda facility in Odisha, added: "Getting infected with Covid while living on your own, far away from your parents and support systems, can be very overwhelming. I am thankful for the fact that Vedanta set up Covid Care Centres inside plant premises, so we could undergo high-quality treatment here itself." Besides treating, the company has also gone a step further by offering to vaccinate even dependents of their employees. Over 8,300 people across the Vedanta aluminium plants have been vaccinated with plans for 100 per cent inoculation of all eligible. Also telemedicine facility has been made available wherein patients can connect with doctors through phone calls or WhatsApp voice calls to get consultation and e-prescription. Keeping employee safety in mind, the company has extended an insurance policy for employees of business partners across its plants in Jharsuguda and Lanjigarh in Odisha and Balco in Chhattisgarh. It has also accelerated the deployment of cutting-edge technologies and digital solutions to safeguard its workforce against the virus and sustain production quality. The company is also supporting thousands of daily wage earners and underprivileged families by providing them rations and meals, besides supporting local farmers to sustain their livelihood amid the Covid-induced lockdowns. (Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in) Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Srinagar, June 3 : Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General M.M. Naravane, said on Thursday that the ceasefire is holding along the Line of Control, and the onus to sustain it lies with Pakistan. On the second day of his two-day visit to Kashmir to review the security situation along the LoC and in the hinterlands, General Naravane told mediapersons, "We entered this (ceasefire) understanding with Pakistan at the end of February. The ceasefire is holding as of now. The responsibility and the onus of making the ceasefire hold are squarely on Pakistan. We are willing to observe the ceasefire as long as long as they do." General Naravane also said the terror infrastructure across the LoC is intact and forces cannot lower their guard. "While the ceasefire is on, the other activities they are indulging in are continuing, i.e., the terror infrastructure which is there on the other side of the LoC, the terrorist camps etc. Therefore, there can be no slackening as far as we are concerned in our levels or preparedness," the army chief said. The ceasefire agreement along the LoC between India and Pakistan militaries was revived in February this year. Earlier, the COAS, accompanied by Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Y.K. Joshi and Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen D.P. Pandey, visited different formations and units, where the local commanders briefed General Naravane on the existing security situation and the measures taken to foil infiltration by terrorists from Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). The COAS interacted with the troops and complimented them for their high morale and the state of operational preparedness. While appreciating the current state of peace prevailing along the Line of Control, General Naravane cautioned all the commanders and troops to not let their guards down and to remain prepared to meet any emerging security challenges effectively, the army said. The army chief also complimented all the government agencies for their close coordination in maintaining peace in the region and for reaching out to the people wholeheartedly to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. New Delhi, June 3 : Tech giant Adobe on Thursday announced the appointment of David Wadhwani as the Executive Vice President (EVP) and Chief Business Officer (CEO) of the Digital Media business. In this role, Wadhwani will be responsible for the success of Adobe's global Digital Media business across Adobe Creative Cloud and Adobe Document Cloud. He will report directly to Adobe President and CEO Shantanu Narayen. "We are thrilled to welcome David back to Adobe to lead our Digital Media business. He is a transformational leader with an exceptional record of operational excellence, innovation and growth," Narayen said in a statement. Wadhwani previously served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Adobe's Digital Media business from 2010 to 2015. He returns to Adobe from Greylock Partners where he is a Venture Partner. Before joining Greylock, he was President and CEO of AppDynamics, leading the company as it transformed to a SaaS-first business and grew annual recurring revenue approximately 10 times in four years. "I am excited to return to Adobe at a time when digital content is becoming the foundation of expression and engagement for everyone, from individual artists, storytellers and business owners, to the largest global brands," said Wadhwani. "The tailwinds in Adobe's Digital Media business are immense, and I look forward to leveraging this moment to deliver even more value to our customers," he added. New Delhi, June 3 : As a Dominican High Court is all set to hear the habeas corpus plea of Indian fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, who is wanted in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case, the Antiguan Cabinet on Thursday discussed that the diamantaire is now a problem of Dominica and if he is sent to Antigua he will become Antigua's problem. The Antiguan Cabinet under Prime Minister Gaston Browne said that the cabinet prefers that Choksi is sent directly to India from Dominica. According to Antigua News Room, a news outlet in the Caribbean Island, the Antigua Cabinet held a discussion on the Choksi matter, awaiting the decision of the High Court of Dominica. It said that Choksi remains in Dominica and has been charged with entering illegally. He will return to Court later on Thursday to answer to the charge. "Local law enforcement officials continue to gather intelligence in investigation of the circumstances of Choksi's departure from Antigua," it said. It noted that Choksi claims he was abducted. "Choksi has become Dominica's problem at this time. If he finds himself in Antigua, the problem reverts to Antigua and Barbuda. The preference of the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda is for Choksi to be repatriated to India from Dominica," it added. On Wednesday, Choksi pleaded not guilty to illegal entry at his court appearance and was denied bail. Choksi appeared before the magistrate on a wheelchair wearing a blue T-shirt and black pants. According to Dominica News Online, a news outlet in the Caribbean island, the Magistrate's court in Dominica has denied bail to Choksi after the government prosecutor argued that he is facing 11 offences in India and extradition proceedings in Antigua and could be a flight risk. The magistrate has adjourned the matter to June 14. The 62-year-old is wanted by the CBI and the ED in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case. He left India in January 2018, days before the CBI registered a case. Choksi had gone missing from Antigua on May 23 sparking a massive manhunt. He was captured in Dominica on May 26. On Tuesday, Choksi had told an Indian news outlet that he was abducted by Indian agents and was given a shock with a Taser gun whenever he resisted. He also alleged that he was beaten up by the officials. On May 27, first pictures of Choksi emerged online, showing several signs of bruises on his arms and a swollen eye. "Choksi was forced to get into a vessel from Antigua and was taken to Dominica," Choksi's counsel Agarwal had told IANS. He also claimed that there were marks on Choksi's body, implying the use of force. "There is something fishy and I guess it was a strategy to take him to another place so that there are chances of sending him back to India. So I don't know what forces are operating. Time will tell," he had said. However, Antigua Police Commissioner Atlee Rodney has dismissed the claims of Choksi's counsel and said that they have no information on him being forcefully removed. An eight-member team of Indian officials has also landed in Dominica on a private jet for the extradition of Choksi. Shares in IAG dropped 5.5% to 197.8p, Ryanair 3.8% to 16.51 and easyJet 6% to 949p. Airline shares slid after a report that Portugal had lost its UK green list status while there would be no new additions to the places people can visit quarantine-free. Analysts said that if confirmed the removal of Portugal would be a major blow to European-focused airlines such as EasyJet PLC ( ) and Ryanair PLC ( ). British Airways owner IAG ( ), meanwhile, had been pleading with the government to include the US on the green list to reboot its lucrative business travel routes. According to the BBC, however, Portugal will be downgraded to amber removing the one big UK tourist destination free from quarantine. Holiday travel, in theory, resumed on 17 May but Israel, , Australia and New Zealand were the only other major holiday places on the green list and the Antipodean countries arent allowing UK visitors. Southern Europe in July and August is a key holiday destination for the British and rather than further restrictions the airlines had been calling for a reduction in requirements such as PCR tests for places such as Spain and Greece. If it is confirmed as amber-rated, visitors returning from Portugal will have to quarantine for ten days and take a Covid-19 test on days 2 and 8. Spain, France, Italy and the United States are on the amber list but the reports today suggested more countries will be added to the red list, meaning anyone coming back to the UK will have to stay in a hotel and quarantine for almost two weeks. Prime Minister Boris Johnson had warned that he would not hesitate to downgrade countries if that was the advice. "I want you to know we will have no hesitation in moving countries from the green list to the amber list to the red list if we have to do so. The priority is to continue the vaccine rollout, to protect the people of this country," he told reporters. Shares in IAG dropped 5.5% to 197.8p, Ryanair 3.8% to 16.51 and easyJet 6% to 949p. New Delhi, June 3 : NITI Aayog has submitted the names of two public sector banks (PSBs) and one public sector general insurer, which can be sold off under the government's new privatisation policy, to the Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment. Sources said that the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), and the Department of Financial Services (DFS) will examine the names suggested by NITI Aayog and finalise the list of possible candidates in the financial sector for privatisation this year. People in the know also said that Bank of Maharashtra and Central Bank are the top two candidates that has been favoured for privatisation, though the Indian Overseas Bank has also found favour for the exercise either this year or possibly later. Further, according to sources, United India Insurance may be chosen candidate for privatisation among the three general insurers, given its relative better solvency ratio. However, financial sector experts also contend that Oriental Insurance, with the least solvency ratio among the three, may be favoured as it does not have overseas operations and inviting a private investor may be easier for it. The government had earlier indicated that banks under prompt corrective action (PCA) framework or weaker banks would be kept out of privatisation as it would be difficult to find buyers for them. This would have left three PSBs - Indian Overseas Bank, Central Bank and UCO Bank out of the government's disinvestment plan. But they could be brought out of PCA as there are visible signs of improvement in some of the key parameters such as profitability and asset quality (in net NPA terms as they have stepped up provisioning) in the last 3-4 quarters. This could allow them to be considered for privatisation. Besides, both Bank of Maharastra and Central Bank are west focused banks where public sector bank presence is already stronger, allowing for more private sector entry. Also, it was decided that PSBs part of consolidation exercise should also not be considered for privatisation now. This leaves out five large PSBs - Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, United Bank of India and Indian Bank along with other PSBs that merged with them under the consolidation exercise. Also, State Bank of India is not being privatised. This leaves the room open for only six banks - UCO, IOB, Central Bank, Bank of Maharastra, Punjab and Sind Bank, and Bank of India for privatisation. The selection was from among this list. The government has infused Rs 5,500 capital in the Punjab and Sind Bank. This would make it wait for at least couple of years before considering privatisation. Bank of India is a very large bank that also could create problems in finding a buyer at this time. With UCO Bank, the government may like to have some presence of a state-run bank on the eastern part of the country. So, the candidates have to be from the remaining three banks. In this year's budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that two state-run banks along with IDBI Bank would be privatised in FY22. She also said that one general insurance company would be sold off in the current fiscal. Going ahead with the privatisation process of IDBI Bank on May 5, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its in-principle approval for strategic disinvestment along with transfer of management control in the PSB. The extent of respective shareholding to be divested by the GoI and LIC, shall be decided at the time of structuring of transaction in consultation with the RBI. The Finance Minister, while delivering the budget speech on February 1, announced a capital infusion of Rs 20,000 crore in state-owned banks for the financial year 2021-2022. Prior to the privatisation process, the government also undertook merger of the state-run banks, amalgamating weaker banks with the stronger and larger ones. A total of 10 public sector banks were merged with effect from April 1, 2020. With the merger coming into effect, India currently has 12 public sector banks, down from 27 in 2017. The government has budgeted Rs 1.75 lakh crore from stake sale in public sector companies and financial institutions. The target, however, may turn out to be ambitious given the global and domestic economic scenario amid the second wave of Covid-19. Chennai, June 3 : The US Consulate General in Chennai on Thursday hoisted the rainbow flag over the consulate building to commemorate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month. The consulate will also virtually screen a documentary film -- 'Share' -- for the students, emerging filmmakers, activists, and others interested in LGBTQ issues on June 30. US Consul General, Judith Ravin, said that the rainbow flag, which will remain on display through the month of June, highlights the commitment of the US to the human rights of LGBTQ persons and communities. The documentary film 'Share' follows a young Asian-American Instagram influencer as he struggles to reveal his gay identity to his traditional family. The film will be virtually screened with the support of American Film Showcase, a statement from the US Consulate said. The screening on June 30 will be followed by a panel discussion with 'Share' filmmakers Barna Szasz and Ellie Wen and actor Tim Chau. The American centre will also curate a suggested reading list on Pride-related themes. A virtual panel will be hoisted on the theme 'Recognising Pride in American Literature'. People interested in either of the programmes may send an email to ChennaiAmCenter@state.gov. The Pride Month is celebrated in June in the US to honour the Stonewall Uprising in New York City that took place in June 1969. This event was a game-changer for the modern-day Gay Liberation Movement in the US, paving the way for future activism and legislation. New Delhi, June 3 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday surprised students and their parents by joining a virtual interactive session for CBSE students organised by the Education Ministry. The Prime Minister said that the decision to cancel the CBSE Class XII board exams was taken keeping in mind the student's interest. The Prime Minister also interacted with some students and parents during the interaction. Modi advised students to use their time in a creative and productive way following the cancellation of Class XII board exams. The Prime Minister also advised the students not to take the stress of any exam in their lives. Modi then asked the students about their feelings following the cancellation of exams in view of the Covid pandemic, wanting to know their plans. The Prime Minister said that with team spirit, which is taught in schools and colleges, the country will emerge victorious in the battle against the pandemic. Welcoming the government move to cancel the exams, many students told the Prime Minister that it was a 'good decision'. The students and some parents also shared their views on the cancellation of exams with the Prime Minister, saying the decision brought relief for them besides ending the uncertainty prevailed over the exams. The Prime Minister also urged students to do research and write an essay on 75 years of India's Independence. He said they should always remember the mantra of 'health is wealth' and asked what they do to remain physically fit. In view of the uncertain conditions brought about by the pandemic and taking into account the feedback obtained from the various stakeholders, the Centre on Tuesday decided to cancel the CBSE Class XII board exams for 2021. After the government's decision, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) also scrapped the ISC Class XII exams for this year, saying that a scheme for evaluating the students will be announced soon. The decision to cancel the CBSE Class XII board exams was taken in a review meeting chaired by the Prime Minister. Jaipur, June 3 : Rajasthan, which became the first state to announce a capital subsidy package for medical oxygen manufacturing units, has now started encouraging private hospitals to set up oxygen plants in the state. The private facilities in the state can now avail the benefits of the government's special package, wherein the minimum investment criteria has been relaxed. Industries Minister Parsadi Lal Meena said, "As there were requests from the medical fraternity for inclusion of hospitals establishing oxygen plants for incentives under the package, and lowering the investment bar for them, we have have now extended the benefits to private hospitals also, understanding the need of the hour. This step of the government will help equip us better for the future." The Industries Department has held quick rounds of discussions with the representatives of the state's major private hospitals and has understood their requirements in setting up the oxygen plants. Following this, the state government has decided to cover private hospitals under the special package that is being offered to the enterprises. Under this special package, if any hospital is making investments for setting up a medical oxygen plant during the current fiscal, it can avail capital subsidy equivalent to 25 per cent of the investments made in the plant and machinery, or a capital subsidy equivalent to Rs 40,000 per nm3/hour or m3/hour of medical oxygen manufacturing capacity, whichever is lower, subject to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh. For ease of understanding, the hospitals are required to set up a plant having at least eight nm3/hour medical oxygen manufacturing capacity. i.e.. approximately 30 cylinders per day. Similarly, enterprises other than hospitals are also eligible to avail the benefit of capital subsidy equivalent to 25 per cent of the investment made in plant and machinery and equipment, subject to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh. Only investors who have set up and commenced operations between April 30 and September 30 can avail the benefits of this special package. Mysuru, June 3 : Accusing Mysuru Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri of humiliating her at every step, the Commissioner of Mysuru City Corporation (MCC), Shilpa Nag, announced to step down on Thursday, saying that she would soon meet the Chief Secretary, P. Ravi Kumar, on the matter. Reading out her 10-page handwritten resignation letter at a press conference here, Nag alleged that she faced humiliation at every meeting. "The Covid situation in Mysuru has been brought under control after taking several measures, including setting up of Covid call centres at each and every ward (65 in total) and forming Covid task forces comprising social activists and political leaders at the ward level. But still Sindhuri continued to humiliate each and every officer involved in this process. During the meetings every day, she tried to highlight one mistake or the other," Nag alleged. She added that if her resignation can give in some respite to Mysuru, so be it. "As a Deputy Commissioner, she has every right to lead the team, but she has no right to abuse us and humiliate us at every level. After taking pains for about 15 days and interacting with the officials of the Bengaluru civic body, who developed and run the 'Apta Mitra' app in Bengaluru, I was ready with a plan to rollout a similar kind of app here. But Sindhuri hogged the entire credit for creating this app at a recent meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, without mentioning a single officer's name," Nag said. She further alleged that Sindhuri had conspired to get rid of her from all crucial internal WhatsApp groups that were created to keep everyone in the loop about Covid development and funds utilisation. "Sindhuri tried to get rid of me from the corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds management group. The CSR funds alone were utilised to tackle Covid in the city, but despite being the DC, she (Sindhuri) did not allot even a single rupee for the MCC," she alleged. Ever since Sindhuri was posted as Mysuru DC last year, she has been at loggerheads with politicians as well as civic officials. Last month, she was accused of thwarting oxygen supply to Chamarajnagar district by the Chamarajanagar Deputy Commissioner and district in-charge minister S. Suresh Kumar after lack of oxygen supply had resulted in the death of over 24 patients within 24 hours there. Sindhuri is a 2009 batch IAS officer, while Nag belongs to the 2014 batch. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) New Delhi, June 3 : The IANS-CVoter CBSE Snap Poll conducted in the aftermath of the Union governments decision to cancel Class XII board exams in view of the Covid-19 pandemic has found that as many as 56.4 per cent of respondents are happy with the government decision. Similarly, 56.6 per cent of those interviewed said that state board exams for Class XII should also be cancelled because of the prevailing Covid situation in the country. The IANS-CVoter CBSE Snap Poll was conducted in the aftermath of the Union government's decision to cancel the Class XII board exams taken on June 1. The all-India sample size for the snap poll was 5,422 and the fieldwork was conducted on June 2. Notably, while several states like Rajasthan, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Uttarakhand have cancelled the Class XII board exams, Chhattisgarh is holding offline exams. Others, including Karnataka and Odisha, are yet to announce their final decision on the matter. The majority of the respondents said that while career is important for the students, health risks should be avoided keeping in view of the spread of the deadly virus in the country, stating that conducting offline exams can prove fatal at this juncture. A total of 60 per cent of those surveyed said that cancelling Class XII exams can have an adverse impact on the career of the students and to avoid such a situation, the government should opt for alternate mechanism like digital mediums to conduct various exams. A whopping majority of the respondents -- 76.4 per cent -- said the government should think of using digital mediums to conduct various competitive exams like IIT/JEE, NEET and for admissions to universities and colleges in a fair manner to prevent loss of a career year of the students. However, 60 per cent of the respondents expressed concern about the digital divide in the country, saying that those not having access to digital platforms, especially in the rural areas, will be in disadvantageous position. A large number of respondents said the government should work on improving the digital infrastructure in the rural areas of the country to face such challenges in the future. Notably, a large number of respondents expressed concern about vaccines not being made available for the students in this age group; 63 per cent respondents asserted that the government should work towards getting vaccines for the students at the earliest, as they are at a crucial stage of their career. A large number of respondents -- 46.2 per cent -- said that the government had an option of postponing the exams and conduct them at a later stage after getting the students in this age group fully vaccinated. In view of the uncertain conditions brought about by the pandemic and taking into account the feedback obtained from the various stakeholders, the Centre on Tuesday decided to cancel the CBSE Class XII board exams for 2021. After the government's decision, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) also scrapped the ISC Class XII exams for this year, saying that a scheme for evaluating the students will be announced soon. The decision to cancel the CBSE Class XII board exams was taken in a review meeting chaired by the Prime Minister. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Bengaluru, June 3 : Facing a controversy after a Google Search with the keywords "ugliest language in India" showed "Kannada" in the results, Google India said on Thursday that it is not the reflection of the company, as it apologised for misunderstanding and hurting any sentiments. The Search result sparked an outrage among the netizens earlier in the day, with the Karnataka government threatening to issue a legal notice to the company. "Search isn't always perfect. Sometimes, the way content is described on the Internet can yield surprising results to specific queries," a Google India spokesperson told IANS in a statement. "We know this is not ideal, but we take swift corrective action when we are made aware of an issue and are continually working to improve our algorithms. Naturally, these are not reflective of the opinions of Google, and we apologise for the misunderstanding and hurting any sentiments," the company spokesperson added. Minister for Kannada, Culture and Forest in Karnataka, Aravind Limbavali, took to Twitter on Thursday and highlighted the controversy, demanding an apology from Google. "Kannada language has a history of its own, having come into existence as many as 2,500 years ago! It has been the pride of Kannadigas all through these two-and-a-half millennia. If Kannada is now called ugliest language in India, it is merely an attempt by Google to insult this pride of Kannadigas," he said in the tweet. The Search algorithm issue has been rectified now. Bengaluru, June 3 : With a Covid surge still being reported in rural parts of the state, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Thursday announced the extension of lockdown by a week, with the restrictions to be in force till 6 a.m. on June 14. He also announced a second relief package totalling Rs 500 crore for different groups including film and TV industry workers, fishing community, ASHA and anganwadi workers, weavers, and people working in places of worship. This relief package is in addition to the Rs 1,111.82 crore financial package as relief for those whose livelihood has been affected by the lockdown, announced just a fortnight ago. Karnataka's Covid technical advisory committee had maintained in its report that ongoing lockdown restriction can only be eased once the positivity rate falls below five per cent and the number of cases should be reported below 5,000 a day across the state. After an informal meeting with ministers here, Yediyurappa told reporters that the ongoing lockdown must be extended for another week because in the villages, the Covid situation is the worst. Noting that the state had earlier announced stringent restrictions from May 24 to June 7 to contain the spread of Covid, he said: "Though the infection has come under control, the spread of the disease is still on. Therefore, we have decided to extend the restrictions by a week, following the recommendation of experts, till June 14 morning." The Chief Minister maintained that the restrictions can only be eased only after the positivity rate comes down below 5 per cent. Announcing the new cash relief to different groups, he said that for instance, weavers working in the state's 59,000 power looms will receive Rs 3,000 relief, adding up to Rs 35 crore. Some 22,000 registered unorganised workers of the film and television industry, too, will get the same amount, amounting to Rs 6.6 crore, he said. Similarly, Rs 12.75 crore will be spent as relief on Karnataka's 42,574 Asha workers at Rs 3,000 per head. Karnataka initially announced a 14-day corona curfew from April 27, but subsequently imposed a complete lockdown from May 10 to 24 as Covid cases continued to rise. It was extended again till June 7. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) New Delhi, June 3 : The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has directed all government organisations to frame norms for their employees to ensure that a mandatory cooling off period is followed by them post retirement before accepting any offer from the private sector. In a letter to the secretaries of all ministries, CEOs of PSUs, banks and insurance companies, the CVC said that the applicable service or conduct rules should be amended to ensure that if required, appropriate action can also be initiated in case of violation of these rules by retired employees. The CVC said that taking up a post-retirement acceptance of an offer by retired government officers without observing mandatory cooling off constitutes a serious misconduct on their part. The CVC has also formulated a defined procedure for engaging a retired government official on contractual/consultancy basis by government organisations. In respect of retired officers belonging to All India Services, Group A or equivalent posts, before offering them a contractual basis employment, vigilance clearance must be taken from the previous employer from where they have retired. In case no information is received from an erstwhile employer for 21 days, "deemed vigilance clearance" will be considered for the concerned person. If later on it is found that the person was involved in a vigilance related matter, the erstwhile employer organisation would be held responsible for all consequential actions. "The procedure for engaging retired government officers should be transparent with equal opportunity to all those who are willing to offer their services. The post should be advertised at least on the website of the organisation concerned at an appropriate place and should be available in the public domain," the CVC said. New York, June 3 : As US President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that India will receive Covid-19 vaccines directly from its stockpile, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the distribution, according to the White House. Biden, who has faced international and domestic pressure to share the surplus vaccines, said he was releasing the first set of 25 million doses of which six million will be distributed between India, South Korea, Mexico and Canada. The six million "will be shared directly with countries experiencing surges, those in crisis, and other partners and neighbours", he said without a breakdown of how many will go to India. Thursday's call was likely the first interaction between Modi and Harris, who has criticised him in the past, although not since assuming office. The White House said that she also spoke to Presidents Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico, and Alejandro Giammattei of Guatemala, and Prime Minister Keith Rowley of Trinidad, who is also Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). She "notified each of the leaders that the Biden-Harris Administration will begin sharing the first 25 million doses of Covid vaccines to their respective countries and others, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration's framework for sharing at least 80 million vaccines globally by the end of June", and they thanked her and "agreed to continue working together to address Covid-19 and advance our mutual interests around the world," the White House said. Biden said in his announcement that another seven million doses will be earmarked for South and Southeast Asia, but did not name the recipients. These will be distributed through Covax, the international consortium for providing vaccines to developing countries under the World Health Organisation leadership. Covax will also get six million doses earmarked for Latin America and the Caribbean, and five million for Africa. "In the days to come, as we draw on the experience of distributing the vaccine doses announced today, we will have more details to provide about how future doses will be shared," Biden said. "The United States will be the world's arsenal of vaccines in our shared fight against this virus," he said. Several members of Congress including Raja Krishnamoorthi have asked Biden to send vaccines to India, which is facing a deadly second wave surge of the pandemic. "Our approach will be to ensure that it is distributed in an equitable manner around the world," Biden's Spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Wednesday. While most of the requests for vaccines for India focused on the 60 million AstraZeneca vaccines in the US stockpile, Politico said that the vaccines being donated will be a mix of those made by Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, and Pfizer. The AstraZeneca vaccine, which is branded as Covishield in India, has not received the approval of the US Food and Drug Administration for use in the US. Biden had so far resisted sharing the vaccines globally -- except with Canada and Mexico -- because he wanted to be sure that under any eventuality there would be enough for all Americans. That was in contrast to India, Russia and China that made diplomatic splashes by donating vaccines. Now nearly half the population of the US has been vaccinated, according to the Centres for Disease Control, giving Biden a breathing space. While there is a global clamour for vaccines, the US is battling resistance to vaccinations from a sizeable part of the population. Governments across the US are running lotteries with million-dollar prizes and scholarship as well giving out beer and pastries to coax those avoiding vaccinations to get their jabs. According to some media reports, the US may have as many as 500 million surplus doses of vaccines in the coming months. Former President Donald Trump had taken the risky step of ordering millions of doses of vaccines -- far beyond the requirement of the US population of nearly 330 million -- from several companies under his Operation Warpspeed even before the vaccines were being tested to ensure that there would be enough of any that obtained approval for use to cover the population. This has led to the huge surplus. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis) Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text The explorer is putting all of its energy into growing its territory across the highly prospective yet largely underexplored Newfoundland gold region. Matador Mining Ltd (ASX:MZZ) (OTCMKTS:MZZMF) (FRA:MA3) has boosted its landholding across a major Newfoundland gold region following a strategic review. The gold exploration company upped its territory by 37% to cover 750 square kilometres of the Canadian island after it evaluated prospective tenements outside its Cape Ray Gold Project. Specifically, two new blocks to the west of the Cape Ray asset caught Matadors eye and were added to the companys tenement package. The ASX-lister also picked up the Hermitage Project, a regional gold exploration asset that runs along 27 kilometres of continuous strike. A map showing Matador's new gold exploration tenements. Newfoundland shows promise Matador Mining executive chairman Ian Murray said: Newfoundland has become one of the most exciting jurisdictions for gold exploration in North America. Whilst we believe we already have one of the most attractive and under-explored packages in Newfoundland, our exploration team is always assessing new opportunities. This work has led to the identification of two new blocks to the west of our tenement holdings that we believe could host large-scale cross structures to the Cape Ray Shear. Work on these areas will form part of this seasons exploration program. The Hermitage Project is in a new region of Newfoundland for Matador, where we see excellent potential and believe it has been overlooked historically due to the modest cover (estimated around 20 metres). Both tenement acquisitions are aligned with the companys strategy of building a sustainable pipeline of highly prospective gold targets throughout Newfoundland. Cape Ray expansion and Hermitage Project Matadors latest upgrade at Newfoundland has added 127 square kilometres of new land to its Cape Ray Gold Project. At Block 1, northwest of the projects Central Zone and Window Glass Hill deposits, the explorer has identified a major mineralisation structure. To get a better understanding of the area, Matador aims to complete heli-magnetic surveys and multi-element geochemistry during its 2021 exploration program. Meanwhile, Block 2 lies immediately north of Cape Rays Malachite Lake prospect, where a northeast-trending shear has been identified. The ASX-lister will likely follow up with heli-magnetics this year, while geochemistry studies are slated for 2022. Finally, at its new Hermitage asset, Matador will undertake a review of historical exploration and this work included geochemistry, airborne and electromagnetic surveying. Kolkata, June 3 : In a late evening development on Thursday, former West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay replied to the show-cause letter sent to him on the ground that he refused to comply with the lawful directions of the Central government, violating Section 51 (b) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The letter was sent to Bandyopadhyay, presently the Chief Advisor to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on May 31, the last day before his retirement. Though the full content of Bandyopadhyay's letter is not known yet, sources close to him said that the former Chief Secretary has defended his action of leaving the review meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi early along with Banerjee on May 28. Bandyopadhyay in his letter has mentioned that as the Chief Minister of the state was his immediate authority, he left the place under her instruction, sources said. Being the Chief Secretary of the state, it was his duty to follow the instructions of the Chief Minister, he said. Bandyopadhyay also said that the Chief Minister had sought permission from the Prime Minister before they left for Digha for an administrative meeting. He also said that he had apprised the PMO of his detailed schedule and so in no way he could be held responsible for 'non-compliance' of the Central government's order. The present Chief Secretary of the state, Hare Krishna Diwedi, has written a covering letter to the one written by Bandyopadhyay. Bandyopadhyay was replying to the show-cause letter where it was alleged that by "abstaining himself from the review meeting taken by the Prime Minister, who is also the Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in the aftermath of cyclone Yaas as part of his visit to cyclone affected areas in the state of West Bengal, Alapan Bandyopadhyay, Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal, has acted in a manner tantamount to refusing to comply with lawful directions of the Central Government and is thus violative of Section 51 (b) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005". "Therefore, Alapan Bandopadhyay is hereby called upon to explain in writing to this Ministry within a period of 3 (three) days why action should not be taken against him under Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 for the aforesaid violation under the Disaster Management Act, 2005," the letter sent from the Disaster Management Division of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs added. The controversy took a centre-stage in state politics after the Central government recalled Bandyopadhyay for central deputation, two days after giving him an extension of three months for continuing as the Chief Secretary of the West Bengal. Banerjee had alleged that the Central government was taking a vindictive attitude towards Bandyopadhyay. However, Bandyopadhyay, who decided not to avail the extension, took his retirement on his normal retirement date, May 31. He was immediately appointed as the Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister by Banerjee. Kolkata: Shoppers at Kolkata's South City mall that reopened on June 8, 2020. Restaurants, shopping malls, hotels and religious places on Monday threw their doors open to the public over nearly two and a half months after the COVID-19 induced nationw Image Source: IANS News Kolkata: Visitors at Kolkata's South City mall that reopened on June 8, 2020. Restaurants, shopping malls, hotels and religious places on Monday threw their doors open to the public over nearly two and a half months after the COVID-19 induced nationw Image Source: IANS News Kolkata, June 3 : With the number of Covid cases shrinking steadily for the last one week, the West Bengal government has decided to give further relaxations, allowing bars, restaurants and malls to function with limited facilities. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the relaxations in her meeting with different chambers at the state secretariat on Thursday. Accepting the request of the chambers, Banerjee said, "Covid-19 contagion is declining in West Bengal following the imposition of restrictions. Restaurants can be open for three hours in the evening from 5 pm to 8 pm provided the people working there are vaccinated." Though the Chief Minister didn't specify the date of the opening, senior officials indicated that it will be in effect soon and everything will be clear after the state government issues notification on this. Giving a careful thought to the proposal of opening up of the malls, the Banerjee said that the government is carefully considering the proposal of allowing shopping malls to open with 25 per cent workforce after the ongoing Covid-related restrictions come to an end on June 15 indicating that the government is clearly thinking to withdraw some of the restrictions after the second of this lockdown comes to an end. The government's decision to give relaxations was backed up by the sharp declines of covid cases in the past one week. When before the imposition of the restrictions the number of fresh cases were hovering around 20,000 cases per day, in the last couple of days it came down below 10,000 making it obvious that like that in the entire country, covid, in this state, is also showing signs of slowing down. The CM said that her government was mulling the option of vaccinating domestic helps in the same way it has planned to inoculate hawkers, bus conductors, vendors and others. Altogether 1.4 crore of people in West Bengal have been inoculated so far, she said. At the meeting, Banerjee also urged representatives of the chambers to help the government in vaccinating the population of the state. "The government cannot single-handedly vaccinate everyone. I will urge you to come forward and help us to inoculate the people," she said. The CM also sought their help in relief works in districts ravaged by Cyclone Yaas. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Hyderabad, June 3 : Opposition parties in Telangana on Thursday strongly condemned arrest of a journalist, calling it an attempt to crush freedom of press. G. Raghu Ramakrishna, who works for Tolivelugu, a Telugu portal, and some other media outlets, was initially reported to have been kidnapped from his house near Malkajgiri in Hyderabad but police issued a statement later that he was arrested in connection with an old case. Mattampally police station house officer informed the family of the 34-year-old journalist that they arrested him in connection with a case, in which he is accused number 19. The case was booked under sections 146, 147, and 148 (Rioting), 332 and 333 (Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) read with 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code, besides relevant sections of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1932. Mattampally police in Suryapet district will be producing Raghu before a magistrate. As the journalist is known as a critic of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), the opposition parties came down heavily on the government initially for the reported kidnap and later the arrest. Congress national spokesperson Dr Shravan Dasoju said in a statement that the TRS government is solely responsible for Raghu's safety and demanded that immediate steps be taken to prevent any untoward development. "Raghu, who has been fighting against the TRS government's fault lines and spreading awareness around public issues continuously, should be saved," he said He urged Press Academy Chairman Allam Narayana to pressure the government to save Raghu from kidnappers and consider this incident as an attack on media and its freedom of expression. NSUI President Venkat Balmoor condemned kidnapping of Raghu and called it an attack on media. BJP leader N. Ramchander Rao denounced the arrest of the journalist who exposed and actively covered land grabbing cases. "TRS known for crushing the freedom of press resorted to one such horrendous act which required serious judicial intervention," tweeted Rao, a lawyer. "Have we truly become a Banana Republic? A journalist who is trying to expose land grabbing and corruption is kidnapped in broad daylight. Is this the Telangana achieved after many sacrifices," asked former MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy. Guwahati, June 3 : Dispelling all speculations, an Assam government probe report, released on Thursday, said that the 18 wild elephants, found dead in Nagaon district on May 12, were killed after being struck by a "massive lightning bolt". Releasing the 10-member probe committee report, state Environment and Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya said that 18 elephants' death due to lightning has been established with clinching evidence. "The exhaustive report incorporating post mortem and reports from concerned agencies have proved beyond doubt that lightning caused the death of a herd of elephants," he told the media. The expert group report said: "The autopsy report suggests that as per in situ spot evidence, the death of the elephants in the herd may not be attributed to any infectious pathological agent or any toxin or poison." Incorporating reports of various organisations including the North Eastern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, meteorological data obtained from the North East Satellite Application Centre at Meghalaya's Umiam and other evidences gathered and statement of the fringe communities recorded during the investigation, a detailed report on the elephant deaths was submitted on Thursday to Chief Wildlife Warden M.K. Yadava. "The investigation report suggests that there does not appear to be any foul play such as conscious attempt of electrocution, revenge killing, poisoning, anthrax outbreak etc. Hence it can be deduced from the evidence available, which point to the cause of death of the 18 elephants by accidental electrocution due to lightning," the report said. The probe committee was constituted by Assams Wildlife Department to ascertain the actual cause of the death of 18 wild elephants including calves on May 12 night in the mountainous Kandali Proposed Reserve Forest (PRF) in Nagaon district. Many organisations, experts and environmentalists had earlier termed the death of 18 wild elephants as very "mysterious" and demanded thorough probes by independent agencies and experts. According to the local people and the forest officials, the carcasses of the elephants were found scattered at different places in the deep forest area. Yadava said that cases are often reported of lightning striking animals and five elephants had died due to this in West Bengal recently, but the May 12 incident in Nagaon is huge and terrible. According to the latest census, India is home to 27,312 elephants and of them, Assam is home to an estimated 5,719, many of whom constantly come out of the forests in search of food. Paris, June 3 : In-form No.24 seed Coco Gauff of America defeated 39th-ranked Wang Qiang of China 6-3, 7-6(1) on Thursday to reach the third round of the French Open for first time. This was Coco's 11th win in 12 matches. Her 23 wins in matches this season have propelled her into the top five for most wins on tour the year. No.5 seed Elina Svitolina also made it to the third round defeat American Ann Li 6-0, 6-4 in one hour and 14 minutes. "In the end, what I'm really happy is the way that I was down in both matches in the second set and found a way," said Elina. "I found a good level and didn't give up on the second set. That was a really good point for me, and I was really playing composed in both matches. It was two different players, but I was really happy that I could win in two sets both matches." Elsewhere, No.25 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia overcame wildcard Astra Sharma 6-2, 6-4. "I went for my revenge. I tried not to do the same mistakes that I did last time. I'm pretty happy with my performance. It was kind of tight at the end, but I'm glad that I got the win," Ons said. Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, who had upset No.12 seed GarbiAe Muguruza in first round, defeated Zheng Saisai of China 6-3, 6-4. New York, June 4 : US Vice President Kamala Harris has told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the US will be sending Covid-19 vaccines to India, following which Modi thanked her for the support from the US government and the Indian diaspora, in what was likely their first interaction. The electronic conversation took place as US President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that India will receive Covid vaccines directly from the US stockpile, the White House said. Modi tweeted, "I deeply appreciate the assurance of vaccine supplies to India as part of the US Strategy for Global Vaccine Sharing. I also thanked her (Harris) for all the support and solidarity from the US government, businesses and Indian diaspora." Biden, who has faced international and domestic pressure to share surplus vaccines, said he is releasing the first set of 25 million doses of which six million will be shared between India, South Korea, Mexico and Canada. The six million "will be shared directly with countries experiencing surges, those in crisis, and other partners and neighbours," he said without giving a breakdown of how many doses will go to India. His spokesperson Jen Psaki said that the vaccines could go out as soon as Thursday "as we are working to operationalise this, which is kind of a historic Herculean effort." Harris has spoken to several international leaders, but till Thursday there had been no mention by the White House of a conversation with Modi, whom she had criticised in the past. Although Harris has refrained from criticising him since assuming office, her nice Meena Harris has attacked Modi. Calling Modi about the vaccine supply gives her clout while speaking to him. The White House said that she also spoke to Presidents Andres Manuel Lapez Obrador of Mexico, and Alejandro Giammattei of Guatemala, and Prime Minister Keith Rowley of Trinidad, who is also the Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). She "notified each of the leaders that the Biden-Harris administration will begin sharing the first 25 million doses of Covid vaccines to their respective countries and others, as part of the Biden-Harris administration's framework for sharing at least 80 million vaccines globally by the end of June", to which they thanked her and "agreed to continue working together to address Covid-19 and advance our mutual interests around the world", the White House said. Modi tweeted that they "discussed ongoing efforts to further strengthen India-US vaccine cooperation, and the potential of our partnership to contribute to post-Covid global health and economic recovery". The Quad -- made up of India, the US, Japan and Australia -- had announced a plan in March for India to manufacture one billion vaccines with US and Japanese financing to be distributed to Asian countries using Australian logistics. Biden said in his announcement that seven million doses will be earmarked for South and Southeast Asia, but did not specify the recipients. These will be distributed through COVAX, the international consortium for providing vaccines to developing countries. COVAX will also get six million doses earmarked for Latin America and the Caribbean, and five million for Africa. Biden said that the US would share more vaccines from its stockpile. "In the days to come, as we draw on the experience of distributing the vaccine doses announced today, we will have more details to provide about how future doses will be shared," he said. "The United States will be the world's arsenal of vaccines in our shared fight against this virus," Biden said. Several members of the Congress in the US, including Raja Krishnamoorthi and Pramila Jayapal, had asked Biden to send vaccines to India, which is facing a deadly second wave surge of the pandemic. Psaki had indicated that the vaccines would be shared by several countries. "Our approach will be to ensure that it is distributed in an equitable manner around the world," she said on Wednesday. While most of the requests for sending vaccines to India focused on the 60 million AstraZeneca product in the US stockpile, Psaki said that the vaccines being donated will be a mix of those approved for use in the US -- the products of Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer. Psaki said that the administration was waiting for FDA approval to send the AstraZeneca vaccines abroad. Biden had so far resisted sharing vaccines globally -- except with Canada and Mexico -- because he wanted to be sure that under any eventuality, there would be enough for all Americans. That was in contrast to India, Russia and China which made diplomatic headway by donating vaccines and it led to domestic criticism of Biden. Now nearly half the population of the US has been vaccinated, according to the Centres for Disease Control, giving Biden breathing space. But the country is battling resistance to vaccinations from a sizeable part of the population. While there is a global clamour for vaccines, the US is battling resistance to vaccinations from a sizeable part of the population. Authorities across the US are running lotteries with million-dollar prizes and scholarships and companies are giving out beer and pastries to coax those avoiding vaccinations to get their jabs. According to some media reports, the US may have as many as 500 million surplus doses of vaccines in the coming months. Former President Donald Trump had taken the risky step of ordering millions of doses of vaccines -- far beyond the national requirement -- from several companies under his Operation Warpspeed even before the vaccines were being tested to ensure that there would be enough of any that obtained approval for use to cover the population. This has led to the huge surplus. Referring to the 25 million doses that the US has committed to send abroad, Psaki said, "That is five times the number of doses any other country is committed to sharing." However, India has sent abroad 66 million vaccine doses before stopping donations and exports last month when it was overwhelmed by the pandemic. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis) 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 Paris, June 4 : An Air France flight from Ndjamena, the capital of Chad, was isolated after landing at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris on Thursday afternoon due to the suspected presence of an explosive device on board, the French government said. "At the request of the prime minister, the interministerial crisis cell has been convened," Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin said on Twitter, Xinhua news agency reported. "The passengers have disembarked," he said. An investigation is ongoing. New Delhi, June 4 : Even as fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, who is wanted in Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case is facing charges of illegally entering Dominica, documents show that two boats may have been used in the operation involving his entry into the island nation. Earlier on Thursday, Dominican High Court Judge Bernie Stephenson adjourned the habeas corpus hearing of Choksi. On Wednesday, a local court charged Choksi for entering Dominica illegally. It is still being ascertained by multiple agencies including that on how he reached Dominica. IANS has accessed the pictures of the boat, several documents, the two vessels and the pictures of two men dressed in black kurta payjama standing on board with three other men. These two boats which might have been used are named -- Calliope of Arne and Lady Anne. The passenger list of Callioppe of Arne shows Gurjit Bhandal, a resident of Birmingham in UK and Gurmit Singh, a resident of India. According to the records of the Cobra tours, Gurjit Bhandal, a resident of Birmingham in UK and Gurmit Singh a resident of India are shown as passengers of Calliope of Arne. Calliope of Arne entered Dominica on May 25 at Portsmouth port, according to the Customs and Excise department documents. According to records, Lady Anne boat passenger list shows Gurmit Singh also as a resident of UK along with Gurjit Bhandal, two crew members Egbert Joyeux as the boat captain and Eugene Davidson. The large boat named Calliope of Arne by Cobra Tours belongs from St Lucia, another Carribean country, while Lady Anne by one Hackshaw Boat Charters Limited also registered in St Lucia. It is claimed that two boats might have been used at different stages to bring Choksi to Dominica from Antigua. Several calls and messages to Choksi's wife Priti Choksi and his lawyer Vijay Agarwal went unanswered by the time of filing this report. Also, there was no confirmation from the Indian government over the two boats and their passengers in question. Choksi's wife and his lawyers have been claiming that the businessman was abducted from Antigua by some men of Indian origin and later forced to board a vessel. His lawyer in India, Vijay Agarwal, had told IANS: "Choksi was forced to get into a vessel from Antigua and was taken to Dominica and there were marks on Choksi's body, implying the use of force." "There is something fishy and I guess it was a strategy to take him to another place so that there are chances of sending him back to India. So I don't know what forces are operating. The time will tell," he had said. Antigua Police Commissioner Atlee Rodney has rubbished the claims of Choksi's counsel and said that they have no information on him being forcefully removed. However, it is not yet not clear how Choksi arrived in Dominica, where is he facing the charge of entering illegaly. Choksi had gone missing from Antigua from May 23 sparking a massive manhunt. He was captured in Dominica three days later on May 26. A Dominican court has restrained the extradition of Choksi till further orders by hearing the habeas corpus plea filed by his lawyers. On Wednesday, Choksi appeared before a local magistrate in Dominica and pleaded not guilty of entering Dominica illegally. On May 27, first pictures of Choksi emerged online, showing several signs of bruises on his arms and a swollen eye. An eight-member team of Indian officials has also landed in Dominica on a private jet for the extradition of Choksi. (Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text HumankindNOWs donation of 1,177 gallons of hand sanitizer and 6,400 KN95 masks will make a significant impact in stopping the spread of COVID-19 in San Diego countys homeless and food insecure population. HumankindNOW, a non-profit supporting healthcare workers and underprivileged communities battling the COVID-19 pandemic, today announced the donation of 1,177 gallons of hand sanitizer and 6,400 KN95 masks to the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank. Our mission is to help those most in need and Californias homeless population remains at high risk for contracting and spreading COVID-19, said Chi-Chao Chang, Chairperson of HumankindNOW. Were pleased to be able to help food banks and shelters such as the San Diego Food Bank protect Californias most underserved populations. The San Diego Food Bank continues to provide nutritious meals to over 600,000 individuals each month, said James Floros, President and CEO of Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank. HumankindNOWs donation of 1,177 gallons of hand sanitizer and 6,400 KN95 masks will make a significant impact in stopping the spread of COVID-19 in San Diego countys homeless and food insecure population. In addition to the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, HumankindNOW has donated high-quality PPE to San Franciscos Mission Food Bank, the United Way of Fresno and Madera, and Fresnos Marjaree Mason Center. Those interested in supporting HumankindNOW can make a donation of any amount at: https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/humankindnow. About HumankindNOW HumankindNOW is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit in California dedicated to supporting front-line health care workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Formed by leaders of Silicon Valley startups and fueled by $750,000 in donations, HumankindNOW has supplied 503,000 pieces of high-quality PPE to over 13,500 health care workers in small businesses and underprivileged communities since its founding in March 2020. To learn more or to donate, go to humankindnow.org. We are looking forward to providing materials information globally and are proud to have JIM as our partner in this collaboration. Ryan Milosh, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer ASM International is proud to announce a collaboration with The Japanese Institute of Metals and Materials (JIM). The objective of this collaboration is to encourage the international exchange of knowledge and ideas regarding the materials science community. The initiative is an opportunity for each organization to expand both their network and their resources. The Japanese Institute of Metals and Materials is an academic society that promotes the advancement of theory, science, and industrial processes as it relates to metals and other materials. ASM International is the worlds largest association of materials-centric engineers and scientists dedicated to informing, educating, and connecting the materials community to solve problems and stimulate innovation around the world. As part of this collaboration between the two societies, JIM Membership will be provided with various benefits of ASM Membership. Student initiatives are a cornerstone of this collaboration, encouraging both ASM and JIM Students and Young Researchers in attending each societys respective annual events: ASMs International Materials Applications and Technologies (IMAT) Fall Meeting and The JIM Annual Spring Meeting. Mutually beneficial to both organizations, this allows for students to attend materials science conferences and engage in the exchange of both technical and cultural information. We are looking forward to providing materials information globally and are proud to have JIM as our partner in this collaboration. Ryan Milosh, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer JIM is the first partner to join ASM International in this unique, global collaboration to expand value within the materials community at large. To learn more about this collaboration and other global materials science initiatives, please visit: https://jim.or.jp/en/ or https://asminternational.org. About JIM The Japan Institute of Metals and Materials (JIM) was established as an academic society on February 14, 1937 in Japan. JIM is a leading academic society in Japan for the promotion of science and technology in the field of metals and related materials. JIM acts as an academic organization that disseminates information on excellent research and technology, fosters excellent human connections, and passes on technology to future generations. The Japan Institute of Metals provides events, conferences, journals etc. for scientists and engineers around the world. For more information about JIM, please visit https://jim.or.jp/en/. About ASM International ASM International is the worlds largest and foremost professional technical society serving the information needs of scientists, engineers, and technicians who develop, test, select, and apply advanced materials, including metals, composites, polymers, and ceramics. As the worlds largest and most established materials information society, ASM engages and connects members to a global network of peers and provides access to trusted materials information through reference content and data, education courses, international events, and applied research. To learn more about ASM International, visit asminternational.org or call 440.338.5151 to speak with an ASM International representative. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Watch Proactive mining analyst Ryan Long presents his monthly report on the mining royalty and streaming sector for May. Long says May 2021 continued the positive trend for mining royalty and streaming businesses for the third month in a row, with the average share price up 1.9% this month,... Sacramento "Super Lawyer" Kenneth Rosenfeld I am pleased and honored to have been named to this years Super Lawyers list, said Rosenfeld, who last year was recognized by the American Institute of Trial Lawyers as a 2020 Litigator of the Year. California criminal defense attorney Ken Rosenfeld of The Rosenfeld Law Firm has been acknowledged as having achieved outstanding peer acclaim and professional accomplishment by the rating service Super Lawyers, which has named Rosenfeld to the 2021 list of Super Lawyers in California. Bestowed annually on a small percentage of the countrys elite lawyers on a state-by-state basis, the recognition, which relies on peer nominations and independent research, distinguishes those attorneys who have demonstrated a high degree of excellence. A rating service of exceptional attorneys from over 70 practice areas in the nation, Super Lawyers annually names a list of trustworthy, high-achieving lawyers for the purpose of facilitating the publics search for top-quality legal counsel. The multi-step selection process employed by Super Lawyers combines independent research with peer nominations and peer evaluations to achieve the list; fewer than five percent of a states lawyers receive the designation each year. In order to be named to the 2021 California list of Super Lawyers, Rosenfeld needed to demonstrate excellence across a host of indicators highlighting his credentials, professional results, and honors, including: Verdicts and settlements Experience Special licenses and certifications Scholarly lectures and writings Education background Honors and awards Bar and/or professional activity Pro bono and community service Other outstanding achievements I am pleased and honored to have been named to this years Super Lawyers list, said Rosenfeld, who last year was recognized by the American Institute of Trial Lawyers as a 2020 Litigator of the Year. The Rosenfeld Law Firm strives for excellence and its gratifying to have been nominated and positively credited by my peers. About The Rosenfeld Law Firm With offices in Sacramento and San Jose, The Rosenfeld Law Firm provides aggressive defense of a wide range of high-profile criminal defense cases. California criminal defense attorney Ken Rosenfeld defends such cases as first-degree murder and sex offense cases, and also provides DUI defense. In addition to mental health criminal defense, The Rosenfeld Law Firm also practices federal criminal defense and juvenile defense, as well as appellate law and prison law. As a skilled criminal law commentator, Rosenfeld makes regular appearances on KTXL TV and FOX40's Ask An Attorney. Rosenfeld was named 2020 Litigator of the Year by the American Institute of Trial Lawyers. For more information, please contact Ken Rosenfeld directly at (916) 447-2070, or visit http://www.therosenfeldlawfirm.com. Press release writing by WebSiteText and Proofreading Services by The Proofreaders. K.L. Dempsey, author of The Unholy Vengeance and The Vanishing Pharmacist, has completed his new book Secrets of Edens Dam: a gripping and potent novel that tells the story of Doctor Graham Harding. When he returns to his hometown of Edens Dam, he looks across the flowing Sheyenne River at the house where his best friends sister Victoria Hanson had been murdered twenty years ago. The murderer had left only one clue as to his identity: a mans expensive cologne with its fragrance on Victorias body and clothes. Dempsey writes, Sometimes the smallest event can change everything forever, even in a small town such as Edens Dam, North Dakota, population zero. It wasnt always like that, of course, having reached its historical highest population in 1900 when 641 people made up the census of this once-thriving German town with a reputation as having the finest German pastries stores that could be found in the state. Add that to having a popular local butcher shop that could produce twelve different German sausages, from the traditional meat dishes to the wonderful-tasting bratwurst, knackwurst, and frankfurter Buckhurst. The only thing missing in this town had been a fishing area that would bring the tourists in to purchase all that good food. That small problem had been solved when the original namesake of the town Elmer Eden had opened up the only access road to a dam that he had used for watering his livestock. The dam appropriately called Edens Dam benefited from nearby Lake Darling in spilling its overflow lake water down through a flowing creek that made its way past the cement dam carrying with it some of the best trophy northern pike fishing in the state. Published by Page Publishing, K.L. Dempseys captivating tale follows Doctor Graham Harding as he works to fulfill his promise that he had made to his best friend that he would find the killer and bring him to justice. Readers who wish to experience this mesmerizing work can purchase Secrets of Edens Dam at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. Van Guines, a Tennessee native living in Virginia, excited to begin his new writing career, has completed his new book The King of Alton Park: a gripping and potent murder mystery involving the man who was destined to become the new King of Alton Park, and his daughter who is determined to find answers. The author shares, Shang Butler is known to be a brave man. Hes known for his bravery from the battlefield on the battlefields of World War I to the back streets of the Chattanooga criminal underworld, where there is never a dull moment and nothing is cut and dry. Published by Page Publishing, Van Guines's exciting tale follows Shang Butler, a World War One veteran residing in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where a young woman by the name of Mary Joe Morton, determined and looking for answers, comes to Mr. Butler with a case he couldn't refuse. Mary's father, the infamous Zeebdee Morton, the man being groomed to become the next King of Alton Park, was murdered in cold blood by a nobody going by the name Big John, only for him to be let go by the police on the grounds of self-defense. After a strange run in with John, Zeebdee's daughter decided enough was enough and asked Mr. Butler to provide his invaluable services. Shang takes her up on the offer, but there was no way he could have known just how deep the rabbit hole he stumbled into was. Readers who wish to experience this gripping work can purchase The King of Alton Park at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. Clayco has been named 2021s Midwest Contractor of the Year by Engineering News-Record (ENR), an accolade that covers an 11-state region. With $3.8 billion of revenue in 2020 and a firm grip on the design-build distribution center market, Clayco topped ENR Midwests Top Contractors list for the second year in a row and was unanimously voted Contractor of the Year by ENRs editors. Recognized for leading the construction industrys proactive response to the pandemic, Clayco advised the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and governors of 48 states to write work-site guidelines. This critical display of leadership allowed the construction industry to keep projects going and deemed essential throughout the pandemic. These directions included having multiple entrances to sites, temperature checks, masks, social distancing and an onsite nurse. Clayco is also the design-builder behind Pfizers Chesterfield, MO research and development facility where the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was developed and is still being manufactured today. The entire industry has really done a great job and has really proven to the governors and various health officials that construction can, indeed, go on under these pandemic conditions, said Clayco Executive Chairman and Founder Bob Clark. We want everyone to be in a safe situation and feel, all of the time, that theyre in a safe situation. Early in March 2020, Clark spearheaded weekly mentoring calls with minority- and women-owned (MBE/WBE) contractors and subcontractors across the country to offer mentorship and ensure they had the means and resources to adapt and sustain through the pandemic. Clayco also supplied personal protective equipment (PPE) to MBE/WBE contractors in need throughout the pandemic. In October 2020, Clark launched a nationwide tour visiting 45 active jobsites to demonstrate his appreciation for Claycos in-person workforce. In 2020, Clayco delivered $1.4 billion in distribution centers, enabling the U.S. economy to leverage e-commerce in the fight against COVID-19. In the 12-month period since the start of the pandemic, the Clayco team has amassed approximately 14 million manhours on job sites, with up to 11,000 people on the jobsite every day, which resulted in only 125 confirmed COVID-19 cases. To top off Claycos banner year, Bob Clark helped lead the industry push back against the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidance that deemed adverse reactions to required COVID-19 vaccines recordable incidents in contractors and other employers safety logs. OSHA changed its guidance, in part because of Claycos communications with the agency, and no longer requires employers to report the reactions in safety logs. In ENRs annual Top 400 Contractors list for 2021, Clayco ranked #24 overall; #12 in Telecommunications; #20 in Industrial; #18 in Top Domestic Building/Manufacturing; #17 in Top New Contracts. ENRs Top 400 is an annual report that ranks the largest U.S.-based contractors across different sectors and project types based on revenue. The full story will be featured in the July issue of ENR Midwest. About Clayco Clayco is a full-service, turnkey real estate development, master planning, architecture, engineering, and construction firm that safely delivers clients across North America the highest quality solutions on time, on budget, and above and beyond expectations. With $3.8 billion in revenue for 2020, Clayco specializes in the art and science of building, providing fast track, efficient solutions for industrial, commercial, institutional and residential related building projects. For more information visit http://www.claycorp.com. Colorado Connections Academy logo I can proudly say that our commitment through caring teachers and the full-time online learning experience that we offer which has continued uninterrupted throughout the pandemic has helped prepare these graduates for the future that awaits them. Colorado Connections Academy, a network of full-time, tuition-free online public schools, recognized its 364 graduates in a virtual commencement ceremony on June 3 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The Class of 2021 collectively earned more than $2.2 million in scholarships and awards. While graduates were unable to celebrate in person due to the ongoing pandemic, school administrators, teachers and family members cheered on the graduates virtually and many of the components of a traditional graduation ceremony were replicated. This years ceremony included speeches from alumni who have successfully made their mark in their respective fields, including Rebecca Bressan, who serves as a music therapist at Sangre de Cristo Community Care, and Senna Leith, a professional snowboarder with the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team. Both are Colorado Connections Academy graduates from the Class of 2015. In a year like no other, its even more rewarding to watch our graduates as they set off on their own to pursue their passions, said Colorado Connections Academy school leader, Darla Gardner. I can proudly say that our commitment through caring teachers and the full-time online learning experience that we offer which has continued uninterrupted throughout the pandemic has helped prepare these graduates for the future that awaits them. Colorado Connections Academys Class of 2021 consists of graduates from many cities and towns across the state, including Denver, Grand Junction, Parker, Colorado Springs and more. Within the graduating class, 58 percent plan to attend two- or four-year colleges or universities, 5 percent plan to enter the workforce or join the military and 9 percent plan to attend vocational or technical school. Collectively, the Class of 2021 earned admission to many top colleges and universities, including Colorado State University, Colorado School of Mines, Duke University, and Emory University among others. For nearly 20 years, Colorado Connections Academy schools have helped each student maximize their potential through a uniquely individualized learning program specifically built for the virtual environment. Colorado Connections Academy students are diverse and come from all different backgrounds and educational histories. Some students are academically advanced and struggle in a traditional school setting, while some prefer to learn at their own pace. Other students may be experiencing health challenges or bullying, while other are athletes or performers who require a flexible learning schedule. My experience with Colorado Connections Academy allowed me the independence and freedom I needed to pursue and enhance my passion for playing the violin, while allowing me to continue to succeed academically as well, said Leon Baker, a Class of 2021 graduate. I also had a great relationship with my teachers and felt that I could always reach out to them, he added. Leon was recruited to the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, a top performing arts college. He will be attending this fall and will play violin with the schools orchestra. Colorado Connections Academys state-certified teachers work hard to foster meaningful connections by providing individualized student attention and a positive, engaging learning environment. Students have regular opportunities to share ideas, compare experiences and have fun learning with their peers through online classroom sessions. Colorado Connections Academys network of full-time online schools will expand this fall with the addition of Colorado Summit Connections Academy authorized by Education reEnvisioned BOCES. Colorado Summit Connections Academy joins Colorado Connections Academy @ Mapleton, authorized by Mapleton Public Schools, which opened in 2002, and Colorado Connections Academy @ Durango, authorized by the Durango Public School District 9-R, which opened in 2016. All three schools utilize the award-winning Connections Academy curriculum and are open to students in grades K-12 statewide regardless of where they live in Colorado. This network of schools serves over 4,800 students and all share a common goal to ensure that students become productive, successful and confident in school and in life. Families interested in Colorado Connections Academy are encouraged to attend an online information session to learn more, ask questions and discover if virtual school is the right fit for their student. To learn more about the enrollment process and view a complete list of events, visit http://www.ColoradoConnectionsAcademy.com or call 800-382-6010. About Colorado Connections Academy Colorado Connections Academy schools are tuition-free, high-quality, highly accountable public online schools serving students in grades K-12 statewide. Colorado Connections Academy schools provide students with a safe, supportive learning environment and the flexibility to learn from anywhere there is an Internet connection. The combination of Colorado-certified teachers, an award-winning curriculum, personalized instruction, technology tools, and socialization experiences offers families and children an individualized approach to education. There are three Colorado Connections Academy schools operating in the state: Colorado Connections Academy @ Mapleton, authorized by Mapleton Public Schools, opened in 2002, Colorado Connections Academy @ Durango, authorized by the Durango Public School District 9-R, opened in the 2016-17 school year and Colorado Summit Connections Academy, authorized by Education reEnvisioned BOCES, will open for the 2021-22 school year. For more information, call 800-382-6010 or visit http://www.ColoradoConnectionsAcademy.com. Cory Watson Recognized in National Law Journals Top 100 Verdicts of Our attorneys and staff fully understand that representing our clients is more than just a jobits a calling. We are grateful to have the opportunity to serve our clients by holding those who have wronged them accountable in the pursuit of justice. Cory Watson Attorneys is proud to be recognized in the National Law Journals Top 100 Verdicts of 2020. We take great pride in fighting hard for our clients, and this honor is the result of the depth of experience as well as the relentless efforts of our attorneys. Cory Watsons team of attorneys was recognized for the Ohio C8 water contamination case of duPont v. Abbott, and this recovery adds to the constantly growing list of record verdicts on our clients behalf. Recent verdicts in favor of our clients include: 2020: Ohio $50 million C8 water contamination verdict 2019: Alabama $9 million medical malpractice verdict 2018: Alabama 10 million wrongful death verdict 2017: California $25 million automotive defect verdict Please join us in congratulating Jon C. Conlin, F. Jerome Tapley, Nina Towle Herring, Mitchell Theodore, Elizabeth E. Chambers and Brett Thompson for this well-deserved recognition. Our attorneys and staff fully understand that representing our clients is more than just a jobits a calling. We are grateful to have the opportunity to serve our clients by holding those who have wronged them accountable in the pursuit of justice. About Cory Watson Attorneys Cory Watson Attorneys is a nationally-recognized personal injury law firm with offices in Birmingham, Alabama as well as Memphis, and Nashville, Tennessee. The firm has recovered more than $3 billion for clients across the country. Cory Watson Attorneys are frequently at the forefront of major class actions and multidistrict litigations involving product liability related to serious injuries from defective products, and are often appointed to leadership positions in national cases. Firm practice areas include Personal Injury, Product Liability, Class Action, Asbestos, Business & Commercial Litigation, Dangerous Pharmaceuticals, Defective Medical Devices, and Environmental/Toxic Torts. To learn more, visit CoryWatson.com. The Reason for Christmas: a sweet Christmas tale. The Reason for Christmas is the creation of published author Dan Halfman, a loving husband and father who works as a physical therapist in Iowa. Halfman shares, A childrens book written from the perspective of a small child who begins to think about the true meaning of Christmas. The child contemplates whether Christmas is about Santa or Jesus and then learns biblical truth. The Reason for Christmas allows children to hear the Gospel and helps parents talk to their children about Christ. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Dan Halfmans new book is an enjoyable holiday story that offers a unique perspective on the true meaning of Christmas. With a faith-based narrative and enjoyable imagery, Halfmans Christmas story is certain to engage and entertain little ones of any age. View a synopsis of The Reason for Christmas on YouTube. Consumers can purchase The Reason for Christmas at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about The Reason for Christmas, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Ph.D. student Nicholas Zhu conducts research on experimental aerodynamics in the subsonic wind tunnel on Embry-Riddles Daytona Beach Campus. (Photo: Embry-Riddle/David Massey) This scholarship will make a huge difference in my life. Now I can focus more energy into my classes, as well as gain experience through internships while I am still in school. - Kayann Coote, Aerospace Engineering junior When Kayann Coote, now entering her junior year in Aerospace Engineering, found out she had won a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) scholarship that would support her through her bachelors and masters degree programs at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, plus offer her employment when she graduates, she remembers breathing a sigh of relief. This scholarship will make a huge difference in my life, Coote said. Now I can focus more energy into my classes, as well as gain experience through internships while I am still in school. The day she received word of the scholarship, however by email, during an 8 a.m. class it was impossible to focus on anything else, Coote remembered. The first thing I did after getting out of class was call my mom to share the good news. Through her DoD-sponsored Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) scholarship, Coote will work summers on satellite structures at the Space Vehicles Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. In addition to being awarded full tuition for two undergraduate and two master's program years, she will receive a stipend and full-time employment with the DoD after graduation. Coote is one of six Embry-Riddle students to receive prestigious scholarships from the DoD this year. The others are Ph.D. students in the College of Engineering Chris Hays, David Zuehlke and Nicholas Zhu; Emily Rickel, a Ph.D. student in the College of Arts and Sciences; and Garret Atkins, who is earning a masters degree in the College of Security and Intelligence. These students stood out among applicants from all over the country, said Embry-Riddle President P. Barry Butler, Ph.D. Their hard work has paid off in the awarding of these scholarships, which will afford them enormous opportunities. Zhu, who conducts research on experimental aerodynamics in Embry-Riddles subsonic wind tunnel, is working to better understand and eventually model ship aerodynamics. Navy ships, which are usually not streamlined, generate unsteadiness and turbulent airflow, he said, making rotorcraft take-offs and landings extremely challenging on windy days. Such a model first requires a better understanding of the underlying physics of the flow field, and has the potential to improve the aerodynamic fidelity of flight simulators, Zhu said. Zhus future employment with the DoD should offer a good balance between research and real-world engineering, he said. The freedom to pursue a research topic that interests me is very important. Also, the opportunity to be involved in Naval research projects will help me grow as an engineer. Zuehlkes research involves autonomous tracking and imaging of satellites. By automating the process of tracking satellites, we reduce the risk of collisions and allow for the safe operation of the thousands of satellites currently in operation and thousands more soon to be in orbit, he said. Zuehlke said his National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) fellowship will allow him to focus exclusively on my research for the remainder of my time at Embry-Riddle, and build relationships with experts in the Department of Defense that will undoubtedly shape my career. Unlike the SMART scholarships, Zuehlkes NDSEG fellowship does not require recipients to work for a certain number of years for the DoD after graduation. The fellowship lasts for three years and pays for full tuition. It also provides a monthly stipend. I am happy to be able to support the U.S. Department of Defense through my research and will consider possible employment with them in the future, Zuehlke said. But I am also thankful that upon graduation, my options for employment are open. Coote, Zhu and Zuehlke all thanked their professors at Embry-Riddle for helping them successfully navigate the rigorous competition of the DoD scholarship program. Zhu said Distinguished Professor of Aerospace Engineering J. Gordon Leishman, Ph.D. has guided and supported my work using his many years of research experience, yet he always allowed me the freedom to approach the problem as I pleased. His mentorship has fostered my growth as a student and researcher and was instrumental in helping me win the scholarship. Empathia, Inc. Empathia, a workforce solution provider, will once again provide its LifeMatters Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to the state of Minnesota employees. Empathia, a workforce solution provider, will once again provide its LifeMatters Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to the state of Minnesota employees. The state had previously contracted Empathias EAP services for more than 10 years before exploring other provider options. Citing Empathias high level of service and expertise with special employee populations, the state reestablished and expanded its EAP service contract with Empathia. Among the specialized services that Empathia offers, state administrators sought culturally sensitive counseling for employees of different backgrounds and identities, dedicated services for first responders and expanded work/life services for employee concerns like child and elder care and legal assistance. With this new contract, Empathia will provide these services for all eligible state employees. The partnership makes vital support more accessible for workers facing challenges and stressors. We are thrilled to welcome back the state of Minnesota and to once again serve its employees with LifeMatters, our industry-leading employee assistance program, said Carol Wilson, Empathias president and CEO. This long-standing relationship has been built through mutual respect and an acute understanding of how to serve the states unique needs. By working together again, we will be able to provide life-changing EAP services to state employees from a variety of backgrounds and workforce populations, including first responders and other civil servants. For more information on Empathias EAP services, visit empathia.com. About Empathia For over 35 years, Empathia has delivered reliable, quality-driven EAP and crisis management services to organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to small, locally-owned businesses. We offer many options to make our program uniquely your ownwhether you want to go global, nurture wellbeing, boost productivity or improve workplace safety, we can take you there. At Empathia, we do important work driven by a more important missionimproving lives and helping people. Law Office of Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP For more information about the class action lawsuit against Telecare Corporation, call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today. The San Francisco employment law attorneys, at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP, filed a class action lawsuit against Telecare Corporation, alleging the company violated the California Labor Code. The lawsuit against Telecare Corporation, is currently pending in the Alameda County Superior Court, Case No. RG21096006. To read a copy of the Complaint, please click here. According to the lawsuit filed, Telecare Corporation allegedly (a) failed to pay minimum wages, (b) failed to pay overtime wages, (c) failed to provide legally required meal and rest periods, (d) failed to provide accurate itemized wage statements, and (e) failed to reimburse employees for required expenses, all in violation of the applicable Labor Code sections listed in Labor Code Sections 226, 226.7, 510, 512, 1194, 1197, 1197.1, 2802, and the applicable Wage Order(s), and thereby gives rise to civil penalties as a result of such alleged conduct. The complaint further alleges Telecare Corporation committed acts of unfair competition in violation of the California Unfair Competition Law, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 17200, et seq. (the UCL), by engaging in a company-wide policy and procedure which allegedly failed to accurately calculate and record all missed meal and rest periods by PLAINTIFF and other CALIFORNIA CLASS Members. As a result of DEFENDANTs alleged intentional disregard of the obligation to meet this burden, DEFENDANT allegedly failed to properly calculate and/or pay all required compensation for work performed by the members of the CALIFORNIA CLASS and allegedly violated the California Labor Code. For more information about the class action lawsuit against Telecare Corporation, call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today. Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP is a labor law firm with law offices located in San Diego County, Riverside County, Los Angeles County, Sacramento County, Santa Clara County, Orange County and San Francisco County. The firm has a statewide practice of representing employees on a contingency basis for violations involving unpaid wages, overtime pay, discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination and other types of illegal workplace conduct. ***THIS IS AN ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT*** Planning and preparation for follow-up RC drilling to test for mineralisation at 100-150 metres depth is underway. The company recently included the Star of Gordon prospect in its pipeline of discovery targets Yandal Resources Ltd (ASX:YRL) has appointed Tim Kennedy to the role of non-executive chairman. Kennedy will be replacing Katina Law, who will continue as a non-executive director effective from July 1. Expertise to assist with exploration efforts Managing director Lorry Hughes said: On behalf of the board, Id like to thank Katina for her considerable contribution as chair of the company since listing in 2018 and look forward to her ongoing contribution as we build value for shareholders. Katina will take over as chair of the audit and remuneration committees as part of her ongoing role. Yandal welcomes the appointment of Tim as chairman and looks forward to his expertise and guidance as the company aims to rapidly expand our exploration efforts. Star of Gordon prospect in pipeline of discovery The company recently included the Star of Gordon prospect in its pipeline of discovery targets after intersecting shallow, high-grade mineralisation along strike in a recent reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at the Gordons Gold project in Western Australia. Assays have also been received from the Malone and Gordons SE prospects, where aircore drilling to blade refusal was carried out and succeeded in improving the definition of large bedrock targets, which are currently being tested with RC drilling and diamond drilling to follow. Best results from the Star of Gordon prospect include 8 metres at 4.69 g/t gold from 15 metres including 1 metre at 13.29 g/t, 10 metres at 2.53 g/t from 127 metres including 1 metre at 8.56 g/t, and 5 metres at 2.44 g/t from 21 metres including 1 metre at 4.68 g/t. A new deep diamond hole was completed to 342 metres and intersected the target porphyry hosted and related mineralisation at the Gordons Dam prospect with additional holes to follow and assay results pending. Food box deliveries by churches and faith-based organizations have accounted for approximately 10% of the programs 13-month distribution and have proven to be an effective model for taking needed food deep into food insecure communities. We have had many families overwhelmed because they had no other resources. One family kissed the food and asked if the children could eat it immediately because they had nothing for a few days, said Cassandra Sheppard, King Jesus Ministry International. A lady driving a Mercedes came up embarrassed because she had never been in any public assistance line. When she received the food, she cried uncontrollably. Out of our little church in Blue Eye, Missouri we were able to bless our surrounding community with over 40,000 boxes of food through this program, said Jeff Burkhart, Bowman Old Time Pentecostal Church. Utilizing its previously implemented supply chain model, CityServe extended its network at the launch of the Farmers to Families to include additional churches and organizations. The Faith-Based Community for Farmer to Families distributed the following: 17,389,947 food boxes 486,918,796 lbs of food 405,765,663 meals $813,154,389 gifts-in-kind Zach Derstine, President, Derstines Inc, commented, We have received many phone calls from recipients in tears thanking us for supplying nourishment to starving Americans from West Virginia to New Jersey. Thanks to the Farmers to Families program, we were not only able to keep employees working, we were able to hire more who needed the income during such difficult times, said Jorge Vazquez, President, Freedom Fresh. It was great to not only see the positive impact of the food boxes themselves but the impact on our suppliers whose businesses were so severely impacted. HOW IT WORKS USDA-approved food supply contractors coordinate with CityServe to deliver food boxes to HUBs. A HUB is a church or faith-based nonprofit with the capacity to be the distribution center of food boxes to local churches, also known as PODs (point of distribution), in its geographical region. A POD is a local church coordinating with CityServe to receive food boxes from its assigned HUB and meet the needs of its neighborhood with compassionate giving and relationship building. Local churches have a unique ability to deliver food to the Last Mile of Need because they are in close relationship with their neighbors and most aware of the needs and specific circumstances in their community. They look out for the unseen, forgotten, and left behind. Farmers to Families has shown how the local church can quickly and effectively respond to needy families living in the Last Mile of Need, said Dave Donaldson, CityServe co-founder and chairman. Initially launched in May 2020, the Farmers to Families program was designed and implemented as a temporary, emergency relief effort to respond to severe market disruption caused by a global pandemic, as stated on the USDA website. The program has purchased 173,699,775 food boxes for individuals and families impacted the most by the global pandemic. The program came to a close on May 31, 2021. To learn more about how the Faith-Based Community for Farmers to Families has delivered food through the Last Mile of Need through the pandemic, please visit http://www.cityserve.us. About CityServe CityServe is a collaborative network of churches and community leaders connected to help those in need to live better lives. CityServe empowers the local church to fulfill its purpose to overcome despair and transform lives by resourcing them with tangible goods and capacity building. CityServe brings the church to the table to address community challenges by offering long-lasting relationships that lead to transformation and has been designated a Community of Faith and Opportunity by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For more information about CityServe and its initiatives, please visit https://cityserve.us or on social platforms @cityservehq. ### Foresight Risk & Insurance Services, the commercial insurtech platform offering safety-driven pricing, today announced the hiring of Tara Ricketts as the companys Head of People to lead the organization in attracting and retaining exceptional talent. Ricketts joins Foresight to assist the ongoing growth strategy of the company as it caters to an increasing demand for smarter commercial insurance for middle-market businesses. As part of her role, Ricketts will bring her human resources expertise to help Foresights team in their efforts to grow a fully remote and collaborative workforce, attracting and employing talent from anywhere in the United States. Foresight gives me the opportunity to be creative and contribute in new ways as the organization grows, said Tara Ricketts, Head of People at Foresight. My goal is to build a team that develops and contributes more than we knew was possible when our journey started. Insurtech growth starts with talent, says David Fontain, Founder and CEO of Foresight. Tara will be instrumental in creating an incredible team dynamic within and across the Foresight group of businesses. In addition, the new remote-first world opens up many new recruiting opportunities to attract the best talent from anywhere in the country, and Taras vast expertise will help us do so. Prior to joining Foresight, Ricketts garnered more than 20 years of human resources experience, eight years specifically working in the insurance industry at American International Group (AIG). She led a team of human resources professionals and partnered with business leaders to plan, build and meet the needs of the workforce of the future. Prior to joining AIG, Ricketts held human resources roles within the manufacturing and healthcare industries. Ricketts is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), is a SHRM Senior Certified Professional, and is a Developmental Dimensions International (DDI) Trainer. She has been a member of SHRM since 2003 and served on the Indiana State Council of SHRM for 3 years and on the Board of Directors for the Evansville-Area Human Resources Association for 7 years. Ricketts obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Marketing and Human Resources from the University of Southern Indiana as well as a Masters Degree in Business Administration. Foresight is the only commercial insurtech MGU to focus solely on the middle market, a sector loosely defined by workers compensation policies over $50,000 in premium. Businesses in this segment are more frequently partnered with brokers due to a more complex rating and binding process. Since launching in September 2020, Foresight has received $370M in risk submissions from commercial brokers on the platform and expects to exceed $50M in total written premium by the end of 2021. Foresight is now working with 165 appointed commercial agencies, including 14 of the top 20 agencies in the United States, according to the annual ranking by Insurance Journal. Foresight is currently recruiting. To view current job openings, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/company/getforesight/jobs/. About Foresight Foresight is the first insurtech specializing in commercial coverage for the hard-to-place middle market. Our mission is to improve every business we underwrite, starting with workplace safety. Foresight wraps innovative risk management technology into every policy, reducing workplace incident frequency by up to 57% and giving policyholders the ability to earn lower premiums. Learn more about us at getforesight.com. We look forward to building on these relationships, and to collaborating with deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind leaders and community members in Nigeria to foster awareness, advocacy, education, and employment. Gallaudet University has been awarded a three-year, $2.05 million grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support initiatives to advance education, employment, and life opportunities toward the empowerment of deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind children and youth in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. With this grant, Gallaudet University along with its partners, the Nigerian National Association of the Deaf (NNAD) and Wesley University, Ondo are launching the Deaf-E project. This project was inspired by Dr. Isaac O. Agboola, a beloved Gallaudet alumnus, faculty member, and dean who passed away in 2017. Dr. Agboola had a long-held dream of self-determination for the Nigerian deaf community. According to Dr. Khadijat K. Rashid, Interim Dean of the Faculty at Gallaudet, Dr. Agboola wanted to bring Gallaudet home to Nigeria, and Deaf-E fulfills that wish. Deaf-E project activities include: Capacity building: NNAD and its stakeholders. Discovering Deaf Worlds, a U.S-based international deaf advocacy organization, and NNAD will conduct an initial needs assessment and stakeholder survey to identify NNADs organizational capacity priorities and design training modules to enhance the advocacy, leadership, and organizational capacities of NNAD and its stakeholders. Training educational professionals on multimodal/multilingual pedagogical approaches to education. This research-based activity will identify best practices and identify effective training methodologies and assessments, with the goal of producing a pedagogically deaf-centric, barrier-free, and multimodal/multilingual educational programming for deaf children. The project will produce two manuals on multimodal/multilingual approaches that can be used by educational professionals nationwide. Promoting best practices related to general and educational interpreting within a Nigerian context. A working group of deaf leaders and Nigerian Sign Language (NSL) interpreters will create and disseminate guidelines to effective communication by enabling deaf consumers and NSL interpreters to work more collaboratively. Collaborate with USAID and its partners to increase capacity to engage with deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind stakeholders nationwide. Roberta J. Bobbi Cordano, President of Gallaudet University, said, Gallaudet is deeply grateful to USAID for this investment in Deaf E. This funding will have an incredible impact as Gallaudet, the Nigerian National Association of the Deaf (NNAD), and Wesley University, Ondo collaborate on education and employment initiatives that will empower deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind people in Nigeria. Dr. Rashid said, Gallaudet has welcomed students from Nigeria for many years. In fact, there are more Gallaudet alumni from Nigeria than from any other country outside the United States and Canada. We look forward to building on these relationships, and to collaborating with deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind leaders and community members in Nigeria to foster awareness, advocacy, education, and employment. This will positively impact the standard of living for deaf people in Nigeria for many years to come. Chidi Olujie, president of the Nigerian National Association of the Deaf, said, I extend my great appreciation to everyone who worked on this project. We would not have come this far without our shared commitment to creating a conducive learning environment for deaf Nigerians and their families. We are very grateful to USAID for finding us worthy of being beneficiaries of this grant. We expect this project to have a long-term, positive impact on the Nigerian deaf communitys education, empowerment, and employment. Professor Sunday Ndubueze Ukachukwu, Vice Chancellor of Wesley University, said, Coming this far is confirmation that there is strength in unity of purpose. While congratulating all the persons, organizations, and groups who worked assiduously to bring GAIN this far, our deep appreciation goes to USAID for believing in the vision. Indeed the Gallaudet University legacy of subduing barriers, limitations, building hope and empowerment of the deaf through education, is coming to Nigeria, signalling new hope for the deaf in the country and beyond. This project is RFA #72062021RFA00001. The U.S. Agency for International Development administers the U.S. foreign assistance program providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 80 countries worldwide. For more information please visit Gallaudet in Africa-Nigeria and Facebook. Gallaudet University, federally chartered in 1864, is a bilingual, diverse, multicultural institution of higher education that ensures the intellectual and professional advancement of deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind individuals through American Sign Language and English. The university enrolls over 1,600 students in more than 40 undergraduate majors, masters and doctoral programs. It also conducts research in many fields, including education, linguistics, psychology, educational neuroscience, deaf history and culture, and Black deaf history and culture. For more information please visit the Nigerian National Association of the Deaf and Wesley University, Ondo. Media contacts Robert Weinstock Gallaudet University robert.weinstock@gallaudet.edu Alana Cowan The Durkin Agency alanacowan5@gmail.com Director of Price-to-Win at Richter & Company, Gene Metcalf Richter has all the services in place that potential federal contractors need to be successful, and Im glad to be a part of developing that winning solution. Richter & Company is pleased to announce that Gene Metcalf has joined their leadership team as its Director of Price-to-Win. Richter is a full-service company that offers strategic services to help contractors improve their win probability in classified and unclassified environments. Throughout his 25-year career, Metcalf has worked in strategic positions as a financial analyst, controller, and manager for industry leaders like Deloitte, Northrup Grumman, and Lockheed Martin. Most recently, Metcalf was the Senior Manager of PTW and Strategy at Amentum, a global technology and engineering services partner that supports critical programs in the defense, security, intelligence, energy, and environmental arenas, and AECOM, a Fortune 500 firm that offers professional services throughout the project lifecyclefrom planning to design and engineering to program and construction management. He was also the Managing Director at 51 Strategies, a consulting firm offering turnkey and a la carte solutions in strategic planning, marketing, and public relations, financial management, and market and product development services. A graduate of George Mason University, Metcalf holds a Competitive Intelligence Professional (CIP-II) certification from Fuld-Gilad-Herring Academy of Competitive Intelligence. He also earned his Certified Cost Estimator Analyst (CCE/A) from the International Cost Estimating & Analysis Association. Developing an effective Price-to-Win strategy plays a key role in winning a deal in the federal marketplace, says Metcalf. Unfortunately, however, there are a lot of misconceptions surrounding Price-to-Win that are important to resolve before a company can arrive at a solid PTW position. Richter has all the services in place that potential federal contractors need to be successful, and Im glad to be a part of developing that winning solution. With more than 30 years of experience driving results in a wide variety of corporate environments, Gene is a great addition to our team, says company President Chris Richter. Hes an innovative strategist, a talented communicator, and a gifted problem-solver and collaborator-- and thats a winning combination for a Price-to-Win Director. We feel very fortunate to have Gene onboard. About Richter & Company Richter & Company was founded in 2006 as a Limited Liability Company registered in the State of Maryland, self-certified as a Small Business. Early in the business acquisition process, Richter offers strategic services to help organizations identify the markets that fit their core capabilities. As capture efforts progress, Richter provides actionable intelligence about customers and the competitive landscape to help shape potential opportunity. Richter identifies and prices competitor solutions based on objective RFP criteria to help define counter-strategies, strengthen bids, and improve win probability. Since its inception, the company has helped clients win more than $30 Billion in new business by using its proven methodology and comprehensive tools. The Globee Awards Trophy All organizations operating anywhere in the world large to small and startups, government, public and private, for-profit and non-profit are eligible to submit nominations to the 2021 Golden Bridge Awards in a wide range of categories honoring achievement in every aspect of business + work life. The Globee Awards organizer of worlds premier business awards programs and business ranking lists is now accepting nominations and entries for the 2021 Golden Bridge Business and Innovation Awards. To celebrate achievements Globee Awards has introduced new commemorative items. The Golden Bridge Awards are the worlds premier business awards program honoring achievements in every industry around the world. Everyone deserves commendation for job well done. Identify, recognize, and nominate talented executives, professionals, and employees for their achievements no matter how small or large. There are many categories in which your organization, products and services, and the people behind their success can be nominated. Categories are classified under the following groups: People | Innovator, Lifetime Achievement, Maverick, and Women Awards Categories Group People | Entrepreneur Awards Categories Group People | Executive, Management, and Professionals Awards Categories Group People | Professional and Staffer (non-executive) of the Year New Product & Service Innovation | AI, Information Technology & Cyber Security Awards Categories Group New Product & Service Innovation | Content Technologies and Information Management Awards Categories Group New Product & Service Innovation | Education Awards Categories Group New Product & Service Innovation | Energy/CleanTech Industry Awards categories New Product & Service Innovation | Health Care Awards Categories Group New Product & Service Innovation | Industry and Vertical Markets Awards Categories Group New Product & Service Innovation | Best New Product or Service Awards Categories Group Product & Service Development | People Awards Categories Group Product & Service Development | Campaign, Outstanding Achievement, Project or Initiative, and Team-Department Awards Categories Group Company | Innovative Company of the Year Awards Categories Group Company | Best Company Awards Categories Group Company | Startup Awards Categories Group Corporate Communications and PR | People Awards Categories Group Corporate Communications and PR | Campaign, Outstanding Achievement, Project or Initiative, and Team-Department Awards Categories Group Creative | App & Mobile Website Awards Categories Creative | Live Events Awards Categories Creative | Publications and Print Awards Categories Creative | Digital and Online Campaign Awards Categories Creative | Video, Commercial, Advertising, and Film Awards Categories Creative | Web, Social Media, and Online Presence Awards Categories Creative | Campaign, Outstanding Achievement, Project or Initiative, and Team-Department Awards Categories Group Customer Service & Support | People Awards Categories Group Customer Service & Support | Campaign, Outstanding Achievement, Project or Initiative, and Team-Department Awards Categories Group Customer Success of the Year Awards Categories Group Human Resources | People Awards Categories Group Human Resources | Campaign, Outstanding Achievement, Project or Initiative, and Team-Department Awards Categories Group Information Technology Users | People Awards Categories Group Information Technology Users | Campaign, Outstanding Achievement, Project or Initiative, and Team-Department Awards Categories Group Marketing | People Awards Categories Group Marketing | Campaign, Outstanding Achievement, Project or Initiative, and Team-Department Awards Categories Group Milestone of the Year Awards Categories Group COVID-19 Business Response Awards Categories Group All new products and services nominated in the new product awards categories of this years Golden Bridge Awards will be eligible to participate in the Peoples Choice Globee Awards for Favorite Product-Service of the Year. Learn more about the 2021 Golden Bridge Awards and how to nominate here: https://globeeawards.com/golden-bridge-awards/ Winners of previous years are listed here: https://globeeawards.com/golden-bridge-awards/winners/ Stay posted and read success stories of organizations by subscribing to the Globee Newsletter: https://globeeawards.com/subscribe/ A worldwide judging panel of executives and professionals representing a wide-spectrum of industries will determine the winners. Winners will be presented and honored in a virtual ceremony attended by the finalists, winners, judges and industry peers from all over the world. Industry experts and end-users or consumers of product and services can participate in the judging process. More details to register as an industry expert and help as a judge are available at https://globeeawards.com/golden-bridge-awards/judges/ Some of the organizations that have won in the past include HatchWorks Technologies, Cloudbric, Poly, IBM, UniWill Ventures, Wolters Kluwers ELM Solutions, Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority, Rise Interactive, Marqeta, ManagedMethods, EZPack Water Ltd., Centene Corporation, Jaco Products, Applied Systems, PeopleReady, ZOME Energy Networks, Norhart, Nu Skin Enterprises, GROUNDFLOOR, ADP, IGEL, United Natural Foods, Inc., Spinnova, Community Policing, Reverd.com, Novatek Apps, Student Shelter In Computers, Jeunesse Global, Ultimate Software, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Steven Plochocki, Zyter, Houston Methodist Hospital, Cebuana Lhuillier, Brainshark, Altimetrik, Generation Amazing, GoCanvas, Chronicled, Cisco CX Managed Services, mnAI, Alcide, Medigate, Full Sail University, Mylo, AVer Information, iboss, 4Life Research, ZIRAATBANK, CSS Corp, The Audacious Agency, Cepheid, KERLINK & UNHCR, Verizon Connect, Humanitix, eSight, Bitglass, New Heights Educational Group, Epson America, Inc., Sage Intacct, Zero Networks, Centage Corporation, Chargebacks911, Spirion, Jumio, ModSquad, Tigerspike a Concentrix Company, Dell Technologies Education Services, Mentor Collective, PayMotion, Innover, Vyvo Corp, Stefanini Group, KEO Marketing Inc, Thechuppahs- Trend Rentals, Loom Solar Private Limited, Lenovo Technology SDN BHD (Lenovo Malaysia), Digital Air Strike, Point3 Security, Wolters Kluwers CT Corporation, Rimini Street, Inc, BillingPlatform, MorrisCookies Science & Development OU, Ingenious e-Brain Solutions, HomeServe USA, Samsung Electronics, Bensonhurst Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare, MiraClick Affiliate Network, PJ Lhuillier, Inc., iTalent Digital, SYSPRO, beinc., Ordr, IPification, Platform Science, iPipeline, Verint Fraud & Security Solutions, Digital.ai, g2o, Legacy Events Group Ltd, Untangle, Inc., 7 Stage Advisors, 6sense, DeepCube, Great Eagle Holdings Limited, ARIIX, Philo, Rockwell Automation, Solv by Concentrix, TRIANZ, Semperis, Yottaa, 1touch.io, Chime Technologies, Impartner, Red Media Africa, Vivial, Inspired eLearning, LLC., Tech CU, The Insides Company, JazzHR, Updox, Envolve, Code42, ITC Infotech, Kannaway, Jack Henry & Associates, Withings, Waggl, Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S., FogHorn, TAC Security, SecurityMetrics, ZecOps, Pape Group, The State of Utah, LionOBytes, RevBits, ShipMonk, MindTickle, Greenway Health, VEMPOWERALL, Cardinal Group Companies, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority, IKIO LED LIGHTING, Wolters Kluwer, Spirion, Illinois College, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, FM:Systems, Acceptto, BigID, Wolters Kluwer Lien Solutions, SaltStack, PRO Unlimited, Luminance Technologies Ltd, Spirion and TaxSlayer, Centene, PR WIRE, Cisco Systems, Inc., International Paper, Clean Energy Fuels Corp., Adversa, Avalance Global Solutions, Biz News Connect, American Psychological Association, HUYA Bioscience International (HUYABIO), Vertafore, Paypal, hc1, Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC), Nextivity Inc., ROBOZE, Ness Digital Engineering, EXL Service Inc., Izaros Consulting, Florence, Verifi, A Visa Solution, ProfitSword, Intermedia, SmartBeings Inc., Adaptiva, CV19Dashboard.org, Cybera, Artificial Intelligence, Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS), Loop, The Crypsis Group, Rimini Street Foundation, Advantexe Learning Solutions, Luminance, Empire Today, LLC., Rohde & Schwarz, Makers Nutrition, Improovy, Inc., 1906, L&T Technology Services Limited, Jack Henry & Associates, Inc., MemVerge, Forward Networks, Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), Darktrace, Botkeeper, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Public Relations Department, Sumsub, Enablon, Grokker, ASG Technologies, Silverfort, DivvyCloud, Lookout, Concentrix Solv, Tata Consultancy Services, LTD, NexxtGen, 70 Million Jobs, Hayes, SmartBeings, CT Corporation, a Wolters Kluwer company, Nexxt Gen Corporation, Orange Romania, RevBits Cyber Security Solutions, Jasco Products, Medical Marijuana, Inc., N2W Software, Senior Placement Services, IBM Quote to Cash Operations, 2Checkout, Solatube International, ROCSOLE, MUFG Americas, Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting, AppViewX Inc., Vonage, Napatech Inc., Concentrix, Indio, Branch Insurance, KnowBe4, UnitedHealth Group (UHG) Optum, and Young Living Essential Oils About the Globee Awards Globee Awards are conferred in eleven programs and competition: the American Best in Business Awards, Business Excellence Awards (Best Employers), CEO World Awards, Communications Excellence Awards, Customer Sales & Service World Awards, Cyber Security Global Excellence Awards, Disruptor Company Awards, Golden Bridge Awards, International Best in Business Awards, IT World Awards, and Women World Awards. Learn more about the Globee Awards at https://globeeawards.com All trademarks belong to their respective owners. Jordanna Ishmael, an associate in the Miami office of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, P.A., has been appointed vice-chair of the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Committee of the Miami Dade Bar for the 2021-2022 session. Formerly known as the Dade County Bar Association, the Miami Dade Bar (MDB) is the largest voluntary bar association in Florida. Its mission is to be the voice of Miami-Dade Countys legal profession, serving the public and the bar by promoting equal justice, professionalism and civility, and excellence and respect for the law, according to its website. The MDB has 33 sections, committees, and divisions, and provides over 100 hours of continuing legal education (CLE) each year. I am truly honored to be appointed vice-chair of the D&I Committee, said Ishmael. Our focus will be on creating and providing meaningful programming and spaces for important conversation that moves the needle forward on issues of great concern to all in the legal community and beyond. Ishmael is a member of Greenberg Traurigs Litigation Practice. Prior to joining Greenberg Traurig, she worked as a land use associate at a large law firm, representing real estate developers, investors, and property owners. Ishmael has also worked on litigation and employment matters and has experience handling matters in the international arbitration space as well as class action lawsuits pertaining to Floridas Wiretapping Statute. About Greenberg Traurigs Diversity Initiative: From its inception, Greenberg Traurig has been committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Greenberg Traurig is a uniquely empowering and diverse firm built on a foundation of fairness, equality, and authenticity. Through its Social, Racial, and Economic Justice Action Plan, the firm has committed $5 million over five years to help combat systemic racism and support impoverished communities. In addition, the firms efforts have been recognized through its Mansfield Rule 3.0 certification, administered by The Diversity Lab, and by local, national, and global publications and organizations including Chambers and Partners. Web: https://www.gtlaw.com/en/general/our-firm/diversity Twitter: @GT_Drives. About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has approximately 2200 attorneys 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 The Story of You: a wonderful storytelling of how babies are formed in the womb and how the parents prepare for the new addition to the family. The Story of You is the creation of published author Krystle Joy DeGraide, a writer living in Central Florida. She has been a chief operating officer in the insurance industry, a financial controller in a software and digital marketing industry, and an entrepreneur in interior design and health and wellness industries. She has a passion for sharing the truth and beauty of inception, pregnancy, and birth. DeGraide shares, In The Story of You, the reader can walk a child through the journey of when they were in the womb. Fill them in with all the wonder of how their little bodies formed and all the exciting events that took place up until the day they were finally lying in their parents arms. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Krystle Joy DeGraides new book is a creatively told journey of a baby inside the womb of their mother. Illustrated in vibrant colors, young kids will learn from this book and appreciate their existence much more. View a synopsis of The Story of You on YouTube. Consumers can purchase The Story of You at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about The Story of You, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Lever, a leading Talent Acquisition Suite, announced one of its strongest quarters of all time. With over 100,000 active users every single day, continued momentum from Lever speaks volumes to the global talent teams that need the technology to support their hiring of the right talent while providing personalized candidate experiences. From February to April of 2020, the U.S. economy lost 22 million jobs [1]. Fast forward to today, and the U.S. economy has added 916,000 jobs in March as hiring accelerated again [2]. Internationally, the Canadian economy has added 303,000 jobs in March [3] and McKinsey reports that more than 100 million workers will need to find a different occupation by 2030 [4], signaling a significant global job growth surge to come. Additionally in the last year, companies began facing different challenges when looking at candidates, including inquiries on statistics on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and benefits packages that address unique situations while working from home. The more companies Lever spoke with, the more it knew customers needed a product that treats applicants as the individuals they are, and that demand a more personalized experience - which is why Lever developed LeverTRM. LeverTRM is the industrys only complete ATS and CRM solution. LeverTRM is a powerful product that supports its customers, bringing them the resources and solutions needed to provide an engaging candidate experience that enables personalization, communication, reporting and analytics, and automation to attract, recruit and hire the right talent efficiently. Customers that have begun leveraging LeverTRM in the past quarter include industry leaders like Anser Advisory, Pharmapacks, and Traction on Demand, adding to the over 3,500 other customers like Netflix, Fullstack Labs, and Spotify. Traction on Demand has always prioritized creating a great candidate experience, unfortunately our previous tool did not support this, said Anthony Azar, Director of Talent Acquisition at Traction on Demand. Traction on Demand is one of the largest dedicated Salesforce consulting and application development firms delivering cross-platform solutions and standalone SaaS products. We're thrilled to be able to launch a solution that will enable us to measure candidate experience as well as drive this. Working with Lever, we are getting the opportunity to partner with implementation consultants to rethink the candidate centricity of everything that we do. Every week closer to launch gets us more and more excited. Each company navigated a combination of hiring freezes, layoffs, distributed work, and racial injustices over the past year, said Nate Smith, co-founder and CEO of Lever. With hiring on the rise again, we look forward to continuing to support companies in finding top talent, and matching people with their dream jobs. To read more about LeverTRM, see here. (1) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (December 2020). Retrieved from: https://bit.ly/3pfYUBx. (2) U.S. Added 916,000 Jobs in March as Hiring Accelerated, Wall Street Journal. (April 2, 2021). Retrieved from: https://www.wsj.com/articles/march-jobs-report-unemployment-rate-2021-11617314225?mod=article_inline. (3) The Canadian Press. (April 2021). Retrieved from: https://globalnews.ca/news/7747947/canada-economy-jobs-march/ (4) McKinsey & Company. (February 2021). Retrieved from: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/the-future-of-work-after-covid-19# About Lever Lever is a leading Talent Acquisition Suite that makes it easy for talent teams to reach their hiring goals and to connect companies with top talent. Lever is the only platform that provides all talent acquisition leaders with complete ATS and robust CRM capabilities in one product, LeverTRM. The Lever Hire and Lever Nurture features allow leaders to scale and grow their people pipeline, build authentic and long-lasting relationships, and source the right people to hire. Lever Analytics provides customized reports with data visualization, see offers completed and interview feedback, and more, to inform strategic decisions between hiring managers and executives alike. Our platform also enables companies to hire with inclusivity in mind, helping eliminate any hiring bias. Lever supports the hiring needs of over 3,400 companies around the globe including the teams at Netflix, Atlassian, KPMG, and McGraw-Hill Education. For more information, visit https://www.lever.co. For more information, please contact: Michelle McCourt PR Manager (925) 487-4861 michelle.mccourt@lever.co "While this new solution is cost-effective for professional and student pilots, the training will be delivered by some of the most elitely trained and highly qualified instructors in the world and in purpose built aircraft with optimal capability and the widest safety margins." Upset Training Solutions International (UTSI), a flight training organization with an operating location in Europe (EU), announced today its low-cost Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT) solution in the Netherlands as previewed at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE). The continuing impact of COVID-19 on flight training services combined with increasing demand for EASA Advanced UPRT FCL.745.A certificates is driving strong downward pricing pressure on flight schools in the EU. While this new solution is cost-effective for professional and student pilots, the training will be delivered by some of the most elitely trained and highly qualified instructors in the world and in purpose built aircraft with optimal capability and the widest safety margins. The program has also been vetted and approved by Aviation Performance Solutions (APS), a world leader in UPRT and creator of the EPIC-S2 standard for effective UPRT delivery. UTSI has partnered with the Test and Training Centre (TTC), a Netherlands Approved Training Organization (ATO), at the Breda International Airport to provide a 1-day 2-flight EASA Advanced UPRT solution. Located just one hour south of Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, UTSI boasts excellent operating conditions and proximate training airspace to help keep costs low and turnkey training efficiency high. UTSI aligns with TTCs on-going commitment to providing critical regulatory training services to European pilots said Francois Jurres, TTCs general manager and co-owner, Our decision to go lean and provide a one day EASA Advanced UPRT program is in response to the realities of the flight training industry in the EU as we transition through COVID-19 back to normal operations. The company offers immediate online booking through its website. Learn more at http://utsinetwork.com About Upset Training Solutions International (UTSI) Upset Training Solutions International (UTSI) is dedicated to providing economical, regulatory-compliant, on-aircraft Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UTSI) solutions mandated by National Aviation Authorities. Founded by internationally-recognized experts with decades of experience delivering effective UPRT solutions worldwide, UTSI efficiency meets regulatory minimums in response to COVID-19s impact on the flight training industry. In Europe, UTSI operates out of Breda International Airport in partnership with the Test and Training Centre, an EASA Approved Training Organization (ATO). http://www.ustinetwork.com ## For Media Inquiries - Contact Francois Jurres, +31 16 5313559 or info@utsinetwork.com This is the third successful government grant Thor has received this year (LON:THR, ASX:THR, ) said it was awarded a A$110,000 (60,000) grant for its Molyhil tungsten-molybdenum project from the Northern Territory Government of Australia. The project, located about 220 kilometres north-east of Alice Springs, was one of 18 successful projects to receive funding as part of the Resourcing the Territory, Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations programme. The grant will help fund drill testing on recently identified magnetic targets adjacent to the mineralisation at the Molyhil deposit. A diamond drilling programme will start in the September quarter of 2021, it said. "This is another fabulous result for Thor and its shareholders, said Nicole Galloway Warland, Managing Director of Thor. The successful grant is a strong validation by the Northern Territory Geological Survey of the prospectivity of the magnetic targets identified at Molyhil. This is the third successful government grant Thor has received this year, towards co- funding of our upcoming 2021 drilling programs: three grants for three different projects in three different states. June will be a busy month with drilling commencing at Alford East Project, SA next week, followed shortly thereafter at our USA Uranium Project and Ragged Range gold Project, WA," she concluded. MCI USA is proud to welcome the National Association of Educational Procurement as a full-service management partner and as an addition to our other clients focused on excellence in higher education. MCI USAs Association Solutions division is pleased to welcome the National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP), as a new full-service association management client. NAEP is the premier association for procurement and supply chain professionals in higher education. MCI USA is proud to welcome the National Association of Educational Procurement as a full-service management partner and as an addition to our other clients focused on excellence in higher education, said Erin M. Fuller, FASAE, CAE, President, Association Solutions, MCI USA. We look forwarded to collaborating with the Board, members, and staff to ensure the organization reaches the goals of their ambitious strategic plan. NAEP is the association of choice for educational procurement professionals dedicated to their continued professional development and to reinforcing the strategic role of procurement in education. Since the 1920s, NAEP has been the non-profit professional association primarily dedicated to serving higher education purchasing officers in the U.S. and Canada. In 1934, members of the Association founded E&I Cooperative Purchasing, Inc. as an important undertaking and benefit of NAEP membership. Currently, over 1,000 colleges and universities are members. NAEP is a member-focused association providing progressive knowledge management in strategic sourcing, supply chain, materials, and logistics for procurement professionals. NAEP provides professional development and networking opportunities regionally and nationally. The National Association of Educational Procurement is proud to partner with MCI USA to enhance our member services and create operational efficiencies, said Kevin Carr, Chair, National Board of Directors. We look forward to working with MCI USA, a knowledgeable partner that can help NAEP transform our vision into reality. ABOUT MCI MCI is a global engagement and marketing agency. We design human-centric solutions that unleash the power of people to deliver innovation and growth for our clients. Our offering includes live & virtual events, strategic & digital communications, consulting & community solutions. We help brands, companies, associations, and not-for-profits solve their challenges, bringing their people together to shape their tomorrow. MCI is an independently owned company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with a global presence in 60 offices across 31 countries. http://www.mci-group.com MCIs US headquarters is in the Washington, DC area with offices in New York, Baltimore, Dallas, and Chicago. http://www.mci-group.com/usa I am excited to join Momentas accomplished group of industry veterans. Momenta has been at the forefront of digital industry transformation, positioning companies large and small for success, said Mr. Dolbec. Momenta, the leading Digital Industry venture capital firm is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Dolbec as Managing Partner. For more than 30 years, Mr. Dolbec has been an executive in institutional and corporate venture capital in Silicon Valley, most recently serving as Executive Managing Director for GE Ventures. Mr. Dolbec began his investment career with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and continued with Greylock. He went on to venture capital leadership roles at IBM, 3Com, Orange, and LG Electronics. Momenta is the leading venture capital firm accelerating digital innovators across energy, manufacturing, smart spaces, and supply chain. Led by deep industry operators across its venture capital, strategic advisory and executive search practices, Momenta has made over 50 investments, with notable exits to SAP, PTC and Husqvarna Group. Momenta recently closed its third digital industry fund, the AIoT Ecosystem Fund, a $50 million dollar fund backed by Advantech, a nearly $2 billion global industrial intelligence leader. With the addition of Mr. Dolbec, Momenta strengthens its focus on Digital Industry while expanding its ability to invest in later stage and larger investments in industry innovators across North America and Europe. Momenta has been at the forefront of digital industry transformation, positioning companies large and small for success, said Mr. Dolbec. I am excited to join Momentas accomplished group of industry veterans. The entire industrial world, from energy and manufacturing to logistics, transportation and agriculture, is being disrupted by technology and digital transformation. These industries comprise more than half of the economy, but they are largely overlooked by the venture community. I look forward to helping startups become key players in the industrial playbook as they commercialize emerging technologies, like edge computing and machine intelligence, and they drive the largest infrastructure buildout in history." "We are pleased to welcome Mr. Dolbec to the leadership of Momenta," adds Ken Forster, Executive Director of Momenta; "As a Venture Industrialist, he has been at the forefront of the digital transformation of industries, serving as an investor and strategic advisor to some of the most-impactful companies in the space." About Momenta: Momenta is the leading Digital Industry venture capital firm accelerating digital innovators across energy, manufacturing, smart spaces and supply chain. Led by deep industry operators across its venture capital, strategic advisory and executive search practices, Momenta has made over 50 investments, with notable exits to SAP, PTC and Husqvarna Group. For more information, visit http://www.momenta.one, join the @MomentaPartners conversation or contact info@momenta.one. Media Contacts: Momenta Sandra Mueller info@momenta.one +1 (347) 620-1836 ### In recent decades, state policymakers across the United States have been tinkering with their early literacy policies, with the goal of ensuring that students are reading on grade level by the end of third grade. But this good intent is not always matched by good design or good outcomes. NEPC is releasing today a policy brief, Making Early Literacy Policy Work: Three Considerations for Policymakers Based on Kentuckys Read to Succeed Act, authored by Amy Cummings of Michigan State University. The brief reviews the research on early literacy policies and concludes that while they may be effective at improving student achievement in the short term, these policies do not include a full range of best practices in literacy instruction. In 2021, in response to downward-trending reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and its own state assessment, Kentucky considered legislation similar to that introduced and enacted in states across the U.S., framing what would be one such early literacy policy. This Read to Succeed Act had not passed by the end of the 2021 legislative session, which ended on March 30. This brief, however, uses the Kentucky legislation as a way to explore the promise and limitations of third-grade literacy policies and provide guidance for policymakers in states that may consider enacting them in the future. While many states policies require literacy instruction in the Big Five components of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension), experts have noted that evidence-based literacy instruction goes beyond these five components. Cummings explains that literacy instruction emphasizing the Big Five has been found to be limited in its effectiveness improving literacy achievement, and to pose implementation challenges for educators. Considering the ultimate goal of improving students early reading skills, this new brief provides recommendations for policymakers to create effective literacy legislation. Find Making Early Literacy Policy Work: Three Considerations for Policymakers Based on Kentuckys Read to Succeed Act, by Amy Cummings, at: https://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/literacy The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), a university research center housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, produces and disseminates high-quality, peer-reviewed research to inform education policy discussions. Visit us at: https://nepc.colorado.edu I am so happy to share our fantastic new website with patients. It is a great resource to help them stay informed and educated in the treatment options and procedures we provide at Neway Fertility, says Dr. Jeffrey Wang Neway Fertility Medical Director The Neway Fertility clinic is located at 123 W 79th St. in New York, NY. Founded by Dr. Jin-Ho Lim, one of the world leaders in IVM and natural cycle IVF, Neway Fertility specializes in personalized fertility treatment plans. The state-of-the-art clinic is comprised of a group of committed board-certified doctors, embryologists, lab technicians and nurses who help patients achieve their dream of building a family, by offering hope and solutions. The newly designed website for the practice, http://www.newayfertility.com, is user-friendly and innovative. It offers patients an appealing layout that is tailored to meet their needs when needing fertility assistance. The easy-to-navigate site is designed to fully inform both new and existing patients on the treatment options available at the cutting-edge practice. The medical team at Neway Fertility prides itself on delivering exceptional patient care and offering a wide variety of fertility options. The practice takes a natural first 360-degree approach to addressing matters of infertility and an in-depth look at fertility issues. Their first step in treatment is to explore non-invasive, natural solutions. They use techniques such as conventional in vitro (IVF), mild in vitro fertilization (MIVF), natural IVF (IVF/M), single embryo transfer, fertility preservations, sperm banking, in vitro egg freezing, intrauterine insemination (IUI), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and physiological intracytoplasmic sperm injection (PICSI) to provide the right type of fertility treatment to help individuals and couples grow their families. I am so happy to share our fantastic new website with patients. It is a great resource to help them stay informed and educated in the treatment options and procedures we provide at Neway Fertility, says Dr. Jeffrey Wang Neway Fertility Medical Director More about Neway Fertility: Neway Fertility offers the highest level of care to all, no matter the family configuration. Whether a traditional couple, independent parent, straight or LGBTIQ, the team is committed to helping patients build their families. Their team has extensive experience assisting with third-party fertility options as well. Neway Fertility provides resources and guidance for egg donation and surrogacy. Families who come to Neway Fertility experience personalized attention with care and compassion. If you need help expanding your family, contact the experts at Neway Fertility. Visit the new website at http://www.newayfertility.com or call (212) 750-3330 to schedule your consultation with one of their caring doctors. Our project is now complete. Team members have shown a great commitment to the hotel throughout the multi-year process and we look forward to welcoming guests to the new Sheraton Fallsview. Don Calaguiro, General Manager Sheraton Fallsview Recognized as one of the premier Niagara Falls Hotels, the Sheraton on the Falls Hotel is about to unveil the results of a $50 million dollar, multi-year transformation, and the experience begins with the introduction of a new name. The Sheraton on the Falls will operate with the new name of Sheraton Fallsview beginning in June 2021. Renovation projects have touched nearly all corners of the 22-storey, 669 guestroom hotel bringing new experiences for guests. A pillar of the Niagara Falls skyline, and situated in an enviable location directly across from Niagara Falls, the Sheraton Fallsview Hotel has been working on the extensive updates and upgrades over the past 18 months. All guestrooms and suites many which offer floor to ceiling windows for uninterrupted views of Niagara Falls, and the Best Fallsviews Guaranteed have been redesigned with guests in mind. Rooms have been furnished to provide an experience that combines luxury and comfort. Guests will find new bedding, headboards contemporary furniture, new workspace desks and chairs, upgraded lighting fixtures, refreshed carpet and wall coverings in the new rooms. In addition, bathrooms in the majority of the hotels guestrooms have been updated to include modern, spa-inspired, walk-in showers. The new luxury fittings complement existing room amenities that only Sheraton Fallsview offers in Niagara Falls, which include the Juliette Balcony found in nearly all guestrooms, and Step-Out Balcony in the Fallsview Corner Suites. Welcoming, elevated and purposeful were keys when redesigning the lobby, top rated amenities and meeting and function space at Sheraton Fallsview. To facilitate movement within the hotel, a new arrival experience introduced an additional bank of elevators, while comfortable seating areas, and built-in tablets where guests can book a reservation at the #1 Italian Restaurant in Niagara Falls; Massimos Italian Fallsview Restaurant were also added. Updates extend to amenities as well, including Massimos which has been refreshed with a new dinner menu emphasizing seasonal ingredients, and additions to their extensive wine list. Another amenity to welcome updates is Christienne Fallsview Spa. Rated the #1 Spa in Ontario on TripAdvisor, the Spa welcomed upgraded change room facilities and new fixtures. The largest hotel conference space in Niagara was not left out of the renovation process, with meeting rooms and pre-function space energized with new carpeting, video monitors, wall covering and decor. One of the hotels most extraordinary new experiences will be unveiled just in time for Summer! Niagaras only Fallsview Rooftop Pool & Bar will feature the only outdoor pool in Niagara to overlook Niagara Falls, a new fallsview bar, and private cabanas one with an infinity hot tub. The new amenity is expected to set the mark as the place to be for Summer. For more information, visit http://www.SheratonFallsview.com or follow our social channels: Instagram: /sheratonfallsview Facebook: @SheratonFallsview About Sheraton Fallsview Hotel: The hotel is recognized as one of Niagaras premier hotels. Situated directly across from Niagara Falls, in the center of the Tourist District, the hotel features spectacular Fallsview Guestrooms, Suites and amenities. At the corner of Falls Avenue, the hotel is connected via indoor walkway to Casino Niagara and the Falls Avenue Resort; home to restaurant and attractions including Fallsview Indoor Waterpark, Hersheys Chocolate World Niagara Falls and Niagara Brewing Company to name a few. Sheraton Fallsview Hotel, formerly Sheraton on the Falls also features the #1 rated Spa in Ontario on TripAdvisor; Christienne Fallsview Spa, and a Conference Centre with 35,000 sq. ft of flexible function space. Sheraton Fallsview Hotel is owned by Canadian Niagara Hotels Inc. Were building a future where nearly invisible health issues can be quickly detected, predicted, and as a result, addressed swiftly. Norbert Health, the new standard for contactless, multi-modal vital sign scanning, today announced the close of a $5M seed II round co-led by Serena Capital and HCVC. Exor, C4 Ventures, LDV Capital and Newlab also participated in the round, bringing Norbert Healths total funding to $8M. Norbert also announced they are accepting pre-orders for their flagship scanner for enterprise customers and applications for hospital and care center pilot opportunities. Norbert Health technologies use smart sensing and data to help people more rapidly, easily and accurately measure their essential vital signs. Their flagship product is the first ambient scanner that can measure vital signs for anyone in a few seconds within a 6-ft range. Most solutions only measure temperature, but Norbert also senses cardiac and respiratory activity. Businesses can use Norbert to unobtrusively screen employees and visitors in their lobby, on their shop floor and all throughout their space. Norbert will automatically notify staff when a high temperature is indicated. Hospitals and care centers will be able to use Norbert for automated check-in, in-room vital sign monitoring and post-discharge patient monitoring. Were building a future where nearly invisible health issues can be quickly detected, predicted, and as a result, addressed swiftly, said Alexandre Winter, co-founder and CEO. Ambient scanning will profoundly speed up and ease vital sign monitoring in both business and medical environments at a time when health and wellness is front-of-mind for everyone. Even more, it can be used in places like post-ICU rooms or patient homes to detect life-threatening issues in real time. The opportunity is tremendous. Weve built a strong thesis on data within the health-tech industry, and we have been looking for medical-grade technology robust enough to measure vital signs in a non-intrusive way, said Eric Gossart, principal at Serena Capital. The benefits for both patients and professionals are clear. Weve been impressed by the Norbert team's ambition and the breakthrough technology they are bringing to the market. With a solid team and a limitless market, were proud to be part of the adventure. Since their company launch, Norbert has been expanding their product, working with enterprise customers and piloting their devices in a number of hospitals and care centers. The latest round will help fund product development and manufacturing, team expansion and the integration of even more advanced features. Even before the pandemic, Norbert Health realized the importance and urgency of ambiently sensing health issues and illness in real-time, said Alexis Houssou, founder and managing partner at HCVC. Its a life-changing pursuit. COVID has only amplified the need for mutli-modal monitoring in the marketplace, and were thrilled to back Norbert. Norbert Health was founded in 2019 and is located in New York, San Francisco and Paris. To learn more about Norbert Health, please visit: https://www.norberthealth.com/ About Norbert Health Norbert Health is the standard for contactless, multi-modal vital sign scanning. Our technologies use smart sensing and data to help people more rapidly, easily and accurately understand whats going on in their bodies. Our flagship product is the first ambient scanner that can measure vital signs for anyone in a few seconds within a 6-ft range. Our products can measure and understand people's health without any contact or effort required by the person. Our platform is safe, secure and easy-to-use, whatever your space. Most solutions only measure temperature, but our products also sense cardiac and respiratory activity. More data improves accuracy and leads to better outcomes. Our wireless sensing technology uses radar to detect movement in people: from breathing to heartbeats and more. Multiple sensors are fused together for the first time, and our systems improve, getting smarter and smarter over time. Whether its giving your team an easy and private way to screen their own health or monitoring patients in and out of your care center, Norbert is the easiest and fastest way to scan the vital signs that matter most. Learn more at: http://www.norberthealth.com Fatherhood FLAME Community Conversations Local organizations wishing to deepen the impact of their work with fathers and families can become FLAME Champions by applying to host an event using the free FLAME Starter Kit. Ahead of Fathers Day, HHS Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Family Assistance (OFA) is announcing a new initiative to bring valuable father engagement efforts to local communities across the nation in an innovative package. On June 14, OFA will open applications for Focusing the Fatherhood FLAME Community Conversations, which aim to promote and advance father engagement efforts at a grassroots level. FLAME (Family, Leadership, Affirming Marriage, and Employment) Community Conversations are energizing, collaborative events that will convene father-serving providers, advocates, and community members in cities across the nation. Local organizations wishing to deepen the impact of their work with fathers and families can become FLAME Champions by applying to host an event using the free FLAME Starter Kit, which contains all the materials needed to produce a signature local event. Studies have shown that children with involved, loving fathers are significantly more likely to do well in school, have healthy self-esteem, and exhibit pro-social behavior compared to children with uninvolved dads (Yoder et al., 2016; Cabrera et al., 2017). Additionally, more engaged fatherswhether living with or apart from their childrencan help foster a child's healthy physical, emotional, and social development (Cabrera & Tamis-Lemonda, 2012). This is why OFA is recruiting individuals and organizations committed to family well-being to apply to become FLAME Champions and serve as hosts for their local Focusing the Fatherhood FLAME Community Conversations event. The free FLAME Starter Kit makes it easy to host a high-quality, meaningful fatherhood event designed to strengthen father engagement efforts. The pack includes session content, such as professionally produced video presentations, facilitated group discussions, and energizing networking activities. It also includes event planning tips and how-to guides, sample event schedules, and design templates for event materials. Applications will open at http://www.fatherhoodflame.org on June 14, 2021 to individuals and organizations interested in hosting a FLAME Community Conversations event. The FLAME Starter Kit will be available to approved Champions in late July 2021. For more information, contact Communications Manager Kelly MacNeil at flame@publicstrategies.com or follow Fatherhood FLAME on Facebook. About the Office of Family Assistance: Within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Administration for Children and Families is responsible for federal programs that promote the economic and social well-being of families, children, individuals, and communities. ACFs Office of Family Assistance (OFA) administers federal grant programs that foster family economic security and stability, including the Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood grants designed to build and sustain healthy relationships and marriages, and to strengthen positive father-child interaction. OneSource Virtual As part of their ongoing drive to always offer unparalleled choices with unwavering commitment and uncompromising care, leading Workday service partner OneSource Virtual has selected Mastercard as the exclusive network to power its two newest solutions: Invoice Pay and the myFlexPay Payroll Card. OSV selected Mastercard because of the companys partnership approach and position in payments technology to offer innovative products and solutions. OSV and Mastercard share a similar commitment to helping customers do more and do it more efficiently and cost-effectively, says John Bax, CFO at OSV. Were proud to be working with them to bring Workday customers new HCM and Finance solutions that will make their day more doable. INVOICE PAY As part of OSVs growing portfolio of services, Invoice Pay represents the next step in Finance & Accounting services. It introduces the ability for OSV to pay supplier invoices for Finance & Accounting customers, giving them the convenience of one partner for both processing and paying their invoices. Invoice Pays payment capabilities include ACH, wire, check, and virtual cards powered by the Mastercard network. OSV customers are enabled to receive card rebates via the issuer with each supplier payment. Invoice Pay customers also benefit from fraud protection, invoice reconciliation, and a payment optimization engine that factors in suppliers payment preferences. MYFLEXPAY PAYROLL CARD In the same way that Invoice Pay extends OSVs Finance & Accounting services, OSVs myFlexPay Payroll Card adds to the solutions already available to OSVs more than 500 Workday Payroll customers. Nearly half of all companies still issue paper paychecks to their employees. But issuing paper checks is expensive, costing an average of $23 per employee per month, totaling more than $200 per employee annually (1). Paper checks also contain sensitive information and can get lost, damaged, or delayed. The myFlexPay Payroll Card helps companies and their employees in a few key ways: It helps companies reduce their payroll costs per employee It empowers companies with a digital payment solution that is compliant in all 50 states and that all employees can use, including employees who are unbanked or underbanked It removes the risk of exposure by providing guaranteed fraud and identity theft protection for employees and employers The myFlexPay Payroll Card also features several Mastercard benefits, including contactless payments, ID Theft Protection providing credit monitoring and transaction alerts, and access to Priceless Experiences, which offers activities both digitally and in the cities where cardholders are, among others. Further, the myFlexPay Payroll Card can be used to make purchases wherever Mastercard is accepted. For more flexibility, the myFlexPay Payroll Card can even be paired with OSVs myFlexPay Earned Wage Access solution to give employees instant access to their earned wages on their card at a discounted rate. ABOUT ONESOURCE VIRTUAL OneSource Virtual (OSV) is the Workday partner that has helped more than 1,300 companies with everything from deployment to maintenance to payroll and moreall to make the day more doable. Founded in 2008, OSV pioneered Business Process as a Service (BPaaS) and has become the leading provider of automated solutions for organizations of all sizes using Workday, delivering services with unparalleled choices, unwavering commitment, and uncompromising care. OneSource Virtuals global headquarters is located in Dallas, Texas, with additional locations across North America and Europe. OneSource Virtual: lets make the day more doable. Find your companys solution at http://www.onesourcevirtual.com. (1) Digital Payroll Delivery: Benefits and Best Practices for SMBs, American Payroll Association, June 17, 2019, on the News & Resources section of the APA website. https://www.americanpayroll.org/news-resources/apa-news/news-detail/2019/06/17/digital-payroll-delivery-benefits-and-best-practices-for-smbs SmartFinancial is one of the fastest growing tech-enabled insurance distribution companies in the U.S. SmartFinancial, a rapidly growing insurance marketplace, is pleased to announce that Partha Pramanik has joined its team as Senior Vice President of Insurance. As an accomplished insurance executive, Partha brings extensive experience leading product and marketing initiatives to SmartFinancials growing technology platform. SmartFinancial partners with leading insurance carriers to distribute its products and powers thousands of insurance agencies through its online marketplace. Partha has a wealth of experience growing demand generation and insurance distribution models, and we are very excited to welcome him as a member of our management team said Lev Barinskiy, founder, and CEO of Smart Financial. Weve known Partha for his excellent reputation in the industry, and we feel fortunate to have him help lead us through our next phase of growth. Partha is a great addition to our growing team. I am impressed with Lev's leadership and entrepreneurial spirit, said Partha Pramanik. I look forward to being a part of SmartFinancial. Im excited about leveraging and expanding SmartFinancial's technology, marketing and operations expertise and driving profitable growth." Partha has more than 20 years of insurance experience, leading cross-functional teams and managing products that drive profitable growth. During his 12 years with Answer Financial, he has led marketing and operations initiatives and launched the Direct Marketing channel to diversify Answer's demand generation and align operational staffing with lead volume. He has also: -Implemented lifecycle marketing to nurture demand and deepen relationships with customers. -Started the platform business model to allow B2B partners to utilize Answer's technology and carrier stack to quote and sell policies. -Spearheaded monetization efforts and improved company-wide economics. Before he joined Answer Financial, Partha served as a Product Manager for 21st Century Insurance and Kemper. Partha holds a Master of Business Administration from The Red McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Arts from The University of Chicago. ABOUT SMARTFINANCIAL SmartFinancial is a leading digital insurance marketplace. SmartFinancial uses proprietary customer acquisition technology to connect in-market insurance consumers with a vast network of insurance agents and carrier partners nationwide. SmartFinancial has simplified the insurance-buying experience with a transparent insurance-technology platform that pairs people with the right insurance carrier. Founded by a team of insurance and technology experts, SmartFinancial focuses on delivering measurable results and exceptional service. It is one of the fastest growing tech-enabled insurance distribution companies in the U.S. Rising demand for private jet charter flights since the start of the pandemic and consolidation within the industry will soon put upward pressure on prices for charter flights, according to Dan Jennings, CEO of The Private Jet Company Businesses and individuals choosing to fly by private jet charter can expect to see increased charter prices and reduced plane availability and experience quality due to the recent consolidations of private aviation charter companies and the rising demand for private jet charter flights, according to private jet broker, The Private Jet Company. The consolidation among private jet charter companies means there are fewer operators controlling larger fleets. This is not bringing any additional aircraft into the charter market, explained Daniel Jennings, CEO of The Private Jet Company (TPJC). The Private Jet Company (TPJC) provides sales, acquisition and a range of consulting services to private jet buyers and sellers. Because of the long lead time to manufacture aircraft, the 10%-20% increase in demand for private jet charter flights since the start of the pandemic and the consolidation in the charter industry will soon put upward pressure on prices for charter flights, particularly for those using private jet charter brokers. For travel on weekends and holidays, the increased demand and static supply of private aircraft means fewer planes will be available. In addition, charter clients might not get the type of plane and experience quality they expect, said Jennings. Typically, owners of private jets charter out their aircraft when they do not need them to help subsidize the costs of owning and maintaining a private plane. However, Jennings pointed out, owners frequently use them at exactly the same time weekends and holidays - when there is peak charter demand. The majority of private charter flights are on individual owner-owned aircraft, managed by a charter company or charter broker. If you want to charter a jet on a Tuesday, for example, theres usually no problem, but if its Memorial Day weekend or the 4th of July, you could be hard-pressed to find a private jet to charter or one that meets your expectations, said Jennings. The problem of supply is exacerbated on the most popular routes up and down the East or West coasts and cross-country. Someone who regularly pays $15,000 to fly on a private jet charter between New York and Miami may not mind paying an additional 10-20%, but the reduced availability and unpredictable type and quality of aircraft to charter may be the motivation that pushes them in the direction of purchasing, rather than chartering. When supply is tight, particularly on a popular route, you might wind up with a plane where the wi-fi doesnt work, two seats dont recline, or some other annoying problem, cautioned Jennings. Favorable conditions to buy a private jet For individuals and businesses who can afford to purchase a private jet, now may be the ideal time to do so. In addition to solving the problems of the increasing cost and uncertainty of obtaining the consistent high quality experience you expect in a private jet charter, buying a pre-owned private jet has major tax advantages that were put in place during the Trump administration, such as 100% write-off of the depreciation of the full purchase price in 2021 and which will certainly go away soon, Jennings added. For more advice and information on acquiring or selling private jets: Email Info@ThePrivateJetCompany.com or call (310) 980-9069 or log onto https://www.ThePrivateJetCompany.com/ Chinese air force activities over the South China Sea were routine training exercises, targeting no specific country, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin stressed on Wednesday. Malaysia on Tuesday complained about Chinese military aircraft flying over the South China Sea. Wang at a regular press conference dismissed the concern, saying the Chinese air force strictly abides by the provisions of international law without violating the airspace of other countries. He added the Chinese side has communicated with the Malaysian side in this regard. Earlier, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur responded that according to relevant international law, Chinese military aircraft enjoy the freedom of overflight in the relevant airspace. "China and Malaysia are friendly neighbors, and China is willing to continue bilateral friendly consultations with Malaysia to jointly maintain regional peace and stability," the embassy's spokesperson said. The licensing agreement will expand Zeliras interest in chronic pain treatments while it continues to develop its insomnia and autism spectrum disorder candidates. Zelira will provide its cannabinoid formulation for a study on retired athletes with chronic pain. Zelira Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:ZLD) ( ) has licensed its cannabis formulation to Levin Health Limited for an upcoming clinical trial. Levins will use the medicinal cannabis company's ZTL-106 formulation for testing on retired athletes in a chronic pain treatment study at La Trobe University in Melbourne. This trial will be sponsored by Levin, which will pay Zelira to design and manage the study, while both companies will share any commercialisation profits. Innovative drug development project Zelira Therapeutics managing director Dr Oludare Odumosu said: Zelira is thrilled to partner with Levin Health on this innovative drug development project. This collaboration demonstrates Zeliras world-class formulation and expertise in fast-tracking drug development. This partnership also leverages Levin Healths mission to impact chronic pain treatment approaches. "We look forward to creating and validating a proprietary product that will help treat chronic pain. The fine print Essentially, Zelira brings intellectual property and clinical trial expertise to the table, while Levin will provide a network of patients and an advisory board to oversee the study. Breaking it down, the new licensing agreement will cover the use of Zeliras medicinal cannabis formulation in the upcoming trial. A separate project management agreement stipulates the ASX-lister will manage the study with Levins financial backing. Zelira will also receive a management fee for this contribution. When it comes to marketing rights for the formulation, Zelira will hold court in Northern and Southern America, while Levin will retain rights across all other world markets. Levin Health CEO Mark Brayshaw said: Levin is delighted to partner with Zelira in this world-class trial investigating ZTL-106 as a potential treatment for chronic pain in athletes. Quality clinical trial data is a vital requirement to validate cannabinoids as medicine, and Zelira is doing some of the best clinical work in the sector in Australia and globally. Chronic pain is one of the major health issues facing not just athletes, but all active Australians, and we have high hopes for the trial. Chronic pain a growing issue As chronic pain becomes more prevalent in Australias health landscape, new treatment options are becoming more critical. In fact, a 2016 study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported one in five Australians over 45 had chronic pain. The ailment is also increasingly treated in a clinical setting; GP visits for chronic pain conditions have jumped 67% within a decade. While its primary focus remains developing medicinal cannabis drug candidates for insomnia and autism spectrum disorder markets, Zelira said managing this chronic pain trial will expand and complement its healthcare interests. The company commences as the studys project manager from June 3. Putting these returns towards a project such as new siding or roof repair can pay for itself in value. You are not only increasing the value of your property, but you could also be lowering future expenses, such as heating and cooling costs. As tax season comes to an end, Sam Boak, president and founder of Boak & Sons, Inc. is encouraging both customers and employees to invest their tax returns into their homes. Sam Boak has been a long-time investor with multiple real-estate properties that he maintains and oversees. He continuously encourages his employees to come to him for financial counseling when needed, and with tax returns starting to hit peoples bank accounts, he hopes to have a positive influence on both his employees and customers by helping to show them how to wisely invest their returns into improvements on their homes and commercial buildings. Homeowners and building managers can use their tax returns to get ahead on needed maintenance, says Boak. Putting these returns towards a project such as new siding or roof repair can pay for itself in value. You are not only increasing the value of your property, but you could also be lowering future expenses, such as heating and cooling costs. According to the Business Insider, the average tax return in the state of Ohio in 2019 totaled $2,511, which is a $211 increase from the year prior. In Pennsylvania, the average was $2,628. To see a full list of average returns by state, https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/average-tax-refund-every-state-map-2020-7. These returns can cover a large amount of many services provided by Boak & Sons, if not the entire project. Ohio and Pennsylvania fall under Boak & Sons service area, but Boak says this advice is valuable to anyone, whether they are a Boak & Sons customer or not. Boak also says that amount of money can make a huge difference in the cost of a home or commercial exterior contracting project. COVID-19 kept everyone home for a majority of 2020, said Boak. This gave people plenty of time to identify necessary home improvement projects. Tax season has always been a popular time for scheduling projects, but even more so after the pandemic. I highly encourage any home or business owner to take advantage of these lump sums to make these improvements to their properties. Chris White, vice president of operations at Boak & Sons says reinvesting your tax dollars in your home can increase its value by more than your investment. Boak & Sons is a residential and commercial exterior contracting company in Youngstown, Ohio, specializing in the installation and repair of gutters, roofing, insulation, and sheet metal. The company serves customers from Cleveland, Ohio to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For more information about Sam Boak or Boak & Sons, Inc., visit http://www.boakandsons.com or call their office at 330-793-5646. The world is increasingly worried about the impact of climate change. Rising seas are perhaps the most tangible manifestation of climate-change risk - Bob Frady, CEO, HazardHub HazardHub, the nations fastest-growing supplier of geospatial risk data, is excited to announce the introduction of Sea Level Rise calculations to their award-winning risk API. Brady Foust, Ph.D., and Chief Scientist of HazardHub says, We are very excited to add Sea Level Rise data to our suite of hazard risk data. The data is highly detailed and complex. Getting the data into a format that can provide an instantaneous view of any property in the county in less than 2 seconds was an incredible feat by our geospatial team. The HazardHub data will report the impact of one-foot increments up to 10 feet - for any location in the US. Sea Level Rise data is fully integrated into the HazardHub API, along with more than 1000 additional data elements to help drive superior, risk-based decisions. The integrated approach to data allows users to better determine the risk of all perils for coastal areas in the United States including Alaska and Hawaii. Data integration allows HazardHub to create highly detailed micro and macro views of the risk of sea-level rise. For example, one foot of Sea Level Rise will impact more than $9 billion of property in Florida. The communities with the most property risk in dollars are North Miami Beach ($669 Million), Clearwater ($630 Million), Key Largo ($571 Million), Pensacola ($507 Million), and Gulf Breeze ($479 Million). Communities with greater than 10% of properties at risk include Everglades City, Horseshoe Beach, Ponce Inlet, and Hutchison Island. Additionally, the HazardHub API will return the Sea Level Rise impact for any specific location Bob Frady, CEO of HazardHub adds, The world is increasingly worried about the impact of climate change. Rising seas are perhaps the most tangible manifestation of climate-change risk. At HazardHub, our job is to take enormously difficult datasets like sea-level rise and make them easily and cost-effectively consumable via our API. It has taken an enormous effort to turn this data into something that can be used at both the portfolio and individual property levels. We are incredibly excited to add Sea Level Rise data to our ever-expanding lineup of property risks. Best of all, its free for our existing API customers. Sea Level Rise data is immediately available via the HazardHub API. About HazardHub HazardHub is your insurance policy against property risk. Air. Fire. Water. Earth. Man-Made. HazardHub is the only third-generation provider of property-level hazard risk databases spanning the most dangerous perils in the continental United States. HazardHub translates huge amounts of geospatial digital data into easy-to-understand answers, providing easy to comprehend risk scorecards that are used to make real-world decisions. Our team of scientists provides comprehensive, and innovative, national coverage for risks that destroy and damage property. To learn more about Sea Level Rise and other peril datasets from HazardHub, visit http://www.hazardhub.com or reach us directly at support@hazardhub.com. "We are so thrilled to be infusing substantial resources into (the APAC) region to help enable and empower enterprises and services providers to find success." Ran Lewinski, VP of APAC, Siemplify Siemplify, the leading independent provider of security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR), today announced significant investment in the Asia-Pacific region, where organizations are struggling to efficiently keep pace with surging security and compliance demands. Siemplify has launched a new regional hub in Singapore, led by Ran Lewinski, the newly appointed VP of APAC, and includes pre- and post-sale support experts. Lewinski and his team are tasked with supporting Siemplifys impressive local customer base and driving aggressive expansion throughout the region. According to the 2021 Tech Research Asia Report (PDF) commissioned by security firm Sophos, which surveyed 900 senior IT and security corporate decision makers in Australia, India, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore, three major drivers are prompting increased security recognition among organizations: 1) security requirements brought on by the mass migration to remote work in light of COVID-19, 2) the sharp uptake of cloud-based technology and 3) the continued evolution of compliance regulations. Not only have these factors contributed to increased risk because of an expanded attack surface, they also have necessitated the implementation of additional security controls. This typically leads to greater numbers of alerts and increased difficulty achieving full visibility due to disparate security tools failing to be properly integrated and centrally managed. As a result, companies are increasingly turning to SOAR technologies to help streamline security operations, slash response times and address a global security talent shortage. Organizations are also finding additional efficiencies through the outsourcing to third-parties like MSSPs. For example, the number of respondents planning to use a fully outsourced or hybrid model for incident investigation and response is forecasted to increase to 61% and 62%, respectively, in 2023 compared to 56% and 50%, respectively, in 2019, according to the Tech Research Asia report. We can confirm through our own boots-on-the-ground conversations that businesses in this region are prioritizing and enhancing security in bigger ways than ever, Lewinski said. However, to net the greatest results from this fresh awareness and investment, organizations must ensure they are optimizing and streamlining their security operations efforts, and SOAR technology is arguably the most reliable means to achieve that. That is why we are so thrilled to be infusing substantial resources into this region to help enable and empower enterprises and service providers to find success. To scale its presence in the region, Siemplify is doubling down on partnerships through its 20/20 Global Partner Program. Among the most prominent is a recently announced relationship between Siemplify and Check Point Software Technologies, in which Siemplify has become the go-to SOAR offering for all Check Point partners, as well as for Check Point customers embarking on SOAR projects. Siemplify and Check Point co-presented their joint offering at the recent AusCERT conference in Australia. As part of its APAC expansion efforts, Siemplify is recruiting new resellers and distributors throughout the region. For example, at the recent CYBERSEC 2021 conference in Taiwan, Siemplify exhibited with well-known local distributor JSLead. We are pleased to be facilitating the value of the Siemplify SOAR platform a true workbench for security operations teams to an expanded set of customers, said Steve Huan, technical director at JSLead. Asia-Pacific organizations are becoming more mature with their security programs, but they still face real challenges, many of which SOAR can help them overcome. For more information, visit siemplify.co. About Siemplify Siemplify, the leading independent security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) provider, is redefining security operations for enterprises and MSSPs worldwide. The Siemplify platform is an intuitive workbench that enables security teams to manage their operations from end to end, respond to cyber threats with speed and precision and get smarter with every analyst interaction. Founded in 2015 by Israeli Intelligence experts, with extensive experience running and training security operations centers worldwide, Siemplify has raised $58 million in funding to date and is headquartered in New York, with offices in Tel Aviv. Visit us at siemplify.co and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Products, service names and company logos mentioned herein may be registered trademarks of their respective owners. All rights reserved. SIUEs Jessica DeSpain, PhD, professor in the Department of English Language and Literature and co-director of the SIUE Interdisciplinary Research and Informatics (IRIS) Center. "Designed for first-generation, Black, Latinx and/or Pell-eligible students, CODES aims to help students understand the integral role of the humanities in transdisciplinary problem solving at the earliest stages of their college careers." Southern Illinois University Edwardsville continues to excel in the digital humanities, gaining national funding for its innovative, collaborative programming. The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has announced $24 million in grants for 225 humanities projects nationwide. SIUEs project, CODES: Community-Oriented Digital Engagement Scholars, has received $100,000 in funding. CODES is a three-year project that will implement a general education pathway that introduces underserved students to digital community engagement. Its first cohort of scholars will begin in fall 2022. The project is led by principal investigator (PI) Jessica DeSpain, PhD, professor in the Department of English Language and Literature and co-director of the SIUE Interdisciplinary Research and Informatics (IRIS) Center, and co-PI Connie Frey Spurlock, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Sociology and director of the SIUE Successful Communities Collaborative (SSCC). Additional key SIUE personnel include Jessica Harris, PhD, vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion, and Howard Rambsy, PhD, professor in the Department of English Language and Literature. CODES is a collaboration with Lewis and Clark Community College, whose team members are Jennifer Cine and Jill Lane. Designed for first-generation, Black, Latinx and/or Pell-eligible students, CODES aims to help students understand the integral role of the humanities in transdisciplinary problem solving at the earliest stages of their college careers, DeSpain said. DeSpain will handle most of the projects curricular design and administration, while Frey Spurlock will focus on building community partnerships. CODES Scholars will work in small research teams that focus on a seemingly unsolvable problem, such as climate change or povertys manifestations across rural and urban environments. Embedded with community organizations, students will learn how to engage ethically and effectively in digital and face-to-face environments, a skill the humanities are uniquely equipped to address, explained DeSpain. Research team courses are designed to focus on the problem first and give students hands-on experience with essential 21st century career skills, including creative problem-solving, collaboration, ethical literacy and adaptability. The CODES project blends and builds on multiple successful initiatives that make SIUE stand out regionally and nationally. The IRIS Center introduces more than 300 students to digital humanities methods through programming and classroom support each year. The SSCC pairs community organizations and municipalities with faculty and students to address environmental, social and economic needs. Additionally, SIUE has been named a Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) Center by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). By preparing college and high school students to work alongside community members, SIUEs TRHT Center endeavors to establish authentic, trusting relationships for the upbuilding of sustainable communities where people of all backgrounds can thrive. Complementary to this project, Lewis and Clark has implemented cohort-based programming grounded in high impact practices in its honors college, which are specifically designed for underserved students. The Honors College currently enrolls 22 students, but will add an additional 10 enrollees through the CODES partnership. By strengthening ties to SIUE, the CODES program will give honors students a four-year experience. With its announcement, the NEH noted the diverse range of exemplary humanities projects receiving funding. The CODES project is among 26 grants, totaling $1.4 million, awarded within the NEHs Humanities Connections category. NEH is proud to support these 225 new projects, which embody excellence, intellectual rigor, and a dedication to the pursuit of knowledge, even as our nation and the humanities community continue to face the challenges of the pandemic, said NEH Acting Chairman Adam Wolfson. We look forward to the contributions these projects will make to our understanding of ourselves and our society through exemplary humanities research, publications, documentary films, exhibitions and undergraduate programs. A full list of NEH grants awarded in April 2021 is available here. By preparing the next generation of leaders in a knowledge-based economy, SIUEs Graduate School fulfills the regions demand for highly trained professionals. Graduate school offerings include arts and sciences, business, education, engineering, nursing, and interdisciplinary opportunities. SIUE professors provide students with a unique integration of theoretical education and hands-on research experiences. Students can obtain graduate certificates or pursue masters degrees, and be part of a supportive learning and rich intellectual environment that is tailored to the needs of adult learners. The Graduate School raises the visibility of research and creative activity at SIUE, which ranks highest among its Illinois Board of Higher Education peers in total research and development expenditures, according to the National Science Foundation. Doctoral programs are available in nursing practice and educational leadership. Cooperative PhD programs in history, environmental resources and policy, engineering science, and computer science are offered with SIU Carbondale. We are so excited to treat patients at our new practice and serve the Atlanta area community by providing the very best in comprehensive dermatological care, says Dr. Emma Murad Dr. Susan Spitzler and Dr. Emma Murad, are board-certified dermatologists who lead a team of highly-trained professionals at their newly opened clinic in Alpharetta. The practice provides exceptional quality in the diagnosis and treatment of dermatological conditions and is conveniently located less than five minutes off of Georgia 400 from either Windward Parkway (Exit 11) or McFarland Parkway (Exit 12) at 1725 Windward Concourse, Suite 120. They offer the very latest in advanced technology and treatments to provide dermatological care for a broad range of medical and cosmetic needs. From simple skin irritations to troubling hair loss or acne, cold sores, cysts, rosacea and skin cancer screenings and treatment, Dr. Murad and Dr. Spitzler provide patients with compassionate care and effective treatment plans. Spectrum Dermatology of Atlanta is dedicated to meeting cosmetic skincare needs. Both men and women can benefit from cutting-edge cosmetic dermatology services such as laser therapy, facial fillers or sclerotherapy on spider veins. The team of aesthetic specialists at Spectrum Dermatology of Atlanta can also help return skin to a healthy, younger-looking glow with dermaplaning, facial peels, microdermabrasion and microneedling. We are so excited to treat patients at our new practice and serve the Atlanta area community by providing the very best in comprehensive dermatological care, says Dr. Emma Murad More about Spectrum Dermatology of Atlanta: Dr. Emma Murad graduated from Emory University with a degree in biology and began her career at Emory Universitys Department of Biochemistry and Pathology. She later attended Morehouse School of Medicine, completed her internship at the University of Pennsylvania and returned to Atlanta for her residency at Emory Universitys School of Medicine - Department of Dermatology. Dr. Murad is an expert in the field of both medical and cosmetic dermatology. She diagnoses and treats a full array of skin diseases, ranging from skin cancer detection and treatment to cosmetic procedures. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dermatology, a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology and member of the Georgia Society for Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery. Dr. Susan Spitzler obtained her medical degree at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Spitzler then completed two years of pediatric residency at Connecticut Childrens Medical Center before finishing her dermatology residency at Emory University. Dr. Spitzler is one of Atlantas elite board-certified dermatologist with over twenty years of dedicated service and experience in medical, surgical and cosmetic dermatology. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology, a Diplomate of the American Board of Dermatology and a member of the Georgia Society for Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery. For more information about the services offered at Spectrum Dermatology of Atlanta or to schedule an appointment, please visit http://www.specdermatl.com or call (470) 731-8010. Coming Out of Your Shell: 24 Poems of Deliverance: an engaging assortment of lyrical verses. Coming Out of Your Shell: 24 Poems of Deliverance is the creation of published author Stacey Griffin, a loving wife and mother who was born in Philadelphia. Griffin shares, We all need encouragement to come out of our shell. Our shell may be an addiction; it may be anger from past experiences. First thing you need to know is that you are not alone. We have things we battle mentally, physically, and spiritually that can deter us from where we should be in life and in Christ. Living a life where we dwell on the past or even current hurts will keep us stagnant. No one wants to be angry, frustrated, disgusted, sadjust plain miserable. But sometimes when those feelings come, we think we cant do anything about it, or we dont know where to start to get to the deliverance we need. No matter what we have done or what has been done to us, we can rest in Jesus. Matthew 11:2830 says, Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. God wants his children to be happy and at peace. All we need to do is want that as well. Then we can take the first step to cracking the shell that has been keeping us confined in bondage. Your journey can start today! As you read this book, allow each poem to minister, encourage, and strengthen you to break through that shell so you can get to your deliverance and ultimate spiritual wholeness. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Stacey Griffins new book is an uplifting arrangement of inspired poems. Taking inspiration from day-to-day life, Griffin welcomes readers to consider their faith and reflect on how to deepen their relationship with God through faith-based poetry. View a synopsis of Coming Out of Your Shell: 24 Poems of Deliverance on YouTube. Consumers can purchase Coming Out of Your Shell: 24 Poems of Deliverance at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about Coming Out of Your Shell: 24 Poems of Deliverance, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Stratus, the nations leading provider of in-home neurodiagnostic testing services, will participate in RecruitMilitarys Transitioning Army & Army Spouse Virtual Career Fair on June 22, 2021. The event is for veterans, transitioning military personnel, National Guard members, Reserve members, and military spouses. Stratus will be online to meet and recruit job candidates to fill a variety of open positions across the country. The company recognizes the value that military trained talent brings to an organization and is pleased to work with RecruitMilitary to identify highly qualified veterans and fulfill Stratus hiring needs. For those who wish to stay in the reserves, Stratus offers paid time-off for employees to complete their annual Reserve training. Stratus is on a mission to bring high quality, convenient testing to the patients home and that high quality means more than just the latest technology; our employees responsiveness, stewardship, and service to patients is at the core of our company values. We know that veterans transitioning into civilian careers have those values that make them great employees and we want to continue to hire confident team members, said Charlie Alvarez, CEO of Stratus. RecruitMilitary is the leading organization in the United States connecting employers with veterans, transitioning military, members of the Reserves and National Guard, and military spouses. With more than 1.5 million job seekers in the companys military-exclusive digital job board, RecruitMilitary is the go-to resource to find top tier candidates to fill roles that require skills like leadership, commitment, and teamwork. Our driving purpose is to empower veterans to find meaningful work opportunities in the private sector, said Tim Best, CEO of Bradley-Morris & RecruitMilitary. We work with companies throughout the world, including Stratus, that see tremendous value in the transferable skills that military trained personnel bring to their organizations. We are pleased to provide these companies with a vast network of highly qualified veteran job candidates looking for meaningful civilian career opportunities. Stratus is searching to fill a variety of positions within the company. Candidates who wish to attend the virtual event should register in advance and complete their online profile and resume. To register online, please visit: https://bit.ly/2R2bB6r. About Stratus Stratus is the nations leading provider of ambulatory in-home video EEG and has served more than 75,000 patients across the U.S. The company offers technology, services, and proprietary software solutions to help neurologists accurately and quickly diagnose their patients with epilepsy and other seizure-like disorders. Stratus also provides mobile cardiac telemetry to support the diagnostic testing needs of the neurology community. Additionally, the companys R&D division holds the worlds largest database of de-identified EEG recordings and is applying machine learning to improve the overall quality and efficiency of EEG testing. To learn more, visit http://www.stratusneuro.com. RecruitMilitary Contact: press@recruitmilitary.com Website: http://www.recruitmilitary.com In a ceremony held on June 2, 2021, RCI once again recognized Sunset World Groups leadership in the vacation club segment in the Mexican Caribbean by presenting Hacienda Tres Rios and Sunset Fishermen in the Riviera Maya, and Sunset Royal and Sunset Marina in Cancun, with the 2019-2020 Gold Crown award. In addition, RCI presented the Excellence in Service award to Hacienda Tres Rios, Sunset Royal and Sunset Marina. All four Sunset World Group hotels have been awarded the Gold Crown award every year since they opened; Sunset Royal for 29 years, Sunset Marina for 24 years, Sunset Fishermen for 21 years and Hacienda Tres Rios for 13 years. In addition, Sunset Marina and Sunset Royal received the RCI Excellence in Service award for the second time, while Hacienda Tres Rios received it for the fourth time. Sunset World Group CEO Orlando Arroyo welcomed everyone through video while Annie Arroyo, Corporate Director of Brand and Communication and Martha Richardson, Corporate Director of Operations and the sales managers hosted the ceremony. RCI was remotely represented by Ana Laura Acevedo, Senior Vice President of Business Development and Marketing, and Alejandra Espinosa, Director of Business Development. The managers of the four hotels and their teams were also present remotely. "We are very happy and grateful to receive the Gold Crown and Excellence in Service awards from RCI, especially after going through a particularly difficult year full of challenges. It is encouraging that our RCI partners have presented these awards to Sunset World resorts once again," said Orlando Arroyo, Sunset World Group CEO," I want to thank my Sunset World team for closing ranks, being patient and continuing to offer impeccable service during this new and complicated reality," he added. Ana Laura Acevedo, RCI Senior Vice President of Business Development and Marketing explained, The resorts that receive the RCI Gold Crown Resort award are benchmarks of superior quality and exceptional service. They achieve high standards in five categories that our members evaluate during a 12-month period. The Excellence in Service award is only presented to resorts with the highest scores in these criteria, and only 10% of the resorts affiliated with RCI receive it. It is worth noting RCI (Resort Condominiums International) is the most important vacation exchange company in the world. Sunset World Group is a family-owned Mexican company and a leader in the hospitality industry, offering authentic and unforgettable vacation experiences in Cancun and the Riviera Maya. It was founded more than 30 years ago and has grown to offer four resorts, world-class travel services, amenities and a diverse network of operational and marketing solutions that focus on providing the best vacation experiences for its Members and guests. From cultural excursions to water sports, the Members of Sunset World are never far from their next great adventure. The Whole Truth: a well-researched study of the events in the past that have shaped America in the modern days. The author bravely exposes the blatant centuries-old lies that are written in history books and consumed by the younger generation. He also discusses how the forefathers planned to recreate the Holy Trinity while establishing the constitution. The Whole Truth is the creation of published author William Young, a descendant of Harold Clinton Young Sr. who was born in the baby boomer era. He is a man with a deep passion to correct what has been written in the American history. Young shares, All in all, Author WCY is founder of the National Reparation Reformation & Annexation movement, historian, and Social Engineer of the 21st Century. His work collaborate family history with American history, world history, current affairs, and bible history from the perspective of truth. African American Historian Dr. Jim Horton declared: if you tell the story of the American experience known as American history and leave out African American history then American history is incomplete. Therefore, WCYs work is a correction of American history b/c the history that the baby boomer generation learned in school was about wars, economics, and dead white men which undermined the deeds of African Americans. Although WCY is into politics, he is not a politician. He is a salesman thats selling 100 U.S. senate seats for $177.00 each and is trying to spark the biggest real estate deal in American history since the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 that will tear down Trumps wall via annexation of North America, preserve the continuity of the American Dream and bring in Mexico, Cuba, Canada & USA territories into the union as states which means a new white suburbs on the white sandy beaches of Mexico, Guam, and Puerto Rico. After all, white people without suburbs are like fish without a sea. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, William Youngs new book is a must-have publication for readers who are intrigued by the happenings in the olden days and those who are seeking for the unbiased truth. Through this book, the author hopes the whole truth will finally be free and the people who played a huge part in the American story will finally receive the nod from their descendants. View a synopsis of The Whole Truth on YouTube. Consumers can purchaseThe Whole Truth at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about The Whole Truth, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Many of our customers want to index archived assets using their existing file-folder structure; a folder structure which has meaning for their organization. FastTracker provides this with a searchable interface and a visual preview of their archived assets. said Philip Storey, CEO at XenData. Facilis Technology, a leading international supplier of cost-effective, high performance shared storage solutions for collaborative media production networks, announces an agreement to supply XenData customers with FastTracker Asset Management software integrated with XenData LTO and Cloud solutions. Facilis FastTracker is a light asset management application that runs on Facilis and XenData servers to provide indexing, proxy generation and timecode-based transcription. FastTracker will automatically index existing and new media assets sent to a cloud or LTO archive using the file-folder structure defined by the user, unlike many other media asset management systems which require a rigidly defined folder structure for asset storage. FastTracker includes many features that will help XenData customers track and manage their archived assets, including the following: Mac and Windows Clients for access via the local network Web Browser Interface for remote access through HTTPS Proxy Generation allows users to preview archived files before restoring File Movement to cloud or LTO archive as on-demand or scheduled task Prefetch Archived Files to XenData Disk Cache from the FastTracker Interface The FastTracker interface is available securely for any Internet user to login and browse content, download files and even upload to secure server locations for remote ingest. Many of our customers want to index archived assets using their existing file-folder structure; a folder structure which has meaning for their organization. FastTracker provides this with a searchable interface and a visual preview of their archived assets. said Philip Storey, CEO at XenData. When Facilis integrated FastTracker with the XenData Cloud and LTO archive software, we knew this would fit the requirement. And it turned out better than I could have hoped. About Facilis Technology Founded in 2003, Massachusetts-based Facilis Technology, Inc. designs and builds premium, turnkey shared storage solutions for collaborative media production across all content creation workflows. Their production-proven solutions are designed for use by the craft editor, facility engineer, and owner-operator alike. Flexible, scalable, and compatible with industry-standard creative solutions, Facilis products blend seamlessly into any network environment. https://facilis.com/ About Xen Data Founded in 2001, XenData is based in Walnut Creek, California, USA and in Cambridge, UK. It has media archive installations in over 90 countries worldwide. Its LTO and cloud archive solutions are trusted by many major broadcasters, video production companies and marketing communications departments of large corporations. https://xendata.com. All trademarks and copyrights are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved. For more information, please contact: Facilis Technology 108 Forest Avenue - Suite 200 Hudson, MA 01749 978-562-7022 Kelly Taranto Sr. Sales & Marketing Manager pr@facilis.com http://www.facilis.com The San Antonio mineral resource estimate stands at 406,000 ounces of gold while Roswell has 660,000 ounces to date. The company plans to submit an Environmental Impact Statement in the coming quarter with Project Approval anticipated in mid-2022. ( ) (OTCMKTS:ALKEF) (FRA:AK7) decision to mine the Roswell and San Antonio satellite deposits as part of an expanded Tomingley Gold Operations in Central New South Wales will extend the mines life out to at least 2031. A new Tomingley Life of Mine (LOM) plan extends the mine into the Roswell and San Antonio deposits to the immediate south of the existing mining lease, with the resources to be mined by both open cut and underground beginning in FY 2023. The companys share price has been as much as 5.7% intra-day to $1.055, a new 2021 high while the market cap is approximately $577.5 million. Ramping up production from FY25 The current plan shows the production of around 745,000 ounces of gold for the period, with processing ramping to a 1.5 million tonnes per annum feed rate. Alkane managing director Nic Earner said: Were excited to announce the planned extension of Tomingley mine life to beyond 2030. With existing underground and open cut operations we are well placed to incorporate the new resources defined by Alkanes exploration team at the nearby Roswell and San Antonio deposits. We intend to increase our processing throughput and ramp production to over 100,000 ounces per year from FY25, whilst continuing production at the current run rate in the interim. The planned production profile (averaged for each period) is: 50,000-60,000 ounces per year for FY22 and FY23; Production escalating from 60,000 ounces per year through FY24 to; 100,000-115,000 ounces for FY25 to FY27; and, 55,000-65,000 ounces for FY28 to FY31. Part of the new Project Approval will include seeking to increase the licence to 1.75 million tonnes per annum with several plant modifications to allow headroom in periods of favourable operating conditions. Planned exploration decline from Wyoming One underground (R) to Roswell underground (L). Roswell mineral resource The Roswell mineral resource estimate is 7.88 million tonnes at 2.07 g/t for 524,000 ounces of gold (indicated) and 2.19 million tonnes at 1.93 g/t for 136,000 ounces (inferred) for a total of 10.1 million tonnes at 2.04 g/t for 660,000 ounces. In May 2020 the NSW Government Resources Regulator granted approval for the development of an exploration drive from the existing underground Wyoming One operation to the Roswell deposit. The underground mine plan prepared for the Roswell deposit will utilise this drive to enable the extraction of ore prior to the completion of the Roswell Open Cut. Underground mining will be similar to that currently employed at Tomingley using standard long-hole open stoping, however, in order to maximise orebody recovery in the higher grade, wider sections of Roswell, it is planned to use paste fill. Potential underground upside Notably, substantial upside exists to extend the Roswell underground at depth, in addition to development to the resources underneath the San Antonio pits. Around 33% of the tonnes from Roswell underground are from material currently classified as inferred, with the decision to include inferred resources in the mine plan supported by the operating experience and reconciliations in the existing Tomingley open cut pits and underground. The expected AISC over the LOM period is A$1,350 to A$1,450 per ounces of gold. Earner said: With the high-grade Roswell deposit open at depth, there is real potential for further increases in production in the late 2020s. A substantial grade control drill program is planned prior to stoping commencing. Open cut mining The open cut mining plan has three pits which are expected to be mined from the south to the north, with Roswell mined in two stages. The pit sequencing and dump location are heavily influenced by the objective of minimising biodiversity disturbance and long-term rehabilitation requirements, together with lowering costs through short ore and waste hauls. Most of the early waste is used to backfill both the Caloma One and Caloma Two pits at Tomingley. The final dump covers both original San Antonio pits, which will have been backfilled, leaving Roswell as the final open void. The scheduling requirement to rapidly mine the San Antonio pits so that the waste from Roswell can be placed in them results in a large run of mine (ROM) stockpile, more than 2 million tonnes at its peak. The interaction with a potential extension of Roswell underground should not further increase this size but would simply extend the life of the mine (and lift production via grade and throughput). Around 2% of the tonnes from Roswell and San Antonio open cuts are from material currently classified as inferred with the decision to include Inferred resources in the mine plan supported by the operating experience and reconciliations in the existing open cut pits and underground. A normal grade control drill program is planned prior to mining commencing. Alkane is currently at the EIS Preparation stage of the project approval process. Newell Highway diversion The development of the Roswell and San Antonio deposits requires the diversion of the Newell Highway onto land that Alkane has already purchased. This diversion, together with plant upgrades and other capital gives rise to a capital cost of ~$87 million, predominantly expended in FY23. The capital cost is expected to be funded from operating cashflow and debt, and preliminary discussions are commencing with potential debt providers. Environmental Impact Statement underway The new Project Approval will require State Significant Development consent because the Capital Investment Value is greater than $30 million. A single consent to incorporate all extension activities is being sought. With detailed plans and initial consultation now complete, the Environmental Impact Statement is being prepared for submission in the coming quarter with the company anticipating Project Approval in mid-2022. Earner said: We expect to submit our Environmental Impact Statement for Project Approval in the coming quarter and we are continuing consultation with interested stakeholders. On Thursday, May 27, PW freelance editor Natasha Gilmore, who also serves as book buyer for Idlewild Books in New York City, moderated a sponsored panel featuring author Sharon Draper (Out of My Heart, Atheneum/Dlouhy); graphic novelist Kim Dwinell (Surfside Girls, IDW/Top Shelf); YA author Gayle Forman making her middle grade debut (Frankie and Bug, Aladdin); and debut comics creator BonHyung Jeong (Kyles Little Sister, Yen), in conversation about their forthcoming middle grade books. After introductions, Gilmore began by asking the authors why they chose middle grade and how they came to write it. Jeong started off by explaining that she met her editor at a school job fair, as she graduated in 2018. For Jeong, the middle grade category encompasses a time of naivety and innocence. [Kids at that age] have all kinds of troubles, she said. Others might see [their issues] as kind of childish, but for them, its a really big deal. Forman, known for her bestselling YA novels such as If I Stay, agreed; she also remembers being 10 or 11 and having to grapple with unpleasant feelings, and fairness, and jealousy. Learning to be the person you want to be is hard at any age, and at 10 and 11, youre just starting out. Dwinell revealed that she approached the publishing industry from sort of the reverse as BonHyung: she worked in animation on movies such as Hercules and Mulan back in the drawing 2-D animation days, and I love sequential art for that younger age anyway. As for middle grade specifically, Dwinell recalled that everyone was moving at a different speed in middle school; some people were way further along and some people were clinging to childhood, and everyone was thrown into this middle school, and you had to kind of shake it out. Theres something really special about that age to me. Reflecting on her path into middle grade writing, Draper said, I was a teacher. I taught school for like 900 years, everything from fourth grade through high school, and so I spent a lot of time with young people. Plus, I had four children of my own. Because I worked with them and they were always hanging around my house, I have a lot of empathy for people of this age group. Other discussion topics included the authors personal middle grade experiences; influential books from that age; the expansion of how the current landscape of middle grade can now meet each reader; celebratory rituals to get through each project; informative lessons on bravery; and unique things about portraying friendship in middle grade. This idea that you have friends, and then you have family, Im not sure its true, Forman said, discussing the delineations between the two. You have biological family, but you also have nonbiological family, and friends that become family. And I think this is the age when those friendships start to happen, maybe because youre beginning that separation from family, or maybe because youre rethinking the idea of what encompasses family and what encompasses friends, so it was really nice to write this incredibly powerful friendship, like the friendships I have in my life now, with Frankie and Bug. The Seminary Co-op Bookstores in Chicago is marking both its 60th anniversary this year and celebrating its upcoming re-opening to browsers by introducing several initiatives. The new initiatives include the launch of two publishing imprintsone focusing on bookselling and the literary artseach in partnership with a scholarly press. Seminary Co-op Offsets is being started in partnership with Northwestern University Press. In a letter to members, Seminary Co-op Bookstores director Jeff Deutsch said the imprint is designed to be a showcase for outstanding work in literature and the humanities, focusing on new translations, lost classics, out-of-print gems, and works highlighting the rich literary history of the South Side of Chicago. The imprint's debut release will be announced sometime this summer and its list will be curated by Northwestern University Press director Parneshia Jones and Deutsch. Plans call for publishing two to four titles each year. The second imprint, Ode Books, is being done in collaboration with Prickly Paradigm Press, the 20-year-old Chicago publisher of short, erudite yet unconventional books. Deutsch said Ode Books, will celebrate book spaces and the book industry. The imprint will explore the cultural value of the book, as well as challenges facing the publishing industry, with a list ranging from veteran booksellers reflecting upon their lives in books to critiques of financial models and proposals for radical approaches to inventory selection. Overseen by Seminary Co-op and Prickly Paradigm publisher Matthew Engelke, the director of the Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life at Columbia University, Odes target audience includes denizens of the book world, as well as bookstore enthusiasts, serial browsers, and anyone else interested in the literary arts. Ode Books will release its first titles in fall 2022 and will publish four to six books each year. Longtime Booklist adult books editor Donna Seaman and Paul Yamazaki, senior buyer at City Lights Booksellers in San Francisco are among the authors under contract with Ode Books. "Both Seaman and Yamazaki are legendary in their respective fields," Deutsch told PW, "They are writing celebrations of the bookish world that raised them, and continues to sustain them." In addition to starting the two imprints Deutsch said Seminary Co-op will offer consulting services on a formal basis after years of one-off partnerships with cultural and educational institutions whose missions complement Seminary Co-ops own mission. Seminary Co-op will work with these like-minded organizationssuch as the Chicago Public Schools and University of Chicago -- to build their library collections, Deutsch said. This spring will also see the return of he Open Stacks podcast series, hosted by Seminary Co-ops new director of buying and content, Alena Jones in which she talks about new titles and various publishing topics. The next next podcast will feature with Jones with Seminary Co-op's 57th Street Books store manager Bryce Lucas talking shop. The anticipated release date is June 9. Future guests this season include Paul Yamazaki, Reuben Jonathan Miller, Dan Wells, Ann Kjellberg, and Eve Ewing. The Association of American Publishers covered a lot of ground in its 90-minute annual meeting which, for the second year in a row, was conducted via Zoom. As part of their remarks, Brian Napack, AAP chair and CEO of John Wiley, and Maria Pallante, CEO of AAP, made clear that protecting copyright remains the top priority for the association. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar voiced her concerns over the power of Big Tech in accepting the AAPs 2021 Award for Distinguished Public Service. Keynote speaker Don Lemon (CNN host and author of This Is the Fire), urged publishers to publish more authors of color, while closing keynoter Brad Stone focused his remarks on Amazon, the subject of two of his books, The Everything Store and the recently released Amazon Unbound. In his opening remarks, Napack praised the publishing community for keeping the river of ideas flowing during the pandemic, especially as the industry faced threats and challenges from different quarters. He promised that AAP would continue to fight against forces that chip away against freedom of expression as well as those who seek to erode copyright protection. Pallante said that the financial results of publishers, particularly for trade publishers, during the pandemic proved that readers have never lost interest in good stories, and that the importance of books to people was highlighted during the lockdown. That publishers were able to quickly meet the increased demand for books reflects the resiliency of the industry, Pallante said, and also shows that there has never been a better or more important time to be in publishing. To make sure that publishing remains a good business to be in, AAPs job, Pallante said, is to ensure that you can compete fairly in the modern marketplace. Regrettably, she continued, there are actors who seek to weaken your legal protections in order to advance their business interests, whether that interest is in bloating the fair use doctrine to illogical boundaries or, more blatantly, appropriating and monetizing your works without permission. In Pallantes view, the exclusive rights delineated in the Copyright Act are under assault, as is an effective enforcement framework, and she said the DMCA, which governs how infringing content on websites can be taken down, is badly in need of updating. She also lamented the lack of a competitive marketplace in which authors works can be discovered and publishers can compete without unfair control or manipulation from dominant tech giants. Challenges to copyright protection are also happening at the state level, Pallante warned, where library lobbyists and tech-funded special interest groups are working to divert copyright protection away from Congress to state assemblies, an apparent reference to Marylands passage of a law late last week that would force publishers to make any digital content they license to consumers available as an electronic literary product to public libraries in the state on reasonable terms. The AAP opposed the law, and in her remarks, Pallante argued that these state efforts are clearly preempted by the express language of the federal Copyright Act, while also spinning a false narrative. Pallante said libraries are an important part of the publishing ecosystem, but added that, authors, publishers, and bookstores also have policy equities, which is why Congress enacted a singular cohesive federal copyright system that has address the ownership and sale of books since 1790. She also hit back against what she said are lobbyists pushing states to fund open educational resources through ugly misinformation campaigns aimed at publishers and designed to replace publishers materials. In a final point about copyright, Pallante said that the lawsuit the association filed a year ago against the Internet Archive for copying 1.3 million scans of books is still in discovery, but said the IAs activities are well outside the boundaries of both the law and copyright commerce, and ultimately pose an existential threat to the copyright framework on which authors and publishers rely. Tariffs and Tech Away from the copyright front, Pallante updated members over the tariffs slapped on products manufactured in China, including most books printed there, by the Trump Administration. All those tariffs remain in place, and Pallante said that the Biden Administrations overall review of Americas China policy continues to undergo reviewand that it is not clear what the administration's position on tariffs will be. Klobuchar, whose new book, Antitrust: Taking on Monopoly Power from the Gilded Age to the Digital Age, was published by Penguin Random House in April, said she senses that the time is right for a renewed antitrust movement. She has introduced legislation that she hopes will enable Congress to better fight Google, Facebook, and Amazon. I dont want to destroy these companies, she saidbut she does want to give Congress the ability to allow more players to enter their respective markets. Stone was not overly optimistic that Amazon will be broken up anytime soon, saying it is too late to roll back the clock. He did say that the company sometimes responds to criticism, particularly if that criticism may cast them in an unfavorable light with consumers. He cited Amazons position on its Most-Favored-Nation clauses, which ensures that other retailers cant charge lower prices for a companys product than the price on Amazon. Amazon dropped them in Europe after being challenged by governments there and, although they have been modified in the U.S., last week the attorney general of Washington, D.C., sued the company over its use of MFN clauses in its third-party business. Stone said he wouldnt be surprised if Amazon walks away from the use of MFNs. He also said that while Bezos still likes the book business, he views that area as a child from a previous marriage and is more interested in new businesses like Alexa and Prime Video. Stone speculated that this change in priorities may give publishers some opportunity to find better deals. Stone started his presentation by displaying three books that critiqued his Amazon Unbound book. The algorithm-driven titles made no sense, but were still available for sale on Amazon. He said that this exemplifies a fundamental problem at the company. Businesses are developed by people and with attention to detail, but in a drive to scale, the businesses are turned over to be run by algorithms, which, Stone said, often lead to serious mistakes. The automation of many of Amazons functions extends to discussions the company has with the companies it works with, Stone pointed to vendor central, the only place where most publishers can communicate with their largest customer. Once again, the upcoming Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), scheduled to take place this year from August 25 to 29, will be a hybrid event. During the 28th editions five-day run, the physical show will be limited to local companies. For international publishers wanting to be a part of the fair, BIBF has launched Smart Assistant, a new service that provides on-site assistants to help international publishers present their titles physically at the fair and then forward those contacts and/or queries to the respective publishers for follow-up. Alternatively, publishers can display their titles through Smart Books, a dedicated collective space designed to showcase the latest international adult and childrens titles; the registration deadline for this collective space is June 30. The year-long Smart BIBF programming, which was launched at the previous fair, will be back for publishers to upload titles for rights negotiations, register for business match-making round-tables, and view live-streamed events and seminars. Last year, Smart BIBF attracted 1,400 publishers in total, including more than 580 Chinese publishers and companies, to conduct their business online. About 38,000 titles were presented for rights negotiations on the platform, which had more than one billion views since August 26, 2020, according to BIBF The Book Market is Coming Back The Chinese book market has shown signs of improvement in the first quarter of 2021. Data from OpenBook, a clearinghouse for publishing statistics in China, indicates that the book retail market expanded 18.6% compared to the same period in 2020. Online book sales and bricks-and-mortar channel sales have jumped 10.7% and 55.4%, respectively, during this period. (But the fact remains that Chinas total book sales in 2020 fell 5.1%, to 97.08 billion yuan or $15.25 billion, due to the pandemic; in contrast, 2019 saw a jump of 14.4%). 2020 was the first time the market had a drop after two decades of growth and double-digit expansion since 2015. Only two categories -- childrens books and educational titles for elementary and middle schools -- had sales gains in 2020. In general, classics and past bestselling titles were favored, while sales of new titles floundered due to the lack of in-store promotions, according to the OpenBook report. With pandemic-era restrictions still in place due to the emergence of new clusters in different parts of China, publishers are now focused on using new technologies and marketing tactics to attract readers. At the China Bookstore Conference held on March 30, for instance, the theme was about offering innovative reading services and building a reading community and consumer base online instead of relying solely on in-store promotional activities and book sales. Between automated/cash-less bookstores and online (and peer) recommendations via messaging and social media platforms such as WeChat, readers in China are used to mobile payment and online book purchase. TikTok, or Douyin as it is known in China, has emerged as the preferred tool for presenting new titles, especially childrens books. Despite the pandemic, the number of bricks-and-mortar bookstores increased last year. A total of 4,061 new bookstores were opened in 2020 even as 1,573 bookstores had shuttered during the same period, according to Books and Periodicals Distribution Association of China. Most of these new bookstores -- now functioning as cultural centers and recreational spaces -- offer amenities ranging from cafes and supermarkets to photo galleries and art exhibitions. Some have even started working with local libraries to offer more titles and even borrowing services. The current market for bookstores is not limited to just local players. Japans largest bookstore chain, Tsutaya, for instance, has already opened three outlets (in Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Xian) with a fourth in the pipeline. This physical bookstore renaissance has much to do with the slowing growth of book sales at major retailers such as Amazon, Dangdang, and JD. Gone are those hyper-growth years roughly from 2000 to 2017 when annual sales growth of up to 50% was the norm. And so these retailers are now parlaying (and monetizing) their logistical and marketing expertise to help bricks-and-mortar bookstores to put out live-streaming videos on selected titles, enhance their online presence, and boost traffic during this pandemic era. A community paramedic from Crawfordsville Fire Department gives a Montgomery County school employee a COVID-19 vaccine. The community paramedicine program recently received a grant from Health Resources and Services Administrations Maternal and Child Health Bureau to expand vaccinations to K-12 students. (Photo provided by Crawfordsville Fire Department) WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. A nationally acclaimed community paramedicine program in western Indiana will continue to expand services, thanks to assistance from Purdue University faculty and a student. The Mobile Integrated Health Program commonly known as community paramedicine operated by the Crawfordsville Fire Department will expand on-site vaccine clinics to students in kindergarten through 12th grade in Montgomery County. The department was one of 50 Phase 1 winners of the Promoting Pediatric Primary Prevention (P4) Challenge sponsored by the federal Health Resources and Services Administrations Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Winners will receive $10,000 to launch their project within six months. Caitlyn Short, a Master of Public Health student in the College of Health and Human Sciences, worked with Laura Schwab Reese and Monica Kasting, both assistant professors of public health, to secure the grant. Schwab Reese has worked with the CFD in reviewing grant applications and data analyses since 2018. She has presented with the team at numerous national and international conferences, including virtual conferences in Australia and Italy this year. Immunizations are an important part of healthy childhood development. For the 2019-20 school year, 30% of K-12 students in Montgomery County had not received the proper immunizations. The department began assisting schools and families by offering vaccines to K-12 students in November 2020 and has been providing the COVID-19 vaccinations to students ages 16 and above and school staff during the spring. We hope that connecting kids with vaccines in their school will reduce some of the barriers families experienced. Well also be working with local pediatricians and primary care providers to make it easier for families to access those types of care, Schwab Reese said. Recent CDC data found that the pandemic significantly decreased pediatric vaccinations. Other reasons for children not keeping their immunizations updated or attending well-child visits include being uninsured or underinsured, poverty and parents work schedules. The K-12 age group is the latest to benefit from the community paramedicine program. Initially launched through a partnership with Franciscan Health Crawfordsville to address chronic diseases, hospital readmissions and emergency department visits, the program has expanded to address maternal/child health through Project Swaddle. 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: Matthew Oates, 765-586-7496 (cell), oatesw@purdue.edu, @mo_oates Sources: Laura Schwab Reese, lschwabr@purdue.edu Paul Miller, rmiller@crawfordsville-in.gov Journalists visiting campus : Journalists should follow Protect Purdue protocols and the following guidelines: WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. Astronauts have been going to space since 1961, but they still dont have a refrigerator to use for keeping food cold on long missions to the moon or Mars. Through experiments conducted in microgravity, a team of engineers from Purdue University, Air Squared Inc., and Whirlpool Corporation has shown that a prototype they developed could potentially overcome the challenges of getting a traditional fridge to work in space just as well as it does on Earth. The canned and dried food that astronauts currently eat during missions has a shelf life of only about three years. The teams project, funded by NASAs Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, aims to give astronauts a supply of food that could last five to six years. Earlier this month, the team ran three experiments to test various aspects of the fridge design onboard a specially designed plane that flew in microgravity 30 times for 20-second intervals during each of four flights. The plane, Zero Gravity Corporations (ZERO-G) unique weightless research lab, is the only testing space of its kind in the United States. (See a video of the in-flight experiments on YouTube.) Data analyzed so far from the experiments on the flights, supported by NASAs Flight Opportunities program, indicate two big successes of the teams prototype. First, the prototype can operate just as well in microgravity as it does on the ground. Second, the team determined that the prototype was no more likely to flood in microgravity than in normal gravity. Liquid flooding could damage a fridge. The team is continuing to analyze the flight data collected. We want to have a refrigeration cycle that is resistant to zero gravity and works to normal specifications, said Eckhard Groll, a professor and head of Purdues School of Mechanical Engineering. Our preliminary analysis clearly shows that our design allows gravity to have less impact on that cycle. Eckhard Groll (center, below) and Leon Brendel (center, above) prepare to collect data from their experiments onboard a ZERO-G flight. (Credit: Stephen Boxall/ZERO-G) Download A promising space fridge design The researchers are not the first to attempt building a fridge like those used on Earth for space missions, but they are among the few who have tried since astronauts walked on the moon in 1969. Even though fridge experiments have been in space before, they either didnt work very well or eventually broke down. In practice, the fridge design would cool food through a vapor-compression cycle, similar to the process that a typical fridge uses on Earth, but without the need for oil. Having an oil-free vapor-compression cycle removes concerns about oil not flowing where it should in zero gravity. The teams prototype is about the size of a microwave, ideal for potentially fitting into the International Space Stations rack systems, EXPRESS Racks, that store research experiment payloads. Air Squared built the prototype and the oil-free compressor inside, which acts as the heart of the fridge. The teams experiments aimed to test a common hypothesis that pushing refrigerant liquid through a vapor-compression cycle at a higher velocity would reduce the effects of gravity on the fridges performance. A detailed analysis of the data will show whether the constraint of these high-flow velocities and the large pressure drop they create can be removed, which could improve the fridges performance by saving energy. Two experiments built by Purdue researchers flew with the prototype experiment to evaluate how microgravity affected the designs performance and susceptibility to liquid flooding. Whirlpool Corporation provided components for the fridge experiments as well as expertise on how to integrate these components, run the experiments and package the prototype in a way that would meet requirements for use in a long-term microgravity environment such as the International Space Station. Testing a fridge for space while still on Earth Before the flights, Purdue researchers showed through one of the experiments that an oil-free vapor-compression cycle can operate in different orientations even upside down. If a fridge can operate in any position, space crews wouldnt have to worry about making sure the fridge is right side up at a landing. The fact that the refrigeration cycles operated continuously in microgravity during the tests without any apparent problems indicates that our design is a very good start, said Leon Brendel, a Purdue Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering. Our first impression is that microgravity does not alter the cycle in ways that we were not aware of when we tested the effects of gravity on the fridge design on the ground by rotating and inclining it. I had to remember to not get cocky, said Paige Beck (center, above), who worked with Leon Brendel (center, below) to observe the effects of microgravity on a fridge design for use in space. Purdue senior engineering technician, Frank Lee (bottom), was responsible for building the experimental setups. (Credit: Stephen Boxall/ZERO-G) Download Groll, Brendel and Paige Beck, a Purdue junior majoring in mechanical engineering, conducted the experiments on the flights, along with members of the team from Air Squared and Whirlpool Corporation. For each flight, the plane performed 30 parabolas including Martian, lunar and micro gravities. Floating around with the experiments is kind of like swimming, except that you dont have resistance around you and you have to work to get the data at the same time. It was pretty fun, but I had to remember to not get cocky, said Beck, who had the challenge of holding herself in place to collect data from an experiment at regular intervals and simultaneously record her actions into a microphone. Other challenging tasks involved quickly changing parameters in between parabolas or slightly turning a needle valve while floating around. Sometimes I was too slow! But you learn as you go, and we successfully got the data we needed, Brendel said. The team will be completing data analysis in the coming weeks. 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: Kayla Wiles, 765-494-2432, wiles5@purdue.edu Air Squared media contacts: Ryan Riebau Kirk Shaffer Whirlpool Corporation media contact: Cean Burgeson Zero Gravity Corporation contact: Natalie Mounier Sources: Eckhard Groll Leon Brendel Stephen Caskey Alberto Gomes Michelle Peters Journalists visiting campus : Journalists should follow Protect Purdue protocols and the following guidelines: New York City, NY (11385) Today A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High 74F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Overcast with rain showers at times. Low 63F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Create your account: sign up and get ahead on news and events NO INVESTMENT ADVICE The Company is a publisher. You understand and agree that no content published on the Site constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is... In exchange for publishing services rendered by the Company on behalf of named herein, including the promotion by the Company of in any Content on the Site, the Company receives from said issuer annual cash... Rynola Fraser, 16, was accepted into the prestigious NASA internship program and has big hopes for a career either in criminal justice or climate science. A small but influential shareholder continues to shape Exxon's boardroom. s ( ) boardroom upheaval continued on Wednesday as environmental activist fund Engine No.1 saw its third nominee appointed to the board. Ex-Google executive Alexander Karsner is the third director to join Exxons 12-member board at Engine No.1s behest. It two prior nominees Gregory Goff, a former refiner, and environmental scientist Kaisa Hietala were voted in last week. Engine No.1 holds only a small number of Exxon shares but proved influential with Exxons pension fund shareholders, including which holds 6.6% of the oilers stock. Engine No.1 wants Exxon, Americas largest oil company, to move away from fossil fuels. In May, as it put forward candidates for the board, it said the company would need directors with experience in successful and profitable energy industry transformations. "We look forward to working with all of our directors to build on the progress we've made to grow long-term shareholder value and succeed in a lower-carbon future," said Exxon Chief Executive Darren Woods in a statement. Engine No.1s manoeuvres came as other supermajor oilers Chevron and Shell also encountered scrutiny over their energy transition policies. Last week, Chevron shareholders voted in favour of a proposal for the company to target reduction in the emissions created by its customers (rather than just those resulting from its own operations). Some 61% of shareholder votes came in favour of the proposal despite the executive management recommending shareholders vote against. On the same day, Plc ( ) lost a landmark case brought forward by seven activist groups, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth Netherlands, to challenge its climate strategy. The Dutch Court of The Hague ordered the FTSE 100 group to reduce CO2 emissions by 45% by the end of 2030 compared to 2019 levels. The 45% reduction also includes 'scope 3' emissions, meaning those from burning Shell's gas and oil. Before being taken to court by the activists, the company had previously pledged to cut the emissions of the products it sells by 20% over the same time period, as well as setting a net-zero goal by 2050. The case was filed in 2019 on behalf of more than 17,000 Dutch citizens on the basis that the oiler is threatening human rights by investing in fossil fuels. As campaigners move from picket lines and social media into boardrooms evidently the landscape is shifting, what precisely it will mean operationally for these supermajor hydrocarbon companies remains to be seen. featured Crime Police seek driver who led them on chase Still Stuck - and Endangered - on the Border Reversing one Trump policy, Biden has allowed many asylum seekers to enter the United States. By not reversing another, however, many thousands are still being expelled. Election reform was at the one-yard line in Texas, until House Democrats staged a walkout. Denied a quorum, the legislature was forced to adjourn and leave the important work of election reform undone. Progressive activists and much of the national media hailed the Democrats disappearing act and cheered the downfall of S.B 7, the reform package negotiated by House and Senate lawmakers. They claim its hard to vote in Texas, and that lawmakers are trying to make it even harder. President Biden went so far as to call the bill un-American and an assault on democracy. To borrow one of his signature phrases, attacks like these are malarkey. Texas already has roughly two weeks of early voting, while President Bidens home state of Delaware offers none. Even when Delaware begins allowing early voting next year, Texas voters will still have more days to cast a ballot. Will the president lob incendiary attacks at his home state? Doubtful. The reason for that double standard is entirely political. Democrats in Congress are pushing hard to pass H.R. 1, an unprecedented federal takeover of elections. The 800-page bill includes provisions to nullify voter ID laws, comprehensively weaken safeguards proven to stop fraud, and force partisan vote trafficking into every community. Its authors are trying to justify this unparalleled power grab by demonizing their opponents, who they claim are actively working to deny the right to vote to minorities. Trouble is, the election reforms passing in places like Florida, Arizona, Georgia, and elsewhere are overwhelmingly popular, common-sense measures that keep voting easy, and make cheating harder. Rather than debate these policies honestly, politicians and activists are distracting the public with fiery rhetoric and baseless accusations of discrimination. Georgia, for instance, expanded early voting, yet President Biden repeatedly leveled false claims that the state was restricting voting hours to target working-class Americans. Washington Post fact-checkers gave him four Pinocchios for that. Now, the left has brought these same tactics to Texas. Special interests have branded S.B. 7 a discriminatory and restrictive voting bill. The truth is far different. S.B. 7 beefs up safeguards for absentee voting. Mail-in ballots are inherently more vulnerable to fraud and error, so lawmakers proposed stronger protections against ballot trafficking by paid operatives. Only 11% of voters think it should be legal for unsupervised partisans to collect ballots, according to recent polling. It is not difficult to see why: Vote trafficking has been used to disenfranchise voters and swing elections, most notably in a 2018 North Carolina congressional race. Vote trafficking is so obviously risky that a bipartisan election commission co-chaired by former President Jimmy Carter advised states to abolish it. Texas lawmakers also proposed a new voter ID requirement for mail ballots, bringing the same safeguards for absentee voting as exist for in-person ballots. All a voter would have needed was the number from their drivers license or a free state ID, or the last four digits of a Social Security number. Voters could provide a statement if they had neither. Opponents attacked the ID measure as discriminatory, while ignoring the fact that overwhelming majorities of Black and Hispanic voters favor ID laws, as do three in four voters overall. The bill also expanded mandatory minimum hours for early voting. Texas law requires counties with more than 100,000 people to offer at least 12 hours of voting each day during the last week of early voting. S.B. 7 would broaden that mandate to counties with just 30,000 people. On Sundays, jurisdictions would be required to offer a minimum of six hours of voting instead of five. And the bill created a legal guarantee that polling places cannot turn voters away as long as they are in line by the time a voting location is scheduled to close. What about the elimination of drive-through and 24-hour voting? Critics claimed that decision is proof that S.B. 7 is all about restricting voting, but the truth is that both were concocted as a pandemic response, not a new norm for voting. Harris Countys own website says drive-through voting was created to offer a safer, socially-distant alternative to walk-in voting. The pandemic may have justified these changes, but that will not be relevant next year, and Texas is well within its rights to ban voting in the dead of night. Progressives are cheering the demise of S.B. 7, but Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has already indicated he will call the legislature back to address election reform in a special session later this year. In the meantime, activists will continue to spin good-faith election reform as an assault on democracy in order to manufacture support for the unprecedented takeover of elections they demand with H.R. 1. The public should note the hypocrisy, though, of applauding Texas Democrats for stonewalling the legislature while demanding that senators in Washington end the filibuster so Republicans cannot stop them from forcing through H.R. 1 with a bare, partisan majority. Voters deserve a strong democracy with elections they can trust. The fight to deliver that ideal is far from over. While the precise origin of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, remains unknown, several fact-checkers and media outlets found themselves in an embarrassing position when a theory they had previously dismissed as baseless gained new attention from scientists. That theory holds that the novel coronavirus did not originate from human contact with an infected animal, but instead was leaked intentionally or otherwise from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Several prominent figures recently have acknowledged the possibility that the pathogen escaped from a laboratory. On May 11, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci said he is not convinced the virus developed naturally. In a May 24 interview on CNBC, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb suggested that a growing body of circumstantial evidence supports the lab-leak hypothesis. President Biden recognized the possibility that the virus may have spread as a result of a laboratory accident in a statement to reporters last week. For months before elite opinion on the subject began to turn, fact-checkers, media figures, and social-media platforms dismissed the lab-leak theory out of hand while relying on questionable evidence. In September 2020, for example, Chinese virologist Li-Meng Yan expressed a version of the theory on Tucker Carlson Tonight that drew the ire of fact-checkers. This virus, COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 virus, actually is not from nature, Yan told Carlson, echoing sentiments she expressed in a controversial research paper on the subject. It is a man-made virus created in the lab. On Sept. 16, PolitiFacts Daniel Funke penned a polemical fact check of Yans claim. He described the idea that COVID-19 originated in a laboratory as a debunked conspiracy theory whose exponents dissented from the consensus of the scientific community and international public health organizations on the natural origin of COVID-19. He argued that the viruss genetic structure precluded the possibility that it was manipulated in a lab. Funke called Yans claim inaccurate and ridiculous and awarded it the Pants on Fire! verdict. The day after the publication of the PolitiFact article, FactCheck.org published a similar piece by Angelo Fichera titled Report Resurrects Baseless Claim That Coronavirus Was Bioengineered. Fichera described the conclusions of Yans research paper as faulty, and dismissed what he described as her unsubstantiated claim that the novel coronavirus was bioengineered in a Chinese lab. Both PolitiFact and FactCheck.org added editors notes to their pieces in May acknowledging that, contrary to their previous statements, the lab-leak theory could not be ruled out. PolitiFact went a step further and archived the original fact check, thus removing it from the sites database. When this fact-check was first published in September 2020, PolitiFacts sources included researchers who asserted the SARS-CoV-2 virus could not have been manipulated. That assertion is now more widely disputed, the editors note reads. PolitiFact has archived at least three other fact checks before, in 2012 , 2013 , and 2016 . In the last instance, after new data was discovered on the claim in question that Hillary Clinton insisted she had never sent nor received classified emails on her private server an editors note was added to say, This claim will remain rated Half True, because we base our rulings on when a statement was made and on the information available at that time. Later, however, PolitiFact archived the piece and changed the rating to False . In a 2011 article, PolitiFact noted that it set out to check a claim made by President Obama, but ultimately decided against doing so when the experts we spoke with told us this is a complicated case and perhaps not a checkable fact. We asked why PolitiFact considered the origins of SARS-CoV-2 a settled fact rather than a similarly complicated case, but a representative declined to comment. In addition to adding an editors note to the fact check of Yans claim, PolitiFact posted an explainer in May that detailed the state of the debate over the viruss origins. Officials and researchers are also paying more attention to the possibility that the virus somehow leaked from the lab, wrote Tom Kertscher and Noah Y. Kim. They concluded, Claims of complete certainty on either side remain unfounded. Many other outlets followed a similar pattern. As journalist Drew Holden has documented , Politico , Reuters , NPR , The Hill , BBC News , Business Insider, and Fortune magazine , among others, all minimized the idea that the virus leaked from a Wuhan lab as a baseless conspiracy theory, but all have now reversed course. In February, for instance, CNN fact-checker Tara Subramaniam quoted an infectious-disease specialist from Vanderbilt University who said, I think at this point you can draw a line through [the lab-leak theory] and say that didn't happen. That same day, Chris Cillizza, CNN editor-at-large, also dismissed the theory and quoted Subramaniams fact check. But on May 24, CNN reported on new evidence that supports the lab-leak possibility. The New York Times also dismissed the lab-leak hypothesis as a fringe theory in February, but on May 13 , it reported that a prominent group of scientists had called for further investigation. The Washington Post similarly reported in a since-revised headline that the lab leak is a conspiracy theory that was already debunked, and lead fact-checker Glenn Kessler claimed it was virtually impossible for the virus to have come from a lab. Yet Kessler has since written an article for the Post demonstrating how this theory suddenly became credible. Even Facebook, which in February started removing posts that claimed COVID was man-made or manufactured, announced last week that it will no longer delete such claims from its platforms. The lab-leak theorys newfound credibility is due in part to reporting by Nicholas Wade, a former science reporter at the New York Times. Wade, who was cited in PolitiFacts May explainer on the viruss origins, wrote a lengthy piece in Medium on May 2 arguing that media claims of a scientific consensus on the natural origin of the virus relied on questionable sources. He contended that two scientific groups statements one in The Lancet and another in Nature spearheaded by Dr. Kristian Andersen were taken as evidence of a scientific consensus but were not at first examined as critically as they should have been. The [Peter] Daszak and Andersen letters were really political, not scientific statements, yet were amazingly effective, Wade wrote. Articles in the mainstream press repeatedly stated that a consensus of experts had ruled lab escape out of the question or extremely unlikely. Their authors relied for the most part on the Daszak and Andersen letters, failing to understand the yawning gaps in their arguments. The Lancet statement, which denounced conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin and declared its signatories had no competing interests, was in fact riddled with undisclosed conflicts of interest that raise questions about the impartiality of its signatories. According to internal emails obtained by the public-health-transparency group U.S. Right to Know, the Lancet statement was organized and drafted by EcoHealth Alliance CEO Peter Daszak . EcoHealth Alliance is a nonprofit that funds research on genetically mutated bat coronaviruses, and Daszak has collaborated with scientists from the Wuhan Institute of Virology on the study of these coronaviruses. Neither fact was disclosed in EcoHealth Alliances statement. USRTK also discovered that four of the Lancet letters signatories had undisclosed affiliations with EcoHealth Alliance. Both PolitiFact and FactCheck.org cited the Lancet statement as evidence of a supposed scientific consensus about COVID-19s natural origin, but neither mentioned Daszaks connection to the Wuhan institute. The massive media about-face on the lab-leak theory should caution fact-checkers against pronouncing victory in still-unsettled debates about matters of science. Fact-checkers should avoid the temptation to treat claims around scientific theories, which are by their nature opinions, as matters of plain and objective fact. Scientific questions are settled not through derision but through open debate and an honest examination of the evidence. John Hirschauer is a staff writer for RealClearFoundation. The company, which is focused on psychedelic-assisted therapy and research, is going through a reverse takeover with ME Resource Corp Chief Operations Officer Chand Jagpal said Albert Labs is 'excited' to move towards its 'goal of becoming a public company to attract growth capital' is going public soon. ME Resource Corp (CSE:MEC) (OTC:MEEXF), with which has signed a definitive agreement to complete a reverse takeover (RTO), has submitted a listing statement supporting its application to trade on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE). is currently a private corporation focused on the emerging field of psychedelic-assisted therapy and research, building IP and expertise around accelerated, real-world evidence studies. In March, Albert Labs said that the combined company, subject to CSE approval, will list under the name Albert Labs Inc and maintain its business as currently constituted. In a statement, Chand Jagpal, chief operations officer at Albert Labs, said: The much-anticipated submission of the listing statement represents a significant milestone for Albert Labs. Were excited to move towards our goal of becoming a public company to attract growth capital and enable Albert Labs to continue towards its goal of being a worldwide leader and provide accelerated access to psychedelics medicines and therapy. Albert Labs has submitted applications for psychedelic research and a dealers license which will allow the company to test, possess, buy and sell MDMA, psilocybin, psilocin, DMT and mescaline at its lab in Burnaby, British Columbia. These licenses will also allow the company to import/export, test, and conduct R&D on these controlled substances. The companys core focus is treating patients with urgent and unmet mental health needs, starting with cancer-related anxiety and depression through trials in the UK and Scandinavia. Albert Labs will be the first psychedelics company to use an accelerated pathway, known as real-world evidence (RWE) studies, to more swiftly gain approval and reimbursement for its proprietary therapies. Albert Labs will also own the wide dataset collected in the studies to develop an IP stack around unique formulation and delivery mechanisms of its approved psychedelics drug therapy. Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive Traverse City, MI (49684) Today Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High 81F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. Low around 55F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. The agreement is expected to be completed within 30 days, granting Naturally Splendid exclusive Canadian rights to the Australian company's meat-alternative products for a 10-year term Naturally Splendid said it will market the product line under the brand Natera Plant Based Foods as well as form strategic partnerships with private label clients Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd ( ) (OTCPINK:NSPDF) (FRA:50N) has announced it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Australia's Flexitarian Foods Pty Ltd, in which Naturally Splendid will become Flexitarians exclusive manufacturer of an extensive line of plant-based, meat-alternative products for the Canadian market. Naturally Splendid said the exclusive manufacturing and distribution rights are granted for a 10-year term, renewable for an additional 10 years, and are effective upon completion of the definitive agreement, which is expected within 30 days. We are thrilled to be the exclusive manufacturer of these delicious plant-based entrees in Canada, in addition to being the exclusive distributor. Manufacturing these products in Canada opens up additional opportunities for the company and we look forward to providing timely updates, Naturally Splendid CEO Craig Goodwin said in a statement. Our expertise in manufacturing plant-based bars and bites in our SQF (food safety management) certified manufacturing facility will be of significant value as we add these additional lines to our manufacturing, Goodwin added. The company noted it previously agreed to terms with Australias BettaLife Global Food Solutions for the exclusive Canadian and US sales and distribution rights for its plant-based, meat-alternative products. Naturally Splendid said it will market this product line in North America under the brand Natera Plant Based Foods as well as form strategic partnerships with private label clients. New manufacturing lines will be installed in Naturally Splendid's existing 20,000 square-foot facility in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, which it said will significantly reducing capital costs of construction as well as reduced timelines to begin manufacturing. It added the facility will be capable of manufacturing a wide range of plant-based alternatives for beef, chicken, pork, fish, and shellfish. Naturally Splendid is the current 'go-to' manufacturer for health food products and ingredients and its focus is plant-based. The company also provides contract manufacturing services for many global healthy food companies, private labeling a wide variety of nutritional food products. Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com Porterville, CA (93257) Today A mainly sunny sky. High 97F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A mostly clear sky. Low 62F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. US Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas): I understand from whats been testified to the Forest Service and the BLM [Bureau of Land Management], you want very much to work on the issue of climate change. We know theres been significant solar flare activity, and so is there anything that the National Forest Service or BLM can do to change the course of the moons orbit, or the Earths orbit around the sun? Obviously that would have profound effects on our climate. Jennifer Eberlein, associate deputy chief for the National Forest System, responded that she would have to follow up with you on that one, after a brief pause. Gohmert: Well, if you figure out a way that you in the Forest Service can make that change, Id like to know. Kenansville, NC (28349) Today Mostly cloudy this morning. Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 84F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Greenville, NC (27833) Today Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 86F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 66F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Two police officers were transported to the hospital after suffering medical emergencies while conducting a search of a vehicle that was impounded at the Hinsdale Police Department. Hinsdale police Chief Charles Rataj told the Reformer the two officers have been medically cleared to return to duty. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 83F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms overnight. Low 59F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. General Assignment Reporter Chris Mays is a general assignment reporter for the Brattleboro Reformer. He has been with New England Newspapers Inc. since 2012. Tim Wessel currently serves in his 5th year on the Brattleboro Select Board, after serving as both chair and vice-chair. He writes twice monthly on the convergence of politics and policy in Windham County. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of the Brattleboro Reformer. Beckley, WV (25801) Today Partly cloudy skies during the morning hours. Thunderstorms likely in the afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 83F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies. Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. A strike of 2,100 group home workers, scheduled for 6 a.m. Friday, was called off late Thursday just before midnight as the union agreed to a 2-year deal with significant pay increases. It was too late for the 200 group homes to avoid having to relocate hundreds of intellectually disabled residents. Barry Simon, the chief executive officer of Oak Hill, which operates 70 of the homes subjected to the walkout deadline, and Pedro Zayas, a spokesman for SEIU District 1199 New England, confirmed that a deal was reached late Thursday night. Zayas said the $184 million deal on new two-year contracts for the workers include wage increases and enhanced benefits. Group home residents were moved to nursing homes and to their family members. All day Thursday, group home operators had changed plans on the fly, pushing back deadlines to relocate residents until the last possible minute, with vehicles ready and destinations set. By 8 p.m. Thursday, Simon said he could no longer delay the relocations. The first 77 residents to be moved to nursing homes were about to be transported, he said, with another 77 set to be relocated after that. Earlier in the day, some residents were placed in other homes operated by Oak Hill that are not subject to the strike, he said. Oak Hill staff, many of whom transported the residents themselves as they prepared to strike, were adamant throughout Thursday that Simon continue to hold off to avoid what would be a traumatic experience for people who live in the homes. Once I pull this trigger, bad things will happen, Simon said earlier Thursday. This is not going to be good for our participants and thats what I worry about the most. Plans were changing hourly Thursday at Journey Found Inc., said CEO Tracey Walker, who said just before 6 p.m. that within the next couple of hours about 25 residents will be transported to live with their families temporarily. On Thursday, the organization secured five temporary staff but were still 33 people short, Walker said, adding that administrative staff is scheduled to work double shift and workers would be moving around to various homes to care for residents. In some cases, family members were prepared to come into the homes to care for their loved ones, she said. The frantic scene played out as District 1199, the states largest health care union, met with Gov. Ned Lamonts top aides to negotiate a deal. The union wanted terms similar to the $267 million deal brokered last month for nursing homes. Although the companies running the homes are private, the state negotiated as the main payer because Medicaid is the chief source of money for the homes. It was unclear early Friday how the group homes deal compared with the offer the led 1199 to call off, or at least postpone, the nursing home strike Rob Baril, president of District 1199, summarized the unions position in a statement Thursday. We cannot preserve a labor model for group home long-term care services that relies on poverty wages, Baril said. We need to make the same advances that nursing home workers achieved with recent funding allocations: create a pathway to $20 an hour minimum and retirement and provide access to affordable health insurance for group home workers and their families. On Wednesday, Lamont had said his administration was having active discussions with union leaders. Id like to think were getting close, he said, to reaching a really good, fair conclusion. A strike would have resulted in major disruption to the lives of group home residents who rely on relationships with workers and continuity of care. The situation caused gut-churning anxiety and nausea for their parents and guardians, David Hadden, chair of Oak Hills board of directors, said Wednesday after he and Simon attended a rally held by workers outside the Legislative Office Building. The truth of the matter is some of our people, as a result of this transition will have serious behavioral setbacks, said Hadden. This will be a traumatic event and they may well have medical setbacks. Its likely that some of them are going to end up at the hospital, and some of them may not be coming back to our group homes. Hadden and his wife had two sons with intellectual disabilities, one of whom was a resident at Oak Hill until he passed away several years ago. Hadden and Simon supported the workers demands for better pay and benefits. But Oak Hill, a historic provider based in Hartford, cant boost wages for workers without an increase in funding. The bulk of Oak Hills workers now earn $14.75 an hour, Simon said. Increasing funding for the private nonprofits that provide the bulk of social services in Connecticut is a major part of budget debate going on in the General Assembly. Oak Hill pays for the bulk of services through the state-federal Medicaid system. The last time we got a rate increase, Simon said, the iPhone wasnt even invented yet. The other group home operators affected by Fridays strike deadline were Whole Life Inc. of Stratford, Sunrise Northeast of Hartford, Network Inc. of Andover, and Mosaic in Cromwell. julia.bergman@hearstmediact.com MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) Nicaraguan police on Wednesday raided the home of Cristiana Chamorro, a potential presidential candidate and daughter of former President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, one day after formally filing money laundering charges against the journalist. Her brother, Carlos Fernando Chamorro, director of the independent news outlet Confidencial, confirmed the raid via Twitter and said his sister had been detained. He later reported that she was under house arrest and that police remained in her home. The judicial system said in a statement that a judge had issued search and detention orders for 67-year-old Cristiana Chamorro Wednesday. A court also granted a request from prosecutors to bar Chamorro from running in the Nov. 7 elections or holding public office, citing the charges against her. It was the latest in a series of moves against potential rivals to President Daniel Ortega. Vilma Nunez, president of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights, said that police had violently entered Chamorro's home south of the capital. The police raided the home 15 minutes before Chamorro was scheduled to give a news conference. She was expected to challenge President Daniel Ortega for the presidency. Chamorro has said the allegations were trumped up to keep her out of the race. In late May, national police raided the offices of the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation for Reconciliation and Democracy, the nongovernmental group named after her mother and led by Chamorro until recently. They also raided the offices of the Confidencial. The Nicaraguan government has said Chamorro is under investigation for alleged financial irregularities related to the foundation. In January, she stepped down from her role at the foundation. A month later, it closed its operations in Nicaragua after passage of a foreign agents law designed to track foreign funding of organizations operating in the country. Nicaraguas Supreme Electoral Council and congress have been narrowing the space for maneuver for the countrys opposition. In May, the council cancelled the legal status of the Democratic Restoration Party, which was expected to potentially be a vehicle for an opposition coalition bid against Ortega. Cristiana Chamorros mother beat Ortega to win the presidency in 1990 and served until 1997. Her husband, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, had run his family newspaper La Prensa and was jailed and forced into exile multiple times by the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza. He was eventually assassinated in 1978. Cristiana Chamorro is the vice president of La Prensa. Detention of ex-Khabarovsk Krai Governor extended for month as part of murder case Moscow's Basmanny District Court 15:52 03/06/2021 MOSCOW, June 3 (RAPSI) Moscows Basmanny District Court on Thursday extended detention of ex-Governor of Russias Khabarovsk Krai Sergey Furgal charged with masterminding murders in 2004-2005 until July 7, the courts press service told RAPSI. Investigation into Furgal was completed in early February. Investigators believe Furgal took decisions to commit the crimes in order to move forward his personal business interests. According to the Investigative Committee, the murder of entrepreneur Yevgeny Zorya was connected with a long conflict with Furgal and court proceedings over a concrete plant purchased by Zorya. The victim had been killed a day before an obvious verdict was delivered, investigators state. One more alleged victim of Furgal was his partner Oleg Bulatov. After his murder, the defendant acquired his share in their common business, a company engaged in buy-in and resale of scrap iron, , according to the investigation. Investigators claim that the former Governor of Russias Khabarovsk Krai was involved in the attempted assassination of scrap iron businessman Alexander Smolsky outbidding competitors. Moreover, a local resident Roman Sandalov was killed for commercial reasons. A driver of Furgal took the rap. Furgal was arrested on July 9. According to investigators, all crimes were committed by an organized criminal group led by Furgal in Russias Khabarovsk and Amur Regions in 2004-2005. Earlier, four alleged members of the gang were arrested and placed in detention. Born in the Amur Region, Furgal worked as general physician at a hospital more than 6 years before the start of his political career. After being discharged from healthcare in 1999, he went in for business, according to his biography on the Khabarovsk Krai governments website. He was elected as the State Duma lawmaker three times. In September 2018, he was elected as a Khabarovsk Region governor by popular vote. A new report ranks states on their public higher education options, and Connecticut nearly tops the list. The seventh of its kind, a recent SmartAsset analysis of Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System 2018-19 data compared states' four-year public universities across five metrics: undergraduate graduation rate, average net price, student-to-faculty ratio, 20-year return on investment and in-state attendance rate. The analysts selected the metrics "to find the states where public colleges and universities are more affordable and offer a greater (return on investment)," said a representative for SmartAsset. Connecticut and its 11 four-year public colleges, including University of Connecticut and Connecticut State Colleges & Universities schools, ranked fourth in the nation. The state broke into the top 10 in the 2018 edition of the report. Virginia, New Jersey and North Carolina were named top three; Delaware was not ranked because its data was incomplete. The five indicators show Connecticut schools exceeded peer institutions in other states at supporting students across the finish line and prepping them for the workforce. Still, the report showed the state has room to improve local enrollment and affordability compared with the rest of the nation. "We want to empower people to consider their personal finances through the lens of education costs," said Mark LoCastro, spokesperson for SmartAsset. "Given Connecticut's high ranking across a number of metrics in our study, considering an in-state college or university could be a smart financial choice for Connecticut residents." Analysts weighted metrics according to undergraduate enrollment size, then assessed states on each of the five indicators with a double weight on graduation rates. Each state's average ranking was used to compile a final nationwide list that put Oklahoma, Maine and South Dakota at the bottom. Connecticut schools had the sixth best undergraduate graduation rate in the country - about 67 percent of students, according to the report. The average student-to-faculty ratio at the state's colleges and universities ranked fourth nationally. UConn specifically has a four-year graduation rate of 73 percent, which is seventh among public universities nationwide, according to a university spokesperson. The school credits its high rate to efforts to keep students engaged from the onset of their college careers. "UConn works hard to make students feel welcome and valued at all steps in their time at the university and has many groups working to identify and address barriers they might face," the spokesperson wrote in an email. "For instance, the university has special programming and outreach to first-generation college students to ensure they receive guidance and mentorship, and know they always have people who can help them navigate unfamiliar processes or situations," she said. On the downside, Connecticut fell below the national median for attracting in-state students to its public institutions. Connecticut ranked 29th of all states and had an in-state attendance rate of 18 percent, according to the report with additional data from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. The metric is a percentage of students who graduated high school in 2018 and enrolled in an in-state college. Connecticut also ranked 42nd in affordability of higher education, making it among the most expensive states to attend four-year public universities, according to the analysis. The average net price charged to first-time, full-time undergraduate students who were awarded grant or scholarship aid is $17,473, the report found. Despite the high price tag, Connecticut was in the top third of states for offering a high 20-year return on investing in higher education: $384,174, analysts estimated using Payscale data. The calculation is the difference between 20 years of median pay for a college graduate minus the costs of college, and 24 years of median pay for a high school graduate. Joe Bertolino, president of Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, said ensuring students are prepared for the workforce is a priority for the university. "Most of the jobs our students will have in 20 years don't even exist yet," said Bertolino. "So most of our time, I think, is spent teaching students not just the subject matter but, more importantly, the ability to think critically, to write, to work in teams, to be collaborative, to build relationships." Bertolino said SCSU has played a key role in connecting its students, who often take an out-sized risk to attend and pay for four-year colleges, to employers to make their time and money worth the investment. That emphasis on local networking is especially important for career development given that about 85 percent of graduates stay in Connecticut, according to the university president. "We spent a great deal of time building that infrastructure to help students," he said. "Most of our students are not just full time students - many of them are working; they have to care for families, even more so now as a result of the pandemic," he said. As to Connecticut ranking fourth overall for its four-year public colleges and universities, Bertolino was hardly surprised. "Tell us something we didn't already know," he said. "It really highlights the value of public higher education in Connecticut and what we have to offer." We would love for you to join us to share your memories of Daryl with family and friends. Daryls full obituary can be view at http://www.myersmortuary.com/ A celebration of life will be held from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM on 2021-06-27 at Fraternal Order of Eagles , 2140 N Lebanon St, Lebanon, IN 4 POTTSVILLE To try to spur heritage tourism, the Schuylkill County commissioners announced their support Wednesday of the 1,300-mile September 11 National Memorial Trail, which will run through the county. The 9/11 trail, which incorporates segments of existing trails, will connect New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Somerset County, the sites of the deaths from terrorist attacks of almost 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001. Seven states and the District of Columbia will participate in the trail, which will be in the shape of a triangle. The countys segment of the trail will run between Auburn and Coaldale, County Administrator Gary R. Bender said. It will be part of the segment connecting New York and Washington, he said. In passing the resolution of support, the commissioners noted the trail will provide cyclists, hikers and walkers with chances to experience natural beauty, visit new towns and explore scenic and historic areas. Also, the commissioners noted, the trail will provide both local residents and travelers with opportunities to enjoy outdoor recreation as well as cultural and shopping experiences in the communities through which it runs. The states connected by the trail are Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. POTTSVILLE A Northumberland County man is headed to state prison after a Schuylkill County judge sentenced him Tuesday for possessing drugs while behind bars. Joseph A. Tumolo, 48, of Shamokin, formerly of Catawissa, must serve two to four years in a state correctional institution, Judge Charles M. Miller decided. This involved providing a controlled substance to an inmate ... at the county prison, the judge said. Miller also sentenced Tumolo to pay costs, $100 to the Substance Abuse Education Fund, $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account and $113 restitution to the state police crime laboratory in Bethlehem, and submit a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities. In a one-day trial over which Miller presided, a jury found Tumolo guilty on July 29, 2020, of possession of a contraband/controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance, but not guilty of bribery. State police at Frackville alleged Tumolo possessed drugs on Nov. 25, 2016, at the county prison. Tumolo already is an inmate at the county prison, and Miller conducted Tuesdays hearing by videoconference. In another recent county court case, President Judge William E. Baldwin sentenced Jeffery T. Huben, 30, of Frackville, to serve 18 to 36 months in a state correctional institution, pay costs, $200 in SAEF payments, $150 in CJEA payments and $349.91 restitution, and submit a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities. Huben pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one of retail theft. Prosecutors withdrew two counts each of possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia and one each of false identification to law enforcement, disregarding traffic lane and operating vehicle without valid inspection. State police at Frackville alleged Huben possessed drugs on Dec. 23, 2019, and again on Sept. 22, 2020. Saint Clair police alleged he committed the theft on Sept. 8, 2020, in the borough. Huben already is an inmate at the county prison, and Baldwin conducted the hearing by videoconference. Also recently in the county court, Alexander J. Faust, 28, of Shenandoah, pleaded guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia. Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin accepted the plea, placed Faust on probation for six months and made that term consecutive to the two sentences the defendant already is serving. He also ordered Faust to pay costs and a $100 SAEF payment. Saint Clair police charged Faust with possessing the paraphernalia on Jan. 15 in the borough. David J. Rossi TREMONT A Pine Grove man charged with exposing himself in public in Pine Grove Township on Valentines Day appeared for a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge David J. Rossi. Joshua W. Karnes, 44, of 28 Stony Top Road, was arrested by state police Trooper Dylan Reigle of the Schuylkill Haven station and charged with one count each of indecent assault and possession of a controlled substance. Prosecutors withdrew the indecent assault charge and Karnes waived the remaining offense to Schuylkill County Court, where he can plead guilty or enter a not guilty plea and request a trial. Reigle charged Karnes when he was exiting a restroom at the Pilot Travel Center truck stop with his pants halfway down, exposing his genitals. The man then proceeded to walk around a gaming machine, again with his pants down. When asked by a female employee to pull his pants up, the man did so but then pulled them down as far as they were before, the trooper said. When asked why he exposed himself, Karnes said the pants were not his and he forgot his belt, Reigle said. Reigle said that when Karnes was taken into custody, he had a small plastic bag containing methamphetamine in his possession. Other court cases included: Scott C. Auman, 54, of 152 S. Third St., Saint Clair; withdrawn: harassment. Jordan P. Ernst, 29, of 563 Berne Road, Hamburg; held for court: theft. Paul A. Daubert, 36, of 34 Spittler Road, Pine Grove; withdrawn: indecent exposure, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness. Moved to a non-traffic citation: harassment. Amber D. Craig, 38, of 839 Suedberg Road, Pine Grove; dismissed: simple assault and harassment. Justin Lee Mewis, 37, of 401 Chestnut Ave., Marysville; withdrawn: false reports. John M. Stutzman, 40, of 1721 W. Maple St., Box 162, Valley View; held for court: DUI-controlled substance, possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Michael A. Kroh, 36, of 239 N. Pine St., Tremont; waived for court: possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, obstructed windows and driving a vehicle without a valid inspection. Richard Cashman ORWIGSBURG A Carbon County man is headed to Schuylkill County Court after a judge ruled Tuesday that prosecutors produced enough evidence to support the four charges against him. John Urso III, 42, of 48 Summit Ave., Summit Hill, faces charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and disorderly conduct. Senior Magisterial District Judge Richard Cashman ordered all charges against Urso held for court. He allowed Urso to remain free on $20,000 straight cash bail pending further court action. Walker Township police charged Urso with possessing 48.77 grams of methamphetamine, a digital scale and 122 clear ziplock plastic bags at 7:08 p.m. May 12 at 501 Valley Road in the township. Police said Urso also fought with his wife and grabbed her by the neck, resulting in the disorderly conduct charge. Other defendants whose cases Cashman considered on Tuesday, the charges against each one and the judges dispositions of the matters included the following people: Nicole N. DAndria, 39, of 3394 Summer Valley Road, New Ringgold; nonemergency communication to 911; charge held for court after preliminary hearing that DAndria did not attend. Cashman asked the court to issue a bench warrant for DAndria, who had been free on $2,500 unsecured bail. Julianne M. Schenck, 34, of 3053 Summer Valley Road, New Ringgold; driving under the influence and speeding; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court. Tyler Vandermartin, 23, of 203 Walnut St., Pottsville; DUI and careless driving; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court. Tyler S. Walton, 24, of 43 Archery Club Road, New Ringgold; accident involving death or personal injury, careless driving, failure to stop and give information and failure to notify police of accident; right to preliminary hearing waived, charges bound over for court. All defendants now must appear in Schuylkill County Court, where they have the option to plead guilty to some or all of the charges or plead not guilty and demand a trial before a judge or a jury. (Staff reports compiled by Frank Andruscavage and Peter Bortner) SCHUYLKILL HAVEN Blue Mountain High School graduates who will be joining the military will not be allowed to wear sashes representing the branch they will join during the commencement ceremony Friday. Bradley Gherghel, a Blue Mountain senior who will be joining the Air Force, said he was disappointed when he was told he would not be allowed to wear a sash given to him by his recruiter signifying his commitment. I feel like our school is not proud of our decision to join the military, Gherghel said. They told us we didnt earn our sashes. Sandy Renninger, of Cressona, said her son, Toby, will also be joining the Air Force. He and others were told Wednesday they could not wear their military-issued sashes at graduation. Renninger and Gherghel both said the sashes had been allowed in the past, but this year the rule was changed. Nobody knows the reason behind it, Renninger said. Renninger said the students have been working toward signing with the military throughout the school year and deserve recognition from their school. I feel bad for these boys, Renninger said. These are the people who are supposed to be supporting and guiding them. Blue Mountain School District Superintendent David Helsel, Ed.D., did not return calls for comment Wednesday. At a March meeting, the school board discussed changing the rule about allowing military sashes to be worn at graduation. The board decided that there would be no future military service recognition at commencement, as it is meant to acknowledge the students school achievements, not their future plans. Renninger said, however, the signing process has already taken a lot of work. Theyve been through a lot already to serve their country, and this is how theyre treated, Renninger said. MAHANOY CITY Mahanoy Area High School held its annual commencement exercises Wednesday, with 65 students receiving diplomas for successfully meeting the requirements to graduate. The evening started off in an unusual fashion, with the Class of 2021 escorted through the streets of Mahanoy City by Mahanoy City police and the Mahanoy City Fire Department. Waving to people who lined the streets, students were honored for their efforts, not only by friends, family and teachers but by the entire community. At 7 p.m. the class members entered the gymnasium for the final time as Mahanoy Area students. They then sang the national anthem and heard an invocation from Megan F. Macleary, class treasurer. Leo A. Andrewsky, class vice president, offered opening remarks, followed by Dr. Joie L. Green, superintendent, introducing student speakers Maddison S. Quick, salutatorian, and Noah C. Karnish, valedictorian. Quick told her fellow students that graduation is a time to fondly look back over their years at Mahanoy Area. We have memories we hold close to our hearts and make us smile or cringe at random moments, she said. The 2020-21 school year was also a year to remember. Quoting Charles Dickens, who wrote A Tale of Two Cities, Quick said: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times She told classmates their senior year has been trying. This year was a test for the harsh realities of how fast the world can change on us, Quick said. You decide if you passed or failed the test. Karnish, speaking to fellow graduates, said their futures are full of opportunities and possibilities. More importantly, he said, that with every accomplishment achieved in the coming years, remember the path that led you there and never forget where you came from. The Class of 2021 is certainly unique, Karnish said. The class was the last class to complete all four years in the middle school, and is also the class that is graduating in what will hopefully be the end of the coronavirus pandemic. We have built an unmatched level of resilience that will fuel our future success, Karnish said. Life is unpredictable, but when it does not turn out as planned, you reevaluate, adjust and pick up where you left. You truly never know what each new day will bring, which is why it is important to take each opportunity to make a positive difference in this world, no matter how small it may be. Green then introduced the recipient of the 2021 Outstanding Alumnus, Elizabeth Ann Paulukonis, a member of the Mahanoy Area Class of 1992 and executive director at Pfizer Inc., an American multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered on 42nd Street in New York City. Student awards were presented by high school Principal Stanley J. Sabol Jr. and high school Assistant Principal Matthew J. Giannelli, followed by the presentation of diplomas by Steve Gnall, president of the Mahanoy Area school board. James A. Leary Jr., president of the Class of 2021, then presented the mantle to McKenna C. Cavenas, president of the Class of 2022. Following selections by the varsity band, the ceremony concluded with a benediction by Isabella Kramer, secretary of the Class of 2021, and the singing of the alma mater. POTTSVILLE City officials detailed plans for funding to demolish properties in the city at the Blight Task Force meeting. State Reps. Joe Kerwin, R-125, Lykens, and Tim Twardzik, R-123, Butler Township, attended the in-person meeting Tuesday afternoon. Also present was MaryBeth Dougherty, a staff assistant for state Sen. David G. Argall, R-29, Rush Township. The lawmakers, along with state Rep. Jerry Knowles, R-124, Rush Township, jointly announced last week that the county received more than $980,000 from the Commonwealth Financing Authority to fight blight. The city received $300,000 of that amount to address 17 properties. In a presentation, city Administrator Thomas A. Palamar pointed out six properties targeted for demolition that will be covered by the funding: 539 E. Norwegian St., 511 Peacock St., 627 Pierce St., 571 S. Centre St., 237 Wallace St. and 823 N. 16th St. Twardzik said the grant will help the community. We were happy to put the funds together, he said, adding the improvements compel people to come to the area. Kerwin said he would work together with communities to alleviate blight. In addition to the demolition grant, Palamar also informed task force members the city received a $500,000 grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development that will be used to help low-income homeowners prevent blight. City officials will use the money to fund Home Grants of up to $24,999. Owners citywide are eligible for one if they live in the home, own it and are up to date on taxes. Palamar said 25 people are on the wait list. The grants are among the tools used by officials to address blight, along with issuing quality of life tickets, a nuisance property ordinance and permit denial. According to the presentation, as of May 31, there were 409 properties on the citys blight list and city officials had issued 3,724 quality of life tickets. Pottsville Housing Authority Executive Director Craig Shields said insurance companies wont write insurance for vacant properties. He also said something should be done to address limited liability companies, or LLCs, which often are listed as a blighted propertys owner. He also suggested the lawmakers address back taxes on properties. Twardzik said the matters are important issues for the House Urban Affairs Committee, of which he is a member. He said later in the meeting that he hopes to take the information to other communities. Dougherty said a bill before the Senate Urban Affairs committee would require LLCs to disclose contact information for all officers and would deal with delinquent tax sales. In other matters, task force member Betty Schwear asked if contact has been made with the owner of the historical St. Anns Cathedral at 912 W. Market St. Reading-based Iglesia Nueva Vida, a New Life Evangelical Church, wants to acquire the property and use it as a house of worship. Since 2010, the property has been owned by the Arabic Catholic Church Diocese of USA, with Ramzi R. Musallam, of Dupont, as its legal representative. Code Enforcement Officer Dave Petravich said that he has reached out to the water authority about getting contact information for the owner. There arent many state government problems that draw bipartisan agreement these days in the polarized Legislature. But prescription drug pricing is one of them because it is as bewildering to conservative Republicans as it is to liberal Democrats, and the pharmacy counter is the great equalizer. So it is this week that political polar opposites from opposite corners of the state Democratic state Sen. Sharif Street of Philadelphia and Republican state Sen. Dan Laughlin of Erie have reintroduced their bill to create transparency in prescription drug pricing. In a recent state survey by Altarum, a national health care consultant, 51% of respondents said they were concerned about medication costs and 33% in Northwest Pennsylvania said they took their prescribed medicine every other day or cut pills in half to reduce their costs. The bill does not include any direct price-reduction measures. Rather, it would require pharmaceutical companies to explain how they arrive at prices for prescription drugs. Companies often say that prices reflect their costs for research and development, which is substantial. It can cost $1 billion or more to take a drug from concept, through development and trials, to regulatory approval by the Food and Drug Administration. But those costs, which sometimes are mitigated by federal research investments or private-sector grants, are not the only factor in a drugs final price. The bill would require companies to file annual reports detailing their research and development costs, clinical trial and regulatory costs, manufacturing and administrative expenses, costs covered by private or federal grants, rebate distribution, and costs for patents, licensing and related expenses. Sharif and Laughlin should include marketing costs, which for some drugs exceed the costs of research and development. The lack of transparency regarding prescription pricing makes it nearly impossible for state and federal governments to address high consumer prices. This bipartisan bill is a good step to help unravel byzantine drug pricing, and to begin to include consumers interests in the process. A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government on June 1 approved the purchase of the ancestral homes of legendary Bollywood actors Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor. The government has decided to convert the two houses into museums. The Peshawar District Commissioner Capt. (retd.) Khalid Mehmud rejected the objections of the owners of both the houses and transferred the ownership of the houses to the Archaeological Department. Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor ancestral homes into museums According to PTI, the notification issued by the Deputy Commissioners office said that The land (homes of Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor) will vest in the name of acquiring Department i.e. Director Archaeology and Museums. The KP government had fixed the price for the purchase of Kapoor's 6.25-marla and Kumar's four-marla houses for 1.50 crore and 80 lakh, respectively, with plans to convert them into museums. Marla, a traditional unit of area used in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, is considered equal to 272.25 square feet or 25.2929 square meters. Earlier, the owner of Dilip Kumars house demanded Rs 25 crore, while the owner of Raj Kapoor's house was demanding Rs 200 crore. Haji Lal Muhammad, the owner of Dilip Kumar's ancestral property, had purchased the property in 2005 for Rs. 51 lakh after completing all legal formalities. He had said that it is unjust of the government to value the prophet at Rs. 80.56 lakhs after 16 years. In May, Director Archaeology KPK Abdus Samad had said the government would take custody of both the houses shortly and would start work to restore the structures in their original shape. The government would preserve both the buildings to make the people aware of the contribution made by Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor in the film industry, he said. Raj Kapoor's ancestral home, known as Kapoor Haveli, is situated in the fabled Qissa Khwani Bazar. It was built between 1918 and 1922 by the legendary actor's grandfather Dewan Basheswarnath Kapoor. Raj Kapoor and his uncle Trilok Kapoor were born in the building. It has been declared national heritage by the provincial government. The house is in shambles and was declared as a national heritage in 2014 by the then Nawaz Sharif government. The owners of the two buildings made several attempts in the past to demolish them for constructing commercial plazas in view of their prime location but all such moves were stopped as the archaeology department wanted to preserve them, keeping in view their historic importance. (With inputs from PTI) IMAGE: PTI/RAJKAPOORSAAB/Instagram Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment. Actors Tiger Shroff and Disha Patani were booked for violating COVID-19 norms in Mumbai amid the lockdown-like restrictions on Wednesday. The duo were reported to be roaming without giving any 'valid reason' for stepping out after the timings stipulated for essential services. Tiger Shroff, Disha Patani booked for violating COVID-19 norms As per reports, the police stopped Tiger and Disha at the Bandra Promenade for being outside their homes after 2 PM. As the latest norms in Maharashtra, the citizens are supposed to step out only for essential services, which have been permitted to remain open only between 7 AM and 2 PM in the ongoing lockdown, that is in force till June 15. "A police team spotted Tiger Shroff roaming in the Bandstand area in the evening. When questioned, he couldn't give a satisfactory reply about why he was roaming outside. The police took down his details and registered a case under relevant section of the Indian Penal Code for "disobeying the order of public servant", the official told PTI. The case was registered under section 188 (Disobeying the order of public servant) of the Indian Penal Code. No arrest was made because it is a bailable section, the police was quoted as saying by ANI. An FIR has been registered against actors Tiger Shroff, Disha Patani & others for violating COVID-19 restrictions: Mumbai Police The actors were found roaming at Bandstand Promenade & couldn't give a valid reasons to police for being out of their homes after 2 pm (file photos) pic.twitter.com/gLKAb7BYcG ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2021 The incident took place when the rumoured couple stepped out for a drive, as per reports. Disha was seen sitting on the front seat, while Tiger was seated behind, and the duo reportedly stepped out after a workout session. However, Tiger Shroff's mother took to Instagram and commented on a post saying, 'You got your facts wrong my dear. They were heading home and cops were checking Aadhar cards on the way. No one is interested in roaming at a time like this. Please get your facts right before saying such things'. Numerous other celebrities of the film industry landed in trouble with the authorities over COVID-19 restrictions over the past few weeks. This included Gauahar Khan, who was booked by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in March for allegedly shooting despite testing positive for COVID-19. Vivek Oberoi was booked in February for not wearing a mask while stepping out. Meanwhile, the lockdown has affected the film industry as shootings have been halted for over a month now. With theatres shut,hardly any films have released. However, the stars have kept themselves involved by providing help to the needy during the pandemic in various ways. (With agency inputs) 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. Dwayne Johnson owns a 46-acre farm located in Powder Springs, Georgia, the United States of America. The wrester-turned-actor is currently spending his time at his farm. Now, he has revealed how the place has been a getaway for him to relax and chill, along with meeting the fishes he raised. Dwayne Johnson's way to decompress with fishes at his farm Dwayne Johnson has more than 240 million followers on Instagram and has been quite active on the social media platform. He recently posted a video of himself from his farm. In it, he is holding a largemouth bass that he raised at his farm. The actor mentioned that he raises several other species of fishes, too. The Rock further stated that he works "very closely" with a university biologist and they created a "beautiful ecosystem" at his farm for a variety of fish. He called fishes his babies. Johnson then bid goodbye to the bass as he tossed the fish back in the water. In his caption, The Rock noted that he has been at his farm for the past weekend to decompress. He has also named the different fishes that he has been raising for over a decade now. The actor mentioned that he fell in love with fishing when he was a little boy. Take a look at Dwayne Johnson's Instagram post below. Dwayne Johnson's Instagram post caught much attention. Many praised his gesture and way of relaxing by spending time outdoor. Some appreciated his fishing skills and left red heart emoticons in the comment section. The video has touched 10 million views with more than15k comments. Take a look at a few replies below. The Rock has taken time off from shooting Black Adam. The filming on the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) project started a few weeks ago. Dwayne Johnson in Black Adam makes his debut in the DCEU, along with Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo, Quintessa Swindell, Pierce Brosnan, Sarah Shahi, Marwan Kenzari, and others. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, the movie will arrive in theatres on July 29, 2022. IMAGE: THE ROCK INSTAGRAM Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment. Money Heist Season 5 teaser trailer was recently shared by Netflix. It created a huge buzz among the viewers as the video promised more action for the viewers. Now, a group of kids has remade the trailer and that has caught the attention of Alvaro Morte, the actor who plays the Professor in the show. Money Heist Season 5 trailer recreated by kids A bunch of kids on Instagram with hurumatown80 username are known for reimagining hit trailers or scenes. This time they recreated Money Heist Season 5 teaser. The kids replicated the video scene by scene in their own way. They used cardboard and wood to make fake guns, along with bike helmets as protective gear. Check out the video below. The recreated trailer reached Alvaro Morte. He shared it on his Instagram story. The actor called it "amazing" and congratulated the kids. Besides Professor actor Alvaro Morte, other users on Instagram also applauded the kids' creativity. Many left red heart, fire, and heart eyes emoticons in the comment section. Some appreciated their talent as they were amazed by the video. Take a look at a few reactions to the recreated teaser below. Money Heist Season 5 cast has Ursula Corbero, Miguel Herran, Itziar Ituno, Jaime Lorente, Esther Acebo, Enrique Arce, Rodrigo de la Serna, Najwa Nimri, and others. The series will continue from where the previous one left, the Professor facing Alicia Sierra with a gun in his face. There are speculations that Sierra could join the Professor as she herself is now hated by the people and her own team. The two could work together to help the team exit the Bank of Spain. The Spanish crime thriller show, La Casa de Papel is created by Alex Pina. Money Heist Season 5 release date for the first part is set for September 3, 2021, and the last part will arrive on December 3, 2021. Fans are excited to see how the series will conclude as this would be its finale season. IMAGE: A STILL FROM MONEY HEIST SEASON 5 TRAILER AND HURUMATOWN80 INSTAGRAM Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment. Luka Peros took to Instagram on June 2, 2021, to mark the end of the iconic show Money Heist. The Money Heist alum donned the trademark red suit of the show as he posted a sweet poem to bid farewell to the series. He could be seen posing on the set of the show with one of the statues. The selfie sees him looking into the camera quite seriously. The poem that he posted read, "Goodbye, my friend, goodbye. My dear, you are in my heart. Predestined separation promises a future meeting." It has been penned by the poet Sergei Yesenin. He also posted the Spanish translation of the same as part of his caption. Luka Peros' goodbye poem People were really sad to see him bidding adieu and that the show was drawing to a close. They remarked saying all good things must come to an end at some time, which was the same thing happening to the show. They also expressed their love for Luka Peros in Money Heist and told him that he had been wonderful. Most people commented using emojis where some used the heart emoji expressing their love for the show, while others used the crying face emoji showing their grief on the show coming to a close. As for the Money Heist Season 5 teaser, the showrunners announced the latest and last season of the show with a bang. With an electric teaser, Netflix surprised fans by disclosing the release schedule of Money Heist Season 5 with a surprise announcement. The crew is returning with more ammunition and rage this time. Nairobi's sacrifice will not be forgotten. It's no longer robbery. It's a battle. And the teaser demonstrates that with several scenes strewn across it. The teaser's best feature is how it depicts the feelings of each group member in perfect sync, each one seeking vengeance for a personal loss. The teaser also contains a lot of violence. Inside the facility, the army is doing everything possible to ensure the gang's submission. The gang, on the other hand, isn't going down without a fight. While the groups pass through the Bank of Spain, The Professor can be seen from the exterior manning the fort. According to a blink-and-you-miss image of wrists tied to a chair, Alicia Sierra has overpowered Sergio and seized him as a captive. IMAGE: LUKA PEROS' INSTAGRAM Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment. Army Chief MM Naravane addressed a press from Srinagar on Thursday and informed about the on-ground alertness taken up by the Indian Army despite the existence of a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. The Army Chief clarified that as long as Pakistan continues to take the ceasefire in spirit and stop trying to push terrorists into India then 'these small steps will incrementally build up that level of trust between the two countries'. Army Chief Naravane also highlighted that Pakistan continues to indulge in terror activities and so guards cannot be put down. "We are willing to observe this ceasefire as long as they do so but while the ceasefire is on, the other activities that they are indulging in that are the terror infrastructure that is there on the other side of LoC with the terrorist camps, the terrorists, there can be no slacking as far as we are concerned in our levels of preparedness or alertness," said Army Chief Manoj Naravane. "Trust is very difficult to come by" When the security head was asked if both the countries have developed any trust, he replied that it is difficult to come by as both the countries have been under decades of mistrust. The onus entirely lies on Pakistan to build up the peace and tranquillity that both the countries have achieved so far, added Chief Naravane. He also added that India is completely prepared with a counter-infiltration grid and counter-terrorism grid to control any activities coming from the other side. According to Chief Naravane, it depends on the situation and threat perception for pulling back the troops from the border however a complete withdrawal of troops. Peace in Jammu and Kashmir While talking about bringing peace in the territory, the Army Chief explained that the Government and local administration are equally responsible with the Indian Army to bring peace in the valley as well as in entire India. In the whole situation, the Indian Army plays the role of bringing down the violence and they work in sync with local administration and all the forces who are here with the ultimate aim of bringing down violence so that peace and development take place, mentioned Manoj Naravane. Sadbhavana projects When asked about the initiative taken up by the Army, the Chief replied that several such projects have been taken up by the security forces in past years. The initiatives depend upon the condition, according to Army Chief. Citing the example of the development of schools in remote areas, the Army Chief added that the Indian Army stepped in with this project to breach the gap. He also highlighted the importance to coordinate with local administration so that duplicate efforts can be avoided and efficiency prevails. "The administration is now able to reach out in these areas so we have also changed our strategy and recalibrate Sadbhavana activities in sync with the local administration so that we do not do duplicate effort and carry out those activities which are synergized and go in an efficient way to bring relief and succor to those who need it," mentioned the Army Chief. COVID-19 and efforts by the Indian Army Expressing relief over the downward trend of COVID-19 cases in India, Chief Naravane added that the Army has put forward every step including hospital set-up, deployment of oxygen cylinders, and 'to an extent that we have pulled out our medical staff our doctors from less effected areas and deployed in areas with more covid cases'. The Chief also added that India is now better prepared for the third possible wave and on the way to beat the current wave. In his concluding remarks, the Army leader claimed that from the past several months there have been few terrorist incidents, hardly any cases of stone-pelting. nil cases of IEDs and these are the indicators of return of normalcy and it also shows that 'awam' wants the same. Amarnath Yatra When lastly asked about this year's Amarnath Yatra, the Chief added that the security forces have taken every step to conduct Amarnath Yatra however it depends on civil administration to conduct it or not. Aizawl, June 2 (PTI) Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga on Wednesday said collective efforts of people and the government are helping the state in overcoming the COVID- 19 challenges despite lacking adequate manpower and facilities. Highlighting how the state is battling COVID-19, Zoramthanga, in his 12-minute-long video-recorded speech, said the way the government and the people are collectively fighting the Covid-19 is quite interesting as all communities, organisations and people from all walks of life are involved in it. The chief minister said that when the state fought against the first wave of COVID-19 it was relatively tolerable and "we could somehow manage to tackle it". "Then came the second wave, which is more problematic and burdensome", Zoramthanga said. During the first wave of the pandemic, local volunteers in large numbers had stepped up round-the-clock vigil along the borders by setting up makeshift duty posts in the forests for several months even during the rainy season to prevent cross-border movement of people. Mizoram shares about 325-km- long inter-state borders with Assam, Manipur and Tripura, and 828-km-long international borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar. At the onset of the second wave when Covid-19 Care Centres (CCC) were fully occupied following the spike in the number of coronavirus patients, churches and NGOs came forward to the government's aid by offering their halls to be converted into Community Covid-19 Care Centres (CCCCs), the chief minister said. "These Community Covid-19 Care Centres are managed and monitored by local people with their contribution much to the relief of the government," he said. Private nurses, retired doctors, healthcare workers and other unskilled people have volunteered to serve these CCCCs without any remuneration. Communities, local people and church authorities are providing food and other facilities to the inmates (Covid-19 patients), the chief minister said. Zoramthanga also said that many organisations, churches and individuals came forward to assist the government by contributing towards the Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMRF) for Covid-19. Even children contributed to the fund by opening their piggy banks, he said. According to officials, over Rs. 23.61 crore has so far been contributed towards the CMRF, of which more than Rs 22.25 crore has been spent in the fight against Covid-19 till Tuesday. Communities also came together extending help to the needy. Food, vegetables and other provisions are transported and supplied free of cost from villages to Covid-19 patients and other needy people in cities and towns, who are facing hardship due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, according to Zoramthanga. Mizoram takes pride in the existence of hardworking volunteer groups like village task forces and local task forces, who maintain round the clock vigil to ensure that people follow Covid-19 protocols, the chief minister said. The chief minister also mentioned in his speech that he recently wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a free vaccine supply. He said that the pandemic has a far more serious impact on a small state like Mizoram, which has limited resources. Earlier, Zoramthanga had said that the state is facing a financial crunch due to a drop in the quantum of revenue collection at the Centre following the outbreak of Covid-19, which in turn has led to a significant reduction in the state's share of taxes. He had said that the state's share of taxes had dropped by Rs. 1,500 crore during fiscal 2020-2021. PTI COR MM MM (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) The Government of India expects countries to ease travel restrictions on Indian citizens as the COVID-19 situation has started to normalise, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday. During a weekly press briefing, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "We expect countries to ease travel restrictions on Indians as the situation normalises, some countries have started, more should follow." In light of the second wave of COVID-19 that resulted in a huge spike in infections, several countries had imposed travel restrictions on Indian travellers. These include the United Kingdom, Canada, United States, Europe, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Thailand and Sri Lanka among others. Some neighbouring countries have recently relaxed tourist visa rules for Indians including the Maldives, Nepal and the UAE. On the query of the World Health Organisation undertaking a global study into the origin of the COVID-19 virus, the MEA spokesperson said, We welcome the WHOs investigation as it is an important first step in learning about the origin of Coronavirus. We have sought international cooperation for the study and I think this clears our position. WHO to restudy COVID-19 origin This comes amid reports that the WHO is expected to restudy the "dominant theory" that the SARS-CoV-2 probably originated from China's Wuhan lab and spread across the world. According to CNN, WHO scientists will also study previously overlooked Chinese data on extensive screening of animals for Coronavirus around the time the pandemic erupted. The records are contained in a nearly 200-page annexe posted alongside the WHO panel's March report that received little attention among global experts at the time. While no date has been set for the team's return to China, any future visit to the country may involve "smaller groups supporting specific studies first. The WHO team investigating the origins of COVID-19 visited the Hubei Centre for animal disease control and prevention in Wuhan on February 2, 2021. COVAXIN's Phase-2 Clinical Trials On Children Aged 2-18 Yrs Begin At Patna's AIIMS As India's vaccination drive picks up pace, Bharat Biotech (BBL) on Wednesday started its phase-2 trials of COVAXIN at Patna's AIIMS hospital in Bihar. The trial will take place on 525 subjects at various sites, including AIIMS, Delhi, AIIMS, Patna, and Meditrina Institute of Medical Sciences, Nagpur with two doses administered in an interval of 28 days. Read full story Mehul Choksi Denied Bail By Dominica Court Over 'illegal Entry'; Case Adjourned To June 14 In a big setback for fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, a Magistrate court in Dominica on Wednesday rejected his bail application and adjourned the matter to June 14. While his lawyers alleged that he was kidnapped, beaten and unwillingly brought to Dominica, he has been charged with illegally entering the country via Toucari Beach. During the hearing at the Roseau Magistrate court, State Attorney Sherma Dalrymple argued against granting him bail citing that he is a "flight risk". Read full story Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu On The Way Out As 8 Parties Reach Deal To Form New Government In a huge development on Wednesday, 8 political parties in Israel reached an agreement to form a unity government that would end Benjamin Netanyahu's tenure as the PM. They include Yesh Atid (17 seats), Kahol Lavan (8 seats), Israel Beiteinu (7 seats), Labor (7 seats), Yamina (7 seats), New Hope (6 seats), Meretz (6 seats) and Raam (4 seats). Read full story Centre Places Order For 30 Crore Doses Of Biological E's COVID-19 Vaccine Amid 2nd Wave In a key development on Thursday, the Health Ministry announced that it had placed orders to procure 30 crore doses of Biological E's COVID-19 vaccine. Founded in 1953, the Hyderabad-based company develops, manufactures and supplies vaccines and therapeutics. Read full story Virat Kohli's Leaked Audio Saying Lala Siraj Sabko Start Se Hi Laga Denge Goes Viral Team India has departed for UK where they will be playing six Test matches. While the press conference was still in progress, Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri supposedly failed to realise that they were live as they proceeded to discuss their strategy against the Kane Williamson-led New Zealand in the WTC final. Virat Kohli is heard saying 'Hum inko round the wicket dalwayenge, Left-handers hai inpe, Lala Siraj sabko start se hi laga denge." Read full story Rajasthan Lockdown Relaxed As Govt Issues Guidelines; Read What's Allowed & What's Closed As COVID-19 cases have declined in Rajasthan, the state government has decided to ease the ongoing restrictions in places where positivity rate is low. The new guidelines were executed from June 2 (Wednesday) under which certain commercial activities have been allowed to function. Read full story Haryana: Farmers Threaten To Gherao Police Stations In Fatehabad; Seek JJP MLA's Apology In a shocking incident, BJP-JJP MLA Devender Singh Babli was attacked by few protestors on Tuesday in Haryana's Fatehabad. On contrary, the demonstrators have demanded an apology from the MLA and threatened to gherao every police station of the district on June 7 if an apology is not received from him till June 6. Read full story Karnataka Doctors' Body Seeks State Legal Cell To Fight Cases Against Assault On Doctors With cases of assault on doctors by patients' kin on the rise, Karnataka Association Of Resident Doctors (KARD) on Thursday, wrote to CM BS Yediyurappa seeking a 'state-level legal cell' fight the legal issues in such matters. Citing that 12 cases of assault against doctors in the past 8-10 months, KARD sought the govt to set up a legal cell to follow through with FIRs filed against the attackers. Read full story IMA President Demands 'protective Zones' In Hospitals After Assam Doctor Assault Incident Dr JA Jayalal, the President of the Indian Medical Association expressed his anguish over the latest incident in Assam' Hojai District. Dr Jayalal demanded the declaration of a 'protective zone' within the hospital to safeguard healthcare workers. He stated to ensure the security of the doctors, hospitals are needed to be announced as protective zones, and stringent action against such incidents should be implemented. Read full story J&K's Door-to-door COVID Vaccination Drive Reaches 124-year-old Rehtee Begum In Baramulla The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir with its door-to-door vaccination drive is reaching a maximum number of elderly and vulnerable people every day. Health officials decided to conduct the vaccination drive across the remote areas as there is no internet connectivity available for online registration. Read full story Dominica LoP Present In Court With Mehul Choksis Brother In a startling revelation, Dominican sources reported that the country's Opposition Leader Lennox Linton was spotted with fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi's brother Chetan on Wednesday, during Choksi's bail hearing at Dominica High Court. As per sources, Lennox was present in court from 9 AM to about 2 PM along with Chetan, inspite of rubbishing any links to the Choksi family. Mehul Choksi has been denied bail by a Dominican magistrate court on Thursday with the next hearing scheduled on June 14. Read more here SSR case: Pithani Drops Samuel Miranda's Name & More To NCB In the latest development, sources have informed that late Sushant Singh Rajput's ex-flatmate Siddarth Pithani has made multiple new revelations to the NCB in the drugs probe related to the death of the actor, sources informed on Thursday. Siddarth Pithani, who was arrested last week in Hyderabad by the NCB, has reportedly revealed the names of those who were close to Sushant Singh Rajput and those who can be summoned for questioning. Read more here Punjab Congress Faction Wants CM Ousted Further complicating the Congress Vs Congress episode in Punjab that is ongoing at a time when 2022 Punjab assembly elections are around the corner, there is news surfacing that a faction of the national party is going to resort to revolt if a decision to remove the serving Chief Minister of the state Captain Amarinder Singh is not taken. The faction, as per sources, is waiting for the decision of the three-member panel set up by the central leadership. Read more here Maharashtra Class 12 Board Exams Cancelled The State Disaster Management Authority on Thursday approved the Maharashtra Government's decision to cancel the Maharashtra State Board Class 12 Exams owing to the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision comes days after the CBSE Class 12 board exams were cancelled following a key meeting by PM Narendra Modi. Read more here AIADMK Ex-MLA Not To Be Arrested In Theva Rape Case The Madras High Court adjourned the anticipatory bail hearing of former AIADMK Minister M Manikandan in the rape case lodged against him by actor Shantini Theva on Thursday. A single-judge HC bench led by Justice R Subramanian adjourned Manikandan's anticipatory bail plea hearing to June 9 and ordered that the former would not be arrested until the next hearing. Actor Shantini Theva has filed an intervenor application at the HC in the anticipatory bail plea filed by AIADMK leader M Manikandan. Read more here Sagar Rana Murder Case: Delhi HC Orders Protection For Witnesses A day after Olympian Wrestler Sushil Kumar was sent to 9 days of judicial custody, the Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the Delhi Police to provide security to witnesses in the Sagar Rana 'Chhatrasal' Murder Case. The Delhi High Court made it clear that the protection to the witnesses in the murder of a 23-year-old wrestler Sagar Rana during a brawl at the Chhatrasal stadium will be granted under the witness protection scheme. This comes amid information regarding the involvement of gangs in the matter. Read more here Court On Vijay Mallya Loan Default Case As per PTI, a special court in Mumbai has said the banks that had granted loans to fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya, have suffered losses, but it was impossible to conclude the exact "quantifiable loss" at this stage. The court, also said that the banks' claim of losses of over Rs 6,200 crore was not "imaginary". Read more here Baba Ramdev Summoned By Delhi HC Over DMA's Plea Pulling up Patanjali founder Ramdev Baba over his claims on 'Coronil', Delhi High Court on Thursday, issued summons to him, based on a suit seeking to restrain against his claims. The plea filed by Delhi medical association (DMA) alleged that Ramdev does not believe in allopathy and hence was making false claims of curing COVID-19 via 'Coronil'. The court issued notice to Ramdev and advised him from making such claims, adjourning the matter to July 13. Read more here Iran Nuclear Deal 2015 Revival Requires Only 'Will' Iran President Hassan Rouhani on June 2 said that a breakthrough in Nuclear Deal 2015 talks in Vienna to revive the pact before he is set to leave the office in August required "will" and most issues are already "resolved". Rouhani is one of the main architects of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal signed in 2015. Read more here WHO: 200,000 Palestinians Need Health Aid After Conflict World Health Organization (WHO) Wednesday warned that there are "staggering health needs" in the occupied Palestinian Territories after last month's conflict between Israel and Palestine that caused massive destruction and impact on civilian lives. "WHO is scaling up its response to provide health aid for almost 200,000 people in need across the occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), including the West Bank, WHO's Eastern Mediterranean regional office said in a statement. Read more here Italy marks 75th national day with scaled-back celebrations amid eased restrictions EditorWang Xinjuan Time2021-06-03 09:34:36 The Italian Frecce Tricolori aerobatic squad perform during a ceremony to mark Italy's National Day in Rome, Italy, on June 2, 2021. The Italian government formally scaled back celebrations of the country's national day, scrapping traditional military parades and public speeches. But Rome's streets were still filled with people venturing out amid newly eased coronavirus restrictions. (Photo by Elisa Lingria/Xinhua) ROME, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The Italian government formally scaled back celebrations of the country's 75th national day, scrapping traditional military parades and public speeches. But Rome's streets were still filled with people venturing out amid newly eased coronavirus restrictions. June 2 is one of the most important days on the Italian calendar, marking the day in 1946 when a national referendum created the first Italian Republic, removing the monarchy that had officially ruled Italy since it was unified in 1861. One of the most recognizable traditions of the day remained unchanged for this year's celebration: a formation of nine fighter jets trailing green, white, and red smoke -- the colors of the Italian flag -- soared over the Altar of the Fatherland, the over-sized monument standing over Rome's main square, Piazza Venezia. But other traditions including a military parade along the city's Via dei Fori Imperiali and patriotic speeches by political and military leaders were dropped for the second consecutive year, with the country fighting to limit the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Italian President Sergio Mattarella did speak about the importance of the date the evening before, via television address and webcast. Speaking to accredited diplomatic corps in Rome just ahead of a specially arranged orchestral concert, Mattarella stressed the need for Italy and the European Union to be united during difficult times. "The conception of a common good, more important than any idea since, has led us to be a dedicated part of the European Union, which is an essential element of its own national identity," Mattarella said. "This terrible experience of the pandemic ... has made evident the profound interdependence of the destiny of our people and has shown that the only effective forms of coordination have proved able to defeat it." On Wednesday, Mattarella laid a wreath at the Altar of the Fatherland at Italy's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Later in the day, Mattarella will address government officials including Prime Minister Mario Draghi, and television networks will air a patriotic 12-minute film created by Rai Cultura, part of the state broadcasting company. The scaled-back celebrations marking the anniversary did not reduce the number of people on the streets of the capital. "This is a holiday about the new Italy after World War II and this time it also has the feeling about a new Italy after the worst of the pandemic," said Leo Esposito, a municipal government worker enjoying ice cream with his wife and two young children. "We are all hoping things will continue getting better for us." Annalisa Bettin, a university student out in Rome's Trastevere neighborhood with two classmates, agreed. "We all spend most of the last year or more inside social distancing," Bettin said. "We need to get out and to take a step back toward normal. The situation is improving. Using the June 2 holiday as an excuse to get outside and do some things and relax a little makes good sense to me." Source Jammu Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) leader Omar Abdullah, on Thursday, condemned the killing of BJP councilor Rakesh Pandita by unidentified terrorists. Rakesh Pandita was shot by three unidentified terrorists in Pulwama's Tral area on Wednesday. The JKNC leader wrote that Rakesh Pandita joined a 'long list of mainstream politicians targeted & assassinated in Kashmir because of their association with electoral politics'. BJP councillor Rakesh Pandita joins a long list of mainstream politicians targeted & assassinated in Kashmir because of their association with electoral politics. I unequivocally condemn this attack & convey my heartfelt condolences to his family. May his soul rest in peace. Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) June 3, 2021 Before, Omar Abdullah, several national leaders had tweeted condoling the death of the BJP leader. J&K Governor Lt Manoj Sinha expressed his sadness over the terrorist attack while PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also tweeted condolences for the deceased's family. BJP State General Secretary Ashok Koul strongly condemned the attack and wrote that 'those who are responsible for this will not be spared.' President Peoples Conference (PPC) leader Sajjad Lone said this is a 'total disempowerment of the Kashmiri'. J&K BJP councillor Rakesh Pandita killed by terrorists in Tral An investigation on the matter has been launched by the police and a case has been registered in this regard under relevant sections of law. The officers are trying to establish the circumstances of this terror crime besides why he was not accompanied by security at the time of the incident. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor and Municipal Chairman Rakesh Pandita was shot by three unidentified terrorists in Pulwama's Tral area on Wednesday. According to sources, the terrorists opened fire on Rakesh Pandita injuring him critically. He was rushed to a hospital where his condition was stated to be critical and later he succumbed to the injuries. He was residing in a secure accommodation but had left without two Personal Security Officers (PSOs). Army chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane in Srinagar The unfortunate incident took place on the day when Army chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane was scheduled to visit Srinagar for two-day visit. As the ceasefire between the armies of India and Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) entered the 100th day, the Army chief reached the valley to review on-ground situation to ensure complete safety against any possible terrorist attack. Belarus continues to be in the news and all for the wrong reasons each time. Its government has arrested Roman Prostasevich, a feisty, 26-year-old rebellious journalist, dissenter and freethinker, last week in a dramatic exercise of force by hijacking a plane that he was travelling in and getting it to force land in Minsk. The hijack was an act of state-sponsored terrorism and is extremely dangerous. BBC wrote, Belarus scrambled a fighter jet to force the plane bound for Lituania to land, claiming a bomb threat. Just last year Roman Prostasevich was declared a terrorist by the Belarusian government for speaking his mind but he remained defiant and intrepid and continued to be on collision course with the government. Soon after the hijack Roman was apprehended by the Belarusian government agencies and no one has any clue whatsoever about him anymore. His father told BBC correspondent Sarah Rainsford that, He is fearful his son may be tortured. Once a gifted high school science student in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, Roman took to rebellious activism since the age of 16 fighting to overthrow the oppressive regime of Alexander Lukashenko, the great dictator of a nation whose government was described by former US secretary of State Condoleeza Rice as, "The last remaining true dictatorship in the heart of Europe. He had to flee his country and was in exile until his dramatic arrest recently in Minsk. He faces multiple threats from the Belarusian security apparatus for resisting his governments tyranny and being the arch-enemy of its dictator. The hijack: How it all happened Roman Protasevich, left for Greece from Lithuania, where he had been living, to attend a conference and was on a short vacation with his Russian girlfriend, Sofia, when his plane was hijacked. Roman and his girlfriend were visibly shaken and shattered when he was arrested by the Belarus security on the tarmac at Minsk airport after a MIG-29 fighter jet intercepted the commercial flight to Lithuania from Greece on which he was travelling. He now faces the vengeance of President Alexander Lukashenko and a highly hostile and belligerent government. Given the history of oppressive regimes and their fascistic ways of stifling dissent threat to his life cannot be ruled out. The Belarusian authorities released a short video showing Roman Protasevich confessing to taking part in the organisation of mass unrest last year in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. The international media has reported that friends of Roman Protasevich claimed that his statement was recorded under duress, that Roman had discussed possible threats to his life with them and was convinced that he should avoid flying over Belarus, Russia or any other State that cooperated with President Lukashenko. Some international media has also reported that Protasevich told a few co-passengers that he fears for his life in Belarusian custody. Perhaps Mr Protasevich had not a clue that the Ryanair flight he had boarded in Athens, Greece, would fly over the western edge of Belarus. This air route opened the way for President Lukashenko to execute his dark operation which the European & other world leaders decried as a state-sponsored hijacking of the Ryanair plane carrying the young activist and his girlfriend. It is reported that Protasevich noticed a man at the check-in counter at Athens airport taking photographs of him and his travel documents. While this blog is being written a DW news report has stated that a Belarusian journalist, Alexander Burakov who was on a journalistic assignment for DW has just been released on 2.6.2021 from prison in Belarus. Shortly after his release, speaking to DW, Burakov recounted the horrors of the detention facility where he had been held stating that it was like a 'military prison''. The journalist said that the guards in the detention facility did not let him sleep and conducted nightly checks, which involved him getting completely naked. ''They were waking me up twice a night, every night, taking me out of my cell and telling me to take my clothes off, including underwear'' he said. This is the grim reality of vengeance of a fascistic regime. As I write this Roman Prostasevich is in captivity somewhere and it's anybody's guess how he is being treated. What international law says about abducting dissident journalist Roman Protasevich What we know is that the Ryanair aircraft carrying Protasevich among other passengers was scheduled to fly from Athens in Greece to Vilnius in Lithuania on May 23. While in Belarusian airspace, the pilot was ordered to divert his plane from its course and to land in Minsk, Belarus. Upon landing on the ground, the airport authorities searched the suitcases of the passengers, checked their identities and detained two of them: one of them the most wanted Protasevich and the other his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega. The Belarusian authorities claimed that they received an anonymous letter claiming that Hamas had planted a bomb on board the plane and hence they duly ordered the pilot to land so that they could trace the bomb and destroy it. The Belarusian claim appears to be shallow since one cannot fathom why in the first place someone would directly inform Belarusian authorities and not airport or security agencies in Greece or Lithuania in case of a bomb threat. It is also to be noted that when the aircraft was diverted it was closer to Vilnius in Lithuania than Minsk. If at all safety of the passengers was the primary concern then the Belarusian authorities would have allowed the aircraft to quickly land in Vilnius. Two important legal questions emerge out of the fallout of the Belarusian fiasco. Firstly, whether the Belarus authorities had the power to divert the aircraft from its flight path to land in Belarusian territory, Minsk, where it was not supposed to land at all. The apparent justification that was proffered by them for the interception of the plane by a MIG 29 fighter jet was its safety due to a suspected bomb on board. The modus adopted by Belarus ordering the pilot to make an emergency landing at Minsk may be significant legally. Going by the statutes of the Convention on International Civil aviation, 1944, Belarus may have been within its legal right to order a civil aircraft flying above its territory to land, but what they will have to show is that they have had reasonable and sufficient grounds to do what they did. Also Belarus was required to issue the order of forced landing in compliance with its published national regulations regarding the interception of civil aircraft flying over its territory. It is for the Belarusian authorities to establish that they have complied with both the requirements. Let us give them the benefit of doubt and assume that they can show that their diversion of the civil aircraft was lawful. Which brings us to the second question of the detention of two passengers Protasevich and Sofia. Why were they forced to disembark? Significantly, under the ICAO treaties, Flight FR 4978 was under the jurisdiction of Poland as the country of registration of civil aircraft. The aircraft bearing tail number SP-RSW, was registered in Poland. The aircraft was in flight, even when diverted to Minsk. The written rule states that, "No country has a right to detain suspects on a civil aircraft for crimes that were not committed on board that aircraft. So then what plausible explanation can they proffer for detaining Roman Prostasevich and Sofia for alleged crimes that had no connection to flight FR 4979. The appropriate way out of this for Belarusian authorities would have been to seek custody of Roman & Sofia and applying to Poland or to Lithuania for their extradition for alleged crimes in Belarus. This may have forced the two nations to at least consider the request. International law prohibits the use of armed force against commercial/civil aircraft. The ICAO has standards governing the interception of commercial aircraft by the military. ICAO, an agency of the United Nations, was established by an international agreement called the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation in 1944. The Chicago convention is the foundational document of international aviation law and has been ratified by almost every country on earth Belarus included. It specifically prohibits the use of military force against passenger flights. The stated law is that, The contracting States recognise that every State must refrain from resorting to use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight.Notwithstanding, certain situations may arise in which a State can use force against a civil aircraft, these may be for civil defence, or if a plane violates a countrys airspace without permission. But none of these hold good for hijacked Flight FR 4978. There is no doubt at all that the actions of the Belarusian authorities are in contravention of the Chicago Convention, shady and savage. Besides there is the 1971 Montreal Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against The Safety of Civil Aviation, to which Belarus is also a party, is applicable. Article 1(1) (e) of the Montreal convention says that any person commits an offence if he unlawfully and intentionally communicates information which he knows to be false, thereby endangering the safety of an aircraft in flight. By forcing an emergency landing of Flight FR 4978 using the deception of a fake bomb threat, Belarus has committed an outrageous breach of the Montreal Convention as well. Given these iniquitous violations, other countries could possibly sue Belarus before the International Court of Justice on grounds that the global system of civil aviation is threatened by such actions of Belarusian authorities. Our past is not new to instances of a similar kind. I can think of France which detained a Moroccan charter plane in 1956 in order to arrest Algerian rebel leaders who were travelling to a diplomatic conference. The Algerians were fighting to end the 130 years of colonial rule of France. In order to isolate the Algerian rebels ( Front de Liberation Nationale - FLN) and their area of operations, France granted Tunisia and Morocco independence, and their borders with Algeria were militarized with barbed wires and electric fencing. When FLN leaders attempted to travel to Tunisia in October 1956 to discuss the Algerian War, French forces diverted their plane and jailed the men. If the legal position is that Protasevich and Sofia were technically detained by the Belarusian authorities on the territory of Poland, as the flag State of the aircraft, then they are protected by the European Convention on Human Rights. Incidentally, Belarus is not party to that convention but Poland is. The European Court of Justice, in a number of cases, has applied the Convention to civil aircrafts and ships registered in or flying the flag of the contracting party. It is true that Poland has issued a strongly worded public condemnation of the actions of Belarus, calling it a state terrorism. But Poland requires to take steps within its power to secure the release of the detainees on the basis that their detention is unlawful and Belarus has no business to detain those on flight FR 4978 which was under its jurisdiction. Why the govt of India must take a stand and not continue to remain silent The United Kingdom, France, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, Estonia, Slovakia, Cyprus, have already banned flights from Belarus. European Union (EU) has agreed to ramp up sanctions against Belarus. The EU foreign ministers have discussed sanctions on companies that are close to the Belarusian regime and continue to do business with them. The US has responded and condemned the State-sponsored hijacking of Protasevich. The main concern for democratic regimes all over the world is that State-sponsored hijackings might become a norm in the future and may lead to more emboldened dangerous acts by dictators and some other regimes who support and sponsor cross-border terrorism. India must remember that it has already gone through the horrors of hijacking of its Indian Airlines plane IC- 814 where 5 terrorists brought the nation to its knees, trading 176 lives for 3 dreadful terrorists. We also know that most of the flights to US and Europe from India via Delhi or elsewhere fly over Pakistan.The perils of flying over such a rogue terrain is known to all. It is for this reason that India needs to assert and lend its voice to the worlds democracies condemning Belarus for its an act of State-sponsored hijacking. The author of this article, Rajiv Chavan, is a Senior Advocate & former President of Advocates Association of Western India (2013-2015 & 2015-2018) Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Republic TV/ Republic World/ ARG Outlier Media Pvt. Ltd. It was at 7 pm on December 30, 2019, that Shi Zhengli, the Director of the Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), says she received her first intimation about what would later turn out to be SARS-CoV-2, better known around the world now as the virus behind COVID-19. The institutes Director had allegedly called her to tell her that samples had come in from a hospital of patients who were suffering from an atypical pneumonia thought to be from a coronavirus. She was told to drop everything she was doing, return to WIV, and begin studying it. She returned to Wuhan, over 800 km away, by train. What had happened in the 16 years before that and what transpired in the 1 year and 5 months after, may hold the key to answering perhaps the biggest prevailing question in the history of humanity - What is the precise origin of the COVID-19 pandemic? Until about March-April 2021, it appeared at face-value that the world and the scientific community were satisfied that the most likely scenario was that SARS-CoV-2 had come to infect humans naturally due to the close interaction between animals and humans. The idea was essentially that a coronavirus from a bat had jumped to another species and then infected a human host. Another theory, that the virus may have been lab-made at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, was almost ruled out of consideration. Why is this? Was it not true that Shi Zhengli and her team had collected over 19,000 bat-related samples over 16 years since the SARS outbreak? Its a matter that Zhengli also thought about. Perhaps not that it was lab-made, but definitely that it could have been one of the viruses that was being studied there and may have escaped. However, she later went on to give herself a clean chit. But the reasons for this are debatable, as are other aspects. Over the next several months, the outbreak played out on the world stage. Within 2 weeks of having been tasked with studying the virus, her team had already sequenced & cultured it, and published and shared the genome sequence with the WHO. Shortly after that, but long before the outbreak revealed its true pandemic form and had only killed 80 people, Zhengli and team published an article[1] on Nature identifying the bat as being the most likely reservoir source of this new pneumonia outbreak. In this Feb 2020 paper (dates are important) they cited that the new viruss sequences share 79.6% sequence identity to the SARS virus and are over 96% identical to a (specific) bat coronavirus. Additionally, they conclusively claimed fairly early on in the piece that outbreak began from a local seafood market - something Shi has publicly gone back on while maintaining that traces of the virus were found on door handles and such. In light of what you are about to read, both these last two pieces of information - the specific bat coronavirus that is 96% similar and the alleged food market origin - are the start of a series of mentions, citations, statements, articles, interviews, claims and assorted on-record items from Shi Zhengli that come together to tell a very murky tale. That is what we will look at here - a compendium and critical analysis of what has been said by one of the most prolific and seasoned bat coronavirus collectors in the world - who just happened to work for 16 years to stop another SARS coronavirus outbreak only to see the biggest conceivable such pandemic break out right at her doorstep. Whilst examining these statements in the context of the narrative at the time, we will also ask questions relating to her decision-making, and the reason why certain things in published materials are written the way they are. But before we can commence with a forensic study of Shi Zhenglis statements, a hypothesis must be presented about the virus she mentioned is 96% similar[1] to SARS-CoV-2 - the virus that is named RaTG13 - as every mention of this virus from Zhengli may be key. The RaTG13 Bat Coronavirus & the fatal mystery respiratory pneumonia that killed 3 miners In April 2012, 6 miners had allegedly fallen sick with a mystery pneumonia and respiratory disease that resulted in the deaths of three of them. They had been working to rid an abandoned copper mining cave of bat faeces (guano). In later months of that year, Shi Zhengli and her team received four sero-samples from three patients who had survived and one who had died. She then tested the samples against Ebola, Nipah and SARS and found them to be negative. Between then and 2015, Zhengli and her team collected 1322 samples from those caves, finding 293 diverse coronaviruses[2]. Eight of these were beta-coronaviruses, and one of these eight was RaTG13, which had been described in a 2016 study[3] under the name RaBtCoV/4991. This virus was different (divergent) from the SARS virus and could be considered a new strain of this virus lineage. SARS & MERS had also been caused by beta-coronaviruses. Two years later, in 2018, RaTG13 was sequenced more completely[2], and two more years later, when it was compared with SARS-CoV-2 in 2020, the two were found to share a 96.2% similarity[1]. However, in a November 2020 addendum[2] to the earlier mentioned Feb 2020 paper on COVID-19s probable origin, Zhengli reported that she had tested the samples of the miners (all the way back from 2012) for SARS-CoV-2, and found them to be negative. I.e. the miners hadnt been infected with COVID-19, she concluded months after the COVID-19 lab-leak theory had begun doing the rounds. Rather, it is claimed in at least some published items and news articles that the miners had likely caught a fungal infection from the bat droppings, and werent suffering the effects of RaTG13 or any other coronavirus, though Shi claimed they would have had they remained in the mine for a longer period. They had perished of a fungal pneumonia at a place where the established reservoir carriers of the SARS pneumonia dwelled in bulk. To cut a long and complex story short - a mystery respiratory pneumonia that infected 6 people in 2012 and killed 3 of them led to finding the RaTG13 virus that is now thought to be the closest known relative of SARS-CoV-2. However, as per Zhengli, RaTG13 did not cause the fatal infections of the miners. In fact, according to what the WIV virologist told the WHOs probe team in Feb 2021[4], theres a low likelihood of RaTG13 being the precursor of SARS-CoV-2. But is that really the case? RaTG13 Backbone + Pangolin Coronavirus Spike Protein[7] = ? In subsequent paras, we shall explore more about the similarities between the two, and also, pertinently, how the 3.8% difference between them pertains to a cleavage site activated by a host-cell enzyme furin and part of the spike protein (called RBD) that decides the binding with a host cell and leads to an infection. Interestingly, a March 2020 paper[5] (by the Andersen group) that is one of the two key papers that dispelled the notion of a lab-made virus a bit too early refers to natural selection (evolution) at least once in the context of RaTG13, stating that some pangolin coronaviruses are similar to SARS-CoV-2 in terms of RBD and concludes this to be clear evidence of natural selection - meaning that the paper appears assured that the infectability of SARS-CoV-2 may actually have come from Pangolins. The similarities (and differences) between RaTG13 and SARS-CoV-2 come up repeatedly in published materials and in at least a few cases, speak about gain of function research, given that RaTG13 cannot on its own infect humans. Was Wuhan Institute of Virology conducting 'Gain of function' Coronavirus research? Yes, and with rising scope. Very controversial and also illegal on various fronts, gain-of-function research describes medical research where a pathogen or disease is mutated in a manner so as to increase/widen its infectability. It is conducted in the hope of getting a head start on any potential virus outbreak. In October 2014[8] the US government had instituted a funding pause on gain-of-function research to do with SARS, MERS and influenza viruses. This pause was lifted in December 2017[9]. Shi Zhengli has been known to have conducted gain of function research, and has stated since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out that she has never failed to report any gain of function research.[6] (meaning that she has reported it all.) Coming back to RaTG13, in this context, a May 2021 article[10] by Ariel Fernandez remarked on the un-likelihood of RaTG13 and a pangolin coronavirus infecting the same cell in the same organism and also says that RaTG13 has a low affinity for pangolins, playing down the chances of a chimera like SARS-CoV-2 emerging from this combination zoonotically (jumping from an animal to another on its own). Then, in the very next paragraph the study states that Shi Zhenglis group at the Wuhan lab has been conducting gain-of-function recombinations since 2007 where the objective has been to assess spillover effects wherein the coronavirus jumps from one species to another. In Shis case, the latter species was humans, with a series of bat-(to)-man spike proteins made. Another paper[11], published in November 2020 by Rossana Segreto and Yuri Deigin, mentions how in 2015, Shi Zhengli and her frequent gain-of-function collaborator Ralph Baric published the most famous gain-of-function virology paper[12], again to do with spike proteins (the parts that determine what species the virus can infect). Here, they created a chimeric coronavirus with the spike protein from bat coronavirus SHC0140-CoV and a mouse-adapted SARS backbone, giving the mouse-adapted virus the capability to infect humans. An article[13] in Nature had opposed this experiment shortly after it was published, and intriguingly, 2015 is the same year when The Australian[14] claimed Chinese military had allegedly discussed turning the SARS coronavirus into a bioweapon. Then, in what must have been an annus mirabilis, Shi Zhengli in 2016 reported[15] isolating and characterising the novel bat coronavirus closest yet to the SARS virus - related directly to her presumed mission for the last 12 years. The virus was named SL-CoV WIV16 (for SARS-Like Coronavirus Wuhan Institute of Virology 2016) and was concluded to be the the closest ancestor to date of SARS (called SARS-CoV). Their similarity, a deafening silence-inducing 96%. With a big breakthrough to their credit, in 2017[16], the Shi Zhengli group at WIV proceeded to create perhaps the largest reported number of novel chimeric viruses - 8 - from bat SARS-like viruses. Two of the 8 strains were found to possess the ability to bind to the human ACE2 receptor - just like SARS-CoV-2. Essentially, here is proof not only that the Shi Zhengli group was performing gain-of-function research, but also that it had opened the floodgates after three tumultuous years at the zenith of coronavirus research, succeeding in creating chimeric viruses that could bind with human cells. ... The 'Big Bang' of COVID-19's Origin: When Shi Zhengli's account breaks down It was at 7 pm on December 30, 2019, that Shi Zhengli, Principal Investigator at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, received a call from her institutes director informing her of samples that had come in of patients who were suffering an atypical pneumonia. The cause had already been established to be a novel coronavirus (novel meaning previously unknown) by the Wuhan Center for Disease Control & Prevention, as per an interview[17] she gave to Scientific American in Feb 2020, published on March 11. In another interview[18], given in August 2020 to Chinas state-run CGTN, she stated that by Noon the next day - December 31, 2019 - she had received the partial genetic sequence of the virus. Basically, between getting a phone call at 7 pm the previous night from her boss telling her to drop everything and work on this virus, till noon the next day, she had travelled 800 km by train from Shanghai to Wuhan and had already partially sequenced the virus. And thats not all she had already given herself a clean chit, though there are two accounts as to when. In the interview with Scientific American, Shi Zhengli had revealed that she and her team had already started discussing testing the patients samples while she was on the train back to Wuhan. At this point, she had a specific urgency in doing so. A novel coronavirus infection coming to light in Wuhan was an unlikely phenomenon. Bats, a known reservoir of coronavirus, were less likely to be found in urban areas like Wuhan and more likely in areas like Yunnan in the tropical south of China where Shi Zhengli and other researchers camped every year for bat sampling. She had put 2 and 2 together and surmised that there was cause for concern that the virus could have come from her Wuhan lab. However, she would later go on to breathe a sigh of relief, in her own words. The question, however, is when? As per the Feb 2019 interview to Scientific American, this happened days later, described as follows: Shi instructed her group to repeat the tests and, at the same time, sent the samples to another facility to sequence the full viral genomes. Meanwhile, she frantically went through her own labs records from the past few years to check for any mishandling of experimental materials, especially during disposal. Shi breathed a sigh of relief when the results came back: none of the sequences matched those of the viruses her team had sampled from bat caves. That really took a load off my mind, she says. I had not slept a wink for days. On one hand, Shi Zhengli says she hadnt slept for days before finding out that the virus wasnt one of the specimens from her lab. On the other hand, as per her interview to CGTN in August 2020, months after the WIV had been accused globally of potentially having caused the outbreak, she recounted having had her moment of relief on Dec 31 itself! Shi describes: With a scientific and responsible attitude, I checked our lab research on bat coronaviruses first. Then, at noon on Dec 31 we got the partial genetic sequence of the virus. After comparing the sequence of this virus with the published and unpublished virus sequences in our lab, we concluded that this was a novel Coronavirus. That was when I confirmed this was a newly discovered virus and had nothing to do with a lab leak or anything else. This is corroborated in a written email interview[6] she had with Science Magazine in their July 2020 issue, where she describes: We received the first batch of samples from seven patients on December 30 2019. Using pan-coronavirus RT-PCR and quantitative RT-PCR, which can detect all SARS-related coronaviruses, we found samples from five patients were positive. On December 31, when analyzing the sequencing result of the RT-PCR product, we identified that it was a novel SARSrelated coronavirus. We then confirmed the result via different methods and performed full-length genome sequencing as well as virus isolation. We released the genome sequence to the global public on January 12 via WHO. Did Shi Zhenglis recollections change between Feb 2020 and July/August? Whichever way one looks at it, within hours or days, Shi Zhengli had already self-established that the virus had nothing to do with Wuhan Institute of Virology, or her work. She also gives herself a clean-chit to CGTN in the following way: Another piece of evidence I can give you is that our lab has been doing research for 15 years and all our work has been published. We also have a library of our own genetic sequences and we have experimental records of all our work related to the virus which is accessible for people to check. So when we didnt find such a virus in all our experimental activity, we can say it did not originate in our lab. But this neednt be entirely true. The Wuhan Institute of Virologys main database of samples and viral sequences is said to have gone offline in September 2019 (and then presumably come online again at some later point) but in May 2020 it was said to once again no longer be accessible. This becomes particularly problematic for a number of reasons, one example of which is the flip-flop over the sequencing of RaTG13. RaTG13 returns at critical times twice; Shi Zhengli Tests Miners Who Died In 2012 For COVID-19 Shi Zhengli told Science Magazine that RaTG13 was first detected by her team in Tongguan town of Yunnan province in 2013 after which its partial sequence was obtained. But despite the lengths she had gone to finding this beta-coronavirus, since it had a low similarity with SARS, she says she did not pay close attention to it. (Or to the miners, who were alleged have died of fungus pneumonia - apparently case closed). However, in 2018 she returned to RaTG13, to sequence it completely, citing new technology. At this point, the remaining samples from 5 years earlier ran out. Now pay careful attention, heres where it gets interesting again - In November 2020[2], Shi Zhengli published an addendum in Nature to her Feb 2020 paper where she had first identified the SARS-CoV-2 virus and how it had turned out to be 96.2% similar to RaTG13. The addendum was only about RaTG13 and makes two key points: Shi Zhenglis WIV lab still had samples of the miners who had died in 2012! These samples were re-tested, this time for SARS-CoV-2. They were, however, found to be negative. Zhengli (who had by this point been asked questions enough times to know the importance of dates) stated that the sequences of SARS-CoV-2 and RaTG13 had only been compared in 2020 and been found to be 96.2% similar. So what, if anything, had she been feeling relieved about on December 31, 2019, when she had purportedly determined that the novel coronavirus was unlike anything shed had in her lab till that point? How could she stand by her moment of relief if she hadnt even tested SARS-CoV-2 against RaTG13, its closest known relative? COVID-19's Origin: 'Wet Market' Theory The Biggest Damp Squib Of All time? Much like whats said about the Big Bang in theoretical physics, clearly, a number of assertions made by Shi Zhengli and the Wuhan Institute of Virology begin to break down the closer one gets to T=0. There are more, many more, most important of which is What exactly is T=0 for COVID-19? According to Zhenglis first paper on the topic (Feb 2020[1]) the epidemic actually started on December 12. It is not stated why this is the case, but in the next paragraph it does state just as casually that it began at the local seafood market. She was asked about this notorious Wet market theory in the Science Magazine interview; here are the question and the answer: Q: An early cluster at the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan led many to think that an animal there somehow infected humans. How has your thinking about the seafood markets role evolved as it became clear that many of the earliest cases are not linked to it? A: As you pointed out, some early patients do not have a history of Huanan seafood market exposure. We detected SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acids in environmental samples from sources such as rolling door handles, the ground and sewage in that market, but we did not detect any SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acids in frozen animal samples. The Huanan seafood market may just be a crowded location where a cluster of early novel coronavirus patients were found. Why then had she been in such a hurry to state so conclusively in Feb 2020 that the outbreak had begun at the wet market? Was the idea simply to name a place in the city where a transmission animal (the one that had caught the virus from bats, like Civet cats in case of SARS) could be found? Had the truth really been that the virus had actually escaped (by infecting someone) from the Wuhan Institute of Virology? The answer to this, as per Shi Zhengli, is nothing short of startling: To date, there is "zero infection" of all staff and students in our institute, Zhengli claimed to Science Magazine in their July 2020 interview, claiming that they had recently conducted a serosurvey of all their staff and found them all to be negative for COVID-19 antibodies, meaning none of them had been infected ever! Consider this claim against the Wall Street Journals (really The Australians[14]) report that three researchers from Wuhan Institute of Virology who had been working with coronaviruses had became so ill in November 2019 that theyd needed hospital care, with symptoms allegedly consistent with both COVID-19 and influenza. The International Chimeras who shadow 'Bat-Woman' Shi Zhengli And then there are the all-too-enthusiastic opponents of the lab-leak theory, who never quite leave it at just one thing, but appear to resurface over and over, much like chimeras themselves. Number 1 on this list is Peter Daszak, chief of something called the EcoHealth Alliance, which used to receive funding from the US (the NIAID run by Dr Anthony Fauci) till the COVID-19 pandemic. With this funding, Daszak has been a long-time collaborator of Zhengli and an active proponent of the need to conduct gain-of-function research. Daszak, apart from seemingly lurking around corners in proximity to Zhengli, is also found in three places: In a quite shocking and unscientific letter published in the Lancet[19 - below] in Feb 2020 where he, representing a bunch of other public health scientists, claims to: Stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin. Scientists from multiple countries have published and analysed genomes of the causative agent, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and they overwhelmingly conclude that this coronavirus originated in wildlife. In various interviews of Shi Zhengli, including the highly suspect one by Scientific American, where he is revealed to be on a virus-hunting spree with scientists in 30 countries and advocates hunting down other pathogens to prevent similar incidents from happening again - a noble endeavour surely, though perhaps a little presumptive given that COVID-19 had itself barely got out of the blocks by that time. Where was Daszak, for instance, when SARS-CoV-2 needed to be stopped from reaching other shores? Thirdly: Unbelievably, despite having expressed such strong opinion about the origins of SARS-CoV-2, that too via a statement thats more politics than science, Daszak found himself travelling to China again in 2021 as a part of the WHOs probe team to find the origin of COVID-19! Another person of interest is Kristian G Andersen, who in March 2020 published a much-cited article[5] in Nature called The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2 that concludes that we do not believe that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible. This comes full circle in Shi Zhenglis Science Magazine article where she cites the paper to dispel the link between RaTG13 and SARS-CoV-2, even though the part she cites is nothing she hadnt already cited in her own very first study. This particular paper, by the Andersen group, meets its match in an equal and opposite paper[11] titled 'The genetic structure of SARS-CoV-2 does not rule out a laboratory origin' by Rosanna Segreto and Yuri Deigin. WHO's Team Finally Reaches Wuhan Institute of Virology... Eventually Lastly in this set of arguments, we come to Shi Zhenglis most recent activities. On Feb 3, 2021, a team constituted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to probe the origin of COVID-19 visited the Wuhan Institute of Virology[4]. In the days before that, after completing the 14-day quarantine they had been forced to complete upon their much-delayed arrival in China, the experts had visited the hospitals where the first COVID-19 patients had been brought (starting December 27, 2019 apparently) and, incredibly, also the Huanan Seafood market as well as another even bigger food market! Then, finally, months after just about everyone had dismissed the wet market theory (meaning there simply wasnt a plausible natural emergence theory by this time) the WHO team reached the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where they were spoken to by Shi Zhengli. As per the WHO report, Zhengli told the team, among other things, about RaTG13s similarity with SARS-CoV-2 and the low likelihood that the former was the latters precursor, and also informed them of the gain of function research she had conducted since 2015 and had been conducting a set of experiments starting 2018 that it did not finish due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Wuhan Institute of Virologys director answered the question about the alleged cases of WIV staff going to hospital in November 2019, and claimed that a retro-study had been conducted from 1001 samples at the hospital (but not from staff at WIV) and no evidence of COVID-19 infection had been found. With regards to the dead miners, Zhengli revealed to the panel that her team had visited the bat cave 7 times over 3 years to collect samples of novel viruses but they didnt find anything like the SARS virus, and since the pandemic, visits to the cave had found no viruses like SARS-CoV-2. Essentially, the RaTG13 wasnt to be found there anymore. It added: Some reports identified one former laboratory worker as missing. This person according the WIV staff was an alumnus who graduated in 2015 and was now working in a different province and did not accept to talk with media. The person had been contacted and tested and ascertained to be healthy. On the missing database, it added: The rumour about missing data was discussed. This related to an Excel spreadsheet that had been on the website for 10 years as part of a national databank of samples. It had been used for internal analyses and metadata. It had been planned to make this an interactive system with visualized data to fit in with the national system. They received attacks from hackers more than 3000 cyber-attacks, so was kept offline. Finally, in a corner of the 313-page report, the WHO panel gives its arguments for and against the lab leak theory of COVID-19s origin. Arguments in favour: Although rare, laboratory accidents do happen, and different laboratories around the world are working with bat CoVs. When working in particular with virus cultures, but also with animal inoculations or clinical samples, humans could become infected in laboratories with limited biosafety, poor laboratory management practice, or following negligence. The closest known CoV RaTG13 strain (96.2%) to SARS-CoV-2 detected in bat anal swabs have been sequenced at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The Wuhan CDC laboratory moved on 2nd December 2019 to a new location near the Huanan market. Such moves can be disruptive for the operations of any laboratory. Arguments against: The closest relatives of SARS-CoV-2 from bats and pangolin are evolutionarily distant from SARSCoV-2. There has been speculation regarding the presence of human ACE2 receptor binding and a furin-cleavage site in SARS-CoV-2, but both have been found in animal viruses as well, and elements of the furin-cleavage site are present in RmYN02 and the new Thailand bat SARSr-CoV. There is no record of viruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 in any laboratory before December 2019, or genomes that in combination could provide a SARS-CoV-2 genome. Regarding accidental culture, prior to December 2019, there is no evidence of circulation of SARS-CoV-2 among people globally and the surveillance programme in place was limited regarding the number of samples processed and therefore the risk of accidental culturing SARS-CoV-2 in the laboratory is extremely low. The three laboratories in Wuhan working with either CoVs diagnostics and/or CoVs isolation and vaccine development all had high quality biosafety level (BSL3 or 4) facilities that were well-managed, with a staff health monitoring programme with no reporting of COVID-19 compatible respiratory illness during the weeks/months prior to December 2019, and no serological evidence of infection in workers through SARS-CoV-2-specific serology-screening. The Wuhan CDC lab which moved on 2nd December 2019 reported no disruptions or incidents caused by the move. They also reported no storage nor laboratory activities on CoVs or other bat viruses preceding the outbreak. Assessment of likelihood: In view of the above, a laboratory origin of the pandemic was considered to be extremely unlikely. (...Unsurprising, seeing the watered-down 'arguments for'.) The Final Secret of COVID-19: 'WHO' will go and find out? At the time that the fairly dumbfounding WHO report was published (Science Magazine did a far better job in its email interview with Shi Zhengli) there was much less clamour for a serious probe into COVID-19s origin. At the time of publishing of this article, however, the situation has changed markedly, with a growing list of countries and scientists demanding a fair and open probe and the US managing to get a rise out of China on an almost daily basis. What is also relevant is that there are, and have always been, a lot of questions raised within China as well. Inch by inch, the shroud around Wuhan appears to be lifting, revealing a fortress-like Wuhan Institute of Virology from whose gates Republic has reported. Do the answers still lie within, buried deep in its catacombs? One thing is for sure: If they do, Shi Zhengli knows. References and citations [1] A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin [2] Addendum: A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin [3] Coexistence of multiple coronaviruses in several bat colonies in an abandoned mineshaft [4] WHO-convened global study of origins of SARS-CoV-2: China Part [5] The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2 [6] Wuhan coronavirus hunter Shi Zhengli speaks out [7] Isolation and Characterization of 2019-nCoV-like Coronavirus from Malayan Pangolins [8] Gain of Function Research [9] US government lifts ban on risky pathogen research [10] Molecular Biology Clues Portray SARS-CoV-2 as a Gain-of-Function Laboratory Manipulation of Bat CoV RaTG13 [11] The genetic structure of SARS-CoV-2 does not rule out a laboratory origin [12] A SARS-like cluster of circulating bat coronaviruses shows potential for human emergence [13] Engineered bat virus stirs debate over risky research [14] Intelligence on sick staff at Wuhan fuels lab leak debate [15] Isolation and Characterization of a Novel Bat Coronavirus Closely Related to the Direct Progenitor of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus [16] Discovery of a rich gene pool of bat SARS-related coronaviruses provides new insights into the origin of SARS coronavirus [17] How Chinas Bat Woman Hunted Down Viruses from SARS to the New Coronavirus [18] Liu Xin's exclusive interview with China's 'Batwoman' [19] Statement in support of the scientists, public health professionals, and medical professionals of China combatting COVID-19 [https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30418-9/fulltext] The leader of a movement seeking independence from Morocco who is at the center of a diplomatic row flew out of Spain to Algeria, arriving in the middle of the night before being taken to an Algerian military hospital on Wednesday. Brahim Ghali received a visit from Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and army chief of staff Said Chengriha, at Ain Naadja military hospital. Footage filmed by the Algerian presidency showed Ghali hooked up to an oxygen machine during the visit. Ghali was released from a hospital in northern Spain following more than six weeks of treatment after contracting COVID-19, according to a statement sent to The Associated Press by the self-declared Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which is based in refugee camps in western Algeria. Morocco has denounced Spain, a strategic partner, for allowing Ghali to secretly enter the country. Morocco considers Ghali, 71, to be a terrorist. Amid the dispute, thousands of migrants crossed the border from Morocco into Spain as Moroccan authorities appeared to relax border controls last month. Ghali is the leader of the Polisario Front, an Algeria-backed pro-independence movement representing the local Sahrawi people of Africa's mineral-rich Western Sahara, and of the self-declared Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Morocco annexed the Western Sahara in the 1970s after Spain's colonial administration ended. It considers the vast territory part and parcel of the Moroccan kingdom. The Polisario Front has long tried to end Moroccan rule over the region. Ghali departed hours after testifying on Tuesday via videoconference in a Spanish investigation into allegations against him of torture, genocide and other crimes. A Spanish magistrate ruled after Ghali's testimony that he should remain free while the investigation continues. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) As Somaliland tries to forge a new political history by holding its first parliamentary elections since 2005, over a million people registered to cast their votes in the local assembly elections in the breakaway Somali region. Somaliland which seceded from Somalia in 1991, is the world's "newest" democracy. While Somalia is one of the least democratic and often referred to as one of the most unstable countries, Somaliland is relatively peaceful, stable and democratic. However, there's not a single country in the world that recognises Somaliland's sovereignty despite its own passport, a functioning government, currency, and army. On Monday, May 31, the territory held elections again and political observers hope this could bring the region some much-needed aid. What is the history of Somalia? Notably, Somaliland was a British colony and Somalia was part of the Italian empire. Other than the difference in colonial heritage, there is little that separates them historically and culturally. This is why when both the colonies gained independence in 1960, they unified as one within a single week. Following a violent civil war that broke out in the 1980s, Somaliland declared independence in 1991 after 31 years of staying together. And in the years that followed, Somalia quickly collapsed into chaos, with warring factions such as al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups fighting for control. Somaliland, meanwhile, had started to build a relatively free and stable democratic system. It must be noted that over 99 per cent population in both Somalia and Somaliland are Muslims. As anarchy and terrorism continued to engulf Somalia, Somaliland remained largely peaceful. This is the country's greatest weapon for persuasion. They have relied on this claim to justify that Somaliland is a functioning country that deserves recognition. They hope that last week's parliamentary elections will strengthen their case for being accepted as a separate State. Global interest in Somaliland: As Somalia and Somaliland sit at an increasingly important spot geographically, in the Horn of Africa, some countries such as Turkey, Iran and the UAE have tried to leverage this particular case in the form of providing recognition as a tool for gaining influence there. Somaliland currently is one of the world's poorest countries and it's far from being a full democracy, especially since elections happen years later than originally planned. However, compared to Somalia and its other neighbours, it can be viewed as a relative success story. Why is Recognition important for Somaliland? Recognition is a process that assesses facts and endows certain legal statuses, such as statehood and sovereignty over a newly acquired territory to a region or political movement. It can be further strengthened when international entities and organisations give it the stature of being considered a separate State. The same recognition that some key nation-states such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and other countries vie for. Somaliland Elections: Last week's elections in Somaliland highlighted progress in the semi-autonomous region of Somalia's breakaway territory that over the years has avoided the destructive violence plaguing other parts of the Horn of Africa. With its relatively small population of 4 million, more than 1 million people cast their ballots on May 31 and despite lacking international recognition, Somaliland continues to remain independent with its own form of governance. Somalia, however, still maintains that Somaliland is a part of its territory, despite several rounds of failed talks over the possibility of unification while the latter continues to assert its right to independence. International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said Wednesday that victims of war crimes and genocide in the Darfur region want former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir brought to the court. Bensouda has been visiting Sudan's western Darfur region to meet with authorities and affected communities in the region. She said she was inspired by "the resilience and courage" of the Darfur people. Al-Bashir, who has been in jail in Khartoum since his ouster in April 2019, is facing several trials in Sudanese courts related to his three decades of authoritarian rule. The conflict in Sudan's Darfur region broke out when rebels from the territory's ethnic central and sub-Saharan African community launched an insurgency in 2003, complaining of oppression by the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum. Al-Bashir's government responded with a campaign of aerial bombings and raids by militias known as Janjaweed, who stand accused of mass killings and rapes. Up to 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million were driven from their homes. The ICC charged al-Bashir with war crimes and genocide for allegedly masterminding the campaign of attacks in Darfur. Sudanese prosecutors started last year their own investigation into the Darfur conflict. Also indicted by the court are two other senior figures from al-Bashir's rule: Abdel-Rahim Muhammad Hussein, interior and defence minister during much of the conflict, and Ahmed Haroun, a senior security chief at the time and later the leader of al-Bashir's ruling party. Both Hussein and Haroun have been under arrest in Khartoum since the Sudanese military, under pressure from protesters, ousted al-Bashir in April 2019. The court also indicted rebel leader Abdulla Banda, whose whereabouts are unknown, and Janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb, who was charged last week with crimes against humanity and war crimes. Sudan's transitional government has previously said that war crime suspects including al-Bashir would be tried before the ICC, but the trial venue is a matter for negotiations with The Hague-based court. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) The owner of a small sunflower oil factory in Bulgaria has accused U.S. soldiers of illegally storming his facility during a NATO military exercise last month. Marin Dimitrov, who owns KIM Engineering in Cheshnegirovo, on Wednesday told reporters that he had filed a lawsuit against those responsible for the incident on May 11. During the Swift Response 21 drill, which took place across Estonia, Bulgaria and Romania, soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade had simulated seizing and securing the decommissioned Cheshnegirovo airfield in southern Bulgaria by entering and clearing bunkers and structures. Dimitrov said he had been "offended, humiliated" by the drill, which he said made him and his staff feel "as if we are bandits, criminals, even though we are carrying out normal activities." According to a U.S. Army statement, on May 11 soldiers had entered and cleared a building next to the airfield that they believed was part of the training area, In fact, it was owned by Bulgarian civilians operating a private business. "No weapons were fired at any time during the interaction," the statement said. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said it was "absolutely unacceptable to have the life and calm of Bulgarian citizens put at risk by military units, be they part of the Bulgarian or foreign armed forces." "Exercises in Bulgarian territory involving our Allies should boost the sense of security and trust in collective defense, instead of causing tension among Bulgarians," he said. The U.S. Embassy in Sofia offered sincere apologies to the business and its employees. "We always learn from these exercises and are fully investigating the cause of this mistake. We will implement rigorous procedures to clearly define our training areas and prevent this type of incident in the future," the Embassy said in a statement. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) German carmaker Volkswagen on Wednesday launched a five-year project on the small Greek island of Astypalea to test the adoption of electric vehicles in areas which plan to switch to sustainable energy generation. The 20 million euro ($24.4 million) initiative, which will receive financial support from the Greek government, will provide residents purchasing incentives to swap conventional vehicles for electric cars and scooters. They'll also be given options to test ride-share applications and public transport models driven by customer demand instead of using fixed schedules and routes. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the program - branded "E-Mobility" - represented a "new beginning" for the island. Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess said the program would make people's lives cleaner, easier and more convenient. Greece is keen to develop power generation from renewable energy sources on its islands to replace expensive locally-produced electricity, mostly using diesel. The government plans to use wind and solar power for the Astypalea project. Officials said researchers from the Universities of the Aegean in Greece and Strathclyde in Scotland were also participating in the program. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Noted Indian economist Kalpana Kochhar, who heads the Human Resources Department of the IMF, is retiring next month after serving for over three decades with the organisation to join the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Kochhar, who served in various senior positions during her three decades at the International Monetary Fund, will retire on July 30, and will join as Director of Development Policy and Finance, at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the IMF announced on Wednesday. In her 33 years at the Fund, Kalpana provided a shining example of strong leadership and dedication to the Fund's mission. She brought a keen intellect and remarkable passion to her work and always focused her efforts on helping those we serve. Her work helped to shape the Fund and, while we wish her the very best in her new role, she will be sorely missed, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said. As Director of Human Resources, Kochhar oversaw the IMF's HR policies and the recruitment and retention of more than 4,000 IMF employees from nearly 150 countries based in Washington, DC, and in overseas offices. In the past five years, she led the successful review and modernisation of the IMF's compensation and benefits programme, as well as the successful implementation of a large and complex human capital management IT system which helped to simplify, streamline and modernise HR at the Fund. From start to finish, Kalpana provided the management team and the Executive Board with sound advice and displayed excellent judgment in all HR-related matters, Georgieva said. Throughout her career, Kalpana has pioneered change in the institution, particularly on gender and emerging market issues, while always exhibiting a positive and caring management style, she added. Georgieva said Kochar's caring spirit was especially evident during the current health crisis. This caring spirit was especially evident during the current health crisis when, spurred on by her compassion, HRD worked hard to effect policy and other interventions to ensure that staff continued to feel a sense of belonging and connectedness. She leaves a distinguished legacy, and opened an admirable pathway for others to follow, Georgieva said. As Deputy Director in the Asia and Pacific Department (APD), she was responsible for setting up and executing the IMF's strategy for Asia, including guiding analytical work and policy advice to a number of Asian countries to help promote economic growth, financial stability, and gender equality. As Deputy Director in the Strategy, Policy, and Review Department (SPR), she led research and policy formulation on gender equity, income inequality, jobs and growth, and structural reforms. In SPR, she also oversaw a comprehensive review of the IMF's surveillance policy and practices aimed at enhancing engagement with the member countries. Before these roles, Kochhar was Assistant Director and Senior Personnel Manager in the Research Department. In between her Fund positions, Kochhar was seconded to the World Bank on a two-year stint as Chief Economist for the South Asia Region, lending her vast knowledge and experience on Asia to the Bank's work in the region. There, she pioneered work on trade and financial integration in South Asia, and established a high-level advisory group of economists and foreign policy specialists from the region to assist the Bank in these areas, a media release said. Kochhar started at the IMF as an Economist in 1988. Over the years, she built on her expertise in Asian regional matters with desk economist positions on Sri Lanka and the Philippines, and by leading work on Korea and Malaysia during the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Prior to joining the Fund, she was an Assistant Professor at George Washington University in Washington DC. Kochhar is also an accomplished author, and her research on Asia, gender, and a variety of development issues has appeared in numerous IMF working papers, Staff Discussion Notes, books, blogs, and publications including the widely circulated Finance and Development magazine, IMF said in a media release. Kidong Park, a World Health Organization representative in Vietnam on Thursday informed that the suspicious coronavirus variant found recently in Vietnam is not a hybrid variant of India and the UK. He asserted that the COVID variant is rather a mutated version of the existing Delta or Indian variant in Vietnam. The statement was followed after the Vietnamese Health Minister earlier this week claimed the new variant to be a hybrid. Kidong Park further said, the delta strain with further mutation requires more observation and it is likely to be highly contagious. He noted that for the time being there is no alarming alert from the WHO. An upsurge of COVID cases in Vietnam Vietnam has done a marvelous job in containing the spread of COVID infection, however, since late April the country has reported an increased number of COVID cases. The infectious outbreaks have been witnessed in the country mostly in the industrial areas of Bac Ninh and Bac Giang near the capital, Hanoi. On Thursday, the country reported 245 new cases along with one death. Noting the recent outbreak, Son Nghiem, a senior research fellow at Griffith University's Centre for Applied Health Economics in Australia informed that new cases are mostly associated with Indian variants. The industrial sector of Vietnam since April has faced a major halt in its production. Presently it is even difficult to say when Bac Giang and Bac Ninh the vital international manufacturing centres will be able to end the outbreak. Reportedly over 400 companies with 65,000 employees have been forced to stop working. Four out of six industries were shut down on May 18 that affected the lives of 1,40,000 workers. The COVID-hit factory workers were even asked to say inside the factories, eat, sleep, and work inside temporary tents set up to contain the infection. (Source- ANI) World Health Organization (WHO) Wednesday warned that there are "staggering health needs" in the occupied Palestinian Territories after last month's conflict between Israel and Palestine that caused massive destruction and impact on civilian lives. "WHO is scaling up its response to provide health aid for almost 200,000 people in need across the occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), including the West Bank, WHO's Eastern Mediterranean regional office said in a statement. On June 2, the WHO stated that it has provided essential medicines for trauma care and supported ambulance services for more than 2,000 injured civilians in Gaza after a ceasefire was declared between Hamas and Israel. The region witnessed one of the deadliest attacks as the two sides launched rockets, artillery shells, and airstrikes for nearly 11 days during last month. Senior UN health agency officials called for unhindered humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, as they expressed alarm about the growing concerns for urgent health needs arising in the war-torn region. Staggering health needs emerge in the occupied Palestinian territory in the wake of recent escalations: https://t.co/YEizAdNTvn pic.twitter.com/3YxhaHPECq WHO in occupied Palestinian territory (@WHOoPt) June 2, 2021 The WHO triage has set up the treatment tents for the civilians and children outside six emergency departments in Gaza, but the situation remains volatile, said Dr. Rik Peeperkorn WHO Head of Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). 77,000 civilians in Gaza displaced As many as 278 Palestinians have died in the conflict and over 9,000 sustained serious injuries, while 12 Israeli lives were lost also and more than 700 injured. As many as 77,000 civilians in Gaza were displaced due to the conflicts and have lost homes due to destruction. Around 30 health facilities have been completely damaged amid the looming COVID-19 health crisis. As of 31 May, 337,191 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 3,765 deaths have been reported in the OPT with positive cases increasing in Gaza in recent weeks, WHO stated, quoting figures. The health agency launched an appeal for raising $7 million to support health operations over the next six months. The funds will be utilized to carry out health responses related to trauma and emergency care, mental health and psychosocial services, advocacy, and essential health services including for COVID-19. To date, just $2.3 million has been raised, the WHO said. A defense lawyer for the daughter-in-law of a politically influential British magnate, who has been charged over the shooting death of a police superintendant in Belize, said on Wednesday that he will argue in court for bail for his client. Jasmine Hartin was charged with manslaughter by negligence after the discovery of Henry Jemmott's body on a dock in San Pedro early on Friday. Her lawyer Godfrey Smith said that prosecutors had filed a statement stating that they objected bail "on the basis of flight risk." Smith also said that the judge presiding the case wanted a submission by prosecutors on Friday and that the defense would respond on Monday. On Tuesday, Hartin was transferred from San Pedro to Belize City by boat ahead of the hearing on 9 June. Hartin is the partner of Andrew Ashcroft, son of Michael Ashcroft, a former deputy chairman of Britain's Conservative Party and a major financial backer. He also holds Belizean citizenship and was once its representative before the United Nations. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Summer season is arriving in wine country in Italy's Tuscany region and the leaves on the vines shimmer in gold and green. Yahya Adams moves his gloves through the foliage, removing excess buds and shoots to make the vines stronger. He's among 24 asylum-seekers from Africa and Asia who are working in the Tenute Silvio Nardi vineyard on this year's crop of Brunello di Montalcino, one of Italy's most famous wines. They come from Ghana, Togo, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Pakistan and other countries, with no prior experience in wine-making, but have found work here through a local non-profit group that helps asylum-seekers find legal employment in vineyards or olive groves while their claims are being processed. "I like this job," said Adams, a 21-year-old from Ghana. He left Ghana when he was just 14 years old to search for work abroad. After spending two years in Libya, where he said he was temporarily held in captivity by one of his employers, he crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Italy on a ship with 118 other migrants. He said he lived in various centres for unaccompanied minors, then tried to find work in Belgium, where he had friends, but returned to Italy where he is now enrolled in the work program of the Cooperativa Agricola San Francesco. The NGO aims to bring asylum-seekers into the labor market under the same pay and conditions as Italians, rather than getting sucked into the off-the-books system known in Italian as "caporalato." The phenomenon is widespread in the agricultural industry, where workers are hired temporarily for seasonal work, with more than 400,000 people at risk of being exploited as cheap labor without proper contracts, according to the Placido Rizzotto Observatory, a union group monitoring the infiltration of organised crime in agriculture. Some of them, they will say, work in the black market for three or four years, with no contract, nothing," said Salis Godje, who co-ordinates the agriculture program for Cooperativa Agricola San Francesco. Godje said the migrants selected for the program are given a training course to learn the basics of vineyard work. After that they do three seasonal stints in the vineyard, pruning in the winter and summer and harvesting in the fall. Nicola Peirce, the president of NGO, said the workers are paid around 7 euros an hour and work eight hours a day. Migrant workers who work in agriculture irregularly often earn half as much while working longer hours. Established in 1954, the family-owned Tenute Silvio Nardi every year produces 210,000 bottles of wine made with Sangiovese grapes, including 160,000 bottles of Brunello di Montalcino, which is aged for five years before release. The asylum-seekers work in teams of eight in about 15 hectares (40 acres) of the vineyard in the hills of Casale del Bosco under the supervision of agronomist Vittorio Stringari. Adams said he considers himself lucky to have a job that he likes and from which he earns enough to send and a little money to his family in Ghana. "If I was having this work in my country, I would not go anywhere," he said. Finding Italians willing to work in the field is becoming more and more difficult, as Emilia Nardi, owner of the vineyard, believes. "Everything changed recently, nowadays there are services teams, and we all know the phenomenon of the "caporalato," she said. "Well it's not a nice thing, my family has an ethical principle, maybe it's a Christian one, but everybody has the right to get their social security contributions paid, and we have respect for the work," she added. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Kathmandu, Jun 3 (PTI) Nepal on Thursday rejected a UK tabloid report claiming the emergence of a "Nepal variant" of coronavirus, categorically denying its existence in the country and urging all not to spread such disinformation. UK tabloid Daily Mail on Wednesday published a story, saying a coronavirus variant that is being linked to Nepal has been found in more than 20 people in the UK and is a mutated version of the strain identified in India. Experts have alerted ministers to the new virus which has apparently also spread to several European countries, the tabloid said in a report. The report in some international media regarding the detection of the Nepal variant of coronavirus is not true, Dr. Krishna Prasad Poudyal, spokesperson of the Ministry of Health and Population told PTI. There are only three variants of coronavirus, namely Alpha, Delta and Kappa found in Nepal so far, Poudyal said. The World Health Organisation too in a tweet on Thursday said it is not aware of any such variant. "WHO is not aware of any new variant of SARS-CoV-2 being detected in Nepal. The 3 confirmed variants in circulation are: Alpha (B.1.1.7), Delta (B.1.617.2) and Kappa (B.1.617.1). The predominant variant currently in circulation in Nepal is Delta (B.1.617.2)," the world health body said. Reacting to the development, Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population issued a press release categorically denying the existence of any such variant in Nepal, The Himalayan Times report said. "Among the many variants of concerns as declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Alfa and Delta are the only known active strains in Nepal," the ministry said. "No other variant has been known to be active in the country," it said. The ministry also urged all not to spread such disinformation without acquiring adequate information and verification from relevant agencies. The news gained widespread attention in Nepal after the BBC posted a link of the news on its Twitter handle and the flow of responses to the tweet got "Nepal Variant" trending on the microblogging site throughout the day, the report said. According to the Daily Mail, Nepal is currently on the UK Government's 'red list' for travel, used for countries with high infection rates, troubling variants and which lack the capacity to spot new mutant strains. Last month, India objected to the B.1.617 mutant of the novel coronavirus being termed an "Indian Variant" in media reports with the Union Health Ministry pointing out that the WHO has not used the word "Indian" for this strain in its document. Nepals Health Ministry on Thursday confirmed 6,828 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total tally to 576,936. Meanwhile, 5,904 patients have been discharged after recovering from the disease in the past 24 hours. With this, 81 per cent (467,467 people) of the total infections have recovered from the disease. The total number of deaths in the country reached 7,630 after 75 people died of the disease. The ministry said there are currently 101,839 corona active patients undergoing treatment across Nepal. PTI SBP RS AKJ RS (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) Nicaraguan police on Wednesday raided the home of Cristiana Chamorro, a potential presidential candidate and daughter of former President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, one day after formally filing money laundering charges against the journalist. Her brother, Carlos Fernando Chamorro, director of the independent news outlet Confidencial, confirmed the raid via Twitter. The judicial system said in a statement that a judge had issued search and detention orders for 67-year-old Cristiana Chamorro Wednesday. It was not immediately known if Chamorro was detained. Vilma Nunez, president of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights, said that police had violently entered Chamorro's home south of the capital. The police raided the home 15 minutes before Chamorro was scheduled to give a news conference. She was expected to challenge President Daniel Ortega for the presidency. Authorities had sought Tuesday to have Chamorro barred from participating in the Nov. 7 elections. Chamorro has said the allegations were trumped up to keep her out of the race. In late May, national police raided the offices of the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation for Reconciliation and Democracy, the nongovernmental group named after her mother and led by Chamorro until recently. They also raided the offices of the Confidencial. The Nicaraguan government has said Chamorro is under investigation for alleged financial irregularities related to the foundation. In January, she stepped down from her role at the foundation. A month later, it closed its operations in Nicaragua after passage of a foreign agents law designed to track foreign funding of organizations operating in the country. Cristiana Chamorros mother beat Ortega to win the presidency in 1990 and served until 1997. Her husband, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, had run his family newspaper La Prensa and was jailed and forced into exile multiple times by the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza. He was eventually assassinated in 1978. Cristiana Chamorro is the vice president of La Prensa. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Having foreseen the inevitable ecological crisis, Sri Lankan authorities Thursday said that they are now preparing for the worst-case scenario of the oil spill from the burnt-out and sunken Singapore registered vessel at Colombo's main harbour. Now that the vessel has sunk, its stern fully submerged underneath after the Salvagers failed to tow it in to the deep waters due to powerful monsoon winds, Sri Lankan authorities are worrying over the ship's oil leaks that may spill farther into the Indian Ocean. Indian Coast Guard, acting in a well and timely manner, deployed three vessels including the PCV Samudra Prahari on stand-by as the Salvager teams assessed the situation. #OperationSagarAaraksha2 Chemical laden container ship #MVXPressPearl sank and touched bottom. Part Superstructure & fwd portion visible. 3 #ICG Ships including PCV Samudra Prahari standby in PR configuration for response. Assessment by salvors in progress. pic.twitter.com/Ngi9xW7jYH Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) June 2, 2021 Fire on X-Press Pearl: #Vessels aft sits on seabed A joint operation in coordinating with local authorities to mitigate the impact of the possible environmental damage due to the fire on #MVXPressPearl continues today. Read more at;https://t.co/lC2kjMbeNT pic.twitter.com/VIYiRtHoaA Sri Lanka Ports Authority (@slpauthority) June 3, 2021 The fire-damaged MV X-Press Pearl was ablaze for the twelfth day and had hundreds of tons of oil and 25 tons of nitric acid and other chemicals in its 1,486 containers. The ship was mainly traversing with the raw materials for cosmetics from Hazira, Gujarat India to Colombo Port on May 20. The 325 metric tonnes of fuel in its tanks is now feared to spill into the worst marine ecological disasters of the Southeast Asian nation. Marine Environment Pollution Authority (MEPA) as a precautionary measure suggested a fishing ban along 80 kilometers (50 miles) off the coast. "With the available information so far, this can be described as the worst disaster, a chairperson had said. The last visual of the ship was captured by Sri Lanka Air Force before it plunged into the waters. The ship's aft portion is now touching bottom at a depth of 21 meters (70ft)," while the forward area remains afloat with smoke coming out of two cargo holds, the ships manufacturing company said in a statement. The Marine Environment Protection Authority readied oil dispersants, booms and skimmers incase of oil leak from the sunk MV X-Press Pearl tanks. Fishing in South India may be impacted in few weeks Navy spokesman Indika de Silva told reporters on the ground that there hasnt been a spill yet, but the arrangements were being made to tackle the worst-case scenario. Thick smoke was seen arising from onboard as the vessel sank and it has been plunging in deeper. The vessels superstructure and the forward portion were still visible on Wednesday. A search operation will be conducted to locate the Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) of the vessel to determine the conversation between the captain and the crew as a criminal investigation is underway. Due to the unprecedented marine environment disaster, fishing activity is expected to suffer in the western Sri Lankan coasts and South India. A central Florida sheriff says his deputies did everything they could to de-escalate after a 14-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy broke into a home, found weapons and repeatedly fired at officers. Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood says deputies eventually shot the girl after she raised a pump action shotgun at them, and the boy surrendered with an AK-47. Chitwood says they ran away from a juvenile group home Tuesday night and were heard breaking into a home nearby. Chitwood says deputies shot the girl multiple times and were providing medical aid when the boy surrendered. The girl was in stable condition Wednesday following surgery. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) United States Defence Secretary Llyod Austin on June 2 spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and emphasized Americas commitment to helping the kingdom in defending its territory and people. According to Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirbys official statement, Pentagon chief and Saudi Arabias de facto ruler talked about regional security with a focus on ways to end the Yemen war. Austin also expressed gratitude to the Saudi Crown Prince for working in close collaboration and constructively with US Special Envoy Tim Lenderking to end the war in Yemen. Kirby stated, They discussed regional security, particularly efforts to end the war in Yemen. Secretary Austin thanked the Crown Prince for working closely and constructively with U.S. Special Envoy Tim Lenderking to end the war in Yemen, it added. Apart from the Yemen war, Austin and the Saudi Crown Prince also noted the kingdoms recent successes in defeating Houthi attacks on the Kingdom and discussed ongoing bilateral efforts to improve Saudi Arabia's defences. Saudi Arabia is an important pillar in the regional security architecture and the U.S. remains committed to its self-defence.. Saudi-led coalition destroyes drone by rebels Just last week, the Sudi-led coalition said that it destroyed an explosive-laden drone headed towards the city of Khamis Mushait launched by rebels in Yemen. Reportedly, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a tweet on Sunday that an operation had targetted King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait with a drone that had recorded an accurate hit. Saree said that it was in response to continued siege and aggression. The Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have reportedly captured the major region of northern Yemen since 2014 and the Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 as the militants ramped up the cross-border attacks in the kingdom. Reportedly, the Houthis are forcing an offensive to seize Yemens gas-rich Marib region. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen after the Houthis ousted a Saudi-backed government from the capital, Sanaa. Meanwhile, Houthis have said that they are tackling corruption and foreign aggression. IMAGE: AP The University of Virginia Wednesday announced that the former US special counsel Robert Mueller will conduct a class related to the infamous inquiry led by him on ex-President Donald Trump and Russias collusion during the 2016 presidential campaign. The class will also include other senior Staff members Including deputy special counsel and former federal prosecutor at the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Aaron Zebley, who was a top aide on Mueller's team, reports suggest. Mueller testified in his April 2019 report about the kremlin's election interference at the Department of Justice in Washington. Mueller investigation has been widely taught by political science professors as capstone courses that delved into the major topics raised in Muellers work across the law school curriculum. The course will be titled "The Mueller Report and the Role of the Special Counsel and will be held over six sessions in the fall semester. It will be joined by at least three former top aides on Muellers team. Jim Quarles, who was senior counsel to Mueller, and Andrew Goldstein, who was senior assistant special counsel, will also participate in the course supported by unis Karsh Center for Law and Democracy. Instructors will give a discourse on the legal and practical context of the investigation, Justice Department and Congress relations, investigative actions by White House, and will walk through the trade-offs and political obstructions during the legal inquiry. "I was fortunate to attend UVA Law School after the Marine Corps, and I'm fortunate to be returning there now," Mueller said in a statement he issued June 2. He noted, that he will lead at least one class. "I look forward to engaging with the students this fall, he said. The uni announced that the special course will focus on "a key set of decisions made during the special counsel's investigation," starting with Mueller's appointment as special counsel and ending with a focus on "obstruction of justice, presidential accountability and the role of special counsel in that accountability. 448-page report led to indictments Mueller, who also served as FBI director from 2001 to 2013, was designated to his role as a special counsel in May 2017. In his 448-page report, he alleged that former President Trumps campaign figures were compromised by the Russian government as they coordinated with Kremlin that exercised influence on Trumps election campaign. He outlined 10 instances where the former president attempted to impede the probe. Mueller report fell short of exonerating the former president, who, when no evidence was found, continually called Mueller probe a witch hunt. It did, however, lead to the indictments of more than 30 officials basis the thousands of emails Mueller obtained as evidence linked to the Trump transition team. The special counsel investigation expanded to examine if the ex-US president was obstructing justice following his abrupt dismissal of former FBI Director James Comey on May 9, 2017. SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) The U.S. government on Wednesday sanctioned six Bulgarian public officials and businessmen, as well as their networks encompassing 64 entities, for their allegedly extensive roles in corruption. The State Department announced the public designation of former public officials Alexander Manolev, Petar Haralampiev, Krasimir Tomov, and Delyan Peevski, as well as current official Ilko Zhelyazkov. In Sofia, Bulgarian interim Prime Minister Stefan Yanev said he was informed about the act by U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland by telephone. The sanctions on the people and companies effectively prevent them from accessing the U.S. financial system, freeze any of their U.S. assets and bar Americans from dealing with them. European Union member Bulgaria has repeatedly been reprimanded by Brussels for a lack of efforts to effectively fight corruption, and the Transparency International watchdog has declared it the most corrupt country in the EU. In their official capacities, Manolev, Haralampiev and Tomov were allegedly involved in corrupt acts that undermined the rule of law and the Bulgarian publics faith in their government, including by using political influence and official power for personal benefit, the state department said in a statement. It added that Peevski, in his capacity as a member of parliament, allegedly used Zhelyazkov, an official in the National Bureau for Control on Special Intelligence-Gathering Devices, "as an intermediary and accomplice to peddle influence and pay bribes to protect himself from public scrutiny and to exert influence over key institutions and sectors in Bulgarian society. The U.S. Department of the Treasury also has designated Peevski, Zhelyazkov and Bulgarian oligarch Vassil Bojkov, along with 64 entities owned and controlled by Bojkov and Peevski, for their alleged roles in public corruption. It said the move was its single biggest action targeting corruption to date. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is trying to entice Central American nations to tackle the corruption and poverty that have helped drive a surge of migrants to the US-Mexico border and presented an early challenge for President Biden's administration. In his first visit to Central America since taking office, America's top diplomat met with foreign ministers and leaders from the region and Mexico. On the two-day trip ending on Wednesday, Blinken spoke about the importance of working with nations in the region to stop migrants making the "dangerous journey north." He avoided publicly criticising any particular government about the issue and instead focused on the Biden administration's plans to distribute COVID-19 vaccines and other assistance, such as a proposed $4 billion aid package. He also met his Mexican counterpart, Marcelo Ebrard, in private and visited a nongovernmental organisation that provides children and families with recreational and educational activities and helps steer teens away from criminal activity. It's the kind of organization that would get a piece of the $4 billion in the proposed aid package that the Biden administration does not want to give directly to government entities in the region. Blinken suggested such organisations can play a role in persuading people not to migrate. Blinken's visit precedes an upcoming visit to the region by US Vice President Kamala Harris who travels to Mexico and Guatemala on 7-8 June. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Note: We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email please call (208) 542-6777 for help. We get it. You don't want to see the ads. We'd just ask you to understand that those ads help us pay the bills and our reporters. Please, consider white-listing the Standard Journal in your ad-blocker or, even better, purchase a subscription so that you can help support quality local journalism. Washington reiterated its support of Kem Sokha as Cambodias opposition leader during a visit by a top-ranking diplomat to Phnom Penh, his lawyer said Wednesday, expressing hope that Phnom Penh will pursue a politically softer stance that could see his banned party join upcoming elections. On Tuesday, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, the most senior U.S. official to visit Cambodia in five years, separately met with Prime Minister Hun Sen, countrys ruler since 1985, as well as Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) leader Kem Sokha, who remains in political limbo awaiting trial on unsubstantiated treason charges after his arrest in 2017 kicked off a broad government crackdown against the opposition, civic activists and journalists. According to a State Department statement, Sherman urged Cambodias government to drop politically motivated court cases against its critics and expressed concern over Hun Sens broader crackdown on the opposition and civil societythe main factor causing Phnom Penhs ties with the U.S. and European Union to deteriorate while the strongman has moved closer to Beijing. During her meeting with Kem Sokha, Sherman referred to him as the president of the opposition party, his lawyer Pheng Heng told RFAs Khmer Service on Wednesday, noting that the CNRP is a party with big potential in Cambodia. Pheng Heng said he could not provide details of the meeting, which he did not attend, but suggested that it could lead to a reconciliation between the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) and the CNRP, if Phnom Penh decides to thaw increasingly frosty ties with the U.S. We are waiting to hear back about the relationship between the government and the U.S., he said. We are waiting to see if there will be any changes following her visit in terms of the political situation and particularly in regard to the opposition party. The CNRP was banned, and its leader Kem Sokha arrested, in late 2017 for allegedly plotting a coup that Cambodias government has said was U.S.-backed, allowing the CPP to win every parliamentary seat in 2018 elections, drawing international criticism and EU trade sanctions. Kem Sokha was put on trial in January 2020, but the hearings were suspended two months later on the pretext of containing the COVID-19 pandemic. Hun Sen has hinted that the trial may not resume for years, and may not conclude until 2024, long after local voting next year and parliamentary elections in 2023. Softer stance possible Pheng Heng said Wednesday that the U.S. has made clear that it was not involved in any alleged plot to overthrow Hun Sens government and repeatedly voiced its support of the CNRP as a legitimate opposition party that plays a crucial role in a democratic Cambodia. He said he believes Sherman reiterated its stance on these issues during her meeting with Hun Sen and said he expects the visit will have a positive influence on Cambodias political situation. I think the government will take a softer stance and move forward to shake hands [with the U.S.] and wont stray farther from the Paris Peace Accords, he said, referring to the agreement that ended years of war and helped set up a democratic country in Cambodia to ensure they uphold the pact. In order to have a working democratic process, the opposition party must compete fairly. The U.S. wants to see Cambodia turn back to democracy by allowing the opposition to join the election As a lawyer defending Kem Sokha, I hope the government will open up so that he can move forward. Kem Sokha has not been convicted, so if the government intends to allow him to return to politics, it will be easier. CPP spokesman Sok Eysan acknowledged Shermans statement on Wednesday, but said she did not pressure the government to improve its record on human rights and democracy. There was no promise exchanged, but in principle the government is implementing the spirit of the Paris Peace Accords, he said. Since we already walk on a pathway of democracy and rule of law, it will not be difficult to improve some challenges we have faced. On the eve of Shermans visit, however, Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, called on her to strongly and publicly criticize PM Hun Sens wholesale destruction of democracy, media freedom, and human rights. In a statement from Bangkok, he said: Any ideas of a softly, gently approach to the Cambodian government is both misguided and morally bankrupt in the face of the systematic rights abuses committed daily by the government throughout the country. On Monday, Sok Eysan rejected foreign pressure by the U.S. to drop charges against Kem Sokha, calling the case a judicial issue. How can [she] propose to the Prime Minister to drop the charge against Kem Sokha, because he is not the one who charged him. It was the court, and the case is in the court, so the proposal is not acceptable, he told RFA. Hope visit will prompt reforms The Cambodian public also expressed hope that Hun Sen may roll back restrictions on democratic freedoms after Sherman raised U.S. concerns directly with the prime minster during their meeting. A taxi driver in Phnom Penh named Kong Srun told an RFA call-in show that he hopes Shermans visit will improve ties between the U.S. and Cambodia, adding that Washington is right to have brought up concerns over a lack of freedom of expression under Hun Sens rule. People who live in Cambodia lack freedom; we dont have the right to criticize or express ourselves, he said. If the situation continues, we wont live in peace, but if we dare not criticize, we cant live. A worker in the capital named Ouk Chanthy told RFA that Shermans visit had provided hope to the people of Cambodia. She said workers lack the right to speak out and are being exploited by factory management through low wages and a lack of government support. I hope after the U.S. Deputy Secretary of States visit that the government will reform the situation for the workers so we can enjoy better living standards. Reporting by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. The Kandal province villagers were trying to stop bulldozers from clearing their rice fields. Security forces shot a man during a protest over a land dispute Thursday in Cambodias southern Kandal province after he and other villagers tried to stop bulldozers from clearing their rice fields, people involved in the demonstration said. About 300 villagers staged the protest in Tuol Prech commune, Ang Snoul district, to show their opposition to a government plan to use the state plantation land for military purposes and as a garbage disposal site. The villagers erected makeshift barricades across National Road 51 near the land and set fires to block traffic in the area after a group of 60 security forces ordered bulldozer drivers to destroy their rice fields without paying them any compensation, said villager Koam Rith. The villagers resorted to the protest after their efforts to seek a solution from the government failed, he said. Soldiers and police fired live bullets to disperse local villagers who staged the protest, with a shot fired by the military hitting 56-year-old Mom Chantha in his left shoulder, Koam Rith said. The villager is being treated in a hospital in Phnom Penh. We were trying to stop the bulldozers from clearing the land so they shot, He said. It is very unjust, they are soldiers and they shot at us. In these modern times, there should be solutions, but there is no solution for villagers, he said. Security forces fired their weapons to intimidate and stop the villagers from protesting again, he added. Koam Savorn, wife of Mom Chantha, told RFA that the shooting was a brutal act, and she urged the government to hold the shooter accountable. I am very upset because I am poor, she said. I think the shooting was very brutal. Why didnt they talk instead of shooting at us? The woman said that doctors have not allowed her to visit her husband yet, so she was not aware of his condition. Villagers have called on authorities and the government to deliver justice to them and to the shooting victim. They also said they have been harvesting on the land for the past 30 years, though government officials have refused to grant them land titles. Soldiers stationed near the land stopped the villagers from using it, they said. National Military Police spokesman Eng Hy told RFA that authorities are investigating the shooting incident, but he did not provide details. The case is being investigated. We cant say anything more only the prosecutor can, he said, adding that authorities would bring the perpetrator to justice. Vann Sophat, project coordinator for business and human rights at the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, told RFA that he does not have much faith in the governments pledge to investigate the incident and mete out justice because military perpetrators are rarely fully punished. He urged the government to use land dispute mechanisms to resolve disagreements rather than resort to violence. The problem is that [shootings by the military] continue to exist, he said. Why dont we use a mechanism to resolve the land dispute? Disputes over land use and development are a major cause of social conflicts in many Southeast Asian countries. Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written by Roseanne Gerin. Barrister Chow Hang-tung was thrust into the limelight at the head of the the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China after several of its veteran leaders were jailed for taking part in the 2019 protest movement. Controversial because it emphasizes building a democratic movement in mainland China rather than on preserving Hong Kong's promised freedoms, the Alliance is best-known for running the annual candlelight vigil in Victoria Park to commemorate the victims of the , 1989 Tiananmen massacre. That event that has now been banned by the authorities for two years running, with officials citing restrictions on public gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chow, a Cambridge-educated barrister whose political activism stems from learning about the 1989 student-led movement and its bloody suppression by the People's Liberation Army (PLA), told RFA ahead of the 32nd anniversary on that she still plans to mark the anniversary in public. Chow, who is currently out on bail pending charges of "illegal assembly" linked to her attendance at last year's event, has vowed to repeat her defiance of the ban this year. "Go to Victoria Park and light a candle," she replied, when asked her plans for . "I think lighting candles in Victoria Park shows that we haven't given up," she said. Ban violators are jailed The question of just how many others will consider defying multiple police cordons and a ban on gatherings to do the same won't be answered until . Thousands of people defied a similar ban last year, resulting in key activists including Joshua Wong being jailed for several months on "illegal assembly" charges on . "The democracy movement in Hong Kong actually needs someone who is able to connect with and understand the movement in China," Chow said. "That way, we can at least support each other if something happens." "I feel that I have to hold that position, and keep it going," she said, in response to criticism that a focus on China is a betrayal of Hong Kong's unique identity. She said she won't be joining the growing numbers of Hong Kong residents who are heading for other shores following the imposition by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of a draconian national security law banning criticism of the government. "I don't think about leaving; I can't leave," said Chow, who takes late Nobel peace laureate and political scholar Liu Xiaobo as a role model. Liu died of late-stage liver cancer in 2017 while still serving an 11-year jail term for "subversion" for his co-authorship of Charter 08, a document calling for sweeping political change in China. "I'm a bit worried about the democracy movement in Hong Kong," she said. "It seems that there's a lot of pressure for it to go underground." "I don't think that's actually possible; I think it will just accelerate the death of the movement. China's democratic movement is a case in point," Chow said. Repression forges common cause In , 47 opposition lawmakers and political activists were arrested and held on remand for "subversion" under the national security law for organizing a democratic primary election in . The authorities then postponed a general election slated for September, pushing it back to pending an overhaul of electoral rules that puts Beijing firmly in control of electoral outcomes. Several pro-democracy groups and politicians have already indicated to local media that they will boycott December's elections, in which new rules dictate that candidates must be vetted by several layers of a China-led bureaucracy before being allowed to run. Chow believes that the ongoing suppression of opposition lawmakers and political activists since the 2019 protest movement, and increasingly under the national security law, has given activists in China and Hong Kong a common cause. "Everyone has suddenly woken up, as the full experience of a CCP political crackdown is visited on Hong Kong," Chow said. "This is precisely why we should stand united." "This means unity between not just the different [pro-democracy] factions in Hong Kong, but also between [activists] in Hong Kong and mainland China," she said. But she feels herself holding an increasingly unpopular position. "This is really worrying, not just for Hong Kong, but also for China itself," she said. "One obvious problem with having the entire movement underground is that you can't attract newcomers, because nobody is aware of what you're doing," Chow said. Executive Council member Ronny Tong warned on that anyone seen in the vicinity of Victoria Park on wearing black, chanting slogans or lighting candles could be arrested for taking part in an "illegal assembly," even if they break up into smaller groups. Government broadcaster RTHK quoted police sources as saying that as many as 7,000 officers could be deployed around Victoria Park on . Reported by Lau Siu Fung, Gigi Lee, Lu Xi and Yip Mong for RFA's Cantonese and Mandarin Services. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. The Chinese Communist Party has successfully silenced any public discussion of the protest movement and the bloody crackdown that ended them. As the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) clamps down on dissidents ahead of Friday's anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre, younger people living in mainland China are largely unaware of the momentous events of the spring of 1989. Public memorials for the victims are banned, and any references to the People's Liberation Army (PLA)'s bloody suppression of the student-led protest movement are quickly deleted from the country's tightly controlled internet. The erasure of first-hand accounts from Beijing of the spring and early summer 1989 from the public record, and the official description of the protests as a "counterrevolutionary rebellion" or "political turmoil" have led to a stark generational divide in China, with younger people knowing little to nothing of what June 4, 1989 means to those over 40. A high-school teacher from the central province of Hunan who gave only a surname, Zhen, said most of her students have never heard of June 4, 1989. "From news media to teaching materials, this topic has been deliberately erased from textbooks, media, and other public domains," Zhen told RFA. "The average child, the younger ones, have never heard of it." "Others may have heard of it, but they don't know the causes and the full story of the tragedy as it unfolded at the time," he said. Former liberal premier Hu Yaobang, whose death sparked a memorial gathering in Tiananmen Square that developed into weeks of protests, is rarely mentioned in history teaching materials, while late ousted premier Zhao Ziyang, who fell from grace after sympathizing with the students, has been erased from public accounts of the era. "These people have been deliberately faded out of the public eye," Zhen said. "Information about leaders of any generation should be made known to the public, their good and bad points, so the people can make up their own minds," he said. "Why can't they let us decide?" Public discussion of the events of 1989 is generally limited to official responses to questions from foreign media organizations, with the topic off-limits to China's tightly controlled state media. Strict controls on information Hebei-based literary scholar and historiographer Li Hao said Zhen's view is an accurate one. "The CCP has had a monopoly on information [about that time], and they have silenced anyone who [was working in government] in that year," Li said. "Controls on information are very strict, as the government has control over all of the information sources, including the news media, social media, textbooks, other publications, literature, film, and television," he said. Even if some information makes it across the Great Firewall of government censorship, it will be quickly deleted. "If you insist on discussing political topics that the government doesn't like, they will take away your entire livelihood," Li said. "They want everyone united in their obsession with money, and with getting rich." Zhen agreed. "The new generation now only pays attention to money, eating and drinking and having fun," he said. "Everyone is always on their mobile phones, liking this or that." "They like to beautify themselves ... and they lack any concept of justice or an equitable society," he said. "They think it's something for others to care about, and has nothing to do with them." Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Taiwan's attempts to procure vaccines amid a rising wave of COVID-19 transmission has been stymied by Beijing. Su Tseng-chang, President of Taiwan's Executive Yuan, says Taiwan will be grateful for any COVID-19 vaccines it receives, June 3, 2021. The Japanese government is making final arrangements to provide Taiwan with about 1.2 million doses of the AstraZeneca jab, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on Thursday, citing government sources, while the country will likely receive an allocation of U.S.-made jabs via the COVAX sharing scheme. "There is an urgent need for Taiwan (to procure vaccine) until it can establish a domestic production system in July," foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi said in parliament earlier in the day. Japan could supply the doses possibly on Friday, Kyodo reported. "At a time of trouble, we need to help each other," Motegi told lawmakers, adding that Taiwan had responded rapidly with donations in 2011 after northeastern Japan was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's government is making "final" preparations to supply the vaccine to Taiwan, Kyodo reported. In Washington, former Trump-era defense official Randall Schriver called on President Joe Biden to make some of the 80 million U.S. vaccines earmarked for export available to Taiwan. "The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is jeopardizing Taiwans public health for its authoritarian political objectives," Schriver said in a statement. "The CCP has aggressively sought to thwart Taiwans vaccine efforts. From late-stage meddling of vaccine purchasing contracts to condemnation of allies offers of assistance, it is likely these efforts will continue," he said. Community transmission has skyrocketed in Taiwan at a time when less than two percent of the population has received a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Taiwan has secured less than one million doses of vaccines for its 24 million citizens, receiving 726,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine via the COVAX sharing scheme and directly from the manufacturer. Taiwan now in talks The government is in talks with Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson, in addition to the Moderna and AstraZeneca jabs Taiwan is already deploying, foreign minister Joseph Wu told reporters. Wu said his government is "negotiating with individual companies like Pfizer" and J&J, ahead of the planned rollout of the island's homegrown COVID-19 vaccines in July. "When and if our own vaccines are rolled out toward the end of July, I think this will become the most important supply for the vaccine demand here in Taiwan," Wu said. Last week, president Tsai Ing-wen accused China of blocking its attempts to sign a deal for the supply of vaccines from BioNTech of Germany. "We had almost completed the contract signing with the German manufacturer at one point, but it has been delayed till now because China has interfered," Tsai told a meeting of her ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on May 26. Political pressure from China Health and welfare minister Chen Shih-chung told reporters that the BioNTech deal collapsed after the company introduced a requirement that Taiwan drop the use of the word "country" to describe itself, a requirement likely linked to political pressure from China. Chen Shih-chung said Taiwan seems headed for a new peak in COVID-19 cases, reporting 585 new infections and 17 deaths from the disease on June 3. Of the 585 cases, 583 were classified as domestic infections -- with 364 newly confirmed and 219 reported from a backlog of test results over the past two weeks, local media reported. He said that the percentage of COVID-19 patients in the 20-39 age group has climbed from 19.9 percent to 25.2 percent in the past two days. "We cannot afford to be overly optimistic now," Chen told a news briefing in Taipei. The White House announced on Thursday the allocation of 25 million doses of vaccine, to include seven million destined for India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, and the Pacific Islands. Meanwhile, large numbers of overseas Taiwanese who returned to the island as it appeared to have escaped the pandemic last year are now heading back to the U.S. to get vaccinated, local media reported. Airlines in Taiwan said 2,400 more Taiwanese passengers flew to the U.S. in May, when the wave of community transmissions began, than in the previous month, according to FTV News. Reported by Chung Kuang-cheng for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Hsia Hsiao-hwa for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. The move hurts North Korean residents already struggling every day to earn a living, sources in the country say. North Korean authorities are drastically cutting the size of local markets around the country, limiting their business to the sale of farm and livestock products and allowing the sale of other commodities only in state-owned stores, sources in the reclusive country say. The move has further hurt the livelihood of ordinary residents already struggling amid shutdowns of trade along the border with China and other measures aimed at controlling the spread of COVID-19, the sources say. Beginning this month, markets operating in every district of Pyongyang city have been changed or significantly reduced in size, one source in the North Korean capital told RFAs Korean Service on May 26. Markets that used to serve as general markets have now been turned into specialized agricultural markets where only farm and livestock products can be traded, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The order to reduce the markets size was issued on May 10 through neighborhood watch units in every district of the city, the Pyongyang source said. Each of those units then held a meeting for local residents to deliver the Central Committees instructions on how the markets should be used, the source added. Before this, the markets in Pyongyang were markets where anything could be sold, the source said. People used to joke that one could buy anything there but cat horns. However, starting in May, orders were issued to restrict the items allowed for sale, saying that only food and agricultural products such as vegetables, chickens, and rabbits can be traded there now. The orders also specify that manufactured products such as clothing, shoes, and dishes can now be sold only in government stores at wholesale prices, with the merchants allowed to sell those products getting paid through local banks, he said. Anyone found in violation of the new regulations forbidding sale of manufactured items in the markets will have their stock confiscated and be sent into internal exile, the source said. However, residents are strongly protesting the new policy, saying that the governments instruction to merchants to sell their goods only through the stores and receive their pay from the banks is aimed at extorting profits by restricting individuals business activities. Public warnings, threats Also speaking to RFA, a source in Chongjin City in North Hamgyong, along the border with China, said that markets in his area have also been cut in size, with trade similarly limited to the sale of agricultural and livestock products. In each district of Chongjin City, lectures and meetings were held on May 11 warning the residents of all neighborhoods to strictly abide by the Central Committees order on how the markets should be used, the source said. At these meetings, it was announced that manufactured goods that had previously been traded in the markets will now be stocked at wholesale prices in the government stores and can only be purchased there. As in Pyongyang, the Chongjin residents were also warned if they were found engaged in illegal trade, they would be harshly punished and their goods would be taken away, he said. Because of this order, the public widely believes that the countrys economic situation has reached a crisis, as the state is now forcibly taking a share of the profits of individual merchants who are working for a living, he said. Some are even saying that the state is now choking off the last breath of the ordinary people who are struggling day by day just to earn a little money, he said. Reported by Jeong Yon Park for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Richard Finney. Two reporters working for independent media outlets in Myanmar were jailed for two years on Wednesday for reporting on the demonstrations against the February takeover by the military junta, a family member of one of them and other sources said. Aung Kyaw, a 32-year-old Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) reporter, was charged by the military regime with violating Section 505(a) of the Penal Code and sentenced by a court in Myeik Prison in the southern Tanintharyi region, his wife Nay Chi Moe told RFA. The section pertains to the circulation of statements, rumors, or reports with the intent to cause military officers to disregard or fail in their duties, and carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison. I dont know why he was sentenced to two years in prison under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, Nay Chi Moe said. Our family was not allowed to hear the case held at the prison court. Junta forces arrested Aung Kyaw when they stormed his home on March 1. He streamed his arrest live on Facebook, and the arrest video has been watched millions of times since then, according to a statement issued Wednesday by DVB. The day before his arrest, the journalist broadcast live news that soldiers raided and destroyed some houses in Myeik township. Because Aung Kyaws attorney was under threat by the junta, he decided not to hire another lawyer and instead defended himself in court during his last two hearings, DVBs statement said. Aung Kyaw argued that non-criminal charges should have been brought against him under Myanmars Media Law, rather than the Penal Code, and that he subsequently would have been found not guilty because he was doing his work as a journalist. The judge refused to accept the argument, however. I have no confidence in the judiciary under the military council, so I will not appeal, Aung Kyaw said after the verdict, according to his wife. Nay Chi Moe said she would not submit an appeal. The 505(a) charge should not have been used against a journalist, she said. He did not want to file an appeal because he does not believe in the law. He said his case was meant to create a news blackout. It is totally unfair that he was given a two-year sentence under 505(a). Aye Chan Naing, DVB's executive director and chief editor, called the sentence total injustice. There is no reason our reporter Aung Kyaw should be jailed, he said. The legal system is so flawed, and it was an unlawful arrest. Zaw Zaw, a freelance journalist for the Myanmar media outlet Mizzima, in an undated photo. Photo courtesy of Nay Chi Moe Situation is deteriorating Aung Kyaws jailing followed that of Min Nyo, a DVB reporter based in Pyay, Bago region, who was sentenced to three years in prison on May 12. The military junta is illegally detaining Aung Kyaw and Min Nyo, and there is not a single reason to keep them in prison, DVB said in its statement. The junta has currently 57 journalists detained for doing their work. This is a clear violation of both national and international laws by the Burmese junta. In another sentencing Wednesday in Myeik, Zaw Zaw, a freelance journalist who works for the outlet Mizzima, was sentenced to two years in prison for violating Section 505(a) of the Criminal Code. RFA could not reach his lawyer or family for comment. Myint Kyaw, a former Myanmar Press Council member, says the current situation of the press in Myanmar is at its worst under the military regime. The situation of the press is deteriorating, he said. It is likely to become even worse. No one can say for sure whether it will lead to a censorship regime as existed under the previous junta, but we can say its heading in that direction. There had been no such situation like this for a decade with putting more than 50 journalists in jail in Myanmar, he said. Press freedom is in a free fall at the worst rate. More than 80 journalists have been arrested since the Feb. 1 coup, and over 50 of them face criminal charges wile detained in prisons across the country. Myanmars junta started with zero respect for independent journalism and has gone downhill from there as the military tries to stop any reporting on the atrocities it's committing every day against the people, said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch. The militarys move to go after journalists from respected Burmese media outlets like DVB and Mizzima is all about strangling any independent narratives about whats happening in Myanmar, and trying to drag the people of the country back to the dictatorially imposed isolation that characterized the rule of previous military regimes in the country, he said in a statement from Bangkok. Correspondents say many journalists now are fleeing the country because of the juntas crackdown on the media, with some going abroad to continue their reporting and others out of jobs and struggling to make ends meet. Following the coup, the junta banned 11 independent news outlets, including DVB and Mizzima, from operating. Reported by Soe San Aung for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. But they say that economic activities should be created for the refugees living on Bhashan Char, an isolated site in the Bay of Bengal. Senior UNHCR officials Gillian Triggs (center) and Raouf Mazou (left) respond to reporters' questions in Dhaka as Bangladesh foreign minister A.K. Abdul Momen looks on, June 2, 2021. United Nations officials on Wednesday for the first time endorsed Bangladeshs decision to relocate Rohingya to a remote island, but said economic activities should be created for residents of the isolated site in the Bay of Bengal. The comments came after hundreds of Rohingya protested during a visit by two senior officials of the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR to the island, Bhashan Char, on Monday. If anyone compares the living conditions in Coxs Bazar and Bhashan Char, (I would say) Bhashan Char is much better, said Raouf Mazou, UNHCRs assistant high commissioner for operations, referring to a district of southeastern Bangladesh where about 1 million Rohingya from neighboring Myanmar are sheltering in squalid and densely populated camps and settlements. Mazou and his colleague Gillian Triggs, the assistant high commissioner for protection, visited Bhashan Char before traveling to refugee camps in Coxs Bazar on Tuesday as part of a four-day Bangladesh trip, which they wrapped up on Wednesday. The pair said the international community needed to ensure that those refugees already living on Bhashan Char and more who move there from the mainland camps could live in dignity. The government has made a very important investment in Bhashan Char. The housing that has been developed by the government is much better, Mazou told a press conference in Dhaka, while noting that those on the island could feel isolated. The refugee population in and around Coxs Bazar includes more than 740,000 who fled after violent attacks against Rohingya by Burmese military and security forces in Myanmars Rakhine state in August 2017. About 19,000 Rohingya have relocated since December 2020 to Bhashan Char, a low-lying island where the government constructed a housing complex to accommodate as many as 100,000 refugees. The government says that they moved there voluntarily as part of Bangladeshs efforts to ease congestion in the mainland camps. Mazou said there must be economic activities for the refugees. He also said the U.N. would continue to have a presence in the Coxs Bazar camps and work with the government to ensure assistance to refugees, emphasizing economic activities apart from education and health care. Livelihood and skills training opportunities will provide refugees with a sense of purpose and autonomy while they are in Bangladesh, while preparing them for reintegration when conditions allow them to return home, Mazou said. Triggs said Rohingya who relocate to the island must do so voluntarily. Bhashan Char has some potential, though the human and protection elements of refugees living there must be fully considered, Triggs said. They should have freedom of movement on the island and must be granted the possibility to return to Coxs Bazar and to maintain family connections with those in the camps. Before talking to reporters in Dhaka, the U.N. officials met with Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen. He noted that Bangladesh had tried to repatriate the Rohingya to Myanmar. Its almost four years. No one is repatriated, Momen said. The Bangladesh official urged the U.N. officials to focus on taking Rohingya leaders to Rakhine state to allow them to see the situation there. Nearly 850 people have been killed and nearly 4,500 have been arrested in Myanmar since Feb. 1 when the Burmese military overthrew the democratic government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner Raouf Mazou (right), joined by other officials from the U.N. refugee agency, listens to Bangladesh Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Shah Rezwan Hayet during a visit to a Rohingya camp in Coxs Bazar, June 1, 2021. [Sunil Barua/BenarNews] Islanders Dissatisfaction When Mazou, Triggs and other officials arrived at Bhashan Char on Monday, between 500 and 600 staged a protest that turned violent, according to police. Some of the protesters wielded brickbats and vandalized buildings and property there, authorities said. Some injuries were reported in clashes between police and protesters. UNHCR issued a statement about the incident on Monday, expressing concern about reports of violence and injuries. The safety and wellbeing of refugees is our main priority and we continue to urgently seek additional information on the condition of those affected and urge that they receive adequate medical assistance, Louise Donovan, spokeswoman for UNHCRs Dhaka office, told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service, at the time. According to Rohingya living on the island, the protest occurred because members of the refugee community wanted to vent their frustration over the lack of jobs, money, or adequate medical care while living in confinement on the remote island and being cut off from Bangladeshi society. We only got the opportunity to fish, Nurul Islam, a Rohingya leader on Bhashan Char, told BenarNews on Wednesday, adding the refugees were led to believe that they could farm cattle and have other agricultural opportunities. As for fishing, that too has been taken away because some Rohingya had attempted to escape from the island. Nurul Islam said the Rohingya were promised payments for moving to Bhashan Char, but had received only 5,000 taka (U.S. $59) each. M. Mahe Alam, the officer-in-charge of the police station on Bhashan Char, told BenarNews that he heard that about 100 Rohingya had fled the island, but he could not be sure if that number was correct. A very good environment Meanwhile, Delwar Hossain, an international relations professor at Dhaka University, described the visit to the island by the senior U.N. officials as a plus for Bangladesh. Bhashan Char is a very good environment. The government kept telling the world this, he told BenarNews. Now by visiting in person, the U.N. officials understand the situation. Throughout their trip to Bangladesh, Mazou and Triggs reiterated UNHCRs appreciation to the government and the people of Bangladesh for the countrys humanitarian spirit toward the Rohingya. They also spoke of the urgent need for comprehensive solutions including the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar. While Bangladesh has shown humanity and solidarity, in line with the guiding principles of the Global Compact on Refugees, the international community must step up and give practical effect to the obligation to share responsibility, and to protect refugees and support the host Bangladeshi government, Triggs said in a statement posted on UNHCRs website. Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. City of Espanola Water Foreman Bryce Abeyta and Asset Manager Josephine Velasquez explain to city councilors the disposal of 3,200 old water meters. The meters had been stripped down to basic metal and were to be recycled at Santa Fe Scrap Metal for $2.25 per pound. Penpa Tsering is prioritizing the resumption of Sino-Tibetan dialogue in pursuing the Middle Way policy. Penpa Tsering, the newly elected President of the Central Tibetan Administration, relaxes at the Ghadong monastery in Dharmsala, India, May 27, 2021. Penpa Tsering, Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), said Wednesday that he is willing to forgo traditional channels of communication to revive talks with Beijing over Tibetan autonomy under Chinese rule, days after being sworn in as the head of Tibets India-based government-in-exile. Tsering, former speaker of Tibets exile parliament in Dharamsala, won a closely fought April 11 election to become the Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) held in Tibetan communities worldwide over Kelsang Dorjee Aukatsang, with the turnout the highest in the history of Tibetan elections held in exile. Last week, at his inauguration, Tsering vowed to adhere to the Middle Way policy of the CTA and the Dalai Lama, which accepts Tibets status as a part of China but urges greater cultural and religious freedom, including strengthened language rights, for Tibetans living under Beijings rule. However, on Wednesday, the Sikyong told RFAs Tibetan Service that he would not rule out exploring new avenues for dialogue with Beijing in pursuit of a resolution. One of the key priorities is the reviving of the Sino-Tibetan dialogue, he said, acknowledging that it is too early in his administration to provide any details, but promising further discussion on this matter in coming days. We will make all efforts for further progress, whether through existing back channels of communication or new ones, if needed. Tsering said he had met with the Dalai Lama on Wednesday morning to address some of the pressing issues concerning our community and discuss recommencing the Sino-Tibet dialogue. He said he also presented the 85-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader with the names of the CTAs new cabinet members, which he is currently unable to reveal, and plans on how the government-in-exile will engage with the international communityparticularly the Indian government. Tsering noted that the Dalai Lama stressed the importance of preserving Tibets religious tradition and culture, and also expressed his wish to return to the region. Divisions persist in the Tibetan exile communityabout 150,000 people living in 40 countries, mainly Indian, Nepal, North America, and in Europeover how best to advance the rights of the 6.3 million Tibetans living in China, with some calling for a restoration of the independence lost when Chinese troops marched into Tibet in 1950. Tibets invasion and incorporation into China by force prompted the Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers to flee into exile in India and other countries around the world. Chinese authorities maintain a tight grip on the region, restricting Tibetans political activities and peaceful expression of cultural and religious identity, and subjecting Tibetans to persecution, torture, imprisonment, and extrajudicial killings. Constitutional crisis The fifth elected CTA leader, Tsering replaced Lobsang Sangay, a Harvard-trained scholar of law, who had served two consecutive five-year terms as Sikyong, an office filled by candidates elected since 2011 by popular vote. The inauguration of Tsering came after the resolution of a two-month constitutional crisis in Dharamsala, after the removal on March 25 of Chief Justice Sonam Norbu Dagpo and commissioners Karma Damdul and Tenzin Lungtok of the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission by the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, who accused the trio of interfering in the internal proceedings of the legislature. The ouster of the justices was triggered after the justices penalized the parliaments speaker, deputy speaker, and 11-member standing committee by revoking their voting rights for six months after they cancelled the September session of the parliament. The justices resumed office last week, after 21 members of parliament sent them a letter, admitting the sacking of the justices on March 25 had violated provisions of the Tibetan charter. Speaker Pema Jungney of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, who led the sacking of the justices in March, resigned both as speaker and Member of Parliament on April 8, denying any wrongdoing. Speaking to RFA on Wednesday, Tsering called himself someone who has always held the constitution above oneself and deferred questions about the recent shakeup to lawmakers. The parliamentarians who voted out the Chief Justice and commissioners of the Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission earlier this March should answer whether this was a constitutional crisis or not, he said. The newly elected parliament was slated to be sworn in over the weekend, but a COVID-19- related curfew in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, where Dharamsala is located, has been extended to May 31, amid international travel restrictions, creating uncertainty about the schedule. Reported by Kalden Lodoe for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. The special warrant and widespread media coverage are typically used only in the case of dangerous criminals, one source says. Vietnamese journalist Le Van Dung is shown next to the warrant calling for his arrest. Vietnamese authorities have issued a special warrant calling for the arrest of an independent journalist who evaded police following an attempt last week to detain him at his home in Hanoi, placing notices in major media outlets around the country on Tuesday, sources say. Le Van Dung, also known as Le Dung Vovaowner of the online CHTV news channelwas away from home when police tried on May 25 to place him under arrest on charges under Article 117 of Vietnams Penal Code for reporting on corruption and other issues deemed politically sensitive by authorities. Unable to arrest Dung, police left instead with a laptop computer and two mobile phones belonging to Dungs wife Bui Thi Hue, Hue told RFAs Vietnamese Service on May 25. Article 117 of Vietnams Penal Code imposes penalties for creating, storing, and disseminating information, documents, items and publications opposing the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and is frequently used by authorities to stifle peaceful critics of the countrys one-party communist state. Dungs CHTV channel had used Facebooks live-broadcast feature to transmit information on social issues such as land disputes and corruption, and to give ordinary citizens a chance to discuss matters of concern, drawing the attention of law enforcement and security agencies. Speaking to RFA on Wednesday, human rights lawyer Le Quoc Quan called the special wanted order issued against Dung a normal procedure followed when any person wanted by the police cant be found. However, I believe that Le Dung Vova is a person who loves his country, justice, and the truth, Quan said. His livestreamed programs on Facebook and YouTube focused mainly on social realities and the kinds of current issues that attract peoples attention. He also helped people who are suffering from injustice to have their voices heard, at their own request. I personally wish [Dung] safety, freedom, and even more opportunities to serve the people who pay attention to the countrys problems, Quan said. 'Dung's case is different' Vietnamese journalist Vo Van Tao said however that the authorities use of a special arrest warrant against a fugitive journalist has come as a surprise in this case. It surprised me that the police issued a special wanted order against Le Dung Vova, and I was also surprised by the massive media coverage accompanying it, Vo Van Tao said. Although many intellectuals who raise their voices about Vietnams policies have been arrested, I find that Dungs case is quite different, as his case involves a special wanted order and wide coverage in the media, he said. Tao said that the publicity now surrounding Dungs case may signal a new government campaign to further stifle dissident voices in the one-party communist country. Police are searching for Dung as if they were hunting a terrorist or mass murder, and Dung may face serious charges when he is finally found, Tao said. Nguyen Van Haupresident of the Vietnam Lawyers Arbitration Centeragreed, telling RFA, The word special is added to a wanted order only if the criminal is dangerous or a threat to the security of the nation and the community." The order may also advertise a bounty for anyone catching the criminal, if such a bounty is available, he said. Harsh forms of persecution With Vietnams media all following Communist Party orders, the only sources of independently-reported information are bloggers and independent journalists, who are being subjected to ever-harsher forms of persecution, the press freedoms watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says in its 2021 Press Freedoms Index. Measures taken against them now include 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 year. To justify jailing them, the Party resorts to the criminal codes, especially three articles under which activities aimed at overthrowing the government, anti-state propaganda and abusing the rights to freedom and democracy to threaten the interests of the state are punishable by long prison terms, the rights group said. Vietnams already low tolerance of dissent deteriorated sharply last year with a spate of arrests of independent journalists, publishers, and Facebook personalities as authorities continued to stifle critics in the run-up to the ruling Communist Party Congress in January. But arrests continue in 2021. Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Anna Vu. Written in English by Richard Finney. The United States has slapped economic sanctions on three Bulgarian individuals, including a power broker and a gambling tycoon, as well as dozens of companies they allegedly own or control for their "extensive roles" in corruption in Bulgaria. The Department of the Treasury on June 2 announced sanctions against former member of parliament Delyan Peevski, prominent businessman Vassil Bozhkov, and ex-national-security official Ilko Zhelyazkov under the Global Magnitsky Act. It also placed sanctions on 64 entities said to be linked to them. Bulgaria, a NATO and European Union member, has suffered from rampant corruption since overthrowing communism more than three decades ago. It is the EU's poorest member and routinely comes in at the bottom of the bloc for corruption perception and media freedom. "The United States stands with all Bulgarians who strive to root out corruption by promoting accountability for corrupt officials who undermine the economic functions and democratic institutions of Bulgaria," Andrea Gacki, director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, said in a statement. "This designation under the Global Magnitsky sanctions program shows that we are committed to combating corruption wherever it may be." The Global Magnitsky Act bans entry to the United States of any sanctioned person. It also blocks any U.S.-based property, including overseas U.S. dollar accounts, held by those sanctioned and prevents U.S. entities from doing business with them. Separately, the State Department announced a travel ban on former Bulgarian officials Aleksandar Manolev, Petar Haralampiev, and Krasimir Tomov for their involvement in corruption. The three served respectively as deputy economy minister, director of the state agency for Bulgarians abroad, and chief secretary of the state agency for Bulgarians abroad. Their immediate family members are also banned from entering the United States. The sanctions come a little more than a month before snap parliamentary elections scheduled for July 11 and could potentially hurt the image of the former ruling GERB party. Opposition leaders have already seized on the news to criticize GERB and former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, and a demonstration in Sofia on June 2 called for the resignation of the top state prosecutor. 'Puppet Master' Peevski, who controlled large swaths of the Bulgarian media landscape, including newspapers and television stations, is considered one of the most powerful people in the country. He served in parliament as a member of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) party, which is mostly made up of ethnic Turks. Bulgarian opposition officials accused Peevski of controlling GERB, including ministers and members of the judiciary in Borisov's government, from behind the scenes. Marshall Harris, a former U.S. State Department official who is now a lobbyist in Washington representing two Sofia-based businessmen, called Peevski the "oligarch in chief" and the "ultimate puppet master" in Bulgaria in material he distributed to members of Congress last year. His clients accused Peevski of seeking to seize their assets with the help of the Prosecutor-General's Office. The Treasury Department said in its statement that Peevski "has regularly engaged in corruption, using influence peddling and bribes to protect himself from public scrutiny and exert control over key institutions and sectors in Bulgarian society." It said Peevski sought to influence municipal elections in 2019 by providing politicians with positive media coverage in exchange for protection from criminal investigations. According to Reporters Without Borders, Peevski owned some 80 percent of the print media in Bulgaria at the time, as well as private television networks and websites. The Treasury Department said Zhelyazkov served as Peevski's "front man," carrying out the various bribe schemes. Peevski did not immediately comment on the sanctions. Hristo Ivanov, the co-founder of Democratic Bulgaria, a West-leaning party in opposition to GERB and DPS, said Borisov's government failed to investigate corruption. "Neither Bozhkov nor Peevski emerged on their own. Peevski was raised by the DPS and fed by GERB and Borisov," Ivanov said in a statement on the partys website. 'Cut Down To Size' Peevski in December hired BGR Group, a large Washington lobbying firm, to help him with "issues in the U.S.," according to lobbying registration documents. In a possible sign he expected the United States to place sanctions on him, Peevski soon sold off his media assets, dropped off DPS's list for the April parliamentary elections, and disappeared from the Bulgarian political scene. He is reportedly living in Dubai. "Bit by bit, he is being cut down to size," Harris told RFE/RL in an interview after the U.S. announced the sanctions. Harris said the sanctions could give the opposition the "international cover" to look deeply into the accusations of corruption by Peevski. "People are going to be empowered by this and less afraid" to investigate, he said. Iranian state media said a huge fire at a state-own oil refinery near Tehran has been extinguished after more than 20 hours. Irans official IRNA news agency on June 3 quoted a spokesman for the owner of the facility, the Tehran Oil Refining Company, as saying the fire was brought under control. Mojtaba Khaledi, spokesman for the national rescue service, said 11 people, including nine firefighters tackling the blaze, were injured. Authorities said the fire at the Tondgooyan refinery was triggered by a gas leak. The facility is located in a large industrial zone on the outskirts of the Iranian capital, near residential areas. IRNA said the facility has been in operation since 1968 and has a capacity of refining some 250,000 barrels of oil per day. Industrial accidents are common in Iran. Nine people were injured in an explosion at a plant producing explosive materials in central Iran on May 23, local media reported. Based on reporting by IRNA, AFP, and AP Negotiations to revive the Iran nuclear deal are heading into their most delicate phase, European diplomats said after the latest round of talks ended in Vienna. "We have continued to make progress and important parts of a future deal have now been fleshed out, but the most difficult decisions lie ahead. We have of course worked based on the principle of nothing is agreed to [until] all is agreed," the group of diplomats from Britain, France, and Germany, known as the E3, said in a statement. "Together we understand that time is on nobody's side. Decision time is coming up. We will reconvene next week," they added. Negotiators from the E3 and the other major powers that struck the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran have been meeting in working groups in the Austrian capital since early April, with the EU team overseeing indirect talks between Iran and the United States. The agreement has been on hold since 2018 when then-U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the pact and reimposed crippling sanctions on Irans economy. In response, Tehran steadily has overstepped the agreements limits on its nuclear program designed to make it harder for the Islamic republic to develop an atomic bomb -- an ambition Tehran denies. The most difficult questions remaining include which of its sanctions Washington would be willing to lift and how to permanently prevent Iranian nuclear facilities from being used for military purposes. EU envoy Enrique Mora, chief coordinator of the talks, said on June 2 he believes a deal will be struck at the next round of talks. "I am sure that the next round will be the one in which we will finally get a deal," Mora told reporters as the fifth round wrapped up. The negotiators are under pressure to reach a renewal of the pact before Iran's June 18 presidential election, which is likely to usher in a hard-line president. Iran's top nuclear negotiator said barriers to the revival of the deal were complicated but not insurmountable. "Differences have reached a point where everyone believes these differences are not insolvable," Abbas Araqchi told Iranian state TV. "But the details are important and Iran's firm positions are important to be observed." In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter told reporters the chief U.S. negotiator, Rob Malley, would be returning to Washington soon and suggested the talks were making slow headway. "Some progress has been made," she told reporters but added, "This isn't going to be a quick or easy process." With reporting by Reuters, AP, and dpa Dilshodbek, a migrant laborer from the eastern Uzbek city of Qoqand, has worked in Russia for more than a decade. But this year he is going to neighboring Kazakhstan instead. "The pay is much lower in Kazakhstan, but I calculated that there won't be much difference in the end," the 42-year-old Dilshodbek says. "My cousin, who went to Russia in May, spent about $600 for a plane ticket and another $300 for a work permit. You can get to Kazakhstan spending a fraction of that money." Unprecedentedly high prices for plane tickets amid the coronavirus pandemic and costly work permits in Russia have forced many Central Asian migrants, like Dilshodbek, to look for jobs in Kazakhstan, the region's wealthiest country. Kazakhstan seems to be equally eager to accept the migrant workers, most of whom are willing to do physical work that many locals don't want to do. Some Kazakh regions have even paid the cost of the migrants' journey from neighboring countries in order to get workers. In May, authorities in the western region of Atyrau flew 600 people from Uzbekistan to work in the farming sector. A month earlier, Atyrau officials organized a special charter flight that brought 70 Uzbek migrants to work as street cleaners. Atyrau -- like many other Kazakh regions -- faced a severe labor shortage in 2020 as the pandemic closed borders and prevented migrants from entering the country. Aqturlan Ermanov, the head of an agricultural enterprise in Atyrau, was among the Kazakh employers who offered to foot the bill for workers to come from Uzbekistan. It cost about $500 per person for tickets and coronavirus tests. Ermanov's 1,500 hectares of cultivated farmland desperately needs workers. But in resource-rich Kazakhstan, people are increasingly unwilling to do low-skilled manual work, leaving migrants to fill vacancies on farms, construction sites, and in bazaars. "Migrants are a lot more reliable than our local workers," Ermanov told Kazakh state media. "Locals often abruptly quit their jobs. For example, they work today and simply don't show up tomorrow." Street sweepers in Atyrau make about $330 a month and also get additional benefits for being municipal workers. Farm workers make about $235 a month, local media report. It's a decent salary for migrant workers from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, where people receive lower salaries for similar work. Unemployment in those countries has been a major problem since the 1990s. Trend Toward Kazakhstan Russia has been a top destination for millions of Central Asian migrant workers since the collapse of the Soviet Union three decades ago. A much smaller portion of the region's laborers went to Kazakhstan in the first years after the U.S.S.R.'s demise. But that number has been steadily growing since 2014, when Russia faced an economic downturn and the sudden collapse of its currency. The declining value of the ruble meant migrants would take home considerably less money after exchanging it for their local currency. According to official statistics, the number of Uzbek migrant workers in Kazakhstan has increased at least tenfold in the last five years. Before the pandemic, there were an estimated 1 million Central Asian migrants working in Kazakhstan. The exact number there now is unknown because a significant portion of them work illegally for private employers, avoiding taxes and exploiting their visa-free stays. The largest group among Central Asian workers in Kazakhstan is from Uzbekistan. Before the pandemic, some sources estimated there to be nearly 360,000. Despite the pandemic-related border closures, there were still some 209,300 Uzbeks in Kazakhstan in January, according to the Uzbek Economy and Poverty Reduction Ministry. The second-largest group is Kyrgyz migrants. In January, Kyrgyzstan's State Migration Service said about 35,000 Kyrgyz worked in Kazakhstan, a fellow member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). As citizens of an EEU member state, Kyrgyz citizens can legally live and work in Kazakhstan. According to official statistics from Tajikistan, nearly 14,000 Tajik nationals worked in Kazakhstan before the pandemic. There is no data available about the number of Turkmen working in Kazakhstan, as the secretive government in Ashgabat doesn't release such information. Central Asian migrants say Kazakhstan's proximity to their home countries, similarities in their language and culture, and relatively simple requirements to obtain a work permit have made it an attractive place for them to seek work. Russian work-permit requirements also include a test in Russian language and history that migrants don't face in Kazakhstan. No Fear Unlike the situation in Russia, hate crimes and xenophobic attacks on migrants are rare in Kazakhstan. "I made about $700 a month working at a private dacha in Russia until 2019," Dilshodbek says. "In Kazakhstan I might get about half of that. But at least I don't have to look over my shoulder all the time, constantly afraid of being attacked or insulted." Media and human rights groups have documented multiple cases of attacks -- including deadly ones -- on migrants in Russia. Russian officials acknowledge the public attitude toward migrant workers has hardened in recent years. "In a survey in 2020, one-quarter of respondents expressed a negative attitude toward migrants," Magomedsalam Magomedov, a deputy chief of staff for the Russian presidential administration, told local media. "The survey indicated that such an attitude is only getting worse: the number of people who disapprove of migrants has grown by 7.5 percent since last year. It has a significant impact on the state of interethnic relationships in the country." Realistic Expectations But it's not all smooth sailing in Kazakhstan, either. Migrants who have worked there for several years say the newcomers must have realistic expectations and an open mind. "It's not difficult to find work and earn money in Kazakhstan," says 38-year-old Jasur, who hails from Uzbekistan and runs a small bakery in the southern Kazakh city of Shymkent. Before finding success in Kazakhstan, Jasur was devastated when he didn't get paid for "a whole year of work." Jasur says he first came to Kazakhstan with his father and five other men from his native Namangan Province five years ago. The men verbally agreed with a Kazakh employer to build a house. The employer paid them $4,000 in advance and promised to pay the remaining $10,000 once the work was done. No contracts were signed between the parties and the Uzbek migrants didn't get a work permit in Kazakhstan after entering the country on a tourist visa. Jasur recalls that it took a year for them to complete the construction, but the employer died in a traffic accident before paying them. The employer's relatives refused to pay the money owed to the workers. With no official documents, Jasur and the others were unable to seek help from the authorities to get their money. "You would think they are your own fellow Muslims, fellow Central Asians, and wouldn't let you down, but that's not always true," Jasur told RFE/RL's Kazakh Service. Learning his lesson, Jasur has since worked and lived legally in Kazakhstan. His small bakery is popular with the locals in Shymkent. "I earn enough to cover my own living costs, to send money to my family [in Uzbekistan] once a week, and set aside some for the future," he says. Jasur says he gets frequent phone calls from many people from his village in Namangan who want to come to Kazakhstan to work. The villagers complain that there are no jobs in Namangan and seek advice about the situation in Kazakhstan. There was also no language barrier in Shymkent for Jasur, as he easily learned Kazakh, which belongs to the same group of Turkic languages as his native Uzbek. Cultural and culinary similarities as well as common social values and traditions have made it easier for Jasur and other migrants from neighboring countries to adapt to life in Kazakhstan. But life and work in Kazakhstan is only a temporary arrangement for Jasur. He sees his future at home in Namangan and says he has been saving money to build a house in his home village. But for the time being that remains a distant dream. RFE/RL's Kazakh Service contributed to this report BISHKEK -- Dozens of people have rallied in front of the Kyrgyz parliament building in Bishkek, demanding the government find the leader of the Sapat education network after the Turkish native went missing in the Central Asian country. The protesters, many of whom believe that Orhan Inan was abducted by the Turkish secret services, demonstrated on June 3 following recent similar rallies in front of the Turkish Embassy in Bishkek and the government building. The demonstrators held placards saying: "Orhan is a Kyrgyz citizen. Find him!" Inan, who has lived in Kyrgyzstan since 1995 and holds Kyrgyz citizenship, disappeared late on May 31. His car with was found in downtown Bishkek early in the morning on June 1 with the doors wide open and valuable items still inside seemingly untouched. Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has ordered the Interior Ministry to find Inan and the Bishkek police have created a special investigative group to locate Inan. The director of Sapat, Nurlan Kudaiberdiev, said on June 1 that Inan might have been kidnapped by Turkish agents, though he did not present any evidence to back up his claim. In 2019, Ankara officially requested Bishkek extradite two men working for the Sapat network in Kyrgyzstan -- Sinan Yilmaz and Sancar Abdulhakim -- saying they were wanted in Turkey on unspecified charges. The Kyrgyz Prosecutor-General's Office ruled in favor of extraditing the two men at the time, but the decision was later cancelled by a Bishkek court following rallies protesting the move. Over the past five years, Turkey has requested Kyrgyzstan shut down Sapat, saying that it was linked to U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for a failed coup in 2016, which Gulen denies. Tajikistan and Pakistan have signed several accords to boost ties between the two nations, including defense and armaments. "It is very important that our defense cooperation develops," Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said after the June 2 meeting. He did not comment further, nor did Tajik President Emomali Rahmon. An official accompanying the Tajik delegation to Islamabad told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that "they may have talked about cooperation in a closed-door meeting, but the document has not been signed." According to Dawn, an English-language daily, the Pakistani prime minister said the two leaders had "discussed Tajikistan's need for Pakistani-made weapons and signed a memorandum of understanding." At the same time, Pakistani journalist Sajjad Hussain wrote on Yahoo's website that Pakistan and Tajikistan had signed a defense cooperation agreement under which Pakistani-made weapons would be sold to the Central Asian country. With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal and RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has defended her country's controversial labeling of some foreign-funded media as "foreign agents" by saying Moscow was "forced" to adopt the measure in response to actions taken by the United States. The labeling of "foreign agents" has been interpreted by many civil society activists as another tool for the Kremlin to use to intimidate Russia's political opposition, especially with parliamentary elections looming in September and the ruling United Russia party slumping in opinion polls. "We were forced to do it to defend our journalists and our information space," Zakharova said at a breakfast roundtable on the "foreign agent" law in St. Petersburg on June 3. "I would again like to remind you of the excellent expression that comes to us from our historical and religious heritage about 'an eye for an eye.' I think otherwise there would have been a lot of others who wanted to strike us and there would have been a lot more attacks." Zakharova was the featured speaker at the roundtable, titled Business Breakfast For Foreign Media Agents With Maria Zakharova, which was held within the framework of the 2021 St. Petersburg Economic Forum. Other panelists included Anna Belkina, deputy editor in chief of Russian state-owned RT television; Aleksandr Malkevich, general director of Russian state-controlled St. Petersburg Television; and Aleksei Venediktov, editor in chief of Ekho Moskvy radio, which is owned by the Russian state-controlled natural-gas giant Gazprom. Andrei Shary, director of RFE/RL's Russian Service, which has been labeled a "foreign agent" media outlet under the law, also spoke briefly via video link from Prague. Shary said RFE/RL rejected the "foreign agent" designation and charged that "freedom of speech is quickly being restricted in Russia," in part because of the law. The same day as the forum, the business daily VTimes, which was designated a "foreign agent" last month, announced it will cease operations on June 12 because of "the risk of criminal prosecution of the publication's employees with the possibility of their incarceration." The designation, the newspaper said in a statement on June 3, had also destroyed its business model and driven away advertisers and other partners. When asked about the VTimes announcement, Zakharova said she was not informed about the matter, but added it sounded to her like "a purely financial matter." Russia's so-called "foreign agent" legislation was adopted in 2012 and has been modified repeatedly. It requires nongovernmental organizations that receive foreign assistance and that the government deems to be engaged in political activity to be registered, to identify themselves as "foreign agents," and to submit to audits. Later modifications targeted foreign-funded media. In 2017, the Russian government placed RFE/RL's Russian Service on the list, along with six other RFE/RL Russian-language news services, and Current Time, a network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA. The Russian Service of VOA was also added to the list. At the end of 2020, the legislation was modified to allow the Russian government to include individuals, including foreign journalists, on its "foreign agents" list and to impose restrictions on them. Several RFE/RL contributors were placed on the list in December 2020. The Russian state media monitor Roskomnadzor last year adopted rules requiring listed media to mark all written materials with a lengthy notice in large text, all radio materials with an audio statement, and all video materials with a 15-second text declaration. RFE/RL rejects the "foreign agent" designation and has refused to comply with the rules, so the agency has prepared hundreds of complaints against RFE/RL's projects. When they go through the court system, the total fines levied could be more than $3 million. RFE/RL has called the fines "a state-sponsored campaign of coercion and intimidation," while the U.S. State Department has described them as "intolerable." Human Rights Watch has described the foreign agent legislation as "restrictive" and intended "to demonize independent groups." RFE/RL has filed a complaint about the matter with the European Court of Human Rights. Zakharova repeated the Russian government's assertion that the creation of the register of "foreign agent" media in Russia was a response to a 2017 decision by the United States to compel RT to register under a 1938 law called the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said at the time that FARA registration "is simply triggered when an entity or an individual engages in political activity." "When the United States tells someone to register under a foreign-agent requirement, we don't impact or affect the ability of them to report news and information," Nauert said. "We just have them register. It's as simple as that." Courtney Austrian, the U.S. charge d'affaires to the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), told the council in March that "there is no equivalence between U.S. FARA legislation and Russia's 'foreign agent' law." "Russia uses its 'foreign agent' law to restrict, intimidate, prosecute, and shut down civil society organizations and independent media," Austrian said. While RT distributes its programs freely in the United States on cable television, RFE/RL and VOA have no access to cable television in Russia. RFE/RL once had distribution agreements with nearly 100 radio channels inside Russia, but had lost them all by 2012 following a campaign of pressure by the authorities. The U.S. decision to compel RT to register under FARA came after a January 2017 U.S. intelligence finding that RT and Russia's Sputnik news agency spread disinformation as part of a Kremlin effort to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election in favor of Republican candidate and eventual winner Donald Trump. Moscow has denied any such effort. Roskomnadzor announced another set of complaints against RFE/RL's projects in Russia on June 2. "After freezing our bank accounts, the Kremlin is now attempting to fine our Moscow bureau out of existence," RFE/RL President Jamie Fly said in response. "This concerted pressure on RFE/RL and other independent media in Russia is only hurting the Russian people by depriving them of information choice. We will redouble our efforts to provide objective news and information to our audiences across Russia despite these outrageous attacks on our operations." RFE/RL is an editorially independent media company funded by a grant from the U.S. Congress through the U.S. Agency for Global Media. Each week, nearly 7 million people access RFE/RL's news portals in Russia. IRKUTSK, Russia -- Activists say Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) in the Siberian region of Irkutsk has used a legal maneuver to keep lawyers from human rights groups from defending cases of alleged torture in the region's jails and penal colonies. Rights activist Svyatoslav Khromenkov told RFE/RL on June 3 that three lawyers for the Siberia Without Torture group had received official letters from the FSIN saying they had been given the status of witnesses in high-profile torture cases, which under Russia law makes it impossible for them to defend the inmates. The group's lawyer, Dmitry Dmitriyev, called the move "a way to deprive inmates of legal assistance." "In this particular case, all crimes against inmates were conducted behind closed doors in penal colonies and jails, and rights defenders could not witness the situations.... The move was made to create a false reason to deprive the victims from free assistance of attorneys," Dmitriyev said. The FSIN directorate in Irkutsk refused to comment on the situation. Three probes were launched in the region in late May into allegations of the torture and rape of three inmates -- Kezhik Ondar, Tahirjon Bakiev, and Yevgeny Yurchenko -- while they were held in detention centers in Irkutsk and the nearby city of Angarsk. Earlier in March, nine other probes were launched against FSIN officers over alleged torture of inmates in several penal colonies in the region. In April last year, more than 200 inmates in a penal colony in Angarsk maimed themselves to protest what they called torture at the hands of their guards. The protest turned into a large prison riot that led to a fire, with one inmate found dead amid the debris. Hundreds of inmates were transferred from the penal colony in Angarsk to other penitentiaries after the riot, where many of them said they were tortured to confess to organizing the riot. Northen New Mexico College President Rick Bailey (left) goes over budget adgustment requests with Board of Regents President Michael Martin. The regents approved a $32.9 million budget to be sent to the New Mexico Higher Education Department for approval. At least seven Jehovah's Witnesses have been handed prison terms in Russia amid a continuing crackdown on the religious group, which was banned in the country in 2017. Representatives of Jehovah's Witnesses informed RFE/RL that a court in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk sentenced Andrei Stupnikov to six years in prison on June 3 after finding him guilty of the organization of activities of an extremist organization. Stupnikov was arrested three years ago. He was initially kept in a detention center and later transferred to house arrest. Stupnikov rejected the charge, insisting that the case against him was launched because of his religious views. According to the religious group, a court in Russia's western city of Kursk on June 3 sentenced four other members -- Andrei Andreyev, Andrei Ryshkov, Armen Bagratyan, and Alevtina Bagratyan -- to prison terms of between two years and 4 1/2 years. One more follower of the faith, Aleksandr Vospitanyuk, received a suspended sentence. All five were found guilty of organizing or taking part in the activities of an extremist group. A day earlier, a court in the Siberian city of Minusinsk fined Dmitry Maslov 450,000 rubles ($6,100) for taking part in the activities of the Jehovahs Witnesses, while a court in the Far Eastern city of Zeya handed a suspended two-year prison term to 78-year-old Vasily Reznichenko on the same charge. Jehovahs Witnesses is a Christian denomination with an estimated 175,000 followers in Russia. The group is known for door-to-door preaching, close Bible study, rejection of military service, and not celebrating national and religious holidays or birthdays. Since the faith was outlawed in Russia, many Jehovah's Witnesses have been imprisoned in Russia and in the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula. According to the group, dozens of Jehovah's Witnesses have either been convicted of extremism or are in pretrial detention. The Moscow-based Memorial human rights center has recognized dozens of Jehovahs Witnesses who've been charged with or convicted of extremism as political prisoners. The European Association of Jehovahs Witnesses estimates that between 5,000 to 10,000 of its members have fled Russia since the ban came into force. Russia's media regulator has notified RFE/RL that it plans to draft another set of 130 protocols for violations of the country's controversial "foreign agent" law requiring the labeling of content. The violations covered under the Roskomnadzor summons on June 2 total 71.5 million rubles, or about $980,000. The charges will be drafted and issued between June 15 and July 6 and sent to court for adjudication. Roskomnadzor has already accused RFE/RL of some 520 violations of labeling rules under the "foreign agents" law. The additional 130 violations will bring the total to 650, and once all are adjudicated by Russian courts, they are expected to result in fines of $3.4 million. RFE/RL has called the fines "a state-sponsored campaign of coercion and intimidation," while the U.S. State Department has described them as "intolerable." RFE/RL President Jamie Fly said in a statement on June 2 that Russia was attempting to fine RFE/RL's Moscow bureau out of existence. "This concerted pressure on RFE/RL and other independent media in Russia is only hurting the Russian people by depriving them of information choice," Fly said. "We will redouble our efforts to provide objective news and information to our audiences across Russia despite these outrageous attacks on our operations." The "foreign agents" law requires that each published or broadcast story include prominent labeling. RFE/RL is in the process of appealing the protocols, but Russian courts have so far rejected hundreds of appeals. The total amount of fines RFE/RL already faces under Russian court orders is more than 80 million rubles -- just over $1 million. The "foreign agents" law is increasingly being used against Russian-language media outlets in the country, including RFE/RL. The European Union has called on Moscow to repeal the law. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has criticized Margarita Simonyan, the editor in chief of several Russian state-controlled media outlets, for making public comments that amounted to open support for an ongoing crackdown on independent media in Belarus. On May 23, Belarus dispatched a fighter jet to intercept a Ryanair commercial flight and forced it to land in Minsk, citing a purported bomb threat. Once the plane was on the ground, journalist and opposition activist Raman Pratasevich and his Russian girlfriend, who were both aboard the flight, were detained. No bomb was found on the aircraft. The incident triggered international outrage, calls for Pratasevich's release, as well as additional sanctions from the United States and threats of sanctions and more serious actions from the European Union. However, Simonyan expressed her admiration for the Belarusian government and congratulated authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka for the move. I never thought that I would envy Belarus in any way. But now I somehow envy. [Lukashenka] performed beautifully, she tweeted. Simonyan, which the Paris-based RSF described as a pillar of Russian propaganda, has led state-owned RT television since 2005, as well as the state-funded media group Rossiya Segodnya, which controls the Sputnik network. Her comments on Belarus amount to welcoming the crackdown on Belarusian journalists, which is shocking coming from someone who often invokes freedom of the press when it comes to defending the interests of the media organizations that she runs, RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloire said in a statement dated June 2. Deloire cited Article 2 of the Munich Charter of ethics stating that journalists should defend freedom of information, comment, and criticism. Simonyan is doing the opposite, which says a lot about her idea of freedom, he added. Belarus has seen unprecedented protests against Lukashenka, who has run the country since 1994, following a disputed August presidential election that the opposition says was rigged and many Western nations have refused to acknowledge. Lukashenka has directed a brutal postelection crackdown in which almost 30,000 people have been detained, many sentenced to lengthy prison terms, hundreds beaten, several killed, and journalists targeted. Belarus fell five places to 158th out of 180 countries in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index compiled by RSF. MOSCOW -- Online business media outlet VTimes has announced its closure after the Russian Justice Ministry added it to the registry of "foreign agents" last month, a move the site says "destroyed" its business. The website's editors said in a statement on June 3 that the information portal will halt its operations as of June 12 because they do not want to work "as a niche opposition political media" outlet that would create threatening situations for its employees. They added that the "foreign agent" designation had scared away its partners, ruined its business, and made it harder to report news. Activists have warned the legislation was targeted at independent media such as VTimes and would seriously impact them because of its "restrictive" nature that "demonizes independent groups." VTimes is an information and analytical site created in 2020 by journalists who left Vedomosti, a top Russian business newspaper, after it was sold last year to a new owner. The journalists accused the editor in chief brought in by the new owner, Ivan Yeryomin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, of introducing pro-Kremlin censorship. "The foreign-agent label has destroyed the VTimes business model, and we created the outlet as a business project. Advertisers and partners do not understand how to cooperate with 'a foreign agent,' and we cannot judge them for that," the statement says, adding that businessmen, analysts, and officials hesitated to deal with any outlet on the "foreign agents" registry. "We have realized by our own experience that Russian authorities do not need a professional and independent media," the statement says, emphasizing that VTimes was created as "a platform for the free exchange of constructive thoughts...to find positive examples and ideas for the development of businesses and society." Russia's controversial "foreign agent" legislation was adopted in 2012 and has been modified repeatedly. It requires nongovernmental organizations that receive foreign assistance and that the government deems to be engaged in political activity to be registered, to identify themselves as "foreign agents," and to submit to audits. Later modifications of the law targeted foreign-funded media, including RFE/RL's Russian Service, six other RFE/RL Russian-language news services, and Current Time, a network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA. At the end of 2020, the legislation was modified again to allow the Russian government to include individuals, including foreign journalists, on the list and to impose restrictions on them. Russia's media regulator, Roskomnadzor has accused RFE/RL of hundreds of violations of the labeling rules under the "foreign agent" law. RFE/RL, which faces a raft of fines that could total as much as $3.4 million, has called the penalties "a state-sponsored campaign of coercion and intimidation," while the U.S. State Department has described them as "intolerable." KYIV -- A group of U.S. senators says President Joe Biden should warn his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, at a summit this month that he will be held accountable for his actions against the United States. The three U.S. senators -- Chris Murphy (Democrat-Connecticut), Rob Portman (Republican-Ohio), and Jeanne Shaheen (Democrat-New Hampshire) -- told RFE/RL in Kyiv that while Washington and Moscow have areas where they agree, such as the New START treaty and denuclearization efforts, Biden should press the point during the meeting with Putin that his subversive actions against the United States will not be overlooked. "We need to let Vladimir Putin know that we want to hold him and Russia accountable for their actions. Putin has been very aggressive towards the U.S., in his efforts to interfere in the U.S. election, the cyberhacking thats been going on, the effort to put bounties on our troops in Afghanistan," Shaheen said in a wide-ranging interview on June 2 that also touched on Ukraine's NATO aspirations and its progress on reforms, and Moscow's stifling of the Russian opposition and independent media. Shaheen's point was reinforced by Murphy, who added: "Its incredibly important that Biden raises with Putin face-to-face Russias attempts to undermine American democracy." The senators were part of a delegation that has been touring Eastern Europe ahead of a June 16 summit in Geneva between Biden and Putin, their first meeting since the U.S. president was inaugurated in January. The summit will be held with U.S.-Russia ties at their lowest levels since the Cold War after Russia's 2014 seizure of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula; the Kremlin's ongoing support for separatists in Ukraine's east, where more than 13,200 people have been killed since April 2014; accusations of Moscow's interference in U.S. elections; and hacking attacks Washington says involved Russian actors. Murphy, Portman, and Shaheen were critical of what they see as Moscow's ongoing assault against the country's independent media, highlighting the critical role played by outlets such as RFE/RL and stressing the need for Western support for a free press in countries with authoritarian regimes. "You cant have a democracy without a free press. We in the West need to speak out against the jailing of journalists in Russia, the threats to journalists," Shaheen said. Portman said that RFE/RL's journalism is "frightening to the leadership of Russia and Belarus and other countries." The bipartisan congressional delegation visiting Kyiv encouraged Ukraine to continue reforms to solidify its democracy and expressed solidarity with the country in the face of Russian aggression. Portman said Russia's continued interference in the conflict in Ukraine's east, and its presence in Crimea, mean that Putin should be told directly that he should finally allow Ukraine to be a sovereign country. "Give back Crimea. It was an illegal annexation. We heard that there are Russian troops inside Ukrainian territory," Portman said, adding that the recent deployment of Russian troops near Ukraine and in Crimea has not been completely reversed, despite claims to the contrary by Moscow. "The concern that has been heightened in the last few weeks was the Russian deployment of 100,000 to 115,000 troops in the area. And when they said they would pull back to their bases, some reporters reported that, taking them at their word," Portman said. "But the intelligence does not confirm that and it indicates that only a small number have left -- maybe 10 to 20 percent based on the data that we have -- and that the equipment was largely left behind, meaning that they could very quickly come back and rejoin that equipment and provide this additional threat to the sovereignty of Ukraine," Portman said. Touching upon the near-completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline -- a bone of contention between Washington and Germany -- Murphy said that Washington and Europe should have acted in coordination. The United States and several Eastern European allies have staunchly opposed the project -- aimed at transporting gas from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea by bypassing Ukraine -- saying it will become a tool of geopolitical blackmail for Russia. Why we feel so strongly about Nord Stream 2 is because we dont understand. You know, Europe joins us in sanctions against Russia but then allows it to build a pipeline. Its a mixed message that we dont understand, Murphy said. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told reporters on June 1 that Berlin and Washington are holding talks to try to settle the dispute over the pipeline, which is about 95 percent complete and could be finished by September. The Biden administration on May 19 sanctioned several companies and ships for their work on Nord Stream 2, but waived penalties on the firm behind the Baltic Sea project -- Nord Stream 2 AG -- and its chief executive, Matthias Warnig, a close ally of Putin. Shaheen said that the United States needs to take action to stop the project, with more sanctions already on the table in Congress, even though "its not clear whether were going to be able to pass" them. "But I intend to do everything I can to try and stop the pipeline," she said. Referring to Ukraine's efforts to join NATO, Portman said that Kyiv will continue to enjoy U.S. support in its drive to implement the reforms needed to demonstrate that Ukraine is adhering to Western values. NATO is both a military alliance and an alliance of values, Murphy said, adding, "Thats why the reforms that are currently under way in Ukraine are absolutely critical." To ask Ukraine to fight a war against an invading foreign enemy and to engage in dramatic political, economic, and social reforms, thats a lot to ask, and Ukraine has stepped up, he said, but pointed to the need for Kyiv to work harder to eradicate corruption. BELGRADE -- U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer and the EU envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, are visiting Serbia to press its leaders to resume talks on the normalization of ties with Kosovo. I believe in the possibility of reaching a compromise solution in the dialogue with Kosovo, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic wrote on Instagram on June 3 after the meeting with the U.S. and EU officials in Belgrade. The Serbian government has stated that the normalization process with Kosovo is one of its priorities. But it is necessary to implement everything previously agreed within the dialogue. Belgrade has fulfilled all its obligations and we expect to see the same from the other side as well, so that the dialogue makes sense, Prime Minister Ana Brnabics office quoted her as telling Palmer. Kosovos government, led by Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who took office in March, has said it is busy fighting the pandemic and that talks with Serbia are not high on its list of immediate goals. Both the United States and the European Union have repeatedly said that normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo are essential for their further integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions. Serbia and Kosovo have both applied for EU membership and Kosovo is aiming for NATO membership, too. Palmer and Lajcak traveled to Belgrade from Kosovos capital, Pristina, where the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state said that Washington strongly supports the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo, with the goal of full normalization of relations and mutual recognition. Thats the one thing that would put this issue behind the parties and open up the path to membership in the EU for both Serbia and Kosovo, Palmer said. Lajcak said that their meetings with Kosovar government officials and opposition politicians would help prepare for a meeting between Kurti and Vucic. EU-facilitated negotiations to normalize ties between Serbia and Kosovo started a decade ago and stalled last year. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, almost a decade after a 1998-99 war between ethnic Albanian separatists and Serb forces. The war ended after a 78-day NATO air campaign drove Serb troops out and an international peacekeeping force moved in. Most Western nations have recognized Kosovos independence, but Belgrade and its allies Russia and China dont. LEXINGTON -- Jennifer Enskats journey to the warm heart of Africa all started with a handmade brick she found in her late fathers office. Enskat found the brick while sorting through her fathers belongings after he passed away. She had no idea why it was there or what significance it held until a family friend revealed the origins of the mysterious brick. It came from Kanyenyeva Orphan Care Ministries, a community center in Malawi that serves orphans and families. Robert Enskat, who retired as manager of Mansfields General Motors plant, was a humble man who preferred to give in secret. She had no idea his sizable contribution helped build a facility half a world away. I keep that brick on my desk to remind me that one person truly can change the world, Enskat said. He made a difference here and he made a difference in the third-world country without ever shining the spotlight on himself. "And if he can do it so can we. So there's no excuse. A decade after her fathers' death, Enskat found herself in Malawi making a difference in her own way. She and her cinematographer partner Andy Gardner spent three weeks filming a documentary on child marriage in Malawi with support from the Malawi Orphan Care Project, a non-profit partner of Kenyenyeva Ministries in Mansfield. The Bride Price focuses on forced marriage, its impact on middle- and high school-age girls and the Malawian leaders trying to end the practice. Child marriage is illegal in Malawi, but still very common. Orphans are particularly vulnerable due to the high poverty rates and lack of government resources or safety-net programs. If a child is suddenly orphaned, there is no governmental body that takes care of them. The family will do it, but they're basically subsistence farmers, so they're struggling to support their own children, Enskat said. Nearly 80 percent of Malawians work in agriculture, according to The World Bank. The country has a 51-percent poverty rate -- making a high-school education a luxury. High school is not free in Malawi; and the fees are often too much for families to afford. Rather than paying for a high-school education, families often believe selling their daughters into marriage is the best way to provide for them. As a result, girls as young as 12 years old are married off, sometimes to men twice their age. Enskat noted while child marriage is illegal, tribal tradition often supersedes the law in the peoples everyday lives. Thats why government officials, tribal chiefs, activists and citizens are fighting against child marriage by working to change its cultural perception. This is not a film about a Westerner trying to make them change. This is a film about them making the change, Enskat said. This is absolutely their story, they are making the difference themselves. They're the ones who are trying to change the culture. Enskat worked with a small crew in Malawi who helped arrange interviews with government officials, human rights leaders and chiefs opposed to child marriage. Her greatest desire was an interview with Chief Theresa Kachindamoto, tribal ruler of the Dedza District of nearly one million people. Kachindamoto has made international news for cancelling child marriages and paying for former child brides to return to school. She landed the interview with Kachindamoto, who brought nearly 40 people with her, including a dozen former child brides. During interviews with each girl, Enskat asked them to share their bride price -- how much their family received for offering their daughter in marriage. The crew also got to interview Alinafe, the woman whose story prompted the making of the film. At 15 years old, Alinafe was thriving in school and had big plans to become a nurse. At 16, she was sold by her family to marry a man 20 years her senior. Alinafe is still married and was never able to return to school. The crew was able to secure the interview only after paying her husband a fee. Alinafe also had to promise her husband she wouldnt say anything negative about him. She did talk about her regrets and these were not the plans she had for herself, that she wanted to be an educated person and accomplish something, Enskat said. Her marriage took place maybe a year before they passed the resolution (outlawing the practice), so the only way she can get out of it is to divorce him and she has no money. The Bride Price has already won multiple accolades and been accepted to three film festivals, but Enskat said no award or review will top the endorsement of Kachindamoto. The chief requested a copy of The Bride Price dubbed into Chichewa so she can take it to villages across Malawi and screen the film from her laptop. I already see it as a success in that regard, the fact that she wants to do that, she said. Profits from The Bride Price will go towards the Alinafe Girls Rescue Center, a developing project that will provide housing, day care, high school completion and skills training for girls who escape their forced marriages. The Bride Price has already raised $10,000. The film is available for streaming on Vimeo and will soon be available on Amazon Prime. I just hope maybe one day Alinafe can be there herself. I don't know how to make that happen but I can dream, Enskat said. COLUMBUS The Ohio State Highway Patrol joined forces with other members of the 6-State Trooper Project to focus on safety belt enforcement last week. During the project, 4,500 motorists in Ohio were cited for failing to wear an available safety belt. Additionally, 138 motorists were cited for child safety seat violations. The high-visibility enforcement included the Indiana State Police, Kentucky State Police, Michigan State Police, Pennsylvania State Police and the West Virginia State Police, as well the Patrol. The initiative began on Monday, May 24 at 12:01 a.m. and continued through Monday, May 31 at 11:59 p.m. Throughout the six states, 9,873 motorists were cited for failing to wear an available safety belt and 470 for child safety seat violations. Motorists are reminded that safety is a shared responsibility between the driver and passengers. Each time you get in a vehicle, ensure everyone uses safety belts if available. The 6-State Trooper Project is a multi-state law enforcement partnership aimed at providing combined and coordinated law enforcement and security services in the areas of highway safety, criminal patrol and intelligence sharing. MANSFIELD -- A Mansfield woman was stabbed more than 30 times Thursday morning and Police are going door-to-door seeking information on her assailant, according to a press release from Capt. Shari Robertson. "If anyone can provide any tips regarding the possible identity of the person or persons responsible for this assault, we are asking them to contact us," Robertson said. "The investigation is in its early stages and we do not have a motive for the assault and at this time. "However, it appears to be a random attack. I do not have an update on the victim's condition as she remains in hospital care." At approximately 7:20 a.m., Mansfield Police responded to the 900 block of Brookfield Drive in reference to an assault. Upon arrival, officers were advised by Mansfield Fire medical personnel on scene that the female victim, who is in her 70s, had been stabbed. According to a police press release, the victim stated that a male had entered her apartment by unknown means and began stabbing her as she laid in her bed. The victim described the suspect as a light-skinned male, possibly bi-racial or Hispanic, in his late teens to 20s. She further advised that she believed she heard another person inside the apartment during the assault. The victim, who had been stabbed over 30 times, was transported to a local hospital and left in the care of Emergency Room staff for treatment. Mansfield Police and local law enforcement are searching the area and will be going door-to-door Thursday morning, asking if anyone has seen individuals matching the suspects description. If anyone may have seen or heard anything suspicious or around the time of the call, they should contact the Mansfield Division of Police. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Major Crimes Detective Dave Scheurer at 419-755-9748. FILE - John Velazquez riding Medina Spirit crosses the finish line to win the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., in this Saturday, May 1, 2021, file photo. Bob Bafferts lawyer said Wednesday, June 2, 2021, that a split-sample test of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit came back positive for the presence of the steroid betamethasone, which could lead to the horses disqualification and discipline for the Hall of Fame trainer. The world is currently going through a crisis unprecedented in its history. Not only is it a challenge for the life sciences community in search of new cures and a vaccine, but it is also disrupting many aspects of human society. Its health, economic, political, environmental and anthropological consequences will have a lasting impact on contemporary societies. However, the objective of this seminar is not only to examine the case of COVID-19, but to build on current debates, stimulated by the magnitude of the crisis, to propose an interdisciplinary reflection on the respective contributions of, on the one side, the humanities and social sciences, and on the other side, of life sciences, in the field of public health. This seminar will also favor a comparative approach, in particular between Japan and France, concerning vaccination, from social science and life science perspectives. Indeed, an international comparison allows us to highlight social determinants in the way epidemics manifest themselves. Written By Joe Schulz served as the reporter of the Green Laker in 2019 and 2020, before being hired as a reporter for the Commonwealth in October 2020. He is from Oshkosh and graduated from UW-Oshkosh in December with a bachelor's degree in journalism. | Rocky Mount, NC (27804) Today A mix of clouds and sun. High 86F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable. The much-talked about discord in Rajasthan government came to the fore once again when two of the ministers from the Gehlot government clashed during the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and threatened to see each other while coming out of the meeting. The clash erupted between state education minister and PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasara and state minister for urban development and housing Shanti Dhariwal. The CM had to turn off the camera in between. In fact, fellow ministers had to intervene looking at the growing confrontation and fierce debate between the two ministers. As the cabinet meeting was held to decide the status of board exams for class X and XII at the CMR with Gehlot being virtually connected, Dotasara discussed the vaccination topic at the end of the meeting and said that the Congress launched a social media campaign demanding free vaccination, now a memorandum should be submitted to the collector at every district level. Dhariwal immediately intervened and said, what is the need of this, the work of the ministers is not to submit the memorandum. Dotasara objected to this interference and Dhariwal was left agitated. The matter escalated when both of them indulged in war of words and state ministers had to intervene to calm them down. Dotasara told the CM that action should be taken against such behaviour of the minister who did not allow the party president to speak and was about to leave the meeting but the CM pacified him and asked him to complete his talk. The Chief Minister asked both of them to remain calm but the dispute started again when Dhariwal told Dotasara that he has seen many party presidents and he can do whatever he wants. The Chief Minister turned off the camera after seeing the heated argument between the two ministers. Even after the cabinet meeting was over, Dhariwal and Dotasara clashed outside in a louder tone. Seeing the ministers fighting openly, the security personnel and staff of the CM residence present there were also shocked. The fellow ministers got the two separated, otherwise there could have been a scuffle. Dhariwal openly told Dotasra that he was not bound to obey his orders while Dotasara said that he will have to obey orders as he is the party president. Dotasara told Dhariwal - Being party in charge of Jaipur, you have not even taken a meeting till date in the last two and a half years. This attitude of yours is not good for the party, I will report it to Sonia Gandhi. Dhariwal again retaliated and questioned, "Will you threaten me? As both ministers started coming close, folding their sleeves, the fellow ministers separated the two. Danvers, MA (01923) Today Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 84F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low around 60F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. People are talking about Diamond Jims, again. And not in a good way. Chula Vista Councilwoman Patricia Aguilar called a meeting Jan. 18 at the Chula Vista Police Department to hear complaints about the bar at 773 Third Ave. During my entire time Ive been on the council Ive heard complaints, issues surrounding bars in the city, but its mostly been about Diamond Jims, Aguilar said. Advertisement She was first elected in 2010. The problem of rowdy bar patrons has been persistent since at least November 2009. A community meeting was held then at police headquarters when the bar was under different ownership. Fast forward to 2017, the same complaints by some of the same people. Pandra Boyle, who has lived nearby on Church Street since 1985, said she wanted to give the current owners a chance with the idea that you dont put a past behavior against a new owner. However, she said after a while it was back to business as usual. Boyle said every night between about 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., patrons pull up and park in the residential area of Kearney Street, Del Mar and Church avenues and yell, urinate, drink in their car and on the street and blast their music. Theres a pre-party and post-party, Boyle said. Were up all night...Theres is no quality of life in this neighborhood. Other speakers on Jan. 18 cited trash, public intoxication, drug use and illegal activity they said spills out into their streets. Police Department officials said the meeting about the problem bar was the first step in finding a solution for residents and the owners, Veronica and Cesar Aguilera. Advertisement In 2016, the bar received 120 calls for service, 86 of which were police initiated. Repeated calls included disturbances, extra patrol, stakeouts, petty theft, assault, incident follow up and traffic stops, according to a public records act request. These are police initiated calls because we perceive other problems, not with the bar per se, but a problem surrounding the bar, said Chula Vista police Lt. Eric Thunberg. Diamond Jims was acquired by the Aguileras in September 2015. Advertisement Police Department officials said there have been issues surrounding the transfer of license since then and they have operated off of several temporary licenses but didnt know the details as to why. Veronica said her biggest concern in taking over the bar had to do with making it a better business for Chula Vista. She said the bar came with a bad reputation and they knew coming in things needed to change. She said the clientele consists of teachers, principals and law enforcement officers of all types. Advertisement Theyve come in and enjoy themselves and feel comfortable. These issues have become an embarrassment for the patrons and us. The Aguileras say theyve put a lot of time and money into the bar and just want a clean slate. We thought the community would be excited, its disappointing that despite all this that weve done, were still being judged on the past. Their application is pending approval from the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control as they negotiate conditions of operation. Advertisement They are currently operating on a temporary license. Several solutions were presented during the meeting, including a valet service, restricted permitted parking district for residents and changing the bars name. This is where we see what we can do to craft something, a set of guidelines amenable to all that allows the owner to operate a profitable business but alleviates neighbor concerns, Thunberg said. He said the most viable solution is a combination of responsible ownership, an engaged community willing to work with each other, and Police Department involvement. Advertisement At the end of the meeting, the Aguileras expressed their appreciation to the people voicing their concerns. If theres something that doesnt fit with the community, well change it, Cesar Aguilera said. You want your family to be safe and we feel the same way. But he asked for patience, saying the changes will take time. Talk to us, well work with you. Give us a year, then judge us by that. Aguilar said she would schedule follow up meetings with the city, owner and Police Department to explore realistic solutions. With the number of Covid cases shrinking steadily for the last one week, the West Bengal government has decided to give further relaxations, allowing bars, restaurants and malls to function with limited facilities. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the relaxations in her meeting with different chambers at the state secretariat on Thursday. Accepting the request of the chambers, Mamata Banerjee said, "Covid-19 contagion is declining in West Bengal following the imposition of restrictions. Restaurants can be open for three hours in the evening from 5 pm to 8 pm provided the people working there are vaccinated." Though the Chief Minister didn't specify the date of the opening, senior officials indicated that it will be in effect soon and everything will be clear after the state government issues notification on this. Giving a careful thought to the proposal of opening up of the malls, the Banerjee said that the government is carefully considering the proposal of allowing shopping malls to open with 25 per cent workforce after the ongoing Covid-related restrictions come to an end on June 15 indicating that the government is clearly thinking to withdraw some of the restrictions after the second of this lockdown comes to an end. The government's decision to give relaxations was backed up by the sharp declines of covid cases in the past one week. When before the imposition of the restrictions the number of fresh cases were hovering around 20,000 cases per day, in the last couple of days it came down below 10,000 making it obvious that like that in the entire country, covid, in this state, is also showing signs of slowing down. The CM said that her government was mulling the option of vaccinating domestic helps in the same way it has planned to inoculate hawkers, bus conductors, vendors and others. Altogether 1.4 crore of people in West Bengal have been inoculated so far, she said. At the meeting, Banerjee also urged representatives of the chambers to help the government in vaccinating the population of the state. "The government cannot single-handedly vaccinate everyone. I will urge you to come forward and help us to inoculate the people," she said. The CM also sought their help in relief works in districts ravaged by Cyclone Yaas. Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/03/2021 -- The Latest research study released by HTF MI "Global Crypto Currency Mining Machines Market" with 100+ pages of analysis on business Strategy taken up by key and emerging industry players and delivers know how of the current market development, landscape, technologies, drivers, opportunities, market viewpoint and status. Understanding the segments helps in identifying the importance of different factors that aid the market growth. Some of the Major Companies covered in this Research are Bitmain Technologies, Canaan Creative, Halong Mining, BitFury Group, ASICminer, Russian Miner Coin, Black Arrow, Innosilicon, Asg-Mining, Zhejiang Ebang Communication & Bittech etc. Click here for free sample + related graphs of the report @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/2791069-global-crypto-currency-mining-machines-market-4 Browse market information, tables and figures extent in-depth TOC on "Crypto Currency Mining Machines Market by Application (Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Graphics Processing Units (GPUs)), by Product Type (,Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Graphics Processing Units (GPUs)), Business scope, Manufacturing and Outlook Estimate to 2025". for more information or any query mail at sales@htfmarketreport.com At last, all parts of the Global Crypto Currency Mining Machines Market are quantitatively also subjectively valued to think about the Global just as regional market equally. This market study presents basic data and true figures about the market giving a deep analysis of this market based on market trends, market drivers, constraints and its future prospects. The report supplies the worldwide monetary challenge with the help of Porter's Five Forces Analysis and SWOT Analysis. If you have any Enquiry please click here @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/2791069-global-crypto-currency-mining-machines-market-4 Customization of the Report: The report can be customized as per your needs for added data up to 3 businesses or countries or 2 analyst hours. On the basis of report- titled segments and sub-segment of the market are highlighted below: Global Crypto Currency Mining Machines Market By Application/End-User (Value and Volume from 2021 to 2026) : Self-Mining, Cloud Mining Services, Remote Hosting Services, Channel (Direct Sales, Distributor) Segmentation & Section 8: 400 USD??Trend (2020-2025) Market By Type (Value and Volume from 2021 to 2026) : ,Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) Global Crypto Currency Mining Machines Market by Key Players: Bitmain Technologies, Canaan Creative, Halong Mining, BitFury Group, ASICminer, Russian Miner Coin, Black Arrow, Innosilicon, Asg-Mining, Zhejiang Ebang Communication & Bittech Geographically, this report is segmented into some key Regions, with manufacture, depletion, revenue (million USD), and market share and growth rate of Crypto Currency Mining Machines in these regions, from 2015 to 2026 (forecast), covering China, USA, Europe, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia & South America and its Share (%) and CAGR for the forecasted period 2021 to 2026. Informational Takeaways from the Market Study: The report Crypto Currency Mining Machines matches the completely examined and evaluated data of the noticeable companies and their situation in the market considering impact of Coronavirus. The measured tools including SWOT analysis, Porter's five powers analysis, and assumption return debt were utilized while separating the improvement of the key players performing in the market. Key Development's in the Market: This segment of the Crypto Currency Mining Machines report fuses the major developments of the market that contains confirmations, composed endeavors, R&D, new thing dispatch, joint endeavours, and relationship of driving members working in the market. To get this report buy full copy @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=2791069 Some of the important question for stakeholders and business professional for expanding their position in the Global Crypto Currency Mining Machines Market : Q 1. Which Region offers the most rewarding open doors for the market Ahead of 2021? Q 2. What are the business threats and Impact of latest scenario Over the market Growth and Estimation? Q 3. What are probably the most encouraging, high-development scenarios for Crypto Currency Mining Machines movement showcase by applications, types and regions? Q 4.What segments grab most noteworthy attention in Crypto Currency Mining Machines Market in 2020 and beyond? Q 5. Who are the significant players confronting and developing in Crypto Currency Mining Machines Market? For More Information Read Table of Content @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/2791069-global-crypto-currency-mining-machines-market-4 Key poles of the TOC: Chapter 1 Global Crypto Currency Mining Machines Market Business Overview Chapter 2 Major Breakdown by Type [Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Graphics Processing Units (GPUs)] Chapter 3 Major Application Wise Breakdown (Revenue & Volume) Chapter 4 Manufacture Market Breakdown Chapter 5 Sales & Estimates Market Study Chapter 6 Key Manufacturers Production and Sales Market Comparison Breakdown .. Chapter 8 Manufacturers, Deals and Closings Market Evaluation & Aggressiveness Chapter 9 Key Companies Breakdown by Overall Market Size & Revenue by Type .. Chapter 11 Business / Industry Chain (Value & Supply Chain Analysis) Chapter 12 Conclusions & Appendix Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, LATAM, Europe or Southeast Asia. SARATOGA SPRINGS 'Kiss Me Kosher' to be shown Sunday Close China has verified that its maiden cargo flight arrived with the country's new space station safely. According to Chinese media accounts, the uncrewed Tianzhou-2 spacecraft, transporting supplies and fuel, arrived at the main Tianhe module roughly 230 miles above Earth on Sunday, May 30. Reuters said a Long March-7 Y3 rocket carrying Tianzhou-2 launched from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan Province, about 1,500 miles southwest of Beijing on Saturday, May 29. As part of the Shenzhou-12 mission, the successful docking lays the door for the first Chinese astronauts to visit the station. According to the China National Space Administration, the three crew members will launch in the following weeks. China to Send Three Astronauts to Space Station A space official who was the country's first astronaut in orbit said that a three-person crew of astronauts would launch in June for a three-month mission on China's new space station. Yang Liwei, the crewed space program's deputy chief designer, confirmed China launched the plans for the station's first crew to state television as an automated spacecraft carrying fuel and supplies for the Tianhe station. China's highly ambitious space program has launched the Tianhe, or Heavenly Harmony, its third and largest space station. The country launched the core module of the spacecraft into orbit on April 29. In comments on China Central Television obtained by Washington Post report on Saturday, Yang said that China will launch the Shenzhou 12 capsule containing the crew from the Jiuquan station in China's northwest next month. ALSO READ: Tardigrades, Squid Goes to ISS Next Month; Are They Among the Scientific Experiments SpaceX Will Make? They'll go on spacewalks, perform repairs and maintenance, and conduct scientific experiments. Yang, who orbited the Earth in 2003, did not reveal the astronauts' identities or a flight date but did say the crew would be from the program's two initial batches of astronauts. China's Space Ambitions China's space ambitions have risen in recent years, with challenging missions to the moon and Mars attracting international interest. China has no participation in the International Space Station, which motivated it to launch two prototype space stations in the last decade - Tiangong 1 and Tiangong 2 - to create its orbiting base in space. Both have since been deactivated, but the lessons acquired from them have led to the development of the Tiangong Space Station, China's newest habitable satellite. Although the station can currently accommodate humans, China still needs about ten more rocket launches to finish the new facility, which it intends to complete in 2022. Two of the missions will use China's largest and most powerful launch vehicle, the Long March-5B, to deliver two more core modules to the station. The rocket is so big that a portion of it didn't burn up when it re-entered Earth's atmosphere after deploying the first segment of the space station in April. China was chastised for not including technologies in the rocket that would have allowed for a controlled, directed re-entry. In the end, a piece of the spent Long March-5B rocket landed safely in the Indian Ocean near the Maldives, as Science Times reported. China's new space station is anticipated to survive at least ten years, outlasting the 20-year-old International Space Station, which could be decommissioned by the end of this decade. RELATED ARTICLE: Who Wants To Be An Astronaut? This New Show Will Send One Lucky Winner to ISS Check out more news and information on Space on Science Times. Northbrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/02/2021 -- According to a research report "Directed Energy Weapons Market by Technology (High energy lasers, High-power microwave, electromagnetic weapon technology, Sonic weapon technology), Platform (Land, Airborne, naval, Space), Application, Range, Product and Region - Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Directed Energy Weapon Market is valued at USD 4.3 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach USD 10.1 billion by 2026 at a CAGR of 18.7%. Ask for PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=19132295 The key drivers propelling growth of the global directed energy weapons market is the defense of terrorist attacks, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials so that civilian lives and national security of a country can be preserved. Directed energy weapons like lasers, high power microwaves, and electromagnetic weapons are being used to defend against attacks from threats like ballistic missiles, anti-satellite weapons, and nuclear weapons, etc. The directed energy weapons market is developing further as the concept of management evolves and new institutions and protocols are introduced. This requires a strong partnership between governments and private players which is expected to be witnessed during the forecast period. Apart from encouraging public and private sector cooperation to deal with the threats posed by terrorist attacks, these are also expected to lead to an increase in the coordination of efforts among nations to deal with new kinds of threats. The new emerging security scenarios across the globe are trans-national in nature and warrant a unified approach among nations. Industries having a global presence and undergoing partnerships with local and international directed energy weapons industry participants and governments are expected to benefit in this highly competitive business environment. Companies wanting to grow in this market must be able to track the various trends with respect to the threats and technologies needed to tackle these and provide complete solutions, which include directed energy weapons and related equipment. The directed energy weapons market is being driven by the increased political dissents and separatists' movements to be prevented. High-powered microwave lasers have the ability to destroy targets directly or indirectly and can also target personnel or equipment not visible due to climatic conditions. High-powered microwave lasers use electromagnetic waves that can be carried on multiple platforms; these can either be built-in in cruise missiles, warheads, and unmanned airplanes or installed on a fixed platform. DEWs are used to either destroy, damage, or disable precise targets, and depending on this, can be high-powered or low-powered. The Research Development Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) program for the development and weaponization of directed energy systems is attracting huge investments for homeland security and defense applications. The program is also responsible for the development of defensive and offensive directed energy technologies, which are required to characterize and exploit vulnerabilities and protect against threats or attacks. The directed energy weapons market is diversified and competitive, with the majority of players in the North American and European regions. The market is dominated by companies based on their core competencies. Key players in this market include Lockheed Martin (US), Northrop Grumman (US), Boeing (US), L3Harris (US), Raytheon (US), and BAE Systems (UK). Based on product type, the lethal weapons segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. These lethal products, mainly focused on military application, include rail gun, electromagnetic bombs (e-bombs), plasma cannon (electrothermal accelerator), microwave gun, plasma grenade, navy laser cannon, gun-launched guided projectile, automatic shotguns, and several others. Huge investments are being made in the R&D as well as demonstration and testing of lethal directed energy weapons. Based on platform, the Naval platform segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Naval directed energy weapon systems consist of weapons that are used in naval applications, for instance, on combat ships and submarines, among others. The naval segment is further divided into combat ships, submarines, and unmanned surface vehicles. Defense ships are specifically designed for use by coast guards and naval forces to ensure the security of water borders. Browse in-depth TOC on "Directed Energy Weapons Market" 202 Tables 54 Figures 252 Pages Inquiry Before Buying: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=19132295 Based on technology, the High energy laser technology segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Based on technology, the high energy laser segment is projected to account for a share of 59.4% in 2021. This segment is projected to grow at a CAGR of 19.06% during the forecast period. This growth can be attributed to the easy installation and low power consumption of high energy laser weapons. Compared to conventional ordnance, they have next to zero time of flight, which allows for a longer decision time and a quicker reaction time. The directed energy weapons market in Asia Pacific is projected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2021 to 2026. Asia-Pacific contributed a share of 22.49% to the directed energy weapons market in 2021. China, India, Japan, Australia, South Korea, and rest of Asia-Pacific have been considered in the Asia-Pacific directed energy weapons market. The demand for directed energy weapons market has increased in recent years, due to the rapid economic development and increasing security threats, across Asia-Pacific region and the increase in border disputes. The military spending of China, Japan, and India has been increasing in recent years due to increased possibilities of being targeted by terrorist attacks. This report includes a study on the marketing and development strategies, along with the product portfolios of leading companies. It consists of profiles of leading companies, such as Lockheed Martin Corporation (US), Raytheon technologies (US), Northrop Grumman Corporation (US), The Boeing Company (US), Thales Group (France), Leonardo SPA (Italy), BAE Systems (UK), Elbit Systems (Israel) and L3Harris Technologies (US). Related Reports: Military Laser Systems Market by Technology (Fiber Laser, Solid-State, Chemical Laser, CO2 Laser, Semiconductor Laser), Application (Defense, Homeland Security), Product Type - Forecast and Analysis to 2020 Smart Weapons Market by Product (Missiles, Munitions, Guided Projectile, Guided Rocket, Guided Firearms), platform (Air, Land, Naval), Technology (Laser, Infrared, Radar, GPS, Others) & Region - Global Forecast to 2021 About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 South Africa: Youth encouraged to pursue science The Council for Scientific and Industrial Researchs (CSIR) Postdoctoral Researcher, Dr Advaita Singh, has encouraged the youth to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the CSIR. The CSIR offers a number of opportunities for people whether it is to study at universities through bursaries or shadowing one of our scientists, Singh said on Thursday. He was participating in a webinar on the role of youth in the fight against COVID-19 hosted by Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), in partnership with Agape Youth Movement. The webinar took place as South Africa commemorates Youth Month under the theme, The Year of Charlotte Mannya Maxeke: Growing youth employment for an inclusive and transformed society. The CSIR offers various programmes for students that include bursaries, internships, local scholarships, studentships and the Department of Science and Innovation -CSIR Inter-bursary support programme. The CSIR bursary programme financially supports full-time, unemployed students in obtaining qualifications in areas that are deemed a priority by the CSIR. The internship programme provides new graduates the opportunity to gain 12 months working experience in a research environment, affording them the opportunity to grow core research skills under the guidance of more experienced professionals. The CSIR, in partnership with seven South African universities, has a postgraduate scholarship programme that provides students with funding to obtain Honours, Masters or PhD qualifications in their chosen fields. The programme is open to full-time students in the Faculty of Science or Engineering, carrying out research in priority areas identified by the CSIR. The programme affords students exposure to science in a research environment and students are also granted access to equipment, facilities and research material as available, the CSIR said. Singh said young people can visit https://www.csir.co.za/careers to find out more information about opportunities offered by the CSIR. Sciences is not always the first option when it comes to choosing careers, but it is an important avenue and we need scientists for the future, he said. He called on the public to take the COVID-19 vaccine while emphasising its safety as trials were conducted. The vaccines have been tested in large trials and subjected to a rigorous approval process by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority and by a number of health authorities around the world. South Africa is currently in the second phase of the vaccination programme, targeting the balance of health workers who were not vaccinated during the first phase, and all those in the country who are over 60 years of age. During the lockdown, the Agape Youth Movement worked closely with the Department of Basic Education to provide support to children who might have been vulnerable as they were not in school. We rolled out a series of online dialogues with children focusing on raising awareness on some of the psychosocial social support systems that are available for them. These were hosted at numerous provinces. Learner interacted with government, civil society and the private sector. Through these initiatives we gave learners a voice about how they found the pandemic and how their needs and interests should be fulfilled, Managing Director of the movement Matsetsebale Tleane said. Currently the Agape Youth Movement is rolling out an online life skills programme that learners attend over a period of 18 days. Learners receive training on leadership skills, communication skills, bullying, gender-based violence (GBV) and navigating online spaces safely. This programme is being implemented in partnership with the Department of Basic Education, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Media Monitoring Africa, the South African Police Service (SAPS) and Google SA. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2021-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. By Nie Shuyi File photo: The tank battalion comprising troops from Germany and the Netherlands (Source: the New York Times) In ten days' time, US President Joe Biden will make his first overseas trip after taking office to Europe for the G7 Summit and NATO Summit, but bad news had kept coming in from across the Atlantic Ocean even before he left his own country. Recently America's eavesdropping of leaders of several European countries has kept fermenting, to which the White House replied on June 1 that it would continue to work with its European allies through the National Security Agency. But now France raised another topic resented by Washington European defense independence. France's Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said in a previous interview that Paris is worried that the improved cross-Atlantic relations will once again weaken European countries will to develop independent military capabilities and defense strategy, or the idea would even be completely given up, while it is imperative for the Europeans to attend to more of their security issues independently. France is the only nuclear state in the EU, and its statement right before the two important summits reveals the rift between the US and the EU on defense and strategic issues. The restoration of transatlantic partnership may not be as smooth and easy as America would hope. Europe's defense independence has been an old sticking point between the US and EU. For the past 70-plus years, Europe has not decided whether it is able to defend itself on its own. Even if the EU has expanded its boundary to east Europe and become a singular important pole in the world economy, it still relies on the military protection provided by the US-led NATO. However, geopolitical changes in Europe and Washington's America first policy and its derogation of or even hostility toward allies have prompted Europe to doubt whether the US is really willing to protect it and, therefore, to review its defense policy. In November 2017, the foreign and defense ministers of 23 EU member states, including France and Germany, signed a joint notification on initiating the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO ) on joint defense and security policies, pledging to develop joint defense capabilities and make joint investments in defense projects to enhance their military strengths. The number of the signatories increased to 25 as Portugal and Ireland joined in December. In November 2018, French President Macron called for building a European army at an event celebrating the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI, and his proposal was championed by German Chancellor Merkel. EU has also decided to invest EUR 1.7 billion in the next seven years to reinforce its military mobilization capability. Macron said in February 2020 that Paris is willing to provide nuclear protection for the continent. Europe's misgivings about the US have not abated even after Biden came into office and the transatlantic relationship was back on the track of values-based diplomacy . Although Biden revoked the decision to pull American troops out of Germany and decided to send more there as a sign of goodwill, Europes less important position on Americas chessboard is inevitable. Meanwhile, geopolitical risks are on the rise in Europe concerning the Middle East, Ukraine, and Russia. Defense and security cooperation used to be the hardcore of the transatlantic relationship and a token of the transatlantic alliance. Still, now their divide and discord on this point lay bare the insurmountable structural conflicts between the two sides. Nowadays, Europe is no longer as enthusiastic about the US as it used to be, as it has long been disgruntled by the latter's long-standing maneuvers to use Europe as a tool to secure its global hegemony and geopolitical interests. During Bidens reign, the relationship across the Atlantic Ocean may turn back up under the banner of values-based diplomacy, but the so-called common values will in no way bridge their conflicts of interests. Therefore, their relationship will come to a remodeling period characterized by collisions and bumps. Editor's note: This article is originally published on haiwainet.cn, which is the website of Overseas Edition of the People's Daily. The article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn. Milan, Italy -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/03/2021 -- The Language Grid, an innovative English language training and consulting company, provides English training courses to corporations, institutions, and individuals across the world. The company provides a range of English learning courses designed to optimise individuals' professional growth while ensuring their personal development. Each of their business English courses is designed developed by industry leading experts to meet the specific learning needs of academic and non-academic language learners. They have a team of dedicated teaching professionals who are trained to deliver the highest quality services possible. With a variety of courses, The Language Grid offers something for all levels. TLG's methodologies are focused on getting the most out of people, facilitating collaboration between the trainer and the learner and between individual employees. They constantly explore new ways of making their training more effective and relevant to the needs of the clients. For business clients, they ensure that the language training that they provide is relevant to the needs as well as objectives of their company. TLG is a truly unique language learning company that will take individuals' business communication skills further. Talking about their English language training, a spokesperson from the company stated, "At The Language Grid, our focus is on helping business and finance professionals use English to communicate effectively. We give teams the practical English skills and support needed to conduct cross-border business with confidence. From teaching to translation to technology, we help people work more effectively in English and guarantee a return on your investment." The Language Grid is one of the best language training for professionals across the globe. TLG's unique approach to business English is the best professional training for those who want to use English in their business. For many years, TLG language training has been providing a unique learning experience to large and small corporations, as well as government agencies, non-profit organizations, and individuals. Their English courses have a 100% success rate helping professionals communicate confidently in real-life business situations. About Language Grid The Language Grid is an innovative English language training and consulting company specializing in business and finance. They have a team of qualified and experienced teachers who deliver business-orientated English training tailored specifically to the needs of corporate clients in the English market. The company ensures that the language training that they provide is relevant to the needs as well as objectives of any company. They are constantly exploring new ways of making their training more effective and relevant to the needs of their clients. For more information, please visit: https://www.thelanguagegrid.com/ Contact Details: The Language Grid Srl Via Carducci, 32 20123 Milan (MI) - Italy T: +39 349 7633507 E: info@thelanguagegrid.com Page Content As of June 1st, there were eight (8) persons who tested positive for COVID-19; however twelve (12) persons have recovered; bringing the total active cases to seventy one (71). The total number of confirmed cases is now two thousand four hundred thirty three (2433). The Collective Prevention Services (CPS) are monitoring sixty six (66) people in home isolation. Five (5) patients remain hospitalized at the St. Maarten Medical Center. The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 remains at twenty eight (28). The number of people recovered since the first case surfaced on St. Maarten has increased to two thousand three hundred thirty four (2334). Ninety seven (97) people are in quarantine based on contact tracing investigations carried out by CPS. The Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (VSA) Airport Health Team in collaboration with Health Care Laboratory Sint Maarten (HCLS) have tested 2, 995 travelers arriving at the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA), while CPS tested 29, 634 people throughout the community. As the numbers continue to fluctuate, CPS will continue to actively execute its contact tracing measures. Minister Ottley hereby informs the public that on Saturday June 5th, CPS will host another vaccination pop-up clinic at De Weever Estate, Dutch Quarter from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. All persons who are interested in getting vaccinated are asked to walk with a form of photo ID for registration. WASHINGTON Uber Eats, Postmates and DoorDash said they will no longer waive delivery fees for customers who order from Black-owned restaurants in Arizona, to settle charges by the state that the deals violated the Arizona Civil Rights Act. CANBERRA, Australia (AP) An Australian court on Tuesday rejected a challenge to the federal governments draconian power to prevent most citizens from leaving the country so that they dont bring COVID-19 home. Australia is alone among developed democracies in preventing its citizens and permanent residents from leaving the country except in exceptional circumstances where they can demonstrate a compelling reason. Most Australians have been stranded in their island nation since March 2020 under a government emergency order made under the powerful Biosecurity Act. Libertarian group LibertyWorks argued before the full bench of the Federal Court in early May that Health Minister Greg Hunt did not have the power to legally enforce the travel ban that has prevented thousands of Australians from attending weddings and funerals, caring for dying relatives and meeting newborn babies. LibertyWorks lawyer Jason Potts argued that Australians had a right to leave their country under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that Australia had ratified. But the three judges ruled that submission was based on the erroneous premise that the right is absolute. LibertyWorks lawyers also argued that such a biosecurity control order could only be imposed on an individual rather than an entire population. The order could only be imposed if that individual had symptoms of a listed human disease, had been exposed to such a disease or had failed to comply with travel requirements. The judges ruled that that interpretation of the law would frustrate Parliaments clear intentions when lawmakers created the emergency powers in the Biosecurity Act in 2015. It may be accepted that the travel restrictions are harsh. It may also be accepted that they intrude upon individual rights, the judges said in their ruling. But Parliament was aware of that. LibertyWorks President Andrew Cooper said he was considering an appeal to the High Court. We are very disappointed in the judgement today. We continue to believe that the outbound border closure is defective in law and, perhaps more importantly, unjust on human rights grounds. We must remind ourselves also that often things that are legal are not necessarily just," Cooper said in an email. While Europe and most of the world open up their borders, only North Korea and Australia stubbornly continue with strict controls over their citizens ability to leave their country, Cooper added. He had expected hundreds of thousands of Australians to fly within weeks if he had won. Critics of the emergency order argue it is harshest for the 30% of Australians who were born overseas. The government says tough border controls have played an important part in Australias relative success in containing COVID-19 spread. Surveys suggest most Australians applaud their governments drastic border controls. The Australian newspaper published a survey last month that found 73% of respondents said the international border should remain closed until at least the middle of next year. Australian Broadcasting Corp. last week reported its own survey had found 79% of respondents agree the international border should stay shut until the pandemic is under control globally. Critics of the Australian travel restrictions argue that decisions on who can travel and why are inconsistent and lack transparency. Esther and Charles Baker, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish couple from Australias second-largest city, Melbourne, were twice refused exemptions to fly to New Jersey to attend their youngest sons wedding in June last year. They appealed to the Federal Court, citing religious and cultural reasons among their exceptional circumstances. But a judge dismissed their case and ordered the couple to pay the governments legal costs for their challenge. A person at the center of a coronavirus cluster in Melbourne had been allowed to attend a wedding in India. He was not infected in that country but rather during the required 14-day hotel quarantine upon his return. Authorities say he was infected by a traveler in another room on his floor and that the virus was carried in the air. Melbourne began a seven-day lockdown on Friday due to the cluster that by Tuesday had grown to more than 50 cases. Australia and New Zealand opened a quarantine-free travel bubble in April and hope to create such bubbles with other countries in time. LaTosha Brown opened with a song. Speaking about voting rights one recent spring day in Selma, Alabama, the Black activist delivered the civil rights anthem Keep Your Eyes on the Prize in a voice showcasing her background as a jazz singer. She told her audience, through music, that the fight for equal access to the ballot box was as urgent as ever. The song drew cheers from a few dozen listeners, young and old, who had gathered before the brown-bricked African Methodist Episcopal church in a city known for its poverty as much as for its troubled racial past. For Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, the song served to introduce a question. Close your eyes, she said. What would America look like without racism?" How will we ever create what were not even envisioning? There was nothing that was brought into the real world that was not first envisioned. A year after the police killing of George Floyd galvanized public attention to racial injustices, amid a barrage of restrictive voting laws being passed by state legislatures, Browns group is redoubling its march toward its North Star: increasing the political power of Black communities. Like many groups that serve predominantly Black communities, the organization was flooded with donations after Floyds death. A year later, the impact is visible: The group says it gave $10 million to 600 community-based groups in 15 states, mostly in the South, who, among other things, registered voters, distributed flyers about the importance of voting, held phone banks, sent millions of text messages, canvassed communities reminding people to vote and rented buses to drive people to the polls. Those efforts are widely credited with helping fuel Black voter turnout in Georgia, which, in part, led to Democrats scoring victories in the presidential and U.S. Senate races that gave them control of both houses of Congress and helped President Joe Biden enact his legislative agenda. Now, in the face of new restrictions on voting in areas heavily populated by people of color, new challenges are emerging. Brown estimates that Black Voters Matter, which received more than $30 million in donations last year, has about 90,000 unique donors. Most of its donations were small gifts from ordinary Americans. The groups operations are run through two channels. One is the Black Voters Matters Fund, a social welfare organization that can engage in political activity, like lobbying. The other is the Black Voters Matters Capacity Building Institute, a nonprofit that funds voter education, registrations and other programs to expand access to voting. (Contributions to the Capacity Building Institute are tax-deductible; donations to the Fund are not). After the racial justice protests, most of the donations flowed into the Capacity Building Institute, which from June 2020 to the end of last year received $18 million a jump of more than 400% from the amount it collected in 2019, according to Alexis Buchanan Thomas, Black Voters Matter's development director, though the increase was driven in part by the 2020 elections. Brown says $3 million earmarked for advocacy work was distributed to several dozen community-based groups. An additional $7 million was given to help local organizations, like the Alabama Association for the Arts, run their own operations and conduct voter engagement work, including voter registrations. Using a $17,000 grant from Black Voters Matter, the Alabama-based group funded a project called Lift Our Vote. It rented buses to help Alabamans get to polling locations, said Jessica Fortune Barker, the projects co-founder. On Election Day, they drove 10 routes across north Alabama. An additional $6 million was used to support Black Voters Matters own get-out-the-vote activities and its 21 state staffers who coordinate with local groups. The funding also went toward providing local organizations vans for transportation, graphics support and radio advertising expenses, among other needs. The main goal for Black Voters Matter, Brown says, has been to strengthen these organizations for the long run. The roots of Black Voters Matter date to 2016, borne of the painful frustration Brown says she and the organizations other co-founder, Cliff Albright, felt about the nationalist, racist rhetoric of former President Donald Trump and a national discourse that didnt include Black folks." In philanthropy circles, Black Voters Matter is whats called an intermediary an organization that donors can turn to when they want to fund nonprofits but lack the expertise or connections to do so directly. In the South, Black Voters Matter has become the powerful heart of an ecosystem of community-based organizations that are often too small for institutional funders to notice church groups involved in voter engagement, for example, or informal group of women with backgrounds in voter drives. This really provides an important infrastructure to touch places, and communities, that national philanthropy has not necessarily been able to engage in deeply, said Jerry Maldonado, the director of the Cities and States program at the Ford Foundation, which, in 2020, donated $1.8 million to the nonprofit. The South is a region that is growing tremendously and shifting tremendously. But its also, unfortunately, a hotbed for regressive innovation, such as efforts restricting voting rights. Many restrictive voting laws have been passed in Southern states since a 2013 Supreme Court ruling threw out a provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The provision had required officials in jurisdictions with a history of discriminatory practices to receive federal approval before making changes to the voting process. This year, Republican lawmakers in Georgia, Florida and other states have passed new voting restrictions, based largely on unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud by Trump and his allies. Supporters say the overhauls strengthen election security. But critics, backed by many election experts, argue that the new laws mainly serve to suppress minority votes. In Georgia, Black Voters Matter's advocacy wing worked with its partners, and other civil rights organizations, like the Georgia NAACP, to design a campaign that urged corporations based in the state to publicly oppose the law and divest from politicians who sponsored it. Under pressure from activists and Black executives, Coca-Cola and Delta issued statements opposing the law. But their statements came days after the bill was passed. The Black Voters Matter Fund, along with other organizations, has since filed a lawsuit challenging the Georgia and Florida laws. Brown's trip to Selma was part of a national event in support of a federal bill, named after John Lewis, to re-establish the mandatory federal oversight that was thrown out by the high court. The event, the John Lewis Advancement Act Day of Action, was also intended to advocate for a federal overhaul of elections proposed by congressional Democrats. The group's voter engagement work is slated to receive more money. Last year, the Capacity Building Institute was chosen as one of 10 Black-led organizations that will receive a total of $36 million over three years from the Democracy Frontlines Fund. Its a strategy developed by 12 foundations to fund Black-led groups that are fighting for free and fair elections, among other priorities. The donations, in part, help the group hold events to benefit local communities. To counteract food insecurity, for example, Black Voters Matter and its partners have held free grocery distributions. In Georgia, Brown says it distributed free groceries to 200,000 families last year. In Selma, when Brown finished her speech about voting rights, Black Voters Matter staffers and their partners hopped on the groups tour bus for a distribution event in Montgomery. After an hour-long drive, the vehicle stopped at a parking lot across from a distribution site that its partners had set up. Soon, Montgomery residents began lining up cars, waiting to pick up collard greens, toys and Black Voters Matter merchandise, from T-shirts and masks to hand fans. For the nonprofit, it was also a way to obtain contact information from attendees, who had to scan a QR code after getting their items. Alabama will always be special to Brown. Its where her grandmother, whom she calls her soulmate, was barred from voting for most of her life under Jim Crow laws. And, its where she lost a close Democratic primary race in 1998 for a seat on the Alabama State Board of Education. After a weeklong vote count, Brown failed to oust the Democrat incumbent by barely more than 200 votes. But minutes after the election was certified, Brown says she received a call from the state Democratic leader, telling her that a sheriff from a county she had overwhelmingly carried had found about 800 uncounted votes in a safe. Yet at that point, her only recourse was to file a lawsuit, which she could not afford. After that experience, I understood the impact and the power of voting, and voter suppression in ways that I had never experienced before, she said. I became more committed than ever that I would not allow anybody to take away my agency, the agency of the people that I love, or my community. More than two decades later, well into Browns career in philanthropy, her work is now most pronounced in Georgia, where the organization is based. Its work in the state, alongside organizations like Stacey Abrams Fair Fight and the New Georgia Project, has been credited with helping flip Georgia blue during the 2020 presidential election and in the subsequent U.S. Senate runoffs. Sekou Franklin, who teaches political science at Middle Tennessee State University, says this was due, in part, to the groups network of activists and organizations in dozens of cities, from Savannah and Albany, to Atlanta. They laid some of this groundwork in the 2018 election, so they have history in these communities, said Franklin, who worked with the fund that year on a campaign that called for a civilian oversight board for Nashvilles police department. I deem them just as important to Georgia transitioning from a red, to purple, swing state as Abrams. For Brown and Albright, the focus of the work is not only on presidential and state-wide elections but also local races that often have a more direct impact on communities. In Brunswick, a Georgia city where three white men are charged with the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, Black Voters Matter supports A Better Glynn. That nonprofit, launched last year by local minister Elijah Henderson and his friends after Arberys slaying drew international headlines, seeks to advance equity in Glynn County beyond the Arbery case. It counts the ousting of Jackie Johnson, a Republican prosecutor criticized for her offices response to the fatal shooting of Arbery, as one of their successes. Henderson says that while the nonprofit didn't endorse independent candidate Keith Higgins for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit Court, it worked hard to get people to sign a petition to put him on the ballot. Then, they went out nearly every day, and registered voters. Thats the kind of intensity Black Voters Matter wants to keep one year after Floyd's murder. As we got further and further away from the protest, a lot of organizations, including us, saw those donations going down on a daily basis, said Cliff Albright. We would like for people to continue to have structural racism and racial justice on the top of their minds, just as much as they did in the summer of protest." Black Voters Matter will continue to pursue three things Brown often mentions: organizing people, organizing money and organizing ideas. Ultimately, Albright says, it would like to work toward self-sufficiency and reduce its reliance on donors. We understand that any given month or any given year, the funding world, or individual donors, might be looking for the next shiny thing, he said. We know that we have to find ways to be independently self-sustaining. Brown and Albrights trip to Alabama ended with a block party at a Montgomery park. Police blocked off traffic, allowing two truck vendors selling pasta and other food to set up. Flanked by Black Voters Matter signs, community members lined up and, at one point, cheered on a man whose dance moves to Ushers Yeah captured attention. Attendees were offered free Black Voters Matter merchandise. And they could register to vote. Near the end of the event, Brown once again came before an audience to speak about voting rights. This time, she opened with another civil rights anthem: Aint Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round. ____ The Associated Press receives support from the Lilly Endowment for coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of APs philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy. Gov. Jay Inslee announced some "unique incentives" to encourage more Washington residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19 on Thursday including cash prizes worth $2 million. Administered by the Washington State Lottery, the "Shot of a Lifetime" promotion will include five weekly drawings for vaccinated Washingtonians using the names of people entered in the Department of Health's immunization database, regardless of when they received the vaccine. The first four drawings, which will occur each Tuesday, will be for cash prizes worth $250,000, while the final drawing on July 13 will be for a $1 million cash prize. "These generous programs will encourage more Washingtonians to take this life-saving vaccine," Inslee said during a press conference Thursday. "I hope people will see this as an opportunity to reopen even sooner than June 30th if we can stay motivated, stay informed and get more people vaccinated faster throughout the month of June." Winners will be contacted by the lottery, and proof of Washington residency is required to claim the prize. The state will also be giving away tuition assistance, including $1 million provided to universities and community colleges for them to run their own giveaways. Thirty prizes of one year of tuition college credits will be awarded to 1217-year-olds to encourage more in that age group to receive the vaccine. Other prizes from private companies and sports teams in Washington will also be rewarded, including tickets to Mariners, Seahawks, Storm, Kraken, Sounders, and OL Reign games as well as airline tickets from Alaska Airlines. Three hundred Xboxs and GamePasses will also be given away to vaccinated individuals by Microsoft, while Google will be giving away 25 Google Nests. Amazon is set to give away 40 Echo Dots. The new incentives come as demand for vaccines are softening throughout the state, yet a large portion remains unvaccinated. According to the most recent statewide data available as of May 30, 62% of the state's population ages 16 and older have received one dose of the vaccine, and 54% of the population 3.3 million people have received both doses and are fully protected against the virus. However, 2.3 million residents in the state have not initiated the process to get vaccinated. With the state looking to reopen the economy on June 30 or possibly earlier if vaccination rates reach 70% state officials are looking for more creative ways to urge people to get their shots. Many counties in the state, including King and Snohomish, are closing their stationary mass vaccination sites this month and opening new mobile clinics to meet people where they are. The Seattle Fire Department is also launching new mobile clinics at local breweries and farmers markets in the upcoming weeks. During a news briefing on Wednesday, Secretary of Health Umair Shah warned of a "tale of two societies" where a portion of the population was vaccinated and another was not. "Our state has made tremendous progress, with well over half of our population 16 and older fully vaccinated, but there are still far too many people who have not started vaccination," Shah said on Thursday. "We hope this effort encourages people to get their vaccine to protect themselves and their communities as we push toward reopening at the end of this month." WASHINGTON (AP) For nearly an hour, President Joe Biden and the top Senate Republican negotiating infrastructure met behind closed doors two seasoned legislators engaged in another round of conversations, but emerging with few outward signs of tangible progress ahead of a deadline next week. The White House billed the private meeting Wednesday as more of a conversation with West Virginia GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, rather than a formal negotiation. No new offers were expected to be presented. More than anything, the session in the Oval Office was seen through the political lens of the president and Republicans trying to show the public what Americans say they want a willingness to work together, even if no deal is within reach. Biden and Capito had a constructive and frank conversation," according to a White House official granted anonymity to discuss the private talks. The senator's office said she is encouraged by the ongoing conversations. The two agreed to reconnect Friday. Still, talks over Bidens top legislative priority have been moving slowly, a daunting undertaking given the massive infrastructure investment, and time for a deal is running out. The administration has set a June 7 deadline to see clear direction and signs of progress. The fact that the president is having Sen. Capito here today and has been having ongoing discussions with Republicans in the Senate and that hes eager to find a path forward on bipartisanship work certainly tells you, I think, what you need to know about what he thinks about working with people even when theres disagreement, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said ahead of the afternoon session. Privately, the president has sized up the GOP's latest $928 billion offer as unworkable, in large part because it taps unused COVID-19 funds. Instead, Biden wants to hike the corporate tax rate a nonstarter for Senate Republicans to generate revenue for his $1.7 trillion package. The ongoing talks may take on new importance after Democrats suffered a setback Wednesday in their efforts to attempt to pass this and other Biden priorities on party-line votes. The Senate parliamentarian signaled new limits on how many times Democrats can use the budget reconciliation process that allows a 51-vote threshold, rather than the 60 votes typically needed to advance legislation. In a four-page memo, the parliamentarian made it clear Democrats will likely have only more only one more opportunity to use the budget process this year, essentially closing the door on a strategy they were eyeing for multiple votes. Friday's next round of talks between Biden and the Republican senator would overlap with the release of the May jobs report, as private economists estimate a meaningful increase from the disappointing April figures. Mays jobs figures could provide evidence as to whether Bidens earlier $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package has helped put the country on track to recover the jobs lost to the pandemic. Heading into the meeting, Capito was expected to reup the GOP's push to repurpose the coronavirus relief fund to pay for infrastructure investments, said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has tasked her to lead the discussions. Thats the key to getting a bipartisan agreement, McConnell said at a press conference in Kentucky. He said he particularly wants to halt unemployment assistance that he says is preventing Americans from returning to work. The coronavirus is behind us. We need to get back to work, McConnell said. Together, the president and the Republicans both have political incentives to negotiate a bipartisan accord over his sweeping investment package, even if no deal is within sight. For Biden, reaching across the aisle and cutting deals in Congress is central to his brand of politics. Republicans can also score political gains by trying to work with a popular president. Yet an initial Memorial Day deadline came and went without results, and in the latest round of talks, Biden and a core group of GOP senators appear to have pulled farther apart. Democrats, who hold slim majorities in the House and Senate, are watching warily as the White House and Republicans try to narrow the gap between the president's initial ideas for a massive investment in not just roads and bridges but the human infrastructure of hospitals and child and senior care facilities, and a GOP approach that is more focused on traditional infrastructure projects. The White House has pared back the presidents initial $2.3 trillion bid, now tallied at $1.7 trillion, with Biden proposing to fund the investment by raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. Without a bipartisan agreement with Republicans, Biden will be faced with trying to muscle support from Democrats alone. That approach also poses political challenges, particularly in the evenly split Senate, where the administration has no votes to spare if the president tries to push through the package under the budget rules that allow for a simple majority vote. Psaki downplayed comments Biden had made Tuesday that were seen as critical of two Democrats, presumably Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sen. Krysten Sinema of Arizona. Speaking in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he noted Democrats who don't always vote with the party, blaming them for stalling his agenda. Psaki said the president considers both Manchin and Sinema good working partners" and pointed to the Capito meeting as an example of his willingness to cross the divide to hash out issues. Biden's own thinking is that the Republican proposal, while improved from an earlier $568 billion opening bid, is unworkable because the Republicans want to tap unspent COVID-19 funds to pay for the spending. The president, in meetings with his team, has zeroed in on the questions the GOP proposal raises namely, which coronavirus relief funds to possibly shelve. Bidens view is that tapping the COVID-19 funds would unduly burden the middle class, including small business owners, who are receiving aid during the pandemic crisis. For Republicans, the corporate tax hikes are a red line they will not cross. They instead want to pay for the infrastructure investment with virus aid money as well as gas taxes and other fees on consumers. Congress is away for a weeklong Memorial Day break, but faces a deadline when lawmakers return next week. The White House said the president is also eyeing action in the House next week, when the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is set to begin debating a big highway reauthorization bill that is being closely watched as a potential building block toward the broader package. ___ Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Darlene Superville and Josh Boak contributed to this report. WASHINGTON (AP) For nearly an hour, President Joe Biden and the top Senate Republican negotiating infrastructure met Wednesday behind closed doors two seasoned legislators engaged in another round of conversations, but emerging with few outward signs of tangible progress ahead of a deadline next week. The White House billed the private meeting as more of a conversation with West Virginia GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, rather than a formal negotiation. No new offers were expected to be presented. More than anything, the session in the Oval Office was seen through the political lens of the president and Republicans trying to show the public what Americans say they want a willingness to work together, even if no deal is within reach. Biden and Capito had a constructive and frank conversation," according to a White House official granted anonymity to discuss the private talks. The senator's office said she is encouraged by the ongoing conversations. The two agreed to reconnect Friday. Still, talks over Bidens top legislative priority have been moving slowly, a daunting undertaking given the massive infrastructure investment, and time for a deal is running out. The administration has set a June 7 deadline to see clear direction and signs of progress. The fact that the president is having Sen. Capito here today and has been having ongoing discussions with Republicans in the Senate and that hes eager to find a path forward on bipartisanship work certainly tells you, I think, what you need to know about what he thinks about working with people even when theres disagreement, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said ahead of the afternoon session. Privately, the president has sized up the GOP's latest $928 billion offer as unworkable, in large part because it taps unused COVID-19 funds. Instead, Biden wants to hike the corporate tax rate a nonstarter for Senate Republicans to generate revenue for his $1.7 trillion package. The ongoing talks may take on new importance after Democrats suffered a setback Wednesday in their efforts to attempt to pass this and other Biden priorities on party-line votes. The Senate parliamentarian signaled new limits on how many times Democrats can use the budget reconciliation process that allows a 51-vote threshold, rather than the 60 votes typically needed to advance legislation. In a four-page memo, the parliamentarian made it clear Democrats will likely have only more only one more opportunity to use the budget process this year, essentially closing the door on a strategy they were eyeing for multiple votes. Friday's next round of talks between Biden and the Republican senator would overlap with the release of the May jobs report, as private economists estimate a meaningful increase from the disappointing April figures. Mays jobs figures could provide evidence as to whether Bidens earlier $1.9 trillion COVID relief package has helped put the country on track to recover the jobs lost to the pandemic. Heading into the meeting, Capito was expected to reup the GOP's push to repurpose the coronavirus relief fund to pay for infrastructure investments, said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has tasked her to lead the discussions. Thats the key to getting a bipartisan agreement, McConnell said at a press conference in Kentucky. He said he particularly wants to halt unemployment assistance that he says is preventing Americans from returning to work. The coronavirus is behind us. We need to get back to work, McConnell said. Together, the president and the Republicans both have political incentives to negotiate a bipartisan accord over his sweeping investment package, even if no deal is within sight. For Biden, reaching across the aisle and cutting deals in Congress is central to his brand of politics. Republicans can also score political gains by trying to work with a popular president. Yet an initial Memorial Day deadline came and went without results, and in the latest round of talks, Biden and a core group of GOP senators appear to have pulled farther apart. Democrats, who hold slim majorities in the House and Senate, are watching warily as the White House and Republicans try to narrow the gap between the president's initial ideas for a massive investment in not just roads and bridges but the human infrastructure of hospitals and child and senior care facilities, and a GOP approach that is more focused on traditional infrastructure projects. The White House has pared back the presidents initial $2.3 trillion bid, now tallied at $1.7 trillion, with Biden proposing to fund the investment by raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. Without a bipartisan agreement with Republicans, Biden will be faced with trying to muscle support from Democrats alone. That approach also poses political challenges, particularly in the evenly split Senate, where the administration has no votes to spare if the president tries to push through the package under the budget rules that allow for a simple majority vote. Psaki downplayed comments Biden had made Tuesday that were seen as critical of two Democrats, presumably Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sen. Krysten Sinema of Arizona. Speaking in Tulsa, Okla., he noted Democrats who don't always vote with the party, blaming them for stalling his agenda. Psaki said the president considers both Manchin and Sinema good working partners" and pointed to the Capito meeting as an example of his willingness to cross the divide to hash out issues. Biden's own thinking is that the Republican proposal, while improved from an earlier $568 billion opening bid, is unworkable because the Republicans want to tap unspent COVID-19 funds to pay for the spending. The president, in meetings with his team, has zeroed in on the questions the GOP proposal raises namely, which coronavirus relief funds to possibly shelve. Bidens view is that tapping the COVID funds would unduly burden the middle class, including small business owners, who are receiving aid during the pandemic crisis. For Republicans, the corporate tax hikes are a red line they will not cross. They instead want to pay for the infrastructure investment with virus aid money as well as gas taxes and other fees on consumers. Congress is away for a weeklong Memorial Day break, but faces a deadline when lawmakers return next week. The White House said the president is also eyeing action in the House next week, when the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is set to begin debating a big highway reauthorization bill that is being closely watched as a potential building block toward the broader package. ___ Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Darlene Superville and Josh Boak contributed to this report. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Elaine Bryant, a deputy Detroit police chief, will become Columbus' next police chief, making her the first Black woman to lead the force. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther named Bryant, as the new chief of the Columbus Division of Police making good on a promise by the mayor of Ohios capital and largest city to choose a candidate from outside the 1,900-officer agency for the first time in department history. I have faced many obstacles in my journey, some because of my gender and some because of my race, Bryant said in her first time speaking as chief. Ive never let these obstacles stand in my way. The announcement followed months of turmoil within the department amid a series of high-profile fatal police shootings of Black men and children. At this time in Columbus, its tough to imagine a more important decision than this, Public Safety Director Ned Pettus Jr. said. Our next chief of police will lead a force full of exceptionally talented and dedicated professionals. He added," She will also take on some of the most urgent problems facing law enforcement across America." Some of those problems Bryant already faced as deputy chief with the Detroit police department, where she held several positions since 2000, including commander over the agencys major crimes unit. In her application, she promoted her skills in several areas, including community relations, emergency preparedness, strong administrative background, investigative and proactive policing. We need a police chief who is committed to change. We need a leader with extensive experience in law enforcement, as well as sound judgment, empathy, and a commitment to community policing, Ginther said during a press conference Wednesday. We have found all of this in Elaine Bryant. But while Bryant's selection will make history within the force, she made it clear that addressing systemic racism within policing is not her only priority upon starting the job. A lot of people make the assumption that because you are a minority that you're just going to strictly address minorities, Bryant told reporters. No, this is about inclusion. It's about equity for everyone. Everybody has a place at this table. The selection had come down to Bryant and finalists Avery Moore, an assistant Dallas police chief, and Ivonne Roman, the former chief of the Newark, New Jersey, police department. Roman tweeted her congratulations Tuesday to Bryant. Sending a BIG CONGRATS to Detroits Deputy Chief Elaine Bryant on being selected as the next Columbus, OH Police Chief. She was stellar during the town hall and the residents of Columbus are lucky to have her, she tweeted. In addition, Moore told WTTE-TV and The Columbus Dispatch he was not selected. I was disappointed, Moore told the Dispatch. I had hoped to have the opportunity, but Im very busy in Dallas and Ive got to keep working. Ginther has been adamant that the new chief come from outside the department, saying that was the only way to enact the kind of broad, cultural changes he was seeking in the agency. As part of the selection process, Columbus also created a first-ever assistant chief post to allow the next chief to bring his or her own team. Ginther has said candidates wanted that ability to allow them to put their own plans in place. In January, Ginther forced out the man he selected for the job in 2019 Chief Thomas Quinlan, a veteran Columbus officer saying he'd lost confidence in Quinlan's ability to make needed changes. The announcement comes at a time of historic reckoning for the department. Ginther and other officials invited the Justice Department in April to review the agency for deficiencies and racial disparities in several areas. The department is also under scrutiny for recent fatal shootings of Black people by white officers, including the death of 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant on April 20. Earlier this month, the city agreed to pay $10 million to the family of Andre Hill, a 47-year-old Black man who was shot and killed by former Officer Adam Coy as Hill walked out of a garage holding a cell phone. It's the largest civil settlement in Columbus history. Coy, who is white, was fired after the shooting and has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and reckless homicide in the Dec. 22 death of Hill. Also this month, a federal judge ordered the city to alter the way it responds to mass protests, saying officers ran amok during protests over racial injustice and police brutality last summer. The union representing Columbus officers has criticized what it calls politicians' constantly vilifying officers. The Columbus agency like many big-city departments is juggling calls for internal change even as it battles a spike in gun violence. Columbus saw a record 174 homicides in 2020 and as of mid-May had recorded 74 so far this year, a figure not reached until late July of last year. ___ Farnoush Amiri is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. BRUSSELS (AP) The European Union expressed concern Thursday about Greeces use of a sound cannon to scare migrants away from its borders, raising questions over whether the device contravenes the 27-nation blocs laws on fundamental rights. The Associated Press reported on Monday that Greek border police are firing bursts of deafening noise from an armored truck over the frontier into Turkey. The long-range acoustic device, or sound cannon, is the size of a small TV set but can match the volume of a jet engine. 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Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbff33c1700)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbff3831008)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbff33c1700)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbff3831008)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbff33d0940)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbff3831008)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbff3831008)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbff2eeddd8)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbff32dab58)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbff32dab58)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 LaTosha Brown opened with a song. Speaking about voting rights one recent spring day in Selma, Alabama, the Black activist delivered the civil rights anthem Keep Your Eyes on the Prize in a voice showcasing her background as a jazz singer. She told her audience, through music, that the fight for equal access to the ballot box was as urgent as ever. The song drew cheers from a few dozen listeners, young and old, who had gathered before the brown-bricked African Methodist Episcopal church in a city known for its poverty as much as for its troubled racial past. For Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, the song served to introduce a question. Close your eyes, she said. What would America look like without racism? How will we ever create what were not even envisioning? There was nothing that was brought into the real world that was not first envisioned. A year after the police killing of George Floyd galvanized public attention to racial injustices, amid a barrage of restrictive voting laws being passed by state legislatures, Black Voters Matter is redoubling its march toward its North Star: increasing the political power of Black communities. Like many groups that serve predominantly Black communities, the organization was flooded with donations after Floyds death. A year later, the impact is visible: The group says it gave $10 million to 600 community-based groups in 15 states, mostly in the South, who, among other things, registered voters, held phone banks, sent millions of text messages, and canvassed communities reminding people to vote. Those efforts are widely credited with helping fuel Black voter turnout in Georgia, which, in part, led to Democrats scoring victories in the presidential and U.S. Senate races that gave them control of both houses of Congress and helped President Joe Biden enact his legislative agenda. Now, in the face of new restrictions on voting in areas heavily populated by people of color, new challenges are emerging. Brown, the co-founder of Black Voters Matter, estimates that Black Voters Matter, which received more than $30 million in donations last year, has about 90,000 unique donors. Most of its donations were small gifts from ordinary Americans. The groups operations are run through two channels. One is the Black Voters Matters Fund, a social welfare organization that can engage in political activity, like lobbying. The other is the Black Voters Matters Capacity Building Institute, a nonprofit that funds voter education, registrations and other programs to expand access to voting. (Contributions to the Capacity Building Institute are tax-deductible; donations to the Fund are not). After the racial justice protests, most of the donations flowed into the Capacity Building Institute, which from June 2020 to the end of last year received $18 million a 414% jump from the sum it collected in 2019, according to Alexis Buchanan Thomas, Black Voters Matter's development director, though the increase was driven in part by the 2020 elections. Brown says $3 million earmarked for advocacy work was distributed to several dozen community-based groups. An additional $7 million was given to help local organizations run their own operations and conduct voter engagement work, including voter registrations. About $6 million was also used to support Black Voters Matters own get-out-the-vote activities and provide local organizations with vans for transportation, graphics support and radio advertising, among other needs. The main goal for Black Voters Matter, Brown says, has been to strengthen these organizations for the long run. The roots of Black Voters Matter date to 2016, borne of the painful frustration Brown says she and the organizations other co-founder, Cliff Albright, felt about the nationalist, racist rhetoric of former President Donald Trump and a national discourse that didnt include Black folks." In philanthropy circles, Black Voters Matter is whats called an intermediary an organization that donors can turn to when they want to fund nonprofits but lack the expertise or connections to do so directly. The South is a region that is growing tremendously and shifting tremendously. But its also, unfortunately, a hotbed for regressive innovation, such as efforts restricting voting rights," said Jerry Maldonado, the director of the Cities and States program at the Ford Foundation, which, in 2020, donated $1.8 million to the nonprofit. The South is a region that is growing tremendously and shifting tremendously. But its also, unfortunately, a hotbed for regressive innovation, such as efforts restricting voting rights. Many restrictive voting laws have been passed in Southern states since a 2013 Supreme Court ruling threw out a provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The provision had required officials in jurisdictions with a history of discriminatory practices to receive federal approval before making changes to the voting process. This year, Republican lawmakers in Georgia, Florida and other states have passed new voting restrictions, based largely on unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud by Trump and his allies. Critics argue the new laws mainly serve to suppress minority votes. One Southern state that will always be special to Brown is Alabama. Its where her grandmother, whom she calls her soulmate, was barred from voting for most of her life under Jim Crow laws. And, its where she lost a close Democratic primary race in 1998 for a seat on the Alabama State Board of Education by about 200 votes, even though a sheriff found 800 uncounted votes in a safe minutes after her loss was certified. For Brown and Albright, the focus of the work is not only on presidential and state-wide elections but also on local races that often have a more direct impact on communities. This raises concern about the lack of consistency they see in donations to Black Voters Matter. As we got further and further away from the protest, a lot of organizations, including us, saw those donations going down on a daily basis, said Albright. We understand that any given month or any given year, the funding world, or individual donors, might be looking for the next shiny thing. We know that we have to find ways to be independently self-sustaining. ____ The Associated Press receives support from the Lilly Endowment for coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of APs philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy. AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) Tensions between Republicans and Democrats over the use of masks lingered in the Maine Legislature on Wednesday when lawmakers returned to the Maine State House. Maine has lifted mask requirements in most of the state, but they are still required at the state house. Numerous Republican lawmakers have criticized the requirement, and six Republican members and one Libertarian were stripped of committee assignments last week for refusing to comply with the rule. The Legislature met in the state house Wednesday for the first time since before the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Several Republican members of the Maine House of Representatives walked the hall of the state house wearing plastic face shields instead of the required masks, and some wore no face coverings at all. Democratic House Speaker Ryan Fecteau said late Tuesday that he would consider reappointing the conservative lawmakers to their committee assignments if they complied with the mask rule going forward. The House Republicans have declined to comment on the offer as a group. I did receive the letter, said Republican Rep Heidi Sampson, one of the lawmakers removed from a committee assignment. It's worth thinking about. At least one representative arrived at a security checkpoint without a mask Wednesday, said Jenna Howard, a spokesperson for the office of the house speaker. The lawmaker, Libertarian Rep. John Andrews, will face a letter of reprimand from the House Ethics Committee and agreed to leave the state house voluntarily, the Portland Press Herald reported. Andrews said he is fully vaccinated against coronavirus, and that the mask rule conflicted with U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. He was one of the members stripped of a committee assignment last week. The Republican members of the Maine Senate, however, intend to follow the rules set by the Legislative Council including wearing masks, said Tom Desjardin, a spokesman for the senators. Wednesday's session also attracted demonstrators who oppose mask rules. Several masked demonstrators arrived holding signs with slogans such as Masks = Muzzles and Let Kids Breath. The Legislature had been using the Augusta Civic Center elsewhere in Maines capital city as a temporary home. The building allowed lawmakers and staff to spread out during meetings. Lawmakers were scheduled to meet in the state house Wednesday and Thursday. They had a loaded agenda including potential tweaks to the state's retirement system and expansion of dental coverage. The Maine House of Representatives, which is controlled by Democrats, rejected a series of proposals Wednesday from Republicans that were designed to limit emergency powers wielded by the governor. Republicans have said for months that Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has had too much authority during the pandemic and a state of civil emergency she declared has gone on for too long. TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) For months, Naftali Bennett vexed Israel's political establishment by refusing to say whether he and his Yamina party would get behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Now the 49-year-old tech millionaire and former Netanyahu protege is poised to become his successor. His rise to Israel's top job is a historic turn for the 73-year-old nation after four inconclusive elections and a brutal 11-day war with Hamas' militant rulers in the Gaza Strip. As a fragile truce held into its second week, Bennett finally announced his party would join with allies of centrist Yair Lapid to form a government. They completed the deal late Wednesday, just a half hour before a midnight deadline, paving the way to formally oust Netanyahu in the coming days. The change coalition reflects a pragmatic streak in the 49-year-old father of four who built his career on becoming the pro-settlement, anti-Palestinian statehood leader of the new Israeli right. It also reflects Israel's mercurial politics. Less than two months ago, Bennett signed a pledge on national television. I wont let Lapid become prime minister, with or without a rotation, because Im a man of the right and for me values are important, he said. Yet that's exactly what will happen under Lapid and Bennett's deal to serve as premier in two-year shifts. Bennett was more circumspect when he announced the deal this week. No one will be asked to give up their ideology, but everyone will have to postpone the realization of some of their dreams, he said. "We will focus on what can be done, instead of arguing over what is impossible. Bennett is a modern Orthodox Jew and lives in the upscale Tel Aviv suburb of Raanana, rather than the settlements he champions. The mistake," Bennett told The Associated Press in 2012, "is to categorize me as extreme. Bennett began life with his American-born parents in Haifa, then bounced with his family between North America and Israel, military service, law school and the private sector. Throughout, hes curated a persona thats at once modern, religious and nationalist. After serving in the elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit, Bennett went to law school at Hebrew University and made a fortune in the largely secular world of technology. In 1999, he co-founded Cyota, an anti-fraud software company that he sold in 2005 to U.S.-based RSA Security for $145 million. Bennett has said the bitter experience of Israel's 2006 war against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah drove him to politics. The monthlong war ended inconclusively, and Israel's military and political leadership at the time was widely criticized as bungling the campaign. Bennett made his debut as Netanyahus chief of staff for two years. They parted ways after a mysterious falling out that Israeli media linked to Netanyahus wife, Sara, who wields great influence over her husband's inner circle. The two clashed again when Bennett fiercely opposed Netanyahus decision in late 2009 to slow settlement construction in a U.S.-led effort to encourage Palestinians to renew peace talks. Bennett briefly served as head of the West Bank settler's council, Yesha. He marched into national politics in his own right in 2013, remaking a party of pro-settlement advocates and later serving as cabinet minister of diaspora affairs, education and defense in various governments. Then came a series of inconclusive Israeli elections and corruption charges against Netanyahu. Before the latest election on March 23, he refused to say whether he would sit as part of a Netanyahu-led coalition. Like the other elections, the March contest failed to produce a governing majority. Netanyahu failed to form a coalition of 61 votes in the Knesset. Then it was Lapid's turn. On Sunday night, Bennett announced he would form a government with my friend, Lapid. The alternative, he said, was to force the country into more elections. Or we can halt this insanity," he said. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) The landmark voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 didn't happen in just one day: Participants spent four nights camping along the roughly 55-mile (89-kilometer) route through Alabama, sleeping in tents and near farm buildings under the watch of guards to prevent white supremacist attacks. Now threatened by decades of weather and wear, the campsites used by those marchers are among the nation's most endangered historic places, according to a new assessment by a preservation group. The sites, along with 10 other locations in nine states, need immediate attention or risk being lost, according to the nonprofit National Trust for Historic Preservation. Three of the campsites are privately owned, rural acreage along U.S. 80, which links Selma and the capital city, and the fourth is the City of St. Jude, a Roman Catholic complex where marchers spent the night before thousands followed the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to the Alabama Capitol on March 25, 1965, to demonstrate for voting rights for Black people. The march route looks different today than it did 56 years ago what was then a two-lane road is now four lanes, with added traffic and new construction. While leaving the details of preservation to families that own the camp land and local officials, the trust is shedding light on the sites and others at a time when voting rights and racial justice are again a national issue. "These 11 places celebrate the interconnection of American culture and acknowledge it as a multicultural fabric that, when pieced together, reveals our true identity as a people, said Paul Edmondson, president of the Washington-based organization, which releases a list of endangered places annually. Other places on the 2021 list include: - Trujillo Adobe, the remains of an early Latino settlement dating back nearly 160 years in Riverside, California. - Summit Tunnels 6 & 7 and Summit Camp Site in Truckee, California, which tell the story of Chinese railroad workers who built the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s. - Georgia B. Williams Nursing Home in Camilla, Georgia, once the state's only Black-owned birthing place for African American women. - Boston Harbor Islands, archaeological and historic sites on 34 islands just off the coast of Boston. - Morningstar Tabernacle No. 88 Order of Moses Cemetery and Hall, a historic Black settlement dating to the late 1800s in Cabin John, Maryland. - Home of Sarah Elizabeth Ray, a Black woman and activist who launched a legal fight after being denied entry to a segregated ferry in Detroit in 1945. - The Riverside Hotel, which housed Black blues musicians and others during the Jim Crow era in Clarksdale, Mississippi. - Pine Grove Elementary Schoo l, built for Black children by philanthropist Julius Rosenwald in 1917 in Cumberland, Maryland. - Threatt Filling Station, which catered to Black travelers on Route 66, and family farm in Luther, Oklahoma. - Oljato Trading Post, built in 1921 and one of the few Navajo trading posts remaining in the region around San Juan County, Utah. The Selma-to-Montgomery March began two weeks after Alabama state troopers beat marchers attempting to leave Selma on a day that came to be called Bloody Sunday. Sites in Selma and the route to Montgomery are now part of the Selma-to-Montgomery National Historic Trail. Under the watch of members of the Alabama National Guard, marchers first stopped about 7 miles east of Selma at land owned by David Hall, a Black farmer who risked harassment from white neighbors upset about the march. A photo of marchers showed them gathered around a fire built in an old metal drum for warmth, and Hall's granddaughter Davine Hall said visitors still stop by. Sometimes we come outside and there's a whole yard of bike riders, people who stopped by and want a tour," said Hall, who splits time between the family land and California. Sometimes they actually ask if they can spend the night." The next rainy night they stayed on the property of Rosie Steele, followed by a stay on land owned by Robert Gardner, where Tuskegee University students supplied dinner and marchers slept on donated swimming pool air mattresses, many of which deflated overnight. Gardner's daughter, Cheryl Gardner Davis, was 4 at the time and still remembers the crowds and noise. A white neighbor threatened her father for welcoming the marchers, she said, and for years the family kept quiet about the experience. I remember my father telling us that we couldnt go anywhere by ourselves, that we always had to have an adult with us. He said if we saw a car along the road that was the FBI watching over us, said Davis. It was a little scary. Dozens of marchers spent the night along the way, and their numbers grew exponentially by the time the march reached downtown Montgomery. While the families who owned the campsites had little contact through the decades, planning is underway to preserve homes that were on the Hall and Gardner sites in 1965 and perhaps turn them into educational venues, said Phillip Howard, a Birmingham-area consultant working on the project with The Conservation Fund. On the final night of the march, about 3 miles (4.83 kilometers) from Alabama's Capitol, demonstrators camping at the City of St. Jude were entertained by stars including Harry Belafonte; Tony Bennett; Peter, Paul and Mary; Sammy Davis Jr. and Joan Baez before the final leg of the journey. The chapel there remains much as it was then. Today near the Capitol, a stone historical marker recounts the events of 1965, when King addressed an estimated 25,000 people at the end of the march. Plain steel signs identify the campsites used by the marchers along the way, but there's little else to signify their importance. ___ Reeves is a member of APs Race and Ethnicity team. Follow him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Jay_Reeves. PIRAEUS, Greece (AP) Ferry services to the Greek islands were disrupted Thursday morning after a seamens union went ahead with a strike that a court had declared illegal. Union members blockaded the entrance to ferries in the main port of Piraeus, preventing anyone from boarding. Hundreds of passengers with their suitcases gathered at the port, saying the ferry companies had not informed them of the strike. Heated arguments broke out between passengers and striking workers. A petition urging Google to allow its staff to use their chosen names on their identification badges among other calls to improve workplace culture for contracted employees is swiftly gaining traction after Phares Lee, a transgender man employed by G4S in a contracted security position for Google, said he asked to have his deadname removed from his own badge and was repeatedly denied. Spearheaded by the Alphabet Workers Union on Tuesday, the petition titled Drop the Deadnames now has 700 signatures, many of which are from individuals employed by Google. (A deadname refers to the name a transgender individual was given at birth and is no longer the name they use upon transitioning. Sharing someone's deadname can be painful for that individual, as well as potentially out them as transgender to those who do not know.) Ive been facing workplace issues that feel like discrimination to my gender identity, said Lee in a statement in the petition, adding that he also had to change his deadname to his chosen name in Moma, Googles intranet search engine, as well as Teams, only to find the change had been reversed by the company. But its not just about me as an individual. Lee, who has worked at Googles data center in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, since 2018, told the Verge he was required by G4S the security firm subcontracted by Google to keep his deadname on his badge because it was his legal name, though he noticed there were other employees, both cis and transgender, whose badges did not reflect their legal names. In his statement, Lee went on to disclose that his request to join one of Googles employee resource groups designed to support underrepresented communities within the company particularly one made up of LGBTQIA+ employees and their allies was likewise turned down because he is a subcontractor within the company rather than a full-time employee. In response, the Alphabet Workers Union petition is asking Google and G4S to issue Lee a new badge with his real name in addition to creating a chosen name policy for all staff, including temporary, vendor and contract workers. The petition also implores both entities to allow temporary, vendor and contract workers to participate within employee resource groups when they are on or off the clock should they wish to do so. A spokesperson for Google told SFGATE the company has upheld longstanding policies to allow for employees and members of its extended workforce to update their preferred name and pronouns for their badges. The spokesperson said members of its extended workforce are also welcome to take part in activities within employee resource groups, but must obtain prior approval from their employer first. However, Lee told the Verge that when he asked G4S if he could join one of said groups, he was informed they were a privilege he was not entitled to under his current role. He noted the contracting company is allowed to establish its own policies that directly contradict [Googles] commitment to inclusion," and hopes the petition will ultimately result in a modification of those rules. SFGATE also reached out to G4S for comment and did not hear back by time of publication. Google and G4S need to make changes so that no one else has to go through what Ive had to, Lee said in the statement. System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28:
29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951 /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbff33d5fd0)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbff32df980)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbff33d5fd0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbff32df980)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbff3415428)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbff32df980)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbff32df980)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbff2eee288)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbff33cd0b8)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbff33cd0b8)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 Keene, NH (03431) Today Partly cloudy. High 82F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to cloudy skies and rain overnight. Low 57F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%. Thank you for reading! You have reached your 30-day limit of free access to SentinelSource.com, The Keene Sentinels website. If you would like to read two more articles for free at this time, please register for an account by clicking the sign up button below. We hope you find The Sentinels coverage of the Monadnock Region valuable. We rely on our subscribers to bring you strong local journalism and hope you will consider supporting our work by taking advantage of this special subscription offer here. Keene, NH (03431) Today Mostly sunny skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to occasional showers later during the night. Low 58F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. A contemporary Thai American restaurant is opening in Oakland this summer with a tropical vibe, cocktails and a seasonal menu from the chef behind San Franciscos popular Isaan Thai pop-up Intu-on. Called Jos Modern Thai, the restaurant is slated for a July 1 grand opening in the former Miliki space at 3725 MacArthur Boulevard in the Laurel District. Owner Kao Saelee, an Oakland native whose family has run low-key Berkeley Thai spot Racha Cafe for 16 years, is envisioning a fun, upbeat space with boozy drinks and a tight menu of Thai dishes prepared in unexpected ways. The pad Thai will come with soft shell crab or lobster instead of traditional shrimp ($18), for example, while the spicy pad kee mao could be ordered with stir-fried spaghetti instead of rice noodles, plus smoked brisket from Oaklands Smokin Woods BBQ ($18). Ultimately, this restaurant concept came about from me being a Thai American and having a different palate growing up, said Saelee, who named the restaurant after his fiancee. I wanted to make somewhere where people will come, have a good time and not say, I went to this Thai place and it was difficult to make a decision. Intu-on Kornnawong The menu was designed by chef Intu-on Kornnawong, who cooked at Michelin-starred Kin Khao before drawing a following for her fiery, funky pop-up fare during the pandemic though she will not be the day-to-day chef at Jos. Its Thai drinking food but not specific in what type of food Bangkok, Isaan, its all thats cool, Kornnawong said. Some dishes will feel fairly traditional, but higlight a protein other local Thai restaurants likely dont use. Think tom kha, the creamy coconut soup often seen with chicken, swirled with littleneck clams ($19), or a sweet-sour red curry made with pork jowl ($21). On the more creative end of the spectrum, theres a burger stuffed with Isaan-style fried pork laab and kaffir lime mayo ($16). Intu-on Kornnawong The restaurant space, with about 40 indoor seats and 25 in a back patio, will be outfitted in pastel pinks, blues and greens. Palm tree wallpaper, terrazzo tiles and mixed textiles give it a modern feel, as envisioned by ROY designers, known for hip San Francisco spots like Wildseed, SPQR and Media Noche. Kornnawong said it reminds her of restaurants near the beach in the Southern part of Thailand. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. To drink, there will be cocktails from Laurel Robinson, who has consulted for top San Francisco bars like Trick Dog, and natural wine, exclusively from minority-owned and women winemakers. The restaurant is starting out with just dinner, though Saelee hopes to add lunch and weekend brunch down the line. This should be a strikingly different kind of Thai restaurant for Oakland, where most Thai spots are low-key mom-and-pops offering similar menus. Among Chronicle critic Soleil Hos picks for the best Thai restaurants in the Bay Area, only one is in Oakland: Vientian Cafe, which actually specializes in Lao dishes. Others on the short, eight-item list include Kornnawongs pop-up Intu-on and the chefs previous workplace, Kin Khao, suggesting serious promise for Jos. Jos Modern Thai. Opening July 1. 3725 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. www.instagram.com/josoakland Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com The craft beer world is continuing to reel after a wave of allegations of workplace misconduct began to surface on social media in May what's now become known as craft beer's #MeToo moment. What started out as a series of Instagram stories on one Massachusetts brewery worker's account blossomed into an existential crisis for the industry on a national scale. Prominent figures from some of the nation's most celebrated breweries from San Diego to Philadelphia resigned or were fired after facing accusations of sexual or other misconduct. But the true work of repairing craft beer culture is just beginning, Bay Area beer workers say, and now is the time to make sure that the professed commitments to change, made in the heat of the crisis, can actually last. "What I hope right now is that the change is real," said Melissa Myers, owner of the Good Hop in Oakland. My colleague Janelle Bitker and I wrote about the initial fallout a few weeks ago, describing how a handful of Bay Area beer businesses including Humble Sea, Modern Times, Original Pattern and Beer Baron took action after their workplaces were cited as the sources of allegedly inappropriate behavior. Since then, there have been a few new developments locally. Employees at the Oakland taproom of Modern Times, which is primarily based in San Diego, announced that they had met with the company's management and were optimistic about the willingness to "realign" with the values of inclusion, diversity and equity. The Oakland employees had initially released a statement on Instagram that they would refuse to pour any beers until they were satisfied that the company was taking decisive action following accusations against founder and CEO Jacob McKean. He has since resigned. (The staff did not respond to a request for comment.) And on Monday, the owner of a San Jose beer bar announced that he was resigning and "pursuing change of ownership" in response to allegations against him. In an Instagram post, Ryan Summers acknowledged the charges that he had fostered "an unhealthy, toxic and misogynistic work place" at Good Karma and Pizza Flora, both of which he owns. He described his past behavior as "gross misconduct," apologized for it, and urged followers to continue to support the businesses for the sake of his employees. (Summers did not respond to a request for comment.) This reckoning is playing out in a distinctively modern way: entirely on Instagram. The accusations are leveled on Instagram, the reactions registered on Instagram, the apologies issued on Instagram, the resignations announced on Instagram. (The Chronicle reached out to several of the accusers and accused; they did not respond to requests for comment.) Craft beer is not the first sphere to have a crisis occur on this plane. During the pandemic, restaurants in particular have had their own social-media calls to accountability, as workers took to the platform to call out bosses for inequitable treatment, toxic leadership and racial discrimination. But as my colleague Soleil Ho has noted in the case of restaurants, change effected through a barrage of anonymous posts can feel precarious. The accusations can be difficult to verify and, consequently, maybe, difficult for some people to trust and often don't invite constructive resolutions. Even if the grievances are aired in the spirit of restorative justice, it can be hard to actually know whether restorative justice is being achieved. When the revolution takes to Instagram, it also runs the risk of falling prey to some of the less productive impulses that the platform encourages in us. Social media urges us to keep scrolling on to the next thing. It shortens our attention spans. That means that a movement gone viral can fade away just as quickly as it emerged, eclipsed by the next viral thing and leaving those who most desperately need change, like the beer workers who leveled serious accusations against bosses and colleagues, without much leverage to ensure that change actually happens over a longer period of time. What has seemed clear, in the wake of all this, is that the stories of harassment and discrimination speak to a larger, more intractable issue than individual bad actors. "Most brewery owners are white males, and that creates a certain culture," said Jonathan Acosta Rosales, who does sales and marketing for Oakland's Ale Industries. What he's pointing to should be obvious: The fact that groups like women and people of color are underrepresented in brewing makes it easier for dynamics to develop that don't prioritize their safety. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. Ale Industries has not been the subject of any misconduct accusations, but the small company is using the moment to try to improve itself anyway. Borrowing a framework from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Rosales and partner Casey Cobb came up with a system by which the brewery could "grade itself" on diversity. The framework hinges on the IDEA acronym, which stands for inclusion, diversity, equity and accountability, and measures how well the company fulfills each of those principles. Right now, its four-person staff is entirely male and 28% non-white. Under the grading rubric, Ale Industries has given itself an F. They're committing themselves to hiring a more diverse staff and to sponsoring diversity and sexual harassment trainings. The hope is that it becomes a more meaningful long-term way to effect change than simply firing individual employees when they get called out for bad behavior. "I wish that people didn't only make change when they feel they have to," said Cobb. That spirit of weary optimism was present at the Good Hop this week, too. On May 18, in the days after the Instagram allegations began to go viral, Myers hosted a gathering of about 60 women at her bar in an attempt to cultivate some solidarity. "We've all got stories," Myers said. The next morning, after images of that gathering had been shared on social media, Myers arrived back at the bar to find a front window smashed. On Wednesday, Myers was smiling as a brand-new window was installed the glass so pristine and shiny, she said, that it almost looked like the window wasn't there at all. She paid for the repairs out of pocket, despite the fact that supporters raised roughly $12,000 through a GoFundMe campaign. That money is going to five local charities, Myers said. "Yes, there's a bunch of terribleness happening, and the stories are still coming," she said. "But there's also so much goodness coming out of this. We're finally really having conversations about how do we make this industry safer for women. For people of color. For trans people. And that's beautiful." CW Field Day IRTS CW Field Day takes place this weekend the 5th and 6th of June. This contest is for portable stations and is on the CW contest preferred segments of the contest bands from Top Band to 10 metres. It runs for 24 hours from 1500 UTC on Saturday 5th June and there is a 24 hour section and a restricted 6 hour section. The first weekend in June is when a number of IARU Region 1 societies would normally run CW Field Day contests and has always been a good opportunity for European CW operators test their skills in a portable environment. The covid pandemic has affected field day and other contests over the past year and no IRTS field day events were held in 2020. Following improvements in the public health situation in recent months, we decided to proceed with our field day events this year, subject to restrictions and precautions that have been inserted into the contest rules. We note that DARC, the German national society, has decided to cancel its CW Field Day this year; while it acknowledges the improved health situation, it is concerned that regulations or restrictions may not be uniform throughout the country. The RSGB CW Field Day contest is going ahead, so we can expect plenty of activity from UK portable stations. IRTS Good morning, Bay Area. Its Thursday, June 3 and after a virtual year, some high schoolers are getting a real graduation walk. Heres what you need to know to start your day. With time to spare before the evenings show, Lovisa Svallingson and Daniel Ramos walked through Civic Center on a recent night on their way to the comedy club where Ramos was scheduled to perform. Transplants from Denver, the couple was starting a life together in the Bay Area. But moments after stepping into a crosswalk at Hayes and Polk streets, they became victims in one of San Franciscos most intractable problems. Coronavirus Updates Photos by Jessica Christian/The Chronicle When San Francisco high school seniors walk across real stages to receive their diplomas this week, it promises to be bittersweet. For the nearly 4,000 seniors, its a chance to finally gather with their classmates one last time after a year of seeing them only on a screen. But they may also grieve the losses from more than a year of distance learning. Still, there promises to be joy at San Francisco commencement ceremonies, being staggered Tuesday through Thursday, with ceremonies for the largest public high schools at Kezar Stadium in Golden Gate Park. Read more. Pandemic Problems: A reader who used to swim indoors at the gym before the pandemic asks if its OK to start going again after receiving the coronavirus vaccine. S.F. schools see enrollment drop after pandemic year. Around the Bay Nick Otto / Special to The Chronicle From Heather Knight: Ready to give up Amazon? These S.F. residents ditched chain stores to support struggling small businesses. While at the center of a federal corruption case: S.F. police arrest Mohammed Nuru in attempted robbery at a food bank. Prop I: A fight is brewing over how to spend money from San Franciscos real estate tax. Reducing refinery emissions: Bay Area air quality board delays vote on controversial anti-pollution rules. Suspended service: It could take months for VTA light rail to return after mass shooting at rail yard. S.F.s Wildseed and more: A Palo Alto mall is getting an exciting new lineup of restaurants. Op-Ed: Vallejo police shot and killed our brother. A year later, were still seeking justice, Ashley and Michelle Monterrosa write. Datebook Stephen Lam/Special to The Chronicle The San Francisco Pride Parade is canceled again this year, but the city and the Bay Area is not letting Pride month go by without a proper celebration of its vibrant queer community. After going for a virtual event lineup last year, the citys 2021 offerings include a mix of in-person, outdoor and online events. The Datebook team has taken a look at ways to celebrate in San Francisco and across the region. San Francisco Pride: A primer to the past, present and future Pink Triangle installed on San Franciscos Twin Peaks to start Pride Month. Bay Briefing is written by Taylor Kate Brown, Anna Buchmann and Kellie Hwang and sent to readers email inboxes on weekday mornings. Sign up for the newsletter here, and contact the writers at taylor.brown@sfchronicle.com, anna.buchmann@sfchronicle.com, and kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com. If anyone in a workplace is unvaccinated, all colleagues must wear masks when in the same room, according to a new California workplace standard passed Thursday. But the standard allows workers to ditch masks when everyone in a room is vaccinated. The standards board for Californias Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA, passed the new rules as a stopgap measure after a marathon meeting Thursday, minutes after it initially rejected the same rules by a 4-3 vote, swayed by business groups arguments that they are too strict. The board said it considers the measure temporary and will act quickly to craft a replacement. If the board had rejected the new rules, the existing standard, which requires everyone to wear masks at all times, would have remained in place. The group decided to revisit its original vote and pass the proposal with the understanding that a three-person subcommittee would meet with agency experts to revise it as soon as possible. Meanwhile the new proposal takes effect June 15 if it passes legal muster with the state. Its much less restrictive than the one were going to be stuck with if we dont adopt the latest proposal, board chair David Thomas said in suggesting the group pass the proposal in a second vote. Scores of business trade groups and some employers spoke at the meeting to oppose regulations they termed burdensome, while several unions applauded the rules as protecting workers in industries such as education, health care and food service. Some Cal/OSHA board members said the confusion and resistance from business groups showed problems with the proposal. Opponents from the business community said the proposed rules conflicted with recent guidance from the CDC that fully vaccinated people dont need to wear face coverings indoors, as well as with Gov. Gavin Newsoms declaration that California can return to business as usual on June 15. Instead, Cal/OSHA had said that workers can be unmasked indoors only when everyone in a room is vaccinated. Outdoor masking is not required except for unvaccinated workers at mega events of more than 10,000 people. Eric Berg, Cal/OSHA deputy chief of health, attributed the requirement of indoor masking in mixed company to marked differences in how workplaces operate, noting that worksite COVID outbreaks are still occurring. Workers have longer cumulative exposures to others in the workplace, he said. The indoor masking rule generated a lot of resistance. The face coverings and mask requirements are more restrictive and onerous than they need to be, said Melissa Patack, vice president of the Motion Picture Association of America, during public comments, while Kenneth Smith, director of environmental health and safety at the University of California, termed the regulations onerous. In contrast, David Barber, deputy chief counsel of the California School Employees Association, a union representing 250,000 staff members at schools and community colleges, supported the requirements. Indoor masking at work will continue to be an essential worker protection, he said. Mitch Steiger, senior legislative analyst with the California Labor Federation, said he was shocked at calls to do away with masks in the context of a California where most people are still not fully vaccinated, and every day several hundred people are still getting sick and dozens are dying. Some observers said the masking requirements could stigmatize unvaccinated people. Employees will be pissed off, wondering whose fault it is that they have to wear a mask, said Stephen Hirschfeld, a San Francisco employment lawyer, speaking before the meeting. This could set up a situation where they try to figure out who is unvaccinated and give them a hard time. Other controversial aspects: Even when everyone in a room is vaccinated, the rules require social distancing continue until July 31, more than six weeks after the states planned reopening. After July 31, employers must offer respirators to all unvaccinated workers for voluntary use, which would provide an alternative to having to stay 6 feet away from others. Large quantities of N-95s are still used by health care workers, and soon will be needed to protect Californians against wildfire smoke, so forcing employers to stockpile them could exacerbate shortages, speakers said. Berg said that the administration is exploring options to support California businesses in accessing N-95s, and reiterated that they are the most effective barrier against small, airborne particles. Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com One after another, for more than an hour, residents of Windsor told the towns leaders that they had lost trust in them over the sexual assault scandal that had engulfed the town and resulted in Mayor Dominic Foppolis resignation. In three-minute messages delivered at Wednesdays Town Council meeting, citizens overwhelmingly demanded that Rosa Reynoza elected to the council just four weeks ago be appointed the new mayor, a stunning rebuke of how the councils more senior members handled the Foppoli scandal. The town also received 70 emails advocating for Reynoza, more than three times the number of supportive messages that any other council member garnered. Yet the Town Council was defiant, instead selecting Vice Mayor Sam Salmon, the councils longest-serving member, to be its next mayor. When a mayor becomes unavailable, a vice mayor steps up, said Salmon, 71, who was first elected to the Town Council in 1994. I am grateful to the council, and I know that Ill be here for all of you. The vote was 3-1 for Salmon, with Reynoza dissenting. Minutes earlier, she had expressed her own desire to serve as mayor of Windsor, saying she could feel the support of the town. The vote capped months of confusion and anger in Windsor a Wine Country town of about 27,000 that first began on April 8, when a Chronicle investigation detailed four womens accusations of sexual assault against Foppoli. The article also documented a complaint that was sent to the Town Council in 2017, describing alleged sexual misconduct in 2013 by Foppoli at a party at Christopher Creek Winery, the winery just north of town that he co-owns. As more women came forward with accusations against the mayor, public scrutiny also grew around Foppolis Town Council colleagues. Both Debora Fudge and Salmon had been on the council in 2017 and decided not to investigate the complaint. On April 22, a new Chronicle investigation showed how in declining to probe further council members failed to uncover a more serious accusation of sexual assault. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle Many community members who spoke during the public comment period of the Wednesday meeting expressed anger with Fudge and Salmon. Virtually every speaker asked the council to appoint Reynoza, describing her as an outsider who recently led a grassroots campaign to win last months special election for a vacant council seat. Last year, Reynoza had been the runner-up to Foppoli in Windsors inaugural election for mayor. Youve lost my trust to make a decision like replacing the mayor, Ty Justice said. He asked the town to appoint either Reynoza or Esther Lemus, who was not elected to the Town Council until 2018 and who is one of the nine women now accusing Foppoli of sexual assault or misconduct. Windsor resident Betsy Mallace said, Its really important to rebuild the trust and transparency of the council, adding that she hoped the Town Council would heed the public. As the voters of Windsor, it is our duty and our right to have a say in who represents the interests in the town, she said. But in a surprising upset, both Lemus and Fudge nominated Salmon. The vice mayor of Windsor, Salmon has served as something of an interim mayor since Foppoli announced his resignation last month. Salmon has previously served as Windsors mayor four times. Sam is the most senior person on this body, Lemus said. I believe he has the right disposition to lead us forward and I think Sam can be a unifying force for this council. Salmon said he would accept the nomination and, within minutes, had been sworn in by town officials. The duties of a mayor that have always been in my heart are to make sure that were inclusive with other council members, that the mayor speaks last on issues, Salmon said. So in some ways the mayor has less power than many of the council members, in a certain way. Salmons appointment created a vacant council seat that, per local and state law, Town Council members could fill by appointing a member of the public or by holding a special election. Such an election would cost the town between $81,000 and $126,000, including staffing and legal expenses. Nevertheless, in their comments and emails, most residents asked the town to convene a special election, repeatedly citing distrust in the sitting council members who would choose an appointee. The Town Council would need to call for such an election no later than July 23. Regardless, Fudge and Lemus cited the need to move forward and nominated Oscar Chavez, the runner-up to Reynoza in last months special election, to fill the open council seat. Chavez is the former executive director of Community Action Partnership Sonoma County, a nonprofit organization that works with low-income families in the North Bay. He has also served on the Windsor school board. After some debate over Chavez and a tie vote council members decided to postpone the decision on how to fill the vacancy until its next meeting. With a new mayor seated, Windsor leaders said they hoped to move past the turmoil of recent months and work on healing the town, even as a sheriffs investigation into the allegations made against Foppoli marches on. Police in Palm Beach, Fla., are also investigating allegations of sexual battery recently leveled against the former mayor by reality television star Farrah Abraham. Foppoli, who denied sexually assaulting any of the women, said he would resign shortly after Chronicle reporters sent him questions about the Palm Beach police investigation. In his resignation statement to the town, which the council formally acknowledged Wednesday, Foppoli said being mayor was the highest professional honor of my life. The Town Council also issued a proclamation in support of survivors of sexual violence. All institutions have a role one that supports survivors and their healing and builds a climate of accountability and culture free of sexual violence, Lemus said, reading the proclamation aloud at the meeting. The Town Council of the Town of Windsor does hereby proclaim the Town of Windsors commitment to making our community a safe haven where sexual violence in any form will not be tolerated. Alexandria Bordas and Cynthia Dizikes are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: alexandria.bordas@sfchronicle.com, cdizikes@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @crossingbordas, @cdizikes Google on Thursday confirmed that it has reassigned its global head of diversity and research after a conservative political news site published excerpts from a 2007 blog post by him that contained antisemitic comments. According to the Washington Free Beacon, the 2007 post by Kamau Bobb titled If I Were A Jew read: If I were a Jew I would be concerned about my insatiable appetite for war and killing in defense of myself. The blog has since been deleted. When reached by The Chronicle for comment on the matter, a Google spokesperson said that Bobb will no longer be part of our diversity team going forward and will focus on his STEM work. We unequivocally condemn the past writings by a member of our diversity team that are causing deep offense and pain to members of our Jewish community and our LGBTQ+ community. These writings are unquestionably hurtful. The author acknowledges this and has apologized. The statement continued: This has come at at a time where weve seen an alarming increase in antisemitic attacks. Antisemitism is a vile prejudice that has given rise to unfathomable acts. It has no place in society and we stand with our Jewish community in condemning it. A ceasefire took effect last month between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas after 11 days of combat that left 256 Palestianians dead, including at least 66 children, and killed at least 13 in Israel, two of them children. Thousands rallied in the U.S., including in the Bay Area, for the Palestinian cause. The Anti Defamation League warned that it was monitoring a rise in antisemitism tied to the conflict. In 2007, when Bobb reportedly made the post, he was working as a research associate at Georgia Techs Technology and Policy and Assessment Center, according to his LinkedIn page. He joined Google in September 2018 and worked from the Atlanta offices of the Mountain View-based company, according to his LinkedIn profile. According to Forbes, Bobbs blog post followed the 2006 Lebanon War, a conflict between the Israel Defense Force and militant group Hezbollah that killed more than 1,000 people. After the Washington Free Beacon reported the comments this week, Jewish human rights advocates including the Simon Wiesenthal Center called for his dismissal. While Bobb has not spoken publicly about the criticism and did not immediately respond to a request for comment, the New York Post reported that he apologized to the Jewish staff group at Google in an email, saying: What I wrote crudely characterized the entire jewish community. what was intended as a critique of particular military action fed into antisemitic tropes and prejudice. i think we can all agree, there is no easy solution to this situation. but thats beside the point. the way I expressed my views on that conflict were hurtful. Kellie Hwang is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KellieHwang In a near-empty boardroom on a recent day, William Kuo raised his right hand and vowed to defend the Constitution as a trustee of the Dublin Unified School District, filling a seat left vacant after the death of his late wife, Catherine Kuo. Its a big role to fill. Catherine Kuo was a beloved school district employee who served on the school board since December 2019 and tirelessly fielded texts, phone calls and emails from parents and community members day and night. She was fatally struck by an SUV while volunteering at a food distribution event at Fallon Middle School in Dublin on March 24. She was 48 years old. Now, William Kuo, 51, is taking up the helm to continue her work in the 12,900-student district. The board of trustees appointed him as a trustee May 18 after interviewing him and two other candidates. Kuo will bring a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and genuine support from our community, Dan Cherrier, the president of the board of trustees, said in a May 19 statement. Kuo is now navigating life as a single father to two children: Natalie, 11, and Thomas, 15. When he told his children he was vying for the open trustee seat, they asked, Why do you wanna do it? They had seen the late hours their mom worked. I explained to them I need to do it to honor mommy, he said. To do what she had started. They understood, he said. On the night Kuo was appointed to the board, Thomas was at home completing homework and streaming the board meeting, watching his father get sworn in. Natalie fell asleep by 10 p.m., only learning the next morning that her father was now a trustee, like her mother. As he raised his hand and took the oath, Kuo said the reality hit him: he was now trusted with representing his school district region. This is real, and now the journey begins, he said. Emails and comments from supportive parents and community members, shared during the special board meeting ahead of the board vote, struck him. He is just Catherines husband, Kuo said, but hearing the support was energizing. Unflappable under occasionally heated public board meetings, Catherine Kuo had an easy smile and a natural calm about her demeanor, William Kuo said. Shes much more outgoing than I am. She is much more engaging. She smiles a lot more than I do. The description that we have for ourselves is that she was the front-office person, and Im the back-office IT guy, William Kuo said with a chuckle, referencing his career as an IT systems administrator. I will have to try to channel her personality, which I know Im not going to be able to do justice, but I will try to continue what she did. The couple met in the 1990s at UCLA, where he was a graduate student studying dentistry, and she was an undergraduate studying psychology. They met at the University Presbyterian Church, where he first saw her playing bass guitar for the church worship band. They married and after college moved to Dublin to live closer to their parents in the Bay Area. She worshiped with others at weekly Bible Study Fellowship gatherings, she devoured books with a local moms group comprised mostly of first-generation Korean mothers, and was the founder of a popular group for East Bay Asian American parents on Meetup when their daughter was a toddler. William Kuo said he was in awe of his wifes ease at navigating trustee duties, juggling volunteer work and motherhood. Her resiliency was grounded in her faith, William Kuo said, and she grounded her family in that faith. At 2 years old, she endured open-heart surgery for a heart defect. As an adult, she underwent surgery for scoliosis, keeping her in bed for weeks, a scar running along her body. In 2012, she was treated for Choriocarcinoma, a fast-growing cancer that developed from her uterus and moved to her lungs leading to surgery and months of chemotherapy. She never got angry. Her strength was ... William Kuo paused, his voice trembling. It was just amazing. I would just be so mad at the world if I had to go through the pain that she went through, right? I would be grumpy and just be mean at people. But she wasnt. She was always so calm and never cursing life. The Alameda County district attorneys office has declined to file criminal charges against the motorist who struck Catherine Kuo, and police said that while the driver was found to be at fault for the incident, there was no criminal intent found. William Kuo said that in the wake of his wifes death, he has found himself adjusting his own personality to better match Catherines. She was encouraging, and he was more pragmatic. She encouraged her kids to take risks and not be afraid of failing. The light in my life, so to speak, the one that is always encouraging me, is no longer there, so that spirit is living within us now, William Kuo said. Catherine Kuo carved out time every day to watch an episode of Kims Convenience, a Netflix show about a Korean Canadian family who runs a convenience store in Toronto. The show resonated deeply with her a woman who was born and raised in the Bay Area by Korean immigrant parents and William Kuo, who is Taiwanese and whose family immigrated to the United States when he was 10 years old. The family only had four episodes left to watch of the sitcom when Catherine Kuo died, and the children cant bring themselves to finish the show, he said. Someday, the trio will pick up where they left off. We dont know when, he said. Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByLHernandez Oaklands police chief said Wednesday that his officers violated the departments use-of-force policy 35 times during last years George Floyd protests, and that he is meting out discipline. Chief LeRonne Armstrong also apologized for some of the public statements he made describing four days of civil disobedience from May 29 through June 1, 2020. At a subsequent town hall meeting with the Oakland Police Commission, Armstrong accused participants of throwing Molotov cocktails at police an allegation he now says was unfounded. These were four difficult days four exhausting days, Armstrong told reporters at the downtown police headquarters on Wednesday afternoon. He acknowledged that the department bears some responsibility for officers actions. Working with limited staff resources, Oakland police deployed the same officers for each operation. Its challenging for the officers, its challenging for the department, Armstrong said. But also, it poses the potential for poor decisions to be made. Most of the findings from four separate reviews stemmed from a tense confrontation on June 1, following a peaceful demonstration led by students at Oakland Technical High School. After the crowd of roughly 15,000 people dissipated, a smaller group marched down to 8th Street and Broadway where police had set up barriers. Some bystanders threw bottles, and police responded by spraying tear gas at the crowd. Paul Kuroda/Special to The Chronicle The four review boards Internal Affairs, the Community Police Review Agency, outside consultant Rick Breazeale and the departments force review board made 33 findings for that day. Protests on May 29 and May 31 resulted in one violation of the use-of-force policy on each day. In all, the boards considered 300 incidents, Armstrong said. Punishments ranged from written reprimands to suspensions at various ranks, including officers, supervisors and members of the command staff. Some officers had multiple findings. The chief declined to say how many officers were disciplined. After the Police Department drew public scrutiny for its handling of the uprisings, Armstrong said he added hundreds of hours of training in crowd control, as well as the proper use of tear gas. The teams that deploy such chemical agents are smaller and will have less autonomy even removing tear gas from a vehicle and bringing it to the street will require approval from the command staff. Armstrong also pointed to failures in the departments relying on other law enforcement agencies for help. He did not go into detail, but said the department had retrained command staff on the role of mutual aid. James Chanin, a plaintiffs lawyer in the landmark civil rights case that placed Oakland under federal watch, said the Police Department made vast improvements in crowd control after 2011 the year officers doused Occupy Oakland protesters and journalists with tear gas. But those strides ended in 2020, Chanin said. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle I was very disappointed by some of the things that were done from May 29 to June 1, Chanin said, noting that the department was slow to take action. Its supposed to review incidents and enact penalties within 180 days, not 365. Midway through his announcement Wednesday, Armstrong made an apology. After the events (of) June 1, I was provided information that Molotov cocktails were thrown, and that youth and seniors did not attend the gathering, he said. Armstrong heard the information on a department radio and repeated it at press conferences and a town hall meeting, but said he later had to retract it. Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @rachelswan San Francisco prosecutors will not file criminal charges against Mohammed Nuru, the former San Francisco Public Works director jailed Wednesday following a bizarre report involving a knife and potato chips. Nuru, the focus of a federal corruption case, was arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery after a person reported that Nuru brandished a knife at a food bank and demanded the victims property, according to the San Francisco Police Department. Officers responded to San Francisco-Marin Food Bank on the 1000 block of Marin Street shortly after 11 a.m. Police are still investigating the incident, but Keely Hopkins, a spokesperson for the food bank, said no staff members witnessed the alleged robbery attempt. Someone who was either a volunteer or a temporary worker was eating chips in the break room and Nuru approached him with a small kitchen knife, and it was unclear what was said, according to Hopkins. The person called the police, who arrived at 11:15 a.m., and no injuries were reported. A witness told police that when Nuru held up the knife he appeared to make a joke about taking the persons potato chips, prosecutors said. Rachel Marshall, a spokesperson for the San Francisco District Attorneys Office, said Thursday that evidence did not show that Nuru was actually trying to take the potato chips. This appeared to have been an inappropriate and misguided attempt at humor but not an attempted robbery, she said. Nurus attorney, Ismail Ramsey, said he was pleased the District Attorneys Office did not file charges. This situation was an unfortunate misunderstanding, he said. Mohammed looks forward to returning to the food bank and continuing to volunteer as he has done six days a week throughout the pandemic. Hopkins confirmed Nuru has been a longtime volunteer at the food bank and said she doesnt know whether hell be allowed to continue volunteering if hes released. There were two other people in the break room who were allowed to go home for the day, Hopkins said. Hopkins said Nuru had no other history of incidents at the facility, which is a warehouse used to pack up groceries to be sent out for delivery. It is unclear how or if the new allegations will affect Nurus standing in his federal corruption case. Nuru last year was released from jail on a $2 million bond while he awaits trial, and was required to surrender his passport. While other specific details of release were not laid out in court records, it is standard for out-of-custody defendants to agree to a set of conditions that include not committing another crime. If federal prosecutors believe they can prove Nuru is in violation of his terms of release, they can schedule a hearing for a judge to determine a course of action. Among other measures, this could include returning the defendant to custody to await trial. Nuru, who was charged with fraud, has not pleaded guilty and his case is still pending in federal court. Officials at the San Francisco Sheriffs Department declined to make Nuru available for an interview in jail Thursday. No one answered the door at Nurus home after a reporter made inquiries there. Nurus arrest in January 2020 touched off a still-widening City Hall corruption scandal in San Francisco. He was charged with fraud in connection with an alleged and ultimately, failed attempt to bribe an airport commissioner. Chronicle columnist Heather Knight contributed to this report. Mallory Moench, Kellie Hwang and Megan Cassidy are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com, kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com, megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mallorymoench, @KellieHwang, @meganrcassidy Like other third-year law students at Stanford, Nicholas Wallace is plowing through his last set of final exams before preparing for the bar. But they wont be any more taxing than the test the law school just put him through for a message that lampooned the arch-conservative Federalist Society. On Jan. 25, Wallace sent an email to a student listserv site purporting to invite students to a Federalist Society campus event on Jan. 6 the day of the U.S. Capitol riot, 19 days earlier titled The Originalist Case for Inciting Insurrection. It advertised as featured speakers Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., a Stanford graduate, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, both prominent deniers of Joe Bidens victory over Donald Trump in the November presidential election. Violent insurrection, also known as doing a coup, is a classical system of installing a government, declared the alleged news release, which was posted on a campus discussion site rather than the official site for upcoming events. It promised that riot information will be mailed the day of the event. Trump had delegated the Federalist Society to recruit and screen his judicial candidates. In March, a member of the groups Stanford chapter filed a complaint accusing Wallace of defaming the group, as well as Hawley and Paxton, by falsely accusing them of promoting a riot. And on May 22, Stanford said it was opening an investigation into whether Wallace had violated the schools code of conduct and putting a hold on his diploma, which he was scheduled to receive June 12. Late Wednesday, as Wallace studied for his remaining exams while uncertain of his future, the university said it had completed its review and cleared him of wrongdoing. Court cases and legal advisers agree that the email is protected speech under freedom of expression and, under California law, cannot be used to punish a student, said E.J. Miranda, a Stanford spokesperson. He said the university had followed normal review procedures, which include putting a diploma on hold when a complaint is filed close to graduation. For the future, Miranda said, we are also reviewing procedures for placing holds on student accounts in judicial cases in close proximity to graduation to ensure that holds are limited to cases for which the outcome could be serious enough to affect the timing of degree conferral. Law School Dean Jenny Martinez said Thursday she and other law school officials had been unaware until Tuesday of the investigation and freeze on Wallaces diploma, which were handled by another university office, and never would have approved it. Stanford Law school is strongly committed to free speech, is concerned about actions and climate that have the potential to chill speech, and has shared these concerns with the University, Martinez said in a statement that was posted on Twitter. Wallace, 32, said he was astounded by what he had just gone through. I couldnt believe that without any more than this letter of concern they placed my graduation and everything Ive worked for for the last three years, theyve placed that under threat, he told the New York Times. After graduation, he said, he plans to return to his home state of Michigan to take the bar exam, then go to work for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington, D.C. His cause had been championed by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a libertarian group that sent a letter to Stanford this week demanding that it release its hold on Wallaces degree and refrain from any such investigations in the future without first determining whether a student was exercising freedom of speech. Stanfords investigation into satire doesnt pass the laugh test, said Adam Steinbaugh, a lawyer for the foundation. Satire is not defamation and no university of any caliber should investigate whether it should be allowed. Another critic was U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, like Wallace a native of Ann Arbor, Mich. Stanford is not letting a student graduate because of political satire that offends a powerful organization dedicated to installing conservative judges? Schatz said in a Twitter post before the school announced its final decision. How is this taking any longer than 15 minutes for them to reverse and apologize? The Federalist Society did not respond to a request for comment. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko Two young men sat in a Martinez courtroom Tuesday, eyes cast downward as a clerk read the verdict that would shape the rest of their lives. Azrael Vargas, 20, was found guilty on five counts and four special allegations, for carrying out a home invasion robbery with a semi-automatic pistol, among other crimes, on Nov. 3, 2019. Emarieay Prescott, 22, was found guilty of first-degree burglary and conspiracy, with one gun enhancement. Their mothers sat in the back of the room, one quietly sobbing, the other staring straight ahead. Vargas faces up to 31 years in state prison, according to prosecutor Christopher Sansoe, while Prescott could serve a maximum of 16 years. Initially, there were four defendants facing seven counts, but two agreed to plead guilty to home invasion robbery and testify against their accomplices. Only Prescott and Vargas went to trial. Their case drew attention from two city council members and multiple grassroots groups in Contra Costa County, and from parents in the Mission District, where Vargas mother is a well-liked public school teacher. Several people demonstrated outside the office of District Attorney Diana Becton throughout the trial, holding signs with such slogans as Care not cuffs, and Atonement, not enhancements. For an armed robbery case, the amount of advocacy was atypical. It put Vargas and Prescott in the middle of a larger regional conversation, about how to balance the rights of crime victims against the potential of young perpetrators to change. The whole reason for the progressive district attorney movement was to end these enhancements, Antioch City Council Member Tamisha Torres-Walker said, referring to recent efforts to elect reform-minded candidates including Becton to top prosecutor seats. She said Becton could have been more lenient but opted, in this case, to use the same tools as her predecessors to seek harsh sentences. Rachel Swan/The Chronicle Becton declined to comment Tuesday, but said through a spokesman that she had never promised not to charge enhancements a practice of using the California Penal Code to add more prison time if underlying factors are met. It became standard for prosecutors in California to use enhancements after state lawmakers passed the Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act in 1988, for tougher enforcement on accused gang members. Since then, voters and the Legislature have added enhancements for other things, including prior convictions, to the point that 80% of people in state prison have been charged with some form of enhancement, said Michael Romano, chair of Californias Committee on Revision of the Penal Code. They are the rule rather than the exception, Romano said. He declined to comment on Vargas and Prescotts charges. In February, the committee published a report that recommended increasing the power of judges to strike enhancements. State Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Democrat from Berkeley, is sponsoring a bill with new guidelines for judges to dismiss enhancements in cases of mental illness, nonviolent convictions, guns that arent loaded or when multiple enhancements are stacked up in one case which might have benefited Vargas and Prescott. Their charges stemmed from a chaotic night in which four friends drove to a house in Moraga where Vargas had purchased two pounds of marijuana the day before, according to charging documents. His attorney, Yolanda Huang, later argued that Vargas was shorted and had come to the house seeking the marijuana he was owed. The four defendants broke into the home, where Vargas entered the bedroom of resident Francesca Bigotti and pointed a gun at her, prosecutors said, while someone else zip-tied her hands behind her back. Vargas also was accused of opening the bedroom door of the marijuana seller, identified as Domenico Bigotti, and pointing a gun at Bigotti and his infant daughter but the jury did not convict him of those allegations. They did, however, convict Vargas of robbing 40 pounds of marijuana from Domenico Bigotti. This case is really simple, Sansoe said in his closing argument. Its about four guys who planned and committed a robbery. They did this, they were caught red-handed. And theres no excuse for it. Rachel Swan He viewed the protest outside Bectons office as a misguided attempt to sway the jury, and said in an interview that it was unusual behavior during a trial of this nature. Torres-Walker, who also runs the Safe Return Project, a nonprofit dedicated to helping formerly incarcerated people, acknowledged that some activists chose not to speak out on Vargas and Prescotts case because they didnt see it as an extraordinary illustration of injustice. Rachel Swan But Vargas mother, Ymilul Bates, urged compassion, saying her son was at a transition point. When he committed the robbery, she said, he was still grieving his best friends 2014 murder. He deserved a chance to start over, she added. My son made a mistake, Bates told The Chronicle. Besides that mistake, hes been a positive community member. Vargas spent six weeks in jail after his arrest, until his mother pulled from her retirement and borrowed money from two friends to pay $40,000 of a $500,000 bond. Once released, Vargas enrolled in Long Beach City College, began attending therapy and regular church services, and performed volunteer work, Bates said. On his last weekend of freedom, Vargas and several friends drove up to a cabin near Yuba City (Sutter County). Vargas said he swam in the river. His eyes danced, describing the trip as he sat outside the district attorneys office in Martinez on Tuesday morning, waiting for the jury to finish deliberating. At 2:30 p.m. that day, the judge revoked his bail and ordered him into custody. Prescott, whose family could not afford bail, has been in jail for 18 months. Before the robbery, he took business classes at St. Marys College and worked in two sales jobs. This is no place for him, Prescotts mother, Donneisha Laury, said of the Martinez jail. Her son claimed he sat in the car during the robbery, and she hoped he would be released. Once the verdict was read, Prescott stood up, looking weary. Laury stared from the second to last row, wearing green hospital scrubs. She works as a veterinary technician and was scheduled for a shift when the trial let out. Prescott placed his hands behind his back as a sheriffs deputy handcuffed him. Vargas was still sitting, hunched over at the defense table, his expression blank. His mother had her head in her hands. Chronicle staff writer Malavika Kannan contributed to this report. Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is weeks or months away from resuming the light rail service it halted following last weeks mass shooting at a VTA rail yard that killed 10 employees, including the gunman. The transit agency suspended rail service indefinitely after VTA employee Samuel James Cassidy, 57, shot and killed nine coworkers, then himself, at the Guadalupe River light rail yard during an early morning shift change. The tragedy will have far-reaching impacts on the 26,000 South Bay residents who rely on VTA rail service every day to get around. Stacey Hendler Ross, spokesperson for the VTA, said that the agency is discussing plans to restore rail service, which will not be happening for at least several weeks or possibly months. Several challenges are affecting the restoration of full VTA rail service. As of Wednesday afternoon, the agencys staff did not yet have access to the Guadalupe River light rail yard that is critical to the VTAs rail operations, Hendler Ross said. The VTA facilities, which are used for train maintenance and house the systems operations control center, are the site of the crime scene and still being investigated by law enforcement. Its unclear when the VTA will again have access to the yard. The VTA is also grappling with limited staffing following the shooting, as employees grieve for their fallen colleagues. The agency is offering its employees 24-hour on-site grief counseling through June 13 and expects employees will take time off to attend their coworkers funerals, some of which are scheduled for next week. Interim general manager Evelynn Tran said the limited staffing has affected the agencys ability to serve the light rail routes using bus substitutions, as it had done in the immediate days following the shooting. The VTA will still operate bus service, though the agency warned riders this week that limited staffing means that service will be less frequent even for bus service and apologized for the inconvenience. The agency said it expects to have significant staff limitations that will begin Thursday and extend through the following week. On social media, some riders expressed sympathy for the agency when it announced the temporary service cuts. Other riders said the cuts would have a detrimental impact on their commutes. And some marveled at the sweeping impact one armed and disgruntled man had on the mass transit system of one of the nations largest cities. Tran said in a statement that it is impossible to say when rail service will be restored. She said the agency will focus on helping employees in the shootings aftermath. I have directed staff to make our people our first priority. We will marshal all the resources we can to assist our people through this, Tran said. It will mean providing less service to the community than we would wish. But healing our organization must be our first priority. Like other transit agencies across the country, ridership and services at the VTA declined sharply during the pandemic. The VTA Board of Directors will hold its first board meeting since the tragedy Thursday, where it will discuss its budget. Last week was supposed to mark the latest chapter in the agencys post-pandemic recovery before the mass shooting rattled the agency and its tight-knit community. The day of the shooting was also the day the VTA scaled back social distancing measures from 6 feet to 3 feet of distancing in order to increase capacity on buses. The reduced capacity on VTA transit had meant that several hundred riders were being passed up at the curb each day. The VTA said Wednesday that it has seen a significant decrease in pass-ups due to the revised social distancing rule. Ricardo Cano is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ricardo.cano@sfchronicle.com Online Amateur Radio Community event Members of the 'Online Amateur Radio Community' (OARC, callsign M0OUK) are now active as GB1ORC (until June 20th) and GB0ARC (until June 24th) to celebrate the one year anniversary of their organization. They are a UK online based club there to have fun and experiment with amateur radio - A social group for Ham Support, Advice, and Community, without Committee. Activity has been on 80/40/20 meters using SSB and FT8. For more details, see QRZ.com or visit their OARC Web page at: https://www.oarc.uk Live logging at: https://log.oarc.uk State officials have opened an investigation into campaign spending by former Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli, who resigned last month after nine women accused him of sexual assault or misconduct. The Fair Political Practices Commission, an independent, bipartisan agency that enforces campaign ethics laws, said it will investigate Foppoli over an April 26 complaint that was first reported by The Chronicle. The complaint alleged that Foppoli violated state rules with payments to a girlfriend and executive at his winery, and by spending on alcohol and travel. Angela Brereton, chief of the commissions enforcement division, sent Foppoli and his campaign committee a letter on Wednesday notifying him that the division has commenced a commission-initiated investigation regarding your committees potential violations of the campaign finance provisions of the Political Reform Act. At this time, we have not made any determination about the possible violations, Brereton wrote in the letter, a copy obtained by The Chronicle. We are simply providing you with this information as a courtesy and may be contacting you to discuss the matter. Commission spokesman Jay Wierenga declined to comment on the case Thursday. Public records from the commission show that the case is under investigation for possible misuse of campaign funds. Foppoli, 39, did not respond to a request for comment. He has denied all the allegations of sexual assault, which first came to light in an April 8 Chronicle investigation, but said last month that he would resign as mayor to curb the growing scandal that was drawing negative attention to Windsor. Still, the sexual assault allegations have led to broader questions from Windsor residents about Foppolis conduct as an elected official in the town of 27,000. The April complaint sent in by an anonymous person flagged 10 instances of potentially problematic spending and fundraising spanning from 2014, when Foppoli was first elected to the Windsor Town Council, to 2020, when he was running for mayor. Because complaints are publicly available, they can be politically driven. But campaign finance experts said the commissions decision to open an investigation was significant. This is not a routine step, said Sean McMorris, a consultant for Common Cause, a nonprofit that advocates for campaign finance reform. Investigations consume time, money and resources, so the FPPC is not going to open an investigation unless they believe that the likelihood of a violation is high. Wierenga said the commissions enforcement division initiates complaints when there appears to be enough evidence of a possible violation to investigate the facts. It doesnt mean theyve made a determination there is (a violation), its just that there could be a violation, he said. The complaint details $3,496 in payments to Amy Holter, who dated Foppoli while working on his campaigns, and $6,075 to Elisa Lawson, who served as Foppolis campaign treasurer and was also the chief financial officer of Christopher Creek Winery. Foppoli co-owns the winery just north of Windsor through the limited liability company Two Kings Wine Co. Neither Holter nor Lawson responded to requests for comment. The payments to Holter included thousands of dollars in reimbursements for expenditures on campaign supplies and meals and a $2,000 check at the end of 2018 for a civic donation to Vineyards to Villages, a local initiative that supports rural schools in western Kenya. At the time, according to her public LinkedIn profile, Holter worked as the director of programs and evaluation at Global Partners for Development, the Rohnert Park nonprofit that runs Vineyards to Villages. While the complainant acknowledged the spending could be legitimate, campaign finance experts who reviewed the complaint questioned why Foppoli didnt donate directly to Vineyards to Villages and how Holter had racked up so many campaign costs during the coronavirus pandemic, which put restrictions on traveling, dining and in-person gatherings. The complaint also spotlighted a $6,075 payment for 2020 Professional Services to Lawson, who had already received $500 for Professional Services in the first half of the year. Campaign experts who spoke to The Chronicle said the payment seemed outsized for typical expenditures made to local campaign treasurers, which normally amount to hundreds of dollars, not thousands. Other expenditures flagged in the complaint include $1,734.51 to Two Kings Wine Co. for a campaign kick-off in the first half of 2018, and hundreds of dollars to Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines for candidate travel, lodging, and meals in the second half of 2019. Wierenga said that most of the commissions investigations close within a year but that there is no clock dictating the time frame. He said that investigators typically seek documentation of purported campaign expenses from candidates, including financial statements, photographs and other records, and interview witnesses. Already, Foppoli has spoken out in his defense over a $584.55 payment to a Windsor craft distillery. An office manager for Sonoma Brothers Distilling told The Chronicle that the company had provided liquor in 2019 for Foppolis birthday party not for meetings and appearances as he described in his reports. Foppoli said the alcohol was for a combined birthday party and campaign event at his winery, surfacing photographs of himself with other elected officials at the gathering. Several attendees told The Chronicle that it was a political fundraiser where volunteers handed out envelopes and encouraged attendees to donate to Foppolis campaign for mayor. Experts in campaign finance and some event attendees said the event was an unusual combination. But Ann Ravel, who chaired the commission from 2011 to 2013, said that if the campaign finance statements were filled out correctly, the spending would be legal. Last year, the commission reported that it resolved more than 1,500 cases. Complaints are resolved through a range of actions, from letters reporting no violations to warning letters or prosecution leading to financial penalties. Wierenga said each violation can result in a fine of up to $5,000, depending on the seriousness of the offense and factors such as repeat violations or harm to the public. In 2020, the commission reached 271 settlements and levied $1.9 million in fines. If the enforcement team concludes that Foppoli violated campaign rules, it will begin negotiations with Foppoli or an attorney representing him to reach a financial settlement. The five members of the commission would need to approve the amount. Foppoli could also appeal investigators findings to an administrative law judge, whose ruling must also be approved by the commissioners. In rare cases, people may seek a hearing before a Superior Court judge, whose decision doesnt require commissioners approval. Jessica Levinson, past president of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission and a professor at Loyola Law School, said that some high-profile or complicated investigations can go on for years. The opening of an investigation shows that the inquiry is accelerating, she said, but they are going to want to make sure that all their Is are dotted and Ts are crossed. In years prior, the commission has handled two minor cases involving Foppoli. He received a warning letter from the commission after failing to pay a $50 annual fee to the California Secretary of States Office in 2018 and 2019. Foppoli paid the fees and a $150 penalty as soon as he was contacted by the commission, according to documents. In 2009, Windsor town staff alerted the commission that Foppoli had not filed campaign finance statements in 2007 and 2008. Foppoli had unsuccessfully run for Town Council in 2006. He responded by submitting documents that reported no money spent or received by his campaign. The most recent complaint, which sparked the investigation, also flagged $75,700 in donations that Foppoli accepted from real estate developers who had projects before the Town Council between 2014 and 2020. Limiting campaign contributions has been a lightning-rod issue in Windsor since Foppoli became a council member and began outpacing other candidates in fundraising and spending. In 2018, he raised about $72,000, spending around $65,000. In 2020, he raised more than $90,000 an all-time high for Windsor politics and spent just under $88,000. But campaign finance experts who spoke with The Chronicle said there likely was nothing illegal about the donations Foppoli accepted. California laws targeting pay-to-play contributions do not apply to most elected officials, including local council members. And Windsor did not place limits on fundraising until this year, when a state law limiting individual contributions to $4,900 per election went into effect. Still, residents have expressed concerns over the large checks cut to their local leaders. During the public comment segment of a Town Council meeting this week, several speakers asked council members to put strict caps on individual contributions and find other ways to limit the influence of deep-pocketed developers. These requests were made as Windsor leaders seated a new mayor, long-serving council member Sam Salmon. In an email to the Town Council, Katherine Southward said outsize campaign contributions have been an issue in Windsor for years. She asked council members to look to neighboring cities, like Healdsburg, that have enacted limits on individual donations. There is absolutely no reason candidates for a Windsor town council seat need to be raising $40,000-plus to campaign, it is absurd, Southward wrote. People accepting large amounts of money from developers and people with projects going on that they will be voting on is an absolute conflict of interest and needs to stop. Council member Debora Fudge said at the Wednesday meeting that the town planned to tackle the issue. Council is working on this and we do have on our future calendar campaign finance limits so thats already in the queue, she said. Julie Johnson, Alexandria Bordas and Cynthia Dizikes are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: julie.johnson@sfchronicle.com, cdizikes@sfchronicle.com alexandria.bordas@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @juliejohnson, @CrossingBordas, @cdizikes Welcome to Pandemic Problems, an advice column from The Chronicles engagement reporters that aims to help Bay Area residents solve their pandemic-related conundrums personal, practical or professional. Send your questions and issues to pandemicproblems@sfchronicle.com. Todays question is fielded by The Chronicles Kellie Hwang. Dear Advice Team: Pre-pandemic, my main exercise was indoor swimming at my local gym. I am now fully vaccinated but public health guidance states that even fully vaccinated people should still wear masks indoorssomething thats obviously not possible while swimming! Under what circumstances would it be considered safe/advisable to restart indoor swimming? Dear Reader: Guidelines are changing quickly as the COVID-19 vaccination effort progresses and the pandemic recedes and that has caused some confusion. Just during the time since you wrote to us with your question, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that fully vaccinated people can resume indoor activities without wearing a mask or social distancing. But California health officials said they will keep the statewide indoor mask mandate in place until June 15, the expected date for the states full reopening. Meanwhile, theres still a lot of anxiety in the Bay Area over taking off masks and returning to indoor activities. Indoor swimming may be one that seems particularly risky. Currently in California, masks are required in indoor settings beyond the home, whether someone is vaccinated or not. But there are exceptions for certain activities (such as when youre actively swimming in an indoor pool at the gym). Also, keep in mind that indoor pools have capacity limits depending on your countys current place in the four-tier, color-coded reopening system. In the two most restrictive tiers, purple and red, indoor pools must remain closed. Indoor pools can reopen in the two least restrictive tiers, orange and yellow, with capacity at gyms and fitness centers capped at 25% and 50%, respectively. With Solano Countys progression Tuesday to the orange tier, all Bay Area counties are now in the two least restrictive tiers. Robert Siegel, an infectious disease expert at Stanford University, said the risk for vaccinated people to go swimming in outdoor pools is extremely low, and they shouldnt worry. If youre at an indoor pool, you should ensure there is a good ventilation system, but he doesnt see public pools as high risk settings. Pools never were particularly risky compared to other things we do, he said. Youre not having conversations very close to one another...and youre not in anyones face unless you start singing. Shannon Bennett, chief of science at the California Academy of Sciences, said a public pool isnt necessarily a more risky place for COVID-19 than anywhere else, assuming the water is treated with chlorine, which effectively kills the coronavirus. More Information About Pandemic Problems Send your questions and issues to pandemicproblems@sfchronicle.com. We cannot respond to all questions, but your submission will be read and considered. Please be as specific as possible, but try to keep it concise. We may edit your submission for space, clarity or spelling and grammar. Keep the people and situations in your letter anonymous by changing the names (including yours) and details. We will remove any identifying information. Emails, letters, tweets or other messages you send become the property of The Chronicle and may be published online and in print. Important: This column cannot address immediate risks to your health and safety. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 to reach a counselor at a locally operated crisis center 24 hours a day for free. Text "Connect" to 741741 to reach a crisis counselor any time for free. Emails or other communications you send become the property of The Chronicle and may be published online and in print. By submitting a question, you agree to The Chronicle's Terms of Use, which are available for review at https://www.sfchronicle.com/terms_of_use/ , and acknowledge its Privacy Notice, which is available for review at https://www.sfchronicle.com/privacy_policy/. The advice offered in this column is intended for informational purposes only. Use of this column is not intended to replace or substitute for any professional, financial, medical, legal, or other professional advice. If you have specific concerns or a situation in which you require professional, psychological or medical help, you should consult with an appropriately trained and qualified specialist. The opinions or views expressed in this column are not intended to treat or diagnose; nor are they meant to replace the treatment and care that you may be receiving from a licensed professional, physician or mental health professional. This column, its authors, the newspaper and publisher are not responsible for the outcome or results of following any advice in any given situation. You, and only you, are completely responsible for your actions. See More Collapse Risk thus still depends on whether the setting is indoor versus outdoor, and on the number of close contacts, she said. Risk is vastly reduced if one is fully vaccinated, but it is not zero. Close contacts are defined as the number of people within 6 feet for 15 minutes or longer. When you get out of the pool, just be sure to dry your face before putting on your mask because a wet mask may not work as well and it can make it difficult to breathe. Those who are unvaccinated should consider sticking to swimming outdoors and should continue to follow guidelines including social distancing and wearing a mask when not in the pool. Pandemic Problems is written by Chronicle Advice Team members Annie Vainshtein and Kellie Hwang, combining thorough reporting and guidance from Bay Area experts to help get answers and find a way forward. Californias offer of cash prizes totaling $116.5 million to residents who get COVID-19 vaccinations may not be having the impact Gov. Gavin Newsom wanted. Since it joined the states dangling lottery money and other incentives to try to boost the number of people receiving shots, California has seen its rate of vaccinations continue to fall steeply, data collected by The Chronicle shows. Newsom announced the incentives, including $1.5 million lottery prizes for 10 vaccinated people, on May 27. From then through May 29, the state administered fewer than 73,000 first-dose shots a day a drop of more than 20% from the nearly 93,000 during the similar three-day period the week before. At its peak, California was vaccinating nearly 3 million people a week, but that has slowed to fewer than 900,000. About 57% of state residents 12 and older have gotten at least one shot, and 40% are fully vaccinated. California ranks 12th out of all states for people who have received at least one dose and 20th for full vaccinations. The uptake in the rural counties has been slower, leading to rising case counts ahead of Californias planned June 15 reopening. State officials may have waited too long before offering up the big prizes, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert with UCSF. Maybe we already saturated all the people in California who were on the fence and would be prone to change their minds, Chin-Hong said. You can only encourage people to do something once they have decided they want to do it. Youre not going to have any impact on people who have already made up their minds. He said most COVID vaccine holdouts fear the vaccines may not be safe, distrust the government or are worried they may lose their jobs by taking time off to get their shots. Most of them are not going to be moved by incentive programs, Chin-Hong said. In general, the data supports a modest increase in vaccinations with an individual cash incentive less than 10%, he said. The people who think vaccines have a chip in them and stuff like that are still not getting a vaccine. Maybe that group will be better served by disentangling the incentives from the government. Newsoms office touted the states progress on vaccinations so far. California is one of 12 states to hit President Bidens goal of administering at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to 70% of adults by July 4. Now were focused on the hardest-to-reach population who have been hesitant to get vaccinated, said Erin Mellon, Newsoms communications director. We launched this incentive program for two reasons to encourage people who may have been on the fence to get vaccinated, as we had started to see a slowdown in the adoption, and secondly to reward those who did the right thing early on. She said that without the financial incentives, the dropoff might have been worse. The new program appears to have slowed down the rate of decline of doses administered by 10%, Mellon said. This program has been in place for less than a week we look forward to seeing the impact of the program after it has been in place for a while longer, especially after we highlight the first round of $50,000 winners tomorrow. California is distributing $50 gift cards for grocery and retail stores to people who get their first shots, and will hold a lottery Friday to give away $50,000 apiece to 15 people who have received at least a first dose. A second such drawing will be held June 11. Four days later, on Californias reopening day, another lottery will be held to award $1.5 million apiece to 10 vaccinated people. California is far from alone in paying for people to roll up their sleeves. Other states have offered various lures, including a shot and a beer in New Jersey, a week of free subway rides in New York, hunting rifles in West Virginia and $1 million lottery prizes in Ohio. Ohio health officials said that campaign led to a 28% increase in vaccination rates among residents 16 and older in the five days after it was announced last month. The federal government is trying to motivate people, too. On Wednesday, Biden announced a month of action to help reach his July 4 vaccination goal, teasing everything from Super Bowl tickets to a free beer. I have some concerns that this may not be the best path for us as a country to be going on, Kevin Volpp, director of the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, said Thursday during a weekly discussion of medical experts hosted by UCSF. You want to make sure that people see it as equitable. I think thats a really good reason for having a system where anyone has been vaccinated ... is eligible, as opposed to just rewarding people who didnt get vaccinated yet. Those who have already gotten at least one shot are automatically entered for the major prizes in Californias vaccine lottery, but dont get the $50 gift cards handed out to latecomers. An ongoing UCLA study of 75,000 people on whether cash payments work showed that nearly a third of unvaccinated people said they would be more likely to get their shots with financial incentives. But that group became distrustful as the cash reward became higher because they believed it meant the risk was higher, the study found. If you offer a modest amount of money, people may take part, Chin-Hong said. But if you offer too much, then people may feel suspicious. Nationally, 62.9% of adults have received at least one vaccine shot and 51.9% are fully vaccinated. The rate of new vaccinations has slowed to an average of fewer than 555,000 a day, down from nearly 2 million during the peak demand phase in early April. One expert on the UCSF discussion questioned whether giveaways were the most effective way to boost those numbers. Incentive programs usually dont amount to anything, compared with results achieved through government mandates or passports that allow vaccinated people to attend sporting events, go to offices or even attend in-person schools, said David Studdert, a professor of medicine and law at Stanford. Volpp said that even if an incentive program works now, it may make it more difficult to get people to line up for possible booster shots at a later date without the lure of large cash prizes. Weve sort of set ourselves up for an even more challenging situation, he said. San Francisco Chronicle data editor Dan Kopf and staff writer Catherine Ho contributed to this report. Aidin Vaziri is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com California renters are in trouble, and the clock is ticking to help them. The states emergency eviction protections and rental assistance program will expire at the end of the month. An extension is critical. California may be reopening, but the economic devastation COVID brought on working renters is going to linger for some time. If we want to keep families who are unable to pay rent due to the pandemic in their homes, we need to give them more time to recover. That said, even an extension of the states moratorium wont be enough to protect tenants from an increasingly common tool of extralegal eviction: Landlord harassment. Since March of 2020, Oakland-based Centro Legal de la Raza has seen a 70% increase in landlord harassment claims. Meanwhile, calls reporting landlord harassment to Monument Impact, based in Concord, have nearly tripled over the past year. Those seeking help are disproportionately people of color, immigrants and women. Guillermina, an immigrant from Mexico and a single mother of four children, has faced harassment from her landlord in Antioch for seven years. Her landlord has entered her home without a written 24-hour notice, demanded rent on the spot, delayed or refused repairs and entered her childrens rooms without warning. She and her family were forced to move between different homes by her landlord several times, resulting in double rent payments and costs for movers. Her landlord has even been physically abusive, repeatedly grabbing Guillermina by the arm and even once shoving her into a doorway. Guillermina has tried to find another home for her and her children, but has not found anything affordable. Guillerminas story is similar to many others across the Bay Area. This kind of harassment isnt just creating unnecessary stress, it can result in families abandoning their apartments without a clear alternative or backup housing option. Some landlords behave egregiously to pressure tenants to self-evict. This tool of displacement might involve refusing to complete repairs, follow health and safety regulations, or manage pest or insect issues. Some landlords suddenly introduce new utility bills without notice, or shut off utilities entirely. They will also change locks, enter without notice and threaten to report tenants to immigration authorities. In the worst cases, they even threaten physical harm or sexually harass tenants. This kind of behavior by a landlord would result in severe repercussions if conducted in almost any other context. Imagine behaving this way at work? And yet, because of weak housing laws, tenants must literally learn to live with harassment in their own homes. Even worse, as weve all hunkered down in our homes over the past year, many tenants have felt trapped in these toxic situations, without even the option of commuting to work or school during the day to escape such harassment. In recent months, several cities in California have proposed or enacted landlord harassment ordinances. Last summer, Oakland strengthened its tenant protection ordinance to curb misbehavior by landlords, with fines of up to $1,000 per day for repeated harassment. The city can now file civil action against the landlord, alleviating tenants of this financial burden. Were already seeing some residents take legal action. Last fall, Long Beach passed a similar law, with landlords facing up to $5,000 fines per violation. But this law still burdens tenants with filing complaints in civil court. While ordinances like these are a step forward, communities across California must do more. We need statewide protections that build in significant civil penalties, like fines of up to three times the amount of actual damages faced by tenants for landlords who violate these ordinances. And there must be serious enforcement from local and state leaders. Community organizations, meanwhile, need resources to educate tenants on their rights. California also needs an ongoing investment in free legal aid to ensure renters are fairly and fully represented in court. Californias housing crisis is at a pivotal moment. How we respond will have immediate and lasting impacts on community members like Guillermina and thousands more. By enacting strong tenant protections that hold landlords accountable, we can give immigrants, refugees and residents of color a fighting chance to stay in their homes. Debra Ballinger is the executive director of Monument Impact, which serves Contra Costa County. Monique Berlanga is the directing attorney of the Tenants Rights Practice at Centro Legal de la Raza in Oakland. After hearing five and a half hours of public commentary, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District postponed its scheduled vote Wednesday on whether to require refineries to install technology that would greatly reduce the amount of pollution they emit. Board Chair Cindy Chavez asked the board to reschedule its vote so the panel could have a thoughtful discussion of the proposals before it. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on June 16. The issue before the board involves fluid catalytic cracker units, commonly known as cat crackers, which are a major source of industrial pollution. The proposal would require refineries to install technology that reduces particulate emissions from the units by 70%, according to the air district. A district analysis predicts that the new standards would have positive health impacts particularly for low-income communities of color that surround the Bay Areas refineries and have borne the brunt of their environmental impact. In Richmond, the asthma rate is twice the state average. The district has calculated that exposure to particulate matter from the Chevron refinery in Richmond increases mortality in the region by up to 10 deaths per year, while the PBF Energy refinery in Martinez adds up to six deaths per year. The proposed changes to the Chevron plant alone could result in up to $27 million in health cost savings to those living nearby, according to an air district analysis, based on fewer days missed from work, fewer respiratory ailments and other health impacts. Environmentalists pointed out that the technology has been widely used for years across the country, including in oil-friendly states like Texas. It's hard to believe regulators in Texas 15 years ago valued their constituents lives more than Bay Area representatives do, Jed Holtzman, a senior policy analyst with the environmental organization 350 Bay Area, told the board Wednesday. So this should not be a complicated decision for you. Yet the refineries backed by allies in organized labor who work at the plants insisted that the cost to install the technology would be prohibitive, making the plants uncompetitive and leading to massive job losses. The $800 million cost of implementation would force us to close the Martinez refinery, Timothy Paul Davis, PBF Energy Western Region president, wrote to the air district in April. That would put 600 full-time employees out of work, plus another 2,000 members of the local building trades union who work on other projects at the plant, said Kevin Slade of the Western States Petroleum Association, an industry group. The air district found Davis estimate to be grossly inflated, estimating that it would cost just $255 million to make the changes at the PBF Martinez refinery and $241 million for the Chevron refinery in Richmond. The district found that the oil companies could pay for the cost of the upgrades by a one- or two-cent per gallon price increase. Other speakers Wednesday were skeptical that PBF would shutter a refinery that it just bought in 2019 from Shell Oil for $1 billion. Dozens of local union members and leaders among the 198 people who addressed the board Wednesday said they feared losing their jobs if the technology were mandated. Andrew Scheiber, a Benicia resident who used to work for a refinery, was among the speakers skeptical that plant workers could find a just transition to another line of work should the refineries cut jobs. This just transition everybody loves to talk about doesnt exist, Scheiber said. There are few other kinds of jobs that involve similar skill sets and when they do come up there are hundreds if not literally thousands of applicants. A letter to the board signed by the leaders of six Bay Area building trades unions said: Union members your constituents living and working in the Bay Area depend on these refinery jobs to raise their families well, put food on their tables, put their kids through college, and live a successful and fulfilling life. An alternative analysis conducted by UCLAs Luskin Center for Innovation found that new technology wouldnt kill jobs, but rather create thousands more. The UCLA report, conducted in conjunction with Communities for a Better Environment and the environmental research firm Inclusive Economics, found that installing the wet gas scrubbers would yield thousands of engineering, construction, and other installation jobs, upwards of 4,600 jobs between the two refineries. Our lungs cant wait any longer, Zolboo Namkhaidorj, Richmond Youth Organizer for Communities for a Better Environment, said after the meeting, urging the air district to approve the cat cracker rule. Refineries have mounted a massive misinformation campaign to sink this rule, threatening our communities with false doomsday scenarios, Namkhaidorj said. Shame on them, after decades of spewing pollution that has cost local Black, indigenous, and people of color families their health and livelihoods. Bonnie Lockhart of Oakland was one of several speakers Wednesday who questioned seeing the issue as one of workers versus greens. Why are we framing this decision as jobs versus the environment, when its really health versus corporate profits? Lockhart asked. Instead of suggesting that the only way to pay for the cost of the upgrades would be through layoffs or higher gas prices, Lockhart questioned why the discussion wasnt focused on the obscene profits of the fossil fuel companies and the high salaries of its CEOs. Her suggestion to the oil companies and their top executives: Dont buy a yacht this year. Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli June 10, 11:45 a.m. The bike courier recorded in a viral incident last week in which he was harassed by a white man in San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood has spoken out. In an interview with KPIX, 28-year-old delivery worker Antonio Chavez provided more context about his run-in, saying that the experience left him feeling unwelcome in one of the city's most affluent neighborhoods. "He hollered at me from across the street, like he humiliated me, like I already feel like I stick out in these neighborhoods, Chavez told the station. I feel like Im not welcome, its not a new thing. Chavez also explained that he founded Lost Soul Courier Collective to deliver food, the opioid antagonist Narcan and other resources to other organizations in the city, and was doing so as a volunteer. "It is him looking down on me while Im just trying to do the right thing, thats it, he said. June 3, 2 p.m. The video begins with a delivery worker of color, off-camera, telling a man to put his mask on in San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood. Im outside, I dont need a mask, he responds, before their back-and-forth launches into a larger tirade over the divides of race and class across San Francisco. The man, wearing a blue zip-up jacket and black New Balance sneakers, harangues the delivery driver over identification, pulling out his phone at one point to take a picture. Who are you? The driver, audibly frustrated, replies, Who the fk are you? Why are you in my business? Every time I come around here, he added, motherfkers like you make my job harder. The deliveryman, who shared the video Wednesday through the Instagram account for the mutual aid organization Lost Soul Courier Collective, said in the post description that he was delivering naloxone an emergency harm reduction medication used to counteract opioid overdoses. Opioid overdoses have risen over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, as cities nationwide grapple with an increase in opioid use and fentanyl-laced cocaine and heroin. The man, who identifies himself as John, repeatedly asks what the boxes are for, who theyre addressed to and why the man is in the neighborhood. He later explains that there have been a spate of missing boxes in the area and pulls out his phone, hands trembling, to capture a photo or video of the deliveryman. But the deliveryman says he sees right through Johns reasoning. Dont think I dont know why you came over here and stopped me, he said, because you think I belong in another neighborhood, right? Fk yourself. The deliveryman later points out that these sorts of interactions, in which a so-called Karen harasses Black and brown people and later threatens police interference, leads to undue harm. (Cases like New York woman Amy Cooper, who recently sued her employer for discrimination, and California woman Miya Ponsetto, also known as the "SoHo Karen," come to mind.) You are why people get killed and end up on the news, he said. Youre the fking reason why. Then, John repeatedly threatens to call the police, saying that he was being harassed by the delivery worker. The deliveryman then notes that the CAREN Act, which prohibits false, discriminatory 911 calls in light of incidents like Cooper's and Ponsetto's, was passed in San Francisco last year. The delivery driver later explains to the camera that John yelled at him from his window, in which a fnnch honeybear is plastered, and asked what he was doing. I told him, none of his business, and he came down and wanted to talk to me, the deliveryman said. Motherfkers that look like me die because of motherfers that look like you. John later threatens, once more, to call the police saying that hes being threatened. Im telling you, if you dont stop threatening me, Im going to call the cops. Threatening you with what? the delivery worker asks. With words of truth? Does the truth get on your fking nerves? You scared you're going to lose your job now or your fking billion dollar funding dont nobody feel bad for you. Youre living up in your fking mansion bothering me? Im a hardworking man what the fk do you do for a living? You sit on your ass and type behind your computer, huh?" Then, when asked again why John approached him, John replied, Because I ordered something! Oh, now its because you ordered something? A second ago, it was, I might be a porch pirate. And then when John finally admits that he hasnt called the police, the delivery man walks away. Dear Pac Heights, Im not here to steal st. You fking happy now, you fking rich asshole! You aint got nothing better to do go do something good with your money. Go do something positive instead of sitting in your castle recording me, making an ass out of yourself. We didnt have to do none of this. Ive been here all my fking life, 30 years Ive been in this fking city. And every time I come around here, a motherfker that looks like you got a problem with a motherfker that looks like me. You think thats a coincidence? You aint got nothing to say now, do you? In the caption to the viral clip, which has now reached nearly 60,000 views, the worker explains his frustrations with the incident. "For those who don't know its reputation," he says, "Pac Heights is one of the most affluent, snobby and white neighborhoods in San Francisco." "Everyone who grew up here knows that there is an invisible line drawn on the corner of Fillmore and Sutter that separates Pac Heights from uptown Fillmore, a line which I rarely care to cross because this type of thing is a common occurrence in my everyday life." He closes off the caption to the video, "I have a strong feeling that he wouldnt have harassed me of I was of a lighter complexion, but this is an everyday thing when youre a man of color living in America." The delivery driver did not identify himself in the post and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from SFGATE. Google said in a statement Friday that its global lead for diversity strategy and research will no longer be a part of the company's diversity team after a 2007 blog post surfaced in which he wrote that Jewish people have an "insatiable appetite for war" and an "insensitivity to the suffering [of] others." Kamau Bobb will be focusing on his STEM work, the company said. The Washington Free Beacon resurfaced the content on June 1 and also found the blog post that criticized Israel's military actions in Gaza and Lebanon that year. "If I were a Jew I would be concerned about my insatiable appetite for war and killing in defense of myself," Bobb wrote in the Nov. 30, 2007 post that has been deleted, along with all other entries on the blog. "Self defense is undoubtedly an instinct, but I would be afraid of my increasing insensitivity to the suffering [of] others." Google said in a statement that Bobb apologized for his writings. "We unequivocally condemn the past writings by a member of our diversity team that are causing deep offense and pain to members of our Jewish community and our LGBTQ+ community," Google said in a statement. "These writings are unquestionably hurtful. The author acknowledges this and has apologized." The statement continued: "This has come at at a time where weve seen an alarming increase in antisemitic attacks. Antisemitism is a vile prejudice that has given rise to unfathomable acts. It has no place in society and we stand with our Jewish community in condemning it." Bobb is an engineer and science and technology policy scholar "whose work focuses on the relationship between equity in the STEM enterprise, large educational systems, and the structural conditions that influence contemporary American life," according to biography posted on his website. Bobb holds a Ph.D. in science and technology policy from Georgia Tech and M.S. and B.S. degrees in mechanical engineering from UC Berkeley, according to his biography. Mary Hott with the Carpenter Ants, "Devil in the Hills: Coal Country Reckoning (Harmonic Alliance) This is grim history beautifully told. Mary Hott has put to music the tragic tale of West Virginias mine wars. They ended 100 years ago this summer, but her songs show the resulting emotional damage still lingers in the region. No wonder: In Hott's telling, the wars were a violent clash of rich and poor involving terrorism, slave labor and sexual exploitation often kept secret. Devil in the Hills: Coal Country Reckoning brings the wrongs to light in a powerful way, and the album package includes extensive, informative liner notes. If you dont believe me," Hott sings, "then shame on you. Hott is a seventh-generation West Virginian who had a career in software engineering before returning to her native Morgan County to run the local arts council. She released her first album of original material in 2014 and wrote seven of the songs on Devil in the Hills." Among the three covers is a moving rendition of Take Me Home, Country Roads, with Hott backed by gospel piano. She has a first-rate supporting cast in the Carpenter Ants, with indie rock veteran Don Dixon and Mountain Stage house band guitarist Michael Lipton co-producing. The music is rootsy rock with echoes of Appalachia that perfectly suits Hott's appealing alto and honors a singular genre: history matters. TULSA, Okla. (AP) Crews searching a Tulsa cemetery for victims of the 1921 Race Massacre found five more coffins on Thursday, bringing to 20 the number of coffins found at a mass-grave feature there, city officials said Thursday. After much of the excavation and analysis is completed this week at Oaklawn Cemetery, city officials say a formal exhumation process is expected to start on Monday. ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) A St. Paul professor who led a viral crowdfunding campaign to pay off student lunch debts in Philando Castiles name spent less than half of the $200,000 she raised on the intended purpose, Minnesotas attorney general said Thursday. The Star Tribune reported that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellisons office filed a civil enforcement action in Ramsey County District Court against Pamela Fergus, alleging a breach of charitable trust, deceptive solicitation of charitable contributions, failure to maintain proper records and unregistered solicitation of contributions. Philando Castile cared deeply about the children he served and the children loved Mr. Phil right back, said Ellison, calling Castile a hero in his lunchroom. Raising money supposedly to serve those children, then not doing so, is an insult to Philandos legacy and all who loved him. Fergus did not immediately respond to phone and email messages left by the newspaper Thursday. Online court records do not list an attorney to comment on her behalf. Fergus, a professor at Metropolitan State University, created the Philando Feeds the Children online crowdfunding effort a year after Castile, a 32-year-old Black elementary school cafeteria worker, was fatally shot by a suburban police officer during a July 2016 traffic stop. The shooting gained widespread attention after Castile's girlfriend, who was in the car, livestreamed its gruesome aftermath on Facebook. St. Anthony Officer Jeronimo Yanez, who is Latino, was later acquitted of manslaughter, which prompted days of protests. Castile was known to pay out of pocket for children whose families could not afford to buy their own lunches when he worked as a nutrition supervisor at J.J. Hill Montessori Magnet School in St. Paul. Fergus started the campaign as a semester project for her class, promising that every dollar donated would help pay down student lunch debts. According to the civil complaint, Fergus deposited the more than $200,000 she collected through the YouCaring website into her personal checking account. She also allegedly welcomed donors to mail her checks. St. Paul Public Schools reported that Fergus wrote three checks from her groups proceeds to go to the district totaling more than $80,000 between October 2017 and August 2018. But the remaining $120,000 was not accounted for, court papers said. Ellison described the enforcement action as a last resort to find out what happened to the remaining funds, after Fergus refused to comply with an investigation by his office last year. is an Indian historian, editor and journalist. He is a writing fellow and chief correspondent at , a project of the Independent Media Institute. He is the chief editor of and the director of . He is a senior non-resident fellow at , Renmin University of China. He has written more than 20 books, including and . His latest book is , with an introduction by Evo Morales Ayma. PORTLAND, Maine (AP) A much higher percentage of older residents in Maine have had their coronavirus vaccines, but younger residents are starting to catch up. About 72% of Maine residents age 40 and older have had their final dose of the vaccine, the office of Democratic Gov. Janet Mills reported on Wednesday. The rate for residents who are younger than 40 but eligible for a vaccine is about 38%. Older residents have a higher rate of vaccination in part because some age groups became eligible for the vaccine sooner. There is also no vaccine yet available for people younger than 12, and 12- to 15-year-old Maine residents only became eligible recently. The state as a whole has a vaccination rate of about 52%, which is one of the highest in the country. Officials with the Maine Center for Disease Control have said they are seeing steady progress in getting the vaccine to younger residents. The virus is on the run, but not yet out of sight, Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah said. In other pandemic news in Maine: THE NUMBERS The number of daily cases of the virus in Maine has dipped below 100 and the number of daily deaths is close to zero. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Maine did not increase over the past two weeks, going from 224.00 new cases per day on May 18 to 82.86 new cases per day on June 1. The seven-day rolling average of daily deaths in Maine did not increase over the past two weeks, going from 1.29 deaths per day on May 18 to 0.29 deaths per day on June 1. The AP is using data collected by Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering to measure outbreak caseloads and deaths across the United States. Maine CDC reported on Thursday that there have been 837 deaths and more than 67,000 positive cases of the virus in the state since the start of the pandemic. CHARLTON, Mass. (AP) Online retail giant Amazon plans to build a 1 million-square-foot (93,000-square-meter) warehouse in central Massachusetts, company representatives say. Brad Griggs of Amazon told the Charlton select board this week that the warehouse would be a large-scale fulfillment and distribution center, similar to a facility operating in North Andover, The Telegram & Gazette reported Wednesday. The center would bring more than 1,000 full-time jobs, most of which would start at $15 per hour, he said. The next step for the developer is to file with the state for an environmental impact review, and to submit plans to the town Planning Board for site plan review. The anticipated groundbreaking is March 2022, with occupancy in 2023. In a separate project, Amazon is planning a 121,000-square-foot (1,950-square-meter) distribution center at the site of the Greendale Mall in Worcester. MADISON, Wis. (AP) The Archdiocese of Milwaukee is refusing to turn over documents to state investigators who are looking into clergy sexual abuse in Wisconsin's five Roman Catholic dioceses, warning Attorney General Josh Kaul that the records are sealed and that Kaul lacks the authority to initiate such an investigation. Kaul, a Democrat, announced the investigation in April, following the lead of officials who have launched similar investigations in 22 other states. Kaul said he wanted to paint the fullest possible picture of sexual abuse that occurred within Wisconsin's Catholic churches. The archdiocese on Thursday released a letter its attorney, Frank LoCoco, sent to Kaul on Wednesday. LoCoco wrote that the archdiocese won't comply with state Department of Justice's requests for documents about abuse because the records were sealed as part of the archdiocese's 2012 federal bankruptcy case. LoCoco noted that for nearly 20 years, the archdiocese has been posting online the names of all clergy who faced substantiated abuse allegations and that the vast majority of the allegations date back to incidents in the 1960s and 1970s. Survivors have had years to file claims against the archdiocese and the archdiocese has implemented anti-abuse training for hundreds of employees and public safety is not at risk, he wrote. LoCoco also argued that Kaul lacks the authority to launch such an investigation. Wisconsin law permits the attorney general to investigate crimes that are statewide in nature, importance or influence," and Kaul's clergy investigation spans all five dioceses in the state. LoCoco maintained in his letter, however, that any crimes the investigation might uncover would be local in nature and the purview of the district attorneys in the counties where they occurred. He also accused Kaul of targeting the Catholic church and being biased against Catholicism, which he said would violate the First Amendment's freedom of religion clause. Having worked with Abuse Survivors for the past 30 years, it is the (archdiocese's) experience that conducting an investigation like the one proposed here will not lead to healing, LoCoco wrote. Rather, it will lead to to the further victimization of those who have already suffered significantly. ... There is simply no benefit to your office attempting to conduct this type of unwarranted investigation in the absence of any legal authority and in the absence of any defined and reachable goals. LoCoco did offer a compromise of sorts, saying that if Kaul learns of any new allegations against any living priests within the archdiocese and provides that information to the archdiocese, it would grant him and local prosecutors access to any available information about them. Kaul said in statement that the investigation is meant to provide accountability, an opportunity for healing and help prevent future clergy abuse. He asked anyone with information about clergy abuse to contact the DOJ. We're disappointed that the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has declined the opportunity to cooperate in that effort, but our review will continue to move forward, he said. Kaul spokeswoman Gillan Drummond didn't immediately respond to a follow-up message asking if the DOJ would try to subpoena the documents and for comment on LoCoco's assertion that Kaul lacks authority to launch the investigation. Peter Isley, a founding member of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests and program director of Nate's Mission, said in a statement that if there is no cover-up, the archdiocese should be eager to turn over documents. This weeks letter effectively orders church officials, Catholic school personnel, priests, and nuns not to cooperate with law enforcement, Isley said. The letter functions as a thinly-veiled threat to any Catholic who has experienced, witnessed, or suspected abuse or cover-up that they are in violation of the (Archbishop Jerome) Listeckis directive and, if employed by the church, could potentially face retaliation. ___ Follow Todd Richmond on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trichmond1 HUDSON, Ohio (AP) Organizers of a Memorial Day ceremony turned off a speakers microphone when the former U.S. Army officer began talking about how freed Black slaves had honored fallen soldiers soon after the Civil War. Retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter said he included the story in his speech because he wanted to share the history of how Memorial Day originated. But organizers of the ceremony in Hudson, Ohio, said that part of the speech was not relevant to the program's theme of honoring the city's veterans. Cindy Suchan, chair of the Memorial Day parade committee and president of the Hudson American Legion Auxiliary, said it was either she or Jim Garrison, adjutant of the American Legion Post 464, who turned down the audio, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. The Ohio American Legion said Thursday that it was investigating. The American Legion deplores racism and reveres the Constitution, the organizations national commander, James W. Bill Oxford, said in a statement. We salute LTC Kemters service and his moving remarks about the history of Memorial Day and the important role played by Black Americans in honoring our fallen heroes. We regret any actions taken that detracts from this important message. In the days before the ceremony, Suchan said she reviewed the speech and asked Kemter to remove certain portions. Kemter said he didn't see the suggested changes in time to rewrite the speech and talked with a Hudson public official who told him not to change it. Kemter said he was disappointed that the organizers silenced two minutes of his 11-minute speech, during which he talked about how former slaves and freed Black men exhumed the remains of more than 200 Union soldiers from a mass grave in Charleston, South Carolina, and gave them a proper burial. This is not the same country I fought for, said Kemter, who spent 30 years in the Army and served in the Persian Gulf War. The decision to turn off the audio disrespected Kemter and all veterans, Hudson's mayor and City Council said in a statement, which also said the city is committed to addressing issues of systemic racism and intolerance. Veterans have done everything we have asked of them during their service to this country, and this tarnished what should have been a celebration of their service, the statement said. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Bahrain has begun offering a booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for some people, six months after they received two shots of China's Sinopharm vaccine. The mixing of vaccines comes as the Mideast island nation struggles through its worst wave of the virus despite being one of the top countries in the world in per-capita inoculations. The government's BeAware mobile phone app allows those living in Bahrain to register for booster shots of either the Pfizer or the Sinopharm jabs. However, the government now recommends that people over 50, the obese and people with weakened immune systems receive the Pfizer shot regardless of whether they first received Sinopharm. The Wall Street Journal in its Thursday edition quoted Waleed Khalifa al-Manea, Bahrains undersecretary of health, as describing Sinopharm as providing a high degree of protection. But he acknowledged offering Pfizer to those with special needs, without explaining why the kingdom made that decision. In response to questions from The Associated Press, Bahrain's government said the people of Bahrain have a choice of vaccine when choosing their booster appointment six months after their original vaccinations. All the data from the Ministry of Health has shown all the vaccines in use in Bahrain are providing similar high levels of protection against COVID-19, the government said, adding that 90% of new cases in Bahrain were people who had chosen to receive no vaccinations. Officials at Sinopharm did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last week, the company published data in a peer-reviewed article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which concluded that the two vaccines are about 73% and 78% effective. However, the study involved mostly younger men and had little information about the vaccines effectiveness against severe disease. The two shots use different technologies. The Pfizer shots, a so-called mRNA vaccine, contain a piece of genetic code that trains the immune system to recognize the spiked protein on the surface of the virus. The Sinopharm vaccine is an inactivated shot made by growing the whole virus in a lab and then killing it. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, both of which heavily relied on Sinopharm in their initial vaccination drives, announced in May that they'd offer a third shot of the Sinopharm vaccine amid concerns about an insufficient antibody response. Chinas top disease control official acknowledged in April that the countrys locally produced vaccines offer low protection against the virus, adding to growing questions over the shots efficacy. The World Health Organization granted the Sinopharm shot emergency approval in May. A range of governments, including in Hungary, Pakistan, Serbia and the Seychelles, an island nation in the Indian Ocean, already administer Sinopharm. In March, an official from a state-linked Emirati company distributing Sinopharm set off a storm of confusion when he acknowledged on Dubais state-owned radio that a very small number of residents had already received booster shots of Sinopharm. As vaccine recipients became worried about their antibody levels, authorities there cautioned the public against mixing different coronavirus vaccines. In April, the head of international cooperation at China National Biotec Group, which is a subsidiary of Sinopharm, described the UAEs use of booster shots as not included in our clinical plan. In the UAE, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, some who earlier received Sinopharm have later gone back to be re-inoculated with the Pfizer vaccine as it became widely available across the federation of seven sheikhdoms. The UAE and Bahrain rank among the world's top vaccinators on a per-capita basis. Yet Bahrain, home to some 1.6 million people, is in the throes of its worst wave yet of the virus, forcing the kingdom into a two-week lockdown. Meanwhile Thursday, sovereign wealth funds in Russia and Bahrain announced the island kingdom would begin producing the Sputnik V vaccine to supply demand across the Middle East and North Africa. In Beirut, a senior World Bank official praised Lebanon's anti-pandemic program, despite what he said were problems in its early phase as the country remains embroiled in political infighting and lacks a fully functioning government. Despite the problems in the beginning, today we see the project is going in the right direction, said Ferid Belhaj, the World Banks vice president for the Middle East and North Africa. The World Bank has been a major financier of Lebanons coronavirus campaign. It has also financed the countrys vaccination program, the first World Bank-financed operation to fund the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines, to provide for over 2 million individuals. Lebanon has successfully managed to curb the second surge in coronavirus infections that had overwhelmed the health sector since the start of the year. Health authorities imposed a series of lockdowns while a vaccination campaign kicked off in February. So far about 10% of Lebanons 6 million have been inoculated. Efforts are underway to ramp that up. ___ Associated Press writers Sarah El Deeb in Beirut and Huizhong Wu in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed to this report. ___ Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP ST. LOUIS (AP) A Berkeley man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing his brother nearly six years ago during an argument in the home they shared. Robert Moses was sentenced Tuesday after a jury found him guilty last month of second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the shooting death of 51-year-old Kenneth Moses on Aug. 11, 2015, television station KMOV reported. WASHINGTON (AP) The Biden administration said Thursday it is moving to increase the pay and union rights for security screeners at the nations airports. The Department of Homeland Security directed the acting head of the Transportation Security Administration to come up with a plan within 90 days to raise the pay of the screeners and expand their rights to collective bargaining. The change reflects the more labor-friendly approach of President Joe Biden, granting a long-standing goal of workers at an agency created to improve airport security after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. TSA employees are outstanding public servants who work on the frontlines, including throughout the pandemic, to keep the traveling American public safe, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in announcing the plan. They deserve the empowerment of collective bargaining and a compensation structure that recognizes and rewards them for their contributions to our safety and security. Lower pay and benefits than other federal workers has contributed to morale problems and high turnover among the nation's 46,000 TSA workers who were excluded from the General Schedule pay scale and personnel system of most other federal workers when the agency was set up as a component of DHS. The American Federation of Government Employees and members of Congress have long pushed legislation that would put TSA officers on par with the rest of the federal workforce. We are just asking to be put on the same scale as everyone else. We are not asking for something different, said Hydrick Thomas, president of AFGEs Council 100, which represents TSA officers nationwide. Starting annual pay for TSA officers is $35,000-$39,000 and tops out at $43,000. An employee of Customs and Border Protection at the same airport would make $60,000-$80,000 after six years and have significantly better retirement and other benefits, said Thomas, who is also an officer at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City. The TSA are front-line workers too, he said. "Every day we put the uniform on, we put ourselves in harms way. With the actions being taken by the Biden administration, TSA officers still won't be on equal footing with other federal workers. When Congress set up the TSA, it granted the agency administrator broad authority over the procedures, discipline and compensation of the workforce. That isn't changing with the directive announced Thursday. In the memo laying out the administrative actions, Mayorkas said TSA officers pay should be no less than their counterparts in the federal workforce. They will be granted new access to grievance procedures but their collective bargaining rights would only "closely mirror" those provided under law to other federal employees. Mayorkas said he has directed the acting TSA administrator to work with the American Federation of Government Employees on a new collective bargaining agreement with the non-supervisory members of the workforce. It will be similar to other federal agencies but the new agreement will preserve TSA's ability to meet its critical security mission, he said, without providing further details. A bill in Congress, which has twice before passed the House but not been considered by the Senate, would put TSA officers in the General Schedule along with other federal workers, give them access to an independent third party for dispute resolution and ensure the measures being taken under Biden could not be undone by a new administration. Federal employees do not have the right to strike. One of the legislation's authors, Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat who chairs the Homeland Security Committee, said the new action by the Biden administration is significant progress but isn't sufficient. TSA frontline officers have been grossly underpaid and denied basic workplace rights for far too long, he said. Sri Lankan Govt. Responses to the Resolution introduced by the US House of Representatives "The Foreign Ministry refers to the Resolution No. H.RES.413 introduced in the United States House of Representatives by Representative Ms. Deborah K. Ross on 18 May 2021, along with four other Representatives, namely Mr. Bill Johnson, Mr. Danny K. Davis, Mr. Brad Sherman and Ms. Kathy Manning, who had submitted the said Resolution," Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued yesterday. "It is reported that the Resolution has been referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on 18 May 2021," it added. The statement further reads as follows; The Government of Sri Lanka vehemently opposes the contents of the said Resolution which contains allegations that are unsubstantiated, and have unfounded and blatant lies raising grave suspicions on the intention of the Resolution. Considering the inaccurate, biased and one sided nature of the proposed resolution, it may be noted that this is not a mere human rights resolution, but appears to be one influenced by a coterie of sympathisers of the LTTE in the US Congress, to carry forward the separatist agenda of the LTTE, which is proscribed as a terrorist organization in 32 countries including the USA. The Government of Sri Lanka is in the process of submitting its response through the Sri Lanka Embassy in Washington, D.C. to representatives of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and House Sub-Committee on Asia and the US Embassy in Colombo. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) A California man has been sentenced to six months in prison for assaulting two flight attendants while traveling from San Diego to Albuquerque, New Mexico. The office of the U.S. Attorney for New Mexico announced the sentencing Wednesday of 43-year-old Alton James Johnson of Yuba City, California. James pleaded guilty to the assault on Jan. 12. LOS ANGELES (AP) The state of California has agreed not to impose greater coronavirus restrictions on church gatherings than it does on retail establishments in a pair of settlements that provide more than $2 million in fees to lawyers who challenged the rules as a violation of religious freedom. A deal approved Tuesday by a federal judge comes after lawyers for a San Diego-area Pentecostal church took their challenge against the state to the U.S. Supreme Court three times and won. The settlement includes a permanent injunction in line with Supreme Court rulings that found restrictions on houses of worship cannot exceed those on retail businesses, attorney Paul Jonna said. If they're gonna restrict Costco to 50%, then they can do the same thing to churches, Jonna said. But what they were doing before, as you may remember, is they were keeping those places open and they were shutting down churches at least in California completely. The settlement has little practical impact after a Supreme Court ruling led the state in April to lift limits on indoor worship. As the state's case rate of COVID-19 has plummeted since a deadly winter surge and vaccination rates rise, Gov. Gavin Newsom is poised to lift all restrictions on June 15. Newsoms office issued a statement saying he put the health of Californians first when he imposed closure orders. It said the settlements provide clarity on how public health standards can be applied to churches. Newsom was the first governor to issue a statewide stay-home order at the start of the pandemic in March 2020. His various closure orders and modifications that allowed certain businesses to open at different capacities were challenged in state and federal courts. The public health orders were generally upheld until religious groups won a string of victories after a change in the Supreme Court makeup last year when liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died and was replaced by conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett. While the settlements only apply to restrictions issued for the COVID-19 pandemic, Jonna said he does not believe the state would impose harsher restrictions on churches in the future because of the Supreme Court rulings. The settlements involve a federal lawsuits brought by South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista and Father Trevor Burfitt, a Catholic priest in Bakersfield, who sued in Kern County Superior Court. Lawyers for the Thomas More Society, a conservative public interest law firm, will receive $1.6 million in legal fees in the South Bay case and $550,000 in the Burfitt case. The Cannes Film Festival on Thursday unveiled a lineup of films from big-name auteurs including Wes Anderson, Asghar Farhadi, Mia Hansen-Lve and Sean Penn for its 74th edition, an in-person, summertime event that aims to make a stirring return in July after being canceled last year because of the pandemic. Among the films that will be competing for Cannes' Palme d'Or are the festival opener, Annette, by Leox Carax and starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard; Anderson's The French Dispatch, a film originally set to premiere in Cannes last year with an ensemble cast including Timothee Chalamet; Red Rocket, Sean Baker's follow-up to his acclaimed The Florida Project; Paul Verhoeven's Benedetta; and Sean Penn's Flag Day," in which he stars alongside his daughter, Dylan Penn, as a conman. Pierre Lescure, president of the festival, and Thierry Fremaux, artistic director, announced the Cannes lineup at the UGC Normandie theater in Paris in a live-streamed event that was part press conference and part pep rally for world cinema. Cinema is not dead. The extraordinary and triumphant return of the audience to movie theaters in France and around the world was the first good news," said Fremaux. "I hope the film festival will be the second very good news. As cinemas preeminent global stage, the annual French Riviera extravaganza is hoping to make a triumphant comeback when it runs July 6-17 two months later than its usual May perch. But many things will be different at this year's festival. Attendees will be masked inside theaters and required to show proof of full vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test. Cannes' famed red carpet leading up to the stairs of the Palais des Festivals will resume in full, but with tweaks to the traditional pageantry. Were used to kissing one another at the top of the stairs. We will not kiss one another," said Fremaux. Still, there are many questions leading up to a Cannes that will unfold just as France is reopening and loosening restrictions. Audience capacity limitations will be removed just five days before the festival opens. Concern over a new virus strain led France last week to institute a seven-day quarantine for travelers arriving from the United Kingdom a potential blow to the British film industry that regularly decamps to Cannes. For such an international festival as Cannes, many other travel regulations could pose complications. Fremaux acknowledged some filmmakers may not be able to attend. The movie market that typical runs in tandem with the festival and draws much of the film industry for a week of frenzied deal-making, will be held virtually in late June. But the Cannes program, while perhaps lacking a Hollywood title as anticipated as Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (an entry in 2019, when Bong Joon Ho's Parasite won the Palme), was praised as top-class. It includes former Palme d'Or winners Jacques Audiard ("Paris 13th District") and Apichatpong Weerasethakul ("Memoria," starring Tilda Swinton). Four of the 24 films in competition are directed by women, a low percentage but one that ties the festival's previous top mark. That includes new films from Mia Hansen-Lve (Bergman Island," with Mia Wasikowska, Tim Roth and Vicky Krieps) and Hungarian filmmaker Ildiko Enyedi. Cannes has previously refused to play in competition any film that doesn't have a theatrical release in France, leading to an impasse with Netflix. Though other movie institutions like the Academy Awards have bended theatrical rules during the pandemic, Cannes has not. Among the standouts playing out of competition, or in Cannes' new Cannes Premiere" are: Andrea Arnold's Cow; Todd Haynes' documentary The Velvet Underground; Tom McCarthy's Stillwater; and the Oliver Stone documentary JFK: Through the Looking Glass. Spike Lee, who debuted Do the Right Thing at Cannes in 1989, will preside over the jury selecting the Palme d'Or winner. He's the first Black person to ever head the Cannes jury. At the opening ceremony, an honorary Palme will be given to Jodie Foster, who first came to Cannes as a 13-year-old for the premiere of Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver. Speaking to The Associated Press after the press conference, Fremaux said it will be the ultimate Cannes. It will be something special. In five years people will be asking Were you in Cannes in 2021? and people would say No I wasnt.' 'Oh you werent? Thats a pity. It was really great, said Fremaux. "Its going to be a special Cannes. ___ AP's Jeffery Schaeffer contributed to this report from Paris. BEIJING (AP) The Chinese government has accused H&M, Nike, Zara and other brands of importing unsafe or poor quality children's clothes and other goods, adding to headaches for foreign companies after Beijing attacked them over complaints about possible forced labor in the countrys northwest. A list of quality and safety unqualified products from 16 companies including T-shirts, toys and toothbrushes was released by the customs agency to mark International Children's Day this week. The announcement is a setback for foreign brands that were attacked by state media in March following accusations by governments and human rights groups that Beijing uses forced labor in Xinjiang in China's northwest. State TV called for a boycott of H&M over a statement issued a year earlier saying it would no longer use cotton from Xinjiang. Official media publicized criticism of others for expressing concern about possible forced labor. H&M goods were removed from Chinese e-commerce platforms while app stores dropped apps for that company, Nike and Adidas. Celebrities pulled out of endorsement deals. Product safety is especially sensitive in China following scandals over tainted, shoddy or counterfeit milk, medicines and other products that have killed and injured consumers. Some 1 million people from mostly Muslim minority groups have been confined to detention camps in Xinjiang. Chinese authorities are accused of forced sterilization and destroying mosques. Chinese officials deny reports of abuses and say the camps are for job training to promote economic development and combat radicalism. Authorities have pressed foreign brands to reject reports of forced labor, saying they should look more closely at Xinjiang. Foreign brands usually comply with pressure to adopt the ruling Communist Partys position on major issues but human rights also is sensitive with consumers abroad. The customs announcement made no mention of Xinjiang or criticism of the foreign companies. It cited what it said was potentially hazardous dyes and other chemicals in clothing and toys and the failure of shoes and toothbrushes to meet standards for strength and flexibility of materials. The agency cited T-shirts imported by Nike Inc., childrens and baby clothing from Industria de Diseno Textil SAs Zara brand and childrens clothing from H&M Group. It said the goods would be returned or destroyed. Nike, Zara and H&M didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. ___ General Administration of Customs of China: www.customs.gov.cn HONG KONG (AP) For years, China has quashed any discussion on the mainland of its bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, nearly erasing what happened from the collective consciousness. Now it may be Hong Kong's turn, as China's ruling Communist Party pulls the city more directly into its orbit. The semi-autonomous territories of Hong Kong and nearby Macao were for years the last places on Chinese soil allowed to publicly mark the events of June 4, 1989, when the People's Liberation Army opened fire on student-led protesters in a crackdown that left hundreds, if not thousands, dead. Before last year, tens of thousands gathered annually in Hong Kongs Victoria Park, lighting candles and singing songs to remember the victims. But authorities, citing the coronavirus pandemic, banned the vigil for the second straight year and, on the morning of Friday's anniversary, arrested an organizer of it. A temporary museum dedicated to the event also suddenly closed this week, after authorities investigated it for lacking the necessary licenses to hold a public exhibition. Hong Kongs security minister warned residents last week against taking part in unauthorized assemblies. In mainland China, younger generations have grown up with little knowledge of or debate about the crackdown, but the efforts to suppress commemorations in Hong Kong reflect another turn of the screw in Beijing's ever-tightening control over Hong Kong following massive anti-government protests in 2019. Those demonstrations evolved into months of sometimes violent clashes between smaller groups of protesters and police. And they have led to a broader crackdown on dissent in the former British colony, which was long an oasis of capitalism and democracy and was promised that it would largely maintain its freedoms for 50 years when it was returned to China in 1997. Since the protests, China has imposed a sweeping national security law aimed in part at stiffening the penalties for the actions that protesters engaged in, and authorities have sought to arrest nearly all of the citys outspoken and prominent pro-democracy figures. Most are either behind bars or have fled the city. Despite the restrictions this year, there are calls for Hong Kongers to remember the 1989 crackdown in private, with vigil organizers calling on residents to light a candle at 8 p.m. Friday no matter where they are. Online calls circulating on social media also urged residents to dress in black on Friday. Local newspaper Ming Pao last week published an article suggesting that residents write the numbers six and four on their light switches a nod to the June 4 date so each flip of the switch is also an act of remembrance. For decades, Chan Kin Wing has regularly attended the vigil in Hong Kong. I was lucky to have been born in Hong Kong. If I had been born on the mainland, I could have been one of the students in Tiananmen Square that day, said Chan, whose parents had fled to Hong Kong from the mainland in the 1960s. When June 4, 1989, happened, all of Hong Kong witnessed the indelible historical event of students massacred by a corrupt regime, Chan said. This year, Chan plans to remember the event privately, dressing in black and changing his profile picture on social media to an image of a lit candle in the dark. Ive resolved to never forget about June 4, and strive to pass on memories of it to ensure its never forgotten, he said. In mainland China, the group Tiananmen Mothers that represents victims relatives published an appeal on the Human Rights in China website urging the party to heed their long-held demands for a complete release of official records about the crackdown, compensation for those killed and injured, and for those responsible to be held to account. We look forward to the day when the CPC and the Chinese government can sincerely and courageously set the record straight and take up their due responsibility for the anti-human 1989 massacre in accordance with the law and the facts, the statement said. The government, however, seems intent on running out the clock on such appeals. While Tiananmen Mothers said 62 of its members have died since the group was founded in the late 1990s, many young Chinese, it said, have grown up in a false sense of prosperous jubilance and enforced glorification of the government (and) have no idea of or refuse to believe what happened on June 4, 1989, in the nations capital. Hong Kong police on Friday detained a leader of the alliance that organizes the vigil and runs the museum that commemorated the event. Chow Hang Tung had told The Associated Press in an interview last week that earlier arrests and convictions of prominent activists have had a chilling effect on those who participated in the vigil in the past. There will obviously be fear and people cannot just assume that they can come and express their remembrance for the Tiananmen massacre victims and be unscathed, said Chow, vice chair of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. She said that what keeps her going is the dream that China and Hong Kong can both have democracy one day. The tide, though, appears to be going in the other direction. This is something worth fighting for, she said. If one day we cannot talk about Tiananmen that would signify that Hong Kong is totally assimilated into Chinese society. ___ Associated Press journalist Alice Fung contributed to this report. HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) The Connecticut Health Department's daily COVID-19 report listed zero coronavirus-related deaths Thursday for the first time since last September. Gov. Ned Lamont touted the milestone while speaking at a news conference to announce the allocation of $2 million in federal COVID relief funds to summer jobs programs for teens. Yesterday was the first day in months and months and months we had zero fatalities related to COVID, fewer people in the hospital than ever before, the third-lowest infection rate in the country," Lamont said. "And that's due to a lot of you and a lot of your good work. Connecticut has recorded 8,247 deaths related to the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, according to the governor's office. There were 89 people hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Thursday. The last time the state recorded zero deaths was on September 15, 2020, when the state's death toll stood at 4,485 according to data provided by the Department of Public Health. In other COVID-19-related news, a collaboration of Fairfield County businesses has awarded $300,00 in grants to area nonprofits to deal with educational inequities exacerbated by the pandemic. The money from the Fairfield County Business Collaborative for Education Equity, which includes companies such a Pitney Bowes, Bank of America and Xerox is targeted for education-related initiatives in the Greater Bridgeport, Danbury, Norwalk, and Stamford areas. The group says the programs that will benefit focus on summer learning, kindergarten and college readiness, and food insecurity and its impact on education. ___ Follow APs coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic. POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP) A construction worker was killed early Thursday in a hit-and-run incident on Interstate 95 in South Florida, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The crash happened about 6:30 a.m. Thursday in the northbound lanes of the interstate north of Fort Lauderdale, troopers said. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Some Charlotteans got more than they expected at their COVID-19 vaccine appointment Thursday afternoon: the shot, a $25 gift card, and a visit from North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. Cooper visited a StarMed Healthcare location Thursday at 4001 Tuckaseegee Road to promote the states new COVID-19 vaccination incentive push, offering $25 gift cards to people getting their first COVID-19 shot along with people driving others to get their first shot. Many other states have begun offering COVID-19 vaccine incentives in recent weeks. Some, like New York and Delaware, are offering full-ride college scholarships in vaccine raffles. And Ohio is running million-dollar COVID-19 vaccine lotteries. A vaccine lottery with a million-dollar prize isnt off the table in North Carolina, Cooper said Thursday. Maybe we can do both, Cooper said, referring to the lottery and the $25 gift cards. The state is considering additional incentive programs to popularize COVID-19 vaccines, Cooper said, including programs modeled after those in other states. Cooper didnt say exactly when such programs could be announced, but said his office was trying to get those plans presented "as quickly as possible. As of Thursday, 53.6% of North Carolinians age 18 and older have received at least one COVID-19 shot, according to state Department of Health and Human Services data. Thats still far below President Joe Bidens proposed vaccination goal of 70% of adults vaccinated by July 4. Thats one reason the governor is pushing for incentives, to get as many adults vaccinated as possible. Remember, when you get this vaccine, not only are you protecting yourself, youre protecting your family, your friends, and anybody else who you might come in contact with, Cooper said. We have people dying, most every day still of this virus so it is not over. The Tuckaseegee Road StarMed Healthcare location began giving out gift cards for the COVID-19 vaccines on May 26. More than 1,000 people have participated in the program at that location in the first week, StarMed Healthcare CEO Michael Estramonte said. StarMed has performed more than 300,000 COVID-19 tests and administered more than 200,000 COVID-19 vaccines in North Carolina, he said. StarMed has administered more than 25,000 vaccines at the Tuckaseegee Road location. Heres where you can find a $25 gift card in Charlotte: StarMed Healthcare, 4001 Tuckaseegee Road: From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily; walk-ins or schedule online StarMed Healthcare, 5344 Central Avenue: From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m daily; walk-ins or schedule online Bojangles Coliseum, 2700 E. Independence Blvd.: From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 7-8; walk-ins or schedule online Other locations in Charlotte are offering the $25 gift cards too, on limited days this week. Heres where and when to snag one at those spots. MEDIC, 4425 Wilkinson Blvd.: from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. on June 4 and June 7 Catawba Brewing Co., 933 Louise Ave.: From 3-7 p.m. on June 4 Food Truck Friday, 5700 Westpark Drive: From 3-8 p.m. on June 4 Movement School Eastland, 5249 Central Ave.: From 12-4 p.m. on June 5 The Danville school board voted again to change the school's nickname after a petition opposing the decision garnered more than 500 signatures. In a 4-1 vote on Tuesday evening, the school board members reaffirmed the policy to prohibit the representation of the school by any race or ethnic group as a mascot, the Caledonian Record reported. SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) New Mexico state finance authorities have said that demand appears to be building for minimum-interest loans aimed at helping small businesses that lost income or experienced major disruptions during the coronavirus pandemic. New Mexico Finance Authority CEO Marquita Russel told a panel of state legislators on Wednesday that about 865 businesses have applied for loans worth a combined $65 million since the program was overhauled in March. Reforms to the state's small business recovery loan program, signed by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in early March, doubled the maximum individual loan amount to $150,000 and broadened eligibility after businesses expressed a limited appetite for the original program. That program, as a result of the changes made to it, really had some traction and weve seen a great deal of interest, Russel said. The federal government has closed out its paycheck protection program that provided forgivable loans to businesses beginning in April 2020. Restaurants are still in line for federal relief under the Biden administration's $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package. New Mexico's small business recovery loans are repaid at half the prime rate of interest that commercial banks charge their most creditworthy customers, with zero interest accrued during the first year. Repayment installments are not due for the initial three years. The program was originally created during a June 2020 special session of the Legislature as the pandemic took hold and state emergency health orders shut down a variety of nonessential businesses that could not operate remotely. Under original terms of program, the state lent out $41.7 million through about 880 approved applications. The current application period runs through May 31, 2022, on a first-come basis. The finance authority can lend up to $500 million. ___ This version corrects that the name of the loan-oversight agency is the New Mexico Finance Authority, not the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce recently entered into an MOU with Market Development Facility (MDF), Australias flagship private sector development program, to support the private sector in innovating to achieve growth and new economic opportunities for Sri Lanka. MDF is an Australian Government funded multi-country initiative, implemented by Palladium in partnership with Swisscontact, which promotes sustainable economic development through higher incomes for women and men in its partner countries in the Indo-Pacific. Through this joint initiative, CCC and MDF intend to host seminars and workshops, and encourage knowledge sharing through publishing research findings and business insights on topics that will drive bottom-line growth for the private sector. These discussions to inspire sustainable economic growth in Sri Lanka are timely, and Australia, through MDF, is proud to support the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in this initiative, said H.E. David Holly, Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka. The first event to stem from this initiative will focus on increasing awareness among agribusinesses on the risks of climate change and its impact on business models. The planned climate change workshop will also encourage investments into climate adaptation strategies to improve agricultural livelihoods. A series of engagements are underway to organise an online forum with industry leaders to share their experience and business cases, for this purpose. This discussion will be suitable for senior officials, decision makers, planters and agri firms. Mr. Manjula de Silva, CEO/Secretary General of the Chamber, added, This is an important occasion as we enter into this MOU. CCC has a close relationship with the Australian Government and we are happy to be a part of this effort. There are clear purposes in getting into this partnership to carry out joint events, seminars and workshops of mutual interest. It is great to have one more partner added to our network. MDF Sri Lanka Country Director Momina Saqib stated that, MDF is excited about the initiative and recognizes the Chambers important role in supporting the private sector, as well as its longstanding advocacy for private sector growth. MDF has a mandate of promoting private sector-led inclusive growth. We see shared goals and common objectives between CCC and MDF and believe this collaboration will bring will contribute to Sri Lankas prosperity. In Sri Lanka, MDFs focus is on supporting the high value tourism, agriculture and fisheries sectors with cross-cutting investments to promote climate change mitigation and adaptation, access to finance and digital tools adoption. To date, MDFs investments have benefitted 28,710 men and women, generating and additional an additional income of USD 15,091,000 for these Sri Lankans. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) Denmark has solid relationships with its allies, including France and Germany, that do not need to be restored, its prime minister said after reports that the country allegedly had helped the United States spy on European leaders more than seven years ago. I do not think it is correctly presented that there is a need to restore relations with either France or Germany, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Wednesday. We have an ongoing dialogue, and so do we in the field of intelligence. Danish broadcaster DR reported Sunday that the Danish Defense Intelligence Service, known in Denmark by its acronym FE, in 2014 conducted an internal investigation into whether the U.S. National Security Agency had used its cooperation with the Danes to spy against Denmark and neighboring countries. The probe concluded that NSA had eavesdropped on political leaders and officials in Germany, France, Sweden and Norway. Frederiksen added that she does not comment on stories about the intelligence work that appear via the media. Frederiksen, who had led a minority Social Democratic government since 2019, said she could only repeat what the then-prime minister had said, there must be no systematic monitoring of allies." At the time of the alleged eavesdropping, Denmark had a Social Democratic-led government headed by Helle Thorning-Schmidt. According to DR, the alleged setup between the United States and Denmark reportedly allowed the NSA to obtain data by using the telephone numbers of politicians as search parameters. The broadcaster said its report was based on interviews with nine unnamed sources, all of whom were said to have had access to classified information held by the Danish Defense Intelligence Service. The military agency allegedly helped the NSA from 2012 to 2014. In Norway, Prime Minister Erna Solberg summoned an unnamed U.S. diplomat on Thursday. The prime minister told Norwegian news agency NTB that the Americans have clearly said that they changed their practice in 2014 when it comes to monitoring allies, and that they will work with us and others to clarify what has happened. We have today met with the U.S. Embassy in Oslo to follow up on this invitation, Solberg said, according to NTB. Details of the meeting and what was said were not immediately available. DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A Des Moines man has been found guilty of killing and dismembering his wife. The Des Moines Register reports that a jury on Friday convicted 32-year-old Datron Simmons of second-degree murder in the death of 50-year-old Connie Simmons. Police found the body of Connie Simmons in a wooded area near the couple's home in September, after her family asked police to check on her. Police said Datron Simmons told officers that he tried to conceal the death by disposing of her body. Authorities believe that the victim was killed on Sept. 6. Simmons faces a mandatory sentence of 50 years in prison, and won't be eligible for parole for at least 35 years. AP BURLINGTON, Ky. (AP) An Alabama man was charged with fatally shooting his passenger as they traveled on an interstate in Kentucky on Thursday, a law enforcement official said. The driver reported the shooting around 8:30 a.m. while still traveling on Interstate 75-71 in Boone County, across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, and was told to exit the highway, according to a news release from the county sheriff's office. CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) State officials will mark the 150th anniversary of the Nevada State Capitol building on Saturday. The Nevada Capitol building opened in 1871 in Carson City. For 50 years it housed all three branches of the government: the Nevada Legislature, the Nevada Supreme Court and the governor. The Supreme Court moved to a nearby building in 1937 and the Legislature moved to a new building in 1971. The historic Capitol now houses offices for the governor, lieutenant governor, state treasurer, and secretary of state. Gov. Steve Sisolak and other state officials plan to speak at Saturday's ceremony. The building has reopened for tours after being closed due to the pandemic. NEW YORK (AP) A former U.S. Treasury Department worker was sentenced to six months in prison Thursday for leaking confidential financial reports to a journalist at BuzzFeed. Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards pleaded guilty last year to a conspiracy charge, admitting she leaked banking reports, including some related to people being investigated in special counsel Robert Muellers probe of foreign interference in U.S. elections. The government said the material leaked for more than a year included reports on Paul Manafort, former President Donald Trumps onetime campaign chairman, along with a woman charged with trying to infiltrate U.S. political organizations as a covert Russian agent. U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods gave Edwards, who was arrested in 2018, a sentence at the top of the federal sentencing guidelines range. Woods called her actions illegal and wrong" and said they made our country less safe. Prosecutors had requested serious punishment for Edwards, saying she had betrayed the public and risked hindering ongoing and future investigations. Defense lawyers urged a sentence of time served. Edwards worked for multiple federal government agencies before serving as senior adviser to the head of the Intelligence Division at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, also known as FinCEN, a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department responsible for safeguarding the nation's financial system. Prosecutors said she leaked over 2,000 confidential suspicious activity reports and more than 50,000 documents in all. Banks are required to file suspicious activity reports with the Treasury Department when they spot transactions that raise questions about possible financial misconduct such as money laundering. Prosecutors said Edwards shared her information with a journalist who then shared thousands of suspicious activity reports with publications worldwide. While the journalist has not been named by prosecutors, other court documents identify him as Buzzfeed reporter Jason Leopold. He was in court Thursday and declined comment afterward. BuzzFeed and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published a trove of stories, dubbed The FinCEN Files, that were based on material obtained from Edwards. Among other things, the stories examined regulatory failures in spotting and cracking down on international money laundering. Before she was sentenced, Edwards spoke at length about her American Indian heritage and the influence of Indians on our founding fathers. But she also said: I do apologize for the disclosure of that information. In a statement, BuzzFeed spokesperson Matt Mittenthal called Edwards a brave whistleblower" and said the news organization strongly condemns today's sentence. She fought to warn the public about grave risks to Americas national security, first through the official whistleblower process, and then through the press. She did so, despite tremendous personal risk, because she believed she owed it to the country she loves, he said. Mittenthal said Edwards enabled BuzzFeed News and 108 media organizations in the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists to publish the FinCEN Files. That investigation has helped to inspire major reform and legal action in the United States, the E.U., and countries around the world, Mittenthal said, adding that BuzzFeed for the first time Thursday acknowledged Edwards's role in the project after she gave permission to say she provided the suspicious activity reports. Edwards lawyer, Stephanie M. Carvlin, argued that Edwards made her disclosures after concluding that people running the Treasury Department were through wrongdoing creating a dangerous situation for the American people. She wasn't doing it for money ... for personal glory, Carvlin said. She wants to help the American people. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Ravener said the portrayal of Edwards as a whistleblower was simply false, and she criticized her for lacking remorse. The prosecutor said Edwards made complaints internally, but her claims were not substantiated and she then leaked materials that jeopardized investigations ranging from terrorism to public corruption. She said her leaks also had a chilling effect on the financial sector's willingness to comply with disclosure requirements. Ravener said Edwards hoped to leverage her claims into a promotion. As he announced the sentence, Woods said it was sad and perhaps ironic that Edwards went into public service because she was upset over the Sept. 11 terror attacks. He said she came to believe disclosing America's secrets would somehow be beneficial to our nation. According to the online site U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, eight people have been prosecuted for leaking information to journalists since 2017. The cases included a counterterrorism analyst charged with leaking classified documents, an Internal Revenue Service employee accused of leaking suspicious financial transactions and the longtime director of security for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, who was charged with lying to the FBI about contact with journalists. The sentencing also came a day after The New York Times reported that the Justice Department had secretly seized phone records for a nearly four-month period in 2017 of four of its reporters during a leaks probe carried out while Donald Trump was president. Similar disclosures were made last month to The Washington Post and CNN about the seizure of phone records of reporters for Trump-era probes. News agencies have been informed about the seizures by the Justice Department under President Joe Biden, who has said phone records of reporters will not be secretly viewed while he is president. LAS VEGAS (AP) The FBI and Las Vegas police on Thursday released new facial images and offered up to $10,000 for information that helps identify a boy found dead near a highway and locate his killer. He's someone's son, someone's grandson, FBI Supervising Special Agent Jeremy Schwartz told reporters. We're counting on the public to help us with his identification." Hikers found the boy's body shortly before dawn May 28 behind a bush off a trail near the main highway between Las Vegas and rural Pahrump, Las Vegas police Lt. Ray Spencer said. The homicide team chief said it was clear the boy was killed but declined to say how or offer other details. He said school and child welfare officials, nearby police and federal Homeland Security and Border Patrol authorities have been involved in the effort to identify the boy. Investigators narrowed his age to between 8 and 10, Spencer said, and he was heavy for his age and height, at 4 feet 11 inches (145 centimeters) and 123 pounds (56 kilograms). He had a gap in his front teeth, Spencer said, and investigators believe he was from somewhere in southern Nevada or nearby California. His body was found near State Route 160 in the Mountain Springs area. He was probably left after dark May 27, and Spencer asked drivers to contact authorities if they saw a vehicle parked or pulling off the mountain highway. Any information, regardless of how small, we will follow up on that, and that could be the tip that leads to the break in this case, Spencer said. Schwartz said people can contact the FBI online at tips.fbi.gov or by telephone at 800-CALL FBI. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak posted a plea on Twitter, saying, Lets help identify this child. BOSTON (AP) Gov. Charlie Baker and Democratic leaders in the Massachusetts House and Senate are in a full-blown spat over $5.3 billion in federal pandemic relief money, with lawmakers moving quickly to dump the money into an account they have more control over, keeping it at arms length from the Republican governor. Baker is crying foul, arguing that at least $100 million of the American Rescue Plan Act aid should immediately go to four communities he said were horribly under-reimbursed earlier in the pandemic Chelsea, Everett, Methuen and Randolph. We have 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, 347 of them have gotten their money. There are four communities that havent. And all four of those communities were really hard hit by COVID and they are exactly the kind of communities that deserve our support," Baker told reporters Wednesday. Baker also cautioned that the clock is already ticking on when the federal dollars must be spent. There is a time frame and a time limit on a lot of those funds. Some of them you can spend until a certain date in 21, some in 22, some in 23. So its important that we recognize and understand that we need to put this money to work relatively quickly, Baker said. Bakers comments followed a statement issued earlier in the week by Democratic leaders in the Legislature Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ronald Mariano. The two said its important to put the money into a segregated fund separate from the ongoing process of drafting a new state budget for the 2022 fiscal year, which starts July 1. A public legislative process will allow all communities, especially those impacted the most by COVID-19, to help determine where investments are most needed, the two said. These investments may potentially be spread out over a number of years to ensure our continued economic vitality. In a separate statement released Wednesday, Spilka and Mariano also pushed back against Bakers criticism that the four communities are being left in the lurch. The two said they agree that communities that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and left behind by a flawed funding formula like the four communities should receive additional financial support. We have a sense of urgency regarding providing coronavirus relief to our hardest hit communities. We are glad the Governor, who has been in receipt of these funds for two weeks, is now joining the Legislature in this sense of urgency, the two wrote. They again said that they think the best way to decide how to spend the money is through a an inclusive and open public legislative process that will address the unique needs of every community in the state. Baker, however, faulted lawmakers for dragging their feet, particularly on the four communities he said were short-changed, saying the administration would have just moved ahead and released the $100 million. Were going to have a conversation obviously with the Legislature and say to them do you really want to, do you want to treat these four communities differently or should we be doing exactly for them what is actually going on for the other 347? Baker said. The debate over how best to spend the pot of money has also started to spill outside of the Statehouse. On Saturday, community groups are planning to rally on Boston Common to demand that the funds be distributed in what they describe as an equitable manner to help those most harmed by the pandemic. WASHINGTON Vice President Kamala Harris did not come to her role with a list of demands. She wanted to be a generalist, in large part to learn the political rhythms of a president she was still getting to know. In the first few months of her tenure, some of her portfolio assignments were just that: assignments. But on the matter of protecting voting rights, an issue critically important to President Joe Bidens legacy, Harris took a rare step. In a meeting with the president more than a month ago, she told him that she wanted to take the lead on the issue. Biden agreed, two people familiar with the discussions said, and his advisers decided to time the announcement of Harris new role to a speech he delivered Tuesday in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In his remarks, the president declared the efforts of Republican-led statehouses around the country to make it harder to vote as an assault on our democracy and said Harris could help lead the charge against them. He also gave a blunt assessment of the task: Its going to take a hell of a lot of work. Back in Washington, the presidents announcement has not clearly illuminated a path forward for Harris, whose involvement in the issue stands to become her most politically delicate engagement yet. Her new role comes as the Senate enters a crucial month in the Democratic drive to enact the furthest-reaching elections overhaul in a generation, including a landmark expansion of voting rights that is faltering in the Senate. Her office has not yet announced its plans, aside from calls Harris held with civil rights activists, including Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, and a few scheduled meetings with prominent voting rights groups. Her advisers say she will take a wide-ranging approach to the issue by giving speeches, convening stakeholders and using the vice presidential bully pulpit to raise awareness of the importance of the vote. The work of voting rights has implications for not just one year down the road or four years down the road but 50 years from now, Symone Sanders, the vice presidents senior adviser and press secretary, said in an interview Wednesday. The president understands that, and the vice president understands that, and thats why we will implement a comprehensive strategy. The voting rights bill faces a more urgent timeline. The vast majority of the party has agreed to make the bill the partys top legislative priority, and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and the majority leader, vowed to put it up for a vote later this month so any changes could be put into effect before the 2022 elections. With just weeks to go, it remains far from clear if it can actually pass. Because Republicans have locked arms in opposition, the only path forward would require all 50 Democrats plus Harris, who serves as the tiebreaking vote in an evenly divided Senate to support not only the substance of the bill but also changing the filibuster rule requiring 60 votes to approve major legislation, allowing it to pass with a simple majority instead. A handful of Democratic senators have expressed unease about changing the filibuster, while Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., have been more adamant in their opposition. Biden has already pledged to sign the bill, which the House passed with only Democratic votes this spring. Known as the For the People Act, the bill would overhaul the nations elections system by creating new national requirements for early and mail-in voting, rein in campaign donations and limit partisan gerrymandering. But with the bill all but stalled in the Senate, Biden has repeatedly expressed concern over its future in his discussions with Democrats. The announcement that Harris would be working to move the bill forward took many on Capitol Hill by surprise. Harris and Schumer spoke Tuesday and had plans to hold a follow-up conversation late Wednesday, a White House official said but it did not appear Manchin or Sinema were given a heads-up. In a statement, Schumer said he welcomed Harris help navigating into law an elections overhaul that was essential to protecting the future of our democracy. Proponents of the voting legislation took her involvement as a sign that their attempts to build pressure not just on lawmakers, but the White House, were being felt. Its an interesting move given the long odds of anything getting passed and signed into law, said James Manley, who served as a senior aide to former Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader before Schumer. Theres not a lot of cards to play right now, so it shows me they are going to try to raise the public temperature of this thing. Others pointed out that even though Biden has decades of experience moving legislation through the Senate, Harris, the first woman and woman of color to hold her role, comes to the issue with an equally valuable perspective as the country grapples with the ways U.S. policies have marginalized and mistreated Black people. I think that Vice President Harris herself personifies the need for voting rights to be extended, the Rev. Al Sharpton, who attended the speech in Tulsa, said in an interview. When shes on the phone or walks into an office, were looking at the reason we need voting rights. Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, said that the decision to elevate Harris as the face of the administrations work on the issue was a pivotal moment for the Biden White House given the number of voter suppression efforts that were moving forward 389 bills in 48 states and counting, according to a tracker maintained the Brennan Center. It has been decades since a Democratic White House has made voting rights and democracy reform a central goal, Waldman said, but the clock is ticking. Harris impact on the hand-to-hand politics of the Senate is expected to be limited, but she often drew attention to voting rights during her four years as a senator. During her last year in the Senate, Harris introduced legislation that would expand election security measures, require each state to have early in-person voting periods and allow for an expansion of mail-in absentee ballots. In 2020, Harris was also a co-sponsor of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would restore a piece of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that relied on a formula to identify states with a history of discrimination and require that those jurisdictions clear any changes to their voting processes with the federal government. The protections were eliminated by the Supreme Court in 2013. Still, Harris, who spent a chunk of her time in the Senate running for president, was not known for building especially close relationships with colleagues, and Manchin and Sinema are no exceptions. Several Democratic aides who work closely with the senators scoffed Wednesday at the idea that Harris, known as a staunch liberal, would be the one to persuade either moderate lawmaker to change the filibuster rule. Nor is Harris a likely candidate to broker the kind of compromise on the substance of the bill needed to persuade Manchin, the only Democrat who has not sponsored it, to back it. Harris attempts in February to nudge Manchin to back the White Houses proposed $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package is illustrative. Manchin was piqued when Harris appeared, without warning, on a television affiliate in West Virginia to promote the package before he backed it. Although a Democratic aide familiar with the matter, who asked for anonymity to speak candidly, said the episode was now water under the bridge, it prompted cleanup by top White House officials. Manchins and Sinemas offices declined to comment about Harris new role. Senate Republicans, meanwhile, are doing their best to kill the bill and blunt any Democratic attempt to change the filibuster rule, which would leave their party powerless to stop the passage of sweeping liberal priorities well beyond voting rights. At an event in his home state Wednesday, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the majority leader, argued that Democrats were inflating the impact of new state voting laws in an attempt to justify an unwarranted and chaotic slew of top-down changes to the way states run elections. What is going on is, the Democrats are trying to convince the Senate that states are involved in trying to prevent people from voting in order to pass a total federal takeover in how we conduct elections, he told reporters. He said not a single member of his party supported the bill. Aware of the daunting path ahead, allies of the White House said that shepherding the bill through Congress was only one piece of the effort. Harris could be useful in helping ratchet up pressure on private companies, working with civil rights organizations and engaging local communities over the importance of registering to vote. She understands the need to engage in what Id like to call kind of an all-of-the-above approach, said Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev. We cant take anything for granted when were talking about having peoples voice heard at the ballot box. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. by Raj Gonsalkorale Actual independence for the dominion of Ceylon came on February 4, 1948, when the constitution of 1947 went into effect. The constitution provided for a bicameral legislature with a popularly elected House of Representatives and a Senate that was partly nominated and partly elected indirectly by members of the House of Representatives. A prime minister and his cabinet, chosen from the largest political group in the legislature, held collective responsibility for executive functions. The governor-general, as head of state, represented the British monarch. In matters that the constitution failed to address, the conventions of the United Kingdom were observed.The UNP had a substantial majority in the legislature and attracted support as it governed. There were, however, some basic weaknesses in the political structure. The consensus that the government represented embraced only a small fraction of the populationthe English-educated Westernized elite groups that shared the values on which the structure was founded. To the great mass of Sinhalese- and Tamil-educated residents and unschooled citizens, these values appeared irrelevant and incomprehensible. The continued neglect of local culture as embodied in religion, language, and the arts created a gulf that divided the ruling elite from the ruled. Inevitably, traditionalist and revivalist movements arose to champion local values. ~ Britannica While the reality pertaining to the beginning of the conflict has been one thing, Sri Lankan politics and politicians on both sides, Sinhalese as well as Tamil, have opted to choose opportunism rather than what is right for the people they represent. In the immediate period before independence and soon after, a minority on both sides, Tamils and Sinhalese, took comfort in assuming they represented the majority although in reality they were safeguarding the interests of the minority that mattered to them. The Britannica quote To the great mass of Sinhalese- and Tamil-educated residents and unschooled citizens, these values appeared irrelevant and incomprehensible says it all. There is no running away from the truth that a fraction of the population, the English educated, land owning class governed the country and all its institutions, while the majority on both sides lived as second class citizens in their own country. When Ceylon gained independence in 1948, less than 5% of the population was literate in English, and government offices, the courts, police stations, all functioned in English, effectively disenfranchising more than 95% of the population. Leading Tamil politicians of the day never campaigned for the Tamil language to replace English as the working language in the country for the Tamil people. Instead, in effect, they advanced the argument that the privileged position enjoyed by English literate minority of Tamil people should not lose that privilege they saw as a right rather than a privilege. On the other hand, SWRD Bandaranaike campaigned for the Sinhala language to replace English as the working language in government, progressively, with the Tamil language given that status in traditionally Tamil speaking areas of the country. His clear vision was for the majority of the population, and not just the elite minority, to enjoy the fruits of independence gained by the country as free citizens. The mother tongue, meaning Sinhala for the Sinhalese and Tamil for the Tamils was going to be the language of instruction in schools. However, this was planned to be implemented progressively from the mid-sixties. Rather than travelling back in history, as that is bound to result in an endless deluge of arguments and counter arguments, the writer wishes to advance a line of thought for a role reversal, meaning, the Sinhalese to imagine they were Tamils, and for the Tamils to imagine they were Sinhalese, and to look at history as well as contemporary times, problems, issues, and solutions, from such a prism. If the Sinhalese happened to be Tamils, how would they view their past, and their present and their future? How would they view the regular attacks on them by mobs, especially the debacle of 1983? Aided and abetted by sections of the then government, Sri Lanka unleashed an abominable attack on Tamils in July 1983. Leaving all politics aside, this attack on innocent civilians and their homes and belongings, and above all their pride, their sense of security, was never condemned by successive governments. If the Sinhala people happened to be the Tamils, how would they regard their future in the country? Will they feel safe and secure? If a government spearheads mob violence, what hope will they have with the government machinery to protect them? What if your priceless library, repository of one of the largest collections of historical, rare, Tamil and Hindu classics is burnt by a Sinhala mob, again, at the instigation of sections of the government? A new library building cannot restore ancient historical records of Tamil philosophy, culture and literature burnt to cinders by such thugs. It took 21 years to offer an apology to Sri Lankas own sons and daughters, mothers and fathers who were brutally attacked by mobs organised by people in high places and linked to the then government. Was this a genuine demonstration of remorse? In such a climate of intimidation, how would Sinhala people react if they were Tamils? If the coin is flipped, and Tamils were the Sinhalese, especially Sinhala Buddhists, how would they view the Sinhala Buddhist point of view? The following are some issues that perhaps Tamils could consider wearing a Sinhala Buddhist hat, as it were.A Sinhala Buddhist perspective that prevails in regard to the longevity associated with their pre- colonial cultural and governance dominance. Historically, except for the period of the Jaffna Kingdom of around 300 years, much of the rest of history has revolved around Sinhala Buddhist dominance, of course, interspersed with non-Sinhala Kings and Queens of Indian origin during this time. If a Tamil were a Sinhalese, how would that person view this historical situation? The Sinhala Buddhist also views the special place accorded to Buddhism due to cultural, and historical reasons, and also entertains fears that a large number of Tamils from across the Palk Straits could impact on the Buddhist heritage in the country.A fear exists that over 70 million in Tamil Nadu is a threat to the 15 million Sinhala Buddhists in Sri Lanka. The influence of Tamil Nadu politics in Sri Lankan issues of course is well known and has been a dominant factor in the Indian governments policy towards Sri Lanka. Another factor that has perhaps prevented an amicable solution to the ethnic conflict has been what Sinhala Buddhists regard as an unsubstantiated claim about what is touted by the Tamils as their homeland in the island, the Northern and Eastern provinces. While there may have been sporadic settlements from time to time, there is no evidence, archaeological or otherwise to identify the Eastern province as part of a Tamil homeland. In fact it is recorded that Hugh Cleghorn, the first colonial secretary,having never set foot in the North or the East, had recorded an official minute to the effect that the Northern and Eastern regions were occupied by people who were different, culturally, linguistically and by religion to the people in the rest of the country. Historian K M De Silva states in his publication The Traditional Homelands of the Tamils: Separatist Ideology in Sri Lanka: A Historical Appraisal that quote, the entire claim had been structured on one single minute prepared in June 1799 by Hugh Cleghorn, a British Academic who had been in the island in the early years of the British rule as a political trouble shooter and who later had become the Colonial Secretary for Sri Lank unquote. De Silva goes onto say, quote It is this noting that the Tamil separatists have used ad infinitum to drive home their point about their traditional homeland. It should have been obvious to them that Cleghorn s knowledge about Sri Lanka was abysmally poor for he traced the origin of the Sinhalese to Thailand, unquote A related fear arising from this spurious claim of a Tamil homeland, is the extent of the claimed homeland, being more than 25% of the land area of the island, and more than 50% of the sea front of the country with less than 10% of the population of the country living in this land mass. It would be useful for this discussion, if Tamil people could think of themselves as Sinhalese, especially Sinhala Buddhists for the reasons given, and consider these factors from such a perspective. The suggested role reversal approach may hopefully enable both sides to the conflict to see their positions from the others perspective, and people themselves, not politicians, may be able to better understand each others position and arrive at some consensus as to how both sides could move forward. It would benefit the people of the country greatly if the historical position and the origin of this politician made conflict as described in the Britannica, The continued neglect of local culture as embodied in religion, language, and the arts created a gulf that divided the ruling elite from the ruled. Inevitably, traditionalist and revivalist movements arose to champion local values, could be presented, impartially and objectively, so that subsequent developments may be viewed contextually by all parties. This has never happened in the past, and finding a solution has been left to politicians, who in fact created this conflict in the first place, letting it simmer even after 73 years of independence. While the reasons for mistrust felt by both communities are many and not limited to the above mentioned issues, it needs to be recognised that these issues are the reactions to the beginning of the conflict, not the cause of the original conflict. The LTTE, the war, UNHRC resolutions, the proposed US Congress resolution, are all reactions to a festering wound, and none of them represent a solution to the core issues that created the conflict in the first place. Politicians on both sides have their constituencies to consider, and both constituencies have their own power bases. There can never be a solution unless these power bases agree to such a solution. It is impossible to see how this could happen as these power bases are only interested in safeguarding themselves and their power, and in regard to the conflict, the hardening of their individual positions have in fact strengthened their power bases. Sri Lankans, both Sinhalese and Tamils, through their political representatives, and in the case of Tamils, sections of the Diaspora, have provided the bullets for various entities in the world to fire at Sri Lanka. A mechanism will have to be found for the people concerned to work out a solution and cease distributing these bullets. If is left to the politicians, whatever they come up as a solution will only result in creating another problem, as for them, the conflict is like a beggars wound. If it heals, the beggar will have no reason to beg for, and so, consequently, it can never heal. O'FALLON, Mo. (AP) U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, a western Missouri Republican and a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, may be on the verge of joining the growing field of candidates for U.S. Senate in 2022, a seat crucial in the battle for Senate control. Hartzler, who has served in Congress since 2011, said Thursday she'll make an announcement June 10 at Frontier Justice, a firearms store and shooting range in the Kansas City suburb of Lee's Summit. The email from Hartzler reads like one from a candidate. She criticized China, said she worked with Trump to strengthen the military, and accused the Democratic Party of being taken over by Socialists. Im unafraid to proclaim my faith, the sanctity of life, my belief in freedom, personal responsibility, the rule of law, and our Constitutional rights, Hartzler wrote. Im with you in this fight. Were engaged in a winner-take-all contest for the heart, soul, and future of America. Phone messages left with her congressional office spokesman and with Bob Huston, the treasurer for her congressional campaign, were not immediately returned. Incumbent Sen. Roy Blunt announced in March that he would not seek a third term. He is among five Republican senators who are not seeking reelection, a retirement wave that portends a competitive campaign season next year and gives Democrats fresh hope in preserving their razor-thin Senate majority. The announced GOP candidates, like Hartzler, are ardent Trump backers. They are former Gov. Eric Greitens, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, and St. Louis lawyer Mark McCloskey, who gained fame in June 2020 when he and his wife were charged with felonies for waving guns at racial injustice protesters who marched onto their private street. Webster University political scientist Bill Hall said Hartzler's biggest obstacle is name recognition. Still, he believes the GOP candidate to replace Blunt could come down to whomever earns the support of Trump and Missouri's other senator, Josh Hawley. I see Trump still very strong, very influential," Hall said. "I see Hawley also strong in Missouri. If they should agree that one particular candidate will be the best candidate for the base, that candidate will be a formidable candidate to beat in the primary. Five lesser-known Democrats also are running, but would face uphill battles in heavily-Republican Missouri. They include former state Sen. Scott Sifton, St. Louis County startup owner Spencer Toder, Marine veteran Lucas Kunce, Kansas City activist Tim Shepard and Air Force veteran Jewel Kelly. Hartzler, 60, grew up on a farm in Cass County. The former home economics teacher was elected to the Missouri Legislature in 1994 and served six years. In 2010, she beat longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton in Missouri's largely rural 4th Congressional District. Among her accomplishments: leading on legislation facilitating the adoption process. She also helped push through legislation in 2018 giving federal agencies the ability to take down drones used by cartels to transport drugs across the border with Mexico. Schmitt has the backing of Missouri megadonor Rex Sinquefield. Greitens entry into the race marked the start of what would be an epic political comeback for the former governor, a polarizing figure unpopular with the states GOP establishment. The former Navy SEAL officer was once seen as a rising conservative star until scandal forced him from the governors office in 2018. Greitens maintains a core of support that could be enough to win a primary, but Hall and other political observers have said the scandals could make him less attractive to swing voters in the general election and open the door for a Democrat to win. ___ Associated Press writer Summer Ballentine in Columbia, Missouri, contributed to this report. ___ This story has been corrected to show Hartzler is from western Missouri, not central Missouri. RENO, Nev. (AP) A heat wave continues to grip the entire state of Nevada with near-record temperatures forecast again Thursday, a day after a 50-year-old record fell in Reno at 98 degrees (37 C) and the mercury soared to 107 (42 C) in Las Vegas. The weather system bringing the heat isnt expected to move out of the region before the end of the weekend, the National Weather Service said. LONDON (AP) A Hong Kong pro-democracy website was temporarily taken down after police warned the Israel-based hosting company that it breached a national security law, highlighting concerns about actions by authorities in the Chinese city to muzzle online dissent abroad. Nathan Law, a Hong Kong opposition leader based in the U.K., tweeted Thursday that the hosting company, Wix.com, received a request from the Hong Kong police department to disable the 2021 Hong Kong Charter website. He posted screenshots of the police notice telling the hosting company the site contained messages likely to constitute offences endangering national security and that it would be prosecuted if it didn't comply. Wix, headquartered in Tel Aviv, said the website was removed by mistake and has been reinstated. We have reviewed our initial screening and have realized that the website never should have been removed and we would like to apologize, the company said by email. We are also reviewing our screening process in order to improve and make sure that mistakes such as this do not repeat in the future." Law said the site was down for three days. The Hong Kong police department said it wouldn't comment on individual cases. By going after a foreign company hosting a website abroad, the Hong Kong police request underlines fears about the lengths to which Chinese authorities are going to squelch dissent with the national security law. The law sparked waves of massive street protests in the former British colony before it was imposed last year and Hong Kong officials used it to justify freezing the assets of a pro-democracy publisher last month. It is outrageous that a website advocating democracy, even though it is located outside of China, might be blocked just because China considers it subversive," Law said in a statement posted on Twitter. It raises the possibility that other websites and online remarks critical of China will be the next targets of Beijing's internet censorship." The 2021 Hong Kong Charter website was started by activists promoting their fight among overseas Chinese against Beijing's sweeping crackdown on the semi-autonomous Chinese city and changes to its electoral system. DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Iowa's Democratic auditor accused the state's Republican governor Thursday of violating a 2018 state law that prohibits statewide elected officials from using public funds for self promotion, arguing she broke the law by making ads promoting coronavirus public safety measures. Auditor Rob Sand said an ad campaign launched by Gov. Kim Reynolds in November that was designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus violated the law because it featured Reynolds, who used more than $500,000 of federal coronavirus relief funding for the ads. Sand said his office conducted an investigation of the ad campaign that was funded with money that was intended to pay for expanded testing capacity for COVID-19 and improved collection and reporting of data about the pandemic. Sand said Reynolds' office didn't seek federal approval to spend the money on an ad campaign until after it was announced and five weeks after his office requested invoices for the spending. He said emails show the state got approval for use of the funds in February. Reynolds in a statement denied she violated the law, saying it clearly provides an exception for when a governor proclaims a disaster emergency. Such a proclamation was in effect for the pandemic at the time. Promoting the requirements and recommendations of a disaster proclamation in a public awareness campaign is a clear example of the public-emergency exemption in Iowas image-and-likeness statute, she said. In the statement, Reynolds Chief of Staff Sara Craig said, Any competent reading of the plain language of state code would have acknowledged the role of the governor in promoting an emergency order. Sand responded by saying Reynolds could have suspended the law in her disaster proclamations but did not. Nothing contained in this declaration shall be construed as an exemption from any other portion of the Iowa Code," her proclamations said. Therefore, the law prohibiting statewide elected officials from self-promotion through the use of public moneys applies, said Sand, an attorney and former assistant Iowa Attorney General. It's not the first time Reynolds has been challenged for her use of federal COVID-19 relief money. In October, Sand accused Reynolds of improperly using $21 million in federal virus relief funds for an accounting software system. Federal officials agreed, and Reynolds later returned the money. The Legislature appropriated funding for the system out of state taxpayer funds. Sand concluded that about $152,000 out of the $511,789 spent on the advertising campaign was used to purchase time and placement of the video featuring Reynolds on websites and radio and television stations statewide, potentially violating the 2018 law. The law was passed to stop the use of taxpayer dollars for self promotion of politicians, such as the governor and other state officials promoting themselves at Iowa State Fair booths. In addition, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, a Democrat, has appeared in ads promoting the College Savings Iowa program. During legislative debates, Democrats argued whether Secretary of State Paul Pate could no longer distribute fliers about voter registration with his name and photo. The measure was pushed by Ashley Hinson, who was then a Republican state representative and now is a congresswoman. She argued on the House floor, This applies to anybody, regardless of party. The law says anyone willfully violating it must pay out of their campaign funds an amount equal to that used to fund the communication. A violator may also be subject to a serious misdemeanor criminal charge. Sand said Reynolds would have known her legal duty to avoid self-promotion in the ads because she signed the law. He added the violation appears to be voluntary and intentional because the governor herself publicly announced and described the ad campaign, sat down to film her portions of it, and chose to read multiple lines so that at three times during the video spots, all three identifying characteristics that the law prohibits (name, likeness, and voice) were present. Sand's report said the Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board should review the issue. Sand, who is serving his first term as state auditor, is often mentioned as a potential challenger to Reynolds if she runs again. He has not said whether he will seek reelection or run for another office in November 2022. VALLEY, Ala. (AP) An Alabama judge dismissed a capital murder charge against a man jailed for nearly six years because authorities failed to turn over key evidence to the defense, but the man will still face prosecution in Georgia. Chambers County Circuit Judge Steven Perryman ruled Tuesday that the state purposely failed to provide lawyers for Stacey Demar Gray with DNA evidence that supposedly linked him to the death of Renee Eldridge, who was abducted from her home in Columbus, Georgia, in 2015. She was later found dead in a creek in east Alabama. But Perryman also ordered that Gray remain jailed without bond in Chambers County until he can be sent to Georgia, where he was charged in an alleged sexual assault on Gray that occurred the year before the slaying. Despite what happened in Alabama, Muscogee County District Attorney Mark Jones told news outlets the man could still be charged with murder in Georgia. We are not bound by any ruling of an Alabama court on that sort of evidence, Jones told WRBL-TV. We have been in pretty close communication with the victims father on the case. So, we are talking pretty much daily about what we can do and what can be done. Gray's attorney in Alabama, Bill Smith, said he requested the raw DNA data behind a report from the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences that prosecutors said linked Gray to Eldridge's slaying. The defense wanted to analyze the data to determine whether the report was correct, he said, but Forensic Sciences didn't provide the information to prosecutors until the day the trial began. Perryman previously had ordered that the defense be provided with the data, so the judge blocked the use of DNA evidence since the defense didn't have time for analysis. Smith said. When that happened, prosecutors asked the judge to dismiss the case and Perryman agreed. The judge was given no choice. The DA was in a hell of a spot, too. He didnt have that information in his office to begin with, Smith said. Forensics Sciences Director Angelo Della Manna said the agency prioritizes and responds in a timely manner in all cases as soon as made aware of them, and can assure you we did so in this case as well. Eldridges sister, Nichole Hawk, told the Ledger-Enquirer that relatives of the victim were at the courthouse waiting for Gray's trial to begin when they learned the case was begin dropped. July will be six years since it happened, Eldridges sister said Wednesday. Just to be back to square one is devastating." LONDON (AP) Britains High Court ruled Thursday that the Conservative government broke the law when it housed asylum-seekers in overcrowded, run-down conditions in a disused army barracks. Hundreds of migrants who crossed the English Channel in small boats have been sent to Napier Barracks in southeast England since September, despite a warning from public health authorities that it was unsuitable. A refugee charity said residents at the barracks faced freezing cold conditions over the winter and the government said almost 200 had tested positive for COVID-19 during an outbreak earlier this year. In January there were disturbances and a fire at the facility. Six asylum-seekers challenged the British government in court, arguing that conditions at the barracks posed real and immediate risks to life and of ill-treatment. Judge Thomas Linden ruled that the barracks did not ensure a standard of living which was adequate for the health of the claimants. He said the facility was run down, noisy and overcrowded, and the conditions meant the mental health of some of the residents was undermined. The judge also questioned the detention-like setting, given that residents were meant to be living their voluntarily while their asylum applications were processed. When this is considered, a decision that accommodation in a detention-like setting -- a site enclosed by a perimeter fence topped with barbed wire, access to which is through padlocked gates guarded by uniformed security personnel -- will be adequate for their needs, begins to look questionable, the judge said. The bare-bones barracks accommodation has come to symbolize the British government's attempts to deter migrants from making perilous journeys across the English Channel in small boats. Home Secretary Priti Patel has vowed to make the journeys unviable and says she will reform Britain's broken asylum system. Critics say the government's attempts to stop people arriving, which include appointing a former Royal Marine commando as clandestine Channel threat commander, are at best ineffective and at worst inhumane. Refugee advocates welcomed Thursday's court ruling and called for the barracks to be shut permanently. This judgment vindicates all those who repeatedly told the government that recklessly forcing hundreds of refugees into crowded camps during a killer pandemic was a gamble with peoples lives, said Mariam Kemple Hardy at Refugee Action. Napier Barracks and all other camp-style accommodation must be shut down, she said. The judge declined to rule that the barracks should never be used to house asylum seekers, but said there needed to be substantial improvements in the conditions there, and lower numbers of asylum seekers living there for significantly shorter periods. The Home Office said there had been significant improvement works at the barracks, which it said would stay open to provide safe and secure accommodation. We will carefully consider the ruling and our next steps," it said. ___ Follow all of AP's stories on global migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration. WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Sedgwick County sheriffs deputy has been suspended following his arrest over the weekend on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence disorderly conduct. Deputy Clayton Blackwood was arrested Saturday stemming from an incident involving Blackwoods domestic partner, the Sedgwick County Sheriffs Office said. Records show the woman involved also was arrested. AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) The Maine Senate on Thursday confirmed a veteran district court judge as the new chief justice of the state's highest court. Valerie Stanfill will take over as chief of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court and oversee operations in the Maine Judicial Branch. She has served as a Maine Superior Court justice since last year and served as a judge on the Maine District Court bench for 13 years previous to that. By Lan Shunzheng A programmed Kargu-2 drone by Turkish defense contractor STM hunted down and attacked the retreating Libyan National Army(LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar and highly likely killed one person without the intervention of an actual operator, according to a recent report from the UN on the armed conflict in Libya in March 2020. Its the first recorded case of an unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV) launching an attack on a person without acting on a human order, which has aroused the attention of all walks of life on AI and autonomous weapons. The current military artificial intelligence (AI) development is notably concentrated in three areas: independent intelligence analysis, autonomous command and control systems, and autonomous weapons. Different from the first two types of military AI application which are used to assist humans in planning and command of combat operations, the autonomous weapon systems could independently make firing decisions in complex combat environments without relying on external instructions and equipment support, making " killer robots" a reality. Therefore, the focus of relative debate is more concentrated on autonomous weapons. Although the firing control of most unmanned weapons platforms is still in the hands of the operators of the remote control center, fully autonomous weapons have long been feasible from a technical perspective. Some countries have already begun to develop fully autonomous weapons with autonomous firing modes. For example, the Brimstone missile developed by the British military, and the SGR-A1 Sentry Guard Robot deployed by the Republic of Korea(ROK) Army on the border between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the ROK. The core of the debate now is whether autonomous weapons should be used. There are considerable differences regarding the consequences of the use of autonomous weapons. On the one hand, major countries such as US and Russi proposed that autonomous weapon systems have unparalleled superiority to human fighters based on the standpoint of consolidating their technological first-mover advantages. They can make the actual casualty rate infinitely close to zero, not affected by subjective emotions. With the rational advantage and faster information processing speed, the efficiency of weapon use and the collaboration between different weapons can be greatly improved to maximize the battlefield initiative. In the future, the AI "army of none" is likely to become the standard of major powers, further widening the military power gap between the major powers and small countries, or even leading to the one-sided crushing breakdown due to military disadvantage. On the other hand, the UN and the International Red Cross, together with some technologically advanced countries, pointed out based on potential security risks that giving AI the "right to fire freely" could lead it to take liberties on the battlefield and kill innocent people indiscriminately. From a moral perspective, letting machines determine the life and death of human beings will fundamentally erase the sense of the existence of human nature on the battlefield, which will reduce the moral burden of killing humans. At the same time, the decision to fire on the battlefield should be the result of a comprehensive measurement of a large number of complex factors. However, the current machine algorithm has a blind spot as it cannot reliably distinguish legal and illegal targets. For example, when opponents use camouflage and other means to cause the lack of obvious visual identification of military targets, or when facing wounded soldiers, medical soldiers, parachuting pilots, surrenders, and prisoners who cannot be shot according to the laws of war, autonomous weapon systems will face enormous challenges when performing distinguishing tasks. Some worry that once autonomous weapon systems without human control are applied to war, it may lead to many uncertainties in the scope, time and damage of the attack, which will intensify the risk of accidental outbreak and escalation of the crisis. In addition, even if autonomous weapons do not "subjectively" want to become human enemies, there must be the possibility of making mistakes as they are controlled by computer software. In a military exercise held by the US military in South Africa in October 2007, the highly autonomous air defense system suddenly failed, which caused the overall loss of control of the US air defense artillery. Even though the air defense system operator repeatedly tried to turn off the automatic firing equipment, the shutdown instruction became invalid because the artillery had been taken over by the computer system.They can only wait for the shells in the loader in the anti-aircraft artillery system to finish firing by itself. The accident killed and injured a number of US troops. It is precisely in view of the potential risks of the above autonomous weapons, more than 2,400 AI scientists made a global pledge to "neither participate in nor support the development, manufacture, trade, or use of lethal autonomous weapons" in July 2018. They also called upon governments and government leaders to "create a future with strong international norms, regulations and laws against lethal autonomous weapons." The Kargu-2 drone mentioned at the beginning of this article weighs about 6.8 kg, with top speed at about 145 kilometers per hour and a battery life of about 30 minutes. It can carry weapons weighing 1.36 kg and has facial recognition capabilities to find specific individuals. When set to "Efficient Autonomous Mode", it can find the target and fire without the operator's instructions. What the Kargu-2 did in Libya has violated Article 9 of UN Resolution 1970 (2011) and opened the Pandora's box for machines to attack humans autonomously. All parties must attach great importance to this. (The author is a research fellow at both YuanWang think tank, a Beijing-based military science and technology institute, and Chahar Institute.) Editors note: This article is originally published on thepaper.cn, and is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn. BREWER, Maine (AP) A 36-year-old Maine man was arrested and charged with manslaughter on Thursday in connection with the death of his infant son. Police said Ronald Harding of Brewer was charged in the death of the 6-week-old boy. Harding called 911 on May 31 to report that his son was not breathing. An autopsy later performed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner found the infant died from inflicted injuries, police said. QUITO, Ecuador (AP) The mayor of Ecuadors capital was removed from office on Thursday following multiple allegations of wrongdoing and the opening of a corruption investigation by prosecutors. Quito city councilors voted to dismiss Jorge Yunda after complaints about a lack of transparency, including the failure to provide details about municipal budget spending. TRAFALGAR, Ind. (AP) Medics evaluated about 15 children and took two to a hospital as a precaution Thursday after lightning struck a south suburban Indianapolis cabin, authorities said. None of the injuries appeared serious. Several children and adults reported minor pain from being shocked, Johnson County deputies said. WASHINGTON (AP) Military service leaders are privately expressing reservations about removing sexual assault cases from the chain of command, The Associated Press has learned, striking a note of caution as momentum builds toward changing a military justice system that has come under increasing criticism. In memos to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the service leaders laid out their concerns about the growing push to shift prosecution decisions on sexual assault and possibly other major crimes to independent judge advocates. They said the shift could decrease the number of prosecutions, delay cases and potentially provide less help for victims. While they indicated they are open to changes and improvements in the justice system, most were worried about how that would be done while ensuring no unintended harm is done to unit leadership or readiness. Several said it would create additional burdensome bureaucracy, according to officials familiar with the memos. Several officials described the memos to the AP on the condition of anonymity because they have not been made public. The memos submitted to Austin were from the civilian secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force and from the National Guard. The reservations expressed by service leaders could provide a measure of ammunition for those in Congress who oppose taking the chain of command out of sexual assault prosecutions. Supporters of change, however, argue that the current system has failed to address to a problem that has long plagued the military. Officials said that all service leaders recognize that change is virtually certain and that they agree more needs to be done to improve and professionalize the judge advocate corps. But they are concerned about how quickly changes are being made and whether there is room for negotiation about how they are implemented. Earlier this year, an independent review commission created by Austin recommended that the prosecution of sexual assaults be shifted to judge advocates reporting to a civilian-led Office of the Chief Special Victim Prosecutor. The independent judge advocates would decide two key legal questions: whether to charge someone and whether that charge should go to a court martial. Members of Congress are also pushing for a similar and in some respects more expansive change. Because any such change would amend military law, it will require an act of Congress and cannot be done unilaterally by Austin. A longtime advocate for changing the policy is Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, who now has bipartisan, filibuster-proof support for a bill that would take prosecution decisions out of the chain of command for major crimes, including sexual assault, rape and murder. The legislation has been stalled in a procedural struggle in the Senate that supporters see as an effort to delay and water down the bill. In testimony on Capitol Hill last week, Austin said the military must not be afraid to change how it addresses the problem of sexual assault. He added: Clearly what weve been doing hasnt been working." Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, previously opposed removing commanders from the process, but he told the AP and CNN recently that he had changed his mind. While he has not publicly endorsed any specific change, he said the time had come to try something different because weve been at it for years, and we havent effectively moved the needle. Austin sought input from the service leaders on the review board's recommendations, and he is now assessing their memos before he reaches a conclusion on his own, final recommended change. He met with service secretaries and chiefs on Tuesday to discuss the issue. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Austin held a listening session to hear their concerns in person. Officials said the Army expressed doubts about the accuracy of any data suggesting that removing commanders from the process will result in more sexual assault prosecutions. The acting Army secretary, John E. Whitley, in the memo, said that the change could reduce commander effectiveness and accountability and may reduce criminal convictions, officials said. As a result, Whitley said, more cases may be settled with administrative discipline, and that can erode victims' trust in the system. The Navy offered some support for the change. Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Harker, in his memo, said the Navy agrees with the concept of having an independent judge advocate. But he said there are a number of questions and concerns about how the change is implemented. A key Navy and Marine Corps concern is that the shift may cause delays in prosecutions, particularly since many sailors and Marines are deployed overseas or on ships for monthslong tours. Acting Air Force Secretary John Roth also said the force was open to new approaches, including removing cases from the chain of command, officials said. But he cautioned that the change could inadvertently have a negative impact on commanders' leadership or accountability. The Air Force said commanders play a critical role in prevention, victim support and creating a respectful command climate, and any changes must not erode that. Several expressed opposition to the recommendation that the new special victim prosecutor office be under the jurisdiction of the Defense Department, rather than having offices overseen by each military service. The military service memos were signed by the three men serving as acting secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force all holdovers from the Trump administration. Since then, Christine Wormuth has been confirmed as the Army's new secretary, but she took office after the memos had been finalized. Wormuth has not specifically addressed the recommendations, but in a message to the force on Wednesday she said: We must also eliminate harmful behaviors that undermine readiness. There is no place in our Army for sexual harassment and assault, domestic violence, extremism, or racism. During her recent Senate confirmation hearing she also said that the Army must put more focus on improving the command climate at all levels so younger soldiers feel safe and able to make complaints if needed. Officials said the military chiefs of the services all participated in the discussions leading up to the secretaries' memos. Because the Marine Corps is part of the Department of the Navy, there was no separate Marine recommendation. And the Space Force was included as part of the Department of the Air Force. There was broader agreement on other recommendations made by the independent review panel. The officials largely supported efforts to improve the judge advocate corps, and agreed that protective orders for victims should be handled more quickly. BANGKOK (AP) A military court in Myanmar has sentenced two journalists to two years in prison for their reporting, a move that was decried by rights groups as the latest assault on press freedom since the country's coup. Aung Kyaw, 31, a reporter for the Democratic Voice of Burma, and Zaw Zaw, 38, a freelance reporter for the online news agency Mizzima, were convicted Wednesday by the court in Myeik, a city in southern Myanmar. The two had been charged under a recently revised provision in the penal code with spreading misinformation that could incite unrest, a charge that critics say criminalizes free speech. The convictions are the latest moves against journalists since the military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a February coup. According to Myanmars Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, about 90 journalists have been arrested since the takeover, with more than half still in detention, and 33 still in hiding. The coup sparked massive civilian protests against military rule that have been met with a brutal crackdown that has left hundreds dead. The Democratic Voice of Burma and Mizzima are among five local media outlets that were banned in March from broadcasting or publishing after their licenses were canceled. Like many other banned media outlets, both have continued operating. A statement issued by the Democratic Voice of Burma said Aung Kyaw was arrested March 1 for reporting about anti-junta demonstrations in Myeik. It said Aung Kyaw defended himself in court after his lawyer was threatened by authorities. A statement from Mizzima said Zaw Zaw was detained about two months ago at his home while covering events for them in Myeik and Dawei, also in southern Myanmar. The news agency said it categorically opposes the two-year prison sentence handed to Zaw Zaw and calls for the immediate release of all journalists unjustly detained by the ruling junta, including Zaw Zaw and another four detained Mizzima journalists." "Mizzima firmly believes that journalism and the right to freedom of expression is not a crime and that Mizzima and all independent Myanmar media outlets should be allowed to freely function in Myanmar, it said. Family members of both reporters were not allowed to attend their hearing at the military court, but were allowed to talk to them by phone for a few minutes after they were sentenced. During their call, Aung Kyaw told his wife to tell the media that he would not appeal because he no longer believed in the law under military rule. Aung Kyaw is the second Democratic Voice of Burma journalist to be convicted since the coup. Reporter Min Nyo was sentenced on May 12 to three years in prison for violating the provision on spreading misinformation. The militarys move to go after journalists from respected media outlets is "all about strangling any independent narratives about whats happening in Myanmar, said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for the New York-based group Human Rights Watch. The junta is systematically arresting and imprisoning journalists whenever they can, vaulting Myanmar into the position of being one of the newest, most dangerous countries to report from in the region, Robertson said. He called the charges against the journalists politically motivated and bogus. They should not have been arrested, much less imprisoned, for simply doing their jobs, he said. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) North Carolina would do away with the $300-per-week supplemental benefits for the unemployed provided by the federal government during the pandemic in legislation approved Thursday by the state House. The roughly 245,000 people in North Carolina currently qualified for unemployment benefits are receiving the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation on top of their other state or federal aid. The program is set to expire nationwide in early September, but about two dozen states already have decided to cut off the supplement early. Many Republican legislators and governors say the benefits are serving as a disincentive for the unemployed to return to the workforce, especially when their overall benefits exceed their pre-pandemic pay at work. GOP legislators in North Carolina say employers tell them they can't fill vacancies despite the lure of higher wage offerings and bonuses, harming major industries like manufacturing and restaurants and hotels. Under the bill, the extra benefits would expire 30 days after the bill became law. We want to make sure our economy is not lagging behind, said Rep. Jason Saine, a Lincoln County Republican shepherding the measure, pointing out that Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina have already decided to withdraw from the supplemental program. "I do believe this is a way to move our state forward and get back to work. Democrats said eliminating the benefits would harm people still struggling to cover their rent because of lost wages, and overall employment, while improving, remains below pre-pandemic levels. This is precisely the wrong time to cut that assistance," said Rep. Brandon Lofton, a Mecklenburg County Democrat. We're taking money out of people's pockets during a recovery. Still, seven Democrats joined all Republicans present in voting 71-36 for the measure, which also contained previous changes already approved by the chamber in a separate bill. Speaker Tim Moore sweetened the bill with an amendment that would spend $250 million in federal COVID-19 relief aid on eliminating the individual waiting list for government subsidies for child care. Paying for day care is considered a major stumbling for mothers to return to work. I can think of nothing that signals more the commitment of this House to ensuring that everyone who is able to work is able to do so," Moore said. The measure next returns to the Senate, which passed a separate measure this week that would keep distributing the supplemental benefits but also create bonuses using those federal funds for people who return to work within 60 days of its enactment. But the initiative offering bonuses of $1,500 or $800 would need approval by Congress should those federal dollars be used. Senate leader Phil Berger said later Thursday he didn't know yet whether fellow Republicans in his chamber were interested in ending the program, rather than just repurposing some of the money. The House measure revives a pair of provisions that the chamber approved in April but has stalled in the Senate. One item would allow recipients of federal Paycheck Protection Program loans to treat those proceeds as business expenses that could be deducted from their state income taxes in 2020 and 2021. The other provision would exempt the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits from a persons 2020 income taxes. Senators have frowned on the tax adjustments, but instead last week pitched a grant program for businesses and nonprofits who received pandemic aid. Any bill receiving final approval would go to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who has shown little sign of wanting to do away with the benefits. But he issued an executive order last month telling the Division of Employment Benefits to talk with federal officials about ways to use federal funds as incentives for jobless workers who find employment. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) A sharply divided North Carolina Senate on Thursday formally rejected Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's choice to lead his environmental department, with Republicans who insisted the nominee was ill-prepared for the post winning the vote. The party-line 26-20 margin ousts Dionne Delli-Gatti as secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality and means Cooper must choose a replacement. Within minutes, however, the governor named Delli-Gatti as his point person on promoting renewable energy in North Carolina, with negotiating legislation presumably with the same senators who chose not to confirm her in her job description. Still, the refusal marks the first time a Cabinet appointment by a North Carolina governor has received a no-confirmation result since the advice-and-consent law for the Senate began as Cooper took office in early 2017. Cooper's other 16 nominees have been otherwise confirmed by the chamber, including new Administration Secretary Pamela Cashwell earlier Thursday. Senate Republicans said that Delli-Gatti's lack of insight on the governor's natural gas expansion policy and permitting for a proposed pipeline coming from Virginia during her April confirmation hearing disqualified her for the post. That meeting was held days before a water-quality permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline-Southgate project was denied by a DEQ division and the cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline carrying liquid fuel laid bare the vulnerability of having just one natural gas pipeline running through the state on supplies. North Carolinians deserve a secretary of DEQ who lies awake at night thinking about ways to mitigate the single-source supply risk we face today ... (and) to develop a plan for how to find a right balance between environmental protection and new sources of natural gas supply," Sen. Paul Newton, a Cabarrus County Republican and retired utility executive, said during floor debate. This nominee did not know her boss' strategy for the expansion of natural gas in North Carolina. Senate Democrats angered by the GOP's refusal to let Delli-Gatti explain in a committee on Wednesday led them to walk out before a vote. They continued to blast Republican leaders during Thursday's floor debate, saying that Delli-Gatti, a former Environmental Defense Fund leader and first woman secretary in the environmental department, was eminently qualified to run the agency. She also had stints with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and governments in Ohio and Dallas. So what you are seeing that the rest of North Carolina does not? first-term Sen. DeAndrea Salvador, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, asked Republicans. This isnt about what Secretary Delli-Gatti knows or doesnt. We were blindsided. This came out of nowhere. Cooper and Senate Democrats argued her dismissal was based on politics and not merit, pointing out her support from lawmakers, environmental groups and utility giants Dominion Energy and Duke Energy. Delli-Gatti told reporters Wednesday that the pipeline owners could reapply for the permit while making clear federal regulators actually sign off on pipeline construction, not the state. Cooper had named Delli-Gatti in February to succeed Michael Regan, who was plucked by the Biden administration to become EPA administrator. Cooper reiterated Thursday after the vote that those opposed to a clean environment fought her confirmation. The legislatures baseless political criticism of her credentials is but a smokescreen to thwart North Carolinas transition to clean energy that she has the knowledge to help put in place, Cooper said in a news release announcing Delli-Gatti's new role as state clean energy director. She'll receive the same $155,526 salary that she had as secretary, DEQ spokeswoman Sharon Martin said. Republicans said there was nothing political about their decision. They also said it was telling that at least two Senate Democrats defended Delli-Gatti by saying Cooper hasn't actually expressed a natural gas policy, so answering that question during the confirmation hearing was impossible. The state constitution already envisions an advice-and-consent role for the Senate in scrutinizing certain state appointments, but Cooper challenged in court the 2016 law directing confirmations for his 10-member Cabinet, saying the legislative branch was meddling in how he decided to carry out his duties. The state Supreme Court sided with legislative leaders in late 2018. Cooper also announced Thursday that DEQ Chief Deputy Secretary John Nicholson will serve as interim secretary, presumably until a permanent choice is revealed. CONCORD, N.H. (AP) The Republican-led New Hampshire Senate approved a $13.5 billion two-year state budget Thursday after rejecting attempts by Democrats to remove proposed business tax cuts, abortion restrictions and a thorny provision about race and education. The Senate, where Republicans hold a 14-10 majority, voted along party lines on both the spending plan and the accompanying policy bill during a session that lasted more than 11 hours. The bills now must be reconciled with the versions passed by the House last month. Both the House and Senate voted to lower the business profits tax, business enterprise tax and rooms and meals tax, and would begin to phase out the interest in dividends tax. Sen. Gary Daniels, R-Milford, said the changes would help small businesses bounce back after the coronavirus pandemic. The point of these tax cuts is not to cut taxes just for the sake of it, but to make it easier for New Hampshire businesses to hire and keep employed our fellow Granite Staters, and pay them higher wages, he said. For our smallest businesses, this budget makes it easier for them to start and grow. Sen. Lou DAllesandro, D-Manchester, called the cuts a reverse Robin Hood that would help the wealthy. Were coming out of pandemic, were coming out of it in better shape than almost every state in the country, he said. This is not a time to be reducing taxes. Let the taxes stay where they are. The Senate changed a House-passed divisive concepts provision that echoes an executive order issued by former President Donald Trump that was rescinded by President Joe Biden on Jan. 20. Sen. Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, insisted the revised language was in keeping with efforts to strengthen anti-discrimination laws and would not prohibit discussions about history or current events. This is consistent with making sure that we do not train, do not instruct, do not teach especially our kids that theyre somehow inferior or superior, that theyre inherently racist, sexist or oppressive by virtue of the characteristics theyre born with, he said. We make it very clear that there is no prohibition whatsoever none on the kind of discussions our state and nation should have on anti-bias training and discussions so were all better human beings. Sen. Donna Soucy, D-Manchester, said the changes amount to putting lipstick on a pig and said they still would limit First Amendment rights by banning discussions about important topics including racism and sexism. I dont understand why we are moving forward with this anti-American gag rule, she said. After a year of national reckoning about the horrific impacts of systemic racism, we should be taking positive steps forward to promote and encourage discussion, not trying to ban them or limit them. Some of the days most emotional debate came during a series of unsuccessful amendments to remove or limit a provision that would ban abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy unless the mothers life was at risk. Sen. Sharon Carson, R-Londonderry, described being told that her now-41-year-old daughter wouldnt live past one year after being born with spina bifida and other health conditions. Im going to tell you all right now that I would not trade one day, one day of not having her in my life. She has enriched my life. She has enriched my familys life. We need to be very, very careful about what were talking about here, she said. Youre trying to take away the chance of that child to have a life. But Sen. Rebecca Perkins Kwoka, who is pregnant, called the proposal an intrusion of the state into the one of the most intimate and fundamental relationships on our planet. At 27 weeks pregnant, am I not the same mother I was three weeks ago or four weeks ago? What has changed at 24 weeks that no longer makes me the same caring mother? she said. The Democrat from Portsmouth also responded to a Republican colleagues suggestion that at six months pregnant, Democrats do not think of these as babies. In response I ask, at six months pregnant, do you not still consider me a woman? A mother? Do you honestly believe that I would not do what is best in each moment for the life I am growing, that Im responsible for? she said. It is a most sacred duty and one I would beg you of you not ever to dare to think that we, as complex highly intelligent and capable mothers, women and pregnant people, would ever dismiss or take lightly. Republican Gov. Chris Sununu said Thursday he would not veto the budget if the abortion provision remains. Though he had expressed support for banning late term abortions in 2018, last year he said he wasn't looking to make any changes to abortion laws. Sununu initially vetoed the last state budget in June 2019, forcing the state to operate under a temporary spending plan until a $13 billion compromise was signed into law three months later. Since then, Republicans have regained control of both the House and Senate. NASA is finally going back to Venus, for the first time in more than three decades. And a second time too. On Wednesday, Bill Nelson, the NASA administrator, announced the agencys latest choices for robotic planetary missions, both expected to head to Venus in the late 2020s: DAVINCI+ and VERITAS. These two sister missions both aim to understand how Venus became an inferno-like world capable of melting lead at the surface, Nelson said during his State of NASA address to the space agencys workforce. Venus is in many ways a twin of Earth it is comparable in size, mass and composition, and it is the planet whose orbit is the closest to Earths. But the history of the two planets diverged. While Earth is moderate in temperature and largely covered with water, Venus, with a dense atmosphere of carbon dioxide, is a hellishly hot 900 degrees Fahrenheit at the surface. After numerous missions by the United States and the Soviet Union to explore it in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, attention shifted elsewhere. In the past year, a neglected Venus reentered the planetary limelight after a team of scientists using Earth-based telescopes claimed they had discovered compelling evidence for microbes living in the clouds of Venus today where temperatures remain comfortably warm instead of scorching. They said they had detected a molecule, phosphine, for which they could come up with no plausible explanation for how it might have formed there except as the waste product of living organisms. But other scientists looking at the same data said they did not observe a convincing signal. Still, the finding prompted Jim Bridenstine, then NASAs administrator, to say in September, Its time to prioritize Venus. Last year, NASA had winnowed proposals for its Discovery program, in which scientists come up with ideas for smaller planetary missions with modest price tags, down to four finalists. Two of them, DAVINCI+ and VERITAS, proposed explorations of Venus. The other finalists were Io Volcanic Observer, which would have explored Io, a moon of Jupiter that is the most volcanically active body in the solar system, and Trident, which would have sent a spacecraft flying past Triton, an intriguing large moon of Neptune. DAVINCI+ could conclusively confirm the presence of phosphine. As it approaches Venus, the spacecraft would drop a spherical probe chock-full of instruments that would sniff and analyze gases as it descended through the atmosphere for just over an hour. DAVINCI is a shortening of Deep Atmosphere of Venus Investigations of Noble Gases, Chemistry and Imaging. The plus sign indicates enhancements over a previous proposal, DAVINCI. Concentrations of krypton, argon, neon and xenon the noble gases that do not react with other elements may provide hints about how Venus and its atmosphere formed. The measurements might also find signs of whether water has escaped from Venus into space and whether oceans ever covered the surface. And the same instruments could also directly identify phosphine molecules, and that would then lead to a spirited debate about whether the phosphine was definitive proof of life or whether some geological or chemical reactions not involving biology could have generated it. A negative result would not close the issue. Because the DAVINCI+ probe will be sampling the atmosphere at just one location at one time, the absence of phosphine there would not prove the absence of phosphine everywhere. VERITAS, short for Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography & Spectroscopy, will send an orbiter that would produce high-resolution three-dimensional global maps using radar, and a spectrometer will identify what the surface is made of. It will also precisely measure variations in the planets gravitational pull, which will offer clues to its interior geological processes. Studying Venus will also shed light on the other rocky planets in the solar system including Earth. We hope these missions will further our understanding of how Earth evolved and why its currently habitable when others in our solar system are not, Nelson said. NASAs last spacecraft dedicated to exploring Venus, Magellan, arrived in 1990, and it spent four years mapping the planets surface with a sophisticated radar instrument. Since then, NASA has successfully sent a parade of spacecraft to Mars five rovers, four orbiters and two landers striving to understand the history of water and the possibility of life on the red planet. But the agency has sent none to Venus. Even before the phosphine announcement, many planetary scientists were pushing for a return visit. In 2017, VERITAS and DAVINCI were among the finalists in the last round of NASAs Discovery program, but the space agency chose two asteroid missions instead. Also in 2017, for the larger, more expensive New Frontiers competition, NASA considered a Venus mission called Venus In situ Composition Investigations, or VICI, which sought to put two landers on the planets surface. It was passed over for Dragonfly, which will send a plutonium-powered drone to fly on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. In addition, planetary scientists are in the middle of putting together their once-a-decade recommendations to NASA about their priorities. NASA usually undertakes only one flagship mission a big, ambitious, expensive effort at a time. A Venus flagship mission under consideration would include two balloons that would float in the atmosphere for a month. And at least one private company, Rocket Lab, wants to send a small probe to study Venus in the coming years. India and Russia have also suggested Venus missions in the future. Other space agencies have visited Venus more recently. The European Space Agency launched Venus Express in 2005, and it orbited the planet for eight years, observing young lava flows and other evidence that it might still be geologically active. Akatsuki, from the Japanese space agency, is the only spacecraft currently at Venus. In its study from orbit, the spacecraft has revealed disturbances in the planets winds known as gravity waves, as well as equatorial jet streams in its atmosphere. While the selection of the Venus missions may be encouraging to some planetary scientists, others are sure to be disappointed that the Trident mission to the Neptune system was overlooked. The planet and its moons have not been visited since 1989 when Voyager 2 passed by, leaving much about the solar systems outermost planet unexplored. To get to Neptune in a reasonable amount of time, Trident would have zipped past Jupiter and used that giant planets gravity to boost its velocity. Jupiter and Earth wont line up again in way to provide a gravitational slingshot for a mission of this kind to Neptune for another 13 years. One goal of the Trident mission was to study plumes that could be emitted from a subsurface ocean on Triton, Neptunes large moon. If hypotheses for how those plumes form are correct, by the time another mission reached Triton, the moons activity will have ceased because of its position in orbit relative to the sun. There may not be another opportunity to observe the outbursts for 100 years. Alfred McEwen, the principal investigator for the Io proposal, was disappointed, especially as its exploration of Io would have overlapped with two other planned spacecraft for the Jupiter system: The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer from the European Space Agency, and NASAs Europa Clipper mission. The data from the three spacecraft would have helped put together a clearer picture of how Jupiter and its moon interact. But he said that it makes sense to have the two Venus missions together, because theyre complementary. NASAs Juno spacecraft, which has been studying Jupiter since 2016, will also conduct flybys of Io in the years ahead. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) An attempted murder charge has been dropped against a North Carolina woman who authorities accused of faking her infant daughters kidnapping and trying to kill her. Krista Noelle Madden was charged with first-degree attempted murder after her infant daughter was found 30 feet down a steep, heavily forested ravine in Henderson County on May 9, 2019, the Asheville Citizen Times reported. Arizona has refurbished and tested a gas chamber and purchased chemicals used to make hydrogen cyanide, a recent report said, drawing a backlash over its possible use on death row inmates. Headlines noting that the chemicals could form the same poison found in Zyklon B, a lethal gas used by the Nazis, provoked fresh outrage, including among Auschwitz survivors in Germany and Israel, over the association with the Holocaust and hydrogen cyanides use in the Nazi death camps. Internal documents about Arizonas recent steps were published last week by The Guardian. Arizona officials have not confirmed that the state was preparing hydrogen cyanide for use. Arizona last executed someone with lethal cyanide gas in 1999, when a death row inmate, Walter LaGrand, took 18 minutes to die in an execution that also fueled an outcry in Germany. For Auschwitz survivors, the world will finally come apart at the seams, if in any place on this earth the use of Zyklon B in the killing of human beings is considered again, Christoph Heubner, executive vice president of the International Auschwitz Committee, said in an interview on Wednesday. In their eyes, this is a disgraceful act that is unworthy of any democracy and, moreover, insults the victims of the Holocaust, he said. Austrias ambassador to the United States, Martin Weiss, wrote on Twitter that the death penalty was itself a cruel and unusual punishment. Getting ready to use Zyklon B for executions is just beyond the pale. Zyklon B was the trade name of a product that was originally developed as a pesticide and was then chosen as a means of mass murder in the Nazi camps. It was produced by I.G. Farben, a German chemical conglomerate broken up after World War II. On Friday, The Guardian published documents from the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry. One of them, a memo dated Dec. 17, described an assessment conducted in August to determine whether a gas chamber in Florence was functional. The document showed that a smoke grenade was detonated inside the chamber to make sure that it was airtight, and that the fan and exhaust functions were also tested. A candle was held up to sealed areas, like doors and windows, at the facility. No deflection of the flame was observed, the report said. Overall, there were no functionality issues detected, and the vessel is operationally ready, the document said. The Guardian, which obtained redacted state documents and invoices through public records requests, also reported that Arizona in December purchased the components to make the hydrogen cyanide gas. The Department of Corrections declined to comment, and it was not immediately clear where the agency bought the chemicals. Arizonas state Constitution says that inmates can choose either lethal injection or lethal gas if they committed their offense before Nov. 23, 1992. A short supply of lethal drugs has framed the lines of debate over the death penalty in the United States, and pushed several states to seek alternatives, as in South Carolina, where lawmakers have proposed either the electric chair or firing squad. Robert Dunham, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said Wednesday that Arizonas protocol designates sodium cyanide as the lethal gas to be used for executions. The documents, he said, suggest that if the state cant get lethal injection drugs, then we are prepared to carry out executions with cyanide gas. Asked about Arizonas reported purchase of supplies to make hydrogen cyanide, he said, There are no assurances that just because it violates their protocol that they are not going to do it. He added, The issue is whether in the 21st century it is appropriate for any state in the United States to be executing prisoners with cyanide gas. There are 115 inmates on Arizonas death row. Arizona has not carried out an execution since 2014, and the last time it did so with hydrogen cyanide gas was in 1999. In April, the state attorney general, Mark Brnovich, said that he had notified the Arizona Supreme Court that the state intended to seek warrants of execution for two death row inmates, Frank Atwood and Clarence Dixon. The men can select either lethal injection or gas under the state law that allows them the choice because they committed murders before Nov. 23, 1992, his statement said. C.J. Karamargin, a spokesperson for Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, referred to the states Constitution, and said the governor has said in the past that this is the law and it is his duty to carry out the law. The report about the gas chamber testing and chemical purchase was picked up by national news organizations and spread internationally, drawing particular outrage in Europe. During World War II, concentration camps were designed for the use of pellets of Zyklon B, including at the Auschwitz camp in German-occupied Poland. At the height of the deportations of Jews from 1943 to 1944, an average of 6,000 Jews were killed each day at Auschwitz. What we do know concretely is that of the 1.1 million persons murdered at Auschwitz, 865,000 of these were Jews who were gassed with Zyklon B in the gas chambers, most upon arrival, said Patricia Heberer Rice, a senior historian at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. In Germany and Austria, where a culture of atonement for the crimes of the Nazis has led to bans on Nazi symbols, the erecting of monuments honoring Jewish and other victims, and the teaching of history lessons meant to ensure future generations never again repeat their transgressions, news media headlines reflected a sense of disbelief and dismay. Executions With Holocaust Gas: Arizona to Use Zyklon B, read the headline in Kurier, an Austrian daily. The Nazis gassed millions of Jews with the poison, the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel reported. Now the Republican-led state of Arizona wants to use Zyklon B, of all things, for executions. When you hear Zyklon B, you automatically think of the Nazi gas chambers, where they murdered millions of people, wrote the news channel n-tv.de. Now the gas is to be used again, in the U.S. state of Arizona. The association of the gas and the Holocaust was cited in Israeli press reports as well. The Jerusalem Post reported this week that the name Zyklon B is inextricably linked to the horrors of the past, when over a million Jews and others were murdered in Nazi gas chambers using the lethal gas between 1942 and 1945. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. SALAMANCA, N.Y. (AP) The peace medal that depicts Seneca Chief Red Jacket and George Washington has been returned to the Seneca nation in a ceremony Monday after more than a 120 years of being held by a Buffalo museum. The 7-inch (18-centimeter) silver medal was given to Chief Red Jacket by Washington to commemorate their negotiating the Treaty of Canandaigua in 1794, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported. The treaty was signed by the Haudenosaunee confederacy, which includes the Seneca Nation, and promised perpetual peace and friendship between the United States and the Haudenosaunee. It also defined the territories held by the nations, promised the U.S. would not disturb those lands and guaranteed free passage for the people of the United States through those lands. The treaty is still in effect more than 225 years later, though the nations have lost control of vast portions of the territory they held at the time of its signing. The medal had been in the possession of the Buffalo History Museum since 1895. The Seneca Iroquois National Museum, also known as the Onohsagwe:de Cultural Center, received the medal at an outdoor ceremony in Salamanca, New York, and it will be on display there. This medal it represents what lives inside each and every Seneca person: the heart of a sovereign and our rightful recognition as such. This is our identity as a Nation, Seneca Nation President Matthew Pagels said. It cannot be owned, bought or sold. It belongs to all of us and is passed from generation to generation so it can live forever." Reassessment is not enough, said Melissa Brown, executive director of the Buffalo History Museum, at the ceremony. Action is imperative to ensure that any artifacts of cultural (importance) are returned. MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) Former Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that he wasnt sure that he and former President Donald Trump would ever see eye to eye over what happened on Jan. 6 but that he would always be proud of what we accomplished for the American people over the last four years. Pence, speaking at a Republican dinner in the early-voting state of New Hampshire, gave his most extensive comments to date on the events of Jan. 6, when angry Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, some chanting Hang Mike Pence! after the vice president said he did not have the power to overturn Democrat Joe Bidens election victory. As I said that day, Jan. 6 was a dark day in history of the United States Capitol. But thanks to the swift action of the Capitol Police and federal law enforcement, violence was quelled. The Capitol was secured, Pence said. And that same day, we reconvened the Congress and did our duty under the Constitution and the laws of the United States," Pence continued. You know, President Trump and I have spoken many times since we left office. And I dont know if well ever see eye to eye on that day." It was a rare departure for Pence, who spent four years standing loyally beside his boss amid controversy, investigation and impeachment. It comes as Pence considers his own potential 2024 White House run and as Republicans, some of whom were angry at Trump in the days after the Jan. 6 insurrection, have largely coalesced back around the former president. Pence praised Trump several times during his nearly 35-minute speech at the Hillsborough County Republican Committees annual Lincoln-Reagan Awards Dinner in Manchester. He tried to turn the events of Jan. 6 back around on Democrats, saying they wanted to keep the insurrection in the news to divert attention from Biden's liberal agenda. I will not allow Democrats or their allies in the media to use one tragic day to discredit the aspirations of millions of Americans. Or allow Democrats or their allies in the media to distract our attention from a new administration intent on dividing our country to advance their radical agenda, Pence said. "My fellow Republicans, for our country, for our future, for our children and our grandchildren, we must move forward, united. He accused Biden of campaigning as a moderate but becoming the most liberal president since Franklin D. Roosevelt. He said the administration forced through Congress a COVID bill to fund massive expansion of the welfare state and was pushing a so-called infrastructure bill that was really a thinly disguised climate change bill funded with cuts in the military and historic tax increases. I just say enough is enough, he said, adding that were going to stand strong for freedom. Pence also hit upon several favorite themes of conservative Republicans, emphasizing the need for states to shore up voter integrity around the country. He praised law enforcement as heroes, saying: Black lives are not endangered by police. Black lives are saved by police every day. He also pushed back against critical race theory, which seeks to reframe the narrative of American history. Its proponents argue that federal law has preserved the unequal treatment of people on the basis of race and that the country was founded on the theft of land and labor. But Republicans have said concepts suggesting that people are inherently racist or that America was founded on racial oppression are divisive and have no place in the classroom. America is not a racist country, he said, prompting one of several standing ovations and cheers during his speech. It is past time for America to discard the left-wing myth of systemic racism, Pence said. I commend state legislators and governors across the country for banning critical race theory from our schools. His choice of states, including an April appearance in South Carolina, is aimed at increasing his visibility as he considers whether to run for the White House in 2024. Trump is increasingly acting and talking like he plans to make a run as he sets out on a more public phase of his post-presidency, beginning with a speech on Saturday in North Carolina. Since leaving office in January, Pence has been doing work with the Heritage Foundation and Young Americas Foundation. His team said he plans more trips, including stops in Texas, California and Michigan. Along with his visits to South Carolina and New Hampshire, Pence has been hitting the fundraising circuit. He is set to speak next week at another fundraiser hosted by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, will travel to North Carolina for a Heritage Foundation donor event, and will then head to California, where he will take part in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institutes speakers series, a Republican National Committee donor retreat and a Young Americas Foundation event, according to aides. Among other prominent Republicans, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said in April that she would stand down if Trump decided to run in 2024. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has undertaken an aggressive schedule, visiting states that will play a pivotal role in the 2024 primaries and signing a contract with Fox News Channel. LIMA, Peru (AP) Amid an unrelenting coronavirus pandemic that has overwhelmed cemeteries, Peruvian voters will choose Sunday between a political novice who has scared business by promising to overhaul the key mining industry and a career politician whose father is a former president jailed for corruption and human rights violations. The polarizing runoff election between rural teacher Pedro Castillo and Keiko Fujimori, making her third run for the presidency, comes on the heels of the Peruvian governments admission that the death toll of the pandemic is at least 2.5 times higher than previously acknowledged. The jump brings the estimated death toll to more than 180,000 in a country with about one-tenth the population of the United States. Polls have shown the two candidates virtually tied heading into Sunday's runoff. In the first round of voting, featuring 18 candidates, neither received more than 20% support and both are strongly opposed by sectors of Peruvian society, leading some to label the choice as between the lesser of two evils. While Castillos stance on nationalizing key sectors of the economy has softened, he remains committed to rewriting the constitution that was approved under the regime of Fujimori's father and his rivals have compared his leftist policies to those of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Fujimori, a conservative former congresswoman, has been imprisoned as part of a graft investigation though she was later released. Her father, former President Alberto Fujimori, governed between 1990 and 2000 and is serving a 25-year sentence for corruption and the killings of 25 people. She has promised to free him should she win. She is the daughter of a corrupt man who supports everything bad that her father did, said homemaker Mirian Ortiz during a protest against Fujimori in the capital of Lima. Some protesters shouted Fujimori never again and others carried portraits of people who disappeared during Alberto Fujimori's government. The challenges awaiting whoever takes office July 28 cannot be overestimated. Among Latin American countries, only Brazil and Mexico have reported higher death tolls from COVID-19 and both have much larger populations. Perus vaccination campaign has seen meager progress, and the pandemic has already pushed 3 million more people into poverty. The winner will also face a divided Congress that likely will make it difficult to pass legislation and may not even allow him or her to finish their term in office. In November, Peru had three presidents in a single week after one was impeached by Congress over corruption allegations and protests forced his successor to resign. Both candidates are certainly not suitable, considering the challenges the country will face, said Claudia Navas, an analyst with the global firm Control Risks. "We will not see a light at the end of the tunnel with regards to the management of the pandemic or the complex political environment because they will have several things against them, starting with a fragmented Congress. Fujimori will face opposition on the streets, Castillo will face opposition from the (country's) institutions. I mean, they will be quite alone, Navas said. Few expected Castillo to make it this far. The son of illiterate peasants, he went on to complete a degree in educational psychology at Perus Cesar Vallejo University. He still lives in the countrys third-poorest district, deep in the Andes, and until recently was a rural schoolteacher. He entered politics by leading a teachers strike. While Fujimoris father was a political outsider when he won office, she grew up in the halls of power. She attended Boston University and got a masters from Columbia University in the United States. She later served as first lady during her fathers last six years in office. Peru is the second largest copper exporter in the world and mining accounts for almost 10% of its GDP and 60% of its exports, so Castillo's initial proposal to nationalize the nation's mining industry set off alarm bells. But after advancing to the runoff, Castillo moved away from his nationalization proposal and recently has pitched renegotiating contracts with mining companies. Fujimori, in turn, has promised an additional contribution from the mining sector to finance irrigation and reservoirs in rural communities where it operates. She has also pledged to distribute 40% of a tax on mining, oil and gas extraction among poor families in those areas. Meanwhile, Castillo said he will collect the largest state debts held by powerful groups in the mining, financial, telecommunications and airline industries. The 158 largest debts total more than $2.4 billion, according to government data. Both have promised COVID-19 vaccines for all Peruvians. The country has tallied more than 1.9 million coronavirus cases and has only fully vaccinated about 3.7% of its 32.5 million residents, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University. So many people have died since the pandemic began that some have been buried in clandestine graves in areas surrounding cemeteries that have run out of space. People's anger over the government's mismanagement of the pandemic only heightened when an official document revealed that hundreds of wealthy and well-connected individuals, including a former president, were secretly vaccinated. Noam Lupu, associate director of the Latin American Public Opinion Project at Vanderbilt University, said the lack of stable coalitions for the winner may result in the new president trying to govern alone, testing the powers of the presidency, while the threat of impeachment may push him or her to undermine the country's institutions to be able to remain in office. I think theres a lot of concern about the sort of ideological extremism of the two candidates, Lupu said. Obviously, Keiko Fujimori is the daughter of the former dictator, so, theres a concern about her commitment to democracy and the corruption scandals surrounding her. And on the other side, Pedro Castillo is quite unknown to a lot of people, we dont know a lot about him, but his statements are certainly far to the left ideologically and also not reassuring in terms of commitment to democracy. Again, its not clear who is the bigger threat. ___ Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City. AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) A proposal to create a commission to develop a paid family medical leave policy in Maine moved closer to becoming a reality on Thursday. The Maine Senate voted in favor of the proposal. The commission would be tasked with studying the best way to implement the medical leave policy. WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) A former Delaware high school teacher was arrested in connection with the rape of a former student, state police said. James Berman, who taught at Delcastle Technical High School in Wilmington, was charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child, eight counts of fourth-degree rape and two counts of second-degree unlawful sexual contact. LOWELL, Mass. (AP) A man was shot while driving on a roadway Wednesday night in Lowell, police said. He managed to drive himself to a convenience store at a gas station around 10:15 p.m. where he said he had been shot while driving, the Massachusetts State Police said in a statement. The man was taken to Lowell General Hospital and then to Tufts Medical Center in Boston for treatment and information about his condition was not immediately known. The police said they shutdown the Lowell Connector, which runs southwest from the city to Interstate 495, to search for evidence and also examined the man's vehicle. Police did not release the man's name. HOUSTON, Mo. (AP) Police in south-central Missouri are investigating the stabbing death of a man in the town of Houston. Officers were called to a house in the town of about 2,500 just around 1 a.m. Wednesday and found the body of 30-year-old Billy Hayes Jr., television station KYTV reported. Lake Charles, LA (70615) Today Partly cloudy in the morning. Thunderstorms developing later in the day. Hot and humid. High near 95F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Considerable clouds early. Some decrease in clouds late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 76F. Winds light and variable. HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) A Florida inmate who admitted he killed six people in Pennsylvania in the 1970s also discussed five to seven other slayings in the state, and police in those areas have been alerted, an investigator said Thursday. Trooper Max DeLuca obtained those details in March from Edward A. Surratt about cases that are not under the state police's jurisdiction, so he has since contacted those other departments, he said. Surratt, serving life at a state prison in Raiford, Florida, implicated himself in Pennsylvania slayings that occurred during 1977 and 1978, state police announced Wednesday. State police said prosecutors do not plan to prosecute Surratt for those six deaths, in part because of the security challenges involved in transporting an inmate and because he is already serving a life sentence, DeLuca said. DeLuca said he first contacted Surratt as part of an investigation into another killing. When DeLuca met with him in Florida in March, Surratt provided details that were not publicly known about the six deaths in Fulton, Bedford and Beaver counties, confirming his role to investigators, DeLuca said. Surratt would not say how many people he killed in Pennsylvania, DeLuca said. He wouldn't give me a number, the trooper said in a phone interview. I asked for a number. DeLuca said Surratt did not appear to be seeking attention, nor did he seem boastful. He is not someone who is bragging about this, DeLuca said. He said Surratt appears to be in good health, considering he is 79 years old. He's definitely not proud, DeLuca said. He did express, I would say, some regret about two of the victims but they weren't in my jurisdiction. Surratt, a truck driver and former resident of Aliquippa, implicated himself the slayings of William and Nancy Adams in Beaver County, Guy and Laura Mills near Bedford, Joel Krueger near McConnellsburg and John Shelkons in Beaver County. He is serving two life sentences in Florida for crimes there and was convicted of murder in South Carolina. In 2007, Surratt told an interviewer he was involved in Pennsylvania and Ohio killings dating to the 1970s. He has been incarcerated since October 1978. DeLuca declined to identify where the additional suspected Pennsylvania murders are because they are not being handled by Pennsylvania State Police. He discussed like five to seven, DeLuca said. RIDGELAND, Miss. (AP) Mississippi authorities are investigating after a police officer shot a 16-year-old boy who was suspected of shooting his own uncle in a hotel parking lot. Detectives said the wounds to both people were not life-threatening. CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) West Virginia utility regulators heard from several people who support keeping a Marshall County power plant open as long as possible.. The Public Service Commission held a videoconference public hearing Wednesday to get feedback on a request from Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power to make federal environmental upgrades that are required to keep three coal-fired generating facilities running, news outlets reported. The utility submitted different options for consideration, including closing the Mitchell plant in 2028 instead of 2040. Please keep it open and let these families survive, said Edward R. Sincavich of Wheeling, a Mitchell plant employee who was one of more than 20 people that addressed the commission. He said an early closure would hurt the region's economy. The plant employed more than 200 people last year. Two West Virginia lawmakers said it would be worth rate increases to pay for compliance work to keep the Mitchell facility open. Ive heard from hundreds of constituents about saving the plant and the jobs, and not one person has expressed concern about the rate increases to me, Democratic state Delegate Lisa Zukoff of Marshall said. We have to keep that plant open, Republican Delegate Charlie Reynolds of Marshall said. If that means raising our utility bill a little bit, so be it. Marshall County Commissioner Michael Ferro said it would also mean losing $2.4 million in annual tax revenue, which could mean less for libraries, senior centers and charitable organizations. One person who spoke had a different opinion. Jim Kotcon of Morgantown said the state needs to be in a better position as the nation transitions to cleaner energy. (W)e need to stop living in the past, Kotcon said. The Public Service Commission has another hearing set for next week in the case. ORIENT, Ohio (AP) The death of an inmate who died in his cell at an Ohio prison earlier this year has been ruled a homicide. Michael McDaniel, 55, died Feb. 6 after he became combative and injured two guards who had tried to remove him from his cell at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction stated at the time. McDaniel declined medical attention, according to officials, but later collapsed and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. TACOMA, Wash. (AP) A new report says thousands of emergency calls made in Tacoma, Washington, could be handled by trained civilians rather than sworn police officers. The Report on the Alternative Response Study, created by Matrix Consulting Group, found that 9.4 percent of calls handled by Tacoma patrol officers per year about 7,829 could be diverted to a civilian response group. The News Tribune reports the study recommended creating a new civilian community service officer classification within the Tacoma Police Department to respond to certain non-emergency calls in the field. Those calls could include minor non-injury accidents, petty theft reports, burglary reports not happening in the moment and low-priority calls relating to homelessness that do not pose a major risk to the responder. Diverting those calls would free up patrol officers to be proactive in engaging with the public and focusing on more severe calls for service, the report states. In a statement to the newspaper, interim Tacoma police chief Mike Ake said he welcomed the study. We recognize that homelessness and mental health are major issues facing our communities and value any insight in how to better serve these vulnerable populations and assist them in receiving the services they need, Ake said. Tacoma is Washington's third-largest city with a population of about 220,000. The city of Tacoma commissioned the study for $42,000 as part of an effort to transform the city into an anti-racist organization following protests and outcry from the public over excessive use of force by police. The city also spent $250,000 this past year to a consulting firm to review and recommend changes to Tacoma Police Department policy, including use of force. The report suggested adding 10 community service officers and one CSO supervisor position to staff a new civilian response program, totaling $540,265 in initial costs and $1,009,811 in annual personnel costs. The price was calculated based on regional costs and comparisons to agencies in Riverside County, California that have a cost of living that is within 15 percent of Pierce County. ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) A company hoping to build a wind power farm off the coast of southern New Jersey is partnering with Rutgers University and the state's clam industry to study the potential impacts of wind farms on the shellfish. Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, LLC said Thursday it is funding a $500,000 study of how New Jersey's valuable clam industry might be impacted by offshore wind farms over the next 30 years. The study also will take the possible impacts of climate change into account. It will also examine the economics of the clam industry in the lease area in which Atlantic Shores hopes to build its projects, as well as in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, a coastal region running from Massachusetts to North Carolina. The study will use an existing computer simulator at Rutgers to model clam biology, along with fishery captain and fleet behavior, federal management decisions, fishery economics, port structure and wind farm development. "We are looking forward to having our model take this next step towards future casting, said Daphne Munroe, the studys principal investigator and associate professor of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers. Atlantic Shores is a partnership between Shell New Energies US LLC, and EDF Renewables North America. The joint venture plans to develop more than 183,000 acres located 10 to 20 miles off the New Jersey coast between Atlantic City and Barnegat Light. Once fully developed, the area has the potential to generate over 3,000 megawatts of wind energy, enough to power nearly 1.5 million homes, the company said. We appreciate the willingness of the surf clam industry to actively participate with us in this effort, said Jennifer Daniels, development director at Atlantic Shores. Its through the application of tools like this simulator that we can responsibly develop our lease area and deliver renewable energy for New Jersey communities with minimized effects on the fishing industry. New Jersey utility regulators could decide as soon as this month whether to approve the company's proposal. ___ Follow Wayne Parry at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) Developers planning to build homes on a sand spit south of Charleston, South Carolina are facing another setback after the state Supreme Court overturned their permits to construct a steel seawall. The court ruled Wednesday that the state Department of Health and Environmental Control should not have issued the permits for the 2,380-foot (725-meter) steel wall between Captain Sams Spit and Kiawah Island. The chairman of the House seapower subcommittee is paying a visit to Maine's Bath Iron Works on Thursday. U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden are hosting Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut nearly a week after the Biden administration released a budget that eliminates a destroyer like those built in Maine. WINDHOEK, Namibia (AP) A group of traditional chiefs in Namibia said Thursday they have accepted an offer of compensation by Germany and a recognition that the colonial-era massacre of tens of thousands of their people in the early 20th century was genocide. Germany pledged last week to give 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) over a 30-year period for projects to help communities of people descended from those killed between 1904 and 1908, when Germany ruled the southern African country. Germany asked the victims for forgiveness, in a statement by Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. The FDA sued US Stem Cell Clinic in 2018 and obtained an injunction prohibiting it and its top executives from performing an unapproved procedure that involved removing patients body fat, isolating stromal and vascular cells from the fat and reinjecting them back into other parts of the patients bodies as treatments for a host of health problems. WASHINGTON (AP) Donald Trump was calling into yet another friendly radio show when he was asked, as he often is, whether he's planning a comeback bid for the White House. We need you," conservative commentator Dan Bongino told the former president. Well, Ill tell you what, Trump responded. We are going to make you very happy, and were going to do whats right." It was a noncommittal answer typical of a former president who spent decades toying with presidential runs. But multiple people who have spoken with Trump and his team in recent weeks say such remarks shouldnt be viewed as idle chatter. Instead, they sense a shift, with Trump increasingly acting and talking like he plans to mount a run as he embarks on a more public phase of his post-presidency, beginning with a speech on Saturday in North Carolina. The interest in another run, at least for now, comes as Trump has been consumed by efforts to undo last years election, advancing baseless falsehoods that it was stolen and obsessing over recounts and audits that he is convinced could overturn the results, even though numerous recounts have validated his loss. Hes also facing the most serious legal threat of his career. New York prosecutors have convened a special grand jury to consider evidence in their criminal investigation into his business dealings seen by many as a sign that Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is moving toward seeking charges in the two-year, wide-ranging investigation that has included scrutiny of hush money payments, property valuations and employee compensation. Trump has slammed the probe as purely political, and those around him insist he isn't concerned about potential legal exposure even as they suggest his political posture is evolving. I have definitely picked up a shift that theres more of an intentionality to be leaning on the side of it's going to happen than its not, said Matt Schlapp, chair of the American Conservative Union, who is close to the former president. I think its a very real possibility. Trump would face daunting headwinds in addition to his legal vulnerabilities. He would run with the legacy of being the only American president to be impeached twice. A campaign would almost certainly revive memories of the deadly insurrection he helped spark at the U.S. Capitol earlier this year, potentially dragging down other Republicans who have sought to move past the violence. Beyond that, Trump would be 78 years old on Inauguration Day in 2025 the same age as Democrat Joe Biden on his own Inauguration Day this year and multiple Republicans are already making moves for runs of their own. Trump's former vice president, Mike Pence, is slated to visit the early voting state of New Hampshire on Thursday. Trump has long dangled the prospect of presidential campaigns to gin up media attention and stay part of the conversation. And many had initially brushed off Trumps talk of another run as a tool to maintain relevance and his status as a GOP kingmaker. But there are tentative signs that he plans to follow through in more substantive ways to test his political strength, including by holding rallies this summer. His team is eyeing events in Ohio, Florida, Alabama and Georgia to bolster midterm candidates and energize voters. Allies say Trump misses the office and is eager to return to the action especially as he sees other potential candidates making moves. He has also felt emboldened by some recent developments, including the ouster of one of his chief critics, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, from her House leadership position. And some see the presidency as offering potentially useful legal shelter as probes into him and his family business intensify. Theres a continued, enduring interest and folks encouraging him to run in 2024, but hes in no rush to make a decision. And hell do that at the appropriate time, said Trump spokesperson Jason Miller. There is doubt, however, among some in Trump's orbit that he will move forward unless he sees a clear path to victory, for fear of being stained by another loss. For now, Trump remains obsessed with the 2020 election. One longtime ally said one reason Trump has not said hes running outright is because he has refused to acknowledge the election is over. The person said he's now going a step further by giving credence to a bizarre conspiracy theory that he could somehow be reinstated into the presidency in August. There's no constitutional or legal mechanism for Trump to return to the presidency absent winning another election in 2024. Trumps argument that the last election was tainted has been roundly rejected by federal and state officials, including his own attorney general and Republican election leaders. Judges, including those appointed by Trump, also dismissed his claims. The person who described his thinking, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Florida Sen. Rick Scott, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he had not discussed the August conspiracy with Trump in their recent conversations. Joe Biden is the duly elected president of the United States. We follow the Constitution in this country, he said. Joe Biden is the president of the United States. We went through the electoral votes, we went through that whole process, and Joe Biden is the president. As Trump advances such baseless conspiracy theories, Republican state legislators are pushing what experts say is an unprecedented number of bills aimed at restricting access to the ballot box that could affect future elections. While Republicans say the goal is to prevent voter fraud, Democrats contend the measures are aimed at undermining minority voting rights. Trump remains a commanding force in the Republican Party, despite his loss. A recent Quinnipiac University national poll found that 66% of Republicans would like to see him run for reelection, though the same number of Americans overall said they would prefer he didnt and there is no evidence that he has grown any more popular since losing by more than 7 million votes last November. Supporters in early-voting states are anticipating another Trump run, even as a long list of other would-be contenders, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, have been making visits. Hes definitely laying the groundwork, keeping his powder dry for a run," Josh Whitehouse, a former member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives who worked for Trumps campaign and administration, said of the former president. I'd expect nothing less, knowing who he is and having worked for him for so long. While voters will certainly hear out other candidates, he said that, at the end of the day, support will coalesce around Trump if he decides to run. The energys still there," Whitehouse said. "You cant replicate it. ___ Associated Press writer Steve Peoples contributed to this report. ___ This story was first published on June 3, 2021. It was updated on June 4, 2021, to make clear that Republican Sen. Rick Scott did not use the term August conspiracy when describing for a reporter his conversations with former President Donald Trump. DALLAS (AP) A Dallas man has pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges stemming from a string of kidnappings and robberies that targeted gay men using a dating app, prosecutors announced Thursday. Daniel Jenkins, 22, was the last of four men to plead guilty to charges arising from the 2017 scheme that used Grindr to lure men to an apartment where they were then robbed and assaulted, federal prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty to five counts including hate crime and hate crime conspiracy. VINTON, La. (AP) Louisiana State Police say a city police officer shot and wounded a Texas woman who had pulled a gun on him. The shooting early Wednesday was the third in as many days by police around Louisiana. The other two were fatal. Annette Odegar, 54, of Orange, Texas, was taken to a hospital after the shooting in Vinton, about 11.5 miles (18.5 kilometers) northeast of Orange, state police said in a news release Wednesday evening. It said the Vinton Police Department officer had been sent to investigate an argument between two motorists parked on the shoulder of the Interstate 10 westbound entrance ramp from Louisiana Highway 108. Odegar got out of her car and pointed a gun at the officer, according to the statement by Trooper First Class Derek Senegal. During the confrontation, the officer discharged his weapon striking Odegar, Senegal wrote. State police, as is standard in shootings by local officers, are investigating the shooting. Vinton police are investigating the motorists' dispute. Early Tuesday, police in Berwick fatally shot a would-be carjacker, armed with what appeared to be a handgun but turned out to be a BB pistol, state police said. Robert Pearce, 37, of New Iberia, was shot while trying to enter a female driver's car, police said. Berwick police and the St. Mary Parish Sheriffs Office had been called at 2:30 a.m. about a suspicious person Berwick is about 145 miles (235 kilometers) east-southeast of Vinton and about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baton Rouge. On Monday, state troopers killed a Mississippi man who had crashed his car in north Louisiana after injuring two Mississippi sheriffs deputies. Michael Jackson, 29, of Vicksburg, was shot as he approached a safety perimeter and tried to draw a handgun after an hourslong standoff with troopers, a news release said. It said Madison Parish Sheriffs Office deputies had called in state police because Jackson was brandishing a handgun and threatening suicide after the crash north of Talullah, which is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Vicksburg. Jackson was fleeing authorities in Warren County, Mississippi, where he had dragged and injured two deputies, the statement said. Madison Parish is part of a broad area covered by state police Troop F, which has been roiled over the recent release of video obtained by The Associated Press, showing the violent arrest of Ronald Greene, 49. Greene, who was Black, died in custody in Union Parish in 2019 following a chase and crash, and after he was stunned, punched and dragged facedown. LANSING, Mich. (AP) Michigan's top health official said Thursday that nursing homes are accurately reporting the number of coronavirus-related deaths, amid questions over whether the tally is low. Elizabeth Hertel, director of the state Department of Health and Human Services, told lawmakers that the facilities have no reason or incentive to try to hide deaths. The Republican-led House Oversight Committee held the hearing after Detroit-area journalist Charlie LeDuff and the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, which had sued for records, questioned if there is an undercount after noting that the state in the early months of the pandemic traced 648 of 1,468 COVID-19 deaths identified through vital records reviews to nursing homes. Hertel called untrue the contention that deaths found by looking at death certificates may not be reflected in data submitted by nursing homes. If it is identified in the death certificate as a nursing home death, it would have been reported by the nursing homes as a nursing home death as well. You can't add them together. ... You're double counting, she said, while acknowledging data limitations that make it difficult to cross-check what facilities report against vital records. Michigan says 5,663 long-term care residents and 77 staff have died, accounting for 30% of roughly 19,200 confirmed COVID-19 deaths. The state requires long-term care facilities nursing homes, homes for the aged and larger adult foster care facilities to report deaths and infections. Hertel, who focused primarily on nursing home data, said 38 of Michigan's 311 adult foster care facilities licensed to serve 13 or more residents are not reporting data as required. So if they're not reporting, wouldn't our number be too low?" asked Rep. Steven Johnson, a Wayland Republican who chairs the panel. Hertel said they may not be reporting deaths or maybe they haven't experienced any deaths. Thousands of adult foster care facilities licensed to serve fewer than 13 residents are not mandated to report coronavirus information. At times, GOP legislators and Hertel differed over how to define what is considered a nursing home. Republicans plan to investigate the death toll further. Johnson said he will ask the state auditor general to review the data to see if they can find us a more accurate picture. The GOP has long criticized Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for allowing hospitalized coronavirus patients no longer needing acute care, but still in quarantine, to return to their nursing home as some hospitals faced surging cases. There is no direct evidence the policy led to infections. Whitmer has said it complied with federal guidance. ___ Follow David Eggert at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00 BEIJING (AP) The ruling Communist Partys deadly 1989 crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests never ended for Fan Baolin, who served 17 years in prison and says he sneaked out of China last year to escape surveillance that included cameras trained on his apartment and pressure on his family to deter him from more activism. Fan, who took part in the demonstrations and later worked for the partys vast security apparatus, was arrested in 1999 for giving activists abroad confidential documents about surveillance of Chinese pro-democracy exiles. Released in 2016, he became among those who still are watched by the party a generation later in an effort to erase public memory of the protests in the heart of Beijing. Once you are on the Chinese governments blacklist, you will be tracked for life, Fan told The Associated Press ahead of Fridays anniversary of the June 4, 1989, military attack on protesters. He spoke in another Asian country and asked that it not be identified while its government considers his request for asylum. Party leaders have imprisoned or driven activists into exile and largely succeeded in ensuring young people know little about June 4. Still, after more than three decades and three changes of leadership, they are relentless in trying to prevent any mention of the attack that killed hundreds and possibly thousands of people. Relatives of those who died are watched and, ahead of the anniversary, some are detained or forced to stay temporarily away from home to prevent them from doing anything that might draw attention. Public memorials on the mainland always have been prohibited. Vigils used to be held openly in Hong Kong and Macao, Chinese territories with fewer political controls, but authorities banned events this year. "They have only deepened repression, said Yaqiu Wang of Human Rights Watch in a report this month. Following his release from prison, Fan lived in his hometown of Xi'an, in China's west, under surveillance and restrictions. He said police discouraged him from leaving the city, tracked his mobile phone and listened to his calls. To protect his family, Fan said he had little contact with them and told them nothing about his activities. He said he worried they might be punished if he were accused of more wrongdoing. They looked for my brother and sister, he said. Authorities wanted to make my family members persuade me, control me, not to participate any more in this sort of thing, not to know these people any longer. As for other relatives, I take initiative to keep my distance from them, Fan said. As they all know, my phone is monitored, so as soon as I call and as soon as they answer, they are frightened, he said. This is the atmosphere of fear created by the Communist Partys domestic high-pressure policies now. Fan said when he traveled to other cities in 2017 to see friends, police called every day to ask what he was doing. He said when he took a package vacation to Yunnan province in the southwest in 2018, police detained him and sent him back to Xian. Fan participated in the 1989 protests, joining thousands of students from across China in Tiananmen Square. But he left Beijing at the end of May, before the military attacked. His eyes fill with tears when he describes the event. Later, Fan studied law and worked as a legal consultant before joining the police in Shaanxi province in the west. He moved to a state security agency in 1994 and was assigned to watch the public and read their mail, looking for possible foreign ties. But he held onto hopes for a democratic China. Fan was convicted of illegally providing state secrets abroad for faxing security agency documents to a pro-democracy movement group in Los Angeles and expressing sympathy and support, according to a document Fan provided to the AP that he said was his sentencing report. It said he had promised to use his post to pass along intelligence reports about the group. That report gave no details of the documents Fan was accused of leaking. I didnt do it for money from Taiwan or the U.S. government, Fan said. I was on the side of the pro-democracy movement and provided intelligence to friends in the pro-democracy movement. Fans case was disclosed to human rights groups in 2007 by a former fellow inmate, Zhao Changqing, according to the Dui Hua Foundation in San Francisco, which researches Chinese prisons. After that, Fan was listed as a political prisoner by Duihua and human rights groups. Fan said after his release, police took him out for meals ahead of politically sensitive dates part of extensive efforts to keep track of him. They would go back, list the details of our meeting and report regularly to higher levels the so-called dynamics of my thoughts in the sensitive period and in what activities we took part, he said. Fan, who turns 57 next month, never married or had children. He said his parents died while he was in prison but he didnt learn that until he was released, more than a decade later. Fan said video cameras were installed to watch the apartment his parents bought for him before their deaths. He said that made friends skittish about visiting. Today, Fan lives in a studio apartment with a roll-up bed and a fan for furniture while he waits for word on his asylum application. He has become a Christian and passes time by reading a Bible on his mobile phone. Fan said for his first two years out of prison, he rarely went outdoors because the world was very strange. Fan said when he visited Beijing on the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen protests in 2019, police called from Xian and ordered him to return home. Fan said he told no one after he decided to leave China. He discarded his mobile phone to prevent authorities from using it to track him. He made his way to the southern border and walked across. I will not return to China," he said. "This is a road of no return. LONDON (AP) The British military said Thursday that it paused trials of its new fleet of light tanks, after a newspaper reported the vehicles cant travel safely at more than 20 miles (32 kilometers) an hour or reverse over obstacles more than 8 inches (20 centimeters) high. The Ministry of Defense confirmed it had paused some training on the Ajax armored vehicles as a precautionary measure, after the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported a litany of problems with the tanks, including an inability to fire cannons while moving. UNITED NATIONS (AP) The U.N. Security Council on Thursday urged Sudans government to swiftly form a Transitional Legislative Council and implement security measures and other provisions in Octobers peace agreement. It said that is needed so the Sudanese people can have a peaceful, stable, democratic and prosperous future. A resolution adopted unanimously by the council also urged signatories to the peace deal to address the root causes of conflict in the vast western Darfur region and two other areas, Blue Nile and South Kordofan. It called on rebel groups in Darfur that have forces in neighboring countries to continue to withdraw them. The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when ethnic Africans rebelled, accusing the Arab-dominated Sudanese government of discrimination. The government in Khartoum was accused of retaliating by arming local nomadic Arab tribes and unleashing them on civilian populations a charge it denies. A joint U.N.-African Union force in Darfur was established in 2007 but terminated by the Security Council on Dec. 31. The force was replaced with a much smaller and solely political mission, whose mandate was extended by the resolution approved Thursday until June 3, 2022. Sudan's military ousted autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 following mass pro-democracy protests, and a transitional military-civilian government has ruled the African nations since then. The country is now on a fragile path to democracy, and on Feb. 10 a new Cabinet was sworn in that includes rebel ministers as part of the power-sharing deal the transitional authorities and a rebel alliance struck in Juba on Oct. 3. The Security Council welcomed the March 28 signing by the government and Sudans largest single rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Movement-North, of a declaration of principles detailing a roadmap for talks. It urged both sides to engage constructively to swiftly finalize a comprehensive and inclusive peace agreement. A new round of talks began May 26. The Security Council urged armed groups that havent engaged in peace negotiations to do so immediately, constructively and without pre-condition. One major rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army in the restive Darfur region rejects the transitional government and has refused to take part in talks. The council recognized improvements in security conditions in some areas of Darfur but expressed concern that the security situation in other areas has deteriorated as a result of increased intercommunal violence. It underscored the need to intensify peacebuilding efforts in Darfur, avoid a relapse into conflict and mitigate risks to civilians posed by intercommunal violence, misuse of small arms, and violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. The resolution stressed the need for the government to ensure accountability for those violations including conflict-related sexual violence and grave violations against children. It called on the government to accelerate establishment of the Transitional Legislative Council and to meet the 40% quota for women's participation. It welcomed the April 24 adoption of bills approving a Peace Commission and a Transitional Justice Commission and called on the government to swiftly establish them so they can start operating. The Security Council ordered the U.N. mission over the next year to give priority to supporting cease-fire monitoring in Darfur and implementation of the governments civilian protection plan that includes preventing local conflicts, reconciliation efforts, disarmament and reducing intercommunal violence. It said the mission should also prioritize support to negotiations between the government and armed groups, drafting a new constitution, judicial reforms, and implementing the peace agreements power-sharing provisions, including facilitating the participation of civil society, women, youth, displaced people, refugees and members of marginalized communities. ANKARA, Turkey (AP) The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations announced on Thursday nearly $240 million in humanitarian funding to support the people of Syria, Syrian refugees and countries hosting them, and called for access through international crossings to allow the delivery of aid. Linda Thomas-Greenfield made the announcement during a visit to the Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Turkey and Syria the sole remaining point of access for humanitarian aid to enter the conflict-ravaged country. The ambassador is in Turkey on a four-day visit seeking to ensure that humanitarian aid can be delivered to Syria across borders a program which Russia, Syrias closest ally, has severely limited in recent years, insisting that the Syrian government should control all assistance to millions in need. The international crossing points were reduced to a single border crossing from Turkey to Syrias rebel-held northwest at Russias insistence. Im proud to announce the United States is providing nearly $240 million in additional humanitarian funding for the people of Syria and for the communities that host them, Thomas-Greenfield said, according to a statement from her office. Right now, more than 13 million Syrian people are in dire need of assistance. Thats the population of Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington D.C. combined. She added: Four in five people in northwest Syria need humanitarian assistance. For millions of civilians in Idlib, this is their lifeline. Over the last year and a half, some members of the Security Council succeeded in shamefully closing two other crossings into Syria... Bab al-Hawa is literally all thats left. The United States is seeking the reauthorization of U.N. access at Bab al-Hawa and the reopening of other border crossings before the current U.N. Security Council mandate for humanitarian aid deliveries expires on July 10. There is strong support in the 15-member council for maintaining and even adding border crossings, but Russia holds the key. This isnt a complicated issue. We want the U.N. to bring food to starving children and protection to homeless families. We want the U.N. to be able to deliver vaccines in the middle of a global pandemic. We want the suffering to stop, Thomas-Greenfield said. She met Wednesday with Ibrahim Kalin, a top aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey hosts some 4 million refugees. The talks come ahead of U.S. President Joe Bidens first meeting with Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels on June 14. Ties between Ankara and Washington, which once considered each other as strategic partners, steadily deteriorated in recent years over differences on Syria, Turkeys cooperation with Russia and Turkish naval interventions in the eastern Mediterranean, which U.S. officials have described as destabilizing. The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, said the new U.S. funding announced by Thomas-Greenfield, would support aid agencies providing assistance, including food for displaced families in Syria and the region and support bakeries in Syria. It would also provide psychosocial support and other services for children, rehabilitate water and sanitation systems and provide cash or vouchers to help Syrians meet basic needs. USAID said the United States was the worlds largest donor to the Syria crisis, and has provided more than $13 billion since the start of the conflict. Palm Beach County: additional cases and more deaths. The county now has confirmed cases and deaths, including non-residents. Broward County: additional cases and more deaths. Broward has a known total of cases and deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. The death tally includes non-residents. Miami-Dade County: additional cases and new deaths. The county now has confirmed cases and deaths, including non-residents. LAS VEGAS (AP) A federal judge in Las Vegas said Thursday that Nevada officials can tell attorneys for a convicted mass murderer the name of the drugs they would use for his lethal injection, even if plans about doses and delivery remain incomplete. U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware II set a June 10 hearing and said that once the Department of Corrections discloses the type of drugs and a procedure for Nevada's first execution in 15 years, he may block the date to allow time to review the plan. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) Growth in the services sector, where most Americans work, hit an all-time high in May as people flock to bars, restaurants and other venues across the country that now have fewer or no pandemic-related capacity restrictions. The Institute for Supply Management said Thursday that its monthly survey of service industries jumped to a reading of 64, topping the previous high of 63.7 in March. April's reading of 62.7 was also considered strong, as any reading above 50 indicates the sector is expanding. SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Utah's governor asked citizens Thursday to pray for rain this weekend to relieve the state from its drought. Gov. Spencer Cox released a statement calling on Utah citizens to pray for divine intervention as an excessive heat warning has been issued for areas of the state this weekend. RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Virginia Commonwealth University announced the expulsion of a fraternity from campus Thursday following a pledges death from alcohol poisoning after a fraternity party. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the universitys student organization conduct committee found Delta Chi responsible for violating policies on hazing and alcohol. The fraternity can no longer operate as a student organization at VCU. The expulsion took effect May 28. VCU had prohibited alcohol at fraternity and sorority events during the pandemic. Delta Chi was also accused of breaking rules on chapter events, COVID protocols, recruitment activities and hazing. This permanent removal as a recognized student organization is another important step in holding fraternities and sororities at VCU accountable for organizational misconduct, the university said in a statement. The decision comes three months after 19-year-old Adam Oakes of Loudoun County died. The office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled that his death was caused by alcohol poisoning. Oakes had received a bid to the Delta Chi fraternity and attended a party where he would receive his big brother the night before his death. Oakes was told to drink a large bottle of whiskey and later passed out on a couch at an off-campus residence, his family said. He was found dead the next morning. The university and the fraternitys headquarters suspended the chapter immediately. The university has hired a consulting firm specializing in fraternity and sorority culture to investigate Greek life at the school. A report is expected this summer. Richmond police are also still investigating the death. Delta Chi headquarters did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The university issued a four-year ban on the chapter in 2018 after repeated violations, including providing underage students with alcohol, but later lowered the suspension to one year, the Richmond Times-Dispatch has reported. SEATTLE (AP) The King County sheriff's department and other county departments are prohibited from using facial recognition technology or information from the technology under a new measure that cites its threat to privacy and history of bias. The King County Council voted unanimously Tuesday to ban the use of the technology, but will still allow county departments, including the sheriff's office, to use facial recognition evidence as long as it is not produced or asked for by the departments, The Seattle Times reported. President Biden's White House basked in praise from allies in its early days when it pledged to look for ways to "speed up" the process of putting abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the front of the $20 bill, replacing President Andrew Jackson, who owned enslaved people and forcibly relocated Native Americans. But four months after taking office, there is little evidence that the administration has taken any steps to accelerate the schedule set out years ago by a small agency within the Treasury Department. Despite the growing national push to honor the contributions of women and people of color - and Biden's personal promise to do so - Tubman is still not set to appear on the $20 by the end of Biden's first term, or even a hypothetical second term. If the current timeline holds, it will have taken a full 16 years to realize the suggestion of a 9-year-old girl whose 2014 letter to then-President Barack Obama publicly launched the process. That strikes some as an embarrassment. "If we can put a helicopter on Mars, we ought to be able to design a $20 bill in less than 20 years," Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said in an interview. "It's all about commitment." The Tubman battle has become a case study in the difficulty of marshaling the bureaucratic machinery of government, according to activists who've been working for years to change America's paper money to reflect what they say are its current values. The delay is notable in part because Biden relied on a coalition of women and Black voters to win the White House and promised to mobilize every element of government to promote gender and racial equity. There has never been a Black person on the U.S. currency, nor has there been a woman on a bill in the modern era, despite repeated attempts to diversify the currency. Biden has made other efforts to update the nation's imagery. He recently became the first president to visit Tulsa in commemoration of a race massacre there. He ordered that the Oval Office be cleared of a portrait of Jackson, who oversaw the Indian Removal Act that led to the "Trail of Tears." President Donald Trump had installed the portrait of the seventh president, who is admired by some traditionalists for his populism and frontier image. But removing the portrait has proved much easier than accelerating the actions of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, a unit of the Treasury Department, which critics say displays scant interest in transforming the currency. "They're really happy to kick this as far down the road as possible, maybe until cryptocurrency takes over," said Barbara Ortiz Howard, founder of Women on 20s, an advocacy group. "They don't want to make the change, which I think is the only explanation for all of this nonsense." Treasury officials say changing the portrait on the $20 is not as simple as it sounds, largely because of the need for sophisticated anti-counterfeiting features. "We are committed to the goal of redesigning U.S. currency to better reflect the history and diversity of our country," Len Olijar, director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, said in a statement. "But the security of our currency remains paramount." Tubman is a unique figure in American history, escaping from slavery to become a well-known "conductor" on the Underground Railroad that led enslaved people to freedom. She worked as a spy for the Union army during the Civil War, and after the victory threw herself into helping formerly enslaved people. The honor of appearing on a country's currency is inherently limited to a small group of national heroes. It enshrines a person as emblematic of a country's values not through a remote monument, but as a familiar symbol used in daily activity. America's paper money features an array of White male leaders: George Washington on the $1, Thomas Jefferson on the $2, Abraham Lincoln on the $5, Alexander Hamilton on the $10, Jackson on the $20, Ulysses S. Grant on the $50 and Benjamin Franklin on the $100. (In previous eras some were more obscure; Grover Cleveland's likeness graced the now-defunct $1,000.) The Treasury Department announced in 2016 that Tubman would replace Jackson, and ever since lawmakers and activists have been pushing to make it actually happen. Shaheen said she spoke privately to Biden's aides during the transition, adding, "I think they're serious. The question is: Given all the challenges, how do we expedite it?" In the House, Reps. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, and John Katko, R-N.Y., are drafting a letter to the Biden administration asking for an updated timeline on the Tubman move, according to a congressional aide familiar with the effort who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private plans. Beatty, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, introduced legislation in January to require that any $20 bill printed after 2024 include a portrait of Tubman. Olijar said the schedule for new currency is recommended by a group called the Advanced Counterfeit Deterrence committee, which advises the treasury secretary on anti-counterfeiting issues. Under that schedule, both the $10 and the $50 notes are set to be released ahead of the $20. "The primary reason currency is redesigned is for security against current and potential counterfeiting threats," Olijar said. "The redesign timeline is driven by security feature development." Two senior Treasury officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, declined to say whether Secretary Janet Yellen would consider changing the order so the $20 could be produced ahead of the $10, or if Tubman might be moved to the $10 instead, as some boosters have suggested. (Hamilton might be hard to dislodge from the $10, given his popularity following the smash Broadway musical about his life.) Changing America's money has long been a glacial process. One Treasury aide said the blue thread that appears in the recently released $100 bill took the government a decade to develop. Obama's treasury secretary, Jack Lew, who publicly announced in 2016 that Tubman would go on the $20, said in an interview that he regularly prodded the Bureau of Engraving to accelerate its timeline. "The bureaucracy thought I was pushing them too hard. I think it's okay to push," Lew said. "But you don't push by saying, 'I don't care about security,' you push by being respectful, asking questions and having a respectful back and forth." Lew said the process was "mind-numbingly slow," but said some of the technical challenges are "real" and cannot be rushed. "My approach was a push, but not break," Lew said. "I wouldn't advocate pushing and breaking." Although some Democrats criticized the Trump administration for purportedly delaying the change, several government officials of both parties said that was not the case and the delay had more to do with bureaucratic obstacles. "The Trump administration adhered to the Obama administration's timetable while working as quickly as possible to develop a new note," said Monica Crowley, who served as spokeswoman for Trump's treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin. "Given the complexity of the process, it's no wonder the Biden administration has also decided not to accelerate the bill's release, if they release it at all." Meanwhile Bureau officials successfully pushed for a new building, telling Congress they need the new $1.4 billion facility, "to support the next generation of currency scheduled for release over the coming decade." It is on course to be constructed in Beltsville, Md., about 100 miles from Tubman's childhood home, which was recently discovered on the state's Eastern Shore. Complicating matters further, the effort to change the Jackson portrait is caught up in a 2008 court order that any new currency must include some kind of tactile signifier, similar to Braille, so those who are blind or visually impaired can distinguish between various denominations. The American Council for the Blind sued the Treasury Department in 2002 to force the agency to add such features, and a federal judge ultimately ordered that the next security overhaul of the nation's currency must include some type of tactile element. Like supporters of the Tubman portrait, representatives of the blind are still waiting. "Unless President Biden or someone at the White House gets actively involved with this issue, in negotiating a resolution or holding folks accountable, it's not going to end," said Eric Bridges, executive director of the American Council of the Blind, who has been involved with the litigation for years. Bridges added, "The combination of Harriet Tubman adorning this first piece of accessible currency would make a powerful statement." Among those objecting to the tactile features are banks, who say it would cost billions for changes including upgrading ATMs and argue that the process of stacking currency would become more problematic. Still, countries including Canada and Australia have features on their currency that allow blind people to distinguish one denomination from another. Some advocates for Tubman have joined forces with activists pushing for the tactile features. Both groups says these all of these matters could be addressed far more quickly if the administration threw its weight behind the changes. And researchers say that the Tubman change has been slowed by all the other matters, including the security overhaul. "It doesn't cost very much to change the portraiture - it's just the everything else that they're trying to do at the same time," said Ruth Anne Robbins, a Rutgers law professor who co-wrote a paper on changes to the currency. "People have been asking now for just about a century to please put some women on the money." Her research shows how much easier it was to put Jackson on the currency than it's proving to get him off it. When the modern currency was first designed nearly a century ago, then-Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon received a typed memo from his staff suggesting individuals to be honored on the new bills, a copy of which was unearthed in the National Archives by Robbins and her colleague Genevieve Tung. The October 1927 memo listed former president Grover Cleveland as the proposed face of the $20 and Jackson for the $1,000. Mellon crossed their names out and, with his pencil, ordered their positions reversed. Reflecting on why the process to install Tubman is by comparison so much more involved, Robbins suggested, "There's nobody who was really charged with making it happen." - - - The Washington Post's Jeff Stein contributed to this report. LANSING, Mich. (AP) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday vetoed Republican-sponsored legislation that would have exempted high school graduation ceremonies from COVID-19 restrictions on Michigan crowd sizes, calling it half-baked and punchless. The veto, which was expected, came two days after her administration's order was loosened to end outdoor capacity limits and limit indoor gatherings to 50% occupancy. This bill is a solution in search of a problem, the Democratic governor wrote to the GOP-led House. Rather than sending me half-baked and punchless legislation like HB 4728, I encourage the Legislature to join me in eradicating this pandemic and making transformational investments in our economy. When the measure won final passage more than two weeks ago, Michigan was restricting crowds at many outdoor stadiums to 1,000. At most indoor arenas, the limit was 375. The sponsor, Rep. Ann Bollin of Brighton Township, had said in early May that the bill would give schools flexibility to host commencements in a manner that suits their districts. ... It's time to celebrate these young lives and give them the send-off they deserve. Also Thursday, Whitmer vetoed a bill that would have prohibited a governor from issuing an emergency order extending response times for public-records requests or otherwise limiting a public body's duties under the Freedom of Information Act. She did so for two months early in the pandemic. The since-expired order, Whitmer said, was designed to protect government officials' lives during the first surge. She said she will not sign bills that constrain the governor's ability to protect people. Rep. Steve Johnson, a Wayland Republican who sponsored the FOIA measure, said in March that governments already have 15 business days to respond to a request if it takes an extension. The bill passed with broad bipartisan support in the House and almost entirely along party lines in the Senate. I would argue when you are in a time of emergency and government is making significant decisions, that is actually the time that you most need transparency to know what decisions are being made and why they are being made, Johnson said. ___ Follow David Eggert at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00 GENEVA (AP) The World Health Organizations top vaccines expert said Thursday that immunizing children against COVID-19 is not a high priority from a WHO perspective, given the extremely limited global supply of doses. During a social media session, Dr. Kate OBrien said children should not be a focus of COVID-19 immunization programs even as increasing numbers of rich countries authorize their coronavirus shots for teenagers and children. Children are at (a) very, very low risk of actually getting COVID disease, said O'Brien, a pediatrician and director of the WHO's vaccines department. She said that the rationale for immunizing children was to stop transmission rather than to protect them from getting sick or dying. When were in this really difficult place, as we are right now, where the supply of vaccine is insufficient for everybody around the world, immunizing kids is not a high priority right now. O'Brien said it was critical to ensure health workers and the elderly, or those with underlying conditions, were inoculated ahead of teenagers and children. Canada, the U.S. and the European Union have all recently given the green light to some COVID-19 vaccines for children aged 12 to 15 as they approach their vaccination targets for adults. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged rich countries to donate shots to poor countries rather than immunize their adolescents and children. Fewer than 1% of COVID-19 vaccines administered globally have been used in poor countries. OBrien said it might be appropriate to immunize children against the coronavirus in due course, when the supply increases much more substantially. She added that it wasnt necessary to vaccinate children before sending them back to school, as long as the adults in contact with them were immunized. Immunization of children in order to send them back to school is not the predominant requirement for them to go back to school safely, she said. They can go back to school safely if what were doing is immunizing those who are around them who are at risk. ___ Follow all of APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak When you go to the market you never know what you are not going to find and you have to be really creative. That is why a lot of paladares, the menus are written on chalkboards, the chef said. This is fascinating because they make things out of nothing and that is the essence of Cuba. That they are so willing to do something right and do it no matter what it takes. SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) A 21-year-old woman faces criminal charges after being accused of protesting after midnight outside the home of Savannahs mayor. Police arrested 21-year-old Keiajah Brooks on charges of disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly. A Savannah police report said she was among a group of people shouting with a bullhorn outside the home of Mayor Van Johnson at 12:30 a.m. Monday. VENTURA, Calif. (AP) A woman from Ventura was reunited with a wallet she lost 46 years ago after an employee working on remodeling Southern California's historic Majestic Ventura Theater discovered it inside a crawl space. I would have never imagined, said Tom Stevens after locating the wallet among old candy bar wrappers, ticket stubs and soda cans. Stevens told the Ventura County Star he then went on social media to try to locate the owner based on clues in the wallet, including old photos, a 1973 Grateful Dead concert ticket and a California drivers license for Colleen Distin that expired in 1976. There was no money in the wallet. Does anyone know Colleen Distin? he asked on the theaters Facebook page. While doing some maintenance we have found her wallet. There are a bunch of pictures of people, and they are super cool from that era also. Someone may want them. So if you are, or if you know Colleen, drop us a line and we will have it here for you! Stevens boss, Loanne Wullaert, suggested posting the information on social media. Were at almost 1,000 shares, a ridiculous amount of comments and then it went to all these other sites, Wullaert said Monday. I think its cool that people care and are interested. Distin, who grew up in Ventura and remains a resident, said she heard from a lot of people online and received a call about the post on social media. She responded May 25, a couple of hours after the posting, that the wallet was hers. Distin on Friday went to pick up the red wallet, now brownish with age, and said it was like opening a time capsule. Distin said she lost the wallet in 1975, when she was in her early 20s, at what was then a movie theater. Distin said it must have fallen through a hole in her purse, which she had placed on the theater floor. At the time, her wallet held a $200 check and family photos. I remember calling the next day when I realized it was gone. They said no one found it, but to call back, which I did," Distin said. I'm shaking," Distin told KCAL-TV as she looked through the wallet. It contained poetry and notes, photographs of high school friends, the $5 ticket to a Grateful Dead concert at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and photos of Distin's mother, who died several years ago. It's really wonderful," Distin said in an emotional voice. Distin said she was initially reluctant to talk publicly about her experience but she said there was such a positive response that she gave in. It says a lot about our society, that people are looking for a human story and something to feel good, she told the Star. People need to see the gratitude. I think theres so much other negative stuff that I think this is what touched people. NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) The suspect in a fatal shooting at a Niagara Falls scrap yard was taken into custody Thursday, not long after authorities publicly released his name and a description of his vehicle. Matthew Figura Jr., 35, was arrested by Wyoming County sheriff's deputies, city officials said. Wyoming County is about 60 miles (96 kilometers) south of the shooting scene. CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) A Wyoming sheriff's corporal who is facing a wrongful death lawsuit in the killing of an unarmed mentally ill man in 2018 has resigned. Derek Colling left his job Wednesday, the Albany County Sheriff's Office said in a release Thursday. No other information about the personnel matter would be provided, the release said. Colling had no listed phone number and couldn't be reached for comment. Colling was a patrol deputy when he shot and killed Robert Robbie Ramirez, 39, after a traffic stop in Laramie in 2018. Ramirez drove off during the stop, and police car video shows that Colling followed him to his apartment, where he shot him with a Taser then his gun. The lawsuit says the video shows Colling aggressively charge Ramirez in the apartment parking lot even though Ramirez's hands were in plain sight and Colling knew Ramirez was unarmed. In court documents, Colling denies those allegations and others, though he acknowledges shooting Ramirez. Colling's attorney, Stephenson Emery, didn't immediately return a phone message Thursday. A grand jury later found Colling didn't commit involuntary manslaughter. The shooting nonetheless raised questions about why the sheriff's office hired Colling as a jail deputy in 2012 after he'd been fired from the Las Vegas police department. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court by Ramirezs mother, Debra Hinkel, says Colling fatally shot two people in the line of duty in Las Vegas and assaulted and illegally arrested a man who settled a personal injury lawsuit against the city. Hinkel's lawsuit against Colling, the Albany County Commission and former Sheriff David O'Malley seeks a jury trial and yet-to-be-determined damages. Colling grew up in Laramie and knew Ramirez from school. Ramirez was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder which relatives say led to run-ins with and fear of law enforcement officers. An advocacy group formed in response to Ramirez's death praised Colling's resignation. Derek Colling turning in his badge and gun is because of the efforts made by this community that fought for justice for Robbie Ramirez. Collings resignation is accountability, but it is not justice, Karlee Provenza, executive director of Albany County for Proper Policing and a Democratic state legislator, said in a statement. O'Malley hired Colling and promoted him from patrol deputy to patrol corporal after the shooting. O'Malley retired in 2020, leading to the appointment of Aaron Appelhans, a University of Wyoming Police Department sergeant, as Wyoming's first Black sheriff. Appelhans reassigned Colling to jail corporal in March. ___ Follow Mead Gruver at https://twitter.com/meadgruver LONDON (AP) Britain risks failing hundreds of thousands of young people with its half-hearted effort to bolster schools after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the former education recovery chief who resigned over the governments funding announcement. Kevan Collins criticized the 1.4 billion pound ($2 billion) education recovery fund that was announced Wednesday, describing it as a fraction of what is needed to meet the scale of the challenge. The package of support announced yesterday falls far short of what is needed, Collins wrote Thursday in the Times of London. It is too narrow, too small and will be delivered too slowly. Children across the U.K. lost an average of 115 days of classroom time during the pandemic, curtailing academic achievement and social development. Collins reportedly recommended that the government plow an extra 15 billion pounds into education over the next three years to help students catch up. With the funding announced this week, Prime Minister Boris Johnsons Conservative government has pledged about 3.1 billion pounds to the education recovery effort, or about 400 pounds ($566) per pupil. Thats in contrast to the U.S., which has allocated the equivalent of 1,600 pounds ($2,265) per student, or the Netherlands, which has announced plans to spend over 2,500 pounds ($3,540) per student. A half-hearted approach risks failing hundreds of thousands of pupils, Collins wrote. The support announced by government so far does not come close to meeting the scale of the challenge and is why I have no option but to resign. Central to Collins plan is a proposal to extend each school day an average of 30 minutes so children can get the extra academic help they need without sacrificing enrichment programs such as music and sports. The government said it is still reviewing proposals to extend the school day and a decision will be made as part of the annual budget review. The spending announced this week includes 1 billion pounds to fund tutoring for disadvantaged students and 400 million pounds for teacher training. Weve got to bring people with us on this policy development, Victoria Atkins, a minister in the Home Office, told the BBC. This is why were reviewing it. The implications of the debate are profound amid estimates that lost learning could cost children more than 100 billion pounds in lifetime earnings. The impact is likely to be greatest on children from low-income and ethnic minority families. Even before the pandemic, students from disadvantaged backgrounds were about 18 months behind their classmates by the end of secondary school. That gap will have widened over the past year, according to a report by the Education Policy Institute, which promotes equal access to education. In normal times, schools have a really important role to play in combating underlying inequalities in society, said Luke Sibieta, one of the reports authors. And when we stop children being able to go to school normally, we kind of lose some of the benefit that schools play." ___ Follow all of APs global pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic Bay Area Rep. Eric Swalwell, a prominent Democrat who is looking to sue several Republicans connected to the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, evidently had to hire a private investigator to locate Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks. It appears the private investigator has had no luck. In a court filing published Wednesday, Swalwell's attorneys asked a federal judge for more time to serve Brooks the lawsuit, because the Alabama Republican unlike other defendants Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Rudy Guiliani is evading the process. Because Brooks has refused to waive service or even speak to undersigned counsel about the case, the lawsuit must be served personally. "Plaintiff's investigator has spent many hours over many days in April and May at locations in multiple jurisdictions attempting to locate and serve Brooks, to no avail," the filing reads. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta granted Swalwell's attorneys a 60-day extension to serve Brooks with the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that Brooks, Trump and others incited the riot and broke several Washington, D.C., laws, including an anti-terrorism act. Attorneys point to comments made by prominent Republicans just before rioters breached the Capitol building. Swalwell lawyer Philip Andonian told CNN that his team will continue to try to find Brooks and serve him the lawsuit. "The problem here is that Mo Brooks' door is under lock and key. ... There was just no access to the primary place that he was for much of the day," he said. "It just takes persistence and luck sometimes. We're not claiming Brooks is hiding in a bunker somewhere. But it takes a lot of effort." UPDATE June 3, 5:04 p.m. The San Francisco District Attorney's Office said Thursday that it will not file attempted robbery charges against Mohammed Nuru, the former director of the city's Department of Public Works, after his arrest Wednesday over a bizarre incident involving a knife and a bag of potato chips, according to KTVU. Nuru was booked after he allegedly brandished a kitchen knife and attempted to take someone's chips at the San Francisco Marin Food Bank. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, a witness told police that Nuru held up the knife and appeared to make a joke about taking the chips, prosecutors said. (SFGATE and the San Francisco Chronicle are both owned by Hearst but operate independently of one another.) This appeared to have been an inappropriate and misguided attempt at humor but not an attempted robbery, said Rachel Marshall, a spokesperson for the District Attorneys Office, the Chronicle reported. June 2, 2:44 p.m. Mohammed Nuru, the former director of San Francisco's Department of Public Works engulfed in a wide-reaching corruption scandal, was reportedly arrested on suspicion of robbery at a Potrero Hill food bank Wednesday. KGO's Dion Lim reported Wednesday afternoon that Nuru was "brandishing a knife" at the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, and "allegedly also tried to steal potato chips," only to later say he was kidding. According to KGO, the knife Nuru allegedly brandished was a kitchen knife. In a statement to SFGATE, the San Francisco Police Department confirmed an incident involving a knife, but did not confirm an arrest or the identity of the suspect. "Officers met with the victim who told officers that he was approached by an adult male suspect who produced a knife and demanded the victim's property," the statement reads. "Fearing for his safety the victim left the area and notified police. Officers located the suspect who was taken into custody without incident." The FBI arrested Nuru in January 2020 on public corruption charges. Over the past year and a half, the scandal has mushroomed into an elaborate web of schemes involving several individuals connected to city hall. Last week, two city contractors pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to bribe a city official. According to prosecutors, the contractors provided gifts and benefits to Nuru in exchange for information about an upcoming lucrative San Francisco public contract. In February, a separate contractor was sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty to charges of bribery and lying to FBI agents. This contractor admitted to bribing Nuru with a $36,000 Rolex watch. It is possible for Nuru to receive jail time in the corruption scandal. Tommy Gong, the nonpartisan elections chief for San Luis Obispo County, estimates that the elections portion of a heated Board of Supervisors meeting in May that drew national attention lasted about three hours. He believes more than 150 members of the public got to speak, with many of them alleging election fraud and demanding a "forensic audit" of the November presidential election. One of the speakers even accused Gong of being a Chinese Communist Party sleeper agent. "That was a little shocking," Gong told SFGATE. "I'm a third-generation Chinese American, and I have no ties to China. I havent even set foot in China once in my life." The incident was written up in the Washington Post and featured on MSNBC's "Rachel Maddow Show" to highlight just how far the "Big Lie" or the false notion that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump has spread. But for San Luis Obispo County, the hysteria did not stop with the Board of Supervisors meeting. Just last week, former Trump attorney Sidney Powell, who is currently facing a $1.3 billion defamation suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems Inc., and disgraced Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio visited the coastal community for an event with a right-wing secessionist group. So how, exactly, did San Luis Obispo County which President Biden won by 13 percentage points become one of the major national "Stop the Steal" hot spots? "Thats a good question," Gong said. "Even I dont really know exactly why this is happening. We certainly have a very conservative local Republican Party thats very active, so the foundation is in place to facilitate these activities. It also appears they're having some assistance from outside the county to do this sort of stuff." In November, the county saw several "Stop the Steal" rallies organized by local pro-Trump groups. Gong, who cannot unilaterally green-light a forensic audit under California election law, noted that the demands made by local activists appear to borrow language from Election Integrity Project California, a right-wing group with chapters in Arizona, Nevada and Arkansas that "trains" poll watchers and files election-related lawsuits. Election Integrity Project California sent poll watchers to San Luis Obispo County in November and was previously accused of voter intimidation during the 2012 presidential election. San Diego's NPR-affiliate KPBS reported in November 2012 that Election Integrity Project California had "many connections" to the Tea Party, with Kathay Feng, executive director of the left-leaning voting rights group California Common Cause, alleging that Election Integrity Project California's poll watchers seek to create a "hostile environment" at polling places. In addition to help from outside groups, Gong cited San Luis Obispo County's leftward shift over the past decade as another possible reason the county has been engulfed in "Stop the Steal" mayhem. "Were the only coastal community that has had a Republican majority for many, many years," he said. "When you compare us to Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Monterey and others nearby, we're the only one that held out and had a majority GOP electorate for some time, but that changed in early 2019, which is the first time we saw more registered Democrats than Republicans, as well as this continued expansion of no party preference voters." As demonstrated in the table below, San Luis Obispo County went from being a relatively solid Republican county in 2004 to a swing county in 2008 and 2012, before swinging hard to the left in 2016. Gong said the stark shift may have not only raised suspicion among local Republicans, but also persuaded local conservative groups that they need to get more attention. "There's a battle going on where the local GOP is trying to gain more membership by being more visible to members of the public," he said. "It's a struggle for them to try to get their numbers back up and try again to become more relevant again." Regardless of what local Republican groups want, Gong cannot initiate an audit without violating California election law. Only a court order could compel such an audit or recount now that the county is more than five days removed from certifying results. On Memorial Day and Veterans Day each year, Gong and his two sons, now ages 17 and 19, go to a local veterans memorial and play "Taps" on their trumpets for the community. When Gong continued the tradition on Monday, he had an unexpected encounter. "Once we were done playing, we've never had so many people come up to and thank us, which I think was a reflection of what's been happening lately," he said. "And one of the people who came up to us was an individual who said, 'I'm the one who made the [Chinese Communist Party] comment, and I want to apologize for what I said. This stuff can get the best of us, and I'm sorry.'" Conditions are so dry in Lake Tahoe that fire officials in the basin have already implemented strict rules, prohibiting wood campfires and charcoal grills to lower the risk of wildfires as summer crowds begin to gather in a tinder-dry forest. Last week, North Tahoe and Meeks Bay Fire Protection Districts which span the northwest shoreline of Lake Tahoe, from Kings Beach to Emerald Bay announced a suspension on all solid fuel fires, including wood campfires or charcoal grills, for the duration of summer. The suspension will remain in place throughout fire season, which typically extends well into the fall and early winter. Timber vegetation [is] already at summer dryness levels, and above normal fire activity is projected in the Sierra and Tahoe regions this summer and likely into the fall, said Fire Chief Steve Leighton, of the North Tahoe Fire Protection District, in a statement. We saw the devastation that fires created in California in recent fire years, and we ask our residents and visitors to follow our fire restrictions to protect this precious area that is under severe drought. The North Tahoe Fire Protection Districts ban on solid fuel burning applies to campfires, bonfires and portable outdoor fire pits. However, there are some exceptions to the rule. Campfires and charcoal barbecues are still allowed in designated fire pits in campgrounds. Gas or propane-fueled fire pits and barbecues, as well as pellet grills, are allowed. A good rule of thumb is to check whether a grill or barbecue has an on-off switch. If so, that probably means its powered by propane or gas and is allowed except for red flag warning days, when weather conditions are so hot, dry and windy that no flame is allowed because the risk for wildfire is so extreme. Strict rules preventing wood and charcoal fires are increasingly necessary as millions of visitors head to Tahoes forests for the summer. Last year, at the peak of the summer and fire season, fire officials were responding to calls every day to address smoldering campfires that were lit illegally. In a single week in August of last year, 15 wildfires were reported to the U.S. Forest Service in Lake Tahoe. Eleven of those wildfires were caused by humans. The North Tahoe Fire Protection District encompasses 31 square miles, with a population of 15,000, according to a 2019 Placer County memorandum. During the summer months, the districts population swells to more than 50,000 because of tourism and thats likely a conservative figure. Basinwide, millions of visitors come to Tahoes forests every year. When an illegal fire is reported, the fire district responds to the call. When responding to a call reporting an illegal fire, Holland said the district emphasizes education over enforcement. Weve not had to involve law enforcement or issue fines, Holland said in an email. Weve opted for the friendly approach and its worked well for us. There are multiple fire districts in the Tahoe Basin, and each has its own set of rules. In Incline Village, the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District banned charcoal barbecues for the rest of the summer. Basinwide, the U.S. Forest Service has year-round fire restrictions that limit wood and charcoal fires to metal fire rings in designated campgrounds only. Bonfires are prohibited on National Forest beaches, in rock rings or anywhere else in the forest. For backpackers camping in the woods, a permit is necessary to operate a gas stove with an on-off switch. However, wood-burning campfires and charcoal are not allowed at all in Desolation Wilderness, Meiss Country, or along the Pacific Crest or Tahoe Rim trails. The National Weather Service issues red flag warnings usually several days in advance as weather conditions come into focus. Strong winds and low humidity in the forecast are signs that a red flag warning will be issued. For more information on fire restrictions in Lake Tahoe and how to be prepared for wildfire emergencies, visit the website Tahoe Living With Fire. Mark Williamson/Getty Images A Northern California man has been sentenced to six months in prison for assaulting two flight attendants during a December 2019 flight to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Alton James Johnson, a 43-year-old passenger from Yuba City, was on a flight departing from San Diego two days before Christmas in 2019. During the flight, he repeatedly stroked a female flight attendants legs and grabbed her buttocks when she asked him to stop. The industry has made it clear that they will not sail from our ports unless they can ensure that their crew and passengers are vaccinated, the letter says. Every indication that we have seen is that many passengers are not willing to start cruising again without knowing that their fellow passengers and the crew are vaccinated. We are extremely concerned that unless a resolution can be reached, this impasse over the rules will result in the loss of the cruise industry in Broward County and Florida overall. You are now listening to the sounds of the New Generation. A podcast created for those who desire a new way of gaining information rather than reading a traditional newspaper. In our show we will discuss everything from sports, pop culture, politics, and local news. To stay up to date on our latest episodes every week be sure to follow us on your favorite podcast service. And dont worry, we keep it short. I have a confession. All my life I have loved grilled cheese but have always turned my nose up at tomato soup. Always. I remember my Grandma Deloris used to make tomato soup for my brother, Damon, all the time and put ice cubes in it to help cool it off and I would think it was just the most BELLEVUE, Wash. (AP) _ Smartsheet Inc. (SMAR) on Wednesday reported a loss of $37.1 million in its fiscal first quarter. On a per-share basis, the Bellevue, Washington-based company said it had a loss of 30 cents. Losses, adjusted for stock option expense and amortization costs, came to 9 cents per share. The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 14 cents per share. The maker of a cloud-based work-management platform posted revenue of $117.1 million in the period, also topping Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $111.6 million. For the current quarter ending in August, Smartsheet expects its results to range from a loss of 14 cents per share to a loss of 13 cents per share. The company said it expects revenue in the range of $125 million to $126 million for the fiscal second quarter. Smartsheet expects full-year results to range from a loss of 44 cents per share to a loss of 36 cents per share, with revenue ranging from $510 million to $515 million. Smartsheet shares have declined 13% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $60.27, a climb of slightly more than 3% in the last 12 months. _____ This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on SMAR at https://www.zacks.com/ap/SMAR Connecticuts legalized, recreational marijuana sellers, both wholesale and retail, would be required to sign union agreements as a condition of licensing under a deal thats close to a final agreement, people at the negotiating table say. Homegrown pot, up to six plants, would be decriminalized and could become fully legal within three years. A state Senate vote could come as soon as Friday in a marijuana miracle if all the pieces fall together perfectly. Adoption by next Wednesdays final deadline for the 2021 session seems like a very strong bet and Gov. Ned Lamont is nearly certain to sign the bill into law, as his people are at the table. 3 1 of 3 Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Peter Hvizdak / 2015 Peter Hvizdak Show More Show Less 3 of 3 The question is now morphing from whether a bill will pass, to whether the bill that lawmakers adopt will lead to a workable recreational market. And that is far from assured, with a passel of measures aimed at making sure workers and disadvantaged communities see their fair share of the green bud bounty. Its a balancing act. Liberal Democrats in the legislature insist on the labor and equity provisions, including training and joint ventures designed to bring in diverse investors and employees. Thats all great, I applaud it. Why have a market if it doesnt create equity? The trouble is, these rules add cost to the final product. And between surrounding states, the underground market and bleeding from Connecticuts tax-free medicinal market, cannabis is a fiercely competitive business. What good is a new market if its participants cant make it work? In this case, taxpayers have a stake, as recreational weed along with edibles, vape, tinctures and the like is expected to generate $80 million or so per year for the states coffers. The bill will not spell out how many retail locations Connecticut will have there are 18 medical dispensaries now as that would be determined later, in part by market forces. But many of the new entrants would be chosen by lottery. The bill also doesnt set an Opening Day for adult-use, recreational sales, although it would come faster than in New York and many other states, some say, because of mentoring rules baked into the bill. The densest smoke, the stickiest debate, surrounds the key question of who has the right to grow commercial cannabis, and under which conditions. As it stood late Wednesday, the four existing medicinal marijuana producers would have to either pay a $2 million fee to join the recreational market or pay a smaller amount perhaps $1.5 million, or zero and spin off one or two joint ventures with so-called equity partners for new retail dispensaries. An equity partner is someone who grew up, or has lived for multiple years, in a targeted ZIP code, and whose income is less than $250,000 a year. The goal was to make sure people of color gain access to new licenses, but, people in the talks said, theres no legal way to spell that out. An earlier move to give preference to people convicted or otherwise affected by the failed war on drugs, especially marijuana, didnt make the bill. But under the nascent deal, all new producers, also known as cultivators, would come from the ranks of equity applicants. They would have to pay a $3 million fee, which could shrink the number of willing producers. Oregon and Colorado, by contrast, both have more than 1,000 licensed wholesale cannabis producers. They dont call it the Wild, Wild West for nothing. New equity entrants into the business would learn at the hand of existing producers, who would have to either kick $500,000 into an equity fund or, better still, turn over 5 percent of the floor space of the new, recreational growing facilities and perhaps 5 percent of profits, too to trainees. Eventually, those trainees would strike out on their own as growers. Sen. Doug McCrory, D-Hartford, was the key champion of that provision. Having a mentoring program instead of starting with licenses from scratch would speed the day when retail outlets can open across the state, people in the talks say, because it jump starts both the equity progress and existing production capacity. The states share of the money would divide out as follows: The straight sales tax of 6.35 percent would go into the general fund. The excise taxes, about twice the sales tax, in total, would, after a few years of ramping up, go 80 percent to a new equity fund, separate from the state budget, aimed at rebuilding disadvantaged communities; and 20 percent to mental health and addiction services. Among all the equity and fairness measures, the labor rules could prove the most controversial and the most costly. Under the latest agreement which can and will change right up until the vote all licensed firms including retailers, cultivators, labs and couriers, must expand or build facilities under project labor agreements, basically paying union-scale wages. And they must sign an agreement with a bonafide labor organization, which is defined as a union currently working toward organizing workers in the industry. Thats being called a labor peace agreement, which Ive always taken to mean the employer agrees to remain neutral. These rules, championed by the powerful, pro-labor duo of Rep. Robyn Porter, D-New Haven and Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, might go further. They essentially require a firm to enter into a deal with a union that was, in the view of some people, not necessarily even chosen by the workers. Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Workers would still need to vote in a union. They would agree to binding arbitration to settle disputes and would not have the right to strike, according to the deal. Would the labor pact apply at so-called hybrid locations that are now growing medicinal product but would also grow recreational? Would it violate federal labor laws that forbid employers from choosing which unions represent their workers? Its all coming together. The good news for supporters, unlike in past years, is that the deal, and the votes, appear to be in hand. It will be interesting to see whether any Republicans vote for it, now that the bill includes a home-grown component, unlike in past years. The other good news: Connecticuts recreational cannabis products, like its current medicinal products, would be among the purest in the business. Thats because testing labs would collect samples directly from the production facilities instead of letting producers deliver hand-picked samples to be tested. A minor detail? No, it matters. This bill, estimated at 300 pages by House Majority leader Jason Rojas, attempts to craft a market from the top down. Call it the artisan Connecticut cannabis bill. It will come to the Senate and House floors and it will pass, in all likelihood. Well know in a couple of years whether it works. dhaar@hearstmediact.com NEW YORK (AP) Ally Financial said Wednesday that it is ending overdraft fees entirely on all of its bank products, becoming the first large U.S. bank to end overdraft fees across its entire business. It's a major move by Ally, one of the nation's largest banks, and for the industry, which has been reliant on overdraft fees for decades to boost profits, often at the expense of poorer Americans who can't afford to pay such fees in the first place. Critics of the practice often cite what they call the $38 cup of coffee, where a bank customer uses a debit card to buy a coffee, overdrafts, and ends up paying a $35 fee on top of the $3 drink. In its announcement, Detroit-based Ally cited specifically the impact that overdraft fees have on Black and Latino households, which are historically poorer than their white counterparts and are hit with overdraft fees more often. It's also a common reason why Black and Latino households choose to be unbanked, that is being without a bank account, in order to avoid the fees that often come with these accounts. Overdraft fees can be a major cause of anxiety," said Diane Morais, president of consumer and commercial banking at Ally Bank, in a statement. "It became clear to us that the best way to relieve that anxiety was to eliminate those fees. The announcement affects roughly 3.6 million checking, savings and money market accounts, the bank said. Ally did not earn significant fees from overdrafts. The most Ally charged each customer for overdrafting an account was $25 per day, instead of per transaction. Morais said roughly one out of every 12 Ally bank customers overdrafted at some point. Ally does not expect that scrapping overdraft fees will have a major impact on the companys full-year profit forecasts. Customers who do overdraft with Ally will get their transactions approved at the bank's discretion, with the smaller transactions likely to be approved. Customers will have six days to bring the account back into positive territory. The pressure to end overdraft fees has been intensifying for years. Politicians such as Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have used their positions in Congress to push bank CEOs to reconsider their usage of the fees. Regulators such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have also pushed banks to come up with solutions to stop charging customers $35 for an overdraft. In response, the industry has been inching away from overdraft fees, albeit reluctantly. Large banks like Bank of America and Wells Fargo both now offer products without overdraft fees, although they come with more limited features than their other accounts. Many banks suspended overdraft fees early last year when the pandemic struck. Other banks, like regional banking giant PNC, have introduced features to their bank products to help avoid the fees in the first place. However, Ally is the first big U.S. bank to get rid of overdraft fees altogether. But banks are still heavily reliant on overdraft fees for revenue. The industry collected more than $12 billion in overdraft fee revenue last year alone, according to industry research. ___ This story has been updated to correct that Ally is headquartered in Detroit, not Charlotte, North Carolina. WASHINGTON (AP) Officials from California, New York and other states urged the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday to allow California to set its own automobile tailpipe pollution standards, an action that would reverse a Trump administration policy and could help usher in stricter emissions standards for new passenger vehicles nationwide. The Biden administration has said it will withdrew Trump-era restrictions on state tailpipe emission rules and has moved to grant California permission to set more stringent pollution standards for cars and SUVs. That would give California greater leverage in discussions with automakers as states and federal officials seek a climate-friendly agreement on emissions standards. At least 13 states and the District of Columbia have signed on to Californias vehicle standards, which were established decades ago under a special waiver that the Trump administration revoked in 2019. Collectively they represent 36 percent of the U.S. auto market. Liane Randolph, chair of the California Air Resources Board, said at a public hearing Wednesday that the Trump administration's withdrawal of Californias long-standing waiver was ill-advised and illegal.'' Addressing EPA officials at an online hearing, Randolph said, Time has continued to prove the importance and good sense of our program'' to restrict vehicle emissions. We know the air quality in California is cleaner today than in decades. Californians can see mountains in the Los Angeles area, no longer shrouded by smog. And the air quality continues to improve because of our program.'' California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the state's vehicle-emissions standards critical to the fight against climate change'' and crucial to improve air quality, protect public health and drive technological innovation. Despite decades of effort and significant improvements, the unfortunate reality is that too many Californians still breathe dirty air and suffer from the resulting health consequences,'' Bonta said. According to the American Lung Association, seven of the 10 U.S. cities with worst ozone pollution are in California, along with six of the 10 most polluted cities measured by year-round particle pollution. Bad air quality means more premature deaths or respiratory ailments and more asthma cases,'' Bonta said. And as the dire realities of the climate crisis grow increasingly apparent, were seeing the number of bad-air days in California go up, not down. From record heat waves to wildfire seasons that are increasingly long and severe, the existential threat of our time is less and less difficult to imagine.'' President Joe Biden has made slowing climate change a top priority, and his nearly $2 trillion infrastructure proposal includes 500,000 new charging stations for electric cars and trucks. Fully electric vehicles represent just 2% of new vehicle sales in the U.S., but analysts expect that to rise rapidly in coming years. Major automakers, including General Motors and Ford, are pledging billions to develop electric cars and trucks, and GM has gone so far as to announce a goal of ending gasoline-fueled passenger vehicles entirely by 2035. The EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have proposed withdrawing Trump-era rules meant to stop states from setting their own requirements for greenhouse gases, zero emissions vehicles and fuel economy. The changes, if approved after the agencies take public comments, would allow California and other states to set their own rules for vehicle emissions. Biden has said he will seek one national standard, as was the case under President Barack Obama. Carmakers, autoworkers and environmental groups are eager for the federal government and California to reach a deal that creates a single nationwide standard for tailpipe emissions. EPA Administrator Michael Regan has said he expects to propose a tailpipe emissions rule in July. I am a firm believer in Californias long-standing statutory authority to lead,'' Regan said in April. The federal government can indeed learn from states, and thats what we plan to continue to do. Gavin McCabe, a special assistant New York attorney general, said the 2019 rollback of California's emissions standards was among the worst and most cynical actions by the Trump EPA.'' Arbitrarily weakening federal standards ... was bad enough,'' he said, but it was truly unconscionable for EPA to attempt to block states from doing what the law plainly allows them to do to protect their residents.'' New York has followed California standards for more than 30 years. Other states that follow California include Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Several other states are moving to adopt the California standard. Trumps move to revoke the state waivers split the industry, with most automakers behind him while Ford, Honda, BMW, Volkswagen and Volvo decided to go with California standards. After Biden was inaugurated, automakers began withdrawing support for Trumps decision. Trump officials argued that Californias use of its waiver effectively set national policy on auto emissions, increasing the cost of vehicles sold in states with less pollution. Trump also rolled back Obama-era fuel efficiency and emissions standards, and its likely the Biden administration will reverse those as well, replacing them with more stringent requirements. ___ AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report. AP ATLANTA (AP) Georgia's governor on Wednesday suspended a sheriff accused of violating the civil rights of several people in his custody by ordering them unnecessarily strapped into restraint chairs and left there for hours. A federal grand jury in April indicted Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill. The indictment accuses the sheriff of improperly using restraint chairs at the county jail for punishment. COLUMBIA, Md. (AP) A Maryland man has been charged with murder and rape in connection with the 1982 abduction and slaying of a woman who had been walking to the grocery store. Howard County Police announced Thursday that 62-year-old Howard Jackson Bradberry Jr. of Laurel was arrested at his home May 25. HARTFORD State Capitol police are investigating an incident that occurred Tuesday night when a man drove a van across the south lawn of the Capitol grounds. The incident came after bullet holes were discovered at the state Capitol building earlier that morning. Police said the incidents are not related. Police said a suspect in the driving incident has been identified, but no arrest has been made as the investigation continues. Capitol police said they spotted a vehicle on the grounds with the driver revving the engine, in an apparent attempt to get people's attention shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday. State Rep. Ben McGorty said he was on the phone with his wife when the vehicle, which he described as an older brown conversion van pulled up nearby. The guys just revving up the engine, McGorty, a Shelton Republican, told Hearst Connecticut Media on Wednesday. Its odd. Its not like the throttle was stuck or anything. He kept flooring it and coming back. Then flooring it and holding it down for a little bit. And Im looking at him, and somethings not right. McGorty said the driver tried to get him to come over with a hand gesture. Figuring something was off, McGorty said he alerted Capitol police. There were two other people coming down the sidewalk and I said, Go back, go back, theres something wrong with this guy, McGorty recalled. As officers approached the van, the vehicle pulled out, according to McGorty. Capitol police said the vehicle reversed before driving over the south lawn of the Capitol grounds McGorty said the vehicle swerved like he was going to go for me or whatever before driving down the sidewalk near a police car and onto the lawn where the van did some circles. Police said the vehicle went off the grass and onto a sidewalk before heading on to the Interstate-84 west on-ramp. Capitol police said they gave chase, but the driver refused to stop, before they called off the pursuit. Police said charges are possibly pending based on their investigation. The incident does not appear to be related to the gunfire that struck the Capitol building over the weekend. On Wednesday, state police said that incident is believed to have been part of a weekend shooting spree by a 74-year-old Southington man. The suspect in that incident, identified by Southington Police as Douglas Floyd Gollnick, has been hospitalized following his arrest on Sunday. Thanks to the quick response from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department as well as our Media partners and our Traffic Homicide investigators, we have located the vehicle involved in the fatal Hit and Run crash; that took place on I-95 northbound in the area of Sample Rd pic.twitter.com/ZPnfv6c5Tt Shippensburg, PA (17257) Today Scattered thunderstorms this morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 81F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. According to a government notification, the Model Tenancy Act ""will enable institutionalisation of rental housing by gradually shifting it towards the formal market."" The Act will be circulated to States and Union Territories for adaptation by way of enacting fresh legislation or amending existing rental laws suitably. ""It will enable creation of adequate rental housing stock for all the income groups thereby addressing the issue of homelessness,"" added the notification. The revised act empowers landlords, tenants and also defines the roles and responsibilities of property manager (real estate brokers). It also stipulates the formation of Rent Courts and Rent Tribunals for dispute redressal. The Model Tenancy Bill detailed five key announcements for tenants and landlords. 1. Security Deposit: The Security Deposit as mutually agreed between Landlord and tenant for residential housing is capped at two months of rent. In the case of non-residential property, it is capped at one month of rent. The landlord will refund security deposit at the time of taking over possession of vacant premises from the tenant. 2. Hike / Revision in Rent: To hike the monthly rent, landlords will have to give written notice three months in advance. Also, Landlords cannot increase rents during the middle of a rental term. 3. Tenants failing to vacate premises: Landlords can claim double the rent for two months and four times of monthly rent as compensation in the eventuality of tenants failing to or refusing to vacate premises at the end of a rental term. 4. Rental Agreement: Lessors and Lessees will not be able to rent premises without an agreement in writing. A Rent Authority will issue a Unique Identification number after receipt of the rental agreement. The authority should be informed about the agreement within seven days. 5. Formation of Rent Authority, Rent Court and Rent Tribunals: The Model Tenancy Act also deliberates on the formation of Rent Authority, Rent Court and Rent tribunals as agencies to resolve dispute between aggrieved parties. The District Collectors with the previous approval of State & UT governments are empowered to appoint officers (not below rank of Deputy Collector) as Rent Authority to the area under their jurisdiction. The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs tweeted after the cabinet decision. The tweet reads, ""As per Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by States/UTs under @PMAYUrban, they would either legislate or amend existing rental laws on the lines of MTA."" After enforcement of this Act, no person shall let or take on rent any premises except by an agreement in writing. For more details about the Model Tenancy Act, please click this link (ministry website). The Union Cabinet approved the Model Tenancy Act (MTA) for adoption and enactment by states/UTs to promote rental housing in India. MTA envisages to balance the interests and rights of both the owner and tenant in accountable and transparent manner. pic.twitter.com/rbP9lkkIE7 Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (@MoHUA_India) June 2, 2021 Disclaimer: Lead image is attributed to TierraMallorca via Pixabay. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday sanctioned a memorandum of cooperation with in the field of sustainable urban development which is expected to create employment opportunities. Based on an official statement, the memorandum of cooperation (MoC) will be signed between the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Japan in supersession of an existing MoU of 2007 on urban development. The MoC is likely to create employment opportunities in the areas of sustainable urban development, including urban planning, smart cities development, affordable housing, urban flood management, sewerage and waste water management, urban transport including intelligent transport management system transit-oriented development and multimodal integration and disaster resilient development. The proposed MoC will enable exchange of key learning's and best practices, the statement said. A Joint Working Group (JWG) will be constituted to strategise and implement programmes on cooperation under the framework of the MoC. The JWG will meet once in a year, alternately in Japan and in India. The cooperation under this MoC will commence on the day it is signed and continue for a period of five years. The agreement will promote strong, deep and long-term bilateral cooperation in the field of sustainable urban development between the two countries, the statement said. The Union Cabinet was also apprised of a memorandum of understanding signed between the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Ministry of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, Maldives on cooperation in the field of sustainable urban development. The MoU was signed in February this year. The objective of the MoU is to facilitate and strengthen India-Maldives technical cooperation in the field of sustainable urban development, including urban planning, smart cities development, solid waste management, affordable housing, urban green mobility and urban mass rapid transport, another statement said. By Mohsin Abdullah I'll begin where I left off from my last article on the sacking of Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman from the Prasarana chairmanship. After all, this is part 2 of the story. If you recall, in the last two paragraphs of that article I wrote about Tajuddin being a critic of the Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin administration despite it was the prime minister who appointed him to the Prasarana chair. Also, I outlined Tajuddin as a strong proponent of the "cut ties with Bersatu" campaign and loyal to Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former party president and prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Zahid and Najib, need we be reminded, are at war with Muhyiddin? I ended that article by asking could all that ("criteria") had somehow expedited Tajuddin's sacking? Now for part 2. On the day Tajuddin's sacking was announced, an Umno man with good ties with the Umno president responded on Facebook to say he was not defending Tajuddin but somehow had to point out that the Pasir Salak MP was sacked on a public holiday and the PM and finance minister did not call him up "just because he is from Umno, a nemesis of Bersatu in the Perikatan Nasional government". To the Umno operative, Tajuddin was made a scapegoat and a diversion to all the "government's failures". And according to him, if Tajuddin is from Bersatu, "an apology will be sufficient", going on to say the LRT accident (or mishap as he puts it) "was not Tajuddin's doing but it's easy to turn Umno into a punching bag". Agree or not with the Umno man's take on the issue is another matter, albeit a personal one, if I may add. However, a number of analysts opined that Tajuddin's handling of the LRT accident presented Bersatu a golden opportunity to put in the squeeze on Umno. What more a day after Tajuddin was removed from Prasarana, he was arrested (later released on conditional bail) by the MACC for alleged abuse of power. The Vibes quoted analyst Dr Oh Ei Sun describing MACC's action against the former Prasarana chairman "as an obviously opportunistic power play on the part of Bersatu, the party is trying to cash in on public resentment against Tajuddin and show muscle to an increasingly unruly rival". The news portal also quoted another analyst, professor James Chin, saying Bersatu "may make an example out of Tajuddin to remind Najib-Zahid camp in Umno of who is in power". We know Umno is split between those wanting their party to remain friendly with Bersatu and those who want to cut all ties (which the party had decided to do) with Bersatu. The pro Bersatu faction is made up of ministers, deputy ministers and GLC heads appointed by Muhyiddin known as "kluster menteri". As expected and right on cue, Bersatu has denied of any political play. The Malaysia Insight quoted the party's Muhammad Faiz Na'aman as saying Tajuddin's removal as Prasarana chairman and subsequent arrest by MACC "is not political motivated and the MACC has investigated the Pasir Salak MP from Umno Tajuddin since early last year". Nonetheless , several analysts believe there are elements of power play and pressure on Umno exerted by Bersatu. But then however unhappy Umno might be, the party cannot "kick up a storm" as Tajuddin's action, especially with regards to the LRT accident, is hard to defend and the public are obviously pleased to see him sacked. Hence, defending Tajuddin can be seen as going against the people's wishes, something any political party doesn't want to be caught dead doing. Also, the issue is beyond Tajuddin. It's much bigger! And Umno has taken another route to hit back. Supreme council member Razlan Rafii has lambasted ministers from Bersatu (and Gabungan Parti Sarawak added in for "good measure") for alleged incompetence. Without mentioning Tajuddin or Prasarana, he listed seven "ineffective" cabinet ministers six from Bersatu and one from GPS giving "special attention" to the Bersatu ministers who he said are ineffective in seriously to resolve the COVID-19 crisis". Of course, there are other ways for Umno to continue their onslaught. We'll just have to wait and see what the next steps are. And Bersatu, on their part, will not be keeping quiet either. For one, the party surely would want the pro-Bersatu faction in Umno to "do something" from within to help their cause. In a nutshell, the Bersatu-Umno crisis is going from bad to worse. (Mohsin Abdullah is a veteran journalist and now a freelancer who writes about this, that and everything else.) They need to be mature trees from the get-go, he said Wednesday. Im looking to flowering trees. We live in the tropics. The flavor of trees is limitless in Florida, and we can take advantage of species that are well suited to our environment. We have purple. We have orange. We have yellow. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! Of the many retail companies that received a shot in the arm from financially COVID-stimulated consumers, Wesfarmers brands were among the biggest beneficiaries. But the money-fuelled shopping bonanza has left companies like Wesfarmers Bunnings, Kmart, Target and Officeworks with the less attractive task of explaining to shareholders that the party is over now and more normal pre-COVID trading patterns are returning. This explains why Wesfarmers boss Rob Scott is encouraging investors to look at sales booked by its various brands on a two-year view, rather than comparing this years results with last years boom. The COVID-stimulus-fuelled retail bubble is deflating. Credit:Bloomberg In other words, ignore the COVID bumps, look at the two-year trajectory between 2019 and 2021 and focus on the positive trend line. Pre-commitment cards touted by the Victorian government and Crown Melbourne as a measure against problem gambling are being set with a loss limit of $1 million per day and used to unlock poker machines at the casino that can burn cash faster than regular pokies. The cards are part of the Victorian governments $197 million YourPlay scheme, active at venues across the state since 2015, which lets players nominate a time and loss limit for poker machine play. However, the effectiveness of the scheme has come under fire at Victorias royal commission into Crown, with the inquiry hearing on Thursday that gamblers at Crown Melbourne were routinely setting their loss limit at $1 million a day. It also heard that the cards were often used to unlock poker machines that spin faster and take larger bets. Crowns unrestricted machines take higher bets and spin faster than is legal at other venues. Credit:Peter Braig Counsel assisting the inquiry Adrian Finanzio, SC, asked Crowns general manager of responsible gaming Sonja Bauer whether it was the case that many people gambling at Crown had YourPlay limits that are just wildly unrealistic. Novelist and nature writer Inga Simpson lives in a house made of ironbark and stone. Inside are ironbark bowls and furniture and outside are banksias and mahogany gums. A short distance away, in Murramarang National Park, grows the biggest spotted gum in the world. Simpson calls one 500-year-old tree Old Blotchy. I visit her a lot, Simpson says. But when we speak she has other trees on her mind. She has just returned to her home on the far south coast of NSW from a trip that included a 16-day walk on Central Australias Larapinta Trail where it was mulga trees, mallee trees and river red gums catching her eye. Author Inga Simpson. Credit:Red Berry Photography In the gorges there were ghost gums growing out of the red cliffs with their roots travelling down to the waterholes. They are charismatic trees with the capacity to survive a boom and bust of water, she says. Trees are how I read the landscape. Other people read it differently. Some people dont differentiate between trees at all. They see a forest and cant separate one species from another. All the plant ID apps and online tree-mapping tools in the world will never help all of us to recognise everything. Simpson says our rapidly diminishing knowledge of nature was one of the reasons she wrote The Book of Australian Trees. Illustrated by WA artist Alicia Rogerson, the book is aimed at children but it offers something for anyone who doesnt know their grey gum from their brush box, cant distinguish a brachychiton from a banksia or a Moreton Bay fig from an Antarctic beech. The event, held under the direction of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the South Florida Water Management District, is normally held in January. It was pushed back this year to maximize the python haul and keep hunters safe from the threat of COVID-19. Python nests hatch in the summer so theres a chance of them gathering in greater numbers at this time of year, according to the FWC. But politically, the Morrison government this week has had maximum and very negative exposure on aged care, which is its responsibility. Not only was parliament sitting but the Health Department had two days before a Senate estimates committee, occasions that leave most news conferences for dead when it comes to applying heat to feet. Despite the pressure he and his government are under on the vaccination rollout, Morrison has a united team behind him. Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck received yet another doing over, as did Health Department Secretary Brendan Murphy. Colbeck couldnt say how many aged care workers have been vaccinated. Murphy was quizzed (among much else) on Morrison using him as a shield for the PMs unfortunate its not a race line. In question time in the House, Health Minister Greg Hunt had to admit to getting a key vaccination number wrong. The various interrogations added to the existing picture of a rollout thats been, and continues to be, shambolic. It was always going to be difficult. But among the many issues, there is no excuse for the aged care tardiness and other failures (and its worse in the disability sector). And why chemists havent been accelerated into the general rollout remains a mystery. Anyone who has a flu shot knows its quicker and easier to get it at a pharmacy than go to a doctor. Although Morrison is very aware that in the pandemic it is never a good time to leave the country, he regards the G7 meeting, to which Australia has been invited, as a top priority, not least because it will enable his first face-to-face meeting with Joe Biden since he became president. With fingers crossed, Morrison departs for Britain next week, travelling via Singapore and leaving Michael McCormack as acting PM, which carries the risk of a foot-in-mouth outbreak. The PM will miss part of the next parliamentary fortnight and be on remote (in quarantine) for the rest of it. The government will endure a lot of political pain over the rollout for months to come. But by early next year the job surely will be more or less done, though a portion of the population will remain, for one reason or another, unvaccinated. Will whats happening or not happening now be affecting Morrisons fortunes then? Assuming the virus does not in coming months erupt into a big new wave and those cautious premiers are the best protection against that Morrison may have shed much of todays rollout baggage by then. He told his party room again this week the election would be next year. We know from 2019 its unwise to predict results. But the underlying conditions at the moment set Morrison up well. No state or territory leader has lost an election since the pandemic started. Apart from governments success in containing COVID, people are wary of change in these uncertain times. This weeks national accounts reaffirmed the economy is recovering strongly (1.8 per cent growth in the March quarter, 1.1 per cent annual). And, although its COVID attack is sharp and to the point, the opposition is weak at a more fundamental level. Anthony Albanese is still struggling to make his mark, and Labor has serious policy dilemmas, including on climate and energy and its stance on the 2024-25 legislated tax cuts. For many voters, the oppositions story is not, at least at this point, a compelling read. Nor is it obvious how it can make it so. Despite the pressure he and his government are under on the rollout, Morrison has a united team behind him (with one notable qualification hes constrained on climate and energy policy, these days mostly by vocal Nationals outriders). Given the extent of Morrisons authority, the spectacle of him and senior ministers being cut down to size by Speaker Tony Smith in this parliamentary fortnight was all the more arresting. Smith has been an impressive, fair-minded speaker, but the Houses question time has remained unruly, and ministers have babbled on rather than addressing the questions asked by the opposition. Loading Smith suddenly decided to up the ante, cracking down on the chaotic behaviour from both sides, and forcing discipline on ministers. The latter came as an unpleasant shock to Morrison, Hunt, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and other frontbenchers. Morrison was humiliated last week in an exchange after Smith insisted he be relevant to the question. Im happy to do that, Mr Speaker, Morrison said, to which Smith snapped back, I dont care whether youre happy or not. Okay, said a startled PM. For an instant, Morrison found he wasnt the most powerful person in the room. It was a character-building moment. Loading Smith told the House on Thursday: Obviously in the course of the last week Ive enforced the standing orders vigorously. I intend to keep doing that. The reason, he said, was to get an improvement in parliamentary standards. Some old hands on the Liberal backbench have been stunned at the length to which Smith has been willing to go. They recalled the fate of the late Bob Halverson, who became speaker after the election of John Howard in 1996, only to be pushed out of the position two years later because the government thought he was too impartial. The NSW government has been swamped with thousands of responses to its proposed cuts to bus routes in Sydneys eastern suburbs and indicated some changes could be made to the original plan as community opposition grows. More than 6200 submissions have been made to the government over its planned overhaul of eastern suburbs public transport, which includes cutting more than 20 bus routes, modifying another 23 and adding 11. Local residents attend a rally in Randwick to oppose plans by the state government to cut bus routes. Credit:James Alcock The government on Friday will extend the public consultation period for the changes to June 30 as it is inundated with responses. Two separate petitions to save the routes have grown to 11,000 and 7000 respectively. NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance said the changes, announced last month, were not yet finalised, and the government was already considering amending the original plan, including how it impacted access to both Taylor Square and St Vincents Hospital. An alleged plot to import a record-breaking three tonnes of cocaine into Australia from South America was uncovered after a man was observed laundering $100 million in one week at the Star casinos poker machines early last year. A probe of the mans finances led to a major operation spanning the Pacific Ocean that culminated in the arrests this week of three men, including two who have worked at Sydney Airport and one who was on parole for a 16-year sentence for previous drug importation offences. Three men were charged over the alleged importation plot. Credit:NSW Police NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said the overall cocaine haul had a street value of $900 million and represented about a years worth of supply of the drug for all of NSW and amounted to the largest ever intercept of cocaine bound for Australia. In October last year, acting on NSW Police information, the US Navy allegedly seized 870 kilograms of cocaine after intercepting two fast boats travelling in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Colombia. Questions about how pregnant women respond to the COVID-19 vaccine, how the shot compares with immunity from infection and whether we will need boosters are set to be considered in a large research project centred on NSWs rollout. With Australias detailed case data and a population largely untouched by the virus, NSWs rollout provides a unique opportunity for extensive research on vaccine efficacy, Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said. Pharmacists prepare the Pfizer vaccine at the Sydney Olympic Park mass vaccination clinic. Credit:AP Multiple studies will be run by a group bringing together experts from Sydneys universities, local health districts and research institutes. Professor Kristine Macartney, director of the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, which is involved with the research, said the world was entering the vaccine era of the pandemic. Meanwhile, 517 people in NSW were directed to test and isolate as the number of exposure sites linked to a Victorian family who road tripped to Jervis Bay grew in light of updated information about when they started experiencing symptoms. There is no evidence that the virus has taken hold in NSW, with all tests so far returned as negative. Despite the lockdown being lifted in regional Victoria, NSW Health said it would be extending its stay-at-home restrictions for all people who had been in Victoria since May 27 for another seven days, in line with the rules in Melbourne. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Following Professor Chengs comments, a spokesperson for federal Health Minister Greg Hunt disputed that there was a Pfizer shortage in Victoria. The spokesperson said as of Thursday morning Victoria had approximately 160,000 Pfizer vaccines and approximately 160,000 AstraZeneca vaccines. A further delivery of 71,370 Pfizer vaccines will be delivered on Friday. A Victorian state government spokeswoman said any suggestion by the federal government of stockpiling was false. She said that Victorias vaccination rate was up to 140,000 doses per week. We must retain a certain number of doses to ensure all Victorians receive their second dose, she said. Victoria is understood to receive 110,000 doses per week from the federal government, which is roughly 30,000 fewer than it is currently administering. Dr McRae of the Australian Medical Association backed Professor Cheng, saying the Victorian and federal governments must do everything they can to increase the supply of Pfizer, including requesting doses be redirected from other states and overseas. Loading However, Australian Medical Association national president Omar Khorshid said vaccines alone will not pull Victorians out of the crisis. Social distancing, contact tracing and testing are the key measures needed to stop any further spread right now, he said. Stephen Duckett, health economist at the Grattan Institute and former secretary of the federal Department of Health, said Victoria should be given more vaccines by the federal government to capitalise on demand not previously seen in the rollout. One of the interesting things about Victoria right now is there is a very high level of demand for the vaccine, and one of the reasons we know people have been hesitant to come forward for the vaccine in the past is thinking they wont be able to get the vaccine, he said. Loading Its also the case that in Victoria there is a greater need for it, so it should be reallocated. However, Dr Duckett said the vaccination program was ultimately a federal responsibility, so it should be their role to recalibrate the rollout to send more doses to Victoria, rather than have states donate previously allocated vials. Epidemiologist and public health consultant Dr Henning Liljeqvist said it would be a sensible strategy to ration the Pfizer vaccine and pull from other states to where its required to avoid a fragmented approach. I would be in favour of diverting what supply we have to where it is most needed. In general, a national co-ordinated approach that fills demand where it comes up rather than a state-by-state approach would be best, he said. The Pfizer vaccine offers some protection reasonably quickly. We need to redistribute wherever its most in demand. University of NSW epidemiologist Professor Mary-Louise McLaws said vaccines need to be immediately sent to Victoria and rolled out urgently among 20 to 39-year-olds. Because the majority of COVID-19 cases occur in 20 to 39 age group, vaccines should be immediately deployed to halt any potential transmission among younger people. Victorians need Pfizer doses as soon as possible. Vaccines will provide a barrier in the 20 to 39-year-olds so they wont be inadvertently spreading the virus, it will slow transmission and any outbreak will be more likely to be contained. A protester who works as an anti-racism workshop facilitator has admitted to hurling abuse, which included a racial theme, at security guards during a protest at a Kangaroo Point refugee hotel. Dane Frances de Leon pleaded guilty to one count of public nuisance in the Brisbane Arrests Court on Thursday after she was arrested on November 27, 2020. Dane Frances De Leon leaves court after receiving her punishment on Thursday. Credit:Toby Crockford Police prosecutor Sergeant Matthew Kahler said a group of 15-20 protesters gathered outside the detention facility that day because some refugees were being transferred to another facility. Sergeant Kahler told the court some were hitting the walls and making a lot of noise outside while others were attempting to rip off plywood that then littered the footpath and road. Queensland police should consider buying body-worn cameras that would activate once a gun was drawn, the states coroner has recommended, following the shooting of bikie Liam Scorsese. The Finks and Comancheros gang member was shot by police and died from two gunshot wounds in February 2018 in Wakerley, in Brisbanes east, after he threatened his partner at her parents home on Goulburn Street about 9.30am. Motorcycle gang member Liam Scorsese died after he was shot by police. Credit:Nine News He had sent a message to his partner Chireez Beytell that morning, calling her a piece of shit, saying he was going to come and get you, see what happens. Scorsese, who had a history of drug use and had assaulted several people, walked into the home to the bedroom to see Ms Beytell before asking her to come outside, accusing her of having an affair with his friend. Brisbane City Council has poured a further $1.6 million into a marketing campaign labelled a $4 million election ad ahead of the 2020 poll that has now returned with a focus on economic recovery and local businesses. Lord mayor Adrian Schrinner announced the Brisbetter campaign in October 2019 to promote key aspects of the 2019-20 council budget such as Brisbane Metro, Victoria Park and double-decker CityCats through flyers and television advertising. A recent image from the campaign. Credit:Facebook / Brisbane City Council The short time between its launch and the March 2020 election prompted criticism from the Labor opposition it was being used as a promotional exercise. Following the election, the campaign was put on hold until the impact of the pandemic subsided. But figures released by the council after a question on notice by Labor councillors this week show more than $1.6 million has been spent under the banner of the campaign so far this financial year. A former Crown prosecutor and reality TV contestant is hoping to win from Labor a key Melbourne seat that could be crucial to Prime Minister Scott Morrisons re-election chances. Sharn Coombes, a criminal barrister for two decades and two-time runner-up on Survivor, will vie for preselection for the south-eastern seat of Dunkley against former member for the seat Chris Crewther and former state MP Donna Hope, who is now a flight attendant. Sharn Coombes. The contest will take place against the backdrop of a branch-stacking probe in Dunkley. The partys head office is considering blocking about 20 memberships paid for on the credit card of a long-time party member. A small number of those members would be eligible to vote in the coming preselection. The two Victorian seats the federal Coalition will most aggressively target at the next election to be held as soon as August and as late as May 2022 will be the Bellarine seat of Corangamite and the electorate of Dunkley, which takes in suburbs including Frankston and Carrum Downs. The Victorian government said any suggestion by the federal government of stockpiling was false. A state government spokeswoman said Victorias vaccination rate was up to 140,000 doses a week. We must retain a certain number of doses to ensure all Victorians receive their second dose, she said. One man brought an office chair to wait his turn for a coronavirus vaccine at the Melbourne Showgrounds on Thursday Credit:Paul Rovere Victoria receives 110,000 doses a week from the federal government, about 30,000 fewer than it is currently administering. The AMAs Victorian president Roderick McRae backed Professor Cheng and said state and federal governments must do everything they can to ensure sufficient supply of Pfizer in Victoria, including requesting supply be redirected from other states and overseas if required. It would be an investment by other states if they sent supply in to help Victoria knuckle this one down, Dr McRae said. Its of benefit to everyone in Australia that the current outbreak in Victoria is suppressed. Victorias current coronavirus outbreak, which swelled by another three cases on Thursday to a total of 63, has sparked a sharp increase in demand for the vaccine. There were more than 50,000 vaccine doses administered in Victoria on Wednesday. Some people in Victoria eligible for the Pfizer vaccine are continuing to report difficulties in getting appointments at state-run vaccination centres. The state government expanded eligibility criteria last week, opening vaccination centres to people aged 40 to 49 to access the Pfizer vaccine, resulting in long queues at the hubs. Loading Dr McRae said the AMA also wants GPs to be able to administer both AstraZeneca and Pfizer to their maximum capacity. Currently, GP clinics administer doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. GPs can deliver Pfizer, and they need to be given supply, Dr McRae said. The logistic demands of delivering two doses of two separate vaccines are significant and its time to give GPs the additional support that they need. Mukesh Haikerwals medical clinic in Altona North on Thursday became the first general practice in Victoria to begin administering Pfizer shots. Staff at the Pfizer hub administered 120 doses on Thursday to patients under the age of 50, many of whom had underlying health conditions and had been on vaccine waiting lists for months. Another batch of 120 doses will be kept in an on-site fridge so every patient who received their first dose would get their second jab within the recommended 21 days. GP Mukesh Haikerwal administers a dose of Pfizer to Amanda Ashton. Credit:Eddie Jim We need to be securing more vaccines into Victoria full-stop, Dr Haikerwal, a former AMA national president, said. We need as many doses in fridges as possible to help contain this outbreak. Nathan Pinskier, who runs six medical clinics across Melbourne, said the outbreak had triggered an unprecedented and phenomenal demand for the vaccine. He made urgent calls to Victorias Department of Health to double his supply of the AstraZeneca vaccine from 1400 doses to 2800 a week, and wanted to secure Pfizer shots for his clinics as soon as possible. Last week we did 2000 doses of the vaccine, but I could have easily done 4000 because our booking system has been completely overwhelmed, he said. Dr Pinskier feared that in two weeks time, healthcare workers would need to administer hundreds of thousands more doses so patients could receive their second doses to ensure full protection against the virus. We need to bring on additional 800,000 shots within our own group of Victorian GPs and also a significant number of secondaries across Australia, he said. Loading We need at least that amount on top of the growing current demand for first shots of the vaccine in Victoria. Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Dr Karen Price said the challenge for doctors now was balancing getting as many people vaccinated with their first dose as possible, while ensuring there was ample supply for second doses. Its a real dilemma and each clinic has got to go through that challenge in terms of absolutely making sure that 12 weeks after the first theyve got enough supply for that second dose, Dr Price said. Dr Price said she wanted Pfizer to be widely available in general practices, but the pace of the rollout was dictated by supply constraints. Medical clinics that were already disturbing high volumes of vaccines would likely be prioritised once more Pfizer supplies were secured because they had the space and resources, she said. The government is very aware of the great job that general practice has done in administering the vaccine, Dr Price said. They are also distributing supplies of Pfizer out to, firstly, the GP respiratory clinics and then, as the overseas supply comes in, more and more general practices will have an availability of it. Australia receives around 350,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine a week, dropping to 300,000 in June, and then ramping up to 600,000 weekly for July, August and September. A massive and long-awaited new translation of Mein Kampf -- peppered with scholarly commentary to explain Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's disjointed, hate-filled manifesto -- has been released in France. The project has been controversial, but supporters say it could serve as a warning against rising acts of hate and antisemitism today. The book is a recast translation of Mein Kampf, or My Struggle, Hitler's 1925 manifesto detailing how he became antisemitic, his ideology and his plans for Germany. The recast is 1,000 pages and costs more than $120. Adolf Hitler's name and face do not appear on its plain white cover. The new edition by French publisher Fayard -- titled Putting Evil in Context: A Critical Edition of Mein Kampf -- does not aim to be a bestseller. French bookstores cannot stock copies, which are available by order only. All proceeds will go to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation. Historian Christian Ingrao, part of the academic team involved in the Fayard edition, told French radio the book aims to desacralize Hitler's work that has attracted a kind of fetishism. It aims to offer an unvarnished take on the Nazi leader's writing, which Ingrao and others say is repetitive, rambling and riddled with mistakes. Translator Olivier Mannoni called Hitler's manifesto an "incoherent soup." The translation is accompanied by lengthy historians' notes and annotations that make up most of the book. Germany and Poland have published similar scholarly translations in recent years. The Supreme Court said the judge should have made such an offer but cured the error by later asking Allen about the issue. In his responses to the trial court, Allen consistently represented that he would have waived penalty phase counsel and that he would have continued to exercise his right to self-representation had the trial court renewed the offer of counsel before commencing the penalty phase, Thursdays opinion said. Victoria Police has moved to block any compensation for Faruk Orman, who served 12 years in jail before his murder conviction was quashed in 2019 because of the role played by barrister-turned-police-informer Nicola Gobbo. Lawyers acting for Victoria Police have submitted that Mr Ormans claim for aggravated and exemplary damages is baseless, and is liable to be struck out and the proceeding dismissed, according to a defence statement filed in the Supreme Court. Faruk Orman walked free from the Supreme Court in July 2019. Credit:Eddie Jim Mr Orman, who was found to be the victim of a substantial miscarriage of justice by the Court of Appeal, is understood to be seeking more than $10 million from the force. However, Victoria Polices legal team has claimed its officers, including former chief commissioner Simon Overland and several Purana taskforce detectives, are not to blame for Mr Ormans wrongful conviction over the 2002 murder of gangster Victor Peirce. A plan to give environmental approval of major projects to state governments is hitting a fresh roadblock with Queensland threatening to derail a federal government campaign pitch for a single touch assessment system to speed up approvals. The federal government last year introduced a bill to change the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act to implement the single touch system, in which state governments would form bilateral agreements with the Commonwealth to take over its role in major project approvals. Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen. State governments agreed last year to work on a single touch system, but NSW and Queensland are demanding environmental protections that federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley has so far resisted. Queensland Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said on Wednesday the federal government must introduce tougher national environmental standards to control the environmental impacts of major projects. Ms Scanlon said the federal government must respond in full to a review of the EPBC Act by former competition watchdog Graeme Samuel, who found the law needed a raft of reforms including stronger controls over project assessments. Sandra Muller lives in the Victorian town of Horsham, 300 kilometres from Melbourne, where there havent been any coronavirus cases in 2021. But she still cant visit her husband who is in intensive care in hospital in Townsville after a workplace accident on Tuesday at the remote construction site where he was doing FIFO work left him with multiple fractures. Sandra Muller is desperate to see her husband, who is alone in hospital in Townsville. Its just very hard, Mrs Muller, 60, said. If wed been near somewhere that had COVID issues wed probably be able to take it, but we havent had anything, were nowhere near anything, and theyve just blocked everyone and its wrong. She blames both the Queensland government for closing the border and the Victorian government for imposing lockdowns on regional areas that dont have cases for creating the impression all of Victoria is a risk. All Mrs Muller wants is an exemption to a requirement to quarantine for 14 days in a Queensland hotel if she was to visit her husband. A secret marketing strategy to convince Australians to support a controversial overhaul of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) says the federal government must be seen to have listened to concerns of disability groups, who will be targeted with an extensive campaign. A leaked communications and engagement strategy from the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), which administers the $26 billion scheme, reveals an aim to announce a legislation date in late August. It also aims to combat any backlash from the disability community through what Labor calls an expensive multi-media spin campaign. NDIS Minister Linda Reynolds has paused the implementation of independent assessments. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer The federal government has faced fierce community backlash over its plan to require independent assessments for all participants to re-evaluate their eligibility for the scheme and the level of support and funding they receive. In the biggest reform to the scheme since it began, the assessments will be conducted by a panel of private providers such as psychologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech pathologists but not the persons usual therapists. NDIS Minister Linda Reynolds announced in April she would pause the contentious reforms amid growing concern from the sector and concerns from several state governments over the handling of the changes. Childhood friends Shamsia Haqjo and Mohammad Yasin Rafat married in 2018 but have barely been able to be together since as they wait for any news about his visa to come to Australia. They are among many couples waiting for years to hear the result of their partner visas as wait times blow out. New data from the Department of Home Affairs shows Afghan citizens wait almost three times as long for visas as the global average. Mohammad Yasin Rafat and his wife Shamsia Haqjo applied in February 2019 for a partner visa for Mr Rafat to come to Australia but are still waiting to hear the outcome. Mr Rafat, who is in Afghanistan, applied in February 2019, three months after he and Ms Haqjo were married and seven years after they became engaged. Weve been waiting 27 months now and not heard anything back, apart from when weve emailed them, Ms Haqjo, from Narre Warren, said. Sydney appears to have fared better. The list shows six breaches in NSW hotel quarantine but no community transmission. Unfortunately, nobody can be sure the list is conclusive. Hotel quarantine could be behind two of the states outbreaks the northern beaches cluster over summer and the eastern suburbs man who went shopping at Barbecues Galore. Loading Even so, the numbers suggest NSW has run a bigger hotel quarantine system with fewer problems than other states. Of the 385,600 people who have been through the system so far, NSW has quarantined about 168,600. That is 44 per cent of the total. And it has done it without a single statewide lockdown since the first months of the pandemic. Victoria has put 45,900 people through hotel quarantine, so far. That is 12 per cent of the total. The pandemic makes it brutally simple to compare political leaders and their governments because the measure of their performance is all in the numbers: breaches, cases, deaths. Case by case, outbreak by outbreak, Victoria fares worse. Is the Victorian experience bad luck or bad management? Every lockdown makes it harder for the state government to blame the numbers on random factors. Morrison, meanwhile, has been in denial on his share of responsibility. The Prime Minister argued for weeks that hotel quarantine was running smoothly with a 99.99 per cent effectiveness rate, as if the other 0.01 per cent was acceptable. He stopped using that number in Parliament this week. Perhaps he finally noticed the anger from Victorians. The problem with the 0.01 per cent is that the breaches are small but the costs are huge. Morrison is in a position to help with the two glaring flaws. First, healthy people are being sent into hotel quarantine and catching the virus there. Second, infected people are emerging from quarantine without being caught. While Morrison and his ministers have been talking up the expansion of the Howard Springs quarantine centre for more than six months, progress has been slow. The centre, near Darwin, is still short of its 2000 capacity. Earlier this week it had about 1200 residents, according to locals. The centre should be expanded to 3000, the figure mentioned by former health secretary Jane Halton in her review of quarantine, but it will not get there under the federal plan. So it looks like a flagship for government complacency. Why not build more centres, faster? On quarantine, as with vaccines, Morrison never projects any urgency. He has stopped saying its not a race when he talks about the vaccine rollout, but he stopped too late. He has basically told voters he is not in a rush. Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Too sure of themselves, Morrison and his ministers thought they could blame the states and not do more themselves. That was clear when Defence Minister Peter Dutton dismissed the Victorian proposal for a new centre near Melbourne. Only later did Morrison wake up to the need to help the states build more capacity. The Victorian project will become the template for a new approach: federal funding, state management, with Morrison now seeking construction as soon as possible. A deal is so close there is talk it could be done on Friday. This is not a pathway to replacing hotel quarantine, only augmenting it. Morrisons public remarks reflect his private conviction: he believes hotel quarantine is a good system. The debate should be about how to change it, not junk it. One option? Make it three weeks. The incubation period for COVID-19 can sometimes reach more than 14 days. Liberal MP Katie Allen, a paediatrician and the member for Higgins in Melbourne, made this point in Parliament this week, although she did not argue for three-week quarantine. Many will not accept a three-week quarantine rule. In any case, longer stays might only increase the number of people who catch the virus in the hotel. So other options should be up for debate, such as mandatory COVID-19 tests soon after someone leaves hotel quarantine. The other step has to be better contact tracing. What if the Wollert man had been tested sooner and tracked better? There is a probability, tiny but guaranteed, that some of those who emerge from two weeks of hotel quarantine will have COVID-19. It may not have happened at Howard Springs yet, but it seems dangerous to assume it will not. Nothing did more to undermine the Wests prestige after the end of the Vietnam War than the scenes of the fall of Saigon in 1975. Long lines of South Vietnamese allies queuing outside the US embassy and clinging desperately to the sides of departing US helicopters trying to escape the Communist takeover. The images beamed across the world confirmed the the US and its allies had broken their word to a whole country. That moment of history should be borne in mind 45 years later now that Australia, the US and NATO have decided to end their 20-year war in Afghanistan. US President Joe Bidens decision in April to withdraw ground forces from Afghanistan by September 11 made political and strategic sense and Australia had little choice but to follow suit by withdrawing its contingent of 80 troops. Yet the West must not ignore the enduring responsibility it owes to the Afghans who fought bravely alongside our troops and who are now left on their own to fight the Taliban. The Australian government is, in theory, committed to supporting the government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):--- On Wednesday, June 2, both the Princess Juliana International Airport Operating (PJIAE) and Holding Company (PJIAH) were invited to an information session as an introduction to the implementation of the Corporate Governance Improvement Plan for the Airport. The virtual sessions were opened by Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs, who, while still in the Netherlands, emphasized the value of good governance now and in the future. The members of the Implementation Team, Miguel Alexander and Professor Kunneman, both experts in the area of Corporate Governance, provided insight into the Corporate Governance Improvement Plan, its implementation, and the milestones achieved thus far. The sessions were each concluded with a Q&A moment during which the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board of Directors of the PJIAE, and the Supervisory Board of the PJIAH were provided the opportunity to raise questions. Further, follow-up sessions between the PJIAE and PJIAH and the Implementation Team will be scheduled to be able to go more in-depth in specific elements of the Improvement Plan. The Corporate Governance Improvement Plan for the Airport of Sint Maarten is one of the Country Packages, better known as B15. This plan stipulates the steps, decisions, and actions that must be taken to improve the corporate governance structure of the airport and secure good corporate governance. The Improvement Plan, which was approved in the first quarter in 2021, found its basis in the Corporate Governance Assessment report issued by the World Bank upon request of the Steering Committee of the Sint Maarten Recovery, Reconstruction, and Resilience Trust Fund. The Council of Ministers commissioned an Implementation Team consisting of the members Miguel Alexander, Professor Frank Kunneman, Joane Dovale-Meit, and Roland van den Bergh, to execute the Improvement Plan. To ensure proper and timely execution and full cooperation, all stakeholders have to endorse a mandate to this team in which the basic requirements for an effective execution are stipulated. Both sessions with the Airport concluded positively in which all stakeholders present pledged their commitment, collaboration, and cooperation during the term of the project, which timeframe is estimated at 12 months. A similar information session will be scheduled for the Corporate Governance Council, which as part of the same B15 will be strengthened by establishing it as a foundation, with a two-tier structure (management and supervisory board) and three distinctive units: an advisory unit, assistance/support unit, and an educational unit. PHILIPSBURG:--- As of June 2nd, there were fifteen (15) persons who tested positive for COVID-19; however thirteen (13) persons have recovered; bringing the total active cases to seventy-three (73). The total number of confirmed cases is now two thousand four hundred forty-eight (2448). The Collective Prevention Services (CPS) are monitoring sixty-nine (69) people in home isolation. Four (4) patients are hospitalized at the St. Maarten Medical Center. The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 remains at twenty-eight (28). The number of people recovered since the first case surfaced on St. Maarten has increased to two thousand three hundred forty-seven (2347). Eighty-six (86) people are in quarantine based on contact tracing investigations carried out by CPS. The Ministry of Public Health, Social Development, and Labour (VSA) Airport Health Team in collaboration with Health Care Laboratory Sint Maarten (HCLS) have tested 3, 007 travelers arriving at the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA), while CPS tested 30, 424 people throughout the community. As the numbers continue to fluctuate, CPS will continue to actively execute its contact tracing measures. Minister Ottley encourages the public to come out to the vaccination pop-up clinic at De Weever Estate, Dutch Quarter on Saturday, June 5th, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. All persons who are interested in getting vaccinated are asked to walk with a form of photo ID for registration. Hes been pushing it since the primaries over a year ago, said George Callas, managing director of government affairs for the law firm Steptoe and a former tax counsel to House Republicans. Callas said that the minimum tax would mostly hit firms such as electric utilities and telecoms that make substantial capital investments as well as companies that rely on paying their employees with stock. Somerset, KY (42501) Today Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 87F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Enterprise, AL (36331) Today Intervals of clouds and sunshine in the morning with more clouds for later in the day. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 90F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds light and variable. United said it was too early to know how much it would charge for the flights, which it would run out of its hubs in Newark, New Jersey, and San Francisco to start. But another big question mark about the plane is how many people will be willing to spend the thousands of dollars that each ticket on a supersonic flight is likely to cost. Support local journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Contribute I am a naturalized citizen of the U.S. from Haiti, since 1963. I have voted since 1968 and have never seen a movement toward dictatorship as strong as the Trump era, which Gov. Ron DeSantis is trying to emulate. The supposed civics reforms he proposes is a case in point. Somebody ought to remind him that the Ten Commandments have no place in politics and should not be a basis for reform. He should start by insisting that schools teach about the Tulsa, Okla., massacre that was covered up for so long. We were good together. Weren't we? The Emmy nominatedhas been off the air for over five years and while in some ways that is hard to imagine, in others, Executive Producers Robert and Michelle King haven't yet skipped a beat and whose work only seems to get better with age.They continue to be one of the most topically relevant producers working in the TV industry today with spin-offstill going strong into season five and with breakout horror dramacatching the attention of viewers whom have never laid eyes on the Kings before.But so much of their success comes from what they were willing to experiment with onIt's not really until the Kings and Co. started hitting close to the halfway point that the show was really beginning to experiment with episode format, tone, filming technique, and genre and when the show began to become more and more serialized, despite also having episodic aspects built in.is one of my favorite episodes, because it's an episode that really tries to do a lot of these things and is ultimately successful. The episode starts off with an extended scene from where the last episode left off. Alicia and Peter were invited to party where a Catholic Cardinal could essentially make or break Peter's ongoing political career, as he needs Catholic voters. Peter finds himself up against political opponent Mike Krestiva, the super liar whose extremely determined to make Peter look bad, --a character that ultimately comes to represent the worst attributes that many will come to associate with Trump-era politics.Diane Lockhart and Will Gardner are also at this event. This is after Alicia and Will had decided to call their romantic affair quits, as Alicia had decided to try again with Peter, and Diane chastened Will for his behavior. Will and Laura Hellinger are also on the verge of becoming an item, as they have faced each other a lot in court recently... Soon enough there is call informing Will, Diane, and Alicia that one of their bigger clients, Matthew Ashbaugh had been murdered. Alicia then rushes to the police station for questioning. When Alicia gets there she is also informed that who ever had murdered Matthew Ashbaugh had GPS tracking set up in their car and was headed for Alicia's apartment! It also doesn't hurt that John Noble was the one shot guest star, once again playing a fanatical 'mad man' and using the character's obsession with Johann Sebastian Bach as a quirky musical transition to most of the flashback sequences, allowing the episode to blend the contemporary with the past through the portable music-player that Matthew passes onto Alicia. Noble and the music player also servers as a kind of 'mindless levity' that is part of what keeps the episode from completely sinking into a full suspense thriller and adds it's own kind of metaphor for where Alicia's mind also once was when she was with Will, as she struggles to remember certain details about Matthew and his cases/complaints. In terms of The Good Wife's own story, this is also an episode that marks a transition to Alicia's decent, as she is reminded of her feelings for Will and just how much that actually scares her. In terms of Kings' work, this is one of the first episodes that has some serious surrealism to it, existing somewhere between an atmospheric suspense-almost-horror-thriller and satire. In some ways one can almost see the construct of Evil's first season too, given that part of the episode deals with Peter, Mike Krestiva, a member of the Catholic Church, a forbidden romance, and where Alicia is remembering that she committed adultery and is focusing on that sexual attraction. How many men are perhaps "tempted" by her. Or how she loves someone else, but is too scared to do anything about it, --in the right way (and right now all Evil fans are wondering about Kristen's soul, given we don't know if she did what we think she did). But even The Good Fight takes a lot of ques or subtext from The Good Wife, as the first four seasons are really about a moral decay or descent that Reddick, Bosman, and Lockhart fall into... The episode ends with Alicia coming back to the party, where the Veronica and kids were told by Alicia to meet her. Alicia talks with the Cardinal briefly, before Eli informs her of what "happened" to Mike Krestiva (Peter punches him in the bathroom and makes it look like Mike has a drinking problem. Something Kristeva totally deserves). Alicia then finds Peter near the bar. And like always, Peter doesn't really ask much about what was going on with their client, but instead the two dance as if nothing is wrong, as if Alicia wasn't awakened to her deeper feelings again. Death of A Client was directed by Robert King and written by both Robert & Michelle King. It also doesn't hurt that John Noble was the one shot guest star, once again playing a fanatical 'mad man' and using the character's obsession with Johann Sebastian Bach as a quirky musical transition to most of the flashback sequences, allowing the episode to blend the contemporary with the past through the portable music-player that Matthew passes onto Alicia. Noble and the music player also servers as a kind of 'mindless levity' that is part of what keeps the episode from completely sinking into a full suspense thriller and adds it's own kind of metaphor for where Alicia's mind also once was when she was with Will, as she struggles to remember certain details about Matthew and his cases/complaints. In terms ofown story, this is also an episode that marks a transition to Alicia's decent, as she is reminded of her feelings for Will and just how much that actually scares her.In terms of Kings' work, this is one of the first episodes that has some serious surrealism to it, existing somewhere between an atmospheric suspense-almost-horror-thriller and satire. In some ways one can almost see the construct offirst season too, given that part of the episode deals with Peter, Mike Krestiva, a member of the Catholic Church, a forbidden romance, and where Alicia is remembering that she committed adultery and is focusing on that sexual attraction. How many men are perhaps "tempted" by her. Or how she loves someone else, but is too scared to do anything about it, --in the right way (a). But eventakes a lot of ques or subtext from, as the first four seasons are really about a moral decay or descent that Reddick, Bosman, and Lockhart fall into...The episode ends with Alicia coming back to the party, where the Veronica and kids were told by Alicia to meet her. Alicia talks with the Cardinal briefly, before Eli informs her of what "happened" to Mike Krestiva (). Alicia then finds Peter near the bar. And like always, Peter doesn't really ask much about what was going on with their client, but instead the two dance as if nothing is wrong, as if Alicia wasn't awakened to her deeper feelings again.was directed by Robert King and written by both Robert & Michelle King. Oh, and of course, it also happens to be St. Patrick's day! So when Alicia calls to find her mother at the apartment with the kids and asks her to take them to her hotel room, the outside world of Chicago looks like drunken mayhem () and she and the kids end up hanging out in bar where Veronica ends up blurting out some information that makes the kids incredibly uncomfortable and for Grace, potentially life-changing.Back at the precinct Laura Hellinger turns up working the prosecutor's case. The cops try hard to get Alicia to spill any information she can on Matthews many many enemies. The episode then begins to play out in series of flashbacks, ones that are intertwined with both scenes of Ashbaugh (and really his affections for Alicia) and that of Alicia's and Will's steamy love affair.At one point though, Alicia overhears the cops talking about an Eddy Lowmax. This gives Kalanda a bit more to go on, although she figures out pretty quickly that the cops are lying about the threat placed on Alicia and her family, when the car the alleged suspect was driving didn't have a GPS tracking in that make and year!! The episode then starts to touch on an ongoing theme of police corruption (). Will too eventually goes to the station to protect Alicia, where she quietly laments with him on their past, while also where Laura Hellinger wants to ask Alicia, if she should ask Will out, making everything kind of salty, although Laura feels like child not privy to a more adult conversation and ultimately a third wheel, despite that Alicia supports her choice and Will and Laura go on to date...But what I love most about the episode, besides of course having John Noble guest star as the infectious and lively Asbaugh, is how the episode is actually filmed.I'm also a pretty big fan of Alfred Hitchcock features and much of that has to do with a combination of the way he creates suspense in his thrillers, his particular aesthetics, and the way he frames some of his characters.In season four ofI started to notice the way cinematography started framing some it's characters too, most particularly Alicia. It is quite similar, if not identical to many of Hitchcock's films such asor. Butis an episode where this is the most obvious. And because of the murder mystery crime story aspect, and because Julianna Margulies has an air about her that is reminiscent to golden age of Hollywood divas, along with the drunken funny-scary atmospheric combo of St. Patties Day and Police Station as a set piece, much of the episode feels like one big tribute to Hitchcock. 3 1 of 3 Matthew Brown / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 3 of 3 GREENWICH FEMA officials this week announced Greenwich Hospital has received more than $7.5 million in federal funding as reimbursement for the states early response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The money, totaling $7,556,621, was given out through two grants under the Federal Emergency Management Agencys public assistance program, the agency said through a press release Tuesday. MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg traveled to Tennessee on Thursday to learn how the closure of the Interstate 40 bridge connecting that state and Arkansas has affected freight movement since it was shut down more than three weeks ago when a crack was found in the span. Buttigieg met with regional transportation officials at a FedEx Corp. facility in Memphis before a tour of the Hernando De Soto bridge. Shipping giant FedEx operates its massive fleet of airplanes and trucks out of its headquarters in Memphis, which has seen road traffic problems since the I-40 bridge spanning the Mississippi River was closed and vehicles were diverted to the nearby Interstate 55 bridge. The visit comes as President Joe Biden proposes a national, $1.7 trillion infrastructure package, while Republican senators want a more narrow investment in roads, highways and other traditional public works projects. The cracked bridge has served as a symbol of bridge decay in the U.S., which has 45,000 bridges in poor condition and faces a trillion-dollar backlog in repairs, federal transportation officials have said. Officials stress that making the bridge safe should be the main goal, with maintaining the flow of interstate commerce and commuter traffic as other priorities. Trips across the bridge are averaging as much as an hour, officials said. Safety is at the heart of what's happened at the De Soto bridge, Buttigieg during the discussion at FedEx. I know that that protracted closure has been frustrating, it has been difficult, it has been challenging, and it has been costly. I-40 is a key artery for U.S. commerce, running from North Carolina to California. Manufacturers and shippers rely on the interstate to move products and materials across the river. When the 47-year-old, six-lane I-40 bridge is open, about 50,000 vehicles typically travel across it, with about a quarter of those being commercial trucks, Tennessee transportation officials say. The I-40 bridge connecting Memphis and the Arkansas city of West Memphis was shut down May 11 after inspectors found a crack in one of two 900-foot (275-meter) horizontal steel beams that are critical for the bridges structural integrity. Inspectors studied the four-lane, 71-year-old I-55 bridge and determined it can withstand the increased traffic, Tennessee transportation commissioner Clay Bright said. Memphis is a key U.S. infrastructure hub, featuring five major rail lines, an important inland river port, and one of the worlds busiest cargo airports. A timetable for the I-40 bridges reopening has not been officially set, but Bright said construction is expected to run into at least late July. Engineers have already installed steel plates on each side of the fractured beam. The second step of the project, which includes removing and replacing the damaged piece of the beam, is ongoing. Truck drivers have endured delays on the I-55 bridge, or they have been forced to use two other bridges that cross the river north and south of Memphis. The next nearest crossings are about 60 miles (96 kilometers) to the south near Lula, Mississippi, and 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the north near Dyersburg, Tennessee. Attending the meeting with Buttigieg at FedEx were U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Democrat. They heard from members of the trucking industry about problems caused by the shutdown. The bridge closure has made trips longer and more expensive for truckers seeking to get across the river on the three open regional bridges. Trucking companies have changed work times for drivers, while truckers are adjusting their travel routes, sometimes on the fly. In addition, food warehouses are having trouble servicing restaurants in eastern Arkansas as supplies get delayed, said Jason Higginbotham, chief financial officer of Ozark Motor Lines. Higginbotham said his company was having trouble receiving timely diesel fuel deliveries. Tennessee Trucking Association president Donna England said the bridge closure is making it more expensive for companies to operate during an ongoing truck driver shortage. The Arkansas Trucking Association has estimated the closure is costing the industry about $2 million a day, said Shannon Newton, the organization's president. When that cost is added, then who does that cost get passed down to? England said during the meeting. It gets passed down to our consumers, as well as our shippers. In a letter to Biden days after the bridges closure, Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee said the shutdown is affecting the lives and livelihoods of real people right now. Arkansas two Republican senators, Tom Cotton and John Boozman, have said theyre concerned about the impact the bridges closure will have on the economy. The two have said they want an infrastructure package that is more narrowly focused on traditional public works projects like the bridge. Buttigieg said the Biden administration and Republicans, including West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, have been having conversations in good faith and there seems to be an embrace of the principle that something on the order of $1 trillion around the transportation side of things was appropriate. The administration has set a June 7 deadline to see signs of progress. ___ Andrew DeMillo contributed to this article from Little Rock, Arkansas. BRUSSELS (AP) Three Catalan separatist members of the European Parliament on Thursday applauded a European court ruling to put on hold a decision by the EU's legislative chamber stripping them of their immunity from prosecution. As a result, their immunity has been provisionally restored. Today we are a little bit closer to hearing the final arguments that say we are right, said Carles Puigdemont, the former leader of Spain's Catalonia region. Puigdemont and two of his associates had sought protection from the Court of Justice of the European Union after the European Parliament voted in March to lift their immunity, as sought by Spain. Puigdemont, former Catalan Health Minister Toni Comin and former regional Education Minister Clara Ponsati said they feared they could be arrested on an extradition order by Spain and thus be stopped from representing their voters in the parliament. The court said that the order issued late on Wednesday was taken to give it time to consider their case in full. It made no indication of whether it agreed with their arguments. The three fled Spain in 2017 after the Catalan government led by Puigdemont failed in an attempt to carve an independent state out of Spains wealthy northeastern corner. If they return to Spain they could be arrested. Puigdemont and Comin went to Belgium and Ponsati to Scotland, where they have avoided extradition. All three won seats in the European Parliament in 2019 elections as candidates from pro-secession Catalan parties. Twelve of their cohorts stayed in Spain where they were arrested and found guilty of sedition and misuse of public funds. If their immunity as European lawmakers is removed, Spain can reactivate its attempts to bring them home to face justice. Since 2017, official elections have repeatedly shown that Catalan voters are equally split by the secession question. Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media HAMDEN A man who may have lost control of an ATV while riding it near Gaylord Mountain and West Woods roads has died, police said. The man was found on the power line trails at about 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, police said. Officers had gone to the location after receiving a report of accident involving an all-terrain vehicle, police said. Ned Lamont wants to be known as the anti-tax guy. Hes staking his political future on it. Unfortunately for him, the claim doesnt hold up to scrutiny, and his political opponents are not inclined to go along with it. Connecticut Republicans, on this score, are nothing if not consistent. Their message to constituents typically amounts to: Why havent you guys moved to North Carolina yet? At a time when gas prices are rising and shortages have threatened our nation, Connecticut Democrats are actually proposing more gas taxes that experts say would lead to shortages here, too, Senate Republican leader Kevin Kelly said recently. Taxes are raised year after year to fund popular giveaways the state cant afford, erstwhile gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski said in these pages. The Legislature has barely been sworn in, and both seasoned and newly minted Democrats in that body are eyeing everything with one lens: How many more times can we stick our hands in your pocket? That was Themis Klarides in an opinion piece from earlier this year. None of this is a surprise. Hoping Connecticut Republicans wont complain about taxes is like hoping a classic rock station wont play Foreigner. Prepare to be disappointed. Whats interesting maybe funny, possibly sad is that Lamont appears to believe he can avoid being tagged as the tax-raising guy. Hes staking out a position as centrist besieged by tax-hiking progressives in the Legislature and counting on it to carry him to reelection in 2022. It could work. That doesnt mean it makes sense. Lamont raised hackles among fellow Democrats recently by characterizing proposed tax hikes as vindictive. I dont want to raise taxes just to raise taxes and punish people, the governor said. In a sign of potential Democratic schisms to come, that comment was cited approvingly on Twitter by none other than Jim Himes, like Lamont a Greenwich Democrat. The price of all those new Democratic voters on the Gold Coast is not going to be cheap. Outside comfy Greenwich, though, few besides Republicans would characterize what progressives in the Legislature had been seeking as a punishment. Who is asking for an increase in taxes to punish people? state Sen. Gary Winfield of New Haven asked, reasonably. That isnt what the work is about. Legislators were asking the governor to recognize longstanding crises in Connecticut that predate the COVID pandemic. A massive influx of federal stimulus funds, which Lamont argued would obviate the need for tax increases, is only temporary. Taking on systemic challenges requires dependable revenue, not a one-shot infusion, as anyone who has to put together a budget ought to know. The governor got his way, as increases for the wealthiest were ruled out in budget negotiations. Beyond that, Lamonts record as a no-tax guy is flimsy, at best. He has proposed and signed measures to tax services in Connecticut that were previously not taxed, like parking and dry cleaning. He was a booster of highway tolls, which, good idea or not, take money out of someones pocket to fund a government service. He has this session supported a tax on health insurers. Where Lamont holds firm is not taxes its income taxes on high-income residents. Theyre not synonymous. And given his hometown and background, it winds up looking self-serving. He has made a big sign of touting all the new residents moving into the state since the pandemic started, and warning that a tax hike now would send them scurrying back to New York, or possibly Texas. The evidence is questionable. Did we cut taxes to attract people over the past year? We did not. Lamont would likely argue that the states newfound fiscal stability is helping us, as if people are analyzing Fitch bond ratings when they plot their moves. So why are people coming to Connecticut? In truth, no one really knows. People make decisions on where to live for all kinds of reasons. Connecticut is typically hurt because young people want somewhere more interesting to live, and older people get sick of shoveling snow. This becomes a self-reinforcing pattern, where the only people we attract are midlife would-be suburbanites in search of a yard. The pandemic likely accelerated the plans of many people looking to make that move, leading to our current influx. It may or may not last. In the meantime, Lamont is claiming it justifies his policy choices. The governor fancies himself a centrist, which can be defined as someone who recognizes the very serious problems in society but doesnt seem inclined to do much about it, lest someone else get mad. The result is a perpetuation of the status quo. Im the guy who doesnt want to raise taxes, Lamont said. Thats nice for him. Maybe we could have a governor willing to make some hard choices? Hugh Bailey is editorial page editor of the Connecticut Post and New Haven Register. He can be reached at hbailey@hearstmediact.com. THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) The Federal Bureau of Investigation has offered a $30,000 reward for information that leads to suspects in a killing during a Southern California bank robbery 24 years ago. Two men dressed as construction workers held up Western Financial Bank in Thousand Oaks on April 28, 1997. While handcuffing bank teller Monica Leech, one of the robbers shot her in the back of the head. The 39-year-old Camarillo resident died at the scene. The suspects drove away in a 1994 Ford Explorer, but crashed nearby. They escaped on foot but the Ventura County Sheriff's Office recovered the vehicle. Investigators have in recent years been able to use traces of DNA left on the handcuffs and other evidence from the scene to create new DNA profiles for the suspects. However, investigators said more information is to determine the suspects in the murder, the Ventura County Star reported Wednesday. We know the men responsible for this crime are still out there, Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub said in a statement this week. There are people close to them who know exactly what they did, and the right piece of information can be the break we need in this case. The Junta de Andalucia has rebelled against central government this Thursday, 3 June, and announced that the region will maintain its current coronavirus restrictions and will not follow the national measures approved on Wednesday. The Madrid, Basque Country, Galicia and Castilla y Leon regions have also said they will rebel against the mandatory restrictions announced after the Interterritorial Council meeting between the Ministry of Health and the regions. in context Bars and restaurants won't be able to serve food and drink after midnight across Spain this summer The vice president of the Junta de Andalucia, Juan Marin, said the region will not abide by these new rules, considering that they are a "brutal abuse of powers" by the Ministry of Health. The Interterritorial Council of the National Health System, in which the Ministry of Health and the regions are represented, yesterday approved despite the rejection of six regions - the mandatory new measures document. Madrid, the Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia, Andalucia and Murcia, voted against the Ministry or Health proposals and both Castilla y Leon and the autonomous city of Melilla, abstained. The first region to publicly denounce this document was Madrid and the acting president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, who said that she will not abide by the measures agreed in the Interterritorial Council because she considers that they are of "political imposition" and "nothing to do with health". We are not going to do what is against the interests of the public, she told journalists. In the Basque region, Inigo Urkullu said the modifications proposed by the Ministry of Health show "absolute confusion" in the management of the health crisis by the central government, and said the Basque country "will follow its own roadmap" and will keep the measures they updated last Monday. Galicia said it will also follow its own "roadmap" for the easing of measures until the legal advice of the regional government determines whether some "parts" of the protocol that the Ministry of Health presented this Wednesday with rules on hospitality and nightlife and mass events for the "new normal" are "mandatory". In the case of the Junta de Castilla y Leon, its vice president, Francisco Igea, announced that the regional government will appeal the plan if it is published in the BOE state gazette, while warning that it will not be applied in the region because it "violates" powers and is "more restrictive". Spains Deputy Prime Minister, Carmen Calvo, has reacted to these statements by some regions, pointing out that the proposal had the endorsement of the majority of the Interterritorial Council and warning that it is "mandatory". GUILFORD State Sen. Christine Cohen said Wednesday that lawmakers will work in future sessions to clarify language in a bill providing tax breaks to the states shell fishers, after the measure was overwhelmingly approved last week despite concerns from some shoreline towns. The bill, sponsored by Cohen, would expand the definition of farmland to include undersea shellfish beds and other waterfront properties used by shell fishers under a decades-old law that allows agricultural land to be taxed at lower rates. The House voted 140-4 last week to send the bill to Gov. Ned Lamont. Advocates, including the Connecticut Farm Bureau, argued that the measure will treat shell fishers more fairly as compared to land-based farmers, and that it will provide a boost to commercial operations and the overall health of Long Island Sound. This is a huge deal for aquaculture in the state, said Cohen, D-Guilford, cochairperson of the Environment Committee. Push back, however, arose from questions about the cost to shoreline towns that stand to lose revenue under the measure. Randy Collins, a lobbyist for the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, said he requested a more detailed study of the bills cost after it was passed out of the Senate in April. That study was not done, however, and a fiscal impact prepared by legislative staff simply said that any potential reductions in revenue would not be felt until fiscal year 2023. We never got any kind of resolution on our concerns, Collins said this week. No one was interested in amending [the bill] because it would have slowed it down. A spokesman for Lamont said the governors office is still reviewing the bill, though Collins said he expected it to be signed given the overwhelming support in the legislature. Cohen said Wednesday that she was in conversations with the Department of Agriculture in hopes that a signing ceremony could be held at one of the states commercial shellfish operations along the coast. State Rep. Anne Hughes, D-Easton, one of four Democrats who voted against the bill in the House, said her concerns hinged on the potential environmental impacts from the legislation. I know its a short-term win for the shell-fishing community, but we have to consider the climate crisis, Hughes said. Collins said his biggest concern with the bill was language that included waterfront properties used by shell-stock shippers under the expanded definition of farm property eligible for tax breaks. Such a definition, he said, blurred the line, between purely agricultural land and properties used by companies that ship agricultural products. Under a state law enacted in 1963, farmland and other open spaces used for agriculture are taxed at lower use rates rather than at their fair market value. Collins said that taxing underwater shellfish beds at similarly favorable rates would not be in conflict with the intention of the law or of great concern to most towns though he said the inclusion of waterfront property was akin to extending the tax break to milk-truck drivers and other nonfarmers. Asked about concerns raised by CCM, Cohen said that the bill was never intended to include shipping and delivery companies that do not cultivate their own products, and that lawmakers would seek to add language in future sessions clarifying that. This is not for, say, a fish company that imports their shellfish and then ships them, Cohen said. According to a press release put out by Cohens office in April, Connecticuts shellfish industry generates $30 million each year and employs roughly 300 people. There are also more than 60 shellfish shipping and packing companies in the state, according to records from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with major bases of operation in Norwalk, Stratford, Guilford and Branford. Milton, PA (17847) Today Cloudy skies this morning followed by thunderstorms during the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 78F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. The UK's minister for Transport, Grant Shapps, on Thursday failed to add Spain to the list of countries from which returning travellers aren't required to quarantine and test. No new country was added to the 'green list' and neighbouring Portugal moved from green to amber. The next review is in three weeks time, which means Spain will stay at amber until the end of June at least. The UK government is also urging people to avoid traveling to countries still on the amber list, including Spain. A statement said, While the number of green list destinations remains low, the government is urging the public not to travel to amber destinations to play their role in protecting public health. This is due to the prevalence of variants of concern and general rates of coronavirus being greater in amber destinations. HANOVER TWP. U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey toured Piling Solutions in Hanover Twp. Wednesday and highlighted how the steel fabricator would benefit from President Joe Bidens proposed $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan. What they heard from the manufacturing facilitys owners Gene and Allison Swindell is they are struggling to fill jobs and afford the high price of steel. The company, located in the former Air Products building on the Sans Souci Parkway, supplies steel pipes for construction projects. Our business is mostly about steel, Gene Swindell said. Steel has gone up three times the price since the beginning of the year. Theres also an availability issue with steel, which is really a big problem. On top of that, the economy isnt really in full swing. Swindell said Piling Solutions employs about 60 workers, a number they are trying to increase to 100. Yet, he said they are struggling to fill positions from welders to material handlers. Starting salary for workers is $15 an hour, he said. Walsh said the American Jobs Plan would include major investments in workforce development and job training. He spoke in favor of community colleges providing more training for the jobs of right now. They need to learn the basics of the trade, Walsh said. We need to give them basic training. The American Jobs Plan has proposed to invest nearly $50 billion in workforce development, including apprenticeships, career pathway programs in middle and high schools, community college partnerships and other job training programs based on in-demand skills. Walsh said funding has been cut for job training in the U.S. and he thinks there needs to be more investments. We have to put people on a pathway to a career, Walsh said. As for the high price of steel, Walsh touted Bidens Buy American plan to aid manufacturers. Cartwright said workers and the economy would benefit from the proposed infrastructure and job training investments proposed in the American Jobs Plan. The investments would help create millions of jobs, he said. Theres going to be a lot more people working right here when that infrastructure plan goes into place, Cartwright told the owners and workers gathered around him following a tour. Were talking about tax dollars that would go to places that would train them. The American Jobs Plan also has proposed $115 billion in infrastructure investments to repair roads and bridges throughout the U.S. It would smooth the pipeline for workers to come into this line of work. This is good work, Cartwright told workers. These are family-sustaining jobs that theyre doing and this is exactly what the American Jobs Plan is about. Following the tour, Swindell said he hopes more shovel-ready work will come out of the American Jobs Plan and he hopes there will be more steel. If there are infrastructure projects that include bridges, buildings, roadwork and structural work, then we are set up for projects like that, Swindell said. Hazleton, PA (18201) Today Rain showers in the morning with numerous thunderstorms developing in the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High near 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 59F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Ashtabula, OH (44004) Today Rain, heavy at times, in the morning. Rain ending with partial clearing for the afternoon. High 77F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a half an inch.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low near 60F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. 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He presented a document produced by the European Institute of Public Administration, which showed several drafts of the PNRRs of the member villages submitted in November 2020, and Romania was passed with the greenest resilience program - 64.8%, while Slovenia had 42%, Germany - 40%, Greece - 38%, Czech Republic - 38% and Bulgaria - 37%. The minister said that the draft water management strategy project, sent to the European Commission (EC) in November last year, had new, digitized technological solutions, used environmentally friendly materials and could produce green and cheap energy. Asked who he considers responsible for this failure to accept the financing of the water management strategy through PNRR, Oros replied: "First of all, it is not a failure as the program was made. It is difficult for me to find a culprit. The commission did not want to fund the irrigation part, but only the drainage part. I repeat, we will certainly find resources to do what we set out to do." Regarding the reason why the EC representatives cut these funds from PNRR, the minister pointed out that he was only told that the project was not green enough for irrigation. The Bucharest municipality will take measures to clear the streets' lane one of the tens of thousands of parked cars, the Capital City's General Mayor Nicusor Dan told a debate today on sustainable transport in Romania, agerpres reports. The mayor explained that the construction of new bike lanes will be possible only after the implementation of the parking strategy. "For this we must free the city from parked cars and this comes through the parking strategy. So, the parking strategy first, then the bike lanes," Nicusor Dan said.According to the mayor, Bucharest only has 15 - 20 kilometers of bicycle lanes fitted according to standards."(...) Even if we wanted to build bike lanes now, we wouldn't have where to do it because of the cars parked everywhere on the right-hand lane so that the first thing is to find, through the parking strategy, alternative solutions in order to move the cars off lane one and get some considerable space. It is useless to have a bike lane that is not connected to others," he said.In the mayor's opinion, only a part of the routes established through the plans for the construction of bicycle lanes with funding from the Environment Ministry are useful, and he suggested for instance a broader track linking the Grozavesti quarter to the United Nations Square, which should carry both public transport and bicycles.Nicusor Dan also termed the former administration's bike-buying voucher program as useless. "In absence of bike lanes, what's the point of giving vouchers to people to buy bikes?," the mayor inquired. The proposal for a public policy in the field of e-government, a strategic document for digital governance and management of electronic public services at the administration level, was adopted by the Government in Thursday's meeting. "We want to lead the public administration into the future, to improve the digital public systems in key-sectors of activity, such as Education, Health, Culture, Justice, Police. Today we approved a public policy proposal on the digitalization of Romania, a roadmap for the next ten years. All ministries and governmental agencies will be linked in a single network and a single interoperable database through a government cloud, for which the Government has included in the PNRR funding of 500 million euros," Prime Minister Florin Citu said in a release from the Executive. The quoted source mentions that the situation from which the public policy starts is characterized by the "insufficient" development of electronic public services in Romania, "a problem that can be translated, concretely, by the small number of electronic public services that exceed level 2 of digital sophistication made available to public institutions and authorities in Romania, given that the maximum is level 5". The release emphasizes that the coordinated and integrated implementation of the e-government process and the e-government policy in Romania, as well as the reduction of bureaucracy, are absolutely necessary. In this sense, the Committee for e-government and reduction of bureaucracy was recently established, as a mechanism for decision and monitoring of the implementation of public policy, chaired and coordinated by the Prime Minister, reports agerpres. The spokesman for the Junta de Andalucia, Elias Bendodo, has admitted that he finds "the rate of growth of coronavirus infections" in the region "worrying". Speaking to journalists in Seville this Wednesday (2 June), Bendodo said the regional government is worried that the rate of contagion is increasing in Andalucia as a whole, although not the rate of hospitalisations, since the population group that is being infected is younger and the disease is milder for them. Bendodo said it is very clear that the only way to fight the virus now is with vaccination and, therefore, in Andalucia we are vaccinating seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and yesterday a new record was broken, when 108,621 vaccines were given." After emphasising that Andalucia leads the national vaccination campaign, Bendodo pointed out that some five million vaccines have already been administered, and there are 3.2 million Andalusians with at least one dose and 1.7 million with the two doses (25 per cent of the target population). Regarding the face mask debate Bendodo said that there must be a consensus among all the regions, coordinated by the central government, because it would not make sense that some areas were allowed to lift the mandatory wearing of the mask and others not, which would be "a mistake". The spokesman added that during the pandemic it has been shown that there are three key things that have helped to curb infection: social distancing, hand washing and the use of a face mask, and has said that the Junta is in favour of "recovering the as much freedom as possible in the shortest possible time, but we do not want to rush. The intervention of firefighters to extinguish the fire that broke out on Wednesday at the hazardous waste incinerator from Brazi [central Prahova County] continues, a deceased person having been found in the affected area, agerpres reports. "Water is still being poured, and at the moment there are no visible outbreaks, but it certainly continues to smolder underneath, where we do not have access to reach with water. Colleagues entered the affected area, where we assumed the person could be and found him," informs the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (ISU) Prahova on Thursday. Representatives of Eco Burn, the company that operates the hazardous waste incinerator, claimed that the fire was caused by "a criminal hand", indicating an employee who threatened to commit suicide.Given that a bicycle was found in the yard of the economic operator, the hypothesis that a person was caught inside the hall was taken into account, but firefighters could not enter on Wednesday, as the building was extremely degraded, its structure collapsed and was not safe.The fire resulted in large smoke emissions, the citizens in the area receiving a RO-ALERT message. The Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) asks the Government to reconsider the vaccination of children aged between 12 and 15, which it says is "unjustified." "AUR considers unjustified the Romanian Government's hurry to start the vaccination campaign among children, just a few hours after the European Medicines Agency recommended the authorization of COVID-19 vaccine from BioNTech Pfizer for children aged 12 to 15 (...) AUR calls on the Government to reconsider the decision on the vaccination campaign for minors between the ages of 12 and 15, an unscientific measure that blatantly violates the moral principles of public policies devoted to the sovereign interest of the child," said the Alliance, in a press release sent on Thursday to AGERPRES. In AUR's view, the Government's motivation to vaccinate children and adolescents in order to obtain "hypothetical" herd immunity is "an immoral act and places this age group at potential risk, without any scientifically sustained benefit, in the context in which mortality and morbidity caused by COVID among children aged 12 to 15 is, statistically, zero, so the measure is arbitrary and illegitimate." The film "La Civil" by Teodora Ana Mihai has been added to the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival 2021, Un Certain Regard section. "I am really happy with this Cannes selection. I am incredibly grateful that it was possible for me to tell this heartbreaking story of some families who lost their children to drug cartels (which still persist today)," says Mihai. The film tells the story of Cielo, a mother from Mexico who is looking for her daughter abducted by members of a drug cartel. As the authorities fail to help her, Cielo takes matters into her own hands and gradually turns from a housewife into a vengeful activist, according to the film's synopsis. "La Civil" was inspired by the terrifying stories of drugs cartel victims and their families, including the fascinating and tragic life of Miriam Rodriguez, which has been recently covered by the New York Times. The atmosphere in the film is reminiscent of the police series Narcos, but narrated from the point of view of the victim. The Mexican writer Habacuc Antonio De Rosario wrote the screenplay together with Teodora Mihai. The film is a co-production of Belgium (Menuetto Film), Romania and Mexico, with support from Eurimages, endorsed by well-known filmmakers such as the Dardenne brothers (Les films du Fleuve, Belgium), Cristian Mungiu (Mobra Films, Romania) and Michel Franco (Teorema, Mexico). The project was developed in collaboration with Cinefondation at the Cannes Film Festival and Torino Film Lab. The main financier of "La Civil" was the Audiovisual Fund of Flanders (VAF), with support from the Belgian Cinema and Audiovisual Centre, Romania's National Filmmaking Centre (CNC) and Eurimages - the European Cinema Support Fund. The premiere is expected this fall at the Les Films de Cannes festival in Bucharest, the 12th edition, October 22-31. Graphic artist Dan Erceanu, a former director of the National Library of Romania, has died at the age of 77. "We learned with deep sadness about the departure from this life of graphic artist Dan Erceanu, director of the National Library of Romania between 1997 - 2002 and 2005 - 2006. Dan Erceanu's spiritual finesse, strength of character and discretion have made his passage through the history of the National Library of Romania a model of dedication, modesty and perseverance in the service of Romanian culture and the written documentary heritage of our country. (...) We will keep a warm and bright memory of the one who has led for six years one of the most important cultural institutions of Romania. In these moments of deep sorrow, allow us to offer on behalf of the National Library of Romania sincere condolences to the family," reads a post today on the Facebook page of the National Library of Romania, agerpres reports. Considered a sage of Romanian graphic art, Dan Erceanu graduated from the Bucharest Institute of Fine Arts in 1969, class of Vasile Kazar and Ion State.Throughout his career he received numerous national and international awards and had 18 solo exhibitions in Bucharest, Brasov, Iasi, Munich, Wurzburg, Heidelberg, Tel Aviv, Boston, New York.He also participated in international jury-rated biennials: Florence, Ljubljana, Barcelona, Berlin, Bilbao, Venice, Friedrichstadt, Heidelberg, Krakow.Erceanu was the organizer of the first exhibition "Podul" of the Plastic Artists Union's Engraving workshop - 1974 and designed sets and costumes for theater performances.He also authored the graphics for numerous volumes put out by various publishing houses in the country, movie and theater posters.His works are kept in Romanian museums, as well as in various private collections in Romania and abroad, such as Germany and the US. Prime Minister Florin Citu said on Thursday that the reforms provided for under Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) are not requested by the European Commission, but were undertaken by the current coalition in the government agenda. "For example, as far as the state pension law goes - because it has been addressed - it has to come into force in the first quarter of 2023. So that is clear. And the same is true with all reforms - in finance, in the minimum wage, etc. They are each with its own milestone, each and every reform. The reforms in under PNRR are not required by the European Commission. They are reforms that this governing coalition has undertaken in the governing agenda," the prime minister told a news briefing at the end of a government meeting. He pointed out that if one of the reforms provided for under PNRR is not implemented on schedule, the money allocated to that end will be lost. The Ambassador of Romania to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Laura Popescu, draws attention to the deadline - June 30, 2021 - for applying for residence in the United Kingdom, within the #EUSettlementScheme procedure for European citizens. Romanian citizens who have arrived in the United Kingdom by 31 December 2020 must apply for residence, like all European citizens, by 30 June 2021. Details of the EU Settlement Scheme registration procedure for European citizens and their family members can be found on the UK government's website at: https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families. By the end of March, 918,270 Romanian citizens had applied for resident status in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with 852,310 of these applications having been approved, according to statistics released last week by the British Interior Ministry. The first five nationalities with the highest number of favorably settled applications are Poles (931,140), Romanians (852,310), Italians (478,830), Portuguese (359,070) and Spaniards (304,310). However, only 33% of the Romanians with approved applications received the status of permanent resident ('settled status'), the others obtaining the status of temporary resident ('pre-settled status'), while the percentage of Poles who obtained the status of permanent resident was 77%. Lithuanians also obtained a high percentage of people who obtained the status of permanent resident, of 75%, while a low percentage of this status, of 24%, is still registered among Croats. Permanent resident status can be obtained by people who have lived in the United Kingdom for at least five years. Those who have lived in this country for less than five years can receive temporary resident status, which can be changed to permanent resident once the applicant has completed the five years of residence in the United Kingdom. With the UK leaving the EU, European citizens who want to work in this country must apply for a visa through the new point-based immigration system. To be considered eligible, the applicant must demonstrate that he or she can speak English at an intermediate level B1, has a job offer at the required qualification level from a sponsor/employer authorized by the Home Office and the minimum annual salary offered by the sponsor/the employer is GBP 26,500 or equal to the salary level relevant to the field of activity (if in the field of activity the minimum annual salary is higher than GBP 26,500). The new point-based immigration system does not apply to tourists or European citizens who have obtained or will obtain until 30 June 2021 the status of permanent resident or temporary resident, reports agerpres. the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (ISU) Delta, in Tulcea County, and the State Department for Emergency Situations of the Odessa region, Ukraine, have begun testing a common platform for the notification of emergencies, within the project "Joint Emergency Response Across Danube - JERAD 2Soft/4.2/70," funded by the European Union. The project began in February last year and is set to end on February 25, 2022, being aimed at developing a common notification platform as a tool of decision-making in case of emergency situations with cross-border effects, at increasing the level of cross-border cooperation through workshops and common exercises while also increasing the operational capacity of the two institutions through the acquisition of special vehicles. "Now we do all the tests and adjustments necessary because we have all interests as beneficiaries, dispatcher staff, identify gaps to have a tool as useful," said Thursday, during a press conference, JERAD project manager with the ISU Delta, Cristea Gugoa. In his turn, the project manager from the State Department for Emergency Situations of Odessa, Ukraine, Mykola Yalovyy, underscored the importance of this common platform. "This is the only common platform for the exchange of information so necessary at local, regional level in areas with highly changing climatic situations. The largest advantage for us in this project is the possibility of joint collaboration and intervention in emergency situations. We now know the possibilities of intervention of our colleagues, we will present ours as well, and we can make fair decisions of interventions in exceptional situations," said Mykola Yalovyy. In the project, both the Romanian and Ukrainian sides began the actions to acquire performing intervention equipment, and at the end of the year there will be a joint exercise with the participation of 70 Romanian rescuers and 30 Ukrainians. ISU Delta organized a Jerad launch conference on Thursday during which the representatives of the County Council remembered other projects carried out in partnership with Ukraine, and the Prefect Marcel Ivanov underscored the importance of the Romanian-Ukrainian relations. The total value of the JERAD project is 555,55555 euros, out of which 415,55555 euros will be contributed by the Romanian partner. Funding is granted through the joint operational programme Romania-Ukraine 2014-2020. The project was initially 18 months later, but due to the pandemic of Covid-19 it was prolonged up to 24 months. The Conference on the Future of Europe must lead to a change in the European Union's treaties, although this is unlikely to happen during the current term of the European Parliament, and the process that begins through this consultation of the citizens of the EU bloc will be all the more successful the better they manage to co-opt the civil society and the people in this approach of democratic change, the Romanian MEPs from the entire political spectre believe. The Romanian MEPs who took part in the online debate "Conference on the future of Europe: Civil society priorities", organized on Thursday by the European Parliament Office in Romania in collaboration with the Europuls European Center of Expertise, were generally optimistic about the Conference on the future of Europe, although, as they admit, the experiences of recent years are not the most promising. "Personally, I was involved, in my previous capacity as Minister Delegate for European Affairs, in the consultations on the future of Europe. At that time we held consultations all over the country, invited everyone, had a report sent to the European institutions and the end result of the consultations made by almost all member states was a phrase in the Council's conclusions. The Sibiu Summit, which was supposed to take over the ideas, unfortunately did not do so," said MEP Victor Negrescu. "We must have the ambition for this conference to change the treaties, to have a real impact," said Negrescu, one of the 108 MEPs who will attend the inaugural plenary session of the June 19 Conference on the Future of Europe in Strasbourg. His colleague from the Renew Europe group, Alin Mituta, even believes that this conference should be made permanent and that there should be a system of annual consultations of citizens and civil society. However, UDMR MEP Iuliu Winkler, from the European People's Party (EPP) group, has a different opinion, stating that sometimes "the better can be the enemy of the good". In fact, he said he was convinced that this conference would eventually lead to a change in the treaties, even if "in 4, 5 or 6 years." Ionut Sibian, who represented the Foundation for the Development of Civil Society, said during the debate that the mistakes made during the Convention on the Future of Europe (2002-2003), a ke- step in drafting the Lisbon Treaty, signed in 2007, should not be repeated. "I think we need to look at the lessons we have learned since then and not politicize this process too much because we are going to end up burying it," he said, reports agerpres. A new social network, TOKHIT, based on NFT and Blockchain technology, developed by two Romanians, was evaluated at 3 million Euro, according to a press release sent to AGERPRES on Thursday. "TOKHIT is a project that revolutionizes and innovates through the fact that it is the first social network which will allow native NFTs making in a very quick, creative and at a very low cost. The project, initially evaluated at 3 million Euro, is developed by two entrepreneurs from western Cluj-Napoca, with a vast experience in the business environment and is dedicated to creative industry, artists, influencers, professionals from various fields," the press release reads. The TOKHIT project was openly received on the market, and the initial evaluation has proven this through the Seed Funding phase's success, a specific stage of blockchain projects, which allow the financial contribution of those interested. The initiators of the TOKHIT project are confident that they will open up new ways for the content creators."We are excited and delighted to show up with this global level premiere, a revolutionary project which we hope will make itself known through its innovative component and be appreciated. The content creators will become, with the help of TOKHIT, part of a community where they can experience and create new ways of interacting with their target audience. Moreso, TOKHIT proposes to become the ideal framework for users who wish to monetize their entire professional activity. Along with this initial evaluation, worth 3 million Euro, we are even more confident in the future of TOKHIT," Andrei Ureche (Vandy) declared, the initiator and entrepreneur of the project.For those interested or just curious, registrations for the TOKHIT community have already begun. All they need to do is visit the website tokhit.com, where they will receive all necessary information and can thus become part of an exclusive community. More importantly, they would be the first who will be granted access in this new digital world and will be able to interact with other users."At this time, we are inviting all those who want to know first-hand extra information about the project to enter the TOKHIT community, by accessing the official website. We promise we will be back with details in the following period regarding how the app will work, about how the interface will look like," Andrei Ureche (Vandy) said. This content was produced by Brand Ave. Studios. The news and editorial departments of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch had no role in its creation or display. Brand Ave. Studios connects advertisers with a targeted audience through compelling content programs, from concept to production and distribution. For more information contact sales@brandavestudios.com On 13 February, 2020, a 69-year-old man who had just returned from Nepal died at the Arnau de Vilanova hospital in Valencia due to a 'strange' pneumonia. At that time the disease, which had been named Covid-19 two days earlier, seemed geographically limited to China but things soon changed as the virus spread quickly around the world. Almost seventeen months later, on 2 June, 2021, Spain has exceeded 80,000 deaths from Covid (some 80,049, with the 66 notified this Wednesday, 2 June), according to official data from the Ministry of Health. It has become the eleventh country in the world to reach this death toll. The United States of America, with 595,213 deaths heads the table, followed by Brazil (495,199), India (335,102), Mexico (227,840), United Kingdom (128,045), Italy (126,221), Russia (119,830), Colombia (89,297), Germany (88,781) and Iran (80,327), according to the Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore (USA), which also collects the number of deaths in each country per 100,000 inhabitants. On that list, Spain is in 22nd place, with a rate of 169.84. Hungary is the country with the most deaths in relation to its population (304.33 per 100,000 inhabitants), followed by the Czech Republic (282.18), Bosnia (280.31), San Marino (265.80), North Macedonia (259.81) and Montenegro (254.61). Other countries with a higher proportion of deaths than Spain are Brazil (219.28), Belgium (217.30, although it is the only government that includes deaths with a positive test and also suspected cases), Peru (213.29), Italy (209.18), United Kingdom (191.59), United States (181.14), Colombia (176.35), Mexico (175.24) and Argentina (173.78). During the first onslaught of the virus, from March to early July, which included the home lockdown, the Ministry of Health officially registered 28,363 deaths. In the following five months, during the second wave, the number of deaths was lower, at 18,981. The harsh third wave saw a huge rebound in the cumulative incidence rate and number of people in hospital after the relaxation of restrictions at Christmas, leaving 25,449 deaths in just three months. Finally, the fourth wave, which health expert Fernando Simon has described on several occasions as 'ripple', left more than 7,000 dead in two and a half months. Probably the only positive aspect of the data appears to be when looking at the time it took Spain to go from 70,000 to 80,000 deaths: taking some three months, from 3 March to 2 June, the longest period of time since the 20,000-30,000 range (18 April to 15 September, nearly five months). Spain reached 10,000 deaths from Covid-19 in less than two months (13 February to 3 April); from 10,000 to 20,000, in 15 days (from 3 to 18 April); from 30,000 to 40,000, in less than two months (from 15 September to 11 November); from 40,000 to 50,000, in a month and a half (from 11 November to 28 December); from 50,000 to 60,000, in little more than a month (from 28 December to 3 February); and from 60,000 to 70,000, in just one month (from 3 February to 3 March). From the start, controversy has accompanied the death statistics from the Ministry of Health because they only include victims who were tested positive, something that, mainly during the first wave, did not happen in all cases due to the lack of tests in the country, so the official numbers have been questioned by public organisations, universities and even international institutions. Spains National Institute of Statistics (INE) compares weekly deaths since the beginning of the pandemic with historical data on deaths since 2000. According to this data, excess mortality in Spain since March of last year until mid-May of this year stands at 96,658 people. Meanwhile, a study by the University of Washington indicates that the number of deaths in Spain from Covid-19 (and not from other causes) stands at 124,449. David Nicklaus David Nicklaus is a business columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow David Nicklaus Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today One way or another, Goedekers is going to be a fascinating story. Its just hard to know which way it will turn out. It could be an amazing growth story. Goedekers just bought a competitor eight times its size, based on first quarter revenue, and claims it is now the largest pure-play online retailer of household appliances. On the other hand, Goedekers also looks like a lesson in how to destroy shareholder value. It needed to sell $205 million worth of stock to finance the acquisition, and its share price plunged 70% when it priced the stock offering last Friday. Regardless of how its bold plan turns out, one thing is clear: Goedekers is no longer the folksy store that St. Louisans remember from ads that used to proclaim, Give us a chance, any day but Sunday. Steve Goedeker, whose father started the business in 1951 as a television repair shop, sold it in 2019 to a New York investment firm. The buyer, 1847 Holdings, took the company public last year, raising a modest $10 million. Former President Donald Trump is on the downslope of his wild ride toward internet irrelevancy. Online talk of the former president has dropped to a five-year low. His blog was such a disaster (a word he once used with reckless disregard) that Trump canceled it only 29 days after its launch. Trumps pathetic attempts at recapturing attention are not working, mainly because his own supporters are realizing that, without his White House pulpit, Trump is a preacher without a church. According to online analytics firm Zignal Labs, mentions of him on Twitter have declined to an average of approximately 4 million a week, which is the lowest since 2016. After being banned on Twitter and Facebook, the former president has set up a no-frills website that includes a fundraising form and a discontinued blog that consists of tweet-like statements. Unlike Twitter, however, people must go to his website to painstakingly sort through his remarks. His final blog posting was on Memorial Day. He reportedly was receiving only 1,500 shares or comments per day on Facebook or Twitter. Other well-known photos come from another inductee, Souza, who has published bestselling books of his years as chief White House photographer under President Barack Obama. Souza gained more fame with his Instagram account during the Trump administration as he posted photos comparing that Oval Office inhabitant to his predecessor. British photographer Larry Burrows, who spent nine years covering Vietnam, took pictures of dying soldiers that are grittier than many war photos published today. Burrows died with several other photographers when their helicopter was shot down in Laos in 1971. Another longtime war photographer, David Douglas Duncan, covered conflict including World War II and Korea. Although he was wounded several times, he lived until age 102, dying in 2018. Duncan is also known for his years-long work with Pablo Picasso, and published at least five books of photographs of the artist. Dawoud Bey's photos have been exhibited extensively ever since his street portraits of Black residents were collected for his first show, "Harlem, USA." A major exhibition of his work opened in April at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Ian Froeb Ian Froeb is the restaurant critic for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Ian Froeb Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today A couple of weeks before the pandemic put my restaurant reviews on ice for 15 months, I sat at the bar at Jack Nolens and ate a double cheeseburger and fries. I would share my detailed notes from that lunch, but one of the many highlights of my quarantine involved hot coffee, an invisible but fatal flaw in the handle of my favorite mug, and my laptop. My previous laptop. I liked both the burger and the fries. That much I remember. I could have sworn I ordered a beer with them. Jack Nolens is a place where you order a cold, pale lager without thinking about it, the latest occupant of a handsome old brick building on one of the less ebullient stretches of Soulard, marinating in that familiar fug of brewery, interstate and riverfront industry. But no. I looked up my receipt from that visit laptops are mortal; corporate expense-account websites are forever and there was a line item for a soft drink instead. I didnt make the same mistake when I finally returned to Jack Nolens 15 months later. Some people will go to great extremes to spoil their pets. Designer collars, fancy bags, luxury beds. But we are just looking for really cool, Tony Messenger Tony Messenger is the metro columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Tony Messenger Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today There is a plaque on the wall in Frank Vatterotts law office, an award from the Missouri Supreme Court from his time as a municipal court judge. They can take it back, he told me the first time we met, in the fall of 2016. At the time, Vatterott was already several years into a battle with the states judiciary over a $3 court surcharge that raises money for the Missouri Sheriffs Retirement System. Since the funds inception in 1984, when the Missouri Legislature gave it life, the surcharge had been applied to every circuit court criminal case in the state. Starting in 2013, after former state senator and current Gov. Mike Parson a former sheriff threatened the states high court with its budget, the cost had also been applied to most municipal courts in the state. But not in Overland, where Vatterott was a judge, or any other municipalities in St. Louis County, or several others in the state. Thats because Vatterott and many other judges found the cost to be an unconstitutional sale of justice, an obstacle for poor people to participate in the courts. At the time I met Vatterott, he was losing his battle, with the courts having tossed two lawsuits he filed trying to get the law overturned. Several spoke at the event, including St. Louis police Chief John Hayden, former OFallon police Chief Roy Joachimsthaler and St. Louis public safety Director Daniel Isom. Mayor Tishaura O. Jones was also in attendance. They shared stories of Dorn throughout his career, from when he crashed his patrol car not long after he joined the force to his time as a respected captain who many saw as a father figure and role model. Dave taught me and always insisted that his officers apprehended people and that we showed them dignity while being arrested, said retired Lt. Col. Reggie Harris, who served under Dorn early in his career. Harris and Joachimsthaler later joked about using nightsticks on those who didnt comply with police orders and resisted arrest, which drew a laugh from the crowd. Many in the department modeled themselves after Dorn, adopting the same polished look and chrome-plated .357 Magnum handgun to emulate him, Harris said. He was known for his dedication to law enforcement, both while on the job and while working secondary security work, common for police officers. ST. LOUIS Mayor Tishaura O. Jones on Wednesday said a special session sought by some Missouri legislators aimed at blocking police budget cuts here would be government overreach and a waste of taxpayer dollars. Jones, in a statement issued shortly before a news conference led by state Rep. Nick Schroer of St. Charles County to promote the idea, alleged that Schroer is chasing clout while Im chasing solutions to the root causes of crime. Schroer, joined by four other Republican state representatives, said the Legislature should consider legislation to keep St. Louis and Kansas City from carrying out plans to reduce money spent on law enforcement amid soaring homicide rates. While violent crime is increasing on our streets, it is absolutely insane to think about cutting funding for police, Schroer said. Schroer also cited the widely circulated images on social media of an incident May 23 downtown in which some people leaving a party surrounded a police car and danced and jumped on top of it. NORMAL Illinois Republicans on Wednesday urged Gov. J.B. Pritzker to uphold his promise and veto a Democrat-proposed state legislative redistricting map. What we saw in Springfield these last two weeks was an absolute mockery of fair and transparent redistricting processes, U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, said Wednesday afternoon during a press conference in uptown Normal. The proposed legislative redistricting map on Friday passed through both houses and now heads to Pritzkers desk for approval. The Senate passed the map 41-18 and the House approved it 71-45, with only Democrats voting in favor and all Republicans voting against. Pritzker, a Democrat, has not said whether he plans to approve the map, but has said he would veto an unfair map. He has not given details on what an unfair map would entail. As a Democratic candidate for governor in 2018, Pritzker said he wanted an independent, nonpartisan commission to create the districts. Davis was joined on Wednesday by Republican state Sen. Jason Barickman and Rep. Dan Brady, both of Bloomington. The lawmakers pointed to an interview Pritzker had during his campaign for governor. What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 712-243-2624 or email circ@ant-news.com. O'FALLON, Mo. (AP) U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, a western Missouri Republican and a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, may be on the verge of joining the growing field of candidates for U.S. Senate in 2022, a seat crucial in the battle for Senate control. Hartzler, who has served in Congress since 2011, said Thursday she'll make an announcement June 10 at Frontier Justice, a firearms store and shooting range in the Kansas City suburb of Lee's Summit. The email from Hartzler reads like one from a candidate. She criticized China, said she worked with Trump to strengthen the military, and accused the Democratic Party of being taken over by Socialists. Im unafraid to proclaim my faith, the sanctity of life, my belief in freedom, personal responsibility, the rule of law, and our Constitutional rights, Hartzler wrote. Im with you in this fight. Were engaged in a winner-take-all contest for the heart, soul, and future of America. Phone messages left with her congressional office spokesman and with Bob Huston, the treasurer for her congressional campaign, were not immediately returned. A rebellious movement is gaining traction among farmers that could put them directly at odds with pro-business GOP lawmakers like those who dominate the Missouri Legislature. Farmers are tired of newfangled farm equipment that comes loaded with expensive electronics that the farmers are not permitted to repair when breakdowns occur in the field. They wind up having to take machinery out of commission very often during crucial planting or harvesting seasons and then pay heavy repair fees to manufacturers like John Deere. Major agricultural organizations such as the American Farm Bureau, the National Farmers Union and National Corn Growers are demanding legislation to limit the monopoly hold that farm equipment manufacturers have on software and electronics repairs. Manufacturer John Deere is the main target of their ire because of contractual clauses that require farmers to use only authorized Deere dealers when electronic breakdowns occur. 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. It is no secret that China is building new warships at a record clip, and producing ships based on proven designs and training crews as intensively as successful foreign navies have for centuries. This process began in the 1990s and China tried to conceal what was going on because like other communist police states, China does not like publicizing what its military has been doing. That has changed in the last few years, in part because enthusiastic Chinese fans of this growing and modernized military eagerly took photos and videos and shared these images on the Internet. Young soldiers and sailors did the same but they were eventually coerced to pull back from oversharing. Recently these Internet based military boosters were told that sort of thing was officially illegal. Such propaganda is a state monopoly and now the state propaganda specialists have been assigned to hype the growing might of the new Chinese military and do it the government-approved way. That did not work out as planned. For example, a recent official press release boasted about China putting five new warships, similar in design to the current American models, into service at the same time. That was a mistake because the claim was a scam that brought unwanted, for the Chinese propaganda officials, attention to less publicity-worthy aspects of Chinese naval ship building. It was widely known that those five ships had been operational for some time but some were still undergoing long trials periods. All navies have ships go through one or more short test voyages to see if everything is in working order. Its not unusual for problems to be found and the new ships return to port, or the shipyard, to have the problems fixed. For that reason, the trials can often take several months before the ship is officially accepted (commissioned) into service. Western navies can usually set a commissioning date far in advance by making allowances for longer trials. If the trials are over more quickly the crew just gets more training on their new ship before the official commissioning ceremony. China has approached this differently, in order to speed up development of Western quality warships Chinese ship designers, builders and crews are not familiar with. This is not a flaw, but a feature. The Chinese propaganda pros either did not understand this or were ordered to ignore it and that took some of the luster away from what the Chinese had actually accomplished. The Chinese system is now touted as something the West should emulate as a way to avoid disastrous new warship designs like the American Zumwalt-class destroyers, LCS (Littoral Combat Ships) meant to replace a successful class of conventional frigates and worst of all, the new Ford-class nuclear powered aircraft carriers. Use of the Chinese system could have avoided these American disasters. China realized that they could not leap from their 1990s era warships based on Cold War Russian designs to the superior and quite different Western designs, at least not quickly or easily quickly. Chinese industry had learned that achieving competence in some technologies took time, even if you had obtained, legally or otherwise, full technical details of the Western equipment and manufacturing process. This has delayed China from matching Russia, much less Western firms, in building high-performance jet engines or similar maritime engines. As Chinese ship designers, developers and builders studied details of what tech Western warships depended on, they realized it was best to move slowly and carefully to avoid wasting time and money on overambitious designs that dont work and you only realize that after several ships were built. This was not speculation on the part of the Chinese because in the 1990s China was already developing one of the largest commercial ship building industries in the world. Japan and South Korea were already world class commercial shipbuilders and China noted that their neighbors started small and simple in order to master the management and worker skills needed to build larger and more complex ships. China followed the same model, even as South Korea and Japan advanced to more complex, and more profitable specialized commercial ships, like those carrying hazardous chemicals or liquified natural gas. A decade ago, China began to dominate the market for basic cargo and tanker ships and that created a large pool of veteran shipyard managers and workers. This is what China needed to start emulating Western Warship designs. They proceeded slowly, initially copying older Western designs that had tech more similar to what was used in commercial ships China had become effective at building. Meanwhile China subsidized firms developing specialized electronics for commercial and military ships as well as the gas-turbine maritime engines that enabled Western warships to rapidly increase speed. There were dozens of other ship techs that were common in Western commercial ships and more highly developed for warships. It was noted by Western naval officers and ship builders that a single class of new Chinese warships would often improve radically from ship to ship, rather than in planned evolution used in the West where a class of twenty new warships would be planned so that these arrived in three sub-classes, with the subsequent ones modified to fix or upgrade the previous group. China adopted this practice by considering each new ship as a new group and stretching out the build time for all the ships in a class so that more changes could be applied, and often just tried out, on the next ship. This was obvious when there were external changes. It was later discovered that the internal changes were sometimes even more extensive. This process often led to new classes of warships consisting of fewer ships than planned. The next class of the same type of ship was markedly better than the first ship of the earlier class. China also avoided the Western practice of setting commissioning dates far in advance. New ships officially enter service when it was ready, and that often required over a year of sea trials. Sometimes the trials went on for so long that the new ship was officially commissioned into service but its initial service consisted of more trials and visits to the shipyard. This was particularly the case with the development of Chinese subs. Their modern diesel-electric designs were based on the popular, late-Cold War Russian Kilo-class. China has even more problems with nuclear subs and are still stuck trying to match or improve on Russian Cold War era designs. What China had never done before was commission five new warships at the same time for a publicity stunt. Chinese sailors saw that as unprofessional but were professional enough to keep it to themselves. The Afghan military is negotiating with the U.S. and NATO over the issue of continued air support. American and NATO air force commanders with experience in Afghanistan agree that providing air support from one or two well-defended bases is possible based on past experience. The problem now is political. Apparently, the Afghans are expecting to be on their own for a while after this September, when all American troops are gone and if they can withstand Taliban pressure on their own, the return of foreign air support becomes politically acceptable in the West. While western media tend to focus on continued Taliban attacks, less reported on are the heavy Taliban losses and the growing disagreements among the many Taliban factions over what to do next. There have been a lot of changes since Pakistan created the Taliban three decades ago and unleashed these religious fanatics on Afghanistan, then without any central government at all. The current Afghan government is something 1990s Afghanistan lacked. The current government is much stronger than any of the 1990s civil war factions. The current government sides with the majority of Afghans who oppose the Taliban and the drug gangs. The Afghan majority has always been active and if there is another civil war it will not, as in the past, go well for the Pushtun minority. The Taliban are a Pushtun movement. During the late 1990s civil war, after Pakistan armed and recruited the Taliban to defeat the armed factions and take control, there was one insurmountable problem. The one part of Afghanistan the Taliban could never conquer was the north, especially the Tajik northeast. The Tajiks are undefeated, while the Pushtuns were beaten in late 2001. If there is another civil war the Tajiks will again be the main opponent. The Tajiks have allies that include the other minorities, especially Turkmen, Uzbeks and Mongols (Hazara). This anti-Taliban opposition is still known as the NA (Northern Alliance). The Tajik and Pushtun are often called eastern Iranians because they are, like the Iranians, also Indo-European, as are most people in northern India, Pakistan and Europe. The Tajiks differ from the Pushtun in being less warlike, less religiously fanatic and more amenable to education and progress in general. Perhaps even more important is that the Tajiks have largely abandoned the use of tribes as a primary political organization. The Pushtun are still very much into tribal power and religious fanaticism. The main reason the Northern Alliance did not defeat the Taliban in the 1990s was because the Taliban had a foreign backer (Pakistan) and the NA did not. That changed in late 2001 when the U.S. agreed to back the NA in its effort to liberate Afghanistan from Taliban control. In 2021 Russia is more willing to provide the NA with support than in the 1990s. Back then the Soviet Union had just dissolved (in 1991) and the much-reduced Russia was broke. Now Russia is less broke and interested in buying more influence in Afghanistan through the NA. Iran and India are also willing and able to back the NA if the Taliban take Kabul or just most of the south. With or without foreign support, the NA is still openly hostile to accepting Taliban rule. One possible outcome of a civil war is a temporary partition of Afghanistan, with the Taliban getting the Pushtun south and possibly even Kabul while the NA controls the north and most of the Iran border region if the NA makes a deal with Iran. The northern provinces are already demonstrating to the Taliban that the north is not to be trifled with. All Taliban efforts to establish a stable presence in the north have failed, and those efforts incur heavy Taliban losses. The main reason the Taliban persist in the north is because the drug gangs need the northern heroin export route. The NA does not want the Taliban or the heroin in the north. A divided Afghanistan with the Pushtun south dominated by the drug gangs is even more vulnerable to a popular uprising against the wealthy Pushtun minority that benefits from the drug trade. The list of Pushtun tribes that have openly opposed cooperation with the drug gangs is growing. Despite the Western forces leaving, Afghanistan has less to fear from Pakistan. This is largely attributable to China, which has kept illegal drug production out of China and insists that any trading new partners do the same. This makes the Afghan drug gangs nervous, because they have been a major supplier of cash to the Taliban since the 1990s. That has to worry the Taliban, or at least the more rational ones, because the drug gangs are run by Pushtuns, as is the Taliban. Pushtuns, as a group, follow family or clan interests before anything else. The drug gangs will offer to switch sides before they will back another Taliban attempt to conquer the entire country. With the drug gangs their goal is making money, for the Taliban it is religious fanaticism and imposing a Pushtun religious dictatorship on Afghanistan. China is involved because of the trillions of dollars worth of natural resources in Afghanistan that have never been developed into profitable exports. Everyone, especially China has, so far, found that the Afghans are too corrupt and unreliable to do business with. This is in addition to Afghanistan being the major source of heroin and other drugs that China will not tolerate. The few nations that have let a local narcotics operation get too powerful risked turning into narco-states and that never turns out well for the nation in question because there is eventually a popular, very violent and usually effective uprising against the drug gangs. China continues to remind Afghanistan that China will always stand ready to do business with nations that can provide law and order, at least for Chinese operations, in return. Enough Afghans have to be willing to fight for this rather than for more self-destructive causes. For decades the Pakistani military has been a major supporter of chaos in Afghanistan and that support is also starting to fade. The Pakistan military has always had its own foreign policy and was able to force the Pakistani government to follow the military. That situation has been undergoing changes. Pakistani military leaders support a change to how it deals with the Afghan Taliban. Put simply, Pakistani generals no longer support the Taliban establishing a government that would control the entire country. Pakistani generals acknowledged there is widespread anti-Pakistan and anti-Taliban sentiment in Afghanistan. These attitudes were present in the late 1990s, when the Pakistan military created and supported the Taliban whose current leadership is still fighting to gain control of the entire country. Since then, Afghans have increased their opposition to Pakistan and any Pakistani involvement with Afghanistan. Pakistani generals have come to recognize that their Taliban effort cannot take control of the Afghan government, but believe it has a realistic chance of becoming part of the Afghan government. That may be too optimistic because the Taliban obtains most of its income from the drug gangs, which are hated by most Afghans and Pakistanis and all the local governments, except Pakistan, which is overruled by its own military which was in business with the Afghan drug gangs even before they created the Taliban. The Pakistani military pretends to care about the local addiction and corruption brought on by Afghan drugs, but actually cooperates with the drug gangs in return for large cash payments which have made many Pakistani officers very wealthy. This is obvious to most Pakistanis who note that many active and retired Pakistani officers have a standard-of-living that is not possible according to their official (and quite generous) pay scales. May 22, 2021: The American military revealed that Pakistan has said it will continue to allow American military aircraft (combat and transports) to pass through Pakistani air space to and from landlocked Afghanistan. This was not unexpected because the Pakistani military has come to regard their creation (the Taliban) as more of a problem than a useful asset. May 5, 2021: In the southeast, on the border with Pakistani Baluchistan province, Pakistani soldiers working on the new Afghan border fence were fired on from inside Afghanistan by about twenty Afghan tribesmen. Afghans oppose the fence, especially Afghans living near the border. The gunfire today killed four soldiers and wounded several others. The Afghan gunmen fled back into Afghanistan. The fence is 75 percent complete and tribes on both sides of the border object to it and the Afghan government claims that in some areas the fence extends into Afghan territory. The 2,600-kilometer-long fence is costing Pakistan about half a billion dollars. The fence actually consists of two three-meter (ten foot) chain link fences topped with barbed wire and separated by a two-meter gap. Hundreds of new border posts, some of them the size of small forts, are being built to observe and patrol the fence. Fence construction began in mid-2017 and has faced periodic attacks, mainly from inside Afghanistan, ever since. RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Asensus Surgical, Inc. (NYSE American: ASXC), a medical device company that is digitizing the interface between the surgeon and patient to pioneer a new era of Performance-Guided Surgery, today announced that the Companys 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, scheduled to be held on Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), was adjourned to Tuesday, June 29, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Time). The Annual Meeting will be held virtually. The Company adjourned the Annual Meeting to allow its retail stockholders additional time to consider and vote on each of the proposals, which are described in the Proxy Statement. Each stockholders vote matters and is important no matter how many shares are owned. The Company requests that its stockholders please take the time to read and respond to the Companys proxy materials that were previously provided to them and vote promptly. Voting over the phone or on the Internet will require that its stockholders have their proxy control number available. That number is either printed on the proxy, if stockholders received a physical copy of the proxy materials, or Notice of Internet Availability, if the proxy materials were electronically delivered. Stockholders who have sold their shares but were a holder of record at the close of business on April 8, 2021, the record date for the Annual Meeting, remain entitled to vote. The Board encourages stockholders to vote FOR each of the proposals. Proxies submitted to date for the Annual Meeting continue to be valid and will be voted at the Annual Meeting on June 29, 2021 in accordance with the stockholders instructions. Stockholders who need assistance in submitting their proxy or voting their shares should call the Companys proxy solicitor, Alliance Advisors at 844-858-7383. About Asensus Surgical, Inc. Asensus Surgical, Inc. is digitizing the interface between the surgeon and patient to pioneer a new era of Performance-Guided Surgery by unlocking the clinical intelligence to enable consistently superior outcomes and a new standard of surgery. This builds upon the foundation of Digital Laparoscopy with the Senhance Surgical System powered by the Intelligent Surgical Unit (ISU) to increase surgeon control and reduce surgical variability. With the addition of machine vision, augmented intelligence, and deep learning capabilities throughout the surgical experience, we intend to holistically address the current clinical, cognitive and economic shortcomings that drive surgical outcomes and value-based healthcare. Learn more about Performance-Guided Surgery and Digital Laparoscopy with the Senhance Surgical System here: www.senhance.com. Now available for sale in the US, EU, Japan, Russia, and select other countries. For a complete list of indications for use, visit: www.senhance.com/indications. For more information, visit www.asensus.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005960/en/ INVESTOR CONTACT: Mark Klausner or Mike Vallie, 443-213-0499 invest@asensus.com or MEDIA CONTACT: Kristin Schaeffer CG Life kschaeffer@cglife.com Source: Asensus Surgical, Inc. $13.4 Million Round to Accelerate Transition of NEXTs Photovoltaic Windows to Commercial Process, Testing and Certification SANTA BARBARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- NEXT Energy Technologies, Inc., makers of a proprietary transparent photovoltaic coating that transforms commercial windows into energy-producing solar panels, announced today that it has raised $13.4 million in a Series C round of funding. Lead investors in the round include Alon Blue Square Israel, Ltd., a group with major business activities and holdings across the real estate development and management market as well as energy, retail and public transportation sectors, predominantly in Israel; GEAR Innovation Network, the innovation arm of Golden Energy and Resources Ltd., one of the largest vertically-integrated mining, energy and resources groups in Southeast Asia and a part of the Sinar Mas Group; and Viracon, a leading architectural glass fabricator and subsidiary of Apogee Enterprises, a provider of architectural glass, aluminum framing systems, and installation services for commercial buildings around the world. Highly regarded real estate family office Rincon Advisors also participated in the financing. There is strong strategic alignment between NEXT and its financing partners. The companys new strategic investors provide NEXT with broad access and insight into the global commercial real estate market and architecture, engineering and construction communities. Investment in NEXT will provide them access to a clear and powerful energy solution that will power our buildings and protect our planet. Workplaces of the future must evolve into safer, healthier and more climate-compliant spaces, said Daniel Emmett, CEO of NEXT. As we emerge from COVID-19, workers returning to their offices are actively re-evaluating the role offices and buildings play in their lives; and architects, developers and employers are listening. The buildings sector accounts for about 76% of electricity use and 40% of all U.S. primary energy use and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to U.S. government statistics. NEXT has developed low-cost, printable, transparent coatings that are seamlessly integrated into windows, enabling them to function like solar panels harvesting and converting sunlight into renewable energy to power commercial buildings. Early partners testing demonstration units of the new NEXT photovoltaic windows believe the product can help them gain a competitive advantage and lower operating costs, while simultaneously addressing climate impacts of buildings. New building materials and innovative designs are now required to enable buildings to meet net-zero and sustainability requirements. We believe our photovoltaic windows are ideally aligned to support the global energy transition to renewables, and this new funding is accelerating our plans, Emmett said. Proceeds from this round of financing are already accelerating the transition to large-area coating for commercialization, pilot installations, durability testing, and industry certification, in preparation for use by leading window manufacturers. An undeniable takeaway from 2020 is that health, climate change, and equity are inseparably linked, said Andy Cohen, CEO of Gensler and a board member at NEXT. As we move on from lockdown living, the places we occupy must support well-being at an individual level. On a larger scale, buildings must be sustainable, show returns and make positive impacts on their neighborhoods and the global ecosystems to which they contribute. The breakthrough window solutions from NEXT will be a step towards helping us meet that goal, Cohen continued. This new round of funding follows the companys recent selection into the CalTestBed Initiative, a California Energy Commission (CEC) funded effort to speed the commercialization of clean energy technologies. This program is led by New Energy Nexus in partnership with the University of California Office of the President and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. NEXT is one of 25 startup companies selected for this program and receiving CEC support to help the state meet its goal of achieving 100 percent clean energy by 2045. As a participant, NEXT is receiving up to $300,000 in third-party testing to demonstrate and enhance the reliability of the companys organic photovoltaic modules with experts at UC Santa Barbaras Optical Characterization facility in Santa Barbara, CA. The program also provides the opportunity to develop commercialization partners and engage potential customers. About NEXT Energy Technologies, Inc. NEXT Energy Technologies is a Santa Barbara, California company developing transparent energy harvesting window technology that allows architects and building owners to transform windows and glass facades into producers of low-cost, on-site, renewable energy for buildings. NEXT's technology is enabled by proprietary organic semiconducting materials that are earth-abundant, low-cost, and are coated as an ink in a high-speed, low-cost, and low energy process. For more information, visit https://www.nextenergytech.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005095/en/ Eric Becker 104 West Partners eric.becker@104west.com Source: NEXT Energy Technologies, Inc. DALLAS & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Arctos NorthStar Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: ANAC) (the Company) today announced that it received a formal notice of non-compliance from the New York Stock Exchange (the NYSE) relating to the Companys failure to timely file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 (the Form 10-Q) as required under the timely filing criteria established in Section 802.01E of the NYSE Listed Company Manual. On April 12, 2021, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) (the Statement), which clarified guidance for all SPAC-related companies regarding the accounting and reporting for their warrants. The immediacy of the effective date of the new guidance set forth in the Statement has resulted in a significant number of SPACs re-evaluating the accounting treatment for their warrants with their professional advisors, including auditors and other advisors responsible for assisting SPACs in the preparation of financial statements. This, in turn, has resulted in the Companys delay in preparing and finalizing its financial statements as of and for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 and filing its Form 10-Q with the SEC by the prescribed deadline. Under NYSE rules, the Company generally has six months following receipt of the notification of non-compliance to regain compliance with the continued listing standard, subject to any extensions by NYSE. The Company intends to file the Form 10-Q with the SEC in the near term and regain compliance within such period. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are subject to the safe harbor created thereby. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as may, will, could, would, should, expect, plan, anticipate, intend, believe, estimate, predict, potential, outlook, guidance or the negative of those terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of the Companys management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. The above statements regarding the impact of the Statement on the Companys financial statements, as well as the effect of the revision on any periodic SEC filings, including the timing of filing the Form 10-Q, constitute forward-looking statements that are based on the Companys current expectations. Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause future events to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, many of which are outside of the Companys control. These factors include, but are not limited to, a variety of risk factors affecting the Companys business and prospects, see the section titled Risk Factors in the Companys Prospectus filed with the SEC on February 24, 2021 and subsequent reports filed with the SEC, as amended from time to time. Any forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, 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. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210602006088/en/ Lauren Fernandez media@arctospartners.com Source: Arctos NorthStar Acquisition Corp. Aon plc (NYSE: AON) signed definitive agreements to sell its U.S. retirement business to Aquiline and its Aon Retiree Health Exchange business to Alight for total gross consideration of $1.4 billion. The agreements are intended to address certain questions raised by the U.S. Department of Justice in relation to the combination with respect to the markets in which these businesses are active. Aon and Willis Towers Watson continue to work toward obtaining regulatory approval in all relevant jurisdictions. "These agreements further accelerate our momentum to close our proposed combination with Willis Towers Watson," said Greg Case, Aon's CEO. "These are very capable teams that have demonstrated exceptional dedication to our clients and our firm. I want to recognize their contributions and reinforce that we are confident they will have similar opportunities with Aquiline and Alight." The proposed combination of Aon and Willis Towers Watson would build on the firm's track record of progress on key financial metrics and achievement over the past decade. As previously disclosed, the pending combination with Willis Towers Watson is expected to deliver: Revenue growth, margin expansion through the delivery of better solutions, increased cash flow and earnings growth and a strong balance sheet, to generate attractive returns for shareholders in the future. $800 million of cost synergies1, taking into account announced divestitures and other potential remedies. Allocation of any divestiture proceeds according to its Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) framework, in which the firm expects that share buyback will continue to be its highest return activity. Accretion to adjusted EPS, reflecting the synergy potential of the combination, consistent with initially announced accretion projections in year three and over the long term.2,3 Aon and Willis Towers Watson have previously announced the divestiture of Willis Re, a set of Willis Towers Watson corporate risk and broking and health and benefits services, and Aon's retirement and investment business in Germany. Total 2020 revenue announced or offered to be divested, contingent on the combination, is $2.3 billion. Of the $2.3 billion, approximately 35% occurred in Q1, 23% in Q2, 18% in Q3, and 24% in Q4. The U.S. retirement business Aquiline will acquire includes approximately 1000 colleagues and the agreement includes U.S. core retirement consulting, U.S. pension administration and the U.S.-based portion of Aon's international retirement consulting business, along with many solutions and tools, including: Benefit Index and SpecSelect Risk Analyzer DBCalc and YPR Aon Pooled Employer Plan (PEP) The agreement with Aquiline does not include Aon's non-U.S. actuarial, non-U.S. pension administration or international retirement businesses based outside of the U.S. Aquiline Capital Partners is a private investment firm based in New York and London that invests in companies across financial services, technology, business services, and healthcare. With $6.4 billion in assets under management, the firm has successfully invested in numerous businesses that help people plan and save for retirement. "The retirement solutions sector is benefitting from an increased focus on long-term investment security and risk management of plans," said Jeff Greenberg, Aquiline's Chairman and CEO. "Aquiline's significant experience across retirement and investments positions us to build on the strong business Aon has created. We look forward to working closely with the clients, management and colleagues of Aon's U.S. retirement business to create further value for all stakeholders." The Aon Retiree Health Exchange, which Alight will acquire, is an individual market solution that better supports employers and their retirees. It was the first retiree exchange to meet the National Council on Aging (NCOA) standards and continues to meet or exceed those rigorous standards of excellence in consumer education and health insurance brokerage services for people with Medicare. Alight leverages its proprietary AI and data analytics to optimize business process as a service (BPaaS) to deliver superior outcomes for employees and employers across a comprehensive portfolio of services. Alight allows employees to enrich their health, wealth and work while enabling global organizations to achieve a high-performance culture. Helping clients of all sizes, including 70 percent of the Fortune 100, Alight's 15,000 colleagues serve more than 30 million employees and family members. All of the announced regulatory divestitures are contingent on the completion of the pending Aon and Willis Towers Watson combination, as well as other customary closing conditions. While Aon and WTW are working toward completing the proposed combination as soon as possible in the third quarter of 2021, the completion remains subject to the receipt of required regulatory approvals and clearances, including with respect to United States antitrust laws, as well as other customary closing conditions. FILE PHOTO: The Boeing logo is pictured at the Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition fair at Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil August 14, 2018. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker//File Photo By Katya Golubkova and Gleb Stolyarov ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) -Qatar Airways is weighing a multibillion-dollar investment with a potential order for 30 or more freighters, attracting interest from Boeing Co, which has begun offering a freighter version of its future 777X jetliner, the airline's chief executive said. In April, the Gulf carrier said it was interested in a 777X freighter but had not been told by Boeing of any plans to launch one. But speaking to Reuters on Thursday, Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said a cargo 777X was now on the table as the airline ponders a freighter order from Boeing or Airbus. "Qatar Airways is very interested in purchasing a large fleet of freighters because we have to now start replacing our old freighters," he said in an interview in St Petersburg. "We have our programme of replacement over several years and we would be very keen to place an order with Boeing or with Airbus, it all depends on how things proceed." A Boeing representative told Reuters in response late on Thursday that the planemaker engages with its customers on its product development programme and their long-term fleet needs. Boeing's Chief Executive Dave Calhoun separately said the board had not yet approved a 777X freighter version. Qatar Airways' cargo fleet currently consists of 30 freighters, all made by Boeing, according to its website. Al Baker has raised the prospect of a 777X freighter launch amid an unspecified contractual dispute with Airbus. European planemaker Airbus is also gauging airline interest in a freighter version of its A350 passenger jet, which if launched would target a market key to Boeing, Reuters reported in March. Boeing's plans for a 777X freighter have been delayed as the U.S. planemaker wrestles with certification delays and weak demand for its passenger version. The new passenger version of Boeing's popular 777 series is not scheduled to start delivery to airlines until late 2023, three years later than the planemaker had planned. "With Boeing we have no issue, with Boeing we have a large 777X order and we will take those airplanes, we have made a recommendation with Boeing on the deliveries on those airplanes," Al Baker said, without disclosing what the airline had proposed. Qatar Airways, which operates only international flights, is on average filling around 40% of seats on all flights, he said, and had received $3 billion in equity from the government since the pandemic broke out to help it through the crisis. "We are good for now, we have credit lines from the banks which we are using," he said. (Reporting by Ekaterina Golubkova and Gleb Stolyarov in St PetersburgWriting by Alexander CornwellEditing by Tim Hepher and Matthew Lewis) FN Media Group Presents Microsmallcap.com Market Commentary New York, NY - June 3, 2021 The global renewable energy market, which was estimated at $980 billion in 2017, is expected to reach a stunning $1.5 trillion by 2025. The demand for sustainable and clean energy sources fueled by environmental concerns regarding rapid urbanization, fossil fuels and economic growth in emerging regions is driving the growth seen in recent years within the market. This demand has also fueled the development of innovative and sustainable solutions like energy-efficient batteries, energy storage solutions, and particularly, electric vehicles (EVs), which grew to a value of $246.7 billion in 2020. Companies such as Nano One Materials Corp (TSXV:NNO) (OTCPK:NNOMF) (FF:LBMB), NIO Inc. (NYSE:NIO), General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), ChargePoint Holdings (NYSE: CHPT), and Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) are at the forefront in developing clean energy solutions that also meet ESG principles. Nano One Makes Battery Breakthrough Nano One Materials Corp (TSXV:NNO) (OTC:NNOMF) (FF:LBMB) is a Canadian clean technology company that has developed a patented low carbon intensity process to produce low-cost, high-performance cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. The company has continued to make breakthroughs in battery longevity through durability tests on their Lithium Nickel Manganese battery and have found that its high-voltage cobalt-free battery is stable at elevated operating temperatures, similar to those found in power tools, automotive, and energy storage applications. The breakthrough Nano One made opened up opportunities for collaboration with players in the EV and battery market. In a recent announcement, Nano One has revealed a joint development agreement with Johnson Matthey where the companies will apply Nano Ones patented One-Pot process for the development of Johnson Matthey's eLNO(R) family of nickel-rich advanced cathode materials. The companies will focus on materials, production methods, and a commercialization study for pre-pilot, pilot, and scaled-up manufacturing in the collaboration. "Johnson Matthey is a global leader in advanced lithium-ion cathode materials," said Nano One CEO Dan Blondal, and we are proud to be working with them in the pursuit of high performance, long life cycles, low-carbon footprint, and environmentally sustainable solutions. We share a common vision to develop and commercialize a highly differentiated and value-added cathode materials business and we are delighted to be introducing Johnson Matthey as a trusted partner,and collaborating on process innovations for a new generation of lithium-ion battery materials. Our business is primed for such opportunities and we look forward to advancing this partnership and its joint development program Nano One's One-Pot process and the recently launched M2CAM technology have been developed in response to a growing need to reduce waste, carbon footprint, cost, and energy in the Lithium-ion supply chain and meet growing ESG imperatives. The joint development agreement is one of the collaborations Nano One has engaged in since its successful technical reviews and preliminary evaluations that began in Q2 2020. Following the closing of a bought deal offering for gross proceeds of approximately $28.9 million, Nano One has the funds to support ongoing research and development, strategic partnerships and collaboration and a pilot plant expansion. Companies Across the EV and Batteries Space Take Steps towards More Sustainable Energy Solutions Chinese premium electric vehicle company NIO Inc. (NYSE:NIO) launched its Battery-as-a-Service subscription model, which will allow users to purchase electric vehicles. "The BaaS model has long been planned with our unique battery swap technologies; the successful launch of the BaaS model will enable NIO users to benefit from the lower initial purchase of our products, flexible battery upgrade options, and assurance of battery performance." ChargePoint Holdings (NYSE:CHPT), a market leader in electric vehicle charging committed to facilitating an easier transition to electric mobility by providing charging networks. ChargePoint Holdings currently has the largest charging network in North America and is gradually expanding its products and solutions to Europe. ChargePoint is also enhancing the EV driver experience with its recent Android Auto integration to allow drivers to access their vehicle's charging information from the infotainment system. Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SK Innovation to produce about 60GWh annually in traction battery cells and array modules in a joint venture they are calling BlueOvalSK. The MoU comes as part of Ford's commitment to invest in electric vehicles. Shortly after Ford unveiled the new all-electric 2022 F-150 Lightning(R) Pro purpose built for commercial customers. "F-150 Lightning Pro represents so much more than an electric workhorse - it's made for commercial customer inside and out, it gets better over time, and it's totally plugged into always-on services that can help business productivity," said Jim Farley, President and CEO, Ford Motor Company. Registrations for the vehicle are currently on-going. Meanwhile, global car company General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) has vowed on "advancing an all-electric future" with the help of its Ultium battery platform. In fact, GM is even looking to bring electric vehicles to the moon through a partnership with Lockhead Martin to develop a next-generation Lunar Rover for NASAs Artemis program. Companies in the electric vehicle sector such as Nano One are developing powerful alternative energy solutions to meet the growing demand for environment-friendly products. For more information about Nano One, click here. Disclaimer: Microsmallcap.com (MSC) is the source of the Article and content set forth above. 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Media Contact: FN Media Group, LLC info@financialnewsmedia.com +1(561)325-8757 Source: Microsmallcap.com COMTEX_387781588/2692/2021-06-03T08:50:29 VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Abacus Mining & Exploration Corporation (Abacus or the Company) (TSXV: AME) wishes to announce the results from a recently completed three-hole drilling program on the Jersey Valley epithermal gold property. The Company intercepted similar gold and silver values to historical drilling, with the targets tested further along strike and at slightly greater depth. The best results were a 12.64 metre interval of 0.053 g/t gold and 0.73 g/t silver, including 1.09 g/t silver over 7.55 metres and 0.19 g/t gold and 3.62 g/t silver over 1.5 m. These types of gold systems are found due to the presence of low, subeconomic precious metal values near surface, and it is possible that the Company did not drill deep enough in this first pass of drilling. Sampling of the drill holes was hampered by very poor core recovery throughout all holes. It is thought that Reverse Circulation drilling might provide better recoveries in a future program. The Company also collected a great deal of geochemical data during the drilling, and once analyzed, this should provide vectors towards better mineralization. The Company drilled three of the planned four holes on the property, each to a vertical depth of approximately 300 metres, and opted not to drill the final hole due to difficult drilling conditions with very broken and oxidized rock. The program was designed to test IP geophysical anomalies identified in a survey completed in 2020, which were the strike continuations of zones drill tested by a previous operator. The best intercept in drill hole Jersey 1 was 0.016 g/t gold over 4.14 m, although the adjacent 0.3 metre down hole interval had no core recovery, followed by a 1.52 metre intercept of 0.011 g/t gold. It is thus possible that elevated, but subeconomic gold values may have occurred over a core length of 5.97 metres. Drill hole Jersey 2 returned a 12.64 metre interval of 0.053 g/t gold and 0.73 g/t silver, including 1.09 g/t silver over 7.55 metres and 0.19 g/t gold and 3.62 g/t silver over 1.5 m. Drill hole Jersey 3 returned 0.047 g/t gold over 2.03 metres. The geology consists of a complex mixture of volcanic fragmentals, intrusives and broken sinter terraces. The fact that an active geothermal system is present, means that a great deal of fluid flow is occurring through the rocks. As mentioned previously, these types of systems are found due to leakage near surface of subeconomic precious metal values pointing to possible better values at depth. It is then a matter of working out the faulting and using trace element geochemistry to vector into the best areas. The Jersey Valley property is prospective for epithermal precious metal mineralization in an active hydrothermal environment, like the Taupo volcanic zone in New Zealand, and is also prospective for Au-Ag skarns. The property has a well-maintained sealed road running through it, which provides access to a 15 MW geothermal power plant located on the claim group. The project is within the Battle Mountain trend of north-central Nevada in close proximity to both the producing Phoenix/Fortitude mine complex, a gold skarn with approximately 14 Moz gold plus significant Ag and Cu past production and a proposed mine life to 2063, and the Cove/McCoy Mine, a Carlin-type gold deposit with approximately 3.4 Moz gold and 110 Moz Ag past production (information is compiled from the Newmont Mines and Premier Gold Mines websites, and is considered historic in nature. The reader is further cautioned that the mineralization hosted on nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Companys Jersey Valley gold property). The Company also has additional properties of merit in Nevada. The Willow copper-molybdenum porphyry property is in the Yerington copper camp, southeast of Reno. Drilling by the Company in 2018 intersected a key intrusive rock unit that hosts all known porphyry Cu-Mo deposits at Yerington. This rock unit was not previously known to exist on the Companys property, and it represents a significant new discovery. The target is large and robust, and it remains essentially untested. The Company is about to start a new drilling program on this prospective property. Abacus also holds a 20% ownership interest in the Ajax copper-gold porphyry project, located near Kamloops, British Columbia., which is managed by base metal major KGHM Polska Miedz S.A., who hold the remaining 80%. The Ajax Project contains significant quantities of copper and gold, within a NI 43-101 Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve of 426 Mt at 0.29% Cu, 0.19 g/t Au and 0.39 g/t Ag. Contained metal is in the order of 2.7 Bil lbs Cu, 2.6 Moz Au and 5.3 Moz Ag. * The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Paul G. Anderson, M.Sc., P.Geo., a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101. * Wardrop Engineering Inc. 2012. Ajax Copper/Gold Project, Kamloops, British Columbia Feasibility Study Technical Report. Doc. No. 1054610300-REP-R0004-02. January 2012. On Behalf of the Board,ABACUS MINING & EXPLORATION CORPORATION Paul G. Anderson, P.Geo.President and CEO About Abacus Abacus is a mineral exploration and mine development company currently focused on copper and gold in B.C. and Nevada. The Companys main asset is a 20% ownership interest, together with KGHM Polska Miedz S.A. (80%), in the proposed copper-gold Ajax Mine located southwest of Kamloops, B.C., which has undergone a joint provincial and federal environmental assessment process. On December 14, 2017, a decision was made by the B.C. Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy and the Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum resources to decline to issue an environmental assessment certificate for the Project. KGHM have recently reopened an office in Kamloops, B.C. to facilitate First Nation, community and governmental engagement in order to advance the project towards a potential resubmission of the environmental application. Abacus also holds an option on the Willow copper-gold property located near Yerington, Nevada in which it can acquire up to a 75% ownership interest, and the contiguous Nev-Lorraine claims subject to a ten-year lease agreement. In addition, Abacus holds a 15-year lease on the Jersey Valley gold property, near Battle Mt., Nevada. For the latest reports and information on Abacus projects, please refer to the Companys website at www.amemining.com. Forward-Looking Information This release includes certain statements that are deemed forward-looking statements. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that Abacus expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words expects, plans, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, projects, potential and similar expressions, or that events or conditions will, would, may, could or should occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include changes to commodity prices, mine and metallurgical recovery, operating and capital costs, foreign exchange rates, ability to obtain required permits on a timely basis, exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Source: Abacus Mining and Exploration Corp. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avricore Health Inc. (TSXV: AVCR, OTC: AVCRF) (Avricore Health or the Company) is pleased to announce patients will soon have access to its innovative point-of-care blood screening and health-data management platform, HealthTab, at select Shoppers Drug Mart locations. Through this pilot program, patients will have greater access to earlier diabetes detection and preventative screening services for at-risk individuals. Ultimately, the objective is to reduce the negative health impacts and support those living with diabetes achieve higher quality-of-life. The program, as per the Master Agreement Statement of Work, will launch in eleven Shoppers Drug Mart locations in Ontario with HealthTab-integrated Afinion2 analyzers by Abbott Diagnostics to refine workflow and engagement approaches. Pharmacists will test patients average blood sugar (HbA1C) and lipids with results reported via the cloud-based HealthTab system. Having accessible, high-quality diagnostics with real-time data reporting and the support of a trusted Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacist is a powerful combination in the battle against chronic disease in Canada, said Hector Bremner, CEO of Avricore Health. This initiative is a major step forward for our mission to deliver the most accessible early disease detection and management platform in the country. The programs initial focus is to screen patients at-risk for developing diabetes and cardiovascular conditions and to support those already diagnosed by a physician to better manage their conditions for higher quality of life. Our purpose is to help Canadians live life well and that means providing the tools and services they need to successfully manage their overall health. Lowering barriers to health information and getting more support from a qualified health professional, like one of our pharmacists, are important steps forward in mitigating disease impacts and increasing patient quality of life, said Doug Bryce, VP, Health & Pharmacy Programs and Innovation, Shoppers Drug Mart. Were committed to innovations in service because it allows us to better support our customers. The HealthTab Diabetes platform will provide our patients living with Diabetes new program options to better manage their conditions. This initiative builds off the past success of HealthTab used in a government-funded screening program for Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in Canadian pharmacies. Learn more at: https://corporate.shoppersdrugmart.ca About HealthTab + RASTR HealthTab is a proven point-of-care screening system, designed to support pharmacists evolving role. The system empowers patients to be proactive about their health by directly measuring and monitoring key safety tests and biomarkers of chronic disease. The HealthTab test is simple, fast, lab-accurate, and requires just a few drops of blood from a finger stick. Results can be printed in-store or accessed securely online. As part of this direction for HealthTab the Company developed a revolutionary model for utilizing the systems unique ability to offer real-time evaluations of treated populations and even real-world evaluation clinical trials. The name for this approach is Rapid Access Safety Test Reporting, or RASTR Network, whereby the network of HealthTab systems feedback de-identified data through to electronic health records and data management systems via its API capabilities. This is the first platform of harmonized analyzers, with fully integrated data-flow, for blood chemistry results to be sent to consumers, their healthcare teams and sponsors; such as researchers, insurance providers and the life-science sector. The significance of this approach to the market is the enhanced access to screening and early detection of disease, better data for physicians and pharmacists to support their patients, plus new opportunities to conduct research and ensure patient safety. And, with the emergence of COVID-19 and its variants, the HealthTab + RASTR platform can now directly report results from the Abbott ID Now, or manually report results from rapid-tests, dramatically reducing the administration time and increasing the accuracy and speed of information sharing. About Avricore Health Inc. Avricore Health Inc. is committed to becoming a health innovator and applying technologies at the forefront of science to core health issues at the community pharmacy level. The Company's goal is to empower consumers, patients and pharmacists with innovative technology, products, services and information to monitor and optimize health. www.avricorehealth.com Contact: Avricore Health Inc. Hector Bremner, CEO 604-773-8943 info@avricorehealth.com www.avricorehealth.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Information in this press release that involves Avricore Health's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Avricore Health generally uses words such as "outlook," "will," "could," "would," "might," "remains," "to be," "plans," "believes," "may," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "estimate," "future," "positioned," "potential," "project," "remain," "scheduled," "set to," "subject to," "upcoming," and similar expressions to help identify forward-looking statements. In this press release, forward-looking statements include statements regarding: the completion of the placement and the expected timing thereof and the Company's expected use of proceeds from the placement; the unique features that the HealthTab platform offers to pharmacists and patients. Forward-looking statements reflect the then-current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts of Avricore Health's management. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to Avricore Health as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Avricore Health and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations, including without limitation: failure to meet regulatory requirements; changes in the market; potential downturns in economic conditions; and other risk factors described in Avricore's public filings. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update them publicly to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances, unless otherwise required to do so by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy Source: Avricore Health Inc. MONTREAL, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bombardier Inc. (Bombardier or the Company) today announced the commencement of a cash tender offer (the Tender Offer) to purchase for cash up to $1,000,000,000 aggregate purchase price (exclusive of accrued and unpaid interest) (as such aggregate purchase price may be increased or decreased by the Company, the Aggregate Maximum Purchase Amount) of its outstanding Notes of the three series listed in the table below (collectively, the Notes); provided that the Company will only accept for purchase its 6.125% Senior Notes due 2023 having an aggregate purchase price of up to $500,000,000 (exclusive of accrued and unpaid interest) (as such aggregate purchase price for such 2023 Notes may be increased or decreased by the Company, the 2023 Tender Cap). The Tender Offer is being made pursuant to an Offer to Purchase dated June 3, 2021. The table below summarizes certain payment terms for the Tender Offer: Title of Note CUSIP / ISIN (144A) CUSIP / ISIN (Reg S) Principal Amount Outstanding 2023 Tender Cap Acceptance Priority Level(4) Tender Offer Consideration (1)(2) Early Tender Payment (1) Total Consideration (1)(2)(3) 5.750% Senior Notes due 2022 097751AY7 / US097751AY72 C10602AR8 / USC10602AR84 $181,203,000 N/A 1 $1,008.50 $30.00 $1,038.50 6.125% Senior Notes due 2023 097751BF7 / US097751BF74 C10602AW7 / USC10602AW79 $1,023,858,000 $500,000,000 2 $1,032.50 $30.00 $1,062.50 6.000% Senior Notes due 2022 097751BJ9 / US097751BJ96 C10602AY3 / USC10602AY36 $1,200,000,000 N/A 3 $970.00 $30.00 $1,000.00 _______________ (1) Per $1,000 principal amount of Notes accepted for purchase. (2) Excludes accrued and unpaid interest, which will be paid in addition to the Tender Offer Consideration or the Total Consideration, as applicable. (3) Includes the applicable Early Tender Payment. (4) The Acceptance Priority Level will be applied separately at the Early Tender Date and at the Expiration Date. The Tender Offer will expire at 11:59 p.m. New York City time, on June 30, 2021 unless extended or earlier terminated (such date and time, including as extended or earlier terminated, the "Expiration Date"). Registered holders (each, a "Holder" and collectively, the "Holders") of the Notes must validly tender their Notes at or before 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on June 16, 2021 (such date and time, including as extended or earlier terminated, the "Early Tender Date") in order to be eligible to receive the Early Tender Payment in addition to the Tender Offer Consideration (as defined below). Tenders of the Notes may be withdrawn at any time at or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on June 16, 2021, unless extended or earlier terminated (the Withdrawal Deadline), and not thereafter, except in limited circumstances where withdrawal rights may be required by applicable law. The Notes will be purchased in accordance with the "Acceptance Priority Level" (in numerical priority order) as set forth in the table above (the "Acceptance Priority Level"), with Acceptance Priority Level 1 being the highest and Acceptance Priority Level 3 being the lowest, and possible proration of the Notes on the Early Settlement Date (as defined below) or the Final Settlement Date (as defined below) will be determined in accordance with the terms of the Tender Offer; provided that notwithstanding the Acceptance Priority Level for the 6.125% Senior Notes due 2023, the amount of such Notes that will be accepted in the Tender Offer is limited by the 2023 Tender Cap; and further provided that Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Early Tender Date will be accepted for purchase in priority to Notes tendered after the Early Tender Date, even if such Notes tendered after the Early Tender Date have a higher Acceptance Priority Level than Notes tendered at or prior to the Early Tender Date. Accordingly, if the aggregate total purchase price payable for the Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Early Tender Date and accepted for purchase equals or exceeds the Aggregate Maximum Purchase Amount, Holders who validly tender Notes after the Early Tender Date will not have any such Notes accepted for payment regardless of the Acceptance Priority Level of such Notes (unless the terms of the Tender Offer are amended by the Company in its sole and absolute discretion). If, on the Early Settlement Date or Final Settlement Date, as applicable, only a portion of the tendered Notes of a series of Notes may be accepted for purchase, the aggregate principal amount of such series of Notes accepted for purchase will be prorated based upon the aggregate principal amount of that series of Notes that have been validly tendered and not yet accepted for purchase in the Tender Offer, such that the Aggregate Maximum Purchase Amount and the 2023 Tender Cap (with respect to the 6.125% Senior Notes due 2023) will not be exceeded. The Total Consideration includes, in each case, an early tender payment (the Early Tender Payment) of $30 for each $1,000 principal amount of the Notes, which Early Tender Payment is in addition to, in each case, the applicable Tender Offer Consideration (as defined below). Subject to purchase in accordance with the Acceptance Priority Level, the Aggregate Maximum Purchase Amount, the 2023 Tender Cap and possible proration, Holders validly tendering Notes (that have not been validly withdrawn) at or prior to the Early Tender Date will be eligible to receive the applicable Total Consideration listed in the table above, which includes the Early Tender Payment, on the Early Settlement Date, which is expected to be the second business day after the Early Tender Date, but that may change without notice. Holders validly tendering Notes after the Early Tender Date but at or prior to the Expiration Date will only be eligible to receive the applicable Tender Offer Consideration listed in the table on the Final Settlement Date. The Final Settlement Date is expected to be the second business day after the Expiration Date, but that may change without notice. In addition to the Total Consideration or Tender Offer Consideration, Holders whose Notes are accepted for purchase will also receive accrued and unpaid interest from the last interest payment date to, but not including, the applicable settlement date. The obligation of the Company to accept for purchase, and to pay for, Notes validly tendered pursuant to the Tender Offer is subject to, and conditioned upon, the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions as set forth in the Offer to Purchase, in the sole and absolute discretion of the Company. The Tender Offer is not conditioned on any minimum amount of Notes being tendered. However, Bombardiers obligation to accept for purchase and to pay for the Notes in the Tender Offer is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of a number of conditions, including Bombardiers completion of its offering of new Senior Notes (the New Offering) at or prior to the Expiration Date, on terms satisfactory to Bombardier, the proceeds of which New Offering (net of transaction fees and expenses) will be used to finance its purchase of Notes pursuant to the Tender Offer. Bombardier intends to complete the New Offering at or prior to the Expiration Date. Its obligation to accept for purchase any Notes pursuant to the Tender Offer is expressly conditioned on the completion of the New Offering on terms satisfactory to Bombardier. For avoidance of doubt, references in the Offer to Purchase to completion of the New Offering mean completion of the closing under such New Offering at which closing the Company receives the anticipated proceeds from the New Offering. No assurance can be given that the New Offering will be completed on the terms currently envisioned or at all. If such condition shall not have been satisfied, no payments will be made to tendering Holders on the Early Settlement Date or Final Settlement Date, as applicable. None of Bombardier, the trustees for the Notes, the agents under the respective indentures for the Notes, the dealer managers, the information and tender agent, any of their respective subsidiaries or affiliates or any of its or their respective directors, officers, employees or representatives makes any recommendation to Holders as to whether or not to tender all or any portion of their Notes, and none of the foregoing has authorized any person to make any such recommendation. Holders must decide whether to tender Notes, and if tendering, the amount of Notes to tender. All of the Notes are held in book-entry form. If you hold Notes through a broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee, you must contact such broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee if you wish to tender Notes pursuant to the Tender Offer. You should check with such broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee to determine whether they will charge you a fee for tendering Notes on your behalf. You should also confirm with the broker, dealer, bank, trust company or other nominee any deadlines by which you must provide your tender instructions, because the relevant deadline set by such nominee may be earlier than the deadlines set forth herein. Bombardier has retained J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. to serve as dealer managers for the Tender Offer. Bombardier has retained Global Bondholder Services Corporation to act as the information and tender agent in respect of the Tender Offer. For additional information regarding the terms of the Tender Offer, please contact J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. at their respective telephone numbers set forth on the back cover page of the Offer to Purchase. Copies of the Offer to Purchase may be obtained at https://www.gbsc-usa.com/bombardier/ or by contacting Global Bondholder Services Corporation at (866) 807 2200 or by email at contact@gbsc-usa.com. This notice does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to purchase, or any solicitation of any offer to sell, the Notes or any other securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction, and neither this notice nor any part of it, nor the fact of its release, shall form the basis of, or be relied on or in connection with, any contract therefor. The Tender Offer is made only by and pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Offer to Purchase and the information in this notice is qualified by reference to the Offer to Purchase. None of the Company, the dealer managers or the information and tender agent makes any recommendations as to whether Holders should tender their Notes pursuant to the Tender Offer. This announcement does not constitute an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell any securities in any jurisdiction or in any circumstances in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful. In those jurisdictions where the securities, blue sky or other laws require the Tender Offer to be made by a licensed broker or dealer, the Tender Offer will be deemed to be made by the dealer managers or one or more registered brokers or dealers licensed under the laws of such jurisdiction. Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking statements based on current expectations. By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to important known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause our actual results in future periods to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. For additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties, and the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Offer to Purchase. For information Fleming Island, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Everything Blockchain, Inc., (formerly known as OBITX, Inc., OTCMKTS: OBTX), an advanced development, engineering, and services company specializing in Blockchain technologies and decentralized processing will be represented at the largest cryptocurrency conference the world has ever seen, in Miami, Florida, June 4-5, 2021. Headquartered in the State of Florida, Everything Blockchain is located near what is quickly becoming the new tech hub and the USAs emerging center for crypto and Blockchain technology. Eric Jaffe, the companys Chief Executive Officer stated, Cryptocurrencies, and its underlying technology, the Blockchain, is still relatively in its infancy and many dont understand its broad base implications on our everyday lives. The quintessential concept of removing the need for a trusted third party to carry out transactions and having to pay extremely high prices for that trusted third party, is the greatest disruptor of our times, and probably those of our children. We simply dont have to do business the way we use to. He went on to say, we knew the day the conference was announced in Miami, in our backyard, where 50,000 crypto and Blockchain enthusiast will be, we had to be there. The event at the Mana Convention Center in Miamis Wynwood neighborhood, will play host to a number of industry executives and personalities. Crypto luminaries scheduled for attendance include former congressman Ron Paul, MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, pro-crypto Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, Square co-founder Jack Dorsey and cryptographer Nick Szabo, among others. Everything Blockchain will participate in the pre-conference socials where it will be discussing with cryptocurrency and Blockchain titans, giants, and whales, its involvement in the on-ramping of an Ethereum fork/platform scheduled to launch sometime in the very near future. About Everything Blockchain: Headquartered in Fleming Island, Florida, Everything Blockchain, Inc., formerly known as OBITX, Inc., (OTCQB: OBTX) is a development, engineering and services organization specializing in blockchain technologies and decentralized processing. Forward Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements which are not purely historical and may include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the development, costs and results of new business opportunities and words such as anticipate, seek, intend, believe, estimate, expect, project, plan, or similar phrases may be deemed forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 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 new projects, the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Companys reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based products. 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 any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Everything Blockchain info@everythingblockchain.io RedChip Companies, Inc. Investor Relations J. Dean Fetro Tel: 407-571-0912 dave@redchip.com Source: Everything Blockchain, Inc. Malaysia's foreign ministry says it will lodge a formal protest with China over an "intrusion" of 16 Chinese warplanes into its airspace earlier this week. Malaysia's air force deployed fighter jets to intercept the planes after they were detected by radar about 60 nautical miles off the coast of Sarawak state on Borneo island, located in the South China Sea. The planes were identified as Ilyushin iL-76 and Xian Y-20 strategic transporters flying at an altitude between 7 and 8 kilometers. The foreign ministry called the incident "a serious threat to national sovereignty and flight safety." "Malaysia's stand is clear -- having friendly diplomatic relations with any countries does not mean that we will compromise our national security," Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein later said in a statement. Charlottesville, Va., June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Beginning in August 2021, the University of Virginias McIntire School of Commerce will offer its Master of Science in the Management of Information Technology (M.S. in MIT) Program exclusively in the Metro D.C. area. While the one-year graduate program has been serving business and technology professionals across the region for 20 years, the shift from simultaneously hosting cohorts in Northern Virginia and on UVAs main campus in Charlottesville signals an increased commitment to the D.C. areas active hub of technology-focused corporate, nonprofit, and government organizations. A recent executive roundtable at UVA McIntire revealed a tremendous interest in attracting and retaining technology-savvy business professionals, especially in and around D.C., where the arrival of Amazon and the strengthening of giants like Microsoft and Google have created a heated and competitive job market, says Professor Stefano Grazioli, Director of the M.S. in MIT Program. Our program is uniquely situated to upskill professionals who need to better leverage the opportunities that lie at the intersection of business and emerging technologies. Grounded in a curriculum that incorporates real-world projects with actively engaged companies, the program is designed to help professionals quickly develop the skills necessary for aligning cutting-edge technology with business strategy to deliver immediate value to their current or future employer. As recent events have shown, fully understanding the business risks and opportunities of emerging technologies like AI/machine learning, blockchain, IoT, and cybersecurity is an essential skill for any business leader. UVA McIntire graduates are prepared to implement transformative IT-enabled projects and lead complex, enterprise-wide initiatives. Built to complement a working professional lifestyle, M.S. in MIT classes meet in person every other Saturday in Northern Virginia on the 16-acre campus of Valo Park in Tysons Corner and online two weekday evenings per month. Technically proficient individuals develop their management skills, while established business managers enrich their knowledge of the latest industry-shaping digital technologies. The M.S. in MIT Program yields impressive results for its participants: Approximately 30% of students are promoted or take on a new role during the program, and 93% of graduates report a full return on their investment in the program within four years. With students hailing from many of the most respected organizations in the area, the managerial and technical career backgrounds of participants are both diverse and extensive. Speakers, case studies, and project-based educational experiences bring the corporate perspective into the classroom, allowing students to participate in robust and insightful exchanges while simultaneously networking with other professionals. Executives routinely visit from high-profile area organizations representing departments within the federal government and the military, as well as nonprofit agencies and global firms operating in technology, banking, and other spheres. The diverse network of individualswho bring 2 to 20 or more years of work experience to the classroomis a truly distinctive feature of our program and deeply roots our students and faculty in the vibrant economy of this fast-growing region, Grazioli says. Additionally, our planned return to in-person education provides participants with invaluable opportunities to grow their professional networks as they prepare to accelerate their careers during a rapid post-COVID recovery. Learn more and request more information on the M.S. in MIT Program here. The McIntire School of Commerce proudly celebrates a 100-year commitment to preparing its students to become thoughtful, innovative leaders in global business and society. McIntires unique integrated educational experience leverages technology, welcomes corporations into the classroom, and offers unparalleled immersive global learning opportunities. The School is home to many highly regarded undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs: The Economist ranks McIntires M.S. in Commerce #6 in the world among masters in management programs and Poets&Quants ranks the Schools B.S. in Commerce #2 in the United States. The hallmark entrepreneurial spirit of the McIntire School challenges its diverse community of students, faculty, and alumni to anticipate whats next and make meaningful contributions through business. Brooke Braun University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce 5712185618 bbraun@virginia.edu Source: University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 2, 2021) - Crosswinds Holdings Inc. (TSX: CWI) (the "Company") announces the resignation of Ms. Jessica Whitton as a director of the Company, effective immediately. The Company wishes to thank Ms. Whitton for her contribution to the Company and wishes her all the best in her future endeavors. The Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Chris Irwin as a director of the Company. Mr. Irwin practices securities and corporate/commercial law and is the managing partner of Irwin Lowy LLP focused on securities and corporate/commercial law. Mr. Irwin represents several public companies on a variety of matters including continuous disclosure and regulatory matters, reverse takeover transactions, initial public offerings and takeover bids. Mr. Irwin is also an officer and/or director of several public companies. For further information, please contact: Trumbull Fisher Chief Executive Officer & Director Email: trumbullgfisher@gmail.com Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86293 WASHINGTON, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Postal Service issued the Go For Broke: Japanese American Soldiers of WWII stamp today. This commemorative Forever stamp honors the second-generation Japanese Americans, also known as nisei, that formed one of the most distinguished American fighting units of World War II: the all-Japanese American 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team, whose motto was "Go for Broke." The stamp was dedicated during a virtual ceremony and is now being sold at Post Office locations nationwide and online at usps.com/shopstamps. News of the stamp is being shared with the hashtags #GoForBroke and #GoForBrokestamp. "As a military veteran, I have the greatest appreciation for the more than 33,000 nisei, or second-generation Japanese Americans, that served our nation during World War II," said Donald L. Moak, a member of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors, who served as the dedicating official for the ceremony. "Today, with this stamp, the Postal Service recognizes the contributions that Japanese American soldiers made while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II." Joining Moak to dedicate the stamp were retired Army Gen. David A. Bramlett; World War II veterans Shinye Gima, Don S. Miyada and Yoshio Nakamura; and attorney Staci Toji. The stamp was designed by Antonio Alcala and is based on a photograph of a member of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The photograph was taken in 1944 at a railroad station in France. The stamp was printed in the intaglio print method. The color scheme of the stamp is patriotic, and the type runs up the side in manner suggestive of the vertical style in which Japanese text was traditionally written. Background For a time after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, second-generation Japanese Americans were subjected to increased scrutiny and prejudice because of their heritage. Known as nisei, these second-generation Japanese Americans eventually formed what became one of the most distinguished American fighting units of World War II: the all-Japanese American 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team, whose motto was "Go for Broke." The Army also turned to nisei to serve as translators, interpreters and interrogators in the Pacific theater for the Military Intelligence Service. Nearly a thousand nisei served in the 1399th Engineering Construction Battalion and more than 100 nisei women joined the Women's Army Corp. Altogether, some 33,000 Japanese Americans served in the U.S. Army during World War II. A pictorial postmark of the designated first-day-of-issue city, Los Angeles, is available at usps.com/shopstamps. Postal Products Customers may purchase Forever stamps and other philatelic products through the Postal Store or by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic, or at Post Office locations nationwide. Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1ounce price. A video of the virtual ceremony will be available on facebook.com/usps. Information for ordering first-day-of-issue postmarks and covers is at usps.com/shop. The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. Please Note: For U.S. Postal Service media resources, including broadcast-quality video and audio and photo stills, visit the USPS Newsroom. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the USPS YouTube channel, like us on Facebook and enjoy our Postal Posts blog. For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and facts.usps.com. Contact: David P. Coleman c: 202-425-1476 david.p.coleman@usps.gov usps.com/news View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/go-for-broke-world-war-ii-forever-stamp-honors-japanese-american-veterans-301305377.html SOURCE U.S. Postal Service BARCELONA, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - The International Gas Union (IGU) is today releasing its 12th annual World LNG Report, the world's most comprehensive public source of information on key developments and trends in the LNG sector. An exceptional year Much has changed since the release of the 2020 report, when the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic were only just starting to surface. It was impossible to predict the scale and duration of the crisis that the world was entering, nor how it would disrupt all aspects of our daily lives and affect every segment of the global economy, including LNG and the wider gas market. Highlights growth in spite of COVID highlights LNG's vital role, y-o-y analysis only so valuable due to COVID context Global LNG Trade LNG Exporters & Importers LNG Re- Exports +1.4 MT Growth of global LNG trade Myanmar commenced LNG imports in 2020, and is therefore the 39th importing market1 +1 MT Re-exported volumes increased by 66% YOY in 2020 Global LNG trade reached an all-time high of 356.1 MT in 2020, a seventh year of consecutive growth. China, India, Chinese Taipei, the United States (Puerto Rico), and Brazil increased net imports through expansion of import capacity. Re-export activity increased in 2020 to 2.6 MT (1.6 MT in 2019). China provided 7.2 MT in new net import demand, and Asia increased net imports by 9.5 MT. Growth in exports came from the United States (+11 MT) and Australia (+2.4 MT). Asia received the largest volume of re-exports (1.59 MT), while Asia Pacific re-exported the highest volumes (1.25 MT). Contractions were largest in Mexico (-3 MT), France (-2.5 MT) and Japan (-2.4 MT). The LNG sector adjusted to significant demand fluctuations with incredible agility. From the huge drops in demand levels at the height of the pandemic lockdowns, through exceptional spikes when the winter deep freeze sent the world's energy systems into crisis. LNG, quite literally, delivered. Thanks to LNG's agility, reliability and the inherent flexibility, the lights stayed on, buildings were heated or cooled, families were able to prepare meals, medical professionals could treat patients, and the world could work remotely. This underlines the importance of access to secure and reliable energy and LNG's crucial role in this dynamic. "The gas industry has held its own. Despite having to overcome many challenges in supply chain management, maintenance and commercial matters, secure and reliable supply of gas continued uninterrupted," IGU President Joe Kang commented. "This demonstrates the incredible resilience, flexibility and reliability of the gas sector in bringing secure, clean and modern energy whenever and wherever it is needed, even with significant parts of the world affected by lockdowns or restrictions." A gamechanger in marine fuels The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) enforced a new 0.5% cap on the sulphur content of ships' fuels at the start of 2020. This has spurred a switch to LNG-fuelled marine transport, both through fitting newbuild vessels with LNG engines and converting existing ships to run on the fuel. This trend has been accompanied by a growth in bunkering infrastructure, by scale and geographical coverage, establishing LNG as a truly global shipping fuel. LNG is currently the best and immediately available solution at scale that can reduce the environmental impact of maritime transport and preserve air quality. According to the 2nd Lifecycle GHG Emission Study on the use of LNG as a Marine Fuel from Sphera (formerly thinkstep), greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions of up to 23% are achievable now from using LNG as a marine fuel, depending on the marine technology employed. A critical role in the post COVID-19 recovery Global regasification capacity increased by 19 MTPA in 2020, and a total of 850 MTPA. This demonstrates the central role that LNG plays in many countries' economic growth and energy transition plans. With 137 MTPA of new liquefaction capacity under construction or sanctioned for development, and a further 892 MTPA of liquefaction capacity at the pre-FID stage, the supply is there to fulfil this role. Gas in all forms, whether natural gas or hydrogen molecules, alongside electrons, and the necessary infrastructure, are imperative to help individual countries meet their climate goals. Further development of the global gas market, through continued expansion of global LNG liquefaction, regasification and transport infrastructure, will serve as a critical foundation for a sustainable post COVID-19 recovery. "As world leaders plan for recovery from the health and economic crisis and seek a path to meet the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals, this path is simply not achievable without gas," Kang stresses. "An achievable transition must be based on energy that is available for all global society, it must be clean, the supply must be secure and it must be affordable. A just transition can only be achieved with gas as a major component of the global energy mix." Download full report here. About the Report Leveraging the IGU's vast global network of more than 160 members across the entire gas value chain, in 85 countries around the world, the report provides rich data and analysis on LNG trade, pricing, liquefaction, regasification and shipping, as well as on the significant inroads that the fuel is making in road and marine transportation. This helps to inform decision makers in business and government, whilst also demonstrating the critical role that gas plays in giving the world safe, secure and sustainable energy supply. The IGU thanks its partners and report sponsors, for their invaluable contributions to the development and production of this year's edition. The 2021 report was compiled with support from Shell, Kogas Corporation and the American Gas Association, with Rystad Energy as the knowledge partner. The IGU would also like to thank S&P Global for their contribution of the report's Pricing section, and GIIGNL for providing trade data. About the International Gas Union (IGU) The International Gas Union (IGU) was founded in 1931 and is a worldwide non-profit organisation aimed at promoting the political, technical and economic progress of the gas industry. The Union has more than 150 members worldwide on all continents, representing approximately 95% of the world gas market. The members of the IGU are national associations and corporations within the gas industry worldwide. The IGU organises the World Gas Conference (WGC) every three years, with the forthcoming WGC taking place in Daegu, Korea, in May 2022. The IGU's working organisation covers all aspects of the gas industry from exploration and production, storage, LNG, distribution and gas utilisation in all market segments. www.igu.org View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/international-gas-union-releases-12th-annual-world-lng-report-301304682.html SOURCE International Gas Union LISLE, Ill., June 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Navistar International Corporation (NYSE: NAV) today announced it will report its fiscal 2021 second quarter financial results on Tuesday, June 8, 2021. Due to the pending merger proposal with TRATON SE, Navistar will not host a conference call. The company will file its standard financial results press release and will post supplementary materials on the company's Investor Relations website at https://ir.navistar.com/events-and-presentations. About Navistar Navistar International Corporation (NYSE: NAV) is a holding company whose subsidiaries and affiliates produce International brand commercial trucks, proprietary diesel engines, and IC Bus brand school and commercial buses. An affiliate also provides truck and diesel engine service parts. Another affiliate offers financing services. Additional information is available at www.Navistar.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/navistar-to-announce-fiscal-2021-second-quarter-financial-results-tuesday-june-8-2021-301304579.html SOURCE Navistar International Corporation VANCOUVER, BC, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - NEXE Innovations Inc. ("NEXE" or the "Company") (TSXV: NEXE) (OTC Markets: NEXNF) (Frankfurt: NX5), is pleased to announce that the Company's popular Xoma Superfoods product line is now available on both Amazon.com and Amazon.ca e-commerce marketplaces, in the U.S. and Canada. XOMA Superfoods is NEXE's in-house superfoods brand featuring: XOMA Coffee Fortified with MCT (medium-chain triglycerides) made from virgin coconut oil. XOMA Mushroom Coffee: with chaga, cordyceps and lion's mane mushrooms. XOMA Keto Coffee: with quality fats and MCT oil, flavoured with hints of cocoa. All Xoma Superfoods products are packaged in NEXE's single-serve, fully compostable, plant-based beverage pods that can be used with Keurig's single-serve brewing systems. "NEXE is delighted with the Amazon affiliation," said Darren Footz, CEO of NEXE. "Amazon is the largest e-commerce platform in the world, and will allow us to greatly expand our sales, brand presence, and market reach. We are excited about the sales exposure that our listing on Amazon's Grocery and Gourmet Food section will bring to our XOMA line." As previously announced on April 15, NEXE has engaged Orca Pacific, a full service marketing agency specialized in Amazon sales strategies. Orca Pacific is an organization comprised of former Amazonians and top retail industry experts that use a combination of know-how and machine learning software to develop and implement custom Amazon strategies to drive sustainable top-line growth. According to Statista1, Amazon.com accounts for 45% of the U.S. e-commerce market, with its Marketplace sellers list offering up to 350 million items. Amazon records an average of $4,722 in sales every second, or approximately $17 million in sales per hour. eMarketer reported that U.S. eCommerce sales will reach $794.5 billion this year, up 32.4% from 2020.2 Partnering with e-commerce leaders including Amazon and Vejii will complement NEXE's direct-to-consumer sales on its Xoma Superfoods website, www.xomasuperfoods.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. Amazon strives to be Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth's Best Employer, and Earth's Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the exciting programs pioneered by Amazon. About XOMA Superfoods XOMA Operations Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of NEXE Innovations Inc. XOMA Superfoods produces and distributes high-quality coffee and superfood creamers packaged exclusively in single-serve, fully compostable, plant-based pods. xoma.ca instagram.com/xomasuperfoods/ About NEXE NEXE Innovations Inc. is a leader in plant-based compostable technology and advanced materials manufacturing based in British Columbia, Canada. The company has developed one of the only patented, fully compostable, plant-based, single-serve coffee pods for use in leading single-serve coffee machines. The proprietary NEXE pod is designed to reduce the significant environmental impact caused by single-serve pods, over 40 billion are discarded every year. With over $64 million raised to date from equity and government funding and over five years of R&D, NEXE is well-positioned to meet the growing demand for environmentally friendly and sustainable products in the single-serve coffee sector and beyond. _____________________________ 1 https://www.repricerexpress.com/amazon-statistics/ 2 eMarketer.com, October 12, 2020 ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORSNEXE INNOVATIONS INC. s/ "Darren Footz" Darren Footz, Chairman and CEO Social Media https://twitter.com/nexeinnovations https://www.facebook.com/nexeinnovations https://www.linkedin.com/company/nexeinnovations https://www.instagram.com/nexeinnovations Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements or information, which include the proposed use of proceeds, commercialization of the NEXE Pods, including the NEXE Nespresso Compatible Pod, increase production capacity, demand and/or sales of its products, create other environmentally friendly compostable packaging opportunities, development of technologies, the potential of the Company's technology, future plans, regulatory approvals, and other matters. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as "may", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" and "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. 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, including but not limited to, business, economic and capital market conditions, the ability to manage operating expenses, consumer demand for and sentiment towards the Company's products, security threats, and dependence on key personnel. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the demand for its products, anticipated costs, and the ability to achieve goals. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, failure to obtain regulatory approval, the continued availability of capital and financing, equipment failures, litigation, increase in operating costs, the impact of Covid-19 or other viruses and diseases on the Company's ability to operate, competition, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, government regulations, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nexes-xoma-superfoods-beverages-now-available-on-amazon-301305155.html SOURCE Nexe Innovations Inc. CRANBURY, N.J., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Physicians' Education Resource, LLC (PER), empowers oncology practices to propel patient care forward this month with the relaunch of "The Future of Oncology NOW," a series of 20+ free, accredited, live and interactive virtual sessions that will deliver expert insights, deeper analysis and critical updates on the latest developments from the Annual Oncology Meeting. The 20+sessions will deliver expert insights on the latest developments from the Annual Oncology Meeting. Led by world-renowned oncology experts in the hematology and oncology fields, this virtual symposium summer series will accelerate health care professionals' practices through debate and discussion of the latest diagnostic, therapeutic and supportive cancer care strategies for patients. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions about their most pressing clinical challenges at each of these sessions while gaining actionable breaking insights that they can incorporate into their practice the very next day. "With cancer care and treatment constantly evolving, 'The Future of Oncology NOW' webcast series is an amazing resource that will allow experts to engross themselves among the latest and greatest advancements happening across the field of oncology today. Not only are these developments showcased, but they are also demonstrated at the practical and practicable level," said Phil Talamo, president of PER. "PER continues to serve as a valuable and credible continuing medical education (CME) resource for health care professionals. Our goal for 'The Future of Oncology NOW' is to help physicians understand and apply these approaches to their practices in order to positively impact overall patient care." Virtual AML Coffee Talk: Challenging the Experts on How They Treat Patients and IndividualizeCare with Novel Therapies Friday, June 4, at 7 a.m. ET Friday, June 4, at 7 a.m. ET Exploring and Advent of Antibody-Drug Conjugates Across Multiple Tumor Types: Implications for Testing and Treatment Planning Friday, June 4, at 7 p.m. ET Friday, June 4, at 7 p.m. ET Rapid Fire Live Tumor Board: Leveraging Clinical Data on CAR T to Inform Treatment Decision-Making Across Heme Malignancies Friday, June 4, at 7 p.m. ET Friday, June 4, at 7 p.m. ET Medical Crossfire: Critical Conversations With the Surgeon: The Evolving Role of Immunotherapy for NSCLC Decision-Making in Curative Settings Monday, June 7, at 7 p.m. ET Monday, June 7, at 7 p.m. ET Live Tumor Board! Experts Navigate the Impact of Neutropenia Across Tumor Types Monday, June 7, at 7 p.m. (ET) For the full list of webcast series sessions and to register, click here. About Physicians' Education Resource (PER)Since 1995, PER has been dedicated to advancing cancer care through professional education and now advances patient care and treatment strategies on a wide variety of chronic illnesses and diseases. In 2016, PER initiated continuing medical education (CME) programming in the cardiovascular and endocrinology areas. While expanding into topics outside oncology, PER stands as the leading provider of live, online and print CME activities related to oncology and hematology. The high-quality, evidence-based activities feature leading distinguished experts who focus on the application of practice-changing advances. PER is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education and the California Board of Registered Nursing. PER is a brand of MJH Life Sciences, the largest privately held, independent, full-service medical media company in North America dedicated to delivering trusted health care news across multiple channels. PER Media ContactAlexandra Ventura, 609-716-7777aventura@mjhlifesciences.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/physicians-education-resource-propels-patient-care-forward-with-the-introduction-of-the-2021-the-future-of-oncology-now-webcast-series-301305646.html SOURCE Physicians' Education Resource, LLC (PER) SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Department of Aging (CDA) announced that California has become the eighth state in the nation to be accepted into the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities, a commitment to make California more livable for people of all ages and abilities. This achievement is a result of the Governor's 2019 directive to convene a cabinet-level Work Group for Aging, as well as the Master Plan for Aging (Executive Order N-14-19). Released earlier this year, the Master Plan for Aging outlines five bold goals and twenty-three strategies to build a California for All Ages by 2030. AB 1118 (Blanca Rubio, Chapter 820, Statutes of 2019) directed the Secretary of California's Health and Human Services Agency to consider applying on behalf of the state to join the age-friendly network as part of the Master Plan for Aging. "California has the nation's largest and most diverse aging population. We must tap into those talents and address the critical needs, so all Californians can have healthy and happy older years especially those at greater risk of isolation, abuse, or homelessness," said Governor Gavin Newsom. "We are committed to creating a California for all ages where everyone has the ability to live and thrive in the community they choose." "California has launched a bold ten-year master plan for aging, as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and build back better. This new plan provides an inclusive and equitable framework for transforming aging in this state for individuals, families, and communities," said Kim McCoy Wade, Director of the California Department of Aging. "We look forward to working with AARP to forge partnerships that will create change in every community." AARP's network, an affiliate of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities Program, is part of an international campaign to help communities prepare for rapidly aging populations and the parallel trend of urbanization. "By 2030, 10.8 million Californians will be age 60 or over. That means older adults will make up one quarter of the state's population, nearly double the number 10 years ago a growth rate larger than any other age group," stated Nancy McPherson, AARP California State Director. "The cost of being unprepared for this shift is unaffordable and untenable. AARP applauds the State of California for acting to improve livability in the state through the Master Plan for Aging and enrolling the state in the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities. The state now joins arms with communities around the world to implement innovative strategies that improve livability in communities and involve older residents in the process." As a member of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities, California commits to identifying the challenges of its aging population and identifying policy and programmatic solutions that will improve the quality of life for all ages in the community in collaboration with residents, communities and partners. By enrolling in the AARP network, the state will gain access to national and global research, community networks, planning models and best practices to improve livability for all ages and abilities. "We are thrilled to join this network of communities, giving us the opportunity to learn from others while also contributing to the network through our own best practices and lessons learned," said California Health and Human Services Secretary, Dr. Mark Ghaly. "California's Master Plan for Aging is our roadmap to building a California Dream that is inclusive of our older and disabled neighbors." "Improving livability, combating ageism, enabling autonomy and supporting healthy aging for all have long been priorities of mine because they are so important to my constituents, and Californians more broadly. I authored AB 1118 because I saw it as being complementary to the Governor's Master Plan for Aging work, and as an opportunity for California to lead on aging issues by partnering with AARP. I'm hopeful that this partnership, combined with the Master Plan for Aging, will truly help to advance more livable communities that are age and disability-friendly," said Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio. People of all ages and abilities benefit from the adoption of policies and programs that make neighborhoods walkable, feature safe transportation options, enable access to key services, provide opportunities to participate in community activities, and support housing that is affordable and adaptable. Well-designed, age-friendly communities foster economic growth and make for happier, healthier residents of all ages an important need during the current crisis. In addition to the state's enrollment, over 50 California communities, representing over half of the state's population, are already enrolled in the AARP Network ranging in size from the Town of Fairfax to Los Angeles County. The addition of California will create synergy with the local jurisdictions and build upon and further advance building age friend communities. Nationwide, over 500 communities, one U.S. territory and now eight states have received the Age-Friendly designation from AARP. See the full list of network members HERE. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of nearly 38 million that helps people turn their goals and dreams into 'Real Possibilities' by changing the way America defines aging. With staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AARP works to strengthen communities and promote the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare security, financial security and personal fulfillment. AARP also advocates for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name. As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the world's largest circulation magazine, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to political campaigns or candidates. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org or follow @aarp and our CEO @JoAnn_Jenkins on Twitter. Under the umbrella of the California Health and Human Services Agency, the California Department of Aging (CDA) administers programs that serve older adults, adults with disabilities, family caregivers, and residents in long-term care facilities throughout the State. These programs are funded through the federal Older Americans Act, the Older Californians Act, and through the Medi-Cal program. To promote the Department's goal of every Californian having the opportunity to enjoy wellness, longevity and quality of life in strong healthy communities, CDA actively collaborates with many other State departments (and other entities) on transportation, housing and accessibility, emergency preparedness and response, wellness and nutrition, falls and injury prevention, improving services to persons with dementia, reducing fraud and abuse and many other issues. To learn more, visit www.aging.ca.gov. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-state-of-california-announces-national-designation-as-an-age-friendly-state-301305302.html SOURCE AARP - California A view of the main gate at Pease Air Force Base New, Hampshire on Oct. 18, 1987. (DAVE CASEY/U.S. Air Force ) PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (Tribune News Service) The Pease Military Cancer Mortality Study concluded "the number of cancer deaths among U.S. Air Force service members who were stationed at Pease Air Force Base/Air National Guard Base over the past 50 years is nearly identical to the number of cancer deaths expected based on demographically matched U.S. population data." The study, which was released to the public Thursday, stated "deaths from certain cancers (i.e., lung, prostate and breast) were higher than expected." The study was conducted by the Epidemiology Consult Service Division of the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine (USAFSAM) in response to what a group of widows of Air Force and Guardsmen who served at Pease believe is a high level of cancers and cancer deaths at the base. The Pease Military Cancer Mortality study was initiated by the 157th Air Refueling Wing in response to those concerns. The study conclusion noted that although it was "not designed to evaluate specific workplace or environmental exposures, nor to determine a precise cancer risk associated with service at Pease, the findings would be unlikely had community-wide carcinogenic exposure occurred." Doris Brock is the widow of Kendall Brock, who died in June 2017 from cancer after serving 35 years with the 157th Air Refueling Wing of the National Guard at the former Pease Air Force Base. Brock and other widows pushed the Air Force to conduct the study after losing their husbands to cancer and seeing a number of other people who served at the base be diagnosed with cancer. Those cancers and other health concerns were caused by exposure to dangerous PFAS chemicals in drinking water and other known carcinogens they were exposed to, Brock and the other widows believe. Reached Thursday, Brock said she still "has questions" about the number of cancers and cancer death at Pease. "I'm still not convinced about their conclusions and the reason why I'm not convinced is I've been in touch with other people from other bases around the U.S. and they're seeing the same types of things," Brock said. While she questions some of the results of the study, Brock stressed, "I was very happy that this is not the end." She credited the work done by the 157th Air Refueling Wing to get the study launched and hopes the Air Force will consider doing a "cancer incidence study." The Pease Military Cancer Mortality Study was "strictly based on death certificates," Brock said. "A more in-depth study would look at the people who have had cancer but are still alive," Brock said. "There's still a large number of people battling cancer." The 157th Air Refueling Wing will host U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine (USAFSAM) representatives, who will present the findings of the study June 23 at 2 p.m. The event is open to valid military ID card holders, including members of the New Hampshire Air National Guard, military dependents and retirees. Col. John Pogorek, commander of the 157th Air Refueling Wing, thanked "our many advocates, including our state and federal partners, Department of Defense, Congressional delegation, and USAFSAM for completing this study." "It is an important step toward addressing the health concerns of the men and women who have worked on Pease Air Force Base and Pease Air National Guard Base," he said. "We look forward to discussing the results with USAFSAM representatives June 23." The "records-only" study investigated "cancer deaths among U.S. Air Force service members stationed at Pease Air Force Base/Air National Guard Base ... between 1970 and 2018." More than 34,000 service members served at Pease for at least one day during the time period studied, and the study identified 6,183 deaths among Pease members, of which 1,956 or 31.6% were from cancer. The Air Force noted in the study's conclusion that "the results of this study do not obviate the need for other investigations, such as the Pease Study currently underway by ATSDR (the Agency For Toxic Substances and Disease Registry." The ATSDR is conducting the Pease study for people exposed to contaminated drinking water at the former Pease Air Force Base. Thousands of people working at Pease International Tradeport, along with children and infants who attended two day cares there, were exposed to multiple PFAS chemicals from contaminated water in the city-owned Haven well until its closure in 2014. The water was contaminated by firefighting foam used at the former base. In addition to being a suspected carcinogen, PFAS exposure can harm childhood development, increase cholesterol levels, hurt the immune system and interfere with human hormones, according to the ATSDR. The Pease Health Study, which was created through legislation championed by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, is seeking 1,000 adults who were exposed to the contaminated water and 350 kids ages 4 to 17. Anyone interested can call the Pease Study call center at 603-846-6192 to be screened for eligibility. (c)2021 Portsmouth Herald, N.H. Visit Portsmouth Herald, N.H. at www.seacoastonline.com/portsmouthherald Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Arab, AL (35016) Today A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. KITTERY, Maine (Tribune News Service) A former employee of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is facing up to a decade in prison after he pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to theft of government property for swiping scrap metal from PNSY dumpsters. Michael Gamash, 64, of Old Orchard Beach, took metal that belonged to the U.S. Navy and sold the metal to two area metal dealers, one in Arundel and the other in Portland, from about 2014 to 2016, according to court records. He was a civilian PNSY employee at the time. During their investigation, authorities marked some pieces of scrap metal in the PNSY dumpsters to see if they could later identify metal that had been removed and sold, which is how they traced some transactions back to Gamash, who received about $60,000 for the metal he took, according to court records. When interviewed by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), Gamash admitted that he had routinely taken scrap metal from several dumpsters for his personal profit despite knowing that it was illegal to do so, according to court records. In addition to potential prison time, Gamash faces a fine of up to $250,000, plus up to three years of supervised release. But prosecutors said they will recommend that Gamash be sentenced to probation, crediting him for taking responsibility for his actions. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, according to an announcement from Acting U.S. Attorney Donald E. Clark. Gamash will be sentenced after the completion of a pre-sentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. (c)2021 Portsmouth Herald, N.H. Visit Portsmouth Herald, N.H. at www.seacoastonline.com/portsmouthherald Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Newell Quinton, left, and Rudolph Eugene Stanley look at a map of San Domingo in the former Rosenwald School building. The cousins collaborated on a project to pinpoint the sites of more than 200 past and present homes. (Jerry Jackson, Baltimore Sun/TNS) Once known as the Sharptown Colored Elementary School, San Domingo's Rosenwald School was rehabbed in 2014 and is now the site of most community gatherings, including its annual Founders' Day. (Jerry Jackson, Baltimore Sun/TNS) Newell Quinton treats a few of his 50 goats to a handful of grass as he makes his rounds on his farm, Gran'Sarah's HIll, in San Domingo. (Jerry Jackson, Baltimore Sun/TNS) Rudolph Eugene Stanley, 72, walks through Zion Cemetery, where many of the community's founders and eight generations of its residents are buried. Stanley grew up in San Domingo and is the community's leading geneaologist. (Jerry Jackson, Baltimore Sun/TNS) Newell Quinton, 77, of San Domingo, is a retired federal government worker who grew up in the community and is now a board member of the John Quinton Foundation, which aims to preserve San Domingo history. (Jerry Jackson, Baltimore Sun/TNS) (Tribune News Service) Its a sunny late afternoon on GranSarahs Hill, Newell Quintons 40-acre spread in a wooded corner of northwestern Wicomico County, and the lanky 77-year-old is in his element. His 50 goats scurry and bleat as he walks among them, tossing out feed. His female hogs, Laverne and Shirley, nestle in a pen, each pregnant with a litter of piglets. Hell sell the goats and butcher or market the hogs when the time comes, making use of every cubic inch of living inventory just as people have done in the remote community of San Domingo, Maryland, for more than two centuries. Weve never wasted much of anything here, he says cheerfully. Its one of the values that has kept us going. Quinton is a native son and ongoing champion of San Domingo, an enclave of a few hundred mostly African American residents just inland from the Nanticoke River on the Eastern Shore. Established as a settlement of free Black men and women in the early 1800s, its believed to be the first and oldest such community in the state, but thats not all that makes this out-of-the-way place unique. In a place and at a time when the slave trade was at its strongest, and when most Black people classified as free lived on property owned by others, San Domingos founders owned and tended land, set up businesses, built a church and a school, raised families, and generally created a close-knit, thrifty and self-sufficient community that coexisted peacefully with the white towns around them well into the mid-1900s. When Quinton works GranSarahs Hill, he says hes not just earning a living. Hes carrying on a way of life that made the community possible for all those years, right into his childhood. He pauses and leans on the hog-pen fence. Not everyone was lucky enough to grow up the way we did, and wed like to keep those values alive, he says. Free Black pioneers It has been said that San Domingo, a census-designated place between Mardela Springs and Sharptown near the Delaware line, isnt on the main road to anywhere, and a two-hour drive from Baltimore bears out the idea. Cross the Bay Bridge, head south through Caroline and Dorchester counties, hit the successively smaller towns of Federalsburg, Eldorado and Sharptown, and youre in the neighborhood. You may spot a lone sign Welcome to San Domingo: A Community of Free Black Pioneers that residents put up in recent years. From there, a byway curves to its central gathering place. Quinton and two contemporaries are already at the San Domingo Community and Cultural Center, a two-story frame building that once served as the areas colored school, and ready to talk their hometown. Told it was a little hard to find, they all burst out laughing. Oh, San Domingo was designed that way, says Rudolph Stanley, 72, a retired math teacher who has been conducting genealogy research on his birthplace since 1999. It can be tricky if you dont have good reason to be here. And he, Quinton and Quintons older sister, Alma Hackett, 78, launch into tales about growing up in a place where you had to know every creek and clearing just to get from one place to another. No one knows for sure exactly how and why San Domingo first came into being, but U.S. census records from the early 19th century offer tantalizing clues. They suggest, for one thing, that no free Black people lived in the area as of 1810 but that more than 600 had settled there in 109 households by 1820. Residents were listed as having a range of occupations, from grocer and carpenter to shipwright and pastor. Several owned acres in the hundreds. Historian Mary Klein was astonished to stumble on that information in the early 1990s while conducting research on the lives of free Black residents of the Eastern Shore for her masters degree thesis. It was remarkable, she says, not just to see a community of free Black people on the plantation-rich Eastern Shore nearly half a century before the Civil War, but to realize it came together so rapidly and intentionally. You could see they had gathered together on purpose to form this large community, and it became this very successful, largely self-sustaining venture, says Klein, now an archivist with the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. Ive researched communities all over the state, and Ive never come across anything like it, especially that early. Her efforts led to These Roots Were Free, a 36-page book that remains the only academic study of San Domingo. But a handful of people who grew up there have long worked to paint a fuller picture. Research into church records and family trees by Stanley and by Eubert G. Brown, a retired Air Force officer, confirms that a James Brown who is listed as a mariner in the 1820 census was its founder. Browns children and grandchildren became community pillars, and his descendants including Eubert, 85, his great-great-grandson have proliferated alongside a few other families, the Stanleys included, ever since. Many residents believe James Brown and others first came to the area by boat in the aftermath of a notoriously bloody slave revolt that took place in Santo Domingo, Haiti, around 1800, and named the community as a nod to that uprising. Eubert disputes that he believes the founder was a different James Brown, a free Black man born in Somerset County but he agrees with most that the name was chosen as a tacit warning to intrusive whites, as he puts it. We feel the community avoided trouble out of fear of the name, Brown says. True or not, its clear the community prioritized keeping a low profile, a fact Quinton is sure helped foster the tranquility it enjoyed right into the 1960s in a region not known for its solicitude toward African Americans. Though many San Domingans worked in nearby white communities Quintons mother did day work in family homes in Sharptown, for example, and Stanley was a part-timer at a packaging plant there their lives overwhelmingly centered on supporting and taking care of one another. Someone was available to provide just about every important skill, Quinton says, whether it was delivering babies, digging wells or helping hogs through the mating process. Eubert Browns grandfather, Hargus, couldnt read or write, but he built sturdy houses, crafted headstones and used a dowsing stick to find water. Stanleys dad, Rudolph Abraham Lincoln Stanley, owned the trucks that carried many to work, and Quintons father, George Bernard Quinton, raised soybeans and felled trees for firewood. Brown recalls a group of ladies who moved from house to house, making quilts for families for the winter. Quinton remembers that someone always seemed to be preparing to harvest a hog in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. Everyone would head over to help, he says, and youngsters would learn how to use every part of the animal, from the ears and tail to the innards for sausage. The whole community had that independent spirit, helping each other to be successful, he says. San Domingo was so self-reliant, Quinton and others say, that growing up in the 1940s and 1950s they had little experience with the Jim Crow realities that prevailed just beyond its borders. Children heard almost nothing. Ask about their childhoods and each becomes a griot. Hackett remembers the Sharptown Colored Elementary School as a place with classrooms full of children, caring teachers who lived in the community, and May Day galas that brought out the girls finest dresses. It was in San Domingo, but served surrounding areas, too. The school was the local version of the Rosenwald Schools built for Black children across the South in the early 1900s facilities made necessary by segregation. But Hackett says the children had no clue about such things. Everyone there was totally committed to us succeeding, says Hackett, who attended the school from 1948 to 1954, three years before it closed as part of desegregation. We were blessed to go there. Church, too, was central. Nearly everyone attended services for hours each Sunday at New Zion United Methodist, and the building hosted community dinners, emergency meetings, even raccoon and squirrel hunts. Stanley remembers hundreds of children from other Black communities attended rousing weeklong camp meetings there every August. Quintons great-uncle Norman T. Brown, a school bus driver, also ran the towns general store, where he peddled everything from coal oil to wheels of cheese, often extending credit. Quinton worked there when he was 13. If Uncle Norm had to leave me in charge, hed say, Give em what they want and put em on the book, theyll settle up Friday, he recalls. If they had no money Friday, theyd come in with some eggs or potatoes and say, Will this take care of it? It always did. I never, ever saw a disagreement, he says. Teaching value and character The children of Quintons generation became successful in life, he and others say. They cite the long hours they spent working nearby farms each summer which taught them what they didnt want to do and the way their parents pushed them to get educated. Most graduated from Salisbury High School, the countys all-Black high school nearly 20 miles away. Quinton, his seven siblings and Stanley all went on to graduate from what is now Morgan State University. Quinton joined the Army and turned the experience into a four-decade career with the federal government. One sister, Barbara, became a doctor. Stanley had a 42-year career teaching math in the Wicomico County schools, and Hackett taught biology and chemistry for 38 years in Somerset County. Once segregation ended, San Domingos young adults began leaving the area in search of greater opportunity. Many sold inherited land. Some houses were razed or abandoned. But some old-timers, like Stanley, never left the area for long; others, like Quinton, returned decades later. Today Quinton leads an effort to preserve San Domingo and share its story. The John Quinton Foundation, a nonprofit he and Barbara established (and named after their great-grandfather), got the Rosenwald School restored in 2004, reopened the building as a community center in 2014 and continue to use it, among other things, as headquarters for an annual Founders Day gathering each April that has drawn crowds as big as 200 for lectures and historical reenactments. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced its cancellation for two straight years, but Quinton is planning to host one in 2022. Donations to the nonprofit help underwrite that effort or can be directed toward scholarships and life-skills tutorials for local youths. Everything we do is to continue teaching the value and character we believe our founders and grandparents instilled in us so that younger people can benefit from the same things we originated from, he says. GranSarahs Hill, meanwhile, is a living testament to those values. Its named after Quintons great-grandmother Sarah, the granddaughter of community founder James Brown, and was one of his favorite places to play as a boy. He plans to slaughter two or three of his hogs this year and use the meat for pork loin, sausages, scrapple and more. And one day this November, he and a few other residents will follow a more recent tradition: offering the food to whatever friends and neighbors decide to drop by. For Quinton, San Domingo is worth sharing. It had virtues that should not be lost, he says. We want to make sure people remember what created this community we love. 2021 Baltimore Sun. Visit baltimoresun.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Hikes such as Swedens Kungsleden Trail, shown here wending through a birch forest near Adolfsstrom, allow for as much social distancing as one could hope for. (iStock) As we stand poised to welcome the return of travel, there are many different notions as to how a vacation should look in times not yet fully back to normal. While some cant wait to sip cafe au lait on a crowded sidewalk cafe in Paris, others are longing for open spaces offering more solitude than socializing. Here are a handful of ideas for vacations on less-trodden terrain. Iceland Its lonely at the bottom for Iceland, which ranks last in terms of population density amongst European countries. Tourism has been an important part of the Icelandic economy since the financial crisis of 2008 led to a sharp drop in the value of the Icelandic krona and the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano two years later turned a spotlight on the awesome force of its nature. Within the space of a decade, tourism morphed from a negligible part of the national economy to its major driver. The intrepid adventurer will find no shortage of offerings here. A favorite means of exploring this rugged land is upon the back of an Icelandic horse. Much loved for their compact size, friendly character, intelligence and unique gait, the rugged animals transport riders across lava springs, black sand beaches and pristine streams. Farm families across the land offer single or multi-day tours and often offer accommodation in rustic cabins. An eight-day, all-inclusive tour of the eastern fjords on horseback, rated as challenging, offers mountains and seascapes by day, storytelling and farm stays by night, and dining like a local. A tour slated for August goes for $2,489. Online: tinyurl.com/262mv9mc Norway The second-least densely populated nation of continental Europe following Russia has its longest coastline. With its abundance of fresh air and unspoiled waters, fishing in both the sea and freshwater lakes is popular with locals and international tourists alike. Icy lakes teem with brown trout, perch, pike, grayling and Arctic char, delighting fly fishermen. Salmon fishing here is legendary, although questions about its long-term sustainability have been raised. A visit to the far north in midsummer carries the bonus of constant light, but hardier types might wish to time their visits between January and April, when a large species of cod known as skrei migrate past the coasts of Lofoten, Senja and Vesteralen. For those on a budget in a country where nothing comes cheap, chipping in with friends to rent a rustic wooden cabin makes good sense. Self-catering facilities allow guests to cook their own meals, including their catches of the day. While a license is a must to fish in freshwater, these are readily obtained for a fee. Fishing for salmon, sea trout or Arctic char incurs additional charges. Fjord and sea fishing require no license. Online: tinyurl.com/y2bdd4pf Sweden Throughout much of Europe, camping in the wild is either outright illegal or falls into a gray area. In Sweden, Norway, Ireland, Estonia, Latvia and Spain, pitching a tent on public lands is permissible. Hikers, cyclists and horseback riders in Sweden can set up camp outside towns for not longer than two days. Campfires are not permitted. The Kungsleden, or King's Trail, is a long-distance hiking route running some 270 miles between Abisko in the north and Hemavan in the south. The trail is divided into four portions, each of which takes about one week of hiking to complete. The northernmost stretch between Abisko and Kebnekaise is the most popular, and peak hiking season runs between mid-June to late September. While manned huts along the routes provide shelter for some, others opt to camp as they hike. Wet trails, snow, mosquitoes and a constant light that can throw off ones internal clock are hazards of the trail; spotting reindeer and crossing lakes with rowboats are among its rewards. Online: tinyurl.com/wj7nf357 England and Wales The some 2,000 miles of canals, rivers and reservoirs that formed the backbone of the transportation network during the industrial revolution now provide green spaces to humans and wildlife alike. These waterways are used for a number of recreational purposes, including holidays aboard a longboat. These sturdy craft with bunks, shower facilities and a galley can be piloted by novices, and theres no license required for captains of parties less than 12. With one gear to go forward and one for reverse, a crash course is all thats needed before one sets off. Vacationers can opt to hire a canal boat for an afternoon or weeks on end. Itineraries range from circular routes in which nature is the main focus to courses taking in the sights of a city or other attraction. Ample moorings, many of which are free, make stopping to pick up supplies, checking out historical sights or dropping by the local pub a dawdle. Boat hire companies abound along the countrys most scenic routes. One such company, Drifters Waterway Holidays, suggests novices stick to routes with few locks including those in Brecon Beacons, the Peak District or the Kennet & Avon Canal in the southern foothills of the Cotswolds. The company operates out of 45 bases in England, Scotland and Wales. Online: drifters.co.uk Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez attends a meeting in Alcala de Henares, just outside of Madrid, on May 31, 2021. Sanchez was in Tripoli, Libya, on Thursday, June 3, to reopen Spain's embassy. (Sergio Perez, Pool /AP) CAIRO Spains prime minister was in the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Thursday to reopen his countrys embassy and show support for Libyas new interim authorities entrusted with leading the nation out of years of civil war. Premier Pedro Sanchez held talks with his Libyan counterpart, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who was elected in February along with a four-member presidential council. That election was part of a U.N.-sanctioned roadmap to take Libya into general elections in December. Sanchez said was pleased to reopen the embassy after Spain had spent seven years without representation in a Mediterranean country of such importance. He added that unlike other European consulates, the Spanish consular team will be authorized to expedite visas on behalf of Libyans to improve mobility between the two Mediterranean countries. I hope todays visit marks a positive turning point and paves the way for more cooperation in this historical juncture that Libya stands at, Sanchez told reporters at a joint news conference before presiding over the ceremony of the reopening of the Spanish Embassy . Spain and other Western countries pulled out their diplomatic staff and closed their missions in Libya in 2014, following the escalation of violence between Islamic militias and government forces in Tripoli. Since then, the Spanish diplomatic staff in Libya was operating out of neighboring Tunisia. Dbeibah welcomed the reopening, saying it shows how serious Spain is about improving bilateral relations and strengthening its diplomatic presence in Libya. We are looking forward to more positive steps and the lifting of the embargo imposed on Libyan airlines and the easing of issuing (travel) visas for Libyans, Dbeibah added. Libya has experienced years of conflict and chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. In recent years, oil-rich Libya has been split between a U.N.-supported government in Tripoli and rival authorities based in the countrys east, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments. But an October cease-fire has stopped most of the violence and stipulated that all foreign mercenaries should leave. Since the election of Libyas new interim government in February, a series of senior European and American diplomats have visited the North African country, to express support for the new Libyan administration. France and Greece preceded Spain in reopening their embassies. It is time for peace, it is time for the Libyan people to have what they have deservedly been desiring during these recent years: security, wellbeing and prosperity, said Sanchez. Both Spanish and Libyan premiers said they had signed several memorandums of understanding to boost economic cooperation in various sectors such as health, infrastructure, agriculture, education, livestock and renewable energy. We also want to engage in this phase of economic transformation in Libya, said Sanchez, who was accompanied by a group of Spanish businessmen keen on exploring business opportunities in Libya. ___ Associated Press writer Joseph Wilson in Madrid contributed to this report Sudanese protesters hold their national flag as they march during a demonstration against the ruling military council, in Khartoum, Sudan, on June 30, 2019. Sudanese security forces have closed off major roads and streets leading to the government and military headquarters in Khartoum, Thursday, June 3, 2021, ahead of protests called by activists in the capital and elsewhere in the country demanding speedy justice for those killed in a 2019 crackdown. (Hussein Malla/AP) CAIRO Protesters took to the streets in Sudan's capital and elsewhere across the country amid tight security on Thursday, demanding justice for the victims of a 2019 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators. The marches commemorate the second anniversary of the deadly June 3 breakup by security forces of a major protest camp outside the military's headquarters in Khartoum and others in Sudan. The violence came shortly after the military overthrew longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir amid a public uprising against his nearly three-decade rule. Sudan is now on a fragile path to democracy and is ruled by a transitional military-civilian government that faces towering economic and security challenges. Protest organizers say security forces killed at least 128 people during the dispersal and subsequent crackdown in June 2019, which was a turning point in the relationship between the generals and the protest movement that led the uprising against al-Bashir. The crackdown also involved what activists describe as a campaign of rapes and sexual misconduct by troops ordered by the military to crush the pro-democracy movement. Thursday's demonstrations were called by the Sudanese Professionals' Association, and the so-called Resistance Committees, which were instrumental in leading protests against al-Bashir. Ahead of Thursday's protests, security forces closed off major roads and streets leading to the government and military headquarters in Khartoum. Video footage later shared online shows protesters gathering outside the Cabinet headquarters and carrying Sudanese flags and posters of those killed in the uprising. The marches came amid mounting frustration among activists who accuse the government of delaying and obstructing investigations and trials related to the crackdown. "Today's protest is another test for the commitment of the government to seek justice and protect the freedom of assembly," said activist Nazik Awad, adding that families of the victims "are loosing faith in the ongoing investigation process." The protest organizers also renewed calls for an international investigation into the crackdown calls that the army generals have repeatedly dismissed. The government established an independent committee in 2019 to investigate the crackdown, but the panel kept missing its deadlines, angering the victims' families and rights groups. Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said in a statement late Wednesday that his government has done its best to achieve justice. But he admitted that its "complicated ties" with security agencies overseen by the generals, "has sometimes slowed down justice and delayed the submission of information" prosecutors need for their investigations. "It is travesty of justice that two years since this senseless and unprovoked attack on unarmed protesters took place claiming dozens of lives, no investigation report has been published and no-one responsible for the bloodshed has been held accountable. Instead those demanding justice have faced further attacks," said Deprose Muchena, a regional director at Amnesty International. Last month, two protesters were killed when troops opened fire on a demonstration in the capital at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The June 2019 disposal of the Khartoum protest camp also coincided with the end Ramadan. WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service) President Joe Biden plans to amend a U.S. ban on investments in companies linked to Chinas military this week, after the Trump-era policy was challenged in court and left investors confused about the extent of its reach to subsidiary firms, people familiar with the matter said. Under Bidens amended order, the Treasury Department will create a list of companies that could face financial penalties for their connection to Chinas defense and surveillance technology sectors, the people said. Until now, the financial sanctions and selection of targeted companies were tied to a congressionally mandated Defense Department report. The amended order, which Biden is expected to sign later this week, will change the criteria for blacklisting entities to capture those that operate in the defense or surveillance technology sectors. The Trump order targeted companies owned, controlled or otherwise affiliated with the Chinese military. The Biden administration is set to keep a large number of previously listed entities and Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control will add new entities as part of the order, one of the people said. Treasury would consult the State and Defense departments in the listing process. Spokespeople for the White House and the Treasury Department didnt respond to requests for comment. After two Chinese companies successfully challenged the order, Bidens team said a revision of the policy was necessary to ensure it was legally sound and sustainable in the long-term. By shifting responsibility to Treasury, the Biden team aims to solidify the legal standing for the penalties, one of the people said. The administrations review of the ban has been closely watched on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are eager for a tougher stance on Beijing. Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, said in a statement on Wednesday that its imperative the U.S. government continue to expand this list of Chinese military companies - these firms shouldnt have access to U.S. technology and capital markets. We are arming and funding our leading competitor. In a letter this week to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a bipartisan group of lawmakers including Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio, Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly and Representative Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican demanded the publication of a new list of Chinese military-affiliated entities. The list was due April 15 and is mandated by last years defense authorization bill. The U.S. government must continue to act boldly in blocking the Chinese Communist Partys economic predation against our industrial base, they said in the letter. We must not allow China to erode Americas military primacy. Bidens position has been just as scrutinized on Wall Street, where Trumps order caused confusion over whether the investment ban applied to an array of companies that might be connected either as a subsidiary or by carrying a similar name to those on the blacklist. Amid the confusion, the administration last month pushed back a deadline to halt investments in subsidiaries, even though a ban on the listed parent companies has been in place since November. The White House and Treasury will also clarify that the prohibitions apply to subsidiaries of listed companies only if that subsidiary is itself listed by Treasury, the people said. The previous administration aimed to also capture those companies whose names closely match the listed entities. Providing Treasury with authority over which Chinese military companies are subject to capital markets sanctions would tend to help Wall Street maintain the status quo to the extent possible, said Roger Robinson Jr., former chairman of the Congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. ___ 2021 Bloomberg L.P. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. An eye of an activist is shown on a TV screen and a picture depicting a man blocking a line of tanks at the 1989 pro-democracy movement in Beijing, which were displayed at the "June 4 Memorial Museum" run by pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong on May 30, 2021. Officials closed the museum Wednesday, June 2, saying it lacked the necessary licenses to hold a public exhibition. (Vincent Yu/AP) HONG KONG For years, China has quashed any discussion on the mainland of its bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijings Tiananmen Square, nearly erasing what happened from the collective consciousness. Now it may be Hong Kongs turn, as Chinas ruling Communist Party pulls the city more directly into its orbit. The semi-autonomous territories of Hong Kong and nearby Macao were for years the last places on Chinese soil allowed to publicly mark the events of June 4, 1989, when the Peoples Liberation Army opened fire on student-led protesters in a crackdown that left hundreds, if not thousands, dead. Before last year, tens of thousands gathered annually in Hong Kongs Victoria Park, lighting candles and singing songs to remember the victims. But authorities, citing the coronavirus pandemic, banned the vigil for the second straight year and, on the morning of Fridays anniversary, arrested an organizer of it. A temporary museum dedicated to the event also suddenly closed this week, after authorities investigated it for lacking the necessary licenses to hold a public exhibition. Hong Kongs security minister warned residents last week against taking part in unauthorized assemblies. In mainland China, younger generations have grown up with little knowledge of or debate about the crackdown, but the efforts to suppress commemorations in Hong Kong reflect another turn of the screw in Beijings ever-tightening control over Hong Kong following massive anti-government protests in 2019. Those demonstrations evolved into months of sometimes violent clashes between smaller groups of protesters and police. And they have led to a broader crackdown on dissent in the former British colony, which was long an oasis of capitalism and democracy and was promised that it would largely maintain its freedoms for 50 years when it was returned to China in 1997. Since the protests, China has imposed a sweeping national security law aimed in part at stiffening the penalties for the actions that protesters engaged in, and authorities have sought to arrest nearly all of the citys outspoken and prominent pro-democracy figures. Most are either behind bars or have fled the city. Despite the restrictions this year, there are calls for Hong Kongers to remember the 1989 crackdown in private, with vigil organizers calling on residents to light a candle at 8 p.m. Friday no matter where they are. Online calls circulating on social media also urged residents to dress in black on Friday. Local newspaper Ming Pao last week published an article suggesting that residents write the numbers six and four on their light switches a nod to the June 4 date so each flip of the switch is also an act of remembrance. For decades, Chan Kin Wing has regularly attended the vigil in Hong Kong. I was lucky to have been born in Hong Kong. If I had been born on the mainland, I could have been one of the students in Tiananmen Square that day, said Chan, whose parents had fled to Hong Kong from the mainland in the 1960s. When June 4, 1989, happened, all of Hong Kong witnessed the indelible historical event of students massacred by a corrupt regime, Chan said. This year, Chan plans to remember the event privately, dressing in black and changing his profile picture on social media to an image of a lit candle in the dark. Ive resolved to never forget about June 4, and strive to pass on memories of it to ensure its never forgotten, he said. In mainland China, the group Tiananmen Mothers that represents victims relatives published an appeal on the Human Rights in China website urging the party to heed their long-held demands for a complete release of official records about the crackdown, compensation for those killed and injured, and for those responsible to be held to account. We look forward to the day when the CPC and the Chinese government can sincerely and courageously set the record straight and take up their due responsibility for the anti-human 1989 massacre in accordance with the law and the facts, the statement said. The government, however, seems intent on running out the clock on such appeals. While Tiananmen Mothers said 62 of its members have died since the group was founded in the late 1990s, many young Chinese, it said, have grown up in a false sense of prosperous jubilance and enforced glorification of the government (and) have no idea of or refuse to believe what happened on June 4, 1989, in the nations capital. Hong Kong police on Friday detained a leader of the alliance that organizes the vigil and runs the museum that commemorated the event. Chow Hang Tung had told The Associated Press in an interview last week that earlier arrests and convictions of prominent activists have had a chilling effect on those who participated in the vigil in the past. There will obviously be fear and people cannot just assume that they can come and express their remembrance for the Tiananmen massacre victims and be unscathed, said Chow, vice chair of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. She said that what keeps her going is the dream that China and Hong Kong can both have democracy one day. The tide, though, appears to be going in the other direction. This is something worth fighting for, she said. If one day we cannot talk about Tiananmen that would signify that Hong Kong is totally assimilated into Chinese society. ___ Associated Press journalist Alice Fung contributed to this report. Tech Sgt. Fariht Gomez, right, and other service members package supplies donated by the RAF Lakenheath community in April to help a Maasai village in southern Kenya. Gomez has coordinated the collection of about two tons of items, including school supplies and clothing, he said. (Fariht Gomez) RAF MILDENHALL, England An encounter with a Maasai tribesman during a deployment to Kenya created a lasting bond for Air Force Tech. Sgt. Fariht Gomez, who is spearheading a grassroots effort to get supplies to a village whose economy was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Gomez, who is based at RAF Lakenheath in England, first visited the Maasai Mara National Reserve in 2018 while deployed to Kenya on a civil engineering construction mission. The villagers there, many of whom lived in homes built from sticks and mud with grass-thatched roofs, made a deep impression. Maasai villagers gather in southern Kenya, where Air Force Tech. Sgt. Fariht Gomez first visited in 2018. Gomez is coordinating the donation of about two tons worth of supplies from U.S. airmen in England to help the village. (Fariht Gomez) Tech. Sgt. Fariht Gomez lays out supplies at RAF Lakenheath in October 2020, bound for a village in southern Kenya. Gomez started sending supplies to a Maasai village after meeting the people there in 2018. The effort has grown while he has enlisted the help of airmen wherever he's been stationed. (Fariht Gomez) At the time, the people living near the Oseki Mara Camp were trying to build a school. Gomez made a donation after talking with Dennis Shinka, the camp's co-owner and host. His drive and need resonated with me on a personal level, Gomez said. Now the village, which relies on tourism as a main source of income, is trying to rebound once again. 2020 was an especially bad year for us, said Shinka, whose camp helps support multiple villages. Apart from the total shutdown of tourism, we also lost thousands of livestock to a foot and mouth (disease) outbreak. The donations slowly but surely helped us rebuild our lives, Shinka said. The village that Gomez supports has a little over 400 people and is part of a larger community of nearby villages. Over the last couple of years, the local tribesman and I built a good rapport, Gomez said. The school they built not too long ago has been destroyed by a fire. Knowing that I cannot support [them] every time they need, due to financial constraints or my personal life, weighs on me from time to time. All the same, I try to support them when I can. In early 2020, Gomez moved to RAF Lakenheath, which was when he saw the need to go big with his fundraising. I hoped that with social media and wing support we would be able to deliver aid that would not only help with their education and lifestyle, but also with (personal protective equipment) to combat the pandemic, he said. Gomez set up collection points around the base and asked people to drop off items at their convenience. He collected around two tons of supplies, including clothing, shoes, school supplies and PPE. The amount of supplies collected was greater than any previous year, which brought up another problem: the cost. The bill for sending supplies came to around $5,000. Gomezs friend, Tech. Sgt. Stephanie Hunt, suggested he start a GoFundMe page to help with the costs. Even though he did not receive the full amount requested, around $2,000, it is still better than him spending the full amount himself, Hunt said. The Maasai villages in the area are grateful for Gomezs help, Shinka said. From his (first) visit, Gomez did promise to support the community, Shinka said. We are very happy he kept his promise. alvarez.kyle@stripes.com Twitter: @Kalv2931 Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen as seen in Copenhagen, Denmark, on May 17, 2021. (Saul Loeb, Pool / AP) COPENHAGEN, Denmark Denmark has solid relationships with its allies, including France and Germany, that do not need to be restored, its prime minister said after reports that the country allegedly had helped the United States spy on European leaders more than seven years ago. "I do not think it is correctly presented that there is a need to restore relations with either France or Germany," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Wednesday. "We have an ongoing dialogue, and so do we in the field of intelligence." Danish broadcaster DR reported Sunday that the Danish Defense Intelligence Service, known in Denmark by its acronym FE, in 2014 conducted an internal investigation into whether the U.S. National Security Agency had used its cooperation with the Danes to spy against Denmark and neighboring countries. The probe concluded that NSA had eavesdropped on political leaders and officials in Germany, France, Sweden and Norway. Frederiksen added that she does "not comment on stories about the intelligence work that appear via the media." Frederiksen, who had led a minority Social Democratic government since 2019, said she could only repeat what the then-prime minister had said, "there must be no systematic monitoring of allies." At the time of the alleged eavesdropping, Denmark had a Social Democratic-led government headed by Helle Thorning-Schmidt. According to DR, the alleged setup between the United States and Denmark reportedly allowed the NSA to obtain data by using the telephone numbers of politicians as search parameters. The broadcaster said its report was based on interviews with nine unnamed sources, all of whom were said to have had access to classified information held by the Danish Defense Intelligence Service. The military agency allegedly helped the NSA from 2012 to 2014. In Norway, Prime Minister Erna Solberg summoned an unnamed U.S. diplomat on Thursday. The prime minister told Norwegian news agency NTB that "the Americans have clearly said that they changed their practice in 2014 when it comes to monitoring allies, and that they will work with us and others to clarify what has happened. " "We have today met with the U.S. Embassy in Oslo to follow up on this invitation," Solberg said, according to NTB. Details of the meeting and what was said were not immediately available. Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides attends a briefing in Belgrade, Serbia, on April 5, 2021. On Thursday June 3, 2021, Christodoulides inspected an under construction U.S.-funded cutting-edge facility expected to be ready early next year to train personnel in border, customs and cybersecurity techniques. (Darko Vojinovic/AP) LARNACA, Cyprus Three European Union member nations and three Middle Eastern countries are looking to train personnel in border, customs, maritime and cybersecurity techniques at a cutting-edge U.S.-funded facility in Cyprus that is expected to be ready early next year, the Cypriot foreign minister said Thursday. The Cyprus Center for Land, Open-Seas, and Port Security (CYCLOPS) is scheduled to start operating on Jan. 16, 2022, Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said after inspecting the under-construction facility with U.S. Ambassador Judith Garber. Christodoulides said Cyprus was selected for the center because the Mediterranean island nation is located on the southeastern end of the EU and because it enjoys good relations with the nations in the Mideast. "Officials from neighboring countries as well as from EU member states will receive the kind of training required to counter common threats of a non-military nature," he said. CYCLOPS will include state-of-the-art equipment and a mobile facility to train officials on how to best protect key infrastructure projects and conducting cyber investigations and border screening. The U.S. will provide equipment and training staff. Cypriot government spokesman Kyriakos Koushos said U.S. President Joe Biden considers Cyprus a "significant partner" in bolstering regional security in the east Mediterranean and has pledged to further strengthen U.S.-Cyprus relations. Biden made the remarks in a letter addressed to Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, Koushos said. In the letter, the U.S. president looks forward to working with Anastasiades to deal with issues of common interest in the east Mediterranean, the spokesman said. Cyprus and the United States forged closer security links in recent years, culminating in the 2019 congressional approval of the Eastern Mediterranean Energy and Security Partnership Act, which underscored U.S. support for an energy-based partnership between Greece, Cyprus and Israel. Under the act, the U.S. is providing ethnically divided Cyprus with funding for military training and has partially lifted an arms embargo that was enacted 33 years ago to prevent a potential arms race from harming peace talks with the country's breakaway Turkish Cypriots. Cyprus has licensed ExxonMobil to prospect for oil and gas in waters where the island nation has exclusive economic rights. if the people of Biafra want Republic of Biafra, it will be a reality during my administration. ----Donald Trump Donald Trump I wi... Buy Photo Abdullah Ahmadi holds a picture of his daughter Shukria, 18, on May 31, 2021. Shukria has been missing since a bombing killed at least 85 students at a girls school in western Kabul, Afghanistan on May 8, 2021. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes) KABUL, Afghanistan Abdullah Ahmadi still hasnt seen his daughter in the weeks since three bombs killed at least 85 students and wounded 186 at a girls school in the Afghan capital. Ahmadi refuses to believe that Shukria, 18, is dead. He searches for her each day, with the idea that she might have been brought to a hospital with minor wounds after he found a singed notebook of hers at the site. No one knows what happened, Ahmadi said. Since the May 8 attack on the Sayed al-Shuhada school, located in a neighborhood with a large Shiite minority presence, no one has claimed the attack or been held responsible by Kabul authorities. The lack of answers and ongoing questions of security as U.S. and foreign forces prepare to leave the country have left many in the community angered and worried but also determined to preserve the education rights gained by women in the city since the fall of the Taliban two decades ago. Fatima Jafari, the headmistress of the school in western Kabuls Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood, said she knew Shukria. The 11th grader had been marked present that day. Jafari doubts Shukria is truly missing and wonders whether the girl's body vanished in the force of the blast. None of the other wounded girls saw her at any of the hospitals, Jafari said. Like others, Jafari has vivid memories of the horror of that day. Buy Photo A notebook belonging to Shukria Ahmadi, who is missing following a deadly bomb blast, contains her notes and homework, said her father Abdullah Ahmadi, at his house in western Kabul, Afghanistan on May 31, 2021. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes) Buy Photo Flags fly over a cemetery in the Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood, a majority Shiite district in the west part of Kabul, Afghanistan, where numerous funerals took place after an attack May 8, 2021, on a school there. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes) Buy Photo Children pick through items left behind the day after a deadly attack on the Syed Al-Shahda school in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 9, 2021. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes) Buy Photo Police arrive at the Syed Al-Shahda school in the Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood in west Kabul, Afghanistan on May 9, 2021. A bombing a day earlier struck schoolgirls as they left to go home, leaving at least 85 dead and 186 wounded. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes) I still feel that sound of that explosion in my ears sometimes, she said, and get really terrified when I cross that place when going to the school. As many as 100 other survivors of the attack are struggling with trauma and psychological conditions, Afghanistans Tolo News reported. Despite the trauma, survivors of the attack still want to go to school, Jafari said. I havent seen any family taking their girls out of the school, she said. They believe in education, and they will continue to learn. The Afghan government blamed the Taliban, who denied the attack. Islamic State militants, who consider the ethnic Hazara Shiites religious apostates, have often targeted the area. Victims families have urged the Afghan government to explain how so many of their daughters died that day. The countrys second vice president, Sarwar Danesh, recently announced a plan to protect Dasht-e-Barchi. But the announcements mean little to those who lost loved ones in the attack. This is the responsibility of the government to find what exactly has happened, said Rohullah Ahmadi, Shukrias uncle. Shukria loved poetry, drawing and above all wanted to be a news anchor, her father said. He is angry at the governments lack of response to the bombing and fears for his countrys future in light of the U.S. withdrawal. But he remained optimistic he would one day see his daughter again. I am 100% hopeful, he said. She is not dead. lawrence.jp@stripes.com Twitter: @jplawrence3 Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, visits the Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Turkey and Syria, Thursday, June 3, 2021. (US Embassy in Turkey via AP) ANKARA, Turkey The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations announced on Thursday nearly $240 million in humanitarian funding to support the people of Syria, Syrian refugees and countries hosting them, and called for access through international crossings to allow the delivery of aid. Linda Thomas-Greenfield made the announcement during a visit to the Bab al-Hawa border crossing between Turkey and Syria the sole remaining point of access for humanitarian aid to enter the conflict-ravaged country. The ambassador is in Turkey on a four-day visit seeking to ensure that humanitarian aid can be delivered to Syria across borders a program which Russia, Syria's closest ally, has severely limited in recent years, insisting that the Syrian government should control all assistance to millions in need. The international crossing points were reduced to a single border crossing from Turkey to Syria's rebel-held northwest at Russia's insistence. "I'm proud to announce the United States is providing nearly $240 million in additional humanitarian funding for the people of Syria and for the communities that host them," Thomas-Greenfield said, according to a statement from her office. "Right now, more than 13 million Syrian people are in dire need of assistance. That's the population of Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington D.C. combined." She added: "Four in five people in northwest Syria need humanitarian assistance. For millions of civilians in Idlib, this is their lifeline. Over the last year and a half, some members of the Security Council succeeded in shamefully closing two other crossings into Syria... Bab al-Hawa is literally all that's left." The United States is seeking the reauthorization of U.N. access at Bab al-Hawa and the reopening of other border crossings before the current U.N. Security Council mandate for humanitarian aid deliveries expires on July 10. There is strong support in the 15-member council for maintaining and even adding border crossings, but Russia holds the key. "This isn't a complicated issue. We want the U.N. to bring food to starving children and protection to homeless families. We want the U.N. to be able to deliver vaccines in the middle of a global pandemic. We want the suffering to stop," Thomas-Greenfield said. She met Wednesday with Ibrahim Kalin, a top aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey hosts some 4 million refugees. The talks come ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden's first meeting with Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels on June 14. Ties between Ankara and Washington, which once considered each other as strategic partners, steadily deteriorated in recent years over differences on Syria, Turkey's cooperation with Russia and Turkish naval interventions in the eastern Mediterranean, which U.S. officials have described as destabilizing. The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, said the new U.S. funding announced by Thomas-Greenfield, would support aid agencies providing assistance, "including food for displaced families in Syria and the region" and support bakeries in Syria. It would also provide psychosocial support and other services for children, rehabilitate water and sanitation systems and provide cash or vouchers to help Syrians meet basic needs. USAID said the United States was the world's largest donor to the Syria crisis, and has provided more than $13 billion since the start of the conflict. President Joe Biden walks with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge as he arrives in Tulsa, Okla., on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. (Evan Vucci/AP) President Joe Biden arrives to board Air Force One for a trip to Tulsa, Okla., to mark the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre, Tuesday, June 1, 2021, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (Evan Vucci/AP) TULSA, Okla. An emotional President Joe Biden marked the 100th anniversary of the massacre that destroyed a thriving Black community in Tulsa, declaring Tuesday that he had come to fill the silence about one of the nations darkest and long suppressed moments of racial violence. Some injustices are so heinous, so horrific, so grievous, they cannot be buried, no matter how hard people try, Biden said. Only with truth can come healing. Bidens commemoration of the deaths of hundreds of Black people killed by a white mob a century ago came amid the current national reckoning on racial justice. Just because history is silent, it does not mean that it did not take place, Biden said. He said hell was unleashed, literal hell was unleashed. And now, he said, the nation must come to grips with the subsequent sin of denial. We cant just choose what we want to know, and not what we should know, said Biden. I come here to help fill the silence, because in silence wounds deepen. After Biden left, some audience members spontaneously sang a famous civil rights march song, Aint Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around. The events Tuesday stood in stark contrast to then-President Donald Trumps trip to Tulsa last June, which was greeted by protests. Or the former presidents decision, one year ago, to clear Lafayette Square near the White House of demonstrators who gathered to protest the death of George Floyd, a Black man, under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer. In 1921 on May 31 and June 1 a white mob, including some people hastily deputized by authorities, looted and burned Tulsas Greenwood district, which was referred to as Black Wall Street. As many as 300 Black Tulsans were killed, and thousands of survivors were forced for a time into internment camps overseen by the National Guard. Burned bricks and a fragment of a church basement are about all that survive today of the more than 30-block historically Black district. On Tuesday, the president, joined by top Black advisers, met privately with three surviving members of the Greenwood community who lived through the violence, the White House said. Viola Mother Fletcher, Hughes Uncle Red Van Ellis and Lessie Mother Randle Benningfield Randle are all between the ages of 101 and 107. Biden said their experience had been a story seen in the mirror dimly. But no longer, the president told the survivors. Now your story will be known in full view. Outside, Latasha Sanders, 33, of Tulsa, brought her five children and a nephew in hopes of spotting Biden. Its been 100 years, and this is the first weve heard from any U.S. president, she said. I brought my kids here today just so they could be a part of history and not just hear about it, and so they can teach generations to come. John Ondiek, another Tulsan in the crowd following Bidens speech on cellphones, said he was encouraged that There arent just Black people here. That tells me theres an awakening going on in this country. Several hundred people milled around Greenwood Avenue in front of the historic Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church awaiting Bidens arrival at the nearby Greenwood Cultural Center. Some vendors were selling memorabilia, including Black Lives Matter hats, shirts and flags under a bridge of the interstate that cuts through the district. The names and pictures of Black men killed by police, including Eric Harris and Terrence Crutcher in Tulsa, hung on a chain-link fence next to the church. Biden briefly toured an exhibit at the center, at times stepping closer to peer at framed historic photographs, before he was escorted into a private meeting with the three survivors. Americas continuing struggle over race will continue to test Biden, whose presidency would have been impossible without overwhelming support from Black voters, both in the Democratic primaries and the general election. He announced Tuesday that he was appointing Vice President Kamala Harris to lead efforts on voting rights as the GOP carries out efforts to pass laws restricting access to the ballot. Republicans portray such legislation as aimed at preventing fraudulent voting, but many critics believe it is designed to limit the voting of minorities. Biden has pledged to help combat racism in policing and other areas following nationwide protests after Floyds death a year ago that reignited a national conversation about race. Biden called on Congress to act swiftly to address policing reform. But he has also long projected himself as an ally of police, who are struggling with criticism about long-used tactics and training methods and difficulties in recruitment. The Tulsa massacre has only recently entered the national discourse and the presidential visit put an even brighter spotlight on the event. Biden, who was joined by Housing Secretary Marcia Fudge and senior advisers Susan Rice and Cedric Richmond, also announced new measures he said could help narrow the wealth gap between races and reinvest in underserved communities by expanding access to homeownership and small-business ownership. The White House said the administration will take steps to address disparities that result in Black-owned homes being appraised at tens of thousands of dollars less than comparable homes owned by white residents as well as issue new federal rules to fight housing discrimination. The administration is also setting a goal of increasing the share of federal contracts awarded to small disadvantaged businesses by 50% by 2026, funneling an estimated additional $100 billion to such businesses over the five-year period, according to the White House. Historians say the massacre in Tulsa began after a local newspaper drummed up a furor over a Black man accused of stepping on a white girls foot. When Black Tulsans showed up with guns to prevent the mans lynching, white residents responded with overwhelming force. Reparations for Black Americans whose ancestors were enslaved and for other racial discrimination have been debated in the U.S. since slavery ended in 1865. Now they are being discussed by colleges and universities with ties to slavery and by local governments looking to make cash payments to Black residents. Biden, who was vice president to the nations first Black president and who chose a Black woman as his own vice president, backs a study of reparations, both in Tulsa and more broadly, but has not committed to supporting payments. Trump visited Tulsa last year under vastly different circumstances. After suspending his campaign rallies because of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump, a Republican, chose Tulsa as the place to mark his return. But his decision to schedule the rally on June 19, the holiday known as Juneteenth that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, was met with such fierce criticism that he postponed the event by a day. The rally was still marked by protests outside and empty seats inside an arena downtown. ___ Lemire reported from New York. Associated Press writer Sean Murphy contributed to this report. Both captains in the Air Force, Alex and Josh Dobhailen said the reactions of their leadership at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., show that gender discrimination still exists within the military for victims of sexual assault. (Alex Dobhailen) When Air Force officers Alex Gibson and Josh Dobhailen first met at the services Intelligence Officer Course in 2017, each was recovering from a sexual assault. They married later that year, believing that their similar trauma allowed them to quickly bond. After a stint in Florida, the Dobhailens moved across the country to Travis Air Force Base, Calif., in February 2020, in part to get distance from Alexs accused perpetrator. After just four months at Travis, police called to inform the couple that her perpetrator might be living at an address near them. Meanwhile, Alex suffered a miscarriage, and the stress of it all left them both reeling. Both are captains who work in military intelligence for different units on base, and they each decided to self-identify with leadership about their past assaults, which had been formally reported, and seek behavioral health treatment. While Josh, 26, received support from his leadership, Alex, 29, said her job and her security clearance were taken from her and she now faces a medical board evaluation that could end her military career. It means a lot to me to wear this uniform, Alex said. Ive seen, I hate to say it, a lot of gender discrimination or a lot of retaliation or reprisal over this last five-year journey since my assault. Alexs perpetrator was in the process of separating from the military at the time of the assault in 2016, she said. Her commander at Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D., where the assault occurred, deferred to the civilian authorities to prosecute. The easiest way to sum it up is the base commander there ended up saying to certain staff members, She cant tell me she didnt know what she was expecting when she let him into her house. And that was a just in the second month of my investigation and that pretty much dictated how the rest of my case went, Alex said. The local authorities declined to prosecute the case. Only about 5% of all sexual assault cases in the U.S. lead to an arrest, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. The Air Force Office of Investigation handed Joshs case over to German state authorities to investigate, he said. To try to save her military career, Alex hired an attorney to help file formal complaints and other documents to escalate her concerns to the levels above her immediate command that could intervene. Together, Alex and Josh decided to speak out about the disparity in their treatment for seeking help at the same time for the same issues. Since she began speaking up, she said other women in her unit have come to her and told her they, too, have faced discrimination. I love my Air Force. I love my military, but in order for us to advance and move forward and to put an end to the gender discrimination or even racial discrimination or the retaliation or reprisal that victims face in the military, somebodys got to be willing to do something. It seems like the harder I try to do something to bring attention to it, the worse its getting to me here. Both captains in the Air Force, Alex and Josh Dobhailen said the reactions of their leadership at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., show that gender discrimination still exists within the military for victims of sexual assault. Alex and Josh are both victims and recently disclosed this information to their units to attend therapy. Joshs career was unaffected while Alex had her security clearance suspended and may lose her military career. (Alex Dobhailen) Clearance suspended Losing a security clearance for seeking mental health services is rare, according to the Defense Department. The military has released information for service members to counter concerns after a Rand study in 2018 found it to be a leading reason for people to not seek treatment. This is not the case, according to a 2020 fact sheet from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. A detailed analysis of denial and revocation statistics involving psychological conditions clearly demonstrates that a cleared individual is not likely to lose or fail to gain clearance eligibility after seeking mental health care or experiencing mental health symptoms. Between 2012 and 2018, only 12 out of 2.3 million clearance adjudications were denied because of psychological issues, according to the fact sheet. None of those 12 was related to an individual seeking care. There are absolutely no words. My whole intent and purpose was to go and get help to handle the situation responsibly, so I can be everything that I needed to be to my airmen and to my people, and to do the best at my job, Alex said. Because Im a sexual assault victim and because of my gender, and because of my willingness to say something, I ended up being that one in 2.3 million-person statistic. It shows the disparity between my husband and I. The Travis Air Force Base Public Affairs Office said it could not speak directly to Alexs situation because of privacy concerns but said commanders have discretion to remove members local access to classified information. Any suspension or revocation of security clearances rests with the Defense Departments Consolidated Adjudication Facility. Our leadership takes these allegations seriously and ensures all service members are treated with dignity and respect, base officials said. Seeking mental health services does not affect ones ability to gain or hold clearance eligibility. Adjudicators regard seeking mental health treatment as a positive step in the security clearance process. It is important for the cleared workforce and prospective employees to understand there are no automatically disqualifying conditions or treatments. By contrast, avoiding care when needed can raise security concerns, officials said. Alex said she received her highest authorized clearance after her assault, after she initially received therapy and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She then set up a new intelligence shop at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida and received high marks on her evaluations. In her role at Travis, she continued to receive positive reviews for her work until the moment she told her leadership about her past assault and need to return to therapy. The next business day after I went to mental health and identified as a sexual assault victim, informally, I was removed from my job, Alex said. I stopped being included in all the meetings and everything like that. Her chain of command suspended her clearance at the local level and moved her to a position that doesnt require one. After eight months, her commander served Alex paperwork to revoke her clearance. The news came about a week after she met with personnel from the Inspector General, the Office of Special Investigations and Security Forces to report the misconduct of her command, said Allison Weber, Alexs attorney. While the Inspector General is looking into the case on some level, the two criminal investigative agencies have declined to move forward, Weber said. Ive undergone proper evaluations by accredited individuals, and Ive been cleared, and I still have not been returned my security clearance, Alex said. I love my husband and I would never want anything bad to happen to him, but it can be hard sometimes to come home every day and ride in the same car on the way home and see that we are experiencing the same thing. Were both recovering from our sexual assaults and his career has been completely untouched and his career will recover, if it really had any ramifications at all. But Im most likely staring down the end (of) my career in the next couple of months. Weber, a former Army JAG officer working with Tully Rinckey PLLC, said she responded to the paperwork. If the command went forward and sent the request to revoke her security clearance to the Defense Department, it will take months until they hear any updates. Adjudicators could disagree with the commands decision or ask for additional information, Weber said. An appeal process exists that could also grant Alex an opportunity to fight a decision to revoke her clearance. Instead of stonewalling the officer, Weber said the United States military, and specifically the Air Force, needs to improve the way they work with military sexual assault victims who continue to serve. Capt. Dobhailen did exactly what shes been trained to do seek help when needed, keep her leadership informed of her status, and work to overcome any hurdles to return to duty. The military should not use her self-referral for treatment against her to justify removing her from her position, suspending her clearance and/or threatening to separate her, Weber said. But it wasnt only the way Alexs unit reacted to her need for treatment that has felt unfair or strange to the couple. As the two officers attended therapy, Joshs therapist, who was the flight commander of the clinic, told him his wife was too far gone, even though he was not her care provider, Josh said. I was told by my therapist that of the two of us, only one of us can be saved to have a career in the military. I was told that at this point my therapist believed that was me. So he said he was going to do everything he could to focus in on me, Josh said. And Im just sitting here like, Wheres this coming from? Theres no reason for it. Lives the core values Meanwhile, his wifes unit tried to force her into a command-directed mental health evaluation without reason. Soon after, she learned they intend to send her before a medical evaluation board for lower back pain, something she has never been treated for, she said. Her physical evaluation board liaison officer has made that point clear to try to stop the process, but it has not worked. Medical boards tend to move faster than security clearance evaluations, which means Alex could be medically retired before the clearance issue is resolved, Weber said. Travis Air Force Base officials declined to comment on the medical board evaluation because of privacy concerns. A statement regarding the process in general said its designed to determine whether a service members long-term medical condition enables him/her to continue to meet medical retention standards, in accordance with military service regulations. Joining the Air Force was a childhood dream for Alex. Her husband described her as the poster child for the Air Force, because of her enthusiasm to serve. She quite literally lives the core values day in and day out, and also with her performance. Shes exactly what you imagine when you see all the recruiting videos, Josh said. If you look at the word uniform, its so everybodys the same. So when people look at us, they should not be looking at whos wearing the uniform, whether youre male or female, whether youre African American, whether youre Asian, whether youre white. What matters is what you stand for and what you do. And there are certain individuals in our service that do not see it that way. thayer.rose@stripes.com Twitter: @Rose_Lori The Biden administration is expanding a Trump-era order that banned U.S. investment in Chinese companies that support China's military to include those selling surveillance technology, calling the entities a threat to U.S. interests and values. In this Oct. 31, 2019, file photo, attendees walk past a display for 5G services from Chinese technology firm Huawei at the PT Expo in Beijing. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP) A new executive order released Thursday broadens prohibitions that Donald Trump's administration enacted and moves authority for the ban to the Treasury Department from the Defense Department, to give it stronger legal grounding, senior administration officials said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the order before its release. The new order "prevents U.S. investment from supporting the Chinese defense sector, while also expanding the U.S. government's ability to address the threat of Chinese surveillance technology firms that contribute - both inside and outside China - to the surveillance of religious or ethnic minorities or otherwise facilitate repression and serious human rights abuses," the administration said in a fact-sheet describing the ban, which takes effect on Aug. 2. The executive order does not provide detail on how the surveillance technology has been used, but U.S. officials have frequently expressed alarm over facial recognition and other surveillance tools that China has employed against its Uyghur minority population, and against pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. Chinese companies also export a range of technology that can be used for surveillance, a development that Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said is contributing to a global competition between "techno-democracies and techno-autocracies." The preservation of the Trump ban is another sign that President Joe Biden is continuing his predecessor's tough approach toward China. Biden has also maintained import tariffs that Trump levied on many Chinese goods, and in March implemented a separate Trump executive order by sending subpoenas to several Chinese companies to seek information on possible national security risks. "This looks to be another example of the Biden administration taking a Trump policy and improving and expanding it," said Eric Sayers, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. But some lawmakers were skeptical that the order will be an improvement. "We know for a fact that Wall Street is helping to finance the Chinese Communist Party's effort to weaken and ultimately replace American leadership," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said in a statement. "The story of the past two decades has been America's unwillingness to confront Beijing's exploitation of our legal, political, and financial systems. While the administration updated the Trump-era policy in important ways, I am very concerned that President Biden's Treasury Department is too closely aligned with Wall Street to take the actions necessary to prevent American savings from being used to fund the Chinese Communist Party." Senior administration officials said it was important to move the program to the Treasury Department because companies included on the Trump administration's Defense Department list, including smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi, had successfully challenged their inclusion in court. Treasury has more experience drafting sanctions programs "in a way that meets all the U.S. judicial and legal standards," said one Biden official. "Treasury has a regulatory structure to list names and enforce prohibitions. Defense doesn't," said Kevin Wolf, a former senior Commerce official who is now a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The Biden administration did not include Xiaomi on the list of 59 prohibited companies it released Thursday. David Feith, who was a senior Trump administration official, called the Biden administration's maintaining and broadening of the order "a welcome thing." Former deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Feith said "it reflects the strong degree of bipartisan concern in Washington about U.S. capital flows and U.S. economic ties with China's military and its sprawling security and surveillance state." But he also said the shift of enforcement from the Pentagon to Treasury might complicate implementation because "the Department of Defense takes a fundamentally national security-focused perspective on things and Treasury traditionally does not." Many of the military-linked companies banned by Biden also appeared on Trump's list, including the defense contractor China Electronics Technology Group Corp. and the telecom companies China Mobile Communications Group and China Telecommunications Corp. Biden's order also bans investment in two companies - Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and Huawei Technologies - on the grounds that they sell surveillance technology and support China's military. The Trump order banned investment in those firms only on the grounds that they supported China's military. A number of the companies on the list are either state-owned or privately held, meaning that they don't sell stock to outside investors. Yet some of these entities have issued or guaranteed bonds on international markets. Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd., for instance, acted as guarantor of a $5 billion bond issued in Hong Kong in 2017, according to the company's website. Like the Trump order, the Biden ban prohibits investment in Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., or SMIC, China's largest manufacturer of computer chips. The company's stock trades on the Hong Kong exchange. The Trump administration last year banned U.S. technology exports to SMIC, saying they could benefit the People's Liberation Army. Most modern weapons systems are powered by computer chips. SMIC at the time said it has "no relationship with the Chinese military and does not manufacture for any military end-users or end-uses." But the administration also failed to include some companies that were on the Defense Department list, notably Sugon, which the Commerce Department in mid-2019 subjected to export controls for "activities determined to be contrary to the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States." Several lawmakers last year said that Sugon was a "key enabler" of China's hypersonic glide vehicle testing program to aid Chinese nuclear weapons simulation testing. The New York Times last year reported that Sugon's supercomputers help power the Urumqi Cloud Computing Center in Xinjiang, where Chinese authorities monitor massive amounts of surveillance footage. Several other companies that appeared on the Pentagon list are absent from Treasury's. They include Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc., and China National Chemical Engineering Group Co. The listed companies either didn't immediately respond to requests for comment or couldn't be reached for comment after hours in China. Asked about the Biden order, details of which were reported earlier by Bloomberg, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters on Thursday: "The U.S. should respect rule of law and the market, correct its mistakes, and stop actions that undermine the global financial market order and investors' lawful rights and interests. China will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard Chinese enterprises' legitimate and lawful rights." Biden administration officials said any U.S. investment in funds that contain the banned securities also will be prohibited. The officials said they expect to place additional companies on the list, a move U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton endorsed in a statement to The Post. "The U.S. government must continue to expand this list of CCP-controlled companies, as well as harmonize the various restriction lists maintained by the Pentagon, Commerce, and Treasury departments," Cotton said. "It's imperative that the United States stop arming and funding the genocidal regime in Beijing." WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden signaled at a private meeting on Wednesday that he would be open to significant revisions on the size of his infrastructure package and how it would be paid for in order win Republican support, outlining a plan for about $1 trillion in new spending financed through tax changes that do not appear to raise the top corporate rate. In this photo taken Thursday, May 27, 2021, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., the GOP's lead negotiator on a counteroffer to President Joe Biden's infrastructure plan, listens at left as she is joined at a news conference by, from left, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, and Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., at the Capitol in Washington. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) While Biden has not abandoned his call for these tax increases as part of his broader agenda, the moves are still a potential new concession in stalled talks over funding to improve the country's roads, bridges, pipes and ports. At issue is the component of Biden's original infrastructure plan that would raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, unwinding the tax cuts the GOP adopted in 2017. Republicans have described this change as a political nonstarter as they seek to protect one of their accomplishments under former President Donald Trump. In his meeting with the GOP's top negotiator, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Biden raised the possibility he could take the proposed rate increase off the table in an attempt to broker a compromise, according to a person familiar with the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe them. The president still intends to seek the tax increase, the source said, meaning the White House could pursue the policy outside of the infrastructure debate - or in the case that bipartisan negotiations ultimately collapse. In its place, Biden shifted the focus to a different part of his infrastructure proposal, which would amount to a new minimum corporate tax of 15%. This change would take aim at dozens of profitable U.S. corporations that pay little to nothing to the federal government annually, the source said. The White House also proposed stepping up enforcement on corporations and wealthy earners who rely on loopholes to lessen their tax burdens, according to the person familiar with the talks. Biden's emphasis on these elements of his tax plan Wednesday marked an attempt by the White House to thread a delicate political needle. It aimed to preserve the president's 2020 campaign pledge not to raise taxes on Americans making under $400,000 a year, while steering clear of the "red line" set down by Republicans who see the 2017 tax cuts as their crowning economic achievement. Both sides are set to meet again Friday, though Republican leaders are still deciding whether to put forward another counteroffer or to walk away from the negotiations entirely, according to a second source familiar with the talks. Biden has long decried the fact that some of the country's most profitable enterprises pay little or nothing in corporate taxes. He stressed during his first-ever address to Congress last month that it is time to close "tax loopholes," urging lawmakers to "reform corporate taxes so they pay their fair share and help pay for the public investments their businesses will benefit from as well." Asked Thursday about the president's position, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden has "absolutely not" wavered in his belief that Congress should raise the corporate tax rate, adding it is a critical way to "pay for a range of the bold proposals that he has put forward." "But he also took a look at these proposals, and . . . all of the tax proposals that he has put forward over time, to find a way where there should be pay-fors that based on their bottom lines, many of the Republican negotiators should be able to agree to," Psaki said. The fate of any infrastructure deal is still unclear. Even with the potential concession on taxes, though, the White House's roughly $1 trillion plan still amounts to four times as much as Republicans have been willing to spend to improve the country's roads, bridges, pipes, ports and Internet connections. Entering the meeting, GOP leaders had endorsed roughly $257 billion in new spending, while maintaining an unwavering opposition to any tax hikes to finance infrastructure reform. Instead, GOP leaders have called on the White House to repurpose unspent coronavirus relief aid now that the pandemic is improving. The White House has expressed only a limited appetite for reprogramming existing stimulus dollars, perhaps around $70 billion to $75 billion, according to one of the people familiar with the talks. Capito did not respond to a request for comment. Politico first reported on the $1 trillion offer. "We're still hoping we can come to an agreement on a fully paid for and significant infrastructure package," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R, said during a stop in Kentucky on Thursday. The latest exchange comes as top White House officials have started to signal that time is running out on striking a bipartisan deal. Biden has labored to secure Republican support on infrastructure after advancing his last economic policy priority, a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, without GOP votes - though he has made clear that he is not willing to haggle indefinitely. "There's definitely a deal to be had, and there's definitely optimism on both sides," Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told CNBC on Wednesday, stressing the administration's "honest and earnest desire" to agree to a plan with Republican negotiators. But she added: "There is a time limit on this. You're not going to play this back-and-forth for much longer. There is a limit." Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, meanwhile, previously said the Biden administration sees Monday as a critical date by which the White House expects to see progress in its talks. But Psaki appeared to steer clear of issuing any deadline on Thursday, saying at her briefing that the negotiations continue - and the White House is going to "keep our options open." The White House's latest attempt at compromise left some Democrats uneasy. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the chairman of the tax-focused Senate Finance Committee, stressed in a statement Thursday that there's support among voters for the kind of tax increases Biden initially sought. "Inadequate corporate tax revenue could leave many critical investments the American people care about off the table," Wyden added, "and fall far short of the $2 trillion in corporate revenue called for in the president's proposals." For Biden, the proposed improvements to the nation's infrastructure belong to a broader agenda that calls for significant increases in federal spending to address the country's economic needs. He has also put forward a roughly $1.9 trillion "families plan" that aims to improve federal safety net programs and a 2022 budget that includes major boosts to education and health agencies. Central to that spending are proposed tax increases on corporations and wealthy Americans, one of Biden's signature pledges during the 2020 campaign. The president has also proposed additional rewrites of the tax code, including an attempt to raise taxes on investment income and revamp the international tax system. As Biden has issued these proposals, he has made clear that he wants to negotiate with Republicans on many aspects of the tax changes to try to draw bipartisan support. Much as before, Biden could try to muscle the infrastructure plan through Congress using only Democratic votes. That path could be fraught with its own political challenges, though, given the wide array of opinions within the president's own party over what infrastructure reform should entail, and how to pay for it. Some moderates, including Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., also do not yet appear willing to abandon talks. Without their full support, Democrats would have no ability to advance infrastructure reform on their own in the Senate using a tactic known as reconciliation, which would require all 50 Democrats to vote in lockstep. Members of both parties have expressed concern with the number of large corporations paying little to nothing in federal income taxes. Fifty-five corporations in the Fortune 500 paid no federal income tax in 2020, according to a report by the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning think tank. Corporations have paid a declining share in federal taxes since the 2017 GOP tax law dramatically slashed the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. Businesses are able to zero out their tax obligations because of expansive tax credits offered by the federal government for research and development and other expenses, leading some firms to repeatedly pay nothing in federal income taxes. Many corporations also use a tax break for executive stock options that allow them to reduce their income taxes, ITEP said, while tax breaks for renewable energy investments and other capital expenditures allow major write-offs. Biden has been personally fixated on the trend and called for reversing it. But it is unclear whether Republicans would support the measure, and the president's comments during the private meeting on Wednesday could be an attempt to draw out their position. "This might be the kind of policy that could pick off a few Republican senators. But, keep in mind, Republicans have not really voted for a tax hike since 1990. So anything is going to be a lift," said Brian Riedl, a former aide to Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, now at the Manhattan Institute, a libertarian-leaning think tank. The Washington Post's Jeff Stein contributed to this report. More than a year into a pandemic that has sickened tens of millions of people and killed more than 500,000 in the United States, most people are eager to reclaim some semblance of their former lives. About half of the country has received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccines authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration. Infection rates are dropping. And federal health authorities have relaxed mask recommendations for people who are fully vaccinated against the virus. But it's unclear what our new normal will look like and whether, at least in some form, it will include face coverings which have been shown to not only help protect against the coronavirus, but also, with additional measures such as social-distancing, slow the spread of influenza and other respiratory diseases. "We've had practically a nonexistent flu season this year merely because people were doing the kinds of public-health things that were directed predominantly against COVID-19," Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious-diseases expert, said recently on NBC's "Meet the Press." Even after the pandemic, Fauci said, it is "conceivable" that during certain seasonal periods when respiratory-borne viruses like influenza are more prevalent, "people might actually elect to wear masks" to keep from getting sick. Though polls show mask-wearing has declined as more Americans get vaccinated, a large number say they will continue sporting them, particularly in higher-risk situations, such as entering a crowded area. It raises the question: What will the future of mask-wearing look like in America? Masks have been used to prevent respiratory transmission of infectious illnesses in health care settings for a long time. In fact, some say the strategy dates to the Middle Ages. But it wasn't until the early 20th century that it started to gain more widespread recognition as a tool to prevent disease. A Chinese-Malaysian doctor named Wu Lien-teh is credited with pioneering a PPE-style mask to protect himself and his team while treating patients during the deadly Manchurian plague in the early 1900s. Fashioned from gauze bandages and wool, his "anti-plague mask" helped protect them from a highly contagious disease that killed scores of people. Mask-wearing caught on in many countries in Asia as other respiratory epidemics emerged. Even today, some Asians commonly cover their noses and mouths to filter out pollution or protect others from infection when they are ill, a practice that became even more pronounced after the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s. But absent major respiratory epidemics in the West, the focus shifted to hand-washing to try to guard against gastrointestinal diseases, said Jeremy Howard, a research scientist at the University of San Francisco in California. - - - Everything changed at the start of the coronavirus pandemic early last year. Until then, masking had been an unfamiliar concept in America's recent history, at least when used as a large-scale community-based intervention. Despite the politicization surrounding masks, research shows the strategy has been a valuable tool in the fight against COVID-19, helping to keep people from spreading germs and protecting others from inhaling them. Numerous studies have shown that masks reduce infectious respiratory particles the primary method of spreading COVID-19. Masking, especially when practiced alongside hand washing and social distancing, has been associated with a decrease in daily cases and death rates in counties that implemented mask mandates, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "It can really be the difference between a mass pandemic and something that kind of peters out," said Howard, who led a team of international researchers in reviewing evidence for wearing masks. That said, Howard added that the increased transmissibility of variants means that masks and social distancing may no longer be enough, making vaccines even more crucial to help slow the spread. Lisa Maragakis, senior director of infection prevention at Johns Hopkins Health System, said that over the past year, researchers have amassed a wealth of data on the "incredible power of widespread masking." "The question is: What do we do with that information and also, culturally, how acceptable will it be to people to utilize this tool even when we're finished with the pandemic?" she said. Maragakis stressed that a number of people die of influenza and other respiratory illnesses each year in the United States. But, she said, "One of the most remarkable things, in addition to interrupting SARS-CoV-2 transmission, is the fact that we have seen almost no influenza or respiratory syncytial virus over the past year. That is yet another aspect we should really think about because the effectiveness there has saved tens of thousands of lives." - - - Although many people are itching to shed their masks, health experts agree that even after the pandemic, people who are sick with any respiratory illness should stay home when possible. And when they cannot keep a distance from others, it may make sense to mask up. As to whether people will do that, some experts doubt it, but others are hopeful masking will stick around, at least in some form. Utilizing masks on public transportation, busy sidewalks or in crowded venues could significantly cut down on illness, particularly during seasons when respiratory infections are rampant. But even if people did not take things that far, they could consider wearing masks when sick, Maragakis said. "That would certainly be a time to wear a mask if you have respiratory symptoms and you are continuing to go somewhere. That would be a courteous and preventative measure to take to prevent transmission to others," she said. The majority of more than 2,000 Americans recently surveyed said they would continue taking precautions even after the pandemic has ended. In the survey, from Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center, 90% of respondents said they would keep up with frequent hand washing. Eighty percent said they would still avoid crowds. And 72% said they intended to keep wearing their masks, at least in certain situations. A recent Ipsos poll showed that 57% were still wearing masks when leaving the house, though mask use "at all times" has declined about 10% among those who are vaccinated. However, in an Economist/YouGov poll released last month, the majority of people who did not plan to get vaccinated were more likely to say that they felt safe while maskless. As The Washington Post's Aaron Blake reported, the poll showed that 63% who intended to forgo the vaccine said they felt at least "somewhat" safe socializing indoors with other unvaccinated people without wearing a mask. Only 36% of people who had received at least one dose of the vaccine said they felt that way. "I can tell you that next winter, when I'm in crowded areas like taking public transportation, I, myself, will probably wear a mask so I can prevent not just COVID but other respiratory illnesses as well," said Bernard Camins, medical director of infection prevention at the Mount Sinai Health System. Some people will be glad to see the masks go. But for others, it may be more complicated. Clinical psychologist Lina Perl said aside from interfering with how people connect with each other, masks can also become a "safety behavior," resulting in anxiety when the mask is not on. Ever since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started easing masking recommendations for vaccinated people, "We're in the process of, 'OK, I'm going to let this go,' and I think people are having a really tough time," Perl said. "I think people are going to have to push past that anxiety and practice not using the masks to get over that safety behavior." All of that said, Perl explained it's a personal decision and people have to find their own balance. "I think everybody makes different choices about how much risk they're willing to take on," Perl said. "I think that it makes sense if wearing a mask is something that fits into your arsenal to keep yourself healthy." Experts said throughout the pandemic, the reason for wearing masks has been not only to protect people out in the community but also to keep loved ones at home from contracting the virus and becoming severely ill. And the end of the pandemic will not eliminate the threat of COVID-19 or other respiratory infections. "I think we spend a great deal of time and effort and money looking for clinical cures for diseases and developing vaccines and other things, but sometimes we overlook the simple things that we can do that can be extremely powerful. And I think masking is one of those things," Maragakis said. (Facebook) Marines with Mobility Assault Company, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, investigate a possible simulated Improvised Explosive Device during Exercise Pioneer Express aboard Camp Roberts, Calif., Sept. 3, 2014. (Caitlin Bevel/U.S. Marine Corps) SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (Tribune News Service) The federal government no longer plans to house unaccompanied migrant children from the United States- Mexico border at Camp Roberts, according to Rep. Salud Carbajals office. HHS has informed us that they do not plan to move forward with utilizing Camp Roberts to house unaccompanied minors at this time, said Mannal Haddad, Carbajals communications director, in an email. The Army National Guard base in San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties was to serve as a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shelter for 5,000 children staying in overcrowded Customs and Border Patrol facilities on the border. The unaccompanied children would have stayed at Camp Roberts until HHS could locate family members or sponsors in the United States. As of Tuesday, there were 439 migrant children in CBP facilities and 16,874 in HHS custody, according to data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and HHS. Some county residents expressed concerns about the areas ability to host the children and whether it would be possible to safely house them on an aging military base in a remote location. A group of Central Coast organizations formed a coalition called #NotCampRoberts to lobby against creating a shelter at the base. The coalition expressed concerns about possible environmental hazards at Camp Roberts. They also raised questions about whether the children would have licensed, trusted caretaker and called for adequate oversight and transparency at the federal site. The #NotCampRoberts Coalition is relieved to hear the news that the children will not be coming to Camp Roberts, said a statement from the group. It has always been the Coalitions intention to advocate in the best interests of the children. We recognize the challenges that the Biden administration faces as they move forward in their efforts to respond to this humanitarian crisis. The Coalition will continue to work toward comprehensive immigration reform that will include providing safe temporary housing for asylum seekers and advocating for children to be united with family or sponsors as soon as possible. ___ (c)2021 The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) Visit The Tribune at www.sanluisobispo.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Buy Photo People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals on Thursday, June 3, 2021, protested the practice of killing king cobras during the U.S.-Thai military exercise Cobra Gold. The protest took place outside the embassy of Thailand in Washington, D.C. (Caitlin Doornbos/Stars and Stripes) WASHINGTON An animal rights group on Thursday launched its third protest of the snake blood-drinking tradition associated with the multinational Cobra Gold military exercise in Thailand, this time taking its cause to the front steps of the Thai embassy and the U.S. defense secretarys home. About 15 protesters from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals held graphic photos and signs in English and Thai outside the embassy of Thailand denouncing the practice of decapitating king cobras during the military exercise. They also planned to take their protest to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austins Great Falls, Va., home Thursday evening. PETA is known for its protests with graphic depictions of animal abuses often revealed through undercover investigations, but the gruesome images the group displayed Thursday of slaughtered snakes blood dropped on the tongues of Marines in uniform were taken and published by the U.S. Army Pacifics public affairs office on March 2, 2020, as part of a media package on the exercise. The fact that the general public was able to see footage of our U.S. Marines taking part in something so cruel set this apart, PETA Associate Director Ashley Byrne said at the protest outside the embassy. Buy Photo People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals on Thursday, June 3, 2021, protested the practice of killing king cobras during the U.S.-Thai military exercise Cobra Gold. The protest took place outside the embassy of Thailand in Washington, D.C. (Caitlin Doornbos/Stars and Stripes) Buy Photo People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals on Thursday, June 3, 2021, protested the practice of killing king cobras during the U.S.-Thai military exercise Cobra Gold. The protest took place outside the embassy of Thailand in Washington, D.C. (Caitlin Doornbos/Stars and Stripes) The exercise co-hosted by the U.S. and Thailand is the largest joint military exercise in Southeast Asia and includes training in disaster response, humanitarian assistance and jungle survival, according to the Army. The blood-drinking tradition is part of the jungle-survival training, during which Thai instructors share their knowledge of life-sustaining sources of food and hydration, the Army said in a statement issued March 2, 2020. In a pinch, cobra blood can be used as an alternative way to stay hydrated" in areas without clean water sources. This is the third time that PETA has protested the practice since it was brought to the groups attention when the photographs were published last year, according to the organization. The group sent letters to Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger and Austin in March 2020 and February 2021, respectively. In March 2020, the organization sent a letter to Berger calling for an end to killing animals in the training. In February, the group petitioned Austin to end the practice and protested outside the Pentagon. Because the military has not committed to [ending the practice], it has become necessary to take it right to their doorstep, Byrne said. I dont think that this reflects the values that we want associated with our country. Asked for a response to PETAs concerns, Austins office in an email Thursday said the Defense Department would continue to ensure we are employing best practices for the humane treatment of animals while accomplishing the need to prepare and train our service members for survival in any and all situations. The next Cobra Gold was delayed until August because of the coronavirus pandemic, Marine Corps Times reported April 7. doornbos.caitlin@stripes.com Twitter: @CaitlinDoornbos Marines (Tribune News Service) Authorities and surviving family members knew for decades who was responsible for a killing spree that touched western Pennsylvania in 1977-78, but even after 40 years in prison the suspect wouldn't confess. That changed earlier this year when notorious 1970s serial killer, Aliquippa native and Vietnam War veteran Edward Surratt admitted to slaying six Pennsylvanians, including three Beaver County residents. He also confessed to two murders in Bedford County and one in Fulton County. Pennsylvania State Police announced on Wednesday that Surratt, now serving two life sentences in Florida, admitted to the killings during a police interview in March. Surratt's confession led to resolutions in four unsolved homicide cases in the state. The former long-haul trucker confessed to the 1977 slayings of Fallston residents William and Nancy Adams. William Adams, 31, died of a shotgun blast to the chest at home while his wife, Nancy, 29, was kidnapped and killed. William Adams' body was discovered by his 7-year-old child. Surratt also admitted to killing Baden resident John Shelkons, 56, on Jan. 7, 1978; Joel Krueger, of Bedford County; and Guy and Laura Mills, of Fulton County, on Dec. 31, 1977. Shelkons and his wife, Catherine, were brutally attacked in their home, leaving John dead and his wife badly beaten, but alive. The bodies of Guy and Laura Mills, both 65, were discovered around 7 a.m. New Year's Day 1978 in their ransacked Breezewood home. Three hours later, a truck driver found the body of 36-year-old Joel Krueger in a parked car along Interstate 70 about 3 miles from the Mills' home. They were all killed with a shotgun. Surratt's confessions confirm what law enforcement officials have long suspected. Now 79 years old, Surratt is linked to dozens of late 1970s murders in Ohio and Pennsylvania. He's currently serving two life sentences for violent crimes committed in Florida and was convicted of murder in South Carolina. He was first arrested on July 1, 1978, and has remained in prison since. Investigators began interviewing Surratt from his prison cell in Raiford, Fla., three years ago, looking for a break in the cold case murders. County prosecutors don't plan to charge Surratt for the crimes given his life sentences in other jurisdictions, state police said. "PSP investigators never stopped seeking justice for the victims of these terrible crimes and their families," said Lt. Col. Scott Price with the Pennsylvania State Police. "We hope that the confessions announced today will help bring some semblance of closure to the victims' loved ones." This is the second time in the last two decades Surratt has confessed to further killings. In 2007, he admitted to six killings in Pennsylvania and Ohio, including two in Findlay Township. John Feeney, 17, was shot to death and his 15-year-old girlfriend, Ranee Gregor, vanished and was never found after the two stopped in a remote township park known as lovers' lane on the evening of Oct. 22, 1977. Surratt is still a suspect in at least 10 other unsolved homicides in Pennsylvania, Ohio and South Carolina, including two in Moon Township. The case against Surratt was explored in a 2017 13-part video series by The Times, "Notorious," which went on to win several state awards. The videos can be accessed at timesonline.com. (c)2021 the Beaver County Times (Beaver, Pa.) Visit the Beaver County Times (Beaver, Pa.) at www.timesonline.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Signs alert customers of the USO and Airmans Attic closure due to COVID-19 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, March 25, 2020. In an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 during the pandemic, these offices were closed until reopening again can be done safely. (Wesley Farnsworth/U.S. Air Force) DAYTON, Ohio. (Tribune News Service) Wright-Patterson Air Force Base has moved to health protection condition alpha from the previous condition, bravo, a step closer to the day when more workers will once again populate the states largest single-site employer. That status gives commanders the option of returning all workers back to base offices. I am excited, said Col. Patrick Miller, 88th Air Base wing commander and installation commander. I am truly excited. Before the pandemic, the base was home to some 30,000 military and civilian employees. Air Force work has continued during COVID with many employees working remotely, and remote work may continue to be an option for some workers. However, Miller cautioned during a Facebook Live meeting Wednesday that a state of a public health emergency remains in place until the end of the month, giving supervisors time to work out details. He also noted that base gate 15A, off Ohio 444, is still closed and under construction until mid-month. What I would ask folks is dont rush back to Area A, Miller said. Col. Michael Crowder, the 88th Medical Groups public health emergency officer, said up to 300 people can be organized outdoors without a waiver and indoor gathering capacity has been raised to 50%, limited by room size, with social distancing among those indoors still expected. The decision to move to alpha was based on the steady decline of new COVID cases over the past six weeks across Ohio, the base announced on social media. For the month of May, the base averaged less than one case per day; down from three cases per day in April, the base said. About 63% of the bases active duty population and 43% of the base population have received at least one COVID vaccination. Following Department of Defense guidelines, vaccinated base employees are no longer required to wear face coverings on the installation. There are some locations where masks will continue to be required, and those who have not received the vaccine must continue to wear masks. Physical distancing and CDC guidelines will continued to be urged, Miller said. Just because were going back to alpha, does not mean were going back to the pre-pandemic ... execution, the commander said. Military bases have a health protection condition or HPCON hierarchy or ranking of conditions. HPCON 0 is routine, meaning the routine maintenance of everyday actions to stop the spread of germs is expected. With the next condition, alpha, workers are expected to routinely clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces. If theyre sick, they should call a medical provider for instructions on receiving care before going to a clinic or hospital. In the earliest weeks of the pandemic, first only essential workers, then just 10 percent of the bases typical 30,000 workers were permitted to be physically on base. By May 2020, commanders and directors were allowed to return up to 20% of their assigned workforce to the base. And by September 2020, the move was made to condition bravo, letting commanders bring up to half of their workers to the base, although Miller has continually urged caution. ___ (c)2021 the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio) Visit the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio) at www.daytondailynews.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The discovery of a cheap flight to Milan in 2013 inspired the creation of the company Scotts Cheap Flights, founded by Scott Keyes, right. Keyes shares his finds with other travelers through the business. Also pictured: the companys CEO Brian Kidwell, left. (Scott's Cheap Flights) When Scott Keyes answers the phone, he is giddy. Its late April, and he has just found out about a ridiculous deal to Japan: $202 round trip, from several cities in the United States. Im so, so excited. Oh, man, he says. This has been like a week like nothing else Ive seen in terms of the number of deals. At age 34, Keyes is a cheap flight hunter, to the extreme. What started as a hobby in 2013 has now grown into a business called Scotts Cheap Flights, which employs nearly 40 people and has more than 1 million subscribers (theres a free and a paid option) who are all interested in the same thing: Getting great deals on airfare. Keyess personal and professional mission is encouraging people to take more vacations by traveling on the cheap. In fact, that is the title of his new book, which published earlier this month: Take More Vacations: How to Search Better, Book Cheaper, and Travel the World. From Keyess excitement on the phone, it is clear he still gets a rush from the hunt, even when its not a deal he is planning to use himself. Take this one to Japan: He says its painful to pass it up, but he and his wife are expecting their second child soon, so hell settle for living vicariously through subscribers who end up purchasing tickets. (The site doesnt sell plane tickets; it just publishes deals that his team finds.) Its just so exciting to see, especially after the past year where so many of us have not been able to get that joy of travel, to have an exciting trip to look forward to, he says. His hobby turned obsession turned business allows him the pleasure of knowing that cheap flights arent going to waste and people are, indeed, taking more vacations. Start-up stories often begin in a garage. Keyess story began with a trip to Milan. It was 2013, and Keyes was a 26-year-old freelance journalist. His income was low, but his travel aspirations were high. He knew cheap flights were out there, and he decided to dedicate himself to finding them. He dove into message boards and searched myriad sites and came upon a $130 round-trip ticket from New York to Milan. He had never even considered going to Milan, but at that price, he figured, why not? With that, he learned his first cheap-flight lesson: First find the deal, then plan the trip. When friends and colleagues heard him talking about the cheap Milan ticket, they wanted in on the secret. They asked him to share his future cheap-flight finds, so he started a newsletter for a small group of people. He didnt yet see the business potential, though. A savvy, aspiring entrepreneur would have realized in that moment, Oh, my gosh, you know, theres an opportunity here. This could be a business. People clearly want this thing, Keyes says. But that was not me. I was not a savvy, aspiring entrepreneur. Over the next 18 months, friends referred other friends to the newsletter, and it grew from a few dozen recipients to nearly 400. In 2015, Business Insider published a story about Keyes and his cheap-flight pursuits, and, practically overnight, 5,000 people signed up for the newsletter, prompting the newsletter host service to charge him $50 because he had exceeded the contact limits in the free plan. Heres where the wheels start turning. Although Keyes hadnt planned to make money off his hobby, he wasnt willing to lose money on it, either. So he decided to try a little experiment and see if people would be willing to pay $2 a month to get emails about the deals. He was flabbergasted when, in the first month, 100 people signed up. And the next month, another 100 people signed up. I felt like Scrooge McDuck, just like swimming through gold coins, he says. I could not believe what I had stumbled upon here. Keyes decided it was time to bring in someone more entrepreneurial than himself. He had recently met Brian Kidwell, a business-minded ideas kind of guy, who was also working in the travel start-up space. Keyes approached him to come on board as co-founder in late 2015. Around that time, Kidwell who is now CEO, while Keyes has the title of chief flight expert recalls they were bringing in about $2,000 per month from subscribers. Then, in February 2016, Conde Nast Traveler published an article about the site, and revenue shot up to $21,000. In May of that same year, they launched the website ScottsCheapFlights.com, and the reputation and business has been growing ever since. Kidwell says one of the things subscribers appreciate about Scotts Cheap Flights is its approachable tone, thanks to Keyess own personality. People really felt like Scott was just this friend sending them deals that he found, Kidwell says. He really is that friend. Hes such an easygoing, laid-back person. Hes authentic, he cares about everyone that he interacts with, and hes just an all-around good human being. Brian Kelly, who is founder and CEO of travel rewards site the Points Guy, says Keyes is known for being a nice, knowledgeable guy who is doing exactly what he set out to do: Offer advice on cheap flights. I think what separates Scott from a lot of others in the travel space is he knows cheap flights and he sticks to it. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel and monetize through other areas of the travel industry, he knows the flights world, he has a great team and technology stack to scour for those deals, and he delivers on that, Kelly says, via email. Overall, I think he is providing a great service to consumers to save money and to also get out there and explore destinations you might not have considered. Among travelers themselves, Keyes and his business which devotees refer to as SCF have developed something of a cult following. SCF has totally changed the way I decide when and where to travel, says Victoria Kelly, 59, who lives in Charleston, S.C. Kelly first subscribed to Scotts Cheap Flights about four years ago. Before that, she says, she would find an occasional cheap flight from Charleston, but it might have three stops. When she started getting emails from SCF, she realized that there were incredible deals out there, and she just needed to change her approach to be flexible with her timing, destination and departure city. She ticks off the places she has gone with pride: New York to Rome for $220 round trip; New York to Paris for $300 round trip; Charlotte to Madrid for $274 round trip; Orlando to Munich for $350 round trip; Charlotte to St. Thomas for $85 round trip. Whenever I see something, even if its not a city I want to go into, its like, well how close is that to something? Where could we go from there? What do we want to do with that? she says. Some women get excited about the shoe sales. I get excited about the travel sales. Dawn Taylor, 54, who lives in Kansas City, Mo., has also become an enthusiastic follower of Scotts Cheap Flights. Since 2017, she has traveled round trip to Belize ($368), Seychelles ($685), Croatia ($401) Puerto Rico ($335), Montreal ($294) and Madrid ($429). Before subscribing to SCF, Taylor says she believed travel was expensive. Now, she takes two international trips a year, and booking the next trip is always on her mind. If I dont eat lunch out at the restaurant twice a week at work, then in four months its a plane ticket, she says. Im constantly thinking in those terms. She is especially excited for her next trip: In 2022, she will be traveling to Tokyo for $280 round trip, having purchased one of the flights that Keyes was so giddy about. Keyes wants people to take more vacations. It has become his mantra, and he tells people they can do that by prioritizing cheap flights. Its not just the money that youre saving, but it lets you take more trips, better trips. Youre happier after the trip, youre happier before the next trip. It ends up bringing vacation back to its core, which is something thats supposed to take away our stress rather than add to our stress, he says. Travel isnt just about getting away from it all. Its also about seeking. Cheap flights can be a portal to learning, discovering, meeting new people, finding new opportunities. In his book, Keyes talks about how he met his wife, Anya, thanks to cheap travel. At the time, he was living in Mexico and she was living on the East Coast, and they met and hit it off on a beach in Puerto Rico. They stayed in touch, and cheap travel allowed for regular meetups. It was on a cheap trip to Hong Kong after hiking up Victoria Peak in the middle of the night that Keyes asked her to marry him. Now, they have a 2-year-old daughter and the aforementioned child on the way. So when Keyes has to pass up cheap flights like the one to Japan it may smart a little. But he cant help but be grateful for all that cheap travel has already brought, beyond the trips themselves. And even though he cant travel as much as he used to, he can still use his cheap-flight hunting skills for good, helping subscribers score inexpensive airfare and explore the world, never knowing which encounters could shape their lives. Tech HUDSON, Ohio (Tribune News Service) The state's American Legion organization is investigating why a veteran's microphone was cut during a Hudson Memorial Day ceremony when he discussed the role Black Americans played in establishing the holiday. The incident has prompted national outcry since the Akron Beacon Journal first reported the story Wednesday. A ceremony organizer turned off the mic Monday when the event's keynote speaker, retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter, began sharing a story about freed Black slaves honoring deceased soldiers shortly after the end of the Civil War. Hudson American Legion Auxiliary President Cindy Suchan, who chairs the Memorial Day parade committee, told the Beacon Journal said Kemter's mic was turned down because it was not relevant to our program for the day," and added the theme of the day was honoring Hudson veterans. The American Legion Department of Ohio said in a tweet directed to a Beacon Journal reporter that it is investigating the incident: "We are aware of the incident written by you and published in the Akron Beacon Journal. This matter and the facts are under full investigation by our organization. Thank you for bringing this to our attention." A separate tweet from the American Legion Department of Ohio stated, "We will investigate and take disciplinary action if necessary." Suzette Heller, department adjutant for the American Legion Department of Ohio, told the Beacon Journal an investigation is "happening right now," and added her office also is in communication with the national American Legion office. "We are shocked about this," Heller told the Beacon Journal on Thursday. American Legion National Commander James W. Bill Oxford issued this statement regarding the incident in Hudson: The Ohio American Legion assures us that they are fully investigating this incident. Regardless of the investigations outcome, the national headquarters is very clear that The American Legion deplores racism and reveres the Constitution. We salute LTC Kemters service and his moving remarks about the history of Memorial Day and the important role played by Black Americans in honoring our fallen heroes. We regret any actions taken that detracts from this important message. A Beacon Journal story about the speech had more than 300,000 page views nationwide by late Thursday morning, making it the most widely read story across the USA Today Network in the past 24 hours. The story was shared via Twitter by Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times Magazine reporter who created the magazine's 1619 Project and was also picked up by the Washington Post and other media. On Twitter, State Rep. Casey Weinstein (D-37th District), also a Hudson resident, called the incident "an EMBARRASSMENT." "I want to know why the organizers felt they had to censor this veteran at our Hudson Memorial Day event!" he shared in a tweet. Weinstein also tweeted that Suchan "should be removed from her position. Its time to send a message. This kind of racist censorship has NO place in Hudson!" By late Thursday morning, several hundred comments were posted on Suchan's personal Facebook page criticizing her actions and urging her to resign from her position as leader of the Hudson American Legion Auxiliary. Many comments have been heated, with some using profane language. (c)2021 the Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio) Visit the Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio) at www.ohio.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. In this image captured from Hudson public access television, retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter checks to see if the microphone is functioning after organizers turned off audio during a portion of his Memorial Day speech Monday, May 31, in Hudson, Ohio. (HCTV) HUDSON, Ohio (Tribune News Service) What at first blush appeared to be a short audio malfunction at Mondays Memorial Day ceremony in Markillie Cemetery turned out to be anything but. A ceremony organizer turned off the microphone when the events keynote speaker, retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter, began sharing a story about freed Black slaves honoring deceased soldiers shortly after the end of the Civil War. The microphone was turned down for about two minutes in the middle of Kemters 11-minute speech during the event hosted by the Hudson American Legion Lee-Bishop Post 464. Cindy Suchan, who chairs the Memorial Day Parade committee and is president of the Hudson American Legion Auxiliary, said it was either her or Jim Garrison, adjutant of American Legion Lee-Bishop Post 464, who turned down the audio. When pressed, she would not say who specifically did it. Suchan said organizers wanted this part excluded because it was not relevant to our program for the day, and added the theme of the day was honoring Hudson veterans. Kemter said he wanted to use his speech to share the history of the origin of Memorial Day. Afterward, he noted, he received numerous compliments from attendees who told him it was nice to hear the history. It was well received, Kemter said, adding many people told him, I never knew that. He expressed disappointment with the event organizers actions. I find it interesting that [the American Legion] would take it upon themselves to censor my speech and deny me my First Amendment right to [freedom of] speech, Kemter said. This is not the same country I fought for. Organizers asked for portion of speech to be eliminated Kemter, a 1962 Hudson High School graduate, said he was trained as a combat medic, was in the U.S. Army from 1965 to 1995, and served in the Persian Gulf War. In the days leading up to the ceremony, Suchan said she reviewed Kemters speech and asked him to remove certain portions. We asked him to modify his speech and he chose not to do that, said Suchan. Suchan declined to say which part she wanted excluded, but confirmed the two minutes when Kemters microphone was turned off were part of what she asked him to exclude. During those two minutes, Kemter is heard discussing how former slaves and freed Black men shortly after the Civil War exhumed the remains of more than 200 Union soldiers who died in battle in Charleston and gave them a proper burial. About three days before the ceremony, Kemter said, he was emailed by an event organizer (whom he declined to name) asking him to remove a part of his speech dealing with Black Americans role in an early Memorial Day-type of ceremony. Kemter declined to share why the organizer asked him to remove this part, but said he asked the organizer to specify what portions they wanted to have excluded. When he received an email back from the organizer Sunday evening, the message stated that the parts to be removed were highlighted. Kemter said he did not see any text highlighted and with the ceremony less than 24 hours away, he did not reply again. I didnt have time to sit down and rewrite another speech, Kemter said. Kemter said he showed the text of the speech to a Hudson public official, who advised him to leave the speech intact. Audio engineer refuses instruction to mute equipment At a certain point in Kemters speech, Suchan said she asked A.J. Stokes, the events audio engineer, to turn off Kemters microphone. She said Stokes refused to do it himself, but pointed to the knob that controlled the microphone. Stokes confirmed his refusal and that he did point to the knob. He said it was Garrison who turned down the audio and then turned it back up a short time later. When reached by phone Wednesday, Garrison declined to say whether he turned down the microphone and said he had nothing to add regarding the situation. Stokes said Suchan and Garrison were both very adamant about turning off Kemters microphone. That was very improper, Stokes said. I wouldve never done something like that. He said he was very upset about what happened and hoped he was not being blamed. Suchan said that Stokes was totally blameless. He noted hes handled the sound engineering for the event since the late 1960s and has his own company, Stokes Sound & Video Inc. After the ceremony, Stokes said he apologized to Kemter about the loss in audio, but also told him I had nothing to do with that. Cindy and Jim were the ones that turned your microphone off. When his microphone was turned down, Kemter said he thought there was a problem with the equipment. After the event, Stokes told me it was not a malfunction. Kemter said he did not speak with Suchan or Garrison after the ceremony. Video shows dropoff in sound, brief interruption of speech In the video of the program that appears on the HCTV website, Kemters microphone stops working in the middle of his speech. When Kemter notices members of the crowd saying that they cant hear him, he taps the microphone, looks at someone off-camera and says A.J., mic, referring to Stokes. Kemter looks at the crowd, smiles and explains that this was why he had asked attendees to move closer when he opened his speech. He continues speaking, and after about two minutes, the microphone comes back on and stays on for the remainder of the speech. The audio of what Kemter said can still be heard during the video because there was a shotgun microphone on HCTVs video camera. During the two minutes when the microphone was turned down, the recording of the program on HCTV includes a disclaimer stating Lapse in sound not [the] fault of Stokes & Sound Inc. or Hudson Community TV. 2021 the Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio) Visit the Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio) at www.ohio.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. FILE - In this, , May 17, 2021, file photo, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt speaks during a news conference in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled Gov. Kevin Stitt's plan to privatize much of the state's Medicaid program is unconstitutional. The court determined in a 6-3 ruling Tuesday, June 1, 2021 that the Oklahoma Health Care Authority did not have the legislative approval to move forward with the plan. Mathew Z. Rosiere, 37, of Fond du Lac, unexpectedly passed away on Friday, June 4, 2021. He was born on May 18, 1984, in Pawnee, OK, the son of Michael Z. Rosiere and Sandra K. Kennedy. While he was in high school, he was active in football and wrestling. Mathew loved hard rock music, played Changes to the SunCommercial's back end processing means the e-edition is getting a facelift. The biggest change is the e-edition, by default, is now presented in Text view. The last surviving member of the Maori Battalion has joined the front line in the battle against Covid-19. Robert Bom Gillies, 96, is the last surviving member of the 28th Maori Battalion, a former member of the Te Arawa B company, and on Tuesday morning with around 150 others waiting in the wings, the decorated veteran rolled up his sleeve for the Covid-19 vaccination. Gillies, accompanied by five generations of his whanau, was among the first to receive the jab at the Waikite Rugby & Sports Club in Rotorua at the first Te Arawa Covid-19 Response outreach clinic. Hub chair and Te Arawa kaumatua Monty Morrison says it's hugely significant for the wider vaccine rollout to have someone with the mana of Gillies being seen to get the vaccine. Trusted faces to be able to communicate that message is hugely significant for us, and given the Maori hesitancy rates to the take up of not only this vaccine but any others, its really important that those faces, trusted faces, are seen supporting that, he says. Morrison also says it's important to get the message out that the vaccine is to keep the individual, and their wider community, safe. Morrison says they have asked Dr Grace Malcolm, and retired doctor John Armstrong, to be present at the outreach clinic to be on hand to answer any questions people might have about the vaccine. Malcolm echoes Morrisons view about the significance of someone with the standing of Gillies getting vaccinated. The faces that get seen, they have the vaccine, they say theyre doing it and it normalises the whole thing, she says. Its all about keeping people safe and saving lives. She also has a message for those who may believe their youth and health means they do not require the vaccine. Understand the whole process, that its about protecting people, saving lives, she says. People need to remember coronavirus kills people and the vaccination does not. The 28th Maori Battalion, as it's officially known, was New Zealand's most decorated World War II battalion, made up entirely of Maori volunteers. -Stuff/Benn Bathgate. For two years Tauranga couple Paul and Rozanne de Wild have been steadily creating a world of fantasy. From their home in Welcome Bay, they and many creative friends have been building, painting, and assembling props and decorations for the Fantasy Masquerade Ball weekend to be held this July, in Rotorua. Themed events include Friday nights Creatures of Atlantis being held around a large indoor heated pool, Saturday nights Costumiers Fantasy Masquerade Ball based on the iconic cult movie Labyrinth, Saturday afternoons High Tea Party, a Costume Competition, and a free community event comprising a Costume Exhibit and Craft Market on the Saturday. Paul, a boatbuilder by day, makes props in his evenings and weekends, such as large ancient columns and beams for the Creatures of Atlantis underwater themed Friday night cocktail party, a massive sundial, and columned bar-leaners. There will even be merfolk in the pool. For the Saturday evening there will be recreated iconic scenes from the movie Labyrinth, including the walls of the Labyrinth, the Goblin throne room, and a false entrance to the toilets featuring the Deaf & Dumb door knockers. For the ball room itself they have leaned on the iconic ball room scenes for inspiration, plus the large 13 hour clock. Rozanne, formally the Wedding & Functions coordinator at Mills Reef Winery, is working with many Tauranga based entertainers, musicians, and DJs, including Flames of Plenty, Autangi Ensemble, Groove DJs, and band PowWow among many others, who will bring their own special magic to the weekend. Matua local Groove DJs Patrick has even ordered his own fantasy costume from overseas to ensure hes dressed to match the guests and theme. For all of you with dreams of David Bowie in your head and fantasies of him stealing you away, yes Jareth the Goblin King will be there on the Saturday night. Which raises the question, does everyone have to come in a Labyrinth themed costume? Not at all, says Rozanne. Labyrinth is simply our theme for dressing the event; if you wish to go along with that theme thats cool, however the evening itself is your own your own fantasy so if for the evening you wish to be a princess, a Knight, a Steampunk Victorian, a cosplay character, a beast, a fairy, an elf, or any other mystical or magical creation, or even your own WoW creation, that is for you to dream up. The only prerequisite is you must be in costume. Like many events this inaugural ball was initially intended to run last year, and while it was disappointing to have to delay a year, its given Rozanne and Paul more time to dream, build, and develop their fantasy weekend for you to enjoy. Why Rotorua? We were lucky enough to attend a fantasy masquerade ball weekend event in Los Angeles a couple of times in recent years, says Rozanne. We also went to a large cosplay convention in Atlanta that has over 80,000 attendees per day. Both events are held within hotels over a weekend and most guests, even locals, opt to stay in the hotels to immerse themselves in the weekend and free themselves of their everyday routines. In 2019 returning to the Los Angeles event wasnt feasible, so I struck on the idea of bringing some of the magic (or fairy dust) here to New Zealand. And by staying at the hotel you benefit from not worrying about taxis, drink/driving, or the weather outside, says Rozanne. You can even slip back up to your room during the evening to change costumes or put on more comfortable shoes without any fuss. Rotorua is a good central New Zealand location for guests from all over New Zealand and overseas to get to, and yes there are Australian guests attending. If it hadnt been for Covid we would have had a number of our Los Angeles ball friends coming as well, and Rotorua offers many tourist activities for our out of town guests. If the idea of being a Princess, a Forest King, a Venetian dancer or even an Atlantean goddess appeals to you, then now is your chance. The Costumiers Fantasy Masquerade Ball is on Friday, July 16 and Saturday, July 17. For more information or tickets find us on Facebook or visit www.cnzwildadventures.com Coroners has highlighted the importance of rumble strips and rest following the death of two people on Waikato and Bay of Plenty. Naomi Francis Healey, 64, died in Waikato Hospital on March 27, 2020, from injuries suffered in a crash. In a recently released report, Coroner Michael Robb saysHealey was driving on State Highway 1, East Taupo Arterial, Taupo about 3pm on March 19, 2020. She crossed the centreline into the opposite lane and into the path of an oncoming truck. The two vehicles collided and Healey suffered serious injuries, later dying at Waikato Hospital. An investigation into the collision concluded it was possible Healey was fatigued to the point of falling asleep, or having a microsleep. Robb says the dangers of driving while fatigued are evidenced by Healeys death. It is recommended that drivers watch for signs of fatigue even if they have only recently taken over driving duties. When fatigued, stopping for a rest or a mini break or sleep is necessary, regardless of how long driving has been undertaken. Robb says this could be necessary when driving with other passengers who are sleeping or driving during the middle of the afternoon. Also, when travelling on roads where there are few intersections or other essential interactions for the driver, resulting in a risk of being under-stimulated. Warning signs for fatigued driving are having trouble focusing, keeping your eyes open or holding your head up, daydreaming, loss of memory, drifting from your lane, tailgating and missing signs or exits. Robb says the East Taupo Arterial was completed in 2010 and between 2010 and 2017, three people had died and six people had been seriously injured. Waka Kotahi, the New Zealand Transport Agency, announced on March 4, 2020, a series of safety improvements to the East Taupo Arterial as part of its Safe Network Programme. One of the improvements is the installation of a flexible median barrier to prevent head-on collisions. Robb says in light of Waka Kotahis planned safety improvements, he doesn't consider it necessary to make any additional comments. The second person to die on Waikato/Bay of Plenty roads was Sharon Tewhaiora Thompson, 57, who died at Thornton Road, Matata, Whakatane, on August 1, 2019. In a recently released report, Coroner Matthew Bates says Thompson was driving east on Thornton Road, near Matata when she failed to navigate a right-hand bend. The vehicle she was driving moved left onto the grass verge and as Thompson steered right to correct this, she crossed the centreline and collided with an oncoming vehicle. As a result of the crash, she suffered fatal injuries and passed away at the scene. The police Serious Crash Unit considered inattention or distraction may have been factors in the collision. There were no audible tactile profiles (known as rumble strips), through the centreline or fog lines of this section of Thornton Road. Rumble strips serve to alert a distracted or fatigued driver that they are deviating from their lane of travel and may have alerted Thompson to the fact her vehicle had crossed the fog line. Bates says given the circumstances of Thompsons death, he recommends Waka Kotahi consider installation of rumble strips on the centreline and fog lines on this section of Thornton Road. -Stuff/Kirsty Lawrence. The three individuals and nine of the companies facing WorkSafe charges in the wake of the Whakaari eruption have appeared at Whakatane District Court and argued no pleas should be entered. Just one plea was entered by notice on behalf of the National Emergency Management Agency of not guilty. Richard Raymond QC, lawyer for White Island Tours, told Judge Evangelos Thomas it would simply not be conducive to justice for his client to make a plea as they were still awaiting disclosure of documents. He said defence had received 3000 documents so far, only half the story. And some of those documents are hundreds of pages long. He said a team of six to eight lawyers had taken three months to review the disclosure that had been submitted so far. He said the case was the most extensive and complex investigation undertaken by WorkSafe. The Crown have had a year [to review documents] and weve had months. He said they would need at least four weeks to consider further disclosure expected by July. Its simply not possible to enter pleas in a couple of weeks, he said. But WorkSafe prosecutor Kristy McDonald said it was surprising to the prosecution that the defendants continue to delay affirming their positions. Our position is that the pleas should be entered now, she said. There is significant public interest in this matter, and that victim interest must be in the matter progressing. Judge Thomas set a provisional date for a case review of September 13 this year, and asked for pleas to be entered by August 24. He also ruled the next hearing should also take place at Whakatane District Court, though the lawyer for the Buttle brothers, owners of Whakaari, David Neutze, argued the case should proceed at Auckland District Court. Judge Thomas said that while the Buttles were the only individuals to face charges, and the human faces of the defendants, he also noted they were innocent of anything at the moment until anyone proves otherwise. Raymond, however, said his client wanted the matter to remain in Whakatane. It is important for this community, for my client, for ngati awa, he said. The court also heard from Roger Gowing, a lawyer appointed by the court who had spoken to more than 65 victims and relatives ahead of the proceedings about their views on where the matter was heard. The overwhelming feedback from victims is they do want access to the trial, those from the Whakatane. area wish to attend in person, he said. Gowing also told the court he wanted to relay the comments he received from a police officer who helped transfer survivors from the boats that returned in the wake of the eruption. This tragedy occurred here in Whakatane and any court proceedings should be heard here, he said. It is a Whakatane matter that has left an eternal imprint on this community. . . a very personal experience for those involved. The charges come in the wake of the December 9, 2019 eruption that took place when 47 people were on the island, leaving 22 dead and the remaining survivors with severe or critical injuries. Some of the charges date back to April 4, 2016, and most relate to individuals and companies in their capacity as a person conducting a business or undertaking. Fourteen of the charges have a maximum penalty of $1.5 million fines. Details of the charges were spelt out across 19 pages of charging documents. Whakaari owners Andrew, James and Peter Buttle and Whakaari Management Ltd, the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, the National Emergency Masnagement Agency, White Island Tours, Volcanic Air Safaris, Aeirus Ltd, Kahu NZ, Inflite Charters, ID Tours New Zealand and Tauranga Tourism Services were all charged after WorkSafe filed a total of 20 charges. The Buttles are alleged to have failed with due diligence duties, including failure to acquire and keep up dated knowledge of work health and safety matters and failure to gain adequate understanding of hazards and risks associated with access to Whakaari. Their company, Whakaari Management Ltd, is also alleged to have failed its duty to workers and tourists, including ensuring an adequate means of evacuation from Whakaari. The Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences is alleged to have failed to ensure the safety of pilots travelling to, and remaining on the island. That failure exposed those helicopter pilots to a risk of death or serious injury, the charging documents said. They are also alleged to have lacked safe operating procedures regarding the communication of volcanic activity and inadequate consultation with tour operators regarding volcanic activity. White Island Tours is alleged to have failed its duty to ensure health and safety of workers and tourists, and a failure to ensure booking confirmation, pre-activity information and tour description information provided sufficient detail regarding the hazards and risks, including the risk posed to tourists from volcanic activity, so tourists could make an informed decision prior to commencing their tour. Allegations of failing to keep staff and tourists safe have also been levelled against Volcanic Air Safaris, Aeirus Ltd and Kahu Ltd. Both Inflite Charters and ID Tours New Zealand are also alleged to have failed to keep tourists safe, with particulars in the charge against ID Tours noting the company should have had in place a process for providing Royal Caribbean Cruises with appropriately detailed and up to date health and safety information about tours on Whakaari. Tauranga Tourism Services is also alleged to have failed a duty to ensure the safety of tourists on Whakaari. The charges relate to the period leading up to the eruption, not the rescue operations that followed. -Stuff/Benn Bathgate. Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. Unlimited website access 24/7 Unlimited e-Edition access 24/7 The best local, regional and national news in sports, politics, business and more! With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. OPEC+ seaborne exports down 390 kbd in May as its output policy remains unchanged A new research and analysis note released by commodity intelligence company, Kpler, regarding OPEC+. The volumes below reflect Kpler expectations of OPEC+ market supply reductions. They account for variation in exports, onshore inventories and refinery runs. These totals are not a proxy for production. Kpler data shows OPEC+ seaborne oil exports decreased by 390 kbd to 24.8 mbd in May (excluding Iran and Venezuela as our estimates for these two countries may vary as we receve more information). The fall in exports does not necessarily reflect a production decline as both domestic consumption and onshore inventories have boosted in May. OPEC+ was supposed to increase production by 600 kbd over the month of May : this includes 350 kbd from OPEC+ and 250 kbd as Saudi Arabia eases its voluntary additional production cut. OPEC+ inventories have built 8.1 mb to 338 mb on the month, or 260 kbd, suggesting that production has increased and that exports will increase in the next few months. The fact that such an increase in production failed to materialise in oil exports can also be explained by increased domestic demand. Refinery runs have boosted 11% and 5% in the UAE and in Saudi Arabia respectively, or 106 kbd and 128 kbd, according to FGE data. While OECD oil inventories have drawn to levels last seen in August 2019, we estimate global oil inventories are still around 110 mb higher than pre-covid levels for the same time of the year, mainly due to China taking advantage of low oil prices to build storage. The key upcoming issue for OPEC+ is likely to be Iran's potential return to the market. Today, the organisation took the decision to leave its output cut policy unchanged, meaning that production could increase by 700 kbd in June and another 850 kbd in July, when including Saudi Arabia's voluntary cut policy. With Brent now hovering above $70/bbl, the bullish trend in oil prices reflects confidence in the economic rebound, particularly in Europe's and the US ability to absorb additional barrels on the market due to the easing cuts OPEC+ policy and the breakthrough of Iran-US peace talks. Leaders Saudi Arabia and Russia boost exports, up 322 kbd and 136 kbd respectively Saudi Arabia boosted its exports by 322 kbd m/m, reaching a total just under 6 mbd, the highest level of exports since January. Loadings destined to China have increased, 1.7 mbd of oil loaded in May is headed towards Saudi Arabias main customer, representing an 11% increase m/m. Russias exports also increased by 136 kbd m/m, should benefit from the upcoming economic recovery in Europe. On the other hand, the UAE experienced the biggest drop, with exports down by 303 kbd but following a 243 kbd increase in April. However, this fall is to be put into perspective as the country's inventories built 3 mb to 39.6 mbd, or 97 kbd, while refinery runs jumped 106 kbd. OPEC Africa falls 470 kbd on unfavourable market conditions On the other side of the export ledger, exports from many African countries have fallen. Departures out of Algeria (-136 kbd), Libya (-106 kbd), Gabon (-85 kbd) and Nigeria (-81 kbd) all contributed to a combined fall of 470 kbd from OPEC's African members. This seems to be due to specific unfavourable market conditions. With the market in backwardation, and particularly the prompt Dubai timespreads backwardation widening, Asian refiners are incentivised to favour crude with shorter voyages, which plays in favour of Middle Eastern or Russian grades against African oil. Rongsheng Petrochemical reportedly purchased 12 mb of Middle Eastern grades in the third week of May only. Another issue impacting West African grades is a massive jump in shipments out of Saldanha Bay storage, which comes as increased competition for WAF crudes. Although Kpler data does not show any shipments in May, 240 kbd of oil were shipped in April, primarily to India. This is up from 200 kbd in March and 70 kbd in February. Indian demand could also help explain falling WAF exports despite an ability to increase production as per the OPEC+ agreement. Even as India is seeking to its oil supply - our data shows an overwhelming reliance on Middle Eastern oil, which provides 83% of India's total oil imports - the country was not able to do so in May. Consumption of refined products in India has contracted sharply: diesel and gasoline sales were down 20% in the first half of May. India's crude oil imports from OPEC+ fell by 331 kbd m/m in May, down to 3.2 mbd. Return of Iranian oil key issue ahead At the same time, while Iran-US talks have failed to deliver a breakthrough thus far, negotiations could potentially lead to the full return of Iranian in the coming month. This possible increase in Iranian supply could become an issue for OPEC+ as the organisation unwinds its cuts. It is too early for us to give a precise indication of Iran's oil exports in May, but the country's crude oil exports averaged 720 kbd between December 2020 and April 2021, marking a significant shift compared to 2020 levels. This compares to an average of 650 kbd in 2019 and 350 kbd in 2020. Progress at the Vienna negotiations have not impacted oil markets yet as oil prices climbed for the second month in a row, driven by strong expectations on the demand side. Brent and WTI are at their highest levels since October 2018. However, as an agreement seems relatively close, we estimate Iran would be able to increase production by 1.7 mbd by Q1 2022, of which 1.4 mbd of crude and 300 kbd of condensate. The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime. AYP BHPian Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Mumbai Posts: 913 Thanked: 2,141 Times re: Case against buying a car with a high waiting period Quote: fazayal Originally Posted by However, in my opinion one should not wait for more than a month to get delivery of the car. There are many reasons for it: 1. Booking a car with high waiting period is like going on a road with high traffic. More and more people keep on booking that car and waiting period keeps on increasing, making situation worse. If there is another car available in the market which fulfils all your needs, better to go for it than go for a car with higher waiting period. Quote: fazayal Originally Posted by 2. In many cases you would be exchanging your old car. So you would have to drive the old car for more time. The old car would have higher chances of breakdown, there might be scheduled services in between or even insurance renewal. Resale value would also be lower 6 months down the line. It would also rob you off pleasure of driving a new car for such a long period. Quote: fazayal Originally Posted by 3. If the car has a huge waiting period, you would not get proper buying experience from the dealer. I remember going to Renault showroom during launch of Duster and Ford showroom during launch of Ecosport. Dealer staff was not even interested in attending walkin customers. They might also create circumstances that would make you cancel the car booking after waiting for sometime because there might be people ready to pay extra money to get that popular car. Even if they refund the full amount, they practically used your money interest free to run their business. Imagine you booked by paying 50k. There are 100 bookings in pipeline. That's a cool 50 lakhs in dealer's bank account to use as interest free working capital! 4. Dealers might also force customers to buy everything in-house for cars with high waiting period. Be it inflated insurance price, finance or accessories. They can't do it legally, so they might very well quote a much higher waiting period for someone who wants to get insurance, finance, etc done on their own rather than going with dealer. 9. Read a thread which was about how OEMs fake that waiting period is higher to show that their car is in high demand and they would not give any discounts/offers etc. If customers start walking away when high waiting period is quoted, they would be forced to stop this gimmick. And here, teaching a lesson to these dealers would mean compromising on 1 of the biggest purchases of your life and living with that compromise for 10 years or more. I know I am not 'that' morally inclined, neither are the majority. Personal preference>>> moral obligation to teach the dealers a lesson period(for the vast majority). Quote: fazayal Originally Posted by 5. Cost of cars usually go up and rarely come down. For cars in high demand, the price is increased more regularly by the OEM. Customers have to pay the cost of car as on date of delivery. If one buys a car with waiting period of say 6 months, it's very likely that price of car would have increased considerably by then. Quote: fazayal Originally Posted by 6. With high waiting period, there are chances that your EMIs might start even before delivery of the car. Quote: fazayal Originally Posted by 7. Most of the time, high waiting period is for newly launched car. There are higher chances of niggles in a newly launched car than in a car in the market for say 2 years as most niggles are removed by then. For the vast majority- Getting their recently launched favourite car as quickly as possible>>> thinking about the technicality of there being a higher possibility of something going wrong with their newly launched choice. Quote: fazayal Originally Posted by 8. You might have to make compromise on variant, colour, fuel options etc. on cars with high waiting period. The alternate is compromising on the vehicle choice itself. It is all about the 'choice'. Quote: fazayal Originally Posted by 10. Economically speaking, buyer's market is much better than seller's market. Seller's should be chasing customer's and following up with them rather than the other way round. Instead of deferring for six months, a customers spend money now, it's better for economy as well. More people spend in market, more jobs are created and we all benefit as a country. Quote: fazayal Originally Posted by These are few points I could think of. Would love to hear points for and against. In the world we currently live in, more specifically India, don't take this the wrong way, but most of the points stated in the 1st post sound more like a complaint or a wishlist than actual suggestions. Again, this is my view as a practical person but I do appreciate the view from the other side as well. The world needs all the kinds of people to have a balance. It is more like going on a road with traffic up to a certain limit which then becomes the German AutoBahn. In comparison, the other choices are like driving on an average quality road throughout the ownership experience. Choose your poison. Again, 'choose' is the key word. I know what I'd choose.It is a personal choice, isn't it? If a person is willing to wait for a specific car, then he also knows about the associated 'potential risks' like the ones you stated above. He or she also knows about the benefits and has still consciously decided to stick to his/her booking.Technically speaking, we all should be righteous enough to teach these dealers a 'lesson'. However, will we? Should we? Is it morally or ethically wrong on our part to not teach these dealers a lesson? It is not so easy you know. It is not like switching to a different Cola brand for 6 months and then reverting back once the lesson has been taught. And heck, majority people won't even do that. For instance, we all know how easily we all got over the whole Coke and Pepsi pesticide scenario back in mid 2000s.And here, teaching a lesson to these dealers would mean compromising on 1 of the biggest purchases of your life and living with that compromise for 10 years or more.I know I am not 'that' morally inclined, neither are the majority. Personal preference>>> moral obligation to teach the dealers a lesson period(for the vast majority).Price protection for pre-booked cars as a concept would be great to have. Even in the present scenario though, customers know what they are getting into. And if they aren't happy later on with the price hike, cancellation is always a possibility.Not applicable in most cases I believe. And even if it applicable to a lot of them, again, the customer knows what he is getting into. It is ultimately a 'choice', be it morally wrong or right.A calculated risk, a hope. There are chances of even Toyota producing a lemon. Hope is the word. And for the majority, it turns out well, to the point that no one really thinks about it, until it happens.For the vast majority-Getting their recently launched favourite car as quickly as possible>>> thinking about the technicality of there being a higher possibility of something going wrong with their newly launched choice.Yes, they might have to compromise on variant, colour, fuel options etc. Or they may choose to stick to their original choice.The alternate is compromising on the vehicle choice itself. It is all about the 'choice'.That is indeed true. We definitely meed to have a much more balanced market. And we are far from being there.In an ideal world, your suggestions will definitely work. It will create a more egalitarian society. However, in an ideal world, we wouldn't be needing these suggestions in the 1st place.In the world we currently live in, more specifically India, don't take this the wrong way, but most of the points stated in the 1st post sound more like a complaint or a wishlist than actual suggestions.Again, this is my view as a practical person but I do appreciate the view from the other side as well. The world needs all the kinds of people to have a balance. Last edited by AYP : 2nd June 2021 at 01:46 . Earn your Associate of Applied Business in Business IT (BIT) degree online from the University of Cincinnati. This program can be completed fully online, with curriculum customized to fit your schedule, interests and how quickly you want to complete your degree. Application deadline July 1, 2021. Learn More Major information technology providers opposed to the broadening of class action litigation related to consumer protections have taken their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The companies are hoping the court will strike down a lower court ruling which makes it easier for consumers to file class action suits. The tech companies may not have to wait too long for a decision. The Supreme Court conducted oral arguments in TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez Tuesday and is expected to issue a decision by the end of June. At issue is the legal standard governing how members of a consumer class can demonstrate to a court that they have experienced "harm" in the management of their personal data. The IT companies essentially argue that a ruling by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals wrongly allows members of a class to claim harm that goes well beyond current standards for defining injury. The companies contend that the Ninth Circuit ruling would expose businesses to unjustified class action suits. According to an amicus brief jointly submitted to the Supreme Court by eBay, Facebook, Google and several tech industry associations, there was no legal reason for the assertion of any actual or tangible injury for the class of consumers cited in the case. The companies contend that the Ninth Circuit's ruling will have an impact well beyond the statutes involved in that case. If left intact, the court's opinion would "degrade" legal standards and would "open the floodgates for abusive litigation that redresses no injury and benefits no consumer," the companies said. The Ninth Circuit ruling could affect such e-commerce laws as the Stored Communications Act, the Video Privacy Protection Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and the Wiretap Act, as amended by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, according to the brief. The case before the Supreme Court was initiated by major credit reporting agency TransUnion which is seeking to overturn the Ninth Circuit's decision in Ramirez v. TransUnion LLC. The company asked the court to rule on whether the U.S. Constitution and related procedures "permit a damages class action where the vast majority of the class suffered no actual injury, let alone an injury anything like what the class representative suffered." Personal Data Alerts Triggered Litigation The case evolved from allegations that data references used by TransUnion included inaccurate and potentially damaging "matches" of names on consumer credit alerts. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, during the time frame of the case, TransUnion's matching process "consisted solely of a 'name-only' comparison of consumers' first and last names" and the names on the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) list of terrorists, drug traffickers and other individuals prohibited from doing business in the United States for national security reasons. In February 2011, while attempting to purchase a car, Sergio L. Ramirez learned that TransUnion had added an inaccurate OFAC alert to his consumer report. After receiving the alert, the dealership refused to sell the car to Ramirez, who later contended that he was "embarrassed, shocked, and scared" to learn that his name was associated with the OFAC list, according to DOJ's summary of the case. Disturbed by his experience, including inquiries to TransUnion which he claimed resulted in further confusion about the alert, Ramirez filed a suit alleging that TransUnion's practices violated various protections of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). At the U.S. District Court level, the jury found in favor of Ramirez, and faulted TransUnion for failing to comply with requirements of the FCRA. The District Court also granted class action status to the 8,000 persons allegedly affected by the erroneous information. Damages were set at $60 million, later reduced to $40 million by the Ninth Circuit. Court proceedings revealed that TransUnion's reliance on the OPAC data system resulted in a "matching" process which did not definitively screen matches to specific individuals but only to similar names, resulting in the potential for misleading identifications. In the case of Ramirez, date of birth information showed he was improperly classified. Ramirez's distress resulted from the distribution of the inaccurate report to a third party -- the car dealer -- according to the Ninth Circuit decision. A key element in the case hinges on the third-party disclosure issue. According to an analysis from law firm Akin Gump, "despite the fact that the majority of class members did not have their credit reports disseminated to third parties, the Ninth Circuit found that the mere fact that the credit reports were available to potential creditors and employers upon request sufficed to show a 'material risk of harm' to the concrete interests of all class members." Thus, class actions could proceed, according to the ruling. The Justice Department's analysis noted that the Ninth Circuit characterized the nature of such inaccurate alerts as "severe," with reports available to third parties "at a moment's notice." The Department filed an amicus brief only for the purpose of supporting the need for clarification of applicable law and rulings. TransUnion Claims Decision 'Eviscerates' Standards TransUnion, in its petition to the Supreme Court, challenged the notion that the mere existence of the data base references resulted in harm. The company noted that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia "has squarely held that plaintiffs lack standing to seek damages under FCRA based on the bare existence in their credit files of information never disseminated to any third party." The Ninth Circuit ruling "eviscerates" both Constitutional and procedural standards, TransUnion said. The company emphasized that the name references in the data base were not individually definitive and simply presented "potential" matches. TransUnion said that it "made it crystal clear" that the appearance of a name in its alert system "should be the beginning and not the end" of any OFAC inquiry. In a 2018 financial report referencing the jury decision, TransUnion said "we continue to believe that we have not willfully violated any law." In a statement provided to the E-Commerce Times, through spokesperson David Blumberg, TransUnion said "We do not comment on pending litigation." The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a brief supporting TransUnion, noted that for an overwhelmingly large component of the class, no reports ever reached a third party. The Ninth Circuit's decision was "flimsy," and based on assertions that were too speculative and abstract for legal purposes, the Chamber said. Database Risk Meets Test of Injury In asserting that the Ninth Circuit ruling was correct, attorneys representing Ramirez said the relevant harm for allowing class action status "is not the sale or publication of a credit report containing a terrorist record, it is the risk of significant injury of that inaccurate information being reported." The risk of real harm that TransUnion imposed on all class members "arose from both the gravity and the likelihood of dissemination of its false OFAC alerts," according to a brief filed by law firm Francis Mailman Soumilas. "The U.S. Constitution allows people to sue in federal court to when they are at substantial risk of harm, even if they have not yet suffered harm," Adam Schwartz, senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation told the E-Commerce Times. EFF filed an amicus brief supporting Ramirez. "This principle is especially important during the ongoing technological revolution, when private corporations are collecting, storing, sharing, and using massive quantities of our highly sensitive personal information. This data processing creates extraordinary risks of harm," he said. Consumers should not be prevented from going to federal court until after a breach of personal data occurs, such as identity theft or denial of credit, he added. "Rather, we should be able to go to federal court when corporations process our data in a manner that creates substantial risk of these and other harms. Especially where, as here, Congress has required credit reporting agencies to ensure that their credit data are accurate and has empowered people subject to erroneous credit data to sue such agencies," Schwartz noted. According to the Akin Gump and the Department of Justice analyses, the Supreme Court's ruling may be limited in its application to different stages of court proceedings. But for the tech companies, and businesses in general, the Supreme Court's treatment of the "harm" issue will be a significant legal development affecting class action litigation. John K. Higgins has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2009. His main areas of focus are U.S. government technology issues such as IT contracting, cybersecurity, privacy, cloud technology, big data and e-commerce regulation. As a freelance journalist and career business writer, he has written for numerous publications, including The Corps Report and Business Week. Email John. (Photo : Pixabay/antonbe) Dry scooping challenge TikTok A woman revealed the danger of attempting the dry scooping challenge on TikTok as she ended up suffering from a heart attack. The 20-year-old, Briatney Portillo, also known on Instagram and TikTok as @brivtny, shared clips in which she warned the public against the viral challenge. Woman Suffers Heart Attack Doing TikTok Challenge Portillo said in one clip that people should not do what she did because it is dangerous. Portillo admitted that she is the type to try anything and everything that she sees without questioning it. Dry scooping is the nickname given to the challenge. It means dumping dry pre-workout supplements or protein powders into one's mouth instead of diluting them with water and drinking it as instructed, according to Complex. In the past few months, some people have taken to TikTok to document their experiences with the challenge, which health experts have warned could result in a problematically concentrated amount of caffeine being consumed in a fast manner. Also Read: TikTok Blackout Challenge: What is This Latest Video Craze that Took the Life of a 10-Year-Old Girl In the other clips, Portillo expressed her frustration at accusing her of fabricating the heart attack story. Portillo also revealed the specific powder she used for the TikTok challenge, naming it as a Redcon 1 Total War pre-workout supplement, and fielded questions about what symptoms inspired her to see a medical professional. Portillo stated that the symptoms that she felt that made her go to the ER were when the pain in her chest went to the left side and her left arm went limp. She said that it was the moment that she knew it was not anxiety and a heart attack. According to 7News, Portillo gave more insight on the experience, saying that she first started to feel tingly and itchy, but she found out that it was a typical side effect, and she proceeded to go ahead with her planned workout. Portillo then felt a heaviness in her chest with slight pain, and she assumed at first that it was anxiety or panic attack. However, Portillo stated that she felt better after taking a shower and decided to head to work. In the locker room of her place of employment, where Portillo works as a dancer, she started to feel hot, and she started to sweat profusely. Portillo then stated that the chest pain returned, and it was more intense than before. The medical results from Portillo's hospital visit revealed that her troponin levels were at a higher rate than normal. She was then kept overnight by hospital staff, followed by a round of additional tests the following day. Ultimately, the hospital concluded that Portillo had experienced an NSTEMI, which is a type of heart attack that usually does less damage to one's heart. Dangerous TikTok Challenges Portillo is one of the hundreds of people who suffered from the dangerous TikTok challenges that they did. On June 1, a teen from Oregon suffered severe burns on her face and body after she tried to do the viral Fire challenge. In 2019, the dangerous Eye challenge circulated after it was claimed that it can change your eye color. According to Mirror UK, the trend began with TikTok user Maliabroo. However, the challenge could cause flash blindness and damage the eyes. Related Article: TikTok 'Back Crack Challenge': How to Do it and Is it Safe? This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Sophie Webster 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. NASA Venus Missions will soon come to fruition as the space agency has named the two projects, DAVINCI+ and VERITAS, to be those granted a "go" signal and a $500 million budget. This will be the return of humans to studying Venus after 30 years since the last mission has concluded and discoveries were filed. NASA Returns to Venus However, since the last exploration of NASA, "Earth's evil twin" has changed a lot. There are a variety of developments that have been observed from the second planet, despite not having any special missions yet. NASA thinks that Venus exploration now is feasible and would contribute a lot to the knowledge and information the world will have about it. Currently, NASA is known to have been exploring the other neighbor of the Earth, and that is the fourth planet from the Sun, known as the sulfur-rich Mars. The Curiosity rover and Ingenuity space helicopter are doing wonders in taking many photos and discovering plenty of new and exciting things in Mars' Jezero Crater, soon making their way to further edges of the planet. Read Also: NASA's MOXIE Automated System Will Produce 'Breathable' Oxygen for Humans in Mars NASA's Venus Exploration: 2 Missions Area GO Venus is not as famous--as it is not mentioned as often--as Mars, the Moon, the Sun, and even the gas-planet Jupiter in NASA's focus. But NASA has had its fair share of investigating and exploring the planet in the past, with its last mission dating back to 30 years ago. The national space agency has decided to have four project drafts under the NASA Discovery Program for a potential Venus mission. It has already named two to proceed and begin their first phases. These are DAVINCI+ and VERITAS, which would dedicate their time to exploring and getting to know the "Lost Planet." DAVINCI+ DAVINCI+, a.k.a. "Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging," will focus on investigating whether Venus had an ocean on its planet and the presence of water on its surface. Additionally, this mission will provide high-resolution images to NASA, focusing on Venus' "tesserae," a known unique geological feature. NASA Goddard in Maryland will help with the project management of this venture. VERITAS On the other hand, Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy or "VERITAS" will look more into the geological history of Venus, particularly in the course it has developed. Venus was initially known to be a planet with the closest liking to that of the Earth but has transcended into a fiery inferno, different from what is the home planet now. Related Article: Water Bears and Some Baby Squids are Going on a Rocket Ride to Space This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Isaiah Richard 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Former President Donald Trump has shut down his social media platform, also known as the WordPress blog site called "From the Desk of Donald J. Trump," due to a lack of leadership and engagement. A known Trump aide and an anonymous one have both confirmed that the former POTUS will not return anytime soon to creating his platform. From being launched last May 4 as an attempt to get a platform to voice out his opinions to the public, Trump has now shut down his blog site just 29 days since its establishment. The attempt to regain a platform was due to the former president's ban from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram after his term in the oval office. Initially, Trump's appeal from those social media platforms has been barred by the companies for another six months, meaning that the next deliberation would not happen for another half year. "From the Desk of Donald J. Trump" was supposed to be the platform that is the next big thing for the businessman, but that seems to not have worked for him. Read Also: US Media Probes COVID-19 'Wuhan' Lab Leak Theory-Dr. Li-Meng Yan May be Right, Trump Says 'I Was Right' in Blog Trump Shuts Down Social Media, a.k.a. 'Blog' While there is nothing wrong in owning a blog site, it became a subject for mockery against the 45th US President, especially as he was cast out of social media for the sharing of misinformation he has done before. Moreover, Facebook and Twitter's ban of Trump has almost reached its half-year mark, as it was observed last Jan. 8. The WordPress blog site of Donald Trump is now unavailable, and access to it will only lead users to a website of the former president under his name and domain, but without all the posts initially seen there. Earlier on May 25, Trump has said in his blog "I was right," about the resurfacing theories on COVID-19 coming from a Wuhan bio lab, and was humanmade. However, come June, the blog reached its end of days and has ceased to exist, only as a memorabilia for the former president, and his attempt to get a platform back and express himself online. Trump Is Not Returning to the Online Platform Anytime Soon According to Twitter's blog post, Donald Trump is permanently banned from the platform due to grounds of violating the community guidelines and inciting violence on the short word social media. While Trump's words did not say anything about being violent, Twitter argued that it may come off as a call to spark chaos or an unwanted event. Moreover, according to the report of the Washington Post, an anonymous Trump aide has shared that the former president is not returning anytime soon, to create a platform for himself, like the now down the blog. This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Isaiah Richard 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A new ransomware has attacked Massachusetts-based ferry service company, Steamship Authority, last Wednesday, June 2, which is another blow to important services in the country. Recently, it was New York's Metropolitan Transport Authority which fell victim to threat actors, alongside JBS USA, that believes it to be the work of the Russians. Currently, there are no leads as to whether these cases are isolated or interconnected, but it has dealt a massive blow to the country's business landscape which has been massive targets of ransomware. Also, there are no reasons why United States-based businesses have massive targets on their backs, especially those who are considered to be essential. Recently, a lot of companies operating under the US infrastructure have been victims of threat actors and their ransomware, with JBS USA being one of the latest which was attacked last May. Additionally, the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack is no different from this, particularly as the company is known to provide the majority of the East Coast's fuel supply. Read Also: Ransomware are 'Double Encrypting' Your Data Despite Payment-Here's How to Turn on Windows 10's Built-in Malware Blocker Ransomware Attacks Massachusett's Ferry Service In recent developments, the latest to succumb to a cyberattack by threat actors is another unlikely victim, and it is Steamship Authority, which has expressed its statement via its account on Twitter. The company explained that this ransomware attack would cause delays to a customer's ferry ride in the different service routes of the company. The ticketing processes, including online and phone reservations, are expected to continue to be affected on Thursday, June 3, 3021. The Steamship Authority will continue to honor existing reservations at Authority terminals, and rescheduling and cancellation fees will be waived. Steamship Authority (@SteamshipMA) June 2, 2021 Among those affected locations include Nantucket, The Wood's Hole, and Martha's Vineyard stations, which have been the most interrupted services for June 2's attack. However, the company also notes that online reservations, phone bookings, and online ticket purchases would also be affected for Thursday, June 3, with no mentions of when it would return to normal yet. Steamship Authority said that the company is already working with local and federal authorities to resolve the matter, and of course catch the perpetrators which have enacted the grievous attack. Ransomware Are Targetting Essential, Important Services in the US The Steamship Authority was the latest of those who fell victim to threat actors and ransomware which have targeted several of the country's essential and important services amidst this pandemic. Initially, the targets were hospitals and other health care facilities, before it switched to companies that provide its services to the public. The goal or reason behind these attacks also remains unknown, and the blame for Russian threat actors are only speculations at this point, as the investigation remains to be carried out by the authorities. Related Article: Conti Ransomware Attack: FBI Warns About Gang Behind Attacking Irish System; Here's How to Remove This Ransomware This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Isaiah Richard 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Microsoft is set to debut a new version of the Windows operating system by June 24, as it has initially teased in Build which was held last May 25 to 27. It was only last week when Microsoft has teased new developments for its Windows OS, particularly as Windows 10 is near celebrating its 6th year in the market since its release in 2015. Apart from the many products and services that were unveiled by Microsoft's developer conference with Build, the most notable one is the teaser it made for its popular computer operating system. It is known that Microsoft's Windows OS is the most used PC OS in the world, with Apple's macOS, Linux, and Google's ChromeOS trailing behind it. The popular software company is moving forward with its technology, particularly with the Windows OS, as it has recently dropped its support and development for the outdated Internet Explorer. Windows has had a fair share of developments to update its security issues, malware access, zero-day vulnerabilities, new features, and tech to share with its users. Read Also: Microsoft to Release a Weather and News Widget on Windows 10 With Latest Update Microsoft Build Teases New Windows by June 24 Windows OS fans unite! After the recently concluded Microsoft Build developer's conference, the Redmond giant is set for another unveiling event of the latest version of its Windows software. Computers are still fighting their existence in the world and have proven to do so amidst this pandemic, where it was the preferred channel for work or school at home. Somewhere along with the festivities of the three-day conference, it was mentioned that Windows OS will have something new, come the last week of June, but that is where Microsoft stopped themselves from revealing more. The reason for the new Windows OS not to be released at the Build conference was unknown, but the good thing is, June 24 is nearby. Comparing it to last year's Apple WWDC, it has teased the macOS 11, a.k.a. the "Big Sur," in June, only to release it by November of the same year. Microsoft is unlike Apple, and vice versa and its Windows OS is near its unveiling, but release dates remain unknown as of this writing. Will it be Called Windows 11? The Windows event already has a placeholder on Microsoft's website, and it is already scheduled for 11 AM Eastern Time, on Thursday, June 24. Currently, the name for the next version of Windows remains unknown, and it is not clear whether it would be called "Windows 11," succeeding that of the current Windows 10. Related Article: How to Run Multiple Android Apps on Windows 10 'Your Phone' This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Isaiah Richard 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Clearfield, PA (16830) Today Partly cloudy early with thunderstorms becoming likely during the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 81F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Thunderstorms in the evening will give way to fair skies overnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 59F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. (Photo : Screenshot From Pexels Official Website) China Centralized Television is Talking About Uniswap $UNI | Could China Be Selective on Cryptocurrency? China centralized television is talking about Uniswap or $UNI. Could the company be changing its perspective when it comes to crypto? It's quite confusing as to what really is China's stance when it comes to crypto but one thing is for sure, the country did talk about a cryptocurrency on its CCTV or centralized TV. China Centralized TV Talks About Uniswap A Twitter account by the username of Jean Miao showed a video of what looks to be China's centralized TV talking about cryptocurrency. The caption read that the CCTV was specifically talking about Uniswap or $UNI. This news can be quite confusing especially after China had just recently banned mining and due to the exodus of miners and big crypto whales, have caused the whole crypto market to somewhat shrink. Although this sounds like good news, there was a comment that disagreed. CCTV is Talking About 'Foreign DEX' According to the Twitter account Bitcoin Yaoming, do not get fooled by the footage. The user then noted that "CCTV is NOT talking about UNISWAP." The user also noted that they are talking about scams in the full "foreign DEX" since anyone can create one of them while alerting potential Chinese investors. If the statement by Jean Miao was indeed true, this could mean another bull run for $UNI if the news was talking about the cryptocurrency in a positive light. However, if the news was alarming the public of potential scams as noted by GBitcoin Yaoming, it could have a negative effect on the cryptocurrency. China Cryptocurrency Crackdown As of the moment, it is still unknown as to what the full news broadcast was really talking about. A lot of crypto whales have sold their coins when the China crackdown on cryptocurrency began. However, news of a China digital currency built on Ethereum saw massive whale movements. When the talk of China potentially building their digital yuan on Ethereum broke out, a lot of whales started buying more and more Ethereum. As of the moment, however, the coin is still quite far from its all time high of around $4,000. The coin has been toying the $2,700-$2,800 range for quite a while without much signs that it will go bullish or bearish. Read Also: $XRP Price Prediction Expects Price Reaching $7-$13 by the End of 2021 $UNI Price Prediction Although news of China centralized television is talking about UNISWAP, it is still important for traders to be careful, as of the moment, $UNI trades at around $27.1-$27.2 and is fluctuating within that price range. Using Bollinger Bands, the currency looks like it is highly volatile but is slowly shrinking in volatility. When looking at the RSI however, the coin is lodged perfectly in the middle which makes it hard to predict if the coin will go up or if the coin will go down. MACD, however, shows the currency slowly going bullish. Of course, this could change at any given time. Related Article: Crypto Whales Buy Massive Amounts of $ETH After News that China Digital Yuan Could be Built on Ethereum This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Urian B. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. (Photo : Screenshot From Pexels Official Website) Crypto Whales Buy Massive Amounts of TRON as Price Slowly Appreciates | Is $TRX the Next $ETH? Crypto whales have been buying massive amounts of TRON and although the coin is only slowly bullish, it begs the question what potential does $TRX have? Aside from TRON, crypto whales have been buying up massive amounts of $ETH and although millions of dollars of Ethereum has been bought, Ethereum has not yet gone over the $3,000 mark. $ETH vs $TRX While Ethereum had a pretty solid bull run last month, it seems like the currency is now a bit mellow despite whales repetitively buying up $ETH. There have been millions worth of $ETH moved around from unknown sources to Binance and vice versa. The movement in $ETH, however, has only minorly affected its price. When it comes to TRON, the coin isn't exactly as popular as Bitcoin and Ethereum but it has actually been doing pretty decent as of lately. The coin has an $ADA or $XRP like movement where it is usually slow and steady and when it spikes, it does not go too far from the average. TRON Chart Movement When looking at the TRON chart, the movement of the coin looks quite boring without that much fluctuation of price volatility. This, however, could actually be the reason for crypto whales investing in the coin. With the market's volatility being quite unpredictable ever since the exit of China and a number of other reasons, investors and traders are now looking for more secure coins to at least hold their money and make a decent consistent profit. $TRX is one of them. When looking at the chart, the coin looks like a "for long term" type of coin instead of a tradable coin. $TRX Bollingers and RSI This, of course, depends on the buyer's mindset and indicators. The coin, according to its RSI and Bollingers, does not show aggressive or volatile movements. Although there are entry points, the coin overall isn't functioning too volatile as to sacer investors and traders. Almost everyday for the past week, crypto whales have been buying more and more $TRX in large quantities. Although this hasn't really caused a price pump or a bull run, the coin is slowly bullish and increases by single digit percentages every once in a while. Read Also: China Centralized Television is Talking About Uniswap $UNI | Could China Be Selective on Cryptocurrency? $TRX Price Prediction While Ethereum was thought to be one of the more stable cryptocurrencies back in the day, the properties of $ETH has changed and the coin looks more tradable than it used to be. The problem with $ETH that a lot of traders have been complaining of is the massive gas fees. Due to this reason, not a lot of traders are day trading $ETH and only those that can sort of afford the pretty wild gas fees. $TRX, on the other hand, is looking good at its $0.077 price point where it peaks at $0.079 and goes down to the lower $0.07. Of course, it is quite hard to tell whether the coin will hit the $0.1 mark. Related Article: Crypto Whales Buy Massive Amounts of $ETH After News that China Digital Yuan Could be Built on Ethereum This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Urian B. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Google's Algorithm Update for 2021 is split into two "CORE" updates for June and July, with this month's release already having made its way to the systems on Wednesday, June 2. What is most notable about this year's algorithm update is that it would bring a rise and fall in terms of numbers and statistics, particularly as it completes its release in a two-week period. The popular internet company based in Mountain View is known to release an algorithm core update once every six months or more, with the last one taking place in December 2020. Fast forward to 2021, June has brought the anticipated algorithm update, with another one to expect and pay close attention to. Read Also: Google Photos: Unlimited Storage to Disappear by Tuesday, Bringing a Subscription Service Called 'Google One Google Algorithm Update for June and July Core Releases Google's Search Liason said that updates were not yet fully ready for its June release, but the company wants to push the update already, so what it did was to split the core update in half. What came out this June were the ones that are ready to be released and are already complete, and those coming out in July are what are still under development. According to Google's Webmasters blog post, website or domain administrators or managers will naturally experience a sudden gain or drop in their statistics, during this time of the algorithm core update. Google's reassessment of content will cause the numbers of either the most recent or an old article or website up for ranking to be subject to change, for the better or worse. The Mountain View giant assures those monitoring daily stats that the hit or miss in views or visits are part of the Google Algorithm Update for June, and would also be experienced in July. Unless they are violating the webmaster's guidelines, there is not much to fear or be worried about, as the core update ensures the "freshness" of one's URL. Of course, any core update can produce drops or gains for some content. Because of the two-part nature of this release, its possible a very small slice of content might see changes in June that reverse in July.... Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) June 2, 2021 Which Type of Sites Wins or Lose in the Recent June Algorithm Update? Based on Google's explanation and guidelines, a certain old submission may experience a high or gain in the statistics, and a freshly-delivered domain or content may not be noticed by this update. Everyone with stakes at Google's Algorithms, a.k.a. the users or domain managers, will both be a winner and a loser in this update. It is also quite noting that the changes on trends for content may be delayed until the July core update and vice versa. In this early days of the update, Google has not yet revealed who will be the "Winners or Losers" in terms of statistics. But in the coming two-week period of its integration, it would be clear for users and managers, only to experience it again in the next month. Google has assured its users that this is something that they are responsible for and that its Algorithm Update and Core releases vary from one content or website to another. Trends may go up and down during this core update, and it may even pass off as something unnoticed, as it completes its arrival. Related Article: Android 11 Update is Coming, and Here's When Lands on Smartphones-Check If Yours is Eligible for Upgrade This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Isaiah Richard 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. China-headquartered automotive company BYD (Build Your Dreams) will be revolutionizing the use of electric school buses which will come with the updated technologies, including feature-rich trademarks such as bi-directional capabilities, together with features that tackle people's safety while on-board. Suppose there is a time for the students to enjoy a memorable bus trip. In that case, the vehicle manufacturer now has the answer for students' requests concerning a comfortable and beautifully designed bus that they will ride every morning. What is BYD Auto? According to Electrek's report on Wednesday, June 2, the Chinese automaker BYD Auto started in 2003 as BYD Co. LTD's subsidiary. Since it was absorbed by the larger company, it has entered the world of electric vehicles and has produced several plug-in automobiles globally. CleanTechnica reported in May that BYD has completed the first 100 Tang 600 SUV deliveries in Norway. At the moment, the company is eyeing a continuous expansion of its service across the European regions. As of this week, BYD is creating a headstart for a newly-developed electric school bus in the United States. Furthermore, the Chinese vehicle creator guarantees a huge development of the EVs based on the former features covered in the past. From the description of the electric bus, it says that it will focus on the technology which will ensure the passenger's safety, specifically the children. At the same time, BYD is also ensuring that the automobile will contribute to a less carbon footprint. Read Also: 7-Eleven Eyes Installation of 500 EV Charging Ports in 250 Locations in North America by the End of 2022 BYD Electric School: Bi-Directional Charging, Safety Features, and MORE In a press release announced by the company earlier this week, BYD said that its electric school bus comes in three various lengths: 35, 38, and 40 feet. The automaker's plug-in bus can also allow 84 passengers on board in addition to its capability to move at 155 miles on one charge only. From its lithium iron-based battery, the Type D vehicle will stay on track while driving at full speed. It is aided with its two in-wheel traction motors to keep it in position on its journey. Besides the above features, this electric bus also has a unique bi-directional capability. According to BYD North America president Stella Li, the company has raised the bar for its electric bus when it comes to quality, design, innovation, and other features. What's amazing on top of these high standards is that zero-emission technology contributes to the zero-carbon movement. For its safety features, BYD designed the electric vehicle in a way that children would be comfortable inside it. The school bus offers a set of these features, such as a 360-degree monitoring system, electronic stability control, and a collision avoidance system. Aside from these, there is also a "Predictive Stop Arm," which supervises the traffic and informs the children if the path is unsafe for travel. Moreover, the company's head of total technology solutions, Samuel Kang, said that the features are made for the kids. The ergonomics behind its construction is also linked to the goal of the company, which is safety as the main priority. At present, there is no official announcement from BYD about the release date of the electric school bus. Related Article: Charging Electric Vehicles At Night Leads To Higher Greenhouse Gas Emissions This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joseph Henry 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. (Photo : Screenshot From OnePlus Website) OnePlus Nord CE 5G Specs Leak Reveal | Snapdragon 750G, 4,500mAh, 8GB RAM, and More OnePlus Nord CE 5G specs leak revealed shows a switch from one Snapdragon to another. Some time last year, OnePlus started embarking on a brand new journey towards the whole mid-tier smartphone market. The company did so along with its Nord series and, at least according to the company, the series has become hot-selling items in the smartphone markets where they launch. OnePlus Nord CE 5G According to the story by SlashGear, it is still a bit curious, however, that the upcoming OnePlus Nord which the company plans to launch could be a downgrade of its previous model. Regardless, the upcoming OnePlus Nord CE 5G is expected to launch sometime next week and this latest leak shows absolutely everything one might want to know about the smartphone. Granted, the total switch from a Snapdragon 765G in the new OnePlus Nord to the downgraded Snapdragon 750G which was rumored for the OnePlus Nord CE 5G is not technically a big step down as it actually sounds. The camera drops from two to just one 16MP front-facing camera, on the other hand, that might actually disappoint some but is still probably negligible. OnePlus Nord CE 5G Specs There is also another camera less on its back while the main camera, however, does not get upgraded to what people might expect 64MP. In different aspects of the phone, the OnePlus Nord CE 5G does have some slight upgrades but a lot of them are still pretty much the same, according to MySmartPrice. The new phone's battery is also larger at a new 4,500 mAh but the storage and memory sections, however, still remain the same as last year's model. This means that the phone will get 6GB or 8GB of RAM along with 64 or 128GB of storage. There is also an in-display fingerprint scanner, which was also present in the previous model. Read Also: OnePlus 9's Advanced Ultra-Wide Lens Eliminates Distortion Issue--Does it Mean Better Than Samsung Galaxy S21? CE or Core Edition All in all, the new OnePlus Nord CE 5G seems to actually liven up with the attachment to its name "CE" or "Core Edition." This would also mean a distilled OnePlus Nord experience. It's still hard to tell as to whether or not the new OnePlus Nord will be able to live up to the previous model but fans will see once the phone launches on June 10, 2021. The leak actually revealed that the OnePlus Nord CE 5G is expected to come out with an 8GB RAM and the 128GB storage which will cost about $340. Of course, OnePlus has already officially announced that it will be launching first in North America along with Europe and India. Customers in other areas, however, will have to wait for a much more "distilled" type of OnePlus Nord N200 5G some time later this year. It is important to note that this is still a leak and fans will have to wait for the official launch this June 10, 2021 to know what the actual specs are. Related Articles: [Confirmed] The 'OnePlus Watch' Will be Launching with the OnePlus Smartphones Release Next Week: Learn More This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Urian B. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Samsung's Galaxy Book Go Laptops are the freshest drops in the market, and these Snapdragon-powered devices have 18 hours of battery life starting at $349. Samsung is a massive South Korean brand with extensive experience and credibility in the field. On Thursday, June 3, the tech giant finally unveiled their brand new line - the Samsung Galaxy Book Go laptops. The tech tycoon might be looking to beef up their notebooks' sales with the ongoing study and work-from-home trend driven by the pandemic. Their release is an ultimate power move because it seems like the new Samsung laptops garner more and more attention from consumers and product reviewers. Read Also: Samsung Galaxy Book Pro vs. Macbook Pro M1: Side by Side Comparison Samsung Galaxy Book Go: Qualcomm Snapdragon and 18-hour Battery On June 3, Samsung finally confirmed the launch of their newest laptops - Galaxy Book Go and Galaxy Book Go 5G. On their website, the tech giant stated that the laptops could keep their cool despite lacking a fan, which is made possible by their lightweight design. According to Thurrott, Qualcomm said that they would release an updated pair of Snapdragon ARM CPUs specifically made for PCs. It turns out that Samsung's Galaxy Book Go Laptops will have these two as their primary vital features. This confirmation came as a shock to fans because instead of using their own brand's processor, Exynos, Samsung went with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon system. The new Samsung Galaxy Book Go Laptops will have an innovative, energy-saving Qualcomm Snapdragon system to ensure that they deliver responsive and instant-on execution. As a result, the laptops will consume less power. The company mentioned that the laptops would have an average of 18 hours in terms of battery longevity. But this estimate is only roughly based on typical usage conditions, not on extensive workloads. Consumers are looking forward to the laptops' performance because all older Snapdragon-powered laptops came through with their claims and promises, especially regarding their long battery lives. Read Also: Samsung Galaxy Book Pro, 360 Features and Specs Revealed: Could it Surpass MacBook Pro M1? Galaxy Book Go Specs Samsung Galaxy Book Go and Samsung Galaxy Book Go 5G will be running arm-based processors, according to The Verge. The Korean-based tech tycoon will release two versions of the laptop: the Galaxy Book Go and Galaxy Book Go 5G. Samsung Galaxy Book Go is an entry-level version with a starting price of $349. This model has an upgraded Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 Processor - Qualcomm's newest development. This beautiful entry-level laptop will be available with 4GB or 8GB of RAM, and 64GB or 128GB of storage (eUFS). Galaxy Book Go will have a 14-inch 1080p LCD sporting 14.9mm of thickness as per the display. It is roughly 1.38kg, similar to previous Samsung laptops. But despite having the power of the latest Snapdragon chip paired with an LTE modem, the Galaxy Book GO is just Wi-Fi only at $349. With this in mind, the Galaxy Book Go 5G will use Qualcomm's most powerful processor yet - the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 Processor. However, it is essential to know that other laptops with this chip are not precisely all-powerful. As the name suggests, this higher-end model has 5G connectivity - but that's about it. The two models seem to share most of their specs. According to Samsung's statements, the two laptops will have two USB-C ports, a headphone jack, one USB-A port, a microSD card slot, and a 720p webcam. The entry-level model, Galaxy Book Go, will go on sale by June 10, with a starting price of $349. Samsung's high-end model, Galaxy Book Go 5G, still has no release date. This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Fran Sanders 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. In a few more days, or on June 7 to be exact, WWDC will be announcing new software updates and products from Apple. An analyst suggested that the 14-inch and 16-inch Macbook Pro redesign will be unveiled as well. Daniel Ives, a Wedbush analyst, is foreseeing that two new MacBook Pros with a redesign are coming, alongside the updated macOS, tvOS, iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. He told investors of the iPhone maker that an M1 Apple silicon chip will power these MacBook Pros. However, MacRumors suggested otherwise, and instead, it is likely have a more powerful M2 inside it. MacBook Pro WWDC Announcement Aside from Ives, another Apple leaker, Jon Prosser, is also echoing that the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models will officially be unveiled to the public on WWDC, MacRumors said in a separate report. On the other hand, Mark Gurman, a Bloomberg journalist, did not state a specific date. Gurman instead said that fans could expect Apple to announce the MacBook redesign "as soon as early this summer." Yet, the publication noted that the actual release is in 2022 due to manufacturing issues. Read Also: Apple MacBook Wireless Charging Patent for iPhone Spotted! Apple Watch Can Soon Charge on Laptop Wrist Rests and iPad's Surface! MacBook Pro Redesign: What To Expect? Prosser is saying that the latest MacBook lineup is getting its most significant redesign since 2016. In addition, Ming-Chi Kuo, an Apple analyst and leaker, claimed many features from the past versions of the device are making their comeback. Touch Bar Delete Gurman first released on Bloomberg a leak of the redesign that removed the annoying feature of the MacBook Pro. The OLED touch strip on its keyboard and the accidental commands it creates will soon be gone. SD Card Reader and HDMI Port Apple will be bringing back the ports they removed in 2016, rumors suggest. Professionals using MacBooks have been struggling to connect their SD cards since the reader was officially removed from it. Alongside the farewell of SD card readers, the HDMI port has also bid goodbye. However, rumors suggest that the two are coming back on the newest redesign. But it was not mentioned if the MacBook is getting the HDMI 2.1, which allows up to 120Hz refresh rate. MagSafe Since 2016 also, the MagSafe port has been replaced by a USB Type C connector -- that fans are not asking for. However, it is expected that Apple will be calling the charging tech with another name. Related Article: Ransomware Attack Helps Macbook Repair Shops Recover Lost Data -- How? This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Teejay Boris 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Google already removed its in-demand Unlimited Storage feature. In addition, the tech giant firm stopped offering its popular photo storage service on June 1. The company's decision is not really surprising at all since Google already announced its plan in November 2020. Because of this, many fans are now looking for alternative photo services that could provide the same features. One of the lucky ones is the Amazon Prime members since they already have a great alternative that could serve as an efficient solution for Google Photos Unlimited Storage removal. If you are one of them, you need to do this trick during or before the upcoming Amazon Prime Day ends. The most-awaited event is expected to take place this coming June 21. On the other hand, some sources confirmed that Amazon Prime Day will end on June 22. However, this is still subject to change depending on the giant retailer's decision. Google Photos Unlimited Storage Removal's Solution According to Express UK's latest report, Amazon Prime members can solve the lack of Google Photos Unlimited Storage by purchasing the retailer's own photo storage service. Also Read: Google Android Privacy Issue Revealed Through Court Documents | Collecting Data Despite Users Choosing 'NO' Amazon Prime subscription costs around $111 every year. This Amazon service is quite great since it will allow you to have various discounted items. These include Prime Video's boxset streaming and movies, as well as Kindle Books. Specifically, the service that you need to avail yourself of is Amazon Photos. Some consumers and other analysts claimed that this is a great option if you really want to ditch the now-payed Google Photos Unlimited Storage service. Amazon Photos is considered better than Google Photos since it uploads everything in the original full resolution. This means that if your photos' formats are raw files, Amazon Photos will post it as it is. Aside from the retailer's official photo storage service, you can also try other free alternatives. Other Google Photos Alternatives PC Mag previously provided some of the best alternatives that can be used in various platforms, such as Microsoft, Amazon, Adobe, and more. To help you further, here are some of the best photo storage services you can transfer to: Adobe Lightroom Amazon Photos Flickr's Unlimited Paid Plan iCloud OneDrive Online Backup NAS For more news updates about Google Photos and other Google services, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Google Algorithm Update Rolls Out for June, Bringing New Updates and Changes to the SEO Landscape This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. NVIDIA just released their brand-new RTX 3080 Ti, and street pricing on this video card is already going berserk, especially overseas. Here's a perfect example. Overclock3d.net reported on a certain UK retailer, which tried selling a Palit RTX 3080 Ti GameRock model for an insane 3600. That's over $5000. Now, imagine what you can buy with five grand instead of a graphics card, and you'll get the point. But of course, that's not all there is to it. The same UK retailer's pricing for all of the NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti cards in stock never went under 2000, or over $2800. In fact, the cheapest one you can get from the aforementioned store is the RTX 3080 Ti EAGLE (non-OC) from Gigabyte, which they priced at 2423.52 ($3419) at the time of this writing. The new NVIDIA flagship (Team Green seems to have forgotten about the RTX 3090) is now available online, and according to a WCCFTech report, it's largely staying close to its MSRP of $1199 at select online retailers (mostly Newegg). But as with every single graphics card released this generation, almost every single model (including AIB and Founder's Edition ones) are already out of stock. Go figure. Read also: NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti, 3070 Ti-Equipped Prebuilt PCs From Razer Are Now Available for PREORDER NVIDIA Fails to 'Read the Room' Popular tech YouTuber GamersNexus refers to the new NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti as a "waste of money," citing mostly the actual performance of the card and how it rests between the top-end RTX 3090 and the 3080. Since the review embargo on the 3080 Ti is now lifted, fans can now see what kind of performance they can get out of the card. And frankly, it's not that amazing, especially at the supposed $1199 MSRP. With the 3080 Ti, NVIDIA basically made a cut-down 3090 with half the VRAM (12 vs. 24 GB), a few fewer CUDA and RT cores, and not much else. Many reviewers revealed in their benchmarks that the RTX 3080 Ti performs more or less on par with the RTX 3090. Despite everything else, this is quite impressive and frankly reminiscent of when the GTX 780 Ti/980 Ti offered GTX Titan-like performance from several generations ago. But what this means is that for the street prices that the 3080 Ti is going for, you might as well get the topmost card out of the product stack, or even the lower-end RTX 3080. But here are more performance results for those who are interested. Eurogamer reports that the 3080 Ti is a very capable card, especially at 4K resolution, where it's 10-15 percent faster than the vanilla RTX 3080. For anybody coming from a GTX 1080 Ti at the very least, you'll see a doubling of your effective frame rate. And that's about it. Anything newer than the former top dog from Pascal, and it won't be much of an upgrade, especially at the 3080 Ti's current pricing. Another Graphics Card that You Can't Buy Surprise, surprise! Well, at this point, it really is no surprise anymore. There is a massive GPU shortage if you're still unaware, meaning that there's a sky-high demand for all types of semiconductors with not much supply to meet it. Good luck trying to get this video card for MSRP. Related: NVIDIA LHR GPUs Put to the Test: Are They Actually Effective at Limiting Mining Performance? This article is owned by Tech Times Written by RJ Pierce 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. (Photo : Pixabay/Digitalpfade ) Google privacy ads Android apps are getting a privacy update to prevent them from tracking users who have already opted out of receiving personalized ads. Google announced that it would change how it will handle the device identifiers that allow third-party marketers to track users between apps. Android Apps Will No Longer Track Users According to The Financial Times, starting later this year, Google is cutting off any access to Advertising IDs after a user opts out, and it will show developers a string of zeros in its place. The news about the new policy was announced in an email to Play Store developers, and Google has also updated its support page for Advertising IDs with the announcement. Google told the developers that the new changes will provide the users with more control over their data, and it will help bolster security and privacy. Also Read: Browsers Want to Block Google FloC; Wordpress Calls Ad-Targeting Mechanism as 'Terrible Idea' The change about Google's policy came a few months after Apple overhauled how advertising IDs work on iOS in an apparent attempt to compete with Apple's new security policy. Google has also announced that it is adding privacy information to its Play Store listings. This mirrors a similar feature Apple added to its App Store in 2020 and limits which apps can see what you have installed on your smartphone. Users have long been able to opt-out of personalized ads on Android. Users can do so by going into their Settings app, clicking on the Google menu, and selecting Ads. However, it seems that this does not currently stop developers from being able to access the user's advertising ID entirely. According to AdExchanger, the apps have previously used the identifier for non-advertising purposes like analytics and fraud prevention, and Google's support page says that it will announce an alternate solution for these use cases starting July. Google's support page stated that the rollout of the new privacy policy will happen in phases. Android 12 devices will begin seeing the change in late 2021 before it rolls out to all of the devices with Google Play in early 2022. According to XDA Developers, Google Play Services will also notify existing apps with access to a user's advertising ID and related data so that this can be deleted where appropriate. Although Google's announcement follows Apple's own ad tracking changes, it is still unclear how similar the two approaches will be. On Google's support page, the company still refers to stopping ad tracking as an opt-out process for users. Meanwhile, Apple's changes effectively make tracking an opt-in decision. However, regardless of how Google eventually handles the process, it will be another massive change for the digital advertising industry. Apple's Privacy Policy Apple's latest policy called App Tracking Transparency does not make any seismic changes to how iOS handles ad tracking on its own. Users have been able to opt-out of IDFA-based tracking in the past, but the new update puts the choice front and center. The App Tracking Transparency forces developers to give Apple users a choice. For example, when the App Tracking Transparency update was added to iOS 14.5, every single ad company that wanted to track users across numerous apps and websites had to ask permission first. The ad companies had to use Apple's standardized prompt. This is the same system that Google wants to apply to its Android software. Related Article: iOS 14.5 to Have Controversial Security Update: App Tracking Transparency Will Arrive, Soon This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Sophie Webster 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Samsung's alleged Sam 3D virtual assistant is now talk of the town on various social media platforms ever since her images were leaked. With that, some fans are going nuts and are now asking when she will arrive. Yo the new Virtual Assistant for Samsung Sam is such a baddie! pic.twitter.com/pyfDm4UMfo Saucedauce (@saucebauced) May 31, 2021 Since the tech giant manufacturer hasn't confirmed her actual arrival yet, many fans are making their versions. On the other hand, some popular streamers and other influencers are cosplaying the new mobile virtual assistant. One of them is the Twitch streamer Vylerrian. All she did was put a very simple caption and included one of her selfies cosplaying the new Samsung 3D virtual assistant. Right now, her latest tweet was able to generate more than 790 retweets, 70 retweets, and 27,000 likes. Samsung Sam Virtual Assistant Cosplays According to Dexerto's latest report, Vylerrian is not only a game streamer, but she is also popular for her cosplays. The latest one she did was the new Samsung Sam virtual assistant. Lol, damn that was fast, article on you as Samsung Girl already. https://t.co/VJkWCSv9oa Will (@Reaver229) June 2, 2021 Also Read: Samsung Galaxy Book Go Rumors | Snapdragon, Windows 10, and More Many fans are going nuts because of her post. However, some people are annoyed because they are seeing her tweets even when they are not following her. "Who are you? I'm not following you but Twitter keeps sending me to push notifications when you post," said one of the commentators. Although this is the case, her post helped Samsung's new 3D virtual service become more popular than ever. On the other hand, one of her fans even informed her that well-known websites published her cosplay. She was surprised by this because she didn't know it will become this viral. Aside from Vylerrian, some other cosplayers and influencers are trying to copy Sam. Here are some of their tweets. Your newest Internet Waifu, Sam - Samsung Girl ! Everyone is tagging me because yes, I really like her design since her outfit is literally my daily ones. Visit my Instagram https://t.co/nd2HuSbbLj#larissarochefort #samsung #sam #cosplay #cosplayer #gamergirl pic.twitter.com/rBX6UJStUP Larissa Rochefort (@larochefort11) June 3, 2021 How to Install Sam, Virtual Assistant Right now, it is still unknown when will Samsung's upcoming Sam virtual assistant arrive in its gadgets. Right now, the best thing you can do while waiting is to know how to install the new 3D virtual service. Republic World's latest report provided a quick guide on how to download Bixby's replacement. To help you further, here are the steps you need to follow: First, you need to scroll up from the home screen and then access your apps. Once you are done with that, you can now go to your device's Settings app. After that, you must click the Advanced Features option and then tap the Bixby button. If Samsung's Sam is already available, that option should be replaced with her name. Once it is there, you have to click it and then download the new feature. For more news updates about Sam and other innovations of Samsung, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Samsung's Sam 3D Virtual Assistant is Now Taking Over the Internet, Will She Replace Bixby? This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Twitter has long prided itself for being a free social media platform. But with their recent announcement, you'll have to think REALLY hard about your next Tweet, or you'll have to fork over some cash. Literally. WCCFTech reports that Twitter is now going to charge users $3 to undo any Tweet they might not like as part of a new subscription plan they call Twitter Blue. Free users will be locked out of all the site's functions unless they pay $2.99 a month. Those functions include undoing an already-sent Tweet. Twitter clarified, however, that the "undo" functionality is not the same as an "edit" button. What this means is that users will have a specified amount of time to undo a sent Tweet. When that period passes, they'll lose the undo option, according to BusinessInsider. This new Twitter subscription plan has been rumored for a while now, too. However, late last month, Engadget reported that the function was added early to the Apple App Store listing, which might've confirmed things a little too early for Twitter's liking. Either way, the new subscription plan is now active in Canada and Australia, with the official US release planned a little bit later this year. Read also: Twitter vs. Misinformation: How Twitter Will Handle Social Media Misinformation with Warning Labels Twitter 'Going Premium': What's the Point? A lot of users have been clamoring for the social media giant to give them a proper "edit" button for years. People might think that, given the quick and easy nature of posting on the platform, they might need an option to go back and rethink what they send, which is fair. Twitter themselves responded with a Tweet of their own (a very meta way to do so), saying that they'll launch the edit function on one condition: if everybody does their due pandemic diligence and wears a mask. That's a fair enough demand, but not really the answer a lot of users were hoping for. And that Tweet was sent last year. This year, Twitter is STILL not giving users a proper edit button. What they came up with instead is a monthly Twitter subscription plan, which is something they've been planning for some time now. Back in 2020, again, there were rumors of a Twitter subscription plan being in the works. The company indirectly hinted at this in a job posting, which stated that they were looking for an engineer with apparent experience implementing subscription features. Unfortunately, they then edited the job posting, writing instead that they were looking for an Android engineer and nothing more. But then again, what's the point? With 'Blue' already launched, users see more than just the "undo" feature. They also have access to customization options, which allow them to install themes onto their profile and even change the way the app's icon looks on their devices. Aside from that, subscribers also get priority customer support. If you use Twitter a lot for work purposes, then maybe you should get 'Blue.' Otherwise, it's not really a smart option to pay $3 a month for a social media platform, no matter how small the amount might seem. Related: Twitter Verification Pauses New Applications from Users Due to Submissions-What Does it Take to Get It? This article is owned by Tech Times Written by RJ Pierce 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. (Photo : Pixabay/ulleo) Apple MagSafe technology The American Heart Association (AHA) says the device equipped with Apple's MagSafe technology can cause interference when they are placed over the skin or if they are in very close proximity to cardiac devices like pacemakers. AHA researchers found that select devices from all of the three major cardiac device companies: Abbott, Medtronic, and Boston Scientific, were found to have magnetic susceptibility. AHA Concerns About MagSafe The researchers wrote in the paper that was published by AppleInsider that their study demonstrates that magnet reversion mode may be triggered when the iPhone 12 Pro Max is placed directly on the skin over an implantable cardiac device and thus has the potential to inhibit lifesaving therapies. The researchers tested the effect of Apple's MagSafe technology on cardiac devices by placing the iPhone very close to 11 pacemakers and defibrillators. Some of the devices were implanted in patients, and others were new and unboxed. Also Read: MacBook Pro Plans to Bring Back MagSafe Connector to Prevent Laptop Damage Placing the iPhone on top of the skin or very close to devices resulted in clinically identifiable magnet interference in all three new devices that were tested and in eight out of 11 unboxed devices. The iPhone was able to trigger magnetic reversion mode on one unboxed device at a distance of up to 1.5cm. Apple stated in an advisory that the iPhone 12 does not pose a greater risk for magnet interference when compared to the older generation iPhones. The paper, which was also published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, noted that the study suggests otherwise as magnet response was demonstrated in 3/3 cases in new devices. In comparison to the older generation iPhone 6, a study performed by Lacour found no cases of magnet response in a sample size of 148 patients. The potential interference could happen when someone places a MagSafe device in a coat or shirt pocket over their chest, which the researchers say can eventually lead to asynchronous pacing or disabling of antitachycardic therapies. A strong external magnet can also cause issues with a lot of cardiac implantable electronic devices or CIED, as the study notes, so the issue is not exclusive to MagSafe technology. AHA Pushes for More Research The researchers say that their findings highlight the importance of public awareness regarding interaction between CIEDs and a recently released smartphone model with magnetic charging capability. Even though the Food and Drug Administration or FDA website states that cellphones do not pose any health risk for patients with cardiac devices, they do acknowledge that certain precautions are advisable. In January, Apple revised its MagSafe technology support document. It recommends that iPhone 12 users should keep the device at least six inches away from medical implants. The authors of the paper also suggested patients should consult with a heart rhythm specialist regarding recommendations specific to their smartphone and CIED. AppleInsider noted that the study's findings align with one from the Heart Rhythm Journal, which pointed out that the iPhone 12 can affect CIEDs when it is placed on or very close to the implant. The AHA paper also recommends a wider study of the MagSafe issue. Related Article: Apple MagSafe vs USB-C MacBook Pro Chargers: What Are the Cons of Magnets? This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Sophie Webster 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. On Election Day in Mountain Village, June 29, registered voters can choose among seven candidates for three open town council seats. (Courtesy photo) President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday hinted that he is more inclined than before to pardon Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong, who is in jail for bribing his predecessor Park Geun-hye. Asked by the heads of Korea's top conglomerates whether a pardon for Lee is an option, Moon said he understands their "concerns" and that "many Koreans" support a pardon. That sounds markedly more positive than the cagy position he took only a month ago, when he said, "I will listen to the views of the public and make a decision." Business insiders now expect Lee to benefit from a special pardon on Aug. 15, which is Korea's Liberation Day. MBABANE The three police officers who were captured in a video that went viral allegedly insulting and assaulting a conductor have been suspended. The police officers were suspended with immediate effect, pending disciplinary proceedings against them. This is according to a press statement that was issued yesterday by the National Commissioner of Police (NATCOM), William Tsitsibala Dlamini. The trio were seen in the video clip that went viral on social media the past month hurling insults at the conductor and further assaulting him. The victim was identified as Sipho Shiba, who was purportedly described as a bus conductor based in Manzini. It was allegedly believed that he was part of the protest action that happened during that day where public transport workers who were aggrieved by the fact that traffic police officers would not allow them to load passengers along their routes, took to the streets in protest. Kicks Shiba was seen being assaulted with kicks and fists as he tried to shield himself from the law enforcers blows. In the statement, the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) said the investigations conducted have brought to the fore the necessity of having the three officers suspended pending disciplinary proceedings against them. The police service strives to remain professional at all times and take a dim view of officers who abuse their authority which is meant to protect and safeguard the citizens of the Kingdom of Eswatini, reads the statement in part. REPS has assured the nation of its total commitment in ensuring that police officers conduct themselves and discharge their duties in line with their oath of office, and individuals found going against the ethics and regulations of the organisation will be dealt with accordingly. It is worth noting that such an action taken by the law enforcement agency to suspend their own, who are alleged to have conducted themselves improperly while on duty, is very rare. In normal circumstances, police officers were often suspended on cases that happened when they were off duty. Shiba, in an interview, said he appreciated to learn that the NATCOM was taking such action against the police officers. He said he was hoping to see an end to this case. He said this was a relief for him as at first he thought what befell him was done on purpose, but the NATCOMs actions showed that it was an unfortunate incident. He said he was still working towards opening a case against the police officers, as he was still nursing his injuries. Shiba confirmed that his left arm and ears were injured during the scuffle with the law enforcers. He said this badly affected his daily routine because the hand that was injured was the one he used when working as he was left-handed. Residents of the Fairway View Apartments on College Drive were having a relaxing Memorial Day evening, swimming and barbecuing with some guests at the complex's pool. But then, just before 8 p.m., someone approached the pool police don't yet know if it was one person or multiple people and started arguing with two young men who didn't live there. Soon after, they shot the two men. And they kept shooting, when a stray bullet struck a 1-year-old girl who was playing in the water, her family said. Police found 20-year-old Reginald Thomas and 16-year-old Dwayne Dunn Jr. who Baton Rouge Police previously misidentified as Dewayne Dunn Jr. dead at the scene. The little girl, Ja'Tyri Brown, died at a local hospital. +7 'My world is over': Loved ones of infant, two others killed in shooting left grieving At a Memorial Day barbecue, 1-year-old Ja'Tyri Brown was playing in the water while her dad manned the grill and then a fight broke out. Ja'Tyri would have turned 2 in August. "Whoever it was, he had already hit his target, so why was he still shooting?" Hope Provost, Ja'Tyri's grandmother, said tearfully, recalling what her son saw at the scene. "My son said by the time he made it to her, she was floating in the water." BRPD spokesman L'Jean McKneely said investigators know the shooting wasn't random: the two young men were targeted victims. But they still don't know who the shooter or shooters are, or why the two men were targets. 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 McKneely said this may have been the result of a fight that happened before the two men went to the pool. He said even small arguments like a social media dispute can end in gunfire. +2 Pregnant woman killed in Baton Rouge shooting was mom of three: 'I just want justice for her' Laterika Taylor was the mother of three young children a 4-year-old boy and set of 2-year-old twins and in the first trimester of her most McKneely said it's unlikely the shootings were gang-related. After the shooting, the suspect, or suspects, stole a weapon from one of the victims and fled with it, McKneely said. It's unknown if either victim tried to shoot back at attacker or if they knew an apartment resident. It's also unclear how the attacker knew Dunn and Thomas would be at that pool that fatal Monday night. Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the age of Dwayne Dunn Jr. after Baton Rouge police initially released incorrect information. He was 16. Louisiana State Police say a city police officer shot and wounded a Texas woman who had pulled a gun on him. The shooting early Wednesday was the third in as many days by police around Louisiana. The other two were fatal. Annette Odegar, 54, of Orange, Texas, was taken to a hospital after the shooting in Vinton, about 11.5 miles (18.5 kilometers) northeast of Orange, state police said in a news release Wednesday evening. It said the Vinton Police Department officer had been sent to investigate an argument between two motorists parked on the shoulder of the Interstate 10 westbound entrance ramp from Louisiana Highway 108. Odegar got out of her car and pointed a gun at the officer, according to the statement by Trooper First Class Derek Senegal. During the confrontation, the officer discharged his weapon striking Odegar, Senegal wrote. State police, as is standard in shootings by local officers, are investigating the shooting. Vinton police are investigating the motorists' dispute. Early Tuesday, police in Berwick fatally shot a would-be carjacker, armed with what appeared to be a handgun but turned out to be a BB pistol, state police said. 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 Robert Pearce, 37, of New Iberia, was shot while trying to enter a female driver's car, police said. Berwick police and the St. Mary Parish Sheriffs Office had been called at 2:30 a.m. about a suspicious person Berwick is about 145 miles (235 kilometers) east-southeast of Vinton and about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baton Rouge. On Monday, state troopers killed a Mississippi man who had crashed his car in north Louisiana after injuring two Mississippi sheriffs deputies. Michael Jackson, 29, of Vicksburg, was shot as he approached a safety perimeter and tried to draw a handgun after an hourslong standoff with troopers, a news release said. It said Madison Parish Sheriffs Office deputies had called in state police because Jackson was brandishing a handgun and threatening suicide after the crash north of Talullah, which is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Vicksburg. Jackson was fleeing authorities in Warren County, Mississippi, where he had dragged and injured two deputies, the statement said. Madison Parish is part of a broad area covered by state police Troop F, which has been roiled over the recent release of video obtained by The Associated Press, showing the violent arrest of Ronald Greene, 49. Greene, who was Black, died in custody in Union Parish in 2019 following a chase and crash, and after he was stunned, punched and dragged facedown. President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for Louisiana Wednesday following torrential rain and flooding that swept through the state in mid-May. The declaration unlocks federal aid to help the region recover from the severe weather that began May 17 and continued for several days. Five people died and close to 3,000 homes were damaged in the downpour that caused flash flooding in many areas across South Louisiana. Biden's approval comes after Gov. John Bel Edwards and U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, wrote separate letters to the president last week requesting aid. Louisiana divvies up $60 million in funding for shovel-ready flood relief projects Louisiana divvied up more than $60 million in funding Thursday for shovel-ready flood control projects as part of the states $1.2 billion Wat Edwards and Graves each noted in their letters that areas such as Calcasieu and Baton Rouge parishes have endured severe weather and catastrophic flooding in recent months and years disasters that were only compounded by the recent storm. 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 I want to thank President Biden for his quick approval of our request for a major disaster declaration, which will go a long way to help the thousands of people affected in Louisiana by quick and severe flash flooding that damaged homes and left five people dead, Edwards said. As people continue to recover, I encourage everyone who was affected to register for FEMA aid." Federal funding is available to affected people in Ascension, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, Iberville and Lafayette parishes. Support includes grants for temporary housing and home repairs, loans to cover uninsured property loss and other recovery programs. A parishwide tax would help address drainage issues in Lafayette Parish, Power Poll respondents say More than half of respondents in this months Acadiana Advocate Power Poll favor a parishwide tax to address drainage issue in Lafayette Parish. More aid may be available later if the state requests it following additional damage assessments. Graves said in a press release he will continue to urge for assistance for a handful of other parishes, including Assumption, Lafourche, Livingston and St. Charles. Those affected in the designated parishes can apply for assistance by registering online at disasterassistance.gov or by calling 800-621-3362 or 800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. Spurred by Donald Trumps fallacious assertions of a stolen election, Republican-dominated statehouses around the country have passed into law MATSAPHA - One of the tasks of the ongoing inquest into the death of Thabani Nkomonye is to establish whether he was assisted out of the car and dragged to an unknown destination or not. This is because Advocate Mduduzi Tsotsi Mabila, one of the three lawyers who are representing the Nkomonye family, put it to a police officer that Thabani was assisted out of the car and that he was also dragged. Advocate Mabila made these claims after cross-examining Constable Detective Sanele Malindzisa, a police officer from the Forensic Department, who took pictures at the car accident scene after Thabanis body was discovered on Thursday May 13, 2021 at Nhlambeni and during the post-mortem on May 14, 2021 at Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital. Pictures During his appearance yesterday, it appeared that Malindzisa, who is based at Manzini Police Station, had already submitted a written report with pictures to the Coroner, Seniour Magistrate Nonhlanhla Dlamini. As a result, the coroner, including the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Phila Dlamini and the lawyers representing the Nkomonye family, had to interrogate his submissions. The police officer was asked about pictures labelled 21 and 22 and he alleged that the photos were close range pictures which showed the position of where the deceased was found lying. He said it also showed that the deceased was found under a tree. Thereafter, he claimed that the only thing that could be seen was the boot that he was wearing and it was what he saw when one Inspector Mngomezulu showed him where Thabanis body was. Branches However, he alleged that for one to see Thabanis body clearly, that individual had to come closer as it was covered by thorny tree branches. Thereafter, the Advocate Mabila wanted to know that since the law enforcer submitted that he was allegedly informed by Detective Sergeant Horton, that he should go to the accident scene, how did Horton notify him, and Malindzisa alleged that he did so telephonically. On top of that, Mabila asked the officer if Horton informed him where he was calling from and in response the witness responded to the negative. He claimed that the sergeant only informed him about where he was supposed to go. Again, the advocate said since the officer had made reference that he was allegedly shown where Thabani was at the scene, by one Inspector Mngomezulu, did he find Horton at the accident scene and he responded to the positive. Melbourne-born man Russell Moore has died in a US prison following a three-decade fight to be returned to Australia. Moore, also known by his adoptive name James Hudson Savage, died at Apalachee Correctional Institution in Florida on June 2. Russell Moore died in Florida on June 2. Credit:Danielle Smith His US lawyer Richard Bourke, who spent decades working to help return Moore to his birth country, said the 58-year-old had a medical emergency. I am profoundly saddened by Russells passing and my heart goes out to his family and his community for their loss, made all the more bitter by our inability to have his sentence transferred and have him returned home before his death, Mr Bourke said. The Gold Coast will soon receive a boost in tourism as 30,000 travel vouchers for Queenslanders will be up for grabs. Queenslanders keen to win a travel voucher valued at $100 each for the Gold Coast will have 72 hours to enter the draw from Monday, June 7. Enter for the chance to win a travel voucher to use on accommodation or tourism experiences. Credit:Glenn Hunt Gold Coast Holiday Dollars can be used on select accommodation and tourism experiences, in partnership with Destination Gold Coast. The program had previously targeted Brisbane, the Whitsundays and Cairns. On Sunday, my family made our way to Marvel Stadium to watch North Melbourne get a severe pummelling by Essendon. It was about as ugly as the means by which we found out we may have been exposed to a Tier 2 COVID-19 contact. You see, my husband purchased tickets for our immediate family of five from Ticketmaster (we all checked in using the Service Victoria QR code), and our cousin also purchased tickets from Ticketmaster (three of whom checked in using the QR code). However, only my husband and our cousin received texts to get a test. The likely conclusion? The Service Victoria QR code check in system is not as reliable nor can it contact trace quite as quickly as Ticketmaster. Lara Blamey, Mount Eliza Seeking systems that are simple and quick to use Recently we toured Tasmania and its state-supplied QR code check-in app provided the ability to also check in an additional person, and details of both people were retained for future use. Therefore every subsequent check-in was a matter of a scan and a couple of clicks. This resulted in overwhelming compliance due to the ease of use, particularly at hospitality venues where the vast majority of visitors were more than one person. This app should be adopted by the federal government and rolled out to all states and territories. David Parker, Geelong West All businesses should be required to have a QR code So much for the QR code. The other day I went to a chemist and the local supermarket and used the QR codes but when I went to the post office, I was told that it did not have one. Surely that should be illegal. Helen Russell, Murrumbeena Clarifying the problems with Android and codes Old Android mobiles like the Galaxy S6 and younger can run the Android operating system version 6. Hence they will run both the Commonwealth COVIDSafe app and do QR code registration using a third-party QR reader app like Neoreader as long as the Service Victoria app is downloaded first. The phone camera app apparently cannot be used for QR codes until Android version 9. Graeme Butler, Alphington THE FORUM Desperately seeking help My daughter, who has an intellectual disability, has had to change schools several times due to COVID-19. She has now experienced remote learning (or the lack of it) in three different settings: mainstream, specialist and special development schools. Kids with disabilities are being left so far behind, not to mention the knock-on effects for siblings, parents and carers managing their childrens complex needs and psychological challenges, often in complete isolation. I have reached out numerous times to find mental health support for my daughter but it is practically non-existent in the case of intellectual disability. School gives her day structure and purpose. There have been times when specialist and special development schools were exempt from remote learning. Why not now? Janine Maydom, Black Rock Who do we listen to? Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton says the virus, if left unmitigated, would reproduce at an average of five cases for every new infection (The Age, 3/6). Yet Professor James McCaw, a University of Melbourne epidemiologist and member of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, says the reproduction rate of the current outbreak peaked at just above 2 before Victorias outbreak response began and is now hovering just below 1. Why is there such a discrepancy in the numbers put forward? These figures/data should be verified facts. Who is correct? Medical and related decisions should be evidence-based. There cannot be two different bodies of evidence regarding this latest outbreak in Melbourne. Professor James Tatoulis, cardiothoracic surgeon, Carlton North Grief from COVID death Just pre-COVID, I had worried about mum going into care. However the care was excellent and she was happier and healthier than she had been when living independently. A few months on, despite every reasonable precaution, Mum contracted COVID-19. Her passing was awful and the grief was intense. She died alone in hospital. I am still haunted by not seeing or touching her until the very end when she was unresponsive. I hoped that the awfulness of last year would teach us that we must all look after each other in any crisis and take responsibility for our actions. To hear the federal aged care and health ministers play loose with the truth and fail to admit the weaknesses in aged care, and the vaccine rollout and acquisition, throws me into despair and anger. Anger at myself for placing my mother in what I still believe is an extremely good institution. Anger at all the people who prevaricated in getting vaccinated, anger at the lack of care and concern from our leaders. I suspect there are 654 other Victorian families dealing with the same pain. Christine Cook, Essendon Quarantine made easy Hotel quarantine is flawed, so try this instead: allocate some Crown land outside Melbourne. Run some power. Then solicit caravan owners to rent their vans to the cause. Park them, say, 80metres apart, run in some portaloos and bingo, you have a geographically separated quarantine facility with plenty of fresh air and ventilation. In a very short time. Plus, the costs can line the pockets of local Melburnians instead of international hotel chains. Ready? Stephen Toal, Alphington Details of assistance We have heard from many people in Melbourne who will have trouble putting food on the table and paying bills during the extension of this essential lockdown. Perhaps The Age could publish a daily list of any assistance that people can get, whether it be a soup kitchen, food share location or financial assistance. Communities and governments could lodge this assistance with The Age for publication. Trish Randles, Strathdale UK is right on vaccination I do not want to live in Britain and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has got much wrong. But you have to hand it to the Brits for the current state of play regarding COVID-19. According to the UK governments numbers, as at June 1, 75per cent of people have had one shot of the virus and 49per cent are fully vaccinated. Also, 3165 new cases of the virus on Tuesday, broadly flat on the previous day, and no new COVID-19 deaths within 28 days of a positive test on Tuesday (World, 2/6) and they are considering opening up the country again. It looks like vaccinations are the answer. We are going to get there when? Oh, I forgot, it is not a race. Jonathan Sanders, Glen Iris Lets follow NSWs lead Could our state leaders please stop using inflammatory and fear-inducing language as we endure our fourth lockdown? What happened to learning to live with inevitable outbreaks that they warned us about the new normal? Did they really mean hard lockdowns were our default position? It seems the state government has only one switch either on or off. Clearly areas where outbreaks occur need a targeted response, in the way New South Wales has been choosing successfully. Why is Victoria persisting with this all or nothing response? It is devastating peoples livelihoods, disrupting the social/emotional networks that we know are so essential to sound mental health, and further damaging an already weakened economy. For all our sakes, please have enough humility to learn from others. Judy Michelangeli, Wheelers Hill Underpaid, overworked So here we go again. Aged care staff will only be able to work at one site, with many losing income with no compensation. Yet again there will be staff shortages and they will be forced to work even harder and even do the jobs of two people. The same is happening in the disability sector, but there is nothing but silence from governments, employers and unions. An already overworked, overburdened workforce that is in no way paid fairly for the responsibilities they have. How about a financial reward for them? Or even a tax break. I will not hold my breath for the Coalition to give a stuff. James Curtis, disability support worker, Chelsea Where to attribute blame Some Victorians go about their normal routine for a week or more when symptomatic before getting a COVID-19 test. Many Victorians do not wear masks when they are required to do so, and many do not check into venues they visit or otherwise disregard health directives. I wonder how many of these people now blame the state government when the inevitable outbreak occurs with the accompanying restrictions. Peter Neuhold, Elsternwick Come on, joggers, mask up Now that the aerosol spread of COVID-19 is acknowledged, surely it is time to change the rules on joggers being exempt from wearing masks. Some show consideration for others and detour to keep clear of pedestrians. Alas, many joggers frequently huff and puff (droplets galore) their way through people out walking, making no effort to maintain physical distancing from others. The walkers must wear masks, but the joggers are exempt. It is time for the Health Department to review this rule. Merryn Lowe, Moonee Ponds Osakas right to say no Why should Naomi Osaka turn up at a press conference to be asked inane, repetitive questions when she wins, but be put through the wringer when she loses? Many press conferences, in all sports, are not worth watching because of the skill of the players in avoiding saying anything of interest or value. Unlike what is really interesting, watching them play. David Adamson, Essendon In support of Naomi As a person who has had a mental illness for the past 15 years, I have considerable empathy for Naomi Osaka for not fronting the media because of issues with her mental health. By quitting the French Open, she runs the risk of possibly incurring more fines and, worst still, of being banned from future Grand Slam events. Maybe even all events around the world. You can only imagine how much this would cost her. Millions? What I do not get is why she did not say something to the organisers before the tournament started. Maybe she could have come to some arrangement. I think both sides could have handled it better. I love watching her play and I hope she can work something out. Brian Noble, Ferntree Gully Successful Anzac marches Felicity Browne (Letters, 2/6) says there was no Anzac Day march this year. It took place, all participants had to do was register for contact tracing purposes. The march was broadcast live on ABC TV and available to view later on iview. There was no restriction on spectators and several thousand gathered in St Kilda Road and the Shrine forecourt. There were also dozens of marches and commemoration services in suburban and regional centres. Charlotte Fanner, Toorak Surely hes not serious The Pope is now insisting that bishops take action against clerics who abuse minors and vulnerable adults, commit fraud, or attempt to ordain women. He was doing well until that last bit. The idea that, in the eyes of the Catholic Church, the ordination of women is on a par with sex crimes, indicates that its irrelevance to the real world continues unabated. Geoff Schmidt, Richmond The purity of crosswords Three days of the quick crossword without obscure and dull clues, only solvable by using Professor Google and back to the essence and heart of crosswords, words wisdom and wit. Thank you, Age cruciverbalists, and please keep it up. Paul Burchill, Carlton North Please, who really cares? As a longtime Collingwood member, Im not interested in the rich boys club spat over the presidency (Sport, 3/6).| Tony Delaney, Warrnambool AND ANOTHER THING Credit:Illustration: Matt Golding COVID -19 First it was glasses, then hearing aids. Now its a mask as well. My ears cant carry any more. David Symington, Mount Waverley Stable. Door. Horse. Bolted. Not in the Hunt. Peter Cook, Essendon Amazingly, all of a sudden it appears it is a race. Arthur Pritchard, Ascot Vale Heaven help us if Colbeck was put in his position on merit. Helga Kernke, Northcote Richard Colbeck, you are the weakest link. Goodbye. Anne Rutland, Brunswick West What have Colbeck and his department been doing for the last year? Clearly not what the public pays them for. Claire Cooper, Maldon Do we need to resurrect the Belt and Road agreement? China could have quarantine facilities up and running here in a few weeks. David Rose, Montrose Mr Frydenberg, I am Australian, we are Australian, who happen to live in Melbourne, Victoria. Lest you forget. Cheryl William, Balwyn North PM, cancel your superseded, billion-dollar subs and use the money to help COVID-hit workers, businesses and essential services. Doug Perry, Mount Martha Mathias Cormann has not changed. Just his script writer. Greg Walsh, Black Rock An old saying: If I see nose, might as well wear mask around ankle. Geoff Goonan, Glen Iris Politics President calls for loveable image of China (3/6). Shouldnt that have been in the Odd Spot? Annette Bando, St Kilda East George Christensen, I thought it was the Coalition that had a systemic bias against the ABC. Peter Kealey, Belmont VCE English teacher Michelle Parker will feel unsafe and undervalued when she returns to work in person on Friday morning. Being under 40 with no underlying health issues, Ms Parker is not yet eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination, like many of her colleagues, but she is required to be back in her Melbourne classroom. Teacher Michelle Parker is concerned about being made to return to the classroom. Credit:Justin McManus Ill be in close contact with hundreds of people a day and virtually unable to socially distance in small, poorly ventilated classrooms with up to 26 students, she said. Were in this completely un-COVID-safe environment. It doesnt make sense. The West Australian government will finish a review of alternative COVID-19 quarantine sites within weeks as Health Minister Roger Cook suggested Busselton could be an attractive location for a facility if the federal government did not start isolating people at its own assets. Premier Mark McGowan said on Wednesday Busselton and Exmouth could make good locations for purpose-built quarantine facilities, with Mr Cook suggesting on Thursday the South West locale was more preferable. Health Minister Roger Cook says Busselton is an attractive proposition for a quarantine facility. Credit:Mark Chipperfield A national debate on the appropriateness of hotels for isolating returned international travellers has gone in circles since the onset of the pandemic, with the federal government refusing to take responsibility for quarantining despite its constitutional duty to do so anywhere but Howard Springs in the Northern Territory. State governments have been reluctant to pull the trigger on building their own quarantine facilities until the Victoria put forward a recent proposal to build a $200 million centre with 500 beds that the federal government has been asked to joint-fund. ABC management has knocked back an upcoming Four Corners episode by prominent journalist Louise Milligan about the relationship between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory, a decision that could be seen as an attempt to dampen tensions between the national broadcaster and the federal government. Four Corners staff were expecting the episode to run this Monday following weeks of delays, but staff were informed on Thursday it would not go to air following a decision by managing director David Anderson. The decision comes just days after Industry Minister Christian Porter decided to drop defamation action against the ABC and Milligan over the reporting of a historical rape allegation. A Four Corners episode about Prime Minister Scott Morrison will not go to air this Monday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen ABC sources told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age the episode was blocked after news director Gaven Morris upwardly referred it to Mr Anderson for final approval. The sources said the story was originally set to run in May and had been approved by the corporations legal department and its head of investigations, John Lyons. Questions about the episode were put to the Prime Ministers office earlier in the week. The QAnon conspiracy theory centres on discredited claims about an international paedophile ring involving politicians and celebrities. The Guardian reported in 2019 that a family friend of the Prime Minister is a key follower of the movement. The Age and the Herald have not seen any evidence of a relationship between Mr Morrison and a QAnon supporter and does not suggest that one exists. In times of war, Israelis, and their opposition parties, have for the most part fallen in behind the government and its leadership. Not this time. Instead, the recent fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas appears to have energised moves to oust Benjamin Netanyahu, the nations longest serving prime minister. With just 35 minutes before a midnight deadline, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid told the nations President, Reuven Rivlin, and Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin that he had successfully formed a government by the slimmest of margins, gaining the support of 61 MPs in the 120-member Knesset. Yemina party leader Naftali Bennett could soon be Israels new prime minister. Credit:AP While the new alliance still needs to be ratified by a vote in parliament, if successful it would break the long-running impasse that has forced the nation to go to the polls four times in the past two years in an increasingly desperate bid to find a government that can muster a workable majority. In a sign of the determination to force Mr Netanyahu from office, the new coalition is a fragile alliance of eight political parties with little common ideology. Members range from the left to the far right and include for the first time an Arab Islamist party. In another unusual move, Mr Lapid, a centrist, has agreed to share the role of prime minister with Naftali Bennett, the leader of a small right-wing party, Yamina. A standard-bearer for religious nationalists who oppose a Palestinian state and want Israel to annex the majority of the occupied West Bank, Mr Bennett, who would take the leadership role during the first two years, is considered by many to be further to the right than Mr Netanyahu. But such a transition of power is still a big if. Mr Netanyahu needs to persuade just one MP to jump ship from the alliance and still has until next week to do so. Given that he is facing allegations of bribery and fraud, it is in his interests to stay on as leader. Doing so would give him a public platform from which to fight the charges, and he would be protected from having to stand down a form of protection offered only to the prime minister. Loading If he were to lose the prime ministership, he would leave a mixed legacy. For those who support a tough line against the Palestinians, he has certainly delivered, backing the expansion of Israeli settlements into the West Bank and slow-walking any progress on a two-state solution. For Israelis looking for a more conciliatory approach, his stance has been blamed for further cementing the frustration and hardline attitude of Palestinians, as witnessed in the recent fighting. But it would be too early to start writing Mr Netanyahus farewell speech. He has proven adept at ensuring he stays one step ahead of his opponents. Bennett has long championed West Bank settlers and once led the council representing them, but he has never been a settler himself, and lives in Raanana, an affluent town in central Israel, with his wife and four children. He is religiously observant he would be the first prime minister to wear a kipa but he will head a governing coalition that is largely secular. Israelis gather in a rally to support a unity government to oust Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from office on Monday. Credit:Getty Images He is best known for views on settlements, annexation and Palestinian statehood that many on Israels left and centre not to mention much of the world consider not just wrong but dangerous. Yet his coalition spans Israels fractious political spectrum from left to right, and relies on the support of a small Arab, Islamist party. That coalition proposes to paper over its differences on Israeli-Palestinian relations by focusing on domestic matters. Bennett has explained his motives for teaming up with such ideological opposites as an act of last resort to end the political impasse that has paralysed Israel. The political crisis in Israel is unprecedented on a global level, he said in a televised speech on Sunday. We could end up with fifth, sixth, even 10th elections, dismantling the walls of the country, brick by brick, until our house falls in on us. Or we can stop the madness and take responsibility. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video He faces the greatest challenge of his political career, trying to hold that unlikely coalition together, to vault from being a second-tier figure to a national leader, and maintain relations with Israels most important ally, the United States. President Joe Biden has been cooler towards Netanyahu than Trump was. There will be, I think, a collective sigh of relief within the Biden administration that they have new, young Israeli blood to deal with, said Martin Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel and a former special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Bennett will be pressured by the settler right to deliver for them, Indyk said, but it appears that he has already accepted that he wont be able to pursue that agenda. He campaigned as the right-wing alternative to Netanyahu, who has held power for 12 years consecutively and 15 years overall, and is now standing trial on corruption charges. They have often differed more in tone than substance, as Bennett avoided the inflammatory language and long-running legal drama of his predecessor. Loading Aida Touma-Sliman, a lawmaker from the Joint List of predominantly Arab parties, wrote on Twitter that Bennett would lead a dangerous right-wing government, one that would remove Netanyahu and preserve his path. After Bennett described Netanyahu on Sunday as a divisive and polarising force, Netanyahu accused his former aide of using the same hollow slogans about hate and division and of committing the fraud of the century. People who know him describe Bennett as likeable and tolerant behind closed doors, a pragmatist at heart, though how that private person would translate to governing remains to be seen. Loading People think hes a fanatic. Hes not, said Ayelet Frish, an Israeli political consultant. She said Bennett once told her he had grown up in a home of Woodstock parents, surrounded by mostly secular culture, and noted his time in the largely secular high-tech business world. Orit Galili-Zucker, a former strategic communications adviser to Netanyahu, said Bennett aimed to present an alternative to Netanyahus toxic discourse. In Bennetts first campaign, in 2013, Netanyahus Likud party branded him as a dangerous, messianic right-winger, she said. Now Likud was calling him a dangerous leftist, she noted, for joining forces with Lapid. Now Likud and its staunch ultra-Orthodox allies will be heading into the opposition. Under the new coalitions government, Bennett will serve as prime minister for the first part of a four-year term, to be followed by the secular, centrist Lapid. By conceding the first turn in the rotation, Lapid smoothed the way for other right-wing politicians to join the anti-Netanyahu alliance. Bennett represents a new generation in Israeli politics and would be the second-youngest prime minister in the countrys history; only Netanyahu, when he first came into the office a generation ago, was younger. Born in Israel, Bennett spent parts of his childhood living in the United States and Canada. He served in the same Israeli army commando unit as Netanyahu. He then moved to New York and founded a software company he later sold for $US145 million, and served as chief executive of another company. He has had a fraught relationship with Netanyahu since a stint as his chief of staff ended in acrimony in 2008. A sharp critic of some of Netanyahus policies, he nevertheless sat in several Netanyahu-led governments as a minister, as well as in the opposition. In late 2019, Netanyahu appointed him as defence minister to keep Bennett on his side at a time of political turmoil, and he served in that role for about six months. Over the past decade, Bennett and his senior partner in Yamina, Ayelet Shaked, have run for office in an array of right-wing, pro-settlement parties with a dizzying series of name changes and allies. In 2013, when they were a pair of political newcomers, he formed what was seen as a surprising alliance with Lapid. Loading Bennett has often punched above his weight on security issues. On the eve of the 2014 Gaza war, he presciently raised the threat arising from tunnels dug by Hamas beneath the Gaza-Israel border and pressed for a plan of action to neutralise them. Later that year, he wrote an uncompromising op-ed in The New York Times explaining his view that Israel could not allow the creation of a Palestinian state. He has proposed granting the Palestinians a sort of autonomy on steroids in about 40 per cent of the West Bank, and gradually applying Israeli sovereignty in the rest of the territory a move much of the world would consider illegal. The next year he wrote another op-ed forcefully condemning Jewish extremists who had stabbed participants at a gay pride parade in Jerusalem and burnt three members of a Palestinian family to death in a West Bank village, denouncing the perpetrators as terrorists. At times, Bennett and Shaked joined forces with more radical political factions in the religious Zionist camp who are heavily influenced by their rabbis. Running as the New Right party in the April 2019 election, without their more extreme partners, they failed to gain enough votes to enter Parliament. Here's a look at some of the big events streaming soon. Olly Dobson and Roger Bart in Back to the Future ( Sean Ebsworth Barnes) The final performance of the sold-out run of The Show Must Go On! Live at the Palace Theatre will be streamed for free as a live YouTube broadcast on Sunday, June 6, at 2pm ET (11am PT, 7pm BST). The concert will include performances from Tina The Tina Turner Musical, Dear Evan Hansen, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Six, Hamilton, The Book of Mormon, Wicked, Royal Shakespeare Company's Matilda The Musical, & Juliet, Les Miserables, Disney's The Lion King, The Prince of Egypt, Come From Away, The Phantom of the Opera, Mary Poppins, Mamma Mia!, Back to the Future The Musical, and Pretty Woman The Musical. The show will be available to watch in its entirety on The Shows Must Go On! YouTube channel for the seven days following the broadcast. BKLYN The Musical will stream for three performances only June 4-6 . The musical is a tapestry of stories: a girl named Brooklyn, searching for the father she never knew; a troupe of street performers, struggling to be heard as artists... and seen as human beings; and an epic battle between two divas, each striving to become The Queen Of The City. The cast includes Diana DeGarmo, Miguel Cervantes, Taylor Iman Jones, Quentin Earl Darrington, Felicia Boswell, and Thom Sesma, Nick Cearley, and Lauren Molina. For tickets, click here. Glenn Close and Jake Gyllenhaal are two of the performers slated to sing in Show of Titles. ( Janie Willison/David Gordon) Dozens of Broadway stars will come together to sing the title songs from over 20 beloved musicals in Show of Titles, a special benefit for the Actors Fund. The concert will be livestreamed on Stellar on June 13 at 8pm EST and will be available for viewing for a limited time. Slated performers include Annaleigh Ashford, Glenn Close, Len Cariou, Darren Criss, Santino Fontana, Kelsey Grammar, David Alan Grier, Jake Gyllenhaal, Joshua Henry, Isabelle Huppert, Norm Lewis, Patti LuPone, Rob McClure, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Melba Moore, Jessie Mueller, Eva Noblezada, Kelli O'Hara, Laura Osnes, Steven Pasquale, Michael Rupert, Ernie Sabella, Lea Salonga, Phillipa Soo, Will Swenson, Aaron Tveit, Leslie Uggams, Vanessa Williams, and Patrick Wilson. Click here for tickets and more information about Show of Titles. Tony nominee Alfred Molina and Emmy winner Dorothy Lyman are set to headline the next monthly digital presentation of Lyman's play We Have to Hurry, streaming live via Broadway on Demand for two performances only, Saturday, June 5, at 8pm and Sunday, June 6, at 3pm. The heartwarming new play, about a pair of mature people reigniting their spark during the sunset years of life, is directed by Patricia Vanstone. Proceeds will benefit the Actors Fund Home East and West. Tickets are available here. TheaterMania will stream the filmed off-Broadway production of Ed Dixon's solo show Georgie: My Adventures With George Rose May 24-July 18. The one-act play chronicles Dixon's 20-year friendship with George Rose, the two-time Tony-winning character actor known for starring in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, My Fair Lady, and The Pirates of Penzance, who was tortured and beaten to death in the Dominican Republic in 1988. Tickets are $25. To purchase, click here or click the BUY button above. Ismenia Mendes, Lucy Taylor, Marceline Hugot, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, and Karen Kandel in Marys Seacole. ( Julieta Cervantes) Lincoln Center Theater will present a free stream of its 2019 LCT3 production Marys Seacole, written by Jackie Sibblies Drury and directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz. The drama will be available via Broadway On Demand June 10-July 4. To register for free tickets, click here. Joe Morton and Sally Murphy ( David Gordon/Tricia Baron) Joe Morton and Sally Murphy will star in a streaming production of Cornelius Eady's Brutal Imagination, available May 20-June 7 via the Vineyard Theatre. Morton and Murphy starred in the original 2001 production of the drama, which is based on Eady's poem cycle about the 1994 case of Susan Smith, a white woman from South Carolina who claimed that a Black man had kidnapped her children. An FBI search ensued until Smith confessed that the man did not exist and she had, in fact, drowned her kids. For tickets and more information, click here. Roundabout Theatre Company's Tony-nominated production of The Importance of Being Earnest will stream May 1-June 30. Directed by and starring Tony Award nominee Brian Bedford in his final stage performance, The Importance of Being Earnest features the original Broadway company performing Oscar Wilde's comedic masterpiece. To get access, click here. Lisa Banes and Jordan Boatman, who starred in the off-Broadway debut of Eleanor Burgess's The Niceties, reprise their roles for this virtual presentation. ( T Charles Erickson) Starting May 27, Manhattan Theatre Club in association with The Huntington will present the virtual premiere of Eleanor Burgess's The Niceties, starring original off-Broadway cast members Lisa Banes and Jordan Boatman. The show is free and will be available until June 13. Viewers can sign up to see it here. Now streaming online, Changemakers, a collection of 20 original, two-minute plays and musicals inspired by community leaders, activists, and front-line workers who have fought for change over the course of the past year. Changemakers explores our nation's most critical current events, told through a series of comic and dramatic vignettes created specifically for this moment. This collaborative work, written by commissioned playwrights working alongside students from University of Kansas, premiered this spring before a limited, in-person audience, and is now streaming, for free, on YouTube. To watch, click here. Nick Blaemire and Van Hughes (images provided by the production ) MCC Theater will present a free streaming concert featuring selections from the new musical Space Dogs on Monday, June 28, at 7pm ET. It will remain available through July 1. Written and performed by Van Hughes and Nick Blaemire, Space Dogs tells the heartbreaking story of Laika, a stray dog who is sent to space during the Cold War by a top-secret Russian scientist. Laika made history as the first animal to orbit the Earth, but she was only supplied with one meal, seven days' worth of oxygen, and died from overheating within hours of liftoff. For tickets and more information, click here. From Broadway to off-Broadway, from music to magic, TheaterMania Streaming offers you the best live-streams and videos on demand in the world of performing arts. For more information, click here and watch the trailer below: Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has become the first airline to sign an agreement with the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme aiming to strengthen volunteering globally and expand the reach to customers of Etihad. The a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed by Dr Nadia Bastaki, Vice President Medical Services, Corporate Social Responsibility, Etihad Aviation Group, and Toily Kurbanov, Executive Coordinator, UNV, remotely in Abu Dhabi. The collaboration between the two entities will UNV supports volunteering globally and in the Arab countries and aims to engage Etihad volunteers in advocacy events, increase awareness of volunteering opportunities, and accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals in the Leave no one behind agenda. In addition, Etihad will promote UNV and activities across Etihads own channels, including Etihad Guest loyalty programme to encourage members to donate their Etihad Guest Miles in support of UNV. Dr Nadia Bastaki said: Etihad is proud to be the first airline to partner with UN Volunteers, to support their talent pool and global initiatives. Etihad volunteers will have the chance to participate in the programme offering their unique skills and experience, and further extend Etihads humanitarian footprint across the world. Furthermore, were pleased to be able to offer our loyal Etihad Guest members the opportunity to make a significant contribution by donating their Etihad Guest Miles. Toily Kurbanov said: At UNV, we are excited to have Etihad Aviation Group join our network of private sector partners who believe in the power of volunteering for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). I hope this partnership will help grow awareness of the inspiring actions taken by UN Volunteers around the globe. Through miles donation, Etihad Guest members will have a direct channel to back such actions. Since the start of the pandemic, over 3,000 Etihad Airways employees have volunteered to support a number of government entities and initiatives, including deployments to SEHA, Maan and Emirates Red Crescent. More than 800 staff volunteers have registered on the UAE Volunteers Platform, a community response to Covid-19. TradeArabia News Service The ACLU of Arkansas is calling on state legislators to investigate a commonly used, dangerous traffic maneuver that resulted in three deaths last year. The maneuver, referred to as Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT), is when an officer deliberately hits a fleeing vehicle, causing it t Up for debate: Live legislation tracker Check out the latest developments on bills pending before state lawmakers in four key topics. Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony Friday, Jan. 29, 2021, in Miami, for Carnival Cruise Line's new Terminal F, which will be the homeport to the Carnival Celebration cruise ship at PortMiami. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gestures during a news conference Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute in Tampa, Fla. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged governments to make data-driven decisions to manage the risks of Covid-19 when reopening borders to international travel. Strategies without quarantine measures can enable international travel to restart with a low risk of introduction of Covid-19 to the travel destination. Data can and should drive policies on restarting global travel that manage Covid-19 risks to protect populations, revive livelihoods and boost economies. We call on the G7 governments meeting later this month to agree on the use of data to safely plan and coordinate the return of the freedom to travel which is so important to people, livelihoods and businesses, said Willie Walsh, IATAs Director General. Vaccinated travellers Evidence continues to show that vaccination protects travellers from serious illness and death, and carries a low risk of introducing the virus into destination countries: The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) concluded that vaccinated travellers are no longer significant in the spread of the disease and do not pose a major risk to the German population. The European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) issued interim guidance on the benefits of full vaccination stating that the likelihood of an infected vaccinated person transmitting the disease is currently assessed to be very low to low. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) stated that with a 90% effective vaccine, pre-travel testing, post-travel testing, and 7-day self-quarantine provide minimal additional benefit. The Canadian Testing and Screening Expert Advisory Panel recommends that vaccinated travellers do not need to be quarantined. A Public Health England study has concluded that two doses of the Covid-19 vaccines are highly effective against Covid-19 variants of concern. Testing for unvaccinated travellers A challenge is the potential of barriers to travel for unvaccinated people which would create an unacceptable exclusion. Data from the UK NHS regarding international travellers arriving in the UK (with no reference to vaccination status) shows that the vast majority of travellers pose no risk for the introduction of Covid-19 cases after arrival. Between 25 February and 5 May 2021, 365,895 tests were conducted on arriving passengers to the UK. These were PCR negative before travel. Only 2.2% tested positive for Covid-19 infection during universal quarantine measures after their arrival. Of these, over half were from red list countries, which were considered very high risk. Removing them from the statistics would result in test positivity of 1.46%. Of the 103,473 arrivals from the EU (excluding Ireland), 1.35% tested positive. Three countries, Bulgaria, Poland and Romania, accounted for 60% of the positive cases. Many governments continue to require universal quarantineeither hotel-managed or self-managed. This impedes the freedom of movement, discourages international travel and destroys employment in the travel and tourism sector, said Walsh. Data from the UK tells us that we can and must do better. Almost 98% of those detained because of universal quarantine measures tested negative for the virus. We now have more than a year of global data that can help governments make more targeted decisions on international travel. This can keep the risk of importing Covid-19 cases lowincluding variants of concernwhile restarting international travel with minimal infringement on the ability to live normal work and social lives. Importantly, lives that include travel, he added. TradeArabia News Service Staff Reporter Nyamekye Daniel has been a journalist for five years. She was the managing editor for the South Florida Media Network and a staff writer for The Miami Times. Daniel's work has also appeared in the Sun-Sentinel, Miami Herald and The New York Times. Egypt has fully vaccinated all staff working at the governorates of Red Sea and South Sinai, two of the countrys tourism hotspots, as hotels and resorts gear up for the safe return of holidaymakers this summer. This was confirmed by Egypts Ministers of Tourism and Antiquities, Health and Population and Civil Aviation and Red Sea Governor at a press conference held during their visit to the Red Sea city of Hurghada to inspect the implementation of hygiene safety measures in airport, hotels and its temporary medical units installed specially to spruce up the vaccination process for the tourism sector employees. Staff working in establishments including hotels, resorts, cafes, restaurants, bazaars and tourism transportation in the Red Sea and South Sinai governorates have received Covid-19 vaccine, they stated. "Vaccinating our staff is just one measure we are taking to ensure tourists can return to Egypts crowning jewels safely, quickly, and confidently," remarked Egypts Minister of Tourism, Dr Khaled El Enany. "Covid-19 cases in the Red Sea and Sinai areas are negligible. Everyone involved in Egypts tourism sector has worked incredibly hard to get to this point and be able to offer a safe travel experience. Nearly a year since the resumption of tourism in Egypt, we are happy to note that the tourist numbers are steadily rising and have almost doubled since January and February 2021," he stated. Dr El-Enany said the number of tourists who arrived in Egypt in January was 300,000 and increased to reach 525,000 tourists in April. "Now, we are opening our doors and extending a warm invitation to people from around the world who are fed up with staying at home and are desperate to travel for their summer vacation," he noted. "The vaccination drive will continue in the Red Sea and South Sinai governorates with the aim to complete vaccination for the entire population in the two governorates by the end of June 2021," he added. Dr El Enany said Egypt has begun the vaccination for tourism staff in other key destinations including Cairo, Giza, Luxor and Aswan. "The vaccination drive is also open to foreign residents and tourists, upon their request. The next phase will be another important step in the recovery of the tourism sector," he added. As part of the measures taken by the Egyptian government to eliminate cases of Covid-19 in both the Red Sea and South Sinai governorates, medical centers were allocated to receive the anti-Coronavirus vaccine, in addition to the installation of temporary medical units in few hotels and the activation of mobile medical clinics including medical teams to vaccinate tourism sectors employees as well as medical and awareness services to citizens and tourists. South Sinai and the Red Sea are Egypts largest tourism pulls. South Sinai includes the famous Sharm al Sheikh resort, Nuweibaa, Dahab, and Taba. The Red Sea meanwhile is known for oases like Hurghada, Sahl Hashish, Gouna, Makadi and Marsa Alam. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, Egypt has adopted a wide range of hygiene and safety measures to curb the spread of the virus in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). These include social distancing, mandatory masks in select public locations, compulsory testing for visitors, rigorous disinfection and sanitization drives, as well as the introduction of the Hygiene Safety Certificate as a pre-requisite for tourist establishments and operators. As a result, the countrys popular Red Sea destinations, such as Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, and Marsa Alam, have consistently reported one of the lowest infection rates in the world. In recognition of Egypts endeavors, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) granted the country its Safe Travel Stamp.-TradeArabia News Service South Carolina state Sen. Mia McLeod (left) stands in the sanctuary of Shiloh Baptist, her family's church, talking with Rev. Coley Mearite on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, in Bennettsville, S.C. Instant unlimited access to all of our E-Editions and content on thechronicleonline.com. The Chronicle E-Edition Newsletter emailed to you each week, the night before the paper hits the street! This subscription is for NEW or RENEWING online subscribers. (The charge will appear as "Country Media Inc." on your credit card statement) Srinagar, Jun 3 (UNI) Army chief General M M Naravane, who is on a two-day visit to Kashmir, visited forward posts near the Line of Control (LoC) in the valley and reviewed the security situation. Appreciating the current state of peace prevailing along the LoC, he cautioned all commanders and troops to not let their guard down and to remain prepared to meet any emerging security challenges effectively. A Defence Ministry spokesperson said on the second day of his two-day visit to the Kashmir Valley, General Naravane reviewed the security situation along the LoC. The Army chief accompanied by Lt Gen YK Joshi, the Northern Army Commander and Lt Gen DP Pandey, Chinar Corps Commander visited the formations and units, wherein the local Commanders briefed the General on the existing security situation and the measures instituted to foil infiltration by militants from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Gen Naravane interacted with the troops and complimented them for their high morale and the high state of operational preparedness. The Army Chief also complimented all Government agencies for their close coordination in maintaining peace in the region and reaching out to the people wholeheartedly to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. UNI ABS SY 1737 Batavia, NY (14020) Today Cloudy skies this morning followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High around 80F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 58F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Batavia, NY (14020) Today Partly cloudy early followed by scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. High near 80F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 58F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Towanda, PA (18848) Today Isolated thunderstorms during the morning becoming more widespread this afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 78F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Oneonta, NY (13820) Today Cloudy skies this morning followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 78F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 61F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. New Delhi, Jun 3 (UNI) The Defence Ministry on Thursday signed a contract with Mumbai-based tech firm Mahindra Telephonics Integrated Systems Ltd for procurement of 11 Airport Surveillance Radars with Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radar for Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard. According to the Defence Ministry officials, the procurement at a cost of Rs 323.47 crore, will be made under the 'Buy & Make' category. The installation of these radars will increase the air domain awareness around airfields and enhance safety and efficiency in flying operations of the Navy and Coast Guard, they said. Click the image to the left and log in to get your exclusive reader perks. Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. Her columns are syndicated by Creators, and she can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com Staff Writer Sadaf Nikzad is a junior at WVU. She is from Morgantown, WV and this is her second year on staff. She is majoring in journalism and has two minors in English and Professional Writing and Editing. New Delhi, Jun 3 (UNI) In a surprise move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday joined a class 12 students virtual session organised by the Ministry of Education and asked the students to utilise their time productively post exam cancellation. Class 12 students and their parents gathered for the virtual session organised by the Ministry of Education were in for a pleasant surprise when the Prime Minister joined the session in an impromptu move. The session was organised by the Ministry of Education in view of the cancellation of the CBSE Class 12 board exams. The Prime Minister started with 'Hope I did not disturb your online meeting' to the surprised student who broke into smiles seeing their Prime Minister amidst them. Going with the spirit of the moment Mr Modi noted the lifting of exam pressure and shared light moments with relieved students. He put students at ease by sharing personal anecdotes. When a student from Panchkula talked of ongoing tension of exams for last so many days, the Prime Minister asked him about the sector of his residence and informed that he too stayed in the locality for a very long time. Children opened up with the Prime Minister and shared their concerns and views freely. A student from Solan, Himachal Pradesh thanked the Prime Minister for cancelling the exams in the midst of the pandemic and hailed it as a good decision. One of the students lamented that some people are not following the COVID protocols of wearing masks, maintaining social distance, etc. She also elaborated on the awareness activities organised by her in her locality. There was a clear relief among the student as they were worried about the danger of the pandemic, most of them thanked the Prime Minister for the decision of cancelling the exams. Parents also took the decision very positively. In the spirit of the open and healthy discussion, the Prime Minister in an extempore gesture, called all the parents to join the interaction. When the Prime Minister asked about the sudden vacuum after exams were cancelled a student replied "Sir, you have said that exams should be celebrated as a festival. So, there was no fear in my mind for examinations." She, a student from Guwahati gave credit to the Prime Minister's book 'Exam Warriors' which she was reading since class 10th. Students also mentioned Yoga as a big help in coping with the uncertain times. The interaction was so spontaneous that the Prime Minister had to devise a way of organising it. He asked all the students to write their identification number on a piece of paper so that he could call and coordinate the interaction. Enthusiastic students followed the system happily. The Prime Minister had to direct the discussion away from the exam cancellation decision in order to expand the topics of the discussion. Students and parents responded with wide ranging things from dance, youtube music channels, exercise and politics. The Prime Minister asked them to research and write an essay on India's 75 years of Independence specially with reference to their areas. In the meeting, the Prime Minister lauded the students for their team spirit which was seen during the second wave of COVID-19, through their public participation and teamwork. The Prime Minister asked the students whether they will watch the IPL, Champions League or wait for the Olympics or International Yoga Day to which a student replied that she has now got enough time to prepare for the entrance exam for the college admissions. The Prime Minister asked the students to utilise their time productively post exam cancellation. The Government on Tuesday decided to cancel the CBSE Class 12th board exams for the year 2021 over the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the country and keeping the safety of students in mind. UNI NY PS2303 Forest City, NC (28043) Today A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight A few clouds. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable. A Gambol in Muir Woods, the Pelican Inn, and Muir Beach Where can you see some of the tallest trees on earth, dine at a British pub, and relax on a picturesque beach? The answer lies in Marin County, California, about 20 miles north of San Francisco. My husband and I recently spent the day there, hiking in Muir Woods, lunching at the Pelican Inn, and viewing the scenery of Muir Beach. We had a great day, though there was one outrage and one disappointment. I will come to those presently. Muir Woods, which is only 558 acres and is named after conservationist John Muir, is filled with redwood trees that tower up to heights of 250 feet. Some of the trees are over 1,000 years old. There are easily accessible loop trails where visitors can see some of the most famous trees, but my husband and I took a higher trail to leave the crowds behind. Looking down on the Redwood Creek Trail. (Courtesy of Karen Gough) We make a good hiking pair. He keeps me from getting lost, finds restrooms for us, and keeps up the pace, while I point out butterflies or wildflowers or call a halt so we can listen to trees creaking in the wind. Hiking along the Fern Creek Trail. (Courtesy of Karen Gough) The trails in Muir Woods are well marked, and there is educational signage. Speaking of which, we come to the outrageous part of our day. There was a sign telling visitors about the founding of Muir Woods and how it was established through the efforts of William and Elizabeth Kent, Gifford Pinchot, and President Theodore Roosevelt (who established more national parks than any other president). Original sign about the history of Muir Woods. (Courtesy of Karen Gough) Then there was another sign put up by the National Park Service (NPS). Here it is: The woke addition. (Courtesy of Karen Gough) Can you guess why we were upset? The NPS saw fit to educate us by pointing out that the story revolves around three rich, powerful, White men. Rich. Powerful. White. With those three words, the NPS saw fit to disparage the remarkable contributions of these three men because of their race and gender. Yet they condescend to lecture us about gender and raceWhats their gender, whats their race?and advise us to get the whole story by visiting their website. So we did. One article in particular drew our attention: How Women Saved Muir Woods purports to set the record straight by explaining how a committee of women called The California Club tried to save Redwood Canyon by raising $80,000. They failed. The article also takes pains to point out how black women campaigned to improve environmental issues. The example they give is how these women fought to improve sanitation and safety in their own neighborhoodsan important issue surely, but it has nothing to do with saving redwoods. After reading the article, I had a simple question: Why cant the NPS include the story of these women without denigrating the men who established the park? Luckily, we didnt let the sign ruin our day and continued hiking. Redwoods that were burned but not destroyed. Redwoods are resistant to fire. (Courtesy of Karen Gough) Wildflowers growing among ferns and trees. (Courtesy of Karen Gough) Leaving Muir Woods, we drove three miles to the Pelican Inn. Located at 10 Pacific Way, Muir Beach, California, the inn is a beautiful homage to a 16th-century English pub. It was built in 1978 by an Englishman named Charles Felix. Charles came from a family of pub owners (publicans) in Essex, England. On a trip through the San Francisco Bay Area years ago, he fell in love with the Marin coast and decided to build an inn there. It took almost a decade of wading through bureaucratic challenges, but he and his family finally succeeded in building the inn. Charles sketched the design, acted as the contractor, and with the help of his then 15-year-old daughter, even raised and installed the main beam. Supposedly, the building materials were shipped over from England, but Charles himself is quoted as saying that the beams came from a warehouse built by prisoners in San Quentin, California. Regardless, the inn looks and feels authentic. Patrons line up on Memorial Day to order food and drink. (Courtesy of Karen Gough) The inn is painted white (to ward off evil spirits) and is filled with historical touches such as hardwood floors, large fireplaces, long wooden tables, Persian carpets, and canopy beds. Many years ago, my husband and I spent an autumn night there. We thoroughly enjoyed eating a traditional pub dinner by a roaring fire, and later, reading ghost stories out loud in the canopied bed. The dining room, which is cozy in winter. (Courtesy of Karen Gough) Karen Gough seated in a hidden nook. (Courtesy of Karen Gough) Unfortunately, on this day our lunch disappointed us. The inn is no longer under Charles Felixs management; he sold in the early 1990s and passed away in 2016. Whether its that, or the suffering the inn experienced during the government-mandated shutdown, is hard to tell. All I can say is that despite the good service of the shorthanded staff, and the charming ambience of the partially-opened inn, the servings left much to be desired. We had beef stew and shepherds pie. My stew was lukewarm, watery, and small. My husband could have eaten two or three of the pies. They were out of bread, and everything was too expensive. I still recommend going there if only for the thirst-quenching draft beer and British fish and chips. Lets hope the Pelican Inn gets back on track, because it is a gem that should be preserved. The bar room. (Courtesy of Karen Gough) After lunch, we took a half-mile stroll down the Middle Green Gulch Trail to Muir Beach. Hikers return along the Green Gulch Trail to the Pelican Inn. (Courtesy of Karen Gough) Muir Beach lies within a protected cove. I didnt observe any riptides, and I saw several people swimming, though it had to be cold. There was no lifeguard. We sat on a bench overlooking the strand and enjoyed watching bathers gambol on the beach, most of them maskless and free. A bench near the trailhead to the Tennessee Beach Loop. (Courtesy of Karen Gough) Muir Beach lies in a protected cove in the Marin Headlands. (Courtesy of Karen Gough) I recommend spending time in the Marin Headlands, where you can hike, enjoy the beach, or admire the redwoods. And dont forget to top it off with a beer at the Pelican Inn. If you go: Parking reservations are required for Muir Woods. $8.50 for standard vehicle. GoMuirWoods.com or call 1-800-410-2419 Muir Woods entry fee: adults (16 and over) $15 Free or discounted passes to military, seniors, disabled people, and fourth-grade students. Visitors can also purchase an annual national park pass at the visitor center. For more information, go to their website. Karen Gough is a writer and travel enthusiast. She shares her familys travel tales at thefootloosescribbler.com Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 11, 2021. (Greg Nash/Pool/Getty Images) ABC Reporter Told Fauci She Wouldnt Jeopardize Him, Emails Show A reporter for ABC News told Dr. Anthony Fauci last year that she would do nothing that would jeopardize him, according to newly released emails. l know you are in a unique situation and I want you to know that I respect that and would never put you in a situation with my correspondence that would jeopardize you in anyway, Kyra Phillips, the reporter, wrote to Fauci on Feb. 27, 2020 [page 230]. Fauci responded the next day by thanking Phillips. The emails were obtained by BuzzFeed News through a Freedom of Information Act request. ABC News and Phillips did not respond to requests for comment. Other members of the media also wrote to Fauci, the longtime head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. David Bradley, the chairman of Atlantic Media, which owns The Atlantic, alerted the doctor to his medias coverage of him as a heartthrob. I am only one of your millions of followers who feel in your debt. But, I am the only one with a magazine that has dedicated a whole article to the thirst for Tony Fauci,' Bradley wrote [pages 1506 and 1507]. The article was focused on how some Americans had supposedly fallen in love with Fauci. Bradley didnt return an inquiry. Fauci forwarded the email to a person whose name was redacted, telling the person: David Bradley is the Chairman of The Atlantic. Geeez . To Bradley, he wrote, Many thanks for sending this. I could not have even begun to make this up .. Please stay safe and well. In another case, New York Times reporter Sheila Kaplan complained to staffers at the National Institutes of Health in the wake of a rejected request to speak with Dr. Francis Collins, the head of the agency. Why were we told we could not do an interview, when, after our request, he did one with The Atlantic. You referred us to Dr. Fauci but he isnt talking, either. This doesnt seem fair to us. Can we really not speak to either of them for a story this weekend? Kaplan wrote [pages 1997 to 2002]. Forwarded the message, Fauci said he did not recall getting a request from the reporter. I am completely swamped and so it may have just gotten buried in a pile and I did not see it. I apologize. I am mostly locked into the White House where we must give up our phones and so it makes it very difficult for me to return calls. I talk to Francis all the time and he is very well versed in these issues. He will do a fine job of providing you with the information you need. If you would still like to speak with me later on, we can try to make that work. Again, I am sorry if you felt snubbed, Fauci wrote. Collins later informed Fauci that he spoke to Kaplan, who greatly appreciated your message of apology. Kaplan did not immediately return a request for comment. Then-New York Times reporter Donald McNeil Jr. wrote to Fauci one day in February 2020 to muse about the differences between Chinese people and Americans. The truth is that a lot of average Chinese behaved incredibly heroically in the face of the virus, he said. In contrast, in America, people tend to act like selfish pigs interested only in saving themselves, he claimed [pages 346 to 347]. McNeil told The Epoch Times via email that he stands by every word he wrote. He referenced how some Americans wanted evacuated cruise ship passengers kept out of the country and how some people were hoarding masks, gloves, and other items. The reporter, who was pushed out earlier this year, also told Fauci that he was buying a bobblehead of the doctor. That bobblehead was a gift to his girlfriend, he said. Chinese virologist Shi Zhengli is seen inside the P4 laboratory in Wuhan, China, on Feb. 23, 2017. (Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images) Amid New Calls for COVID Origin Probe, Lawmakers in US, Canada Scrutinize Use of Federal Resources in Wuhan Lab News Analysis Amid new calls for a transparent investigation into the origin of COVID-19, a parallel situation is unfolding in both Canada and the United States, where lawmakers are seeking clarity on how their federal resources provided to the Wuhan virology research facility were used. In the United States, the controversy is around a US$3.7 million grant given by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to the New York-based EcoHealth Alliance for understanding the risk of bat coronavirus emergence, of which US$600,000 was channelled to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) over a period of five years. In Canada, mystery surrounds the firing of 2018 Governor Generals Innovation Award winner scientist Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding Cheng, from the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) in Winnipeg, along with Qius several trips to the WIV, the transfer of deadly viruses from the NML to the WIV, and the NMLs collaboration with Chinese military scientists. The WIV is the only lab facility in China rated level 4, the highest level of biosafety, indicating that its equipped to handle the deadliest infectious viruses. Winnipegs NML is also the only level 4 lab in Canada. Lab Safety Level In the final days of the Trump administration, the U.S. State Department issued a fact sheet saying that several WIV researchers became ill with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and common seasonal illnesses in autumn 2019, before the Chinese regime officially declared the first case of the illness. This raises questions about the credibility of WIV senior researcher Shi Zhenglis public claim that there was zero infection among the WIVs staff and students of SARS-CoV-2 or SARS-related viruses, the State Department said. A passenger wearing a protective gear and a face mask waits in line at an airline counter at Tianhe airport in Wuhan, in Chinas central Hubei province on May 23, 2020. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images) A Wall Street Journal report published on May 23 said that, according to a previously undisclosed U.S. intelligence report, three WIV researchers sought hospital care with COVID-like symptoms in November 2019, about a month before the regime identified the first case of the disease. Those cases gave the issue of safety levels observed at the Wuhan lab greater importance. In an interview with Science Magazine, Shi said her groups research on coronavirus is performed at safety levels 2 or 3. Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist at the Rutgers University and a lab biosafety expert, says performing research on bat coronaviruses in level 2 safety environments poses great risk to personnel. [T]he bat-SARS-related-coronavirus projects at the Wuhan Institute of Virology used personal protective equipment (usually just gloves; sometimes not even gloves) and biosafety standards (usually just biosafety level 2) that would pose very high risk of infection of field-collection, field-survey, or laboratory staff upon contact with a virus having the transmission properties of SARS-CoV-2 [the virus causing COVID-19], Ebright told the Independent Science Review. The nature of the work at the WIV was serious enough for U.S. Embassy diplomats in Beijing to visit the facility several times in late 2017 and early 2018, the Washington Post reported. In cables sent to Washington, the diplomats reported that WIV scientists have found a number of new bat coronaviruses that could infect humans and warned that the lab didnt meet top safety standards. Nicholas Wade, an author and science journalist, questions the wisdom of U.S. government grants funding high-risk research at foreign labs that dont observe adequate safety precautions. Whether or not SARS2 [SARS-CoV-2] is the product of that research, it seems a questionable policy to farm out high-risk research to foreign labs using minimal safety precautions. And if the SARS2 virus did indeed escape from the Wuhan institute, then the NIH will find itself in the terrible position of having funded a disastrous experiment that led to the death of more than 3 million worldwide, including more than half a million of its own citizens, Wade wrote in a May 5 article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The issue of lab safety level at the WIV has also been raised in Canadas Parliament. Conservative MP Michael Chong rises during question period in the House of Commons on March 26, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press) During a May 10 meeting of the Special Committee on Canada-China Relations, Michael Chong, Conservative shadow minister for foreign affairs, pointed out that Qiu travelled to China to meet with WIV personnel to establish a level 4 safety lab, and that the pandemic emerged from Wuhan. Dr. Qiu trained people at the Wuhan Institute of Virology so that it could be registered as a level 4 lab, the only level 4 lab in China. Why is that relevant? Its because the State Department of our closest ally and trading partner said earlier this year that the standards at the lab were not upheld, that they werent operating to level 4 criteria, that they were often operating with very dangerous viruses at level 2 or level 3, Chong said. In an interview with The Epoch Times, Chong said its important for parliamentarians to learn more about the NML and Qius co-operation with WIV. If the intelligence community concludes that the virus did emerge from the lab in Wuhan, then the role that the Canadian government lab in Winnipeg played in helping build that lab becomes a critical question, he said. Gain-of-Function Studies One of the questions surrounding the WIV has been about gain-of-function (GoF) studies and whether Canadian or American resources were involved in any such research. GoF research involves increasing the lethal level (virulence) or transmissibility of pathogens in order to better understand and predict the emergence of disease-causing agents so that a solution can be devised before the disease emerges as a pandemic. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, gives an opening statement during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing to discuss the on-going federal response to COVID-19, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on May 11, 2021. (Greg Nash/Pool via Reuters) Both the NIH and its National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)which funded the EcoHealth Alliance researchdeny ever having approved any grants for GoF research on coronaviruses. EcoHealth Alliance also denies channelling NIH money for GoF research and gave The Washington Posts Fact Checker a definition of GoF that reads, gain of function research is the specific process of altering human viruses in order to increase their ability (the titular gain of function) either to spread amongst populations, to infect people, or to cause more severe illness. But some dispute this narrow definition, saying instead that GoF doesnt only apply to human viruses but to all viruses. The NIH has been listed as a funding source on papers published based on work at the WIV that enhance the transmissibility of coronaviruses. The research wasunequivocallygain-of-function research, scientist Ebright told The Washington Posts Fact Checker. U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) insists that U.S. funding was used for GoF in Wuhan. While many still deny funding gain-of-function research in Wuhan, experts believe otherwise, Paul said in a May 25 statement. NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci refutes this claim and defends the use of U.S. funding in studying coronavirus transmission from bats to humans in China, saying it generates important knowledge as to what happened with the SARS disease in order to help prevent future pandemics. Clearly the bats that have the coronaviruses are in China. As Ive said a couple of times, its not in Fairfax County, Virginia, or in New York, its in China, Fauci said at a U.S. Senate hearing on May 26. The Trump administration terminated NIH funding to EcoHealth Alliance for its research at the WIV in April 2020. However, it reinstated the grant in July that year but required all activities to remain suspended until the lab met certain conditions. Paul was among a group of senators who sponsored an amendment to a bill to ban the funding of any GoF research in China. The U.S. Senate passed the bill on May 25. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 16, 2020. (Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images) The amendment defines GoF as any research project that may be reasonably anticipated to confer attributes to influenza, MERS, or SARS viruses such that the virus would have enhanced pathogenicity or transmissibility in mammals. Fauci was challenged about GoF work at the Wuhan labs using his own definition during the U.S. Senate hearing on May 26. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) asked how Fauci can be sure the Chinese side didnt lie to you and use the money for gain-of-function research anyway? Fauci conceded that theres no way of guaranteeing that the Chinese side did not conduct GoF research with U.S. funding in secret. He added that the Chinese recipients of the grants for Wuhan lab research are very competent, trustworthy scientists. A somewhat similar conversation played out during a Canadian parliamentary committee meeting in March, at which MPs asked the head of Winnipegs NML whether any GoF research was done with deadly virus samples that had been sent to the WIV a year earlier. In March 2019, NML scientist Qiu had arranged to send samples of Ebola and Henipah viruses to China, according to CBC. Lab authorities say that no coronavirus samples have been sent to WIV. During a meeting of the Canada-China relations committee on March 22, Conservative MP Garnett Genuis asked whether the Chinese side conducts any GoF research with the deadly viruses shipped from Canada. NMLs acting scientific director general Guillaume Poliquin replied that Canada wouldnt approve sending samples for such experiments. Poliquin said one of the essential aspects of the transfer process for viruses is that the NML must receive a letter expressing the intent of the receiving institute. Conservative MP John Williamson rises during Question Period in the House of Commons in Ottawa on April 13, 2021. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) Conservative MP John Williamson pressed further, asking whether such a letter is regarded as the truth and nothing but the truth, and if NML does any investigation to ensure the Chinese side is being honest about its intent. Poliquin responded by relaying the WIVs expressed intended use, saying the institute wanted to understand the nature of infection and help in the development of antivirals, and that further probe into the lab isnt possible. Neither Canada nor the National Microbiology Laboratory has the standing to investigate or audit laboratories, Poliquin said. Williamson called the response an astonishing admission. Youre taking a request from a nation that has a history of theft and lies, and accepting that because its what the law in this country says, that this is sufficient, at a time when our national security institutes are warning academia in general to be very careful, he said. China Ties NIH grant recipient EcoHealth Alliance is one of eight organizations, along with the World Health Organization, listed on the WIVs website in the partnership section. Its the WIVs only partner in North America. The non-profit research organization has had professional and financial ties with WIVs researcher Shi since at least 2003, according to an April 16 letter issued by Republican senators to EcoHealth Alliances head Peter Daszak asking him questions related to the virus origin. Shi, nicknamed bat woman by her peers, leads the research on bat coronaviruses at the WIV. Peter Daszak (C) and other members of the World Health Organization team leave after attending an exhibition about the fight against COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, on Jan. 30, 2021. (Ng Han Guan/AP) Daszak is one of the co-authors of a statement published early in the virus outbreak, on Feb. 19, 2020, in the influential medical journal The Lancet, that dismissed any suggestion besides a natural origin for the virus as a conspiracy theory. The co-authors declared no competing interests in the statement even though Daszaks organization was channelling U.S. government funding to the WIV. Theres a revival of calls in the scientific and intelligence community noting that a natural origin for the virus has not been confirmed and that a lab leak hypothesis cant be dismissed. On May 26, U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement that he has tasked the U.S. Intelligence Community with investigating the issue further to bring us closer to a definitive conclusion and to report back in 90 days. Documents obtained by the non-profit investigative research group U.S. Right to Know show that Daszak and his EcoHealth Alliance were the main organizers of the statement in The Lancet. After Fauci downplayed the theory that the virus could have come from a lab last year, Daszak sent him an email thanking him for his position, documents recently released to several media outlets under freedom of information requests show. I just wanted to say a personal thank you on behalf of our staff and collaborators, for publicly standing up and stating that the scientific evidence supports a natural origin for COVID-19 from a bat-to-human spillover, not a lab release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Daszak wrote to Fauci on April 18, 2020. Many thanks for your kind note, Fauci wrote back. Daszak was also part of a WHO team that investigated the virus origin earlier this year, which said a lab leak theory was extremely unlikely. The WHOs assessment was contradicted by several scientists and even WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who said further investigation is needed. Daszak said in a 2018 conference sponsored by a Chinese state media outlet that his organization has received money from the Chinese regime in addition to the United States. The Epoch Times reached out to Daszak and EcoHealth Alliance for comment but didnt hear back. The National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg on May 19, 2009. (John Woods/The Canadian Press) In the case of the NML in Winnipeg, Qiu, Cheng, and several Chinese students were escorted out of the lab on July 5, 2019, amid an RCMP investigation. The scientist couple was later formally fired in January 2021. Qiu organized the transfer of Ebola and Henipah from the NML to the WIV in March 2019, according to CBC. The Public Health Agency of Canada has said the couples dismissal is not connected to the virus shipment and described the reason as being due to a policy breach. Despite repeated requests by MPs on the Canada-China parliamentary committee, so far the government hasnt released details to parliamentarians as to why the two scientists were removed. Besides releasing a set of heavily redacted documents, which the opposition MPs say dont provide substantive details, the government says it cannot provide additional information due to confidentiality and privacy obligations. On June 2, opposition MPs outvoted the governing Liberals to pass a Conservative motion demanding the release of documents related to the firing of the scientists from the NML to parliamentarians. Qiu, who has a medical degree from the Hebei Medical University and a masters from the Tianjin Medical University, reportedly moved to Canada in 1996. During her time at the NML, she travelled several times to China in an official capacity and helped train personnel at WIV on level 4 safety. Citing documents obtained under freedom of information requests, the National Post reports that Qiu travelled to Wuhan in September 2017 and that she was invited to provide training for 714 days per trip, twice a year for two years. According to a May 12 article in The Globe and Mail, prior to their removal from the NML, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) had urged the removal of the couples security clearances due to national security concerns related to their work with the WIV. Citing a federal source, the Globe said CSIS was concerned about the nature of information that was being passed on to the Wuhan lab and about intellectual property being compromised. A major revelation was made in a May 20 article by the Globe about collaborations that have taken place between seven NML scientists and Chinese military researchers. One of the researchers, a member of the Academy of Military Medical Sciences of Chinas Peoples Liberation Army, worked at the NML for a period of time. This was highly criticized by opposition MPs after it came to light. How could scientists with deep connections to the Chinese military be able to gain access to a high-level Canadian security-cleared laboratory with the worlds most dangerous viruses? MP Williamson asked in the House of Commons on June 1. The Epoch Times contacted Qiu and Cheng for comment but didnt hear back. With reporting by Frank Fang and Jack Phillips and a file from The Associated Press Leader of the Opposition Anthony Albanese makes his closing remarks at the end of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) National Conference at the Revesby Workers Club in Sydney, Wednesday, March 31, 2021. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas) Australian PMs China Stance Is Politically Motivated: Opposition Leader Australian Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has taken aim at the prime ministers handling of Australias relations with China, claiming it is politically motivated and has put the countrys resources industry at risk. Albanese delivered the remarks at the launch of Minerals Weekhosted by the Mineral Council of Australiawhile outlining the Australian Labor Partys (ALP) vision for the $200 billion sector, including support for a gradual transition towards renewable energies. As the world moves to a low-carbon future, demand for some resources will decline. But there will be strong demand for other resources, particularly those needed for growth sectors like electric vehicles and batteries, Albanese told attendees. The opposition leader said the federal government was undermining the industry with its handling of relations with Beijing. (Prime Minister) Scott Morrison has no long-term strategy to deal with a changing China that is pressing its interests more assertively, while finding areas of potential cooperation, including on trade, that are in both our countries interests, he said. This combination of pictures created on May 26, 2021, shows recent portraits of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (L) and Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping (R). (Paul Kane, Jason Lee-Pool/Getty Images Mr Morrison is making the grave error of prioritising his domestic political interests over Australias national interests, he added. Australian needs more strategy and less politics when it comes to managing our differences with China. Albaneses comments echoed those of Opposition Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Penny Wong in May, who accused the prime minister of exploiting concerns around China for political gain. My concern is that not only does he not fully comprehend Australias interests in relation to China, he doesnt even seek to. As with everything else he does, he only seeks to understand his political opportunity, she said. Australia has been on the receiving end of a year-long economic coercion campaign from Beijing in retaliation for Foreign Minister Marise Payne calls for an independent investigation into the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the disease that causes COVID-19. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has targeted a range of Australias exports to China via the suspension of trade or the arbitrary application of tariffs, including coal, beef, wine, barley, lobster, timber, lamb, and cotton. Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Wong also added that Morrison was encouraging anxiety around a possible conflict with China. Australias Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Senator Penny Wong speaks to the media alongside the leader of the opposition, Anthony Albanese, in Melbourne, Australia, on May 18, 2021. (AAP Image/Daniel Pockett) She was referring to comments by Defence Minister Peter Dutton, who said the conflict over Taiwan could not be discounted. Days later, Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo issued a stern warning for Australia to be prepared while warning that the drums of war were beating in the region. Recent comments from Peter Dutton and a senior official about the prospect of war might well inflame nationalistic sentiments and secure a grab the six oclock news, Albanese said. But foreign policy is not a game. Its not a photo-op. Its a serious business with profound security and economic implications. Liberal Senator James Paterson said it was risky to promote a different foreign policy from the federal government. Because it aids the Chinese Communist Party in its work. It would like nothing more than Australians to be divided, he told Sky News Australia. He added that the ALP leader might be looking for an issue to unite his party. Albanese has faced pressure from fellow ALP member of Parliament Joel Fitzgibbon, who has warned party leadership against pursuing the interests of inner-city progressive voters over the needs of their traditional blue-collar voting base. The issue was spotlighted following the recent state byelection result in the coal-mining Upper Hunter electorate that saw the New South Wales ALP lose seven percent of its primary vote compared to the previous election. Meanwhile, the ALPs criticism of the Morrison government claiming it is not exploring areas of potential cooperation with Beijing, stands in contrast to shifting public sentiment thataccording to Chen Weijian, editor at New Zealand-based magazine Beijing Springis forcing the current U.S. administration and leaders in the European Union to take a tougher stance on Beijing. The entire international society is changing. It is reflecting on the past policies toward the CCP, he told The Epoch Times. Migrants board a bus after being apprehended near the border between Mexico and the United States in Del Rio, Texas, on May 16, 2021. (Sergio Flores/AFP via Getty Images) Biden Admin Is Still Using a Trump-Era Order to Expel Migrants Despite Ending Remain in Mexico The Biden administration continues rapidly expelling most migrants under a Trump-era public health order despite ending the former administrations Remain in Mexico program, officials announced Tuesday. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas formally ended the Trump administrations Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) requiring people to wait in Mexico as their cases proceeded through immigration courts. However, the Biden administration continues to rapidly expel most migrants under the Trump-era Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) public health order known as Title 42 implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Customs and Border Protection officials expelled around 295,000 migrants at the southern border under Title 42 from February through April, according to the agency. Mayorkas said border officials will continue exercising Title 42 removals in accordance with CDC guidelines, the DCNF reported. Now that DHS Secretary Mayorkas ended the Migrant Protection Protocols, asylum seekers who had to wait in Mexico during the Trump administration will be processed through the immigration court system inside the United States, Syracuse University Assistant Research Professor Dr. Austin Kocher told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Yet the move signals that the Biden administration will not be using that particular approach to managing the border going forward, Kocher told the DCNF. At the same time, the administration continues to turn back migrants back at the borderincluding many new asylum seekersunder the Title 42 policy that was implemented under the Trump administration. Mayorkas conducted a review of MPP and decided the program should end since enrolled migrants werent always able to attend their immigration hearings in the U.S. because of unsafe conditions and a lack of access to resources in Mexico. Immigration court hearings regarding MPP cases were paused in March 2020 due to COVID-19. In some ways, the termination of MPP is a formality, Kocher said. The Biden administration stopped enrolling new asylum seekers on day one of the administration. The program also burdened border officials, over 25 percent of migrants enrolled in MPP were apprehended attempting to illegally cross into the U.S., according to Mayorkas. The administration has not signaled if and when it might end the Title 42 policy, Kocher said. By Kaylee Greenlee From The Daily Caller News Foundation President Joe Biden, with Vice President Kamala Harris, speaks in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House, in Washington, on June 2, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) Biden Orders Ban on 59 Chinese Defense and Tech Firms WASHINGTONPresident Joe Biden signed an executive order on June 3, amending a Trump-era ban that prohibits U.S. investors from investing in Chinese military companies. The new order expands the previous prohibition list by adding more Chinese defense and surveillance technology firms. The order also moves the authority of selecting targeted companies to the Treasury Department from the Defense Department. Bidens order expands the scope of the national emergency declared by then-President Donald Trump last year and bans more companies involved in the development or use of Chinese surveillance technology to facilitate repression or serious human rights abuse. The order prohibits United States persons from engaging in the purchase or sale of any publicly traded securities of 59 entities listed in the annex of the executive order. Blacklisted companies include telecoms equipment maker Huawei, video surveillance manufacturer Hikvision, aerospace firm Aviation Industry Corp. of China, and state-run mobile operators China Mobile and China Telecom. The Treasury Department will continue to update the list of these Chinese entities. The selection will be determined by the Treasury secretary in consultation with the secretary of state and, if deemed appropriate, the Defense secretary, according to a White House factsheet. The ban list doesnt mention subsidiaries of these companies as the list is intentionally targeted and scoped, according to the factsheet. The Trump administration targeted 44 Chinese military companies and intended to include publicly traded subsidiaries that were 50 percent or more owned or determined to be controlled by those companies. The new order, however, shrinks the scope of the ban by excluding subsidiaries. The investment prohibitions will take effect on Aug. 2, but investors are permitted to make trades to divest their holding until June 3, 2022. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) raised concerns about Bidens move to shift the authority to the Treasury Department. We know for a fact that Wall Street is helping to finance the Chinese Communist Partys effort to weaken and ultimately replace American leadership, Rubio said in a statement. While the administration updated the Trump-era policy in important ways, I am very concerned that President Bidens Treasury Department is too closely aligned with Wall Street to take the actions necessary to prevent American savings from being used to fund the Chinese Communist Party. In his final weeks in office, Trump took swift action to ban investments in Chinese military companies, in an effort to curb Beijings access to lucrative U.S. capital markets. Trumps order aimed to curb U.S. pension and retirement fund investments in companies that support the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Many of these companies are publicly traded on stock exchanges around the world and are tracked by major indexes such as MSCI and FTSE. The American Securities Association (ASA), which represents regional Main Street financial services companies, welcomed the new executive order. ASA strongly supports todays action by the Biden Administration to prioritize Americas economic and national security interests by continuing the previous Administrations crackdown on Communist Chinas infiltration of the U.S. capital markets, ASA CEO Chris Iacovella said in a statement. For far too long, the CCP has taken advantage of regulatory loopholes to fund its military rise, a cyber army that attacks us, re-education camps used to perpetrate crimes against humanity on its own citizens, the use of slave labor in violation of international law, and its new position as the worlds leading polluter. Hungary's oldest bridge, the Chain Bridge (Lanchid), over the Danube River in downtown Budapest. In the background stands the Buda Palace. (Attila Kisbenedek /AFP/Getty Images) Budapest Names Streets at Planned Chinese University After Uyghurs, Hong Kong BUDAPESTThe liberal opposition mayor of Budapest announced on Wednesday he would rename streets in the Hungarian capital near a planned campus of a Chinese university to commemorate alleged human rights abuses by Beijing. One street will be named after the Dalai Lama, exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, labelled a dangerous separatist by Beijing. Another will be called Uyghur Martyrs Road after the mainly Muslim ethnic group that Washington and other capitals say has been victim of a Chinese genocide, and a third will be called Free Hong Kong Road. A fourth street will be renamed after a Chinese Catholic bishop who was jailed. Activists hold a Tibetan flag next to a street sign in a street renamed Martyrs of Uyghur, near the planned site of the Chinese Fudan University campus, in Budapest, Hungary, on June 2, 2021. (Bernadett Szabo/Reuters) China denies repressing human rights. A few Hungarian politicians are trying to hype up China-related issues in order to grab attention and obstruct China-Hungary cooperation. This behaviour is contemptible, said Wang Wenbin, Chinas foreign ministry spokesman. The renamed streets will converge at an area where Chinas Fudan University is planning to open a campus offering masters programmes in liberal arts, medicine, business, and engineering for 6,000 students with 500 faculty. This Fudan project would put in doubt many of the values that Hungary committed itself to 30 years ago at the fall of Communism, said Mayor Gergely Karacsony, a liberal opposition figure who plans to run next year to unseat Viktor Orban, Hungarys right-wing prime minister. Orbans liberal opponents accuse him of coshing up to China, Russia, and other illiberal governments, while angering European allies by curbing the independence of the judiciary and media. Central European University, Hungarys leading private university, relocated most operations to neighbouring Austria in 2019 after Orbans government enacted legal changes that jeopardised its status. Karacsony told reporters the Chinese campus would cost Hungarian taxpayers nearly $2 billion and went against an earlier deal with the government to build dormitories and facilities for Hungarian students in the district. The government has defended the project: The presence of Fudan University means that it will be possible to learn from the best in the world, Tama Schanda, deputy minister for innovation and technology said last week. According to an opinion poll by liberal think tank Republikon Institute published on Tuesday, 66 percent of Hungarians oppose and 27 percent support the idea of the campus. Fudan has brought the topic of relations with China to the forefront of politics, said Tamas Matura, a lecturer at Corvinus University and expert on China. Orban has faced criticism over a deal to reconstruct the Budapest-Belgrade railway with a $2.1 billion Chinese loan, and for his fast-track approval of a Chinese coronavirus vaccine which still has not been approved in the EU. His government says the Chinese doses have helped accelerate the vaccine programme, and the road funding will improve Hungarys transport links. Buyer Beware: Scams Are on the Rise, Say California Officials From online dating deceptions to merchandise fraud, officials in California say theyre seeing an increase in scams during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We saw particularly pernicious fraud from unscrupulous individuals or businesses seeking to take advantage of people, a San Mateo District Attorneys Office spokesperson told The Epoch Times. Consumers who would otherwise shop in person have turned to online sellers to purchase necessities. With the popularity of online shopping rising throughout the pandemic, scammers have taken advantage of online platforms to fool residents, legal professionals have said. Common scams have involved products or services that are exchanged through online communication, mail, or the phone. California was the state with the highest number of victims and money lost last year, according to a Comparitech report. Victims in the Golden State lost about $621 million to fraud last year, the report said. Following California was New York with $416 million, Texas with $314 million, and Florida with $295 million. As the most populous state, California ranked 14th most heavily impacted state last year, based on victims per 1,000 people. Delaware was the most heavily impacted state. Pandemic Problems Scammers have attempted to lure Californians into a variety of scams during the past year, including sham investments, loans, free gifts, and promises of romance. Family and friend scams are also circulating by con artists impersonating loved ones in distress, claiming theyre in trouble and urgently need funds. General merchandise sales offered online also contributed to the top list of scams as more individuals have found themselves shopping from behind a computer screen. When the first round of pandemic shutdowns occurred in California, a senior citizen in San Mateo County purchased a new laptop so that he could communicate with his family. It was shortly discovered that the website he purchased the computer from was illegitimate, and the senior didnt receive his laptop, law officials said. COVID-19 vaccine scams are also emerging as doses become more accessible to Californians. In March 2021, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health released a statement warning residents about scammers using the fear and confusion about COVID-19 to steal personal information and money from people. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued warning signs that might indicate a vaccine scam, such as offers to buy a vaccine and have it mailed, and other secret sources to the vaccine. It urged residents to take precautions and familiarize themselves with scam tactics to prevent being victimized. Other COVID-19 related scams included government economic stimulus checks and contact tracers that let people know if theyve been exposed to the virus. In June 2020, then-attorney general Xavier Becerra warned residents in a statement not to fall for these scams. Legitimate contact tracers would not ask for personal information such as a social security number, he said. The state itself appears to have been victimized by scammers during the pandemic through fraudulent California Employment Development Department (EDD) unemployment claims. Between March 2020 and January 16, 2021, EDD processed 19.5 million claims and paid out $114 billion in unemployment benefits, EDD said in a January statement. EDD confirmed that 9.7 percent of payments have been made to fraudulent claims. EDD also identified that up to an additional 17 percent of payments made during this time have been made to potentially fraudulent claims. It means that of the paid $114 billion in benefits, more than $11 billion is fraudulent, and more than $30 billion is potentially fraudulent. As a result of the widespread fraud, EDD has taken precautions on how to detect and prevent fraud. With the recently implemented anti-fraud tools and working closely with our sister agencies and law enforcement partners, EDD is better positioned to stop fraud before it occurs, an EDD spokesperson told The Epoch Times. EDD has stopped payments on those higher-risk claims and has communicated to those affected that we will be requiring to identify verification. Despite efforts to reduce fraud, EDD faces challenges of scammers attempting to mislead people into giving out personal information. In May, it warned residents of text alerts from scammers pretending to be from EDD or Bank of America. The messages attempt to convince victims to share personal information through fraudulent account verification links. The EDD advises residents to never click the links in text messages and always verify if notification is from EDD by checking its website. Vulnerable Victims While anyone can be a victim of scams, those targeted are often the elderly, or young people whove yet to develop the life skills necessary to identify a potential scam. According to the San Mateo District Attorneys office, those aged 65 and older, and consumers 24 years old and younger are most likely to be victimized. In San Mateo County, the percentage of complaints from consumers aged 25 years and younger increased by about 30 percent. Complaints in the older age demographic increased by 16 percent year-over-year. For consumers aged 25 and under, the top three most reported fraud categories were Internet merchandise scams, fake check scams, and romance scams, the San Mateos District Attorneys Office spokesperson said. For those 65 and older, the top complaint categories were prize [or] sweepstake scams, phishing [or] spoofing, and internet merchandise scams. Signs of a Scam Learning the signs of scams can prevent residents from falling for one. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), four signs of scams include scammers pretending to be from the government, or scammers insisting there is an emergency or claiming youve won a prize. Some con arts create a false sense of urgency by threatening to arrest, sue, or deport the victim. There are also crooks that demand to be paid in specific ways. To help prevent fraud, residents can take precautions such as blocking unwanted messages and calls. The FTC advises that people resist the signs of scams by not making decisions quickly, not paying in insisted and specific ways, and talking to someone they trust about a potential scamming incident. UW Professor Chosen to Present at National Cattle Industry Workshop Chris Bastian A University of Wyoming agricultural economics professor is one of nine presenters at a workshop called by the Committee on Agriculture in the U.S. House of Representatives to analyze cattle market issues, particularly related to price discovery. Chris Bastian, a UW professor of agriculture and applied economics, will present How Markets Work, which will examine price discovery, during the June 3-4 conference in Kansas City. The event is offered by the Agricultural and Food Policy Center (AFPC) at Texas A&M University. Bastians presentation is from a research article, titled How Market Institutions, Risks and Agent Incentives Affect Price Discovery: Fed Cattle Market Implications. It was written with Chian Jones Ritten, an associate professor, and Amy Nagler, an assistant research scientist, both in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The AFPC commissioned papers on specific industry topics from experts around the country. The papers and other workshop information will be submitted in a report to Congress at the end of the summer, and a book, published from the presented papers, will be available to the public. A conference focus is whether there should be intervention in fed cattle markets. The UW researchers, instead of policy intervention, support the use of a transparent electronic trading platform for spot market transactions to improve price discovery in fed cattle markets, which would use a double auction, such as that used in futures markets. We extend that suggestion here as an alternative for consideration to policies focused on mandating increased negotiated cash trade, they wrote in their paper. Research suggests that a double auction would likely be the best trading institution for such an endeavor. For markets, one policy fix being proposed would require packers to buy more cattle on a cash basis, which some argue would raise prices. If you dont understand more in-depth some of these risks and incentives, and some of the stuff thats going on in the market, you can look at that and think thats probably a really good idea to mandate packers have to buy more cattle on the cash market, Bastian says. But, if you understand the risks and incentives both buyers and sellers face in this market, our work suggests that thats really likely not going to fix all those problems. The UW research suggests some buyers and sellers would be better off; and some would be worse off, but supply and demand are largely determining general price levels. And these policy proposals are not going to fix the problems they think they are going to fix, he says. COVID-19 complicated two major factors that increased concerns in the market, Bastian says. Many worry the use of alternative marketing agreements reduces the volume of reported cash trades to the point reported cash prices do not reflect the true price of cattle. So, producers are concerned those negotiated agreements may not be using the right cash price as a base price, and thats where this concern over price discovery is coming from, he says. Packing plant closures were another factor. A fire shut down a packing plant last year, resulting in less demand for cattle and depressing prices for cattle until other plants purchased more cattle or increased capacity. COVID-19 illnesses among workers then shut down some plants periodically, further reducing demand for cattle. That resulted in less boxed beef sold to grocery stores and pushed beef prices up in stores. This caused a divergence of prices where beef prices went up in stores, but the prices packers were paying for live cattle went down. There was this impression that packers were really just making a ton of money off of live cattle and forcing cattle prices down, and really there were some supply and demand things going on that explain why those prices went that way, Bastian says. The reduced cattle demand drove down prices, he says. Bastian believes there is nothing illegal happening -- not something producers may want to hear, and understandably so, he adds. There are real concerns out there, and I understand why they have concerns, Bastian says. The problem is this is a very complex economic problem, and the simple fix thats being talked about really isnt going to address all of the risks and incentives that are creating these issues. For information about the conference, go to https://agrilifetoday.tamu.edu/2021/04/23/agricultural-and-food-policy-center-at-texas-am-to-host-vital-cattle-industry-workshop/. Cancel Culture Attacks Ellie Kemper and the St. Louis Veiled Prophets by Ignoring the Details Commentary Actress Ellie Kemper, best known for her roles in The Office and The Unbreakable Kimmie Schmidt, has been the center of a Twitter firestorm this week due to her past involvement in the St. Louis Veiled Prophet Ball. In 1999, Kemper was crowned the balls queen of love and beauty. Originally from Ladue, Missouri in St. Louis County, Kemper is from a well-to-do family and the organization has a history of reinforcing the ideals of a benevolent cultural elite. But recently, the organization has been compared to the KKK on Twitter because it did not allow black members until the 1970s. It was originally founded in 1878 as a fraternal order for white elites that offered events for the working class, but its history is far more complex than Twitter users may know. The Mystical Order of the Veiled Profit was based on the epic hero, the Veiled Prophet of Khorassan. This historical warrior was a religious leader from the Middle East who became the subject of a Thomas Moore poem, Lalla Rookh, in 1817. Some records state that he wore a veil after being hideously injured in battle, others say he covered himself to conceal his luminous presence. His followers believed that he could perform magic and that he was a manifestation of god. Being based on a legendary hero from another culture, the organization was not created in the name of racism or division. It was merely founded before desegregation, and so, catered to the white people who created it. After the civil rights movement, black members were eventually allowed to join, as was common with many other segregated societies like the Freemasons. By the time Ellie Kemper attended the annual Veiled Prophet ball and was crowned queen, black members had been admitted for 2 decades. Despite its history of division, The Veiled Profit Organization has committed itself to community service, and in modern times, vows that it is working to make St. Louis a better place to live for all, via their Veiled Profit Foundation. The ball is still a private event that includes a pageant and reception, but honors 60 or 70 young ladies for their outstanding community service efforts. Even so, these philanthropic actions have been downplayed, and the history of excluding black members until modern times has led some people to confuse them with the Klu Klux Klan, a white supremacist group expressly formed to suppress the rights of newly freed slaves. The state of current race relations does not differentiate between the two organizations despite their opposing origins. This correlation has some Twitter users decrying Ellie Kemper for being an actual member of the KKK. The veil worn to signify the memory of the Prophet of Khorassan has been mistaken as a KKK hood. It doesnt matter that The Veiled Prophets were in existence before the Klu Klux Klan formed, or that the garb is for religious purposes (not concealment), the pictures being circulated are leading the current narrative. To make matters worse, the Twitter mob also started attacking Kemper for her Ivy League education. Identity politics drove the conversation to assume that her alma mater, Princeton University, is a hotbed for racism. But according to Princetons inclusion report, 2016 was their most diverse year ever, with 43 percent of the class comprised of students of color. In addition, they have pledged to be a truly diverse community in which individuals of every gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status can flourish equally. We have made significant progress in recent years, especially in the diversity of our undergraduate student body. Other Twitter members claimed that rich people shouldnt be movie stars because its unethical, and correlated being rich to racism. Another Twitter member brought the topic full circle declaring the Veiled Prophets as a KKK for rich people. These ideas have gained plenty of likes and shares, but the full scope of their implications overlooks the freedoms that allow Americans to specifically make their own fortune regardless of what background they have. Ellie Kemper was born to a rich family, but she chose to apply to Princeton, earn her own way, and find work as beloved characters in shows with diverse casts. Based on her work alone, one may question the validity of Twitter claimswhich offer little to no context, or credibilitythat Kemper is affiliated with the KKK, or that the Veiled Prophet Organization is a white supremacist group. Knowing the full history of the Veiled Prophets themselves offers more insight into their meaning, evolution, and why women continue to attend their debutante ball. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A Chinese labourer stands near a furnace as he works at an unauthorized steel factory in Inner Mongolia, China on Nov. 3, 2016. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) China Fails to Threaten Iron Ore Market as Prices Soar Iron ore prices have flourished again despite a downward dive following Beijings promise to curb the minerals unabated market growth. Spot prices launched to an unprecedented, all-time high of US$230 per tonne earlier in May, followed by a sharp decline by 20 percent to US$183 two weeks later. However, values once again surpassed US$200 at the beginning of June and currently sit close to US$208. Australian Minister for Resources Keith Pitt stated in April that rising global iron ore prices came from strong production and demand from Chinathe worlds largest steel manufacturercompounded by shortfalls of supply from Brazil, the second-largest exporter of the resource after Australia. However, prices proceeded to plummet after crackdowns by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which accused the domestic industry sector of hoarding, monopolisation, price gouging, and other corrupt market practices. Workers cut steel at a factory in Huaibei, Anhui Province, China, on May 3, 2018. (AFP/Getty Images) In a message to commodity companies, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)the CCPs top economic planneralong with four other departments, issued a warning to organisations that a zero tolerance policy would be held for abusers. This included targeting businesses that were reaching agreements to implement monopoly, spreading false information, driving up prices, hoarding and other illegal activities. The communist regimes efforts to threaten the booming iron ore market succeeded only temporarily, with prices recovering rapidly within days. According to the Australian Financial Review, Bank of America suggested that, despite efforts to stave off the growing tide of iron ore prices, unimpeded demand for the resource would eventually force the market to return to normalcy. As long as demand globally remains strong (including China) and markets are tight, we think it is unlikely Chinas authorities will be able to push prices down on a sustained basis, Bank of America said in a note. Smoke billows from a large steel plant in Inner Mongolia, China, on November 4, 2016. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) This appears to be good news for Australia because, despite the CCPs current aggressive economic coercion towards Australia that has impacted Australian coal, wine, barley, beef, timber, and cotton, it has so far been unable to injure Australias largest export industryiron ore. According to ABS data, in 2019-20 Australia shipped $45 (US$35) billion worth of iron ore to Chinamaking up 22 percent of all its international exports. Bilaterally, according to statistical data, 62 percent of Chinas iron ore was imported from Australia in 2019. The Australian 2021-22 Federal Budget also relied heavily on mining, and iron, as the backbone of its economic bounce back following the deficit induced by the CCP virus pandemic. Beijing had already attempted to threaten Australias economic dependence on iron ore last month, announcing plans to expand its domestic and international supply of the resourceincluding from mines in African countries like Guinea, Congo, and Sierra Leone. The Simandou mine (circled in red) will be the largest mine in Africa( Source Rio Tinto). However, in an article for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), Strategist David Uren said that the CCP holds less power than it believes with regards to sufficiently influencing iron ore prices. The reality is that the market is working well and that the Chinese authorities have much less power to influence it, Uren said in the ASPI article. It must be galling to Chinese authorities that, notwithstanding their determination to punish Australia for its many perceived sins, their annual imports from Australia are running at near-record levels. Uren also noted that the plan to improve domestic and international supply was unlikely to impact demand from Australia significantly. In particular, he said that one of the largest mine projects in Africa, Guineas Simandou project, was fraught with failure. Astronomical iron ore prices reflect the inefficiency of Chinas own iron ore mines rather than any alleged monopolistic behaviour by the major Australian mining companies. The [Simandou] project, which has been stalled for more than a decade amid corruption claims and conflicts between the government and partners, would take several years to complete, and production in the initial phase is expected to be in the region of 100 million tonnes a year. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in Beijing, China, on May 21, 2020. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters) China Holds Economic Talks With Second Top US Official in a Week BEIJINGChinese Vice Premier Liu He exchanged views with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on issues of mutual concern, in his second virtual call in a week with top economic and trade officials under the U.S. Biden administration. Liu, who has led Chinas negotiations in Sino-U.S. trade talks since former U.S. President Donald Trump went on a trade war with Beijing, held a similarly candid exchange with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on May 26. Chinas increased engagement between the trade and economic chiefs of the worlds largest economy, since Joe Biden took office in January, comes as the U.S. administration criticizes Beijing on human rights abuses and seeks to rally other rich nations to form a united front on China. Secretary Yellen discussed the Biden-Harris administrations plans to support a continued strong economic recovery and the importance of cooperating on areas that are in U.S. interests, while at the same time frankly tackling issues of concern, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a brief statement. In Lius video call with Yellen on Wednesday, both sides conducted extensive exchanges on the macroeconomic situation and bilateral and multilateral cooperation, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The two sides believed that the China-U.S. economic relations are very important, Xinhua said. They also candidly exchanged views on issues of mutual concern, and expressed willingness to maintain communication. No details were given on the issues discussed. Last week, Tai said the United States still faces very large challenges in its trade and economic relationship with China. The Biden administration is conducting a review of U.S.-China trade policy, ahead of the expiry of their Phase 1 deal at the end of 2021. Beijing and Washington signed the deal in January 2020. It calls for China to increase purchases of U.S. agricultural goods, manufactured products, energy and services by $200 billion over 2020 and 2021, compared with a 2017 baseline. The pact eased a two-year tariff war waged by Trump that aimed to change Chinas trade practices, although duties remain in place on hundreds of billions of dollars of trade. A U.N. police officer stands at an empty entrance at the United Nations in New York on Sept. 22, 2020. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images) China Influences UN to Promote Foreign Policy Agenda: Report An Indian think tank has warned of Chinas expanding influence in the United Nations and its specialized agencies, with the international organization playing a role in promoting Beijings foreign policy initiatives. China is present either as the head or a deputy position in almost all the critical international agencies, according to a May 27 report by the Mumbai-based foreign policy think tank Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations. The report highlights Beijings manipulation of global development, international rulemaking, digital and scientific standards, and multilateralism. The study found four of the 15 major U.N. agencies are directly headed by representatives of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including the Food and Agriculture Organization, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The ITU plays a major role in facilitating international connectivity in communications networks, with 193 member states and approximately 900 companies, universities, and international and regional organizations. It has ensured that Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei and its standards are implemented through its development work in the African continent, the Pacific, and South and Southeast Asia, the report found. UNIDO, which became a specialized agency of the U.N. in 1985, encourages industrialization in developing countries, but has now been taken advantage of by the regime in Beijing, according to the report. China immediately connected UNIDO to its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which UNIDO now endorses, it states. In addition, the ICAO, which upholds air routes and safety standards, has excluded Taiwan from discussions, in a situation similar to that of the World Health Organization (WHO), under Beijings disproportionate influence. Beijings representatives were also elected as deputies of the WHO, the World Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Tourism Organization, the report states. The report cites cases in which China has utilized its dominant position within the U.N., coupled with financial assistance, to foster Chinese proxies among U.N. agencies, including the 2017 election of Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the WHO, who is backed by Beijing. Ghebreyesus is the former health and foreign minister of Ethiopia, one of the largest recipients of Chinese investments in Africa. Late warnings and travel restrictions issued by the WHO over the global CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic were a globally devastating outcome borne of Chinas influence, the report states. Additionally, the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the U.N.s think tank, is headed by Liu Zhenmin, a lawyer in Chinas foreign ministry. The report concludes that China has increased its influence through increased monetary contributions, being the second-largest donor to the U.N., with voluntary donations increasing 346 percent since 2010. The report recommends that India should evolve from being a defensive rule taker as it currently is, into a proactive rule maker, and integrate itself into the U.N.s multilateral bodies. The think tank suggests that India increase its voluntary contributions to U.N. agencies, with contributions from Indias growing philanthropic sector. Chinese Wind Farm Project in Texas a Threat to National Security: Kyle Bass A proposed Chinese wind farm in Texas poses national security concerns, warned China-watcher and hedge fund manager Kyle Bass. The Blue Hills Wind development in southwest Texass Val Verde County has attracted heightened scrutiny in recent months, with lawmakers and experts signaling concern that the Chinese project could be used as a cover for espionage and to disrupt the states power grid. The proposed wind farm site is about 30 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border and near the Laughlin Air Force Base, the U.S. Air Forces largest pilot training facility. The land for the wind farm is owned by a Chinese company called GH America Investments Group, which has since 2015 bought 130,000 acres of landan area the size of Tulsa, Oklahomain Val Verde County. The man behind the firm is Sun Guangxin, a businessman from the northwestern Xinjiang region in China, who has strong ties to the communist regime. Sun, a former military officer, is currently the richest person in Xinjiangwhere the regime is committing genocide against ethnic Muslim minorities. He has a net worth of $1.9 billion, according to Forbes, and was also the vice chairman of the Xinjiang Provincial Youth Federation. My view is that is the reason that he bought the wind farm and wants to put up 700-foot turbines, is he plugs directly into our electric grid. Well, plugging directly into our electric grid is something that should never happen, Bass, founder and chief investment officer of Hayman Capital Management, told Epoch TVs American Thought Leaders program. Spurred by these security concerns, the Texas Legislature recently unanimously passed legislation that would ban individuals or companies connected with China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia from entering into contracts relating to the states critical infrastructure. The bill has been sent to the governor for signature. If it is signed, it will take effect immediately. The countrys critical infrastructure has been the target of several cyberattacks in recent months. An annual threat assessment (pdf) by the U.S. Intelligence Community said the Chinese regimes cyber-capabilities at a minimum, can cause localized, temporary disruptions to critical infrastructure within the United States. Bass said the land was a curious site for a wind farm given that the area is not known to produce high levels of wind. The proposed height of the wind turbines are 700 feetthe height of the Washington Monumentmeaning that they could be used to spy on activities at the Air Force base and border security operations at the U.S.-Mexico Border, he added. Republican state Sen. Donna Campbell, sponsor of the bill, has likened the project to a Trojan horse. Why do they want to put this in Val Verde County, where the wind doesnt really blow? Why is this area, where the turbine farm was going to be, 65 miles from our Laughlin Air Force Base, a strategic pilot training base? Campbell said on the Senate floor in April. GH America is now reviewing its options in light of the passage of the legislation, News 4 San Antonio reported. Stephen Lindsey, a vice president of the company, told News 4 that the proposed wind farm was not a threat to the states security, and added that he didnt know if Sun has ties to the Chinese Communist Party. People wearing protective face masks line up to cross the border between Colombia and Venezuela at Simon Bolivar international bridge in Cucuta, Colombia on March 12, 2020. (REUTERS/Carlos Eduardo Ramirez/File Photo) Colombia Reopens Border With Venezuela After 14 Months BOGOTA Colombia on June 2 began what its government called a gradual reopening of its border with Venezuela after a 14-month closure intended to curb the spread of COVID-19. Colombia, whose porous border with Venezuela extends roughly 1,380 miles (2,220 km), has been the chief destination for Venezuelans fleeing their countrys social and economic crisis. The two countries dont maintain diplomatic relations. The gradual opening of river and land crossings was authorized starting at midnight on June 2, according to a resolution published by the Andean nations interior ministry. Biosecurity measures in light of the pandemic established by Colombias health ministry must be followed during crossings, the ministry said. Colombia closed its borders in March 2020. It said its migration agency will schedule times for crossings and establish restrictions based on the last number of peoples identity documents. Colombia reopened its borders with Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Panama on May 19. About 1.7 million Venezuelans reside in Colombia. The number could rise in the coming months following a decision by Colombian President Ivan Duques government to grant Venezuelan migrants temporary protective status for a period of 10 years. Colombia accuses Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduros government of harboring former FARC rebels who reject a 2016 peace deal, as well as guerrillas of the National Liberation Army. Venezuela accuses Duque of plotting to overthrow Maduro with support from the United States. By Luis Jaime Acosta Contracts with Confucius Institute Reveal How Beijing Influences US Universities An exclusive report by Campus Reform, Americas leading college news website, detailed a recent investigation into the Chinese regimes operation in American classrooms. Through public records requests in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, Campus Reform obtained 32 universities contracts with the Confucius Institute Headquarters. In several documents, Beijing dictated control over the curriculum taught within the Confucius Institute. For instance, the contract between the University of Toledo and Hanban, the Confucius Institute Headquarters in China, states that The Institute must accept the assessment of [Hanban] on the teaching quality. Hanban is an agency under the Chinese regimes education ministry, which is known to severely censor language course material and distort history to mislead students in China. Baruch College in New York said it more clearly in its agreement with Hanban. Baruch College acknowledges that the Headquarters has the final right to determine the programs to which it provides funding, and Baruch College has the obligation to accept the project assessments conducted by the Headquarters, according to the contract. Similarly, Central Connecticut State University agreed that The University Institute shall review evaluations and recommendations made by the Confucius Institute Headquarters on the quality of the programs and make any necessary modifications. Communist Propaganda James Giordano, a professor of neurology at Georgetown University and a senior researcher in biosecurity, technology, and ethics at the U.S. Naval War College, told Campus Reform that the language in the agreements explicitly revealed that what is taught, and what is promulgated at the Confucius Institute only occurs under the auspices of the central political system [of China]. He believes that Confucius Institutes are not an independent entity, but a direct outreach program of the CCP, which controls American classrooms in an attempt to reshape peoples view about China. Any and all information that is promulgated through the Confucius institutes about China, the country, its history, its culture, its prior or current political status situation, posturing and or near term and intermediate to far term intent, in terms of engaging the global relationships is all done wholly under the auspices and examination of the [Chinese Communist Party], he said. Campus Reform quoted Seth Cropsey, the Director of the Center for American Seapower at the Hudson Institute, who said that surrendering academic freedom to a foreign nation hostile to the United States should raise serious red flags. The existence of the Confucius Institute is silly and pernicious on its face, Cropsey remarked. There are plenty of Americans who study Chinese political thought going back thousands of years so its not necessary to go to an organ of the Chinese government in order to find teachers who can teach. Resisting Confucius Institute Although the Confucius Institute is advertised as a language and cultural exchange, Pompeo-led U.S. State Department designated it as a foreign mission of the Peoples Republic of China, pointing out that the program operates under guidance from the CCPs United Front Work Department and pushes out skewed Chinese language and cultural training for U.S. students as part of Beijings multifaceted propaganda efforts. As early as 2014, the American Association of University Professors warned that Confucius Institutes further the political goals of Beijings leadership and threaten the independence and integrity of academic institutions. Previously, Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri pushed for legislation to close all Confucius Institutes in the United States or increase oversight. The Transparency for Confucius Institutes Act sponsored by Senator Blackburn passed unanimously in the Senate last year, but failed in the House of Representatives. She is continuing her effort this year. On March 29, she declared in a Twitter post: Tennessee is determined to lead the way as the first state to ban the Chinese government-funded Confucius Institute from public universities. According to data from the National Association of Scholars, as of May 18, there are still 47 Confucius Institutes operating in the United States, including 41 inside universities and colleges, one at a private educational organization, the China Institute, and five at K-12 public school districts. Fifteen of these 47 Confucius Institutes are set to be closed before the end of this year. Court Dismisses Planned Parenthoods Abortion Lawsuit Against City of Lubbock, Texas A judge dismissed a lawsuit from Planned Parenthood against the City of Lubbock, Texas, where residents voted to approve a measure that outlaws abortion in the city. In explaining why the suit was dismissed, U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix said Planned Parenthood lacked jurisdiction. Because plaintiffs fail to show, as they must, that they have Article III standing to sue the city, the Court dismisses the case for lack of jurisdiction, the judge wrote on Tuesday night. The lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it can be refiled. Hendrix noted that Planned Parenthood alleged that the ordinance was invalid because it violated federal constitutional rights, but he said they admitted that even if the court gave them everything they wanted, the courts ruling would not bar private citizens from bringing the suit in state court, bind the state judiciary to its ruling, or force the ordinances repeal. Right to Life director Mark Lee Dickson hailed the courts decision. We have said from the beginning that this ordinance is completely bulletproof from pre-enforcement lawsuits, he wrote on Facebook. The Courts ruling today is an emphatic vindication of that. The ordinance, called Sanctuary City for the Unborn, was approved on May 1, and it went into effect on Tuesday, June 1, stipulating that abortion is now illegal within Lubbocks city limits. Any person, corporation, or entity that commits an unlawful act other than the mother of the unborn child that has been aborted, shall be liable in tort to the unborn childs mother, father, grandparents, siblings, and half-siblings, text of the ordinance states. The person or entity that committed the unlawful act shall be liable to each surviving relative of the aborted unborn child for: (a) Compensatory damages, including damages for emotional distress; (b) Punitive damages; and (c) Costs and attorneys fees. Earlier this week, Texas Solicitor General Judd Stone wrote in a letter (pdf) that Lubbocks ordinance doesnt violate state law. In our view, Planned Parenthood has not shown that Lubbocks ordinance is inconsistent with state law. To the extent that the Court finds state law to be ambiguous regarding the merits of Planned Parenthoods claims, the Court should abstain from exercising jurisdiction, Stone wrote. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, meanwhile, noted in a letter that under Texas law, when a later-enacted statute clarifies the meaning of earlier statutes, it is highly persuasive, even if it does not technically control. The case is Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas Surgical Health Services v. City of Lubbock, Texas, No. 5:21-cv-114 Shipping containers are loaded onto trucks at the Port of Los Angeles, in Long Beach, Calif., on Jan. 12, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Crews Make Progress on Months-Long Cargo Ship Backlog at LA Ports The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are seeing progress in reducing one of the worst backlogs of container ships in history, waiting in the San Pedro Bay. As of June 1, there were 11 container ships at anchor in the bay waiting to reach port terminals, which is 10 ships fewer than the last report, May 28. It signals a major decrease and the lowest number of container ships at anchor since Nov. 22, though two more container ships are set to arrive soon. The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports have been working to reduce the amount of backlog that saw up to 40 ships at anchor in early February. While port officials started to see a noticeable uptick in ships last July, ships didnt start needing to be anchored in the bay until around last October, when the backlog began. While the record backlog for some of the nations most important port terminals was caused by a variety of factors, Port of Long Beach Deputy Executive Director Noel Hacegaba told The Epoch Times that most of it can be tied back to the pandemic. For the year 2020, when the pandemic spread across Asia, it shut down manufacturing. Asia, for us, and China specifically, theyre our largest trading partners, so it had the effect of dwindling our cargo volumes, our cargo volumes sustained steep declines in the first quarter of 2020, Hacegaba said, noting that exports from China make up 70 percent of the ports business. Then manufacturing reopened in the spring of 2020 in China and there was a lot of pent-up supply, containers that would have arrived sooner if not for the pandemic. Those containers started making their way here, and then to add to that, with all the health orders that confined us to our homes here in the U.S, spending shifted quickly from services to goods because a lot of consumers were buying goods [through e-commerce] from home. Hacegaba said the combination of pent-up supply and a growing demand for goods catapulted the sea cargo business into a record year, with the ports handling 8.1 million container units in 2020. The backlog was also attributed to COVID-19 safety protocols, which caused warehouses and distribution centers to operate under capacity, a factor that greatly slowed processing. Right now, port officials are doing everything they can to reduce the backlog because of the national significance the ports have. Cargo that passes through its docks reaches all 435 congressional districts. The port is a massive economic engine, Hacegaba said. We generate one out of five jobs in Long Beach, over half a million jobs across Southern California, and we estimate that port operations through Long Beach supports over 2 million jobs in the nation. Back in February 2020, the Port of Long Beach established a business recovery task force when signs of an incoming pandemic were emerging. The task force ensured that longshore workers and waterfront employees at the ports had access to personal protective equipment, rearranged shifts to give an hour in between to allow for facilities and equipment to be sanitized, and opened a COVID testing center that has conducted more than 22,000 tests since last August. As a result of all these efforts, weve never had to shut down the port once, Hacegaba said. After the cargo surge hit, the ports also opened a 40-acre site that has worked as a relief valve for the container ships waiting at anchorage to speed up the process. Our terminals were so busy that they couldnt move the containers out of the terminal fast enough. So we made 40 acres available right on the port as a temporary staging area. We call that Project STOR. It stands for short-term overflow resource, and this allowed our terminals to move containers off of their yards immediately to make room for more containers which are sitting on these ships that are at anchorage, Hacegaba said. The port is remaining efficient with 50 percent dual transactions, which means that when a truck comes into the port to pick up a container, it drops off a container in the same truck visit. To give customers and supply chain partners visibility into what is coming to the port in terms of volume of merchandise, the port is also delivering a weekly advanced volume estimate report that helps to manage congestion by allowing other companies to plan out their resources and equipment. At the beginning of 2021, the ports estimated that they would see the backlog mostly cleared up by summer, though Hacegaba noted that they are estimating a return to normal, meaning zero container ships at anchorage, by late summer or early fall. The return to normal can depend on several factors including the strength of the economy and whether consumers continue to spend money on goods exclusively or begin to switch back to purchasing more services as the economy opens up. We are working around the clock to ensure that our customers are receiving their goods and will continue doing our part to support the economic recovery, Hacegaba said. Demonstrators attend a Black Lives Matter protest to express solidarity with US protestors in Melbourne on June 6, 2020 (William West/AFP via Getty Images) Critical Race Theory Encourages Intolerance, Difference, Anger: Expert Critical Race Theorys (CRT) activist agenda and its influence on language, culture, and institutions carry significant risks and pose significant dangers to Australian society, an expert says. Director Peter Kurti from the Centre for Independent Studies and author of a new paper, Cancelling the Culture: Critical Theory and the Chasm of Incoherence (pdf), explains the three dangers that CRT carriesintolerance to others, the emphasis of difference instead of similarities, and the incitement of anger. Firstly, we are confronted with the erosion of tolerance when unacceptable opinions are denounced, Kurti said. Secondly, there is the emphasis of difference by promoting discrimination as a good thing. And thirdly there is the incitement of rage and anger that makes reasonable discourse impossible. Critical Race Theory, according to The Washington Post, is an academic framework centred on the idea that racism is systemic, not just exhibited in individuals, and that it is woven into legal systems. Kurti writes that it is a theory which deems that there are biases and imbalances of power in society which are hidden from view due to aspects such as language and education structure. It rejects an ordinary understanding of truth and meaning, he said. Instead, truth is arrived at by listening to the lived experience of members of marginalized groups which can be expressed in terms of purely subjective feelings and intuition. Protesters throwing the statue of Edward Colston into Bristol harbour during a Black Lives Matter protest rally, UK, on Jane 7, 2020. (PA Wire/PA Images) However, Alana Lentin, an associate professor from Western Sydney University and Debbie Bargallie, a senior research fellow at Griffith University wrote in an op-ed to The Guardian that society needed more CRT, not less. Right-wing attacks on CRT, much like the moral panics about the teaching of gender hold that CRT has become the orthodoxy in the left-wing hegemony of their overactive imagination, they said. In fact, CRT is far from being widely taught at universities in Australia, never mind schools. To start inching towards greater justice in a society founded on racial colonialism, we need more, not less critical thinking about race, they said. National Race Discrimination Commissioner, Chin Tan, has called for an Australian National Anti-Racism Framework in March, saying it was painfully apparent that racism was resurging throughout society. Tan said the Black Lives Matter movement highlighted injustices experienced by minorities, while the CCP virus pandemic exposed ugly racism against people of Asian descent here in Australia. Let me be clear: racism is a significant economic, social, and national security threat to Australia. It is time we treated it as such, Tan said in a speech. Kurti says that when wordssuch as racismlose their ordinary meaning due to twists in the truth, intelligible conversations about all issues become impossible to pursue. When words no longer mean what we think they mean, Critical Theorists can evade calls for accountability or explanation, he said. Demonstrators attend a Black Lives Matter protest following protests in the United States in Melbourne on June 6, 2020. (Con Chronis/AFP via Getty Images) Kurti added that once CRT and its ideological foundations are identified then understood, it becomes clear that CRT is a political movement intent upon nothing less than the exercise of power. He called on the Australian public to take courage and shun CRT to restore reason and reclaim truth. We must never surrender, because Critical Theory will only prevail if we allow it, he said. The Facebook logo is displayed on a mobile phone in this picture illustration taken on Dec. 2, 2019. (Johanna Geron/Illustration/Reuters) Facebook Shuts Pro-Israel Jerusalem Prayer Team Page After Anti-Semites Flood Site With 800,000 Hateful Comments Facebook officials refuse to explain why they shut down a page with more than 77 million followers after an unprecedented avalanche of anti-Semitic comments suddenly appeared on it as thousands of Hamas missiles were launched from the Gaza Strip at Israel. The Jerusalem Prayer Team (JPT) page was founded in 2002 by Pastor Mike Evans, a Dallas-based U.S. evangelical supporter of the State of Israel, to encourage Christians around the world to pray for the tiny Jewish nation. The sites global following, mainly of Christians and Jews, also included 18 million Muslims, when, on May 13, the comment section suddenly exploded with anti-Semitic hate. On that single day, we received over 800,000 comments, the overwhelming majority of which were very negative, often crude, and anti-Semitic, JPT spokesman Michael Vaughn told The Epoch Times. Clearly, this was not random: Someone somewhere was orchestrating this barrage, he said. The barrage of anti-Semitic comments continued for two days while JPT officials appealed to Facebook for help, Vaughn said. We were amazed and disappointed that Facebook allowed such comments to be made. We had understood they had a corporate commitment to prevent offensive or false information from being displayed, but in our case, there was no apparent intervention by Facebook, Vaughn said. Then with no prior warning, Facebook shut down the JPT page, which at the time was the 22nd most-liked page on the social media platform. On Saturday, May 15, with no notice, no attempt to reach us, Facebook told us they had unpublished our JPT Facebook, citing this was due to the page being spam and violating their policies, Vaughn said. We did nothing differently on May 12 or any other day than we had done in the prior 1,000 days. JPT appealed to Facebook on May 16 to reverse its decision to shut down the page, but was told the decision was final, Vaughn told The Epoch Times. We appealed again and were told that this review process could take several days. That seemed ridiculous, as we only post a few times a day and detailed review of every post for the last week would have taken no more than an hour, Vaughn said. On May 19, we sent an official demand letter to Jennifer Newstead, Facebooks general counsel, and to Facebooks board of directors demanding their immediate action to correct this terrible error on their part. The JPT Facebook page remains down, and a request from The Epoch Times for comment from Facebook has received no response. We are continuing to communicate with Facebook but have not yet resolved the matter. We are considering several options at this time, Vaughn said. The JPT website is asking supporters to donate to a legal fund established to fight the Facebook decision. Asked who might be behind the avalanche of anti-Semitic comments, Vaughn pointed to the English translation of an Al Jazeera story that referred to JPT as a Zionist entity and credited a Jordanian hacker with being responsible for Facebooks decision to unpublish the page. It was reported in several news that the well-known hacker, Ahmed Saleh, nicknamed The Saqr Bani Hashem Electronic, managed to close a Facebook page with 76 million likes to support the Zionist entity, called the Jerusalem Prayer Team page, Al Jazeera reported. The shutdown of one of Facebooks most widely read pages, however, has generated little interest in the mainstream media in the United States despite growing calls in Congress and elsewhere to take action against censorship by social media and digital giants such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter. Searches of the websites of The Washington Post, USA Today, and The New York Times by The Epoch Times produced no stories on the issue. Fox News Sean Hannity tweeted a Human Events story on the issue without comment. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also tweeted the link to the Human Events story and observed, This is nuts. Congressional correspondent Mark Tapscott may be contacted at mark.tapscott@epochtimes.nyc Facts Matter (June 2): 1 Million Arizona Ballots Recounted, PA Senators to Visit; Will There Be a New Audit? Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a new bill that bans transgender athletes from womens sports, across both schools and universities. The mothers of several young black people who were killed in confrontations with police recently came out and heavily criticized the Black Lives Matter organization. Over in Arizona, not only have auditors finished recounting 1 million ballots but also, it was just announced that several lawmakers from Pennsylvania are going to have a tour of the Maricopa County audit facility. Stay tuned for our newsletter so you wont miss out on our exclusive videos and private events. Facts Matter is an Epoch Times show available on YouTube. Follow us on Parler, Gab, and Telegram Follow Roman on Instagram: @epoch.times.roman National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci testifies at a Senate hearing regarding the coronavirus in Washington on March 3, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Fauci Team Scrambled in January 2020 to Respond to Lab Leak Allegations, Emails Show News Analysis Top U.S. health officials, including Anthony Fauci, scrambled in late January 2020 to respond to public reporting of a potential connection between COVID-19 and the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. The insight into their response comes from examining more than 3,000 pages of emails belonging to Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which were released under the Freedom of Information Act and provide a detailed timeline of events. The emails suggest the officials were concerned about previous U.S. involvement with the lab, and that they had knowledge of public statements made by the Wuhan labs director about U.S. funding being used for controversial research conducted there. Following the officials conversations, public discussion of the source being a potential lab leak was actively suppressed by social media platforms, health officials, and the World Health Organization (WHO). Jan. 31, 2020 Fauci received an email at 8:43 p.m. (p. 3229) on Jan. 31, 2020, from an associate, Greg Folkers of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the federal agency responsible for public health research. The email contained no text and held only a single, lengthy article that had been published in the magazine Science that evening. The article, authored by Jon Cohen, was one of the earliest stories that described how scientists were working frantically on viral genomes in order to understand the origin of 2019-nCoV. The article focused on the theory that the virus originated in a Wuhan seafood market, and the author took pains to discount the lab leak theory, noting that the viral sequences knock down the idea the pathogen came from a virology institute in Wuhan. However, the author did note that concerns about the institute predate this outbreak, and also detailed how a scientist in 2015 criticized an experiment in which modifications were made to a SARS-like virus circulating in Chinese bats to see whether it had the potential to cause disease in humans. The experiment cited in the Science article was more fully detailed in a Nov. 9, 2015, article in the journal Nature about gain-of-function experimentsa process whereby viruses are deliberately made more virulent in order to predict emerging diseasesthat were being conducted at the Wuhan lab using chimeric viruses in mice. The articles authors, including the director of the Wuhan lab, Shi Zhingli, noted that their research was initiated before the U.S. government introduced a moratorium on gain-of-function research. They added that their paper has been reviewed by the funding agency, and, crucially, that continuation of these studies was requested, and this has been approved by the NIH. The article also noted that research in this manuscript was supported by grants from the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Disease, the organization Fauci heads, as well as NIAIDs parent organization, NIH. After receiving the email from his NIH colleague (p. 3,229), Fauci forwarded the Science article to John Mascola of NIH at 9:47 p.m. (p. 3,229), noting, Here is the Jon Cohen article. Two minutes later (p. 3,187), Fauci also forwarded the article to Jeremy Farrar, the head of a British nonprofit, and Kristian Andersen, a professor at Scripps Research, telling them: This just came out today. You may have seen it. If not, it is of interest to the current discussion. Why Fauci chose to contact Farrar and Andersen, neither of whom worked for Fauci nor the NIH, isnt clear but, in the following days, both became leading forces in efforts to dispel the lab leak theory. In March 2020, Andersen co-authored the highly influential paper The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2, which remains widely cited as proof of natural origin. Andersen and his coauthors received funding from both NIH and Farrars organization. Fauci also emailed the article to Robert Kadlec at the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), at 9:49 p.m. (p. 3,222), telling him: Bob: This just came out today. Gives a balanced view. Best, Tony. At 10:32 p.m. (p. 3,187) that evening, Fauci received an email response from Andersen, who acknowledged receiving the article and noted an observation he made. According to Andersen, The unusual features of the virus make up a really small part of the genome (<0.1%) so one has to look really closely at all the sequences to see that some of the features (potentially) look engineered. Earlier in the day, however, Andersen had sent a tweet rebutting Sen. Tom Cottons (R-Ark.) theory that the virus could have stemmed from the Wuhan lab, saying: The analyses are completely flawed and wrong. They can safely be ignored. Feb. 1, 2020 The next morningat 7:29 a.m. (p. 3,221) on Feb. 1, 2020Fauci sent Hugh Auchincloss, NIAIDs principal deputy director, the 2015 Nature article that detailed the gain-of-function experiments and the funding by NIH. He included a strongly worded message, saying: It is essential that we speak this AM. Keep your cell phone on. Fauci directed Auchincloss to read this paper as well as the e-mail that I will forward to you now. You will have tasks today that must be done, he wrote. The Nature article was referenced indirectly in the recently published article by Cohen. Thirty-five seconds later (p. 3,215), Fauci followed up by sending Auchincloss the newly published Science article that had been forwarded to him the evening before. In 2014, Faucis NIAID awarded a $3.7 million grant to the New York-based EcoHealth Alliance, headed by Peter Daszak. According to Francis Collins of NIH, some of the grant funds went to Wuhan as part of a subcontract from EcoHealth. The Obama administration in 2014 had established a moratorium on gain-of-function research, because of its inherent riskiness. Its likely that the 2015 research in the article forwarded to Auchincloss by Fauci would have been covered by the ban. At 8:19 a.m. (p. 3,210), Fauci sent the Nature article to Lawrence Tabak at NIH, in an email marked as IMPORTANT. Fauci simply told Tabak, Here it is. About two hours later, at 10:34 a.m. (p. 3,197), Farrar sent out a group email, announcing a 2 p.m. conference call. His email noted that information and discussion is shared in total confidence and not to be shared until agreement on next steps. Included in the email was a brief agenda that included the items Introduction, focus and desired outcomes and Summary and next steps. Including Farrar, there were a total of 13 people listed on the teleconference agenda. Shortly after Farrars email on the conference call, Auchincloss responded to Fauci at 11:47 a.m. (p. 3,206) under an email thread with the subject line of Continued. This email chain differed from the one that Fauci had initiated when he sent the two articles earlier that morning. Auchincloss noted: The paper you sent me says the experiments were performed before the gain of function pause but have since been reviewed and approved by NIH. Not sure what that means since Emily is sure that no Coronavirus work has gone through the P3 framework. She will try to determine if we have any distant ties to this work abroad. P3 framework refers to the HHS P3CO Framework (HHS Framework for Guiding Funding Decisions About Proposed Research Involving Enhanced Potential Pandemic Pathogens), which is used to guide HHS and NIH funding decisions. It appears that Auchincloss was disputing the contention from researchers at the Wuhan lab that the gain-of-function experiments had been approved. Fauci responded to Auchinclosss email very simply at 12:51 p.m. (p. 3,206), noting only, OK. Stay tuned. At 1:13 p.m. (p. 3,197), Farrar sent another email relating to the pending 2 p.m. teleconference, saying: Kristen and Eddie have shared this and will talk through it on the call. Thank you. Hope it will help frame the discussions. Kristen appears to be Kristian Andersen, who is later referred to as KA. Due to redactions, it isnt known what Farrar was referring to as being shared. At 1:34 p.m. (p. 3,197), Fauci forwarded Farrars email to Tabak, alerting him to the 2 p.m. teleconference, simply noting, FYI. At 1:43 p.m. (p. 3,172), Marion Koopmans, who oversees a Dutch lab that was previously involved with gain-of-function experiments, sent an email to Farrar and CCd Fauci and other members of the call. The body of Koopmanss email is fully redacted. At the exact same time that Koopmans sent that email (p. 3,187), Fauci responded to Andersens email, which had previously noted that one has to look really closely at all the sequences to see that some of the features (potentially) look engineered. Fauci simply wrote: Thanks, Kristian. Talk soon on the call. The teleconference ostensibly began at 2:00 p.m. as scheduled. At 2:56 p.m. (p. 3,172), during the teleconference, Farrar sent an email to four of the 13 individuals believed to be on the call, including Fauci, asking: Can I suggest we shut down the call and then redial in? Just for 5-10 mins? At 3:03 p.m. (p. 3,172), Fauci responded directly to Farrars request with a simple yes. At 3:07 p.m. (p. 3,167), Farrar appears to have rejoined the call, sending an email that read somewhat confusingly, I have rejoined so a line is open if any help to rejoin. The teleconference ends sometime after this point and before the next email, which is sent at 3:50 p.m. The 3:50 p.m. email (p. 3,167), sent by Collins, appears to be referencing WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and states: Hi Jeremy, I can make myself available at any time 24/7 for the call with Tedros. Just let me know. Thanks for your leadership on this critical and sensitive issue. Francis. Shortly thereafter, Farrar sent an email at 3:59 p.m. (p. 3,133) to the entire group, thanking them for their participation. Farrar noted: There is clearly much to understand understand [sic] in this. This call was very helpful to hear some of our current understanding and the many gaps in our knowledge. A large redacted section then followed. Farrar closed by saying: I hope that is a reasonable approach, please send any thoughts or suggestions. Once again, thank you for making time over a weekend and for such an informed discussion on a complex issue. Thank you and best wishes Jeremy. There are several more short, cordial emails. Feb. 2, 2020 At 3:30 a.m. (p. 3,130), Ron Fouchier sent an email to unknown recipients, thanking Farrar for the useful teleconference and included a section titled Rons notes. The section of notes spans more than two full pages and is completely redacted. Farrar responded to Fouchier, saying Thanks Ron, followed by a redacted paragraph. Farrars message closed with Thoughts on that very welcome. Farrar then sent an email at 4:48 a.m. (p. 3,128) to Andrew Raumbaut and the other attendees of the teleconference group. Farrar noted that this is a very complex issue. This comment was followed by a long redacted section before Farrar closed with I suggest we dont get into a further scientific discussion here, but wait for that group to be established. NIH head Collins then sent an email to Farrar at 5:27 a.m. (p. 3,128), stating that he was available for a call to Tedros. Let me know if I can help get through his thicket of protectors, he wrote. The email was copied to Fauci and Tabak. At 7:13 a.m. (p. 3,126), Collins sent an email to Farrar and CCd Fauci and Tabak, noting, Really appreciate us thinking through the options This entry is followed by a one-line redaction. At 11:28 a.m. (p. 3,125), Farrar sent an email to Fauci and Collins, copied to Tabak. Farrar shared with the others: Tedros and Bernhard have apparently gone into conclave they need to decide today in my view. If they do prevaricate, I would appreciate a call with you later tonight or tomorrow to think how we might take forward. At the end of the email, Farrar added a reference to the online news site ZeroHedge, which had just published an article on the possibility that the coronavirus came out of a lab. The day after Farrars message, ZeroHedge was banned from Twitter. Although it isnt known what WHO Director Tedros was told, or asked, on Feb. 3, 2020, he issued his Report of the Director General, which included a call to combat the spread of rumours & misinformation. Tedros also followed up with a tweet. During his speech, Tedros announced: We have worked with Google to make sure people searching for information about coronavirus see WHO information at the top of their search results. Social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Tencent, and TikTok have also taken steps to limit the spread of misinformation. NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci listens during a Senate Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee hearing looking into the budget estimates for National Institute of Health and state of medical research on Capitol Hill in Washington, on May 26, 2021. (Sarah Silbiger/Pool/Getty Images) Faucis Devastating Emails Demand Full-Blown Investigation It's not the first time the NIAID boss has controlled the narrative, attacked dissenters Commentary I just wanted to say a personal thank you on behalf of our staff and collaborators, for publicly standing up and stating that the scientific evidence supports a natural origin for COVID-19 from a bat-to-human spillover, not a lab release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. That was British zoologist Peter Daszak to National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director Dr. Anthony Fauci, on April 18, 2020, one of the many emails recently revealed by the Washington Post through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Even with redactions, the emails unleash devastating revelations. Daszaks EcoHealth Alliance had received $3.7 million in grants from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), part of which was used to study bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in China. Fauci maintained that the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 could not have been engineered in a lab, and that prompted the thank-you note from Daszak. He branded as a conspiracy theory, the possibility that the virus could have escaped from the lab, or was the result of the WIVs dangerous gain-of-function research, which makes viruses more deadly and transmissible. Richard H. Ebright, professor of chemical biology at Rutgers University and laboratory director at the Waksman Institute of Microbiology, charged that Daszak had a conflict of interest with the WIV. Ebright told reporters, The WHO and Lancet reviews cannot be considered credible investigations. In an April 19, 2020 email, Daszak told Fauci, From my perspective, your comments are brave, and coming from your trusted voice, will help dispel the myths being spun around the viruss origins. Fauci responded to Daszaks email on April 19, writing, Many thanks for your kind note. Faucis emails are also decidedly at odds with what he told the public. On April 3, 2020, Fauci told PBS, If we had known that this was highly transmissible early on when it was just in China, I think other countries would have maybe been more quick on the trigger to try and inhibit travel from China to their country. On April 18, 2020, Fauci told George Gao, head of Chinas CDC, We will get through this together. Thank you for your kind note. All is well despite some crazy people in this world. In a Feb. 5, 2020 email, Fauci wrote, Masks are really for infected people to prevent them from spreading infection to people who are not infected rather than protecting uninfected people from acquiring infection. On Feb. 7, 2020, Fauci told CNN, A lot of people are wearing masks that dont need them. A group of people walk wearing masks in Ann Arbor, Mich., on April 4, 2021. (Emily Elconin/Reuters) Fauci labeled an April 16, 2020 email conspiracy gains momentum and linked to a Fox News story claiming the pandemic originated in a Chinese lab. The next day, in a White House news conference, Fauci said a study by a group of highly qualified evolutionary virologists confirmed that it is totally consistent with a jump of a species from an animal to a human. In similar style, on March 28, 2021, Fauci told Margaret Brennan of CBS News that there is no evidence that suggests the virus was created in a laboratory. In May 2021, Fauci told reporters he is not convinced that COVID-19 developed naturally. The Biden adviser then reversed course again, contending it was highly likely, that the virus occurred naturally before spreading from animal to human. As it happens, the current pandemic is not the first time Fauci aimed to control the narrative, and attacked those who challenge the government line. Fauci earned a medical degree in 1966 but his bio shows no advanced degrees in molecular biology or biochemistry. In 1984, Fauci became head of the NIAID and in that role contended that AIDS was caused by a virus known as HIV. Peter H. Duesberg, professor of molecular and cell biology at UC Berkeley, found no scientific evidence for that claim. As Duesberg explained in Inventing the AIDS Virus, HIV is one of the many harmless passenger viruses that cause no clinical symptoms during the acute infection, and he was hardly alone. Scientists challenging the HIV-AIDS hypothesis included Nobel laureate Kary Mullis; Charles Thomas, former professor of microbiology at Harvard University; and biologist and science historian Robert Root-Bernstein, author of Rethinking AIDS. Unable to refute Duesberg scientifically, Fauci did his best to cancel the distinguished medical scientist. In 1988, the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour sent camera crews to interview Duesberg, but the PBS show pulled the interview and replaced it with a short segment of Fauci attacking Duesberg. In 1989, Fauci complained in an editorial that Duesbergs ideas were getting too much publicity. ABCs Good Morning America flew Duesberg to New York for an in-studio interview. That same evening, the Berkeley professor got word that the interview had been cancelled. When viewers tuned in, they saw Fauci. In 1993, Fauci tried unsuccessfully to get Duesberg cancelled from ABCs Day One program. In 1994, Ted Koppel of ABCs Nightline agreed to give Duesberg a hearing, but when the show finally aired, there was Fauci once again. As Duesberg contended, Fauci was the government mouthpiece for AIDS thought control. The NIAID boss is now the government mouthpiece for pandemic thought control, contending that there is no evidence that the virus that causes COVID-19 was engineered in a laboratory. In reality, the evidence has been steadily mounting, and it points to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. In addition to the NIH funding, the WIV received shipments of deadly pathogens from a lab in Canada. The pathogens illegally transferred to China by Dr. Xiangguo Qiu included Ebola Makona, Mayinga, Kikwit, Ivory Coast, Bundibugyo, Sudan Boniface, Sudan Gulu, MA-Ebov, GP-Ebov, GP-Sudan, Henra, Nipah Malaysia, and Nipah Bangladesh. These would all be useful in gain-of-function research. Faucis emails should launch a full investigation of the NIAID boss, the highest paid bureaucrat in the federal government. Investigators should also reveal the communications of Dr. Nancy Messonnier, whose 2020 briefings on the pandemic conformed remarkably to the position of China and the World Health Organization, and who has now conveniently resigned from the CDC. Her testimony, under oath, could prove of considerable interest. Peter Duesberg, still around at the time of this writing, would make a fine witness on the record of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the NIH, and the CDC. The veteran virologist could also render an expert analysis of the virus that emerged from Wuhan and caused so much death and destruction around the world. Lloyd Billingsley is the author of Yes I Con: United Fakes of America, Barack em Up: A Literary Investigation, Hollywood Party, and other books. His articles have appeared in many publications, including Frontpage Magazine, City Journal, The Wall Street Journal, and American Greatness. Billingsley serves as a policy fellow with the Independent Institute. Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the portion of grant money received by EcoHealth Alliance that was used to study bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The Epoch Times regrets the error. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Cicadas are grilled on charcoal in Crofton, Md., on May 22, 2021. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) FDA Warns People With Seafood Allergies Not to Eat Cicadas Eating cicadasfleshy insects that some people see as a tasty delicacyis ill-advised for people allergic to seafood, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned. Yep! We have to say it! Dont eat #cicadas if youre allergic to seafood as these insects share a family relation to shrimp and lobsters, the agency said in a Wednesday tweet. Yep! We have to say it! Dont eat #cicadas if youre allergic to seafood as these insects share a family relation to shrimp and lobsters. https://t.co/UBg7CwrObN pic.twitter.com/3qn7czNg53 U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) June 2, 2021 The FDAs post elicited mixed reactions, with some netizens questioning why anyone would willingly consume theseor any otherinsects. But experts say eating insects, which are rich in protein, iron, and zinc, is not that unusual. [Its] really common around the world to eat insects seasonally, for their taste, for their nutritional importance, Jessica Fanzo, a professor of food policy and ethics at Johns Hopkins University, told CBS in a recent interview. And even here in the United States, some Native American populations consumed cicadas in times of hardship. Eating cicadas is also increasingly being viewed as a novelty edible by foodies in North America. Of particular interest are so-called Brood X cicadas, which spend years underground as nymphs before emerging en masse throughout the eastern United States in cycles that occur once every 17 years, roughly. The previous Brood X emergence was in 2004, and now, 17 years later, theres one afoot in 2021. The current wave of emergent cicadas has sparked a flurry of interest and recipes, including cicada cookies, spicy popcorn cicadas, and skewered cicadas roasted on a grill. Theyre delicious, said Cortni Borgerson, assistant professor of anthropology at Montclair State University, in remarks to NJ.com. Cicadas will taste like shrimp. The taste and texture are very similar, but with a fresh spring twist to it similar to if youre eating fresh asparagus, spring arugula, or parsley. While the issue of allergies related to eating insects is not yet well understood by the scientific community, a recent report by the UN Food Agricultural Organization noted that individuals already allergic to crustaceans are particularly vulnerable to developing allergic reactions to edible insects, due to allergen cross-reactivity. Eating insects has also emerged as something of a culture war issue, with some progressives and environmental groups advocating insect-eating as a way to reduce the carbon footprint associated with traditional meat production, and traditionalists denouncing such ideas as radical. There have been a number of arguments in this regard, like those made by the Environment Journal, that feeding the worlds growing population will require a radical re-balancing of the global food supply chain and foods made from insects, worms, and grubs may be rising up the menu. And, as The Scientist magazine put it in an article: Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, and reducing child mortality rates, can be directly addressed by expanding consumption of edible insects. Marc Morano, author of the book Green Fraud: Why the Green New Deal is Even Worse Than You Think, said in a March interview with Epoch TVs Crossroads program that there have been talks among proponents of the Green New Deal that range from abolishing private car ownership and the internal combustion engine, to shifting away from eating natural meat in favor of plant-based and lab-grown substitutes. Theyre pushing insect-eating, Morano said in the interview, in which he argued that Green New Deal advocates seek radical change and want to control every aspect of your life. Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, who has emerged as a champion of climate change fighting initiatives like carbon-removal technologies, said in a recent interview with Technology Review that all rich countries should move to 100 percent synthetic beef. Jenny Pacanowski (3rd right), founder of Women Veterans Empowered & Thriving, a veteran service organization, and her fellow veterans attended Memorial Day Celebration in Bethlehem, Pa., on May 31, 2021. (Frank Liang/The Epoch Times) Female Vet Helps Former Service Members Through Writing Workshop Jenny Pacanowski of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is a female veteran, poet, playwright, and founder of Women Veterans Empowered & Thriving, a veteran service organization. One would never imagine such a successful person ever sinking to drug addiction and near suicide. What made her revive her life and help many veterans who were frustrated in their lives? In the Army, while deployed to Iraq in the dangerous Sunni Triangle in 2004, Pacanowski was a combat medic and provided medical support for convoys with the Marines, Air Force, and the Army. She also did shifts in the Navy medical hospital. In Germany, she was part of a medical evacuation company. Looking back on her experience in Iraq, Pacanowski saw many poor children fighting with each other. They didnt have access to basic resources like housing, food, and shoes. She found it very upsetting. Pacanowski said she is proud of being there working in the villages with children, trying to help them. After her discharge, Pacanowski experienced the highs and lows of her life, but eventually came out of the gloom and helped other veterans. Pacanowski said a large number of military personnel do not adapt well to society after discharge and become passive and sunken. I was really inspired after [the] military, Pacanowski said, but at first I struggled with addiction, near homeless. I was going to be another statistic of suicide very likely, or drug overdose. But she started to meet with and write with her fellow veterans. Soon, she realized that story can help in reconnecting with civilians. I wanted to be part of that, she said, so I facilitated [a] writing workshop, performance, so veterans and civilians can have deep conversation, difficult conversation about what happens when they were in service. Lots of people experienced trauma, men and women. Thats something [that] needs discussion. I was inspired to start my own organization here at Leigh Valley so women have a space to speak their stories as well As much as we love our brothers, we really need a space as our own, said Pacanowski. Later, she opened her programs to all veterans. Women, men, and family members have their own groups. Pacanowski said: Family members are often forgotten. They are struggling too. Pacanowski told The Epoch Times that her organization teaches self-caring. People find their groups to be empowered creative spaces for taking care of themselves before taking care of others, because filling yourself is important Take care of yourself so you can continue to give. The most thing Pacanowski is proud of for veterans is their strength, ability, and courage to speak their stories, to say what happened to them so they can empower themselves and move forward, drive their daily lives. Thats what I want from my veterans. I want them to thrive, not survive, said Pacanowski. Audrey Ann Southard-Rumsey (L) in a selfie photograph in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, and inside the Capitol clashing with a law enforcement officer on the same day. (Facebook via FBI; FBI) Florida Woman Accused of Assaulting Officer on Jan. 6 Released on Bond A Florida woman who was arrested this week for allegedly assaulting a law enforcement officer in Washington on Jan. 6 was released on bond. Authorities say Audrey Ann Southard-Rumsey, 52, of Spring Hill, entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 before shouting at U.S. Capitol Police officers to tell Pelosi we are coming for that [expletive], according to court documents. Southard-Rumsey also allegedly yelled, Theres a hundred thousand of us, whats it going to be? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was in the building but was escorted outside after the Capitol was breached. During the womans interaction with officers, authorities said, she obtained a flagpole and pressed it against an officers chest. She started pushing the officer, causing him to fall backward and strike his head on the base of a marble statue. Southard-Rumsey was charged with obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, disorderly conduct in the Capitol, and assault on a federal officer or employee, among other charges. The FBI started investigating the Florida resident when it received a tip to its online submission portal. The tipster said that the woman used her Facebook profile to post an image showing her in front of the Capitol, with the caption, DC Taking it back!! In this image from video, a woman identified by the FBI as Audrey Ann Southard-Rumsey enters the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (FBI) Southard-Rumsey also posted on Twitter a live feed of her outside the Capitol preparing to enter the building. A known associate later told investigators that they traveled from Florida in a rental car with Southard-Rumsey and two other people to the Williamsburg, Virginia area, where they rented a condo before continuing onto to Washington on Jan. 6. When the group failed to get near The Ellipse, where then-President Donald Trump was speaking, they headed toward the Capitol. Surveillance video showed Southard-Rumsey enter the Capitol, according to a criminal complaint. One image showed her clashing with a U.S. Capitol Police officer. That officer told the FBI that he felt like he was being trampled after he went down and hit his head. A search warrant yielded a mobile device linked to Southard-Rumsey which placed her in Washington on Jan. 6. Southard-Rumsey made her initial appearance in federal court in Tampa on Wednesday. She was released on $50,000 signature bond, according to local media. Footage from a local broadcaster showed the defendant decline to answer questions by running once outside the courthouse. Southard-Rumsey did not respond to a Facebook message. The court docket did not appear to list a lawyer for her. Southard-Rumseys Facebook page contains no posts from January. Her social media identifies her as a music teacher who formerly worked at Walt Disney World. Federal prosecutors say about 440 people were arrested on charges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol breach in the first 120 days following the breach, including over 125 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis meets with fans during Day One of The Walker Cup at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla., on May 8, 2021 (Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images) Floridas DeSantis Signs Record $101 Billion Budget With $550 Million For Teacher Pay Raises Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed a $101 billion budget that includes raises for teachers, police, and other first responders. The Republican governor signed the states largest-ever spending plan during a bill-signing ceremony in New Smyrna Beach, after vetoing $1.5 billion, including $1 billion in federal money for an emergency response fund he said had strings attached that made it unusable. The states spending plan is an increase of more than $9 billion from the previous year, boosted by $6.9 billion in federal funds. The budget year starts July 1. During the event, DeSantis lauded the states handling of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic, saying that fully opening Florida to business early helped in recovering the economy. A lot of people were trying to tell me to close restaurants like this last summer. We didnt do it. We kept business open, we got kids in school, DeSantis said. The result was our economy really started to rebound. The state budget will see more than 175,000 teachers and 3,000 principals, as well as first responders receive a $1,000 check. It also includes $22.4 billion for K-12 schools and $550 million to hike up teacher salaries to a minimum of $47,500. Once I sign this budget, we will be signing a budget that responsibly supports our men and women in law enforcement, our K-through-12 education students and teachers, conserves and protects our great environmental and natural resources throughout the state of Florida, but does so in a way that has the lowest per-capita tax burden of any state in the country, DeSantis said. He added, If you would have said that a year ago, no one would have believed that that would have been possible. The minimum wage for government workers will also be raised to $13 an hour as part of the budget, while state attorneys, public defenders, and district court judges will get a 10 percent pay raise. We did all this while maintaining strong fiscal reserves and lowering taxes to make sure Florida families benefit this year and for decades to come, DeSantis added in a statement. The governors veto included $1.35 billion from federal funds that the state had received under President Joe Bidens American Rescue Plan. DeSantis told reporters Wednesday that those funds will be no longer be set aside for emergency funds and future budget needs, as proposed by state lawmakers, but will instead be made available for other uses. A "We are hiring!" sign is seen in front of the Buya restaurant in Miami, Fla., on March 5, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Floridas Jobless Must Now Prove Theyre Looking for Work to Collect Unemployment Benefits Florida this week tightened eligibility requirements for people to collect unemployment benefits, part of a bid to encourage people to take jobs in the face of businesses hiring woes. Starting June 1, unemployment benefit claimantswith a few exceptionsare required to submit work searches for every week of state or federal benefits requested, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) announced in an update. The minimum number of required weekly work searches varies, depending on county population. Claimants living in counties with a population greater than 75,000 must complete at least five work searches, while those living in counties with 75,000 or fewer residents must submit a minimum of three. Claimants who are on a temporary layoff and will return to the same employer within eight weeks of their last day of work are exempt from the work search requirement, as well as people registered in an approved training program through their local CareerSource Florida center. Gov. Ron DeSantis waived the job search requirement for unemployment benefit eligibility last year when the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus wreaked havoc on the economy and unemployment surged. He signed an executive order in May that declared the emergency over and suspended all local pandemic-related restrictions. With restrictions lifted and economic activity rebounding in Florida, business owners have been complaining of difficulty hiring workers. Even though our industry is open for business, we are facing a dire labor shortage, Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association President and CEO Carol Dover said in a statement. Strong demand, coupled with this staffing shortage, has left many businesses forced to limit operating days and hours in addition to reducing capacity in both food service and lodging. In May, DEO announced that it was responding to the hiring concerns by restoring the work search requirement. There is a job surplus across the state, and we stand ready to assist Floridians who are out of work as they return to the workforce, DEO Secretary Dane Eagle said in a May 12 statement. Since then, Florida officials announced an early end to the $300 weekly federal pandemic unemployment compensation supplement, joining dozens of other Republican-led states to opt-out of the jobless benefit boost to encourage people to take jobs. Floridas economy has bounced back tremendously with over 460,000 jobs available throughout our state and the strongest economic conditions in the nation, Eagle said in a statement. Floridas employers are also seeing employment growth, as more Floridians, including some who completely left the workforce, are now eagerly reentering the workforce. Transitioning away from this benefit will help meet the demands of small and large businesses who are ready to hire and expand their workforce. Then-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield testifies to a congressional panel in Washington on Sept. 23, 2020. (Alex Edelman/Pool via Reuters) Former CDC Director Received Death Threats From Scientists for Supporting Wuhan Lab Leak Theory Former U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield says he received death threats from fellow scientists after saying he suspected that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus originated in a Wuhan laboratory. Redfield told Vanity Fair in an interview published on June 3 that he received a significant amount of backlash after he told CNN earlier this year that hes a proponent of the theory the virus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, contradicting the official narrative espoused by the CCP. Saying he was threatened and ostracized because I proposed another hypothesis, Redfield told the magazine that he expected it from politicians. I didnt expect it from science. Redfield noted that some death threats came from individuals who thought he was being racially insensitive, but other threats came from prominent scientists, whom he didnt name. In March, Redfield said that it is not unusual for respiratory pathogens that are being worked on in a laboratory to infect a laboratory worker, noting that hes spent [his] life studying viruses. Normally, when a pathogen goes from a zoonot to human, he added, it takes a while for it to figure out how to become more and more efficient in human-to-human transmission. The P4 laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, on April 17, 2020. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images) Because of that, Redfield said the CCP virus, which causes the COVID-19 disease, most likely was from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, that had escaped. Also in the interview, Redfield said he suspected the viral pandemic started as a localized outbreak in Wuhan earlier than many have suspectedin September or October of 2019instead of in December 2019 or January 2020. Im of the point of view that I still think the most likely etiology of this pathology in Wuhan was from a laboratoryyou know, escaped, Redfield further said in the CNN interview. Other people dont believe that. Thats fine. Science will eventually figure it out. CCP officials claimed the virus first emerged in December 2019, at a wet market in Wuhan several miles from the Wuhan lab. However, the Chinese regime has provided scant details about how the virus was transmitted and hasnt been able to pinpoint the animal that spread the virus to humans. At the same time, the CCP has received criticism from the international community, including human rights organizations, for its attempts to cover up the origin of the virus and for silencing doctors, whistleblowers, and others. The World Health Organization has previously speculated that the virus was transmitted from a bat through an intermediary animal. President Joe Biden last month said that a number of officials within the U.S. intelligence community, the group of 17 agencies led by the Office of Director of National Intelligence, suspects that the virus came from the Wuhan lab and announced they would investigate the matter. The leaders of the U.S., Korea and Japan may not be meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in London this month after all but in Washington. "U.S. President Joe Biden hopes to hold the trilateral summit in Washington as soon as possible," a diplomatic source said Wednesday. "The message has been delivered to Seoul and Tokyo, where diplomats are fine-tuning options." It appears Washington wants to make the meeting more visible than it would be on the sidelines of the G7 summit in order to impress China with a show of unity. George P. Bush greets mourners in front of the casket of his grandfather the late former President George H.W. Bush as he lies in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, Washington, on Dec. 4, 2018. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images) George P. Bush Announces Run for Texas Attorney General Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush declared his candidacy for Texas attorney general on June 2, challenging fellow Republican Ken Paxton. Paxton has held the post since 2015 and will be up for reelection in 2022. Bush is the son of former Florida Republican Gov. Jeb Bush and the nephew of former President George W. Bush. Bush made the announcement during an event at a bar in Austin, Texas. He touted the conservative agenda he implemented at the Texas General Land Office and circumspectly accused Paxtons office of corruption. But weve got our own problems in Austin. We have a web of corruption and lies that affect one of the highest offices in our land, and its time for a change, Bush said. We have a scandal that is plaguing one of our highest offices, and I believe conservatives should have a choice in the Republican primary. Bush appeared to be referring to an anonymously sourced report by The Associated Press published last year that claimed Paxton was under investigation by the FBI. Paxtons office had declined to comment on the report at the time. The two candidates are vying for an endorsement from former President Donald Trump. Bush is the only member of the family to support Trump and mentioned the former president by name in the speech announcing his candidacy and in his debut campaign video. Meanwhile, Paxton filed the highest-profile lawsuit challenging the outcome of the 2020 election in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case. Trumps endorsement will be the most consequential in the primary race. The former president has said he likes both candidates and will announce his preference soon. I like them both very much. Ill be making my endorsement and recommendation to the great people of Texas in the not-so-distant future, Trump said in a statement. Bush wrote on Twitter recently that he had spoken to Trump. Great to speak with President Trump to discuss the future of Texas and how we are keeping up the fight to put America first. I appreciate the words of encouragement and support. Big things coming soon! Bush wrote on May 24. The Google name is displayed outside the company's office in London on Nov. 1, 2018. (Toby Melville/Reuters) Google Reassigns Diversity Staffer Who Said Jews Have Insatiable Appetite for War and Killing Google has reassigned a top diversity officer after critics noted he wrote years ago that Jews have an insatiable appetite for war and killing, the company said on June 2. Kamau Bobb has been removed from Googles diversity team, a spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email. Bobb was the companys global lead for diversity strategy and research. Roughly a decade before joining Google in 2018, Bobb wrote on his blog about how he would feel if he were Jewish. If I were a Jew I would be concerned about my insatiable appetite for war and killing in defense of myself, he wrote. Self-defense is undoubtedly an instinct, but I would be afraid of my increasing insensitivity to the suffering [of] others. Bobb reportedly sent an apology letter to colleagues at Google, writing in part: What was intended as a critique of particular military action fed into anti-Semitic tropes and prejudice. I think we can all agree, there is no easy solution to this situation. But thats beside the point. The way I expressed my views on that conflict [was] hurtful. Jewish groups had called for Bobbs firing. Google must fire this anti-Semite, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights group, said in a tweet. The Coalition of Jewish Values wrote to Google CEO Sundar Pichai to urge him to immediately replace Bobb, indicating an apology was not sufficient. Yaakov Menken, managing director of the coalition, told The Epoch Times that people can change their views, and perhaps the uproar over the old remarks could lead to a change in Bobb. We definitely believe people can change their views, and maybe this is waking him up to the fact that he imbibed anti-Semitic poison and that can be cured. But having him in a research position places him where he can do very little harm; being diversity lead was in a position where he could do tremendous damage to the very fabric, the very ideal of diversity, he said. Googles spokesperson told The Epoch Times that company officials unequivocally condemn the past writings by a member of our diversity team that are causing deep offense and pain to members of our Jewish community. These writings are unquestionably hurtful. The author acknowledges this and has apologized. He will no longer be part of our diversity team going forward and will focus on his STEM work, the spokesperson said. This has come at a time where weve seen an alarming increase in anti-Semitic attacks. Anti-Semitism is a vile prejudice that has given rise to unfathomable acts. It has no place in society and we stand with our Jewish community in condemning it. A "We are hiring!" sign is seen in front of the Buya restaurant in Miami, Fla., on March 5, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Half of US States to End $300 Pandemic Unemployment Boost Early Republican leaders in 25 states will terminate the $300 weekly federal pandemic unemployment boost before funding for the program expires in September. The weekly boost to state unemployment benefits was part of the third Trump-era pandemic stimulus package. Even under Trump, some Republicans argued that the supplement, which was $600 per week at the time, would result in some people staying out of the workforce because they would earn more money by staying home. The benefit was renewed under President Joe Biden with a lower $300 per week amount, but has come under scrutiny because of lukewarm economic indicators and business owners complaining about being unable to hire workers. On June 1, Maryland became the 25th state to say it will terminate the benefits. All of the states involved will have terminated the payments between June 12 and July 13. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said that while the program gave important temporary relief during the pandemic, it was no longer needed, now that vaccines and jobs are in good supply. The 24 other states that are set to terminate the benefits offered similar explanations, arguing that the $300 weekly checks are causing people to turn down good jobs, leaving businesses struggling to maintain operations. The Biden administration and Democrats argue that other troubles are keeping people out of the workforce, including a lack of child care, fear of infection, and low wages. The seven-day rolling average of new COVID-19 infections in the United States is the lowest point since the beginning of the pandemic. More than 41 percent of the population is fully vaccinated and tens of millions are assumed to have acquired immunity, although some may still be able to transmit the virus. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus. The theory behind ending the $300 boost will undergo a large-scale test as two dozens states terminate the benefit. Benefits expire June 12 in Alaska, Iowa, Mississippi, and Missouri, with the other 21 states falling off through July 10. Unemployed workers may still be eligible for regular state unemployment benefits. But those vary widely. Unemployed people must take suitable jobs that are offered, White House officials have emphasized. Our view is that its going to take time for workers to regain confidence in the safety of the workplace, re-establish childcare, school, and commuting arrangements, and finish getting vaccinated, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on June 2. The White House wont try to stop states from cutting special unemployment benefits, she said last month. Based on data from May 8 Department of Labor records, about 2.8 million people were collecting pandemic benefits in the 25 states terminating the program in the next few weeks. Job postings are at a record high in the United States, while job growth in April was a disappointing 266,000. Employers in industries from manufacturing to hospitality say theyre desperately seeking more workers. White House officials fear that rushing to kill programs too early, before mass vaccination is completed, could hurt working people and an economy still struggling to get back to health and millions of jobs short of where it was before the pandemic. Reuters contributed to this report. MP Karen Andrews speaks to media during a doorstop in the Press Gallery at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on March 23, 2021. (Sam Mooy/Getty Images) Home Affairs Considering New Zealand Offer to Take Detained Refugees Australia is seriously considering the New Zealand (NZ) governments offer to resettle refugees who have been held in offshore detention. Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews told 4BC Radio on Wednesday that she was working with her NZ counterparts on how best to resettle refugees who have been medically evacuated to Australia. Were going to continue to look at resettlement options for these individuals, Andrews said. Weve made it very clear with New Zealand that there wont be a backdoor way for these people to be able to go to New Zealand and then return to Australia. Andrew said there were several hundred refugees currently living in Australia after being transported to the country under defunct medevac laws. And were doing all that we can to work through resettlement options for them. We clearly want to do that as soon as we possibly can, she said. But the real figure could be higher, with an official from the Department of Home Affairs telling a Senate Estimates hearing in March 2021 that 1,223 transitory persons (refugees) were in Australia for medical treatment. Andrews comments come after it was announced in January that the federal government would be releasing 26 asylum seekers from detention in Melbourne after they had been flown to Australia for medical treatment. At the time, Paul Power, the CEO of the Refugee Council of Australia, said that he welcomed the decision. This decision is well overdue given the people being released posed no risk to the community and yet were themselves put at risk by being locked indefinitely in detention facilities and hotels used as detention centres, Power said. Australia has pursued offshore processing, also known as regional processing, since 2001, with a break from 2008 to 2012. However, the government did not send everyone who came by boat to these overseas sites until July 2013, when Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd hardened Australias policy to illegal immigrants and sent them to either Christmas Island, Nauru, or Manus Island. A general view of asylum seekers and facilities at Christmas Island Detention Centre on Christmas Island, Australia, on July 26, 2013. (Scott Fisher/Getty Images) Rudd was also responsible for the policy that those found to be refugees could never come to Australia. The confirmation that Australia is willing to consider this step comes after New Zealand has maintained a long-standing offer to take 150 refugees a year who are currently being held in Australias offshore processing centres. The Australian government has never taken up the offer. Andrews noted that Australia would be looking at also working with the United States. Were working through those issues now, and we will continue to do so, and of course, we will continue to work with the United States about resettlement options there as well, she said. The United States offered, under former President Barack Obama, to take up to 1,250 refugees from Australias offshore system in exchange for Australia accepting refugees from the northern triangle of Central America, held in U.S.-run camps. Former President Donald Trump lambasted the deal but ultimately upheld it. People hold candles as they take part in a candlelight vigil at Victoria Park in Hong Kong on June 4, 2019. (Anthony Kwan/Getty Images) Hong Kong, Macao Authorities Ban Events Commemorating June 4 Tiananmen Square Massacre Both Hong Kong and Macao authorities have banned residents from participating in events in memory of the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests, days prior to June 4a historic day when leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ordered a massacre of anti-regime protesters. On June 1, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam emphasized during a press briefing that all agencies, groups, media outlets, and schools should conform to the Beijing-imposed National Security Law as June 4 approaches. When asked if residents are allowed under the draconian law to shout any slogan like End One-Party Rule, Lam evaded the question. Instead, she responded that there should be no activities against Chinas Constitution in Hong Kong. At the same time, the citys pro-Beijing authorities prohibited the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China from holding their annual candlelight vigil in Victoria Park on May 29, as well as blocking a demonstration to honor the 32nd anniversary of the June 4 incident. Activist Alexandra Wong, a white-haired local senior citizen, was arrested by a large group of police officers on a charge of unauthorized assembly on May 31 as she showed up alone at Southorn Playground in Wan Chaithe starting point of the proposed parade route. She held protest signs and was planning to walk the banned route to the Liaison Office of the Central Peoples Governmentthe CCPs highest authority in the city. She was released after a nights detention. On the same day, John Shum, a social activist and film producer, called on fellow Hongkongers to show their stance in an interview with international studies scholar Simon Shen. We should be loyal to our conscience no matter what happens to Hong Kong or what pressure we may face, Shum said. He suggested Hongkongers hold a candle by their window on the evening of June 4 as an expression of their thoughts. Conscience will never be conquered, he added. No state power can prevent me from commemorating the incident. Chen Qinghua, a former member of the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) and a witness of the June 4 massacre in Beijing, told The Epoch Times in an interview on May 28, The balancing logicthe Westernized separation of powers among different institutionshas been completely destroyed in Hong Kong although it was treasured here in history. He also said that the student protestseither demonstrations or hunger strikewere all voluntary, and never incited by others, or as the regime claimed, hostile foreign forces. The protesters at the time still believed in the CCP, never attempting to confront it, Chen said. He added thats why protesters at the time believed it was absurd for the CCP to send military tanks into Tiananmen Square to enforce the crackdown. With the implementation of Beijings National Security Law, the freedoms previously enjoyed by Hongkongers are being quickly eroded, critics said. On May 6, 26 pro-democracy activists who participated in last years vigil were sentenced to four to 10 months in prison on the charge of taking part in an unauthorized assembly. They included dissidents Joshua Wong, Lester Shum, Tiffany Yuen Ka-wai, and Jannelle Rosalynne Leung. Macao In the former Portuguese colony of Macao, police for the first time designated any Tiananmen-related events to be inciting subversion of state power in a May 25 reply to the Macao Union for Democratic Development. Au Kam San, a former member of the Legislative Assembly of Macao, told The Epoch Times on May 29 that police were now claiming that candlelight vigils in memory of the June 4 incident are against criminal law. He argued that it is ridiculous to declare events that have been held for the past 30 years to be illegal, while the citys criminal law developed in 1995 has remained unaltered. Historically, Hong Kong and Macao residents have lent moral and financial support to the Tiananmen Square protesters during the campaigns for democracy in China. On May 21, 1989, a day after the CCP purged General Secretary of the Communist Party Zhao Ziyang, who was sympathetic with protesters, and declared martial law in Beijing, an unprecedented march took place in the capital city, drawing more than 1 million people in support of the pro-democracy students in Beijing. After Beijing launched its bloody crackdown on protesters on June 4, 1989, Hong Kong citizens donated money again to launch the Operation Yellow Bird to rescue wanted or persecuted democracy activists from mainland China. On the very afternoon of June 4, 1989, nearly 200,000 Macao residentshalf of the then local populationtook to the streets and launched a record demonstration against Beijings killing of civilians seeking democracy. Some burned images of Deng Xiaoping, Li Peng, and Yang Shangkun, who were primarily responsible for ordering the massacre. Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law stands next to a banner reading "Free Hong Kong. Revolution now" as he attends a demonstration outside the Foreign Office in Berlin, Germany, on Sept. 1, 2020. (Tobias Schwarz/AFP via Getty Images) Hong Kong Police Tell Foreign Hosting Firm to Remove Website LONDONA Hong Kong pro-democracy website was temporarily taken down after police warned the Israel-based hosting company that it breached a national security law, highlighting concerns about actions by authorities in the Chinese city to muzzle online dissent abroad. Nathan Law, a Hong Kong opposition leader based in the U.K., tweeted Thursday that the hosting company, Wix.com, received a request from the Hong Kong police department to disable the 2021 Hong Kong Charter website. He posted screenshots of the police notice telling the hosting company the site contained messages likely to constitute offences endangering national security and that it would be prosecuted if it didnt comply. Wix, headquartered in Tel Aviv, said the website was removed by mistake and has been reinstated. We have reviewed our initial screening and have realized that the website never should have been removed and we would like to apologize, the company said by email. We are also reviewing our screening process in order to improve and make sure that mistakes such as this do not repeat in the future. Law said the site was down for three days. The Hong Kong police department said it wouldnt comment on individual cases. By going after a foreign company hosting a website abroad, the Hong Kong police request underlines fears about the lengths to which Chinese authorities are going to squelch dissent with the national security law. The law sparked waves of massive street protests in the former British colony before it was imposed last year and Hong Kong officials used it to justify freezing the assets of a pro-democracy publisher last month. It is outrageous that a website advocating democracy, even though it is located outside of China, might be blocked just because China considers it subversive, Law said in a statement posted on Twitter. It raises the possibility that other websites and online remarks critical of China will be the next targets of Beijings internet censorship. The 2021 Hong Kong Charter website was started by activists promoting their fight among overseas Chinese against Beijings sweeping crackdown on the semi-autonomous Chinese city and changes to its electoral system. By Kelvin Chan How Bidens Favored Unions Could Get Jammed in His Infrastructure Traffic President Biden repeatedly insists that his infrastructure plan will create millions of jobs and labor unions will be the big winners. But interviews with economists, union leaders, government officials and trade groups as well as basic math suggest otherwise. The once-dominant trade and construction unions no longer have enough members outside of their strongholds on both coasts and in the Midwest to claim most of the projected infrastructure jobs. By some estimates, two-thirds of these jobs will go to nonunion workers who dominate the construction markets in most states. Biden, in short, appears to be harking back nostalgically to an era of union strength in the private sector that is decades gone. Its going to be really hard for unions, says David Macpherson, an economist at Trinity University who specializes in organized labor. I expect they would get far less than half of the infrastructure jobs. In addition, the overall number of jobs that the $2 trillion American Jobs Plan will generate is a matter of debate. The proposal is so sprawlingcovering roads, bridges, water and transit systems, broadband, the power grid, clean energy, housing, and moreand the labor market is so unpredictable because of the pandemic that economists are making wildly divergent forecasts. One group says it will create a few million jobs; another says it wont create any jobs. The challenge for economists is particularly difficult in this situation, says Bill Dupor, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. There is a wide range of estimates of the jobs effect of infrastructure spending. In response to these challenges, the Biden administration is trying to put its thumb on the scale to give unions an advantage in securing the jobs that are createdand in some projects force nonunion workers to pay union dues to get a piece of the action. North Americas Building Trades Unions and other labor groups involved in cement, iron, electrical and other construction work are in line to benefit from the strategy. President Joe Biden speaks about infrastructure investment from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House in Washington on April 7, 2021. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images) Bidens Union Jobs Strategy The administration is pushing prevailing wage requirements on federally backed projects that make it easier for unions to win bids. Democrats say these laws, which often set wages at higher union rates, prevent a race to the bottom by nonunion contractors who pay about 13 percent less. Nonunion companies that dont like the higher labor costs and compliance headache shun these projectsto the benefit of unions. Bidens second lever of federal powergovernment-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs)packs more union clout. The PLAs hand unions control over big and complex developments to provide an ample and skilled workforce and prevent delays. PLAs, which were used on the Hoover Dam and Cape Canaveral, also keep nonunion contractors such as Mohawk Northeast away by imposing union work rules and extra costs. PLAs hurt nonunion contractors and are not fair because the competitive advantage we have is lost, says David Schill, a vice president at Mohawk, which operates in New England. Associated Builders and Contractors, a trade group of mostly nonunion members, and Republican lawmakers aim to undercut Bidens union strategy. They deride it as a Democrat payback to unions that punishes nonunion blue-collar workers and taxpayers. President Biden will receive pushback from the vast majority of the construction workforce and industry as well as some state and local governments, says Ben Brubeck, vice president of regulatory affairs at ABC in Washington. Taxpayers lose when small businesses cant access these jobs. The PRO Act Withers The pressure on the administration to deliver union jobs is rising as one of its major pro-union efforts, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, languishes in the Senate without enough votes. Sens. Mark Kelly and Sinema of Arizona and Mark Warner of Virginia have been the Democratic holdouts. A top priority of organized labor, the PRO Act would change the rules to make it far easier for unions to win collective bargaining rights. More controversially, it would void the right-to-work laws passed by 27 states that give workers a choice of whether to join a union. The Amazon fulfillment warehouse at the center of a unionization drive is seen in Bessemer, Ala., on March 29, 2021. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images) The legislation, which union leaders see as key to reversing the steady decline in membership, would mostly effect workers in manufacturing plants and warehouses like those run by Amazon. But when given the chance, employees at some companies have voted down unions. Workers at an Amazon facility in Alabama, for example, defeated a union drive in April. With the PRO Act all but dead, trade unions are not in the mood for an infrastructure compromise with Republicans that significantly slashes the plan. While the president has trimmed his proposal from $2.3 trillion to $1.7 trillion in a nod to bipartisanship, its still several times bigger than the offer from Republicans. They also reject Bidens call to raise corporate taxes to pay for it. A big infrastructure package will mean an enormous growth in employment and its going to build roads, bridges and tunnels that the country desperately needs, says David Mallino, legislative director of the Laborers International Union of North America in Washington. The current Republican offer falls short. Clashing Job Forecasts In the face of the obstacles, the administration has offered questionable and misleading estimates of the jobs the plan would produce. Although predictions from economists are all over the map, the administrations go-to estimate is from Moodys Analytics, a Wall Street research firm. Its chief economist, Mark Zandi, said in April that the infrastructure plan would generate about 2.6 million jobs over a decade after calculating the impact of federal spending on economic growth. Zandi wrote that spending on infrastructure when unemployment is high produces more bang for the federal buck, making the next few years an especially propitious time to increase investment. Administration officials then pumped up Zandis estimate for public consumption. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told ABC News in early April that the infrastructure plan will lead to 19 million jobsa number that added the Moodys estimate to the 16 million jobs that the firm said will be created regardless of the plan. Confronted with this fuzzy math, Buttigieg later walked back his overstatement. But a month later Biden stated in a speech in Louisiana that well create up to 16 million good-paying jobs, overstating Moodys forecast six-fold. In fact, the overall effect of the infrastructure plan on jobs may be nil. Thats the conclusion of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. By the time most of the infrastructure spending rolls out in the mid-to-late-2020s, the researchers predict, the economy will have already returned to full employment, eliminating the benefit to jobless workers at the center of Moodys analysis. Improvements to roads and broadband Internet will make the American workforce more productive, but that will be largely offset by the reduction in business investment from higher corporate taxes to pay for Bidens plan. We project that the net effects on employment will be very small, says Alex Arnon, associate director of policy analysis for the Penn Wharton Budget Model. Americas last major infrastructure push, which was part of the Obama administrations Recovery Act, didnt go according to plan. Overall the legislation did provide a needed boost to the collapsing economy. But Dupor of the St. Louis Fed says the $28 billion given to states to fix highways didnt significantly improve them and created only a limited number of construction jobs. How could that be? As President Obama put it in 2010, Theres no such thing as shovel-ready projects, which made it hard for states to quickly spend the money within the allowed two years. In addition, as federal dollars poured into states, Dupor says, they slashed their own highway funding, freeing it for other uses during the recession. Bidens buildout, which is set to occur over a decade, is designed to avoid these pitfalls. Prevailing Wage Violators How many infrastructure jobs go to unions will partly depend on a legal relic of the Great Depression called the Davis-Bacon Act. Congress expanded this prevailing wage law over the years to cover federally backed roads, bridges, airports, dams, schools, housing and community development projects as well as federal buildings like Veteran Affairs hospitals and courthouses. The giant construction union LIUNA, with the support of the Biden administration, is lobbying Congress to expand Davis-Bacon again as part of the infrastructure plan. A wind farm, used to generate wind power, stands along the roadside in Sanborn, Iowa, on Jan. 16, 2020. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) They want prevailing wage to apply to Bidens ramp-up of wind and solar farm construction, which will be heavily backed by federal tax credits. If developers get a tax break, LIUNA officials say, workers should benefit too with better wages. But prevailing wage has never been tied to tax credits before, making the proposal a tough sell amid moves by Republicans to repeal Davis-Bacon. An unlikely repeal would save taxpayers $12 billion in construction costs over the decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The bigger problem for unions is the widespread noncompliance with Davis-Bacon. The Labor Department found 7,000 to 16,000 violations a year by companies over the last decade, according to department data. To say the violations are common is an understatement, says Irv Miljoner, who enforced prevailing wage laws for decades at the department before recently retiring. Many complaints target nonunion contractors who win bids for prevailing wage projects but then pay workers lessundercutting the advantage that the law bestows on unions. In a rare crackdown, S.A. Taylor, a nonunion construction company in Virginia, agreed to a big $560,000 settlement in March after federal prosecutors said the company paid workers significantly less than the prevailing wage on two VA projects and falsified records to try to hide it. The Biden administration is making Davis-Bacon enforcement a priority in preparation for the infrastructure buildout. The enforcement division is hiring investigators after its ranks were depleted during the Trump administration. It now has more than 700 investigators spread across the country, a few hundred shy of Obamas crew. Our goal is to continue to try to put more boots on the ground to make sure we are pursuing the laws, says Jessica Looman, the divisions principal deputy administrator and former building trades official. The administration is also promoting controversial project labor agreements, which convert big developments like the Woodrow Wilson Bridge that spans the Potomac River into union work sites. PLAs are negotiated with unions before ground is broken. They set the rules of the road on wages, benefits, training programs and more to keep the many contractors on a big project in line and on time. But nonunion contractors like Mohawk Northeast avoid such agreements because they can jack up labor costs. Under these agreements in Connecticut, for instance, Mohawk must hire 70 percent of its workers from union halls, carry extra insurance to cover them and pay union fees for its nonunion workers who will never enjoy the benefits, says Schill of Mohawk. Already this year there have been four major projects with PLAs that we havent bid, he says. The administrations ability to mandate PLAs on federal projects is limited by laws protecting free competition. In a 2009 executive order, Obama went as far as encouraging federal agencies to consider mandating PLAs on projects on a case-by-case basis after surveying the views of contractors. Obamas order spurred a counter-offensive by PLA opponents. Nonunion companies with Associated Builders and Contractors attacked the proposed agreements in hundreds of surveys, arguing they were anti-competitive. As a result, agencies required them on only about dozen federal projects out of almost 1,900 over the last decade. The order also lifted a ban by the prior Bush administration on the power of states to require PLAs on their own federally backed projects. In response, more than 20 states in the South, Midwest and West passed laws restricting government-mandated PLAs, shielding hundreds of billions of dollars in construction spending from the union-friendly agreements. A handful of states like New York moved in the opposite direction to encourage their use. The Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge is seen in Tarrytown, N.Y., on April 9, 2020. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Construction on the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge just north of New York City shows how the agreements can backfire. When there was a shortage of experienced local union welders, ABCs Brubeck says, nonunion welders in the area declined to work on the bridge because of the PLA. Contractors ended up importing robotic welders from the South to do some of the work and made their handlers join a union. Union leaders, frustrated with the slow PLA rollout under Obama, are now pressing the Biden administration for better results. In May, the Treasury Department encouraged state and local officials to use PLAs on projects funded with $350 billion in pandemic recovery money. The administration is also urging Congress to attach them to upcoming infrastructure construction. Whether the president who calls himself a union man can deliver a huge infrastructure package with a bonanza of union jobs is the test hes yet to pass. Ive worked in the labor movement for 20 years and Im always ready for disappointment, says LIUNAs Mallino. But I have never felt more optimistic in my life about achieving real gains for members with this administration. This article was written by Vince Bielski for RealClearInvestigations. Inez Stepman: How Cancel Culture Conditions Society to Accept the Absurd History is being rewritten in schools across the country in line with the ideas of critical race theory. The Department of Education has proposed a rule to prioritize funding for education programs that incorporate the ideas of the New York Times 1619 Project and critical race theorist Ibram X. Kendi. This is just the tip of the iceberg of a dramatic cultural shift occurring in America todayfrom separating kids in school based on race to the debate about transgender athletes participating in female sports. In prisons in some states, biological males who identify as female can now be housed with females. In this episode, we sit down with Inez Stepman, a senior contributor at The Federalist and senior policy analyst at the Independent Womens Forum, to understand our current cultural moment and how woke ideology is transforming America. Jan Jekielek: Inez Stepman, such a pleasure to have you on American Thought Leaders. Inez Stepman: Its great to be here. Mr. Jekielek: Inez, something that you wrote recently, in The National Interest caught my eye. You were talking about this proposed rule with the Department of Education, basically bringing critical race theory into curriculums around the nation. Tell me about this. The other thing I want to make sure we do is I want you to tell me how you understand this whole concept of critical race theory, because everyone seems to have a little bit of a different take on it. Ms. Stepman: They are proposing a grant program that encourages schools around the country with money, a financial incentive, to adopt what theyre calling critical race theory and anti-racism. As you know and as you said, both those things have somewhat nebulous definitions, but they were helpful enough to include the three examples of what they were talking about in the text and surrounding the proposed rule. The first thing that they included was the work of Ibram Kendi. He is an academic who wrote, for example, Stamped From The Beginning which is a book laying out his views that America was stamped by racism from the beginning and not just in the obvious ways, the obvious historical ways, but in every system in the United States. My parents were immigrants who came to this country who cherished the Constitution and the ideals embodied in the Declaration of Independence. These are all just cover and in fact are themselves systemically racist. Just to give you an idea of how radical his scholarship is, one of the things hes proposed is to create a Department of Anti-Racism in the federal government. So far, this sounds unobjectionable to most people, but he wants that unelected department staffed by trained academics, presumably by him, to have veto power over every municipal, state, and federal law in the country, if it creates, in his eyes, any kind of disparity between groups. And he wants that body to have veto power over who stands for political office, who stands for elected office. Thats incredibly radical, incredibly contradictory with the American system, but yet the Department of Education is citing this guy as an example for what they want to encourage schools around the country to teach young Americans who then grow up to be voters in this republic. Mr. Jekielek: What you described sounds, probably to many people including me, like a kind of authoritarian position. Ms. Stepman: A little bit tongue in cheek, I call it woke Stalinism. His position is that a group of unelected academics should have complete veto power over all laws in the United States and, similar to how it works with the mullahs in Iran, to basically select the slate of candidates. The people may vote, but only on the candidates selected by people who think like Ibram Kendi. And hes very open about the fact that past discrimination in his view justifies current discrimination, i.e. that in order to undo the discrimination of the past, we need to actively discriminate in favor of marginalized groups today. He is incredibly radical, and yet, this is literally the U.S. government. According to this proposed rule, this actually becomes a regulation issued by the Biden administration. Theyll be giving grants. The federal government of United States will be giving grants to public schools around the country to teach Kendis [thought]. I think this is incredibly pernicious, especially for a multiethnic republic like the United States where we do have citizens of all different backgrounds. E pluribus unum is more than a funny phrase for us, right? Out of many, one. Its a challenge, and one that we necessarily must meet to remain a whole country with citizens who recognize each other as fellow citizens. I find this whole thing to be dangerous and pernicious and definitely not something that the federal government should be going out of its way to encourage. Mr. Jekielek: The 1619 Curriculum is also one piece of curriculum thats being cited here as an example. Ms. Stepman: Yes, and that is a project by Nikole Hannah-Jones among other authors. She was the lead author of it, published in The New York Times. Its been awarded with many, many fine awards, but it has also drawn criticism from virtually every corner of the political spectrum when it comes to historical accuracy. For example, one of the central claims of that piece, her overall narrative, is that the United States wasnt founded in 1776. It was founded in 1619 when the first African slave arrived on our shores and was brought here. To that end, she claims that the American Revolution was fought, for example, in order to preserve slavery. This is just flatly historically false. It has been recognized as false by historians all the way from the socialist left to the conservative right, and there are many, many inaccuracies besides that one in that project. Again, not something that the federal government should be encouraging teaching in our schools when it has been blasted across the spectrum for being not just a radical idea or having radical perspective, but actually for being completely historically inaccurate. Again, this is one of the examples that the Biden administration has laid out as basically the gold standard. We want schools to teach this, and I find that to be exactly the wrong approach. Parents across the country are already gathering in groups. Theyre already binding together because theyre so upset that a lot of this stuff has made its way already into the curriculum at the state and local level. What the Biden administration wants to do now is turbocharge that one side of that debate and once again push aside the many voices of parents who are saying, We dont want our kids to learn this. This is divisive and pernicious. Mr. Jekielek: Right, and were seeing a lot of these kinds of voices. In fact, we had Asra Nomani on the show recently, whos in Fairfax County, essentially fighting against implementation of critical race theory-based curriculum and ideas. The federal government doesnt set curriculum though. This is done in the states. How is this going to be adopted or how does it work? You talked about a carrot-and-stick approach. Ms. Stepman: Yes, I think a lot of people will be familiar with two things. The Common Core debates, that, I would say, reached a fever pitch around 2010, 2011, 2012 in this country which was an attempt by the federal governmentit started out in the states, but then the federal government got involved, the Obama administration got involved and essentially implemented, as you say, a series of carrots and sticks. If you adopt this kind of curriculum, well give you some nice grants. If you dont, you might be under the threat of investigation. For example, another thing that has been adopted in this way is something called restorative justice, a mode of discipline in schools that seeks to reconcile students with one another or students and teachers with one another. It comes from the criminal justice system. Im not saying that it has absolutely no merit whatsoever, but in schools unfortunately, it has prevented referrals to law enforcement for things like real threats, bringing bullets to school, right? Unfortunately, its coincided with a large increase in what I should frankly call crime because thats what it is, violent crime in schools. But in any case, it was implemented in exactly this way. On the one hand, there are grants for you to implement restorative justice practices. On the other hand, if you dont and you have, for example, racial disparities in your suspension or expulsion rates, then the Department of Education is going to investigate you under civil rights law. That powerful combination has been very successful in the past in implementing things that the federal government wants into the curriculum in all states across the country, even though, yes, the federal government has no constitutional power to set the curriculum in education. Even the Department of Educations enabling statutes forbid it from meddling in curriculum, and there are actually multiple laws by Congress reaffirming that the Department of Education does not have the power to set curriculum. Nevertheless, they have been meddling in this for decades, and this is the new thing in which theyre meddling. Mr. Jekielek: Fascinating. One thing that you said is very interesting. They look at these suspensions or expulsions or something like that and whether that actually reflects what the classroom makeup is, I guess by sex, by race, by gender, and so forth. If they dont, then they give you a penalty, right? Ms. Stepman: Right. Go ahead. Mr. Jekielek: Thats really interesting because that also speaks to the kind of approach that critical race theory and frankly a lot of these different critical theories take, right? They look at this immutable characteristic, in this case race, as the thing by which to judge everything, right? Ms. Stepman: Yes, its racial essentialism by another name, right? The corollary claim, as you point out, is if there is a disparitybetween ethnic groups, between racial groups, between the two sexes, any kind of classification by identity youd like to cut people up byif theres any kind of disparity in any way, then that must be ipso facto the result of discrimination. Thats simply not true. That premise is simply not true. There are thousands of reasons why such disparities might arise, starting with the fact, for example, that our school system unfortunately does assign students by zip code. We do not have a fully school choice-based school system, and there are a lot more minority kids in this country that are assigned to poor schools, schools that do not give them the education that they need to succeed in life. Ive spent most of my work in public policy, most of my time in public policy, fighting for school choice, fighting for equal opportunity. Just to look at the back end and say, Okay, well, there are disparities in society by race, by socioeconomic class, by sex, gender, and sexual orientation or whatnot, to only look at those disparities and then to work backwards and assume that its because of not just discrimination but systemic discrimination I dont think anybody denies that there are instances of racism in this country, just like there are instances of racism in every country in the globe and always have, and I suspect unfortunately, always will be. But the question is: do those instances amount to a sort of systemic barrier that prevents people from success? I dont think that the Kendi-types, the school of critical race theory, has actually proven that it is. In fact, we have a lot of social science evidence to the opposite. I dont think theyve proven their underlying premise at all. In the meantime, theyre teaching it. Our schools are currently teaching to kids who perhaps come into school not seeing themselves as a collection of essential attributes that determine everything about them. Theyre learning to view themselves and others that way. Like I said, I think this is particularly dangerous in a country that is as diverse as ours. Were not Sweden. Were not a homogenous society. We never have been, so to actively teach us reasons to hate each other to me seems to be completely wrongheaded and dangerous, and in fact, putting the United States on a very dark path. Mr. Jekielek: What is critical race theory? How does it work exactly and how does it basically create the scenario that you just described? Ms. Stepman: I think that the fundamental premise of critical race theory is what we just discussed which is that because disparities exist, there exist systemic forces. In fact the very system that we praise about the countryand not even just limited to the United States, when we praise the Constitution, the separation of powers, the Bill of Rights, that we praise the ideals of the Declaration, all of thataccording to critical race theorists, is in fact white supremacy or a system built by white supremacists in order to perpetuate their power, But it goes beyond the United States. It goes to the entire West, right? The critical race theorists are also critiquing the Enlightenment. Theyre critiquing the foundations of the Western Judeo-Christian values that in large part influenced so many. You can have the whole debate about what counts as the West, where the boundaries are, what different influences there were, but they wholly reject virtually any praise of Western civilization, in particular, the United States. I think that that is totally absent any kind of context about world history. To me, the remarkable thing about the United States is not that slavery existed in this country. Slavery existed for millennia before the United States, in fact, which apparently something 30 percent or 40 percent of people under 40 do not know. They think that the United States invented slavery, which is, again, a condemnation of our education system. The remarkable thing though, is not that the United States had slavery or that racism existed and at one point was systemic in this country, in the sense that it was enshrined into law, but the fact that we had a founding that pegged such a declaration against the idea that men are not created equal. The fact that we have this in our founding, we have this what Martin Luther King called promissory note to look back on and to reference and to become almost part of this American civic religion for us. Thats the thing that stands out to me when I look at world history. World history is full of not just the evils of racism, but the evils of violence and division and war and slavery and all kinds of evils that human beings can perpetuate on each other. The remarkable thing to me is that the United States has made so much progress away from day-to-day life having to deal with these kinds of horrendous evils and has built so much prosperity in doing so. Thats the remarkable thing about this country to me, not the fact that it too has black marks on its history. Whoop-de-do, every civilization in the history of the world has done some evil things along the way. Mr. Jekielek: To your point, I was thinking the 1619 Curriculumand correct me if you dont agreeis kind of American history according to critical race theory. From what I understand, Martin Luther King and Frederick Douglass are not included in that story, and thats fascinating and frankly very telling if thats true. I havent looked through the whole thing. Ms. Stepman: Frederick Douglass, I think the country would benefit enormously if more people read him. The more people read Frederick Douglass in this country, I think wed be in a better place. Exactly because he takes [an intellectual] journey. Not just because, of course, he had a remarkable life, escaping from slavery, teaching himself how to read and write. The only time you ever hear Frederick Douglass cited, you hear bits of his 4th of July speech cited where he says, What to the slave is the 4th of July? You hear that piece cited, but you never follow his intellectual journey, one that he took, I guess, in dialogue with Abraham Lincoln, from thinking that the American system was built on slavery, much like Nikole Hannah-Jones thinks, to declaring the Constitution the greatest anti-slavery document ever written. Thats the position that he came to over the course of his life and over the course of advocating vociferously for the abolition of the institution that had enslaved him. Critical race theory today is such a repudiation of Frederick Douglass work as you noted. Its also repudiation of key parts of Martin Luther King, Jr.s philosophy as stated in his famous speeches. I want to ask these folks, what do they think will happen or can happen if we continue down essentially a road of division and of racial essentialism? At what point do you think that people will just be irreconcilable in terms of their hatred for one another and can no longer live as fellow citizens? Thats what Im afraid of. Its hard enough to make a melting pot, which is an unfashionable idea now, out of the peoples of the world who have come here essentially. Its difficult enough even if you have a common purpose, a sense that American history belongs to us all. I consider George Washington and Frederick Douglass to be my countrymen, my history, right? I arrived here, as we were talking about before this, in my mothers womb. I was born here [in the U.S.] by just a few weeks. I consider that to be my heritage. Theyre not my blood, but it is my heritage. And I dont think America can survive without most of her citizens feeling that way about her common past, about her founding documents and the ideas contained in them. Thats what we have to bind us together. Mr. Jekielek: Thats very interesting. It makes me think of one of the things that you mentioned in your comment about this proposed rule, that it might actually violate civil rights law. I thought that I hadnt seen that angle before. Tell me about this. Ms. Stepman: Well, no organ of the governmentand in fact, also with public accommodations, even private businesses, but lets lay that aside for a momentcertainly organ of the government can treat citizens differently on the basis of race. What were seeing in some of these schools that are implementing this critical race theory is the introduction of affinity groups. David Duke is smiling down on this, separating out black children from white children from Asian children from Hispanic children and delivering different instruction to these groups of kids based on their race. Obviously, civil rights law doesnt forbid Ibram Kendi has a First Amendment right to write what I think is pernicious nonsense, but the government itself cannot treat children differently on the basis of race. That does violate civil rights law. It potentially violates the Equal Protection Clause as well under the 14th Amendment and I think we will see more and more. Christopher Rufo has been fantastic in gathering some lawyers to challenge some of these programs, and there are other groups doing it as well. I think increasingly we will see cases litigated under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and under the 14th Amendment about whether its permissible for the government in schools to discriminate on the basis of race just because we say its in an anti-racist context. Because thats whats happening. Mr. Jekielek: Thats right. FAIR is another group thats out there right now thats doing a lot of work and Parents Defending Education, I think, just barely a month old where Asra Nomani is working. Weve seen a lot of pushback on this actually. Were starting to see its typically either teachers or parents that just decide, but whats very curious to me is that everybody who has come out to talk about it, whether its Asra or Paul Rossi or Andrew Goodman, Ian Pryor in Loudoun County, all these people that have come out, they say the moment they do it, theres a ton of people that come out and say, Oh, thank goodness youre doing this. Youre so brave. I cant believe what youre doing. This is so important. But if so many people think this, why is it just these very few people who are stepping up at this point? Ms. Stepman: People are terrified of being called racist or now the term racist has lost its cachet because its so overused now. Its white supremacist, right? As applied to completely mainstream views in terms of politics, I think people are really scared of being called those nasty names, so that they have an enormous amount of power, which to some extent is good, right? I was actually asking John McWhorter about this on my podcast the other day, but we do want these words to have some power, right? We dont want people to be blase say about being called a racist. We should have this social program, but its become so strong that people are terrified to share their political views, even when theyre completely mainstream, and by any traditional definition, theyre not racist at all. Some polls show that up to 65 percent of the American public is afraid to share their political views. Thats what were seeing, right? As soon as one person stands up like Paul Rossi, as soon as somebody like Asra Nomani stands up, you get this flutter, or if you comment on these things publicly as I do, you get the emails, you get the DMs, I agree with you, but I could never say it. This is really pernicious. As you noted, Kendis ideas sound totalitarian. This worries me about the fact that self-censorship has progressed so far in this country that although we have what are probably the most ironclad protections for freedom of speech legally in the worldmuch more ironclad than, say, the UK or Canada. Im not just talking about third world countries but even countries that we think of as being generally liberal democracies. We have enormous protections for speech in this country, but if people are afraid to use their right to speak, you can end up with the same result as though you had censored speech on the basis of law. I think were quickly approaching that period, which is why Im so grateful that so many parents have spoken out now. I think the more people see other people seeing exactly what they think and are afraid to say, the more bravery will perpetuate itself and perpetuate more bravery and less these ideaswhich I really do believe have purchase only with a small percentage of the populationthe more these ideas will actually be challenged, in a way that until the last maybe six months to a year, they really have not been in our institutions. Mr. Jekielek: Right, something that you just said reminded me of this, so I pulled up this tweet by Zaid Jilani which I think we both commented on very, very quickly. I noted it to you a few days ago, and Im going to read the whole thing actually. I want to get your thinking behind it because we both saw something really interesting in this. He writes, There was a study performed a little while ago that showed a sense of victimization and supremacy are linked. When you think of yourself as a victim, make that your entire identity, you cant think about other peoples welfare or their feelings or your responsibility. You wrote, Extremely important to understand for our age. I wrote something similar, Its a fascinating small sample study. Id love to see a lot more of this work done. What did you see? Ms. Stepman: I see an explanation for how people behave. We talk nonstop about empathy in our politics, to the point where its extremely irritating to me. I call it like therapeutic language or therapeutic politics. We have politicians in positions of power talking about how theyre traumatized on the national stage, and yet all of this empathy creates a kind of viciousness towards your fellow citizen if they dont buy into the same political priors. I think that study is really interesting, and like you, Id like to see it done repeated in a larger context, but how viewing yourself primarily as a victim makes you paradoxically so completely vicious towards your fellow man. This is something that that Ive tried in various contextsIm not sure Ive ever quite captured itto explain about socialism and communism that, in fact, it does the opposite of create a brotherhood of man. If youre looking for brotherhood of men, America is much closer to that or at least traditional capitalist America is much closer to that, because weve created so much prosperity that my kids shoes dont mean that somebody elses kid goes without braces. When you pit people against each other in that zero-sum game and then you reward neediness, because I think thats the similarity here. In a communist country, you reward economic neediness, right? You have to stand up. You basically say, I am needy. Heres the list of things that Ive been deprived of and Im owed. That encourages a certain type of person. It creates a certain type of person culturally. I think the same thing is happening here, just not with regard to economics. Its happening with regard to identity, whether thats racial or sex or gender identity or sexual orientation or whatever else categories people like to create for themselves. Its the need for that victimization that has turned into cachet, that then grants you all kinds of privileges in society culturally or socially speaking that you wouldnt have. One of those privileges is to disregard the thoughts, the feelings, the needs of others around you. Paradoxically, I think it makes us, hence, nastier people who are unable to sit down with a fellow citizen and share our views and have an intelligible debate and then still continue, for example, to be friends with each other afterwards. Mr. Jekielek: You can disregard a whole swath of people basically based on their identity of some sort. Thats what youre saying? Ms. Stepman: Unless they debase themselves entirely, right? Thats what were seeing. The demand from critical race theorists is that if youre white or if youre a man, you should completely psychologically debase yourself and apologize for sins committed long before you were ever born. First of all, I dont understand truly the psychology behind wanting that debasement. Lets say, youre a black person in the United States, does any black person the United States, any, Im sure there are, but do people actually want somebody like Robin DiAngelo who wrote the book White Fragility? Do people want to be treated as though theyre like kids? Because thats how I see this writing. You cant say what you think, cant advance an idea, cant talk to somebody like an adult. You have to treat people who may have a skin colorthat at one time meant that that the United States law treated them very unfairly and at one timejust on the basis of that to have this interaction. I think its very, very childish. I think its very condescending. I would hate it, in fact, when people treat me like that because Im a woman, most of the people on the left, right? I find it enraging. I dont ever want people to hold back what they think or not treat me as a fully cognizant adult because Im a woman, but it seems like in a lot of these interactions that is the only acceptable way for people of different racial backgrounds to have a conversation. I cant think of anything that thats more irritating personally. Mr. Jekielek: Well, youre in good company with Bob Woodson. Hes been on the show a number of times and has told me this is just purely insulting a whole group of people. I want to talk a little bit about how this woke or critical social justice ideology applies to sex and gender. This is obviously one of your main topics. Youve described to me previously that theres basically kind of an advocacy for the abolition of legal sex [definitions]. I think those are the words that you use. It sounds insane when you hear that as a biologist. Sex is pretty clear biologically. You dont get much more clear, right? How do these critical theories apply to sex and gender? Frankly, even sex and gender are becoming mixed up in our minds certainly for me even when I think about it. Ms. Stepman: Theres plenty of debate about the definitions here, but for the purposes of the conversation, lets say that sex applies to biological sex. Gender is an expression of that sex in society, and therefore is at least partially socially constructed, although I would argue that even gender isnt wholly socially constructed. Its not arbitrary. Theres a reason that most girls are feminine and most boys have masculine traits. There are biological and hormonal reasons for that. When I say the abolition of legal sex, I think thats exactly whats happening there. There are two major pieces of legislation that, in my view, are attempts to abolish biological sex in the categories of male and female from the law. One is the Equality Act. It has been going through Congress, has passed the House, is now in negotiation in the Senate. The other is the Equal Rights Amendment which is an attempt to amend the Constitution to say that there shall be no discrimination on the basis of sex. Now, that sounds very nice in the way that we use the word discrimination in common parlance which means in some way unfair discrimination, but we discriminated on the basis of sex all the time in ways that I think people would be shocked if we stop doing it. For example, we discriminate on the basis of sex when we separate mens and womens prisons. We dont put males and females into lockup together for obvious reasons. We discriminate on the basis of sex when we have male and female sports teams, right? This is the big transgender debate, but in some ways, both the Equality Act and the Equal Rights Amendment make the transgender accommodation debate moot because they explode the categories of sex all together. Its easier to talk about what do we do with a tiny percentage of exceptions, whats the fairest way to deal with those exceptions. Its much more radical, in my view, to blow up those categories altogether and to pretend that sex is a spectrum, which it is not. The human species, as you know as a biologist, is sexually dimorphic. A tiny percentage of genetic pathologies do not disprove thatthose examples like some people are born XXY or YYX. There are some genetic maladies that create appearance of having sex organs of both sexes and so on. That doesnt mean the human species is not sexually dimorphic. We are. Were biologically male, biologically female, and yes, there are some very tiny percentage of exceptions. Im not speaking in the derogatory sense here; theyre pathologies in the medical sense. Theyre abnormal genetic mutations. To not recognize that, I cant think of anything in some sense more radical. Critical race theory in some way I understand, even though I think its damaging and pernicious and all the things that we just talked about. We talked about Frederick Douglass. He started with the position, essentially the underlying position of critical race theory, that The systems of this country, its Constitution and its Declaration, are what are oppressing me, and I think unlike todays minorities, he could have an indisputable claim to being oppressed. He was literally enslaved because of the color of his skin and forbidden from learning to read or write or improve himself in any way, but he moved on from that position the more he learned about our system. But I can understand the impulse [behind critical race theory]. We arent so many generations removed from, for example, Jim Crow, right? I can understand the impulse to say, This country, I guess, Langston Hughes said it best, It was never America for me. I think thats a Langston Hughes poem, It Was Never America For Me. I understand this impulse. I think its ultimately destructive, but it makes more sense to me than the idea that biological sex is not real. This is something that I cant believe were debating. Its so obvious that not only are men and women biologically differentin the sense that men are stronger and faster and this makes women vulnerable in certain situations like prisonbut also that our brains are different. Theres a ton of social science and science-science, neurobiological research, that shows that men and women are quite different, and those differences start in the womb. There was a study, I think in 2017, that showed that you can with 96 percent accuracy or something determine by a brain scan whether a six-month-old fetus is male or female. Thats not social construction. Thats not taught to us by evil, sexist patriarchs. That doesnt mean that women are lesser, theyre dumber or incapable or anything like that. It means that we are different, and we should expect, ultimately, that men and women in a free society will make different choices about life, career, interpersonal relationships, that theyll behave differently, that its appropriate for them to, on average, behave differently. We dont have to be deterministic about any individual to say Yeah, I think society should treat men and women differently in certain circumstances where those differences are relevant. And most certainly, the law should recognize when men and women are different, and those differences are relevant on sports teams or in prison or any situation in which those very real biological differences become relevant. Now theyre not relevant in all situations. Its not relevant to who can become a chemist, for example, but there are many situations in which theyre relevant. It seems to me to be anti-reality to pretend that thats not the case, and it has really terrible consequences for girls and women. Mr. Jekielek: It is actually pretty amazing when you think about it. I think the vast majority of people looking at reality, not even a party to some of these studiesthats a fascinating study about the brain scans, for examplewould understand that humans are sexually dimorphic fundamentally. But this is being discussed at the highest intellectual and policymaking levels of the country as if it was not true. How does that happen? Ms. Stepman: I think it happens for the same reason. People are afraid to say something that is, as you say, patently obvious. To the point where we see a lot of parents feeling they have to shut up, for example, about their daughter running track against biological men and losing out on scholarships because of that. The data was just releasedor there was a leak basically because they tried to hide this from the pressin Washington State and Oregon, they are putting men into womens prisons if they claim to identify as female. That has already in Washington State resulted in at least one sexual assault in a prison by a sex offender who claimed to be female, was put in with women, and then committed an assault. Mr. Jekielek: Its like a license for sexual predators basically. Ms. Stepman: Yes. Its foolish to imagine that these laws wont be taken advantage of by the way by sexual predators, by other folks who are looking to exploit any kind of advantage, whether thats actual predation or just the opportunities in scholarships and so on for women. Im not in any way saying for transgender people, this is their motivation or whatever. But once you erase those legal categorieswhich is why by the way something like the Equality Act goes much further even than its proponents say it does. They say that it protects transgender Americans from discrimination. I would say thats fine, but there are, again, certain situations in which your biological sex is relevant. Maybe its not relevant in all situations, if youre applying for credit, for example, at a bank. Maybe it doesnt matter, but if youre talking about sports or prisons or anything that references the biological differences between men and women, I would say it still matters. But the legislation goes much further even than that because it doesnt just say transgender. It says gender identity, and its wholly based on self-identification. Thats when you have situations like this. Im speculating here, I dont know the details of this case, but I would bet a lot of money that this man who claimed to be a woman, who identify as a woman, the sex offender, hes not transgender, right? He just saw the opportunity and went for it. Now, again to be clear, I cant confirm that, but I would be very surprised if he actually had a history, a long history of being a transgender person. It seems to me more likely that he declared himself this way because the law was based around gender identity with no reference to biological sex and entirely self-determinative. I think its foolish to imagine that there wont be a lot more use of these laws. In the case of the Equal Rights Amendment, we can dispense with this controversial subject of self-identification altogether. Because a boy can just say, I have a 400-meter time that qualifies me to be at the top of the girls team. The only reason Im not admitted to the team is because Im a boy. Therefore, thats a discrimination on the basis of sex. Therefore, you are in violation of an Equal Rights Amendment. Theres no need to even go into how you identify at that point. You just say, This is a discrimination on the basis of sex. Im a boy. I want to run on the track team. The cutoff score is X. My time eminently qualifies for that. Why are you discriminating on the basis of sex by keeping me out? Mr. Jekielek: Thats unbelievable. Ms. Stepman: It sounds crazy. It is crazy. It is patently obvious that men and women are different. Actually, I worry beyond the issue itself, which I think is really important. I worry that its training us to be silent about things that are obvious, to cultivate a public and private self. In your own mind, you know this is crazy. It is crazy to send a man, a biological man into the boxing ring with a biological woman. That actually happened in MMA and it ended up with the female fighter going to hospital with a broken skull. People know this is crazy, but theyre afraid to say it. I think thats almost more pernicious than any of the effects of the thing itself. Its bad enough, but the worst thing is that its training us not to say whats obvious. Mr. Jekielek: Theres a kind of social conditioning thats been happening. Its like political correctness on overdrive, right? Ms. Stepman: Yes. I think we are not having honest conversations with each other outside of some forums like this one. That can never be productive, right? No matter where you are in the political spectrum, it cannot be productive to get people to lie about what they think. Were not going to come to any kind of conclusion. I think this is really what happened and why so many people reacted the way they did to Trumps election. It was like a slap in the face to them because they had never Its like that apocryphal story about the Times columnist or whatever, who said, How did Richard Nixon win? I dont know a single person who voted for him. I think for a lot of people, it was a slap in the face: What do you mean? There are 63 million Americans who voted for this guy. Instead of wanting to find out why so many millions of their fellow Americanswho are nice people, they meet on the street, theyre in the checkout line in the grocery storewhy so many of their fellow Americans voted in a way that was so incomprehensible to almost everybody in the media and the political class. Instead of having a genuine curiosity and wanting to understand whats in their heads, they immediately slapped a bunch of labels on those people. Im not talking about Donald Trump. I know hes a figure who incites plenty of emotion on both sides. I frankly dont care so much about Donald Trump. I want to understand why 63 million and then 75 million Americans voted the way they did. Theres the total absence to that curiosity. Instead, were just slapping all these labels on it which makes it impossible for us to have an honest conversation. If you start the conversation by saying, Youre a bigot; youre a racist; youre an evil person, thats the end of the conversation, right? We cant do that because no matter what side of the political divide youre on, there are literally tens and tens and tens of millions of Americans who disagree with you in the same country. Were never going to get anywhere if were not honest with each other. Recently, Ive started a podcast called High Noon in an attempt to have exactly those honest conversations. So far, its been mostly people from the liberal left, but I do have Heather MacDonald. Im speaking with her later today. So some folks from the conservative right as well, but I would say what they have in common is that theyre in that 35 percent. We said that 65 percent of Americans are afraid to have those honest conversations. My hope is that with High Noon, we can have those honest conversations, disagree, talk about all kinds of political issues, talk about sex and gender, talk about race in this country, talk about all the things that are third rail and not allowed and start these conversation. Its in the hopes that, like I said about Paul Rossi, when people hear that other people think something similar to them and theyve been keeping those thoughts silent, they get a little bit braver. Thats what Im hoping to do with my podcast is to make everybody a little braver by inviting some of the brave onto the podcast. Mr. Jekielek: Well, absolutely fascinating. Its High Noon. Where does someone find the podcast again? Ms. Stepman: You can find it at iwf.org or you can find it anywhere you get your podcast, so thats Apple, Acast, Google. Anywhere you get your podcast, it should be available, and we also have the YouTube videos up. Mr. Jekielek: These are some wonderful people youve had on: Deborah Soh, John McWhorter, Chris Rufo, whos been on this show, of course, Heather MacDonald and Melissa Chen. This is a very interesting start. Ill be watching. Thats for sure. The final thing is creating this type of discourse, empowering people to speak up around these things when are theyre being told, Youre not allowed to talk about, thats one thing, but then actually eliciting change, there are people that are doing this as well. Where are the areas that you see as we finish up that the biggest push should be? Ms. Stepman: I think Chris Rufo tells us to be not to be pessimistic and that, in fact, there are reasons to be optimistic about how Americans are waking up about this critical race theory stuff. Some of the most radical gender and sex stuff, I dont think the majority of the American people agree with those things, and I think theres enormous energy around pushing back, especially on the local level. You mentioned some of the fantastic groups like FAIR that are pushing back on the local level, on the national level against these ideas. I guess what I worry about is how easily our institutions were captured by those ideas. Thats the part that makes me pessimistic. Im optimistic about the American people. I am pessimistic about our institutions. I think in many cases were going to have to work around them or build new ones. Here, Im talking about flagship institutions, like The New York Times that had essentially this woke coup that that ended up with several of the major editors having to leave and then more worryingly something like the military which has put out these recruiting ads that basically sound like something from the faculty lounge and of course, then the administrative agencies now run by the Biden administration that are putting out rules like this proposed rule that I commented on. These institutions worry me enormously, the fact that it was so easy for them to adopt this ideology, the fact that they have an enormous amount of gatekeeping power still. I think our future is very much on a razors edge in terms of whether the power of the pragmatic American peopleI hold many views that Im pretty sure are not majority views in the United States, but I do trust the American people to be fair and pragmatic and not to be ruthless ideologues, totally invested in something like critical race theory, and that makes me optimistic. But on the flipside, I dont have that faith in our elites. I dont have that faith in what Michael Lind calls a managerial class, and I dont have that faith in our institution. I think whats in front of us is the very difficult job of building new institutions, and well see how we do with that job in the next 10 years. Mr. Jekielek: Inez Stepman, its such a pleasure to have you on. Ms. Stepman: Thank you so much for having me. Its been great. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. Subscribe to the American Thought Leaders newsletter so you never miss an episode. You can also follow us on Parler, Facebook, or YouTube. If youd like to donate to support our work, you can do so here. Police stand outside the hotel where a meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is held, in Vienna, Austria, on Jun 2, 2021. (REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger) Iran Nuclear Deal Talks Set to Break for a Week, Diplomats Say VIENNATalks aimed to revive Irans nuclear pact with global powers were expected on June 2 to adjourn for a week, diplomats said, with the remaining parties to the deal due to meet in the evening to sign off on the move. The adjournment to June 10 would leave only eight days to reach an agreement before Irans presidential election, which is likely to usher in a hardline president. Delegates say that while a deal is possible by then, that timeline appears increasingly unlikely. Formal meetings of the remaining partiesIran, Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany, and the European Unionin a format known as the Joint Commission have punctuated and bookended indirect talks between Iran and the United States on both countries returning to full compliance with the 2015 deal. The EU chairs Joint Commission meetings in the basement of a luxury hotel and leads shuttle diplomacy between Iranian envoys and a U.S. delegation based in another luxury hotel across the road. Iran refuses to hold direct talks with Washington. A meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action will take place in Vienna today, Wednesday 02 June 2021, the European Union said in a statement, referring to the Iran nuclear deal by its official name. The statement gave no time. One delegate said the meeting would be in the early evening and another said 7:30 p.m. (1730 GMT). As the day wore, on, however, other diplomats said the time was slipping. The meeting of the Joint Commission of #JCPOA is postponed until late evening, the head of Russias delegation, Mikhail Ulyanov, who is also ambassador to the U.N. nuclear watchdog, wrote on Twitter. He didnt give a time. Two diplomats said the talks, which are in their fifth round and began in April, were expected to adjourn for a week, resuming on June 10. Irans top nuclear negotiator said the barriers to the revival of the deal are complicated but not insurmountable. Differences have reached a point where everyone believes these differences are not insolvable, Abbas Araqchi told Iranian state TV ahead of the meeting. But the details are important and Irans firm positions are important to be observed. Irans government spokesman on June 1 denied that negotiations had stalled with the Islamic Republics June 18 presidential election less than three weeks away. The International Atomic Energy Agencys 35-nation Board of Governors holds a quarterly meeting next week, with a number of the delegates at the nuclear talks due to take part. By Francois Murphy Israeli soldiers walk during a search operation in the village of Salem, east of Nablus, following a reported shooting attack at an Israeli driver near the Allon Moreh settlement in the northern West Bank, on June 3, 2021. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP via Getty Images) Israel Arrests Top Hamas Terror Leader in West Bank The Israeli military announced on June 2 that it has arrested a senior leader of the Hamas terrorist group in the West Bank. Sheikh Jamal al Tawil, a senior Hamas leader, was arrested on June 1 in the city of Ramallah by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) elite Duvdevan Unit in cooperation with the Israel Security Agency, the IDF announced. The IDF alleges that al Tawil recently took part in organizing violent riots, incitement to violence, and trying to reestablish a base for the Islamist terrorist group in Ramallah. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem confirmed and denounced the arrest of its senior leader, saying that his apprehension will not silence the voice of resistance in the West Bank and that it wouldnt stop further activity by the group in the territory. The arrest came amid a general crackdown by Israeli authorities on Hamas activities in the West Bank in recent days, reported The Times of Israel. A spokesperson for the Israel Security Agency told the outlet that more than 10 Hamas members had been arrested on May 20, including Naif Rajoub, a prominent Palestinian politician. Its unclear whether or how many members were later released. Israel and Hamas had concluded more than a week of fighting after a ceasefire was brokered by Egypt on May 20. The latest conflict came on May 10, after Palestinian rioters and Israeli police clashed in and around the Masjid al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Also due on May 10 was a now-postponed Israeli Supreme Court hearing to evict several Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, who were found to have not paid rent. According to reports, Israeli police had been clashing with Palestinian protesters and rioters weeks prior to the hearing. Ofir Gendelman, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said that Israeli police were responding to extremist Palestinians who planned the riots at the al-Aqsa Mosque on May 10. But Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, accused so-called Israeli occupation forces of conducting a brutal raid at the al-Aqsa Mosque, Reuters reported. The Israeli Iron Dome missile defense system (L) intercepts rockets (R) fired by the Hamas terrorist group toward southern Israel from Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip as seen in the sky above the Gaza Strip overnight on May 14, 2021. (Anas Baba/AFP via Getty Images) Hamas fired more than 150 rockets into Israel on May 10 after it told Israel to remove its police from the mosque area, sparking days of fighting that saw more than 4,000 rockets launched at Israel, which responded with retaliatory airstrikes toward the Gaza strip that intercepted roughly 90 percent of the rockets. The conflict resulted in the deaths of 13 people in Israel and at least 253 people in Gazaan unknown number of whom were struck by at least 460 Hamas rockets that had misfired and exploded in Gaza. While no further rockets or airstrikes have occurred after the ceasefire was brokered, Hamas this week apparently pushed for further unrest in the region. The terrorist group called for Palestinians to take part in a day of rage in response to what it called settlers aggression and the May 10 storming of the al-Aqsa Mosque, reported The Times of Israel. In particular, Hamas called on Palestinians to block Israeli bypasses in the West Bank and to gather at areas where clashes regularly occur with IDF soldiers. Journalist Andy Ngo Confirms He Was Chased, Beaten in Portland While Covering Antifa Journalist Andy Ngo, who has spent years documenting the activities of the anarcho-communist group Antifa, confirmed in a statement on June 2 that he was once again assaulted while he was reporting on protests in Portland, Oregon. The attack against Ngo occurred on May 28 when the journalist was covering a rally on the anniversary of George Floyds death. Several media outlets reported that a group of protesters pursued and assaulted a man who they believed was Ngo. However, the mans identity couldnt be confirmed at the time. In his account, Ngo, editor-at-large for The Post Millennial, said the assault began shortly before midnight when an Antifa member who had allegedly assaulted the journalist in 2019 approached him with questions. Ngo said he attempted to avoid speaking with the man and walked away, but a group of masked people in black began pursuing and surrounding him. One of the protesters pulled down Ngos mask and immediately yelled: Thats Andy. Get him! Get him! Ngo recounted how the group chased him through downtown Portland before tackling him to the ground in front of Pioneer Place Mall. His attackers allegedly punched him in his head and face. I pleaded for them not to kill me. All the time I could hear the angry cries and footsteps of the mob approaching, Ngo wrote. He said that at one point, he managed to crawl away and escape to the nearest business, which was The Nines hotel. He alleged that while he was inside, members of the group began pounding on the doors and windows while screaming Ngos name. He said the episode lasted for about an hour before riot police arrived. Video footage of the incident released by Willamette Week shows individuals, some clad in black and masks, yelling Nazi scum and expletives at The Nines hotel. The individuals appeared to have spotted Ngo, and began screaming his name and pounding on the windows. At one point, several individuals attempted to gain entrance into the hotel, but employees blocked their path. Other individuals continued to yell expletives in the direction of the hotel. Ngo was eventually transferred to the hospital for injuries to his head and body. Photos show that Ngo was scraped, bleeding, and bruised. He closed his statement calling on authorities to take action against the Antifa group and urged journalists to support him by standing up for the First Amendment. I call on the Portland Police and federal authorities to act on this before Antifa operatives hiding behind their masks succeed in murdering an American journalist on their watch. And I call on journalists and all those who believe in the First Amendment to join me in standing against the tyranny of those who use violence to terrorize, silence, and suppress the truth, Ngo wrote. The Portland Police Bureau confirmed to The Epoch Times that the incident is under investigation but did not provide further comment. A Portland Police spokesperson told Oregon Live on May 28 that an individual who reported being chased had gotten into an ambulance. Ngo was brutally assaulted in 2019 while covering one of Antifas protests. The scene was captured by a local reporter in video footage that shows Antifa members punching him in the face, kicking him, and hurling cups of a white substance at the journalist. Portland Police later said the cups contained quick-drying cement mixed into milkshakes. He sustained a brain hemorrhage, which doctors said could have been fatal. Antifas origins can be traced back to the anti-fascist movement in Germany, which was part of the Soviet Unions front operations to incite a communist revolution in the European country. In the United States, the group claims that its members are fighting fascism, but instead theyre labeling parties and individuals who dont align with their ideology as fascists to justify their use of violence against them. The group has frequently made headlines for its violent attacks on opposing groups, particularly supporters of former President Donald Trump, whom they have branded as fascists. FBI Director Christopher Wray in September 2020 described Antifa as more of an ideological movement than an organization. Ngo told The Epoch Times in an interview with Crossroads in February that Antifa is more than an idea. Its also a movement. It has networks of organizations, and some of them are organized into formal groups, he said. Ella Kietlinska contributed to this report. Article updated with Portland Police Bureaus response to request to comment. A U.S. flag flies as fireworks explode above the Mount Rushmore National Monument during an Independence Day event in Keystone, S.D., on July 3, 2020. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images) Judge Rules Against Noem, Wont Allow Fireworks at Mount Rushmore The decision was against a motion for a preliminary injunction A federal judge this week decided not to grant South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem a preliminary injunction that would see fireworks allowed at Mount Rushmore for July 4. U.S. District Judge Roberto Lange, an Obama appointee, ruled that Noems lawsuit is unlikely to succeed and that the Biden administrations rejection of a requested permit was not arbitrary or capricious. The National Parks Service denied the permit request for five reasons, including concern over the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak, concern about the potential for wildfires, and undermining relationships with Native American tribes in the area. The concern about COVID-19 spread, from the perspective of someone writing on March 11, 2021, was very real and based on relevant data, Lange wrote in his 36-page decision, adding that the court cannot at this time say the services choice to honor tribal concerns was irrational. Additionally, the judge sided with the defendants in the argument over whether officials changed their position from the year prior without explanation. The NPSs denial of the 2021 permit after it granted the 2020 permit is not the sort of a change in policy requiring fuller explanation as to the reason for the change. But, in any event, the NPS acknowledged the 2020 event in its letter and explained some of the problems that arose from having the event and how those issues factored into its decision, Lange said. Ultimately, there are strong arguments in both directions as to the balance of harms, and the public interest in the short-term appears to lie with having the fireworks display, whereas more long-term interests militate against it at least for this year, he concluded. The Department of Interior declined to comment. Big Fire Law and Policy Group, which represents the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in the lawsuit, said the ruling was not surprising. In light of the high burden in this case, which the state did little to meet, Governor Noems lawsuit does not appear to have been a serious effort to win an injunction. Instead, it looks more like a piece of political theater aimed at exciting the Trump-Noem base. We are dismayed that Governor Noem has used the federal court to jeopardize our religious freedoms and our beautiful American landscape in service of her political ambitions, Nicole Ducheneaux, a lawyer with the group, said in an emailed statement. Noem vowed to appeal the ruling. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 27, 2021. (Octavio Jones/Reuters) The Biden Administration canceled South Dakotas Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration on completely arbitrary grounds. I am disappointed that the court gave cover to this unlawful action with todays decision. But rest assured, this fight is not over, she said in a statement. My legal team will appeal so that we can return the Fireworks Celebration to Mount Rushmore and celebrate our nations birthday at Americas Shrine to Democracy for next year and in the future. Noem sued Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and others in April after the National Park Service rejected the permit request. In the motion for a preliminary injunction, the plaintiffs said they would lose tens of millions of dollars in direct spending and earned advertising if the fireworks event were not held this year. The lawsuit has drawn nationwide attention. Seventeen attorneys general last month joined it to support Noem while a number of groups, including tribal groups, intervened on behalf of the defendants. Ontario Premier Doug Ford announces that schools will not resume-in-class learning until September during a press conference at Queen's Park in Toronto on June 2, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette) Keeping Schools Closed Is an Unnecessary Risk Commentary Ontario Premier Doug Ford wants students to be safe. Thats the reason he gave for keeping K-12 schools closed for the remainder of the year. It was a hard choice to make, but I will not, and I repeat, I will not take unnecessary risks with our children right now, explained Ford. Fords heart might be in the right place, but now is the time for him to follow his head rather than his heart. If he did that, he would realize that theres overwhelming evidence that opening schools is the right thing to do. First, theres an emerging scientific consensus that schools can reopen safely. Dr. David Williams, Ontarios chief medical officer, stated that he supports the reopening of most schools. So have other health officers in the province. Even the provinces own scientific advisory council has recommended opening most schools. A significant number of other medical experts have also called for the reopening of schools. These include, among others, the Hospital for Sick Children, the Ontario Medical Association, the Pediatricians Alliance of Ontario, and the McMaster Childrens Hospital. This widespread call to reopen schools is about as close as its ever going to get to a scientific consensus. Its not hard to see why these medical experts want schools to reopen. Schools play a key role in safeguarding the mental and physical health of students. For many children, school is their safe place and is an opportunity for them to receive support that they simply cant get at home. For many students, this is a healthy breakfast or lunch, while for others its much-needed emotional support from a trusted teacher or guidance counsellor. While Ontario schools will continue to provide remote learning for students, everyone knows that remote learning is substantially inferior to in-person learning. The vast majority of students learn best in a classroom where they can interact directly with their teacher and classmates. Sitting at home and looking at a screen is a poor substitute for an active in-person learning experience in a classroom. Underlying Fords decision is the precautionary principle. Essentially, this principle emphasizes caution, saying that its best not to do something if theres a risk of harm. The maxim better safe than sorry sums it up nicely. However, the problem with the precautionary principle is that it focuses on only one variable and overlooks many other important considerations. In this case, Ford is focused on ensuring that students dont catch or spread COVID-19. This is a worthwhile goal, but it cant be the only factor under consideration. Thats because closing schools carries significant risks of other harms. Closing schools means that mental health problems have skyrocketed, many students have lost access to healthy food, vaccination rates for other diseases has declined (since many happen in school), and, most importantly, students miss out on fundamental academic learning. These are not minor factorstheyre significant and theres real harm to students who arent in school. Simply put, Ford is taking an unnecessary risk by keeping schools closed. Hes willing to sacrifice everything to keep COVID-19 transmission rates low among students and their teachers. The fact is that schoolchildren are least likely to suffer significant health complications from COVID-19. But theyre the most likely to suffer from other health problems as a result of schools being closed. In short, keeping schools closed carries far more risk than allowing them to reopen. The harms are well-documented and Ford cant turn a blind eye to the impact they have on students. If Ford wants to put the health and well-being of students first, he should reopen schools. Its important to note that Ontario is now the only province in Canada thats keeping all K-12 schools closed until the end of the school year. Theres no reason to assume that COVID-19 is a bigger threat in Ontario than it is everywhere else. Schools are reopening in these other provinces because theyre following the scientific evidence. Ontarios government is not. Ford is taking an unnecessary risk with Ontario students. Its time for his government to bring this dangerous experiment to an end and reopen schools. Michael Zwaagstra is a public high school teacher, a senior fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, and author of A Sage on the Stage: Common Sense Reflections on Teaching and Learning. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A small handgun is seen under a vest in High Point, N.C., on Jan. 2, 2012. (Sonny Hedgecock/The Enterprise via AP, File) LA Sheriff Promises to Expand Concealed Weapons Permits Amid Spike in Violent Crime Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva says his department plans to expand the issuance of concealed weapons permits, citing a surge in violent crime in the area. The sheriff in a video on June 2 promised to lower the good cause standard required to obtain a carry permit. He added, however, that he doesnt intend to make the area a shall issue region. In explaining his plans, Villanueva said that last month, Los Angeles County saw a 95 percent rise in murders, a 7 percent jump in rape cases, an increase of 13 percent in aggravated assaults, a 22 percent increase in arson incidents, and a 40 percent uptick in grand theft auto compared to last May. Weve increased our capacity to process CCW permits, he said. We made the good cause standard achievable, and were recognizing that the threat to the residents is increasing, so were responding accordingly. Villanueva said in April that violent crime has soared in the county this year because criminals have been emboldened by progressive law enforcement policies as well as the defund the police movement, which followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. Last summer, the Los Angeles Police Departments (LAPD) budget was slashed by $150 million amid protests and pressure to defund the police. Mayor Eric Garcetti, a Democrat, has since proposed a 3 percent increase in the LAPDs budget to $1.76 billion from $1.71 billion. The protection of Second Amendment rights has drawn renewed scrutiny since President Joe Biden, who has repeatedly called for tougher gun restrictions, took office. Biden on April 8 announced a series of new gun control measures via executive action. Second Amendment rights groups, including the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America, have criticized the moves. According to a report from the conservative Heritage Foundation, citing data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Almost all national studies of defensive gun uses have found that firearms are used in self-defense between 500,000 and 3 million times every year in the United States. Additionally, an independent analysis of the CDCs own internal data on defensive gun uses indicates that firearms are used defensively about 1 million times a year, dwarfing the number of deaths and injuries attributable to their criminal use. The U.S. Concealed Carry Association said in a letter to Biden in February that record numbers of Americans have been purchasing firearms to keep themselves and their loved ones safe, adding that women and minorities are now leading the way as the fastest-growing groups of concealed carry permit holders in the country. Jack Phillips contributed to this report. Former President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held in the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 28, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Lara Trump Responds to Report Claiming Donald Trump Expects to Get Reinstated by Summer Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of former President Donald Trump, and his attorney Jenna Ellis denied a claim from a New York Times reporter that the former commander-in-chief expects to be reinstated as president by the summer. As far as I know, there are no plans for Donald Trump to be back in the White House in August, Lara Trump, the wife of the former presidents son Eric, told Fox News on Thursday. She added that I think that is a lot of folks getting a little worked up about something just because maybe there wasnt enough pushback from the Republican side. So no, I have not heard any plans for Donald Trump to be installed in the White House in August. New York Times correspondent Maggie Haberman wrote on Twitter this week that the former president has been telling a number of people hes in contact with that he expects he will get reinstated by the end of this summer. Haberman did not provide a named source for her claim. Throughout Trumps presidency, news outlets would often cite anonymous sources for reports that were typically used to denigrate the former president. This led Trump to pillory reporters and mainstream media outlets as peddlers of fake news during press conferences and on Twitter. Ellis, who assisted Trump in his post-Nov. 3 election lawsuits, wrote on Twitter that while she believes there were significant irregularities during the 2020 election process, there is no way Trump could return to the Oval Office this summer because of the Electoral College process. The election was lawless, six states allowed their delegates to vote by false certifications, but the EC process happened, Ellis wrote on Twitter. The Constitution has only one process for removal of a sitting president: impeachment and conviction. No, President Trump is not going to be reinstated.' In another tweet, she said that just because we cant reinstate Trump does NOT mean we give up or that we lost. If our founders gave up, wed still be British! The Epoch Times has contacted Trumps team for further comment. On Wednesday, Jason Miller, an adviser to the former president confirmed that Trumps From the Desk of Donald J. Trump website was taken down, noting it was auxiliary to the broader efforts we have and are working on. Hoping to have more information on the broader efforts soon, but I do not have a precise awareness of timing, Miller said, according to CNBC. Both Miller and Trump have said they will be unveiling a social media website in the coming months. An Israeli naval Iron Dome defense system, designed to intercept and destroy incoming short-range rockets and artillery shells, in the northern port of Haifa, Israel, on Feb. 12, 2019. (Jack Guez /AFP/Getty Images) Lawmakers Urge Biden Admin to Fund Israels Iron Dome Missile Defense System A bipartisan group of House lawmakers urged the Department of Defense (DOD) to help replenish Israels Iron Dome missile defense system that was damaged during the 11 days of fighting in the Gaza strip. In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, 55 House Republican and Democrats voiced their ironclad commitment to Israels safety and security and urged the Pentagon to immediately work with Israel and Congress to fill the request to restock the supply of interceptors for the Iron Dome. We ask that you continue urgently engaging with Israel on this request and that you please report to Congress regarding Israels needs as soon as possible, they wrote in their letter (pdf). The letter comes after Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in May introduced the Emergency Resupply for Iron Dome Act of 2021 (pdf), which would authorize the president to redirect U.S. foreign assistance to help Israel replenish its highly-effective missile defense interceptors. Israels Iron Dome anti-rocket system, in addition to its early-warning and sheltering systems, has been credited with protecting the countrys civilian population from projectiles fired by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip. During Mays 11 days of violence, triggered by the terrorist group Hamas, the missile defense system was crucial in intercepting about 90 percent of the 4,500 incoming rockets, the lawmakers wrote. According to a Congressional Research Service report (pdf), the Iron Domes targeting system and radar are designed to fire its Tamir interceptors only at incoming projectiles that pose threats to the area being protected (generally, strategically important sites, including population centers); it is not configured to fire on rockets headed toward unprotected areas. If Israel requests additional assistance, as contemplated in the (Memorandum of Understanding) MOU, please work closely with Congress to expeditiously fulfill this request, the lawmakers wrote. In 2016, the U.S. and Israeli governments updated the MOU on military aid for a 10-year period, covering FY2019 to FY2028. Under the terms of the MOU, the United States pledged to provide $38 billion in military aid ($33 billion in Foreign Military Financing grants plus $5 billion in missile defense appropriations) to Israel. In addition to Wednesdays bipartisan request by the House members, many senators have also pledged to work with the Biden administration to replenish the Iron Dome system and provide funding for Israels defense against future terrorist attacks. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), during a trip to Israel earlier this week, called the democratic middle eastern nation one of Americans most reliable allies. They provide us with actionable intelligence to protect our country against radical Islamic threats, theyre a democracy, and shared values, shared enemies, he said. There will be a $1 billion request coming to the Pentagon this week from the defense minister to replenish the Iron Dome and a few other things, to upgrade the system, Graham, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said at a press conference from Israel. This was the largest sustained assault in maybe history and the Iron Dome performed incredibly well, saving thousands of Israeli lives and tens of thousands of Palestinian lives. So, I would imagine that the administration would say yes to this request and it would sail through Congress, added Graham. MPs Push Australian Govt. Over Contract Extension with Chinese Owned Data Centre Australian Independent MP Andrew Wilkie on June 2 called on the Department of Defence to explain why it extended its contract with a foreign-owned data storage company to house sensitive government and strategic data for another five years, despite initial intentions to end the lease arrangement by September 2020. Amid increasing geostrategic competition in the Indo-Pacific, fueled by an increasingly expansionist and aggressive Beijing and onshore cyberattacks in recent months, Wilkie called for the immediate termination of all Australian government contracts with foreign-owned data storage firms. This includes Global Switch, the Chinese-owned firm based in Sydney that houses sensitive government data, including for Australias domestic spy agency, ASIO. This is wrong on so many levels, Wilkie told the House of Representatives, adding: It is obviously wrong from a national security point of view. Wilkie said that if you walked down the street and asked 100 people at random, I reckon 100 out of 100 Australians would say, Of course [sensitive data] shouldnt be in the possession of a foreign-owned company!' The Tasmanian MP noted that he wasnt singling China out but said foreign ownership, involvement, and influence in Australia needed to be reformed root and branch and urged the government to get our sensitive defence data out of the Global Switch company as quickly as it humanly can. In this day and age, data is every bit as important as the land on which we walk and our resources. It is part of our very being and our nation, he said. South Australian MP Rebekha Sharkie echoed this sentiment, lamenting the sale of every single thing of value in this nation to foreigners. Our data is worth gold. Our data is everything. That is our national security. That is our sovereignty, she said. Queensland MP Bob Katter, who seconded Wilkies motion, decried the governments decision to extend the lease, pointing to given Global Switch is a Chinese-owned company. You seriously couldnt make this up! Katter said. Australias most strategic security asset is that information system. And its in the hands of people that put on their national television, over there in China, pictures of Australian soldiers cutting the throats of babies. They advocated, five weeks ago, that Australia should be bombed, he said, referring to an editorial by Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece, Global Times. And youve given them all of the control of your information system. Andrew Hastie, Liberal MP, spoke at the Australian Parliament in May 2018. (Commonwealth of Australia) Responding to the motion, Assistant Defence Minister Andrew Hastie assured House members that the Australian government had full control of the Global Switch data centre, with fortress-like physical and cybersecurity protections that represent the highest level of security assurance. Hastie told Wilkie and Katter that if he had been a decision-maker many years ago, the Global Switch lease arrangement never would have happened. But now that he was assistant defence minister, Hastie said, My eagle eye will be on this problem going forward. Global Switch was an Australian-owned company that was bought by Elegant Jubilee Limited in 2016. Its controlling shareholder is Jiangsu Shagang Group Co., Ltd (Shagang). In November 2020, it was announced that Elegant Jubilee Limited would become a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Jiangsu Shagang Co., Ltd. Damon Reid Global Switch APAC group director told The Epoch Times in a statement that the company provides world-class reliability, security, and flexibility to the many governments and leading organisations that it partners with to house their mission-critical IT infrastructure Global Switch has no access to any customer data, we simply build and operate high-quality real estate with the right power, cooling and physical security, so that our customers are able to focus on their core IT requirements, Reid said. We believe multiple, highly credentialed data centre operators, including market-leading international data centre operators, are needed to enhance competition and innovation as well as diversify risk in the Australian market. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, when he was treasurer, gave the government the deadline of September 2020 to migrate their data from Global Switch to an Australian-owned company. However, in October 2020, the government signed a $53.5 million lease extension with Global Switch until 2025, with the government indicating that it was impractical to migrate all of its data by the deadline. Aircraft from the Nimitz Carrier Strike Force and a B-52 Bomber from Barksdale Air Force base conduct integrated joint air operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific on July 4, 2020. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Cmdr. Joseph Stephens) But Morrison told Parliament in February (pdf) that the government had already moved its most sensitive data out of Global Switch to a purpose-built facility in May 2020. Other sensitive data migrated prior to the expiration of the original lease in September 2020. Less sensitive and unclassified data was still in the process of being migrated to an alternative data centre through a rigorous risk-based approach, Morrison said, which Hastie reiterated on June 2. However, Wilkie told The Epoch Times that he wasnt satisfied with the assistant defence ministers response. Leaving our data there, for now, is wrong in principle. Its an affront to our sovereignty, and its denying work for Australian companies, he said. Hastie noted the critical importance of Australian data security amid geostrategic tensions and said the Department of Defence was well underway planning a data strategy to guide data management and improve data literacy, which he said was crucial to becoming more mission focussed. The strategic headwinds are blowing hard, and we are straddling vast change in the Indo-Pacific region where were seeing the greatest geostrategic competition between nation-states, were seeing militaries modernise, and were seeing the use of grey-zone tactics to coerce states below the threshold of conventional warfare, Hastie said. Cyberwarfare and espionage are grey-zone activities used by nation-states to undermine their competitors sovereignty and also to break apart habits of cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. Cyber is a new battlefield, and, whether we like it or not, we are all joined in an online contest to preserve our personal security but also our digital sovereignty as a country, he said. Mt. Everest Climbers Become Oldest American, Fastest Woman Ever to Reach the Summit A retired attorney from Chicago who became the oldest American to scale Mount Everest, and a Hong Kong teacher who is now the fastest female climber of the worlds highest peak, on Sunday returned safely from the mountain where climbing teams have struggled with bad weather. Arthur Muir, 75, scaled the peak earlier this month, beating the record set by another American, Bill Burke, at age 67. American climber Arthur Muir, 75, gestures as he arrives in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, May 30, 2021. (Bikram Rai/AP Photo) Tsang Yin-hung, 45, of Hong Kong scaled the summit from the base camp in 25 hours and 50 minutes, and became the mountains fastest female climber. The record of 10 hours and 56 minutes is held by a Sherpa guide, Lakpa Gelu. A climbing accident on Everest in 2019, when Muir hurt his ankle falling off a ladder, did not deter him from attempting to scale the peak again. He began mountaineering late in life, and said he was scared and anxious during his latest adventure. Hong Kong mountaineer Tsang Yin-hung poses for pictures during an interview in Kathmandu on May 30, 2021. (Prakash Mathema/AFP via Getty Images) You realize how big a mountain it is, how dangerous it is, how many things that could go wrong. Yeah, it makes you nervous, it makes you know some anxiety there and maybe little bit of scared, Muir told reporters in Kathmandu. I was just surprised when I actually got to there [the summit] but I was too tired to stand up, and in my summit pictures I am sitting down, he said. Muir began mountaineering at age 68 with trips to South America and Alaska before attempting Everest in 2019, when he fell off the ladder. Climbing was closed last year due to the CCP virus pandemic. American climber Arthur Muir, 75, gestures to media as he arrives in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, May 30, 2021. (Bikram Rai/AP Photo) Married and a father of three, Muir has six grandchildren. The last onea boywas born while he was still in the mountains during his current expedition. Tsang made only two stops between the base camp, located at 5,300 meters (17,390 feet), and the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) summit to change, and covered the near vertical distance in 25 hours and 50 minutes. She was lucky because there were barely any climbers on the way to the highest camp at South Col. After that, on her way to the summit, she met only climbers making their descent, which did not slow her speed climb. Tsang Yin-hung, 45, center, of Hong Kong scaled Mount Everest from the base camp in 25 hours and 50 minutes, and became the mountains fastest female climber. (Bikram Rai/AP Photo) There are only a few days of good weather left on the mountain this year, when hundreds of climbers line up to the summit, many having to wait for a long time in the traffic jam on the highest trail. I just feel kind of relief and happy because I am not looking for breaking a record, she said. I feel relieved because I can prove my work to my friends, to my students. She made a previous attempt on May 11, but bad weather forced her to turn back from a point very close to the summit. She then returned last Sunday. For the summit, it is not just your ability, team work, I think luck is very important, she said. An outbreak of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus among climbers and their guides at the Everest base camp has forced at least three teams to cancel their expeditions. But hundreds of others have pushed through attempting to scale the summit, at a time Nepal is in lockdown, battling its worst surge in CCP virus cases. Epoch Times staff contributed to this report. Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter Netanyahu Foes Push for Quick Vote to End His 12-year Rule TEL AVIV, IsraelPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus opponents pushed Thursday for a quick parliament vote to formally end his lengthy rule, hoping to head off any last-minute attempts to derail their newly announced coalition government. The latest political maneuvering began just hours after opposition leader Yair Lapid and his main coalition partner, Naftali Bennett, declared they had reached a deal to form a new government and muster a majority in the 120-member Knesset, or parliament. The coalition consists of eight parties from across the political spectrum with little in common except the shared goal of toppling Netanyahu after a record-setting 12 years in power. The alliance includes hardliners previously allied with Netanyahu, as well as center-left parties and even an Arab factiona first in Israeli politics. Netanyahu lashed out at his foes on Thursday, signaling that he will continue to exert pressure on former allies who joined the coalition. All members of Knesset who were elected with right-wing votes need to oppose this dangerous leftist government, he wrote on Twitter. Yamina party leader Naftali Bennett (L) speaks to Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid at the plenum in the Knesset, Israels parliament, in Jerusalem, Israel, on June 2, 2021. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool Photo via AP) The drama riveted Israelis at a time when tumult has not been in short supply: four inconclusive elections in two years followed by an 11-day war in the Gaza Strip last month that was accompanied by mob violence between Jews and Arabs in a few cities. The country also is emerging from the coronavirus crisis that caused deep economic damage. Yet the political debate has focused squarely on Netanyahu, who is facing corruption chargesand whether he should stay or go. We never had a coalition like this, said Hillel Bar Sadeh at a coffee shop in Jerusalem. We like to have a new spirit, we like to have some unity. The owner of the coffee shop, Yosi Zarifi, said he trusts that Netanyahu will return to powerand distrusts the coalition. Everybody is clear that this trick will not last, there wont be any glue [to keep it together] here, he said. The anti-Netanyahu bloc announced the coalition deal just before a deadline at midnight Wednesday. The agreement triggered a complex process that is likely to stretch over the next week. The coalition has a razor-thin majority of 61 votes in parliament. Now the question is whether the groups votes will hold together in order to name a new parliament speaker, who would then preside over a vote required to confirm the new government. If the group cant manage that, the current speaker, who is a Netanyahu ally, could use his position to delay the vote and give Netanyahu more time to sabotage the coalition. As the coalition was coming together in recent days, Netanyahu and his supporters ramped up a pressure campaign against former hawkish allies, including Bennett and his No. 2 in the Yamina party, Ayelet Shaked. Ayelet Shaked (L) and Naftali Bennett chat during a special session of the Knesset, Israels parliament, in Jerusalem, Israel, on June 2, 2021. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool Photo via AP) Netanyahu accused them of betraying their values. His supporters launched vicious social media campaigns and staged noisy protests outside Shakeds home. The prime ministers Likud party also called for a demonstration Thursday night outside the home of Yamina lawmaker Nir Orbach, urging him to quit the coalition. Thats a taste of the pressure to be expected for lawmakers on the right. And some on the left now have time to think about whether they will pay for this partnership in the next election. There will be a lot of pressure, especially on right-wingers, especially for religious right-wingers, said Gideon Rahat, a political science professor at Hebrew University. They will go to the synagogue and people will pressure them. It will be a nightmare for some of them. Netanyahu and his supporters called a meeting later Thursday to discuss their next steps. Under the coalition agreement, Lapid and Bennett will split the job of prime minister in a rotation. Bennett, a former ally of Netanyahu, is to serve the first two years, while Lapid is to serve the final two yearsthough it is far from certain their fragile coalition will last that long. The historic deal also includes a small Islamist party, the United Arab List, which would make it the first Arab party ever to be part of a governing coalition. New South Wales Records Zero Cases of COVID-19 but Remains on High Alert New South Wales has recorded zero cases of the CCP virus 24 hours after the state went on high alert after a potentially infectious Victorian man travelled extensively through the southern regions of the state. The man and his family, who were on a trip to Jervis Bay and Hyams Beach, from May 19 to May 24, visited a number of venues and locations that have now become possible COVID-19 hotspots. The man developed symptoms on May 25 when he was back in Victoria, but did not get tested until nearly a week later. The NSW Health has ramped up testing in the areas including Gundagai, Goulburn, Jervis Bay, Huskisson, and Vincentia with several pop-up clinics, but despite 18,672 tests, no new cases of locally acquired COVID-19 have been detected. Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said NSW Health was working with Victorian authorities to determine who in the family contracted the virus first. If this gentleman was the source for those individuals, then they were not potentially infectious when they were in NSW, and clearly if the reverse is the case that may take back the exposure period, Chant said on Wednesday. Currently, NSW Health has told 243 people to get tested and isolate while they await a negative result. Weve asked (them) to stop and stay until we actually really understand and do a full assessment of the risk, Chant said. NSW Health is asking anyone who visited the following venues to get tested and isolate until receiving further information from NSW Health: The Coffee Pedaler, Gundagai, between 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. on May 19 Green Patch campground, Booderee National Park, Jervis Bay, all-day May 23 until 9:00 a.m. May 24, and between 4:00 p.m. on May 19 and 9:00 a.m. on May 24 5 Little Pigs, Huskisson, between 8:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on May 21 Huskisson Treasure Chest, Huskisson, between 11:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on May 21 Cooked Goose Cafe (formerly Hyams Beach Cafe), Hyams Beach, between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on May 23 Coles Vincentia Shopping Village, Vincentia, between 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. on May 21, between 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. on May 22, and between 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. on May 23 Shell Coles Express Big Merino, Goulburn, between 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on May 24 and between 1:45 p.m. and 2:05 p.m. on May 19 Trappers Bakery, Goulburn, between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m on May 24 Gundagai Craft Centre, Gundagai, between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on May 19 Junque and Disorderly Antique Site, Gundagai, between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on May 19 Victorian authorities believe the strain circulating in the state is much more infectious than previous variants, capable of transmitting between strangers with very minimal contact. Those concerns prompted the Victorian government to extend their lockdown for Greater Melbourne for at least another seven days until midnight on June 10. Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, appears before a Senate hearing to discuss vaccines, in Washington, on Sept. 9, 2020. (Michael Reynolds/Pool/Getty Images) NIH Director Denies Rejecting Theory That CCP Virus Escaped From Lab The director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Wednesday denied rejecting the theory that the virus that causes COVID-19 escaped from a laboratory while labeling the theory an extraordinary one. Dr. Francis Collins, who was appointed to the post during the Obama administration, sent an email to people inside the NIH in April 2020 with the subject line conspiracy gains momentum, according to a newly released batch of messages. The body of the email was entirely redacted, save for a link to a Mediaite article about a Fox News segment. During the segment, Fox host Bret Baier said sources had told him that it was increasingly likely that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19, started in a lab in Wuhan, China. Theyre saying it occurred naturally because China was trying to show that they could be as good or better than the U.S. in handling viruses, discovering viruses, and that this was a botched effort to contain this and it got out to the population, Baier said. Dr. Anthony Fauci, who heads an infectious disease office within the NIH, responded to Collinss email, but the text was redacted. Pressed on his seeming dismissal of the lab leak theory on Wednesday, Collins said that the reference to conspiracy theories was aimed at claims that Chinese scientists engineered the virus to use as a bioweapon, despite Baier clearly saying his sources did not agree with that theory. That doesnt fit with what we know about this particular viral genome. Another was that NIH had somehow been complicit in the generation of this dangerous virus. And I can tell you categorically that did not happen, Collins said on Foxs The Story. Then there was this other idea that maybe it was an accident, a lab leak, that the institute had been studying this virus that had happened somehow in nature and it got loose. I never rejected that one, although there was no evidence to support it, he added. He also said that the lab leak theory was an extraordinary claim. This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, blue/pink, cultured in the lab. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. (NIAID-RML/AP/The Canadian Press) Collins offered a similar take during a congressional hearing last month. He told Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who asked about the lab leak theory, that he believes the most likely scenario is this was a natural occurrence, adding: but no one knows that 100 percent for sure. We cannot exclude the possibility of some type of lab accident, Collins said. Both Collins and Fauci have denied funding gain of function research, or experiments aimed at increasing the transmissibility or virulence of a virus, at the lab in Wuhan. However, documents show about $600,000 of a grant given to the EcoHealth Alliance was channeled to the Wuhan Institute of Virology to research coronavirus in bats in 2014. The sub-grant was about $600,000 over a period of five years. So it was a modest amount. And the purpose of it was to study the animal-human interface, to do surveillance, and to determine if these bat viruses were even capable of transmitting infection to humans, Fauci recently told members of Congress. In one hearing, Fauci acknowledged that U.S. officials could not be certain the funding was not used for other purposes. You never know, he said. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said on Fox Wednesday that the emails point to a conflict of interest and if it turns out this virus came from the Wuhan lab, which it looks like it did, that theres a great deal of culpability in that he was a big supporter of the funding. Scientists have not been able to prove the origins of the virus. U.S. intelligence officials are also not sure where it came from. Tom Ozimek contributed to this report. This picture taken shows flags from the Pacific Islands countries being displayed in Yaren on the last day of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) on Sept. 5, 2018. (Mike Leyral/AFP via Getty Images) Nine Pacific Nations to Deepen Exchanges With Beijing Leaders from nine Pacific Island nations have vowed to deepen their relationship with Beijing, fight the pandemic, and continue collaborating on major infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The pledge comes amid an ongoing tug-of-war between Beijing and democratic allies in the South Pacific region. In late May, top Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials held a virtual summit called the Pacific Island CountriesChina Political Leadership Dialogue attended by the leaders of Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Niue, Tonga, Vanuatu, Kiribati, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Cook Islands. Song Tao, head of the International Liaison Department of the CCP, chaired the meeting and read a letter from Chinese leader Xi Jinping before conveying the Chinese regimes gratitude to the Island nations for their valuable support of Beijings interests. The International Liaison Department is controlled by the Central Committeeone of the most powerful political organs in Chinaand is tasked with gathering intelligence on foreign politicians and political parties, according to China expert Anne-Marie Brady. This undated photo released by North Koreas official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on November 21, 2017, shows Song Tao (C), head of Chinas International Liaison Department, at Mangyongdae Revolutionary School in Pyongyang, North Korea. (AFP Photo/KCNA via KNS/AFP/Getty Images) Song added that the Chinese regime would continue to strengthen the development strategies of the Pacific nations and jointly expand the BRI to grow trade, according to Chinese state-run media. The Pacific leaders, in turn, warmly congratulated the CCP for reaching the 100th anniversary of its founding (1921) and commended the Chinese authorities for assisting the Islands in fighting the CCP virus (also known as the novel coronavirus). In attendance were Prime Ministers James Marape (Papua New Guinea), Frank Bainimarama (Fiji), Manasseh Sogavare (Solomon Islands), Pohiva Tuiionetoa (Tonga), Bob Loughman (Vanuatu), and Presidents Taneti Maamau (Kiribati) and David Panuelo (Federated States of Micronesia). Representatives of the Cook Islands were also present. The leaders vowed to continue developing close relations with Beijing, deepen exchanges on governance issues, and adhere strictly to the one-China policya policy that Beijing claims gives the CCP control over Taiwan. Further, the Pacific leaders vowed to continue working together on fighting the pandemic and cooperation in areas such as infrastructure development. Men from the pacific island nations of Tonga and Fiji perform a traditional Haka after arriving in Sydney, Australia, on Nov. 12, 2014. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images) Issues such as Beijings BRI and recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state have been one of many factors dividing the South Pacific region between the CCP and democratic allies. In May, Samoas incoming Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa vowed to scrap a US$100 million BRI port development near the nations capital. Her stance was a major shift from Samoas incumbent leader Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, who, for most of his two-decade-long rule, has maintained close ties with the CCP. The BRI is Beijings trillion-dollar infrastructure development fund that has been accused of taking advantage of developing nations by offering predatory loans that often leave them heavily indebted to the Chinese regime. Consequently, several countries have handed over key assets to Beijing in recent years in exchange for defaulting on these loans. One notable example was in 2017 when the Sri Lankan government agreed to hand over its Hambantota Port to the CCP on a 99-year lease after agreeing to convert its $1.4 billion debt into equity. All nine nations at the recent summit are signatories to the BRI. The issue has also caused a deep divide in the Solomon Islands, where the provincial leader of Malaita, Daniel Suidani, has openly opposed the federal governments efforts to build closer ties with Beijing. He has also taken aim at the BRI, telling a crowd in 2019 that China overwhelmingly targets destitute countries like the Solomon Islands that cannot pay their debts and loans. China has confiscated parts or entire seaports from countries that are unable to pay their debts. Suidani has instead moved to build stronger ties with Taiwan and is currently visiting the island. Only in 2019 did the Solomon Islands federal government (and neighbouring Kiribati) drop diplomatic relations with Taiwan for Beijing. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (R) and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang inspect honour guards during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 9, 2019. (Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images) Beijings influence in the South Pacific has been bolstered by its extensive vaccine donation efforts and loan schemes. A Lowy Institute report found the CCP was the third-largest donor to the Pacific in 2019, following in the footsteps of the number one donor, the Beijing-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The onset of the pandemic, which has damaged many Pacific Island economies, has only accelerated the popularity of Chinese-backed loans. China is very willing to lend money to any Pacific Island nation. As much as Australia and New Zealand have encouraged the islands to look to them first, its been a lot easier getting money out of China, Fletcher Melvin, president of Cook Islands Chamber of Commerce, told Reuters. Meanwhile, the Australian government has pushed hard to combat Beijings influence in the region through both economic and military means. In recent months, Prime Minister Scott Morrisons government committed to spending $300 million this year (US$ 232 million) on infrastructure projects in the Pacific region, including loans and grants for upgrading telecommunications, transport, health facilities, and power projects. The government is also seeking to establish a Pacific Islands Regiment to strengthen defence ties in the region. Nothing in Current UK Data Suggest Delay of Reopening: Johnson Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that nothing in the current CCP virus data will affect the scheduled reopening on June 21, but didnt rule out the possibility that the plan may be delayed. June 21 is the last date on the governments four-step roadmap to exit lockdown. All legal restrictions are due to be lifted. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the final decision will be made by June 14 as many are worried that the emergence of the Indian variant may knock the plan off course. I can see nothing in the data at the moment that means we cant go ahead with step four, or the opening up on June 21, Johnson told reporters. But weve got to be so cautious because theres no question the ONS [Office for National Statistics] data infection rate is showing an increase. Johnson said the Cabinet needs to work out how much protection the UKs vaccination programme has provided. Im afraid the data is just still ambiguous, the prime minister told reporters. Every day were having long sessions, were interrogating all the data, were looking at all the various models, he said, and the best the scientists can say at the moment in their guidance to us is that we just need to give it a little bit longer. Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at the University of Oxford, said that he believes the government has been taking a wise approach, but a bit of balance also needs to be kept in the discussion. I do think we need to keep our eye on hospitalisations, serious disease, and deaths which is really what we are trying to manage, Bell told BBC Radio 4s Today programme. If we scamper down a rabbit hole every time we see a new variant we are going to spend a long time huddled away so we do need to keep a bit of balance to the discussion and keep our eyes on the serious disease that we are trying to prevent, he said. ONS data published on Friday suggested there had been an increase in cases in England and Scotland that are variants not compatible with the UK variant, but are likely to be compatible with the Indian variant. In the same report, ONS said that in the two weeks ending May 22, the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19the disease caused by the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirusremained low in Wales (1 in 3,850 people), but showed an increase in Scotland (1 in 630), potential signs of an increase in England (1 in 1,120), and early signs of a possible increase in Northern Ireland (1 in 820). However, ONS data published on Wednesday said that among deaths registered in the week ending May 21 in England and Wales, only 1.1 percent mentioned novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the lowest level in eight months. Zero deaths within 28 days of a CCP virus positive test was reported on Tuesday, the first time since March 7, 2020. Twelve deaths were reported on Wednesday. NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (June 3) Experts and lawmakers are urging the White House to quickly counter the Chinese Communist Partys use of vaccines as leverage, President Biden signed an Executive Order banning U.S. investment in 59 Chinese companies, and a ransomware attack hits ferry services in Massachusetts. William Lewis Reece (L) waits for a hearing to begin in Oklahoma City, on Oct. 18, 2017. (Sue Ogrocki/File/AP Photo) Oklahoma Jury Recommends Death for Alleged Serial Killer OKLAHOMA CITYA jury in Oklahoma has recommended a death sentence for an alleged serial killer who was convicted of kidnapping a woman from a car wash and killing her more than 20 years ago. The jury on Wednesday recommended the death penalty for William Lewis Reece, who was convicted last week of first-degree murder for the 1997 kidnapping and killing of 19-year-old Tiffany Johnston. Formal sentencing is set for Aug. 19. Reece did not testify at his trial, but the jury heard recordings of his confessions to police in which he admitted killing Johnston and three other people in Texas, The Oklahoman reported. Johnston, 20-year-old Kelli Cox, 17-year-old Jessica Cain, and 12-year-old Laura Smither all disappeared over a four-month period in 1997, after Reece had been released from an Oklahoma prison for previous rape and kidnapping convictions. Smithers body was found shortly after her disappearance, but the remains of Cain and Cox werent found until 2016, when Reece began cooperating with prosecutors. Were all so happy that he got the death penalty, said Johnstons mother, Kathy Dobry. Even though it helped families in Texas it was for Tiffany, she said of the verdict. After 24 years, and 10 months, this is Tiffanys time. Reeces defense attorney, Jacob Benedict, did not dispute that Reece killed Johnston, but said his client only confessed because a Texas Ranger had promised that prosecutors wouldnt seek the death penalty. A promise he couldnt keep, but still a promise, Benedict said. Gay Smither, the mother of 12-year-old Laura Smither, traveled to Oklahoma for the trial, Houston TV station KPRC reported. Reece still faces charges for her daughters death in Texas. If we dont have our day in court in Galveston, we can live with it because hes at least held accountable here, she said. The most important thing is we know now for sure there is absolutely no way this man will ever get out. Maricopa County ballots cast in the 2020 general election are examined and recounted by contractors working for Florida-based company, Cyber Ninjas, at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Ariz., on May 6, 2021. (Matt York/AP Photo) Pennsylvania Lawmakers Hopeful for Audit After Touring Arizona Election Review A delegation from Pennsylvania will try to convince legislative leaders in the state to back an audit of the 2020 election after visiting an election review taking place in Arizonas largest county. Im 100 percent for us having one, and I think our leadership is starting to lean that way, Pennsylvania Sen. Cris Dush told reporters at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, where the Maricopa County audit has been taking place since April 23. Dush was joined by Pennsylvania Sen. Doug Mastriano and Pennsylvania Rep. Rob Kauffman. Dush said he was impressed by how the Arizona audit was being done, including how the firms hired by the Arizona Senate are handling chain of custody issues. Ive never seen anything like it, to be quite honest with you. Its fantastic. Id like to encourage other state legislatures to get down here and take a look at it as well, especially if youve had situations like we experienced in Pennsylvania that really have our citizens in an uproar, he said. Mastriano told a pool reporter that he supports Pennsylvania conducting an audit such as the one being executed in Arizona. Im not about overturning anything. Im just trying to find out what went right, what went wrong, and how do we have better elections in the future? he said. Thats the same reasoning Arizona senators have put forth when explaining why they ordered the Maricopa County audit. One poll showed roughly 40 percent of voters in Pennsylvania have concerns about the integrity of the election, the state senator noted. For the sake of our constitutional republic, and for the sake of peoples peace of mind, lets just do it. Lets pick a few counties and put peoples minds at rest, he said. Doug Mastriano, a Republican member of the Pennsylvania Senate, speaks at a rally on the National Mall in Washington on Dec. 12, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) A majority of the Pennsylvania legislature would need to support an audit, Mastriano said. A spokesman for Pennsylvania House Speaker Bryan Cutler, a Republican, noted in an email that Cutler has recently introduced legislation to establish a bureau of election audits. The House speaker previously pushed for an independent audit of the 2020 election. Other Pennsylvania legislative leaders didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. The Pennsylvania delegation plan to take the information they learned while in Arizona back to Republican leaders. Auditors hired by the Arizona Senate, led by Florida-based Cyber Ninjas, are reviewing the nearly 2.1 million ballots cast in the county during the 2020 presidential election. They have also examined tabulators and other machines used during the contest. Republicans control the Arizona Senate. Democrats have largely opposed the audit, arguing that voter information could be at risk of being compromised. Observers sent to the arena by Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, said they saw a security gate left unattended and a procedure manual marked confidential left on a counter. They also learned that copies of voting system data were sent to a laboratory in Montana and claimed quality control practices to ensure data are entered correctly arent in place, rendering all of the data and findings unreliable. The Arizona Senates liaison didnt immediately respond when asked about the observers notes. Kauffman told The Epoch Times before the tour that he wanted to see firsthand how the audit was being run. The Arizona forensic audit is really one of the talks of America, and theres a lot of stuff being thrown around about how its being conducted, and I kind of see this as a fact-finding to see whats happening on the ground in Arizona, how its happening, and if its something that should be done in other states, he said. Taxpayer money wasnt used for the trip, the lawmakers said. Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 27, 2021. (Tal Atzmon/The Epoch Times) Pompeo Confirms Intense Opposition to Wuhan Lab Probe From State Department, Intelligence Bureaucracies Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed to The Epoch Times on June 3 that his efforts to get to the bottom of how the CCP virusalso known as the novel coronavirusspread from China to the United States met with sustained opposition within the U.S. government. Asked about revelations in a June 3 Vanity Fair report that key officials deep within the State Department sought to keep the public from knowing that U.S. funds had supported gain-of-function research at Chinas Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), Pompeo described a contentious battle. That research, which focused on techniques for reconfiguring naturally occurring viruses to make them more virulent and transmissible to humans, was partially funded as far back as 2012 with U.S. tax dollars through the National Institutes of Health and a nonprofit foundation known as the EcoHealth Alliance. The Vanity Fair analysis found that conflicts of interest, stemming in part from large government grants supporting controversial virology research, hampered the U.S. investigation into COVID-19s origin at every step. In one State Department meeting, officials seeking to demand transparency from the Chinese government say they were explicitly told by colleagues not to explore the Wuhan Institute of Virologys gain-of-function research, because it would bring unwelcome attention to U.S. government funding of it, the article reads. China has insisted since the virus first appeared in late 2019 that it had spread from bats to humans via an open-air meat market in Wuhan. Some government and public health officials, private sector scientists, and investigative journalists, however, have said since early in 2020 that theres substantial evidence that the virus spread somehow from the WIV. Then-President Donald Trump and Pompeo, as well as Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), publicly noted the existence of such evidence in April 2020 and called on Chinese officials to allow independent investigators to access the WIV and its records. China refused to do so. After the November 2020 election, Pompeo pushed within the State Department and the Trump administration for public release of as much evidence as possible. He issued a Jan. 15 statement that includes a significant disclosure, that WIV researchers appeared to have suffered virus symptoms months before the disease spread throughout China and to other countries, including the United States. The statement also notes the gain-of-function research taking place at WIV and asks whether U.S. funding may have been diverted to secret Chinese military projects at the WIV. But even getting that statement out was a struggle, Pompeo told The Epoch Times on June 3. I became aware at the end of 2020 that we now had an increased level of confidence in the datapoints that supported what we put out in the middle of January. The clock was clearly running, and I was fighting very hard inside the State Department and even more broadly, he said. A major roadblock was the fact that significant portions of the evidence were held by intelligence agencies that opposed their public release. There were places outside of the State Department that owned the dataset inside the intelligence community, so we were banging away to get them to give us as much space to write as much as we possibly could, Pompeo said. We were drafting language that protected classified things that needed to be protected but we wanted to make sure that we got this information out in the public space. The former secretary of state said he viewed it as important at the time, and continues today to say that the American people should know all the facts, and the Chinese government should be held accountable if the virus did escape from the WIV. There were two reasons for that. One, it was a matter of transparency and, two, we wanted the Chinese Communist Party to have to explain what we knew as well, so we had a very high degree of certainty around what we did, Pompeo said. The statement was very carefully crafted, but it is unambiguous about what it said. A former senior State Department official with direct knowledge of these matters, who spoke on background, told The Epoch Times that Pompeo made clear to everybody involved in the State Departments investigation of the source of the virus that they were to pursue facts wherever they led. When told of internal opposition to the effort, the former senior official said that Pompeo responded with a salty aphorism reflective of his Army career. He said, Screw them and tell them the secretary of state said do it. And he also said something thats very, very important. He said: I dont care what conclusion you guys dig out. It may be something we like to hear, politically, or something we dont like to hear, but I want the truth. That was exactly the attitude throughout the whole investigation this group was doing. Congressional correspondent Mark Tapscott may be reached at mark.tapscott@epochtimes.nyc. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) listens during a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing in Washington on Sept. 23, 2020. (Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images) Rep. Jordan Begins Investigation Into Lack of Oversight of Taxpayer-Funded Gain of Function Research Two House Republican leaders launched a congressional inquiry into the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) failure to review grants of American tax dollars funding potential gain of function (GOF) research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) pressed HHS Senior Science Adviser David Hassell in a letter to answer questions surrounding the reason his agency failed to conduct oversight for the $600,000 annual five-year grant to the Wuhan Institute of Virology conducting bat coronavirus research from 2014 to 2019. Hassell leads HHSs Potential Pandemic Pathogens Control and Oversight review committee (P3CO), which was formed in 2017 to conduct oversight of GOF-type research. GOF research involves increasing the lethal level [virulence] or transmissibility of pathogens in order to better understand and predict the emergence of disease-causing agents so that a solution can be devised before the disease emerges as a pandemic. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced in December 2017 that it would lift a funding pause dating back to October 2014 on GOF experiments involving influenza, SARS, and MERS viruses. They lifted the funding pause because of the creation of Hassells committee, the P3CO. Because you chair the group within the HHS responsible for reviewing funding decisions for research involving deadly pathogens, we request your assistance in better understanding how U.S. taxpayer dollars could fund dangerous research at an unsafe Chinese laboratory, the GOP House members wrote. The Director of NIH described Hassells P3CO committee in a 2017 written statement. The HHS P3CO Framework describes a multi-disciplinary review process, involving the funding agency and a Department-level review group, that considers the scientific merits and potential benefits of the research, as well as the potential to create, transfer, or use an enhanced potential pandemic pathogen. This framework formalizes robust oversight for federally funded research with enhanced pathogens of pandemic potential, wrote NIH Director Francis S. Collins in 2017. Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, appears before a Senate hearing to discuss vaccines, in Washington, on Sept. 9, 2020. (Michael Reynolds/Pool/Getty Images) Jordan and Gallagher note that Dr. Anthony Faucis department (the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under the NID) awarded grants close to $600,000 per year to EcoHealth Alliance Inc. to study Chinese bat coronavirus. There is mounting evidence to suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic may have originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology with research on bat coronaviruses partially funded by EcoHealths grant, wrote the lawmakers. Hassells office at HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawmakers letter and inquiry. Fauci has repeatedly denied funding GOF research at the lab in Wuhan. However, documents show the annual $600,000 grant given to the EcoHealth Alliance was channeled to the Wuhan Institute of Virology to research coronavirus in bats in 2014. The sub-grant was about $600,000 over a period of five years. So, it was a modest amount. And the purpose of it was to study the animal-human interface, to do surveillance, and to determine if these bat viruses were even capable of transmitting infection to humans, Fauci recently told members of Congress. Although Dr. Fauci and NIH allege that EcoHealths research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology was not gain of function research, and therefore not subject to the P3CO review, other scientists disagree, wrote the members of Congress in the new letter. The congressmen also want Hassell to answer a series of questions regarding the lack of oversight for the funding Fauci authorized: Do you believe that the NIAID should have flagged the EcoHealth grants involving research about bat coronaviruses for review by the P3CO? Do you have any reason to believe that U.S. taxpayer dollars have funded any other research into enhanced PPPs [potential pandemic pathogens] without review by the P3CO since 2017? Then-President Donald Trump speaks to media before departing on Marine One en route to Ohio and Texas, from the White House South Lawn in Washington on Aug. 7, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Republican Leaders Meeting With Trump in New Jersey Soon: Rep. Jim Banks House Republicans are slated to meet with former President Donald Trump in New Jersey next week to discuss how to proceed with advancing a conservative agenda, said Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.). At Republican Study Committee, weve been very busy as we develop the consensus conservative agenda for the future of the Republican Party, and that agenda is the Trump agenda, he told the New York Post on Thursday, adding that the trip on June 10 will be the first time that several members of Bankss Republican Study Committee have met with Trump since he left office in January. Were looking forward to going up to visit with him to discuss what weve been up to and what we plan to do for not just the rest of this term in the minority, but when we get the majority back, but talk to him about what we, what we hope to accomplish, Banks said. Trump aide and spokesman Jason Miller on Twitter appeared to confirm Bankss remarks, posting a thumbs-up emoji along with the NY Posts article. Reports have indicated that Trump relocated his fundraising operations to his resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, from Mar-a-Lago, Florida. Its not clear what Trump, Banks, and the other lawmakers will discuss. Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) speaks to The Epoch Times in an interview in March 2019. (Video screenshot/The Epoch Times) The House Republican Study Committee, a caucus of conservative GOP lawmakers, in mid-May unveiled its own budget proposal (pdf) to counter President Joe Bidens spending plans, including cutting funding on some mandatory programs. It would cut current projections for Medicaid spending by about $2.5 trillion and would reduce other health program spending by $3.3 trillion. Banks told the NY Post that the Republican Study Committee is looking for the former president to play a significant role in the GOP regardless of whether he decides to run in 2024 or not. At [Republican Study Committee], what weve been focused on is really developing an agenda, the traditional conservative issues that RSC has always been involved with: balanced budgets and fiscal responsibility, we released our budget last week, strong national defense, and pro-life, social conservative issues. But really, President Trump, where hes led our party, is to be more focused on the China threat and RSC has been very active on that front, Banks told the paper. This year, Banks became one of the chief proponents for Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) to be pushed out of her House leadership position following her increasingly critical comments about Trump and the Jan. 6 Capitol incident. One of my jobs is to hold my Republican leadership accountable for being focused on the Republican ideals that we stand for and the single mission we have to win back the majority, he told Fox News during an appearance in May. The only reason why we are talking about Liz Cheney is the exact evidence that shes failed in her mission as the chief spokesperson of our party. The Epoch Times has reached out to Trumps team for comment. In this photo Illustration hands typing on a computer keyboard on June 22, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. (Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images) Russia-Linked Group REvil Responsible For JBS Cyberattack: FBI A Russia-linked hacking group was behind the ransomware attack that has disrupted operations at JBS Foods, the worlds largest meat supplier, the FBI said on Wednesday. We have attributed the JBS attack to REvil and Sodinokibi and are working diligently to bring the threat actors to justice, the FBI said in a statement. We continue to focus our efforts on imposing risk and consequences and holding the responsible cyber actors accountable. A day earlier, the White House said that the attack, which disrupted meat production in North America and Australia, originated from a criminal organization that was assessed to likely be based in Russia. REvil is also known as Sodinokibi. The prolific ransomware group earlier this year was behind an attack on an Apple Inc. supplier named Quanta Computer. It has previously marketed stolen data on cybercrime forums in Russian. Following the attack on Quanta Computer, REvil sent extortion threats and demanded a payment of $50 million for the company to regain access to its systems. Brazil-based JBS Foods has operations in 15 countries and customers in approximately 100 countries, according to the companys website. Its plants are responsible for approximately 25 percent of America and Australias processing capacity. The cyberattack on JBS Foods comes less than a month after Colonial Pipeline, a major fuel transporting system along the U.S. East Coast, was breached via a ransomware attack that FBI officials believe originated in Russia and Eastern Europe. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday that she expects President Joe Biden will discuss the incident with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the June 16 summit in Geneva. Were not taking any options off the table in terms of how we may respond, but of course theres an internal policy review process to consider that, were in direct touch with the Russians, as well, to convey our concerns about these reports, Psaki said. President Biden certainly thinks that President Putin and the Russian government has a role to play in stopping and preventing these attacks. Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov has said that Moscow is ready to promptly consider Washingtons requests on the JBS cyberattack. It is quite clear that criminality and challenges in the cybersphere will be on the agenda one way or another, Peskov said, referring to the June 16 summit. In an update late Tuesday, JBS Foods said it had made significant progress in resolving the cyberattack. Combating cybercrime is one of the FBIs highest priorities, the bureau said in its statement. A cyber attack on one is an attack on us all, the law enforcement agency added. Reuters contributed to this report. Russian Upper House Votes To Exit From Overflight Treaty MOSCOWThe Russian parliaments upper house voted Wednesday to withdraw from an international treaty allowing surveillance flights over military facilities following the U.S. exit from the treaty. The vote comes after U.S. officials told Moscow last month that President Joe Bidens administration had decided not to reenter the Open Skies Treaty, which had allowed surveillance flights over military facilities before former President Donald Trump withdrew from the pact. As a presidential candidate, Biden had criticized Trumps withdrawal as short-sighted. Moscow has signaled its readiness to reverse the withdrawal procedure and stay in the 1992 treaty if the United States returns to the agreement. After the Russian upper house voted to leave the treaty, it would now come to Russian President Vladimir Putin for signing. If Putin endorses the exit, it would take effect in six months. The TASS news agency quoted Russias Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying a government order denouncing Russias memorandum on open lands is on its way. Putin and Biden are to have a summit in Geneva on June 16. The meeting comes as Russia-U.S. ties have sunk to the lowest levels since the Cold War times after Russias 2014 annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula, the accusations of Moscows alleged interference in U.S. elections, and alleged hacking attacks. The Open Skies Treaty was intended to build trust between Russia and the West by allowing the accords more than three dozen signatories to conduct reconnaissance flights over each others territories to collect information about military forces and activities. More than 1,500 flights have been conducted under the treaty since it took effect in 2002, aimed at fostering transparency and allowing for the monitoring of arms control and other agreements. Trump pulled out of the pact last year, arguing that Russian violations made it untenable for Washington to remain a party. Washington completed its withdrawal from the treaty in November. Moscow has deplored the U.S. withdrawal, warning that it will erode global security by making it more difficult for governments to interpret the intentions of other nations, particularly amid heightened Russia-West tensions. The European Union has urged the United States to reconsider its exit and called on Russia to stay in the pact and lift flight restrictions, notably over its westernmost Kaliningrad region, which lies between NATO allies Lithuania and Poland. Russia has insisted the restrictions on observation flights it imposed in the past were permissible under the treaty and noted that the United States imposed more sweeping restrictions on observation flights over Alaska. As a condition for staying in the pact after the U.S. pullout, Moscow has unsuccessfully pushed for guarantees from NATO allies that they wouldnt hand over the data collected during their observation flights over Russia to the United States. By Vladimir Isachenkov The Epoch Times contributed to this report. 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) Sen. Cotton Demands Answers From Lockheed Martin Over Reported White Mens Caucus Training Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is demanding answers from aerospace and defense giant Lockheed Martin over reports that it sent its executive-level employees to learn about privileges they supposedly have as straight white males. According to documents obtained by City Journals Christopher Rufo, Lockheed Martin, known for developing Americas next-generation warplanes, held a three-day training session on Zoom last June for a 13-member White Mens Caucus. The session was reportedly led by the consulting firm White Men As Full Diversity Partners (WMFDP), and started with a free association in which the term white men was associated with old, racist, privileged, anti-women, angry, guilty, Aryan Nation, and KKK. This training, if it occurred, appears to violate the principle of equal treatment that is the bedrock of American law, including civil-rights law, Cotton wrote in a letter to Lockheed Martin CEO James Taiclet. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act in particular forbids employers from discriminating on the basis of race and engaging in any activities that limit, segregate, or classify [their] employees. The previous administration observed that the kind of stereotyping and scapegoating commonly found in these trainings may contribute to a hostile work environment and give rise to potential liability under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the letter added. The 13 participants reportedly included Glenn David Woods, the vice president of production at Lockheed for the Air Forces $1.7 trillion F-35 fighter jet program; Aaron Huckaby, director of global supply chain operations; Ret. Air Force Lt. Col. David Starr, director of the Hercules C-130 transport aircraft program; and Ret. Air Force Lt. Gen. Bruce Litchfield, vice president of sustainment operations. The employees were allegedly asked to recite a series of white privilege statements that supposedly described privileges they possess but are not necessarily aware of, including: My culture teaches me to minimize the perspectives and powers of people of other races, I can commit acts of terrorism, violence or crime and not have it attributed to my race, and I can have friendships with or work around children without being accused of recruiting or molesting them. Cotton asked Taiclet how many Lockheed Martin employees participated in the session, how they were selected to take part, and whether the training was mandatory. The Arkansas senator also asked Lockheed Martin to explain how its practices are not considered discriminatory. In a statement released shortly after Rufo published his report, a Lockheed spokesperson said the company has robust employee training programs focused on our core values of doing what is right, respecting others, and performing with excellence. Like many corporations, we employ multiple vendors and continuously evaluate the effectiveness of training programs to ensure they are aligned with our values, applicable laws, and regulations, and incorporate employee feedback and best practices, the statement reads. The controversy around race-centered training gained national attention in 2020, when former President Donald Trump banned the use of training materials based on divisive and harmful sex and race-based ideologies in federal agencies and federal contractors like Lockheed Martin. President Joe Biden removed the ban upon his inauguration, instead issuing an order stating that his administration would pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all. Lockheed Martin did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Epoch Times. Cotton gave Taiclet a June 11 deadline to provide answers to his questions. GQ Pan contributed to this report. Sen. Sinema: Filibuster Protects the Democracy of Our Nation Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on June 2 defended the Senate filibuster as an essential tool and confirmed that she wont vote to abolish it. The filibuster is a tool that protects the democracy of our nation rather than allowing our country to ricochet wildly every two to four years back and forth between policies, Sinema told reporters in Arizona after touring the border with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Some leftist activists and media members have pressured Sinema and other Democrats to end the filibuster, asserting that President Joe Biden cant accomplish his agenda if Republicans keep blocking many of his legislative priorities. To those who say that we must make a choice between the filibuster and X, I say this is a false choice, Sinema told reporters. The reality is that when you have a system that is not working effectively the way to fix that is to fix your behavior, not to eliminate the rules or change the rules, but to change the behavior. The filibuster is a strategy that allows a senator or senators to block or delay action on legislation or other measures through debate or other procedural maneuvers. The chamber can overcome a filibuster if it invokes cloturea vote by 60 members of the Senate to place a 30-hour time limit on consideration of the issue. Currently, the Senate has 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats or nominal independents who regularly vote with Democrats. Vice President Kamala Harris can cast tiebreaking votes in her role as president of the Senate. Some on the left want Democrats to abolish the filibuster so Bidens priorities can be achieved even without GOP support. Fix Our Senate, a group that pushes for the elimination of the filibuster, said Sinema is simply wrong about the history of the filibuster. Its current abuse by Mitch McConnell has turned the Senate into a cesspool of partisanship, gridlock, and dysfunction, the group said, referring to the Senates top Republican. Senate Republicans used the filibuster to block the bill that would have created a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol building. Cornyn, who spoke with reporters alongside Sinema, voted against creating the commission. Sinema missed the vote, citing a family matter. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told colleagues last week that he plans to bring a host of bills to the floor when the Senate reconvenes later this month, including S.1, which would dramatically alter how elections are handled. Biden appeared to focus on Sinema and fellow moderate Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) in a speech on June 2, noting that some are questioning why he doesnt get more done as president. Well, because Biden only has a majority of, effectively, four votes in the House and a tie in the Senate, with two members of the Senate who vote more with my Republican friends, Biden said. While Sinema and Manchin are both balking at ending the filibuster, they usually vote in support of the presidents positions. He was not giving a specific commentary on a policy. He was conveying, again, that sometimes thats the summaryshorthand version that he sees on cable news at times. Again, its not always the forum thats easy to provide guidance on how a bill becomes a law, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. His view on the filibuster continues to be that there should be a path forward for Democrats and Republicans to make voting easier, to move forward on progress for the American people. That position hasnt changed. And he was not intending to convey something different. Seated from left: Associate Justice Samuel Alito, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, and Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, standing from left: Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Associate Justice Elena Kagan, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, and Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett pose during a group photo of the Justices at the Supreme Court in Washington on April 23, 2021. (Erin Schaff/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) Supreme Court Sides With Former Officer Who Improperly Searched License Plate Database The U.S. Supreme Court on June 3 sided with a police officer who accessed a license plate database via improper purpose and ruled that he cant be charged under federal law. In a 63 majority opinion written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the nations highest court held that Georgia officer Nathan Van Buren didnt violate U.S. cybercrime law when he searched a license plate database for non-law-enforcement reasons. Van Buren had appealed a conviction under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act after a lower court upheld a jury verdict against him. This provision covers those who obtain information from particular areas in the computersuch as files, folders, or databasesto which their computer access does not extend. It does not cover those who, like Van Buren, have improper motives for obtaining information that is otherwise available to them, Barrett wrote (pdf) in the order. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and John Roberts dissented from the ruling. Former President Donald Trumps three appointees to the courtBarrett, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuchwere joined by the three liberal justicesElena Kagan, Sonya Sotomayor, and Stephen Breyerin the ruling. It is understandable to be uncomfortable with so much conduct being criminalized, Thomas wrote in his dissent, but that discomfort does not give us authority to alter statutes. In the end, the Act may or may not cover a wide array of conduct because of changes in technology that have occurred since 1984, Thomas wrote. But the text makes one thing clear: Using a police database to obtain information in circumstances where that use is expressly forbidden is a crime. I respectfully dissent. The dispute centered on a 1986 U.S. law meant to target hacking and related computer crimes. The law prohibits accessing a computer without authorization and also exceeding authorized access. In the case, Van Buren had asked a local man, Andrew Albo, for money due to financial hardships. Albo then told law enforcement officials, before the FBI carried out a sting operation in which Albo offered to pay money to Van Buren to run a license plate search via an official police database. For that, he paid Van Buren $6,000. In 2017, a federal grand jury convicted the former officer of violating the computer fraud law and on a separate charge of honest services fraud. Two years later, the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the computer fraud charge but ordered a new trial on the honest services charge. Reuters contributed to this report. Protestors from Frihet Sverige (Freedom Sweden) march to protest against COVID-19 restrictions, in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 1, 2021. (TT News Agency/Henrik Montgomery via Reuters) Swedish Parliament Committee Says Government Failed in Pandemic Handling STOCKHOLMSwedens center-left, minority government failed in several aspects of its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, parliaments constitutional committee said on Thursday. The government was slow to put in place a testing and tracing system, failed to protect the elderly and there was a lack of clear lines of responsibility between national and local authorities, the committee said. It did not comment on Swedens controversial no-lockdown strategy. It is clear that Sweden was not sufficiently prepared before [the pandemic] and we can learn from many of the underlying failures that have been identified, Hans Ekstrom, deputy chairman of the committee and a Social Democrat lawmaker, told a hearing. A general view of the Riksdag, Swedens Parliament, in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 7, 2017. (Ints Kalnins/Reuters) Sweden has been an outlier in the fight against the pandemic and has opted against lockdowns, instead relying on mostly voluntary measures. The death toll has been higher than that among its Nordic neighbors, but lower than in most European countries that opted for lockdowns. The committee said that the government should have been quicker to set up a framework for testing and tracing, quicker to draw up a law giving it wider powers to deal with the crisis, and quicker to isolate care homes for the elderly. The governments response was not sufficient, committee chairperson Karin Enstrom, of the opposition Moderate Party, said. The elderly were particularly vulnerable and the government should have acted more forcefully. The Social Democrat-led government has already accepted that it did not do enough to protect elderly residents of care homes. As of May 26, just over 1 million Swedes have been confirmed as having had COVID-19 and around 14,500 have died. The American Cultural Revolution Is Underway Commentary The California State Assembly recently passed a bill mandating a semester of ethnic studies as a graduation requirement for all high school students. Many California residentsand a large number of Chinese Americansorganized protest rallies to boycott the state legislatures proposal, fearing implementation of communist Cultural Revolution-style theories in schools. Some parents are advocating against teaching critical race theory to their children. At protest rallies against the bill, signs read Stop Hatred Education and Against the California Communist Cultural Revolution. However, the proposal officially passed at the end of May under the leadership of Jose Medina, a Democratic representative of Californias 61st District and a chair of the Higher Education Committee. The legislation, Assembly Bill 101, makes Californias new Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum a requirement for graduation for all high school students. A similar measure was approved last summer by the California State University Board of Trustees, requiring all students to take ethnic studies or a social justice course to graduate. These courses teach students the theory that systemic racism exists in the United States, and all white people are blessed with privileges and act as oppressors, while people of color are victims. Collectivism is good, and capitalism is responsible for racist institutions. My issue with critical race theory is how it obsesses over educating students to classify themselves and tells them that this classification predominantly determines their position in life. The New York Post reported on similar happenings in the New York City education system. The article details literature created by an associate professor of African American studies at Northwestern University in Illinois. The curriculum instructs students to conduct self-tests on their white privilege. The principal of a New York City public school asked white students and parents to take the handout and reflect on themselves. It divides white people into eight white identities, and even comes with a diagram that ranks the identities on a color scale of red to green. Red is a bad white person and green is a good white person. White Supremacists are bright red on the chart and considered the worst group on the list for maintaining a society, as they instead advocate for a society that preserves, names, and values white superiority. The second-worst identity is White Voyeurism, defined as someone who wouldnt challenge a white supremacist, desires non-whiteness because its interesting, and appropriates black culture without the burden of blackness. The next level is White Privilege. These whites may criticize white supremacy but still support white rule. Then there are White Benefit people, who only privately feel badly for people of color and dont speak in public about minority issues. Fifth are White Confessionals, who seek recognition from people of color and expose whiteness in small measure. Next, White Critical is the label for people invested in exposing the white regime. The seventh category is White Traitor, people who actively subvert white authority and tell the truth at whatever cost. Last, but not least, are White Abolitionists. This is ranked as the best white identity for those aiming to dismantle whiteness and refusing to allow whiteness to reassert itself. In addition to ethnic studies, California also has courses on social issues at large. They ask students to understand power structure, forms of oppression, patriarchy, anti-indigenousness, Islamophobia, transphobia, and LGBTQ issues. Identity Politics in Communist China These practices mirror communist ideology. One goal of communism is to overthrow the existing system by using all possible methods to divide society based on social identities and privilege classifications, and to establish a culture of hatred to inevitably disintegrate society. Both Leninism and Maoism used similar methods, though they also used violent revolutionary methods to directly slaughter various counter-revolutionaries. During their countrys period of revolution, and in order to maintain power, they sought to divide society as much as possible. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) seized power in mainland China in 1949. Their practices mirror leftist Americas preoccupation with the stark classification of identities and privilege. Everyone in mainland China had to report their origin, ancestors, and whether they were rich or poor during the preceding 49 years. At that time, the division was simpler, with only a few categories, such as workers, capitalists, landlords, rich peasants, poor peasants, middle peasants, urban craftsmen, and businessmen. Later on, this identity classification became more and more detailed, and of course, there were more and more types, until finally, there was a family origins birth code. The father of a friend of mine has a story about identity during the height of the Cultural Revolution. He and a friend were cleaning up one day when the friend accidentally knocked over a plaster statue of Mao Zedong, which broke. In fear, he trembled with fright and almost passed out. My friends father quickly comforted him and said: Dont be afraid. If someone asks, say that I accidentally toppled it over, not you. The only difference between the two friends was their origin and identity. My friends father was born to a poor peasant, and his friend was born to a landlord. In communist China, the same mistake made by a landlord made him a counter-revolutionary, while a poor peasant would remain innocent. When I told this story to people after the Cultural Revolution, most found it absurd and laughed at the silliness. I didnt ever expect it to be so relevant in the United States almost 50 years later. Skeptical Chinese Americans Many of the protestors of the California ethnic studies bill are Chinese. For Chinese from mainland China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan, the stench of these identity theories is picked up immediately, because its all too familiar. At an April 26 rally in Los Angeles, parent Kelson Sun spoke to the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times. He said that dividing people by skin color and advocating racism is actually paving the way for the realization of racial discrimination. Therefore, teaching the content of racism courses in schools is implementing a kind of systematic hate education. He said the point of this kind of education is mainly to incite hatred. Whether it is a racial division or other divisions, it is inciting hatred. In human history, whether it is in mainland China, Burma, or in Cambodia, we can clearly see the homicide caused by hatred education. I believe that anyone who maintains the foundation of the United States should not pass such a proposal, he said. If there are Americans who still dont know [the evil consequences], I suggest you go to the Khmer Rouge Memorial and see the piles of bones. Just think about why those people shot their compatriots? Its because there is hatred in their hearts. Hatred. Where did it come from? Isnt it just indoctrination? If you dont agree with this kind of hatred, you wont be able to graduate or find a job. We dont want our children to fall into this situation. Another parent, Mr. Li, pointed out the theory splits the United States into two classes: oppressed and oppressors. According to this theory, white people are classified as the oppressor class, and other people of color are classified as the oppressed class. Asians have become the quasi-oppressive class of white-adjacent. This is purely a hate attack against Asians, he said. We came to the United States to pursue freedom and human rights, and to pursue a better life. We hope that the next generation will grow up with all kinds of freedom, instead of being brainwashed and imaged as the Red Guards of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, full of hatred for our society. I agree with the views of these Chinese parents. The premise of critical race theory is that the United States is a racist and oppressive country, and this is taken as a truth that doesnt need to be proven. The United States does have racial issues, just like all other countries. Every race in this world, whether its white or yellow or black, and every country of whites, Asians, or blacks, has had cultural or racial discrimination. You cannot just take these problems and slap a label on them as systemic or institutional rather than originating from the flaws of humanity. What we need to be most vigilant about is that some people are using economic, racial, gender, and class identity to divide American society and create hatred. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and todays well-intentioned divisions of society are no different. 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. A protester holds a Defund the Police sign during a protest near the White House following the May 25 death of George Floyd in police custody, in Washington on June 6, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) 3 Virginia Sheriffs Switch From Democrat to Republican Over Anti-Police Rhetoric A sheriff in Virginia has switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican due to rhetoric expressed by certain Democratic politicians. Smyth County Sheriff Chip Shuler, who was elected as a Democrat in 2015, said in a statement that hes switching parties because, according to him, police officers have faced attacks from Democrat politicians in Virginia and nationwide. I am changing to the Republican Party because of the relentless attack on law enforcement by Democrats in Richmond and Washington, Shuler said in his statement last week. My deputies work hard to serve and protect the citizens of Smyth County. As sheriff, it has been difficult to watch my deputies try to move forward during this unprecedented assault on our profession. We remain an honorable profession, and should not be judged by the bad acts of a few. I have always been a conservative throughout my law enforcement career of 38 years. Shuler is now the third sheriff in Virginia to make the switch in the past year or so, according to the chairman of Smyth County Republican Party, Adam Tolbert. He noted that Tazewell County Sheriff Brian Hieatt and Buchanan County Sheriff John McClanahan switched to the GOP several months ago. Tolbert told WJHL-TV that he accepted Shulers party switch. I congratulate Sheriff Shuler on taking this bold move to leave the Democratic Party and join the Republican Party. We are thrilled to have him as a member of the Republican Party in Smyth County, he said. McClanahan, who switched parties last year, said that he cant be associated with the National Democratic Party due to bills introduced at the state and federal level that would negatively affect communities and his livelihood. Democratic leaders across the country have been ones that are pushing for bills that negatively affect law enforcement, as well as other values I stand for, he said in his statement. I have many friends within our local Democratic Party and hold no negative feelings toward them. Hieatt became a Republican in July of last yearcoming in the midst of riots and violence that had erupted across the United States in the wake of George Floyds death. Im not saying our locally elected Democratic officials are bad. What has upset me is on the state and national level, he said at the time, according to local media. I think our locally elected Democrats truly care for our people in Tazewell County, but the ones in the state and national level do not care about our citizens. Why are we being easy on criminals, not the victims? Hieatt referenced a recent law in Virginia that stipulates that a person who steals $1,000 or more can be charged with a felonyinstead of $500, the former amount. Laws need to make it harder on criminals and not on victims, he said. The Democratic Party of Virginia didnt respond to a request for comment by press time. Top GOP Lawmakers Demand Unredacted Fauci Emails, Want Him to Testify in Congress Top House GOP lawmakers are now demanding the unredacted communications from Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, relating to the COVID-19 pandemic and called on him to testify after thousands of his emails were released to the public this week. House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), the top Republican on the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, and House Oversight Committee Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.) issued a letter to top committee Democrats and said its now imperative that Dr. Fauci come before our Committees to provide information related to the origins of the novel coronavirus as well as the U.S. governments role in funding research that may have contributed to the development of the novel coronavirus. The American people have a right to know what our government knew about the origins of the pandemic and when it was known, they wrote in their letter, saying that unredacted versions of all of Dr. Faucis recently released emails should be pursued. The two Republicans argued that House Democrats continued inaction while facing mounting evidence of the CCPs malicious conduct is concerning, referring to the Chinese Communist Party. The Epoch Times contacted the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which Fauci heads, for comment. During interviews with CNN and MSNBC on Thursday, Fauci said that an email he received from the EcoHealth Alliance, which had been provided with a U.S. grant to conduct research at the Wuhan lab, has been misconstrued. Thats nonsense, Fauci responded when asked about whether he had a cozy relationship with researchers at the Wuhan lab. I dont even see how they get that from that email. I have always said, and will say today to you that I still believe the most likely origin is from an animal species to a human, but I keep an absolutely open mind that if there may be other origins of that, there may be another reason, it could have been a lab leak, Fauci said. I believe if you look historically, what happens in the animal-human interface, that in fact the more likelihood is that youre dealing with a jump of species. But I keep an open mind all the time. And thats the reason why I have been public that we should continue to look for the origin. Thousands of Faucis emails were released earlier this week via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, which suggested that his team scrambled in early 2020 to respond to public reporting about the virus leaking from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Those emails suggested that officials were concerned with prior U.S. involvement with the laboratory. Both Fauci and National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins have denied funding gain-of-function research, or experiments aimed at increasing the transmissibility or virulence of a virus, at the lab in Wuhan. However, documents show that about $600,000 of a grant given to the EcoHealth Alliance was channeled to the Wuhan Institute of Virology to research coronavirus in bats in 2014. Meanwhile, House Judiciary Committee Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) said Thursday that they started an investigation into what they described as a lack of oversight into gain-of-function research. They wrote in a letter to David Hassell, senior science adviser to the Department of Health and Human Services, Because you chair the group within the HHS responsible for reviewing funding decisions for research involving deadly pathogens, we request your assistance in better understanding how U.S. taxpayer dollars could fund dangerous research at an unsafe Chinese laboratory. Fan Baolin, who served 17 years in prison and says he sneaked out of China last year to escape constant surveillance, poses during an interview in an undisclosed location and on an undisclosed date. (AP photo) Tracked for Life: China Relentless in Erasing Tiananmen BEIJINGThe ruling Communist Partys deadly 1989 crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests never ended for Fan Baolin, who served 17 years in prison and says he sneaked out of China last year to escape surveillance that included cameras trained on his apartment and pressure on his family to deter him from more activism. Fan, who took part in the demonstrations and later worked for the partys vast security apparatus, was arrested in 1999 for giving activists abroad confidential documents about surveillance of Chinese pro-democracy exiles. Released in 2016, he became among those who still are watched by the party a generation later in an effort to erase public memory of the protests in the heart of Beijing. Once you are on the Chinese governments blacklist, you will be tracked for life, Fan told The Associated Press ahead of Fridays anniversary of the June 4, 1989, military attack on protesters. He spoke in another Asian country and asked that it not be identified while its government considers his request for asylum. Party leaders have imprisoned or driven activists into exile and largely succeeded in ensuring young people know little about June 4. Still, after more than three decades and three changes of leadership, they are relentless in trying to prevent any mention of the attack that killed hundreds and possibly thousands of people. A paramilitary police officer stands guard as visitors pass near the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, China, on June 2, 2021. (Ng Han Guan/AP Photo) Relatives of those who died are watched and, ahead of the anniversary, some are detained or forced to stay temporarily away from home to prevent them from doing anything that might draw attention. Public memorials on the mainland always have been prohibited. Vigils used to be held openly in Hong Kong and Macao, Chinese territories with fewer political controls, but authorities banned events this year. They have only deepened repression, said Yaqiu Wang of Human Rights Watch in a report this month. Following his release from prison, Fan lived in his hometown of Xian, in Chinas west, under surveillance and restrictions. He said police discouraged him from leaving the city, tracked his mobile phone, and listened to his calls. To protect his family, Fan said he had little contact with them and told them nothing about his activities. He said he worried they might be punished if he were accused of more wrongdoing. They looked for my brother and sister, he said. Authorities wanted to make my family members persuade me, control me, not to participate any more in this sort of thing, not to know these people any longer. As for other relatives, I take initiative to keep my distance from them, Fan said. As they all know, my phone is monitored, so as soon as I call and as soon as they answer, they are frightened, he said. This is the atmosphere of fear created by the Communist Partys domestic high-pressure policies now. Fan said when he traveled to other cities in 2017 to see friends, police called every day to ask what he was doing. He said when he took a package vacation to Yunnan province in the southwest in 2018, police detained him and sent him back to Xian. Fan participated in the 1989 protests, joining thousands of students from across China in Tiananmen Square. But he left Beijing at the end of May, before the military attacked. His eyes fill with tears when he describes the event. Later, Fan studied law and worked as a legal consultant before joining the police in Shaanxi province in the west. He moved to a state security agency in 1994 and was assigned to watch the public and read their mail, looking for possible foreign ties. But he held onto hopes for a democratic China. Fan was convicted of illegally providing state secrets abroad for faxing security agency documents to a pro-democracy movement group in Los Angeles and expressing sympathy and support, according to a document Fan provided to the AP that he said was his sentencing report. It said he had promised to use his post to pass along intelligence reports about the group. That report gave no details of the documents Fan was accused of leaking. I didnt do it for money from Taiwan or the U.S. government, Fan said. I was on the side of the pro-democracy movement and provided intelligence to friends in the pro-democracy movement. Fans case was disclosed to human rights groups in 2007 by a former fellow inmate, Zhao Changqing, according to the Dui Hua Foundation in San Francisco, which researches Chinese prisons. After that, Fan was listed as a political prisoner by Duihua and human rights groups. Fan said after his release, police took him out for meals ahead of politically sensitive datespart of extensive efforts to keep track of him. Visitors wait at a bus stop in the Tiananmen Square area in Beijing on June 2, 2021. (Ng Han Guan/AP Photo) They would go back, list the details of our meeting and report regularly to higher levels the so-called dynamics of my thoughts in the sensitive period and in what activities we took part, he said. Fan, who turns 57 next month, never married or had children. He said his parents died while he was in prison but he didnt learn that until he was released, more than a decade later. Fan said video cameras were installed to watch the apartment his parents bought for him before their deaths. He said that made friends skittish about visiting. Today, Fan lives in a studio apartment with a roll-up bed and a fan for furniture while he waits for word on his asylum application. He has become a Christian and passes time by reading a Bible on his mobile phone. Fan said for his first two years out of prison, he rarely went outdoors because the world was very strange. Fan said when he visited Beijing on the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen protests in 2019, police called from Xian and ordered him to return home. Fan said he told no one after he decided to leave China. He discarded his mobile phone to prevent authorities from using it to track him. He made his way to the southern border and walked across. I will not return to China, he said. This is a road of no return. By Joe McDonald and Dake Kang Treasure Hunter Unearths 2.2 Carat Yellow Diamond at State Park for Future Brides Engagement Ring Christian Liden has nurtured a dream since 8th grade: to one day create an engagement ring for his future wife out of materials he himself mined. It was this dream that propelled him to Arkansass Crater of Diamonds State Park where he discovered a 2.20 carat yellow diamondespecially precious. Liden, 26, made the 2,000-mile trip from Poulsbo, Washington, with a friend. They arrived on May 7, armed with mining equipment they had built themselves, and spent an hour wet sifting for diamonds before retiring for the night. Liden made his remarkable discovery on day 3 of the trip. I saw it shining as soon as I turned the screen over and immediately knew it was a diamond, Liden explained in an Arkansas State Parks news release. I was shaking so bad, I asked my buddy to grab it out of the gravel for me! The parks Diamond Discovery Center confirmed that the gem was a large yellow diamond weighing 2.20 caratsthe largest unearthed at the park since October 2020. Liden had only had hopes of finding a couple of smaller stones; he had planned to buy a center stone at a later date, but as he explained, that wont be needed now. Keeping with tradition, Liden picked a name for his gemstone, Washington Sunshine, explaining that the stones warm yellow hue emulates the sunlight in his home state of Washington. While he hasnt yet proposed, Liden is well ahead of schedule on the ring-crafting front. Over the course of five years, hes already panned enough gold for the band, and found his first gem at a sapphire mine in Montana while testing equipment with his friend, reports Patch. After leaving Crater victorious, Liden planned to mine for opals next in Nevada before returning home to Poulsbo. He eventually hopes to design the ring with input from his future bride-to-be. Craters assistant superintendent, Dru Edmonds, was touched by Lidens ambition. I think the best part is the story behind it, he said. Mr. Liden has dreamed of creating a special ring for his future wife, with stones and gold he mined himself, and now he can make that dream come true! Edmonds described Lidens yellow diamond as triangular with a sparkling, metallic luster. Like most gathered from the park, it contains a few inclusions, he added, making it one-of-a-kind. Stacy Hurst, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism, said she loves hearing visitors stories of unearthing precious gems. Its a moment theyll never forget, and its always exciting that our park gets to be a part of that, she said. At the time of writing, Crater of Diamonds State Park has recorded 121 diamond discoveries in 2021 so far, totaling over 20 carats. The very first diamonds at the locale were discovered by farmer and landowner John Huddleston in 1906. The land became an Arkansas State Park in 1972. One or two gems are unearthed every single day, and while diamonds come in all colors, Craters diamonds are white, brown, and yellow. 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 GSLP Executive Committee Statement on New People "The statement by the GSD about the ownership of The New People newspaper, suggesting it is owned by Fabian Picardo, is entirely wrong." The Executive Committee has said that all of the accusations and allegations in the GSD press release are completely false and misleading. 'In fact, the ownership of the shares of The New People has, since the inception of that newspaper, in the 1980s been held by the leader from time to time of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party on trust for the Executive Committee and Members of the GSLP.' The statement continues to say that Mr Picardo, as incumbent Leader of the GSLP, holds the shares on trust for the Executive Committee and members of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party, and not in his personal capacity. 'Mr Picardo is therefore a bare nominee in the context of the holding of the shares.' 'Given that Trusts are not reflected on the register, as provided for explicitly by Section 186 of the Companies Act 2014, the fact that the shares are held by Mr Picardo in trust is therefore not reflected (nor reflectable) on the corporate register nor on the register of Ultimate Beneficial Ownership.' 'Mr Picardo and the GSLP could have chosen as was provided for in the establishment of the Register of Ultimate Beneficial Ownership not to have disclosed any information on the UBO register. The Party and the Party Leader chose to disclose the holding structure in order to ensure that we complied with our views on transparency and accountability on corporate structures something on which the GSLP and Mr Picardo have led since the election of the party into Government, together with the Gibraltar Liberal Party, in 2011.' 'In the light of the fact that Mr Picardo does not own the shares in the holding vehicle of The New People, there is no question of him having to disclose his trusteeship on the register of members interests and no dereliction as improperly alleged by the GSD, in Mr Picardo not having done so.' The leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party, and Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Hon Fabian Picardo QC MP, said: These allegations are part of a deeply personalised campaign being waged against me as Chief Minister by the GSD, whilst at the same time they want to pretend to be gentlemen politicians. In fact, they are dirtier and less scrupulous than any of their predecessors. The GSD are once again, characteristically playing the disgusting game of attempted character assassination against me that they played against Sir Joe Bossano in the 1990s. Unable to beat the GSLP when it comes to policies, effectiveness or ability, they seek to denigrate me as party leader and our other Members of Parliament to make up for the obvious inadequacies of their own elected representatives. They will not succeed. We will continue to do our work as the GSLPs Members of Parliament which the people of Gibraltar elected us to do by a massive margin over the GSD. The fact that the GSD seem not to understand the basics of Company law will not deter us at all, in fact, it will spur us on to ensure that we keep working for our people." Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci, left, speaks as then-President Donald Trump listens, at the White House in Washington on April 13, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) Trump: Fauci Must Answer A Lot of Questions Dr. Anthony Fauci must answer questions about the U.S. funding for a Chinese laboratory and other matters, former President Donald Trump said Thursday after thousands of 2020 emails to, from, and about Fauci were released this week. There are a lot of questions that must be answered by Dr. Fauci. The funding of Wuhan by the United States was foolishly started by the Obama Administration in 2014 but ended under the Trump Administration. When I heard about it, I said no way. What did Dr. Fauci know about gain of function research, and when did he know it? Trump said in a statement through his Save America political action committee. Fauci directs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). In 2014, the agency gave a $3.7 million grant to Ecohealth Alliance to explore the risk of bat coronavirus emergence. A portion of the funds, about $600,000, went to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a top-level lab in Wuhan, China. The newly released emails show that Fauci and other top American health officials scrambled to respond to reporting about a possible link between COVID-19 and the lab. Fauci has repeatedly denied that the U.S. funding was for gain of function research but has acknowledged that Chinese scientists could have used the money for such research. Richard Ebright, a professor of chemical biology at Rutgers University, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the grant did involve gain of function research, noting that the projects abstract for the 2019 fiscal year referenced in vitro and in vivo infection experiments on coronaviruses. Other scientists also say the project involved such research. The grant was terminated last year by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which Faucis agency is a part of. Fauci told members of Congress last year that the NIH was told to cancel the grant. He told Politico that the White House ordered the cancellation. Fauci was part of Trumps White House Coronavirus Task Force. He was made a top White House medical adviser after President Joe Biden took office in January. The P4 laboratory on the campus of the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, in Chinas central Hubei Province, on May 27, 2020. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images) The NIAID has not responded to requests for comment. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Thursday in Washington: On Dr. Fauci and his emails, hes spoken to this many times over the course of the last few days and well let him speak for himself, and hes been an undeniable asset in our countrys pandemic response. But its obviously not that advantageous for me to relitigate the substance of emails from 17 months ago. Fauci said during an appearance on NewsNation on Wednesday night that the emails are prone to being taken out of context. The only trouble is they are really ripe to be taken out of context where someone can snip out a sentence in an email without showing the other emails and say, based on an email from Dr. Fauci, he said such-and-such, where you dont really have the full context, he said. Some members of Congress want to question Fauci under oath about what he knew, and when, about the lab funding. I hope that he comes back in front of the select committee on coronavirus so we could ask him some pointed questions about what he knew when this whole thing started and he approved our tax dollars going to this, which raises the obvious question, why are we sending money to a lab in China in the first place? Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said on Fox News. Jordan and other top Republicans launched a congressional inquiry this week into the failure by the Department of Health and Human Services to review the grant that led to money going to the Wuhan lab. Universities Given Till the End of the Year to Adopt Freedom of Speech Code Australian Education Minister Alan Tudge has given universities until the end of this year to enforce a freedom of speech code, threatening to use legislation if universities refuse or cannot implement it. You cannot pursue truth without freedom of expression. You cannot create knowledge without freedom of academic inquiry, Tudge said in a speech to the Universities Australia conference in Canberra today. He then quoted what the first Vice-Chancellor of Australian National University, Sir Douglas Copland told Prime Minister Robert Menzies in a letter in 1948 (pdf): The establishment and maintenance of academic freedom is more important than the actual research and teaching done inside the walls of a university. Tudge was critical that some universities still had yet to begin the process of implementing the French Model Code, to which all university leaders agreed to 26 months ago. It refers to former High Court Chief Justice Robert Frenchs code, which has freedom of speech as one of its core values. I want to see the Model Code implemented fully this year, with no more excuses. You all committed to do this, he said. If it becomes apparent that universities remain unable or unwilling to adopt the Model Code, I will examine all options available to the Government to enforce itwhich may include legislation. George Williams, the deputy vice-chancellor of the University of New South Wales called on the government to include a free speech statute to allow Australians the legal right to free speech. Free speech needs to include the right to say things that people disagree with and may find offensive, Williams told The Daily Telegraph. We do find an increasing danger of self-censorship it has a chilling effect on what people say and do. People walk past signage for Australian universities in Melbournes central business district on June 10, 2020, (William West/AFP via Getty Images) Tudge also told university leaders that they should not forget that public universities were initially established with a single purposeeducating Australians. In the past several months, I have had almost every Vice-Chancellor talk to me about research and international students, but not many talk to me about their ambitions for Australian students, he said. He called on the universities to focus on enhancing the learning experience of Australians, starting with a return to face-to-face learning. The speech also covered the governments agenda on research commercialisation. Tudge said he wants Australian universities to work with more businesses and governments to translate research into breakthrough products on top of producing brilliant, pure research. A review into building closer ties between Australian universities and industry was announced, which would be led by two university leaders. The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) called Tudges emphasis on commercialisation short-sighted. If the Government was serious about its commitment to research and commercialisation opportunities, it would have continued the additional funding for research in this years Budget, but this was also cut, NTEU National President Alison Barnes said. The union was also disappointed in Tudge for failing to address the number of jobs lost as a result of COVID-19, dubbing it the biggest crisis ever faced by universities. Protesters hold a large Bulgarian flag as they attend an anti-government demonstration in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Sept.10, 2020. (Stoyan Nenov/Reuters) US Blacklists 3 Bulgarians, 64 Companies Over Corruption WASHINGTON/SOFIAThe United States on June 2 imposed sanctions on 64 companies and three Bulgarians over corruption, including an oligarch accused of planning to create a conduit for Russian political leaders to influence the Bulgarian government. A statement by the Treasury Department said the move was its single biggest action targeting graft to date. Bulgaria ranks as the European Unions most corrupt member state, according to Transparency International. The Balkan country has repeatedly been criticized by the European Commission for failing to root out corruption and send a single high-ranking senior government official behind bars for graft. Bulgarian businessman Vasil Bozhkov attends a news conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Jan. 22, 2020. (Desislava Komarova/Reuters) Bulgarian interim Prime Minister Stefan Yanev said he was informed by the U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland by telephone about the move, part of efforts to effectively combat corruption in Bulgaria. The U.S. Treasury said it imposed sanctions on businessman and oligarch Vassil Kroumov Bozhkov, 64, accusing him of planning to create a channel for Russian leaders to influence the Bulgarian government. Bozhkov, a gambling tycoon and one of Bulgarias richest men, fled the country in 2020 to escape criminal charges, including extortion, tax fraud, and influence peddling, among others. He denies any wrongdoing and is now based in Dubai. The Treasury also slapped sanctions on Delyan Peevski, a former member of parliament, Ilko Dimitrov Zhelyazkov, a government official, and 64 companies owned or controlled by the three. The sanctions block the people and companies blacklisted from accessing the U.S. financial system, freezing any of their U.S. assets and barring Americans from dealing with them. Delyan Peevski (R), a Bulgarian businessman and former member of parliament, attends a birthday party in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Dec. 7, 2010. (Petko Nalbantov/BULGARIA OUT/Reuters) The U.S. State Department separately designated former Bulgarian officials Alexander Manolev, Petar Haralampiev, Krasimir Tomov, as well as Peevski and Zhelyazkov, over their alleged involvement in corruption, barring them and their families from entering the United States. The United States stands with all Bulgarians whose work drives reforms forward, and the Department will continue to use its authorities to promote accountability for corrupt actors in the region and globally, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. Peevski, 40, is a Bulgarian businessman, former media mogul, and former lawmaker. Critics at home see him as a powerful behind-the-scenes power broker with a strong influence on Bulgarias judiciary and political elites in the country. In a bid to tame massive anti-government protests over corruption last summer, then-Prime Minister Boyko Borissov sacked three of his ministers to put an end to allegations that they had been working with Peevski. The Treasury accused him of using influence peddling and bribes to protect himself from public scrutiny and exert control over key institutions and sectors in Bulgarian society. Uyghur Exiles Describe Forced Abortions, Torture in Xinjiang ISTANBULThree Uyghurs who fled from China to Turkey have described forced abortions and torture by Chinese authorities in Chinas far western Xinjiang region, ahead of giving testimony to a peoples tribunal in London that is investigating if Beijings actions toward ethnic Uyghurs amount to genocide. The three witnesses include a woman who said she was forced into an abortion at six and a half months gestation, a former doctor who spoke of draconian birth control policies, and a former detainee who alleged he was tortured day and night by Chinese soldiers while he was imprisoned in the remote border region. They spoke to The Associated Press of their experiences before testifying by video link to the independent U.K. tribunal, which is expected to draw dozens of witnesses when it opens four days of hearings on June 4. The tribunal, which does not have U.K. government backing, will be chaired by prominent human rights lawyer Geoffrey Nice, who led the prosecution of ex-Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and worked with the International Criminal Court. While the tribunals judgment is not binding on any government, organizers hope the process of publicly laying out evidence will compel international action to tackle growing concerns about alleged abuses in Xinjiang of the Uyghurs, a largely Muslim ethnic group. One witness, mother-of-four Bumeryem Rozi, said authorities in Xinjiang rounded her up, along with other pregnant women, to abort her fifth child in 2007. She said she complied because she feared that otherwise authorities would have confiscated her home and belongings and endangered her family. I was six and a half months pregnant The police came, one Uyghur and two Chinese. They put me and eight other pregnant women in cars and took us to the hospital, Rozi, 55, told the AP from her home in Istanbul. They first gave me a pill and said to take it. So I did. I didnt know what it was, she continued. Half an hour later, they put a needle in my belly. And sometime after that I lost my child. Semsinur Gafur talks during a media interview in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 1, 2021. (Mehmet Guzel/AP Photo) Semsinur Gafur, a former obstetrician-gynecologist who worked in a village hospital in Xinjiang in the 1990s, said she and other female clinicians used to go from house to house with a mobile ultrasound machine to check if anyone was pregnant. If a household had more births than allowed, they would raze the home They would flatten the house, destroy it, Gafur said. This was my life there. It was very distressing. And because I worked in a state hospital, people didnt trust me. The Uyghur people saw me as a Chinese traitor. A third Uyghur exile, Mahmut Tevekkul, said he was imprisoned and tortured in 2010 by Chinese authorities who interrogated him for information about one of his brothers. Tevekkul said the brother was wanted partly because he published a religious book in Arabic. Tevekkul described being beaten and punched in the face during questioning. They put us on a tiled floor, shackled our hands and feet, and tied us to a pipe, like a gas pipe. There were six soldiers guarding us. They interrogated us until the morning and then they took us to the maximum-security area of the prison, he said. Mahmut Tevekkul gestures as he talks during a media interview in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 2, 2021. (Mehmet Guzel/AP Photo) The tribunal is the latest attempt to hold China accountable for alleged rights abuses against the Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim and ethnic Turkic minorities. An estimated 1 million people or moremost of them Uyghurshave been confined in re-education camps in Xinjiang in recent years, according to researchers. Chinese authorities have been accused of imposing forced labor, systematic forced birth control and torture, and separating children from incarcerated parents. Beijing has flatly rejected the allegations. Officials have characterized the camps, which they say are now closed, as vocational training centers to teach the Chinese language, job skills, and the law to support economic development and combat extremism. China saw a wave of Xinjiang-related terror attacks through 2016. The hearings organizers said Chinese authorities have ignored requests to participate in the proceedings. The Chinese embassy in London did not respond to requests for comment, but officials in China have said the tribunal is set up by anti-China forces to spread lies. There is no such thing as genocide or forced labor in Xinjiang, the regions government spokesperson Elijan Anayat told reporters Thursday. If the tribunal insists on going its own way, we would like to express our severe condemnation and opposition and will be forced to take countermeasures. In April, Britains parliament followed those in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Canada in declaring that Beijings policies against the Uyghurs amounted to genocide and crimes against humanity. The U.S. government has also done the same. But Nice, the lawyer leading the tribunal, said so far, those declarations of genocide have come with limited analysis of evidence about the intentions behind the Chinese governments policies. It is the mental state of those organs [of the Chinese government] that would have to be examined or established and proved if any finding of genocide is ever to be made, Nice said. Its pretty obvious that purpose and intent are going to be critical. Nice was one of nine British citizens sanctioned by China in March for spreading lies and disinformation about the country. The move came after the U.K. and other Western governments took similar measures against China over its treatment of the Uyghurs. The lawyer said he isnt intimidated, but admitted that the sanctions have resulted in some participants withdrawing from the tribunal. Organizers also said they have been subjected to cyber targeting. They had to increase the events security after about 500 of the hearings free tickets were booked up by people with fake email addresses. While her fellow exiles said they agreed to testify to seek justice, Rozi, the woman who reported the forced abortion, says she is motivated to speak out for a more personal reason. Her youngest son has been detained since 2015, when he was just 13, and she hopes the tribunals work will help lead to his freedom one day. I want my son to be freed as soon as possible, she said. I want to see him be set free. By Ayse Wieting A guard tries to block photos being taken as he and a policeman patrol outside the Canadian embassy in Beijing, Canada, on Jan. 14, 2019. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images) Victims of CCP Coercion Say Chinese-Canadians Are Not Safe in Their Own Homes Dissidents of the Chinese regime are subject to coercion even in Canada, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) exploits foreign institutions to infiltrate democratic societies and terrorize the Chinese diaspora, victims said on Monday. Cherie Wong, executive director of Alliance Canada Hong Kong (ACHK), told the House of Commons special committee on Canada-China Relations that the CCP has been exporting their authoritarianism overseas through various political and economic sectors. However, she said very few countries have realized the dangers posed by the CCPs global expansionist agenda. Threats, censorship, [and] intimidation will continue as long as companies, nonprofits, academia, politicians, media, and other institutions with vested interests are fearful of angering Beijing and doing their bidding, Wong said. We need a whole of government approach on how Canada engages with foreign authoritarian powers like China, we need to invest in the proper tools, infrastructures, and resources to protect Canadians and our national interests, she added. Cherie Wong, executive director of the Alliance Canada Hong Kong, testifies before the House of Commons Committee on Canada-China Relations on May 31, 2021. (Screenshot via parlvu.parl.gc.ca) An ACHK report (pdf), published in May, sets out seven key tactics that the CCP and its affiliates deploy to control foreign countries, including political influence, elite capture, surveillance and intimidation, information and narrative discursion, academic influence and intellectual property vulnerabilities, national security, and the United Front Work Department. In response to those threats, the report recommended Canada create a foreign influence transparency scheme to establish a public registry of individuals, organizations, and representatives who are acting on behalf of foreign states and their affiliates in the country. In addition, the authors of the report recommend a public commission with investigative and enforcement powers thats capable of coordinating the different levels of government, institutions, public agencies, and the Canadian general public be installed to complement the transparency scheme. As a victim of the CCPs harassment and intimidation, Wong emphasized the need to protect the Chinese diaspora in Canada. She said that based on her experience, the regimes harassment has been carefully crafted so that despite the very real death threats against dissidents, police can do nothing to protect victims. Dissidents are not safe, not in their own homes, not in civil societies, not at work, and not in Canada, Wong said. Chinese Students Under CCPs Long-Arm Tactics Chemi Lhamo, a Tibetan descent, said the CCP was behind the attempts to silence her when she ran for campus president at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus Students Union in 2019. Because of her ethnicity, Lhamo received tens of thousands of death and rape threats made against her and her family each day during her election, she said. Chemi Lhamo, the president of University of Torontos Scarborough Campus Students Union, is pictured in the room earmarked for the Campuss food bank in Toronto, Ont., Canada, on Aug. 30, 2019. (The Canadian Press/Chris Young) Lhamo warned that the CCPs propaganda is insidiously disguised behind progressive movements, conflating anti-CCP sentiments to be part of the rise of anti-Asian hatred in recent months, as people struggle with the global COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the CCP virus which first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Even the Chinese international students themselves, while living in the open and liberal Canadian society, are often the target of CCP manipulation. The long arm tactics of the CCP is also affecting Chinese international students, who are paying four to five times more for an education, but are having to become incognito spies for the [Chinese] embassy or get bullied to follow party lines and protests, Lhamo said. In February 2019, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association at the McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, condemned an on-campus event on Beijings human rights abuses against Uyghurs and ethnic Muslims. Rukiye Turdush, research director at Uyghur Research Institute, who spoke at the event, was disrupted and verbally assaulted by those she identified as Chinese students. Rukiye Turdush, research director at the Uyghur Research Institute, testifying before the House of Commons Committee on Canada-China Relations on May 31, 2021. (Screenshot via parlvu.parl.gc.ca) Turdush later obtained screenshots of those students WeChat group conversations, showing that they had been taking orders from and reporting to the Chinese consulate in Canada. They have very close contact, they report everything to the Chinese embassy, and the Chinese Embassy instructed them in advance the many things [to do], Turdush said. This is not the organized, patriotic Chinese students there is a Chinese embassys hand in this event. Turdush said she was also worried about her son being targeted after the McMaster incident, but she said there is little she could do as an individual. This is not the civil issue; this is not the issue between me and the International Chinese students. This is Chinas influence to Canada, so government should deal with it, she said. I am giving this testimony here today, not only because of my personal safety or other human rights activists safety, but most importantly, its because of [the] tremendous danger that China posing to the democratic world order and human rights, Canadian sovereignty. It is about the future of our kids. Whats Behind Chinas New 3-Child Policy? Commentary The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) recently announced its decision to allow married couples to have up to three children, a major policy shift from the two-child limit. The new policy comes as Chinas birth rate has significantly declined while its aging population continues to increase. Such an absurd decision is unprecedented in the world. What kind of government would directly intervene with its citizens family planning? Over the 5,000 years of Chinese history, the dynasties or emperors have never meddled with it. The CCP leaders claim to be atheists, but they act like God as they want to control everything. Not only do they treat Chinese people like slaves, but also want to decide on the number of children each family can have. If the Chinese Communist regime really dominated the world, they would want to decide everybodys fate. Fearing a food shortage, the CCP implemented the one-child policy in 1980 to slow Chinas rapid population growth. When it later found that the labor force had been declining, it decided to roll-out the two-child policy in 2015. Now that the population is aging and the actual birth rate is declining, Beijing has lifted the restrictions again, allowing three children per couple. But the CCP still refuses to acknowledge that the current population crisis is the result of its own meddling. During a high-level meeting on May 31, the CCP said that dealing with the aging population is a matter of high-quality economic development, safeguarding national security and social stability, according to state-run media Xinhua. The CCP has never cared about the wellbeing of its people. Its top brass has always been worried about the stability of the regime and whether their personal authority would be threatened. Now, the Party realizes that having too many elderly people will increase the burden on society, and it means the workforce will shrink and affect productivity, there will be fewer people for military enlistments, and social unrest would be inevitable. The CCP is naturally concerned. The Politburo, Chinas top decision-making body, meets once a month. While China faces many problems at home and abroad, the state media only reported that the top-level officials at the recent meeting only reviewed the aging population issue and decided to allow couples to have a third child. It is clear that the CCP doesnt care about the livelihood of its people and is only concerned about maintaining its power. At a press briefing held by the Foreign Ministry on May 31, spokesperson Wang Wenbin did not answer any questions about the CCPs new three-child policy and instead passed the buck to the so-called department thats in charge of it. The Chinese regime also controls its peoples thoughts by spreading its communist and socialist ideologies throughout society, especially through the education system. On May 31, the CCPs official theoretical journal Qiushi (Seeking the Truth) published Xi Jinpings article on the importance of learning about the CCPs history, the nations reform and opening up, and the socialist development under the Party. Xi emphasized that all Party members and officials must guide the public, especially the youth to understand why the CCP is capable, why Marxism works and why socialism with Chinese characteristics is good, and to resolutely listen and follow the Party. He also stressed that the CCP must maintain good control over the youths education so that the red gene is passed on from generation to generation. The CCP wants to decide whether a person can be born or not; and after birth, it wants to control the persons mind, molding him or her into a Red Guard as its tool. In the eyes of the CCPs top leaders, the Chinese people are merely tools at their disposal and are expected to obey and follow the Partys rules throughout their lives. Yang Wei has been closely following China affairs for many years. He has been contributing political commentary on China for the Chinese language Epoch Times since 2019. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. White House Deputy National Security Adviser for Cyber and Emerging Technology Anne Neuberger speaks at a briefing at the White House in Washington on Feb. 17, 2021.(Leah Millis/Reuters) White House Warns No Company Is Safe From Ransomware Attacks The White House warned business leaders in a June 3 letter about the growing risk of ransomware attacks, urging them to beef up their digital security measures. The threats are serious and they are increasing, Anne Neuberger, cybersecurity adviser at the National Security Council, said in the letter obtained by media outlets. All organizations must recognize that no company is safe from being targeted by ransomware, regardless of size or location. Much as our homes have locks and alarm systems and our office buildings have guards and security to meet the threat of theft, we urge you to take ransomware crime seriously and ensure your corporate cyber defenses match the threat. Neubergers advice to companies includes urging them to store data backups offline, make sure systems are promptly updated and patched, bolster security teams, and strengthen firewalls between operational networks and the internet. The White House warning comes after a number of recent high-profile cyberattacks, including one targeting Colonial Pipeline last month, leading to a disruptive shutdown and gasoline shortages. Earlier this week, a hack against Americas biggest beef producer JBS led to a shutdown of many of its meat production plants, sparking fears of food supply interruptions. In late May, Microsoft announced that it believes the Russia-based hackers behind the SolarWinds cyberattack had begun a fresh campaign targeting over 150 government agencies, think tanks, and non-governmental organizations. White House Deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on June 1 that the administration believes the ransomware attack on JBS is likely linked to a Russia-based criminal organization. President Joe Biden believes Russian President Vladimir Putin has a role to play in preventing these attacks and planned to bring up the issue during their summit this month, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on June 2. This attack is a reminder about the importance to private sector entities of hardening their cybersecurity and ensuring that they take the necessary steps to prepare for this threat, she said. At a federal level, Biden has launched a rapid strategic review along four lines of effort to address the increased threat of ransomware, Psaki said. These include disrupting ransomware infrastructure and actors, building an international coalition to hold countries who harbor ransom actors accountable, and expanding the analysis of cryptocurrency networks, a move she said was meant to find and pursue criminal transactions. Asked whether the Russian government has made any commitments to try and stop these bad actors, Psaki said the matter was being raised through the highest level of the U.S. government, and that Biden would raise the matter in direct discussions with Putin. Biden and Putin are scheduled to meet in Geneva on June 16. Journalists sit next to screens showing Chinese Leader Xi Jinping delivering a speech via video on Nov. 4, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) Xi Calls for Bolstering the CCPs Image in Global Media As international pressure mounts on China, regime leader Xi Jinping is pushing for a media campaign to promote the image of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the global community. During a high-level meeting with the CCPs Central Committee on May 31, Xi called on CCP officials and state-controlled media to tell the story of China well, so that the spirits and ideology can be displayed as the narrative and interpretation of the Chinese Communist Party, according to state-run media Xinhua. Xi emphasized that the Chinese media should make great efforts to improve its ability in making an impact on other countries and its voice should reflect Chinas strength and international status, Xinhua reported. At the meeting, Xi encouraged the other Party leaders to cultivate more allies for Beijing through various channels such as international experts and foreign media. We should fully utilize the high-level experts, speaking through major international conferences and forums, foreign mainstream media, etc., Xinhua cited Xi as saying. Beijing has recently encountered diplomatic setbacks. New Zealand and Australia recently appeared as a united front in countering the Chinese regime by issuing an extensive joint statement after their Annual Leaders Summit in Queenstown, New Zealand. In the joint statement, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expressed deep concern over developments that limit the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong and grave concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang. Beijing has denounced the criticisms. Meanwhile, new reports from mainstream media regarding the COVID-19 pandemic suggest that the origin of the CCP virus could be linked to a top-security laboratory, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, in Wuhan city, Hubei Province. The lab is just a few miles away from the Huanan wet market, where the first cluster of infections reportedly emerged in December 2019. U.S. President Joe Biden said in a May 26 statement that he wants the U.S. intelligence community to produce a report on the viruss origins within 90 days. Australia has also pushed for an investigation into the origins of the virus. Hu Ping, a U.S.-based China expert and political commentator, shared his views about Beijings media campaign in an interview with the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times on June 1. In response to the recent pushback from democratic countries, Xis hope of creating a trustworthy, lovable, and respectable image of the CCP is in vain, said Hu, because the problem is its actions. Xis instructions on bolstering the CCPs image suggest that Beijing is attempting to tone down its aggression, Hu said. He speculated that the regime will use its media to convey to the world that China is not an enemy. However, Hu warns that this could just be a tactic to deceive the international community. He added that people can only see the real meaning behind Xis strategic narrative if they understand how the CCP truly operates as an authoritarian regime. Luo Ya contributed to this report. BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) Two men have been arrested on charges of reckless endangerment and illegal sale of alcohol in connection with an illegal club that was the scene of a double homicide in Bridgeport last month, police said. Josiah J. Israel, 35, and Christopher Mojica, 37, were arrested Wednesday and released on promises to appear in court. HMGOG to Open a Customer Services Centre in Main Street Government has conducted a comprehensive review through the Office of the Chief Secretary of the needs and requirements of each Government Department in providing its services to the general public. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic the Government closed all public counters and focused its efforts on the delivery of basic eServices. A spokesperson for Govt said that it has always been Governments intention to encourage the use of eServices as and when they become available and to cease the use of Counters where appropriate and possible. During this period, some 15,000 applications were successfully processed using basic eServices with over 500,000 paid in fees during this time. For those members of our Community who do not use eServices, Government has repeatedly stated that it will provide a Customer Services Centre in the heart of town to provide this support and assistance to those members of our Community who require it. Over the past months and as a result of the success of Operation Freedom, many Departments have reopened counters including the Post Office, DVLD, OFT, Housing and the Care Agency. These will continue open for the foreseeable future and in respect of other Departments which do not have open Counters at present, Government will soon be opening the Customer Services Centre to be able to deal with all and any queries from the general public. The Customer Services centre will be based at 323 Main Street, where the Brexit Information Centre was previously housed. Government expects this to be open and operational by Mid July. NORWALK A new class offered at Norwalk high schools exploring social justice in America would likely have intrigued countless numbers of students. But according to Samantha Przybisiki, a student at Brien McMahon High School, the class was never advertised to the student body before the course selection period closed, potentially depriving scores of students a chance to sign up for the course. For Przybisiki, a member of her schools student leadership team, the incident revealed an unfortunate reality about the citys public school system: Not every student is offered the same resources and opportunities. We cant talk about how great this class is going to be and then not give anybody the opportunity to sign up for it because nobody knows it exists, she told members of the Norwalk Board of Education on Tuesday. We made a step in the right direction and then we froze it right where we were because we couldnt do it on time. Przybisiki is among a handful of local high school students who are urging the school board to do more to address equity issues in city schools. On Tuesday, the boards policy committee met with a half dozen students to discuss the possibility of creating an equity and diversity policy for the first time in the districts history. Its not something we want to rush through as a policy committee, and thats why we wanted our student leaders to be a part of this, said Heidi Keyes, a board member and the chairperson of the policy committee. In at times impassioned statements, the students suggested committee members consider a number of equity and diversity issues facing schools, including disparities in standardized testing and how school administrators respond to allegations of racism in the classroom. Roja Yousuf, a student at Brien McMahon High School, asked the members to find ways to ensure that every student, regardless of their background, has access to higher level and advanced courses. Many of us are capable, but unfortunately due to equity issues many of us arent able to go into those classes, she said. An equal opportunity policy barring discrimination is currently on the books for the district, but the policy is one sentence long and it does not address more nuanced issues such as bias in the classroom and achievement gaps between students of different backgrounds. The discussions around a new policy comes just weeks after Superintendent Alexandra Estrella announced plans to hire a new deputy superintendent of equity, excellence and inclusion. Estrella has said the deputy superintendent will spearhead the districts equity programs. Edward Fergus, an associate professor at Temple University, who is leading an initiative examining educational equity in Norwalk, said creating a written equality and diversity policy is akin to making concrete commitments to students and their families. Im always very mindful that we can have great leaders existing among us all the time, but unless we are creating institutionalized elements of where were trying to go, these things could easily fall by the wayside, Fergus said. For some students, the content of what is being taught in classrooms is among the most important equity issue for the district. Nia Bethel Brescia, a Norwalk High School student, said the policy should ensure that all students are properly represented in the school curriculum. The question of equity applies to all subjects I think, she said. These days it will feel tone deaf if students can tell the content that theyre learning isnt being conscious at all of the breadth of diversity that we have in our district. If a new policy is created, Przybisiki said, the board must commit to enforcing it and communicating the contents of the policy directly to students. Communication is what makes a policy work, she said. Our policy is only as good as its communicated to people. richard.chumney@hearstmediact.com COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Ohio residents who were recently vaccinated may want to answer their phone on Vax-A-Million days, even if the number isn't familiar. It might be Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on the other end. The Ohio Lottery announced the next winners of the state's Vax-a-Million vaccination incentive prizes Wednesday at the end of the lottery's Cash Explosion TV show. Jonathan Carlyle, of Toledo, won the $1 million prize and Zoie Vincent, of Mayfield Village in Cuyahoga County, won the college scholarship. More than 3.2 million Ohioans entered their names for a shot at the $1 million, up from the 2.8 million who had registered for last weeks drawing. More than 133,000 children entered their names for the scholarship, up from just over 104,000 last week. Wednesday is also the day that the last statewide orders meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus expire. The only virus-related restrictions that will remain in place after Wednesday are those involving nursing homes and assisted living facilities. But businesses and schools will still be able to require masks and social distancing, if they choose to do so. DeWine continues to urge people to get the COVID-19 vaccine and to wear masks if not vaccinated. Abbigail Bugenske, last week's winner of $1 million, learned of her good fortune just minutes before her name was drawn when DeWine called as she was driving to her parents' home in suburban Cleveland. The mom of Joseph Costello, the first college scholarship winner, was leaving work when the governor called and had to sit down, she was so shocked. The names were actually drawn Monday using a random number generator, to leave time to confirm recipients' eligibility. Vax-a-Million is open to permanent Ohio residents who have received either the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or their first part of the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna vaccination. After Wednesday night, three more $1 million and college scholarship winners will be announced each Wednesday for the next three weeks. DeWine, a Republican, announced the program May 12 to boost lagging vaccination rates. Participants must register to enter by phone or via the Vax-a-Million website. Teens can register themselves, but parents or legal guardians must verify their eligibility. The names of entrants who don't win will be carried over week to week. The deadline for new registrations is just before midnight on Sunday. More than 5.3 million people in Ohio had at least started the vaccination process as of this week, or about 45% of the state. About 4.7 million people are done getting vaccinated, or about 40% of the state. Nationally, more than 168 million Americans have started the vaccination process, or about 51% of the population. More than 135 million are fully vaccinated, or about 41%. DeWines proposal inspired similar vaccine-incentive lotteries in Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico,New York state and Oregon. Vaccinated residents in New Mexico who register on the states new Vax 2 the Max portal can win from a $10 million prize pool including a $5 million grand prize, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Tuesday. Also Wednesday, DeWine signed into law a bill delivering federal pandemic relief to help schools and to bolster the states efforts to fight the coronavirus. Specifically, it provides more than $787 million to Ohios public and private schools, $173 million to the state Health Department for COVID-19 testing and vaccine distribution and $7 million to the Ohio National Guard to further support its coronavirus response. ___ Associated Press writer Julie Carr Smyth contributed to this report. ___ Follow APs coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Prosecutors are seeking a 30-year sentence for the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murder in George Floyd's death, but a defense attorney is asking that Derek Chauvin be sentenced to probation and time already served, according to court documents filed Wednesday. Chauvin is scheduled to be sentenced June 25 following his conviction on murder and manslaughter charges. Judge Peter Cahill previously ruled there were aggravating factors in Floyds death. That gives him the discretion to sentence Chauvin above the range recommended by state guidelines, which top out at 15 years. Prosecutors said Chauvin's actions were egregious and a sentence of 30 years would properly account for the profound impact of Defendant's conduct on the victim, the victim's family, and the community. They said that Chauvin's actions shocked the Nation's conscience. No sentence can undo Mr. Floyds death, and no sentence can undo the trauma Defendants actions have inflicted. But the sentence the Court imposes must show that no one is above the law, and no one is below it," prosecutors wrote. Defendants sentence must hold him fully accountable for his reprehensible conduct. Defense attorney Eric Nelson cited Chauvin's age, lack of a criminal record, and support from family and friends in requesting a sentence of probation and time served. He said Chauvin, 45, was the product of a broken system. Mark Osler, a former federal prosecutor and now a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, said it's not unusual for attorneys to make these kinds of requests as a sort of opening offer." He said there is zero chance that Chauvin will get probation, and prosecutors are also unlikely to get the 30 years they are requesting. He said Nelson's attempts to paint Chauvin as a good fit for probation and a law-abiding citizen will probably face ferocious push-back from the government," given Chauvin is also charged with tax evasion. He added that Nelson's reference to Chauvin being the product of a broken system is fascinating most Americans seem to think that Chauvin embodies what is broken about our system of criminal justice. Chauvin was convicted in April of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for pressing his knee against Floyds neck for about 9 1/2 minutes as the Black man said he couldnt breathe and went motionless. Floyds death, captured on widely seen bystander video, set off demonstrations around the United States and beyond as protesters demanded changes in policing. Even though Chauvin was found guilty of three counts, he'll only be sentenced on the most serious one second-degree murder. Under Minnesota sentencing guidelines, with no criminal record he faces a presumptive sentence of 12 1/2 years on that count. Cahill can sentence him to as little as 10 years and eight months or as much as 15 years and stay within the guideline range. But prosecutors asked for what is known as an upward departure, saying there were several aggravating factors that warranted a higher sentence. Cahill agreed, finding Chauvin treated Floyd with particular cruelty, abused his position of authority as a police officer, committed his crime as part of a group of three or more people, and that he pinned Floyd down in the presence of children. Prosecutors said that even one of those factors would warrant the higher sentence. Nelson wrote that while this incident painted Chauvin as a dangerous man, he has served his community as an officer and has a loving family and close friends. He also disputed the court's finding that aggravating factors existed, saying there is no evidence that Chauvin's assault on Floyd included gratuitous infliction of pain or cruelty. Here, Mr. Chauvin was unaware that he was even committing a crime. In fact, in his mind, he was simply performing his lawful duty in assisting other officers in the arrest of George Floyd, Nelson wrote, adding that Chauvin's offense can be best described as an error made in good faith based on his experience and the training he received and was not the intentional commission of a crime. In spite of the notoriety surrounding this case, the Court must look to the facts. They all point to the single most important fact: Mr. Chauvin did not intend to cause George Floyds death. He believed he was doing his job," he wrote. No matter what sentence Chauvin gets, in Minnesota its presumed that a defendant with good behavior will serve two-thirds of the penalty in prison and the rest on supervised release, commonly known as parole. Nelson is also seeking a new trial for Chauvin which is a fairly routine request after a conviction. He argued extensive pretrial publicity tainted the jury pool and denied Chauvin his right to a fair trial. He also said Cahill also abused his authority when he declined defense requests to move the trial out of Minneapolis and sequester the jury. And, he said the state committed prosecutorial misconduct. Nelson is also asking for a hearing to investigate whether there was juror misconduct. Nelson alleged that an alternate juror who made public comments indicated she felt pressured to render a guilty verdict, and another juror who deliberated did not follow jury instructions and was not candid during jury selection. That juror, Brandon Mitchell, did not mention that he had participated in an Aug. 28 march in Washington, D.C., to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Nelson alleged that Mitchell made comments to the media that indicated he based his verdict on outside influence. Prosecutors have a week to submit a written response to those arguments. Chauvin has also been indicted on federal charges alleging he violated Floyds civil rights, as well as the civil rights of a 14-year-old he restrained in a 2017 arrest. The three other former officers involved in Floyds death were also charged with federal civil rights violations; they await trial in state court on aiding and abetting counts. A federal trial date has not been set. Federal prosecutors are asking for more time to prepare for trial, saying the case is complex because of the sheer volume of evidence and the separate but coordinated state and federal investigations. ___ Find APs full coverage of the death of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP LONDON (AP) Buckingham Palace says Queen Elizabeth II will meet U.S. President Joe Biden at Windsor Castle during his visit to the U.K. to attend the Group of Seven leaders' summit next week. The monarch will host the president and first lady Jill Biden on the final day of the June 11-13 summit taking place in Cornwall, England, the palace said Thursday. EDWARDSVILLE The Edwardsville City Council unanimously approved a special-use permit Tuesday, allowing a Godfrey couple to open a bed-and-breakfast at 223 N. Kansas Street, two blocks east of North Main Street. The bed-and-breakfast can open with the following conditions: 1. Approval is in the name of the applicant only and the special-use permit would not be transferrable; 2. The applicants will use background check software, decibel monitoring software and external security cameras to monitor guests and property activity to limit nuisance potentials; 3. The applicants will provide four off-street parking slots for guests; 4. The applicants will subtract one bedroom from the home, making a total of three bedrooms Erin Long and Joseph Mays came to the city and presented their plan to clarify the difference between this proposed bed-and-breakfast and ones already in operation in Edwardsville, following each step according to city rules. Other, similar establishments opened without consulting the city first. We have several of these [unlicensed BnBs] operating in the city, City Planner Emily Fultz said. Weve sent letters to them, weve notified owners that theyve got to come in for special-use permits and if they dont, they must cease-and-desist operations; citations may follow if they dont. There is another tangent to the subject: the distinction between traditional bed-and-breakfasts and online platforms, such as Airbnb. Alderman William Krause wanted to draw a distinction between Airbnb and traditional bed-and-breakfast with a sign in the front yard displaying the name of the site and a welcoming atmosphere versus a house without a sign and a never-ending merry-go-round of visitors. He described Airbnb as an electronic platform that allows people to reach a wider audience, comparing it to renting a home using Zillow. The Long and Mays model embraces the traditional bed-and-breakfast while using technology such as security cameras and decibel detectors, to market their site to potential customers. Guests will stay between two and 90 days at a time. The homeowners would not be onsite during guests visits and they anticipate as many as seven people would occupy their house at any given time. Guests would also have access to the homes two-car garage. Long said, since they live 20 minutes away, they have an on-call team of boots on the ground to assist them cleaners, mechanics and handy people and if a major problem arose, they would depend on the local police. Fultz said while bed-and-breakfasts are defined in the citys zoning code, there is no specific zoning code section that deals with them. Edwardsville is one of the few Metro East communities that lacks legislation covering Airbnbs and the illegally operating bed-and-breakfasts, Krause noted. Aldermen instructed Fultz to create an ordinance to update the definition of a bed-and-breakfast and regulate Airbnbs within city limits before the next administrative and community service (ACS) meeting on June 10. Kim Goodner, co-owner of 222 Artisan Bakery, a retired Air Force Nurse and a disabled veteran, came to speak for the proposed bed-and-breakfast. When I travel alone or with my family, we tend to stay at Airbnbs, guest houses or even hostels. Airbnbs are not like most people think, she said. She said she has stayed in places ranging from a few days to a few months. I feel safer and more comfortable in those places than I do in hotels, she said. And that is how the world is turning and changing, folks, she noted. I know some of you are saying not in my town [but] we have had home-away-from-homes going on for years. The Goddard House was a BnB, as were other places, along Route 66 here in town, she said. Krause agreed with her on that point. Alderman did receive at least four opposition emails or letters addressing the bed-and-breakfast proposition. Alderman SJ Morrison, momentarily advocating for his employer, Madison County Transit (MCT), said he often fields calls from tourists who want to stay near one of MCTs bike trails. MCTs Watershed Trail is the nearest one to the North Kansas address. Downtown Edwardsville has so much to offer [but] theres no place to stay, within walking distance, he said. Shaunalyn Boad, founder of Amazing Grace at Logan Place, was in attendance to answer any questions about her planned unit development and to ensure the process went smoothly. Fultz gave an overview of the proposal, describing the renovation and addition plans for the former Metcalfe Mansion leading up to a 2024 opening. An adjacent one-story bungalow at #6 Logan Place, will either be razed or moved by September 2023. A 36-slot parking lot will replace the cottage home. The aldermen unanimously passed the plan. The next Edwardsville City Council meeting is June 15 at 7 p.m. at city hall, 118 Hillsboro Ave. WOOD RIVER Multiple fire departments have responded to a chemical vapor venting in Wood River. On Wednesday afternoon, Norfolk Southern responded to a stationary rail car containing spent sulfuric acid that had become over pressurized and was venting, according to Jeff DeGraff of the railroad. The car was part of a group of five cars originally picked up from the Phillips 66 refinery and staged while awaiting pick up by KCS Railroad, he said. At 9:30 p.m. Thursday the staging area for responders was moved farther from the scene, from the Wood River Police Department to Illinois 111. As of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, work continued to suppress and dissipate the vapors releasing from the rail cars. The same four rail cars continue to vent, DeGraff said Thursday in a written statement. Water is being applied to the cars to dissipate the vapor with good results. Air quality measurements remain within safe parameters in and around the area during this process. We continue to work with our partners on possible remedies, but at this time this course of action is still the best and safest option, he said. All of these efforts will continue through the overnight hours of Friday with little change anticipated, he noted. We are also monitoring wind and weather forecasts to stay ahead of any potential shifts, he said. At around 4:30 a.m., local officials issued a shelter-in-place order for the immediate area. At this time, no evacuation order has been made. The shelter-in-place order will remain in effect until 6 a.m. as a precaution, Wood River police said. Norfolk Southern and its partners are working with the best interests of the communitys safety at the forefront, DeGraff said. We appreciate the patience of the residents and encourage them to monitor official social media channels for updates. Late Wednesday and early Thursday, Wood River police and fire were joined at the scene by the Madison County Emergency Management Agency Command Post, Norfolk Southern personnel and hazardous material contractors. First responders from multiple communities also were on-scene assessing the situation, monitoring air quality and developing containment plans. At about 3:30 a.m. Thursday mutual aid for equipment and manpower was requested from East Alton, Roxana, Alton, Godfrey, Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Mitchell and fire crews from the Phillips 66-operated Wood River Refinery in Roxana. The incident involved four rail cars. All firefighters near the hot zone, as it was referred to by firefighters, were wearing protective breathing apparatus and rotating in and out of the area with fresh crews as they became tired. Overnight, two adjacent cars also began venting due to over pressurization, DeGraff said earlier Thursday. DeGraff said a water curtain has been deployed to help disperse the escaping vapor. Additionally, water is being put directly on the rail cars to contain the vapors. At 10 a.m. Thursday a fourth rail car began venting, DeGraff said. The safest course of action at this time is to continue showering the cars with water to dissipate the vapor being released, he said. As weve done this, air quality readings have returned to safe levels. DeGraff said venting of the vapors was done as part of a safety mechanism to reduce built up pressure in the rail cars. There has not been any release, leak or spills of liquids or solids from the tank cars, he said. We encourage residents to follow advisories posted by local officials and refer any questions to them. A Code Red warning was issued to about 500 residences in the affected area, advising residents to shelter in place, close windows and turn off air conditioning units. Sixth Street in Wood River also was closed south of Illinois 143 to Illinois 111 as a precaution. DeGraff said Wood River police and fire departments were coordinating with Norfolk Southerns environmental contractors and government agencies as to when to lift the shelter in place warning. Authorities said that at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday Wood River firefighters received an EMS call for a train engineer feeling sick and having trouble breathing under the Phoebe Goldberg overpass. The train he was on had just passed the stationary rail cars. The engineer was treated and transferred to a local hospital. In unrelated news, Wood River officials also announced Thursday morning that a boil order is in place for part of the community. At 4 a.m. the city of Wood River Public Services Facebook page reported water service was unavailable for a portion of the community because of a water main break under the Phoebe Goldberg overpass. A boil order has been issued for at least Friday night or Saturday morning. COLLINSVILLE For the past six years Louer Facility Planning has been included on the List of Largest Office Furniture Dealers as published by the St. Louis Business Journal. This positive trend in growth continued for the year 2020, despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic. The list was published in the April 16 edition of the paper. I attribute our success in 2020 with our ability to be nimble and to adapt to a sometimes different way of working, as well as to our loyal client base who continued to have projects for both new construction and renovations, stated Jane Louer, President of the company. At various times during the year, part of our team was working remotely and of course we were no longer having face to face meetings with clients. This is difficult for the interior design process where seeing and touching samples is the norm, and looking at furniture plans is easier for our clients when it is in person as well. Yvette Paris added, I was pleased that, despite these challenges, our team successfully managed and completed all of our projects with the same care and attention to detail that our clients have come to expect from us. In the midst of these disruptions, the company moved forward with its plans to allow key employees to become partial owners. Yvette Paris, Design Director added Vice President to her title, and April Grapperhaus, Administrative Manager, became the Director of Operations. With their new executive leadership roles, they are both becoming more involved in strategic decisions, quality control and marketing. Louer Facility Planning is a thought leader in the field of workplace design. The company marked their 25th anniversary of being in business in January 2021. The company provides furniture solutions and interior design to commercial, financial, health care, educational and government facilities. For more information about Louer Facility Planning, visit https://louerplan.com/. Double Bank Holiday to Mark Platinum Jubilee The Government has said it is pleased to confirm that it will follow the United Kingdom and commemorate HM The Queens Platinum Jubilee next year with a double Bank Holiday as well as other events. This means that Thursday 2 June and Friday 3 June 2022 will both be Bank Holidays and complete four days to mark the occasion together with Saturday 4 and Sunday 5. It will be recalled that on 9 September 2015 HM Queen Elizabeth II became the longest reigning British monarch when she surpassed her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. In 2022, Her Majesty, who is the Queen of Gibraltar in her own right, will celebrate the 70th year of her accession to the throne. This is a remarkable achievement. Gibraltar has always held special affection and deep respect for the Royal Family and for Her Majesty in particular and the Government says it will be delighted to mark the Platinum Jubilee in this way. MOSCOW (AP) Russian police on Thursday released a well-known opposition politician from custody after holding him for two days. Dmitry Gudkov was detained at his country house on Tuesday in connection with an investigation into money allegedly owed to the city for rental of an office space. Gudkovs attorney, Mikhail Biryukov, said it was not clear whether his release meant the investigation was still active, according to Russian news reports. GLEN CARBON The next steps for Glen Carbons Orchard Town Center project are a public hearing followed by a vote of the full trustee board. This comes after a special village board of trustee meeting on May 26 with several discussion-only items. Orchard Town Center is a proposed retail hub on 52 acres of ground that was the Foucek Property, one of the few remaining undeveloped parcels within the village. The Staenberg Group and Menards, Inc. on behalf of Sunnyside Partnership, LP, are the developers. Tim Lowe, a vice president of development and leasing for Staenberg, told the mayor and trustees in April that they have until this month to complete their due diligence. Lowe added that they hoped to close on the property this summer and open the first phase next year, with the second and final phase to open in 2023. If the trustees approve, the main anchor tenant, as is widely known, would be Menards, with a 209,000-square-foot store. This would be the companys second Metro East site after one in OFallon. After that, there would be four junior anchor tenants comprising a total of 50,000-square-feet and 12 outlots, six along the west side of Troy Road and six more along the south side of Governors Parkway. Lowe said the outlots could become a variety of things fast food, quick serve, sit-down restaurants, service businesses, urgent cares, a little office building or a multi-tenant building. The development is bordered by Governors Parkway on the north, Troy Road on the east, Center Grove Road on the south and a Madison County Transit (MCT) trail on the west. Site amenities include a small park next to the bike path and a direct link to the trail from the development. Lowe predicts that the site will draw businesses that are new to the village and/or area. The village, working with the Staenberg and Moran Economic Investments, devised a business district for part of the site and a tax-increment financing zone for another part of the site. The developer is asking for $7 million in assistance with traffic, drainage and mine subsidence issues at the site. There will be a public hearing on this topic June 8 at 6 p.m. at village hall, ahead of the trustee board meeting. Two weeks later, on June 22, the trustees will vote on the project. According to a May 26 memo, Village Administrator Jamie Bowden told Mayor Bob Marcus and trustees that the developer is subdividing the plot into two parcels, one of which, 18.6 acres, will be sold to Menards. Bowden said Wednesday by phone that Marcus wanted to make sure everyone was aware of and comfortable with the issues at the site, which include drainage, traffic and variances. Menards will have its own detention area for storm water runoff and between the outlots and Troy Road will be three stormwater detention areas, with two additional detention ponds flanking the Plum Street entrance and another just outside of the Menard footprint, next to the Goshen Trail. Bowden said the developer will need to do a lot of traffic improvements after a recent review from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). He mentioned potential impacts to Troy Road, including at the northeast corner of Troy and Center Grove where the QT gas station and convenience store is located. A new traffic study is also part of the plan. When it came to the two variances requested, one for fewer parking slots than the village requires (425 vs. 606), that was not an issue. Menards officials have said despite the overall building footprint, their stores have fewer walkable square-feet, which translates to fewer parking spaces. However, the sign variances requested had been issues. Previously, the height of the Menards sign was a sticking point because Menards sought the same height as Schnucks across Troy Road and other, nearby developments from a competitive perspective. Bowden said monument signs are now the focus and the trustees wanted to see how well similar brick and/or stone construction look in other communities before approving it for Glen Carbon. Finally, Bowden said there are a certain list of covenants, or restrictions the village officials may want to put in place to maintain a quality development. Examples he gave Wednesday include no refineries allowed in the development and no payday loan shops. The trustees may also want to limit the number of outlots permitted to have drive-throughs. The village can restrict use through its planned development procedure (PDP) process. The next Glen Carbon Trustee Board meeting is June 8, with a public hearing at 6 p.m. then the regular board meeting at 7 p.m. Bowden said the village plans to continue streaming its board meetings through at least July 1. Reach reporter Charles Bolinger at 618-659-5735 Walking, running and cycling outside are popular activities in the Heights, where one of the most popular spots for getting such exercise is a scenic trail in the southeast part of the neighborhood. The pedestrian bridge along the MKT/Heights Hike-and-Bike Trail, which crosses White Oak Bayou, is in a wooded part of an otherwise urban, [] New coronavirus cases remain in the hundreds, new deaths announced are all from state records reviews Instant unlimited access to all of our content on thenewsguard.com. The News Guard E-Edition Newsletter emailed to you each week, the night before the paper hits the street! This subscription is for NEW or RENEWING online subscribers. (The charge will appear as "Country Media Inc." on your credit card statement) The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that two members of the Taylor City Council are ineligible to have their names included in the Aug. 3 primary ballot. The ruling, released June 2, partially reversed a lower courts decision to allow the names of four candidates for public office in Taylor to remain on the ballot. The latest ruling stipulates that Charley Johnson and Caroline Patts, both incumbent members of the Taylor City Council, will not have their names on the ballot. However, Tim Woolley, currently City Council chairman who is running for mayor; as well as Lindsey Rose, a council candidate, will appear on the ballot. - Advertisement - The battle for who will and will not appear on the ballot has been going back and forth for the past several weeks. Mayoral candidate Jeff Jones and council candidate Martin Drouillard filed the original case against the candidates. Their attorney, Andrew Paterson, was successful in convincing a lower court to agree that Mayor Rick Sollars name should not be on the ballot. Wayne County Chief Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny ruled Sollars to be an ineligible candidate because he failed to file several campaign reports and resolve $2,500 in late filing fees, even though he acknowledged when he signed an Affidavit of Identity on April 15 that all required campaign reports had been filed, and he did not owe any late filing fees. In that case, Kenny said it was undisputed that Sollars filed a false affidavit and that the challenge against him was filed in a timely manner. But Paterson also argued that Woolley and City Council candidates Johnson, Patts and Rose should be excluded from the ballot, as they had unpaid campaign fines and fees owed to Wayne County. Kenny disagreed, calling Patersons claims an untimely challenge. Candidates seeking to run this year had until April 20 to file their intentions. City Clerk Cynthia Bower then had until April 23 to certify the names of the candidates. Patersons challenge came after the names were certified, which the judge said was problematic for his case. In addition, the judge said, there are several disputes regarding the claimed outstanding fines and fees. In Woolleys case, for instance, he testified that he called Wayne County and was told he had no outstanding fines. In Roses case, she testified that her fines from years ago were wiped away when she filed for bankruptcy in 2019. Paterson appealed the matter to the Michigan Court of Appeals, arguing his clients have the right to face off against only eligible candidates. Regarding Johnson, the Appeals Court stated he attested that, as of Feb. 25, 2021, the day he signed an affidavit, all late filing fees and fine due from himself and any candidate committee organized to support his election has been paid. The plaintiffs also presented a notice of a late filing fee, dated Aug. 10, 2018, and addressed to Johnsons candidate committee. The notice explained that the committees July 2018 quarterly statement was overdue, and the committee was assessed a $25 late filing fee. A stamped copy of the notice shows that the fine was paid on May 10, 2021, which the court noted was roughly 2 months after Johnson filed his AOI. Regarding Patts, the plaintiffs provided her AOI, dated Feb. 19, 2021, and it contains the same attestation regarding the payment of late fees and fines. A notice, dated Sept. 10, 2018, states that Patts campaign committee had not timely filed a report due on Dec. 7, 2017, and that the committee was being assessed a late filing fee of $500. The plaintiffs provided a second mailing of the same notice, dated Oct. 10, 2018. They also provided a copy of the second notice, but with a stamp stating the fee had been paid in full on April 30, 2021, more than two months after Patts filed her AOI. Based on the evidence presented, it is clear that the AOIs submitted by Johnson and Patts did contain false statements, the Court of Appeals stated in its ruling. Both attested that all outstanding fines and late fees were paid, but that was not true; both paid late filing fees owed from prior years after filing their AOIs. The AOIs clearly state that, as of the date of the AOI, all outstanding fines and late filing fees are paid. That was false. With regard to Rose, the court stated there is a factual dispute regarding whether her outstanding fee was discharged in bankruptcy. Rose contends that any outstanding fee was discharged in bankruptcy in 2019. The court said it is undisputed that Rose did obtain an order of discharge in bankruptcy proceedings. A certificate of notice also identifies the Wayne County Clerk-Office of Campaign Finance in the list of those entities to whom the order of discharge was sent. The court said the plaintiffs did not address the bankruptcy issue and therefore failed to address the trial courts reasoning. Because Jones and Drouillard did not address the bankruptcy issue, the Court of Appeals said they failed to address the trial courts reasoning with respect to Rose. Having failed to address whether the bankruptcy did, in fact, discharge the 2017 fee, the court said the plaintiffs failed to show that Roses AOI contained a false statement. As for Woolley, the court said there does appear to be a factual dispute regarding whether he failed to pay his outstanding $25 fee. According to Woolleys affidavit, Woolley inquired into whether he owed any fees or fines, and was told that he did not. Woolleys affidavit explains that his own investigation into the matter found no outstanding fees or fines. And, unlike Johnson and Patts, while plaintiffs presented evidence that a late filing fee of $25 was assessed in 2018, plaintiffs did not present evidence showing if or when this fee was paid, the court stated. Thus, there is, at a minimum, a factual dispute regarding whether Woolleys AOI contained a false statement, as it is not clear if he actually owed any outstanding fees at the time he signed his AOI. Sign up for our daily morning newsletter Click here and then look to the right side for the sign up to the morning newsletter for The News Herald, and you can get the top headlines de Although Johnson and Patts will not have their names on the primary ballot, nothing prevents them from running as write-in candidates, if they should choose to do so. Sollars, whose name will not appear on the ballot in his bid to win re-election as mayor, stated he is running as a write-in candidate. As for Patts, she also has similar intentions. I am disappointed with the ruling that leaves me off the ballot, but I still want to continue to represent and advocate for the good people of Taylor, Patts said. I plan to now run as a write-in. Patts, a soon-to-be retired librarian with the Taylor School District, is serving her first four-year term on the City Council. Johnson could not be reached for comment. Jason Alley contributed to this story. +5 Taylor candidates get to stay on the ballot despite legal challenge to have them removed The attorney who was successful in getting the name of a longtime Downriver mayor removed from this years ballot was unsuccessful in also get Judge rules against Mayor Rick Sollars bid to be included in Taylors primary ballot A judge has ruled that Taylor City Clerk Cynthia Bower acted properly in excluding Mayor Rick Sollars name from appearing on the citys Aug. Temporary restraining order puts Sollars name back on primary ballot in Taylor A decision to exclude Rick Sollars name from an upcoming primary ballot in his bid for another term as Taylors mayor has been reversed at Listen to article New York, June 2, 2021 Zimbabwe authorities should not contest journalist Jeffrey Moyos appeal of a recent ruling denying him bail, and should drop the criminal case against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On May 31, a court in the city of Bulawayo denied Moyos bail request, and ordered him to remain in custody until June 10, according to news reports. Magistrate Rachel Mukanga said in court that Moyo was a flight risk, and agreed with prosecutors that the journalist was a threat to national security and that the countrys sovereignty was undermined because foreign journalists interviewed Zimbabweans, according to the journalists lawyer, Doug Coltart, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app. Authorities arrested Moyo in the capital, Harare, on May 26 and charged him with violating Section 36 of Zimbabwes Immigration Act by allegedly helping two New York Times journalists, Christina Goldbaum and Joao Silva, obtain false media accreditations, according to Coltart and a report by the Times. If convicted, Moyo could face up to 10 years in jail, according to those reports. Coltart said Moyos defense team planned to appeal to the High Court in Harare. Zimbabwean authorities should recognize that New York Times freelancer Jeffrey Moyo has not threatened the countrys national security, and should not contest his appeal for bail, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator, in New York. It is only because of Zimbabwean authorities paranoia about international media coverage that Moyo is facing up to a decade in jail on spurious charges. In an emailed statement to CPJ, New York Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha said the paper was deeply disappointed by the magistrates decision and urged the High Court to grant Moyo bail. Authorities allege that Moyo falsely told immigration officials at Bulawayos Joshua Nkomo International Airport on May 5 that Goldbaum and Silva possessed accreditations issued by the Zimbabwe Media Commission, the countrys statutory media regulator, according to a Bulawayo police document requesting his detention, which CPJ reviewed. The document alleges that Moyo procured fake accreditations for the New York Times journalists, who then received business visas on arrival at the airport on May 5 to work in the country for seven days. On May 8, police located Goldbaum and Silva in their Harare hotel and expelled them to South Africa after information was received that they were in Zimbabwe with fake accreditation, the police document states. Authorities have also arrested Thabang Manhika, a registrar at the Zimbabwe Media Commission, for allegedly violating Section 36 of the Immigration Act, according to that police document. In a statement posted on Facebook, the Zimbabwe Media Commission wrote that two journalists had been deported for carrying forged accreditation cards and receipts which had been obtained by a local reporter with the alleged collusion of a ZMC [Zimbabwe Media Commission] member of staff. The commission alleged that the Times reporters had applied for clearance from authorities to work in Zimbabwe, had been denied, and had proceeded to come to the country anyway. It also stated that their names were not included on the media commissions register of accredited journalists. Moyo denies the states allegations, his lawyer told CPJ. In a separate statement emailed to CPJ, New York Times spokesperson Nicole Taylor said that Moyos detention raises troubling questions about the state of press freedom in Zimbabwe. Coltart said Moyo was being held in appalling conditions in the overcrowded Bulawayo Central Prison, and said that his wife had been denied prison visits and that Moyo was only able to obtain his own blanket after his lawyers donated one to the prison. He also said that a nurse had slapped Moyo in the face while giving him a test for COVID-19 in detention. Njabulo Ncube, national coordinator of the Zimbabwean National Editors Forum, a local trade group, told CPJ by phone that Moyos arrest and the expulsion of the two Times journalists was political and flies in the face of President Emmerson Mnangagwas mantra that Zimbabwe is open for business. Information Secretary Nick Mangwana did not respond to text messages from CPJ requesting comment. On May 29, he was quoted in local media as saying, If a Zimbabwean journalist gets involved in people smuggling and or the corrupting of officials through payment of bribery & they are arrested, there are no Press Freedom issues there. Moyo works as a freelancer for the New York Times, Globe and Mail, Inter Press Service, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, and other international outlets, according to his Twitter account. The Zimbabwe Media Commission replied to CPJs emailed request for comment by forwarding the statement published on its Facebook page. Listen to article The Deputy Inspector General of Police, in charge of Operation Restore Peace in the South-South region, DIG Moses Jitoboh, on Wednesday, raised alarm over the convergence of some members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in Edo State with the intent of spreading secessionist messages across the state. He listed the areas they are currently holding their secret meetings in the State as Igbanke, Ubiaja, Iguelaba, Igueben, Okhiahe and Ologbo. Jitoboh disclosed this during a stakeholders meeting and the launching of Operation Restore Peace in the South-South region held in Benin City. DIG Jitoboh said Edo and Balyelsa are the states currently enjoying relative peace in the country and that they must not allow anybody to come in and scuttle it with secessionist messages. Jitoboh asked the people in the communities where the harbingers of secessionist are holding their various meetings to report same to the police for urgent attention, noting that it is better to nip them in the bud than allowing it to grow into something else in the state. He said his mission in the region was to restore peace, noting that President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated what is called Operation Restore Peace in the troubled region (South-South and South-East) and that he is in charge of the South-South region. While reacting to the call by stakeholders to profile those recruited into the vigilante group in the state, he said the state Commissioner of Police should work in synergy with the heads of the group to remove the bad eggs. He noted that policing the state is not an easy task, therefore, there is the need for the police to work hand-in-hand with the vigilante, and that such has brought about peace in the state. World Environment Day: Futures Forward Academy Saturday 5th June marks the celebration of World Environment Day. Over the years the United Nations annual campaign has developed into a global platform for encouraging worldwide awareness and positive action to protect our environment. Millions of people across the planet are being asked to reimagine, recreate and restore the world we live in and will leave behind for future generations. This year, the final session of the Futures Forward Academy will take place on World Environment Day as a celebration of local talent and responses to sustainability challenges. The participants or FutureMakers will present their change projects and attend a brief ceremony where they will be awarded certificates. Launched in January 2021, the Academy has bought together nine young people between the ages of 20 to 30. The Future Makers, were selected on the basis of their leadership potential and desire to bring about positive change through the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in our community. Through an intensive six-month programme participants have built vital skills in areas such as futures thinking, systems mapping and stakeholder engagement. A series of interactive workshops and webinars have challenged participants to view the issues we face through the lens of sustainability and to apply long-term thinking to problem solving. Alongside this, Future Makers have worked on independent projects. The Minister for the Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change, the Hon Prof John Cortes, explained: On World Environment Day, we celebrate not just the environment but also involvement of young and old across our community in the protection of our natural heritage for future generations. This initiative has supported Gibraltars future leaders and created a network of young people who can play an active role in transitioning us to a sustainable Gibraltar. I look forward to seeing the skills and ideas developed put into practice. Funding support has been received from the Kusuma Trust which has a long-standing commitment to sustainable development and supporting Gibraltars up and coming talent. Tammy Randall, Futures Forward Lead, has facilitated webinars, organised the key meetings and workshops associated with the inaugural year of the programme. The Commissioner for Sustainable Development and Future Generations and convener of the initiative, Prof. Daniella Tilbury, commented: Our participants come from such a range of backgrounds and have shown a real diversity of interests during their time in the Academy. From a project on embedding sustainability within our financial institutions; promoting the use of electric vehicles in Gibraltar or developing a green investment grant scheme; our Future Makers show a drive and passion to take sustainability to the next level and improve the lives of those living in our community. Listen to article First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigerias premier and leading financial inclusion services provider, has been ranked the second most admired financial services brand in Africa for the second straight year at the 2021 Brand Africa 100: Africas Best Brands Event, held on Africa day, 25th May 2021. Brand Africa is an intergenerational movement to inspire a great Africa through promoting a positive image of Africa, celebrating its diversity and driving its competitiveness. It is a brand-led movement which recognizes that in the 21st century, brands are an asset and a vector of image, reputation and competitiveness of nations. With over 127 years of being woven into the fabric of society, FirstBank has been at the forefront of promoting growth and development in the country, extending its financial services footprints through its subsidiaries to over half a dozen countries across 3 continents. The Banks international business presence includes FBN Bank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Senegal, as well as a Representative Office in Beijing. Through the years, the Banks leading digital banking services and innovative products like FirstMobile, USSD, Firstmonie Agent amongst many others, have been essential to promoting cashless transactions in todays digital age. FirstBanks digital savviness extends to the social media platforms where it has been ranked by Financial Brand as the number one on Instagram in Nigeria and second globally based on the highest number of fan base/followers and its clearly poised to reclaim number 1 position across all parameters. Appreciating the recognition on behalf of the Bank, the Chief Executive Officer, Dr Adesola Adeduntan, said, we are grateful to Brand Africa for the back-to-back recognition as the Second Most Admired Financial Services Brand in Africa. This is a testament to the impactful role we are playing in promoting socio-economic development in Africa, which includes being at the forefront of bridging the financial inclusion gap as well as our commitment to supporting Small and Medium Enterprises because of the critical role they play in economic growth and development. He further noted that FirstBank has created a functional ecosystem for SMEs to thrive through various value adding solutions and value propositions. Only recently, First Bank of Nigeria Limited was awarded the 2021 Retail Banking CEO of the Year Nigeria, Most innovative Retail Banking App Nigeria and Best CSR Bank Nigeria awards by Global Banking and Finance magazine. About FirstBank First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is the premier Bank in West Africa and the leading financial inclusion services provider in Nigeria for over 127 years. With over 750 business locations and over 100,000 Banking Agents spread across 99% of the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria, FirstBank provides a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services to serve its over 30 million customers. The Bank has international presence through its subsidiaries, FBN Bank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Senegal, as well as a Representative Office in Beijing. The Bank has been handy at promoting digital payment in the country and has issued over 10million cards, the first bank to achieve such a milestone in the country. FirstBanks cashless transaction drive extends to having more than 10million people on its USSD Quick Banking service through the nationally renowned *894# Banking code and over 4.5 million people on FirstMobile platform. Since its establishment in 1894, FirstBank has consistently built relationships with customers focusing on the fundamentals of good corporate governance, strong liquidity, optimised risk management and leadership. Over the years, the Bank has led the financing of private investment in infrastructure development in the Nigerian economy by playing key roles in the Federal Governments privatisation and commercialisation schemes. With its global reach, FirstBank provides prospective investors wishing to explore the vast business opportunities that are available in Nigeria, an internationally competitive world-class brand and a credible financial partner. FirstBank has been named Most Valuable Bank Brand in Nigeria six times in a row (2011 2016) by the globally renowned The Banker Magazine of the Financial Times Group; Best Retail Bank in Nigeria for seven consecutive years (2011 2017) by the Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards and Best Bank in Nigeria by Global Finance for 15 years. Our brand purpose is always to put customers, partners and stakeholders at the heart of our business, even as we standardise customer experience and excellence in financial solutions across sub-Saharan Africa, in consonance with our brand vision To be the partner of the first choice in building your future. Our brand promise is always to deliver the ultimate gold standard of value and excellence. This commitment is anchored on our inherent values of passion, partnership and people, to position You First in every respect. Folake Ani-Mumuney Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications www.firstbanknigeria.com Listen to article What is particularly striking about Nigerian President Muhammadu Buharis tweet is how profoundly counterproductive it likely is to both his own interests and those of the country. Mr. President, by your own admission and from your experience you will agree that the Nigerian Civil war, which lasted from July 1966 to January 1970, remains the weightiest event in the countrys post-independence history in ways reminiscent of the Civil War in America. At a time when the commemoration of the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War was taking place in Southern eastern region with an estimated one to three million deaths, mostly from the Igbo tribe, Buhari is threatening a second civil war on the Igbos through a tweet. The civil war was a particularly traumatic conflict and yet we have a President of a democratic country spreading dangerous tweet. It was a time of tragedy and trauma that lingers on in the lives of many Nigerian generational families. Buhari, in a now-deleted tweet, had written, Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand. Buhari's message was not only removed by a US-based social media company, Twitter for violating its abusive behavior and inciting violence policy, Buharis Twitter account was suspended for 12 hours. Former US President Donald Trump was perhaps the most high-profile figure to be suspended, over incitement of violence, now the President of the largest democracy in Africa is probably the biggest threat to Nigeria's democracy, by this genocidal tweet. The words of a President matters, and the signal such words convey to Buharis followers, his security forces including the police could have devastating consequences on the perceived enemies. Nigerians of good conscience should be grateful to the Peoples Gazette, an online publication on political affairs, whose report made Twitter act. Almost all popular news outlet in the world carried the news and these include BBC, US News, Bloomberg, Swiss News, Reuters, NY post, African News, Yahoo, Voice of America, Aljazeera, and many others. Give the chronic history of abuse of civil liberties in Nigeria the United Nations, the United States of America, the UK, the International Criminal Court, and other international organizations should be concerned. In October of 2020, the now President of the United States of America, Joe Biden stated I urge President Buhari and the Nigerian military to cease the violent crackdown on protesters in Nigeria, which has already resulted in several deaths. My heart goes out to all those who have lost a loved one in the violence. The United States must stand with Nigerians who are peacefully demonstrating for police reform and seeking an end to corruption in their democracy. I encourage the government to engage in a good-faith dialogue with civil society to address these long-standing grievances and work together for a more just and inclusive Nigeria. In terms of Nigerias unity and democracy the greatest threat to Nigeria now appears not to be independence agitators like Sunday Adeyemo AKA Sunday Igboho of Western Nigeria or Nnamdi Kanu of the East, but the nations President himself. This tweet which constituted words of genocide towards the Igbos is worrisome. If the President is so concerned about the nation's escalating insecurity, why did he not send out violent tweet to the people of the mostly Muslim North-Western region of Nigeria with long standing deteriorating security situation marked with vicious attacks on local communities and government properties? At no time has he tweeted the same specific threats of war against the North where attacks by terrorists remains frequent. Certainly, the President should not be threatening genocide to any part of Nigeria and for him, and his government to be targeting the predominantly ethnically Igbo region seems prejudicially motivated, and a sign of a hate crime as it relates to violence, motivated by partiality, religion, and ethnic orientation. There is need for the world powers to tell Buhari to rethink his views regarding any planned genocidal onslaught in eastern Nigeria. We do not want to see Buhari, an ex-general who ruled as a military dictator in the early 1980s, who fought against the Igbos the 1967-1970 Biafran war, starting another war that might again lead to the starvation of more than 1m Biafran people. Buhari must learn from former President Trump who for 'glorifying violence' is now permanently suspended not only from Tweeter but from Facebook and Instagram. There is a social psychology lessen here and the likes of President Buhari, Garba Shehu, the media adviser to the President, the Minster of Information Lie Mohammad, and others is to spew out the usual Nigeria threats. You dont know whom I am I will deal with you; I will close your company down. Tweeter is not in an unregulated society, and it is a social media platform with the power to regulate content according to their own rules. Tweeter is U.S based private company with solid rules on its website about inciting and glorifying violence, and when you violate it no amount of begging, bribing, or threatening will stop it to take actions when there is a violation. President Trump once signed an executive order while in office aimed at limiting the broad legal protections enjoyed by social media companies, he not only failed his Tweeter, Facebook and Instagram accounts are banned to this day. Just some days ago a Tweeter account that was posting messages from Trump is now suspended. This happened to Trump a onetime most popular and powerful President in the world. Let alone of a presidential head in a developing country that was once described by Trump as a shit hole country. No, Nigeria is not a shit hole or a banana republic. We just need leaders with interest in democratic governance, fair play, constitutional, civil, and political rights, and civil liberties, as such mentality will keep the people safe and make sure the equality and dignity of all citizens are not at risk. Prof. John Egbeazien Oshodi, an American based Police/Prison Scientist and Forensic/Clinical/Legal Psychologist. A government Consultant on matters of forensic-clinical adult/child psychological services in the USA; Chief Educator and Clinician at the Transatlantic Enrichment and Refresher Institute, an Online Lifelong Center for Personal, Professional and Career Development. The Founder of the Dr. John Egbeazien Oshodi Foundation, Center for Psychological Health and Behavioral Change in African settings, as such l. In 2011, he introduced the State-of-the-Art Forensic Psychology into Nigeria through N.U.C and the Nasarawa State University where he served in the Department of Psychology as an Associate Professor. The Development Professor and International Liaison Consultant at the African University of Benin, and a Virtual Faculty at the ISCOM University, Benin of Republic. Author of over 36 academic publications/creations, at least 200 public opinion writeups on African issues, and various books. Prof. Oshodi was born in Uromi, Edo State, Nigeria to parents with almost 40 years of police/corrections service, respectively. Periodically visits home for scholastic and humanitarian works. [email protected] West Bloomfields long-awaited splash park opened Tuesday, and several of the townships police officers voluntarily got soaked there to mark the occasion. - Advertisement - Billed as Michigans largest splash pad, Lily Pad Springs has a variety of features for relief from summer temperatures including its crowning glory: A 55-gallon water bucket that dumps every two or three minutes onto visitors below. Thats where Deputy Chief Curt Lawson, along with about a dozen other uniformed officers, got a cooling-off on opening day at the park, leaving them drenched and grinning. Very refreshing. And the camaraderie here with my friends makes it so much fun, said Lt. Eric Gruenwald, moments afterward. All the officers who attended did so on their own time with no extra pay, Lawson said. He also said that having the officers on hand for the parks first day and standing under the pouring bucket was another positive way to connect with residents. It humanizes the badge and shows how much we care about the community, he said. The community is a huge supporter of us and we return the favor when we can. Gruenwald agreed. We love our community, and we do this kind of thing to show we care about and support them. We appreciate their support for us, as well, he said. Measuring 5,500 square feet, Lily Pad Springs has four water slides, a 2,400 square foot climbing structure, more than 50 play features and more. Per minute, 740 gallons of treated water are pumped, with 6,000 gallons circulating through the system. Three 2-hour sessions are held daily: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for West Bloomfield residents only, and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. for the general public. Admission per session is $4 for West Bloomfield residents and $6 for non-residents. Proper swimwear is required and water shoes are highly recommended. Swim pants or swim diapers are required for all children not toilet trained. Lockers are available at no extra charge. Children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult. Lily Pad Springs is located at 6200 Farmington Road, just north of Maple Road in West Bloomfield. READ THIS NEXT: 1 dead, 2 injured in 3-car crash, alcohol and speeding suspected Alcohol use and excessive speed are believed to be factors in a 3-vehicle crash in Pontiac on Tuesday that left one driver dead and injured tw +3 Auburn Road facelift a great urban revitalization story Three years ago, Rochester Hills officials looked at areas of the city that could use a facelift. The Auburn Road corridor came to mind. +2 Preliminary exam scheduled for Livingston County teen accused of killing Pontiac teen A Livingston County teenager accused of killing a Pontiac teenager is scheduled for a preliminary exam next month where a judge will determine The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission will be holding public hearings in two Oakland County communities next week to collect input from Michiganders about the redrawing of Michigan's legislative boundaries for Congressional, state house, and state senate districts. The 13-member bipartisan commission, which was created under a voter-approved 2018 anti-gerrymandering constitutional amendment, is responsible for redrawing the state's legislative boundaries in time for the 2022 elections and beyond using 2020 census data. Until now, the boundaries have been redrawn every 10 years by the State Legislature, which has districts to be gerrymandered favoring one political party over another. Before drawing any lines or finalizing the map, the commission is required under state law to hold at least 10 public hearings. The public hearings are being held to inform the public about the redistricting process, share the purpose and responsibilities of the commission, and to solicit information from the public about potential redistricting plans. - Advertisement - +5 LWV: Michigan Redistricting panel faces challenges due to delayed census data The panel that will redraw the boundaries for state and federal offices for next year faces challenges in dealing with a delay in the finalization of U.S. Census numbers and the fact Michigan is losing a congressional seat. Here's a list of the upcoming public hearings, which all begin at 6 p.m., with doors opening one hour prior. People have the option of attending the hearings and submitting public comment by phone, online, or in person. Public comment and maps can be submitted online at https://www.michigan.gov/micrc. Novi - June 8: Suburban Collection Showplace, 46100 Grand River Avenue Pontiac - June 10: Centerpoint Marriott, 3555 Centerpoint Parkway Detroit - June 15: The Village Dome at Fellowship Chapel 7707 W. Outer Dr Detroit - June 17: TCF Center 1 Washington Blvd Port Huron - June 22: Blue Water Convention Center 800 Harker St Warren - June 24: MRCC Banquet Center 23401 Mound Rd Muskegon - June 29: VanDyke Convention Center 939 Third Street Grand Rapids - July 1: Devos Center 303 Monroe Ave NW Videos of previously-held hearings can be found here: https://www.michigan.gov/documents/micrc/Public_Engagement_726547_7.pdf. Three of the commissioners are from Oakland County including: Douglas Clark, Rochester Hills; Anthony Eid, Orchard Lake; and Janice Vallette, Highland. Census redistricting data originally was supposed to be finalized by March 31, but that date has been moved back to Sept. 30 due to difficulties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. These are the numbers that the commission needs to redraw Michigan's state house, state senate, and congressional district boundaries in time for the 2022 elections Under state law, the current deadline to propose maps is Sept. 17 and the deadline to finalize a map is Nov. 1, which allows for a state-mandated 45-day public comment period. On April 20, the commission and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson filed a joint lawsuit asking the state Supreme Court to extend that Nov. 1 deadline nearly three months so that the commission has time to utilize the census data to draw the map. The complaint also asked that candidates have 25 extra days to file to run, from April 19, 2022, to May 14, 2022. +3 Census: Texas gains Congress seats, California loses first time WASHINGTON (AP) The nation's political center of gravity shifted further to the Republican-led South and West on Monday, with Texas, Florida Michigan to seek nearly 3-month delay to draw political maps LANSING (AP) Michigan's redistricting commission will ask the state Supreme Court to delay the deadline to finish new congressional and legi According to the lawsuit, the commission wants a Jan. 25 deadline to adopt a final map, following a 45-day public comment period beginning Dec. 11. The primary and general elections would continue as scheduled in August and November. The complaint asks the court for an opinion by Aug. 1. Currently, Michigan has 14 Congressional districts (7 Democrats and 7 Republicans), 110 state house districts (58 Republicans and 52 Democrats), and state senate districts (20 Republicans and 16 Democrats), but new 2020 population numbers released earlier this year show Michigan will lost one Congressional seat. Two seats in the state senate (the 8th and 28th districts) are vacant and will be filled during the November 2021 general election. Former senators Peter MacGregor and Peter Lucido were elected to countywide office in November 2020. Commission meetings are held every Thursday and can be watched online at https://www.youtube.com/user/MichSoSOffice/videos. For more information about the Michigan Independent Redistricting Commission, visit Michigan.gov/MICRC or call 1-833-968-3729. The imprisonment of Paul Whelan may be discussed between President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin as the two meet later this month in Geneva, Switzerland. Last month, Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary, confirmed that Biden would meet with Putin June 16 to discuss "the full range of pressing issues, as we seek to restore predictability and stability to the U.S.-Russia relationship." In June 2020, a Russian court sentenced Whelan, 51, of Novi, to 16 years in a Mordovian labor camp on charges of espionage, even without prosecutors publicly presenting any credible evidence proving the charge. The trial was held behind closed doors because authorities said that was needed for the trial to consider sensitive data. He was first arrested and detained by Russian authorities in December 2018. - Advertisement - Family of Paul Whelan confident Biden Administration will push harder for Whelan's freedom Paul Whelan's family is encouraged by early signs from the Biden administration that they plan to advocate and push harder for Whelan's releas Whelan, who holds British, Irish and Canadian citizenship, did not appeal the ruling, but has always maintained that he was framed. His lawyers have said the spying charges stemmed from a sting operation, which included Whelan being handed a flash drive that had classified information on it that he didn't know about. On Wednesday, David Whelan, his brother, confirmed for The Oakland Press that Paul Whelan is aware of the upcoming meeting between Biden and Putin, but that there's no indication either way if Paul will "be on the agenda of the Presidential summit." "I for one would be surprised if it was something the two Presidents discussed, in light of the time frame and the other larger issues (nuclear proliferation, cyber attacks, Nord Stream, Open Skies, Belarus, Ukraine, etc.)," said David Whelan. "But we are all confident that Paul's case will be raised at some level. He did not learn about the summit on his own, but he has been able to speak regularly with our parents, so we have kept him abreast of the news." On Wednesday morning, Paul Whelan spoke with CNN, one of the few interviews he has done since being detained over two years ago. During the interview, Whelan stated that he's aware that "Secretary of State Antony Blinken is working on his case. David Whelan is calling the meeting "positive news," but added that he agrees with Sergey Lavrov, minister of foreign affairs of the Russian Federation , in that expectations are low that Paul will be at the center of any of Biden and Putin's conversations. "They are low, but it is important that the two Presidents speak and that the two nations grapple with issues and work on them where there are opportunities to do so," said David Whelan. "My perspective is that these interactions provide a foundation for the future, to create opportunities to gain Paul's freedom. But I don't think it will come from the summit itself. Antony Blinken speaks with family of Paul Whelan, others whose loved ones are wrongfully detained overseas U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke directly to and with families of loved ones who are wrongfully detained overseas, including the f David Whelan said that his family is "hopeful that this continued dialog initiated by the Biden Administration will create an opportunity for Paul's release." His brother has received a COVID-19 vaccine and "seems to be in good health," according to David Whelan. In April, The Russian Government passed a law that prohibits "unfriendly" nations', including the U.S., diplomatic missions from employing Russians. While the law requiring the U.S. Embassy to dismiss all of its Russian staff, still exists, the implementation date has been postponed into July. The U.S. Embassy has announced a temporary resumption of consular services, which David Whelan calls a "lifeline for Paul." Most recently, U.S. Embassy staff visited Whelan on May 20 and provided him with an update on what was going on outside the labor camp. Secretary Blinken has called on Russia to release Whelan so he can return home to his family. Blinken has also been bringing up Paul's name and discussing his situation during conversations with Lavrov, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev, and others since taking office in late January. Pontiac Mayor Deirdre Waterman was the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at the Robert Bowens Senior Center on Friday. (Photo contributed) A Look at Thailands Trade Agreement with Mongolia By In Conjunction Thursday 3 June 2021, 08:45AM Recent reports have confirmed the intention of the authorities in Thailand to increase the amount of trade carried out with Mongolia. This is part of a long-term plan for bilateral trade between the countries to reach as high as US$100 million (3.1 billion baht) in the next couple of years. Full Details of the Meeting This information was released following a meeting between Thailands Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit and Tumur Amarsanaa, who is the Mongolian ambassador to Thailand. Both sides are keen to find new ways to boost trade between them and increase economic relations. This was the first time that a Thai commerce minister had got involved in discussions like this with a Mongolian ambassador since the opening of the Mongolian embassy in Bangkok back in 2000. It forms part of a five-year cooperation plan that began in 2019 and runs up to 2023. The overall idea is to increase the level of cooperation, investment, and bilateral trade between the two countries. What Products Could Be Traded More? Among the products expected to be exported to Mongolia are rice and rubber, with Thailand the worlds biggest exporter of the latter in 2019. The amount of quality, safe food produced in Thailand means that Mongolia could become an important market. It is also hoped that medical tourism in Thailand becomes more popular among Mongolians thanks to this agreement. Some of the other products that Thailand could send to Mongolia include paper and automotive products. From Mongolia, Thailand could import the likes of animals, textiles, and metal ores. The annual average trade value between Thailand and Mongolia over the past five years is $49.8 million. At the moment, Mongolia sits in sixth place in terms of Thailands more important trading partners in East Asia. On a global basis, it is way down in 126th place, though. Looking back over the last five years, the average figure for annual trade between the countries is just under $50 million, and in 2020 it was less than $37 million. How This Could Affect the National Currencies and Commodity Prices? Ideally, this new plan for economic cooperation will help both countries to prosper. One of the effects that trade deals like this can have is on the national currency. The right balance of imports and exports helps any country to maintain a strong currency, while too many imports can lead to it being devalued. Changes like this can be interesting to traders who carry out CFD trading on different commodities or currencies. This type of investment means speculating on future prices without actually buying the asset. In this way, traders use leverage to potentially earn profits even on relatively small price changes. When natural resources such as food and minerals become more in demand due to new or growing markets, this can lead to their price increasing accordingly. The Mongolian market perhaps isnt big enough to make a significant impact on the baht or on Thailands main exports, but it is certainly worth keeping an eye on new markets like opening up. All of this means that the new trade approach between Thailand and Mongolia could be of benefit to a wide range of people, from business owners to consumers and traders. AstraZeneca beginning local vaccine deliveries THAILAND: AstraZeneca and Siam Bioscience yesterday (June 2) announced they were ready to start supplying the government with COVID-19 vaccine produced in Thailand. CoronavirusCOVID-19healthVaccine By Bangkok Post Thursday 3 June 2021, 08:47AM Delivery trucks leave the Siam Bioscience factory in Nonthaburis Bang Yai district. The company said it will begin supplying the government with its COVID-19 vaccine this week. Photo: AstraZeneca/Siam Bioscience. The announcement said the vaccine made by Siam Bioscience would be supplied to the Public Health Ministry. The amount to be supplied initially was not announced, only that deliveries were beginning this week. AstraZeneca will deliver the first locally produced vaccine doses to Thailands Ministry of Public Health, in support of their mass vaccination programme, the statement said. Distribution to other Southeast Asian countries will commence in the coming weeks, AstraZeneca and Siam Bioscience held a ceremony yesterday to mark the first release of the vaccine. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Tuesday that 6 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine would be delivered this month, with the first lot expected next Monday. Emirates, Etihad confirm Phuket flights from July 1 PHUKET: Etihad Airways has confirmed it will begin flights from Abu Dhabi to Phuket from July 1, while Emirates Airlines has announced it will resume four weekly services from Dubai to Phuket from July 2. tourismeconomicstransportCOVID-19Coronavirus By The Phuket News Thursday 3 June 2021, 08:24AM Photo: Emirates Airlines Emirates has announced it will resume four weekly services to the resort island of Phuket from 2nd July 2021, with the re-opening of the popular destination to international tourists, the airline said in an announcement yesterday (June 2). Furthermore, those who are vaccinated against COVID-19 will enjoy hassle-free travel, with no quarantine on arrival. With measures in place to ensure a safe reboot of Phukets tourism industry, customers travelling to the destination known for its sprawling beaches and white sands, will enjoy quarantine-free travel to one of the worlds most-loved holiday spots, it added. The Emirates Dubai-Phuket route will be operated with a Boeing 777-300ER in a three-class configuration, offering premium services in First and Business Class as well as Economy Class. Emirates flight EK378 will depart Dubai on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 03:00hrs, arriving at Phuket International Airport at 12:30hrs the same day. The return flight, EK379, will depart Phuket at 00:10 hrs, on Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays, arriving in Dubai at 03:05hrs the same day (all times are local). The four weekly services will provide customers convenience and choice to suit their holiday plans. The popular Thai destination remains a favourite amongst travellers from the Middle East, Europe and beyond. Emirates also resumed flights to Bangkok since September 2020, providing a daily service, the announcement said. Etihad Airways was just as enthusiastic in their announcement, also released yesterday. As Phuket prepares to reopen to international vaccinated travellers, Etihad is recommencing services to the popular holiday destination on 1 July 2021, the airline said. Phuket will be three times a week, using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, offering Economy Space and Neighbour-free seating options, the airline added. On 25-28 May 2021, the WCO COVID-19 Project, funded by the Government of Japan, hosted and facilitated the "Online workshop to assist Madagascar Customs in drafting Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the clearance and regularization of relief goods in case of natural disasters and other disruptive events. Through this national-level initiative, the WCO Secretariat was able to provide support specifically tailored to the needs of the beneficiary Member. The workshop was attended by more than 90 participants, representing Customs, the National Disaster Risk Management Office (NDRMO), competent ministries and the humanitarian sector. With the guidance provided by the WCO and partner International Organizations experts, participants had the opportunity to identify the bottlenecks in the importation of relief consignments and to reflect on how to streamline procedures and better manage relief goods and equipment clearance processes. Simplified procedures have been put in place to tackle COVID-19, but they are temporary. We now need a formal tool to expedite clearance. stated Mr. Ernest Zafivanona Lainkana, Director General of Madagascar Customs, in his opening remarks. Ms. Nirina Adriatsimetra, Acting Director of the NDRMO, and Mr. Pranab Kumar Das, Director of the WCO Compliance and Facilitation Directorate, welcomed the initiative and agreed on the important role played by Customs in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of citizens during disasters. During the workshop, Guinea and Mali Customs provided an overview of the experience they gained through their involvement in the WCO Customs for Relief of Epidemic Diseases (C-RED) Project and shared the best practices developed during the Ebola epidemic. The sessions dedicated to the drafting of the guide were organized in working groups, each of which focused on a specific topic. The discussions were instrumental in identifying the gaps to be filled in the national legislation and improving the processes and procedures implemented for the treatment of humanitarian aid imported goods and equipment. Matters of priority covered by the newly drafted SOPs include, but are not limited to, Customs duties exemptions, inspections, and the processing of medicines and disaster-related equipment. On the last day of the event, participants gathered in a plenary session during which they jointly reviewed the work carried out by the working groups and discussed the finalization and validation of the operational guide. The next step will be to hold a training session and simulation exercise to test the mechanisms in place for the facilitation of relief consignments, thus identifying potential adjustments to be made, fostering Customs readiness and enhancing coordination between all stakeholders involved in the supply chain. This workshop is the first in a series of national capacity-building activities that will be carried out by the WCO COVID-19 Project in the months to come to the benefit of a number of Members in all WCO regions. Patong thieves blame unemployment for turn to crime PHUKET: Two men arrested in Patong for stealing a coffee machine and two television sets from a restaurant have blamed unemployment for their turn to crime, saying that without work they had turned to stealing items in order to have enough money to pay for basic living expenses. patongpolicecrimeCOVID-19economics By Eakkapop Thongtub Thursday 3 June 2021, 09:33AM Both men said they had turned to crime because they were left without work due to the COVID crisis. Photo: Patong Police Both men said they had turned to crime because they were left without work due to the COVID crisis. Photo: Patong Police The two men were tracked down by CCTV. Photo: Patong Police The two men Samran Luiprasert, 42, from Samut Sakhon, and Amphon Boonchuaynamphon, 34, from Chachoengsao were arrested by Patong Police early yesterday morning (June 2). In their report of the arrests, police explained that the men were tracked down after the owner of the Safe Number One restaurant on Phra Baramee Rd in Patong had filed a formal complaint that thieves had entered his businesses property and stolen several items. Through CCTV, officers were able to see the thieves making their getaway on a black Honda PCX motorbike. Police were also able to identify Amphon riding as passenger by the tattoos on his neck, arms and legs. The officers tracked down Amphon to a third-floor room at a building without a designated address off Phra Mettha Rd. During questioning, Amphon confessed to stealing the items a Jura coffee machine and two 43-inch Toshiba LED televisions from the restaurant, reported police. He also named Samran as his accomplice. Officers then moved to arrest Samran at an unregistered address in a street behind the Government Savings Bank branch on Phra Baramee Rd, in Patong, the report noted. During further questioning at Patong Police Station, the two men both admitted to the theft, police noted. The men said they sold the items and split the money between them to pay for daily expenses as both had been left out of work due to the COVID-19 crisis, police added. Regardless, both men were charged for committing the theft, the report noted. Phuket marks Queens Birthday PHUKET: All government offices except those carrying out essential services, such as the ongoing mass-vaccination rollout, are closed today as the nation marks the auspicious occasion of the birthday of Queen Suthida, who celebrates her 43rd birthday today (June 3). culture By The Phuket News Thursday 3 June 2021, 08:55AM Image: PRD / The Phuket News Her Majesty Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana, born Suthida Tidjai, became Queen through her marriage to his Majesty King Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun on May 1, 2019. The Cabinet on May 14 that year declared June 3 a national holiday as it is the birthday of Her Majesty the Queen. Hence, all government offices will be closed today, except those conducting essential services, especially in light of the campaign to prevent the spread of COVID-19 across the island. All main bank branches will close, but branches in shopping centres will remain open. All Royal Thai Police and Tourist Police stations will remain open and some local consulates will remain open to serve their respective citizens. Although the sale of alcohol on the Queens Birthday is not prohibited by law, police traditionally encourage people to refrain from drinking alcohol on such auspicious days as a sign of respect. Phuket Town fresh market closed in COVID tracing PHUKET: One of the main fresh markets in Phuket Town has been ordered closed by local officials until next Wednesday (June 9) as they trace COVID infections linked to the death of an 86-year-old woman on Tuesday. COVID-19Coronavirushealth By The Phuket News Thursday 3 June 2021, 01:38PM Vendors at the market were told to pack up their stalls for seven days. Photo: PR Phuket Vendors at the market were told to pack up their stalls for seven days. Photo: PR Phuket Vendors at the market were told to pack up their stalls for seven days. Photo: PR Phuket Vendors at the market were told to pack up their stalls for seven days. Photo: PR Phuket The fresh market on Ong Sim Phai Rd in Phuket Town has been ordered closed until next Wednesday (June 9). Photo: PR Phuket The woman who died was the second death in the current outbreak of COVID-19, Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) Chief Dr Kusak Kukiattikoon said yesterday (June 2). Through contact tracing, health officials had confirmed that the Myanmar woman who worked as a caretaker for the 86-year-old was infected, and then learned that five other Myanmar workers living at the same camp as the caretaker were also infected, he explained. That led health officers to the Talad Kaset fresh market on Ong Sim Phai Rd in Phuket Town, where the five infected Myanmar workers worked, and where health officers arrived with officials from Phuket City Municipality yesterday afternoon to deliver the bad news. Newly installed Phuket City Mayor Saroj Angkhanapilas was present for the occasion. Mayor Saroj explained to the market vendors that he had been informed of the need to take action by the Phuket Governor. As it became known, swab samples were taken from about 170 migrant workers at the market on May 31, and one of those workers has tested positive, he said. Swab samples were taken from more than 400 people working at the market in total. The overall results of the tests have not yet been announced. Mayor Saroj explained that at this time there was no reason to close Phuket Municipal Fresh Market 1, on Ranong Rd, as there had been no indication that anyone working at that market had been infected. More than 100 migrant workers at the Ranong Rd market had swab samples taken on Tuesday, and a further 200 people at the market were to have swab samples taken yesterday. Mayor Saroj explained that if any persons found working at the Ranong Rd market were found to be infected, then that market would also need to be closed temporarily. While the fresh market on Ong Sim Phai Rd is closed, the market will be cleaned thoroughly and sanitised by Phuket City Municipality staff to prevent further spread of the virus, Mayor Saroj said. This is to build confidence among customers and the vendors at the market and to continue preventing the spread of COVID-19, he said. TAT Governor Yuthasak in Phuket, admits issues, confirms July 1 reopening PHUKET: Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Yuthasak Supasorn was in Phuket yesterday (June 2) to check the readiness of the province to launch the Phuket Sandbox model for receiving vaccinated forign tourists without quarantine from July 1. COVID-19Coronavirustourismeconomics By The Phuket News Thursday 3 June 2021, 11:04AM Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Yuthasak Supasorn speaks to the press after the meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday (July 2). Screenshot: PR Phuket Speaking after heading a meeting at phuket Provincial Hall, Mr Yuthasak confirmed that the July 1 reopening to international tourists was going ahead, while admitting that many factors still need to be taken into account and remedied. Mr Yuthasak said him joining the meeting yesterday was to prepare for joining a meeting of the Center for Economic Situation Administration (CESA) in Bangkok tomorrow(June 4), where many aspects of the Phuket Sandbox model will be discussed by the committee, chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Today, I came to Phuket to have a meeting with local officers and relevant private sector representatives as well as the director of the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT), Mr Yuthasak said. On June 4, there will be a meeting of the CESA which will be chaired by the Prime Minister. The main topic for the meeting is the plan to open Phuket Sandbox that came after the meeting on March 26, he added. Mr Yuthasak said he appreciated the progress made to make the Sandbox launch possible. People have been working so hard on the project, including the vaccination in Phuket which we believe can achieve herd immunity within this month, in order to open and welcome vaccinated foreign tourists, he noted. The second aspect of the project is developing our city [sic, meaning Phuket] in both the short and long term under the project named Better Phuket, which is going very well, he added. The third aspect is driving the demand through marketing. It is pretty satisfying that we have direct flights by airlines to Phuket from July, he noted. Its such a great intention and confidence among Phuket people to move forward to open the island to foreign tourists. I hope that in the meeting [tomorrow], there will be something beneficial and supportive for Phuket Sandbox, Mr Yuthasak said. We [the TAT] will work on the things under our authority. For the Phuket Sandbox, we do not only focus on foreign tourists, but also Thai tourists. We are ready to promote among Thai people to come to Phuket during the Sandbox period. We will cooperate with relevant officials and the private sector to solve problems, such as vaccination or transport. And of course, to boost the confidence among Phuket people, he said. Mr Yuthasak said safety was a key concern in allowing foriegn tourists to return. Only on Tuesday did he confirm that which countries the tourist arrivals come from will determine how long they will have to stay in Phuket before being allowed to travel elsewhere in Thailand. He also assured that only tourists from low-risk countries will be allowed. The opening to vaccinated foreign tourists from low-risk countries will not affect Phuket peoples lives and safety for sure. Local people can do everything as usual, as Phuket will be safe, Mr Yuthasak said. From the June 4 meeting, the information about the Phuket Sandbox will be clarified, including how tourists will stay, how and when they will be tested, he added. There will be an official announcement through the Royal Gazette, which is what agencies in the [source market] countries want. Many airlines have plans to operate flights, but they want to see the announcement as evidence to prove the opening date, he noted. The information right now is quite clear. Foreign tourists can stay how many days they want in Phuket if they do not go to other provinces. However, we still discuss that they may have to stay on the island at least 14 days to be allowed to go to other provinces in accordance with the current order by the CCSA [Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration, in Bangkok]. They can stay five, 10 or 12 days in Phuket and fly out, but if they want to go to other provinces, they have to be in Phuket at least 14 days. That is what we are still discussing, Mr Yuthasak said. Regarding the testing of arrivals for COVID-19 after they arrive in Phuket, Mr Yuthasak explained, For now, we plan to conduct swab tests on arrival [day 0], day 6 and day 12. Who will be responsible for the tests? For any cost of testing, which is for the safety of Phuket people, the government may have to find a budget to support this cost, he noted. If the testing is to be beneficial for the individual tourists, for example, when returning to their countries, if their governments ask them to present documents to prove they are not infected, they will have to pay for the test by themselves, he added. Mr Yuthasak admitted that the reopening will not be a return to pre-pandemic levels of tourism, but at least a reopening. In the third quarter, we expect about 129,000 foreign tourists to come. The number is not high, compared to the number of hotel rooms in Phuket, he said. For domestic tourists, there is a holiday in July. We will cooperate with airlines and hotels to create special promotions for vaccinated Thai people to come to Phuket. To prove to them that the Phuket Sandbox is not only a paradise for foreigners, but also for Thai people. Mr Yuthasak recognised the formal request for soft loans to be made available so that Phuket tourism operators can provide appropriate services to foreign tourists. For soft loans for operators, the national government has been trying to help, but there are limitations, including banks conditions. We are not ignoring this issue and will raise this issue to be discussed at the meeting [tomorrow], he said. Thailand and US discuss COVID-19 vaccine cooperation THAILAND: Prime Minister and Defense Minister, Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha, held talks with United States Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy R. Sherman yesterday (June 2) on COVID-19 vaccine cooperation. CoronavirusCOVID-19Vaccinepolitics By National News Bureau of Thailand Thursday 3 June 2021, 09:05AM United States Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy R. Sherman and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha at the meeting yesterday (June 2). Photo: NNT Gen. Prayut stressed the close relationship between the two nations and brought forward cooperation on COVID-19 vaccines. Mrs. Sherman paid a courtesy call to Gen. Prayut during her visit to the kingdom this week. After the meeting, Government Spokesman, Anucha Burapachaisri, said the Prime Minister congratulated Mrs. Sherman on her appointment as US Deputy Secretary of State. The Prime Minister expressed confidence that her experience and expertise will play an important role in promoting Thai - US relations, which have continued for 188 years. The Prime Minister also asked the US Deputy Secretary of State to convey his congratulations to Joseph R. Biden on his victory in the US presidential election. He said Thailand has been observing US policies and is hoping that both countries will strengthen their cooperation on a win-win basis. The US Deputy Secretary of State thanked the Prime Minister for the reception and praised the long-standing relationship between Thailand and the US. Both countries have established strong cooperation, especially in security and economy. The US official said many countries are experiencing hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The US is aware of the situation and has adopted a policy of acquiring additional vaccines to help other countries overcome the crisis. The US is ready to help Thailand gain access to more vaccines. The Prime Minister thanked the US official and said Thailand is ready to receive support from the US in acquiring additional vaccines. Southern Pines, NC (28387) Today Mostly cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. High 86F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A few clouds from time to time. Low near 65F. Winds light and variable. Southern Pines, NC (28387) Today Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 86F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. @rachelravina on Twitter Rachel Ravina is a journalist covering news and lifestyle features in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. She grew up in Blue Bell and graduated from Penn State. She's also a news enthusiast who is passionate about covering topics people want to read. SHREVEPORT, La. In Louisiana people love their guns and they can wear them openly, it's when they want to cover it up that is at the center of debate in Baton Rouge. A pair of bills advancing in the state legislature would allow people to carry a concealed handgun in public without a background check or additional firearms training. The bills do away with the requirement to obtain a permit before carrying a firearm. Supporters of the bills say permits like that infringe on their constitutional right to bear arms. "As a gun advocate you should not have to ask the government permission to defend yourself, said Brad Simon. Simon, who owns the Red River Range in Shreveport, said the basic training course currently required to obtain a permit does not cover enough to make someone a responsible gun handler. "The state training right now, it just checks a box and forces someone to go through an extra hurdle and creates an extra financial burden on those persons trying to get a permit just so they can exercise their second amendment rights," he said. Simon also believes that when a person open carries they immediately become a target. From the capitol riots to a slew of protests, many people are feeling a level of anxiety and a greater sense to want to protect themselves. However, opponents of the bills don't believe this is the way to do that. "The thought that we need to get away with permits for conceal carry, there is already constitutional carry, said Susan Nelson, Louisiana Partnership for Children and Families executive director. You can carry your weapon unconcealed wherever you go." Nelson is a gun owner herself. She believes some training is better than nothing. "It is an eight hour class, Nelson said. You don't have to pay attention. That's true. However, they do cover things like the law and best practices which you should at least be exposed to that." Gun advocates on both sides agree that weapons should be handled safely by people who are mentally stable. Simon doesnt believe more gun laws will fix the rash of mass shootings in the U.S. in the last couple of decades. "We are of the mindset that an armed society is a polite society, but you can look at the other twenty states that have enacted similar legislation, removing the requirement to have a permit and they have seen no increase in violent crime, Simon said. Opponents of the bills, including law enforcement officials, argue that removing the training requirement would fill the streets with untrained gunowners and make policing harder. Federal authorities have arrested another Connecticut man in connection with the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington. A spokesman for the U.S. attorneys office said 25-year-old Richard T. Crosby Jr., of Harwinton, was charged Thursday on a federal criminal complaint. He was taken into custody between 6 and 7 a.m. on Tuesday, federal officials said. Authorities allege Crosby was seen standing at the dais in the U.S. Senate chamber beside Luke Chansley, better known as the QAnon Shaman, who was photographed shirtless in a buffalo headdress holding a spear with an American flag, according to a court filing. In a cellphone video shot by Luke Mogelson, a contributing writer for the New Yorker who followed former President Donald Trump supporters into the Capitol building on Jan. 6, the man alleged to be Crosby can be seen standing to the left of Chansley wearing a black jacket, glasses and a red baseball cap, according to court records. In the video, Crosby appears to hold up his hand in reverence as Chansley shouts a prayer into a bullhorn, thanking God for allowing us to get rid of the communists, the globalists, the traitors within our government, court records sow. At the conclusion of the prayer, Crosby Jr. yelled Amen, according to the governments statement of facts filed in the case. During a brief hearing Thursday, federal prosecutors said Crosby was charged with obstruction of justice, specifically of Congress. The felony charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine as well as three years of supervised release. The judge also ordered a public defender to be appointed for Crosby, and said the case will be transferred to the District of Columbia. Crosby is also charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds. Both offenses carry a maximum sentence of one year in jail, a $100,000 fine and one year of supervised release. The complaint also charges him with entering and remaining on the floor of Congress; disorderly conduct in the Capitol; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol. Those offenses carry up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine. Crosby appeared Thursday before U.S. District Court Judge S. Dave Vatti via Zoom wearing glasses, jeans and a green pullover sweatshirt from a detention facility. He remained silent throughout the proceedings, speaking only to answer questions from Vatti. Federal prosecutors did not request that Crosby remain in custody, but asked Vatti to prohibit the defendant from visiting Washington as a condition of his release. Vatti said he did not believe Crosby posed a danger to the public and did not consider him a flight risk, noting the defendant is a lifelong Connecticut resident and cooperated with investigators. Under questioning by Vatti, Crosby said he has a bachelors degree and is receiving psychiatric counseling. Crosbys father agreed during the hearing to serve as a third-party custodian, which Vatti described as the eyes and ears of the court. Crosbys case was continued to Tuesday, when he will appear in another video conference hearing. Vatti also ordered that Crosby avoid contact with persons known to you to be a witness to the prosecution without his attorney present. FBI agents interviewed Crosby in April at his Litchfield County home. During the interview, Crosby told the agents he heard about the event through social media and wanted to attend to make his voice heard, because he believed the 2020 presidential election was stolen, the governments filing reads. Crosby told investigators he attended Trumps speech with his girlfriend and her mother, both of whom left during the speech. After the speech, he walked to the Capitol and entered the building through an open door on the left of the main entrance, where he followed the crowd into the senate chamber, he told the FBI, according to the court filing. Crosby told the investigators there were two police officers inside the chamber who did not interact with anyone, according to the court filing. Crosby remained in the chamber for six to eight minutes before a large number of police showed up and ordered everyone to leave with their hands visible to ensure they had not taken anything, the filing said. He told the FBI agents that while he did not engage in any confrontation or altercation with law enforcement, he observed others having physical confrontations with police officers, according to the government filing. Additionally, Crosby, Jr. stated he observed an unknown male holding a succulent house plant, who stated he had taken it from a legislators desk, the filing reads. Federal authorities had previously charged Patrick McCaughey III, of Ridgefield, after investigators said he was caught on video crushing a D.C. Metropolitan police officer in a door frame during the siege of the Capitol building. McCaughey has since been released on bond in that case. ...Whether weve just met or known you for years, weve all come together today to recognize your achievements. Each of you with your own dreams for the future, filled with confidence and eager to take flight, just as you were on that first day of school. Media Content Creator Ian Ostroff is a writer/reporter who resides in Montreal. He is passionate about getting to know the people and places that make his hometown so great. In his spare time, you can find him at the gym, eating ice cream, or working on his novel(s). The Biden administration on Thursday announced it will share 80 million excess doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of June, with specific plans on sharing the first 25 million doses to areas in need. The long-awaited announcement shows that the majority, 19 million doses, will be shared via COVAX, the United Nations mechanism to ensure vaccine access for low- and middle-income countries and territories. Six million will target regional priorities and partner recipients, including Canada, Haiti, Kosovo, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Ukraine, the West Bank and Gaza, along with Egypt, Georgia, Iraq, Jordan, and Yemen, as well as United Nations front-line workers. Of the nearly 19 million doses that will be shared through COVAX, approximately 6 million are slated for a number of countries in the Western Hemisphere. They include Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru in South America, along with the Central American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama. Haiti and other Caribbean Community countries, as well as the Dominican Republic, which borders Haiti, are included. Approximately 7 million doses will head to Asia, including to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Maldives, Nepal, the Pacific Islands, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Five million vaccine doses will be shared with Africa in coordination with the African Union. In a briefing to reporters, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the administration will continue to donate excess supply as it becomes available. "This is just the right thing to do," Sullivan said. "And as the president has said, [the] United States will not use its vaccines to secure favors from other countries." Of the 80 million doses -- or 13 percent of the total U.S. vaccine production -- that the Biden administration has committed so far to share worldwide -- 75 percent will be donated through COVAX, prioritizing Latin America and the Caribbean, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa. The rest will be shared directly with places experiencing surges, immediate neighbors, and other countries that have requested immediate U.S. assistance. Sullivan said that the U.S. will have the authority to determine where the doses distributed via COVAX will be allocated. "But that will be done in very close consultation in partnership with COVAX, and, crucially, according to COVAX's formula, and then using the COVAX logistics capacity and delivery capacity to ensure that these doses actually translate into shots in arms that help save people's lives." The United Nations welcomed the move, with a spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, saying, "It is very important for wealthy countries, developed countries to share as much as possible with COVAX." "And as the secretary-general has noted, [that] none of us will be safe until all of us are safe, which means that vaccines need to be within reach of everyone, everywhere," Dujarric said, referring to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Fort Polk, LA (71446) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible. High around 95F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 74F. Winds light and variable. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a meeting with Guatemalan justice sector leaders, in the Vice President's Ceremonial Office at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex, Wednesday, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Things to do in the Attleboro area and beyond ALTON The Untold Black Stories of Alton Visual Listening Tour Exhibit Opening is planned for 6 p.m. Friday, June 4, at Jacoby Arts Center. The event is open to the public to meet and celebrate the participants as well as the artists of the Untold Black Stories in Contemporary Art Exhibition. Large-format portraits of more than 30 participants were recorded by StoryCorps for the Untold Black Stories project. The portraits appear in storefront windows in downtown Alton. The audio tour and photography exhibit offers a rich and often untold history of Alton through personal stories of family devotion, faith, dedication to hard work, friendship, honor and reciprocity. More Information If you go: What: Untold Black Stories of Alton Exhibit Opening When: 6 p.m. Friday, June 4 Where: Jacoby Arts Center, 627 E. Broadway, Alton Info: The guided audio tour is available at https://explore.riversandroutes.com. Event is free, open to the public. See More Collapse Fifteen portraits will be displayed in storefront windows of eight buildings along Altons Broadway corridor through July 11. The one-mile walkable route offers a visual listening tour with stops at My Just Desserts, Madison County Urban League, former Karens Crafts, Williams Office Products, the Alton school district office, former Alton Refrigeration, The Conservatory and Jacoby Arts Center. People can scan a QR code at any location to receive a map and audio excerpts from the tour. Alton residents whose conversations were recorded for the project include Aaron Atkins and Ariyah Smith, Courteney Wilson and Nana Becoat, Nancy Becoat and Leah Becoat, Faye Taylor and Wanda Walker, Tracey Northern and Eric Walker, Rosetta Brown and Abe Lee Barham, Amiah Williams and Antione Williams, George Terry, Diane Ingram, Taylor and Carson Ingram, Jason Harrison and Willie Franklin, Bryden Barnes and Norman Barnes, J. Eric Robinson and Stephanie Young, Gregory Harrison and Jason Harrison, Autumn Brown and Jasmine Hardimon, Steve Potter and Lloyd Johnson, and Yvonne Campbell and Evelyn Campbell. It was really a positive experience, Potter said. Id never met Loyd until he came to my home to record, and he was so gracious, honest and sincere. I felt privileged to help him tell his story and its a beautiful one at that. Potter said Johnson is a third- or fourth-generation black farmer who lives on the same family farm as his ancestors. He had career off the farm, but was the only sibling to stay there, Potter said. So he grew up in the country as a black farmer outside of Alton. We talked about his life on the farm, his familys history there and what it was like as a black family here when he was young. The guided audio tour is available at https://explore.riversandroutes.com with no app to download. Conversations in five-minute excerpts can be heard with the full 40-minute original StoryCorps recordings at www.jacobyartscenter.org/untoldblackstories. These portraits will animate the downtown arts district with striking imagery to further engage the community in these Untold Black Stories of Alton and celebrate participants who shared their stories, said Jacoby Arts Centers Rachel Lappin, executive director. The mixed media experience will be accessible twenty-four/seven for locals and tourists alike. In other words, this is a museum-like, outdoor art exhibition throughout downtown. People can sign up to be notified of future recording opportunities at www.jacobyartscenter.org/untoldblackstories. The Collaborative Community Art Installation Our Alton Stories runs through July 1. The community is invited to create individual visual art stories, both at Jacoby Arts Center and Alton public events. A final visual portrait of Our Alton Stories will be displayed through 2021, then moved to other areas to continue sharing and engaging with Untold Black Stories of Alton. The Untold Black Stories in Contemporary Art Exhibition at Jacoby runs through July 11 aligned with local Juneteenth celebrations. The Untold Black Stories of Alton project is a collaboration between Jacoby Arts Center, Alton Main Street, Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau, All Town USA and Hayner Public Library. Professional photography was by Cedric Parker and Bishoppe Kamusinga, with graphic design by Tyrone Stevenson. The StoryCorps conversations will be archived at Hayner Public Library as well as the Library of Congress. Printing of the portraits is sponsored by the Mythic Mississippi Project, a public engagement venture of the University of Illinois that promotes community development through cultural heritage programming. This project was made possible with support from Illinois Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Illinois General Assembly. GODFREY Mondays early morning conclusion to the General Assemblys spring session as an eye-opener for first-term state Rep. Amy Elik, R-Fosterburg. The last two weeks have been a sprint to finish, she told the RiverBend Growth Association in a Wednesday morning teleconference. Elik, a CPA, said she was excited to be in a House working group on human services appropriations, part of a $42.3 billion budget bill. In closed sessions, she said, lawmakers met to discuss multiple line items of the budget. That was a huge disappointment to me as to how that actually worked, she said. It was clear these decisions and things we were discussing were not going to be part of the actual budget. As a CPA, I would suggest that no business would do a budget like weve done, even in the working group meetings, Elik said. It was basically a list of maybe 30 or 40 budget line items. And it was, Heres what it was last year. Heres what the governors directive may be. Do you want to accept what he recommends? Do you want to reduce what he recommends? Do you want to increase what he recommends? The question is why, why did he recommend it, she said. Where are the details? You dont have that level of detail. Elik said the 700-page budget bill was dropped at about 12:15 a.m. Monday with numerous amendments during the day including one just 15 minutes before the scheduled vote in the House. At about 11:35 p.m. (Monday) the budget was called to be heard and voted on, she said. We were allowed one speaker from the Republican side to ask questions and debate the bill, she said. We were allowed 20 minutes of debate. And then we were asked to vote on the budget. The budget passed along party lines. Elik said she voted no because the budget gives lawmakers about a $1,200 raise, doubles their office budgets and includes what Gov. J.B. Pritzker has called loophole closures meant to incentivize private business owners in Illinois. She said the bill also includes about a billion dollars in capital projects requested by Democrat members that Republicans were not invited to take part in. She expects Pritzker will sign the budget bill, and that there will be some disappointment among social services programs where budgets will remain flat. Elik also noted that trailer license fees the third most commented item in calls to our office will be coming down. Previously $18 a year, lawmakers in 2019 raised the fees to $118. Last month lawmakres approved lowering them to $36 a year and eliminating the $10,000 cap for sales tax purposes for vehicle trade-in values. That had been one of the biggest complaints to everyones offices Republicans and Democrats, Senate and House, Elik said. This was constituent-driven. This was the best thing that Illinois taxpayers and citizens have done by keeping up with the advocacy. She urged similar advocacy for residents concerned about the lack of transparency in the General Assembly. It is completely unacceptable to drop really important legislation on the last day of session 700-, 800-page bills that clearly no one can adequately consider in that short amount of time, Elik said. Public advocacy is very much needed to make sure the party in power knows that we dont like what youre doing, she said. I get the negotiation point, that people who are negotiating things are under pressure in those late hours to maybe push things or give up on things. But people working for the public should not be handling legislation like that, she said. Keep up with your lawmakers and let them know it is completely unacceptable for this to happen year after year. She pointed to the proposed legislative redistricting maps as an example of transparency challenges. The redistricting maps were absolutely behind closed doors on the fourth floor of the Stratton Building in Springfield, which were heavily guarded and locked, Elik said. Democrats were invited into the room to see their maps. No Republicans were involved. Elik said 55 advocacy groups have stated they are very disappointed in how the maps have gone forward. Now we wait on Gov. Pritzker to see if he will veto these like he promised, Elik said. I do expect, whatever happens, that the maps will be heavily litigated. Elik said work remains for lawmakers and she expects them to return to Springfield very soon. Among the most important work yet to be tackled is state energy legislation. Along with redistricting lawmakers still must deal with energy legislation and Firearms Owner Identification Card changes. There were some things that were undone important things that were undone, she said. SPRINGFIELD The Illinois Senate has approved a plan led by state Sen. Rachelle Crowe, D-Glen Carbon, to create a state task force designed to review and address discrepancies in laws regarding child physical and sexual abuse. In my background as a prosecutor, I have witnessed the effects of abuse on sexual assault survivors, particularly children, Crowe said. By creating a task force with the common goal to improve the states handling of these incidents, we can defend our children as they undergo tremendous trauma. GODFREY They celebrated a wastewater project in Godfrey on Thursday designed to avoid looking like any work had been done. Illinois American Water has replaced two sections of a 24-inch wastewater effluent main on the La Vista Park trail in Godfrey. The main located along La Vista Creek was reinforced and protected from the natural shifting of the creek and potential creek bank erosion in a project that cost about $750,000. Ethan Steinacher, Operations Manager for Illinois American Water, said the unique aspect of the project was the use of environmentally friendly solutions. It needed to look like we werent here at all, Steinacher said. It needed to look natural. The project included efforts to protect and enhance the La Vista Creek watershed by: Installing natural limestone in areas along the creek bank which are prone to erosion. Installing rip-rap, similar to large stones and rock, to further decrease erosion and create a streamlined transition to the natural limestone. Natural rock grade controls to dissipate water energy and deflect streamflow back to the center of the channel to follow its natural course. Installing Newbury riffles to help naturalize streamflow and prevent erosion of the La Vista Creek channel bed. Planting of native grasses and plants to restore the creek bank and beautify the area. The start of the La Vista Park trail is at 2421 W. Delmare Ave. in Godfrey. Mayor Mike McCormick thanked Illinois American Water for the work and for doing far, far more than he expected. In October 2018, Godfrey officials voted to sell the villages wastewater system to Illinois American Water for $13.55 million. The sale was completed in 2019. Illinois American Water will not only make the EPA-mandated improvements to bring the system up to compliance, but their team of experts will ensure reliable service for years to come, McCormick had said. GODFREY Village trustees on Tuesday discuss the July 4th fireworks at the finance committee meeting. Parks and Recreation Director Todd Strubhart asked the board to request four Madison County Sheriff Department officers to work three hours per officer. The officers will be working traffic control for the July 4 fireworks, and will receive holiday pay. In April the finance committee voted to hold a standalone fireworks show on Sunday, July 4, starting at 9:15 p.m., but not to hold the traditional Family Fun Festival. The board also has approved $15,000 for the fireworks $5,000 more than in previous years. During the Godfrey village board meeting Tuesday, trustees approved co-hosting a Grow Solar Metro East Power Hour education session. Trustee Virginia Woulfe-Beile, chair of Climate Protection and Energy Efficiency Committee, asked Mayor Mike McCormick for consideration of approval. Village trustees voted to sponsor the session; a specific date has yet to be determined. Additionally, the board voted to form a subcommittee of the CP&EE to explore a Tree City USA ordinance. EDWARDSVILLE A Granite City man faces a felony meth delivery charge, one of a number of felony charges filed June 2 by the Madison County States Attorneys Office. Shawn T. Noser, 35, of Granite City, was charged June 2 with unlawful possession with intent to deliver of methamphetamine, a Class 1 felony. The case was presented by the Granite City Police Department. According to court documents, on May 27 Noser allegedly was found to be in possession of between 5-15 grams of methamphetamine with intent to deliver. Bail was set at $75,000. Other felony charges filed June 2 include: Vanessa D. Howell, 42, of South Roxana, was charged with aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony. The case was presented by the Roxana Police Department. On June 2 Howell allegedly hit a household or family member in the head with an ashtray. Bail was set at $20,000. Juan M. Farias, 35, of Collinsville, was charged with aggravated battery, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. On May 1 Farias allegedly punched another man in the face, causing a broken jaw. Bail was set at $30,000. DJ W. Marshall, 21, of Granite City, was charged with burglary, a Class 2 felony, and criminal damage to property, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Granite City Police Department. On April 13 Marshall allegedly entered a building in the 2900 block of Iowa Street to commit theft, and damaged the walls and floor of the property, causing in excess of $500 damage. Bail was set at $50,000. Jody A. Nowels, 33, of Jefferson City, Missouri, was charged with offenses relating to motor vehicles, a Class 2 felony. The case was presented by the Madison Police Department. On June 1 Nowels allegedly was found to be in possession of a stolen 2010 Dodge Avenger. Bail was set at $50,000. Crystal M. Record, 40, of Collinsville, was charged with offenses relating to motor vehicles. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. On June 1 Record allegedly was found to be in possession of a stolen 2005 Chevrolet Silverado. Bail was set at $30,000. Maurtel D. Smith, 25, of Godfrey, was charged with aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. On May 31 Smith allegedly was driving a 2005 Nissan Altima when he attempted to flee a sheriffs deputy, disobeying several traffic control devices. Bail was set at $50,000. Bobby J. Mahan, 49, of Collinsville, was charged with aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. On June 1 Mahan allegedly was driving a 2017 Dodge Challenger when he attempted to flee a sheriffs deputy, disobeying several traffic control devices. Bail was set at $50,000. CHICAGO Jared L. Hausmann of Alton has been named a recipient of a 2021 William J. Harte Amicus Volunteer Award from the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. Recipients are honored for their volunteer service and professional efforts on behalf of the ITLA Amicus Curiae Committee in preparing legal briefs before the Illinois Supreme and Appellate Courts over the past two years. EDWARDSVILLE Multiple battery charges were filed in separate cases June 1 by the Madison County States Attorneys Office. Torrey W. Sergerson, 24, listed as homeless out of Granite City, was charged with aggravated battery, a Class 2 felony. The case was presented by the Granite City Police Department. According to court documents, on May 28 Sergerson attacked a Granite City police officer. Bail was set at $30,000. Lance R. Thomason, 49, of the first block of Cheshire Court, Collinsville, was charged with aggravated battery, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. According to court documents, on May 28 Thomason punched a senior citizen in the face and pushed him. Bail was set at $20,000. Jeremiah D. Nishke, 39, of the 2100 block of Lee Avenue, Granite City, was charged with two counts of aggravated battery, both Class 3 felonies. The cases were presented by the Granite City Police Department. According to court documents, on April 27 Nishke wrapped his arms around a woman and squeezed her, knowing she was pregnant; and on May 27 repeatedly hit the same victim. Bail was set at $25,000 for each charge. Other felony charges filed June 1 by the Madison County States Attorneys Office include: David H. Harris III, 33, of the first block of Melody Lane, East Alton, was charged with domestic battery (second subsequent offense), a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. According to court documents, on May 31 Harris pushed a girlfriend, causing a facial injury. It was noted he has a prior conviction for domestic battery out of Madison County in 2019. Bail was set at $25,000. Charles D. Edwards, 30, of the 52300 block of Inglewood, Godfrey, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of weapons, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Alton Police Department. According to court documents, on May 31 Edwards was found to be in possession of a Diamondback AR pistol loaded and accessible, and was not in possession of a valid concealed carry permit. Bail was set at $15,000. Laron J. Bonner, 42, of St. Louis, was charged with aggravated use of weapons, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Alton Police Department. According to court documents, on May 31 Bonner was found to be in possession of a loaded and accessible .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun, without a valid concealed carry permit. Bail was set at $15,000. Christina R. Cole, 38, and Joseph T. Wells, 35, both listed as homeless out of Collinsville, were charged with burglary, both Class 2 felonies. The cases were presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. According to court documents, on May 28 the two entered Kreitner Elementary School, 9000 College St., Collinsville, to commit theft. Bail was set at $50,000 each. Haley L. Duckett, 42, of the 600 block of Wyss Avenue, Alton, was charged with retail theft under $300 (second subsequent offense), a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. According to court documents, on May 30 Duckett took merchandise valued at less than $300 from the Godfrey Walmart, 6660 Godfrey Road. It was noted she has a prior conviction for retail theft out of Madison County in 2020. Bail was set at $50,000. Justin E. Bradac, 34, of St. Jacob, was charged with theft over $500, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. According to court documents, on May 29 Bradac took tools and coolant valued in excess of $500 from another person. Bail was set at $50,000. Valencia J. James, 20, of the 700 block of Silver, Alton, was charged with criminal damage to property over $500, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Alton Police Department. According to court documents, on May 30 James slashed four tires valued in excess of $500 on another persons vehicle. Bail was set at $15,000. Free Wednesday night concerts will return to Nay Aug Park this year, organizers announced today. The Kerry Kenny Band will open the 2021 concert series June 9. All concerts begin at 6 p.m. near the pool area of the park. Additional performances include: June 16: Tom Hamilton Jazz Sextet Tom Hamilton Jazz Sextet June 23: West 3rd Street jazz/funk band West 3rd Street jazz/funk band June 30: Fortunes Fortunes July 7: Electric City Steel Drum Band Electric City Steel Drum Band July 14: Erin Malloy & Friends Erin Malloy & Friends July 21: Jung Bergo Jung Bergo July 28: Bobby Baird Dixieland Band Bobby Baird Dixieland Band Aug. 18: The New Paramounts featuring Paulette Cost Performers for Aug. 4 and 11 have not yet been confirmed, and those could serve as possible rain dates, organizers noted. The Scranton Recreational Authority, the City of Scranton, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Lackawanna County Department of Arts & Culture fund the series, which the recreational authority and Scranton Music Association produce. Organizers also announced a change to the lineup for the Sunday afternoon concert series at the park. The Sept. 5 show will now include performances by the Son De Tresa Trio at 2 p.m. and the Tony Vergnetti Trio at 5. For more information, call 570-561-7584 or 570-983-6485. A house fire displaced a family of four Wednesday in the 1400 block of Froude Avenue in Scranton, with no injuries reported. City firefighters were dispatched to 1407 Froude Ave. just before 5 p.m. for a house fire. Engine 10, the engine company here on East Mountain, was here in a very timely fashion and quickly got a hose line into the building and knocked down the bulk of fire, Assistant Chief Jim Floryshak said. The American Red Cross is assisting a mother and her three children, all of whom escaped from the home safely. The home sustained interior fire damage, along with smoke and water damage, Floryshak said. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Scranton, PA (18503) Today Cloudy early with scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 76F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Democratic state lawmakers in Texas recorded a save for democratic principles Monday when they walked out prior to a vote on a bill designed to suppress voting, precluding a quorum as the legislative session ended. Texas Republican-controlled legislature is just one of several that have introduced or passed voting-suppression bills in the wake of massive turnout in the 2020 presidential election. Although the Constitution delegates the mechanics of voting to the states, voting itself is a constitutional right. To ensure actual access to that right, Congress passed the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965. It outlawed an array of nefarious means that historically had been used, since the failure of Reconstruction, to restrict minority access to the ballot box. In 2013, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling that is one of its worst decisions of modern times. The majority overturned Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which required states and some smaller jurisdictions with long histories of racial discrimination in voting policies to get clearance from the Justice Department for changes in voting procedures and policies. Since then, states formerly covered by the provision have implemented what would have been an array of what would been Section 5 violations vastly reducing the number of polling places in minority areas, unreasonable voter identification laws, and others. The Texas case is a call to Congress to pass the For the People Act, which treats voting as the civil right that it is by expanding, rather than restricting the franchise. It also should pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore the Section 5 provisions struck by the Supreme Court. Timothy Seth Bryant Pennington was born on January 30, 1988 in Corbin, Ky. He departed this life on June 3, 2021 to be with his Lord and Savior, whom he accepted as a young boy at his church, West Corbin Baptist. Seth was assured of his salvation and knew where he would spend his eternity. S West Hartford (06107) Today Except for a few afternoon clouds, mainly sunny. High 84F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Cloudy with occasional showers. Low around 60F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%. MARISSA BERGEL, Wheeler softball, senior: Bergel hit a two-out, two-run single in the seventh inning to lift Wheeler past Holy Cross, 9-7, in the Class S state tournament. The hit was part of a five-run rally in the inning. JOEY GUARNIERI, Westerly track & field, senior: Guarnieri placed first in two sprints at the Southern Division championships. He won the 100 (11.19) and the 200 (22.73). JOSH MOONEY, Stonington track & field, sophomore: Mooney placed first in the 110 hurdles at the Class M state meet in 14.65. He also finished second in the 300 hurdles (39.87) and second in the javelin (160-0). MARGARET WEEDEN, Chariho track & field, junior: Weeden finished first in the high jump at the Southern Division championships. Weeden cleared 5-1 and also placed sixth in the triple jump at 31-5. Vote View Results Britain's leading-edge creative industries have struggled in the pandemic with theatres closed, live concerts curtailed and film production hampered. It is terrific then, that UK-quoted publishing house Bloomsbury, the spiritual home of JK Rowling, performed well in the plague year. Consumer publishing surged by 22 per cent with both adult and children's book sales surging. Star of the show was American fantasy author Sarah J Maas but Harry Potter revenue, up 7 per cent, is the stalwart which keeps on giving. Many companies are known for issuing repeated warnings over missed profit targets. Bloomsbury has surprised with a bunch of upgrades and managed a 22 per cent lift in pre-tax profits to 19.2m. Dispute: Penguin Random House, which controls around 25 per cent of the UK book market, has restricted supplies to Waterstones It declared a special dividend and still sits on 50m ready for acquisitions. It has spent 8.45m on Head of Zeus which publishes Victoria Hislop and current best-seller The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper. Covid-19 is part of a trend which saw a power shift in the book industry to publishers from the booksellers. Amazon is the biggest winner and anyone who released a book during lockdown will know that with out the online outlet there was little chance of garnering attention. It is unfortunate, however, that Britain's Competition & Markets Authority signed off last month on the 1.6billion mega-book takeover by Bertelsmann-owned Penguin Random House (PRH) of Simon & Schuster. The deal is still under scrutiny by the US Department of Justice amid protests from competitors including Rupert Murdoch-controlled Harper Collins. The objectors make a good point. Even before the S&S deal approval in the UK, Penguin Random House was throwing its weight around. As a result of a dispute with Britain's biggest independent book-selling chain, Waterstones, over credit terms you would be hard put to find Penguin Random House books in its stores. PRH, which controls around 25 per cent of the UK book market, has restricted supplies to Waterstones. In retaliation, Waterstones is refusing to promote PRH titles, which means that they don't get the window display or enticing promotions at the front of the store. Bookshops are an asset to every high street and their survival at all is a miracle given the assault they took from Amazon which saw many chains including Dalton, Book World and Borders fail. Waterstones is a survivor due to the care of chief executive James Daunt, who gave store managers their head and the financial support from Elliott Advisors. Not only has Elliott nursed Waterstones through Covid, it stands behind the 600-plus Barnes & Noble stores in the US. Penguin Random House better beware of what it wishes for if it tangles with ruthless Elliott. Second-hand love We should not underestimate the value of the 'Generation Z' pound. Out of its electronic wallets or Klarna never-never accounts Boohoo, Asos and online sites delivering video games, fintech banking and much more have been born. Latest to have been discovered is Depop, founded in 2011, which is the go-to site for online, branded second-hand clothing. The market for famed labels such as Ralph Lauren, Adidas and Benetton is no secret. Friends in the US founded a great enterprise by making a deal with churches to empty and sort their clothing banks, shipping Levi jeans, varsity shirts and bomber jackets to what became a superstore in Tallinn, Estonia. What is more surprising about Depop, with revenues of just 50m last year, is that American buyers Etsy, which specialises in vintage and gifts online, should value it at 1.2billion. The attraction, one assumes, is a network of 4m buyers and 2m sellers who last year traded goods worth 464m. Etsy likes to think of itself as the people's Amazon, because it helps smaller companies and communities to trade online without Big Brother looking over their shoulder. I discovered it in lockdown when I needed a roll of 35mm film developed and clicked on because the price was so competitive. The service was great but I could have done without the hefty US postage charge. Rough Justice The stain of Greensill lives on. The Wall Street Journal reports that the governor of West Virginia, Jim Justice, could personally be on the hook for 500m of loans arranged by Greensill for his coal company Bluestone Resources. Budget airline Wizz Air warned of further losses this year as it bounces back slowly from the pandemic. It said its recovery will largely be reliant on the rollout of vaccines across Europe. Wizz Air had made a pre-tax profit of 254m a year earlier, but collapsed to a loss of 489m in the 12 months to the end of March. Struggle: Wizz Air had made a pre-tax profit of 254m a year earlier, but collapsed to a loss of 489m in the 12 months to the end of March The number of passengers and revenue both fell around three quarters to 10.2m and 638m respectively. Separately, Ryanair said that it carried 1.8m passengers in May, heavily down on May 2019 when it flew more than 14m passengers. Tullow Oil said chairman Dorothy Thompson is stepping down at the end of the summer after nearly three years in the role. One of only a handful of women chairing a London-listed company, she said it was the right time after Tullow last month emerged from a financial overhaul with a 1.27billion bond and a new business plan under chief executive Rahul Dhir. On the move: Dorothy Thompson is one of only a handful of women chairing a London-listed company Thompson, 60, was the chief executive of power company Drax Group before joining Tullow in 2018. She is a non-executive director at Eaton Corp and a director of the Court of the Bank of England. Water utility giant Pennon Group has bought Bristol Water in an 814million deal following its sale of waste management firm Viridor in July last year. The South West Water owner sold Viridor to private equity house KKR for a massive 3.7billion and has been looking to use proceeds from the sale to pay down its debts and consider buying new assets in the water sector. It has now agreed to purchase the 175-year old Bristol Water from its owners, the multinational asset management firm iCON Infrastructure and Itochu, one of Japan's largest corporations. Money tap: Bristol Water's acquisition comes one month before its 175th anniversary After taking Bristol Water's large debt pile into account, Pennon said the deal has an equity value of 425million, grows its customer base by over half to around 3.5 million, and adds 500 more staff to the company rolls. Its chief executive Susan Davy stated that the acquisition 'brings great people and a great business to Pennon and I am hugely excited about building a future together. 'We see attractive opportunities to continue to invest in the Bristol Water business to deliver enhanced resilience and water security to benefit customers in Bristol and beyond. 'This latest acquisition, building on a strong heritage and history, firmly cements Pennon as one of the leading UK water and wastewater companies.' Bristol Water was set up in 1846 by an Act of Parliament, and its first committee included a member of the Fry chocolate family and epidemiologist William Budd, who studied the effects of cholera on Bristol's population. It sources about half of its water from the limestone Mendip Hills, which includes areas like the Cheddar Reservoir and Chew Valley Lake, with the other half coming from the River Severn. City Bristol Water serves 1.2 million customers in Bristol and the surrounding areas Pennon also announced that shareholders would be awarded 1.9billion in payouts, with 1.5billion coming in the form of special dividends and the remaining 400million through a share buyback scheme. It has put a further 1.1billion in earnings from the Viridor sale towards lowering its debts and said it would invest another 100million in South West Water in support of its Green Recovery Initiative. Davy added: 'We have demonstrated our credentials as a responsible business, reducing debt levels, increasing pension contributions, and further supporting the Green Recovery for the much-needed regeneration of our region.' Separately today, Pennon revealed its annual results showing underlying annual revenues rising modestly to 644.6million as lockdown restrictions that forced people to work from home helped drive household demand higher. Big money: Pennon Group sold waste management firm Viridor to KKR for 4.2billion last year This was despite a fall in demand from offices and other non-household settings, and its Water Services arm being affected by venue closures in the leisure and hospitality sectors over the winter period. Operating profits did also drop by about 30million, partly due to price cuts arising from a transition to a new regulatory period. However, the Viridor sale enabled the firm's overall profits to jump by 754.1 per cent to a record 1.76billion. Neil Shah, the director of research at Edison Group, said: 'Driving sustainable growth was a key priority for Pennon Group as the firm looked to reposition itself in the UK water sector. 'The firm's 0.4billion acquisition announcement of Bristol Water firmly solidifies that positioning and helps consolidate its position as a leader in the industry. 'The group's focus on raising its credentials as a responsible business is admirable, and by reducing debt levels and supporting the green recovery, it looks to be providing an attractive opportunity for its shareholders.' Shares in Pennon Group ended trading 2 per cent higher at 10.90 on Thursday. Shop floor staff at Tesco can have their pay compared with the supermarket's distribution centres staff, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) has ruled. Thousands of current and former employees - mostly women - at Britain's largest retailer have accused it of paying them 3 per hour less than their contemporaries working at distribution centres, who are predominantly male. Leigh Day, the law firm acting on their behalf, and Tesco asked the EU's highest court to provide guidance on whether Tesco workers could use a part of European law known as the 'single source' test to make equal pay claims against their employer. Disparity: Thousands of current and former Tesco employees - mostly women - have accused it of paying them 3 per hour less than staff at distribution centres, who are predominantly male This standard allows women to compare their role to that of a man operating in a separate establishment if a 'single source' - such as a company board - has the power to correct pay disparities. The court has now rejected Tesco's argument that an EU law defining equal pay for equal work, or work of equal value, was not directly applicable in this case. It means up to 25,000 former Tesco staff could receive 2.5billion in overdue pay, some of it dating back years. It comes after a March ruling by the UK Supreme Court that 44,000 lower paid shop staff at Asda, who are majority female, could be compared to better paid, and primarily male, warehouse workers. The ruling stated that even if separate managements set conditions in Asda's retail and distribution centres, those responsible for making the rules were both answerable to the firm's executive board, thereby fulfilling the 'single source' test. The judge in the case said the ruling did not mean the workers were entitled to equal pay, but they were allowed to pursue further legal action. Kiran Daurka, a partner at Leigh Day, said today's judgment 'reinforces the Supreme Court's ruling that the roles of shop floor workers can be compared to those of their colleagues in distribution centres for the purposes of equal pay. Equal judgement: The Supreme Court ruled in March that lower-paid shop staff at Asda, who are mostly female, could be compared to better paid, and primarily male, warehouse workers 'For a long time, employers have argued that UK law in this area is unclear, but this judgment is simple: if there is a single body responsible for ensuring equality, the roles are comparable. 'Clarification from the CJEU confirms that this single-source test can be relied upon by people in the UK bringing an equal-value claim. This means that employers can no longer hide behind the grey areas of UK law.' Tesco's workers initially took their complaints to an employment tribunal hearing in Watford before it sought guidance from the Luxembourg-based CJEU. The Watford tribunal will now have to take the CJEU ruling into account when it decides on the case. 'The jobs in our stores and distribution centres are different. These roles require different skills and demands which lead to variations in pay but this has absolutely nothing to do with gender,' a Tesco spokesman remarked. 'We reward our colleagues fairly for the jobs they do and work hard to ensure that the pay and benefits we offer are fair, competitive and sustainable. 'These claims are extremely complex and will take many years to reach a conclusion. We continue to strongly defend these claims.' Shares in Tesco closed trading only 0.13 per cent higher at 225.8p on Thursday. Tifton, GA (31794) Today Some clouds and possibly an isolated thunderstorm this afternoon. High 88F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds light and variable. Instant unlimited access to all of our content on tillamookheadlightherald.com. The Headlight Herald E-Edition Newsletter emailed to you each week, the night before the paper hits the street! This subscription is for NEW or RENEWING online subscribers. (The charge will appear as "Country Media Inc." on your credit card statement) Bond Reduced for Man Facing Escape, Gun Charges By West Kentucky Star Staff PADUCAH - A Paducah man appeared in court Wednesday, facing multiple charges from an arrest in March.Court records show a bond reduction hearing was held for 31-year-old Demario Daniels. His bond had been $10,000, but was reduced to $5,000 in cash or property. A pretrial conference was scheduled for June 30 at 1:30 pm.Daniels was arrested March 19 after he had escaped from a Class D facility at McCracken County Jail in April 2020. He was riding with 30-year-old Luther Robinson when undercover drug detectives met with Robinson to purchase methamphetamine. Daniels fled the scene and allegedly knocked down a woman as he ran.He faces charges of fleeing or evading police second degree, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct second degree, wanton endangerment second degree, identity theft, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, and was wanted on multiple warrants, including escape second degree.On the Net: We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Submit Here Cresaptown, MD (21502) Today Thunderstorms likely. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 82F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Thunderstorms early, then becoming mostly clear after midnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Local Uncertainty about reappraisal clouds Barre budget re-vote BARRE The fate of a twice-defeated school budget is now squarely in the hands of Barre and Barre Town voters many of whom were automatically mailed ballots they havent yet returned. The clock is ticking. Last week more than 2,900 absentee ballots went out in the mail 1,303 in Barre and 1,623 in Barre Town. On Wednesday one week before a special election that will determine whether voters are collectively ready to approve a budget for the Barre Unified Union School District, just more than one-third of them 1,055 had been returned. Through Tuesday, only 111 of the Barre ballots had been returned, though City Clerk Carol Dawes said that number jumped to 403 after Wednesdays mail was processed. In Barre Town, newly elected Town Clerk Tina Lunt said Wednesdays mail pushed the absentee vote total in that community to 652. There is still time, just not as much as a Facebook message posted on behalf of an anxious School Board seemed to suggest Tuesday. Posted barely eight days before a high-stakes special election the message lacked a level of urgency. As we face the third round of voting on the Barre Unified Union School District budget, we would like to thank the residents of our community for your concern and interest in our students as you cast either absentee ballots over the next couple of weeks or vote in person on June 9th, it began. June 9 is the right date for the special election. It is also next Wednesday and voters who think they have a couple of weeks to mail in their ballots could be days too late. Clerks in both communities have sought to underscore the tight turnaround time, with Dawes including a bright green reminder along with the pink ballots she is using for a special election that will be held in six days. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. next Wednesday at the BOR ice arena in Barre and the gymnasium at Barre Town Middle and Elementary School. Though, if form holds, the vast majority of ballots will arrive in the mail or be deposited in advance in drop boxes at City Hall in Barre or the municipal office building in Barre Town. For those concerned about spending, the $49.95 million budget on next Wednesdays single-issue ballot compares favorably to earlier versions, both of which narrowly passed in the city, but failed by slightly wider margins in the town. A $50.5 million budget proposal failed by 111 votes 1,471-1,582 on Town Meeting Day in March and last month a $50.4 million version came up 12 votes short 1,395-1,407. A series of cuts proposed by administrators and embraced by the board effectively erased what had been a nominal tax rate increase previously projected for Barre while further adding to a sizeable reappraisal-related rate reduction forecast for Barre Town. One is simple to explain the other isnt and has prompted complaints at public meetings, online and in print that boards oft-repeated assertion one included in Tuesdays Facebook post is, at best, misleading. The boards claim that approval of the budget would require no increase in Barres tax rate and allow for a projected 29-cent reduction in Barre Towns tax rate is mathematically accurate. On that, even the budgets most vocal critics agree. Their gripe is the fact the tax rate is going down has far more to do with the reappraisal than the budget and while it makes for a good sound bite it ignores a key piece of the equation. The problem? It has to be because, as Board Chairwoman Sonya Spaulding noted in response to multiple posts on the matter, that information isnt available. This post does not say that your tax bill is going down, as we cannot approximate what each property owner will have for a value on their property when re-assessment is completed, Spaulding wrote. That is also true and wont change before next Wednesday. Barring any setbacks, change of appraisal notices are expected to be in the mail by June 24, arming town residents with information that will enable them to calculate their education property tax based on the projected 29-cent rate reduction. In Barre, thats not a problem. With very few exceptions a home assessed at $200,000 for tax purposes last year is still assessed at $200,000 this year and projections suggest the education tax rate just under $1.42-per-$100 assessed property value will drop by a fraction of a cent. Whats it mean? It means the education property taxes on that theoretical $200,000 were roughly $2,838 before any adjustments for household income were made and would be $2,836 if the budget is approved next week. No change. Then there is Barre Town where the common level of appraisal will jump from just under 80% of fair market value to 100% of fair market value when the reappraisal is finished later this month. That change is primarily responsible for school officials projection that the education tax rate will drop from just under $1.64-per-$100-assessed property value to about just under $1.35-per-$100-assessed property value a 29-cent reduction. What does that mean? It depends. If a home that was assessed at $200,000 last year was still assessed at $200,000 this year, it would translated into a $582 reduction in the property tax bill. The problem, critics claim, is that theoretical $200,000 home will be worth considerably more following the towns first reappraisal in 15 years. How much more? To paraphrase Spaulding: who knows? Until the change of appraisal notices arrive its all just guesswork. It is, but that doesnt make it a useless exercise. Take that theoretical $200,000 home. Before any income-related adjustment the education tax on that home, based on the much higher tax rate is about $3,276. If the value of that home were to double, the education tax bill for that $400,000 property based on the lower tax rate would be about $5,387 a year-over-year increase of $2,111, notwithstanding the 29-cent rate reduction. A 50% increase in the value of that same property would push its assessment to $300,000 and result in an education tax bill of $4,040, or an increase of $764 before any income-related adjustments. A 25% increase would translate into an assessment of $250,000 and an education tax bill of $3,367 before any income-related adjustments. Thats a little over $91 more than the bill on the same home taxed at the higher rate this year. david.delcore @timesargus.com Rand Paul in Paducah; Discusses Fauci, COVID By West Kentucky Star Staff PADUCAH - Senator Rand Paul was in Paducah Wednesday, and he made a stop at the Bristol Broadcasting studios, where he doubled down on his criticism of Dr. Anthony Fauci and spoke about coronavirus immunity during an appearance on the Greg Dunker Show.Paul spoke on the importance of letting children live their lives. He said it saddens him to see children taking part in certain outdoor activities while wearing a mask."Nothing makes me more saddened than to see a kid outside on a track running a race with a mask on," he said. "There's no science behind that. It's completely foolhardy. No reason why your kid should wear a mask outside, yet we're doing that to our kids."He said much of the COVID-19 related confusion is due to Fauci promoting things that were not science-based and flip-flopping on certain issues."He finally came around after I gave him a hard time about the theater of wearing two masks," Paul continued, "Now his private emails have come out saying exactly what I've been saying. Most of the viruses go through the masks."Paul said the only mask that works is the N95, but it must be kept tight and changed frequently.He is also disputing the claim that everyone should receive the vaccine whether they've had the virus or not.According to Paul, people who have had the virus will carry some level of immunity. Because of this, he said countries like India, which might have one billion people and only one million vaccines, need to make a science-based decision to vaccinate the at-risk groups first.He said, "The studies indicate that getting it naturally and getting it from the vaccine is going to have long-standing immunity. We don't know how long, we don't know for every variant, but all the studies so far show that natural infection and the vaccine both protect against all the variants."Just in the last week, Paul said he had received five death threats because of his views on COVID-19.You can listen to the entire interview below. Thomasville, GA (31792) Today Partly cloudy early followed by scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. High around 90F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Isolated thunderstorms this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%. The Rev. Gus Puleo is pastor of St. Patrick Church in Norristown and served as an adjunct professor of Spanish at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. He is a graduate of Norristown High School and attended Georgetown University, where he received B.A. and B.S. in Spanish and linguistics. He has masters degrees in Spanish, linguistics and divinity from Middlebury College, Georgetown University and St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. He holds a Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of Pennsylvania. Judge John Dugger said Friday there was nothing in Hawkins County constable-elect William Creasy's criminal court plea agreement last year that would prevent him from being re-elected on Aug. 6 to a position he was compelled to resign from in 2019. The Times News has teamed up with area clergy to share Words of Comfort daily in our print edition and online at TimesNews.Net. Any member of the clergy whod like to get involved can contact Carmen Musick at cmusick@timesnews.net. FILE - In this April 15, 2019 file photo, Rep. Tim Rudd, R-Murfreesboro, speaks during a House session in Nashville, Tenn. Rudd, the sponsor of Tennessees new law requiring businesses and government facilities to post signs if they let transgender people access their preferred, multi-person public bathrooms now says those who refuse could face up to six months in jail. Rudd said this week that the misdemeanor penalty could apply. Israeli opposition parties have reached an agreement to form a new government that would end Benjamin Netanyahus 12-year tenure as prime minister. Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, announced an eight-faction unity coalition had been formed. Under a rotation arrangement, the head of the right-wing Yamina party, Naftali Bennett, would serve as prime minister first before handing over to Lapid. There still needs to be a parliamentary vote before the government is sworn in. Long the familiar face of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu is headed to the political sidelines after serving as prime minister for more than a decade. But even as he battles in court against corruption charges that he denies, Netanyahu, as opposition leader, will be poised to pounce on a new governing coalition of right-wing, centrist and Arab parties with little in common other than a desire to unseat him. In a likely taste of things to come, a stern-looking Netanyahu, 71, has decried the creation of a dangerous, left-wing government. Fraud of the century, he declared indignantly after fellow right-winger Naftali Bennett turned against him on Sunday and opted to align with centrist opposition chief Yair Lapid despite a public promise that he would not do so. Under a power-sharing deal that follows a March 23 election Israels fourth in two years Bennett, a former defence minister and a high-tech millionaire, will become prime minister. He will later turn over the post to Lapid, who once served as finance minister in a Netanyahu-led government. The diverse composition of the Lapid-Bennett alliance could make it particularly unstable in a country so riven by political divisions that do-over elections have become the norm. That means that no one in Israel is ruling out a Netanyahu political comeback. Already, the tone of his remarks has echoes of his closest international ally, former U.S. President Donald Trump, himself now unseated but still commanding loyalty from supporters. For Netanyahus grassroots backers, dubbed Bibists, he remains a leader tough on security and a bulwark against pressure, even from Trumps successor President Joe Biden, for any bold steps that could lead to a Palestinian state. From the opposition benches, Netanyahu is likely to press on with a message that the new coalition will be hobbled by its left-wing members if military steps are needed against Israels enemies. Claiming the spotlight even as Lapid was deep in negotiations on a change in government, a combative Netanyahu seemed to pick a fight with Biden on Tuesday over how to deal with Irans nuclear programme, again hinting at the possibility of Israeli attack. If we have to choose, I hope it doesnt happen, between friction with our great friend the United States and eliminating the existential threat eliminating the existential threat wins, Netanyahu said in a speech. BORROWED TIME It has been a rocky few years for Netanyahu, whose stewardship of Israels COVID-19 vaccine rollout was not enough to halt his political decline. A sense that he was living on borrowed time after 12 consecutive years in office was compounded by criminal charges over alleged favours to media tycoons and illegal receipt of expensive cigars and champagne. Netanyahu has denied all wrongdoing and says, without offering any evidence, that he is a victim of a deep state conspiracy against him. Popularly known by his childhood nickname, Bibi, Netanyahu is the son of a historian and attended high school and college in the United States, where his father taught. Never lost for a soundbite, his booming baritone has resounded on the world stage since serving as Israels ambassador to the United Nations from 1984 to 1988. Entering politics in Israel as a Likud legislator, he became party leader in 1993 and exerted hegemony for decades over Israeli politics. The formation of the new government marked a rare defeat for Netanyahu: the last time he and his wife Sara had to pack their bags and move out of the prime ministers residence was before the turn of the millennium. Source: Reuters BEIJING (AP) Chinas ruling Communist Party said Monday it will ease birth limits to allow all couples to have three children instead of two in hopes of slowing the rapid aging of its population, which is adding to strains on the economy and society. The ruling party has enforced birth limits since 1980 to restrain population growth but worries the number of working-age people is falling too fast while the share over age 65 is rising. That threatens to disrupt its ambitions to transform China into a prosperous consumer society and global technology leader. A ruling party meeting led by President Xi Jinping decided to introduce measures to actively deal with the aging population, the official Xinhua News Agency said. It said leaders agreed implementing the policy of one couple can have three children and supporting measures are conducive to improving Chinas population structure." Leaders also agreed China needs to raise its retirement age to keep more people in the workforce and improve pension and health services for the elderly, Xinhua said. Restrictions that limited most couples to one child were eased in 2015 to allow two, but the total number of births fell further, suggesting rule changes on their own have little impact on the trend. Couples say they are put off by high costs of raising a child, disruption to their jobs and the need to look after elderly parents. Comments on social media Monday complained the change does nothing to help young parents with medical bills, low incomes and grueling work schedules known popularly as 996, or 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week. Every stage of the problem hasnt been solved, said a post on the popular Sina Weibo blog service signed Tchaikovsky. Who will raise the baby? Do you have time? I go out early and get back late. Kids dont know what their parents look like. Another, signed Hyeongmok, joked bitterly: Dont worry about aging. Our generation wont live long. China, along with Thailand and some other Asian economies, faces what economists call the challenge of whether they can get rich before they get old. The Chinese population of 1.4 billion already was expected to peak later this decade and start to decline. Census data released May 11 suggest that is happening faster than expected, adding to burdens on underfunded pension and health systems and cutting the number of future workers available to support a growing retiree group. The share of working-age people 15 to 59 in the population fell to 63.3% last year from 70.1% a decade earlier. The group aged 65 and older grew to 13.5% from 8.9%. The 12 million births reported last year was down nearly one-fifth from 2019. About 40% were second children, down from 50% in 2017, according to Ning Jizhe, a statistics official who announced the data on May 11. Chinese researchers and the Labor Ministry say the share of working-age people might fall to half the population by 2050. That increases the dependency ratio, or the number of retirees who rely on each worker to generate income for pension funds and to pay taxes for health and other public services. Leaders at Monday's meeting agreed it is necessary to steadily implement the gradual postponement of the legal retirement age, Xinhua said. It gave no details, but the government has been debating raising the official retirement ages of 60 for men, 55 for white-collar female workers and 50 for blue-collar female workers. The potential change is politically fraught. Some female professionals welcome a chance to stay in satisfying careers, but others whose bodies are worn out from decades of manual labor resent being required to work longer. The fertility rate, or the average number of births per mother, stood at 1.3 in 2020, well below the 2.1 that would maintain the size of the population. Chinas birth rate, paralleling trends in other Asian economies, already was falling before the one-child rule. The average number of children per Chinese mother tumbled from above six in the 1960s to below three by 1980, according to the World Bank. Demographers say official birth limits concealed what would have been a further fall in the number of children per family without the restrictions. The ruling party says it prevented as many as 400 million potential births, averting shortages of food and water. But demographers say if China followed trends in Thailand, parts of India and other countries, the number of additional babies might have been as low as a few million. ___ AP Writer Fu Ting in Bangkok contributed. PEPLO, Greece (AP) As the world begins to travel again, Europe is sending migrants a loud message: Stay away! Greek border police are firing bursts of deafening noise from an armored truck over the frontier into Turkey. Mounted on the vehicle, the long-range acoustic device, or sound cannon, is the size of a small TV set but can match the volume of a jet engine. Its part of a vast array of physical and experimental new digital barriers being installed and tested during the quiet months of the coronavirus pandemic at the 200-kilometer (125-mile) Greek border with Turkey to stop people entering the European Union illegally. A new steel wall, similar to recent construction on the U.S.-Mexico border, blocks commonly-used crossing points along the Evros River that separates the two countries. Nearby observation towers are being fitted with long-range cameras, night vision, and multiple sensors. The data will be sent to control centers to flag suspicious movement using artificial intelligence analysis. We will have a clear pre-border picture of whats happening, Police Maj. Dimonsthenis Kamargios, head of the regions border guard authority, told the Associated Press. The EU has poured 3 billion euros ($3.7 billion) into security tech research following the refugee crisis in 2015-16, when more than 1 million people many escaping wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan fled to Greece and on to other EU countries. The automated surveillance network being built on the Greek-Turkish border is aimed at detecting migrants early and deterring them from crossing, with river and land patrols using searchlights and long-range acoustic devices. Key elements of the network will be launched by the end of the year, Kamargios said. Our task is to prevent migrants from entering the country illegally. We need modern equipment and tools to do that. Researchers at universities around Europe, working with private firms, have developed futuristic surveillance and verification technology, and tested more than a dozen projects at Greek borders. AI-powered lie detectors and virtual border-guard interview bots have been piloted, as well as efforts to integrate satellite data with footage from drones on land, air, sea and underwater. Palm scanners record the unique vein pattern in a persons hand to use as a biometric identifier, and the makers of live camera reconstruction technology promise to erase foliage virtually, exposing people hiding near border areas. Testing has also been conducted in Hungary, Latvia and elsewhere along the eastern EU perimeter. The more aggressive migration strategy has been advanced by European policymakers over the past five years, funding deals with Mediterranean countries outside the bloc to hold migrants back and transforming the EU border protection agency, Frontex, from a coordination mechanism to a full-fledged multinational security force. But regional migration deals have left the EU exposed to political pressure from neighbors. Earlier this month, several thousand migrants crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in a single day, prompting Spain to deploy the army. A similar crisis unfolded on the Greek-Turkish border and lasted three weeks last year. Greece is pressing the EU to let Frontex patrol outside its territorial waters to stop migrants reaching Lesbos and other Greek islands, the most common route in Europe for illegal crossing in recent years. Armed with new tech tools, European law enforcement authorities are leaning further outside borders. Not all the surveillance programs being tested will be included in the new detection system, but human rights groups say the emerging technology will make it even harder for refugees fleeing wars and extreme hardship to find safety. Patrick Breyer, a European lawmaker from Germany, has taken an EU research authority to court, demanding that details of the AI-powered lie detection program be made public. What we are seeing at the borders, and in treating foreign nationals generally, is that its often a testing field for technologies that are later used on Europeans as well. And thats why everybody should care, in their own self-interest, Breyer of the German Pirates Party told the AP. He urged authorities to allow broad oversight of border surveillance methods to review ethical concerns and prevent the sale of the technology through private partners to authoritarian regimes outside the EU. Ella Jakubowska, of the digital rights group EDRi, argued that EU officials were adopting techno-solutionism to sideline moral considerations in dealing with the complex issue of migration. It is deeply troubling that, time and again, EU funds are poured into expensive technologies which are used in ways that criminalize, experiment with and dehumanize people on the move, she said. The London-based group Privacy International argued the tougher border policing would provide a political reward to European leaders who have adopted a hard line on migration. If people migrating are viewed only as a security problem to be deterred and challenged, the inevitable result is that governments will throw technology at controlling them, said Edin Omanovic, an advocacy director at the group. Its not hard to see why: across Europe we have autocrats looking for power by targeting foreigners, otherwise progressive leaders who have failed to come up with any alternatives to copying their agendas, and a rampant arms industry with vast access to decision-makers. Migration flows have slowed in many parts of Europe during the pandemic, interrupting an increase recorded over years. In Greece, for example, the number of arrivals dropped from nearly 75,000 in 2019 to 15,700 in 2020, a 78% decrease. But the pressure is sure to return. Between 2000 and 2020, the worlds migrant population rose by more than 80% to reach 272 million, according to United Nations data, fast outpacing international population growth. At the Greek border village of Poros, the breakfast discussion at a cafe was about the recent crisis on the Spanish-Moroccan border. Many of the houses in the area are abandoned and in a gradual state of collapse, and life is adjusting to that reality. Cows use the steel wall as a barrier for the wind and rest nearby. Panagiotis Kyrgiannis, a Poros resident, says the wall and other preventive measures have brought migrant crossings to a dead stop. We are used to seeing them cross over and come through the village in groups of 80 or a 100, he said. We were not afraid. ... They dont want to settle here. All of this thats happening around us is not about us. ___ Associated Press writer Kelvin Chan in London contributed to this report. ___ Follow Derek Gatopoulos at https://twitter.com/dgatopoulos and Costas Kantouris at https://twitter.com/CostasKantouris ___ Follow APs global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, citing Canada's lack of urgency, on Thursday called on the United States to unilaterally open the U.S. border to Canadians. As Co-Chair of the Northern Border Caucus, I have worked with my colleagues across the aisle, our Canadian counterparts, the North Country Chamber of Commerce, and essentially anyone who will listen over the past several months to establish a bilateral, metrics-based plan to reopen the northern border, but the Canadian Government continues to lack the urgency this situation demands," Stefanik said in a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Enough is enough the United States needs to do whats best for the American people and small businesses and reopen the northern border. The border closed in March 2020 in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. At the time, New York was particularly hard hit, with a soaring death toll despite a lockdown of the economy. As vaccines were developed and administered, infection rates fell. But Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters that he would make our decisions based on the interests of Canadians and not based on what other countries want. The U.S. already allows Canadians arriving by air to enter the country. But the land border has remained closed to leisure travelers, preventing property owners from visiting and maintaining their homes, and boaters from using Canadian boundary waters even though they have no intention of docking on the Canadian side. Stefanik and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer have both called for developing a plan to reopen the border, but little apparent progress has been made, as Canadian officials face opposition from their citizens to a reopening. A poll last month by Vancouver, B.C.-based Angus Reid Institute found 51 percent of Canadian respondents supported a total prohibition of non-essential international travel to or from Canada. Stefanik's call was endorsed by the North Country Chamber of Commerce in Plattsburgh, which has been pushing for a planned border reopening. "For months, we and others have been calling for a bi-national commitment to a border reopening plan," said Garry Douglas, the Chamber president. "This has included calls for some very modest and reasonable first steps such as expanding the permitted travel categories to include more family connections, property owners including boats and campsites, businesspeople engaged in cross border business dealings, and access to airports here for Canadians who are already permitted to fly into the U.S. from Canadian airports. "With indications that the Canadian Government is not yet open to true planning or to some reasonable first steps, it is time to consider taking some unilateral steps and putting the possibility out there," Douglas added. There is something melancholy and unconsummated about going to the airport and not getting on a plane to go somewhere, or not picking up somebody you love who has come a long way to see you. Previous trips to the Albany International Airport Gallery solely to see the artwork, no matter how good it was, were always tinged with this feeling. Its no ones fault certainly not the curators that I couldnt help but daydream about connecting through Newark en route to Tokyo or getting on the direct Delta puddle-jumper to visit my grandmother in Detroit when I should have been more focused on the work on the wall. But little in life is more enticing than the departure board when you havent been away for a while. Despite having been grounded for the better part of 15 months, there is not a trace of that feeling when visiting Sunrise Sunset, the gallerys newest show, running until Aug. 30. With 72 pieces by 46 artists, it is the largest show ever staged at the gallery, and the work is broadly imbued with the same sense of hope that travelers appear to have as they return to the skies. The show also comes during a period of transition for the gallery. The Airport Authority made the decision to turn about half of the usable space in the pre-security part of the gallery into administrative offices, and Sunrise Sunset is the first show to appear in this new configuration. Kathy Greenwood, the airports indefatigable program director for arts and culture, who hung about 80 percent of the show herself, is diplomatic when admitting the complicated nature of the new arrangement. Losing space and possibly some departmental pull in a bureaucratic shuffle is lamentable, but Sunrise Sunset does not suffer because of it. If anything the new setup in the expansive panoramic observation deck before security, and on more than 100 feet of wall space in Concourse A beyond it, works to the shows and perhaps the entire programs advantage. The observation deck is more than up to the task and does not feel remotely cluttered. It is an airy and dramatic space, and its a testament to Greenwoods deft hand and keen curatorial eye that it works so well. It was Greenwood who put out the call to artists, looking for work orbiting a theme of comings, goings and our wildly disrupted sense of time in a pandemic era that now seems, mercifully, in retreat. The work is as literal and representational as straight gouache and oil sunrises and sunsets, and it gets more daring than what you might expect from public art at a midsize airport. Ghost of a Dream, the husband and wife collaboration of Lauren Was and Adam Eckstrom, features with two composite images, Aligned by the Sun (DACA) and Aligned by the Sun (Travel Ban). Made up of overlaid sunsets from every country from which a Deferred Action on Childhood Arrival recipient was born and from every country on the Trump Administrations travel ban list, the images are quiet yet compelling protests and not pieces one would imagine seeing at a venue that would seem to be institutionally opposed to any form of boat-rocking. It was at airports across the country that some of the earliest and most vociferous protests against the Trump Administration, specifically against the hastily announced ban on travel from six majority Muslim countries, erupted in January 2017. Gina Occhiogrosso places physical demands on the viewer with Rise, an installation in the A Concourse. Its a black box with a peephole that forces you to bend at the waist in order to look through it. I wont spoil the surprise, but you might end up spending more time contemplating whether your COVID 15 was more like 25, and how much your posture has been demolished in the last year, than the work itself. Its such a nondescript little box that passing travelers might think youve lost your mind as well. A few feet away Matt Frieburghaus gives us a dreamy, glitched-out mountain scene from Iceland in a video installation called Midnight Sun. Frieburghaus speaks with the audiovisual eloquence that attends what The New Yorker is calling the vibes revival. Its perhaps just what you need to calm the mind and spirit after finding out your flight to Myrtle Beach is delayed again. On the same wall Niki Haynes gives us plenty to think about with her Watch collage series. The work invites reflections on the passage of time and our deeply distorted sense of it in the pandemic era. For many of us it will feel, to varying degrees, like March 2020 for the rest of our lives. Her clock-watching collages taken from old advertisements also force you to consider where you are. Were still at the airport, where the surrender to surveillance, commerce and the caprices of ever-changing schedules is absolute. Heather Hutchinson has fun with a teacup Rothko called FIN, Madison La Vallees soft power: smog rotates like a showroom Cadillac, and Carly Glovinskis Canning the Sunset takes the childrens craft of sand art to new heights in a plum position on the central wall of the observation deck gallery. With this many pieces on offer, this litany could go on for some time. The show bursts with variety, but it is all largely oriented in a hopeful direction. It is what the present moment calls for if not demands, and it is one you are free to experience now that you can buy a ticket and go somewhere. Click here to read the full article. Donald Trumps blog site, designed to give the disgraced former U.S. president an online outlet after he was banned from Twitter, Facebook and other services, has been permanently shuttered about a month after it debuted. The blog, called From the Desk of Donald J. Trump, has been removed from his personal site (donaldjtrump.com) along with all posts. A senior aide to Trump, Jason Miller, told CNBC that the blog section will not be returning and that it was just auxiliary to the broader efforts we have and are working on. In a May 5 post on the blog, Trump lashed out Facebook (as well as Twitter and Google) after Facebooks independent Oversight Board upheld the social media giants suspension of Trumps Facebook and Instagram accounts over his role in inciting the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. What Facebook, Twitter, and Google have done is a total disgrace and an embarrassment to our Country, Trump wrote in the now-deleted post. Free Speech has been taken away from the President of the United States because the Radical Left Lunatics are afraid of the truth, but the truth will come out anyway, bigger and stronger than ever before. Trump also issued a vague threat that corrupt social media companies must pay a political price and he alleged that they somehow worked to destroy and decimate the American electoral process. In its ruling last month, Facebooks Oversight Board faulted Facebook for imposing the indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension on Trump. The board ordered Facebook to review Trumps suspension to determine and justify a proportionate response that is consistent with the rules that are applied to other users of its platform within six months. Facebook froze Trumps accounts on Jan. 7 through at least President Bidens inauguration, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg citing the potential for ongoing violence for the decision. We believe the risks of allowing the president to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great, Zuckerberg said at the time. Twitter banned Trump permanently on Jan. 8, and other internet companies have taken similar actions to deplatform him. As noted by the Overnight Board, on Jan. 6, Facebook removed a video posted by Trump telling the Capitol mob to go home while also reiterating baseless election-fraud claims and telling the rioters we love you, youre very special. Later that day, Facebook deleted a Trump post in which he wrote, These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love in peace. Remember this day forever! Facebook removed both posts under its policy on Dangerous Individuals and Organizations. Two weeks later, Facebook announced that it was referring the decision about whether Trumps accounts would be reinstated to the Oversight Board, the 20-member organization composed of lawyers, academics, policy analysts, journalists and industry experts. Critics have long called on Facebook to ban Trump to stop the spread of misinformation, including Trumps repeated false assertion that the 2020 election was somehow rigged against him. Conservatives have blasted moves to deplatform Trump as infringing his political speech. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I moved to America in the summer of 2019 to earn a graduate degree at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Syracuse was poles apart from my hometown of Chennai, on Indias eastern coast, but I embraced the change. I loved the neat sidewalks, the manicured lawns and the line of eateries outside my campus. I was especially delighted that pizza and fried chicken, items that were much pricier back home, were available at such low cost. Three months in, my meals of dollar pizza and mozzarella sticks or chicken lo mein were starting to get old, as was my new-found love for Chipotle. McDonalds did not hit the spot at 2 a.m. the way garlic naan and butter chicken did. Reluctantly, I decided to give the local Indian restaurant a try. Sandwiched between a pizzeria and bodega, the place always seemed to be overflowing, with students, staff and doctors from the hospital down the block. I walked in, pushing past the line of people with takeout containers, and was confronted by a buffet. In front of me, in two neat little rows, sat dishes of biryani, tandoori chicken, saag paneer, chickpea curry and a chicken tikka masala that was the exact shade of orange that I used to highlight notes in high school. While the dishes' names were familiar, they did not taste like the ones I knew from back home. The tomato, cream and chicken were overwhelming, and the spices were mild and distant, not adding much more to the food than the salt in it. It was disappointing, but at $7.50 for an unlimited buffet, I could see why the place was popular. I never went to another Indian restaurant while in Syracuse, choosing to satisfy any homesickness with chicken and rice platters from the local gyro shop, the spicy rice being the closest I got to food that was familiar. Two years later, having moved to Albany, I accepted an invitation to eat at Spice Malabar, a new Indian restaurant in Clifton Park. A little research said that it was under common ownership with Karavalli, a well-regarded Indian restaurant in the region. I was optimistic. Malabar is the name of Indias southwestern coast. I looked forward to being reunited with childhood favorites from my paternal side, food I grew up eating, with dishes dominated by coconut, seafood, tamarind, curry leaves and black pepper. When I got there, another buffet stood before me. (Buffets are not common in India.) While I did see familiar faces like shrimp curry and lamb pepper, beside them in a place of honor was chicken tikka masala, less orange than it had been in Syracuse but definitely not the dish I knew. The tomato and cream were very much in attendance, though the spices made their own presence felt. Alongside chicken tikka sat the rest of the expected gang, including chickpea curry, saag paneer and rice. They are not dishes from the Malabar coast, but in my two years here, I had realized that they were a fixture on the menu of every South Asian restaurant. The lamb was tender and perfectly cooked, but the flavors were tamed. The black pepper, which would have ordinarily made my nose run, barely hit. Nonetheless, it tasted much better than the first meal Id had. According to Manoj Ajmera, a retired engineer who moved to the Capital Region in 1966 and whom I met that night at Spice Malabar, a buffet is the easiest way to introduce people to a cuisine they know close to nothing about. I always tell my American friends, if you're not familiar with that, go to a buffet, Ajmera said. That way you can try all those menu items. And whatever you like, you can go back and get some more of that. I went home that evening not disappointed, but not completely satisfied. With dozens of Indian restaurants in the Capital Region, I assume there has to be a place I can order from that's closer to me than Murray Hill, a Manhattan neighborhood so popular with South Asian immigrants and their restaurants that its becoming known as Curry Hill. The search began with a comparison of Spice Malabar with two Indian restaurants in Albany: Jewel of India on Lark Street and Curry House on Madison Avenue. I ordered similar dishes, butter chicken and chicken tikka masala. As expected, both came colored shades of saffron and vermilion, respectively, the tikka slightly spicier than the butter chicken. They tasted familiar and more authentic. Though still liberal with the use of cream and tomatoes, they were a step closer to home. The spices pinged more sharply and mixed seamlessly with the chicken. I know immigrants from Asia have opened restaurants in America for more than 150 years, in part because that was among the few fields open to them. I know to sell a product you have to appeal to the consumer. I assume, given that Indian restaurants have been in the Capital Region for at least 45 years, that if a hard-core authentic Indian restaurant were what area diners wanted, someone would have opened one and been successful with it. I certainly know the people I talked to at Spice Malabar, including the chef and co-owner, Vince George, are dedicated to hospitality and to serving satisfying food that will appeal to their largely non-Indian guests. I dont think less of people who like the food they serve, even if little of it appeals to me. Being an immigrant myself, I also know that one has to adapt to a new place. Food is one of the easiest ways to bridge the cultural gap, especially in a society where your culture may not be the most familiar. As a journalist, I had to learn to remove the letter U from words like color and flavor and tone down my use of the Oxford comma. I see how restaurateurs adapted to prevailing tastes by removing fiery chile powder and limiting garam masala. While diminishing the taste of the food itself, tomato and cream do help establish a connection. But for now, I think Im still going to stick to plates of chicken and rice from Albany Halal Grill. Biryani can wait until Im home for Christmas. In February 2004, only one U.S. state Massachusetts legally allowed gay marriage, while states like Nevada and Missouri moved to ban it. Across the country the issue was hotly debated while in New Paltz, a 26-year-old mayor just one year into his term decided to test the legal waters as he took a step for what he said he felt was right: by marrying 25 same-sex couples in a large-scale ceremony seven years before gay marriage was legal in New York. Back then, marriage equality seemed really far away. Now looking back, it feels as though it was inevitable, said Jason West, reflecting now as New York celebrates ten years since the legalization of same-sex marriage. West is currently the Energy Manager in the Albany Mayor's Office of Energy & Sustainability. I guess thats how social change always looked. Its always inevitable in hindsight but it is a struggle while youre in the trenches. It all began when West stumbled upon a legal loophole in New York States Domestic Relations Law, which governs marriages. The state had defined marriage as a contract between two people, not a man and a woman. Mayors can perform weddings, so I was curious when I got into office and asked our village attorney if there is anything stopping me from marrying gay couples, said West. He came back and said, Its hazy there is nothing in the law that forbids it, but nothing in the law that allows it either. DARRYL BAUTISTA/AP West decided to go forward, and word traveled around town that same-sex couples who were looking to get married would have an officiant in their local mayor. West said at the time he thought two things would come out of the ceremony, aside from helping sweethearts seal the deal: first, that it would make local press; and, second, that it would lead to good case law that might eventually lead to marriage equality. It was really the legal angle we were looking for, said West. The press angle was a nice bonus to do a little political theater that has some real-life meaning to it. The news didnt just get reported locally. In the days leading up to the big event, West did 11 radio interviews, seven satellite trucks sat outside Village Hall after the press release went out, and reporters traveled from Manhattan, an hour and a half from New Paltz. On February 27, 2004, hundreds sat in Peace Park on Plattekill Avenue to watch in support, while some protested, as same-sex couples went up one by one to get married by West. Paul Andrew Hawthorne/WireImage First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a legal fallout. Soon after, the Ulster County District Attorney Donald A. Williams charged West with 19 misdemeanors for solemnizing marriage without a license (police at the time could not provide eye witness accounts for all 25 ceremonies). Although the Domestic Relations Law stated that one does not need a license to be legally married so long as the ceremony is properly solemnized, Williams alleged that the couples did indeed need to also receive marriage licenses, which would be impossible to do because the licenses include language that specifies that the union must be between a bride and groom. After a year and a half of court cases the district attorney dropped all charges. Marriage is the cornerstone of American life Jay Blotcher and Brook Garrett, one of the couples who was married by West 17 years ago, is still married today. Blotcher, who participated in gay rights activism since 1989 in Manhattan and thought he would hang up his activism boots when relocating upstate to High Falls in 2001, defined the 2004 ceremony as a political act to prove same-sex couples should have marriage equality. When we were offered to participate in this 2004 event, we said yes because we wanted to take a stand again, and we felt there was an injustice going on, said Blotcher. Marriage is the cornerstone of modern American life, and yet was being denied to LGBTQ+ people. Andrew Velez Their 2004 union marked a long road for the couple seeking legal backing for their relationship in fact, they had traveled to multiple states across the country in search of the soundest legal documentation. They received a New York City certificate of domestic partnership in April 2000, and a Vermont certificate of civil union six months later that year. On the day of the 2004 ceremony, Blotcher recalled a sense of excitement and activism throughout the crowd as each person realized they were taking a stand. Despite a threat of West being arrested by the police before the first marriage, the event went smoothly to completion with no violence. I drank in the joy, defiance and excitement of it, said Blotcher. As far as the eye could see in the park there were people. It was so exciting. Not only was the February 2004 event a notable one for gay rights activism locally and beyond, it also led to greater ramifications for this area, said Blotcher, like the introduction of New Paltzs first Pride march the following year in June. Some people may have said theyve never seen queer or LGBTQ people in the streets, said Blotcher. But the fact is LGBTQ people have been your friends and neighbors here in the Hudson Valley for decades, its just weve been hiding in plain sight. For the first time, people didnt have to hide. This landmark event arrived in the early stages of a larger public movement, which led to additional milestones like the 2007 opening of the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center, which Blotcher co-founded. Now, this June, New York celebrates its 10-year anniversary of marriage equality in the state. I have been a progressive activist for about 40 years, and I always say if youre into immediate gratification, dont get into civil rights, because the struggle is a long one, said Blotcher. Newburgh tattoo artist Roberto Minuta made a remote court appearance on Tuesday with a growing cast of Oath Keepers charged with conspiracy and other crimes for their alleged roles in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Four more members of the militia group were charged in an indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., over the weekend, bringing the total to 16. And for nearly 90 minutes on Tuesday, Judge Amit Mehta arraigned the latest suspects and spoke with a prosecutor and herd of defense lawyers to sort through a thicket of pretrial issues in an expanding case. Minuta, a 2002 Newburgh Free Academy graduate who moved to Texas last year but still owns and works at his Newburgh shop, faces counts of conspiracy, obstructing an official proceeding and entering a restricted building. The 36-year-old father of two was arrested on March 6 and pleaded not guilty to the three charges in April. Minuta is one of 10 current and former Hudson Valley residents charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riot. He is free on bail but cannot travel outside of certain defined areas of Texas and New York while his case is pending. The 16 Oath Keepers charged in the case come from at least six states and range in age from 21 to 70. All are charged with conspiracy, and many face counts not filed against Minuta: destruction of government property, civil disorder, assaulting a police officer and evidence tampering. Prosecutors, armed with a flood of videos from the hours-long insurrection, allege that Minuta and a 33-year-old Oath Keeper from Alabama pushed their way past police officers and illegally entered the Capitol after crowds of Trump supporters had stormed inside. They also allege that Minuta spoke with fellow Oath Keepers on the encrypted app Signal for at least one week to plan their descent on Washington, and that he exchanged four phone calls with Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes during the Jan. 6 melee. Rhodes was seen with members of his group outside the Capitol that day but has not been charged. The newest indictment the fourth in the Oath Keepers case adds a few new details about Minuta's alleged involvement, apparently after investigators have sifted through more evidence. It says, for instance, that Minuta and Rhodes stayed at the same hotel in northern Virginia on the night before the insurrection. And it quotes Minuta allegedly demanding police be ejected from the besieged Capitol as he made a video with his phone after going inside. "This is what's bound to happen, just get out!" Minuta is said to have yelled in the recording. "Get out! Get these cops out! It's our f---ing building! Get 'em out, get out!" In a letter posted on The Gateway Pundit website, Minuta's wife, Gissela, said FBI agents raided their home near Dallas the same day her husband was arrested at Casa Di Dolore, his tattoo shop on Broadway in Newburgh. The search terrified their two children, 5 and 7 years old, she said. "They came to the door with a battering ram, approximately ten agents stormed in, they took all of our computers and electronics, also some medical equipment and related items my husband would carry for security detail when volunteering," Gissela Minuta wrote. She claimed her husband went to Washington to provide security for Trump ally Roger Stone and to prevent Black Lives Matter and Antifa activists from "attacking patriot crowds as they dispersed." "After returning to his hotel, Rob made his way towards the Capitol to see what was going on," she wrote. "When he got there, there were no barriers, the doors to the Capitol were open, and people were coming and going freely as if it was a museum. Not at any time did my husband forcibly enter any barricade or premises, nor did he engage in any violence whatsoever." She accused the news media of persecuting and maligning her husband, prompting death threats and vandalism of his shop. Vandals damaged windows and spray-painted graffiti on the tattoo parlor after a wave of stories about Minuta, including a CNN piece. In a 52-second video her husband recorded outside Casa Di Dolore and posted on Facebook in April, Roberto Minuta said he was working in his shop for one week each month. He showed a sign outside that cited a biblical passage and he offered prayers for those who hated him, possibly referring to the people who vandalized his shop. "I'm praying for all of you that have such hate in your hearts that you find it necessary to try and destroy an already broken man," he said. All 16 Oath Keepers suspects are said to have donned clothes bearing their group's insignia and paramilitary gear, such as helmets and tactical vests, before their "operation" at the Capitol, and to have used the encrypted apps Signal and Zello to communicate while it was in progress. Their case is scheduled to return to court for another conference on July 2, after prosecutors have shared more evidence and defense lawyers have filed pre-trial motions. Preliminary discussions have begun about possible plea negotiations for some of the defendants. ___ (c)2021 The Times Herald-Record, Middletown, N.Y. Visit The Times Herald-Record, Middletown, N.Y. at www.recordonline.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Stalking Defendant Skips Court By West Kentucky Star Staff PADUCAH - A man facing stalking and terroristic threatening charges missed his Tuesday court appearance.The McCracken Circuit Court Clerk says 46-year-old Brandon Harris was scheduled for arraignment, but did not appear. The judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest, and set his subsequent bond at $25,000.Harris was arrested May 19 after an investigation by McCracken Sheriff's Detectives. They say he had been following a woman since January, had placed surveillance cameras outside her home, and came there late at night to frighten her. The woman got an emergency protective order May 17, but Harris allegedly continued to harass her online. A search of his home led to seizure of electronic evidence, along with methamphetamine and ammunition.Harris is prohibited from owning firearms or ammunition due to previous domestic violence incidents. Detectives say Harris admitted to stalking and harassing the victim during an interview.His charges include terroristic threatening, stalking, harassing communications, violation of a Kentucky EPO, and possession of a controlled substance. His new charge from Wednesday is failure to appear in court. Alaina Hinkley, a recent political science and communications graduate at the State University of New York [SUNY] at Albany, estimates that she has accumulated $21,000 of student loan debt over the past four years of her undergraduate college career. She is not so different from most American college grads. According to the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, the average debt load for graduates of a 4-year public college is $25,921. For both public and private borrowers, US News & World Report says that the average, for the class of 2019, is $30,062. But for half of her college years, Hinkley also received an Excelsior Scholarship, a groundbreaking tuition-free college program that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed into law in 2017. Administered by the states Higher Education Services Corporation [HESC], the program is intended to alleviate the financial stresses of student loans and promote financial stability for students. As the programs first recipients graduated from SUNY and CUNY schools across the state this May, however, their experiences reveal some of the scholarship's limitations in lowering the true cost of college. Related: Free college raffle for vaccinated teens Qualifying for an Excelsior Scholarship To qualify for an Excelsior Scholarship, which is available to students at the states public SUNY and CUNY schools, a student must meet a series of requirements: their overall household income, from both their parents and their own employment, currently cannot exceed $125,000 per year; students must be in school full-time for at least 12 credits each semester, with a total of 30 credits per academic year; and, upon graduation, students must commit to finding work in state for the same the number of years they received the scholarship. A two-year scholarship recipient, for instance, must then work in New York state for at least two years after graduation. Should a student meet all of these requirements, the Excelsior Scholarship can be applied toward tuition only ultimately saving recipients less than a third of the overall cost of attending a SUNY school. [Disclosure: The writer of this story received an Excelsior Scholarship for three years.] SUNY Smart Track states that for the 2020-21 academic year, the direct cost of college tuition, mandatory fees and room and board for SUNY students pursuing a bachelors degree and living on campus is $22,920, and estimates that the indirect cost of expenses like books add roughly $4,000 to that amount. Tuition only accounts for $7,070 of that figure. Jeannie Burlowski, student debt expert and author of LAUNCH: How to Get Your Kids Through College Debt-Free and Into Jobs They Love Afterward, believes that the Excelsior program benefits students, but cautions about the difference between tuition-free and free college. [Tuition-free programs cover] a portion of what you have to pay for college. But theres room and board. Students also have to pay for books and lab fees, and transportation. I think some people are entering this program, and they hear the [phrase] tuition-free, and they think that means free college. All it means is that the tuition portion is paid. Technically, the greatest amount that can be awarded to a student per year under the Excelsior program is either $5,500, or the cost of tuition, whichever amount is less. In practice, HESC issues a tuition credit on top of the $5,500 to cover remaining tuition costs for scholarship recipients. The burden of room and board and other expenses more than double the amount of tuition still falls to the student, many of whom pay for these ancillary expenses through loans. Down the road, these loans can be a burden to a graduates path to financial freedom and the pace of their ability to buy a home, for example. When a good chunk of your income is going to student loan payments each month, its hard to save up for a down payment, or be able to make a monthly mortgage payment and pay property taxes, or take care of all of the other financial responsibilities associated with having a house, said Burlowski. High school guidance counselors that Times Union: Hudson Valley reached out to for comment said they dont take a stand on recommending or avoiding specific scholarships, focusing instead on sharing information about what is available to students. Andia/Andia/Universal Images Group via Scholarship covers only what other aid packages does not Qualifying for an Excelsior Scholarship is one thing. Receiving it depends on whether a student has other tuition aid, because the program takes a last-dollar approach when awarding money, effectively bridging the gap that other tuition grants and scholarships may not cover. Should a student receive a federal Pell grant of $5,000, for example, a New York state Tuition Assistance Program [TAP] award whose maximum amount is $5,165 annually or a private scholarship, these monies will be deducted from the total tuition cost first before any Excelsior award is applied. New York State District 103 Assembly member Kevin A. Cahill (D-Kingston), who holds a seat on the Assemblys Standing Committee on Higher Education, believes that the financial eligibility criteria for state-funded tuition relief programs need to be reassessed, as well as the expenses the award money can be applied to altogether. Quite frankly, [a household income of] $125,000 a year does not give you enough money to put your children through school, said Cahill. The tuition credit also pales in comparison to the $25,000 it actually costs per year to put a person through public higher education in this state. Cahill says that the Excelsior Scholarship should be tailored to better match the actual cost of college, and to better accommodate the large group of students who need aid. Indeed, at the time of the programs inception, Cuomo stated that more than 940,000 middle-class families and individuals would qualify for the first-in-the-nation program. But this figure only reflected the potential number of New York students that could attend public college tuition-free under the scholarship's terms. In the 2019-20 academic year, roughly 32,000 students actually received Excelsior Scholarships, according to the HESC annual report. The average amount awarded was $4,062 per recipient. TAP, by comparison, one of the country's largest need-based financial aid programs, provided an average of $3,318 in tuition aid to nearly 300,000 students the same year. Course load, income requirements can be burdensome Sophia Poznahovska, a recent SUNY New Paltz graduate from Monroe and Excelsior Scholarship recipient, has an overall positive view of the Excelsior program, though her family has had to strictly watch their finances to ensure that she would maintain eligibility. Poznahovska was able to live at home throughout her college career and therefore didnt have to worry about room and board costs on top of tuition and fees. But, to keep her schooling as low-cost as possible, her parents who work as a truck driver and an adjunct professor, respectively really had to figure out their fiscal matters, she said, because they were close to the income cap almost every year. With Poznahovska working as a waitress in her first years of college, she also had to carefully keep track of how much money she was bringing in, and even cut down on her hours to ensure that her hourly wages wouldnt inadvertently force her to forfeit a several-thousand-dollar scholarship. Francis Quinonez On top of work, she also had to balance a relatively heavy course load to maintain of 30 credits per academic year, compared to the TAP program, which requires just 24. Though the credit requirement was intended to ensure that students graduate on time and accrue less debt, critics have said that it disproportionately penalizes low-income students, who may need a part-time job to cover the expenses of college. A 2018 study revealed that the majority of Excelsior applicants were rejected because the requirement was too heavy. This year, Excelsior recipients were not penalized if they could not complete their academic requirements because of the pandemic, said HESC Director of Communications Angela Liotta. Remote work shift doesnt change work requirements One of the defining terms of the Excelsior Scholarship is the post-graduation residency and work requirement. For the time that a student receives an Excelsior award which, if they maintained eligibility throughout their college career, is typically either two years or four years they must both hold a job and live in the state of New York for the same duration. If they fail to do so, the amount of money they were awarded by the state turns into an interest-free loan that must be paid back within a schedule determined by the HESC. Francis Quinonez, a first-year SUNY New Paltz student from Queens, says that she has no problem with the scholarships post-graduation residency and work requirement. It was not really a deal breaker for me. I dont really have family anywhere else, and I dont plan on going anywhere else, she said. But this May, Excelsiors first class of recipients will graduate into a very different world than when they signed the HESCs aid contract in the fall of 2017. According to Upworks 2020 Future Workforce Pulse Report, at the end of last year, 41.8 percent of Americans remained working fully remote. In addition, they project that by the end of 2021, 26.7 percent of the workforce will remain fully remote. This shift to remote work as a result of COVID-19 has not changed the terms of the HESCs Excelsior contract, however. Assembly member Cahill said that per SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras, even if a graduate is living in New York and working from home, if their employer is not in-state, it counts as a violation of their contract. Post-award residency obligations remain unchanged, Liotta confirmed. As long as the scholarship recipient fullfils the residency/work requirements while doing so physically in the state of New York, they will have satisfied this portion the Excelsior Scholarships requirement. Free tuition does not mean a free ride Hinkley found out the hard way that free tuition is not synonymous with free college. The Staten Island native and her family had heard about the Excelsior program in 2017 when it was enacted. With other award monies already secured, Hinkley had figured that the grant would allow her to go away to college for relatively cheap, something that she previously thought would not be possible. Hinkley said that she was under the impression that her Excelsior award could be applied towards room and board. Even so, the scholarship only covered $757 of her first semesters tuition, which is how the last-dollar approach worked in her instance, given her other scholarships and grants. I went into college thinking that it was going to be a lot cheaper. If I knew that I probably would have gone to [CUNY] Baruch and stayed home. She chalks up the misunderstanding to the fact that it was the programs first year. Indeed, an initial lack of written guidance at the program's launch created much confusion among financial aid counselors surrounding its terms. In the end, Hinkley only received roughly $3,000 of Excelsior money during her first two years of college. In her third year and beyond, her awards from other scholarships increased to cover the full amount of the business administration and communications students tuition, and Excelsior was no longer applicable. "Financial aid is one of the most complex things students and their families have to navigate many of them for the first time and we try to make it as easy to understand as possible," SUNY Albany Director of Media & Community Relations Jordan Carleo-Evangelist wrote by email. "The financial aid landscape is further complicated by the fact that no two financial aid situations are exactly alike, so its very difficult to generalize from one case." Carleo-Evangelist pointed out, however, that UAlbany students, on average, graduate with less debt $27,555 than the New York state and national averages. That's roughly $7,000 more than Hinkley owes. "UAlbany, and SUNY generally, are an extraordinary value," he noted. "The Excelsior Scholarship is an important piece of that," along with the school's own campus-based scholarships. Two-year lag time of household income reporting Getty Images Shannon Dodson knows from experience the pitfalls of the Excelsior program and eligibility requirements. Like most financial aid coming from either the federal or state government, Excelsior is based on the adjusted gross income reported on a students Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known colloquially to college students and their families as the FAFSA. To continue to receive any type of governmental aid for the entirety of their college career, a student has to fill out a new FAFSA for the upcoming academic year that documents their household income from the previous year. This means that the household income on record for any students current academic year is actually two years old. When Dodson filled out the FAFSA that would determine her financial aid at SUNY New Paltz for the 2020-21 academic year, which became available in October of 2019, the form asked for her households adjusted gross income from the year 2018. Dodsons familys 2018 income placed her just above the eligibility cut-off. Then, like many other families, the Dodsons financial situation changed in 2020 because of the pandemic. Dodsons father lost his job and she estimates that her familys income dropped from just over the $125,000 threshold to somewhere in the $45,000 to $50,000 range between her mothers income and unemployment. Even when my dad was employed, we made like $3,000 to $5,000 more than the threshold, Dodson says. So we didnt qualify for Excelsior my first two years. But my dad lost his job during COVID and is still currently unemployed, and hes actually been sick for the past year so hes probably going to be out of work for at least the next year if not more. And we still dont qualify for Excelsior because of how FAFSA works. Dodson may be able to appeal to HESC to use a different year for her familys households income, which is permitted in the case of death, disability, divorce or the separation of a family member whose income normally contributes to the overall household. However, there is nothing in that section that specifically accommodates long-term unemployment. Currently, Dodson estimates that her student debt might reach $60,000 by the time of her graduation. Proposals to improve Excelsior requirements on hold Prior to COVID-19, Cuomos Executive Budget for fiscal year 2021 included a proposal to increase the income cap for the scholarship to $135,000 in the 2021-2022 academic year, and to $150,000 in the 2022-23 term. This ultimately did not go through because of a pandemic-related shortfall in funding, and the fiscal year 2022 budget does not include any stipulations for raising the income limit or expanding the funding to cover other expenses besides tuition. Liotta notes, however, that the current budget does allocate over $1 billion to New Yorks financial aid programs overall, including TAP and the Excelsior Scholarship. Though Excelsior is beneficial and encourages more people to attend college, says student financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz, a former writer for the financial website Saving for College, there is room for improvement, particularly in its last dollar approach to awarding funds so that students can use their financial aid to cover costs beyond tuition. The problem with most of these free tuition programs is [that states] do a lot of things to try to reduce the costs that ultimately have a negative impact on the students. -- Megan Wilson is a recent journalism graduate of SUNY New Paltz. Born and raised in Schroon Lake, a small town in the Adirondacks, she became a full-time resident of the Hudson Valley after moving to New Paltz last summer. CASALE DEL BOSCO, Italy (AP) Summer is arriving in Italy's wine country in Tuscany, and the leaves on the vines shimmer in gold and green. Yahya Adams moves his gloves through the foliage, removing excess buds and shoots to make the vines stronger. He's among 24 asylum-seekers from Africa and Asia who are working in vineyards of Tenute Silvio Nardi on this year's crop of Brunello di Montalcino, one of Italy's most famous wines. They come from Ghana, Togo, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Pakistan and other countries, with no prior experience in wine-making. But they have found temporary work here through a local non-profit group that helps asylum-seekers find legal employment in vineyards or olive groves while their claims are being processed. Adams, a 21-year-old from Ghana, is enjoying learning the craft. I like to study how the plant grows and I want to improve in this job, he said. "And one day, I could teach others who arrive how to do the work, how to manage the plants, everything. Adams left Ghana when he was just 14 to search for work abroad. He spent two years in Libya, a conflict-ridden North African country where many migrants hoping to reach Europe face abuse and extortion from ruthless human smugglers. Adams said he was temporarily held in captivity in Libya and considered going home to Ghana before making it to Italy on a ship with 118 other migrants. After living in centers for unaccompanied minors, he tried to find work in Belgium, but returned to Italy, where he is now enrolled in the agricultural work program of the Cooperativa Agricola San Francesco. The NGO aims to bring asylum-seekers into the labor market with the same pay and working conditions as Italians, keeping them away from the off-the-books system known as caporalato in which migrant workers often get exploited. The phenomenon is widespread among seasonal workers in the agricultural sector, where almost 40% are hired irregularly, according to the Placido Rizzotto Observatory, a union watchdog group monitoring the infiltration of organized crime in agriculture. Some of them, they can tell you, for three or four years they worked in the black market, with no contract, nothing, so they did not exist. They didnt have social security, nothing. Here they have a contract, there is hope, said Salis Godje, who co-ordinates the program for Cooperativa Agricola San Francesco. Godje, who came to Italy from Togo as a student and received a degree in economics, said the asylum-seekers selected for the program are given a training course to learn the basics of vineyard work. After that they do three seasonal stints in the vineyard, pruning in the winter and summer and harvesting in the fall. Nicola Peirce, the president of the NGO, said the workers are paid around 7 euros ($8.52) an hour and work eight hours a day, in line with Italian union requirements for agricultural work. Others who end up working irregularly often earn half as much while working longer hours. The program is now in its second year at Tenute Silvio Nardi, a family-owned winemaker established in the 1950s in hills of Casale del Bosco. It annually produces 210,000 bottles of wine made with Sangiovese grapes, including 160,000 bottles of Brunello di Montalcino, which is aged for five years before release. The asylum-seekers work in teams of eight over 15 hectares (40 acres), pruning vines under the supervision of agronomist Vittorio Stringari. You need to have some patience in the beginning," Stringari said. Like with everyone who starts a new job, there is a phase of apprenticeship. But given that they are very motivated ... they very quickly fill the technical gap. Adams considers himself lucky to have a job that he likes and from which he earns enough to send some money to his family in Ghana. If I had this work in my country, I would not go anywhere," he said. ___ One Good Thing is a series that highlights individuals or groups whose actions provide glimmers of joy in hard times stories of those who find a way to make a difference, no matter how small. Read the stories at https://apnews.com/hub/one-good-thing ___ Follow all AP stories on migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely responsible for this content. (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Tatsiana Kulakevich, University of South Florida (THE CONVERSATION) The extraordinary May 23 interception of a Ryanair flight carrying Belarusian opposition journalist Raman Pratasevich and 132 other passengers over Minsk, the capital of Belarus, came at an awkward time for the U.S. and Russia. On June 16, Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin are set to meet for the first time since Biden took office. The Biden administration has signaled a desire to build a stable, predictable relationship with Russia. Just recently, the White House waived sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 natural-gas pipeline from Russia to the European Union, allowing Russia to sell more gas to the EU. Days later, Belarus authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, sent a MiG-29 fighter jet to force the landing of the airplane flying between two NATO allies, which carried Raman Pratasevich as a passenger. The journalist was arrested by the Belarusian authorities upon landing. The European Union reacted furiously, advising airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace, banning Belarusian airlines from Europe and agreeing to hit Belarus with new economic sanctions. Putin is a strong ally of Lukashenkos. Days after the plane incident, he hosted Lukashenko at the Russian resort city of Sochi, where they spent five hours talking and then left on a yacht trip together on the Black Sea. At the upcoming summit in Geneva, Biden and Putin are expected to talk about a range of pressing issues, including Russias military buildup near Ukraine, arms control and the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, Biden must also use his personal meeting with Putin to try to ratchet up pressure on Lukashenko, who has essentially closed Belarus borders to prevent citizens from leaving. Russia is critical to holding Lukashenko accountable but Putin is unlikely to endorse any effort to do so. The Russia-Belarus relationship Lukashenko was already on the outs with Europe and the United States after rigging a presidential election last August and brutally suppressing citizens who protested his fraudulent win. Pratasevich covered the uprising as editor-in-chief of the Telegram Nexta Live channel, which has 1.4 million subscribers. An array of international sanctions followed Lukashenkos August 2020 crackdown. But Moscow provided a crucial lifeline. In addition to recognizing Lukashenko as Belarus legitimate president unlike at least 33 countries worldwide Putin also promised to protect Belarus and warned foreign powers not to interfere in Belarus affairs. That allowed Lukashenko to demonstrate to regime insiders and security forces that he could sustain his 26-year-long grip on power. Putins support has not wavered with the plane hijacking. After the summit between Putin and Lukashenko in Sochi on May 29 and May 30, Russia announced that it would soon release a delayed $500 million credit to Belarus. It also agreed to increase flights between Belarus and Russia. US and Russia at odds Meanwhile, Russia-U.S. relations are badly strained. First there was Russias 2014 annexation of Ukraines Crimean peninsula. Then, there was Russias interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential vote and other elections, and its apparent involvement in the 2020 SolarWinds hacking attacks that breached the data of multiple U.S. federal agencies and thousands of organizations globally. In April, Biden imposed sanctions against the Kremlin for these acts. The 2020 poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, apparently by agents of the Russian government, and his subsequent jailing has only increased tensions. When asked if Putin is a killer during an interview in March, Biden said yes. This troubled history explains why both the U.S. and Russia are setting low expectations for the upcoming U.S.-Russia summit. Putins press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said the two leaders will exchange views but are unlikely to come to an understanding on most issues. The Biden administration says it simply hopes the summit will normalize ties between the two countries. US to punish Belarus In a May 31 interview, the U.S. ambassador to Belarus, Julie Fisher, said the U.S. would work in unison with our European partners in order to come up with appropriate responses to Lukashenkos plane hijacking. West must respond in terms that Lukashenko is able to understand, she said. The U.S. plans to reimpose full sanctions on June 3 prohibiting U.S. people and businesses from conducting financial transactions with nine state-owned enterprises in Belarus. The U.S. also intends to cease allowing Belarusian air carriers to enter its airspace. Bidens office is reportedly preparing an executive order allowing him to impose additional punishments on Lukashenko. And before meeting with Putin, Biden will attend the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in England. Belarus dangerous behavior is on the groups agenda. Raising the cost of repression Belarus will most likely be targeted with new sanctions through a combined effort by the EU and the U.S. to help hold the Lukashenko regime to account for its bad behavior. Sanctions alone, however, will not stop Lukashenko. [Over 100,000 readers rely on The Conversations newsletter to understand the world. Sign up today.] As long as he maintains Russian backing, the Wests power to curb him is limited. Measures to increase the cost for Russia to keep supporting the Belarusian regime may be necessary to limit Lukashenkos apparent sense of impunity. But the Belarusian people will benefit if Biden and the EU stand united against a rogue state on Europes eastern border. Its authoritarian leader terrorizes his own people and, as the Ryanair incident demonstrated, the international community with Russia as a willing enabler. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/belarus-plane-hijacking-snarls-bidens-hopes-to-repair-strained-us-russia-relationship-161969. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) California state lawmakers are grappling with a particularly 21st-century problem: What to do with the growing number of shopping malls and big box retail stores left empty by consumers shifting their purchases to the web. A possible answer in crowded California cities is to build housing on these sites, which already have ample parking and are close to existing neighborhoods. But local zoning laws often don't allow housing at these locations. Changing the zoning is such a hassle that many developers don't bother trying. And it's often not worth it for local governments to change the designations. They would prefer to find new retailers because sales taxes produce more revenue than residential property taxes. However, with a stubborn housing shortage pushing prices to all-time highs, state lawmakers are moving to pass new laws to get around those barriers. A bill that cleared the state Senate last week would let developers build houses on most commercial sites without changing the zoning. Another proposal would pay local governments to change the zoning to let developers build affordable housing. There has always been an incentive to chase retail and a disincentive to build housing, said Sen. Anthony Portantino, a Los Angeles-area Democrat who authored the bill to pay local governments. There is more dormant and vacant retail than ever. If successful, it's believed California would be the first state to allow multi-family housing on commercial sites statewide, said Eric Phillips, vice president of policy and legislation for the California chapter of the American Planning Association. Developers who use the law still would have to obey locally approved design standards. But Phillips said the law would limit local governments' ability to reject the projects. That's why some local leaders oppose the bill, arguing it undermines their authority. City leaders have the requisite local knowledge to discern when and which sites are appropriate for repurposing and which are not, wrote Mike Griffiths, member of the Torrance City Council and founder of California Cities for Local Control, a group of 427 mayors and council members. It's a familiar battle in California. While nearly everyone agrees there is an affordable housing shortage, state and local leaders face different political pressures that often derail ambitious proposals. Last year, a bill that would have overridden local zoning laws to let developers build small apartment buildings in neighborhoods reserved for single-family homes died in the state Senate. Sen. Anna Caballero, a Democrat from Salinas and author of this year's zoning proposal, said her bill is not a mandate. Developers could choose to use the bill or not. The Senate approved the measure 32-2, sending it to the state Assembly for consideration. Its always a challenge when youre trying to do affordable housing, because there are entrenched interests that dont want to negotiate and compromise, and were working really hard to try to break through that, she said. Im trying to give maximum flexibility to local government because the more that you start telling them how they have to do it, the harder it becomes for them to actually do it. Even before the pandemic, big-box retail stores were struggling to adapt as more people began buying things online. In 2019, after purchasing Sears and Kmart, Transformco closed 96 stores across the country including 29 in California. The pandemic, of course, accelerated this trend, prompting major retailers like J.C. Penney, Neiman Marcus and J. Crew to file for bankruptcy protection. An analysis by the investment firm UBS shows online shopping will grow to 25% of all retail sales by 2025. The analysis predicted that up to 100,000 stores across the country could close. Local governments and developers in California are already trying to redevelop some retail sites. In Salinas, a city of about 150,000 people near the Monterey Peninsula, city officials are working to rezone a closed Kmart. In San Francisco, developers recently announced plans to build nearly 3,000 homes in the parking lot that surrounds Stonestown Mall a sprawling, 40-acre site that has lost some anchor retail tenants in recent years. Still, the idea of repurposing shopping centers has divided labor unions and affordable housing advocates, putting one of the Democratic Party's core base of supporters against backers of one of their top policy goals. Housing advocates love the idea, but they dont like how Democrats want to do it. Both proposals in the Legislature would require developers to use a skilled and trained workforce to build the housing. That means a certain percentage of workers must either be enrolled or have completed a state-approved apprenticeship program. Developers have said while there are plenty of trained workers available in areas like San Francisco and Los Angeles, those workers are scarce in more rural parts of the state, potentially delaying projects in those areas. California needs to build about 180,000 new housing units per year to keep up with demand, according to the state's latest housing assessment. But its only managed about 80,000 per year for the past decade. Thats one reason the states median sales price for single-family homes hit a record high $758,990 in March. At a time when were trying to increase production, we dont believe we should be limiting who can do the work, said Ray Pearl, executive director of the California Housing Consortium, a group that includes affordable housing developers. Robbie Hunter, president of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, dismissed that argument as just greedy developers trying to maximize their profits. He said there is no construction project in California that has been delayed because of a lack of workers, adding: We man every job. When there is a demand for workers, we rise with the demand, Hunter said. Labor unions appear to be winning. A bill in the state Assembly that did not initially require a skilled and trained workforce stalled in committee because it did not have enough support. ___ The legislation is SB 6 and SB 15. ALBANY John Kennedy Toole never made a penny from "A Confederacy of Dunces." The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel featuring a disagreeable and arrogant fellow named Ignatius Reilly was published 11 years after the authors 1969 suicide. Tooles book is still read, enjoyed and debated. It is considered a classic. Heres guessing no such fate awaits "American Crisis," another book featuring another arrogant and disagreeable fellow. I'm talking, of course, about the pandemic memoir written by Andrew Cuomo. 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. By now, you've no doubt heard how much New Yorks governor was paid for a book that feels irrelevant nine months after its publication an eye-popping $5.1 million. There are a few scandals enveloping New Yorks governor these days, and it may seem difficult to keep them all straight. But please dont let the outrageousness of "American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic" slip from your mind. All that surrounds the book is deeply appalling and terribly unethical. Yes, politicians write books all the time, and on rare occasions one might even be worth reading. Had Cuomo chosen to pen his insights after hed left office, "American Crisis" would have been a better and more interesting book, most likely, and less distasteful. But Cuomo wrote his book (supposedly) as the coronavirus pandemic was stealing lives and causing terrible pain. While a more responsible governor would have been totally focused on the pandemic and its devastation, New Yorks instead leveraged the crisis for a massive payday. He doesnt see it that way, of course. "Thats stupid," Cuomo said when a reporter asked if he made millions on the backs of dead New Yorkers. "Next question." But how is that not what Cuomo did? He got rich (OK, richer) on a terrible crisis and the subsequent fame that came his way. For many New Yorkers, the pandemic was economically devastating, but not so for the guy at the top. It's a staggering irony that American Crisis purported to be about leadership lessons. What kind of leader profits on the misery of others? The Democrats greed would be stomach-turning even if there was no reason to suspect that the payday contributed to Cuomos long attempt to keep the true number of nursing home deaths in New York hidden. But there is. Why, many of us wondered, would Cuomo lie about nursing home fatalities? What was the point? As it turns out, he had 5.1 million reasons to do so. Politicians have lied for much less. The profiteering would be awful, too, even if the governor hadnt used public employees to write and promote the book. But he did. Well, OK, he wants you to believe they volunteered their time, but, cmon, are we that stupid? Meanwhile, as Times Union investigative reporter Chris Bragg reported, Cuomo refuses to release timesheets for the employees who worked on the book or the contract detailing his payment. Its information the public has every right to see, but the governor is keeping it shrouded. Why the secrecy? It makes one think there are more scandals yet to drop. "American Crisis" is not Cuomos first literary rodeo. It followed "All Things Possible," a 2014 book for which Cuomo was paid $740,000. That gem sold fewer than 4,000 copies. Somehow, though, a second publisher was daft enough to pay a massive sum for additional Cuomo ramblings. The gamble didnt work out: As the New York Times reported, Crown Publishing in March said it would stop promoting the book there will be no paperback edition because of the ongoing questions around nursing home data. In the end, then, two private corporations made massive contributions to the governors bank account while receiving next-to-nothing in return. That, folks, is a loophole in need of closing. As it happens, Republicans in the Legislature have introduced a bill that would make it illegal for elected officials to profit on their writings while in office. (They could have named it the "American Crisis Act," but didn't.) "Its an anti-corruption issue," said state Sen. George Borrello, a sponsor of the bill from western New York. "Even if no laws were broken, the glaring conflicts of interest involved here raise all kinds of troubling ethical questions." Indeed, they do. Still, the bill probably wont pass in a Legislature that seems less and less interested in holding Cuomo to account. Hey guys. hows that impeachment investigation coming? Hello? In the end, the world will be left with a dishonest Cuomo book that isnt worth anyone's time much less $5.1 million. So, in honor of all the long-suffering writers who will never receive that kind of payday, lets close with a few apt words from John Kennedy Toole's fictional Ignatius Reilly. "Oh my God," he bellowed. "What an egregious insult to good taste." cchurchill@timesunion.com 518-454-5442 @chris_churchill ALBANY A bill filed days after reports that the governors office was circulating the personnel file of former staffer Lindsey Boylan in the wake of her sexual harassment claims against Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo moved through the state Senate under unanimous consent Thursday. The legislation seeks to prevent the retaliatory release of an employees personnel file, according to the bill sponsored by Brooklyn Democratic Sen. Andrew Gounardes. It is intended to protect workers who report workplace harassment, discrimination or other complaints and whistleblower actions. This is not meant to be specifically targeted to what happened with Lindsey Boylan, Gounardes told the Times Union. That is obviously the most high profile example of this behavior, because its public but shes not the only person, either in state government or private employment. In December, Boylan tweeted sexual harassment claims aimed at the governor, her former employer. In mid-March, media reports said the governors office was pushing Boylans personnel file to members of the press. On March 19, Gounardes filed his bill. The governors office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In March, Beth Garvey, a counsel to the governor, issued a statement defending the administration's distribution of Boylan's personnel file, saying: With certain limited exceptions, as a general matter, it is within a government entitys discretion to share redacted employment records, including in instances when members of the media ask for such public information and when it is for the purpose of correcting inaccurate or misleading statements." The bill is intended to close a loophole in state law, Gounardes said, which leaves people who file complaints still subject to the scrutiny of their employer. He hopes his legislation, which passed without debate on the Senate floor, can help strengthen protections for workers. It doesnt make sense, Gounardes said. If youre saying youve been retaliated against by an agency head or principal that you would then have to go to another agency where the head of that agency is also a political appointee to file a complaint. That could send a chilling effect. Instead, the Brooklyn Democrats bill gives power to the state attorney general's office to prosecute an employer that unlawfully retaliates against an employee. Despite existing laws that are meant to prevent retaliation by employers, "bad actors have cited supposed lack of specificity in the laws to escape accountability," Rita Pasarell, co-founder of the Sexual Harassment Working Group, said in a statement. Instead, Pasarell said, the Assembly has a chance to "cut off the bad-faith arguments made by wrongdoers." The advocacy group, led by former Albany legislative aides who pushed successfully for new harassment laws in 2019, have a handful of bills this session they hope can further protect people subjected to workplace sexual harassment or misconduct. Gounardes is also pushing legislation in the final days of the session this month to require an employer to notify their employee whenever they place something deemed negative in the employees personnel file. He said it's intended to help a person know what could be in their personnel file, on the chance is is leaked or becomes a part of a public record. In the three months since filing the bill, which now heads to the Assembly for a vote, he has heard of numerous cases of workplace retaliation in the public and private sector. He noted one case in a union where information was revealed about a person after they filed a complaint. The fact that the bill passed through the Senate unanimously showed him this is not an objectionable law, he said. The bill, though, takes aim in part at Cuomo, who has become a target of both Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature amid a series of sexual harassment allegations. AMSTERDAM A former city police officer who is Black alleges in a federal lawsuit that he endured years of hostility and a racist work environment working alongside white colleagues who referred to him as "hot chocolate" and displayed white supremacist and neo-Nazi symbols. Plaintiff Alan Drake's complaint alleges employment discrimination, saying police and city leaders turned a blind eye to the "openly racist environment." He was fired in April for what the lawsuit alleges was a minor issue. The suit says Drake, of Guilderland, who served on the city police force for 12 years, did not receive the same level of training as his white counterparts, some of whom told him that he had been brought in as a show piece because of a pending employment discrimination lawsuit at the time of his hiring in January 2009. According to court papers, there was a standing internal joke that if anything went wrong at the department it was Drakes fault. The lawsuit also alleges that there was an unwritten Drake rule that stripped him of the normal benefits afforded to an Amsterdam police officer as they rose through the ranks. For example, Drake says he was banned from working afternoon shifts and never asked to be part of special details in the community, all assignments that white officers with similar experience enjoyed, the suit indicates. APD would also change other rules, and take away other benefits and privileges of employment that would otherwise benefit Drake whenever he attained seniority over junior white police officers, which adversely impacted his chances to gain the necessary experience for promotions, states the complaint. "Drake found these disparate treatments and comments to be highly offensive, and targeted him because of his race." Filed in the federal district court of Northern New York, the civil action names as defendants current police Chief John Thomas, ex-chief Greg Culick, police Lieutenants Thomas Hennessy and Thomas Nethaway, as well as the Amsterdam Police Benevolent Association and Leon Pratt, who was union president and Drakes supervisor. On Wednesday, Thomas and Amsterdam Mayor Michael Cinquanti, as well as city Corporation Counsel Anthony Casale, did not return separate calls to their offices seeking comment. A city police spokeswoman did not respond to an email about the legal action. The PBA also could not be reached Wednesday for comment. Attorney Bryan Goldberger, who works as the labor attorney for the city of Amsterdam, dismissed the allegations. We believe the allegations are baseless, I think the fact the PBA stood by Officer Drake in defending the disciplinary case so we can now be sued in the federal lawsuit is interesting, I think the fact that this lawsuit hits after the disciplinary hearing concluded is more than a coincidence," he said. "We dont think the allegations have merit, and well obviously need to study them more in-depth." Goldberger said the city recently went through a disciplinary hearing with Drake that led to the officer's termination. He questioned why Drake filed a complaint with the state Division of Human Rights only after being terminated. I think that in the end Officer Drake was subjected to a disciplinary process, and an impartial arbitrator ruled, based on the evidence in front of him, that he violated a last chance agreement, Goldberger said. I just think about the logic and timing of it all, and the alleged history as recited in the complaint. What do you do before now if all these things are transpiring? The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages, legal fees, and for Drake, 47, to get his job back. His Albany-based attorney, Vincent Uba, said Wednesday that until 2017 his client was the only Black officer in the small police department. The lawsuit states ex-Mayor Mayor Ann Thane "was so apprehensive of a backlash from APD if she was seen talking with Drake" that she requested they meet outside city limits where she advised him to leave Amsterdam with the promise she would give him a positive recommendation even though she failed to address the racism with the department, which still exists today. "To date, the work environment at APD is so severely permeated by racial prejudice and intimidation to such an extent that senior officers of the APD perpetuate and promote racial stereotypes and a racially hostile work environment against Black persons because of the color of the person's skin" states the court papers. The document also cites a social media post from April from an Amsterdam police sergeant denigrating and demonizing George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black people who have been killed by police officers in high profile incidents. The lawsuit also states that the leadership of the police department brought Drake up on a "trumped up" allegation that "centered on Drake having sex with women in the city, forced him in 2017 to sign a last chance agreement without a union representative or a lawyer present, all actions Drake asserted were inconsistent with the way white police officers facing disciplinary matters on the force are treated." A year ago, Drake's wife sent an email to Cinquanti making the case that systemic racism was rife in Amsterdam, which the mayor denied before recommending she take up the matter with Thomas, then the newly appointed chief, who the suit described as the "protagonist of the racial discrimination against Drake." In April, Drake was fired after a disciplinary hearing before an arbitrator for taking approximately 30 minutes to respond to a non-emergency call of a mother and daughter arguing over ownership of a duffel bag, the lawsuit states. In short, "Drake reasonably believes that defendants have all collectively treated him differently in a significantly negative way because of his race," his due process rights were violated, and that the Amsterdam police department has "two separate disciplinary standards." "The first standard is the extremely harsh and unrealistic standard applied to Drake as a Black police officer, and the second standard is the extremely lenient and tolerating standard applied to white police officers," the complaint states. Editor's note: This article has been updated to include comments from the city of Amsterdam's labor attorney, who returned a call for comment after deadline on Wednesday. Homeowners in a few years could be seeking alternatives when they want to patch or seal their driveways. Lawmakers this week passed a bill that, if signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, would ban the use of coal tar, the dense acrid-smelling goo that is used in domestic and commercial pavement sealing. A ban has been discussed for a decade and some municipalities already prohibit its use. Additionally, most highway or road builders have switched to other petroleum-derived products to put down pavement. But coal tar is still used in driveways and parking lots. Environmentalists say the suspected carcinogen can easily wash off into watersheds, harming aquatic life. It is also harmful to humans who have long-term exposure. Coal tar is a byproduct in the making of coking coal for steelmaking and other industrial uses. Its been around for centuries and is also known to have medicinal uses because of its anti-fungal and anti-itching properties. But the coal tar used as a sealant contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons molecular structures of carbon and hydrogen which are believed to bind to DNA. It has long been worrisome from a health standpoint, with links to cancer among chimney sweeps in past centuries and in more recent times among those who work on pavement sealing crews. We know that coal tar is bad for our health and our environment, and its high time that we follow the lead of other cities and states that have already taken action to limit its use, said Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, a New York City Democrat who sponsored the ban along with Sen. James Sanders, a fellow city Democrat. Bans on coal tar are already in place in Minnesota, Washington state and the District of Columbia. The measure was backed by a wide range of environmental organizations, including Riverkeeper, Coal Tar Free America, Clean and Healthy NY, NYPIRG, Environmental Advocates NY, Sierra Club, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, the NRDC and others. The ban wont apply to railroad ties, which are made with creosote, also derived from coal tar. Thats because the bill covers uses regulated by the state. Rail lines, like interstate highways, largely fall under federal regulations. New York state has banned the use of creosote-treated wood in bridges. If signed into law, the ban would take effect in two years. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Midnight was coming fast. Any moment now, the Texas House of Representatives would sign off on one of the most restrictive new voting laws in America. It was 10:35 p.m. Suddenly, every Democrat still on the floor got a text message. Members, take your key and leave the chamber discreetly. Do not go to the gallery. Leave the building. Jay Janner/AP The walkout was a go, and minutes later, Senate Bill 7 was dead. Left without enough House members to conduct business under the rules before a midnight deadline Sunday, Texas Republicans were forced to abandon for now an elections overhaul they had crammed with previously unseen restrictions during closed-door negotiations, including one prohibiting Sunday morning early voting a time widely used by Black churchgoers in souls to the polls" campaigns. It was a dramatic, last-ditch revolt: One by one, Democrats headed for the exits and disappeared down corridors. The voting machines on their abandoned desks were locked. In the unlikely event of a call of the House an extreme remedy to secure a quorum, mobilizing state troopers to forcibly bring absent members back Democrats chose a hideout that was unmistakable in meaning: Mt. Zion Baptist Church, a Black house of worship more than 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) away. The rebellion gave Democrats and voting rights allies nationwide a morale-raising moment after months of racking up losses in GOP-controlled statehouses, where Republicans have rushed to enact a wave of strict voting laws in response to former President Donald Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. But the walkout in Texas is likely only a fleeting victory: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who had declared new voting laws a priority in Texas, barely waited for every Democrat to flee the House floor before declaring that he would order a special session to finish the job. And he's already begun punishing lawmakers, saying Monday that he would veto the part of the state budget that funds legislators' salaries. '"No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities," Abbott tweeted. Jay Janner/AP He has not said when he will drag lawmakers back to work. I understand why they were doing it, said Republican state Rep. Briscoe Cain, who carried the bill in the House. But we all took an oath to Texans that we would be here to do our jobs. Coming in at 67 pages long, the Texas bill would have reduced polling hours, empowered poll watchers and scaled back ways to vote. It included a ban on drive-thru voting centers and 24-hour polling places, both of which were used last year around Houston, reflecting how Republicans went after Texas' largest Democratic stronghold. Many were ideas that Democrats had spent months fighting, but they protested that others were snuck in at the last minute. That included not just new early voting limits for Sunday but also a provision that could make it easier to overturn an election. Under the bill, a judge could void a candidates victory if the number of fraudulent votes cast could change the outcome, regardless of whether it was proved that the fraud actually had affected the result. It's the sort of provision that could allow a favorable judge to side with a candidate who makes broad claims of fraud with little specific evidence as Trump did with virtually no success. Democrats and voting groups were particularly alarmed about it because the GOP has continued to embrace Trump even after he tried to overturn the 2020 election on phony claims of extensive fraud. Jay Janner/AP Hours before the vote was set to take place Sunday, Democrats packed into a back room with Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan. We weren't getting satisfactory answers about why the bill had gotten so much worse," Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa said. Most of us walked away from that meeting understanding that this was our only option." But even before then, Hinojosa said, momentum toward a walkout was building. She said a meeting of Black and Hispanic lawmakers in the House made clear there was an anger, a sadness, an intolerance" about letting the bill pass. Another option was running out the clock but that carried more risk: Hinojosa said Democrats received word that any effort to filibuster the bill would lead to Republicans cutting off debate and holding a vote. It was the first time in nearly 20 years that Democrats had staged a quorum break in Texas. The meltdown of the Texas bill was a rare victory for Democrats in a year that has seen 14 states enact new laws tightening voting restrictions, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, a voting rights group. These laws have typically been muscled through by Republican-controlled state legislatures and signed swiftly by GOP governors. The Democrats potential remedy to the wave of restrictions a sweeping national voting bill is bogged down in Congress. Weve been getting example after example in Republican state legislatures, and this is the culmination in terms of its raw racism and cutting back of the ability for brown and Black voters to vote, said Fred Wertheimer, founder of the voting rights group Democracy 21. The way theyre fighting in Texas tells a story of just how bad this legislation is and how Democrats are prepared to do everything they can conceive of to stop this legislation from happening. Democrats and voting rights groups also hope that Texas gives a shot in the arm to the bill in Congress, known as the For the People Act or HR1. The measure has been stalled in the Senate because some Democrats are not willing to end the filibuster. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has scheduled debate on the bill to begin in late June in hopes of breaking the impasse, and activists hope the boldness of Texas Democrats in using quorum rules to block legislation will push their Washington, D.C., counterparts to eliminate such rules in the U.S. Senate. Jay Janner/AP At the least, Democrats hope the walkout bought them some time. When they left the church, it was after midnight. We may have won the war tonight but the battle is not over," Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier said. ___ Associated Press writers Nicolas Riccardi in Denver and Acacia Coronado contributed to this report. Superman Celebration Celebrities Announced By West Kentucky Star Staff METROPOLIS - Organizers of this year's Superman Celebration in Metropolis have announced this year's celebrity guests.The three-day event coming July 30 will feature actors Katherine Elizabeth Callan, Ilan Mitchell-Smith and Nicholle Tom.Katherine Elizabeth Callan is an American author and actress known for playing Clark Kents mother Martha in the ABC television seriesShe first appeared on television in an episode ofin 1962 that happened to be shooting in Dallas. Callans career includes film, television, and theatre and she has appeared in nearly 150 movies and television shows.Callan has written several books, includingShe received her acting training at HB Studio in New York City.Ilan Mitchell-Smith is an American academic and former actor best known as the co-star of the film(1985) and(1989-1991). His film career began in 1983 at age 14, when he played a younger version of the title character inAfter a starring role in the 1984 film, Mitchell-Smith was cast as Wyatt Donnelly in the 1985 teen classicby writer/director John Hughes. He also starred inandas Andy McAlister.Nicholle Tom is perhaps best known for her role as Maggie Sheffield on, or Ryce Newton in, as well as the sequel,Tom was the first actress to voice the animated character Kara/Supergirl in the(1996), and continued voicing the character in(1997),(2004), &(2015).Tom recently portrayed Peter Scolaris daughter, Miriam Loeb, on Foxs, and played Maureen on Showtime'sAll three celebrities will be available to meet fans Friday & Saturday, and take part in a Q & A under the Metro Tent.Click the link below to learn more about this year's guests, and other information about the Superman Celebration.On the Net: MALTA Malta is formally joining the long list of municipalities that do not offer curbside, bulk trash collection. Last year, during the pandemic, the town switched from curbside pickup to a series of days on which residents could haul their large items to a trash bin. But residents complained it made the service essentially useless: Many did not own a vehicle large enough to fit couches, construction debris and other large items. Some residents also said they couldnt lift the items in and out of their vehicles. They wanted the curbside service restored. But switching to a drop-off system saved the town money, said Supervisor Darren OConnor, who urged people to find a way to make the new service work. Try to find a friend with a pickup. Some people got together and rented a pickup, he advised. Ballston and Clifton Park are now among the few Saratoga County municipalities still offering curbside bulk pickup days. Haul-it-yourself days are becoming more common, with Charlton, Waterford and Stillwater among those announcing occasional drop-off dates. Malta also made the switch away from pickup the last two years for more than just financial reasons. As bulk pickup days have become rarer elsewhere in the county, residents of other towns began hauling items to Malta to drop on the side of the road. People also started dumping items the town didnt take due to the cost of disposal. People were putting out televisions and tires and refrigerators, OConnor said, adding that the town ended up taking those items. We gotta keep the town clean. We cant let the town turn into a rubbish heap. People also went through the items before town haulers got there, removing anything of value, which ended up making the pickup day more costly. We recycle the metal. We get paid for the metal. That money goes into the town fund, he said. The money we get for the metal doesnt cover it all but it is an offset. In the wake of complaints, however, he said he might change the event in the future. Whether we continue this every single year, or whether we do some hybrid, I dont know, he said. The only problem is we have older people. The ones who can get to it are appreciative, but they are the ones who can. This year, residents with proof of address can drop off bulk items at the Town Hall complex, 2540 Route 9, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Saturday and on June 12. SAN DIEGO (AP) A man alleged to have captained a boat that fell apart and killed three people off the San Diego coast has been indicted by a federal grand jury in what authorities said Wednesday was a growing number of deaths in migrant smuggling attempts along California's border with Mexico. Antonio Hurtado pleaded not guilty Tuesday to smuggling charges, weeks after he was arrested in the May 2 wreck when a cabin cruiser packed with 33 people smashed on the rocky shore of San Diego's Point Loma peninsula. Hurtado's age and citizenship were not disclosed in court filings but authorities have said the captain was a U.S. citizen. His attorney, Melissa Bobrow, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment late Wednesday afternoon. Exactly two months earlier, 13 Mexican and Guatemalan citizens in an overloaded SUV were killed when struck by a tractor-trailer in the remote desert community of Holtville. Authorities say 25 migrants died in smuggling attempts on California's border with Mexico from October through April, compared to 29 for the preceding 12-month period. Representatives of several law enforcement agencies pleaded with migrants at a news conference Wednesday to avoid the dangerous journey, saying smugglers' only concern was profits. Survivors of the May 2 boat wreck told investigators they paid $15,000 to $18,500 to be smuggled from Mexico. Migrants smuggled in a makeshift boat that ran into trouble near San Diego's La Jolla shores May 20, resulting in one fatal drowning, told authorities they paid $12,000 to $15,000. In March, Neil Edwin Valera, a U.S. citizen, was sentenced to five years in prison in connection with the deaths of three Chinese migrants, including a mother and her 15-year-old son, who were found in the trunk of his BMW. Smugglers will leave you in a trunk or a hidden compartment and they will not listen to your screams if you are in distress, said Randy Grossman, acting U.S. attorney in San Diego. They just want their fees. BETHLEHEM A Hannacroix, Greene County man died in a head-on collision on River Road on Wednesday afternoon. Police are investigating what caused the head-on crash between two cars that happened near the Glenmont Jobs Corps Center, 822 River Road, around 4:30 p.m. Gerard W. Carter, 60, was driving south on River Road when the 2013 Kia he was driving hit head-on with a 2020 Chevrolet pickup truck being driven in the northbound lane by a 26-year-old man from Troy. Carter was pronounced dead at the scene; the other driver did not appear to have life-threatening injuries. He was taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital for treatment. Bethlehem police were helped by Selkirk, Elsmere and Slingerlands fire departments, the Albany County Sheriff's Office Paramedics, Delmar-Bethlehem EMS and the state Department of Transportation. ALBANY The state Senate, buoyed by its Democratic majority, passed a host of gun reforms Wednesday that lawmakers said are intended to curb rising gun violence and bring justice for those who are the victims of gunfire, particularly from illicit firearms. The legislation sparked debates on what are the causes for the rise in gun violence, and, in a traditional political split, whether companies or individuals should be held accountable. The bills are aimed at reforms related to not only possession and sale of guns, like ghost guns that come in parts and without a serial number, but, most notably, at the gun manufacturers. Republicans questioned how effective the laws would be and instead favored strengthening law enforcements ability to crack down on illicit firearms and increase the penalty for possessing an illegal gun. Conservatives pushed back on the idea that manufacturers of the guns should be potentially on the hook for selling guns that may end up stolen and being a part of a violent crime, but emphasized they were committed to halting gun violence. They view the measures as an unnecessary assault on the Second Amendment and the firearm industry. "It simply allows victims of gun violence to have their day in court," state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, D-Brooklyn, said on the Senate floor. Myrie sponsored the gun manufacturer lawsuit bill and argued it has long been a one-way street on who can be held accountable for gun violence. The reforms are part of a series of bills put forward by Senate Democrats from the New York City area. They championed the reforms Wednesday as part of a late push in the final days of the legislative session. But the legislation must still clear the state Assembly and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo would need to sign the legislation into law. Myries bill would require the gun industry to both have guidelines and take "reasonable" steps to prevent its guns from being sold unlawfully. It would also prohibit the industry from contributing or creating an environment that endangers the safety or health of the public through the sale, manufacturing, importing or marketing of its products. The state attorney general's office could pursue legal action against the gun industry on behalf of a New York resident or local government, potentially setting up a high-profile lawsuit between the gun manufacturing industry and the state. An individual could also sue the gun industry. The bill notes that illegal firearm violence has disproportionately affected under-served Black and brown neighborhoods in our cities and throughout the state despite stringent state and local laws against the illegal possession of firearms. A substantial majority of guns used in crimes in New York are purchased outside of the state, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. "The so-called justice reform has resulted in a tremendous spike in the use of illegal firearms," Sen. Anthony Palumbo said. The Long Island Republican said the bill would hurt lawful gun owners and lead to a less safe New York. The reforms come at a time when Albany residents are wrestling with how to address a recent rise in gun violence. Nine people have died in homicides from gun violence in the city this year. Other gun reforms Ghost gun legislation has been moving forward in the Legislature since the start of the calendar year. In February, ghost gun legislation initially passed the Senate to make it illegal to possess or buy unfinished receivers. The updated legislation, sponsored by Long Island Democrat Sen. Anna Kaplan, would allow law enforcement to prosecute offenders for more serious criminal offenses. A bill by Manhattan Democrat Brad Hoylman would make it illegal to possess a ghost gun, aside from a licensed gunsmith, and to sell them. The Senate Democrats also voted to have State Police collect data on the state and locality where a gun used in a crime was purchased, including documenting the legality of the sale and whether the firearm was possessed by someone licensed to have it. Police would also publish quarterly reports and begin collecting data in October, according to the bill by state Sen. Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, D-Queens. An additional bill by Gianaris would put forward a 10-day waiting period to purchase a firearm. Republicans were concerned it would make it too difficult to acquire a firearm, noting it would be easier to vote than buy a gun. Democrats agreed: Make it easier to vote, harder to buy a gun. A far-reaching Center for Firearm Violence Research, sponsored by Sen. Roxanne Persaud, D-Brooklyn, would study gun violence. An executive committee would include criminal justice experts, as well as participants from the health sector, high-ranking university officials and others. The center would advocate for policies to reduce gun violence. Another measure proposed by Sen. Brian Kavanagh, D-Brooklyn, would make it illegal for a person with an active warrant to purchase a gun, and or to sell to a firearm to someone who has an active warrant. For the past decade, a task of keeping New York government honest has fallen (in both senses of the word) to a commission corrupted from the start by political agendas. But that may end soon. The Legislature is looking at two ethics-related measures, one to eventually change the state constitution in order to replace the Joint Commission on Public Ethics altogether, the other to fix some of JCOPEs most glaring structural shortcomings in the meantime. Both deserve lawmakers support before the session ends next week. It has become clear over the past 10 years that JCOPE is not so much the product of a common desire among Democrats and Republicans to ensure ethics in government as it is the result of a series of bad political accommodations. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo got a commission he largely controls, one that is unsurprisingly loath to investigate him or his administration; and the governor as well as legislative leaders got a commission hamstrung by arcane rules that allow their appointees to block investigations even if theyre approved by a majority vote. Senate Republicans and Assembly Democrats ensured that they would have extra seats on the commission even if they fell out of power as Senate Republicans did in 2019. And they all got a commission shrouded in secrecy that has tended to shield all of its political machinations from public view. We need what JCOPE was billed to be: an independent watchdog empowered to investigate both the legislative and executive branches, with the proper mandate to do so. Because that touches on separation-of-powers issues, it needs a state constitutional amendment. A bill by Sen. Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, and Assemblymember Robert Carroll, D-Brooklyn, would amend the constitution to create a 13-member commission, made up of two people appointed by the governor, one each by legislative leaders, and seven by the states chief judge and the presiding justices of the appellate divisions. There are various constraints to try to ensure political diversity and independence from politicians and political parties. It will, however, need a vote by two successive legislatures before going to voters, which means the soonest that could happen is 2023. In the meantime, Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, D-Bronx, offers some credible tweaks to JCOPE. She proposes to better balance the legislative appointees among the four majority and minority leaders, rather than the odd current system that provides Assembly Democrats and Senate Republicans each two extra appointees whether they hold the majority or not. The bill would also allow the commission to initiate an investigation with a simple majority vote, ending the complex rules that allow a minority of partisans to block probes. And it would take only a simple majority to appoint an executive director, ending the current rules that give legislative and gubernatorial appointees veto power over hiring. JCOPE may have looked like reform and the product of compromise in 2011, but time has shown it to be a mostly toothless lapdog kept on a tight political leash. The Legislature must fix what it can, right now, and set in motion the process to change the constitution and give New York the kind of strong, independent sentinel the Empire State needs and deserves. ALBANY The state Senate on Thursday passed the Adult Survivors Act, a companion bill to the 2019 Child Victims Act that reformed statutes of limitation on sexual abuse and opened a look-back window for civil lawsuits to be brought from anyone regardless of age or time elapsed. The ASA mirrors the effect of the CVA but for those who were abused over the age of 18. The ASA has been the subject of a ramped-up advocacy effort in recent weeks, with survivors of sexual abuse sharing their stories and calling for the bill's passage to empower others. Supporters of the bill have said it will hold powerful alleged abusers accountable. Adult survivors of serial sexual assaulters like Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein and Dr. Robert Hadden, have been shut out of our courthouses by inadequate statutes of limitations. That ends now," Sen. Brad Hoylman, a Manhattan Democrat who also sponsored the CVA, wrote in a statement after the bill was passed. "For far too long our justice system has failed survivors of sexual assault, the passage of the Adult Survivors Act is a powerful step to fix that historic wrong. While the CVA stalled for many years in the Senate before its eventual passage in 2019, the passage of the ASA affirms the chamber's willingness to act legislatively on the issue of sexual violence. The companion bill in the Assembly, however, remains stalled with the Judiciary Committee. "We will be talking to our members about a number of issues as we work to close the session," a spokesman for Speaker Carl E. Heastie said in response to an email asking about the status of the ASA in the Assembly. The bill has been supported by groups within the fashion industry, particularly to support models who suffered sexual violence. Many survivors in the fashion industry are time-barred from seeking justice. By passing the Adult Survivors Act, the Senate affirms that all survivors deserve a pathway to justice, no matter how old they were or how long ago the abuse occurred. The Model Alliance commends this important step and urges the Assembly to follow suit before the legislative session ends," said Sara Ziff, executive director of the Model Alliance in a statement after the bill's passage. Gary Greenberg, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse who lobbied for years for the Child Victims Act, has spoken out against the ASA as written. It leaves out people who were not victimized by individuals associated with institutions but rather by neighbors, family members or other individuals. Many attorneys will only take cases involving institutions. "It was a good first start, and it was. ... As time went along, my worst fears did come to fruition. Victims contacted me and others and could not find a lawyer to take their case," Greenberg said of the CVA. Its discouraging when you think that youre finally going to get justice, and youre told, 'Well, we cant take your case. Its not something we can get any monetary financial reward out of.'" Greenberg said he instead supports a new law instituting a fund that survivors can draw from to pay for their legal fees. He said it's important to learn from those left out of the CVA and to ensure the same mistakes aren't repeated with the Adult Survivors Act. Farmington, WV (26555) Today Scattered thunderstorms this morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 82F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%. Benton-Birmingham Road Closed by High Water By West Kentucky Star Staff MARSHALL COUNTY - The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says KY 1462/Benton-Birmingham Road is closed due to water over the road.The road is closed from the 0 mile marker to the Clarks River Bridge.Signs are posted.Drivers are advised to avoid the area. What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 570-724-2287 or email slapoint@tiogapublishing.com. Irish Water is to replace 3.5km of water mains and install a water booster station in the Coalbrook area where 1,200 households and businesses have suffered water outages and reduced supply in recent weeks. The water outages and poor water pressure endured by Irish Water customers living in Coalbrook, Ballinastick, Earlshill, Ballincurry, Glengall, Ballingarry and surrounding areas were caused by a number of bursts to water mains serving the Coalbrook Public Water Supply. Two water mains bursts occurred over the same weekend two weeks ago but have since been repaired. John Crowley of Tipperary County Councils Water Services Section informed Carrick-on-Suir Municipal Districts monthly meeting of the planned investment in upgrading the Coalbrook Public Water Supply infrastructure. The senior executive engineer said the recent water mains bursts have resulted in water levels in the local reservoir dropping and it was likely customers in the area will continue to experience lower water pressure and intermittent water outages. Options Mr Crowley pointed out that short term options to increase water supply were being examined such as creating another bore hole but the long term solution was to supply the area from the Fethard Regional Water Scheme. Ballingarrys Cllr Imelda Goldsboro welcomed the funding approval for the 3.5km of new water mains and booster station for the Coalbrook Water Supply but noted the project wont be completed until the end of 2022. Heartache She said the water outages and low water pressure in the supply over the last number of weeks caused a lot of heartache in her area, particularly among elderly vulnerable residents. I was assured that once Irish Water was notified resources would be put in place for these individuals but that hasnt happened, she complained. She asked could households where there were people and children with medical issues apply for a water well grant because they were experiencing these water outages and not getting a regular water supply. VULNERABLE Mr Crowley said it was important to register vulnerable water supply customers with Irish Water to make sure they are on the Vulnerable Persons List. In the event there is a water outage for any long period of time, they are provided with bottled water, he told the meeting. He promised to come back to Cllr Goldsboro in relation to her query about the water well grant. U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg came to Tennessee to learn how the closure of the Interstate 40 bridge connecting that state and Arkansas has affected freight movement since it was shut down more than three weeks ago when a crack was found in the span Police in the Northern California city of Tracy say an alleged shooter has been hospitalized after killing two people and wounding a third early Thursday The Graves County Sheriff's Office is currently seeking information on the person(s) responsible for the theft of a steel gate that was taken from the Bethel Church of Christ Cemetery off of Ky Hwy 464 near the Golo area of eastern Graves County. PHOTO:Graves County Sheriff's Office The Graves County Sheriff's Office is currently seeking information on the person(s) responsible for the theft of a steel gate that was taken from the Bethel Church of Christ Cemetery off of Ky Hwy 464 near the Golo area of eastern Graves County. PHOTO:Graves County Sheriff's Office The Graves County Sheriff's Office is currently seeking information on the person(s) responsible for the theft of a steel gate that was taken from the Bethel Church of Christ Cemetery off of Ky Hwy 464 near the Golo area of eastern Graves County. PHOTO:Graves County Sheriff's Office Deputies Investigate Theft at Graves Cemetery By West Kentucky Star Staff According to deputies, the theft occurred sometime over the past couple of weeks. Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff's office. GRAVES COUNTY - The Graves County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help in a theft investigation.Deputies are seeking information on the theft of a steel gate that was taken from the Bethel Church of Christ Cemetery.The cemetery is located off of KY Hwy 464 near the Golo area of eastern Graves County. [June 03, 2021] 24/7 Sobriety Participants are Now Visiting Automated Kiosks for Their Twice-Daily Breathalyzer Tests Minneapolis-based Precision Kiosk Technologies today announced that three additional counties in the Dakotas have begun using its AB Kiosk system to conduct 24/7 Sobriety monitoring: Lawrence and Yankton counties in South Dakota, and Stark County in North Dakota. In the past year, seven 24/7 Sobriety Programs have made the switch to this fully automated breathalyzer system, which now conducts more than 550 alcohol screening tests a day in the Dakotas. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005069/en/ This AB Kiosk system in the Stark County Law Enforcement Center screens 50 DUI offenders each day for alcohol use. (Photo: Business Wire) North and South Dakota are 24/7 Sobriety Program states that require participants to submit to court-mandated breathalyzer tests as a condition of their sentences for DUI offenses. In the past, these tests have been administered by sheriff deputies or jail administrators using handheld breathalyzers - a time-consuming process for both staff and participants. By automating the entire process, the AB Kiosk system eliminates the need for any face-to-face interactions. The System coordinates the schedules for each test, verifies the individual's identity through biometric authentication, captures still images and video as it administers each test, and automatically uploads the results to the client's file. The kiosk can test up to 40 individuals per hour, and law enforcement staff can access testing data from any computer or smartphone. This automated process frees up staff for higher-value work and reduces the administrative costs of 24/7 Sobriety Programs. Thirty-eight jurisdictions across the US now use the AB Kiosk system for alcohol monitoring, pre-trial services, and probation check-ins. About Precision Kiosk Technologies Minneapolis-based Precision Kiosk Technologies provides automated, high-volume probation monitoring and alcohol screening to law enforcement and courts. The company's AB Kiosk reduces the administrative burden of alcohol screening and other court-mandated programs, including probation check-ins, cashless bail, Huber work release, and pre- and post-trial services. To learn more about the AB Kiosk system, please visit www.abkiosk.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005069/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] ACIA Aero Leasing Completes Deliveries of Three ATR 72-600s, Facilitating Green Africa's Takeoff ACIA Aero Leasing ("ACIA"), a leading provider of regional aircraft leasing and lease management services, announced today the completion of a mandate to deliver a fleet of three ATR 72-600 aircraft to support the commercial launch of Nigeria's newest low-cost carrier, Lagos-based Green Africa. Seizing on the opportunity to launch a new value passenger airline amid the pandemic-induced market disruption, Green Africa laid out a roadmap for their market entry by deploying ACIA's ATR aircraft to deliver low-cost, short-haul connectivity between Nigerian cities to stimulate the region's economic development and business activity. "We are thrilled to have partnered with Green Africa's experienced local and international management team to get their airline off the ground while supporting their ambitious mission to spur regional economic development through increased connectivity," commented ACIA Aero Leasing Chief Executive Officer Mick Mooney. As the aviation community positions for the sector for its nascent recovery, start-up carriers, such as Green Africa, are economizing on the opportunity to sustainably enter into service, scale, and be better positioned to serve customers in a post-pandemic environment. Aided by the benefits of fuel-efficiency and advantageous operating economics of the latest technology ATR 72-600, Green Africa has introduced affordable fares and new city-pair options. Babawande Afolabi, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Green Africa, said: "Receiving our third aircraft today signifies Green Africa's readiness to enter into service and start serving our customers. ACIA Aero Leasinghas been a very supportive partner and we are proud of this relationship." "ACIA's portfolio has a significant African focus and Nigeria is a core target market as we believe there will be significant growth," asserted Elze LeRoux, ACIA Aero Leasing General Manager for Africa. "Our ultimate goal is to be a significant part of our customers' long-term success. The team's knowledge of African operations and the challenges faced by operators have been key to getting these first aircraft delivered to Green Africa." Green Africa plans to deploy the ATRs primarily across Nigeria between now and December 2022, with plans for expansion into the broader African continent and the addition of two to three new airport bases in Nigeria over the period of twelve to 18 months. "Our commercial team continues to actively pursue opportunities to deliver financing options to our existing and potential customers, both within Africa and beyond. We can get deals done in environments from which other lessors might shy away, focusing on getting results for our customers and ensuring that the aircraft are delivered on time, despite the challenges that the pandemic continues to pose," concluded Mooney. About Green Africa Green Africa is a value airline based in Lagos, Nigeria. The new airline will offer safe, reliable, and affordable air travel to a much broader group of customers and be a significant contributor to the economic development of Nigeria and the African continent. Founded and led by Babawande Afolabi, Green Africa has received its Air Transport License from the Nigerian Government and is now working closely with the NCAA to complete its AOC certification process. www.greenafrica.com About ACIA Aero Leasing ACIA Aero Leasing ("ACIA"), a subsidiary of ACIA Aero Capital, is a leading regional aircraft lessor with offices in Ireland, Mauritius, France, Canada, and South Africa. ACIA manages a current aircraft portfolio of over 50 regional passenger and freighter aircraft on lease to operators in more than 15 countries globally. Through our strategic partnerships, ACIA provides airlines with turn-key leasing solutions from dry leasing through to charter operations. www.aciaaeroleasing.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005793/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Alstom Chooses Accenture and Dassault Systemes to Develop New Cloud Platform for PLM to Increase Competitiveness and Support Growth Alstom has chosen Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and Dassault Systemes (News - Alert) (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA) to develop a new cloud platform for product lifecycle management (PLM) that is designed to increase the company's competitiveness and support its growth. The new cloud PLM platform will optimize collaboration among Alstom's design offices, as well as better integrate and standardize the company's engineering, manufacturing and maintenance processes. Accenture (News - Alert) will draw on its deep expertise in large PLM and cloud solution deployments and build on Dassault Systemes' 3DEXPERIENCE platform to develop the new cloud platform. Alstom will roll out the new platform to selected sites in 2021 and to sites worldwide in 2022. Alexandre Domingues, chief information officer at Alstom, said: "PLM is the backbone of our digital transformation journey and essential to our growth in an ultra-competitive global market. The new cloud-first system will allow us to work more efficiently and collaboratively, which perfectly meets our growth objectives." Flavien Parrel, managing director for Industry X at Accenture in France, stated: "Through the new platform, we will deliver leading cloud-first and PLM capabilities to enable Alstom and its ecosystem partners to collaborate simultaneously across the full lifecycle of projects, from engineering to manufacturing to servicing. It will support the future growth of Alstom's business and serves as a testament to our Industry X and cloud-first capabilities in France, which are designed to accelerate innovation and competitiveness for industrial champions." Florence Verzelen, executive vice president, Industry & Marketing, Sustainability at Dassault Systemes, added: "Automation and digitization are transforming every aspect of industrial business, including how value is created. Our 3DEXPERIENCE platform offers Alstom the opportunity to be at the forefront of this Industry Renaissance with powerful, igital technologies that connect all disciplines in a value network. Alstom can strengthen its business processes and further consolidate its position as a European leader in the transport sector." About Alstom Leading societies to a low carbon future, Alstom develops and markets mobility solutions that provide the sustainable foundations for the future of transportation. Alstom's products portfolio ranges from high-speed trains, metros, monorail, trams and e-buses to integrated systems, customized services, infrastructure, signaling and digital mobility solutions. With Bombardier Transportation joining Alstom on January 29, 2021, the new Group's combined revenue amounted to 15.7 billion for the 12-month period ended March 31, 2020(). Headquartered in France, Alstom is now present in 70 countries and employs 75,000 people. www.alstom.com () unaudited proforma About Accenture Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities 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. Accenture Industry X embeds intelligence in how clients run factories and plants, as well as design and engineer connected products and services-making manufacturing and operations more efficient, effective and safe; enabling companies to transform how they make things, and the things they make, for sustainable growth. About Dassault Systemes Dassault Systemes, the 3DEXPERIENCE Company, is a catalyst for human progress. We provide business and people with collaborative 3D virtual environments to imagine sustainable innovations. By creating virtual experience twins of the real world with our 3DEXPERIENCE platform and applications, our customers push the boundaries of innovation, learning and production. Dassault Systemes brings value to more than 290,000 customers of all sizes, in all industries, in more than 140 countries. For more information, visit www.3ds.com 3DEXPERIENCE, the Compass (News - Alert) icon, the 3DS logo, CATIA, BIOVIA, GEOVIA, SOLIDWORKS, 3DVIA, ENOVIA, EXALEAD, NETVIBES, MEDIDATA, CENTRIC PLM, 3DEXCITE, SIMULIA, DELMIA, and IFWE are commercial trademarks or registered trademarks of Dassault Systemes, a French "societe europeenne" (Versailles Commercial Register # B 322 306 440), or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005023/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] AM Best Assigns Credit Ratings to Quanta Insurance Company, Inc. AM Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a-" (Excellent) to Quanta Insurance Company, Inc. (QIC) (Houston, TX). The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. The ratings reflect QIC's balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. QIC is a single parent captive of Quanta Services, Inc. [NYSE: PWR], a leading specialized contracting services company, delivering comprehensive infrastructure solutions for the utility, communications, pipeline and energy industries. QIC was domiciled in Texas in 2017 and writes, on a direct basis, workers' compensation, commercial auto and general liability coverages to its parent and affiliated entities on an occurrence basis. QIC's captive orientation not only affords the company with ready access to business, but it also benefits from its parent's extensive training, fleet management, loss control initiatives and workplace safety. AM Best remains the leading rating agency of alternative risk transfer entities, with more than 200 such vehicles rated in the United States and throughout the world. For current Best's Credit Ratings and independent data on the captive and alternative risk transfer insurance market, please visit www.ambest.com/captive. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best Rating Action Press Releases. AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright 2021 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005882/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] AM Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Southern Vanguard Insurance Company AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a-" (Excellent) of Southern Vanguard Insurance Company (SVIC) (Houston, TX). The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect SVIC's balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The negative outlooks reflect the recent increase in the holding company's (InsVest Corp) unsecured debt position through a newly issued debt facility. The debt was utilized to buy out minority shareholders. Although management has a good history of keeping borrowing costs low, paying down debts quickly with strong profits from the managing general agency and maintaining moderate leverage measures, the most recent debt balance (as of first quarter of 2021) is considered elevated per AM Best Methodology guidelines. In addition, while SVIC has generated positive net income in each of the past five years, potential plans to grow writings in 2021 in a new operating territory (Florida) that is catastrophe prone will add execution risk to its current business plan and additional new risks onto its books of business. However, AM Best expects SVIC's growth to be conservative, and the company plans on implementing a significant quota share reinsurance program on a majority of this business. Negative rating action may result if growth plans at SVIC result in adverse performance t the book of business, or if leverage at the holding company remains elevated or if management does not meet it pay-down schedule. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best Rating Action Press Releases. AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright 2021 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005920/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] AM Best Revises Outlooks to Positive for Multinational Insurance Company AM Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "bbb+" (Good) of Multinational Insurance Company (Multinational) (Hato Rey, Puerto Rico). The ratings reflect Multinational's balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile, appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM) and rating enhancement from its parent company, Aseguradora Ancon, S.A. The outlook revisions to positive are based on AM Best's expectation of continued favorable underwriting and operating performance, despite modest volatility from weather-related events, while maintaining its strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). Multinational's strategic initiatives, including revised underwriting guidelines and expense control measures, have resulted in underwriting performance metrics that outperformed its peer group over the past five years. When combined with growing investment earnings due to increased overall levels of capital and ongoing parental support, Multinational has reported considerable gains in surplus to support premium growth. Multinational's business profile is limited due to its geographic concentration in Puerto Rico, which exposes its results to weather-related events and regulatory challenges. However, the company's market position is supported by a solid and tenured management team. The company lso benefits from an appropriate level of ERM, including a developed risk management framework and comprehensive reinsurance program. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best Rating Action Press Releases. AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright 2021 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005602/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] American Forms Largest Delivery Partnership for Charity in China SHENZHEN, China, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- EatForCharity (EFC), the first online ordering platform to partner with three of the biggest delivery companies in China, has created the largest network of delivery services working together to raise money for charity via online ordering of food, drinks, groceries, pet food, and over-the-counter medication. Unlike other ordering platforms that use their own drivers, EatForCharity built a system that integrates directly with other delivery companies and calls out to all available drivers, like a bat-signal, whenever they are needed to deliver an order. This distinction has allowed EFC to scale quickly, an important trait as their users are non-Chinese-speaking foreigners in China, who are spread out throughout the country. EFC, which has grown in just over a year from just 7 shops in Shenzhen, China to over 120 shops across 10 cities: including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Foshan, JieYang, Wuxi, Yiwu, Shantou and Dongguan, is built for non-Chinese speaking foreigners to be able to order in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. "With the recent addition of SF Express to our network of partners, EatForCharity now has the largest pool of available delivery drivers, ensuring the fastest possible delivery for consumers," said American Gary Isse, Founder of EFC in China. "Our goal by bringing together such an enormous collection of drivers from China's biggest delivery companies is to make sure that nomatter your location, the time of day, day of the week, or the weather, we'll always have the resources available to keep our customers happy." EatForCharity was started by American expat in China Gary Isse , and his Chinese wife Kiko, during the COVID-19 outbreak to raise money for local charities while helping expats like himself order food. , and his Chinese wife Kiko, during the COVID-19 outbreak to raise money for local charities while helping expats like himself order food. Delivery partners include China's largest food delivery company Meituan, China's largest 3 rd party courier service DaDa, and now via China's largest shipping company SF Express. party courier service DaDa, and now via China's largest shipping company SF Express. EatForCharity's commitment to local charities, by giving 25% of its revenue to those causes, has helped its small team of just a handful of people gain new partners and expand rapidly. Distrust of Charities Stokes Some Skepticism Given the numerous scandals involving some charities over the years, consumers are understandably distrustful of groups claiming to support charitable causes. EFC includes a variety of different charities in the platform, from small local pet rescue operations, individual people needing help, all the way to large charity organizations. Merchants on EFC are contractually obligated to keep menu prices no higher compared to any other online platforms, so consumers pay no extra ordering on EFC. Donations provided to charities are paid from revenue EatForCharity earns from commissions from their orders so consumers can feel good about helping charities at no extra cost to them. "By giving customers the ability to choose which charities benefit from their orders, our goal is to start changing people's minds about how business works and make the redirection of funds from everyday consumerism to the many worthwhile causes that need it most a common occurrence," says Isse, who added "we're really excited about the feedback and support which has helped us grow so fast. In fact, we're now looking at entering the U.S. early next year as well." For more information, whether from press, investors, or merchants wanting to join the platform, contact: Lucy Xing +86 18681516907 311315@email4pr.com For more information on EatForCharity: Visit www.EatForCharity.cn View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/american-forms-largest-delivery-partnership-for-charity-in-china-301304968.html SOURCE EatForCharity [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Antidote Raises $23 Million to Scale Digital Patient Engagement Services Antidote Technologies Limited ("Antidote") today announced it has closed $23.2 million in funding to expand its digital patient engagement programs and clinical trial recruitment services. The funding round was led by LBO France, a private equity firm committed to supporting the growth of digital health, both in transforming health systems and accelerating medical R&D. Through its Digital Health 2 fund, LBO France is investing $10 million, joining existing major investors Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, Smedvig Capital, and Octopus Ventures, who between them are investing $13.2 million. Sebastien Woynar and Franck Noiret of LBO France will join the Antidote Board as a director and an observer, respectively. "The importance of clinical research has never been more clear than in the past year, as the industry stepped up to develop treatments and vaccines faster than could ever have been imagined," said Laurent Schockmel, CEO of Antidote. "But despite the speed of response to Covid-19, some 80% of clinical trials are still delayed or closed due to a lack of participants. We welcome LBO France as a partner to help us achieve our mission of transforming the way that researchers and patients connect in an effort to accelerate medical research." This new round of funding will allow the company to build on recent commercial success and accelerate growth. In 2020, Antidote increased its annual revenue by 66% and the number of projects handled by 158% over the previous year. In the first quarter of 2021 alone, the company surpassed its entire 2020 revenue. In concert with its extensive partner network of patient advocacy groups, Antidote operates with a truly patient-centric approach, balancing technology with a human touch. The funding will be used to enhance its clinical trial search engine, launch new products and services (including data insights), and expand its footprint internationally. "Antidote is a company in high-growth mode aiming to solve one of he most difficult problems of clinical research - connecting patients to trials," said Sebastien Woynar, Investment Director at LBO France, "We're excited to invest in an impressive team and a business that aligns so well with our investment objectives, to support their important mission." Franck Noiret, Managing Director at LBO France, added, "We believe that Antidote, as the fifth investment of our Digital Health 2 fund, will greatly benefit from our sectoral expertise and significant experience in the field of clinical trials." Antidote understands that solving the problem of clinical trial patient recruitment will require innovative solutions to help willing and interested patients find, screen for, and enroll in medical research. With this new round of funding, the company will continue to lead the field in delivering such solutions. To learn more about Antidote's work to accelerate medical research, please get in touch. Antidote was advised in this transaction by Fairmount Partners, a healthcare-focused investment bank. About Antidote Antidote is a digital health company on a mission to accelerate medical research. In a world where 80% of clinical trials are delayed or closed due to a shortage of suitable participants, Antidote uses precision recruitment to match the right patients with the right trials, striking the right balance between technology and human touch to deliver high-quality patient engagement. This is achieved through the integration of data-driven technologies, digital expertise, deep domain experience, an extensive diverse partner network, and personalized patient and site services. Antidote was launched as TrialReach and is based in the US and UK. For more information, please visit http://www.antidote.me. About LBO France As a key player in private equity with 6.3bn of commitments, LBO France is an independent company that has been supporting French and Italian companies in their growth for more than 30 years. Its investment strategy is built on 4 distinct segments managed by dedicated teams: (i) Mid Cap Buyout through the White Knight funds and Small Cap Buyout through the Hexagone/Small Caps Opportunities funds, (ii) Venture Capital through the SISA/Digital Health funds, (iii) Real Estate through the White Stone, Lapillus and NewStone funds, (iv) Debt. Historically focused on Institutional and Family Office investors, LBO France has recently launched the FCPR White Caps Selection, a private equity fund accessible to individuals through multi-strategy funds. LBO France is 100% owned by its management and employs nearly 60 professionals. Find out more: www.lbofrance.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005147/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] The Arcticom Group Expands its North American Footprint for Providing Mechanical and HVACR Services with Three New Partners in Canada The Arcticom Group (TAG), a leading North American provider of refrigeration and mechanical services, announces its international expansion into the Canadian HVACR market with acquisitions that add three established and successful brands to the company's broad geographic operations. CT Control Temp Ltd. and IHM Mechanical Ltd., located in Vancouver, BC, and CTR Refrigeration & Food Store Equipment Ltd. that serves Calgary and Edmonton are TAG's newest additions. Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed. "The addition of CT, IHM & CTR substantially advance The Arcticom Group as an elite specialty mechanical services company by bringing together the market leaders in western Canada with TAG's existing, loyal client base across the western and southern US. These substantial additions give us access to the growing Canadian marke with full design build capability and a reputation for delivering exceptional customer experiences in all aspects of commercial HVACR service and installation," noted Jim Pape, CEO of The Arcticom Group. John Devita, CT CEO stated, "We are excited and look forward to being part of The Arcticom Group. I believe our combined systems and HVACR industry knowledge will benefit current and future clients across the border for many years." Dean Gabriele, President of CT and IHM, added: "Becoming part of the TAG family of companies gives our business and our people the opportunity to continue to grow." CTR President, Stacey Lauer concluded, "We are proud to be joining forces with an enterprise that takes customer success as seriously as we do." Through its growing family of HVACR companies, TAG provides a wide variety of commercial refrigeration services including preventative maintenance, repair, installation, renovation, new system engineering and design, energy optimization and refrigerant management programs. About The Arcticom Group The Arcticom Group (TAG) is a leading U.S.-based commercial and industrial refrigeration company, serving clients in expanding markets throughout North America. TAG is committed to providing the highest quality and customer experience for the design, installation and maintenance of refrigeration and HVAC systems, typically for customers where refrigeration is mission critical. For more information, visit www.thearcticomgroup.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005838/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Coal firms post higher profit in first quarter From:ChinaDaily | 2021-06-03 10:18 Thanks to the economic recovery and production capacity resurgence, the country's listed coal companies saw their profits soar during the first three months, and an analyst believes the momentum is set to continue. The joint net profit of China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd and China National Coal Group Corp reached 15.1 billion yuan ($2.35 billion) in the first quarter with an average daily profit of 170 million yuan, up 44.5 percent year-on-year, according to the financial results of the country's two major coal companies. China Shenhua Energy Co Ltdonce the country's top coal producer by volume before its merger with State-owned power generator China Guodian Corp to create the world's largest energy conglomerate China Energy Investment Corpsaid its revenue during the first three months stood at 67.6 billion yuan, up 32.4 percent year-on-year. Net profit jumped 18.4 percent to more than 11.6 billion yuan. China National Coal Group Corp witnessed an even more drastic increase in profit. Its revenue soared 61.5 percent year-on-year during the January-March period to more than 44.4 billion yuan. Net profit surged 444.1 percent compared with the same period last year to more than 3.5 billion yuan, a record high since the company was listed in 2006. The surge was mainly due to the steady macroeconomic recovery, which fueled coal price surges and increased production and sales of coal, coal chemical products and coal mine equipment products, the company said. China National Coal Group Corp expects its profit to continue surging drastically during the first half. With the recovery in industrial demand, upcoming summer peaks and the overhaul of railway lines, net profit of coal companies in China are expected to continue increasing during the second quarter and demand for coal will also see strong growth in the first half due to robust demand from the power, steel and construction materials sectors. Wei Hanyang, a power market analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said revenues of coal companies this year have benefited from both fuel demand growth and strong coal prices. "This year, coal prices at Qinhuangdao port remained higher than anytime compared to the first nine months of 2020, due to robust demand driven by economic stimulus and recovery," Wei said. "It has also edged higher than 2019 levels, except for some summer months." Wei said the high coal prices also reflect the fact that "coal still plays an important role in the Chinese economy and decarbonization could take some time". China is planning to reduce the share of coal in its overall energy mix to less than 56 percent this year, according to a guideline recently released by the National Energy Administration. The figure was 56.8 percent in 2020 and 57.7 percent in 2019, said the administration. This year, China plans to further replace coal in final energy consumption with electricity equivalent to 200 billion kilowatt-hours, while increasing the proportion of electricity in final energy consumption to 28 percent, according to the administration. More than 80 percent of China's coal supply is under medium and long-term contracts with prices between 540 yuan ($85) and 550 yuan per metric ton, according to Xinhua News Agency. Due to the impact of COVID-19 and changes in supply and demand last year, the country's coal prices experienced a V-shaped trajectory last year. A two-and-half month decline cycle started in mid-February, followed by a low point in early May and then a subsequent rise about a month later. Prices have been rising since September 2020. Graves Deputies Search for Wanted Fugitive By West Kentucky Star Staff Matthew S. Palmer is wanted for numerous outstanding warrants. Deputies said he was last known to be in the Wingo/Water Valley area of Southern Graves County. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Palmer, is asked to contact the Graves County Sheriffs Office at 270-247-4501, your local law enforcement agency or Crime Stoppers. GRAVES COUNTY - The Graves County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help in locating a fugitive. [June 03, 2021] Aspen Dental Opens 44th Practice in Illinois Aspen Dental has officially opened its doors in the Roscoe Village neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois with the opening of a brand-new office, bringing a renowned dentist to the community. This is the 44th Aspen Dental practice in the state of Illinois, as Aspen Dental continues to break down barriers and bring comprehensive, affordable care to patients across the country. Located at 3201 N. Western Ave., the office is led by Dr. Mithila Sharma. Dr. Sharma received her DDS degree from the University of California San Francisco School of Dentistry. Dr. Sharma has been with Aspen Dental since 2013 and is a member of the Aspen Dental Orthodontic Initiative. She is also a platinum Invisalign provider. Dr. Sharma and her team will provide a full range of dental services ranging from preventive care and general dentistry to dentures and restoration. The opening of this new practice will also create local jobs in the Roscoe Village community and increase access to care in the city of Chicago. Independently-owned and operated, Aspen Dental offices offer patient-friendly programs and services that make it easier for patients to get the dental care they need, including: Personalized treatment and friendly service. Each patient receives a comprehensive diagnosis and treatment plan designed by the dentist, with long-term oral and overall health in mind. Available services may include hygiene, treatment of periodontal (gum) disease, clear aligners, implants, extractions, fillings, oral surgery, whitening, and crown and bridge work. Safe and clean care environments. We've always been committed to the highest safety standards, and in a world where things are changing fast, we have implemented heightened cleaning, hygiene and safety standards, symptom screening for appointments, social distancing at our offices, and now offer virtual visits for our patients. You can learn more about our health and safety protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic through our Smile Wide, Smile Safe Promise. Affordable dental care. Aspen Dental practices are committed to keeping prices low so that patients can get the care they need. The practice works with all insurance providers and handles the paperwork, saving patients time and hassle, and offers free new-patient exams and X-rays for patients without dental insurance. And since no one likes an unexpected bill, the practice offers a clear, detailed estimate on the cost of treatment to give patients peace of mind. On-site denture labs and Denture Money Back Guarantee. Every Aspen Dental practice is equipped with an on-site denture laboratory, which helps facilitate quick turnaround for denture repairs, relines or adjustments. Patients choose Aspen Dental for the seven styles of full and partial dentures and have the comfort of knowing that the supportive dentists and staff will go above and beyond to ensure proper fit and comfort of their custom-crafted dentures. Convenient hours and location. The office will be open extended hours, including evenings, so that patients can see the dentist at a time that works best for their schedule. Walk-in and emergency patients are welcome. www.aspendental.com and click on Schedule a New Patient Appointment; or call (773) 598-1019 or 800-ASPEN DENTAL (800-277-3633). About Aspen Dental The Aspen Dental network includes more than 892 offices, in 43 states, owned and operated by independent practice owners and dentists, who operate with clinical autonomy and share a commitment to creating access to care for those who need it most. These independent practice owners expect to record six million patient visits in 2021, driven by a commitment to breaking down barriers to quality, affordable oral health care. Each dental care team offers patients a safe, welcoming, judgment-free environment to address their dental challenges, including comprehensive exams, cleanings, extractions, fillings, periodontal treatment, whitening, oral surgery, crown and bridge work, and denture services. https://www.aspendental.com/ About Aspen Dental Management, Inc. (ADMI) Aspen Dental Management, Inc. (ADMI) is one of the largest and most trusted retail healthcare business support organizations in the U.S., supporting 15,000 healthcare professionals and team members at more than 1,000 health and wellness offices across 46 states in three distinct categories: Dental care, urgent care, and medical aesthetics. Working in partnership with independent practice owners and clinicians, the team is united by a single purpose: to prove that healthcare can be better and smarter for everyone. ADMI provides a comprehensive suite of centralized business support services that power the impact of four consumer-facing businesses: Aspen Dental, ClearChoice Dental Implant Centers, WellNow Urgent Care and Chapter Aesthetic Studio. Each brand has access to a deep community of experts, tools and resources to grow their practices, and an unwavering commitment to delivering high-quality consumer healthcare experiences at scale. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005837/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Audax Private Debt Provides Staple Financing to Support Tenex Capital Management's Acquisition of JTM Foods Audax Private Debt announced that, as lead investor and Collateral Agent, it provided a Second Lien Credit Facility supporting Tenex Capital Management's ("Tenex") acquisition of JTM Foods ("JTM" or the "Company"). Headquartered in Erie, PA, JTM Foods is a leading manufacturer of private label and branded snack pies and crispy treats. As a trusted source for high-quality treats, JTM makes its products fresh every day using homemade dough and real fruit fillings based on classic recipes. The Company sells its handheld pies under the JJ's Bakery brand, in addition to an array of private label snack pies and crispy treats, distributing to grocery, convenience, value, dollar and mass retailers across the country. JTM also co-manufactures products for leading branded food companies throughout North America. Audax Private Debt provided staple financing as the incumbent lender to JTM and brought speed and certainty to enable an efficient close of the transaction. Blake Loweth, Managing Director at Audax Private Debt said, "We've supported JTM since 2014, and have seen management build the Company into a leading national supplier of high-quality snack pies and treats. We are thrilled to continue our partnership with the JTM team and look forward to working closely with Tenex to support the next phase of the Company's growth." About JTM Foods www.jjsbakery.net. About Audax Private Debt Based in New York, Audax Private Debt is a leading debt capital partner for North American middle market companies. Since its inception in 2000, Audax Private Debt has invested over $23 billion across more than 860 companies in support of over 240 private equity sponsors, and has raised over $17 billion in capital. The platform offers its clients a range of financing solutions, including first lien, stretch senior, unitranche, second lien and subordinated debt, as well as equity co-investments. With more than 40 investment professionals and 80 total employees, Audax Private Debt provides financing certainty, add-on investment capability, and the experience and collaborative approach to partner with private equity firms and their portfolio companies. For more information, please visit www.audaxprivatedebt.com or follow us on LinkedIn. Audax Private Debt is an integral part of Audax Group, a leading alternative investment manager with offices in Boston, New York, and San Francisco. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005611/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Bell transforms customer experiences and extends 5G leadership by collaborating with AWS for cloud and 5G multi-access edge computing Bell chose AWS to help modernize its applications and services and will leverage AWS capabilities like machine learning and analytics to enhance customers' digital experiences Bell and AWS will offer AWS Wavelength Zones on Bell's 5G network for fast and efficient 5G multi-access edge computing (MEC), the first such 5G MEC deployment in Canada Combination will give developers access to AWS's unparalleled portfolio of services to build applications that require ultra-low-latency connectivity for mobile devices running on Canada's fastest-ranked national network MONTREAL, June 3, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - Bell Canada (TSX: BCE) (NYSE: BCE) today announced it has entered into an agreement with Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) to modernize the digital experience for Bell customers and support 5G innovation across Canada. Bell will use the breadth and depth of AWS technologies to create and scale new consumer and business applications faster, as well as enhance how its voice, wireless, television and internet subscribers engage with Bell services and content such as streaming video. In addition, AWS and Bell are teaming up to bring AWS Wavelength to Canada, deploying it at the edge of Bell's 5G network to allow developers to build ultra-low-latency applications for mobile devices and users. With this rollout, Bell will become the first Canadian communications company to offer AWS-powered multi-access edge computing (MEC) to business and government users. "Bell's partnership with AWS further heightens both our 5G network leadership and the Bell customer experience with greater automation, enhanced agility and streamlined service options. Together, we'll provide the next-generation service innovations for consumers and business customers that will support Canada's growth and prosperity in the years ahead," said Mirko Bibic, President and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada. "With this first in Canada partnership to deploy AWS Wavelength at the network edge, where 5G's high capacity, unprecedented speed and ultra low latency are crucial for next-generation applications, Bell and AWS are opening up all-new opportunities for developers to enhance our customers' digital experiences. As Canada recovers from COVID-19 and looks forward to the economic, social and sustainability advantages of 5G, Bell is moving rapidly to expand the country's next-generation network infrastructure capabilities. Bell's accelerated capital investment plan, supported by government and regulatory policies that encourage significant investment and innovation in network facilities, will double our 5G coverage this year while growing the high-capacity fibre connections linking our national network footprint." The speed and increased bandwidth capacity of the Bell 5G network support applications that can respond much more quickly and handle greater volumes of data than previous generations of wireless technology. Through its relationship with AWS, Bell will leverage AWS Wavelength to embed AWS compute and storage services at the edge of its 5G telco networks so that applications developers can serve edge computing workloads like machine learning, IoT, and content streaming. Bell and AWS will move 5G data processing to the network edge to minimize latency and power customer-led 5G use cases such as immersive gaming, ultra-high-definition video streaming, self-driving vehicles, smart manufacturing, augmented reality, machine learning inference and distance learning throughout Canada. Developers will also have direct access to AWS's full portfolio of cloud services to enhance and scale their 5G applications. Optimized for MEC applications, AWS Wavelength minimizes the latency involved in sending data to and from a mobile device. AWS delivers the service through Wavelength Zones, which are AWS infrastructure deployments that embed AWS compute and storage services within a telecommunications provider's datacenters at the edge of the 5G network so that data traffic can reach application servers within the zones without leaving the mobile provider's network. Application data need only travel from the device to a cell tower to an AWS Wavelength Zone running in a metro aggregation site. This results in increased performance by avoiding the multiple hops between regional aggregation sites and across the internet that traditional mobile architectures require. Outside of the AWS Wavelength deployment, Bell is also continuing to evolve its offerings to enhance its customers' digital experiences. From streaming media to network performance to customer service, Bell will leverage AWS's extensive portfolio of cloud capabilities to better serve its tens of millions of customers coast to coast. This work will allow Bell's product innovation teams to streamline and automate processes as well as adapt more quickly to changing market conditions and customer preferences. "As the first telecommunications company in Canada to provide access to AWS Wavelength, Bell is opening the door for businesses and organizations throughout the country to combine te speed of its 5G network with the power and versatility of the world's leading cloud. Together, Bell and AWS are bringing the transformative power of cloud and 5G to users all across Canada," said Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services, Inc. "Cloud and 5G are changing the business models for telecommunications companies worldwide, and AWS's unmatched infrastructure capabilities in areas like machine learning and IoT will enable leaders like Bell to deliver new digital experiences that will enhance their customers' lives." Launched in June 2020, Bell's 5G network is now available to approximately 35% of the Canadian population. On February 4, Bell announced it was accelerating its typical annual capital investment of $4 billion by an additional $1 billion to $1.2 billion over the next 2 years to rapidly expand its fibre, rural Wireless Home Internet and 5G networks, followed May 31 by the announcement of a further up to $500 million increase in capital spending. With this accelerated capital investment plan, Bell's 5G network is on track to reach approximately 70% of the Canadian population by year end. 5G will support a wide range of new consumer and business applications in coming years, including virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence and machine learning, connected vehicles, remote workforces, telehealth and Smart Cities, with unprecedented IoT opportunities for business and government. 5G is also accelerating the positive environmental impact of Bell's networks. The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association estimates 5G technology can support 1000x the traffic at half of current energy consumption over the next decade, enhancing the potential of IoT and other next-generation technologies to support sustainable economic growth, and supporting Bell's own objective to be carbon neutral across its operations in 2025. About Bell The Bell team builds world-leading broadband wireless and fibre networks, provides innovative mobile, TV, Internet and business communications services and delivers the most compelling content with premier television, radio, out of home and digital media brands. With a goal to advance how Canadians connect with each other and the world, Bell serves more than 22 million consumer and business customer connections across every province and territory. Founded in Montreal in 1880, Bell is wholly owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE). To learn more, please visit Bell.ca or BCE.ca. Bell supports the social and economic prosperity of our communities with a commitment to the highest environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards. We measure our progress in increasing environmental sustainability, achieving a diverse and inclusive workplace, leading data governance and protection, and building stronger and healthier communities. This includes confronting the challenge of mental illness with the Bell Let's Talk initiative, which drives mental health awareness and action with programs like the annual Bell Let's Talk Day and Bell funding for community care, research and workplace programs nationwide all year round. Media Inquiries Bell Nathan Gibson 905-614-9596 nathan.gibson@bell.ca @Bell_News Amazon.com, Inc. Media Hotline Amazon-pr@amazon.com www.amazon.com/pr Investor inquiries Bell Thane Fotopoulos 514-870-4619 thane.fotopoulos@bell.ca Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements made in this news release are forward-looking statements, including statements relating to our anticipated capital expenditures and the benefits expected to result therefrom, including our two-year increased capital investment program to accelerate broadband network and 5G footprint expansion, our business outlook, objectives, plans and strategic priorities, and other statements that are not historical facts. All such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbour" provisions of applicable Canadian securities laws and of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties and are based on several assumptions which give rise to the possibility that actual results or events could differ materially from our expectations. These statements are not guarantees of future performance or events, and we caution you against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release describe our expectations at the date of this news release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Except as may be required by applicable securities laws, we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this news release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Our capital investment and network deployment plans and the benefits expected to result therefrom are subject to risks and, accordingly, there can be no assurance that our capital investment and network deployment plans will be completed or that the benefits expected to result therefrom will be realized. The value of the planned investment assumes our ability to access or generate the necessary sources of capital. However, there can be no certainty that the required sources of capital will be available with the result that the actual investment made by us could materially differ from current expectations. For additional information on assumptions and risks underlying certain of our forward-looking statements made in this news release, please consult BCE's 2020 Annual MD&A dated March 4, 2021, BCE's 2021 First Quarter MD&A dated April 28, 2021 and BCE's news release dated April 29, 2021 announcing its financial results for the first quarter of 2021, filed by BCE with the Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities (available at Sedar.com) and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (available at SEC.gov). These documents are also available at BCE.ca. SOURCE Bell Canada [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Bitcoin Association appoints new global ambassadors to Switzerland and the United Kingdom to advance BSV ZUG, Switzerland, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bitcoin Association, the Switzerland-based global industry organisation that works to advance business with the Bitcoin SV (BSV) blockchain, today announces that it has for the first time appointed Bitcoin Association Ambassadors for Switzerland and the United Kingdom as part of its global ambassador programme. Bernhard Muller has been appointed as a Bitcoin Association Ambassador for Switzerland and Michael Hudson appointed as an Ambassador for the United Kingdom. Bitcoin Association Ambassadors are experienced professionals from the BSV ecosystem who work to raise awareness and improve understanding of the BSV blockchain and digital currency, as well as the power of the original Bitcoin protocol to support a massively scaled distributed data network for both peer-to-peer electronic cash payments and enterprise blockchain applications. With today's additions, there are now 24 Bitcoin Association Ambassadors representing 25 different countries and territories. Bernhard Muller is the founder and chairman of Centi AG, a BSV payments processor offering solutions that enable merchants to accept digital currency payments through existing Point of Sale (POS) infrastructure. Prior to founding Centi, Muller held senior engineering and development roles for a major multinational pharmaceuticals conglomerate, as well as a management position with a leading fintech firm. Michael Hudson is the founder and CEO of Bitstocks, the City of London's first Bitcoin market advisory nd digital asset investment firm. Founded in 2014, Bitstocks now boasts a team of 30 market-leading professionals operating from its central London headquarters. As part of its journey to demystify Bitcoin for everyday people, Bitstocks has created Gravity, a digital ecosystem of everyday financial products and services built using the BSV blockchain. Gravity allows users to easily buy, sell and store BSV (and other digital assets), with more services coming as part of a mission to give users more financial sovereignty and support the evolution of human sustainability. Speaking on today's announcement, Bitcoin Association Founding President Jimmy Nguyen, commented: "The BSV growth story continues to develop all around the globe, necessitating the addition of two new Bitcoin Association Ambassadors to our international team. Both Bernhard and Michael have demonstrated a deep understanding of the power of Bitcoin when it is allowed to scale as Satoshi Nakamoto envisioned - to be world's most efficient digital payment system and data protocol. They are both highly professional voices who speak from personal experience building innovative businesses using the BSV blockchain. But beyond the success they have enjoyed in their business lives, they have been excellent advocates for BSV in both the blockchain and broader business communities, experience that will make them excellent Bitcoin Association Ambassadors." Speaking on his appointment as a Bitcoin Association Ambassador for Switzerland, Bernhard Muller, said: "In my own way, I have been an ambassador for Bitcoin's true vision since the day I first learned about it; becoming a Bitcoin Association Ambassador for Switzerland is a natural continuation of the many, many hours I have already spent consulting, discussing and evangelising Bitcoin now best realized by BSV. It is with pleasure that I accept this opportunity to join a leading global organisation in Bitcoin Association and the ranks of the fantastic ambassadors that represent it." Speaking on his appointment as a Bitcoin Association Ambassador for the United Kingdom, Michael Hudson, said: "It is truly an honour to be selected as the first Bitcoin Association Ambassador for the United Kingdom. At Bitstocks, we've been forging ahead with our mission for seven years and will continue to educate, empower & evolve the fintech industry, as the world continues to understand the power and benefits of Satoshi's Vision. I look forward to working together with Bitcoin Association to further this aim." About Bitcoin Association Bitcoin Association is the Switzerland-based global industry organization that works to advance business on the Bitcoin SV blockchain. It brings together essential components of the Bitcoin SV ecosystem enterprises, start-up ventures, developers, merchants, exchanges, service providers, blockchain transaction processors (miners), and others working alongside them, as well as in a representative capacity, to drive further use of the Bitcoin SV blockchain and uptake of the BSV digital currency. The Association works to build a regulation-friendly ecosystem that fosters lawful conduct while facilitating innovation using all aspects of Bitcoin technology. More than a digital currency and blockchain, Bitcoin is also a network protocol; just like Internet protocol, it is the foundational rule set for an entire data network. The Association supports use of the original Bitcoin protocol to operate the world's single blockchain on Bitcoin SV. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bitcoin-association-appoints-new-global-ambassadors-to-switzerland-and-the-united-kingdom-to-advance-bsv-301305015.html SOURCE Bitcoin Association [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Bizzabo Acquires x.ai to Launch AI-powered Scheduling & Accelerate Personalized Event Experiences NEW YORK, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bizzabo , the world's leading event success platform, today announced its acquisition of x.ai , the powerful artificial intelligence scheduling tool. x.ai automates the most tedious parts of meetings by generating compatible times to meet across time zones, sending follow-ups and reminders, and managing cancellations. Bizzabos integration of x.ais scheduling engine will make it easy for event participants to make meaningful connections at virtual, in-person and hybrid events powering both the discovery of who should meet as well as when and how. We founded the company based on the mission of bringing people together to create impactful experiences, says Eran Ben-Shushan, Co-Founder & CEO of Bizzabo. In 2021 and beyond, were doubling down on creating personalized and immersive event experiences for attendees, speakers, sponsors, and organizers. x.ais sophisticated scheduling and matchmaking technology will let attendees meet the right people at the right time. Founded in 2014, x.ai has assembled one of the biggest meeting scheduling datasets in the world. Their scheduling engine compares preferences and availability to find a time to meet instantly. In 2020, x.ais user base grew 363% with a 182% growth in the number of meetings scheduled each month. By integrating with x.ai's best-in-class AI scheduling technology, Bizzabo intends to elevate event experiences for all stakeholders by making it more efficient than ever to meet and connect. Specifically, Bizzabos event platform will offer the following capabilities: Meeting Scheduler : Allow attendees to easily schedule meetings with each other, whether theyre in-person or virtual. : Allow attendees to easily schedule meetings with each other, whether theyre in-person or virtual. Bizzabo For Exhibitors : Enable companies presenting at events with state-of-the-art meeting management technology to find and engage their most relevant customers. : Enable companies presenting at events with state-of-the-art meeting management technology to find and engage their most relevant customers. Smart Recommendations: Increase partiipants satisfaction by personalizing their event journey and proactively recommending relevant content and people to meet with. Personalized event experiences allow attendees to learn and share knowledge, and more importantly, build meaningful connections, added Ben-Shushan. As professional events are being redefined with hybrid experiences, we wanted to find the best scheduling engine in the market to support these new generation events. And its not just about meetings, there is a massive demand for personalization and matchmaking at events, and x.ai will serve as the technological AI backbone to do exactly that. Our goal with this acquisition is to leverage x.ais unique AI technology and talent to make every event of 5,000 people feel like 5,000 different experiences. x.ai is an essential tool for individuals and teams across industries in more than 200 countries, says Dennis Mortensen, CEO & Founder of x.ai. Over the last 18 months, weve seen many x.ai customers organically leverage our scheduling capabilities to extend the impact of their virtual and hybrid events. By joining forces with Bizzabo, were able to expand beyond business meetings and put the scheduling engine in the hands of even more people. Earlier this month, Bizzabo announced it's first-ever acquisition, Whalebone, whose Crowd Amplification and Crowd Visualization technology enhances the audience, organizer, and speaker experience to make events feel more interactive, exciting and human. Were excited to continue reimagining what an event platform can do in the post-COVID-19 era, said Ben-Shushan. Were thrilled to bring in the x.ai team as partners and provide their powerful AI scheduling engine to our customers and were just getting started. In December 2020, Bizzabo announced a $138 million financing round to meet surging demand for its all-in-one, end-to-end events platform globally, with a focus on enhancing the attendee experience in the hybrid events market. Recently, Bizzabo earned a Leader recognition in The Forrester Wave: B2B Marketing Events Management Solutions, Q1 2021 report. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. For more information about Bizzabo, visit www.bizzabo.com . About Bizzabo: Bizzabo is the only Event Success Platform. Bizzabos all-in-one event software enables in-person, virtual, and hybrid events to deliver unique attendee experiences through intelligent and intent-based personalized engagement. We help companies measure, manage, and scale events towards key business outcomes. Our platform empowers every organizer, marketer, exhibitor, and attendee to unleash the power of events. As a Leader in The Forrester Wave: B2B Marketing Events Management Solutions, Q1 2021 Report, we are trusted by world-leading brands to power their eventsfrom Fortune 100 enterprise organizations and financial institutions to creative agencies and scaling tech companies. Bizzabo was founded by Boaz Katz, Alon Alroy, and Eran Ben-Shushan, and has more than 250 employees in its New York, Tel-Aviv and Kyiv offices. About x.ai: Founded in 2014, x.ai is a leading productivity tool powered by artificial intelligence that schedules meetings for you and your team. x.ai automates the most tedious parts of scheduling things like finding compatible times to meet with large groups, sending follow-ups and reminders, as well as managing cancellations and reschedule requests. Learn more at x.ai . Media Contact: Erica Schain erica@crenshawcomm.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Black & Veatch to Conduct Feasibility Studies for Andes Energy Terminal, an LNG Terminal and Power Plant Project in Buenaventura, Colombia Black & Veatch (News - Alert) , a leading provider of low-carbon energy infrastructure solutions, has been selected to conduct the technical, engineering and commercial studies of the Andes Energy Terminal (AET) located in the Aguadulce Peninsula in Buenaventura, Colombia. The study will build on commercial and technical work previously completed by the sponsors and focus on the development of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification facility and 400 megawatts (MW) of natural gas-powered generation assets, in order to deliver reliable electricity to cities in central and southwestern Colombia. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005196/en/ With economic growth returning in many sectors and robust GDP projections, Colombia is anticipated to experience power generation shortfalls in 2022 and consistent natural gas deficits by 2023, even as global LNG production soars. The AET seeks to aid Colombia's energy transition to more sustainable power sources and add resilience and reliability to an electric grid heavily reliant on hydro generation assets that are subject to weather-related production variance. In addition, the AET looks to develop a hyperscale data center and new facilities for storing liquid fuels, including infrastructure to meet the emerging opportunity in the hydrogen market. "Our energy terminal reflects a forward-looking approach to solving Colombia's energy and data infrastructure needs," said Manuel Tenorio, Chairman, Andes Energy Terminal. "By combining fuel supply, efficient and sustainable power generation, storage and data infrastructure in one location, we can achieve significant efficiencies to reduce the overall environmental footprint of the project and provide a strong basis for much needed investment in the Southwest region of Colombia." The AET is strategically located within the Bay of Buenaventura presenting an opportunity to build a multi-purpose infrastructure project leveraging a natural deep-water port that provides ease of access, rights of way and simplified permitting due to its location near the Port of Buenaventura. ThePort is considered the main foreign trade port in Colombia with roughly 65% of international cargo mobilized through its facilities. The feasibility studies, which are funded by a grant from the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), will verify the proposed project site's suitability, define the project design requirements, and estimate capital and operating costs. It also will assess the financial viability and define financing options while preparing a detailed implementation and construction plan. Black & Veatch, founded in 1915, is a global engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) and consulting company specializing in infrastructure development in power, oil and gas, water, telecommunications, government services, mining, and data centers. Black & Veatch is the 7th largest majority employee-owned company in the United States and ranked No.2 in power design by Engineering News-Record, which compiles and publishes rankings of the largest construction and engineering firms annually, measured by gross revenues. The Company has more than 100 offices worldwide and has executed projects in more than 100 countries on six continents. Andes Energy is also partnering with a world-leading strategic power solutions vendor, which will provide equipment, solutions and services for the power plant. The partner, who remains undisclosed, is active in more than 180 countries, with their technology producing a third of the world's electricity. "As outlined, this project provides the type of comprehensive planning critical to accelerating the energy transition and enabling greater grid resilience through more-connected infrastructure," said Oscar Falcon, Managing Director of Latin America for Black & Veatch's power business. "Across Central and South America, developers of ambitious projects like the Andes Energy Terminal demand thoughtful assessments by trusted experts in everything from LNG and electrical generation to energy storage and emerging technologies. Our expertise across the power market provides the surety developers and investors need to undertake projects of this scale and complexity." Editor's Notes: Phase I of the Andes Energy Terminal includes a 270-MW simple-cycle gas turbine to be upgraded to a 400-MW combined-cycle turbine in Phase II. Black & Veatch has delivered projects across Latin America for more than 45 years including delivery of more than 350 infrastructure projects across water, power, oil & gas and telecommunications in nine countries throughout Latin America. Black & Veatch is working to deliver feasibility studies central to the development for the Enegix 600 million kg/pa green hydrogen generation facility in Ceara, Brazil, the world's largest proposed green hydrogen plant. Black & Veatch served as owner's engineer by Centrais Eletricas de Sergipe S.A. (CELSE) for a 1,516 megawatt combined cycle power project in northeastern Brazil. Black & Veatch served as designer and engineer of record for the Escondida Water Supply Project in Antofagasta, Chile. About Black & Veatch Black & Veatch is an employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people around the world by addressing the resilience and reliability of our most important infrastructure assets. Our revenues in 2020 exceeded US$3.0 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and on social media. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005196/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Brad Hunt Appointed RIMES CEO to Drive the Company's Lean Data Management Innovation Strategy RIMES, the global leader in Managed Data Services (MDS) for financial institutions, today announces that Brad Hunt has been appointed CEO. The appointment comes as the business accelerates the development of its innovative data management solutions for the asset management industry. Brad will lead RIMES in expanding its Lean Data Management (LDM) approach to Managed Data Services (MDS) following the launch of the company's cloud-based data management solution in April 2021. Drawing on 30 years' experience at organisations such as Bank of New York Mellon, IHS (News - Alert) -Markit and Goldman Sachs, Brad is a recognised leader of innovative growth businesses in wholesale capital markets, spanning electronic trading, data services, and financial technology. He will use this experience to grow RIMES further as the global leader in Managed Data Services across all forms of market nd reference data, including benchmark, ETF and ESG data. Brad will focus on expanding RIMES' value-proposition to the investment community by delivering modernised and compelling outsourced data management solutions that squarely address the industry issues of increasing data complexity and cost. This will include RIMES' new Lean Data Management service, a flexible, cloud-based, service-led approach that redefines data operations for the financial services sector. Drawing on RIMES' 25 years' experience in solving data complexity, the lean approach resolves the longstanding challenges associated with costly, inflexible enterprise data management technology by providing unprecedented control of and visibility into the entire data supply chain. RIMES' offering includes ESG data, which is a growing area of demand due to the insights it can offer into material risks and opportunities - something that is integral to the investment decision framework. Prior to joining RIMES Technologies as Chief Executive, Brad ran strategy and business development at Bank of New York Mellon - Global Markets, where he led business and digital transformation. RIMES' Co-Founder and CEO, Christian Fauvelais, will retain an active role on company's board where he will continue to provide guidance and support over the company's strategy and focus on retaining RIMES' uniquely customer centric culture built over the last 25 years. On joining RIMES, Brad comments: "RIMES is at a hugely exciting point in its development. It's already proven itself to be a forward-thinking business, delivering innovating solutions to asset managers, owners and servicers, operating in today's market. The launch of Lean Data Management shows the business has a clear product strategy to address the needs and pain points of the buy-side. We know that the industry is going through tremendous change. Investment strategies now require a specialised and granular approach, which data professionals are being expected to deliver on reduced budgets. RIMES Co-Founder and outgoing CEO, Christian Fauvelais comments: "It was particularly important for me to ensure we brought on board the right person to continue leading the charge on RIMES' development and growth, while delivering ongoing value to our customers. Brad has an extremely impressive track record on developing and transforming businesses, which will be invaluable as RIMES navigates being a pioneer in MDS innovation. Brad's industry recognition, network and extensive skillset place him in the perfect position to continue the growth trajectory the company is on and drive widespread adoption of RIMES' lean data management vision. I am delighted to welcome Brad on board and look forward to seeing the company continue to flourish under his leadership." About RIMES RIMES is an award-winning data management specialist that truly understands the challenges faced by its customers. It serves over 350 asset managers, owners, servicers and banks in 45 countries including 60 of the 100 largest global asset managers by AUM and 9 of the top 10 asset servicers in the world. www.rimes.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005957/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Calvert County Uses Infor Technology to Quickly Distribute CARES Act Funding to Constituents NEW YORK, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Infor, the industry cloud company, today announced the success Calvert County has seen with Infor's cloud-based public sector solutions. Calvert County in Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C., needed a new technology solution that could help its teams quickly distribute funding received through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Intended to support businesses and nonprofits in navigating the pandemic, Calvert County had to quickly create a brand-new, public-facing process that was easy to navigate, able to facilitate a solid audit trail for funds attribution, and ready within 11 days in order to complete allocations to businesses in need. Using Infor Public Sector solutions, Calvert County was able to create a new program within four weeks to support its constituents in need. An Infor customer for 13 years, Calvert County had been using Infor Public Sector applications to manage licensing, permit requests, onsite inspections, and various back-office functions. At the beginning of 2020, Calvert County had no online presence for processing business grants, and with the physical permit office being shut down and unable to perform normal business functions, an urgent solution to collect applicants' forms was needed. An upgrade program was already underway with Infor Services when this urgent project emerged, and the Infor and Calvert teams immediately switched priorities to get the program up and running to promptly assist the businesses of Calvert County. "We have entered the 21st century in Calvert County with this CARES Act grant funding program. We didn't have weeks or months to fine tune this process, and we had to do things right. We couldn't have done it without software, or we would still be processing paper as we speak," said Danita Boonchaisri, deputy director of economic development at Calvert County. "Infor was able to give us a place to start when we didn't have a playbook for this type of situation. We were frontline dealing with business owners whose entire lives were wrapped up in this crisis, trying to counsel our business community, an trying to help them as best as possible. When we received the funds allocation, we wanted to distribute it as fast as possible to people in need. With Infor, we were able to make this program work efficiently with our small staff." Infor CloudSuite Public Sector is a complete suite of applications built for state and local government. The purpose-built software (Community Development and Regulation) includes solutions for planning, permitting, projects, licensing, and case management. In addition, Infor Rhythm for Civics is uniquely designed to enable governments to deliver a constituent-centric experience and robust serf-service portal. A single intuitive interface provides businesses complete visibility into their projects, from planning and applying for renewals, to paying fees, scheduling inspections, to tracking reviews in real time. The platform helps boost regulatory and code compliance and removes the need for citizens to understand the agency structure and navigate multiple departments. Citizens are enabled to initiate new projects and track progress seamlessly. "Infor continues to innovate to help state and local agencies modernize with government software applications that deliver full transparency, keep up with changing regulations, and provide efficient services that constituents require," said Bob Benstead, industry director of Infor Public Sector. "More than ever, this last year has shown us that data, visibility and cloud technology are at the center of the way we work, keeping us moving when things have stopped around us. Infor's government solutions aim to change the way government agencies interact with their constituents, moving them out of customer service lines and into a more convenient online system that empowers them in a much more meaningful way." Parallel to this project, the Infor team helped Calvert County utilize the Infor Field Inspector application, which delivers more functionality in the field to allow its teams to resume operations promptly and more efficiently, even during the pandemic lockdown, providing better service to constituents. About Calvert County Calvert County is Maryland's smallest county in land area with 213 square miles. It is home to more than 92,000 people and has one of the highest standards of living in Maryland. There are more than 5,200 businesses in the county, and a labor force of at least 1.8 million resides within a one-hour drive. Major industries include defense contracting, information technology, tourism and administrative services. Visit https://www.calvertcountymd.gov/ About Infor Infor is a global leader in business cloud software specialized by industry. Providing mission-critical enterprise applications to 67,000 customers in more than 175 countries, Infor software is designed to deliver more value and less risk, with more sustainable operational advantages. We empower our 17,000 employees to leverage their deep industry expertise and use data-driven insights to create, learn and adapt quickly to solve emerging business and industry challenges. Infor is committed to providing our customers with modern tools to transform their business and accelerate their own path to innovation. To learn more, please visit www.infor.com. For more information: Christina Ledger Infor Christina.ledger@infor.com 312-662-2135 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/calvert-county-uses-infor-technology-to-quickly-distribute-cares-act-funding-to-constituents-301305193.html SOURCE Infor [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Canada Invests in Improving Energy Efficiency in Canadian Aluminum Sector OTTAWA, ON, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ - Improvements in energy efficiency are critical to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. It helps businesses increase their competitiveness while contributing to a cleaner environment. The Government of Canada is investing in building a low-emissions energy future to provide a healthier planet for future generations. The Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr., Minister of Natural Resources, today announced a $40,000 investment to Alcoa Canada for an energy information system to enable the aluminum producer to reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions at its Deschambault aluminum smelter. Alcoa, together with Quebec natural gas distributer Energir, also contributed to the project to bring the total investment to $350,000. The funding enabled the Deschambault smelter to obtain their ISO 50001:2018 Certification, a standard certification for energy management. With this standard, the smelter commits to reducing its impact on the climate, conserving energy resources and improving its results through the efficient management of all forms of energy. Federal funding is provided by the Energy Efficiency or Industry Program, which offers financial assistance to help fund Canadian industrial facilities' energy management projects. Acquired by Alcoa in 1998, the Deschambault facility has been in operation since 1992. It houses the Aluminum Centre of Excellence, a training hub and a centre for the development, transfer and standardization of best practices in manufacturing management. The government supports green infrastructure projects that create good jobs and support Canada's low-emissions future. Improving energy efficiency in Canada's industrial sector is a key part of Canada's efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Quote "Improvements in energy efficiency will take us a long way toward exceeding our climate targets. With today's announcement, we're lowering emissions and supporting businesses on the path to net-zero by 2050." The Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr. Minister of Natural Resources "We are proud to support the Alcoa Deschambault Aluminerie in its endeavour to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at its facility. Improving energy efficiency in industrial facilities is key to reaching Canada's climate goals." The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry and Member of Parliament for Saint-MauriceChamplain "We are proud to be the first Canadian aluminum smelter to obtain ISO 50001 2018 certification. As a large energy consumer, we are aware of the importance of energy efficiency to reduce the impact on our environment and our costs. Through our energy committee, which has been in place for more than 20 years, several energy efficiencies projects have been carried out over the years, and this certification demonstrates that our systems and procedures are rigorous and that they meet our consumption reduction objectives. All of our employees work hard every day to achieve this goal, and this certification is a source of great pride." Pascal Rochette Plant Manager Alcoa Aluminerie Deschambault "At Energir, we work closely with our customers to help them achieve the decarbonization objectives of their activities. Through this innovative energy efficiency project, Alcoa is adding to its roadmap an important lever for further reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from its operations. We are delighted to see their success and to be able to contribute to it." Valerie Sapin Manager, Marketing, Customer experience and Energy Efficiency Energir Associated Links Energy Efficiency for Industry Alcoa Canada Energir Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan (http://twitter.com/nrcan) SOURCE Natural Resources Canada [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Celebrating the Class of 2021 at Cyber Academy of South Carolina Cyber Academy of South Carolina (CASC), an online public school, will celebrate the Class of 2021 during commencement ceremonies on Saturday, June 5th. Available to students in grades K-12 across the state, CASC offers innovative learning platforms, a robust curriculum, and live virtual classes taught by state-licensed teachers. Collectively, the Class of 2021 reports it has been accepted to trade schools, colleges, and universities throughout the country including many across South Carolina. "Our graduating students from all walks of life have had the amazing opportunity to learn in a supportive, online environment," said CASC Head of School David Crook. "I have no doubt that the skills they've honed at CASC have put them on the path to college and career success." Through the school's Stride Career Prep program, some CASC graduates have paired a solid academic foundaion with hands-on learning experiences in growing career fields like health and human services, information technology (IT), and much more. Seventy-three percent of CASC seniors are graduating with a certified career-ready indicator. These include: industry-standard certifications, work-study, internship, or job shadow opportunities. Roughly 17 percent are graduating one year early. "The faculty and staff at CASC feel so honored to have played a role in the development and education of each student graduating this year. We have truly enjoyed working closely with each graduate and having the opportunity to support them in reaching goals and preparing for life after high school," said CASC High School Principal Nicki Batson. "We look forward to seeing all they accomplish and the many ways they impact the world they are entering." Students enroll in CASC for a number of reasons-some are looking to escape bullying, some have health concerns, many wish to accelerate their learning through advanced courses unavailable at their traditional school, and others are looking for an alternative to the traditional classroom setting to find success. CASC students access a robust online curriculum in the core subjects of math, science, English language arts, history, art and music as well as a host of electives. Live virtual classes taught by state-licensed teachers provide not only an engaging environment but give students the opportunity to learn with their peers in an online platform. Details of the graduation ceremony are as follows: WHAT: Cyber Academy of South Carolina 2021 Graduation Ceremonies WHEN: Sat., June 5, 2021 / In-person ceremony at 11 a.m. ET / Virtual ceremony at 4 p.m. ET WHERE: Link to watch the graduation virtually is available upon request About Cyber Academy of South Carolina Cyber Academy of South Carolina (CASC) is a full-time, public school serving students in grades K through 12. CASC is tuition-free, giving families the choice to access the engaging curriculum and tools provided by Stride, Inc. (NYSE: LRN), one of the nation's preeminent tech-enabled education companies and a premier provider of career learning. CASC is fully accredited by AdvancED. For more information about CASC, visit casc.k12.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005013/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Mayfield High to Receive $10M for Renovations By West Kentucky Star Staff MAYFIELD - Mayfield High School will receive more than $10 million for construction and renovation projects.Gov. Andy Beshear on Wednesday announced $127 million is headed to local school districts to fund construction and renovation projects as part of his Better Kentucky Plan, which will direct $1.3 billion to schools, expand internet access and deliver clean drinking water and quality sewer systems across Kentucky. Under the plan, Mayfield will receive $10,478,018. This is and always will be an education first administration, and this funding gives us a unique opportunity to renovate and replace some of our schools, making them a safer and better learning environment for our children and our educators, said Gov. Beshear. This will inject tens of millions of dollars into our schools as we work to build a better Kentucky for people in every corner of the commonwealth. The funds to build and renovate schools is part of the $1.3 billion Better Kentucky Plan, which will create 14,500 jobs while expanding broadband, delivering clean drinking water and building new schools. Gov. Beshear and Kentucky lawmakers reached a bipartisan agreement at the close of the 2021 General Assembly to invest federal relief funds in infrastructure. [June 03, 2021] Citizen Systems launches Lightning interface for POS printers TORRANCE, Calif., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In a growing point-of-sale market, diversifying interface options for POS printers is imperative to keep up with the latest POS technology. Especially for food delivery services and tablet driven retail, that have become a normal functional for businesses and consumers alike. A POS printer with key interface options ensures that hardware and software meet the demands of customers but also streamline the processes at checkout. Citizen Systems understands that iOS devices are becoming more common in the retail and hospitality sector thanks to their sleek aesthetics and simple usability. With that, they have created a new Lighting interface for their POS printers, specifically designed to be used alongside iPads, iPad Pros, and iPhones. The Lightning interface is equipped with one Lightning cable port which can be used to charge iOS devices and transfer data at up to a best-in-class 480Mbps. It also has an additional three USB host ports so that you can tailor your POS printer to new or existing retail or hospitality applications. These three USB ports host a range of other essential POS hardware devices such as scanners, cash drawers and payment terminals. You can create your connected POS station exactly as is fitting for your solution with these powerful and flexible connectivity options. Hard wiring printers to POS stations through a connection like Citizen's Lightning interface allows users to have more stable and fastercommunications than wireless connections such as Bluetooth or WIFI. When using the Lightning interface there is no need to waste time pairing devices or setting up communication preferences from your selected POS device just plug straight into the printer. To take full advantage of these USB host ports, an SDK (software development kit) is available on the Citizen Systems website to help you calibrate your printer to be fully connected to your desired devices. The new Lighting interface is currently available for the following Citizen POS printers: CT-E651 and CT-S751. Both printers are part of Citizen Systems' new range of solutions featuring contemporary styling, compact footprints, flexible interface options and of course, ultimate reliability. Glenn Williams, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Citizen Systems America, said: "Citizen is proud to continue providing strong products in the POS marketplace. Adding the Lightning interface to our already large range of great products only reinforces our commitment to making the job easier for the user and integrator alike. The lightning interface with USB Host ports is a great way to provide quality and integration flexibility to our customers and the marketplaces we support." About Citizen Systems America "Citizen Systems America" is the America subsidiary of Citizen Systems Japan - the electronic products affiliate of Citizen Watch Co. Ltd., the world-renowned manufacturer of fine watch timepieces. Citizen headquarters is located in the greater Los Angeles, California area. Citizen develops and markets printers for point-of-sale, industrial solutions, barcode and label, portable and general thermal technology usage applications. Citizen products provide thermal solutions for packaged and OEM printer mechanisms that are used in a variety of industries including: retail, manufacturing, food service, healthcare, banking and many more. For over four decades, Citizen products have set the standard for performance, reliability and value in the marketplace. For more information, please visit Citizen Systems America's website at: www.citizen-systems.com. Editorial Contact: Reina Villanueva Marketing Specialist Citizen Systems America Corporation Phone: 310.359.2657 reinav@citizen-systems.com Citizen Systems America Corporation 363 Van Ness Way, Suite 404 Torrance, CA 90501 (310) 781-1460 Fax (310) 781-9152 www.citizen-systems.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/citizen-systems-launches-lightning-interface-for-pos-printers-301304932.html SOURCE Citizen Systems America [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Crypto Company Blockchain.com Moves U.S. Headquarters to Miami MIAMI, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Blockchain.com , one of the most widely-used consumer crypto products and the leading institutional crypto solutions provider, announced that it has moved its U.S. headquarters from New York City to Miami. As part of the relocation, plans for expansion include aggressive hiring throughout the local Miami job market as well as investment to support the local STEM community. Earlier this morning, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez made the announcement at City Hall with Blockchain.com CEO Peter Smith, ahead of the highly anticipated Bitcoin Miami conference this week. The move is part of Blockchain.com's aggressive efforts to scale. The company will tap into the talent pool and support the local job market, with plans to hire 100 full-time employees by the end of 2021, and an additional 200 in 2022. In addition, it will also support the local crypto ecosystem by supporting the South Florida STEM community via educational programming. "Thanks to a strong relationship with the local government, we are honored to join the Miami business community," said Peter Smith, Blockchain.com CEO. "The internet will be the biggest economy in the world by 2030, and crypto is the financial system built to support it. The City of Miami recognizes the industry's potential, and we look forward to contributing to Miamis rich innovation ecosystem." Multiple factors make Miami a prime location for tech innovators, including the city's welcoming regulatory environment serving as a hotbed of crypto innovation. Mayor Suarez has been a vocal proponent for tech investment in the region, even pushing for the state's first financial regulations for cryptocurrency. And as one of the leading financial centers for Latin America, Miami serves as an ideal location for recruiting. "Blockchain.com's arrival in Miami perfectly encapsulates what the Miami Movement is all about leveraging Miami's talent against the world's top companies in order to build towards our goal of becoming a Miami that lasts forever and a Miami that works for everyone," said Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. Blockchain.com's latest move continues the momentum for one of the biggest crypto startups. With a $5B post-money valuation and nearly $500M in venture funding from the best macro investors in the world, Blockchain.com is primed for its next phase of growth. The company currently has 32M verified users in over 200 countries using its products, including its popular non-custodial Wallet, the fastest Exchange for trading, a block Explorer to check transactions, and a bespoke Institutional Markets business. For more information, including open job positions, visit Blockchain.com . About Blockchain.com Blockchain.com is connecting the world to the future of finance. The London-based company, with an international team spread across the world, is the most trusted and fastest growing crypto company, helping millions across the globe from single individuals to the largest institutions safely access cryptocurrency. Through the use of blockchain technology, Blockchain.com is revolutionizing the $14T financial services industry. The company has raised over $190 million in funding from leading global investors including: Eldridge, GV, Kyle Bass, Lakestar, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Moore Strategic Ventures, Rovida Kruptos Assets Limited, and others. Contact: Brooks Wallace Kickstand Communications, for Blockchain.com brooks@meetkickstand.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/crypto-company-blockchaincom-moves-us-headquarters-to-miami-301304969.html SOURCE Blockchain.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Customers Bank Ranked Among Top Producing Mortgage Lenders by Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency for Fourth Consecutive Year For the fourth year in a row, Customers Bank was recognized by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency as a top-10 lending partner. Customers Bank placed 6th overall, advancing from 7th in the previous year. And for the fourth consecutive year, Customers Bank was ranked as the #1 lender in the Loans to Minority First-time Homebuyers category. All three of the bank's CRA loan officers, Elsie Maduro, Crystal Weston and Rosa Hernandez, were recognized as top producing originators. Elsie Maduro, Vice President, Senior CRA Loan Officer at Customers Bank, was recognized as PHFA's third top producer for having 53 of her 205 closed loans being PHFA mortgages. "Everyone at Customers Bank is very proud of our team's effort and continued commitment to helping Pennsylvania residents achieve homeownership as that is also an important step along the path to building personal wealth," said Sam Sidhu, Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Customers Bank. "We have a long track record of helping families and individuals recognize their dream of homeownership. Our partnership with PHFA is essential to us, and being recognized as a top mortgage originator and the number one minority lender in Pennsylvania for the fourth consecutive year demonstrates the dedicaion of all of our Team Members to support the communities we serve." More than 80 lending partners with hundreds of mortgage originators across Pennsylvania participate in the program. The rankings were based on the total volume of closings for PHFA home loans throughout the year. PHFA held a virtual event on May 6 to recognize its annual homeownership awards recipients. Customers Bank realizes that every real estate purchase has its own financial characteristics. The bank offers numerous mortgage programs to assist everyone from first-time homebuyers to individuals and families seeking to purchase their dream home. To learn more about Customers Bank and its products and services, please visit www.customersbank.com. About Customers Bank Customers Bank, a subsidiary of Customers Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:CUBI) a bank holding company, is a full-service super-community bank with assets of approximately $18.8 billion at March 31, 2021. A member of the Federal Reserve System with deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Customers Bank is an equal opportunity lender that provides a range of banking and lending services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, individuals and families. Services and products are available wherever permitted by law through digital-first apps, online portals, and a network of offices and branches. Additional information can be found on the company's website, www.customersbank.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005185/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Cynata signs Licence Agreement with TekCyte to advance Clinical Trial in Diabetic Foot Ulcers MELBOURNE, Australia, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cynata Therapeutics Limited (ASX: CYP, Cynata, or the Company), a clinical-stage biotechnology company specialising in cell therapeutics, has today announced the execution of a worldwide exclusive licence agreement with TekCyte Pty Ltd (TekCyte) in respect of TekCytes wound dressing technology. Cynata has also secured an option to purchase the relevant technology outright. Key highlights Secured worldwide exclusive licence agreement to Tekcytes wound dressing technology which will be utilised in Cynatas planned clinical trial in diabetic foot ulcers Preclinical studies utilising TekCytes dressing to apply Cymerus MSCs to the wound have demonstrated promising efficacy and support further clinical development Final planning to undertake a clinical trial in diabetic foot ulcers in Australia is underway, with the trial to be fully funded by Cynata from available cash reserves TekCyte has developed proprietary surface modification technologies to produce polymer-coated dressings for the delivery of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to wounds. The licence agreement enables the use of TekCytes technologies including in the commercial development of Cynatas MSC product for diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). Under the license agreement, TekCyte will work with Cynata to manufacture and supply the active dressing for the planned trial. The licence is for the life of the relevant TekCyte patents and involves a signing fee and capped, success-based milestone payments. Cynatas Cymerus MSCs have demonstrated promising efficacy in a preclinical model of diabetic wounds(also known as diabetic ulcers). Those studies, conducted independently by the Cooperative Research Centre for Cell Therapy Manufacturing (CTM-CRC), were designed to compare cells from various sources and utilised TekCytes dressing seeded with MSCs or similar cells. Cynata now plans to undertake a clinical trial of its Cymerus MSC product in patients with DFU based on this solid pre-clinical foundation and utilising the TekCyte technology. Dr Kilian Kelly, Cynatas Chief Operating Officer, said: DFU represents a significant unmet medical need, with the disease often resulting in hospitalisations, amputations and fatalities with an estimated market value of nearly US$10b1. Unfortunately, there is also evidence that the burden of this disease is growing, and existing treatment options have limited success. The encouraging data from the pre-clinical studies provides a strong basis for us to proceed with our Cymerus MSC product utilising TekCytes patch technology as a potential treatment. We look forward to finalising trial design and start-up activities and to getting the clinical trial underway. Authorised for release by Dr Ross Macdonald, Managing Director & CEO CONTACTS: Dr Ross Macdonald, CEO, Cynata Therapeutics, +61 (0)412 119343, ross.macdonald@cynata.com Claire LaCagnina, U.S. Media Contact, +1 315.765.1462, clacagnina@6degreespr.com About Cynata Therapeutics (ASX: CYP) Cynata Therapeutics Limited (ASX: CYP) is an Australian clinical-stage stem cell and regenerative medicine company focused on the development of therapies based on Cymerus, a proprietary therapeutic stem cell platform technology. Cymerus overcomes the challenges of other production methods by using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and a precursor cell known as mesenchymoangioblast (MCA) to achieve economic manufacture of cell therapy products, including mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), at commercial scale without the limitation of multiple donors. Cynatas lead product candidate CYP-001 met all clinical endpoints and demonstrated positive safety and efficacy data for the treatment of steroid-resistant acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) in a Phase 1 trial. Clinical trials of Cymerus MSC products in osteoarthritis (Phase 3) and in patients with respiratory failure are currently ongoing. Planning is also underway for further clinical trials of Cymerus MSC products in GvHD (through licensee Fujifilm), critical limb ischemia, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, renal transplantation, and diabetic foot ulcers. In addition, Cynata has demonstrated utility of its Cymerus MSC technology in preclinical models of numerous diseases, including the clinical targets mentioned above, as well as asthma, heart attack, sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and cytokine release syndrome. 1 Transparency Market Research, 2020 (Reflects global DFU treatment market by 2027). [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Darca Schools Celebrates 10th Anniversary of Successful Education Reform Darca Schools, a leader in providing equality in educational opportunities for Israel's most underserved communities, today announced its 10th anniversary, successfully narrowing funding gaps and leveling the playing field for more than 24,000 Israeli students in 42 high schools. Data published by Israel's Ministry of Education ranked Darca as the leading education network across the country, including an average university matriculation eligibility rate of 92%, an outstanding 40-percentage points higher than the national average. With visionary leadership and oversight by Board Directors who oversee Darca with the same acumen committed to their respective global investment firms, Darca's open-source model and business-oriented mindset is focused on providing the innovation and resources necessary to empower school leadership, incentivize teachers, and give students the tools to drive higher engagement, increase understanding, and deliver measurable outcomes. "For ten years we have been focused on the belief that every child has the right to realize their potential for excellence, regardless of their socioeconomic background, their parents' education, or other environmental factors," said Dr. Gil Pereg, founding CEO of Darca Schools. "We are proud of the unprecedented results we have achieved, none of which would have been possible without the support of our philanthropic partners worldwide as well as the dedication and hard work of principals, teachers, students, and parents." Darca's success serves as a unique model that can inspire reform in education systems across the world, ultimately driving the social obility so fundamental for healthy societies in all corners of the globe. "Darca represents an ambitious and innovative approach, implementing the same practices that guide sophisticated, long-term investment strategies, to reimagine how our schools can better serve students," said Marc Rowan, co-founder and CEO of Apollo Global Management and vice chairman of Darca Schools. "At its core, Darca believes each student, regardless of their background, has the ability to thrive and make a difference in the world around them." "The Darca Network was founded on the belief that leaders matter and can be the catalyst for disruptive change," said Jimmy Pinto, founder of the Israeli subsidiary of the Edmond de Rothschild banking group and Chairman of Darca Schools, "The growth and performance of Darca Schools over the past 10 years, and the achievement of Darca's students, serves as a testament to that vision. I'm looking forward to helping the Darca Network expand its model to other underserved communities and help create the next generation of leaders." "The success of the Darca program to transform failing schools into dynamic academies in which students emerge with a love of learning and appreciation for what's possible, can inspire change across the entire public sector," said Danna Azrieli, Chairwoman of the Azrieli Group, Co-Chair of the Azrieli Foundation in Israel and board member of Darca Schools. In just ten years, Darca has grown to manage an annual budget of $170 million and employ more than 3,000 expert professionals. It is committed to continue its annual growth rate of fifteen percent, and to expand its spheres of influence so as to accelerate educational excellence on an even wider, and global scale. About Darca Now in its 10th year, Darca Schools draws on its innovative and business-oriented management to transform challenge-ridden schools in Israel's underserved communities into educational institutions of the highest quality. With a reach of more than 24,000 students from 42 schools under management, Darca's measurable achievements prove that by narrowing funding gaps and expecting nothing less than excellence, change is possible across the entirety of education systems. With oversight by a highly regarded Board of Directors, Darca empowers school leadership, incentivizes teachers, and furnishes students with resources that spark their curiosity and instill a strong sense of self-belief, accelerating their path to success. For more information, please visit www.darca.org.il. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005570/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] EfficientIP and IDC: Threat Actors Diversify Their Toolkits Throughout Pandemic with DNS Attacks Costing Nearly $1 Million Each EfficientIP, a leading provider of network security and automation solutions specializing in DDI (DNS-DHCP-IPAM), today announced the results of its 2021 Global DNS Threat Report. The annual research, which was conducted in collaboration with leading market intelligence firm International Data Corporation ( IDC (News - Alert) ), sheds light on the frequency of the different types of DNS attack and the associated costs for the last year throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 90% of organizations (87%) experienced DNS attacks, with the average cost of each attack around $950,000. The Report shows that organizations across all industries suffered an average 7.6 attacks this past year. These figures illustrate the pivotal role of DNS for network security, both as a threat vector and security objective. In terms of regional damage from DNS attacks, North America continued to have the highest average cost of attack at $1,031,210, though this is a modest decrease by about 4% from the year prior. Countries which saw significant increase in damages included Malaysia which increased by 78%, the sharpest increase, as well as India, Spain and France also seeing significant increases of 32%, 36% and 25%, respectively. Notably, damages in the U.K. declined by 27%. The United States saw an average cost of attack at $1,051,900, a 3% decrease from last year. However, it had one of the highest average number of attacks in the last year at 7.73; only Canada had a higher number of attacks, at 7.74. The report has found that, throughout the past year during the pandemic, attackers have increasingly targeted the cloud, profiting from the reliance on off-premise working and cloud infrastructures. Around a quarter of companies have suffered a DNS attack abusing cloud misconfiguration, with almost half of companies (47%) suffering cloud service downtime as a result of DNS attacks. The Threat Report, now in its seventh year, also found a sharp rise in data theft via DNS, with 26% of organizations reporting sensitive customer information stolen compared to 16% in 2020's Threat Report. Evidence shows attackers are targeting more organizations and diversifying their toolkit-sometimes drastically. Threat actors relied on domain hijcking, where the user is connected not to the desired service but to a fake one, more than twice as often as last year. This year phishing also continued to grow in popularity (49% of companies experienced phishing attempts), as did malware-based attacks (38%), and traditional DDoS attacks (29%). Although the cost and variety of attacks remains high, there is a growing awareness of DNS security and how to combat these attacks. 76% of respondents in the 2021 Threat Report deemed DNS security a critical component of their network architecture. Additionally, the report found Zero Trust is evolving as a tool to protect networks in the remote era. 75% of companies are planning, implementing or running Zero Trust initiatives and 43% of companies believe DNS domain deny and allow lists are highly valuable for Zero Trust for improving control over access to apps. The DNS Threat Report finds solutions considered most effective by organizations for preventing theft includes: securing network endpoints (31%) and better monitoring threat and analysis of DNS traffic (26%). "While it is positive that companies want to use DNS to protect their increasingly remote workforces, organizations are continuing to suffer the costly impacts of DNS attacks," says Romain Fouchereau, Research Manager European Security at IDC. "As threat actors seek to diversify their toolkits, businesses must continue to be aware of the variety of threats posed, ensuring DNS security is a key priority to preventing these." DNS offers valuable information against would-be cybercriminals that is currently underutilized. According to results from the 2021 Threat Report, 25% of companies perform no analytics on their DNS traffic. "This past year of the pandemic has shown us that DNS must play a role in an effective security system," says Ronan David, VP of Strategy for EfficientIP. "As workers look to more permanently transition to off-premise sites, making use of cloud, IoT, edge and 5G, companies and telecom providers should look to DNS for a proactive security strategy. This will ensure the prevention of network or application downtime as well as protecting organizations from confidential data theft and financial losses." The report suggests three recommendations for protecting data, apps, cloud services and users, including enhancing the privacy of remote workers with a private DoH solution, eliminating cloud service downtime caused by cloud misconfigurations through automating life-cycle management of IP resource and making DNS the first line of defense to stop the spread of attacks. The full 2021 Global DNS Threat Report is available online. Read the full report here: https://www.efficientip.com/resources/idc-dns-threat-report-2021/ NOTE TO EDITORS ABOUT THE 2021 DNS THREAT REPORT The research was conducted by IDC from January to March 2021. The data collected represents respondents' experience for the previous year. The results are based on 1,114 respondents from companies with 500 or more employees. Respondents came from three regions - North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Respondents included CISOs, CIOs, CTOs, IT Managers, Security Managers and Network Managers. ABOUT EFFICIENTIP EfficientIP is a network automation and security company, specializing in DNS-DHCP-IPAM solutions (DDI), with the goal of helping organizations worldwide drive business efficiency through agile, secure and reliable infrastructure foundations. We enable IP communication and simplify network management with end-to-end visibility and smart automation, while our patented technology secures DNS services to safeguard data and ensure application access. Companies in all sectors rely on our offerings to face the challenges of key IT initiatives such as cloud applications and mobility. For further information, please visit: www.efficientip.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005259/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] ESI Group Appoints Yannick Charron as HR Vice-President Regulatory News: ESI (News - Alert) Group (Paris:ESI), a global player in virtual prototyping for industries, is pleased to announce the appointment of Yannick Charron as Human Resources Vice-President. Yannick will report to the Group CEO, Cristel de Rouvray and will be based in Rungis (France). As a global and multicultural company - implemented in more than 20 countries - with a values-based culture, human resources functions are of core importance for ESI Group. Embarked in one of its major evolution of its history, the Group and its teams need a strong HR team able to accompany them in this journey. In his new position, Yannick will lead global HR and will chart an accelerated course to continue building a high-performance team functioning with best practices for a global software company and new work methods such as the implementation of a No meeting day. Yannick, 46, joined ESI Group in 2020 as Corporate HR Director France & Headquarters. Previously, hewas Director of Human Resources for one of the largest subsidiaries of SAS (News - Alert) , an American software publisher specializing in data analysis, employing nearly 14,000 people. In a highly international context, he contributed to accompany the phases of its transformation into a global company and obtained several labels acknowledging the good practices implemented with this company in terms of human resources. "Yannick joined ESI Group one year ago in the middle of lockdown and brought a breath of fresh air to the company. He is in line with the transformation undertaken by ESI Group and endorses the role of accompanying the in-depth change while strengthening the company's leadership. We are very pleased to have him on board", states Cristel de Rouvray, Chief Executive Officer, ESI Group. Yannick Charron holds a DEA (Degree of in-Depth Studies) in Business Law from the Paris Cergy University (France). He began his career as a corporate lawyer, before moving into the human resources field, where he explored many aspects as his career evolved. About ESI Group Founded in 1973, ESI Group envisions a world where Industry commits to bold outcomes, addressing high stakes concerns - environmental impact, safety & comfort for consumers and workers, adaptable and sustainable business models. ESI provides reliable and customized solutions anchored on predictive physics modeling and virtual prototyping expertise to allow industries to make the right decisions at the right time, while managing their complexity. Acting principally in automotive & land transportation, aerospace, defense & naval, energy and heavy industry, ESI is present in more than 20 countries, employs 1200 people around the world and reported 2020 sales of 132.6 million. ESI is headquartered in France and is listed on compartment B of Euronext Paris. For further information, go to www.esi-group.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005503/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Farm to Table: Chinese O2O Retailer Suning.com Empowers Rural Farmers to Bring Agricultural Products to More Consumers Across the Country NANJING, China, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Suning.com (002024.SZ), China's leading smart retail service provider and a Fortune Global 500 company owned by Suning Group, is helping farmers in Xuyi County in eastern China's Jiangsu Province to harness the internet and logistical, technological and geographical challenges associated with the sale of the local specialty crawfish, to expand product awareness and boost sales as this year's season comes around. Xuyi crawfish are bright red, clean, tender, and revered for their fresh and sweet taste but shoddy imitations are often sold by illegal vendors around the country. Now, thanks to Suning.com, consumers everywhere can enjoy fresh agricultural products at a more accessible price. The Xuyi crawfish story is a shining example of Suning.com's e-commerce solution helping farmers to get their products from farm to table. Earlier this year, Suning.com held a training course to cultivate the use of the internet as a way to bring agricultural products from China's villages where they are produced to more customers in metropolitan areas. More than 300 small and micro e-commerce merchants from Xuyi County participated in the event, where they learned the difference between food and agriculture, and gained insights into how to market Xuyi County's unique agricultural products online. Trainees also learned foundational steps to run an e-commerce business, including how to use new media to open stores and promote products. "Suning.com taught us all the components needed to effectively run an online business, from operational planning to online system operations. In addition to training, there will be teams providing us with professional guidance along the way. This allos us to communicate and solve problems as a group in real-time," said Qian Haiwen, General Manager of Xuyi Lobster Supply Chain Co., Ltd. Suning.com has also established a 5,000sqm base in Xuyi County to enable authentic sales and delivery of Xuyi crawfish directly from the source. Qian Haiwen has high expectations and is already looking forward to expanding his business in anticipation of a growing market. Suning.com has a history of supporting counties and villages to promote their agricultural products. In the mountainous Yuegou Village of central China's Henan Province, agricultural treasures are abundant, including the village's native eggs. However, its geographical location and topographical conditions mean the village cannot easily ship products, which has led to the depletion of local jobs. To improve the situation, Yuegou county leaders called on villagers to join Suning.com's rural revitalization program, where they can get help to sell the village's eggs and improve their income. With policy support from the county and assistance from Suning.com, Yuegou Village has built a complete egg supply chain with a record of 100,000 orders per day and a monthly turnover of RMB20 million. Suning.com has also established an inaugural batch of listed purchasing villages as the sources of high-quality agricultural products, including Liangjia, Qing'an County, Suihua City in Heilongjiang Province and Kedeng Village, Yanyuan County, Daliang Mountains in Sichuan Province that span across China. Furthermore, the company has developed a Chinese style online pavilion to promote Chinese agricultural brands and enhance the visibility of agricultural products. In addition to immediate sales, the increased popularity and distribution of agricultural products also helped strengthen regional industrial chains and cultivate a more sustainable business model. In turn, these create long-term benefits, from strengthening the local labor market to attracting young talent to return to their hometowns. To date, Suning.com has established 120 purchasing villages, 71 factories, and 68 industrial clusters. With its brand-new supply chain, the company is cutting out the middleman to obtain products from the source, support manufacturing and promote marketing. Through these joint efforts, Suning.com is bolstering the agricultural farming economy, allowing villages to reap more profits, and delivering affordable prices to consumers. About Suning Group Founded in 1990, Suning Group has two listed subsidiaries at home and abroad and more than 300,000 employees around the world, ranking the third in the Chinese private sector. Being committed to its mission of Leading the Industrial Advancements in Creating a Higher Quality of Life for All, it provides quality products and services to more than 700 million customers worldwide and has its business scope covering three main sectors: Retail, Real Estate, and Financial Service. Suning.com, the main subsidiary is a leading O2O smart retail service provider in China. In 2020, Suning.com maintained its position among the Fortune Global 500 and topped the 2020 List of China's 500 Most Valuable Brands with a brand value of RMB 296.815 billion. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/farm-to-table-chinese-o2o-retailer-suningcom-empowers-rural-farmers-to-bring-agricultural-products-to-more-consumers-across-the-country-301304946.html SOURCE Suning.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Federal funding provides a boost to Saskatchewan companies More than $11.5 million in federal funding will support business scale-up and productivity in Saskatchewan SASKATOON, SK, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ - Small- and medium-sized enterprises contribute to the growth of Western Canada's economy. The Government of Canada is supporting high-growth businesses as they increase productivity, find new markets, and create opportunities for Saskatchewan. Today, the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, and Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada, announced $11,513,951 for 11 projects under the Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP) program. The projects announced today include: 607696 Saskatchewan Ltd. (operating as Heads Up Plant Protectants) ( Saskatoon ) received $560,000 to establish a processing line for novel biological seed treatment. ( ) received to establish a processing line for novel biological seed treatment. Avena Foods Limited (Rowatt) received $2,500,000 to establish a new oat processing line to meet growing demand. (Rowatt) received to establish a new oat processing line to meet growing demand. Blue Sky Hemp Ventures Ltd. ( Saskatoon ) received $749,115 for a facility upgrade to scale-up hemp oil pressing and CBD oil refining. ( ) received for a facility upgrade to scale-up hemp oil pressing and CBD oil refining. Brandt Industries Canada Ltd. (Regina) received $4,269,889 to purchase, install, and commission state-of-the-art equipment for automated laser metal cutting, material handling, and metal forming. (Regina) received to purchase, install, and commission state-of-the-art equipment for automated laser metal cutting, material handling, and metal forming. Curbie Cars Inc. ( Saskatoon ) received $800,000 to expand functionality and markets for an online vehicle sale platform. ( ) received to expand functionality and markets for an online vehicle sale platform. North Star ystems Inc. ( Saskatoon ) received $400,000 to procure hardware and grow market for remote tank monitoring products. ( ) received to procure hardware and grow market for remote tank monitoring products. Offstreet Technology Inc. (Regina) received $200,000 to expand operations and technology for a guest parking validation platform company. (Regina) received to expand operations and technology for a guest parking validation platform company. Retail Innovation Labs Inc. (operating as Cova Software) (Regina) received $531,125 to expand functionality and markets for a cannabis retail software platform. (Regina) received to expand functionality and markets for a cannabis retail software platform. Salon Scale Technology Inc. ( Saskatoon ) received $300,000 to expand functionality and customer support for salon software as a service. ( ) received to expand functionality and customer support for salon software as a service. Saskarc Inc. (Oxbow) received $837,500 to establish robotic assembly and welding capacity to meet market demand. (Oxbow) received to establish robotic assembly and welding capacity to meet market demand. SkillShark Software Inc. ( Saskatoon ) received $366,322 to scale-up and expand athlete and employee evaluation software as a service platform. Canada is supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises to increase productivity, grow, and compete in the global marketplace. These investments are expected to result in increases in export sales and business revenue growth, as well as the creation of new jobs. Quotes "The Government of Canada recognizes that Canadian businesses have been working hard throughout the pandemic to maintain their base and continue to employ Canadian workers during a crisis. This is why we will continue to make strategic investments to support communities and businesses in all regions of the country. Our message to business owners and workers is clear: we will be there to support you for as long as it takes, with whatever it takes, and we will get through this together." The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, and Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada "The Government of Canada recognizes that strong regional economies are essential for our country's future success and sustainability. As we emerge from this pandemic, we are committed to restoring business confidence, creating jobs, and ensuring that growth is being sustained through innovation and long-term productivity." Terry Duguid, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages (Western Economic Diversification Canada) and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change (Canada Water Agency) Quick facts Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) makes strategic investments in key economic sectors and supports the development of leading industry clusters through the Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP) program. BSP supports high-growth businesses that are scaling up and producing innovative goods, services, or technologies. The Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) are delivering the BSP stream across Canada . WD is delivering BSP in Western Canada . Associated links Western Economic Diversification Canada Business Scale-up and Productivity Stay Connected Follow the department on Twitter: @WD_Canada WD Homepage WD Toll-Free Number: 1-888-338-WEST (9378) TTY (telecommunications device for the hearing impaired): 1-877-303-3388 SOURCE Western Economic Diversification Canada [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Fiduciary Trust International Celebrates 90 Years of Delivering Peace of Mind by Simplifying Complex Financial Lives Fiduciary Trust International, a global wealth manager and wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton, proudly commemorates the 90th anniversary of its founding. Since its establishment in 1931 by families for families, the firm has worked closely with individuals, families, and institutions to build and manage personalized investment portfolios, and develop estate plans that extend wealth to future generations. "While a great deal has changed across the country, and the world, over the past 90 years, the extraordinary accessibility, transparency, and loyalty that define our client relationships have not," said John M. Dowd, chief executive officer of Fiduciary Trust International. "As we look back on our nine decades of dedication to bringing financial peace of mind to clients and their families, our ongoing investment in resources, reach, innovation, and people places us in a very strong position to continue simplifying the complex financial lives of those we have the privilege to serve." Fiduciary Trust International remains focused on leveraging innovative technology to strengthen relationships, and the overall wealth management experience for clients. The firm will continue rolling out wealth planning tools designed to give clients a clear view of their current financial health, and the pathway leading to long-term success. "It's imperative to have sound investment advice to be able to navigate the multitude of factors impacting investors today-such as ever-changing tax regulations at home and abroad, and shifting personal and professional priorities in light of COVID-19," said Jenny Johnson, chief executive officer of Franklin Templeton. "Just as we have done throughout our history, Fiduciary Trust International will draw on expertise and experience to stay one step ahead of these trends with the goal of delivering maximum benefit to clients and their families." Fiduciary Trust International officially opened its doors on June 3, 1931 on the 30th floor of One Wall Street in New York City. Although the Great Depression weighed heavily on the American economy, the firm had attracted clients in 30 states and 12 countries by the end of 1935, solidifying its position as a new leader in wealth management. Fiduciary Trust International has accumulated many noteworthy achievements in the decades since, including: Becoming one of the early adopters of computer systems, having put its first computer system-providing portfolio managers with daily account summaries and allowing the firm to keep up with growing demand for its services-into operation in 1959. Opening its first international office in London to provide research on non-U companies and a wholly-owned subsidiary in Geneva in the 1960s, when assets under management reached $1 billion. Being named one of three advisors to the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund, in recognition of Fiduciary Trust International's strong cross-border capabilities, in 1996. Appointing Anne Tatlock as CEO in 1999, at a time when there were only a few women CEOs. Becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton, one of the largest global investment managers, in April 2001. https://www.fiduciarytrust.com. About Fiduciary Trust International Fiduciary Trust International, a global wealth management firm headquartered in New York, NY, has served individuals, families, endowments and foundations since 1931. With over $94 billion in assets under management and administration as of March 31, 2021, the firm specializes in strategic wealth planning, investment management and trust and estate services, as well as tax and custody services. The New York-based firm and its subsidiaries maintain offices in Coral Gables, FL, Boca Raton, FL, St. Petersburg, FL, Radnor, PA, Lincoln, MA, Los Angeles, CA (News - Alert) , San Mateo, CA, San Francisco, CA, Washington, DC, Wilmington, DE, and Arlington, VA. For more information, please visit fiduciarytrust.com, and for the latest updates, follow Fiduciary Trust International on LinkedIn and Twitter (News - Alert) : @FiduciaryTrust. About Franklin Templeton Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE: BEN], is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 165 countries. Franklin Templeton's mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, the company brings extensive capabilities in equity, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternatives. With offices in more than 30 countries and approximately 1,300 investment professionals, the California-based company has over 70 years of investment experience and approximately $1.4 trillion in assets under management as of April 30, 2021. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Copyright 2021. Fiduciary Trust International. All rights reserved. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005635/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] MSU Graphic Design Program Ranks First in KY By West Kentucky Star Staff MURRAY - Murray State University's graphic design program has been ranked number one in Kentucky for 2021 and in the top 25 in the South by the Animation Career Review.The rankings considered 710 colleges and universities with the following criteria: academic reputation, admission selectivity, depth and breadth of the program, value related to tuition and indebtedness, and employment data.This spring, the Department of Art & Design at MSU celebrated its first graduating class of students earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design. Students learn branding, corporate identity, logo design, typography, web design, motion graphics, animation, package design, mobile interface design, and illustration during the program."For many years, Murray State's art and design department offered Graphic Design as an emphasis within the Studio Art degree, but as that degree became more popular, the need to create a specialized degree became clear," said Jim Bryant, professor, and coordinator of graphic design.Over the last twenty years, students with an emphasis on Graphic Design have had a job placement rate of over 90 percent.Animation Career Review started publishing regional and national rankings in 2012 in response to numerous emails from aspiring animators and game designers inquiries about the best programs across the country. Their end goal is to provide students, and their parents access to ample information to make an informed decision about the school they choose to attend and the program they pursue. [June 03, 2021] GigabitNow to Bring Fast Gigabit Fiber Internet to Placentia, California SEATTLE, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- GigabitNow, a division of IsoFusion, a leading provider of internet access and IT services on the west coast of the United States, announced today the expansion of gigabit fiber internet services into the city of Placentia, California. GigabitNow will deliver gigabit internet services via an exclusive partnership with fiber-optic network developer SiFi Networks, which will be constructing the citywide fiber network, passing every home and business in the city. The network will allow for fast, reliable gigabit fiber internet connectivity without bandwidth caps, buffering, or privacy concerns to every Placentia residence and business. "Everyone at GigabitNow is looking forward to expanding our fast gigabit fiber internet service to the city of Placentia," said Stephen Milton, CEO of GigabitNow. "GigabitNow's fiber internet services surpass anything being offered in the city today and is designed to meet the internet demands of residents and businesses today with scalability well into the future." GigabitNow is excited to bring 100% gigabit fiber internet services to the community of Placentia, California. Like GigabitNow's other established Gigabit fiber networks across the West Coast and the Northeast United States, GigabitNow will deliver fast symmetrical speeds, unlimited data usage, the most advanced Wi-Fi available and 24/7 live customer support, all without long-term contracts or hidden fees. Businesses will benefit from secure fiber internet reliability and an extensive range of connectivity options, telephone, data center, and cloud solutions that GigabitNow's parent organization, IsoFusion, has been delivering to businesses across the country for 30 years. "I am very pleased to be expanding our relationship with GigabitNow into yet another FiberCity project," said Ben Bawtree-Jobson, CEO, SiFi Networks. "Our partnership with GigabitNow has now expanded to both U.S. coasts, and we look forward to getting network construction started so that GigabitNow can provide the city of Placentia with the best internet experience available." The need for internet connectivity that is just as fast for uploads as it is for download traffic has become essential to maintain quality video calls, online interactions, and concurrent users online. GigabitNow's upload and download speeds are the same, ensuring your experience is great reardless of how you are using your internet connection. Learning, working, streaming, and playing online without slowdowns has become integral to our everyday lives, and GigabitNow will make it easy for the Placentia community. With this expansion into Placentia, GigabitNow adds another community fiber network to its growing list of communities in Washington, California, and Massachusetts served by gigabit fiber internet, surpassing internet speeds and reliability of incumbent providers. SiFi Networks' construction in Placentia is set to begin June 2021, with service installations to residents and businesses starting January 2022. Residents and businesses can preregister for service starting today at https://www.gigabitnow.com/placentia. About GigabitNow GigabitNow delivers fast, reliable, and affordable fiber internet to communities of all sizes, without bandwidth caps and free from privacy worries or service constraints. GigabitNow focuses on providing the very best internet experience and genuine customer support to every customer. Offering custom solutions for the development, construction, operation, support, and delivery of community-based gigabit fiber internet networks and services, GigabitNow is an award-winning leader in custom FTTX solutions. GigabitNow is a division of IsoFusion (www.isofusion.com), one of the largest privately held full-service ISP and colocation providers in Washington state, founded in 1991. Experience the Internet How It Is Meant to Be - learn more at http://www.gigabitnow.com. About SiFi Networks SiFi Networks (www.sifinetworks.com) is an international network developer. We pride ourselves on innovative construction methods, financial engineering and collaboration. SiFi Networks funds, builds and operates community-wide state-of-the-art fiber optic networks enabling internet service providers to deliver next-generation applications, including superfast internet, video and phone. In addition to SiFi Networks' highly experienced in-house team, we have partnered with established and award-winning firms who have unparalleled experience within the sector. SiFi Networks has offices in Orange County, LA County, New Jersey and London, UK For further information, please contact: Dan Sivils - GigabitNow dan@gigabitnow.com or (206) 905-8060 http://www.gigabitnow.com Related Files GigabitNow Heads To Placentia CA - 6-2021.pdf Related Images gigabitnow.jpg GigabitNow GigabitNow Logo View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gigabitnow-to-bring-fast-gigabit-fiber-internet-to-placentia-california-301304792.html SOURCE GigabitNow [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Government of Canada and City of Toronto partner with Elevate to support underrepresented workers in tech sector TORONTO, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario, announced an investment of over $5.8 million for Elevate to launch a new and innovative job success program, Elevate Talent. She was joined by Mayor John Tory, who announced additional support for Elevate from the City of Toronto. This comprehensive program will reskill 5,300 job seekers from underrepresented communities, including Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, 2SLGBTQ+, and Francophone professionals in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and match them with job openings in technology and innovation-based organizations, start-ups and the creative industries. "For too long, members of underrepresented groups have experienced unique and systemic hurdles to their career advancement. Now, after facing disproportionate impacts of the pandemic, individuals in these communities need support more than ever," said the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister Responsible for FedDev Ontario. "With today's investment for Elevate, our message is clear: we are here to support a strong, skilled, diverse and inclusive economy for everyone." Complementing FedDev Ontario's investment, the City of Toronto is providing $350,000 in funding toward community programming and initiatives, including Elevate Talent. This builds on the City's $350,000 investment towards Elevate programming in 2020, as well as annual support from 2017 to 2019 toward the Elevate Tech festival, which brings the innovation ecosystem together and creates a platform to raise the profile of Toronto's booming technology sector. "Collaborating with partners like Elevate will play a key role in the reopening and recovery of our economy post-pandemic. I am pleased that the city is able to support this new initiative and with the help of the federal government's funding commitment we will see the creation of thousands of new jobs and opportunities for some of our city's most vulnerable communities," said Mayor John Tory, City of Toronto. "This innovative approach will allow us to take advantage of our booming tech industry, world-renowned post-secondary institutions and community partners to ensure that everyone is a part of our economic recovery." "Increasing representation in Canada's tech sector needs all the support we can generate. We know there are roles to fill, and we also know we have untapped talent disconnected from opportunities. In 2019, we connected thousands of jobseekers with meaningful employment in the tech sector. Today, we're excited to expand on that program and focus on groups that have been historically under-served," said Razor Suleman, CEO and Co-Founder of Elevate. "We have a lot of work to do so that our tech and innovation sector reflects the diverse makeup of our communities, and we're thrilled to launch Elevate Talent to provide pathways to real jobs." Elevate, a purpose-driven not-for-profit, supports businesses to scale-up and connects talent to foster a culture of innovation and collaboration across the country. By piloting a collaborative model with key community, learning, and hiring partners, this project will provide targeted training to build job-specific skills, fill the gaps in technical skills learning and match participants with the more than 70,000 open jobs in the GTHA's technology sector. "It's never been more important to be a values-first leader," believes Margaret Stuart, Country Manager at Salesforce Canada and Co-Chair of Elevate Talent. "To keep pace with changes to the ways we work and learn, businesses have a role to play in reducing barriers to reskilling. People need access to the technologies and skills necessary to land a job, regardless of what their background may be. That's why the Elevate Talent initiative is so important. It shines a light on how we must create equal and equitable workplaces thatreflect the diverse communities around us, where everyone feels empowered to succeed." Through important investments such as this one, the Government of Canada is taking the next steps towards long-term, foundational change for a more inclusive Canada and to support a vibrant tech and innovation sector that reflects the diverse makeup of our communities. Quotes "There is a glut of available tech jobs out there and the issue with filling these opportunities isn't that the ecosystem is lacking people with talent or ambition; it's that the system is failing to give them access to opportunities. That's where Elevate Talent comes in." - Claudette McGowan, Global Executive Officer, TD Bank and Elevate Talent Co-Chair "Elevate is working with grassroots organizations to connect talent from underrepresented groups with the tailored support they need. This significant FedDev Ontario investment is supporting new opportunities for members of under-represented communities to participate in, and benefit from, the fast growing technology sector." - Adam Vaughan, Member of Parliament for SpadinaFort York "Elevate understands the importance of promoting diversity and inclusivity in the tech sector. With this new initiative, Elevate will work closely with key community-based organizations to broaden the program's impact." - Marci Ien, Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre "The incredible thing about Elevate Talent is that it is designed by members of the groups who share the lived experiences of the people this program aims to support. We're so excited to be a partner in this program, giving participants access to career paths in digital technology and opening up opportunities to competitive earnings that they deserve." - Angela Carter, Executive Director at Roots Community Services "Through Elevate Talent, I secured a permanent, full-time consultant position at Diabsolut, a SalesForce consultancy. I previously had been working as an administrative assistant at a day spa in Brampton that has been closed to due COVID-19 restrictions, but now I have the tools that I didn't even know I needed to find success in the tech industry." - Sehar Panjwani, Elevate Talent participant Quick Facts Associated Links FedDev Ontario Elevate Talent City of Toronto Stay Connected Website: www.FedDevOntario.gc.ca Subscribe to our Southern Ontario Spotlight monthly newsletter and follow us on Twitter , Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn for more information on how we are growing businesses, cultivating partnerships and building strong communities in southern Ontario. SOURCE Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario [June 03, 2021] Grindr Announces Partnership with 2021 Global Black Pride Event - "What About Us" As part of its ongoing efforts to support the Black LGBTQI community, Grindr has partnered with Global Black Pride, Global Black Gay Men Connect (GBGMC), and Black LGBTQI community-based organizations across the globe to bring the second edition of Global Black Pride. This year, the event's theme will be "What About Us" and will be primarily virtual (with a small in-person gathering in Los Angeles) and span across Africa, the Caribbean, North America, and Europe on June 18th, 2021 at 11:00am - 8:00pm EST on Grindr's YouTube (News - Alert) Channel. "We're so excited to partner with Global Black Pride on the second annual Black Pride Event," said Alex Black, Grindr's Director of Marketing. "We are always looking for new ways to empower and improve the lives of the LGBTQI people across the globe, and we look forward to celebrating the Black LGBTQI community with an incredible lineup of speakers and performers from around the world." "Our theme speaks to the frustration and disappointment that our community continues to feel," said Micheal Ighodaro, co-founder of Global Black Pride. "Last year was the deadliest year on record for trans and gender nonconforming individuals, with at least 40 murdered in the US and many more across the globe, with many victims being Black and Brown trans women. HIV also continues to disproportionately affect Black LGBTQI, new anti-LGBTQI laws in Uganda have been put into place, and just a few weeks ago nearly two dozen members of the LGBTQI community in Ghana were arrested. This year we are saying together, enough is enough." Founded in 2020, Global Black Pride has become the single largest Black LGBTQI gathering across the globe, committed to using a platform to honor our communities' persistence and bravery in the face of what has been an incredibly difficult year. Global Black Pride was founded by Global Black Gay Men Connect, a nonprofit organization based in New York City. As a collective, GBGMC fosters an activist-led movement with the goal of building local power to intervene in discrimination and violence inflicted on Black gay communities, including trans and non-binary men wherever they live. The organization strives to facilitate intentional involvement by engaging Black gay men across the world and developing their capacity to rapidly intervene on human right issues surrounding mental and physical health, police brutality, immigration, and general well-being. This event is co-organized by Black LGBTQI community-based organizations from across the globe. You can learn more at info@gbgmc.org. Global Black Pride is also launching the Pride 2021 Artist Fund, an artist fund that will be distributed to artists and speakers participating at this year's event. Now more than ever, it is important to offer financial assistance to Black artists across the globe who have been hit hard during the COVID-19 crisis. If you would like to donate to the Fund, more information can be found here. ABOUT GRINDR With nearly 5 million daily active users in virtually every country in the world, Grindr has grown to become a fundamental part of the queer community since its launch in 2009. The company continues to expand its ecosystem to enable gay, bi, trans and queer people to connect, express themselves, and discover teh world around them. Grindr is headquartered in West Hollywood, California. The Grindr app is available on the App Store and Google (News - Alert) Pay. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005290/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] HarbourVest Partners Establishes Singapore Office and Expands Team in Hong Kong HarbourVest Partners, a global private markets asset manager, today announced the opening of its newest office in Singapore and the expansion of its investment team in Hong Kong. The new Singapore office expands the firm's global footprint to eleven locations including Beijing, Bogota, Boston, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Seoul, Tel Aviv, Tokyo and Toronto. The Singapore office will be overseen by regional head and HarbourVest Managing Director, Hemal Mirani, with investment professionals focused on the primary, secondary and co-invest strategies. Hemal oversees operations and strategy for Asia Pacific, including Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul and Tokyo. "The Asia Pacific region continues to represent an area of meaningful strategic importance for the firm's growth, both in terms of our client base and our investment activities," said John Toomey, Managing Director. "We have been active in this region for more than 25 years and are excited to be formally establishing a presence in Singapore, further reinforcing our commitment and interests in this dynamic part of the world." HarbourVest is also pleased to announce the appointment of Lydia Hao to its Hong Kong office further strengthening the investment team. "This is an exciting time for the firm as we expand our regional footprint and enhance our growing team with local talent," said Hemal Mirani. "I'm delighted to welcome Lydia as a Managing Director in our primary investments team in Hong Kong. Her 14 years of experience in the private markets ector will enhance our offering to Asian managers and investors as well as contribute to the growth of the firm." Lydia joins from Neuberger Berman where she was a Principal in their Asia Private Equity team, before that she spent seven years at CPP Investment Board in Hong Kong as one of the founding members of the Private Equity Asia team. The Singapore team will initially include four employees from across the investment, investor relations, operations, and regulatory functions. The office will operate under HarbourVest Partners (Singapore) Pte. Ltd, which was authorized by the Monetary Authority of Singapore on 24 May as a fund manager to conduct regulated activities within Singapore on behalf of HarbourVest. HarbourVest Partners (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. will be supervised by a Board of Directors that include: Mary Traer, Dominic Goh, Peter Wilson and Hemal Mirani. For more information about HarbourVest, please visit https://www.harbourvest.com/. ABOUT HARBOURVEST HarbourVest is an independent, global private markets investment specialist with over 35 years of experience and more than $76 billion in assets under management, as of March 31, 2021. The Firm's powerful global platform offers clients investment opportunities in private equity, private credit and real assets through primary fund investments, secondary investments, and direct co-investments, in commingled funds or separately managed accounts. HarbourVest has more than 700 employees, including more than 150 investment professionals across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. This global team has committed more than $46 billion to newly-formed funds, completed over $29 billion in secondary purchases, and invested over $21 billion directly in operating companies. Partnering with HarbourVest, clients have access to customized solutions, longstanding relationships, and actionable insights. Nothing herein should be construed as a solicitation, offer, recommendation, representation of suitability, legal advice, tax advice, or endorsement of any security or investment and should not be relied upon by you in evaluating the merits of investing in HarbourVest funds or in any other investment decision. Information about the fund is not representative of any other HarbourVest fund or investment product. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005193/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Huawei: Accelerate Financial Digitalization, Create New Value Together SHANGHAI, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, was the first day of the Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit 2021 held at Shanghai, with the theme "Accelerate Financial Digitization, New Value Together." The two-day event attracted more than 3,000 global financial industry customers, partners, industry experts, and media. Huawei detailed how financial institutions can utilize technology to upgrade the industry and range of services on offer by constructing an ecosystem that is agile and intelligent, and ultimately transform themselves into digital-capable eco-enterprises. Huawei presented three strategic initiatives for their work in the financial sector: fully embracing cloud-native technology, diversifying and improving use cases within the industry and aggregating different SaaS products to help financial institutions become better digital enterprises. The Financial Industry Needs to Adapt and Accelerate the Pace of Transformation Peng Zhongyang, Member of the Board, President of the Enterprise Business Group, Huawei, in his opening speech made the point that as industries upgrade and converge, the financial services sector will transform to have their operations based on cloud through a more connected device ecosystem built for all scenarios. He added that Huawei is currently collaborating with its customers and partners to enable them to become more sustainable, resilient digital ecosystem-based enterprises, through the co-creation of technology, scenarios, and sustainability. In the keynote speech on "Global Economic Recovery: Certainty and Uncertainty", Dr. Fan Gang, Professor of Economics, Peking University; Vice President, China Society of Economic Reform, said, "The global pandemic is far from over. As the new engine of economic recovery, the most important component of the digital economy is not the production of digital equipment and digital technology itself, but the application of new information technology to transform various industries. Digital finance is the driving force of the development of the digital economy. It is therefore necessary to accelerate financial technology innovation, as FinTech will play a leading role in upgrading the digital transformation of thousands of industries." Cao Tong, President of HDFH and First President of WeBank; Hou Weirong, General Manager, Transaction Banking Department, China Merchants Bank; Chen Kunte Chief Digital Transformation Officer of Global Financial Services Business Unit, Enterprise BG, Huawei and Ye Tan, Well-Known Financial Critic joined the Panel: Intelligent Finance Transformation. "The world is going through a digital revolution, which is closely related to finance and affects us all. Traditional banks are expanding their boundaries. I'm looking forward to the day when bankers and experts in technology can customize asset packages for users based on their age, wealth, and family structure." Said by Ye Tan. Huawei Announces Three Strategic Initiatives t Turn Financial Institutions into Better Digital Ecosystem-based Enterprises Huawei announced three strategic initiatives it would develop in the financial sector to help financial institutions become better digital ecosystem-based enterprises. These included: (1) Encouraging institutions to fully embrace cloud native, innovative technologies that provide optimal infrastructure to accelerate digital and intelligent convergence and create an agile platform. (2) Deepening digitalization across all industry scenarios to enhance safe and secure data transfer, unlock the potential value of big data, and build out financial inclusion. (3) Aggregating different SaaS products to build an open ecosystem for all scenarios, and enable scenario-based financial services. Jason Cao, President of the Global Financial Services Business Enterprise BG, Huawei, said in his speech, "Huawei has been working with the global financial industry for 10 years and has become an important partner in digital transformation for the industry. Huawei will continue to work with this industry to drive cloud-native computing to ensure financial institutions benefit from a modern and dynamic digital ecosystem that can be continually updated and developed, making use of the latest innovations. Huawei's ethos is to help financial institutions grow into better digital ecosystem-based enterprises and develop fully connected, intelligent, and ecosystem-based finance together". Shi Jilin, Vice President of HUAWEI CLOUD BU and President of Global Marketing and Sales Service, said in her keynote speech that the financial industry has always been at the forefront of digital transformation, and is at the stage of developing to digital finance, from a single scene to a multi-scenario. She said, "Huawei and the financial industry grow together to build multi-purpose and intelligent FinTech solutions. We put forward four proposals: first, fully embrace cloudification, solve the core problems of enterprise cloud access, and guide digital transformation on the right path; second, full-scenario intelligent connection, create "finance+X " to serve all kinds of industries; third, to carry out intelligence to the end, AI will enter the finance core production system and main business processes; fourth, build a financial ecosystem around scenarios and create an ecological financial industry. " Realizing New Value in the Financial Industry with Global Banking Customers to Build a New Financial Future Together Various banking executives shared their stories and achievements of digital transformation of Chinese financial enterprises at the meeting today. Huawei has been working closely with DBS Bank to enable their digital transformation to meet their evolving needs. In 2020, Huawei was awarded by DBS the 2020 Most Valuable Technology Partner Award from a selection of 64 other global technology vendors. Tan Choon Boon, Head of Cloud Engineering and Services at DBS Singapore, said: "DBS has developed a strategy focusing on five key elements for digital transformation: driving comprehensive organizational change, including business success-oriented organizations; moving from 'projects to platforms; taking onboard modern system design; building excellent agile teams; and moving towards complete automation. In the future, the two sides will continue to strengthen cooperation in cloud, artificial intelligence, and IoT. We have been working closely with Huawei to meet the bank's evolving requirements and drive digital transformation." The financial industry varies greatly across regions around the world, there are still many people as well as small and medium-sized enterprises that cannot access basic financial services. Financial institutions in many countries have taken rapid steps to build digital platforms such as mobile wallets and mobile payments with partners such as Huawei. These platforms are used to build a super app ecosystem, such as Kenya NCBA, to help these financial institutions achieve significant progress in enhancing their service offerings. Added keynote1 to the customer's speech. During the summit, Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, CEO, M-PESA Africa said, "We've seen the power of M-PESA and mobile money in Africa in transforming how we can make an impact in terms into society .Today we have over 350,000 businesses and over 5 million micro SMEs that use our services. On the other side, we have 58 million customers who use our various products and services. At the core of this is our technology and partners such as Huawei play a key role in ensuring that our technology architecture addresses the needs of our business and customers." Huawei Launches the Financial Partner Go Global Program (FPGGP) During the summit, Huawei announced the official launch of the Financial Partner Go Global Program (FPGGP). The company will work with partners in the financial services industry to leverage Huawei's deep experience and technological innovation capabilities in financial digital transformation. The initial FPGGP has 25 members, including seven on the board of directors from Huawei, Sunline, Tongdun Technology, Netis, Wallyt, Sinosoft, and Chinasoft International. Huawei's vision is to build a multi-purpose open ecosystem and enable global financial institutions to serve users in various industries. During the summit, Huawei explores additional cooperation agreements with financial institutions such as Temenos, and plans 15 joint solutions to be released covering a diverse set of use cases. For more information, please visit:https://e.huawei.com/topic/2021-event-fsi-summit/en/index.html SOURCE Huawei [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Huawei Launches the Financial Cloud-Network Solution to Lay the Cornerstone of Connectivity for Intelligent Finance SHANGHAI, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- At the Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit 2021, Huawei launched its all-new Financial Cloud-Network Solution designed to enable financial institutions to build a "stable and high-speed" bimodal architecture. The end goal is to accelerate service innovation, deliver secure and reliable financial services, and lay the cornerstone of connectivity for intelligent finance. With the rise of innovative services such as Internet finance and inclusive finance, the financial services industry has gradually entered a new era defined by all-scenario intelligent finance. According to the China Banking Industry Service Report 2020 released by the China Banking Association, the number of contactless transactions exceeded 370 billion, the off-counter banking transaction rate reached 90.88%, and a myriad of financial services such as personal credit service all went online. Today's banking services are transforming from "stable" to "stable + agile". Against this backdrop, banks need to ensure high system reliability and, more importantly, accelerate service innovations, thereby delivering more convenient experience with differentiated financial services. To this end, banks are expected to accelerate digital transformation, in turn posing higher requirements on financial networks. "Huawei's Financial Cloud-Network Solution lays the cornerstone of connectivity for financial institutions who prefer 'stable + agile' infrastructures to inspire their business innovations," said Kevin Hu, President of Huawei's Data Communication Product Line. "This future-proof solution accelerates the provisioning of numerous innovative financial services, delivers diversified and personalized network experience, and boosts O&M efficiency and automation, paving the way toward intelligent finance." The Financial Cloud-Network Solution reaffirms Huawei's efforts to follow its philosophy of being "digital, intelligent, and service-oriented". This purpose-built solution creates a stable financial network architecture that features the stable network, stable operations and maintenance (O&M), and stable protection, ensuring 24/7 service continuity without compromising financial service security and reliability. On the other hand, this solution enables an agile architecture characterized by rapid application rollout, rapid branch access to clouds, and rapid cloud-network scheduling, in turn provisioning new services within minutes and improving service innovation efficiency. Huaei's Financial Cloud-Network Solution delivers innovative offerings in four major scenarios. Financial Data Center Network (DCN), unleashing new computing power with new Ethernet: Huawei's financial DCN solution takes the lead in the industry by implementing Level-3 autonomous driving network capabilities. Such capabilities realize full-lifecycle network automation to slash time-to-market (TTM) by 90%, offer network-wide intelligent O&M for minute-level fault detection and self-healing, and enable proactive prediction of 90% of faults. Ultimately, this ensures 24/7 financial services. In addition, lossless computing and storage networks are built based on the all-Ethernet architecture, achieving zero packet loss within a data center and between active-active data centers in the same city. As a result, 100% of computing power is unleashed and fiber lease expenses are slashed. Financial Wide Area Network (WAN), enabling cloud access upon network access Huawei's financial WAN solution draws on the unique end-to-end SRv6 technology to enable one-hop cloud access from financial branches. SRv6 outperforms conventional MPLS technology by slashing the number of required protocols from 6 to 2. After merely performing some simple configurations on both ends, SRv6 tunnels can be quickly provisioned to accelerate service provisioning. By leveraging the intelligent cloud-map algorithm, Huawei's financial WAN solution can flexibly select the optimal cloud access path for each service, effectively improving cloud access efficiency and increasing cloud-network resource utilization by 30%. All of these solution highlights pave the way for agile and high-quality network connectivity between financial branches, the headquarters, and clouds. Financial Campus Network, creating one global network Huawei's Wi-Fi continuous networking solution builds a future-proof Wi-Fi 6 financial campus with full coverage and seamless roaming, providing ubiquitous fully-wireless experience for any user. Huawei's SD-WAN solution creates one global network with superfast interconnections, facilitating agile interconnection of financial branches around the globe and enabling flexible cloud-network alignment. Other compelling features include SDN-driven cloud management as well as user- and application-centric intelligent O&M, which serve to greatly improve campus network O&M efficiency. Specifically, intelligent radio calibration boosts the campus network performance by up to 58%, while intelligent O&M predicts 85% of potential faults. The end result is high service stability and reliability. Zero-trust Financial Network Security, delivering network-wide situational awareness Cloud-network-security-device synergy makes zero-trust financial network security a reality. With this quality, financial institutions can benefit from end-to-end security protection when it comes to cloud access, cloud connectivity, and even intra-cloud networks. Beyond that, Qiankun security cloud services equip financial institutions with subscription-based security protection capabilities. At this year's summit, Yu Yafeng, a senior architect from the Network Division of China Construction Bank, spoke about how China Construction Bank pressed ahead with network construction and planning in line with its "New Finance" strategy. China Construction Bank has already joined forces with Huawei to build an intelligent cloud WAN based on the financial cloud-network philosophy. This new network facilitates fast rollout of a plethora of services, offers diversified service experience for users, and enables flexible access for the bank's organizations even in complex environments. Cao Wei, manager of the cloud-network project team at China Merchants Bank, also shed light on the bank's joint innovation with Huawei in the autonomous driving network field. By introducing AI algorithms, the bank has eliminated the efficiency bottleneck of manual O&M and achieved high levels of network automation and intelligence. And in doing so, the bank can supply endless power to digital transformation of today and tomorrow. Huawei helps financial institutions upgrade their infrastructure, engage in agile innovation, intelligently manage data, provide inclusive services, and upgrade financial services targeting specific industries, helping financial customers go digital faster and become more intelligent. Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit, hosted by Huawei, is a global ICT event that focuses on the financial services industry. The first summit was held in 2013, and all participants of this summit are elite members of the industry. Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit 2021 will be held from June 3 to 4. Under the theme of "Accelerate Financial Digitalization, New Value Together", we will explore how to accelerate progress toward intelligent finance and create new value together from four perspectives: strategies, business, technologies, and ecosystems. For more information about Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit 2021, please visit: https://e.huawei.com/topic/2021-event-fsi-summit/en/index.html Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1525428/Huawei.jpg [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Insight Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School Class of 2021 To Be Celebrated with Online & In-Person Graduation Ceremonies After a school year like no other, Insight Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School (Insight PA), an online public school serving K-12 students throughout the state since 2017, will celebrate its graduates with a virtual & in-person commencement ceremony at Clippers Magazine Stadium on June 5th. In the age of COVID, the in-person portion will have safe, distant, and individual time slots for students to be recognized by staff in-person. There is no requirement or obligation to attend. "While other schools may have struggled with online learning throughout the year, Insight PA never missed a day of instruction, which kept our students motivated, excited, and moving forward," said Insight PA CEO Eileen Cannistraci. "And not only did our students stay the course, but they also earned valuable career training that will put them far ahead of their peers at the next level, in whatever path they choose." This year, Insight PA will graduate nearly 240 students. Approximately 21 students will graduate with a cumulative GPA above 3.5 and nearly $200,000 worth of college scholarships have reportedly been awarded to the Class of 2021. Collectively, the graduating class reports it has been accepted to colleges and universities across Pennsylvania and beyond including Arcadia University, Hartwick College, and West Chester University. Alana DePetris is Insight PA's 2021 valedictorian and is currently explring post-secondary options. Kaitlyn Piller is the class salutatorian and will attend Arcadia University in the fall. The keynote speaker will be top motivational speaker, Jeremy Anderson. "I could not be prouder of our graduating seniors," said Principal Beryl Cohen. "This class has demonstrated focus and perseverance amidst the challenges of the pandemic. We are thankful to be able to bring them an in-person graduation ceremony and are thrilled that Insight PA's virtual program has provided them a safe and supportive learning environment in which to succeed academically." Prior to the pandemic, students enrolled in virtual school for a number of reasons-some were looking to escape bullying, some may have fallen academically off track, and others were looking for an alternative to the traditional classroom setting. Insight PA students access a robust online curriculum in the core subjects and a host of electives and attend live virtual classes taught by state-certified teachers. Insight PA is inviting all families and friends worldwide to join the celebration. Details of the graduation ceremonies are as follows: WHAT: Insight Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School 2021 Graduation Ceremony WHEN: Saturday, June 5th, 2021, 11AM at Clippers Magazine Stadium in Lancaster. CONTACT: For any questions about the celebrations, please contact Megan Miller at memiller@insightpa.org. For media inquiries, please contact Ken Schwartz at kschwartz@k12.com. About Insight Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School Insight Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School is an online public charter school authorized by the Pennsylvania Department of Education that serves students in grades K through 12. As part of the Pennsylvania public school system, Insight PA is available to all Pennsylvania residents and empowers students to engage, learn and succeed. Insight PA is tuition-free and provides families the choice to access the curriculum and tools provided by K12, a Stride Company (NYSE: LRN). Stride offers learners of all ages a more effective way to learn and build skills for their future. For more information about Insight PA, visit https://insightpa.k12.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005009/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] InTandem Capital Partners Portfolio Company, Cano Health, Will Begin Trading Tomorrow On The New York Stock Exchange "NYSE" InTandem Capital Partners, LLC ("InTandem Capital"), a healthcare services focused private equity firm, announced today that its portfolio company Cano Health (NYSE: CANO), a leading value-based primary care provider for seniors in underserved communities, has completed its business combination with Jaws Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: JAWS). The business combination, which was approved by Jaws' stockholders at its special meeting held on June 2, 2021, will enable Cano Health to achieve its vision of becoming America's leader in primary care and accelerate the company's growth. Beginning June 4, 2021, Cano Health's shares of Class A common stock will trade on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") under the symbol "CANO." "We are deeply grateful to InTandem Capital Partners for believing and supporting the promise we offer to our patients," said Dr. Marlow Hernandez, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cano Health. "Five years ago, we selected Elliot and his team as an investment partner because they focused on our clinical outcomes and our model of care which benefits all stakeholders. InTandem has a proven track record of implementing successful growth strategies and provided us with the support and expertise to grow our medical footprint exponentially - from two clinics in South Florida - to more than 70 clinics in multiple states." "Cano Health is a perfect example of how InTandem's investment strategy delivers on our commitment to work collaboratively with our management team partners to build an excellent business of significant value," said Elliot Cooperstone, Managing Partner for InTandem Capital. "We worked tirelessly with CEO Dr. Marlow Hernandez and his team to create a scalable primary care-centric, population health management platform that today provides value-based care for more than 100,000 members across 14 markets. Marlow's vision for healthcare, relentless energy, and ability to inspire his team have been intrumental to the company's ability to achieve this incredible milestone. My colleagues and I wish Marlow and the entire Cano Health team our heartfelt congratulations and continued success fulfilling their mission." Dr. Marlow Hernandez will continue to lead Cano Health as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors. Elliot Cooperstone, Managing Partner for InTandem Capital, will serve as a member of the Board of Directors. InTandem Capital made its initial investment in Cano Health in December 2016. Advisors Moelis & Company acted as financial advisor to Cano Health. Credit Suisse served as financial advisor and exclusive capital markets advisor to Cano Health and as exclusive placement agent on the private offering. Goodwin Procter LLP served as legal counsel to Cano Health and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP served as counsel to certain shareholders, including members of Company management. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Jaws Acquisition Corp. About InTandem Capital Partners InTandem Capital is a private equity firm that invests in and helps accelerate the growth of select healthcare services companies. Its goal is to build excellent businesses of significant value working collaboratively with its management team partners. InTandem is comprised of former business executives and experienced investors, and is uniquely qualified to provide strategic, acquisition and operating expertise to help companies significantly increase their value over time. InTandem provides active support to the management of its portfolio companies directly and leverages its network of industry executives to augment its capabilities. For further information, please visit: www.intandemcapital.com About Cano Health Cano Health operates value-based primary care centers and supports affiliated medical practices that specialize in primary care for seniors in Florida, Texas, Nevada, and Puerto Rico, with additional markets in development. As part of its care coordination strategy, Cano Health provides sophisticated, high-touch population health management programs including telehealth, prescription home delivery, wellness programs, transition of care, and high-risk and complex care management. Cano Health's personalized patient care and proactive approach to wellness and preventive care set it apart from competitors. Cano Health has consistently improved clinical outcomes while reducing costs, affording patients the opportunity to lead longer and healthier lives. Cano Health serves a predominantly minority population (80% of its patients are Latino or African American) and low-income population (50% of its patients are dual eligible for Medicare and Medicaid). For more information visit www.canohealth.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603006025/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Investis Digital and Irwin Announce Strategic Partnership NEW YORK, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Investis Digital , a leading global digital communications company, who has a deep rooted 20-year legacy in the Investor Relations industry announced its strategic partnership with Irwin. The partnership combines Investis Digital's award-winning IR websites, webcasting and virtual events offering with Irwin's advanced investor relations software that enables capital markets professionals to build stronger relationships with the investment community. This commitment underscores both companies' unwavering commitment to providing Investor Relations Officers (IROs) with the best-in-class services and products they need to succeed. Don Scales, Global CEO commented, "The Investis Digital-Irwin partnership is a powerful combination. Irwin's global database, high quality data, and powerful targeting capabilities allow our clients to spend less time navigating complex search pages and more time building relationships with qualified investors. Irwin's approach is uniquely complementary to how our Investis Digital team works to communicate a company's investment case, bring true value to life for the investment community and encourage long term investment." Irwin's investor targeting, monitoring, and CRM capabilities are uniquely positioned in the market and known for their modern, easy-to-use design. In addition, Irwin offers the most comprehensive shareholder monitoring available and combines unique data sets and research to uncover high value, actionable insights for publiccompanies and their advisors. "The capital markets industry is constantly evolving, and the changing IR role has become mission-critical to the success of a public company. Today's IR programs need a strong sales and analytical-based approach, supported by the best combination of insightful software and data," said, David Whyte, CEO and Co-Founder of Irwin. "Through this partnership, clients can expect a seamless integration of Investis Digital's strategic content development and Irwin's data-driven insights to enable public companies to further stakeholder awareness, promote higher trading volumes, and create more stable share prices." Whether a company has a long-standing multi-exchange listing or is preparing for an IPO, Investis Digital works to uncover what is driving current and future value and how best to bring it to life through IR Websites, IPO Websites, IR Tools & Feeds, Shareholder Content, and Live Webcasting. Once a company's narrative and story are in place, Irwin supplies valuable insights to visualize investment opportunities and help IROs build lasting investor relationships. About?Investis?Digital? Investis?Digital has been at the forefront of digital communications for two decades. Over time we have gained deep sector knowledge, invested in leading technologies, and built lasting and trusted relationships with?more than1600 global companies, including Ascential, Anglo American, Rolls-Royce, Fruit of the Loom and?Vodafone.? Through a proprietary approach we call Connected Content, we unite compelling communications, intelligent digital experiences, and performance marketing to help companies build deeper connections with audiences and drive business performance.? We tell?brand stories through strategic and engaging content that meets your audiences at the right time, in the right place, with the right message.? We build and?run?intelligent websites and digital experiences that are rapidly deployed and strategically measured, underpinned by our secure, world-leading Connect.ID technology and 24/7 service.? We find?the audiences that matter most?through?powerful?performance marketing solutions that optimize and amplify your brand across all touchpoints.? This unique blend of expertise, technology and "always on" service allow clients to trust that their digital footprint and brand reputation is secure and protected 24/7 by our dedicated team of 500?digital experts across 9 global offices. To learn more?on?how?Investis?Digital has been powering digital communications since 2000, please visit:? www.InvestisDigital.com ?? About Irwin Irwin is a leading software provider enabling capital markets professionals to build stronger relationships with the investment community. Irwin creates simple solutions for global public companies and their advisors to uncover new potential investors and shareholders, with the end goal of delivering better stakeholder awareness, higher trading volumes, and more stable share prices. Combining best-in-class customer service with modern software and the most comprehensive shareholder intelligence on the market, Irwin helps inform strategic business decisions for thousands of users around the world. Irwin was founded in Toronto, Canada in March 2017. For more information, visit www.getirwin.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/investis-digital-and-irwin-announce-strategic-partnership-301305280.html SOURCE Investis Digital [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] It's Time to Celebrate the Students! Iowa Virtual Academy Class of 2021 Never Stopped Moving Forward After a school year like no other, Iowa Virtual Academy (IAVA), an online public school program of the Clayton Ridge Community School District, will celebrate the Class of 2021 with a virtual commencement ceremony on Saturday, June 5th, 2021. The commencement will feature Iowa State Senator Amy Sinclair and will celebrate the achievements of 64 students. Collectively, the Class of 2021 reports it has been accepted to technical schools, colleges, and universities across the country, including Iowa State, University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa, DMACC, and Hawkeye, Kirkwood, Upper Iowa Community Colleges. "The Class of 2021 has overcome enormous obstacles as they conclude their high shool experience," said IAVA Head of School Steven Hoff. "That's why it's more important than ever that we celebrate their graduation. No matter where a student goes after graduation, they should know that our entire community is rooting for their success." IAVA students access a robust online curriculum in the core subjects and a host of electives, and attend live virtual classes taught by state-licensed teachers. IAVA also offers student clubs, field trips and social outings to foster a sense of school community, such as this week's graduation celebration. Details of the graduation ceremony are as follows: WHAT: Iowa Virtual Academy 2021 Graduation Ceremony WHEN: Saturday, June 5th, 2021 1 pm WHERE: Virtual (link available upon request) About Iowa Virtual Academy Iowa Virtual Academy is an online public school program of the Clayton Ridge Community School District, which uses curriculum provided by K12, a Stride company (NYSE: LRN). Stride offers learners of all ages a more effective way to learn and build their skills for the future. Iowa Virtual Academy's individualized approach gives Iowa students the chance to learn in the ways that are right for them. For more about IAVA, visit iava.k12.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005015/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Tynes Arraigned on DUI, Drug Charges By West Kentucky Star Staff MARSHALL COUNTY - A Tennessee woman arrested after a January vehicle pursuit was in court Thursday for an arraignment.The McCracken Circuit Court Clerk said 22-year-old Heaven Tynes was arraigned on charges of DUI, fleeing or evading police, possession of a controlled substance (heroin), two counts of illegal possession of a legend drug, two counts of first-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, no operators license, failure to illuminate headlamps, and contempt of court.She is scheduled to appear for a pretrial conference on July 19.Tynes was arrested on January 3, after Marshall County 911 received several calls about multiple hit and run collisions in Draffenville.As authorities attempted to stop the vehicle, Tynes reportedly swerved across the roadway, pushing other vehicles off the shoulders.At the US 68 and Benton Road intersection, a Marshall County deputy utilized the PIT maneuver to disable the vehicle, allowing other deputies to pin the vehicle in.Authorities say it was determined that Tynes was under the influence of controlled substances. [June 03, 2021] Let's Celebrate the Class of 2021! Texas Virtual Academy at Hallsville Recognizes Graduating Seniors Texas Virtual Academy at Hallsville (TVAH), a tuition-free online public school program of the Hallsville Independent School District, will celebrate its graduates with in-person commencement ceremonies on Saturday, June 5, 2021. The in-person ceremonies will be held at MacGorman Auditorium at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in a safe, socially distanced way, and individual time slots will be given to students to be recognized by staff. There is no requirement or obligation to attend. A virtual graduation ceremony will be held for students unable to attend in-person. "After a year with many challenges, I'm glad that we have an opportunity to come together to celebrate our graduating seniors," said TVAH Head of School Catherine Groven. "This is a time to recognize their determination to reach this point in a year that presented many challenges. We are excited to see what they all do as they start the next chapter of their lives." This year, TVAH will graduate nearly 950 students. Collectively, the Class of 2021 reports receiving scholarships of more than $1.6 millio. Graduating seniors have been accepted to trade schools, colleges, and universities across the country, including: Texas Tech University, Arizona State University, DePaul University, Prairie View A&M University, Pratt Institute of Art, and more. The keynote speaker for the graduation will be Hallsville Independent School District Superintendent John Martin. Prior to the pandemic, students enrolled in virtual school for a number of reasons - some were looking for an alternative to the traditional classroom setting, a robust career learning program offered through TVAH's Stride Career Prep program, or support after falling off track academically. TVAH students access a robust online curriculum in the core subjects and a host of electives and attend live, virtual classes taught by Texas-licensed teachers. Details of the graduation ceremonies are as follows: WHAT: Texas Virtual Academy at Hallsville 2021 Graduation Ceremony WHEN: Saturday, June 5, 2021 | 9 AM, 12 PM, 3 PM WHERE: MacGorman Auditorium at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary | 4616 Stanley Ave, Fort Worth, TX 76115 About Texas Virtual Academy at Hallsville Texas Virtual Academy at Hallsville (TVAH) is a program of the Hallsville Independent School District that serves students statewide in grades 3-12. TVAH is tuition-free for Texas residents and is made possible through a contractual relationship between Hallsville Independent School District and K12, a Stride company (NYSE: LRN). Stride offers learners of all ages a more effective way to learn and build their skills for the future. For more information about TVAH, visit tvah.k12.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005003/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] NCPERS Executive Board Taps Kathy Harrell as President The executive board of the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems has elected Kathy Harrell, a member of the Cincinnati Police Department since 1987, as its president. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005765/en/ Kathy Harrell, a member of the Cincinnati Police Department, has been elected to a one-year term as president of the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems, the voice of public pensions. (Photo: Business Wire) Harrell becomes the first woman president of NCPERS in the organization's 80-year history. She began a one-year term on June 1 and is eligible for reelection up to three times. "Kathy Harrell has made a career of breaking brriers, having previously spent 10 years as the first woman to head the Fraternal Order of Police in Cincinnati," said Hank Kim, executive director and counsel of NCPERS. "She is a proven leader who brings an impressive breadth and depth of experience to her new role." Harrell, who began her law enforcement career as a cop on the beat and went on to serve as an undercover drug and major crime investigator, said she was honored to step into the position vacated by Daniel Fortuna, chair of the Firemen's Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago. Fortuna has concluded four one-year terms as president, the maximum length of service permitted. He continues in a leadership role as NCPERS immediate past president. "Dan Fortuna has been an articulate and vigorous advocate for public pensions, and we salute him for leading us energetically during four turbulent years," Harrell said. "I will value his insights and advice as I take up the reins to promote and defend defined-benefit pensions." Harrell was elected to the NCPERS executive board in 2007, and has chaired the bylaws, policy, and resolution committee. She has also served on the advisors, credentials, executive, and insurance committees. In addition to her service with NCPERS, Harrell has been active in her local, state, and national police organizations. Currently, she serves as National Fraternal Order of Police pension chairman. She led her local union, the FOP Queen City Lodge No. 69, from 2005 to 2015. From 2006 to 2011, she was a trustee of the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund, which provides retirement, disability, and survivor and healthcare benefits to 50,000 beneficiaries and manages $14 billion in assets. About NCPERS The National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS) is the largest trade association for public sector pension funds, representing more than 500 funds throughout the United States and Canada. It is a unique non-profit network of public trustees, administrators, public officials and investment professionals who collectively manage more than $4 trillion in pension assets. Founded in 1941, NCPERS is the principal trade association working to promote and protect pensions by focusing on advocacy, research and education including online learning for the benefit of public sector pension stakeholders. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005765/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Ohio Digital Learning School Class of 2021 to Be Celebrated with Online Graduation Ceremony In a year where every school in America was affected by the pandemic, Ohio Digital Learning School (ODLS), an online public school serving 9-12 grade students throughout the state since 2019, will celebrate its graduates virtually with a commencement ceremony on Friday, June 4. The ceremony information will be kept up to date on ODLS' Facebook page. ODLS students access a robust online curriculum in the core subjects and a host of electives and attend live virtual classes taught by state-certified teachers. "Other schools struggled this year, but ODLS never missed a day of instruction, which was key to getting our students to move forward," said ODLS Head of School Kate Harkless. "This was certainly a challenging year, but our students and families got what they needed to move on to the next step in their lives." "I'll forever be grateful that they helped me move onto the next level of my education," said Kyle. "This year was a whole new kind of struggle and we all couldn't have gone through it without the continued support of our teachers at ODLS." Collectively, the graduating class reports it has been accepted to colleges and universities across Ohio and beyond, including The Ohio State University, Northwestern, Zane State, and Toledo University. Six students will proudly join the U.S. Army. Details of the graduation ceremonies are as follows: WHAT: Ohio Digital Learning School 2021 Graduation Ceremony WHEN: Friday, June 4th, 2021. Link can be found here. CONTACT: For any questions about the celebrations, please contact Laura Houghton at lhoughton@k12.com. For media inquiries, please contact Ken Schwartz at kschwartz@k12.com. About Ohio Digital Learning School Ohio Digital Learning School, authorized by the Ohio Council of Community Schools, is a tuition-free online public charter school serving student in grades 9 through 12. As part of the Ohio public school system, ODLS is tuition-free and provides families the choice to access the curriculum and tools provided by K12, a Stride Company (NYSE: LRN). Stride offers learners of all ages a more effective way to learn and build skills for their future. For more information about ODLS, visit odls.k12.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005005/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] One Concern and SOMPO Expand Partnership to Develop Global Resilience Market With More Than $100 Million in Total Commitments by SOMPO One Concern, Inc., today announced that SOMPO Holdings, Inc., has agreed to launch the next phase of their strategic partnership to jointly develop the global resilience market. As part of the agreement, SOMPO will invest an additional $45 million in One Concern, enabling One Concern to expand its core capabilities in AI-enabled resilience solutions and disaster-risk mitigation technologies. In total, it's the largest deal in the emerging resilience space worth more than $100 million to One Concern as part of a multi-year strategic partnership with SOMPO. SOMPO estimates the market potential in Japan to be at least $1 billion annually. "Our partnership with SOMPO continues to gain momentum, amidst a growing global emphasis on ESG and recognition of the necessity to address escalating climate and disaster threats," said Ahmad Wani, CEO and Co-Founder, One Concern. "The next phase of our partnership with SOMPO will lay the foundation for a broader resilience marketplace, where we'll be able to uncover unknown risks from climate change and natural disasters so that our customers can mitigate, transfer or avoid those risks. We see this as a transformational opportunity for SOMPO and One Concern as it's clear that demand for resilient solutions is taking off." "Climate change has a major impact on our society, and we're backing One Concern's vision for resilience as part of our commitment to build climate mitigation solutions," said Keiji Nishizawa, CEO, SOMPO Japan. "One Concern has proven tobe an excellent partner and has enabled SOMPO to create new value for our customers while addressing the broader social need for disaster mitigation solutions. SOMPO and One Concern will together adopt new methods of predicting and preventing catastrophic failures before they occur, not just understanding and covering risks after disasters. We're fully committed to this multi-year journey with One Concern to make Japan and our society more resilient to climate change." One Concern's award-winning seismic and flood technology, coupled with SOMPO's local knowledge, enables emergency management officials to understand their risk exposure to extreme flooding and powerful earthquakes. One Concern's probabilistic modeling can show the potential impact on a local community. The next phase of the companies' partnership will expand the project to six or more cities in Japan and for promotion of resilience solutions to the private sector in Japan. SOMPO Holdings, centered on one of Japan's leading insurance companies, SOMPO Japan, has the mission of creating a "Theme Park for Security, Health and Wellbeing of Customers." One Concern, a Resilience-as-a-Service solutions provider, has the mission of making disasters less disastrous by leveraging science and advanced technology. About One Concern One Concern is a Resilience-as-a-Service solution that brings disaster science together with machine learning for better decision making. With operations in the US and Japan, the company quantifies resilience from catastrophic perils, empowering leaders to measure, mitigate, and monetize risk so disasters aren't so disastrous. For more information: https://www.oneconcern.com/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005252/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] OTC:ILUS, ILUS International Inc, Announces That Canadian Brokers May Now Trade ILUS Stock The 2012 Cease Trader Order (CTO) in Canada Has Now Been Revoked NEW YORK, NY, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- ILUS International Inc (OTC: ILUS) is a M&A company which acquires and develops technology-based companies globally. The company has very aggressive and focused growth plans after new management took over in January 2021. ILUS International Inc (Symbol OTC: ILUS), previously named Superior Venture Corporation in 2012, later renamed Cache Elite Inc and then renamed Ilustrato Pictures International Inc, had a Cease Trade Order (CTO) applied in 2012 due to various administrative and filing deficiencies at that time. This Cease Trade Order meant that ILUS securities could not be traded in Canada. A new Management Team led by new Chief Executive Officer, Nicolas Link, took over ILUS in January 2021 and immediately began to remedy all the previous administrative and reporting deficiencies by bringing the company up to date with its regulatory filings and reporting while simultaneously acquiring three companies since taking over. As of 2 June 2021, Canadian Authorities officially revoked the Cease Trade Order in Canada, allowing ILUS stock to be traded through Canadian Brokers. The Canadian Authorities also approved the name change from Ilustrato Pictures International Inc to ILUS International Inc. The State of Nevada also recognises the name change to ILUS International Inc, however SEC/FINRA will only approve the name change in the USA public markets once the company has submitted its form 10, which the management is currently busy preparing alongside the audit to become fully reporting. The company is preparing and strengthening its Back office, Governance, Reporting, Executive and Non-Executive Board of Directors in preparation for rapid growth and a number of acquisitions which are in the pipeline, including those which are currently being negotiated by management in the United States. This is all in addition to the companys current exponential organic growth with new product updates and launches. ILUS is acting in preparation for delivering on the companys vision to up list to a major exchange as soon as possible. Whilst the company is currently focused heavily on acquisitions, the organic growth is very significant. The company plans to roll out a number of new products in the second half of this year and in an important strategic move, it plans to open a facility in the USA within the next 3 to 4 months whilst also expanding its efforts and footprint in India. The company and its management have been performing very well and continue to meet targets conistently with team forecasting continued exponential growth. ILUS CEO, Nicolas Link, commented with the following: The company has been performing exceptionally well and Im extremely proud of the team. Competing to win is very much part of our company culture. Although its been a disappointing few weeks in the public markets where our share price has been under pressure, we are conscious that this is not a reflection on the companys performance. It is well known in the public markets, especially the OTC that stock prices can sometimes be manipulated and therefore can become divorced from the actual company performance, which is usually short lived. We remain totally focused on delivering our goals and business plan which inevitably will add value in the medium-long term, and for that reason we are confident that our loyal shareholders will see the fruits of our efforts. While this can never be guaranteed, we can guarantee that our team will continue to work tirelessly with dedication to our mission. The company provides regular updates to the public via their twitter handle, OTC_ILUS, so it is highly recommended that current and future investors follow the handle for regular updates. Website: https://ilus-group.com Twitter : OTC_ILUS Contact: Email: IR@Ilus-Group.com Source: ILUS Related Links https://ilus-group.com Forward-Looking Statement Certain information set forth in this press release contains "forward-looking information", including "future-oriented financial information" and "financial outlook", under applicable securities laws (collectively referred to herein as forward-looking statements). Except for statements of historical fact, the information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements and includes, but is not limited to, the (i) projected financial performance of the Company; (ii) completion of, and the use of proceeds from, the sale of the shares being offered hereunder; (iii) the expected development of the Company's business, projects, and joint ventures; (iv) execution of the Company's vision and growth strategy, including with respect to future M&A activity and global growth; (v) sources and availability of third-party financing for the Company's projects; (vi) completion of the Company's projects that are currently underway, in development or otherwise under consideration; (vi) renewal of the Company's current customer, supplier and other material agreements; and (vii) future liquidity, working capital, and capital requirements. Forward-looking statements are provided to allow potential investors the opportunity to understand management's beliefs and opinions in respect of the future so that they may use such beliefs and opinions as one factor in evaluating an investment. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or result expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although forward-looking statements contained in this presentation are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has provided guidance to issuers regarding the use of social media to disclose material non-public information. In this regard, investors and others should note that we announce material financial information via official Press Releases, in addition to SEC filings, press releases, Questions & Answers sessions, public conference calls and webcasts also may take time from time to time. We use these channels as well as social media to communicate with the public about our company, our services and other issues. It is possible that the information we post on social media could be deemed to be material information. Therefore, in light of the SEC's guidance, we encourage investors, the media, and others interested in our company to review the information we post on the following social &media channels: Website: https://ilus-group.com Twitter : OTC_ILUS [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Pinnacle Celebrates 15 Years of Making the World Reliable PASADENA, Texas, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pinnacle, the largest reliability analytics company in the world, celebrated its 15th anniversary as a company. Founded in 2006 by Ryan and Jennifer Sitton, Pinnacle started with a mission to change the world by helping heavy processing facilities such as refineries, chemical plants, and water treatment plants operate safer and more reliably. Reaching this milestone is a testament to our phenomenal employees and customers, said Ryan Sitton, Founder and CEO of Pinnacle. During the past 15 years, weve created new services and technologies and have worked with some of the largest companies to help them improve their reliability. I am so proud of all that weve accomplished, especially amid the global challenges that emerged last year. Pinnacle has continued to pursue its vision of making the world reliable through the launch of its corporate venture fund, Pinnacle Ventures, and the publishing of two quarterly Economics of Reliability reports for the refining and water industries. In April, Pinnacle introduced a new reliability methodology called Quantitative Reliability Optimization (QRO), which enables faster and more effective digital transformation in the reliability space. In addition to celebrating being in business for 15 years, Pinnacle also recognized the 10th anniversary of its corporate headquarters being located in Pasadena, Texas. Pinnacle also has offices located in Chicago, Illinois, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and Sacramento, California and has served customers in more than 30 different countries. Pasadena has been an incredible community for Pinnacle to be a part of, said Sitton. When we were in the process of selecting the location for Pinnacles corporate headquarters, we were immediately drawn to the people and sense of community in Pasadena. Every single person I met during the selection process was committed to the success of the city and weve been fortunate to be a part of it. About Pinnacle Headquartered in Pasadena, Texas, Pinnacle is exclusively focused on helping industrial facilities in the oil and gas, chemical, mining, and water and wastewater industries better leverage their data to improve reliability performance, resulting in increased production, optimized reliability and maintenance spend, and improved process safety and environmental impact. Pinnacle is privately held and has been consistently recognized for its growth by Inc. Magazine, the Houston Business Journal, and more. For more information, visit pinnaclereliability.com. Contact: Brittany Kopech, Client Solutions & Marketing Manager 281-598-1330 Brittany.Kopech@pinnaclereliability.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a0b19488-f81a-4ac5-83dc-8a84a51e6adc [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Solutions Now Available on SAP Store Red Hat (News - Alert) , Inc., the world's leading provider of open source solutions, today announced that Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Solutions is now available on SAP (News - Alert) Store, the digital marketplace for SAP offerings and complementary solutions from SAP partners. Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Solutions is optimized for running SAP software deployments, including SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANA, and provides a single, more consistent foundation for both SAP and non-SAP workloads. Through the SAP Store, customers can more easily try and purchase Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Solutions to extend their IT footprint into open hybrid cloud and container environments. SAP HANA only runs on Linux, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Solutions is built on the world's leading enterprise Linux platform and thus provides a robust infrastructure for SAP workloads. The result of a long-standing collaboration between Red Hat and SAP, Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Solutions is a consolidated, open Linux platform that spans a wide range of business intelligence and data workloads. The platform includes Red Hat Insights and Red Hat Smart Management to provide customers with proactive analytics and real-time intelligence across their SAP solution-based operating environments, providing better management, analysis and optimization of SAP software and applications wherever they may run on the open hybrid cloud. Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Solutions has received certification from SAP Integration and Certification Center (SAP ICC) for SAP S/4HANA and the SAP NetWeaver technology platform as a High Availability solution to reduce unplanned downtime for deployments. The Red Hat Enterprise Linux High Availability Add-On, included with Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Solutions, offers a standards-based approach for enhanced SAP application reliability in both on-premise and cloud environments. Additional features include live kernel patching and in-place upgrade capabilities for critical Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) to achieve near-zero downtime for production deployments. Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Solutions also includes Red Hat System Roles for SAP, a collection of Ansible-powered modules that enhance how IT teams deliver optimized environments for specific user needs. These roles can be used to more quickly configure systems for SAP HANA and SAP NetWeaver, either remotely or locally, automating many of the tasks that come with initial system set-up. With support for many traditional SAP deployments ending in 2027, organizations are now faced with how to shift critical workloads to SAP S/4HANA and SAP HANA. Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Solutions offers an enterprise-tested foundation for these migrations at scale and across IT footprints, supporting operational changes and new deployments while also helping to minimize business impact. Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Solutions also serves as the backbone for Red Hat's open hybrid cloud portfolio. This provides a ready pathway to adopting additional cloud-native or automation-based solutions, like Red Hat OpenShift, the industry's leading enterprise Kubernetes platform, or Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform, as IT teams seek to further optimize and scale hybrid cloud infrastructure and datacenter environments. Red Hat is a partner in the SAP PartnerEdge program. As such, it is empowered to build, market and sell software applications on top of market-leading technology platforms from SAP. The SAP PartnerEdge program provides the enablement tools, benefits and support to facilitate building high-quality, disruptive applications focused on specific business needs - quickly and cost-effectively. The program provides access to allrelevant SAP technologies in one simple framework under a single, global contract. A free trial of Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Solutions is now available on SAP Store. Learn more at store.sap.com. Supporting Quotes Stefanie Chiras, senior vice president and general manager, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat "Linux forms the bedrock for the present and future of SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANA deployments. Built on the world's leading enterprise Linux platform, Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP Solutions enables organizations to more easily migrate SAP workloads while maintaining deployment uptime and business-critical systems. Now with the availability of our intelligent Linux operating system on SAP Store, even more organizations can lay the groundwork for future innovation and service growth with Red Hat's open hybrid cloud portfolio." Additional Resources Connect with Red Hat About Red Hat Red Hat is the world's leading provider of enterprise open source software solutions, using a community-powered approach to deliver reliable and high-performing Linux, hybrid cloud, container, and Kubernetes technologies. Red Hat helps customers integrate new and existing IT applications, develop cloud-native applications, standardize on our industry-leading operating system, and automate, secure, and manage complex environments. Award-winning support, training, and consulting services make Red Hat a trusted adviser to the Fortune 500. As a strategic partner to cloud providers, system integrators, application vendors, customers, and open source communities, Red Hat can help organizations prepare for the digital future. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company or its parent International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM (News - Alert) ) may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Red Hat, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the Red Hat logo, JBoss, Ansible, Ceph, CloudForms, Gluster and OpenShift are trademarks or registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries. Linux is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries. The OpenStack Word Mark is either a registered trademark/service mark or trademark/service mark of the OpenStack Foundation, in the United States and other countries, and is used with the OpenStack Foundation's permission. Red Hat is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by the OpenStack Foundation, or the OpenStack community. SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Any statements in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties described in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent annual report on Form 20-F, that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. SAP cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which SAP has no obligation to update and which speak only as of their dates. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005132/en/ [June 03, 2021] Ryan Named to 2021 List of Best Workplaces for Mental Wellness in Canada Ryan, a leading global tax services and software provider, has recently been named to the 2021 list of Best Workplaces for Mental Wellness in Canada. The Firm earned this honor after a thorough and independent analysis conducted by Great Place to Work. This marks the third time Ryan has been named to this list. To be eligible, organizations must be Great Place to Work-Certified in the past year, and at least 80% of employees must agree their workplace is psychologically and emotionally healthy. Winning companies were determined based on their overall Mental Wellness Index score from employees. "Earning a recognition that focuses on the mental well-being of our Canadian team members is a tremendous honor, especially when you consider the unprecedented challenges created over the last year by COVID-19," said Ryan President of Canadian Operations Garry Round. "We take great pride in promoting health and wellness among all of our team members and feel our commitment to doing so across our organization sets us apart in the marketplace." Ryan offers several inititives focused on employee health and well-being, including the innovative RyanTHRIVE program. RyanTHRIVE takes a holistic approach to health and well-being with programs and learning modules covering career, physical, financial, and emotional health. Ryan also offers a variety of benefits to improve employee health and well-being, including fitness subsidies, an employee financial assistance fund, generous parental leave policies, and a weight-loss program to provide employees with tools to improve their well-being year round. Through the industry-leading myRyan program, employees are given the flexibility to work where, when, and in what manner best promotes increased efficiency and effectiveness. With a clear understanding of expectations and accountabilities, Ryan team members are given the ownership of their time and flexibility to meet demands in both their professional and personal lives simultaneously. The full list of the 2021 Best Workplaces for Mental Wellness in Canada by Great Place to Work can be found here. About Great Place to Work Great Place to Work is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Through proprietary assessment tools, advisory services, and certification programs, Great Place to Work recognizes the world's Best Workplaces in a series of national lists, including those published by The Globe & Mail (Canada) and FORTUNE magazine (USA). Great Place to Work provides the benchmarks, framework, and expertise needed to create, sustain, and recognize outstanding workplace cultures. About Ryan Ryan, an award-winning global tax services and software provider, is the largest Firm in the world dedicated exclusively to business taxes. With global headquarters in Dallas, Texas, the Firm provides an integrated suite of federal, state, local, and international tax services on a multijurisdictional basis, including tax recovery, consulting, advocacy, compliance, and technology services. Ryan is a nine-time recipient of the International Service Excellence Award from the Customer Service Institute of America (CSIA) for its commitment to world-class client service. Empowered by the dynamic myRyan work environment, which is widely recognized as the most innovative in the tax services industry, Ryan's multidisciplinary team of more than 3,000 professionals and associates serves over 18,000 clients in more than 60 countries, including many of the world's most prominent Global 5000 companies. More information about Ryan can be found at ryan.com. "Ryan" and "Firm" refer to the global organizational network and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ryan International, each of which is a separate legal entity. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005110/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] ServicePower and PwC Belgium Partner to Deliver Aftermarket Field Service Management Solutions MCLEAN, Va. and SINT-STEVENS-WOLUWE, Belgium, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ServicePower, a global field service management software company focused on transforming service experiences, and PwC Enterprise Advisory bv (hereinafter "PwC Belgium"), part of the PwC network of firms providing assurance, advisory and tax services, today announced a partnership that delivers a joint field service management offering to manufacturing organizations across Europe. Service quality is at the core of today's manufacturing business models. Organizations are seeing a growing need for increased visibility into operations and a finding it essential to ensure self-service technology is offered and satisfies the demands of their customer bases. In a continued effort to improve efficiency, reduce cost and enhance customer satisfaction, ServicePower and PwC Belgium will bring together software and services capabilities for a complete people, process, technology solution for field service management. ServicePower helps leading global organizations improve operations by delivering an end-to-end field service management solution. PwC has extensive experience in Services Supply Chain (SSC) and will provide advisory services and strategic consulting in the post-sale lifecycle of major appliances and consumer electronics manufacturers. The two organizations will focus initially on the European market. "We are thrilled to partner with PwC Belgium, part of one of the world's largest audit, advisor and consulting networks," said Frank Gelbart, chief executive officer, ServicePower. "PwC Belgium has a unique practice in services supply chain that is a natural extension to our field service management platform. We look forward to driving new levels of cost savings and enhanced brand experiences together." "Manufacturers must move toward being services leaders if they are to maintain long-term, profitable growth," said Jochen Vincke, Partner in PwC Belgium's Management Consulting Operations practice. "Together, our strategy and benchmarking services with ServicePower's cloud field service management platform, will optimize services performance, reduce cost and grow top-line revenue, and help customers gain sustainable competitive advantage." About ServicePower: ServicePower is a leading field service management software company focused on providing an exceptional customer experience, while delivering significant operational efficiencies. Trusted by field service organizations around the world such as GE Appliances, LG, AIG, Allstate, and Siemens, ServicePower offers the only SaaS platform that helps companies efficiently manage both employed and contracted workforces. ServicePower also offers a fully managed network of contracted service providers to enable on-demand field service delivery in urban and hard-to-reach locations across North America and Europe. About PwC: At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. PwC is a network of firms in 155 countries with more than 284,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details. Media Contacts ServicePower Heather Mills Sr. Director, Corporate Marketing h.mills@servicepower.com PwC Belgium Erik Oosthuizen External Communication Manager erik.oosthuizen@pwc.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/servicepower-and-pwc-belgium-partner-to-deliver-aftermarket-field-service-management-solutions-301304577.html SOURCE ServicePower [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Sonic Automotive Partners with Dave Ward & Friends Podcast To Raise Funds for Houston Children's Charity Sonic Automotive, Inc. ("Sonic" or the "Company") (NYSE:SAH), a Fortune 500 Company and one of the nation's largest automotive retailers, today announced a commitment alongside the Dave Ward & Friends Podcast to raise funds for the Houston Children's Charity, a non-profit organization focused on improving the quality of life for Greater Houston's underprivileged, abused and disabled children, with the launch of its June Service Lane Promotion. Throughout the month of June, Sonic is running a special promotion for guests who visit any of the 16 Sonic Automotive service locations in Houston. To participate, guests must mention they are a "friend of Dave Ward," and make a charitable donation in the amount of one dollar or more to the Houston Children's Charity. The amount will be applied as a credit to the service bill, and Sonic Automotive will match each donation dollar for dollar. One hundred percent of donations will go to the Houston Children's Charity to directly benefit children in need. Additionally, Friends of Dave Ward will receive other perks, including: 25% off any service or repair with a maximum savings of $150 with code "DWFRIEND" $500 cash towards the purchase of a new vehicle $250 cash towards the purchase of a pre-owned vehicle $500 in trade in cash /li> News - Alert) , Chief Executive Officer of Sonic Automotive and EchoPark Automotive. "Sonic has a rich heritage of community involvement, and we are committed to helping those in need." To kick off the promotion, Sonic Automotive and EchoPark Automotive President Jeff Dyke will be a guest on the next episode of the Dave Ward & Friends Podcast, where the legendary Houston TV anchor sits down with longtime friends and discusses the past six decades. Jeff is a Houston native, where he was born and raised and lived there until 2005, when he made the move to Sonic's headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tune in here to listen live to Jeff's episode, airing today at 5:00 PM CDT (News - Alert) . Houston is a key market for Sonic Automotive, with 19 new vehicle franchised stores and two EchoPark specialty pre-owned vehicle locations, where guests can visit in-store or shop thousands of vehicles in inventory online at www.sonicautomotive.com and www.echopark.com. Go to www.SonicCars.com to view all participating Houston area locations. "Dave Ward is someone I have great respect for and admired while growing up in my hometown of Houston,'' shared Jeff Dyke. "It is a real privilege to work with him and for our company to support the Houston Children's Charity." All donations received will be forwarded to Houston Children's Charity, headquartered in Houston, Texas, a 501(c)(3) organization - EIN: 76-0135741. All donations are tax-deductible. About Sonic Automotive Sonic Automotive, Inc., a Fortune 500 company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is one of the nation's largest automotive retailers. Sonic can be reached on the web at www.sonicautomotive.com. About EchoPark Automotive EchoPark Automotive is a growing operating segment within the Company that specializes in pre-owned vehicle sales and provides a unique guest experience unlike traditional used car stores. More information about EchoPark Automotive can be found at www.echopark.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005114/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] FILE - In this Feb. 28, 2021, photo, former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Fla. Multiple people who have spoken with Trump and his team in recent weeks say they sense a shift, with the former president increasingly acting and talking like he plans to mount another White House bid. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File) PHOTO:AP Photo/John Raoux, File Talk of Trump 2024 Run Builds By The Associated Press WASHINGTON - Donald Trump was calling into yet another friendly radio show when he was asked, as he often is, whether he's planning a comeback bid for the White House. We need you," conservative commentator Dan Bongino told the former president. Well, Ill tell you what, Trump responded. We are going to make you very happy, and were going to do whats right." It was a noncommittal answer typical of a former president who spent decades toying with presidential runs. But multiple people who have spoken with Trump and his team in recent weeks say such remarks shouldnt be viewed as idle chatter. Instead, they sense a shift, with Trump increasingly acting and talking like he plans to mount a run as he embarks on a more public phase of his post-presidency, beginning with a speech on Saturday in North Carolina. Trump has long dangled the prospect of presidential campaigns to gin up media attention and stay part of the conversation. And many had initially brushed off Trumps talk of another run as a tool to maintain relevance and his status as a GOP kingmaker. But there are tentative signs that he plans to follow through in more substantive ways to test his political strength, including by holding rallies this summer. His team is eyeing events in Ohio, Florida, Alabama and Georgia to bolster midterm candidates and energize voters. Allies say Trump misses the office and is eager to return to the action especially as he sees other potential candidates making moves. He has also felt emboldened by some recent developments, including the ouster of one of his chief critics, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, from her House leadership position. [June 03, 2021] Staples US Retail Announces Annual #ThankATeacher Contest With Enhanced Prize After A Challenging Year for Educators As part of its continued evolution to Staples (News - Alert) Connect, the working and learning store, Staples US Retail is celebrating teachers by announcing the launch of the third annual "Thank A Teacher" Contest. This contest provides a platform for parents and students to recognize and reward a teacher who has gone above and beyond to make a positive impact on their lives. According to a study by the RAND Corporation, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated what were already high stress levels pre-pandemic, by forcing teachers to work more hours and navigate an unfamiliar remote environment. That's why, on top of $5,000 in Staples Gift Cards for their classroom, Staples US Retail is awarding winning teachers $2,000 for self-care to recharge before heading back into the classroom this fall. "Teaching has been one of the most stressful pandemic-era jobs," said Marshall Warkentin, Chief Marketing and Merchandising Officer, Staples US Retail. "We want to make sure that on top of a stocked classroom, our #ThankATeacher winners are provided with funds to spend on themselves to recharge for the upcoming back to school season. Each year our winning nominations come with stories about incredible teachers, and we're excited to give them the recognition they deserve." Nominate a Teacher Nominate a teacher who has gone above and eyond by: Posting a photo or video on Twitter (News - Alert) or Instagram using #ThankATeacher, #Contest and @StaplesStores, OR Completing the form by scanning the QR code in store, or by visiting staplesconnect.com/thankateacher and completing the form. A panel of Staples judges will select 20 submissions and the corresponding teachers and schools as winners. * Other Teachers Perks Available at Staples Stores Staples stores are more than ready to help get parents, teachers and students in their communities ready for the return to the classroom. Find deals in store all season long, including: Classroom Rewards : From Jul. 1 through Sep. 30, registered teachers can receive 20% back in rewards from purchases made by registered parents who select them when teachers sign up for Classroom Rewards. Teachers can register and parents can sign up at Staplesconnect.com/classroomrewards. : From Jul. 1 through Sep. 30, registered teachers can receive 20% back in rewards from purchases made by registered parents who select them when teachers sign up for Classroom Rewards. Teachers can register and parents can sign up at Staplesconnect.com/classroomrewards. Exclusive Teacher Discount: From Jul. 1 through Sep. 30, teachers who participate in Classroom Rewards receive 20% off their in-store purchases instantly. From Jul. 1 through Sep. 30, teachers who participate in Classroom Rewards receive 20% off their in-store purchases instantly. Supply Lists: Staples has partnered with Teacherlists.com to provide parents with a simple way to find their classrooms supply list and purchase it in one click at Staples.com/supplylists. Visit a local Staples store for everything on students' lists or explore staplesconnect.com/learning for tips, tools, and inspiration for all back-to-school needs. Visit the store locator at stores.staples.com to find a nearby Staples store. About Staples Staples supports lifelong achievement for businesses and consumers however and wherever they work and learn today. With more than 1,000 retail locations, dedicated account teams, category professionals, innovative brands and a curated product assortment for businesses, entrepreneurs, educators and students, Staples provides customized solutions for continued professional and personal growth. The company operates in North America through retail stores, eCommerce, and direct sales, and is headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts. For more information about Staples, please visit us in store or online at staples.com. About Staples Connect With a focus on the community of small businesses and consumers, Staples Connect provides innovative products, services and inspiration essential to the new ways of working and learning. Staples Stores and Staples Connect retail locations serve millions of customers from entrepreneurs and small businesses to remote workers, parents, teachers, and students. Explore Staples Connect at a local Staples Store or online at StaplesConnect.com.*Terms & Conditions *Terms and Conditions NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. Open to 50 U.S./D.C., 18 or older as of date of entry who possess a web-enabled mobile device as of 5/31/21. Begins 12:00 am ET on 6/1/21 and ends 11:59 pm ET on 6/30/21. Sponsored by Staples the Office Superstore, LLC. For rules, visit staplesconnect.com/thankateacher View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005674/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Stellanova Therapeutics, Inc. Announces Closing of $15.5 Million Series A Financing HOUSTON, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stellanova Therapeutics, Inc. (Stellanova), a biotechnology company advancing cancer therapies targeting the tumor microenvironment, today announced the closing of a $15.5 million Series A financing led by Sporos Bioventures, LLC. The funds will advance Stellanovas lead antibody asset to first-in-human clinical trials for oncology, establish its discovery platform, and build its team. For patients diagnosed with advanced cancers, aggressive chemotherapies and immune therapies often provide only marginal improvement due to the presence of resistance factors generated by fibroblasts present within the tumor microenvironment, commented Rosa Hwang, M.D., co-founder of Stellanova. Our lead antibody targets DKK3, a factor secreted by cancer-associated fibroblasts, and shows robust anti-tumor activity, alone or together with immune therapy, in highly refractory preclinical models of pancreas and triple negative breast cancer. Stellanova is focused on targeting the many pro-tumorigenic effects enabled by the activity of carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (known as CAFs) in the tumor microenvironment. CAFs play essential roles in promoting cancer growth and metastasis, spurring angiogenesis, suppressing anti-tumor immunity, and fostering chemoresistance. Stellanovas lead antibody candidate is designed to neutralize DKK3, a factor secreted by CAFs that acts on neighboring cancer cells and immune cells to promote tumor progression and therapy resistance. In pre-clinical studies, treatment with anti-DKK3 monoclonal antibody and immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy has produced sustained tumor eradication in mouse models of pancreatic cancer which is refractoy to current chemo or immune therapies. Harold Levy, Stellanova and Sporos founder and board member, added, We are thrilled to bring Stellanova into the Sporos group of companies. Stellanova means new star, and it is clear the Stellanova team embraces this namesake with their entirely new approach to treating cancer. We have been impressed by Stellanovas accomplishments and look forward to being involved in the advancement of the companys platform, one that we believe has the potential to directly combat the most devastating of cancers. In conjunction with the Series A financing, Emmanuelle Schuler, Ph.D., MBA, has been appointed founding Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Schuler has been a member of the founding team at several companies, including JLABS @ TMC, where she spearheaded successful site operations and business development, and Corallis Consulting which focuses on improving therapeutic solutions in conjunction with biotech companies in United States and Europe. Stellanova is a resident company at JLABS @ TMC, a Johnson & Johnson biotech incubator in Houstons Texas Medical Center. DISCLOSURES Dr. Hwang receives compensation as a member of the SAB, and this financial relationship has been disclosed to her institution in accordance with its policy. ABOUT STELLANOVA THERAPEUTICS Stellanova Therapeutics is a private, development-stage biotechnology company in Houston Texas advancing therapies targeting the tumor microenvironment to treat cancers resistant to current therapies. The companys platform centers on a drug pipeline targeting cancer-associated fibroblasts that spur tumors, an approach which has, to date, shown unprecedented anti-tumor activity in multiple resistant cancer models. To learn more, visit www.stellanovatx.com ABOUT SPOROS BIOVENTURES Sporos is transforming knowledge into new hope for patients. With deep connections within Texas Medical Center (TMC), and reach across industry, the company identifies novel disease mechanisms and strategically deploys talent, capital and access to operational resources to catalyze the development of breakthrough medicines. Sporos current pipeline is diversified across three business units and includes multiple clinical-stage candidates that are being investigated for the treatment of multiple indications in cancer and immune disease. To learn more, visit www.sporosbioventures.com MEDIA CONTACT: Grace Fotiades LifeSci Communications +1. 646.876.5026 gfotiades@lifescicomms.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Synchron Secures $40M in Series B led by Khosla Ventures to Launch U.S. Clinical Trials of Minimally Invasive Brain Computer Interface Synchron, a brain interface platform company, today announced that the company has secured $40M in a Series B round of financing led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Khosla Ventures. Synchron is the leader in minimally invasive implantable brain computer interface (BCI) technology, which utilizes the jugular vein to access the brain. Synchron has already commenced a clinical trial in Australia that has so far enrolled four patients with paralysis who have undergone implantation and are being assessed for their ability to control digital devices through thought to improve their functional independence. "This technology has the potential to positively impact humanity on a vast scale," said Synchron CEO Thomas Oxley, MD, PhD. "The funding will carry us deep into clinical trials and paves the way towards a first FDA approval for implantable brain computer interfaces: a critical step toward realizing the therapeutic potential of this emerging industry." Funds will be used to launch a pivotal clinical study in the U.S. of Synchron's StentrodeTM technology to enable the use of digital devices by patients with limb paralysis. Funds will also be used to seed a development pipeline of neurointerventional sensing and stimulating products addressing multiple neurological indications. Other investors include Forepont Capital Partners, ID8 Investments, Shanda Group, General Advance, Subversive Capital (Mchael Auerbach), re.Mind Capital (Christian Angermayer), as well as individuals Arani Bose (Penumbra) and Thomas Reardon. Existing investors also participated in the round including NeuroTechnology Investors, METIS innovative, and the University of Melbourne. This funding brings the total amount raised since company formation to $59 million, including support from the U.S. and Australian governments. "We believe Synchron's minimally invasive approach, which brings the concept of commonly-used stents into the 21st century, will be defining for the future of the brain machine interface," said Alex Morgan, MD, PhD, partner at Khosla Ventures. "My uncle suffered a stroke and the resulting paralysis confined him to a wheelchair with limited use of his arms, making Synchron's near term focus on paralysis a mission that resonates strongly." Synchron's motor neuroprosthesis platform, which includes the Stentrode, aims to restore the ability of patients to control digital devices. The neuroprosthesis is designed to convert the thoughts associated with attempted movements into wireless Bluetooth commands, enabling communication with their carers and loved ones, and improving their daily functionality. The device is inserted using a minimally invasive neurointerventional procedure commonly used in the treatment of stroke. "By using the blood vessels as the natural highway into the brain, we can access all areas, which traditionally required open surgery and removal of skull in multiple locations," added Dr Oxley, a trained neurointerventionist. Synchron has 60 patent applications in the interventional neuro electrophysiology space spanning conditions including paralysis, epilepsy, depression, Parkinson's disease, pain, addiction and non-medical applications. "Future generations of the Stentrode will open up whole new vistas in direct two-way interaction with the human brain, and the potential to treat a wide range of neuropsychiatric conditions and to address large areas of currently unmet need," added Dr. Morgan. About Synchron, Inc. Synchron, a brain interface platform company, is a leader in the field of implantable neural interface technology. The company is already in the clinical stage with a commercial neuroprosthesis for the treatment of paralysis and is developing the first endovascular implantable neuromodulation therapy. Future applications may include the potential to diagnose and treat conditions of nervous system, including Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, depression, and hypertension, as well as non-medical solutions. Headquartered in New York City, Synchron has offices in Silicon Valley, California and R&D facilities in Melbourne, Australia. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005055/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Techstars Joins Forces With Tennessee Powerhouses to Bring the Techstars Industries of the Future Accelerator to Oak Ridge-Knoxville in 2022 Techstars, the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed, today announced the launch of the Techstars Industries of the Future Accelerator, a new Oak Ridge-Knoxville based program committed to supporting and advancing world-class startups focused on emerging technologies across industries including artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, quantum information science, 5G/advanced wireless technology, biotechnology and clean energy technology. This marks the first of Techstars' accelerator programs based in Tennessee. The accelerator will run in partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the University of Tennessee (UT) in support of the organizations' shared missions of identifying, developing and implementing innovation solutions across the Industries of the Future and staying at the forefront of these competitive and evolving industries. "Working with ORNL, TVA and UT to foster an environment where startups building advancements in the Industries of the Future can come together and thrive is a unique and galvanizing opportunity," said Techstars General Manager Nancy Wolff. "The heart of the Oak Ridge Corridor and the abundant scientific research and quantum computing facilities available to entrepreneurs is game changing for startups tackling the most critical problems of our future." Ten startups will be selected to participate in each annual accelerator class where they will receive funding and hands-on mentorship from the Techstars, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee Valley Authority and the University of Tennessee networks, access to curated workshops and resources and admittance to the Techstars global network for life. In bringing these startups to Oak Ridge-Knoxville, the program will support and drive growth of the region's entrepreneurial ecosystem. The chief executives of the three partners will discuss the accelerator today at the Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit at the University of Tennessee. "Research and technologies from ORNL and from companies that have grown up here have made a difference in lives around the world," said Thomas Zacharia, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. "In the next three years, the Techstars accelerator will attract high-potential companies in fields that will define the economy in the generations to come. This is a unique opportunity to share our region's great strengths with rising entrepreneurs." The inaugural class of the Techstars Industries of the Future Accelerator will operate over a three-month period from January 2022 through April 2022. Applications will open for the first year of the program this July 19, 2021 and be accepted through October 6, 2021. "The University of Tennessee is committed to being an economic driver for the region," said Randy Boyd, president of University of Tennessee. "The resoures available with our partners and through the Techstars Industries of the Future Accelerator will establish Knoxville as a world-class location for breakthrough technology startups to benefit people and provide jobs. Working together, this initiative will catalyze tremendous entrepreneurial growth for our region's future." "Today, innovative startup companies have the opportunity to deliver impactful benefits, similar to those of nearly 90 years ago when TVA first brought electricity that transformed the lives of the people in this region we are privileged to serve," said Jeff Lyash, president and CEO of TVA. "We look forward to supporting the companies that participate in the Techstars Industries of the Future Accelerator to drive advanced solutions with enormous energy, economic and environmental benefits for the people of the Valley, the country and the world." Startups interested in the program are encouraged to learn more by visiting the Techstars Industries of the Future Accelerator page or expressing interest here. Corporations interested in corporate innovation partnership opportunities with Techstars can learn more at techstars.com/corporations. About Techstars The Techstars worldwide network helps entrepreneurs succeed. Founded in 2006, Techstars began with three simple ideas-entrepreneurs create a better future for everyone, collaboration drives innovation, and great ideas can come from anywhere. Now we are on a mission to enable every person on the planet to contribute to, and benefit from, the success of entrepreneurs. In addition to operating accelerator programs and venture capital funds, we do this by connecting startups, investors, corporations, and cities to help build thriving startup communities. Techstars has invested in more than 2,500 companies with a combined market cap of more than $207B. www.techstars.com About the University of Tennessee Founded in 1794, UT is big on tradition, and is proud of its beginnings as the first public university chartered west of the Appalachian Divide. The UT System enrolls about 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students statewide, and more than 11,000 students graduate from UT campuses each year. The UT System's delivery of education, discovery, outreach and public service contributes to the economic, social and environmental well-being of all Tennesseans. About Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest US Department of Energy science and energy laboratory, conducting basic and applied research to deliver transformative solutions to compelling problems in energy and security. ORNL's diverse capabilities span a broad range of scientific and engineering disciplines, enabling the Laboratory to explore fundamental science challenges and to carry out the research needed to accelerate the delivery of marketplace solutions. About the Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority provides electricity for 153 local power companies serving 10 million people in Tennessee and parts of six surrounding states, as well as directly to 57 large industrial customers and federal installations. We don't get taxpayer funding; rather our revenues come from sales of electricity. TVA also provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system, and assists local power companies and regional governments with their economic development efforts. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005312/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Teletrac Navman Names IoT Expert, Alain Samaha, as President ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Teletrac Navman , a leading global telematics software-as-a-service provider that leverages the latest location-based technology for managing mobile assets, today announced the appointment of Alain Samaha as President. An accomplished technology leader with more than 20 years of experience, Samaha has a proven track record of delivering growth, redefining go-to-market strategies and transforming businesses both organically and inorganically. I am pleased to welcome Alain to the team. His extensive technology and portfolio enhancement experience is well regarded in the business world, and we look forward to scaling with him at the helm of Teletrac Navman, said Mark Morelli, CEO of Vontier , Teletrac Navmans parent company. Alains leadership and background in hardware and software development in multiple ndustries and markets - including building commercial capabilities in smart cities, SaaS, big data analysis, IoT, and enterprise asset management software - will continue to advance our telematics growth and evolution strategy. I am thrilled to be joining such a talented, innovative and hard-working team that we have here at Teletrac Navman, Samaha said. We are on the forefront of the digital transformation in the fleet and transportation industries utilizing the most advanced technology from artificial intelligence to predictive analytics for real time decisions. Our future is bright. Samaha holds an MBA from Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley, a masters degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Stanford University, and bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. About Teletrac Navman Teletrac Navman is a global, market leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider leveraging AI and machine learning to drive next generation mobile asset and fleet management. Powered by AI to turn real-time data into decisions, Teletrac Navmans specialized solutions deliver businesses with simplified, smart, predictive and actionable insights to help enhance productivity and profitability. Its fleet and asset management technology uncovers and simplifies information that would otherwise go unseen, helping customers reduce risk and confidently move their business forward with certainty. It tracks and manages more than 550,000 vehicles and assets around the world. The company is headquartered in Orange County, CA, with additional offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico. For more information visit www.TeletracNavman.com. For Media Inquiries: Andrew King Bastion Elevate 914-513-6895 andrew@bastionelevate.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] A Time to Celebrate the Students! Destinations Career Academy of Oregon Class of 2021 Ready to Move Forward After a school year like no other, Destinations Career Academy of Oregon (ORDCA), an online public school serving 9-12 grade students throughout the state since 2018, will celebrate its graduates virtually with a commencement ceremony on June 5 beginning at 3:00 pm. ORDCA's virtual ceremonies will be streamed live via their Facebook page. Students from Insight School of Oregon-Painted Hills (ISOR) will also hold their ceremonies at 3:00 pm. Their links are below. "While other schools may have struggled with online learning throughout the year, ORDCA students never missed a day of instruction, which kept our students motivated, excited, and moving forward," said ORDCA Head of School Sonimar Villegas. "And not only did our students stay the course, but they also earned valuable career training that will put the far ahead of their peers at the next level, in whatever path they choose." Collectively, the graduating class reports it has been accepted to colleges and universities across Oregon and beyond. This year, ORDCA will graduate 34 students. Prior to the pandemic,students enrolled in virtual school for a number of reasons-some were looking to escape bullying, some may have fallen academically off track, and others were looking for an alternative to the traditional classroom setting. ORDCA students access a robust online curriculum in the core subjects and a host of electives and attend live virtual classes taught by state-certified teachers. Details of the graduation ceremonies are as follows: WHAT: Destinations Career Academy of Oregon 2021 Graduation Ceremony WHEN: Saturday, June 5th, 3 PM. Info will be placed here. WHAT: Insight School of Oregon - Painted Hills 2021 Graduation Ceremony WHEN: Saturday, June 5th, 3 PM. Info will be placed here. CONTACT: For any questions about the celebrations, please contact Sonimar Villegas at svillegas@k12.com. For media inquiries, please contact Ken Schwartz at kschwartz@k12.com. About Destinations Career Academy of Oregon Destinations Career Academy of Oregon (ORDCA) is a full-time online public charter school authorized by Mitchell School District that serves students in grades 9-12 statewide. As part of the Oregon public school system, ORDCA is tuition-free and provides families the choice to access the curriculum and tools provided by K12, a Stride Company (NYSE: LRN). Stride offers learners of all ages a more effective way to learn and build skills for their future. For more information about ORDCA, visit https://ordca.k12.com/. About Insight School of Oregon-Painted Hills Insight School of Oregon-Painted Hills (ISOR-PH) is a full-time online public charter school serving Oregon students in grades 7-12. As part of the Oregon public school system, ISOR-PH is tuition-free, and gives parents and families the choice to access the curriculum provided by K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), the nation's leading provider of K-12 proprietary curriculum and online education programs. For more information about ISOR-PH, visit or-ph.insightschools.net. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005001/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] TransferMate Joins Forces With WEX To Deliver New International Payments Capabilities, Eliminating Complexity While Increasing Speed And Security KILKENNY, Ireland, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- TransferMate, the world's leading provider of payments infrastructure as a service, and WEX, a global financial technology service provider, today launched new capabilities that simplify how businesses of all sizes execute complex international payments. Through the partnership, TransferMate has integrated its leading payments technology directly into the WEX system. WEX clients will be able to execute seamless international transfers with ease, and experience new levels of simplicity, security and speed through TransferMate's extensive global payments network. With the custom integration, WEX known globally as a leader in corporate payments will be able to expand its offering to give clients domestic, regional and international transfer capabilities via TransferMate. The partnership shows a commitment by both organizations to improve the payment options for global companies, enabling international transfers at lower costs, higher speeds and with greater reconcilement benefits. Sinead Fitzmaurice, CEO of TransferMate, a subsidiary of Clune Technology Group, said: "We are excited to join forces with WEX to provide the most efficient payment process possible for global businesses. At TransferMate, we are committed to making international payments easier than ever before and a key way to accomplish that is through strategic partnerships with likeminded, cutting-edge companies in the industry, like WEX." The TransferMate and WEX partnership streamlines payment management and reconciliation for accounts teams, allowing for full transparency and one login to make fast and secure payments. With the new capabilities of the WEX payments platform, businesses can take control of their business spend, with tracking, insights, security and automated reconciliation. Jay Dearborn, President of Corporate Payments at WE, said: "Through the WEX and TransferMate partnership, businesses will be able to make domestic, inter regional and cross-border payments by paying locally in their own currency, with funds settled locally in the beneficiary's currency. As WEX continues to unify global AP to AR payments processes, we are thrilled to provide new flexibility and payment rail choice to our customers--helping them save both time and money as a result of simplifying the traditional transfer process." About TransferMate Global Payments TransferMate a subsidiary of Clune Technology Group founded by Terry Clune is the world's leading provider of payments infrastructure as a service, enabling companies to send and receive cross-border payments faster and easier. TransferMate, under the leadership of Clune and CEO Sinead Fitzmaurice, has built one of the largest portfolios of payments licences worldwide, including in 51 US states and territories, to support trading in 162 countries. Leading banks, fintechs and software providers partner with TransferMate to offer an enhanced user experience for their business customers. The company has created bespoke integrations for banks like ING and AIB, who are also investors in the company, and Wells Fargo and software providers such as Coupa, SAP Concur, Tradeshift, Workday, etc. The TransferMate API solution allows partners to digitalise the payments flow within their software, enabling all businesses to achieving significant time and financial savings. For more information, visit www.transfermate.com. About WEX Powered by the belief that complex payment systems can be made simple, WEX (NYSE: WEX) is a leading financial technology service provider across a wide spectrum of sectors, including fleet, corporate payments, travel and health. WEX has offices in more than 10 countries and employs more than 5,200 associates around the world. WEX fleet cards offer approximately 16 million vehicles exceptional payment security and control; purchase volume in travel and corporate solutions was $20.9 billion in 2020 and was processed in over 20 currencies; our health division provides consumer-directed healthcare technology and services, and reached an estimated 34.3 million U.S. consumers as of March 31, 2021. For more information, visit www.wexinc.com. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1524630/TransferMate_Global_Payments_Logo.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1524594/WEX_Logo.jpg [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] True North Advisory Expands with Veteran Tech Executives Andrew Miller and Dino Di Palma WASHINGTON, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- True North Advisory LLC, an innovative strategic advisory firm focused on helping technology entrepreneurs and enterprises scale and grow their businesses, is expanding its own ranks with the addition of two new partners: Andrew M. Miller and Dino Di Palma. Their deep industry knowledge and proven management skills will directly benefit the consultancy's B2B enterprise and service provider clients who rely on its partners for trusted, high-impact strategic advice. Both Miller and Di Palma are experienced tech executives with previous CEO experience. Both also share the distinction of having known and worked with all three of True North's founding partners at BroadSoft Inc. (BSFT), which was the world's leading supplier of software and cloud-based unified communication technology and services and was acquired by Cisco Systems in 2018 for $1.9 billion. True North founding partners Michael Tessler and Scott Hoffpauir launched BroadSoft in 1998, and Jim Tholen joined as CFO in 2007. They led BroadSoft as the company grew to become a global powerhouse with 2,000 employees and more than 26 million business users across more than 80 countries. BroadSoft was credited with being at the forefront of pineering a massive new industry aimed at moving communication into the cloud - now known as UCaaS. Michael Tessler served as BroadSoft's CEO for nearly 20 years before its sale to Cisco. Today, he applies the lessons he learned during those years to advise True North clients on strategy, positioning and how to build truly great organizations. Co-founder Scott Hoffpauir was BroadSoft's Chief Technology Officer for 20 years after the company's launch in 1998. An award-winning authority on technology innovation, he draws upon his own BroadSoft experiences to help clients accelerate their product development and technology innovation. Jim Tholen, the third True North co-founder, was BroadSoft's Chief Financial Officer for more than a decade and oversaw numerous acquisitions; as well as driving the company's 2010 initial public offering, and its sale to Cisco. He has been awarded the CFO of the Year by the Northern Virginia Technology Council and by the Maryland Tech Council. He advises clients on a variety of strategic financial topics, including business model and pricing, acquisitions, fundraising and corporate strategy. Andrew Miller served on BroadSoft's board of directors and later worked directly on the company's executive team developing an additional route to market for its BroadCloud product offering via the enterprise channel. Based in San Francisco, Miller also served as director for several other public company boards including Bridgepoint Education (BPI), Gigamon (GIMO), and Informatica (INFA). He was also CEO and board member at Polycom and Tandberg, and held other senior executive positions at Cisco and IPC Information Systems. Dino Di Palma, based in Boston, played key roles as Chief Revenue Officer at BroadSoft, President of the Americas & Strategic Accounts at Avaya, CEO of edge network supplier Benu Networks, member of G20 Ventures and Chief Operating Officer for Acme Packet. Di Palma built and managed a global sales and business development team into a global organization that both created and became a leader in the session border control space. This 14-year journey included Acme Packet's successful IPO, and its eventual acquisition by Oracle Corporation for more than $2 billion. "I'm thrilled to become a True North Advisory partner," Di Palma concludes, "and eager to begin helping our clients develop winning strategies, overcome challenges and take advantage of emerging opportunities." "True North's unique differentiator is our team collaboration combined with our individual best in class expertise," says Miller. "Everyone here understands that the real value of our advice and industry insights lies in our ability to stay firmly focused on the future." About True North Advisory True North aims to be the premier trusted advisor to B2B enterprise and service provider companies across a broad spectrum of technology and communications industries and game-changing developments such as unified communications as a service (UCaaS), artificial intelligence, robotics, edge computing and cyber threats. It provides customized, high-impact strategic advice tailored for senior-level audiences. As seasoned world-class operators and advisors, True North caters to the unique needs of early-stage founders, C-level executives and boards as well as the complexity and detail required by late-stage and public companies throughout their life cycles from incubation to exit. With locations in Austin, Boston, San Francisco, and Washington D.C., True North is connected with the country's leading technology hubs and maintains numerous relationships with strategic partners and investors. For more information: www.truenorthadvisory.us/ Contact: Jeff Loomis ONWARD 415-509-4994 jeff.loomis@onwardagency.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/true-north-advisory-expands-with-veteran-tech-executives-andrew-miller-and-dino-di-palma-301304722.html SOURCE True North Advisory [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] UpMeals Announces New Board Members and Kicks Off Financing UpMeals' Private Placement funding round to begin in June VANCOUVER, BC, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ - UpMeals, the healthy, fresh and sustainable vending machine solution, is pleased to announce the appointment of three new Board Members and the kick off of its Private Placement financing. Joining the Board of Directors are Kevin Ma, Margaret Chisholm and Mark R. Rutherglen. Kevin Ma has been appointed Chair of the Audit Committee. Kevin is a partner at Calibre Capital Corp., a private merchant bank and advisory firm, specializing in corporate financing, capital markets advisory, and mergers & acquisitions. He brings 20 years of experience in corporate finance, financial reporting, mergers & acquisitions, senior executive advisory, and working with venture, TSX and NYSE listed companies. He recently completed over $300 million in corporate financings and +$500 million in the value of M&A transactions. Kevin is currently serving several public companies as an executive officer and director. He is a Chartered Accountant certified by the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia. Margaret Chisholm has been appointed Chair of the Compensation Committee. A life-long chef, Margaret attended The New York Cooking School. She then went on to create the hugely popular Cooking Classes for the Serious Amateur at the Dubrulle Culinary School, where she mentored thousands of amateur and professional chefs. She spnt 20 years as the Executive Chef of Culinary Capers Catering during which time she won the Chef of the Year Award from the International Caterers Association and co-wrote national best selling cookbooks, "The Girls Who Dish" (Whitecap Books). She is passionate about recipe development, new product creation, flavour making, menu development, software development consulting and food production management. Mark R. Rutherglen joins the board as a Director and Advisor. Mark has spent the past 26 years in the Food Franchise business having launched the Subway Brand in New Zealand in 1995, then moving on to develop Subway in Hong Kong for the past 12 years. During that time he has served on the Board of Directors of the Independent Purchasing Company Asia Pacific (IPCA) for over 20 years which carries out all the supply and logistics for Subway in all of Australasia. Mark will leverage his experience bringing healthy meal solutions to new markets in the expansion of UpMeals. Private Placement Financing In addition, UpMeals has kicked off a $5,000,000 Private Placement Funding Round. The proceeds will be used to expand its business in Canada and internationally by leveraging their scalable multiple revenue-stream food technology platform. UpMeals' goal is to become a global leader in the food tech industry. Quotes "UpMeals is solving unique problems around the future of healthy food accessibility. I'm thrilled to be on the board as we expand the technology to automate and streamline food accessibility processes. UpMeals' app and software will provide a very high level of efficiency, lowering costs and allowing for a unique focus on healthy food and customized solutions." Margaret Chisholm, UpMeals Director "I understand the complex needs of launching a healthy food product into new markets. My experience bringing Subway to New Zealand back in the mid-90s and the eventual expansion into Australasia can be applied to helping expand the UpMeals brand. I look forward to working closely with Drew and the team to bring this to life." Mark R. Rutherglen, UpMeals Director "Drew and his team have worked incredibly hard to grow a healthy food business during a global pandemic, an impressive feat. UpMeals focuses on providing healthy, high-quality food to its customers which, combined with their well thought-out technology will continue to drive business success." Kevin Ma, UpMeals Director "The private placement will allow us to position UpMeals to become a global leader in the food tech industry. Our mission from day one has been to make healthy food globally accessible 24/7 through technology, and this will enable us to accelerate our expansion plans and technology development." Drew Munro, Co-Founder & CEO of UpMeals About UpMeals UpMeals is a food accessibility solution on a mission to make healthy, nutritious meals available 24/7 via SmartVending machines or grab 'n go retail bars. They provide custom, healthy, sustainably packaged meals that meet the highest food safety standards. Each meal is professionally white-labeled to create beautifully branded meals and SmartVending interfaces. A custom app provides data and feedback on sales and food availability so the business can make informed decisions and reduce waste. For images and b-roll click here. Madeleine Davidson maddie@madeleinedavidsonstrategies.com 604.358.0011 Larissa Dundon larissa@larissadundon.com 604.649.5506 SOURCE UpMeals [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Vectrus to Participate in the Stifel 2021 Virtual Cross Sector Insight Conference June 10 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Vectrus, Inc., (NYSE: VEC), a leading global government services company, announced that company management will address the Stifel 2021 Virtual Cross Sector Insight Conference, on Thursday, June 10, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. A live audio webcast of the briefing will be available at https://wsw.com/webcast/stifel47/vec/1912476 and be available for replay for 90 days afterward. About Vectrus: For more than 70 years, Vectrus has provided critical mission support for our customers' toughest operational challenges. As a high-performing organization with exceptional talent, deep domain knowledge, a history of long-term customer relationships, and groundbreaking technical expertise, we deliver innovative, mission-matched solutions for our military and government customers worldwide. Whether it's base operations support, supply chain and logistics, IT mission support, engineering and digital integration, security, or maintenance, repair, and overhaul, our customers count on us for on-target solutions that increase efficiency, reduce costs, improve readiness, and strengthen national security. Vectrus is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., and includes about 9,200 employees spanning 206 locations in 27 countries. In 2020, Vectrus generated sales of $1.4 billion. For more information, visit the company's website at www.vectrus.com or connect with Vectrus on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Contact Information Mike Smith, CFA michael.smith@vectrus.com (719) 637-5773 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vectrus-to-participate-in-the-stifel-2021-virtual-cross-sector-insight-conference-june-10-301305682.html SOURCE Vectrus, Inc. Kentucky Awards $1 Billion in Road Contracts By The Associated Press FRANKFORT - Gov. Andy Beshear says Kentuckys Transportation Cabinet has awarded more than $1 billion in construction project contracts since January 2020.He said Tuesday its another sign the states economy is rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic.The governor says transportation is playing a big part in the economic recovery.Last week, Kentucky officials announced a contract for construction of the last section of the Kentucky Highway 680 connector highway in eastern Kentucky.Officials estimate the new highway will cut driving time between Pikeville and Hazard by 45 minutes. [June 03, 2021] Virgin Galactic Announces New Contract for Human-tended Research Spaceflight Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) ("Virgin Galactic"), a vertically integrated aerospace and space travel company, has announced a new contract to fly Kellie Gerardi, a researcher for the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS), on a dedicated research flight, during which Kellie will conduct experiments and test new healthcare technologies while she is in space. The IIAS and Virgin Galactic teams will collaborate with academic and government partners to carefully plan Kellie's flight activities to maximize the science and technology advancements gained from the research experiments. Kellie will utilize the novel scientific research benefits and applications that Virgin Galactic's Spaceflight System provides for human-tended research experiments to demonstrate and advance the research and knowledge gained from a number of her previous reduced gravity flight campaigns performed here on Earth, including with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Virgin Galactic expects to provide new benefits to the space science research community by offering repeatability, affordability and quality of the weightless environment, which have historically been barriers for many wanting to conduct spaceflight research. During the spaceflight, Kellie will unbuckle from her seat and undertake the actions necessary to complete each experiment during several minutes of weightlessness. Virgin Galactic will provide bespoke training and preparation so that Kellie is fully equipped to carry out her job as a researcher on this flight and provide on-site pre-flight support for each of the payload experiments. Kellie has previously operated each experiment in reduced gravity flights with the NRC and will be bringing that unique payload specialist experience to the research mission. The research experiments will include bio-monitoring instrumentation, including the Astroskin Bio-Monitor wearable sensors system. It was developed by Canadian company Carre Technologies Inc. (Hexoskin) with the support of the Canadian Space Agency and is designed to measure the biological effects of launch, weightlessness, re-entry, and landing on spaceflight participants. A second piece of research includes a free-floating fluid configuration experiment, whose data can be used to help inform novel technologies ranging from fluid-based accelerometer systems to humidifiers for spacecraft life support systems, and new syringe designs for administering medication in space. "We're thrilled to work with Kellie Gerardi and the International Institute of Astronautical Sciences to help further their research in the bio-medical field,'' said Michael Colglazier, CEO, Virgin Galactic. "One of the unique aspects of our Spaceflight System is that it is pilot-flown, which means we're able to fly different flight profiles that meet the needs of our passengers in the cabin - whether that's scientific experiments or people - or in this case both. A big part of our mission is to provide scientists and researchers with reliable and frequent access to space for space-based research. We are very proud to fly Kellie so she can fulfill a lifelong dream, conduct important research, and inspire the next generation of researchers and astronauts." Kellie Gerardi said: "To call this my life's ream would be an understatement. I've been a champion of Virgin Galactic's mission to democratize access to space from the earliest days, both during my time working a few test stands away at the Mojave Air & Space Port and through my years helping advance the regulatory framework for commercial human spaceflight with the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. The opportunity to fly as a payload specialist on a Virgin Galactic spaceflight brings everything full circle for me, and it's nothing short of an honor to have a front-row seat to the final frontier. I'm grateful to IIAS for the support and confidence they continue to place in me, and I look forward to helping pave the path for many talented researchers who are sure to follow." IIAS Founder Dr. Jason Reimuller said: "Kellie has consistently demonstrated capability and professionalism in dynamic, operational, and multi-national research environments while enabling novel research. Additionally, her natural ability for science communication will help expand our nonprofit educational and outreach missions, inspiring others to see space as both inclusive of all and as a laboratory to benefit all of humanity. We look forward to working with Virgin Galactic as we expand our research from parabolic flight and analog environments towards longer-duration microgravity exposures in space." You can download all press materials including images and broll from the Virgin Galactic Press Assets About Virgin Galactic Holdings Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. is a vertically integrated aerospace and space travel company, pioneering human spaceflight for private individuals and researchers, as well as a manufacturer of advanced air and space vehicles. It is developing a spaceflight system designed to offer customers a unique and transformative experience. You can find more information at https://www.virgingalactic.com/. About IIAS The International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS) is a citizen-science, research, and education institute specializing in operational space science, geoscience, flight test engineering, aeronomy, and bioastronautics. IIAS science and research campaigns produce peer-reviewed scientific publications, deployable space technologies, and inspire the next generation of international space professionals. About Kellie Gerardi Kellie Gerardi is a bioastronautics researcher with the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS) who has flown multiple parabolic research campaigns to evaluate commercial spacesuits and conduct research in microgravity. Kellie's work as a science communicator has attracted hundreds of thousands of fans on social media. She serves on the Defense Council for the Truman National Security Project and on the Board of Directors for The Explorers Club, whose esteemed flag she carried during a crew rotation at the Mars Desert Research Station. Kellie also holds a leadership role in global Mission Operations at Palantir Technologies. She is the author of Not Necessarily Rocket Science and the upcoming children's picture book series LUNA MUNA. Kellie lives in Jupiter, Florida with her husband Steven and their daughter Delta V. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws with respect to Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (the "Company"), including statements regarding the Company's expected maintainability of the spaceships and flight schedule. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by words such as "believe," "project," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan," "may," "should," "will," "would," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this presentation, including but not limited to the factors, risks and uncertainties included in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the " SEC (News - Alert) "), which are accessible on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and the Investor Relations section of our website at www.virgingalactic.com. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and, except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005203/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Page Removed Due to administrative reasons, the content of this page has been removed and is no longer available. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] We are WAVA! And it's Time for Washington Virtual Academy Students to Succeed in the Next Part of Their Lives, No Exceptions! After a school year like no other, Washington Virtual Academy (WAVA), an online public school serving K-12 students throughout the state since 2010, will celebrate its graduates with a virtual commencement ceremony on June 6th at 4:00 pm. "I am fond of quoting Lincoln, who said 'Our cause then must be entrusted to, and conducted by, its own undoubted friends - those whose hands are free and whose hearts are in the work - who do care for the result,'" said WAVA Head of School Summer Shelton. "We are WAVA, we care for the result of our students, and our students' achievements are something to behold." This year, WAVA will graduate 244 students and will have 75 graduate with Honors. There are nine Valedictorians who will be honored during the virtual ceremony - Ashma'a Hatem Abdalla, Aiden Marcellus Davenport, Selma Fradi, Ean Wade Kingston, Tyler Gabriel Mathison, Mitchell Martin Milander, Madison Sierra Reznicki, Pierreje Manlap Villavicencio, Justin Ralph Thomas Whitney. "I'm so grateful for WAVA and the life lessons I've learned from the teachers and counselors here," said Aiden Davenport, one of the Valedictorians. "We were fortunate enough to continue school without any interrptions and that was such a relief for me." Collectively, the graduating class reports it has been accepted to colleges and universities across Washington and beyond including University of Washington, Western Washington University, Tacoma Community College, University of Arizona, Ottawa University, Middle Tennessee University, and US Air Force. Prior to the pandemic, students enrolled in virtual school for a number of reasons- some were looking for a safe and healthy environment to school, and others were looking for more of a personalized and challenging academic experience. WAVA students access a robust and rigorous online curriculum and attend live virtual classes taught by state-certified teachers. Details of the graduation ceremonies are as follows: WHAT: Washington Virtual Academy 2021 Graduation Ceremony WHEN: Sunday, June 6th, 4:00 PM, Link can be found here. CONTACT: For any questions about the celebrations, please contact Hailey Chamberlain at hchamberlain@k12.com. For media inquiries, please contact Ken Schwartz at kschwartz@k12.com. About Washington Virtual Academies Washington Virtual Academies (WAVA) is a full-time online and blended public school open to students statewide in kindergarten through 12th grade. It is an Alternative Learning Experience school program of the Omak School District. As part of the Washington public school system, WAVA is tuition-free, and provides families the choice to access the curriculum and tools provided by K12, a Stride Company (NYSE: LRN). Stride offers learners of all ages a more effective way to learn and build skills for their future. For more information about WAVA, visit wava.k12.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005004/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Wipro Wins SAP Innovation Award 2021 in the Partner Paragon Category Wipro (News - Alert) Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company, today said it has been recognized with the SAP (News - Alert) Innovation Award 2021 in the Partner Paragon category for its Fashion Rental solution built on SAP Business Technology Platform. The SAP Innovation Awards celebrate the achievements of forward-thinking companies that have harnessed the power of the latest SAP products and technologies to craft innovations. These innovations help companies become an intelligent enterprise, thrive in new business realities, and create a positive economic, environmental and/or social impact to help the world run better. Harish Dwarkanhalli - President, Applications & Data, Wipro Limited said, "We are elated to win this prestigious SAP Innovation Award. The award is a recognition of Wipro's commitment to bringing innovations to our customers to help grow their business. We look forward to growing our close partnership with SAP and collaborating with customers to develop new and enhanced products and services." Peter Maier - President, Industries and Customer Advisory, SAP said, "There were a total of 376 submissions for the SAP Innovation Awards and the quality of the submissions was incredibly high this year. Wipro's industry cloud solution is an excellent innovation example of how retailers can create a new channel for customers and drive a completely new revenue stream." For more information on Wipro's Fashion Rental Solution click here. About Wipro Limited Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO) is a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company. We harness the power of cognitive computing, hyper-automation, robotics, cloud, analytics and emerging technologies to help ur clients adapt to the digital world and make them successful. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, strong commitment to sustainability and good corporate citizenship, we have over 190,000 dedicated employees serving clients across six continents. Together, we discover ideas and connect the dots to build a better and a bold new future. Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements The forward-looking statements contained herein represent Wipro's beliefs regarding future events, many of which are by their nature, inherently uncertain and outside Wipro's control. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Wipro's growth prospects, its future financial operating results, and its plans, expectations and intentions. Wipro cautions readers that the forward-looking statements contained herein are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results anticipated by such statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, complete proposed corporate actions, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain 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, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry. The conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could decrease technology spending, adversely affect demand for our products, affect the rate of customer spending and could adversely affect our customers' ability or willingness to purchase our offerings, delay prospective customers' purchasing decisions, adversely impact our ability to provide on-site consulting services and our inability to deliver our customers or delay the provisioning of our offerings, all of which could adversely affect our future sales, operating results and overall financial performance. Our operations may also be negatively affected by a range of external factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic that are not within our control. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, Annual Reports on Form 20-F. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. We 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. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf. Any statements in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties described in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (" SEC (News - Alert) ), including its most recent annual report on Form 20-F, that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. SAP cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which SAP has no obligation to update and which speak only as of their dates. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210602006163/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 02, 2021] Brady Elected Vice Chairman of Board of First Northern Community Bancorp First Northern Community Bancorp (OTCQB:FNRN), holding company for First Northern Bank, announced that at the May 18, 2021 Organization Meeting of the Board of Directors of First Northern Community Bancorp and First Northern Bank, Patrick R. Brady was elected to a one-year term as Vice Chairman of the 10-member Board. He joins Chairman, Richard M. Martinez whose three-year term was extended an additional year. Together they represent 18 years of combined directorship experience with First Northern. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210602006104/en/ Patrick R. Brady, Vice Chairman (Photo: Business Wire) Mr. Brady has served on the Board since January 2013. Currently, he is Chairman of the Bank's Compensation Committee and a member of the Bank's Loan Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and Profit Sharing Committee. Mr. Brady, who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration from the University of Arizona and a Master's degree in Hospital Administration from the University of Minnesota, retired as Chief Executive Officer of Sutter Roseville Medical Center in 2018. He had been involved with Sutter since 1981. Prior to assuming his role at Sutter Roseville, Mr. Brady served as the Chief Executive Officer of Sutter Solano Medical Center for approximately six and a half years. Mr. Brady's service on boards both in the private and public sectors, and experience as a Chief Executive Officer, has provided him with extensive knowledge and experience in financial management, corporate governance, and risk management. In addition to serving on the Boards of First Northern Community Bancorp and First Northern Bank, Mr. Brady's professional activities include leadership roles in healthcare associations and advocacy groups. First Northern's other nine directors, and the year in which they joined the Board, are: John M. Carbahal - 1996, Gregory DuPratt - 1996, Barbara A. Hayes - 2016, Richard M. Martinez - 2011, Foy S. McNaughton - 2000, Sean P. Quinn - 2016, Daniel F. Ramos - 2020, Mark C. Schulze - 2017, and Louise A. Walker - 2011. About First Nortern Bank First Northern Bank is an independent community bank that specializes in relationship banking. The Bank, headquartered in Solano County since 1910, serves Solano, Yolo, Sacramento, Placer, and Contra Costa Counties, as well as the west slope of El Dorado County. Experts are available in small-business, commercial, real estate and agribusiness lending, as well as mortgage loans. The Bank is an SBA Preferred Lender. Non-FDIC insured Investment and Brokerage Services are available at every branch location, including Dixon, Davis, West Sacramento, Fairfield, Vacaville, Winters, Woodland, Sacramento, Roseville, Auburn and Rancho Cordova. The Bank also has a commercial lending office in Walnut Creek. Real estate mortgage and small-business loan officers are available by appointment in any of the Bank's 11 branches. First Northern is rated as a Veribanc "Blue Ribbon" Bank and a "5-Star Superior" Bank by Bauer Financial for the earnings period ended March 31, 2021 (www.veribanc.com) and (www.bauerfinancial.com). The Bank can be found on the Web at thatsmybank.com, on Facebook and on LinkedIn. Forward-Looking Statements This press release may include certain "forward-looking statements" about First Northern Community Bancorp (the "Company"). These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to changes in global political, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory factors. Given the many challenges and uncertainties resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, such as the extent and duration of the impact on public health, the U.S. and California economies, financial markets and consumer and corporate customers and clients, including economic activity, employment levels and market liquidity, and on our business, results of operation and financial condition, as well as the various actions taken in response to the challenges and uncertainties by governments, regulatory agencies and others, our forward-looking statements are subject to the risk that conditions will be substantially different than we are currently expecting. More detailed information about these risk factors is contained in the Company's most recent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, each as it may be amended from time to time, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The financial information contained in this release should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company's most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances arising after the date on which they are made. For further information regarding the Company, please read the Company's reports filed with the SEC (News - Alert) and available at www.sec.gov. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210602006104/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 02, 2021] Dubber as a standard feature of Cisco Webex Calling and UCM Cloud Dubber now a standard feature on Cisco Webex Calling and UCM Cloud Dubber compliant Call Recording included in all subscriptions Cisco first Dubber Foundation Partner MELBOURNE, Australia and DALLAS, Texas, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Dubber Corporation Limited (ASX: DUB) (Dubber), today announced that Cisco Webex Calling and Cisco Unified Communications Manager Cloud (UCM) will now include Dubber call recording as part of all Cisco Webex and UCM services at no additional cost to users. See related blog post here. Now, Webex Calling and UCM users with the ability to record any and all conversations as an included feature of their Webex subscription. If a user or business requires additional features such as extended storage, video recording, transcription, sentiment analysis or AI-enriched insights, they can simply upgrade their Dubber plan from within Cisco's Control Hub with immediate access and effect. Business users that have compliance or regulatory requirements to record and store calls can easily ensure recording, replay and data storage via the Cisco Webex platform, meeting their compliance obligations, regardless of the employee work location - a major concern for businesses as a result of the significant shift to remote and hybrid workforce arrangements. "Cisco and Dubber share a common vision of the way that voice data will become a critical resource for all businesses and users in the future. This marks a major milestone in increasing the ubiquity of Dubber as the Unified Call Recording and voice data layer for the world's leading collaboration platforms," said Steve McGovern, CEO, Dubber. Cisco as a Foundation Partner Additionally, Cisco will become Dubber's first major Foundation Partner. The Dubber Foundation Partner Program utilises the scale and native cloud capability of the Dubber platform, enabling a service provider to embed Dubber within their core service and make basic call recording available for every user as a standard feature. Dubber and its Foundation Partners are then able to cross and upsell richer functionality for compliance, AI services, additional storage, insights and more. McGovern added: "Dubber Foundation benefits Cisco and Dubber customers with a required capability as a standard feature while providing for the broader journey whereby the content of calls can be transformed into rich, usable data for compliance, productivity, insights and customer engagement. "Customers worldwide are responding to increased regulatory and compliance obligations for their businesses. Embedding tools, like Dubber call recording, as a standard service that is available to Webex users will help customers meet those requirements while enabling easy access to powerful advanced voice data services," said Lorrissa Horton, Vice President and General Manager of Webex Calling and Online. "The Foundation Partner Program provides Dubber with a significant additional revenue stream while preserving our current revenue models and creating the opportunity to accelerate growth in our core products. Having 100% of a customer base enabled provides Dubber and Cisco the opportunity to significantly drive consumption and uptake of call recording and voice data services on the platform," said McGovern. As well as being an embedded solution, Dubber addresses critical data, privacy and regulatory requirements while providing a simple and easy pathway to richer functionality as it is required. Dubber recordings and AI-enriched data can easily be unified in the Dubber Voice Intelligence Cloud alongside conversations from other end-points such as land-lines and mobile. "Business and Government require more than personal call recording," said James Slaney, COO, Dubber. "They need conversations to be captured in a way that is compliant and converted to data for revenue intelligence, dispute resolution, proactive compliance and customer service. Today's announcement is proof not only of the scalability of Dubber, but the potential we and Cisco see in tapping voice data to improve the performance of businesses and governments worldwide." Background: Dubber on Cisco Webex Calling and UCM Cloud: Available to all Cisco Webex Calling and UCM Cloud users as of today Dubber call recording on Cisco is free for any end user on the Webex Calling or UCM platforms Provides unlimited recordings stored for up to 30 days and is easily upgraded to unlimited storage for longer periods of time. Additional Dubber compliance, storage, transcription and AI plans are available immediately Access Cisco blog post here. Accessmore informationhere. Access Dubber on Webex via Cisco Control Hub Background: Cisco UCM Cloud & Cisco Webex Calling recording: Cisco UCM Cloud provides enterprise-class call control, session management, voice, video, messaging, mobility, and conferencing services that are scalable, customizable, reliable, private and highly secure. In a sector where call recording is usually the domain of the contact centre, businesses can now switch on specific or all employees immediately paving the way for real-time insights across the entire organisation. Cisco Webex Calling is a cloud-based phone system optimized for businesses of all sizes. It provides essential business calling capabilities for desktop, mobile, and remote workers and is delivered from the global Webex collaboration platform. Webex Calling leverages cloud delivery to provide flexibility, rapid innovation, predictable operating expenses, and instant global scale while protecting on-premises investments by connecting them to the Webex collaboration platform. This announcement has been approved for release by Steve McGovern, CEO, Dubber. About Dubber: Dubber is unlocking the potential of voice data from any call or conversation. Dubber is the world's most scalable Unified Call Recording service and Voice Intelligence Cloud adopted as core network infrastructure by multiple global leading telecommunications carriers in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Dubber allows service providers to offer call recording for compliance, business intelligence, sentiment analysis, AI and more on any phone. Dubber is a disruptive innovator in the multi-billion dollar call recording industry, its Software as a Service offering removes the need for on-premise hardware, applications or costly and limited storage. For more information, please contact: Investors: Simon Hinsley UK Media: James Taylor | The PR Network simon.hinsley@dubber.net james.taylor@thepr.network +61 (0) 401 809 653 +44 (0)7796 138291 AU & NZ Media: Terry Alberstein US Media: Charlie Guyer, Guyer Group for Dubber terry@navigatecommunication.com.au charlie@guyergroup.com +61 (0) 458 484 921 +1 617 599 8830 SOURCE Dubber [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 02, 2021] INVESTOR ALERT: Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Announces Investigation of Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (SPCE) on Behalf of Investors Law Offices of Howard G. Smith announces an investigation on behalf of Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. ("Virgin Galactic" or the "Company") (NYSE: SPCE) investors concerning the Company's possible violations of federal securities laws. On October 25, 2019, post-market, Virgin Galactic was formed by a business combination between Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. ("SCH"), a special purpose acquisition company ("SPAC"), and the Company's then-private predecessor, after which SCH changed its name to "Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc." and its ticker symbol to "SPCE" (the "Business Combination"). On April 12, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (" SEC (News - Alert) ") issued guidance advising that SPAC warrants, which are instruments that allow investors to buy additional shares at a fixed price, may need to be classified as liabilities rather than equity for many SPAC transactions, which had previously been accounted for as equity in these deals. On April 30, 3021, post-market, Virgin Galactic announced in a press release "that it has rescheduled the reporting of its financial result for the first quarter 2021 to following the close of the U.S. markets on Monday, May 10, 2021. Virgin Galactic will now host a conference call to discuss the results and provide a business update that day at 2:00 p.m., Pacific Time (5:00 p.m., Eastern Time). The Company is rescheduling its reporting due to the recent statement issued by the [SEC] on April 12, 2021 relating to the accounting treatment of warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies (the 'SEC Statement')." The company further advised that "following its review of the SEC Statement and consulting with its advisors, the Company will restate its consolidated financial statements included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. The restatement is due solely to the accounting treatment for the warrants of Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. that were outstanding at the time of the Company's business combination on October 25, 2019. The Company expects to file the restated financials prior to the new conference call date and estimates that it will recognize incremental non-operating, non-cash expense for each of the fiscal years ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019." On this news, Virgin Galactic's stock price fell $2.01 per share, or 9.07%, to close at $20.14 per share on May 3, 2021. If you purchased Virgin Galactic 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 Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020 by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to howardsmith@howardsmithlaw.com, or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com. 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/20210602006117/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 02, 2021] Social media's best kept secret revealed: New generation of social media careers earning live-streamers thousands on Bigo Live SYDNEY, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bigo Live, one of the world's fastest-growing, community-first livestreaming platforms, is championing a new generation of social media influencers and career paths to build stronger connections with a global community. Australian streamer and agent, Sherdelle Gardner joined the livestreaming platform in 2018 and started sharing her passion of music. The strong community culture on Bigo Live provided the social media talent with a platform to connect with like-minded peers and interact with the global community in real-time. "What I like about Bigo Live is that it's a platform that offered me this new way of social interaction, as it uses livestreaming technology to help streamers showcase their talents and share beautiful moments in real-time with a global community," said Sherdelle Gardner, Bigo Live streamer and agent. As an early adopter on Bigo Live, Sherdelle also pioneered a new wave of social media careers within the Australian and New Zealand market. Aside from content creation and livestreaming o Bigo Live, there are opportunities to earn an income as a Bigo Live agent. Agents are the management team behind the app that help to ensure streamers stay organised, attend their online events and help coordinate competitions such as the popular PK battles - these are one-on-one talent battles between two broadcasters from different families who compete for in-app gifts and rewards. "Whether you're a streamer or an agent on Bigo Live, there are plenty opportunities to grow your career. I started with singing because I enjoyed it, but I also love helping others and lifting the community too. I've been able to adapt my skills to an emerging social media platform and now make close to $250,000 a year," said Sherdelle. Bigo Live is dedicated to amplifying the voices of its communities and invested in its talent and content creators. So much so, that the platform has established a support infrastructure, including its agent networks, to provide talent with a level of in-app community support that is unique to the platform. With the help of Bigo Live agents, broadcasters can leverage the global platform to grow into livestreaming superstars. In the past year, Bigo Live has helped over 500 broadcasters reach stardom by surpassing one million fans globally. Celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, Bigo Live has connected over 400 million users worldwide in over 150 countries including Australia and New Zealand. With over 1.3 million subscribers across the ANZ region and a 20% sign-on broadcaster increase month-on-month, Bigo Live is helping Aussie streamers share their talents and connect to the world. Bigo Live is ranked #7 in Apptopia's "10 Most Downloaded Social Network Apps in 2020" worldwide. To download the Bigo Live app today, visit https://www.bigo.tv/bigo_intro/en.html About Bigo Live Bigo Live is one of the world's fastest-growing live streaming social communities where users broadcast in real-time to share life moments, showcase their talents, and interact with people from around the world. Bigo Live has around 400 million users in over 150 countries and is currently the market leader in the live streaming industry. Launched in March 2016, Bigo Live is owned by Bigo Technology based in Singapore. For more information on Bigo Live, please visit www.bigo.tv/ SOURCE Bigo Live [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 02, 2021] USD 2.53 Billion growth expected in Video Conferencing Market at a CAGR of 9.08% amid COVID-19 Spread| SpendEdge NEW YORK, June 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Video Conferencing has been added to SpendEdge's offering. The Video Conferencing market is expected to grow by USD 2.53 billion, at a CAGR of over 9.08% by 2024. Request a Free Sample Report to Know More Leading global suppliers can assist buyers in realizing high-cost savings through their efforts on areas such as backward integration, supplier synergies, reducing total ownership cost, conference participation, manage ad hoc spend, quality management, negotiate on pricing and contractual terms, managing labor price volatility, and cost of quality impact. Collaborations with global suppliers will also help buyers in cost-saving and ensuring high-quality procurement in the dynamic market. The report also offers information on the upcoming trends and challenges that will influence market growth. Download Our Free Sample Report Video Conferencing Market: Key Price Trends The pressure from substitutes and a moderate level of threat from new entrants has resulted in the moderate bargaining power of suppliers. This makes it extremely important to get the pricing and pricing model right. Buyers should align their preferred pricing models for Video Conferencing with the wider industry and identify the cost-saving potential. Price Strategies and Benchmark Identify favorable opportunities in Video Conferencing 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 Explore more about market opportunities: Enquire about the report before purchasing Some of the top Video Conferencing suppliers listed in this report: This Video Conferencing procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies. Cisco Systems Inc. Microsoft Corp. Plantronics Inc. Zoom Video Communications Inc. ZTE Corp. Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. Regional Analysis Further breakdown of the market segmentation at requested regions. Market Player Information Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players, vendor segmentation, and vendor offerings. Know the strategies adopted by vendors during the COVID-19 Recovery Phase. Speak to our Analyst for a Customized Report Related Reports on Professional Services Market: Legal Services - Sourcing and Procurement Market Intelligence Report: The legal services industry is set to witness a spend growth of over USD 190 billion with spend momentum to accelerate at a CAGR of more than 3% by 2024. with spend momentum to accelerate at a CAGR of more than 3% by 2024. HR Benefits and Administration Services - Sourcing and Procurement Market Intelligence Report: According to the forecasts, North America and APAC are home to the top two largest regional HR benefits and administration services markets owing to the complexity of regulatory compliance faced across business sectors. and APAC are home to the top two largest regional HR benefits and administration services markets owing to the complexity of regulatory compliance faced across business sectors. Fleet Vehicle Leasing - Sourcing and Procurement Intelligence Report: This procurement market intelligence report analyzes the impact of the cost and volume drivers on the fleet vehicle leasing pricing strategies in different regions. The report also analyzes the US supply market, offers strategic sourcing insights, and category management objectives to facilitate optimal and cost-effective fleet vehicle leasing procurement. To access the definite purchasing guide on the Video Conferencing that answers all your key questions on price trends and analysis: Am I paying/getting the right prices? Is my Video Conferencing TCO (total cost of ownership) favorable? How is the price forecast expected to change? What is driving the current and future price changes? Which pricing models offer the most rewarding opportunities? 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 About SpendEdge: SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions. To know more https://www.spendedge.com/request-for-demo Contact SpendEdge Anirban Choudhury Marketing Manager Ph No: +1 (872) 206-9340 https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us Report: www.spendedge.com/report/market-research-services-market-procurement-research-report View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/usd-2-53-billion-growth-expected-in-video-conferencing-market-at-a-cagr-of-9-08-amid-covid-19-spread-spendedge-301304653.html SOURCE SpendEdge [June 02, 2021] CMC Telecom certified as first Premier Partner of Google Cloud in Vietnam HANOI, Vietnam, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 28, Google's Partner system officially recognized CMC Telecom as Google's first Sell Premier Partner in Vietnam. Accordingly, CMC Telecom is also the only Vietnamese Telco up to this point to be certified as the Premier Partner of Google Cloud all around the world. According to GCP (Google Cloud Platform), there are three levels: Member, Partner and Premier. To be upgraded, experts of CMC Telecom must acquire at least 20 certificates and they must be directly trained and tested by Google in a wide range of fields including sales, sales consulting and technical support. Besides, CMC Telecom also must incredibly accomplish a challenging sale target from Google, and successfully deploy for clients to demonstrate eligibility for an upgrade. Speedy in action A Google representative said that CMC Telecom acted very quickly and achieved a quick upgrade after only 4 months. By successfully deploying fr a number of big clients namely REE Corporation, VNPay, Rikkeisoft, etc, CMC Telecom has proven its strong expertise in sales as well as technical aspects with excellence and profession. In January 2021, CMC Telecom also completed from Sell Partner to Service Partner in a record time, 3 months ahead of schedule. According to CMC Telecom, after being certified as a Sell Premier Partner, this business will continue to conquer Service Premier. Special offering with premium quality for customers Mr. Dang Tung Son, DCEO/CMO of CMC Telecom shared: "The fact that CMC Telecom has been upgraded to the highest rank of global Premier Partner of Google Cloud not only helps CMC Telecom customers receive in-depth advice and preferential policies, the best deals for products and services in the Google Cloud ecosystem, but also the commitment of Google and CMC Telecom to accompany during the digital transformation era." As a CSP (Converged Services Provider), CMC Telecom provides professional and high-class services with a diverse service ecosystem for businesses who have digital transformation needs. Choosing and becoming a top-class partner of Google Cloud is also part of the CSP and multi-cloud strategy, in order to bring the most useful and practical values to businesses in many segments all over the world. Google - A Digital Transformation Platform Google Cloud Platform abbreviated as GCP, provided by Google, is a cloud computing platform that allows organizations and businesses to create, build and operate their applications. Popular Google applications using Google Cloud Platform are: Youtube, Chrome, Google Apps, Google Maps, Google Search, etc. Besides a set of management tools, it offers a wide range of cloud services including Cloud computing, data storage, data analytics, and machine learning. Mr. Le Anh Vu, CIO of CMC Telecom said: "Google Cloud Platform aims to help users to solve all problems in a business with the One Google approach, from coming up with business ideas, deploying and developing, integrating (Compute, Data, Serverless etc.) to Sales Marketing (Google Search, Google Ads, Youtube). Enterprises using Google Cloud Platform will only need to focus on building the above application, serving their own interests." In 2020, CMC Cloud of CMC Telecom was awarded "Most Innovative Cloud Service Provider" by IFM Magazine (International Finance Magazine, UK). Accordingly, CMC Cloud is capable of connecting to the Cloud services of Google, Microsoft and AWS on a single multi-cloud administration portal. SOURCE CMC Telecom [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Beshear Criticizes Kentucky Race Theory Bill By Kentucky News Network The bill pre-filed by Republican Representative Joseph Fischer of Covington would prohibit public schools from offering any curriculum or classroom discussions about designated concepts related to race, sex, and religion. Schools also could not offer courses with the concept that the commonwealth or the United States is fundamentally or irredeemably racist or sexist. Its the latest in a national push by conservatives against critical race theory, an academic framework that studies racism as institutional in the U.S. and a systemic part of American life. Governor Andy Beshear was asked about the bill Tuesday. "I think once you start legislating what can and can't be taught in schools, especially in the framework of politics, it gets really dangerous," Beshear said. The bill also states someone could file a complaint with the Attorney General if they think a teacher discusses any of the banned topics. FRANKFORT - A bill pre-filed Tuesday for the 2022 Kentucky Legislative Session is already garnering some criticism. [June 02, 2021] Planetwatch Announces The Listing Of The PLANETS Token On Bitfinex Exchange ST. GENIS-POUILLY, France, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Planetwatch, a French start-up which decentralizes and incentivizes environmental monitoring, announced that its utility token, PLANETS, will be listed on Bitfinex. PLANETS are the first Algorand Standard Asset (barring stablecoins) to be supported on a major international exchange. Claudio Parrinello, PlanetWatch's CEO said: "This is a major milestone for PlanetWatch. Less than 18 months after company creation, and despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we have managed to demonstrate that our Smart City as a Service solution, based on community sensor deployment and crowdsourced air quality data, can deliver business-grade data feeds in a fast and cost-effective way." PlanetWatch revolutionizes the way we measure air quality by using the Algorand Blockchain, IoT-enabled sensors and AI-based data analysis. PlanetWatch incentivizs citizens to operate air quality sensors and earn token rewards for data streams. Sean Lee, CEO of the Algorand Foundation, said: "We are delighted to see Bitfinex support the PLANETS token. The PlanetWatch team have shown outstanding vision and innovation in creating their "Smart City"aaS concept and choosing to create their utility token ecosystem on Algorand's sustainable, carbon negative blockchain network. We are excited to see the world discover the amazing potential of crowd sourced air quality monitoring and the PLANETS token." PlanetWatch is focusing on air pollution, because it causes over 7 million deaths per year (source: WHO). In addition, recent studies provide evidence linking long-term exposure to air pollution with an increase in mortality from COVID-19 infection, as well as a significant risk of infection via aerosol in indoor spaces, where air quality can be a proxy for infection risks. PlanetWatch is strongly supported by high-profile partners such as Algorand, the Algorand Foundation and CERN, the leading physics research lab in the world, where the Web was born. As provider of environmental data, PlanetWatch was naturally led to partner with Algorand which provides a highly scalable, decentralized and secure blockchain which is also one of the "greenest" for energy consumption. As far as CERN is concerned, PlanetWatch is the only company in the global blockchain ecosystem to be an official "CERN Spin-off". PlanetWatch's network is growing very fast. It currently comprises approximately 700 sensors, mostly in Europe and the USA. Based on the current installation pipeline, the 1,000-sensor milestone will be reached in a few weeks. For more information on Planetwatch, visit https://planetwatch.io and for further information on Algorand, visit https://algorand.com Contact: Claudio Parrinello CEO claudio.parrinello@planetwatch.io SOURCE Planetwatch sas [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 02, 2021] Cushman & Wakefield Announces Pricing of Public Offering of Ordinary Shares by Selling Shareholders Cushman & Wakefield plc (NYSE: CWK) ("Cushman & Wakefield") announced today the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 10,000,000 ordinary shares at a price to the public of $18.75 per share. All of the ordinary shares are being offered by existing shareholders and Cushman & Wakefield will not receive any of the proceeds from the offering. The selling shareholders include funds affiliated with TPG, PAG Asia Capital and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board. The underwriter will have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,500,000 ordinary shares from the selling shareholders. The offering is expected to close on June 7, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is serving as sole underwriter for the offering. An automatic shelf registration statement relating to the ordinary shares to be sold in the offering was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (" SEC (News - Alert) ") on November 12, 2019 and became effective upon filing. The offering may be made only by means of a prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. You may obtain these documents for free by visiting the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Additionally, copies of the final prospectus supplement, when available, may be obtained from Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, telephone: 1-866-471-2526, facsimile: 212-902-9316 or by emailing Prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, sale or solicitation would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. About Cushman & Wakefield plc Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) is a leading global real estate services firm that delivers exceptional value for real estate occupiers and owners. Cushman & Wakefield is among the largest real estate services firms with approximately 50,000 employees in over 400 offices and 60 countries. In 2020, the firm had revenue of $7.8 billion across core services of property, facilities and project management, leasing, capital markets, valuation and other services. Forward-Looking Statements All statements in this press release other than historical facts are forward-looking statements, which rely on a number of assumptions concerning future events, including whether or not the offering will be consummated. Such statements are also subject to a number of uncertainties and factors outside Cushman & Wakefield's control. Such factors include, but are not limited to, uncertainty regarding and changes in global economic or market conditions and changes in government policies, laws, regulations and practices. Should any Cushman & Wakefield assumptions or these other uncertainties and factors materialize in ways that Cushman & Wakefield did not expect, actual results could differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release. While Cushman & Wakefield believes the assumptions underlying these forward-looking statements are reasonable under current circumstances, recipients should bear in mind that such assumptions are inherently uncertain. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements or other information in this press release. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210602006126/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 02, 2021] Dable Partners with 3,000 Premium Media in Asia, Exceeding 5 Billion Monthly Pageviews SEOUL, South Korea, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Dable, a leading global content discovery platform, announced that the number of partnered premium media in Asia surpassed 3,000 in number and exceeded 5 billion monthly pageviews. Dable, based in South Korea, is a media tech company that owns world class big data processing and personalized technologies. Dable provides 'Dable News' and 'Dable Native Ad' that recommends personalized contents and ads by analyzing the consumed content and behavior of media site visitors. Dable has partnered with top media in Asia such as Indonesia: Liputan6 - part of the largest and most trusted media group, Suara - an independent online news portal, Malaysia: Utusan Malaysia - the oldest Malay laguage news publisher, and Chinapress - the most influential Chinese news publisher, Vietnam: Thanhnien - one of the most trusted media publishers, Tienphong - one of the oldest media publishers, South Korea: Chosun Ilbo - No.1 publisher, KBS - a leading public media, Taiwan: ETToday - top tier traffic news group, LTN - one of most long-standing media. Dable collects and analyzes 22 billion media logs from about 500 million Asian users per month. Dable recommends content to 5 billion websites each month, and over 100 million pageviews are generated through Dable's platform. Dable recorded an average annual sales growth of more than 50% since its establishment in 2015. Currently, Dable is the most used personalized recommendation platform in Indonesia, Vietnam and Korea. In Taiwan, the sales tripled over the past year whilst Malaysia recorded an average monthly sales growth of 30%. Dable also ranked 46th place out of the top 500 Asia-Pacific High-Growth Companies announced by the Financial Times, and proved its growth potential by ranking 1st in the media category. Dable, which succeeded in its US $12 million Series C investment recently, expects to accelerate its global market expansion. Dable began offering services to Hong Kong SAR, Thailand and Singapore and will further expand into mainland China, Turkey and Australia this year. Dable hopes to provide services to the US and Europe. "Dable was able to surpass 3,000 media partnerships in Asia in a short time thanks to Dable's excellent technology" said Chaehyun Lee, CEO of Dable. "Dable will expand its service area more aggressively. We will provide the best service that is tailored to each region's characteristics through active recruitment of local personnel and close cooperation with local companies." Contact: Eunjin Kang, press@dable.io SOURCE Dable [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 02, 2021] MedX Announces $500,000 Non-Brokered Private Placement of Convertible Debenture Loan Notes to Redeem Existing Secured Loan MedX Health Corp. ("MedX" or the "Company") (TSX-V: MDX) announces that, subject to TSX-V Acceptance, it has entered into an agreement to redeem an existing $500,000 secured loan by way of a non-brokered Private Placement of 10 Convertible Debenture Loan Notes, each with a face value of $50,000 ("Convertible Notes") to the same accredited investor. The Convertible Notes, which have similar terms to the Loan Notes issued by the Company in February, 2021, bear interest at 6% per year, payable Quarterly, and will mature on December 31, 2023 (the "Maturity Date"). The Convertible Notes may be converted, at the option of the Holder, into units at $0.14 per unit ("Unit") at any time until the Maturity Date. Each Unit will be comprised of One (1) fully paid Common Share and One-half (1/2) of a Share Purchase Warrant. Each whole Share Purchase Warrant will be exercisable to purchase One (1) further Common Share at the price of $0.20, exercisable for a period expiring on the Maturity Date. The Convertible Notes, and any underlying securities, are subject to restriction from trading for a period of 4 months and one day from the date of issuance. No agents' fees or commissions are payable on this transaction. Closing of the Placement will be subject to receipt of all relevant regulatory and Stock Exchange approvals or acceptances. About MedX MedX, headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, is a leading medical device and software company focused on skin health with its SIAscopy on DermSecure telemedicine platform, utilizing its SIAscopy technolgy. SIAscopy is also imbedded in SIAMETRICS, a well-regarded research system used to assess treatment effectiveness of a variety of skin conditions, including burns. The Company's SIAscope and other devices are manufactured in its ISO 13485 certified facility. The SIAscope is a hand-held device that uses patented technology utilizing light and its remittance to view up to 2 mm beneath suspicious moles and lesions in a pain free, non-invasive manner, with the Company's software then creating real-time images for physicians and dermatologists to evaluate all types of moles or lesions within seconds. These products are Health Canada, FDA, TGA and CE cleared for use in Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, the European Union, Turkey and Brazil. DermSecure meets all privacy, security and relevant regulatory requirements in Canada, the US, Brazil, and the EU. MedX also designs, manufactures and distributes quality photobiomodulation therapeutic and dental lasers to provide drug-free and non-invasive treatment of tissue damage and pain. www.medxhealth.com. Forward-looking Statements This press release does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ, including, without limitation, the company's limited operating history and history of losses, the inability to successfully obtain further funding, the inability to raise capital on terms acceptable to the company, the inability to compete effectively in the marketplace, the inability to complete the proposed acquisition and such other risks that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in the company's projections or forward-looking statements. All forward looking statements in this press release are based on information available to the company as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210602006131/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 02, 2021] Commercial Coffee Bean Grinders Market to grow by USD 5078.64 thousand during 2021-2025 | Impacts of Drivers and Challenges | Technavio NEW YORK, June 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Technavio has been monitoring the commercial coffee bean grinders market and it is poised to grow by USD 5078.64 thousand during 2021-2025, progressing at a CAGR of over 2% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. Technavio's in-depth market research reports include value chain analysis and validation techniques to help industry leaders improve their business. Download FREE Sample Report Frequently Asked Questions: Based on segmentation by the product, which is the leading segment in the market? The commercial electric burr coffee bean grinder is the leading segment in the market. The commercial electric burr coffee bean grinder is the leading segment in the market. At what rate is the market projected to grow? The market is projected to accelerate at a CAGR of over 2%. The market is projected to accelerate at a CAGR of over 2%. Who are the top players in the market? AB Electrolux, Baratza LLC, Breville USA Inc., Bunn-O-Matic Corp., Ceado Srl, Compak Coffee Grinders SA, Conti Valerio Srl, Food Equipment Technologies Co., HEMRO AG, La Marzocco Srl are the top players in the market. AB Electrolux, Baratza LLC, Breville Inc., Bunn-O-Matic Corp., Ceado Srl, Compak Coffee Grinders SA, Conti Valerio Srl, Food Equipment Technologies Co., HEMRO AG, La Marzocco Srl are the top players in the market. What are the key market drivers and challenges? The market is driven by the growing adoption of energy-efficient commercial coffee bean grinders. However, the decrease in coffee production will hamper the market growth. The market is driven by the growing adoption of energy-efficient commercial coffee bean grinders. However, the decrease in coffee production will hamper the market growth. How big is the APAC market? 35% of the market's growth will originate from APAC during the forecast period. Buy 1 Technavio report and get the second for 50% off. Buy 2 Technavio reports and get the third for free. View market snapshot before purchasing The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. AB Electrolux, Baratza LLC, Breville USA Inc., Bunn-O-Matic Corp., Ceado Srl, Compak Coffee Grinders SA, Conti Valerio Srl, Food Equipment Technologies Co., HEMRO AG, and La Marzocco Srl are some of the major market participants. Although the growing adoption of energy-efficient commercial coffee bean grinders will offer immense growth opportunities, the decrease in coffee production is likely to pose a challenge for the market vendors. In a bid to help players strengthen their market foothold, this commercial coffee bean grinders 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. Technavio's custom research reports offer detailed insights on the impact of COVID-19 at an industry level, a regional level, and subsequent supply chain operations. This customized report will also help clients keep up with new product launches in direct & indirect COVID-19 related markets, upcoming vaccines and pipeline analysis, and significant developments in vendor operations and government regulations. Commercial Coffee Bean Grinders Market 2021-2025: Segmentation Commercial Coffee Bean Grinders Market is segmented as below: Product Commercial Electric Burr Coffee Bean Grinders Commercial Electric Blade Coffee Bean Grinders Commercial Manual Coffee Bean Grinders End-user Coffee Shop Others Geography APA North America Europe South America The Middle East and Africa Know more about Techanavio's analysis on the impact of Disruption Threats comparing Disruptive sources and Factors driving disruption, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR44529 Commercial Coffee Bean Grinders 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 commercial coffee bean grinders market report covers the following areas: Commercial Coffee Bean Grinders Market Size Commercial Coffee Bean Grinders Market Trends Commercial Coffee Bean Grinders Market Industry Analysis This study identifies compliance with regulatory standards as one of the prime reasons driving the Commercial Coffee Bean Grinders Market growth during the next few years. Commercial Coffee Bean Grinders Market 2021-2025: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2021-2025 Detailed information on factors that will assist commercial coffee bean grinders market growth during the next five years Estimation of the commercial coffee bean grinders market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the commercial coffee bean grinders market across APAC, North America , Europe , South America , and MEA , , , and MEA Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of commercial coffee bean grinders market vendors Related Reports on Consumer Discretionary Include: Global Commercial Jar Blender Market- The commercial jar blender market is segmented by product (commercial jar blenders for food, commercial jar blenders for drinks, and commercial jar blenders for food and drinks) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA). Download FREE Sample Report Global Commercial Undercounter Dishwasher Market- The commercial under-counter dishwasher market is segmented by product (high-temperature dishwasher and low-temperature dishwasher) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA). Download FREE Sample Report Table of Contents: Executive Summary Market Landscape Market ecosystem Value chain analysis Market Sizing Market definition Market segment analysis Market size 2020 Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025 Five Forces Analysis Five forces summary Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes Threat of rivalry Market condition Market Segmentation by Product Market segments Comparison by Product Commercial electric burr coffee bean grinders - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Commercial electric blade coffee bean grinders - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Commercial manual coffee bean grinders - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Market opportunity by Product Market Segmentation by End-user Market segments Comparison by End-user Coffee shops - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Others - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Market opportunity by End-user Customer landscape Geographic Landscape Geographic segmentation Geographic comparison APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Key leading countries Market opportunity by geography Market drivers Market challenges Market trends Vendor Landscape Overview Vendor landscape Landscape disruption Vendor Analysis Vendors covered Market positioning of vendors AB Electrolux Baratza LLC Breville USA Inc. Inc. Bunn-O-Matic Corp. Ceado Srl Compak Coffee Grinders SA Conti Valerio Srl Food Equipment Technologies Co. HEMRO AG La Marzocco Srl Appendix Scope of the report Currency conversion rates for US$ Research methodology List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ Newsroom: https://www.technavio.com/news/top-drivers-for-commercial-coffee-bean-grindersmarket Report Page: https://www.technavio.com/report/commercial-coffee-bean-grinders-market-industry-analysis View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/commercial-coffee-bean-grinders-market-to-grow-by-usd-5078-64-thousand-during-2021-2025--impacts-of-drivers-and-challenges--technavio-301304701.html SOURCE Technavio [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 02, 2021] Accenture Interactive Expands Experience-Led Transformation Services in Southeast Asia with Acquisition of Award-Winning Agency Entropia Accenture (News - Alert) (NYSE: ACN) today announced it has acquired Entropia, marking the first acquisition by Accenture Interactive in Southeast Asia. Entropia, one of the fastest-growing international agencies1, will complement and expand Accenture Interactive's unique position in the market for experience-led transformation services. Founded in 2016 and based in Kuala Lumpur, Entropia features a team of more than 210 employees skilled in scaling unique digital experiences for brands. The addition of Entropia will help Accenture Interactive transform and reimagine their clients' entire business through the lens of experience. The acquisition will also expand the creative talent pool within Accenture Interactive and create more learning and growth opportunities for people across both organisations. Divyesh Vithlani, Southeast Asia market unit lead, Accenture said: "As more consumers shift to online channels, the growth of the digital economy in Southeast Asia has accelerated the massive disruption that brands are experiencing. This acquisition will allow us to expand our digital capabilities to meet the growing demands of our clients." "Entropia's addition will help us deliver innovation through technology to drive commerce and growth for our clients in Southeast Asia. It's also an exciting chapter in our journey to strengthen and expand Accenture Interactive's presence in the region," said Thomas Mouritzen, Accenture Interactive's lead for Southeast Asia. Entropia is one of the most awarded agencies in the region, receiving accolades from local and regional publications such as Marketing Interactive and The Drum. The agency boasts an extensive track record in helping blue-chip clients, including BMW, Nespresso, KFC, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Telekom Malaysia (News - Alert) , and Lazada, create brand experiences with a positive impact on people and business growth. Most recently, Entropia teamed with BMW to create an action-packed augmented reality (AR) showroom for the new BMW X5 that brought the car and its features to life for consumers on lockdown during the global health pandemic. Entropia also worked with Nespresso to localize a global sustainability campaign by collaborating with renowned Malaysian artist, Red Hong Yi, to create an art installation titled 'Kaleidoscope.' Prashant Kumar, founder and senior partner at Entropia, said: "This is the perfect time to join with Accenture Interactive and raise the bar in transforming data-driven marketing for businesses. I am thrilled to have both organisations come together and expand the canvas for our people, clients and their customers." "The acquisition of Entropia lets us lean further into our global vision to take experiences - designed through deep human insights and powered by creativity and technology - to the next level. It also helps us deliver on our growth ambitions for our people, clients and the industry across the Asia Pacific region," said Flaviano Faleiro, Accenture Interactive's president for Growth Markets. About Accenture Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and Oprations 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 Accenture Interactive is reimagining business through experience. We drive sustainable growth by creating meaningful experiences that live at the intersection of purpose and innovation. By connecting deep human and business insights with the possibilities of technology, we design, build, communicate and run experiences that make lives easier, more productive and rewarding. Accenture Interactive is ranked the world's largest digital agency by Ad Age and has been named a Most Innovative Company by Fast Company. To learn more, follow us @AccentureACTIVE and visit www.accentureinteractive.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, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q 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. 1 https://www.adweek.com/agencies/top-10-fastest-growing-international-agencies/ 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/20210602006142/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] HKBNES is the First in Hong Kong to Attain Cisco ACI Black Belt Stage 3 Certification HONG KONG, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- HKBN Enterprise Solutions ("HKBNES") is proud to be the first company in Hong Kong to attain the world's leading technology solution - Cisco's Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) Black Belt Stage 3 certification. HKBNES was also awarded three regional and local Cisco accolades, recognising its outstanding technical capabilities to support the diverse ICT needs of companies of different industries and sizes. These accolades include: Managed Services Partner of the Year ( Greater China ) : Recognising HKBNES as the top performing managed services partner in Cloud Voice solutions throughout the Greater China region; : Recognising HKBNES as the top performing managed services partner in Cloud Voice solutions throughout the region; Innovative Solution Partner of the Year ( Hong Kong ) : Recognising HKBNES's technology excellence in deploying ACI for a leading financial institute; and : Recognising HKBNES's technology excellence in deploying ACI for a leading financial institute; and Cisco Partner of the Year Fast Growing ( Hong Kong ): Recognising HKBNES as a fast growing partner of Cisco Hong Kong in FY20. Matching an astute eye for best-fit tech solutions with end-to-end expertise in cloud technology deployment including capabilities needed for complex, large-scale cloud voice hosting projects HKBNES has helped numerous enterprise customers digitally transformed their voice systes for enhanced productivity. Powered by a team with unparalleled ACI expertise, HKBNES recently helped a leading financial institution deployed a large-scale ACI system, meeting the customer's stringent requirements for connectivity, infrastructure setup, network services planning, automation and coding. The expert team also helped design a secure management portal to seamlessly link up complex cloud extensions. Danny Li, Co-Owner & Chief Technology Officer of HKBN said, "Beyond merely selling services, our goal is to co-grow with enterprise customers, advising them on the latest and best-fit technology choices that'll help their businesses run much better. We are excited to partner with Cisco, which shares our vision in supporting the transformation and growth of enterprise customers." Wilson Ching, General Manager of Cisco Hong Kong & Macau shared, "As staunch partners, Cisco and HKBNES share the same goal of forging multiple wins through our comprehensive technological solutions for customers. With their exceptional technical capabilities and dedication to excellence, HKBNES is well-deserving of our recognition and endorsement." As part of its commitment to help enterprises maintain growth in the new normal, HKBNES will continue partnering with Cisco to bring the latest digital solutions to market. About HKBN Enterprise Solutions HKBN Enterprise Solutions ("HKBNES") is an enterprise solutions arm of HKBN Group ("HKBN" or the "Group"). Headquartered in Hong Kong with operations spanning across Asian markets like Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia, the Group is a leading integrated telecom and technology solutions provider. HKBN's Core Purpose is to "Make our Home a Better Place to Live". The Group is managed by hundreds of Co-Owners (supervisory and management level Talents in the Group) who have skin-in-the-game through investing their family savings to buy shares of HKBN Ltd. (SEHK Stock Code: 1310) or investing a portion of their salary towards a common KPI for the beyond-Hong Kong business of the Group. HKBN operates through three core brands, Hong Kong Broadband Network, HKBN Enterprise Solutions and HKBN JOS. The Group offers comprehensive one-stop Information and Communications Technology ("ICT") solutions that include broadband, data connectivity, cloud and data centre, managed Wi-Fi, business continuity services, system integration, cybersecurity, mobile services, roaming solutions, digital solutions, voice and collaboration, stationery and supplies that are cumulative to our one-stop-shop offering of Transformation as a Service (TaaS) and OTT entertainment. HKBN's tri-carrier fibre infrastructure in Hong Kong covers about over 2.4 million residential homes and over 7,400 commercial buildings and facilities. For more information about HKBNES, please visit https://www.hkbnes.net/en. SOURCE HKBN Enterprise Solutions [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] iXensor Launches CE-marked Fully Digitized PixoTest COVID-19 Rapid Test with Digital Health Pass to Facilitate Safe Reopening of Economies A computer vision empowered rapid antigen test to avoid human errors. An end-to-end digitized screening solution delivers test-to-report time in around 15 minutes. The enterprise SaaS solution enables organizations to reopen with confidence. TAIPEI, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- iXensor Co., Ltd. (6734.TWO), the pioneer of mobile health, announces that its PixoTest POCT COVID-19 Antigen Test has received the CE-IVD mark. The PixoTest POCT COVID-19 Antigen Test provides the end-to-end fully digitalized rapid screening solution to prevent further outbreaks. iXensor's PixoTest solution comprises a palm-sized analyzer that reads test results accurately, a digital health pass App, an Admin App, and a HIPAA-grade health management web portal. The fully digitized testing and reporting design shortens the test-to-report time to 15 minutes. In addition to overcoming the lab testing limitations, the solution allows for scaling in large screening settings, thereby enabling business continuity and reopening. Smartphone-powered accurate results in 15 minutes: With the PixoTest POCT Analyzer reading test results objectively, healthcare organizations and corporations can minimize the risks of having false-negative cases compared to rapid tests interpreted by human eyes. Concurrent reporting and digital health pass issuance: The analyzer transmits test results simultaneously to the PixoHealth Pass App users via an encrypted QR code. The digital health pass also records App users' vaccination certificates, helping free movement in the upcoming summer holiday season. Mobile health technology addresses fake test reports: The PixoHealth Pass Admin App is designed for organizations to verify the authenticity of PixoTest test results with one simple scan. The admin app protects organizations' safety amidst the pandemic by validating the cheat-proof, encrypted results shown on PixoHealth Pass App. Superior accuracy meets EU standard: In the prospective clinical study completed in Brazil, the PixoTest showed 95% sensitivity and 98% specificity of nasopharyngeal specimens for the ranges of 0 to 7 days since symptom onset (DSO). Another study in the USA examined the clinical performance of anterior nasal specimens among symptomatic patients, which reported 92.8% sensitivity and 100% specificity, respectively. To address the soaring demand for self-administered COVID-19 rapid tests, Dr. Peter Fitzgerald, Chairman of iXensor and Emeritus Professor of Medicine School at Stanford University announces, "We are deploying iXensor's core PixoTech technology to develop the smartphone-based self-test that can perform COVID-19 testing and tracking, anywhere at any time. I believe having COVID-19 at-home test will drastically cut many transmission paths to stop the pandemic." About iXensor iXensor, the pioneer of mobile health, turns smartphones into lab-grade mobile medical diagnostics. In 2017, iXensor introduced the PixoTest Blood Glucose Monitoring System as the world's first US FDA-approved smartphone camera-based blood test. Based on the PixoTech platform, iXensor has ventured into at-home self-testing and clinical point-of-care diagnostics across infectious diseases, women's health, and cardiovascular diseases. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1524943/PixoTest_COVID_19_Management_Total_Solution.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1524944/PixoTest_POCT_Analyzer_Digital_COVID_19_Rapid_Antigen_Test.jpg [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Nano One and Johnson Matthey enter into a Joint Development Agreement for lithium-ion battery materials Nano One and Johnson Matthey announce the signing of a Joint Development Agreement. Co-development of next generation products and processes for Johnson Matthey's eLNO family of nickel-rich advanced cathode materials using Nano One's patented One-Pot process. Includes detailed commercialization study for pre-pilot, pilot and scaled up production. Builds on the successful technical reviews and evaluations conducted by Nano One and JM over the past year. LONDON, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nano One Materials Corp. (Nano One), a clean technology innovator in battery materials, and Johnson Matthey (JM), a global leader in sustainable technologies, today announced a joint development agreement. Under this agreement the companies will co-develop next generation products and processes for Johnson Matthey's eLNO family of nickel-rich advanced cathode materials using Nano One's patented One-Pot process and coated nanocrystal technology, for the low-cost, low-carbon footprint production of high-performance lithium ion battery cathode materials. JM has already made significant progress in the commercialisation of its family of nickel rich advanced cathode materials and has set a new standard in the sustainable production of battery cathode materials. Nano One's patented One-Pot process is designed to form a type of cathode material known as "coated single crystal" which can deliver increased durability. The process will also enable these materials to be made directly from metal powders and lithium carbonate to address cost, energy and sustainability objectives across the entire lithium-ion battery supply chain. The agreement will focus on developing materials, methods of production and a detailed commercialization study for pre-pilot, pilot and scaled up manufacturing. The agreement is the culmination of successful technical reviews and preliminary evaluations of both Nano One's high nickel cthode materials and IP conducted over the past year and represents a significant milestone in the business relationship between both companies. Mr. Dan Blondal, Nano One CEO, said "Johnson Matthey is a global leader in advanced lithium-ion cathode materials, and we are proud to be working with them in the pursuit of high performance, long life cycles, low-carbon footprint and environmentally sustainable solutions. We share a common vision to develop and commercialize a highly differentiated and value-added cathode materials business and we are delighted to be introducing Johnson Matthey as a trusted partner and collaborating on process innovation for a new generation of lithium-ion battery materials. Our business is primed for such opportunities and we look forward to advancing this partnership and its joint development program." Christian Gunther, Chief Executive, Battery Materials at Johnson Matthey added: "We are encouraged by Nano One's innovations and believe its technology has the potential to offer significant advantages in terms of product performance, sustainability and manufacturing cost for our eLNO family of advanced cathode materials. We are looking forward to building business opportunities and a long lasting collaborative working relationship". About Nano One Nano One Materials Corp ("Nano One") is a clean technology company with a patented, scalable and low carbon intensity industrial process for the low-cost production of high-performance lithium-ion battery cathode materials. The technology is applicable to electric vehicle, energy storage, consumer electronic and next generation batteries in the global push for a zero-emission future. Nano One's One-Pot process, its coated nanocrystal materials and its Metal to Cathode Active Material (M2CAM) technologies address fundamental performance needs and supply chain constraints while reducing costs and carbon footprint. Nano One has received funding from various government programs and the current "Scaling of Advanced Battery Materials Project" is supported by Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) and the Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) Fund of the Province of British Columbia. For more information, please visit www.nanoone.ca About Johnson Matthey PLC Johnson Matthey (JM) is a global leader in science that enables a cleaner and healthier world. With over 200 years of sustained commitment to innovation and technological breakthroughs, we improve the performance, function and safety of our customers' products. Through continued investment in research and development, we are tackling the world's big challenges, including through our pioneering work in battery material technologies. Here we are commercialising eLNO, our family of nickel rich advanced cathode materials, which we expect to be ready to power the next generation of hybrid and battery electric vehicles in 2024. Our first manufacturing plant, currently under construction in Poland will initially supply 10,000 MT per year of eLNO, equivalent to ~100,000 electric vehicles. The construction of our second plant is scheduled for later this year, and will initially supply 30,000MT pf eLNO per year. Across JM, our science has a global impact in areas such as enabling the energy transition, low emission transport, pharmaceuticals, chemical processing and making the most efficient use of the planet's natural resources. Today, more than 15,000 JM professionals collaborate with our network of customers and partners to make a real difference to the world around us. For more information, visit www.matthey.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] MoneyBrain exhibits at MWC Barcelona 2021 SEOUL, South Korea, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MoneyBrain, a company specialized in artificial intelligence (AI) and video synthesis, announced that they will participate in the 2021 Barcelona World Mobile Fair, so-called MWC, to be held in Barcelona at Fira de Barcelona, Fira Barcelona Gran Viafor for 4 days from June 28 to July 1. Although the number of exhibitors has decreased significantly due to the current Corona situation, more than 300 companies including Moneybrain are still participating in this MWC, and they will show the 4th industry, such as AI, AR, VR, and big data, in addition to the mobile field under the theme of the future of IT. Moneybrain plans to showcase its world-class technology in the field of image synthesis, centering on 'real-time interactive artificial human' and 'artificial human image synthesis solution'. 'Text to video Solution' can create a live-action based artificial human video that reads the input text naturally by simply inputting text. By reducing the burden of video production and improving productivity, it is used in various industries that require video content production, such as broadcasting, education, and advertising. Se-young Jang, CEO of Moneybrain, said, "Since COVID-19, contactless services are spreading along with the demand for more video content. Through this MWC 2021 exhibition, we will showcase various AI technologies of Moneybrain and provide suitable services to many demanding companies. I will." MoneyBrain will show the potential of artificial humans created through MoneyBrain's deep learning technology and image synthesis technology at the '2021 MWC Exhibition', and how it can be used in various industries including the IT industry. The location of the exhibition booth is 2J54, and detailed information regarding participation in the exhibition can be found on the Moneybrain official website. Contact: Felix Kim 5F, 44, Teheran-ro 8-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea 06240 E-Mail: felix.kim@moneybrain.ai LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/moneybrain/ View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/moneybrain-exhibits-at-mwc-barcelona-2021-301304830.html SOURCE MoneyBrain [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] China News on Women Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page [June 03, 2021] CASETiFY Announces a New Retro-Inspired Collection with Disney HONG KONG and LOS ANGELES, Jun. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, global lifestyle brand CASETiFY announced its third custom collection designed in collaboration with Disney, launching on June 17. The latest collaboration debuts a modern spin on retro-inspired designs, created for CASETiFY's premium quality accessories. Customers can sign up now for the virtual waitlist by visiting casetify.com/disney-monochrome , granting them priority access to the collection hours before launch. Inspired by the whimsical world of Disney Mickey Mouse, the new Disney x CASETiFY collection introduces an exciting monochromatic lineup featuring a bold black-and-white color palette, made exclusively for CASETiFY's signature accessories. Disney fans will instantly spot the eye-catching graphics and wavy Mickey Mouse motifs that showcase the lovable character's happy personality, designed for a range of iPhone cases which retail for $40-80 USD. From reflective checkered patterns on funhouse mirrors, to mystifying Mickey Mouse cow prints, the limited edition designs offer no shortage of ways to customizegiving customers the ability to choose their desired case type, level of protection, and even add their names or monograms to select styles! The iPhone cases included in this collection, retailing for $40 UD and up: " Mickey Wavy Face " available for Mirror, Impact, Ultra Impact, MagSafe series " available for Mirror, Impact, Ultra Impact, MagSafe series " Funny Mickey " available for Mirror, Impact, Ultra Impact, MagSafe series " available for Mirror, Impact, Ultra Impact, MagSafe series " Mickey Wavy Name " available for Floaty Glitter, Mirror, and MagSafe series " available for Floaty Glitter, Mirror, and MagSafe series " Mickey Silhouette Play " (custom) available for Impact, Ultra Impact, MagSafe series " (custom) available for Impact, Ultra Impact, MagSafe series " Mickey Illusion Stickermania " available for Biodegradable Leather, Impact, Ultra Impact, MagSafe series " available for Biodegradable Leather, Impact, Ultra Impact, MagSafe series " Mickey Checker Play " available for Impact, MagSafe series " available for Impact, MagSafe series "Mickey Circle Checker" available for Impact, Ultra Impact, MagSafe series For Disney fans looking to wrap their tech in even more Mickey Mouse gear, customers can explore exclusive designs available for Apple Watch bands, grip stands, iPad cases, wireless charging pads, and MacBook cases, retailing for $35 - 79 USD. Additionally, shoppers can look forward to a variety of special designs for AirPods and AirPods Pro, with protective cases offered in matching reflective finishes, transparent covers, and a brand new, limited edition 3-D silicone Mickey Monochrome casegiving fans the ultimate Disney experience for their beloved tech. "The inspiration behind this collection is a nod to Disney over the years, which is a fun concept to explore while CASETiFY celebrates its own milestone this year, reminiscing on a decade since our founding" said CASETiFY CEO and Co-founder, Wes Ng. "We truly hope the fans enjoy this collection, and experience the excitement and love that went into creating these special accessories." The Disney x CASETiFY collection launches on casetify.com/disney-monochrome starting Jun 17, with products shipping worldwide. To learn more about the collaboration, products, and CASETiFY Co-Lab updates, visit online and stay tuned to @CASETiFY on Instagram , Facebook , and Twitter . About CASETiFY Founded in 2011, CASETiFY is recognized as the first and largest global platform for custom tech accessories. The leading Gen Z casemaker not only delivers high quality products to millions of customers around the world, but every case is rigorously inspected for a stylishly slim, drop-proof accessory. Fans of the brand often look to CASETiFY for special edition collaborations with top creatives and talents across industries. Members of the CASETiFY Co-Lab program include Moncler Genius, Vetements, DHL, Coca-Cola, The Pokemon Company, streetwear label BAPE, and global superstars BTS. For more information on CASETiFY, its stores, partners and products, visit www.CASETiFY.com . SOURCE CASETiFY [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] COMPUTEX Forum Day 1: Deep Diving into AI and AIoT According to Gartner (News - Alert) , by 2023, one-third of companies that have implemented IoT will also have implemented AI in conjunction with at least one IoT project. Data generated from IoT devices will be integrated in various vertical applications and eventually be applied to smart factories, smart healthcare, smart transportation, and smart cities. The first two sessions of COMPUTEX Forum organized by TAITRA, "AIoT Evolution" and "AI Empowerment," were held on June 2. Top speakers from Micron Technology (News - Alert) , Intel, Supermicro, NVIDIA, NXP Semiconductors, Arm, Delta Electronics, and Check Point Software were among the lineup to deep dive into the infinite possibilities of AIoT and AI. Micron Technology: Driving AI innovation with storage in the new era of data intensive computing President and CEO of Micron Technology Sanjay Mehrotra pointed out that the world is at the dawn of a new age of data intensive computing. AI and 5G are the two major drivers of this age. With the rapid growth of AI applications, accompanied by numerous challenges, Micron Technology will continue to build a reliable, systematic infrastructure based on memory and storage for a better AI future. Intel (News - Alert) : Embracing infinite computing possibilities with next-gen AI processor Nash Palaniswamy, Vice President of Intel's Sales and Marketing Group and General Manager of AI, HPC, Datacenter Accelerators Solutions and Sales, addressed the possibilities of 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processor. The latest generation of Xeon is capable of fulfilling AI and high-performance computing needs. Supported by close partnerships and deep integrations with the world's software leaders and solution providers, Intel delivers fast, consistent, and secure solutions that people trust. Supermicro: Meeting demands for innovations with an array of products and solutions Supermicro President and CEO Charles Liang stated that Supermicro will continue to meet customer demand in terms of AI, 5G, and cloud solutions through its leading technology, innovation, high quality, and serviceability. Supermicro will also push forward the development of technology with its partners through collaborations. NVIDIA: Igniting Industrial Revolution (News - Alert) 4.0 with AI According to Jerry Chen, NVIDIA Head of Global Business Development for Manufacturing and Industrials, AI is the most impactful general-purpose technology, and it will be at the heart of advanced technologies such as 5G, HPC, AIoT, and robotics, propelling industry development and transformation. NXP Semiconductors: Accelerating Secure Intelligent Edge with New Era of Edge Computing Started Kurt Sievers, President and CEO of NXP Semiconductors, indicated that AIoT devices are changing the way people live. While it creates great user experience, it is imperative to fully protect data and realize a secure intelligent edge. NXP Semiconductors will also continue to enable a safer and smarter world through breakthrough innovations. Arm: Accelerating ubiquitous intelligence Rene Haas, President of Arm IP Products Group, discussed the increasing global demand for computing. The new Armv9 architecture is effective in addressing demandng AI/ML workloads while delivering enhanced security. The next-gen architecture outlines the roadmap for the next decade of computing. Intelligence-driven manufacturing for advancing into Industry 4.0 According to Dr. Steven Chen, Leader of Intelligent Mobile Machine Cluster, Delta Research Center of Delta Electronics, manufacturers must continue to improve their capabilities to achieve "Manufacturing on Demand." By adopting design that incorporate standardized, modular and intelligent units, machines can be more scalable and flexible to production changes, as well as data collection & analysis and AI adoption and upgrade, accelerating the progress of an Intelligence-driven manufacturing. Check Point Software (News - Alert) : Managing cybersecurity risks through AI tool Kev Hau, Check Point Security evangelist, office of the CTO, shared his insights on the trend of cybersecurity in the new normal. AI, machine learning, and big data analytics are all revolutionizing cybersecurity. The machine-learning algorithm of AI is capable of predicting unknown threats in a much broader scope and providing cybersecurity specialists a quick response with increasing accuracy and precision. AI is reshaping the world. With the democratization of related technologies and AIoT applications, COMPUTEX aims to explore more business opportunities with its global partners. All sessions are available online from now: https://virtual.computextaipei.com.tw/events/ Register for free: https://virtual.computextaipei.com.tw/ For more information: https://virtual.computextaipei.com.tw/events/ ######### For more information: COMPUTEX : https://www.computextaipei.com.tw/ InnoVEX : https://www.innovex.com.tw/ About COMPUTEX Established in 1981, COMPUTEX is one of the leading global ICT, IoT, and startup tradeshows with a complete supply chain and IoT ecosystems. Co-organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and Taipei Computer Association (TCA), COMPUTEX, based upon Taiwan's complete ICT clusters, covers the whole spectrum of the ICT industry, from established brands to startups and from ICT supply chain to IoT ecosystems. With strong R&D and manufacturing capabilities and IPR protection, Taiwan is a strategic destination for foreign companies and investors looking for partners in global technology ecosystems. Follow COMPUTEX on its website at www.computextaipei.com.tw and Twitter @computex_taipei using the hashtag #COMPUTEX. About COMPUTEX 2021 Virtual As a pioneer in technology, COMPUTEX has been at the forefront in embracing digital transformation. In 2021, the show will go online. Together with the key global technology players, the organizer of COMPUTEX,Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) introduces #COMPUTEXVirtual (including its global startups and innovations showcase #InnovexVirtual), an AI-driven virtual platform, and aims to deliver an exceptional virtual exhibition experience beyond the distance. Explore #COMPUTEXVirtual now at https://virtual.computextaipei.com.tw/. About TAITRA Founded in 1970, TAITRA is Taiwan's foremost nonprofit trade promoting organization. Sponsored by the government and industry organizations, TAITRA assists enterprises to expand their global reach. Headquartered in Taipei, TAITRA has a team of 1,300 specialists and operates 5 local offices in Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as 63 branches worldwide. Together with Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC) and Taiwan Trade Center (TTC), TAITRA has formed a global network dedicated to promoting world trade. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005420/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Electromedical Technologies and Nazarbayev University Complete Agreement to Expand Promising Joint Research Programs - Studies could lead to development of next-generation targeted devices to effectively treat chronic pain - Stage I research programs designed to study how electro-modulation communicates to cells - Program objective to decipher impacts of alternating electrical fields on cell signaling and generating cellular response - Leveraging the executed agreement EMED and Nazarbayev plan to begin the IDE process with the FDA SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Electromedical Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: EMED) (the "Company"), a pioneer in the development and manufacturing of bioelectronic devices, including the FDA cleared WellnessPro+, is pleased to announce that the Company recently completed an agreement with Nazarbayev University to expand its Stage I collaborative research programs. These Stage I programs will study how electro-modulation communicates to cells by modifying intracellular signaling events and altering physiological cellular response. Electro-modulation therapies (electroceuticals) are conducted and widely applied in medicine today utilizing a variety of frequencies to reduce chronic pain. A front page TIME magazine article noted: "Electroceuticals "are the next wave of new treatments we will have to treat disease," says Kris Famm, president of Galvani Bioelectronics, a biotech collaboration between Glaxo-Smith-Kline and Google's Verily that is focused on developing electricity-based therapies (https://time.com/5709245/bioelectronic-medicine-treatments/). Going forward, researchers hope to learn how alternating electrical fields affect cell physiology and induce their effects. The main challenge is to define specific electrical frequencies that alter cell physiology by modulating the body's cellular signaling network. Deciphering the impacts of alternating electrical fields on cell signaling will build a solid platform for the development of novel non-invasive technologies in medicine. Once this process is unlocked, leading bioelectronic producers such as Electromedical Technologies could develop new, highly effective, and application/condition-specific devices for broad consumer use. Matthew Wolfson, Founder and CEO of Electromedical Technologies, noted, "Unraveling the codes of electro-modulation controlling cell behavior will be instrumental in developing effective and targeted applications of the next generation of bioelectronic devices. Thus, decoding the language of electro-modulation is a focus of our research team spearheaded by Professor Dos Sarbassov at Nazarbayev University. We are pleased to be working together on these promising studies that could have a favorable impact on human health using physics instead of drugs." Dr. Sarbassov is a prominent expert in cell signaling, who received an intensive postdoctoral research training at MIT's Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and worked for many years as a Faculty Member of the Molecular and Cellular Oncology Department at MD Anderson Cancer Center. He joined Nazarbayev University in 2019 to contribute to a scientific development of the country of his origin. In 2020, Dr. Sarbassov bcame a Director of the National Laboratory Astana (NLA), a leading research organization at Nazarbayev University. Dr. Dos Sarbassov commented, "Our work with the Electromedical Technologies is a great collaborative effort of an academic institution with private industry. This joint focus is on advancing technology by understanding the mechanisms of electrical communication with cell physiology. Our primary initial goal is to study and determine how cells react to alternating electrical fields by analyzing their effects on cell signaling and by translating how they lead to distinct responses of cells and tissues." Matthew Wolfson commented further, "We seek to utilize the deciphering of the mechanisms of electrical signaling on cells in an effort to provide a solid foundation in our development of effective treatments of inflammation, neurodegenerative disorders and opioid addiction. With the new agreement and program parameters in place, the Company and the University look forward to commencing the IDE (Investigational Device Exemption) process leading to a submission with the FDA." About Nazarbayev University: Nazarbayev University (NU), established on the initiative of the first President of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2010, is the country's flagship academic institution with aspirations to become a global-level research university. This is the first university in Kazakhstan which is guided by the principles of autonomy and academic freedom. Located in the capital of Kazakhstan, NU is a research university with growing international renown combining education, research and innovation on a state of the art 21st-century campus. NU scholars conduct research in many fields, and seek to expand human knowledge through innovation, analysis, and collaboration. Within ten years since its inception, NU has become a leading research university in Kazakhstan. NU research is supported by the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, local and international organizations, and is carried out in the Schools, Research Centers and Institutes. Please visit Nazarbayev University website https://research.nu.edu.kz/en/ to find comprehensive information on the NU research activities and profiles of faculty and researchers. About Electromedical Technologies Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Electromedical Technologies, Inc. is a commercial stage, FDA cleared, bioelectronic medical device manufacturing company initially focused on the treatment of various chronic, acute, intractable, and post-operative pain conditions. Through University collaboration agreements, the Company is working to develop a comprehensive research program in defining the effects of electro-modulation on the human body. By studying the impacts of electrical fields in cell signaling and effects on virus assembly and immune responses, the Company's goal is to reduce pain and improve overall human wellbeing. The Company's current FDA cleared product indications are for chronic acute post traumatic and post-operative, intractable pain relief. For more information, please visit www.electromedtech.com. Nonhuman preliminary studies that we are planning to start in the near future and their applications are not related to our current product in any way and currently not cleared in the US. Safe Harbor Statement This release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, we can give no assurance or guarantee that such expectations and assumptions will prove to have been correct. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of words like "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "intend," or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as these statements are subject to numerous factors and uncertainties, including but not limited to: adverse economic conditions, competition, adverse federal, state and local government regulation, international governmental regulation, inadequate capital, inability to carry out research, development and commercialization plans, loss or retirement of key executives and other specific risks. To the extent that statements in this press release are not strictly historical, including statements as to revenue projections, business strategy, outlook, objectives, future milestones, plans, intentions, goals, future financial conditions, events conditioned on stockholder or other approval, or otherwise as to future events, such statements are forward-looking, and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. Corporate Contact: Electromedical Technologies, Inc. Hanover International Tel: 1.888.880.7888 email: ir@electromedtech.com https://electromedtech.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/electromedical-technologies-and-nazarbayev-university-complete-agreement-to-expand-promising-joint-research-programs-301304872.html SOURCE Electromedical Technologies, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] VMware Helps Secure the World's Digital Infrastructure and Anywhere Workspaces Security Connect 2021 - For many organizations, the first year of the global pandemic was all about survival and resiliency, accelerating the adoption to private and public clouds and supporting an anywhere workforce. However, the sprint toward digital transformation has quickly expanded the threat landscape and attackers have seized the opportunity to exploit these new vulnerabilities. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005360/en/ Security Connect 2021 is a free virtual event that is bringing together innovators and practitioners from around the world to explore what's changing and what's next in security. (Graphic: Business Wire) Today at Security Connect 2021, VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) announced innovations to better secure the world's digital infrastructure and anywhere workspaces. To address the changing threat landscape, VMware is redefining security to help organizations better protect all control points and simplify Zero-Trust security. "Attacks are more destructive, adversaries are more sophisticated, and breaches are more damaging than ever before," said Patrick Morley, senior vice president and general manager, security business unit, VMware. "We are now at a fundamental inflection point and must put the power back in the hands of defenders. It's time for a new approach to security that is simpler, faster, and smarter to help keep the world safe from cyberattacks." "Between the rapid move to cloud, the adoption of new tools, and the lack of collaboration between security and DevOps teams, we've entered an era of complexity never seen before," said Frank Dickson, Program Vice President, Security & Trust at IDC (News - Alert) . "Complexity is the enemy of security and by default, resiliency. Organizations are still getting breached because we haven't put security first in our digital transformation initiatives. VMware looks to provide security teams with a simplified, built-in approach to defend against emerging threats faster and smarter." Simplifying Zero-Trust Security to Gain Better Visibility and Control of the Digital Infrastructure To effectively implement a Zero-Trust approach, organizations need real-time intelligence to orchestrate security controls across distributed environments. VMware continues to build security into digital infrastructure to help customers gain authoritative context from their environments and reduce the attack surface without adding operational complexity. This connected approach brings together critical user control points, devices, workloads and networks with the necessary data from all sources for a simpler, faster and smarter Zero-Trust strategy. Better Secure the Anywhere Workspace Without Compromising Experience The way we work has changed forever. Announced today, VMware's 2021 Global Security Insights Report found that 76 percent of organizations reported a surge in attacks, with a majority pointing to remote work expanding the threat landscape.(1) To address the shift to distributed workforces and the new and unprecedented security challenges, VMware introduced VMware Anywhere Workspace, a olution designed to help companies deliver better and more secure experiences to their employees no matter where they are in the world. VMware Anywhere Workspace brings together VMware Workspace ONE, VMware SASE, and VMware Carbon Black Cloud, empowering anywhere organizations to manage multi-modal employee experience, better secure the distributed edge, and automate the workspace. Better Secure the Data Center Faster and More Intelligently VMware threat research found (2) that despite a cadre of perimeter defenses being deployed, malicious actors are actively operating in the network. Enterprises need a better way to defend the large volumes of internal (east/west) network traffic flowing within data centers against cyberattacks. The VMware NSX Service-defined Firewall is the only distributed, scale-out internal firewall capable of 20 Tbps throughput that protects all east-west traffic across all workloads without network changes. It includes a stateful L4-L7 firewall, an intrusion detection/prevention system (IDS/IPS), network sandbox, and behavior-based network traffic analysis. With the NSX Service-defined Firewall, security teams can better protect the data center traffic across virtual, physical, containerized, and cloud workloads from internal threats and avoid damage from threats that make it past the network perimeter. Better Secure Modern Applications and Cloud Workloads to Enable a Dynamic and Flexible Workspace Organizations surveyed by VMware, report that 90 percent of application initiatives are focused on modernization (3). VMware helps better protect modern application environments with VMware Carbon Black Cloud Container and the VMware Modern Application Connectivity solution. VMware Carbon Black Cloud Container analyzes and controls application risks before they are deployed into production, better enabling collaboration between InfoSec and DevOps teams to reduce risk and protect public cloud and on-premises Kubernetes environments. The VMware Modern Apps Connectivity solution offers a rich set of integrated application delivery services that enable operators to centrally manage end-to-end application traffic routing, resiliency, and security policies across multi-site environments and clouds. Redefining Security for VMware Customers and Partners Angel MedFlight helps patients and their families reach hospitals across the country for specialized care. "Angel MedFlight relies heavily on VMware's product lines, whether it's our Workspace ONE deployment, our use of SD-WAN or our use of Carbon Black solutions to help secure our environment," said Paul Green, Chief Development Officer at Angel MedFlight. "Our focus needs to be entirely on our patients and our patients' families, so having a scalable solution that's out of the box is critical. VMware delivers that single pane of glass." World Wide Technology (News - Alert) provides digital strategy, innovative technology, and supply chain solutions to large public and private organizations around the globe. "With VMware, our security teams and our operations teams can maintain the single pane of glass they're used to using," said Matt Berry, Principal Security Advisor at World Wide Technology. "Through leveraging VMware Carbon Black Cloud and vCenter capabilities, our teams can easily maintain visibility without losing functionality." Red Canary enables every organization to make its greatest impact without fear of cyberattacks. "We're seeing a massive surge in cyberattacks, which has put a strain on the incident response providers of the world," said Chris Rothe, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Red Canary. "VMware Carbon Black has always been one of the best incident response tools available to defenders. The VMware security solutions have helped us amid this increase in attacks as we're able to quickly get a handle on a breach and turn the tide against the bad guys." News announcements at Security Connect 2021 include: About Security Connect 2021 VMware's Security Connect 2021 is a free virtual event that is bringing together visionaries, innovators, and practitioners from around the world to explore what's changing and what's next in security. To view the full schedule, livestream agenda and watch all programming, click here. Follow the conference on Twitter (News - Alert) at #SecurityConnect and @VMwareNews. For more information, please visit: Security Connect media kit. Sources: VMware 2021 Global Security Insights Report, "Extended Enterprise Under Threat," June 2021 VMware 2020 Threat Landscape, "North by South West: See What Evaded Perimeter Defenses," May 2021 VMware FY22 Q1 Executive Pulse (News - Alert) , January 2021, N=456 About VMware VMware software powers the world's complex digital infrastructure. The company's cloud, app modernization, networking, security, and digital workspace offerings help customers deliver any application on any cloud across any device. Headquartered in Palo Alto (News - Alert) , California, VMware is committed to being a force for good, from its breakthrough technology innovations to its global impact. For more information, please visit https://www.vmware.com/company.html. VMware, Carbon Black, Workspace ONE, and NSX are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005360/en/ [June 03, 2021] VMware Anywhere Workspace Makes Collaboration Using Zoom Simpler and Safer for Hybrid Workforces Security Connect 2021 - Today at Security Connect 2021, VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) announced its work with Zoom Video Communications, Inc. to enable a better and more secure collaboration experience for hybrid work environments. The effort delivers interoperability between the recently announced VMware Anywhere Workspace and the Zoom collaboration platform to further improve ease of use, application and network performance, and security. A VMware commissioned research study showed that 61% of respondents consider remote work as a prerequisite, not a perk, and over 90% rely on their employers to provide them with the technology and tools they need to be successful at their jobs(1). And while last year gave remote work a dramatic boost, the future of work is dynamic, with a global workforce in distributed locations, working wherever, whenever, and however, they want. The VMware Anywhere Workspace solution empowers today's anywhere workforce by removing the friction that can exist between IT systems and employees. This creates better experiences and broader, more effective security. VMware Anywhere Workspace is available today and brings together the benefits of three innovative solutions - VMware Workspace ONE, VMware Carbon Black Cloud and VMware SASE. Through relationships with industry-leaders such as Zoom, VMware is delivering interoperable solutions with VMware Anywhere Workspace to better support a hybrid workforce. "The way we work has changed forever. And now that companies have seen the benefits of remote work, they want to do more than just support it," said Shankar Iyer, senior vice president and general manager, End-User Computing, VMware. "Employees now expect an identical experience for their collaboration and communications tools from any location. VMware is working with industry leaders such as Zoom to help shape the future of work with interoperable solutions that deliver an exceptional and more secure user experience - in the office, at home, or anywhere." "As companies begin to reopen their physical offices, an increasingly hybrid work model is very likely. As such, enterprises will have to plan for both scenarios - employees working remotely, and also many employees back in the office," said Brendan Ittelson, Chief Technology Officer at Zoom. "The unified experience that VMware can provide for Zoom environments can help make employees more productive and IT more effective and efficient." VMware and Zoom Address Ke Work from Anywhere Pain Points Zoom's video communications platform is very stable under most challenging network conditions. However, with distributed workforces, users and data can reside anywhere, connecting via the public Internet, from devices that may or may not be owned or managed by an organization. The combination of VMware Anywhere Workspace and Zoom can create stronger and more resilient organizations by helping them improve visibility, user experience and security: Enhanced Visibility and Troubleshooting: by enabling greater insights into the networks and devices supporting Zoom users, VMware Anywhere Workspace makes IT more responsive and efficient. VMware Edge Network Intelligence works with Zoom via a downloadable application on the Zoom App Marketplace to proactively identify and remediate issues through full visibility into the Zoom end-user environment. Edge Network Intelligence can provide network insights from the device perspective, tracking the status of its wireless state, Internet stability, gateway connectivity, and other factors that can impact performance. With the power of AIOps, the IT team can get the visibility and full context they need to determine user experience baselines across the entire enterprise, location, device, the client OS used, and more-all automatically learned. Optimized Experience: with support for a multi-modal employee experience common with a hybrid work environment, combining VMware Anywhere Workspace with Zoom gives users a great experience and consistent performance on any device, from any location, over any network. Zoom interoperability with VMware SD-WAN, part of the VMware SASE platform, better enables user experience by automatically identifying and prioritizing Zoom platform applications, improving network performance through unique Dynamic Multi Path Optimization (DMPO), and accelerating network traffic handoff to Zoom data centers. The optimized experience works even in Work from Home situations where there are many non-business applications and myriad smart home devices. Improved Security: VMware Anywhere Workspace enables broader and more effective security for distributed organizations using Zoom. VMware Workspace ONE provides risk-based conditional access to corporate Zoom accounts and meetings via single sign on, with the option to implement multi-factor authentication integrated into Hub or from a 3rd party provider. VMware Carbon Black integrates with Workspace ONE to help stop malware, ransomware, and non-malware attacks, prevent attacks automatically both online and offline, block emerging, and never-before-seen attacks that other solutions may miss. VMware SASE Platform enables customers to better protect Zoom environments by consolidating secure access, Web Security, and threat prevention into a single cloud-delivered service. For organizations using virtual desktop infrastructure to improve data protection and more securely keep older devices in service longer, VMware Horizon provides an optimization pack for Zoom. Additional Resources Register and watch Leading Change: Build Trust with the Anywhere Workspace, a virtual event. Maximize Performance and Security for Zoom environments with VMware VMware Edge Network Intelligence is now available on the Zoom Marketplace About VMware VMware software powers the world's complex digital infrastructure. The company's cloud, app modernization, networking, security, and digital workspace offerings help customers deliver any application on any cloud across any device. Headquartered in Palo Alto (News - Alert) , California, VMware is committed to being a force for good, from its breakthrough technology innovations to its global impact. For more information, please visit https://www.vmware.com/company.html. 1-Vanson Bourne. "The New Remote Work Era: Trends in the Distributed Workforce." September 2020, n=5700. VMware, Workspace ONE, Horizon, VMware SASE, and Carbon Black are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions. This article may contain hyperlinks to non-VMware websites that are created and maintained by third parties who are solely responsible for the content on such websites. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005361/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Second Life Mac Releases Free EdTech Refresh Guides for District Superintendents and IT Directors SKOKIE, Ill., June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Second Life Mac, an Apple device buyback company, has released two free guides to demystify the process selling back digital learning devices in K-12 school districts. Click to Tweet. The Ultimate Guide to Refreshing Devices for Superintendents and The Ultimate Guide to Refreshing Devices for IT Directors are step-by-step blueprints to help district administrators and IT directors easily trade-in used digital learning devices to fund sustainable digital learning programs. A recent study of technology lifecycle practices in K-12 districts across the Unite States conducted with Project Tomorrow, a national education nonprofit organization, shows that while district administrators and technology leaders are familiar with the practice of selling used digital learning devices to a buyback company, just a fraction of schools are doing so. The main reason districts dont participate in a sellback program is a lack of understanding of how they work, said Scott Pauga, CEO of Second Life Mac. These two new guides, tailor-made for superintendents and IT directors, explain the process and provide valuable strategies for maximizing the value of used devices. The guides outline the basic concepts of selling back used devices, and also detail helpful information including: What happens to devices after they are sold How to determine total cost of ownership of devices How to achieve sustainable digital learning programs Strategies for boosting the value of devices How to select a buyback partner Best practices for contracts that protect districts Our goal is to make it easy for districts to afford the best digital learning devices, and these new eBooks aim to demystify a process that many district leaders dont understand, said Pauga. More information about the free guides is available at https://secondlifemac.com/sellback-advice/. About Second Life Mac Second Life Mac is disrupting the device buyback industry by coupling the best Apple lifecycle expertise with outstanding customer service, start to finish custody of devices, and the most transparent process. The used devices Second Life Mac procures from schools and businesses are refurbished, data is securely erased to Department of Defense standards, and they are resold via wholesale and retail channels. Headquartered in Skokie, Ill., the company is an Entrepreneur 360 winner, and has won awards for its innovation by EdTech Digest and Tech & Learning. More information is available at www.secondlifemac.com or on Twitter @SecondLifeMac. For information contact: Linda Muskin, 847-432-7300 lmuskin@teamclarus.com Mara Conklin, 847-816-9411 mconklin@teamclarus.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Avanze Tech Labs Names Shashank Cukkemane as Vice President ORLANDO, Fla., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Avanze Tech Labs announced today that Shashank Cukkemane has joined the company as Vice President. In this position, Cukkemane will focus on enhancing the company's strategic business practices, and will immediately concentrate on establishing the Solutions and Technology Implementation organization, as well as developing a scalable Customer Success Program. Cukkemane brings more than 17 years of experience in the mortgage industry and joins Avanze Tech Labs from Sourcepoint, where he led the organization's Settlement Services and Reverse Mortgage business with global teams in the United States, Philippines and India. "I'm thrilled to join a firm that's revolutionizing technology in the mortgage industry," said Cukkemane. "Avanze Tech Labs has produced a number of cutting-edge products, like STACX, and I look forward to contributig to these efforts and being a part of this incredible team." A proven leader in the mortgage industry, Cukkemane has achieved a number of accomplishments throughout his career, including growing the Settlement Services operations at Sourcepoint more than 450% from 2018 to 2020. "Our clients rely on us to provide solutions that drive business value and growth, and Shashank will play an integral role in elevating our efforts in this space," said Auvese Pasha, CEO of Avanze Tech Labs. "We're confident his extensive experience will enable us to create strategic initiatives in our technology division that put us on a continued path for success." About Avanze Group Founded by entrepreneuring leaders with rich experience in business management, Avanze is a mortgage focused technology company providing productized solutions spanning the Mortgage Loan Cycle. The firm is built on thought leadership and innovation, and believes in a collaborative approach to providing transformational solutions grounded in creativity, technology implementation and strategic partnership. With more than 1,000 exceptional people in over six centers globally, Avanze helps its clients gain competitive advantage by implementing industry best practices and integrating business intelligence with cutting-edge technology to drive business values and growth. Learn more at avanzegroup.com. Media Contact: Amy Kauffman amy@newswire.com Related Images shashank-cukkemane-headshot.jpg Shashank Cukkemane Headshot Shashank Cukkemane headshot View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/avanze-tech-labs-names-shashank-cukkemane-as-vice-president-301304549.html SOURCE Avanze Tech Labs [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] CGTN: Education - a key factor behind China's anti-corruption drive BEIJING, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ -- China has made remarkable achievements in fighting corruption since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012. A series of measures have been taken to ensure that officials "do not dare to be, are not able to be, and do not want to be corrupt." Besides punishing corrupt officials and building systems to prevent corruption, China has put special emphasis on the role of education in its anti-corruption drive. "To comprehensively govern the Party with strict discipline, we must not only focus on standardizing punishment, but also strictly maintaining the bottom line of discipline," Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said at the sixth plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) in January 2016. "More importantly, we need to guide people to do better and give full play to the guiding role of ideals, beliefs and moralities," Xi added. Xi, also Chinese president, quoted a poem by Chinese thinker Gong Zizhen (1792-1841) to highlight the message: "If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self and achieve nothing." Original aspiration To help CPC officials conquer themselves and make them "do not want to be corrupt," the Party leadership has repeatedly urged them to stay true to the CPC's original aspiration and founding mission namely, to seek happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. In June 2019, a nationwide educational campaign themed "staying true to our founding mission" was launched to reinforce the message among the 90 million CPC members. Alessandro Teixeira, a Brazilian econoist and professor of public policy at Tsinghua University, underscored the importance of education in fighting corruption in a recent interview with CGTN. Teixeira said punishment and deterrence are not enough for preventing corruption. "I think you need to have an educational process in that," he said. "You need to educate the society." "I think that's also what the Chinese have been trying to do, to have moral education, not only on the Party officials, but on all of the people," he added. Public awareness enhanced Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party leadership has stressed a number of well-known concepts related to fighting corruption, indicating the leadership's resolve to tackle the deep-rooted problem and foster a social consensus against corruption. "It takes a good blacksmith to make good steel," Xi said, quoting a popular Chinese adage to explain the importance of Party building, when he met the press on November 15, 2012 after being elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee. It means that only by conducting oneself honorably can one expect others to do the same. This adage then became an iconic slogan to urge Party officials to stay clean. Other anti-corruption concepts include addressing "the four forms of decadence" formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance; taking decisive actions to improve the conduct of Party and government officials (known as the CPC Central Committee's "eight-point decision"); striking the "tigers" (high-ranking corrupt officials) and swatting the "flies" (low-ranking corrupt officials) at the same time; and taking a zero-tolerance stance against corruption. These concepts, along with media reports about anti-corruption investigations, have greatly raised public awareness of the issue. Three-pronged formula Education is an important aspect of China's three-pronged formula to tackle corruption, together with strict punishment and system building. In 2020, disciplinary inspection and supervisory organs across the country investigated about 618,000 corruption cases, leading to the punishment of 604,000 people, a report by China's top anti-graft body said. China has also been strengthening system building in the fight against corruption to "confine the exercise of power in an institutional cage." A key move was the reform of the national supervision system, which saw the establishment of supervisory commissions at the national, provincial, city and county levels. The commissions are able to supervise everyone working in the public sector who exercises public power, including those who are not members of the CPC and those not working in the government. All these efforts have secured a sweeping victory against corruption. "More measures in education, research in terms of the nature of corruption, together with international cooperation" are gradually making China "one of the leading countries" in fighting corruption, Teixeira said. https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-06-03/Education-a-key-factor-behind-China-s-anti-corruption-drive-10LyjtKLuy4/index.html View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cgtn-education--a-key-factor-behind-chinas-anti-corruption-drive-301305034.html SOURCE CGTN [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] U.S. Special Operations Command advances Leidos' Bronco II Aircraft to Demonstration Fly-off RESTON, Va., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos (NYSE: LDOS), a FORTUNE 500 science and technology leader, announced today it was awarded a contract in the next phase of the U.S. Special Operations Command's (USSOCOM) Armed Overwatch aircraft prototype program. The Leidos team, including Paramount Group USA and Vertex Aerospace, will advance its new aircraft known as Bronco II to the Phase III Operational Prototype Demonstration fly-off. "Superior technology is critical to USSOCOM's mission and we are proud to support them through Bronco II," said Gerry Fasano, Leidos Defense Group president. "This advanced aircraft is designed to usher SOCOM into the next generation of tactical warfare and deliver mission-critical tools to the warfighter. The Leidos team is excited to enter Phase III of the competition and proud to support SOCOM as it defends our nation across the world." USSOCOM recently selected Leidos as the prime contractor to compete for the final phase of the Armed Overwatch contract. The contract requires demonstrating a new prototype system evaluated against well-defined criteria. Bronco II is a rugged, affordable and sustainable multi-mission aircraft built to meet the specific needs of special operations forces. Designed to "roll-on, roll-off" standards, it can be rapidly disassembled, transported and reassembled in the field by a small crew. Its modular missions systems enable rapid system changes, updates, additions, integration and removal. The Bronco II aircraft will be manufactured in Crestview, Florida. Leidos teamed with Paramount Group USA and Vertex Aerospace last year to pursue the Armed Overwatch program. The team combines decades of experience both interating and manufacturing cutting-edge airborne solutions for the warfighter. For more information visit www.bronco-usa.com About Paramount Group USA Headquartered in Dallas-Ft. Worth, Paramount Group US Inc. is the U.S. entity of the Paramount Group, the global aerospace and technology company, providing fully integrated and turn-key air, maritime, and land solutions. Paramount Group USA is also the parent company of Paramount Aerospace Systems USA, its wholly-owned US subsidiary. Since its inception in 1994, Paramount Group has built strong relationships with governments in more than 30 countries around the world. It is a leading innovator in the design and development of state-of-the-art technologies that it manufactures in locations globally. Please visit paramountgroup.com/usa or follow us on Twitter. About Vertex Vertex Aerospace offers a global capability and complete solution for aftermarket aerospace services for government and commercial customers. The Company's international presence and vast range of services has distinguished itself from competitors for over 45 years. The Mississippi-based company operates in over 100 locations worldwide and is proud to have a 50 percent veteran employee rate. Information about Vertex can be found at vtxaero.com. About Leidos Leidos is a Fortune 500 information technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets. The company's 40,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Va., Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $12.30 billion for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2021. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com. Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended January 1, 2021, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Contact: Melissa Duenas (571) 526-6850 Melissa.L.Duenas@leidos.com Thomas Doheny (571) 474-4735 Dohenyt@leidos.com Jalen Drummond (571) 992-5046 Jalen.Drummond@leidos.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-special-operations-command-advances-leidos-bronco-ii-aircraft-to-demonstration-fly-off-301304517.html SOURCE Leidos Holdings, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] PrestigePEO Earns Gold Stevie Award in the 2021 American Business Awards PrestigePEO, one of the nation's largest professional employer organizations (PEO), announced today that the Company was named winner of a Gold Stevie Award in the Company of the Year - Business & Professional Services - Medium category in The 19th Annual American Business Awards. Judges recognized PrestigePEO for its unparalleled client support and the broad range of services it delivers to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). During 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, PrestigePEO's proactive support and services were highly valued by its SMB clients as PrestigePEO helped equip them to successfully navigate the various challenges presented during such an unprecedented time. "It is both an honor and a privilege to be recognized as a Gold winner in the prestigious American Business Awards program. We are extremely proud of the efforts put forth by our more than 100 colleagues every day. Their commitment truly makes a difference to the SMBs we serve and their employees. Our dedicated team is unrelenting in the ways in which they serve our clients, and we are very grateful the judges recognized this commitment," said Andrew Lubash, PrestigePEO founder and chief executive officer. The American Business Awards are the U.S.A.'s premier business awards program. All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations - public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. A record number of nominations - topping 3,800 - from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in a wide range of categories. More than 250 professionals worldwide participated in the judging process to select this year's Stevie Award winners. "The American economy continues to show its resilience, and as we're poised on the beginning of what shouldbe a phenomenal period of growth, we celebrate the remarkable achievements of a wide range of organizations and people over the past 18 months," said Stevie Awards president Maggie Gallagher. "This year's Stevie-winning nominations in The American Business Awards are testament to the ingenuity, the commitment, the passion, the adaptability, and the creativity of the American people. We look forward to celebrating this year's winners during our virtual ceremony on June 30." Details about The American Business Awards and the list of 2021 Stevie winners are available at www.StevieAwards.com/ABA. About the Stevie Awards Stevie Awards are conferred in eight programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. The Stevies also produce the annual Women|Future Conference. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com. About PrestigePEO Melville, N.Y.-based PrestigePEO, also known as Prestige Employee Administrators LLC, provides integrated, end-to-end human resources (HR) solutions to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) for managing all integral human resources operations. This includes support for employee benefits management, payroll administration, workers' compliance and HR guidance, among others. PrestigePEO's full spectrum of HR services and solutions helps SMBs lower employee benefit costs, reduce administrative workloads and manage critical HR functions. PrestigePEO is among only 1% of PEOs accredited by the Employer Services Assurance Corporation (ESAC), certified (CI) through Workers Comp Risk Management and classified as a Certified Professional Employer Organization (CPEO) by the IRS - demonstrating financial stability and strict adherence with a diverse range of regulatory and security standards. To learn more, visit www.prestigepeo.com and follow PrestigePEO on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005389/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, holds a meeting with an examination authority during her inspection on preparations for the national college entrance examination, or the Gaokao, to be held on June 7 and 8, in Beijing, capital of China, June 1, 2021. Sun visited a middle school and an examination authority in Beijing during her inspection. [Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan] BEIJING, June 2 (Xinhua) Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan on Tuesday inspected preparations for the national college entrance examination, or the Gaokao, to be held on June 7 and 8. Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visited a middle school and an examination authority in Beijing during her inspection. A total of 10.78 million students across China have registered for this year's Gaokao, hitting a new record. Sun urged efforts to implement the anti-COVID-19 measures to prevent a resurgence in cases. COVID-19 patients and their close contacts will be allowed to sit their exams in medical facilities or isolation venues if conditions permit, said Sun. She also called for strengthened preparations for potential emergencies including extreme weather, adding that convenience should be provided for exam participants with disabilities or difficulties. Noting that the Gaokao is crucial to ensuring equality in education and social fairness, Sun demanded intensified efforts to prevent cheating in exams, and the strict implementation of enrollment policies and plans. (Source: Xinhua) [June 03, 2021] While Lesson Planning Time has Surged Amid the Pandemic, Survey Reveals a Reverse Trend with the Off2Class Method for Teaching ESL Off2Class, provider of the leading software toolkit for English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers, has released the results of two surveys of ESL teachers in 80 countries and 30 U.S. states that are using the Off2Class platform. The first survey (551 respondents) gathered quantitative data on how important it is for teachers to save on lesson prep time and what tools helps ESL teachers accelerate student success and achieve fluency in English; and the second survey (373 respondents) focused on the time it typically takes for ESL lesson prep and how much time is saved when using the Off2Class method for ESL instruction. Complete survey insights are available for download. One of the most significant survey findings addresses the global lesson prep time challenges shared by teachers across all subjects, grades, and student learning levels. While lesson prep time has always been a challenge for teachers, the demands of lesson preparation amid the pandemic have been magnified with teachers moving between online and physical learning environments and the increased use of hybrid learning models. According to the survey, without Off2Class, 83% of teachers spend more than 20 minutes preparing a typical lesson, and 1 in 10 teachers spend more than 90 minutes; with an average prep time of 44 minutes. With Off2Class, 92% of teachers reduce their lesson preparation time, with 1 in 4 teachers (25.5%) spending only 5 minutes preparing for a single lesson. Off2Class was shown to save teachers an average of 30 minutes of preparation time per lesson, a reduction of 68%; with an average time of 14 minutes to prepare a typical lesson using Off2Class. The survey asked teachers to rank the importanc of "access to a digital ESL 'lesson library' and other tools that save prep time and allow [teachers] to focus more on teaching, student engagement, and creating positive student outcomes." 98% of respondents noted this as being the most important for student fluency, ahead of placement tests and regular assessments. In commentary provided alongside survey responses, Darcy, a private ESL instructor based in San Francisco said, "I chose to use Off2Class because it allowed me to concentrate on teaching and not on creating materials or assessments. Off2Class saves hours and hours of preparation and material creation." Ron Churion, Director of Business Operations at Santiago, Chile-based iSpeak Center said, "Off2Class has dramatically decreased lesson planning, allowing teachers to spend more time focusing on adapting to students' specific needs before class and while teaching." Teaching is known to be a stressful profession with high turnover rates. Those teachers that consider leaving the profession often cite low pay and high stress as the most influential factors. According to survey insights, by reducing lesson prep time, Off2Class increases teaching capacity and consequently a teacher's hourly pay. Of the teachers using the Off2Class method, 74% are able to increase the number of students they can teach due to the reduction in lesson prep time. On average, each teacher can add 3.6 additional students to their full-time teaching roster. By reducing lesson prep time by 30 minutes per lesson, a teacher who teaches 60-minute lessons can theoretically increase active student capacity by 50%, without working additional hours. Reinforcing these survey insights, Lesa, an Associate ESL Instructor in Orlando, FL, said, "The Off2Class Placement Test and Lesson Library gave me the confidence to take on private online students to supplement my day job teaching at a language school. I didn't have to reinvent the wheel! I could immediately start teaching." "Teacher Content designed for in-classroom teaching doesn't translate well to online teaching, so the lesson prep burden has been taxing on teachers," observes Kris Jagasia, co-founder and CEO, Off2Class. "Teachers are spending an inordinate amount of time cobbling together lessons and exercises using legacy tools. This makes it much more challenging for teachers to balance their time between planning for lesson delivery, teaching, student engagement, filing administrative reports, and taking care of their own families. The results of this survey show that Off2Class changes this dynamic for ESL teachers by giving them all the tools they need so they can focus more of their time on teaching and supporting students." Off2Class provides ESL teachers with access to prepared lessons, homework, and assessments needed to teach online and in screen-based classroom environments. Off2Class has long fostered a direct-to-teacher (B2C) model in tandem with a direct-to-institution (B2B) model. The company currently works with several hundred institutions across K12, Higher Education, NGOs, and private language institutions. The sample size of this survey has a margin of error of +-3.3%. About Off2Class Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Off2Class was founded in 2014 by former English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers who saw the need to adapt traditional materials and software for the power of the 21st-century classroom. Off2Class is the first digitally native, teacher-led tool for language learning; active in more than 120 countries. It provides a complete e-learning curriculum that is adaptive and collaborative, making the language-learning experience better for teachers and students. To date, the Off2Class platform has been used to deliver more than one million ESL lessons across K12, higher education, NGOs, and private language institutions around the world. To learn more, visit www.off2class.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005354/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Desktop Metal Qualifies 4140 Low-Alloy Steel for High-Volume Additive Manufacturing of End-Use Parts With the Production System Desktop Metal (NYSE: DM), a leader in mass production additive manufacturing (AM) solutions, today announced it has qualified the use of 4140 low-alloy steel for the Production SystemTM platform, which leverages patent pending Single Pass JettingTM (SPJ) technology designed to achieve the fastest build speeds in the metal additive manufacturing industry. Desktop Metal is the first and only company to qualify 4140 low-alloy steel for use with metal binder jetting systems, enabling its use in mass production end-use part applications. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005532/en/ Desktop Metal is the first and only company to qualify 4140 low-alloy steel for use with metal binder jetting systems, enabling its use in mass production end-use part applications. Considered one of the most versatile low-alloy steels, 4140 is a critical all-purpose and heat-treatable steel used extensively in a variety of automotive, oil and gas, and industrial applications, such as gears, downhole tool components, couplings, spindles, bolts and nuts, and many other mechanical parts. This linear pneumatic piston is used to convert air pressure into rotary motion through a rack and pinion with 4140 providing the toughness and wear resistance required for this application. The Production System P-50 enables production of up to 690,000 parts per year at a cost as low as $0.28 per cubic centimeter of sintered 4140 low-alloy steel. (Photo: Business Wire) Considered one of the most versatile low-alloy steels, 4140 is characterized by its toughness, high tensile strength, and abrasion and impact resistance. It is a critical all-purpose and heat-treatable steel used extensively in a variety of automotive, oil and gas, and industrial applications, such as gears, downhole tool components, couplings, spindles, bolts and nuts, and many other mechanical parts. "4140 has been a challenging material for metal binder jetting because of its low alloyed content, tight carbon control requirements, and low ignition energy, which together require advanced binder chemistry, as well as extensive printing and sintering optimization and atmospheric controls for safe processing," said Jonah Myerberg, co-founder and CTO of Desktop Metal. "We are excited to be the first to qualify 4140 for metal binder jetting to enable this versatile material for the AM industry. With the speed of the Production System, businesses can now use binder jetting to print complex 4140 parts at competitive costs while maintaining the strength and mechanical properties of traditionally manufactured alternatives. This is a game-changing solution for manufacturers who have been tied to time-consuming and expensive machining and conventional tool-based manufacturing processes." 4140 Low-Alloy Steel - ey Applications Desktop Metal's materials science team has validated that 4140 low-alloy steel printed on Production System technology and sintered by Desktop Metal meets MPIF 35 standards for structural powder metallurgy parts set by the Metal Powder Industries Federation. 4140 parts printed on the Production System platform not only eliminate the use of tooling and minimize material waste, but also represent a significant decrease in production time and part cost compared to conventional manufacturing methods. Power Steering Joint This joint is used for power transfer between an electric power steering motor and the steering shaft in an automobile. 4140 provides excellent strength and hardness, which is essential for the spline teeth that connect this part to the rest of its assembly. While production using a conventional press and sinter process would require an expensive mold, the Production System P-50 enables production with no tooling, reducing lead times and enabling more flexible design for quantities up to 1.2 million per year at a fully burdened part cost as low as $2.45. This joint is used for power transfer between an electric power steering motor and the steering shaft in an automobile. 4140 provides excellent strength and hardness, which is essential for the spline teeth that connect this part to the rest of its assembly. While production using a conventional press and sinter process would require an expensive mold, the Production System P-50 enables production with no tooling, reducing lead times and enabling more flexible design for quantities up to 1.2 million per year at a fully burdened part cost as low as $2.45. Herringbone Gear Herringbone gears, which are found in a variety of industrial machinery applications, benefit from the excellent hardness of 4140 low-alloy steel and can be lightweighted using complex lattice designs made possible by additive manufacturing, reducing material cost and reducing wear on external components, such as motors and bearings. This part can be mass produced on the Production System P-50 in quantities up to 200,000 per year with 120 parts nested in each build. Herringbone gears, which are found in a variety of industrial machinery applications, benefit from the excellent hardness of 4140 low-alloy steel and can be lightweighted using complex lattice designs made possible by additive manufacturing, reducing material cost and reducing wear on external components, such as motors and bearings. This part can be mass produced on the Production System P-50 in quantities up to 200,000 per year with 120 parts nested in each build. Linear Pneumatic Piston Linear pneumatic pistons are used to convert air pressure into rotary motion through a rack and pinion with 4140 providing the toughness and wear resistance required for this application. These parts are traditionally assembled from multiple components due to the geometry and cost limitations of conventional manufacturing processes. The Production System P-50 enables production of up to 690,000 parts per year at a cost as low as $0.28 per cubic centimeter of sintered 4140 low-alloy steel. Linear pneumatic pistons are used to convert air pressure into rotary motion through a rack and pinion with 4140 providing the toughness and wear resistance required for this application. These parts are traditionally assembled from multiple components due to the geometry and cost limitations of conventional manufacturing processes. The Production System P-50 enables production of up to 690,000 parts per year at a cost as low as $0.28 per cubic centimeter of sintered 4140 low-alloy steel. Lever Drive Lever drives are often used in machine design to linearly adjust the location of components in a machine. Binder jetting easily facilitates features such as the precise grooves critical for locating the correct position of external components. While producing a mid-volume run of 10,000 parts would not be cost-effective with conventional manufacturing given the upfront tooling costs or the labor costs associated with machining, the Production System P-50 can print the required quantities in a day with sintered parts ready in less than a week. The Production System - the World's Fastest Way to 3D Print Metal Parts At-Scale Created by the inventors of binder jetting and single-pass inkjet technology, the Production System is an industrial manufacturing platform powered by Desktop Metal's SPJ technology. It is designed to achieve speeds up to 100 times those of legacy powder bed fusion additive manufacturing technologies and enable production quantities of up to millions of parts per year at costs competitive with conventional mass production techniques. The Production System platform consists of two printer models: the P-1, a solution for process development and serial production applications, and the P-50, a large form factor mass production solution for end-use parts, scheduled to begin commercial shipments in the second half of 2021. The Production System combines Desktop Metal engineered binders with an open material platform, allowing customers to produce high-performance parts using the same low-cost metal powders used in the Metal Injection Molding (MIM) industry. An inert processing environment enables compatibility with a variety of materials, including 4140 low-alloy steel as well as other high-performance alloys and even reactive metals, such as aluminum and titanium. To learn more about the Production System, visit: www.desktopmetal.com/products/production. Today, the Production System platform materials library includes 17-4 PH stainless steel, 316L stainless steel and 4140 low-alloy steel, each of which have been qualified by Desktop Metal. The platform also supports several customer-qualified materials, including silver and gold, and Desktop Metal plans to add additional metals to its portfolio, including tool steels, stainless steels, superalloys, copper, and more. To learn more about 4140 and the Production System materials portfolio, visit: www.desktopmetal.com/materials. About Desktop Metal Desktop Metal, Inc., based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is accelerating the transformation of manufacturing with an expansive portfolio of 3D printing solutions, from rapid prototyping to mass production. Founded in 2015 by leaders in advanced manufacturing, metallurgy, and robotics, the company is addressing the unmet challenges of speed, cost, and quality to make additive manufacturing an essential tool for engineers and manufacturers around the world. Desktop Metal was selected as one of the world's 30 most promising Technology Pioneers by the World Economic Forum and named to MIT (News - Alert) Technology Review's list of 50 Smartest Companies. For more information, visit www.desktopmetal.com. Forward Looking Statement This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words "believe," "project," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan," "may," "should," "will," "would," "will be," "will continue," "will likely result," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks, uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this document, including but not limited to the risks and uncertainties set forth in Desktop Metal, Inc.'s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Desktop Metal, Inc. assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005532/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Mary-Ann Bell joins the Board of Directors of mdf commerce MONTREAL, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- mdf commerce inc. (TSX:MDF), a leader in SaaS commerce technology solutions, is proud to announce the appointment of Mary-Ann Bell, Ing., ASC, to its Board of Directors. Since 2012, Mary-Ann Bell has provided guidance to management teams on a variety of strategic topics such as digital transformation, cybersecurity, financial performance analysis, human resources planning and governance practices, among others. She currently serves as a corporate director of SNC-Lavalin, Cogeco, NAV CANADA and the Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations (IGOPP). Ms. Bell is an industrial engineer by training, has obtained a certificate of finance for executives from the Harvard Business School and is a Certified Corporate Director of the College des administrateurs. Ms. Bell has extensive executive management experience, including as Chief Operation Officer, and has broad experience in operations management, customer service, IT, sales and marketing. We are delighted to welcome Mary-Ann to our Board of Directors, stated Gilles Laporte, Chairma of the Board. Her expertise in high growth technology companies as well as her impressive experience as board member of several public corporations will be a great asset to the Board and management team as mdf commerce executes its ambitious growth plans. Having Mary-Ann Bell join the Board to offer her advice and support is a testament to the potential that mdf commerce represents as global SaaS company. I am very happy to be joining the Board of mdf commerce, said Mary-Ann Bell. I look forward to contributing to the companys strategies as it continues to scale. I believe mdf commerce has the solid foundation and the talent it needs to meet its accelerated growth objectives. About mdf commerce inc. mdf commerce inc. (TSX:MDF) enables the flow of commerce by providing a broad set of SaaS solutions that optimize and accelerate commercial interactions between buyers and sellers. Our platforms and services empower businesses around the world, allowing them to generate billions of dollars in transactions on an annual basis. Our Strategic Sourcing, Unified Commerce and emarketplace platforms are supported by a strong and dedicated team of approximately 700 employees based in Canada, the United States, Denmark, Ukraine and China. For more information, please visit us at mdfcommerce.com, follow us on LinkedIn or call at 1-877-677-9088. For further information: mdf commerce Andre Leblanc Vice-President, Marketing and Public Affairs Phone: +1 (514) 961-0882 Email: andre.leblanc@mdfcommerce.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] CGS Named Finalist in 2021 Top Ranking Performers Awards / Best Tech Innovation Award Vendor - Live Agent Support Solution Category NEW YORK, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CGS, a global provider of business applications, enterprise learning and outsourcing services, today announced it was selected as a finalist in the Contact Center Worlds 16th Annual Global Top Ranking Performers Awards in the Best Tech Innovation Award Vendor Live Agent Support Solution category. The company submitted its Teamwork AR with agent assist solution, which brings real-time digital transformation to technical support and customer care. The awards will be announced and presented in Fall 2021. The 2021 Top Ranking Performers Awards attracted more than 2,000 entries from over 80 nations. The Awards are the ultimate industry awards for the contact center industry and are exclusively available from ContactCenterWorld.com, the Global Association for Contact Center & Customer Engagement Best Practices, with nearly 205,000 members in 200 countries. Were honored to be among the Top Performers Award finalists, said Steven Petruk, president of Global Outsourcing division, CGS. Providing augmented reality to complement our customer support service has been advantageous amid the pandemic. Yet, it is gaining more attention as a natural next step for businesses wanting to provide expert guidance to their customers. Helping consumers with in-home repairs to assisting on-site field service technicians address equipment problems, Teamwork AR helps reduce the number of dispatches, lessens time spent onsite by technicians, improves first-time fix rates, reduces costly downtime and ensures business continuity. Ultimately, helping decrease company costs and elevate customer experience. Using any device, anywhere, the Teamwork AR solution offers next-level support, on-the-job training and remote assistance to field services, operations and manufacturing. Teamwork AR with agent assist enhances the customer experience and increases call efficiency by eliminating miscommunication, reducing the length of calls, and improving wait times and first-call resolution. With optimized call center resources to serve global clients, CGS offers a unique hybrid approach through automation and live agents in its contact centers located across the globe. Its AI-enriched chatbot, RPA and AR technologies complement the customer support services provided by thousands of multilingual call center agents. CGS supports many of the world's industry-leading global brands from retail, hospitality, financial services, healthcare, technology and telecom. CGSs innovative, scalable and flexible business process outsourcing (BPO) solutions include technical and customer support, telesales, channel enablement and back-office support. About ContactCenterWorld The association is the Worlds largest association for Contact Center & CX professionals with over 205,000 professional members. ContactCenterWorld.com was founded in 1999 and runs the largest awards program for our industry, the highest rated events, offers networking for members, has over 40,000 documents online and offers daily tips, benchmarking data, employee engagement and customer experience programs. About CGS For over 35 years, CGS has enabled global enterprises, regional companies and government agencies to drive breakthrough performance through business applications, enterprise learning and outsourcing services. CGS is wholly focused on creating comprehensive solutions that meet clients' complex, multi-dimensional needs and support clients' most fundamental business activities. Headquartered in New York City, CGS has offices across North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. For more information, please visit www.cgsinc.com and follow us on Twitter at @CGSinc and @OutsourcingCGS and on LinkedIn. Media contacts: Susan Sweeney, CGS newsroom@cgsinc.com Emily White (for CGS) cgsny@pancomm.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] WebBank Joins Synovus Bank to Provide an Asset-Based Revolving Credit Facility Upsize to AB Private Credit Investors Corporation WebBank today announced it has joined Synovus Bank, Specialty Finance Division ("Synovus") to provide additional commitment in an asset-based revolving credit facility to AB Private Credit Investors Corporation, a subsidiary of AllianceBernstein, which is one of the world's largest investment management and research firms with approximately $724 billion in assets under management. WebBank is a national issuer of consumer and small business credit products through its Strategic Partner platforms, including retailers, manufacturers, and FinTech companies, and provides asset-based lending and other credit facilities to Strategic Partners, credit funds, and other lenders with a focus on specialty finance assets. AB Private Credit Investors Corporation will use borrowings from the $150MM asset-based revolving credit facility to invest in primary-issue middle-market credit opportunities that are directly sourced and privately negotiated. The asset-based revolving credit facility commitment was upsized by $50MM from $100MM to $150MM. Synovus, as existing lender, increased its commitment by $20MM from $100MM to $120MM. WebBank, joining as an additional lender, provided a commitment of $30MM. "On behalf of AB Private Credit Investors and AllianceBernstein, we are appreciative of WebBank's support of our business, and we look forward to continuing to build this relationship in the future," said Wes Raper, Chief Operating Officer of AB Private Credit Investors. "Additionally, we are honored by the opportunity to expand our relationship with Synovus through this asset-based revolving credit facility." "We are proud to collaborate with WebBank, as our Structured Finance team continues to expand its offering of best-in-class consultative solutions to specialized lending platforms and the asset management community," said Jonathan Rosen, CEO of the Specialty Finance Division of Synovus Bank. "We are excited to further expand our footprint in providing leverage to credit funds through asset-based lending facilities and appreciate the opportunity to participate in this financing transaction in partnership with Synovus," said Jason Lloyd, President of WebBank. "The financing underscores WebBank's confidence in AB Private Credit Investors Corporation's experience and ability to source, underwrite, structure and service private credit loans to middle market companies. It has been a pleasure to work closely with Synovus Bank's Specialty Finance team on this transaction." About B Private Credit Investors Corporation AB Private Credit Investors Corporation (the "Fund") is an externally managed, non-diversified, closed-end, management investment company that elected to be regulated as a business development company ("BDC") under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. The Fund was formed to invest in primary-issue middle-market credit opportunities that are directly sourced and privately negotiated. AB Private Credit Investors LLC serves as the Fund's external investment adviser. About Synovus Bank Synovus Bank, a Georgia state-chartered bank and a member of the Federal Reserve System, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Synovus Financial Corp. through which Synovus Financial Corp. conducts its banking operations. Synovus Bank provides commercial and retail banking in addition to a full suite of specialized products and services including private banking, treasury management, wealth management, mortgage services, premium finance, asset-based lending, structured lending, and international banking. Synovus Bank is positioned in markets in the Southeast, with 288 branches and 388 ATMs in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Synovus is a Great Place to Work-Certified Company and is on the web at synovus.com, and on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. About WebBank WebBank is a Utah chartered Industrial Bank headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Since its inception in 1997, WebBank has originated and funded over $138 billion in consumer and commercial credit products. As "The Bank Behind the Brand", WebBank is a national issuer of consumer and small business credit products through Strategic Partner (Brand) platforms, which include retailers, manufacturers, finance companies, and financial technology (FinTech) companies. The Bank is a leading player in the digital lending space, driving innovation in financial products through Strategic Partner platforms. WebBank engages in a full range of banking activities including consumer and commercial loan products, revolving lines of credit, credit cards, private-label card issuance, auto-refinancing and more. The Bank provides capital in the form of asset-backed lending and other credit facilities to Strategic Partner platforms, credit funds, and other lenders with a targeted focus on specialty finance assets. The Bank is also a leading provider of commercial insurance premium finance products through its wholly owned subsidiary National Partners. For more information, please visit www.webbank.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005583/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] JewBelong or Jew BeGone NEW YORK, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- JewBelong.com, known for their witty humor and thought-provoking advertising campaigns, was created to welcome and inspire Jewish people (and those who love them) who find themselves disengaged from Judaism, whether they drifted away from the religion, or simply never got much of a Jewish education. Especially now, in a time when diversity and inclusion are on the tip of everyone's tongue, JewBelong is proud that their name has included the word belong since their inception. JewBelong balances tradition with inclusion by highlighting the love and values at the core of the religion. However, with antisemitism on the rise throughout the U.S. and around the world, and the overwhelming amount of hate and misinformation, particularly on social media, JewBelong is now working to combat antisemitism too. With this in mind, JewBelong has launched a new campaign: JewBelong or Jew BeGone. This awareness campaign starts with 750 somewhat tongue in cheek digital ads running across Manhattan that say, "Here's an idea: Let's ask everyone who's wondering if antisemitism is real to wear a yarmulke for a week and then report back." The campaign breaks officially Now, and will run through at least July, beginning with LINK digital ads, and then adding billboards andprint posters in high traffic locations such as PATH Trains and Times Square. The campaign will also run in Chicago, Philadelphia, LA and other cities with other messages. The objective of JewBelong or JewBeGone is to elevate awareness about the rampant recent antisemitism and to encourage dialogue, support, and community awareness. Here is the first ad is below and others to follow shortly: As part of the battle against antisemitism, JewBelong also announced the Jewish Partisan Prize to recognize influencers who are standing up against antisemitism on Instagram and other social media platforms. The prize name honors the original Partisans, a relatively small group of brave warriors that fought the Nazis during WWII. The prizes promote and reward defenders of the Jewish community and those who speak out against prejudice with courage and resilience. So far, JewBelong has awarded the $360 prize to the 23 young peace warriors and will announce more winners in the coming weeks. About JewBelong: JewBelong.com is a non-profit online resource that offers easy explanations and meaningful DIY rituals for Jews, for people who are not Jewish and for anyone who has felt like a Jewish outsider or feels disengaged from the religion. Because of the current climate, they are now using JewBelong's platform in the fight against antisemitism. JewBelong's co-founders, Archie Gottesman and Stacy Stuart, are the marketing duo that was the voice behind Manhattan Mini Storage's iconic branding ("NYC: Tolerant of Your Beliefs. Judgmental About Your Shoes." "If You Don't Like Gay Marriage, Don't Get Gay Married"). Media Contact: Hayden Ari 973.405.4600 311378@email4pr.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jewbelong-or-jew-begone-301305154.html SOURCE JewBelong.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Swimlane Announces Key Additions to Leadership Team Swimlane, provider of the industry's leading security automation platform, today announced three appointments to the leadership team: Tony Thompson as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Charles Constanti as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and David Anthony as SVP Customer Experience. Each new hire brings decades of experience to Swimlane, and will play a critical role in elevating the company's brand, ensuring customer success and maximizing the value organizations achieve with the Swimlane platform. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005188/en/ (Photo: Business Wire) "I am thrilled to welcome Tony, Charles and David to the Swimlane leadership team. As we continue to grow and work towards our goals of not only breaking into new markets, but fully owning the security automation space, I am confident they will each make a significant impact on Swimlane," said James Brear, CEO, Swimlane. "Our team has a strong track record of optimizing brand awareness, maintaining customer-first values, and executing global growth. I look forward to working with these industry veterans to make Swimlane the leader in automation." Before joining Swimlane, Thompson was CMO for Kemp Technologies (acquired by Mill Point Capital), where he established the company as a market leader in Application Experience (AX), garnering brand awareness growth and the number one rating on Gartner. Previously, Thompson served as VP of Marketing and General Manager for SS8 (News - Alert) Networks, where he led the strategy, sales and marketing execution for a breakthrough in network intelligence, breach detection, and network detection and response (NDR). Prior, he held marketing leadership roles with Silver Peak (now part of Aruba/HPE), McAfee, Blue Coat (News - Alert) (now part of Broadcom), and Juniper Networks. Throughout his career, Thompson has been responsible for reshaping niche players into maket leaders, launching new products, defining new market categories, and leading companies through acquisitions. Constanti brings to Swimlane extensive experience with rapidly growing companies, driving global expansion, raising capital through public and private offerings, and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to Swimlane, Constanti served as CFO at BlastWave, an early stage cyber security SaaS company. Previously, he served as CFO for three public companies: CareDx, a leader in molecular diagnostics; Procera Networks (acquired by Francisco Partners), a leader in network security and intelligence as well as a six-time winner of Deloitte's (News - Alert) Fast 500 award; and Netopia (acquired by Motorola), a leader in broadband gateways and remote management software. Charles began his career as a CPA at PricewaterhouseCoopers (News - Alert) . As Swimlane's SVP of Customer Experience, Anthony leads the company's post-sales customer delivery teams, including Customer Success, Partner Services, Professional Services, Technical Support, and Training teams. Anthony's cybersecurity background includes serving as VP Customer Care at LogRhythm, building their customer delivery function across the globe to include professional services, technical support, training, and account management. Over the past 25+ years, Anthony has focused on scaling customer-focused delivery groups for rapidly growing companies including Sapient, Inc. in the US, India, and the UK (now Sapient Publicis), Map of Medicine Ltd in the UK (now part of Hearst Corporation (News - Alert) ), and for Tendril, Inc. (now Uplight, Inc). Anthony has broad experience growing customer-focused delivery organizations in startup companies globally. "Automation of cybersecurity has shifted from "nice to have" to a requirement and Swimlane stands out with a robust platform for automating essential security operations needs," said Thompson. "I look forward to being part of this incredible team at such a pivotal moment for the market. With a broader attack surface and wave of digital transformation, automation provides the enterprise with a clear return on investment. I look forward to amplifying the momentum that Swimlane has built." Acutely focused on improving the automation piece of today's SOAR solutions, Swimlane's automation capabilities are solving the growing challenge of alert fatigue, burnout and staffing shortages being experienced across the cybersecurity industry. As reinforced by a $40 million growth round and recognition from industry awards, Swimlane is well positioned to deliver critical automation capabilities for near endless use cases. To learn more about Swimlane, please visit https://swimlane.com/. About Swimlane Swimlane is at the forefront of security automation solutions, including SOAR use cases, and was founded to deliver scalable and flexible security solutions to organizations struggling with alert fatigue, vendor proliferation and chronic staffing shortages. Swimlane's security automation platform helps organizations address all security operations (SecOps) needs, including prioritizing alerts, orchestrating tools and automating the remediation of threats-improving performance across the entire organization. Swimlane is headquartered in Denver, Colo. with operations throughout North America, Central America, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. For more information, visit www.Swimlane.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005188/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] STA Appoints Halley to Lead Electric School Bus Initiative WALL, N.J., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Student Transportation of America (STA) announced today that Ronald Halley, Vice President of Fleet and Facilities, will lead the company's new Electric Vehicle Pilot Program. Student Transportation of America STA Appoints Ron Halley to Lead Electric School Bus Initiative Halley will oversee all aspects of the program including rollout, partnerships and data collection as STA begins introducing electric buses this summer to select markets on the East and West Coasts. "STA has invested for years in building the foundation for the Electric Vehicle Pilot Program. Executing that vision, and putting the right people in place to move it forward, is the next step," said STA Chief Operating Officer Gene Kowalczewski. "Ron brings not only experience but results leading diesel-alternative programs. There isn't anyone better to guide STA's electric initiative and accelerate the industry's shift toward lower-emission school buses." As part of the Electric Vehicle Pilot Program, Halley's team will track battery life, monitor component life, and collect other key data. With electric fleets planned for urban, suburban and rural areas, this information will give STA actionable intelligence into the performance of electric vehicles in distinct operating environments. "The nationwide reach of STA puts us in position to launch electric vehicles in strategically selected neighborhoods, all of which have vastly different traffic and weather patterns that could afect overall performance. What we learn we can apply toward the future," said Halley. "I'm excited to get started and announce our first locations in the coming months. This is the next phase of a long-term commitment that will benefit our passengers and our planet." Halley is a 45-year veteran of the transportation industry. As Vice President of Fleet and Facilities, he is responsible for designing and coordinating maintenance processes and new facilities for STA's vehicles throughout the country. Halley also leads the company's alternative fuel program, working closely with manufacturing and energy partners to expand the company's Green Fleet of lower-emission vehicles. Halley has played a key role in STA's move to the forefront of the industry in the use of electric, propane, compressed natural gas and biofuels. He joined the company in 2012, when it purchased 400 propane-powered vehiclesthe largest all-propane school bus fleet in the United Statesto serve public schools in Omaha, Neb. STA has since expanded its Green Fleet initiative to markets across the country. It was the first to introduce propane and alternative-fuel vehicles to several communities, including St. Paul, Minn.; Grand Junction, Colo.; Canby, Lake Oswego and Tigard, Ore.; and others. To date, STA has replaced more than 2,000 diesel-engine school buses with alternative-fuel vehicles. The company has received a Green Fleet Magazine Sustainability All-Star Award for its leadership in the space. "The Electric Vehicle Pilot Program is a natural progression of our good work in propane and lower-emission alternatives. I look forward to working with my team and local leadership, as well as infrastructure suppliers and manufacturers, as STA moves even further into eco-conscious student transportation," said Halley. Halley was previously Director of Assets at Harsco Metals and Minerals, a worldwide provider of steel mill services, and a Senior Manager at FedEx Ground. He started his career as a package-handler at UPS, working his way up to District Automotive Manager. During his tenure there, in partnership with Washington Natural Gas, he converted vehicles to compressed natural gas (CNG) and installed a CNG compressor station and charging manifold at the UPS site in Bladensburg, Maryland. Halley graduated from Lincoln Technical Institute in Indianapolis and holds a degree in Automotive and Diesel Technology. About Student Transportation of America Founded in 1997, Student Transportation of America (STA) is an industry leader in school transportation, safety and fleet services. STA operates more than 16,000 vehicles, providing customers with the highest level of safe and reliable student transportation, management, logistics and technology solutions throughout the U.S. and Canada. Services are delivered by drivers, dispatchers, maintenance technicians, managers, information technology professionals and others, who are caring members of their local communities. For more information, please visit www.rideSTA.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sta-appoints-halley-to-lead-electric-school-bus-initiative-301305164.html SOURCE Student Transportation of America [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Call for Papers Now Open for Puppetize Digital 2021 PORTLAND, Ore., June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Puppet, the industry standard for infrastructure automation, is now inviting submissions from those wishing to present at Puppetize Digital 2021 . Held virtually for a global audience on September 29 & 30, 2021, Puppetize Digital is an opportunity to share practical knowledge, network with industry experts, and learn about the latest innovations to automate infrastructure securely and at scale. Puppet is looking for unique presentations from practitioners, leaders and experts in the infrastructure and operations space who will speak at this years virtual conference alongside Puppet CEO Yvonne Wassenaar, CTOs Abby Kearns and Deepak Giridharagopal, and Field CTO Nigel Kersten. Presentations should focus on sharing knowledge and insight with the Puppet community. Topic focus areas include (but are not limited to): Streamlining and implementing compliance and security Accelerating DevOps at scale Operating consistently across hybrid estates Accelerating cloud migration No code; low code Improving developer experiences The first day of the event will focus on the business application and value provided by the Puppet portfolio, with sessions dedicated to empowering fearless and open innovation across the enterprise. Day two of Puppetize will be led by the community, with talks focused on Puppet use cases for all practitioner levels and the opportunity to network with others in the community, share best practices, and take workshops and trainings. Our industry is experiencing an incedible shift in how we operate and innovate, said Yvonne Wassenaar, CEO of Puppet. We are looking forward to sharing our vision for the future of infrastructure automation and hearing from those who are using Puppet technologies to solve some of the most challenging problems I&O teams are facing today. Puppetize Digital 2021 is a content-rich technical program that will address the most pressing challenges faced by DevOps, IT, Platform, and CloudOps teams and the best strategies for confronting them head-on, said Lauren Lee, Director of Community at Puppet. Im looking forward to hearing from the incredible Puppet community so we can learn how others are leveraging Puppet technologies, and empower one another to implement innovative solutions. It will be a great opportunity to meet other Puppet practitioners and connect with new members of our community. In addition to technical sessions, Puppetize Digital will feature networking activities, topical breakout sessions, hands-on workshops, training, and other opportunities for engagement. Check out the Puppetize Digital learnings from last year in this highlights video the full playlist is here . To learn more about Puppetize Digital and to sign up to be notified when registration is live, please visit puppet.com/puppetize . Call for papers is open now and will close on July 30, 2021. Additional Resources Learn more about Puppet Follow Puppet on Twitter and LinkedIn Read our blog About Puppet Puppet helps enterprises modernize and manage their infrastructure with the solutions to automate anywhere, reliably scale, and integrate compliance and security across hybrid infrastructure. More than 40,000 organizations including more than 80 percent of the Global 5000 have benefited from Puppets open source and commercial solutions to ensure business continuity, optimize costs, boost compliance and ensure security, all while accelerating the adoption of DevOps practices and delivery of self-service. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Puppet is a privately held company with offices in London, Belfast, Singapore, Sydney and Timi?oara. Learn more at puppet.com . Media Contact Zibby Keaton Head of External Communications @ Puppet pr@puppet.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Passport Parking app rolls out in Village of Larchmont LARCHMONT, N.Y., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Village of Larchmont has introduced a new way to pay for parking with the Passport Parking mobile application. The app is powered by Passport, a leading transportation software and payments company that manages cities' parking and mobility infrastructures through its robust digital platform. The City of Rye, the City of White Plains and the Village of Pelham also trust Passport to manage their parking operations. The free app is available to use at over 1,300 parking spaces across the Village and allows parkers to safely extend and manage their parking sessions remotely. With the app, parkers have the ability to move between designated two-hour zones in the area without the need to start a new session. "Larchmont has a vibrant downtown that attracts numerous residents and visitors," said Village of Larchmont Mayor, Lorraine Walsh. "The Passport Parking app improves the parking experience by giving drivers a convenient and easy payment option anytime they explore the area." In addition to the launch of Passport Parking, the Village currently utilizes Passport's digital permitting solution which allows parkers to manage their long term parking sessions from a user-friendly portal, eliminating the need for physical hang tags. With more convenient options available to pay for and manage long and short term parking sssions, visitors and locals can enjoy a hassle-free parking experience and the Village of Larchmont can more effectively manage its streets and sidewalks. "Launching Passport's mobile parking app brings a new wave of convenience and simplicity to the Village of Larchmont," said Anthony Caddell, sales executive at Passport. "Our goal is to provide the technology to streamline the parking experience so that drivers can pay to park throughout the village without the need to carry change." Drivers can download the free Passport Parking app from the App Store , Google Play or manage online at passportparking.com . About Passport Passport is a transportation software and payments company that builds technology for more efficient streets and sidewalks. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Passport is trusted by more than 1,000 cities, universities and agencies, including Chicago, Toronto, Los Angeles, and Miami. Passport's digital platform helps cities manage parking and mobility infrastructure, creating more livable, equitable communities. One of the fastest-growing companies on the Inc. 5000 and Deloitte Technology Fast 500 lists, Passport was also named to Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies for 2020. Media Contact: Allison Guthrie (818) 523-8581 passport@greenbrier.partners View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/passport-parking-app-rolls-out-in-village-of-larchmont-301305263.html SOURCE Passport [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Tao Fengjiao leads her all-women team members in a greening campaign in Qizi Bay, Hainan Province. [For China Daily] All-women tree-planting group persisted when experts said job could not be done Through "Hainan-style perseverance", Tao Fengjiao and her band of co-workers, who come from Changjiang in the western part of the island province, have accomplished a striking achievement, planting 5.88 million casuarina trees on 2,250 hectares of barren coastal areas across the tropical island over the past 29 years. Standing beside Qizi Bay, now a popular tourist destination dotted with trendy hotels and villas, Tao rests her hands on the handle of a shovel and looks into the distance, admiring the emerald-green of the casuarina forest she helped plant, and which she considers as precious as her children. "Can you imagine that this used to be vast, shifting dunes where, when the wind blew, the sand stung your face and filled your hair, which was hard to clean out again?" she said. "Now, with the coastal forest acting as a fence, people living by the sea no longer have to be afraid of typhoons. This is the most comforting thing for us," she continued. Now in her early 60s, Tao has dreamed of growing a "green wall" to fence off the devastating tropical storms since she was a child. In 1992, a typhoon hit Qizi Bay, destroying fishing boats and claiming the lives of more than 20 fishermen. Constant winds and the encroachment of coastal deserts also caused eye problems and degraded the quality of life for local residents for years. "A business owner got a contract for a tree-planting project from the Changjiang county government that year, and I immediately joined up, abandoning my fish-selling business, which earned the family a comparatively good living," Tao recalled. For the sake of their livelihoods and the safety of local residents, Tao and her co-workers continued planting trees after the business owner abandoned the project two years later, when their afforestation efforts failed on the arid western coast, where evaporation rates were often two times higher than the 700 millimeter rainfall the area receives annually. In 1995, a group of German experts visited Changjiang in search of somewhere to set up an international environmental aid program. According to local officials, they concluded that tree-planting was simply not feasible in the area. But the women persisted, believing that they could succeed. With the help of local experts, they attempted to stabilize moving sands by planting thatch screw pine, a small plant that is resistant to salt and sand. Once that was established, they planted casuarina trees, a taller evergreen capable of resisting strong winds. "This approach greatly improved the survival rate of the saplings, from 10 percent to 80 percent," Tao explained. They also tried other innovative methods, such as using nutrition bags and water retaining agents, soaking the seedlings, and digging deeper holes for planting. "The survival rate rose further to 97 percent. The coastal desert began to turn green, bit by bit," Tao recollects happily. Zhong Yingwei, one of Tao's tree planting "sisters", remembers that the women, then aged between their 20s and 50s, were able to climb the trees to harvest casuarina seeds better than men, and learned to raise the seedlings themselves. "Transporting the seedlings to where we wanted to plant them was difficult. We had no vehicles or cement roads, so we used shoulder polls to carry 60 to 70 kilograms of saplings at a time, walking barefoot for as far as 50 kilometers a day on scorching sand that made us want to cry," remembers Wen Ying'e, who turns 80 this year. "Tao knocked on our doors at five o'clock in the morning. We each planted around 400 trees a day. The hot weather often made our food go bad, and our bodies would become swollen from drinking too much water before leaving home," said Zhong. "It was hard and tiring, but tree-planting was never disappointing. I wanted to give up sometimes when villagers scolded me or threw manure at me if I tried to stop their cattle from eating the casuarina seedlings, or over some other misunderstanding," Tao said. "Now the villagers all know the benefits of planting trees, and those who used to scold me are polite and friendly," she added. Though some of the group, which was more than 60-strong in its heyday, left due to the hardship, Tao said she and her co-workers cared for each other like a family, and their tree-planting footprints eventually extended from Changjiang to other parts of the island, including Chengmai, Wenchang and Haikou. In 2020, Tao was recognized as a National Model Worker for her persistent, innovative efforts in environmental restoration. A memorial hall was built by the county government to commemorate the outstanding contribution of the tree-planting "sisters", and to pass on the green and sustainable development concepts that have brought huge ecological benefit to the community. "My brother and I are proud every time we patrol the forest. These trees were planted one by one by my mother and her sisters. Now it's time for us to take care of them," Tao's son, Zheng Weijie, said. He has been taking care of the trees with his mother since he was 14 years old and two years ago, he and his elder brother joined the team as professional forest rangers. (Source: China Daily) [June 03, 2021] 1792 Wealth Advisors Snags Two Veteran Advisors as Practice Pushes Retirement Focus 1792 Wealth Advisors (1792), is expanding its footprint in northern New Jersey with the addition of two veteran-advisor led practices. The Raymond James-backed advisory platform is bringing on Elise Feldman, AIF, who has 30 years of experience and has been working as a solo practitioner within the Raymond James complex alongside Christopher Marlar, who comes over from Ladenburg Thalman. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005631/en/ Elise Feldman, AIF, wealth advisor at 1792 Wealth Advisors (Photo: Business Wire) "We have been diligently building our model for supported independence and it serves as a huge endorsement for what we are doing when seasoned advisors of Elise's and Christopher's caliber recognize what value we can bring," asserts Bob Milligan, managing partner and founder of 1792 Advisors. While Feldman and Marlar have a shared appreciation for the autonomy given to advisors at 1792, the two focus in different areas of the business. Feldman's addition will serve as a beachhead for the organization's assertive move into the retiement plan arena, a piece of the business that Milligan feels is ripe with opportunity. Marlar has zeroed in on the delivery of high-touch financial planning for affluent individuals and families. Marlar was looking for a platform partner that provided the same high touch service for advisors as he delivers for clients. "As a solo practitioner, I wanted to prepare my clients for the long-term and it's in their best interest for me to partner with 1792 for both the added support, services but also maintaining consistency for those clients' lifelong planning needs," says Feldman. "Finding a new level of supported independence within the Raymond James community was important in being able to limit disruption for my clients. Additionally, 1792 placed a real value on my specialization in qualified retirement plans, non-qualified plans and welfare benefit plans. With the practice's backing, I feel that area has a significant opportunity for growth." Feldman's move to 1792 mirrors Marlar in that both were seeking to leverage their time better with their clients. With over 20 years of experience working in asset management and retirement planning, Marlar transitioned to supported independence via 1792 to better serve individuals and businesses that he works with, offer a top of the line experience and obtain additional operational support. "My goal is to do what's best for my clients, and it was clear that 1792 has client service and advocacy as a culture as a top priority," Marlar explains. "1792 and Raymond James make it easy to offer concierge service and high-touch financial planning with back-end support so I can spend more time working with clients." After four years of building the office, 1792 is continuing its growth trajectory and is gearing up for future expansion in the region. "I'm excited to build on this momentum. So many advisors are looking to make the move to independence, and we're here to support those transitions. I've done it, and I can help other advisors avoid missteps and make the move that much easier," says Milligan. The organization plans to open a second office in Morristown by year-end as well as move into Red Bank, Short Hills and Bergen County over the next 24 months. About 1792 Wealth Advisors 1792 Wealth Advisors is a premier platform for advisors seeking supported independence. With the support of Raymond James we are able to offer industry-leading resources, technology and support while providing control of and equity in their own business. We know advisors do best when supporting each other, and our approach of supported independence offers advisors better economics and enhanced culture. For more information, visit Join1792.com or https://www.raymondjames.com/1792wealthadvisors. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005631/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Axele Hosts Free Webinar "How to Improve Your Profitability with Data" DALLAS, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Axele, LLC, a Transportation Management System (TMS) company, will host a free webinar, How to Improve Your Profitability with Data, featuring Todd Amen of ATBS. The webinar takes place Wednesday, June 16, 2021, at 2:00 PM EDT. Attendees will learn how to grow their business and gain profits using data gathered from transportation processes. Key indicators include mileage trends, revenue per mile, and more. Automated transportation processes create data, such as percentage of on-time deliveries, idling times, fuel usage, lane history, and more, that can be analyzed for continuous improvements, said Ryan Camacho, Director of Strategy and Business Development, Axele. Using this information to understand trends can lead to improved decision-making for greater profits. Industry expert Todd Amen of ATBS will share data from more than 20,000 carriers that relay where the industry is going. Attendees will hear: How is revenue per mile trending for categories including dry van, flatbed, reefer, and others? How did mileage trend from 2019 to 2020, and what does that mean for 2021? When are carriers making breakeven or more, and when are they falling short? How are expenses such as maintenance and truck payments trending? And much more Todd Amen is Prsident and CEO of ATBS, specializing in Owner Operator business consulting, benchmarking, tax/tax resolution, and bookkeeping services. ATBS is the largest business services organization serving Owner Operators in the trucking industry since 1998 and has assisted over 150,000 owner-operators in its 23-year history. In addition to his work with ATBS, Todd Amen is a recognized speaker and leader in transportation and finance and is also on the Board of Directors of the Truckload Carriers Association. To finish 2021 strong, register for the free webinar at: https://optym.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7d8Wot4pRCul5t_Q-LBxrQ. About Axele Axele offers transportation management system (TMS) cloud software for truckload carriers leveraging decades of experience and insights into optimization and automation technology. Launched by Optym in 2020, Axele is the industry's first intelligent, connected solution, built specifically for small to mid-sized truckload carriers. Axele serves for-hire truckload operators and private fleets who haul general freight, dry van, flatbed, and refrigerated loads. The Axele TMS integrates with load boards, ELDs, market rates, maps, and accounting systems, to enable an owner-operator or carrier to find better loads, increase profits, and grow their business. For more information about Axele, go to www.axele.com. Media Contact for Axele: Becky Boyd MediaFirst PR (770) 642-2080 x 214 Cell (404) 421-8497 Becky@MediaFirst.Net [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Daymond John and iD Tech Partner to Launch a Unique Student-First Entrepreneurship Course iD Tech, the world leader in youth STEM education, and Daymond John, Founder and CEO of FUBU, Star of ABC's Shark Tank, and CEO of The Shark Group, today announced a partnership to launch a new course designed to teach students, ages 10-17, the skills needed to become successful entrepreneurs. iD Tech will offer the course through Virtual Tech Camps June 14-August 27, 2021. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005655/en/ Photo by NIBA Studios The new courses, centered on entrepreneurship and startups, provide students with two hours of live, instructor-led engagement and two hours of self-paced homework daily. The five day course will give students the opportunity to turn their hobbies and passions into brands, products, or services. iD Tech and Daymond John collaborated on developing a curriculum that will take students from concept to launch with each day focused on a new subject as they begin their entrepreneurial adventure. Modules include case studies, creating brand and community, crafting a marketing strategy and brand image, developing a product and business model, and perfecting a pitch. Over the course of the week, students will go from a dream to delivering a business pitch to their parents for potential funding. "I am so excited to be working with iD Tech," said Daymond John. "They are true leaders in youth STEM education, and I've seen firsthand the profound difference they are making in kids' lives through their social impact programs. As a parent and lifelong business owner myself, I believe in the importance of teaching entrepreneurship and business to kids from a young age. I can't wait fo you and your kids to experience the new courses we've created!" Students will learn from Daymond John's experience launching and investing in companies. His expertise and passion in entrepreneurship and financial literacy will give students the foundational knowledge needed to succeed in their own business ventures. As part of the partnership, Daymond John will be sponsoring 100 underrepresented students from his hometown of New York to attend the course. "Over the last year we've seen innovation spurring from unlikely sources, as adults turned to creating their own jobs during the pandemic. We've also seen the same in kids," said Pete Ingram-Cauchi, CEO of iD Tech. "Through this new course with Daymond John, we are preparing kids to think like entrepreneurs while continuing their STEM education. Through the experience, we hope to inspire our students to think big and blend innovation, tech skills, and interest discovery to bring their ideas to life." For over twenty years, iD Tech has operated cutting-edge programs in coding, 3D modeling, artificial intelligence, robotics and game design. Today it is not enough to know how to code or design video games. Entrepreneurial and business skills like financial literacy and risk assessment are imperative for students as they think about starting and growing their own business. Many entrepreneurs today have pointed to starting young as a key to success. 93% of the most successful entrepreneurs point to their childhood as the start of their entrepreneurial pursuits. Silicon Valley is largely made up of business leaders who began their careers as coders and developers and this new course with Daymond John will give the next generation of students a leg up as they begin to think about their projects through an entrepreneurial lens. In addition to launching the new Virtual Tech Camps, iD Tech announced two free hour-long online classes for parents and kids. The first, featuring Daymond John, is The Future of Money: How to Raise a CEO and will provide parents insights on fostering their child's entrepreneur spirit. The class will broadcast live on Tuesday, June 15th at 8:00pm ET. The second, From 0 to 56M: How to Build a YouTube Channel, will feature the hit group Dude Perfect with insights on growing a following as a creator, taking place on Monday, June 14th at 5:30pm ET. Parents can RSVP for each here. About iD Tech iD Tech is the world leader in youth STEM education and believes that all students deserve quality tech education. The family company was founded by a mother-daughter duo over 20 years ago in Silicon Valley and operates year-round online programs, in addition to summer camps at more than 150 top universities worldwide. Course topics include coding, 3D modeling, artificial intelligence, robotics, and game design. iD Tech is dedicated to bridging the digital divide and is committed to gender diversity. Since its inception, iD Tech has donated more than $6 million in life-changing educational experiences to underrepresented communities. For more information, visit www.iDTech.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005655/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] OneRail Expands Logistics Partner Network to 7.5 Million Couriers OneRail, a leading final mile delivery fulfillment SaaS (News - Alert) platform, recently announced a 1 million-courier increase in its Logistics Partner Network. The company's Logistics Partner Network now numbers 7.5 million drivers across over 220 delivery networks. Carrier partners include Frayt, Hailify, Lyft, Skipcart, Epic1, Dropoff, DoorDash, Alvy Delivers, OTL Logistics and many more. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005704/en/ There are more than 7.5 million couriers in OneRail's national logistics partner network. (Photo: Business Wire) The OneRail Logistics Partner Netwok is a managed marketplace that seamlessly benefits both shippers and courier businesses. Shippers of all types, including Retail, Product Distributors and Health Care Networks, can instantaneously expand their final mile capabilities, while couriers are able to expand their own business. The network consists of sedans, cargo vans and box trucks, enabling shippers to align delivery service levels with the right-sized courier asset to meet gross margin targets. "We learned quickly that bringing your 'A game' is the only way to survive," said Devin Thomas, an Epic1 courier. "We did just that, and subsequently have expanded into three markets. This really couldn't have been done without the vertical and horizontal transparency that OneRail brings to the table for logistics partners." Through advanced AI and smart-matching technology, the OneRail platform prioritizes shipper requirements to match delivery jobs to the best-fit, most dependable and highest-performing courier in any of OneRail's 200-plus service areas across North America. As the demand for E-Commerce continues to grow, shippers can fulfill consumer demands by utilizing OneRail's North American network. The additional drivers will enable OneRail to expand delivery options. "Increasing our delivery network by 1 million in such a short period of time allows us to provide additional quality options to fulfill our shippers' delivery tasks," said OneRail VP of Logistics Partners Matt Schultz. About OneRail Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, OneRail is a leading enterprise-level delivery fulfillment company that streamlines final mile workflow to improve dependability, speed and cost. Global brands from retail to healthcare to logistics optimize their supply chain with the SaaS platform's fast, intuitive features: automated order creation, delivery route optimization, smart courier matching and more. With 100% visibility, real-time connection to a network of 7.5 million drivers and 24/7 USA-based logistics management, the 3-in-1 solution is available as a standalone platform or easily integrated with an existing TMS. To learn more about OneRail, visit OneRail.io. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005704/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] ISACA Installs 2021-2022 Board of Directors Global technology association and learning organization ISACA welcomed its 2021-2022 Board of Directors during its virtual Annual General Meeting today. The new board includes members with diverse backgrounds and a range of expertise from across the globe, including new Board Chair Gregory J. Touhill. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005711/en/ ISACA Board Chair Gregory J. Touhill, CISM, CISSP, Brigadier General (ret) (Photo: Business Wire) "We are fortunate that these distinguished leaders joining ISACA's board of directors not only have stellar experience and insights across diverse backgrounds, but in many cases, have already been making tremendous contributions to ISACA and our professional community for years," says Tracey Dedrick, 2020-2021 ISACA Board Chair. "Their leadership, under Greg's valuable direction, will advance further innovation and progress toward reaching ISACA's goals and serving our members and their organizations worldwide." Touhill is director of the Software Engineering Institute's CERT Division at Carnegie Mellon University, a federally funded research and development center focused on working with government and industry to advance the security of computer systems and networks. Touhill also serves on the AFCEA Cyber Committee and is on the adjunct faculty at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College where he teaches courses for senior cybersecurity leaders. He most recently served as president of the AppGate Federal Group, a cybersecurity and advanced technology company. A retired brigadier general, Touhill served in the Air Force as a military commander where he also led cybersecurity and information technology programs and received the Bronze Star. In addition to leading cybersecurity teams in the Department of Defense, he has the distinction of previously serving as the US government's first federal CISO, appointed under President Obama. He has served on ISACA's board since June 2018 and holds ISACA's Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) credential. "I have long been a believer in ISACA's mission and have seen firsthand the power that its resources, research and thought leadership have had on the global IT and cybersecurity community over the years," says Touhill. "It is an honor to advance this mission in my role as oard chair, and I look forward to driving further innovation in serving our members' educational and training needs, partnering with academia, industry and government, and progressing best practices." Stepping into the vice chair role on ISACA's board is Pamela (Pam) Nigro, CDPSE, CISA, CGEIT, CRISC, vice president information services and security officer at PWNHealth Chicago, LLC, who previously served as board director. Before her current role, Nigro held the role of senior director, information security, at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma & Texas. She is an adjunct professor at Lewis University teaching graduate-level courses on information security, risk and IT governance and compliance, and a long time ISACA member, volunteer, speaker and ISACA Chicago Chapter leader. The following 13 leaders were installed on the 2021-2022 ISACA Board of Directors during the meeting: Gregory J. Touhill, CISM, CISSP, Brigadier General (ret), Chair ; currently director of the Software Engineering Institute's CERT Division and formerly the first Federal Chief Information Security Officer of the United States government ; currently director of the Software Engineering Institute's CERT Division and formerly the first Federal Chief Information Security Officer of the United States government Pamela (Pam) Nigro, CDPSE, CISA, CGEIT, CRISC; Vice Chair ; Vice President Information Services and Security Officer at PWNHealth Chicago, LLC ; Vice President Information Services and Security Officer at PWNHealth Chicago, LLC John De Santis, Director; technology executive; past chairman and CEO of HyTrust, (acquired by Entrust (News - Alert) ); fiduciary board director, ValiMail and Cequence technology executive; past chairman and CEO of HyTrust, (acquired by Entrust (News - Alert) ); fiduciary board director, ValiMail and Cequence Niel Harper, CDPSE, CISA, CRISC, CISSP, Director; Chief Information Security Officer for the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) Chief Information Security Officer for the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) Gabriela Hernandez-Cardoso, Director ; Lawyer with significant experience in the public and private sectors ; Lawyer with significant experience in the public and private sectors Maureen O'Connell, Director ; C suite executive experienced in finance, operations and education ; C suite executive experienced in finance, operations and education Veronica N. Rose, CISA, CDPSE, Director; Lead Information Systems Auditor, Metropol Corporation, author, and outgoing/former board member with the ISACA Kenya Chapter Lead Information Systems Auditor, Metropol Corporation, author, and outgoing/former board member with the ISACA Kenya Chapter Gerrard Schmid, Director ; President and CEO of Diebold Nixdorf ; President and CEO of Diebold Nixdorf Asaf Weisberg, CSX-P, CISM, CRISC, CISA, CDPSE, CGEIT; Director ; Founder and CEO of introSight ; Founder and CEO of introSight Tracey Dedrick, Director; Board Chair (2020-2021); C-Suite executive experienced in risk, compliance, treasury and investor relations C-Suite executive experienced in risk, compliance, treasury and investor relations Brennan P. Baybeck, CISA, CISM, CRISC, CISSP; Director; Board Chair (2019-2020) ; VP & CISO for Customer Services at Oracle (News - Alert) Corporation ; VP & CISO for Customer Services at Oracle (News - Alert) Corporation Rob Clyde, CISM, NACD Directorship Certified and Board Fellow; Director; Board Chair (2018-2019) ; Executive chair of the board of directors, White Cloud Security, and executive advisor to ShardSecure ; Executive chair of the board of directors, White Cloud Security, and executive advisor to ShardSecure David Samuelson, Director; Chief Executive Officer, ISACA "I'm excited to work with this accomplished, talented and diverse board of directors," Samuelson said. "In our returning board directors and the outstanding individuals who are joining the board, we have a well-rounded group that is ready to steer this proud organization toward an even brighter future." To read a blog post about the new ISACA Board, click here, and see board member bios at www.isaca.org/board. About ISACA For more than 50 years, ISACA (www.isaca.org) has advanced the best talent, expertise and learning in technology. ISACA equips individuals with knowledge, credentials, education and community to progress their careers and transform their organizations, and enables enterprises to train and build quality teams. ISACA is a global professional association and learning organization that leverages the expertise of its 145,000 members who work in information security, governance, assurance, risk and privacy to drive innovation through technology. It has a presence in 188 countries, including 223 chapters worldwide. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005711/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] The Rice Family Foundation to Support Local Area Non-Profit Organizations The Rice Family Foundation was established in 2017 by Michael and Jane Rice of Utz Brands, Inc. to provide leadership and support for the education, health, and well-being of families located in the Hanover, Pennsylvania and surrounding areas. Using funds granted by the Foundation, the Rice Family Foundation supports eligible, local area non-profit organizations who dedicate their time, efforts, and resources to foster a better community. This is made possible based on philanthropic commitments from the Rice and Lissette families, third and fourth generation members of the Utz family legacy. Following last year's transition of Utz being privately held to going public, the Rice and Lissette families significantly increased their philanthropic commitments to the Foundation by contributing over 900,000 shares of Utz stock. This gift provides the Foundation with the ability to increase its annual grant awards by approximately five times the level of previous annual grants. In 2020, the Foundation was able to contribute to thirty four non-profit organizations who received support. These recipients included organizations such as Olivia's House, Open Arms Recovery Center, Leadership York and many more, all of which are non-proft organizations working to support the community. "We are excited about the response and impact The Rice Family Foundation has been able to make in our community, especially given the recent challenges brought about by COVID-19," said Stacie Lissette, Director, The Rice Family Foundation. "As we look towards awarding 2021 recipients, we are determined to ensure that the Foundation will further support local area non-profits who work so hard to help improve lives and strengthen our community." For all interested organizations, please act now as the submission deadline for 2021 grant fund applications is July 31st, 2021. The Rice Family Foundation will accept applications through a process which is detailed by visiting www.thericefamilyfoundation.com. Applications for 2021 can be made on-line or by mail-in hard-copy. Applications will be accepted until July 31, 2021. Awards will be announced and distributed no later than December 31, 2021. For more information, please visit the Rice Family Foundation website located at: www.thericefamilyfoundation.com. About the Rice Family Foundation The Rice Family Foundation, located in Hanover, Pennsylvania, funds local initiatives focused on education, health, and the well-being of families in the greater Hanover, Pennsylvania communities. The Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, provides financial grants directly to eligible organizations. For more information, please visit: www.thericefamilyfoundation.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005691/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Gynesonics Announces Positive Coverage Policy Decision Published by Cigna for Treatment of Uterine Fibroids with the Sonata System Gynesonics, a women's healthcare company focused on the development of minimally invasive solutions for symptomatic uterine fibroids, announced today that Cigna has released a national coverage policy for treatment of uterine fibroids with the Sonata System.1 Cigna is one of the largest commercial payers in the country with a significant share of covered lives in Texas, California, New York, Florida, New Jersey and Tennessee, while also having members in 48 total states and Washington, D.C. The Sonata technology platform integrates the first and only commercial intrauterine ultrasound system with a proprietary advanced radiofrequency ablation device, providing an incision-free, uterus-preserving, transcervical treatment for symptomatic uterine fibroids. The Sonata Treatment is a breakthrough alternative to hysterectomy and myomectomy, and can treat a wider range of fibroid types, sizes, and locations than hysteroscopic myomectomy. Fibroids are treated from within the uterus, so treatment with the Sonata System requires no incisions, no tissue is surgically removed, and the uterus is retained. "The Cigna policy covering transcervical fibroid ablation will make a significant difference to millions of women seeking treatment for their symptomatic fibroids and is aligned with the recent ACOG Practice Bulletin2 that specifically recognizes transcervical fibroid ablation as a procedure for gynecologists to offer their patients," said Kelly Petrucci, Vice President of Market Access and Strategy at Gynesonics. "The transcervical nature of Sonata allows a completely incision-free procedure that can be performed in the widest variety of settings, which minimizes costs to the healthcare system while significantly increasing availability to women." In the SONATA clinical trial, 86 percent of women experienced a reduction in heavy menstrual bleeding within three months of their Sonata Treatment, and 95 percent of patients experienced a reduction in menstrual bleeding by 12 months. Additionally, 50 percent of women returned to normal activities by the next day. The overall impact of treatment with Sonata was significant for these women, with 97 percent of women at 12 months indicating they would recommend the procedure. Very importantly, women in the study experienced durable symptom relief over at least three years, a evidenced by the low 8.2 percent cumulative reintervention rate through 36 months. "Cigna, along with other national payors, is taking a leading role in widening access to care for women who wish to avoid invasive procedures but are seeking treatment for their symptomatic uterine fibroids. This policy opens the way for their members to have the Sonata Procedure, the least invasive radio frequency ablation treatment for uterine fibroids," said Chris Owens, President and CEO of Gynesonics. "This aligns with published data reporting nearly 80 percent of women want to avoid invasive surgery for fibroids and prefer a less invasive option. The robustness of the clinical evidence supporting the Sonata Treatment along with its exceptional safety profile, strong patient outcomes and high patient satisfaction, continues to drive accelerated adoption globally." For more information about the Sonata System, see https://gynesonics.com/us/sonata-system/. References 1. https://static.cigna.com/assets/chcp/pdf/coveragePolicies/medical/mm_0602_coveragepositioncriteria_us_guided_RFA_uterine_fibroids.pdf 2. Management of Symptomatic Uterine Leiomyomas: ACOG Practice Bulletin, Number 228. Obstet Gynecol. 2021;1131-1133. acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/practice-bulletin/articles/2021/06/management-of-symptomatic-uterine-leiomyomas About Sonata System The Sonata System uses radiofrequency energy to ablate fibroids under real time sonography guidance from within the uterine cavity, utilizing the first and only intrauterine ultrasound transducer. The System includes a proprietary graphical user interface (SMART Guide), enabling the operator to target fibroids and optimize treatment. The Sonata system provides incision-free transcervical access for a uterus-preserving fibroid treatment. This intrauterine approach is designed to avoid the peritoneal cavity. Most side effects are typically minor and temporary. The Sonata System is CE marked and is approved for sale in the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States. About Gynesonics Gynesonics is a women's healthcare company focused on advancing women's health, by developing minimally invasive, incision-free, uterus-preserving, transcervical technologies for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Gynesonics has developed the Sonata System for diagnostic intrauterine imaging and transcervical treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids. Gynesonics headquarters is in Redwood City, CA (News - Alert) . For more information, go to www.gynesonics.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005686/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz Announces Investigation of Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (SPCE) on Behalf of Investors The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz announces an investigation of Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. ("Virgin Galactic" or the "Company") (NYSE: SPCE) 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 October 25, 2019, post-market, Virgin Galactic was formed by a business combination between Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. ("SCH"), a special purpose acquisition company ("SPAC"), and the Company's then-private predecessor, after which SCH changed its name to "Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc." and its ticker symbol to "SPCE" (the "Business Combination"). On April 12, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (" SEC (News - Alert) ") issued guidance advising that SPAC warrants, which are instruments that allow investors t buy additional shares at a fixed price, may need to be classified as liabilities rather than equity for many SPAC transactions, which had previously been accounted for as equity in these deals. On April 30, 3021, post-market, Virgin Galactic announced in a press release "that it has rescheduled the reporting of its financial results for the first quarter 2021 to following the close of the U.S. markets on Monday, May 10, 2021. Virgin Galactic will now host a conference call to discuss the results and provide a business update that day at 2:00 p.m., Pacific Time (5:00 p.m., Eastern Time). The Company is rescheduling its reporting due to the recent statement issued by the [SEC] on April 12, 2021 relating to the accounting treatment of warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies (the 'SEC Statement')." The company further advised that "following its review of the SEC Statement and consulting with its advisors, the Company will restate its consolidated financial statements included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. The restatement is due solely to the accounting treatment for the warrants of Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. that were outstanding at the time of the Company's business combination on October 25, 2019. The Company expects to file the restated financials prior to the new conference call date and estimates that it will recognize incremental non-operating, non-cash expense for each of the fiscal years ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019." On this news, Virgin Galactic's stock price fell $2.01 per share, or 9.07%, to close at $20.14 per share on May 3, 2021. Follow us for updates on Twitter (News - Alert) : twitter.com/FRC_LAW. If you purchased Virgin Galactic 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/20210603005431/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Milken Institute Urges Better Global Coordination to Detect and Prevent Future Pandemics FasterCures, a center of the Milken Institute, today released a set of recommendations that can be used to mobilize an early warning system for global pandemic threats. The authors call for greater cross-sector collaboration, better data sharing and transparency, more private sector involvement, and local, in-country ownership of surveillance capabilities, among other solutions. "A Global Early Warning System for Pandemics: Mobilizing Surveillance for Emerging Pathogens" is the culmination of multiple workshops across a six-month period aimed at developing a framework for monitoring, identifying, and tracking health threats that could cause global harm. Recommendations come from FasterCures and its advisory group consisting of leaders across sectors including nonprofit, academia, finance, drug and diagnostic development, and technology. "We are now in the second year of COVID-19, and governments are continuing to grapple with how to address new and emerging pathogens," said Esther Krofah, Executive Director of FasterCures. "The pandemic revealed significant gaps in early warning capabilities, but we now know what it will take to develop a better, more effectie system. It is critical that we act quickly, because as we have seen over the last year, the cost of doing nothing is too great." In addition to the key recommendations highlighted in the report, FasterCures outlines specific actions that can be taken immediately to stand-up an effective pathogen surveillance system, including developing a governing body with clear roles and responsibilities, creating financial and other incentives for sharing data, and incubating technology-focused collaboratives that can undertake real-time threat analysis. "We clearly have the will, now we need to pave the way to an independent early-warning system that unites the international community in ways never before seen," said Dr. Rick Bright, Senior Vice President of Pandemic Prevention and Response at the Rockefeller Foundation, a key contributor to the report. "We must drop the barriers to collaboration and innovation, while encouraging an end to the business-as-usual approach to pandemic preparedness that left us flatfooted early last year." Phil Febbo, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Illumina noted: "While the technology has been available for some time, incredible efforts during this pandemic have begun to lay a foundation of global surveillance infrastructure that didn't previously exist. It's now critically important to bring our efforts to scale through dedicated focus and close coordination to ensure global readiness to detect emerging threats to human health." "A Global Early Warning System for Pandemics: Mobilizing Surveillance for Emerging Pathogens" is co-authored by Esther Krofah, Carly Gasca, and Anna DeGarmo. The full report can be downloaded here. About FasterCures FasterCures, a center of the Milken Institute, is working to build a system that is effective, efficient, and driven by a clear vision: patient needs above all else. We believe that transformative and life-saving science should be fully realized and deliver better treatments to the people who need them. For more information, visit https://www.fastercures.org/. About the Milken Institute The Milken Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that helps people build meaningful lives in which they can experience health and well-being, pursue effective education and gainful employment, and access the resources required to create ever-expanding opportunities for themselves and their broader communities. For more information, visit https://milkeninstitute.org/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005313/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Fully Managed Acquires Wappo Information Services Fully Managed, a leader in digital business transformation and managed services, today announced its acquisition of Wappo Information Services, a Calgary-based provider of IT and cloud solutions. Wappo, founded in 2002, provides small- and medium-sized businesses with IT services and specializes in the Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform. "We are thrilled to have Wappo join the Fully Managed team," said Mark Scott (News - Alert) , CEO of Fully Managed. "Their reputation for customer service, coupled with their Microsoft Azure expertise, helps us create an expanded and deep cloud services practice for our organization-enabling us to deliver the best in digital transformation to our clients." Fully Managed has over 360 employees supporting 2600 customers in North America across three areas of focus: Digital Business : managed IT for businesses and multi-location enterprises : managed IT for businesses and multi-location enterprises Digita Enterprise: dedicated ServiceNow (News - Alert) practice and workflow automation expertise dedicated ServiceNow (News - Alert) practice and workflow automation expertise Digital Health: IT solutions for Senior Care communities "Our customers know we are passionate about technology and about helping businesses succeed," said former Wappo Founder and President, Mathew Campbell. "We know that by joining the Fully Managed family, our customers will continue to receive the same level of service they always have but now will be able to take advantage of an expanded menu of IT services and expertise." "This new addition helps us solidify our position as a digital transformation leader for companies across North America," added Joel Abramson, Chief Strategy Officer and head of corporate development at Fully Managed. "We look forward to further growth and development of our bench strength to deliver more to our customers." About Fully Managed Fully Managed is a leader in digital business transformation and managed services. As a ServiceNow Elite partner, we enable organizations to navigate and excel in the digital-first work world. Our mission is Creating Peace of Mind through better IT, customer and employee experiences to make work flow! View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005141/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Trains off assembly line heading for Egypt From:ChinaDaily | 2021-06-03 14:47 The first of 22 electric multiple units, or EMUs, designed for Egypt's urban rail transit system by China's rolling-stock maker CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co, came off the assembly line on Friday in Qingdao, Shandong province. All the EMUs, each with six cars, are expected to be operating in 2022 in the rail system linking Cairo, the Egyptian capital, with its satellite city, as well as with the country's new administrative capital. It will provide transportation for 5 million local residents. Han Zhengchao, a senior designer for CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co, each of the EMUs has been designed to travel at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour so far the fastest of their type in Egypt. Maximum transport capacity has been set at 2,222 people. The interior of the first electric multiple unit designed for the urban rail transit system in Egypt. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] The design and performance of the EMU are up to international standards, employing high-strength stainless steel material and implementing strict anti-fire measures, Han said. Wind- and sand-resistant systems will cope with tough local conditions, as the rail line will operate in high temperatures, with intense sun and sand, he said. The design and coating of the EMUs were been inspired by Egypt's national flag and emblem, he added. Chinese and Egyptian representatives pose for a photo in the first electric multiple unit designed for the urban rail transit system in Egypt. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] According to CRRC Qingdao Sifang, the first EMU will be transported to Egypt for trial operations soon, and another 21 EMUs are expected to be delivered by the end of this year. The Qingdao-based company is a subsidiary of China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, the country's largest rolling stock manufacturer by production volume. A55 traffic on Tuesday in North Wales busiest since August 2019 Traffic Wales, the Welsh Governments traffic information service has said Tuesday was the busiest day on the A55 since August 2019. With the sunny weather and half-term holiday, the main trunk road through North Wales has seen bumper to bumper traffic since Friday. On Tuesday, Traffic flows at Northop were up by 42 percent compared to the previous week, Traffic Wales said. Long queues formed at the usual pinch points along the trunk road over the bank holiday weekend and into this week. Minor bumps and broken-down vehicles have added to delays. A Traffic Wales spokesperson said: Yesterday was the busiest day on the A55 since 30/08/19. Traffic flows at Northop were up by 42% compared to the previous week. Were thrilled to welcome more people onto the network again but if youre planning a journey please plan ahead and check before you travel. During the same period last year, Wales was in the midst of the first lockdown with non-essential retail still closed. At the end of May 2020, first minister Mark Drakeford announced the stay at home message was to change to stay local and people were advised to stay within five miles of their home. Earlier that month, rules on travel had been relaxed in England with people permitted to drive to other destinations but police in Wales had the power to fine people for making non-essential journeys, including those from England into Wales. Last week the Health Minister encouraged people to holiday in Wales and explore its beauty. Eluned Morgan said: I know people are looking forward to a holiday after the year we have all had, but this is the year to holiday at home and enjoy everything Wales has to offer. I would encourage people to support local businesses in particular in the tourism and hospitality sector which have been hard hit by the pandemic. New analysis has revealed that Tal-y-bont in Gwynedd was the UK coastal town that saw the biggest increase in visits and footfall during the sunshine of the Spring Bank Holiday weekend a rise of 60 percent compared to the three previous weeks. Across England and Wales, the average increase in visits to coastal resorts and beaches for the 2021 Spring Bank Holiday was up almost 49 percent compared to the three weeks beforehand a rise of almost half again. This compares to just 19 percent for the same Bank Holiday in 2019. [June 03, 2021] Relogix Announces Collaboration with Dr. Graham Wills, Predictive Analytics and Machine Learning Expert, To Better Predict Office Space Needs OTTAWA, ON, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ - Relogix and Dr. Graham Wills, (PhD, Statistics) a pioneer in the field of Predictive Analytics and Machine Learning, are joining forces to advance Artificial Intelligence in the field of Corporate Real Estate. Relogix will be the first in the industry to more accurately forecast and predict companies' real estate needs. Companies will potentially save hundreds of millions of real estate spend, year over year with this collaborative innovation between Relogix and Dr. Wills. "Relogix has a significant data set to work with, from years of collecting billions of terabytes of Corporate Real Estate data around the world," says Dr. Wills. "I'm excited to use this data and cutting-edge machine learning techniques to take spatial data research to the next level." With the pandemic, it has become ever more difficult for companies to understand workplace demand for real estate, with everyone working from home and anywhere for the foreseeable future. As people return to the office, understanding the relationship between people and their demand for workspace is a significant challenge for workplace technology leaders in Corporate Real Estate, HR, and IT. "We're making a significant R&D investment to further innovation around forecasting and predictive analytics for Corporate Real Estate," says Andrew Millar, Founder and CEO of Relogix. "We are excited to be wrking with Graham, a pre-eminent researcher in the AI field, and expect our collaboration to leverage advanced machine learning techniques to surface insights like never before." As an outstanding data science leader for over 20 years, Wills is a disruptive innovator, who has been innovating predictive analytics and forecasting for 30 years. Hailing from IBM, Dr. Wills is a well-known researcher in the fields of spatial data exploration and time series monitoring. At IBM, Wills was the lead architect for predictive analytics and machine learning in IBM's Data and AI group, and led the development of major advances including intelligent automatic forecasting, natural language data insights, anomaly detection and key driver identification. About Graham Wills, PhD: Graham's passion is analyzing data and designing capabilities that help others do the same with their data. His focus is on creating software systems that allow non-experts to draw conclusions safely and efficiently from predictive and machine learning models, and thus enhance the value of their data. Graham has authored over 60 publications, including a book in the Springer statistical series, and has chaired or presented at numerous international statistical and knowledge discovery conferences. His patents span visualization, spatial analysis, semantic knowledge, and associated AI domains. Graham believes that the goal of AI is to give professionals the assistance they need to make great decisions from their data, and that CRE is an ideal domain in which to introduce new AI and Machine Learning capabilities to revolutionize the marketplace. About Andrew Millar, CEO: Andrew's mission is to turn data into valuable outcomes. With over 20 years as a corporate real estate solutions and insights provider, Relogix founder and CRE veteran, Andrew Millar, recognized the need for technology in the CRE industry. He founded Relogix out of a need to create solutions to help organizations evolve their workspace and get high quality data to drive strategic decision making. Andrew believes that the key to evolving workspace and strategic planning lies in data science. Just like the workplace, data science is progressive: it is a journey of perpetual discovery, refinement, and adaptation. Andrew has since created proprietary sensor technology with the needs of corporate real estate in mind technology created for CRE professionals by CRE professionals. About Relogix: Trusted by top Corporate Real Estate professionals who need to make data-driven business decisions to inform their real estate strategy and measure impact. Our flexible workplace insights platform and state-of-the-art IoT occupancy sensors are proven to transform the workplace experience. We're always looking for the next innovation in workplace technology, leveraging two decades of CRE and analytics expertise to help our clients understand and optimize their global real estate portfolios. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/relogix-announces-collaboration-with-dr-graham-wills-predictive-analytics-and-machine-learning-expert-to-better-predict-office-space-needs-301305346.html SOURCE Relogix Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Creating New Value Together: Huawei Launches Financial Partner Going-Global Program SHANGHAI, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Huawei announced its Financial Partner Go Global Program (FPGGP) at the Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit 2021. FPGGP will collaborate with exciting new partners who wish to work with Huawei in the financial services industry. This global ecosystem will draw on their combined experience and expertise in technical innovation to drive digital transformation of finance. Together, they will develop industry-leading solutions, expand the global market, build the FinTech business ecosystem, create new value, and achieve shared business success. Developing industry insights, improving services, and enabling collaboration At the summit, Mr. Ma Yue, Executive Vice President of Enterprise BG and President of the Global Partner Development and Sales Dept, Huawei, said, "Consumer finance is developing towards full-scenario finance, which requires a cross-industry, full-scenario, and three-dimensional ecosystem After launching FPGGP, Huawei will work with global competent partners who are capable and willing to target international market expansion and establishing close partnerships to develop a strategy moving forward. Through our new partnerships, we will address digital transformation challenges, serve global financial customers, and create new value in the industry." FPGGP enables new efficiencies and shared benefits The initial FPGGP has 25 members, including seven on the board of directors from Huawei, Sunline, Tongdun Technology, Netis, Wallyt, Sinosoft, and Chinasoft International. The program will focus on policies and regulations, application scenarios, technical architecture, operational support, as well as collaboration and promotion. In addition, FPGGP members enjoy Huawei's six core partner benefits, which include: sharing business opportunities, capacity improvement, marketing, brand growth, support in investment and financing, and operational guidance, promoting joint efforts and shared success among Huawei and partners. Member enterprises will be able to leverage each other's insights, share resources, and collaborate closely to succeed together. Huawei will also host several activities related to financial digital transformation across China to discuss relevant trends and strategies to 'go-global' with the industry. Ambitious enterprises with an eye for international growth are welcome to join FPGGP. Huawei alone cannot build the foundation of the digital world and so, collaboration is critical. For digital transformation, companies need to work together to survive and grow. Huawei will create and share value with partners and customers. At the end of 2020, Huawei had worked with more than 30,000 partners in the enterprise market, but the company doesn't want to stop there. Huawei continues to grow by nurturing, motivating and supporting new partners in what is a shared goal: creating new value together. At the end of 2020, Huawei worked with over 2,000 financial institutions from more than 60 countries and regions, including 47 of the world's top 100 banks. About the Intelligent Finance Summit For more information about Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit 2021, please visit: https://e.huawei.com/topic/2021-event-fsi-summit/en/index.html SOURCE Huawei [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] SmartDV Announces Support for ARINC Standards with Design and Verification IP SAN JOSE, Calif., June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SmartDV Technologies , the leader in Design and Verification Intellectual Property (IP), today announced support of the ARINC standards with its Design and Verification IP. ARINC standards describe avionics, cabin systems, protocols and interfaces used by air transport and business aircraft. Currently, SmartDVs Design IP is compliant with the ARINC 664 standard. Its Verification IP is compliant with ARINC 419, 429, 664, 818 and 825 standards. Engineers designing avionics equipment without exception require high-quality Design and Verification IP, notes Deepak Kumar Tala, managing director of SmartDV. When they partner with SmartDV, they can be assured of a complete IP solution for their design and verification needs backed by an experienced R&D team and exceptional customer support. Design IP SmartDVs high-quality, highly configurable and silicon-proven Design IP is pre-verified and delivered in Verilog source code. The comprehensive solution includes lint, clock domain crossing, synthesis, simulation scripts with waiver files and documentation. Verification IP An extensive Verification IP portfolio offered by SmartDV is used in hundreds of networking, storage, automotive, bus, MIPI and display chip projects to verify and debug designs quickly, easily and more effectively. The Verification IP is compatible with all verification languages, platforms and methodologies supporting all simulation, emulation and formal verification tools used in a overage-driven chip design verification flow. SmartDVs proprietary, automated compiler-based technology ensures quick delivery of its offerings compliant with ARINC standards and other protocol specifications for new or evolving applications. It also comes with SmartDVs Automation Tool Suite that provides rapid testbench generation and visual protocol debugging. Availability and Pricing The SmartDV Design and Verification IP portfolio for ARINC standards is available now. Pricing is available upon request. Email requests for more information should be sent to sales@Smart-DV.com. About SmartDV SmartDV Technologies offers the largest portfolio of Design and Verification Intellectual Property (IP) used by more than 200 customers worldwide, including seven of the top 10 semiconductor companies and four of the largest consumer electronics companies. It supports market segments and protocols as diverse as mobile and 5G, networking and SoC, automotive and serial bus, storage, video and defense and aerospace. With more than 600 products in its portfolio, SmartDV covers the design flow with Design IP and Verification IP for use in simulation, emulation, formal and post-silicon validation and memory modeling. SmartDV has the best customer service with more than 250 experienced ASIC and SoC design and verification engineers, a global footprint and local sales offices. Its technical support is available 24 hours a day seven days a week. SmartDV is headquartered in Bangalore, India, with U.S. headquarters in San Jose, Calif. Connect with SmartDV at: Website: www.Smart-DV.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/smartdv-technologies/about/ Twitter: @SmartDV For more information, contact: Nanette Collins Public Relations for SmartDV (617) 437-1822 nanette@nvc.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] CRTC seeks views on the establishment of a three-digit number for mental health crisis and suicide prevention services OTTAWA, ON and GATINEAU, QC, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ - The CRTC is inviting all interested persons to comment on whether there is a need for a three-digit number, such as the 9-8-8 three digit code in the United States, for a national mental health crisis and suicide prevention service. The CRTC is examining the advantages, challenges and costs associated with the deployment of this three-digit number. Among other considerations, and consistent with its role, the CRTC is seeking information on the following questions: Should the CRTC establish a national three-digit number for mental health crisis and suicide prevention services? How much time would it take to implement a national three-digit number? Should a three-digit number be deployed across Canada at the same time or phased in? Should the caller's location information be captured automatically when dialing the three-digit number? Should Canadians be able to send text messages directly to the three-digit number? The CRTC is welcoming comments until September 1, 2021. Canadians can participate by: filling out the online form; writing to the Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario K1A ON2; or K1A ON2; or sending a fax to (819) 994-0218. Quotes "With physical distancing measures in place, the pandemic's impact on mental health is even more apparent throughout the country. Suicide-related calls, texts and chats have increased across Canada. We are asking Canadians and other interested parties for information to better understand the advantages and challenges associated with implementing a three-digit number for mental health crisis and suicide prevention services, and how any challenges can be overcome." - Ian Scott, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, CRTC Quick facts There are approximately 4,000 deaths by suicide in Canada every year, which represent approximately 10 deaths every day. Some populations are at a significantly higher risk, including men, youth, those aged 45 to 59, and certain Indigenous communities. every year, which represent approximately 10 deaths every day. Some populations are at a significantly higher risk, including men, youth, those aged 45 to 59, and certain Indigenous communities. The CRTC's role in establishing three-digit numbers is limited to administering phone numbers and requiring telecommunications service providers to implement this three-digit number across Canada. The CRTC does not have authority over the organizations that provide emergency services via a three-digit number. This is why this consultation will not examin matters related to the governance and coordination of organizations providing mental health crisis and suicide prevention services, as well as the funding of those organizations. In the meantime, Canadians experiencing mental health distress can obtain assistance by dialing toll-free 1-833-456-4566. Residents of Quebec are encouraged to call 1-866-APPELLE. Ask a question or make a complaint Stay Connected Follow us on Twitter @CRTCeng Like us on Facebook SOURCE Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission [June 03, 2021] Subcontractor Reviews and Payment Histories Now Available on Levelset NEW ORLEANS, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Levelset, the leading provider of software services that improve payment and compliance for construction firms, today announced the launch of Subcontractor Payment Profiles. For the first time, general contractors and material suppliers will be able to read performance reviews, obtain project histories and get payment rankings on more than 23,000 subcontractors throughout the U.S. "Working with new subcontractors has historically been a coin toss. General contractors and material suppliers have traditionally resorted to word of mouth to find the best subs and that doesn't always end well," said Scott Wolfe Jr., CEO of Levelset. "With this new feature, we're taking the guesswork and stress out of the equation, increasing industry transparency and arming contractors and suppliers with the tools to assess risk and protect cash flow." In addition to performance reviews, project histories and payment rankings, Subcontractor Payment Profiles include contact details, license and bond information, payment data from recent construction jobs, preferred payment paperwork (e.g., Waivers, PayApps, Notices) and a portal to request documents or payment from the subcontractor. The data and content used to populate the profiles comes from Levelset's expansive database of millions of construction projects vetted reviews from construction companies that have utilized the respective contractor's services and industry data. Subcontractor Payment Profiles join Levelset's more than 37,000 General Contractor Payment Profiles, together providing additional transparency and insight into the construction industry. Both platforms provide businesses with not only the ability to assess risk but also to showcase their own business' track record and reputation, ultimately elevating them up to the top of the search results page. To build a business profile, contractors need to claim their Payment Profile and share it with suppliers and general contractors they've worked with who can add information about their work with the business. Reviews are anonymous to the public but verified through an internal process to ensure their validity, and all ratings and reviews are monitored and must meet community guidelines. All profile owners are also encouraged to respond to any negative reviews. All of the data and information is free and available to the public. In addition to being a valuable asset for general contractors, credit managers can reference Subcontractor Payment Profiles to help them evaluate subcontractors' creditworthiness and mitigate risk. "Being able to do additional research on a new client before we open a line of credit and see if they pay their bills has been a helpful improvement to our credit approval process," said Rachel Sales, Senior Director of Financial Services at SRS Distribution in McKinney, Texas. "Subcontractor Payment Profiles will further allow us to reduce our risk in extending credit, be proactive in managing customers and grow our business with confidence." About Levelset: Levelset's mission is to empower contractors to always get what they earn. Levelset's products help millions in the construction industry each year to make payment paperwork and compliance easier, get cash faster, monitor the risk on jobs and contractors, and better understand payment processes and rules. The results are faster payments, access to capital, and fewer surprises. Backed by investors like Horizons Ventures, S3 Ventures, Altos Ventures, Operating Venture Capital, and Brick & Mortar Ventures, Levelset is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, with offices in Austin, Texas, and Cairo, Egypt, and has over 200 employees. Learn more at www.levelset.com. Media Contact: Bianca D'Angelo (203) 577-7588 (Direct) bianca@newswire.com www.Newswire.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/subcontractor-reviews-and-payment-histories-now-available-on-levelset-301305368.html SOURCE Levelset [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Lex Machina Releases 2021 Copyright and Trademark Litigation Report MENLO PARK, Calif., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Lex Machina and LexisNexis release their Copyright and Trademark Litigation Report looking at copyright and trademark litigation trends in federal district court. It focuses on the three-year period of 2018 to 2020 and includes data about massive filers in federal court. "There is a unique trend in these two areas where law firms filing certain types of cases dominate our lists because of the massive amount of filing they do," said Rachel Bailey, Lex Machina's Copyright and Trademark Legal Data Expert and author of the report. "In copyright, these were firms filing file sharing cases and cases filed by the Liebowitz Law Firm. In trademark, these were firms filing mass counterfeiting cases." Findings from the report include: Copyright filings peaked in 2015 and 2018 due to large numbers of file sharing cases. There was a drop-off in filings between 2019 and 2020, likely due to the pandemic, as well as a drop-off in case filings by the Liebowitz Law Firm. The top two copyright plaintiffs, Strike 3 Holdings, LLC and Malibu Media, LLC are adult film companies accusing defendants of pirating their content. The most active plaintiffs' law firm in copyright cases was Fox Rothschild with 1,993 cases, due to a large number of file sharing cases filed on behalf of Strike 3 Holdings, LLC in 2018. The most active defendants' law firm in copyright cases was David Wright Tremaine , which defended 208 copyright lawsuits in the last three years. , which defended 208 copyright lawsuits in the last three years. While trademark case filings generally held steady between 2017 and 2019, they had the lowest number of filings of the last decade in 2020 with 3,778 cases (a 14% decrease from the year before). As policies and strategies have changed, federal dilution claims have dropped 59% in the last decade and cybersquatting claims have dropped 50%. The Northern District of Illinois , with 1,475 cases, was the most active district for trademark cases due to the large number of mass counterfeiting cases filed there. , with 1,475 cases, was the most active district for trademark cases due to the large number of mass counterfeiting cases filed there. The top two trademark plaintiffs were Sream Inc. and Roor International BV, which are often co-plaintiffs in lawsuits alleging infringement of their ROOR brand glass water pipes. The most active plaintiffs' law firm in trademark cases was Greer, Burns & Crain with 578 cases, which filed a large number of mass counterfeiting cases in the Northern District of Illinois . The most active defendants' law firm in trademark cases was Covington Burling with 129 cases, because it was the defense counsel in the opioid cases in the Northern District of Ohio . . The most active defendants' law firm in trademark cases was with 129 cases, because it was the defense counsel in the opioid cases in the Northern District of . Copyright cases terminated with a settlement 82% of the time, one of the largest proportions of settlements in any Lex Machina practice area. On the other hand, trademark cases only resolved with a setlement 56% of the time due to the high number of default judgments (15% of cases resolved with a default judgment). practice area. On the other hand, trademark cases only resolved with a setlement 56% of the time due to the high number of default judgments (15% of cases resolved with a default judgment). Findings and damages on default are extremely common in these practice areas. In the last three years, nearly $2.3 billion in statutory damages under the Copyright Act and $4.9 billion in statutory damages under the Lanham act were awarded on default. Lex Machina's reports and software enable practitioners to devise data-driven litigation strategies. The metrics in this report may help readers decide who to pursue as clients, whether to pursue a particular motion, or when to settle. This research supplements traditional legal research and anecdotal data for a competitive edge in litigation. Register here for a copy of the report: https://pages.lexmachina.com/2021-Copyright-Trademark-Report_LP.html Copyright and Trademark Report Webcast Lex Machina is hosting a webcast to discuss the report on June 3, 2021 at noon ET/9am PT with Doug Panzer, Partner at Caesar Rivise, and Patrick Arnold, Shareholder at McAndrews, in conversation with report author Rachel Bailey and host Neil Magenheim. Register for the event or view a recording: https://pages.lexmachina.com/Copyright-and-Trademark-Litigation-Report-Webcast-2021_LP.html About LexisNexis Legal & Professional LexisNexis Legal & Professional is a leading global provider of legal, regulatory and business information and analytics that help customers increase productivity, improve decision-making and outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis and Nexis services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 160 countries with 10,400 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. About Lex Machina Lex Machina fundamentally changes how companies and law firms compete in the business and practice of law. The company provides strategic insights on judges, lawyers, law firms, parties, and other critical information across 17 federal practice areas and a rapidly growing number of state courts. Lex Machina allows law firms and companies to predict the behaviors and outcomes that different legal strategies will produce, enabling them to win cases and close business. Lex Machina was named "2021 Legal Technology Trailblazer" (National Law Journal Trailblazer Awards, 2021), Winner of the "Media Excellence" Award for Analytics/Big Data (13th Annual Media Excellence Award, 2021), "Best Decision Management Solution" (AI Breakthrough Awards, 2019), and "Disruptor of the Year" (Changing Lawyer Awards, 2019). Based in Silicon Valley, Lex Machina is part of LexisNexis, a leading global provider of legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics. For more information, please visit www.lexmachina.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lex-machina-releases-2021-copyright-and-trademark-litigation-report-301304359.html SOURCE Lex Machina [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Customers Bank Expands Fund Financing Focus With Strategic Hires Customers Bank, a digital forward super-community bank with approximately $18.8 billion in assets, has hired Joseph M. Pennini as Managing Director and Head of Fund Finance. Pennini will expand the bank's private equity lending practice and grow its treasury services business as part of its continued national expansion effort. "We are delighted to have Joe lead the bank's coverage of Private Equity and Hedge Fund clients. Customers Bank is making a targeted effort to expand its Fund Finance business and, at the same time, deepen relationships with existing clients," said Lyle Cunningham, Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer at Customers Bank. "This market is underserved and is an area of strategic growth for the bank. We look forward to leveraging Joe's extensive experience, knowledge and industry contacts as we continue to expand our portfolio of commercial banking services." For over 30 years, Pennini has held various investment banking and corporate banking roles at bulge bracket banks, including J.P.Morgan's Global Corporate & Bank, where he launched Global Corporate Banking coverage of Alternative Asset Managers. Pennini reports to Cunningham. Marya Savola is joining Pennini's Fund Finance team as Vice President and Credit Portfolio Manager. Savola brings more than 20 years of investment and commercial anking experience to the team. Prior to joining Customers Bank, she served as a Relationship Manager within J.P. Morgan's FIG Funds Group. Rounding out the team is Oleg Karaman. Karaman, who joined Customers Bank as a Senior Vice President in 2018, has over 15 years of commercial banking and treasury service sales experience. Karaman is responsible for Treasury Services origination and relationship management. Recently, Customers Bank announced a national expansion of its private and commercial banking teams as the bank continues to build upon its national recognition for providing innovative banking products and services to commercial clients. The national expansion included opening new commercial banking offices in Dallas, TX, Orlando, FL, and an increase of the bank's Midwest presence, based in Chicago. To learn more about Customers Bank and its products and services, visit www.customersbank.com. About Customers Bank Customers Bank, a subsidiary of Customers Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:CUBI) a bank holding company, is a full-service super-community bank with assets of approximately $18.8 billion at March 31, 2021. A member of the Federal Reserve System with deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Customers Bank is an equal opportunity lender that provides a range of banking and lending services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, individuals and families. Services and products are available wherever permitted by law through digital-first apps, online portals, and a network of offices and branches. Additional information can be found on the company's website, www.customersbank.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005715/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Corel Announces Prashant Ketkar as Chief Technology and Product Officer OTTAWA, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Corel Corporation announces the appointment of Prashant Ketkar as Chief Technology and Product Officer. Ketkar brings more than two decades of experience driving software and cloud innovation, most recently serving as Senior Vice President (SVP) of Product & Engineering at Resolve Systems and previously holding leadership roles at Evident.io, Oracle and Microsoft. As the world adjusts to the new reality of remote work, businesses are demanding software that can break down roadblocks to productivity, capture the collective power of their teams, and protect them from ever-increasing security threats. Corels trusted solutions are uniquely suited to meet these needs head on, presenting a remarkable growth opportunity before us, said Christa Quarles, CEO of Corel. I am thrilled to have Prashants vision and experience in creating industry-leading products and cloud solutions join our team as we set the future direction of our product lines, customer experience and acquisition strategy. With incredible brands like CorelDRAW, MindManager, Parallels and WinZip, Corel's portfolio not only enables customers to thrive in todays environment, but also offers an incredible wellspring of future innovation, said Prashant Ketkar, Chief Technology and Product Officer at Corel. Our products are at an inflection point and Im excited to lead this transformation as we harness the strengths of these impressive applications, the power of the cloud, and the unprecedented momentum of remote work to deliver a new generation of technologies to empower knowledge workers and creative customers. Biography: Prashant Ketkar, Chief Technology and Product Officer, Corel Prashant Ketkar serves as Chief Technology and Product Officer, leading the companys product and engineering operations that drive the continuous evolution and transformatin of Corels product portfolio. With more than two decades of experience building and managing software products and cloud services, Prashant most recently served as Senior Vice President (SVP) of Product & Engineering at Resolve Systems and previously as Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) at Madrona Venture Labs where he incubated ideas in the robotic process automation space. Prior to this, he held the role of SVP of Product at Evident.io until the companys acquisition by Palo Alto Networks in 2018. Prashant served as VP of Development at Oracle, setting up the companys Seattle R&D operations and heading its public cloud infrastructure efforts, and was an early product lead for Azure at Microsoft where he was responsible for core infrastructure services leading to Azures launch in 2009. Prashant has also held product roles at Sun Microsystems and Tata Elxsi. Prashant has a Bachelors Degree in Electronics Engineering from the University of Mumbai and an MBA from the Asian Institute of Management. About Corel Corel products enable millions of connected knowledge workers around the world to do great work faster. Offering some of the industry's best-known software brands, we give individuals and teams the power to create, collaborate and deliver impressive results. Our success is driven by an unwavering commitment to deliver a broad portfolio of innovative tools to inspire users and help them achieve their goals. Our Parallels solutions enable workers to use and access the applications and files they need across their favorite devices and preferred technology whether local or remote. Cloud-based collaboration capabilities in CorelDRAW and MindManager streamline the sharing of ideas and connect team members no matter where theyre located. While WinZip encryption, file management and compression solutions deliver secure file sharing across email, a network or the cloud. To learn more about Corel, please visit www.corel.com. 2021 Corel Corporation. All rights reserved. Corel, the Corel logo, the Corel Balloon logo, CorelDRAW, MindManager, and WinZip are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation in Canada, the U.S., and/or elsewhere. Parallels is a trademark or registered trademark of Parallels International GmbH in Canada, the U.S., and elsewhere. All other company, product and service names, logos, brands, and any registered or unregistered trademarks mentioned are used for identification purposes only and remain the exclusive property of their respective owners. Use of any brands, names, logos, or any other information, imagery, or materials pertaining to a third party does not imply endorsement. We disclaim any proprietary interest in such third-party information, imagery, materials, marks, and names of others. For all notices and information about patents, please visit www.corel.com/patent. Media Contact Jessica Gould Corel PR jessica.gould@corel.com www.corel.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/26019564-bc51-4d6c-9f36-b395bf395c8f [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] MiX Telematics invests in the future of science and technology with donation STELLENBOSCH, South Africa, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MiX Telematics (JSE: MIX, NYSE: MIXT), a leading global SaaS provider of connected fleet management solutions, recently made a noteworthy donation to TRAC South Africa in support of the advancement of ICT within the Western Cape Province. TRAC is a national programme of the Stellenbosch University that aims to eradicate poverty through offering support to learners in applied mathematics, science and technology education. This donation to TRAC included awarding top-performing students within the programme with laptops to further aid their studies within ICT. All beneficiaries are from underprivileged backgrounds, so a new laptop is an important and meaningful aid that will help them successfully complete their studies and thereby positively impact the industry as a whole by paving the way for talented individuals. "MiX Telematics is proud to continue its commitment towards helping TRAC recipients that have performed well in their stdies. This donation further exemplifies our ongoing pledge to further the knowledge base within the ICT sector through donations such as this one," says Catherine Lewis, Executive Vice President Technology, MiX Telematics. Learn more about TRAC SA here. About MiX Telematics MiX Telematics is a leading global provider of fleet and mobile asset management solutions delivered as SaaS to 750,000 global subscribers spanning more than 120 countries. The company's products and services provide enterprise fleets, small fleets and consumers with solutions for efficiency, safety, compliance and security. MiX Telematics was founded in 1996 and has offices in South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uganda, Brazil, Mexico, Australia and the United Arab Emirates as well as a network of more than 130 fleet partners worldwide. MiX Telematics shares are publicly traded on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE: MIX) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MIXT). For more information, visit www.mixtelematics.com. For further information, contact: Melanie Esterhuizen, Brand and Communications Manager (International), Melanie.esterhuizen@mixtelematics.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mix-telematics-invests-in-the-future-of-science-and-technology-with-donation-301305383.html SOURCE MiX Telematics [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Ameresco to Participate at Upcoming June Conferences Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC), a leading cleantech integrator specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy, today announced that members of its management team will attend the following investor conferences: On June 3, 2021, Ameresco's Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Doran Hole, will present at the William Blair's 41st Annual Growth Stock Conference at 10:40am ET. Ameresco's management will also host virtual investor meetings throughout the day. On June 10, 2021, Ameresco's Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Doran Hole, will present at the Stifel 2021 Virtual Cross Sector Insight Conference at 12:00pm ET. Ameresco's management will also ost virtual investor meetings throughout the day. On June 21, 2021, Ameresco's Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Doran Hole, will host investor meetings at the ROTH Virtual London Conference. About Ameresco, Inc. Founded in 2000, Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC) is a leading cleantech integrator and renewable energy asset developer, owner and operator. Our comprehensive portfolio includes energy efficiency, infrastructure upgrades, asset sustainability and renewable energy solutions delivered to clients throughout North America and the United Kingdom. Ameresco's sustainability services in support of clients' pursuit of Net Zero include upgrades to a facility's energy infrastructure and the development, construction, and operation of distributed energy resources. Ameresco has successfully completed energy saving, environmentally responsible projects with Federal, state and local governments, healthcare and educational institutions, housing authorities, and commercial and industrial customers. With its corporate headquarters in Framingham, MA, Ameresco has more than 1,000 employees providing local expertise in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.ameresco.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005763/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Coleg Cambria tops medal table at pan-Wales FE skills tournament Coleg Cambria has topped the medal table at pan-Wales FE skills tournament. The college won a staggering 36 medals at the virtual Skills Competition Wales more than any other FE institution in the country. Learners took home 14 gold, 12 silver and 10 bronze awards, to the delight of Cambrias Chief Executive, Yana Williams. Every year we raise the bar, demonstrating the talent and skill of our students, she said. This is a fantastic result; I am so proud of all those who took part and represented Coleg Cambria with such pride and passion. The standards were very high so for them to come out on top is a terrific achievement and lays the foundation for their future careers. Funded by the Welsh Government, Skills Competition Wales is aligned to Worldskills UK and focuses on growth areas and the needs of the economy. Among the subjects the college excelled in were Health and Social Care, Horticulture, Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering, Childcare, CNC Milling, Mechatronics, the Manufacturing Team Challenge, Welding, Construction Metal Work, and Inclusive Skills: Automotive Technology. This success follows recent wins in categories including Beauty Therapy, Hairdressing, Business Enterprise, Laboratory Technician and IT and Cyber Security. Learner Experience and Enterprise Manager Rona Griffiths paid tribute to the students and staff who worked so hard to achieve these results. This is just a glimpse of the hard work, resilience and ambition demonstrated this year by everyone involved, she said. We had more than 150 learners register for Skills Competitions Wales all supported by our amazing staff and their efforts have been rewarded. For us to finish top of the medal table once again is testament to the value we place on vocational qualifications, skills and providing young people with a platform to excel congratulations to you all. Coleg Cambria has sites in Wrexham, Deeside, Northop and Llysfasi. Visit www.cambria.ac.uk for more news and information from the college. For more on Skills Competition Wales, visit www.inspiringskills.gov.wales/ skills-competition-wales [June 03, 2021] CentralReach Acquires Behaviorsoft, a Fast-Growing End-To-End EMR Platform Catering to the Needs of Small Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy Providers Fort Lauderdale, FL, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CentralReach, the leading provider of electronic medical record (EMR) software and services for ABA and related behavioral health providers, today announced the acquisition of Behaviorsoft, a software company specialized in end-to-end, practice management and clinical management solutions for startup and small applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy practices. The acquisition further bolsters CentralReachs position as the market leader with solutions that are designed to fit the needs of every segment of the fast-growing market. Behaviorsoft offers an intuitive digital platform that is easy to learn, allowing startups and small therapy practices to get started quickly and scale effortlessly, while also providing a direct path for those that outgrow Behaviorsofts feature set to migrate to CentralReachs market-leading enterprise platform designed for larger, multi-location organizations. With strong retention and customer success rates, Behaviorsoft has a proven track record of enabling small business customers to automate and digitize their practice management and clinical tasks quickly while also satisfying the ever-growing compliance and regulatory requirements of the industry. We are thrilled to welcome the Behaviorsoft team and its co-founders, Carlos Horcasitas and Hector Gonzalez, to CentralReach, said CentralReach CEO Chris Sullens. The small therapy practice market is growing rapidly driven by expansion in the number of new Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) as well as existing BCBAs branching out to start their own practices, a trend accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. What Carlos and Hector have built is an excellent fit for this market. While intuitive and easyto learn, the Behaviorsoft product is also EVV-compliant, supports Spanish and English clients, is integrated with the market-leading clearinghouse Change Healthcare, and offers an optional workflow for practices that also provide Community Mental Health services. Sullens goes on to say, We plan to operate Behaviorsoft as an independent division within CentralReach, with Carlos, Hector, and team leading this new division to ensure the client experience remains the same post-acquisition while also benefiting from increased investment from CentralReach that Behaviorsoft was not able to make as a small, independent organization. Those investments will be focused on expanding the Behaviorsoft team and integrating relevant CentralReach products and services, including its outcomes-based curricula - CR Elements, its continuing education library and learning management system - CR Institute, and other products and services. The addition of Behaviorsoft will enable us to truly serve the needs of this fast growing and important market while freeing our enterprise roadmap to accelerate unique features critical to the success of the hundreds of mid-market and enterprise clients we serve today. Horcasitas, who will assume the position of Senior Director and General Manager of Behaviorsoft at CentralReach, added: Combining Behaviorsofts specialized solution with CentralReachs industry-leading platform is a game-changer for our customers. With the backing and investment of CentralReach, we are even more well-equipped to serve our small and growing practices with the right solutions to help them optimize and automate all of their painful and manual ABA tasks and streamline clinical care and practice operations. We couldnt think of a better fit than CentralReach to help propel Behaviorsofts solution to the next level. For more information about CentralReach, visit www.centralreach.com. Additional information about Behaviorsoft can be found at www.behaviorsoft.com. About CentralReach CentralReach is a leading provider of EMR, practice management and clinical solutions that enable applied behavior analysis (ABA) and related behavioral health practices to deliver quality autism care for superior outcomes. The company is revolutionizing the ABA space with cutting-edge solutions including precision teaching, clinical data collection, scheduling, billing, learning management, fully-digital evidence-based programming and more. Trusted by more than 100,000 clinicians and educators, CentralReach is committed to ongoing product improvement, market-leading industry expertise, world-class client satisfaction, and support of the ABA community to propel industry practitioners into a new era of excellence. For more information, please visit CentralReach.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Lernard Freeman CentralReach pr@centralreach.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Nucleus Research Q2 2021 Equity Snapshot: Zoom Nucleus Research, an independent research firm providing ROI-focused technology research services to both vendors and consumers, has published its Q2 2021 Equity Snapshot for Zoom. As employees transition back into the office working full-time or hybrid, Zoom's cloud-based platform for video and audio conferencing, text chat and webinars are not leaving the workplace. The Equity Snapshot highlights what is positioning Zoom's success and threats from their competitors of Google (News - Alert) and Microsoft alike. The company known for supporting unique gatherings like digital events, town halls, roadshows, trainings, etc., has been their advantage in the market by helping businesses support their internal and external communications. "Zoom's will have to work hard to keep small business users who have a few business licenses," said Nucleus Analyst, Trevor White. "While the thrat of cheaper alternatives who offer competitive pricing hang over Zoom, their strong performance this year and recognition in the market retains their customer loyalty for new market conditions to come." While Trevor recognizes a need from customers to return to pre-pandemic communications such as phone calls and in-person collaborations, Zoom faces the threat of fatigue from users, greater price sensitivity and usage decrease. As a result, Zoom changing its infrastructure, such as new phone services for the next few months to come. The vendors current pricing pressure means that we anticipate a response to the new market conditions imposed as the organization plans to accommodate their enterprise customer. To download the full Q2 2021 Equity Snapshot for Zoom, click here. About Nucleus Research Nucleus Research is a global provider of investigative, case-based technology research and advisory services. The company's ROI-focused research approach provides unique insight into the actual results technology solutions deliver, allowing organizations to cut through marketing hype to understand real operational value and select or renew the best technology solution for their environment. For more information, visit NucleusResearch.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005846/en/ [June 03, 2021] Hello Network supports Quebec City's economic recovery MONTREAL, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ - Hello Network, a Quebec-based fintech that specializes in customer acquisition tools, is pleased to announce that its solution has been selected to support the "Book in Quebec City and receive a $75 gift card" program. On May 27, the City of Quebec, in partnership with the Quebec Government, announced a post-pandemic economic recovery initiative aimed at encouraging tourism. Visitors who book a 2-night stay in a participating hotel will receive a $75 gift card redeemable at more than 2,000 businesses in the region. An innovative solution that offers unprecedented visibility Using the Hello Visa prepaid card is very simple. When consumers get their card, they just have to present it in stores or use it on the transactional websites of participating merchants. It's much more than a traditional gift card; it is reloadable and reusable. Also, in addition to acting as a tangible incentive for tourists, the use of a Hello card provides benefits to merchants and program partners. "Our solution allows us to track transactions with surgical precision. We can see exactly how much was spent at each business," said Hugues Mailhot Vice President of Hello Network. "While this type of visibility may seem basic, it wasn't possible in the past. This feature is one of the reasons why the City of Quebec chose our solution. Money needs to be directed to the right places so that the city's business, attractions and restaurants can get back on their feetand this is exactly what the City of Quebec and its financial partners want to achieve." As an added benefit, businesses don't need special technology nor any integration efforts to participate in the program. Meeting a critical need "Several studies, including some that date quite a while back, have found that consumers do not like and no longer want to use paper coupons or QR code applications," added Francois Plamondon, President of Hello Network. "When using such, retailers are facing logistical and management challenges to obtain results that are difficult to measure and often inaccurate. They also need to protect themselves against fraud. I firmly believe that technology should serve both consumers and retailers, not just one or the other and be simple to use for both. This vision is what prompted us to create the Hello solution." About Hello Network Hello Network is a custom payment solution that's recognized across the industry for being easy to use for in-person and online transactions, without requiring merchants to adopt special technologies. Since Hello can be used to create turnkey local currency cards, activation campaigns or loyalty programs, it's a solution in the truest sense of the word. More information about Hello Network : https://www.hellonetwork.ca/ More information about the "Book in Quebec City and receive a $75 gift card" initiative is available at: https://www.quebec-cite.com/en/gift-card-second-night SOURCE Hello Network inc [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] The Classroom Door (TCD) Launches Global Educational Platform Bringing Together Expert Tutors, Advisors And Proprietary College Counseling Content MIAMI, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ -- The Classroom Door (TCD) , a comprehensive global educational platform and tutoring marketplace that provides access to world-class tutors, certified teachers and advisors as well as proprietary college counseling content is set to launch today. Founded by Nikki Geula, a pioneer in the college consulting and tutoring industry, The Classroom Door's (TCD) mission is to democratize the elite tutoring and college application process, and make expertise available to all regardless of economic status. Leveraging an elite group of over 1,500 vetted, world class tutors from leading universities including Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, and Oxford, TCD offers expert tutoring and college advising to students starting at $15 an hour. The Classroom Door launches with 1,500 expert tutors from Harvard , Yale , MIT , Stanford , Oxford and more offering tutoring & college advising starting at $15 /hr. TCD was established to fill a void for affordable, quality tutoring, transparent college counseling, and customized educational consulting. Geula spent over 25 years operating and building Arete Educational Consulting into one of the world's premier college advising and tutoring companies. Over the past two decades, she has worked with the children of Fortune 500 CEOs, renowned entrepreneurs, and celebrities, helping them not only ge into their top choices, but making sure they thrived once there. Geula's students consistently gain entry into top institutions including Harvard, Yale, Brown, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, MIT, Williams, Cambridge, and Oxford. "The pandemic-caused disruption in education is devastating, and I am committed to mitigating the academic impact on students of all ages and all socio-economic groups," Geula says. "I established TCD to fill a void for affordable, quality tutoring, transparent college counseling, and customized content and educational consulting. My commitment is to make expertise, typically reserved for just privileged students, available to all." For every 100 hours of tutoring booked, TCD's scholarship program will provide an hour free to an underserved student. TCD, an entirely woman-owned company, benefits from both Geula's leadership, and that of her director of educational content, Dan Scolnic, a Hubble and KICP Fellow at The Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics at The University of Chicago and a professor of astrophysics at Duke University. COLLEGE COUNSELING GUIDE In an era when there is a need for greater transparency in the college counseling process, Geula and her team have developed 30 proprietary subscription lessons focused entirely on the college application process. TCD's self-guided lessons cover all aspects of the college admissions process, including how to write the perfect essay, applying for financial aid, building a college list, and determining which standardized tests students should take. TCD offers insider tips on what college admissions teams are looking for, and specific insights about getting into Ivy League schools, HBCUs, and women's colleges. Typically, college counseling packages with top advisors can cost upwards of tens of thousands of dollars. TCD offers a $29.99 monthly subscription or $189.00 annually. In addition to one-on-one tutoring and academic advising, The Classroom Door will offer a machine learning program called: 10,000 Questions designed by Scolnic, to help students fill gaps in their math/STEM education. TCD plans to launch virtual group classes as well as a Global Lecture Hall Series where thought leaders will live stream lectures on cutting edge topics. One-on-one tutoring and group classes range from kindergarten enrichment to standardized test prep (SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, MCAT, etc.), ESL and other language learning, STEM, and academic subject tutoring from pre-K through graduate school. For more information, to book a tutor/advisor/certified teacher, or to sign up for college counseling lessons visit The Classroom Door (TCD) | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn Media Contacts: Jessica Aufiero | Daria Coppack The Classroom Door jessica@ja-pr.com | daria@theclassroom.com T. 917.353.0202 | 917.826.4460 www.theclassroomdoor.com @the_classroom_door View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-classroom-door-tcd-launches-global-educational-platform-bringing-together-expert-tutors-advisors-and-proprietary-college-counseling-content-301305474.html SOURCE TheClassroomDoor.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] National Science Foundation Awards CGHI $1.2MM Grant to Implement BACE in 5 Additional States The Center for Global Health Innovation (CGHI) has been awarded a $1.2MM grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to expand the Biotechnician Assistant Credentialing Exam (BACE) in 5 states as a tool to certify an individual's capabilities and accelerate the development of the bioscience workforce. The BACE credential was developed through engagement with industry representatives, and the exam is already on the approved lists of industry-recognized credentials for seven states and the District of Columbia. Five additional states formally adopting the BACE will increase its potential to become the industry-recognized system for entry-level biotechnicians. This project is funded by the NSF's Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy. The grant titled: Implementation of an Industry-Recognized Credentialing System (IRCS) is necessary to meet the projected increase in national workforce demand for highly skilled biotechnicians. Life science companies are often unfamiliar with the skill set of applicants. Skill set confidence can be communicated by an effective credential. Industry identifies the Biotechnician Assistant Credentialing Exam (BACE), developed by Biotility at the University of Florida as an effective tool to convey capabilities, and the BACE holds promise of becoming the industry-recognized credentialing system for the nation. "CGHI is proud to play a leading role in establishing the BACE as a nationally recognized credential," said Maria Thacker-Goethe, CEO of the Center for Global Health Innovation. "This project has the potential to facilitate the transition from two-year college technician education programs to employment in the biotechnology industry. Successfully adopting the BACE would not only serve the industry, but also serve the emerging workforce by identifying skill sets in demand across the country." ABOUT THE CENTER FOR GLOBAL HEALTH INNOVATION (CGHI) The Center for Global Health Innovation (CGHI) is a 501(c)(3) organization that was launched in January 2020 to bring together diverse Global Health, Health Technology and Life Sciences entities to collaborate, innovate and activate solutions to enhance human health outcomes around the world. Visit CGHI at www.innovateglobalhealth.org. ABOUT THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2020, its budget is $8.3 billion. NSF funds research in all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 50,000 competitive proposals for funding and makes about 12,000 new funding awards. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Grant No. 2054895. Any opinions findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005881/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Demand for Data Privacy Management Software Will Remain Strong, Driven by Expanding Regulatory and Data Management Requirements, According to IDC The data privacy management software market saw soaring growth in 2020 with worldwide revenues up 46.1% year over year. International Data Corporation (IDC) expects this growth to continue over the next several years, driven by the further expansion of data privacy regulatory regimes worldwide. A new forecast from IDC (News - Alert) estimates that data privacy management software revenues will nearly double between 2020 and 2025, reaching nearly $2.3 billion in 2025 with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.3%. "It feels like a broken record when discussing data privacy regulations because every year data privacy regimes continue to grow in jurisdictions around the globe. But as repetitive as it can be, it is still the truth," said Ryan O'Leary, research manager, Privacy and Legal Technology at IDC. "The frameworks and regulations that enterprises need to manage continue to explode. Every region seems to be debating privacy except for the U.S. Federal government. End users are struggling with the sheer volume of regulations and need help with the regulatory change management from software providers." In addition to the expanding data privacy regulations, organizations are also dealing with expansive and growing data volumes across a patchwork of databases and endpoints. And these endpoints are becoming increasingly dispersed as remote work continues to be the norm. There is a significant market opportunity for tools that help enterprises organize this data and limit the risk associated with it. "Data visibility continues to be a blind spot for many organizations. There is strong and growing market demand for automated data discovery and classification tools that scan for sensitive data across both cloud and on-premises environments and to providethat single source of data truth. Solving the challenge of patchwork enterprise infrastructure and automation is the real golden ticket in data privacy," O'Leary added. Data privacy management software encapsulates the software specifically designed and marketed to enable enterprise compliance with data privacy regulations such as CCPA and GDPR. These software applications include functionality to help organizations collect, track, demonstrate, and manage data subjects' consent. Further, these applications must facilitate, track, and automate discovery and storage of data subjects' data as well as the servicing of data subjects exercising their rights. Many also provide facilities to automatically assess, monitor, and manage the progress of the privacy program activities as well as provide dashboards and reporting capabilities. For organizations evaluating their data privacy management options, IDC recently published a MarketScape report that assesses 11 providers of data privacy management software. The report, IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Data Privacy Management Software 2021 Vendor Assessment (IDC #US46858221), uses a comprehensive framework to assess these vendors relative to a set of criteria that explain both short-term and long-term success in the market. The 11 data privacy management software vendors evaluated in the MarketScape report are: 1Touch.io, BigID, Collibra, DataGrail, Exterro, OneTrust, Securiti, Smart Global Governance, Spririon, TrustArc, and WireWheel. About IDC MarketScape The IDC MarketScape vendor analysis model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of IT, telecommunications, or industry-specific suppliers in a given market. The research methodology utilizes a rigorous scoring methodology based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria that results in a single graphical illustration of each vendor's position within a given market. IDC MarketScape provides a clear framework in which the product and service offerings, capabilities and strategies, and current and future market success factors of IT, telecommunications, or industry-specific vendors can be meaningfully compared. The framework also provides technology buyers with a transparent foundation to allow companies to independently compare the strengths and weaknesses of current and prospective vendors. For more information about IDC MarketScape, please contact Karen Moser at kmoser@idc.com. About IDC International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology, IT benchmarking and sourcing, and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading tech media, data, and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter (News - Alert) at @IDC and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the IDC Blog for industry news and insights. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005886/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP, a Leading Securities Fraud Law Firm, Announces Investigation of Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (SPCE) 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 Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. ("Virgin Galactic" or the "Company") (NYSE: SPCE) investors concerning the Company's possible violations of the federal securities laws. If you suffered a loss on your Virgin Galactic 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/virgin-galactic-holdings-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 October 25, 2019, post-market, Virgin Galactic was formed by a business combination between Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. ("SCH"), a special purpose acquisition company ("SPAC"), and the Company's then-private predecessor, after which SCH changed its name to "Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc." and its ticker symbol to "SPCE" (the "Business Combination"). On April 12, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (" SEC (News - Alert) ") issued guidance advising that SPAC warrants, which are instruments that allow investors to buy additional shares at a fixed price, may need to be classified as liabilities rather than equity for many SPAC transactions, which had previously been accounted for as equity in these deals. On April 30, 3021, post-market, VirginGalactic announced in a press release "that it has rescheduled the reporting of its financial results for the first quarter 2021 to following the close of the U.S. markets on Monday, May 10, 2021. Virgin Galactic will now host a conference call to discuss the results and provide a business update that day at 2:00 p.m., Pacific Time (5:00 p.m., Eastern Time). The Company is rescheduling its reporting due to the recent statement issued by the [SEC] on April 12, 2021 relating to the accounting treatment of warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies (the 'SEC Statement')." The company further advised that "following its review of the SEC Statement and consulting with its advisors, the Company will restate its consolidated financial statements included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. The restatement is due solely to the accounting treatment for the warrants of Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. that were outstanding at the time of the Company's business combination on October 25, 2019. The Company expects to file the restated financials prior to the new conference call date and estimates that it will recognize incremental non-operating, non-cash expense for each of the fiscal years ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019." On this news, Virgin Galactic's stock price fell $2.01 per share, or 9.07%, to close at $20.14 per share on May 3, 2021. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. Whistleblower Notice: Persons with non-public information regarding Virgin Galactic should consider their options to aid the investigation or take advantage of the SEC 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, Bloomberg (News - Alert) 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/20210603005340/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Communications Inc. Schedule the Release of Their Financial Results for the Third Quarter of Fiscal 2021 and Related Conference Call MONTREAL, June 3, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - Cogeco Inc. (TSX: CGO) and Cogeco Communications Inc. (TSX: CCA) plan to release their financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2021, ending May 31, 2021, on Wednesday, July 14, 2021, after market closing. The companies will hold a conference call on Thursday, July 15, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) to discuss their financial and operating results. A live audio webcast will be available on Cogeco's web site at https://corpo.cogeco.com/cca/en/investors/investor-relations/. Members of the financial community will be able to access the conference call and ask questions. Media representatives may attend as listeners only. The webcast will be available on Cogeco's website for a three-month period. Please use the following dial-in number to have access to the conference call 5 to 10 minutes before the start of the conference: Canada/USA Access Number: 1-877-291-4570 International Access Number: 1-647-788-4919 In order to join this conference, participants are required to provide the operator with the name of the company hosting the call, that is, Cogeco Inc. or Cogeco Communications Inc. SOURCE Cogeco Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] LAFS and NuORDER Partner to Maximize the Reach of Latin American Fashion MIAMI and LOS ANGELES, June 3, 2021 /CNW/ -- Through a virtual event to be held from June 1st to July 25th on the world's leading wholesale platform NuORDER, the female Latinx duo will showcase the most outstanding talents of their region with a focus on sustainability. This cost effective solution that NuORDER provides allows for their heavily-curated list of brands, big and small, to expand into global fashion markets. LAFS, at its core, aims to elevate and promote Latin fashion. Formed in 2018 as an annual summit to connect prominent industry members, the organization has grown to offer a multitude of vehicles to support their vibrant community of brands, retailers, stylists, and personalities, among other creatives. After witnessing first hand the tremendous impact the global health crisis had on Latin brands, LAFS was eager to find a qualitative outlet for design focused businesses to showcase their product to buyers, regardless of their ability to travel. LAFS chose NuORDER after extensive market research, to provide this solution and continue the exponential growth that Latinx designers experienced prior to the pandemic. From this, the 2021 LAFS Virtual Event with NuORDER was born: a curation of fifty emerging Latin brands that will exhibit their newest collections on a platform with more than 500,000 active buyers. From retail stores such as Net-a-Porter, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman among the world's most established outlets. Participating brands include Crisobela, Valentina Karnoubi, Azulu, Juan de Dios, Senda Nelly Rojas, Ana + Maria Store, Alepel and Maygel Coronel Pitch to LAFS 2019 winner. "Women's Ready-to-Wear", "Childrenswear", "Swim and Resortwear", "Home", "Jewelry and Accessories" and "Hats, Bags and Shoes", are categories of this event curated by LAFS hand in hand with Camila Straschnoy and Andy Faerman, retail experts and co-founders of the consulting agency Mate House. The 8-week long event is one of the main differentiators, providing buyers with the time to get to know participating brands deeply. Moreover, buyers from outside the platform who wish to visit and purchase from the brands, will be able to do so by registering for free with NuORDER. The proprietary, user friendly experience presents the ideal opportunity for participants on both the buy and sell side of the equation. LAFS is also making it a priority to generate exclusive content focused on sustainability for the platform by featuring exclusive stories by designers on the issue, from both social and environmental perspectives. "In this ever changing industry, both NuORDER and LAFS have brought a solution to Latin American brands in teir effort to keep expanding globally, this time in a more sustainable and cost effective way." -- Samantha Tams, Co-Founder, LAFS "For us, it is extremely important to collaborate with businesses that are aligned with our mission. To be constantly innovating and giving real solutions to the Latin designers. In that sense, I believe this partnership is so great! LAFS gives the showroom a beautiful curation of what our region has to offer, and NuORDER has the best technology to reach the buyers and showcase these brands!" -- Estefania Lacayo, Co-Founder, LAFS "Latin American Fashion Summit (LAFS) and NuORDER are joining forces to highlight Latin American brands, championing them on the world stage. NuORDER is the perfect partner to showcase and elevate these brands with otherwise limited opportunities for global recognition." -- Tommy Fazio, Fashion Director, NuORDER ABOUT LAFS: The Latin American Fashion Summit is a multiplatform created by entrepreneurs Estefania Lacayo and Samantha Tams with the mission of elevating and enriching the Latin American fashion and design industries, aiming to make them more relevant than ever. It all began when they noticed the general lack of opportunities within the region that was receiving a growing interest. A project that once started exclusively as an annual conference that brought together a group of globally respected industry-related experts in 2018 is now much more than that. LAFS is a powerful community, a multifaceted digital platform that showcases the Latin American talent to the world and a leading content creator that provides opportunities for emerging designers and fashion entrepreneurs by partnering with important design academies, wholesale platforms and hosting its own contest. Recently, LAFS created TRIBU, a new networking platform whose mission is to revolutionize the way in which the fashion industry connects. Noticing increasing interest in Latin American fashion and culture, but a general lack of opportunities within the region, entrepreneurs Samantha Tams and Estefania Lacayo embarked on a mission to empower the industry, aiming to make it stronger and more relevant than ever by providing valuable tools and knowledge that prepare local talent for a globalized context. Born in Nicaragua and based in Miami, Estefania has over eighteen years of experience in the editorial, retail and digital fronts of the fashion industry. A strong advocate for social impact and development in the region, she joined forces with like-minded Mexican co-founder, Samantha Tams, an expert in the retail sector who worked as a senior buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue and specialty stores, thus becoming a fashion consultant and brand strategist. Together, they are committed to developing the most important fashion platform in Latin America and proudly share the region's greatness with the rest of the world. ABOUT NuORDER: NuORDER is the leading B2B platform powering commerce and discovery. With innovative technology and data driving processes at its core, the platform creates greater efficiencies and a seamless and more collaborative buying and selling process for the world's leading brands and retailers. NuORDER delivers a global commerce solution offering Virtual Showroom technology, visual assortment and merchandising tools, payments and data integration. Connecting more than 3,000 brands and more than 500,000 retailers, the platform has become a global ecosystem driving discovery and marketplace. The platform was engineered with flexibility and scale in mind, processing over $40B in GMV. It empowers businesses of all sizes with enterprise-level technology on a global scale. Founded in 2011 by Heath Wells and Olivia Skuza, NuORDER is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in New York City, Milan, London, Paris and Australia. Through fearless innovation and premiere service, NuORDER is revolutionizing B2B commerce. For more information, please visit www.nuorder.com PRESS INQUIRIES: LAFS Events@latamfashionsummit.com osmund@azziandco.com cecilia@azziandco.com NuORDER PR Consulting nuorder@prconsulting.net View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lafs-and-nuorder-partner-to-maximize-the-reach-of-latin-american-fashion-301305617.html SOURCE NuORDER [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] BioKansas Partners With BIO to Provide Equity, Inclusion, and Career Programming BioKansas, a non-profit organization supporting the bioscience industry has extended their partnership with the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) for a second year. The global leader as a biotechnology focused trade organization, BIO's efforts have the power to shape the industry and drive change. Their history of accomplishing this through meaningful programs and partnership is unmatched in the biotechnology industry. This year, BIO and BioKansas are convening thought leaders with expertise and commitment in the areas of equity, inclusion, and diversity to capture an insightful conversation to share with the broader biotechnology community. Interested groups can attend Training the Next Generation of Biotech Professionals: Driving change for diversity and inclusion during the BIO Digital conference. Attendees will learn ways that professional environments, skills training, policies, and practices across academic and industrial landscapes can propel broad reaching diversification of the workforce while driving collective change. "There's a shared interest across academia and industry to diversify the pool of trainees and employees in the sciences. Addressing this requires that organizations of all sizes and across sectors collectively work to foster equitable and inclusive environments throughout the training and career pathways," said Sonia Hall, President and CEO of BioKansas. BioKansas is also partnering with BIO for a pre-conference webinar where attendees will learn about the biotechnology landscape from employees and leaders of Kansas companies and how the landscape can be further explored through the BIO Digital experience. Embedding this learning opportunity within the virtual conference will allow attendees to immediately leverage resources within the BIO community while broadening their understanding of bioscience industry careers and opportunities. BIO Digital will be held June 10 - 11 and 14 - 18. The virtual gathering of the global biotech industry provides access to key partners via BIO's One-on-One Partnering, critical education including policy, industry trends, breakthrough therapies, and patient access. BIO is offering qualifying undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdocs the unique opportunity to attend the conference by applying for a student pass. Please visit BIO Digital to learn more. About BioKansas: BioKansas is a non-profit organization whose mission is to lead the effort of supporting and growing Kansas' bioscience ecosystem including bioscience research, commercialization, training, and business development. Through organizational and collaborative efforts they provide meaningful content, connections, and advocacy to advance the state's bioscience industry. Learn more at www.biokansas.org. About BIO: BIO is the world's largest trade association representing biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the world's largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world. Learn more at https://www.bio.org/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603006023/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Maternity in-patient visiting eased in North Wales hospitals Restrictions on maternity in-patient visiting brought in during the Covid pandemic are being eased today (Thursday, June 3). From today a single partner or nominated essential support person, preferably from the same household, will be able to visit the antenatal and postnatal in-patient maternity wards in North Wales hosptials by appointment. A spokesperson for Betsi Caswaladr University Health Board said: An appointment for a visit will be arranged through your midwife on the maternity unit. To support this easing all partners will be asked to complete a COVID screening questionnaire and have their temperature checked before they are admitted onto the unit. We will continue to closely monitor COVID-19 infection and transmission rates and review further changes in accordance with local and national guidance. There are currently no changes to the existing arrangements that remain the same as per the below: One birthing partner/nominated other to provide support to women who are attending Early Pregnancy Assessment and Fetal Medicine ultrasound scans. One birthing partner for women in active labour, preferably from the same household or part of an extended household. One birthing partner/nominated other to provide support to women who are attending for an early pregnancy-dating scan (11 weeks + 2 days 14 weeks +1 day gestation). One birthing partner/nominated other to provide support to women who are attending all fetal anomaly scan (18-20 weeks gestation). Visitor access for neonatal services Both parents can be partners in their babies care. No other visitors are permitted in the Neonatal Units, including siblings. Parents are asked to attend the unit one at a time to assist with social distancing. Any parents who have COVID symptoms or have tested positive for COVID cannot visit and are required to follow the quarantine guidelines. In cases of bereavement /discontinuing intensive care, safe practices are put in place to allow the family to be together. Please be mindful that anyone could have an infectious disease. All permitted visitors must comply with infection prevention precautions at all times. This includes washing hands (supervised) on arriving and leaving the area. The health board said. Rules around hospital visiting during the COVID-19 outbreak were updated, following guidance issued by Welsh Government, on the 30 November 2020. Visiting to hospitals throughout Wales remains restricted Guidance from Welsh Government is that visits should be agreed with a clear purpose, based on the best interests of the patient or service user, as well as the well-being of the visitor. https://bcuhb.nhs.wales/covid-19/hospital-visiting/ [June 03, 2021] AM Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Members of NLC Insurance Companies Pool AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of "a-" (Excellent) of New London County Mutual Insurance Company, Hingham Mutual Fire Insurance Company, Thames Insurance Company, Inc. and Danbury Insurance Company, which operate under an intercompany pooling agreement and are collectively referred to as NLC Insurance Companies Pool (NLC). The Credit Ratings (ratings) of NLC reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). The revised outlooks to negative from stable are based on deteriorating trends in NLC's operating performance in recent years, largely reflective of increased frequency and severity of weather-related events and adverse development in its core lines of business. Additionally, increased expenses associated with the amortization of a new policy administration system and elevated commission costs, typical of New England carriers, contribute to NLC's high underwriting expense ratio. Without sustained improvement, this could lead to a decline in the overall assessment of operating performance in the near to intermediate term. NLC maintains strong overall balance sheet strength, supported by very strong risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio, which is somewhat offset by limited surplus growth. Underwriting leverage ratios are maintained at levels comparable with the personal property composite. NLC's business profile is viewed as neutral, as its geographc spread of risk is strategically concentrated in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and distributed through a strong independent agency network. AM Best views NLC's ERM framework, which includes a committee led by the CEO and consists of other senior managers that collaborate in identifying risks and developing appropriate risk mitigation procedures, as appropriate for its risk profile. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best Rating Action Press Releases. AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright 2021 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603006057/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] World Customs Organization's Authorized Economic Operator Meeting Concludes DUBAI, UAE, June 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Customs Organization's 5th Global AEO Conference has concluded after three busy days of discussions focused on the AEO programme. The Conference was hosted virtually by Dubai Customs and the UAE Federal Customs Authority. Held under the headline 'AEO 2.0: Advancing Towards New Horizons for Sustainable and Secure Trade', the event brought together many trade experts to shed the light on supply chain security. Since its inception in 2012, AEO has become the gold standard for cooperation between customs administrations and the private sector to facilitate trade. Particular ephasis was placed on the co-option of new economic operators, and the integration of new technologies. Expanding the AEO programme to include new economic operators that have thus far been left out of consideration is essential, many experts asserted, due to the pandemic and its impact on the world. Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, WCO Secretary General, said: "The Customs community faced an unprecedented situation and had to move quickly to support global supply chains and ensure the seamless flow of relief goods across borders. It was clear that the AEO programme has been instrumental against a slowed down trade system." Being one of several major events that have had to turn virtual due to Covid-related restrictions, AEO 2.0 emerged as perhaps one of the most successful, with 3,905 registrations from 150 countries, 72 speakers and 22 sessions. HE Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director General of Dubai Customs, credited the AEO programme with a significant uptick in transactions processed at Dubai Customs since the start of the pandemic, saying: "Dubai Customs was quick to realise the many benefits the programme carried for the emirate. "As a uniquely positioned trading hub with extensive capabilities and access to regional markets, Dubai is on the itinerary of probably every shipment moving from point to point in half of the world, and it is imperative for us to pioneer the adoption of standards and regulations that facilitate trade from every aspect possible." The AEO Conference also dedicated time to the discussion of cybersecurity threats, and the hurdles preventing the expansion of the programme, due to disparities in know-how, frameworks, infrastructure and capacity between nations. The General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China has announced hosting the next edition in 2022, at a location and by means yet to be disclosed. SOURCE Dubai Customs [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [June 03, 2021] Liberty Bank and Trust Company to Combine With Tri-State Bank of Memphis Liberty Bank and Trust Company and its parent holding company, Liberty Financial Services, Inc. (collectively, "Liberty") and Tri-State Bank of Memphis ("Tri-State") today jointly announced their agreement whereby Tri-State Bank of Memphis will be acquired by Liberty Bank and Trust Company in an all-cash transaction. Both Liberty and Tri-State are Minority Depository Institutions as defined by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The acquisition represents a partnership between two minority-owned banks that will continue the legacy and mission of Tri-State Bank in the Memphis market. This mission - of providing affordable financial products and services to the underserved - is fundamentally a vital aspect of Liberty Bank's history and commitment to its extensive footprint. Liberty Bank operates in nine states and the acquisition will enhance the Bank's ability to serve the inherently strong Memphis community. With the proposed transaction, Liberty will enter the Memphis, Tennessee market and will have approximately $965 million in assets and offices in 12 cities on a pro forma basis. Alden McDonald, President and Chief Executive Officer of Liberty said, "Memphis is extremely rich in history, and we are proud to continue servicing the Community. Both Tri-State and our Board have a history of serving the underbanked, and this merger offers more financial access, products, banking technology, and enhanced capacity for lending. We are excited and focused on continuing to service the people of Memphis with an expanded suite of financial services - including a more robust mortgage product and a variety of personal and commercial banking options. This is a great time fr Minority Deposit Institutions, and we are honored to join the Memphis Community!" Archie Willis, Chairman of Tri-State said, "Combining with Liberty, an extremely well-run institution that shares our culture, will enhance our ability to serve our customers and uphold our mission. This transaction is compelling for all of Tri-State's stakeholders including customers, employees, shareholders and our community." The transaction has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies but remains subject to Tri-State Bank of Memphis' shareholder approval and customary regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2021. Pickering & Cotogno served as Liberty's legal advisor. Olsen Palmer LLC served as financial advisor and issued a fairness opinion to Tri-State, and the firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC served as Tri-State's legal advisor. About Liberty Financial Services, Inc. and Liberty Bank and Trust Company Liberty Bank and Trust Company, headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, was founded in 1972. Liberty has grown from an initial asset base of $2 million to approximately $860 million and is now the largest African American owned financial institution in the United States. The banking subsidiary of Liberty Financial Services, Inc., Liberty Bank and Trust Company, operates in 11 cities across nine states. During the reporting period ending March 31, 2021, Liberty Bank and Trust Company had approximately $860 million in total assets. For additional information, please visit www.libertybank.net. About Tri-State Bank of Memphis Tri-State Bank of Memphis was founded in 1946 by the late Dr. J. E. Walker, and his son, the late A. Maceo Walker. They dreamed of a bank which would constructively change community conditions. Subsequently led by the late Jesse H. Turner, the bank developed innovative financial and community service. The mission of Tri-State Bank of Memphis is to provide the communities served with financial solutions that transform them for the better. As of March 31, 2021, Tri-State Bank operated through a single office in Memphis, Tennessee and reported approximately $105 million in assets and $95 million in deposits. For additional information, please visit www.tristatebank.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603006093/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The blogging life isn't easy as it looks. Sure, it just seems like copy & paste, opine & whine . . . But most scribes run out of things to say in less than a month. Retweets, selfies and nearly incomprehensible personal screeds via social media are far more fun and earn affirming likes & shares from frenemies and so many other corporate special interests looking to exploit the plebs. And so, we acknowledge the effort of Prez Trump and look forward to his next project that will likely garner more interest than most things related to Kansas City . . . Check-it . . . Trump shuts down his blog after less than a month The blog page that former President Donald Trump launched less than one month ago, after his team suggested he'd be launching a major new social platform, has been permanently shuttered. Why Trump can't be 'reinstated' as president by August The notion that Trump would be "reinstated" as president before Labor Day is gaining QAnon traction. Trump is reportedly talking about it with confidantes, claiming the Supreme Court can reinstate him. The demonstrably false conspiracy theory goes can be traced back MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. See more stories on Insider's business page. Talk of 2024 run for former President Trump builds as legal pressure intensifies Multiple people who have spoken with Donald Trump say they sense a shift, with the former president increasingly acting and talking like he plans to mount a 2024 run as he embarks on a more public phase of his post-presidency. Developing . . . The Mayor's supporters have harsh words for their Northland critics this morning after a turnout of HUNDREDS to push back against the mayor last night. Here's the statement from one of his spokesmen . . . "While an out-of-state special interest group spent a beautiful night in the Northland peddling lies, dividing our community, and turning a profit on merchandise, Mayor Lucas himself spent his evening with a diverse group of folks on a neighborhood walking tour of Kansas Citys East Side to discuss with community leaders how we can best invest in our neighborhoods and mentor our young people. He finished his night talking to Boy Scouts in South Kansas City. Mayor Lucass focus remains on ending our decades-long homicide crisis and building a safer Kansas City for all of our residents. The mayor will continue working with his colleagues, the Kansas City Police Department, and any Kansas Citians heartbroken by our violent crime numbers and interested in real, sustainable change and crime-prevention efforts." Just a brief TKC insight . . . THE NAME CALLING HINTS AT PANIC AMONGST MAYOR Q'S SUPPORTERS!!! When people are confident in their position and don't have anything to prove, they don't usually lash out with brash accusations. Also . . . There's STILL absolutely no proof that defunding/reallocating/looting 42 million bucks from the police budget is going to reduce crime. There's more to unpack in this ongoing story but for now here's a round-up . . . Kansas City Mayor responds to 'We Back Blue' rally that called for his ousting Wednesday night in the Northland, there was support for the Kansas City Police Department and calls for Mayor Quinton Lucas to be removed from office.About 100 people met at the Washington, D.C.-based group's "We Back Blue" rally in support of KCPD after Lucas' handling of the police budget. Kansas City Mayor Defends Reallocation Of Police Budget Amidst Lawsuit The ordinances passed by the city council would create a Community Services and a Prevention Fund which the city and police board can manage as well as add $3 million for a police recruit class. Mayor Lucas said the measures are to ensure transparency and that police department programs Kansas Citians care about continue to be funded. Kansas City, St. Louis mayors liken calls for special session to 'grandstanding' KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Recent calls for Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to hold a special special on police funding are "grandstanding," according to St. Louis and Kansas City mayors. In a joint statement, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas said that Republican lawmakers "on the outskirts of our communities" have not offered "real solutions." Kansas City mayor says talks continue with KCPD on funding Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas says talks continue between the police department and city over his plan to shift police money under the control of the city.The mayor and others at city hall view the postponement of the court case as a good thing.The city has 13 more days to file its response to the police board lawsuit. Developing . . . Tonight we share a collection of reports on spiking local violence as the Kansas City warm weather FINALLY arrives and, traditionally, makes the Spring/Summer even more tumultuous. Check-it . . . Kansas City Cutting Edge Report Tonight One person injured after stabbing near 31st and Highland, police say by: Brian Dulle Posted: / Updated: KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City Police are investigating a stabbing that has left one person with critical injuries Wednesday night. The incident was reported just before 8 p.m. near 31st and Highland. Police say the victim could not provide much information on what happened and was taken to Truman Medical Center. Shooting Amongst Shoppers Kansas City police investigating shooting inside market near 43rd, Cleveland Hide Transcript Show Transcript YOU NEVILLE WE CONTINUE TO FOLLOW BREAKING NEWS THIS AFTERNOON, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI POLICE ARE ON THE SCENE OF A SHOOTING. THIS IS LIVE VIDEO OUTSIDE THE BLUE VALLEY MARKET. YOU SEE THE CRIME SNECE TAPE STILL UP NEAR EAST 43RD AND CLEVELAND AVENUE POLICE. Road Rage Lady Suspect Mugshot Exposed Woman charged, accused of driving SUV to hit mother and infant on walk KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- A Kansas City mother is recovering after investigators say a woman intentionally drove an SUV to hit her and her baby as they walked in their neighborhood. Several home surveillance cameras captured video near 101st Place and N. Oak Trafficway. Tragic Slice Of Life Postscript Kansas City man sentenced to life in prison for fatally stabbing woman in 2019 JACKSON COUNTY, MO (KCTV) -- A Kansas City man has been sentenced to life in prison for fatally stabbing a woman in 2019. According to the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office, 29-year-old Keyon D. Patterson was sentenced to life in prison or 30 years after being convicted of second-degree murder. Feds Investigate Raytown Cash Takeout FBI searches for suspect in Raytown bank robbery KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking for a suspect who robbed a Bank of America on Wednesday in Raytown. The male suspect is about 5 feet, 9 inches tall and wore a blue ball cap, a black face covering, a dark hooded long sleeve shirt and a dark pants. Show-Me Fist Shaking On Police Control Missouri legislator threatens to take back control of St. Louis Police ST. LOUIS - Lawmakers in the St. Louis and Kansas City area want to stop local governments from defunding the state's two largest police departments. Combined, the St. Louis City and Kansas City police departments are down more than 300 officers. Stocking Kansas City Treatment Options Amid Ongoing American Opioid Surge Kansas and Missouri police warn of increase in overdoses, Healing House offering NARCAN kits to save lives KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- Since February, a growing list of local police departments are warning their communities about an increase in overdoses and overdose deaths caused by drugs laced with fentanyl in Kansas and Missouri. Police say they are seeing an increase in overdoses among teens and young adults. Community Against Rising Crime Kansas City neighbors shocked, angry after broad daylight theft of beloved motorcycle KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Dane Plummer has literally traveled the world on his beloved 1981 BMW motorcycle. "With some friends, we rode as far as Panama down south over a few weeks period," Plummer told FOX4. "And then I took it all the way to the Arctic Ocean on the north shore of Alaska, so I'm fairly attached to it." Developing . . . This wasn't really important so we saved it for the late night given that navel-gazing is the favorite hobby of local journalists who love the spotlight far more than they'd like to admit. Check the deets from a minor hedge fund asset . . . The newspaper doesn't offer any evidence or reporting on a recent press release indicting local police in the media. Even worse . . . They're playing police officer and guessing games in their latest editorial screed. Money line . . . "Were also missing an independent police review board, with subpoena power and a full-time staff to root out the truth of police shootings. "And finally, were missing trust." It's a bold statement for the newspaper to attack the police department head on . . . Or possibly just a sign of their desperation as subscribers and advertising revenue fades. I don't think they hid this one behind the paywall . . . Read more: A quick trip down memory lane for #TBT . . . Back in 2017 the NAACP issuee a SMACKDOWN WARNING about traveling in Missouri that irked conservatives and, ironically, inspired more than a few racist screeds that helped prove the point of critics. A few years later and to speed the COVID comeback . . . In a BRILLIANT MARKETING MOVE, Missouri Tourism officials developed a beautiful marketing campaign that attacked allegations of racism head on and demonstrated the real diversity and friendliness of local tourists spots. Brief TKC reality check interlude: Everything is nice for vacationers with lots of money. This week, here's news that traffic stop numbers have slightly improved but aren't yet equal . . . Like everything else in this world . . . Johnstown, PA (15901) Today Scattered thunderstorms during the morning becoming more widespread this afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 82F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Partly cloudy skies after midnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Wales first minister Mark Drakeford to attend four nation Covid recovery summit today Boris Johnson will chair a coronavirus recovery summit today with first ministers from the devolved nations. Following elections to the Senedd and Scottish Parliament last month, the prime minister wrote to the first ministers of Scotland and Wales and the first minister and deputy first minister of Northern Ireland to invite them to unite in a joint effort to overcome the shared challenges of COVID recovery, beginning with a high-level meeting. The meeting was due to take place last week but was postponed after the first ministers of Wales and Scotland pulled out because they wanted it to be a meaningful discussion with substantive outcomes. The pair criticised Boris Johnsons office for sending a very rough proposed agenda with issues in the discussions seemingly yet to be agreed. They will now meet virtually this afternoon to discuss how they can work together to help all parts of the United Kingdom recover from the COVID pandemic and build back better across the whole country. The NHS across the UK will be high on the agenda, have fought the pandemic it now faces a serious challenge with increased waiting times for elective procedures. The necessary closure of schools has led to months of lost learning which have set the education of many of our young people back. Social distancing requirements have slowed down the operation of the justice system, leading to backlogs in our courts. Many of these services are devolved in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland but ministers across the UK face common challenges as they seek to rebuild in the years ahead. By working together and sharing experiences, each can learn from the other and deliver better outcomes for families across the UK. A UK Government spokesperson said. Adding: The UK Government is undertaking detailed work on the scale of the COVID recovery challenge and the steps needed to address it through the National Economic Recovery Taskforce. UK Ministers will share findings of this work with their devolved counterparts and Ministers in the Devolved Administrations will share their analysis. Throughout the pandemic, the UK Government and devolved administrations have worked closely together, at official and ministerial level with dozens of meetings every month. This has been illustrated in the UKs world-leading vaccine rollout. The UK Government used its purchasing power to procure vaccines at scale for the whole UK, and health authorities across the UK rolled out delivery of the jabs. The British Armed Forces played a crucial supporting role across the country. Everyone, in all parts of the UK, has benefited. The Prime Minister will propose that this close joint working and spirit of cooperation continues in the months and years ahead, as we begin the process of building a sustainable recovery. An arrest has been made in connection with an August 2020 shooting off Pennington Road at Coal Creek that left one man dead in Vigo County. Ryan Scott Dixon, 35, of Clinton, has been charged with criminal confinement, a Level 3 felony, and criminal mischief, a Class B misdemeanor. Dixon faces no criminal charge in the shooting death of David Robinson, or in the shooting that injured Jeremy Robinson, the dead man's son. Special prosecuting attorney David Thomas said today no other criminal charges will be filed in this case. A probable cause affidavit filed Friday in Vigo Superior Court 1 details the investigation by the Vigo County Sheriff's Department into the confrontation between Dixon, the Robinsons and Dennis Joseph of Clinton. Joseph is the man who shot David Robinson and Jeremy Robinson. Self-defense is relevant, Detective John Newman wrote in the court document, which details a confrontation among the men where Joseph was battered, the tires of his Jeep were slashed, the Jeep's windows were broken, and a gun was pointed at Joseph by David Robinson, 55 of West Terre Haute. We recognize the gravity of the tragedy in that David Robinson was shot and killed and that Joseph, the shooter, is not being charged, Newman said. However, the Senior PA [Prosecuting Attorney Thomas] advises me that self-defense is relevant. He advises me that the burden of proof to disprove self-defense is always on the state (of Indiana). The document said that self-defense is not available to Dixon because he was an initiator of the confrontation by chasing Joseph as Joseph tried to leave Coal Creek, and then slashing the tires of Joseph's Jeep as he was fleeing or retreating. If Joseph is charged with the shooting, the document states, it would be difficult for the state to overcome Joseph's claim of self-defense on multiple points. The affidavit gives details of the deadly incident that have not been released to the public during the police investigation. The case involves multiple people in multiple off-road vehicles driving small hills in West Terre Haute near U.S. 150 and Pennington Road on the evening of Aug. 2, 2020. The Robinsons were neighbors to the area, and heard the off-road activity, which was not on their property, the affidavit said. Jeremy Robinson drove in his side-by-side vehicle to the area and asked the people to leave because he believed they were trespassing and damaging the ground. Robinson argued with people he did not know, the affidavit said, and most of the riders left the area. But Joseph was not able to flee because his Jeep was blocked by the vehicles in the confrontation. Dixon, a friend of Jeremy Robinson, joined the argument. Dixon claimed that when Joseph did maneuver around and flee in his Jeep, Joseph's vehicle brushed up against Dixon's vehicle. Dixon told investigators he wanted to talk to Joseph about that, so he chased Joseph through a wooded area until Joseph came to a dead end at Coal Creek. The affidavit said Dixon drove his vehicle near so Joseph could not back out and leave, then Dixon got out of his vehicle and slashed the Jeep's tires with a knife. Joseph rolled up the windows of his Jeep, which were then smashed by either Dixon or Jeremy Robinson, the affidavit said. Dixon and Robinson then punched Joseph in the face as Joseph remained in his Jeep, the affidavit said. The affidavit said Joseph then fired a handgun at close range, with a bullet striking Jeremy Robinson in the arm. Get breaking news delivered to you! Sign up for our newsletters to get the latest, breaking news. David Robinson had joined the pursuit and approached the Jeep just after Jeremy Robinson was shot, the document said. David Robinson pointed his firearm at Joseph, who responded by firing his own handgun at David Robinson, killing him, the investigation revealed. Newman said detectives found David Robinson's unholstered handgun underneath his body. Joseph then called 911 and stayed in his Jeep until police arrived, the document said, while Jeremy Robinson did not call police to report the trespassing. Detective Newman said Dixon's conduct escalated the situation by coming into the argument even though he had nothing to do with the property, and by leading the aggression. Newman said the special prosecutor has chosen not to charge Jeremy Robinson because he suffered enough with his gunshot wound and the loss of his father. A warrant for Dixon's arrest was issued Tuesday through Vigo Superior Court 1. Dixon was booked into the Vigo County Jail on Wednesday. His bond was set at $50,000 with no 10 percent allowed, but the court ordered Dixon's release Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, a civil lawsuit previously filed in February by the estate of David Robinson seeks damages against Joseph for the negligent discharge of a firearm, killing Robinson. That civil suit remains pending in Vigo Superior Court 3. Dixon has a criminal history that includes an arrest in Shelby County in November 2004 in connection with attempted murder, aggravated battery, criminal recklessness and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon. He pleaded guilty in November 2005 the Class B felony charge of aggravated battery and received a 20-year prison sentence, with an order to serve 18 years with two suspended. Dixon was released from the Indiana Department of Correction in February 2012 after receiving time cuts for program completion. Lisa Trigg can be reached at 812-231-4254 or at lisa.trigg@tribstar.com. Follow her on Twitter at TribStarLisa. This undated photo provided by the Fort Wayne Police Department in Fort Wayne, Ind., shows Cohen Hancz-Barron. Police are asking for the publics help finding Hancz-Barron who they call the suspect in the killings of three children and a woman found slain in a Fort Wayne home Wednesday, June 2, 2021. PoliceA saidA Cohen Hancz-Barron, 21, was last seen driving a stolen pickup truck and is considered armed and dangerous. (Fort Wayne Police Department via AP) HMRC issues scam warning for tax credit customers Tax credits customers should be vigilant and alert to potential scams, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has warned, as the remaining annual renewal packs will arrive in the post this week. In the 12 months to 30 April 2021, HMRC responded to more than 1,154,300 referrals of suspicious contact from the public. Over 576,960 of these offered bogus tax rebates. In the same period, HMRC has worked with telecoms companies and Ofcom to remove more than 3,000 malicious telephone numbers and with internet service providers to take down over 15,700 malicious web pages. The organisation responded to 443,033 reports of phone scams in total, 135% up on the previous year. Anyone doing their tax credits renewal who has received a tax or benefits scam email or text might be tricked into thinking it was from HMRC and share their personal details with the criminals or even transfer money for a bogus overpayment. Myrtle Lloyd, HMRCs Director General for Customer Services, said: Were urging all of our customers to be really careful if they are contacted out of the blue by someone asking for money or bank details. There are a lot of scams out there where fraudsters are calling, texting or emailing customers claiming to be from HMRC. If you have any doubts, we suggest you dont reply directly, and contact us yourself straight away. Search GOV.UK for our scams checklist and to find out how to report tax scams. Many scams mimic government messages to appear authentic and reassuring. HMRC is a familiar brand, which criminals abuse to add credibility to their scams. HMRCs Cyber Security Operations identifies and closes down scams every day. The department has pioneered the use in government of technical controls to stop its helpline numbers being spoofed, so that fraudsters can no longer make it appear that they are calling from those HMRC numbers. If customers cannot verify the identity of a caller, HMRC recommends that you do not speak to them. Customers can check GOV.UK for HMRCs scams checklist to find out how to report tax scams and for information on how to recognise genuine HMRC contact. Tax credits help working families with targeted financial support, so it is important that people dont miss out on money they are entitled to. Customers have until 31 July to notify HMRC of any change in circumstances that could affect their claims. Stay up to date on COVID-19 Get Breaking News Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. Sponsored By: Dorsett Automotive WOODSTOCK The Woodstock City Council will soon consider a rezoning for 79 townhomes and commercial space on Highway 92, without the support Over 735,000 vaccine doses given out in North Wales volunteer call made for COV-Boost study at Wrexham Maelor Hospital The continued success in delivering the vaccine means we are helping to protect ourselves, our families and our communities from COVID-19. That is the message from Gill Harris, Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Boards latest coronavirus update. More than 736,000 vaccinations have been carried out across north Wales with 271,054 people now having received their first and second doses. In Wrexham the numbers of people vaccinated in each cohort, include: Residents in Older Persons Care Homes (1st / 2nd dose vaccinated or declined) 106% and 96% Staff working in Older Persons Care Homes (1st / 2nd dose vaccinated or declined 90% and 75% People aged 80 years and over (1st / 2nd dose vaccinated or declined) 99% and 95% Frontline Healthcare workers (1st / 2nd dose vaccinated or declined) 97% and 88% Frontline social care workers (1st / 2nd dose vaccinated or declined) 97% and 74% People aged 75 to 79 years (1st / 2nd dose vaccinated or declined) 98% and 95% People aged 70 to 74 years (1st / 2nd dose vaccinated or declined) 97% and 93% All those aged under 16-69 yrs who are clinically extremely vulnerable (1st / 2nd dose vaccinated or declined) 95% and 87% All those aged 65 years and over (1st / 2nd dose vaccinated or declined) 95% and 83% Moderate risk adults under 70 years of age (1st / 2nd dose vaccinated or declined) 88% and 38% All those aged 60 64 years (1st / 2nd dose vaccinated or declined) 89% and 23% All those aged 55 59 years (1st / 2nd dose vaccinated or declined) 86% and 17% All those aged 50 54 years (1st / 2nd dose vaccinated or declined) 86% and 10% All those aged 40 49 years (1st / 2nd dose vaccinated or declined) 77% and 3% All those aged 30 39 years (1st / 2nd dose vaccinated or declined) 51% and 2% All those aged 18 29 years (1st / 2nd dose vaccinated or declined) 43% and 1% Commenting on the vaccine rollout, Ms Harris said: We know that people want to get back to normality and do the things they enjoy most, particularly as we reach the summer months. The best way for us to do this is to make sure everyone who is eligible for the vaccine gets it. To help us do this we would urge you to share this important messages with your communities. We need people to make sure they attend an appointment when they receive one. We are continuing to see a high number of people failing to attend their appointments so would ask people to please: Let us know if they cannot attend their appointment Still attend their appointment if they have any concerns about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, so we can take the time to discuss these with them Make an informed decision about whether they wish to be vaccinated, based on the latest information from trusted sources. The Public Health Wales website is a great place to start Please remember vaccination provides the best protection from becoming seriously ill with COVID-19, and it is our best route out of the pandemic. As lockdown measures continue to ease, proof of vaccination may be required to enable you to enjoy a range of social activities, such as holidaying abroad, or attending concerts, festivals or sporting events. The health board is also offering short notice appointments to people in certain age groups on a first come first served basis. These are publicised on the health boards social media accounts and through the local media, where possible. Ms Harris said: This week we expect to introduce an online booking system on our website, which will enable people to book both first and second dose appointments at a time and date that is convenient for them, providing greater flexibility. Were determined not to leave anybody behind, so please dont worry if youre not able to attend one of our drop in sessions or book your appointment online just yet. Volunteers from within a 50-mile radius of Wrexham are now needed to take part in a new clinical trial to receive a third booster COVID-19 vaccine. Public Health Wales is recruiting over 30s who have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to take part in this research study, including those immunised early in the vaccination programme. For example, adults aged 75 and over or health and care workers. The COV-Boost study, which is being run at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, is taking place at 18 sites in the UK and will involve 2,886 volunteers. The trial is looking at seven different COVID-19 vaccines as potential boosters, given at least 10 to 12 weeks after a second dose as part of the ongoing vaccination programme. Volunteers could receive a different brand to the one they were originally vaccinated with. It is the first in the world to provide vital data on the impact of a third dose on patients immune responses. It will give scientists from around the world and the experts behind the UKs COVID-19 vaccination programme a better idea of how effective a booster of each vaccine is in protecting people from the virus. The study is looking to include people from a wide variety of backgrounds and those from ethnic minorities are encouraged to apply. Anyone interested in finding out more and signing up can visit the study website: https://www.covboost.org.uk/participate-wrexham Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-02 23:03:30|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Dancers perform Jiuhe Zhuo Dance, a national intangible cultural heritage, in Jiuhe Village of Qonggyai County in Shannan, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, July 1, 2020. (Xinhua/Purbu Zhaxi) BEIJING, June 2 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Wednesday released the 14th five-year plan for the development of various sectors, laying out the overall requirements, development goals, major tasks and measures for the 2021-2025 period. The plan sets out the major tasks of developing culture and tourism, including advancing social civility, establishing artistic creation systems for a new era, improving the protection, inheritance and utility of cultural heritage, and enhancing the modern tourism system. "Efforts will be made to provide higher-quality and efficient public cultural services and greater accessibility and sustainability over the next five years," said Yan Xiaodong, an official with the ministry, at a press conference. The ministry will continue to upgrade the structure of the cultural industry and promote the employment of new technologies and digitization. It will also deepen international cultural cooperation and strengthen cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road. Tourist products will be enriched and improved during the period, with new offerings to be expected such as national cultural parks, red tourism routes and ice and snow tourism attractions, it said. The plan also underlines the development of internet-powered tourism, promotion of smart management of tourist attractions and innovation of tourism-related public services. Not as helpful For anyone travelling from Tel-Aviv there are a few way to get to the Nazareth Village: 1. Train from Tel-Aviv to Haifa Lev HaMifratz and then the 331 Bus line. 2. 826/827 Bus from the Tel-Aviv central bus station which passes through Nazareth. 3. Taxi - which is very expensive. I had it in my mind that our 10yr/40th bday trip would be to Turks. Its an easy trip from NYC and gorgeous beaches. However after talking to some friends I feel like maybe there might be other more affordable locations that fit the bill as well. I need help finding those places. Weve been to St John and Tortola multiple times, St. Lucia and Ive been (without my husband) to PR, Virgin Gorda, Jamaica and the Bahamas. So Id like to avoid repeats. We want great snorkeling (not diving), relaxing atmosphere and good food. A friend suggested Belize which seems to kind of fit the bill with the exception of having rocky beaches but I dont know if thats a deal breaker. What other places would you suggest? I am an English speaker from America. I contracted a severe parasitic illness in Bulgaria. The US cannot diagnose it so I will be visiting Mexico on medical tourism. I want to go to one of the best hospitals that has either English speaking doctors or interpreters. I want to get the same types of tests done I would likely have in the EU, but since I would be paying cash, can I request specific tests done (ultrasounds and MRIs that are Contrast-enhanced). I know specific places in my body that some of them damaged...such as veins... Sadly, the American healthcare system is terribly incompetent...and that's the only nation I have insurance at the moment. I do not have an EHIC at the moment. I am willing to go anywhere in Mexico. I will be making a few day stop in Mexico City to get a sim card and then I will go anywhere for medical tourism. Also, can anyone recommend me a good pharmacy in Mexico where I can buy Ivermectin, Albendazole, Vermox (Mebendazole), and Praziquantel. At different times while I await a diagnosis. Instant unlimited access to all of our content on triplicate.com. The Triplicate's E-Edition Newsletter emailed to you each week, the night before the paper hits the street! This subscription is for NEW or RENEWING online subscribers. (The charge will appear as "Country Media Inc." on your credit card statement) Writer and performer Kyle Hernandez of Trinidad is receiving death threats, following a performance he did on local television station WESN, where he seemed to insult not only Tobagonians but the national bird of the island. The World Bank is ready to continue supporting the implementation of land reform in Ukraine as it believes that it will contribute to the operation of the entire agricultural sector of the country. "Land reform is crucial to the future of Ukraine, its essence is not only in the launch of the land market but also in the operation of the entire agricultural sector, including small farmers. For our part, we are ready to continue to provide support in advancing this important reform for Ukraine," World Bank Regional Country Director for Eastern Europe Arup Banerji said at the meeting with First Vice Prime Minister - Minister of Economy of Ukraine Oleksiy Lyubchenko, the Ministrys press service informs. In addition, the World Bank is ready to provide support to the Government of Ukraine in environmental protection and eco-modernization of domestic industry. Ukraine is a long-term partner of the World Bank, Banerji noted. The parties also discussed a number of other reforms in key areas of Ukraine's economy and cooperation with the World Bank in their implementation. "Currently, Ukraine is undergoing a series of large-scale reforms aimed at economic growth and the creation of a favorable investment climate. In particular, the priorities are to continue corporate governance reform, land reform, climate modernization of industry, and the transformation of the coal industry. We hope for further fruitful cooperation with the World Bank, financial support for projects in Ukraine, and expert assistance," Lyubchenko said. In particular, the First Vice Prime Minister said that the Government of Ukraine had approved several documents aimed at improving the management system of key state-owned companies. He also praised the support of the World Bank in drafting major bills that formed the basis for the launch of the land market. The meeting participants also expressed readiness to start preparing a new partnership strategy between the World Bank and Ukraine as the concept of partnership with Ukraine for 2017-2021 financial years expires soon. ol Ukraine needs to start real work with Poland and other countries to become independent of Gazprom and avoid political gas blackmail in the future, Polish Ambassador to Ukraine Bartosz Cichocki has said in an interview with the Glavcom online news site. He said that Poland, in addition to opposing the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, was working to diversify gas supply sources. "In the near future, we will become completely independent of Gazprom's gas supply. And if there is interest from Ukraine, we are ready to help your country also be independent of Gazprom. It seems to me that this option has no alternatives, because Russia does not have enough gas to sell it through a gas pipeline running through Ukraine if Nord Stream 2 starts operating," Cichocki said. According to the ambassador, the completion of the Nord Stream 2 project will not cause economic losses to Poland, as LNG terminals have already been built in the country and the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline is being built from Norway to Poland. "Besides, we received small funds from transit. We always protect ourselves from political blackmail. As for the negative consequences for you, if Nord Stream 2 is launched, you must calculate them accurately. Perhaps, you need to start real work with Poland and other countries already now in order to avoid such blackmail in the future," he said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a meeting with a delegation from the U.S. Congress on June 2 that Nord Stream 2 would cut off Ukraine from gas supplies, which would lead to a loss of at least $3 billion a year. op Energy security is one of the key areas of UkraineGeorgia cooperation, within which the countries will elaborate common approaches to the development of renewable energy. Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal made a corresponding statement after a meeting with Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili in Tbilisi, Ukrinform reports with reference to the Government portal. In particular, Shmyhal informed about the agreement reached with Garibashvili to promote the development of green energy and energy efficiency. "This should be facilitated by signing a Memorandum of Understanding between the relevant agencies of our states. This document will be the basis for the elaboration of joint approaches aimed at developing renewable energy markets in our countries," Shmyhal stressed. The parties also agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fields of security, trade, energy, and tourism. In particular, the heads of government discussed security issues in the context of Russias long-term destabilization in the Black Sea region. "Black Sea security must become a priority for NATO. We support the Alliance's readiness to expand its activities in the Black Sea region. Cooperation on Black Sea security plays an important role in strengthening NATO's south-eastern flank," Shmyhal noted. During the meeting, the heads of government agreed that Ukraine would co-sponsor draft UN General Assembly resolutions on the withdrawal of Russian troops illegally stationed in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region / South Ossetia, as well as on the status of internally displaced persons and refugees in Georgia. In addition, the parties discussed the joint development of international transport corridors and ways to attract investment in the modernization of transport infrastructure. Shmyhal stressed that the Government of Ukraine was ready to make every effort to promote the participation of foreign investors, including Georgian ones, in the implementation of large-scale infrastructure projects. The Prime Minister of Ukraine makes an official visit to Georgia on June 2-4. The government delegation also consists of Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers Oleh Nemchinov and Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko. ol ol Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 05:16:28|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Volkan Bozkir addresses the Special Session of the General Assembly on Challenges and Measures to Prevent and Combat Corruption and Strengthen International Cooperation at the UN headquarters in New York, on June 2, 2021. Bozkir said on Wednesday that the effects of corruption are "detrimental to all of society" and it should not be allowed to continue unchecked. (Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua) UNITED NATIONS, June 2 (Xinhua) -- President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Volkan Bozkir, said on Wednesday that the effects of corruption are "detrimental to all of society" and it should not be allowed to continue unchecked. "We cannot pretend that there were no issues before the COVID-19 pandemic," said Bozkir during the first day of a special session convened to galvanize political will to fight the scourge. "Transnational financial crime and corruption are unfortunately commonplace in our interconnected, interdependent world." The UNGA president, or the PGA, said that corruption affects decision-making processes and "remains one of the most critical challenges for states, institutions, and communities." From corroding public trust to weakening the rule of law and destabilizing peacebuilding efforts to undermining human rights, the PGA outlined the negative repercussions of corruption. It hits the poor, marginalized and vulnerable people hardest and "impedes progress" toward gender equality and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), he added. "We cannot allow corruption to continue. We will not," the PGA spelled out. Bozkir, a veteran Turkish diplomat, highlighted the need to build upon existing progress, including through the UN Conventions against Transnational Organized Crime and Corruption; the international conferences on financing for development, which resulted in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda; and the High-Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity, for Achieving the 2030 Agenda (FACTI Panel). The UNGASS (the 31st Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly) Political Declaration to tackle corruption builds upon existing architecture to provide the international community with "a roadmap for the future," he said. "It will guide member states in their work to fight corruption and money laundering, as well as critical efforts to recover assets and prevent illicit financial flows," which derail SDGs progress, the PGA noted. "Corruption thrives in a crisis," Bozkir stated, noting that corrupt actors have exploited the unprecedented strain that the COVID-19 pandemic has put on supply chains, infrastructure and systems around the world. Amid a complex global vaccine roll-out effort, he urged policymakers to "leverage this special session" to take concrete measures to prevent and address corruption by closing loopholes and putting safeguards in place. "We must learn from this experience because the next crisis will come, and we will need to be prepared to meet it when it does," said the PGA, inviting attendees to a high-level supporting event Thursday on addressing corruption in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Enditem President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky discussed counteraction to the Nord Stream 2 project implementation with the delegation of the U.S. Congress at a meeting in Kyiv on June 2. "Only the United States and President Biden's administration can prevent Nord Stream 2 from being completed and commissioned. Nord Stream 2 is not just the energy security that all diplomats and politicians talk about, it is a separate powerful weapon that is being given to the Russian Federation today. And then Europe asks how you can protect yourself from Russia. The answer is very simple do not give weapons to the enemy," Zelensky stressed, the Presidents press service informs. As the Head of State noted, Ukraine is currently defending Europe and European values on the eastern border, and this requires a strong and well-supplied army. Nord Stream 2 will disconnect Ukraine from gas supplies, which means disconnecting us from at least $3 billion a year We will not be able to pay for the Ukrainian army, he added. Zelensky also emphasized that understanding of all the threats posed by Nord Stream 2 was especially relevant on the eve of U.S. President Joe Biden's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine is ready to provide the American party with full information on this issue. Another potential threat that could strengthen Russia's position in Europe, according to the President, is the failure to provide Ukraine with a clear signal and specific terms for obtaining a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP). The President also expressed hope that the United States would be represented at the highest level during the Crimean Platform summit. "We would like the United States to support us in the issue of the de-occupation of Crimea at the highest level with its presence at this first important summit on August 23," Zelensky said. ol President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria Sebastian Kurz praised the high dynamics of bilateral dialogue and effective cooperation in many areas during a phone conversation on June 2. As the Presidents press service reports, Zelensky informed Kurz in detail about the current security situation in eastern Ukraine and the temporarily occupied Crimea, especially in the context of the recent escalation along Ukraine's borders and the ongoing militarization of the peninsula. In this regard, the President noted the importance of the solidarity of the international community with Ukraine and thanked the Federal Chancellor of Austria for Vienna's firm position in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state, reads the statement. Moreover, the parties discussed in detail the implementation of the agreements reached as a result of the official visit of the President of Ukraine to the Republic of Austria in September last year. The improvement of indicators of bilateral trade and economic cooperation despite the existing epidemic restrictions was praised. The interlocutors also discussed progress in the implementation of a number of investment projects in Ukraine with the participation of Austrian business. As noted, Zelensky and Kurz exchanged views on the steps taken by both countries in the context of counteracting the spread of COVID-19 and ensuring that citizens are vaccinated with a quality vaccine. The parties paid special attention to the priority tasks of the Ukraine-EU dialogue. According to the President of Ukraine, a powerful stimulus to reforms and implementation of the Association Agreement with the EU is the recognition by our partners of Ukraine's European prospects, the press service informs. The Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria supported the European integration aspirations of our state. The President of Ukraine also informed Kurz in detail about the Crimean Platform initiative aimed at de-occupation and ensuring systematic monitoring of the security and humanitarian situation in occupied Crimea. Zelensky invited the Federal Chancellor of Austria to pay an official visit to Ukraine in the near future. ol The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has approved a statement condemning the illegal actions of the Belarusian authorities regarding the forced landing of a Ryanair plane and called on the Belarusian authorities to release Roman Protasevich and all political prisoners immediately. Some 280 MPs voted for a respective resolution, No. 5597, "On the Statement of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Regarding the Incident with the Forced Landing of a Ryanair Plane in Minsk," according to an Ukrinform correspondent. "The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine strongly condemns the actions of the authorities of the Republic of Belarus regarding the forced landing of a Ryanair passenger plane and the detention of Roman Protasevich, which is another manifestation of the Belarusian authorities' attack on the political opposition, freedom of speech and journalism in Belarus," the statement reads. The Verkhovna Rada also called on the Belarusian authorities to immediately release Roman Protasevich and all political prisoners, to end the arbitrariness and torture used by the Belarusian security forces against detained citizens, and to guarantee respect for human rights in accordance with international obligations. The statement says that the Verkhovna Rada reaffirms its full solidarity with international partners, first and foremost, the EU member states and the United States, including on the suspension of air travel with Belarus. The parliament also fully supports the actions of the Ukrainian government which, in order to ensure the safety of civil aviation and society, was one of the first in Europe to ban air traffic between Ukraine and Belarus from May 26, 2021 and strengthen "air sanctions" against Belarusian airlines from May 28, 2021. The Verkhovna Rada emphasized that the International Civil Aviation Organization must immediately investigate this unacceptable forced landing of a passenger plane by the Belarusian authorities, with corresponding consequences for those who did it. The chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada has been instructed to ensure the immediate transmission of the text of the statement to the United Nations, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, national governments and parliaments. On May 23, the Belarusian authorities scrambled a fighter jet to force a Ryanair plane, en route from Athens to Vilnius, to land in Minsk. Roman Protasevich, the founder of the Nexta channel, and his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, were traveling on the plane. Belarusian security forces detained them after the plane landed. On May 27, Protasevich's lawyer, Ines Alenska, was able to see her client for the first time since his detention. Due to the signing of a non-disclosure agreement, the lawyer could not say exactly where and in what status Protasevich was. Human rights activists recognized Sapega and Protasevich as political prisoners. op Russia's ongoing destabilizing actions in the Black Sea region prompt Ukraine and Georgia to step up security cooperation. "The ongoing destabilizing actions by the Russian Federation in the Black Sea region prompt Ukraine and Georgia to work more closely in the field of security, including with the involvement of NATO member states," Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said at a joint briefing with Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili in Tbilisi on Thursday, broadcast by Georgian YouTube channel George PanQveLa. The PM of Ukraine noted that he greatly appreciated Georgia's continued support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, its non-recognition of the attempted illegal annexation of Crimea, and condemnation of Russia's aggression in eastern Ukraine. Shmyhal expressed hope for cooperation with Georgia within the framework of the Crimean Platform which is aimed at the de-occupation of the peninsula. The Prime Minister of Ukraine makes an official visit to Georgia on June 2-4. The government delegation also consists of Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers Oleh Nemchinov and Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko. ol Former President of Georgia, head of the executive committee of the National Reform Council of Ukraine Mikheil Saakashvili does not influence Ukrainian politics. "We have good neighborly, partnership relations. I am convinced we will have such relations in the future. The Ambassador of Georgia returned to Ukraine. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili had a telephone conversation. We have a mutual interest that should unite us. This is the European and Euro-Atlantic prospect of Ukraine and Georgia. I believe that our relations are a common history, large-scale prospects in the field of economic cooperation," Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said in an interview with the Interpressnews Georgian agency, Ukrinform reports with reference to the Echo of the Caucasus. He noted that the Ukrainian government maintained constant dialogue with Georgian politicians, members of the government team, confirmed by his working visit to Georgia. "It is important to understand that Mikheil Saakashvili is indeed a citizen of Ukraine now, he holds one of the posts in an advisory body in Ukraine. He shares his experience of reforms and gives advice, among others, to Ukrainian teams. But he bears no relation to the government, he does not influence the policy of Ukraine and, the more so, the international policy of Ukraine," said the Prime Minister of Ukraine. According to the media outlet, Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani said on Thursday that if Saakashvili interfered in the local elections this autumn, it would again be a topic of discussion with Ukrainian partners. "The Ambassador returned to Kyiv and took up his duties. He and the delegation have already been present at the meetings. Our Ukrainian partners are well aware of our position on this topic. It is very important for us to respect each other's statehood and laws as we are strategic partners. When there is interference in the activities of another country, including violations of electoral law, of course, this is unacceptable," Zalkaliani said. As reported, Georgia recalled its ambassador from Kyiv in May 2020 after Saakashvili had been appointed as the head of the executive committee of the National Reform Council under the President of Ukraine. Teimuraz Sharashenidze returned to Kyiv in April this year. The Prime Minister of Ukraine makes an official visit to Georgia on June 2-4. The government delegation also consists of Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers Oleh Nemchinov and Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko. ol Poland is ready to become a new platform for negotiations of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on the settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Polish Ambassador to Ukraine Bartosz Cichocki has said in an interview with the Glavcom online news site. "If there is a desire to hold talks in Warsaw or Krakow, we will be logistically ready. We have a lot of good places for negotiations," he said. According to Cichocki, this is not a problem if some members of the delegations of the Tripartite Contact Group, who are negotiating in Minsk, cannot fly to EU member states. "This is not a problem. There were cases when the West and Russia agreed on the possibility of a one-time lifting of visa sanctions," he added. Cichocki said he did not know whether Warsaw was being considered as a venue for holding TCG talks. "I do not know whether it is being considered or not. I heard about Warsaw from Leonid Kravchuk's interview in April. He named Warsaw and some other capitals," the diplomat added. The head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Leonid Kravchuk, said earlier that negotiations on resolving the situation in eastern Ukraine after the end of COVID-19 quarantine could be moved from Belarus to Poland. op Ukraine and Georgia plan to agree on mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccination documents in the near future. "We have reached an important agreement to conclude a document on mutual recognition of [COVID-19] vaccination documents in the near future. This should allow our citizens to cross the border as easily as possible, and they will love to visit our countries," Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said at a joint briefing with Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili in Tbilisi on Thursday, broadcast by Georgian YouTube channel George PanQveLa. He added that Ukrainian-Georgian relations should develop in all areas of mutual interest. "I believe that the agreements reached during today's talks will be an impetus for intensifying bilateral trade and economic cooperation, developing joint investment, infrastructure and logistics projects," Shmyhal noted. The political dialogue between Ukraine and Georgia is gaining "special momentum", and these are very important signals for business and citizens of the two countries, the Head of the Ukrainian Government added. The common goals of Ukraine and Georgia are the accession to EU and NATO, as well as a number of other areas, Shmyhal stressed. The Prime Minister of Ukraine makes an official visit to Georgia on June 2-4. The government delegation also consists of Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers Oleh Nemchinov and Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko. ol 06/03/2021 Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-758-4664, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu LOWELL, Mass. A free UMass Lowell program for the public will explore ways to stay grounded, healthy and engaged while maintaining the boundary between ones professional and personal life in these changing times. The online event Holistic Health: Women, Wellness and Leadership, will bring together experts in a variety of fields for a discussion about how stress can affect overall health, prioritizing sound nutrition to stay well, the science behind mindfulness and effective leadership strategies to meet challenges and opportunities in the workplace and beyond. The program, one in a series of UMass Lowell Womens Leadership Conversations, will be held on Tuesday, June 15 at 3 p.m. EDT. Members of the public who would like to attend should register at www.eventbrite.com/e/holistic-health-women-wellness-leadership-tickets-156550896947 As we come out of one of the most difficult years in our history, the need for us to share our experiences, take care of ourselves and build our skill sets and resilience on the path to fulfilling our leadership roles at work and in the community has never been more important. This interactive session will engage participants in ways to achieve these goals, said UMass Lowell Chancellor Jacquie Moloney, who will welcome participants to the event. Anne Maglia, UMass Lowell associate vice chancellor for research administration and integrity, will moderate the program, which will include insights from the following experts: Karoline Evans, UMass Lowell Manning School of Business assistant professor of management and research associate in the universitys Center for Women and Work; Kelsey Mangano, UMass Lowell assistant professor of biomedical and nutritional sciences and director of the universitys Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences nutritional science program; Tara Healey, founder and director of Harvard Pilgrim Health Cares Mind the Moment mindfulness program. I am particularly excited about the focus on the holistic health of women leaders. While most of us are pretty good at pursuing professional development activities to build our business acumen and leadership skills, we dont always put the same energies into our own health. This promises to be a dynamic discussion about how we can support and improve our whole selves and how focusing more on our own health can help make us better leaders, Maglia said. The program builds upon the success of the UMass Lowell Womens Leadership Conference (WLC) presented by the university. That event unites hundreds of professionals in business, government and the nonprofit sector to learn from an array of speakers and panel sessions, participate in interactive workshops, and join networking events to share best practices, challenges and opportunities related to leadership. Past UMass Lowell Womens Leadership events have featured executives from Coca-Cola, Deloitte Consulting LLP, IBM Corp., and Scholastic Inc., along with dozens of other professionals in the creative arts, technology, education, finance, government, health care, human resources, human services, legal and retail sectors. For a number of years we have been considering how to extend the energy, community-building and extensive content delivery of our UMass Lowell Womens Leadership Conference beyond our in-person conferences. Last year, as the world moved to virtual programming, we decided to embrace this opportunity and present shorter, focused, conversational fireside chat sessions. Our first event on the Future of Work was very well received, so we are building upon that momentum, said Elizabeth Altman, UMass Lowell Manning School of Business assistant professor of management and co-chair of the WLC. We are excited to continue offering events that allow participants to learn in a fun and informative way. We encourage people to keep their cameras on during the sessions, and coordinate attendance with friends and colleagues, so together we can continue to build this vibrant community focused on womens leadership. We are also delighted to offer these sessions for free to encourage broad participation. The Womens Leadership Conference was founded in 2015 by Moloney, the first woman to lead UMass Lowell in its history and one of the inaugural recipients of the Women Who Mean Business honor from the Boston Business Journal. UMass Lowell is ranked No. 12 and for the fourth consecutive year the highest-ranked educational institution in the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts by the Boston Globe Magazine and The Commonwealth Institute. Along with Womens Leadership Conference events, the university is home to the Center for Women and Work , an innovative research collaborative that seeks remedies for gender-based inequality in the workforce through education and promoting change. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the centers Making WAVES (Women Academics Valued and Engaged in STEM) initiative is establishing innovative approaches to increasing the diversity of faculty in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields at higher-education institutions across the country. Sokina (left), 35, is a Bangladeshi woman who received treatment for COVID-19 at a UNHCR-supported health facility for refugees and locals in Cox's Bazar. UNHCR/Kamrul Hasan Wrapping up today their four-day visit to Bangladesh, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioners for Protection and for Operations - Gillian Triggs and Raouf Mazou - called for international support and solidarity with Rohingya refugees and Bangladesh. The protection, well-being, and concerns of refugees, as well as renewed efforts towards solutions should be at the forefront of the response. A joint visit to Bangladesh of the UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Gillian Triggs and UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, Raouf Mazou, took place from 30 May to 2 June. It included visits to the refugee camps in Coxs Bazar where the vast majority of Rohingya refugees reside, and the island of Bhasan Char, as well as meetings with senior Government officials. Throughout the visit, the UNHCR Assistant High Commissioners reiterated their sincere appreciation to the Government and the people of Bangladesh for their humanitarian spirit and generous hospitality towards Rohingya refugees as they sought protection from violence and persecution in Myanmar over decades. This includes, notably, the recent influx of more than 740,000 Rohingya refugees since August 2017. They also reiterated the urgent need to continue working towards comprehensive solutions, including the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar. The Assistant High Commissioners emphasized that the responsibility for the current Rohingya refugee situation in Bangladesh rests with Myanmar, and that is where the solution lies. However, the recent developments in Myanmar make the prospects of voluntary repatriation in the short term more challenging. While Bangladesh has shown humanity and solidarity, in line with the guiding principles of the Global Compact on Refugees, the international community must step up and give practical effect to the obligation to share responsibility, and to protect refugees and support the host Bangladeshi Government, said Triggs. The Assistant High Commissioners visited the Rohingya refugee camps in Coxs Bazar and met with the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC), responsible for the overall coordination of the Rohingya refugee response in Coxs Bazar as well as the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Coxs Bazar. Despite the COVID-19 challenges, they noted remarkable strides have been made in preparing for and responding to the pandemic, both within and outside of the camps, for refugees and host communities alike. The Assistant High Commissioners visited a COVID-19 treatment facility in the local community of Ukhiya, which was built in just 8 weeks. This facility alone has responded to the needs of around 1,000 patients in the past year, almost 70% of whom came from the Bangladeshi host community. The inclusive Health Sector response in Coxs Bazar has saved lives. The Government has set a positive example by including the Rohingya refugees in the national COVID-19 response plan and the related national vaccination plan. UNHCR opened two of a total of 12 operational COVID-19 treatment facilities and established the first Intensive Care Unit in the District hospital. Responding to the needs of both communities on an equal basis is essential to ensuring that everyone is kept safe, said Mazou. Additional challenges have been presented by COVID-19 and related restrictions in the camps. The Assistant High Commissioners observed a reduced humanitarian presence in the camps and associated protection risks. UNHCR advocates for essential protection services for the most vulnerable, including women and children who are particularly exposed to gender-based violence, including sexual exploitation, early marriage and child labour. In its work, UNHCR listens to the voices of refugees. During the visit to the Rohingya refugee camps in Coxs Bazar, the Assistant High Commissioners had the opportunity to discuss with refugees and to better understand their situation and needs. Many stressed the need for the resumption of education and skills training. The Government facilitated a visit of the Assistant High Commissioners to Bhasan Char. While on the island, they clearly recognized the significant financial investments by the Bangladeshi government in facilities and infrastructure, including housing. However, it was clear that the 18,000 Rohingya refugees currently on the island have protection and assistance needs. That is, access to meaningful livelihoods opportunities, skills development, education, health and access to cash to facilitate their daily lives. UNHCR recognizes the potential that Bhasan Char could provide as an alternative temporary location for some Rohingya refugees while in Bangladesh. UNHCR proposes further discussions with the Government to ensure protection of refugees, as well as on our future operational engagement on the island. At the same time, UNHCR remains concerned about reports of refugees being arrested and detained for attempting to leave Bhasan Char. UNHCR strongly discourages the use of relocation to Bhasan Char as a punitive measure. Bhasan Char has some potential, though the human and protection elements of refugees living there must be fully considered. Refugees who decide to relocate to Bhasan Char must do so on a voluntary basis. They should have freedom of movement on the island and must be granted the possibility to return to Coxs Bazar and to maintain family connections with those in the camps, said Triggs. While on Bhasan Char, UNHCR had the opportunity to talk to a large group of refugees, predominantly young men. They raised their concerns about the lack of access to livelihoods and self-reliance opportunities, skills development, as well as access to education. UNHCR was deeply concerned to learn of reports of refugees who were injured on the day of the visit to Bhasan Char. While ultimately, the desired solution by the majority of the Rohingya refugees is to return home voluntarily, safely, sustainably and in dignity, when conditions in Myanmar allow, the crisis is now in its fourth year and refugees cannot remain fully dependent on aid. Livelihoods and skills training opportunities will provide refugees with a sense of purpose and autonomy while they are in Bangladesh, while preparing them for reintegration when conditions allow them to return home, stressed Mazou. Today, 2 June, the UNHCR Assistant High Commissioners were grateful for the opportunity to meet and discuss these various issues with senior Government officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including the Foreign Minister and Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh, and the Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief. While continuing to work together with the support of the international community towards voluntary repatriation, the Assistant High Commissioners discussed the possibility of introducing alternative solutions for Rohingya refugees, including resettlement to third countries for the most vulnerable with specific protection needs, as well as complementary pathways overseas, which could include employment and educational opportunities. UNHCR once more calls on the international community, including through the recently launched 2021 Joint Response Plan, to continue to support the Government of Bangladesh who have taken on a huge responsibility in hosting almost 1 million Rohingya refugees in the largest refugee camp in the world. This must not become a forgotten crisis. Under the shade of nodding acacia trees outside the University of Botswanas School of Medicine, first-year medical students Linda and Xolile*, relax after their final exam and discuss a future that until recently did not seem possible. The women are the only refugees in their university class recipients of newly established scholarships that are providing opportunities to refugees living in Botswanas capital, Gaborone. Life feels more secure than it did before coming to universitywe can make plans for the future, said Linda, who left Burundi as a baby with her mother in 1998 for South Africa. Ten years later, they fled to Botswana to escape unrest affecting foreign nationals in their Johannesburg neighbourhood. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and its partner, Skillshare, have advocated to expand opportunities for high-performing refugee students, and are partnering with higher education institutions and the private sector in Botswana to offer scholarships to a growing handful of foreign students who, like Xolile, 19, and Linda, 22, receive high marks in secondary school. Life feels more securewe can make plans for the future. Refugees in Botswana attend local primary and secondary schools alongside Batswana children. Many excel in their studies, but their options after secondary school are limited. The government offers higher education scholarships to cover all or part of tuition costs for Batswana students whose marks meet the required threshold, and some universities offer scholarships to students from lower income families. But refugees have traditionally not received these opportunities. Most come from families who cannot afford higher education, so they end up back in the Dukwi refugee camp, where almost all of the 1,010 refugees in Botswana live. There, they have few job opportunities. Zimbabwean refugee, Haskins, reads a book at Botho University's library in Gaborone, Botswana where he is doing Business Studies. UNHCR/Kate Pond Its hard being a kid in a refugee camp, said Xolile,19, who fled social unrest in Zimbabwe in 2008 with her mother and sister. My friends are all gone. Theyve been resettled to a third country, or theyve gone back to Zimbabwe. Our future is here, as doctors. In the last year, the number of university places offered to refugees has multiplied. Last September, 15 refugee students were able to enrol with scholarships. Its a small number, but it represents a huge shift in how refugee students are treated in this country of 2.3 million. It also serves as a reminder of the demand for higher education opportunities from displaced people around the world, which the non-profit, public and private sectors could help to fill. In refugee communities across the world, the thirst for learning is as evident as it is in Dukwi. Progress lags behind demand, and while more than 77 per cent of refugee children are enrolled in primary school, that portion drops to 31 per cent in secondary school and only 3 per cent of young refugees enrol in higher education. The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to reverse the small gains made. For girls in particular, the situation is bleak. Worldwide, many families feel forced to push their daughters into early marriage or to work in order to alleviate economic suffering. Haskins, 25, fled Zimbabwe in 2008 and dreams of giving back to the country that gave his family shelter. Hes now the only foreign-born student in his class at Botho University in Gaborone, where he studies business management. After graduating, he hopes to say in the capital and provide for his mother and younger brother. I want a better life for all of us, he said. Haskins is the first refugee to receive a scholarship from Botho University but the school plans to offer more. Golekanye Setume, the Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor, sees these scholarships as an investment in the community and the future of Botswana. I see Haskins integration into the almost-entirely Batswana student body as a successful first step. Next year, with UNHCRs support, one place will become two, he said. Haskins, Linda and Xolile now feel invested in Botswana, and see their time at university as a transition towards a more secure future, plying their chosen trades in the capital. I feel like a Motswana, Haskins said. *Only first names have been used for protection reasons. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 06:11:44|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on June 2, 2021 shows a meeting of the Joint Commission on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna, Austria. Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, said Wednesday that Iran's legitimate concerns should be properly addressed in the ongoing negotiations to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. (EU Delegation Vienna/Handout via Xinhua) VIENNA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy said Wednesday that Iran's legitimate concerns should be properly addressed in the ongoing negotiations to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, made the remarks after the latest meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission, chaired by European Union official Enrique Mora and attended by representatives from China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and Iran. Important progress has been made in the ongoing negotiations, but there are some key differences on issues related to the lifting of sanctions, Wang said. The fact that the primary issue of sanction removal has not been settled in talks that have dragged on for more than two months shows that the issue of right and wrong has not yet been fundamentally resolved, he said. It is the United States that unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA and exerted "maximum pressure" on Iran, which is the root cause of the Iranian nuclear crisis, said the Chinese diplomat. For the United States and Iran to resume full compliance with the JCPOA, illegal U.S. sanctions against Iran should be "fully, cleanly and completely" lifted in the first place, including "long-arm jurisdiction" against third-party entities and individuals, Wang noted. All other sanction measures imposed by the United States during the withdrawal period that are inconsistent with the JCPOA and relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council should also be completely lifted, he said. At the same time, practical measures should be taken to prevent the relevant parties from arbitrarily withdrawing from the JCPOA again, Wang said. He added that China also supports the proper settlement of Iran's legitimate concerns in other areas. "It is time to make a political decision on this," Wang noted. The envoy stressed that China has always upheld an impartial position on the Iran nuclear issue and is willing to keep working with all parties involved to push forward the negotiations. He added that China will also continue safeguarding its own legitimate rights and interests in the lifting of sanctions and other aspects. The U.S. administration under former President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and unilaterally reimposed sanctions on Iran. In response to the U.S. moves, Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its JCPOA commitments from May 2019. The JCPOA Joint Commission began to meet in offline format on April 6 in Vienna to continue previous discussions in view of a possible return of the United States to the JCPOA and on how to ensure the full and effective implementation of the JCPOA. Enditem Ali Mohamed Hussein (right), a refugee, and Ahmed Hussein, a local community member, jointly manage the solar mini-grid in Buramino Refugee Camp. UNHCR/Giulia Naboni In south-eastern Ethiopias arid and remote Somali region, energy is not something that can be taken for granted, either by the more than 168,000 Somali refugees staying in five camps in the Dollo Ado and Bokolmayo areas, or by the communities that surround them. The areas are not served by the national electricity grid, firewood is scarce, and many households cannot afford the small solar phone chargers and batteries sold at local markets. Until recently, the only option for locals and refugees running small businesses and shops, were diesel-powered generators. Without electricity and lighting, refugees struggle to refrigerate their food, charge their phones, study or work after sunset, says Muhammad Harfoush, a protection officer with the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, in Melkadida, where one of the camps is based. Women and girls are also more exposed to gender-based violence. Globally, more than 90 per cent of refugees live in rural areas like Dollo Ado that have very limited access to reliable, and clean sources of energy. In 2017, UNHCR and the IKEA Foundation provided equipment for solar-powered grids to be established in all of the Dollo Ado camps. In a region increasingly affected by climate change, solar power answered the need for energy in the camps to be clean and sustainable, while the establishment of cooperatives to run them is generating much-needed income. Since 2018, the solar grids have been managed by five cooperatives, one based in each of the camps, made up of both refugees and host community members. They are supported by the Ethiopian governments Agency for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA), UNHCR and the IKEA Foundation, which together support a wider livelihoods, self-reliance and energy strategy in the area. After going through training at a local college, the cooperatives maintain the grids and handle the supply of green, affordable electricity to households in and outside the camps. They have become the main local energy providers, transforming daily life for hundreds of families who can now access energy for cooking, lighting and running businesses. At the same time, the cooperatives 62 members have become less dependent on aid and have built strong working relationships with each other. "It has restored my dignity and self-esteem" Ahmed Hussein, an Ethiopian national, and Ali Mohamed Hussein, a Somali refugee, co-manage the energy cooperative in Buramino Refugee Camp as chairman and vice chairman. I decided to join the cooperative so that I could provide for my family, says Ahmed. Now, its my responsibility to guide and motivate the cooperative to focus on generating income and investing the earnings. Ali describes becoming part of the cooperative as the best decision I ever made. It has restored my dignity, self-esteem and improved the welfare of my family, he adds. It has really been an eye-opener and made me realize I can be more self-reliant. Ahmed (left), chairman of the Buramino cooperative, with his vice chairman Ali, a Somali refugee. UNHCR/Giulia Naboni Ali, a father nine, is happy about his decision to join the cooperative. "It has restored my dignity, self-esteem and improved the welfare of my family," he says. UNHCR/Giulia Naboni Fatuma Farah (left), a Somali refugee, lives in Buramino camp with her 10 children, two of whom are disabled. The energy cooperative provides her with free clean energy. UNHCR/Giulia Naboni "This electricity has really improved life," says Fatuma. Having light at night means her younger children can study and do their homework. UNHCR/Giulia Naboni While the cooperatives are generating an income for their members through the sale of electricity, they are also providing free power to vulnerable households who could not otherwise afford it. The number of such households has only increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In return, UNHCR helps the cooperatives procure spare parts for the grids that are difficult to find in local markets. Among those benefiting from free electricity is 38-year-old Somali refugee Fatuma Farah who has lived in Buramino camp with her 10 children since 2014. This electricity has really improved life. We now have light at night, which helps my children to be able to study and do homework, and we can use it to charge our cell phones and fans, she says. Ive also been able to help my neighbours when they need electricity. Since the pandemic struck last year, the energy cooperatives have been helping to power health centres in the camps, enabling them to better respond to the emergency. They also supply power to the newly constructed quarantine centres, UNHCRs food distribution centre, and the reception centre for newly arrived refugees in Dollo Ado. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of damage to the whole world, but we have been trying to continue the business and serve the community by taking preventive measures, raising awareness and providing the needed energy, says Ahmed. The project embodies the objectives of the Clean Energy Challenge, an effort by businesses, governments and organizations, steered by UNHCR and the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), to bring affordable, reliable and sustainable energy to all settlements of forcibly displaced people, and nearby host communities by 2030. Increasing access to sustainable energy and work opportunities for refugees and host communities were also among the pledges made by the Ethiopian government during the Global Refugee Forum in December 2019. See also: Refugees in Sudan reap benefits of clean cooking energy With a growing number of clients and increasing demand for electricity, the cooperatives income has increased significantly over the past year, enabling them to invest in new equipment. With this income, we have been able to buy a brand-new generator as backup to use during the rainy season, so the customers get a consistent power supply, explains Ahmed. He and Ali have various other plans for expanding the Buramino cooperative. One is to buy a motorbike so they can more easily reach far-away areas where they want to install new solar systems and maintain existing ones, as well as to collect customer payments. They plan to spend some of their earnings on donating learning materials to orphaned and disabled children in the community. The potential for further growth is limited not by demand, but by the size of the solar mini-grids in the camps, which are currently close to their maximum capacity. With a system upgrade, we could maybe electrify the entire community, says Ahmed. Addition reporting by Mohamed Ahmed Issack Register for a FREE account to keep reading! Register now for a FREE account to keep reading. No cost and no credit card required! Access up to 5 articles per month when you register, or get unlimited access to all of our content online starting at $1.99 now! Already registered? Click the log in link below Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 09:00:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Zhao Leji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC, attends and addresses a special session of the United Nations General Assembly on challenges and measures to prevent and combat corruption and strengthen international cooperation via video link in Beijing, capital of China, June 2, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling) BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- China's top anti-graft official on Wednesday called on all parties to join hands to follow the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind and build a clean world free from corruption. Zhao Leji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC, made the remarks during a special session of the United Nations General Assembly on challenges and measures to prevent and combat corruption and strengthen international cooperation. Enditem For full access, please log in, register your subscription or subscribe. Try for 99 a month for two months, cancel or pause anytime. PEMBROKE As many as 60% of ballots with hand or machine-made folds were improperly read by the four AccuVote optical scanning machines used IT IS a requirement in the state of New Hampshire to have our automobiles inspected annually by a state-certified inspection station for safety. You imagine what might happen if the brakes are faulty and fail? Someone could be killed. TCM in cartoonsLeech cured King Hui of Chu By:Zheng Qian | From:english.eastday.com | 2021-06-03 17:31 One day when King Hui of Chu from the Warring States Period was dining, he was surprised to find a worm in his pickle dish. Knowing it was a leech, the king was not angry but instead ordered the minister not to tell others so as to avoid embarrassing the chef. To destroy the evidence, the king even swallowed the leech. Surprisingly, his long-suffering blood stasis was fully cured. It was the leech that cured his disease. A kind of mollusk that lives in paddy fields, lakes and marshes, the leech is also a kind of Chinese medicine that can invigorate the blood, remove blood stagnation, and promote menstruation.Therefore, it can be used for the treatment of diseases caused by severe blood stasis. Research indicates that the leech possesses excellent anticoagulant and thrombolytic properties for the treatment of the cerebral thrombosis, coronary heart disease, and thrombosis-related diseases. The leech can secrete a very important natural anticoagulant-hirudin, which can make the wound bleed continuously without clotting, and its saliva also contains vasodilator. Because of these characteristics, surgeons once used live leeches to remove blood stasis after finger and ear replantation operations, which greatly improved the success rate of the replantation. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 11:49:27|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- China's top anti-graft official on Wednesday called on all parties to join hands to follow the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind and build a clean world free from corruption. Zhao Leji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC, made the remarks during a special session of the United Nations General Assembly on challenges and measures to prevent and combat corruption and strengthen international cooperation. Zhao said China highly commends the United Nations for its efforts and contributions in preventing and combating corruption, and firmly supports the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in serving as the main channel for global anti-corruption governance. "We welcome the adoption of a political declaration at this special session, and will work with all parties to take the global cause against corruption to a new stage," he said. He noted the CPC and the Chinese government stand unequivocally against corruption, have kept improving the socialist oversight system with Chinese characteristics and exploring effective ways for the CPC to purify itself as the long-term governing Party. "These efforts have won the wholehearted endorsement and overwhelming support of the Chinese people and provided strong guarantee for China's enduring peace and stability and sustainable development," Zhao added. Noting that the CPC Central Committee exercises centralized, unified leadership over all anti-corruption efforts and attacks all forms of corruption with an extraordinary resolve and determination, he said it is the strongest political guidance and guarantee for China's anti-corruption endeavor. He said the CPC Central Committee has made exercising full and rigorous governance over the Party part of its comprehensive strategy to ensure no no-go zones, no ground and no tolerance for corruption. Multi-pronged measures have been adopted to "take out tigers," "swat flies," and "hunt down foxes." A sweeping victory has been secured and consolidated in all respects of the anti-corruption endeavor. "We have taken a people-centered approach and resolutely tackled corruption and misconduct involving the people's most immediate interests. With rigorous oversight and inspection, we have made major strategic gains in fighting COVID-19 and achieved a full victory in eradicating extreme poverty," Zhao said. "We have followed the rule of law in both thinking and action to eradicate the audacity, capacity and desire to commit acts of corruption. We have set up supervisory commissions at all levels to institute a centralized, unified, authoritative and efficient oversight system with complete coverage," he said. Zhao said China is an active participant in and contributor to global anti-corruption governance. Due to changes and a pandemic both unseen in a century, the interests of all countries have become more intertwined. Cooperation is needed, more than ever, in fighting corruption. Zhao also shared his thoughts on international cooperation against corruption. "First, we must uphold fairness and justice by punishing wrongdoings while promoting good conduct," he said. The international community needs to forge broad political consensus, take a zero-tolerance attitude toward corruption, build zero-loophole institutions, carry out zero-barrier cooperation, and oppose all acts of providing safe havens to the corrupt or to the proceeds of corruption under whatever excuses. "Second, we must respect differences and promote equality and mutual learning. We need to respect the sovereignty and political and legal systems of each country, respect their right to choose their own ways of fighting corruption, and oppose the use of 'long-arm jurisdiction' or even interference in other countries' internal affairs in the name of fighting corruption," Zhao said. Third, efforts must be made to pursue mutually-beneficial cooperation through extensive consultation and joint contribution, he said. "We need to uphold multilateralism and improve the set of rules in global anti-corruption governance on the basis of consensus-building." "Fourth, we must honor commitments and put action first," Zhao said. It is important that Parties to the Convention fully fulfill international obligations. It is also important to extensively conclude treaties on extradition and on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, to remove barriers to cooperation on persons sought for corruption and asset recovery and to deny safe haven to the corrupt. It is the first time that the UN General Assembly held a special session on anti-corruption issues. The President of the UN General Assembly and high-level representatives from various countries attended the session. Enditem Elmer Wayne Cruey, 77, passed away Sunday, May 9, 2021, at his home in Milledgeville. He was a native of Tazewell, Va. and resident in Milledgeville for the past 20 years. Wayne was preceded in death by his mother, Cordelia Pauley Cruey, and father, Charles Patterson Cruey; sisters, Mercedes (Photo : Gillian Garcia) Every person fancies having shiny, healthy, and strong hair, especially most women, as they want their hair to be their crowning glory. But the truth is that only a few have enviable hair. The lack of reliable hairstylists to guide them is one factor that causes many not to achieve this dream. The hairstyling industry is filled with amazing talents, and with Gillian Garcia's expertise she's considered one of the masters. She is New York's most sought-after hairstylist. She is a hairstylist educator, content creator, philanthropist, and serial entrepreneur with vast experience in the industry. She is a famous hairstylist in the US and was featured in Essence and often the source for a healthy hair story article,her latest being Oprah Magazine. Gillian Garcia has a special love for styling women's hair and making them feel special. Her hairstyling brand is tailored to provide a healthy hair journey, and she is working to bring back the trend of having healthy hair. The fact that healthy hair was common years ago when she joined the industry has motivated her to continue her quest for finding the essence of healthy hair. According to her, healthy hair has become rare, and it's a surprise to see and envy someone who obviously has hair that shines with health. Gillian Garcia advocates using natural ways to enhance hair growth and maintain healthy hair. Her salon uses natural products made and sourced from the best ingredients globally. For instance, her top-selling products Ju Poppin growth oil, Ju Poppin Vitamin E oil, and Ju Poppin scalp healing mist are sourced and imported from all over the world. To ensure quality, they are first tested for clarity and authenticity by the raw supplier based in Canada then sent to the USA to be blended. Some of the Ju Poppin growth oil key ingredients are English lavender, Black cumin seed, and Ylang Ylang, all of which are natural raw materials. Gillian was born in Trinidad and Tobago and attended Vessigny government secondary school. She attained her GED from Brooklyn College, and she continues with classes. Gillian Garcia grew up just like any other average child and never thought of hairstyling being a career. It all started when her grandmother passed away, and her life changed. Life seemed threatening, and that's how she was thrown into doing hair. She joined Hair Ann"s hair school in San Fernando and later continued with Matrix, Patric Bradley, Loreal, and Najah. She also attended mastermind classes with Natalie Wedwell, Marissa Peer, and Grant Cordone. She moved to the US with only a dream and started her journey with only $50. Today she has achieved what she called her dream and is still scaling to higher levels. Her love for God is still intact, and she strongly believes it was His will and gift to her to be in the hair industry. Gillian Garcia is a very spiritual, soft-hearted, and generous woman of God with great insight that touches so many hearts. She treasures giving back to society as part of her life. She is a down-to-earth woman and an action movie and criminal TV lover, which she enjoys most with a glass of Roscato or a cup of ginger tea. Check out Gillian Garcia on http://gilliangarcia.com/ to learn more about her services and read some of the testimonials from her clients. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced on Thursday that is signed a memorandum with Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund and the Binnopharm Group to establish a new facility in Bahrain to manufacture Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd June, 2021) The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced on Thursday that is signed a memorandum with Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund and the Binnopharm Group to establish a new facility in Bahrain to manufacture Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus. The agreement was signed on Thursday on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). "RDIF, Bahrain's Mumtalakat Holding Company (sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Bahrain) and Binnopharm Group ( subsidiary of Sistema PJSFC, a publicly traded Russian investment company) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a new vaccine production facility in the Kingdom of Bahrain to manufacture and distribute the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine across the MENA region [Middle East and North Africa]," RDIF said in a press release. This year's edition of SPIEF is taking place in-person from Wednesday through Saturday at St. Petersburg's ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Center. The Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, the umbrella media organization that includes such brands as Sputnik, RIA Novosti, InoSMI, and Baltnews, among others, is an official media partner of the country's major economic forum. Jammu and Kashmir National Front (JKNF) Thursday urged the people of Kashmir to observe a complete blackout on Friday night, between 8PM to 9PM as a mark of protest against the stepped-up Indian state terrorism and its Machiavellian machinations aimed at suppressing Kashmiris' ongoing struggle for right to self-determinatio ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Jun, 2021 ) :Jammu and Kashmir National Front (JKNF) Thursday urged the people of Kashmir to observe a complete blackout on Friday night, between 8PM to 9PM as a mark of protest against the stepped-up Indian state terrorism and its Machiavellian machinations aimed at suppressing Kashmiris' ongoing struggle for right to self-determination. In a statement issued, the JKNF spokesman while highlighting the unabated human rights violations, arbitrary arrests, custodial killings, forced disappearances and killing of innocent youth by the Indian occupation forces during CASO and stage-managed encounters observed that there has been immense increase in the incidents of reckless violence and state-sponsored terrorism in the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir. "On one hand bloodbath of Kashmiris continue unabated while on the other people of Kashmir have been caught in the crosshairs of coronavirus", the spokesman said adding that amidst the rising tide of deadly coronavirus the Indian government was planning to hold Amarnath-yatra in Kashmir. "It seems the government of India has learnt no lessons from the devastating coronavirus that continues to wreak havoc all across India'', he said adding that like Kumbh Mela, Amarnath-Yatra would prove a super-spreader of the coronavirus in the region that battles COVID19 pandemic without adequate health care facilities. Reiterating his party's full support to the APHC's call for observance of blackout on Friday night he said that the blackout would symbolize Kashmiris' decades' long resistance and resilience against India's illegal and forcible occupation of their motherland. Referring to Kashmiris' undying spirit and passion for freedom, the spokesman said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have a glorious history of resilience and an enviable tradition of fighting against oppressors and invaders. He said that the ongoing resistance movement bears testimony to the fact that Kashmiris have never accepted India's dominance over the region. "Kashmiris have totally rejected the forcible annexation of Kashmir by Indian government and this categorical rejection of the Indian actions speak volumes about Kashmiris' commitment and allegiance towards the noble cause of freedom for which Kashmiris have rendered matchless sacrifices. Washington, June 2 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Jun, 2021 ) :The US government announced Wednesday it is suspending for six months punitive tariffs on Britain, India and four European nations while it works to resolve a dispute over digital services taxes. The decision comes at the conclusion of a year-long investigation into taxes that Washington says discriminated against big US tech companies like Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook. The 25 percent duties were never imposed, but were intended to also target Austria, Italy, Spain and Turkey. While trade authorities ruled the tariffs were justified, "The United States is focused on finding a multilateral solution to a range of key issues related to international taxation, including our concerns with digital services taxes," US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai said in a statement. President Joe Biden's administration is pushing for a 15 percent global minimum corporate tax that aims to resolve the issue of corporations sheltering profits in low-tax nations. The decision comes just ahead of a two-day meeting in London starting Friday of finance ministers from the Group of Seven rich countries to hammer out a deal on the tax issue. Officials then would try to win broader support from the G20 and the 38-member Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which has led the effort to harmonize taxation. However, Ireland, which has become a haven for many multinationals, has expressed opposition to the global minimum tax. G7 leaders will meet later in June, following by a G20 finance ministers meeting in July. - Committed to a solution - USTR made clear it still has the option to impose the punitive duties on goods from the countries that adopted the digital services taxes. "The United States remains committed to reaching a consensus on international tax issues through the OECD and G20 processes," Tai said. "Today's actions provide time for those negotiations to continue to make progress while maintaining the option of imposing tariffs... if warranted in the future." The so-called Section 301 investigation ruled that the tax "discriminates against US companies, is inconsistent with prevailing principles of international taxation and burden or restricts US commerce."USTR in January also suspended 25 percent tariffs on $1.3 billion in French goods imposed in the dispute. In March, USTR terminated investigations of Brazil, the Czech Republic, the European Union and Indonesia, since those governments did not implement a digital services tax. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was informed on Wednesday that the Ministry of Science and Technology would arrange a prototype demo and briefing for it on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in July ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Jun, 2021 ) :The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was informed on Wednesday that the Ministry of Science and Technology would arrange a prototype demo and briefing for it on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in July. The ECP meeting, which was chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, thanked the Ministry of Science and Technology, saying it was committed to work on the use of new technology in elections after having the confidence of all stakeholders, including voters and political parties. The Commission said it was its constitutional responsibility to win the confidence of all stakeholders and make decisions in consultation with them. It added the commission would soon start consultation with the political parties. The ECP also received a briefing on the technical audit report of the internet voting system from the Spanish consultancy firm. The report was prepared by NADRA and the meeting discussed various aspects of the report and compared the NADRA's system with other countries' systems. The CEC directed to hold a meeting in next week to further discuss the report of a consultant firm. (@FahadShabbir) The Lahore High Court (LHC) Thursday acquitted a couple on death row seven years after their conviction for alleged blasphemy LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Jun, 2021 ) :The Lahore High Court (LHC) Thursday acquitted a couple on death row seven years after their conviction for alleged blasphemy. The division bench headed by Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi on Thursday allowed the appeal of Shafqat Emmanuel and his wife Shagufta Maseeh against their conviction by a trial court. The bench had reserved its verdict on the appeal a day earlier after hearing detailed arguments of the parties. Advocate Saiful Malook represented the appellants before the bench, whereas the complainants were represented by Advocate Chaudhry Ghulam Mustafa. In his final arguments, the defense counsel argued that the trial court ignored the basic principles of criminal justice and committed error in its decision. He further submitted that the trial court had committed material irregularity in misreading the evidence on record that caused serious miscarriage of justice. He pleaded with the court to set aside the trial court sentence and acquit his clients. However, the complainant's counsel opposed the plea, stating that the trial court made the decision on merit after the prosecution succeeded in proving its case on the basis of independent and impeachable evidence. Shafqat, watchman of Gojra's Saint Cathedral school, and his wife Shagufta Maseeh were arrested on July 25, 2013 ,under Section 295C, allegedly on the charge of sending blasphemous text messages to the complainants--- shopkeeper Malik Muhammad Hussain and Gojra tehsil bar's former president Anwar Mansoor Goraya. In April 2014, an additional district and sessions judge of Toba Tek Singh handed down death sentence to the couple for blasphemy and fined Rs 100,000 each. The National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice on Thursday approved three bills including Anti-Rape bill, Criminal Law Amendment bill and National Accountability Amendment Bill ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Jun, 2021 ) :The National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice on Thursday approved three bills including Anti-Rape bill, Criminal Law Amendment bill and National Accountability Amendment Bill. The meeting of the Committee held under the chairmanship of Riaz Fatyana, was attended by its Members including Atta Ullah, Lal Chand, Muhammad Farooq Azam Malik, Ms. Kishwar Zehra, Ms. Maleeka Ali Bokhari, Junaid Akbar, Ms. Shunila Ruth, Ch. Mehmood Bashir Virk, Usman Ibraheem, Syed Hussain Tariq, Dr. Nafeesa Shah, Syed Naveed Qamar, Ms. Aliya Kamran, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Ch. Faqir Ahamed, Syed Javed Husnain, Ms. Uzma Riaz, Minister for Law and Justice, representatives of Ministry of Law and justice and Ministry of Human Rights, along with their staff. The Committee considered the Government Bill, The Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Bill, 2021, the Government Bill, The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2020, the Government Bill, The National Accountability (Amendment) Bill,2021, the Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (Section 69) moved by Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (Article 259), Moved by Ch. Faqir Ahmed, the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (Article 140 A) and The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (Article 140 A), moved by Syed Javed Hssnain and after deliberation, the Committee recommended that the Bills be passed by the Assembly. The Committee after deliberations, constituted a Sub-committee to consider the last two Bills. But the said sub-committee would start working on the given TORs after expiry of the existing sub-committee. The Committee considered the Bill, The Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2021 and deferred the same till next meeting. The Committee also considered The Legal Aid and Justice Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (Section 2, 6 & 9A) and deferred the same till next meeting. The Committee considered the Bill, The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (Article 51 & 59) and due to non-availability of the Mover, the Committee deferred the same. (@imziishan) Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday said Pakistan attached huge importance to its trilateral mechanism with China and Afghanistan for enhancing cooperation and coordination in the areas of shared interests ISLAMABAD (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Jun, 2021 ) :Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday said Pakistan attached huge importance to its trilateral mechanism with China and Afghanistan for enhancing cooperation and coordination in the areas of shared interests. In his virtual address at the 4th China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Dialogue, the foreign minister said Pakistan had always strived to strengthen its relations with China and Afghanistan in the bilateral as well as regional context. The foreign minister said: "We strongly believe that peace, prosperity and economic development of our three countries are inter-linked." About four years ago, he said three countries had conceived this trilateral forum for discussing collaborative efforts to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region, enhancing security and counter-terrorism cooperation and deepening regional connectivity and shared economic development through meaningful projects. The foreign minister said since then, Pakistan had successfully moved forward this forum through a gradual, phased but consistent approach. He said the United States and NATO forces had already started withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. He said while the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan entailed serious security challenges, it also offered a unique opportunity for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan and moving the country from a perpetual internal conflict to an era of peace and stability. "We should, therefore, explore how our three neighborly countries can work together to deal with the evolving situation in an effective manner and steer it towards achieving our shared objective of lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region," he said. The foreign minister said Pakistan, China and Afghanistan were located in a region which had immense opportunities for fostering mutually beneficial economic and development cooperation. Our three geographically linked countries straddle historical routes traversing east-west and north-south, he added. Qureshi said durable peace and stability in Afghanistan would lead to a conducive environment for harnessing the true potential of regional connectivity and further deepening economic inter-dependence through use of innovation and technological advances. "Such an outcome will surely contribute to progress, welfare and better lives for the peoples of our countries," he added. Qureshi expressed the confidence that the deliberations of trilateral meeting on all the agenda items would be constructive, meaningful and result-oriented. He thanked State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi for hosting the meeting and welcomed Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Hanif Atmar for joining. Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati Thursday lauded passage of the Public Private Partnership Authority Amendment Bill, 2021 and said it would help modernize various sectors by using the latest resources ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Jun, 2021 ) :Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati Thursday lauded passage of the Public Private Partnership Authority Amendment Bill, 2021 and said it would help modernize various sectors by using the latest resources. Speaking in Senate on the bill, he said the legislation would benefit all projects of Pakistan Railways besides increasing local and foreign investment. He thanked all the senators for supporting the bill and also congratulated the nation, traders, investors and said it was the great achievement during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf tenure. Earlier, Senate passed the Public Private Partnership Authority Amendment Bill, 2021 which was moved by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan on behalf of Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar. Ali Muhammad Khan also laid the report on 2nd Biannual Monitoring on the Implementation of National Finance Commission Award (January-June, 2020), as required under clause (3B) of Article 160 of the Constitution. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Zaheer-ud-Din Babar moved the Emigration (Amendment) Bill, 2020 which was referred to the relevant committee for further consideration. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 12:40:51|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Former Syrian Ambassador to China Khalaf al-Jarad speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Damascus, Syria, March 10, 2021. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) DAMASCUS, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) represents "a mixture of principles and flexibility," former Syrian Ambassador to China Khalaf al-Jarad told Xinhua here in a recent interview. The CPC sticks to the fundamental principles and at the same time has great flexibility in implementing such principles in accordance with socialism with Chinese characteristics, said al-Jarad, who is now a researcher and writer. The former diplomat praised the CPC members as "the most tender, most credible, and most sacrificial group." The secret of the CPC's success lies in its commitment to the Chinese people and its willingness to be the first to make sacrifices, he said. Led by the CPC's policies, "China is rising in all fields," he said, adding that the CPC is already a model for every liberation party in the Arab countries and in developing countries as a whole. Syria can benefit from the experience of China as a friendly country, he said. "We can take a lot from the experience of the Communist Party of China, especially in the field of implementing socialism with national characteristics," he said. Noting that the CPC has been very successful in laying out and implementing successive five-year plans for economic reform and social development, al-Jarad said he is confident in the recently published 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025). "We can be absolutely certain that the People's Republic of China will follow the lead of this plan and implement it completely, because all the past plans have been implemented with great precision, and have often exceeded them for the better," he added. Enditem (@FahadShabbir) The Cabinet Division has notified 33 members for the second batch of National Youth Council, formed last year to integrate the promising young minds into decision making process from various fields ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Jun, 2021 ) :The Cabinet Division has notified 33 members for the second batch of National Youth Council, formed last year to integrate the promising young minds into decision making process from various fields. "Prime Minister Imran Khan has been pleased to approve, with immediate effect, the constitution of 'National Youth Council'," said the notification mentioning Names of its members from the government and youth side. Prime Minister Imran Khan will be the council's patron-in-chief, while Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Youth Affairs designated as its Chairman. Youth Affairs ministers of all the federating units were also made members of the council, while Deputy Secretary to Prime Minister's Kamyab Jawan Programme will serve as its secretary. It said the previous batch of the National Youth Council would serve as its alumni, adding the tenure of recently nominated members would be two years from the date of issuance of the notification. As many as eight members notified from Punjab, seven each from Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, five from the Islamabad Capital Territory, three Balochistan, two from the Gilgit Baltistan and one from the Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Congratulating the nominated members of National Youth Council, SAPM Usman Dar said the government had fulfilled its promise of including the youth in the decision making process of the country. The SAPM extended his gratitude to the prime minister for his keen interest in the youth empowerment initiative. The council would work to advance pro-youth development and empowerment agenda, outlined in the National Youth Development Framework by facilitating the youth for their integration in the national mainstream. It was aimed at providing a sustainable platform to youth for their unified engagement with policy makers in public and private sector, in addition to international youth led initiative, he added. He also lauded the efforts of the National Youth Council alumni for materializing the youth development initiatives in the country. (@FahadShabbir) At least 11 people were killed by an armed group in eastern DR Congo, sources said Thursday, bringing the troubled region's death toll to at least 70 since the start of the week, according to an AFP tally Bunia (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Jun, 2021 ) :At least 11 people were killed by an armed group in eastern DR Congo, sources said Thursday, bringing the troubled region's death toll to at least 70 since the start of the week, according to an AFP tally. Eleven miners in the gold-rich territory of Djugu, in the northeastern province of Ituri, were killed early Wednesday by a local group called the FPIC, Mungwalu district mayor Jean-Pierre Pikilisende told AFP. The Kivu Security Tracker (KST), a respected NGO that monitors violence in eastern DR Congo, said 12 people had been executed. Pikilisende said the militia had come to take control over the area, whose gold is mined by poor artisanal diggers. Ituri and neighbouring North Kivu province have been placed under a "state of siege" -- a government attempt to stem escalating violence by replacing civilian officials with senior army or police officers. Fifty-three people were killed overnight Sunday in two Ituri villages, in the region's worst one-day massacre in recent history, sources there told an AFP correspondent. The journalist said 21 died in Tshabi and another 32 in Boga, where a camp for displaced people was targeted. Eighty-four shacks in the camp were torched, as were eight stores in nearby Boga, the reporter saw. Fifteen homes were burned in Tshabi. A number of villagers, including at least four women, were kidnapped. The identity of the attackers remains unclear, as the massacres took place in an area notorious for ethnic tension and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group that has been linked to the so-called Islamic State. The ADF has the bloodiest reputation of the estimated 122 armed groups that roam eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), many of them a legacy of wars more than a quarter-century ago. Five other people were killed early Tuesday, and several others, including children, are missing. On Wednesday, an old man was beheaded in the village of Bulire, near Boga, and two people went missing, a local administrative official said. As of Friday, the KST estimated that at least 1,228 civilians have been killed in Beni territory of North Kivu alone since November 2019, when DRC's armed forces launched a crackdown, splintering the ADF into smaller groups. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Envoys from the Association of Southeast Asian nations arrived in Myanmar Thursday for talks with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, as the coup-stricken nation enters its fifth month of crippling unrest Yangon, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Jun, 2021 ) :Envoys from the Association of Southeast Asian nations arrived in Myanmar Thursday for talks with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, as the coup-stricken nation enters its fifth month of crippling unrest. Myanmar has been in chaos and its economy paralysed since the February coup and according to a local monitoring group more than 800 people have died as the military moved to crack down on dissent. Erywan Pehin Yusof, Brunei's second minister for foreign affairs and ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi arrived in the capital Naypwidaw late Thursday, a senior Myanmar official, who didn't want to be named, told AFP. The envoys will meet Min Aung Hlaing on Friday morning, the official said, without providing further details. The junta's information team told journalists on Thursday that they would shortly "release" more information on the meetings. ASEAN has led diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis, but the bloc is not known for its diplomatic clout and observers have questioned how effectively it can influence events in the country. While the EU and US have ramped up sanctions on Myanmar's generals, the regional bloc has struggled to form a united front. It was not immediately clear whether the ASEAN envoys would meet members of a shadow government formed by ousted lawmakers -- mostly from the NLD -- which has sought to bring anti-coup dissidents together. The junta has classified members of the shadow government as "terrorists", meaning anyone speaking to them -- including journalists -- can be subjected to charges under counter-terrorism laws. Speaking on state tv Thursday, Min Aung Hlaing repeated the accusation that the body was a "terrorist" group. - UN envoy still waiting - Min Aung Hlaing attended a meeting on the crisis with the leaders of the 10-country bloc in April -- his first overseas trip since he seized power. Following the meeting -- which was closed to media -- leaders issued a "five-point consensus" statement that called for the "immediate cessation of violence" and a visit to Myanmar by a regional special envoy. But the general said in a later television interview that Myanmar was not ready to adopt the plan and violence has continued across the country. UN special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, was present on the sidelines of the April summit, but has yet to receive permission to travel to Myanmar. She told reporters on Friday she had been told by the junta that now was "not the right time" for her to go to Myanmar. The military has justified its power grab by citing alleged electoral fraud in the November poll, which was won by the NLD in a landslide. Ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has only been seen in public once since the coup. She has been hit with a string of criminal charges including flouting coronavirus restrictions during last year's election campaign and possessing unlicensed walkie-talkies. She vowed last month that her ousted NLD political party would "exist as long as the people exist." (@FahadShabbir) US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan underscored during a meeting with Israel Defense Minister Benny Gantz the importance of ensuring humanitarian aid reaches Palestinians in Gaza, National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne said on Thursday WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd June, 2021) US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan underscored during a meeting with Israel Defense Minister Benny Gantz the importance of ensuring humanitarian aid reaches Palestinians in Gaza, National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne said on Thursday. "National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met today in Washington with Israeli Minister of Defense Benjamin 'Benny' Gantz to discuss recent developments in the region... They exchanged views on the current situation in Gaza and Mr. Sullivan highlighted the importance of ensuring that immediate humanitarian aid is able to reach the people of Gaza," Horne said in a press release. Sullivan reaffirmed President Joe Biden's commitment to replenish Israel's Iron Dome air and missile defense system, Horne said. In addition, Sullivan and Gantz discussed mutual issues concerning Iran and their commitment to counter Tehran's activities in the middle East, Horne added. The United States and Israel will remain in close contact in the weeks ahead as the two nations work to advance their strategic priorities in the region, according to Horne. Electric vehicle maker Tesla has initiated a recall of nearly 6,000 vehicles to inspect brake calipers for loose bolts New York, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Jun, 2021 ) :Electric vehicle maker Tesla has initiated a recall of nearly 6,000 vehicles to inspect brake calipers for loose bolts. The recall, made public on Tuesday, involves as many as 5,974 cars from the 2019-2021 Model 3 and 2020-2021 Model Y lines. "The brake caliper bolts may be loose, allowing the brake caliper to separate and contact the wheel rim," according to a document sent by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to Tesla after it notified the regulatory agency of the issue. "Contact with the rim may cause a loss of tire pressure, increasing the risk of a crash."Tesla is not aware of the issue causing any injuries or deaths, according to the NHTSA documents, and the company will inspect and tighten or replace customers' caliper bolts as needed. The automaker became aware in December that a fastener was missing from a brake caliper on a 2021 Model Y and began an investigation to see how widespread the issue was, according to the documents, which add that Tesla has taken steps to fix the problem on the assembly line. (@ChaudhryMAli88) UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd June, 2021) Some 38 member states at the United Nations had joined the newly launched Group of Friends of Women of the Sahel, Niger Ambassador to the United Nations Abdou Abarry told reporters. "A new Group of Friends of Women of the Sahel was created, co-chaired by Niger, the African Union and the European Union," Abarry said on Wednesday. "The group includes 38 country members who officially joined the group today." Abarry said the group will be tasked with discussing policies and practices in the Sahel region by facilitating exchanges with women. The group will also seek to promote women's participation and increase female leadership in various organizations throughout the region. (@ChaudhryMAli88) ST. PETERSBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd June, 2021) BBC journalists have called off their participation in a working breakfast for the media that are recognized by Russia as foreign agents organized on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday. The event is organized by the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency. The participants include Chairman of the Foreign Correspondents Association Mohd Adib Sayed, European diplomats and news outlets. According to the spokeswoman, the BBC initially signed up for the event but changed its mind at the last moment. "The BBC calls back, the same person who gave notice the first time, says that his poor knowledge of the language did not allow him to understand the event's format and he had to call off his participation," Zakharova said. The official also rejected the accusations that Moscow discriminates against media that are designated as foreign agents. "We will be doing everything we can to debunk these reports when they say that in our country the media that are foreign agents do not enjoy the same rights as the rest of media. This is not true ... We continue working with everyone," Zakharova said at the working breakfast. This year's forum takes place in person from Wednesday through Saturday at the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Center in the Russian city of St. Petersburg. The Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, the umbrella media organization that includes such brands as Sputnik, RIA Novosti, InoSMI, and Baltnews, among others, is an official media partner of the event. WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd June, 2021) US Navy pilots involved with the Defense Department-confirmed videos of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) said they believe the mysterious objects to be real, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told reporters on Wednesday. "What you have seen on the tv recently, on the Navy films, I had known about this in my former capacity in intel and the Armed Services Committee, and I've talked to those pilots, and they think [the UAPs are] real," Nelson said during a press conference. The news comes amid increasing number of serious discussions about UAPs following the release and authentication of videos showing such phenomena encountered by US Navy pilots as well as the upcoming release of the Senate Intelligence Committee report on June 25. NASA Associate Administrator for Science Thomas Zurbuchen said the kind of questions that focus on life elsewhere in the universe is in the realm of NASA's scientific activity, noting that people have tended to underestimate nature in the last several decades. Two USF Honors Students Named 2021 Key into Public Service Scholars Only Two in Florida Granting 20 Awards this Year, the Program Connects Arts and Sciences Students with Phi Beta Kappa Scholarship and Public Sector Opportunities Tampa, FL. June 3, 2021 Two Judy Genshaft Honors College students Sarah Glaser, a rising senior pursuing dual degrees in Political Science and Public Health, and Samuel Rechek, a rising junior majoring in Political Science and Philosophy with minors in Economics and History are two of just 20 students nationwide selected as Key into Public Service Scholars by The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nations most prestigious academic honor society. The award recognizes students who have demonstrated interest in working in the public sector and possess a strong academic record in the arts, humanities, mathematics, natural sciences, and social sciences. Chosen from over 800 applicants attending chapter institutions across the nation, each scholar will receive a $5,000 undergraduate scholarship and take part in a virtual convening in late June to receive training, mentoring, and reflection on pathways into active citizenship. Inspired by many Phi Beta Kappa members who have shaped the course of our nation through local, state, and federal service, the award highlights specific pathways for liberal arts and graduates seeking public sector careers. The Society selected these exemplary students for their intellectual curiosity; breadth and depth across liberal arts and sciences coursework; positive contributions on and off campus through academic research, internships, and community work; and demonstrated commitment to serve the common good, Phi Beta Kappa Secretary Frederick M. Lawrence said. As the country tackles concurrent health, economic, and social crises, the Society applauds the 2021 Service Scholars for their pursuit of arts and sciences excellence in service of the greater good. A Sarasota, Florida, native, Glaser has a passion for public service and served as a legislative intern for Florida State Representative Fentrice Driskell. She founded and chaired Florida Students for Biden, currently interns in the Washington, D.C. office of U.S. Representative Charlie Crist, and is a member of President Bidens National Youth Advisory Committee. It is an honor to receive this scholarship, says Glaser. I am excited about the mentorship opportunities it will provide, and the monetary award will allow me to intern in London this Fall, hopefully in Parliament. After graduation, Glaser plan to pursue a Masters degree abroad and study democracy in elections, particularly related to election monitoring. I recently completed an Honors thesis under Dr. M. Scott Solomon from USF's School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, says Glaser. We studied Chinese interference in developing democracies in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically focusing on telecommunications used in election interference. I would like to work with the United Nations to protect against this type of interference in the future. Rechek, a native of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, is passionate about the First Amendment's value for democratic law and society. He is the president and founder of a student organization dedicated to engaging students with their First Amendment protections on campus, and he recently co-authored a manuscript exploring social media users' tendency to avoid diverse political opinions. He credits the Key into Public Service application with helping him further define his career trajectory. One of the essay prompts was to tell about the PBK member you admire most, says Rechek. I chose Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., who served on the U.S. Supreme Court in the early twentieth century. I admire him because he was open to new ideas and reevaluation of the law during his career, moving from supporting censorship to advocating for broad freedom of speech under the First Amendment. After graduation, I plan to pursue a JD/PhD and enter the law profession with a long-term goal of becoming a judge who, like Holmes, is open to new ideas in the spirit of the First Amendment. Both USF recipients worked with the universitys Office of National Scholarships to apply for the award. We are so proud of Sarah and Samuel and their commitment to public service, says Judy Genshaft Endowed Honors Dean and President of USFs PBK Chapter, Charles Adams. Their impressive achievements and ambitious goals embody the mission of Phi Beta Kappa to champion learning in the liberal arts and sciences and freedom of thought. I look forward to seeing the remarkable things theyll do next. The complete list of 2021 Scholars includes: John Boland, University of Notre Dame Malina Brannen, Georgetown University Max Chayet, Williams College Gabrielle Crooks, Stanford University Jacob Feuerstein, Bucknell University Sarah Glaser, University of South Florida Sydney Gray, Yale University Joseph Hartung, University of Kansas Jaeger Held, Gettysburg College Michael Hernandez, University of Connecticut Raziya Hillery, Butler University Wren King, West Virginia University Kassandra Le-Huynh, University of Tulsa Isabel Lopez, Rhodes College Karishma Muthukumar, University of California-Irvine Nazm Rahat, Millsaps College Sujay Ratna, Rutgers University- New Brunswick Samuel Rechek, University of South Florida Khaylah Scott, Millsaps College Isha Yardi, University of Maryland-College Park For more information about the scholarship and links to individual biographies of the recipients, please visit pbk.org/KeyintoPublicService. About The Phi Beta Kappa Society Founded on Dec. 5, 1776, The Phi Beta Kappa Society is the nation's most prestigious academic honor society. It has chapters at 290 colleges and universities in the United States, nearly 50 alumni associations, and more than half a million members worldwide. Noteworthy members include 17 U.S. Presidents, 41 U.S. Supreme Court Justices and more than 140 Nobel Laureates. The mission of The Phi Beta Kappa Society is to champion education in the liberal arts and sciences, foster freedom of thought, and recognize academic excellence. For more information, visit www.pbk.org. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 12:58:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUNMING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- A herd of 15 wild Asian elephants has entered the outskirts of the major southwestern Chinese city of Kunming, Yunnan Province, where local authorities are on high alert to ensure the safety of both citizens and the herd. The elephants traveled approximately 500 km from their forest home in Yunnan's Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture before reaching Jinning District in Kunming, the provincial capital, at 9:55 p.m. Wednesday. As of early Thursday, no casualties have been reported, according to a local headquarters set up to ensure the safety of the elephant migration. The provincial forestry and grassland bureau has transferred teams responsible for drone monitoring and emergency handling as well as Asian elephant experts. The teams will forecast the migration route and guide locals to take precautions. Twelve drones have been deployed to monitor the herd around the clock. Construction trucks have been sent to block roads to local villages, and the evacuation of villagers has been organized. Local authorities have also used food to distract the elephants from entering densely populated areas. According to the latest census, Kunming has a population of 8.46 million. Asian elephants are under A-level state protection in China, where they are mostly found in Yunnan. Thanks to enhanced protection, the wild elephant population in the province has grown to about 300, up from 193 in the 1980s. Enditem Valdosta, GA (31601) Today Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 91F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms during the evening, with mostly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 71F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. For the second year in a row, Ugandans commemorated a subdued June 3, Martyrs Day. Paul Samasumo Vatican City. It is impossible to describe the devastating consequences of Covid-19 on the celebrations of June 3, feast of the Uganda Martyrs. Dioceses in Uganda take turns annually to animate the one day celebration, which draws millions of pilgrims to the Namugongo Shrine. The day is marked as a national public holiday. The diocese whose turn it is to animate Martyrs Day liturgy at Namugongo literally spends an entire year in meetings, fundraising and various preparations. The sadness and emptiness of it all this year was not lost on Bishop Silverus Jjumba of Masaka Diocese, who presided over the 2021 Martyrs Day Eucharistic celebrations. In keeping with Covid-19 protocols the Mass, at the Namugongo shrine was celebrated before a physical presence of 200 persons only. Multitudes in virtual attendance This year, we assemble under exceptional circumstances. A slim number of the faithful are here physically. The multitudes are at home in virtual attendance. Not that they wished to stay away and watch television or listen to radios or indeed switch on social media platforms. No, it is because the Covid-19 pandemic has dictated and forced us into this terrible situation. We look like the dismembered body of Christ. We are scattered, but it would not be right to say we are in disarray, said Bishop Jjumba. As if echoing his words, the liturgical choir from Masaka Diocese did not disappoint. Moving away from merry-making and pomp The Bishop of Masaka, who described this years celebration as lukewarm, urged the faithful to accept the sober celebrations as the will of God. It is the same God calling us in these two years (of Covid-19) to move away from the ordinary merry-making, the pomp and ululations with which many of us celebrate June 3 the day of commemorating the Uganda Martyrs, he said. Adding, In faith let us embrace this opportunity as guidance from the Holy Spirit that we should all spiritually internalise the example set for us by the Uganda Martyrs, that is, their deep faith, deep charity and of loving God to the point of shedding blood, urged the Masaka prelate. Calling upon Ugandans to reconcile Making passing reference to Ugandans still reeling from a polarising January 2021 presidential election, which left over 50 persons dead at the height of campaigns, Bishop Jjumba called upon Ugandans to internalise the legacy of forgiveness bequeathed to them by the Martyrs. He called on Ugandans to reconcile, respect divergent views and embrace justice. Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga fondly missed Added to the sombre celebration was the notable absence of the Archbishop of Kampala, Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, who died in his sleep early in April this year. A larger than life personality, Archbishop Lwangas absence was remarked upon by countless persons on various social media platforms, many of whom expressed a continued sense of loss and grief over the death of their shepherd. Let continue to grow our faith During the celebration at Namugongo, Bishop Jjumba made special mention of Archbishop Lwanga and several other clerics, sisters and lay faithful most of whom succumbed to Covid-19. The Bishop consoled families, friends and Ugandans. He encouraged them to forge ahead, in faith, in spite of their loss and pain. Let this sadness, lukewarm-ness, this kind of emptiness reassert itself into a vibrancy for the crucified Lord. In this apparent mood of desolation, let us grow fresh vigour for our faith just as scripture says, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces much fruit, said Bishop Jjumba. (paul.samasumo@spc.va) Christian and Muslim leaders come together on Thursday for a webinar to share their insights on the Popes historic visit to Iraq at the beginning of March By Christopher Wells The Higher Committee for Human Fraternity hosted the webinar on A Moment of Human Fraternity: The impact of Pope Francis historic Iraq visit on Thursday. The event brought together religious and civic leaders from throughout the Middle East to share their insights on the significance of the Popes Apostolic Journey to Iraq, and offer their thoughts on the next steps in rebuilding Iraq, and how the country can promote stabilization, reconciliation, and hope for a better future. A wonderful mosaic for human coexistence The Secretary-General of the Higher Committee, Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam, opened the webinar, explaining, We are gathered here today to think together about how we can invest this visit of the Pope and help our brethren in beloved Iraq, a country that constitutes a beautiful social fabric and a wonderful mosaic for human coexistence. This beautiful picture, however, has been marred by wars, conflicts and terrorism, which have left a great wound in the body of Iraq. The struggles of Iraq moved the Holy Father, who could not see the tears of this people without wanting to wipe them away. Judge Abdelsalam assured participants that the Higher Committee would do its best to build on this historic visit of the Holy Father, adding that he hoped that the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar would also be able to visit Iraq, in order to complete the picture of Human Fraternity. We are all brothers Among the keynote speakers at the webinar was Cardinal Luis Raphael I Sako, the Patriarch of Babylon and head of the Chaldean Catholic Church. He expressed his hope that participants would reach a vision and a work plan to implement what the Pope indicated in his speeches and meetings. Cardinal Sako explained that Pope Francis, coming to Iraq in the midst of conflicts, extremism, and the coronavirus pandemic, carried with him a single influential message: We are all brothers in spite of our differences, we must respect our diversity and join hands to build a better society. The Patriarch noted that the Pope also pointed out the only way to walk the path of achieving peace, stability, freedom, and dignity for every human being is to restrain weapons. A milestone for interreligious dialogue The President of the Pontifical Council for Intereligious Dialogue, Cardinal Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, said, The entire trip to Iraq was significant. Every moment was marked by gestures and words that leave a mark. Along with the signing of the Document on Human Fraternity in Abu Dhabi in 2019, the Iraq visit was a milestone in the path of interreligious dialogue. Echoing the Patriarch, Cardinal Ayuso said Pope Francis, went to Iraq as a pastor to tell Iraqis: You are all brothers. This is not simply a theoretical brotherhood, Cardinal Ayuso explained. Instead, it is a call for everyone to commit themselves so that Gods dream may come true: that the human family may become hospitable and welcoming toward all of its children, who, looking at the same sky, walk in peace on the same earth. Cardinal Ayuso highlighted the Popes courtesy visit to Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani as a truly important contribution to building fraternity among Christians and Muslims. Similarly, the prayer meeting on the Plains of Ur the home of Abraham, the father of the three great monotheistic religions was an opportunity to pray together with believers from other religious traditions in order to rediscover the reason for coexistence between brothers, so as to rebuild a social fabric beyond factions and ethnicities, and to send a message to the Middle East and to the entire world. In Ur, he continued, the Pope explained that true religiosity is that which worships God and loves ones neighbour. Rebuilding Iraq Thursdays webinar also included the Assistant Director-General of UNESCO, Ernesto Ottone Ramirez who, along with Dominican Father Olivier Poquillon, highlighted UNESCOs Revive the Spirit of Mosul initiative. Culture ministers from Iraq and the UAE emphasized the common challenges facing the peoples of the region. Representatives of Iraqs Islamic community Dr Sayyed Jawad Al-Khoei, the co-founder of the Iraqi Council for Interfaith Dialogue; and Sheich Abdel-Wahab Taha Al-Sammerai, Imam of Abu Hanifa mosque in Baghad also spoke at the event. Melbourne, FL (32940) Today Scattered showers and thunderstorms. High 88F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy with scattered thunderstorms mainly during the evening. Low 74F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. GREENFEED Vietnam In April, ADM, a global leader in animal nutrition, announced that it is expanding its range of Wisium premix offerings in Vietnam with the acquisition of Golden Farm Production & Commerce Co., Ltd. Following the deal, Wisium will now serve customers in Vietnam with a state-of-the-art premix facility in the southern province of Dong Nai. Eric Fabry, business director of Wisium Vietnam, told VIR that the country is one of the biggest markets for the animal industry in Southeast Asia. It has experienced a tremendous volume growth over the last 20 years and will continue to grow while becoming a more integrated, mature, and competitive market. Vietnams economy has performed consistently for the last 20 years as its people are improving their purchasing power year after year and increasing consumption of meat and seafood, he said. Despite COVID-19, the Vietnam market is very resilient. We strongly believe in the capacity of Vietnamese farmers and feed producers to react quickly and positively to the challenges they regularly face. Professionalism and performance are the key to their success, and this is where Wisium can bring all its technical added value by supporting them to produce quality feed at the best possible cost. ADM now has six production sites in Vietnam three in Binh Duong province, one each in Ha Nam and Dong Thap, and now one in Dong Nai. These factories produce feed for livestock, poultry, pets, and aquatic life. Besides the acquisition of premix plant, ADM also invests in aqua by increasing the capacity of aqua nursery feed to meet the growing demand for Ocialis nursery feed in Vietnam and towards Asia. In March, Danish feed manufacturer BioMar Group acquired a majority stake in Viet-Uc, one of Vietnams leading seafood groups operating in shrimp and fish hatcheries and shrimp farming. Carlos Diaz, CEO of BioMar Group, said that the partnership paves the way for the company to enter the Vietnamese market, one of the worlds leading shrimp producing countries with a production close to 500,000 tonnes of shrimp. Considering the performance and agility of the Vietnamese shrimp industry during the last decade, the company is upbeat that the market holds a great potential for growth. Last year, Leong Hup International Berhad (LHI), one of the largest fully-integrated producers of poultry, egg, and livestock feed in Southeast Asia, also took over a feed mill in Vietnam for approximately $15.8 million. The asset, which currently produces only aquatic feed, has the capacity to produce nearly 119,000 tonnes of aquatic feed per annum, while LHI last year formulated plans to enhance the assets capacity and begin poultry feed production. In addition to foreign companies, local players are also betting big on their businesses. Vietnamese group Masan is mulling an initial public offering to raise as much as $1 billion for its animal feed business Masan MeatLife. The robust merger and acquisition activities of both local and foreign players are driven by the demand, which is not slowing down during the pandemic. In reality, the activities for livestock and aquaculture farming are still taking place to meet the demand. Based on Ipsos tracking data, Vietnam passed October 2020 as the bottom line of swine farming due to African swine fever (ASF). Swine farming is recovering at the moment and it forecasts a steady increment of swine farming, which is the key protein in Vietnam, until April 2022. Phong Quach, head of Consulting at Ipsos Strategy3 Vietnam, pointed out three key factors influencing the feed market in the next five years the impact of COVID-19, an antibiotics ban in farming, and the consolidation of the farming sector towards large farms. There are significant challenges for feed millers in the short term including the shortage in logistics capability, negatively banging both import and export. The two latter key trends will amplify the impact of the pandemic in the future. Specifically, there will be less in terms of the number of players in the market. It means that either the smaller ones will exit or they will be acquired by the larger ones, Quach said, adding that the competition among feed millers is becoming more intensive between those who have farms and those who have not. According to the expert, some feed millers are not going the way of the feed and farm strategy, to build and operate farms. This strategy forces them to consider other strategies to be able to compete with those who have farms like C.P., who can perform internal sales of their feed to their farms. Despite the challenges, animal feed producers are looking for the opportunities in the market. A representative of GREENFEED Vietnam shared with VIR, The animal feed industry has been negatively impacted by COVID-19 and we are no exception. It has been tough dealing with rising costs of materials due to global logistical/transport difficulties. Were adapting to the pace as well as the nature of the market in the pandemic era by trying to maintain stable production and business activities while optimising budget and streamlining our operation. GREENFEED Vietnam has just completed its clean food chain by supplying customers with processed pork products fully controlled in every phases/stages. In 2021, the company is continuing the expansion of its distribution network and makes heavy investment in research and development to expand product portfolios. Meanwhile, the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) said it is implementing market access and development programmes for the US animal feed industry in Vietnam, as reported by FeedStrategy. The AFIA said its efforts will focus on updating technology, improving regulatory compliance, and upgrading input and management quality, leading to increased use of feed additives and expanded market share of US feed products in Vietnam, with a primary focus on the aquaculture and pet food industries. Credit cards for corporates facilitating cashless adoption - photo freepik.com Southern-based lender Viet Capital Bank worked with JCB International Co., Ltd., the international operations subsidiary of Japans leading credit card provider JCB, to launch the Viet Capital Bank JCB corporate credit card in late April. Viet Capital became the first Vietnamese bank to issue the card, which strengthens the long-term strategic relationship for the pair. Cardholders can access JCBs acceptance network with about 35 million merchants around the world and receive special privileges at selected merchants and customer services at JCB PLAZA, an overseas service counter. Kazuma Shukuin, chief representative of JCB Internationals Ho Chi Minh City branch said, We are pleased to have Viet Capital Bank as our first Vietnamese bank for issuing the JCB Platinum Corporate Credit Card. Starting in late 2019, Viet Capital has been contributing significantly to our business, and the cooperation is now stepping forward for corporate client. This is an exciting step of our expansion for this potential customer segment. Vowing to provide unparalleled experiences for customers and partners, the only international payment brand based in Japan has expanded its footprint in Vietnams market by cooperating with a number of local lenders such as Vietcombank, VietinBank, Techcombank, ACB, and Sacombank. Ngo Quang Trung, CEO of Viet Capital Bank, highlighted, The collaboration with JCB is a significant measure in our strategic plan to become a multifunctional retail bank that is modernised and customer-oriented, especially for individual customers and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The launch of the credit card distinctive builds on numerous features in the bank markets for such customers. Viet Capital Bank is not the only lender exploring this convenient approach to assist this promising sector. Some other lenders have also quickly adopted new ways of paying without physical contact for their corporate clients. Last year, VPBank and Mastercard announced collaboration with Amazon Web Services to help Vietnamese SMEs utilise its cloud services to modernise IT infrastructure, accelerate innovation, and reduce operational costs. Techcombank has also rolled out some alluring offers for its corporate cardholders using a Techcombank Visa business debit card with attractive promotions from Shopee, Dropbox, and Office 365 among others. The bank expects to enhance corporate customers efficiency when conducting business transaction, or purchasing any business-to-business services. Shinhan Bank Vietnam has also joined forces with some foreign-invested corporations and international card services providers, such as Visa, the Korean Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, and Korean Air in order to optimise corporate expense execution and management with special privileges. When using a business credit card, companies will be liable for debt and fees. Shinhan Bank believed business cards represent a smarter way to manage business expense for cost efficiency, greater control, and exclusive privileges. As a result, cardholders will be free of foreign currency exchange burdens, and enjoy cashless perks for their overseas business trips. Furthermore, corporate clients could save time from paperwork for cash payment and advanced funding for employees, a Shinhan Bank representative noted. Instead of employees submitting their receipts for reimbursement, companies now can easily track spending in a fast, convenient way, and can also manage spend limit and manage fraud risks. Virtual cards account safeguards against unauthorised spend, helps prevent fraudulent purchases, simplifies reconciliation, and eliminates manual paper-based payments with a more efficient and traceable electronic payable solution. According to Dang Tuyet Dung, Visa country manager for Vietnam and Laos, the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic has been a driving force for Vietnams cashless payment industry. In line with consumers strong belief about a cashless society, Vietnams cashless payment industry will be big due to the fast-paced technology advances and Visas unwavering commitment to building a new digital payment platform here, Dung told VIR. Visa will continue to communicate the benefits of a cashless society to Vietnamese consumers. Our plan is to deploy new payment technologies for everyone. The Vietnamese public are quick to pick up on the latest innovations, making this an exciting market for the digital economy to thrive. From April this year both local and foreign banks operating in Vietnam have been issuing chip cards instead of magnetic ones, with the aim to ensure greater payment security and thus contribute towards a cashless economy. According to the State Bank of Vietnam, this initiative aims to assert more pressure for banks to place their focus from cash-based payment to contactless methods. Deutsche Bank's new move caters to the growing volume of disbursed foreign direct investment into Vietnam The banks introduction of new VND risk management options coincides with new Vietnam FX hedging rules introduced by the State Bank of Vietnam which took effect on May 17 to simplify onshore currency hedging for offshore entities. The new simplified hedging rules enable foreign institutions to better manage VND exposures in post-trade transactions like foreign institutions investing in local currency government bonds. Foreign investors can now access the onshore forward price to hedge their underlying government bond exposure. Foreign corporations now can also hedge for up to one year for long term liabilities such as intercompany loans, and roll over their hedge contracts until the maturity of their liabilities. Deutsche Bank chief country officer Huynh Buu Quang Under the new regulations, foreign institutions and corporations now have more tools to hedge their exposure to local currency fluctuations, said Deutsche Bank chief country officer Huynh Buu Quang. These rule changes are a positive step toward deepening foreign participation in Vietnams fixed income markets, and help facilitate the growing volume of foreign investment into Vietnam. Deutsche Banks expansion of VND FX pricing on its platform aims to cater to the growing volume of disbursed foreign direct investment into Vietnam, which was $5.5 billion in April this year, up 6.8 per cent on-year. At end of April, registered foreign investment volume into Vietnam reached $12.25 billion, with foreign multinationals investing to develop manufacturing supply chains in the growing Vietnam economy, and foreign institutional investors seeking to participate in the countrys growth. Life insurers are anticipating a rising middle-class population. Photo: Dung Minh Fresh data from the Vietnam Insurance Association (VIA) revealed that in the first quarter of 2021, the total insurance premium revenue reached more than VND14.9 trillion ($6.5 billion), up 6 per cent over the same period of last year. In terms of non-life insurance, reinsurance firm Swiss Re forecasted that this sector will reach a value of about VND70 trillion ($3.04 billion) in 2021, up 25 per cent compared to 2020. Yen Tran, analyst at KIS Securities commented on trends that have been prevalent for a couple of years. The overall insurance penetration rate in Vietnam in 2019 was 60 basis points below the average rate in emerging markets and a distance from the 9.6 per cent in advanced markets, Tran said. Average insurance spending per capita was around $72 in Vietnam in 2019 versus an average of $175 in emerging markets and $4,664 in advanced market. The Ministry of Finance noted that total insurance premium revenue in 2020 was roughly estimated at VND184.7 trillion ($80.3 billion) up 15 per cent compared to 2019. In which, non-life insurance premium revenues were estimated at VND57.1 trillion ($24.9 billion), up 8 per cent on-year. Meanwhile, the life insurance sector has witnessed a 19.6 per cent increase to reach VND127.6 trillion ($55.5 billion). Vietnam had a steady economic growth with an average rate of 7.3 per cent in the 2001-2010 period and 6.31 per cent in 2010-2019. In 2020, despite COVID-19, Vietnam was one of a minority of countries that accomplished positive GDP growth and this outstanding trajectory is forecasted to continue. The portion of urban population is forecasted to increase to around 45 per cent from the existing 37 per cent. In line with economic growth, there will be a rise in the middle-class population from 13 per cent at present to 26 per cent by 2026, according to World Bank estimations. Furthermore, restructuring in the healthcare system and social insurance schemes may provide opportunities for private insurers to ripen health insurance services. In addition, the development of the banking system will assist the industry in approaching clients via bancassurance activity. The number of insurance agents increased at a compound annual growth rate of 28 per cent during 2014-2019 and reached more than one million in 2019; 84 per cent of that was belonging to the life insurance business. These agents are important to the industry development, said KIS Securities, with many insurers inking bancassurance agreements to leverage on banks client base and their distribution networks. The penetration of bancassurance in the total life insurance premium increased significantly from 5.9 per cent in 2016 to 17.2 per cent in 2019. We believe that this trend will continue since both banks and insurance companies have emphasised on this business. With the exception of Bao Viet Life Insurance, foreign-brand life insurers such as Manulife, Prudential, AIA, Dai-ichi, FWD, and Sunlife have tried to ink exclusive distribution agreements with various commercial banks with generous upfront fees, Tran of KIS Securities said. However, the competition in this industry has intensified over the past few years, especially in the top 10 insurance companies. Last year, six life insurance companies gained market share Manulife, AIA, Generali, MB Ageas, FWD, and AVIVA while four others lost out. In the first three months of 2021, Bao Viet Insurance continued to lead the market in terms of market share, followed by Manulife, Prudential, Dai-ichi Life, and AIA, according to the VIA. At the same time, the new contract premium increased by more than 52 per cent compared to the same period last year, of which Manulife continued to be the leading position, followed by Bao Viet Insurance, Dai-ichi Life, Prudential and AIA. Last December, VietinBank and Manulife signed an agreement for an exclusive 16-year bancassurance partnership to better meet the growing financial and insurance needs of Vietnamese. Manulife Financial Asia Ltd. also announced it will acquire Aviva Vietnam, increasing Manulifes life market share to about 18.5 per cent only behind Prudential with 18.8 per cent. Elsewhere, another Canadian life insurer Sun Life Insurance is gradually enhancing its reputation and entering the top 10 in Vietnam thanks to some significant bancassurance deals with local lenders. As of March, Sun Lifes new contract fee revenue exceeded the figure of the whole of last year. Truong Vinh Phuc, partner at KPMG Vietnam, also believes in the vast potential of Vietnams insurance market, especially for foreign investors. Investors could capture the lucrative opportunities in the insurance industry in the context of low penetration rate and emerging middle class with rising of household income, Phuc said. These investors, who are looking for or carrying out mergers and acquisitions in order to enter the insurance market, will continue to execute their plans. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 12:58:45|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LONDON, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Mainland Chinese universities hold the top two for a second consecutive year in the Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings 2021 released Wednesday. Tsinghua University holds the top for the third consecutive year, after first claiming the position in 2019. Peking University maintains its position in the second place. The rankings contain 551 universities, up from 489 in 2020, involving 30 countries and regions. In the top 10, National University of Singapore (3rd) and University of Hong Kong (4th) maintain their 2020 positions. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (5th) moves into the top 5 after finishing 6th in 2020. A total of 91 mainland Chinese universities are in the Rankings, seconding only to Japan (116) in terms of representation. The Chinese mainland is also the best represented in the top 50, holding 15 positions, as Central South University (44th), and South China University of Technology (50th) move into the group. Of the 15, 13 have improved or maintained their previous ranks. The THE Asia University Rankings 2021 used the same 13 performance indicators as the THE World University Rankings, but they were recalibrated to reflect the attributes of Asia's institutions. The universities were judged across performance indicators grouped into five areas: teaching (25 percent), research (30 percent), citations (30 percent), international outlook (7.5 percent), and industry income (7.5 percent). Enditem Increasing capital flows are reaching green and sustainable projects. Photo: Shutterstock Last week, state-owned lender BIDV and public financial institution French Development Agency (AFD) entered into a $100 million credit facility agreement on renewable energy and energy-efficient sectors. The French side would grant a long-term $100 million concessional credit line facility to BIDV, along with extensive technical assistance of nearly $312,000 to BIDV and its clients. The Vietnamese bank has implemented a number of projects using AFDs fund in the $48.8 million Northern Power Transmission Project, and a housing development programme in flood-prone areas in the Mekong Delta worth $31 million, among others. This credit line to BIDV is the first SUNREF Green Credit Line provided by AFD in Vietnam, in the form of non-sovereign concessional loan, said Fabrice Richy, director of AFD Vietnam. SUNREF is AFDs green finance label deployed with almost 70 partner banks in 30 countries, and we hope to continue providing concessional loans and grants to Vietnamese banks and state-owned enterprises to contribute to green growth and climate change adaptation in Vietnam. The environmental-oriented financing is no longer just a niche interest. In recent years, the local government has ramped up its support and favourable policy reform to boost green initiatives. Le Ngoc Lam, CEO of BIDV, told VIR that the banks loans for renewable energy has grown significantly in the past few years, accounting for 90 per cent of its energy loan structure. The loan scale for energy at BIDV has grown constantly since 2017 at the rate of 11.59 per cent annually. The outstanding balance of this sector reached over VND68 trillion ($3 billion), accounting for 5.78 per cent of the banks total outstanding balance, Lam said. This package is not the first BIDVs syndicated debt. In 2015, the bank entered a $105 million loan with a consortium of foreign banks such as Cathay United Bank, Grand Capital International Limited, Chang Hwa Commercial Bank, Hua Nan Commercial Bank, and more. Also last week, SeABank was rumoured to receive a $130 million senior loan package from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, to build up the banks internal expertise in gender financing, particularly the female-owned small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) segment. Negotiations are still underway, with a major focus on building up the banks internal expertise in the aforementioned gender financing as well as climate-related projects and retail portfolios. Additionally, the IFC is also considering establishment of a trade finance guarantee facility for the bank at the amount of $20 million under the IFC Global Trade Finance Program. IFC has been a strong partner to Vietnamese privately-held and state-owned lenders. Its financing packages have aided growth initiatives in the banking sector, especially climate-friendly renewable energy to promote sustainable development in Vietnam. In January 2020, VPBank received $212.5 million package from the IFC in a bid to assist renewable energy projects. Besides that, other digitally-led lenders such as TPBank, OCB, and VIB have also diversified their sources of international capital from IFC to promote digital financial services, broaden their SME financing segment, and trade financing for import-export companies. Other foreign banks including Cathay United Bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank have also shown their appetite in providing capital for Vietnamese lenders. These long-term syndicated loans with reasonable costs have laid the foundation for local banks wide accessibility to overseas funds, and asserted their credibility in the international financial market. Elsewhere, HDBank in March has successfully raised its working capital by $71 million through a syndicated loan from a consortium of eight Taiwanese banks and an Indian bank arranged by Mega International Commercial Bank. The augmentation of working capital will help HDBank serve the needs of the countrys economy and optimise its efficiency in line with its new business strategies, an HDBank representative said. With the target customers of SMEs and foreign-invested enterprises, including Taiwanese ones, HDBank has piqued the interest of Mega Bank, which arranged the syndicated loan and invited other Taiwanese banks to join. Likewise, the $500 million syndicated loan of Techcombank last year was the second-largest in the Southeast Asian region and the largest-ever in the Vietnamese financial market. The loan facility was funded with Singapore-backed lender UOB as the coordinator and facility agent, and ANZ, CTBC Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, and Taishin Bank as mandated lead arrangers, underwriters, and book-runners. Overall limits on the total amount of foreign loans to be made into Vietnam are approved by the prime minister on an annual basis. If the borrowers are Vietnamese credit institutions, separate prudential ratios are set by the State Bank of Vietnam, which operate as borrowing limits for short, medium, and long-term loans for credit institutions, commented law firm Allens. The private sector, including foreign enterprises, could help speed up the countrys vaccination efforts Right after the government called on businesses to support vaccine rollouts and a $1.1 billion vaccine fund, SABECO began exploring ways to work with relevant authorities to source COVID-19 vaccines. The major beverage group boasts 12,000 employees across the country. As a company with a long history in Vietnam, SABECO has always been committed to contributing to the development and prosperity of Vietnam and its people, said general director Bennett Neo. We are committed to our role of being a responsible corporate citizen, and we show it through practical actions to ensure we prioritise the safety of all our employees. As Vietnam faces an extremely difficult time due to the pandemic, we are willing more than ever to stand side-by-side with Vietnam to fight this battle. In regular meetings on pandemic prevention and control, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has emphasised the need to be faster and more effective on the vaccine front. In phone calls and working sessions with foreign partners, the Prime Minister has been consistent in his goal of calling for more vaccines, and administered at a faster speed. The private sector, including foreign enterprises, could help speed up the countrys vaccination efforts. Vietnam aims to secure 150 million doses of vaccines to immunise 75 per cent of its population this year, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH). Vietnam began its vaccination drive in early March using the AstraZeneca vaccine. More than one million shots as of the end of last month had been given to frontline medical workers and members of community-based anti-pandemic groups. Four Vietnamese-made vaccines are currently under development. Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said the ministry has coordinated with other ministries and agencies as well as encouraged all localities, businesses, and units involved in the search and import of COVID-19 vaccines to have the fastest, earliest and widest source of vaccines used for all Vietnamese people. In 2020, SABECO collaborative with its subsidiaries and suppliers, to creat an aid programme for medical and logistical support personnel as well as the patients being monitored in quarantine centres across the country. Its initiative not only reflects the companys commitment to communities where Sabeco operates, but also to its ecosystem of subsidiaries and suppliers, as the aid programme is a part of SABECOs efforts to help them sustain their businesses and ensure stable work for their employees in these difficult times. SABECO has 44 member companies in ecosystem and more than 12,000 employees. "This initiative reflects our values of always prioritising our people and coming up with initiatives that contribute to the sustainable development and wellbeing of Vietnam and its people, said Neo According to statistics from Vietnam Maritime Corporation (VIMC), total container throughput shipped via Cai Mep International Terminal (CMIT) reached over 610,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) between January and April, up 16.47 per cent on-year, while its revenue increased 1.05 per cent on-year to $15.7 million. CMIT deputy director Nguyen Xuan Ky told VIR, We performed well in 2020, and the growth momentum continues in the four months of this year despite the pandemic. The growth in volume of goods via CMIT is attributed to strong growth in exports to the United States. Currently, goods via the seaport are mostly sourced from southern economic hubs. Our seaport capacity already surpasses the designed capacity. The seaport, a joint venture (JV) between VIMC and Denmarks APM Terminals in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, is considered the most profitable JV seaport between VIMC and its partner. During the period, the performance of VIMCs three other JV seaports also improved. In particular, SSIT from VIMC and SSA Marine in the Cai Mep-Thi Vai area reported on-year improvement of 238.65 per cent to 284,766 TEUs. SSIT also reported a surge of 79.56 per cent in revenue during the period, hitting $11.68 million. Similarly, SP-PSA, a JV with Singapore-based PSA, continued to see no container throughput during the span, while its revenue ascended by 49.13 per cent on-year to $3.34 million. Q1 of 2021 witnessed an on-year rise of 8.42 per cent in revenue for the Cai Lan International Container Terminal (CICT), a JV between US-based Carrix and VIMC. However, its container throughput fell over 98 per cent on-year. Located in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh, CICT was estimated to handle a total of 1.4 million tonnes of goods during the period, down 15 per cent on-year. These results are encouraging amid the current developments of COVID-19. Remarkably, CMIT, SSIT, and SP-PSA all witnessed strong increases in total volume of goods shipped via them (see box). In the same period last year, SP-PSA also reported no container throughput, while its volume of goods in bulk fell 15 per cent on-year to around 710,00 tonnes. As a result, this JV recorded a revenue of $1.6 million, equal to a mere 88 per cent of the same period of a year earlier. Between January and March of that year, CMITs container throughput rose just 8 per cent, while revenue went up 2 per cent. Also, SSIT saw its volume of goods in bulk climb by just 1 per cent on-year. Nguyen Canh Tinh, CEO of VIMC, told VIR, Despite the pandemic, manufacturing and business activities in Vietnam still remain stable, thus enabling the smooth flow of goods. As a result, our seaport segment saw positive results. The better performance is attributed to a 10-year record high in the countrys trade growth during the first four months of 2021. According to the General Statistics Office, the countrys trade turnover is estimated to hit $103.9 billion, up 28.3 per cent on-year, while its total import value reached $102.61 billion, up 30.8 per cent. The United States, China, and the EU remain Vietnams biggest export markets. As maritime transport still makes up 90 per cent of the countrys total imports and exports, the great growth in trade is a driving force to spur the seaport segment. With the improvements, VIMCs total volume of goods shipped via its ports reached over 44.11 million tonnes in the first four months, up 27.14 per cent compared to the same period last year, while the giants total container throughput, and total revenue of the seaport segment up 24.71 per cent and 20.53 per cent on-year, respectively. The seaport segment has been the best performer among VIMCs core businesses. After enduring years of setbacks due to economic downturn and other difficulties in the shipping market, the JV seaports have experienced constant increases in the volume of cargo since 2018. The growth momentum continues thanks to the countrys general success in pandemic control. In 2020, they enjoyed about 5-10 per cent on-year rise. The JV seaports, especially CMIT, have been upgraded to accommodate big container vessels. Ky of CMIT elaborated, We are making big investment in improving equipment and infrastructure to increase the service quality. We expect that our seaport is likely to surpass the target set earlier for 2021. This result is expected to enable the group to pin high hopes on the possibilities of achieving the targets of handling about 114 million tonnes of goods, and over 5.12 million TEUs in container throughput this year. Shrimp leading the charge in seafood sector recovery From the beginning of 2020 to February, Vietnams exports have gone through many challenges due to the disruption of global value chains as an aftermath the impact of the pandemic. However, a recovery has taken place in the recent two months, with the countrys seafood exports increasing by 17 and 30 per cent on-year in March and April, respectively. Vietnamese shrimp exporters benefitted from the unexpected COVID-19 wave in India the worlds leading shrimp exporter. India produced around 650,000-700,000 tonnes of shrimp in 2020, down 30 per cent from 2019. The recent outbreak in India has made the situation worse, contrary to many forecasts for production. Shrimp production volume in India may recover in the second half of 2021. Thus, this provides an opportunity for competitors like Ecuador, Indonesia, and Vietnam to improve their market shares in the importing countries especially in the United States. According to Indias National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this nations warm-water raw shrimp exports to the US fell 9 per cent in volume and 10 per cent in value on-year in Q1. Meanwhile, its competitors continued to grow. Ecuador was an immediate beneficiary, with 37 per cent growth in output and 44 per cent growth in value during the quarter. The South American nation has a competitive advantage thanks to the lowest average selling price among the top five countries and its direct rivalry with India. Vietnam recorded a 41-per-cent increase in shrimp exports in volume and a 10-per-cent increase in value compared to the first quarter of 2020, with opportunities to expand the market share in the US. For raw shrimps, Vietnams export price remains high compared to competitors, due to the proportion of black tiger shrimp with a higher average selling price. The average selling price for raw whiteleg shrimp remains stable at $10 per kg, and the average selling price in the first quarter decreased due to the change in product structure to reduce the proportion of black tiger shrimp with higher prices. The ratio of whiteleg shrimp to black tiger shrimp sales changed from 87/13 in the first quarter of 2020 to 91/9 in the first quarter of 2021. This is because black tiger shrimp is commonly consumed in restaurants and hotel that remain partially closed due to the pandemic. The global health crisis has also changed consumer behaviour, in which the demand for processed shrimp has increased significantly, which has been a competitive advantage of Vietnam over Ecuador in the US market and for all competitors in the global market like the EU and Japan. The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) forecasts that Vietnams shrimp exports will continue to increase due to a slight increase in the global demand while the supply from many producing countries will decrease due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, exporters of basa fish also benefited from the recovery in the US demand. Vietnams basa exports increased 3 per cent on-year in the first quarter and 26 per cent in the first half of April, of which exports to the US rebounded at 16 and 120 per cent respectively. VASEP also estimated that the average selling price from December to January had bottomed out due to both cyclical factors and the demand that was easily affected by the pandemic, and the average selling price of all markets will recover at the end of the year. In the second quarter, VASEP expects shrimp and basa exports to increase by 10 and 7 per cent, respectively, over the same period. By the end of the year, Vietnams seafood exports can benefit from gaining a bigger market share from competitors whose production output has been negatively affected by the pandemic and continue to grow from retail and online sales while the demand from restaurants will slowly recover. The large solar panel market in this country is currently presided over by overseas investors The Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry a fortnight ago launched an anti-dumping probe into solar cells originating from China, Thailand, and Vietnam, following a petition by the Indian Solar Manufacturers Association. The move has shocked Vietnam-based panel producers. The ministry said that solar panel products originating or imported from the three countries have a high margin of dumping, exceeding the minimum threshold of 2 per cent. The Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam under the Ministry of Industry and Trade said producers and exporters should contact the Indian ministry to register for questionnaires and keep abreast of relevant information coming from India. Any action deemed uncooperative could lead to India imposing anti-dumping duties, it warned. The imposition of a high anti-dumping tax will reduce competitive advantages and lose part or all of the Indian export market to competitors from India and other countries, warned a representative of the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam. However, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, last year Vietnamese groups imported 114.6 million photovoltaic (PV) panels with a value of up to $2.4 billion, a substantial increase on 2019s figures of 36.2 million panels imported at around $845 million. Some developers as well as engineering and procurement companies said that with the boom in solar power in Vietnam over recent years, many projects have raced to commence operations and seize the incentives on offer, leading to large import demand. Nguyen Thuy Ngan, brand director of locally-invested Solar BK, said that it is the only domestic enterprise producing solar cells with international standards at a competitive price, but accounts for less than 1 per cent of the market share in Vietnam. We have policies to encourage renewable energy but there is lack of policy for PV manufacturers. Therefore, the market share worth billions of US dollars is mostly in the hands of foreign enterprises, mostly China, Ngan said. China is the worlds largest producer of PV equipment and some well-known Chinese manufacturers including Trina Solar, JA Solar, and Bowerway Group have their facilities to Vietnam. The northern province of Bac Giang currently hosts eight projects belonging to Chinese and Taiwanese investors, which will form the largest solar energy equipment manufacturing chain in the country with a total capacity of 5,200MW per year. In 2018, India imposed a safeguard duty on solar cells imported from China and Malaysia for two years, a move that was expected to increase costs and push up tariffs from record lows. Under that, a levy of 25 per cent was imposed on imports in the first year starting July 30, and 20 and 15 per cent for two subsequent six-month periods, respectively. According to a TechSci Research report on Vietnams solar PV equipment market, it is forecast to cross $3.7 billion in value by 2025. Market growth can be attributed to the increasing electricity demand from industrial and commercial as well as residential end-user segments, rising investments in solar energy, and favourable regulatory scenarios, the report explained. The electricity demand in Vietnam has grown by around 30 per cent since 2000 and is expected to continue growing over the next decade. By 2025, the solar PV equipment market is anticipated to witness robust growth on account of increasing investments in solar projects and a government focus on reducing carbon emissions. Phnom Penh City Hall on Wednesday released a directive ordering floating homes along the riverbank to be dismantled and for all construction activity to be stopped as a measure to preserve the environment. The new notice said the order was issued to preserve the ecology and water quality of the area and improve the city's aesthetics. Residents living in floating homes were given one week to move while authorities would not be responsible for any actions taken. Klaing Hout, Chroy Changvar district governor, said his officials were informing residents about the new directive but declined to comment on what would happen or how the authorities planned to evict people living along the river. In principle, this is not relocation. Relocating means moving from one place to another. For now, this is about not allowing the use of the river, fishery lots, or inhabitation of the area. It is related to environmental concerns, he said. Klaing Hout said district officials were counting the number of homes along the river and any construction activity taking place in the area. VOA could not reach City Hall spokesperson Meth Measpheakdey for comment on Thursday. Am Sam Ath, deputy director for monitoring at rights group Licadho, said that the authorities should find an amicable solution that worked for both the government and residents. It is not totally [the residents] fault because the authorities did not prevent the construction in the first place, he said. So, this is an issue which needs to be resolved thoroughly. Om Savath, executive director at Fishery Action Coalition Team, said that while it was good to protect the riverbanks, people still depended on fishing for livelihood and they should receive a proper solution. It is good that City Hall is making the arrangement. However, for a proper solution, because [the people] do not have land, the government should play an important role in sorting out the issue, he said. In 2018, the Cambodian government evicted and relocated hundreds of ethnic Vietnamese families living along the Tonle Sap despite the community expressing reservations to preserve the rivers biodiversity. Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh has confirmed that China was assisting to build infrastructure at the controversial Ream Naval Base, days after a visiting U.S. diplomat raised the issue at a meeting with Hun Sen. The defense minister was interviewed by government-aligned Fresh News on Wednesday, where he said China was helping build infrastructure at the base in Preah Sihanouk province. He added that Cambodia needed assistance to expand and modernize the base to host large, deep-water vessels. We want to develop a suitable placeCambodia alone cant do it. It is moderately costly as well, but I dont know how much, Tea Banh said. They [China] are helping with no strings attached. The minister said Cambodia had a right to develop for the nations benefit and rejected the U.S. attempts to turn the base into a geopolitical issue. Fresh News also reported that a U.S. military attache would visit Ream Naval Base after U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman made the request during her visit earlier this week. Tea Banh could not be reached for comment on Thursday. The Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh and the Cambodian Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment. Sherman made a quick trip to Cambodia on Tuesday and met with Prime Minister Hun Sen in Phnom Penh. She asked for an explanation as to why Chinese military personnel was present at the base, according to a statement released by the U.S. State Department. The U.S. has alleged that China will maintain a military presence at Ream Naval Base. The Wall Street Journal in 2019 also reported that China has signed an agreement to have People's Liberation Army officers stationed at the naval base. Satellite imagery has shown the demolition of buildings at the base, some built by the U.S. and the recent construction of two structures on the northern half of the base. The Deputy urged Cambodias leadership to maintain an independent and balanced foreign policy, in the best interests of the Cambodian people, a State Department statement, released after Shermans visit, reads. The Cambodian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Wednesday that said Hun Sen had clarified Cambodias position on Ream Naval Base to Sherman and he reiterated the countrys determination to maintain and protect its independence, neutrality and sovereignty in both domestic and foreign policy. U.S. Embassy spokesperson Chad Roedemeier reiterated Shermans concern over the issue, and said routine and frequent visits by all foreign military attaches to Ream Naval Base can contribute to increased transparency. Sophal Ear, associate professor of diplomacy and world affairs at Occidental College in Los Angeles, said Cambodias admission that China was building its military infrastructure was what the U.S. has been saying all along. Despite the claim by Minister of Defense Tea Banh that there are no strings attached, I just don't think there's ever such a thing. The more Beijing gives, the more Beijing wants. The more Phnom Penh denies, the more it is true, he said in an email on Thursday. The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. The Belarusian democratic opposition and some Western governments are calling for harsher sanctions against Alexander Lukashenkos regime following the forced diversion in late May of an international airliner to arrest a Belarusian dissident blogger on board. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says Zimbabwean authorities should not contest journalist Jeffrey Moyos appeal of a recent ruling denying him bail, and should drop the criminal case against him. In a statement, CPJ quoted Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator, as saying Zimbabwean authorities should recognize that the New York Times freelancer has not threatened the countrys national security, and should not contest his appeal for bail. Quintal also said, It is only because of Zimbabwean authorities paranoia about international media coverage that Moyo is facing up to a decade in jail on spurious charges. The state claims that Moyo falsely told immigration officials at Bulawayos Joshua Nkomo International Airport on May 5 that two New York Times journalists, Christina Goldbaum and Joao Silva, possessed accreditations issued by the Zimbabwe Media Commission, the countrys statutory media regulator. State documents seen by CPJ indicate that Moyo allegedly procured fake accreditations for the journalists, who then received business visas on arrival at the airport on May 5 to work in the country for seven days. According to CPJ, on May 8, police located Goldbaum and Silva in their Harare hotel and expelled them to South Africa after information was received that they were in Zimbabwe with fake accreditation." Police have also arrested Thabang Manhika, a registrar at the Zimbabwe Media Commission, for allegedly violating Section 36 of the Immigration Act. Moyo was this week denied bail by magistrate Rachel Mukanga, who remanded him in custody saying Moyo was a flight risk. Mukanga agreed with prosecutors that the journalist was a threat to national security and that the countrys sovereignty was undermined because foreign journalists interviewed Zimbabweans. CPJ received an emailed statement from New York Times spokesperson, Danielle Rhoades Ha, who noted that the paper was deeply disappointed by the magistrates decision and urged the High Court to grant Moyo bail. If convicted, Moyo could face up to 10 years in jail. Moyos attorneys are planning to seek bail at the High Court. Zimbabweans were among the Pan-African parliamentary group that blocked the organizations elections in South Africa following a fall out between southern African representatives and their colleagues, drawn from east and west African states. There was chaos and pandemonium at the event, which unceremoniously ended Monday, when the southerners demanded that the presidency be rotated. Representatives of the mainly French-speaking nations turned down their demands, saying the Pan-African parliamentary elections should be held without delay. Zimbabwean parliamentarian, Barbara Rwodzi, took center stage by grabbing the ballot box, resulting in a harsh exchange of words, kicking and shoving at the meeting. Zanu PF Member of Parliament for Gutu, Pupurai Togarepi, says they were demanding the rotation of the presidency, a move that is being supported by the African Union. The southern African block is currently led by Zimbabwes Fortune Charumbira. The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) has been led by a president drawn from west Africa since its formation in 2004. Togarepi said, We had challenges. Elections were supposed to happen on Tuesday afternoon but we had challenges among some members of the Pan-African parliament who refused to abide to the AU directive. The directive said we should respect the protocol, the policy of rotation. They said they want the Pan-African parliament to be an independent institution, independent from the mother body. Some of us from southern Africa, as you know, we have never had a chance to lead the Pan-African parliament. We said no we need to abide by the directive given by the AU. So, some among the majority French-speaking Africans refused. We stood our ground until elections were suspended and we stated that the AU be invited so that we abide by the policies provided by the AU. Togarepi said they expected the elections to be conducted sometime this year in South Africa when parliamentarians meet for committee deliberations. He said the majority of African nations are following African Union protocols in running the Pan-African parliament. Togarepi said Charumbira, who is also the acting president of the Pan-African parliament, is expected to be at the helm of the organization until elections are held in August this year. In an interview with Newzroom Afrika on Wednesday, Rwodzi, said she blocked the PAP elections, through chanting "no rotation, no elections, in order to have an organization that follows democratic values of governance. She appeared on television with a bandaged left hand but noted that she wont sue the people that inflicted the injury. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 14:15:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Staff members wear protective suits before entering the sample treatment area of a temporary laboratory for nucleic acid testing in a stadium in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, June 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) After visiting the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Russian expert said that all of its work is carried out in full compliance with existing biosafety standards. ST. PETERSBURG, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Political issues have no place in researching the emergence of new viruses, and taking politics into account is counterproductive and will hinder scientific research, a Russian expert has said. Vladimir Dedkov, deputy director for scientific work of the Pasteur Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, made the remarks in a recent interview with Xinhua. Dedkov participated in a 28-day global virological study in Wuhan, China, as an expert from Russia in the World Health Organization international expert group from Jan. 14 to Feb. 10. After visiting the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Russian expert said that all of its work is carried out in full compliance with existing biosafety standards. Besides, the analysis of the dynamics of COVID-19 cases in December 2019 revealed no signs that they were associated with the Institute, he said. If the hypothesis of the artificial origin of COVID-19 is to be checked, then it is necessary to check all laboratories working with viruses of this type, not only in China, but also in other countries, Dedkov said. Staff members do nucleic acid testing work at a novel coronavirus detection lab in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Cheng Min) The Russian expert said that politicizing this topic is purely counterproductive. He wanted other experts to work together to find the cause of the epidemic instead of blaming China without proof. Dedkov noted that scientists have yet to find "patient zero." To find the answers, it is necessary to conduct a large-scale study of the spread of COVID-19 in neighboring countries and study biological samples collected outside of China before the pandemic. The research on tracking the emergence of COVID-19, he said, should be continued to ensure the collective security of the population. It is very important to study the diversity of viruses in nature, he said, adding that the work on this topic is currently being carried out by independent scientific teams in different countries, and it can help prevent biological threats that humanity will face in the future. It is important that such studies be carried out without political overtones, he stressed. Only scientists who rely on international cooperation can clarify the question of the origin of new viruses. Sterling Heights, MI (48312) Today Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High 84F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Mostly clear during the evening followed by cloudy skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 61F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. MEMORIAL DAY PARADE AND CEREMONY ONE TO REMEMBER: On a beautiful day, May 31, Our Town watched the parade along Washington and attended a meaningful ceremony at city hall that honored our fallen heroes. The gathering was among the largest in memory for this important day in Our Town. First, 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. Funeral Announcements A daily list of current funeral annoucements as heard on KXRA 1490 AM/100.3 FM News Updates The daily news, sports, and events delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Sports Update This current sports headlines delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Upcoming Events This email is the events of the area delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Breaking News The big news. Sent only as it happens. We have re-opened our newspaper office to the public in Stowe. Our South Burlington and Morrisville offices remain closed, except by appointment. Face masks are mandatory, and appropriate social distancing must be practiced, at all locations. Please email or call us with questions, news or updates; and read our local coronavirus coverage. Read News Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 14:27:24|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by David Williams, Lin Jing COPENHAGEN, June 2 (Xinhua) -- President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said that the European Union (EU) is making "steady progress on vaccinations" against COVID-19 as the bloc is on track to deliver enough doses to vaccinate 70 percent of its adult population by the end of July. In contrast to the optimism about vaccine take-up, the prevailing attitude across the whole region has actually been characterized by a certain hesitancy about the vaccine. TOWARD "HERD IMMUNITY" Confidence in "herd immunity" is backed by 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines received by the EU and 245 million doses administered since the onset of the pandemic, which, as Von der Leyen estimated last week, would provide at least one dose to 170 million adults up until May 30, or about 46 percent of the EU's adult population. "If we continue like this, we have confidence that we will be able to safely reopen our societies," she told journalists after a special EU summit in Brussels on May 25. Malta, with a half million population, has seen a greater vaccine take-up than other EU countries. More than 300,000 Maltese have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while over 180,000 people are now fully vaccinated, according to the latest data issued by Malta's health authorities. "Malta is the first country in Europe to achieve herd immunity," said Malta's Health Minister Chris Fearne on May 24. Britain has seen a greater willingness to be vaccinated, which has resulted in a phenomenal reduction in hospitalizations and deaths related to COVID-19. The latest data from Public Health England's real-world study revealed that vaccinations had contributed to saving more than 13,200 lives and prevented more than 39,700 hospitalizations up to May 13. WILLINGNESS GAP ON VACCINATION However, according to a survey published on May 10 by Eurofound, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, over a quarter of adults in the EU said they were "very unlikely" or "rather unlikely" to get vaccinated. The survey also found that the main reason for the "vaccine hesitancy" was a lack of trust in the safety of vaccines. In addition, the survey found indications of an east-west divide across the EU, with the willingness to be vaccinated standing at over 60 percent in western EU member states, except Austria and France, but much lower in eastern EU countries. Noting there is "a need for clear political and scientific communication about vaccine safety," the survey said, "an unclear political stance about vaccines and a less than straightforward communication over their safety may have a detrimental effect on public trust in vaccines." In France, which is experiencing a "third wave" of the pandemic, vaccinations are marked by fears of side affects and general indifference. French authorities have been accelerating a non-compulsory vaccination campaign for weeks. President Emmanuel Macron on Monday spearheaded the drive by announcing that he has been vaccinated. France expects to vaccinate 30 million citizens with the first dose by mid-June. In Sweden, a discernible apathy towards the vaccine has also made the country lag far behind the EU's vaccination objective. Immigrant population's unwillingness to be vaccinated is especially a matter of concern in Sweden. However, Swedish authorities hoped that everyone will be offered a jab by Sept. 5. It is a different story in neighboring Finland, where the take-up of vaccinations has been less hindered by speculation, with over 40 percent of the population having received at least one dose. Meanwhile, in the east of the EU, Romania had expected to vaccinate 5 million, or 30 percent of the population, by June 1. However, official data on Sunday showed the country only managed to administer 4,299,481 doses, equivalent to 26.8 percent of the population. Resistance and lingering doubts about the vaccine were only partly to blame, as Romanian health authorities attributed the main reason for the slowdown of the vaccination program to the considerable number of people in the country who have developed antibodies after being infected and consequently are temporarily not in need of a vaccine. Poland has offered an innovative solution comprised of a lottery with prizes in an effort to dispel fears and encourage vaccinations. The Polish vaccine lottery will cost the government 140 million zloty (38 million U.S. dollars). Other prizes include hybrid cars, electric scooters and vouchers. CHINESE VACCINES HELP WITH RECOVERY On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) validated CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac for emergency use. CoronaVac is the second Chinese vaccine in the WHO Emergency Use Listing after the previous one developed by another Chinese manufacturer Sinopharm. China's timely delivery of COVID-19 vaccines for Hungary, the first EU member to recognize and use Chinese vaccines, has protected lives of Hungarian people. The Hungarian foreign ministry said in May that many lives were saved and the country "gained a month and a half" in vaccinations thanks to the vaccines from China as well as Russia. "Without the Eastern vaccines, the number of vaccinated Hungarians would not have reached 4 million by last Friday, only in mid-June," said Tamas Menczer, state secretary from Hungary's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in a Facebook video. In the Mediterranean, the island nation of Cyprus announced on May 20 that it was also adding the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine to its list of approved vaccines accepted for free entry of vaccinated people into the country. In Serbia, Chinese vaccines were praised for playing an indispensable role in fighting the pandemic in the country. As the final batch of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine arrived at Belgrade airport last week, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic expressed gratitude for the reliability that "no one could have expected in difficult times and circumstances." Despite the effectiveness of vaccines in the fight against COVID-19, the WHO still issued a message of caution from its European office in Copenhagen in May. "Right now, in the face of a continued threat and new uncertainty, we need to continue to exercise caution, and rethink or avoid international travel," said Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe. "Vaccines may be a light at the end of the tunnel -- but we cannot be blinded by that light," said Kluge. Enditem (Ren Ke and Pan Geping in Brussels, Chen Wenxian in Valleta, Chen Jing in Helsinki, Fu Yiming in Stockholm, Shi Zhongyu in Belgrade, Guo Mingfang in Nicosia, Jiang Xue in Bratislava, Liu Fang in Paris, Jin Jing and Zhang Jiawei in London, Zhang Zhang in Warsaw, Chen Jin in Bucharest, Yuan Liang in Budapest also contributed to the story.) One 94-year-old Madison County woman celebrated a big accomplishment - finally receiving her high school diploma. The graduation ceremony took place at Hazel Green High School. The room was full of great-grandchildren, siblings, and other family members who all came together to celebrate the accomplishments of Grace Lee McClure Smith. Grace Lee McClure Smith Grace Lee McClure Smith "I am so grateful, thank you so much. It's better late than never, isn't it," says Grace. For Grace, her high school graduation has been a long time coming. 79 years to be exact. She dropped out of school in 1942 when she was only 16, so her husband could fight in World War II. "She never ever mentioned regretting anything in life. She would never take it back because she absolutely loved my grandfather and that was just what she wanted to do, but I think this was very important to her," says her granddaughter, Erin Wilson. Grace went on to work as a bus driver for the Madison County School system for 30 years. That's a lot of faces to remember, but she still recognizes most of the people she drove if they just tell her their address. "She'll say, 'I can't remember exactly who you were, go ahead and tell me where you lived.' So they'll give the address and she'll say 'oh yeah, I remember you,' and then she'll start with stories," says Wilson. Although she never had the chance to complete her education, she always emphasized the importance of learning to her family. "She drove me actually on the school bus, so I rode with her to and from school. And she always encouraged me to go to school, make sure I finish school, and now she encourages my girls," says Wilson. With 26 great-grandchildren, she has a lot of knowledge to pass on. And you can tell her entire family appreciates her commitment to education. Her granddaughter, Erin, was the one who worked on getting Grace her honorary degree as a surprise. In Alabama, we now have more than 1.6-million people who are fully vaccinated from the coronavirus. As President Biden announced Wednesday, he wants 70% of Americans to get the COVID shot by July 4th. WAAY-31 spoke with the assistant public health officer of Alabama on how we're doing so far, and what we can do to be even better. "We absolutely cannot give up on Alabama in terms of reaching higher percentages of people vaccinated," said Dr. Karen Landers. Dr. Karen Landers is the assistant public health officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health. She told us Alabama still lags far behind when it comes to people who are fully vaccinated compared to other states. She says she knows people are still hesitant, especially with the health concerns that have been coming out. But, Landers says there's not much to fear. "We have a lot more data in terms of safety with the vaccine and in Alabama looks very good," she said. Dr. Landers says the good outweighs the bad when it comes to the vaccine and without it, if you're infected with COVID, you could die. Just in the last week, Dr. Landers says 36 people died from COVID. By getting the vaccine, you could save your life and others around you, but Landers is thankful we're slowly coming around the corner. "Our numbers and cases are down, our hospitalizations are down and lower than they have ever been in over year but we are not through this pandemic yet," she said. You can get a vaccine at various places like hospitals and local pharmacies like CVS. Dr. Landers says if you're able, do your part and join the fight against this deadly virus. We've seen other states offer incentives such as placing people in a lottery to win money in Ohio. In Alabama, Landers says some local businesses have offered incentives, but now we're seeing some bigger chains like CVS say you could win one of more than 1,000 prizes. Landers agrees that these are helping and hope to see even more places encourage people to be vaccinated A member of the Guntersville City Council is facing DUI and more charges from Alabama State Troopers. Donald Jay Myers, 62, was arrested May 27 for driving under the influence, open container, and failure to signal, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Myers is the District 5 representative on the Guntersville City Council. Troopers stopped a 2009 Ford F-150 for failure to signal and changing lanes without proper signal about 4:40 p.m. May 27, according to a news release. Myers was taken to the Marshall County Jail. Bond was set at $1,500. The incident remains under investigation, troopers said. Limestone County residents received a letter in their mailbox from the Limestone County Water and Sewer Authority. In the letter, it says that in May 2020, the Limestone County Water and Sewer Authority, did not complete all required monitoring for total coliform bacteria. CEO of the Limestone County Water and Sewer Authority, Daryl Williamson, said they did take the samples, it was just done days before the correct testing window. The samples came back fine, there were no issues with it, but because it was taken in a different window of timethree to four days earlier, said Williamson. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management sets certain testing windows. Since the samples were taken too early, they were eliminated from testing. The samples were taken too early based on human error. The individuals who performed those tests were under the impression as long as they performed the tests in the period of the month, then it would be OK, said Williamson. Limestone County resident, Kenneth Vincent, said after getting the letter, he wondered why the samples weren't taken again. I wonder why they didnt re-sample, go get more water to send it in to get tested," said Vincent. Williamson said the pandemic caused staffing challenges. People were being quarantined and staff was limited, and so we were trying to make due with the best resources we have while keeping people separated, said Williamson. According to the letter sent to homes, the Limestone County Water and Sewer Authority has re-educated its operators on the rules of testing. This way, the problem wont happen again. A civil rights group based in Huntsville sent a letter to the Department of Justice Wednesday demanding an investigation into the Huntsville Police Department for what it says are "multiple incidents of excessive force, unconstitutional policing, and other civil rights violations." The Rosa Parks Committee cited the April 3, 2018, shooting death of Jeff Parker by HPD Officer William Darby, who was recently convicted of murder. They also fault HPD for its handling of protesters during gatherings in downtown Huntsville one year ago, following the death of George Floyd. The group said law enforcement "ignited a local movement that raised concerns and questions about some of the tactics and protocols used by the Huntsville Police Department." The committee also points to "other incidents" including the treatment of Kemontae Hobbs. An officer was recorded on cell phone video stomping on Hobbs' leg during an arrest. In the letter, addressed to Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke at the Civil Rights Division, the committee lists their concerns, including "the policing of citizens experiencing mental health crises, those engaged in lawful assemblies and protests, and those who are racial minorities." Rosa Parks Committee Letter to Doj 06-03-2021 by Megan Reyna on Scribd Most of North Alabama remains under a Marginal Risk for severe weather through Thursday but that threat will end west to east through Thursday afternoon. We'll have scattered storms mostly near and east of I-65 with an approaching cold front the rest of Thursday morning. By early afternoon the remaining storms will be mostly in Sand Mountain and push east into Georgia by late afternoon. Don't expect a big cool down, but the weather will at least be mainly quiet in the wake of the front both Friday and Saturday. In fact, Saturday will be close to 90. Storm chances begin to creep up again Sunday and scattered storms are expected every day for at least the first half of next week. Temperatures are on a fairly even keel in the coming days with highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 15:35:58|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Big Brother is watching Europe and has been for years, and those prying eyes have haunted the continent's relationship with the United States. In recent years, various surveillance projects implemented by the United States have been exposed one after the other, and most of them are carried out by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), in addition to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Recent reports of U.S. spying on European politicians including German Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2012 to 2014 with the help of Danish intelligence have provided yet more evidence of America's pervasive and ubiquitous monitoring of the world. Across Europe, eyebrows are being raised before U.S. President Joe Biden's first visit to the continent since he took office. The disgraceful eavesdropping reports cry out for a thorough investigation and clear explanation from the United States to soothe its spooked and indignant allies. NSA & CIA The allegations of spying come as Danish broadcaster DR reported on Sunday that the Danish Defense Intelligence Service had given the NSA open internet access to spy on senior politicians of neighboring countries, including Merkel. The NSA has purposefully obtained data and thus been able to clandestinely spy on targeted heads of state, as well as neighboring Scandinavian leaders, top politicians, and high-ranking officials in Germany, Sweden, Norway, and France from 2012 to 2014, according to DR. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Wednesday declined to comment on the media report, saying that there should be no systematic monitoring of allies, echoing an earlier statement by the country's defense minister. "I don't think it is correctly stated that there is a need to restore relations with France or Germany. We have an ongoing dialogue, and we have it in the intelligence field," she told local media Ritzau. It seems like deja vu all over again for both the NSA and Merkel. In 2013, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA was listening in on German government phone lines, including Merkel's. The shocking revelations have then ignited worries across the world that the powerful U.S. surveillance network, if unconstrained, would possibly pose serious threats to global citizens' privacy and personal freedom. Germany is a close ally of the United States. When those allegations were made, the White House gave no outright denial but said Merkel's phone was not being bugged at the time and would not be in the future. In addition to the NSA, the United States has the CIA, another major intelligence agency in the country capable of exploiting vulnerabilities in mobile phones, computers and smart TVs. In 2017, WikiLeaks published what it described as the "biggest ever leak of secret CIA documents" detailing the tools it uses to break into phones, communication apps and other electronic devices. According to the documents, the CIA attack team did the following: hacked network routers; hacked smart TVs and fake-shut them down to eavesdrop; hacked smart vehicle control systems to perform assassinations; developed attack tools against Apple phones and Google Android systems; and intruded on operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X and Linux. ANGRY & WORRIED EUROPE Following DR's revelations, European countries immediately issued censure on Washington, and urged the world's sole superpower to explain itself as soon as possible. France and Germany have deplored the alleged spying as "unacceptable," and demanded "full clarity" from the U.S. side. French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called for "complete transparency and resolution of the matter by our Danish and American partners." In response, Merkel said she "could only agree" with Macron's comments, adding she was "reassured" by Danish Minister of Defense Trine Bramsen's condemnation of any such spying. In Paris, French Minister for European Affairs Clement Beaune told France Info radio that the DR report needed to be checked and that, if confirmed, it would be a "serious" matter. "These potential facts, they are serious. They must be checked," he said, adding there could be "some diplomatic protests." "It is extremely serious, we need to see if our partners in the EU, the Danes, have committed errors or faults in their cooperation with American services," he noted. Jens Holm, a member of the Swedish Parliament, called for an investigation into "who exactly was monitored, when and how." "This is extremely outrageous," Holm told local media, adding that the situation elicits memories of the Cold War. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday called for an investigation into the spying scandal. "The nations involved in the case are NATO allies and must put all the facts on the table and find out what actually happened," he told DR. In fact, the latest eavesdropping is just one of a series of U.S. espionage scandals, both domestic and overseas, the most notorious one of which was the Prism Project revealed by Snowden in 2013. Under the project, the NSA accessed emails, documents, photographs, and other sensitive user data stored at big companies. Such waves of U.S. spying, even on its own allies, have not only outraged people across the world, but also sparked widespread concerns in the international community as to what extent the United States has built its empire of hacking and wiretapping and how it could ensnare Europe. Swedish Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist said on state broadcaster SVT on Sunday that he "asked to be fully informed about matters concerning Swedish citizens, companies and interests." "And then we have to see how the answer sounds from a political side in Denmark," Hultqvist said, adding that he had been "in contact with Denmark's defense minister to ask if Danish platforms have been used to spy on Swedish politicians." Enditem Decatur, IL (62521) Today Mainly sunny. High 89F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight A mostly clear sky. Low 67F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Cinema in Piazza festival returns to Rome this summer with free films, big names and a new location. Rome film fans can look forward to watching movies on the big screen under the stars again this summer with the return of Cinema in Piazza. The popular, free event will be held between 4 June and 1 August in three different locations. In addition to its base at Piazza S. Cosimato in the heart of Trastevere, the festival will return to Casale della Cervelletta in Rome's eastern suburbs. The festival says goodbye to Ostia after three years, swapping it for a new venue in Monte Ciocci park at Valle Aurelia. Cinema in Piazza will once again host a range of international special guests including English director Ken Loach, German filmmaker Wim Wenders, British actor Rupert Everett and French actor/director Mathieu Kassovitz. Italian stars of cinema will include the D'Innocenzo brothers, Matteo Garrone and Carlo Verdone, with a special tribute to the late great Gigi Proietti. The festival is organised by Piccolo Cinema America, a Trastevere-based association of young volunteer film enthusiasts, led by president Valerio Carocci. For the second year in a row, organisers have had to work around Italy's covid-19 protocols, with the first few nights of the festival (4-6 June) starting at the earlier time of 20.00 to accommodate the curfew still in place. From 9-13 June all events with special guests will start at 20.30, or with guests at 21.15. From 16 June, all events will start at 21.15, as in previous editions. Although the festival is free, those attending are obliged to book in advance, and social distancing measures will be in place in line with covid-19 rules. The festival's organisers are no stranger to overcoming obstacles, from political opposition to right-wing violence, and in addition to the 2021 festival they are putting the finishing touches to the fully refurbished, state-of-the-art Cinema Troisi. For the last seven years the festival has consistently punched above its weight to reel in some of the top names in Italian and international cinema and screen a diverse range of movies in their original language. As always, those attending are invited to bring along a cushion or chair from home. The full programme is published on the Cinema in Piazza website. Photo Lorenzo Scudiero - Cinema in Piazza. Italian regions get green light to extend covid-19 vaccine appointments to everybody aged over 16 from today. Italy's regions can make covid-19 vaccination appointments available to all people aged over 16 from Thursday 3 June. "We can further accelerate our campaign to overcome this difficult season," wrote Italian health minister Roberto Speranza on Twitter yesterday. From 3 June, all regions will be able to open up to all age groups (over 16), the government's covid-19 commissioner General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo said last week. Italy's move to ramp up its vaccination programme comes as the Italian drug regulator (AIFA) approved the Pfizer-BioNtech coronavirus vaccine for 12 to 15-year olds earlier this week. Until now Italy has prioritised the elderly and made vaccines available according to age categories, however from today regional health authorities will be permitted to open appointments to all adults. However, as each region is managed by local health authorities, the procedure and age priority will vary greatly across the country. For example, the Emilia Romagna region around Bologna will give priority to 12-15 year olds; the Lombardia region around Milan will focus on the 12-29 age group; and the Lazio region around Rome is set to continue its AstraZeneca "open days" for over-18s, according to Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. Italy expects to receive 20 million anti-covid vaccines in June, with about 2.5 million doses arriving this week on top of the 3.5 million Pfizer doses already being distributed, reports Italian news agency ANSA. About 370,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson were expected to arrive in Italy yesterday, with more than 1.7 million doses of Astrazeneca due today and almost 400,000 doses of Moderna set to arrive tomorrow, according to ANSA. More than 12 million people in Italy, or 22 per cent of the population, have completed their vaccination cycle, while more than 23 million people have received a first shot, according to the latest data published by the government last night. For official information relating to the covid-19 situation in Italy - in English - see the health ministry website. Photo credit: Pasquale Senatore / Shutterstock.com. Wanted in Rome interviews Antonio Barreca, director general of Federturismo, one of the key figures in Italy's travel and tourism industry. by Marco Venturini What is the current situation of tourism in Italy? The health and economic crisis caused by the pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the tourism sector. Although we are aware that recovery will not be easy, the acceleration of the vaccination campaign, the easing of restrictions and the Italian and European green pass allow us to leave room for a certain optimism for this summer. A little less than half of Italians will go on vacation, even if for the moment we are still witnessing reservations concentrated mainly in the month of August, that see Italy as their preferred destination. For the arrival of foreigners, we will have to wait until the second half of July when there will be a greater propensity to travel guaranteed by a resumption of safe mobility. The sea is the favorite destination for six out of ten Italians with Puglia, Tuscany, Sicily, Emilia-Romagna and Sardinia in the lead. The estimates of flows in the summer months, according to a survey conducted with Demoskopika, almost 166 million visitors for almost 39 million arrivals, in recovery of 16 and 11 percent in 2020. Levels that would still lead to closing the year with a deficit of more than 50 percent compared to 2019 records. What are the elements of greatest concern and what are the elements of greatest hope for the future of the industry? Being able to integrate the organization of the proposed structural measures, together with the digitization of processes and a coordination of those involved, could make the tourism sector take that decisive step towards growth. The resources foreseen in the NRRP (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) are more substantial than those of the past and concentrated over time, but what worries us is their destination and how to ensure the effectiveness of spending. In order to promote tourism well, it is necessary to bring together a series of separate interventions on various fronts, because only through their synergy can the plan be successful in terms of economic development and enhancement of Italys national heritage. It is necessary to take a long-term view and work now on deep structural reforms that lay the foundations for an environment that is truly more suited to businesses and workers. Our companies need to eliminate red tape and be simplified: we can in no way afford to remain caged by a stratification of regulations and bureaucracy. How much do you think international tourism will influence the upcoming summer vacations? Even though we won't be able to count on large numbers, foreign tourists want to enjoy an all- Italian vacation. If Europeans, especially Austrians, Germans and French are moderately confident, we are confident in the return of the Americans who, thanks to a mass vaccination campaign and Covid tested flights are beginning to reappear, and not only in Ischia. To see Russians and Chinese, we will have to wait since their vaccines are not recognized by the EU. When do you expect a return to normality for the sector? Although Euromonitor data predicts that Italy will recover the pre-pandemic levels by 2025, we are more optimistic, hoping for a return to normal starting from 2024. Recovery will be closely linked to plans to contain the virus with vaccination campaigns and measures to encourage the movement of people. It is recent news that countries like Germany and France are closing to tourists from the United Kingdom. Do you think there is an equal risk of this happening in Italy? The strong transmissibility of the Indian variant has led France to adopt a seven-day quarantine for anyone arriving from the United Kingdom as of 31 May. A decision that was preceded by the moves of Germany and Austria that have imposed respectively a two-week quarantine and banned direct flights. No one can rule out that Italy may also be in the position of having to resort to such an intervention even if we hope that the vaccination campaign arrived at a good point and vaccines largely effective even in the face of this variant can avert a measure that, just at the gates of the summer season, we would further penalize tourism. To date, what are the entry policies for European and American tourists? Since mid-May, the tightening of the regulations for those arriving in Italy from abroad has been loosened. American tourists are among the very few non-EU foreigners who, thanks to their vaccination campaign and Covid tested flights, can now enter Italy without the obligation of quarantine (but they must take swabs before arrival and return). All this while waiting for the first of July when the green pass will be sufficient. In your opinion, what 3 measures should be put in place immediately to help the sector? In this delicate and long-awaited phase of restart, a major problem remains, in view of the summer season, the difficulty for entrepreneurs to find staff and particular professional figures on the market, due to the citizenship income. To remedy this anomaly, distorting the labor market, an immediate corrective measure would be necessary, such as the remodeling of taxation on labor costs to allow workers to receive a higher net pay and thus make work more attractive than citizenship income, with consequent savings for the coffers of the State. An even more anomalous scenario if we consider that in 2020, the number of people employed in the sector dropped dramatically. It is, moreover, necessary to support the liquidity of companies by all means. In particular, with regard to the measures for access to credit and liquidity, we believe that the extension of the current measures and the lengthening of the repayment terms of guaranteed loans is positive and should help companies emerge from the critical phase. Even if the operation of some provisions is subject to the authorization of the European Commission and the absence of a structured intervention for the capitalization of companies remains, as well as the excessive bureaucratization of procedures that has made access to aid very complex, especially for SMEs. And then there is the issue, absolutely central to the competitiveness of our businesses, of the upgrading and quality of our country's tourist offer for which we continue to reiterate the importance of extending the 110% Superbonus that would allow the Italian tourist offer to be upgraded to the best international standards. An effort that today we cannot ask of companies and entrepreneurs who have not worked for months and whose turnover has been decimated. Antonio Barreca Since July 2011 Antonio Barreca has been the director general of Federturismo, the Italian National Federation of the Travel and Tourism Industry which is part of Confindustria (the Italian employers' confederation). He served in 2014 as a senior advisor for tourism for Sicily. He has been a member of the Tourism Sustainability Group of the European Commission since February 2011, and the vice president of the tourism committee at the Italian Organization for Standardization (UNI), an association that publishes standards for industrial, commercial and tertiary sectors. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 15:43:09|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NAIROBI, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Mohamed Aden's ancestral village located at the heart of Garissa County in northeastern Kenya has for decades been synonymous with climatic shocks that have taken a toll on the livelihoods of its nomadic dwellers. The middle-aged pastoralist said that exposure to harsh elements at a tender age prompted him to appreciate the value of tenacity, grit and fortitude in order to survive for another day. Aden's extended family of subsistence farmers and nomads have in the recent past toyed with the idea of taking a pause amid cyclical droughts that have taken a toll on food security and incomes. "The prolonged dry spell that has become anonymous with the greater northern Kenyan region has disrupted our livelihoods, forcing pastoralists to abandon the practice and migrate to urban centers in droves," Aden told Xinhua during a recent interview. He said the younger generation has become detached from the time-honored nomadic lifestyle of their forebears amid shrinking fortunes linked to extreme weather events. According to Aden, water stress, loss of pasture and desertification that have escalated in northern Kenya due to climate change, have pushed nomadic communities to the edge. "We are being forced to trek long distances under the scorching sun in search of water and pasture for our livestock. Inter-communal conflicts over dwindling water supply have also intensified," said Aden. His sentiments were echoed by dozens of pastoralists in northeastern Kenyan counties that neighbor Somalia who felt that their main source of livelihood was staring at an uncertain future thanks to climate-induced threats. Bishar Gure, an elderly pastoralist from Garissa County, had nostalgic memories of a bygone era when owning a large herd of cattle, goats and camels symbolized wealth and prestige. According to Gure, growing up in a nomadic family used to guarantee a child access to quality education, healthcare and opportunities in adult life, but not any more amid weather-related disruption on the centuries-old practice. "Droughts have become frequent and harsher compared to several decades ago forcing pastoralists to explore other income sources like starting small businesses in nearby towns," said Gure. He said that prolonged dry spells that have been accompanied by loss of fodder for the livestock have forced nomads to abandon their ancestral land, to the detriment of their cultural norms and practices. Gure said that nomadic communities in northern Kenya are looking up to the central government to roll out some long-term interventions that can enhance their resilience amid climate-induced vagaries. "We hope the government will help us cope with the harsh weather patterns through investing in water harvesting technologies and supply of hay to our livestock," said Gure. He said that nomads have rallied behind state-funded ecosystem restoration projects in northern Kenyan counties to ensure they have adequate supply of water and pasture for their livestock. Kenyan pastoralists, who comprise nearly 20 percent of the country's population, have been pushed to the margins of survival as their ancestral habitation reel from climatic shocks. The declining fortunes of nomadic communities that inhabit the vast semi-arid land mass in northern Kenya have prompted the national government to come up with a raft of interventions aimed at turning the tide. President Uhuru Kenyatta in late May announced new measures to revive the livestock subsector that contributes nearly 13 percent to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in a bid to boost revenue streams for the pastoralists. Among the interventions Kenyatta announced to help cushion herders from recurrent droughts include investments in water projects and storage facilities for hay. "We will revive stalled water projects in the drylands and partner with donors to establish feedlots to ensure that livestock are fed regardless of changing weather patterns," Kenyatta said during the handover of the revived Kenya Meat Commission to the military in May. He said that the revival of abattoirs will be accompanied by enhanced market linkages to improve the sustainability of the livestock sector already reeling from climatic stresses and rapid urbanization. Dubat Ali Amey, chairman of Kenya Livestock Marketing Council, acknowledged the devastating impact of climate change on the sector, adding that targeted interventions were urgent to boost the resilience of pastoralists. "The survival of pastoralists is at stake due to suppressed rains and lack of fodder for their livestock. We hope establishment of fodder banks and new irrigation schemes will boost income for herders," said Amey. Mohamed Hire, a lawmaker in Garissa County, said that investments in climate adaptation measures including water harvesting will strengthen the resilience of herders. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 16:26:57|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People participate in a gathering at Grandview Park in Vancouver, Canada, June 2, 2021. People dressed in orange took part in a gathering organized by local indigenous community to pay tribute to the 215 Indigenous children whose bodies were found in a mass grave at a former Kamloops Indian Residential School. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua) Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 16:58:44|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LONDON, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Samples from a study suggesting that COVID-19 was circulating outside China by October 2019 have been re-tested at the World Health Organization's (WHO) request, a Reuters report quoted two scientists leading the research as saying on Tuesday. While COVID-19 was first identified in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, a study published last year suggested antibodies to either the virus or a variant had been detected elsewhere prior to the first confirmed report of the virus in China. Neutralising antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 were detected in blood collected from healthy volunteers in Italy in October 2019 during a lung cancer screening trial, according to the study published by the Milan Cancer Institute's scientific magazine Tumori Journal. "WHO is in contact with the researchers that had published the original paper. A collaboration with partner laboratories has been set up for further testing," Reuters quoted a WHO spokesman as saying. The WHO was aware that the researchers are planning to publish a follow-up report "in the near future," the spokesman said. Researchers said the results of the recent study requested by the WHO could not give concrete answer to the myth of COVID-19's geographical origin, according to the report. "We only found the response to the virus, namely the antibodies. So we can say that this coronavirus or a very similar one, perhaps a less transmissible variant, was circulating here in October," said one of the researchers. Enditem South Africa: Concern at high unemployment figures Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi has expressed concern at the countrys unemployment figures. Statistics South Africa, in its Quarterly Labour Force Survey this week, revealed that unemployment in South Africa reached 32.6% in the first three months of the year. The progress is still very slow with [the] unemployment rate increasing by 0.1 percentage point, followed by a decrease in employment levels by 28 000 individuals between quarter four of 2020 and quarter one of 2021, he said in a statement on Thursday. In other words, only 8 000 additional individuals reported to be unemployed between quarter four of 2020 and quarter one 2021. Comparison on year-on-year change reflects an additional 172 000 individuals that were added in the basket of unemployed people in the country since March 2020. These main results are still indicating that the search for a better life is ongoing in particular the cycle of high inequality, high unemployment and poverty is visible. This was despite some industries having made some inroads. Nxesi said the overall picture is still a cause for concern. Major losses were recorded in industries classified as non-essentials. These included construction and trade industries with 87 000 and 84 000 jobs losses, respectively. The Department of Employment and Labour is however confident that the employment trajectory will relatively surpass the current COVID-19 challenge. This is based on a number of factors, among others, the COVID-19 vaccine programme and the Presidential Employment Stimulus which aims to create new job opportunities, said the department. Nxesi said the department was encouraged by a Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) intervention that saved more 55% of jobs by April 2021. Using the results of S189 form, 2 213 out of 4 037 of employees who were potentially going to be retrenched were retained into their jobs. Furthermore, the payments made through [the] Unemployment Insurance Fund [UIF] related to COVID-19 TERS was one of the key strategic labour market intervention in line of poverty relief, for the most vulnerable sectors in the country and had it not been for this intervention, the picture would be worse, said the Minister. He added that the strength of the recovery remains on the implementation of the Economic Recovery Plan (ERP), which calls on all social partners to work together and preserve the country economic development prospects. Youth unemployment One of the most concerning areas was in the youth category which remains the most vulnerable in the South African labour market. For instance, 32.4% of the 10.2 million youth (15-24 years) reported not to be in employment, education or training (NEET) in quarter one of 2021. It constituted 29.6% of NEET in December 2020. Nevertheless, the NEET rate for females was higher than that of their male counterparts in both quarters. The department said a yearly comparison showed that the percentage of young persons aged 1534 years who were not in employment, education or training (NEET) increased by 1.9 % points from 41.7% in quarter one of 2020 to 43.6% (out of 20.4 million) in quarter one of 2021. This being Youth Month calls upon us to put in place extensive plans to help the youth out of this quagmire. Through our labour activations program funded by the UIF, we are seeing a lot of young people take up entrepreneurial work and thriving. This is where employment happens and as the department, we are supporting these enterprises, he said. Jobs centres We are also in line to launch a number of Jobs Centres which are targeted mostly to the youth in our country. And through the Public Employment Services, we have been involved in partnerships with a number of industries whereby we source job opportunities. He said this was already working well in the Cape Winelands District. We have seen off takes in Limpopo and Mpumalanga. We are also encouraged by the interest that more young people are showing in the Employment Services of South Africa. We encourage them to register in fact we encourage any work seeker to register on the system which has been showing notable success in placing work seekers, said Nxesi. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2021-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 17:12:56|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Cavince Adhere, a Kenyan researcher of international relations, has said that new conspiracy theories about COVID-19's origins are baseless, according to the detailed report given by the WHO research team. Adhere added that politicization makes no contribution to the defeat of COVID-19 but creates difficulties for scientific studies, and suggested that all nations allow the WHO to do its work without interfering politically. The scholar appealed for global cooperation to defeat the virus, saying that "The more we take time politicking, the more we lose time for an effective response." Produced by Xinhua Global Service Brian Gregory Robling of Washington, 23, passed away Monday, June 7, 2021. Brian was born July 11, 1997, in Washington, to Amber (Robling) Whiteman and Michael Bernard. He graduated from Washington High School in 2016. Brian is survived by his parents; his son, Zyler Mehrer of Washington; da Trusted local news has never been more important, but providing the information you need, information that can change sometimes minute-by-minute, requires a partnership with you, our readers. Please consider making a contribution today to support this vital resource that you and countless others depend on. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 17:24:11|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LAGOS, June 3 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of north-central Nigeria's Niger state said on Wednesday gunmen has taken away 136 students following their attack on a school at the town of Tegina of the state on Sunday. Ahmed Mohammed Ketso, deputy governor of the state, told reporters at a press conference in Minna, the state capital that the state government has confirmed the number of students abducted by gunmen at the Salihu Tanko Islamic School at Tegina in Rafi local government area to be 136. He gave assurance to the parents of the abducted children that the government was doing its best for the safe return of the students and reiterated the readiness of the government to give continued support to the security agencies. The deputy governor said that the security agencies were being careful in the pursuit of bandits to avoid collateral damage. Meanwhile, the state government has announced the total ban of commercial motorcycles popularly known as Okada in Minna with effect from Thursday. Ketso said the move was to ensure that the state capital is safe, however, he said private motorcycles are allowed to operate but with restriction from 9:00 pm to 6:00 am. A group of unidentified gunmen on motorcycles attacked the Islamic school at Tegina in the state on Sunday, and took away a large number of students. Eleven students who were part of those kidnapped have been released on Monday. Enditem Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said on Wednesday employees should begin returning to offices in early September for at least three days a week. The iPhone maker is pushing staff to return on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at a minimum, with remote work still an option for Wednesdays and Fridays, Cook said in a memo obtained by Bloomberg News. We are setting consistent days in the office to help us optimise our time for in-person collaboration, he wrote. Some teams will have to be in four or five days a week. Apple is trying to get workers back into the office. Credit:AP In pushing for staff to return, Cook cited the availability of vaccinations and declining coronavirus infection rates. Some employees of the Cupertino, California-based technology giant have worked from Apple offices on certain days throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Thousands of others have been away for more than a year. Larry Chen, the former school teacher from a poor Chinese village who became one of the worlds richest people, is closing in on losing his billionaire status as shares in his online-education business slump. GSX Techedu fell as much as 7 per cent on Wall Street on Wednesday (US time) after Goldman Sachs Group downgraded the stock and slashed its price target. The shares have plunged more than 85 per cent since late January, wiping more than $US13 billion ($16.8 billion) from Chens fortune and leaving him a net worth of about $US1.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Larry Chens fortune has shrunk in 2021. Credit:AP The Chinese firm has been buffeted by a range of issues, including the countrys crackdown on the online-education sector, a weaker-than-expected results outlook and the implosion of an investor, Bill Hwangs Archegos Capital Management. Policy risk is the No. 1 concern right now, said Tommy Wong, an analyst at China Merchants Securities International based in Hong Kong, who rates the stock a buy. The major miners sat out Fridays rally but the ASX 200 still managed to notch a third straight record close, pushing another 0.5 per cent into new terrain thanks to a strong session from a bevy of household names. The Big Four banks, Macquarie Group, CSL, Telstra, Woolworths and Wesfarmers helped the local market push further into record territory, even as Wall Streets lead proved lacklustre and Melbourne remained locked down. The ASX 200 finished 35.3 points ahead on Friday to set a new all-time closing peak of 7295.4. The ASX 200 rose 0.5 per cent on Friday and 1.6 per cent for the week as it set new highs. Credit:Louie Douvis The benchmark index shook an uncertain start to rise strongly after lunch and briefly touched 7300 for the first time in history, as it extended its three-day rally to about $46 billion. The index gained 1.6 per cent for the week - a third straight weekly rise - with commodity prices and strong economic data giving investors the confidence to buy in. The technology sector was the most notable weakness on Friday - and for the week - as positive economic data in the US stoked inflation concerts and knocked high-growth stocks lower. Developments on the coronavirus front - both good and bad - have seemingly been brushed aside this week and Fridays updates again appeared to have little impact on the markets direction. The Commonwealth and Victorian governments struck a deal to build and staff a new Melbourne quarantine facility, while Pfizer vaccinations will be brought forward nation-wide for 40-to-49-year-olds from June 8. TMS Capital portfolio manager Ben Clark put the markets red hot momentum down to the strength in underlying earnings momentum, the Reserve Banks apparent long-term commitment to zero interest rates, and investors looking to do something with the cash burning a hole in their pockets. He said ASX investors were certainly enjoying a sweet spot that seemed to be benefitting our biggest listed names. Ever since the GFC, weve had periods where you see the banks strong but the miners weak, the miner strong and the banks weak, growth stocks rise over value stocks but at the moment if you look at the blue-chip shares that make up the bulk of the indices, the earnings growth is really going to be strong across the board, Mr Clark said. The reality is, COVID has benefitted most blue-chip Australian businesses. These businesses have not had a structural change - its been more of a cyclical help. So the thing youve got to watch is how that normalises, and over what timeframe. Iron ore miners cool off The iron ore miners cooled their heels on Friday as futures markets turned red, with the bulk metal giants were easily the biggest weight on the market. BHP fell 1.7 per cent to $48.75, Rio Tinto was 1.9 per cent down at $124.62, and Fortescue Metals dropped 2 per cent to $22.62. Strong iron ore exports have helped underpin upward revisions in GDP forecasts. Credit:Bloomberg This was more than offset by the financials, with Commonwealth Bank closing 1.3 per cent higher at a new record price of $102.52. Westpac and NAB pushed to new post-COVID highs, each rising 1.4 per cent, while ANZ gained 1.5 per cent and Macquarie Group was 1 per cent ahead. CSL rose 1.5 per cent to $291.37 - its best close in two weeks - and Telstra finished 1.7 per cent ahead at a 15-month high $3.58. Woolworths capped a big week when it rose 1 per cent to $43.35, just short of its best-ever price of $43.60 set in January 2020. The supermarket added 3.4 per cent across the five sessions and has gained ground in 10 of the past 11 weeks. Direct carbon pollution is released when gas is released from the reservoir, or liquefied at the gas plant. Indirect pollution is released when the customers burn the gas or coal for energy, mostly in Japan and China in the case of WA gas, or India and South East Asia in the case of Adani. This is known as Scope 3 emissions. The locations of the Scarborough gas field and Pluto plant. Credit:AFR Climate policy is rapidly evolving, with indirect emissions emerging as material to Australian approvals in the past couple of years. The climate impact of increased volume and duration of emissions from Pluto directly were not considered as part of the EPAs 2019 approval for the plants expansion, let alone the indirect impacts. But indirect emissions from Scarborough are significant and this is where the Adani comparison comes in. Coal mines dont have much in the way of direct emissions from digging up the coal. The major pollution source is from the end market. This report estimates Scarboroughs indirect lifetime carbon emissions at 1.69 billion tonnes. The total lifetime emissions of Adani are estimated at 1.42 billion tonnes. The report is endorsed by former WA premier Carmen Lawrence, global research and policy firm Climate Analytics, the Climate Council, Sea Shepherd, the Beeliar Group of Professors, and Doctors for the Environment Australia. Woodside says it has set company-wide emissions reduction targets of 15 per cent by 2025 and 30 per cent by 2030 and aspires to net zero by 2050 or sooner. But Woodsides methodology hides an actual growth of emissions, the report says. This is because while Woodside operates the projects, it shares ownership with other companies and its targets only apply to its own percentage. Absolute emissions will increase 66 per cent by 2050, the report says. Scarborough is a huge test for the new climate action portfolio, 350.orgs Anthony Collins said of the decisions faced by new Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson (left). Credit:Facebook Also, the targets apply only to direct emissions. To meet them, Woodside is relying on offsets, for example, tree planting. And the report says with carbon farming offsets at risk from fire, extreme weather events and climate change, in limited supply and subject to increasing demand, there are no guarantees they will be available at the volumes Woodside will need to meet these targets. Loading Shareholders and investors should be aware that Woodsides public statements on climate change, including its emissions reduction targets, are not credible, the report says. Woodside has not taken meaningful steps to transition to renewable hydrogen or other cleaner energy growth opportunities, and that investment of $16 billion would likely foreclose this opportunity for the company and instead lock it into a high pollution, high risk business model. A Woodside spokeswoman said Scarborough gas contained extremely low reservoir carbon compared to other reservoirs. Over the past 2 years there has been many opportunities for stakeholder participation and comment on the proposal, including a formal four-week public comment period in January 2019, she said. The WA Environment Minister is yet to consider and make recommendations regarding the project. The government is facing pressure from all sides over Scarborough including from green groups, one of which rallied last Friday outside Dumas House. Credit:350.org Woodside has promoted its green credentials over the past week amid controversy over the Ministers imminent decision. Last Wednesday, environmental group 350.org began online promotions for a rally planned outside the governments Dumas House on Friday. The next day, Woodside announced a possible solar project to power Pluto to some degree. However, detail was limited Woodside is so far holding talks and doing studies without commencing any detailed work or approval processes and a graphic released looked, as industry newsletter Boiling Cold termed it, rushed. CCWA says the tentative 50 megawatts earmarked would reduce Scarboroughs total pollution by only 1 per cent. The report calls for the minister to exercise her powers under the Environmental Protection Act to initiate a review of the 2019 Pluto approval. A state government spokesman said the EPAs recommendations were based on the best available evidence and scientific advice. In fact, in 2019 the International Association for Impact Assessment awarded the EPA for its sustained contribution to good practice in impact assessments in Australia, he said. There are a range of processes under the Act to ensure good environmental outcomes. The Minister for Environment makes decisions on these matters after considering the advice and recommendations of the EPA. Scant details of Woodsides proposal for large-scale solar were released the day after the climate protests were advertised. Credit:Woodside A Conservation Council statement said it was an international outrage that any government would support such a project. Issuing further approvals for this project without a full assessment of its impacts is reckless in the extreme, director Piers Verstegen said. We are deeply concerned that the minister and government is being pressured to rush these decisions. Loading The lack of assessment exposes the State, and the people and environment of WA to unacceptable and unidentified risks, and denies shareholders and investors the information they need to properly assess the risks of this development. He said Woodside was effectively asking shareholders and investors to bet $16 billion on the failure of the Paris Agreement, which asks countries worldwide to take action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. Woodside and BHP are considering final investment decisions on Scarborough. Sexual consent laws would better reflect modern community standards under reforms proposed by the state government last week, yet NSW barristers appear to be on track to strike the changes down on the basis of old-fashioned views about consent and misplaced concerns about injustice. The reforms proposed by Attorney-General Mark Speakman adopt a communicative and affirmative model of consent. A person does not consent to sexual activity unless they say or do something to communicate consent. And an accused persons belief in consent will not be reasonable unless they say or do something to affirm consent is being given. Attorney-General Mark Speakman announces proposed changes to the law around sexual consent. Credit:James Brickwood The announcement was informed by a detailed process of public consultation and a careful report by the NSW Law Reform Commission, so I was disturbed to read that the immediate response of Bar Association President Michael McHugh SC, while acknowledging sexual assault is abhorrent, was to attack the core of the proposals. McHugh said the reforms were likely to result in significant injustice because they would impose criminal sanctions on what he described as a wide range of unproblematic sexual activity particularly within established respectful relationships. Loading But his claim that the virus, if left unmitigated, would reproduce at an average of five cases for every new infection, is not supported by analysis prepared by Professor McCaw and others for the committee. Professor McCaw said the reproduction rate of the current outbreak peaked at just above 2 before Victorias outbreak response began and was now hovering just below 1. Professor McCaw said the most alarming aspect of this outbreak was not the behaviour of the virus but the fact it had circulated undetected for weeks. He supported the decision to extend the lockdown to ensure every infected person was quarantined and not able to seed new chains of transmission. The people who say this virus is spreading in new ways, and we should all be terrified are unhelpful, he said. To the people who say we are overreacting I say, No, we are on a knife edge. Because it is so hard to predict this could easily get out of control and the current response is absolutely required. Professor McCaw said regular surveys taken by the committee showed Victorians had dramatically reduced their movements since the start of lockdown and were following the rules on face masks, social distancing and other containment strategies. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video The bigger picture is we are doing incredibly well at halting the transmission of a virus which spreads very easily, Professor McCaw said. The data reflects an excellent response. Professor Sutton said on Tuesday that it appeared that a person had become infected with the virus after eating at a different table but in the same outdoor space as another infected person at a Brighton pub and that it was suspected that a person contracted COVID-19 after moving into the same indoor, public space an infected person had left two hours earlier. Based on this advice, a statement released by Mr Merlino warned that cases will explode if the virus was allowed to run. Just walking past someone youve never met can mean the virus is jumping to a whole new network, he said. Deakin University epidemiologist Catherine Bennett said many of the fleeting transmissions described by the government cases inside a South Melbourne Telstra shop, a Port Melbourne cafe and a Mickleham display home most probably involved people sharing a confined space for a considerable amount of time. If you are standing in a queue inside a coffee shop, for five minutes only, maybe with a couple of infectious people, of course you are at risk of being infected, she said. When you walk into Telstra, even if you are trying to ask a quick question, you are there for ages. There is no story here. Professor Bennett said the bigger story was that the virus, which has been genomically traced to a man who checked out of a quarantine hotel in Adelaide on May 4, had been in the community for four weeks and not produced an exponential growth in cases. Six new cases were announced on Wednesday and a further later case was revealed when a second resident of the Arcare aged care home in Maidstone tested positive despite having had a dose of the Pfizer vaccine. The outbreak now stands at 61. Loading Professor Bennett said the fact Victoria had conducted as many as 50,000 tests a day but found so few cases, with only one person in hospital, suggested there were unlikely to be large numbers of undetected infections in the community. We are being locked down because of their fear that they dont know what they dont know and there could be more out there that they do know. That is never grounds for a lockdown, not even for continuing one. One of the COVID-positive people the government believes caught the virus via fleeting transmission the woman who tested positive after visiting a display home was revealed on Wednesday to have since returned a negative test result. The Health Department said her case would be looked at by an expert review panel. The Kappa variant is the new World Health Organisation name given to the B.1.617.1 variant first detected in India. Evidence suggests it is no more contagious and probably less so than the variant that fuelled the British epidemic and forced Victoria into a five-day lockdown in February. When Premier Daniel Andrews announced the February lockdown, he described the variant as a hyper-infectious virus that moved at light speed. This is not the 2020 virus, he said. This is something very, very different. Victorian health authorities became alarmed at the start of the latest outbreak when early data suggested the Kappa variant had a dramatically shortened serial interval the average time between a case showing symptoms and a case they infect showing symptoms compared with other variants. This supported the notion that the virus was faster moving. Kirby Institute virologist Greg Dore and James Wood, a virus researcher at the University of NSW, believe this was a false reading created by Victorias success in tracking the virus and isolating positive cases. As cases, including asymptomatic ones, were detected by the intensive testing campaign and put into quarantine, the average time between cases became skewed. There is a bias created by doing a good job, Associate Professor Wood said. Professor McCaw agreed: We have seen comments about the serial interval of this virus being shorter. There is no evidence that is the case at all. Transmission of COVID-19 between people who have only brief contact with one another is less likely than transmission between family members and workmates but not unprecedented. NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant cited the spread of the virus between two people at a BWS bottle shop during Sydneys outbreak late last year as an example. We have captured the moment of exactly the point of transmission and it was actually very fleeting, Dr Chant said. She said that although the variant appeared to be a more transmissible strain in general, it was also unpredictable. Loading The fickle nature of Melbourne outbreak is demonstrated by the first known case, the returned traveller who quarantined in Adelaide. He brought the virus into Melbourne but did not pass it on to the people he lives with or works with. Contact tracers are yet to establish any link between the man, who returned to Melbourne on May 4, and the next positive case confirmed on May 24. ANU infectious diseases expert Peter Collignon, a member of the federal governments Infection Control Expert Group, told 3AWs Neil Mitchell that the current outbreak was not behaving significantly differently from any we have experienced before. He said that with more than 4000 primary contacts, you would expect between 1 and 2 per cent of people to get infected, resulting in between 40 and 80 cases. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 17:58:41|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. - - - - ADDIS ABABA -- The Ethiopian government on Wednesday announced an updated travel advisory, which necessitates an African Union (AU) COVID-19 pass for entry and exit. According to the updated travel advisory, all travelers exiting, entering or transiting via Ethiopia are required from June 7 to present a digital negative COVID-19 certificates at all ports of entry based on the AU's Trusted Travel Platform and the UNDP-sponsored Global Haven Program. - - - - LONDON -- Samples from a study suggesting that COVID-19 was circulating outside China by October 2019 have been re-tested at the World Health Organization's (WHO) request, a Reuters report quoted two scientists leading the research as saying on Tuesday. While COVID-19 was first identified in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, a study published last year suggested antibodies to either the virus or a variant had been detected elsewhere prior to the first confirmed report of the virus in China. - - - - MANILA -- The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported on Thursday 7,217 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Southeast Asian country, bringing the total tally to 1,247,899. The death toll rose to 21,357 after 199 more patients died from the coronavirus epidemic, the DOH said. - - - - NEW DELHI -- India's federal government has finalised arrangements with Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer, Biological-E, to reserve 300 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, officials said Thursday. "Union (federal) ministry of health has finalised arrangements with Hyderabad based vaccine manufacturer Biological-E to reserve 30 crore (300 million) of COVID-19 vaccine doses. These vaccine doses will be manufactured and stockpiled by M/s Biological-E from August-December 2021. For this purpose, the union ministry of health would be making an advance payment of INR1500 crore (over 205 million U.S. dollars) to M/s Biological-E," an official statement said. - - - - CANBERRA -- Australia's Education Minister Alan Tudge has instructed university leaders to bring students back to campus as soon as possible. Tudge told the annual Universities Australia conference in Canberra on Thursday that too few students have returned to learning on campus in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Enditem A federal government scheme set up to ensure aged care employees did not work in more than one facility after Victorias deadly second coronavirus wave has paid grants to just 33 aged care operators. The funding was established after last years aged care COVID-19 outbreak, in which 655 people died. Much of the spread in nursing homes was caused by low-paid casual employees working second or third jobs to supplement their wages. The Arcare aged care home in Maidstone, where a second resident has tested positive. Credit:Eddie Jim But federal data obtained by The Age shows only 33 grants have been paid to aged care companies that operate about 90 of the states 600 Commonwealth-regulated homes. The total amount paid was $12.5 million, a figure described by one prominent sector expert as very, very small. The news comes as a second resident of the Arcare aged care facility in Maidstone tested positive to coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing to five the number of cases linked to aged care in Victorias latest outbreak. Others suggest a violent encounter with a camp thief, or a run-in with a mountain recluse known as the Button Man, often seen in the Mansfield and Howitt Plains country searching for antlers to carve his wares from. In a region with a long history of missing persons, some believe the pair were mistakenly shot by hunters stalking deer or illegally spotlighting in one of the most remote parts of the state - the Wonnangatta Valley, 350 kilometres north-east of Melbourne. Carol Clay, a much-loved former leader of the Victorian Country Womens Association, made her way here on a trip with her lover, Alpine Valley regular Russell Hill, in March 2020. The pair, aged in their early 70s, hasnt been seen since. In one of its most remote corners are the charred leftovers from a burnt-out campsite, now strewn with the butchered remains of deer carcasses left behind by hunters. This macabre spot is at the centre of a case that has mystified Victorians and stumped police. Heavy fog lingers in the Wonnangatta Valley long into its autumn mornings. Hill, an avid camper, packed his white Toyota LandCruiser and left his Drouin home in West Gippsland on March 19, 2020, stopping to collect Clay from Pakenham on Melbournes outskirts before heading east. They stopped in the rural township of Licola before tackling the arduous Zeka Spur Track, which Hill had helped clear in his logging days. Wild dog numbers in the area have exploded in the past decade alongside sambar deer, an insatiable attraction for hunters from across Australia. Parks Victoria lists tracks into the valley as very difficult and its rocky, steep inclines, rugged bush and sodden clay descents can land drivers in serious trouble if not navigated with skill. Wonnangatta Station is as remote as it gets. Mountain cattlemen once mustered herds through the area from spring to autumn. Nowadays, only avid hunters and four-wheel-drive enthusiasts tackle its unforgiving territory. Youd have to say theres a third party involved, says Mountain Cattlemens Association stalwart Graeme Stoney. Though we may never know. The high country holds its secrets close. It was enough to drive you under your bed covers a bit more. On the other side of the valley a rival mob of dingoes then started to howl. It went on for an hour or more ... you could hear it for miles echoing back and forth. Its pretty magical. Probably the most endearing thought I have of Wonnangatta is a still night, bright moonlight, in the autumn and at about 3am while we were all in our swags, some dingoes started up on the ridge, he says. The former Liberal MP has ridden horses into Wonnangatta more times than he can remember and says its seclusion and beauty lures visitors back time and time again. Graeme Stoney, a cattle grazier from Howqua Hills, has spent his entire life working the rugged land around the valley. The walls of his home are filled with black-and-white photographs and paintings of his time in Snowy River territory. One told family they were camping alone; the other told friends they were off on a 10-day holiday. Many locals are critical of police, saying forensic teams didnt enter the valley until more than a week after Hill and Clay were last heard from. When it comes to the missing couple, Stoney says, the rumours are rife. People arent being deterred by it though. We dont jump at ghosts here. Only a few bush tracks lead into the Wonnangatta Valley: from Cheshunt to the north-west, Dargo to the east, Myrtleford to the north and Licola to the south. There is nowhere to call for help for miles and no phone service in the secluded valley, other than a clearing at Van Dammes, where East and West Buffalo roads meet before descending down the Wonnangatta Track between Mount Buller and Mount Hotham. The remoteness of the valley means there are no bone china dunnies or city luxuries, but campfire poetry and bush philosophy, he says, are alive and well in the Alpine region. Known to barrel around the Alpine country in an 80s red Toyota LandCruiser, the Button Man stops in for supplies in the town of Mansfield, recently trimming his long hair but remaining reclusive. But it is stories about encounters with the Button Man that are told more than any other and have exploded following the campers disappearance. Others whove disappeared from the area have shown up dead months or years after last making contact with loved ones. In June 2011, former Barwon Prison boss David Prideaux also vanished from the Alpine National Park. Tall tales are regularly told at the local pubs, as residents share mountain stories over beer. Theres the disappearance of hiker Niels Becker in October 2019 and much-loved husband Conrad Whitlock, who vanished near Mount Buller in August that same year. But none of these critics wish to be named. They know all too well that Hill and Clay arent the first to vanish from their Alpine backyard. Stoney has come across the Button Man too. And while he may spook some, most in the area are convinced hes harmless, if intriguing. The first mystery Few know more about the first murder in the valley than historian Keith Leydon. Historian Keith Leydon has investigated the first Wonnangatta Valley murders. Credit:Jason South Stacked safely inside cardboard boxes at his Mansfield home are years of painstaking research into the killing of Jim Barclay, shot with his own gun and buried in a sandy river bank 420 metres away from his Wonnangatta homestead. Barclays body, alongside that of his cook John Bamford, were found months apart in February and November 1918 - more than 100 years before Hill and Clays disappearance. Loading I dont think the police are looking for a person in the latest case. I think theyre looking for evidence, Leydon says. And I think they know who it was. These days long weekends such as Easter at Wonnangatta Valley, the historian says, are like Rosebud foreshore at Christmas. During the peak season dozens if not hundreds pour into the valley to try their luck at downing a deer or muddying their tyres. March 2020, though, was remarkably quiet. The pandemic was beginning to take hold in Australia and within weeks the valley, like most national parks, was closed to the public. Leydon says the most common theory among Alpine locals is that Hill and Clay were shot - perhaps mistakenly - by deer hunters, or following a scuffle with a camp thief rumoured to have been operating in the area. Large wombat holes, impenetrable cliffs and large drums buried by hunters during the winter offer sites to hide a body, he says. And the wild dogs, many say, can clean up remains at a campsite within minutes. Newcastle brothers Warren and Brian Atkins and their sons Shane and Nigel have been camping and hunting sambar deer at Wonnangatta Station for years and say theyre rarely alone in the valley. The Atkins family (from left) Brian, Shane, Nigel and Warren in the Wonnangatta Valley. Credit:Jason South All say they have heard the wild dogs. Members of the Australian Deer Association, they say illegal spotlighters are a real and growing problem in the remote area. We did have some spotlighters come in last time, says Brian. Wed hear the shots. We hate it. But what do you do - front them and then they threaten you? The search Musterer Lachlan Culican arrives at the Merrijig Motor Inn to chat in a black F350 pickup, a yellow-tailed black cockatoo feather adorning his Akubra. When word of the missing couple first began to spread, he was among volunteers on horseback called in to help police scour the thick bush. It looked unnatural: Lachlan Culican was part of the search party for the missing campers. Credit:Jason South He recalls not knowing what hed find or even who they were looking for. Riding into the burnt-out campsite on the afternoon of May 28, Culican says Hills locked LandCruiser - with cards and wallets strewn across the passenger footwell - made the search party suspicious. No one locks their cars in the country, Culican says. It just looked unnatural. Unorthodox. Everyone had a theory but every theory had a hole in it. No one had a fool-proof story of what could have happened. There was always something that didnt make sense. For three days the musterer and his fellow searchers scoured the valley. He says police searched everywhere Hill and Clay could have been and the horsemen everywhere they shouldnt have been. I was sure I was going to find them, he says. The leader and the adventurer Hill and Clay were well-respected individuals before disappearance threw their names together. Those close to her say Clay - armed with powerhouse ambition and a knack for details - was an inspirational leader during her time at the helm of the states CWA branch. Then state CWA president Carol Clay at a Federation Square exhibition in collaboration with the CSIRO in August 2011. Credit:Joe Armao Media interviews from the time paint a picture of a woman who made sure people understood that the organisation was about more than tea and scones. It is only a small part of what we do, she told The Wimmera Mail-Times in 2011. We focus on the contribution our members make to improving communities. The association is diverse, active and relevant and we continue to play a significant role in the fabric of Australian life. She spoke about improving the perception of agriculture and farm work for young people, fighting for higher internet speeds in rural areas and a ban on the sale of energy drinks to young children. Over black coffee and homemade fruit cake at the Stoneys sprawling Alpine acreage, Wendy Stoney recalls Clay as a formidable leader who put in decades of work. Carol was very good at what she did. Shed go on [ABC radios] Jon Faine and was able to express all kinds of changes that were occurring due to the work being done at the CWA. Her ability to explain the issues CWA lobbied for on behalf of women and children was done in an outgoing, inclusive but no nonsense way , says Stoney. She was highly regarded. I was shocked to learn it was her who went missing. In 2018, 17 years after she joined the organisation, Clay was inducted as a member of honour. One friend, who did not want to be identified due to CWA rules about speaking to the media, said some members were surprised when, in the months after her disappearance, her name disappeared from the honour list in the CWA magazine. She was a very lovely person and we find it really hard to think she liked camping. But then if you are with someone you want to be with, you do different things, the woman recalls. She worked 10 days at the Melbourne Show in high heels, thats the sort of person she was. Clay had told this friend about Hill, describing him as someone she had known before her marriage. She had stayed friends with him, she says. That doesnt happen very often. Theres no way she would run off and do this to everybody, its just not possible. Its too hard to do it these days. Thats not the scenario. Others, though, told The Age about the vitriol that arose when Clay invited Hill to stay at CWA headquarters years before they disappeared. They would see her as a scarlet woman. Thats not an exaggeration, one former CWA member says. She had devoted her life [to the CWA] ... [but then] she was publicly declared a pariah. As for Hill, longtime friend Rob Ashlin - the last person to speak to the 74-year-old - says he was a private man who loved the valley, visiting the area annually. A pretty protective sort of bloke: Russell Hill. A year before he vanished, Hill traded in his puddle jumper for a shiny new four-wheel-drive, decking it out with everything needed for camping deep in the bush. Its part of the reason Ashlin is convinced foul play is behind his friends disappearance. Russell was a pretty protective sort of bloke, says Ashlin, and if somebody comes doing the wrong thing and ruffled feathers he would have challenged them. He says Hills wife Robyn has had a year of anguish. Shes doing it hard. She wants to see answers and move on. I believe its only going to be a matter of time. Enough alcohol and somebody is going to open their mouth. The Wonnangatta Valley earlier this month. Credit:Jason South Were just hoping and working hard to get through it. We dont have anything to hold our hand and we dont know what will happen tomorrow. Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg spoke with his state counterpart Tim Pallas on Wednesday, with the latter confirming the Commonwealth had indicated it would be prepared to consider extra financial support for locked-down Victorians. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Senior federal government sources have told The Age one of the options being considered is a one-off payment akin to the emergency and disaster recovery fund. There would not be a payment specific to Victoria after Mr Pallas asked Canberra on Sunday to match the $250 million state package. While Mr Pallas has argued for a wage subsidy like the JobKeeper payment, which stopped at the end of March after running for a year at a cost of about $90 billion, federal sources have insisted this is off the agenda. Eligibility for JobKeeper was determined by the fall in turnover at a company over a period of months, raising questions about whether it could be set up for a period of a few weeks. The federal position is the assistance will have to be available to people in other states in the event of any future lockdown. There is concern a substantial targeted package to Victoria will create incentives for longer restrictions. Mr Pallas, who blasted the Commonwealth on Sunday, softened his language by Wednesday evening following his discussions with the Federal Treasurer. [The meeting] went better than the last few weve had and theres a general recognition the problems the state is confronting are substantial and the state government is making a substantial contribution, Mr Pallas told ABC Radio Melbourne. I just reminded the Federal Treasurer Victoria has done most of the heavy lifting its not Victorias fault were dealing with the leakage out of hotel quarantine in South Australia. Loading Prime Minister Scott Morrison was due to discuss options on Wednesday night with acting Premier James Merlino, who reiterated his pleas for federal support and said if the Commonwealth refused to provide further assistance he would raise it at a national cabinet meeting on Friday. A lot of Victorians, a lot of Victorian businesses are doing it tough right now, and it is our clear expectation that the federal government will provide them the support that they deserve, Mr Merlino said. They need support and the support we are providing is bigger and broader than the support we provided in the February lockdown, but we need the federal government to deliver on what they are responsible for, and that is around wage subsidy. Mr Morrison told Parliament decisions on lockdowns were solely and totally the responsibility of the states, which had jealously guarded their powers during the coronavirus pandemic. While he made no criticism of the Victorian government for imposing the lockdown, he emphasised the responsibility of each state to look after its communities if it had to resort to widespread restrictions. Mr Frydenberg said Victorians had been subject to 140 days of lockdown, compared to the average of only six days for other states, and the incredible contrast also meant some students in Victoria had not been to school for 21 weeks since the pandemic began, compared with 29 days absent for students in NSW. This has been a terrible time in Victoria over the course of this pandemic, Mr Frydenberg said. So I will listen to Tim Pallas, the Prime Minister will speak to James Merlino, and our officials will talk, and we will consider what they say. Loading The tensions over the lockdown contrast with progress between the federal and state governments over quarantine facilities, with Mr Morrison strongly backing Mr Merlinos plan for a dedicated centre outside Melbourne and negotiations said to be very close to a resolution. The federal government is pushing the Victorian government to build the facility faster than planned, so it is running as soon as possible next year, and favours Avalon as the site rather than Mickleham. Restaurant and Catering Industry Association chief executive Wes Lambert said the decision to extend Melbournes lockdown would be a blow to the accommodation and food industry, which stood to lose about $1 billion in revenue over two weeks. Singapore: A leading health expert in Singapore says Australia shouldnt be concerned about opening a travel bubble for vaccinated passengers with the south-east Asian country despite a recent outbreak. Prime Minister Scott Morrison is due to visit the small island nation next Thursday to meet Singapores Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong en route to the G7 summit in Britain. Hopes for a travel bubble with Australia: pedestrians walk along a deserted street in the Boat Quay area of Singapore. Credit:Bloomberg The prospect of a reciprocal travel channel between the two countries later this year will not be the only subject of the talks with one of Australias closest partners in the Indo-Pacific. Morrison is seeking to connect with his Singaporean counterpart amid continuing tension with China and its assertiveness in the region. However, Singapore, which is home to more than 20,000 Australians, has been very keen to convince Australia to create a bubble similar to the one established with New Zealand in April. Los Angeles: NASA on Wednesday announced plans to launch two new scientific missions to Venus between 2028 and 2030 - its first in decades - to study the atmosphere and geologic history of Earths closest planetary neighbour. The US space agency said it was awarding about $US500 million for development of each of the two missions, dubbed DAVINCI+ (short for Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble Gases, Chemistry and Imaging) and VERITAS (an acronym for Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography and Spectroscopy). The planet Venus. Credit:NASA DAVINCI+ will measure the composition of the dense Venusian atmosphere to improve the understanding of how it evolved, while VERITAS will map the planets surface to help determine its geological history and why it developed so differently than Earth, NASA said. DAVINCI+ is also expected to return the first high-resolution images of unique geological features on Venus called tesserae, which may be comparable to Earths continents and suggest that Venus has plate tectonics, according to NASAs announcement. The Wilmington Farmers Market makes its triumphant return to Rodney Square with vendors selling their wares, food trucks, new cafe-style seating, amid a new backdrop: fountains. The upgrades were unveiled Wednesday, June 2, 2021, amid a serenading by the New Orleans-style jazz band, Boysie Lowering Jazz Residency Alumni band. The square has been undergoing a years-long revitalization, involving a public-private partnership, driven by Mayor Mike Purzycki. So far, $4 million has been spent, and another $5 million is planned. "It's just so good to see something happen, and you can put your arms around it and say 'this is what we did,'" he said. "To see it reinvigorated, beautifully planted, kids playing here are very power images to me, very invigorating." He shared a story that someone snapped a photograph from high above, overlooking the square after noticing some kids having a blast playing in the new fountains. "I want kids to be here. I want kids to come to this park and say 'this is ours too.' It's not just the business community. It belongs to all of us. I want kids to come downtown, to come here, to come to the Riverfront. We're in this, as they say, together." Prior to running for mayor, Purzycki said he had a vision for Rodney Square. "For years, I've looked at this place, and thought it was just so tired and so neglected that it didn't say much about our self image, about what we felt about our own city," he said. Phase 1 of the project, which focused on the interior of the square, was completed last summer. The improvements first announced in 2019, came a year after the city had moved its bus hub from Rodney Square at the request of business leaders. +8 VIDEO | Wilmington's Rodney Square to undergo $8M facelift Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki sits in his office, staring at a black and white photograph o Phase 2, which is underway, includes improvements to 10th Street in front of the Wilmington Public Library. "These are important updates to this historical square, and as part of our future plans for the square--it includes programming with various elements and performances to benefit the citizens of the entire city of Wilmington and the surrounding areas," said Marty Hagerman, executive director of Downtown Visions. Article continues below advertisement The farmers' market will be on the square every Wednesday through October from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. while other events are also planned for the space. "We do the jazz festival here--that's going to be fabulous this year," remarked Mayor Purzycki. The mayor added he hopes a re-envisioned Rodney Square spurs an ongoing revitalization of some of the older buildings downtown. "We've got a bunch of empty buildings over there that's approximate to a beautiful, central square, with a very vibrant legal profession, and a beautiful hotel, and the new Le Cav restaurant, which is off-the-charts gorgeous. It just gives me this sense that we're going to start to see some real investment in this part of the city." Not returning to the square, at least not right now, is a piece of its history: the Caesar Rodney statue, which was removed nearly one year ago, along with a statue of Christopher Columbus, amid a nationwide reckoning over racial injustice. "The plan is to play it by ear. The entire civil rights issue is so fraught nationally that the idea to press this now would be so foolhardy, and I just won't do it," the mayor told WDEL. The mayor promised community conversations surrounding the future of the statues would be held, but to date, those conversations have not occurred. "We're going to get everybody together and think about how we're going to do this. Whatever we do here is because we build a consensus around that decision, and hopefully we'll be able to have some real productive talks about that as well," he said Wednesday. In April, Wilmington City Council failed to pass a resolution encouraging permanent removal of the statues, which remain in storage. But Mayor Purzycki told WDEL he's hopeful the Caesar Rodney statue will ultimately return to its home in Rodney Square. "I hope the statue goes back, but it's going to go back when we can build a consensus around doing it. We're not going to jam it around anyone's throat. We want people to understand why it's the right thing to do." Wilmington, DE (19810) Today Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 79F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Cloudy with occasional rain showers. Low 63F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 18:14:14|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JAKARTA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia's most active volcano Merapi erupted four times with lava downfalling as far as 1,500 meters from its peak to the southwest on Thursday from 00:00 to 06:00 a.m. local time, according to the Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center. "In those six hours, Merapi also experienced 43 avalanche earthquakes for 10 to 141 seconds and five gust earthquakes for 11 to 27 seconds," the center's Head Hanik Humaida said on Thursday. As of Thursday morning, the mountain situated on the border between Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces is still belching thick white smokes as high as 50 meters above its peak, added Humaida. Authorities urged people not to be in the danger zone within a 3-km radius of the peak and to avoid rivers originating from Merapi, such as Kuning, Boyong, Bedog, Krasak, Bebeng, and Putih rivers. Enditem LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It didn't take a jury long to convict a southern Indiana man of murdering a woman in a hit-and-run. Members of the jury deliberated less than an hour last Friday before convicting Christian Pittman of murder, robbery and leaving the scene of an accident. Pittman, along with Samuel Smith and Dalton Madley, met up with 21-year-old Chrissy Grimsley for a drug deal outside her home in February 2020. After she was robbed, Grimsley was killed in a hit-and-run crash. Pittman is scheduled to be sentenced July 1. Smith has already pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and is set to be sentenced next month. Madley pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced to five years in prison. Related Stories: Copyright 2021 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 18:39:52|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TAIPEI, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan on Thursday reported 583 local COVID-19 cases, including 364 new infections and 219 backlogged local cases, the island's disease monitoring agency said, noting that 17 fresh deaths were registered. The number of new local infections on the island exceeded 200 for the 19th consecutive day on Thursday. Of the new local cases, 186 were male and 178 female with the onset of symptoms occurring between April 28 and Wednesday. Among the 219 backlogged cases, 120 were male and 99 female, aged from below five to over 80 years, who experienced symptoms between May 13 and May 31, the agency said. The 17 fatalities included 13 men and four women, who died between May 28 and Tuesday. On Thursday, Taiwan reported two new imported COVID-19 cases from Indonesia and Vietnam. Next weekend marks the traditional Dragon Boat festival, when people often travel to see family members in other parts of Taiwan. The agency urged people not to travel during the upcoming festival, if not necessary. The total number of confirmed cases on the island since the epidemic began has risen to 9,974, including 8,778 local cases. A total of 166 deaths have been recorded, the agency said. Enditem Reporter I cover a range of stories for WDRB, but really enjoy tracking what's going on at our State Capitol. I grew up on military bases all over the world, but am a Kentuckian at heart. I'm an EKU alum, and have lived in Louisville for 30 years. Sign up today! Get our newsletters delivered right to your inbox. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Thank you for Reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Bill Burt and George Bremer discuss the NFL schedule and Tom Brady's return to New England; Elton Hayes and Kevin Brockway reflect on Coach K's retirement; and Clay Horning breaks down the worst defensive play in baseball in recent memory. Help us understand what you value in community conversations so we can make our digital offerings more useful. This survey will only take a few minutes to complete. By taking the survey, you'll be entered into a drawing for one of three $100 gift cards to your choice of the following businesses: Hooked on Toys and Sporting Goods, Safeway/Albertsons, FredMeyer and Target. Click here to take survey Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 18:52:31|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KABUL -- Casualties feared as a blast struck a mini-bus in Kabul city on Thursday, police said. (Afghanistan-Blast-Mini-bus) - - - - WINDHOEK -- Namibian President Hage Geingob and first lady Monica Geingos have been cleared of COVID-19, an official said Wednesday evening. In a statement, presidential press secretary Alfredo Hengari said the couple's latest test results have returned negative, but they will remain in isolation till full recovery. (Namibia-President-COVID-19) - - - - KIEV -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday discussed the security situation in Donbass with a delegation of visiting U.S. senators. "This meeting is very important for us, as it reaffirms that the United States is our strategic partner. Especially now, at a very tense time," said Zelensky. (Ukraine-US-Security) - - - - CANBERRA -- The Australian government has announced a new disaster payment for people affected by coronavirus lockdown. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud on Thursday said in a press conference that people aged 17 and over who lose work as a result of lockdown will receive the "temporary COVID disaster payment" made on a week-by-week basis. (Australia-Disaster Payment-COVID-19) Enditem CRN announces its top 500 solution providers list each year, ranking the leading IT channel partner organizations across North America by revenue. ThunderCat Technology today announced that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has named ThunderCat to its 2021 Solution Provider 500 list, placing #51. CRN announces its top 500 solution providers list each year, ranking the leading IT channel partner organizations across North America by revenue. This years impressive list represents a remarkable combined revenue of over $403 billion, underscoring the immense impact and influence these partners have on the IT industry today. CEO Tom Deierlein commented on the list, Challenging year for all of us. It is a big honor to be included on this prestigious list. We work very hard to ensure our customers are happy and successful. ThunderCat strives for a company culture where excellence is woven into the daily fabric and reflected in the actions of each and every member of the team. Overall, we are proud of how we have evolved over this past decade since our first appearance on the SP500 to meet the changing requirements of our customers and rapidly evolving marketplace. A special thanks to our OEM partners for their support and incredible products. CRNs Solution Provider 500 list serves as the industry standard for top-performing technology integrators, strategic service providers, and IT consultants, which makes it a valuable resource for technology vendors looking to partner with todays best-of-breed IT solution providers, said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. On behalf of The Channel Company, Id like to congratulate these companies for their incredible contributions to the growth and success of the IT channel. The complete 2021 Solution Provider 500 list is available online at http://www.CRN.com/SP500 and a sample from the list will be featured in the June issue of CRN Magazine. About ThunderCat Technology Currently ranked #51 on the Solution Provider 500, the award winning ThunderCat Technology is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) that delivers technology products and services to government organizations, educational institutions, and commercial companies. Led by a combat-wounded CEO, ThunderCat is a systems integrator that brings an innovative approach to solving customer problems in and around the datacenter by providing strategies for Data Storage, Networking, Cyber Security, and Cloud Transformations. A proven leader, ThunderCat Technology provides and optimizes technologies from best of breed manufacturers. Clients include DOD, DHS, VA, Treasury, FBI, State of Virginia, State of NY, Sony, VISA, and CareFirst http://www.thundercattech.com. About The Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequalled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. http://www.thechannelcompany.com Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. 2021 The Channel Company, LLC. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved. The Channel Company Contact: Jennifer Hogan The Channel Company jhogan@thechannelcompany.com For the original version on PRWeb visit: https://www.prweb.com/releases/thundercat_technology_featured_on_crns_2021_solution_provider_500_list_for_10th_year_in_a_row/prweb17976623.htm 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. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 18:58:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HAIKOU, June 3 (Xinhua) -- A total of 11 key industrial parks are being developed into a demonstration zone for the construction of the Hainan free trade port (FTP). A batch of core policies have been implemented and market entities have been gathering since the parks were unveiled one year ago. The key industrial parks have become the main focus of economic development for the Hainan FTP, said Feng Yan, an official with the Hainan Provincial Development and Reform Commission, at a press conference on Thursday in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province. In 2020, the 11 key parks earned a total business revenue of 506.78 billion yuan (about 79.36 billion U.S. dollars), up 49.8 percent year on year, and a total tax revenue of 39.54 billion yuan, up 13.3 percent year on year. Covering less than 2 percent of the province's land area, the key industrial parks contributed 15.3 percent of the province's GDP, 51.9 percent of its import and export volume, and 52.7 percent of its actual utilized foreign capital, thereby playing a major role in the province's economic growth, said Feng. China last June released a master plan to build the island into a globally influential and high-level free trade port by the middle of the century. A batch of key policies, including zero tariffs and easing market and foreign investment access, have also been implemented. "The basic trade and investment policy system of the Hainan FTP has been forged," Gao Feng, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, told at a press conference on May 27. "Existing opening-up measures to foster investment will be well implemented. The regional headquarters of multinational companies will also be guided to the Hainan FTP," said Gao. Chi Fulin, head of the Hainan-based China Institute for Reform and Development, said that the construction of the Hainan FTP is the fundamental way to propel Hainan's economic reform and opening-up. With preferential policies taking effect, Hainan's development has gained steam. During the first four months this year, 592 foreign-invested enterprises were newly established in the province, realizing year-on-year growth of 443.12 percent. The actual utilized foreign capital reached 674 million U.S. dollars, up 432.72 percent year on year. Shen Danyang, vice governor of Hainan, said the province has implemented various policies through these projects, which have laid a solid foundation for promoting the construction of the Hainan FTP with high quality and standards. On July 1, 2020, Hainan increased its annual tax-free shopping quota from 30,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan per person. Following the policy upgrade, average daily duty-free sales hit 120 million yuan by the end of 2020, a more than twofold year-on-year increase. To give full play to the policy, Hainan introduced more duty-free business entities, a move that has greatly boosted the booming duty-free shopping sector. Currently, there are nine duty-free shops and five duty-free business entities. Duty-free sales hit 993 million yuan during the May Day holiday this year, surging 248 percent, according to data from Haikou Customs. There were in excess of 121,000 shoppers, who collectively purchased more than 1.34 million items, up 229 percent year on year. The soaring duty-free sales have directly boosted Hainan's tourism development. "We have clearly felt the dividends of the free trade port construction, especially with the new duty-free sales policy," said Qian Jiannong, board chairman and chief executive officer of the Fosun Tourism Group. He noted that Atlantis and Club Med in Sanya have benefited significantly. Atlantis Sanya attracted about 4.6 million visitors and saw a turnover of more than 1.2 billion yuan in 2020 -- a record since its opening in 2018. Qian added that Fosun plans to increase investment in Hainan and build an area in Sanya that it will name Foliday Town. Its investment will be even greater than that received by Atlantis. As a new platform for China's opening-up, the first China International Consumer Products Expo was held in Haikou this May. It was the first-ever expo hosted by China focusing on quality consumer goods at the national level, and also the largest consumer boutique exhibition in the Asia-Pacific region. Representatives from a total of 70 countries and regions attended the four-day expo, and 2,628 brands under 1,505 enterprises from home and abroad participated in the exhibitions, demonstrating the strong magnetic force of the Chinese market and the appeal of the FTP construction. On the expo's closing day, U.S. luxury fashion company Tapestry was among the first group of 42 enterprises to sign up for the second expo. "China is about to introduce a law on the Hainan free trade port, and Hainan boasts a duty-free shopping policy, so we have seen the huge potential of the Chinese market," said Zhou Guanghua, vice president of Tapestry China. The Hainan FTP law is ready to be announced, and the daily consumer goods duty-free policy for Hainanese residents will be implemented soon. The Hainan FTP will play an important role in China's reform and opening-up, and it will become a meeting point of international and domestic circulation, said Chi. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 19:15:15|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday sent a congratulatory letter to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) non-governmental friendship forum, which is being held in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. "I put forward the initiative of holding an SCO non-governmental friendship forum last November, which has received an enthusiastic response and support from all SCO member states," Xi said. Xi expressed the confidence that the forum would become an important platform for all parties to enhance mutual understanding, deepen friendship and strengthen cooperation. Xi said he hopes that all parties will uphold the Shanghai Spirit, stay committed to the SCO's original aspirations, work together, help and support each other, and deepen cooperation. "We should leverage the advantages of non-governmental diplomacy and expand channels for people-to-people exchanges, so as to make contributions to the SCO's development," Xi said. The SCO non-governmental friendship forum kicked off in Wuhan on Thursday, with the theme of promoting people-to-people friendship and carrying forward the Shanghai Spirit. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 19:34:55|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia reported another 103 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, with the national total now at 3,096, the Health Ministry said. Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that the victims ranged from 27 to 97-years-old, with the majority suffering from existing health complications. This marks the second day with deaths being over 100, after 126 people were reported to have died on Wednesday. Another 8,209 new COVID-19 infections were reported, of which 64 are imported and 8,145 more are local transmissions, bringing the national total to 595,374. Some 7,049 patients have been released after recovery, bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 508,947 or 85.5 percent of all cases. Of the remaining 83,331 active cases, 880 are being held in intensive care and 446 of those are in need of assisted breathing. Enditem HAMDEN, CT (WFSB) Several groups rallied in front of the Hamden Police Department on Wednesday against a potential hire. Dozens were protesting the possibility of the hiring of a Bridgeport police officer who shot and killed a teen four years ago. Bridgeport Officer James Boulay shot and killed 15-year-old Jayson Negron in 2017. People from BLM New Haven, Hamden Action Now, Justice for Jayson, and several other groups were part of the rally. Their message is that they dont want Boulay in Hamden. They say they got word from a source that Boulay was a candidate for hire, but is no longer on the list. According to Police Commission minutes, the department is currently in the process of hiring two officers, but the agenda did not list the names of the candidates. Officer involved in shooting death of teen won't face charges The state's attorney's office in Waterbury released a report on Friday about the deadly shooting of a teenager by a Bridgeport police officer. The Waterbury States Attorneys Office found Boulay to be justified in the 2017 shooting. Negrons family filed a lawsuit against Boulay in 2020. Channel 3 reached out to Hamden Police to confirm that Boulay was a potential candidate and are awaiting a response. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 19:38:10|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a message of sympathy to Namibian President Hage Geingob over his and his wife's infection with the COVID-19 virus. In his message dated Wednesday, Xi said that learning about the infection of President Geingob and his wife, Monica Geingos, he and his wife, Peng Liyuan, extend the sincerest sympathy to them and wish them a speedy recovery. The Chinese president said that since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Namibia have supported each other and joined hands against the coronavirus disease, and their traditional friendship has grown deeper. Xi said he attaches great importance to the development of China-Namibia relations and stands ready to work with Geingob to lift the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries to new levels. Enditem Mid last year producer David Pugh tweeted out that one good way of ensuring regional theatres survived the pandemic was for star actors to commit to touring the regions. It appears that Ralph Fiennes heeded the memo, it's been a long while since an actor of his ilk has taken to the road, opening his one-man recital of TS Elliot's Four Quartets in Bath before touring the country. It is undeniably a good thing for the regions which have taken a battering and one worth getting to, especially if you can obtain a seat up close. What makes the evening worthwhile is being able to see his virtuosity up close. Every atom in his DNA seems finely calibrated towards delivering consistently excellent performance. The eyes, slightly watery as though fountains of tears could be expelled at any moment, a glint of roguish charm or danger; his body, physically expressive and limber (you understand why he made a film about Nureyev); that voice, every vowel and consonant hitting right to the back of the upper circle. Any one-person work performed on a big stage instead of a studio space is an exercise in technical accomplishment. Fiennes, who also directs himself, trusts in his tools and the text to do the work for him. His movement is precise and considered, he is prepared to use stillness to hone the focus. There is a transfixing quality to the night, and it is coming from his centre. In this contemporary age, the cult of the great stage actor has mostly been eradicated, watching Fiennes on stage feels akin to what it must have been like to watch Olivier or Maggie Smith in their prime. Which is just as well as I'm not sure I can count Four Quartets as successful drama in its own right. Elliot's whose own plays, Murder At The Cathedral and The Cocktail Party have mostly disappeared from our stages 1943 quartet of long poems, four meditations on man's relationship to time, the universe and the divine, are many things, but works of theatre they are not. Astonishing from a literary point of view, blending both Western Catholicism and Eastern mysticism, with a sense of great anger and despair of the war tearing the World apart in Little Gidding, they lack a sense of conflict, the key to all theatre. Fiennes works hard to try to find this within and succeeds to a certain extent, but as the evening wears on, there was a sense of the words and rhythms rolling over its audience, I noticed heads drooping onto chests rather than leaning forward in anticipation. Even at a shade under 80 minutes, it begins to feel a slog. Hildegard Bechtler's set of wooden table, chair, old radio mic, and three towering blocks at the back of the stage, rotated between each poem to show perhaps the continuous spinning of time, allows Fiennes the chance to delineate the shifts in action. Lighting designer Tim Lutkin takes us from the shade of light that represents the era, to the blazing fire of damnation, while Christopher Shutt's particularly effective sound design brings a modern edge to what can at times feel like an old-fashioned evening. It's a weird night. One to say you have been as close to greatness as you can in a forgettable platform. An extra star for the enterprise though. Fiennes' audience won't be disappointed. The BBC will present a "Golden Age of Broadway" prom next month. Hosted at the Royal Albert Hall, the event will feature tunes from the likes of Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin and Richard Rodgers. The BBC has teased a variety of "guest soloists" that will join the event, who will be revealed in due course. Richard Balcombe will conduct the BBC Concert Orchestra for the evening, on Saturday 31 July at 7.30pm. Tickets to sit and watch the piece at the Royal Albert Hall aren't yet on public sale, with the event likely to be broadcast on television in some form after a radio broadcast on the night. The Proms have long had a musical streak, with past concerts celebrating West Side Story and Broadway works presented by the John Wilson Orchestra. A search for a suspect in the slayings of three children and woman whose bodies were found in a Fort Wayne, Indiana, home has ended with the arrest of a man in Lafayette, more than 100 miles away Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. This page contains all of The Williston Heralds coverage of the novel coronavirus outbreak, and the illness it causes, called COVID-19. Because this outbreak impacts public health, our coverage of the coronavirus is available to all readers. Our journalists are working hard to bring you the verified information below. Please consider supporting important local journalism with a subscription. (Click Here) Are you a Williston resident whos been affected by the illness? Send us an email: editor@willistonherald.com. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Submit Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 19:49:09|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KAMPALA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- World Bank has approved 200 million U.S. dollars to finance access to high speed and affordable internet, improve the efficiency of digitally-enabled public service delivery, and strengthen digital inclusion in Uganda. The global financial institution in a statement posted on its website on Thursday said the finances will run the Uganda Digital Acceleration Project. The project will support the extension of 1,000 km of the national backbone fiber infrastructure and an additional 500 km of fiber optic network links between towns. The project will also support mobile broadband connections for 900 government administrative units and service centers in underserved areas. Over 820 Wi-Fi hotspots will be installed in select locations to support access to online services among rural and peri-urban communities. "Transforming Uganda's digital infrastructure is an urgent necessity for post-COVID-19 recovery," said Tony Thompson, World Bank Country Manager for Uganda. "We look forward to the time when all citizens can access high-quality and low-cost internet, public services online, a digital economy driving growth, innovation and job creation," he added. According to the statement, out of the 200 million dollars, 140 million dollars will be a loan while 60 million dollars will be a grant. "It (the project) will help develop shared platforms for ministries, departments, and agencies to efficiently deliver digitally enabled public services to citizens and businesses throughout the country," the statement said. These digital platforms, according to the bank, will create the foundations for better resilience and economic recovery by boosting the effectiveness of government e-services that can be delivered remotely, in a paperless and cashless manner, reducing the need to travel for government services. Enditem Willmar, MN (56201) Today Plenty of sunshine. Hot. High 94F. S winds shifting to WNW at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight Clear skies. Low 57F. N winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. A year after New York City home buyers descended on Connecticuts housing market amid the COVID-19 pandemic, sales continue to accelerate heading into the summer of 2021 particularly in communities lining Long Island Sound or just inland from Milford to Stonington. William Pitt Sothebys International Realty reported an aggregate 14 percent increase in May sales of single-family houses compared to May 2020, across about half of Connecticut municipalities where it focuses its upscale real estate brokerage services. Sale prices continue to surge both the result of sellers agents prodding bidders for best and final offers after weekend open houses, as well as owners of expensive estates taking the opportunity to cash out in a hot market. The big question is whether that is going to continue, said Paul Breunich, CEO of William Pitt Sothebys which has its main office in Stamford. I personally think it will, because of the demand coming out of New York. On Wednesday, Updater reported New York City remained among the three metropolitan areas with the most people using its app to move to other metro areas, after topping that list in the final three months of last year. With buyers pouncing in record numbers the past 12 months on properties in Fairfield County and Litchfield County, demand now appears to be extending east. William Pitt Sothebys reported a 31 percent boom in sales last month for shoreline communities, with sellers unloading their properties in five weeks on average. Starting in Milford, William Pitt Sothebys lumps about 30 towns into its shoreline market territory running east along the coast and the Wilbur Cross Parkway, including a few Connecticut River towns like East Haddam. Homeowners there appear to be taking advantage, with new listings up 60 percent from May 2020. Fairfield County sales continued to surge with an 18 percent gain in May. Some towns saw far bigger gains like Greenwich where 84 homes sold according to William Pitt Sothebys preliminary data. That is just four off the total for April which set a single-month record according to Mark Pruner, a broker in the Greenwich office of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties. Sales were flat in the aggregate for eight Hartford-area towns tracked by William Pitt Sothebys. Litchfield County sales dropped more than 5 percent from May 2020. Breunich said the decline was likely the result of Litchfield Countys big May last year, as buyers hunted getaway options for weekends with the intent of keeping condos or apartments in New York City. Those looking to make a permanent move to the suburbs may have taken more time to investigate their options, with a focus on remaining within a commuting orbit making multiple trips weekly to New York City a possibility. Litchfield [County] got on the bandwagon last year real early their May last year was big, Breunich said. Thats when the buyers started coming up from New York, and they apparently hit Litchfield first. ... Its a lot of [people] who want to have a reclusive second home in the country. Summer is the prime moving season for families as they transition their children to new school systems. With COVID-19 vaccinations now being extended to kids as young as 12, the lingering question is whether city dwellers will feel confidence to stay put as some of their routines edge closer to normalcy. Breunich said that Connecticut continues to see escalated numbers of homes under contract pending final closing documents, which should bolster summer sales numbers. Our bellwether months are going to be July, August and September, Breunich said. If were anywhere close to last year, [2021] is going to blow last year out of the water. ... Starting last June, every month was as big as the one before. Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman Viewed of Take Five - This is your final free article during this 30 day period.Stay in touch with all of the news from Winchester, Frederick and Clarke. Sign up today for complete digital access to The Winchester Star. Saying it is saddened by the inflammatory and hate-filled rhetoric and violence that have spilled out onto Canadian streets and online as a result of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Manitoba Multifaith Council is calling on people of faith in Winnipeg to embrace all that we have in common. Saying it is "saddened by the inflammatory and hate-filled rhetoric and violence that have spilled out onto Canadian streets and online" as a result of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Manitoba Multifaith Council is calling on people of faith in Winnipeg to "embrace all that we have in common." The statement, written by Belle Jarniewski, executive director of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada, and Khaled Al-Nahar, a local Islamic community leader and longtime volunteer with the Manitoba Islamic Association, goes on to say: "It has also been tremendously disheartening to witness the divisions between and within our communities. While direct dialogue may be difficult at this point, we must stand united in the rejection of hate." The two, who are members of the council, say they are hopeful there will come a day when all residents of the Middle East will have peace and security. Jarniewski said issuing the statement is important because the conflict between Israel and Hamas has spilled over into Canada. This "ugly rhetoric" between the Jewish and Muslim communities wont resolve "the complex and longstanding conflict overseas," she said, and could tremendously harm "relationships both between and within our communities" in Winnipeg. Al-Nahar agreed. "As a Canadian Muslim, I feel a need to take a stand and remind Manitobans about our fundamental freedoms, including freedom of opinion and expression and freedom of peaceful assembly," he said. Do you appreciate the extensive faith coverage by the Free Press? Become a supporter of the Religion in the News project! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more can help us keep offering trusted coverage of faith in Manitoba. Become a supporter Click here to learn more about the project. He said its unfortunate to see conflict in Canada over this issue when the focus should be on sharing a "strong message" to the Canadian government to support calls for peace. "We failed and we wronged" people who are suffering overseas when demonstrations turned violent and "social media was filled with the terrifying spiral of hatred," he said. Payam Towfigh, president of the council, said creating the statement was risky because there are different and deeply held perspectives on this issue. "We were willing to take that risk to promote dialogue. We want to create an environment where people can get together, get to know each other personally and see how similar we all are." Although no events are planned, the council is open to finding ways for people to come together, he said. faith@freepress.mb.ca OTTAWA - Federal Justice Minister David Lametti says he is open to considering different legal avenues when it comes to residential schools with burial grounds in particular the possibility of protecting these sites and criminalizing anyone who might try to damage them or hide evidence. Marc Miller, Minister of Indigenous Services, and Dr. Tom Wong, Chief Medical Officer of Public Health, hold a press conference in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA - Federal Justice Minister David Lametti says he is open to considering different legal avenues when it comes to residential schools with burial grounds in particular the possibility of protecting these sites and criminalizing anyone who might try to damage them or hide evidence. In an interview with The Canadian Press, Lametti said he has received a request to look at what legal levers may exist to ensure these sites are protected. All levels of government want to take their lead from Indigenous communities and leaders about what they would like to do with the individual school buildings, grounds and burial sites, Lametti said. For those looking for some level of legal accountability, the justice minister said he is willing to look into the idea of protecting these sites for the future. "I'm certainly open to looking at the possibilities here and what the current laws are, but is there potential for in terms of protecting the sites themselves from tampering protecting them really as sacred ground where people are buried?" he said. "Or, again, looking at taking our cues from Indigenous people, is there a way to criminalize the behaviour of people who go against it? So, if a developer went in indiscriminately and dug something up where people might have been buried, for example, or trying to hide facts or that sort of thing. "I'm willing to look at that. That certainly would come within the bailiwick of the justice minister and the criminal law power and I'm certainly open to that," he said. The Tk'emlups te Secwepemc First Nation announced last week that ground-penetrating radar had located what are believed to be the unmarked graves of 215 children at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. The discovery has sparked national outrage and grief, and has led to mounting calls for Canada to hold someone or some authority to account. Even from within Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's own caucus, calls for action are piercing through the usual partisan din in the nation's capital. Liberal MP and parliamentary secretary of foreign affairs Rob Oliphant expressed "outrage" in a tweet Tuesday, adding his belief the "perpetrators of this crime against humanity must be brought to account." But Lametti said it would be difficult to go back in time and criminalize behaviours or actions taken as far back as 150 years ago. However, he appeared open to looking at the possibilities. "I realize some of it was much more recent than that, and to the extent that people are still alive, that's always a possibility," Lametti said of finding and prosecuting the perpetrators of crimes against Indigenous children. "Is there a role that we can play in terms of gathering evidence? Maybe," he said. "Our Public Prosecution Service and police services are getting better, they have a lot of work to do, but they're getting much better at understanding the challenges of looking at these kinds of crimes that were committed against Indigenous people in the past." As for growing requests from Indigenous leaders and nations looking for federal help to search grounds of other former residential schools for unmarked graves including from the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in Saskatchewan and Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario Ottawa says it will be there to help, if requested. The United Nations Human Rights Office also called Wednesday on all levels of Canadian governments to investigate the deaths of Indigenous children at residential schools and to intensify efforts to find those who are missing. "We will be there to support the work in all the communities affected by this we will make sure they have access to whatever expertise they need, but over the past engagement it was very clear they don't want a top-down approach to this," said Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett. She said $27 million originally earmarked in the 2019 budget will now be urgently made available to uncover unmarked graves at former residential schools across the country. As for why this money was not made available to communities for these efforts sooner, Bennett said it was a matter of having to explain to Treasury Board exactly how the money would be distributed. "That approval has come and we are now able to urgently distribute it." At a committee meeting later Wednesday, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair acknowledged "the clear and unavoidable RCMP role" in the Kamloops tragedy, as well as that of the government. He said RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki has assured him that the police force "will offer its full support as we seek to learn more about the events in Kamloops." Meanwhile, the Catholic Church's role in the government-funded, church-operated institutions has renewed calls for the Vatican to apologize and contribute financially to Indigenous healing programs. Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said Wednesday the Pope needs to issue an apology for the role the church played in the system. A papal apology was one of the 94 recommendations made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau personally asked the Pope to consider such a gesture during a visit to the Vatican in 2017. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops announced in 2018 that the Pope could not personally apologize for residential schools, even though he has not shied away from recognizing injustices faced by Indigenous people around the world. Miller said it's "shameful" that an apology hasn't been issued to date. "There is a responsibility that lies squarely on the shoulders of the council of bishops in Canada." The institutions operated in Canada for more than 120 years and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission ruled they constituted a cultural genocide. Tuesday marked the sixth anniversary of the release of the commission's report, which made recommendations on work governments, justice systems and church officials should do to locate, name and commemorate the children who died in these institutions. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2021. OTTAWA - The federal government is increasing the fine for air travellers who refuse to quarantine in a designated hotel for three days after arriving in Canada. A person closes the curtains in a room at a government-authorized COVID-19 quarantine hotel in Richmond, B.C. on Sunday, February 28, 2021. The federal government is increasing the fine for air travellers who refuse to quarantine in a designated hotel for three days after arriving in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck OTTAWA - The federal government is increasing the fine for air travellers who refuse to quarantine in a designated hotel for three days after arriving in Canada. Travellers who had faced a $3,000 fine if they didn't abide by the requirement will instead be liable for a $5,000 penalty starting on Thursday. The move comes a week after a federal advisory panel raised a number of problems with the hotel quarantine and recommended the government end it. The panel instead suggested travellers be required to quarantine in a hotel only if they fail to present a credible quarantine plan. Conservative health critic Michelle Rempel Garner referenced the panel's recommendation in the House of Commons on Thursday as she asked whether the Liberal government would let the quarantine requirement expire on June 21. "In spite of repeated requests, the Liberals have never produced evidence to show that their hotel quarantine program stops the spread of COVID over other measures," Rempel Garner said during question period. "However, there is evidence of COVID-19 outbreaks at these facilities and there's also evidence of sexual assaults occurring there." Police have arrested at least two men accused of sexual assault related to quarantine measures, one at a Montreal hotel and another tied to a compliance check in Oakville, Ont. Health Minister Patty Hajdu declined to say whether the quarantine requirement would be extended. "We will make sure that whatever we do next on the border will be through the lens of science and evidence, and in full partnership with provinces and territories," Hajdu said in response to Rempel Garner's question. As of May 24, 1,091 people have been ticketed for not complying with hotel quarantine since the rules came into effect in February. The quarantine requirement has been criticized for several reasons, including whether it actually prevents the spread of COVID-19 and concerns many air travellers are avoiding the requirement by flying into the U.S. and driving into Canada. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2021. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 19:51:33|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ABUJA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- At least 50 Boko Haram militants were killed in a gunfight with troops in Nigeria's northeastern state of Borno, the army said on Thursday. The gunfight between the troops and the militants took place on Wednesday in Damboa, a town of Borno, the spokesman for the army, Mohammed Yerima, said in a statement. "The militants launched a futile attack on Damboa in multiple waves, with armored personnel carriers and 12 gun trucks, all mounted with anti-aircraft guns, as well as locally fabricated armored-plated vehicles loaded with explosives and motorcycles," Yerima said. According to him, the troops in conjunction with the air force successfully repelled the attack, destroying the locally fabricated armored-plated vehicles. Yerima said the surviving militants were forced to run in disarray under heavy gunfire from the resilient troops. "The so-called suicide bombers had to abandon their vehicles primed with explosives, as they could not withstand the overwhelming fire-power from the highly motivated troops," he said, adding several weapons and ammunition were recovered from the depleted militants. Boko Haram has been trying to establish an Islamist state in northeastern Nigeria since 2009. The terror group has also extended its attacks to other countries in the Lake Chad Basin. Enditem LONDON (AP) Britain said Thursday that it is removing Portugal from its list of COVID-safe travel destinations, meaning thousands of U.K. residents currently on vacation there face the prospect of 10 days' quarantine on return. FILE - In this Monday, May 17, 2021 file photo, a passenger of a flight arriving at Faro leaves the airport, outside Faro, in Portugal's southern Algarve region. Britain is removing Portugal from its list of COVID-safe travel destinations, meaning thousands of U.K. residents currently on vacation there will have to quarantine on return. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said Thursday, June 3 the difficult decision was prompted by rising case rates in Portugal and worries about new strains of the virus that could prove resistant to vaccines. (AP Photo/Ana Brigida, File) LONDON (AP) Britain said Thursday that it is removing Portugal from its list of COVID-safe travel destinations, meaning thousands of U.K. residents currently on vacation there face the prospect of 10 days' quarantine on return. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the "difficult decision" was prompted by rising infection rates in Portugal and worries about new versions of the coronavirus that could prove resistant to vaccines. He said a mutation of the delta variant first identified in India was causing particular concern. He said "theres a sort of Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant which has been detected and we just dont know the potential for that to be a vaccine-defeating mutation and simply dont want to take the risk as we come up to June 21" the date the U.K. government hopes to lift remaining coronavirus restrictions. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson receives his second jab of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine from James Black, at the Francis Crick Institute in London, Thursday, June 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool) The change will take effect at 4 a.m. (0300GMT) on Tuesday. Territories including Iceland, Israel and the Falkland Islands remain on the U.K. green list. Also starting Tuesday, Britain is adding seven countries Afghanistan, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Trinidad and Tobago to its "red list" of places with severe COVID-19 outbreaks. All but essential travel to red list countries is barred, and U.K. residents returning from any of them must spend 10 days in a government-approved quarantine hotel. The U.K. has recorded almost 128,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest toll in Europe. A mass vaccination campaign that started in December has given two doses of vaccine to more than half the adult population and brought new infections and deaths down sharply. But case numbers are once again rising as the more transmissible delta variant spreads across the U.K. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson after receiving his second jab of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, at the Francis Crick Institute in London, Thursday, June 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool) Public Health England said that strain was now dominant in the U.K, displacing a variant first identified last year in southeast England and dubbed alpha by the World Health Organization. The agency said early evidence suggests there may be an increased risk of hospital admission from the delta variant. Portugal is a major destination for sun-seeking Britons, and was the only large tourism destination on the U.K. governments "green list," announced last month, of places that can be visited without the need to self-isolate on return. Tourism, by mainly British visitors, is a mainstay of the southern European countrys economy, accounting for around 15% of annual gross domestic product. Portugals foreign ministry said it "cant understand the logic" behind the British decision. "Portugal is continuing its easing of its lockdown, prudently and gradually, with clear rules for the safety of those who reside here or visit us," it said in a tweet. The travel industry reacted with dismay to the U.K. announcement. "Ministers spent last month hailing the restart of international travel, only to close it down three weeks later, all but guaranteeing another lost summer for the travel sector," Heathrow Airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye said. Andrew Flintham, managing director of travel company TUI UK, said moving Portugal off the green list "will do untold damage to customer confidence." "We were reassured that a green watch list would be created and a weeks notice would be given so travelers wouldnt have to rush back home," he said. "They have failed on this promise." Along with the nations designated red or green, the British government has classified dozens of "amber list" countries, including the United States. Travelers from amber countries must complete a 10-day quarantine at home. Follow all of APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak SOAVE, Italy (AP) Early risers in Venice were surprised Thursday to see a cruise ship nosing down the Giudecca canal for the first time since the start of the pandemic, despite repeated government pledges to reroute such huge vessels due to safety and environmental concerns. Cruise ship MSC Orchestra passes in the Giudecca Canal in Venice, Italy, early Thursday, June 3, 2021. Early risers in Venice woke Thursday to the sight of a cruise ship traveling down the Giudecca canal for the first time since the pandemic, despite pledges by subsequent Italian governments to reroute the huge vessels due to safety and environmental concerns. (JC Viens via AP) SOAVE, Italy (AP) Early risers in Venice were surprised Thursday to see a cruise ship nosing down the Giudecca canal for the first time since the start of the pandemic, despite repeated government pledges to reroute such huge vessels due to safety and environmental concerns. The 92,409-ton MSC Orchestra passed through the basin in front of St. Marks Canal around 6 a.m. under tugboat and port authority escort, ahead of the first post-pandemic cruise ship departure from Venice, scheduled for Saturday. Its arrival comes two years and a day after the MSC Opera struck a dock and a tourist river boat in the same canal, an event that underlined safety concerns among anti-cruise ship campaigners. Protests are amping up against the renewal of cruise traffic, just 2 1/2 months after Italys culture minister, Dario Franceschini, vowed a definitive stop to the passage of big ships through the heart of the city. They include an open letter by the Venice Heritage non-profit organization, signed by celebrities including musician Mick Jagger, actress Tilda Swinton, filmmaker Wes Anderson and director Francis Ford Coppola. "Venice is suffering, and we, citizens of the world, cannot remain deaf to her cries, read the open letter addressed to Italian officials including Premier Mario Draghi, members of his Cabinet, the Venice mayor and the Veneto governor. "This fragile entity, (a) world heritage site, cannot survive without our help," the letter added. The signatories laid out 10 priorities for the city, including a stop to the passage of huge ships through Venice and a better management of mass tourism, which saw 25 million tourists visit the city in 2019, before the pandemic shut down global tourism. The Italian government in March passed a decree aimed at definitively blocking cruise ship traffic through Venice, leaving many with the mistaken impression that the ban was already in effect. JC Viens was arriving at St. Marks Square around 6 a.m. for an on-location radio broadcast when he looked up to see an unusual flurry of smaller boats with flashing lights passing through St. Marks Basin. The square was nearly empty, except a few tourists snapping photos of the Doge's Palace as the sun rose behind it. "Then I saw this vessel moving very slowly. It was very surprising. I thought cruise ships were not allowed any more in the canal," said Viens, a Canadian communications director who became aware of the controversy over the ships while living in Venice for the second half of 2020 when the drop in tourism reduced even everyday canal traffic. Recalling the fall and the new round of virus restrictions, he said "It was quite eerie to see the city so quiet, and also to experience the Giudecca canal without any such vessels. It was impressive to see the peacefulness." After the virus pause, many Venetians aren't happy to see cruise ships return for the first time since January 2020. The No Big Ships Committee is planning to see the Costa Orchestra passengers off with a noisy protest on Saturday. The battle over cruise ships in Venice took focus after the Costa Concordia sank off Tuscany in 2012, killing 32 passengers and crew members. After an initial ban on ships over 40,000 tons in Venice, the industry and authorities reached a voluntary agreement allowing vessels with lower sulfur fuel levels to traverse the lagoon. But the underlying point of contention on having cruise ships in the lagoon at all, as both a safety and environmental hazard, still hasn't been addressed, despite years of studies and proposals. Cruise industry officials say the current government seems the most focused on resolving the issue once and for all. Italys Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility Ministry told The Associated Press that a bidding process would open "any day now" for "ideas aimed at identifying better and structural solutions to realize a new docking area for large ships outside of the Venice lagoon." The new terminal would be used both for cruise and container ships, the ministry said in an email. "Meanwhile, in 2022, as a temporary solution a certain number of ships will be able to dock in Marghera, easing transit on Venice, the ministry said. Cruise industry officials have told the AP that Marghera, an industrial port within the Venice lagoon, currently does not have suitable facilities to serve as a passenger terminal. In addition, for it to become even a temporary solution for larger ships, the current docks would have to be extended and a channel would have to be dredged. Jane da Mosto, executive director of the non-governmental organization We Are Here Venice, called on the government to send stronger signals, and return to the 40,000-ton limit. "I can understand it taking time to figure out a solution, but why not just have smaller ships come in?" da Mosto said. "It is days like today that, as Venetian citizens, we want to hear someone formally recognize that what is happening shouldn't be happening, and that they are really trying to clear it up." The airline industry is ratcheting up its campaign to ease border restrictions and allow more international travel even by people who arent vaccinated against coronavirus despite high infection rates in many countries. FILE - In this June 2, 2014 file photo, Willie Walsh, chief executive officer for International Airlines Group, speaks during a panel discussion of the 70th International Air Transport Association (IATA) in Doha, Qatar. The airline industry's main trade group, the International Air Transport Association, said Wednesday, June 2, 2021 that governments should use screening measures, such as testing passengers for the virus, rather than imposing quarantines and other restrictions. The group's leader, Willie Walsh, says some risk needs to be accepted in order to revive travel and tourism. (AP Photo/Osama Faisal, File) The airline industry is ratcheting up its campaign to ease border restrictions and allow more international travel even by people who arent vaccinated against coronavirus despite high infection rates in many countries. The industrys trade group, the International Air Transport Association, said Wednesday that governments should use screening measures, such as testing passengers for the virus, rather than imposing quarantines and other restrictions. The group cited studies that indicate vaccinated travelers pose little risk of spreading COVID-19. To bolster its argument to let unvaccinated people travel too, the airline group said only 2.2% of travelers to the United Kingdom between late February and early May tested positive for COVID-19 after arrival. "There is no risk-free approach," the groups top official, Willie Walsh, the former CEO of British Airways and Aer Lingus, told reporters. Governments need to accept some risk "and get on with our lives," he said. The comments underscore the concern among airline officials that a recovery in travel might not be fast enough to make the peak summer vacation season a success. They hope that officials from the wealthy G7 countries agree to ease travel restrictions during or before a summit meeting of leaders in England next week. Last month, U.S. and U.K. airlines asked President Joe Biden and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson to lift restrictions on travel between the two countries before the summit, but neither government has acted. The airline trade group projects that the industry will lose $48 billion this year after losing $126 billion in 2020. The groups chief economist said last week that air traffic this year will be 52% of 2019 traffic and wont recover to pre-pandemic levels until 2023. CASALE DEL BOSCO, Italy (AP) Summer is arriving in Italy's wine country in Tuscany, and the leaves on the vines shimmer in gold and green. Yahya Adams, of Ghana, left, works on a grapevine with workmates with workmates Samadou Yabati, of Togo, background center and Abo Kouadjo Fulgence, of Ivory Coast, at the Nardi vineyard in Casal del Bosco, Italy, Thursday, May 27, 2021. It is a long way, and a risky one. But for this group of migrants at least it was worth the effort. They come from Ghana, Togo, Sierra Leone, Pakistan, Guinea Bissau, among other countries. They all crossed the Sahara desert, then from Libya the perilous Mediterranean Sea until they reached Italian shores, now they find hope working in the vineyards of Tuscany to make the renown Brunello wine. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) CASALE DEL BOSCO, Italy (AP) Summer is arriving in Italy's wine country in Tuscany, and the leaves on the vines shimmer in gold and green. Yahya Adams moves his gloves through the foliage, removing excess buds and shoots to make the vines stronger. He's among 24 asylum-seekers from Africa and Asia who are working in vineyards of Tenute Silvio Nardi on this year's crop of Brunello di Montalcino, one of Italy's most famous wines. They come from Ghana, Togo, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Pakistan and other countries, with no prior experience in wine-making. But they have found temporary work here through a local non-profit group that helps asylum-seekers find legal employment in vineyards or olive groves while their claims are being processed. Adams, a 21-year-old from Ghana, is enjoying learning the craft. Bottles of Brunello wine are displayed at a bar in Montalcino, Italy, Friday, May 28, 2021. It is a long way, and a risky one. But for this group of migrants at least it was worth the effort. They come from Ghana, Togo, Sierra Leone, Pakistan, Guinea Bissau, among other countries. They all crossed the Sahara desert, then from Libya the perilous Mediterranean Sea until they reached Italian shores, now they find hope working in the vineyards of Tuscany to make the renown Brunello wine. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) I like to study how the plant grows and I want to improve in this job, he said. "And one day, I could teach others who arrive how to do the work, how to manage the plants, everything. Adams left Ghana when he was just 14 to search for work abroad. He spent two years in Libya, a conflict-ridden North African country where many migrants hoping to reach Europe face abuse and extortion from ruthless human smugglers. Adams said he was temporarily held in captivity in Libya and considered going home to Ghana before making it to Italy on a ship with 118 other migrants. After living in centers for unaccompanied minors, he tried to find work in Belgium, but returned to Italy, where he is now enrolled in the agricultural work program of the Cooperativa Agricola San Francesco. The NGO aims to bring asylum-seekers into the labor market with the same pay and working conditions as Italians, keeping them away from the off-the-books system known as caporalato in which migrant workers often get exploited. The phenomenon is widespread among seasonal workers in the agricultural sector, where almost 40% are hired irregularly, according to the Placido Rizzotto Observatory, a union watchdog group monitoring the infiltration of organized crime in agriculture. Some of them, they can tell you, for three or four years they worked in the black market, with no contract, nothing, so they did not exist. They didnt have social security, nothing. Here they have a contract, there is hope, said Salis Godje, who co-ordinates the program for Cooperativa Agricola San Francesco. Godje, who came to Italy from Togo as a student and received a degree in economics, said the asylum-seekers selected for the program are given a training course to learn the basics of vineyard work. After that they do three seasonal stints in the vineyard, pruning in the winter and summer and harvesting in the fall. Nicola Peirce, the president of the NGO, said the workers are paid around 7 euros ($8.52) an hour and work eight hours a day, in line with Italian union requirements for agricultural work. Others who end up working irregularly often earn half as much while working longer hours. The program is now in its second year at Tenute Silvio Nardi, a family-owned winemaker established in the 1950s in hills of Casale del Bosco. It annually produces 210,000 bottles of wine made with Sangiovese grapes, including 160,000 bottles of Brunello di Montalcino, which is aged for five years before release. The asylum-seekers work in teams of eight over 15 hectares (40 acres), pruning vines under the supervision of agronomist Vittorio Stringari. You need to have some patience in the beginning," Stringari said. Like with everyone who starts a new job, there is a phase of apprenticeship. But given that they are very motivated ... they very quickly fill the technical gap. Adams considers himself lucky to have a job that he likes and from which he earns enough to send some money to his family in Ghana. If I had this work in my country, I would not go anywhere," he said. One Good Thing is a series that highlights individuals or groups whose actions provide glimmers of joy in hard times stories of those who find a way to make a difference, no matter how small. Read the stories at https://apnews.com/hub/one-good-thing Follow all AP stories on migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration. Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely responsible for this content. WASHINGTON (AP) For nearly an hour, President Joe Biden and the top Senate Republican negotiating infrastructure met behind closed doors two seasoned legislators engaged in another round of conversations, but emerging with few outward signs of tangible progress ahead of a deadline next week. WASHINGTON (AP) For nearly an hour, President Joe Biden and the top Senate Republican negotiating infrastructure met behind closed doors two seasoned legislators engaged in another round of conversations, but emerging with few outward signs of tangible progress ahead of a deadline next week. The White House billed the private meeting Wednesday as more of a conversation with West Virginia GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, rather than a formal negotiation. No new offers were expected to be presented. More than anything, the session in the Oval Office was seen through the political lens of the president and Republicans trying to show the public what Americans say they want a willingness to work together, even if no deal is within reach. Biden and Capito had a constructive and frank conversation," according to a White House official granted anonymity to discuss the private talks. The senator's office said she is encouraged by the ongoing conversations. The two agreed to reconnect Friday. Still, talks over Bidens top legislative priority have been moving slowly, a daunting undertaking given the massive infrastructure investment, and time for a deal is running out. The administration has set a June 7 deadline to see clear direction and signs of progress. The fact that the president is having Sen. Capito here today and has been having ongoing discussions with Republicans in the Senate and that hes eager to find a path forward on bipartisanship work certainly tells you, I think, what you need to know about what he thinks about working with people even when theres disagreement, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said ahead of the afternoon session. Privately, the president has sized up the GOP's latest $928 billion offer as unworkable, in large part because it taps unused COVID-19 funds. Instead, Biden wants to hike the corporate tax rate a nonstarter for Senate Republicans to generate revenue for his $1.7 trillion package. The ongoing talks may take on new importance after Democrats suffered a setback Wednesday in their efforts to attempt to pass this and other Biden priorities on party-line votes. The Senate parliamentarian signaled new limits on how many times Democrats can use the budget reconciliation process that allows a 51-vote threshold, rather than the 60 votes typically needed to advance legislation. In a four-page memo, the parliamentarian made it clear Democrats will likely have only more only one more opportunity to use the budget process this year, essentially closing the door on a strategy they were eyeing for multiple votes. Friday's next round of talks between Biden and the Republican senator would overlap with the release of the May jobs report, as private economists estimate a meaningful increase from the disappointing April figures. Mays jobs figures could provide evidence as to whether Bidens earlier $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package has helped put the country on track to recover the jobs lost to the pandemic. Heading into the meeting, Capito was expected to reup the GOP's push to repurpose the coronavirus relief fund to pay for infrastructure investments, said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has tasked her to lead the discussions. Thats the key to getting a bipartisan agreement, McConnell said at a press conference in Kentucky. He said he particularly wants to halt unemployment assistance that he says is preventing Americans from returning to work. The coronavirus is behind us. We need to get back to work, McConnell said. Together, the president and the Republicans both have political incentives to negotiate a bipartisan accord over his sweeping investment package, even if no deal is within sight. For Biden, reaching across the aisle and cutting deals in Congress is central to his brand of politics. Republicans can also score political gains by trying to work with a popular president. Yet an initial Memorial Day deadline came and went without results, and in the latest round of talks, Biden and a core group of GOP senators appear to have pulled farther apart. Democrats, who hold slim majorities in the House and Senate, are watching warily as the White House and Republicans try to narrow the gap between the president's initial ideas for a massive investment in not just roads and bridges but the human infrastructure of hospitals and child and senior care facilities, and a GOP approach that is more focused on traditional infrastructure projects. The White House has pared back the presidents initial $2.3 trillion bid, now tallied at $1.7 trillion, with Biden proposing to fund the investment by raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. Without a bipartisan agreement with Republicans, Biden will be faced with trying to muscle support from Democrats alone. That approach also poses political challenges, particularly in the evenly split Senate, where the administration has no votes to spare if the president tries to push through the package under the budget rules that allow for a simple majority vote. Psaki downplayed comments Biden had made Tuesday that were seen as critical of two Democrats, presumably Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sen. Krysten Sinema of Arizona. Speaking in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he noted Democrats who don't always vote with the party, blaming them for stalling his agenda. Psaki said the president considers both Manchin and Sinema good working partners" and pointed to the Capito meeting as an example of his willingness to cross the divide to hash out issues. Biden's own thinking is that the Republican proposal, while improved from an earlier $568 billion opening bid, is unworkable because the Republicans want to tap unspent COVID-19 funds to pay for the spending. The president, in meetings with his team, has zeroed in on the questions the GOP proposal raises namely, which coronavirus relief funds to possibly shelve. Bidens view is that tapping the COVID-19 funds would unduly burden the middle class, including small business owners, who are receiving aid during the pandemic crisis. For Republicans, the corporate tax hikes are a red line they will not cross. They instead want to pay for the infrastructure investment with virus aid money as well as gas taxes and other fees on consumers. Congress is away for a weeklong Memorial Day break, but faces a deadline when lawmakers return next week. The White House said the president is also eyeing action in the House next week, when the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is set to begin debating a big highway reauthorization bill that is being closely watched as a potential building block toward the broader package. Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Darlene Superville and Josh Boak contributed to this report. Bold Commerce has become a great business by building apps that work inside the Shopify e-commerce platform, but it has long had a vision that goes beyond that, including creating tools that would allow brands to sell to their customers in any kind of digital environment. Bold Commerce has become a great business by building apps that work inside the Shopify e-commerce platform, but it has long had a vision that goes beyond that, including creating tools that would allow brands to sell to their customers in any kind of digital environment. That sort of experience is referred to as "headless commerce" and this week Bold announced that it is partnering with German-based company Commercetools, which is credited by some for having invented the concept of headless commerce. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Bold Commerce founders, from left, Yvan Boisjoli, Jason Myers, Stefan Maynard and Eric Boisjoli. It puts Bold in good company as the pandemic has helped spawn the beginning of a movement away from monolithic e-commerce platforms towards best-in-class niche solutions that allow retailers to have more flexibility than just the ability to order and pay off the website. Bold has worked with the iconic mens clothier, Harry Rosen for some time. That company has had to suffer through a terrible disruption to its business with fashion-forward executives not needing to refresh their wardrobes with so many office workers staying home. But Ian Rosen, Harry Rosens executive vice-president of digital and strategy and grandson of the founder, said the company has "tripled" down on its digital experience through the pandemic that has left Toronto, where its main retail presence is, locked down for 230 days and counting. Rosen said the online store is now outperforming even its flagship on Bloor Street in Toronto. "We relaunched our digital properties with Bold in August 2020 and pretty much every major metric youd track from an online perspective is up," he said. Ian Rosen, Harry Rosens executive vice-president of digital and strategy says the online store is now outperforming its flagship on Bloor Street in Toronto: We relaunched our digital properties with Bold in August 2020 and pretty much every major metric youd track from an online perspective is up. Using tools from Bold and others its online sales tripled in 2020 Harry Rosens clothing advisers are now able to send curated collections to their clients, with sizing already pre-populated, through mobile or social channels that the clients can click and buy in whatever social or digital platform theyre on. "I think a lot of our competitors are recognizing that putting product up online with prices and the ability to add to the cart and check-out is not going to be enough," Rosen said. He figures if Harry Rosen is on the right track its because they already knew the best partner to get them over the hump. "Were lucky to have figured that out already," he said. "Now we are busy dreaming about new experiences we want to build." Yvan Boisjoli, Bolds CEO, said partnering with Commercetools means working with a like-minded company in terms of the way they both approach solving commerce for their retailing customers. While Bolds Shopify customers are mostly small and medium-sized operations, the headless commerce play is targeted at the large enterprise brands that have more complex needs and the resources to expand into different channels. The partnership with Commercetools which just raised US$145 million in the fall allows Bold to leverage Commercetools platform of best-in-class technologies that allows the flexibility the changing market requires. Kelly Goetsch, the U.S.-based chief product officer at Commercetools, said Bolds specialties in the check-out function and subscriptions and special pricing fits in with its model. "There are lots of vendors out there that do one thing really well, he said. "We at Commercetools provide the base commerce platform, the foundation layer. But what we dont do is a lot of things Bold does, like great user interfaces, check-out and subscription functionality. It is our view that it is best to partner with best-in-breed vendors, like Bold, who can complete our solutions." Commercetools clients are large enterprises including AT&T and Rogers and it rarely even encounters Shopify. Many of those players are finding it constraining to be locked down inside a large suite of software services from the likes of Oracle or Salesforce or SAP. The headless commerce that Commercetools and Bold are championing is made possible by combining a number of separate tools whose technology platforms allow them to work together. Bold and Commercetools will work together to win business. "We will be able to elevate the offering as opposed to winning the work separately," Boisjoli said. "There is going to be a big transition from the legacy monolithic e-commerce platforms. That is what we want to be able to capture." They will do that by adding one piece at a time, a much less stressful approach than the multi-million investment to commit to the big platforms. "We will be able to help elevate the experience, show returns along the way and help those enterprises get off (those other platforms) in smaller bites," Boisjoli said. In addition to the direct partnership with Commercetools, Bold is also a member of a 32-company consortium started by Commercetools, that has brought together like-minded technology suppliers to be thought leaders and educators in the headless commerce space. martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca BEIJING (AP) The Chinese government has accused H&M, Nike, Zara and other brands of importing unsafe or poor quality children's clothes and other goods, adding to headaches for foreign companies after Beijing attacked them over complaints about possible forced labor in the countrys northwest. A woman and child wearing masks pass by a H&M store in Beijing on Thursday, June 3, 2021. The Chinese government has accused H&M, Nike, Zara and other brands of importing unsafe or poor quality children's clothes and other goods, adding to headaches for foreign companies after Beijing attacked them over complaints about possible forced labor in the country's northwest. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) BEIJING (AP) The Chinese government has accused H&M, Nike, Zara and other brands of importing unsafe or poor quality children's clothes and other goods, adding to headaches for foreign companies after Beijing attacked them over complaints about possible forced labor in the countrys northwest. A list of quality and safety unqualified products from 16 companies including T-shirts, toys and toothbrushes was released by the customs agency to mark International Children's Day this week. The announcement is a setback for foreign brands that were attacked by state media in March following accusations by governments and human rights groups that Beijing uses forced labor in Xinjiang in China's northwest. A woman and children wearing masks pass by Nike store in Beijing on Thursday, June 3, 2021. The Chinese government has accused H&M, Nike, Zara and other brands of importing unsafe or poor quality children's clothes and other goods, adding to headaches for foreign companies after Beijing attacked them over complaints about possible forced labor in the country's northwest. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) State TV called for a boycott of H&M over a statement issued a year earlier saying it would no longer use cotton from Xinjiang. Official media publicized criticism of others for expressing concern about possible forced labor. H&M goods were removed from Chinese e-commerce platforms while app stores dropped apps for that company, Nike and Adidas. Celebrities pulled out of endorsement deals. Product safety is especially sensitive in China following scandals over tainted, shoddy or counterfeit milk, medicines and other products that have killed and injured consumers. Some 1 million people from mostly Muslim minority groups have been confined to detention camps in Xinjiang. Chinese authorities are accused of forced sterilization and destroying mosques. Chinese officials deny reports of abuses and say the camps are for job training to promote economic development and combat radicalism. Authorities have pressed foreign brands to reject reports of forced labor, saying they should look more closely at Xinjiang. Foreign brands usually comply with pressure to adopt the ruling Communist Partys position on major issues but human rights also is sensitive with consumers abroad. The customs announcement made no mention of Xinjiang or criticism of the foreign companies. It cited what it said was potentially hazardous dyes and other chemicals in clothing and toys and the failure of shoes and toothbrushes to meet standards for strength and flexibility of materials. The agency cited T-shirts imported by Nike Inc., childrens and baby clothing from Industria de Diseno Textil SAs Zara brand and childrens clothing from H&M Group. It said the goods would be returned or destroyed. Nike, Zara and H&M didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. General Administration of Customs of China: www.customs.gov.cn OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) Each year Lake Oroville helps water a quarter of the nations crops, sustain endangered salmon beneath its massive earthen dam and anchor the tourism economy of a Northern California county that must rebuild seemingly every year after unrelenting wildfires. Water drips from a faucet near boat docks sitting on dry land at the Browns Ravine Cove area of drought-stricken Folsom Lake, currently at 37% of its normal capacity, in Folsom, Calif., Saturday, May 22, 2021. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency for most of the state. (AP Photo/Josh Edelson) OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) Each year Lake Oroville helps water a quarter of the nations crops, sustain endangered salmon beneath its massive earthen dam and anchor the tourism economy of a Northern California county that must rebuild seemingly every year after unrelenting wildfires. But the mighty lake a linchpin in a system of aqueducts and reservoirs in the arid U.S. West that makes California possible is shrinking with surprising speed amid a severe drought, with state officials predicting it will reach a record low later this summer. While droughts are common in California, this year's is much hotter and drier than others, evaporating water more quickly from the reservoirs and the sparse Sierra Nevada snowpack that feeds them. The state's more than 1,500 reservoirs are 50% lower than they should be this time of year, according to Jay Lund, co-director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California-Davis. Over Memorial Day weekend, dozens of houseboats sat on cinderblocks at Lake Oroville because there wasn't enough water to hold them. Blackened trees lined the reservoir's steep, parched banks. At nearby Folsom Lake, normally bustling boat docks rested on dry land, their buoys warning phantom boats to slow down. Campers occupied dusty riverbanks farther north at Shasta Lake. But the impacts of dwindling reservoirs go beyond luxury yachts and weekend anglers. Salmon need cold water from the bottom of the reservoirs to spawn. The San Francisco Bay needs fresh water from the reservoirs to keep out the salt water that harms freshwater fish. Farmers need the water to irrigate their crops. Businesses need reservoirs full so people will come play in them and spend money. And everyone needs the water to run hydroelectric power plants that supply much of the state's energy. A deserted boat launch ramp sits far from receded waters at the drought-stricken Folsom Lake in Granite Bay, Calif., Saturday, May 22, 2021. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency for most of the state. (AP Photo/Josh Edelson) If Lake Oroville falls below 640 feet (195 meters) which it could do by late August state officials would shut down a major power plant for just the second time ever because of low water levels, straining the electrical grid during the hottest part of the summer. In Northern California's Butte County, low water prompts another emotion: fear. The county suffered the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century in 2018 when 85 people died. Last year, another 16 people died in a wildfire. Walking along the Bidwell Canyon trail last week, 63-year-old Lisa Larson was supposed to have a good view of the lake. Instead, she saw withered grass and trees. It makes me feel like our planet is literally drying up, she said. It makes me feel a little unsettled because the drier it gets, the more fires we are going to have. Droughts are a part of life in California, where a Mediterranean-style climate means the summers are always dry and the winters are not always wet. The state's reservoirs act as a savings account, storing water in the wet years to help the state survive during the dry ones. Last year was the third driest on record in terms of precipitation. Temperatures hit triple digits in much of California over the Memorial Day weekend, earlier than expected. State officials were surprised earlier this year when about 500,000 acre feet (61,674 hectare meters) of water they were expecting to flow into reservoirs never showed up. One acre-foot is enough water to supply up to two households for one year. In the previous drought, it took (the reservoirs) three years to get this low as they are in the second year of this drought, Lund said. The lakes record low is 646 feet (197 meters), but the Department of Water Resources projects it will dip below that sometime in August or September. If that happens, the state will have to close the boat ramps for the first time ever because of low water levels, according to Aaron Wright, public safety chief for the Northern Buttes District of California State Parks. The only boat access to the lake would be an old dirt road that was built during the dams construction in the late 1960s. We have a reservoir up there thats going to be not usable. And so now what? said Eric Smith, an Oroville City Council member and president of its chamber of commerce. The water level is so low at Lake Mendocino, along the Russian River in Northern California, that state officials last week reduced the amount of water heading to 930 farmers, businesses and other junior water-rights holders. Unless we immediately reduce diversions, there is a real risk of Lake Mendocino emptying by the end of this year, said Erik Ekdahl, deputy director for the State Water Boards Division of Water Rights. Low water levels across California will severely limit how much power the state can generate from hydroelectric power plants. When Lake Oroville is full, the Edward Hyatt Power Plant and others nearby can generate up to 900 megawatts of power, according to Behzad Soltanzadeh, chief of utility operations for the Department of Water Resources. One megawatt is enough to power between 800 and 1,000 homes. That has some local officials worrying about power outages, especially after the state ran out of energy last summer during an extreme heat wave that prompted California's first rotating blackouts in 20 years. But energy officials say they are better prepared this summer, having obtained an additional 3,500 megawatts of capacity ahead of the scorching summer months. The low levels are challenging for tourism officials. Bruce Spangler, president of the board of directors for Explore Butte County, grew up in Oroville and has fond memories of fishing with his grandfather and learning to launch and drive a boat before he could drive a car. But this summer, his organization has to be careful about how it markets the lake while managing visitors expectations, he said. We have to be sure we dont promise something that cant be, he said. Low lake levels havent stopped tourists from coming yet. With coronavirus restrictions lifting across the state, Wright the state parks official for Northern California said attendance at most parks in his area is double what it normally is this time of year. People are trying to recreate and use facilities even more so (because) they know they are going to lose them here in a few months, he said. Associated Press writer Brian Melley in Los Angeles contributed to this report. WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. health regulators warned surgeons Thursday to stop implanting a heart pump made by Medtronic due to power failures recently tied to cases of stroke and more than a dozen deaths. FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2019 file photo, the Medronic logo is reflected in a lake at the company's offices in Fridley, Minn. On Thursday, June 3, 2021, U.S. health regulators warned surgeons to stop implanting an electrical heart pump made by Medtronic due to an electrical problem recently tied to cases of stroke and death. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File) WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. health regulators warned surgeons Thursday to stop implanting a heart pump made by Medtronic due to power failures recently tied to cases of stroke and more than a dozen deaths. Medtronic said earlier in the day it would stop selling its Heartware assist device, which is intended to boost blood circulation in patients with heart failure. Recent company data showed the device can unexpectedly stop working and sometimes fail to restart, the Food and Drug Administration said. The company said it hasn't been able to pinpoint the root cause in every case. Surgeons can use implants from other manufacturers, the FDA said in a memo to physicians. About 4,000 people worldwide currently have the Medtronic device, roughly half of them in the U.S. For those patients, the agency said U.S. doctors should contact the company for the latest guidance on managing the device, which includes managing blood pressure. The FDA said Medtronic halted sales after reviewing 100 reports of power failures with the device, which led to 14 patient deaths and 13 patients having it removed. The company previously issued recalls on some Heartware devices and components used when implanting it. In December, the company warned about power failures or delayed restarts with three lots. The company said patients should not automatically have the device removed. Taking out recalled heart implants has to be carefully weighed against the potential risks of surgery. Medtronic said in a statement physicians should decide on a case-by-case basis, considering the patients clinical condition and surgical risks. The company said it is preparing a guide for managing patients who may require support for many years. The Heartware device was used for heart failure patients awaiting transplant or as a permanent implant for those who werent healthy enough for that procedure. The device helps strengthen one of the heart's lower chambers needed for adequate blood circulation. Medtronic is one of the world's largest medical device and equipment makers, selling thousands of implants used to treat heart, neurological and joint conditions. The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. RENO, Nev. (AP) An extremely rare wildflower that grows only in Nevadas high desert where an Australian mining company wants to dig for lithium should be protected under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Thursday. This photo provided by Patrick Donnelly and the Center for Biological Diversity, shows Tiehm's buckwheat, a rare wildflower, in the Nevada desert on May 29, 2021. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Thursday, June 3, 2021, an extremely rare wildflower that grows only in Nevada's high desert where an Australian mining company wants to dig for lithium should be protected under the Endangered Species Act. The agency outlined its intention to propose listing Tiehm's buckwheat as a threatened or endangered species in a court-ordered, finding of its overdue review of a listing petition conservationists filed in 2019. (Patrick Donnelly/Center for Biological Diversity via AP) RENO, Nev. (AP) An extremely rare wildflower that grows only in Nevadas high desert where an Australian mining company wants to dig for lithium should be protected under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Thursday. The agency outlined its intention to propose listing Tiehms buckwheat as a threatened or endangered species as part of its belated, 12-month review of a listing petition conservationists filed in 2019. A federal judge said last month the finding was six months overdue and ordered the agency to render a decision within weeks. The conclusion announced on Thursday that federal protection is warranted could jeopardize Ioneer Ltd.s plans to build the mine halfway between Reno and Las Vegas. It also ups the ante in an early test of the Biden administrations ability to make good on promises to protect public lands and their native species while at the same time pursuing an ambitious clean energy agenda that includes bolstering production of lithium needed for electric car batteries. Environmentalists say the delicate, 6-inch (15-centimeter) tall wildflower with yellow blooms is on the brink of extinction with fewer than 30,000 individual plants remaining. Ioneer acknowledges Tiehms buckwheat hasnt been documented anywhere else in the world but insists it can co-exist with the mine. Nevertheless, the looming listing presents the biggest regulatory hurdle to date for what would be only the second large-scale lithium mine operating in the United States. FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2020, file photo, a plant ecologist at the University of Nevada, Reno, points to a tiny Tiehm's buckwheat that has sprouted at a campus greenhouse in Reno, Nev. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Thursday, June 3, 2021, the extremely rare wildflower that grows only in Nevada's high desert where an Australian mining company wants to dig for lithium should be protected under the Endangered Species Act. The agency outlined its intention to propose listing Tiehm's buckwheat as a threatened or endangered species in a court-ordered, finding of its overdue review of a listing petition conservationists filed in 2019. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner, File) Under the court order, the service now has until Sept. 30 to submit a formal rule proposing protection of the plant as a threatened or endangered species. A 60-day public comment period will follow. The Center for Biological Diversity first petitioned for federal listing in October 2019 and weeks later filed suit against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to block construction of the mine at Rhyolite Ridge west of Tonopah in the Silver Peak Range about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of the California line and 200 miles (322 km) southeast of Reno where Tesla Motors largest lithium battery factory is located. Tiehm's buckwheat shouldn't be wiped off the face of the earth by an open-pit mine, Patrick Donnelly, the center's Nevada director, said Thursday. The service stepping in to save the plant from extinction is the right call. Ioneer Managing Director Bernard Rowe said Thursday they expected the warranted finding and share the Fish and Wildlife Services commitment to protect and preserve Tiehms buckwheat in its habitat. This process will provide greater certainty around our schedule and diminishes the prospect of future litigation, he said. We remain confident that the science strongly supports the coexistence of our vital lithium operation and Tiehms buckwheat. The tiny population of Tiehms buckwheat is found on 21 acres (8 hectares) spread across 3 square miles (7.8 square kilometers) at the mine site. Scientists say the plant plays an integral role in the desert ecosystem by stabilizing soils, dispersing seeds and creating a sort of oasis that provides rare food and moisture for bees and other pollinators. The service said a 2019 survey estimated the plant's global population totaled 43,921 all at the mine site. But it said in Thursday's finding that an unprecedented rodent attack during severe drought last summer damaged or destroyed more than half the plants. It said that herbivory combined with the potential impact from the mining project would reduce the flower's population by an estimated 70% to 88% or from 43,921 individuals to roughly 5,289-8,696 individuals. Ioneer is proposing to salvage most of the remaining plants by transplanting them to another location, the service said. However, we are uncertain whether the salvage operation will succeed because current research indicates that Tiehm's buckwheat is a soil specialist, that adjacent unoccupied sites are not suitable for all early life-history stages, and there has been no testing and multiyear monitoring on the feasibility of successfully transplanting the species, the agency said. Other threats to the plant include road-building, off-road travel, livestock grazing and climate change, the service said. Ioneer says the mine would create 400 to 500 construction jobs and 300 to 400 operational jobs, and is expected to produce 22,000 tons (19,958 metric tons) of lithium enough to power hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles annually. Demand for lithium worldwide is expected to double by 2025. Much of the worlds lithium supply currently comes from Australia and South America, where Chinese firms are heavily invested. Boosting domestic production could potentially lower the price tag on a key component of President Joe Bidens $2 trillion climate plan: offering rebates to consumers to trade in gas-powered for electric cars. The only large-scale lithium mine currently operating in the U.S. is also in Nevada, only about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from where Ioneer proposes its mine. The North Carolina-based Albemarles Silver Peak Mine has been in operation since the 1960s. A third lithium mine proposed in north-central Nevada near the Oregon line at the largest known lithium deposit in the U.S. also is facing legal challenges. This story corrects an early version that said the plant is 2-foot (0.6 meters) tall. It is 6 inches (15 centimeters) tall. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 19:58:14|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NAIROBI, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Ministry of Environment and Forestry will implement a 538 million shillings (about 5 million U.S. dollars) project to promote climate resilience around the Lake Victoria basin, Mohamed Elmi, chief administrative secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, said Wednesday. The project will revolve around ecosystem restoration, adoption of clean energy, and conservation agriculture to help communities adjacent to Africa's largest freshwater body cope with climate change. "The project will help communities adapt to climate change. It will involve tree planting, soil conservation and use of renewable energy," Elmi said during the launch of the project in Rarieda, Western Kenya. According to Elmi, Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) will oversee the implementation of pilot climate resilience projects in western Kenyan counties of Siaya and Busia, where climatic shocks like flooding are rampant. The climate resilience projects around the Lake Victoria basin will be financed through the UN adaptation fund to strengthen coping mechanisms of local communities amid extreme weather events. Elmi said similar climate resilience projects will also be piloted in Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi that are part of the greater Lake Victoria basin. Restoring forest cover in countries sharing the Lake Victoria basin will help tame perennial flooding that is to blame for mass displacement and the spread of infectious diseases. Ali Said Matano, executive secretary, LVBC said that dwindling biodiversity and flooding linked to climate change has taken a toll on local communities hence the urgency to strengthen their resilience. He said the launch of a climate resilience project around the Lake Victoria basin is expected to unleash benefits including food security, greater adoption of cleaner energy and habitat restoration. Matano said community-based organizations will be empowered to undertake soil conservation activities, beekeeping, cage fish farming, and the use of solar energy as part of climate resilience. Enditem DETROIT (AP) Shares of General Motors Co. closed at a record high Thursday after the company said its efforts to manage the global computer chip shortage have worked better than expected, so it's financial results will improve. FILE - In this Wednesday, March 24, 2021 file photo, mid-sized pickup trucks and full-size vans are seen in a parking lot outside a General Motors assembly plant where they are produced in Wentzville, Mo. General Motors says efforts to manage the global computer chip shortage have worked better than expected, so its financial results will improve over previous forecasts. The company says in a statement Thursday, June 3, it has made engineering changes, prioritized semiconductor use and pulled some potential deliveries into the second quarter. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File) DETROIT (AP) Shares of General Motors Co. closed at a record high Thursday after the company said its efforts to manage the global computer chip shortage have worked better than expected, so it's financial results will improve. The company said in a statement Thursday it has made engineering changes, prioritized semiconductor use and pulled some potential deliveries into the second quarter. So now the first-half earnings will be significantly better than forecasts it issued earlier in the year. GM had predicted a first-half pretax profit of around $5.5 billion when it released first-quarter earnings in May. The company also said it's optimistic about the full year, but gave no further details. Shares of GM rose 6.4% to close Thursday at $63.46, a record since the company left bankruptcy protection in November of 2010. The stock is up 52% so far this year as the company has emphasized its transition from internal combustion to electric vehicles. In the first quarter the company turned a $2.98 billion net profit as strong U.S. consumer demand and higher prices offset production cuts brought on by the chip shortage. GM previously forecast a full-year pretax profit of $10 billion to $11 billion and said earnings would be at the high end of the range. Full-year net income is expected to be between $6.8 billion and $7.6 billion. In a Thursday afternoon online discussion with a Credit Suisse analyst, GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said the chip supply situation is volatile, but GM has been able to step up its production a bit from what it expected a month ago. The company sees the shortage lasting into the third quarter. We certainly see it starting to get better in the second half, and hopefully getting to a point where we've reached normalization in 2022, he said, cautioning against predictions that far into the future. Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy said GM has enough dealer stock to supply only 22 days of demand, when it normally has 80. Jacobson said consumer demand has been strong, especially for full-size SUVs and pickup trucks. He said the company may not return to the stocks its dealers carried before the pandemic, but it has to increase inventory from current levels because there are too many dealers with empty lots. The chip shortage happened because automakers and parts-supply companies closed factories and canceled chip orders early last year as the novel coronavirus was spreading. The factories came back in eight weeks, faster than expected, but by then the semiconductor industry had switched production to chips for the booming consumer electronics market. A March 19 fire at a Japanese factory that makes automotive chips made the problem worse. The shortage has forced production cuts, crimping the supply of new vehicles just as demand recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, causing shortages and raising new vehicle prices. Used vehicle prices have hit record levels. Renesas, the company hit by the fire, said production is now back to 88% of what it was before the blaze. With new equipment being installed, the company expects to resume full production by mid June. Ford has said the shortage would halve its production from normal levels in the second quarter. Nearly all automakers have been affected including Nissan, Honda, Stellantis, Tesla and Volkswagen. GM's statement said its factories will still be affected by the chip shortage through June and July. But it's shifting chips to higher-margin, high-demand vehicles such as pickup trucks and full-size SUVs. U.S. assembly plants that build those products won't take the traditional summer two-week shutdown this year, the company said. In addition, GM's heavy-duty truck plant in Flint, Michigan, will crank out about 1,000 more trucks per month due to production line efficiencies, the company said. GM also said it's starting to install computers in midsize trucks that were built without them due to the shortage. Those vehicles will be shipped in early July. WASHINGTON - The dispute over the cross-border Line 5 pipeline is entirely for Michigan to deal with, the state's attorney general argues in a legal brief released Wednesday that flatly rejects Canada's depiction of a foreign-policy matter that Ottawa and the White House must resolve. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel attends an event for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., in Clawson, Mich., March 18, 2019. Lawyers for the state of Michigan say the dispute over the Line 5 pipeline belongs in state court, countering efforts by Canada and others to have it heard by a federal judge. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Paul Sancya File WASHINGTON - The dispute over the cross-border Line 5 pipeline is entirely for Michigan to deal with, the state's attorney general argues in a legal brief released Wednesday that flatly rejects Canada's depiction of a foreign-policy matter that Ottawa and the White House must resolve. In a sternly worded 21-page legal filing, Attorney General Dana Nessel excoriates the arguments of the pipeline's owner, Calgary-based Enbridge Inc., as "meritless" and "baseless," and waves away the submissions of the federal Liberal government, neighbouring states and various industry stakeholders as little more than policy-based window-dressing. Enbridge is trying to convince Michigan court Judge Janet Neff that the case needs to be heard by a federal judge because it raises "substantial federal questions" about Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's effort to shut down the line for fear of an environmental disaster in the Great Lakes. Nessel disagrees. "This case is a state-law action through and through," her brief begins. Michigan is "invoking powers that are unique to a state sovereign," it says, and asserting claims under Michigan laws "over a strip of land that is owned by the state, located within the state, and held in trust by the state for the public benefit of its people." The dispute first erupted in November when Whitmer citing the risk of a catastrophe in the Straits of Mackinac, the waterway where Line 5 traverses the Great Lakes abruptly revoked the easement that had allowed the line to operate since 1953. Enbridge insists the pipeline is safe and has already received the state's approval for a $500-million effort to dig a tunnel beneath the straits that would house the line's twin pipes and protect them from anchor strikes. The company has made it clear it has no intention of shutting down the pipeline voluntarily. Advocates, including Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan, say Line 5 delivers more than half the propane and home heating oil consumed in Michigan, and is a vital source of energy for Ohio and Pennsylvania as well, to say nothing of Ontario and Quebec. Shutting it down would be an environmental disaster in its own right, they argue, resulting in gasoline shortages, price spikes and some 800 additional oil-laden rail cars and 2,000 tanker trucks per day on railways and highways throughout Central Canada and the U.S. Midwest. In a court filing of its own, known as an amicus brief, the federal government tried to up the ante, warning of damage to the relationship between Canada and the U.S. and the risk of undermining the future credibility of American foreign-policy decisions. The court should instead set aside the case and give the two countries a chance to negotiate a settlement under the terms of a 1977 treaty that specifically governs pipelines that cross the border, Canada argued. Nonsense, Nessel countered. "The Canadian government's suggestion that this court should hold this matter in abeyance pending dispute resolution under the treaty is without legal basis," she wrote, noting that any such negotiations are not currently underway. "There is no reason for this court to delay or defer its determination of the issue now before it." Canada's amicus brief, as well as three others from neighbouring states, as well as chambers of commerce in both countries, "primarily present policy arguments in favour of the continued operation of Line 5, based on economic considerations," the filing says. "Such arguments about policy and the merits of Enbridge's defenses have no bearing on the legal issue now before the court: whether removal jurisdiction exists." Enbridge and state officials have been taking part in court-ordered mediation talks for the last several weeks, and an update that was filed in court last month indicated those talks would continue. Canada's brief leaned extensively on the close ties between the two countries, noting that they have successfully negotiated a bilateral agreement for protecting the Great Lakes, as well as the original NAFTA and its recent successor, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Not everyone in Canada, however, opposes Whitmer's efforts. A number of Indigenous groups in Ontario support a shutdown, as does Green party Leader Annamie Paul. Paul has said Michiganders haven't forgotten an Enbridge spill in 2010 that dumped more than 3.3 million litres of diluted bitumen into the Kalamazoo River, fouling more than 40 kilometres of shoreline. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2021. LIMA, Peru (AP) Amid an unrelenting coronavirus pandemic that has overwhelmed cemeteries, Peruvian voters will choose Sunday between a political novice who has scared business by promising to overhaul the key mining industry and a career politician whose father is a former president jailed for corruption and human rights violations. Presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, of the Popular Force party, fist bumps a supporter during a rally in the Puente Piedra neighborhood, on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Tuesday, June 1, 2021. Fujimori will face rival candidate Pedro Castillo in the June 6 presidential run-off election. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) LIMA, Peru (AP) Amid an unrelenting coronavirus pandemic that has overwhelmed cemeteries, Peruvian voters will choose Sunday between a political novice who has scared business by promising to overhaul the key mining industry and a career politician whose father is a former president jailed for corruption and human rights violations. The polarizing runoff election between rural teacher Pedro Castillo and Keiko Fujimori, making her third run for the presidency, comes on the heels of the Peruvian governments admission that the death toll of the pandemic is at least 2.5 times higher than previously acknowledged. The jump brings the estimated death toll to more than 180,000 in a country with about one-tenth the population of the United States. Polls have shown the two candidates virtually tied heading into Sunday's runoff. In the first round of voting, featuring 18 candidates, neither received more than 20% support and both are strongly opposed by sectors of Peruvian society, leading some to label the choice as between the lesser of two evils. While Castillos stance on nationalizing key sectors of the economy has softened, he remains committed to rewriting the constitution that was approved under the regime of Fujimori's father and his rivals have compared his leftist policies to those of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Fujimori, a conservative former congresswoman, has been imprisoned as part of a graft investigation though she was later released. Her father, former President Alberto Fujimori, governed between 1990 and 2000 and is serving a 25-year sentence for corruption and the killings of 25 people. She has promised to free him should she win. She is the daughter of a corrupt man who supports everything bad that her father did, said homemaker Mirian Ortiz during a protest against Fujimori in the capital of Lima. Some protesters shouted Fujimori never again and others carried portraits of people who disappeared during Alberto Fujimori's government. The challenges awaiting whoever takes office July 28 cannot be overestimated. Among Latin American countries, only Brazil and Mexico have reported higher death tolls from COVID-19 and both have much larger populations. Perus vaccination campaign has seen meager progress, and the pandemic has already pushed 3 million more people into poverty. The winner will also face a divided Congress that likely will make it difficult to pass legislation and may not even allow him or her to finish their term in office. In November, Peru had three presidents in a single week after one was impeached by Congress over corruption allegations and protests forced his successor to resign. Both candidates are certainly not suitable, considering the challenges the country will face, said Claudia Navas, an analyst with the global firm Control Risks. "We will not see a light at the end of the tunnel with regards to the management of the pandemic or the complex political environment because they will have several things against them, starting with a fragmented Congress. Fujimori will face opposition on the streets, Castillo will face opposition from the (country's) institutions. I mean, they will be quite alone, Navas said. Few expected Castillo to make it this far. The son of illiterate peasants, he went on to complete a degree in educational psychology at Perus Cesar Vallejo University. He still lives in the countrys third-poorest district, deep in the Andes, and until recently was a rural schoolteacher. He entered politics by leading a teachers strike. While Fujimoris father was a political outsider when he won office, she grew up in the halls of power. She attended Boston University and got a masters from Columbia University in the United States. She later served as first lady during her fathers last six years in office. Peru is the second largest copper exporter in the world and mining accounts for almost 10% of its GDP and 60% of its exports, so Castillo's initial proposal to nationalize the nation's mining industry set off alarm bells. But after advancing to the runoff, Castillo moved away from his nationalization proposal and recently has pitched renegotiating contracts with mining companies. Fujimori, in turn, has promised an additional contribution from the mining sector to finance irrigation and reservoirs in rural communities where it operates. She has also pledged to distribute 40% of a tax on mining, oil and gas extraction among poor families in those areas. Meanwhile, Castillo said he will collect the largest state debts held by powerful groups in the mining, financial, telecommunications and airline industries. The 158 largest debts total more than $2.4 billion, according to government data. Both have promised COVID-19 vaccines for all Peruvians. The country has tallied more than 1.9 million coronavirus cases and has only fully vaccinated about 3.7% of its 32.5 million residents, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University. So many people have died since the pandemic began that some have been buried in clandestine graves in areas surrounding cemeteries that have run out of space. People's anger over the government's mismanagement of the pandemic only heightened when an official document revealed that hundreds of wealthy and well-connected individuals, including a former president, were secretly vaccinated. Noam Lupu, associate director of the Latin American Public Opinion Project at Vanderbilt University, said the lack of stable coalitions for the winner may result in the new president trying to govern alone, testing the powers of the presidency, while the threat of impeachment may push him or her to undermine the country's institutions to be able to remain in office. I think theres a lot of concern about the sort of ideological extremism of the two candidates, Lupu said. Obviously, Keiko Fujimori is the daughter of the former dictator, so, theres a concern about her commitment to democracy and the corruption scandals surrounding her. And on the other side, Pedro Castillo is quite unknown to a lot of people, we dont know a lot about him, but his statements are certainly far to the left ideologically and also not reassuring in terms of commitment to democracy. Again, its not clear who is the bigger threat. Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City. TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) In the span of just five days last month, China gave out 100 million shots of its COVID-19 vaccines. Residents wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus look at their smartphones showing health code as they line up to receive the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Central Business District in Beijing on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. After a slow start, China is now doing what virtually no other country in the world can: harnessing the power and all-encompassing reach of its one-party system and a maturing domestic vaccine industry to administer shots at a staggering pace. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) In the span of just five days last month, China gave out 100 million shots of its COVID-19 vaccines. After a slow start, China is now doing what virtually no other country in the world can: leveraging the power and all-encompassing reach of its one-party system and a maturing domestic vaccine industry to administer shots at a staggering pace. The rollout is far from perfect, including uneven distribution, but Chinese public health leaders now say theyre hoping to inoculate 80% of the population of 1.4 billion by the end of the year. As of Wednesday, China had given out more than 704 million doses with nearly half of those in May alone. China's total is roughly a third of the 1.9 billion shots distributed globally, according to Our World in Data, an online research site. The call to get vaccinated comes from every corner of society. Companies offer shots to their employees, schools urge their students and staffers, and local government workers check on their residents. That pressure underscores both the systems strength, which makes it possible to even consider vaccinating more than a billion people this year, but also the risks to civil liberties a concern the world over but one that is particularly acute in China, where there are few protections. The Communist Party has people all the way down to every village, every neighborhood, said Ray Yip, former country director for the Gates Foundation in China and a public health expert. Thats the draconian part of the system, but it also gives very powerful mobilization. China is now averaging about 19 million shots per day, according to Our World in Data's rolling seven-day average. That would mean a dose for everyone in Italy about every three days. The United States, with about one-quarter of China's population, reached around 3.4 million shots per day in April when its drive was at full tilt. It's still unclear how many people in China are fully vaccinated which can mean anywhere from one to three doses of the vaccines in use as the government does not publicly release that data. Zhong Nanshan, the head of a group of experts attached to the National Health Commission and a prominent government doctor, said on Sunday that 40% of the population has received at least one dose, and the aim was to get that percentage fully vaccinated by the end of the month. A security guard watches residents wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus line up to receive the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in the Central Business District in Beijing, Wednesday, June 2, 2021. After a slow start, China is now doing what virtually no other country in the world can: harnessing the power and all-encompassing reach of its one-party system and a maturing domestic vaccine industry to administer shots at a staggering pace. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) In Beijing, the capital, 87% of the population has received at least one dose. Getting a shot is as easy as walking into one of hundreds of vaccination points found all across the city. Vaccination buses are parked in high foot-traffic areas, including in the city center and at malls. But Beijings abundance is not shared with the rest of the country, and local media reports and complaints on social media show the difficulty of getting an appointment elsewhere. I started lining up that day at 9 in the morning, until 6 p.m., only then did I get the shot. It was exhausting, Zhou Hongxia, a resident of Lanzhou, in northwestern Gansu province, explained recently. When I left, there were still people waiting. Zhou's husband hasn't been so lucky and has yet to get a shot. When they call the local hotlines, they are told simply to wait. Central government officials on Monday said they're working to ensure supply is more evenly distributed. China has even focused on vaccinating its citizens abroad, donating vaccine s to Thailand, some of which were used to inoculate its nationals before most Thais received their doses. Globally, it has vaccinated more than 500,000 overseas citizens under what it calls the Spring Sprout" program. Before the domestic campaign ramped up in recent weeks, many people were not in a rush to get vaccinated as China has kept the virus, which first flared in the country, at bay in the past year with strict border controls and mandatory quarantines. It has faced small clusters of infections from time to time, and is currently managing one in the southern city of Guangzhou. Although there are distribution issues, it is unlikely that Chinese manufacturers will have problems with scale, according to analysts and those who have worked in the industry. Sinovac and Sinopharm, which make the majority of the vaccines being distributed in China, have both aggressively ramped up production, building brand new factories and repurposing existing ones for COVID-19. Sinovacs vaccine and one of the two Sinpharm makes have received an emergency authorization for use from the World Health Organization, but the companies, particularly Sinopharm, have faced criticism for their lack of transparency in sharing their data. "What place in the world can compare with China on construction? How long did it take our temporary hospitals to be built? asked Li Mengyuan, who leads pharmaceutical research at Western Securities, a financial firm. China built field hospitals at the beginning of the pandemic in just days. Sinovac has said it has doubled its production capacity to 2 billion doses a year, while Sinopharm has said it can make up to 3 billion doses a year. But Sinopharm has not disclosed recent numbers of how many doses it actually has made, and a spokesman for the company did not respond to a request for comment. Sinovac has produced 540 million doses this year as of late May, the company said on Friday. Government support has been crucial for vaccine developers every step of the way as it has in other countries but, as with everything, the scope and scale in China is different. Yang Xiaoming, chairman of Sinopharms China National Biotec Group, recounted to state media recently how the company initially needed to borrow lab space from a government research center while it was working on a vaccine. "We sent our samples over, there was no need to discuss money, we just did it, he said. Chinese vaccine companies also largely do not rely on imported products in the manufacturing process. That's an enormous benefit at a time when many countries are scrambling for the same materials and means China can likely avoid what happened to the Serum Institute of India, whose production was hobbled because of dependence on imports from the U.S. for certain ingredients. But as the availability of the vaccine increases so, too, can the pressure to take it. In Beijing, one researcher at a university said the schools Communist Party cell calls him once a month to ask him if he has gotten vaccinated yet, and offers to help him make an appointment. He has so far declined to get a shot because he would prefer the Pfizer vaccine, saying he trusts its data. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns he could face repercussions at his job at a government university for publicly questioning the Chinese vaccines. China has not yet approved Pfizer for use, and the researcher is not sure how long he can hold out although the government has, for now, cautioned against making vaccines mandatory outright. They dont have to say it is mandatory, Yip, the public health expert, said. Theyre not going to announce that its required to have the vaccine, but they can put pressure on you. Associated Press video producer Olivia Zhang in Beijing and researcher Chen Si in Shanghai contributed to this report. OTTAWA - Retired senator Murray Sinclair, who chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, is calling for an independent investigation to examine all burial sites near former residential schools. OTTAWA - Retired senator Murray Sinclair, who chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, is calling for an independent investigation to examine all burial sites near former residential schools. He told a House of Commons committee Thursday that such a probe should not be run by the federal government, but should be overseen by a parliamentary committee that will ensure it is done in a proper way. Murray Sinclair appears before the Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples in Ottawa on Tuesday May 28, 2019. Retired senator Sinclair says an independent investigation is needed to examine all burial sites near former residential schools.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand "It's good for Canada to understand that we still have to come to terms with a lot of what occurred during the residential school era, and that there are a lot of uncovered truths out there that we need to look at," he said. Sinclair said there are so many questions that remain to be answered including how many burial sites exist in Canada, where they are located and how many children are buried in them. The Tkemlups te Secwepemc First Nation announced last week that ground-penetrating radar had located what are believed to be the remains of 215 children in an unmarked burial site on the grounds of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. Sinclair said the RCMP in British Columbia has launched an investigation into the burial site but he criticized the approach of officers. "They are simply intimidating people rather than helping them," he said. "They should not be pursuing those who are revealing information. They should, in fact, be looking for those records. They should be looking at what it is that we do know, as opposed to trying to pursue witnesses." Staff Sgt. Bill Wallace of the Tkemlups Rural RCMP said that after a May 31 meeting with band officials, the RCMP confirmed the band remains the lead and the force will continue to support it in determining next steps. "The Tkemlups Rural RCMP has attended the site, participated in meetings, and will continue working closely with the Tkemlups te Secwepemc community leaders in determining the next steps and the best way to be involved in any investigative avenues explored going forward, while at the same time being supportive, respectful, and culturally sensitive to the Indigenous communities that are impacted," Wallace said in a statement. A file has been opened and any further actions will be taken in consultation with the First Nation, he said. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's report on Canada's residential-school system details the harsh mistreatment of Indigenous children at the government-funded, church-operated schools. The TRC estimated that more than 6,000 Indigenous children died at residential schools amid abuse and neglect, but Sinclair said the true figure was much higher. TRC commissioner Marie Wilson said those who were responsible for the deaths of thousands of Indigenous children should be brought to justice. "Accountability, so that we hold ourselves up as a country to the international standards and expectations that we would in fact, and have in the past, advocated for other countries, including the consideration of crime and crimes against humanity," she told the parliamentary committee. "It is an issue of human rights and of justice, of critical importance." Stephanie Scott, director of operations at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, said a significant key to deal with the issue of unknown burial sites is piecing together the evidence remains with survivors and their families. "Many are in unmarked graves, but there are also accounts of bodies that were buried within walls. There are bodies buried in the hills or by river sides, and bodies that were never found after children died trying to escape the schools," she said. "These sites are, in fact, crime scenes, and the discovery at Kamloops has triggered a new urgency (for) survivors and their families to share their truth while they still can." She said documenting what survivors witnessed or what families have shared about missing loved ones is an urgent issue. "We are racing against time. We often hear from survivors that they have fewer tomorrows than they have yesterdays," Scott said. Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, chair of the national centre, said hiding, damaging, interfering with or destroying the graves of residential schoolchildren must be recognized as a crime and prosecuted as such. She said national standards must be put in place concerning the use of investigative technologies such as ground-penetrating radar to ensure the privacy of affected families is respected, and ensure any evidence of crimes is not compromised. "All measures to investigate and protect burial sites must be consistent with the rights of Indigenous people in domestic and international law, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples," Wesley-Esquimaux said. Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett announced Wednesday the federal government will distribute $27 million in previously announced funding to assist Indigenous communities in locating and memorializing children who died at residential schools. Justice Minister David Lametti has also said he is open to the idea of criminalizing interference with residential school burial sites. Sinclair said the TRC urged the government in its calls to action numbers 71 to 75 to work with the churches and the Indigenous communities to locate burial sites and list the names of children who died. "Nothing has been done by the government to follow that up," he said. "We think that's a sad commentary upon the commitment the government has or lack of commitment the government has to trying to close the story." He said the churches who ran residential schools have not yet shared their records of the deaths of Indigenous children with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. Sinclair said he has heard from about 200 residential school survivors over the past few days who have shared their grief, anger and frustration over the news from Kamloops. The extensive media coverage has been a huge trigger for them, he said. He said nothing heals survivors more than talking with other survivors, but most of them are unable to do so. "In most places now, no healing-resource programs are available," he said. "They're now in great pain as a result of this story, and they will be in even more pain because, as we go forward, I'm sure that we're going to discover additional places where bodies are buried." The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program has a hotline to help residential school survivors and their relatives suffering with trauma invoked by the recall of past abuse. The number is 1-866-925-4419. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2021. ---- This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship. OTTAWA - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is making a renewed push for the federal government to take concrete steps toward reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, calling on Ottawa to drop a pair of Federal Court appeals he says represent a "belligerent" approach to justice for First Nations children. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh rises during Question Period in the House of Commons Wednesday June 2, 2021 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld OTTAWA - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is making a renewed push for the federal government to take concrete steps toward reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, calling on Ottawa to drop a pair of Federal Court appeals he says represent a "belligerent" approach to justice for First Nations children. The demand, in the form of an opposition day motion, comes as the country reels from the discovery of an unmarked grave holding what are believed to be the remains of 215 Indigenous children at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. Singh said symbolic gestures are not sufficient and the moment demands action, accusing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of hypocrisy in sympathizing with Indigenous communities while battling them in the courts. People are in horror," Singh said at a virtual news conference. "It is not good enough to fly the flags at half mast. It is not good enough for the federal government to just express words of condolences, particularly when they are still fighting Indigenous kids in court." The Liberal government is appealing a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling ordering Ottawa to pay $40,000 each to some 50,000 First Nations children separated from their families by a chronically underfunded child-welfare system. It is also fighting a tribunal decision that widened the applicability of Jordan's Principle, a rule stating that when governments disagree about who's responsible for providing services to First Nations children, they must help a child in need first and argue over the bills later. Trudeau suggested Monday that compensation should be proportional to the trauma. "Should someone who went to a day school for a few months or a year be compensated to the exact same amount as someone who was in a traumatic situation over many, many years, where they were taken from their families and had a very, very different experience?" he asked. "Right now, the human rights tribunal says everyone should get exactly the same amount. We don't know that that's entirely fair." Singh directly challenged that view: "How callous that sounds, that the prime minister is talking about levels of trauma. "How do you gauge trauma?" he asked, saying length of time is a narrow yardstick by which to measure experience. Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, reiterated her years-long call for adequate child-welfare funding and a "fully" implemented Jordan's Principle named in memory of a five-year-old boy who died in hospital in 2005 as the federal and provincial governments disputed who was financially responsible for his home care. The 215 little souls in Tk'emlups, I think they were sent to us at this time for a special reason: to remind us that residential school survivors told their stories so that their children and grandchildren would not have to continue that injustice," she said at the news conference with Singh. The government is in confidential talks with First Nations communities to work through that question, Trudeau said earlier this week. He added that "an awful lot" of work remains before reconciliation can be achieved, stating that residential school survivors need more support amid profound intergenerational trauma. Singh is also asking the government for faster implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action, trauma resources for survivors and a progress report to be tabled in 10 days. He said all opposition parties have indicated support for the NDP motion, but has yet to receive word from the Liberals. A vote is expected Monday. The motion comes on the same day retired senator Murray Sinclair, who chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, called for an independent investigation to examine all burial sites near former residential schools. He told a House of Commons committee Thursday that such a probe should not be run by Ottawa, but should be overseen by a parliamentary committee that will ensure it is done properly. Separately, the federal government committed to funding and co-developing targeted programs to address systemic barriers identified by a national inquiry into Indigenous women who have disappeared or been killed in Canada, which completed its work two years ago. As part of Thursday's release of the action plan on the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, a "federal pathway" document outlined Ottawa's planned steps to address the inquiry's sweeping 231 calls to justice. In November, the human rights tribunal ruled that Jordan's Principle applies to children who live off reserves if they identify as members of a particular First Nation and that nation claims them even if they don't have status under the Indian Act and to children of parents who could legally get status but do not have it. Effectively, it allows First Nations to decide whether a particular child is entitled to federally funded services, not just the federal government under the Indian Act. Ottawa announced in December it would seek a judicial review of the decision. The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program has a hotline to help residential school survivors and their relatives suffering with trauma invoked by the recall of past abuse. The number is 1-866-925-4419. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2021. With files from Maan Alhmidi and Teresa Wright The latest wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic has hit Anantjot Khosa the hardest. The latest wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic has hit Anantjot Khosa the hardest. Isolated at home, doing remote learning, yet again, the Grade 11 student has more time to overthink about her marks, loss of motivation, and the last year in missed opportunities. These are among the items the 16-year-old said come up during counselling sessions, which she started doing this spring through school. "Its really mentally draining and miserable to be in your house all day," said Anantjot, who attends Maples Met School in Winnipeg. "Just talking about those sorts of things helps me to feel like I'm not alone." ALEX LUPUL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Anantjot Khosa, a grade 11 student at Maples MET School, turned to counselling sessions in the spring to help her through school. Reporter: Maggie Macintosh Health-care professionals and school staff are increasingly alarmed about the state of student mental health, as the pandemic drags on for youth, most of them studying remotely during the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, cut off from extracurriculars and in-person visits with peers. Students are tired, unmotivated and lonely. Some are undereating or overeating as a form of coping. Others are reporting high stress, depressive moods, and poor sleep. "Kids have made a lot of sacrifices for the societal good, whether it be school shutdowns or team shutdowns," said Dr. Norman McLean, a pediatrician at the Manitoba Clinic. Its really mentally draining and miserable to be in your house all day. Anantjot Khosa Whereas the physical health implications of lockdowns have been more obvious to the eye: weight gain, owing to the rise in sedentary behaviour, McLean said the lasting impacts of the pandemic on mental health remain uncertain. Not only have teenagers been disrupted at a key developmental stage during which they rely on social interactions and become more independent from family as they figure out who they are, but they are also taking on their parents stresses related to the pandemic, he added. A study of parents and youth out of Torontos Hospital for Sick Children found the mental health of schoolchildren in Ontario suffered during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020, as a result of greater stress from social isolation. Seventy per cent of children between the ages of six and 18 reported deterioration in at least one of the following mental health domains: depression, anxiety, irritability, attention span, hyperactivity, and obsessions or compulsions. Kids have made a lot of sacrifices for the societal good, whether it be school shutdowns or team shutdowns. Dr. Norman McLean, a pediatrician at the Manitoba Clinic The research, which drew on questionnaire responses from more than 1,000 parents and almost 350 youth between the ages of 10 and 18, between April and June 2020, was published this winter. Following a year of roller-coaster restrictions, private and public mental health practitioners in Manitoba have been bombarded with demand. Demand for services at the Manitoba Adolescent Treatment Centre has increased "dramatically" throughout the pandemic, said Dr. Jaye Miles, a psychologist at the facility. Typically, it takes approximately three weeks for a referral to be reviewed and redirected to support through centralized intake; Miles said intake is currently 2.5 to three months behind in dealing with cases. "Im prescribing way more (antidepressants) this past year than Ive ever prescribed, ever, in my practice, and you have to follow those kids carefully," said Dr. Michele Feierstein, a pediatrician of more than 35 years. Im prescribing way more (antidepressants) this past year than Ive ever prescribed, ever, in my practice, and you have to follow those kids carefully. Pediatrician, Dr. Michele Feierstein Eight-, nine- and 10-year-olds have been coming in after experiencing panic attacks since the pandemic began, she said. "Its unbelievable." Anxiety and sleeping disorders have been some of the most common diagnoses as of late, according to Feierstein and Manitoba Clinic colleagues. "Its a different kind of anxiety now. Before, I was nervous about a presentation or things like that. Now, Im nervous about whats unknown and whats going to happen next," said Madi Daley, a Grade 10 student at J.H. Bruns Collegiate. Madi, 16, said theres been a "slight shift" in the culture at her Winnipeg school when it comes to supporting mental health amidst the pandemic. Some teachers have been more understanding around assignment deadlines, but there is room for improvement when it comes to supporting students, she said. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Madi Daley, a grade 10 student at J.H. Bruns: Its a different kind of anxiety now. Activities around mindfulness and resilience have become more common in K-12 schools to equip students with skills to manage their stress. Students have also taken things into their own hands. Emma Williamson has been running a wellness club for students at Maples Met to connect and discuss coping mechanisms weekly. One of the ways the Grade 11 student has been taking care of her mental health and challenges with social anxiety this year is through meditation. Madi has been painting to destress, while Anantjot has been more intentional about exercising outdoors to do the same. As far as McLean is concerned, arming schools with proactive tools to build positive mental health among students is key. "As pediatricians, were always advocating for increased mental health resources, good funding for education and for recreation for all kids. We want to keep kids physically active. We want to keep them socially engaged. We want to stimulate their creativity, their resourcefulness. We want to balance screentime with sleep and healthy eating and physical activity," he said. "I think (the pandemic) has brought a lot of those issues to the forefront." maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie The provincial government is trying to protect the homeless population from blistering heat by allowing municipal libraries and community centres to open as cooling shelters despite pandemic restrictions. The provincial government is trying to protect the homeless population from blistering heat by allowing municipal libraries and community centres to open as cooling shelters despite pandemic restrictions. The province amended public health orders on Wednesday to allow municipalities, hotels, campgrounds and other private businesses to open outdoor splash pads and pools until June 12. RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Five-year-old Brooke Kusoski-Williams cools herself as she plays in the water with her dad, Jeff Williams, in their yard in St. Boniface. The City of Winnipeg didn't respond to the Free Press when asked if it would open such sites and operate its splash pads and pools. Environment Canada issued a heat warning for southern Manitoba, including Winnipeg, on Wednesday; temperatures are expected to hit the low- to mid-30s today and could reach as high as 35 C on Friday and Saturday. While such temperatures are slightly less than what constitutes a warning in most years, the decision to relax the guidelines was brought on by COVID-19 restrictions in the province, Environment Canada said. Public health orders allow exemptions for the provision of health care and social services, said Kris Clemens of End Homelessness Winnipeg. "Its a trade off: the risks of this extreme hot weather on peoples health, and balancing that with the ongoing risks of the pandemic and the high rates of community transmission we have right now," she said. The group is part of the citys extreme weather response committee, which monitors and evaluates weather response for people in need. While it used to work on responses only to extreme temperatures well into the winter and summer, the committee is working on meeting year-round to tackle rising temperatures earlier in the year, Clemens said. Shelters across the city have been preparing for the heat. Larger centres such as Main Street Project and Siloam Mission will expand their hours to allow people to cool off in the mid-afternoon heat. Clemens said shelters are working under reduced capacity in this third wave. Sunshine House has had to temporarily close and Sage House is offering door service due to COVID-19 exposures that have affected staff. Clemens said it would be "challenging" for the City of Winnipeg and other municipalities to open libraries and community centres quickly. "Itd be a lot easier for people to keep cool and abide by current public health restrictions if everyone had a safe place to call home," Clemens said. "People having access to shade, having access to water, is really critical, and having access to other human beings who can check in with them, thats precarious right now." malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: malakabas_ OTTAWA The federal government is offering millions of dollars to Indigenous governments to search their land for unmarked graves of children, but some Manitoba communities have already spent considerable time and money to look for burial sites. OTTAWA The federal government is offering millions of dollars to Indigenous governments to search their land for unmarked graves of children, but some Manitoba communities have already spent considerable time and money to look for burial sites. "There have been ongoing concerns about the possibility of graves that exist in the area," Long Plain Chief Dennis Meeches said. "We made the decision last year that any new work we do, whether it's housing developments or businesses, we would undertake ground-sensory work, for ease of mind." The reserve, near Portage la Prairie, decided a year ago to search all ground it builds on because elders say their former classmates are probably buried nearby. It involves having trained teams scan the ground using radiowaves to reveal the presence of bones. Canadians have been shocked since the discovery of an unmarked burial ground containing the remains of 215 children in Kamloops B.C. last week. On Wednesday, the Trudeau government pledged to fast-track funding, originally meant to commemorate sites, to instead be used to conduct ground searches. "It will be distributed on an urgent basis," Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett said, in response to questions from the Free Press. The $27 million is the unspent part of a $33.8-million fund announced in spring 2019; the rest supports the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in Winnipeg. That cash was meant for historical research and commemorations, but has been reallocated to fund research and "accessing professional archeological investigation services to identify and delineate burial sites." The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said it has demanded such funding for years, but the Trudeau government could not explain why money hasn't been available. "The engagement we've done over the past year has explained what that program needs to look like," Bennett said. The federal government published a new email address Wednesday for Indigenous groups that want information on the process, but has not posted any criteria or the application process. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation joined prominent academics by calling on Ottawa to set standards for searches so evidence can be documented and used in criminal trials. In Manitoba, work has already been undertaken to detect graves at residential schools. For example, the Elkhorn school, 95 kilometres west of Brandon, has a cemetery with crosses and a plaque that was placed in the 1990s, after ground-radar work identified a gravesite on the outskirts of the town. "There had been an effort to try and identify the graves," said Kevin Tutthill, a local whose parents worked as support staff at the Anglican school, which operated from 1889 to 1949. Tutthills family kept in touch with some of the schools former pupils, and organized a reunion in the 1980s. The commission has documented 26 deaths at the Elkhorn school, and a 1895 fire that destroyed a girls dormitory. The commission heard that northern bands had complained about living conditions at the school in its last two decades. At Sandy Bay, the band is pondering efforts to search for bodies near the residential school. The commission documented sexual abuse, poor nutrition and runaways at that school, which operated from 1905 to 1970. "Lots of people didn't make it home," said councillor Jason Starr, whose parents and grandparents attended the school. "We live with it on a daily basis," he said. "We've got to not forget about the past, in order to move forward." Residents on other reserves, such as Sagkeeng, have placed shovels in the ground with orange shirts, a symbol of residential schools, to symbolize the need to search the ground for remains. Dan Vandal, a Manitoba MP who is in Trudeau's cabinet, said Manitobans should expect more unmarked graves to be revealed as Indigenous communities conduct searches. "There are going to be more of these, and I think it's important that we are listening to communities and walking at their pace," said Vandal, the MP for St. Boniface-St. Vital. Back at Long Plain, Meeches said his band will apply for federal funding to undertake a thorough search of the grounds near the school. The band took over the school in 1981 and converted it to a museum which has since been deemed a national historical site. Documentation doesnt give a clear sense of where children were buried, despite at least five deaths documented at the school. "Residential schools were notorious places; their purpose was really to impact harm on Indigenous people, especially our children, the most vulnerable," said Meeches, who was disturbed by the news out of Kamloops. "Hopefully there is a sense of urgency with Canada, to help Indigenous governments to bring some closure here." dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca Manitoba's COVID-19 recovery plan will be released next week, just before strict public health measures that have locked down much of the province expire on June 12. Manitoba's COVID-19 recovery plan will be released next week, just before strict public health measures that have locked down much of the province expire on June 12. Premier Brian Pallister promised to outline his government's strategy to rebound from the third wave of COVID-19, at a news conference Thursday where he announced a grant program to increase vaccination rates. "I do think that it is important to put that hope in the window, and I do think its really important to understand that the limiting factor for all of us now is really vaccine levels," the premier said. As of Thursday, 63.5 per cent of Manitobans eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine had received at least one dose. But to have a shot at a sustained reopening, Pallister said vaccination rates need to far exceed 75 per cent of the population. "If we have 400,000 Manitobans unprotected, were looking at a fourth wave," Pallister said. "Thats why were pushing real hard for more vaccines." Few details about the provinces plans for reopening were shared on Thursday, but like other provinces, the lifting of pandemic restrictions will be linked to immunization rates. The premier said the reopening strategy will include "some reference to the benefits that would accrue to people" who have been fully vaccinated. "I think were in a dynamic time where I would rather see us bestow benefits on people who pursue vaccines as opposed to suggesting that everybody else is limited," the premier said. As an interim measure, the premier said the province could extend "extra advantage" to vaccinated individuals, as was done Wednesday night when 500 fully immunized health-care workers were permitted to attend a Stanley Cup playoff match between the Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens. "To not give these benefits is to say that all of us will have to be in lockdown until everyone is vaccinated and I dont think thats a realistic model for us to follow," the premier said. "None of us want to see divisions in our society among our friends and neighbours based on this issue, but we have to have public safety as the first priority." On Thursday, Manitoba reported five deaths due to COVID-19 and 360 new infections. Thirty-nine Manitobans who were critically ill with the disease were being treated at hospitals outside of the province as of Thursday, and other 68 COVID-19 patients were being treated in intensive care units in Manitoba. A total of 297 people with COVID-19 were being treated in Manitoba hospitals on Thursday. Pallister said the province has struck an advisory committee, co-chaired by epidemiologist Cynthia Carr and Economic Development Winnipeg CEO Dayna Spiring, to provide advice on encouraging vaccination uptake and reopening safely. Spiring said the committee first convened on Wednesday and was scheduled to meet again Friday with two important agenda items: increasing vaccination rates and safe reopening plans. "I am very focused on economic growth and economic development," Spiring said. "We need to start to open up our economy. We need to make sure we do that safely, but we have to get moving. "Were trying to do that in a balanced way. And this group has both perspectives," said Spiring. She said committee members are prepared to spend a significant amount of time tackling the complexities of a reopening strategy while increasing immunization rates. "Were watching other jurisdictions open up and I understand the pressures that were under, but at the same time we have to be mindful of our economy," Spiring said. "My vested interest is becoming the fastest recovering economy in Canada. Thats my big, audacious goal," she added. "How we do that is going to depend entirely on vaccination rates and its going to depend entirely on how were able to flatten this curve that Manitoba is being hit with." danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 20:25:58|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Tunisian President Kais Saied (R) meets with visiting French Prime Minister Jean Castex in Tunis, Tunisia, June 3, 2021. (Tunisian Presidency/Handout via Xinhua) TUNIS, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian President Kais Saied met on Thursday with visiting French Prime Minister Jean Castex to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The meeting, also attended by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, covered also a number of regional and international issues of common interest, according to a statement released by the presidency. Saied praised the deep friendship between Tunisia and France in all fields, especially in the economic, social, cultural and security fields. The Tunisian President underlined the importance of further developing and diversifying the bilateral relations through joint projects and programs, in particular those related to employment, youth rehabilitation, migration, sustainable development, health and scientific and technological research. Meanwhile, Castex reiterated France's continued support for Tunisia in meeting its challenges, especially in the economic, social and health fields. The French prime minister also expressed "the commitment of the French government to strengthen bilateral cooperation and its determination to follow the projects in progress and to support French public and private investments in Tunisia," read the statement. The health crisis linked to the COVID-19 pandemic was also on the agenda of the visit. Enditem As the province announced the death of a Manitoba man in his 30s who was being treated for COVID-19 in an Ontario hospital, Alberta said it would care for as many as 10 patients to ease the crisis in Manitoba intensive care units. As the province announced the death of a Manitoba man in his 30s who was being treated for COVID-19 in an Ontario hospital, Alberta said it would care for as many as 10 patients to ease the crisis in Manitoba intensive care units. The man died of COVID-19 Tuesday, after being transferred to an Ontario intensive care unit May 20, Shared Health said Wednesday. Forty Manitobans are being treated for COVID-19 out of province and up to 10 more could be airlifted to Alberta as part of the new patient-transfer agreement announced Wednesday. Hospitals in Edmonton and Calgary will take up to 10 Manitoba patients as needed. Alberta's intensive care units have sufficient capacity to handle the extra patients, Alberta Health Services stated. "We stand with the people of Manitoba right now," Alberta Premier Jason Kenney wrote in a tweet. Hospitals in Ontario and Saskatchewan have accepted critically ill ICU patients from Manitoba as hospitals in this province are overrun with COVID-19 patients. Over the past two weeks, 48 Manitobans have been transferred out of province. On May 24, 31-year-old Krystal Mousseau of Ebb and Flow First Nation died, one day after an attempt to transfer her to Ontario. Her condition became unstable during the transfer and she was taken back to the Brandon hospital. Seven other patients who were transferred have been brought back to Manitoba to continue their recovery. Additional Manitoba patients were scheduled to be airlifted to Ontario Wednesday afternoon. Considering Manitoba's much smaller population, the per capita rate of hospitalized COVID-19 patients is double Alberta's. Per capita, Manitoba has more COVID-19 patients in hospital now than Alberta did at the peak of its third wave three weeks ago. As of Wednesday, there were 294 COVID-19 patients in Manitoba hospitals, compared with 438 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Alberta. Manitoba's ICU admissions haven't reached their anticipated peak yet, and they are already higher than the highest rates Alberta experienced in the third wave, when adjusted for population size. At Alberta's peak, there were 187 COVID-19 patients in the ICU. As of Wednesday morning, there were 127 patients in Manitoba's ICUs 69 of whom have COVID and an additional 40 patients are being treated in Ontario and Saskatchewan. Six more pandemic deaths, not including the patient who died in Ontario, and 267 new cases of COVID-19 were announced, raising Manitoba's death toll to 1,062. The provincewide test positivity rate was 11.5 per cent; 12.9 per cent in Winnipeg. Of the new cases announced, 198 are in the Winnipeg health region, 28 in Southern Health, 21 in Northern Health, 14 in Interlake-Eastern, and six in Prairie Mountain. Four of the six deaths announced Wednesday are linked to highly contagious variants of concern mostly the dominant B.1.1.7 strain, but one variant death was unspecified. katie.may@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @thatkatiemay A Manitoba government lawyer argued Wednesday that a Court of Queen's Bench judge erred last year when she found the province's public-sector wage-freeze bill to be unconstitutional. A Manitoba government lawyer argued Wednesday that a Court of Queen's Bench judge erred last year when she found the province's public-sector wage-freeze bill to be unconstitutional. Heather Leonoff told a Manitoba Court of Appeal hearing, that trial Judge Joan McKelvey failed to properly take into account a precedent-setting Supreme Court of Canada collective bargaining case, involving the federal government and the RCMP. "Broad-based, time-limited wage restraint legislation is constitutional and does not violate... the charter," Leonoff told a three-member Appeal Court panel. Last June, McKelvey called the Pallister government's 2017 Public Services Sustainability Act (Bill 28) "draconian," and ruled that it violated the charter right to association and collective bargaining. Bill 28, which was passed but never proclaimed, affects approximately 120,000 public-sector workers. It calls for two years of wage freezes followed by pay hikes of no more than 0.75 per cent and one per cent in the third and fourth years of any new public-sector agreement. The government did not violate the charter right to freedom of association with Bill 28, Leonoff argued, because there was still room for unions to "have a meaningful impact" on workplaces by bargaining other issues. "The trial judge looked at the impact of taking away a (bargaining) topic. We say that Meredith (the RCMP precedent case) says you can take away a topic," the government lawyer said. While the bill was never proclaimed, public-sector managers have used it as a template in contract talks. Shannon Carson, the lawyer for the Manitoba Federation of Labour, argued the Pallister government legislated the wage freeze because it wanted to avoid bargaining certain trade-offs in return. "They were looking to avoid having to give anything to unions in exchange for wage restraints," she told Chief Justice Richard Chartier and justices Janice leMaistre and Diana Cameron. In 2010, public-sector workers and the former NDP government negotiated wage freezes, but the provincial employees received layoff protection and other benefits in return. Carson said with wages off the table, public-sector unions had no leverage with which to bargain other issues. In the precedent-setting case cited by the government, the Supreme Court weighed the past bargaining history in the federal public sector in concluding that the rates set by the federal Expenditure Restraint Act did not infringe upon the rights of RCMP members, Carson pointed out. "So the pre-legislative history was directly relevant," she said. The Appeal Court reserved its decision after the daylong hearing. "I've been at the Court of Appeal for 15 years, and I don't think I've ever seen two factums setting out such contrasting positions," Chartier said early in the hearing, referring to written arguments submitted in advance by the two sides. larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca Governments across Canada lowered flags to half-mast this week and issued public statements acknowledging the horrific discovery of an unmarked gravesite containing the remains of 215 Indigenous children near a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. Governments across Canada lowered flags to half-mast this week and issued public statements acknowledging the horrific discovery of an unmarked gravesite containing the remains of 215 Indigenous children near a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was "heartbroken" over the discovery. Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister called it "horrifying." All agree its further evidence of Canadas racist and inhumane assimilation policies waged against Indigenous people, the impacts of which continue to be felt today. Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press FILES Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Governments are offering help to identify more unmarked graves and abandoned cemeteries used to bury deceased children who attended residential schools. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission reported six years ago the existence of many such graves and the need to locate them. More than 4,100 deaths have been identified, but the commission estimated there are likely thousands more. Finding those graves and bringing peace and closure to the affected families and communities is extremely important work. Governments, including municipalities, should do everything possible to support those efforts. However, thats not enough. The unjust and unequal treatment of First Nations, Metis and Inuit Canadians has not disappeared. Residential schools may no longer exist, but separating Indigenous children from their families and communities remains a common practice among governments through the child-welfare system. About 90 per cent of children in care in Manitoba are Indigenous. While many alternatives have been proposed over the years to keep Indigenous children in their communities (instead of sending them to non-Indigenous foster homes), governments have been slow to respond. The result is thousands of Indigenous children each year are separated from their communities and deprived of loving, caring and culturally appropriate upbringings most Canadians take for granted. Many are neglected and abused while in care and are left to fend for themselves in later years. It creates conditions that lead to higher rates of addiction, incarceration and poor health outcomes among Indigenous people. Meanwhile, the atrocious social and economic living conditions that exist on many reserves, including a lack of basic services such as safe drinking water and access to public schools, are still largely ignored by governments. They continue to lead to, among other things, economic hopelessness and high rates of suicide among Indigenous youth. By some measurements, the situation is getting worse. The proportion of Indigenous people in federal prisons has doubled, from 17 per cent to 34 per cent, in Canada from 2001 to 2020. Its higher in the Prairies: about 70 per cent of inmates at Stony Mountain Institution north of Winnipeg are Indigenous. Manitobas chief provincial public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, on Monday acknowledged the discovery of the unmarked gravesite at Kamloops, calling it "one example among thousands of Canadas history of colonization and oppression." "This terrible history is not staying in the past, though; it continues to affect Indigenous people today," he said, reminding Manitobans of the poor health outcomes and disparities among Indigenous people. "The pandemic has only further highlighted this." By some measurements, the situation is getting worse. The proportion of Indigenous people in federal prisons has doubled, from 17 per cent to 34 per cent, in Canada from 2001 to 2020. He said efforts are needed now to improve conditions among Indigenous people. Thats the point. Its important to acknowledge the past and continue to uncover the truth about residential schools and Canadas assimilation policies. The effects of those policies have caused deep-rooted and multi-generational harm. However, the structural racism and colonial mentality that drove those policies continue today. Unless governments take concrete action to change that, the public outcries and expressions of sorrow from elected officials over residential schools will be meaningless. Pat McNeil, who is dying of brain cancer and has only weeks left, is desperate to see his young daughters, but COVID-19 rules are keeping them apart. Pat McNeil, who is dying of brain cancer and has only weeks left, is desperate to see his young daughters, but COVID-19 rules are keeping them apart. "It's just cruel," said his wife Jo-Anne on Wednesday. "Two months ago, he was given two or three months left to live." McNeil, 60, is a thalidomide survivor. The drug was widely used in the 1950s and '60s to treat pregnant women with nausea, but it resulted in severe birth defects. He grew up to be a bank manager and a longtime volunteer and chairman of the Children's Rehabilitation Foundation. He was admitted to Riverview Health Centre's palliative care unit April 25. Since then, McNeil has only seen his daughters, aged 22 and 19, once; and he was allowed a single visit with his sister. "It's not like he's 90. He is 60 and he has young daughters who still live at home. I see him and then, when I get home, I console our daughters. And then I go back the next day," Jo-Anne said. In an attempt to get permission for more visits during the time he has left, she wrote to Premier Brian Pallister, the health minister, and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. ALEX LUPUL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Jo-Anne McNeil holds a family photo with her daughters Sarah and Taylor. Jo-Anne's husband Pat McNeil is weeks away from dying of brain cancer but he can only see his wife while in palliative care, not their daughters. Staff at Riverview said she could add one more designated visitor, but Jo-Anne said "that will have me pick between his sister and his two children. "I'm still not happy," she said. McNeil, who was born in 1960, was one of Manitoba's three thalidomide victims. His left arm ends at his elbow and his right arm is slightly longer. Jo-Anne said her husband never let his disability stop him: he built a rec room in their house and renovated their cottage. While raising their daughters, he said there was only one thing he wouldn't do. "He said he didn't want to bathe them because he was worried they would slip out of his grip," she said. McNeil suffered a seizure in late 2018 and was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour. Jo-Anne McNeil (from left), Sarah, Taylor, and Pat at Sarahs high school grad. (Supplied) He lived at home until he was moved to Riverview. "We couldn't do it anymore," his wife said. "But it broke our hearts. We knew as soon as he was there this would happen." Jo-Anne said the facility will allow more visitors when he is about two weeks away from dying. "As far as we know, when he gets to that point, he might be in a coma," she said. "His daughters want to see him now." The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said it wouldn't comment on individual situations. A spokesperson said visitation restrictions are due to COVID-19, and they encourage families with concerns about their individual situations to speak with the facility or the WRHA's critical client relations. A circular issued by Shared Health says because of the province's code red restrictions, visits are restricted to protect staff and their patients. Staff at Riverview said Jo-Anne could add one more designated visitor, but she said that would force her to pick between his sister and his two children. (Daniel Crump / Winnipeg Free Press files) "While preventing the spread of this virus within our facilities remains a central priority, the likelihood that COVID-19 will be a part of our 'new normal' for a longer duration requires us to find a sustainable balance between preventative measures and the many benefits of interaction between patients and their support systems, including essential partners and other visitors," the notice says. The circular does note that, when the patient is diagnosed as being in the last two weeks of their life, "a maximum of four essential care partners may be identified to visit." "Riverview could gown and glove us at the south entrance, not the main entrance, and we could take the elevator there up to his floor and never talk or touch anyone." JoAnne McNeil Of those four, two can be there at the same time as long as they stay physically distanced. Jo-Anne said she understands the need for hospitals to do what they can to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but she believes Riverview could allow more visitors. "Riverview could gown and glove us at the south entrance, not the main entrance, and we could take the elevator there up to his floor and never talk or touch anyone. It's doable. "I don't understand why they are holding back." kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca An incentive program to drive up COVID-19 immunization rates in Manitoba remains a work in progress after being announced by Premier Brian Pallister two weeks ago. An incentive program to drive up COVID-19 immunization rates in Manitoba remains a work in progress after being announced by Premier Brian Pallister two weeks ago. Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead for the COVID-19 vaccine task force, said Wednesday provincial public health officials are still in the process of developing a program. "We need to be really cautious about incentives. Its very easy for people who are already struggling with trust with the government to see incentives as something that the government is using to push people to do something that they wouldnt otherwise want to do," Reimer told a news conference. "And it can actually promote mistrust if we do it without being really cautious," she added. Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead for the COVID-19 vaccine task force, said Wednesday provincial public health officials are still in the process of developing a vaccine incentive program. (Kevin King / Pool) Two weeks ago, Pallister said the government was preparing an incentive program to increase immunization rates in the province. At the time, Pallister said achieving 75 per cent vaccine coverage would not be sufficient to protect Manitobans against the coronavirus. A program was to be announced last week after the government conducted a survey of Manitobans attitudes toward vaccine incentives, but the launch has been pushed back. Asked Tuesday about the government's plans for the immunization initiative, Pallister was non-committal. "I understand the Free Press wants us to release our vax incentive plan now but well release it in due course," Pallister said, adding no other provinces in Canada is using an incentive program. George Ripley, 72, holds up his free beer after receiving COVID-19 vaccine shot in Washington. Free beer among the latest White House-backed incentives for Americans to get vaccinated for COVID-19. (Jacquelyn Martin / The Associated Press) Some jurisdictions in the United States have already use vaccine incentives, such as lotteries, to increase uptake. In Manitoba, First Nations communities have offered band members a chance to win door prizes if they signed up for vaccination. Reimer said the Manitoba government has enlisted the help of health and risk communication experts from the University of Manitoba to help create the incentive program and ensure people are confident in the vaccine. "Part of the reason that no incentive program has been announced is we want to make sure we do it in a way that truly does incentivize people without at the same time (disincentivizing) many other people," Reimer said. The doctor said the task force is considering a variety of incentives and benefits that would be rolled out slowly. danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca Its hard to imagine why the province would turn down thousands of doses of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, especially when it has the highest per capita cases of the disease in the country. Its hard to imagine why the province would turn down thousands of doses of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, especially when it has the highest per capita cases of the disease in the country. With a race on to immunize as many Manitobans as quickly as possible, it seems inconceivable the province would not want to get its hands on as much vaccine supply as possible. Manitobas vaccine task force announced this week its refusing a shipment of 23,800 doses of AstraZeneca from the federal government. Its not doing so because the product is unsafe or ineffective. There have been reports of rare adverse effects from AstraZeneca, including blood clots. But the risks of getting very sick, including dying, from COVID-19 far exceed any risks associated with the vaccine. "When it comes to AstraZeneca, it is a safe and effective vaccine," Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead for the provinces vaccine task force, said Wednesday. "If we didnt have a strong supply of mRNA (vaccine), we would be continuing to use it." Manitobans who still want AstraZeneca as a second dose will have to hunt around for it on their own. (Daniel Crump / Winnipeg Free Press files) The reason the province says its refusing to accept any more AstraZeneca is because it has a robust supply of messenger RNA vaccines, namely Pfizer and Moderna. Now that it has decided its safe and effective for those who received a first dose of AstraZeneca to get Pfizer or Moderna as a second shot, the province doesnt need any more AstraZeneca. Until very recently, the province has said the only thing stopping it from ramping up its vaccine rollout is limited supply from the federal government. If it could get more doses from Ottawa, it could hit its target of administering 20,000 doses a day (a number it has never been close to reaching). That has changed. Manitoba now apparently has so much vaccine, it can afford to turn down supply. For Manitobans who still want AstraZeneca as a second dose, they will have to hunt around for it on their own, the province said (unlike in Saskatchewan where they're making it available at a specific location). There is no central registry to locate the 1,800-odd AstraZeneca doses left at clinics and pharmacies scattered around Manitoba. None of this makes any sense. If AstraZeneca is safe and effective, as Reimer says, and the risks of rare blood clots are even lower with a second dose (as Reimer also said), why wouldnt the province accept the 23,800 doses and get them out to clinics and pharmacies so people can decide for themselves? It would increase the provinces total vaccine supply and free up mRNA vaccines for others. The only possible downside is if vaccine hesitancy for AstraZeneca is so high that most of the 23,800 doses could be wasted. Thats what the province alluded to when asked for further clarification Wednesday. CP Ordering more AstraZeneca in the future is not off the table, the province says. (Matthias Schrader / The Associated Press files) "Manitoba has taken note of the extremely low public demand for AZ over the past several weeks while it has been available across the province and relinquished its 23,000-dose AstraZeneca supply, which could be redeployed for use in other Canadian jurisdictions," a provincial spokesperson said in an email. However, the province has provided no evidence to support that assertion. Approximately 75,000 Manitobans have received an AstraZeneca shot. Whos to say a third or more of them wouldnt want it as a second dose? To confuse matters further, Reimer says ordering more AstraZeneca in the future is not off the table. "If we see a trend in Manitoba where theres a large number of people who are not receiving that second dose this is something that we can look at again and re-evaluate what the best approach is for Manitobans." Manitoba cant wait that long. Whether the province orders the 23,800 doses of AstraZeneca will have a minimal effect on the overall rollout of 1.5 million doses. But it will have an impact, the same way keeping a stockpile of more than 40,000 doses of mRNA vaccines in freezers (the amount on hand when new shipments of Pfizer arrive every week) instead of getting them into arms earlier. These decisions, including the provinces slow start to its vaccine rollout, have a cumulative effect. They mitigate the impact vaccines have on reducing the spread of the virus and they delay the provinces reopening plans. tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca Almost daily, a local fertility clinic fields questions about whether COVID-19 vaccines are safe for women who are pregnant, trying to get pregnant or who plan to have children. Almost daily, a local fertility clinic fields questions about whether COVID-19 vaccines are safe for women who are pregnant, trying to get pregnant or who plan to have children. The answer is yes. However, such queries have been persistent, as new research about COVID-19 emerges amid a pervasive myth vaccines could cause infertility. "It is something that we are confronting, and being asked quite a bit," said Dr. Gordon McTavish, medical director of the Heartland Fertility Clinic in Winnipeg. He estimates 90 per cent of his patients are women who have been vaccinated and were eager to get the shot, but added there are others relying on misinformation on social media that has falsely linked infertility to vaccines. "The questions are out there and people are concerned," McTavish said. "But we are encouraging everybody to get the vaccine and be reassured that its a safe vaccine." The myth persists mainly among younger, otherwise healthy women. A Winnipeg nurse who works with COVID-19 patients told the Free Press some of her colleagues are reluctant to get vaccinated, and the infertility misinformation had been discussed at work. A 19-year-old woman who recently booked her vaccine appointment said fertility concerns played a part in her initial hesitation, along with the fear of injecting an "unknown substance" into her body. Both women spoke on the condition of anonymity. COVID-19 vaccines have no link to female or male reproduction, and data from other countries during the pandemic has shown no increased risk of miscarriage or ability to conceive after being vaccinated. Last week, Canadas National Advisory Committee on Immunization updated its recommendations to make clear women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should be offered both doses of an mRNA vaccine (such as Pfizer or Moderna). Pregnant women were left out of initial clinical trials, but reliable data proving its safety has since been collected, including from the United States. Dr. Vanessa Poliquin, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Health Sciences Centre Womens Hospital, and a specialist in reproductive infectious diseases, is a co-chair of the infectious diseases committee of the Society for Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada. The organization issued a statement last week reaffirming vaccines are safe for pregnant women. Poliquin said the infertility myth stems from a false belief the spike protein in the COVID-19 virus is similar to a protein required for placental implantation, and if antibodies to the virus are developed via a vaccine, the body will attack the placenta protein. "But the fact of the matter is that they are completely different proteins, so if you develop antibodies against the (COVID-19) spike protein, youre not going to develop antibodies towards this other protein required for placental implantation," Poliquin said. If the claims were true, women who have been infected with COVID-19 would be more likely to suffer miscarriages, but there is no evidence of that. A recent study of 4,000 vaccinated women in the U.S. showed no increased risk of miscarriage. Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead of Manitobas vaccine task force, addressed the infertility myth during a May 19 news conference, saying 1.5 billion doses of vaccines have been administered around the world, with no reports of fertility issues. There is evidence, however, the virus hits pregnant women harder, making them four to five times more likely to be hospitalized with a COVID-19 infection and at higher risk of pre-term birth, Poliquin said. "The risk of not being vaccinated is real, not hypothetical, and I think thats where people need to shift their focus. There is a real risk of COVID-19 and there is no scientifically substantiated risk that this vaccine affects fertility." There are normal side-effects to COVID-19 vaccines. In addition to the typical reports of sore arm, fatigue or fever, some women have reported irregular menstrual periods or noticing lumps under their arms because of swollen lymph nodes post-vaccination. Swollen lymph nodes signal a good immune response, and the uterine lining is also part of the bodys immune response system. Dr. Carol Scurfield, medical director of Womens Health Clinic, said some women have told her they had an irregular period after being vaccinated. She said thats normal and shouldnt last long. Swollen lymph nodes should only last up to six weeks. The infertility myth is still the main vaccine concern Scurfield said she hears. It makes sense some women feel very protective of their fertility and might have some distrust of the medical system, she said, but they need accurate information from people they trust including doctors, co-workers, neighbours and friends. "I think its about allowing them to express their concerns and take them seriously, and figure out what works best for them and for their families, and for the other people that theyre going to protect if they choose to vaccinate," Scurfield said. katie.may@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @thatkatiemay Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 20:33:50|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- China will hold more than 4,900 events to promote cultural and natural heritage across the country, the National Cultural Heritage Administration said Thursday. The activities are designed to celebrate this year's Cultural and Natural Heritage Day, which falls on June 12. Forums, publicity campaigns, and exhibitions will be held online and offline in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, the host city of this year's celebration. Since 2006, China has celebrated Cultural Heritage Day on the second Saturday of June. In 2017, it was renamed Cultural and Natural Heritage Day. Enditem The other indictment against Chauvin alleges he deprived a then-14-year-old boy, who is Black, of his right to be free of unreasonable force when he held the teen by the throat, hit him in the head with a flashlight and held his knee on the boys neck and upper back while he was prone, handcuffed and not resisting. According to a police report from that 2017 encounter, Chauvin wrote the teen resisted arrest and that after the teen, whom he described as 6-foot-2 and about 240 pounds, was handcuffed, Chauvin used body weight to pin him to the floor. The boy was bleeding from the ear and needed two stitches. Chauvin was convicted in April on state charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd's death. Experts say he will likely face no more than 30 years in prison when he is sentenced June 25. If convicted in the federal case, any federal sentence would be served at the same time as his state sentence. The other former officers face charges of aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and manslaughter. They are free on bond and face state trial in March. Find APs full coverage of the death of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 AUSTIN, Texas (AP) George P. Bush on Wednesday launched his next political move: a run for Texas attorney general in 2022 that puts the scion of a Republican dynasty against a GOP incumbent shadowed by securities fraud charges and an FBI investigation. Bush, who has served as Texas' land commissioner since 2015, is the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the nephew and grandson of two former presidents. He is the last of the Bush family still in public office and was the first to break with them over supporting former President Donald Trump, who has mocked the family that was once the face of the Republican Party. He is now launching the first major challenge against embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has spent six years in office under felony indictment over accusations of defrauding investors, and more recently was accused of bribery by his own former top aides. Here in Texas, we have a scandal that is plaguing one of our highest offices. And I believe conservatives should have a choice, Bush said at a campaign kickoff rally in Austin. A Reedsburg woman recently appeared in Sauk County Circuit Court after allegedly being found passed out behind the steering wheel of her vehicle holding an infant. Megan M. Lemoine, 37, was charged with felony fourth offense of drunken driving with a passenger under 16 years old, fourth offense driving with a prohibited alcohol content and a passenger under 16 and misdemeanor counts of repeatedly failing to install an ignition interlock device and resisting an officer. Circuit Court Judge Wendy J. N. Klicko set a $250 cash bond for Lemoine with the conditions that she not drive any vehicle without a valid license and properly installed device, not be around any children when consuming alcohol and maintain absolute sobriety. According to the criminal complaint, a caller reported to police that a woman was asleep with children in her car after failing to wake her up just before 6 p.m. May 25. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} A Portage inmate facing murder charges from Columbia County is also facing felony charges in Juneau County after allegedly confessing in February to robbing a Mauston hotel at gunpoint in 2019. Jason Kijewski, 43, of Portage is charged with felony armed robbery. If convicted he faces up to 40 years in prison or a fine of up to $100,000, or both. According to the criminal complaint: At about 1:52 a.m. Sept. 28, 2019, Sergeant Eric Sanner was riding with Officer Charles Immel when he was dispatched to a Mauston hotel for a female caller advising she had been robbed. While in route the officers were advised the caller was employed at a Mauston hotel, and the hotel was robbed using a firearm. Upon arrival Sanner observed empty cash drawers on the counter. In the office area a distraught employee was identified as the victim. The victim stated she was told by the suspect, who she initially described as a husky white or Hispanic 510 male, to go into the office. She stated the male entered the main entrance and asked for a room, and when told the hotel was full he produced a handgun from his pocket and demanded money. The employee complied and then contacted law enforcement after being told to wait in the office. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} NEW LISBONChester Ermon Chip Hawkins, 76, of rural New Lisbon, went to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on May 28, 2021. A bat found near the restrooms along Lakeland Avenue in Olbrich Park in Madison on Wednesday has tested positive for rabies, Public Health Madison and Dane County said Thursday. Its the fourth bat in Wisconsin, and the second in Dane County, to test positive for rabies this year, the city-county health department said. Last year, seven bats tested positive in the county. Health officials said people who suspect theyve had contact with a bat should consult their health care providers. Bats have small teeth, which leave small marks that go away quickly, John Hausbeck, environmental health supervisor for the department, said in a statement. This makes it hard to know for sure whether it bit you at all, Hausbeck said. If someone waits until they start seeing signs and symptoms of rabies, they have likely waited too long. A Sullivan man was charged with sexual assault after being found with a teen girl at his residence. Alexander Blersch, 30, was charged in Columbia County Circuit Court on Wednesday with felony use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, felony repeated sexual assault of the same child and felony abduction of a child. Judge Troy Cross set $10,000 cash bond, and Blersch remains in custody according to online records. Blersch may not have contact with the victim, her residence, her workplace, her school or any other person under the age of 18. He faces nearly a century in prison and $250,000 in fines if convicted of the charges. According to the complaint, a Columbia County Sheriffs Sergeant was dispatched to a residence in the county for a report of a missing juvenile on May 29. The witness reported her teenage granddaughter was missing when she got home from work. The girl had left a note saying that school was exhausting and that she didnt like restrictions on her cell phone. I love you, but please let me go, the note said. The complaint says that law enforcement also found two lists apparently written for the girl in second person about things to remember and what to pack, including an iPhone when the victim had a Samsung. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} You all know the story of Robin Hood. He pranced around Sherwood Forest in tights with his merry men, armed with a bow and arrow while stealing from the rich to give to the poor. In Wisconsin, we have Robin Vos. He prances around the state in his lab coat and goggles, armed with subpar intellect, while he steals from the taxpayers to give to his ego. His band of merry men are a group of Republicans who continue to allow him to pillage and blunder our tax dollars. Remember a few months back, Vos tried to use our tax dollars to hire a team of attorneys to defend the Legislatures re-districting plans. Everyone knows that our Legislature changes lines on a map to keep the chosen in office more than J Lo changes boyfriends. Voss attempt to hire some hot shot lawyers from Washington raised red flags when there was no lawsuit to defend yet. The redistricting hasnt even started as the results of the 2020 census arent back in. While Memorial Day was a milestone for a return to a sense of normalcy from the Covid-19 pandemic, it could take another two weeks to determine where the US really stands, an expert said. "In some ways, this was the first big stress test," CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen said. "We have restrictions lifted en masse, people going about their normal lives. We know that in the past, after major holidays and an increase in travel, that we then had a substantial uptick in the rate of infections." The US has had a lot to celebrate when it comes to recovery from the pandemic: More than half of the US has received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, and 12 states have reached President Joe Biden's goal of having 70% of Americans getting at least one dose by July 4. While the rate of vaccinations has slowed from a peak of 3.3 million doses to a seven-day average of about 1.1 million doses a day over the past week, an average of more than 615,000 people became fully vaccinated per day and an average of almost 523,000 additional people got a first shot each day, according to data published Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overall, more than 136 million people -- about 41% of the US population -- are fully vaccinated, and about 51% have received at least one dose of vaccine, according to CDC data. And along with increased vaccinations has come a decrease in cases. For the first time since March 2020, the US recorded a seven-day average of fewer than 20,000 new daily cases Tuesday. Less than 5% of the population lives in a county considered to have high Covid-19 transmission, according to CDC data. But Wen cautioned the US will have to wait to see if the protection of a country still not fully vaccinated can overpower the risk of forgoing masks and engaging in public settings. Even if cases plateau or taper off from their current falling rate, Wen said she worries some communities will remain vulnerable. "You have parts of the country with very low vaccination rates," she said. "I really worry about the unvaccinated people in those areas spreading coronavirus to one another." Incentives and precaution loosening in the coming weeks As the country waits to see how a weekend of celebration affects new case rates, some leaders are focusing on offering vaccine incentives while others continue to drop pandemic precautions. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Tuesday announced a vaccination incentive lottery with prizes that include $1 million, two full four-year scholarships to eligible students and 25 weekend getaways. "On Father's Day, we are going to make one of you a millionaire," Justice said. Meanwhile, Ohio Department of Health Director Stephanie McCloud signed an order rescinding a number of Covid-19-related health orders, including lifting a statewide mask mandate and opening up access to jail and detention facilities. In Kentucky, senior centers will be allowed to reopen at full capacity starting June 11, Gov. Andy Beshear said. "The reason that we can do that are vaccines. These things are miracles," he said in a statement. Dropping precautions could mean more cases But as important as vaccinations are, they might not be enough to safely drop precautions just yet, researchers reported Tuesday. Even with the majority of the population vaccinated, the removal of precautions could lead to an increase in virus spread, they reported in the medical journal JAMA Network Open. Mehul Patel, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues used a mathematical model to simulate a coronavirus spread within the population of North Carolina. They found that infections, hospitalizations and deaths would continue to rise if pandemic precautions such as quarantine, school closures, social distancing and mask-wearing were lifted while vaccines were being rolled out. "Our study suggests that, for a population of 10.5 million, approximately 1.8 million infections and 8,000 deaths could be prevented during 11 months with more efficacious COVID-19 vaccines, higher vaccination coverage, and maintaining NPIs (non-pharmaceutical interventions), such as distancing and use of face masks," they wrote. Patel and colleagues said their findings suggest it will take a coordinated effort of maximizing vaccine coverage and practicing pandemic precautions "to reduce COVID-19 burden to a level that could safely allow a resumption of many economic, educational, and social activities." Cases also decline in children Fortunately, cases also appear to be declining in children. The US reported the lowest number of new weekly Covid-19 cases among children since early October, with roughly 34,500 new child cases reported last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a Tuesday report. As of May 27, nearly 4 million children had tested positive since the pandemic's start. Children made up between 6% and 19.6% of those who were tested for Covid-19, according to the states that reported numbers, and between 5.2%-34.6% of children tested were positive for the virus, depending on the state. "At this time, it still appears that severe illness due to COVID-19 is rare among children," the report said. "However, there is an urgent need to collect more data on longer-term impacts of the pandemic on children, including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects." Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 20:50:27|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- China hopes that all parties concerned will rise above disturbances, act with greater sense of urgency, make a political decision without delay on the Iran nuclear issue, and resolve the remaining issues with a flexible and pragmatic attitude, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks in response to a media query about the negotiations in Vienna to bring the Iran nuclear deal back to life. Wang said that the current talks on reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) have made significant progress, and all parties have shown the political will to reach an agreement. There are, however, still some differences between relevant parties, which need to be bridged through tough negotiations. He stressed that China believes that the key to a breakthrough in the negotiations is to have a correct view of right and wrong. He noted that the root cause of the Iranian nuclear crisis is the United States unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA and exerted "maximum pressure" on Iran. Wang added that the U.S. should lift all unilateral sanctions against Iran and third parties, and Iran should resume full implementation of the nuclear deal on this basis. China has always participated in the negotiations in a constructive manner, Wang said, which has played a significant role in building consensus and resolving differences among all parties. "China will continue to work for an early agreement among all parties, maintain the international nuclear non-proliferation system, and safeguard peace and stability in the Middle East," Wang said, adding that China would also firmly safeguard its own legitimate and lawful rights and interests. Enditem ROME, N.Y. A Rome man was arrested Thursday and charged in the May burglary of an auto sales shop in the town of Lee. Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol says the burglary has been under investigation since May 22. Richard B. Nash, 41, has been charged with third-degree burglary and criminal mischief, both felonies. According to Maciol, Potockis Auto Sales on Turin Road reported a burglary and notified authorities about a man seen going through vehicles on the lot. Following the investigation, Nash was identified as a suspect. Maciol says Nash allegedly broke into the building to get secure keys for the vehicles. He is also accused of causing $250 worth of damage to a motor home at nearby RV Lawn and Sport Inc. Nash was processed and taken to Oneida County Correctional Facility where he is awaiting arraignment. UTICA, N.Y. -- On Wednesday, three members from Families for Safe Streets gathered on the corner of Oneida St. and the Memorial Parkway to honor those who lost their lives to fatal car crashes. This was the second day of their one-thousand mile tour across New York State to meet with lawmakers and hold rallies regarding road safety. The group has personal and emotional ties to the cause, as Co-Founder, Amy Cohen and member, Rebecca Sonkin both lost family members to car crashes. Cohen says that despite her personal struggles with this affecting her loved ones, she uses it to educate other people, and hopefully prevent this from further happening. "We pour our pain into making change so that this doesn't have to happen to everybody else." Over the next two days, Families for Safe Streets is scheduled to make stops on Long Island and New York City. FORESTPORT, N.Y. -- A large fire destroyed a home in Forestport near Otter Lake early Thursday morning. The call prompted a response from at least four local fire departments. Keith Hunt // WKTV Keith Hunt // WKTV Otter Lake Fire Chief Scott Eisenhart say two people and a dog were home when the fire broke out, but were able to get out safely. Initial 911 calls came in around 2:20 a.m. for a fully involved garage fire at 1026 Norton Road, which is located off of Lake View Road in Otter Lake. Eisenhart says the fire quickly spread to the home, and was fed by propane tanks stored in the garage. Crews arrived and called in water tankers for assistance. The fire was under control a few hours later. Fire personnel will remain on-scene for a while. The family is being assisted by the American Red Cross. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Fire crews were called to the scene from Forestport, Otter Lake, Old Forge, Stittville and Woodgate. New York State Police and medical personnel from Old Forge also responded. NEWSChannel 2 has reached out to responding fire departments to learn more. This story will be updated as more details are released. It's time now to welcome the newest members of our Morning Mug Club -- brought to you by Holland Farms Bakery & Deli. On Tuesday, June 8, Copper City Community Connection in Rome is hosting a fundraiser featuring "Scotty's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que". The drive-thru dinner will go from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. At $14.00/person, the meal includes a half chicken, salt potatoes and coleslaw! Then, join them for a socially distanced tailgate party in the parking lot to eat your dinner! To reserve your dinner, you should call 315-337-8230. This fundraiser will benefit the seniors of Copper City Community Connection. You can find their facility at 305 East Locust Street in Rome. VERNON, N.Y. New legislation that will help Vernon Downs Casino with operating costs is on its way to Gov. Andrew Cuomo for signature. The New York State Senate and Assembly passed the bill Wednesday, which extends certain provisions of the tax law for certain gaming facilities. This allows places like Vernon Downs to use money reserved for capital awards, and revenue from the New York State Gaming Commission, toward operating costs. The bill was co-sponsored by both Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-47, and Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon, D-119. I am pleased that this bill has passed the Senate and that we can provide additional assistance and support to Vernon Downs, which is critically important to the Mohawk Valley, said Sen. Griffo. This legislation will help maintain jobs at the facility, further protect the harness racing and breeding industry in Central New York and preserve the amount of education aid that the facility contributes. In 2019, a Buttenschon also sponsored legislation that allows Vernon Downs to support operating expenses with 4% of its revenue set aside for capital awards, and 75% of the funds from the gaming commission. If signed by the Cuomo, the legislation will go into effect immediately. NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. A Utica man is facing multiple charges after allegedly breaking into two homes in New Hartford on Memorial Day. New Hartford police say the suspect, later identified as 29-year-old Cody J. Darling, allegedly broke into a home on Chestnut Place around 7 a.m. Monday, while the owner was inside. According to police, when the owner confronted Darling, he left the home and started walking down the street, leaving behind a backpack with multiple items later found to have been stolen from another home several houses away. Police notified the second homeowner about the burglary, and reviewed security footage, which confirmed the suspect took the items and damaged a vehicle in the driveway. Darling was found in Utica on Tuesday, June 1, and arrested. He is charged with: Two counts of second-degree burglary Petit larceny Criminal mischief Darling was arraigned and remanded to the Oneida County jail on $50,000 bail. Police say additional charges may be filed. TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI)Franciscan Health Western Indiana's President & CEO is addressing the possibility of a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for all employees. As we've reported, IU Health is requiring full vaccination by September. However, Franciscan hasn't made a decision yet. "It's important deliberation, and we are in the thick of it as we speak," said Franciscan Health Western Indiana President and CEO Terry Wilson. Franciscan Health is in the process of deciding whether to require vaccines for all employees. IU Health has already made a decision to require them, along with proof of vaccination. "By making sure that all of our employees are protected against the disease by vaccination, we greatly reduce the likelihood that we'll be transmitting that disease to our patients or to each other," said IU Health Arnett Chief Medical Officer Dr. James Bien. However, Wilson said there are some things to be considered before a decision is made. That includes hesitancy due to the vaccines only being approved by the CDC for emergency use. "We are trying to consider all of the aspects of a mandatory vaccination program," said Wilson. Bien hopes the decision to require vaccines will set an example for other hospital systems. "I hope that people will look to this and see that this is the right thing to do," said Bien. Wilson said he respects the decision, but said Franciscan is not taking the consideration process lightly. "Safety and well being of our patients and coworkers, that's the priority going into the deliberation," Wilson said. Wilson couldn't give a time line on Franciscan's decision on employee vaccine requirements. Bien said employees can apply for an exception, but it will be reviewed by a committee. Then, a decision will be made on a case by case basis. Bottles of beer move along a conveyor belt at the Anheuser-Busch InBev NV Budweiser bottling facility in 2017. Anheuser-Busch announced June 2 it will give away free alcohol if the nation reaches President Joe Biden's goal to have 70% of US adults receive at least dose of the vaccine by July 4. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 21:05:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Soroi Eoe, minister of foreign affairs and international trade of Papua New Guinea (PNG) in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, June 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin) GUIYANG, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday held talks with Soroi Eoe, minister of foreign affairs and international trade of Papua New Guinea (PNG), in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province. Noting this year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, Wang said that the most important experience of the two countries' relations is that both sides have always been treating each other as equals and supporting each other on issues concerning core interests and major concerns. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread all over the world, Wang said, international cooperation against the pandemic cannot slacken for a moment. China is willing to continue to share its experience with PNG in fighting the pandemic, provide medical supplies, strengthen exchanges on public health management and medical technology, and promote the building of a health community with a shared future. He noted that the two economies are highly complementary and have huge potential for cooperation. China is willing to strengthen strategic docking with PNG, and deepen joint efforts to develop the Belt and Road Initiative, so as to enrich the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and better benefit people on both sides. China has been cooperating with the Pacific island countries on the basis of equality and respect and is committed to promoting their development and prosperity, Wang said. Eoe extended congratulations on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and thanked the country for its long-term support and assistance to PNG's economic and social development, especially its fight against the epidemic. Eoe said that PNG hopes to conduct governance exchanges with China, learn from China's development experience, achieve common development and prosperity, and build a community with a shared future between China and the Pacific island countries. PNG and the Pacific island countries are firmly opposed to Japan's decision to dump contaminated nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean, Eoe said, adding that PNG will join hands with other nations including China to resist Japan's irresponsible action. Enditem The JBS Beef Production Facility in Greeley, Colorado, U.S., on Tuesday, June 1. A cyberattack on JBS SA, the world's largest meat producer, has forced the shutdown of some of the largest slaughterhouses globally, and there are signs that the closures are spreading. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 21:15:48|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close -- In recent years, various surveillance projects implemented by the United States have been exposed one after the other, and most of them are carried out by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), in addition to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). -- The shocking revelations have then ignited worries across the world that the powerful U.S. surveillance network, if unconstrained, would possibly pose serious threats to global citizens' privacy and personal freedom. -- Such waves of U.S. spying, even on its own allies, have not only outraged people across the world, but also sparked widespread concerns in the international community as to what extent the United States has built its empire of hacking and wiretapping and how it could ensnare Europe. BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Big Brother is watching Europe and has been for years, and those prying eyes have haunted the continent's relationship with the United States. In recent years, various surveillance projects implemented by the United States have been exposed one after the other, and most of them are carried out by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), in addition to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). File photo taken on Oct. 26, 2013 shows a huge slogan board stands in front of the U.S. Capitol building during a protest against government surveillance in Washington D.C., the United Sates. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe) Recent reports of U.S. spying on European politicians including German Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2012 to 2014 with the help of Danish intelligence have provided yet more evidence of America's pervasive and ubiquitous monitoring of the world. Across Europe, eyebrows are being raised before U.S. President Joe Biden's first visit to the continent since he took office. The disgraceful eavesdropping reports cry out for a thorough investigation and clear explanation from the United States to soothe its spooked and indignant allies. NSA & CIA The allegations of spying come as Danish broadcaster DR reported on Sunday that the Danish Defense Intelligence Service had given the NSA open internet access to spy on senior politicians of neighboring countries, including Merkel. The NSA has purposefully obtained data and thus been able to clandestinely spy on targeted heads of state, as well as neighboring Scandinavian leaders, top politicians, and high-ranking officials in Germany, Sweden, Norway, and France from 2012 to 2014, according to DR. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Wednesday declined to comment on the media report, saying that there should be no systematic monitoring of allies, echoing an earlier statement by the country's defense minister. "I don't think it is correctly stated that there is a need to restore relations with France or Germany. We have an ongoing dialogue, and we have it in the intelligence field," she told local media Ritzau. It seems like deja vu all over again for both the NSA and Merkel. In 2013, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA was listening in on German government phone lines, including Merkel's. File photo taken on Nov. 1, 2013 shows Edward Snowden's letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the German parliament and German federal prosecutors. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan) The shocking revelations have then ignited worries across the world that the powerful U.S. surveillance network, if unconstrained, would possibly pose serious threats to global citizens' privacy and personal freedom. Germany is a close ally of the United States. When those allegations were made, the White House gave no outright denial but said Merkel's phone was not being bugged at the time and would not be in the future. File photo taken on Nov. 1, 2013 shows Christian Stroebele, the then German Green party lawmaker, showing the letter from Edward Snowden during a press conference in Berlin, Germany. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan) In addition to the NSA, the United States has the CIA, another major intelligence agency in the country capable of exploiting vulnerabilities in mobile phones, computers and smart TVs. In 2017, WikiLeaks published what it described as the "biggest ever leak of secret CIA documents" detailing the tools it uses to break into phones, communication apps and other electronic devices. According to the documents, the CIA attack team did the following: hacked network routers; hacked smart TVs and fake-shut them down to eavesdrop; hacked smart vehicle control systems to perform assassinations; developed attack tools against Apple phones and Google Android systems; and intruded on operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X and Linux. ANGRY & WORRIED EUROPE Following DR's revelations, European countries immediately issued censure on Washington, and urged the world's sole superpower to explain itself as soon as possible. France and Germany have deplored the alleged spying as "unacceptable," and demanded "full clarity" from the U.S. side. French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called for "complete transparency and resolution of the matter by our Danish and American partners." In response, Merkel said she "could only agree" with Macron's comments, adding she was "reassured" by Danish Minister of Defense Trine Bramsen's condemnation of any such spying. In Paris, French Minister for European Affairs Clement Beaune told France Info radio that the DR report needed to be checked and that, if confirmed, it would be a "serious" matter. "These potential facts, they are serious. They must be checked," he said, adding there could be "some diplomatic protests." "It is extremely serious, we need to see if our partners in the EU, the Danes, have committed errors or faults in their cooperation with American services," he noted. Jens Holm, a member of the Swedish Parliament, called for an investigation into "who exactly was monitored, when and how." "This is extremely outrageous," Holm told local media, adding that the situation elicits memories of the Cold War. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday called for an investigation into the spying scandal. "The nations involved in the case are NATO allies and must put all the facts on the table and find out what actually happened," he told DR. In fact, the latest eavesdropping is just one of a series of U.S. espionage scandals, both domestic and overseas, the most notorious one of which was the Prism Project revealed by Snowden in 2013. Under the project, the NSA accessed emails, documents, photographs, and other sensitive user data stored at big companies. File photo taken on March 18, 2015 shows Edward Snowden on the display of a camera during a live remote interview at CeBIT 2015, the world's top trade fair for information and communication technology, in Hanover, Germany. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan) Such waves of U.S. spying, even on its own allies, have not only outraged people across the world, but also sparked widespread concerns in the international community as to what extent the United States has built its empire of hacking and wiretapping and how it could ensnare Europe. Swedish Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist said on state broadcaster SVT on Sunday that he "asked to be fully informed about matters concerning Swedish citizens, companies and interests." "And then we have to see how the answer sounds from a political side in Denmark," Hultqvist said, adding that he had been "in contact with Denmark's defense minister to ask if Danish platforms have been used to spy on Swedish politicians." (Video reporter: Lin Jing; Video editor: Zhao Xiaoqing) At a school board meeting on May 26, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) officials announced plans to require full-time, in-person learning starting in the fall, with few exceptions. The move to end remote learning in Chicago and throughout the state, even while large numbers of parents continue to keep their children learning safely at home, is part of a national campaign to declare an end to the pandemic and send both children and workers back to unsafe buildings to increase the wealth of the superrich. A report in the Chicago Sun-Times about the plans, which have not been finalized, suggests in-person attendance will be mandatory for all students, except for those who are medically fragile and immunocompromised. This is in line with comments made in early May by CPS CEO Janice Jackson, who said she was looking to the state to get us back to normal from a schooling perspective where everyone is expected to go to school in a brick-and-mortar building every single day unless there are extenuating circumstances, medical circumstances, that prevent them from coming to school. A sign from the school community supporting Chicago educators last January Orders from the state to reopen came on May 19, as the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) voted unanimously to endorse a declaration by State Superintendent Carmen Ayala, which stated, Beginning with the 2021-22 school year, all schools must resume fully in-person learning for all student attendance days, with only those children, who remain ineligible to receive a vaccine and remain under a quarantine order by a local public health department or the Illinois Department of Public Health, being granted the option of remote learning. Given the speed at which all levels of government around the country have been shedding public health measures, it is unlikely any such quarantine orders will remain. This means unvaccinated children, even those under 12, who are not expected to be eligible until September at the earliest, will be expected to attend, putting themselves, their family and friends at risk of contracting COVID-19. As CPS spokesman James Gherardi commented following the ISBE resolution, This is what the district has been working towards, and there seems to be a consensus at all levels of government that opening schools full-time in the fall is a critical priority. Other school districts throughout Illinois have followed suit, including U-46 in Elgin, the second largest in the state with around 36,000 students. Officials there plan to require parents to produce signed statements from a medical provider for their children to qualify for remote learning. At the board meeting which approved these plans, board member Melissa Owens questioned the decision, noting, Where Im getting a little tripped up is the fact that we still will have a sizable population coming back on August 16 that most likely will not have access to the vaccine. Indeed, while the state has been touting the fact that 67 percent of adults have received at least one dose of a vaccine, only 41.6 percent of the total population of Illinois is fully vaccinated, according to IDPH, owing to the low rate of vaccination among children especially. In Illinois, 16 year olds only became eligible to receive the vaccine in mid-April and those ages 12-15 in mid-May. The danger remains that a return to normal activities without a global plan for vaccination and suppression of the disease will allow new and more dangerous coronavirus variants to circulate and further mutate, with the potential that new variants develop that are entirely resistant to the vaccines. The consensus to reopen is by no means limited to Illinois. It has been just three weeks since May 13, the day the CDC lifted its masking recommendations, and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten delivered a speech stating, There is no doubt: Schools must be open. In person. Five days a week. Since then, school districts around the country, including the very largest and those hit hard by COVID-19, have announced full-time, in-person learning for the fall. Chicagos announcement was paralleled by similar decisions in both New York City and Los Angeles, the two largest school districts in the country. As in those cities, Chicago officials have struggled with low attendance numbers driven largely by the reluctance of working class parents to send their children into unsafe environments. According to CPS data, only 22 percent of students attended in-person classes the week of April 19, while in New York City, 61 percent are still attending remotely. In Los Angeles, the parents of roughly 70 percent of children kept their kids learning safely at home. In New York City, Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio pointed to the economic considerations underlying the reopening, saying, You cant have a full recovery without full strength schools, everyone back, sitting in those classrooms, kids learning again. In New York, students will not be given an easy option to continue remote learning, while educators and staff will no longer be granted accommodations to work remotely. In Detroit Public Schools, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti quoted Weingarten in announcing the districts reopening plans, and said that students receiving special education services, those with attendance issues and English language learners, among others, would be required to attend in-person, according to Chalkbeat. Even though students receiving these services are more likely to have medically vulnerable or unvaccinated family members and social contacts, only those the district deems less at risk of academic failure, that is, more well-off students, will be allowed to continue learning remotely. One goal of many of the districts announcing an end to remote learning is to reduce staffing challenges and cut additional costs relating to online education. This attitude comes across clearly in the statement by New Orleans Public Schools Superintendent Henderson Lewis Jr., who announced recently, When our schools reopen for the 2021-22 school year, our schools will not be required to offer distance learning, except in very specific situations, such as quarantines. He admitted, But overall, our expectation is that schools serve students at school and that families who have not returned come back in August. Californias second largest school district, San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD), is also planning for a return to full-time, in-person learning in the fall, as are many other districts in the area, including Sweetwater Union High School District. SDUSD School Board President Richard Barrera noted that many mitigation measures may be scrapped by the time the school year starts, saying, Those guidelines around mask-wearing, around distancing, around small cohorts, all of those measures that are in place right now, may look differently in the fall. One of the most important considerations for the ruling class in pushing the return to school is to boost the labor force participation rate, which during the pandemic had plummeted to levels not seen since the mid-1970s. Total non-agricultural employment in Illinois, for example, totaled just 5.7 million in April of this year, compared with 6.2 million in April 2019, a loss of 500,000 jobs. Additionally, the unemployment rate remains at 7.1 percent, nearly twice the pre-pandemic figure of 3.7 percent in March 2020. The reopening of schools to serve as child care is a crucial part of the plans to reopen the wider economy and keep the profits flowing to the billionaires. Following the lead of Weingarten, teachers union officials at CPS and elsewhere have made no move to oppose the plans to reopen schools for fully in-person learning. Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) President Jesse Sharkey has limited himself to perfunctory calls for the district to set a target for student vaccinations and extend outreach efforts, saying, We cant paper over the fact that CPS parents and students are not getting vaccinatedat least not at the rates we need. The reality is that Sharkey and the CTU have worked hand in glove with the school district to carry out the reopening of schools. In March, it was revealed that Sharkey himself was involved in crafting the district messages to CPS families and educators regarding reopening plans and had even proposed wording changes to the letter the district sent out. The Chicago Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee was formed in January as a genuinely democratic organization of rank-and-file educators, parents and students, independent of the CTU and the Democratic Party. We call on all Chicago educators, parents and students to join this committee today and fight to put a stop to the unsafe reopening plans. Rebekah Jones, a former Florida Department of Health employee, has been granted whistleblower status a year after being fired for speaking out against the state governments campaign to reopen schools and workplaces amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Inspector General Michael J. Bennett informed Jones attorneys May 28 that she met the criteria set down in state law for whistleblower status, which begins a process of investigation to determine whether her complaints are justified by the evidence. The Miami Herald reported Bennett said Jones complaints demonstrate reasonable cause to suspect that an employee or agent of an agency or independent contractor has violated any federal, state or local law, rule or regulation. Under the states whistleblower rules, Jones could be reinstated to her previous job or be eligible for compensation if an investigation finds her firing was in retaliation for the concerns she raised. In the complaint, filed July 17, 2020, Jones alleged she was fired for opposition and resistance to instructions to falsify data in a government website. She described being asked to bend data analysis to fit predetermined policy and delete data from public view after questions from the pressactions she claimed represent an immediate injury to the public health, safety, and welfare, including the possibility of death to members of the public. Jones, a geographer specializing in Geographic Information System (GIS) data science, who helped build Floridas online presentation of its COVID-19 data, garnered national attention for refusing to strategically manipulate the information to minimize the severity of the pandemic. At the time, Florida was an epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who had been pushing to reopen the state for commerce, bitterly denounced Jones and claimed she displayed insubordination and blatant disrespect for her colleagues. DeSantis said he felt that it was best to terminate her employment. Within a few weeks of being fired, Jones launched her own website to keep track of Floridas COVID-19 information. Her website, COVID Monitor, uses the same data science software and data extraction techniques Jones had used to build the Florida Department of Health dashboard. Jones new website included an enhanced metric with hospital bed availability by facility, something that was not being publicly reported. Jones also continued to raise doubts about the official figures reported by the Health Department and challenge the drive to reopen schools and workplaces. The Florida Department of Health filed a complaint against Jones on November 10 alleging she gained unauthorized access to a department messaging system. The message urged health officials to speak up before another 17,000 people are dead. You know this is wrong. You dont have to be a part of this. Be a hero. Speak out before its too late. Jones denied the hacking allegations, which were quickly proven to be false. Still, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced they had issued a search warrant after suspecting Jones of being responsible for a computer hack into the health department website. Police also claimed she downloaded unauthorized health department state data. On December 2, Jones and two colleagues published an article in US News & World Report critical of the reopening of schools across the country. The article noted that more than 1 million children had been infected with COVID-19 by that time. Our data demonstrates that schools are not the safe havens or silos some believed they would be, and that they in fact contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in a number of ways, they wrote. In our opinion, the data suggests schools are NOT safe and DO contribute to the spread of the virusboth within schools and within their surrounding communities, the article concluded. Jones exposure of the disastrous herd immunity policy made her a target and officers raided her home on December 7, pointing their guns at Jones husband and children. During the raid, police seized Jones phone, all her computers, and other equipment she used to keep Florida COVID Action up-to-date. She also said flash drives seized by the police contained proof that state officials were lying in January about things like internal reports and notices from the CDC, in addition to evidence of illegal activities by the state. She compared the scene to a Nazi raid, saying police intended to terrorize her and use her as an example. This was DeSantis. He sent the gestapo, she tweeted shortly after the raid. This is what happens to scientists who do their job honestly. This is what happens to people who speak truth to power. Jones later turned herself in to police after they issued a warrant for her arrest in January. The COVID Monitor documented that at least 491,403 students and 206,894 educators have been infected in K-12 schools across the US. An additional 74,944 cases linked to schools have not been specified. The Florida state government and the ultra-right have stepped up their campaign against Jones in recent months. DeSantis recently hired as his press secretary Christine Pushaw, the author of a vicious smear attack on Jones in the right-wing magazine Human Events . Rebekah Jones was silenced because of her efforts to tell the truth about the pandemic, which threatened the ruling classs drive to end health and safety restrictions. Just as with whistleblowers Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden, Jones is being persecuted for the crime of telling the working class the truth: in this case, about the pandemic and the criminal response of the state and federal governments. Addressing an audience of several hundred supporters of QAnon and other ultra-right tendencies Sunday, retired US Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, former Trump national security adviser, indicated his support for a Burma-style military coup to overturn the elected government of Democrat Joe Biden. Michael Flynn leaving federal court in Washington, DC, 2019. [Photo credit: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File] Flynn was one of a number of top Trump aides and spokesmen for the big lie of a stolen election to address the For God & Country Patriot Roundup held at a downtown Dallas, Texas hotel. Trump won, he told the crowd. He won the popular vote, and he won the electoral college vote. The ultra-right crowd was drawn from supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory (which claims the Democratic Party is controlled by Satanist pedophiles and that Trump will lead a violent campaign of extermination against his enemies) and other fascistic elements. The website of the event declares, For three days, you will have the opportunity to hear from some of your favorite Patriots and Digital Soldiers in both keynote speeches and panel forums You will also have the opportunity to meet and interact with these people, as well as meet fellow Patriots from around the country and world. Press accounts indicated that there was general excitement in the crowd over the possibility of a pro-Trump military coup modeled on that in Myanmar, where the military intervened in February after an election won by Aung San Suu Kyi, overturned the election results and imprisoned her, precipitating a series of protests and rebellions in which soldiers have slaughtered hundreds, if not thousands. References to the Myanmar example drew frequent applause at the three-day event. At one point, when Flynn was taking questions from the audience, a participant who identified himself as a former Marine asked him why what happened in Minamar [sic] cant happen here. There was laughter and shouts of approval. Flynn replied, No reason. I mean, it should happen here. No reason. Thats right. The retired general later tried to walk back his comment, and even claimed that he had meant the opposite, that there is no reason it should happen here, and that press reports to the contrary were fake news. The multiple YouTube videos of the event, however, together with the enthusiastic response from the crowd, make it clear that he was endorsing a military coup. These remarks are consistent with the anti-democratic sentiments Flynn has expressed repeatedly since Trumps defeat last November 3. At one critical meeting at the White House on December 18, Flynn argued for Trump declaring martial law, seizing control of voting machines in key battleground states like Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and ordering a revote under military supervision. He then appeared on the pro-Trump network Newsmax and urged deploying military capabilities to swing states to rerun an election in each of those states. He continued, People out there talk about martial law like its something that weve never done, adding, Martial law has been instituted 64 times. Flynn did not speak at the January 6 rally at the White House which directly preceded the attack by Trump supporters on the Capitol. It is likely that he was otherwise engaged, in the behind-the-scenes efforts to facilitate the attack, since his brother, General Charles Flynn, was participating in Pentagon meetings which delayed a military response to defend the Capitol. There is apparently an expectation in fascistic circles of impending pro-Trump military intervention. Some of this is being whipped up in conjunction with Trumps resumption of public political campaigning, after a period when he was compelled to avoid mass rallies, partly from concerns over coronavirus, but largely because of the enduring stench of the January 6 coup attempt. Trump will make his first public appearance since the CPAC conference in February when he addresses the North Carolina state Republican convention as the keynote speaker of its fundraising dinner Saturday night. The meeting is closed to the press and will not be broadcast or livestreamed. Public rallies, on a schedule as yet undefined, would reportedly begin later in the month in Ohio and Florida. Attorney Sidney Powell, one of Flynns fellow-speakers in Dallas, recently predicted that Trump would be restored to power by August. Trump recently expressed a similar sentiment to some of his close supporters, although he did not give any details of how this would be accomplished. Powell did not spell this out either, in her remarks in Dallas. He can simply be reinstated, she said of Trump, as the crowd cheered. And Biden is told to move out of the White House. She continued, And President Trump should be moved back in. Im sure theres not going to be credit for time lost, unfortunately. Because the Constitution itself sets the date for inauguration. But he should definitely get the remainder of his term and make the best of it. Thats for sure. Powell is currently fighting a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems over her repeated false charges that the company was involved in a plot to rig the election for Biden. Her own attorneys, in a court filing in March related to the lawsuit, wrote that reasonable people would not accept as fact her statements about election rigging. It should be pointed out that those addressing the Dallas conference included elected officials and top Republican Party leaders. Among them were Representative Louie Gohmert, who defended the January 6 attack on the Capitol, declaring it wasnt just right-wing extremists in there, and Texas state Republican Party Chairman Allen West, a former congressman from Florida. This only underscores the transformation of the Republican Party as a whole into an instrument of openly fascistic forces, which scarcely make an effort to conceal their support for violent and anti-democratic methods to maintain or reclaim political power. Iran was struck with two major fires in the past two days. The first one ravaged and then sank a naval vessel, the Kharg, reportedly the largest ship in the Iranian fleet. After a 20-hour battle to extinguish the blaze, the ship sank Wednesday near the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The second fire erupted Wednesday at a petrochemical plant in southern Tehran, sending up a thick cloud of smoke that could be seen throughout the city. The Kharg, the largest warship in the Iranian navy, caught fire and later sank on Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman. (Source: Iranian army via AP) Iranian authorities said that the cause of the fire that sank the Kharg, named after the island that serves as Irans main oil terminal, was under investigation. The ship was 40 years old and used for support and training purposes. There were 400 crew members and trainees on board when the fire began. There were no deaths or serious injuries reported. Spokesmen for Irans petrochemical industry said that the fire at the plant in southern Tehran began in one of its gas pipelines and spread to a gas tank. They said that no one was injured in the fire and rejected the possibility that the blaze was the result of sabotage. The two blazes have taken place in a tense environment characterized by repeated attacks on Iranian targets by Israels spy agency, Mossad. It has been standard operating procedure for Israel to neither confirm nor deny such attacks. For its part, Tehran for its own reasons has at times been loath to acknowledge Mossads ability to strike with impunity against targets on the soil of Iran or off its coast. Israeli attacks on Iran have included the detonation of a bomb inside the countrys main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz in April, which had the potential of triggering a catastrophic chemical or radiation disaster. This provocation was timed to coincide with the resumption of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington on the revival of the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and the major powers, a deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The Trump administration unilaterally abrogated the agreement in 2018, imposing a maximum pressure sanctions campaign that has led to soaring poverty rates in Iran and stymied the countrys attempts to obtain vital medical supplies to combat an accelerating spread of the coronavirus. The two latest fires erupted just as the latest round of talks between the remaining parties to the JCPOAIran, China, Russia, Britain and Germany, along with the European Unionwas wrapping up in Vienna. While the Iranian delegate to the talks expressed optimism that outstanding obstacles to the deals revival could be resolved, the US administration of President Joe Biden has thus far taken the position that, as a precondition, Iran must roll back its increases in enrichment and stockpiles of uranium it built up in response to Washingtons illegally violating the agreement and reimposing sanctions. Washington is also reportedly pressing Tehran for further concessions on its conventional missile program as well as demanding that it surrender its influence in the broader Middle East, bowing to the US quest for hegemony. Also in April, Mossad carried out a mine attack on the Iranian military vessel Saviz, which had been deployed in the Red Sea by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as part of its anti-piracy efforts. The mining was part of a continuing campaign of attacks by Israel on Iranian shipping, particularly vessels bound for Syria, which is dependent upon Iran for oil imports. Tensions in the region have increased in the context of the crisis in Israel, where a change of government was imminent on Wednesday that would end 12 years in power by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On Tuesday, presiding over a change in command at Mossad, Netanyahu issued new threats against Iran, signaling that Israel would not be bound by any agreement reached between Washington and Tehran. If we need to chooseI hope it doesnt happenbetween friction with our great friend the United States and eliminating the existential [Iranian nuclear] threateliminating the existential threat takes precedence, he said. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who was on his way to Washington to request another billion dollars worth of US military aid to replenish the stockpiles Israel expended in its 11-day onslaught on the besieged occupied territory of Gaza last month, described Netanyahus remark as provocative. The incoming head of the Mossad spy agency, David Barnea, was even more explicit, however. The Iranian program will continue feeling Mossads might, he said. We are well acquainted with the nuclear program and its various components, we know personally the factors that operate in it and also the forces that drive them. The new Mossad chief also indicated that Israel would not limit its actions in deference to a renewed Iranian nuclear accord. The agreement with world powers that is taking shape only reinforces the sense of isolation in which we find ourselves on this issue, he said. I say it clearlyno, we do not intend to act according to the majority opinion since this majority will not bear the consequences for the erroneous assessment of this threat. In reality, Washington has voiced no opposition to Israeli attacks on Iran. Biden and his secretary of state, Antony Blinken, have endlessly repeated the refrain that Israel has the right to defend itself, even during the recent massive aerial bombardment that claimed the lives of at least 253 Palestinians in Gaza. For all the bluster by Israeli politicians about a supposed existential threat from Irans nuclear program, the greatest danger to the interests of the countrys capitalist ruling class comes from within, as was exposed by the widespread demonstrations and general strike by Palestinian citizens of Israel in opposition to the assault on Gaza and the Israeli police crackdowns and ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem. Underlying this revolt are the immense internal contradictions of Israeli society as a whole. Among the most unequal of the OECD countries, the country has a poverty rate of over 20 percent and the worlds greatest concentration of billionaires. The greatest fear within Israels capitalist oligarchy is that the emergence of mass opposition among Israeli Palestinians, who make up 20 percent of the population, will be joined by struggles of the Jewish working class, fatally undermining the entire Zionist project. To counter this threat, the countrys ruling camarilla resorts to fomenting rabid nationalism and anti-Arab chauvinism, on the one hand, and attempting to divert growing social tensions outward through unrelenting militarism. If the Israeli ruling establishment succeeds in forming a new government without Netanyahu, it will do nothing to defuse the attacks and provocations against Iran and the threat that they will precipitate a regional war that would rapidly draw in the major powers. Members of the Health Workers Action Committee (HWAC) in Sri Lanka, recently met and discussed the need to rally support for the International Committee of the Fourth Internationals call for an International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC). Committee members also enthusiastically discussed the May Day online rally speeches. The pandemic crisis in neighbouring India, under the right-wing government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the worsening toll of the virus in Sri Lanka, is taking place amid a resurgence of the coronavirus internationally, which underscores the necessity for workers to take independent action. Kandy hospital nurses protest in July 2020. One placard calls for nurses to be paid outstanding allowances for treating COVID-19 patients. Another says We don't want to be called Health Heroes, living in luxury quarantine hotels. Pay us the outstanding allowances. (WSWS Media) Capitalist governments have created unbearable conditions for workers everywhere, particularly those in the health sector. This is provoking an increasing wave of working-class struggles, which poses the need for an internationally-unified movement of workers around the world. Coronavirus deaths in India have surpassed 300,000, along with almost three million infections, according to the understated official figures. Thousands of frontline workers are among those who have perished. Indian doctors associations have reported the deaths of more than a thousand of their colleagues from COVID-19. Available information shows more than 300 health workers have been infected in Sri Lanka, with at least five deaths reported so far. On May 10, the Sri Lankan health ministry issued a circular, banning workers in public institutions from speaking to the media. The circular warned that disciplinary action would be taken against those who criticise government health policies. Seeking to intimidate workers, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared that any problems should be reported to him, not to the media. This censorship was imposed as leading medical specialists warned that there would be a catastrophe, unless the government took effective health measures and imposed a lockdown of non-essential services. Frontline workers have also faced a lack of hospital beds, ICUs, PCR tests and oxygen shortages. Another recent circular, issued by the authorities, asked health employees to wash their hands and take precautions to avoid infection. It warned against any negligence on the part of employees, establishing a pretext for blaming health workers for rising case numbers in the sector. In fact, it is the government that is not providing adequate PPE (personal protection equipment) for hospital workers and employees at other frontline facilities. Hospitals are overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. Inundated with increasing requirements, workers in the sector have shown great dedication. Health workers have staged protests outside some hospitals, and are boycotting work to demand proper protection. They also face overdue wages and other payments. At the recent Health Workers Action Committee (HWAC) meeting, participants discussed the repeated statements of Indian Prime Minister Modi, to the effect that his governments main task was to save the country from lockdown, even as workers and the poor are dying in the streets from COVID-19. They noted the parallels with Rajapakses assurances to big business that he will not close factories or shut non-essential workplaces. The HWAC has also supported the Socialist Equality Partys campaign to defend the Alton plantation workers, who have been victimised in a witch-hunt launched by the company and police, with the support of the trade unions, including the Ceylon Workers Congress. A recent statement issued by the HWAC noted: The state repression in Alton is not just directed against these workers, but is an attempt to intimidate all other sections of the working class, including in the health sector, now coming forward to fight the governments attacks. It must be defeated. The HWAC welcomes the rank-and-file committees formed by workers in the US, Europe and Australia. It also pledged to support the struggle launched by the London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Committee against the sacking of one of its members, David OSullivan, for upholding workers rights to health and safety. Everywhere, the trade unions are taking the side of the capitalist class, the major corporations and governments, which prioritise profit before workers safety and lives. As the WSWS International May Day Rally explained, the aim of the global initiative to build the IWA-RFC is to develop a genuine, broad-based movement of the international working class by freeing workers in all countries from the existing nationalist, pro-capitalist and anti-democratic trade unions. Workers are facing a common enemy in the decaying capitalist system. Amid a deepening of the coronavirus pandemic, the imperialist powers are preparing for war. The US, with its allies, is targeting China. The HWAC meeting discussed the fact that the fight against the pandemic, and the mounting threat of war, requires the unity of the international working class, based on a socialist program. Nurses who support the HWAC made the following comments. A nurse from Wathupitiwala Hospital: Even though the US is the most powerful and richest country, its governments only concern is for the big companies. The mass death of people has been a minor issue for them. They have tried to keep their production ticking at the expense of workers. Although the US has the capability to protect its people, what I see is the government didnt do that. Now the US is trying to deceive the world by labelling COVID as a Chinese virus, and blaming the government there for this global crisis. Even though Sri Lanka is smaller in size, what has been happening is almost the same. Everywhere, the governments are listening only to big business. This economy is based on profit. When they locked down the country last year, the government did not provide any compensation to needy workers. One reason not to lockdown is that governments would have to provide living allowances to needy people. The vaccine-producing companies are also trying to maximise their profits. And from what I can see, these governments are not really interested in vaccinating workers and the poor. Even though we begin small with this action committee, I think we can spread throughout the world. I think, in the future, these kinds of action committees could be the workers global movement. A nurse from Kandy Hospital: I read the ICFI statement, Forward to the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees! and it helped me realise how big businesses are making super profits from this pandemic. We in the health service, and all sectors of workers, want to eradicate this deadly disease, but capitalist big businesses want to continue their profiteering. As the whole world is interconnected like a village, and the virus spreads through international travel, it can only be eradicated through a global effort. We also need international collaboration to get the vaccines, because this country is not in a position to manufacture its own. Hence inoculation also boils down to the burning need for a global effort. As explained, this program of an international workers alliance has been tested out in the history of the working-class movement. Even though this program is a challenging task, the coronavirus pandemic is extending year by year, and there is no escape route under capitalism. To mobilise the wealth of society to end the pandemic, the working class must fight for the expropriation of the banks and corporations. This can be implemented through the proposed action committees. Because we face life and death questions with this pandemic, we must come forward to fight for an alternate socialist perspective. The following speech was given by Deepal Jayasekera, the assistant national secretary of the Socialist Equality Party (Sri Lanka), to a May 30 online meeting, The COVID-19 pandemic and the need for a socialist strategy. COVID-19 is surging throughout India like a tsunami, ravaging the lives of tens of millions of people. The working class and oppressed masses are bearing the brunt of this horrific crisis. According to official figures, Indias total number of coronavirus cases is now over 27 million and deaths over 320,000. Underscoring the ferocity of the pandemics second wave in India, more than 15 million of these cases have been recorded in just the past eight weeks. After repeatedly recording the worlds highest numbers of daily cases and deaths for a single country, over 400,000 and over 4,000 respectively, India is now reporting over 200,000 daily COVID-19 cases and over 3,000 daily fatalities. Despite the attempts by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to exploit the relative decline in daily cases and deaths to boast the pandemic is on a downward trend, the reality is that it continues to rage. One reason for the recent decline in recorded infections is that COVID-19 is now running rampant through Indias vast rural population, where testing and health infrastructure are all but non-existent. Even when the official figures were at their peak, they represented a vast underestimation of the true extent of the catastrophe. India has maintained an extremely low rate of COVID-19 testing throughout the pandemic, ensuring that many cases go undetected. Even prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, only a quarter of deaths in India were medically certified. Many medical experts have warned that the real death toll is likely five to ten times the official figure. This would mean that a staggering 20,000 to 40,000 people have been dying every single day since mid-April. Although the pandemic is a biological phenomenon, the main reasons for the immense and ongoing health and social disaster are political. The threat of a global pandemic was both foreseeable and foreseen, but the capitalist profit system proved utterly incapable of preparing for such a predictable event and of taking the necessary containment measures once it had erupted. Governments in every country, from the imperialist centres of North America and Europe to the right-wing capitalist regimes in India and Pakistan, cut health budgets and starved their health care systems for decades, leaving them in no condition to deal with the surge of sick patients. Then, as the virus began to spread, they prioritised the protection of corporate profits over the safeguarding of human lives. Businesses were allowed to stay open, financial and social support were denied to workers, and millions were allowed to die because, in the words of US President Trump and the New York Times, The cure cant be worse than the disease. The global capitalist elites callous indifference to human life finds its sharpest expression in the mass death currently occurring in India. Its dilapidated health care system has been overwhelmed. COVID-19 patients are dying in the streets and in their homes due to the lack of basic medical facilities like oxygen, ICU beds, and ventilators. Thousands of people severely ill with the virus cant even get admitted to a hospital because they are full of patientssometimes two to a bed. Dead bodies are being thrown en masse into rivers or buried in unmarked graves. The Modi government was warned as early as February about rising COVID-19 infections and the threat of a catastrophic second wave but chose to do nothing. His BJP, together with the opposition parties, held mass rallies throughout March and most of April for state elections and the government permitted mass religious festivals, like the Kumbh Mela, and other events with hundreds of thousands of participants to go ahead. Even as the official daily death toll passed 3,000, Modi adamantly opposed a national lockdown to control the disease, declaring in an address to the nation on April 20 that his governments aim was to save the country from a lockdown not the Indian people from the pandemic. In a further obscene demonstration of the Modi governments and Indian ruling class avarice and indifference to human life, New Delhi is refusing to guarantee free vaccines and vaccinations for all, even though this would cost the government a mere $6.4 billion or 0.32 percent of Indias GDP. As a result, hundreds of millions of impoverished Indians, for whom the cost of a single dose is the equivalent of one or more days wages, will likely never get inoculated. Under the current lockdowns implemented by various state governments, almost all industries are deemed essential, forcing workers to labour under unsafe conditions and put their lives and those of their loved ones at risk. This has led in recent weeks to scores of worker deathsmost obscured by a corporate-government conspiracy of silence throughout the country. This includes at least ten workers at the Hyundai Motors plant and five workers at Renault-Nissans car plant in the Sriperumbur-Oragadam industrial belt located on the outskirts of Chennai. There has also been a wave of deaths in Indias other major automaking centre, the Gurgaon-Manesar industrial belt in the northern state of Haryana. This includes at least five workers at the Maruti Suzuki car assembly plant in Gurgaon, two workers at a Honda plant and one worker at the Tata Motors facility. These deaths, together with those of hundreds of thousands of people across India, are the direct product of policies pursued by the Modi government and the entire Indian ruling elite both during and prior to the emergence of the pandemic. For decades, governments at both central and state levelsincluding those led by the Congress Party, regional and casteist bourgeois parties like the BSP, the Samajwadi Party, and in Tamil Nadu the DMK and AIADMK, and the Stalinist parliamentary parties, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM and the Communist Party of India (CPI)have maintained state spending on health care at the starvation level of 1.5 percent of GDP, leaving hospitals and clinics totally unprepared for COVID-19. Indias devastating second wavea man-made catastrophe When the pandemic first emerged in January 2020, the Modi government blithely ignored the impending danger for more than three months. Then, fearing the consequences of its callous class-based indifference towards the lives of the population, Modi made an abrupt about-face, and without planning or warning announced a calamitous nationwide lockdown on March 24, 2020. Modis ill-prepared lockdown included no more than famine-style relief for the hundreds of millions of workers made jobless overnight. Add to this the governments failure to deploy systematic mass testing and contact tracing, and its steadfast refusal to inject massive resources into the ramshackle health care system, and it is easy to see why the lockdown was a total failure. The disastrous impact of the BJPs lockdown was shown most graphically by the fate of the migrant workers, who were forced in their millions to return to their distant home villages from Indias major cities on foot. Rendered penniless and often homeless by the lockdown, these workers were driven to seek refuge in their villages, and in the process, in many cases, inadvertently brought the COVID-19 virus with them. At the behest of the corporate and financial elites, the Modi government began as of late April last year to reopen the economy and persisted in doing so, although infections and deaths grew in lockstep with the dismantling of COVID-19 restrictions for the next six months. In this, the Hindu supremacist BJP government had the active support of all state governments throughout the country, including those led by the ostensible opposition parties. It is this herd immunity policybaldly summarized by a medical advisor to Modi who in May 2020 dismissed what he said was the likely deaths of two million Indians as a negligible price to pay for reviving the economythat paved the way for the current catastrophic wave of COVID-19 infections and deaths. Along with the health disaster, Indias capitalist elite and its political henchmen in the Union and state governments have created a second no less catastrophic pandemic for Indias workers and toilersa pandemic of joblessness, poverty, and hunger. According to a report titled State of Working India 2021: One Year of COVID-19 prepared by Azim Premji University, during the past year a further 230 million Indians have been pushed below a subsistence level poverty-line of 375 rupees or US $5 per day. During the same time, Indias billionaires have nearly doubled their wealth to US $596 billion thanks to the governments homicidal open economy policy and the funneling by governments and central banks around the world of trillions of dollars into propping up the financial markets and investor wealth. The working class and the fight for a science-based response to the pandemic The working class and oppressed masses of India, like their class brothers and sisters around the world, will not silently accept the social murder carried out by the ruling elite and its assaults on their jobs, wages and working and living conditions. Over the past 18 months, Indian workers have mounted numerous strikes and protests. These include two nationwide general strikes on January 8 and November 26 last year, and numerous militant actions by workers in myriad sectors from coal mining, the auto industry and public transport, to health care, banks and insurance. These strikes and protests have challenged the Modi governments privatization drive, austerity measures, and other pro-investors policies. A seven-month-long protest by hundreds of thousands of farmers against the BJPs pro-agribusiness farm laws staggered the Modi government and forced it to temporarily delay their implementation. In a significant developmentwhich underscores the role the working class can and must play in imposing a scientific response to the pandemic that prioritizes life over profitautoworkers at a Hyundai complex in Tamil Nadu staged a sit-down strike this week to denounce the lack of COVID-19 protections. As a result, the Korean-owned automaker had to temporarily suspend operations. The threat of a similar strike at a nearby Renault-Nissan forced that multinational automaker to follow suit. The Modi government has responded to the growth of popular opposition by unleashing repressive measures, whipping up communalism to weaken and divide the working class and intensifying its plans for dictatorial forms of rule. Challenging the herd immunity policies of the Modi government and the Indian ruling elite, we in the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) insist that the lives of workers and the rural poor must be prioritized over the profits of big business. Based on that overriding principle, we advance the following demands to fight the deadly pandemic: * A lockdown must be implemented with the shutdown of all non-essential services. Full wages must be paid to all workers, including those employed in the informal sector, the millions of migrant workers, the self-employed, small business owners, poor farmers and fishermen. * Those workers in essential services, like health care, electricity, telecommunications, and food production, must be given the very best personal protective equipment and medical care if they become infected. * No cuts in jobs, wages and other benefits for workers. * Free vaccines for all. * Massive financial resources must be allocated to upgrading the public health care system to combat the pandemic and all the other health issues Indian working people confront due to poverty, squalor and malnutrition. For the independent political intervention of the working class The parties of the political establishment, the bourgeois media, the Stalinists and trade union officials will all cry in unison that there is No money to implement such a programme. We say there are more than enough financial resources, but they are monopolized by Indias venal capitalist elite. The immense wealth accumulated by the corporate billionaires and financial moguls must be confiscated and redeployed to meet social needs. This can only be achieved through the independent political intervention of the working class fighting for its own interests. Like their counterparts around the world, the Indian Stalinists and their unions are working tirelessly to block any such mobilization of working class power. They have doubled down on their treacherous efforts to politically subordinate the working class to the parties of the bourgeois establishment, the Congress Party, till recently the ruling class preferred party of national government and various right-wing ethno-regional and caste-based parties. Indian workers must organizationally and politically break from the Stalinists and their unions. They must form independent rank-and-file committees to fight for their health and workplace safety, and for basic rights like jobs, wages and decent working and living conditions. These committees must also take the lead in rallying the oppressed rural masses, above all the hundreds of millions of agricultural workers and marginal farmers, by advancing a socialist programme to defend them against the deprivations of capitalism. Through these committees, Indian workers must fight to unify their struggles with their class brothers and sisters across South Asia, including in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, and in the imperialist centres of North America and Europe. To this end, they should support the building of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees, which was established by the ICFI at its recent May Day rally to provide workers with a new channel to coordinate and unify their struggles on a worldwide basis. As the pandemic is a global crisis, born of a virus that recognizes no borders, it cannot be eradicated in any single country. At every point, the national antagonisms engendered by global capitalism and expressed in the bitter inter-state rivalries between the major powers have thrown up barriers to fighting the pandemic. The determination of the governments of every country to rapidly lift all pandemic restrictions has been driven to a large degree by the fear of losing ground to their rivals in the global struggle for investment, markets, and raw materials. Central to Modis plans to revive Indias pandemic-battered economy is his pitch to American, European and Japanese imperialism that India can serve as an alternative cheap-labour production-chain hub to China. This is the economic component of the Indian bourgeoisies drive to bolster its great-power ambitions by integrating India ever more fully into Washingtons incendiary military-strategic offensive against China. The eruption of vaccine nationalism provides yet another example of capitalisms utter incapacity to organise a science-based global response to the pandemic. India, the worlds principal producer of low-cost vaccines, has banned the export of all COVID vaccines at least until the end of the year, denying hundreds of millions of people in less-developed countries in Africa and Asia access to vaccines. The United States has likewise banned the export of vaccines and the raw materials needed to produce them, helping derail vaccine production in India. For Washington, anti-COVID vaccines are weapons to be used in pursuit of its predatory geopolitical and diplomatic interests, not a means to save human lives. All of this speaks to the irrationality and failure of capitalism. The idea the pandemic can be defeated by vaccinating everyone in a single country while denying the vast majority of the world access to COVID-19 vaccinations is illusory, since the continued spread of the virus will facilitate the emergence of new, more aggressive variants, including potentially vaccine-resistant strains. As the ICFI and World Socialist Web Site have insisted from the beginning of the pandemicincluding in a February 26, 2020 statement titled For a globally coordinated emergency response to the coronavirus pandemicthe worlds medical, financial, material, and logistical resources must be mobilized in a coordinated, science-based global effort to suppress the virus. The only social force capable of leading the fight for such a programme is the international working class, which is not bound to any nation-state and private property. Working people in every country must take the lead in mobilizing the worlds resources to fight the pandemic. The political perspective required to guide this struggle is socialist internationalism. In conclusion, we call upon Indian workers to join with their class brothers and sisters in South Asia and internationally in a united movement against world capitalism and for international socialism. This will be a struggle for a Union of Socialist Republics in South Asia and internationally. To establish the necessary revolutionary leadership for the Indian working class, a section of the ICFI must be built in India. The Socialist Equality Party (Sri Lanka), in close political collaboration with the ICFI and all its sections, will offer Indian workers and socialist-minded youth and professionals every assistance in this vital endeavour. The following is an edited version of remarks delivered by Socialist Equality Party (US) National Secretary Joseph Kishore to a meeting organized by the SEP (Sri Lanka), The Covid-19 pandemic and the need for a socialist strategy. The meeting, directed to workers and youth in Sri Lanka, India and throughout South Asia, was held on May 30. I am honored to speak to this meeting on behalf of the Socialist Equality Party in the United States. Titanic and terrible events are now unfolding in India. The level of death and devastation wrought by the pandemic and the criminal response of the BJP government of Narendra Modi is incomprehensible. Workers throughout the world have viewed in horror the images of overflowing crematoriums and a health care system that is collapsing under the impact of an endless stream of new cases. India is now the epicenter of a disease that has ravaged the entire globe. The worldwide death toll now exceeds 3.5 million, according to official figures that far understate the reality. Here in the United States, more than 600,000 people have died based on official reports, though estimates place the real toll at closer to one million. The death toll in Brazil is approaching half a million; in Mexico more than 220,000; in the UK and Italy, more than 125,000. As workers throughout the world consider the experiences of the pandemic, the initial shock is giving way to anger, outrage and demands for accountability. How did this happen? Who is responsible? How can the ongoing carnage be stopped? In the United States, the ruling class is currently engaged in a furious campaign to blame China for the spread of the disease. Discredited and unfounded theories first promoted last year by the Trump administration and the extreme rightthat the virus originated in a laboratory in China, and perhaps was even the product of biological engineeringare being legitimized and promoted by the media and the entire political establishment. There are transparent political motivations behind this campaign. The leaders of all the major capitalist governments are swimming in buckets of blood. Millions of people have died unnecessarily as a result of deliberate decisions taken at the highest levels of the state to reject public health measures that would save lives. The same indifference, the same criminality of the Modi government in India, is expressed in the response to the pandemic of every major capitalist country. It is a fact of enormous significance that the United States, the center of world capitalism and the home of Wall Street, has seen the largest number of deaths from the pandemic. Despite its vast wealth and its control of the most advanced technologies, the pandemic has exposed a social and political system that is incapable of meeting the needs of the vast majority of the population. One principle has governed the response of the ruling class to the pandemic from the beginning: that no action could be taken that undermined the interests of the corporations or threatened the share values on Wall Street. Government policy, first under Trump and now under Biden, has been directed not at saving lives and eradicating the pandemic, but at perpetuating the stock market boom and furthering the geostrategic interests of American imperialism. In late March of last year, more than a year ago, the US Congress passed the so-called CARES Act, which financed the multi-trillion-dollar bailout of the banks and Wall Street speculators. Once the interests of the oligarchy were secured, the campaign began to insist that the cure cant be worse than the diseasethat is, that lives had to be sacrificed for profit. The Trump administration spearheaded the campaign to remove the limited restraints that had been put in place, but it had the support of both capitalist parties in the US, the Republicans and the Democrats, along with the media and, critically, the trade unions. The consequences were both predictable and predicted: A massive surge in new cases and deaths. Similar policies were implemented in all the major capitalist countries. In the UK this past week, a former advisor of Boris Johnson further confirmed that the UK government implemented a policy that it had calculated would lead to the deaths of as many as 800,000 people. In Brazil, the government of Jair Bolsonaro deliberately pursued a policy of allowing the virus to spread without restraint, anticipating that the death toll could reach as high as 1.4 million. Amidst mass death and social misery, the fortunes of the oligarchy have soared to new heights. The collective wealth of all US billionaires, or just 660 people, rose more than $1.1 trillion since mid-March of 2020. The British Financial Times reported yesterday that the market in superyachts is surging as the wealthy seek luxury and seclusion to escape crowds and the threat of Covid-19. One could hardly have a more clear and damning indictment of the entire social and economic order. The International Committee of the Fourth International has defined the pandemic as a trigger event. By this we mean an event that accelerates and intensifies the underlying contradictions and tendencies of the capitalist system. We have seen over the past 15 months the ruling class response to the pandemic. The policy of mass death has coincided with a turn ever more openly to dictatorial forms of rule. At the beginning of this year, a fascistic insurrection was organized by the Trump administration on January 6, with the collaboration of the entire Republican Party, that had as its aim the overthrow of an election and the establishment of a dictatorship. This was not an isolated incidentit expressed something deeply diseased in the social and political system. Biden and the Democrats are now in power, but the same basic ruling class policy is being pursued. Even though 500 people are dying every day from the coronavirus, Biden has essentially declared the pandemic over. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has, under the administrations direction, even removed regulations on the wearing of masks in public places. Meanwhile, the Democrats are now spearheading the militarist campaign against China. On Friday, the Biden administration released its budget proposal for the coming year that is centered on a record military budget of $753 billionincluding $24.7 billion for nuclear weapons modernization. It is estimated that a vaccination program to cover all Indians would cost about $6.4 billion. American imperialism is spending four times this amount to modernize its weapons of mass destruction. And as Israel carried out its criminal assault on Gaza this month, it found its most steadfast ally in the US under the leadership of Biden. The other side of this process is the growth of opposition in the working class. The experience of the past year has not been in vain. It has had a profoundly radicalizing impact on the consciousness of masses of workers and youth throughout the world. For workers throughout the world, critical questions of program and perspective are raised. Auto workers in India this past week took courageous action to stop production, which is part of a broader movement of workers in India as the pandemic spreads without restraint. In Chennai, the auto companies have received authorization from the Tamil Nadu state government to continue production, placing the lives of auto workers, their families and the public at large at grave risk. As is the case throughout this global catastrophe, the lives of workers have been subordinated to the profits of the banks. Workers in India should study the experience in the United States. In March of 2020, autoworkers in the US, along with workers in Canada and in Europe, stopped work on the line and demanded that non-essential production be halted. At this early stage in the pandemic, the spontaneous response of workers forced governments to implement partial lockdowns and other measures that scientists insisted were necessary to stop the spread of the disease. While workers acted courageously, they lacked the necessary organizational forms and political perspective to transform this outburst of opposition into a movement that could put an end to the source of the problemthe capitalist system. The ruling class regrouped. It passed its bailout and then proceeded with its campaign to force workers back on the job. The trade unions have played an absolutely critical role in assisting the ruling class in implementing its homicidal policies. Far from organizing opposition among workers, the trade unions have collaborated in keeping businesses and schools open. More than six hundred thousand people have died in the US, and the trade unions have not organized a single struggle of workers aimed at stopping the carnage. A section of the ruling class, led by Biden, sees in the existing trade unions critical instruments for suppressing working class opposition. Moreover, the development of a government-sponsored and state-controlled labor movement is a strategic imperative for American imperialism as it prepares an ever more direct confrontation with China. Last month, Biden announced a task force to promote the unions that includes as prominent members both Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the Treasury Secretary and former Fed Chairman Janet Yellen. That is, two chief representatives of American imperialism and finance capital. There is, however, a growing movement in the working class to break free from the stranglehold of the unions, which is ignored by the media in this country and throughout the world. In Virginia, workers at Swedish-owned Volvo Trucks have established a rank-and-file committee to oppose the efforts of the United Auto Workers to sabotage their strike last month and then to impose a contract dictated by the company. Workers are currently mobilizing to defeat a new contract and beginning to reach out to fellow workers throughout the country to coordinate their struggles. In the southern state of Alabama, 1,100 miners have been on strike since April and overwhelmingly rejected a contract brought back by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). Over the past week, the leading officials of the UMWA have resorted to violence and thuggery, specifically targeting the World Socialist Web Site, but directed at intimidating opposition among workers to the sellout of their strike. In the northern US, 1,300 steelworkers have been on strike for two months against Allegheny Technologies. They too have been isolated by the unions, in this case the United Steelworkers, but have repeatedly resisted and rejected ultimatums from the company. These are only a few of the initial expressions of working class anger and opposition, which have included health care workers, educators, logistics workers and other sections of the working class. The United States is not just American imperialism, which is threatening war against China and which acts as a bulwark of support for reaction in every countryincluding the critical support from both the Trump and Biden administrations for the right-wing government of Narendra Modi. There is also the American working class, the natural allies of workers throughout the world. The experiences of the past year will have a lasting impact. The policy of the ruling class in response to the pandemic has produced not only mass death and social misery. It is also the breeding ground for revolution. It is on the basis of this perspective that the International Committee of the Fourth International has launched the initiative for the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees. In our statement announcing the formation of the IWA-RFC, the IC explained that its aim is to create new mechanisms through which the working class can coordinate its struggles in different factories, industries and countries in opposition to the ruling class and the corporatist unions. The IWA-RFC will be a means through which workers throughout the world can share information and organize a united struggle to demand protection for workers, the shutdown of unsafe facilities and nonessential production, and other emergency measures that are necessary to stop the spread of the virus. The development of this alliance must be on a global scale, as it is only through a united movement of all workers throughout the world that the pandemic and all the problems produced by capitalism can be fought. A counter-offensive of the working class requires, above all, the construction of a revolutionary leadership. And there is no movement outside of the world Trotskyist movement, the International Committee of the Fourth International, that is building this leadership. The ICFI bases itself on an immense historical tradition. It is a tradition that extends back to the founding of scientific socialism by Marx and Engels, through the Russian Revolution of 1917, through the struggle led by Trotsky against Stalinism. It is a tradition that has fought implacably for the perspective of international socialist revolution. I urge all of you participating in this meeting to make the decision to help build the Socialist Equality Party in Sri Lanka and develop a section of the ICFI in India, as an absolutely critical component of the building of the ICFI as the world party of socialist revolution. The US beef processing operations of the global meat processing company JBS SA were shut down on Sunday by a ransomware cyberattack. The Brazil-based company is the worlds largest processor of beef, chicken and pork products and operates 109 facilities in six countries. The company confirmed that it had closed its nine beef processing plants in the US, as reported on Tuesday by Bloomberg, based on information obtained from an unnamed United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union official. A JBS meatpacking facility. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) The company said in a statement on Monday that servers in North America and Australia had been hit by the attack. Reuters reported that the firm halted cattle slaughter in the US and shut down its operations in Australia. A company representative in Sao Paolo said that its Brazilian operations were not impacted by the hack. JBS Canada reported on its Facebook page that it operated late shifts on Tuesday at its beef plant in Brooks, Alberta after shutting down shifts earlier in the day and on Monday. JBS issued a statement that the company took immediate action, suspending all affected systems, notifying authorities and activating the companys global network of IT professionals and third-party experts to resolve the situation. The company said its backup servers were not affected and is actively working with an Incident Response firm to restore its systems as soon as possible. Ransomware attacks typically involve remote encryption of all data on host computers combined with messaging that demands a sum of moneyoften in cybercurrency in the thousands or millions of dollarsin exchange for the decryption key required to restore operational control of the systems. John Hultquist of the security and government consulting firm FireEye told Reuters, The supply chains, logistics and transportation that keep our society moving are especially vulnerable to ransomware, where attacks on chokepoints can have outsized effects and encourage hasty payments to the hackers. Aboard Air Force One, Biden administration officials were quick to blame Russia for the ransomware attack on JBS without providing any facts or evidence to prove the assertion. White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, JBS notified the administration that the ransom demand came from a criminal organization, likely based in Russia. Jean-Pierre added, The White House is engaging directly with the Russian government on this matter and delivering the message that responsible states do not harbor ransomware criminals. The details of JBS SAs response to the attack, whether the company paid the ransom or not, are unknown at this time. The company is working with the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to investigate the breach and provide technical support. Jean-Pierre told reporters, The White House has offered assistance to JBS, and our team and the Department of Agriculture have spoken to their leadership several times in the last day. JBS SA, with its US operations based in Greeley, Colorado, became the worlds largest meat processor through a series of mergers and acquisitions that included Swift & Company (2007), Smithfield Foods (2008), Pilgrims Pride (2009) and the pork processing business of Cargill Meat Solutions (2015). It has more than $50 billion in annual sales worldwide and the company employs approximately 25,000 workers in the US. JBS is notorious for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing meatpacking workers to stay on the job throughout as part of the essential workforce. With an estimated 20 percent of meatpacking workers contracting the virus and hundreds who have died from it, JBS used intimidation and lies to conceal the extent of infection and keep sick workers on the job during the pandemic. The company relied on its partner in the UFCW to suppress worker opposition that found expression over the last year in multiple wildcat walkouts and protests in defiance of the union bureaucracy across the country. Company CEO Andre Nogueira sent a message to USA Today on Tuesday saying that the vast majority of our beef, pork, poultry and prepared foods plants will be operational tomorrow. Clearly concerned about the impact of the cyberattack on its market positionJBS has a Wall Street value of $76+ billionNogueira said, Our systems are coming back online, and we are not sparing any resources to fight this threat. We have cybersecurity plans in place to address these types of issues and we are successfully executing those plans. Industry analysts reported that US meatpackers slaughtered 22 percent fewer cattle than a week earlier and 18 percent than a year earlier, according to estimates from the US Department of Agriculture. Pork processing was also down. Prices for choice and select cuts of US beef shipped to wholesale buyers each jumped more than 1 percent. The JBS attack happened a few weeks after a similar ransomware breach of the Colonial Pipeline network that shutdown a major artery of refined petroleum product transport to the eastern and southeastern sectors of the US from Texas. In that attack, the FBI claimed a criminal group called DarkSide located in Russia was responsible. The Kremlin publicly denied any connection to the hack. On May 11, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told US reporters, Russia has nothing to do with these hacker attacks, and had nothing to do with the previous hacker attacks, referring to the Colonial Pipeline incident and the SolarWinds hack in late March that compromised nine federal agencies and more than 100 private sector groups for a year by exploiting vulnerabilities on Microsoft's Exchange Server. Peskov added, We categorically do not accept any accusations against us. The FBI released a statement late Wednesday declaring that its investigation had determined the hack had been carried out by groups known as REvil and Sodinokibi and that the agency is working diligently to bring the threat actors to justice. While the FBI did not mention any connection between these groups and Russia, it is widely known in cybersecurity circles that they are thought to be based in the country even though their exact location cannot be precisely identified. In some instances, the two names are joined into one as REvil/Sodinokibi and refer to a specific kind of ransomware discovered in 2019 that is based on the code of a malware platform called GandCrab that uses the ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) model. The timing of the JBS cyberattack coincidentally corresponds with the political agenda of the Biden White House as the president prepares for a summit with Putin scheduled for June 16 in Geneva. Biden Press Secretary Jen Psaki said during a press briefing on Wednesday that the administration is not taking any options off the table in responding to the JBS attack. Psaki added, I'm not going to give any further analysis on that. Other than to tell you that our view is that when there are criminal entities within a country, they certainly have a responsibility, and it is a role that the government can play. Later in the afternoon, when President Joe Biden was asked if the US would retaliate against Russia for the attack, he said, Were looking closely at that issue. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 21:18:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The next round of talks in Vienna to revive the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal could be conclusive and lead to an agreement, the head of Iran's negotiating team Abbas Araqchi said early Thursday. "Today, after almost 10 days of intensive work, we have reached a point where all the delegations felt they should once again make further consultations in their capitals," Araqchi was quoted by official news agency IRNA as saying. There is still some distance from the point where an agreement can be concluded, but "we are not far apart," he noted. The negotiators of Iran and the P4+1, namely Britain, China, France, Russia plus Germany, will therefore take "a week at most" to make consultations in their capitals, according to Araqchi. "A lot of discussions" were held regarding the "main disputed issues" in the last round of talks, and different solutions were discussed which now must be analysed to choose the best, the Iranian negotiator said. Iran has not changed its official position and an arrangement must be agreed by "the two sides" over how the United States returns to the Iranian nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and fulfill its commitments, he added. After the latest meeting on Wednesday, Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, said progress has been made but there are some key differences on issues related to the lifting of sanctions. Iran's legitimate concerns should be properly addressed, Wang noted. The U.S. government under former President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and unilaterally re-imposed sanctions on Iran. In response, Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its JCPOA commitments from May 2019. The new U.S. government under Joe Biden has promised to return to the deal and ease sanctions against Iran. The JCPOA Joint Commission began to meet offline on April 6 in Austria's capital Vienna to continue the discussion about a possible return of the United States to the JCPOA and how to ensure the full and effective implementation of the JCPOA. Enditem The Labor government in Victoria yesterday announced a week-long extension of a lockdown in Melbourne, the state capital and Australias second-most populous city, as an outbreak of a highly-contagious Indian variant of COVID-19 continues. At the same time, it significantly eased a number of restrictions in a bid to placate mounting demands from the corporate elite for an end to safety measures that obstruct profit-making activities. In announcing that the lockdown would last at least an additional seven-days past its scheduled expiration at midnight tonight, acting Labor Premier James Merlino declared that his government had no choice. If we let this thing run its course, it will explode, he said. Weve got to run this to ground because if we dont, people will die. People waiting to be vaccinated in the western suburbs of Melbourne (Credit: Western Health, Twitter) In the week-and-a-half to yesterday, community infections in Melbourne had increased from two to sixty-one, with an additional three cases announced this morning. Notwithstanding the relatively low numbers, Merlino and Victorias chief health officer reiterated earlier warnings that the so-called Kappa variant, which originated in India, was circulating more rapidly than previous iterations of COVID-19, the source of earlier outbreaks. In particular, they stated that the current outbreak had seen a greater number of infections linked to casual and fleeting contacts in public spaces, whereas most cases last year were linked to prolonged exposure in workplaces and homes. The list of exposure sites, visited by people while they were potentially infected, now stands at over 350, in suburbs across Melbourne, as well as in regional areas. Despite pointing to the dangers, Sutton and Merlino outlined the lifting of a number of restrictions, including in Melbourne. Non-essential industries that had previously been subject to a pause, such as landscaping, would be permitted to resume their operations. When the lockdown was first imposed last week, schools were closed, except for vulnerable children and those whose parents were essential workers. Now, however, year 11 and 12 high school students are set to resume face-to-face classes. Under conditions where the virus is still circulating in Melbourne, this directive has no public health justification. As teachers have noted, the older cohort of students are more likely to hold part-time and casual jobs at fast-food outlets and cafes, which are allowed to continue takeaway services, and at supermarkets and stores, which remain open. These students will be encountering dozens, or even hundreds of people, in the space of several days, and then entering enclosed and overcrowded classrooms with teachers, some of whom are particularly vulnerable because of age and underlying health conditions. As has been the case throughout the pandemic, the reopening of schools is a crucial battering ram in the broader drive to prematurely lift lockdown measures. During outbreaks, the corporate elite, Labor and Liberal governments and the trade unions, have repeatedly herded students and staff into classrooms, because it is a precondition for forcing parents back to their workplaces. In regional Victoria, the lockdown will be ended altogether from midnight this evening. Victorian authorities have cited the absence of active local cases in the regions as justification for this. However, a number of infected individuals left Melbourne while they were contagious, resulting in exposure sites being identified in major centres, such as Bendigo, and at outlets on heavily-used roads like the Hume Highway. Health Minister Martin Folley, moreover, reported yesterday that sewage testing had resulted in the unexpected discovery of COVID-19 traces in Bendigo and the Mornington Peninsula, indicating likely community transmission. The danger of a broader spread was further exposed when it was revealed this week that a Victorian man and his family had holidayed in the neighbouring state of New South Wales (NSW). As a result, a number of exposure sites have been listed on the NSW South Coast, as well as in Goulburn. While restrictions will remain in regional Victoria on large gatherings and indoor dining, the schools will be fully reopened and restrictions on movement eased. The government has touted a ban on travel to and from regional areas and Melbourne, but exemptions will be granted for work activities. Unlike in previous lockdowns, the so-called ring of steel approach, in which Melbournes border closure is enforced by police road blocks, has been rejected. Instead, compliance is being foisted on regional businesses, which will supposedly need to check IDs to ensure that patrons are not from Melbourne. Given the exemptions, however, the scheme amounts to an honour system that could easily be circumvented. All in all, the Victorian authorities are seeking to hedge their bets. They are keeping in place some lockdown measures because of the danger of a major eruption of cases and widespread public hostility to a hasty reopening, but they are recklessly lifting key restrictions to appease the corporate and financial elite. The latest announcements come as more information continues to surface over the role of pro-business government policies in facilitating the spread of the outbreak. Two cases were detected among aged-care workers on the weekend and Monday. Two elderly residents have also tested positive. It rapidly emerged that at least one of them had been working at multiple facilities, as had other staff at the affected sites. The federal Liberal-National Coalition government then acknowledged that a directive against this practice, which contributed to a massive spread of the virus throughout Melbourne care homes last year, had quietly been lifted in November. It is now clear that there never really was a ban on staff working at multiple facilities. The Age reported this morning that a federal government grant to aged-care providers, to allow them to end the practice, was extended to just 33 aged-care companies, which operated only 90 of the Victorias 600 Commonwealth-regulated homes. Only $12.5 million was paid out in total. The Herald Sun has also reported that at least one staff member at the Arcare Maidstone aged-care home in Melbourne was pressured by management to continue working despite having been instructed to isolate for a fortnight. This was the same facility where the two staff infections were later detected. The primary preoccupation of the federal government has been to ensure that the exploitative labour practices in the sector, which have been encouraged by successive Labor and Liberal-National governments, are not disrupted by the pandemic. The health and safety of staff and residents is being subordinated to the drive by the multi-million-dollar companies that control the industry to pay staff the minimum-wage and to maintain their casual employment status. The aged-care cases also prompted revelations that only a handful of staff in the sector have been vaccinated. Nationally, fewer than 40,000 workers have only received a single dose and even less have been fully-inoculated, in a direct workforce of 240,000, which includes more than 100,000 additional ancillary staff. The company contracted by the federal government to vaccinate aged-care homes has stated that the deal did not include immunising workers. And private aged-care provider Mercy Health has claimed that it offered in February to vaccinate its own staff and residents, but was rebuffed by federal authorities. This is a microcosm of the broader vaccine rollout debacle, which has so far resulted in less than three percent of the population being fully-vaccinated. At least half of Victorias paramedics have not received their doses, meaning that the ability of the entire healthcare system to guard against outbreaks inside hospitals and among health workers is compromised. The vaccine disaster has gone hand in hand with the failed hotel quarantine program, in which international returnees have been directed to isolate in private hotels that lack protections against airborne transmission. This was the source of the latest outbreak and of all others proceeding it over the past six months. Both the vaccine and quarantine programs have been tailored to spend as little government money as possible, and to direct the resources that are provided to a patchwork of private companies. This has been accompanied by the overturning of virtually all safety restrictions prior to the current outbreak, including on sporting events and other lucrative mass gatherings. While the pro-business program of the political establishment has jeopardised the health and safety of millions in Victoria and elsewhere, only a pittance is being provided in assistance for those hit by the consequences of the lockdown. The state government has unveiled a $250 million support package directed to business. Over the past week, federal government ministers have rejected calls for Commonwealth assistance to those who have been thrown out of work by the lockdown, only declaring this morning that they would consider allocating funds to alleviate the crisis. The federal government ended its JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme at the end of March. Its ministers have contemptuously declared that those out of work will only be without a wage for a handful of weeks, and/or apply for the sub-poverty level dole payment. Charities are reporting that thousands of casual workers, who overnight have lost their source of income, are requesting help with purchasing food and paying their rents. Under conditions in which the state and federal governments have presided over more than $400 billion in cash handouts, subsidies and tax breaks to big business throughout the pandemic, this is a graphic illustration of a class divide that is only deepening. Since May 18, four employees at an MBF Aluminium foundry in Saint-Claude, in the Jura region of eastern France, have been on hunger strike. The factory has not been operating since March. The workers have threatened to dynamite the factory if it closes. With the closure of MBF, the towns largest employer, 280 people, including 30 temporary workers, would be thrown into unemployment. The MBF Aluminum plant (Source: MBF Aluminum) On May 25, the Dijon Tribunal of Commerce rejected the offer of the only buyer, Michael Azoulay, but opted to give a temporary reprieve to the MBF employees and allow the local government to regain control of the project. The decision to grant a stay on the closure of the plant was motivated by a fear that the radicalisation of the MBF workers would spread to workers at other foundries in France which are also in crisis. Two reasons are generally cited to explain the decline in corporate orders at the metal works: the reduced use of diesel engines (and the planned phasing out of thermal engines over the next 20 years as part of the switch to electric cars), and the international economic crisis that was emerging even before the global pandemic. Other sites are also threatened with closure are: the Brittany foundries (attached to Renault, with 340 employees), the Societe Aveyronnaise de Metallurgie (365 employees), the Fonderie du Poitou and the ex-Francaise de roue (850 employees in all), the last manufacturer of aluminium rims in France. Dependent on car manufacturers, such as Stellantis (Peugeot) and Renault, these factories depend on ever smaller orders. The Renault group has indicated that the Fonderie de Bretagne, put up for sale by the manufacturer, has filed a criminal complaint, after a video posted on social media showed the destruction of machinery and, in particular, threats to destroy other tools of the Fonderie de Bretagne, according to the terms of the complaint. Several days before the decision of the Dijon Tribunal of Commerce, MBF employees installed gas cylinders threatening to dynamite the foundry, and some employees went on hunger strike. After three days without food, Isabel Alves Da Costa, a 45-year-old operator, warned of the social catastrophe that the closure of the foundry would represent. Its hard, physically and morally. But we have held so many demonstrations, and they dont hear us. ... They have to understand that the situation is serious. The Saint-Claude region has been devastated. If MBF closes, its not just 280 employees and their families who will be affected, it will be a disaster for everyone! The employees have expanded their actions to warn of the possible liquidation of the company and to raise awareness of the difficulties of the industry. According to the union, MBF Aluminiums two almost exclusive customers, Renault and PSA-Stellantis, are not honouring orders according to the terms of their contracts. The trade union apparatuses are isolating the workers and blocking a unified mobilisation of workers throughout France and Europe also facing the destruction of their jobs, as part of the broader global restructuring underway in the auto industry. In a press release dated May 9, the unions stated: The French manufacturers have decided to KILL MBF, because even the volume of commitments they had made during the last contracts were revised downwards at the end of last week, further complicating the companys survival. The General Federation of Labor (CGT)-Metallurgy proposed nothing except for a moratorium on restructuring of the foundries and said it had reiterated on May 4, in a meeting in Paris, its demand for a roundtable of the automobile sector bringing together all the players in the industry. The unions have called on the government to provide financial guarantees and to put pressure on Renault and Stellantis (PSA) to maintain the site. Union leaders and their representatives denounce the bulls of the employers plan. The unions asked Macrons Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on April 13 for a roundtable with the auto manufacturers. They complained that they had not had any response: This really raises the question of the governments commitment to maintain sovereignty in the foundry sector and more particularly at MBF. In May last year a source close to the presidential Elysee Palace stressed that the governments investment in the sector was an industrial issue, an issue of jobs and transformation of the sector towards the transition and conversion to clean vehicles and also aims to preserve the competitiveness of the sector. Edouard Philippe, then prime minister, suggested that the government would accept the loss of jobs in exchange for maintaining assembly activities in France. The unions are trying to channel workers anger by creating the illusion that by relying on the union apparatus, workers can force the state to save MBF. Yet the unions have been present for years at the negotiations between the government and the employers to restructure the automotive sector. As Le Maires comments make clear, the entire premise of such restructuring is the increase of the competitiveness of the sector, i.e., the lowering of wages and conditions, and the wiping out of plants deemed uncompetitive. This is financed by hundreds of billions of euros of public money from the European recovery plan for the pandemic, which the unions led by the CGT, have hailed. As the recovery plan is financed publicly, the foundry workers themselves contribute towards it. Yet this bailout serves only serve to oversee the destruction of jobs and increase corporate profits. The unions are not organising any large-scale action, even of a purely symbolic character. The trade unions participate in the framework of social dialogue to make French capitalism and its strategic sectors more competitive, to the detriment of workers entitlements and jobs. Since the announcement of the European bailout plan, the CGT and the trade union apparatus have imposed the reopening of work in the Renault and PSA factories throughout the pandemic, by removing days of leave and increasing working hours, among other measures. The struggle against the closure of MBF Aluminium and the crises in the industry demand the building of an international workers movement, independent of the trade union apparatus. The International Committee of the Fourth International has called for the formation of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) for a common mobilisation of the working class internationally. To fight for the livelihood of workers, it is essential in all countries that the major international corporations, which are being infused with trillions of euros in public funds, be taken out of private hands and transformed into public utilities, under the democratic control of the working class. The factories threatened with closure, like the MBF foundry, must be maintained. Factories already closed must be reopened, under workers control, operated as international public utilities. In the face of the capitalist states determined hostility to the working class, the implementation of this perspective requires a struggle for the seizure of working class power on an international scale. On Tuesday, the BMJ (formerly, British Medical Journal ) accused the British government of having unleashed a maelstrom of avoidable harm, including the deaths of up to 150,000 people who died earlier than they might have as a result of its disastrous response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Executive editor Kamran Abbasi made this damning indictment in a comment on the testimony given last week by Dominic Cummings, former adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson. His account, Abbasi writes, leads to the inescapable conclusion that the disastrous manner in which the government is run is a major contributor to excess deaths in the UK, although Johnson persists with his denials. Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, centre, Chief Medical Officer for England Chris Whitty, left, and Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance speak at a press conference at Downing Street on March 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool) Cummings evidence confirmed that the Johnson government slept on the job, relied on flawed pandemic modelling, sought a narrow caucus of expert views and kept them confidential, prioritised the economy over health, failed to protect vulnerable people in care homes and lied about it, ignored the potential of airborne spread, delayed mass testing, left international borders uncontrolled and oversaw a calamitous and costly procurement strategy for personal protective equipment. Britain was ill prepared and had no pandemic plan, and even if it did it was a misguided plan that pursued herd immunity and was accepting of a large number of deaths. Johnson was dragged into each lockdown, particularly the first in late March 2020, and he delayed the key one in September by ignoring his own scientists and colleagues and backing cherry picked supporters of herd immunity. The BMJ is identifying a record of staggering criminality, as confirmed by Cummings. Johnson and his collaborators, according to Cummings account, were actively considering the deaths of 500,000 people, and up to 800,000 in one scenario, in pursuit of herd immunity through infection. He confirmed that the prime minister shouted he would rather let the bodies pile high in their thousands than implement another lockdown at the end of October, precisely because he prioritised the economy over health. While he was still writing COVID-19 off as a scare story, Johnson even suggested in Trumpian fashion that he be injected live on TV with coronavirus so everyone realises its nothing to be frightened of. Cummings testimony painted a picture of a truly monstrous ruling classstupid, vicious, greedy, utterly unmoved by the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and living in surreal isolation, to use Abbasis phrase. Yet the BMJ is almost alone in even acknowledging the significance of such an extraordinary event. This is the first piece of serious commentary on Cummings appearance outside of the World Socialist Web Site . It is also the second time the BMJ a prestigious medical journal of over 150 years standinghas published a major attack on the government for its pandemic policy. The journals editorial of February 4 this year argued that At the very least, covid-19 might be classified as social murder. This devastating verdictreferring to a concept first elaborated by Friedrich Engelswas entirely ignored by the media, the Labour Party and the trade unions. And it is likely that the same fate will befall this latest editorial. How could it be otherwise? All of these organisations collectively did everything they could to blunt the impact of Cummings revelations. For their part, the nominally left and liberal outlets, with the Guardian in pole position, used Cummings own reactionary politics and break with Johnson as an excuse to dismiss his statements as inconsequential and embittered ravings. Neither the trade unions nor the Labour Party made a single significant statement, such that John Rentoul in the Independent described Labour leader Sir Keir Starmers performance against Johnson thus: It wasnt exactly like being savaged by a dead sheep; more like being asked trick questions by a sheep that was only barely alive. None of them can acknowledge the crimes admitted by Cummings without indicting themselves. As the BMJ correctly notes of the essentials in Cummings revelations, None of this is news, at least to close observers. The UKs murderous programme of herd immunity was a conspiracy carried out in plain sight. It relied less on secrecy than on the complicity of every supposed oppositional or independent force in the country. The Labour Party, first under Jeremy Corbyn and now under Sir Keir Starmer, has operated as a de facto coalition partner of the Conservatives in the name of providing only constructive criticism in pursuit of the national interest. The trade unions participate in more tripartite meetings with the government and the employers than there are days in the week. The national newspapers of every political stripe have for the most part loyally parroted government propaganda, keeping all criticism within safe limits. These organisations now have more reason than ever to bury this history along with the dead. Once again, they are lining up behind Johnsons latest efforts to end the last vestiges of public health restrictions, in the teeth of a third wave of the pandemic. A week after Cummings appearance before parliaments health and science committees, with cases of the highly infectious (Indian) Delta variant doubling every week, Johnson felt free to announce, I can see nothing in the data at the moment that means we cant go ahead with Step 4 [ending all restrictions on June 21]. Labour and the unions have so thoroughly suppressed opposition to Johnson that the most significant inconvenience the prime minister now faces in enforcing his agenda comes from Cummings pursuit of his own right-wing authoritarian fantasies. The former adviser told MPs, In a well-run entity what would have happened here is essentially, in my opinion, you would have had a kind of dictator in charge of this. This dictator would have as close to kingly authority as the state has legally to do stuff pushing the barriers of legality. The BMJ concludes its editorial by posing the question, How much of this maelstrom of harm was avoidable with the right leadership? Railing against the unpractised Brexit loyalists brought to prominence by Johnson and Cummings, it calls for public accountability to be established through convening a public inquiry immediately, rather than in a years time according to Johnsons timetable. But within the existing political set-up, there is no such thing as a right leadership and no possibility of public accountability. Every element of the British political establishment, from the Remain and Leave factions of the Tories to the Labour Party and the trade union bureaucracy has had a hand in this crime and its cover-up. An inquiry organised by Johnson and the judiciary, whenever it is held, offers no remedy for this essential problem. The British ruling class, veterans of the Hillsborough, Hutton, Chilcot and Grenfell inquiries, leads the world in the use of this mechanism to protect the guilty. The same is true internationally. Not a single government anywhere has produced leaders who fought for a scientific, humane, globally coordinated response to the pandemic. The opposite is the case: the common policy has been one of nationalism and social murder in defence of private profits and fortunes, leading to the deaths of at least 3.6 million people officially and more realistically in the region of 7 to 10 million. Far from changing course, governments the world over are intent on ending containment measures so that the exploitation of the working class can be resumed at full throttle. Meanwhile the lie of a Wuhan lab origin of the pandemic is amplified to conceal the responsibility of the worlds ruling elites for the pandemics spread, while paving the way for military aggression against China. The BMJ s call for the right leadership to deal with the ongoing pandemic is in reality a revolutionary question. The universally brutal and incompetent response to the pandemic reflects a world capitalist system in a state of advanced decay, which serves the interests of an infinitesimally small, super-rich oligarchy and threatens the livelihoods and lives of millions. What is required to finally bring an end to the suffering wrought by COVID-19 is for the working class to secure its leadership of society. By taking power the working class will create the conditions to ensure that public health is given priority over private profit and bring to justice Johnson and other political and corporate criminals. Eight steelworkers were injured after an electric arc furnace exploded Saturday evening at the Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel Plant in Pueblo, Colorado, about 100 miles north of the New Mexico border. Seven of the injured workers had to walk themselves out of the plant and one later had to drive himself to the emergency room. Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel Plant in Pueblo, Colorado (Photo: Pueblo Fire Department) Of three critically injured workers, two were transported to Parkview hospital to be treated for respiratory injuries and another was taken to a burn unit in Denver to be treated for burns on their hands and face. At this time, there are still no details released about the identities of the victims. All eight are expected to survive. The Pueblo Fire Department responded to emergency calls about a fire at the mill that occurred after 5 p.m. local time and discovered that a furnace had exploded. Assistant Chief Keith Miller of the Pueblo Fire Department explained to KKTV11 News that when the fire department arrived, they found 130 tons of steel in that furnace at max temperature, or approximately 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature for pouring steel. According to the fire department, the likely cause is that water was introduced to the furnace at a high temperature, causing the explosion. It sounds like they had a cooling system failure, which is when water was introduced, which is potentially what caused the explosion, Miller stated, adding that the crew had to wait for the steel in the furnace to cool in order to go into the plant and fight the fire. The plant remains idled for an indefinite period of time while the investigation is underway, pointing to extensive damage. KRDO News reported that the fire from the explosion burned on three different levels of the building at the plant. The Pueblo Fire Department was not able to give comments to the World Socialist Web Site regarding any developments since Saturday. Evraz Fire Protection Unit, which is carrying out an investigation, was not able to be reached for comment at the time of this writing. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has joined the investigation into the cause of the blast as of Sunday. The serious explosion had originally been downplayed by the company. David Light, vice president of operations at Evraz, originally told CBS4 Denver Saturday that what occurred was a mild explosion and the workers injuries were minor. The reality is much different. Residents reported that they could hear the blast inside of their homes from a distance. Miller stated that The explosion itself was pretty powerful, definitely. I wouldnt call it a minor explosion. Local station KOAA spoke to an anonymous injured worker, who stated, It definitely wasnt a minor explosion like some have said, and said that workers suffered burns, cuts and breathing issues from the dust in the air. He continued, when one of us is hurting, we all are hurting. Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel Mill is a particularly dangerous place to work, according to the results of 14 OSHA inspections over the past decade. A 2012 inspection resulted in a slap-on-the-wrist penalty of $8,000 for the death of a machine operator who was killed after being run over by an industrial truck at the plant. One Evraz worker described the mill as a way scary place in response to a Pueblo Firefighters IAFF Local #3 Facebook page post about the recent explosion. In 2007, an explosion occurred at an electric-arc furnace operated by steelmaker ISG Plate, LLC in Coatesville, PA (now owned by Cleveland-Cliffs) under circumstances apparently similar to the Evraz incident. OSHA issued eight serious violations as a result of its investigation. Details of the ISG Plate inspection report state that It is believed that a stray electrical arc created a significant internal water leak on one of the water-cooled shell panels. The spraying water accumulated within the furnace. When the temperature of the molten steel was finally up to pouring temperature (approximately 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit), the employees found that the furnaces tap hole was blocked. There were several unsuccessful attempts to unblock this tap hole. The employees final attempt involved putting a lit oxygen lance down into the tap hole and burning clear whatever was causing the block. During this activity, the EAF violently erupted. After the bath of molten steel solidified, it was observed that it contained a largely intact bale of scrap steel. ... This bale probably fell into the molten steel bath in the same area where the water had been spraying and accumulating, causing the accumulated water to be engulfed by the molten steel. This water rapidly turned to superheated steam that developed vast pressure. The release of this pressurized steam when it broke through the surface of the molten metal caused the furnace to explode. According to the report, three workers received extensive steam burns and one died next day. A lack of basic safety measures contributed to the accident. According to the report: At the time of the incident, the three workers were not wearing high-heat coats and hoods. The employee using the oxygen lance was blown completely off the furnace spout platform and into the pit approximately 30 feet below. There was no guardrail on the platform at the time of the incident. There were no written procedures for clearing a blocked tap hole. There were no written procedures for what to do when there was significant water in the furnace. The disaster exposes the United Steelworkers unions complicity in the stripping away of basic safety measures by the major steelmakers in order to accumulate as much profit as possible. Like the Evraz plant, workers at the Coatesville ISG plant are members of the USW. After the accident, USW Local 2102 President Eric Ludwig issued terse remarks on the locals Facebook page, which avoided assigning any responsibility for the disaster to the company. The USW is soliciting donations on an individual basis for the injured workers and their families who are expected to face financial hardship due to the unplanned-for emergency. In other words, the USW is leaving it up to workers to help shoulder the financial burden of their coworkers. Since March 30, 1,300 steelworkers across five northeastern states have been on strike at Allegheny Technologies, Inc. (ATI), and 650 refinery workers at the ExxonMobil refinery in Beaumont, Texas have been locked out since May 1. Around 2,500 steelworkers in Quebec, also members of the USW, have been on strike against ArcelorMittal since May 10. The USW is working to isolate these struggles in order to push through concessions contracts at all three companies. In spite of having over $150 million in its strike fund, the USW did not begin to pay striking ATI workers a meager $150 a week in strike benefits until May, which has deliberately been done to wear down the workers resolve and has forced many workers to take on separate jobs to make ends meet. This coming Sunday, the last state election in Germany before Septembers federal election is being held in Saxony-Anhalt. It exemplifies how the establishment partiesthe Christian Democrats (CDU / CSU), Free Democratic Party (FDP), Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and the Left Partyare preparing the ground for the far-right. Saxony-Anhalt Minister President Reiner Haseloff (CDU) (Image: Olaf Kosinsky / CC BY-SA 3.0) For five years, the CDU, SPD and Greensin other words, the three parties whose candidates are the most likely to succeed Angela Merkel as federal chancellorhave jointly governed Saxony-Anhalt. The task of this coalition was ostensibly to form a bulwark against the right, after the Alternative for Germany (AfD) won nearly a quarter of the vote in the 2016 state election. Instead, the coalition under Minister-President Reiner Haseloff (CDU) has largely adopted the AfDs policies, making ever new overtures to the far-right and intensifying social attacks on the population. For example, the state governments current coronavirus policy, whereby public health measures are being ended step by step, largely corresponds to the AfDs demand that any lockdown efforts be ended immediately. The Left Party, as a loyal parliamentary opposition, has ensured that the growing opposition against the state government has not found independent expression. The AfD has benefited from this in two ways. The adoption of its programme by the three-party coalition and the constant advances by CDU politicians, who would have preferred to form a coalition with the AfD immediately, have strengthened the far-right party politically. And the lack of any serious fighting perspective and left-wing opposition has enabled the far-right to use some of the anger over the catastrophic social conditions to their advantage. Although the AfD has been weakened at the federal level due to internal squabbles and is riddled with neo-Nazis in Saxony-Anhalt, it is scoring well over twenty percent in current polls and is second only to the CDU. At one point in mid-May, it was even just ahead of the CDU. The SPD, Greens, FDP and Left Party are all scoring around 10 percent in the polls. For the Greens and FDP, which narrowly missed entering the state parliament in the last election, this means an increase, for the SPD a slight loss and for the Left Party a heavy loss. In 2006 and 2011, 24 percent voted for the Left Party. In 2016, the figure was 16 percent. Saxony-Anhalt has never recovered from the social devastation that followed German reunification 31 years ago, which destroyed tens of thousands of industrial jobs. The social crisis has worsened under the present coalition. In 2016, before the last election, 47 percent of the population rated the economic situation as good; in April of this year, the figure was only 33 percent. Unemployment is 7.5 percent, well above the national average of 5.9 percent. The coronavirus pandemic has deepened the crisis. Large numbers, and especially younger people, have moved out of the region. While 2.9 million lived in Saxony-Anhalt in 1990, today there are just 2.2 million. Their average age, 48, is the highest of all the German federal states. In the 2017 federal election, there were 2.4 over-70-year-olds for every 18- to 29-year-old eligible voter. The State Statistics Office predicts that the population will decline by a further 11 percent by 2030. Saxony-Anhalt is highly rural. More than half the population lives in places with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants. In terms of economic output, the state, together with Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, ranks last nationwide. At 28,700 euros per capita, the states gross domestic product is well below the national average of 40,100 euros. The standard of living is correspondingly low. What binds all the parties represented in the state parliament together is the fear of a social uprising against these untenable conditions. That is why they promote and strengthen the AfD. State premier Haseloffs constant assurances that they will not cooperate with the AfD under any circumstances, even after this election, are merely empty promises. Haseloff knows that making an open commitment towards the hated AfD would cost the CDU massive vote losses in the state and the federal election. According to a survey, even 77 percent of CDU voters reject cooperation with the AfD. In reality, the CDU parliamentary group in the state legislature has already made repeated attempts at government cooperation with the AfD during the last legislative period. As early as August 2017, large parts of the CDU parliamentary group voted together with the AfD to form an inquiry commission to investigate so-called left-wing extremism. In summer 2019, deputy CDU faction leaders Ulrich Thomas and Lars-Jorn Zimmer wrote a memorandum that openly advocated a coalition with the AfD. The voters of the two parties were pursuing similar goals, it said. It must be possible once again [to] succeed in reconciling the social with the nationalan unmistakable allusion to National Socialism (Nazism). Today, the party says, the content of the paper was correct and important, reports newsweekly Der Spiegel. Thomas and Zimmer are running for 3rd and 4th place on the party list in the state elections. The leading proponent of this line is Holger Stahlknecht, state interior minister since 2011 and CDU state chairman since 2018. He never misses an opportunity to flaunt his far-right sympathies. For example, he wanted to appoint Rainer Wendt, head of the police union and a figurehead of the extreme right, as a state secretary, only backing down after fierce protests. Stahlknecht was also responsible for leaving the synagogue in Halle completely unprotected when right-wing terrorist Stephan Balliet carried out his attack there in 2019; only a strong wooden door prevented a massacre. Stahlknecht later complained to police officers about the fact that they could not be deployed elsewhere because they were guarding Jewish institutions. This sparked fierce protests from Jewish organizations. When it became known that Robert Moritz, a board member of the Anhalt-Bitterfeld CDU district association and a CDU municipal election candidate, had been active in right-wing terrorist circles as a neo-Nazi, Stahlknecht publicly came to his defence. Last spring, 100 refugees in Halberstadt staged a hunger strike to protest their inhumane treatment by Stahlknechts interior ministry. Around 850 people had been locked up in the central contact centre for asylum seekers, guarded by police officers and security guards without any protection against the coronavirus. It was only when the CDU parliamentary group in the state assembly joined forces with the AfD last December to block an increase in the annual broadcasting levy, paid by all individuals and used to fund public broadcasters, and Stahlknecht publicly defended this in an interview, that Haseloff gave him the boot to save the coalition with the SPD and the Greens. The latter, for their part, then voted against the levy increase to preserve the coalition. The AfD had achieved its goal despite Stahlknechts resignation. At the federal level, the CDU is also ready for collaboration with the AfDdespite claims to the contrary. This is demonstrated by the refusal of its chairman and chancellor candidate Armin Laschet to take action against Max Otte, the AfD sympathizer with a CDU membership card (Der Spiegel). Last Saturday, the economist and fund manager was elected chairman of the WerteUnion, an association of 4,000 arch-conservative CDU and CSU members that also includes the former head of the secret service Hans-Georg Maaen. Otte has never made any secret of his sympathies for the AfD. Until January, he headed the board of trustees of the AfD-affiliated Desiderius Erasmus Foundation for three years, he gave lectures to the AfD parliamentary group and organizes the New Hambach Festival every year, where CDU/CSU and AfD parliamentarians meet. He had already publicly announced in 2017 that he would vote AfD. When CDU politician Walter Lubcke was murdered by a neo-Nazi in 2019, he denied the right-wing extremist background of the crime. Even the WerteUnion chairman at the time, Alexander Mitsch, had therefore called for his expulsion. Nevertheless, when asked about a possible party expulsion procedure against Otte, Laschet replied that this was not an issue for us because the WerteUnion is not an issue. In other words, Laschet is letting AfD sympathizers in the CDU/CSU have their way because he is interested in a strong AfD and possible government cooperation with it. In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD is dominated by the volkisch-nationalist Flugel (wing), which has since officially disbanded but continues to set the tone politically. Its election posters read, Our countryour rules and Stop the lockdown madness. It calls for an end to measures designed to assist the integration of refugees and propagates the slogans of the coronavirus deniers. Bjorn Hocke, the frontman of the Flugel from neighbouring Thuringia, is constantly involved in the campaign. Despite the pandemic, the AfD holds mass rallies and threatens counterdemonstrators with violence. Among the candidates running for the state parliament are known neo-Nazis. For example, broadcaster MDRs Fakt program identified Mathias Knispel, running in list position 25, as a participant in a demonstration of 700 right-wing extremists in Magdeburg in November 2018 demanding, among other things, freedom for convicted Holocaust denier Ursula Haverbeck. Maximilian Tischer, an ex-soldier and close friend of former Bundeswehr (Armed Forces) officer Franco A., who is currently on trial in Frankfurt for preparing a violent act of state-endangerment, is running for list position 26. Tischers sister is Franco A.s partner and has a child with him. Maximilian Tischer was temporarily arrested himself because he helped Franco A. fake his false refugee identity and, like him, was active in far-right prepper groups that maintained death lists of political opponents to be executed on a Day X. He was nevertheless released. Since then, he has worked for AfD parliamentarian Jan Nolte, who gave him access to the Bundestag (federal parliament), heads the AfDs state committee on foreign and security policy in Saxony-Anhalt and sits on the state board of the AfD youth there. The Greens, SPD and Left Party are unreservedly complicit in allowing this right-wing conspiracy to unfold unhindered. In Saxony-Anhalt, the SPD has governed for ten years, and the Greens have governed for five years together with the CDU, deceptively claiming that they are a bulwark against the right. In fact, it is a right-wing bulwark against the working class. The Left Party would also have joined in had it been asked. Its predecessor, the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), had already rehearsed its first government participation in Saxony-Anhalt. In the so-called Magdeburg Model, it supported an SPD minority government from 1994 to 1998, under which the official unemployment rate rose to 20 percent. In her latest book, Die Selbstgerechten (The self-righteous), its leader Sahra Wagenknecht advocates political positions that hardly differ from those of the AfD. In the state parliament, all parties are already working closely with the AfD. For example, the state parliament committees for Labour, Social Affairs and Integration, Internal Affairs and Sports and State Development and Transportation are led by AfD representatives. Their committee deputies come from the Green Party and the CDU. The Council of Elders is formed by the state parliament president Gabriele Brakebusch (CDU) together with the two state parliament vice presidents Wulf Gallert (Left Party) and Willi Mittelstadt (AfD). The same is the case in neighbouring Thuringia, where the Left Party heads a minority government with the SPD and Greens that is supported on a vote-by-vote basis by the CDU and itself cooperates with the AfD. It collaborates with the fascists in state parliamentary committees and has helped elect them to high office. Last February, the left state prime minister Bodo Ramelow used his vote to make AfD man Michael Kaufmann vice president of the state parliament. What applies to Saxony-Anhalt also applies to the federal election. In the Bundestag, all the parties are already preparing massive attacks on the working class and youthto recoup the multi-billions given away to the banks and corporations in the coronavirus crisis, and used to finance the massive rearmament of the Bundeswehr and prepare for new wars, to suppress social resistance by stepping up the powers of the police and intelligence services, and to continue the profits before lives policy in the pandemic that has claimed nearly 90,000 lives in Germany alone. Regardless of who wins the election in Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD will play an important role in the next federal government. It will provide the political line, as is already the case, or serve as a member of the government itself. Only an independent working class movement that places the social needs of the majority above the profit interests of the rich can halt the danger from the right. The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party), the German section of the Fourth International, is the only party running in the federal elections with a socialist programme to build such a movement. Vasily Grossman, Stalingrad. Translated by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler, New York Review of Books, 2019 In 2019, Vasily Grossmans novel, Stalingrad (in Russian: Za pravoe delo or For a Just Cause), appeared for the first time in a complete English translation, almost seven decades after its first publication in 1952. The work is the prequel to Grossmans well-known novel Life and Fate (1959). The author, in fact, conceived of the two as a unified whole. The publication of this masterpiece is a cultural event of considerable significance. Stalingrad cover The novel begins with a meeting between fascist dictators Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini on April 29, 1942, in which they discuss the progress of the war. Less than a year earlier, on June 22, 1941, the Nazis had invaded the Soviet Union, launching the bloodiest conflict in the history of mankind. By the end of the war, in 1945, at least 27 million Soviet citizens, including 1.5 million Soviet Jews, would be dead. Despite the Stalinist degeneration of the Soviet Union and the Great Terror of 1936-38, the Soviet masses rose up to defend the conquests of the October Revolution against the fascist invaders. In a partial but significant manner, the spirit that animated the Red Army during its early years, after it was created by Leon Trotsky and the Bolsheviks to defend the revolution, was revived. It is this same spirit that permeates Grossmans novel. The plot of Stalingrad is too complex to be recounted in full. Many of the protagonists, especially the physicist Viktor Shtrum and the Shaposhnikov family, will be familiar to readers of Life and Fate. Grossman offers a panoramic view of Soviet society at war. He portrays sections of the technical intelligentsia; miners in Siberia working in war production; children orphaned by the war; historical figures such as Gen. Andrey Yeryomenko, but, above all, Soviet civilians and soldiers, drawn from the working class and peasantry in Stalingrad. The last portion of the work is focused entirely on the Nazi attack on Stalingrad, a vital industrial and transportation center in southern Russia, and the Soviet defense of the city through the first two weeks of September 1942. It was the battle of Stalingrad (August 23, 1942 to February 2, 1943), on the western bank of the Volga in the heart of Russia, that effectively helped decide the outcome of the war and sealed the fate of the Nazis Third Reich. And everyone at the time, from Moscow to Berlin, London and Washington, understood this. The Red Army had been taken by surprise by the Nazi invasion, largely due to the criminal Hitler-Stalin Pact of 1939 and the beheading of the armys leadership in Stalins Great Terror. It had been forced to retreat deeply into Soviet Russia, at the cost of millions of lives, until the autumn of 1942. However, throughout that year, the Soviet Union was able to mobilize immense economic resources for the war effort, thanks in large part to the planning principles in place, however limited and distorted by the bureaucracy, and the enormous sacrifices made by the Soviet population. The Battle of Stalingrad Though initially vastly outnumbered by the Wehrmacht (the German armed forces), the Red Army was able to defend Stalingrad and eventually go over to the offensive. By early February 1943, the entire 6th Army of General Friedrich Paulus had been destroyed, the first major military defeat suffered by the Nazis in the course of the war. As Leon Trotsky had predicted in 1934, should the Russian Revolution be forced to direct its stream into the channel of war, it will unleash a terrific and overwhelming force. A map of German advances in 1942 The tide in the war had been turned. The morale of the population throughout the Soviet Union and in Nazi-occupied Europe was boosted dramatically. The battle also galvanized the anti-Nazi resistance in Germany, including the White Rose group of Sophie and Hans Scholl. The sheer scale and brutality of the battlethe largest of the Second World War and, in fact, in all of human historystill almost defies comprehension. Well over one million men were involved in the battle on both sides, and the majority of them perished. On the Soviet side, conservative estimates put the number of military dead at 479,000, but it may be twice as high. The Wehrmacht lost an estimated 295,000 men. Grossmans descriptions of the nightmarish bombardment of the city, which set the entire city ablaze, leave a profound impression. At least 40,000 people are believed to have died within just three days. He describes at length the desperate efforts by isolated Soviet troops from the 308th Rifle Division to hold fragments of the city, in the face of numbing and deafening shelling from the Wehrmacht, until reinforcement comes. In virtually every case, they do so at the cost of their own lives. For good reason these hellish experiences became deeply engrained in popular consciousness in the former Soviet Union. Scenes of horrifying violence are followed by scenes that are humorous, poetic and tender. His depictions of the many who knowingly went to their deaths, defending the Soviet Union, are outstanding. Grossman has a keen sense for the complexity of human psychology in the face of these enormous historical convulsions and the accompanying mass destruction. In one scene, Lena Gnatyuk, a young Red Army nurse, in some of the last moments of her life, is given an American aid package. Lena removed the cord and began to unwrap the parcel. The crinkly paper squeaked and rustled. There were many different items inside, some very small, and she squatted down to prevent anything falling out and getting lost. There was a beautiful woolen blouse, embroidered with a red, blue and green pattern; a fluffy bathrobe with a hood; two pairs of lacy trousers with matching shirts adorned with little ribbons; three pairs of silk stockings; some tiny lace-embroidered handkerchiefs; a white dress made from fine lawn, also trimmed with lace; a jar of some fragrant lotion; and a flask of perfume tied with a broad ribbon. Lena looked at the two commanders. There was a moment of silence around the station, as if to prevent anything from disturbing the grace and delicacy of her expression. Her look said a great deal: not only that she knew she would never become a mother but also that she took a certain pride in her harsh fate. As she stood there in the pit, in her soldiers boots and badly fitting uniform, about to refuse these exquisite gifts, Lena Gnatyuk looked overwhelmingly feminine. What use is all of this? she said. I dont want it. The two men felt troubled. They understood something of the young womans feelingsher pride, her understanding that she was doomed and her mistaken belief that she looked awkward and ugly. Within hours, all these people would be dead. The scenes involving the German troops are also important. Grossman gives a sharp and damning portrait of a careerist Wehrmacht soldier, Stumpfe, from the German petty bourgeoisie, who dearly loves his own family but engages in violent assaults on and plunder of the Soviet population. He denounces fellow soldiers critical of Hitler to the units Gestapo representative and seeks to be promoted to work in one of the death factories for the Jews of occupied Poland, hoping this will give him more opportunity for self-enrichment. Fighting in Stalingrads industrial district, October 1942. Photographer/ Georgy Samsonov Schmidt, by contrast, is a former trade unionist, who used to work with revolutionary socialist leader Karl Liebknecht. Indifferent to the ridicule and humiliation he is subjected to by Stumpfe and others, he is disgusted by the war and the Nazi regime but does not know how to connect with like-minded soldiers. Grossman clearly rejected the Stalinist lie that the entire German people had willingly followed Hitler (the theory of collective guilt), a lie propagated widely especially during the war in an effort to cover up for the Stalinists own responsibility for the disaster of Hitlers coming to power in 1933. Grossmans presentation of his characters is perceptive and, at times, scathing but never judgmental. Underlying all of it is a profound and deeply felt sympathy for their suffering and the enormous traumas that Soviet society had gone throughnot simply in the bloody war but also in the Stalinist Great Terror of the 1930s. Moreover, the writer understood that in the midst all of this, people lived on, raised children, established, maintained and broke off relationships, acting at times in a petty and despicable or trivial, but often also in a noble, manner. He never isolates the individual from society and the historical process but rather shows the profound, but complex and not always direct, interconnection between the decisive social and political events of the time and the personal lives of individuals. The characters of Krymov and Zhenya Shaposhnikova, his young and beautiful former wife, are perhaps among the most complex and important ones in this regard. Krymov is a convinced Stalinist but also dedicated to the revolution. A former official in the Communist International, he has lost many of his friends and comrades to the purges of 1936-38. Krymov himself only barely survives, yet his faith in Stalin remains unshaken. Zhenya leaves him during the terror, not out of concern for her own fate or disappointment with her husbands declining career, but because she simply fell out of love. With Stalingradand Life and FateGrossman no doubt wanted to produce a 20th century version of Lev Tolstoys War and Peace. However, unlike Tolstoy, in his monumental account of the Napoleonic wars in the early 19th century, the Soviet author does not take the nobility, or their contemporary equivalents, or the generals as his protagonists. His primary concern is with the body of the people, in all its social, political and psychological contradictions, its different layers and countless shades of character and personality. Grossman keenly understood that the masses of humanity made history and that, while national elements played a role, the ideals of the 1917 October Revolution above allsocial equality and freedom from oppression of all kindsmotivated the heroic efforts of the Soviet masses in resisting the Nazis. He no doubt thought of his work as a tribute to their heroism and sacrifices. In the traditions of the Russian socialist intelligentsia, Grossman conceived of art as something relentlessly honest and a means of contributing to the people and the cause of social progress more broadly. Grossmans battle with censorship He began writing the novel in 1943, in the midst of the war, and completed it in 1949. His deep grasp of the war was rooted in his own experiences. As a journalist for the Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star), an official military newspaper, he accompanied the Red Army during many of the conflicts most critical battles. He witnessed the battle of Stalingrad from September 1942 through January 1943 and the Soviet liberation of Ukraine, parts of Poland and Germany. For years, he spoke to soldiers in the trenches. He wrote about their lives and experiences and what he called the ruthless truth of war in articles that often only appeared after heavy censorship. His well-known courage at the front, his honesty and love of detail with which he conveyed the experience of the Soviet people during the war made him one of the most popular and respected figures in the USSR, especially within the Red Army. Vasily Grossman in Stalingrad in 1942 Grossman also authored some of the first accounts of the Nazi genocide of European Jewry. He was born in 1905, the year of the first Russian revolution, in the small Ukrainian shtetl Berdychiv. His mother was murdered in a massacre by an SS Einsatzgruppe of the towns entire Jewish population of more than 30,000 in the first months of World War II. Grossmans essay on Treblinka, one of six death camps in Nazi-occupied Poland, later served as evidence in the Nuremberg Trials. Together with Ilya Ehrenburg, he compiled The Black Book of Soviet Jewry (1944), a comprehensive documentation of the Holocaust in the Soviet Union. The Holocaust also features in Stalingrad, above all, through the character of Viktor Shtrum, whose mother, like Grossmans, is murdered in a massacre in Ukraine. In fact, the character of Shtrum was one of the points of contention with the censors. In 1949, as Grossman was finishing his novel, Stalins anti-Semitic purges of sections of the intelligentsia and bureaucracy were underway. The Holocaust had become a taboo topic and would remain so for many years to come. Copies of Ehrenburg and Grossmans Black Book were pulped, and the censors tried unsuccessfully to convince the latter to remove Shtrums character from Stalingrad. Other elements of the book also made it dangerous, from the Stalinist point of view. The scene where a Red Army soldier on the front mockingly reminds Krymov that the latter had proved to him and others in 1932 definitely that the victory of fascism in Germany was absolutely impossible with statistics of every kind could not but have infuriated the censors. The repeated references to the terror, too, placed the book at obvious risk of censorship. Stalin is invoked as an admirable figure only by convinced Stalinists and otherwise is hardly mentioned at all. Bureaucrat is a recurring and disparaging term used by both civilians and soldiers in Stalingrad. In one scene during the bombardment of the city, the bureaucrat-officials running a hospital are said to refrain, not to anyones surprise, from saving the patients, while the entire staff risk their own lives and run into the bombed and burning building. The officials only return once the danger has passed, to continue commanding their subordinates. Grossman captures the anti-bureaucratic sentiments that were not only widespread, but also relatively open during the war. These sentiments, often expressed in the hope that after dealing with Hitler, the Soviet people might do away with Stalin, were one of the major reasons that the bureaucratic caste engaged in another round of purges after the war and murderously suppressed oppositional youth groups in the early 1950s. After returning to Stalingrad, refugees sit on the ruins where their home once stood, March 1943. Photographer/ N. Sitnikov Other, seemingly secondary, depictions of the realities of the war also touched on taboo subjects and themes: the depictions of the chaotic mass evacuations from burning Stalingrad, of massive defeats and retreats and of the handful of bitterly anticommunist peasants who eagerly await the Nazis occupation of their village. All thisthe plight of the civilian population and the presentation of pro-Nazi sympathies and collaborators within the Soviet populationwere erased from the history books by the Stalinists. The portrayal of army commanders in a less than heroic manner, which includes their petty jealousies and rivalries, likewise caused the ire of censors and sections of the military leadership that became involved in the discussions about the book. Other dictated changes and excised passages were the result of the narrow-minded, anti-Marxist conceptions of socialist realism. This battle with government and military censors took several years. The novel was ultimately published in 1952 in the journal Novy Mir. However, this was not the version preferred by Grossman. In fact, there are no less than 11 variations of this work. Most publications have so far relied on the 1956 variant. This version, assembled by the principal translator Robert Chandler in collaboration with Yury Bit-Yunan on the basis of three editions and Grossmans archives, is the most complete edition in any language. The editors and translators have explained their decisions in careful notes, which allow the reader to trace the history of the manuscripts. They are to be commended for their work. Speaking in Copenhagen in 1932, Leon Trotsky noted, The most profound meaning of the Revolution, but the hardest to submit to immediate measurement, consists in the fact that it forms and tempers the character of the people. More than perhaps any other Soviet writer, Grossman sensed precisely thatthe impact of the October Revolution on the thoughts, feelings and aspirations of the Soviet peopleand he was able to capture it in his writing, both as a journalist and a novelist. While his Life and Fate indicates growing disillusionment and pessimism, he remained a committed socialist until the end of his life. In a moving Russian documentary, his son recalled how every year on Victory Day, May 9, Grossman would put on his Red Army uniform and sing war songs. He was proud to be considered a writer of the war and never wavered in his conviction that the Red Armys struggle against fascism was a historic contribution to the progressive development of humanity. For Grossman, who depended as an artist so strongly on the interaction with his audience, it was no doubt a great tragedy that he never saw either this work or Life and Fate appear in his lifetime in the versions that he wanted. (Life and Fate was not published at all until decades after his death.) In 1991, the Stalinist bureaucracy dissolved the Soviet Union and restored capitalism, carrying out what the Nazis had failed to accomplish in World War II. Today, three decades later, the English translation of Stalingrad will not only finally introduce a broad readership to a masterpiece of world literature. It will also help new generations, and especially young people, to understand the enormous impact of the October Revolution and to reconnect with this critical history. Recommended further reading: Antony Beevor and Luba Vinogradova (editors): A Writer at War. Vasily Grossman with the Red Army, 1941-1945, Pimlico 2006. Jochen Hellbeck, Stalingrad. The City that Defeated the Third Reich, Public Affairs 2015. David North, Introduction to Leon Trotskys The Revolution Betrayed David North, The Russian Revolution and the Unfinished Twentieth Century, Mehring Books 2014. https://www.wsws.org/en/special/library/russian-revolution-unfinished-twentieth-century/00.html John G. Wright, The Soviet Union at War (1941). WSWS Topic page on the 1917 Russian Revolution On May 10, the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) school board voted unanimously to fire Rachell Tucker, a dual language kindergarten teacher at Highland Park Elementary School. The firing took place after Tucker had advocated for increased safety measures and the halting of in-person learning at her school amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In an interview with the World Socialist Web Site, Tucker confirmed that two other teachers, including a tenured teacher, were fired at the same board meeting. She did not know why they were fired, stating, They didnt have anyone speaking out for them. Highland Park Elementary School of San Antonio Independent School District (Credit: Highland Park Elementary School, SAISD Facebook page) Tucker was among at least nine teachers in the San Antonio Alliance of Teachers and Support Personnel union who were pressured to resign by the district, bringing the total to 11 known teachers who were either forced to resign or fired, while there are likely others whose stories have not been made public. Many of the teachers, including Tucker, who were fired or forced to resign were under probationary contracts. According to San Antonio Report, the SAISD school board voted in August 2019 to discontinue continuing contracts starting on September 1 of the same year, leaving probationary and fixed-term contracts as the only contracts under which teachers could be hired past that point. According to a survey at the time, out of 267 districts who responded (roughly a quarter of all districts in Texas), SAISD was the only district that still offered continuing contracts. Fixed-term and probationary contracts offer significantly less protection for teachers than continuing contracts. The Texas State Teachers Association page on teacher contracts notes that continuing contracts, have an indefinite duration. The contractual rights last until the teacher resigns, retires or is discharged for good cause. There is no need for annual nomination or reappointment. The other two types of contract are subject to annual or biannual renewal. Referring to the firings, Tucker stated, No teachers should have been fired this year given that we had to reinvent the classroom. Nobody should have been fired for performance unless they did something completely heinous. Prior to the May 10 board meeting, the union held a press conference where they stated that no one should have been forced to resign or fired this year. Tucker added, Essentially we are under a teacher shortage; so many decided for safety reasons either to end their careers or not teach this year. Our classrooms, at least in the elementary school, have up to 25 kids, some more, some less." Commenting on the chaotic implementation of in-person and hybrid learning models (a combination of in-person and remote learning) mandated by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), Tucker said, It is my understanding that the district is pushing to not have hybrid learning next school year. Hybrid education was a failed experiment this year, mainly due to the lack of training and support from district personnel and administration. As time went on, as the TEA enforced the tying of attendance to funding, teachers increasingly felt pressured to bring students in. Grades 3-6 were much fuller than the earlier grades earlier on. It was just completely unfair and went against any kind of COVID-19 prevention at all. Shortly after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rescinded their guidance on masking for vaccinated individuals, Texas governor Gregg Abbott banned mask mandates in almost all locales, including K-12 schools, with the anti-masking mandate set to go into effect on June 5 in schools. In SAISD, the school year lasts until June 18, meaning that unvaccinated children and parents will be at heightened risk over the next two weeks. Tucker remarked that Parents are very scared about that. Tucker was fired by the district after a campaign of victimization that involved the use of poor reviews by her administration. She recalled, My first class of in-person learning was on the 8th of September. On the second day of in-person learning, I started getting negative walk-throughs from my vice principal. She noted that throughout all the 2019-20 school year, she had two walk-throughs, while this year the figure reached about 12. I was rated proficient all across the board last year and this year it was completely awful, Tucker said. They built a campaign; they put me on a growth plan. I worked with the vice principal, who said I have a classroom management problem, and that I was the worst teacher ever even though last year I was rated proficient. The vice principal was already knocking me for giving out stickers to students, for trying to explain safety and rules to students. They started with that, and when I continued voicing safety concerns, they told me to join the schools safety committee, which is essentially a big joke. The vice principal would come up with ideas, while the majority of teachers were so scared that they didnt feel safe to voice their concerns. Speaking to the oppressive atmosphere in her school, she stated: It was such a challenge to ask questions, to voice concerns with administration on masks, to ask about how administration is contact tracing. I asked questions like how administration is ensuring our staff are wearing masks, because there were lots of violations, even administration itself; there were two people in a room without masks. Then they told me to be more constructive. The district also reportedly cut off many people while they spoke out at board meetings, with Tucker calling it a silencing action. Regarding her efforts to document this process of victimization and the actions of the district, she said: The whole time I have been working with my union, we filed grievances against the growth plan, grievances against the retaliation. The school will claim they didnt do anything and that they didnt retaliate, they have created a paper trail to cover what they really did. Weve all been coerced into going back to work in these conditions. The first step in this was getting teachers in the building. In SAISD this was a weird process; they had us fill out a declaration form in phases starting August 17, regarding when we wanted to go back in. They wanted teachers to go back into the buildings even if students were not there. Parents trust teachers, and SAISD used this to sell their plan. They claimed they would close the schools when the test positivity rate reached 10 percent, but they didnt do so when they surpassed it in the following couple of weeks. Referring to the district, she stated, They put standardized testing, they put profits above human rights. Commenting on the unscientific and reckless character of the broader school reopening campaign, she said: The fact that the pandemic, the virus itself, its airborne and there is science to prove it, it was never accepted by the school district. We had plastic plexiglass dividers, in classrooms and the cafeteria, and the district was claiming we can only contract COVID-19 from droplets and not aerosols. They were putting kids in rooms with poor ventilation, in gyms, in my Pre-K and kindergarten class we would have all unmasked kids eating in class. Early on, I gave the suggestion, why don't we eat outside? The CDC basically said we shouldnt congregate in areas. The answer to me was, we dont have enough staff for that and how are teachers going to get their 30-minute lunch? It basically illustrates that they knew exactly what they were doing, they just didnt want to put the money in to get more staff, to test the staff, to make sure they are ready to work and ensure we can follow the protocols. When asked about the role of American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten and her call to fully reopen schools this fall, as well as the CDCs loosening of masking recommendations, Tucker said: Early on, Weingarten was up in arms when Trump wanted to reopen schools, but after Biden was elected, she was all about it and met with Biden after his election. She met with schools before he was in office and then, when he was in office, they said schools would reopen in the next 100 days. It just goes to show that the 600,000 people that have died, that they mean nothing to them, from our administration at our schools up to the president. And the mask mandate is a continuation of that, putting profits over people. Referring to the reliance on vaccines by the Biden administration to reopen schools, Tucker stated: With all the new variants out there, across the world, even here in the US as well, new variants are wrecking certain areas and affecting kids more, and thats not being talked about with the school re-openings. So, its just a lot of unknowns, and they put all their effort into the vaccination campaign, and thats good, but prevention is still the answer. Switching the burden to individuals is the way to get away with 600,000 people dying. Especially in black and brown communities and those that dont have a choice but to go to work, and in communities that live in fear because they need their jobs, the same as teachers, they are coerced into going to work. I wouldnt be surprised through all of this that workers in all sorts of industries are feeling pressure, perhaps PTSD and some mental health issues because of the pandemic and because of the pressure. They have it just as soldiers have it; you have to figure out how to cope with yourself and what the system wanted you to do to keep the economy running even though they know in their heart and their soul it was wrong. Volvo workers: Contact the Volvo Workers Rank-and-File Committee by email at volvowrfc@gmail.com or by text at (540) 307-0509. Nearly 3,000 workers at Volvo Trucks New River Valley plant in Dublin, Virginia will be voting this Sunday on a six-year labor agreement backed by the United Auto Workers union. Rank-and-file workers are actively opposing the deal, which is only a slightly modified version of a previous UAW-backed deal workers decisively rejected last month. There are many elements of the proposed agreement that have enraged workers. Over the last three contracts, the Swedish multinational and the UAW have pointed to supposed economic difficulties to justify demands for concessions, including the introduction of a multitier wage and benefit system that condemns young workers to inferior pay and denies them fully paid pension benefits. Striking Volvo workers (Source: UAW L. 2069 Facebook page) With the company enjoying years of rising profits and market share, workers are determined to recoup their losses and win substantial improvements for current and retired workers. In a statement calling for a no vote on Sunday, the recently formed Volvo Workers Rank-and-File Committee informs UAW President Rory Gamble, Secretary Treasurer Ray Curry and UAW Local 2069 President Matt Blondino what the minimal basis would be for an agreement that workers will accept. This includes: A 25 percent across-the-board wage increase to restore income lost over the last three contracts Maintain current health insurance rates and coverage Fully paid health care benefits for retirees, with no copays or premiums End the multitier wage system and transfer all workers to top-tier pay and benefits Eliminate the Alternative Work Schedule and keep current overtime rules Implement a COLA clause to meet the soaring prices of consumer goods Five personal days for all workers, not just salaried workers, and no cuts to vacation days A $4,000 contract ratification bonus The defense of the livelihoods and health of the thousands of retirees and surviving spouses is a principled issue for the VWRFC. The committee has fought for the unity of all workers, young and old, Core Group and Competitive Workers, active and retired, and fought against all efforts by the company and the UAW to divide and weaken workers. Among the retirees are the original workers at the New River Valley plant, which was built in 1979 by White Motor Corp. of Cleveland, Ohio. Volvo bought the plant and other assets as part of its takeover of near-bankrupt White Motor in 1981 and further entry into the North American truck market, which included a controlling interest in the General Motors Truck and Bus Group of Pontiac, Michigan. Beginning in the 1980s, the UAW handed over one concession after another to the auto and truck manufacturing corporations as part of its corporatist program of labor-management collaboration and enticing the global corporations to invest in the US by ending strikes and systematically lowering labor costs. This included abandoning millions of retirees who had spent their working lives producing corporate profits. This took a qualitative turn in mid-2005 when the UAW agreed to grant historic concessions to GM, including the companys demand to cut billions of dollars worth of health care benefits to its 500,000 retirees and their dependents. In 2007, the UAW abandoned the principle of fully paid retiree health benefits, won by autoworkers in 1964 after nearly two decades of bitter struggles, and allowed the Detroit automakers to dump their obligations. This took the form of the establishment of a so-called Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Association, or VEBA, which was initially funded (in fact drastically underfunded) by the corporations. The UAW, which was handed billions in dollars of corporate shares, was thus put in charge of rationing medical benefits to retirees and their survivors. To push the VEBA through, the UAW went so far as joining General Motors in a legal action against retirees who had filed a class action suit to stop the first-ever reductions in health care benefits. The Detroit Free Press noted at the time that legal experts said the UAW took such an unusual step to keep disgruntled retirees from challenging the unions right to negotiate such concessions and tying the deal up in years of litigation. Between 1984 and 2005, the collective bargaining agreements between the UAW and Volvo provided that health benefits for pension-eligible employees will be continued into retirement with [Volvo] making the full contribution. In 2005, however, the UAW agreed to the setup of a VEBA with Volvo, along with a mechanism to shift higher costs onto retirees if there was not enough money in the VEBA trust. According to court documents from the 2011 case Quesenberry v. Volvo Trucks Retiree Healthcare argued before the US District Court, Fourth Circuit, the 2005 agreement also outlined the limits of Volvos financial obligations, Volvos liability for retiree health insurance expenses was limited to an average cost of $13,606 per year for each non-Medicare-eligible retiree and $3,292 for each Medicare-eligible retiree. To resolve problems posted by potential costs in excess of those caps, Volvo agreed to create a Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Association (VEBA) trust, to which it was required to contribute a total of $3.943 million, including $1.585 million on the last day of the 2005 CBAs term in 2008. Of that amount, Volvo in 2005 projected that only $400,000 would be necessary for cumulative above-cap costs until the agreements expiration on January 31, 2008. The VEBA assets were to be held for the exclusive purpose of paying all costs incurred by Retiree Participants under the Volvo Plan that exceed the limits set forth above. The documents further state: In the event that the VEBA trust was projected to be exhausted within a calendar year, Volvo and the UAW were required to meet to discuss how to reduce health care costs. If those negotiations proved unsuccessful, Volvo could charge each retiree for any costs over the caps according to a formula set forth in the Cost paragraph. In a 2011 decision that is strikingly similar to the one the courts reached in the phony case the UAW brought against GM in 2005, the US District Court ruled that Volvo could not unilaterally cut retiree benefits unless the VEBA is projected to be exhausted within one year and Volvo and the Union are unable to agree on benefits reductions to reduce the premium costs which Volvo pays for the employees. It is likely that the UAW and Volvo have deliberately underfunded the VEBA over the last several contracts, putting into motion a series of new cuts. In an ominous threat to retiree benefits, the tentative agreement the UAW is now pushing states that the Company and the Union agree to continue meeting to discuss potential prospective changes to the Volvo Plan as it applies to each group. This includes Volvos hiring of a third-party contractor to assist with analysis of potential cost-cutting changes. In a letter to the Volvo Workers Rank-and-File Committee, a worker who retired after 31 years has written, I am so proud of all of you that are standing up for the retirees. We have been getting the shaft for several years and if you let this new contract be approved without a Veba trust fund, then both the retirees and the current employees are screwed. After the 2016 contract was approved, I sat in a retiree meeting and heard our local president say that they had overlooked the Veba trust fund but dont worry because he would take care of us in 2021. I had cold chills run down my back because I knew if they did not look out for us in 2016, they sure as hell would not look out for us in 2021. The only thing the company wants for us is to die and to get rid of their liability!!! Our retirement income benefit has dwindled away and the future does not look bright for us having any income or insurance. I feel sure that the company told Anthem to put co-pays and out of pockets on our latest insurance card because they intend to shove those down our throat as well. I would love to vote on this contract!! The letter concludes by thanking the committee for what you are attempting to do for us and all current employees. Volvo workers: Contact the Volvo Workers Rank-and-File Committee by email at volvowrfc@gmail.com or by text at (540) 307-0509. Dear Ms. Wissler, I am writing to you because the Left Party maintains close ties with the Democratic Socialists of America. The network Marx21, to which you officially belonged prior to your election as Left Party co-leader, also cooperates closely with the DSA. For example, at Marx21s Marxism Congress organised last year, where you also delivered a speech, leading DSA member Eric Blanc spoke. According to the text announcing the event, he spoke, among other things, about how the left in the United States react[s] to the current threat of a global economic crisis and to growing political tensions. Janine Wissler (Foto: Sven Teschke / CC-BY-SA 3.0) I do not know what Blanc said at the congress and what his personal attitude towards Leon Trotsky is. But over the course of recent weeks, members of the DSA have launched a despicable hate campaign against the leading Russian revolutionary and founder of the Fourth International. Leading DSA members have posted tweets celebrating Trotskys murder and paying tribute to Stalinist assassin Ramon Mercader. Several posts contain memes with icepicks, the weapon with which Trotsky was murdered, and praise the deed as a heroic act. The World Socialist Web Site showed in a detailed analysis how those behind the hate campaign are experienced political operatives. They have close ties to the capitalist and pro-imperialist Democratic Party. In an open letter to DSA National Director Maria Svart, the chairman of the WSWS International Editorial Board and national chairman of the Socialist Equality Party (US), David North, summed up the essential political purposes of the anti-Trotsky campaign: 1) to poison the political environment within the DSA with reactionary anti-Marxist filth appropriated from Stalinism, and 2) to attract to the DSA socially backward people who are drawn to the anti-communist, chauvinistic andlets not beat around the bushanti-Semitic subtext of denunciations of Leon Trotsky. The revival of Stalinist lies has wide-ranging historical and political implications and cannot be accepted under any circumstances. Trotskys murder was the culmination of the Stalinist terror in the 1930s, which took the lives of hundreds of thousands of Marxists. It was directed against the socialist strivings of workers and young people in the Soviet Union and around the world. The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei and the WSWS call on you to condemn, in the name of your party, the Twitter posts and other statements in the media by leading DSA members celebrating Trotskys assassination. A party that calls itself left and claims in its programme to have broken with Stalinism must reject this despicable witch-hunting of its left-wing opponents. In this context, I would like to point out that the SGP and WSWS have, despite our fundamental political differences, defended Left Party representatives against attacks from the far right. Last year, SGP Chairman Ulrich Rippert condemned in a statement published prominently on the WSWS the threat issued against you by NSU 2.0. In expectation of a clear response on your part, I remain, Sincerely, Johannes Stern Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the German edition of the WSWS The open embrace by the US media of the conspiracy theory that COVID-19 was released from the Wuhan Institute of Virology has incited a right-wing campaign against scientists researching the origin of the pandemic. Scientists who have for years warned about the dangers posed by infectious diseases and have sought to defend society from a raging pandemic are being scapegoated in a vicious witch-hunt. But leading scientists, under relentless and slanderous attack not only by the far-right gutter press but by the mainstream media, have taken a courageous and principled stand, defending science, international collaboration, and the fight to save lives in the ongoing pandemic. Since the publication by the Wall Street Journal claiming to present new evidence for the Wuhan lab conspiracy theory, the Washington Post has declared the theory credible, while the print and broadcast media have joined in the right-wing chorus condemning scientists for having rejected the false theory. Since the start of the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has been publicly associated with a scientific approach to COVID-19. Despite making accommodations to Trumps criminal herd immunity policies, and the abandonment of public health measures under Biden, Fauci has argued against conspiracy theories and other forms of right-wing hysteria. For this, he has been the main target of vilification and violent threats by the right-wing mob, best summed up by the demand by Trumps former campaign CEO Stephen K. Bannon for Faucis head to be put on a pike outside the White House. But this campaign went into overdrive on Tuesday with the publication by the Washington Post of hundreds of emails by Fauci from March 2020. The emails show that Fauci and his colleagues, including Kristian G. Andersen, director of Infectious Disease Genomics at Scripps Research Translational Institute and Peter Daszak, president of the Ecohealth Alliance, discussed and investigated the lab-leak theory before categorically rejecting it on the basis of a thorough scientific investigation. But right-wing pundits and politicians have seized upon the emails as evidence of a smoking gun, claiming that the scientists good-faith investigation of all possible theories, and the rejection of the Wuhan lab theory, constitutes evidence of a conspiracy to suppress the allegedly genetically-engineered origins of the pandemic. Leading the charge was Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, an advocate of the QAnon and Pizzagate conspiracy theories who claimed that Jewish bankers are responsible for wildfires in California. He needs to be FIRED! Greene demanded. Anthony Fauci should be in prison, wrote Charlie Kirk, the head of the right-wing Turning Points campus organization. #FIREFAUCI tweeted Rand Paul, the far-right anti-vaccination Republican senator. The front page of the right-wing UK Daily Mail blared, Faucis smoking gun emails. The fascist Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson declared that Fauci should be under criminal investigation. The front page of the Daily Mails online edition Wednesday Corrupt Media Ignore Smoking Gun Emails In Order To Protect Fauci, writes the Federalist, which advocated early in the pandemic that infected people engage in chicken pox parties to infect others. The mainstream press joined in, with NBC News demanding that Fauci explain his discussions with Chinese health officials, and pressing him on whether the government did enough to investigate the origins of the virus. On Sunday, Peter Daszak, co-leader of the subgroup on Animal and Environment for the World Health Organizations investigation into the origins of COVID-19, was denounced in a hit piece in the British Daily Telegraph as having sympathized with the Chinese government. Replying to this right-wing campaign, Kristian G. Andersen, who discussed the origins of the disease with Fauci in March, reiterated on Twitter his opposition to the Wuhan lab conspiracy theory, explaining the fact that the considerationand possible rejectionof theories is critical to how science works: As I have said many times, we seriously considered a lab leak a possibility. However, significant new data, extensive analyses, and many discussions led to the conclusions in our paper. What the email shows, is a clear example of the scientific process. Andersen cited his March 17, 2020, peer-reviewed paper in the Nature science journal where he and his colleagues wrote: The genetic data irrefutably show that SARS-CoV-2 is not derived from any previously used virus backbone Instead, we propose two scenarios that can plausibly explain the origin of SARS-CoV-2: (i) natural selection in an animal host before zoonotic transfer; and (ii) natural selection in humans following zoonotic transfer. Peter Daszak added on Twitter: This is called science, folks. You look at the evidence, generate hypotheses, discuss with others, dig deeper, refute some hypotheses, find evidence to support others, then you come to a conclusion & make that public. The peer-review is critical, & was done over & over again. Daszak retweeted a recent editorial in Nature calling on scientists to protect precious scientific collaboration from geopolitics, declaring, Researchers, institutions & governments must all play their part to guard against a chill in scientific collaboration. Peter Daszak (Credit: Ecohealth Alliance) Leading scientists have prominently shared and discussed a recent article by Dan Samorodnitsky, a biochemist and senior editor at Massive Science, who presented a devastating critique of the Wuhan Lab theory in laymans terms: One hypothesis requires a colossal cover-up and the silent, unswerving, leak-proof compliance of a vast network of scientists, civilians, and government officials for over a year. The other requires only for biology to behave as it always has, for a family of viruses that have done this before to do it again. The zoonotic spillover hypothesis is simple and explains everything. Its scientific malpractice to pretend that one idea is equally as meritorious as the other. The lab-leak hypothesis is a scientific deus ex machina, a narrative shortcut that points a finger at a specific set of bad actors. In recent days, the World Socialist Web Site has published a series of widely read and discussed articles debunking the Wuhan laboratory lie. On Tuesday, we published an article pointing out that Michael Gordon, the lead author of the Wall Street Journal article that led the US media to declare the story credible, had co-authored the debunked aluminum tubes report, together with Judith Miller, that spearheaded the US propaganda campaign before the 2003 military onslaught against Iraq. On Sunday, we published an article entitled, How the US media declared the Wuhan lab lie credible, explaining the central role of former Trump campaign CEO Bannon in promoting the conspiracy theory. Peter Daszak thanked the World Socialist Web Site for its coverage, writing, Thanks for resurfacing this! When he came under right-wing attack for this statement, Daszak defended the World Socialist Web Site, writing: I thanked them for resurfacing evidence of link between nefarious characters like Miles Guo, Lude & political activists on the right. Factually laid out in that article, on CNN & NYT which they cite. Last time I checked wed moved beyond McCarthy in the US! In the coming days, the World Socialist Web Site will do everything in its power to warn working people all over the world about the right-wing witch-hunt against the worlds leading experts on infectious diseases. We stand ready to work with scientists in defending a scientific approach to the pandemic, which is critical to saving lives. Working people, who are the target of the ruling classs herd immunity policies, must come to the defense of scientists who have sought to arm society with the knowledge necessary to stop the pandemic! Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 22:29:03|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KIEV -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday discussed the security situation in Donbass with a delegation of visiting U.S. senators. "This meeting is very important for us, as it reaffirms that the United States is our strategic partner. Especially now, at a very tense time," said Zelensky. - - - - BEIJING -- An Indian news agency has recently quoted Chinese military spokesperson's comments on U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, saying this strategy will only lead to more division. "No strategy should instigate countries to establish selective and exclusive military alliances, or to create a 'New Cold War' featuring bloc confrontation," Tan Kefei, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, was quoted by Press Trust of India on May 27 as saying. - - - - HAVANA -- Cuba expects its domestic COVID-19 vaccines show high efficacy after the final stage of clinical trials, the country's biopharmaceutical authorities told a press conference Wednesday. "Our locally produced coronavirus vaccines have demonstrated safety and effectiveness," said Eduardo Martinez, president of the state-owned company BioCubaFarma. - - - - ST. PETERSBURG -- Political issues have no place in researching the emergence of new viruses, and taking politics into account is counterproductive and will hinder scientific research, a Russian expert has said. Vladimir Dedkov, deputy director for scientific work of the Pasteur Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, made the remarks in a recent interview with Xinhua. Enditem Far-right leader and settler advocate Naftali Bennett of the Yamina Party is set to become prime minister, replacing Benjamin Netanyahu, Israels longest-serving prime minister, who has led the country since 2009. It follows Marchs inconclusive election, the fourth in two years, that gave Netanyahus Likud Party the largest number of seats but left him unable to form a majority government. Netanyahu needed a majority to ensure his ability to evade his trial for bribery and corruption, now entering evidence sessions. Yamina party leader Naftali Bennett, left, smiles as he speaks to Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid during a special session of the Knesset, whereby Israeli lawmakers elect a new president, at the plenum in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool Photo via AP) Bennett will head a deeply unstable, unprincipled coalition with a majority of one in the 120-seat Knesset. Made up of eight parties spanning almost the entire spectrum of Israeli politics, these political reactionaries have united to try and rescue the Israeli bourgeoisie from a widening social and political crisis and the threat they face from an increasingly disaffected working classall under the vacuous anti-corruption slogan of Anyone but Bibi (Netanyahu's nickname). The fractured and febrile state of Israeli politics, along with its proportional representation system, means that no one party can win a large enough majority to rule alone, ensuring small parties wield disproportionate power. After the March elections, two parties emerged as king-makers: Bennetts Yamina Party and Mansour Abbas conservative Islamic Movement-affiliated United Arab List, or Raam, with seven and four seats respectively. The announcement by opposition leader Yair Lapid, who heads the second-largest party Yesh Atid and has long sought to depose Netanyahu, that he had cobbled together a government of change came just minutes before his mandate to do so expired on Wednesday night. Lapid told President Reuven Rivlin, I commit to you Mr President, that this government will work to serve all the citizens of Israelincluding those who arent members of itwill respect those who oppose it and do everything in its power to unite all parts of Israeli society. Under the proposed arrangements, Lapid will not immediately assume the premiership. Instead, king-maker Bennett will become prime minister for the first two years. Only if the coalition survives that long will Lapid take over. In the meantime, he will serve as foreign minister. This so-called centrist, a former journalist, TV presenter and news anchor who served as finance minister in a previous Netanyahu-led government, has handed the reins of power to far-right, pro-settler champions of the free market. This will inevitably result in a stepped-up assault on the living conditions of the Israeli working class, more than 20 percent of whom live in poverty, and a ramping up of support for settlers at the expense of the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as Israels own citizens. Bennett, a millionaire who once served as chief of staff to Netanyahu, is opposed to a Palestinian statelet. He has called for Israels annexation of Area C in the West Bank which is under Israeli military control and is home to most of the settlements, Palestinian Authority control over Areas A and B only under the supervision of Israels military and security apparatus, and the transfer of Gaza to Egypt. The key posts are to go to vicious right-wing nationalists. Ayelet Shaked, Bennetts Number 2 in Yamina, is to serve as interior minister responsible for law and order under conditions where the authorities have encouraged settlers and far-right Jewish vigilante groups to run amok in Israels mixed towns and cities. She once served as Netanyahus office director, later becoming Justice Minister 2015-19, helping to draft a version of the infamous Nation-State Law, institutionalizing Jewish supremacy. She is bitterly hostile to the Palestinians, virulently opposed to African asylum seekers and determined to limit the role of the judiciary. Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the secular nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) party, whose initial support base was immigrants from the former Soviet Union, is to become finance minister. He left Likud in 1997 after Netanyahu granted minor concessions to the Palestinians in the Wye River Memorandum, later proposing the separation of Palestinian and Jewish Israelis via a population transfer. In 1998, Lieberman proposed bombing Egypts Aswan High Dam because of Cairos support for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Lieberman has served under several Likud governments, including as deputy prime minister, foreign affairs minister, when he broadened the campaign against Iran, and minister of defence, resigning in 2018 because of a ceasefire in Gaza he characterized as surrendering to terror. Gideon Saar, who last year formed New Hope as his own political vehicle after failing to unseat Netanyahu in a Likud leadership contest, is to take the justice portfolio. Opposed to a two-state solution, he supports the annexation of the West Bank and Palestinian autonomy in a federation with Jordan. Benny Gantz, former chief of staff of Israels military and leader of the Blue and White Party who fought three elections on an anti-Netanyahu ticket only to join his coalition last year, serving as defense minister, will continue in this post. He was responsible to Israels criminal assault on Gaza in 2014, now under investigation by the International Criminal Court, and last months 11-day bombardment on the besieged enclave that killed at least 253 Palestinians, injured 2,000 more and damaged or destroyed at least 17,000 homes, six hospitals, nine healthcare centres, a water desalination plant and other vital infrastructure. These political criminals are joined by the Labour Party that signed the Oslo Accords that was supposed to bring about a mini-Palestinian state. Its legislators, Merav Michaeli and Omer Bar-Lev, will serve as transportation and public security ministers respectively, while another will head the Diaspora affairs ministry. Meretz, which opposes Jewish settlement in the occupied territories and supports the two-state solution, has also agreed to serve under Bennett, with Nitzan Horowitz set to become health minister and Tamar Zandberg environmental protection minister. Its Arab member Esawi Freige will serve as regional development minister. The cabinet will include for the first time the leader of the United Arab List or Raam, Mansour Abbas, who has agreed to support the coalition in return for an increase in economic support and a temporary freeze on home demolitions in Israels Arab community. It will be the first cabinet without the ultra-religious parties that have participated in most of the coalitions since 2001. The new government has yet to get the approval of the Knesset, which is not set to vote on the issue for at least another week. Lapid is seeking to replace the current Knesset speaker, a Likud Member, with Yesh Atid lawmaker Mickey Levy to expedite the process. Netanyahu has insisted that he is not going away and is seeking to secure defectors from the Lapid-Bennett coalition, in addition to Amichai Chikli, one of Yaminas legislators, who refused to join the left-wing government. He excoriated his former colleagues, calling the proposed coalition illegitimate. Netanyahus fascistic ally, Religious Zionism party leader Bezalel Smotrich, accused Yamina leaders Bennett and Shaked of working to establish a left-wing government with the Arab supporters of terrorism. Hundreds of his supporters have rallied repeatedly outside the homes of Bennett and Shaked. Such is the concern that they might become the targets of political violence, both politicians have been assigned police protection. There have been questions raised in the media as to whether Netanyahu would mount new provocations against the Palestinians in East Jerusalem, promote acts of terrorism by Jewish fanatics against Israeli Palestinians, seek to mount a coup similar to that of former US President Donald Trump, or launch a provocative move against Iran to maintain his grip on power. The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature. Europe Civil servants and seamen walk out to oppose anti-strike law in Greece Workers in Greece are opposing a new draft labour law bill restricting the right to strike and attacking working conditions. The law would require a third of employees at state-run companies to remain on the job during a strike, as well as restricting the ability to picket entrances and occupy premises. According to Kathimerini, the major unions also criticised the bill for targeting the eight-hour day and enabling unpaid overtime. On Thursday, Civil Servants' Confederation (ADEDY) and Panhellenic Seamans Federation members joined a 24-hour strike against the law, and another one-day strike is planned by the General Confederation of Employees of Greece (GSEE) on June 10. The unions, with 730,000 members in total, are trying to limit the opposition to one-day protest strikes, with the GSEE calling a one-day walkout on May 4 and ADEDY doing the same on May 6. The New Democracy conservative government is turning to dictatorial methods to stem workers opposition as it reopens the economy regardless of COVID cases rising. National student strike in the Netherlands against loan system Students across the Netherlands took part in a student strike on Thursday. They boycotted classes, following a call from the National Student Union (LSVb) and youth section of the Federation of Dutch Trade Unions (FNV). A week of protests at individual universities took place last month, to demand the reintroduction of grants and abolition of the student loan system. According to the Leidsch Dagblad, both the LSVb and FNV intend to place pressure on politicians through these protests, following previous reforms in which the loan system was left intact. Unions sign new collective agreement for Dutch logistics sector following strike campaign A new collective agreement has been signed by the FNV and the Christian National Trade Union Federation for the logistics sector, covering over 150,000 workers. Lorry drivers and other logistics workers took part in several 24-hour strikes since the beginning of April to put pressure on the negotiations. De Telegraaf reports that the two-year agreement contains improvements to working conditions, such as heaters and air conditioners in the cabs, as well as easier early retirement and a 3.5 percent pay rise for 2021 and a 3.25 increase in 2022. Warning strike by German brewery workers for pay rise Workers in breweries throughout northern Germany took part in a 24-hour warning strike on May 26, called by the Food, Beverages and Catering Union (NGG) in support of its collective bargaining demands. According to the Hamburger Abendblatt, strikes took place in the cities of Bremen, Hamburg, Flensburg and Lubz. The current offer from the brewing industry representatives is a one-off 500-euro bonus and a pay freeze, but the NGG is demanding a 4.5 percent wage rise. Strikes in Spain against job losses at BBVA as union negotiates redundancies This week, workers at major Spanish bank BBVA continued a campaign of strikes against plans to cut around 3,500 jobs. Europa Press reports that the majority of workers at the bank took part in a two-hour strike on May 31, following a similar one-hour stoppage on May 25. The first and only full-day walkout took place on Wednesday, called by the Workers Commissions (CCOO), Banking Board Association and General Union of Workers. In negotiations with the company, due to end Friday, the CCOO accepted over 3,300 job losses, merely seeking to negotiate more favourable redundancy terms. Firefighters in Jaen, Spain continue strike against cuts to staffing and services Firefighters in the Andalusian city of Jaen have been on strike for over a month. They are opposing cuts to hours and services threatened by the Socialist Party-led city council, as well as ongoing staffing levels, which are dangerously low. The 67 firefighters and five administrative staff say that according to the governments own documents, there should be an extra 25 staff members in the force, reports Europa Press. The strikers refused to perform any non-emergency tasks but adhered to minimum service requirements, which still leaves them too busy to take rest days. The city council cited the high cost of 28,000 overtime hours in 2019 for the cuts, but the strike committee points out that cutting these hours without hiring extra staff will undermine the citys safety. Revealing the plans, the council official in charge of personnel denounced the privilege of the workers and complained of a rigid work system that only allowed 24-hour shifts and squads of 14 firefighters. Nissan workers in Spain protest over closure of Barcelona plants Workers from the Nissan factories in Barcelona, Spain protested on May 28 against the planned closure of the facilities in Catalonia at the end of this year. They demanded a reindustrialisation plan to save jobs. Cronica reports that a demonstration around the plant was joined by hundreds of workers, who walked out for two hours. Since May 3, workers at eight subcontractors to the car maker have taken strike action, and autoworkers at the company itself have joined numerous protests. Public sector workers across France strike against law on working hours Workers in public services such as school canteens and nurseries throughout France staged walkouts last week to denounce a new law increasing their annual working hours. The major unions called local one-day stoppages against the law, which would cost many workers a week of leave, but isolated them from each other. France Bleu reports that around 2,000 public servants in Rouen went on a one-day strike on May 27, a walkout was called in Clermont-Ferrand on May 25, and around 100 workers took part in a strike on May 29 in Rennes. New strike of French school workers supporting children with disabilities over pay, contracts and staffing levels AESH workers in France, who support students with disabilities attending school, held a second one-day strike on Thursday. They are demanding a pay rise, to be moved to full-time contracts, and increased recruitment into the profession. The stoppage follows one organised on April 8 by the six unions involved. In a press release the unions denounce ministers for failing to resume discussions, but have limited their opposition so far to two isolated 24-hour strikes. Protests against closure of auto plant in Caudan, France On May 29, around 1,500 people in the commune of Hennebont, France, protested against the planned closure of the Fonderie de Bretagne auto foundry in nearby Caudan, according to 20 Minutes. Workers at the plant have blockaded the foundry since April 27, following Renaults announcement of its closure. Renault took the General Confederation of Labour to court to demand the blockade was lifted, and Ouest-France reports that a hundred strikers from the Fonderie de Bretagne protested outside the court on Tuesday. The closure of the plant would mean 340 job losses, and other auto plants across France are threatened with closure, threatening over 1,000 more redundancies. Workers at the MBF Aluminium foundry in Saint-Claude are currently demanding that the Dijon Tribunal of Commerce find a buyer for the plant, and threatened to blow up the factory if it is permanently closed. Workers at flour mill in Georgia continue strike for improved wages and conditions Workers at the Guria Express flour mill in the town of Ozurgeti, Georgia, have been on strike since May 3, demanding improved conditions. First Channel reports that at a rally strikers denounced their treatment by management at the mill, and demanded a wage increase, health insurance and improved working conditions. Like the strike of 3,000 miners in Chiatura, the workers hired a lawyer to protect their rights during their walkout rather than working through a trade union, although the Georgian Trade Union Confederation has offered verbal and financial support for the strike. Further strikes at Elica extractor hood manufacturer plant in Fabriano, Italy against redundancies On May 28, around 100 workers at multinational extractor hood manufacturer Elica walked out for eight hours in the town of Fabriano, Italy, reports ANSA. The stoppage was called by three unions at the plant to oppose plans to cut 409 jobs. The unions announced a limited campaign comprising only 16 hours of strike action. Another four-hour stoppage took place on May 24. Elica, which employs around 4,800 internationally, also announced plans to close its plant in Cerreto DEsi and move production away from three of its Italian sites. Third strike of vehicle and driver registration staff at UK headquarters in Wales over COVID safety Workers at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) headquarters in Swansea, Wales began their third four-day stoppage on Wednesday. Around 3,300 Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union members previously walked out for four days in April and May over lack of basic COVID safety measures at the site. It marked the first major industrial action at a UK workplace over coronavirus safety. More than 600 positive COVID cases were reported at the DVLAs offices. Up to 2,500 staff were required to attend their workplace in person, despite more than 20 percent of those in the office catching coronavirus. At least one employee at the site died after testing positive for COVID. During the first lockdown, workers were able to work remotely. PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said a dealall but agreed to end the disputewas withdrawn at the last minute by the Department of Transport without explanation. Strikes continue at Jacobs Douwe Egberts plant, England against fire and rehire as workers receive dismissal notices UK workers at Jacobs Douwe Egberts coffee producing factory in Banbury, Oxfordshire facing fire and rehire on inferior terms received dismissal notices on Wednesday. The 271 Unite members face losing up to 12,000 a year, unsocial shift patterns, slashed overtime rates and unpaid breaks They have taken two 24-hour strikes, and began an overtime ban on May 1. Further 24-hour strikes are planned for June 5, 10, 13 and 16. Unite national officer for the food industry Joe Clarke said, This move comes on the back of an unprecedented level of commitment by our members throughout the COVID crisis keeping the nation supplied with coffee, as demand soared by an estimated 40 percent. The focus of the union has been to get fire and rehire off the table. In Manchester, at Go North West bus company this allowed Unite to claim a victory after an 11 week strike while they signed a sellout deal with the company. Jacobs Douwe Egberts is part of the transnational JDE Peets, the worlds largest coffee and tea producer. Rally and strike against redundancies by UK Liverpool university lecturers at Health and Life Sciences Faculty Around 150 staff and students rallied May 25, in University Square Liverpool, England in support of striking staff in the Health and Life Sciences Faculty. The 1,300 University and College Union (UCU) members walked out May 10, after an 84 percent vote for a three-week strike over proposed redundancies. The strike follows a programme of working contracted hours and boycotting voluntary activities. The university initially proposed to axe 47 jobs, although this was reduced to 32. The university devised so-called rank and yank criteria to select academics deemed to be the worst performing. UCU members have condemned the criteria as statistically innumerate. Among those slated for redundancy are academics who have carried out leading research on COVID. One striker speaking to WSWS reporters described these redundancies during the pandemic as baffling and completely inhuman. He also condemned the privatisation of education, saying, We spend all this public money on research, and then the profits are reaped by shareholders and people who are already very wealthy. Louise Kenny, executive pro vice-chancellor at Liverpool is cutting jobs while selling her luxury property in Ireland for 3.5 million euros. The university vice chancellor Janet Beer is paid an annual salary of 410,000, according to the Liverpool Echo. The UCU sold out national strikes in 2018 and 2020 over pay and pensions, and has refused to oppose marketisation and redundancies in a joint struggle across the education sector. Academics dispute in defence of jobs at Leicester University, England diverted into a boycott by union as workers face redundancies at many universities The struggle by staff at the University of Leicester against job losses is being isolated and betrayed by the UCU. In April, academics voted by 70 percent to strike, and by 84 percent for action short of striking. Staff worked to contract and refused additional tasks, attending meetings over 50 minutes, and a marking and assessment boycott. The employer served redundancy notices on 26 staff members on May 11. The response of the UCU is to announce a global academic boycott of the university. On its website, the UCU also lists redundancy threats including course closures at the following universities in England: Aston, Birmingham City, Hull, Kent, Kingston, Leeds, London South Bank, New City College, the Universities of Chester and Sheffield, University College Birmingham, and the University of the Creative Arts in Farnham. All face job losses, but the UCU refuses to fight for united strike action. Stoppage by UK prison educators at 49 prisons over COVID safety concerns UK prison education workers walked out on May 11/12, at 49 prisons and young offender institutes in a dispute over COVID health and safety. The UCU members, who provide education and skills training in prisons, are in dispute with employer Novus for disciplining educators for raising health and safety concerns around COVID. Deaths in prison are three times higher from the virus than in the general population. Talks at government arbitration service Acas have failed. Novus is the largest provider of prison education in England. Teachers strike at four independent schools in Coventry, England over job losses Teachers at four private schools in Coventry, England went on the first of 10 strike days on May 23, against potential job losses from merger plans. The NASUWT union members work at Bablake School, Bablake Junior School, King Henry VIII School and King Henry VIII Prep School, part of the Coventry Schools Foundation. According to Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT general secretary, said, The employer has failed to undertake any adequate consultation with its staff or the NASUWT on what these proposed changes will mean for teachers. School staff at school in UK capital to strike against victimisation of colleagues Teachers and support staff at Oaks Park High School in the London borough of Redbridge are to strike on June 15, with two days of action the following week, and three days the week after. Legal action is planned against the school and the council. The National Education Union (NEU) members are striking in defence of four colleagues victimised for refusing to be in an unsafe workplace during the second wave of the pandemic in January, in line with Section 44 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. NEU regional officer Glenn Kelly says the school told the workers they will not have jobs in September following their request not to work on site. When Oaks Park threatened they would be in breach of contract and face disciplinary action or a pay cut, NEU members supported the workers. It is claimed the local authority then agreed to them working from home. Kelly said the school is seeking to wreak revenge by ending the workers contracts. One has already lost his/her job, and the other three will go in July. UK biomedical scientists at two Lancashire hospitals strike over underpayment Biomedical scientists at the NHS East Lancashire Trust, England began three weeks continuous strike action against underpayment on May 31. The 21 workers at the Royal Blackburn Hospital and Burnley General Teaching Hospital had been on strike during night, weekend and late shifts since May 7. The strike will delay test results across the Trust. The Unite union members are reportedly owed backpay ranging from several hundred pounds to 8,000. The workers have been trying to redress underpayment since 2010. In 2019, the Trust agreed to upgrade them from band 5 to band 6 on the NHS Agenda for Change pay scale, but reneged on that agreement. According to Unite, the Trust set aside 150,000 to pay a scab workforce to undermine the strike. Unite regional officer Keith Hutson called on the Trust to return to the negotiating table and agree to pay our members the money they are owed. Leicestershire engineers in England strike over fire and rehire contract changes Around 30 field service engineers at the Ashby, Leicestershire branch of Brush Electrical Machines (BEM), England began a three-month stoppage, to last from May 25 to August 16. Unite said its members were threatened with the sack unless they sign contracts that will see them being paid well below the industry standard. The engineers, who service generators around the world, face proposed changes to their contracts that would reduce overtime rates, allowances, holidays and other terms and conditions. According to Unite, the changes would result in a pay cut of between 10,000 and 15,000 a year. The Unite regional officer said engineers had continued to travel globally for the company during the pandemic, even though they had to spend weeks quarantining in solitary confinement to do so. Their reward was fire and rehire pay cuts. BCM Fareva workers strike vote in Nottingham, England against fire and rehire Workers at BCM Fareva, the manufacturer of consumer pharma and beauty products based in Nottingham, England voted by 92 percent on a 61 percent turnout for strike action against proposed new contracts. The company wants to slash terms and conditions, including sick pay and redundancy payment provisions. It threatened to fire and rehire staff if agreement cannot be reached on the proposalsbefore we had even started discussions, said Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) national officer Daniel Adams. USDAW called on the company to withdraw the fire and rehire threat to prevent the strike. Sunrise Medical workers in Dudley, England set strike dates over pay Workers at electric wheelchair maker Sunrise Medical called four days of strike action at the Brierley Hill factory in Dudley, England. The stoppages on June 14, 18, 21, and 25 were called following the breakdown of pay talks. The Unite members are seeking a three percent pay increase and an additional holiday on Christmas Eve. Unite regional officer Su Lowe stated the unions willingness to call off the dispute either by Sunrise Medical returning to the negotiating table with an improved offer or through constructive talks brokered by [government mediation service] Acas. DHL logistics workers in Long Eaton, England to strike over redundancy terms USDAW members at DHLs Long Eaton distribution centre voted by 90 percent to take 24-hour strike action on June 9. The site, which operates a third-party logistics contract for retailer Marks & Spencer, is due to close at the end of July. DHL is refusing demands that staff employed prior to July 2003 receive enhanced redundancy pay when it closes. Bromley library staff in London to strike over late-night opening Workers at Bromley Central Library in London announced strike dates against plans for late-night library opening with fewer staff. From June 14 the workers will strike every evening from 6pm. The 17 Unite union members voted unanimously to strike. Under changes to working hours proposed by employer Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL), staff would be forced to work four late nights every two weeks rather than the one night currently. Part-time staff, who are not currently required to work late nights, would be forced to work one night per week. The proposed changes follow recent staff cuts, meaning fewer workers to cover longer hours. In June 2019, library staff began an indefinite strike across 14 GLL libraries in the London borough of Bromley against pay progression, restructuring and staff reduction. After eight months Unite settled a deal they claimed protects jobs. Strikes continue at ScotRail in Scotland over pay ScotRail ticket examiners and conductors in Scotland are continuing their stoppages over pay rates for rest day working. Conductors have held strikes each Sunday since the end of March and were later joined by ticket examiners. Further 24-hour strikes were announced for every Sunday from 13 June to 18 July inclusive. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union members are protesting being paid a lower rate of overtime than train drivers. The RMT accused ScotRail of endangering safety by deploying managers without the necessary safety training to replace striking conductors. The RMT has repeatedly called on the Scottish National Party government to resolve the dispute. Since March 2020, funding and management of the franchise have been in the hands of the government under operating company Abellios Emergency Measures Agreement. RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch threatened a long summer of strikes if the company do not do the right thing. He said, Instead of backing the bosses of a failed company and prolonging these disputes into the summer [the Scottish government] should be backing the rail worker heroes who have kept our railway moving during the pandemic. Lynch said the RMT is ready for talks anytime, anyplace, anywhere. In a separate dispute, two strike dates were announced for maintenance staff at ScotRails Perth outbase for June 15 and 29. This follows a dispute over a manager who was disciplined and moved to another site. Pointing to inequality of treatment, RMT Scotland organiser Mick Hogg said, If this was one of our members, they would be dismissed. It is one rule for managers and one rule for employees. ScotRail said the exhaustive disciplinary investigation had involved the RMT. The RMT and other unions are also balloting their members in a dispute over pay rises being made dependent on productivity improvements. Last week, workers at SERCO-run Caledonian Sleeper voted 85 percent to strike. The 11-day strike will run from June 15-26. Scottish supermarket supply workers ballot for strike over derecognition Supply workers at XPO Logistics in Bellshill, Scotland, which services 54 Morrisons supermarkets, are balloting for strike action over plans to axe 47 team managers from a key bargaining group. The GMB union members fear the moves, which would weaken their bargaining position, could be a prelude to fire and rehire plans. XPO, which claimed around 100 million in government furlough payments, classified its staff as key workers during the pandemic. It imposed full production on its workforce, including its 600 hourly-paid warehouse workers. There was an outbreak of more than 60 cases at the Bellshill depot in February, following nearly 70 cases between September and December 2020. The GMB described it as an avoidable catastrophe, with staff feeling forced to work because of the financial hardships imposed by sick pay cuts. XPO docks the first three days wages from any absence. The company said this was negotiated with the GMB. Middle East Public sector walkout in Lebanon over poverty and unemployment Public services shut down in Lebanon May 23, as workers walked out to protest and demonstrate against poverty and unemployment. The General Labour Union are calling for a salvation government as the economy is in freefall, leaving hundreds of thousands without jobs. The economic crisis was exacerbated by lockdowns and the explosion at Beirut Port in August. Lebanon's currency has fallen since late 2019, as the Central Banks dollar reserves dried up, used by the government to subsidise fuel, flour and medications. Lebanon currently has a caretaker government. Africa Factory worker in Maseru, Lesotho killed by police during general strike over low pay A general strike to demand a 20 percent pay increase by 50,000 factory workers in the textile industry entered its second week. Female striker, Motselisi Manase, was shot dead by police in Maseru, Lesotho after police attacked peaceful protests. The police used the excuse of clamping down on those acting in contravention of COVID regulations to justify their violence. Tensions flared when the government brought in the International Labour Organisation to mediate, without the agreement of the unions. Reports cited damage to some businesses in the capital Maseru. Workers blocked roads with rocks, logs, rubbish bins and streetlamps, which the police cleared with water cannons. Armed police and the army were deployed. Unions in Lesotho, including the National Clothing Textile and Allied Workers Union, say they cannot control their members, whose earnings lost value since the first lockdown. The price of cooking oil doubled. Unions pleaded with the government to make up for two missed increases in the minimum wage for 2020/21 and 2021/22due to be granted by the government each April, but on hold indefinitely. Last month, three workers shot by police rubber bullets were hospitalised. The majority95 percentof workers in the garment industry are women. Further strike threat in Kaduna state, Nigeria against mass sackings in public sector Major parts of Kaduna state, Nigeria were without electricity after workers walked out on May 16, against the sacking of 7,000 state government employees. Airports, hospitals, schools and other public facilities closed. Commercial banks, transporters, traders, petrol station attendants and joined the strike. The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), the trade union umbrella body, threatened to renew the five-day strike action in Kaduna State, while emphasising it was prepared to negotiate away the jobs and conditions. The body that NLC would negotiate with is that led by governor Nasir El-Rufai, which threatened to jail NLC leaders and ordered its supporters to attack demonstrators. The NLC stated that it would continue to keep its doors open for dialogue and amicable resolution of the industrial crisis Strike by Nigerian judicial workers enters eighth week The strike by Nigerian judicial workers entered its eighth week, and the Nigerian legal system, including the courts, remains closed. The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria members are calling for the legislative arm of government to be given financial autonomy, and for an end to the corrupt practices through which state governments ensure that judges do their bidding. Lawyers complain they are unable to run their businesses as most of their work depends on the courts being open. The courts were also shut down for much of last year due to the pandemic. Shop workers strike and protest against job cuts at major South African retailer Massmart Hundreds of employees at Massmart stores, majority-owned since 2010 by retail giant Walmart, stopped work and demonstrated in Durban and Johannesburg May 27, against store closures, reductions in working hours, demotions and redundancies. Massmart is the largest general merchandise, liquor and DIY retailer and wholesaler of basic foods in South Africa. The South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union members are demanding the company halt the consultation process regarding job cuts, and re-engage the estimated 1,440 workers previously made redundant. In Durban, hundreds of workers marched to Massmarts Game store, where 88 were made redundant, and then demonstrated outside city hall. In Johannesburg, hundreds of Massmart employees from across Gauteng province protested at the companys head office. On Wednesday, Massmart said workers who protested must isolate for seven days by taking paid annual leave, unless they could prove they followed COVID preventative measures whilst demonstrating. Municipal workers in Tshwane, South Africa stoppage and march to demand wage increase More than 500 striking workers employed by the City of Tshwane municipality, Gauteng, South Africa marched through the centre of Pretoria Tuesday. They are demanding salary increases, housing allowances and a 25 percent pension contribution. They threaten total shutdown of services if their demands are not met within a week. The South African Municipal Workers Union members are concerned they will not get annual pay rises after Tshwanes mayor said the city was financially bankrupt. WABASH VALLEY,Ind. (WTHI) - Lakes and ponds are stocked, and local fishers are already having luck! I spoke to one Terre Haute man who says fishing is a way for him to bring the family together! Roger Cox is a Terre Haute resident who takes his grandsons fishing all over the Wabash Valley. After a day of rain, they headed to Dobbs Park Nature Center in Terre Haute to test their luck. In less than an hour, the family caught ten catfish. "I love fishing with the boys, and they love fishing with me, and we learn things and get out in nature and have a blast," Cox said with a smile on his face. This weekend, the Department of Natural Resources will be hosting a 'Free Fishing Weekend' for Indiana residents. On free fishing days, you can fish in public waters without a fishing license or a trout stamp. Clint Kowalik, a Sportfishing Education Specialist at the DNR Fish & Wildlife Division, stressed to News 10 that although you won't need a fishing license this weekend, you still have to follow fishing guidelines. "Follow size limits and bag limits. So, certain fish have to be a certain length, and you can only keep certain fish," Kowalik explained. You can find all of the DNR fishing guidelines here. According to the DNR, Dobbs Park is stocked with channel catfish, and Maple Avenue Nature Park is stocked with rainbow trout. If you're new to fishing and looking for some advice, Kowalik and Cox encourage simplicity and patience for a successful fishing day. "Sometimes they ain't biting and then all of a sudden, all at once, you get into them, and it's a blast," said Cox. If you'd like to participate in the 'Free Fishing Weekend' but don't know how to fish, the DNR is hosting a free ''Learn to Fish' workshop Saturday at 10 am at Dobbs Park Nature Center in Terre Haute. The DNR will provide fishing equipment and bait, but you have to pre-register online by Thursday at noon. JASPER, Ind. (WTHI) - An Indiana State Police trooper was charged after he allegedly seriously injured his K9. According to Indiana State Police, Trooper Dustan Rubenacker was charged with striking a law enforcement animal. The investigation started back in March during a training session in Jasper. Officials say during the training, Rubenacker allegedly used "unreasonable discipline" when his K9, Odin, didn't focus on the correct target. Several other state police K9 teams were there when the alleged incident happened. Odin was taken to the vet, where they said the K9 had a serious fracture to his right rear leg. Rubenacker is set to be in court in Dubois County on July 6. He is currently on paid administrative leave as an internal investigation continues. (CNN) -- Ransomware hacks are everywhere if you look for them. These are just the ones we know about: Food -- A hack of JBS Foods, the world's largest meat processor, shut multiple plants over the weekend. Fuel -- The Colonial Pipeline hack led to fuel shortages on the East Coast last month. The company has admitted to paying more $4.4 million in ransom, although the FBI has said ransoms of more than $25 million have been demanded. Hospitals -- A hack of the Scripps hospital system in San Diego has led to the breach of medical information for more than 150,000 people. The Irish health system was also targeted. More on how hackers target hospitals and first responders below. Trains -- A New York City subway system hack from April was reported Wednesday by the The New York Times. Ferries -- There are also smaller hacks, like the one affecting the ferry system in Cape Cod. Add those to the previously known hacks that targeted US and state government agencies, cities and school districts. Either tied to China, like the subway hack, or Russia, hackers finding support or safe haven in autocratic countries pillaging the West. Eyes on Russia. The White House has its eyes on Russia for enabling both the Colonial Pipeline and JBS meat processing hacks. Read CNN's full report on the JBS attack here. "Harboring criminal entities that are intending to do harm, that are doing harm to the critical infrastructure in the United States is not acceptable. We're not going to stand by that, we will raise that, and we are not going to take options off the table," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday. President Joe Biden will meet with Putin in Geneva this month and can raise the issue of the hacks. Asked Wednesday afternoon whether the US would retaliate against Russia for the attack, he told reporters, "We're looking closely at that issue." As to whether he thought Putin was testing him, the President plainly said: "No." This is a business model. But this is larger than a standoff between countries as these criminal hackers target the US. Everything on the internet is at risk. "Ransomware right now, this is a business model," Lior Div, CEO of the security firm Cybereason told CNN's Richard Quest. "They are in it for the money and they are trying to generate as much revenue as possible for themselves. So as long as people are going to pay, they're going to keep operating in order to generate this massive amount of revenue that they are generating every year. That people are paying, then, means this phenomenon is going to get worse before it gets better. "I think the takeaway is that if you are a corporate executive or a local government head and you thought that you would be spared, guess what? They went after your gas, they went after your hotdogs, no one is out of bounds here. Everyone is in play in every single corporation," Christopher Krebs, former director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, on recent ransomware attacks, told NBC's Today show. Cyber hygiene is necessary. Every US company and organization needs to protect itself, said Eric Goldstein, the current assistant director at CISA, in a statement. "Regardless of the ransomware actor or strain, good cyber hygiene is highly effective in reducing the impacts of an intrusion. Our joint advisory released after the Colonial Pipeline attack provides critical guidance for all organizations." The hack of the world's largest meat producer, JBS, a Brazilian company whose subsidiaries control a quarter of US beef processing and a large portion of pork processing, was disclosed Tuesday by the White House, which promised to re-focus on the issue and to raise it with Russia, the government thought to be harboring hackers. You figure if nine meat plants hadn't gone dark in Arizona, Texas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wisconsin, Utah, Michigan and Pennsylvania, it seems very plausible we likely would never have heard. The US JBS headquarters is based in Greeley, Colorado, and it employs more than 66,000 people. Read about the fallout for them, from CNN's Brian Fung. The current discussion in Washington over how to define infrastructure -- is it more than bridges and roads the government should be funding? -- seems small when you consider the prospect of food, fuel and transportation shortages, although the JBS hack is not currently expected to lead to price hikes or shortages, according to industry experts in CNN's reports. It's not clear, of course, if the company is paying the ransom. If they're getting back online this quickly, you've certainly got to assume they could have. There are so many hacks we don't hear about. The FBI issued an alert in May, for instance, which was published by the American Hospital Association, that a ransomware variant known as Conti had targeted "US healthcare and first responder networks, including law enforcement agencies, emergency medical services, 9-1-1 dispatch centers, and municipalities within the last year." The FBI has identified 16 Conti attacks in the US this year, which are among 400 total known Conti attacks, 290 of which are in the US. Ireland's national health service has completely shut its IT system and refuses to pay the ransom, which it said in May has disrupted everything from its Covid vaccine rollout to community health services. The-CNN-Wire & 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. STARKVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) - The Oktibbeha County School District is looking to partner with city leaders to provide jobs from folks in the community. On Tuesday, the Board of Aldermen approved collaborating with the school district to provide local government jobs for people getting started or re-entering the workforce. It gives people an opportunity to enhance their work skills and hopefully they can be able to get a job after the program, said Nav Ashford, the chief operating officer in human resources for the city. The project, Project PEACE, will provide opportunities to work in the court system filing paperwork or in the clerk's office doing administration. Starkville mayor, Lynn Spruill, believes the program will provide strong opportunities for those in need of experience. To have a job in the city is such an enlightening experience even if it is just for a short period of time," she explained. "I think it opens doors that will serve them well in the future. The program is a 16-hour workweek for 12 weeks. It is only available for people 18 and older. The school board hasn't approved the program yet. CALHOUN CITY, Miss. (WTVA) - Wednesday marked one month since an EF-1 tornado swept through Calhoun City. And the cleanup continues. Drone image from Calhoun City. Source: Calhoun County Sheriff Greg Pollan. Drone image from Calhoun City. Source: Calhoun County Sheriff Greg Pollan. "It was a bad time, but it could have been a lot worse; we were just blessed that nobody was hurt," Tenia Bingham said. She was coming home from Memphis, Tennessee, when the storm passed over. She arrived and saw most of her neighborhood in pieces. Robbie Goodwin agreed: it could have been worse. "Everybody ought to be thankful today that we are still here because it was bad, it was bad," he said. Fortunately, the storm left behind no causalities. Members of the community and churches have provided food to storm victims and those cleaning up debris. Some victims were without power for almost a week. But the community is thankful for everyone who provided aid following the storm. "The utility workers and first responders they come in like champs; they did a real good job," Goodwin added. Charleston, WV (25301) Today Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 89F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Partly cloudy skies after midnight. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 22:33:41|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JAKARTA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 jolted Indonesia's eastern province of North Maluku on Thursday, with no damage or casualties reported so far, according to officials. The meteorology and geophysics agency did not issue any tsunami warning as the tremors did not potentially trigger a giant wave. The quake rocked at 17:09 p.m. local time (1009 GMT) and the epicenter, with a depth of 10 km under the seabed, was determined to be 135 km southwest of Ternate city, according to the agency. In the hardest-hit areas of Ternate city and Manado city, there were no reports of damage or casualties, disaster agency officials said. "The jolts only caused panic among residents in Halmahera district. In Ternate, the jolts were felt by the residents," Head of Operation Unit of Disaster Agency of North Maluku Province Fehbi Alting told Xinhua over phone. "There were no building damage or those wounded." In Manado, the tremors were also felt without triggering panic, a local disaster management agency official told Xinhua via phone. Enditem Charleston, WV (25301) Today Partly to mostly cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 88F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Charleston, WV (25311) Today Isolated thunderstorms this morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 87F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Partly cloudy skies after midnight. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 22:40:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIRUT, June 3 (Xinhua) -- World Bank Group Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa Ferid Belhaj said on Thursday that the World Bank is ready to contribute to the reconstruction of Lebanon's capital Beirut hit by two huge explosions at its port last year, the National News Agency reported. "The World Bank is fully prepared to engage in any reconstruction project," Belhaj said. His remarks came following his meeting with caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan over the World Bank's contributions in the fight against COVID-19 in Lebanon. Belhaj noted that the World Bank will offer any support needed for Lebanon and the Lebanese government. Meanwhile, Hassan said the loans offered by the World Bank give a glimmer of hope for the Lebanese and the people living in Lebanese during the current difficult times. The World Bank allocated earlier this year 34 million U.S. dollars under the existing Lebanon Health Resilience Project to support the COVID-19 vaccination in the country. Enditem Clarksburg, WV (26301) Today Thunderstorms. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 83F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 22:47:44|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close PHNOM PENH, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Ministry of Health (MoH)'s secretary of state and spokeswoman Or Vandine called on people to continue exercising caution as the Southeast Asian nation has seen an uptick in new COVID-19 cases. The kingdom confirmed 729 new cases on Thursday, bringing the national case tally to 32,189, the MoH said in a statement, adding that six new fatalities were also reported, taking the overall death toll to 236. Vandine recalled that on Dec. 14, 2020, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen announced a guideline on three do's and three don'ts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. "Now, we need to reinforce the implementation of that measure," she told Xinhua. She said the three do's include wearing a face mask, washing hands regularly, and maintaining physical distancing of 1.5 meters, and the three don'ts are avoiding confined and enclosed spaces, avoiding crowded spaces, and avoiding touching each other. Cambodia launched a COVID-19 inoculation drive on Feb 10. So far, more than 2.66 million out of the 10 million targeted population have been vaccinated, the spokeswoman said. Most of the COVID-19 vaccines being used in the kingdom are China's Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines, Vandine said, adding that both vaccines are very safe and effective. Enditem Hannah Black is the Wyoming Tribune Eagles criminal justice reporter. She can be reached at hblack@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3128. Follow her on Twitter at @hannahcblack. Margaret Austin is the Wyoming Tribune Eagles local government reporter. She can be reached at maustin@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3152. Follow her on Twitter at @MargaretMAustin. David Adler , Ph.D., is a noted author who lectures nationally and internationally on the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and presidential power. His scholarly writings have been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts by both Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Congress. Adlers column is supported in part through a grant from Wyoming Humanities funded by the Why it Matters: Civic and Electoral Participation initiative, administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and funded by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Adler can be reached at david.adler@alturasinstitute.com. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks about aviation security ahead of the summer travel season during a news conference at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, in Arlington, Virginia. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 22:54:35|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NANJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- A litigation campaign has helped cleanse China's Grand Canal and galvanized conservation efforts for the historical site, prosecutors said in a forum. Since the public interest litigation campaign, initiated by the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) in February 2020, prosecutors had opened 464 investigations, the forum explained. It took place on Thursday in Yangzhou, in east China's Jiangsu Province. The campaign pooled law enforcement efforts along the 3,200-km-long artificial canal, the world's longest man-made waterway. The law enforcement was based on the SPP's extensive on-site investigation along the canal, said Hu Weilie, a senior prosecutor. More importantly, it generates an array of coordination mechanisms for further law enforcement, added Hu. Zhang Xueqiao, deputy procurator-general of the SPP, promised to join hands with executive authorities and take the coordination and cooperation on the protection of the Grand Canal to a higher level and at a broader spectrum. The SPP will review the closed cases and press for a conclusion of those in process in the second half of the year, the forum said. With a history of more than 2,500 years, the Grand Canal connects Beijing and Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province, serving as a significant transportation artery in ancient China. An over 1,000-km-stretch of the canal was declared a world heritage site in 2014. Enditem Steelrising is a Game Set During the French Revolution That Features Robots Assassin's Creed Valhalla Will Be Getting More DLC For Year Two, 'The Siege of Paris' DLC Unveiled Democrat Melanie Stansbury's landslide win in New Mexico's special congressional election Tuesday, against a Republican rival who largely ran on policing, could boost her party heading into next year's midterm elections, when Democrats are worried about losing seats and giving up their congressional majority. State Rep. Stansbury will fill the open congressional seat vacated by Secretary of the Interior Deb Halaand in March. Stansbury will represent New Mexico's first congressional district after beating her Republican rival State Sen. Mark Moores. Democrats shy about campaigning on the concept of defunding police departments may find encouragement in the results New Mexico's special election, particularly as history suggests an uphill battle in the 2022 midterms. And with only a single-digit majority in the House, and an evenly split Senate, Democrats have little room to spare. Moores positioned himself as the pro-police candidate compared to Stansbury's more reformative stance, reflecting national concerns about policing in the wake of killings of people of color by police and nationwide protests in favor of Black lives. Over 1,100 people were killed by police in 2020, the same year George Floyd, a Black Minneapolis man, died after white ex-police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for more than 9 minutes. Chauvin was convicted of murder in April. Funding law enforcement was one of Moores's key campaign issues. Defund the police attacks didn't work Moores repeatedly tried to connect Stansbury to national calls to defund the police, a contentious issue among voters. Think about who's in federal prison right now: El Chapo, the co-founder of al Qaeda, the Oklahoma City bomber, the Unabomber, Moores told Republican voters at a luncheon last month. "That is how radical this agenda is, and we have to stop it." In one attack ad by Moores's campaign, a voice over set against a photo of Stansbury said that "Melanie Stansbury supports the most dangerous legislation in America," and suggested "murders, rapists and child molesters" will walk free as a result. The legislation in question, the BREATHE Act, seeks to reform U.S. policing. Story continues But Moores's attacks failed to deter voters' enthusiasm for Stansbury. The Democrat beat her Republican opponent by more than 30,000 votes - nearly 25 percentage points. Proving ground for 2022 midterms The Washington Post reported in May that Democrats, looking ahead to the 2022 midterm elections, determined that Republican attack ads on defunding the police were more effective than expected. But news and polling site FiveThirtyEight noted that the New Mexico election was "the first head-to-head match up between a Democrat and a Republican for a congressional seat in Joe Bidens presidency." Stansbury's "comfortable margin could be a positive sign for Democrats headed into the 2022 midterm elections." And Jaime Harrison, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, was up front about labeling Stansbury's victory a warning to the GOP next year. "This victory should serve as a cautionary tale to Republicans across the country," Harrison said in a statement. "President Biden and Democrats are offering a bold agenda to build our country back better, delivering on their promises, and getting our country back on track its going to be an easy choice for the American people come these midterm elections. Contributing: The Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New Mexico special election a win for Dems: What's next for the party Amazon has set up its own Covid testing facilities in Greater Manchester Amazon is to expand its Covid testing lab facilities in the UK as the pandemic continues. The online giant said this was to benefit employees and UK public health. However, analysts said it could also provide business opportunities in the health sector and buff up Amazon's reputation after questions over working conditions. Amazon recently moved into the online pharmacy business in the US for subscribers to its Prime service. Lab tests In 2020, the online retailing giant set up laboratories in Kentucky and in Greater Manchester to process employees' PCR tests. The lab in Manchester has processed 900,000 test samples to date. The test results are anonymous and will be shared with Public Health England once the lab is approved for sequencing. Its coronavirus response efforts have so far cost the company $11.5bn (8.1bn). Tom Forte, managing director and senior research analyst at D.A. Davidson, said Amazon could convert staff Covid-19 testing and healthcare clinics for consumer use. "We believe Covid-19 inspired Amazon to accelerate its healthcare-related efforts, by necessity. "That said, we had long believed healthcare was an attractive opportunity for Amazon given its large market size and chances for the company to both improve the customer experience and lower the costs." Analysis box by Colletta Smith, Consumer affairs correspondent There are very few companies in the world who could have decided to build a state of the art diagnostics lab and have it functioning within months, but Amazon is one of them. While the company insists that at the moment this site is purely to help keep their staff safer at work, they are sending out a very clear message. They are able to process medical diagnostics and feed that information into public health agencies. Right now this multimillion-pound site in Salford is only testing for Covid-19, but it's unlikely to be left idle after the pandemic. Amazon's most valuable product is the information they already hold about their customers, and medical data is a very rich pool indeed to be dipping their toes into. Story continues Lab director Luke Meredith joined Amazon from the World Health Organization and works alongside 70 Amazon lab technicians at the site in Wardley, Manchester. "What we decided during the Covid outbreak is that we really needed to maximise protection for safe working in the fulfilment centres," he told the BBC. Luke Meredith said the lab will help increase protection in Amazon's warehouses At the moment, the two sites are processing samples from staff across Europe and the Americas, tapping into the company's logistics network. Neil Travis, North West regional director for Amazon UK, said: "For now, we are focused on the safety of our colleagues." James Moar, lead analyst for Juniper Research, thinks that Amazon's expansion of its testing laboratories is "intended to enhance Amazon's reputation", although he said Amazon would be unlikely to pass up a business opportunity. There have been a number of controversies about how Amazon treats its staff. On Wednesday, a report found that staff at its warehouses in the US are injured at a higher rate than those doing similar jobs at other companies' warehouses. Earlier this year, the company apologised for falsely denying that its drivers were having to urinate in plastic bottles. And during the first wave of the pandemic, the company was accused of "cutting corners" on Covid safety, which it denied. However, Mr Moar thinks that having the laboratories could be useful to Amazon in the future. "Amazon has tried to get into healthcare in a number of ways," he said. "This is basically Amazon saying that as well as providing the facilities for its employees' healthcare, it's a demonstration that they can work to provide healthcare services. "This means they've already got some groundwork to show any potential partners." As I was transported to Iowas Polk County jail, my hands zip-tied behind my back and eyes burning with pepper spray, I thought about my mothers experience being strip searched and thrown in an Israeli detention cell. Her crime? Traveling to Palestine for her brothers wedding in July 2009. My mother was born and raised in Palestine. Her homeland has been occupied by Israel for more than half a century. My crime? Reporting on the protests that erupted in Des Moines in May 2020, after George Floyd was murdered under the knee of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. I was charged with failure to disperse and interference with official acts, and later taken to trial. (I was acquitted by a jury in March.) I almost let out a laugh in the back of the Des Moines police van. Like mother, like daughter, I thought to myself. Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri is arrested by Des Moines police May 31 while covering a protest near Merle Hay Mall. But first, race and justice news we're watching Don't miss this week's top stories from the USA TODAY Network. Witnessing my mothers trauma Des Moines Register journalist Andrea Sahouri photographed in Bethlehem with her brother, Alex Sahouri, and mother, Muna Tareh-Sahouri, during a childhood visit to Palestine. In July 2009, my mother, brother, and I were interrogated by Israeli authorities upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel. Having spent my childhood summers in Palestine, I was used to the interrogations they happened every time. Story continues We were sent to a room we sarcastically call the VIP room. There, Palestinians like my family are grilled for hours about our expected travel and activity in the country, our family members, political affiliations, and even our social media. In previous years, we were then allowed to enter Israel and make our way to Beit Jala, a village in Palestines West Bank where my family lives. This time was different. My brother and I were told we could go through Ben Gurion because we were born in the United States. As for my mother, she was told her luck ran out, despite being a U.S. citizen who has traveled to Palestine via Ben Gurion numerous times before. Dont you know youre Palestinian? an Israeli soldier said to my mother before she was strip searched. Take off your clothes. I could tell my mother tried hard not to cry in front of her children. But as she was ushered to another room, I saw black streaks of mascara run down her face. Then the door shut. While my brother and I reunited with my grandfather outside of the airport, my mother was taken to a building surrounded by a tall wall topped with barbed wire, she later told me. Armed guards were posted outside. She suspected it was Israeli prison, but she was never told where she was, only where she had to go: First a detention cell, then back to the United States. The cell was dark, cold, and filthy, she said. Without knowing if her children were safe, she could not sleep. After begging Israeli soldiers not to deport her back to the U.S., they agreed to send her to neighboring Jordan if she had cash to pay for the flight. She did. There, Israeli authorities allowed her enter Palestine-Israel with a warning never to go through Ben Gurion again. Des Moines Register journalist Andrea Sahouri and her brother, Alex Sahouri, photographed in Jerusalem during a childhood visit to Palestine. Like mother, like daughter At the Polk County Jail, I had to strip down and shower in front of female correctional officers to wash away the pepper spray that had spread all over my body like poison ivy. It was May 31, 2020, nearly 11 years since my mother was detained in Israel. But when an officer told me to undress, I heard the soldiers voice directing my mother to do the same. Everything was cold in jail: the water from the shower, the handcuffs around my wrists, the cell I was detained in. But hearing that voice again it gave me chills. After my shower, I was dressed in correctional clothing and sent to a cell littered with food, trash, and dirt. There was no bed, so I tried to map out sections of the floor remotely clean enough to sleep on. There were none. (Thankfully, I was released after a little over an hour in jail). I wondered how this cell compared with the one my mother was detained in years ago, but I had a feeling where she was held was worse. If she could make it through Israeli detention overnight, I could survive a night in Polk County Jail, I told myself. My mother has always been my guiding light. My strength. I gathered the courage to look at my reflection through the cell doors glass windows, but looking back at me was my mother, black mascara running down her cheeks. Des Moines Register journalist Andrea Sahouri photographed with her mother, Muna Tareh-Sahouri, at her graduation from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in May 2019. More essential reading -- This is America is a weekly take on current events from a rotating panel of USA TODAY Network journalists with diverse backgrounds and viewpoints. If you're seeing this newsletter online or someone forwarded it to you, you can subscribe here. If you have feedback for us, we'd love for you to drop it here. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: A reporter's arrest in Iowa connects to her mom's experience in Israel Jun. 3A new federal court opinion in Vermont improves the chances that a Maine case challenging the state's ban on public funding for religious schools could end up before the nation's highest court, according to a constitutional law scholar. The three families with children who attended Bangor Christian Schools and Temple Academy in Waterville are challenging a state law under which towns without public high schools pay tuition so local students can attend public or private schools of their choice in other communities as long as they're not religious. Federal courts have so far upheld the Maine law, even in light of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that invalidated state restrictions on the use of public money for religious institutions. The families have appealed their case to the U.S. Supreme Court and are waiting to hear whether it will hear their case. But in Vermont, two federal courts have now ruled mostly in favor of families challenging a similar state tuition program to Maine's. The odds are still "somewhat low" that the Supreme Court will take up the Maine case because the court ultimately hears few cases, said Dmitry Bam, vice dean and provost at the University of Maine School of Law. The case still has a better chance now given the split between the federal appellate courts, he said. "In addition, the court has expressed interest in recent years in hearing religious liberty cases and has sought to bring some clarity to this jurisprudence," Bam said. While the Supreme Court has wide latitude to choose the cases it will hear, it often seeks out cases that allow it to resolve conflicting opinions among federal appeals courts, according to the U.S. court system's website. "Here you have two virtually identical programs and two different courts of appeals coming to opposite conclusions regarding the exclusion of religious options," said Michael Bindas, a senior attorney with the Virginia-based Institute for Justice and lead attorney for the three Maine families. "And that is the type of conflict the U.S. Supreme Court would typically see as worthy of its review." Story continues In January, a U.S. District Court judge found the Vermont school districts and the state education agency violated the First Amendment in barring families from using public tuition dollars to attend a Catholic school in South Burlington simply because of the school's religious affiliation. But the court gave the districts and the state time to develop restrictions on the use of public money at religious schools. The court said the school districts had to comply with a 1999 state supreme court decision that found public money could not be used for "religious education," but did not prohibit the use of public money at religiously affiliated schools. An opinion issued Wednesday by a three-judge panel from the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, however, said the district court was wrong, and it ordered school districts to let families use public tuition money to attend religious schools. The families challenging the law "have been deprived of a public benefit as a result of the state's and the school districts' decades-long policy of unconstitutional religious discrimination," the judges wrote. In a concurring opinion, Judge Steven Menashi, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, argued that attempting to bar the use of public funds for religious uses is the same kind of discrimination as barring religious schools from receiving public money. "It's silly to say that you might not be able to exclude a school because it is religious but perhaps you can exclude them because it does religious things," Bindas said. "It's discrimination either way." The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide whether to hear the pending Maine case by late June or early July. The Maine law explicitly allows the use of public tuition money only at "nonsectarian" schools. But the state has argued that the law isn't discriminatory because a school's religious affiliation on its own doesn't determine whether the school is sectarian. Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey, a Democrat, said Wednesday his office is awaiting the Supreme Court's decision on whether it will hear the religious school funding case. "We remain confident that Maine's system of providing a free public education to all children, regardless of where they live, is constitutional," he said. Jun. 3Federal prosecutors filed a motion on Wednesday to dismiss more than 160 charges against a former Port Clinton physician accused of overprescribing medication. But defense attorneys for William Bauer, who faces 270 charges for distributing controlled substances and health care fraud, responded Thursday by opposing the motion to dismiss of certain charges without prejudice meaning prosecutors are not necessarily precluded from refiling charges. "By seeking to dismiss 161 of the currently pending charges without prejudice, the government seeks to hold those charges in reserve to be used against defendant for a second assault, after it loses the first," Dr. Bauer's attorney, John Gibbons, wrote in his filing in U.S. District Court in Toledo on Thursday. Mr. Gibbons asked Judge Jack Zouhary to require prosecutors to dismiss the select charges with prejudice or proceed to trial on all 270 counts. A trial is scheduled for July 6. Federal prosecutors did not give clear indication in the motion why the government sought to dismiss multiple charges, potentially leaving the physician to face 109 charges. Messages were not not returned Thursday from a Department of Justice spokesman or Mr. Gibbons. The judge had yet to file a decision by Thursday afternoon. Mr. Gibbons argued this "tactic" by federal prosecutors comes nearly two years after Dr. Bauer was required to post "a clearly excessive $1 million bond" and prevented him from practicing medicine. "This tactic, if allowed to succeed, will allow the government to harass the defendant, defeat rather than promote judicial economy, permit the government to improve its case for a second trial, force the defendant to spend himself to destruction defending multiple cases, enable the government to engage in forum shopping, and increase the likelihood that retaliation will result in the conviction of an innocent man," Mr. Gibbons wrote. The physician was indicted by a federal grand jury on Aug. 14, 2019 with 215 counts and additional counts were added in a superseding indictment on Nov. 23, 2019. Story continues Between 2015 and 2018, Dr. Bauer improperly distributed thousands of doses of addictive opioids such as fentanyl, oxycodone, and morphine, according to the indictment. In January, 2017, Dr. Bauer was notified by the State Medical Board of Ohio that he failed to comply with reporting requirements related to prescribing opioids for 13 patients, according to the state's license website. He was later reprimanded, ordered to pay a $7,500 fine, and ordered to take a class about prescribing controlled substances. In May, 2018, he filed a lawsuit against the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology for terminating his board certification. That lawsuit was later dismissed. Boat Capsizes California Acting United States Attorney Randy Grossman, right, speaks alongside area federal law enforcement officials Wednesday, June 2, 2021, in San Diego. The officials called for migrants contemplating crossing the border illegally to be aware of the dangers, after a wave of smuggling deaths in the region. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) SAN DIEGO (AP) A man alleged to have captained a boat that fell apart and killed three people off the San Diego coast has been indicted by a federal grand jury in what authorities said Wednesday was a growing number of deaths in migrant smuggling attempts along California's border with Mexico. Antonio Hurtado pleaded not guilty Tuesday to smuggling charges, weeks after he was arrested in the May 2 wreck when a cabin cruiser packed with 33 people smashed on the rocky shore of San Diego's Point Loma peninsula. Hurtado's age and citizenship were not disclosed in court filings but authorities have said the captain was a U.S. citizen. His attorney, Melissa Bobrow, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment late Wednesday afternoon. Exactly two months earlier, 13 Mexican and Guatemalan citizens in an overloaded SUV were killed when struck by a tractor-trailer in the remote desert community of Holtville. Authorities say 25 migrants died in smuggling attempts on California's border with Mexico from October through April, compared to 29 for the preceding 12-month period. Representatives of several law enforcement agencies pleaded with migrants at a news conference Wednesday to avoid the dangerous journey, saying smugglers' only concern was profits. Survivors of the May 2 boat wreck told investigators they paid $15,000 to $18,500 to be smuggled from Mexico. Migrants smuggled in a makeshift boat that ran into trouble near San Diego's La Jolla shores May 20, resulting in one fatal drowning, told authorities they paid $12,000 to $15,000. In March, Neil Edwin Valera, a U.S. citizen, was sentenced to five years in prison in connection with the deaths of three Chinese migrants, including a mother and her 15-year-old son, who were found in the trunk of his BMW. Smugglers will leave you in a trunk or a hidden compartment and they will not listen to your screams if you are in distress, said Randy Grossman, acting U.S. attorney in San Diego. They just want their fees. Robert Page has promised Wales will do everything possible to overturn the red card that looks set to rule Neco Williams out of their final Euro 2020 warm-up game. Williams was left devastated, according to interim manager Page, after being sent off in the 26th minute of Wales 3-0 friendly defeat to France in Nice. The Liverpool full-back was only a few yards away from Karim Benzema when he blocked the Real Madrid strikers close-range shot with both arms away from his body. Wales captain Gareth Bale (third left) leads the protests following the first-half dismissal of Neco Williams (Daniel Cole/AP) After a lengthy VAR check, Portuguese referee Luis Godinho considered it deliberate handball and brandished a red card to the bemused Williams. Page said: Neco is devastated in there. He wanted justification from the referee but he couldnt get it. Well do everything we can to overturn it. If there is a chance to do it, we will. Thats the disappointing thing. The plan was to play so many minutes today and building up to Saturday but we cant do that now. It was a harsh penalty anyway, to get him sent off as well a bitter blow. It changed the course of the game, for France as well I imagine. Williams has had limited game-time at Liverpool this season, with the 20-year-old starting only three Premier League games for Jurgen Klopps side. Page had earmarked Williams for more minutes against Albania at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday. Neco Williams is set to miss Wales final Euro 2020 warm-up game against Albania on Saturday (Nick Potts/PA) But it now seems likely that he will have to sit out the final game before their Euro 2020 opener with Switzerland in Baku on June 12. Wales winger Daniel James told Sky Sports: Im not one to talk about referees, but its a friendly game. He took 10 minutes to look at it and then decided its clear and obvious. I dont know how its clear and obvious. Hes two yards out and Im not even sure its a penalty. Gareth Bale reacts after missing a chance for Wales against France in Nice (Daniel Cole/AP Weve been told that if hes in a natural position and he cant do anything about its not a penalty. Even their players were saying dont send him off. If it had happened against Switzerland we would be a lot more gutted. Wales had started brightly against the world champions and James forced a fine fifth-minute save from France captain Hugo Lloris. But France made their extra man count with ruthless efficiency as Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele scored in what was eventually a comfortable victory. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 23:19:17|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KINSHASA -- At least 19 people were killed in a shipwreck overnight from Wednesday to Thursday on Lake Tanganyika, official said. The tragedy took place in the part of the lake in Uvira of the South Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to a local official. (DRC-Shipwreck-Casualties) - - - - TEHRAN -- The next round of talks in Vienna to revive the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal could be conclusive and lead to an agreement, the head of Iran's negotiating team Abbas Araqchi said early Thursday. "Today, after almost 10 days of intensive work, we have reached a point where all the delegations felt they should once again make further consultations in their capitals," Araqchi was quoted by official news agency IRNA as saying. (Iran-Vienna Talks) - - - - LONDON -- British Queen Elizabeth II will meet U.S. President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden next week, Buckingham Palace said Thursday. Buckingham Palace said in a short statement: "The Queen will meet the President of the United States of America and First Lady Jill Biden at Windsor Castle on Sunday, 13 June 2021." (UK-Queen-Biden) Enditem The 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery was a watershed moment in the fight for Black Americans voting rights, but wouldnt have been possible without a few helping hands along the way. Three African American farm owners along the 54-mile route offered their properties as campsites for the marchers on the four-day trek, housing iconic civil rights activists including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King and John Lewis. Fifty-six years later, those campsites are at risk of destruction or irreparable damage, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and have been named as one of Americas most endangered historic places in 2021. The stories from these campsites "haven't been widely told," Katherine Malone-France, Chief Preservation Officer of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, told USA TODAY. "I think that its important that we tell these stories, and its important that through historic places that we tell the full, true history of our country. When we do that, historic preservation is a powerful tool for advancing justice and equity." An image of the David Hall Home, located along the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail in Alabama. Transforming the campsites Three of the campsites along the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail are owned by the same families, including the Rosie Steele Farm, David Hall Farm and Robert Gardner Farm. The fourth site is the City of St. Jude, a Roman Catholic complex. Phillip Howard, a Birmingham-area consultant working on the project with The Conservation Fund, is working on preservation plans for historic homes on the Hall and Gardner farms. He said the homes are in disrepair, with everything from the flooring to the roof in need of a touch-up. The initial goal is to stabilize the two buildings Howard estimates that could cost anywhere between $300,000 and $400,000 before moving on to extensive renovations and turning the two sites into educational venues. The families are "willing and ready to tell the story of these campsites in a way theyve never done before," Howard said. "They want to preserve the homes, preserve the properties, have people visit, educational tours any number of things to tell the story." Story continues He hopes the homes can be restored by 2025, the 60th anniversary of the march that helped lead to the passage of the Voting Rights Act. "(This is a story of) Americans wanting to have an impact and do something at great peril to themselves and their family," Howard said. "Its a story of people who loved America when America didnt necessarily love them, but they wanted (more rights) for their children." Howard is in the process of looking for funding to preserve the homes. Their inclusion in the National Trust for Historic Preservations list could be a gamechanger for their efforts; Malone-France said since the nonprofits first list came out more than 30 years ago, they have lost less than 5% of the more than 300 endangered places named since. History of the Selma-to-Montgomery march The Selma-to-Montgomery March began two weeks after Alabama state troopers beat marchers attempting to leave Selma on a day that came to be called "Bloody Sunday." Sites in Selma and the route to Montgomery are now part of the Selma-to-Montgomery National Historic Trail. Virtual service, no John Lewis: Bloody Sunday' in Selma looked different, remained strong Under the watch of members of the Alabama National Guard, marchers first stopped about 7 miles east of Selma at land owned by David Hall, a Black farmer who risked harassment from white neighbors upset about the march. A photo of marchers showed them gathered around a fire built in an old metal drum for warmth, and Halls granddaughter Davine Hall said visitors still stop by. "Sometimes we come outside and theres a whole yard of bike riders, people who stopped by and want a tour," said Hall, who splits time between the family land and California. "Sometimes they actually ask if they can spend the night." The next rainy night they stayed on the property of Rosie Steele, followed by a stay on land owned by Robert Gardner, where Tuskegee University students supplied dinner and marchers slept on donated swimming pool air mattresses, many of which deflated overnight. Gardners daughter, Cheryl Gardner Davis, was 4 at the time and still remembers the crowds and noise. Voting rights movement: How a Black mans death in 1965 changed American history A white neighbor threatened her father for welcoming the marchers, she said, and for years the family kept quiet about the experience. "I remember my father telling us that we couldnt go anywhere by ourselves, that we always had to have an adult with us. He said if we saw a car along the road that was the FBI watching over us," said Davis. "It was a little scary." Dozens of marchers spent the night along the way, and their numbers grew exponentially by the time the march reached downtown Montgomery. On the final night of the march, about 3 miles from Alabamas Capitol, demonstrators camping at the City of St. Jude were entertained by stars including Harry Belafonte; Tony Bennett; Peter, Paul and Mary; Sammy Davis Jr. and Joan Baez before the final leg of the journey. The chapel there remains much as it was then. Today near the Capitol, a stone historical marker recounts the events of 1965, when King addressed an estimated 25,000 people at the end of the march. Plain steel signs identify the campsites used by the marchers along the way, but theres little else to signify their importance. America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2021 Other sites on National Trust for Historic Preservations 2021 endangered historic places list include: Trujillo Adobe, the remains of an early Latino settlement dating back nearly 160 years in Riverside, California. Summit Tunnels 6 & 7 and Summit Camp Site in Truckee, California, which tell the story of Chinese railroad workers who built the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s. Georgia B. Williams Nursing Home in Camilla, Georgia, once the states only Black-owned birthing place for African American women. Boston Harbor Islands, archaeological and historic sites on 34 islands just off the coast of Boston. Morningstar Tabernacle No. 88 Order of Moses Cemetery and Hall, a historic Black settlement dating to the late 1800s in Cabin John, Maryland. Home of Sarah Elizabeth Ray, a Black woman and activist who launched a legal fight after being denied entry to a segregated ferry in Detroit in 1945. The Riverside Hotel, which housed Black blues musicians and others during the Jim Crow era in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Pine Grove Elementary School, built for Black children by philanthropist Julius Rosenwald in 1917 in Cumberland, Maryland. Threatt Filling Station, which catered to Black travelers on Route 66, and family farm in Luther, Oklahoma. Oljato Trading Post, built in 1921 and one of the few Navajo trading posts remaining in the region around San Juan County, Utah. The Associated Press contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights march campsites considered endangered A remembrance event in Toppenish on Wednesday honored the 215 children who were found at Kamloops Indian Residential School in Canada last month. The discovery has brought back the profound horrors of life there, the abuse and the trauma of all the girls and boys forced away from their loved ones and culture. 7 day print subscribers enjoy unlimited access to yakimaherald.com Enter the LAST NAME and the 7 DIGIT phone number on your print subscription account to connect your print subscription to your yakimaherald.com account. Please disable your ad blocker, and refresh the page to view this content. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 23:20:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese spokesperson on Thursday urged the United States to stop its massive and indiscriminate wiretapping and "pay off the debt of justice it owes to the world." "If the U.S. allies find its spying behavior unacceptable, the world would only feel more strongly about it," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a news briefing, in response to recent criticism made by some European leaders and officials about the U.S. National Security Agency wiretapping leaders of its allies. Wang said the United States has long been globally recognized as the leading stealer of secrets. He cited a number of means the United States applies in doing so, including simulating signals of base stations to tap into and steal data from cell phones, turning mobile apps into surveillance units, breaking into cloud servers, tapping into the undersea cables, and installing secretive signals intelligence collection facilities in nearly 100 U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide for spying purpose. "The recent media disclosure of the U.S. spying on its European allies is just a tip of the iceberg of its huge global network for secret stealing," he said. "The United States owes the international community an explanation." Wang said the United States has long recklessly conducted massive and indiscriminate wiretapping around the world, while wantonly suppressing law-abiding foreign companies under the pretext of national security. "This fully exposes its hypocrisy and hegemonic nature," the spokesperson said. He said people have every reason to suspect that the purpose of the U.S.-initiated "clean network" program is to retain its monopoly in the high-tech field and serve as an excuse to justify its espionage activities. The United States must immediately stop its illegal act of massive and indiscriminate eavesdropping, and stop the dirty business of suppressing other countries' enterprises under the guise of national security, Wang said. Enditem I suppose its natural to blame someone else for our own mistakes and shortcomings, or when Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. I recently reintroduced the RFS Integrity Act with Senator Tammy Duckworth to address this problem. Our bipartisan bill would require companies to apply for exemptions before June 1 of the prior year, which would give the EPA enough time to account for them in the overall biofuel blending requirements they set each November. That would bring much-needed certainty to ethanol producers and corn farmers, many of whom call Nebraska home. Our bill would also require the EPA to publish the name of every refinery granted an exemption, as well as the number of gallons of biofuels the EPA is allowing them to bypass, at the time the refinery is notified they have received a waiver. These two changes would bring transparency back to the SRE process and help it work as Congress intended. Ethanol supports more than 1,400 Nebraska jobs and brings billions of dollars to our state every year. If the EPA doesnt account for the exemptions it grants, our friends and neighbors who work in this vital industry are left with nowhere to sell their products, to say nothing of the added strain on the environment. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 23:32:30|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Education has released a circular following several recent student drowning incidents, asking local education authorities, schools and parents nationwide to intensify efforts to prevent such deaths. Calling for strengthened safety education for primary and middle school students regarding drowning, the document urges parents to perform their duties better to ensure the safety of students outside schools. The document also asks local authorities and schools to pay more attention to key groups, such as left-behind children and students from special families, to prevent them from playing in dangerous waters. Enditem New Delhi: In a case bizarre case, a 75-year old woman presumed to be dead by her family due to COVID-19, returned home on Wednesday 15 days after her last rites were performed. The hospital authorities had handed over a wrapped body which her family took for cremation and hurriedly conducted the last rites fearing COVID-19 infection. Mutyala Girijamma a resident of in Jaggaiahpet town of Krishna district was infected with coronavirus and was subsequently declared dead and cremated on May 15. She returned after more than two weeks of her family completing her last rites to the surprise of her family members. She was admitted to Vijayawada government hospital on May 12 and her husband Gaddaiah met her at the hospital the next day. But on May 15 he was informed by hospital authorities Girijamma had succumbed to her illness. As per family members, the hospital authorities told the husband to search for his wife's body in the mortuary. Also, Girijamma`s son Ramesh died of coronavirus on May 23. "A prayer meeting for both Girijamma and Ramesh was conducted at Jaggaiahpet on Tuesday," Girijamma`s nephew Nagu told ANI. Girijamma said she was disappointed that nobody came to pick her up after she recovered from the infection. She had to travel to her town Jaggaiahpet on Wednesday by herself much to the shock of her relatives and neighbours. Meanwhile, Gaddayya expressed anger at the hospital staff and said that action should be taken against the hospital. While Naguasked whose fault it was that Girijamma was declared dead. (With input from agencies) Live TV New Delhi: Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor is basking in all the praise thats coming his way for his performance in Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar. Arjun credits his director Dibakar Banerjee for guiding him and extracting this critically acclaimed performance from him. Arjun plays the role of a corrupt cop, Pinky Dahiya and people are saying its his best performance to date. The actor underwent a gruelling prep process with his director for over three months before he shot for the film and Arjun feels this was an invaluable exercise to deliver a knock-out performance on screen. Arjun wrote on his social media, Pinky gave me a chance to challenge myself. Pinky gave me a chance to question my understanding of the beliefs prevalent in our country. Pinky gave me a chance to work with a mind that is unlike anyone elses. He added, Thank you #DibakarBanerjee for all those torturous, tiring, exhausting, mentally consuming days, without which there would be no Pinky and no redemption for an actor like me seeking to find new pastures so that I could take my craft to unchartered territories. Thank you for not trusting me too much and building this man from the scratch. Arjun thanked Dibakar Banerjee for holding his hand in building every layer of this complex character. He says, You have built Pinky with me, from within me, from really hidden parts of me. That is what has made it all so pure and so, so gratifying. Thank you. New Delhi: Niti Aayog on Thursday (June 3) submitted the names of Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) to be privatised to the Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment. All the PSBs in the list will be privatised by FY22, as part of the governments massive disinvestment process aimed at raising funds. "We have submitted the names (of PSU banks) to the Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment," a government official told PTI. According to Budget 2021-22, the Centre is looking to privatise two public sector banks and one general insurance company. Niti Aayog was given the task to identify the government-owned banks and insurance company that can be made private. Besides Niti Aayog, other members in the panel are the economic affairs secretary, revenue secretary, expenditure secretary, corporate affairs secretary, legal affairs secretary, Department of Public Enterprises secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) secretary and an administrative department secretary. The names will go to Alternative Mechanism (AM) for approval after the Core Group of Secretaries, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, gives its blessings to Niti Aayogs list. Following AMs clearance, the final approval will be taken in a Cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a recent interaction, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had noted that "interests of workers of banks which are likely to be privatised will absolutely be protected whether their salaries or scale or pension all will be taken care of". Sitharaman aspires that Indian banks need to be bigged, just like the State Bank of India (SBI). Live TV #mute Mumbai: The Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations for Class 12 in Maharashtra stands cancelled after the state disaster management authority headed by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray took a call on Thursday. Earlier, the government had decided to cancel the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations for Class 12 students. A decision was taken in the state cabinet after most ministers supported the move. The state school education department moved a proposal to the state disaster management authority to take the final decision, officials said. The state education minister Varsha Gaikwad on Wednesday tweeted, In view of the current status of the pandemic, projections that children are vulnerable to newer strains and the anxiety among them, the Maharashtra government had demanded that a "Non-Examination Route" be considered for Std XIIth students." We'd also stressed on the need for a 'Uniform Assessment Model' across the country. I welcome the Centre's decision to cancel the CBSE board exams, she added. The minister said though Class 12 board exams are an important milestone in a student's life, given the current circumstances, the health and mental well-being of children should be prioritised. Nearly 1.5 million students appear for the Class 12 exams in Maharashtra every year. The state government has already decided to cancel the Class 10 (SSC) examinations due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation. It has also decided to promote the students by evaluating their performance in Class 9 and 10. New Delhi: After CBSE, CISCE scrapped Class 12 board examinations, several states including Haryana, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh followed suit and cancelled the exams for Class 12 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (June 1), it was decided to call off the Class 12 examinations conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Taking the cue, CISCE also decided to cancel Class 12 board exams. Heres list of all states that have called off the board exams: 1. Haryana The Haryana government on Wednesday (June 2) cancelled its state board examinations for Class 12. Haryana Education Minister Kanwar Pal told ANI, "The state government will follow the directions of the Central government in regarding the Class XII examination of Haryana School Education Board, Bhiwani and will conduct an internal assessment based on which the results will be declared soon. 2. Rajasthan Rajasthan scrapped the Rajasthan Board of School Education (RBSE) Class 10 and 12 board exams 2021. Rajasthan Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra announced the decision during a press conference on Wednesday. 3. Uttarakhand Uttarakhand cancelled the UBSE Class 12 board examinations in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. "Uttarakhand Intermediate Board Examination has been cancelled on the lines of CBSE and ICSE Board. Students will also be given promotion accordingly," state Education Minister said. 4. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan informed that the government has decided to cancel Madhya Pradesh Board Class 12 Examination 2021. "The class 12 board exams (organised by the MP Board of Secondary Education) for the year 2020-21 will not be held this year. The life of students is precious for us. We can take care of their career later, the MP CM said in a video posted on Twitter. 5. Gujarat Gujarat Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama announced that the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSEB) has decided to cancel the GSEB class 12 board examination 2021. 6. Goa Goa CM Pramod Sawant tweeted, After extensive consultations, it has been decided that the Class 12 Exams shall be cancelled as the health and safety of our students is of utmost priority. Meanwhile, states including West Bengal, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh are yet to take a decision on the matter. While Assam government is likely to conduct Class 10 and Class 12 board exams in the state when conditions are conducive. Live TV NEW DELHI: In order to strengthen the fight against the coronavirus, the Government of India has signed a deal for 300 million doses of Biological-E COVID vaccines. According to sources, the government has signed the deal with domestic vaccine maker Biological-E for 300 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for 15 billion rupees (USD 205.62 million). The vaccine, which is currently undergoing phase-3 clinical trials, is likely to be available in the next few months, the Health Ministry has said in a statement. According to a Reuters report, Hyderabad-based Biological E Limited has signed a deal with Canadian biotechnology company Providence Therapeutics Holdings Inc for its COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine being developed by Biological-E in collaboration with the Canadian biotechnology company is an RBD protein sub-unit vaccine that is likely to hit the Indian market in the next few months. Biological E will conduct a bridging trial for the vaccine in India. The vaccine has shown encouraging results in Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials. According to the new rules announced by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently, any firm that has received approval for their vaccine, in their country can get the Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA), without conducting a bridging trial first. But the trials can be conducted parallelly while the vaccine is being administered to the masses. As per the deal, Providence will provide Biological E with the necessary technology transfer needed to manufacture the vaccines in India. It will have a minimum production capacity of 600 million doses in 2022, with a target capacity of one billion doses. Meanwhile, Biological E is also working on its own subunit vaccine candidate. It has finished Phase I/II clinical trials and has got approvals to conduct Phase III clinical trials from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) - Subject Expert Committee (SEC). India will have enough COVID-19 vaccine doses to inoculate up to one crore people per day by mid-July or early August, the government asserted on Tuesday as it underlined that there is no shortage of jabs and called for patience citing the country's large population. Noting that the ferocious second wave is on the verge of abating, the government said that ramping up of testing as well as containment at the district level "has worked" in bringing down the cases. At the same time, it cautioned that while the easing of lockdown is imperative, it has to be done very slowly. "Whatever we know from possible scenarios presented by eminent people, it (COVID) will decline and June will be much much better but the concerns are when we open up how do we behave because the virus has not gone anywhere,'' NITI Aayog member (Health) V K Paul said. Addressing a press conference, ICMR Director-General Dr Balram Bhargava said India's vaccination is being ramped up, and "by December we hope to have the whole country vaccinated". He mentioned that India is one of the five countries which are producing vaccines and asserted that "there is no shortage of vaccines". "By mid-of year, mid-July or early August, we will have more than enough doses to vaccinate up to a crore per day," he said. Joint Secretary in Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said 4,03,49,830 vaccine doses were supplied from the Centre to states free of cost in May while 2,66,50,500 doses were directly procured by states and 1,24,54,760 doses were directly procured by private hospitals. In the past month, a total of 7,94,55,090 doses were available, of which 6,10,57,003 doses have been administered. The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has reached 21,60,46,638, according to the ministry data. Bhargava said in the first week of April there were less than 200 districts that had more than 10 percent case positivity which in the last week of April rose to nearly 600 districts. India ramped up testing as well as containment which worked but still 239 districts have more than 10 percent positivity, 145 districts have a positivity between 5 to 10 percent while 350 districts, which is nearly half of India, have less than 5 percent case positivity, he said. Agarwal said there has been a continuous decrease in daily cases since India reported a peak on May 7. There has been an almost 69 percent decline in COVID-19 cases since the highest peak, he said. Also, there has been a consistent decline in active cases which presently stand at 18.95 lakh. A decrease in active cases by more than 18 lakhs since the peak on May 10 (a decline of almost 50 percent) has been observed. Live TV New Delhi: In yet another incident of violence in West Bengal, some BJP workers claimed that they were attacked by Trinamool Congress goons in the Howrah district. The incident took place on Thursday (June 3) when the violence took place outside a vaccination centre in Polgushtia village under Jagatballavpur Police Station of the district. The BJP workers alleged that they were informed that the COVID vaccine was not being provided to everyone at the primary health center of the village. When they reached the vaccination centre to check the fact, the goons of Trinamool Congress allegedly attacked them with sticks. The BJP workers further claimed that TMC goons chased them and waved pistols in the air. They further alleged that some Trinamool Congress workers even went ahead and hurled bombs. In a related development, over 100 academicians have written to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking his immediate intervention for security of SC and ST communities following post-poll violence in West Bengal. The memorandum said after the declaration of result of West Bengal assembly polls, "the state-sponsored activists of Trinamool Congress in collaboration with the state police have targeted the SC/ST community and spread the violence of killing, looting, raping, and occupying their land." "More than 11,000 people, most of them belonging to SC and ST community have been rendered homeless and over 40,000 affected in the 1627 incidents of brutal attacks," it said. The memorandum said over 5,000 houses were 'demolished' and 'inhuman atrocities and outrage" of 142 women and death of 26 people has been "registered in the suburban areas belonging to SC/ST community'. It alleged that SC and ST community houses, their small shops were 'demolished and burnt' and 'they were given threats of not coming to their homes again'. Live TV New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is currently working on two options for marking Class 12 students for this academic session. As per a report in NDTV, the board is either considering assessing the students on the basis of their performances in Classes 10, 11 final exams and Class 12 internal exams or as per Class 10 board exam results and internal assessments in Class 12. The announcement regarding the cancellation of the CBSE class 12 exams was made after a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. CBSE class 12 examinations were cancelled in view of the current COVID-19 situation in the country. The Prime Minister on Tuesday also directed the board officials to formulate well-defined criteria in a fair and time-bound manner for marking Class 12 students. Additionally, the students who remain dissatisfied with their Class 12 results and want to appear in the examination, will be able to do so when the situation becomes conductive. Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank on Tuesday had said that the ''safety and future of thousands of students'' across the country remain the top priority of the Narendra Modi government. I assure all students and their parents that any decision taken will follow the yardstick that the safety and future of students is the highest priority for us, he said. Live TV Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government on Wednesday (June 2, 2021) extended the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in the state till June 11. The Chief Ministers Office (CMO) on Wednesday evening announced that the ongoing night curfew in the state is being extended from June 4 till June 11. The CMO also added that the shops in 36 cities of the state will now be allowed to open from June 4 and will remain open from 9 AM till 6 PM daily. The state government also added that the home deliveries can now be done till 10 pm daily. All shops in 36 cities of the State to open from 4th June (9 am to 6 pm). Home delivery by restaurants can now be done till 10pm. Night curfew (9 pm to 6 am) will be imposed in these cities from 4th June to 11th June, ANI quoted CMOs office. All shops in 36 cities of the State to open from 4th June (9 am to 6 pm). Home delivery by restaurants can now be done till 10pm. Night curfew (9 pm to 6 am) will be imposed in these cities from 4th June to 11th June: Gujarat CMO ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2021 Earlier on May 27, the Gujarat government had extended the night curfew, from 8 pm to 6 am, in 36 cities till June 4. As per the latest guidelines the authorities have relax the night curfew timings by an hour. Now the night curfew in the state will remain in place from 9 pm to 6 am. Meanwhile, Gujarat reported 1,333 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the tally to 8,12,063, while 18 patients died and nearly 4,100 recovered from the infection, the state health department said. Live TV New Delhi: All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Patna has started paediatric trials of Bharat Biotechs Covaxin. Bharat Biotech received the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) nod to conduct clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine on children in May. VK Paul, Member (Health), Niti Aayog had informed, "Covaxin has been approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), for Phase II/III clinical trials in the age group of 2 to 18 years." Covaxin is India's indigenous COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Bharat Biotech, developed in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). India has given approval to three COVID-19 vaccines - Bharat Biotech`s Covaxin, Serum Institute of India's Covishield and Russia`s Sputnik V. Meanwhile, the Centre on Tuesday (June 1) warned that COVID-19 can have an increased impact on children if the virus changes behavior. COVID-19 in children is often asymptomatic and rarely requires hospitalization. However, changes in epidemiological dynamics or viral behaviour can change the situation and increase the prevalence of infection. No undue burden has been placed on the paediatric care infrastructure so far. However, it is possible that 2-3 percent of children who get infected may need hospitalization, Paul had said. He added that a national expert group has been formed who have created guidelines to tackle COVID-19 in children, which will be publicly released soon. (With inputs from agencies) Live TV Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 23:46:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KABUL, June 3 (Xinhua) -- At least two people were wounded in a bomb attack targeting a mini-bus in western part of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, on Thursday, the third bomb explosion hitting public transport buses within the week, the capital police confirmed. "The blast occurred in Pul-i-Sokhta locality. Two wounded were shifted to hospital, more information would be shared with media soon," Kabul police spokesman Ferdaus Faramarz told reporters via a text message. One sedan also caught fire and a fire-fighting unit of Kabul police was responding to the incident, he said. Earlier in the day, four civilians were killed and four others wounded, and a mini-bus was destroyed in a similar incident in the same district. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. Enditem DU Admission 2021: The admissions to undergraduate courses in Delhi University (DU) are likely to begin around July 15, Vice-Chancellor Professor PC Joshi said on Thursday (June 3). He said that the admissions will be done on the basis of marks students receive from various boards. Delhi University will begin its registration process around July 15 this year, and students from all boards (state and CBSE) will be given equal importance, PC Joshi was quoted as saying by ANI. So far we've admitted students on a merit basis. This year too, in view of COVID, we will admit students on the basis of marks they receive from boards, be it CBSE or other boards. Delhi University will release merit (list) using those marks, he added. The VC added that unlike last year, the admissions could be delayed this time. Admission process will begin as and when board results are announced. But contrary to previous years, it will be delayed this year, he said. Joshi further said that as per the New Education Policy, Central Universities Common Entrance Test (CUCET) at the undergraduate level can be implemented by National Testing Agency, but it will depend on the COVID situation. In future, CUCET will be conducted surely, he said. Earlier today, the Supreme Court said that it is happy to note that the government has taken a decision to cancel the class 12 board exams, and directed the CBSE and CICSE to place on record objective criteria for assessment of marks in two weeks. Live TV New Delhi: Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla has said that India is in talks with global pharma major like Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson, and Moderna for local manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines, a development that comes even as India has been trying to increase the production of vaccines for its population and for export. He was speaking at World Health Organizations South-East Asia Regional Health Partners Forum on COVID-19". Shringla said, "We are also part of the discussions with major vaccine manufacturers like Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna about sourcing and possible local manufacturing of their vaccines in India. We have also helped to expedite the introduction of Sputnik-V vaccines." Currently only Covishield produced by Serum Institute of India, Covaxin produced by Bharat Biotech, and Russian COVID vaccine Sputnik V have been given authorization in the country. Last month saw India getting the first batches of Suptink V vaccines, which will be also produced by Indian companies. Shringla mentioned that India is "working with several other countries in the WTO on a targeted and temporary waiver under TRIPS to ensure timely and secure access to vaccines for all". Notably, India and South Africa had given a proposal for waver on COVID vaccine patent at the WTO which will help in mass production of the vaccines for the world. The hesitations by the west have dropped over it after the US extended its support to it. Earlier in the week, BRICS became the first multilateral block to extend support to the proposal. Shringla also said that New Delhi looks forward to the World Health Organisation giving approval to India's indigenous vaccine manufactured by Bharat Biotech - Covaxin. Hyderabad-based firm submitted an application to the WHO for Emergency Use Listing (EUL) on 19th April and a pre-submission meeting will take place in June. He highlighted how amid the pandemic which he termed as a "Black Swan event", the ministry of external affairs "had to innovate, to repurpose and to re-engineer and create an entirely new vertical for pandemic diplomacy." He explained that the "Ministry and our network of diplomatic posts played a key role in organizing the Vande Bharat Mission, the largest logistical exercise of its kind ever undertaken." The Vande Bharat mission facilitated the movement of 7 million people through lockdown and post-lockdown periods. The ministry as the "global arm of the Government of Indias Empowered Group" procured raw materials during the crisis. During the April to August 2020 period, 91 cargo flights brought in Ventilators, PPE kits, test kits, etc. from across the globe to meet the domestic demand. Live TV NEW DELHI: In a partial increase in the daily number of coronavirus cases, India on Thursday reported 1,34,154 new cases of COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours. On Wednesday, the number of coronavirus cases stood at 1,32,788. With the addition of new cases, the cumulative load in the country now stands at 2,84,41,986. According to the latest Union Health Ministry data released at 9 AM, there were a total of 2,11,499 discharges and 2,887 deaths in the past 24 hours. The COVID-19 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours dipped to a nearly 35-day low with 2,887 more people succumbing to the disease. With this, the death toll in the country has reached 3,37,989. The total number of recoveries has now reached 2,63,90,584 and the recovery rate stands at 92.79%. India reports 1,34,154 new #COVID19 cases, 2,11,499 discharges, and 2,887 deaths in last 24 hours, as per Health Ministry Total cases: 2,84,41,986 Total discharges: 2,63,90,584 Death toll: 3,37,989 Active cases: 17,13,413 Total vaccination: 22,10,43,693 pic.twitter.com/WVF0NRRzm1 ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2021 India has tested 35,37,82,648 samples for Covid-19 until now, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Out of these, 21,59,873 samples were tested on Wednesday. The country has so far administered 22,10,43,693 anti-Covid jabs. As many as 24,26,265 doses out of the total were given in the last 24 hours. The Centre had earlier said the rising number of daily COVID-19 cases in some states remains a cause of concern and while a few others like Delhi and Maharashtra are plateauing in terms of daily cases, these are "very early signals" and containment efforts have to continue to break the chain of transmission. Addressing a news briefing, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said 13 states, including Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, are showing early signs of plateauing or decrease in daily new COVID-19 cases. He said states like Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and West Bengal are still showing an increase in daily infections. Delhi, which had recorded 25,294 cases on April 24, registered 24,253 cases on May 2. Similarly, Maharashtra had reported 65,442 infections on April 24 and 62,417 on April 30. Chhattisgarh, where 15,583 cases were reported on April 29, recorded 14,087 fresh cases on May 2. A similar trend has been seen in Daman and Diu, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. On the situation in districts, Agarwal said Durg, Gariyaband, Raipur, Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh; Chhindwara, Guna, Shajapur in Madhya Pradesh, Leh in Ladakh; Nirmal in Telangana are showing signs of decline in cases in the last 15 days. Live TV New Delhi: On the deportation matter of Mehul Choksi, the Ministry of External affairs on Thursday said all efforts will be made to bring him back. Choksi, who is involved in the multi-crore PNB scam and is in Dominica facing trial for illegally entering into the country. In a first official reaction on the matter, the MEA spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi said, "India remains steadfast in its efforts to ensure that fugitives are brought back to India to face justice". Specifically talking about Choksi, he said, "We understand that he is currently in the custody of Dominican authorities and certain legal proceedings are underway. We will continue to make all efforts that he is brought back to India". Choksi had fled to Antigua after the fraud and taken the citizenship of the country. In May he mysteriously disappeared only to be found in Dominica. India has sent a plane with legal documents that could help in his early repatriation from the Caribbean country. His 'trip' to Dominica from Antigua has come under the spotlight as lawyers claim he was abducted while local authorities in Antigua say he went on his own accord. On Wednesday, he was presented before a magistrate court where he pleaded not guilty for illegally entering into the country. Live TV Pulwama: A terror operative was neutralised in an overnight operation jointly conducted by the Army, Awantipora Police and CRPF at police component complex at Tral in South Kashmir`s Pulwama district. Terror operative Mohd Amin Malik, resident of Nagbal Machhma, was arrested on May 30 along with incriminating materials viz. arms, ammunition and explosives including unlicensed 12 bore gun, live rounds, explosives, iron/steel balls, 9 feature phones and other warlike stores used in fabrication of IEDs, the police informed. The police said the terror operative was on police remand and was brought from Police Station Tral to the Police Component, Tral on Wednesday (June 2) for further interrogation. During the interrogation the terror operative got hold of the service rifle (AK 47) of CT Amjad Khan and fired indiscriminately with intention to kill the Police personnels. He critically wounded CT Amjad Khan, a statement by the police read. It further stated, The terror operative then took total control of the interrogation room and engaged the police personnels by firing intermittently from the snatched weapon. " Sensing grave danger to the lives of Police personnels and that of the terror operative, his mother and Executive Magistrate were brought on the site and repeated sincere efforts were made to persuade him to throw away the weapon and surrender. The terror operative, however, displayed complete defiance to such persuasions and not only refused to surrender but also fired upon the Police party engaged in persuasion. One of the Police personnels was hit by a bullet on chest and survived because of the bulletproof jacket he was wearing," a police officer stated. After failing in all efforts to ensure his surrender, the terror operative was engaged in a gunfight following the rules and SoP of such engagement and was neutralised. Police have registered an FIR and investigation has been taken up. Dead body of the slain terrorist was sent to Police Hospital Srinagar for medico-legal formalities. Its pertinent to mention that the slain terror operative was an active terrorist of Hizb ul Mujahideen in the past and was arrested in 2003. Further, his brother Shabir Malik was also a terrorist of Ansar-ul- Gazwatul- hind (AGuH ) outfit who was eliminated at Brenpathri in 2019, police added. Live TV New Delhi: United States Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the phone on Thursday (June 3). The call was initiated by the American side, top government sources said. During the conversation, Harris conveyed that US will begin sharing vaccines with India, along with other countries by end of June. "She underscored the India-US partnership," a source confirmed with ANI. Vice President Harris spoke this morning to Prime Minister Modi, Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei and Prime Minister Keith Rowley, Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). "In four separate calls, the Vice President notified each of the leaders that the Biden-Harris Administration will begin sharing the first 25 million doses of COVID vaccines to their respective countries and others, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration's framework for sharing at least 80 million vaccines globally by the end of June," her Senior Advisor and Chief Spokesperson Symone Sanders said. The Vice President reiterated that the Administration's efforts are focused on achieving broad global coverage, responding to surges and other urgent situations and public health needs, and helping as many countries as possible who requested vaccines, the spokesperson said. The four leaders thanked her, and they agreed to continue working together to address COVID-19 and advance our mutual interests around the world, Sanders added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanks US Vice President Kamala Harris for support, solidarity from the US government, businesses and the Indian diaspora. "I deeply appreciate the assurance of vaccine supplies to India as part of the US Strategy for Global Vaccine Sharing. We also discussed ongoing efforts to further strengthen India-US vaccine cooperation," he said. A US readout said, "Vice President notified... Biden-Harris Administration will begin sharing the first 25 million doses of COVID vaccines". Washington will be giving out 80 million vaccines globally by the end of June. The US administration announced that it will donate 25 million COVID-19 doses abroad, with most of them allocated to WHO's Covax initiative. In a fact sheet, the White House said it will donate just over 6 million with countries experiencing surges, including Canada, Mexico and India," the sources said. US President Biden in a statement said, "Over 6 million will be shared directly with countries experiencing surges, those in crisis, and other partners and neighbors, including Canada, Mexico, India, and the Republic of Korea." "Over 30 countries will be getting vaccines in the first tranche. These vaccines will also be given to United Nations frontline workers, which will be shared directly," he said. The countries in Asia that will get US vaccines via COVAX are India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan & Pacific Islands. The country-wise allocation of the vaccine doses was not made public. According to the White House, the sharing of millions of US vaccines with other countries signals a major commitment by the US government. Live TV New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted the onset of monsoon in Kerala on Thursday (June 3). "Condition are favourable for onset of southwest monsoon over Kerala today, June 3, 2021," the IMD said in a statement. It added, spatial rainfall distribution has increased over Kerala and the westerly winds have strengthened in the lower levels over the south Arabian Sea, While an increase in cloudiness over the Kerala coast and adjoining southeast Arabian Sea was also witnessed on Wednesday. "The conditions are likely to favour in further enhancement in rainfall activity over Kerala during next 24 hours. Hence, the monsoon onset over Kerala is likely to take place during the same period, the IMD was quoted as saying by PTI. Earlier, monsoon was expected to arrive at the Kerala coast on June 1. On Tuesday, Mumbai received pre-monsoon showers, as the south-west monsoon delayed in Kerala. Meanwhile, Delhi is likely to receive light rain on Thursday, the weather department said.The national capital recorded a relative humidity of 65 per cent at 8.30 am. The IMD has forecasted fairly widespread to widespread rainfall and thunderstorms with heavy rainfall at isolated places over Northeast India from June 8 to June 10. In addition, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and East, Central and West India, as well as south Peninsular India and Islands will witness scattered rainfall and thunderstorms with isolated heavy falls, an IANS report said. (With inputs from agencies) Live TV New Delhi: The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration on Wednesday (June 2) allowed optical shops to open with certain conditions in Noida and Greater Noida. These shops do not come under essential service category and hence, were closed since the corona curfew. The decision was taken following a request by the Gautam Buddh Nagar Opticals' Association to the district administration where they said people are facing trouble due to the closure of optical shops. The staff and owners in containment zones will not be allowed to enter the shops. Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Vandita Shrivastava said in an order, Shop owner or staff from containment zone would be barred from entering the shops. There has to be a 100 per cent compliance of Covid protocols like face cover/mask and availability of sanitiser in such shops besides social distancing and other measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19, PTI quoted her as saying. All optical shop owners and staff members are mandatorily required to have 'Aarogya Setu' app on their mobile phones, the order added. Violation of any condition would result in cancellation of the permission to open shop and legal proceedings would be initiated against the shop owner under the National Disaster Management Act, 2005 and Section 188 of the India Penal Code, the order read. Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh government extended the corona curfew relaxations in 61 districts with less than 600 active cases of the coronavirus, allowing shops and markets outside the containment zones to open for five days a week. However, in the remaining districts including Gautam Buddh Nagar, Meerut, Lucknow, Saharanpur, Varanasi, Ghaziabad, no such relaxations were applicable. Only essential services are allowed in these districts. On Tuesday, Gautam Buddh Nagar recorded 843 active cases. (With inputs from PTI) Live TV New Delhi: The liquor sales in Gautam Buddh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh witnessed a spike in May, amid COVID-19 restrictions in place. As per the data the district excise department earned 94.65 crore from liquor sales even though the stores were allowed to open just 23 days ago. On the other hand, the total sales in the month of April this year, in which over 28 days were COVID-19 restriction-free, stood at 90 crore. The data also reveals that the district excise department of Noida earned 74 crore in May last year. From May 11, the district allowed liquor stores to open between 10 am and 5pm. Last month, we got 94.65 crore which is 31% more than last May, Hindustan Times quoted district excise officer RB Singh as saying. The Uttar Pradesh government collects over Rs 400 for every Indian-made foreign liquor (750 ml) as duty, Rs 260/litre for sale of country liquor and Rs 90 for sale of a beer can. Currently, there are a total of 524 active liquor stores in Noida and Greater Noida. Live TV New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday (June 3) said that Indias abstention at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) vote calling for probe into Gaza violence is not a new stand, a day after it emerged that Palestine's FM has written a strong letter to EAM over the issue. MEAs Arindam Bagchi, in response to questions during weekly virtual presser, said, "I understand Palestine has written a similar letter to all countries who abstained during UNHRC vote. The position we took is not a new position and we have abstained on the previous occasions." In a letter Palestinian foreign minister Dr Riad Malki expressed concerns over the "position taken by India" at the UNHRCs special session. In the letter seen by Zee Media, Riad said, "the Republic of India missed an opportunity to join the international community at this turning point" both "crucial and long overdue on the path to accountability, justice and peace". The resolution saw India among the 14 countries abstaining on the issue of the probe. Other countries that abstained included Bahamas, Brazil, Denmark, Fiji, France, Italy, Japan, Nepal, Netherlands, Poland, South Korea, Togo and Ukraine. The letter by Palestine's FM to EAM was sent on the 30th of May, three days after India abstained from the vote at the UNHRC. The resolution - "Ensuring respect for international human rights law and humanitarian law in occupied Palestinian territory including East Jerusalem and in Israel" - was adopted with 24 countries voting in favor, 9 against at the 47 members strong Geneva headquartered UN body. Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 00:02:27|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LUSAKA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Zambia's electoral body on Thursday suspended campaign rallies ahead of this year's general elections due to surging COVID-19 cases. Patrick Nshindano, Electoral Commission of Zambia Chief Electoral Officer, said the holding of campaign rallies by all political parties has been suspended with immediate effect. He told journalists during a press briefing that political parties will have to use other means to reach voters instead of holding rallies as huge gatherings have been identified as super-spreaders of the pandemic. The banning of campaign rallies follows a recommendation from a technical committee and a meeting held with political parties. The electoral chief said the Aug. 12 general elections will go ahead as it was a constitutional mandate. Zambia recorded 825 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours as increased cases start taking a toll on the country's health system in the advent of the third wave, a senior government official said on Thursday. The cases were picked from 10,949 tests done during the period, bringing the cumulative cases to 97,388. Kennedy Malama, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health in charge of Technical Services said the evolving situation has placed a strain on the health workers. Enditem Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina on Thursday (June 3) blamed Pakistan for the killing of partys councillor Rakesh Pandita a day before. Calling the terrorists who killed Pandita coward, he said that his martyrdom would not go in vain. Pakistani terrorists have once again bled the Kashmir valley. The coward Pakistanis attacked Pandita, a dedicated and committed BJP worker who always dared Pakistanis in the valley, in the darkness of the night. Pandita's martyrdom will not go in vain, Raina was quoted as saying by PTI. The terrorists causing a bloodbath in the valley will be eliminated. It is a murder of humanity and Kashmiriyat, he added. Pandita was killed by unidentified militants in the Tral area of Pulwama district late on Wednesday evening. Pandita, the municipal chairman of Tral, was visiting a friend, Mushtaq Ahmad, when three militants opened fire at them. Ahmad's daughter was also injured in the incident. The mortal remains Pandita reached his Roopnagar residence in Jammu at around 8.45 am. Many people including several BJP leaders gathered at his home amid the chants of "Rakesh Pandita amar rahe" (long live Rakesh Pandita). MP Jugal Kishore Sharma and former legislator Ajay Bharati were also present. Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed anguish over the death of the leader. "Shocked to hear that BJP leader Rakesh Pandita has been shot dead by militants. These senseless acts of violence have brought only misery to J&K. My condolences to the family and may his soul rest in peace," Mufti tweeted. Last year, a Kashmiri Pandit sarpanch was shot dead by militants in south Kashmir's Anantnag district. Ajay Pandit (40), who was a Congress member and the sarpanch of the Lukbawan Panchayat halqa in Anantnag's Larkipora area, was shot dead by the militants in his native village, police had said. Live TV Amritsar: With a zilch or little progress made by the state Congress government in fulfilling the pre-poll promises and to end the proxy rule of bureaucracy, the Punjab Congress partys Member Parliaments (MP), Member Legislative Assembly (MLA), and other leaders have opened up their hearts before the party high command to avoid any embarrassment in the ensuing 2022 assembly elections especially in wake of rising voices of discontentment emerging from within the Punjab Congress leadership. As the infighting in Punjab Congress escalated and went public to an extent that the vitriolic statements of a few leaders, especially by the former cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu which has brought much embarrassment to chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, the Congress high command swung into action and decided to give a patient hearing to the brewing discontentment among Congress leaders of Punjab. Congress president Sonia Gandhi constituted a three-member committee including All India Congress Committee general secretary and in charge of Punjab affairs Harish Rawat, former Delhi MP JP Aggarwal, and leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and tasked them to resolve the crisis before it goes out of hands. Sources privy to the meetings informed Zee News that a majority of Congress MPs MLAs and other leaders impressed upon the Congress high command to focus on the party faithful and not the fickle coat changers through the three-member clique since the same could bring much damage to the party prospects in 2022 assembly elections. The indication was clear that dissident leaders, including Sidhu, Pargat Singh etc. should be tamed and made to fall in line and a message should be sent across to others whose actions could prove fatal to party prospects in Punjab. The Punjab leaders also complained of their continuous neglect by the chief minister and giving the reigns of governance in the hands of the bureaucracy. About a year and a half ago I had sought an appointment to the chief minister, but havent listened from him so far whereas I am always available at the beck and call of any of the municipal councillor of my assembly after all these are the people who eventually garner votes for us complained a Congress MLA on condition of not divulging his name. While candidly admitting that a large amount of money was required to finance politics, another senior Congress leader alleged that it was not always the cleanest money which was used in politics, but due to carte blanche given to the bureaucracy, the political decisions taken by them were overruled by the bureaucracy. Besides, we have not fulfilled most of our 2017 pre-poll promises, including the eradication of drugs, sentences to those behind sacrilege incidents, jobs and mobiles to youth and so many others, we are not only humiliated by the opposition but feel abashed when we meet our voters, said another senior Congress leader from Majha area of Punjab. Though Navjot Singh Sidhu has been harping on his voice before media that he has uncovered the truth of Punjab before the three-member committee, if sources are to believed, the issues of giving unbridled powers to bureaucracy and non-fulfillment of pre-poll promises overshadowed the dissident's issue especially sulking Navjot Singh Sidhus issue who didnt have much hold on state polity except having the celebrity status which has also been fading over the years. Even Perneet Kaur member of Parliament from Patiala and wife of Capt Captain Amrinder Singh while defending Capt government took a jibe at Navjot Singh Sidhu, MLA Amritsar east constituency said Sindhu should pay attention to look after his constituency during the Covid pandemic and should contribute to the endeavour to keep Punjab safe. She went on to say that If Sidhu has any grievances, he should go to the Chief Minister or the party high command. According to available information, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh will leave for Delhi in the afternoon to meet the three-member panel, today evening. Sources say that the Congress high command likely to change the Punjab affairs in-charge very soon. AICC general secretary Harish Rawat, who is a former Uttarakhand CM already conveyed to party command that he is keen on focussing on the Assembly elections in his state early next year. If sources to believe JP Aggarwal is the front runner for the next Punjab affairs chief amongst few others. However, this is also clear that captain Amrinder Singh's final nod will set the name of the next Punjab affairs chief. As amidst the ruckus in the Punjab Congress, the committee constituted by the high command has made it clear that Capt Amrinder Singh will remain the chief minister's face in the 2022 assembly elections. In most likelihood, Punjab could witness a bureaucratic rejig in near future aiming to give a free hand to the elected representatives and the state government could attempt to assuage peoples resentment with an announcement to fulfill a few pre-poll promises of 2017 or some people-friendly announcements. New Delhi: The Serum Institute of India (SII) has applied to the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) seeking permission to manufacture the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine developed by Russia in the country, sources said on Thursday. The Pune-based firm has also sought approval from the DCGI for test analysis and examination. Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is currently being manufactured in India by Dr Reddy's Laboratories. "The Serum Institute of India (SII) put up an application to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Wednesday seeking permission to manufacture the COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, in India," a source said. Serum Institute of India (SII) applies to the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) seeking permission for a test license to manufacture COVID19 vaccine, Sputnik V: Sources pic.twitter.com/U10LWA5Imr ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2021 SII seeks indemnity over COVID-19 vaccine Amid discussions over possible legal protection to foreign vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna over their COVID-19 jabs in India, the SII has also sought protection against liabilities. "Not just Serum Institute of India, all the vaccine companies should get indemnity protection against liabilities if foreign companies are granted the same," sources added. Earlier last year, SII CEO Adar Poonawala had advocated for indemnity for all vaccine manufacturers. "We need to have the government indemnify manufacturers, especially vaccine manufacturers, against all lawsuits... Frivolous claims come up and you see in the media something being blown out of proportion. The government needs to step in with the right messaging," he had said. Amid the nationwide COVID-19 vaccine crunch, US pharma giant Pfizer is seeking an indemnity bond that will exempt it from legal claims in case there are any adverse effects from the vaccine. NITI Aayog Member (Health) Dr VK Paul had said on May 27 that the government is still examining the American pharma company`s request for indemnity. Meanwhile, the SII has already told the government that it will be able to manufacture and supply 10 crore Covishield doses in June, while it is also manufacturing the Novavax vaccine, the regulatory clearance for which is awaited from the United States. The vaccine was given emergency use authorisation (EUA) by the DCGI in April. A consignment of 30 lakh doses of Sputnik V landed in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Live TV New Delhi: The Southwest Monsoon made an onset over Kerala after a delay of two days, the India Meteorological Department said on Thursday. The onset marks the commencement of the four-month monsoon season in India. "The Southwest Monsoon has made an onset over southern parts of Kerala," IMD Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra was quoted as saying to PTI. The onset date for Southwest Monsoon over Kerala is usually June 1 but this time it got delayed by two days. The IMD bulletin at 1.30 pm said that more than 60 per cent of the 14 rainfall monitoring stations reported a rainfall of 2.5 mm or more in the past two days. It also pointed out that the Southwest monsoon is likely to advance into remaining parts of south Arabian sea, rest of Kerala and Lakshadweep south interior Karnataka, Rayalseema and central Bay of Bengal in the next 48 hours. Rains hit Kerala on June 1 and cover the whole country by mid-July. Timely rains trigger the planting of crops such as rice, soybeans and cotton. The weather department declares the arrival of monsoon rains only after parameters measuring consistency of rainfall over a defined geography, intensity, cloudiness and wind speed are satisfied. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said that it is happy to note that the government has taken a decision to cancel the class 12 board exams, and directed the CBSE and CICSE to place on record objective criteria for assessment of marks in two weeks. A bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari asked Attorney General K K Venugopal and advocate JK Das, appearing for the CISCE to place on record the parameters in two weeks. We are happy to note that government has taken decision to cancel class 12 board exams but we want that the objective criteria fixed for assessment of marks be placed before us, the bench said. The bench clarified that it will not give more time for placement of objective criteria as many students will be taking admissions in colleges in India and abroad. The top court said that it will go through the objective parameters for assessment of marks, so that if any one has any objections it can be dealt with. This is equally important as the relief sought by the petitioners seeking cancellation of board exams, the bench observed. The government on Tuesday decided to cancel the CBSE Class 12 board exams amid the COVID-19 pandemic with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that the decision has been taken in the interest of students and that the anxiety among students, parents and teachers must be put to an end. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Modi in which it was decided that the CBSE will take steps to compile the results of class 12 students as per a well-defined objective criteria in a time-bound manner. Live TV Kolkata: With the COVID-19 situation improving in West Bengal, the state government on Thursday (June 3) decided to allow restaurants to open for three hours in the evening, provided people working there are vaccinated, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said. The government is also thinking of allowing shopping malls to open with 25 per cent workforce after the ongoing COVID-related restrictions come to an end on June 15, she said at a meeting with representatives of various chambers of commerce at the state secretariat. "COVID-19 contagion is declining in West Bengal following the imposition of restrictions. Restaurants can be open for three hours in the evening from 5 pm to 8 pm provided the people working there are vaccinated," Banerjee said. However, it is not immediately clear from which date the eateries can start operating. The CM said that her government was mulling the option of vaccinating domestic helps in the same way it has planned to inoculate hawkers, bus conductors, vendors and others. Altogether 1.4 crore of people in West Bengal have been inoculated so far, she said. At the meeting, Banerjee also urged representatives of the chambers to help the government in vaccinating the population of the state. "The government cannot single-handedly vaccinate everyone. I will urge you to come forward and help us to inoculate the people," she said. Mamata also sought their help in relief works in districts ravaged by Cyclone Yaas. New Delhi: Breaking her silence for the first time in days, Priti Choksi, wife of Mehul Choksi involved in the mega PNB scam has questioned the disappearance of Barbara Jarabica and slamming the authorities of Antigua and Dominica for their handling of the case. Barbara is the mysterious woman whose name cropped up in the case and is alleged to be the female accomplice who had a role in Choksi's movement from Antigua to Dominica. Speaking to WION, Priti said, "Picture that is run of this person called Barbara is not even correct picture. Where is she, no one knows. If a crime occurred, and she saw it why is she not said anything. No one knows," adding, "she is not traceable". Asked, who was she, Mrs. Choksi explained, "She claims to be someone that works on the house renovation and she would come down to Antigua 2 or 3 times--she came in August, in April and now in May" and that "she has never met her". Mehul Choksi remains in Dominica even as his case is a court. He had disappeared from Antigua and Barbuda, a country whose citizenship he had taken after fleeing India only to be discovered in Dominica. Mrs. Choksi confirmed that she has spoken to her husband and he is "traumatized, has a lot of wounds, and has been mentally tortured", highlighting that "if the law is followed, he would be sent back to his country which is Antigua and Barbuda". Important to know, Antiguan PM Gaston Browne has said several times now that he would like Mehul Choksi to be sent back to India and his citizenship is not a settled matter. Reacting to PM's comments, she said, "deeply anguished by his comments", pointing out, "that at the same time Mr. Gaston Browne has said that do not let him come back to Antigua because he will be protected by the constitution and laws of Antigua", explaining, "why would he be protected by the constitution and laws if he was not a citizen of Antigua". She even slammed Dominica authorities saying, "If my husband was found in Dominica and he has said and I believe police have corroborated that he was kidnapped, where is that kidnapping case filed by Dominica's police. Kidnapping is an international crime. but where is that case? Where is that boat, and the crew and why is their GPS turned off, today even". The issue has become a political hot potato in the Caribbean with opposition in both Antigua and Dominica slamming their governments over handling the issue. This movement from Antigua to Dominica has come under the spotlight as lawyers claim he was abducted while local authorities in Antigua say he went on his own accord. Mrs. Choksi said, "There was no reason for him to leave Antigua and Barbuda. He has 2 cases to answer here and both those cases in court and stays on both of them..even if loses the case he has the option to go to the supreme court of the Caribbean and the privy council. But no thought he would even lose, that is how strong his case is. What would the reason be for him to leave a place where he is safe". Live TV New Delhi: Mehul Choksi's case took a shocking turn after the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne and fugitive businessmans lawyer claimed that a woman, allegedly known as Barbara Jarabica, who had become friendly with Choksi over the past six months, played a role in his disappearance. Last week, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne told a local radio station, "Mehul Choksi made a mistake and the information we are getting is that Choksi travelled with his girlfriend, but he was caught in Dominica and now he can be deported back to India." Additionally, Mehul Choksis wife, Priti Choksi also broke her silence on the issue and said, "Picture that is run of this person called Barbara is not even correct picture. Where is she, no one knows. If a crime occurred, and she saw it why has she not said anything. No one knows," adding, "she is not traceable". Mehul and Priti Choksi on vacation. (Credits: News Bugz) When asked, who was she, Mrs. Choksi explained, "Barbara claims to be someone that works on the house renovation and she would come down to Antigua 2 or 3 times--she came in August, in April and now in May" and that "she has never met her". According to Caribbean media, Barbara Jarabica is a property investment consultant and has studied at the London School of Economics. Mehul and Priti Choksi in a wedding. (Credits: News Bugz) As per Choksis attorneys, Mehul Choksi was supposed to meet his girlfriend on May 23 but was allegedly kidnapped by the Antigua Police and Indian officials from the Jolly Harbor area. The lawyer also exclaimed that Choksi and Barbara could not meet because of the same. Live TV New Delhi: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday (June 2, 2021) said that the Delhi government is currently working to formulate a plan to assess class 10, 12 students in 2022. Delhi Deputy CMs statement comes a day after the Central government cancelled the CBSE class 12 board exams. We need a fool-proof plan for the next year to avoid scope for unprepared, knee-jerk decisions, he said adding that the team is working on a plan for assessing class 10, 12 students in 2022 and will send recommendations to CBSE. Manish Sisodia also added that the Delhi government has formed a team for the same and will be sending recommendations to the CBSE and the central government soon. "A team is working on a plan on how academic session can be conducted for the board and non-board classes and how can the assessment be done. Once we are done with the draft plan, I will share the recommendations with CBSE and the Centre," he added. Delhi Deputy CM also expressed his concern over the fact that another academic session can be hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also added that this is why the government needs to start planning on how to assess students in March 2022. Manish Sisodia also said exams or no exams, there can be no second thought about the need to vaccinate students. "Exams or no exams, there cannot be a second thought about need to vaccinating students. The stocks are so low that we are not able to vaccinate people within age group of 18-44. All of this has to be done soon, the trials for vaccines for children and getting Pfizer vaccine for them, all of this has to be done on priority," he said. Meanwhile, a day before Sisodias statement on examinations, the Central government had cancelled the CBSE Class XII board exams amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with PM Narendra Modi asserting that the decision has been taken in the interest of students. PM Modi had also added that the decision will end anxiety among the students, parents and teachers. Prime Minister Modi also stressed that the health and safety of students are of utmost importance and there would be no compromise on this aspect. He also said that in today's time, such exams cannot be the reason to put our youth at risk. Live TV New Delhi: The state government on Thursday (June 3) cancelled Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP) Class 12 board exams in view of the COVID-19 situation. The decision comes after a meeting was chaired by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in this regard. The meeting was attended by Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma and officials of the Education Department at Lok Bhawan in Lucknow. The committee prepared by the Board of Education presented a report to the Chief Minister, in which after the cancellation of the examination, other options were suggested for the candidates. Over 26 lakh (26,09,501) students have registered for the UP Board Class 12 exams. Earlier, UP Board had called off high school or Class 10 exams in view of the raging coronavirus pandemic. On Tuesday, in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it was decided to cancel the Class 12 examinations conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Taking the cue, CISCE had also decided to cancel Class 12 board exams. Several states including Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have cancelled Class 12 board exams. Other states like West Bengal, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh are yet to take a decision on the matter. While Assam government is likely to conduct Class 10 and Class 12 board exams in the state when conditions are conducive. Live TV (This is a developing story) Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 00:09:03|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NAIROBI, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The state-owned Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) and the United Nations specialized agency, the Universal Postal Union (UPU), will partner to promote cross-border trade, an official said on Thursday. Dan Kagwe, CEO and Postmaster General of PCK, told journalists in Nairobi that the collaboration will promote the movement and delivery of cargo between Kenya and its east African neighbors. Kagwe spoke during the launch by the Directorate of Immigration Services and PCK of the passports delivery service that will see PCK deliver passports to applicants at a convenient physical address of their choice or at the nearest postal office. According to PCK, the collaboration with the UN agency will ensure the postal sector plays a vital role in reducing the cost of cross-border trade by removing existing bottlenecks. Kagwe observed that the cooperation will also ensure a seamless payment system for all international trade transactions. He noted that in the online trade area, Kenya is also cooperating with UPU which has already established an e-commerce hub in North Africa with Kenya hoping to be the hub for the East African region. Enditem Mumbai: Fashion designer Rohit K Verma took to social media on Thursday to express his support for a close friend and actress Nisha Rawal at a time when she has levelled domestic violence and other allegations against her husband, actor Karan Mehra. Rohit K Verma took to Instagram to hit back at trolls targeting Nisha, asking them if they support physical abuse or domestic violence. "Nisha, the most resilient and gentle soul has always believed in finding solutions amicably. I have seen her through her highs and lows and she has always risen above the blocks of life with an additional smile on her face. This time, she has been at the receiving end of untamed anger which has impacted her physically and no amount of excuses can justify this act against her," Rohit wrote in an Instagram post. "For those who pick sides without knowledge, understand that no individual has the right to touch another person with an ill intention or hurt them physically which in turn leads to mental trauma. If you still don't get this basic understanding, then it's high time you ask your mother how to be a human to begin with," he added. Hitting back at trolls, he further wrote: "The facade hides the true fact and people are very good at that. Picking up sides trolling and supporting won't help as it is very easy to sit back and comment on other people going through rough patches. The book should not be judged by its cover and every story in life has a dark side too. We must pray that things fall in place without any damage to anyone be it of any sort and moreover in all this we must never forget that there is a child involved who is at this point oblivious to the cruel workings of the world let's keep his innocence intact." "All those who are trolling is with ur hate in speech just wanna ask one simple question that u need to answer ur souls are u in favour of Physical Abuse (Domestic Violence)? @missnisharawal," he concluded. "Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai" fame actor Karan Mehra has been accused by his wife, actress Nisha Rawal, of having an affair, taking her jewellery and beating her up. Mehra was granted bail on Tuesday morning after his arrest the night before following a complaint by Nisha over a domestic fight. New Delhi: Badminton ace PV Sindhu is India's only woman single's badminton player to qualify for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2021. She recently talked about what's keeping her upbeat amid the second wave of the deadly coronavirus scare. In an interview with Times of India, PV Sindhu shared how Spain's Carolina Marin not participating at the Tokyo Olympics due to her injury is unfortunate. She said, "It's sad that she won't be competing in Tokyo because of an unfortunate injury. I hope she recovers soon. I will miss her on-court presence. We share a healthy rivalry and off-court. We are good friends. As for Tokyo, it's not going to be easy at all. All the top-10 players are of same standard and the level of competition will be really, really high. Players like Ratchanok Intanon, Nozomi Okuhara, Tai Tzu-Ying, Akane Yamaguchi and An Se-young will be looking to give their 100%. I will need to be in top form. I will be taking one match at a time." Carolina Marin, a prime contender for the gold medal at the Tokyo Games, suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during training and pulled out of the showpiece event on Tuesday. In the same interaction, she also revealed which actress would be perfect to play her on-screen. "I would say Deepika Padukone because she has played the sport. I also like her as an actress", added she. New Delhi: Indias largest private bank HDFC Bank is advising its customers to keep their mount shut, as part of its ongoing campaign around the rising bank frauds in the country. With the #MoohBandRakho campaign, the bank is advising the customers on how they can avoid bank frauds. The bank warned that cyber thugs can rob the deposits by fooling customers by calling from a bank's fake helpline number. In its official tweet, HDFC said, Received a message for an FD/RD transaction you didnt make? Scamsters are using fake HDFC Bank helpline numbers & asking people to download the screen-sharing app to access their banking information. So practice #MoohBandRakho when the scamsters call. Scamsters nowadays are calling customer's number and claim that they are calling from the bank to solve a problem. They request the customers to download a screen sharing application to give them access to track their FD/RD status. If youre an HDFC Bank customer and get a similar call then you know that all you need to do is keep your mouth shut to stay safe from such frauds. Please note that you should never download a third-party app at the request of any fraud call. In the past year, bank frauds in India have surged at a record pace. Recently, the State Bank of India (SBI) started sending alerts to its customers on how they can take utmost precaution against bank frauds. "We advise our customers to be alert of fraudsters and not to share any sensitive details online or download any app from an unknown source," SBI tweeted. Moreover, you would like to take note that in case, if you fall for fraud then the bank isnt responsible for any damages. In March 2021, the Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission in Gujarat's Amreli district refused to accept compensation claims of the victim on the grounds that he was duped because of his own negligence New Delhi: Former chief secretary of West Bengal Alapan Bandyopdhayay replied to the Centre's show-cause notice served to him citing that he left the cyclone Yaas review meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28 as per the directive of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to review storm-hit Digha. The Union Home Ministry had on May 31 served a show-cause notice to Bandyopadhyay under a stringent provision Disaster Management Act to explain his absence from the meeting, a highly-placed official in the secretariat told PTI. Notably, Bandyopadhyay was set to retire as the chief secretary on May 31, but the state recently sought and received permission for extension of his tenure for three months as he played a crucial role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he was given a transfer notice by the Centre but the bureaucrat, instead of reporting to Delhi, chose to retire and he was subsequently appointed as the CM's chief adviser. On May 31, Alapan Bandopadhyay retired from his office and was simultaneously appointed as Chief Advisor to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Banerjee in a media briefing announced that she had appointed Alapan Bandopadhyay as her chief advisor for the next three years. A row broke out between the Centre and the state over the prime minister's post-cyclone review meeting at Kalaikunda airbase, which the CM and state chief secretary did not attend. Banerjee, along with the chief secretary, met the prime minister for around 15 minutes and left after handing over a report on the devastation caused by the cyclone in the state. Live TV Tel Aviv: Opposition leader Yair Lapid officially informed President Reuven Rivlin and Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin late Wednesday night that a coalition deal has been formed to form a new government and is prepared to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "I commit to you Mr. President, that this government will work to serve all the citizens of Israel including those who aren`t members of it, will respect those who oppose it, and do everything in its power to unite all parts of Israeli society," Lapid told Rivlin at 11:35 pm, reported Jerusalem Post. Yamina leader Naftali Bennett, Lapid, and Ra`am (United Arab List) chairman Mansour Abbas signed an agreement at a meeting on Wednesday night at Ramat Gan`s Kfar Hamaccabiah Hotel, in the first coalition deal ever signed by an Arab party. Abbas had added last-minute demands following multiple conversations with Netanyahu. After Netanyahu offered to cancel a law enforcing fines on illegal Arab building, Abbas demanded the same from the unity government being formed, reported Jerusalem Post. The Southern Islamic Movement`s Shura Council decided in Kfar Kassem to empower Abbas to make a final decision about whether to enter the coalition, based on his conversation with Bennett and Lapid. "The decision was hard and there were several disputes but it was important to reach agreements," Abbas told reporters after signing the deal, reported Jerusalem Post. Another coalition deal was signed with the New Hope Party. The deal guarantees splitting the role of the attorney-general, preventing Palestinian construction in Israeli-controlled Area C of the West Bank, and legalizing the usage of cannabis. The party received the Justice, Education, Construction and Communications portfolios. Another dispute appeared to be on the way to a compromise after Bennett`s number two in Yamina, MK Ayelet Shaked, accepted a rotation in the Judicial Selection Committee with Labor leader Merav Michaeli. According to the compromise, Shaked would serve on the committee in the first half of the term, along with an MK from Labor, and Michaeli in the second half, along with an MK from New Hope, reported Jerusalem Post. But Michaeli then demanded to go first in the rotation, which Shaked requested. One way of resolving the dispute that was discussed is a rotation of portfolios in the second half of the term, with Shaked becoming justice minister, New Hope leader Gideon Sa`ar shifting from the Justice to the Foreign Affairs portfolio, and Bennett moving from Prime Minister to Interior Minister and alternate Prime Minister when Lapid becomes Prime Minister. Michaeli could also be promoted in that scenario, reported Jerusalem Post. Michaeli and Lapid met late Wednesday night just ahead of the deadline. Lapid needed to tell President Reuven Rivlin and Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin by Wednesday night at 11:59 that he can form a government. Had he not done so, the mandate would have gone to the Knesset, where any MK had the opportunity to build a coalition with the support of 61 MKs, reported Jerusalem Post. Lapid had wanted to inform Levin that he had formed a government during Wednesday`s Knesset session, in order to make sure the Knesset speaker would schedule a vote of confidence in the new government and the swearing-in of the new ministers by next week. But final deals were not reached in time. It is expected that once Levin receives word from Lapid that a government is ready, he will insist on waiting as long as permitted by law in order to maximize pressure on Yamina MKs, which could end up being 12 days, reported Jerusalem Post. Live TV Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 00:09:54|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NAIROBI June 3 (Xinhua) -- A sizable number of towering buildings in the central business district of the Kenyan capital Nairobi boast exquisite architectural designs and impressive color schemes. Conversely, others stand deprived of radiance. But now, an ambitious joint movement between artists, curators, policy implementers, and other partners is looking to spruce up the capital walls with exciting murals to reflect on the liveliness and creativity of its inhabitants. "A good number of buildings within and outside Nairobi's commercial district are dull. They fail to represent the vibrancy of the people who occupy them. It is for this reason that I jumped onto this movement. More importantly, it is an avenue for artists to showcase their craft," Billy Mutu, an artist, who also teaches the discipline, told Xinhua. Murals are artworks where designs and characters are expressed on a large surface like a wall or road. The practice of sharing large public art is well established in the country, particularly among the youthful demographic. Several wall spaces within Nairobi's central business district and the suburbs spot elaborate wall art bearing varying messages. The project has so far seen the completion of two murals within the city. It is being facilitated by Trust for Ingenious Culture and Health (TICAH) in association with Nairobi City Council, Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS), GoDown Arts Centre, and Safer Nairobi Initiative. The partners are dabbing the movement #ALAAA!, a foreseen verbal surprise response triggered by the beauty of the finished art. The movement has roped in close to 20 artists, involved from the early developmental stage to when the final stroke hits the wall. The number is expected to gradually increase as the project advances. "We have brought on board artists with a wealth of experience in artistic work as well as the ones who are just starting. The idea is to have different generations exchanging ideas and learning from one another," said Eric Manya, Creativity Curator at TICAH. According to Mutu, the themes of the paintings will be guided by their relevance to the community who will ultimately become the rightful custodians. "The second mural which we executed right across a busy market was intended to honor the large volume of women who sell fresh produce within the facility. We aspire to execute arts which are in touch with the community members," said Mutu. The movement envisages silencing the stubborn stereotype associated with street art, which has for long come across as an illegal act done in the cover of darkness by outlaws. "We hope the success of the project will influence a change in perception towards public art. We have approval papers from the authorities that in itself solidifies the legitimacy of murals," said Suzanne Wambua, art director, TICAH. The feedback from both the artists and the public has been encouraging, according to Wambua, evidence that their efforts are not futile. "We have been receiving text messages from artists and ordinary Kenyans attesting to the joy elicited by the paintings," said Wambua. Kenya's Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage in 2020 during the peak months of COVID-19 called for art submissions from vulnerable visual artists for consideration to undertake a 3-month project of sensitizing the public about the pandemic. The move was seen as reinforcing the government's commitment to provide social protection interventions to vulnerable youth groups and support the growth of the creative industry. TICAH has been providing painting paraphernalia, coordinating logistics with artists, and mapping out suitable sites for the murals. They are now asking for more partners to come on board and scale up the movement even further which will subsequently raise monetary incentives for the artists. Their ultimate goal is to put Nairobi on the map as a destination for rich murals. Thus, they are urging movie producers and music directors to seize the beauty afforded by the murals for their videos. Wanjiru Mwangi who uses buttons to achieve intriguing designs said she is happy to be part of the movement as she is set to explore a venture outside her experience. "This is a good opportunity for me to focus on a different form of art, I am happy and ready to learn," said Mwangi. Although presented with a few challenges, the artists are of the view that the mishaps are part of the process of creating art, making it worthwhile. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 00:12:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HONG KONG, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The 14th Five-Year Plan for national economic and social development will bring enormous opportunities to the business sector, Carrie Lam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), said Thursday. Lam made the remarks when briefing more than 200 members of the local and international business community at a webinar hosted by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. The positioning of Hong Kong as set out in the five-year plan reflects the support of the central authorities for Hong Kong, Lam said, citing Hong Kong is recognized as an international financial, transportation and trade center, and a center for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region. Hong Kong is encouraged to develop into an international aviation hub, an international innovation and technology hub, a regional intellectual property trading center, and a hub for arts and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world, she said. The plan also supports Hong Kong in fostering cooperation and exchanges with countries and regions around the world, she said. Lam encouraged international companies and chambers of commerce to leverage Hong Kong's unique advantages to access the mainland market and the market of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 00:14:29|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KABUL -- At least two people were wounded in a bomb attack targeting a mini-bus in western part of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, on Thursday, the third bomb explosion hitting public transport buses within the week, the capital police confirmed. "The blast occurred in Pul-i-Sokhta locality. Two wounded were shifted to hospital, more information would be shared with media soon," Kabul police spokesman Ferdaus Faramarz told reporters via a text message. (Afghanistan-Bomb) - - - - DHAKA -- Bangladesh on Thursday announced its biggest ever national budget as the country seeks to continue the growth momentum amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bangladeshi government unveiled the record 6.04 trillion-taka (nearly 72 billion U.S. dollars) national budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year starting in July, prioritizing pandemic control, health sector, social safety-net and agriculture. (Bangladesh-Budget) - - - - COLOMBO -- The Sri Lankan government on Thursday said a search operation has been launched to locate the Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) from the foreign-owned X Press Pearl container ship which caught fire in the outskirts of the Colombo Port last month. In a media briefing held in capital Colombo, officials said the VDR will be used to listen to the conversations that the ship captain had with other members before and during the eruption of the fire. (Sri Lanka-X Press Pearl) - - - - JAKARTA -- The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia increased by 5,353 in the past 24 hours to 1,837,126, with the death toll adding by 187 to 51,095, the Health Ministry said on Thursday. According to the ministry, 11,092 more recovered patients were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries from the coronavirus epidemic to 1,691,593. (Indonesia-COVID-19) - - - - KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia reported another 103 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, with the national total now at 3,096, the Health Ministry said. Another 8,209 new COVID-19 infections were reported, of which 64 are imported and 8,145 more are local transmissions, bringing the national total to 595,374. (Malaysia-COVID-19) Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 00:14:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MOGADISHU, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Somalia on Thursday confirmed the death of a senior military officer during the ongoing security operations against al-Shabab militants in the southern region. Mohamed Abdiwahid, Commander of the sixth battalion of Somalia's special forces (Gorgor) was killed in a fierce battle between Somali National Army (SNA) and al-Shabab at Jalable village in the Middle Shabelle region on Thursday. "The hero who has paid the ultimate price for his country's stability has been in the military service more than 10 years," the SNA said in a statement. The deceased soldier who was trained in Turkey was among several soldiers who are conducting security operations to flush out al-Shabab militants in the Middle Shabelle region. Somali army chief Odowaa Yusuf Rage who is leading the security operation in the Middle Shabelle region said the forces have killed more than 100 al-Shabab insurgents and recovered several weapons including equipment during the operation kicked off last week. The army chief said the military operation, which is still underway in the Middle Shabelle region, will be sustained until the insurgents who have conducted terror attacks to kill and maim innocent residents have been wiped out from the region. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 00:29:25|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ROME, June 3 (Xinhua) -- An effort launched by the European Union (EU) three years ago to create an international tax regime for digital multinationals is expected to bear fruit at the G20 (Group of 20) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting next month, according to analysts and media reports. Negotiations for international levies referred to as the "digital tax" have been a major topic at finance ministries and treasury departments since the EU began work on its own version of a "digital tax" in 2018. A "digital tax" is designed to make it more difficult for multinational technology companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple to save on their tax bill by recording profits in countries with low tax rates. The issue has since been taken up by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an inter-governmental economic organization, and the G20, a forum of the world's 20 major economies. The digital tax is "important as a way to level the playing field between countries," Carsten Brzeski, chief economist with the Netherlands-based investment bank ING in Germany, told Xinhua. "But the problem has always been in the details, in the specific ways such a regime would work." According to Brzeski and other analysts, the details include deciding on the actual tax rate that will be applied, enforcement mechanisms, and the creation of an oversight body. Though the EU has not abandoned its own plans for a digital tax that would be applied across the 27-nation bloc, Brzeski said it has stepped back for the moment to see what will emerge from the negotiations within the OECD and the G20. Media reports quote Daniele Franco, Italy's Minister of Economy and Finance, as expecting an "agreement in principle" from the upcoming G20 meeting. Italy holds the rotating presidency of the G20 this year. Angel Gurria, former head of the OECD, made similar statements last week, saying support for the idea from the United States, which had recently opposed a global digital tax, has made a big difference. "The issue was a little bit tied up, mainly because of the American position," Gurria told reporters last week. According to Tommaso Di Tanno, a tax law professor at Bocconi University in Milan and founder of the tax firm Di Tanno Associati, the G20 is important because it can produce a political declaration of support for the idea of a digital tax though the details will most likely be hammered out within the OECD. "The basic lines of the proposals within the G20 and the OECD are very similar," Di Tanno told Xinhua. In basic terms, such an initiative would set up a minimum corporate tax -- the current proposals are for a rate of either 15 or 21 percent, according to di Tanno, Brzeski, and local news reports -- that would be applied across the board. If a company chooses to register its profits in a country with a lower rate, the difference would still be paid where that company is based. "Since the overall tax rate would be the same under the new rules, it would discourage the practice of registering profits in specific countries just because they have low tax rates," Di Tanno said. Early in the process, the talks were opposed by some small countries that benefit from the current policies, most notably Ireland, the country where many big technology companies choose to pay much of their European taxes. But according to news reports, Ireland and other countries have since joined the negotiating process. One important issue for those countries, according to news reports, is having a lower minimum tax rate. There is still too little information available to calculate the economic impacts a global digital tax would have on tax revenue for individual countries, according to Brzeski, though he did say he thought it would be too small to have an impact on debt and deficit levels of countries. "The revenue will be enough to fund research and development projects or to help compensate parts of the economy hurt by the new policies," he said. "But no country will see its deficit problems fixed by the digital tax." Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 01:34:50|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MOGADISHU, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Roble vowed on Thursday to devise a new strategy to mitigate and find a lasting solution to the perennial flooding affecting thousands of people in the southern region. Roble who toured the flood-hit areas in the southeast region said he witnessed the unfolding of a dire humanitarian situation in Jowhar and surrounding villages. "Due to seasonal flooding by Shabelle River, the regional capital is completely cut off, and so are the settlements in the environs, with no way out by the road," he said in a statement issued in Mogadishu after the visit. The remarks came after the United Nations (UN) had warned that the combined impact of drought and floods is likely to exacerbate the already critical food security situation in Somalia, where more than 2.7 million people are projected to be food insecure. The prime minister said the floods have adversely affected poor villagers along the Shabelle River, noting that the internally displaced need urgent humanitarian intervention, including resettlement, provision of food, medicine and other critical supplies. Roble called on the people living along the river to be extra vigilant and commended the resilience and solidarity shown by the residents, who have played a significant role in saving the lives of their families and vulnerable people in the affected areas. The UN says the persistent heavy rains affected key air and road transportation routes, impacting on the availability of food supplies and partners' ability to reach affected populations. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 01:59:26|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JUBA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Thursday pledged support for the ongoing constitutional making process paving the way for democratic elections slated to be held in 2023. Nicholas Haysom, the special representative of the Secretary-General and head of UNMISS, said the UN Security Council has to advance a three-year strategic vision aimed at preventing a return to civil war and ensuring free, fair, and peaceful polls when renewing their mandate. "Our priority is to provide technical assistance to build the capacity of local institutions, reform the security and justice sectors, and to progress important elements of the broader peace deal such as constitutional making and ultimately free, and fair elections," Haysom told journalists in Juba. The UNSC has recently asked for a needs assessment to look at security, procedural and logistical requirements to enable elections to be held. Haysom revealed that the making of the permanent constitution of South Sudan will reflect a series of promises between the parties to the peace agreement and the people. "These promises will set the rules for South Sudan's future of peace, stability and prosperity. It's important that the constitutional making process is inclusive and enables a national conversation, if solutions to conflict and divisions come from the people then a durable peace is likely to have a surviving chance," he said. The UN envoy said the UNMISS is deploying troops to conflict hot spots, setting up temporary bases and intensifying patrols to deter sub-national conflict. He added that they are working to protect humanitarian workers who recently have come under attack by armed gunmen and unemployed youth demanding jobs. According to Haysom, the peacekeeping mission is also undertaking border protection activities to enable and encourage displaced people to return home, through quick impact projects such as building medical clinics, schools, police posts and courthouses. Haysom observed that the peace process remains fragile, despite some recent progress made by the parties to the 2018 revitalized peace deal signed in Ethiopia. "Courageous decisions need to be made including the unification of security forces, I urge the people and leaders of South Sudan to breathe fresh life in the peace process and fully implement the agreement, including by finalizing the constitution and eventually holding elections," he said. The UN official added that the peace process must be led and owned by the people of South Sudan to ensure that the peace that is achieved is sustainable. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 02:19:17|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HELSINKI, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The Finnish government on Thursday extended its COVID-19 travel restrictions from other Schengen area countries until June 27. In a press release, the government explained that COVID-19 continues to spread and for now Finland does not "yet have adequate measures to replace the restrictions." However, air travel to Finland for all work purposes will now be allowed from the Schengen area and from the European Union (EU) member states. Until now, only essential work-related air travel has been allowed. Students will be allowed to enter the country for purposes of training included in their studies, the press release said. However, arrivals by sea from other EU countries and from neighboring Sweden across the land border remain subject to the current coronavirus travel regime, i.e. they are allowed for essential reasons only. "Essential work" means work that is important for the functioning of society or the security of supply or for certain specifically defined groups as defined by the government. Finnish citizens and permanent residents of the country can arrive and depart without restrictions. Cruise vessels are permitted to call at Finnish ports, but passengers are not allowed to disembark, the press release noted. Entry restrictions have been lifted earlier for residents of the border communities between Finland and Norway. Based on an epidemiological assessment, arrivals from Iceland and Malta are now unrestricted. The COVID-19 situation has improved noticeably in Finland over the past week. The spread of coronavirus has slowed down in many areas, but significant regional differences remain, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) said in a press release. To date, 45.7 percent of the country's population have already received the first COVID-19 vaccine dose and 9.9 percent both doses, according to the THL. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 02:35:05|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NAIROBI, June 3 (Xinhua) -- A group of international experts on Thursday called for updating soil data in Africa as a means to transform food production systems in the continent. Speaking during a virtual forum in Nairobi, Rik van den Bosch, director of Netherlands-based World Soil Information (ISRIC) said that Africa required the latest information in order to boost the management of its soils. Bosch called for compiling of current and up-to-date soil data in the continent, adding that the existing data is obsolete. Yemi Akinbamijo, executive director of Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) said the pace of soil degradation in the continent is worrying, adding that urgent interventions were required to reverse the trend. Akinbamijo called for the adoption of conservation agriculture and agroforestry in order to boost soil health in Africa and strengthen climate resilience among rural communities. He said that with new modalities of having healthy soils, African nations are in a position to drive food sustainability and meet the needs of a growing population. Lydia Chabala, a lecturer at the University of Zambia called for structured soil information for use by key stakeholders including farmers and agronomists. Chabala urged African nations to apply a mixer of agricultural models that are in a position to meet the growing demand for food. Marta Iglesias, senior policy officer at the European Commission said that with 60 percent of arable land, Africa stands to become food secure once soil health is accorded prominence. Iglesias said that African nations should embark on changing the state of soil erosion, pollution and biodiversity loss through citizen engagement. The international experts called for the development of a harmonized online soil information system among African states, adding that big data is key to transform soil conservation in the continent. According to the experts, the adoption of Geographic Information System (GIS) software, Global Positioning System (GPS), remote sensing and drones will boost access to updated soil information among key stakeholders. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 03:48:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Drought and a rain deficit is pushing more than 2.73 million people in Somalia toward the crisis level of acute food insecurity, UN humanitarians said on Thursday. The annual Gu rains of early spring came late in some parts of the country and were mainly below average, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. Subsiding in mid-May, the critical Gu crop planting season was significantly affected. "Approximately 2.73 million to 2.83 million people across Somalia are expected to face crisis ... or worse outcomes between April and September 2021, reflecting the deteriorating food security situation in the country," the office said. The government, consulting with the United Nations, on April 25 declared a drought. Moderate to severe drought conditions affected more than 80 percent of the country. A few days later, Gu rains started, but only in parts of the country, triggering riverine and flash flooding that affected 400,000 people, of whom 101,300 were displaced, OCHA said. Humanitarian organizations continue to respond in locations with the highest needs, including distributing water and critical sanitation and hygiene material, non-food items, cash and food supplies, the office said. The double climate disaster is in the context of decades of conflict and insecurity in Somalia. A serious gap in relief funding remains for the humanitarian operation in the country, OCHA said. The 2021 Somalia Humanitarian Response Plan requires 1.09 billion U.S. dollars to assist 4 million people but is currently only 20 percent funded. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 04:07:28|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on June 3, 2021 shows a view of a special session of the General Assembly on Challenges and Measures to Prevent and Combat Corruption and Strengthen International Cooperation at the UN headquarters in New York. With factors contributing to transnational corruption becoming increasingly complex, the United Nations launched an initiative on Thursday to "empower all countries" to find practical solutions and better tools to track, investigate and prosecute the scourge. (Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua) UNITED NATIONS, June 3 (Xinhua) -- With factors contributing to transnational corruption becoming increasingly complex, the United Nations launched an initiative on Thursday to "empower all countries" to find practical solutions and better tools to track, investigate and prosecute the scourge. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the General Assembly's first-ever special session against corruption via a video message, that before the COVID-19 pandemic, countries all over the world had been "roiled by huge anti-government demonstrations." "Corruption was one of the protestors' main grievances. We can be sure those protestors are watching closely now, as trillions of dollars are invested in recovery," he added. Corruption is often systematic and organized, a crime that crosses borders and "betrays people and democracies," the UN chief said. "It steals trillions of dollars from people all over the world - usually from those most in need, as it siphons off resources for sustainable development," he added. When powerful people get away with corruption, citizens lose trust in their governing institutions and democracies become weakened by cynicism and hopelessness. "Turning the tide against corruption is essential if we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, promote peace, and protect human rights," said the top UN official. Guterres stressed the need to reinvigorate political commitment to fight corruption, strengthen international cooperation to recover stolen assets and prevent criminals from finding safe havens overseas for themselves and their funds. He called the creation of the Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities, or GlobE Network, "a step in the right direction." "The network will enable law enforcement authorities to navigate legal processes through informal cooperation across borders, helping to build trust and bring those guilty of corruption to justice," explained the UN chief. During the launch, anti-corruption experts discussed the role of the GlobE Network in ensuring that all countries and their independent anti-corruption authorities have the contacts and tools they need to track, investigate and prosecute cross-border corruption - including origin, transit and destination countries - quickly and effectively. The secretary-general said the world body would continue to provide technical assistance and called on all Governments to "make full use of the network and encourage further efforts to eradicate corruption." "Ending impunity for corruption, and returning stolen assets to their owners, are important steps towards a new social contract based on trust, integrity and justice," noted the secretary-general. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 05:35:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on June 3, 2021 shows the scene of a Security Council meeting on the situation in Libya at the UN headquarters in New York. The United Nations Security Council decided on Thursday to extend for another year a series of authorizations for member states to inspect vessels on the high seas off the coast of Libya suspected of arms embargo violation. (Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua) UNITED NATIONS, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Security Council decided on Thursday to extend for another year a series of authorizations for member states to inspect vessels on the high seas off the coast of Libya suspected of arms embargo violation. Unanimously adopting Resolution 2578 (2021) under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, the 15-member organ decided to extend the authorizations laid out in Resolution 2526 (2020) for a further 12 months. Those measures - first agreed in Resolution 2292 (2016) - allow states, acting nationally or through regional organizations, to inspect vessels on the high seas bound to or from Libya, given reasonable grounds to believe that they are in violation of the Council's arms embargo. By other terms of the text, members requested the secretary-general to report on the implementation of Thursday's resolution within 11 months. The Security Council imposed sanctions, including an arms embargo, on Libya in 2011 after the political turmoil that led to the toppling of former leader Muammar Gaddafi. In June 2016, the Council adopted a resolution to authorize vessel inspections on the high seas to implement the arms embargo. The authorizations have been extended several times. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 05:41:47|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN -- The next round of talks in Vienna to revive the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal could be conclusive and lead to an agreement, the head of Iran's negotiating team Abbas Araqchi said early Thursday. "Today, after almost 10 days of intensive work, we have reached a point where all the delegations felt they should once again make further consultations in their capitals," Araqchi was quoted by official news agency IRNA as saying. (Iran-Vienna Talks) ---- GAZA -- The Hamas-run ministry of agriculture in Gaza announced on Thursday that it had stopped importing Israeli fruits after Israel banned the export of vegetables from Gaza to the West Bank and abroad. "Israel banned the export of 15 different kinds of agricultural products, mainly tomatoes and cucumbers from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank and abroad," the ministry said in a press statement. (Gaza-Israel-Boycott) ---- TEHRAN -- Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Thursday expressed "strong dismay" over the suspension of Iran's voting rights in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), saying the U.S. sanctions are to blame for his country's inability to pay dues. Iran and the Central African Republic will lose their voting rights in the UNGA since the two countries are in arrears on paying their dues to the UN operating budget, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a letter to UNGA President Volkan Bozkir circulated on Wednesday. (Iran-UN Voting Rights-U.S. Sanctions) ---- BEIRUT -- The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) on Thursday urged Israel to withdraw from the "occupied" territories including the Shebaa Farms, Kfarchouba Hills and Ghajar village, a statement by the Lebanese army said. LAF's requests were made during a tripartite meeting with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon and the Israel Defense Forces at a UN position in Lebanon's Ras Al Naqoura. (Israel-Lebanon-Occupied Territories) Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 05:42:38|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SANTIAGO, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Chile temporarily suspended the application of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 in people under 45 years of age, after reporting an "adverse event" in a person immunized with the dose. In a communique, the Ministry of Health said it was notified on June 1 that after receiving the vaccine, a 31-year-old man "presented thrombosis and thrombocytopenia, an event described in international literature as very rare." As a result, the ministry decided that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine should only be applied to people who are 45 years old or above. The preventive and proactive measure will stay in place while the Public Health Institute (ISP) conducts a causality analysis investigation. The ISP authorized the emergency use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on Jan. 27, after it was approved by its committee of experts. To date, Chile has vaccinated more than 10.9 million people against COVID-19, with over 8.1 million having been fully immunized with both doses. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 03:36:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KHARTOUM, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Fatou Bensouda on Wednesday urged the Sudanese government to hand over those accused of committing war crimes in Darfur to the ICC. Bensouda made the demand at a press conference in Sudan's capital Khartoum after concluding a visit to Darfur. A team of the ICC investigators would arrive in Sudan in the coming period to collect further field evidences, she said. Bensouda further urged the victims to communicate and cooperate with the ICC investigators when they come to Sudan, stressing protection for the witnesses who testify before the court. During 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012, the ICC issued arrest warrants against former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, former defense minister Abdul-Rahim Mohamed Hussein, former interior minister Ahmed Mohamed Haroun and around 21 other government officials for allegedly committing genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region. The transitional authorities in Sudan, which were established after the ouster of al-Bashir in April 2019, have earlier expressed readiness to cooperate with the ICC regarding the file of the suspects of committing crimes in Darfur, which has been suffering from a civil war since 2003. Khartoum is considering three options to try the suspects of committing crimes in Darfur, including establishing a special court, a hybrid court of the government and the ICC or handing them to the ICC. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 05:13:35|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People visit a caricature exhibition at Greater Cairo Library in Cairo, Egypt, on June 2, 2021. The hallway of the palace-like Greater Cairo Library in Egypt hosted works by Egyptian and Arab caricaturists in a gallery expressing support for the Palestinian cause and the struggle of the Palestinians in their decades-long conflict with Israel. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) by Mahmoud Fouly CAIRO, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The hallway of the palace-like Greater Cairo Library in Egypt hosted works by Egyptian and Arab caricaturists in a gallery expressing support for the Palestinian cause and the struggle of the Palestinians in their decades-long conflict with Israel. Held on Wednesday evening by an Egyptian caricaturists' association in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, the gallery displayed 32 works of at least 25 male and female caricaturists from a number of Arab countries including Egypt, Palestine, Yemen, and Jordan. "The exhibition addresses the Palestinian cause through caricature," said Howaida Ibrahim, an organizer and head of an Egyptian female caricaturists' association. The Egyptian caricaturist took part in the gallery with two caricatures, the first depicts Israel as a snake whose tail is tightly around Gaza, which is depicted as a fearless Palestinian woman. The second portrays the Israeli occupation as chains obstructing the advance of Palestine. Ibrahim explained that some of the participant caricaturists, particularly the Palestinians, sent their works to take part in the exhibition but were unable to show up themselves. Najy al-Najy, cultural counselor of the Palestinian embassy in Cairo, expressed his happiness to attend the gallery and his appreciation of the stance of the Egyptian and Arab caricaturists in support of the Palestinian question. The exhibition was held less than two weeks after an 11-day tension between Israel and Gaza militants was ended through a Cairo-brokered truce. "Today's stance of the Egyptian artists and intellectuals is really worth appreciation. We can say it's a stance that supports the Palestinian cause and the steadfastness of the Palestinians in Jerusalem, Sheikh Jarrah, Silwan and Gaza," the Palestinian diplomat told Xinhua at the gallery. The gallery coincided with a symposium held at the Greater Cairo Library, also on Palestine, along with a group performance by children with special needs of a song and a poem on Jerusalem. Yasser Osman, the library's director, said that it is the role of a public library to serve Arab causes through holding such intellectual and cultural activities that raise the awareness of its visitors of all ages. "It's a key role of any public library or cultural center to take the initiative and employ art and culture to serve Arab political causes," Osman emphasized. He added that Egypt fully supports the Palestinian cause, whether politically or through sending aids and funds to relieve the suffering of the Palestinians and contribute to the reconstruction of Gaza. One of the works featured in the gallery belonged to 11-year-old Egyptian girl Ruqaya Mohamed who, being motivated by her love and support for Palestine, drew a painting of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque. "I drew this painting to express my love for Palestine. I painted it last week, starting with outlining it with a pencil, then combining colored pencils with watercolors. I also used a ruler in drawing the straight lines," the little painter told Xinhua. Refaat el-Sheikh, a visitor in his late 30s, said that he liked the displayed caricatures as they portray the suffering of the Palestinian people under the Israeli occupation. "Although such galleries will not resolve the Palestinian issue, they are important as a reminder for the people so that they don't forget the Palestinian cause," the man said. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 10:08:22|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ABUJA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian government on Wednesday expressed doubts about Twitter's mission in the country, accusing the U.S. technology company of double standards and supporting the secessionists in the west African country. Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed took a swipe at Twitter after it deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari who issued a warning to troublemakers in Nigeria. "We have a country to rule, and we will do so to the best of our ability. Twitter's mission in Nigeria is very suspect, they have an agenda. The mission of Twitter in Nigeria is very suspicious," Mohammed said. In the deleted tweet, Buhari had made a reference to the country's 30-month civil war in 1967-1970, warning "those who wanted the government to fail" to desist from fomenting trouble. "Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigeria civil war. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand," the president tweeted on Tuesday night. Twitter deleted the president's post on Wednesday, following criticisms from some netizens. However, Mohammed questioned the rule of Twitter. "Twitter may have its own rules, it's not the universal rule. If Mr. President, anywhere in the world feels very bad and concerned about a situation, he is free to express such views," he said. The social networking service, he said, had overlooked the tweets of leading secessionists in Nigeria. "When people were burning police stations and killing policemen in Nigeria during End SARS, a decentralised social movement, for Twitter, it was about the right to protest. But when a similar thing happened in the United States, it became insurrection," Mohammed said. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 17:07:38|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian government on Wednesday announced an updated travel advisory, which necessitates an African Union (AU) COVID-19 pass for entry and exit. According to the updated travel advisory, all travelers exiting, entering or transiting via Ethiopia are required from June 7 to present a digital negative COVID-19 certificates at all ports of entry based on the AU's Trusted Travel Platform and the UNDP-sponsored Global Haven Program. In October 2020, the AU officially launched its Trusted Travel Platform as part of the overall Trusted Travel Initiative. The platform provides information on travel requirements at the departure and destination ports and access to a list of government-approved laboratories for COVID-19 testing in African countries. It allows travelers to upload their COVID-19 test results online for easy verification by port health and travel officials and helps with the detection of forged certificates. The ministry said paper certificates shall cease to be acceptable and only AU Trusted Travel (TT) or Global Haven COVID-19 test certificates shall be allowed for exit, transit and entry purposes starting from July 1. The requirement for digital certificates has become necessary due to the alarming increase of fake health documents and rising incidents of forgery detected since the onset of the pandemic. Travelers wishing to exit Ethiopia are also advised to visit an authorized laboratory to take a COVID-19 test and be issued with TT codes that can be verified by airlines and port health authorities across the continent, the ministry said. The AU TT requirement applies to both categories of travelers -- those traveling within Africa and those traveling from countries where there are labs integrated into the TT system. The complementary Global Haven Platform supports travelers coming from outside Africa from places where labs have not currently integrated into the TT system, the ministry said. The related enforcement will commence on June 7 and the deadline for full compliance is set for July 1. As of Wednesday evening, Ethiopia registered a total of 272,036 COVID-19 cases and 4,178 deaths, according to the ministry. Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous nation, has so far reported the largest number of COVID-19 cases in the East Africa region. It is among the African countries the hardest hit by COVID-19, following South Africa, Morocco and Tunisia, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 21:50:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KINSHASA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- At least 19 people were killed in a shipwreck overnight from Wednesday to Thursday on Lake Tanganyika, official said. The tragedy took place in the part of the lake in Uvira of the South Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to a local official. According to a provisional assessment provided by Mboko Ramazani, Uvira's lake commissioner, at least 19 bodies have been found from Lake Tanganyika and several people are still missing. Eleven people were rescued by fishermen. "The search is underway for other bodies and the death toll could rise as there is no manifesto to determine the exact number of passengers on board," he said, blaming the tragedy on strong wind. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 00:46:30|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah (R) and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez exchange memorandums in Tripoli, Libya, on June 3, 2021. Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah on Thursday met with his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez over the ways to boost bilateral relations, said a government statement. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua) TRIPOLI, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah on Thursday met with his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez over the ways to boost bilateral relations, said a government statement. Dbeibah expressed appreciation for all the efforts by the EU and Spain "in strengthening Mediterranean security, securing borders, promoting stability, and supporting Libya's democratic transformation through free, transparent and fair elections," said the statement issued by the government's information office. The two leaders also agreed to reactivate the Libyan-Spanish joint commission to re-evaluate all previously signed agreements, and signed a number of memorandums of understanding in development, trade exchange, and investment, according to the statement. Sanchez stressed the depth of the relations between Spain and Libya, as well as Spain's support for the Libyan stability and reconciliation. He also announced the reopening of the Spanish embassy and consulate in Libya's capital Tripoli and resumption of granting Spanish entry visas to Libyans. The Spanish leader's visit is accompanied by a number of businessmen, which reflects "the great interest of Spanish companies in working in the fields of healthcare, reconstruction, infrastructure, renewable energy, agricultural and animal wealth, and oil and gas," the statement said. Dbeibah's Government of National Unity was selected by the UN-sponsored Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, ending years of political division in the North African country. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 00:57:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NAIROBI, June 3 (Xinhua) -- African countries should come up with innovative strategies to enhance response to the rising burden of food-borne diseases, scientists said Thursday at a virtual briefing in Nairobi ahead of World Food Safety Day to be observed on June 7. Jimmy Smith, director-general of Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), said that combating food-borne ailments is urgent in order to strengthen the resilience of Africa's public health systems. "Food safety is often an overlooked matter in the developing world. In Africa, food-borne diseases cause an estimated over 135 million cases of disease each year and 180,000 deaths each year," said Smith. Africa has overtaken Asia to record a higher toll of deaths from food-borne diseases, said Smith, noting they were behind productivity losses of an estimated 1.83 trillion shillings (about 17 billion U.S. dollars) in the continent in 2019. Smith urged improved regulations to boost food safety in Africa and avert a public health crisis that has escalated against the COVID-19 pandemic. Policymakers and scientists attended the virtual briefing convened by ILRI to discuss the food-borne disease crisis in Africa and innovative policy tools that can be adopted to combat them effectively. According to Smith, diseases linked to food contamination have created a public health crisis in Africa equivalent to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. And the food-borne ailments have taken a heavier toll on vulnerable demographics in the continent including the elderly and children. Theo Knight Jones, an ILRI scientist and food safety expert, said that poor handling and storage capacity has escalated contamination of food sold in Africa's open-air markets. He said that investments in modern storage infrastructure, research and public awareness are the key to boosting food safety in Africa and curbing the spread of disease-causing pathogens. Leonard Kimtai, a senior officer with the Division of Food Safety at Kenya's Ministry of Health, said that promoting food safety across key value chains is the key to improving the health of consumers, reducing hunger and disease in Africa. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 01:06:00|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Ethiopia Attorney General Gedion Timothewos attends a press conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on June 3, 2021. The Ethiopian Federal Attorney General Office announced on Thursday criminal charges have been filed against 53 soldiers accused of killing and raping civilians. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde) ADDIS ABABA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian Federal Attorney General Office announced on Thursday criminal charges have been filed against 53 soldiers accused of killing and raping civilians. Speaking to journalists, Ethiopia Attorney General, Gedion Timothewos, said 53 soldiers have been indicted on criminal charges relating to accusations of killings and rapes in Ethiopia's northern Tigray regional state. "Military prosecutors have conducted their own investigation and so far, they have pressed charges against 28 soldiers who have been suspected of killing civilians in such situations where there was no military necessity," said Timothewos. "Furthermore, military prosecutors have pressed charges against 25 soldiers who have been suspected of committing acts of sexual violence and rape, the trials of these suspects are underway and so far, there have been four convictions," he further said. Timothewos said his office is currently investigating several hundred instances of alleged rapes in the restive Tigray regional state. Allegations of sexual violence against women and children including rapes in the ongoing war in Tigray regional state have caused widespread local and international concern. The Ethiopian government has pledged to investigate and bring to justice any security forces found to have committed sexual violence in Tigray regional state. Months of fighting in northern Ethiopia's Tigray between the Tigray People's Liberation Front, which used to rule the Tigray regional state until last November, and the Ethiopian National Defense Forces has reportedly left thousands of people dead, hundreds of thousands displaced. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 02:27:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DAR ES SALAAM, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Thursday reassured Tanzania of speedy implementation of the regional Rusumo Falls hydroelectric project and the standard gauge railway (SGR). A statement issued by the Directorate of Presidential Communications at Chamwino State House in the capital Dodoma said President Kagame's reassurance was made during talks between President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Rwandan Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Vincent Biruta. According to the statement, the talks were held shortly after the Rwandan diplomat delivered a special message to President Hassan from her Rwandan counterpart Kagame. President Kagame pledged to support the joint execution of the Rusumo Falls hydroelectric project and the SGR project that will connect the Rwandan capital Kigali and Isaka dry port in Tanzania. Kagame observed that the two projects were crucial in supporting economic development of the two eastern African countries. The Rusumo Falls hydroelectric project is a joint development venture by the governments of Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania located at Rusumo Falls, at the common border of Rwanda and Tanzania on Kagera River. For her part, President Hassan called for the convening of an urgent meeting of the Tanzania-Rwanda Joint Permanent Commission to strategize on the acceleration of the implementation of the two joint projects. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 03:37:35|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TUNIS, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Tunisia and France signed several cooperation agreements here on Thursday before French Prime Minister Jean Castex wrapping up his visit. The agreements cover the fields of maritime transport, prevention of natural disasters, seawater desalination, agriculture, commerce and digital technology, the Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) reported. A credit agreement of 41 million euros (49.72 million U.S. dollars) was inked for the acquisition of six new tugs, for the benefit of the Tunisian Office of the Merchant Marine and Ports, to replace the six old ones acquired in 1980 and 1990. Another credit agreement worth 40 million euros (48.51 million U.S. dollars) was signed to finance a Tunisian program in developing resilience capacities to natural disasters. A partnership agreement was concluded between the Tunisian National Company for Water Exploitation and Distribution and French Development Agency, aiming to improve the industrial and environmental performance of two desalination stations in southeastern Tunisia with a budget of 202,000 euros (244,973 U.S. dollars). A letter of intent was also signed to promote the establishment of a digital dialogue between the two countries, in addition to a new administrative arrangement in the agricultural field. Leading a high-level delegation, the French prime minister started Wednesday a two-day official visit to Tunisia to attend the third joint High Council of Cooperation. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-02 22:19:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani experts from various fields said on Wednesday that the role of the federal government and civil society is critical to address climate change issues direly impacting the economy, society, and politics of the country. Pakistan has already been facing a plethora of challenges on multiple fronts, and the issue of climate change will add fuel to the fire if collective efforts are not made by the state, society and international community, the experts said while expressing their views during an online discussion on climate change, organized by Islamabad-based think-tank Center for Global and Strategic Studies. Pakistan is already on the top 10 list of most vulnerable countries to climate change, said Rashid Aftab, a public policy and governance expert from the Riphah International University, Islamabad. "It can cause national security threats such as poverty, food insecurity, internal population displacement, and resource scarcity among others," he said. The country has faced numerous weather-related disasters over the past years including floods, droughts, heat wave and cyclones, Aftab said, adding that these calamities claimed lives of hundreds of people and damaged properties worth billions of rupees. Yusuf Zafar, an agricultural expert at the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, said that climate change issues could increase vulnerabilities for the country's agricultural sector and forest and water resources, on which the largest part of the economy and livelihood depends. Agricultural productivity has witnessed a decline in recent years due to the climate change, drought and crop diseases, threatening the country's food security, Zafar said, adding that climate-smart agricultural techniques and research-based policies and measures are required to counter the new challenges. Romina Khurshid Alam, a politician and member of the National Assembly or the lower house of Pakistan's parliament, said that the government of Pakistan is taking serious steps to deal with the impacts of climate change and formulating robust environmental policies to minimize environmental degradation. Pakistan is among the countries trying to reduce the impact of climate change and global warming, and suggestions from the country's think tanks, civil society and activists would help the government to further address the issues of climate change, she said. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 13:26:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close VIENTIANE, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The Lao government has temporarily banned the import and export of cattle, beef, and other bovine products to prevent the spread of an infectious skin disease. The Department of Livestock and Fisheries under the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry issued a notice on Monday ordering the ban, which will remain in force until the end of June. The ban comes after the department found a case of lumpy skin disease on a cattle farm in Lao capital Vientiane late last month, local daily Vientiane Times reported on Thursday. Lumpy skin disease is a viral disease that affects cattle. It is transmitted by blood-feeding insects, such as flies, mosquitoes and ticks. It causes fever, nodules on the skin and can also lead to death. The department has prohibited the transport of cattle between provinces, districts and villages over the next month. In the notice, the department issued guidelines for the livestock and fisheries sector on setting up checkpoints to control the transport of cattle until the disease outbreak subsides. The department also informed the general public, farmers and businesses about ways to prevent the spread of the disease, including by getting rid of blood-sucking insects and improving hygiene in livestock environments. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 18:02:06|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Thursday that Pakistan has a lot to learn from China's experience in addressing climate change issues. China has come a long way in its fight against climate change and environmental degradation, and Pakistan will benefit from China's experience including the use of new techniques to counter climate change at home, the prime minister said while addressing a special event organized by Pakistan's Ministry of Climate Change. Pakistan will take a leaf out of China's book on the successful greening of degraded grasslands and deserts, he added. Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries facing the risks of climate change including the melting of glaciers, he said, adding that it is high time for Pakistan to seriously value its natural resources to combat the negative impacts of climate change. Khan said establishing national parks, promoting urban forestry and tree plantation are required to protect future generations from the adverse impacts of climate change. He said forests have been destroyed in Pakistan over the last 60 to 70 years, and the government has launched several green initiatives including the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami program to minimize the influence of global warming. He said his government is committed to spearheading innovative nature preservation and biodiversity initiatives, along with the green stimulus package. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 19:28:47|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HERAT, Afghanistan, June 3 (Xinhua) -- A cold storage house with the capacity of 1,800 tons of fruits was completed and inaugurated in Afghanistan's western Herat province, said a statement of the Ministry for Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock released here Thursday. The cold storage house covering a land area of 800 sq m was built with a cost of 415,000 U.S. dollars by a local private company in Injil district. It will enable farmers to store fruits for months before selling them at a proper time, the statement said. While committing itself to building more cold storage houses across the country, the ministry in the statement also urged the participation by local businessmen and domestic firms in the efforts. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 20:37:57|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Afghanistan's Acting Minister of Public Health Wahid Majrooh (2nd L) checks medical equipment at a newly-opened COVID-19 hospital in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, June 3, 2021. Majrooh on Thursday expressed concern over the coronavirus situation in Afghanistan and urged Afghans to follow the government-issued COVID-19 health protocols. (Photo by Sayed Mominzadah/Xinhua) KABUL, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan's Acting Minister of Public Health Wahid Majrooh on Thursday expressed concern over the coronavirus situation in Afghanistan and urged Afghans to follow the government-issued COVID-19 health protocols. "The people of Afghanistan would face disaster if don't pay attention to the advice given by public health ministry and overlook the immunity measures taken by the ministry," Majrooh told local media. He called on the Afghan people to wear masks and avoid unnecessary visits to markets and crowded areas. The Public Health Ministry reported Thursday that 1,509 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were registered in the past 24 hours in Afghanistan, bringing the total tally to 76,653. It also said in a statement that 34 more deaths from the coronavirus epidemic were recorded, taking the COVID-19 death toll to 3,068. An additional of 107 recovered patients were discharged from hospitals in the past 24 hours, bringing the number of recoveries to 58,070 in the Asian country, according to the statement. The number of daily cases stood at 1,118 on Wednesday and 1,045 on Tuesday, showed official data. In efforts to contain the spread of the pandemic, the Afghan government has ordered closure of all state-run and private universities and schools for two weeks starting from last Saturday. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 21:54:08|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close COLOMBO, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government on Thursday said a search operation has been launched to locate the Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) from the foreign-owned X Press Pearl container ship which caught fire in the outskirts of the Colombo Port last month. In a media briefing held in capital Colombo, officials said the VDR will be used to listen to the conversations that the ship captain had with other members before and during the eruption of the fire. This would help in the investigations to determine the exact cause of the fire, the government said. The Sri Lanka navy said it was looking out for an oil leak as the vessel remained entirely burnt, 18.5 km away from the Colombo Port. Towing operations which started Wednesday morning had to be halted a few hours later after the rear end of the ship hit the sea bed, making it almost impossible to move it further into deep seas. Navy Spokesperson Captain Indika De Silva said the ship was partially sunk but the front end of the ship was still afloat. He said the navy divers swum to the bottom of the vessel to see if it could be towed but failed to do so due to the inclement weather conditions. De Silva said the container vessel was carrying 321 tonnes of heavy fuel and investigations were underway to see if the oil has been burnt in the fire. He said if the ship still carries the oil, the teams are ready for an oil spill and would prevent the oil within a limited area near the vessel. The government said the fire onboard the vessel may have erupted due to a leak from one of the containers on board but a probe was ongoing to confirm this. The X Press Pearl ship, registered under the flag of Singapore and carrying 1,486 containers with 25 tons of nitric acid and several other chemicals and cosmetics, departed from India's Hazira Port on May 15. The vessel sent out a distress call while sailing close to the Colombo Port on May 20 and soon caught fire. The Marine Environment Protection Authority said the burning of the vessel caused a massive environmental disaster as beaches along the southern and western coast have been damaged by the debris washed ashore. The government said a large number of marine life have been killed as a result of the pollution caused by the fire, while the Fisheries Department has imposed a temporary ban on fishing from the southern coast to the western coast. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 10:28:30|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LISBON, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The Portuguese government announced Wednesday a decision to move the country to the final phase of "de-confinement" to ease some COVID-19 restrictions. The decision was made after 93 percent of those aged 60 or above, an age group with the highest COVID-19 mortality rate in Portugal, has received at least a dose of vaccine, said Prime Minister Antonio Costa. The government will keep current pandemic level of "calamity situation" in place till June 13. Costa again appealed to all, especially the younger population, to get tested, regardless of symptoms. Starting June 14, stores can return to normal hours, and teleworking will no longer be mandatory. Meanwhile, cultural and sport events will resume under 33 percent maximum capacity, and restaurants, cafes, and patisseries can serve clients until midnight. More restrictions will be lifted on June 28. Public transport can operate up to full capacity, and public services will allow walk-in. The country's health ministry said Wednesday that about 20 percent of people in Portugal have already been fully vaccinated. "Almost 5.7 million vaccines have been administered, allowing almost 3.8 million people to receive at least one dose of vaccine, of which more than 2 million already have been fully inoculated," said Health Minister Marta Temido. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 18:36:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KIEV, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday discussed the security situation in Donbass with a delegation of visiting U.S. senators. "This meeting is very important for us, as it reaffirms that the United States is our strategic partner. Especially now, at a very tense time," said Zelensky. The senators said that the United States is closely monitoring the security situation in the east of the country and supports Ukraine in a peaceful settlement of the conflict. The ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, which began in April 2014, has claimed some 14,000 lives and left as many as 40,000 wounded. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 22:14:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HELSINKI, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Pregnant women can now choose to be vaccinated against COVID-19 if they wish, according to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare's new recommendation (THL) on Thursday. The THL said in a press release that if the first COVID-19 vaccine dose was administered before the pregnancy, the second dose can also be taken whilst pregnant. Furthermore, there is no need to postpone fertility treatments due to the COVID-19 vaccinations. Pregnancy can increase the risk of serious severe illness and even death from COVID-19. For now, research on the effects of COVID-19 vaccination on pregnant women is still scarce. However, experience, animal tests and initial research data have not shown any cause for safety concerns. Several pregnant women have been vaccinated around the world, the THL said. Emma Kajander, the THL's medical specialist, suggested in the press release that pregnant women should consider being vaccinated especially if they have an underlying disease that increases their risk of contracting the virus. "Vaccinations should also be considered in cases where the expectant mother is at a higher risk of being infected with the (novel) coronavirus at work, for example," Kajander added. The THL noted that COVID-19 vaccines can be taken together with other vaccines. The precautionary interval of 7-14 days between the COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines is now being lifted. "Hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered worldwide, and plenty of experiences from their use have been amassed. On this basis we have noted that a precautionary interval is no longer necessary," explained Kajander. According to the THL, as of Thursday afternoon, Finland had confirmed 92,913 COVID-19 infections, of which 143 were new. The death toll stood at 959. No coronavirus-related death was reported on Wednesday. To date, 45.7 percent of the country's population have already received the first vaccine dose, and 9.9 percent the second. To bring life back to normal, countries such as the United Kingdom, China, Russia, the United States as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 06:34:46|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close PRAGUE, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The Czech government headed by Prime Minister Andrej Babis on Thursday survived a no-confidence vote in the Chamber of Deputies. A total of 171 deputies cast their votes on Thursday night, including 89 voting in favor of the no-confidence motion, and 82, against. At least 101 votes are needed in the 200-member lower house to pass the motion against the government. It's the third time the Babis government faced a no-confidence vote. This time it was brought by two opposition coalitions over the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Babis's alleged conflicts of interest and a recent diplomatic row between the Czech Republic and Russia. The opposition parties fell short of winning the required majority of 101 votes as the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia chose not to support them and left the parliament floor before the voting. "The government does not have our confidence, but the opposition parties even less so," Communist Party Chairman Vojtech Filip said during the parliament debate. "Therefore we will not participate in this pointless spectacle, and we are leaving to work for the people," Filip said. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 04:50:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close OTTAWA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The Canadian government announced on Wednesday to provide 27 million Canadian dollars to assist indigenous communities to locate indigenous children who died at residential schools in the country. At a press conference in Ottawa on Wednesday, Canadian Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett said the government earmarked some 33 million Canadian dollars in its 2019 budget to implement the burial-related recommendations of the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Little of that money has been spent so far, with 27 million Canadian dollars of those funds still available to help Indigenous communities find and commemorate lost children. Bennett said the money will be distributed on an urgent basis in partnership with Canada's National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and Indigenous communities. Last week, the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc First Nation in Kamloops city announced that it had discovered the remains of 215 children buried at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. Following the discovery, indigenous leaders, residential school survivors, and opposition parties have called for the Trudeau government to fund the research and excavation of all sites of former residential schools for unmarked graves in the country. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier pledged his government's support to help in preserving gravesites and uncovering potentially more unmarked burial grounds at other former residential schools. But he stressed the need for Indigenous communities to decide for themselves how they want to proceed. The United Nations Human Rights Office urged Canada on Wednesday to do all it can to find the Indigenous children that died at residential schools, calling for an "exhaustive investigation" to uncover the remains of former students that may have been left in unmarked graves. Marta Hurtado, a spokesperson for the UN body, said the Canadian government must "redouble its efforts to find the whereabouts of missing children" in the wake of a preliminary investigation at the former Kamloops Residential School that revealed 215 children were buried on the grounds. "Remains should be identified and forensic studies carried out to ensure proper identification of remains. Without this, healing is not possible," Hurtado said in a statement. The UN said the shocking and painful Kamloops discovery should inspire Canada to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action, which included a section on missing children and burial information. In their landmark 2015 report, the commission called for the establishment of a student death registry and an online registry of residential school cemeteries, among other recommendations to help communities document lost loved ones. Hurtado said Canada must improve its residential school-related record-keeping to give families and Indigenous communities better access to documents relating to missing and deceased family members. In 2015, the final report issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on residential schools concluded that what happened constituted a cultural genocide. The comprehensive and extensive findings detail the inhumane mistreatment inflicted on Indigenous children who were taken from their families and sent to one of the more than 130 institutions across the country. The last school closed in 1996. The commission's register of confirmed deaths identified 3,200 students but work is still ongoing to uncover what are believed to be thousands more deaths that went undocumented. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-03 13:22:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HAVANA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Cuba expects its domestic COVID-19 vaccines show high efficacy after the final stage of clinical trials, the country's biopharmaceutical authorities told a press conference Wednesday. "Our locally produced coronavirus vaccines have demonstrated safety and effectiveness," said Eduardo Martinez, president of the state-owned company BioCubaFarma. "We aspire that our vaccines surpass 50 percent of efficacy in keeping with the World Health Organization's standards," he added. Vicente Verez, director general of Cuba's Finlay Institute of Vaccines, said that a clinical trial was expected to begin in the coming weeks to test the efficacy of domestic COVID-19 vaccine candidates in children. On Wednesday, Cuba registered 1,191 COVID-19 cases and 12 more deaths related to the virus, with the totals standing at 144,514 and 977 respectively. Nationwide, more than one million people have now received at least one dose of domestically manufactured COVID-19 vaccine candidates, local media reported. The Caribbean nation expects to have immunized the country's entire population against COVID-19 by the second half of 2021. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 05:54:32|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Senior U.S. officials met with visiting Israeli Defense Minister Benjamin Gantz on Thursday, reaffirming U.S. commitment to Israel's security. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Gantz discussed the U.S.-Israel partnership and U.S. ironclad commitment to Israel's security, according to a readout issued by the State Department. "The Secretary reiterated the importance of promoting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike and support for Israel's right to defend itself," it added. Blinken also underscored the importance of humanitarian assistance and relief and recovery efforts in Gaza. "As far as Gaza concerned, we do look for stability and prosperity for everybody," Gantz told reporters before their meeting. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Gantz separately on the same day. Gantz's visit came as Israel's opposition reached a deal to form a coalition government that would end the 12-year rule of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The White House noted on Thursday that U.S. policy would not change given a different leadership in Israel. "We will leave ... the politics and the determination about political formation in Israel up to the parties there," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a daily briefing. "Israel will remain an important strategic partner, one where we have an abiding security relationship, and that will continue." Enditem Combination of early reading programs helps with kindergarten readiness A study published in the journal Pediatrics shows the combination of two early reading programs had positive effects on preschool students entering kindergarten in Cincinnati Public Schools over a three-year period. The two early reading programs are: Reach Out and Read, through which children receive a new book and guidance about reading at home during well-visits from newborn through age 5; and Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which mails new books to the child's home once a month from birth through age 5. Each of these is well-established at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and across the nation. "With this early study, we suggest that when combined and sustained, these two programs have the potential for effectively supporting the development of preliteracy skills of large populations of at-risk children, improving kindergarten readiness, and, ultimately, success in school and life," said Greg Szumlas, MD, of the Division of General and Community Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's. "I can't stress enough to parents the importance of reading with your child, starting at birth," Szumlas added. "Just a few minutes a day, reading aloud, and interacting with your child over books can make a huge difference in helping them prepare and be ready for kindergarten." Cincinnati Children's initiated the unique combination of the two programs in July 2015 with the participation of 23 health clinics throughout the city and funding from Every Child Capital. Researchers analyzed the results of the kindergarten readiness assessment (KRA), a standardized state test for all children entering kindergarten at a public school, of program participants over the course of three school years - 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019. Over 3200 children participated in the combined program during the three-year period. For a sample of participants, scores on the kindergarten readiness assessment were analyzed and compared to the school district average. Results showed an increase of 15.4 percentage points between the 2016-2017 school year and the 2018-2019 school year for students participating in the program, while the school district average increased by only 3.8 percent during this same time period. "Even though the percentages for the entire district were higher than our program participants, the increase in percentage points over that three-year period represents significant progress and improvement," Szumlas said. "This early study suggests that pediatric health care providers are positioned to influence the literacy developmental trajectory of children long before they start school and that literacy promotion should be considered a routine part of primary care." Lisha Lungelow, a Cincinnati Children's social worker in the Pediatric Primary Care Clinic, enrolled her son, Jordan, in the Reach Out and Read/Imagination Library program when he was 13 months old back in 2016. "When he came to me, he didn't really have any exposure to books," Lungelow said. "Reading was a way for us to connect and bond. He loved getting the books in the mail and seeing his name on them." When Jordan entered kindergarten last year, Lungelow believed he was ready and credits his exposure to books through the combination program. "When he was in kindergarten, I went to grab a book for us to read," Lungelow said. "Jordan took it from me, and he read the book to me. I can't even explain the joy that brought me. It was really great." ### Cincinnati Children's and more than 20 health centers in Greater Cincinnati continue enrolling children in Reach Out and Read and Imagination Library. In March 2020, the Ohio Governor's Imagination Library, in partnership with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, expanded to include every child from birth to age 5 in Ohio through online enrollment. For more information or to enroll go to: https:/ / www. cincinnatichildrens. org/ imagination-library or http://www. ohioimaginationlibrary. org . This story has been published on: 2021-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Sunshine and some clouds. Hot and humid. High near 95F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Mostly clear skies. Low 74F. Winds light and variable. Texas flags wave in the wind outside the Comal County Courthouse for Texas Independence Day on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. MIKALA COMPTON | Herald-Zeitung South Africa: Presidency driving reforms to attract investment President Cyril Ramaphosa says The Presidency is at the forefront of driving structural reforms necessary to overcome bottlenecks that are deterring investment. The President said this when he responded to a debate on The Presidency Budget Vote in the National Assembly, on Thursday. We are keenly aware, as several members said yesterday, that the pace of structural reform needs to speed up. The Presidency continues to drive the structural reforms that are necessary to overcome bottlenecks that are deterring investment and slowing our progress. In the State of the Nation Address, we undertook to address the issue of spectrum allocation. The legal case that is underway threatens to delay the progress that we have all anticipated, he said. The President called on all social partners to work together to ensure speedy and successful implementation of the identified economic stimulus measures. However we would like to see the spectrum allocation finalised without delay. I appeal to all stakeholders to speedily resolve the litigation as soon as possible to enable the licensing process to be concluded for the benefit of all South Africans. Ensuring that priority sectors drive economic recovery The President said, meanwhile, that despite the impact of the pandemic on the sector globally, automotive component exports increased last year to a record R54 billion. He said exports of commercial vehicles, especially so-called heavy commercials like tractors and trucks, are also performing strongly. Mining and manufacturing were also sectors where jobs were created, according to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey. One of the sectors that has also proven most resilient and fast-growing is the financial services sector. Citing the Reserve Banks Financial Stability Review, the President said examples of improved economic activity in this sector are recovering asset prices, the stabilising of bank loan default rates, and that financial institutions remain well capitalised. This sector has improved on a year-on-year basis with regards to job creation, managing to recover 215 000 jobs in the last quarter. Even preceding the pandemic, we have been positioning ourselves as a growing hub for the digital economy, including technology start-ups. We have the second highest number of tech start-ups in Africa and also receive the highest number of foreign direct investment projects in software and IT services, he said. He said South Africa is also still ranked highly as an export destination for global business services. These are all priority sectors we have defined in the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan. We need to acknowledge that a number of important sectors, such as tourism, are still not fully operational and will take time to recover. At the same time they are a cause for optimism. What we have to ensure now is that these green shoots lead to a sustained acceleration in growth. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2021-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Texas flags wave in the wind as they sit on display in the Main Plaza for Texas Independence Day on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. MIKALA COMPTON | Herald-Zeitung Woburn, MA (01801) Today Mostly sunny skies. High 84F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early giving way to a few showers after midnight. Low 61F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%. What are the raw materials for the increasing price of cars? This year, as supply cannot keep up with demand, many basic materials (such as copper, steel, and aluminum) for automakers have reached or are about to reach their highest prices in history. Bl... It is reported that the survey results released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan on the 30th showed that Japans seasonally adjusted full unemployment rate in February was 2.9%, the same as the previous month, and the numbe... Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Hong Kong: Unlawful assembly appeal issued Police today said they had banned a public meeting planned on Hong Kong Island tomorrow and urged the public to refrain from participating in, advertising or publicising any unauthorised assemblies and prohibited gatherings. The force also said any group gatherings taking place during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic can also increase the risk of spreading the virus. A prohibition notice was issued to the organiser who filed a notification to hold the public meeting concerned after considering public safety, public order, peoples rights and freedom and the serious health risks brought by the ongoing pandemic to society. Police had reasonable grounds to believe that holding the event would pose considerable threats to public health and lives. The decision was upheld by the Appeal Board on Public Meetings & Processions after an appeal hearing. Police reiterated that taking part in an unauthorised assembly risks committing offences under the Public Order Ordinance, and is liable to a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment. Participating in public gatherings may also breach the Prevention & Control of Disease (Prohibition on Group Gathering) Regulation regarding prohibited group gatherings. Additionally, recent court rulings on two cases of unauthorised assembly in 2019 show that participating in an unauthorised assembly, whether involving violence or not, breaks the law. People involved in the case were eventually sentenced to different imprisonment terms. In a case of knowingly participating in an unauthorised assembly on June 4 last year, the defendants were also sentenced to prison for four to 10 months. Police will deploy adequate manpower in relevant locations tomorrow and take resolute action to enforce the law, including making arrests. This story has been published on: 2021-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Support veterinarian mental health The mental health and well-being of veterinarians has become one of the most important topics in the dairy community, with veterinarian suicides increasing. Zoetis encourages people in the dairy industry to help raise awareness and funds to support dairy veterinarians. Participants have the opportunity to recognize and nominate veterinarians in their life for a chance to receive a personalized jacket. For every nomination Zoetis will donate to Not One More Vet a nonprofit organization of 32,000 members. The organization helps veterinarian professionals and students struggling with mental health and wellness through education, resources and support. 1. Nominate your dairy veterinarian or veterinarians. Visit HonorDairyVets.com through June 30 to submit a nomination for a dairy and-or cattle-mixed practicing veterinarian who has skipped dinner to help pull a calf, who leaves the farm with a sore shoulder after fixing a displaced abomasum, or who is special to them, their family and their cows. Nominate as many veterinarians as youd like. Each unique veterinarian nominated is entered for a chance to be selected. 2. Zoetis donates. For every nomination Zoetis will donate $5 to Not One More Vet to a total of as much as $10,000. 3. Selected veterinarians receive a personalized jacket. Each week in June there will be three dairy and-or cattle mixed-practicing veterinarians randomly selected to receive a personalized weatherproof jacket. Visit zoetis.com for more information. Fundraiser far exceeds goal Professional Dairy Producers Foundation also known as Dairys Foundation recently concluded a fundraising campaign to support educational programs for the dairy community. The foundation raised a record $76,504, far exceeding the 2021 campaign goal of $40,000. The funds raised will support the creation of new and sustainable dairy-leadership resources and educational programs. Dairys Foundation contributes to programs facilitated across the nation with the objective of creating a positive impact through professional development and lifelong learning. The recent campaign featured a friendly competition held between teams Dream, Vision, Impact and Inspire, with Team Dream raising the most funds. The four teams were led by captains Brian Forrest, Sam Schwoeppe, Russ Warmka and Steve Vale, respectively. Other team members included Jeff Montsma, Mark Diederichs, Steven Orth, Mitch Bruenig, Charlie Crave, Andrew Skwor, Keith Engel, Joan Behr, John Kappelman, Linda Hodorff, Logan Bower, Andy Buttles, Dave Thorbahn, Jenna Fletcher, Derek Orth, Julie Gabris, Jeff Sluzewski, Marty Hallock, Carrie Feucht, Danielle Warmka, Sydney Endres, Dave Lindevig, Rami Reddy, Peter Curran and Jim Mlsna. Visit dairyfoundation.org or contact jkeller@dairyfoundation.org for more information. Cooperative acquires milkanalysis services CentralStar Cooperative and Gallenberger Dairy Records, an independent, certified milktesting association and laboratory in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, recently entered into a purchase agreement. All milktesting services previously performed at the Gallenberger laboratory have moved to CentralStars laboratory in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. CentralStars laboratory uses infrared spectroscopy, flow cytometry, enzymelinked immunoassay, polymerase chain reaction and other technologies to process more than 2.3 million samples annually. Samples can be analyzed for more than a dozen components and characteristics such as butterfat, protein, somatic-cell count, solidsnonfat, milk urea nitrogen, Johnes disease, bovine viral diarrhea, neospora, mastitis and pregnancy. The Gallenberger staff has been added to CentralStars DHI dairy herd information team. Visit mycentralstar.com for more information. Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Contribute Media campaign targets sustainability Dairy Farmers of America and its family farm-owners recently launched a media campaign to inform consumers about the industrys sustainability initiatives. Led by farmers and a team of engineers, nutritionists, veterinarians, technology specialists and scientists, Dairy Farmers of Americas Nerd Herd also will address misconceptions about the dairy industrys environmental footprint. The integrated campaign is featuring advertisements introducing the DFA Nerd Herd in The Washington Post, Politico" and newspapers in various local markets. The campaign also will reach consumers through a BuzzFeed quiz, videos on YouTube, Hulu and other digital platforms. After June Dairy Month, Dairy Farmers of America will release additional videos through the end of 2021. The cooperative in 2020 established a science-based target of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions across the supply chain by 30 percent by 2030. The cooperative is part of an industry-wide collaboration on environmental sustainability through the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. As part of the collaboration the cooperative has committed to be carbon-neutral or better by 2050. Visit dfanerdherd.com for more information. Star of the Breed named Eastriver Goldwyn Deb 176 recently was named the 2020 Star of the Breed by Holstein Association USA. The cow is owned in a partnership by Andy Stuewe and Corey Feltmann in Norwood Young America, Minnesota. She was bred at Eastriver Farms in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The Holstein is scored EX-94 2E and has produced more than 175,000 pounds of milk in her lifetime. She qualified for the award with a 296-day lactation, calving in at five years and nine months of age. She produced 39,060 pounds of milk, 1,353 pounds of fat and 1,241 pounds of protein. In 2020 she was named the second place 150,000-pound lifetime-milk-production cow at the Midwest Fall National Holstein Show. Eastriver Goldwyn Deb 176 is a Homestead Astronomical Deb EX-95 3E daughter and has several full sisters. Two of her three oldest daughters are scored VG-86 as 2-year-olds. Eastriver Goldwyn Deb 176 will be recognized during the National Holstein Conventions annual meeting June 24 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Visit holsteinusa.com and 2021nationalholsteinconvention.com for more information. Groups propose milk pricing Four Midwestern dairy groups recently proposed Class III Plus, which they say would create long-term stability in fluid-milk pricing and reduce the likelihood of negative producer price differentials that cut into farmers revenues. The Dairy Business Association, Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, Minnesota Milk and the Nebraska State Dairy Association said the proposal aims to build upon the current pricing system, recent proposals by dairy cooperatives, and farmer petitions to define a better Class I pricing system. The proposal would tie the Class I fluid skim-milk price to the Class III cheese skim-milk price plus an adjuster. It would dismiss advanced pricing. That was a cause of the negative producer price differentials in 2020. The proposal also is revenue-neutral and more equitable among farmers, processors and customers, the groups said. A recent call by cooperatives within the National Milk Producers Federation for an emergency Federal Milk Marketing Orders hearing includes a proposal that improves a few components of the current pricing structure. But it largely focuses on the short term and revenue that farmers didnt earn in 2020, the four groups said. The Class III Plus proposal would provide a way for farmers to recoup in the next four years some of the revenue they might have missed in 2020. It also provides protection from negative producer price differentials and better risk-management ability, the groups said. Visit dairyforward.com for more information. WATCH NOW: Casinos drop face mask requirement for vaccinated guests Northwest Indiana casino patrons no longer are required to wear a face mask inside gaming facilities following the sharp reduction in COVID-19 cases across the Region. The Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Ameristar Casino in East Chicago, and Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City all recently changed their COVID-19 prevention protocols by lifting the face mask requirement for vaccinated guests. The three casinos technically still mandate face masks for non-vaccinated individuals in accordance with U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommendations. But none of the properties are verifying their guests' vaccination status at the door in the same way they check that visitors are at least 21 years old before allowing them to enter the casino. At the new Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana in Gary, face masks are optional for all casino guests and employees, according to Hard Rock President Matt Schuffert. But despite dropping the mask requirement, Hard Rock which opened May 14 as a replacement for Gary's Majestic Star and the other Northwest Indiana casinos are continuing to provide free hand sanitizer and frequently cleaning their facilities to minimize the potential spread of COVID-19. Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Contribute Watch Now: Hard Rock Casino president gives tour of new casino Data from the Indiana Department of Health show Lake and LaPorte counties, home to Northwest Indiana's four casinos, nearly have reached the lowest-possible "blue" COVID-19 advisory status. Lake County reported just 57 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents last week and LaPorte County 82 cases per 100,000 residents continuing a downward trend state health officials attribute to the increasing number of vaccinated residents in each county. Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb in April ended most statewide COVID-19 prevention measures, including the mask mandate, in favor of locally tailored policies aimed at reducing the number COVID-19 infections. Nevertheless, Hoosier casinos independently decided to continue through May the enhanced COVID-19 prevention measures initially promulgated by the Indiana Gaming Commission. Hard Rock Casino opening guitar smash Press Release June 2, 2021 SBN 2232 Taxing POGOs Explanation of Vote Senator Francis N. Pangilinan Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, distinguished colleagues. For the past few years, our country has become a host for Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) that essentially provide online gambling services to foreigners located outside the country. The sharp rise of the POGO industry, unfortunately, came with serious social costs. Property rental prices surged by as much as sixty-two percent (62%) in 2018. Filipinos have been kicked out of their condo units and homes that they were renting because POGO workers can afford to pay more. Nawalan ng tirahan sa sariling bayan. Foreign POGO workers were also heavily involved in various criminal activities such as the bribery of immigration officials, prostitution, money laundering, human trafficking, tax evasion, online fraud, and even kidnapping and murder. From September 2019 to January 2020, at least six (6) prostitution dens, which front as bars, and casas, and restaurants, were raided in Makati alone. The NBI even admitted that these kinds of operations "came with the proliferation of POGOs" and they "only experienced these kinds of activities when POGOs were created." In our Senate Health Committee hearing in the COVID virus held last year February 4, 2020, Secretary Duque, when asked by this representation as to how many of the first ninety (90) persons under investigation for COVID with symptoms, how many of these ninety came from Wuhan, China? Secretary Duque answered thirty-one (31). When we asked him was contact tracing done, he said hindi na daw dahil na-discharge na sa mga ospital. It would not come as a surprise if those 31 PUIs from Wuhan were POGO workers. POGOs also pose a national security threat. Security officials such as Defense Secretary Lorenzana and National Security Adviser Esperon have previously expressed their concerns over the presence of POGOs and Chinese nationals close to key military installations as they might be conducting intelligence-gathering operations. The Chinese Government itself has repeatedly asked the Philippine Government to close POGO operations because these were used in crossborder crimes such as money laundering. We recognize the additional revenues that the national government may collect from POGOs through the tax regime proposed under this measure. In 2021, an estimated Php28.7 billion may be collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue. Yet the interpellations have shown that perhaps that is on the low side. Indeed, whatever amount the BIR collects from POGOs may be used to fund projects to give relief to our people's suffering during this pandemic. However, we cannot and should not turn a blind eye away from the social costs that the POGO industry brings and has brought upon us. Social costs that may be difficult to reverse. Instead of allowing POGOs to thrive, perhaps we ought to have re-allocated funds from other sources to support our pandemic relief efforts. For these reasons, Mr. President, I vote NO to Senate Bill No. 2232. Maraming salamat. Private investment is doing very well. During this first quarter it has recovered by 37%, and if we compare (the results) with those of 2019, a normal year, this recovery is also very good at 17%," he expressed. Likewise, the government official pointed out that private investment is growing considerably , taking as a reference the imports of capital goods which last May increased by 100.4%, compared to the same month in 2020. With the data on capital goods imports , which is a good approximation to private investment's behavior, what the second quarter's figure will also show is a vigorous recovery," he indicated. Furthermore, the Cabinet member said Peru is a country that has made most progress, even in these difficult times, and has immense potential to continue doing so, while remaining responsible in fiscal terms "When compared to the neighborhood, that vigorous recovery also looks outstanding in terms of international recovery . We are recovering much faster than the rest. Peru remains a country that is leading the economic recovery," he added. Public investment Therefore, the Cabinet member believes that there are no major sources of concern regarding the economic behavior this year. (END) CNA/JJN/MVB These observers come from Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Ecuador, the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, as well as Spain and Switzerland. These acts are the installation of voting tables; conditioning of voting booths; verification carried out by polling station members on the conformity of ballots, the amphorae and any other electoral material; development of the voting day; scrutiny and counting, among others. The Ibero-American Association of Jurists and the Mercosur Parliament's Democracy Observatory will deploy five participants each, while the European Union delegation in Peru will send three members. All international electoral bodies and organizations will make it possible to report to the national and international community on the fairness of the election and the unquestionable results. El Presidente del #JNE, Jorge Luis Salas Arenas, dio la bienvenida esta manana a las delegaciones de observadores internacionales, que participan en la #SegundaVuelta presidencial, durante la Jornada Informativa para Observadores Internacionales acreditados por el ente electoral. pic.twitter.com/6b4lOMpqij 15:14 | Washington D.C. (U.S.), Jun. 3. "We are sharing these doses not to secure favors or extract concessions," Biden said in a statement. "We are sharing these vaccines to save lives and to lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic, with the power of our example and with our values," he added. Biden earlier pledged to export 80 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to countries around the world by the end of this month. "The process to export the first 25 million is underway," White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters. "We will deliver on the president's commitment of 80 million doses by the end of June." He said the first tranche is coming from the federal supply of doses and will be comprised of a combination of the three vaccines with current U.S. emergency use authorization: Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, and Pfizer/BioNTech. A vaccine created by AstraZeneca has yet to earn U.S. authorization. Very appreciative According to the U.S. plan, of its first 25 million doses, about seven million are allocated for Asia, especially India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, and Taiwan. Some six million are allocated to nations in South and Central America and the Caribbean, including Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Guatemala, and Haiti. Five million are reserved for Africa and will be distributed in coordination with the African Union, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said. "But ultimately, the United States will have the authority to say the doses are going here as opposed to there," he added. India swiftly expressed gratitude, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeting he spoke with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris after the announcement. "I deeply appreciate the assurance of vaccine supplies to India as part of the U.S. Strategy for Global Vaccine Sharing," Modi said. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus weighed in to say he was very appreciative of Biden announcing the distribution of doses "to protect those most at-risk & for encouraging others to do the same." Biden said that the remaining six million doses of the initial 25 million will be shared directly with countries experiencing surges or that are in crisis, as well as with partners and neighbors like Canada, Mexico, and South Korea. Sullivan stressed the United States wants to "retain some flexibility" about allocating doses outside the COVAX formula as necessary. 13:17 | Berlin (Germany), Jun. 3. Once in Germany, he discovered his love for cooking and his restaurant, which he called "Serrano" (from the mountains). Today, his eatery is among the top 10 best foreign restaurants in Germany. It's safe to say that the police lost a brave Peruvian, but the cuisine has found an ace in the kitchen. From a very young age, life led him down a path paved with major challenges, but also satisfactions, which made him a benchmark for international cuisine and an example for young people who are passionate about gastronomy. Enrique Servan was born in the district of Jesus Maria. He is the son of Honorato Servan, a brave native of Chachapoyas, and Virginia Triveno, an Apurimac-born woman, who lavished love on him and his seven siblings. A new life In 1986, Enrique graduated from high school and his first dream was to become a police officer like his father. However, different events forced him to give it up. After that, he decided to leave Peru. The opportunity came when he met a neighbor who lived in Berlin, and the latter encouraged him to travel. Enrique's family did everything possible to buy the tickets for him and his sister, Vicky. So, their lives changed in March 1989. Tough start Starting a new life in another country shaped the character of Enrique and his sister. They did not speak the local language and got a first unpleasant surprise when they arrived. "When we arrived at the apartment, this person lived with four other men. My sister and I had to sleep on the floor, in a house with no bathroom and no shower," he said. Fortunately, a Peruvian national told him that a restaurant was looking for an assistant. He did not think twice about it and took on the job as dishwasher. While washing dishes, he thought that this would be his destiny: the kitchen. Thus, he decided to study gastronomy in a culinary school in Berlin. His first restaurant In 2005, he invested everything he had in his first restaurant of Spanish food called "Pata Negra," a term used in Spain to indicate that something has really good quality. The fame of this eatery was such that it received guests such as Michael Jackson, Nicole Kidman, Placido Domingo, as well as the King of Spain and the master of modern cuisine Ferran Adria. However, this dream did not last long, as the culinary project did not move forward due to financing issues. In 2010, he decided to cash in all his savings once again to open a new restaurant with Peruvian flavor, "Serrano," which is one of the top 10 restaurants in Germany. Success The beginning was not a bed full of roses. The restaurant faced financial issues until a journalist invited him to participate in one of the most watched cooking reality shows on German television. "Mein Lokal, Dein Lokal" (My Restaurant, Your Restaurant) brought together chefs from Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, and Berlin, who competed with one another. Servan won the first place and the trophy of the program on January 16, 2015. "Serrano" has attracted famous guests such as Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Florez, Peruvian soccer player Claudio Pizarro, Venezuelan musician Gustavo Dudamel, and Mexican tenor Rolando Villazon, as well as many German actors and elite athletes. (END) NJC/RES/RMB/MVB Luis Enrique Servan, 51, is a renowned Peruvian chef based in Germany. He was born in Lima, but from a very young age, he looked for new opportunities. He moved to Berlin when he was just 18 years old.Published: 6/3/2021 Salas affirmed that, during his many years as supreme judge, his most remarkable quality was his impartiality, adding that he was elected as head of the JNE by his peers and not as a result of political favors of any kind. In this sense, he guarantees an impartial process during the June 6 election, as in the first round of voting. "The National Elections Board (JNE) is going to proceed properly, by respecting unrestrictedly the popular will," he said in remarks to RPP radio and TV station. Additionally, Salas emphatically rejected the claims of "fraud." "If forging an ID card is audacious, at least 250,000 are needed to assure a percentage point for the votes to be meaningful," the JNE head stated. "Therefore, it is a serious fantasy to speak of fraud at this time. This harms democracy and raises doubts with the ulterior purpose of not accepting the results," he added. Moreover, he urged citizens to go to the polls because it is a duty and right and commented on its importance saying that it will result in the election of new authorities for the next five years. El Presidente del #JNE, Jorge Luis Salas Arenas, dio la bienvenida esta manana a las delegaciones de observadores internacionales, que participan en la #SegundaVuelta presidencial, durante la Jornada Informativa para Observadores Internacionales acreditados por el ente electoral. pic.twitter.com/6b4lOMpqij Durante su intervencion, el presidente @FSagasti alento el deber etico en la lucha global contra ese flagelo, que afecta la gobernabilidad democratica y limita el desarrollo y el disfrute de los derechos humanos, especialmente de los mas pobres y vulnerables.#UNGASS2021 pic.twitter.com/zVbXJVNtDs Press Release June 3, 2021 De Lima on Duterte's refusal to share drug war records: He is afraid of the truth Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has maintained that Mr. Duterte's refusal to release all records from his failed war on drugs for scrutiny is unsurprising considering that he is afraid of the truth and that his administration has so much to hide. De Lima, the staunchest critic of Duterte's murderous war on drugs, said that the fact that the Department of Justice (DOJ) even had to ask permission to investigate the record of the Philippine National Police (PNP) is an anomaly in itself. "No one is surprised that the President would hide the grisly records of his drug war under the cover of national security, not only because it was convenient for him but also because he and his government have much to hide. Not to mention he has a penchant for 'bravado' and is a chronic liar," she said. "Bakit kailangan magpaalam ng DOJ para imbestigahan ang krimen na naganap kahit pa PNP ang may sala? Democracy demands accountability. Karapatan ng bawat Pilipino na mabigyan ng hustisya kahit sino pa ang may sala," she added. In his taped briefing that aired last May 31, Duterte claimed his government cannot release all records from his controversial anti-drugs campaign for scrutiny because it would supposedly compromise national security. "Eh national security issue ito eh, kagaya ng NPA. We have records na those who have died, who have derogatory records in our files and may references sila na tao and we cannot divulge it to anybody except the military and police," Duterte said. Duterte's remarks came after Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano showed during the meeting data that deaths still occurred during legitimate police anti-drug operations. "Duterte's denial of access to PNP drug war records under the fallacious claim of national security shows that he is afraid of the truth: that it is his orders that led to the extra-judicial killings that ended the lives of thousands of Filipinos under the pretense of a war on drugs," she said. "Palibhasa, sa pagsasapubliko ng mga records na ito, hindi lang mabubunyag ang naging mga paglabag ng awtoridad. Makikita rin dito ang katotohanan kung paanong sa pag-udyok at pagkunsinte ni Duterte, lumalala ang karahasan, pag-abuso at brutal na pagpatay ng kapulisan," she added. Prior to this, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra announced that the PNP had agreed to open 61 case records where the PNP Internal Affairs Service had already found liability on the part of law enforcers. It may be recalled that the CHR previously lamented that restrictions on access to police records hampered its investigations into cases where victims were killed by law enforcers for allegedly "fighting back" or "nanlaban." YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Parliament has convened an extraordinary session today at the initiative of the government. A number of bills are on the agenda. The lawmakers will debate the bills on making changes and amendments to the Public-Private Partnership Law, the Tax Code, etc. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. In his June 2 meeting with caretaker Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and phone call with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, President of the European Council Charles Michel stressed the importance for the EU of stability and prosperity of the South Caucasus and of deepening relations with the two partner countries, the European Council said in a news release. He recalled that the full implementation of the 9 November 2020 ceasefire declaration by Azerbaijan and Armenia is essential for regional security and stability. The EU is ready to provide expertise on border delimitation and demarcation and to support confidence building. The European Union also encourages both parties to cooperate, as matter of urgency, on the return of detainees and full transparency with regard to mine fields, and other important humanitarian issues. The EU is providing almost 20 million EUR in humanitarian assistance and will continue to be engaged. Addressing these immediate challenges is, however, only a first step towards a sustainable peaceful settlement. The PEC called on both sides to engage in renewed negotiations in a constructive spirit. The European Union has a profound interest in the security, stability and prosperity of the South Caucasus region as an integral part of the EU's Eastern Partnership, the statement says. YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has turned into a sought-after quarantine centre for hundreds of Indian travelers serving Covid-19 regulations before they are cleared to enter the United Arab Emirates, The National News reports. Indians trying to get back to their jobs, businesses and family are taking long routes back to the Emirates. They spend two weeks quarantine in countries from where travel to the UAE is considered safe during movement restrictions to control the spread of Covid-19 variants. The UAE suspended incoming flights from India on April 25 and the ban is likely to be in place until the end of the month. Travelers say Armenia one of the most affordable places within a three-hour flight of Dubai and Abu Dhabi replaced the Maldives as a popular quarantine spot after the resort islands banned the entry of passengers from India last month. People spend a little over Dh4,000 on flights, accommodation and food in Armenia. They post information on Facebook and WhatsApp groups to help with information on the routes they took. The past few months were an emotional upheaval for Sujay Sarigommula, 35. He is finally back in Dubai using the Armenia route after cremating his father in India. The engineer knows of at least 150 UAE residents completing quarantine requirements in Armenia. The Dubai resident checked travel routes through Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Moscow before deciding on Armenia because of his budget and the ease of getting an e-visa or travel permit online. The cost from India via Armenia to Dubai including flights, accommodation and food was 85,000 rupees (Dh 4,300). He reached Yerevan, Armenias capital, the next day after a 15-hour layover in Doha. He flew to Dubai after the two-week quarantine. YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. Ucom has launched completely new packages of voice service - Level Up prepaid and Level Up postpaid tariff plans. With these new tariff plans, the customers of Ucom voice services get the opportunity to benefit from the unlimited access to more than 25 applications with educational content, of social platforms, music, videos, and messaging services. Moreover, with the Level Up 8500 and Level Up 8700 tariff plans, they will be able to benefit from the unlimited 4G+ data on their smartphones as well as receive 6000 minutes to call all networks in Armenia, Artsakh, the USA and Canada. "We have analyzed the communication needs of modern people and tried to exceed their expectations with our new offer," said Arina Arustamyan, Commercial Director at Ucom. By joining the Level Up tariff plans, both Prepaid and Postpaid subscribers will get the most competitive combination of price and quality. In particular, by joining the Level Up 1700 prepaid tariff plan, customers will receive 200 minutes to call all networks of Armenia, Artsakh, the USA and Canada for just 1700 AMD, and after consuming the minute inclusions they will continue to make unlimited calls within Ucom mobile network for 30 days. In addition, the subscribers of Level Up 1700 prepaid tariff plan will have unlimited access to Messenger, WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, Zoom, Coursera, DuoLingo, Yandex Taxi, GG, Google maps, Yandex maps and other popular apps as well as receive 6 GB of high-speed internet and 200 SMSs with a validity period of 30 days. Even the residents of regions will have unlimited access to Viber and WhatsApp as well as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook for 1700 AMD with the Level Up 1700 Regional tariff plan tailored for them. "From now on, it doesn't matter which tariff plan you use - Prepaid or Postpaid. Ucom revolutionizes the market and attention: from now on, you can enjoy real unlimited communication on the fastest network in Armenia. The time has come for a new level of experience," said Ara Khachatryan, Director General at Ucom. It is noteworthy that by joining the Level Up 4700 prepaid and Level Up 5500 postpaid tariff plans, the customers will not only receive the inclusions of these tariff plans, but will also be able to use unlimited 4G+ data with their smartphones until September 30, as part of a special offer. YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. Ecotourism is one of the priority directions of Armenias ministry of environment, and now actions are being taken to further develop the field, Caretaker minister of environment Romanos Petrosyan told reporters. Ecotourism plays a key role in Armenias environmental field as we deal with the specially protected areas where there are churches, historical-cultural monuments, castles and beautiful sites. Our task is not to damage this wealth, but to take care of them, keep them clean and transfer to future generations. In terms of the product of ecotourism, it has recently become one of the most important components of internal and ingoing tourism, he said. According to Mr. Petrosyan, foreign tourists in Armenia have started to prefer more ecotourism rather than cognitive tours by buses. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian met with President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on the sidelines of his working visit in Nur-Sultan, the Armenian Presidents Office told Armenpress. The meeting was also attended by a number of top officials of Kazakhstan. Welcoming the Armenian President, the President of Kazakhstan said despite that its a working visit, it is very important because it will further boost the cooperation between the two countries. Armenia is a friendly country for us. The relations and cooperation between our countries are based on traditions, the Kazakh President said, adding: Of course, we are interested in this cooperation not to stay on its place, therefore the governments and respective ministries of our countries are working for achieving this goal. We work and cooperate in an important integration structure the Eurasian Economic Union, we are members of the CSTO, are closely cooperating within the CIS, the UN, the OSCE and other organizations. I think all these must have a positive continuation. In his turn the Armenian President thanked for the reception and stated: For me the visit to Kazakhstan is in some sense a visit to friends. As you said, our nations, as well as the governments have deep relations reaching far past. I agree that our countries mutual partnership has a great potential. Despite some geographical distance, our countries are becoming more closer in the 21st century thanks to trade, new technologies, artificial intelligence, IT. Of course, the volume of cooperation opportunities is very big education, new technologies, food processing industryI would like the cooperation to be much deeper and comprehensive. Armen Sarkissian also introduced his Kazakh counterpart on the post-war problems and challenges in Armenia and the region. Then, the two Presidents held a private meeting, again touching upon the bilateral relations and the regional situation. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, 3 JUNE, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 3 June, USD exchange rate down by 0.45 drams to 520.22 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 0.44 drams to 634.56 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.03 drams to 7.11 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 2.01 drams to 738.45 drams. The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals. Gold price up by 29.39 drams to 31824.37 drams. Silver price down by 8.18 drams to 464.05 drams. Platinum price up by 66.49 drams to 19903.3 drams. YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. Works for resolving the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh are carried on daily basis, ARMENPRESS reports official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova told ''Izvestia''. ''At the moment consultations and negotiations are carried out with the foreign ministers. We are in contact every day in the true sense of the word through the ministries and Ambassadors. Our country has made great efforts for solving this situation both in the hot phase and in the successive phases of the conflict'', Zakharova said, emphasizing also the role of the Russian peacekeepers, who make all efforts to normalize the situation so as the politicians can carry out their functions. YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. 12 ambulances will be handed over to the Republic of Artsakh and a number of organizations with gratuitous right of use, ARMENPRESS reports the decision was made at the government sitting. The decision will help improve the quality of emergency medical services for the population. Lou Altobelli is known for doing things the right way or not at all. Whether as the former owner of four lucrative auto body shops in three co Drilon to DOE: Blame-shifting won't solve power crisis Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon said the Department of Energy (DOE) is shifting blame to private power companies for its failure to avert power outages. "It's disappointing. Blame everyone except yourself. Where is accountability?" Drilon said in a statement on Thursday. Senator Manny Pacquiao had earlier called out the "incompetence" of his party-mate in the ruling party PDP-Laban, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, in preparing the country for the serious power shortages. Pacquiao said in his privilege speech last Wednesday: "We're expecting bigger problems pertaining to power supply, have we done enough preparations for a surge in power supply demand this summer?...Diretsuhin ko na lang, Mr. President: He is incompetent sa posisyon na yan diyan,". The DOE headed by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi is planning to file charges of economic sabotage against private power companies for allegedly conducting preventive maintenance from April to June that resulted in power outages in several parts of Luzon including Metro Manila. "The move is an attempt to shift away the blame from the government which, obviously, failed to prepare for these power outages over the last five years. The DOE is only using power plants as scapegoats for what happened. It's a cover-up," Drilon said. "Blame-shifting won't solve the power crisis," Drilon told the DOE. Drilon said he supports a Senate investigation into the matter "in aid of legislation." "I support and call for an immediate investigation into this looming power crisis. This problem, if left unresolved, has far-reaching consequences on the welfare of our people and our investment and business climate," Drilon said. Dominic Cummings (PA Wire) The US State Department has swerved allegations that President Donald Trump sent the CIA to gazump rivals in procuring PPE during the pandemic. Boris Johnsons former chief adviser Dominic Cummings made a series of bombshell allegations during his evidence session to MPs last week. At one point he claimed President Trump ordered the intelligence service to gazump rival countries in procuring Protective Personal Equipment (PPE) in the early days of the pandemic. The Vote Leave mastermind was describing the scramble for PPE in March when he told MPs: "At this point you had Trump sending the CIA round trying to gazump everybody on PPE. The whole system was just like wading through treacle." He also made a separate allegation that No10 became distracted from Covid planning after President Trump asked the UK to join airstrikes on Iraq. A US State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the allegations but stressed that the Biden administration was focused on strengthening its relationship with the UK and working to address our shared priorities and the many challenges we face together. Downing Street declined to comment on the allegations, citing national security. The Evening Standard has also contacted the CIA and President Trump for comment. Former US president Donald Trump (PA Wire) During his evidence session, Mr Cummings told MPs that Boris Johnson rejected President Trumps request to take part in airstrikes after an intervention by the UK governments top legal officer the then Attorney General Suella Braverman. Fortunately thank God, the Attorney General persuaded the prime minister not to go ahead, Mr Cummings added. It is understood that President Trump wanted to retaliate after two Americans and one Briton were killed in Iraq in a rocket attack the US said was carried out by the Iranian proxy group Kataib Hezbollah. Defence sources told the Guardian there had been no need for the UK to join the bombing because the US had pressed ahead anyway. There was lots going on domestically, they told the paper. Story continues Read More Devolved leaders meet Prime Minister to discuss Covid recovery First Minister issues warning to PM over taking money and power from Cardiff Boris Johnson receives second Covid vaccine dose An earthquake has rocked New Zealand with more than 1000 residents reporting they felt a shake. The magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck near Turangi on the North Island. The area was hit just after 12.30pm on Thursday (local time), with about 1600 claiming to have felt it. Almost 40 people described it as a strong earthquake while two said it was severe and four claimed it was extreme. One woman wrote on Twitter, 'Woah that was another decent shake". "Turangi got nailed," another said. "Take it easy, nature, you're starting to get serious." Another described the cluster of earthquakes as "unnerving". "We get mild ones all the time that are hard to distinguish from trucks rumbling past," she said on Twitter. "Ground was moving with these ones." The earthquake struck New Zealand near Turangi on the North Island. Source: GeoNet Motuoapa resident Matt West told Stuff.co.nz his walls were moving and he had to steady his shaking television. The earthquake comes after a number small shakes were reported in the area early Thursday morning. According to GeoNet, there were three weak earthquakes from 1.24am to 1.30am at Taupo, about 50 kilometres from Turangi. There were another two light earthquakes at 2am before the 4.8 earthquake hit 15km northeast of Turangi just after midday. GeoNet reported a magnitude 3.8 earthquake hit 20km northeast of Turangi about 1.15pm. More to come. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play. "Not only has Ian successfully worked with candidates, he has educated and engaged the broader community in the vetting and campaigning process here in Cayuga County in order to ensure a strong support system for candidates," she said. "Personally, I would like to thank Ian for his time and commitment to electing diverse and effective candidates for local offices at every level." State Sen. John Mannion, who represents parts of Cayuga and Onondaga counties, also praised Phillips. When Mannion first ran for state Senate in 2018, Phillips was his campaign manager. While Mannion narrowly lost that race, he tried again last year and was elected to represent the 50th Senate District. "In his tenure as chair of the Cayuga County Democratic Committee, Ian Phillips was instrumental in changing the balance of power in the county," Mannion said. "He was a transformational leader and will continue to be as a member of our community. He recruited qualified candidates and used his expertise to advance their campaigns and important issues. Personally, without him, I am not a state senator and would not be able to proudly represent the people of Cayuga County that we both care so deeply about." Phillips, who works as a regional political organizer for New York State United Teachers, will continue to serve on the Auburn Enlarged City School District Board of Election. He was reelected to the school board in May. Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding. Love 9 Funny 2 Wow 2 Sad 3 Angry 4 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. If the two countries can't agree on a plan, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik thinks President Joe Biden's administration should take unilateral action to reopen the U.S.-Canadian border. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the border has been closed to non-essential travel since March 2020. It will remain closed through June 21 after the restrictions were extended for another month. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that the border won't reopen until 75% of Canadians have their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. So far, 58% of Canadians have received the first shot. Stefanik, whose northern New York district borders Canada, doesn't believe the U.S. should wait for Canada to reach that benchmark. In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, she urged him to unilaterally lift the prohibition on non-essential from Canada into the U.S. She also critiqued the inconsistencies in the countries' travel restrictions. Americans can't fly into Canada, but Canadians can fly into the U.S. Canadians can travel into the U.S. to get vaccinated, while fully vaccinated Americans aren't allowed to quarantine on properties they own in Canada. Canada is allowing family members to see each other, but the U.S. lacks a similar policy. Volkswagen and the Greek Government have started the transformation of Astypalea into a sustainable and smart island. On Wednesday, the first electric vehicles were delivered to the island by Volkswagen, including ID.4 electric vehicles as the first zero emission police car in Greece. This is part of the German carmaker's 5-year $12 million green energy plan to convert nature of mobility on the entire Astypalea island in Greece to an electric fleet. The event was attended by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece, and Herbert Diess, CEO of the Volkswagen Group, among others. During the event, they also inaugurated the first public and private charging points on the island. This event marks the beginning of the transition to full electrification of Astypalea. In the coming years, the island will move to sustainable and smart mobility and will completely modernise its energy system, after Volkswagen and the authorities signed a memorandum of understanding in this regard last November. "Astypalea will be a future lab for decarbonisation in Europe. We will be researching in real time what motivates people to switch to e-mobility and which incentives are needed to transition to a sustainable lifestyle. The learnings will help to accelerate the transformation towards sustainable mobility and green energy in Greece. Astypalea can become a blue print for a rapid transformation, fostered by the close collaboration of governments and businesses," Diess said during the event. The police fleet, which now gets ID.4 electric vehicles, will increase the number of zero emission vehicles and replace around 1,500 ICE cars by a third. Besides this, there will be 200 electric cars for locals and tourists to rent, instead of the island's bus service. It has also been announced that subsidies will be offered to every inhabitant of the island who will buy electric vehicles, bikes and chargers. The sale of 'zero emission' models for customers will begin at the end of this month. People will be able to choose between the Volkswagen e-up, ID.3 and ID.4, as well as the eScooter Seat MO. So far, at least 12 EV chargers have been installed across the island. 16 more will be set up soon. Greek PM Mitsotakis has ensured that Greece has the mission of transforming its economy and its society into Greece 2.0, leading the 'green' revolution and taking advantage of the latest digital technologies. Astypalea will be a test bed for the 'green' transition: energy autonomy, fully powered by nature itself. This beautiful island is a central pillar of the transition and I am immensely grateful to the local community for their continued support of this project, "he said. As part of the project, the island's energy system will switch to renewable energy in two phases: between now and 2023, a new solar park will provide about 3 megawatts of 'green' energy, which will cover 100% of the electricity needed to charge electric vehicles and more than 50% of the demand of the entire island. By 2026, the new energy system will be expanded to cover 80% of the total energy demand. In addition, the battery storage system will help balance the grid and fully utilise the solar park. ATLANTAPleasure product retailer Starship Enterprises of Atlanta is looking for brand ambassadors for its online affiliate program. The performers chosen will receive free toys, lube and lingerie, as well as earn commission on all sales they generate. Artists who would like to be considered may email Hannah at [email protected] with their stage name and social media handles. Were looking for people who thrive in the limelight and want to share pleasure products with their fan base, said Kelly Rogers, president of Starship Enterprises of Atlanta. Being a Starship brand ambassador is synonymous with the promotion of sexual pleasure. We invite everyone who shares these sex positive values on camera to throw their hat into the ring. Starship Enterprises of Atlanta is expanding its brand with sex-positive and educational discourse on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and through dedicated playlists on YouTube. For more information, visit ShopStarship.com. We were fortunate enough to purchase an online textbook that has interactive lessons in it, Locke said. You won't have hands-on, but you can click certain buttons and it will actually move a lever or push a button. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Just like the classes that came before them, Lockes students will graduate this semester certified in all nine areas of Automotive Service Excellence, in addition to other industry-standard qualifications. In other words, they will hit the job market with a leg up, Locke explained. It really helps if they want to get a job. It helps employers see that they're a step above the rest, Lock said. While some students have already found jobs or internships before graduating, others are using the auto classes as preparation for tech school. Either way, Locke said, the students have an opportunity to move directly into the industry with skills they might not have had otherwise. Flagstaff High School senior Ian Honanie is one of the students planning to continue learning the ins and outs of auto repair after graduation. On this date in 1906, the mule drawn street car made its last run to the gates of the University of Arizona beside the electric car which had gone into operation five days before. On this date in 1910, fire destroyed the stable of the Pioneer Transfer Co. in Phoenix. Four horses were burned to death. Wednesday, June 2 On this date in 1913, Miss Sarah Greenway, sister of John C. Greenway, lit a fire in the new Calumet & Arizona smelter at Douglas. A big community celebration marked the dedication of what was then the largest and most modern smelter in the United States. On this date in 1930, radio station KTAR brought the first national broadcast network to Arizona through its affiliation with NBC. On this date in 1935, three carloads of dynamite were set off to open the New Cornelia mine site at Ajo and 400,000 tons of rock were dislodged. On this date in 1976, a bomb exploded beneath the car of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles in a parking lot of a Phoenix hotel. Bolles died 11 days later. Thursday, June 3 On this date in 1901, Richard McCormick, first Territorial Secretary and second Territorial Governor of Arizona, died. Flagstaff bicyclists involved in deadly tow truck collision were riding to promote safety An hour before a tow truck ran a red light and collided with a group of bicyclists in Flagst Chavez and husband Pete Schepper, owner of Fratelli Pizza, were overcome by emotion at the public response to their fundraiser, but they were not overcome by the hordes seeking burgers. They were prepared. I really wasnt sure what to expect, but I do know that Flagstaff has a tendency to rally around their own, Chavez said Wednesday. So I knew it would be a good turnout, but this definitely surpassed any expectation that I had. It was an amazing sight to see and, at times, I was teary-eyed. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} We opened Mama Burger in 2009 in a little tiny hole-in-the-wall and, in 2011, we moved it to its current location. But never in our wildest dreams did I or Pete think this little place could do what it did yesterday. The couple were pitched the idea of a fundraiser that would donate all proceeds to the cyclists by Ryan Boser, Mama Burger general manager. When the incident happened on Friday, he called me the following morning and said, Hey, itd be really nice to do something, Chavez recalled. I agreed. I told (Boser) if we do this, we need to make sure we dont run out of anything. Please stockpile us. Thats exactly what they did. I had a crew in there prepping the night before and early that morning and they were ready. SENATE LOCGOV PANEL TACKLES THE PROPOSED CREATION OF METROPOLITAN DAVAO DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY The Senate Committee on Local Government, chaired by Senator Francis "Tol" N. Tolentino, today discussed legislative measures creating the Metropolitan Davao Development Authority (MDDA). Senate Bill Nos. 2116, 2153, and 2157 filed by Senators Imee Marcos, Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, and Christopher "Bong" Go, along with House Bill No. 8930 introduced by Davao City 3rd District Rep. Isidro Ungab et al., seek to create the MDDA. Tolentino, who served as Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman from 2010 to 2015, initiated the queries on how the MDDA will drive further development and economic growth in the region. Various cities and municipalities in Metropolitan Davao, including Davao City, will comprise the proposed MDDA. However, during the hearing, Senator Dela Rosa proposed adding four more municipalities -- Hagonoy, Padada, Malalag, and Sta. Maria. Last February, the Metropolitan Davao Development Coordinating Committee (MDDCC), chaired by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, approved the urban master plan for the proposed metropolitan district covering the following areas of cooperation identified by the Metropolitan Davao LGUs (1) Land use planning; (2) Agri- ecotourism promotion and management, and urban greening; (3) Davao Gulf coastal resource management; (4) Joint service delivery for urban facilities and services, including transport and traffic management, roads and other infrastructure development projects; and (5) Joint service delivery for urban facilities and services - housing; solid waste management; sewerage systems; disaster risk reduction, public safety, integrated flood control and climate-change proofing; digital connectivity; and water and energy. The Metropolitan Davao Urban Master Plan (MDUP) 2018-2040 was commissioned by the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) in 2017. Tolentino further noted that government agencies must prepare for the creation of MDDA, since this will jumpstart the tourism industry in the Davao Region. The Committee will reconvene next week to further hear the measures. She has heavily criticized the unsubstantiated allegations that Biden won in Arizona because of fraud or other problems and brought in independent observers to view the partisan recount now underway. She said she expects Trump and his backers to continue to raise doubts but said she'll continue to tell the truth about the election, which that is that it was a free and fair election. It is a partisan attack on free and fair elections, and reasonable people understand that, Hobbs said. The folks who dont, are never going to believe anything I say. Hobbs also was a defendant in a series of lawsuits brought by Trump backers seeking to overturn the 2020 election results, putting her at odds with the Republican attorney general and some GOP lawmakers. The Republican-dominated state Legislature has moved to strip her of the means to defend lawsuits by removing her ability to hire outside lawyers. She vowed to fight that effort if it is included in the final state budget proposal. It doesnt just strip me of the ability to hire outside counsel, it strips me of any legal say at all, and it strips me of duties that are assigned in the (Arizona) constitution, Hobbs said. So what they are doing is blatantly unconstitutional, and if they do pass it, there will be a legal fight. He wants the commander to be able to close investigations when those making complaints are uncooperative with authorities, set a 180-day deadline for completing investigations, and let supervisors resolve allegations of minor misconduct through interventions by supervisors, rather than conducting investigations in such cases. Cecillia Wang, one of the attorneys who won the profiling verdict, said the agencys internal affairs system has gotten steadily worse under Penzone. What we have is a system at MCSO where if a Maricopa County resident has a complaint against a deputy, they have no reason to be confident that their complaint will be heard in a timely and efficient manner, Wang said. Penzone defeated Arpaio in late 2016 on a promise to turn the page on the problems created his predecessor, who was voted out of office after he was found in civil contempt for disobeying a judges order an order to stop his immigration patrols. Although some of the agencys numbers are near or at 100%, the sheriffs office hasnt yet been deemed fully compliant with either of the court-ordered overhauls of its operations. The compliance and legal costs for taxpayers in metro Phoenix from the profiling case are expected to reach $202 million by the summer of 2022. Much of spending goes toward hiring employees to help meet the courts requirements. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Some of the defendants facing charges in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol deserve points for creativity. Among the defense arguments emerging in court documents: I got caught up in the mob and Trump told me to do it. But the mob and the individuals charged in the insurrection are one and the same, and breaking the law just because you think a higher authority with a well-known penchant for dangerous rhetoric said you could doesnt make it right. The attempt to brush aside criminal behavior with such lame excuses turns the concept of personal responsibility on its head. The images from that day are already infamous: crowds tearing down police barriers outside the Capitol complex and sparring with outnumbered officers; jubilant rioters live-streaming and taking selfies inside the building; a man with his feet propped up on the desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosis office. Many Americans watched the mob on television, stunned at the sight of a hallowed institution of our democracy being overrun by thugs. A foster child is not informed if their Social Security payments are used by the state, Swanson said, because they are minors. State law requires that the first $1,000 in such benefits be set aside in an escrow account, which is forwarded to a child once they turn 19 and exit the foster care system. The Social Security Administration audits the use of a childs benefits, Swanson added, to ensure the money is being used for the support and care of the child. The state of Nebraska is aware this practice is being reconsidered in other states. However, there is no legal question under Nebraska law, he said. Maximus is hired, Swanson said, because the company has qualified experience in the complicated process of applying for Social Security benefits. Appeals are often required, he said. The state last year signed a $301,500 contract with Maximus to continue finding Social Security benefits through September of 2023. The company has been providing similar services to Iowa since 2004. An official with Maximus said that state foster care programs are often financially stretched to their limits, and that finding additional money, via Social Security payments, is beneficial for a state and for the foster child. Wyoming has been selected as the site of a new nuclear power plant. The state will house the first Natrium Reactor in a partnership with Bill Gates' TerraPower company, PacifiCorp and the U.S. Department of Energy, Gov. Mark Gordon announced Wednesday. "Wyoming has been a leader in energy for over a century," Gates said remotely at a news conference from the state Capitol, "and we hope our investment in Natrium will allow Wyoming to stay in the lead for many decades to come." This will be the first one of the first small modular reactors in the U.S. "Today is an exciting, exciting day," Gordon said, adding that the plant will create hundreds of jobs that are comparable in pay and quality to fossil fuels industry positions. The reactor is scheduled to begin generating electricity in mid-2028. It's estimated that the project will involve two to three years of design and licensing work before construction begins. One such patient is John Roberts of Billings, a retired teacher who experienced a stroke in late February, while driving. The last thing I remember, I was on 24th and Central, he said. Roberts experienced severe memory loss during his stroke, resulting in his memories of the day being absent or unclear. He drove nearly four miles after the stroke started, ending up on Cactus Drive. Roberts was spotted by an off-duty employee of St. Vincent Healthcare, who noticed that he was in medical distress and immediately called 911. All of a sudden, here is an ambulance, a police car, and a fire truck, and Im thinking I wonder if somebodys house is burning down behind me. But no, it was me, said Roberts. He and his wife were then flown to Denver for emergency treatment. After enduring multiple hours with an active stroke, including the almost three hours spent flying to Denver, Roberts received a life-saving thrombectomy. Remarkably, he walked away not just with his life, but also with a complete lack of scarring or disability. Its an amazing procedure, Id never heard of it before, said Roberts. I was pretty lucky. I woke up after it, I felt pretty good. Les Kruger got his COVID-19 vaccine months ago when most Montanans were given access to the shot, but he made sure to be back in a clinic at Lockwood High School Wednesday for his 12-year-old daughter Kadi to get her first dose against the novel coronavirus. Ive seen places around the country allowing children to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but for the longest time I heard nothing in Billings, he said. As soon as I heard about this I got her signed up. The clinic, put on by RiverStone Health, is part of a new movement to vaccinate younger people after the Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 12-15 on May 11. As of Monday, 18% of 12- to 17-year-olds have received at least one vaccine dose in Montana, but that number is lower in Yellowstone County, at 14%. People are busy, said Pat Zellar, communications coordinator at RiverStone Health. There can be all sorts of reasons people havent gotten a vaccine, thats why we are getting out to places like Lockwood and making it more convenient to get the shot. The Montana Department of Health and Human Services reported just 41% of eligible people Yellowstone County have been fully immunized as of Tuesday, lower than 43% statewide and the counties that house Missoula, Bozeman, Butte and Helena. Spain has acted in connivance with Algeria to admit secretly at a Spanish hospital a separatist leader sued for war crimes and rape to help him evade justice. Prior to the start of the preliminary hearing, Algiers sent a presidential plane to Spain to bring Ghali back to his rear base in Algeria and evade thus justice, but the plane had to make a U-turn in the air. The Spanish government has shown a disregard for its own judiciary in admitting Ghali under a false name. Ghali is sued in Spain by Spanish and Moroccan individuals as well as the Sahraoui Association for the defense of human rights. His case has put the Spanish judiciary before the independence test and shown that Spain has violated the Schengen norms by admitting Ghali, an act it has tried to sugar coat as a humanitarian gesture. Rabat, however, has denounced the secrecy shrouding Ghalis hospitalization in Spain and argued that humanitarian acts do not take place in the dark. Spain failed to inform Rabat because it wanted to please the military regime in Algeria by helping Ghali avoid justice. Spains choice to host Ghali is a pre-meditated act. Its connivance with Algeria to flout its own justice is a well-thought decision and Rabat feels betrayed by a neighbor it treated as a partner and an ally. As Rabat said, the case of Ghali is no longer the heart of the problem. The broken trust and partnership as well as the violated mutual respect is the crisis and Spain has to make its position clear regarding the Sahara. North Carolinians deserve a secretary of DEQ who lies awake at night thinking about ways to mitigate the single-source supply risk we face today ... (and) to develop a plan for how to find a right balance between environmental protection and new sources of natural gas supply," Sen. Paul Newton, a Cabarrus County Republican and retired utility executive, said during floor debate. This nominee did not know her boss' strategy for the expansion of natural gas in North Carolina. Senate Democrats angered by the GOP's refusal to let Delli-Gatti explain in a committee on Wednesday led them to walk out before a vote. They continued to blast Republican leaders during Thursday's floor debate, saying that Delli-Gatti, a former Environmental Defense Fund leader and first woman secretary in the environmental department, was eminently qualified to run the agency. She also had stints with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and governments in Ohio and Dallas. So what you are seeing that the rest of North Carolina does not? first-term Sen. DeAndrea Salvador, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, asked Republicans. This isnt about what Secretary Delli-Gatti knows or doesnt. We were blindsided. This came out of nowhere. IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) A boy who vanished from a rural Iowa trailer park days before his 11th birthday is still missing a week later, as state and federal investigators continued Thursday to look into what happened to him. Detectives are considering several possibilities in the disappearance of Xavior Harrelson, including that he was abducted, that he suffered some kind of accident or that he ran away, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation assistant director Mitch Mortvedt said. Every moment that goes by, its obviously more and more suspicious, and concerning, he said. Its so, so sad. Its heart-wrenching. Police are confident that they have searched and cleared the areas where the boy could have gone on his own, including a large nearby county park with woods and a lake, Mortvedt said. They have asked homeowners or businesses with surveillance footage from the day he disappeared to come forward, along with any tips or information that might be of assistance. The FBI said earlier this week that it has joined the investigation and offered every resource available to state and county departments leading the case. In a statement responding to the judge's decision, Noem blamed President Joe Biden's administration for cancelling the fireworks, saying it was "on completely arbitrary grounds." "But rest assured, this fight is not over," she said, promising to appeal the decision in an effort to restore the event next year. In a 36-page opinion and order, Lange, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, wrote that he liked the idea of having a fireworks display to celebrate Independence Day, but declined to order the National Park Service to allow it because it would "be improper judicial activism for this Court to disregard settled law" on how federal agencies are allowed to make decisions. Lange wrote: "This country could use a good celebration of its foundational principles of democracy, liberty, and equal protection of law, after a pandemic that has disrupted society and business and has killed nearly 600,000 United States citizens to date, after an insurrection and physical incursion of the United States Capitol while Congress was convening to certify the outcome of the presidential election, and after this nation has become so sadly divided by the politicization of so many issues, likely to include even the outcome of this case." Love 15 Funny 3 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 2 RAPID CITY, S.D. A South Dakota nonprofit is again accusing Gov. Kristi Noem of stoking "racial fears" through comments about refugee and unaccompanied minor scenarios it says don't exist in the state. "The governor has created a problem where there never was one," South Dakota Voices for Peace said in a Wednesday news release. SDVFP sent its release in response to comments Gov. Kristi Noem made during a May 26 episode of The Sean Hannity Show that featured Noem and other Republican governors. "Is there any recourse for all of you to not facilitate lawbreaking and then have to bear the burden of the financial costs of (the federal government's immigration) policies?" Hannity asked Noem. "Well, we were very bold about telling them do not send us unaccompanied children, and very bold in telling the federal government that we did not want to participate in what they're doing to threaten our national security," Noem responded. The federal government doesn't "have to notify us. They don't have to get our approval as governors to put these children or put unvetted refugees into our states." Company leaders are not revealing many details about the potential project at the synfuels plant, but their larger vision for a statewide hub would involve redeveloping the facility. Even if a deal doesn't materialize, Bakken Energy still plans to work toward creating a hub, CEO Mike Hopkins said. The companies are planning to produce hydrogen from synthetic gas made at the synfuels plant, as well as from gas produced in the Bakken oil fields. They would make whats known as blue hydrogen, meaning the hydrogen is derived from natural gas, and carbon dioxide generated during processing would be captured and stored underground rather than released into the atmosphere, where it contributes to climate change. Methane, the main component of natural gas, is processed with steam to remove carbon dioxide from the gas stream and produce hydrogen. Plans for the synfuels plant involve turning it into the largest and lowest-cost blue hydrogen production facility in North America, Hopkins said. "It's always been my client's goal to work with the community and allow access through the property," she said. "The current offer, which is a backup offer, is now in place which is a stronger offer and ultimately benefits our community. I am in support of this as is my client. I have chosen to donate a sizable amount of the commission to the organizations involved to help maintain this beautiful piece of Missoula." Wishcamper said he's submitted a backup offer because he and his wife want Marshall Mountain to be of benefit to the conservation and recreation community in Missoula. "I've lived here for 25 years and grew up in Superior," he said. "I'm really involved in Missoula. I love Missoula and I feel like it's a great place to contribute. My wife and I want to continue to make it a great place. This is an opportunity to make Marshall everything it has the potential to be." Wishcamper said he's had some "informal" conversations with the city about eventually selling it. Nothing is certain yet because of the pending civil suit. "Marshall is an incredible resource and we'd like to see the community be able to use and enjoy it in perpetuity," he said. "My wife and I would like to protect the mountain. We'd like to purchase it and hold it for the time it takes the city to put together a financial package to buy the mountain back from us." Love 1 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 1 Wildland firefighter Tim Hart, who was injured on May 24 while fighting a fire in New Mexico, has died from his injuries, the U.S. Forest Service said Thursday. Hart was flown by air ambulance to a hospital in El Paso, Texas, following a hard landing after parachuting into rocky terrain, while responding to the Eicks fire in New Mexicos Hidalgo County, according to the Custer Gallatin National Forest on May 27. I am deeply saddened to share that Tim Hart, a Forest Service Smokejumper, has died from injuries sustained on May 24 while responding to the Eicks Fire in Hildago County, New Mexico," U.S. Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen said in a press release. "Our hearts go out to Tims family, loved ones, friends, fellow Forest Service employees, and the entire wildland fire community and I ask that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers during this time of sorrow while respecting the familys privacy. In 2006 Hart began his wildland firefighting career on the Coconino National Forest and then the Fremont-Winema National Forest as an engine crew member. In 2009 he joined the Shoshone National Forest as a lead forestry technician on an engine and in 2010 went to the Asheville Interagency Hotshot Crew as a lead firefighter. The nonprofit also must remove any unnecessary title exceptions, verify the title and possibly have a boundary survey conducted. "I think we can close the transaction sometime in August," Wilson said. Then he wants to start on a master plan for the property along with site amenities and cost projections. "YRPA will be able to accomplish a lot of the work with volunteers and corporate donors," he said. "This will be a great winter project, and we can't wait to get the public involved. I really can't stress this enough: If it were not for Ginnie Sindelar we would not be in this position." The island on which John Dover settled divided the Yellowstone River, making upstream steamboat traffic impossible except during high water during spring runoff. Dover set about diverting the river by blasting off the nearby sandstone cliffs. YRPA hopes to one day see the river reclaim some of the bottomland to restore the island to a more natural environment. The land also has the potential to eventually be connected to the nearby John H. Dover Memorial Park, land donated by the Sindelars. Located along the mouth of Five Mile Creek, the 142 acres were opened to the public in 2016. The park offers a trail system along the Yellowstone River, just upstream of the Sindelar farm. The change means a new logo, new mission and vision statements but the website address remains wildmontana.org. Wild Montanas new mission statement is: Uniting and mobilizing communities to keep Montana wild. Its vision statement is: We envision a Montana where people and wildlife flourish because public lands and waters are wild and connected. The idea to rebrand originated in 2015, Gabriel said, and has been in development with the help of staff, board members, members and an outside consultant since then. The timing for the announcement was beneficial since Montanans have rediscovered the importance of public lands in the wake of the pandemic, he noted. The group touts its advocacy for playing a role in the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964 as well as the designation of all 16 wilderness areas in Montana. Its current advocacy projects include the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act, wildlands designation for a portion of the Gallatin Range and working with Crow tribal members to designate portions of the Crazy Mountains as wilderness. Rebrand Rebranding can have its pitfalls, including a disconnection with the groups base. Nonprofits often rebrand in an attempt to attract individual donors important to their fundraising survival. Qatars private lender, Commercial Bank (COMB.QA), Thursday said it offered to buy an additional 15.2% stake in National Bank of Oman (NBOB.OM) for $128 million, Reuters reports. If the offer comes into fruition, the bank will become the largest shareholder with over 50 per cent ahead of the government of Omans 26.18% stake. The news sent shares of National Bank of Oman up 9.5% in early trade, Reuters notes. Banks generally try to keep a majority stake in a rival lender because a minority stake is seen as punitive for capital under Basel III, the global framework for capital adequacy, the agency further notes. Jackie Materi said she wanted to know if the park district could put out another survey because the response rate was about 4.5%. She said that when she told people about the survey, they said they didn't know about it. Peterson said that after about 400 responses, survey data typically does not change more than a few percentage points, but a "next steps" survey is an option for the park district moving forward. Maegan Ferrell asked if the park district planned to reduce the number of existing facilities, such as the World War Memorial Building, if it built a new recreation center and what the plan is to pay for upkeep for a new building. "If the plan is to build a brand new place when we don't even have this one up to what I would consider a nice facility level, are we planning to close it and build something new?" she asked. Bina said the park district does its best to take care of existing facilities. "We have to grow with the community, and we also have to take care of what we have," he said. Ferrell said she attended the meeting because she filled out the survey and wanted to see what had happened with it. However, Noem's lawsuit also reignited legal skirmishing between her and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, which opposed the event on the grounds that the Black Hills, which contain Mount Rushmore, are sacred to the Lakota people. In a statement responding to the judge's decision, Noem blamed President Joe Biden's administration for canceling the fireworks, saying it was on completely arbitrary grounds. But rest assured, this fight is not over, she said, promising to appeal the decision in an effort to restore the event next year. In a 36-page opinion and order, Lange, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, wrote that he liked the idea of having a fireworks display to celebrate Independence Day, but declined to order the National Park Service to allow it because it would be improper judicial activism for this Court to disregard settled law on how federal agencies are allowed to make decisions. Lange wrote: This country could use a good celebration of its foundational principles of democracy, liberty, and equal protection of law, after a pandemic that has disrupted society and business and has killed nearly 600,000 United States citizens to date, after an insurrection and physical incursion of the United States Capitol while Congress was convening to certify the outcome of the presidential election, and after this nation has become so sadly divided by the politicization of so many issues, likely to include even the outcome of this case." Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 5 Lukashenko has accused the West of trying to strangle his country with sanctions. On Thursday, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry announced cuts of U.S. diplomatic personnel, the tightening of travel rules for Americans and other restrictions in retaliation to the U.S. sanctions against Belarusian companies. Now we need to abandon ... the street activity we had before, those formats in which we worked, Pratasevich said in the Wednesday show. Because there is simply no such activity now, and there can't be any now." He said the opposition should wait for an economic downturn to mount a new challenge. We need to wait until the economic situation worsens ... and people take to the street for a bowl of soup, to put it bluntly, he said. He described seeing heavily armed special forces waiting as the plane taxied to a parking spot. It was a dedicated SWAT unit uniforms, flak jackets and weapons, he said. The journalist said he disclosed his travel plans in a chat with associates 40 minutes before his departure. He alleged that the bomb threat could have been issued by someone with whom he had a personal conflict, but he did not elaborate. Our smaller populations impact our relationships in other ways, too. In large urban areas, its easy to burn through friendships and replace friends regularly. Its easy to see individuals as disposable when millions of people live nearby. Theres deep meaning in seeing the inherent value in every friend, neighbor and co-worker. In North Dakota, we cant avoid each other so easily. Nurturing and maintaining relationships with those around us can teach us tolerance. We cant just exclude or cancel folks well interact with again and again. In my prior urban life, I didnt even realize how replaceable people seemed to me. I also didnt realize how that view of others stunted my own emotional growth. Im grateful for lessons in approaching others in more accepting and patient ways, and I have Midwestern living to thank for that. These insights about relationships are important and meaningful, but they have a difficult side as well. If investment in long-term social relationships is one side of a coin, the other side is how these forces can undermine courage and bravery. Its meaningful to learn to coexist with community members even during disagreements. However, if were so afraid of disagreements because community members are inescapable, well fail to show courage or bravery. BILLINGS, Mont. Eight-hundred acres of historic property along Cow Creek in the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument has been purchased by the American Prairie Reserve, the group announced recently. I hope it will be of good use to the American Prairie Reserve, said Lorraine Mcgough. It is a place near and dear to my heart. Her mothers first husband, Art Fogerty, purchased the remote tract in the 1930s, she said. It had been homesteaded by a blacksmith named Shellenberger, she added, who would work on livestock passing through during the steamboat era, The Billings Gazette reported. Back then, the boats would unload their wares if they couldnt make it any farther upstream on the way to Fort Benton. The merchandise would then be loaded into wagons and pulled by oxen. Cow Creek is also historic for the fact that Nez Perce Indians moved through the drainage in September 1887 on their flight north to Canada, with the U.S. Army in hot pursuit. On the way the tribe fought a small band of soldiers guarding unloaded freight at Cow Creek. The 5 Myths of Invoice Automation This webcast debunks 5 commonly held beliefs about invoice automation that hard holding you back. Watch it here to also get a pulse on the current state of AP automation, the current invoicing realities that will set AP leaders free, and the benefits of AI-driven autonomous AP for AP teams. The 5 Myths of Invoice Automation for Modern Finance Leaders AppZen recently held a webinar unraveling the top 5 myths of invoice automation holding finance leaders back from achieving next-level modern finance in their organizations. Explore the key insights from the webinar in this article. AppZen + SAP Ariba: AI-Powered Automation for Your AP Inbox Watch this webinar to learn about AppZens Autonomous Accounts Payable, and how it can help you autonomously extract, validate, classify, code, and process the vast majority of invoices, all without manual intervention. Finance Team Tools for Corporate Travel Are financial leaders tired of using Zoom? Turns out some are feeling the pressure to get back to in-person interactions. Learn about the transition away from Zoom, and back to physical meetings, in this article. Cfo Survey Report Why Optimism Abounds In spite of 2020s challengesand maybe, partly, because of themCFOs are optimistic about the future. Thats one of the surprising conclusions drawn from recent research into the use of technology in finance departments. Download the report to review findings from AppZen. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) And AI Set To Drive Next-Level Modern Finance What benefits does RPA actually deliver to the business world, and to the finance department specifically? How does it compare to AI, and where should you use one over the other? Explore the answers to those, and more, in this article. Appzen Video 2 The days of an accounts payable process with long cycle times, high cost and inaccurate accounting are over. Its time for a new approach. Watch this brief video to learn about AppZen Autonomous Accounts Payable, and how its helping organizations save time and money. Autonomous Accounts Payable Powered By AI Check out this data sheet to learn how an autonomous, AI-powered accounts payable solution can eliminate up to 80% of manual invoice processing, increase your invoices reliability and accuracy, cut processes to as low as 2 days, and much more. How Autonomous Invoice Processing Supercharges Finance Transformation Dive into this e-book to for an overview of autonomous AP, its key elements and requirements, how it can supercharge finance transformation, and more. Appzen Video 1 Digital transformation is happening throughout companies, but finance is where its making the biggest impact. Hear from AI experts, Anant Kale and Ali Sadat, on the new era of autonomous finance and how AppZen Autonomous Accounts Payable is eliminating repetitive manual work and delivering predictive intelligence. Why Automate AP? The Cost Of Manual Approvals In Accounts Payable When it comes to Accounts Payable (AP), the goal should be to move invoices through the system as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the reality often delayed, laggard, and manual. In this guide, explore the cost of manual approvals in AP and learn howand whyto make the case for automated AP. Oracle Payables with AI-driven autonomous invoice processing automation AppZen recently held a webinar discussing how Oracle Payables customers can fully automate all invoices when combined with their Finance AI solution. Explore some of the key takeaways in this article. CFO Survey: Five Surprising Facts About IT In Finance Departments To explore how CFOs and their teams are adapting to the dynamic business environment, AppZen conducted a larger survey of over 200 finance professionals across the US and UK, asking them about their business priorities, their use of IT to adapt to change, and how COVID affected their departments. Click here to explore the key findings. The Self-Driving Finance Department Fact Or Fiction? AppZen Autonomous Payables is the worlds first level 4 autonomous finance solution. Learn about their solution and how its helping organizations achieve a self-driving finance department, in this blog post. Oracle Payables With AI-Driven Autonomous Invoice Processing Automation AppZen recently held a webinar discussing how Oracle Payables customers can fully automate all invoices when combined with their Finance AI solution. Explore some of the key takeaways in this article. Finance Transformation Success Requires AI-Driven Autonomous Accounts Payable The revolution that Autonomous AP offers finance leaders is real, and it is here. Companies are already seeing dramatic benefits from it. Learn how AI-driven AP is helping organizations navigate a successful financial transformation in this article. Winning At Finance Transformation RPA and AI have recently begun showing their usefulness for transformational value within finance teams. Both can help deliver gains in productivity and reduced operational costs, but are designed for very different finance processes. Open up this paper for help evaluating the best fit for your specific finance transformation. Applications for the business plan competition will be accepted until July 19. After that, the field of entrants will be trimmed to about 20 contenders. They will travel to Buffalo for another round of judging, and 10 of the startups will advance to pitch onstage at Shea's on Oct. 28. Eight of those 10 will win prize money. Heidinger said she expects a strong field of applicants, even after a year without the competition. "A lot of companies were created throughout Covid," Heidinger said. "A lot of folks were home, tinkering, finally putting pen to paper on business plans. So innovation is certainly I would say at an all-time high." And more than a year of remote work has driven home the idea that startups can be based in a city the size of Buffalo and raise money from investors, instead of just the big cities, she said. 43North has been out drumming up attention for the competition. One selling point to entrants is what recently happened with a past champion. In March, ACV Auctions had a successful initial public offering and now has a market capitalization of about $4 billion. M&T and the University at Buffalo are two key players in a planned joint Buffalo-Rochester bid to be selected for one of the regional tech hubs. The legislation aims to promote job growth in areas outside of the usual tech hotbeds. By design, the tech hubs would be geographically dispersed. Gallagher called the push for tech funding a "moonshot for the next generation, making sure we are relevant in the future in innovation and technology. And every industry needs it not just manufacturing, not just banking but every industry will be driven by this. "This is our opportunity, and I think really could be a huge difference-maker for a community like Western New York, as opposed to the Silicon Valley," Gallagher said. "This will be able to change our community, the face of our community, for years to come." Gallagher said she has already reached out to her counterpart in Rochester, Robert Duffy, about a joint effort. Business leaders are awaiting specifics of what comes next, if the legislation passes, she said. "We don't know exactly what we're going to be asked to do yet, but we do know it's going to be sort of an all hands on deck," Gallagher said. If you own an electric car or are curious about them National Grid has an adventure for you. The utility company has put together EV Road Trip, a digital initiative that maps out tourist travel routes to 40 destinations aligned with electric vehicle charging station infrastructure. The campaign hopes to raise awareness about sustainable travel options. The program guides travelers through New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In the Empire State, travelers will hit destinations such as Catskills Park nature preserve, Niagara Falls and Lake George. The Rhode Island trip includes stops at quaint coastal towns Narragansett and Newport, as well as its Providence capital. Massachusetts routes hit such popular locales as Salem, Boston and Cape Cod. Road travel is expected to kick into high gear this summer, as people with Covid-induced cabin fever look for ways to get away. Hesitancy toward air travel is also expected to make road trips more attractive, too. Nearly nine in 10 American travelers plan to travel over the next six months, according to the U.S. Travel Association. That is the most willing customers have been throughout the pandemic. +2 [BN] Chronicles: When the Buffalo River caught fire It sounds dramatic and impossible but the Buffalo River caught fire in March 1968. A state law making sodomy a crime was the primary tool in what police brass called a crackdown and gay men called harassment. There were 12 arrests in the City of Buffalo for consensual sodomy in 1974, 14 in 1975, 30 in 1976, 56 in 1977, and 100 in 1978. That law was used more in Erie County than in the rest of the state combined, including New York City. At least one local judge said police were taking things too far when officers reported arrests on charges related to homosexual behavior to the employers of those arrested. In a letter to Buffalo Police officials, Judge Alois C. Mazur called such police action an attempt to embarrass or punish a defendant who is presumed to be innocent. Mazur sent a copy of the letter to a State Senate committee that was a watchdog for privacy issues, adding, you should have cause to wonder whether the results justify the manpower used. In response to the judges admonishment, Kennedy replied, "I feel very strongly and so does (Police) Commissioner Felicetta, that we have not only a right to alert the public to this ever-present danger but also a duty. We feel we have the full support of the citizens, and those truly interested in a clean city, said the Buffalo Police Vice commander. Japan and the UAE Wednesday agreed on the need for both countries to launch a business council that would generate added value from joint investments, provide information and services for investors, and encourage communication between relevant government authorities. This came during a virtual meeting between UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Japans Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Hiroshi Kajiyama. The two officials approved the formation of a joint team tasked with putting together a UAE-Japanese business council, reported UAE state-run news agency WAM. The council will improve the partnership between the Emirati and Japanese business communities and generate added value from joint investments, provide information and services for investors, and encourage communication between relevant government authorities. Trade between the two countries has been on the increase mode. Zeyoudi indicated that the value of Japanese direct investments in the UAE since the start of 2020 totals $4.01bn, a growth of 22.6 per cent from 2015 until 2020. The Asian country is the 10th largest investor in the Gulf country and eighth globally in terms of non-oil trade, which reached $8.95bn in the first ten months of 2020. Both countries have also close partnership in several other areas. Trudeau, however, has insisted that at least 75% of the Canadian public must be vaccinated before the border restrictions can be loosened. "We all want to reopen, we all want to go back to traveling to see friends, take vacations, go on trips," Trudeau said at a press conference in Ottawa on Monday. "But we don't want to have to close again, tighten up again, because there's another wave." According to the Our World in Data Covid-19 Data Explorer, 58.31% of Canadians had received at least one shot of vaccine as of Tuesday. The pace of vaccinations accelerated rapidly in Canada in recent weeks, which is why the percentage of Canadians who have received their first dose is now higher than it is in the U.S., where that figure stood at 50.38% as of Tuesday. The Canadian prime minister also made clear Monday that he won't be pressured into relaxing the border restrictions. "We're on the right path, but we'll make our decisions based on the interests of Canadians and not based on what other countries want," Trudeau said. Despite Trudeau's comments, Higgins also said that he's more optimistic about a border reopening than he was a month ago. Once all students could return to school five days a week, public school superintendents started noticing something about the number of Covid-19 cases: They were plummeting. "The warnings that the full return to school was going to see an uptick in the numbers, it has been the complete opposite of that," Cleveland Hill Superintendent Jon MacSwan said. "I have reported one case in the last three weeks." Other superintendents have seen the same thing. Schools report when they learn of positive cases of in-person students, but in most cases, children are not contracting the disease in school. Theories abound about why this is happening, from warmer weather to less chance for infection because more people are being vaccinated. Another reason is that students who are in school are in a much more controlled environment where masks and social distancing are enforced. Whatever the reason, there is no doubt that once schools in Erie County were able to bring elementary students back five days a week, which for many was April 26, coronavirus cases reported by schools have gone down. Border shutdown to be extended again, but with hope of reopening soon "We know that before we get back to normal, cases need to be under control and over 75% of people need to be vaccinated for us to start loosening things in Canada," Trudeau said. The land border between the U.S. and Canada was closed to nonessential travel on March 21, 2020, in an attempt to limit spread of the novel coronavirus. The shutdown has been extended monthly since then, prompting a growing outcry from people who have loved ones on the other side of the border, as well as from property owners barred from visiting their second homes. Stefanik addressed those issues in her letter to Mayorkas, saying the U.S. should be more welcoming to Canadians, even if Canada continues to refuse entry to most Americans. "If a bilateral reopening plan cannot be established and publicly announced before the current restrictions expire on June 21, 2021, I urge you to unilaterally begin easing the restrictions for nonessential travel into the U.S. across the northern border," Stefanik wrote. "Immediate actions should include expanding the list of exempted travelers to include family members and extended family members; Canadians with property, boats, or leased campsites in the U.S.; and business representatives with business dealings in the U.S., while beginning a phased reopening to the broader public." Higgins: Let Canadians come to NY for vaccinations Rep. Brian Higgins on Wednesday called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to invite Canadians to New York State to get Covid-19 vaccinations they might have to wait months for back home. While Alabama's state prison crisis was decades in the making before Ivey took office, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the state last year over its management, saying male prisoners live in unconstitutional conditions with excessive levels of violence. The state prison system disputes the claims. Hours after making the announcement, Ivey spoke with reporters and greeted diners at a restaurant not far from the Alabama Capitol. I think she has done a great job particularly with the corona(virus) situation. She's done a very good job of injecting a lot of common sense into her decisions, said retired Air Force Col. Joe Panza, who now serves as executive director of the Air University Foundation. She took some heat for it, but that is what leadership is all about," Panza, 82, said. In a statement on Twitter, the Alabama Democratic Party said, "Alabama can't afford 4 more years." Kay Ivey claims that AL has a future brighter than any other in America' but after a decade of total GOP control, AL still ranks at the bottom of every list, whether it's healthcare, education, or vaccinations," the party tweeted. In a statement, the Democratic Party said the state needs a governor who will support a raise in the minimum wage to $15, legalized marijuana, Medicaid expansion and other policy changes. Health and Human Services has refused access to news media once children are at the facilities, citing the pandemic and privacy restrictions. Advocates and lawmakers who have been allowed to visit have expressed concerns about children's mental health at the sites where hundreds can sleep in cots in large tents. These facilities require fewer youth care workers and clinicians per child and no traditional legal oversight, skirting state regulations. The Biden administration has maintained that the sites provide lifesaving services for children, with officials assuring lawmakers that minors would be kept in large-scale settings no more than two weeks, then placed with family in the U.S. or sent to a permanent licensed facility. But some children have been at the large venues much longer. Doing away with more state-licensed shelters is a wrongheaded approach, said Wendy Young, president of Kids in Need of Defense, which provides legal services to immigrant children. At a time when the United States needs far more licensed placement settings for unaccompanied migrant children, the order threatens to leave the nation with far less," Young said. Gomez Licon reported from Miami. Coronado is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Heres the thing about Brian Higgins: He doesnt give up easily. Buffalos Democratic congressman knows how to play the long game, and hes doing it again in his efforts to reopen the border with Canada. Hes making progress. As with his successful push to remake Buffalos waterfront, with his advocacy for the Buffalo Central Terminal and his determination to replace the Skyway, Higgins is relentless. He understands the need to restart traffic between the two countries and the craziness of ignoring how vaccinations are changing the calculation. Now, two members of the Canadian Parliament one from the Toronto area and another from Prince Edward Island have reached out to Higgins. Jointly, they wrote a message to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, focusing on the immunity delivered by vaccines and noting that It is time for our governments to listen to the experts and together release an evidence-based plan to reunite families, safely resume normal border operations, and quickly restore our two countries deeply interconnected economies. Posted 6/2/21 A Fair Grove man who is a member of the Southwest Honkys violent prison gang was sentenced in federal court May 19 for his role in a drug-trafficking conspiracy in which investigators intercepted a 9 Books By International LGBTQ+ Authors For Present And Future Pride Celebrations The LGBTQ+ community is vast and experiences are varied. In honor of Pride month, here are nine LGBTQ+ authors from around the world whose works offer compelling insight into the diversity of the community while exploring the universal complexities of identity and sexuality, and celebrating the joy and comfort of love and community. 1. Beijing Comrades by Bei Tong, translated by Scott E. Myers Image via Feminist Press One of the first LGBTQ+ novels to come out of China, this now cult-classic of Chinese queer literature was originally published anonymously online. Following the heart wrenching love story between two men from very different social backgrounds, and set during a tumultuous era of Chinese history, Handong, a privileged businessman, and Lan Yu, a working class student, are inexplicably drawn to each other and engage in a love affair that makes them reassess their entire lives. 2. My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Kabi Nagata Image via Macmillan Publishers Winner of so many awards and critical acclaim, this is a graphic novel about a 28-year-old Japanese woman who is struggling with her sexuality and mental health. With minimalist drawings that underscore a powerful story of struggle and self-discovery, and confronting topics ranging from sex work to depression with dignity and understanding, it will strike a chord with people from anywhere, undergoing any kind of struggle. ADVERTISEMENT 3. Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park, translated by Anton Hur Image via Grove Atlantic Both funny and moving, Love in the Big City was a massive hit in South Korea. It follows Young, a gay man living in Seoul, as he comes of age and confronts both the joys and heartbreaks of life: hanging out with friends, taking care of his mother, and trying to find love in the big city. Described as an exploration of millennial loneliness as well as the joys of queer life, it promises to be as big a hit in the English speaking world as it is in South Korea. Release date is November 9, 2021. 4. Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin, translated by Bonnie Huie Image via New York Review Books Following a group of queer friends attending university in Taipei in the 1980s, Miaojin tells a tale of friendship and love, of social isolation and the joys of community, all whilst re-examining identity, gender, misogyny, and homophobia. Using a mix of diary entries and notes, the author creates a Taiwanese cult classic that resonates still today. 5. Crossing by Pajtim Statovci, translated by David Hackston Image via Penguin Random House Originally born in Kosovo to Albanian parents, Statovcis family fled to Finland to escape the violence that destroyed Yugoslavia. His novel, Crossing, a finalist for the National Book Award, follows a young Albanian boy, Bujar, and his best friend Agim, as they deal with the aftermath of war, eventually leaving to find better lives in Italy. In a foreign country, however, they are forced to confront their identities in more ways than one, exploring the intersections of sexual orientation, gender identity, alienation, and migration. ADVERTISEMENT 6. We All Loved Cowboys by Carol Bensimon, translated by Beth Fowler Image via Transit Books This coming of age romance out of Brazil is told across the duration of a road trip that is the catalyst for the reunion of two women (and estranged friends) who are quickly forced to confront the tensions that previously split them apart, as they once again begin to emerge. 7. Fair Play by Tove Jansson, translated by Thomas Teal Image via New York Review Books Originally written in Swedish by Finnish author Tove Jansson, Fair Play is a quiet, semi autobiographical novel told in a series of vignettes that follows two women, Mari and Jona, as they spend their lives together, creating art, traveling the world, and living their day-to-day lives. 8. Sergius seeks Bacchus by Norman Erikson Pasaribu, translated by Tiffany Tsao Image via Tilted Axis Press In his book of poetry, Pasaribu explores what it means to be in the minority in terms of sexuality, ethnicity, and religion through a comic yet tragic voice. With a wide range of topics and styles, the poetry in this book confronts loneliness, love, oppression, and joy. His first book of short stories, Happy Stories, Mostly, will be released in November. 9. Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi Image via Grove Atlantic Freshwater, Akwaeke Emezi's debut novel, is highly acclaimed, making them a National Book Foundation "5 under 35" Honoree and named as a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for a Debut Novel. Born and raised in Nigeria, Emezi incorporates Igbo cosmology into their semi autobiographical coming of age novel about a young woman, Ada, who must contend with a multitude of identities living within her as she navigates the worldfirst in Nigeria and later as an immigrant in the United States. Exploring the spaces between gender, culture, and existence, Emezi writes of identities that do not fit neatly into a single category. More from BUST The Women's Prize Exludes Akwaeke Emezi With Transphobic Reqirements Sayaka Murata's "Earthlings" Is A Polarizing Depiction Of Processing Childhood Trauma Casey McQuinston Puts Modern Queer Love In The Spotlight With Her Newest Novel, "One Last Stop" Natalie Frate is a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology with a BS in Sociology and Anthropology and SOAS, University of London with an MA in Comparative Literature. She is currently pursuing a degree in Experimental Humanities at NYU and waiting out the pandemic in her hometown, Cleveland, OH. She enjoys reading books, wearing clothes, and eating food with her friends. Follow her on Instagram @natalieroseindigo Best American-Made Grooming Brands Support Your Fellow Americans by Grooming Domestically This July 4th The AskMen editorial team thoroughly researches & reviews the best gear, services and staples for life. AskMen may get paid if you click a link in this article and buy a product or service. Product photos from retailer site. Whereas so many things in our modern lives are outsourced and made overseas, high-quality, American-made grooming products are having a moment. Domestic contract manufacturing (how many skincare products are produced stateside) is alive and thriving, says Disco founder Ben Smith. The speed, knowledge of the market, and quality control that domestic partners bring to the table for brands like ours make producing our products in the USA an easy business decision. More importantly, making products in the USA brings both myself and our customers a sense of national pride. RELATED: AskMen Grooming Awards 2021 The best part? Theres a great, American-made product for every mans grooming needs. Shaving cream? Check. Beard oil? Yep. Deodorant? Oh yeah. Many of the leaders behind these patriotic products are also making a commitment to clean and ethical sourcing and production, in response to both consumer demands and the need to protect the planet. So while the following 10 brands are not a complete list and some are not what you might think of as traditional mens grooming they each represent a slice of the American grooming market and the ingenuity happening right here within our own borders. Osmia Organics Dr. Sarah Villafrancos cult-favorite skincare brand is lauded for an intense, nature-focused philosophy rooted in self-empowerment. Based out of Carbondale, CO, each Osmia product goes through rigorous testing and the companys innovative use of only the most natural ingredients has made it a particular favorite among those with sensitive skin or dermatological conditions. What to Try: Purely Gentle Mud Cleanser $48 at OsmiaOrganics.com Taos AER You wouldnt expect Taos, New Mexico to be the home of a high-end deodorant brand, but founder Kristine Keheley has built a reputation for a range of excellent scents and a commitment to an all-natural approach. The biggest difference with Taos AER products is that only a small dab is needed compared to the swathy glides from others. A little bit goes a long way. What to Try: Palo Santo Blood Orange Deodorant $19 at TaosAER.com Disco Smiths modern skincare brand has taken the industry by storm winning all sorts of awards (including ours) through a focus on no-nonsense skin routines, clear packaging and easy refills. Were big fans of the fresh eucalyptus scent that their team adds into many of their products. What to Try: Repairing Eye Stick $32 at LetsDisco.com OSEA Malibu As their name suggests, the California company is based on the Pacific coastline and takes advantage of a variety of ocean-powered ingredients in their products. The Climate Neutral-certified brand uses a trio of different seaweeds in a range of masks, oils and mists along with supporting a number of ocean preservation initiatives. What to Try: Sea Minerals Mist $38 at OSEAMalibu.com Plant Apothecary Plant Apothecarys bold typeface on most of their labels makes it easy to understand what youre getting and how itll benefit you. As far as organic and eco-friendly brands go, theyre one of the more widely available with solid body wash, face wash and acne treatment options. What to Try: Start Happy Organic Body Wash $9 at PlantApothecary.com American Provenance In a way, you could say American Provenance is for the children. The brand was started by a middle school teacher in 2015 after he learned about the awful ingredients his students were using in many of their grooming products. He decided to make his own and built a company around no-fuss simplicity based out of southern Wisconsin. What to Try: Natural Aftershave $10 at AmericanProvenance.com Davids Toothpaste You know how much we care about good dental hygiene, and that all starts with a quality toothpaste. You cant go wrong with any of their three flavors, all with a longstanding transparency thats only now emerging in mens grooming. Plus, you can taste the real mint oil they use, leaving your breath undeniably fresh. What to Try: Davids Spearmint Toothpaste $10 at Davids-USA.com Pacific Shaving Co. This shaving brand is probably the biggest on our list and is one of the more affordable American-made options. While their caffeinated shaving cream is an essential for the travel dopp kit, their under-the-radar winner is their shaving oil, which adds an oh-so-wonderful glide to just about any shave. Thick stubblers rejoice. What to Try: Natural Shaving Oil $22.99 at PacificShaving.com Badger Balm Were not sure if its those New England winters that make Badger products so hardy, but whatever it is, their lip balms are undeniably some of the best. They carry a strong belief in regenerative organic agriculture and work towards partnering with farms that support that mission. The result is a quintessentially clean array of balms, sunscreens and more that skip the fanfare and put the focus on performance. What to Try: Sweet Orange Cocoa Butter Lip Balm $4.99 at BadgerBalm.com Caswell-Massey You can't have all-American grooming without the brand that arguably started it all. This classic herbal fragrance evokes the aura of a Revolutionary War-era barbershop. There is a very specific reason for that: Number Six was the fragrance of choice of Continental Army commanders, most famously, future President George Washington himself. What to Try: Gold Cap Number Six Cologne $44 at CaswellMassey.com So the next time youre doing some window (or digital window) shopping, take an extra minute and look for something American-made. Youll certainly be doing your skin a favor and supporting good old-fashioned domestic entrepreneurship. You Might Also Dig: AskMen may get paid if you click a link in this article and buy a product or service. To find out more, please read our complete terms of use. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2021) - Spey Resources Corp. (CSE: SPEY) (OTC: SPEYF) ("Spey" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that on March 18, 2021 its wholly owned subsidiary, Tech One Lithium Resources Corp. signed a facility fee agreement to have access to utilize the Ekosolve Lithium Solvent Exchange Extraction process that can efficiently manage the processing of the brines to produce lithium carbonate with a grade higher than 99.2% and a recovery of 97%, far exceeding any ion exchange or adsorption process available to date. Ekosolve is licensed to University of Melbourne, Australia. The key advantage of the Ekosolve system is the elevated rate of lithium yield targeting 97% with 95% of the solvent being reclaimed. Other systems such as adsorption may achieve 72-80% yield, fractional crystallization of 50-70%, and ion exchange up to 90%. In adsorption and ion exchange systems, extra processes may be required to manage the magnesium and boron in the brines whereas this is not an issue with the Ekosolve process. Hence the capital expenditure and operating costs are anticipated to be substantially reduced. A significant benefit, evaporation ponds are not required, providing a more eco-friendly solution. Spey Resources chief executive officer and director Nader Vatanchi states, "Having access to the Ekosolve lithium extraction process could potentially save significant capital costs and provides the added benefit of being environmentally friendly. The process has been tested and patented at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and we are looking forward to sending our lithium brine samples there for testing within the next week or two." Qualified Person Phillip Thomas, BSc Geol, MBusM, FAusIMM, MAIG, MAIMVA, (CMV), a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101 regulations, has reviewed the technical information that forms the basis for portions of this news release, and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Thomas is independent of the Company but discloses that he is a shareholder of SPEY. Story continues About Spey Resources Corp. Spey Resources is a Canadian mineral exploration company which holds an option to acquire 100% interest in the Candela II lithium brine project located in the Incahuasi Salar, Salta Province, Argentina. Spey also holds an option to acquire a 100% undivided interest in the Silver Basin Project located in the Revelstoke Mining Division of British Columbia as well as an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Kaslo Silver project, west of Kaslo British Columbia. For more information, please visit the Company's public disclosure at www.sedar.com and www.speyresources.ca Contact: Nader Vatanchi CEO, Director 778-881-4631 nader@speyresources.ca www.speyresources.ca ### The Canadian Securities Exchange accepts no responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation. The words "may", "would", "could", "should", "potential", "will", "seek", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions as they relate to the Company, are intended to identify forward-looking information. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking information. Such statements reflect the Company's current views and intentions with respect to future events, and current information available to them, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, without limitation: the potential of the Company's mineral properties; the estimation of capital requirements; the estimation of operating costs; the timing and amount of future business expenditures; and the availability of necessary financing. Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking information to vary from those described herein should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize. Such factors include but are not limited to: changes in economic conditions or financial markets; increases in costs; litigation; legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; and exploration or operational difficulties. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect forward-looking information. These and other factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking information. Should any factor affect the Company in an unexpected manner, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, the actual results or events may differ materially from the results or events predicted. Any such forward- looking information is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Moreover, the Company does not assume responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this press release is made as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, other than as required by applicable law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86356 The Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) has distanced itself from the sham wedding between Elizabeth Nalem and the Holy Spirit, saying it is an embarrassment. ACK Kapenguria Bishop Samson Tuliapus said the pastor who officiated the wedding last week was a church member and not a pastor. The bishop said Mr Albert Rumaita, who also funded the bizarre wedding, has no powers to officiate marriages. We dont support what happened because the Holy Spirit things dont happen that way. It is a shame to our parish and the entire ACK church. It was an embarrassment, Bishop Tuliapus said. The clergyman also hinted that the church might take legal action against Rumaita. Meanwhile, West Pokot County police commander Jackson Tumwet said they released Elizabeth Nalem to the church for counselling. They(church elders) came and counselled the woman and she went back to her home. We advised the husband to let the church handle the matter, Mr Tumwet said. Over 90% of organizations in UK have experienced a DNS attack, a rise from last year according to 2021 Global DNS Threat Report Vulnerabilities from remote working and cloud usage have led to rapid increase in phishing, DNS domain hijacking and cloud instance misconfiguration abuse EfficientIP, a leading provider of network security and automation solutions specializing in DDI (DNS-DHCP-IPAM), today announced the results of its 2021 Global DNS Threat Report. The annual research, which was conducted in collaboration with leading market intelligence firm International Data Corporation (IDC), sheds light on the frequency of the different types of DNS attack and the associated costs for the last year throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United Kingdom, the damages stemming from each attack saw a marked decrease by 27% from the year prior; damages in 2021 were 530,659 (596,083), while damages in 2020 were an average 729,131 (819,024). This was the strongest decrease globally. The UK companies in the survey reported an average of 5.78 attacks in the last year, which is also the lowest average reported (the highest number was 7.74 in Canada). In terms of regional damage from DNS attacks, Europe suffered an average of 662,271 (743,920) per attack. This is a slight increase by 3% from the year prior. Globally, nearly 90% of organizations (87%) experienced DNS attacks, with the average cost of each attack around 693,507 (779,008). The Report shows that organizations across all industries suffered an average 7.6 attacks this past year. These figures illustrate the pivotal role of DNS for network security, both as a threat vector and security objective. The 2021 DNS Threat Report has found that, throughout the past year during the pandemic, attackers have increasingly targeted the cloud, profiting from the reliance on off-premise working and cloud infrastructures. Around a quarter of companies have suffered a DNS attack abusing cloud misconfiguration, with almost half of companies (47%) suffering cloud service downtime as a result of DNS attacks. Story continues The Threat Report, now in its seventh year, also found a sharp rise in data theft via DNS, with 26% of organizations reporting sensitive customer information stolen compared to 16% in 2020s Threat Report. Evidence shows attackers are targeting more organizations and diversifying their toolkitsometimes drastically. Threat actors relied on domain hijacking, where the user is connected not to the desired service but to a fake one, more than twice as often as last year. This year phishing also continued to grow in popularity (49% of companies experienced phishing attempts), as did malware-based attacks (38%), and traditional DDoS attacks (29%). Although the cost and variety of attacks remains high, there is a growing awareness of DNS security and how to combat these attacks. 76% of respondents in the 2021 Threat Report deemed DNS security a critical component of their network architecture. Additionally, the report found Zero Trust is evolving as a tool to protect networks in the remote era. 75% of companies are planning, implementing or running Zero Trust initiatives and 43% of companies believe DNS domain deny and allow lists are highly valuable for Zero Trust for improving control over access to apps. The DNS Threat Report finds solutions considered most effective by organizations for preventing theft includes: securing network endpoints (31%) and better monitoring threat and analysis of DNS traffic (26%). "While it is positive that companies want to use DNS to protect their increasingly remote workforces, organizations are continuing to suffer the costly impacts of DNS attacks," says Romain Fouchereau, Research Manager European Security at IDC. "As threat actors seek to diversify their toolkits, businesses must continue to be aware of the variety of threats posed, ensuring DNS security is a key priority to preventing these." DNS offers valuable information against would-be cybercriminals that is currently underutilized. According to results from the 2021 Threat Report, 25% of companies perform no analytics on their DNS traffic. "This past year of the pandemic has shown us that DNS must play a role in an effective security system." says Ronan David, VP of Strategy for EfficientIP. "As workers look to more permanently transition to off-premise sites, making use of cloud, IoT, edge and 5G, companies and telecom providers should look to DNS for a proactive security strategy. This will ensure the prevention of network or application downtime as well as protecting organizations from confidential data theft and financial losses." The report suggests three recommendations for protecting data, apps, cloud services and users, including enhancing the privacy of remote workers with a private DoH solution, eliminating cloud service downtime caused by cloud misconfigurations through automating life-cycle management of IP resource and making DNS the first line of defense to stop the spread of attacks. The full 2021 Global DNS Threat Report is available online. Read the full report here: https://www.efficientip.com/resources/idc-dns-threat-report-2021/ NOTE TO EDITORS ABOUT THE 2021 DNS THREAT REPORT The research was conducted by IDC from January to March 2021. The data collected represents respondents experience for the previous year. The results are based on 1,114 respondents from companies with 500 or more employees. Respondents came from three regions - North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Respondents included CISOs, CIOs, CTOs, IT Managers, Security Managers and Network Managers. ABOUT EFFICIENTIP EfficientIP is a network automation and security company, specializing in DNS-DHCP-IPAM solutions (DDI), with the goal of helping organizations worldwide drive business efficiency through agile, secure and reliable infrastructure foundations. We enable IP communication and simplify network management with end-to-end visibility and smart automation, while our patented technology secures DNS services to safeguard data and ensure application access. Companies in all sectors rely on our offerings to face the challenges of key IT initiatives such as cloud applications and mobility. For further information, please visit: www.efficientip.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210603005258/en/ Contacts PRESS APCO Worldwide for EfficientIP Nesta Smith nsmith@apcoworldwide.com Ferrari Energy CEO discusses the Adam Ferrari Health Science Scholarships first winner and its expansion plans for the scholarship in the future. El Segundo, CA, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Adam Ferrari Health Science Scholarships first offering was considered a huge success after awarding the 2021 winner, Katherine Schoen. "Adam Ferrari and his immediate family" Ferrari Energy CEO and Founder Adam Ferrari selected senior at Alma College Katherine Schoen from many outstanding applicants who have a passion for aiding those who are physically disabled. The Adam Ferrari Health Science Scholarship granted Schoen $1,000 to help cover education costs for her education in the Fall of 2021 at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Schoen is pursuing her dream of becoming an occupational therapist. She stood out from her fellow applicants because of her high level of dedication and academic distinction in her field of study. The goal of the Health Science Scholarship is to annually give financial support to an individual wanting to study health science at a university or college. The individual also should be personally motivated to provide top care for those who have physical disabilities. Ferrari Energy is an oil and gas company that encourages businesses to be proactively involved in bettering the community and strives through actions to inspire all to find ways to make a difference in peoples lives. Under Adam Ferraris leadership, Ferrari Energy has given back to both Chicago and Denver communities and made annual donations to various non-profit organizations, including St. Jude Childrens Hospital, Freedom Service Dogs, Denver Rescue Mission, Coats for Colorado, and Next Steps of Chicago. Adam Ferraris heart is especially close to Next Steps of Chicago, which supports people with paralysis because one of his beloved family members, his father Dan, suffers from this condition. Without continued therapy, my core strength would be a little diminished. The team at Next Steps has helped immensely with this, and they have become part of my extended family, said Dan Ferrari. Story continues In October of 2016, Dan was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, which caused his paralysis and other issues. His cause was deemed viral, and Dan had just gotten the flu shot within a month of his diagnosis. Dans current care is extremely hands-on for the majority of his needs as he is unable to do most on his own. Adam Ferrari helps tremendously with his dads care when he can. Through his personal experience with helping his physically disabled father, Adam wants to empower future generations of health science professionals through his scholarship. The Ferrari Family has big plans for the Adam Ferrari Health Science Scholarship as they are looking to move forward with expansion plans in the future. For more information regarding Dan Ferraris story or to see updates about the Adam Ferrari Health Science Scholarship, visit https://www.adamferrarischolarship.com/. About Adam Ferrari Adam Ferrari was born and raised in the south suburbs of Chicago, IL. He is the grandson of an Italian immigrant coal miner who worked in the mines of Coal City, IL. From an early age, Adam was taught the value and dignity achieved through a hard days work. The oil and gas industry provides good-paying jobs for millions of blue-collar men and women across America. This is one of many reasons Adam and his company are such staunch supporters of the oil and gas industry. Blue-collar men and women built America, and the modern oil and gas industry keeps America moving forward. Contact Info: Name: Adam Ferrari - Founder and CEO Email: aferrari@ferrarienergycorp.com Organization: Ferrari Energy Address: 2150 Park Place Suite 100, El Segundo, CA 90245 Phone: 310-692-1816 Website: https://www.adamferrarischolarship.com/ (Bloomberg) -- The likely return of Iranian oil is setting up what promises to be an aggressive battle to supply a corner of the coveted Asian market. Iran is a major producer of condensates -- ultra-light oil thats a by-product from natural gas fields -- and South Korea is Asias biggest operator of splitters designed to turn it into petrochemicals used to make plastics. SK Innovation Co., Hanwha Total Petrochemical Co. and Hyundai Oilbank Co. used to favor Irans South Pars condensate due to plentiful supply and relatively low prices, but U.S. sanctions saw those flows dry up from 2019. The South Korean refiners then turned to condensates from Qatar and Australia, as well as West Texas Light crude and full-range naphtha from Europe and Africa. With the Iranian nuclear accord possibly being revived by August, the Persian Gulf nation will be keen to win back its former customers. And while the battle for market share will be centered on Korean condensate buyers, it will also ripple through Asian markets for light crudes and naphtha. The fight in the condensate market will be fierce, said Armaan Ashraf, an analyst at industry consultant FGE in Singapore. Iran will need to offer South Pars at discounts to incentivize buyers and that will displace a substantial amount of arbitrage condensate and naphtha across Asia and cause prices to dip relative to benchmarks, he said. The potential lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil will hit condensate markets much harder than crude due to the relative importance of supplies from the Persian Gulf nation. More than 100 million barrels of South Pars are being held onshore in Iran, or overseas in floating and bonded storage, FGE estimates. Exports of South Pars during the inventory de-stocking phase, which could last more than a year, could account for more than a third of the East-of-Suez market for traded condensates, the industry consultant said. Once this phase is over, Iran will likely ship around 300,000 barrels a day of South Pars, it said. Story continues See also: Iran Taps Old Oil Customers as It Eyes End of U.S. Sanctions Negotiations on the nuclear accord are still facing hurdles, with talks in Vienna adjourned until next week. Both Washington and Tehran will need to make hard decisions that could ruffle domestic political constituencies, Enrique Mora, the European Unions deputy foreign policy chief, said on Wednesday. Russias Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak sees some Iranian oil in the market this summer should a deal be agreed, although it depends on factors such as Irans technical capabilities and its readiness to increase output. Apart from South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, China, Japan and were among the top buyers of South Pars prior to the sanctions. The grade used to be sold at about $2 a barrel or more below Qatari Deodorized Field Condensate, according to traders, making it one of the cheapest feedstocks. The worlds biggest condensate splitter capacity is in South Korea, the Middle East and the U.S., meaning these buyers held off making purchases from Iran while the penalties were in place. China -- which kept buying limited amounts of Iranian crude despite the sanctions -- is not a major market for condensate. (Updates with comment from Russian deputy prime minister in 9th paragraph.) More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2021 Bloomberg L.P. Rohingya Muslim refugees 'injured in protests' on isolated island during UNHCR visit FILE PHOTO: Rohingya refugees sit on wooden benches of a navy vessel on their way to the Bhasan Char island in Noakhali district By Zeba Siddiqui and Ruma Paul NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar, angry at living conditions on a remote Bangladeshi island, suffered baton injuries as they protested against the lack of access to a visiting U.N. team, two of the refugees said. The Rohingya, who fled violence in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, cannot move off the flood-prone island of Bhasan Char, several hours away from the mainland by sea. A two-member delegation from the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) was joined by Bangladesh foreign ministry officials on Monday on the visit to Bhasan Char, where Bangladesh wants to transfer 100,000 of the more than a million refugees who fled violence and persecution in Myanmar. Two refugees told Reuters by phone that they protested because Bangladesh had blocked them from speaking to the UNHCR delegates. "They only allowed the delegates to meet a few refugees who would not say anything critical against Bangladesh," said Ali, who declined to give his last name for fear of reprisals from authorities. "We wanted to speak to the U.N. officials to tell them about the real situation here," he added. "We don't have work ... how will we earn? And there is also no proper healthcare here." They said hundreds of refugees protested and were baton-charged by police. Despite criticism from rights groups, Bangladesh has already moved some 18,000 Rohingya to the island. The UNHCR said it "had the opportunity to talk to a large group of refugees, predominantly young men", adding they had raised concerns about a lack of access to jobs and education. It said in a statement it was "deeply concerned" to learn of injuries. Bangladesh's foreign ministry said a large number of Rohingya gathered and launched a demonstration during the UNHCR visit. "At one point, the crowd got agitated and in the process some of the Rohingya reportedly got minor injuries," it said in a statement. It said the crowd had "free and frank interactions" with the U.N. officials. Myanmar is facing genocide charges at the international court of justice in The Hague over the 2017 campaign against the Rohingya. The military denies the charges, saying it was waging a legitimate campaign against insurgents who attacked police posts. (Reporting by Zeba Siddiqui in NEW DELHI and Ruma Paul in DHAKA; Editing by Nick Macfie) Hector Vila, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Whitehorse, at a gathering in Whitehorse on Monday, after remains of 215 children were found on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in B.C. (Vincent Bonnay/Radio-Canada - image credit) The bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Whitehorse says he's committed to working with local First Nations chiefs toward healing and reconciliation and clarity about what happened at church-run residential schools. Bishop Hector Vila was responding to the recent discovery of remains on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in B.C. Preliminary findings uncovered the remains of 215 children. "If you think of the life of these children, it just breaks your heart," Vila said. "I think that this is a horrendous event that needs clarity, and the Church is committed to bring light to it." The Kamloops school was operated by the Catholic Church in Canada, as was the infamous Lower Post residential school in northern B.C., where many Yukon children were sent. On Monday, Vila joined a large procession of people marching through downtown Whitehorse to the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre. Many in the crowd that day wore orange and carried childrens' shoes to represent the victims of residential schools. Vila was among those who gathered, holding a small pair of shoes and listening to local Indigenous leaders speak about trauma, grieving and healing. He says he was invited by local chiefs, including Kwanlin Dun Chief Doris Bill and Ta'an Kwach'an Council Chief Kristina Kane. Vila said he was there in solidarity. "I walk along with them because I know they are hurting. I know they need all the support that we can give. And that is why I went and joined them in this walk," he said. Chief Bill acknowledged Vila's presence before the crowd on Monday, and called on those gathered to help build understanding. Vila says he was "very touched" by Bill's comments. 'How can I say I love you if I don't even know you, if I don't even know what makes you suffer?' Vila asked. (Steve Silva/CBC) "She asked the people to come forward and to talk to me, to talk to others who have no residential school experience or knowledge, and to touch practically the wounds that people are carrying today," Vila said. Story continues "You cannot say or tell someone that you love that person unless you really know what makes that person suffer. And this is fundamental in any kind of relations. I mean, how can I say I love you if I don't even know you, if I don't even know what makes you suffer?" Asked about whether the Catholic Church should issue a formal apology for its residential schools, Vila said that's a matter for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to address. "But I would say that certainly there needs to be an event in which we can gather together, and work together with the chiefs here in Whitehorse, as to how to bring about this this particular apology and, you know, to openly work towards that, towards reconciliation," he said. The Roman Catholic Church was responsible for operating up to 70 per cent of residential schools, according to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS). United, Anglican and Presbyterian churches were among those operating the remainder. In the years since, the Roman Catholic Church is the only one that hasn't made a formal apology. Betsy DeVos, then the secretary of education, at a White House coronavirus press briefing on July 8, 2020. Alex Wong/Getty Images USA Today last year found that an educational agency accredited a school that seemed to be fake. The agency, the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges & Schools, lost recognition Wednesday. It had also accredited now-defunct for-profit schools that were accused of defrauding students. See more stories on Insider's business page. The Education Department on Wednesday canceled its recognition of the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges & Schools for approving a school that appears to have no faculty or students but received federal funds anyway. USA Today conducted an investigation last year that found that although approved by ACICS, Reagan National University in South Dakota did not house any faculty, students, or staff members. And while the agency said Reagan had met its standards during the accreditation process, it declined to say specifically how it verified the college had students and faculty. This caused the Education Department on Wednesday to remove ACICS' recognition, given its inability to deliver sufficient evidence as to why it accredited Reagan in the first place. "ACICS's significant and systemic noncompliance with multiple regulatory recognition criteria leaves me no reasonable option but to terminate its recognition, effective immediately," Jordan Matsudaira, the deputy undersecretary for education, wrote in a notice posted to the department's website. Schools that are approved by accreditors are given access to federal grants and student loans, so even though Reagan appeared to be nonfunctioning, it still could access federal funds. Reagan ended up being stripped of its recognition, but Betsy DeVos, the education secretary for nearly all of the Trump administration, stood by ACICS and said the agency had followed proper procedure when choosing to accredit the school. But Reagan was not the first questionable school to fall under ACICS' jurisdiction. The agency has accredited more than 60 for-profit schools, and several of those schools - including Corinthian Colleges and ITT Technical Institutes - have shut down in the past decade amid allegations of fraudulent behavior, including engaging in misleading marketing practices and persuading students to take out loans they would never be able to pay back. Story continues Specifically, in 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accused Corinthian of illegally collecting high-interest private loans that it marketed to students. And in 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission took ITT Tech to court over accusations it deceived investors about high rates of late payment and defaults on student loans. The Education Department's decision to remove ACICS' recognition follows a series of actions already taken to reverse Trump-era rules. For example, last week, the department announced plans to start tackling flaws in the student-loan system, including by changing DeVos' method to forgive student debt for borrowers defrauded by for-profit schools. President Barack Obama established the borrower defense to repayment to forgive student debt for eligible defrauded borrowers, and, under him, the program had a 99.2% approval rate, but when DeVos took over, 99.4% of eligible borrowers were denied from the program. President Joe Biden's education secretary, Miguel Cardona, canceled $1 billion in student debt for defrauded borrowers in March, and DeVos is soon set to testify over why so many eligible defrauded borrowers never received relief. Read the original article on Business Insider Truman Dell Woodruff passed away peacefully at his home on May 30, 2021, as the result of a rare and fast-growing cancer, with his wife and daughters at his side. A Memorial Service will be held 11:00 a.m., Saturday, June 5, 2021 at Trinity United Methodist Church of Chippewa Falls with Rev. Terri Koca officiating. Visitation will be Saturday 9:00-11:00 a.m. at the church. Burial will be in the Forest Hill Cemetery. Livestreaming of the funeral will be on the Pederson Volker Website. Dell was born February 15, 1935, in Chippewa Falls to Truman B. and Isabelle (Henneman) Woodruff. He grew up on the family farm in Eagle Point and attended schools in Chippewa Falls. On August 9, 1958, he married the love of his life, Shirley Jean Rosenbrook. Dell took great pride in being a part of the Woodruff Farms partnership with his father and two brothers. Although he enjoyed dairying, he received great satisfaction from marketing and delivering corn to many area farmers and feed mill customers. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) The countrys outstanding loans jumped to 10.99 trillion in April as the government borrowed more from domestic and foreign banks and other sources to fund pandemic response measures, the Bureau of the Treasury reported Thursday. The latest tally is 217.49 billion higher than the 10.77 trillion in March, bringing Aprils figure to a fresh high. It is also a 27.8% jump from the 8.6 trillion logged in the same month last year. Debts sourced locally stood at 7.81 trillion as of April, 67.78 billion more than Marchs tally primarily due to the net issuance of government securities according to the Treasury. Local loans comprised 71.1% of total loans for the period. Foreign borrowings, meanwhile, hit 3.17 trillion a 149.7 billion increase from the month prior. The bureau said this is mainly because of 146.16 billion loans incurred externally in April, which included 146.16 billion raised from the issuance of global bonds. Further adjustments include the impact of third-currency appreciation against the US dollar which added 10.91 billion while local-currency appreciation trimmed 24.21 billion, said the bureau. The governments payment guarantees likewise fell to 434.74 billion in April, representing a 1.07 billion drop from March with net redemptions of local obligations of 750 million and 8 million in foreign obligations. Local-currency exchange rate fluctuations further lowered the peso value of external guaranteed debt by 1.57 billion while third currency appreciation added 1.33 billion to the peso value of guarantees, said the Treasury. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) Is it time for Filipino drag queens to slay the runway in their own territory? For Filipina drag queen Jiggly Caliente, a franchise of the American reality TV competition "RuPaul's Drag Race" in the country would definitely be a must-see. "I think it is high time that the Philippines gets its own franchise of RuPaul's Drag Race. I feel like the Filipino drag community is so diverse and so eclectic and they're just so talented," Caliente told CNN Philippines' New Day on Thursday. "The talents of the Filipinos are insane so if I could represent here on the world stage of RuPaul's Drag Race, I think the Philippines should have their own because they have so many amazing, talented queens," she added. Caliente, whose real name is Bianca Castro, hails from Laguna. She is among the queens returning for "RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars" Season 6 this month after placing eighth in Season 4 of the show back in 2012. Now living in Queens, New York City, Caliente revealed what she misses the most in the Philippines aside from her family and friends. "The one main thing I miss in the Philippines is the food. I miss fishballs. I know it might sound super taboo or whatever but that's one thing I miss about the Philippines street food," she said. "[I miss] the comfort of just being at home in Laguna, and you know, right after church, the one thing I look forward to is being able to eat fishballs then and make 'tusok tusok' in the 'tamis-anghang' sauce," Caliente added. "RuPaul's Drag Race" has featured other Filipino drag queen contenders such as Manila Luzon (Season 3 and All Stars 1 and 4), Phi Phi O'Hara (Season 4 and All Stars 2), and Ongina (Season 1 and All Stars 5), among others. "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 6" is set to premiere on June 24 via American streaming service Paramount+ on June 24.